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By Emmet K. Oslen

Kaiser Steel Corporation, the pioneer steelmaker on the Pacific Coast, was founded by the late Henry J. Kaiser. In 1944 the Company purchased from the Southern Pacific Railroad an iron ore property 200 miles east of Los Angeles known as Eagle Mountain. Today the domestic operation of Kaiser Steel Corporation consists of the iron mine at Eagle Mountain; two coal mines, one each in Utah and New Mexico; an integrated steelmaking complex at Fontana, California; and several steel fabrication and erection facilities along the west coast. Kaiser Steel also has interest in Hamersley Iron, Ltd., Australia, and Kaiser Resources, Ltd., British Columbia. Eagle Mountain Mine is located about 80 miles east of Palm Springs and adjacent to the southeast corner of Joshua Tree National Monument. The area is one of the most arid in the world averaging only two inches of rain annually. Geologically, the mine is at the western edge of the Basin and Range Province which covers about one-half million square miles of the western United States. The Province is typified by north to northwesterly trending fault block mountain ranges separated by sediment filled valleys, Production has totaled over 82 million tons of finished products since the first shipment in June, 1947. Over 500 million tons of material have been mined from the deposit to date. Eagle Mountain Mine is noted for the pioneering use of the largest and most up to date equipment to mine and process its ore. In 1961 Eagle Mountain received the first fleet of 100-ton haulage trucks in the mining industry. There were thirteen semi-trailer units in the fleet. The first 12 to 17-yard size shovel in the mining industry was placed in operation at Eagle Mountain during 1962. Rotary drilling was introduced at Eagle Mountain in 1954 to replace churn drilling. Eagle Mountain was the first major mine to use metallized slurry when three aluminum slurries were introduced for primary blasting in 1962.

Jan 1, 1972

By V. E. Erwin, W. W. Adams, E. V. Walters

"Increased production of explosives in the United States in 1933 compared with 1932 is shown by statistics compiled by the Demographical Division, Health and Safety Branch, United States Bureau of Mines. The figures relate only to explosives used for industries purposes, such as mining, quarrying, and road building, and do not cover nonindustrial explosives, such as ammunition or fireworks. Industrial explosives include black blasting powder, permissible explosives, 5 and high explosives other than permissibles figures in the tables of this report were compiled from reports covering sales by the individual companies manufacture of explosives in the United States in 1933. Because of the close agreement among the several series of figures, the quantity of explosives sold is considered as reflecting production and consumption, and the three terms ""sales"", ""production"", and ""consumption"" are used interchangeably in the discussion unless otherwise stated.Of the principal industries that use high construction operations accounted for the largest percentage of increase in consumption during 1933; metal mining and quarrying also used more of this class of explosives than in the previous year. Coal mining is the chief consumer of permissible explosives; the figures for 1933 showed that bituminous-coal mining used a larger quantity than in 1932, and that anthracite mines also showed a small increase. Although a net increase of less than 1 percent in consumption was reported for black blasting powder, large increases in use of this class of explosives were reported for metal mining, miscellaneous types of work, and bituminous-coal mining. (See table 1.)"

Nov 1, 1934

By R. G. Dressler

The Federal Bureau of Mines designed, constructed, and operated a demonstration plant at Louisiana, Mo., to produce gasoline, liquid fuels, and organic compounds from coal by a modified Fischer-Tropsch gas-synthesis process. Satisfactory equipment was developed to produce and purify synthesis gas and convert it into the desired products. Coal or coke was gasified with oxygen and steam to make a gas consisting essentially of carbon monoxide, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide. Dust in the raw gas was removed by cyclone separation, water scrubbing, and electrostatic precipitation. Carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, and organic sulfur were removed with diethanolamine, iron oxide, and activated carbon. The gas was passed over iron catalyst and was converted into synthetic liquids, which were then separated and fractionated into gasoline, diesel oil, other liquid fuels, and oxygenated organic compounds. A 39-day continuous run demonstrated the feasibility of the process. Addition of 3 milliliters of tetraethylead per gallon of upgraded (or finished) gasoline gave a product with an octane rating up to 90 by the research method. After a caustic wash, the diesel oil was of a superior quality; its cetane number was 60 or above.

