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By D.G. Osborne

Each month abstracts of the papers selected for the Annual Bound TRANSACTIONS Volume will appear on this page. Since the Annual Bound Volume will not be published until the spring of next year, this will give people an opportunity to order copies of the papers earlier. If you would like copies, fill out the coupon below and return it to SME-AIME. Each copy will cost

Jan 1, 1985

By M. E. Gershon

Conventional methods of drill hole site selection are reviewed briefly. Two approaches using geostatistics are then discussed, both of which have been shown to yield improved results. Finally, a branch and bound algorithm is described which will select the best locations for drilling from a user specified number of possible drill sites. Two options are discussed. First, the user can specify a maximum drilling investment or a maximum number of drill holes and the program will select the locations yielding the minimum estimation variance. This amounts to getting the most for a given investment. Alternatively, a maximum tolerable estimation variance can be specified and the program will select the number and location of the drill holes to obtain the desired information at a minimum cost. Another benefit of the approach is the quantification of the tradeoffs between investment and information obtained.

Jan 1, 1985

By George A. Komadina

Pima Mining Company has recently completed their expansion tripling the plant capacity to 18,000 tons per day and now is in the process off expanding to 30,000 tons per day with completion scheduled for the summer of 1967. This paper briefly discusses the additions to the mining department and support areas with a more detailed report on the complete new crushing plant and additions to the concentrator. The crushing plant includes a 54-inch gyratory crusher, three 7-foot standard and seven 7-foot short head crushers along with necessary screens, feeders, and conveyor belts to produce a minus 1/2-inch rod mill feed. The concentrator consists of ten milling sections, each containing one 10-foot by 16-foot rod and two 10.5-foot by 13-foot ball mills, classification is done with cyclones. Pulp from each section is floated in 50 cells of 66-inch Fagergren flotation machines to produce a rougher concentrate which is cleaned in six stages of Denver cleaners to produce a final concentrate The various mill products are thickened with disposal made in conventional manner. Plant instrumentation is discussed in the paper.

Jan 1, 1967

By H. D. Lelono, M. Walden, G. Johnson

3D modelling can be used throughout the mine lifecycle and has proven to be a powerful tool for consultants and mining companies. One of the most significant benefits of 3D models is their ability to enhance collaboration, communication, and understanding between the mine owner, design engineers, and other relevant stakeholders that have a shared interest in responsible mining and site management. Tailings and mine waste management is an interdisciplinary effort that requires effective coordination and communication between a wide range of consultants, operators, and stakeholders alike. The increased emphasis on Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) highlights the importance for mine operators to engage and communicate with all parties involved in the planning, permitting, operation, and closure of mine sites. 3D models are valuable tools that can be used for development of geotechnical conceptual models, allowing for improved design and monitoring of Tailings Storage Facilities (TSFs). A clear conceptual understanding of a TSFs subsurface geology and foundation characterization is essential for proper tailings management, design, and planning. Visualization with 3D modelling can simplify the interpretation of the, oftentimes intricate, mine sight subsurface settings and allows for quick and effective geotechnical conceptualization. 3D models can be used to identify data gaps, optimize field investigations, and streamline the development of numerical stability or groundwater models. They can help communicate the complex nature of subsurface and TSF interactions in a clear, concise, and accurate manner to both technical and nontechnical stakeholders. This paper discusses some of the benefits of 3D modelling in relation to geotechnical analysis for tailings management and provides methodologies for how to improve upon some methodologies that are considered industry standards.

Feb 1, 2023

By X. Tang, N. Ripepi

The Langmuir model has been widely used for the coal-methane sorption process through an isothermal test. However, even though the temperature-dependent Langmuir model was recognized theoretically and experimentally, the quantitative relationships between the Langmuir constants a and b and temperature have not been clarified and confirmed by laboratory test data. This paper collects 158 methane-coal sorption data under different temperatures that apply the Langmuir model to the relationships between the Langmuir constants a and b and temperature. Even though the Langmuir model cannot be used to show the physical state of methane adsorption on coal, it is widely used because of its simplicity and the reasonable explanation of its parameters a and b. The results from these published isothermal tests indicate that (1) there is no consistent relationship between Langmuir constant a and temperature, (2) the Langmuir model is a temperature-dependent model whose temperature-dependent feature is mainly shown by the relationship between the Langmuir constant b and temperature, and (3) the relationship between the Langmuir constant b and temperature can be described by both exponential and linear relationships with dried coal. This paper provides a database for the temperature-dependent Langmuir model that can be used for the reservoir simulation of coalbed methane reservoirs and for the coal seam degasification modeling of underground coal mines, considering the heating effects induced by geothermal and heat injection through factors such as hot water, hot steam and ultrasonics.

