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By Marcelino Cortina

It is known that underground bituminous coal mining in the Central Asturian Coal Basin (North of Spain) is a complicated task, due basically to the difficult geological conditions: thin and steep Seams with many faults and other disturbances. Therefore, it is not easy to decide what is the most suitable mining method for each of the seams, and problems in making the correct decision are encountered frequently. Because selections in the past have been inadequate an Expert System, ASTURLABOR;hulla, has been designed and will be developed' to provide accurate advice in the mining method selection process. The paper describes the major features of this Expert System and outlines the ASTURLABOR general project, which includes five other mining Expert Systems to complement ASTURLABOR-hulla.

Jan 1, 1989

By H. T. Mulryan

For the producer of industrial rocks and minerals, marketing is often the only means of survival. His material must be sold. There is little of the impersonal force of the market regulating supply and demand. No commodity exchanges facilitate his efforts to dispose of the material he produces, and the success or failure of his business depends primarily on prompt and correct response to market needs and requirements. This response is particularly vital where materials of low unit value must be shipped to distant consumers owing to a relative rarity of suitable deposits. The advantage of positive response to change can best be illustrated by hypothetical cases showing how problems can be turned into opportunity through marketing ingenuity. Three such cases dealing with materials of unit values in the range of $5 to $100 per ton are outlined below.

Jan 7, 1969

By Diógenes Uceda

"El presente texto revisa los problemas medioambientales relacionados con la hidrometalurgia. Las operaciones de hidrometalurgia tienen el potencial de impacto sobre el medio ambiente puesto que utilizan productos químicos tóxicos tales como ácidos, bases y agentes complejantes como el cianuro. Asimismo, los residuos de lixiviación son generalmente metaestables y bajo almacenamiento producen grandes cantidades de lixiviados contaminantes en condiciones de alta pluviometría. En ese sentido, el objetivo del metalurgista es diseñar procesos que maximicen la estabilidad de los residuos sólidos, mientras se minimiza o elimina la emisión de especies químicas perjudiciales en los flujos de agua descargados de las plantas de procesos."

Sep 1, 2016

By A. Pearson, F. A. Auld, S. O. Colbeck

"""The theory of buckling of shafts and Steel tunnel-linings"" was published by E. Amstutz in 1970 and commented on by S. Jacobsen in 1974. The authors have revised and enhanced Amstutz’s work to address Jacobsen's comments on its limitations and to extend its validity over a wider range of pipe/shaft geometries, including those commonly found in deep mine access shafts. The author has looked at Amstutz’s assessment of strengthening with flexible shear anchorages and adapted the theory of non-linear shear deformation response of bolts to develop a method of assessing increased buckling capacity utilising the full plastic shear capacity of studs. INTRODUCTION “Amstutz Buckling” refers to the buckling of pipe embedded in concrete under external uniform pressure. In terms of a mining environment, this relates directly to the design of a watertight shaft. This load case will commonly occur where a main shaft is cast against a geostatically stable primary liner and the only load applied to the final shaft is that of a uniform ground water load. Ernst Amstutz wrote his first paper on buckling of pressure-shaft steel linings in 1950 and subsequently improved his theory (Amstutz, 1970), which was then widely adopted for use within the industry. Years later, an alternative approach (Jacobsen, 1974) was proposed. Within his paper Jacobsen critiques Amstutz work, identifying some mathematical inconsistencies and highlighting limitations of the theory imposed by approximations adopted by Amstutz. Despite these limitations Amstutz work has still been used as the favoured design theory for use in the mining industry. In reviewing this body of work the author realised that with the advent of readily available computing software it was possible to adopt an iterative approach using Amstutz approximate formulae to find a solution to the original precise formulae, thus eliminating the limitations highlighted by Jacobsen The shear deformation to load characteristics of bolts has long been established (Crawford & Kulak 1968) and used for the plastic design of bolted connections in shear. This relationship is directly transferable to the design of shear studs, typical properties are well known, and actual values easily established in simple lab tests. The author has taken this relationship and modified Amstutz theory (Amstutz, 1970) for shear anchored strengthened liner buckling, to give a more efficient solution, using readily available material properties."

