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By J. A. Ober

China, Mexico, Spain and Turkey are the leading producers of celestite (strontium sulfate), the most common strontium mineral. Of an estimated 510 kt (562,000 st) of celestite produced worldwide during 2004, 98 percent was produced in those countries. Deposits of strontianite (strontium carbonate), another strontium mineral, have been identified in China and Malawi. Relatively small quantities are reported from the deposit in China. Although celestite deposits occur in the United States, no domestic celestite has been mined since 1959.

Jan 1, 2005

By W. Miles

Introduction From a historical perspective, bentonite is the common rock term for various uses and applications. Its name originates from water-based muds near Fort Benton used for lubrication of wagon wheels during the 19th century migration to western territories (which are presently part of the United States) when the pioneers ran out of axle grease. From a clay mineralogy perspective, bentonite is composed primarily of montmorillonite, an expandable magnesium aluminum silicate clay mineral. When magnesium occupies an octahedral structural site that usually contains an aluminum atom, a negative charge is created. In order to neutralize negative charges, cations are drawn to the interlayer surfaces between clay mineral sheet structures. Modern applications for bentonite depend on the sodium or calcium cation populations and other characteristics of the clay mineral. When sodium is the dominant cation, the material is also called sodium bentonite, also known as swelling bentonite, western bentonite or Wyoming bentonite. When calcium or magnesium is the dominant cation, the material is called calcium bentonite, also known as nonswelling bentonite or southern bentonite. Swelling bentonite is recognized for its rapid hydration of interlayer sodium and subsequent dramatic expansion up to more than 20 times its original volume. Low shear can then disperse the hydrated sodium bentonite to form suspensions that increase viscosity and suspend solids. However, when shear is subsequently eliminated a sodium bentonite slurry gels. Characteristically, nonswelling calcium bentonite has relatively poor hydration properties and thus low expansion of the clay mineral. When subjected to low shear, calcium bentonite exhibits very little viscosity and poor suspension. Additionally, when shear is subsequently eliminated no more than minimal gelling takes place. The domestic and export markets related to both swelling and nonswelling bentonite are discussed below.

Jan 1, 2007

By Alfredo Valdivia, Jesus Schabib, Vojtech Gall, William Cao, Curt Cicileo, Andrew J. Thompson

"The East Side Access Project (ESA) involves the construction of geometrically complex underground structures including a large number of caverns and bifurcations. Initially conceived as dual lined structures with either traditional concrete or shotcrete final linings (SFL), construction economy, advances in concrete placement technology and scheduling among others led to a wide use of what is referred to as freeform or pneumatically applied concrete (PAC) for the construction of tunnel final linings. PAC is a method of applying concrete without using formwork, where a wet mix concrete is pneumatically installed to encase reinforcement to full lining thickness. PAC has been widely adopted at ESA well beyond initial expectations. The paper addresses the design and construction aspects of the PAC method and contrasts it to traditional SFL lining placement. The experience made provides guidance for future PAC and SFL applications. THE EAST SIDE ACCESS PROJECT AND USE OF FREEFORM CONCRETE The Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) currently transports commuters from Long Island into Manhattan, terminating at the already congested Penn Station on the west side of Manhattan. Once completed, the ESA Project will provide LIRR commuters direct access to the east side of Manhattan underneath Grand Central Terminal. The ESA Project will help alleviate the congestion at Penn Station, which currently accommodates New Jersey Transit, Amtrak, and LIRR lines; reduce travel time for LIRR passengers traveling to the east side of Manhattan and facilitate connections to the New York City Transit (NYCT) Subway System and Metro North Rail Road. The construction includes mining and lining of new tunnels and facilities under Manhattan and Queens. The tunnels run from Queen’s Sunny Side Yard through the existing 63rd St. Tunnel, underneath Manhattan’s Park Avenue until termination at 37th Street. Differing types of tunneling methods and final lining systems are being used depending on the ground conditions, geometry and size of the excavation, site constraints and functional requirements. Mining of the Queens segment of the ESA Project involved soft ground tunneling by pressurized face tunnel boring machines, cut and cover construction, and conventional tunneling. The Manhattan segment of the ESA Project involves mining in hard rock by tunnel boring machines, drill and blast, and road header."

