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By Keith Rowley, Neal Harries, David Noon

The management of risks associated with slope instability is an essential process in the safe and economic operation of open cut mines. The ?slope stability radar? (SSR) has been developed to better manage those risks. The SSR remotely scans rock slopes to continuously measure any surface movement and can be used to detect and alert users of wall movements with sub-millimetre precision. The high level of movement precision and broad area coverage of the rock face can allow for a better understanding of the geomechanics of slope deformation, including magnitude of potential failures and additional warning time of impending instability. Additionally, radar waves adequately penetrate through rain, dust and smoke to give reliable measurements, 24 hours a day. SSR systems have been deployed in many mines in Australia, Indonesia, South Africa, Zambia, Chile and the United States. Greater than 70 rock falls and waste dump failures (from several to millions of tonnes) have been monitored, and on every occasion precursor ?warning? movements were recorded by the SSR. This technology enables a radical change in the management of risks in open cut mining. This paper will present recent case studies of the SSR operation in coal and metalliferous mines.

Jan 1, 2006

"The last thirty years have seen enormous changes in all aspects of the gold industry, from the technologies of mining and extracting gold to the role it has played in the fiscal policies of nations. In this time, the market price of gold has increased ten fold and mine production has more than doubled. However, the cost of mining and extracting gold has also increased exponentially, and the industry has struggled with declining ore grades and increasingly refractory ore bodies.With the major economic powers of the world shrugging off the uncertainties of the post cold war era and moving into a period of unprecedented political stability, economic growth and low inflation, gold is also losing its lustre as a hedge against inflation and a backing for national currencies. Consequently, countries that had accumulated and hoarded gold for decades are now disposing of these non-performing assets, resulting in major swings in supply of the metal. Fortunately, this has coincided with the end of communism in many parts of the world and a tentative move to free market economies in most of the developing nations. As a result, people are becoming wealthier, and this is creating more demand for gold, principally in the form of jewelry.On balance, the shift in the role of gold, from one in which a significant portion of new gold production lay dormant in bank vaults as insurance against political or fiscal instability, to one in which most new gold is now freely traded as an industrial commodity, responding to normal market forces of supply and demand, has had a negative impact on the price of gold over the last fifteen years. In that time, the gold price has declined from a peak of $850/oz in 1980 to an average price of about $400 through the rest of the l 980's, to a price of -$320/oz today (1997). In large measure, this has been due to the enormous inventory of gold metal that was held by central government banks in vaults around the world, and which has been dumped on the market as soon as the price has started to trend upwards. Even today, after ten years of fairly steady selling by central banks, about 3 0, 000 tons of gold (or -8 years' supply at the present rate of consumption) is still retained in vaults (Murray et al., 1997).The downward pressure on the price of gold has created exciting opportunities for the development and implementation of new technology. Increasing the efficiency of gold recovery from more and more refractory ore bodies, whilst at the same time lowering production costs, have become critical to survival in this industry. These challenges have been met by the development and implementation of new technologies such as heap leaching, carbon in pulp, resin in pulp and the sulphide ore pre-treatment process of pressure leaching, bacterial leaching and fluid bed roasting. For an industry that saw very little technological change in the first seventy years of the twentieth century, the pace of change over the last thirty years must have seemed bewildering at times."

