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An AFM has been applied to study in situ the adsorption of oleic acid on fluorite in aqueous solutions. The AFM images show that fluorite surface becomes smoother with the adsorption of 7 × 10-5 M oleic acid solution at pH 9. Force measurement shows that fluorite is strongly positively charged in water at pH 6, suggesting a neglectable surface carbonation of fluorite. The adsorption of oleic acid at pH 9 renders fluorite more and more negatively charged. The surface morphology change of fluorite as shown by the AFM images suggests that oleic acid chemisorbs on fluorite at pH 9. Increasing temperature can help increase the adsorption of oleic acid on fluorite. It may also improve the lateral polymerization of unsaturated oleic acid on fluorite as suggested by the smoother mineral surface in oleic acid solutions at an elevated temperature.

Feb 23, 2014

By Matthew Holden, Jason Emery, Matthew Benjamin, Peter Craig

Over the last 25 years, through adversity and a growing level of risk mitigation, Australian Longwall mines have been using higher and higher capacity cable bolts for secondary support. A recent survey revealed 85% of Australian longwall cable bolts are a 70 tonne capacity pre-tensioned hollow post groutable system. Mines avoiding pumping cementitious grouts are sometimes using pre-tensioned resin encapsulated solid cable bolts of over 90 tonne capacity. Results from various industry and University research has led to manufacturer's fine tuning the construction of their cable bolts. A review of this research explains how smooth wire construction is now dominant. Aggressive shear has also led to some mines using 8 tonnes pre-tension instead of the previous common 20 tonnes pre-tension. Lower pre-tension acceptance is now leading to a greater use of threaded cable bolt end fittings, these are tensioned to 8 tonne using the drill motor torque. A recent development is the TEX cable bolt, a slim line threaded end fitting that fits with the drill hole like a standard rock bolt. This cable is being installed at the coal face as primary support off bolter-miners. The laboratory and in-situ testing of the TEX cable is presented. In a bid to improve gateroad development rates and ground support in the last several years, a 100 tonne tensile capacity Goliath cable system was developed. The latest development in resin anchored solid cables is a 110 tonne capacity cable bolt, with laboratory and in-situ testing results presented.

Jun 25, 2024

By Robert D. Saltsman

The inadequacy of our knowledge of the coal combustion process has long been recognized. This was expressed very well by Spicer and Finney (1). "The control of combustion processes in industry and the design of the equipment necessary for efficient burning to take place have always been very much branches of an industrial art rather than of an exact science. This has been especially true of the utilization of coal, a substance so hetrogeneous and complex in character that all too little is known about its chemical and physical composition.' During the past several years one branch of coal utilization, that of high temperature carbonization; has made significant advances from being an art into being an exact science. This has been accomplished by the development of petrographic techniques for identifying, measuring, and determining the thermal properties of the organic materials which affect the carbonization of coal and the correlation of this information with a pre-existing standard of coke quality, the stability index.

Jan 1, 1964

By Ernest Y. Baafi

The technique of linear kriging as a grade estimation method of mining blocks is reasonably established in the mining industry. Because of the nonbias condition imposed in kriging which requires that the kriging weights (?i) add up to one, negative weights are sometimes used in kriging. The use of negative weights is not justifiable from the practical standpoint. Also, negative block grades can be obtained in some extreme situations which makes no practical sense. To guarantee non-negative weights an additional constraint is required in the kriging system of equations. Unfortunately, the nonnegative weight constraint results in a set of non- linear system of equations. In this paper, a derivation of the resulting set of nonlinear equations is presented and a numerical algorithm is developed for the solution of the equations. Because the algorithm developed does not remove negative weights arbitrarily, optimal nonnegative weights are always guaranteed. Results obtained using the developed algorithm were compared with those using the standard linear kriging, in terms of computer time and the estimation results. Both the computer time and the kriging variance were found to be higher with nonnegative constraint, as expected. However, some systematic pattern was observed in the kriged values (i.e., over or under estimation) with or without the nonnegative constraint. The study also demonstrated when one should generally expect negative kriging weights in practice, and what practical impact the negative weights can have on the kriging estimates.

