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By J. M. Melluish

The metallurgical response of the Point Leamington deposit has been studied. Two series of bench tests were conducted and various ore samples and flotation products were examined using image analysis techniques. The majority of sphalerite and chalcopyrite grains in this texturally complex ore were found to be smaller than 10 micrometers. Copper recoveries were low with losses mainly as fine inclusions in pyrite. Sphalerite recoveries were somewhat better due to a generally coarser habit. Gold and silver recoveries were also low and only solid solution silver was identified in the ore. The deposit shows poor economic prospects unless additional tonnage of high grade zinc ore can be delineated.

Jan 1, 1989

By A. K. Basu

Rapid industrial growth in India has caused the country to realize the strategic importance of its zinc and lead deposits. Private companies, nationalized in 1965, are now a corporate public sector organization that is making great strides in developing the nation's lead-zinc mining capability. The main mining area is centered around Zawar at Rajasthan. It consists a group of mines - Mochia, Balaria, Zawarmala and Baroi. Mining activities have also been extended by opening the mines at Rajpura-Dariba at Rajasthan, Sargipallie at Orissa and Agnigundala at Andhra Pradesh. A huge deposit has been explored at Agucha in the Bhilwara district but full-scale production has not yet begun. Annual consumption of zinc and lead in India has risen steadily from 25 and 7.9 kt (27,500 and 8700 st), respectively, in 1973-1974 to 162.8 and 80 kt (179,450 and 88,000 st), respectively, in 1989-1990. Mine production has also risen consistently to cope with the increased metal demand. The mining company hopes to increase production at existing mines and upgrade the beneficiation and smelting facilities. Moreover, mining operations may be expanded by opening up new units that are now awaiting governmental clearances. Technology status Mining technology has undergone a rapid, large-scale transformation, with an accelerated pace of new, larger capacity mine development. Notable advances include the introduction of mechanized ore extraction methods and

Jan 1, 1991

By M. M. Botz

Cyanidation tailings disposed of in a surface impoundment experience a loss of cyanide due to natural attenuation, which frequently reduces the cyanide concentration to very low levels. Quantifying cyanide losses in terms of impoundment geometry, local weather conditions and feed-solution chemistry has been largely empirical in spite of the fact that, in many cases, mining operations rely on surface impoundments to reduce cyanide to below an internally regulated concentration or below an effluent limitation. To permit a quantitative evaluation of cyanide losses in an impoundment, a computer simulation was developed to estimate the losses of free, weak acid dissociable (WAD) and total cyanide due to dissociation, photolysis and volatilization. Results of the model are compared with data collected for a North American tailings impoundment in 1998.

Jan 1, 2000

By D. R. Nagaraj

The chemistry and structure-activity relationships for four new classes of sulfide mineral and precious metals collectors developed recently are discussed in this paper. These collector classes are alkoxycarbonyl alkyl thionocarbamates and thioureas, dialkyl (or diaryl) monothiophosphates and dialkyl monothiophosphinates. The main emphasis will be to highlight the differences between collectors and their affinities for various minerals on the basis of data on kinetics of adsorption on pure minerals, natural ore flotation and microscopy of flotation concentrates. The mechanism of interaction of these collectors with sulfide minerals is also discussed with the available data on the FTIR and solution chemistry studies.

Jan 1, 1989

By Richard C. Harris

Substantial economic benefits exist today for fine coal preparation and improved technologies coupled with more stringent air quality standards should increase those benefits in the future. The costs of cleaning can be determined with reasonable certainty with proper consideration given to mining methods, plant feed characteristics, refuse disposal and marketing impact. The benefits cannot be as accurately determined but include impact on generating capacity, plant maintenance, emission standards, slagging, fouling, transportation, and handling. Site specific cleaning offers particular benefits in some situations to tailor the preparation plant facility to boiler characteristics. Improved communications and methodologies need to develop to allow the coal producer and the coal user to clean coal to the degree that results in the lowest overall cost for electrical generation.

Jan 1, 1988

By Evert Hoek

Two types of failure have to be considered in designing large openings: (a) Structurally controlled failure caused by discontinuity intersections, (b) Stress induced instability which occurs when induced stresses exceed the rock mass strength. Structurally controlled failures, which occur in hard jointed rock masses at relatively shallow depth, are briefly reviewed. This paper is primarily concerned with stress induced instability at greater depths and with the problem of estimating the strength of a rock mass surrounding an underground opening. Some of the practical aspects of support design for large openings are discussed.

