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By T. Clarkin

This paper presents a hydrologic closure design concept to minimize the risk of water discharges from closed mine tailings facilities. It evaluates the applicability of U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission guidelines to develop acceptable designs for the closure of tailings facilities that have a calculated adequate surcharge capacity for environmental protection and an emergency spillway for dam safety. The guidelines provide a basis to estimate an acceptable surcharge capacity of a Probable Maximum Flood series for storage of surface runoff. To be conservative and for redundancy with respect to dam safety, an emergency spillway is provided to pass the Probable Maximum Flood. Depending on the annual water balance, the surcharge capacity may be used by surface runoff and minor amounts of sediment that accumulates in the impoundment from year to year. The emergency spillway crest is then set at this level or above the surcharge capacity, whichever is higher. An example is given of the active Red Dog Mine tailings facility in Alaska where this method was used for the preliminary design of the tailings main dam at its ultimate closure configuration.

Jan 1, 2012

By P. D. Lohn

The objective of this program was to develop nozzle designs to maximize the effective cutting length of a water jet. The results of the theoretical program directly support the Bureau of Mines Borehole Mining Program and their experimental program to improve the rock cutting capability of water jets. The borehole geometry requires turning the flow by 90 degrees and accelerating through the nozzle within a restricted length. Several suggestions for turning the flow are offered. The borehole space limitations constrain nozzle length, to the extent that a standard 13-degree tapered nozzle (6-1/2 degrees half angle) is too long to fit in the borehole, at production flow conditions. The design technique developed is computationally economical and enables examination of a large number of shapes and flow conditions. The nozzle design is based on design criteria of minimization of boundary layer thickness at the nozzle exit and minimization of the possibility of separation and cavitation. Six flow conditions, including pressures to 4500 psi and flow rates to 400 gpm, were examined, Best shapes were determined for all flow conditions. The best shape for a borehole reining application consists of an initial 4th degree polynominal (quartic) at the entrance followed by a straight section with a twenty degree (half-angle) taper at the exit.

Jan 1, 1976

By K. V. Konigsmann

"Mattagami Lake Mines Ltd operate a zinc-copper mine with an annual output of about 200,000 tons of zinc and 30,000 tons of copper concentrates. Zinc concentrates arc shipped to a company owned smelter in Valleyfield (a distance of 690 miles), for Export to Quebec City and also to Josephtown, Pennsylvania (1,060 miles, Figure 1.)The protection of concentrates in open gondola rail shipments has been a matter of concern since operations commenced. Considerable financial losses did occur at times because of wind erosion. Operating difficulties were also encountered by customers because of excessive moisture accummulation in the concentrates. Test shipments made in 1969 established the magnitude of losses in open cars. The results and subsequent investigations at our mines and elsewhere confirmed that load protection is an economic necessity.Many types of covers were experimented with, more or less successfully. In 1972 we agreed on a joint program with Dupont of Canada Limited. A new type of cover was developed by early 1973. It has been in use since, undergoing several improvements as experience accumulates."

Jan 1, 1975

By P. Roy

Smelting or converting of sulphide concentrates and mattes in a batch operation presents a challenge when directing the off- gas to a conventional acid plant. The Hindustan Zinc Ltd. (a division of the Vedanta Group of companies) Chanderia Lead Zinc smelter was presented with such a challenge that was met with the adoption of the Cansolv® SO2 Scrubbing System. The Ausmelt top submerged lance technology used at Hindustan Zinc generates a furnace gas stream that contains between 0.1 vol% and 12 vol% SO2 during the three stages of batch smelting. Cansolv® SO2 Scrubbing Technology captures the SO2 to ensure that treated flue gas exits the facility at a concentration below 100 ppmv SO2 and it releases SO2 in a controlled fashion, to more closely match the needs of the existing acid plant. The application of a regenerable scrubbing system to capture SO2 from a batch-operated furnace and convert it to acid in a conventional acid plant was a first of its kind in the world. This paper provides an update on the design and operation of the Hindustan Zinc SO2 recovery system and suggests two improvements to the basic flow sheet that optimize the cost of SO2 scrubbing further.

