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By Dinah O. Shumway

California's annual production of >11 million tons of cement, at a value of over $640 million, comes from eight companies, which operate 11 plants. Cement is California's second most important mineral commodity, representing 25% of its total annual mineral production. Although most of the cement produced is consumed within the state, current export locales include the Pacific Northwest, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico. An enumeration of the components required to produce cement is deceptively simple: calcium oxide (65%), silica (20%), alumina (4-5%), iron (3-4%), and calcium sulfate (4%) as a retardant admixture. The last, and most expensive, ingredient in cement manufacture is energy. Detrimental materials in cement mixes include excess .magnesium, alkalis, heavy metals, sulfur, and other volatiles. Each of the 11 cement plants in California requires a unique chemical solution of combined raw materials to produce a uniform product: portland cement. The geologist proposing solutions for the additive raw materials in cement manufacture must have a thorough knowledge of a particular cement plant's needs. In the California cement market, keeping the costs of additive raw materials down is one way to also stay competitive, and using a combination of natural and waste materials as additive raw materials allows cement producers to stay competitive.

Jan 1, 1999

By B. Jensen, R. Davis, P. Golledge, A. D. S. Gillies, W. Urbanik Urbanik

A current program of research on the explosibility of coal dust/methane mixtures is described. During the study an explosion test chamber based on a novel design has been developed. This 20 litre open chamber uses a rotating drum concept for dust dispersion and infra-red sensors for dust concentration measurement. The chamber design allows different initiators to be tested while varying methane gas and coal dust concentrations. A new approach to the determination of coal dust concentration is included with a description of a dielectric dust probe. The measurement technique is based on the change in dielectric constant as the proportion of coal dust in air between probe capacitor plates increases or decreases. Characterization of coal dust samples is of vital importance. The particle size distribution, coal proximate analysis and elemental analysis were studied. Coal dust was sourced from airborne collected samples, settled dust from mine sources and seam channel samples crushed and sized. Explosibility test results indicate that a very low concentration of coal dust can form an explosible mixture when dispersed in methane concentration of just below five percent. With low temperature initiators, the coal dust lean limit concentration rises rapidly as the methane concentration is reduced. An accurate knowledge of the potential explosion hazards of coal dust and coal dust/methane mixture is necessary to establish safe operating conditions in underground mines. The research results outlined extend knowledge in this area.

Jan 1, 1989

By K. K. Haramy, J. McDonnel

INTRODUCTION Primarily because of mining at greater depth, an increasing number of coal mines in the United States experience floor heave problems. In many instances, the floor heaves at a slow rate without causing health and safety related problems; only additional roadway maintenance and coal handling equipment are required. However, when rapid, massive heaving occurs, the safety of mine personnel in the vicinity is jeopardized. Extensive floor heave causes a redistribution of stress around the mine opening and can cause additional ground control problems. This paper presents an analysis of rapid floor heave in a deep western coal mine. The analysis is based on field measurements, laboratory data, and beam design theory. Factors affecting floor heave, such as mining-induced stress, mine opening size, entry orientation, mine geology, rock physical properties, and gas pressure, are considered. Examination of floor heave in the mine indicates that heaving is primarily caused by deformation of a soft floor member that is subjected to high mining-induced stress. Theoretical analysis of in situ floor stresses resulting from overburden loading indicates that floor failure will occur. The analysis is confirmed by visual observations of floor heave in the mine. Recommendations for mine layout and opening design to control rapid, massive floor heave under these conditions are also presented. MINE-FLOOR-FOUNDATION THEORY The floor stratum in a coal mine acts as a foundation to support coal pillars and artificial supports, thereby providing support to the mine roof. The overburden load, transferred through pillars and other supports, applies tremendous stress to the floor. Soil mechanics theories provide solutions for foundation design problems that apply to the mine floor. Based on foundation theory, vertical load on pillars causes high shear stress zones in the floor. If the floor is relatively weak, it may fail and dislocate upward into the mine opening. Strong roof strata that do not readily fail transmit most of the overburden load through pillars to the floor. Heaving may result, depending on the thickness and physical properties of the floor