Jan 1, 2016

By R. K. Sinha, B. S. Choudhary, Desh Deepak, A. K. Mishra, Hemant Agrawal, Shankar Kumar

Despite several methods (empirical, statistical and machine-learning tools) to calculate blast-induced ground vibration, it is not easy to predict and simulate blast vibration precisely under varying blasting loads and strata conditions due to complications in the blasting procedure. In this study, field blast data were simulated in Ansys software using explicit dynamics, and ground vibrations for 20 single-hole blasts were monitored. The densities of emulsion explosives were in the range of 0.9 to 1.15 g/cm3. In the laboratory, rock properties were determined from rock samples collected from the mine site before blasting. The in-hole velocity of detonation (VoD) and density of the emulsion explosive were also determined and used in numerical analysis to know the ground vibrations at specific points. The results of ground vibrations predicted by the model were validated using field data.

By B. Stewart, R. Li

Coal waste materials inhibit the direct establishment of vegetation due to adverse physical and chemical properties, particularly low water retention and high potential acidity. The Moss #1 coal refuse pile is located in Dickenson County, Virginia, and was idled in the late 1980s with little topsoil resources available for final closure. The refuse was acidic (Total S = 0.38%; pH = 3.6), black in color and high (70%) in coarse fragments. The refuse also had a low water-holding capacity (4.5% in < 2.0-mm fraction). A small plot experiment was established on the refuse pile to evaluate the effects of liming rates (50% and 100% of lime requirements) and topsoil thickness (15, 30 and 60 cm) on vegetative growth and leachate quality. Liming and topsoil amendment increased the surface soil pH from <4.0 to >6.0 over a two-year period, which resulted in greater vegetative cover and biomass than the control plots. All topsoil treatments resulted in greater vegetative cover and biomass than plots treated with lime only. This was due to improved surface soil physical and chemical properties. A topsoil treatment of 60 cm gave the thickest vegetative cover and biomass yield. Such a treatment, however, would be cost-prohibitive at this location. Applica¬tion of 27Mg ha`1 of lime to the refuse surface along with 15 cm of topsoil produced acceptable two-year vegetative cover and biomass, and this appeared to be the optimal treatment for this particular situation. Both liming and topsoil had no affect on leachate pH and the electrical conductivity of leachates collected below the plots. This suggests that surface revegetation will have little effect on the quality of water draining through the pile. Therefore, long-term water-treatment requirements may not be reduced by successfully revegetating the pile surface.

Jan 1, 2000

By H. D. Dahl

In January, 1969, the Central Research Division of Continental Oil Company initiated a research program on roof control. The purpose of the research was to improve roof stability. Toward this end, it was necessary to determine which of the many geological and geometrical variables have a significant effect on roof stability. The isolation of these significant variables would allow research effort to be concentrated where it would be most effective in improving roof control. The research effort was directed toward two major objectives. One was to de-fine the geological and/or geometrical parameters that affect the severity of roof conditions in any particular area of the mine. This study was concerned with roof fall intensity. The second was to define why roof falls in Humphrey No. mine (and in northern West Virginia-south-western Pennsylvania coal mining areas) are oriented so that they occur primarily in north-south rooms or entries. This study was concerned with roof fall orientation. To provide a reference framework for further discussion, a geological description of the area is presented in Part II. In Parts III and IV, the procedures, methods, and &apos;results of the research applied toward the afore-mentioned major objectives are presented. Part V contains the conclusions and recommendations for-warded by this study.