Jan 1, 2007

By O. M. McRae

The Courtland-Gleeson area is in Cochise County about 15 miles east of Tombstone in southeastern Arizona. Rocks exposed in the area range in age from Pre-cambrian to Quaternary. The Precambrian is repre-sented by the Pinal schist. Paleozoic rocks include the Cambrian Bolsa quartzite and Abrigo limestone, Mississippian Escabrosa limestone, and the Permo-Carboniferous Naco Group limestones. Rocks believed to be of Triassic and/or Jurassic age include the Copper Belle monzonite porphyry, Turquoise granite, and Gleeson quartz monzonite. The Cretaceous is represented by andesitic volcanics and various sedimentary rocks. Tertiary rocks include the intrusive and extrusive Sugarloaf quartz latite porphyry and numerous dikes of various rock types. Quaternary conglomerates cover the northern and eastern part of the area. The geologic structure is extremely complex. All rocks as old as early Tertiary have been involved in either tilting, normal faulting, high angle reverse faulting, imbricate thrusting or folding and overfold-ing. Major deformation was initiated during the first half of the Tertiary. Northeast-southwest compres-sional forces caused thrust plates containing lower Paleozoic rocks to override Cretaceous rocks. Subsequently, two large slide blocks of lower Paleozoic rocks, acting under the influence of gravity, moved eastward. The imbricate structure and the gravity slide blocks were then broken by late Tertiary normal faults. INTRODUCTION The Courtland-Gleeson area, or Turquoise Mining District, has long been recognized as an area of extreme structural complexity. Gilluly 2 referred to the entire district as a "gigantic thrust breccia". In 1962, Bear Creek Mining Company completed a two year program of detailed geologic mapping supported by exploration drilling. The purpose of this paper is to present some of the results of this investigation and to provide a structural interpretation based on these results. The geologic map that accompanies this report is generalized and shows only the major and significant features. The area was initially mapped on aerial photographs on a scale of 1 in. equals approximately 500 ft. These data were transferred to a planimetric base using a vertical sketch master. LOCATION The Courtland-Gleeson area is in central Cochise County, about fifteen miles east of Tombstone, and about twenty-two miles northeast of Bisbee in southeastern Arizona (Fig. 1). The area is readily accessible over graded gravel roads from both Tombstone and Elfrida. GENERAL GEOLOGY Rocks exposed in the area range in age from Pre-cambrian to Quaternary. wilson3 and Gilluly2 have published very detailed descriptions of the principal rock units exposed in the area. Only a summary description is provided in Table I. A great number of previously unmapped narrow Tertiary dikes and small irregular masses of hornblende andesite porphyry, lamprophyre, and aplite intrude the Gleeson quartz monzonite in the western part of the map area. The scale of the map prohibits showing them. The aplite dikes are related to, and bear the same structural relationships as, the Sugarloaf quartz latite dikes found in this area. For that reason, and because both the hornblende andesite porphyry and the lamprophyre are post-mineral and post-thrusting, their omission from the map is not considered significant. Because so many of the contacts in the district are fault contacts, because bedding faults appear to be prevalent but are difficult to recognize and map, and because igneous intrusions are so common throughout the sedimentary section, it is virtually impossible to measure an exact total thickness of any of the sedimentary rock units. Nevertheless, neither the field mapping program nor the diamond drilling provided any basis for suspecting that the thicknesses of the sedimentary units are significantly greater or less than what might be inferred from surrounding districts.

