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By Todd M. Ruff

Researchers at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Spokane Research Laboratory, are investigating technology and methods to monitor the blind areas around large haulage equipment used in surface mines. On average, six fatalities a year can be attributed to equipment colliding with other vehicles or pedestrian workers, or backing over the edge of a dump point. Several off-the-shelf technologies exist for monitoring areas that an equipment operator cannot see from the cab, including radar, video cameras, and radio signal detection systems. NIOSH researchers have tested many of these systems on large dump trucks both at their test facility and at surface mines. This article discusses the technologies available for this application and their effectiveness in detecting objects near an off-highway dump truck. Also, guidance is presented for mine safety personnel who are planning to evaluate collision warning systems or cameras on their haulage equipment. Available Technology Over the past few years, the number and types of systems available for monitoring the blind areas around heavy equipment have increased. Systems marketed for the automotive and recreational vehicle industries have been around for a while. Small video cameras can be found

By Chen-Luh Lin, Jan D. Miller, Sindhoora Puvvada

Most of the future phosphate resources in Florida, which accounts for 70  percent of production in the United States, are contaminated with too much dolomite that is difficult to remove with existing industrial practices. The low-grade ore quality coupled with increased phosphate demand is of concern to the Florida phosphate industry. In order to resolve the dolomite issue, various beneficiation technologies were designed and evaluated, but none have been sufficiently successful [1]. 

By J. Douglas Causey

In 1984, at the request of the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of Mines studied 9,600 acres of the 12,350-acre Antelope Creek Wilderness Study Area (MT-065-266) in order to evaluate its mineral resources. Within this report, these 9,600 acres are referred to as the study area. The Antelope Creek Wilderness Study Area, Phillips County, MT, adjoins the north end of the Charles M. Russell Wildlife Refuge. Considered part of the Missouri River Breaks, the area straddles the edge of a thrust fault zone that has deformed the Mesozoic strata in the west half of the area. Shale, siltstone, and sandstone of Cretaceous Age are exposed in the area. Coal beds averaging 3.0 ft thick occur in the Judith River Formation. About 0.20 million short tons of coal were mined from the Judith River Formation adjacent to the west boundary of the area; no production is known in the study area.

Jan 1, 1986

By J-L. Tang

A new rhcoforming processing of Al alloys with component shaping systems apart from slurry preparation systems is experimentally exploited, using the reversible multilevel-speed electromagnetic stirrer, the slurry transfer tool and its coating, the thin plate sample with five steps and rheocasting mould, all of which are independently developed. The results show that semi-solid A356 alloy slurry with shape factor of about 0.85 and particle size of 70~80 µm (under air-cooling condition) could be prepared in 20~25 s, fully meeting the production rate of high pressure die casting. The slurry could be smoothly transferred from the slurry preparation equipment to the rheocasting shot chamber while the slurry temperature of slurry decreases by no more than 3 . The tensile strength and elongation of the semi-solid rheocasting samples could be respectively increased by 11.6~18.2 % and 42.5~50 % compared with the traditional liquid die casting ones, and the rheoforming processing has close affinity with the traditional hot working processes.