Jan 1, 1971

By J. Hanna, J. Jung

Researchers at The University of Alabama have recently developed a two-step method for the treatment of phosphorus sludge. The process includes the bulk removal of phosphorus by physical separation techniques followed by the remediation of the residual P4 in the sludge using a novel, wet, air-oxidation technique known as "HSAD." Tests made on electric furnace, phosphorus sludge samples have demonstrated that an essentially complete and fast removal of the contained P4 can be achieved by the HSAD wet oxidation treatment. Further studies were made to determine the applicability of the two-step process to sludges of different origins, pretreatments, storage conditions and P4 contents. The present work discusses the mechanisms and factors controlling the HSAD, wet, air-oxidation remediation approach.

Jan 1, 1993

By Duane L. Abata

Toxic gases produced by the detonation of six explosives were measured in an underground hardrock metal mine during actual mining operations. The six explosives included two semigelatin dynamites, three slurry explosives and an ammonium nitrate, fuel-oil/ammonia dynamite combination. Explosives were detonated at the face of a drift and the toxic gases produced by the detonation were trapped to the end of the drift by a bulkhead located a short distance away from the face. Toxic gas concentrations were then measured with direct readout instruments and together with the containment volume, the toxic gas volumes per mass of explosive were calculated. Toxic gas measurements were found in the following ranges (ft3/lbm): NO, 0.010-0.035; NO2, 0.003-0.019; CO, 0.08-0.30; S02, 0.00-0.05; and CO2, 0.7-1.8. Results showed that toxic gas production (ft3/lbm) correlated with the densities (kg/m3) and energy densities (kJ/kg) of the explosives tested.

Jan 1, 1979

By J. P. H. Steele, T. Vincent, C. Debrunner, M. Whitehorn

For a variety of reasons, the need for automation of underground mining equipment is growing dramatically, e.g., improved safety and health, availability of labor, deeper mines, and desire for more focused excavation. While there has been tremendous progress made in this direction, much needs to be done to reach the holy grail of an autonomous mining machine. This paper reviews a number of technological developments and presents research and development needs for future development. A report on our current project for the Western Mining Resource Center at CSM is included.

Jan 1, 2000

By Ronald M. Hays

The White Pine Copper Division of Copper Range Company is a large copper producer operating an underground mine, mill, and smelter on Michigan&apos;s Upper Peninsula. Principal water discharges are from the tailings basin where these discharges are high in dissolved solids because of mine water pumped into the basin. Principal air emissions are from the smelter where SO2 emissions are uncontrolled. Although water discharges and air emissions have not had significant environmental impacts, environmental regulations could require additional control procedures. Because of low copper prices and poor profitability, cost of compliance with possible new environmental regulations could have serious impact on White Pine with no apparent significant beneficial environmental impacts.

Jan 1, 1979

By R. M. G. S. Berezowsky

An atmospheric ammoniacal thiosulphate leach system was developed to recover gold and silver from residues of the ammoniacal oxidation leaching of sulphidic copper concentrates. Extractions of 88 - 95% Au and 83 - 98% Ag were attained within 2 to 4 hours at 40 - 60°C in thiosulphate leaching of the oxidation leach residues of Manitoba chalcopyrite concentrates analyzing 24.6% Cu, 0.18 oz/ton Au and 4.26 oz/ton Ag and a complex British Columbia chalcopyrite/tetrahedrite concentrate analyzing 18.5% Cu, 0.27 oz/ton Au and 276 oz/ton Ag. Parameters affecting the Au and Ag solubilization included thiosulphate, ammonia, and cupric ion concentrations, temperature, retention time and the degree of Cu extraction and sulphide oxidation in the primary oxidation leach. The precious metals were recovered from the thiosulphate liquors by zinc dust cementation.

Jan 1, 1979

By A. C. Barlow

The use of deep wells for waste disposal is not a new technique. The production phase of the oil industry has been using this method to dispose of unwanted oil field brine since the 1930&apos;s The adoption of this method by other branches of industry, however, to dispose of manufactured wastes is a relatively new development, but one which is finding increased use (2). Deep well waste disposal is not an ordinary technique even though it is finding relatively wide application. In fact, just the opposite is true; it is still a rather extraordinary measure. It is not now, nor is it ever likely to be a disposal method which can be assured of success before it is tried.