Jan 1, 2019

Blasting has been the most frequently used method for rock breakage since black powder was first used to fragment rocks, more than two hundred years ago. This paper is an attempt to reassess standard design techniques used in blasting by providing an alternative approach to blast design. The new approach has been termed asymmetric blasting. Based on providing real time rock recognition through the capacity of measurement while drilling (MWD) techniques, asymmetric blasting is an approach to deal with rock properties as they occur in nature, ie randomly and asymmetrically spatially distributed. It is well accepted that performance of basic mining operations, such as excavation and crushing rely on a broken rock mass which has been pre conditioned by the blast. By pre conditioned we mean well fragmented, sufficiently loose and with adequate muckpile profile. These muckpile characteristics affect loading and hauling (Scott, 1996). The influence of blasting does not end there. Under the Mine to Mill paradigm, blasting has a significant leverage on downstream operations such as crushing and milling . There is a body of evidence that blasting affects mineral liberation (Djordjevic, N, 2001). Thus, the importance of blasting has increased from simply fragmenting and loosing the rock mass, to a broader role that encompasses many aspects of mining, which affects the cost of the end product. A new approach is proposed in this paper which facilitates this trend æto treat non-homogeneous media (rock mass) in a non-homogeneous manner (an asymmetrical pattern) in order to achieve an optimal result (in terms of muck-pile size distribution)Æ. It is postulated there are no logical reasons (besides the current lack of means to infer rock mass properties in the blind zones of the bench and onsite precedents) for drilling a regular blast pattern over a rock mass that is inherently heterogeneous. Real and theoretical examples of such a method are presented.

Jan 1, 2001

An asymmetrical floating point Array Processor is a special-purpose Scientific Computer which operates under asymmetrical control of a host Computer. Although an Array Processor can receive fixed point input and produce fixed point output, its primary mode of operation is floating point. The first generation of Array Processors was oriented towards time series information. The next generation of Array Processors has proved much more versatile and their applicability ranges from Petroleum Reservoir simulation to speech synthesis. Array Processors are becoming commonplace in Mining, the primary usage being construct- ion of grids - by usual methods or by Kriging. The Australian Mining community is among the world's leaders in regard to computer-assisted Exploration and Exploitation Systems. Part of this leadership role must be providing guidance to Computer vendors in regard to current and future requirements.

Jan 1, 1983

By P. A. Manohar

This paper describes an implementation of the Potts model for simulation of grain growth in 2D on a distributed-memory parallel architecture. The simulation scheme utilizes a continuous-time, asynchronous parallel version of the n-fold way algorithm. Each Processing Element (PE) carries a piece of the global simulation domain while the virtual topology of the PEs is in the form of a square grid in 2D and Torus in 3D. Different PEs have different local simulated times. Inter-processor communication is carried by the Message Passing Interface (MPI) routines. Sample results for grain growth simulation in 2D are presented for a 840 x 840 global domain size distributed over 16 PEs. The grain growth kinetics obtained in the simulation of pure, isotropic systems is in good agreement with the theory. Grain size distributions obtained in the parallel simulation are well described by the lognormal distribution, thus validating the simulation procedure. Keywords: Metropolis algorithm. n-fold way algorithm, asynchronous parallelization, grain growth

Jan 1, 2003

By James H. Lammers

Over the years, the chemical processing industries have con­tinued to move from batch to continuous processing in order to obtain better quality control, simpler designs, and often reduced capital and operating costs. One exception to this trend has been the carbon elution circuits in the gold industry. Although some successes have been achieved on a pilot scale, no continuous elu­tion circuit using Anglo American Research Laboratory (AARL) methods has ever been used on a commercial scale until now. This paper describes the continuous elution circuit which was recently commissioned at a major gold project. The paper also presents the economic justification for the selection of the process over conventional batch technology.