Jan 1, 2007

By Rick Ellman, Ian Chaney

"The Hampton Roads area encompassing the Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Newport News metropolitan region experiences some of the worst traffic congestion in Virginia. With continued growth of the ports and increasing demand, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) initiated the Downtown Tunnel/Midtown Tunnel/MLK Expressway Project, a complex undertaking critical to addressing the Hampton Roads area’s transportation needs. The project is a $2.1 billion Design/Build/Finance/Operate (DBFO) endeavor most notably involving the construction of a new two-lane vehicular tunnel utilizing the Immersed Tube Tunnel (ITT) method. The tunnel will pass under the Elizabeth River parallel to the existing Midtown Tunnel between Norfolk and Portsmouth, Va. It will be the largest design-build project constructed in the history of the Hampton Roads District.The New Midtown Tunnel will extend approximately 6,450 ft (1,966 m) along the north side of the existing tunnel where it ties into the existing Midtown Tunnel approaches in Norfolk and Portsmouth. It is being installed in a pre-excavated trench of which approximately 2,250 ft (686 m) required bracing on the Portsmouth side and approximately 1,000 ft (305 m) required bracing on the Norfolk side. The remaining 3,200 ft (975 m) of trench excavation was open cut dredging with laid back side slopes, optimized to reduce dredging, disposal and backfill quantities while also reducing the risk to the existing tunnel. The braced excavation portions of the tunnel alignment were divided into distinct segments which include: Portsmouth Approach Boat Section, Portsmouth Approach Cut-and-Cover Section, Portsmouth Dredge Section, Norfolk Dredge Section, Norfolk Approach Cut-and- Cover Section and the Norfolk Approach Boat Section. All “approach” excavations were performed in the dry and all “dredge” excavations were performed in the wet. Eleven ITT segments are being fabricated in the Sparrows Point Dry Dock facility in Baltimore, Md., and each 14,000 ton (12,700 tonne) segment is being towed approximately 220 mi (354 km) to the site. The ITT segments will extend under the Elizabeth River, with the deepest crossing 90 ft (27 m) at the Federal Navigation Channel. Once beyond the channel limits the ITT rises at an approximate 4.5% slope. Controlled screeding and element lowering operations will be performed primarily from floating barges."

Jan 1, 2014

By Mitsutaka Hino

The contents of gangue minerals, such as Al2O3. P2O5, crystalline water and so forth in the iron ore imported to Japan tend to increase year by year. Though the increments of such gangue contents arc approximately 0.1-0.2 mass%, some problems for the blast furnace operation in ironmaking process have already been reported, In order to clarify the mechanism of harmful effect caused by the small increment of gangue minerals, mainly Al2O3. on the blast furnace operation, the dripping behavior of Fe,O-CaO-SiO2-Al2O3-MgO slag from the iron funnel, which simulated the micro-porosity in sinter ore, has been observed with the wide range of basicity, Al2O3, Fe2O and MgO contents. The effect of MgO on the dripping behavior of slag has been summarized in this paper. It was found that the addition of 2mass% MgO resulted in large increase of hold-up on the most of the conditions. When Fe2O content was less than 20mass% and the basicity was lower than 0.8, MgO lowered the hold-up even if the slag contained 10mass% Ah03. Every slag hold-up showed the minimum at the basicity of less than unity on the conditions of constant Fe2O and Al2O3 contents, This trend became remarkable when the slag contained 2 mass% MgO.

Jan 1, 2003

By J. Chenier, M. Boissoneault, D. Ducharme, R. Schonewille

The operation of Falconbridge's Sudbury nickel smelter has undergone significant change since the production was consolidated to a single electric furnace in 1994. In the late 1990's a capital program of about $100 MM (Cdn) was undertaken to expand and modernize the smelter. This project, known as Smelter 2000, was mainly driven by the need to process the new concentrate produced at Falconbridge's Raglan operation in northern Quebec. Included in the scope of the project was the installation of dry concentrate handling facilities, modifications to the roaster feed preparation system, installation of a matte granulation system and modification of one of the converters. Improvements to in-plant hygiene were also an important part of the Smelter 2000 project. Over the past 5 years much has been learned about the challenges in treating two significantly different concentrates. More recently, the introduction of a third concentrate from Falconbridge's new Montcalm operation near Timmins, Ontario has added another dimension to the operation. This paper will describe how the main challenges from the past 7 years have been overcome and discuss the path forward for the Sudbury Smelter Business Unit.

Jan 1, 2005

By Walter W. Kaufman

This report summarizes a study conducted to determine the state of the art of various rock removal systems and their capabilities. The objective of the study was to determine if currently manufactured equipment can adequately accomplish rock removal in surface mine reclamation applications. Evaluations of state reclamation regulations, with regard to topsoil rock content, were made to determine the rock removal requirements. The major categories of equipment studied are rock pickers and rock rakes. The impact of rock removal implementation on the reclamation operations is discussed in detail.

Jan 1, 1979

The objective of this study was two-fold: 1. To perform a world literature search pertinent to the analysis, selection and design of hoisting systems and their components and to codify the search into a literature compendium. The search resulted in a technical data file of over 1500 hard copy items. The compendium index was also suitable for establishing a comprehensive computer-loaded data base on the subject. 2. To develop a comprehensive system of guidelines to cover salient aspects of analysis, selection and design of electrical, mechanical and structural components of a hoisting system with a view to establish parameters for maximum safety and efficiency of operation, installation and revision of the system. 3. (a) The system design of hydrostatic drives for mine hoists, usually of special nature, is considered along with oil hydraulic component selection suitable for the application; (b) The criteria for head frames of steel and/or concrete are developed with full consideration of all operating and environmental conditions.

