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By Victor F. Paterno

In December of 2007, a joint venture of J.F Shea, Skanska and Schiavone referred to as S-3II, was awarded a $1.15 billion (? 886,880,000) contract to construct the run-ning tunnels and station structures for the Number 7 Line Extension Project in New York City by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Capital Construction (MTACC) and New York City Transit (NYCT). As part of the contract, a technically complex and critical connection of the new tunnel to the existing, operational 7 Line subway was required. This paper describes the innovative design approach that was conceived to carry out the underpinning and excavation works both within the east-west 7 Line subway tunnel and beneath the north-south, 4 track, 2 level Times Square Station for the A, C & E trains. This underpinning provided temporary support to the subway substructure as the grade of the tunnel invert was lowered up to 10 feet (3 meters) into the rock sub-grade to allow the future subway to pass under the basement of the world?s busiest bus terminal. In addition, the creation of a new portal connecting the existing subway tunnel and the subterranean level of the Port Authority Bus Terminal by means of underpinning structural footings and horizontal spiling/poling of existing ground will be discussed.

By John Kinneen, Sunghoon Choi, Arne Fareth, Edward S. Barboe, Kyle R. Ott

A new water treatment plant is to be constructed for a portion of the water supply system of New York City. The project includes construction of new water conveyance tunnels crossing perpendicular and sub-parallel to the existing pressurized water tunnel at two locations. A study was conducted to evaluate the impact of new tunnel construction on stability of the existing tunnel and hydrojacking potential in the surrounding rock mass. This paper introduces a practical approach to evaluate tunnel interaction, expressed in terms of rock-liner interaction, stress-induced stability and hydrojacking failures. A simple method to evaluate hydraulic and mechanical properties of concrete liners and jointed rock mass is also presented.

Jan 1, 2007

By Lawrence M. Zanko

Eighteen coarse taconite tailings samples were collected in 2000-2001 from five western Mesabi Range taconite (iron ore) operations located in northern Minnesota, i.e., EVTAC, Hibbing Taconite (Hibtac), USX Minntac, Ispat Inland (Minorca), and National Steel Pellet Company (NSPC), to test their physical, geological, chemical, and mineralogical properties [Zanko, L.M., Niles, H.B., Oreskovich, J.A., 2003. Properties and aggregate potential of coarse taconite tailings from five Minnesota taconite operations, Minnesota Department of Transportation, Local Road Research Board, St. Paul, MN, Report No. 2004-06 (also as Natural Resources Research Institute technical report, NRRI/TR-2003/44)]. The goal was to assemble a body of technical data that could be used to better assess the potential of using a crushed taconite mining byproduct like coarse tailings for more widespread construction aggregate purposes, primarily in roads and high¬ways. An important part of the mineralogical assessment included X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses and microscopic (polarized light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy, i.e., PLM, SEM, and TEM, respectively) evaluation of the size and shape (morphological) characteristics of potentially respirable microscopic mineral particles and fragments. Quantitative mineralogy, based on XRD analyses, showed that the dominant mineral in all samples was quartz (55-60%), followed by much smaller amounts of iron oxides, carbonates, and silicates. Specialized microscopic analyses and testing performed by the RJ Lee Group, Monroeville, PA, on both pulverized (-200 mesh, or 0.075 mm) and as-is sample composites showed that no regulated asbestos minerals or amphibole minerals were detected in the western Mesabi Range samples. A small number (26) of non-asbestos and non¬amphibole mineral cleavage fragments/mineral fibers were detected by SEM out of 1000 fields analyzed, but most were identified as min¬nesotaite and talc, silicate minerals common to the Biwabik Iron Formation. Amphibole minerals, absent in coarse tailings samples from the five western Mesabi Range taconite operations, were present in a single eastern Biwabik Iron Formation sample collected in 2003 for Lake County from the Cliffs Northshore operation in Silver Bay, MN. Importantly, the Superfund Method for the Determination of Releasable Asbestos in Soils and Bulk Materials [United States Environ¬mental Protection Agency (USEPA), 1997. Superfund method for the determination of releasable asbestos in soils and bulk materials, EPA 540-R-97-028, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington], as modified by Berman and Kolk [Berman, D.W., Kolk, A.J., 2000. Modified elutriator method for the determination of asbestos in soils and bulk materials, Revision 1: Submitted to the U.S. Envi¬ronmental Protection Agency, Region 8, May 23, 2000] failed to generate any protocol fibers, i.e., fibers longer than 5 µm and thinner than 0.5 µm, from either the western coarse tailings samples or the single eastern Biwabik Iron Formation sample. The combined findings suggest coarse tailings and other taconite mining byproducts should be treated with the same common sense safety and industrial hygiene approach practiced for all mineral-based materials that have the potential to generate respirable dust. © 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Jan 1, 2007