Jan 1, 1967

By J E. Nethery

At the Red Dome and Mungana deposits in north Queensland, Australia, it is proposed that mineralisation and alteration developed as a 'telescoped' overprinting continuum, ranging in style from hypothermal to epithermal, reflecting the major changes that developed in the regional setting over the period circa 325 - 290 Ma. Regional assessment suggests that this also applies to many other precious and base metal deposits within a 40 km length of the host Siluro-Devonian Chillagoe Formation.   A ten stage paragenetic sequence of structural preparation, multi phase intrusion and associated mineralisation, alteration and brecciation is postulated for the Chillagoe district.

Jan 1, 1995

By K. E. Merklin, F. D. DeVaney

Students of the modern blast furnace seem unanimously agreed that they are observing a major revolution in practice. Rather than changing construction and operation of the furnaces, most of the great advances now under way deal with the raw materials feed. Prepared burdens have gained increasing significance during recent years. Sizing, concentration, and agglomeration have all become bywords to greater production and reduced operating costs. The remarkable results with test furnaces in which self-fluxing sinter makes up part or all of the ore charge foretell even greater improvements. Other investigators have reported many of these advances, and it is enough to predict here that more and more operators will turn to the use of self-fluxing sinter. This change in the operator's requirements comes at a time when one major section of the iron ore regions, the Mesabi, is finding it difficult to maintain, let alone improve, the tonnage and grade of its shipping product. To meet the new demands with respect to quality and structure, the iron ore producers of this area turned first to screening, crushing, and concentrating intermediate ores. More recently, declining higher-grade reserves have led to multimillion-dollar investments in plants to treat the low-grade magnetic taconites.1,2 To yield a suitable concentrate, the Minnesota magnetic taconites must be ground to about 80 pct through 325 mesh, too fine to be charged directly to the blast furnace or to make acceptable feed to the sinter strand. The pelletizing process was developed to meet the structure requirements laid down by the blast furnace operators. Taconite producers are succeeding in their efforts just when the attention of the blast furnace man is being drawn to the great advantages of self-fluxing sinter.3 The taconite operators are ready with an alternative. Why not produce sclf-flus ing pellets? At the Hibbing laboratory of Pickands Mather & Co., where much of the early work was done that led to Erie Mining's 7.5-million ton taconite plant at Hoyt Lakes, Minn., preliminary investigations have been made. Present Taconite Operations: Details of this work will be clarified by a brief review of agglomeration practice in commercial taconite plants. After the taconite has been ground to about 80 pct through 325 mesh to liberate the magnetite grains, the ore is concentrated on magnetic separators, thickened, and filtered to about 10 pct moisture. This structure and moisture fit in closely with the conditions required to produce good balls. It has been found with taconite concentrates that at least 60 pct of the feed to the balling drum must be —325 mesh to obtain good ball compaction within reasonable time. The filter cake moisture usually permits a slight water addition at the balling drum, and further balling control is obtained by adding about 12 Ib of bentonite and 1 1/2 lb of soda ash per dry short ton of concentrate. These additives, and occasionally small quantities of fine coal, are thoroughly mixed with the filter cake ahead of balling. The swelling property of bentonite improves the green and dry strength of the balls so they can be handled without breakage until they are fired. Soda ash is added for pH control to insure maximum performance of the bentonite, and coal is added for more heat in the firing process when required. The balls, normally 3/8 to l-in. diam, are brought to a temperature of 2350" to 2500°F in the indurating furnace. Heat for this process comes from three sources: 1) fuel burned in the combustion chamber, 2) oxidation of the magnetite concentrates to hematite, and 3) coal added to the balls. Pellet strength is developed by grain growth and bridging and, if enough slag-forming constituents are present, by slag bonding. Conversion to hematite is usually close to 100 pct in the fired pellets. Batch Test Procedures: Initial studies of self-fluxing pellets were made by producing balls on a batch basis under carefully controlled laboratory conditions. The l-in. balls, uniform in size, were fired in an oxidizing atmosphere in a standard laboratory muffle furnace. The firing procedure consisted of

Jan 1, 1961

By Luthie Els, Chris Coetzee, Roedolf Koekemoer, Casper Els, Olof Vorster, Frank Fereday