Jan 1, 1988

By Tuncel M. Yegulalp

The objective of this study was to categorize mining operations in the stone, and sand and gravel industries into areas of similar ground control functions and define initial factors affecting operational safety in each area, by means of utilizing publicly available data, telephone interviews and on site observations. The findings and recommendations presented in this report are based on the information collected during the two phases of the project. They also contain, in part, the collective qualitative opinion of the operators with respect to government rules and regulations on ground control safety and the implementation of these rules and regulations by government inspectors.

Jan 1, 1981

By Elzbieta Mielczarski, Jerzy Mielczarski, Jan Drzymala, Yann Duval

"The monoalkyl ethers of polyethylene glycols are universal flotation reagents because they can be used as collectors, frothers, surfactants, and depressants. Their collecting power was demonstrated for different minerals including coal and quartz.It was confirmed in this work that monoalkyl ethers of polyethylene glycols could be used as collector in flotation of quartz in a monobubble Hallimond cell. Since feldspar does not float in the same cell, it was also shown that selective separation of quartz and feldspar in the Hallimond tube is possible. However, a trail to use the monoalkyl ethers of polyethylene glycols compounds for separation of quartz and feldspar by flotation of mixture of these minerals in a Mechanobr laboratory flotation machine was futile, indicating that these reagents required special environment for flotation.Most probable parameter responsible for a decrease in quartz flotation in the flotation machine is the hydrodynamics of process, and different adsorption/desorption conditions. To prove this, another series of experiments was carried out to separate quartz and feldspar, in which a laboratory flotation column was utilized. The performance of the flotation column was in between that of in the Hallimond tube and flotation machine. These experiments confirmed that the hydrodynamics of flotation plays a vital role in flotation of quartz with monoalkyl ethers of polyethylene glycol compounds."

Jan 1, 2003

By : D. Lawrence

Certain blasting applications are more prone to the generation of significant levels of nitrogen dioxide post blast fumes, more commonly referred to as after blast smoke, generally ranging in color from dark yellow to bright red. This paper reviews basic background chemistry defining the observed fumes and attempts to correlate geology, blast design, and explosive composition effects on the level of nitrogen dioxide that can be observed in various blasting conditions. Additionally, a test setting for evaluating the generation of post blast fumes is presented with pertinent test data detailing generic explosive formulation modifications which effect the overall level of post detonation generation of nitrogen dioxide.

Jan 1, 1996

By C. Navalkar

Systematic drilling & blasting techniques are currently being viewed in the mining & construction industry as a correct 8z scientific approach for optimization process in rock excavation, as drill & blast costs usually represent major share in total cost of production and also the environmental impacts plays an important role in designing of the operations. Designing a blast is a complex planning task, which for optimization, includes deciding the bench geometry with respect to the rock properties & geology of the area, capacity of the excavators, choice of explosives & detonation method, tiring sequence, etc. Optimization of blast design needs a detailed comprehensive study of all the above intersecting elements. Preblast & Post blast surveys are required for further improvements in blast designs. However, the choice of blast design depends upon the the requisite blasting results opted for and the cost you are ready to pay for the same. The blasting operation, in general, also involves numerous side effects namely, ground vibrations, fly rocks, dust, noise & gas pollution, air blast effect etc. Again these effects can be made tolerable up to a certain extent depending upon the limitations of the environmental obligations as may be specified by the concerned authorities.

Jan 1, 2001

By Euler De Souza

The authors conducted a study of backfill practices in underground mines across Canada to assess the current state of backfill usage and to overview potential hazards associated with backfill practice, from preparation to transportation to placement. The primary aim of this study was to cover each component of a typical mine backfill system, and to identify potential incidents leading to the disruption of backfilling operations and any associated corrective actions. This paper, Part I of the study, deals with surface operations consisting of backfill material supply and backfill plant preparation. Part II of the study, which deals with underground operations consisting of backfill transportation and backfill placement, is also presented in these proceedings. A review of safety measures associated with current backfill operations and recommendations for procedures of best practice that should be implemented to reduce fill-related hazards in all mine backfill workplace environments are presented. In general it has been found that system failures normally lead only to minor losses to the operations.

