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By D. W. Mitchell

Planning today for what hopefully will never happen is one of the surest ways to decrease the chance of it happening. As Napoleon proved and Ian Mitroff wrote, "The heat and stress of battle is the worst time to make decisions of strategic importance." Mitroff also wrote, "The value of a plan is not that it will ever perfectly match reality, but going through the process of planning speeds the process of recovery. It allows the organization to emotionally work through the worst before it actually happens." This paper concentrates on things miners must consider; on the need for plans to be like a belt conveyor strong enough to carry the load, flexible enough to stretch a little; on the criticality of throwing away fax machines and telephones, and having certain officials at the scene rather than back in head-quarters; on the training of fire brigades and mine-rescue teams; on having company-controlled chromatographs; on having people who can look at trends rather than numbers. Some of the things in this paper might anger some readers; for that, I can only ask them to consider first the problem not their position.

Jan 1, 1993

By D. Richers

When modeling predictive pit lake chemistry, groundwater chemistry is integrated with the affected portions of the wall rock and chemistry of the lake in a complex series of mixing. Fractions of the solutions impinge upon fresh, unaltered or fractured and oxidized zones of the wall containing sulfide materials and/or soluble metal/metalloid salts. Changing conditions over the short term (biannually) and long term (decades) can drive reactions allowing for dissolution or precipitation of acid rock drainage and metal leaching (ARD/ML) constituents. Local zonal variations can result in a portion of the pit releasing materials into solution; whereas other portions of the lake might favor the formation of colloids or precipitants. The proportions and character of groundwater can drive the chemistry of the pit lake provided sufficient buffering capacity is available to temper the generation of ARD in the system. For sulfide-rich systems, reduction of oxygen by rapid inundation and consumption by sulfides is key to reducing the ARD/ML. This paper presents several models of a sulfide-rich wall rock system using a range of groundwater chemistries to show these constraints.

Jan 1, 2012

By Martin Herrenknecht

The world?s growing population and rapidly proceeding urbanization are boosting an enormous demand for new and high-capacity infrastructures to secure the mobility of goods and people. Densely populated areas face the challenge to provide efficient traffic infrastructure, such as a modern public transportation system. At the same time, the maintenance and modernization of supply and disposal structures for water, sewage, energy and communication are also essential. Additionally, supra-regional transportation routes such as long distance water diversion schemes are the challenges for the future. All these projects are as demanding as they are characterized by a tight time schedule.

Jan 1, 2010

By M. Kuchta, A. Newman

LKAB’s Kiruna Mine, located in northern Sweden, produces about 24 Mton of iron ore yearly using sublevel caving. For efficiency, the mine must deliver planned quantities of three ore products. We use mixed integer programming to schedule Kiruna’s operations, specifically, which production blocks should be mined, and when they should be mined to minimize deviations from planned production quantities while adhering to mining restrictions (e.g., sequencing). A new production block database and a well-formulated mixed integer programming model dramatically reduce the size of the original problem; in less than ten minutes we generate five-year schedules with time fidelity of months.

Jan 1, 2002

By L. Westerstrom

Supply and Demand After a dismal first half, the industry saw a marked improvement in its markets during the final six months of 1983. Domestic consumption was 17.6% higher in the second half of the year, primarily due to a surge in electric power requirements. The sharp increase in demand for electric power during the third and fourth quarters afforded utilities the opportunity to lower stocks that had accumulated to record levels during 1982. Consumer stocks were reduced from 179 Mt (197 million st) at the end of June to 153 Mt (169 million st) by the end of the year. That is the largest inventory drawdown on record during a six-month period without a major coal strike. Despite the huge depletion in inventories, coal production in the second half of 1983 rose 1.3% above output in the second half of 1982. However, because of the disappointing first half, production in 1983 totaled only 712 Mt (785 million st), 6.4% less than the 760 Mt (838 million st) produced in 1982. Demand The extent to which the economic recovery affected coal markets in 1983 varied: • total domestic coal consumption increased 4.2%; • electric utility coal consumption increased 5.3%; • exports declined by about one-fourth; • coal consumption at coke plants declined 9.5%; and • coal consumption in the other industrial sectors increased 2.9%. Domestic coal consumption totaled 667 Mt (737 million st) it 1983, 27 Mt (30 million st) more than 1982. Electric utility consumption increased from 539 M1 (594 million st) in 1982 to 567 M1 (625 million st) in 1983. Coal consumption at coke plants declined from 37 Mt (41 million st) to 34 M1 (37 million st). Residential and commercial use increased 181 kt (200,000 st) - from 7.4 to 7.6 Mt (8.2 to 8.4 million st). Electric Utilities: Electric power generation increased 3.1% in 1983. Demand for electric power increased in all major consumer categories. Residential and commercial use rose 2.7% and 3.3%, respectively. The most striking increase, however, and indicative of the economy's strong upturn, was the increase in industrial electric power use. Industrial power requirements, which declined 9.8% in 1982, rose 4.1% in 1983. The electric utility sector continued to expand its use of coal last year while lowering its requirements of oil and natural gas. In 1983, electric generation from coal increased 5.7%, while genera-

