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Impala Platinum?s No.16 Shaft mine is currently under construction and is expected to reach full production of 256 500 tons per month by 2014. Mining will start at 1 260 m below surface with a maximum mining depth of 1 535 m where virgin rock temperatures of 56.6°C will be experienced. As a result of depth, high virgin rock temperature and narrow reef mining, an expected total of 31.5 MW[R] of air cooling capacity will be required to achieve acceptable underground conditions. This will be achieved by cooling mine intake air in a single dedicated air cooling installation located on surface. The compact installation includes air cooling spray chamber, refrigeration machines, condenser cooling towers, evaporator and condenser water reticulation as well as all electrical and control systems. Construction and commissioning of the first phase of this air cooling installation has recently been completed on a turn-key contract basis.

Jan 1, 2009

Canadian mining giant Teck Resources Ltd. will be the exclusive supplier of the metals used in the production of the more than 1,000 medals to be awarded at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Teck, the diversified resource company headquartered in Vancouver, B.C., is providing 2.05 kg (4.5 lbs) of gold, 1,950 kg (4,300 lbs) of silver and 903 kg (2,000 lbs) of copper sourced from its operations around the world. In addition to the raw materials mines, this year?s medals will make Olympic history as they will be the first to contain metals recovered from processing the circuit boards from end-of-life electronics (e-waste) that would have otherwise been destined for a landfill. After mining or production through a variety of smelting and recovery processes, each metal has been refined to enhance the metal purity.

Jan 1, 2010

By Carl Pinches

Underground or surface mining is only the first stage in the ore mining process. Once the ore is mined, it is transported to the surface for further processing. Generally, this is done to extract the particular metal or other component of the ore that has commercial value in its purified form. In its raw state, there are typically between 4 and 7 g/t (0.12 and 0.2 oz/st) of valuable material from rock mined. Once on the surface, the ore is crushed and milled in order to obtain smaller rock particles and to expose the minerals that contain the desired metal or component. Mixing the milled ore with water, a process known as ?froth flotation,? can be employed. This technique consists of a series of tanks, or ?cells? through which the process liquid flows. To obtain the maximum recovery, the milling and flotation process will often be repeated a second time. An increase between 100 and 1,000 g/t (2.9 and 29 oz/st) of rock following this stage of the process is typical. Efficient recovery is key to maintaining a profitable mining operation. The measurement and control of the froth flotation process is vital.

Jan 1, 2010

By James F. Kvitkovich, George V. Weisdack

Longwall mining techniques were introduced into U.S. bituminous coal mining operations in the early 1960s. These techniques were gradually adopted by many mines during the 1970s. By 1983, considered to be the peak of the longwall mine census, there were 118 active longwall faces in 79 coal mines throughout the United States. Beginning in 1984, longwall faces began a decline in numbers that has continued to the present day (Fig. 1). The geographic distribution of longwall faces today is shown in Fig.2 according to region. A breakdown of recent longwall mine production by region is shown in Table 1. An approximate breakdown of present longwall face installations by product (metallurgical and steam) is shown in Table 2.

Jan 1, 2005

In this paper, a mixed integer linear programming (MILP) model for the short-term scheduling of open pit mines is formulated. The proposed model aims at sequencing the blocks extraction over multiple short-term periods. The model takes into account multiple processes, waste dumps, and multiple stockpiles. The short-term scheduler makes a decision on the period, destination, and route that ore and waste are supposed to take to minimize costs while meeting all the mining and processing constraints. The destinations of the extracted materials are also controlled by their rock types. A monthly short-term production scheduling case study of an iron ore deposit is carried out over a year to validate the model.

Jan 1, 2011

By D. Keech

The Conveyor Equipment Manufacturers Association (CEMA) specification B105.1 “Welded Steel Conveyor Pulleys” adequately defines standard pulleys for most aggregate material handling applications. However, many aggregate applications demand pulleys of higher capacity and reliability than that offered by CEMA pulleys. This paper examines the CEMA Pulley Standard and pulley specifications for aggregate applications requiring greater capacity and reliability than the CEMA Pulley Standard. Higher reliability increases the uptime and has a lower total cost of ownership.

