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By Eleanor Abshire

THIS PUBLICATION is the third to be prepared as a result of a cooperative project by the Bureau of Ships and the Bureau of Mines for accumulating literature published on zirconium and hafnium. The undertaking also resulted in the establishment of an information center on zirconium and hafnium at the Bureau of Mines station at Albany, Oreg., for the use of research organizations and others. The present bibliography consists of references (with abstracts) to pertinent literature on zirconium. The first publication in this series was Information Circular 7771, Bibliography of Zirconium, published in April 1957. It consists of 969 abstracted reports and 645 U.S. and foreign patents. The second publication, called a supplement to Information Circular 7771, is numbered Information Circular 7830 and consists of 844 abstracted reports and 62 U.S. and foreign patents. It was published in October 1958.

Jan 1, 1962

The 28th annual American Mining Hall of Fame Awards Banquet and fundraiser sponsored by the Mining Foundation of the Southwest will be held at the Marriott University Park Hotel, Tucson, AZ on Saturday, Dec. 4, 2010. The Mining Foundation of the Southwest is a nonprofit organization whose objectives are public education about the mineral industries, and recognition of outstanding accomplishments in and contributions to the fields of mineral and fuel resources. Funds are being raised to the support the foundation?s educational programs. Among these is the Educational Outreach Program operated jointly by the foundation and the Arizona Department of Mines and Mineral Resources.

Jan 1, 2010

By M. H. Farjadi, J. Azari

Cost analysis of chrome ore reduction is one of the important issues facing ferrochrome producers in today?s competitive environment. Much of this depends on quality and various ratios in the actual ore. The latter can have a direct bearing on electricity consumption and optimum efficiency of the furnaces. While the industry has been successful in reducing costs by designing larger and more efficient furnaces, the role of the optimum blend of ore has perhaps been given less emphasis. This paper will discuss the general specification and metallurgical characteristics of various chrome ores for producing high carbon ferrochromium on industrial scale. By analysing the results obtained from smelting, including chromium recovery and energy consumption, the determining parameters in total cost of ferrochromium i.e. chrome ore; reductant and energy consumption can be optimized. Our study is based on actual experiences obtained from Faryab Ferroalloy Plant over a period of approximately three years.

Jan 1, 2004

By Thomas M. Barczak

Roof support systems are necessary to provide stable mine openings and much research has been conducted to design a variety of roof support systems that will function in various manners to ensure that stable ground conditions are achieved. Despite these advancements in technology, mistakes continue to be made in the evaluation and/or installation that significantly degrade the support capability or lead to erroneous determinations of support expectations. The purpose of this paper is to discuss misconceptions about how roof supports perform and factors that impact their performance. The goal is to present practical information that will assist mine operators and engineers in selecting, installing, and evaluating roof support systems properly, and help them to avoid mistakes that can lead to erroneous expectations and potentially catastrophic results that may lead to roof falls. The paper is limited to a discussion of secondary roof support systems and powered roof supports such as longwall shields.

By G. S. Scott. R. L. Grant

Ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3), a white crystalline chemical compound composed of 35 percent nitrogen, 60 percent oxygen, and 5 percent hydrogen, has again attracted attention, due largely to the recent catastrophe on April 16 and 17, 1947, at Texas City, Tex. The fire and subsequent explosion on the steamship Ocean Liberty, outside the harbor of Brest, France, on July 28, 1947, has fur- ther increased the interest in the properties of ammonium nitrate. As a result of the Texas City disaster, several laboratories have undertaken research to determine more certainly what causes ammonium nitrate to detonate and under what circumstances. This is not the first time that ammonium nitrate has been involved in a disaster, and its properties reviewed from the standpoint of safety. The disaster at Oppau, Germany, in 1921, which involved an equimolec- ular mixture of ammonium nitrate and ammonium sulfate, prompted an intensive study in Europe and in America. In the United States the properties of am- monium nitrate are now of especial concern because very large quantites are being manufactured and shipped in interstate commerce and abroad. Many an- monium nitrate factories, which were built during the war, will manufacture increasing amounts of this compound for use as a fertilizer. It is the purpose of this report to present a brief summary and biblio- graphy of the published experimental facts about the properties and behavior of ammonium nitrate. The reader is referred to original publications for greater details of the investigative work, and for theoretical discussions. This report also includes a survey of ammonium nitrate fertilizer of the type involved in the Texas City explosions. In the past, authorities have not always agreed on the degree of hazard involved in the manufacture and handling of ammonium nitrate, as the following quotations from the literature indicate: Munroe (82) quoted the following from Turner's Chemistry (a book pub- lished in 1835): "When this salt is exposed to fire, it liquefies, emits aqueous vapor, dries and detonates." Berthelot (14) in his book, Explosives and Their Power, 1983, wrote: "Ammonium nitrate from the point of view of its volatility, and cn account of many considerations, may be regarded as a typical explosive substance."