Jan 1, 2016

By Paul Soros

The rationale for innovations in two directions is identified: raising capital and annual throughput, in order to avoid the cost of constructing and operating an additional system and to reduce the capital cost of pits and tunnels, applicable to installations of any capacity. Cast histories cover railroad unloading of bottom dump cars, rotary dumping of random cars, with and without indexer, and unit trains as well as truck unloading of multiple grades of coal.

Jan 1, 1985

By Wern-ping (Nick) Chen

In concrete lined tunnels, formwork removal timing may be controversial. Contractors seek to strip the form as soon as possible, and designers seek to keep the formwork in place as long as practical to protect the fresh concrete. Formwork removal timing is normally specified as a function to its insitu concrete strength. This approach may work for smaller diameter tunnels, but fallacy occurs when applying this approach to larger diameter tunnels, since a larger diameter would experience more displacement than a smaller diameter tunnel from its own weight. Excessive deformation may fail a tunnel to meet its roundness criterion and overstress the lining causing cracking or falling from the crown. This paper presents a contractual mechanism to mitigate this issue.

Jan 1, 2008

By R. Rushforth

The surge of activity in the solar energy market, spurred by government incentives, has created new and more efficient solar technologies, but issues surrounding land- and water-use have backlogged the full-scale development of solar farms. This paper explores siting solar power plants on degraded or polluted lands, such as mine tailings impoundments. Historically, mining and has been integral to Arizona?s economy, but has dwindled in relevance due to urban pressures and environmental regulations. Currently, it is legal to site solar power plants on degraded or polluted lands, but the question remains whether the economics of this degraded lands solar development is more favorable than developing pristine land. Therefore, we explore economics of developing mine tailings impoundments at both the institutional and financial level. Methods of research for this paper were interviews with government regulators, environmental advocacy organizations, farmers, and mining company executives. Financial models using extant tax incentives show a positive net present value for the installation of solar power plants, even when accounting for the costs of land remediation.

Jan 1, 2011

By B. Cavender

Safety departments have traditionally been held responsible for the safety performance of their division or company. This approach leads to a lack of ownership of safety issues by the larger organization. An alternative paradigm is significantly more effective: the members of the work force (managers as well as workers) are fully responsible and accountable for safe production. The safety department is not extinct, however. Its role has changed, to focus on training, litigation, and external relationships such as community relations. This approach was implemented at BHP Copper's Superior mine and mill in Arizona. By obtaining the genuine commitment of the work force to accident-free production, the mill's MSHA incident rate immediately dropped from 7.4 to zero. The mill also ran one year with no MSHA citations. When this philosophy was implemented at the divisional level, the division's incident rate decreased from 9.5 to 1.1,an 88-percent reduction in six months.

Jan 1, 2000

By Anna Sieminska-Lewandowska, Monika Mitew-Czajewska

"The construction of 6.3 km long central part of 2nd metro line in Warsaw was completed in September 2014 (7 stations - out of which three 25m deep stations - built using cut and cover method; two single-track tunnels constructed using four EPB TBMs as well as a short NATM section with soil freezing below the existing road tunnel). Central section of the 2nd metro line was opened to public after verification and testing in March 2015. Design and build tender for the extension of this line in East (three stations) and West direction (three stations) was announced with total length of running tunnels – approx. 5 km. Detailed description of a very complex geotechnical context, different construction methods, challenges encountered and solved during construction and finally lessons learnt on this interesting project are presented in the paper. DESCRITPTION OF THE PROJECT Introduction The very first concept plan of the metro system in Warsaw was designed several years after regaining independence by Poland in 1918. In 1929, following the geotechnical survey, design works begun, but the economic crisis of the 1930s stopped it. After a few years of break, in 1938 a coherent concept of the metro network was proposed to be implemented in phases over the next 35 years. In total, construction of 46 kilometers of metro, including 31 km of tunnels and 15 km on surface, was planned. Unfortunately, World War 2 made the implementation of those plans impossible. In the post-war period several metro designs were elaborated, but none except one was scheduled for implementation. Construction of the 1st, 23.1 km long, North-South line commenced in 1983 and finished in 2008 (Sieminska-Lewandowska et all. 2009). Nowadays, Warsaw covers the area of 517 km2 and, according to year 2014 statistical data, the city has much more than 1.7 million inhabitants. Only one operating metro line is not sufficient for such a populated city. Up-to-date metro plan, shown on Figure 1, includes also 30.5 km long 2nd metro line. It’s route is divided into four sections: Western Section with the length of approx. 9.2 km and 9 stations, Central Section with the length of 6.3 km and 7 stations, North-East Section with the length of 7.7 km and 6 stations, South-East Section with the length of 7.1 km and 6 stations. The construction of the central part of the 2nd metro line in Warsaw was completed in September 2014 and its operation started in March 2015. The paper focuses on challenges encountered and solved and lessons learnt during construction of the central part of the 2nd metro line in Warsaw."