Jan 1, 1986

By R. P. Benson, D. H. MacDonald, D. R. McCreath

1 - INTRODUCTION The Canadian Shield is well known as being among the older exposed areas of the earth's surface. Except for local zones, its extent from the Arctic to central North America is characterized by strong and durable crystalline rocks. It is generally regarded as highly competent for tunnelling and underground excavation and, as a result, many openings are excavated in it with minimal temporary support. If hydraulic efficiency is not a factor, tunnels do not usually require continuous concrete linings. A high percentage of the crystalline rocks of the Shield are of metamorphic origin and as such one of the dominant characteristics is their foliation. Zones of sheared or faulted rock are common in the Canadian Shield, particularly in association with foliation. These zones may be created during the late stages of the metamorphic process, leaving shear zones as an integral feature of foliated rock. As foliation is a preferred direction of weakness, deformation and rupture during subsequent tectonism may also create parallel shear zones. These "foliation shear zones", as described by Deere (1973), are an adverse feature of the otherwise durable rocks of the Canadian Shield. The zones may range from faults of major proportions to seams only a fraction of an inch thick. If fault gouge or alteration products exist in the zone the strength of the rock mass may be great1y reduced. As foliation is usually continuous, large unstable wedges of rock may be created if the opening is subparallel to the foliation. The effect on the construction of underground openings in terms of excavations, support and scheduling can be significant.

Jan 1, 1974

By Warren E. Fife

This paper will discuss the application of a continuous miner using a fixed drum milling type cutting head for the underground mining of hard rock and salt ores. Continuous mining machines of the ripper chain cutting head, oscillating milling cutting head and boring arm designs have been used in rock and salt applications with various degrees of success. The large boring arm miners have been successful in potash, trona and salt, but they have not been successful in mining rock materials like iron ore. The main method used in underground mining rock materials is the conventional drilling and blasting the ore from the solid. This is particularly true for the harder, more abrasive copper and iron bearing ores. The softer salt based ores of potash, trona and rock salt can use several underground mining methods depending on seam conditions. Several of these methods use underground coal mining equipment that has been extensively redesigned to adapt it for use in mining noncoal materials. Conventional mining methods employ the use of a universal cutting machine to undercut or topcut the ore body before face drilling and blasting takes place to produce a smooth parting of the ore. The boring arm continuous miner is widely used in underground mining of potash and trona ores. It produces a tunnel with a smooth semicircular contour which results in good rib and roof stability. The ripper chain continuous miner is also widely used in mining the salt based ores of potash, trona and rock salt. They are used more frequently in Europe than in the United States and Canada. Some reasons for using the mechanical mining machines as opposed to the conventional drilling and blasting techniques for mining hard rock ore bodies are the resulting improved rib and roof control, facilitates selective mining of the ore body, and requires less man-

Jan 1, 1974

By Walter E. Jaworski, William R. Beloff, John Dunnicliff

As a step in the endeavor to reduce future tunneling costs in New York City, the Environmental Protection Administration, Dept. of Water Resources, instituted a program in 1972 to monitor the performance of the lining of one of its tunnels. A monitoring program was included as part of the contract specifications for the East Branch Interceptor Sewer tunnel for the Port Richmond Water Pollution Control Project in the hope that measured data would indicate possible future cost effective design or construction improvements. The monitoring program involved measuring ground deformations, circumferential liner stresses, longitudinal liner stresses, and jacking pressures. This paper presents some of the findings from these measurements, with emphasis on liner stresses. PROJECT DESCRIPTION The 3.05m (10 ft) diameter steel lined tunnel was constructed under two separate contracts. The easterly portion, Contract 3A, was approximately 3109m (10,200 ft) in length and constructed by Peter Kiewit Sons Co.1 The westerly portion, Contract 3B, was approximately 2160m (7100 ft) in length, and constructed by Richmond Constructors, a joint venture of Grow Tunneling Corp., MacLean Grove & Company, Inc., Grove, Shepherd. Wilson & Kruge, Inc., Morrison-Knudsen Company, Inc., and Andrew Catapano Co., Inc. Each contract included three test stations, hence a total of six along the tunnel route. Excavated material along the tunnel route consisted primarily of dense fine to coarse sand with varying percentages of gravel and silt with occasional boulders. Pockets of organic silt were encountered on Contract 3B and a large portion of Contract 3A ran through slightly weathered serpentine and schist. Overlying material and the groundwater level varied considerably along the route as did the height of overburden. Figures 1 and 2 show the generalized soil profiles for Contracts 3A (PK stations) and 3B (RC stations) respectively.

