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By G. Kordosky, A. Feather, M. Virnig, P. Crane

Introduction The post World War II nuclear arms race and interest in nuclear power generation resulted in a significant demand for uranium in the 1950’s. This led to the development of uranium solvent extraction technology and uranium became the first metal to be recovered on a large scale by solvent extraction (SX) (1), interestingly more than 100 years after the extraction of uranium from an acid nitrate solution using diethyl ether was first reported by Peligot.(2) For a variety of reasons discussed elsewhere (3,4) there have been upheavals in the supply demand picture and price for uranium since the 1960’s. (Figure 1) The low price of uranium from the mid 1980’s until 2004 resulted in a depression of new resource exploration and mine development along with uranium mine / mill closures and decommissioning. People with skills in uranium processing could not find suitable employment and many experienced engineers and metallurgists took jobs elsewhere or retired. This resulted in a significant brain drain with respect to uranium processing technology.

Jan 1, 2007

By S. Kawatra, K. Lewandowski

Heap leaching efficiency is reduced by poor solution flow characteristics (channeling and ponding), which result from fines migration. Agglomeration of the ore can immobilize fines, but copper leaching requires an acid-resistant binder to stabilize the agglomerates. Until now, there has not been a satisfactory way to evaluate whether a binder was effective, other than squeezing a handful to see if it “feels right”. We have developed procedures to quantitatively determine whether a binder gives good performance in an acidic solution, and have identified several binders that will be suitable for copper heap leaching.

Jan 1, 2007

By J. Warmbrodt, D. Apel, D. Nutakor, L. Grayson, M. Hilgers

MinerSIM is an augmented reality system with integrated hypermedia that is suitable for training underground miners in the basics of using a jackleg drill to install rock bolts. While statistical evidence shows that rock bolting with such a drill has an inherent level of risk, it is conjectured that this can be mediated with adequate safety training outside of the actual mine environment using a variety of educational media including interactive three-dimensional images, games, animations, and videos to describe the mechanics of rock bolting and its principles. Ultimately, trainees will install rock bolts in an immersive environment mixed with real and virtual images generated via a gaming graphics engine. This paper will discuss considerations, implementation issues, and evaluation methodologies of the MinerSIM system.

Jan 1, 2007

By H. Lowers, P. Hageman, S. Diehl, D. Fey

Understanding relationships between mineralogy, texture, microstructural features, and element distribution and residence in minerals, is critical for accurate modeling of mineral weathering in waste-rock piles. The morphology of minerals and deformation structures, such as veins and faults, are important factors that control: (1) fluid access to the mineral surface to initiate dissolution, (2) the distribution of trace elements, and (3) formation of secondary minerals. We characterized the mineralogy, textures, and chemical properties of waste-rock material at three sites at scales ranging from outcrop to micrometer scale. A comprehensive hand-sample to thin-section scale methodology utilizing light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, electron microprobe, and laser ablation ICP-MS was used to thoroughly characterize the waste-rock material.

Jan 1, 2007

By Jesús E. Gómez

A recent bridge underpinning project provided a unique opportunity to obtain information on the load-deflection response of 260 hollow-core bar micropiles. All production micropiles were proof-tested to a maximum load of 125 percent of the design load. In addition, four verification tests were performed on sacrificial micropiles to at least two and a half times the design loads. This paper presents the results of the verification and proof tests performed for this project, and provides recommended values for design of hollow core bar micropiles in soils similar to those encountered. This work shows that hollow core bar micropiles provide a significant unit bond capacity in both granular and fine soils, which may be greater than that typically expected in pressure-grouted (Type B) micropiles. The hollow core bar system allows faster installation rates in the soil types encountered than other traditional micropile techniques, and can be installed with relatively simple quality control procedures.