Jan 1, 1981

By D. A. Robbins

The application of remote sensing for environmental measurements is already being utilized. Aircraft mounted imaging spectroscopy has been utilized to evaluate areas of historical mining operations as well as active mine sites. To the extent that remote sensing can provide more sensitive, cost effective, and timely monitoring potential, the technology is of interest to the industry. Questions remain about the application and validation of the data and the availability of the technology in the private sector. This presentation will discuss some of the potential uses, benefits, and concerns related to remote sensing and efforts to monitor the technology's development.

Jan 1, 1999

By Gustavo A. Aristizábal-H, Oscar J. Restrepo-B, J. Alejandro Delgado-J

"In Antioquia region of Colombia – South America most of extractive activity is developed as artisanal and small-scale level, exploiting different types of minerals resources but predominantly gold. This is not only an ancestral livelihood of hundreds of families in this region, but also their unique way of subsistence. However, that situation has not had a positive effect in the sustainable development of this territory because of several unsustainability factors mainly related to mercury use for gold extraction, the incorrect management of tailings and the informal way in which miners perform their activity. In 2010 Antioquia was the place with the highest contamination by mercury in the world with serious effects in ecosystems and health of habitants of this region (Veiga 2010) This paper presents a Socio-Technical Model focused on strengthening capabilities and social capital of artisanal and small-scale miners and its surrounding communities in Antioquia region. This is based on processes of evaluation, design and implementation of appropriate technologies to obtain “clean minerals” without using mercury and with a right management of tailings. In gold extraction it is about gravitational methods of concentration, which take advantage of high density of this element. These methods not only are cleaner but more profitable for miners. Notwithstanding its technical origins, the current model proposes a holistic framework that manages the elimination of mercury in mining not only as a technology transfer matter. Thus, more than formalization the strengthening process seeks to promote a business vision in miners and to develop productive chains in surrounding communities, this means to improve the skills of artisanal and small-scale miners to organize in a corporative way and to help surrounding communities to provide support and supply services to mining and even to other companies. Besides, the articulation with local institutions drives to reinforce their functions of control and accompaniment. In shorthand, this effort aims to empower local institutions, miners and surrounding communities in such a way they are able to face together their own development challenges in a sustainable way."

Jan 1, 2017

By John P. Smith

As the US looks within its borders in its drive toward energy independence, economical coal transportation, particularly from vast western reserves, becomes an increasingly difficult but compelling challenge for both the country and the coal industry. Coal producers continue to develop improved technology for more efficient and cost-effective coal mining and processing. But for controlling transportation costs, coal producers must rely on a delicate balance between product demand, competition among carriers, federal regulation, and a symbiotic relationship with coal transporters. In 1981, 739 Mt (815 million st) of coal were mined in the US. Nearly 90% of this coal was moved via

Jan 10, 1982

By Barry R. Doyle, Ilsley Roger C., John Ramage

It was anticipated that settlement would occur when tunnels were excavated in weak organic soils with high groundwater levels in downtown Milwaukee. Because of the potential for damage to adjacent buildings, an approach was devised during the design to address this issue. In order to do so effectively, estimates of settlement trough geometry were made; buildings identified which were potentially at risk; the means of settlement measurement designed; and threshold limits of settlement and courses of action specified. Bid items were provided for underpinning the critical structures. The approach addresses the design issues and delineates the sharing of risk between the owner and contractor. The predicted and actual performance experienced are also discussed.

Jan 1, 1989

By Vljay K. Chhipa

Artificial intelligence is" an emerging technology in the field of computer application. Expert system have been developed to imitate human intelligence and reasoning process. Expert systems have much scope of application in the decision making process in mineral exploration as such decisions are highly subjective and expert opinions are very helpful. This paper presents a small expert system to analyze reasoning process in exploring for uranium deposits in sandstone.