Jan 1, 2016

By Craig J. Brown

Despite its great potential utility, ion exchange has only achieved limited application in hydrometallurgy. To a significant extent this is due to the limitations of conventional ion exchange process design as well as the properties of the ion exchange resins themselves. Over the past decade several new ion exchange resins have been introduced with properties that make them potentially very useful for various hydrometallurgical separations. In addition, a novel ion exchange process called Reciprocating Flow Ion Exchange or Recoflo, which has been employed in the metal finishing industry for the last dozen or so years for chemical recovery and effluent treatment, has been shown to offer a number of unique and significant advantages over conventional I.X. technology.

Jan 1, 1984

By Dennis R. Twining

Recently a mining analyst for a major bank called me to say that during his travels he had encountered an electric utility interested in a new uranium supply. Since we produce uranium as a by-product of phosphate operations rather than as a primary product, he assumed we simply sold our output in the spot market and that a new prospective purchaser would be of interest to us. This assumption was incorrect; the uranium had already been sold on a long term basis at terms more favorable than the currently depressed spot market. From the outset our approach to the marketing of uranium was based on the principle that by-product marketing is not unlike primary product marketing. This was particularly appropriate in the case of uranium, as we were planning a considerable technical and capital commitment to a new business. This illustrates: that the fundamental principle in by-product marketing is to follow a primary product strategy; that the terms "by-product" or "co-product" are creations of accountants; that they have no place in marketing decisions! Traditionally, the term "by-product" has implied that only a secondary marketing effort is required. Recent history has contradicted that view by demonstrating that by-product values can have marked impact on a mine's revenues and costs. In fact, by-product values can spell the difference between success and failure.

Jan 1, 1983

By K. M. Reim

Planning the development of the Quartz Hill molybdenum open pit mine in Southeast Alaska required a number of special considerations. Located in mountainous glaciated terrain, about 3.8 m (150 in.) of annual precipitation (with annual snowfall over 10.2 m (400 :in.) was a primary consideration. Mine planning included muskeg and snow removal, avalanche control, clearing timber, water quality control, dust control, seismicity, mine schedule, work force and reclamation. Quartz Hill is in an environmentally sensitive area which has required extensive environmental baseline data collection, four Environmental Impact statements (EIS) and a large number of permits.

Jan 1, 1988

By H. Sevim

In this paper, the research effort in simulating the operation of underground coarse-coal hydrotransport systems (UCCHS) is summarized. The equipment of the system to be simulated is already optimally selected by using an analytical optimization model. The purpose of the simulation model is to test the performance of the system and to obtain the distribution of the operating parameters such as water and power consumption, amount of slurry delivered to the preparation plant, etc. Knowledge of the distribution of these parameters is essential for the efficiency of the design and the operation of the system.

Jan 1, 1985

By Lee W. Abramson, Kenneth P. Akins

The authors have accumulated published data on residual soil and rock tunnels in the United States and have compared it to transit tunneling experience in Atlanta, Georgia, and tunnels in other soil and rock conditions. Two 6.1 meter (20 foot) diameter shield driven, compressed air tunnels were constructed for the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) connecting the Five Points Station (central hub) with the Peachtree Center Station (first station on the north line). Because of the historic multi-story structures above the tunnels and the variety of subsurface conditions, a comprehensive ground monitoring and observation program was conducted. Conclusions are drawn regarding residual soil and rock ground response due to tunneling. Comparisons are made to ground response due to tunneling in other soil and rock conditions.