By Will Jansen

When Enron rocked the United States with its Titanic-sized financial accounting scandal, miners and metallurgists were probably too busy on the mine sites in remote locations to wonder about its ripple effect. But then Enron sank, Arthur Andersen tanked and the list of scandals, costing billions of dollars, continued to ripple. Followed by the Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act of 2002 (Sarbanes-Oxley), the recent credit crunch and weak economy, the currents from Enron?s collapse eventually washed right into the mine and the mill. These events placed intense scrutiny on metals production accounting processes as traditional semi-qualitative metal accounting practices provided insufficient credibility and transparency. ?There is growing intolerance of organizations that are unsure about the location of thousands of tonnes of ore, which will typically lose 10 to 15% of their notional value on the way to the concentrator,? Rob Morrison wrote in the opening chapter to An Introduction to Metal Accounting and Balancing. ?If the measurement and forecasts also contain qualitative (fudge) factors, a very real suspicion might emerge about just how much metal might disappear (by theft or misplacement) before detection becomes likely.? Metallurgical accounting, put simply, is the tracking and reporting of the quantity and quality (tonnage and grade, usually) of materials entering or leaving each stage from source to product for a specified accounting period. Lacking an accounting standard, metals accounting in precious metal operations has been performed in an ad-hoc, informal manner, leading to numerous errors and unidentified potentially significant inefficiencies and financial losses. As a result, mining companies are beginning to examine the quality of their metals accounting systems since they form the basis of mining company?s financial accounts and reports. As part of an effort to create that accounting standard in the mineral industry, University of Queensland?s Julius Kruttschnitt Mineral Research Centre published the textbook An Introduction to Metal Accounting and Balancing in 2009. While development of a textbook and standard are significant steps forward, the challenge in the precious metals industry is in the application of some of these suggested practices. Though improving process transparency and precious metals accounting reporting accuracy is a key driver for change from the financial side, perhaps even more important is the potential benefit to operational performance that comes with better measurement, accounting and reconciliation systems. Loss of precious metals, processing of waste and inefficient mining and processing systems are all problems that are faced in an operation on a daily basis that can help be resolved through improvements in metal accounting and reconciliation. The financial consequences of such operational inefficiencies and bad decisions based on poor information are arguably greater than consequences of fraudulent accounting. Large discrepancies between mine and mill measurement systems that measure the quantity and quality of valuable material currently exist. Some of these are expected because of statistical variation, but inherent random measurement variation is sometimes an insufficient explanation. Though the mill can usually make much better production estimates through their measurement systems (that is, less variation), this knowledge rarely benefits the mine. 3 Moreover, even if the mine does a reasonably good job of estimating expected production at the grade control level (in situ), issues such as blast movement, poor mining practice and inefficient ore/waste classification make for a disconnect between the in situ estimates of the mine and the estimates from the concentrator. This inhibits effective evaluation of the reserve and grade control models using concentrator estimates. Linking the two ends, mining and concentration, is a neglected area sorely in need of an overhaul. Hence the need for improved mine to mill reconciliation ? the area of comparing, balancing and adjusting production estimates between mine and mill for consistency in reporting.

