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By Victoria Vaccarezza, Corby Anderson

The demand for rare earth elements for everyday technology and applications has initiated much research into the extraction and recovery of these rare earth elements. An otherwise unknown group of minerals, eudialyte is a zircon silicate consisting of rare earth oxides (REO), contained in a unique mineral structure and represented by a complex chemical formula. Research into extraction and recovery of rare earth elements involves various beneficiation and hydrometallurgical techniques. The goal of beneficiation being to efficiently liberate and upgrade the REO content, followed by hydrometallurgy to extract the desired elements. This overview will discuss previous research on treating eudialyte group minerals via different mineral processing and extraction techniques.

By Victoria Vaccarezza, Corby Anderson

The demand for rare earth elements for everyday technology and applications has initiated much research into the extraction and recovery of these rare earth elements. An otherwise unknown group of minerals, eudialyte is a zircon silicate consisting of rare earth oxides (REO), contained in a unique mineral structure and represented by a complex chemical formula. Research into extraction and recovery of rare earth elements involves various beneficiation and hydrometallurgical techniques. The goal of beneficiation being to efficiently liberate and upgrade the REO content, followed by hydrometallurgy to extract the desired elements. This overview will discuss previous research on treating eudialyte group minerals via different mineral processing and extraction techniques.

By J. L. Huisman, G. Schouten

After pyrometallurgy and hydrometallurgy, bio(hydro)metallurgy is the latest development in the ongoing search for efficient and economic metal winning processes. In addition to bioleaching, other biotechnology-based applications are getting more and more accepted. In this paper a number of proven and commercial processes will be presented that can be applied for nickel and cobalt recovery and refining. These processes are based on the ability of biomass to convert the redox state of sulphur compounds under ambient conditions. They can be applied to recover sulphate from effluents or SOx from off gases and convert it to H2S or dissolved sulphide that can be reused in production or effluent treatment. Not only does this minimize the costs on resources but it also reduces waste production and improves the quality of discharges even to the point where reuse becomes feasible.

Jan 1, 2005

By John Durkin, Harry Dobroski

This paper presents a general overview of the Bureau of Mines' programs in the areas of operational and post-disaster communications. These programs encompass both hardware developments and system evaluations. Topics discussed include a new visual paging system compatible with existing pager phone lines, a means of modifying commercially avail able pager phones to permit selective paging and message leaving, a multiplexed telephone system that uses twisted shielded pair and requires no central control, medium frequency hardware developments, and a manual for mine communications. Research has continued in the area of post-disaster location and communications. This research is based on seismic and electro- magnetic techniques. Each has been extensively studied and field tested to better understand its ability to perform effectively. A brief description is given of the post-disaster program. Results are promising and provide insight into future areas of research.

By John M. Karhnak

The Bureau of Mines has a long history of research in Ground Control. For many years, this work was done at Bureau facilities by Bureau researchers. As the tiles changed, however, the area of research interest broadened, and additional methods of implementation, such as con- tracts, were added. 'Ibis paper outlines the organization, goals, and methods of implementation of the Bureau Ground Control Program, along with procedures for project selection. This program organization is followed by several specific examples of Bureau research that will be soon ready for use in the mines.

Jan 1, 1981

By William E. Cobb

15.1 INTRODUCTION The mine development process, as discussed in Chapter 2, is a series of data gathering and analysis steps. As the mine development process proceeds, information about the geology, mineability, and metallurgy of a particular deposit is continually generated, along with environmental information regarding project permitting status. As data are obtained, checkpoint evaluations are typically conducted to determine the economic viability of the particular deposit. Although the project evaluation process was discussed at length in Chapter 2, a brief review of the process is presented here to "set the stage" for the discussion on economic analysis of heap leach projects. Figure 15.1 (MacKenzie, 1980) presents an overview of the sequential process of mine development. Once the deposit is discovered or acquired, an initial delineation program can be undertaken to expand the project's geologic, mining, and metallurgical data base. At the end of this initial program, the direction of the project is evaluated. The company can either abandon the project, postpone it, develop and mine it, or gather additional data in hopes of improving the project's economic viability. If the company continues gathering data, then another decision point and evaluation will be required. This process may continue until the company either decides to postpone the project or develop and mine it. A project may be postponed indefinitely, typically in hopes of improved metals prices. Certain holding costs, such as land or royalty payments, may be associated with postponement. In general, once a company goes through two evaluations, the project is less likely to be abandoned. For this discussion, it is assumed that the company will undertake initial, second, and third delineation programs to gather sufficient geologic, mining, metallurgical , and environmental data to justify a positive production decision from the second or third economic evaluation. The objectives of the first delineation program will be to confirm and expand upon the available information about the deposit. During the second delineation program, development funds should be directed toward identifying the critical project items (i .e., ore reserves, mineralogy, mineable grade, metallurgical recovery, etc.) that must be resolved before making the production decision. This second economic evaluation can be used to determine which metallurgical concept will be applied to the project: heap leach or a traditional agitation-type leach plant. If the proper work has solved key project concerns in the second program, a production decision may be made from that evaluation.

