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By I. J. Brown

Paper prepared for presentation at Industrial minerals and the environment, held in Leeds, 24-35 September 1990. The need to submit an environmental statement (EIS) has certainly increased the workload of those concerned with both its production and assessment. However, there is now good evidence that the system is enhancing public confidence in the minerals industry in particular and improving relationships between the developer, planning authority and those consulted such as statutory bodies, parish councils, civic societies, nature conservation interests and ramblers

Jan 1, 1991

A production drill rig at a site in Sweden was equipped with a monitoring system to estimate production statistics. Drill running times, drill hole depths, penetration rate, rotation speed, thrust, air percussive pressure and torque pressure were recorded for every 10 mm of hole length for a period of 5 months. Operational activities (rock penetration, tube handling, moving and set-up time) accounted for almost 62% of the time consumed, the remaining 38% being different types of stoppage. Drilling itself, as opposed to handling, took less than 24% of the total time. The results give an indication of how the overall drilling capacity can be increased and which activity should be emphasised. The impacts of automation, new developments and reorganisation on production can also be predicted. Average production was found to be around 100 m/day, but varied between 50 and 160 m/d. The company's specification for the drill rig, before purchase, was that an average production rate of 130 m/d be attained over two consecutive months of drilling - a rate which monitoring shows will not be achieved

Jun 19, 1905

By I. Garba

The Bin Yauri deposit in the Zuru schist belt of northwestern Nigeria is a vein-type quartz-sulphide-carbonate gold mineralisation hosted by a brittle fault zone. The occurrence of the mineralisation in a contact zone of a Pan-African granitoid was believed to be sufficient evidence of deposition from magmatic fluids. However, studies may now indicate a metamorphic source for the mineralising fluids. A study of rare earth element geochemsitry was used to investigate the nature of the fluid-rock processes involved and identify the sources of the auriferous mineralising fluids.

Jan 12, 1992

By J. Konnerup-Madsen, T. Unlu, H. Stendal

Paper presented at the conference Economic geology in Europe and beyond II, models for mineral deposits in sedimentary basins, held in Keyworth, UK, 13-14 April 1994. The region includes the Deveci siderite/goethite deposit and the Hasancelebi, Karakuz and Kuluncak magnetite/goethite deposits; Deveci is the only mine in operation. The area consists of a serpentine-gabbro complex overlain by a volcano-sedimentary sequence hosting the iron ores. At least three generations of hydrothermal alteration have affected all rock types except the latest trachytic dykes. The Deveci deposits occur in a pyroclastic volcano-sedimentary sequence with shales and carbonates equivalent to the main mafic sequence, whereas the other three deposits formed contemporaneously with the intrusion of trachytic dykes. The deposits are of the volcanic-exhalative type, with syngenetic siderite in pillow lavas or stratiform layers the primary and main Fe-bearing mineral. In the west hydrothermal alteration has replaced siderite in pillow lavas with magnetite or has remobilised sideritic iron into magnetite veins

Apr 1, 1995

By M. J. Beus, B. Stewart, S. Iverson

Ore-pass hazards are a significant safety problem in US underground metal mines. From 1975 to 1995, nearly 75% of injuries during pulling or freeing of ore-pass chutes were related to falls of broken rock or the use of hand tools. Risk assessment methods are being used to identify the most probable causes of ore-pass failures and analyse the factors that result in malfunctioning or safety reduction. Static and dynamic loads are being measured in the laboratory and by field testing, with data from test ore passes compared with mine data to characterise true system behaviour. Computer modelling using closed-form solutions, finite element analysis and a newly developed particle flow code are being use to predict loads from ore and waste flow and impact. Preliminary results indicate that dynamic impacts may be much less than expected, as a result of damping factors, normal and shear stiffness and mass frictional characteristics

Jun 19, 1905

By H. L. Willett

Wrapping up the symposium, covers incidence of spontaneous combustion in British mines, assessment of liability to spontaneous combustion, precautions, rate of advance, starting a line of a coalface, local heatings at roadsides, burying packs, coal headings, retreating longwall, detection and sealant coatings.

May 23, 1905

By P. Beauvais

Philip Beauvais, from the Met Office's International Mining and Agriculture Department, explains the need to understand the impact of the weather and climate when developing future mine sites.

Mar 1, 2015

By Emanuel Shinwell, Douglas Hay

"Opening statements relating to the health and welfare of underground workers and the nature and prevention of silicosis and pneumokoniosis. During 1945-47, 10,500 UK coal-miners were certified by the Silicosis Medical Board to be suffering from pneumokoniosis and suspended from work in the industry. Over 80% of cases occurred in the South Wales coalfields. Silicosis and pneumokoniosis also occur among metalliferous miners, such as the tin-miners of Cornwall. The slate-quarries of North Wales are also troubled by these conditions as are the haematite mines of the North-West of England."