May 1, 2009

By S. K. Kawatra, S. J. Ripke, T. C. Eisele

"An estimated 600,000 tons of bentonite clay are used annually in the U. S. as binder for production of iron ore concentrate pellets. Since this is a significant cost item for the plants, and the addition of bentonite to the pellets contributes undesirable silica into the finished pellets, there is considerable incentive for finding methods to reduce bentonite use. One way to reduce bentonite levels is to selectively use those bentonites that are most effective in this application, so that a lower dosage will still produce a sufficiently strong pellet. Unfortunately, there are no satisfactory methods available for accurately predicting which bentonites are actually most effective, short of using them to actually make pellets. One of the popular methods for attempting to evaluate bentonites is the “Plate Water Absorption” (PWA) test. While some plant operators accept the PWA results as indicating the relative quality of bentonites, others disagree and claim that, over a fairly broad range of values, PWA does not correlate with bentonite performance.Since both Ca+2 and Mg+2 ions are known to reduce the swelling and water absorption capacity of bentonite, it was believed that the presence of these ions in plant recycle water could be changing the bentonite performance. Since the standard PWA test uses only distilled water for its measurements, it could not detect these effects. Experiments were therefore carried out on a number of different bentonites using a modified PWA tests, with plant recycle water replacing the distilled water. These experiments showed little effect of the plant water on the PWA value, and chemical analysis of the water showed that the levels of dissolved salts were quite low.Water and accompanying salts were then extracted from a magnetite concentrate filter cake by rinsing with distilled water. Analysis of this water showed an extremely high level of dissolved salts, particularly salts of calcium and magnesium. When concentrations were compared with the recycle water from the plant filters, it was determined that levels of Ca+2 and Mg+2 retained in the filter cake were over 500 times higher than levels in the recycle water. This extreme elevation of soluble salts in the filter cake is believed to be due to adsorption of these ions into the electrical double layer of the magnetite particles."

Jan 1, 2003

Flotation testing has been done at laboratory scale on hematite mineral and ore samples using stage additions of various hydroxamates. Chemisorption of hydroxamate species onto the hematite surface was inferred from the results, possibly involving both the undissociated hydroxamic acid and hydroxamate ion as maximum recovery occurred close to the pKa of the hydroxamic acid. Flotation testing on a specular hematite ore containing 40 per cent Fe and 42.5 per cent silica gave highest iron grades in concentrate at pH 6, in contrast to published data which suggested pH 9 as the optimum value for ore processing. Using octyl hydroxamate, a rougher concentrate assaying 67 per cent Fe at 51 per cent recovery was obtained using four stage additions of 50 g/t at pH 6. For lower grade concentrates still meeting the chemical analysis for pigment grade micaceous hematite (minimum Fe assay 60 per cent) iron recoveries of 80 per cent were possible for stage additions of 50 g/t octyl hydroxamate in the pH range 6-8.

Jan 1, 1999

By P. Sharma, J. C. W. Fowler

This paper discusses the wind blast / air blast phenomenon, how it is managed in coal mines and how it might best be managed in other underground mines. L'article qui suit a pour objets de décrire le phénomène de tir a l'air comprimé et les méthodes de modération de celui-ci dans les mines de houille, et d'indiquer de quelle manière il pourrait être surmonté dans d'autres mines souterraines. Dieses Seminararbeit diskutiert die Windexplosion / Luftexplosion Phänomen, wie es in Kohlenberg-werken geleitet wird, und wie es am besten in anderen untertage Bergwerken geleitet werden könnte.