Jan 1, 2009

By G. S. Austin

Soil next to an abandoned smelter near Socorro, New Mexico, has the highest Pb concentration in the clay-size fraction, although this fraction accounted for only 1 to 3 wt. % of the soil. The depth of contamination was determined in areas relatively undisturbed since the smelter was abandoned about 98 years ago. Lead concentration drops to background levels below a depth of 3 inches. A mineralogical examination of the fine-size fraction of Pb-contaminated soils revealed an absence of crystalline Pb compounds. We conclude that Pb is present either as amorphous phases or adsorbed on the surfaces of soil particles. Yet, because of the alkalinity of the soil, the movement of Pb-bearing particles controls Pb mobility, not chemical transport in solution. Plant material from the site contained elevated Pb levels that increased as the amount of Pb in the soil increased. Of the types of material tested, rabbit bush showed the greatest increase of Pb levels. Lead levels were highest in rabbit bush roots, whereas levels in creosote were highest in foliage. Levels in cactus varied. The amount of Pb due to dust incorporated in plant tissue is almost negligible compared to the amount absorbed through the plant vascular system.

Jan 1, 1992

If one can embrace the medical analogue, much of the mining industry currently suffers from a massive bacterial infection. When pyrite-bearing or sulfide-bearing rock formations, tailings, or mine wastes are infected by Acidithiobacillus ferro-oxidans, the likelihood of forming acid rock drainage (ARD) is almost guaranteed. The ?pharmacy? of antibiotics available is extensive, ranging from solid alkaline amendments like limestone to liquid ?medicines? such as sodium lauryl sulfate, sodium thiocyanate, waste milk, and bipolar lipids. Unfortunately, the ?geo-medical? teams of geochemists, microbiologists, engineers, and mine managers lack the tools to surgically apply these active ingredients where they are needed most with a minimum of waste. Distribution of fine grained limestone on the surface of an acidic mine waste dump is analogous to applying a bandage soaked in antacid to treat an upset stomach. The implementation of up-to-date best management practices has not healed the patient; an equivalent combination of hypodermic needle, cyber knife, and arthroscopic probe is clearly needed. Using an engineered, flow-able or pumpable foam or pHoam? as the medicinally analogous ?dextrose delivery solution? for solid and/or liquid ?geo-antibiotics?, the authors have combined off-the-shelf technologies that have been previously applied in solving geotechnical problems in the mining industry. A patent for the innovative process is pending. This paper discusses method concepts and the advantages it could provide over conventional BMPs.

Jan 1, 2012

By T. Hudaverdi

Control of the particle size distribution of a muckpile after blasting is always an important subject for mining industry. Blasting has a significant impact on downstream processes such as loading, crushing and grinding. Improvement of blasting results provides increase in loader and excavator productivity due to increased diggability capacity, and increased bucket and truck fill factors. Suitable and uniform particle size distribution results increase in crusher and mill throughput and decrease in energy consumption in size reduction process. Digital image analysis technique has been used for many years in mining industry in order to determine blast fragmentation. The images of muckpile surface can be used to determine the mean fragment size (x50). The source of digital images can also be haul truck, leach pile, waste dump, stockpile, and conveyor belt. The screening that is conventional method to measure blast fragmentation is time consuming and expensive. Digital image analysis is a cost effective and faster method (1).

Jan 1, 2012

By A. Noble

Traditional simulations of mineral processing circuits are solved by straightforward numerical techniques which require iteration to accommodate recirculating loads. Depending on the complexity of the simulated circuit, this solution technique can be inexact, computationally intensive, and potentially unstable. In this communication, an alternate calculation approach is presented, wherein an exact analytical solution is determined as a function of the individual units? separation probabilities. All the stream data, including recirculating loads, may be solved simultaneously, negating the need for iteration. Furthermore, with an analytical solution available, circuit analysis may then be utilized to diagnose the relative separation potential of the circuit. By integrating these tools, the authors have developed a software package for evaluating circuit configurations. This paper presents the theory, development, and limitations of the software?s methodology along with industrial examples which highlight the tool?s applicability to industrial circuits.