Jan 1, 1979

By Gerald V. Jergensen, Edward J. Samuel

Slurry system are the principal method for storage and transportation of solids within and between concentration operations In a mineral processing plant. A slurry 1s a mixture of solid particles In water, or a chemical solution, that behaves like a liquid. The design of slurry transportation systems is generally analagous to pumping and piping water, but with a few notable exceptions: • The interaction of particle on particle affects slurry transport. • Particles often interact with the fluid, particularly when chemicals have been added to the system. • Particles have a frustrating tendency to settle from the slurry suspension, especially into locations not considered In the design. • Solids have an affinity for wetted surf aces and tend to wear them away. Slurry transportation systems Include a number of separate components, each requiring special design considerations. A systematic evaluation of each component of a slurry transfer system will help overlooking the small details that could cause operational headaches. Most slurry transport systems include: • A receiving sump or tank that provides for mixing and/or momentary storage of slurry. • A driving force.. by a pump, atmospheric pressure or gravity. • A suitable conduit for transportation.. pipes or launders. • A delivery objective.. another sump or process vessel, or distribution system to several process points. • A control strategy and design to regulate the transfer operation. The design of the slurry transportation system normally evolves through the following steps: • Finalizing the process flowsheet and establishing the weights and volumes to be handled. • Identifying and characterizing the various process fluids and slurries. • Defining critical and minimum transport velocities of fluids. • Selecting a pipe diameter (or dimensions and gradient) and

Jan 1, 1986

By John Reilly

"INTRODUCTION Successful management of megaprojects, meaning delivery within budget, on time and according to expectations, is a fundamental requirement. Many projects have been successful, some have not. This paper reviews megaprojects1, drawn from the author’s projects over the last 50 years, with “lessons-learned” and a summary of recommendations that, if implemented, would improve megaproject management and delivery. Characteristics of these projects are summarized – including outcomes related to key factors such as politics, management, organizational structure, contracting methods, cost estimates, risk and other elements. The projects include the Washington D.C. Metro, Boston Southwest Corridor, LA Metro, Toronto Rapid Transit Expansion Program, BART San Francisco, MARTA Atlanta, London Underground and the Washington State Highway megaprojects – including the SR520 Floating Bridge and the Alaskan Way tunnel. Other projects that illustrate successful, innovative management and contracting methods include the Madrid Metro (low-cost delivery), the Sydney Northside Storage tunnel (outturn cost, alliancing) and the Lake Mead tunnel (working in partnership, risk management). KEY ISSUES A characteristic of megaprojects is that their complexity increases exponentially with size (Reilly 2010, Galloway et al. 2012). These projects are very visible politically, have many stakeholders who must be satisfied and generally span many years and political election cycles. To be successful they must meet expectations, function efficiently, and be delivered under, at or close to budget and schedule. There is a widely-based perception that large, complex projects are always delivered late, over budget and with problems. Specific examples include projects such as Tren Urbano in Puerto Rico – $1.28 billion over initial budget (+133%), the Silver Line Transitway Project in Boston – $286 million over budget (+90%), the London Jubilee Line Transit Project – 2 years late and £1.4 billion (+67%) over budget, the Channel Tunnel Rail Project – £3.7 billion (+80%) over budget, Denmark’s Great Belt Link rail and road link (54% over budget), the 2003 Woodrow Wilson bridge tender in Virginia (72% over estimate) and Boston’s Central Artery Project – several billion (perhaps 100%) over what would have been a realistic initial budget and years late (Reilly 2001c, 2004a; Salvucci 2003)."

Jan 1, 2016

By Pengfei Pan, Lianjun Guo, Houguang Sun, Donglin Xu, Chi Yang, Lihua Luan, Daning Zhang

"Based on the introduction of production technology of Anqian mining company, the stope ore mass distribution was analyzed in detail. The processability indexes of different grade ores were obtained with magnetic tube whereas the grinding time, concentrate grade and concentrate yield were measured. On the basis of digital ore deposit model which integrates ore natural attributes and processing attributes, two stages of ore blending optimization models were established. The first stage model sought the minimum of stope ore transportation cost under the restraints of output ore grade and stope production. The second stage was a system optional model that aimed at the furthest use of resources meeting not only the production constraints of mining field and process field but also ore beneficiability and the system output requirements of the concentrate grade. Lastly, the solving method of big M simplex algorithm was discussed and used in production. 1. Foreword China is the biggest iron ore consumption market. But most of iron ore deposits in china possess such features as low grade, complex compositions, weak magneticity and refractoriness. Under the current economic and technical conditions, rational utilization of low-grade and refractory iron ore is strongly needed to improve the utilization ratio of mineral resources and keep mine development sustainable (Lei 2011). In recent years, the domestic research institutions and mines made a lot of achievements of rational development and utilization of low grade iron ore resources in the beneficiation technology and equipment, high and low grade balance, cost and tax analysis (Wang and Zhao 2013, Zhang 2014, Zhu and Li 2014), laying the foundation for reasonable utilization of low grade iron ore. In this paper, Anqian mining company is taken as an example in which the production conditions, raw ore quality control, different grade of ore processability, and ore blending optimization mode in mining pit and processing plant were discussed to achieve the maximum utilization of low-grade refractory ores under the economical and reasonable conditions. This will ensure the stable operation of mining joint ventures and maximize the enterprise's production life and therefore, maximize the economic and social benefits in the enterprise life cycle."

