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By S. Partney

Waste clay ponds are a necessary part of the phosphate rock beneficiation process. They are large, averaging a square mile in size; unsightly, in that they protrude 20 to 50 feet (6 -15 meters) above natural grade; stabilization and reclamation is slow; and they have had a history of catastrophic failure. The State of Florida has never published a specific rule regarding the configuration or height of these ponds, but has enforced numerous policies along these lines. The current rules are given and interpreted, along with the reasoning for current policy. In addition, an overview of the history of the policies, and an attempt at explaining the reasons for the changes that have occurred is given. The industry has been forced to make major monetary decisions, having effect for decades on mine economics, in a constantly changing regulatory environment. The Bureau of Mine Reclamation is confident that a direction of regulation has been solidified, but changes are still to be anticipated.

Jan 1, 1998

By Mayumi Someno, Kazuhiro Goto, Masahiro Kawakami

The apparent rates of decarburization of liquid alloys of Fe-C, Fe-C-S, Ni-C, and Co-C systems and the rate of oxidation of solid graphite with pure carbon dioxide gas and with gas mixtures of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide have been measured in the temperature range of 1000° to 1600°C. The cotnposition of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide gas at the reaction surface has been measured by oxygen concentration cells with the ZrO,-CaO solid electrolyte. 1) The apparent rates of the carbon removal are essentially the same for all the cases of solid graphite, Fe-C, Fe-C-S, Ni-C, and Co-C systems under the same experimental conditions. 2) The apparent rates are independent of the carbon content in the high carbon concentration range but very much affected by the flow rate and the gas composition of the CO-CO2 reactant gas mixture. The ratio of the gas consumed by the reaction to the total quantity of the supplied gas is very large under the present experi~nental conditions. 3) There is a concentration gradient of' carbon dioxide in the vicinity of the reaction surface and the content of CO, becomes extremely small at the reaction surface. 4) A large time fluc-tuation of the gas composition was observed. This jluctuation implies the presence of unstable flow in the gas phase in the vicinity of the reaction surface. THE decarburization of molten steel by an oxidizing gas or by slag may be one of the most important chemical reactions in steelmaking processes. Nevertheless, the kinetics of this heterogeneous chemical reaction do not seem to be well-solved even with the previous studies. Although the conditions for the reaction in steelmaking processes are quite different from those in the laboratory scale, some critical experiments may give information on the mechanism of the decarburization. From the previous work,'-' it is known that the rate of the decarburization is independent of the carbon content in liquid iron with more than about 0.2 wt pct C when the oxidizing gases are supplied to the surface of liquid Fe-C alloys on a laboratory scale. Two rate-controlling steps have been proposed for the decarburization of liquid iron with the high carbon content: one is the surface reaction control proposed by Swisher and Turkdogan;' the other is that the rate is controlled by the gaseous diffusion through the gaseous stagnant layer. proposed by Baker. Warner, and Jenkins.7 and also by .Ito and Sano.2 In the present study, some experiments have been carried out for the evaluation of these rate-controlling steps in the decarburization of liquid iron with high carbon content. The apparent rate of decarburization of liquid iron has been compared with the rates of carbon removal of liquid Ni-C, Co-C, and solid graphite under the same experimental conditions. The composition of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide gas at the reaction surface has been measured by oxygen concentration cells. I) EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE Fig. 1 shows the schematic diagram of the reaction chamber. Solid graphite and liquid metals were contained in an alumina or magnesia crucible of 32 mm ID and 35 mm in height. The samples were heated by high-frequency induction and the temperature was measured by the calibrated optical pyrometer. The temperature was held constant to within 10°C. The re-actant gases were supplied to the surface of the samples through the quartz tube of 8.0 mm ID. The distance from the end of the quartz tube to the surface was 20 mm. The block of high-purity graphite was cut and shaped to the inner profile of the crucible. The height of the shaped graphite was 18 mm, which corresponded to the depth of the liquid iron of 100 g. About 100 g of Fe-C alloy (4.20 to 4.40 pct C), Ni-C alloy (1.84 pct C), Co-C alloy (1.85 pct C), and Fe-C-s alloy (4.35 pct c, 0.5 or 1.0 pct S) were melted in the crucible. The reactant gases were pure CO, and gas mixtures of CO-CO,: the flow rates were controlled by capillary flowmeters with bleeders.