Three electric arc furnaces (EAFs) were constructed by Union Carbide at Tubatse Ferrochrome (TFC) in1975. This plant was expanded to four furnaces at the East Plant in 1985 and the gas cleaning system was enlarged without taking flow dynamics into consideration. In order to improve competitiveness, TFC has increased furnace capacity, partially substituted coal for coke, and changed the charge mix. These changes increase the heat and dust load into the air pollution control (APC) system. TFC embarked on a project to improve the APC capacity by: ?Quantifying the required off-gas capacity ?Optimising the aerodynamic flow through the system by means of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) ?Converting the old Brandt Koyo top entry baghouses to bottom entry ?Upgrading the cleaning system ?Installing Gore-tex® ePTFE membrane filter bags The estimation of required off-gas capacity is traditionally done by rule-of-thumb methods such as specific extraction. A more elegant evaluation method was developed for simulating the effects of changes in charge mix on the furnace reaction gas volume and the APC system. Reaction gases are calculated by modelling the reactions taking place in the furnace and off-gas volumes are compared to both fan and baghouse capacity. This enables identification of bottle-necks in the off-gas system. CFD techniques were utilized to evaluate geometric imbalances and propose solutions to ensure optimal use of off-gas capacity. The system modifications were completed over several months and the modified equipment went into service in May2006.

Jan 1, 2007

By R. V. Mrazek

The heat of formation of vanadium trichloride was determined at 298.15° K. Measurements were made in a solution calorimeter in which an aqueous hydrochloric acid-potassium dichromate solvent was employed. Data are presented for the heats of solution of vanadium trichloride and the vanadium trioxide "backup" compound, and for appropriate dilution reactions needed to preserve stoichiometry. The resulting heat of formation of vanadium trichioride (VCI3) at 298.15° K was found to be ?H°298.15° K = -138.89 ±0.37 kcal/g mole.

Jan 1, 1968

By P. J. Potter

Practically all tin-base babbitt metals used in engine bearings are made to customers' specifications, which are many and varied. The copper ranges from 3 to 8 per cent. and the antimony from 4 to 13 per cent.; generally, the babbitt with lower copper content will contain from 4 to 8 per cent. antimony and that with higher copper will have from 7 to 13 per cent. antimony. The allowable lead content varies from 0.20 to 2.00 per cent. If a solder is used as a bonding material instead of tin, the resulting material in the finished bearing will have a higher lead content, but it would not be enough to bring the lead above specifica-tional limits. Impurities such as iron, arsenic and bismuth should be determined in the tin before using to insure a uniform and high-grade product. These points must be considered when segregating and grading the waste that comes from the finishing operations on lined bearings. Classification of SCRAP Because of the extremely rigid nature of most of the specifications for bearing linings it is necessary to use the purest of materials as a base for all compositions. The problem of handling secondary metals is confined almost entirely to the recovery of drosses, spills and turnings incident to the manufacturing operations. As a matter of convenience the waste or scrap may be divided into 10 grades, as follows: 1. Tin from pots where tinning operation is carried out. 2. Tin and babbitt spatters from babbitting operation. - 3. Tin skimmings combined with burned zinc chloride. 4. Borings and reamings. 5. Gates from die-cast bushings and bearings. 6. Drosses from die-cast pots, babbitt foundry pots, and pots in babbittiug room. 7. Babbitt with small amount of bronze from machining operations. 8. Babbitt and bronze borings. 9. Scrap bronze-back babbitt-lined bearings. I 10. Scrap die-cast bearings and bushings. A few of these grades of salvaged material have compositions that make it possible to determine beforehand where they may be used to