Jan 1, 2017

By Victor F. Hollister

Skam deposits considered as porphyry copper deposits have been classified into three basic prospecting models: (I) the skam deposit associated with a mineralized intrusive (Pima-Mission), (2) the deposit associated with a barren igneous stock (Ertsberg), and (3) mineralized rock that seems to have no clear association with apluton (Phoenix). Pima-Mission, Christmas, and many other copper-bearing skarns developed in carbonate sequences near mineralized intrusives form an important part of the deposit. Historically, copper derived from the mineralized intrusion accounts for less than half of the metal produced by most porphyry mines, as most mineralization occurs in the intruded rocks. Skam mineralization is an important part of wall-rock metal deposition, because carbonate sequences are preferentially replaced by sulfide and skarn minerals. Exploration for skam mineralization is an important phase of porphyry copper exploration. Impure carbonate beds can become better host rocks for skam deposits than pure carbonates, and these in particular should be included in porphyry-exploration programs if the impure strata are cut by the stock. Skam deposits can also form near stocks that are barren of sulfide. In this model, the two best ore guides are strata favorable for mineralization (usually impure carbonate beds) and the intrusive contact. Faults can also act as important ore controls. Some skarn deposits form that have no clear genetic connection with a stock, although intrusive rocks are known in the district. In such cases, the best ore guides are strata and district-wide faulting. Dikes and sills are also common and mineralization can locally prefer their contacts even though the igneous rocks are barren. Skam minerals are influenced by the chemical composition of the carbonate. Forsterite, brucite, tremolite, and talc are common in skams developed in dolomitic beds. Skams derived from calcic beds often contain wollastonite, calcite, stilbite, or idocrase. Diopside, however, is a common accompaniment of copper sulfide in skam regardless of the original composition of the carbonates. Tremolite and possibly other amphiboles and chlorite can occur significantly in the zinc-lead portion of skams. Gamets occur in magnetite, copper, and zinc-lead zones of skams, but are not as diagnostic as diopside for the copper zone or tremolite for the zinc-lead zone. A general desciption of skam-deposit mineralogy can be used to construct prospecting models of porphyry copper skams. An abstract of such a description follows.

Jan 1, 1991

By M. D. Attfield

During 1992 a number of papers were published on aspects of respiratory disease in US underground coal miners. These included reports on trends in prevalence of coal workers' pneumoconiosis, the risks of developing coal workers' pneumoconiosis in relation to dust exposure, and the relationship between lung disease other than pneumoconiosis and dust exposure. The intent of this paper is to provide a summary of the essential findings from these investigations. PREVALENCE AND INCIDENCE OF COAL WORKERS' PNEUMOCONIOSIS Coal workers' pneumoconiosis (CWP) is usually detected in living miners through use of the chest x-ray. Deposits of dust in the lung, and the fibrotic tissue reactions to the dust, are manifested on the x-ray as small and large opacities. These abnormalities are quantified into degrees of severity using a standardized classification scheme (the International Classification of Radiographs of the Pneumoconioses of the International Labour Office). For small opacities, the scheme provides for a four-point scale of abnormality (0, 1, 2, 3), reflecting increasing profusion of the opacities on the x-ray. In this report, category 1 or greater small rounded opacities (CWP 1+) represents the earlier radiographic stages of pneumoconiosis. Large opacities, indicate the later and often disabling stage of pneumoconiosis, usually referred to as progressive massive fibrosis (PMF). Information collected in a national surveillance program for underground coal miners (the Coalworkers' X-ray Surveillance Program (CWXSP)) and a large epidemiologic study (National Study of Coalworkers' Pneumoconiosis (NSCWP)) provide a means to assess trends in CWP prevalence over the years following the reduction in dust levels mandated by the 1969 Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act (FCMHSA). These programs are operated by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), and are described in detail in Attfield and Althouse (1992) and Attfield and Castellan (1992). Both studies were divided administratively into distinct time periods, and the results shown here reflect that division. Figure 1 shows the prevalence of CWP 1+ as determined from data from the CWXSP, plotted by time period and years in mining. There is evidence of a temporal reduction in prevalence. (The lack of an obvious decline in the early 1970s may be an artifact arising from use of different versions of the standard classification.) Figure 2 provides information in the same format for PMF, and shows a similar trend [ ]