Jan 1, 1961

By C. H. Titus

This study consists of four descriptive Sections covering respectively: a state-of-the-art literature survey on ungrounded and grounded power systems, a report on literature pertaining to human threshold limits of electric shock, an analysis of the performance requirements of isolated systems and a section on design and performance specifications for an isolated system the final section includes copies, and translations where applicable, of the most important articles on foreign mining practice as well as some technical publications which could be difficult to obtain elsewhere. Section 2 - Literature Survey In analyzing the available literature on ungrounded systems it became apparent that too strict an interpretation of Section 1.1 of the Contract would limit the survey in both period of time analyzed and in available literature which discussed several types of power systems. Therefore, the survey was expanded to cover approximately the past twenty-year period and to cover literature which addressed itself to both ungrounded and grounded power system operation. Section 2 gives a brief summary of this literature survey and lists the important papers and books which were examined.

Jan 1, 1972

By R. F. Rolsten

VAN Arkel 1 prepared ductile tantalum by the thermal decompoiition of tantalum pentachloride on a resistively heated wire (2000° C) in an evacuated bulb maintained at 100°C. Burgers and Basart2'3 observed the formation of a mixture of tantalum carbide and free metal when a carbon deposition base was used. campbel14 suggested the thermal decomposition of the iodide if a lower decomposition tem- perature was desired. To date, the details for preparing high-purity iodide tantalum have not been disclosed. EXPERIMENTAL The tantalum to be purified was symmetrically placed around the clear quartz deposition surface centrally located within a 64 mm cylindrical Vycor bulb. The deposition vessel usually employed5 was modified6 by incorporating a reentrant fin,mer in place of the customary metal filament in the head

Jan 1, 1960

By Doug Anderson

Blast vibration seismograms are generally collected strictly for compliance with regulations. The peak levels (including dominant frequency) are typically all that are looked at. However, these records contain a lot more information about how a blast has performed. The seismogram is actually a record of explosive energy that was not used in fragmenting rock. The trick is to determine how to extract information that would be useful in analyzing blast performance.

Jan 1, 2013

By Craig T. Jones, Zachary Q. Maassen

"Jet grouting is a method of ground improvement that relies on the erosive capacity of high-speed jets to cut and mix the ground in place with a cementitious grout. A continuous return flow of cuttings, called jet grout backflow or spoils, is expelled to the surface during the grouting process. Data from projects completed in Toronto and Ottawa is presented where BOS Solutions’ services provided significant savings compared to the traditional spoils treatment utilizing vacuum trucks for spoils disposal. These traditional treatment methods are cumbersome and expensive by nature. BOS Solutions provided an alternative solution that is environmentally friendly and capable of handling full flow to process these jet grout spoils utilizing a tank system paired with centrifuges and flocculation additives to remove the ground soils and grout product from the spoils slurry. BOS’ process produced a clean water for reuse in the project while reducing the overall waste volume by producing a dry, stackable solid that could be hauled to a landfill. Benefits observed by using the BOS process were disposal waste volumes decreased over 30% and at least a 19% reduction on disposal costs.SCOPE OF WORKJet grouting is a method of ground improvement that relies on the erosive capacity of high-speed jets to cut and mix the ground in place with a cementitious grout. A continuous return flow of cuttings, called jet grout backflow or spoils, is expelled to the surface during the grouting process. The backflow, or spoils, is a mixture of grout, water and soils. Traditionally, the spoil would be collected in in-ground pits and allowed to solidify for a few days prior to hauling to a final disposal site. For the projects completed in Toronto and Ottawa, the jet grouting work was performed at street level, in high traffic congested areas, presenting the challenge of insufficient space for the contractors to process the jet grout spoils in the traditional way. At first, attempts were made of using vacuum trucks to collect and haul the wet spoils to an off-site location where the spoils would be allowed to solidify. However, this method proved cumbersome and expensive due to the high volumes of spoils generated daily and the high number of vacuum trucks required to support the jet grouting operations, respectively."

