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By D. J. Leidel

The offshore production of oil and gas resources has been active in the Gulf of Mexico since Kerr- McGee drilled the first commercial well out of the sight of land in 1947. Since then, approximately 60% of the offshore oil/gas production structures used globally have been erected in the GOM to support the production of energy resources’. The shallow, shelf and shelf edge waters of the Gulf of Mexico have reached or are rapidly approaching production maturity, requiring that the fixed structures used to support energy production be removed or otherwise disposed of by suitable means. The use of energetic materials has been determined to be a safe, efficient and cost effective technology to remove fixed offshore structures whose service life has been exceeded.

Jan 1, 2002

By Yang Cui

The partition ratios of lead and antimony between liquid copper and MgO saturated Cu2O-CaO-SiO2 flux and their removal rate by using CuCl-based flux were measured between 1423 K and 1573 K. For Cu2O-CaO-MgOsatd. system, the partition ratio of Pb was not affected by the CaO content at 1573 K, while that of Sb increased with increasing CaO content. The maximum value was 160 at the CaO content of 15.4 mass%. For Cu2O-CaO-SiO2-MgOsatd. system, two liquid phases of calcium silicate rich phase and Cu2O rich phase were observed at 1573 K. The partition ratios of Pb and Sb between calcium silicate phase and liquid copper depended on the (mass%CaO)/(mass%SiO2) ratio. When the (mass%CaO)/(mass%SiO2) ratio increased, the partition ratio of Pb decreased and that of Sb increased. For CuCl flux, the removal of Pb from liquid copper at 1473 K was possible, and a relatively low concentration could be reached. Moreover, most of lead as metal chloride vaporized from flux. For the removal of antimony from liquid copper at 1423 K, it was difficult by CuCl flux, and the removal ratio was approximately 20% for 75 minutes. However, the addition of CaO or Na2CO3 to CuCl flux was relatively effective to remove antimony, and the concentration of antimony reached a relatively low value after 15 minutes by using CuCl-CaO or CuCl-Na2CO3fluxes. Moreover, a small part of antimony as chloride vaporized from flux.

Jan 1, 2006

By F. Mielli

Camera systems and video surveillance are usually associated with people and asset protection. However, they can be applied in a mine environment beyond conventional surveillance: For process monitoring, collision avoidance, sizing, flotation cells, conveying systems, blasting, objects and people tracking, thermal profile, and to automatically identify equipment that is missing parts,. Image and video solutions can be driven by better integration of powerful video analytics and cameras systems in automation tools such as process controllers and supervision systems.

Feb 27, 2013

By Henry Louis

THE work performed by the Royal Commission on Mining Subsidence is likely to prove of permanent value, less perhaps for the conclusions it has reached and for the recommendations it has based upon these than for the admirable exposition which it affords of the law concerning mining subsidence and of the legal status of the person who has suffered damage by reason of such subsidence, as also of him whose working has caused the damage. The Commission was appointed by Royal Warrant in the middle of 1925 and delivered its final report in the middle of 1927. The terms of reference to the Commission were as follows: "To consider the operation of the law relating to the support of the surface of the land, and of buildings or works on or under the surface, by underlying or adjacent minerals; to enquire into the extent and gravity of the damage caused by subsidence owing to the extraction of minerals and the incidence of the resulting liability; and to report what steps should be taken, by legislation or otherwise, to remedy, equitably to all persons concerned, any defects or hardships that may be found to arise in existing conditions."

Jan 1, 1929

By Jian Wu

In this paper, the surrounding rocks and the supports in a longwall are taken as an integral, i.e. a system. The structural characteristics and behavior of the system are discussed based on in-situ observations. A set of equations, which describe the interaction among the support, immediate roof and main roof, are developed. These equations can be used to design the longwall powered supports more reasonably and economically.