Jan 1, 1993

By G. H. Lewis, C. L. Krcil, N. S. Harding, D. E. Havekotte

INTRODUCTION Limestone injection work was completed in a 440-kW (1.5-million Btu per hour) pilot-scale combustor in preparation for a 50,000-kg/h (110,000-lb per hour) industrial steam boiler limestone injection test program. The main objectives were to: (1) identify the important variables that affect sulfur capture, (2) determine the maximum SO2 removal, and (3) determine the effect of limestone addition on furnace operability and heat transfer. A more detailed report is given by Lewis et al. (1985). The test program was divided into two phases. The objectives of Phase I were to determine the important variables that affect SO2 reduction and to investigate the effect of limestone addition on combustor operation and heat transfer surfaces. The objective of Phase II was to determine, using only the important variables identified during Phase I, the conditions that resulted in the greatest sulfur dioxide reduction. Phase I Test program Using one limestone, five variables were identified as having an effect on SO2 reduction. These are noted with their respective ranges: heat release rate [103 to 166 kW/m3 (10,000 to 16,000 Btu per hour-cu ft)], Ca/S molar ratio (0 to 3), flue gas oxygen concentration (3% to 5%), additive particle size [90% -150 µm (-100 mesh) and 90% -45 µm (-325 mesh)], and burner stoichiometry (SR = 0.75 and >1.15). A 2.3% sulfur northern West Virginia coal, pulverized to a nominal grind of 70% -75 µm (-200 mesh), was burned for the tests. The limestone used was obtained from a Maysville, KY, quarry and contained 51.75% (wt) CaO. An 11-run statistically designed program (plus three duplicates) was used to screen the five variables. The effect of limestone injection on the combustor heat transfer surfaces was determined by comparing the heat transfer rates through a slag panel and fouling probes during periods with and without limestone injection. Combustor operation was determined by noting any operating problems that occurred during the tests. Test procedure After furnace wall temperatures had stabilized at operating conditions, heat transfer surfaces (slag panel and fouling probes) and the convection section were blown clean, and a four-hour test was begun. The

Jan 1, 1987

By Kegomoditswe Koitsiwe, Tsuyoshi Adachi

"This paper characterizes quarterly LME copper price fundamentals from 1995 to 2011 by analyzing the transformation of the market mechanism based on structural change perspective. Using chow test for structural change based on the least square multiple regression, we divide the price fluctuation into: Stable price period (1995Q3-1999Q2), Low stable price period (1999Q3 – 2003Q3) and Price fluctuation period (2003Q4 – 2011Q2). The results show the existence of structural breaks disproves the investigation of the full sample period as a whole. In different structural breakpoints the main drivers of copper prices changes and their impact are significantly different. Moreover, the paper examines the role of speculation in copper price fluctuations.Introduction The rise in commodities price volatility and financial and economic crisis have led to questions over the organisation of futures and physical commodities markets. Spikes in commodity prices and volatility have coincided with a surge in financial speculators in the commodity markets inspiring a polarised and hotly debate among academics and practitioners about the role of investors in the development of physical markets. In his seminal work Kaldor (1939) focused primarily on whether speculative activity in the futures markets reduces the variance of commodity spot prices. Yet, part of the literature finds that the introduction of futures contracts destabilizes the spot market. IMF (2006) studied commodities boom and its causes concluding that there is little support for the hypothesis that speculative activity affects either price levels over the long run or price swings in the short-run. The impact of speculative activity on commodity prices remains a highly contentious topic. Other market analysts take the view that the supply and demand for physical commodities remain the major determinants of market trends (Krugman 2008). It is the aim of this study to contribute to the literature by examining the drivers of copper price changes from a structural change perspective. In this context we are attempting to answer to: What are the main drivers leading to copper price fluctuations? Are these factors having the same effect in different periods or not? It is meaningful to understand drivers of copper prices and thereby, their fluctuations because it will help developing countries depending on copper export to anticipate market situation and avoid bad economic development challenges that can result from price fluctuations. Moreover, this can ensure sustainable mineral supply."