Jan 1, 1998

By Gerhard Heinrich

"The composition and the possible utilization of a slag sample from a nickel smelter operation in the Sudbury district were investigated. The sample containing 0.136% Ni, 0.10% Co and 0.29% Cu could be characterized as a fayalit e slag with a sulphide bearing glass matrix. While the fayalite contains most of the Co, Ni is enriched within both sulphides and fayalite. Cu is only present in higher amounts in sulphides or metallic droplets. This, as well as the small grain sizes of the mineral phases, inhibits significant enrichment by mechanical methods. However preconcentration is possible by means of magnetic separation. An effective hydro metallurgical approach proved to be oxygen pressure leaching with sulphuric acid. Accordingly, the method proposed for processing the investigated slags is to combine the normal utilization as coarse construction material with pressure leaching of the fines and the ground upgraded magnetic fraction. Besides the recovery of base metals, the leaching process yields fine-grained residues, which, after addition of CaD, will set to a cement-like material, or can be used as a pozzolanic cement colour. INTRODUCTIONDuring the pyro metallurgical processing of nickel ores, the valuable metals nickel, cobalt and copper are enriched within the sulphide matte, similar to the smelting of copper ores. The resulting waste materials are slags, which may still contain valuable metal contents of up to 0.5% or above . These contents are close to the cut-off grades of some nickel-cop per-cobalt deposits. The methods that are used to recover copper from slags comprise in general further pyro metallurgical treatment, often after enrichment by flotation. Another area of application for such slags is their use as construction material. However, this might cause environmental problems if nickel containing dusts are produced.Based on one example, the characerization and a possible way of complete utilization of nickel smelter slag s as construction materials in combination with partial base metal recovery are described in this paper. The investigated slag sample was obtained from a dump site in the Sudbury district, Ontario. Detailed test series for process optimization were not possible during this study due to the limited available sample size."

Jan 1, 1989

By Robert D. Longyear

IN MOST diamond core drilling the primary objective is the recovery of samples to be used for chemical analysis, physical tests, or visual inspection. Unless these samples are reliable and the information systematically recorded, the time and money spent in securing them are largely wasted. A properly taken diamond-drill sample is similar to a properly moiled channel sample but more accurate. No channel sample can be moiled in as even a groove as the smooth cylinder of material normally removed in diamond drilling. More important still, sampling by the diamond drill practically eliminates that personal equation which Jora1emon4 reference numbers apply to publications listed in the bibliography at the end of this article) has aptly termed "the almost magnetic attraction of the most conscientious hand toward rich pieces of ore."

Jan 1, 1937

By F. McIntosh Galbraith

This paper describes the use of the magnetometer, under geological direction, in exploration of the Sudbury nickel district. The writer's experience at Falconbridge has led him to the belief that only through detailed work, and by careful correlation of both geological and geophysical results, can geophysical prospecting methods be applied successfully to mining exploration problems. It is hoped that the basic technique described in the paper will be found to have general application. Introduction Within the past 20 years, geophysical methods of prospecting have become solidly established in the field of petroleum exploration. They have not, however, been similarly adopted by the mining industry, although mining is a far older craft and should be the more advanced in its technique. While, therefore, it is almost a routine matter to have geophysical surveys performed in a new area being tested for oil, a new metal-mining district is usually teeming with prospectors and promoters long before the technical man appears on the scene. Even then, only the more primitive engineering methods are customary in the early stages of exploration. Three factors are chiefly responsible for this situation, The first is the difference between oil pools and ore deposits in their geological modes of occurrence. While most of the known metallic ore bodies have been found outcropping at the surface, petroleum deposits are characteristically buried. This does not mean that all ore deposits outcrop, but neither does it mean that we should rely on "wildcatting" to discover blind ore bodies. The second factor is the relative scale of metallic lodes and accumulations of petroleum. In areal extent, a metal-bearing vein deposit is typically a much smaller geological feature than an oil pool. Presenting a narrower target, it requires closer shooting to score a direct hit. And finally, there is the need, in mining work, for close correlation of the known local geology with geophysical observations. This becomes of increasing importance as the size of the objective diminishes. A geophysical disturbance on a large enough scale will be detected under almost any circumstances and by almost any technique; without benefit of geology, however, the significance of a local anomaly may easily be misread. Campaign at Sudbury In the Sudbury nickel district of Canada, new deposits of nickel and copper have been discovered recently by magnetic methods, under geological supervision. A campaign of exploration, designed to encompass the district eventually, was set in motion in the spring of 1935. After six years, a new and important Ore body has been discovered and its continuity established to 1000 ft. in depth; several areas have been eliminated; and a number of possibilities remain to be tested. This has been accomplished with the expenditure of less than $$I50,000-—including the cost of all diamond drilling. The responsibility for carrying out this campaign was entrusted by the company to its Geological Department, and the under

