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By A N. Gupta, C Joginadham, P Shiva Shankar

Cast boosters made with pentaerythritol tetranitrate(PETN) and trinitro toluene(TNT) give high velocities of detonation and are sensitive to initiation even under high pressures. However, the manufacture of the same involves heating of TNT to its melting temperature and mixing of dry PETN in it.

Jan 1, 1996

By Kewal K. Kohli, Richard E. Thill, Syd S. Peng

The results of unpublished investigations into surface subsidence from coal mining in the Northern Appalachian Coalfield are summarized. These investigations were carried out by various coal companies and the State of Pennsylvania in the sixties and seventies. Subsidence data were collected and analyzed from 10 room-and-pillar panels in 5 mines in the Pittsburgh coal seam. Results show that angle of draw ranges from 26° to 33° and subsidence factor from 0.42 to 0.72; surface heating generally occurs beyond the edges of the panel, the amount and extent of which vary; waviness occurs in the subsidence profile if a substantial number of pillar stumps are left in irregular patterns; interpanel effect is significant; time-dependent subsidence exists, but varies for different panels; and surface slope does not seem to affect the amount of subsidence.

Jan 1, 1982

By J. S. Coffman

Wyoming is estimated to have more than 700 million tons and Utah more than 2.5 billion tons of +10 percent P2O6 phosphate rock considered to have some future economic potential. In Wyoming, the +24 and +18 percent P205 rock potential resources total nearly 250 and 450 million tons, respectively. In Utah, the +31, +24, and +18 percent rock total approximately 33 million, 222 million, and 2.2 billion tons, respectively. These resources are all located above the local drainage levels and do not include latent resources. All of the mining and beneficiation of phosphate rock in the two States is done by San Francisco Chemical Co. The facilities include open pit mines at Vernal, Utah, and Leefe, Wyo.; an underground mine in the Crawford Mountains, Utah, and beneficiation plants at Leefe and Vernal. One of the principal markets for the phosphate rock is Western Phosphates, Inc., fertilizer plant at Garfield, Utah. Recent exploration and development has been under-taken by different companies in the Southeastern Wind River Range, Sublette Range, and Crawford Mountains. The facilities at Leefe and Vernal are in the process of expansion. Some of the areas of western Wyoming contain vast quantities of phosphate rock in minable units, but, because of their remote location, are classed as latent areas. In these areas, there are estimated to be about 700 million, 2 billion, and 3 billion tons of phosphate rock in the +24, +18, and +10 percent P205 grade classes, respectively. The Snake River Range of Idaho and Wyoming is also estimated to contain roughly 21, 106, 177, and 214 million tons of potential resources in the +31, +24, +18, and +10 grade categories, respectively. This area also contains a large amount of latent rock in the more remote areas.

Jan 1, 1967

By W. I. Enderlin, P. O. Jackson, J. A. Glissmeyer, K. B. Olsen

A reliable estimate of radon emissions to the environment from underground uranium mines was obtained through measurements of radon in ventilation air at 24 mines and from estimates of radon release from other mine sources. The total production of U308 from the mines sampled represents about 63% of the total U.S. production from underground mines (1978 statistics). Wide variation in the radon emission rate per unit of production was found from mine to mine. Using the total radon emitted and U308 produced by all mines sampled, an average of 26.7 Ci of radon was emitted per ton of U309 produced. The investigation includes a brief study of the sources of variation of the emission rates. A statistically significant relationship was found between the measured radon release rate and the cumulative ore production at several mines.

Jan 1, 1981

By Jeff Poe

When a takeup weight is offset to the side of a conveyor, a wire rope is commonly routed from the takeup weight through a series of sheaves to the takeup carriage. The friction developed from a series of wire rope sheaves can effect the actual belt tension at the make up carriage. Through real-mime testing the actual tension on a makeup carriage was recorded with data acquisition using an internally strain-gauged turnbuckle. The wire rope used to transfer the makeup weight to the makeup carriage was routed through a series of lubricated bronzed bushed sheaves. The tension on the makeup carriage was found to be as much as 26% higher than the weight of the makeup due to the friction in the sheaves. A detailed discussion of the testing and results will be made.