Jan 1, 2017

By James L. Hendrix, David Castillo

Cyanidation is one of the most common practices used in the extraction of gold and silver. One method of application is heap or dump leaching which entails the leaching of the gold or silver ore by spraying or dripping a cyanide lixiviant over the ore and collecting the effluent. The ore is placed on what is known as a leach pad system. A typical leach pad system consists of a foundation, a leakaqe detection system, a liner, and a cover layer (Strachan and van Zyl, 1988). There are many types of liners available for use. The type of liner depends upon what type leaching pad system us used. Generally, leaching pad systems can be categorized into two types: an expandable pad and a reusable pad. An expandable pad exposes the liner to the elements only in the initial stages of ore placement on the leach pad system. A reusable pad exposes the liner to the elements on a periodic basis. In addition to the exposure to the elements, the liner is also under the stress of the ore placed on it and the stress of the vehicular traffic across it. These stresses and exposure to the elements are the major causes of liner failures, which can appear as punctures, tears, cracks, and deterioration. Because of the possibility of the failure of the pads to contain cyanide-laden solutions the designs for liners of pads and ponds have become more and more stringent. Currently, though, there is some recognition that in some locales such stringent design criteria may not be required (Chatwin, 1989). Some soils have significant cyanide attenuation and degradation capacity. It has been found that soils containing carbon- aceous materia1 wi11 remove cyanide from solutions percolating through them (Chatwin, 1989). Of course metallurgists have long recognized the deleterious effect of carbonaceous material in the mill circuit. Sheridan, et a1 (1988) have shown that WAD cyanide is detected in the effluent of a 2 m column filled with ground carbonaceous ore only after it had been continuously washed with greater than 9 pore volumes of NaCN solution. It was decided to examine the potential of successfully attenuating cyanide by placing an organic material layer between a 1iner and the prepared soil base. One consideration for the selection of the organic material was cost. Sawmill wastes, ground agricultural wastes (such as corn cobs), and other organic wastes were considered. But the first waste to be tested was a product found at any metropolitan area, sewage sludge.

Jan 1, 1990

By R. Bruce Thorndycraft

Heap leaching should not be chosen for development of a property solely on the basis of paper studies. Management should be made to understand where the risks are in heap leaching, and management should be alerted to the variability of costs in heap leaching, many of which are based upon company philosophy. These concepts are complex, but easily illustrated with guided tours of existing heap leach facilities.

Jan 1, 1998

By T. W. West

INTRODUCTION This paper presents an assessment of conventional flotation technology. In addition it presents some ideas which can be used to change the perception of what may be done with conventional flotation equipment to maximize its efficiency. Perspective of Conventional Flotation Technology 1. Flotation in many coal preparation plants is defined as something between a necessary evil and a non-viable concept because: -Too much art is required on a continuous basis to achieve uniformly acceptable results. -It is expensive, the capital cost in dollars per ton of circuit feed for flotation and dewatering is high. -It is a difficult process to use when SO2 reduction governs system design and equipment selection. -It creates a product (fine coal froth) that is difficult to dewater in the presence of BTU/lb as-received pressures. -It is a difficult process to control from a management standpoint, there are no dependable set points to rely on. 2. Many froth cell circuits are 0.5m x 0 (nominal 28 M x 0) feed which is sourced from screen/cyclone underflows. The original intent was to obtain maximum yield at acceptable product quality and moisture using disc filters. (See Figure #1) 3. An alternate to conventional flotation and its perceived to be limits of efficiency, capital costs, etc. is to move towards such developing flotation technologies as column flotation, reverse flotation, and microbubbles. A lot of work is being done to move these concepts thru pilot stages into full scale, commercial plant operation. The majority of the coal producers and coal preparation plant designers view these concepts as being in the development/pilot plant stages. OBJECTIVES Based on the preceeding comments of the perspectives of the coal producers and plant designers, the options are limited. They can make do with what they have available to them in the way of industry standard equipment and practices or they can move forward with developing technology. I feel there is a third option: what can we really do today with what is available to us, without reinventing the wheel? APPROACH 1. When processing coal against ash and SO2 restrictions, the fine clean coal stream can be the best stream on the clean coal conveyor due to the release by size and the ability to create a high BTU/low sulfur (dry basis) product. 2. Targets: -Consistent raw coal size consist in the plant feed . -Do not put pyrites in the froth cells. -Adjust criteria defining good flotation away from yield towards maximum BTU recovery at minimum ash. -Limit the froth cell feed size consist to 0.15 mm x 0 (nominal 100M x 0). -Establish and maintain a correct, consistent percent solids in the froth cell feed. -Select flotation reagents with care. -Introduce reagents in the proper sequence.