Jan 1, 1964

By Igor Gonzales G.

The Southern Peru Copper Corp. (SPCC) recently built an integrated copper project consisting of dump- and heap-leaching operations at its mine complex in Peru. The pregnant leach solution (PLS) containing the solubilized copper from the leaching operations is processed in a new solvent extraction/electrowinning (SX/EW) facility to produce high-purity cathode copper. The dump leaching and SX/EW facilities are located near the Toquepala mine site. The crushing and heap-leaching operation is located at the Cuajone Mine. The pregnant leach solution from Toquepala and Cuajone is pumped 35 km (22 miles) to the SX/EW plant at Toquepala. The SX/EW plant consists of three trains of solvent extraction (SX), a tank farm area and an electrowinning (EW) facility. The solvent extraction plant has a total PLS flow capacity of 3,210 m3/hr (113,360 cu ft/hr). The electrowinning facility has an expected long-term production capacity of 97 t/d(107 stpd) or about 35 kt/a (38,500 stpy) of cathode copper. However, present production exceeds the expected long-term by about 20%.

Jan 1, 1996

Teeter-bed (i.e., hindered-bed) separators are used throughout the mineral processing industry for both classification and density separation. The high capacity and sizing characteristics of these units make them ideal for feed preparation prior to coarse flotation (+0.100 mm) circuits. Teeter-bed separators are typically easy to control with two basic operating parameters including fluidization water rate and bed level. However, data show that these two parameters greatly interact with one another. Given this finding, a high-level automatic control scheme was developed and implemented on a full-scale separator. In addition, dialogue with plant operators has led to several simple changes to an already established design that improves operational and maintenance characteristics.

Jan 1, 2010

By Jr. Smith

Silver-gold ratios were studied at the Tayoltita epithermal vein deposit using channel sample, channel sample line, stope, ore body and vein sample populations. The ratios are highly variable among individual channel samples (25:1 to greater than 500:1) with both high and low values randomly distributed within ore bodies and veins. Whole vein ratios for the fourteen most important ore producing structures range from 44:1 to 105:1, and show zonal distribution relative to two small granitic stocks, low values closest to the intrusives. The zoned nature of the deposit suggests that the stocks, apophyses of an underlying batholith of Late Eocene age, were the heat engines which powered the hydrothermal system responsible for ore deposition.

Jan 1, 1978

By J. A. Murray

Maintaining satisfactory air quality in electrowinning tankhouses is problematic and costly, particularly as plant operating current densities have increased. Conventional approaches have not proved completely effective. These include the use of beads, hollow spheres, surfactants and coalescer devices. They require powerful ventilation systems to be installed. As workplace and environmental regulations become more stringent, containment of the acid mist at its source is more attractive. An electrode cap system based on this approach has been developed and tested in two commercial copper electrowinning tankhouses.