Jan 1, 1930

By A. Himsley

"There is an ever-increasing demand these days for efficient methods of removing metals from solutions especially for selectively recovering a particular metal from a mixture of metals in solution.Up until the mid l 930's the only methods widely practiced for such separations involved precipitation techniques or electrolysis. Both these methods have limitations and indeed can only be used for certain metals.It is only within the last 40 years or so when synthetic ion exchange materials became available that chemists in industry and universities have been able to apply ion exchange techniques to a wide variety of separations that not only would be impossible by precipitation methods but which are now achieved with much greater efficiency.Ion Exchange TechniquesIon exchange is a unit process that can be applied using either liquid ion exchangers or solid resin particles. Liquid ion exchange - or solvent extraction as it is often referred to - is used in a number of special areas dictated mainly by the nature of the separation.On the other hand, ion exchange resins are much more widely used and consequently a great deal more is known about their application to a variety of metal separations.In both systems there is a loss of the ion exchange material which in the case of solvent extraction results in hydrocarbons going to waste. The ion exchange resin systems lose resin in the form of small particles, referred to as ""resin fines"", and these are insoluble.The loss of liquid ion exchanger is due to the fact that it is slightly soluble in water and consequently the loss is a function of the volume of liquid with which it comes into contact and is not related to the amount of metal processed."

Jan 1, 1975

Reduce the potential for injuries in underground mines by providing an alternative to manually lifting and holding heavy roof-support beams. The Problem I-beams, rail sections, and wooden cross-beams are often used in mine haulageways where extensive roof support is needed. Studies by the Bureau of Mines have shown that many mines must resort to manually lifting, moving and installing these beams. Such manual-handling activities have the potential for causing injury to mine workers, particularly back injuries. I-beams used for roof support can typically weigh from 400-500 lbs. Rail sections weigh about the same as the I-beams. Wooden beams can weigh from 200 to 300 lbs. To lift a single beam usually requires the efforts of 3 to 5 mine personnel.

Jan 1, 1988

By L Olivier, R J. Lowther, J L. Lett, I Brunton

Hydraulic fracturing to precondition the orebody to enhance rock mass cavability is gaining acceptance in underground cave mining applications. Assisting cavability is becoming important as an increasing number of cave mines are being implemented in hard, deep and competent rock masses where clamping stresses are higher and cave column heights may be in excess of 1000 m. Propagating large caves to surface in such conditions can be challenging as risks such as slowed propagation and air gaps can develop during the process.Underground-based hydraulic fracturing is routinely used at Cadia East as a means of preconditioning the orebody to assist in cave propagation, fragmentation and seismicity reduction. This paper presents a summary of a surface-based hydraulic fracture program that was successfully implemented to assist in the propagation of the Cadia East Panel Cave 1 (CE-PC1) cave to surface through competent overlying rock masses. In this case study, the propagation of the CE-PC1 cave slowed as the cave grew past 750 m in height, initiating a Trigger Action Response Plan regarding the cave propagation rate. Surface-based hydraulic fracturing was subsequently used to stimulate the cave to propagate through the final 450 m to surface. The paper details the equipment, strategy, implementation and risk management involved in the program as well as the key learnings.CITATION:Lowther, R J, Olivier, L, Lett, J L and Brunton, I, 2016. Implementation of a surface-based hydraulic fracturing program to successfully propagate a large cave through hard, competent near-surface rock masses to achieve breakthrough, in Proceedings Seventh International Conference and Exhibition on Mass Mining (MassMin 2016), pp 83–96 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

May 9, 2016

By T. Celik, B. Genc, C. Musingwini

"Mine planning software continues to be an important factor when it comes to the development of the South African mining industry. To contribute to this development, a new methodology to define and measure mine planning software utilization in the South African coal mining sector within an evolving data-set framework was developed. An initial data-set showing the mine planning software providers, their corresponding software solutions, as well as the software capabilities and information on the number of licences was collected and compiled in 2012 in an online database for software utilized in the South African mining industry. Details of the database development and implementation were published in the Journal of the Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy in 2013. In 2014 the data-set was updated with additional and new information.In this paper, using the 2012 and 2014 time-stamps, a methodology for estimating the software utilization is developed. In this methodology, three variables: commodity, functionality, and time factor are used to define and measure the software utilization in order to ultimately inform decision making strategies for software utilization. Utilization in the coal sector was measured according to six different functionalities, namely Geological Data Management, Geological Modelling and Resource Estimation, Design and Layout, Scheduling, Financial Valuation and Optimization. The methodology is useful for stakeholders reviewing existing software combinations or intending to purchase new software in the near future and wanting to estimate the comparative attractiveness of a certain software package. These stakeholders include mining companies, consulting companies, educational institutions, and software providers. The work presented in this paper is part of a PhD research study in the School of Mining Engineering at the University of the Witwatersrand."