Jan 1, 1984

By Jamal Rostami, Mark Board, Clayr Alexander, Muthu Vinayak Thyagarajan

In the past several decades, many major equipment manufacturers have ventured into developing new technology for underground hard rock excavation. This includes variety of configurations for full and partial face mobile excavation units. Mining industry prefers machines that can excavate noncircular, flat invert profiles and be able to make tight turns in hard rock. The need to use disc cutters for cutting hard rock has impeded the development of such machines due to the need for gripper system or large mass of a machine to support the force requirements of the disc cutters. Most of the prior attempts have been partially successful and the operations have faced some practical limits and challenges. Among the units that have been successfully used, one can name mobile miner, which was used for rock excavation in some projects. A redesigned mobile miner, called the “Remote Vein Miner,” or RVM, has been developed by Epiroc for underground hard rock mining in Hecla’s Lucky Friday Mine. This equipment potentially opens numerous opportunities for innovation in civil tunneling projects, where the operational flexibility and accessibility of a TBM’s limited tunnel path, design of the profile, and cost are limiting factors. This paper explores the application of the RVM in tunneling projects, its advantages and possible areas of innovation in tunnel planning and design.

Jun 13, 2021

By Alireza Kamrani, Yashar Pourrahimian, Hooman Askari-Nasab

In-pit crushing and conveying (IPCC) is an option to decrease the enormous operating costs that a truck shovel can introduce in an open-pit mine. Finding the best locations for the IPCC over the mine life will impose a new set of requirements for the mine planning. Through a two-step mathematical programming model alongside the road network, this method finds the optimal in-pit crusher locations and relocation times first and then optimizes the long-term mine schedule. The model is verified by a real mine. The results show that the truck travel time could be reduced by 500% and the discounted cash flow increased by 8% with an optimized schedule considering the crusher placement.

Jun 25, 2023

By J. R. Cobble

The Bureau of Mines has developed a process to improve the leaching kinetics of diffusion controlled systems. The system features the Bureau-developed turbomill, an attrition grinder which scrubs the reaction product coating away from the unreacted mineral grains during leaching. The system can be continuously operated at any temperature up to the boiling point of the leaching agent. This paper describes the research on the dissolution of chalcopyrite with acidified ferric sulfate which forms a sulfur product on the unreacted chalcopyrite surface. This method is a hydrometallurgical alternative to chalcopyrite smelter technology which eliminates S)2 emission problems with its associated costs. Batch testing at 90? C with the chalcopyrite/ferric sulfate system resulted in better than 99-pct extraction of copper. At an optimal energy consumption of 1,520 kW h/st, 95 pct of the copper was extracted. Recent work has been directed to development of a continuous system and SX/EW treatment of the resulting pregnant liquor from the chalcopyrite/ferric sulfate leach.

Jan 1, 1991

By Paul R. Weber

Open-pit mines are constructed in materials characterized by the complete range of geologic materials from the most recent alluvial sediments to hard intact crystalline rock. The determination of stable slopes in recent alluvium is in the realm of soil mechanics, an established engineering discipline, well founded on theoretical development and years of substantiating experience. The analytical tools of the soils engineer are chiefly derived from continuum mechanics wherein load-deformation response is governed by mass properties of the substance. At the other end of the spectrum, slopes in hard unweathered rock can generally be analyzed in a straightforward manner by the methods of discontinuum mechanics wherein the properties and orientations of joints control the response of the material. This approach is exemplified by the classical work of Terzaghi (1962). In between these two extremes is a gray area of material types which are composed of stiff soil and incompetent rock. This area is of importance to the mining engineer, since a large portion of open-pit mines is excavated wholly or in part into incompetent rock. This paper describes an approach to pit slope design in incompetent rock in which the material behaves essentially as a continuum. A wide range of geologic materials from stiff soil to poorly indurated sandstone and shale to crushed or weathered crystalline rock appear to fit in this category. These materials all possess certain mechanical properties which must be accounted for in a realistic assessment of slope stability. These properties include nonlinearity, s tress -dependency, and inelasticity. Further considerations involve residual stresses and time-dependent seepage pressures where groundwa.ter is present.

Jan 1, 1971

By Richard L. Ash

In many instances, blasting exerts the dominant control over the economics and safety of excavation, where the materials involved are too hard and tough to be fragmented efficiently by other means. However, associated with the fragmentation process other effects very often result that are not desirable and may even be hazardous, such as fly rock, air blast, excessive overbreak, and damaging ground virbrations. It has always been the desire of those concerned with blasting to better control the forces involved so as to improve the breakage of materials, but at the same time reduce, or eliminate if possible, the unwanted side effects. Until the last decade or two, little was known of the phenomena concerned with blasting. However, since that time many investigators have studied blast mechanisms produced from both chemical and nuclear explosions, with the result that general concepts of the principles have been developed. But, in general, it is assumed that the energy from the explosion would be propagated spherically throughout the material, the latter of which for convenience of analyses is considered homogeneous and isotropic, i.e., the properties are the same in all directions, However, rocks are not isotropic as a rule, and evidence clearly indicates blasting forces rarely function uniformly or in spherical form as theorized.