Jan 1, 1947

By G. D. Nicholls

There have been very few attempts to isolate the various factors that contribute to the overall imprecision of geochemical analytical procedures, due in part to the difficulty of distinguishing between them. The technique of spark source mass spectrography permits a ready distinction between the contributions to overall precision from sampling error and instrumental and other errors. With conventional methods of sample preparation for this technique sampling difficulties are responsible for 80-90 per cent of the overall imprecision. Examination of the probable location of the major difficulties in sample preparation indicates that the preliminary stage of grinding, mixing and extraction of a first aliquot (about 1/100 of the original sample) is generally perfectly adequate. The difficulty lies in the subsequent stages of sample preparation. Dry mixing techniques are unlikely to give good precision if the sub-samples actually examined by the analytical technique are less than 10 mg in amount. Solution techniques are less prone to sampling difficulty. Fusion techniques, unless conducted with great care, can produce more difficulty than dry mixing. Sample preparation is critical to the success of many analytical procedures. Selection of appropriate sample preparation techniques requires just as much care as the selection of techniques for the actual analysis.

Dec 1, 1971

By M. Lombardero, J. Garcia-Guinea, J. Taboada, B. W. Roberts

The structural, textural and mineralogical properties of the slate formations of NW Spain make it the most important district in the world for quarrying roofing slates. Over the past 10 years the introduction of new methods has increased yields from 2 to 13%. The main factors affecting quality are quartz grain size less than 75 micrometres, homogeneity of slaty cleavage and S0-S1 intersection angle, very low metamorphic grade, absence of secondary foliation, beds 10-12 m thick and low content of oxidisable Fe sulphides. The two main controls on fissility are lithology and deformation accompanied by metamorphism. The minimum natural block size should be 0.6 m3 but this volume can be reduced for modern cutting tools such as diamond wire, chain and circular saws. Structural analysis is crucial in exploration and quarrying, as shown by the prospecting methodology applied at Dominio de Truchas in central Spain and the computer analysis of rock mass discontinuities at Casaio quarry

Jun 19, 1905

By NA NA

Stamler Corporation manufactures of mining machinery and material handling equipment specialising in Feeder-Breakers to the mining and quarrying industries.

Jan 9, 1996

By P. Mousset-Jones, G. Danko

Variations of the temperature and steam/moisture content of the air with distance and time are modelled for a single airway. The input for the simulation is an air temperature that varies with time, together with the moisture/steam content that results, for example, from a fire with a given distribution of heat and of fume concentrations at the beginning of the airway. The transport of heat and moisture to the surface of the wallrock is assumed to be simultaneous. Such multiphase convection may result in evaporation from the moist wall close to the fire and recondensation downstream. The modelling of this non-linear effect is a unique feature of the new simulation. A new analytical solution is used to calculate the conduction of transient heat within the rock mantle, which, in the event of a fire, is typically a short-term process. This allows for an arbitrary variation of surface temperature with time - unlike that permitted by the age function solution, which is limited to stepped temperature changes. An iterative numerical scheme that has recently been developed to simulate mine climate is used to calculate the coupled transient heat conduction and multiphase surface heat transport in successive length increments along the airway. To demonstrate the simulation procedure a numerical example is presented in which a fire with a given distribution of heat and fume concentrations with time is located at the beginning of an airway

May 1, 1991

By R. Scheepers, J. E. Misiewicz, A. C. Fitzgerald

Discussion by A.C. Fitzgerald of the paper, published in Trans. IMM A, vol.104, 1995, p.B121-B135, is presented together with the authors' response. Fitzgerald points out a number of problems with the idea of mineralising fluids leaving no trace in the large volumes of rock traversed before depositing all minerals of value in a particular horizon or rock type with which the required isobaric or isothermic surface also coincides. He suggested that in the case of the Rooiberg tin deposits, the Lebowa Granites may be batholiths that reached the surface and were capped by sheets of their own volcanics. The authors agree that they had considered a possible syngenetic origin for the stratabound deposits, explain that no conclusive evidence for this could be found, discuss the relative ages of the sediments and volcanics of the Rooiberg Fragment and explain the role of its low-intensity deformation and flat dip in the coincidence of an isobaric-isothermic surface with the lithological stratification

Jun 18, 1905

By B. Gazea, A. Kontopoulos, A. Kourtis, K. Adam

Static tests give a measure of the balance between acid-producing and acid-neutralising mineral components in a material, while kinetic tests determine acid generation and neutralisation over a long period. Drill-core samples from the amphibolite and gneiss host rocks of the Stratoni lead-zinc sulphide deposit in Greece and mine/mill waste samples from Stratoni and Olympias were examined by the standard acid base accounting, BCR and net acid production tests. Mineralogical data on the materials and resulting residues were used to illustrate the differences between the methods and establish their ranges of applicability. BCR seems to simulate most closely the conditions prevailing during generation of acid mine drainage but is time-consuming and requires elaborate equipment. Acid base accounting is suggested for standard screening; net acid production might be used in the field or for solids with less than 10% S