Jan 5, 1984

By Steve Kral

The mining industry has had three difficult years. Commodity prices have remained low and investor confidence in the industry has been shaken. And even though the Asian economy appears to be improving, it will be some time before this improvement will translate into better commodity price conditions for mining. In addition, increased environmental and social restrictions that have been placed on the industry in developed and developing countries have made mining a more difficult proposition. And, if that is not enough, the global mining industry has found itself in fierce competition with Internet businesses for investor capital. Despite that gloomy picture, more than 10,500 mining industry professionals from about 70 countries gathered in Toronto, Ontario March 5-10, 2000 for the Mining Millennium 2000 conference. This meeting was a joint effort between the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum(CIM) and the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC).The joint meeting also featured two trade exhibitions and more than 150speakers. PDAC’s trade show attracted about 400 exhibitors and an additional 200 in the concurrent Investors’ Exchange. CIM’s exhibition attracted about 600 equipment and service companies.

Jan 1, 2000

By R. Stefanko

Rock bolting as a method of support continues to increase with applications in many other industries in addition to mining. Nevertheless, with nearly 55,000,000 roof bolts installed in coal mines alone last year, this remains as the single greatest use. While bolts have frequently supported ground where conventional timbering could not, there are relatively few design criteria; and trial-and-error procedures prevail. Furthermore, development of suitable instrumentation that is simple to install and readout, sensitive, durable, reliable, safe and economical in evaluating the effectiveness of a bolt over long periods of time lags behind. Therefore, the pull test continues to be the most popular method of evaluating the applicability of a certain type of roof bolt under specific installation conditions. At Penn State in the Department of Mining, research has been conducted for a number of years to measure bleedoff in carefully controlled laboratory experiments as well as in underground investigations.1,2,3,4 Unfortunately, most of the instrumentation developed has been primarily suitable only for research purposes, not possessing all of the aforementioned characteristics desirable for routine underground use. Other groups also have met with restricted success. Therefore, while relatively crude, the torque wrench continues to remain as the most widely used load measuring device. While both field and laboratory tests continue to be conducted, analytical analyses are attempted to discover the more important design parameters in order that more efficient anchorage might be devised.

Jan 1, 1969

By Qingwen Shi, Brijes Mishra

The abstract discusses the use of numerical simulations to investigate roof fall in underground mines. It highlights the advantages of the discrete element method (DEM) in simulating large strain problems and fracturing processes, while acknowledging its computational limitations for large-scale problems. The study presents a 3D numerical model coupling the finite difference method (FDM) and DEM to simulate laminated roof failure in a coal mine. The model represents the laminated roof with bonded particles and discontinuities, while the surrounding rock is represented by continuum zones. The research analyzes the fracturing of the laminated roof as the entry advances, demonstrating the coupled method's ability to reproduce laminated roof failure.