Jan 1, 1996

By F. Heivilin

If the past is the key to the future, we will have ?tough? times maintaining Industrial Mineral reserves we have and proving new reserves around our plants and in new locations. The tough times will come from resources being more difficult to find, more hoops to go thru to make them Proven or Probable reserves. As always, Industrial Minerals require competitive quality, location, and costs. Since in most cases the market has suppliers, you will have to take away customers from their present supplier. This may take years or not happen even with lower cost higher quality raw materials. To determine the finished cost for a new deposit you need to design, determine capital costs, and operating costs for a new plant . Stripping, mining, hauling, processing, and transportation costs are part of the equation. After satisfying that your costs are in line you will need to do production tests to make sure the process works on the ore. You may want to complete permitting before purchasing the property. If you are new in the business you will have to prove you can deliver the right quality, the right quantity, on time consistently year after year at lower cost to take away a customer. Without being in the market this will be hard. The cut off grades to enter a market may be much lower than sale indicates because a competitor often lowers the price to keep you out of the market. We have many more items to check before the new deposits can be put on reserves. Our old reserves will require drilling to check for new products and prove that they do not contain items that would make them unusable for our product line or cause permitting problems. Archeological checks, wetlands, more water discharge testing, county zoning, and endangered species are among many items that have been added to mine permits. There will be more. A 4-6 page mining permit becomes 30-300 pages and consists of 5-15 permits, any of which might be a fatal stumbling block. It is not guaranteed that we can mine what we have on reserves. We may fight and lose. Oil-Dri?s loss in Reno and LaPort?s in England are examples where permitting failed. The NOx, sulfur, and carbon problems are just starting. Dioxin is in the background requiring monitoring on food products to Europe. What other anions, cations, endangered species, and land types are going to be problems in the future are guesses now. What new products are we going to have to test for and cause out of balance reserves? If there are none we probably won?t be here. We are competing for land use with ?Endangered Species?, wetlands, farming, forestry, cities, roads, and hunting. We?ve mined the best quality, low overburden, easiest to mine and process raw materials. The price of land and taxes are increasing. Old royalties are 2-3 times the present acre value instead of 8-10 times the property value when leased. Land taxes are up. It was and is best that we get the land in Fee Simple Title. This isn?t always possible. However, plants are closing and people have overlooked, made mistakes in drilling or interpretation of deposits. These may be opportunities. China is eating up high quality ?Industrial Minerals ?which have caused prices to rise. We may need to change our cutoffs? in terms of smaller pit sizes and higher overburden ratios. This is money in the bank. Overburden ratios and other items increasing cutoff costs need to be rethought. Suddenly doubling cutoff ratios for overburden and decreasing pit sizes are good alternatives to looking elsewhere where we might not be able to mine for a number of reasons. The higher prices make them competitive, especially when a competitor goes out of business. However, our low overburden ratios and short hauls around our plants are not safe from new roads, condemnation by county or city governments (N. J.), zoning changes (Reno, FL., CA, and environmental regulation changes (Buffers GA, MS). New roads ?Interstates? can take reserves, increase hauling distances and reduce tons per load. Let?s combine the Refractories, fullers earth, and bentonite industries and use the last 40 years as a guide to the future looking for problems and opportunities. Some or most of the following will apply to other minerals. WHERE DO WE LOOK? First, on our own properties, those next to our properties and on properties near our competitor?s plants. Where the profit margin has increased, the distance from the plant and thickness of overburden we can use is increased. The thickness of clay is decreased. For new locations we pick the ideal location and look at deposits and closed or open operations in ever increasing distances away from that location. We need to be aware of: 1. Increased transportation costs a. Access to Roads -Backhauls b. Haul with doubles and triples c. Railroads - Loading on sidings - Ability to get switches - Cars/backhauls versus rates 2. Cost of building a new plant 3. Cost of infrastructure 4. Cost of repair or new equipment when purchasing an operating or shutdown plant. 5. Local, state, and federal mine and environmental permitting. When exploring around an established operation expect that property acquisition, drilling, mining, stripping, and hauling costs will be greater due to them having second, third, or even fourth the pick of the deposits. I found this in New Jersey looking for refractories and around Quincy, Florida looking for attapulgite. You may be able to get some better properties because the operating company has angered some land owners, their drillers missed the clay, or the property wasn?t available when they were actively exploring for reserves. You may have some product lines your

Jan 1, 2009

By Brendan Demich, Brendan Macdonald, Timothy J. Orr, Jonathan K. Hrica, CASSANDRA L. HOEBBEL, Jason Navoyski, Jennica L. Bellanca

Haul truck fatal accidents and injuries continue to be a significant concern for the mining industry. However, the availability of high-quality training materials continues to be limited. Near-miss incident accounts, if packaged well, could help fill this gap, because for every fatality, there are hundreds of reportable accidents and thousands of undocumented near misses. Researchers from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) collected detailed accounts of 21 near-miss incidents in virtual interviews with mineworkers at surface mining operations across the country. From these interviews, researchers created four simulation videos using the Unity game engine. The simulation videos bring these events to life through first-person retelling and various visual perspectives of actual events. Each video exemplifies a critical safety message and a common haul truck hazard. This paper describes the process of taking narratives and turning them into impactful visual stories using graphic simulation. NIOSH plans to co-release these simulation videos with the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) to the mining industry to raise awareness and ultimately help reduce haul truck-related accidents and fatalities in mining.

Jun 1, 2023