Jan 1, 1989

By Ron J. Elliott, Dylan Wedgewood

A series of five signature holes were blasted at the Highvale Mine and the resultant seismic data was analyzed to make recommendations on how best to address neighbour complaints regarding blast vibrations. From an analysis of peak vibration levels measured at the closest neighbour for blasting during 2016, it was determined that the blast vibration intensity varied between 1.4 to 4.3 mm/sec (0.06-0.17 ins./sec.), well below the level of concern for the onset of minor damage to residential structures, however, the frequency of the blast vibrations was between 2.2 and 9.7 Hz, which is within the range of the natural resonant frequency for a single story home. This was determined to be the cause of the neighbour complaints, as the home would be responding to the blast vibrations.

Jan 1, 2018

By Jorge Oviedo

La planta de lixiviación, extracción por solventes y electrodeposición (L-SX-EW) de Southern Perú es una operación hidrometalúrgica dedicada a la lixiviación ácido – bacteriana de los botaderos de mineral de baja ley de la Mina Toquepala, para la producción de cobre catódico de la más alta pureza. En ese sentido, el presente trabajo describe la evolución del sistema de control y supervisión de esta planta minera en Cuajone. Para ello, dicha planta debe tener una actualización constante de sus sistemas de control y ser capaz de cambiar con la velocidad a la que avanza la tecnología de Control de Procesos. Asimismo, debe contar con personal calificado que permita el desarrollo y modernización de los sistemas sea continuo y no dependa solo de expansiones y ampliaciones ejecutadas por especialistas externos. De forma que este software de supervisión, no solamente considera la capacidad de operar la planta, si no debe ser una ayuda tanto para el operador como para brindar información en la correcta toma de decisiones.

Aug 25, 2002

By W. G. Davenport

The remainder of this book develops and uses mass and heat balances to describe steady"state flash smelting. Its objectives are to: a) describe the many ways a flash furnace operator can produce specified products, e,g. 65% eu matte, 35% SiOz slag, 1500 K (b) determine the oxygen, air, flux and hydrocarbon fuel requirements of each method (c) show how the flash furnace can be controlled to give specified products with varying feed compositions (d) suggest how the flash furnace operator can maximize profitability while producing specified products. This chapter develops the basiC heat and mass balance equations of steady-state ?flash smelting. It then adapts the equations to industrial feed materials .and products. Lastly it determines the amounts of oxygen and flux needed to produce molten matte and 35% SiOz slag from chalcopyrite concentrate in an Inco oxygen flash furnace,

Jan 1, 2001

By Paul D. Tomlingson

Part two of this two-part series covers the use of an integrated information system with administrative information, including error and absentee reports as well as open work files. Part one (ME, July, page 650) discussed conceptualizing and developing a maintenance information system. It explained what information is needed to manage such a system.

Jan 8, 1985

By Lijuan Li, Xin Xia, Junjun Huang, Qijie Zhai, Xiang Jiang

"Some experiments with different temperatures (1173, 1223, and l273K) and different annealing times (3, 4, 5, 6min) were carried out on cold-rolled plate of Fe-36Ni invar alloy. The microstructure and the mechanical properties were observed and tested respectively, and the fracture morphology was observed by SEM. The results show that with increasing of the temperature and the annealing time, the austenite grains gradually grow up accompanied by a small amount of annealing twin crystals, meanwhile, its plasticity and toughness are improved, and it is typical ductile fracture under the condition of tensile failure. After annealed at l223K, the invar alloy has better comprehensive properties than that at the other annealing temperatures, and the grains size is more uniform. Furthermore, when the annealing time is 4min, the invar alloy has the best comprehensive properties.IntroductionAs we known, most metals and alloys expand with increasing temperature. More than one hundred years ago (in 1897), Guillaume observed that Fe-Ni alloy with face-centered cubic (fcc) crystal structure, consisting of36%Ni, showing a very small thermal expansion coefficient below the ferro-to-paramagnetic transition, the thermal expansion coefficient around room temperature( <2 X 1O-6K-1 compared to most metallic materials which have a thermal expansion coefficient of 10-20 X 1O-6K-1) [1,2]. Since then, the subject has attracted many researchers, and various alloys with low thermal expansion coefficients have been developed. These alloys, generally known as ""invar alloys"", are in demand where dimensional changes due to variation in temperature must be minimized and where high stability is required [3, 4]."