Mar 17, 2022

By Jerry C. Tien

Mining in China dates back at least 4,000 years. Today, with no less than 103,000 metal/nonmetal mines and between 40,000 to 80,000 coal mines, China’s mining industry is undoubtedly the largest in the world. Despite improvements in recent decades, seemingly endless mining accidents continue to make the news. Official coal mining deaths were 6,702 in 2003, and 6,027 miners died in 2004; actual figures may be much higher. Added to these were the 2,699 deaths in the metal and nonmetal industries. Most of these accidents were due to CH4 (methane gas) explosions and fires as a result of inadequate mine ventilation de-sign or practices. A good portion of these accidents occur in small, privately run and often technically illegal mines. During the past 10 years, the Chinese government has attempted to crack down on small and often technically illegal mines without much success. The number of accidents and associated fatalities has not significantly reduced. However, there appears to be a new urgency in China’s efforts to step up mine safety in the country. After its worst reported mine disaster in more than a half century, the government quickly paid reparations to families, suspended high-level officials in charge and announced additonal reforms. One of those was the elevation of the central government’s work safety office to cabinet-level status. There has been increased transparency in reporting and investigation of mine accidents and disasters in recent years. There has also been an increase in public criticism by labor leaders concerning the neglect of mine workersafety.1 This article examines the causes of China’s many mining accidents, current legal and enforcement structures, respective mining health and safety related laws and regulations, recent mining industry developments and the latest effort to curtail small mining operations.

Jan 1, 2005

By Fengyu Ren, Ruslan Puscasu, Kunpeng Yu, Gideon Chitombo, Liangliang Kang

Weak rock mass and poor flow of material can cause excessive ore loss and dilution in sublevel caving. This paper proposes a method to establish design parameters for an inclined deposit within a weak rock mass and evaluates its effectiveness through a case study. In order to solve the problem of low production capacity and poor safety conditions of sublevel caving mining at the Yingfangzi silver mine in China and to ensure a smooth production from the refractory ore body, it is necessary to select appropriate stope structure parameters. Based on random medium theory of gravity flow and the improved equation of ore discharge in random medium, an end wall drawing experiment is carried out to determine the optimum design and flow parameters. It was observed from the experiment that, due to the influence of the randomness of particle movement, there is a mismatch in the flow parameter measurement. The flow characteristics and distribution of the marker particles are different from that of the tested particles resulting in large drawbody shape distortion. The study finds that the flow parameters obtained by the new method are more practical and account for drawpoint width and recommends that the new method for determining the sublevel stope height is used when the drawbody is a non-standard ellipsoid. The outcomes have shown a significant reduction in the dilution and improvement in the recovery rates, and the safety and efficiency of mining have been greatly improved.

By J. Jeffrey Wagner, Michael J. Bailey, Peter M. Douglass

The Chambers Creek Interceptor Sewer Tunnel project consisted of 2-1/2 miles (4 kilometres) of nominal 9-foot (2.7-metre) O.D. tunnel driven through predominantly glacially overridden soils. Mole-Collucio Construction Company initially elected to drive the entire tunnel with a Lovat TBM. However, this machine could not control the fast raveling ground conditions which developed when the TBM encountered sands overlying very dense, hard glacial till or boulders. As a result, a shield and digger machine was brought in for a 1700-foot (518-metre) long segment. Pumped wells spaced roughly 50 to 125 feet (15 to 38 metres) apart were utilized to dewater about two-thirds of the alignment during construction. Initial support consisted of steel ribs and wood lagging, with a final lining comprised of pre-cast concrete pipe segments grouted in place.

Jan 1, 1985

By V. Galla

Waste rock facilities (WRF) generally have a large footprint depending on the strip ratio the mine plan provides. Considerable planning is involved during the initial phase of the mine plan regarding the location of the WRF. As the mining operations are commenced the locations of the WRF change accordingly with the variations in the mine plan involving feedback and support from local communities and stakeholders. Waste rock facilities management becomes challenging when the area available for placement is limited due to terrain topography, environmental and permitting constraints. Risks associated in the design of waste rock facilities constitute particle size of rock, chemistry associated with the rock for reactivity and stability of the over all facility. This paper will provide some insights on designing, scheduling and managing a WRF. Emphasis on geotechnical, geophysics and geochemistry aspects of waste rock with reference to design, construction process and scheduling of WRF are also presented. Design improvements in the reclamation slope of WRF for erosion control will be discussed. Continuous improvement (CI) methodology will be introduced in the process of WRF operations. Current practices and future recommendations towards sustainability and consistency in operating WRF will be discussed in conclusion.