Jan 1, 2003

In September, a fleet of 363-t (400-st) Liebherr trucks became operational in Brazil and have already begun moving iron ore in Para state. Prior to the arrival of the the trucks the Brazilian fleet relied on trucks up to 218 t (240 st). With the addition of the 363 t (400 st) trucks, the fleet has since experienced the high productivity offered by Liebherr T 282 B trucks.

Jan 1, 2010

By Jamal Rostami, Richard Kastner, Ahmad Ramezanzadeh

Improving the accuracy of the performance prediction models for hard rock Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) is important in estimation of the schedule and cost of tunnelling in related projects. The effects of rock mass on performance of TBMs has been studied extensively, yet due to the complex nature of the process, impact of many parameters influencing machine advance rate are not very clear and there is still room for improvements. More accurate estimates can be obtained by better understanding of operating parameters in various geological conditions and can lead to matching machine specifications with job conditions, optimizing machine performance, and avoiding long delays and downtime for increased productivity. This paper will offer review of two case histories including Queens Water tunnel in New York and KCRC project in Hong Kong. The analysis of the available field data, including the geological back mapping and results of laboratory testing of rock mechanical properties, machine operational parameters and achieved rate of penetration will be presented. This includes statistical analysis of available field data to provide a better understanding of the influence of rock mass properties on performance of hard rock TBMs as well as related formulas to improve performance estimates.

Jan 1, 2005

By Georgios Kalamaras, Chiaia Dinu, Platania Paolo, Alessio Carlo, Giampiero Cirvegna, Claudio Santucci

The Project alignment initiates north of Pinerolo, along the State Road 23[S.S. 23] that is one of the principal arteries to the northwestern Alps where a number of Olympic events for the 2006 Winter Games will be held. The 3.5 km ring road bypasses the Porte habitat by traversing twice the Chisone River. It consists of the following principal structures [Figure 1]: San Martino bridge [130 m in four bays] Prarostino viaduct [130 m in four bays] Craviale tunnel [1055 m] Turinella bridge [a 50 m long bridge that connects the two tunnels] Turina tunnel [665 m] Malanaggio viaduct [350 m in 9 bays]. The road section is 13 m wide and is made up of two 3.75 m lanes, a hard shoulder [1.50 m wide] and a 1.25 m wide curb for each lane. The Project maximum velocity is 100 km/h.

Jan 1, 2005

In this study, a 3D model of the shovel motion based multi-body system dynamics in the Automatic Dynamic Analysis of Mechanical Systems (ADAMS) environment was developed. The kinematics model of the shovel was modeled as a multi-body system, which comprises the lower, upper, and the attachment mechanisms. The Euler-Lagrangian equations were employed as the computational framework to describe the dynamic behavior of the model. A virtual prototype of the shovel was built in the ADAMS software environment. This environment allows the visualization of a 3D motion of the general mechanical system and the prediction of interference of the moving components of the shovel. The numerical analysis and animation of digging, swinging and dumping motions for the shovel were performed. The superimposed display of the deployment for the shovel in three phases allows a detailed examination of the dynamic interference among assembly components. This research provides a solid foundation for further shovel dynamics performance studies. Keywords: Shovel, Spatial Kinematics, Virtual Prototype, Visualization

Jan 1, 2009

Breaks in coal slurry impoundments can threaten the lives and health of area residents, destroy homes and businesses and contaminate water supplies. This dangerous potential looms over coalmining regions in West Virginia and throughout Appalachia. The Coal Impoundment Project was begun in June 2003 to provide an inventory and mapping of active and abandoned impoundments in West Virginia. The project also provides the public with specific information about the impoundments in their communities. It is dedicated to alerting residents of danger and evacuation plans, reducing risk to residents and finding alternatives to impoundments. Since its first year, more than 100 impoundment sites have been added to the project’s Website.