Jan 1, 1970

By A. W. Khair, L. D. Gehl

"This paper describes the mechanism of coal and rock cutting from quasi-static indentation through dynamic indentation to rotary cutting. The results indicate that during quas~static indentation, a crushed zone, and subsurface fractures develop. The crushed zone is a potential source of dust generation. Dynamic indentation produces a crushed zone due to the frictional resistance offered by the coal or rock during penetration of the bit. Confining pressure changes the mode of failure from tension to mixed tension and shear. The wider bit causes larger crushed zone and more dust generation. The rotary cutting is a combination of quasi-static and dynamic indentation which results in chip formation. 1. INTRODUCTIONThe trend from conventional mining to continuous machine-cutting of coal, using more productive machinery is inexorable. Intolerable levels of dust generated at the face is an indication of inefficient coal or rock cutting by these machines. The Federal Government of the United States paid about 11.7 billion dollars workman compensation to more than 470,000 miners with Coal Workers Pneumoconiosis (Newmeyer, 1981). Bieniawski and Zipf (1985) reported that annual benefit payments were about 2 billion dollars. The need for research m improving coal cutting 1s therefore paramount. The enactment of Health and Safety Act in 1969 in the United States triggered the initial investigation into coal cutting mechanism and cutting tool design. The European countries were also engaged in the same area of research, however, their emphasis was in the use of wedge shaped bits. In 1981, the United States Bureau of Mines commissioned the South West Research Institute to investigate the effect of operating parameters mainly on airborne respirable dust in order to provide a healthier and safer atmosphere for coal mine workers.A research program by the Department of Mining Engineering, West Virginia University, USA was initiated to study the fragmentation mechanism during coal/ rock cutting. The research program was divided into three areas of research, namely quasi-static indentation, dynamic indentation and rotary cutting."

Dec 1, 1995

By K. R. Vost

Variation in air temperature in a cross-section of an underground airway by K. R. VOST, B.Sc. (Glas.), M.Sc. (N.S.W.) (Visitor) Measurements of air temperatures in underground airways are normally made at only one point in a cross-section, and the air tem peratures at other points in the cross-section are assumed not to differ significantly from this. This paper discusses measurements made at a number of points in fifty crosssections in airways with different air velocities and wetness of floor. These measurements show that significant variations of air temperature can occur in a given cross-section at a given time. The effects of such variations on the accuracy of measurement of rises in air temperature as air passes along an airway are discussed. The importance of considering experimental error in the measured rises in air temperature when attempting to validate theoretical and empirical methods of predicting such rises is also discussed.

Jan 7, 1976

By T. Kozuka, K. Sassa, S. Asai

"A new atomization process is developed. The principle of this process is completely different from that of conventional processes. This process uses electromagnetic energy induced by direct electric current and direct magnetic field instead of kinetic energy produced by fluid impingement or disk rotation.Experimental work of this process was carried out using pure tin, and it was found that the crucial factor for a stable operation is the contact state of molten metal with the electrode. In order to control the condition, a delay time controlling unit was developed and combined with this process. It is noticed that this controller works well to produce uniformly sized particles.A linear relation between the impulse and the momentum of atomized particles is found by use of experimental data and is explained by theoretical analysis.IntroductionIn atomization processes prevailing in metal powder technology, kinetic energy is currently employed for atomizing molten metal. That is, molten metal is broken into small particles by other fluid (e.g. water, argon gas, etc) or by impinged upon a rotating solid disk. This splashing process is always accompanied with uncertain factors for shape and size of the particles. The diameter distribution of products, therefore, comparatively spreads over a wide range. From another standpoint, the restriction of atmosphere is inevitable in some of these processes. As a pulverizing technology, the process which can produce uniformly sized particles and permits the choice of atmosphere is strongly desired.On the other hand, a great attention has been paid to the spray casting process as a new near net shape casting. In this process, a small size spraying device is favorable."