Jan 1, 2011

By William Gleason

"The city of Denver, CO has experienced extreme growth in the past decade, with the population of the city topping more than 700,000 people in 2018. The current storm water drainage system was put in place in the early 1900s and has not been able to keep up with the growth of the city.When it rains north and east of the city, the runoff goes toward the South Platte River. With the dense population and sometimes severe thunderstorms in the summer, the city has experienced significant flooding that not only endangers lives of residents, but some of the storms have caused millions of dollars of property damage.The Platte to Park Hill Project is a $298-million nearterm, four-phase solution to the flooding that includes the Globeville landing outfall; an open drainage project in the Cole neighborhood in north Denver; an area for temporary water detention and another temporary water detention in Park Hill.The largest and most complex phase of the project is the Globeville landing outfall — a $70-million box culvert project that includes a pair of 157-m (515-ft) long, 243-cm (96-in.) diameter storm water tunnels that pass beneath a busy rail yard with 17 tracks for the Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) and two Regional Transportation District (RTD) commuter rail tracks. The tunnels, which were installed parallel to a pair of existing 243-cm (96-in.) tunnels, were designed by Brierley & Associates as a client of Merrick & Company for the City & County of Denver, and Bradshaw Construction constructed the one-pass tunnels.From the start, it was evident that the tunneling portion of the project would be the most challenging because of the rail yards.“It’s a little bit more complicated because the railroads have such tight restrictions for settlement,” said Rebecca Brock, Brierley’s project manager. “We had a lot of meetings with Union Pacific and RTD to figure out what are prescribed versus tolerable settlements.”“The portion extending beyond the UPRR under the RTD rails was challenging, as RTD is new to tunnel installations under its tracks,” said Lester Bradshaw, president of Bradshaw Construction. “The RTD tracks employed a unique foundation of continuous concrete with integral raised concrete ties on rubber bushings. Minimizing settlement to these tracks was a critical requirement.”"

Jan 9, 2018

By F. Habashi

The phosphate fertilizer industry is at present based mainly on the use of sulfuric acid. This technology results in the generation of large amounts of radioactive gypsum that represents disposal and environmental problems. Also it involves the use of expensive reactors for acidification that necessitates the frequent replacing the damaged agitators. Applying hydrometallurgical techniques such as in-situ, heap, or vat leaching to phosphate processing could solve these problems. In this case, however, nitric acid must be used and dicalcium phosphate (40% P2O5) may be obtained as a final product. It is insoluble in water but soluble in citric acid and is an excellent fertilizer. This technology does not interfere with uranium recovery if desired. In addition it permits the recovery of rare earths which are otherwise lost in the gypsum.

Jan 1, 2011

By Christophe Bragard, Brett Robinson

This paper reflects the challenges encountered during the construction of the light rail tunnels under Boyle Heights, in Los Angeles, California. Equipped with two state-of-the-art EPB TBMs, the construction team undertook the mining of twin bored tunnels in the Los Angeles alluvium. The gassy underground conditions dictated many aspects of the design of the tunnels, as well as the tools and means used for their construction. This paper will detail the challenges encountered during construction, as well as the means, methods and logistics used on the project. Discussion includes: EPB TBM machines with some very unique/specific features; complex assembly sequence due to limited shaft access; final precast concrete liner with double gaskets; NATM cross passage excavation in soft ground and below the water table; compensation grouting; mucking shaft arrangement.

Jan 1, 2007

By N. Niemuth

Strong demand for copper in developing nations such as China and India, plus the additional demand for industrial minerals to supply the Arizona construction market, brought about a record-setting year for the state?s mining industry. The value of Arizona?s copper production set a new high of $5.5 billion and pushed the total value of mineral production to $7.58 billion. This was also a record. As it has for many years, Arizona ranked first in nonfuel mineral production in the U.S. In addition to leading the nation in copper, Arizona ranked in the top five in molybdenum, sand and gravel, gemstones, perlite, silver, zeolites and pumice. Generally strong and rising prices, especially toward year?s end, fostered a bullish atmosphere that encouraged significant levels of acquisition and exploration. This activity has spread beyond the normal commodities to include some, such as manganese and fluorspar, that have not been mined in Arizona for decades.