Jan 1, 2007

By Michael Hughes, Paul Bonapace, Harry Charalambu, Stephen Rigbey

Ontario Power Generation is building a 10.4-km water diversion tunnel in Niagara Falls, Canada. The tunnel is a two-pass, cast-in-place prestressed concrete-lined pres-sure tunnel with a nominal internal diameter of 12.7 m. It is mostly situated within the Queenston formation which swells in contact with fresh water and has very aggressive groundwater. Tunneling in this material presents challenges in both design and construction. The tunnel design includes for a membrane to eliminate the potential for rock swelling and to protect the concrete liner from the ground conditions. A unique three-stage Geotechnical Baseline Report (GBR) is being used and is expected to provide an equitable method of dealing with any variations in subsurface conditions.

Jan 1, 2007

By C. M. Diaz, P. J. Mackey

Since its inception, in 1987, the Copper-Cobre series of conferences has established itself as the prime world forum for discussing advances in copper process metallurgy, in particular copper sulfide smelting, copper recovery by leaching and electrowinning and copper electrorefining. All copper producing countries have actively participated in the pyrometallurgy symposia held in the framework of these conferences. In 1999 and 2003, the close to 100 pyrometallurgy papers that were presented had to be accommodated in two volumes. In the present paper, the authors firstly provide a brief historical sketch of the Copper-Cobre conferences and then focus on providing a retrospective look at the dramatic changes that have taken place in copper smelting in the last few decades, primarily as discussed in the Copper-Cobre and precursor conferences pyrometallurgy proceedings. Topics include: the development of autogenous, increasingly more intensive, environmentally sound and energy efficient smelting processes; significant improvements in Peirce-Smith converting practice and at the same time the commercialization of alternative continuous converting routes; the consequent expansion and modernization of smelters; the increasing compliance with strict government environmental regulations in most copper producing regions of the world; the realignment of the copper smelting industry throughout the world; and trends in copper smelting R&D. A look at the future closes these reflections on the contribution of the Copper-Cobre conferences to the advancement of copper smelting technology.

Jan 1, 2007

By Khamis Y. Haramy

Quality assurance and quality control of drilled shafts has become a concern due to difficulties in accurately locating construction anomalies and determining load bearing capacity of defected drilled shafts. Various non-destructive evaluation techniques have been developed to estimate the integrity of the concrete in drilled shafts. While these techniques have been widely accepted, variables and unknowns can affect the measurement results. Results are typically difficult to interpret, leading to unnecessary construction delays and possible litigation over shaft integrity. In addition, influences of surrounding ground materials, stress states under different load conditions, and crack and residual stress development during concrete curing further complicate determination of shaft performance. This paper focuses on the evaluation of load bearing capacity of defected drilled shafts under various conditions by numerical analysis and modeling.

Jan 1, 2007

By Rafael C. Castro, Geoffrey Hughes, Fredrick (Rick) Vincent, Philip H. Albert

Seven pairs of drop and ventilation shafts, between two and nine feet in diameter, will convey combined sewer flow to a 230-foot-deep, 26-foot diameter storage tunnel. This paper will present case histories for each site. Discussion will include functional requirements, program and site access constraints, structural design, geology, the variety of excavation and lining construction methods used, and lessons learned. Noteworthy observations include the importance of assuring competent ground sup-port at the soil-bedrock interface and of achieving tight verticality tolerance using both top-down and raise bore excavation methods.

Jan 1, 2007

By A. Bascetin

One very important aspect of mining is deciding what material in a deposit is worth mining and processing, versus what material should be considered waste. This decision is summarized by the cut-off grade policy. The cut-off grade strategy for an open pit mine influences the annual cash flows and affects the net present value of a project. The optimization of cut-off grade strategy requires the knowledge of detailed operational costs, mining sequence, mining operation, processing, and product constraints, as well as the grade distribution of a given deposit defined by pit, phase, and different material types. Cut-off grade optimization algorithms have been developed in the past. The most common criteria used in cut-off grade optimization is to maximize the net present value (NPV). This paper describes the determination of a cut-off grade strategy based on Lane?s algorithm adding an optimization factor based on the generalized reduced gradient (GRG) algorithm to maximize the project?s NPV. The introduced algorithm is a windows based program developed at Virginia Tech that is based on a series of Visual Basic routines within a spreadsheet environment (Excel).The benefits of the methodology are demonstrated using a hypothetical case study. Keywords: Cut-off grade optimization, net present value maximization, generalized reduced gradient algorithm method.