Jan 1, 1988

By Richard Emberley, Timothy Shaw, José L. Torero, Jurij Karlovsek, Timothy Gibson

"Tunnel closures are highly undesirable and the lengthiest are generally attributed to structural failures (e.g. Mont Blanc). Although historical data shows structural failures are closely linked to fire, design parameters for tunnel safety are not well defined. Current research has focused on defining the fire heat release rate and temperature, but these parameters cannot be easily used to determined structural performance. The energy transferred to the structure, the heat flux, is required but current literature lacks these values. Full scale experiments were undertaken on passenger vehicles resulting in heat fluxes between 20-70kW/m2. Analysis shows a vehicle fire’s duration is closely linked to its mass. Further analysis shows small vehicle fires can be scaled as a function of the tunnel diameter and the characteristic height of the desired vehicle. The present work provides engineers an appropriate design methodology to undertake informed thermal-structural analysis to minimize the risk of tunnel structural failure.INTRODUCTION Quantifying the effects of a tunnel fire depends on many factors such as the type of occupants, their vehicles and spacing, ventilation conditions and the geometric shape of the tunnel (Ingason and Lonnermark 2011). For design engineers investigating the thermal-structural performance of a tunnel, these factors are typically converted into spatial and temporal temperature distributions (Usmani et al. 2001) using various design curves such as those of ISO834-1, Hydrocarbon, Rijkswaterstaat (RWS) or RABT-ZTV (Promat 2013). However, to define a temperature profile through a structural element these curves require a heat transfer model that incorporates an appropriate boundary condition. The appropriate boundary condition is the net heat flux which is the result of a complex energy balance. For use in heat transfer calculations the net heat flux must account for the tunnel geometry as well as thermal properties of a given structural element and all other surfaces and mediums affecting the transfer of heat (Torero 2014)."

Jan 1, 2016

By W Y. Kim, Y B. Kang, Y J. Park

The phase equilibria in the Al2O3–TiOx system were investigated in wide ranges of temperature and oxygen partial pressure: 1300~1600°C and 10-16.6~10-8 atm, respectively. The equilibrium phases and their compositions were identified using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and electron probe microanalysis (EPMA), respectively. Most noticeably, a wide range of pseudobrookite solid solution was found in equilibrium with almost pure alumina. At each temperature, the cationic ratio expressed as RTi = nTi/(nAl + nTi)) of the pseudobrookite solid solution showed a noteworthy dependency on the oxygen partial pressure. This resulted in the formation of a broad range of pseudobrookite solid solutions, ranging from Al2TiO5 (RTi = 1/3) to Ti3O5 (RTi = 1.0). Complete miscibility within the pseudobrookite solid solution was observed at 1600°C, with only a minor miscibility gap becoming evident below 1500°C. Based on the results obtained in the present study, the behaviours of Al2TiO5 pseudobrookite have implications in two key domains: (1) understanding changes in the physical properties of the materials, and (2) elucidating the evolution of Al–Ti complex oxide inclusions in liquid steel which can deteriorate the steel cleanliness.