Jan 1, 1946

By F. McIntosh Galbraith

This paper describes the use of the magnetometer, under geological direction, in exploration of the Sudbury nickel district. The writer's experience at Falconbridge has led him to the belief that only through detailed work, and by careful correlation of both geological and geophysical results, can geophysical prospecting methods be applied successfully to mining exploration problems. It is hoped that the basic technique described in the paper will be found to have general application. Introduction Within the past 20 years, geophysical methods of prospecting have become solidly established in the field of petroleum exploration. They have not, however, been similarly adopted by the mining industry, although mining is a far older craft and should be the more advanced in its technique. While, therefore, it is almost a routine matter to have geophysical surveys performed in a new area being tested for oil, a new metal-mining district is usually teeming with prospectors and promoters long before the technical man appears on the scene. Even then, only the more primitive engineering methods are customary in the early stages of exploration. Three factors are chiefly responsible for this situation, The first is the difference between oil pools and ore deposits in their geological modes of occurrence. While most of the known metallic ore bodies have been found outcropping at the surface, petroleum deposits are characteristically buried. This does not mean that all ore deposits outcrop, but neither does it mean that we should rely on "wildcatting" to discover blind ore bodies. The second factor is the relative scale of metallic lodes and accumulations of petroleum. In areal extent, a metal-bearing vein deposit is typically a much smaller geological feature than an oil pool. Presenting a narrower target, it requires closer shooting to score a direct hit. And finally, there is the need, in mining work, for close correlation of the known local geology with geophysical observations. This becomes of increasing importance as the size of the objective diminishes. A geophysical disturbance on a large enough scale will be detected under almost any circumstances and by almost any technique; without benefit of geology, however, the significance of a local anomaly may easily be misread. Campaign at Sudbury In the Sudbury nickel district of Canada, new deposits of nickel and copper have been discovered recently by magnetic methods, under geological supervision. A campaign of exploration, designed to encompass the district eventually, was set in motion in the spring of 1935. After six years, a new and important Ore body has been discovered and its continuity established to 1000 ft. in depth; several areas have been eliminated; and a number of possibilities remain to be tested. This has been accomplished with the expenditure of less than $$I50,000-—including the cost of all diamond drilling. The responsibility for carrying out this campaign was entrusted by the company to its Geological Department, and the under

Jan 1, 1946

By John S. Johnson, Thomas Fraser

SIZING is the process of separating mixed particles into groups of particles all of the same size, or into groups in which all particles range between certain definite maximum and minimum sizes. In coal preparation, sizing is generally accomplished by passing the coal over screens. Separation by differential settling in air or water currents has been adapted to the special field of separating very fine sizes, and these processes are in commercial use to a relatively small extent in the coal industry. Separation with screens is a very old industrial practice. Agricola described the use of screens for ore treatment in the middle ages. In the literature of the British coal industry references were made to the screening of coal as early as 1589, but the practice of extensive sizing for the market did not become general until the last half of the nineteenth century. In America, the practice of sizing developed first in the Pennsylvania anthracite region, beginning with the use of rakes in the mine working places to recover coarse coal. This mining procedure left the fines in the mine. Preparation outside the mine started with the installation of stationary cast-iron plates with 4 to 6-in. square holes. The run-of-mine coal was dumped upon the platforms, the large pieces of rock were picked out by hand, and the large lumps of coal were broken with hammers. The term "breaker," which still applies to the anthracite-preparation plant, originated with this practice, but the term is no longer descriptive of the entire function of the plant. In 1884, the first power-operated anthracite coal breaker was erected by Gideon Bart at his colliery at Wolf Creek near Minersville, Pa. This plant utilized a system of rolls for breaking the coal and revolving screens for sizing. The plant was driven by a steam engine. It could handle coal at the rate of 200 tons a day. By 1860, revolving screens were in wide use in the Pennsylvania anthracite field. Shaking screens were introduced in the Pennsylvania anthracite region in the 90's and they rapidly displaced the lower-capacity revolving screens.