Jan 1, 1998

By Robert B. Parsons

"1984 was an eventful year in the courthouse f or observers 0/ the mining tax scene in Canada. For the first time in a number of years, the Federal Court heard several important tax cases which pertain directly to the resource industries. Tax Notes discusses/our cases that could affect the taxation 0/ operations and investment in the mining sector.Capital Gain or Income?Ever since tax reform, risk-takers in the exploration business have maintained that the taxation of capital gain s is a significant impediment to raising risk capital. It must be akin to rubbing salt in the wound, then, when an entrepreneur sells shares and the Court upholds Revenue Ca nada taxing the gain as ordinary income instead of capital gain. But, this is precisely what happened in the case of The Estate of Murray Watts, et al. v. The Queen.The issue that had to be decided by the Federal Court, Tri al Division, in this case was whether or not the profit from the sale of shares in Hearne Coppermine Exploration s Limited in 1968 was a capital gain, or income subject to tax.Hearne was incorporated in July, 1967. At that time, the three plaintiff s, together with seven other individuals, subscribed for 400,000 shares at 10 a share. The plaintiff subsequently subscribed for an additional 500,000 shares at $1.A pooling agreement was entered into by all ten shareholders regulating the disposition of any o f their shares; any sale required approval of seven of the ten initial sub scribers. It also provided for the sale of their shares 30 days after any public offering."

Jan 1, 1985

By Emily Sarver

"Across all sectors and commodities, a common theme is driving progress in raw resource supply: sustainable development (SD). Over the past few decades, the mining and minerals industries for their part have undertaken significant and intentional changes at every level to become more responsible — no longer to just their shareholders, but also to the environment, to the communities in which they operate and to society at-large. Led by some of the global majors, these industries have indeed helped to define and operationalize the basic principles of sustainable development. Now in the midst of a full-on cultural shift, they are also key players in the continual effort to re-examine and calibrate practices to meet dynamic and increasingly complex objectives.SME’s technical position statementAs a home for so many technical experts and practitioners, SME has long recognized the importance of a commitment to sustainable development by the mining and minerals industries. In April 2016, the Society formally adopted a technical position on the topic following years of participation in, and support for, related activities. The full position statement appears below. It was drafted, revised and presented for approval to the board of directors by SME’s Sustainable Development Committee.Statement of Technical Position on The Mining Industry and Sustainable Development:• The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) and the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA) imposed considerable environmental restrictions on the mining industry; SME has always reinforced strict adherence to the laws.• In 2002, SME established a Sustainable Development Committee to lead its efforts in this area and to propel the organization into global prominence.• SME is a signatory to the Milos Statement of 2003 on Sustainable Development, so it is committed to providing scientific, technical, educational, and research skills in minerals, metals and fuels.• SME recognizes that SD programs adopted by the industry have a tangible return on investment through brand recognition and loyalty, facilitation of permitting, reduced occurrence of community protests and vandalism and diminished political risks.• SME actively promotes educational programs that encourage professional growth and interaction with the engineering professional community through books, articles, symposia, short courses and/or conferences on sustainable development in the mining and minerals industries.• SME has developed abundant expertise to provide balanced advice to government bodies, congressional staff and other interested organizations."

Jan 12, 2017

By Felipe Bautista Caldas

El presente texto señala la historiografía y desarrollo del yacimiento Atacocha, ubicado en Yanacancha, Cerro de Pasco. El yacimiento fue construido por distintos mineros desde la época colonial, a excepción de la segunda década, donde se da la firma comercial Gallo Hermanos y se obtuvo minerales de exportación, previo escogido de la mina extraída. Posteriormente se fundó la Compañía Minera Atacocha S.A. y estuvo dirigida por Edgardo Portaro. Su plan de producción buscaba obtener concentrados de plomo, con plata y algo de oro, dado que el zinc no tenía valor comercial hasta 1963. Asimismo, se construyeron plantas de concentradora, centrales hidroeléctricos, trochas ferroviarias, entre otros.

Mar 1, 1980

By A. Aubin, H. Yang, G. Zaluski

The Athabasca Basin of northern Saskatchewan and Alberta is an exceptionally rich metallogenic region, hosting more than 2.8 B lb U3O8, of which over 927 M lb U3O8 have been mined out since extraction first started in the late 1970’s. A detailed compilation of several empirical features of 85 deposits located within the basin was conducted in order to understand the distribution and variability of the geological characteristics of the mineralization and its associated alteration. A new empirical classification was devised based on four parameters: 1) geometry of the mineralization (dimensions and relation to the unconformity surface), 2) size, grade and metallurgical complexity of the mineralization, 3) lithostructural setting, and 4) extent and nature of associated alteration haloes. This compilation defines the footprint characteristics of the Athabasca Basin deposits, which guides decision-making processes from early exploration and discovery to resource expansion and extraction.