Aug 21, 2024

By W. T. Thom

All engineering education is faced by certain basic problems, three of which seem to have particular present importance in geological engineering training in general, and in respect to training for oil field geo-exploratory work in particular. Problem i The first of these problems has to do with present and future educational objectives and with the numbers and qualities of the men who should be coming out of our geo-exploratory training programs. Before the war we needed ever-increasing numbers of graduates at the Bachelor's level and a very much smaller number of men who had reached the Doctorate degree. Now, with more difficult, more extensive, and more costly exploratory work; with a rapid expansion of company "staff" activities, and with the initiation of many new research organizations and laboratories; it is clear that men of exceptional ability will be more and more in demand, and that the schools will need to carry a greater proportion of their students through to the Ph.D, degree. Problem 2 Assuming that the mineral industries will need an increasing supply of well-qualified Ph.D.s for future geoexploratory work (staff, line and research), can the schools expect to provide this supply of able Ph.D.s merely by expanding the proportion of B.S. and B.A. majors who go on through to the doctorate stage of training? And the answer is definitely "No"—as the situation stands at present. Most A.B. graduates are years short of the preparations in basic science and elementary engineering prerequisite to effective graduate study in the geoexploratory fields (paleontology ex-cepted), and similarly many of the annual crop of B.S. graduates lack adequate training in English; in ancient and modern history; and in the modern principles of labor and public relations. Indeed, several basic problems of undergraduate curricular organization and integration remain to be solved before most recipients of a Bachelor's degree will have that sound and broad educational foundation prerequisite to graduate training on a really effective basis. It is for these reasons that we have continued to experiment with our geological engineering program at Princeton, in an endeavor to provide a pilot-plant demonstration of a suitably broad and flexible undergraduate curriculum. Problem 3 But assuming that the schools can and do get undergraduate curricula set up in proper phase and scale to meet needed enrollment quotas for graduate training, what about the most urgent part of our whole mineral-industry educational problem? What about finding and bringing into mineral-industry training those youngsters of superior ability who are, by potential or known inclination, especially well-qualified for geoexploratory work?

Jan 1, 1949

By Laihua Wang, Peter Hayes, Hae-Geon Lee

"This paper introduces a new process for the efficient removal of dissolved gases and inclusions from liquid metals. This process involves the creation and dispersion of fine bubbles in molten metals by introducing inert or reactive gas into a region of turbulent flow. The highly turbulent metal flow splits the gas into fine bubbles and results in good mixing between the gas and molten metal phases. These conditions are ideal for contacting inclusions in the metal with the bubbles and subsequent flotation of the inclusions to the metal-slag interface where the inclusions are then absorbed by the covering slag layer. Dissolved gases, such as [H], [0], [N] in the metals are also transferred to the gas bubbles and removed from solution.The process concept has been previously demonstrated using a full-scale air/water model to simulate the ladle-to-tundish system of continuous casting of steel. The present cold modelling work has further demonstrated the ability of the process to remove gas solutes. The results indicate that the efficiency of new process is several hundred times greater than that of conventional high speed rotating injectors which are currently applied in the treatment of liquid light metals.IntroductionDuring metal smelting, refining and alloying processes, unwanted gas and second phase liquid or solid impurities are incorporated into liquid metals. In the case of steelmaking, the gas-forming impurities include [0], [H] and [N], and the solid impurities as a result of deoxidation include Ah03, Si02 inclusions. Common impurities in liquid aluminium are dissolved hydrogen and solid Ah03. To avoid subsequent problems during processing and to improve the physical properties of the metal products it is necessary to significantly reduce the level of impurities."

Jan 1, 1996

By J. H. Stears

This Bureau of Mines report presents information on the use of steel supports in U.S. coal mines, including accident statistics for a 3-yr period and a survey of present applications and problems. It also contains a summary of available steel arch configurations and a description of steel support design criteria for ground control applications.

Jan 1, 1984

By R. V. Lundquist

The work described in this report, part of the Bureau of Mines long-range program to develop methods of utilizing submarginal domestic sources of aluminum, was undertaken to investigate the effects of iron in the lime soda sinter process, The approximate Fe2O3 content in a sinter for maximum alumina and soda recovery was 8 to 9 percent. Fe2O3 appears to inhibit gelation, and 15.5 percent Fe2O3 produces effects similar to those produced by 1 percent sucrose. In the lime soda sinter process, aluminum silicates are sintered with limestone and soda ash to yield dicalcium silicate and sodium aluminate. The sodium aluminate is extracted by leaching in caustic solution. The solution is purified by heating in an autoclave with lime to remove silica, and alumina trihydrate is precipitated with carbon dioxide. The reactions involved in sintering and leaching are complex. A number of studies by the Bureau of Mines4-9 and others1 indicate that the iron content of sinters influenced the recovery of alumina and soda and the gelation characteristics.