Jan 1, 1950

By Thomas L. Craig

The Wellman-Lord SO2 Recovery Process is operating commercially at one location in this country and at two locations in Japan. Tail gases from a sulfuric acid plant, from an oil fired steam generator and from a sulfur recovery unit are the respective applications. 1) At the Olin Corporation's Paulsboro, New Jersey, stack gas from a spent acid regenerative sulfuric acid plant-45000 SCFM - is treated in the W-L unit to reduce sulfur dioxide concentrations from 4500 ppm to less than 500 ppm. 2) At the Japan Synthetic Rubber plant in Chiba Prefecture, stack gas from an oil-fired steam generating plant - 120,000 SUM - is reduced from 2100 ppm S02 to less than 200 ppm. 3) At the Toa Nenryo Kogyo refinery in Kanagawa Prefecture, tail gas from a sulfur recovery (Claus) unit - 41,000 SUM - with, an inlet SO2 concentration of up to 13000 ppm is reduced to less than 200 ppm. The three installations are operating successfully and are capable of reducing S02 emissions to levels significantly below the concentration guaranteed. With the one exception of a higher than guaranteed chemical make up requirement at Paulsboro, utility and chemical requirements will be less than design.

Jan 1, 1971

By W. L. Acherman

Molybdenum, tungsten, and vanadium were found by the Bureau of Mines to possess generally superior chemical and galvanic corrosion properties in many aqueous corrosive media at temperatures up to the boiling point. The corrosion resistance of vanadium in certain solutions was further improved by alloying it with such metals as columbium, tantalum, and titanium. was susceptible to a type of crevice corrosion in mercuric chloride solutions, but no other instances of crevice corrosion were encountered. With few exceptions, molybdenum, tungsten, and vanadium were not adversely affected when coupled with dissimilar metals in galvanic corrosion experiments; in some cases one or both members of a couple were protected by contact. When exposed to aqueous ammonia spray at 60° C, all three metals were attacked, but they were moderately resistant in spray environments of substitute ocean water and ammonium dihydrogen phosphate.

Jan 1, 1966

By Carl F. Wingquist

In support of Bureau of Mines studies of thermal fragmentation of rock, the elastic moduli of four types of rock were measured at temperatures ranging from room temperature up to 1,500° F (1,089° K). The sonic method was employed to determine the resonant frequencies of the rock specimens and from these frequencies, the elastic moduli were calculated. Data for Young's modulus, shear modulus, and Poisson's ratio are given as a function of temperature for Dresser basalt, Reserve taconite, Jasper quartzite, and Charcoal granite. Young's modulus and the shear modulus decreased with increasing temperature up to about 1,200° F and then became relatively insensitive to temperatures from 1,200° to 1,500° F.

Jan 1, 1969

By D. F. Hambley

"In designing are passes f or underground mines specific consideration should be given to unimpaired flow of broken rock, the dump point, and typical practices f or overcoming operational difficulties. Design features such as branches, bends, and knuckles should also be considered. This paper pro vides engineering information and various criteria for designing are passes, draw points. feeders, and support systems, together with several illustrative examples.IntroductionOre passes are the primary mean s o f vertical transfer of mined ore to the ore bins and loading pocket from which the o re is hoisted to the surface (Fig. 1) . While the words "" ore"" and ""ore pass"" are used here, such transfer systems ca n be used for any broken rock.The most extensive ore pass systems are found in caving and sublevel stoping mines. Extensive ore pass systems are also found in multilevel mines having steeply dipping orebodies. In more flat-lying orebodies , ore pass systems are sometimes used in conjunction with conveyor systems .Two decades have passed since the principles of the flow of bulk solids were formulated (Jenike, 1961, 1964; Johanson and Colijn, 1964; Kvapil , 1965). However, few published papers are available that discuss the design criteria for ore pass systems. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to provide the information necessary for good o re pass design .Rock Flow in Ore Pass SystemsIf an ore pass system is to fulfill its function, the transfer o f material must occur in an orderly fashion and in such a way that the full size of the opening is employed effectively. Apart from un controlled flow at the drawpoint, or outlet , whose design will be considered later in this paper, two occurrences may impede flow in an ore pass, namely:• Hangups due to interlocking arches.• Hangups due to cohesive arches.Prevention of each of these problems will be discussed in succeeding sections of this paper. A third problem piping, is related to the ratio of the drawpoint size to the o re pass size and will be discussed under drawpoint de sign."