Jan 1, 2020

By L. A. Bellows

The "Athabasca oil sands" of the McMurray formation in northeastern Alberta cover an area of about 21,000 square miles and contain the world's largest reserve of oil. Fort McMurray, a small town in the heart of the oil sands area, is about 235 air miles north- east of Edmonton. A railway serves the town but no year-round roads connect the town with the rest of Alberta. (Figure 1). The McMurray formation is of early Cretaceous age, deposited unconformably on a limestone surface of Devonian age. The sediments appear to have originated from the Canadian Shield to the east and were deposited in bays and deltas of large fresh water lakes. The lakes were later replaced by marine seas in which t the overlying Clearwater shale was deposited. (Figure 2).

Jan 1, 1963

By S. R. Elliott

THE principles of the caving system, as they apply to mining of soft iron-ore deposits, are well known, as this method has been in use for many years. It is, however, necessary to give a general description of it before describing the Athens method. The shaft and surface equipment should be placed at a sufficient distance from the orebody, so that the caving and pulling of the surface will not disturb the operations of the mine. Levels are started at the proper intervals, and when raises are completed, slicing commences at the top of the orebody and progresses downward. The necessary precautions are taken to avoid the occurrence of large open rooms and it is customary to break sufficient capping to form a mat to prevent heavy falls of ground from crushing through to the lower sublevels and endangering the lives of the workmen. Slicing is continued, and when sufficient width and length are undercut, the capping commences to cave, and in time a settlement occurs at the surface. As soon as this caving commences, the pressure on the timber naturally increases; after it extends to the surface, the amount of pressure has a certain relation to the depth. In other words, the pressure increases with the depth, but not in direct proportion. At great depths, such as that found at the Athens, 2500 ft. (760 m.), the pressure might be so excessive that the cost of keeping working places open would be prohibitive. The actual caving of the surface in a deep mine, with a great thickness of capping, is slow and often takes years to accomplish. After sufficient width and depth -have been undercut, the capping starts to break away, but through arching large masses of rock-.fill the opening, support the capping, and retard the continuation of caving. Caving to the surface is, therefore, retarded until either a sufficient thickness of the orebody is removed, or the width and length of the undercut part have been greatly increased. I wish to emphasize this fact of slow caving, for it is on, this principle that the success of the Athens system. largely depends.

Jan 8, 1920

By Joshua E. Clayton

THIS remarkable gold and silver bearing district is situated on the middle fork of Boise River, in Alturas County, Idaho Territory, about eighteen miles north of Rocky Bar, and sixty-five to seventy miles, as the crow flies, east of Boise City, the capital of the Territory. This district lies in the very heart of one of the most wild and mountainous regions of Idaho. For many miles in every direction nothing can be seen but bold granite mountains, with deep narrow gorges cutting into their sides in every direction, rendering them almost inaccessible except to the hardy mountaineer and adventurous prospector. The mountain sides are covered, in most part, by dense forests of pine, fir, and spruce timber. In every canon there are clear streams of pure running water that empty into the principal forks of Boise River. The only line of approach to this mountainous region at present is from the southwest, by way of Rocky Bar, the county seat of Alturas County, to which place there is a good wagon-road. From thence to Atlanta City, eighteen miles, the road, or pack-trail, passes over the high, steep range that separates the south and middle forks of Boise River. During severe winters this line of approach is closed up by deep snows for months at a time, thus leaving the district isolated, in the bosom of the grand old mountains. The geological formation is granite, of a coarse, friable texture, and in many places is traversed by numerous dikes of syenite, and three or four varieties of porphyry, which cut through the granite in easterly and westerly directions. The metal-bearing veins also have an easterly and westerly trend, but are occasionally intersected by the dikes. The largest number of the gold and silver lodes are confined to a

Jan 1, 1877

By Samer Sadek

The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) undertook an exploratory feasibility study to one of the most ambitious tunneling projects in the United States. HNTB Corporation was retained to perform the study, deemed the Atlanta North-South Tunnel, which is approximately 7 miles long and consisting of four lanes (or six lanes) starting at the southern terminus of SR 400 extending to the south connecting with the northern terminus of I-675, providing substantial relief to the Downtown Connector (I-75/I-85), the most congested portion of Atlanta?s freeway system. This paper summarizes the analysis performed during the first phase of this challenging assignment which, if constructed, would be one of the longest roadway tunnels ever built in the United States.