Jan 1, 2007

By M. Yavuz

Two different methods of fuzzy multiple criteria decision making have been proposed to solve the problem of mining method selection in the paper titled ?Mining method selection by multiple criteria decision making tool, by Bitarafan and Ataei. This problem is really important and also difficult to solve because of the need of handling many criteria simultaneously in the process of decision making. Bitarafan and Ataei have selected 15 criteria for the case study in their paper and those criteria have not been clustered/grouped yet. The number of selected criteria is only 15, although there are more criteria that should be handled in a real case, because they have used Saaty?s method in the section ?Fuzzy multiple attribute decision making? in their paper. Saaty?s method considers the pair wise comparison of criteria and uses random indexed which have already been derived and published. Available random indexes, however, have been derived for maximum 15 criteria so far.

Jan 1, 2007

By S. Ripke

Between 2002 and 2004, the performance of a six million ton per year iron ore beneficiation plant dropped significantly. In a classic case of “who done it,” was it the mine, the concentrator, an ore change, or something else? While average annual final product grade decreased 8% (indicated by an increase in silicate gangue from 2.76% to 2.99%), the weight recovery also decreased by 8% (from 37.92% to 34.79%). This represents a loss of 832,000 tons of iron ore worth about $16 million for the two year period! The concentrator had been optimized to produce a high grade wet concentrate as feed to the dry side of the plant. But, did optimizing an individual unit operation’s grade give the best overall plant performance? In this paper, the investigation and solution to this mystery will be revealed.

Jan 1, 2007

By M Watts, P Lindsay

Herbert Stream, a tributary of the Waimangaroa River on the Stockton Plateau, has elevated metal concentrations and low pH characteristic of acid mine drainage (AMD). Dissolved aluminium concentrations average 8.3 ppm, iron 1.4 ppm, manganese 0.69 ppm, and zinc 0.12 ppm and pH ranges from 2.8 to 3.2. Flow rates range from 2.3 to 26.6 L/s with an average of 5.3 L/s. To determine the effectiveness of different treatment strategies, a small amount of the AMD was diverted through three small-scale passive AMD remediation systems over an eight month period. These included a reducing and alkalinity producing system (RAPS), a limestone leaching bed (LLB), and an open limestone channel (OLC). Both the RAPS and the LLB performed well, effectively removing metals and restoring pH. The RAPS lowered aluminium concentrations by up to 99%, iron 97%, manganese 95%, and zinc 80% and the LLB lowered aluminium concentrations by up to 99%, iron 99%, manganese 92%, and zinc 91%. The pH was restored to between 6.4 and 7.4 by the RAPS and to between 7.3 and 7.9 by the LLB. The OLC performed well as long as the residence time was similar to that of the other treatment systems. OLC removal rates for aluminium was up to 99%, iron 94%, and manganese 21%, and the pH was restored up to 5.6. Due to its simplicity and effectiveness, it is proposed the LLB be constructed to fullscale size to treat the entire Herbert Stream.