Jan 1, 1962

New Journals The following three journals may be of interest to readers: Fuel Processing Technology, Process Economics International, Speculations in Science and Technology, MM reports Report no. 2016 Analysis of the NIMROC reference samples for majorelements. Report no. 2018 Supergene aUeration of sulphide ores. II. The effect on the floatability of chalcopyrite, galena, and sphalerite. Report no. 2013 List of unrestricted NI M publications issued from 1966 to 1979. Report no. 2014 The determination by spark-source mass spectrometry, of chlorine and phosphorus in high-purity tungstic oxide. Report no. 2017 Vanadium-bearing titaniferous iron ores from the Rooiwater, Usushwana, Mambula, Kaffirskraal, and Trompsburg Igneous Complexes. Report no. 2022 The determination of thallium and indium in sulphide concentrates. Report no. 2023 Atomic-absorption spectrophotometry with hydride generation: an improved technique. Proceedings Proceedings of the Eleventh Commonwealth Mining and Metallurgical Congress, Hong Kong, 1978. London, Institution of Mining and Metallurgy, 1979. 800 pp. 35,00 or $U.S.77,00.

Jan 1, 1979

By Alvin W. Schillinger

Drilling was not entirely satisfactory in the search for native copper in the Osceola amygdaloid footwall as mining showed oreshoots to be more continuous than drilling indicated. The Geophysics Department of Michigan Technological University developed a portable induced polarization drill hole probe with a 3 electrode configuration and a sampling radius of 5'± A 20 ma current of alternately reversed polarity is pulsed at 3.5 sec. intervals and readings are taken every two feet. Potential is read during the "on" cycle for resistivity determinations. During the "off" cycle, after 10 ms delay, the I.P. potential is sampled for 10 ms and recorded. Resistivity (ohm-feet) and "S" values (mv/v) are plotted on semi-log paper. A lithologic log is plotted based on resistivity and anomalous "S" values noted. The low resistivity amygdaloid contains sills of high resistivity basaltic trap. Verified by core logs, amygdaloid-trap contacts could be picked to ±.5' from resistivity alone. Lithologic logs of long steel holes, based' on resistivity, now replaced sludge logging. An "S" value of 30 mv/v was established as the lower limit of diagnostic I.P. effects in mineralized amygdaloid and 50 mv/v as a threshold value for ore. Of 914 footwall zones drilled, 315 were probed yielding 203 anomalies. Success increased from 34% for drilling to 72% for drilling and probing. As checked by mining, 46 probe results were 78% correct. Failures were due to the instrument not detecting copper or to the misinterpretation of an anomaly. No false anomalies were found.

Jan 1, 1964

By J. van der Walt

The Meikle Mine is located in the northeastern part of Nevada in the gold-rich Carlin Trend. First discovered in 1989, Meikle is being developed into a 2.2-kt/d (2,500-stpd) underground mine that will open during the second half of 1996. Work has already been completed on the mine’s cooling plant, a necessary item due to the high rock temperature and the hot ground water. In North American mines, there has been little need for refrigerated cooling. Therefore, Barrick needed to draw on experience from elsewhere in the world — particularly South Africa — to meet these requirements. The history of cooling mines using mechanical refrigeration dates back to the 1920s at Morro Velho in Brazil and 1936 at Ooregum in India (Dobson,1940 and Biccard, 1946). From 1940 to 1960, several cooling plants were installed on the deep level gold mines on the Witwatersrand in South Africa. These were followed by similar installations on the mines in the Klerksdorp, Welkom, Evander, Rustenburg and Thabazimbi areas. The first mine cooling plant in Germany was built during 1976.