Jan 1, 1983

By John Hickey

Management teams at mining companies begin to ask themselves whether to take a company public and, if so, how to do it as they approach the normal threshold for going public in terms of revenue and operating performance. Today, the expense of going public generally suggests the company has at least $20 million in annual revenue and at least $2 million in cash. The revenue number can be lower for mining companies with large reserves. In order to properly attract the investing public, the company must also be operationally strong with robust prospects. The company should have a strong management team and a consistent history of double-digit growth that will continue into the foreseeable future. Assuming the thresholds are met, a company?s management needs to weigh the pros and cons of going public.

Jan 1, 2012

By R. C. Freas

Composite materials are finding new applications daily, ranging from automotive parts to synthetic lumber. The variety of applications seems almost limitless. However, these emerging products bring both new opportunities and new challenges to the field of industrial minerals. One of the primary challenges is from alternative materials other than industrial minerals. Thus the question is asked whether industrial minerals will truly benefit from the growth in market applications for composite plastics. This article highlights some of the opportunities for industrial minerals while focusing on performance and competitive demands on mineral products intended for use in this developing market.

Jan 1, 2000

By Satoshi Honda, Mitsuru Shimizu, Tatsuji Nagao, Motoaki Kurisu, Hirokazu Izumi, Toshinori Takahashi, Hiroyuki Itoi

"1. INTRODUCTION Grade separation of roads and railway tracks is an effective method for solving traffic-related issues in cities. However, in urban areas where the existing traffic infrastructure is already overcrowded, construction of new roads often faces problems especially in the proximity of existing structures. This paper summarizes the construction plan and results of new road tunnel construction in the proximity of the piers of elevated tracks on the Tokaido Shinkansen railway.2. SUMMARY OF CONSTRUCTION AND ISSUES Auxiliary Route No. 26 as specified in the Tokyo urban plan is a project by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, covering the construction of a new road with a total length of 22.3 km currently on the way to completion. In Shinagawa Ward, Tokyo, Auxiliary Route No. 26 is designed to cross the railway tracks of the Yokosuka Line and the Tokaido Shinkansen Line, so for this project, the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) was commissioned to design and build a road crossing under the railway tracks (Sumiyoshi Underpass). Figures 1 through 3 show a sketch of the Sumiyoshi Underpass. The Sumiyoshi Underpass was planned as a two-lane tunnel for vehicles, which was to cross under the railway tracks of the Yokosuka Line and the Tokaido Shinkansen Line at an angle of 70 degrees. The structure concerned is a single-story single-span box culvert structure with the following dimensions: 11.5 m wide, 7.7 m high and 31.6 m long. The Tokaido Shinkansen Line tracks were constructed on a girder-type elevated bridge built in the 1960s, and the foundation piles of the piers (P7 and P8) in the proximity of this crossing box culvert of RC structure were constructed using an earth drill method. The crossing structure for this project is located extremely close to the piers of the Tokaido Shinkansen railway tracks, with a minimal separation of 0.4 m, and the most significant issue of this project was construction in a manner that would not obstruct the normal operations of the Tokaido Shinkansen (Figure 4). Initially, we considered installing a temporary earth retaining structure in the proximity of the piers, cutting the ground and building an RC box, but concluded that it would be very difficult to apply this method because of probable excessive displacements in the Shinkansen railway piers. That is why we decided on the use of a non-open cut method in order to minimize the impact on the piers."

Jan 1, 2016

By S. C. Sun

Pennsylvania has ample reserves of high-alumina clays which are potential sources of alumina, but many of these clays contain large amounts of iron, which makes them unsuitable for treatment by acid processes(1). The purpose of this investigation was to determine the optimum conditions for the selective hydrochloric acid leaching of iron (2-4) prior to the sulfuric acid extraction of alumina from Pennsylvania ferruginous high-alumina clays. This was accomplished by first testing the iron-bearing minerals and the clay minerals most often encountered in Pennsylvania clays to determine their rate of dissolution in hydrochloric acid solutions. The results of individual minerals were then based for leaching Pennsylvania clays with a 19% hydrochloric acid solution at the boiling point of the acid for approximately 30 minutes to achieve as high as 90% iron removal and only 2-5% alumina losses.