Jan 1, 2016

By Sean Gallagher, John R. Bartels, Dean H. Ambrose

Remote operation of continuous miners has enhanced the health and safety of underground miners in many respects; however, numerous fatal and non-fatal continuous miner struck-by accidents have occurred when using remote controls. In an effort to prevent these injuries, NIOSH researchers at Pittsburgh Research Laboratory examined the workplace relationships between continuous miner operators and various tramming modes of the equipment using motion captured data, predicted operator response times, and field- of- view data to determine causes of operator-machine struck-by events in a virtual mine environment. Factors studied included machine speed, direction of escape, operator facing orientation relative to the machine, work posture, distance from machine, and operator anthropometry. Close proximity to the machine, high machine tramming speeds, a right-facing orientation and operator positioning near the tail all resulted in high risk of being struck. It is hoped that this data will provide an improved rationale for operator positioning for remotely operated continuous miners.

By P. Douglas, G. M. Leak, B. Mills

The sinusoidal surface relaxation technique has been used to measure the surface self-diffusion coefficient of spectroscopically pure nickel over a wide temperature range under a hydrogen atmosphere. A kink in the Arrhenius plot has been observed. In the temperature range T/T 0.98 to 0.80 (T in O K and T, is the melting temperature) the average self diffusion coefficient is given by Below the temperature T/T,- 0.80a decrease in the slope of the log Ds us 1/T plot is observed. This is associated with a diffusion process characterized by a lower activation energy (-20,000 cal mole'') and smaller preexponential term (-10- sq cm sec"). A series of experiments were carried out at T/Tm = 0.61 under a hydrogen atmosphere of higher oxygen partial pressure than for the rest of the experiments. It was found that Ds was significantly depressed due to oxygen adsorption. This evidence supports the opinion that the low temperature process (activation energy -20,000 cal mole-') is unlikely to be due to oxygen adsorption. An interesting feature of the present data is that the transition temperature (T/Tm - 0.80) is a function of orientation. For a small number of crystals of measured orientation the transition temperature was observed to be higher towards the low index (100) pole. Theories of surface diffusion are briefly reviewed and it is concluded that the present reszuts are best explained by invoking a surface roughening process. GJOSTEIN has recently analyzed available surface diffusion data for a wide range of metals. He suggested that two mechanisms were operative for fcc metals, an adatom process at high temperatures and a vacancy process at low temperatures. Results for nickel can be summarized as follows. At low temperatures (T/T, - 0.3 to 0.44) under ultra high vacuum conditions, Melmed2 measured an activation energy Q of 21 kcal mole-' using field electron emission microscopy. At higher temperatures (T/T - 0.7 to 0.9) under a vacuum of 10- ' torr, Maiya and lakel measured y as 39 kcal mole-' using the multiple scratch smoothing technique. The present work was undertaken to try to find out if two distinct processes could be observed. High temperature results give Q about 47 kcal mole-': there is evidence also for a low temperature value of about 20 kcal mole-'. These measurements were all made under a hydrogen atmosphere, in the temperature range 860" to 1412°C. Concurrent with the present study Bonze1 and jostein> have also observed a break in the Arrhenius plot for the (110) surface of nickel. These measure- ments under ultrahigh vacuum conditions using the laser diffraction technique are in excellent agreement with the work reported here under hydrogen annealing conditions. THEORY The available surface relaxation techniques include single and multiple scratch smoothing and grain boundary grooving. The processes have been compared in detail by Gjostein for conditions where surface diffusion dominates6 and Mills et al? where volume diffusion dominates. In summary the relevant points are as follows. Grain boundary grooving gives an average Ds for the two surfaces adjacent to the boundary and this can, to some extent, be simplified by using symmetrical bicrystals. This technique has been used to study the effect of environment on Ds for silver and copper.'-'' Scratch techniques yield Ds values for the small orientation range exposed by the scratches (-2 deg). The multiple scratch process is preferable because the profile rapidly becomes sinusoidal and can then be interpreted theoretically in a relatively simple way. Also corrections for mass transport processes other than surface diffusion can be introduced easily. Mullins" considered a sinusoidal profile described the wavelength of the profile. After time t the profile can be described by the equation The terms A, A', C, and B which account, respectively, for contributions due to evaporation-condensation, diffusion through the gas phase, volume diffusion through the lattice, and surface diffusion are defined as: where Ds = the surface self diffusion coefficient ys = the surface energy per unit area p = the equilibrium vapor pressure over a flat surface pa = the equilibrium vapor density over a flat surface DG= the diffusion coefficient of vapor molecules in the inert gas DM = the mass transfer diffusion coefficient which for a pure cubic metal is Dv/f where Dv is the radiotracer diffusion coefficient and f is the correlation factor H = the molecular volume V = the surface density of atoms, il2'3 M = mass of an evaporating molecule