Jan 1, 2005

By Hongjie Yang

The No. 10 metro line of Shanghai city is 36 kilometers in length and will pass through the operating airport runway by using tunnel boring machine with earth pres-sure balance mode. Although there are examples through world that tunnels pass through airport runway and tunnelling underground is not a difficult undertaking technically, there is rare experience in China for the similar projects especially in Shanghai saturated soft soil region. Shanghai soft earth is famous for its high compressibility, high rate of water content, weakness in strength, large deformation and different characteristics in earth strata. Besides, the whole construction process will be under ultra-large airplane dynamic load on the surface ground over the tunnel, which increases the risks of construction process. This paper evaluates the feasibility of building the metro tunnel under such an extremely serious condition, especially the subsidence of ground surface caused by advancing of tunnel boring machine, which also is the most important control target for the safe operating of the runway. Furthermore, this paper discusses the effective measures to keep the settlements in the permissible level during the whole working period for the tunnel from aspects of plan, design and construction.

By G. Balletto, C. Furcas

"The mineral raw materials industry is a key-component of the Gross Domestic Product of industrialised economies, closely related to both the building and the industrial sectors. Despite this, at local level mining and quarrying are associated with both irreversible environmental damage and several visual alterations affecting the natural landscape. In this sense, SIA (Social Impact Assessment) has become a strategic tool that can not only improve the prediction but also the assessment of the social impact by involving the local communities in a participatory process. Taking into account the SIA experience, together with the examination of some relevant international case studies, it is possible to draw up a list of good practices for mining project management, from exploration through to closure and beyond, with quarry restoration. Such good practices will complement the existing studies, focusing on environmental issues, with the social issues arisen considered in SIA application."

Jan 1, 2011

By A. Iannacchione

Longwall mining began within the Pittsburgh coalbed of Pennsylvania (PA) in the early 1970?s. Originally, longwall mine layouts were designed to fit within existing room-and-pillar operations, where panels were limited to that of typical production panels, e.g. a few hundred feet wide by a few thousand feet long. In these early designs, the gate entries were comprised of chain pillars similar to those found along main entry systems or within pillar recovery sections. The modern longwall mine has little in common with their 1970?s predecessors. Today the entire mine layout is designed around the longwall mining method. The longwall panels have grown to well over one thousand feet in width with lengths now measured in miles. In addition, development pillar sizes and shapes are matched to specific performance requirements.

Feb 27, 2013

By Matthew E. Fowler

The Central Subway will extend the recently completed 8.2-km long Third Street Light Rail line another 2.7 km north through the Union Square shopping district to Chinatown with a concourse-to-concourse connection to the Powell Street BART Station. One mined and two cut-and-cover subway stations are planned. Particular challenges include: tunneling under existing tunnels; variable ground conditions ranging from saturated alluvium to fractured bedrock; a congested urban setting and large-span caverns. This paper gives an overview of the project as it stands midway through the preliminary engineering stage along with a discussion of the rationale and design approaches that are being used to address the construction challenges of restoring light rail service in the most densely developed areas of San Francisco.

Jan 1, 2008

By F. Hassan, M. A. Arafa

At El-Gedida iron ore deposits there is a block of about 30million tons neglected due to its higher sulfur content due to the presence of barite gangue minerals. From this bluk by magnetic separation dual concentrates of high grade iron concentrate (~65%Fe and total Sulfur of 0.26%) and the second concentrate is barite of (60.87% BaO and total impurities of less than 3%).