Jan 1, 1988

By J. B. Zachwieja

Cationic reagents have been utilized in mineral processing since the mid 1930's and are based upon fatty nitrogen derivatives. The initial commercial development was centered around a flotation collector capable of separating potassium chloride from sodium chloride - potash flotation. The first commercial sale for Akzo, known then as Amour and Company, was realized in the summer of 1940 to a potash producer in Carlsbad, New Mexico for the flotation of potash. The success of the potash flotation collector led to the development of other cationic mineral processing reagents. Flotation collectors for iron ore, phosphate, calcium carbonate, silica sand, feldspar, and other silicates materialized into a large commercial business. Another area that realized commercial success was the development and use of anticaking/antidusting reagents for hygroscopic salts, fertilizer mixes, and granular fertilizers. A more recent development has found use in the trona industry as a defoamer and crystal growth modifier during the crystallization of sodium carbonate liquors. A review of cationic reagent chemistry and applications will be given and the potential for new application areas will be explored.

Jan 1, 1994

By G. K. Lee, Whaley. H., F. D. Friedrich, I. C. G. Ogle

"IntroductionCurrent coal combustion activities at the Canadian Combustion Research Laboratory (CCRL) reflect the increasingly important contribution that coal is expected to make in meeting our future energy requirements and in reducing our dependence on foreign oil. Widespread use of coal will, however, be heavily dependent on the ability of conventional and emerging combustion systems to cope with the disruptive conflicts caused by variations in fuel quality, on requirements for better equipment availability .and on the implementation of progressively more stringent environmental constraints.To minimize these conflicts, Energy, Mines and Resources Canada has embarked on a systematic sequence of research, development and demonstration- scale (R, D and D) initiatives to stimulate the utilization and competitiveness of thermal coal in both domestic and export markets through a number of complementary in-house projects and external contracts, considered to have short- to intermediate-term benefits to industry and society.Many of the in-house projects are funded in part by industry, whereas the external contracts are either fully funded (100070 government funding) or jointly funded (50% government - 50% project proposer).External contracts and shared-cost projects are an important adjunct to the CCRL in-house effort on coal combustion, because research data can be more effectively transferred to industry and because the commercialization of novel combustion systems can be accelerated significantly."

Jan 1, 1980

By W Gale

Rock and coal fractures together with micro seismic vibration is a common occurrence during mining, however, it is very uncommon for coal and rock to be propelled into the roadway. Irrespective, such occurrences do occur and appear to require significantly more energy than is available from strain energy release during coal cutting. The sources of energy which can contribute to the propulsion of coal from the face or ribs are typically strain energy from the surrounding ground, seismic energy from a rapid rupture of the ground in the vicinity, or rapid expansion of gas from within the burst source area. The aim of this presentation is to briefly review the mechanics of a coal burst and to discuss the mining situations for which the energy is sufficient to create bursts. A brief discussion of alleviation strategies is discussed. This is an abstract only. No full paper was prepared for this presentation. CITATION:Gale, W, 2018. An overview of coal burst phenomena, in Proceedings The Fourth Australasian Ground Control in Mining Conference (AusRock), p 2 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Nov 30, 2018

This overview serves as an introduction to the succeeding paper in this issue, that entitled 'The design of backfill as a support for Polish coal mines' by Professor J. Palarski. As such, it briefly describes the coal-mining methods, production, and mining education in Poland. It ends with a brief account of Professor Palarski's qualifications and experience in the fields of backfilling and hydro transport.

