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By Yi Yang, CHENGLONG XU, HAORAN LI, YALI FENG, JINRONG JU

Steel slag is an industrial byproduct of steelmaking that is mainly composed of calcium, iron, silicon and magnesium. In addition, depending on the different raw materials entering the furnace, steel slag contains a certain amount of vanadium that is the main source of vanadium production, accounting for 69 percent of the species of the total vanadium raw material [1]. From experience, the production of one ton of steel will generate 1.0 to 1.5 tons of steel slag [2]. However, the utilization efficiency of steel slag is less than 30 percent, and a large amount of steel slag is identified as waste and stacked in tailings. The random stacking of steel slag not only wastes large amounts of limited steel and land resources but also exerts pressure on the environment [3], making it imperative to research the effective utilization of steel slag and recycling of metal resources.

By B. R. Green, Ms. M. H. Kotze

Ion-exchange fibres (IEF) were prepared by the ir­radiation grafting of styrene onto polypropylene, which was then subsequently functionalized. Strong- and weak-base exchangers were prepared and evaluated Tor their ability to extract gold cyanide selectively. The IEF prepared had loading capacities similar to those of the corresponding resins and they had good selectivities for gold cyanide when contacted with a mixed metal-cyanide solution. The expected advantage of IEF over granular exchangers, that of faster kinetics, was illustrated. The strong-base Iibre in particular seemed to be very effective for the extraction of gold cyanide from dilute solutions such as return-dam waters.

Jan 1, 1990

By M. A. Trevits, G. Frampton

"Mine safety training materials have long included pictures of mine conditions, equipment, hazards, etc. These images are invaluable to both the trainee and the trainer to convey many important concepts. The human eye takes in a tremendous amount of information, while the field-of-view from a consumer grade camera is, generally, 40 degrees to 90-degrees. This difference in field-of-view is a primary reason that pictures, especially of dark and dusty areas, don’t adequately describe the scene. For conveying information to a trainee, these images lack context. Today, 360-degree cameras are available with consumer-grade cameras costing a few hundred dollars. Also, the display technology is already owned by most trainees and trainers and is widely available. The resulting 360-degree videos and pictures can be readily viewed on smart phones and inserted into Microsoft PowerPoint slideshows. These images and videos can easily be included in existing training modules, disseminated using the internet, and used by trainees easily. We propose a methodology for utilization of 360-degree video and images with simple display technology for miner training. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND In mining, as in other production-related industries, the safety of workers is dependent upon many interrelated factors. One of the more important safety factors is a miner's ability to recognize hazards in their workplace. The ability to perceive and identify hazards is perhaps more difficult to master in underground mining than in general industry because the work environment is confined, noisy, dark, and inherently dangerous because of the hidden unknowns created by the geological setting and the conditions created by the mine opening. Further complicating the situation is a setting that is continuously changing as mining advances (Barrett 1995) [1]. Hours of excellent mine safety training have been developed and utilized over the years. Pictures of mines, activities, hazards, etc., are included in many of these training courses. These photographs, especially those taken underground, often lack context because of the limitations of the cameras and lenses. Notable research by the US Bureau of Mines and then later by NIOSH showed that the use of stereoscopic three-dimensional slides in training exercises was an effective aid for improving the ability of miners to recognize hazardous ground control conditions (Barrett 1988) [2]. An example of type of three-dimensional slides and slide viewer is shown in figure 1."

Jan 1, 2018

By S. K. Kawatra, S. Bagley, T. C. Eisele

To meet federal air pollution guidelines, it is necessary to remove a considerable quantity of sulfur from many North American coals. This may be accomplished by oxidizing the sulfur to water soluble forms, followed by washing the coal. Selective oxidation of the various sulfur forms can be accomplished through the use of a variety of types of bacteria. In this paper, the various bacteria and their requirements are described, and processes using bacteria to remove coal sulfur are discussed.

Jan 1, 1988

By Henry Brehaut

The International Network for Acid Prevention (INAP) was formed in 1998 by 17 international mining companies to promote significant improvements in the management of sulphidic mine materials and the reduction of liability associated with acid drainage through knowledge sharing and research and development of technology. Since its inception two panels have been formed to identify and move forward with research projects and eight networks have been constituted to initiate interaction and knowledge sharing within the membership in specific areas of technical interest. An INAP web site has been developed to facilitate the sharing of information and to encourage the exchange and development of new ideas.