Jan 1, 1996

By Wang Haibei

China is the important country in terms of Ga, Ge reserves and products. These elements usually associate with lead and zinc ores such as in Fankou, Dachang and Lanping mines. Until now these metals could not be extracted from zinc residues effectively. The main reason is that it is difficult to separate zinc and iron. BGRIMM has carried out considerable research on this subject and some hydrometallurgical processes were developed. Zinc residues were pressure leached with a reducing agent such as zinc concentrates or SO2 at 110~130C. The final concentrate of H2SO4 was 30~50g/L. The metals such as Zn, Fe, Ga and Ge were dissolved into solution. In the leaching residue Pb and Ag could reach 20% and 2000g/t. The feed of solvent extraction was prepared from the leaching solution by pre-neutralization ? precipitation of Ga, Ge and acid dissolving. Then Ga and Ge were extracted by solvent extraction through P204 and G315 produced by BGRIMM. After stripping, metallic Ga was produced by electrowinning. GeO2 was produced by precipitation. The iron in raffinate was removed by the hematite process. The solution after removal of iron came back at the zinc neutral leaching stage. In 2003-2004, pilot tests were finished in BGRIMM in cooperation with Fankou Lead and Zinc Mine Ltd. And the extraction rate of Ga and Ge in the leaching stage was 94% and 83% respectively. The total recovery rate was 90% and 80%. It is estimated that the technology has a wide commercial use in the coming five years.

Jan 1, 2006

By W. T. Thom

ALL engineering education is faced by certain basic problems, three of which seem to have particular present importance in geological engineering training in general, and in respect to training for oil field geoexploratory work in particular. PROBLEM I The first of these problems has to do with present and future educational objectives and with the numbers and qualities of the men who should be coming out of our geoexploratory training programs. Before the war we needed ever-increasing numbers of graduates at the Bachelor's level and a very much smaller number of men who had reached the Doctorate degree. Now, with more difficult, more extensive, and more costly exploratory work; with a rapid expansion of company "staff" activities, and with the initiation of many new research organizations and laboratories; it is clear that men of exceptional ability will be more and more in demand, and that the schools will need to carry a greater proportion of their students through to the Ph.D. degree. PROBLEM 2 Assuming that the mineral industries will need an increasing supply of well-qualified Ph.D.s for future geoexploratory work (staff, line and research), can the schools expect to provide this supply of able Ph.D.s merely by expanding the proportion of B.S. and B.A. majors who go on through to the doctorate stage of training? And the answer is definitely "No "-as the situation stands at present. Most A.B. graduates are years short of the preparations in basic science and elementary engineering prerequisite to effective graduate study in the geoexploratory fields (paleontology excepted), and similarly many of the annual crop of B.S. graduates lack adequate training in English; in ancient and modern history; and in the modern principles of labor and public relations. Indeed, several basic problems of undergraduate curricular organization and integration remain to be solved before most recipients of a Bachelor's degree will have that sound and broad educational foundation prerequisite to graduate training on a really effective basis. It is for these reasons that we have continued to experiment with our geological engineering program at Princeton, in an endeavor to provide a pilot-plant demonstration of a suitably broad and flexible undergraduate curriculum. PROBLEM 3 But assuming that the schools can and do get undergraduate curricula set up in proper phase and scale to meet needed enrollment quotas for graduate training, what about the most urgent part of our whole mineral-industry educational problem? What about finding and bringing into mineral-industry training those youngsters of superior ability who are, by potential or known inclination, especially well-qualified for geoexploratory work?

Jan 1, 1947

By P Hayes, B Zhao

A range of materials are treated in zinc fuming processes to recover metal values and produce benign slag waste products. The selection of the optimum process conditions in these various technologies can be greatly assisted by the use of a chemical thermodynamic model of the system. In this paper the effects of slag chemistry on the liquidus temperatures, subliquidus phase equilibria and thermodynamic properties are described by a FACT model of the ZnO-PbO-FeO-Fe2O3-CaO-SiO2 system. In addition new experimental data on the effect of Al2O3 on the liquidus are presented. The implications of these findings for plant practice are discussed.