Jan 1, 1994

By Robert E. Murray

It's indeed a pleasure for me to speak to you today about the development and operation of large-scale surface coal mining projects in the western United States. It is an exciting story about American business working to solve a critical national problem -- the energy shortage -- through research, new technologies, financial innovation, and imaginative management. The North American Coal Corporation -- the second largest independent mining company and ninth largest United States coal producer -- is proud to be a part of this story. Our operations in North Dakota reflect the coal industry's Western activities. So, today, I would like to focus on our planned involvement in that state. I'll briefly survey why North American is developing large- scale surface mining in North Dakota, and I will outline the many problems associated with this coal development and how we are working to solve them. Finally, I will look at the financial and management techniques we are using to make it all work. In short, I'm going to present a case study of Western coal mining. Let's begin by looking at the reasons we are in North Dakota. The United States Bureau of Mines estimates that 44 per cent of the nation's total recoverable coal deposits underlie the three Northern Great Plains States of North Dakota, Montana, and Wyoming. We estimate that North Dakota alone has about 25 billion economically surface-mineable tons of coal with today's technology. North Dakota has the energy that could keep our factories running and our homes lighted In the years ahead.

Jan 1, 1975

By Jeff Schwoebel, Arcy, D&apos Horner

The Deep Coal Seam Project is a multi- year, large-scale research and development effort between the Gas Research Institute (GRI) and Resource Enterprises, Inc. (REI). The project is being conducted at the Red Mountain Site, a multi-well test site located in the southeastern portion of the Piceance Basin near Collbran in Mesa County, Colorado. The project objective is to develop the drilling, reservoir evaluation, completion and production technology required to produce gas from a thick, deeply buried coal seam. To understand the parameters controlling gas production, project efforts are focused on the Cameo "D" coal reservoir which lies at a depth of about 1707 m (5,600 ft) at the test site. This paper overviews the drilling, testing, completion, and production techniques used on the 1, 2 and 3 Deep Seam wells and implications for resource development.

Jan 1, 1987

By Luke Clarkson, David Williams

The intent of this paper is to provide overview context to allow broader understanding of conventional tailings dam failure mechanisms. The research leverages global knowledge, experience, and data collection and interpretation for the safe and controlled management of the geotechnical stability of a tailings storage facility. The motivation for this review is to facilitate transparent access to tailings dam background and understanding. This paper addresses the core understanding of geotechnical failure mechanisms, and how these eventuate to instability and failure of tailings dam structures. This research focuses on foundation failure, internal erosion and piping, overtopping, seepage, seismicity, and slope instability and provides insight into what factors contribute to failure, how failure progresses due to such failure, anticipating and monitoring for the aforementioned failure modes, and designing to mitigate their risk.

Feb 15, 2021

By Phillip J. Mackey, Rodney T. Jones

"Copper and copper alloys remain key materials for society today, with important uses found in the electrical, transportation, and construction industries. Copper demand is rising, with projections indicating that by 2025 global refined copper demand will increase to 29.5 million tons, up from the 22.4 million tons anticipated for 2015. This will require the opening up of dozens of new mines and numerous new smelters over this time period. Fortunately, Africa has significant reserves of copper, and African copper can once again play a key role in contributing to meeting the rising global demand for copper. This paper provides a brief overview of the current copper smelting operations in Southern Africa. INTRODUCTION Copper and copper alloys are essential materials for today’s modern world. The familiar green copper patina colour seen on buildings and other structures sometimes belies its true “green” characteristic – copper is essential for key emerging technologies such as wind turbines, tidal generating systems, solar energy systems, electric cars and the like. Consequently, it is believed that there will be continued growth in copper demand in the years ahead. Projections indicate that by 2025, as an example, global refined copper demand will increase to 29.5 million metric tons, up from the 22.4 million ton level anticipated for 2015. This will require dozens of new mines, and of the order of the equivalent of 10 to 12 new 0.5 million tons of copper/year-sized copper smelters (after factoring projected copper produced by electrowinning (EW))—overall, a huge undertaking. Fortunately, Africa has significant reserves of copper, and African copper can once again play a key role in supplying this rising global demand for copper. Africa’s share of global mined copper production was about 10% in 2014; however this will increase significantly in future if announced new projects eventuate. Southern Africa has an important role to play in this process. The present paper provides a brief overview of copper smelting in Southern Africa."

Jan 1, 2015

By Dara L. Hrytzak-Lieffers

Canada has long since been a place that has led the world in mining development, in a safe, clean, and sustainable manner. This has led to the integration of corporate social responsibility (CSR) philosophy in corporate governance, policy, and programming. The paper will identify the basis of CSR practise in Canada?s mining industry and provide a Canadian example of CSR implementation. Biography Dara Hrytzak-Lieffers is the manager, corporate social responsibility at Cameco Corporation. She oversees corporate CSR initiatives including the Sustainable Development report and public engagement programs. Dara received her BA in International Studies from the University of Saskatchewan and an MA in International Conflict Analysis from the Brussels School of International Studies. She is a recent graduate of the World Nuclear University summer institute.