Jan 1, 2017

By W. K. Overbey

The Bureau of Mines conducted surface joint and stress measurements, airborne remote sensing imagery studies, compass-oriented borehole televiewer surveys, numerical simulation of fractured wells, and well productivity studies in a four-quadrangle study area of Ohio, to determine the effects of earth fracture systems on the deliverability of gas storage fields. The results of these studies indicate that much useful information about a gas storage reservoir can be obtained and put to practical use by studying--(1) oriented cores for fractures and directional permeability, (2) orientation of induced hydraulic fractures for alignment of well patterns, and (3) aerial photos and multispectral scanner imagery for general surface geology comparison and to determine if some, development patterns can be generated by such results. The absence of known tectonic elements associated with flat-lying sediments, such as faults or fracture zones that can be seen on the surface, indicates that the use of remote sensors such as radar or aerial photography is not likely to be useful in picking well locations for drilling. Studies similar to those discussed here should be conducted in gently folded and strongly folded sedimentary formation areas to determine if the increased knowledge of earth fracture systems under these conditions might be beneficial in gasfield and gas storage reservoir development.

Jan 1, 1974

THE most important part of the routine survey work on a mine is the keeping up-to-date of plans and sections showing progress of stoping and development work, and the direction of the latter for the purpose of making necessary connections. Except in specialcircumstances, e.g., major horizoittal development, the exactitude required in this work is not extreme, and a method of survey in keeping with the demands of the work itself is all tbat is required.For example, no one would consider measuring the walls of a stope to a fraction of an inch; such extreme accuracy would be wasted.The stope walls being irregular, a mean is usually taken, and for ordinary purposes a survey with a limiting error of six inches is quite satisfactory for the purpose of plotting either stoping or development.It is the author's aim in this paper to describe the method in use at the North Broken Hill Oompany's British mine. This method, while being sufficiently accurate for the purpose in view, possesses the very great advantages of speed and simplicity of operation,with a minimum of necessary equipment. This latter is a very important item where several surveys on different levels have to be carried out on the one day.Let it be understood, however, that the use of this method does not dispense with the theodolite, but simply serves as a convenient adjunct to obtain details and to extend the accurate theodolite survey up rises and down winzes, and through ladderways orwinzes into stopes, where the use of a theodolite, if not actually impossible, is often exceedingly inconvenient. This is particularly so on the British mine, where a large proportion of the ore is won from narrow and complex-dipping lodes, and where vertical ore...

Jan 1, 1928

By S. Kouniali

Experience with knowledge-based systems for Layout planning and roadway support dimensioning is on hand in European coal mining since 1985. The systems SOUT (support choice and dimensioning, 1989), SOUT 2, PLANANK (planning of bolt-support), EXOS (layout planning diagnosis. 1994), Sout 3 (1995) have been developed in close cooperation by CdF1. INERIS2. EMN3 (France) and RAG 4, DMT5, TH - Aachen6 (Germany); ISLSP (Integrated Software for Layout and support planning) development is in progress (completion scheduled for July 1996). This new software technology in combination with conventional programming systems. numerical models and existing databases turned out to be suited for setting-up an intelligent decision aid for layout and roadway support planning. The system enhances reliability of planning and optimises the safety-to-cost ratio for ? deformation forecast for roadways in seam and surrounding rocks, consideration of the general position of the roadway in the rock mass (zones of increased pressure, position of operating and mined panels). ? support dimensioning ? yielding arches, rigid arches, porch sets, rigid rings, yielding rings and bolting / shotcreting for drifts ? yielding arches, rigid arches and porch sets for roadways in seam ? bolt support for gateroads (assessment of exclusion criteria and calculation of the bolting pattern) ? bolting of face-end zones (feasibility and safety assessment, stability guarantee).

Jan 1, 1996

By C T. Hollick

Conventional processing of heavy mineral deposits containing radioactive rare earth minerals such as monazite and xenotime may cause industrial hygiene problems through atmospheric dust and contamination of product concentrates. An alternative procedure has been developed in which such minerals are removed from bulk heavy mineral concentrates by flotation with little loss of other economic minerals. With fine ores, recoveries of over 95 per cent have been achieved and with coarse ores over 80 per cent, in both cases at high grade. Several flotation regimes have proven effective. The potential for generation of radioactive dust or product contamination is subsequent processing is correspondingly reduced.