Jan 1, 1968

By Stig Premfors

Lamco Joint Venture is operating a Dravo Pelletizing machine to produce pellets from the natural slimes of an earthy hematite ore. The grate area of the machine 3.3 x 106 m equal to 350 m2 (3800 sq. ft.) and the installed fan capacity is 8200 HP. The limiting factor for production is normally fan capacity. This means that the processing fans can not pull the additional air (i.e the additional calories or BTUs) through the bed which would be required for increased production. A way to increase production without major modifications is to supply the additional calories needed for increase production by adding coal to the pellet feed. After successful laboratory tests following method of coal addition has been chosen and the following results have been obtained. 1. The ground coal is added to the slurry prior to the filters and the rotary dryer. 2. By adding 0.6% coal, an increase of about 15% in production rate has been obtained. 3. No significant changes of metallurgical properties have been observed (i.e. tumbler index, compressive strength, ferrous iron content, reducibility, Linder degradation and swelling). 4. No unexpected operation problems have been experienced. The pellet discharge temperature increases and is the limit for how much production can be increased by coal addition without making plant modifications.

Jan 1, 1971

By Earl Rau

Introduction Will cogeneration be a major power source in the future? The location of electric power generating plants has changed. In 1900, more than 50% of electricity was generated by industrial plants. Since then, industrial plant generation of electricity greatly decreased to 17% in 1950 and to only 3% in 1980. Changing economics in electric power generating costs, though, may allow cogeneration to reverse this trend. Cogeneration has been defined as the simultaneous production of electric (mechanical) and thermal energy from a single energy source. Some applications are considered to be byproduct generation of electricity from industrial, thermal operations. Cogeneration is not new to the mining and minerals industry. Smelters and steel mills have used waste heat to generate electricity. Public Utilities Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 The potential for increased industrial cogeneration of electricity is related to the March 9, 1978 enactment of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA). The US Supreme Court ruled that PURPA is constitutional. The court upheld requirements that utilities interconnect to cogenerators. It also ruled that 100% of avoided costs be used as the guideline for electricity sales by a qualifying facility (QF) to a utility. The state of New York established a floor price $0.06/kWh for electricity sales from a QF to a utility. It is obvious, then, that a cogenerator must first establish price and then become a qualifying facility in order to sell electricity to a utility. Proposed cogeneration plants The estimated industrial cogeneration potential for the years 1986 to 2000 is 9500 to 25,000 MW. Industries represented in this cogeneration estimate are pulp and paper, petroleum, chemicals, food, textiles, rubber, plastics, steel, lumber and wood, cement, glass, metal fabrication, and industrial parks. A cogeneration plant has been proposed for the Union Carbide chemical plant in Institute, WV. A steam turbine/generator would be installed to replace the pressure-reducing valve in the 2.7 MPa (400 psig) header. Scott Paper Co., Mobile, AL, proposed a cogeneration plant using a coal- and wood-fired boiler and a turbine/generator to produce process steam and electric power. A cogeneration system has been proposed for a large oil refining plant. A pulverized coal boiler would produce high-pressure steam to operate a turbine, generator. The exhaust steam from the turbine will go to the process and an existing turbine. Kansas City, MO's Armour meat-processing plant has proposed a cogeneration plant. This proposal is to use a natural gas or oil-fired, gas-driven turbine and a generator. The waste heat from the gas turbine would go to a heat recovery boiler for use as process heat. Dade County, FL is implementing a central energy system to supply electricity, air conditioning, and domestic hot water for five buildings in downtown Miami. The cogeneration system is to provide flexibility, to optimize fuel use efficiency while serving the variable thermal demands. Generation of electricity from municipal waste is not considered to be a cogeneration process but is covered by PURPA. Special considerations are provided for waste/electric power generation to encourage the development of these systems. ?

Jan 7, 1987

By D. J. Pandelis, W. J. Schlittler

Auxiliary Equipment pumping systems to support primary, secondary and regrind grinding circuits will be the primary focus of this paper. Every grinding system is unique and requires special design considerations for proper application of pumps to transport mill discharge. To satisfy the majority of applications, a new series of pumps has been developed by Svedala, known as World Class Pumps. Selection of these newly developed pumps for each type of grinding circuit will be presented. Specific components of selection are materials of construction, piping system, classification method, material characteristics and slurry characteristics. Both horizontal and vertical pump applications will be reviewed with emphasis on rules of pump piping and sump design.

Jan 1, 1999