Jan 1, 2000

By Marcia Harris, Richard Mainiero

The New York State Department of Transportation recently commenced highway widening and drainage improvement projects in Clarence and Amherst, NY. Drainage improvements including the installation of storm sewer lines required excavation to a depth of 2.5 m (8.2 ft). In September 2002, NYSDOT stopped further blasting when 800 ppm CO was detected in the basement of a house near the blasting site. At the insistence of NYSDOT, the general contractor developed a new blast plan with the assistance of an environmental consultant. The plan provided for the installation of multi-gas monitors in buildings of special concern and/or with basements and residential type CO monitors in all other buildings within 100m (330 ft) of the blast. The multi-gas monitors would be remotely monitored. The plan provided action levels which would ensure public safety. The blast design was also modified to allow for better venting of CO. Blasts were limited to 20 ft lengths. The overburden was to be removed from the rock and blasting mats put in place to prevent flyrock. Approximately twenty feet of trench adjacent to the blast was left open to allow ground movement and gas release. The use of CO monitors was effective to alert occupants of a building to the presence of CO. The most effective appeared to be the residential type CO alarms with digital readouts. They were simple and easy to use and allowed the public to participate in the process. False alarms were repeatedly received with the more sophisticated instrumentation. Residential type CO monitors are preferable to warn people near blast sites. More sophisticated instrumentation should be avoided unless personnel are experienced in its use. A general overview of the blasting and monitoring is presented and discussed. The use and effectiveness of residential type CO monitors and multi-gas monitors are discussed.

Jan 1, 2004

By Gary A. Perry

Cyprus Sierrita produces copper and molybdenum from its Sierrita and Twin Buttes open pit mines south of Tucson, AZ. Both pits were started in the late 1960s and are more than 460 m (1500 ft) deep. Sierrita has used a Caterpillar 992C Remote Controlled Loader since January 1993. The loader was justified to increase safety and profits at Sierrita. It has exceeded all expectations. As of June 1993, the 992C had produced additional profits of more than $1.5 million. Safety and Geotechnical The safety of Cyprus personnel and equipment is always of prime concern. The remote controlled loader removes personnel from the active raveling area. But it requires prudent operation. The remote controlled loader discussed here is always intended to be used in a safe manner under a managed slope. Any increase in slope angle or use of any equipment under a critical slope is taken only after careful analysis of the specific

Jan 1, 1994

By E. Lovera

Social attention to environmental aspects, steadily increasing in European Countries, has been leading to a stricter regulation of many productive activities. Among them, mining and quarrying sectors have been often censured for their potential and real impacts on land and environment. Referring to dimension stone exploitation (also the terms ornamental stone or natural stone are here used as synonymous), quarries are often concentrated in extractive basins, where the resource is localized with suitable quality and quantity: this fact has sometimes raised critical environmental situations. Nevertheless, dimension stone quarrying represents in Europe a traditional and important economical activity, source of wealth and employment. Moreover, many natural stones take on a ?cultural? value and may be considered as ?classic?, as they have been exploited since antiquity and are element of the architectural heritage of many Countries. The sector relevance demands the research of a sustainable balance between social-economical needs and environmental protection. Actually, very restrictive environmental protection policies have led to severe limitations to quarrying activity, but the results do not seem to be completely positive in terms of sustainability: on the one hand, closing-down stone quarrying activities imposes a shrinkage in local, social and economical development; on the other, quarrying activity is pushed towards developing Countries, environmentally un-protected, simply moving and putting off to next future the problem. The challenge of the sustainable development of quarrying sector ? recently explored in the European Commission?s communication ?Promoting sustainable development in the EU non energy extractive industry? (COM-2000-265) ? should be achieved through a positive link between theoretical statements and practical effects: sustainability indicators may be an effective instrument to assess and monitor the environmental performance of the industry. The paper refers to the development of specific ecological criteria and indicators, which can be useful to measure and predict the eco-efficiency of a dimension stone quarry, finally pointing out where improvement efforts have to be focused.

Jan 1, 2003