Jan 1, 1989

By M. Gershon

Four computerized approaches for coal blending are described and their strengths and weaknesses are explored. Spreadsheet analysis Other than word processing, spreadsheet software is the most commonly used software. Its wide availability and ease of use are two desirable features that have led many to try to adapt it to the purpose of coal blending. These are the two main advantages of this approach. To use a spreadsheet for coal blending, each row of data represents one source of coal. Each column represents a quality of the coal, with the last column specifying the tonnage of that coal in the blend. The calculated figures are the blended qualities, which can be programmed to appear in the bottom row. A trial-and-error approach is then used to develop the best blend. Inserting any blend in the last column provides the blend characteristics at the bottom of the page. If any specifications are not met, the blend can be changed, all calculations being immediately updated. This process is repeated until all specifications are satisfied. A third advantage of this method is that it is exactly the procedure that one would go through if doing this by hand. With a spreadsheet, many more blends can be evaluated in much less time, allowing the designer to try to improve over satisfactory blends to find the best of them. The resulting improved blends or cost savings are a fourth advantage of this approach. There is only one major disadvantage of using the spread-sheet. This is that most probably the best blend is not found. As an inexpensive introduction to computer-assisted blending, which can be easily understood and cost just a few hundred dollars, this is a recommended place to begin. Computerized search Computerized search approaches represent crude first attempts at letting the computer design the blend. Unfortunately, the blends found by these programs are very often less satisfactory than those developed manually. The way these techniques work is that they design, according to some predesigned pattern, a number of different blends and then quickly evaluate them. It is then straightforward to select the best from this sample set. The quality of the results depends on the number of blends designed, the way they differ from each other (the search procedure), the number of sources available, the number of quality specifications, and the severity of the specification limits. Good results are usually obtained for small, simple problems. At best, the results obtained are inconsistent from one blend to the next. Programs of this type are advertised in the mining literature. They usually mention how many different blends are evaluated, making it clear that this is more than can be tried manually. Expert systems Expert systems use a source of information known as a knowledge base. The knowledge base, usually a set of if-then rules, attempts to reconstruct the deductive reasoning process of an expert in some job capacity. For coal blending, the usual trial-and-error process has an easily recognized pattern of rules that are followed to try to find a better blend. By following these rules, it is possible to home in on the best blend without the exhaustive search required by the previous method and without the manual manipulation of the spreadsheet approach. The use of an expert system accomplishes this. One of the rules may say something like "if BTU is out of spec, then add more in the blend from a source having a high BTU and subtract some from a source having low BTU." In other words, it goes through the trial-and-error process. The process continues until all specifications are achieved and can continue further to try to optimize the cost. Of course, less simplistic rules are also needed. One set of rules would determine maximum changes in the tonnage added or deleted to the blend or from any one source. Other rules would be needed to determine which quality to improve if two or more are out of spec. At this level, the process of building the knowledge base provides the engineer with a deeper understanding of his or her own thought processes. The advantage of obtaining better blends is clear for this approach. Two more advantages should also be apparent. One is that it follows the same common sense logic that is used when doing the blends by hand or by spreadsheet, making it easy to understand. The other is that, like the search procedure, it designs the blend rather than just analyzing manually designed blends. Thus, it has all the good features of both approaches discussed thus far while providing improved results over each. A final advantage is the ease of use and ease of development. The expert system shells that are on the market are very easy to use and can be run on microcomputers. Linear programming Linear programming is an algebraic tool that solves a set of linear equations to yield an optimal solution to a problem. The optimal solution is based on the linear model so the results are only as good as the ability of the linear model to accurately portray the reality of the problem situation. It is fortunate for the coal blending problem that a linear model can be devel¬oped that reflects exactly the problem that is required. Unfortunately, the mining industry has been slow to use this tool. Coal blending applications available that use linear programming take one of three forms. The first, requiring exper-

Jan 12, 1988

By Ricardo Presnell, Erich U. Petersen, William J. Tafuri, Donald M. Hausen, Douglas N. Halbe

Large (> 100,000 oz.) sediment hosted disseminated gold (SHDG) deposits are often spatially associated with anticlines. Many SHDG deposits are within or closely associated with windows. Windows are erosional manifestations of fold culminations (4-way closed anticlines). Hydrocarbons are often trapped in fold culminations in the Canadian Rockies, and may account for degraded hydrocarbons in many SHDG deposits. In the Eastern Basin and Range Province, Mesozoic anticlines may have been large scale conduits fm gold bearing Mesozoic and Cenozoic hydrothermal fluids which became trapped and/or concentrated at the fold culminations.

Jan 1, 1990

By Jan M. Mutmansky

The application of computers and operations research to mine planning problems has changed and progressed significantly over the last several decades with a continuing growth and increased breadth of applications being quite evident. A scan of the volume associated with the 1969 APCOM published two decades ago (Weiss, 1969) indicates that the primary applications in mining were often in the areas of short-term and long-term planning and production scheduling. The applications at that time were oriented toward underground and surface mining, but block and other mine sequencing and scheduling problems for large open pit mines were perhaps the most popular target for the operations research approach. A variety of operations research techniques were used at that time with heuristic models, mathematical programming models and simulation programs all being commonplace. The computers used were usually mainframe models which were of ten shared by accounting, engineering, planning and research groups.