Jan 1, 1987

By Henry F. Herley

The New Orient mine, owned and operated by the Chicago, Wilmington & Franklin Coal Co., has caused a great deal of comment and interest because of its unusual features and huge daily production. It is in Franklin County, Illinois, adjacent to the town of West Frankfort. The seam being mined is the Illinois No. 6 which in this locality is 9 to 12 ft. thick and lies approximately 500 ft. below the surface. Without fear of contradiction, it can be said that this is one of the largest coal mines in the world from a daily production standpoint. During 1928, New Orient produced 2,400,000 tons, which amounts to over 10,000 tons each day the mine operated that year. The mine is built for a capacity of 12,000 tons but has actually hoisted over 15,000 tons in one 8-hr, shift. This enormous production can perhaps be better visualized if it is realized that each day's operation depletes over two acres of coal. The general features of this mine have already been fully covered in a paper by George B. Harrington,' President of the Chicago, Wilmington & Franklin Coal Co. In a paper of the nature of Mr. Harrington's, it was unnecessary to stress any particular phase of mining conditions, consequently the ventilation problems were touched upon but lightly. In this paper an attempt has been made to describe some of the problems which have been encountered in providing adequate ventilation for the mine. Ventilating Conditions The acreage allotted to New Orient mine has a length, north and south, of approximately 6 miles, and a width, east and west, of 2 to 4 miles. A number of important considerations caused the hoist shaft, air shaft and surface plant to be located near the southeast corner of the property, instead of near the center, as is usual. During the initial phase of the mine development, the mine was ventilated through these shafts, although there was a full realization that at some future date other shafts would be required.

Jan 1, 1930

By M. Irish

This paper describes the emergency water control measures used at Pegasus Gold's Zortman Landusky mine during the September 1986 flood. The amount of solution stored increased by approximately 78 165 m3 due to receiving 0.2134 m of rain in a 24 hour period. Three methods of water disposal will be discussed including continuous chlorination, batch chlorination, and reverse osmosis. A water management program will also be discussed.

Jan 1, 1988

By Leopoldo José Naves Alves

Os sistemas de controle e supervisão de processos que não contemplam o adequado gerenciamento de alarmes e eventos sofrem uma sobrecarga na operação com um número exacerbado de informações durante situações de distúrbio e até mesmo operação normal. Nos últimos anos, a abordagem sobre metodologia, boas práticas e planejamento adequado do gerenciamento de alarmes vem sendo alvo de crescente interesse, seu objetivo é garantir um ótimo estado de produção e uma maior segurança dos equipamentos e dos operadores. Em 2009 a ISA, após anos de trabalho sobre este tema, apresentou a norma ANSI/ISA 18.2, formalizando conceitos, definindo metodologias e sugerindo boas práticas. Este trabalho visa apresentar de maneira objetiva tal norma e demonstrar a viabilidade e eficiência de sua aplicação pratica.