Jan 1, 1965

By R. E. Coleman

Infrared spectroscopy, employing the internal reflection method in conjunction with solvent extraction techniques, was used to study surface reactions between aqueous potassium ethyl xanthate and both sphalerite and precipitated zinc sulfide each activated with aqueous copper sulfate. It was determined that reactions occurring on the sphalerite and zinc sulfide surfaces produce the reaction products ethyl dixanthogen and cuprous ethyl xanthate, some of which are ad¬sorbed on the mineral surfaces. According to infrared spectra showing the reaction to form these compounds, the ratio of cuprous ethyl xanthate to ethyl dixanthogen adsorbed is directly related to pH of the flotation solution.

Jan 1, 1967

By James M. Link

The transportation of solids by slurry pipeline is a rapidly growing field. Although early patents date from the latter part of the nineteenth century, it has only been within the last twenty years that successful long distance slurry transport lines have come into their own. The pioneering efforts in this country include the gilsonite slurry pipeline from Bonanza, Utah, to Grand Junction, Colorado, and the coal slurry pipeline from Cadiz to Cleveland, Ohio. Both of these lines were constructed in 1957 and had a combined annual capacity of about 360 million ton miles. Although the Cadiz pipeline was mothballed in the early 1960's, the interest in slurry transport systems continues to increase and one engineering and construction company is predicting that by 1980 an annual slurry system rate of more than eight billion ton miles will be achieved. The design and construction of cross-country pipelines for fluids such as crude oil appears relatively simple when contrasted against the complex problems encountered in slurry systems. Considerable effort has been expended in hydraulic research laboratories in an attempt to improve our understanding of slurry behavior. This effort has been rewarded with considerable success and is best illustrated by the large number of slurry systems now planned or under construction. However, slurry transport in pipelines is still, in many instance more of an art than a science. In order to minimize the risk factors in the construction and operation of large scale slurry systems, studies are frequently conducted in pilot scale test

Jan 1, 1972

By Jamal Rostami, Manso Deen Sesay, Sydney Slouka, HUGH MILLER, Anshuman Mohanty, Midhat Sajad, Kun Zhang

The lack of progress in controlling pulmonary diseases such as pneumoconiosis cases in recent years necessitates additional studies on dust generation and the characterization of airborne dust. Studies are underway by a NIOSH-sponsored project to observe the characteristics of the dust generated by pick cutters under various wear levels. This research performed a full-scale linear-cutting-test matrix on eight coal samples with various bit penetrations, spacing, and wear conditions. The specific energy and resulting PSD (particle size distribution) of airborne dust and material left at the cutting surface were measured and analyzed. The dust concentration was determined using the NMAM (NIOSH Manual of Analytical Methods) 0600 method. For fines, the PSD was characterized using Laser Diffraction, measuring percent channel and aerodynamic diameter, while Imagej, a virtual sieving application, was used for larger particles. The results show that for a new bit, as the cutting depth and spacing increase, the specific energy and dust generation decrease. The size and shape of the dust particles have been analyzed, and the observed trends are discussed in this paper.

Feb 1, 2025

By R. S. Jurani

Sunshine Mining Co.'s Kellogg operation is the primary silver producer in the US. Maintaining a comfortable working environment in this deep underground mine historically has been a complex and costly problem. To improve the ventilation and cooling systems at a time of declining and un-certain silver markets, it was proposed to optimize the performance of existing facilities at minimum cost. This paper discusses a two-year, $400,000 optimization program that resulted in increased total mine airflow, cooler ambient temperatures, reduced compressed air usage, and lower energy consumption by primary fans, air compressors, and refrigeration plants. This saved the company about $650,000 per year.