Jan 1, 2012

By J. M. Somers

Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas and the principal component of natural gas. Coal seams often contain significant quantities of methane, and underground coal mines must ensure that methane released into the mine during coal extraction does not build to dangerous levels. This is accomplished in part through the use of large-volume ventilation systems that remove methane from the mine and release it to the atmosphere. Although the methane concentration exhausted is quite low (typically <1 percent), the volume of air that ventilation systems move is so great that they actually constitute the largest source of methane emissions from underground coal mines. Each year underground coal mines throughout the world emit more than 500 billion cubic feet of methane from their ventilation systems. An air pollution control technology, thermal oxidation using a flow-reversal reactor (TFRR), has emerged as a potential solution to ventilation air methane (VAM) emission mitigation. One manufacturer of TFRRs has demonstrated its oxidizer design (the VOCSIDIZER?) at coal mines in the United Kingdom and Australia. These demonstrations tested the technology?s effectiveness at oxidizing low-concentration methane, as well as its ability to tap the excess heat to produce steam for electric power generation. In early 2007, the first U.S. demonstration of this technology began operation at an abandoned mine in West Virginia. The project is designed to prove the technology?s operational robustness, its ability to reliably oxidize methane at concentrations typical of mine exhausts, and its safety. If the technology is employed at active underground coal mines, it offers the potential to mitigate substantial quantities of global methane emissions. This paper discusses global VAM emissions, options for the recovery and utilization of VAM, and existing projects such as WestVAMP in Australia and the ongoing U.S. VAM demonstration project.

Jan 1, 2009

By David Caiden, Geoffrey Fosbrook, Jaidev Sankar, Donald Phillips, Jon Hurt, Anil Parikh

This paper will cover the progress being made on Phase 1 of New York’s Second Avenue Subway line. It will include a description of construction progress on the first contract to be let, which consists of a 248 m (815 ft) long launch box, 3.9 km(2.4 miles) of TBM tunnels and a tunnel sump; the packaging strategy for the remaining work; and the progress through Final Design of the remaining packages, including the two large span rock cavern stations.

Jan 1, 2007

By N. Abdel-Khalek, A. Youssef

The tailings from beneficiation of Florida phosphate ore contain considerable phosphate values. These tailings are currently discharged into large disposal areas. More than three million tons of P2O5 are discarded with the phosphatic slimes (clays) in Florida each year. These phosphatic clays not only create one of the most difficult disposal problems in the mining industry, but also represent a tremendous loss of P2O5. As the quality and quantity of Florida’s phosphate reserves diminish, recovery of phosphate values from these wastes becomes more vital. This will also significantly lengthen the life of these important phosphate resources. Thus, it is the goal of this study is to recover more than 80% of the phosphate values in phosphatic clays. A systematic study to characterize samples taken from inactive disposal area has been conducted. The data suggest that natural segregation takes place in the settling pond. In other words, coarser particles settle closer to the feeding point of the pond. Flotation tests were conducted using the +325 mesh fraction of samples obtained from sites close to the feeding point (sample# A) and further from that point (sample# B) and (sample# C) which is even further away from the feeding point. The results show the following: Sample# A gives the highest grade and recovery, followed by that of # B and then of # C. There is a great potential to upgrade sample# A where concentrates of high grade (68.9-70.1 % BPL or 31.5- 32.1% P2O5) and recovery (~86.6-95.4 %) can be obtained under the investigated operating conditions (1.0 – 2.0 kg/ton sodium silicate and 1.5—3.0 kg/ton collector mixture of fatty acid and fuel oil). The mineralogical and chemical analysis of all samples is presented in this paper for comparison. Only in this paper, the flotation data of (site # A) are discussed below.

Jan 1, 2002

By Akira Tsune, Shingo Sugimoto, Tadayuki Ishiyama, Nadao Saito, Masatsugu Okazaki

"The Deep Ocean Resources Development Co. Ltd. (DORD) of Japan signed a 15-years contract with the International Seabed Authority for exploration of polymetallic nodule in a 75,000 km2 area, consisting of West and East Areas in the Clarion and Clipperton Fracture Zone in 2001. The exploration work is now concentrated in resource estimation of the first generation of mining area, the High Abundance Area.A detail survey of the Model Area, set in the High Abundance Area, was conducted using AUV (Autonomous Underwater Vehicle) equipped with MBES (Multi-Beam Echo Sounder), SSS (Side Scan Sonar), Sub-Bottom Profiler (SBP) and still camera. The seafloor topographic map based on 1 m grid data was produced in an area of approximately 80 km2 (Figure 1). Photographs, continuously covering the seafloor taken by AUV along two west-east trending traverse lines, together with detail seafloor topographic map produced from MBES give an excellent opportunity to observe distribution manner of pollymetalic nodule related to topographic features. This helps to understand more accurate resources estimation of a whole area of the High abundance Area. Furthermore, information of micro-topography gives ideas for conducting ore collecting operation and designing ore collector."