Jan 1, 2000

By Shinichi Konda, Gary Nishimura

"Thousands of years ago large glaciers carved much of the landscape in Puget Sound, depositing abrasive and granular soils including cobbles and boulders along with layers of clay and sand. Tunneling in this geology – common throughout much of the northern and Midwestern U.S. – is challenging and can be unpredictable. The use of pressurized face tunneling, most commonly with EPBs and slurry type machines, has made excavation in this geology more efficient, but difficulties still remain. Through analysis of recent projects in Seattle, Washington, USA, the authors draw conclusions as to the best TBM designs and operational parameters for this variable, abrasive and often difficult ground. Performance data is analyzed with an eye towards advancements that could further improve TBM tunneling in glacially deposited soils. INTRODUCTION Over the past several ice ages, extensive glaciers reaching across much of North America transported large amounts of soil and rock as they moved across the land. The substantial weight of the ice sheets mixed together a wide range of soil types along with a variety of rocks and boulders of all sizes. Many rock formations were reduced to pebbles or particles containing highly abrasive characteristics. Any boulders able to survive were generally comprised of harder materials which were scattered throughout the soil. This highly variable mixture of abrasive soils and high strength boulders can be found in many areas across the Puget Sound and other regions of the country. Wherever they are encountered, they often create a difficult and unpredictable mining environment for both equipment design and operation. Modern TBMs are optimized early in the design process for specific types of geology, and unexpected conditions can require extensive modifications. In addition, several operational parameters need to be adjusted to balance ground characteristics, and advance rates can be significantly affected in mixed and rapidly changing soil conditions. Both EPB and slurry machines can be used successfully in these conditions, provided their respective operating criteria are met. Ideally, an EPB is operated with a relatively thick muck consistency, which accommodates moderate changes in soil permeability and maintains a reliable pressure differential through the screw conveyor. However, this also causes higher wear on rotating components and requires more energy at the cutterhead. Alternatively, slurry machines typically operate best with a more fluid muck consistency that can be easily pumped through the extensive piping system. This tends to reduce the wear on the cutterhead and the power requirements of the cutterhead drive system, but also makes the machine more sensitive to changing soil conditions. Generally, the slurry piping system is also more capable of controlling high face pressures, although the screw conveyor of an EPB can also be designed to accommodate most high-pressure conditions."

Jan 1, 2016

The 31st annual American Hall of Fame Awards Banquet and Fundraiser sponsored by the Mining Foundation of the Southwest (MFSW) will be held at the JW Marriott Tucson Starr Pass Resort on Saturday, Dec. 7, 2013. Each year, one living inductee, two Medal of Merit recipients, honorees from mining?s past, an industry partnership award, as well as a special citation, are recognized by the MFSW for their respective contributions to the mining industry. James D. Toole, past president and chief executive officer of Southwest Energy LLC, will be the Hall of Fame inductee, guest of honor, and featured speaker at the awards banquet. Toole founded Southwest Energy LLC in 1973 and is credited with introducing innovative explosive technology, providing even greater value to its mining customers. Medals of Merit will be awarded to Joseph M. Keane, principal metallurgical engineer for SGS Metcon Research/KD Engineering, and Sean D. Dessureault, associate professor at the University of Arizona. Keane is recognized for his metallurgical expertise, especially in design development and pollution abatement. Dessureault is recognized for his advanced mining research, with more than 25 journal publications, and his entrepreneurship as the founder and chief executive officer of two mineral-related companies. To honor mining?s past, the hall of fame will induct Bartolomé de Medina for his invention of the patio process for recovering silver; Ben Williams for his management of the Copper Queen Mine in Bisbee, AZ; Charles E. Mills for his contributions at Morenci and Inspiration Copper and founding Apache Powder Co. and The Valley National Bank; John S. Finlay and Edwin B. Royle for their invention of the mucking machine; and Louis Caryl Graton for his ore deposits research and teaching economic geology at Harvard University.

Nov 1, 2013

By Michael Cruickshank

All life on Earth relies on the ocean and yet the ocean is 95 percent unexplored, unknown and unseen by human eyes,? said Paula Keener, director of education programs for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration?s (NOAA) Office of Ocean Exploration and Research. ?To better understand, manage and protect the ocean and its resources, NOAA believes it is critical to use the best technology to explore, discover, inform, educate and motivate? (MTS, newsletter, January 2011). In the last few decades, our understanding of the global mineral resource base has been drastically changed by some surprising new developments. The potential for commercial minerals per unit area in the oceans and seabed appears to be similar to that of the terrestrial lands. Thus, almost three-fourths of the global mineral resources are in, or under, the sea and are virtually undeveloped. The area of the Pacific seabeds alone is greater than the total area of the global lands. Half of the global seabed minerals are now controlled by nation states within their Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ). The other half is controlled by the United Nations (UN) through the International Seabed Authority (ISA) within the ?areas beyond national jurisdiction? known as The Area. Thus, the Law of the Sea, ratified in 1994, has resulted in the largest transfer of control of natural resources in the history of mankind. This paper was prepared by the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration (SME) Committee on the Offshore Technology Conference for the SME Board of Directors and other interested parties. As the premier professional society for the mining and mineral community in the United States, with a history dating back to the 19th century, SME?s mission is to encourage and support young men and women engineers in the minerals industry, provide the services they need, improve the image of the industry, strengthen the networking among global industry professionals and engage in proactive collaboration among industry, government, academia and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). The accomplishment of this mission can be strongly advanced by highlighting what is probably now the most significant development in the history of the modern minerals industry - the exploration of the marine environment and the understanding of the potential for the development of the minerals therein.