Jan 1, 2007

By Monique Nykamp

"INTRODUCTIONTerminal 46 is located just south of downtown Seattle, and is one of the Port of Seattle’s busiest container terminals. The Terminal 46 Redevelopment Project was undertaken to replace the existing 15-m-wide (50 ft) cranes along the apron with 30-m-wide (100 ft) cranes, which can unload larger, post- Panamax ships. The project included upgrading the existing waterside crane rail with new piles and constructing a new land-side rail behind the sheetpile bulkhead. The new piles had to be installed adjacent to the existing apron without causing damage, which was a signifi cant geotechnical challenge due to the soft soil conditions at the site. An instrumentation program performed during the test pile program evaluated this challenge and allowed for the development of specifi c production pile installation procedures that had the least possible effect on construction costs and schedule. SITE HISTORYThe site lies along the west side of Elliott Bay, north of the mouth of the Duwamish Waterway. Prior to development, this area was part of the tide fl ats where the Duwamish River drained into Elliott Bay. Prior to 1970, there were several existing timber piers and structures in the area. In the 1970s, the Port of Seattle constructed a 900-m-long (3,000 ft), 30- m-wide (100 ft) apron to support fi ve, 15-m-wide (50 ft) container cranes. The contained backland area was then fi lled with dredged spoils (sand and silt with organics) and the upper 5 to 20 m (16 to 65 ft) backfi lled with sand and gravel.The existing apron was constructed using 0.4 m (16 in) octagonal prestressed concrete piles to support the precast concrete deck and crane rails. The pile-supported bents were spaced at 6.1 m (20 ft), center-to-center, along the longitudinal direction. Pile lengths typically varied from about 20 to 40 m (65 to 130 ft) with 15 to 26 m penetration below mudline (50 to 85 ft penetration). The slope below the apron was constructed at about 1.75 horizontal to 1 vertical to allow for suffi cient water depth for cargo ships. In most areas, a riprap buttress was placed at the toe of the slope. A typical cross section of the apron is shown on Figure 2.Several stability, settlement and pile driving issues arose during the original construction of T-46 (Pita, 1983). Reportedly, movement of the submarine slope occurred during pile driving, resulting in settlement behind the bulkhead. Pile driving reportedly caused settlement of adjacent piles. In addition, some piles were “running” (dropping quickly under one hammer blow) during installation."

Jan 1, 2007

By E. You

Kennecott Utah Copper Refinery and Outokumpu Technology have developed a wireless Electrolytic Cell Monitor (CellSensor) system to monitor cell voltage and temperature. The system is based on a robust self-organizing and self-healing wireless network with a very reliable redundant structure. The microprocessor controlled CellSensor device operates off a small amount of energy harvested from the cell bus and requires no external power source. The radio works in the 2.4 GHz international ISM band using robust Spread Spectrum technology. The CellSensor does not require end user calibration of either the voltage or temperature sensors and accuracy is superior to previous systems. The on-board computation power allows digital filtering of the cell voltage signal which results in very high quality data. The system requires much less maintenance than conventional hardwired systems and is intrinsically safer since no high voltage isolation is required. The advanced diagnostic functions allow the device to determine if the bus tap contact is degrading. The CellSensor can also be used for monitoring electrowinning (EW) cells for a variety of metals. CellSensor have been tested for over two years at the Kennecott Utah Copper and Boliden Harjavalta Pori refineries. The CellSensor system is now commercially available through Outokumpu Technology.

Jan 1, 2007

By Z. T. Bieniawski, José Miguel Galera, Benjamín Celada

TBM case histories from over 400 tunnel sections are analyzed presenting a comprehensive application of the Rock Mass Excavability (RME) index (Bieniawski et al.2006). The paper introduces two new adjustment factors, called the Factor of Tunnel Length and the Factor of Crew Effectiveness, which were established to represent more realistically the interaction of the rock mass characteristics, the TBM parameters and the performance of the crew operating the machine. A new correlation is provided for predicting the average rate of advance of double-shield TBMs working specifically in the double-shield mode.

Jan 1, 2007

By M. Fornaro

A small size quarrying activity (3 different quarries with an overall production in blocks less than 10.000 m3/year) has been exploiting for a long time the ?Tonalite? deposit of Adamello-Presanella. In 1967, given the outstanding natural beauty of the area, a natural park has been established with the aim of preserving environmental quality and, at the same time, of providing a sustainable development to the area. Because of the potential impacts of a mining activity in such a context, a specific study has been recently carried out in order to define if and how the quarries could co-exist with the park, beyond the ?administrative results? of a classic environmental impact assessment. The paper deals with the process that drove to the conclusion that the activities are not ?a priori? incompatible with the aims of the park. In the opinion of the authors, a responsible quarry management, which must take inspiration from the care given to environment by traditional alpine productive activities (e.g. the use of water, of wood, and of the stone itself), and take advantage of modern technologies in terms of emissions and safety, can be considered not only compatible with the protected area, but even able to positively contribute to the protection of the land and environment (Barisone et al., 2001). A series of specific prescriptions, which have been adopted by the Park Authorities after this study, are also discussed in the paper: only the definition of suitable spatial and temporal limits, the adoption of effective technical practices and a strict control are considered to be able to drive this ?exceptional? activity towards the final goal of real sustainability.