Sep 1, 2014

By Andy Alder

The Docklands Light Railway (DLR) Extension to Woolwich Arsenal provides a much-needed public transport link to this area of London. The project includes construction of 5.3mID running tunnels under the River Thames, in ground conditions that proved challenging for the Earth Pressure Balance Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM). The project also includes cut and cover tunnel approaches, an underground station, and an emergency shaft on the bank of the river. Major challenges have included tunneling under sensitive infrastructure, and working adjacent to existing operational railways at Woolwich Arsenal. This paper will describe the design and construction of the project and how these challenges were overcome.

Jan 1, 2008

By Laurens de Jonge, Wiebe Boomsma, Rodney Norman, Stanislav Verichev

"Earth provides natural resources, such as fossil fuels and minerals that are vital for human life. As the global demand grows, especially for strategic minerals, commodity prices rapidly rise. Thus there is an identifiable risk of increasing supply shortage for minerals. Hence a major element in a long-term economic strategy must be, to ensure security of supply for these strategic minerals. In this rapidly changing global economic landscape, deep sea mining has gone from a distant possibility to a likely reality within just a decade.Although deep sea minerals extraction was investigated in the 1970’s, it was abandoned because of changing commodity economics, advances in on-land exploration techniques, growing concern on environmental impact, and political and legal aspects with regard to ownership issues. The developmental data from those days, if still available, are not adequate to allow engineering and building of an integral system for extraction of deep sea minerals without additional R&D work. Thus, deep sea mining is yet to attain a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) sufficient to successfully undertake deep sea mining operations, from resource discovery to resource assessment and to resource exploitation [Blue Mining, 2014]."

Sep 1, 2014

By D. Brosnahan, J. Gathje

Newmont Metallurgical Services (NMS) recently acquired a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) with a JKMRC/FEI Mineral Liberation Analyzer (MLA). With the MLA software package, raw particle image and X-ray data can be converted into particle mineral maps and bulk and liberation data can then be calculated for minerals of interest. This type of quantitative mineralogical data can then be used for a wide variety of applications. Ore characterization with MLA can be carried out for existing or processing plants in development. MLA characterization of laboratory test products provides valuable liberation information that assists the research metallurgist in better planning and developing process treatment options for various ore types. This paper describes the use of MLA characterization in a copper flotation test program where the use of various testing options for arsenic depression was being evaluated.

Jan 1, 2007

By P. Jurovcik, D. Yantek, D. Ingram

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) identified hearing loss as the most common job-related disease in the United States in its 1996 National Occupational Research Agenda. Previous studies by NIOSH have shown operators of surface drill rigs without cabs are commonly exposed to A-weighted sound levels exceeding 90 dB. During hammer-drilling, A-weighted sound levels exceeding 100 dB were recorded at the operator station. NIOSH collaborated with a local drilling company to design and install a partial cab between the operator and the drill steel in an effort to reduce the sound level at the operator station. Sound level measurements in the field show the partial cab reduces the A-weighted sound level by 5-9 dB at the operator’s left ear and 2-5 dB at the operator’s right ear while hammer-drilling. This paper will briefly discuss the preliminary design of a cab and the testing of materials for construction of the prototype. Explanation of the ideas behind the prototype design and fabrication will be covered. Finally, the field test method and results will be discussed in detail.