May 1, 2011

By V. I. Zhuchkov, L. A. Smirnov, E. I. Arzamastsev, A. A. Babenko

A brief analysis is given for state-of-the-art of manganese and chromium ferroalloy production in Russia and their consumption by metallurgy plants. The main causes of low output of manganese and chromium ferroalloys, and ways to resolve the issue of ferroalloy production development are considered.

Jan 1, 2004

By M Gwynne

McArthur River Mine is located approximately 50 km south-east of the NT township of Borroloola and approximately 120 km from the Gulf of Carpentaria. The mine hosts a series of layered shallow dipping tabular orebodies, with current reserves of approximately 22 Mt, grading 13.6 per cent zinc, 6.3 per cent lead and 65 g/t silver. Owing to economic considerations, the lower most orebody (No 2 orebody) has been selected for initial mine production. Following the completion of the No 2 orebody, mining will transfer to the lower grade and metallurgically more complex No 4 orebody. The mine employs a total of 235 people throughout the underground and surface areas. The majority of the workforce work a fly-in/fly-out, seven-day- on/seven- day- off roster with 12-hour shifts. Presently, a further 18 contractors are involved in trial mining areas. An apparent dip room and pillar technique has been selected as the primary mining method. Officially opened in September 1995, the current production rate of 1.2 Mt per annum will eventually escalate to 1.5 Mt per annum. Though most production is achieved through the use of conventional loaders, trucks and jumbos, the recent development of methods utilising scrapers, hand held machines and modified jumbos has produced encouraging results in steeper dipping areas of the mine. Initial production has been hindered by several factors including extensive and largely unpredictable faulting, worse than expected ground conditions and difficulties with some mining equipment. Compounded by the relatively thin 3 m ore seam, initial mining resulted in high dilution and poor production. This paper describes the development of unique planning and production systems that were evolved in order to overcome these problems and achieve the targeted production rates and head grade.

Jan 1, 1998

By James E. McNulty

Today's energy era is the beginning of a transition from the Petroleum Age to a future age of renewable fuel resources. Fuels for the transition era will come from unconventional sources and conversion technology. Affecting the practicability of transition technologies are attitudes of the public, capital requirements and availability, patterns of fuels utilization, producibility of fuels and the actions of governments. Primary energy sources to replace deficiencies of oil and gas and provide growth in the period of transition will be coal, oil shale, nuclear energy and peat.

Jan 1, 1981

By Ian Baker, Xavier Pierron

"Iron aluminides hold great promise for intermediate temperature applications (to ~ 600°C) because of their excellent oxidation and sulphidation resistance and good strength. However, they have poor low temperature ductility, a feature which is exacerbated by water-containing environments. This paper presents an overview of the effects of environment on the ductility of iron aluminides, including the effects of iron aluminum ratio; ternary alloying additions, particularly boron; strain rate; and temperature. The mechanisms involved in water-induced embrittlement are discussed.IntroductionOver the last few years, it has became increasingly evident that the ductility and fracture toughness of many intermetallic compounds, particularly aluminides, are reduced dramatically if they are mechanically tested in either air or in hydrogen-containing atmospheres (1-5). For FeAI and Fe3AI, it has been shown that water vapor, for example in air at room temperature, can form atomic hydrogen by reacting with the Al atoms (1, 2). As a result in iron aluminides, the environmental embrittlement process is quite similar to traditional hydrogen embrittlement. This can be easily demonstrated by either testing an iron aluminide in an environment free of the deleterious species or by testing at high strain rates, both of which result in greater ductility. The purpose of this paper is to review recent progress in understanding environmental embrittlement in FeAI and Fe3AI, and to consider possible environmental embrittlement mechanisms. Greater understanding of this phenomenon will lead ultimately to remedies to this problem which is a major reason for preventing the practical application of these materials. First, some background on the iron-rich aluminides."

Jan 1, 1996

By Miguel Reyes, Chenming Zhou, MATTHEW GIRMAN

Electromagnetic energy emitted from electronic devices has been known to interfere with other electronic systems, hindering their ability to function properly. Mines have many electronic devices critical to the health and safety of mine workers that could be negatively affected by electromagnetic interference (EMI). To ensure that devices are electromagnetically compatible, tests must first be conducted to measure emissions and check for immunity. Standards are available across multiple industries that prescribe emission limits and test methods for electronic devices. A literature review was conducted in this study, and an overview of EMI standards in other industries is provided. Also, an example of how a standard can be applied to mining equipment is presented.

Nov 1, 2022