Jan 1, 2011

By James W. Martin, Brad H. Droegmiller

As construction projects continue to get larger, greater demands are placed on systems to provide higher production rates at reasonable costs. This paper shows the application of dozer-trap loading versus other methods of moving bulk materials. Most conventional methods employ multiple types of heavy equipment to accomplish a single task. Trap loaders fed by dozers and discharging onto overland conveyors offer an alternative/economical means of high volume bulk material movement. This paper will discuss the process of trap loading to overland conveyors.

Jan 1, 1998

By Mengxiong Guo, Xuxin Shao, Yong Bao

In the paper, the adsorption properties of dissolved ions on the surface of collophane and dolomite are studied using zeta potential measurement, ESCA and UV adsorption spectrum both in distilled water and in the supernatant of each other. The effect of dissolved ions on the flotation separation of collophane and dolomite under SCO depressant and oleate is discussed on the basis of above analyses.

Jan 1, 1993

By Douglas R. Malicoat, Christopher J. Pritchard

Tg Soda Ash operates an underground trona mine located In southwestern Wyoming, which utilizes continuous mining machinery to produce 2.OM tpy (2.2M stpy) by shortwall and room and pillar methods. As the mine developed, the Increasing distance from the shafts caused travel times to be a significant factor in planning for mine emergencies. It was decided to construct a barricade chamber, a modified refuge chamber, to Increase safety and to provide an additional escape option in the case of a mine emergency. Fortunately, there has been no need to use these facilities during the last 9 years, but mine emergency planning has been greatly improved.

Jan 1, 1993

By Paul F. Saxton

Introduction As the world economies continue to face an increased demand for natural resources to support growth in the established and developing world, the western mining industry has expanded its operations and funding of mineral developments into new and relatively unexplored regions of the world. Mining companies worldwide, in order to grow in a global economy, are now actively exploring and developing mineral resources in the emerging markets of South and Central America and most recently have expanded activities throughout Asia. South East Asia Resources (S.E.A. Resources) has recognized the vast resource potential offered by countries such as China, India and Indonesia, Asia's main driving forces of economic growth and has made a commitment to be actively involved in the area. These countries rich in mineral resources, represent some of the highly prospective and underexplored regions on earth. Their vast potential has been underestimated because of political reasons and overlooked as Central and South America still continue to be the focus of exploration for many mining companies. Most of these Asian countries have faced a prolonged period of political unrest and it has not been until recently that they have begun to enjoy a relatively stable political climate which has encouraged foreign investment, growth and economic development. These countries are in need of capital to develop their infrastructure and market economies. Their wealth in resources is one of the best methods to achieve their goals. Gold is usually one of the first targets to be extracted from developing economies. Equivalent-sized gold projects tend to cost less to develop and require less supporting infrastructure than base metals. These projects are easier to finance and, most important of all, tend to give a quicker return on investment than that offered by base metals. They also provide the economy with precious foreign exchange, international investment and the technology required to build the country. Following is a graph representing the global re-allocation of the total capital investment on the twenty largest gold projects now under construction with the total for those under construction in 1990.

Jan 1, 1996

By W. Douglas Gould, Mei-Lin K. Stichbury, Jeffrey G. Bain, Blowes David W.

The mechanisms of release of arsenic in gold mine tailings were investigated. The highest concentration of dissolved As (75 mg/L) was observed near the base of the tailings impoundment, in close association with a peat layer. Elevated concentrations of reduced iron and hydrogen sulfide were also measured at the base of the impoundment. High numbers of iron-reducing and sulfate-reducing bacteria were detected at depths within the impoundment which correlated with dissolved As, Fe and H2S. The data presented in this paper suggest that arsenic is released from the tailings by bacterially-mediated reductive dissolution of As-bearing iron minerals.

Jan 1, 2000

By R. D. Hagni, R. T. Brandom

An ore microscopic study of the Boss-Bixby, Missouri, copper-iron deposit has shown that the mineralization formed as a simple sequence of oxides followed by cobaltian sulfides, copper-iron sulfides, and then oxides. The hypogene ore minerals found by this study are magnetite, hematite, ilmenite, rutile, chalcopyrite, bornite, covellite, cobaltian pyrite, carrollite, sphalerite, clausthalite, galena, electrum, scheelite, wolframite, and a Pb-Bi-Se-Te mineral. Textural evidence indicates that some of the early oxides were original constituents of the host syenites and oxidized during cooling. The remainder of the mineralization formed as breccia fillings and replacements. Subsequent partial oxidation has formed martite, covellite, rutile, and anatase.