Jan 1, 2003

By Dave Deglon

"The Western Cape Mineral Processing Facility (WCMPF) is a collaborative educational initiative between the Departments of Chemical Engineering of the University of Cape Town, the University of Stellenbosch and the Cape Technikon. The primary objective of the WCMPF is to facilitate the education, development and graduation of suitably qualified engineering graduates and diplomates for the mining industry. The WCMPF consists of academics and Technical Officers in the Departments of Chemical Engineering of the three tertiary institutions. The Technical Officers are usually metallurgists, with several years of industrial experience. The main objective of the Technical Officers is to improve the practical education of mineral processing students. In addition, the Technical Officers are responsible for organising an annual mineral processing student field trip for students from all three tertiary educational institutions. In recent years the WCMPF has embarked on a number of additional initiatives aimed at improving the quality of mineral processing education. These include the development of several new pilot plant practicals, an initiative in pyrometallurgy, the introduction of novel ‘end to end’ or ‘integrated’ practicals and the use of mineral processing simulation packages to complement the practical training.The WCMPF has been functioning for well over a decade and, by virtue of this, might be considered a successful collaborative educational initiative. The WCMPF has played a key role in the education of over five hundred mineral processing graduates and diplomates. During this time period, the WCMPF has gained a body of internal knowledge which might be of benefit to other educational institutions, viz."

Jan 1, 2003

By Bruno Bussière

Le drainage minier acide (DMA) provenant de la circulation des eaux à travers les rejets miniers sulfureux est sans doute le principal problème environnemental auquel est confrontée l?industrie minière. Afin de prévenir les problèmes environnementaux reliés au DMA, on doit restreindre la présence de l?une et/ou de l?autre des principales composantes menant à la production d?acide, soit l?eau, l?air et les sulfures. Pour ce faire, différentes techniques ont été proposées au cours des dernières années, dont la désulfuration environnementale et les couvertures avec effets de barrière capillaire (CEBC). Dans ce papier, on propose d?utiliser ces deux techniques en combinaison. Ainsi, on produirait un rejet désulfuré à l?usine de traitement qui pourrait, par la suite, être utilisé comme matériau pour la couche de rétention d?eau de la CEBC. Dans un premier temps, on présente les résultats d?une étude de laboratoire qui montre qu?il est possible de désulfurer les rejets de concentrateur à l?aide de la flottation non sélective jusqu?à l?obtention d?un résidu non générateur d?acide. Par la suite, des essais en colonne ont permis de démontrer qu?il est possible de limiter la production de DMA d?un résidu sulfureux à l?aide d?une CEBC dont la couche fine est constituée de résidus désulfurés. Des prédictions théoriques estiment même que la présence de sulfures résiduels dans la fraction désulfurée utilisée comme matériau pour la rétention d?eau peut avoir un effet bénéfique en réduisant la migration d?oxygène. En effet, les sulfures contenus dans la couche de rétention d?eau peuvent consommer l?oxygène qui tente de migrer vers le bas et, ainsi, réduire les flux d?oxygène qui atteignent les rejets réactifs.

Nov 1, 2002

By Montaser S. EL Salmawy, Takahide Wakamatsu, Eishi Kusaka

"In conventional flotation, fluoride ions selectively would react with the aluminum site on the microcline surface and produce negative charged sites for amine to be adsorbed (Smith, 1976). According to this view, aluminum site is considered as a key feature in feldspar flotation. Generally, fluoride ion has been widely used as a modifying agent in silicate flotation. Since O'Meara's patent appeared on HF -amine reagent system to selectively float feldspar from quartz in 1942, relatively few contributions have been devoted in this issue. The reason might be that the process works very well, and accordingly there is no initiative to investigate in this area. However, due to the awareness of international community to restrict using of hazardous reagents like HF, sound engineering practice to search for alternative methods, not utilizing HF, has been launched. Inspection of literature, one can find several works dealing with this issue.In this contribution, the effect of ethoxylation of long chain alcohols on the quartz and feldspar flotation behaviors was investigated for surfactants of the octylphenol polyoxyethylene family. The tests were carried out with an average of 7.5 (Triton X 114), 9.5 (Triton X 100), 30 (Triton X305), 40 (Triton X 405) and 70 (TritonX 705) oxyethylene units. Electrokinetic and flotation studies on quartz have shown that at low pH values, quartz could be floated with polyoxyethylene octytlphenols. The possible mode of adsorption of these nonionic surfactants may be suggested to be due to hydrogen bonding between the oxygen of ether and hydrogen in the free hydroxyl groups on quartz surface. It was anticipated that the selectivity between quartz and microcline would decrease as oxyethylenic chain length increases."

Jan 1, 2003