Jan 1, 2008

By C. Geier

Our national interests are best served by having well-trained first responders available for rapid response to emergency situations in underground mines. However, recent mine disasters have indicated that focused training on hazard recognition, decision making, leadership, and incident command center protocols needs to be incorporated into a comprehensive training plan for all personnel involved in a mine rescue. Currently, there are very few training opportunities for the mining professionals responsible for making the crucial decisions needed during a mine emergency. With recent technical advances, it is now feasible to use a computer-based simulator to train mine rescue personnel for mine emergencies in their mine or any other mine at a convenient location without interrupting normal mining operations. This simulated environment teaches underground search and rescue procedures, communications, and decision making based on real-time information and hazard recognition. Since 2010, the Colorado School of Mines (CSM) has offered computer simulated mine rescue training using an incident command center (ICC) directed towards enhancing decision making and communication skills. To support this training, CSM partnered with Rite Solutions, Inc. to modify, enhance, and create simulation software for mine rescue applications. The focus of this partnership is to modify existing simulation technology to address the unique nature of underground rescue operations, make it applicable to any underground operation, create generic scenarios, and develop customized computer simulations, including scenarios, for specific sites. Need The CSM mine rescue computer simulator helps mine rescue teams train for mine disasters where they would be deployed for the rescue and recovery of a mine. It provides additional, readily accessible opportunities to train without affecting mining operations. While the simulator lacks the physical demands of a rescue situation, it is very effective for teaching mine rescue procedures as rescuers seamlessly walk through the process and work out issues before going underground. The mine rescue simulator also introduces students to coordination through an ICC which stresses the use of effective communication and hones decision making skills. Most of the mine rescue teams participating in this study had never trained with an ICC controlling the actions of the mine rescue team making this an extremely valuable training opportunity. In addition, the mine rescue computer simulator allows instructors to modify mine rescue scenarios and tailor the scenarios to each team?s individual needs resulting in a more versatile training experience. The goal is to ensure that all teams receive the maximum benefit from each training session.

Feb 27, 2013

By J. M. Dean, R. L. Grayson, R. C. Althouse, M. J. Klishis, G. L. Winn

Using powerful database management software, nested-field analysis and microanalysis of narratives have been made of West Virginia accident data, resulting in a new approach for targeting and prioritizing safety interventions by county, mine size, specific mine, job title, type injury, etc. and combinations of these parameters. The analyses have been useful in focusing training and discussion sessions on specific work problems, trends, conditions, and situations for targeted groups of miners. Application of the technique will be presented in this paper, along with comparisons of various mine performance measures.

Feb 24, 1997

By Fritz Grübl

Modern shield TBMs allow tunnel drives through almost any type of ground. Thanks to high elaborated technical measures, significant subsidence of the ground surface can be almost entirely avoided. The tunnel lining behind the TBM must be capable of withstanding all loads without deforming, especially during ring erection and advance. Single-shell tunnel linings behind the TBM, usually reinforced concrete segmental rings, can be designed to fulfill this demand. With many projects, however, damage occurs to the lining. Repair costs may be extremely high. Reasons for damages and possibilities to avoid them are shown and explained.

Jan 1, 2001

By Tim Hurley

On Friday, May 27, 1983 at about 6 p.m., an avalanche occurred at the Revenue-Virginius Mine. Six mine personnel and two contract diamond drillers were trapped when the avalanche covered and blocked the portal, the only access into the mine. The San Juan Mountain Range in southwestern Colorado is an old volcanic caldera. It has dikes and other intrusions, many of which are mineralized with sulfide ores rich in silver, gold, lead, zinc and copper. Several peaks rise above 4,260 m (14,000 ft) and the district has been the location of avalanches dating back to prehistoric times. This is evidenced by the numerous snow-slide chutes that are infamous enough to be named on topographic maps.

Jan 1, 2006