Jan 1, 2012

By McLennan R. G

The principle of personal safety is as old as the human race. The application of this principle to industry is of much more recent origin, and may be said to be almost exclusively the product of the twentieth century. The enormous strides in technique and production mode prior to the turn of the century had been achieved without any real regard for the crippled human by-products of that expansive era. It was accepted that. accidents were inevitable and formed part of the price that must be paid for production. It was not until 1885 that the first Workmen&apos;s Compensation Act was passed in Germany making the employer financially liable for injuries suffered on his plant.With awakening social conscience came the first organised efforts to reduce accidents in industry. Early 19th century literature dealing with the development of powerdriven machinery and the growth of industry in Europe contains many references to the unsafe and unhealthy working conditions that accompanied the change-over from the home workshop to the industrial plant. By the year 1900, there were in Germany - and a little later in England governmental regulations dealing with the guarding of hazardous machinery. American industry, now the acknowledged leader in industrial safety, admits freely that when an organised safety movement commenced in that country, there was already a considerable amount of information available to them from European experience. The steel industry was well to the fore in this work, and in...

Jan 1, 1957

By Juan Carlos Salas

In this paper, a collaborative R&D model which has been successfully applied by a global mining companies association is presented and analysed both from the conceptual and practical point of view and an example of these collaborative initiatives, the Copper Technology Roadmap recently generated by a group of the most relevant copper mining companies, is presented, including an analysis of strategic opportunities and challenges in the Latin American region.

Sep 9, 2007

By E. M. Cohn

The literature dealing with the electrical conductivity of solid dielectrics, including all its aspects and its relationships to other physical properties of these materials, is extensive and scattered in many books, phamphlets, and periodicals. It is believed that most of the important contributions to this field up to October 1943 have been listed and abstracted in this circular. Also included are some general references on static electricity. Methods of removing static charges are described; methods of and conditions for measurements of resistivity are discussed; equations for the calculation of resistivity are given; and methods of resistance measurements in Situ are reviewed. Data on the variations of resistivity with changing conditions as well as explanations for them have been collected, and three tables showing the resistivity of various dielectrics at different humidities are included. The appendix contains a short development of the mathematical formulation of the charging and discharging currents due to interfacial polarisation. INTRODUCTION Methods for Removing Static Electricity Of the various means employed for preventing or removing accumulations of static electricity in industrial processes, grounding is the most common and most generally effective. It is a precaution readily applied to stationary machines anti may often be utilized to good advantage to rid persons and portable equipment of an acquired charge. There are many situations, however, in which direct low-resistance grounding cannot be used, either because the charged bodies are insulators or are inaccessible, or because contact to a ground lead might give rise to a hazardous spark. If the charged body is a conductor, contact made to a neighboring conductor, even though the latter be insulated from ground and of relatively small capacitance, may also result in the occurrence of an incendive spark. In such instances, static electricity can sometimes be removed most satisfactorily by means of strong atmospheric ionization produced by radioactive material, X-rays, ultraviolet light, or A. C. high-voltage brush discharge. Where no danger exists from flammable

Jan 1, 1944

By D. G. Crosby

This paper defines the Canadian offshore areas, comparing the juridical continental shelf with the physical one. The question of jurisdiction and ownership is dealt with, and the setting out of resource administration lines to divide areas of federal and provincial administration is explained and illustrated. Offshore activity is reviewed and prospective areas for future work are mentioned.

Jan 1, 1969

By J. Drelich

An improved experimental procedure to measure contact angle has been consolidated with coal surface preparation involving polishing with abrasive paper, alumina powder, and a cloth, followed by ultrasonic and mechanical cleaning. Specifically, the captive-bubble measuring technique has been compared with the sessile-drop technique and the former has been recommended for the examination of the hydrophobic properties of coal surfaces. Results of the research program, which is currently under way, on the examination of the effect of the nature, amount, size and distribution of mineral inclusions in coal on its wettability are briefly reviewed.