Jan 1, 2007

By Joseph Ribak

Grunerite asbestos (amosite) has been shown in epidemiological and experimental animal studies to cause lung cancer, mesothelioma and pulmonary fibrosis commonly referred to as asbestosis. An overview of the human and experimental animal studies describing the health hazards of grunerite asbestos (amosite) is presented. Of the many human studies describing the health hazards of asbestos, only three factories using mainly, if not exclusively, grunerite asbestos (amosite) have been studied. The first is a series of reports on a cohort of 820 workers from a plant located in Paterson, NJ. Among this cohort, 18.7% died of lung cancer and 17 mesotheliomas occurred. The Paterson factory closed in 1954 and moved to Tyler, Texas where it operated until 1972. Among the 1130 former workers in the Tyler plant 6 mesotheliomas were reported with 15.8% lung cancer mortality. The third grunerite asbestos (amosite) exposed cohort was an insulation board manufacturing facility in Uxbridge, United Kingdom. Here 17.1% of the workers died of lung cancer and 5 mesotheliomas occurred. The lung content from 48 Uxbridge workers was analyzed by analytical transmission electron microscopy for mineral fibers. The relationship between grunerite asbestos (amosite) concentrations in the lung correlated with grades of fibrosis and asbestos bodies and was lower than the concentration found in the cases with malignant tumors. The lung cancer cases contained more grunerite asbestos (amosite) than mesothelioma cases, and in the cases of non-alignant disease the concentrations were still lower. In both types of malignancies the concentration of grunerite asbestos (amosite) was very high-over a billion fibers per gram of dried lung tissue. Occupational exposure to airborne concentrations of between 14 and 100 fibers of grunerite asbestos (amosite) per milliliter after 20 year latency causes marked increases in lung cancer, mesothelioma and pulmonary fibrosis (asbestosis). © 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Keywords: Grunerite asbestos; Amosite; Mesothelioma; Asbestosis

Jan 1, 2007

By M. B. Díaz Aguado

Traditionally, the practical evaluation of a mining project for a potential investment has been made considering mainly technical aspects. But the concept of sustainable development has introduced significant changes in the factors analyzed to make the final decision. This paper proposes an empirical evaluation of a project considering not only technical, economic and financial parameters, but also associated risks and other intangible aspects, such as political considerations, stability in the legal frame, social factors and environmental issues. The proposed methodology is practical and easy to apply for project management. Among its main advantages, the following could be quoted: using this evaluation two different projects or locations of a same project can be compared, future behaviors could be predicted, the index incorporates a new approach to specific mining projects and this perspective could also be applied to other projects with environmental and social impact, such as civil works or industrial projects.

Jan 1, 2007

By C. Kelley

For years urethane screen surfaces have been used in a wide range of wet screening applications where openings as fine as 75 microns and coarser have been used. In dry screening operations these same urethane screen surfaces have been relegated to only the coarser separation ranging from 1.0 mm and larger. The purpose of this paper is to expose the reader to new developments in both screen surface and screening equipment technologies, which allow an end user to consider urethane screen surfaces for dry screening operations where separations as fine as 75 microns are required. These technologies allow an end user to realize the inherent advantages of urethane in wear resistance while also realizing the benefits that a high open area urethane screen surface can bring. These benefits include non-blinding characteristics and feed capacities, which rival that of traditional stainless-steel woven wire mesh screen surfaces. The paper will highlight the features of this patented urethane screen surface technology and the screening machines in conjunction with which they are used. There will also be a presentation of several case studies of commercial installations where these technologies are utilized. These case studies are from the mineral sands industry; therefore relevance to the conference is direct and not inferred. Included in the paper will also be constraints, which must be taken into account when considering urethane screen surfaces such as temperature and chemical attack. This paper will expose potential end users to a possibility of using screens to achieve extremely accurate size separations in applications where screens were previously not considered. The paper will explain and demonstrate that prior concerns of screen surface blinding, high screen surface consumption rates and large screen surface area requirements can be eliminated by proper utilization of high open area urethane screen surfaces.

Jan 1, 2007