Jun 1, 1948

By C. Bazin, D. Hodouin

"A flexible model involving perfect mixers, stagnant zones, plug flow, material bypassing and recycling zones has been developed for interpreting mixing phenomena in mineral processes. The mixing properties are described by the residence time distributions which can be subsequently interpreted by the flexible model. User-friendly computer programs (for 1MB-PC or compatible) have been developed for simulation and modelling of RTDs using the proposed model. Seven mineral processing case studies are discussed in terms of experimental procedure, model calibration results and application of the estimated mixing model to process modelling, diagnosis, and performance evaluation. IntroductionIn any mineral processing plant there are continuous-flow machines that transform or separate the ore components. Grinding mills, flotation cells, conditioning and leaching tanks are examples of such machines. The performances of these vessels or reactors are controlled by the rate at which the reaction proceeds and the time spent in the environment where the reaction occurs. This paper deals with the latter aspect of mineral processes operation.Since most of the reactions occurring in mineral processing units are time dependent, knowledge of the residence time of the material in process vessels is important for modelling and diagnosis purposes. Due to the random mixing phenomena involved in the process equipment, there is a distribution of the residence time of the ore particles and the fluid in the vessel. The probability density function E(t) that a micro-element of the material flowing through a processing unit stays a time t in the vessel, is the residence time distribution (RTD) of the corresponding component."

Jan 1, 1988

By B K. Da, S A. Balaji, G P. Roy, T K. Dutta

The raw material handling complex at the Durgapur steel plant provides iron ore, crushed coke and flux to two sinter plants. Either some facilities were not envisaged or not properly designed before the project stage which caused problems during operation of the plant. The absence of an in situ roll turning facility, used to increase maintenance activities for disassembly, transportation of rolls to central machine shop and assembly of rolls, led to decreased crusher availability and increased activities for the maintenance crew. The provision of a smaller vibro feeder/screen in place of a suitable sized screen caused jamming of the screen deck, adversely affecting screening efficiency and the crushing index of crushed coke. Some design modifications and developmental work was undertaken, such as the development and installation of an in situ roll turning facility in the existing limited space, achieving low feed (0.1 - 0.2 mm/rev), lower cutting speed of 30 - 40 m/minute for 350 BHN hard roll, which was also a difficult engineering challenge to bring within the tolerable limit of vibration. This was successfully achieved. Modifications to the screen deck, introduction of differential speed crushing and modification to the vibro screen and vibro feeder for uniform distribution of feed have been incorporated. These innovative design modifications to the in situ roll turning have led to a drastic decrease in maintenance activities and an improvement in the crushing index. Modifications to the screen have resulted in the elimination of jamming and improved screening. Modifications to the vibro screen before the primary crushers and to the vibro feeder before the secondary crushers have prevented excessive wear in the central portion of rolls, ultimately leading to increased roll life. Incorporation of differential speed crushing has resulted in an increased crushing index and decreased generation of micro fines. All the above modifications have led to distinct improvements in equipment availability, increased roll life and a decrease in maintenance activities and improvement in crushed coke granulametry, ultimately resulting in improved productivity and quality of iron ore agglomeration at the sinter plant. The innovative design modifications mentioned above are discussed in detail in this paper.

Jan 1, 2005

By Philippe Dumont

?Lay out of the tunnel section ?General ?Geology ?Tunnels methods ?Stations constraints ?Impacts on tunnels ?Design ?Programs

By E. S. Leaver

The gold that is not recovered by a particular process is refractory to that process. A study to determine how the refractory gold is associated in the ore constituents usually indicates the needed improvement in the process or additional methods for bettering recovery. In preliminary work, segregation of the various minerals, gangue or impurities, and data showing the reactions of each in the recovery method readily confines the refractory gold to a certain part on which extensive research can be directed. In this dissecting plan, the microscope is an important aid in locating the refractory gold but should be supplemented by chemical tests.