Jan 1, 1999

By A. J. Sedriks

ALTHOUGH the occurrence of a readily visible tarnish on the stress-corrosion fracture surfaces of titanium alloys tested in oxygenated nitrogen tetrox-ide solutions has been reported,&apos; the possibility that the formation of this tarnish is a requirement for cracking to proceed does not appear to have been considered. It has been proposed that failure occurs in this system as a result of some electrochemical-mechanical process.2 However, recent studies3-6 of the stress-corrosion cracking of a brass in certain ammoniacal solutions, which also cause visible tarnishing, have led to the view that failure occurs by the repeated formation and fracture of a brittle surface film of cuprous oxide. The purpose of this note is to point out the similarities which exist between the tarnish which forms on a brass and that found on titanium alloys failed in nitrogen tetroxide, and to suggest, by analogy, that a similar tarnish-rupture mechanism may be operative in the latter case. The titanium alloy selected for the present study contained 5.2 pct Al, 2.5 pct Sn, 0.025 pct C, 0.16 pct Fe, 0.014 pct N, 0.012 pct H, 0.07 pct 0, and 0.002 pct Mn by weight. Vacuum-annealed alloy strips measuring 4 by 0.25 by 0.04 in. were used to prepare self-stressed test specimens. Each specimen was made from two strips by bending the end portions and spot welding them together to produce curved sections of uniform bending stress. (The exact details of preparing such specimens have been described by Lisagor el al.7) The curvature in the strips determines the ma-magnitude of the outer fiber stress, which in the present specimens was 100,000 psi (yield stress = 120,000 psi). The specimen surface in the spot-welded end regions was shot-peened to induce compressive stresses and thereby eliminate the possibility of stress-corrosion cracking in these regions. The test environment was nitrogen tetroxide, initially containing 99.5 pct N2O4, 0.1 pct H2O, and 0.08 pct C1, through which oxygen had been bubbled for 30 min. During testing the tetroxide was subject to an oxygen pressure of 250 psi. The duration of the test was 96 hr, and during this time stress-corrosion cracks propagated through some 50 pct of the thickness of the specimens. After testing, the tarnish was liberated from the fracture surface by immersion in a methanol-5 pct bromine solution, and then examined by electron dif- fraction and transmission electron microscopy using a JEM-7 electron microscope. The possibility that the bromine solution had affected the structure of the tarnish was investigated by an "in silu" examination of the stress-corrosion fracture surface using a reflection electron diffraction attachment designed for handling bulk specimens. Typical areas of the tarnish liberated by the me-thanol-bromine solution are shown in Fig. 1. Fig. l(a) reveals that the tarnish consists of individual platelets, and from Fig. l(b) it can be seen that the platelets are joined together to form a semicontinuous film, the boundaries of the titanium substrate grains being retained in the tarnish. Electron-diffraction patterns taken from these areas exhibited diffraction spots typical of a monocrystal. The diffraction pattern shown in Fig. 2 was taken from the central area in Fig. l(n). Monocrystal patterns obtained from areas containing numerous individual platelets can only be explained by assuming that their growth is governed by the titanium substrate (i.e., their growth is epitaxial). In other areas, the tarnish had folded over or became mechanically damaged, and these areas gave diffraction patterns consisting of "spotted" rings, enabling interplanar spacings of the tarnish lattice to be determined. These spacings, measured using a

Jan 1, 1968

By W. A. Wood, H. M. Bendler

Cylindrical fatigue specimens of OFHC* copper were subjected to alternating torsion while under axial tension. The superimposed tension strongly influenced the fatigue life of the specimens as well as causing characteristic changes in the structure of the fissures that form and develop throughout the life of the specimen. A further effect of the superimposed tension is a continuous extension of the specimen throughout its life in a manner formally similar to creep at elevated temperatures. RECENTLY, studies of the structural changes leading to fracture of metals by fatigue have been made by a technique which reveals, in section, the lattice distortion arising from slip movements inside the metal and the disturbances built up by these slip movements at the metal surface.1&apos;2 According to this approach, fatigue develops as follows: a) fine slip movements concentrate in bands, producing little strain-hardening and thus permitting abnormal totals of plastic strain before fracture and, therefore, abnormal amounts of lattice distortion along each slip band; b) both forward and backward slip movements occur in each band which, according to their distribution across the band, may build up surface disturbances that include sharp notches; c) these notches early in the life of a specimen penetrate the distorted slip zones and transform them into deep, fine fissures; d) the fissures on continued cycling locally saturate the metal and cause local collapse in the form of a microcrack. Thus, the significant consequence of fatigue or cyclic