Jan 1, 2007

By Ivo Dreiseitl, Kondratenko. Anatoly

"The second prime area within the Interoceanmetal Joint Organization exploration area named H22 was delineated in 2013 with the goal to ensure sufficient nodule reserves for profitable mining operations and processing.The knowledge base for area H22 has been obtained from archive materials. The geological situation can be characterized as follows: the sea bottom is represented by tectonic blocks oriented in a sub-meridional direction. According to swath mapping, the depressions (troughs) are contoured at depths of 4500-4600 m while the tops of horsts occur at 4300-4350 m. Volcanic relief occupies 6% of the H22 area; in the eastern part a multicone volcano was detected. Its area at the base is 153 km2. The maximum height of a cone above the base is 850 m. The crystalline basement composed by tholeiitic basalts of late Oligocene age is covered by about 100 m of sediments. Semi-consolidated to consolidated calcareous nanofossil sediments of the Marquesas formation are deposited on the basement. Higher up in the profile sediments of the Clipperton formation occur. They are represented by unconsolidated siliceous (Radiolaria, Diatom) ooze. Sediments containing calcium carbonate have not been detected. Where opaline silica (or CaCO3 if any) content is below 5%, the sediments belong to zeolitic clays or red pelagic clays. Grain size composition of the seabed and the near-seabed sediments in H22 classifies them into clayey silts."

Sep 1, 2014

By Andrea Koschinsky, Akira Usui, Michael Bau, Katja Schmidt, James Hein, Thomas Kuhn

Marine ferro-manganese (Fe-Mn) crusts and nodules are metal-rich chemical sediments that are archives of paleoceanographic proxies and potential metal resources and targets of deep-sea mining. Traditionally, crusts and nodules are subdivided into hydrogenetic, diagenetic, and hydrothermal types. While hydrogenetic Fe-Mn crusts are a potential resource for Co, Te, Pt, and REY, nodules are enriched in Cu, Ni, Mo, and Li, and hydrothermal deposits may be enriched in individual metals such as Mo, Ba, and Li, depending on the temperature and composition of the hydrothermal fluid. The different types of marine oxidic Fe-Mn precipitates, therefore, have different economic potential. Hence, a robust classification is not only helpful in the general geochemical characterization of such precipitates (and as such is a useful teaching tool, for example), but may also simplify the evaluation of their importance as a potential metal resource, which helps to prioritize exploration targets for deep-sea mining.

Sep 1, 2014

By Kent C. Condie

Precambrian terranes in the Rocky Mountain region decrease progressively in age from the Archean Wyoming Province (> 2.5 b.y.) to the late Proterozoic in West Texas (figs. 1,2). Within the Wyoming Province, most dates fall near 2.7 b.y. although some are recorded at 2 3.8, 2.9, and 2.6 b.y. Although Penokean (- 1.8 b.y.) deformation and plutonism are recorded in southeastern Wyoming, most Precambrian rocks south of the Wyoming shear zone, which separates the Archean and Proterozoic provinces, are < 1.76 b. years in age. Supracrustal rocks in Colorado, western Arizona, and northern New Mexico fall in the range of 1.72-1.76 b.y., those in central New Mexico about 1.65 b.y., those in southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico about 1.70 b.y., and those in West Texas 1.1-1.2 b.y. The Wyoming Province is comprised chiefly of 2.7 or 2.9 b.y. tonalitic gneiss terranes intruded by 2.6 b.y. granites in the central and southern parts of the province. Supracrustal rocks are minor and include greenstone belts comprised chiefly of pillow- ed tholeiites and graywackes and remnants of quartzite-shale successions. Metamorphic grade in greenstone-gneiss terranes ranges from upper greenschist to amphibolite facies and in quartzite-gneiss terranes from upper amphibolite to granulite facies.

Jan 1, 2013

By J. Torma-Krajewski, C. Hipes

Many mining companies apply ergonomic principles, but it is done either informally and/or reactively. Examples of an informal approach include replacing worn equipment, such as seats, with models that have ergonomic features, or modifying tasks to eliminate safety hazards that will also reduce risk factor exposures that may result in musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). A reactive approach is followed when modifying a task/equipment after an MSD occurs. Neither one of these approaches involves a systematic method of proactively applying ergonomic principles to actually prevent injuries or illnesses. This paper will discuss how Vulcan Materials Company applied ergonomic principles and the interventions implemented to reduce risk factor exposures.

Jan 1, 2007