Jan 1, 1988

By Mehmet Bugdayci, Onuralp Yücel, Yeliz Demiray Cucurachi, Ahmet Turan

The production of strontium (Sr) metal from its oxide via an aluminothermic process under 1–5 mbar pressure was examined in this study. SrO of 99%purity by weight was used in the experiments. The effects of stoichiometry and the duration of the process on the efficiency ratio of the metallic strontium were examined. The effects of functional additives (BaO, CaO, CaC2) were also examined. Characterization was carried out using X-ray diffraction spectrometry (XRD), atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) and flame photometry techniques. The highest Sr efficiency ratio obtained was 96.89% in the experiment conducted at 1250 °C with 300% Al stoichiometry and 300% BaO stoichiometry.

Aug 7, 2020

By B. K. Slone

The depth at which it becomes more economical to use slope access as opposed to box-cut access for near-surface coal reserves, termed "transition depth," can be established for a given coal property by considering cost estimates for those parameters that determine respective access method. Fourteen parameters that influence access cost were identified and ranges determined. A Transition Depth Formula was developed to permit determination of the better method of accessing a reserve, given such information as highwall slope, road width, total bench width, pit dimensions, road grade, belt component costs, pumping costs, and cost of overburden removal and reclamation. In most cases, in Appalachia, studies indicate that the transition depth ranges between 20 and 30 m.

Jan 1, 1998

By M. Deutsch, E. González, M. Williams

"Uncertainty exists in ultimate-pit limits due to geologic variation and unpredictable economic landscapes. In this work, we show how this uncertainty affects the ultimate pit and how it can be analyzed to improve the mine planning process. A stochastic framework using geostatistical simulation and parametric analysis was used to model the effects of geologic and economic variations on ultimate-pit limits and overall project economics. This analysis was made possible by a new pit optimization implementation that can be automated and set up to calculate ultimate pits for hundreds of different scenarios in a matter of hours. Quantifying ultimate-pit uncertainty early in the mine planning process allows mining engineers to make informed decisions regarding infrastructure placement and to mitigate the possibility of incurring substantial costs to relocate critical mine facilities. Resumen ¦ Existen dudas sobre los límites del pit final por causa de la variación geológica y lo impredecible de los paisajes económicos. En este trabajo les mostramos como esta incertidumbre afecta el pit final y como puede ser analizada para mejorar el proceso de planificación de la mina. Se usó un marco estocástico con simulación geoestadística de análisis paramétrico con el fin de poder hace la modelación de los efectos de las variaciones geológicas y económicas en los límites de pit finales y proyectos económicos en general. Este análisis fue posible gracias a una nueva implementación de optimización de pits que puede ser automatizada y configurada para calcular pits finales para cientos de escenarios diferentes en cuestión de horas. La cuantificación temprana de la falta de certeza en pits finales durante el proceso de planificación permite a los ingenieros de minas tomar decisiones informadas en lo que respecta a la ubicación de infraestructura y en la mitigación de posibles costos sustanciales por causa de la reubicación de instalaciones clave de la mina."

Jan 1, 2015

By William O. Rasmussen

Exploration requires processing highly varying kinds and amounts of geologic information. Successful discovery dictates that this be done quickly with maximum confidence. Most phases of exploration are more or less applicable to computer reduction on a routine basis. The use of digital computers to reduce raw data into interpretable form, lets the exploration geophysicist concentrate on interpretation and presentation, and to consistently apply more sophisticated and comprehensive analytical techniques, not practical before. In applying these concepts for the past several years, various efficient programs have evolved which provide more complete evaluation of all data including the pro- vision for more unique solutions. This has resulted in greater refinement and ability to select the most advantageous drill sites in a minimum time at a minimum cost or, in rejecting as soon as possible a project on which additional effort is no longer justified. Practical examples of computer applications in magnetics (air and ground), induced polarization and resistivity are discussed.