Jan 1, 1896

By George E. Thackray

In December, 1894, the Cambria Iron Company made a number of heats of Bessemer steel to be used in structures by one of its customers, subject to inspection and tests by a firm of consulting engineers, one of the requirements being that the material should riot exceed .08 per cent. of phosphorus. In other respects the requirements were such that they could only be met by material of good quality; but the general spe cification is not introduced here, as it is not the purpose of this paper to deal with anything except certain difficulties encoun tered in determining the phosphorus-content of the material in a manner satisfactory to both seller and buyer. Preliminary determinations of phosphorus were made in sample-ingots from each of the heats from which material was rolled for the order in question, and these preliminary chemical tests, made in the laboratory of the Cambria Iron Company, showed that, with very few exceptions, every heat was within the prescribed limit of phosphorus. After the material had been rolled, sample-drilling8 of finished material were taken from the various heats in the regular manner in use at the works, these samples being thoroughly mixed and divided into two parts, one of which was analyzed at the works' laboratory and the other sent to the inspecting engineer. Several hundred determinations were made from this mate rial without reaching an agreement between the work of the inspector's chemist and that of the works' chemist; but as it is not the object of this memorandum to treat of this part of the subject at length, it is considered sufficient to present herewith only a few of these first determinations. The analyses given in Table I. are those of the original series made on the heats which were afterwards resampled for final determination by an arbitrator; and they are selected for this reason, as the entire " comparison is thus rendered more complete.

Jan 1, 1896

By E. J. Schmitz

This section was obtained last year during an examination of the iron-ore resources of the Rich Patch Mountain region and along Craig's creek valley. The geological members below the Oriskany and Lower Helderberg are exposed along the gap in a beautiful arch, while the higher formations appear in a more or less disturbed state on both sides of this arch, and are partly covered by dèbris. I have thought it of interest to the Institute to reproduce the drawing of this section at the gap which I made in my note-book at the time of my examination; those parts of the section, which lie at both sides of the arch, are only approximated. I give also a number of notes and measurements, referring to the Clinton formation and especially to the characteristics of the fossiliferous ore-seam opened in the various tunnels along the arch (see section). I. In Tunnel C: For the first 110 to 120 feet to second shute, we find the ore only here and there in small deposits, and interchanging with, or changing into, either a very siliceous limestone or a sandstone. About 10 feet beyond shute we have : Sandstone roof. Clay-slate, 211/2 inches Brown lean ore, 1 inch. Sandy clay, 3 to 31/4 inches. 1. Dark .brown ore, 3 inches. 2. Fossil-ore, changing into sandstone or very siliceous limestone, 2 inches. 3. Brown lean ore, 6 inches. Clay and slate below, 1 foot. 194 feet from entrance : Sandstone roof. Clay-slate, 4 inches. Clay 15 inches. Fossil-ore, 63 to 7 inches. Clay and ore, If inches. Lean brown ore, 2 inchea. Clay to bottom, 2 feet.

Jan 1, 1896

By R. W. Leonard

A method of accurately determining the value of gold-bearing ores and gravels with a compact field-outfit is much desired by prospectors, especially when the work lies in a district far removed from railways or good wagon-roads. We are all familiar with the fire-assay of gold-ores, and fully recognize its accuracy and value; but only those who have tried to determine the value of a gold-bearing vein as a commercial venture, from fire-assays of selected samples, know how misleading is the information thus obtained, however carefully and honestly the samples may be selected. The reasons are that, for the fire-assay a very small portion of ore is treated (rarely more than six assay-tons, or a little over one-third of a pound), and a minute particle of the precious

Jan 1, 1896