Jan 1, 1989

By P. M. Sandgren, H. Al-Dabbagh

Saudi Company for Precious Metals (SCPM) is jointly owned by the Saudi Arabian state organization Petromin (The General Petroleium & Mineral Organization) and Boliden of Sweden. The company operates the Sukhaybarat gold mine in the Saudi Arabian desert and produces some 80,000 ounces of gold per year by agitation and heap leaching. The discovery, development, and operation of this mine is a success story. After the first drill hole intercepted a gold mineralization in 1983, it took the partners only 8 years to delineate the ore reserve, locate water sources, prepare pre-and final feasibility studies, obtain permits, design, and construct the facilities. Sukhaybarat, which is an open pit mine, started off with a carbon-in-leach agitation plant only, but a heap leach facility was added in the beginning of 1995. Since start of operation in the middle of 1991, a total of 300,000 ounces of gold has been produced in the first four years of operation at a very competitive cost.

Jan 1, 1996

By D. J. Dunn

Grinding balls, simple in shape, are actually sophisticated machine components and essential elements of mineral grinding mills. Their physical properties and quality must be adequate to achieve design life and grinding mission with few failures. Consistent properties and freedom from breakage are essential. Size, mass, hardness profile, chemistry, and microstructure are important variables that should be designed, specified, controlled, and verified to achieve optimal mill performance. Failure to specify ball properties in detail or failure to obtain required ball properties and quality can cause milling productivity losses and excessive costs that could endanger a milling operation's survival in the competitive mineral industry.

Jan 1, 1990

By J. A. Frew, G. I. Orrock, R. M. Glen

The zinc flotation circuit was sampled to provide sized information on its metallurgical performance. A good balance was obtained and the roughing, scavenging, cleaning and regrind sections were assessed. Substantial losses of sphalerite occurred in all sizes. The limitations were poor recovery in the cleaning section which resulted in substantial recycling of 15-30µm sphalerite and iron sulphides, and inability to float +38µm sphalerite in the roughers. Regrinding increased sphalerite recovery by 7% with no loss in grade. Liberation measurements enabled balances for six size fractions to be calculated and the role of liberation on the metallurgical performance was assessed.

Jan 1, 1993

By John F. Shea

When Dick Robbins asked me to give a keynote address, I felt it might be in order to review some of the practices and techniques used in tunneling and work up to some of the concepts now used to mine and construct tunnels. Needless to say, there have been many changes in tunneling technology and also many changes in the Safety Codes controling them. An example of this latter change was the fact that in 1931, my father excavated the Owyhee Tunnel No.5 with gas locomotives. He was able to do it because there was no natural gas in the rock and the ventilation system was designed to free the tunnel atmosphere from powder and exhaust fumes. Today OSHA rules would never permit gas locomotives underground, although there were no incidents on this particular project. One of my first tunnels, as Project Manager, was the Clear Creek Tunnel for the Bureau of Reclamation. Our method of handling muck was the Conway Muckers. This unit was a valuable improvement to the hand mucking of previous generations. The Conway was also used in our Navajo Project, in New Mexico. Unlike the Clear Creek project, where water was one of our main problems - up to 7,200 gallons per minute, at a pressure of 395 pounds per square inch - in the Navajo Tunnel, we had a mixed face which caused a major problem with our support system. In one of the Navajo Tunnels, there was a major cave-in, when the squeezing shale came in during an attempt to strengthen the support system. Although moving shale was not a constant problem, there were areas where the shale was five to six feet above the spring line.

Jan 1, 1976

By Z. C. Liu, F. F. Roxborough, Lin. B. B.

The size distribution of coal cut by a mining machine is an important performance factor. It is well established that the main machine system variable that affects product size is the depth of cut. In essence, the greater the amount of coal won by a machine cutting at shallow depths, the greater the proportion of dust and fines produced. Conversely, deep cuts produce less dust and a generally larger product size. When cutting with a rotating drum, as well as with a longwall shearer, the depth of cut always varies from zero in the vicinity of the roof and floor, where most of the dust and fines are produced, to a maximum at mid-drum level. In this paper, minimizing the amount of shallow cutting with a cutting drum is discussed, and the effects of the drum cutting and design parameters on cross-sectional cutting area per revolution are analyzed. This study shows the following: •more shallow cutting occurs during the entry quadrant of a cutting cycle than during pick exit; •the ratio of the projected area of shallow cutting to the total projected area of cutting by a single pick per drum revolution is virtually the same for drums of different radii (however, it decreases as the maximum depth of cut increases); and •for double drums, the use of unequal drum diameters can reduce the production of dust and fines, compared to using drums of the same diameter.

Jan 1, 1998

By Gary PE Beerkircher

A brief history of banana screen development and evolution will be presented along with the operational advantages of the large banana screens available in the industry today. Applications of the large banana screens will be presented as well as the economic advantages that the use of large banana screens can offer to the Mining lndustry today. Banana screen installations in metal, non- metal and coal mining applications will be presented.

Jan 1, 1997