Jan 1, 1969

By Isabel F. Barton, MarkD. Barton, Christian A. Rathkopf

Molybdenite is the world’s principal source of rhenium (Re), a critical element in multiple high-tech applications. However, the Re contents in molybdenite vary by orders of magnitude on scales ranging from single grains to whole deposits. In order to better understand the systematics of this variation and what geochemical factors control molybdenite Re concentration, and hence overall Re resources, we examine global patterns in molybdenite Re contents through a compilation of > 3000 measurements of Re in molybdenite from > 700 mainly ore-bearing moderate- to high-temperature hydrothermal systems of different types. Our results are similar to but expand on those of earlier studies. Rhenium concentration in molybdenite has a lognormal distribution and varies systematically with type of geologic system, intrusive lithology, and Mo grade. The lowest-Re molybdenite occurs in greisens (geometric mean 1 ppm ± a multiplicative standard deviation of 9), quartz vein-hosted W-Sn deposits (2 ± 5 ppm), unmineralized granites and granodiorites (12 ± 8 ppm), intrusion-related deposits (24 ± 8 ppm), and porphyry W-Sn deposits (16 ± 11 ppm). Rhenium is most enriched in molybdenites from volcanic sublimates (23,800 ± 5 ppm), with skarn Fe and Au (560 ± 5 ppm and 540 ± 3 ppm respectively) and porphyry Cu and Cu-Au deposits next (470 ± 4 and 430 ± 7 ppm respectively). Among porphyries, skarns, and quartz vein-hosted deposits, Re is most highly concentrated in molybdenites from Cu and Au systems and its concentration decreases systematically through Cu-Mo, Mo, Sn, and W deposits. In nearly all cases, molybdenites from systems associated with intermediate igneous rocks contain more Re than molybdenites from systems of the same type with more felsic rock associations. The disparity between Re contents of molybdenite in felsic and intermediate systems is largest for porphyries, quartz vein-hosted, and skarn deposits and is near zero for subeconomic or barren granite and granodiorite Mo systems; felsic intrusion-related deposits have slightly higher molybdenite Re than their equivalents associated with intermediate intrusions. In most systems, molybdenite Re content does not correlate with metal grade, but may have an inverse correlation with Au grade in intrusion-related deposits (based on a small number of data points) and does exhibit a strong inverse correlation with deposit Mo grade. Dilution of Re through larger amounts (higher deposit grades) of molybdenite explains about 40% of this correlation, but the relative enrichment of Re in molybdenite from low-Mo deposits must also reflect some selective enrichment of Re/Mo in porphyry Cu systems compared to porphyry Mo systems. We found no evidence for secular increase or other systematic temporal variation in molybdenite Re content. The data regarding the use of molybdenite Re content as a proxy for mantle influence are ambiguous. Nearly all observed empirical correlations can be traced back to differences in redox state and sulfide concentration, the two geochemical factors identified here and by previous experimental work as the controlling influences on Re mobility under hydrothermal conditions. Hydrothermal systems with reducing conditions (W- and Sn-rich) tend to have low molybdenite Re even though compiled whole-rock data indicate that their source rocks have as much or more Re as those of more oxidized systems (e.g., Cu-rich). Vapor-phase exsolution, crustal assimilation, and mixing with external fluids may all enrich molybdenite Re concentrations in individual deposits and deposit types, but their extent and importance in overall hydrothermal concentration of Re is uncertain. Thus, it appears that the available molybdenite Re resource in an ore deposit largely depends on how the deposit’s redox and sulfidation conditions have varied over time and space during the timespan of hydrothermal activity. Oxidized, high-sulfide conditions tend to concentrate Re in molybdenite, whereas reducing conditions tend to leave Re dispersed at low concentrations in the bulk rock.

By Ihsan Berk Tulu, Haochen Zhao, Deniz Tuncay

This paper proposes a new method to estimate the percentage of load carried by the gob in underground coal mines using a new parameter that introduces the site-specific overburden geology. The new parameter was defined as the total strong layer thickness (tstr) that represents the strength and stiffness of the overburden with a single value. Twelve field measurement case studies from 11 different U.S. longwall mines with different overburden geologies were used to develop the new methodology. 2D numerical models of these case studies (and additional parametric runs with different panel widths) were verified against field measurements such as surface subsidence and stress. Statistical analyses using the model results were conducted for a loading model with the new tstr parameter as one of the variables. The new methodology was found to have a coefficient of determination (R2) of 85% when compared to the field measurements and the parametric models. The method was then tested for practical implementation for pillar design. The percentages of load carried by the gob as estimated by the new method were implemented into the LaModel program, that is commonly used in the coal industry. The results obtained from LaModel were compared to the available field stress measurements, and the new method implemented into LaModel was found to give successful results.

Jul 18, 2022

Critical safety tools to locate miners underground are featured by several exhibitors at MINExpo. Communication was the buzzword for health and safety products at the 2008 MINExpo, and it is still important in 2012. Products unveiled following the Miner Act in 2006 have been upgraded and improved. Saving lives and reducing injuries through better leadership, planning and practice is the goal of every mine professional.

Jan 1, 2012