Aug 8, 2018

By W. G. Spencer, E. Sulis, P. M. Tiley

"Dome Mine's No.8 shaft is located about 1 km northeast of Dome's No.3 shaft and mill complex in South Porcupine, Ontario.No.8 shaft was brought into production in 1984 to hoist ore and waste for the complete mine as well as to service the mine from the 1600 level and below. Access above 1600 level is provided by No. 3 shaft.The rectangular shaft has six compartments consisting of two skips, a cage, counterweight, manway, and a service compartment. The over-all size of the shaft is 14 ft 7 in. by 20 ft by 7 in. (Fig. 1). A 7th compartment for shaft deepening is incorporated in the bottom 500 ft of shaft. The shaft is 5470 ft deep. The loading pocket is located at 5300 ft and the dump 61 ft below the collar.Surface facilities consist of a concrete headframe and a structural steel hoistroom which houses the cage and production hoists . The service hoist is a 12-ft diameter double drum, with one 1750 HP DC motor, and the production hoist is a 15-ft diameter double drum with twin 1750 HP DC motors.Both hoists have a single clutch and a single reduction gear train built by Orenstein & Koppel, and equipped with Canadian General Electric drives. The cage hoist is equipped with a disc pinion brake.The skips were originally aluminum 14-ton capacity, Rolla-chute design with steel liners on three sides and 4 in. of rubber on the back, to absorb the loading impact. The original guide rollers consisted of fixed 10 in. pneumatic tires. The face-to-face units were eventually replaced with larger airplane-type tires mounted on a spring loaded pivot arm."

Jan 1, 1993

By Pual M. Tyler

BLIZKRIEG tactics in the present war have consumed metals on such a profligate scale that some of the best-laid procurement plans for civilian and military needs of even a year ago seem in retrospect incredibly meager. Conservation of raw materials has reached an all-time climax in Germany, where metals are worth more than human life and throwing away an empty toothpaste tube may be legally punished by death. Even the United States and the British Empire, proud masters of nine tenths of the world?s known mineral reserves and processing plants, are being driven to metals and feverishly expanding production facilities that not long ago were deemed overbuilt. After the war is over and inevitable postwar readjustments are completed, it is reasonable to expect that purchasing power ? or at least the ability to procure the comforts and luxuries of life ? will be distributed among vastly larger population than ever before, accelerating the rising trend in demand for industrial raw materials in ever greater quantity and variety.

Jan 1, 1942

By Roy Bartholomae

Noise generated by continuous mining machines in underground coal production is an important health hazard. Bureau of Mines Contract J0387229 covers investigation of this noise through laboratory tests of simulated cutting operations and through in-mine noise measurements. The results of these investigations indicate that coal cutting noise and conveyor noise are dominant sources of mining machine operational noise. Typical noise levels for both cutting and conveying operations are approximately 97 dBA (decibels A-weighted). For full operation of all machine systems, the overall sound pressure level is approximately 101 dBA. In-mine and laboratory test results show excellent agreement in both A-weighted overall levels as well as in A-weighted one-third-octave band spectra.

Jan 1, 1983

By Rolf B. Pedersen, Filipa Marques

The extension of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge north of Iceland has collectively been referred to as the Arctic Mid-Ocean Ridges (AMOR). The AMOR extends from the northern shelf of Iceland, to the Siberian shelf in the Laptev Sea, passing en route through the Norwegian- Greenland Sea, the narrow gateway of the Fram Strait, and across the Eurasia Basin. The AMOR is 4000 km long and is divided into six super segments: 1) the Kolbeinsey Ridge, 2) the Mohns Ridge, 3) the Knipovich Ridge, 4) the Molloy Ridge, 5) the Lena Trough, and 6) the Gakkel Ridge. After continental rifting at 60-50 million years ago, around 2.5 million km2 of oceanic seafloor has formed by seafloor spreading - resulting in the formation of the Norwegian- Greenland Sea and the Eurasian Basin. This northernmost part of the global ridge system is anomalous in several ways: The seafloor spreading takes place at an ultraslow rate (less than 2 cm/y) with spreading rates decreasing northward to around 1 cm/y at the Gakkel Ridge - which is the most slow-spreading ridge on Earth. As a result, the volcanic activity along the northern part of the AMOR is low, the oceanic crust is unusually thin (around 3,5 km at the Knipovich Ridge, Kandilarov et al.2010), and the rift valley is deep (average water depth > 3 km). In the southern part of the AMOR, the ridge system is affected by the Icelandic plume and a hot spot below Jan Mayen. The ridge-plume interaction results in higher volcanic productivity, unusually thick oceanic crust (9-11 km, Kandilarov et al. 2012) and shallow ridge segments (1500-100 m). The AMOR also display contrasting spreading regimes, whereas some super segments are dominated by orthogonal spreading (Kolbeinsey and Gakkel Ridge) others are characterized by highly oblique spreading (Mohns and Knipovich ridges). Some ridge segment displays asymmetric spreading, like the Mohns Ridge where core complexes preferentially form along the northwestern flank. Together these variations in ridge characteristics results in large diversity of hydrothermal systems and associated mineral deposits.