Jan 1, 1999

Compagnie Miniere Esperance (CME), a mining company based in French Guyana, operates a gold primary ore body in open pit. The ore is processed through crushing, grinding and gravity separation. Tailings are stored in a ?fine? pond. Analyses of the fine ponds proved a residual gold grade sufficient for a chemical treatment. However, direct cyanidation would require a too large installation, regarding the local conditions (accessibility, supplying and rainforest meteorological conditions). It has been then decided to test the feasibility of a pre-concentration using flotation. Lab tests have been carried out by SGS Lakefield (Canada) in March 2007, which proves the technical feasibility. Therefore, CME asked Caspeo to: ? Carry out an on-site flotation pilot campaign. ? Design an industrial flotation circuit. The tailings reprocessing will contribute to a better tailings management and a dry up of the gold resource, limiting the risk of illegal mining after remediation of the CME site. CME MINE The Esperance gold mine is located in French Guyana, in the vicinity of several gold deposits as Omaï, Rosebel or Camp Caïman, holded by Iamgold and Newmont. These main gold deposits are located on the figure 1. Esperance was put into operation in the early 90?s. The first years were devoted to the mining of alluvial gold in the gravel of the Esperance Creek. Since then, operation was led in the primary gold deposit. Annual production is on average 254kg for a total production in fifteen years of 4300kg. Geology Esperance deposit is located in the greenstone belt of the Guyana Shield. Mineralization is in tectonic contact between sedimentary basin of Maroni and a granitic massif. Clastic series, composed of conglomerate and lamina sandstone, overlie a volcano-sedimentary basement (series called "Paramaca"). The area is strongly folded by shear movements, resulting from granite deposit. Gold is in interlacing quartz veins intersecting the clastic series. Gold is present in association with pyrite. Other elements, as silver or arsenic, are in negligible quantity. Exploitation The Maroni River is the only access to the Esperance mine. Only the saprolite and a part of the transition rock are extracted in the open pit. Excavation works are done using shovels Hyundai 450 (4 units) and haulage works using articulated dumpers Terex TA35 (4 units). These two sorts of equipments are presented figure 2. Mill The mill is composed of crushing and grinding processing plants. After gravity concentration, both plants produce tailings that are stored in two ponds: the first pond contains coarse product which segregates the particles crushed to 2mm upstream and settled clays downstream; the second pond contains the fine product made of particles ground to 200µm. These two ponds, bordered by dams and diversion canals, are located on former alluvial sites of Esperance Creek (see figure 3). [ ] The CME mill is currently producing gold concentrate, with a global recovery of about 67%. The ore is crushed by one jaw crusher and two hammer crushers. The ore then passes through a Knelson KC 48 gravity concentrator, producing a first gold concentrate. The

Jan 1, 2009

By William R. Yernberg

The 2006 North American Tunneling (NAT) Conference was held June 10-15, 2006, in Chicago, IL. The biennial conference was the first NAT conference by the newly formed Underground Construction Association of SME (UCA of SME). The UCA of SME was formed earlier this year at the request of members of the American Underground Association (AUA) (ME, April 2006, page 75). The conference included a keynote session, technical programs, workshops, a trade show and social activities. The conference exceeded expectations with 570 attendees. They included engineers, equipment manufacturers, representatives from government agencies and other interested individuals in the underground construction industry. The trade show was also a success with more than 86 booth spaces sold. Vendors included the biggest names in the underground construction and tunneling industry and included equipment manufactures, construction contractors and engineering companies. The trade exhibition provided a forum for interested parties in the tunneling industry to meet and discuss services, equipment and techniques.

Jan 1, 2006

By Albert Ruiz

South Coast Water District (District) operates the Beach Interceptor Sewer Tunnel (BIST) in South Laguna, Orange County, California between Mon-arch Beach and Aliso Beach (Figure 1). The 10,424-foot long BIST houses a 24-inch Techite gravity sewer pipeline critical to the District Sanitary Sewer Collection System that conveys 1 MGD of raw sewage to a wastewater treatment plant. The original tunnel was constructed in 1954 and the sewer line replaced in 1974. Periodic inspections by sewer pipeline maintenance crews have documented deterioration of specific intervals of the tunnel within the past few years (Sancon 2003). Rotting timber supports and rock falls in the tunnel as a result of the deterioration were endangering the sewer pipeline. A 50-foot section of the tunnel was determined to be in need of immediate repairs, which were carried out from January to August in 2007. This section was enlarged to a horseshoe shape and lined with shotcrete. The pipe was encased in concrete in the invert of the new enlarged cross section. Hatch Mott Mac-Donald (HMM) designed the emergency repairs, carried out an assessment of the rest of the tunnel alignment, and is currently developing a work plan for rehabilitating the entire tunnel.

Jan 1, 2008

By Leigh Freeman

This article provides an overview for a series of leadership development workshops offered through the SME Young Leaders Program. The first of these workshops, “Accelerated Development Plan,” will be held at the upcoming SME Annual Meeting in St. Louis, MO on Sunday, March 26. How does a foundation of technical competencies relate to the development of social competencies necessary for management and leadership roles in the resource sectors? Technical competencies provide the foundation for a successful career. Social competencies provide the framework on that foundation. Successful leaders will be those who develop competencies in all areas.

Jan 1, 2006