Jan 1, 1934

Project Sustainability Assessment - Matching Method to Enterprise Size Sustainable development requires managing natural resources, including minerals, in a way that is conducive to long-term wealth creation and the maintenance of capital (natural, social, human, economic and physical). One aspect of the minerals sustainability discussion focuses on replacing depleted mineral capital with other forms of capital so as to ensure that the contribution of a mineral project is net positive over its life. Another, equally important, aspect focuses on selection of projects and technologies that contribute to the achievement of a variety of sustainability objectives, such as environmental protection, efficient use of resources, water and energy, worker health and safety, and the equitable distribution of risks and benefits within and across generations. Technical feasibility and relative economic performance remain necessary decision criteria for mineral investment decisions, but they are no longer sufficient. Enterprises, regardless of size, are now confronted with the challenge of comparing investment alternatives based on a new, broader set of criteria. The field of integrated sustainability assessment (ISA) emerged in response to this changed social and business environment. ISA is a structured process for examining the economic, social and environmental impacts of a project or technology. The purpose of an assessment can be broad, a strategic review of corporate behavior for example, or quite narrow, input to a specific decision process such as the selection of a piece of equipment. There are numerous methods and analytical tools available to conduct ISAs and selection of the most appropriate for a given situation will depend upon temporal focus (retrospective to prospective), decision context (strategic, tactical or operational), and phase of the assessment process (problem structuring, analysis, resolution, ex post review), among others. Selection also depends upon enterprise size and the attendant availability of financial and human resources. Large multi-national firms often undertake complex, data intensive sustainability assessments, in part because the projects they are involved in are multi-faceted, long term, and require significant financial investments. Small and medium sized enterprises are seldom able to commit the same level of resources to an ISA, and if the projects they undertake are less complicated, a time consuming and detailed assessment may be unnecessary. Regardless of enterprise size, the tangible and reputational benefits of conducting as ISA must exceed the actual monetary cost of doing so. This presentation will provide an overview of available ISA tools, categorising them in terms of their data requirements, methodology, outputs and applicability in various decisions contexts. Distinction will be drawn between situations where reasonable approximations of project impacts can be expected to provide an adequate amount of information and those for which more detailed analysis is essential. Finally, ISA strategies that have been successful and cost effective at different scales of business enterprise will be identified. This is an abstract only. No full paper was prepared for this presentation.

Sep 13, 2010

By C. L. Kosmoski, B. M. Eiter, B. P. Connor

"In the recent past, the mining industry has witnessed a substantial increase in the numbers of fatalities occurring at metal and nonmetal mine sites, but it is unclear why this is occurring. One possible explanation is that workers struggle with identifying worksite hazards and accurately assessing the associated risk. The purpose of this research was to explore this possibility within the mining industry and to more fully understand stone, sand and gravel (SSG) mine workers’ thoughts, understandings and perceptions of worksite hazards and risks. Eight mine workers were interviewed and asked to identify common hazards they come across when doing their jobs and to then discuss their perceptions of the risks associated with those identified hazards. The results of this exploratory study indicate the importance of workers’ jobrelated experience as it applies to hazard identification and risk perception, particularly their knowledge of or familiarity with a task, whether or not they had personal control over that task, and the frequency with which they perform that task. IntroductionAccording to the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA, 2015a), 37 mine workers were fatally injured in accidents at metal and nonmetal mine sites between October 2013 and January 2015, following a record low of 16 in 2012 and in 2011. In 2014 alone, 29 mine workers were fatally injured at a metal or nonmetal mine site, and 52 percent of these fatalities occurred at a surface stone, sand or gravel (SSG) mine. In January 2015, Joseph A. Main, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Health wrote to stakeholders in the metal and nonmetal mining community and identified several areas where improvement was necessary to promote the health and safety of mine workers. One area identified was an increased focus on “daily and effective workplace exams to find and fix hazards” (MSHA, 2015b).Hazard detection is challenging in the mining industry, despite the existence of regulation. Mining is a major undertaking involving the use of complex heavy machinery, equipment and processes as well as numerous and diverse worker activities that take place in a dynamic, challenging environment (Scharf et al., 2001). In other industries that are similarly dynamic and unpredictable, such as the construction industry, a large proportion of hazards go undetected (Carter and Smith, 2006). It is critical that miners are able to both recognize worksite hazards and accurately assess the risk associated with the hazards, because their health and safety depend on their deciding whether and how to remove hazards and mitigate risks."