Jan 1, 1990

By J. P. Nicoud

"The Frog's Leg project is located in the Kundana mining centre 22 kms West of Kalgoorlie, in Western Australia. The Mines and Resources Australia (MRA) Dioro Exploration Joint Venture has had considerable exploration success centred on the high grade Frog's Leg discovery. A gold resource of 930,000 ounces has been defined. At Frog's Leg there have been three discrete resource domains recognised - Supergene, Contact, and Quartz Lodes. This paper describes the metallurgical test work undertaken.The selection of the drill core was a joint effort by the MRA Senior Geologist and Mineral Engineering Technical Services (METS) to ensure the samples were representative of the ore body. Optimisation of gold recovery was essential as both the Contact and Quartz Lodes have exceptionally high percentages of free gold as well as significantly higher grades than the typical open pit ores found in Western Australia. The metallurgical scope of work included documenting all of the metallurgical test results, establishing the comminution characteristics, determining the percentage of gravity recoverable gold, evaluating the cyanide leach characteristics and determining the tailings characteristics. These studies were used as the basis of flow sheet design to treat both ores and to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of alternative flowsheets. Investigations also included toll milling options at various plants as well as second hand and transportable plants. Considerable technical effort has been put into ore characterisation by way of test work aimed at managing the process risk at each stage of project development, including mitigation. MRA also carried out detailed mineralogical analysis of the ores."

Jan 1, 2005

By G. L. Smith

This paper introduces and defines the concept of a linkage between long-term planning parameters (?global assumptions?) and possible future world views as conceived in scenario planning. Scenario planning, the tool that is used to arrive at plausible future worldviews, is described in the context of the platinum industry. The interpretation of the scenarios into long-term planning parameters is made, followed by an illustration of how the long-term planning process has been adapted at Anglo Platinum to include the notion of uncertainty.

Jan 1, 2008

By P. M. Wiltcher

The construction of a deep structural slurry wall in a restricted city centre location is always a challenging prospect. However, when the city is London and the site is bounded on two sides by high level canals and a main traffic highway on the third, the challenges are greater than usual. The paper discusses the design considerations required by the principal contractor to accommodate a single high level lateral support, value-engineered, bottom-up construction technique and the impact this had on the design detailing and construction of the slurry wall panels. This paper discusses the logistical challenges successfully overcome during the construction of 65,000sq ft of 40inch thick, 80ft deep structural slurry wall in the City of London. The paper reviews the benefits gained from using the state-of-the-art hydraulic grab and rotator system. Technological advances in computer instrumentation and real time monitoring were utilised to assist the grab operators in consistently delivering deviational control during excavation better than 1:200. With working space always at a premium on construction sites, the need for high quality, pre-fabricated reinforcement cages has never been greater. This paper reviews the argument for off-site fabrication of reinforcement members.

Jan 1, 2006

By R. D. Leitch, J. G. Calverley

"INTRODUCTION Although many investigators have provided information on the strength and other properties of concrete the published literature cites few data on the effect of mixing cement with acid mine waters or on acid resistance of concrete in contact with mine waters. Most of the reported work on the effect of impure waters has dealt with the resistance of cement specimens to ""sulfate waters,"" that is, waters or soils with a relatively high sodium sulfate content. The ""Merriman test"" is used commonly to determine the corrosion resistance of cements for 28 days, but it does not seem certain that a cement having a high sulfate resistance in the Merriman or similar tests necessarily will show correspondingly great resistance to the sulfates of iron and, particularly, to sulfuric acid, which usually are present in acid mine waters. Extensive use of cement mortar for laying up masonry stoppings in coal and other mines and for constructing concrete mine haulageways and shaft linings, coal-storage and other retaining walls, highway bridges, culverts, and many other types of construction where it is difficult to obtain fresh water for mixing or where the structures are later exposed to contact with acid waters makes it important to know the effect of these conditions on cement and whether there is a cement better suited for such work than ordinary portland cement.CONDUCT OF THE INVESTIGATIONFor a short time early in 1935 the opportunity to obtain at least some additional information on the effect of acid mine water on cements was presented by the Relief Works Division, which provided money for irregular and indefinite employment for several months. Purchase of apparatus or material was not permitted under this arrangement, and indefinite duration of the work, intermittent employment, and finally complete cessation of the work prevented planning for extensive investigation of this particular problem."