Jan 1, 1970

By Nuno Cruz, Saúl Rodríguez

"When executing offshore bored piles there are several specific factors and problems to consider in order to guarantee excavation stability. One of the methods employed to carry out this type of work consists in setting up a floating work platform, typically a barge, and implementing a soil stabilization system that combines a partial steel guiding casing with third generation polymeric drilling fluids. The main aspects to take into consideration when performing offshore pile boring works are soil stabilization, project design, work methodology and operational aspects. An example of a work methodology problem arises before any pile boring work takes place as the steel guiding casing contains water, sometimes salt water. What to do with this water in order to replace it by an adequate polymer fluid will determine the stabilization capacity as soon as the shaft advances below the protection of the casing. Another example of operational problem may derive from barge movements while executing boring activities. This study is the result of extensive field data collection and concrete logging analysis from marine projects using polymers in different continents. The bored pile stability target was set ranging between 2% to 15% of concrete overbreak. Values above 15% or below 2% mean that there is a stability problem. Then the off-target pile’s data is collected, analyzed and classified under categories. Thus, a direct correlation is established between the problem category and the final results. Modifying steps in the pre-established construction methods or operational variables guarantees target results without the need to replace the approved construction methods. As a general conclusion, the worldwide experience in large diameter marine works, allows to provide truthful information and solutions for these problems. In knowing how to follow a logical sequence of work and applying adequate work methodology will be the key for success.GENERALBackgroundTo carry out the drilling process of offshore bored piles there are two main options to take into consideration: drilling the pile by using full guiding casing until final depth; or using a combined system of partial steel guiding casing and support drilling fluids.The knowledge and situations described in this paper come from the experience acquired in different projects where the second method was employed. This construction method consists in installing a steel guiding casing by vibration and thus covering the water table and further stabilizing the soil below it with polymeric fluids until reaching the pile’s final depth. The Fig. 1 schematic shows an example of this method where H corresponds to the length of the steel guiding casing whereas the remainder of the shaft’s length is stabilized by polymer fluid. The entire bored length is full of slurry up to top of casing.In most cases this kind of civil works results from the need to build a bridge or executing port structures in places where the creation of temporary artificial peninsulas with fill material is impracticable or not allowed. Hence the need to use floating work platforms, commonly referred to as barges."