Nov 1, 2016

By Linney, Robert J.

REPUBLIC Steel Corporation's iron-ore properties in the Adirondacks consist of mines, mills, and sintering plants in the Mineville and Port Henry area and at Lyon Mountain. This article will deal with the properties in the vicinity of Mineville and Port Henry. In 1938, when Republic leased the Mineville- Port Henry operations from the Witherbee Sherman Corp., these properties had just come through some hard depression years. As a result, the mine development program was far behind schedule; most of the equipment needed replacement; and above all, the entire system of mining had to be completely changed to reduce operating costs. The concentrator had been in operation for many years; the process was dry and dusty. Machinery and equipment were either badly worn or entirely obsolete. The sintering plant, also long in operation, was badly in need of repairs.

Jan 1, 1943

By Thomas Novak, Jeffrey L. Kohler, Joseph Sottile, Steve J. Gnapragasam

Modern underground coal mines can be very large, having a total connected load in excess of l5 000 hp. These mines generally have many miles of high-power conveyor belts and 15 or more miles of high-voltage power cables at distribution voltages of 12.47, 13.2, 13.8, or 14.4 kV. The shielded cables used in mine power distribution systems have a significant level of capacitance, on the order of 110 pF/ft. This level of capacitance, in an extensive power distribution system at today's voltage levels, can cause significant charging currents during a ground fault. This paper addresses the potential detrimental effects of capacitance charging currents during line-to-ground faults in mine power distribution systems. A representative mine power system is modeled, and simulations with faults at various locations are conducted to evaluate the effects of this capacitance on the level of fault current and relay selectivity. This paper also includes results of capacitance measurements made on mine power feeder cables used to validate the simulation model.

By Fred D. Gustafson

With the postwar emergency for new housing and for new industrial buildings, much research has been done on lightweight aggregates for use in concrete and plaster. The trend toward lighter weight aggregates to relieve the dead load on the higher, steel frame- work buildings started toward the end of the last century. Progressively the requirements be- came more stringent, crushed bank slag, weighing 80 lb per cu ft as com- pared to 100 lb for crushed rock, was supplemented in some sections by foamed slags and expanded shales weighing from 40 to 60 lb per cu ft. In other sections cinders were used weighing from 40 to 50 lb, including sand. Sections favored with more recent vulcanism turned to pumice weighing from 30 to 60 lb, whereas other localities made use of diatomite, from 28 to 40 lb. Exfoliated vermiculite weighing from only 6 to 10 lb per cu ft came into use. As the search for lighter weights in aggregates continued so did the search for other desirable properties such as nailability, ease of cutting or channeling, and good insulation to both sound and heat. This search eventually led to a widespread interest in the expansion of perlite, or similar volcanic glasses, with the result that in 1946, the Office of the Housing Expediter' listed eleven firms reporting the operation of processing plants either on pilot or commercial scale producing aggregates weighing from 2 to 16 lb per cu ft.

Jan 1, 1949

By Mike Ghassemi

It is clear that precise overground and under-ground mapping is an important factor for all designers. Due to rapid changes in underground construction, tunnel designers are increasingly in need of updating project information. This article explains the latest techniques for detecting under-ground utilities as well as underground mapping. Global Positioning System (GPS) is a very ac-curate and popular navigation and mapping system that has been used extensively above ground, but is not used for underground mapping as signals are not strong enough to pass through ground or water. Most underground techniques were developed for military applications during the first and second world wars. Later, the techniques became public. For example, ground penetrating radar was developed for the military in 1970 to be used for locating tunnels under the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea. Later, the same technique was used for detecting unexploded ordinance such as plastic land mines.