Jan 1, 1988

By M. J. Laurila

On-line analyzers have made possible the use of fuzzy logic control (FLC) for local control applications in coal preparation plants. This includes FLC of heavy media vessels, cyclones and froth flotation. These circuits can be controlled in real time in a feedback control loop with an on-line analyzer. Control strategies can be developed using statistical process control (SPC) techniques that are first applied offline in manual mode through the use of control charts. This process is then brought on line using FLC in conjunction with an on-line analyzer to automate the circuit. The advent of programmable logic controllers into preparation plants has enabled the implementation of regulatory control. As shown in Fig. 1, regulatory control is the first level of process control as applied in a processing facility. This involves: ? The logic sequences for start-up and shutdown procedures and all the necessary interlocks for safety purposes. ? The systems to control individual parameters and individual units. Various sensors provide information that is useful to plant operators, while some can be used as signals to simple control loops (Couch, 1996). This is the foundation of process control. It must be performed well if there is to be any success in supervisory control (level 2). Supervisory control involves overseeing and directing the operation of unit operations, or of the whole plant. This includes more complex loops with cascade control. And it may involve feed forward and feedback systems. There have been some applications of this kind of control to thickeners and flotation circuits in coal preparation plants. In addition, there are supervisory controls on some dense medium circuits and, in a few cases, on jigs. These are implemented with proportional integral- derivative (PID) controllers that are available in the PLC or distributed control system (DCS) operating soft ware. In a coal preparation plant, there might exist 200 to 400 PID loops. In a coal-pro¬cessing plant, this number is increased to 2,000 loops or more. It is important to use the correct algorithm or function to control a process variable to the point where automatic control shows a markedly decreased variability over manual mode. This is where fuzzy logic and neural networks have an advantage over traditional model-based expert systems. Because dynamic models of coal preparation unit operations do not exist, model-based expert systems that are prevalent in minerals processing cannot work. Not enough is known about the dynamics of the gravity separation processes employed in coal preparation. Therefore, an artificial intelligence (AI) system consisting of a subset of fuzzy logic, genetic algorithms and neural networks must be applied in coal preparation plants if a supervisory control system is to be successful across a range of feed characteristics and variable set points.

Jan 1, 1997

By Ruifeng Li, Yanghui Ren, Hua Gao

"Since entering the new century, China’s coal industry has witnessed the rapid development, and provided a reliable energy supply for the national economic and social development. But after the “golden decade” of rapid development, the coal industry now is facing overcapacity, low industrial concentration and production efficiency, high pressure of production safety and environmental protection and other prominent issues. Based on defining the connotation of highly-efficient recovery of coal resources, this paper established the relevant 8 indicators to reflect the highly-efficient recovery level of coal resources, summarized the present situation of China's coal resources recovery and the main problems, analyzed the development environment of China's coal industry under the new situation, and finally put forward the strategic measures to promote highly-efficient recovery of coal resources in China.1. Background Coal is the main energy in China. Since entering the new century, China's coal industry has made significant progress, and the level of production safety, resource recovery rate and mining mechanization increased significantly, which provided a reliable energy supply for the rapid development of the national economy. However, due to the changes of China's economic environment, slow growth of energy demand and other factors, some prominent contradictions in the coal industry have significantly restricted the healthy development of the industry. The first problem is serious overcapacity. In the past few years, 16 industries including coal, electric power, chemical and others have invested in coal mines. It is reported (Han 2016) that only during the nine years from 2005 to 2014, the fixed assets of coal industry increased totally more than 3.3 trillion RMB, which brought a large number of production capacity. Affected by the slowdown of economic growth and energy structure adjustment, Chinese coal demand has reached the peak platform and caused the overcapacity of coal supply, so shutting down the backward capacity is the most important task in the future. The second problem is the low efficiency of coal production. There are about 4.3 million coal mine workers in China, and the annual coal production per capita is less than 900 tons, while it was reported (EIA 2016) that the annual production per capita in the United States is more than 10 thousand tons. The third problem is that the green coal resources are not rich. Among the 1.53 trillion tons proven reserves, only about one third are green coal resources in accordance with the principle of ""safety, technology, environment and economy"". The coal resources with high quality and easily mining conditions are not abundant."