Jan 1, 1987

By Kevin L. Purdy

Chemical dewatering aids for mineral slurries generally fall into two classes: surfactants and flocculants, which can be used separately or together. Current industrial use of both types of reagents is summarized for sulfide and non-metallic minerals, as well as uranium and gold leach residues and coal refuse. Laboratory testing for reagent selection is briefly discussed along with reagent preparation. Chemical properties of the reagents which affect the suitability for particular applications are analyzed. [BLANK PAGES - Are in the original]

Jan 1, 1986

By Justin R. Patts, Andrew B. Cecala, A. KYLE LOUK, Emily J. Haas

The U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the former U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM) have put significant effort over the past four decades into researching and developing engineering controls and interventions to reduce mine workers’ dust exposures during the bagging and palletizing of industrial minerals. Workers who perform the manual bagging and palletizing of 50- to 100-lb bags typically have some of the highest dust exposures of all workers at mining and mineral processing operations. This paper provides an overview of available dust control technologies for bagging operations and presents the findings of a recent case study conducted at four industrial sand operations to identify the current types of bagging and palletizing technologies being used and to evaluate their effectiveness in reducing workers’ exposures to respirable crystalline silica dust. An evaluation is also performed to determine if further reductions in respirable dust levels can be achieved by incorporating additional modifications or improvements into the existing technology.

By Angelina Anani, Nilufer K. B. Akbulut, Sefiu O. Adewuyi

Crucial information about safety, design, and operation can be utilized in underground mines from ground movement data. Communicating the information and exploring new findings can be a challenge in a decade where there is an ever-increasing volume and velocity of data due to advancements in mining technologies. This challenge escalates for geotechnical data as it is multidimensional, depending on the space and the rate it takes place. To tackle this challenge, geotechnical engineers should focus on utilizing simple yet compelling visualization of rock mass data in 3D. Competent visualizations of ground conditions as a Trigger Action and Response Plan (TARP) could ease the communication of safety concerns and the exploration of rock mass displacement and strain surrounding an opening at an underground mine. Therefore, this study focuses on using scientific visualization methods by rendering geotechnical data over the surface of a 3D mesh model to display TARP levels. The study is conducted at the San Xavier (SX) Underground Mine Laboratory’s East decline. The project aims to produce visualizations that optimize the use of geotechnical data in near-real-time.

Feb 1, 2025

By Jon Kellar, Samuel Kessinger, Prasoon Diwakar

Tantalum (Ta) and niobium (Nb) are extracted from many different ore types. The major economic orebody mined for tantalum and niobium consists of tantalite ((FeMn)Ta2O5) and columbite ((FeMnNb2O5)) in a solid-solution mineral commonly referred to as “coltan.” The largest supplying region, The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), is unfortunately also the most ethically compromised source for this critical mineral. Officially, the U.S. government has deemed coltan ore from the DRC a “conflict mineral” [1]. The lack of pragmatic and effective local mining regulation in Central Africa, when coupled with high levels of violence and corruption, has spawned a widespread, illegal, unethical and, most importantly, unsafe economy. This illicit economy is centered around first, illegally mining these valuable conflict minerals and second, smuggling these minerals into the global supply chain. Handheld spectroscopy devices could provide further transparency to these opaque supply chains, giving miners, traders and refiners the ability to authenticate the provenance of the minerals they encounter, and allowing companies to prove compliance with the regulatory agencies attempting to curtail illicit mining.

Mar 1, 2025

By John Todhunter

Longwall mining is certainly not new in the United States, having first been used in the late 1800's in Illinois, but the surging acceptance of the method is relatively new. The number of longwall installations in this country are nearly doubling annually as this method continues to prove itself as a coal producer's delight terms of operating cost, performance and safety. Since 1951, several longwall installations have been tried in Barnes and Tucker Company operations. Although all efforts actually proved that the system itself could be used in prevailing conditions, it was not until 1967 that a unit was put in use that proved competitive with regular mining equipment, both conventional and Continuous.

Jan 1, 1968

By B. C. B. Pretorius

A heat load analysis of the very hot sub-shaft area of Loraine gold mine situated near Welkom, South Africa, showed. that the heat that needed to be removed to give acceptable wet-bulb temperatures at the working faces could not be done by the normal ventilation air alone, but would have to be complemented with extensive refrigeration. The paper outlines the considerations in selecting the cooling system adopted for this shaft.

Jan 1, 1980