Jan 1, 2017

By Prosper Lamothe

El presente texto describe los distintos métodos y criterios empleados en la valoración de yacimientos o activos mineros de Chile, asimismo se realiza un análisis comparativo de los distintos métodos para explicar las distintas distorsiones, errores, riesgo e imprecisiones de cada uno de ellos. En este sentido, las empresas son concientes de los riesgos y el impacto que tienen en el valor comercial, los modelos de estimación de recurso y las reservasmineras. mineras. Por ello, las opciones reales son actualmente la técnica que permite valorar y controlar en cierto modo la cobertura de riesgo del negocio.

Sep 12, 2005

By S. E. Vanderslice, J. A. Hummer

"The results of laboratory evaluations were used to compare the potential of two alternative, biomass-derived fuels as a control strategy to reduce the exposure of underground miners to aerosols and gases emitted by diesel-powered equipment. The effects of fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) biodiesel and hydrotreated vegetable oil renewable diesel (HVORD) on criteria aerosol and gaseous emissions from an older-technology, naturally aspirated, mechanically controlled engine equipped with a diesel oxidation catalytic converter were compared with those of widely used petroleum-derived, ultralow-sulfur diesels (ULSDs). The emissions were characterized for four selected steady-state conditions. When fueled with FAME biodiesel and HVORD, the engine emitted less aerosols by total particulate mass, total carbon mass, elemental carbon mass and total number than when it was fueled with ULSDs. Compared with ULSDs, FAME biodiesel and HVORD produced aerosols that were characterized by single modal distributions, smaller count median diameters, and lower total and peak concentrations. For the majority of test cases, FAME biodiesel and HVORD favorably affected nitric oxide (NO) and adversely affected nitrogen dioxide (NO2) generation. Therefore, the use of these alternative fuels appears to be a viable tool for the underground mining industry to address the issues related to emissions from diesel engines, and to transition toward more universal solutions provided by advanced engines with integrated exhaust aftertreatment technologies. IntroductionDiesel engines have been the workhorses of modern society for industrial and transportation enterprises. Diesel engines of all generations are extensively used in a variety of light-, medium- and heavy-duty applications in underground mining operations around the world. Fuels obtained from various sources and with wide-ranging chemistries have been combusted in diesel engines. However, the bulk of the currently used fuel can still be traced to nonrenewable petroleum sources. The petroleum-derived diesel fuels are primarily made up of saturated acyclic hydrocarbons (parafins or alkanes), aromatic hydrocarbons (arenes or aryl hydrocarbon), and unsaturated hydrocarbons with double bonds (olefins and alkenes). Improvements in the quality of petroleum-based diesel fuels was identified in federal regulations as an important piece in resolving the puzzle of diesel engine emissions (Environmental Protection Agency, 2001, 2004). The reduction of U.S. diesel fuel sulfur content below 15 ppm had the effect of lowering sulfate emissions and enabling the development and implementation of catalyzed emissions control technology across a wide spectrum of applications."

Jan 12, 2017

By WENDY MARTIN

The Eastern Townships and Asbestos Hill areas are the current asbestos-producing districts of Quebec. Mining in the two areas began in the /are 1870s and 1972 respectively. Production from the Eastern Townships is derived from rhe Serpentine Zone of ulrramafic rocks, specifically from basal serpentinized peridotite members of what are now considered to be allochrhonous ophiolitic material that was abducted onto the Early Ordovician continental margin. From south west to northeast, the rhree allochthonous asbestos-producing sections of the Serpentine Zone are designated the Asbestos Ophiolite Complex, the Thetford Mines Ophiolite Complex and the Pennington Dyke; the Pennington Dyke is considered to represent a segment of serpentinized Alpine peridotire that was fragmenred from a larger, more complete ophiolire complex. The Asbesros Hill deposir on the Ungava Peninsula lies in what apparenrly is an inrrusive sill found wirhin rhe Chukorar Group, the uppermosr group of Precambrian-aged Cape SmithWakeham Bay Belr of volcanic-sedimentary rocks.

Jan 1, 1984