Jan 1, 2018

By James E. Lawver, James L. Wright

This paper describes the design of a cell used to measure the electrical conductivity, or the reciprocal resistivity, of granular materials. It also establishes a quantitative relationship between the electrical conductivity and the electrical separation of selected mineral samples. It is estimated' that the free world produces about 13 million tons of mineral concentrates a year by electrostatic or electrodynamic methods. At least 95% of these concentrates are produced by corona discharge type machines that separate minerals by exploiting the differences in their electrical conductivity. But, what is meant by the electrical conductivity of a mineral? How large a difference in the electrical conductivity of two mineral species is necessary to effect a separation? Just what is the role of conductivity in electrical separations with regard to capacity and selectivity? There is a considerable amount of information in the literature on both the mechanisms of conduction and the values of the electrical conductivity of pure single-crystal mineral specimens. In addition, some insight into the role of mineral conductivity can be obtained by referring to a Bureau of Mines publication' in which 95 minerals have been grouped as conductors or insulators as a function of temperature. The classification was made on the basis of the percent of weight that reported as "conductors" in an electrical separator. But, as is often the case in the mineral industry, practical application leads theory — and there is little useful information in the literature giving any kind of quantitative relationship between electrical conductivity and electrical separations. The problem is a bit complex because electrical conductivity per se — which can be rather easily measured on large, single grains — is not sufficiently informative to permit quantitative predictions of the separability of the mineral system. Practical "high-tension"* separations are made at such feed rates that the band of minerals on the rotor is multilayered in thickness. Thus, the effective conductivities of minerals as seen by a high-tension machine include particle-to-particle contact resistance, which is often a controlling factor in making a separation. This is particularly true when the mineral grains are coated with slime or with a dielectric surface film. From a high-tension separation viewpoint, one is actually concerned with the time required for corona-charged grains to lose enough charge so that the centrifugal force acting on the particles exceeds the image force holding the grains to the rotor. This calculation requires a knowledge of the effective mineral conductivity s. (The conductivity of the metal rotor is sufficiently greater than that of the minerals so that it need not be considered in charge decay calculations.) The charge density at time t can be approximated by the relaxation equation.3 where t 5 charge density at time t r, - charge density when t = 0 cr e total electrical conductivity £ = permittivity The time required for the charge density to fall to l/e of its initial value is called the relaxation time and is numerically equal to €/n. AS defined here, u is the conductivity of an element of homogeneous grains making contact with each other and with a grounded rotor. This paper deals with the design of a conductivity cell used to measure a, or its reciprocal p, the electrical resistivity. CELL DESIGN Initial test work was performed with a cell recommended by ASTM.4 Since the reproducibility with the ASTM cell was not satisfactory, it was decided to

Jan 1, 1970

By D. H. Platt

Data obtained from on-the-site observations have been compiled to describe the equipment and installation methods used for satisfactory suspension roof support in a large-diameter tunnel. Experimental roof bolting was undertaken from June 1950 until May 8, 1951, in the East Delaware tunnel, which is part of the Delaware aqueduct in Delaware and Sullivan Counties, N. Y. Revised suspension-roof-support plans and specifications were prepared during the spring of 1951 by the City of New York Board of Water Supply; these were approved by the State of New York Department of Labor April 13, 1951, and adopted by the City of New York Board of Water Supply on May 8, 1951.

Jan 1, 1952