Jan 1, 2011

By D. Harrington

This circular presents part I of a series of papers of a review of the literature on air conditioning in mines, with particular reference to the health, safety, and efficiency of miners. It deals with the physiological aspects of exposure to air contaminated by organic matter, noxious and toxic gases, and dusts that emanate from various sources in underground workings; part II will discuss the relation of abnormal mine temperatures and humidities to the health and efficiency of minors; and part III will describe theoretical and practical methods of air conditioning mines to correct or alleviate the conditions mentioned and will discuss the results attained by some of the systems now in use in various parts or the world.

Jan 1, 1938

By F. L. Bosqui, A. D. Wilkinson

EVEN though the world has not been crying for more copper for the last three or four years there has been some important mill and smelter construction. Discovery and development of large new high-grade copper deposits in Africa has led to the construction of extensive reduction facilities there, prominent among which is the concentrator and smelter of the Rhokana Corporation at N'Kana. Northern Rhodesia. The 3000-ton concentrator adjoins the central shaft. A little over half a mile to the southeast, at an altitude of 40,010 ft., is the smelter, designed on the site by 1. H. Wynne. It is arranged primarily to treat N'Kana copper concentrates, but can also handle concentrates and direct-smelting ore from outside sources. Excavations were started late in 1930; concrete was first poured on Jan. 6. 1931; and the first blister cop¬per was cast on March 1.9, 1932, less than fifteen months later. During this period, which included several months of heavy tropical rains, some 10,000 cu. yd. of concrete was poured and 41000 tons of structural steel erected under the supervision of construction engineer, A. Ek, with a labor force of 60 to 30 Europeans and about 300 natives. The steelwork was fabricated by Head Wrightson & Co. in England, and the boiler plant equipment furnished and erected by the International Combustion Co. Ltd.

Jan 1, 1934

By J. Drimmer

The past several decades have seen the rapid expansion of multinational mining companies? exploration and production activities around the globe. This trend has resulted from a number of factors, including increased demand for resources as a result of worldwide economic growth, the diminishment of known and proven reserves, rising commodity prices, technology improvements, and the liberalization of investment regimes in developing countries with significant natural resources. With those opportunities, however, come associated risks and significantly increased legal compliance obligations that may be imposed by various bodies. That includes domestic regulations, as well as foreign civil and criminal laws with extraterritorial reach. A failure to adhere to those laws can have dire consequences, including substantial monetary fines and penalties, severe damage to a company?s reputation, and even jail time for individual company employees.

Jan 1, 2010

By N. A. Warner, R. K. Manna

Physical modelling of liquid-phase oxygen mass transfer in a water model of part of a proposed new polymetallic smelter has been achieved. A study of solute mass transfer caused by multiple, subsonic air jets contacting superoxygenated water flowing in a channel model of the smelter converting hearth has been carried out. For a wide range of channel flow rates the rate of mass transfer was found to be independent of water velocity. The water model has been used to compare mass transfer for both open-packed and close-packed multiple-lance arrays with circular nozzles of diameters 2.26, 4.95, 10.95 and 24.40 mm. It was found that with fewer of the larger-diameter nozzles a reduction of up to 58% in liquid-phase mass transfer occurred, especially for the close-packed lance configurations. This restriction of liquid-phase mass transfer would result in reduced metal losses in the analogous smelting situation. The larger nozzles, however, exhibited more jet-jet and jet-channel wall interference effects than their smaller counterparts, resulting in an effective reduction in the momentum fluxes of the impinging jets

Jul 1, 1991

The Bureau of Mines is the engineering arm of the Government for mineral resources. Its mission is to carry out laboratory and field studies that will assure the wise and effective development and use of our Nation's minerals, fuels, and underground domain in order to preserve the security and enhance the welfare of our people. Specifically, studies are directed to the means by which current and emerging demands may be met, the real cost of such achievements, and the assessment of related social and economic factors. Ways are sought to fulfill our material needs in a manner that minimizes occupational hazards to workers in the industry, reduces waste, and ensures that mineral raw materials are supplied and mineral-based products are used and are disposed of efficiently, without objectionable social and environmental costs. The headquarters of the Bureau of Mines is located in Washington, D.C. The Bureau's research and development program, however, is conducted at 19 research centers and laboratories located throughout the United States.

Jan 1, 1971