Jan 1, 1962

A combined reflection seismic and magnetic survey off the south coast of New South Wales has revealed six distinct reflection horizons within the Lower Triassic-Upper Permian sequence, and has enabled the upper part of the lllawarra Coal Measures to be mapped in considerable detail. Large magnetic anomalies in the eastern half of the survey area appear to originate in the Gerringong Volcanic Sequence which forms the magnetic basement in the survey. Small residual anomalies in the western half of the area can be correlated with small scale faulting and folding in the upper part of the llawarra Coal Measures, as revealed by the seismic reflection survey.A synclinal axis striking at approximately 55&#176; has been mapped near the western margin of the survey area, and areas of faulting and folding have been outlined by combined analysis of seismic and magnetic results.

Jan 1, 1970

By Michael W. Neill, O&apos

Drilling slurry has become an effective aid to the construction of drilled shafts in caving and/or waterbearing soils. Historically, drilling slurry made of bentonitic clay and water was first used in the US in water well drilling as early as 1889. In coastal Texas drilled shaft contractors began using slurry, often made of on-site clay mixed with potable water, in the years following World War II, on a relatively routine basis. This type of slurry was used to "process" boreholes, in which the borehole was drilled "in the dry" until water or unstable soil was encountered, after which water and on-site clay were introduced into the borehole and mixed in place with the auger or other drilling tool. Drilling then continued under a slurry consisting of the uncontrolled mixture of clay and water until the excavation had reached a relatively impermeable and cohesive material. At this point, a steel casing was dropped into the hole and sealed into the lower stratum of impermeable geomaterial (soil or rock). The slurry inside the casing was bailed or pumped out, drilling continued to plan depth in the dry, a reinforcing cage was set in the partially cased borehole, concrete was placed and the casing was withdrawn. Some soil-slurry was undoubtedly trapped between the casing and the borehole wall, but the quality of that slurry was usually of no concern, because engineers of the period usually viewed drilled shafts as nothing more than deeply buried footings. Any unejected slurry would only serve to lower side shearing resistance, not yet considered in design, but would have no effect on end bearing. In the 1960 &apos;s the effectiveness of soil-slurry came into question because it was often ineffective in maintaining borehole stability at marginal drilling sites and because the economy of using shaft resistance, in addition to end

Jan 1, 1991

By Heikki Jalkanen

The mineralogical composition and morphology of solidified copper smelting and converting slags are of some interest from slag cleaning (by froth flotation), impurity elimination, and environmental points of view. Properties result from both the state of molten slag before solidification and processes taking place during solidification and cooling. In solidification and cooling, copper and sulfur dissolved in molten slag are .precipitating substantially from the silicate phase. Even in water quenching of slag, dissolved copper is pushed out of the solution in the form of finely divided precipitate. Elements present in the raw materials are distributed in a distinct manner between the solidified slag and non-silicate solidification products. Arsenic, antimony, and tin are strongly accumulated in copper precipitate, but not the other metallic constituents common in copper concentrates. Smelting and converting slags differ remarkably on their mineralogical composition and morphology although resulting principally of same chemical processes. Converter slags are more inhomogenous; they often contain solid particles and copper content is .as a rule higher than in matte smelting slags. The final copper content of converter slags was observed to be in a distinct manner dependent on iron oxide - silica ratio. Slag forming, solidification, and precipitation phenomena are discussed on the basis of mineralogical and morphology analysis of smelter slags and laboratory scale experiments.

Jan 1, 2002