Jun 19, 1905

A study of the thermodynamic properties of magnesium chloride ammines was carried out with the ultimate objective that the thermal decomposition of the hexammine MgCl2.6NH3 may prove successful on a commercial scale for the manufacture of anhydrous magnesium chloride, which is required for the efficient electrolytic production of magnesium. The experimental data are presented in the form of an equilibrium diagram that aids the understanding of the conditions associated with the thermal decomposition of ammines

Jun 13, 1905

By P. H. Morris

The exponential delta profile equation matches the profiles of a wide range of coal and metalliferous subaerial tailings deltas well, but the original model implies unrepresentatively low solids concentrations. A revision, based on analysis of the governing equations of mobile bed flows with high concentration values, has shown that for exponential delta profiles to form there must be quasi-steady, slowly varying flow and slow deposition as well as tailings with a log-uniform sorting-parameter distribution. Deposition on tailings deltas is slow and the flow in many natural streams and, by analogy, tailings deltas is quasi-steady and slowly varying; the assumption of such flow is justified by the strong congruence of the revised model and the available data. The predictions of the theoretical model are essentially unchanged but concentration and flow Froude number are now not explicitly limited

Jun 19, 1905

By L. R. Chimimba

"The Trojan nickel deposit occurs within a pile of ultramafic lavas subjected to a lower amphibolite grade of metamorphism. The lavas form part of the Upper Greenstones (Bulawayan Group) of the Mazoe greenstone belt. The nickel mineralization occurs as disseminated, massive and near-massive sulphides. The massive and near-massive ore occurs along the basal contact of the serpentinite units and is overlain by the more abundant disseminated ore, which occurs within the serpentinite. The main sulphide minerals are pyrrhotite. pentlandite and chalcopvrite. Minor amounts of millerite and pvrite are present. The Ni : Cu ratio in all three types of ore averages 15:1.The intercumulus nature of sulphides in the near-massive ore and similar textures occasionally seen in the disseminated ore indicates a magmatic origin of the mineralization. The basal position of the near-massive and massive ore suggests that the sul­ phides settled out under gravity during the emplacement and crystallization of a peridotitic magma. The deposit has been deformed and some of the primary massive ore has been remobilized into veins and breccias. The disseminated mineralization now occurs mainly as blebs of sulphides intergrown with silicate minerals or as stringers of sulphides between foliation planes in the serpentinite."

Jan 1, 1984

By J. Cech

Discussion is presented of a decision-making support method for the spacing of ore passes along a long vein orebody and the division of the orebody into convenient stopes for future mining operations. The method was tested on a Slovak siderite deposit and also on some hypothetical cases with the objective of obtaining more general results

Jun 18, 1905

By E. A. C. Chamberlain

New techniques for the continuous sampling and analysis of mine air are expected to replace traditional methods used for the early detection of spontaneous combustion. It has been established that the rate of evolution of carbon monoxide is the earliest indicator of incipient spontaneous combustion. Two methods of continuous monitoring of this gas are available and are now in use in the UK collieries. The first is the UNOR infra-red gas analyser, which is flameproof and may be used underground; the second is a system of tube bundles, which permits air to be drawn from any critical point in a colliery and analysed on the surface. Each system has its advantages and disadvantages but both provide the colliery manager with far more information on the condition of his pit than could previously be obtained by spot sampling and laboratory analysis. This paper describes the two systems presently in use and assesses likely future developments.

May 23, 1905

By S. Henley

Paper presented at a meeting on: Artificial intelligence in the minerals sector, held in Nottingham, UK, 20 April 1993 (original title: The database: a pre-requisite for large-scale use of AI in mining). Artificial intelligence is a term which has been widely applied to different techniques including rule-based systems using inductive and deductive logic algorithms, neural networks, learning systems and genetic algorithms. In principle it should be applied to adaptive statistical techniques. Some of these applications have been coded in languages which are specifically suited to the novel requirements of AI but are not easy to integrate with more traditional computing methods. Efforts have been made to bridge the gaps, particularly with database management systems and such efforts at integration should provide the key to future success in the application of AI. A field which has been termed "knowledge engineering" cannot be credible as such if it fails to provide easy access to raw materials of "knowledge" i.e. the data residing in databases. In the mining industry there are a number of significant areas in which AI could usefully be applied throughout the industry, but its advance is slow because of the lack or inefficiency of such database links. Current development of object-oriented database systems for geology and mining holds out hope for such integration in the foreseeable future

Apr 1, 1994