Jan 1, 1940

By Mark I. Copeland

A study was conducted to determine if commonly used alloying additions or coating materials can prevent the formation of a liquid-copper phase during the reheating of copper-containing steels. If so, the tendency of such steels to surface-crack during hot-working might be eliminated. Steel specimens were scaled by heating them either isothermally or in a programed manner that simulated industrial furnace practice. Metallographic examination of the heated specimens showed that molten fayalite (Fe2Si04) completely prevented the formation of liquid copper at the surface. Fayalite, which melts at 2,200° F (1,205° C), was formed by internal oxidation of the silicon contained in the steel. By forming complex molten oxides, coatings of borax glass were also effective in preventing the occurrence of liquid copper at the steel surface.

Jan 1, 1972

By Neal M. Muir, Robert S. Sanford, Bruce I. Thomas

"INTRODUCTION The presence of the zinc-lead-copper deposits an the north slope of Mount Eielson, Mount McKinley National Park, Alaska, has been known for many years. The deposits were examined by J. C. Reed, a geologist of the United States Geological Survey during the summer of 1931. In the summer of 1943 the authors and Clyde Wahrhaftig, a geologist of the Geological Survey, examined the deposits.ACKNOWLEDGMENTSIn its program of investigation of mineral deposits, the Bureau of Mines has as its primary objective the more effective utilization of our mineral resources to the and that they make the greatest possible contribution to national security and economy. It is the policy of the Bureau to publish the facts developed by each project as soon as practicable after its conclusion. The Mining Branch, Lowell B. Moon, chief, conducts preliminary examinations, performs the actual investigative work, and prepares the final report. The Metallurgical Branch, Oliver C. Ralston, chief, analyzes samples and performs beneficiation tests.Particular acknowledgment is due to Heine Kenworthy, who conducted the beneficiation tests under the supervision of C. Travis Anderson; to Clyde Wahrahaftig of the Geological Survey, who completed the Geologic and topographic maps, to Grant Pearson of the National Park Service; and to O. M. Grant and Mrs. Frank McGarvoy for their assistance during the examination."

Nov 1, 1947

By J. Torma-Krajewski, C. Hipes

Although many mining companies apply ergonomic principles, it is usually done either informally and/or reactively. An example of an informal approach is replacing worn equipment (such as seats) with models that have ergonomic features. Another example is modifying a task to eliminate safety hazards. Such approaches reduce risk-factor exposures that can lead to musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). A reactive approach is followed when modifying a task/ equipment after an MSD occurs. However, neither of these approaches involves a systematic method of proactively applying ergonomic principles to actually prevent injuries or illnesses. This paper discusses how Vulcan Materials Company applied ergonomic principles and implemented interventions to reduce risk-factor exposures.

By C. Musingwini

The Bushveld Complex is economically significant and strategically important to South Africa, thus it is imperative that optimal extraction of platinum group metal (PGM) resources on the Bushveld Complex is achieved. Optimal extraction broadly requires that the maximum amount of ore is extracted by excavating and hauling the minimum amount of waste in the shortest possible time, at the least cost, and in the safest and most environmentally acceptable manner. In open-pit mine planning this entails among other things, minimizing the waste stripping ratio, whereas in underground mine planning it includes minimizing the metres of waste development. In conventional mining, the main development that is in waste or partly in waste and defines the mining grid pattern includes levels and raises. It was prudent to consider optimizing level and raise spacing in conventional mining because the method is a prevalent mining method on the Bushveld Complex accounting for nearly 70% of platinum production.

Jan 1, 2010

By A. F. Colombo

Bench-scale research was undertaken to determine if adding ammonia to cyanide leaching solutions would enhance the extraction of copper from an argillaceous Michigan copper ore. Two leaching techniques, (1) rolling using a tumbling bottle and (2) aerating using a modified Buchner funnel, and variations in pulp temperature; were employed in evaluating the effect of ammonia concentration on copper extraction. Under these experimental conditions, the extraction of copper was shown to be independent of ammonia concentration and entirely dependent on cyanide concentration.

Jan 1, 1968