Jan 1, 2017

By R. L. White

Classification of Mills Mills may be classified under four categories that relate to the type of action utilized to grind the material: Tumbling. The most important of these to the minerals processing industry are tumbling mills. Grinding media is actuated in a free¬form pattern in a rotating drum causing it to tumble, material being ground passing through the tumbling media. Work is done by a combi¬nation of attrition and impact. Impact. Grinding media is actuated in a distinctive pattern so that it impacts the material being ground. Work is done by impact. Roller. Grinding media is actuated in a distinctive pattern, mate¬rial being ground passing under or between the media. Work is done by compression. Fluid Energy. There is no grinding media as such. Energy is imparted to the material by transfer of kinetic energy from the fluid to the material. Grinding is accomplished by interparticle impact and attrition. Tumbling Mitts The main physical arrangement consists of a lined cylindrical drum mounted on trunnion bearings driven by a ring gear and pinion, in turn connected directly or through a reducer to the electric motor. Variations to this general arrangement include: (1) Drum mounted on rollers instead of trunnions. (2) Bearings on the drum directly, not on trunnions. (3) Utilization of multiple pinions on the gear. (4) Trunnion-type drive arrangement through a gear reducer with¬out the use of a ring gear. (5) Motor rotor mounted directly on the drum with stator around the drum, thus eliminating the gearing. The drum consists of a shell and heads lined with replaceable liners of various types and configurations. Various types of tumbling mills are tabulated; illustrations of some are shown. The types are so designed for specific purposes. Media utilized include steel rods, balls, or rock of the same material as being ground or of special material in the instance where iron contami¬nation is detrimental (see Figs. 9 and 10 and Table 2). Impact Mills Although there may be some overlapping of interpretation of terms, impact mills are considered those in which the media is actuated in a distinctive manner, at relatively high speed, impacting the material to be ground. There is an overlapping also in what may be considered to be crushing equipment rather than grinding equipment. Hammer Mill or Impactor. Material is fed into the equipment; inside hammers of impactors revolve at a high speed, breaking the material on impact with the hammers (see Fig. 11). Material is also thrown against the periphery of the mill, causing impact grinding to occur. Equipment is normally lined with replaceable abrasive resis¬tant metal; hammers are also

Jan 1, 1985

By Henry N. McCarl

In the period 1982-1992, world trade has increased in real terms about 65% (Anon., 1992b). The nominal value of this trade in the early 1990s is approximately $5 trillion. In 1970, mineral commodities constituted approximately 20% of the value of world trade. By 1980, despite rising petroleum prices, mineral commodities made up about 18% of the total value of world trade, with crude oil amounting to 16% and other minerals the remaining 2%. By 1987, the major worldwide economic slowdown and falling oil prices meant that minerals constituted only about 10% of the total value of world trade, or about $500 billion in 1987 (Kimbell and Zajac, 1988). The importance of minerals in world trade since 1987 has remained at about these levels. Approximately 40% of world mineral commodity production is traded internationally. Some economists predict that minerals and other commodities are likely to continue to decline in relative importance in terms of the value of world economic output, as well as world trade, into the foreseeable future (Thurow, 1992). This projected decline in commodity demand may also be related to much slower global economic growth over the next decade (Alperovitz, 1992). Industrial minerals and rocks constituted roughly 2.5% of total mineral commodity exports in the late 1980s, but their relative importance as a portion of mineral commodity exports nearly doubled in the decade 1977-1987 (Kimbell and Zajac, 1988). Industrial minerals constitute the most rapidly growing share of total mineral commodity exports. In addition, price declines among industrial minerals were uncommon in the decade 1977-1987 (Kimbell and Zajac, 1988). While prices of sulfur and most of the fertilizer minerals have seen some erosion and slow growth in markets in the period 1987-1992, other industrial minerals have increased in both value and share of the export market (USBM, 1992). The place of industrial minerals in world trade becomes even more significant when one looks at shipments of chemical fertilizers and basic chemicals that are counted as manufactured products rather than industrial mineral commodities. The United States is the major world producer of industrial mineral commodities and products made from these nonmetallic minerals and rocks. The former Soviet Union, now The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), and China have very significant deposits of industrial minerals. Japan exports significant quantities of cement. The US, CIS, and Morocco export large amounts of phosphate rock. Canada and Germany export substantial amounts of potash. Sulfur from Poland, industrial diamonds from South Africa, Zaire, and Brazil, and fluorspar from Mexico are all important exports.

Jan 1, 1994