Jan 1, 2000

By I. D. Lindley

The Wild Dog vein gold deposit in East New Britain Province, Papua New Guinea, forms part of a recently discovered 26 km zone of auriferous quartz vein mineralisation. The deposit, which was discovered in July 1983, has no silt anomaly, and a panned concentrate anomaly and float train restricted to within 500 m and 800 m respectively, of the discovery outcrop. Discovery of the Wild Dog deposit was a result of the methodical followup of regional panning which, as followup progressed, was replaced in importance by float sampling. Of the sampling methods used during the exploration leading to discovery, panning and float followup provided immediate indications of the presence of mineralisation. This high degree of spontaneity of followup is not provided by geochemical techniques, and has obvious advantages in high cost exploration for precious metal deposits in remote locations.

Jan 1, 1988

Large-scale shear apparatus is designed to investigate the shear hehaviour of simulated soft rock joints under constant normal stifmess condition. Regular saw-teeth profiles having inclinations between 9.5" and 26.5" have been tested. The strength envelope based on these test results indicates that predictions made by Panon (1966) are accurate for the lower asperity angles. However, for higher asperity angles, Patton's model overestimates the shear strength especially in the low to medium normal stress range. In contrast, while Barton's model (1973) is realistic for Constant Normal Load (CNL) condition, it seems to be inappropriate for modelling the shear behaviour of soft joints under Constant Normal Stiffness (CNS) condition. An empirical strength envelope for the prediction of peak shear strength of joints is proposed in this study to account for the change in normal stress and surface degradation during CNS shearing.

Jan 1, 1997

By D. D. Runnells, G. A. Doyle

The quality of water in mine pit lakes depends in part on the physical limnology, including such factors as thermal and chemical stratification, turnover and the development of anoxic conditions with depth. Limnologic data collected from four existing pit lakes in Montana and Saskatchewan indicate that pit lakes develop a thermocline (temperature stratification) in the upper 10 to 30 m (33 to 100 ft) of the water column. Two of the pit lakes, 26- and 55-m (85and 180 ft) deep, undergo seasonal turnover of the entire water column, whereas two deeper pit lakes, 110- and 240-m (360- to 790 ft) deep, undergo seasonal turnover of only the upper portion of the water column. In the deeper lakes, seasonal mixing does not extend through the entire water column, and a distinct chemocline develops with depth.

Jan 1, 1998

The Sons of Gwalia Mine in Western Australia is situated about 140 miles north from Kalgoorlie in arid country, where supplies of fresh water are difficult to obtain.Mine salt water is used throughout the treatment plant, whilst fresh water for domestic, boiler, and power purposes is pumped from a number of shallow outlying wells. The waters from all wells are constant in character, although they vary in the quantities of salts contained.An average sample of mixed waters gave the following analysis (Gr. per gal.):Sodium chloride 70.82Magnesium chloride 33.03Calcium chloride 26.98Calcium carbonate .. 11.57Calcium sulphate 22.71Iron oxide and alumina 2.10Silica and insoluble 4.58When this water is used in the boilers in its natural state it is scale-forming and intensely corrosive.

Jan 1, 1927

By George Weaton

Two years ago the general features of the St. Joseph Lead Company's zinc-smelting process were described.1 At that time the discussion was limited to a description of the production of high-purity electrothermic zinc oxide. The present paper will describe the commercial production of electrothermic zinc metal. Since a fairly complete description of the plant of the Josephtown smelter was given in the earlier paper, the brief recapitulation given here will be limited to mention of additional equip-ment recently installed and a bare outline of the preparatory process. The raw material is zinc sulphide concentrate received from the com-pany's mines in St. Lawrence County, New York. An average dry-weight analysis of this material is: Zn, 58.28 per cent; Pb, 0.56; insoluble, 1.6; Si02, 1.12; Fe, 6.4; CaO, 0.47; MgO, 0.27; S, 31.9; Cd, 0.1; Cu, 0.06; Mn, 0.24. Moisture content is usually about 3 per cent. Three 21-ft. 6-in. diameter, 12-hearth Nichols-Herreshoff furnaces roast the concen-trate to a calcine of average composition (first 10 months of 1938) : Zn, 67.69 per cent; Pb, 0.06; insoluble, 1.75; Si02, 1.26; Fe, 7.24; CaO, 0.47; MgO, 0.36; S, 1.88; Cd, 0.1; Cu, 0.07; Mn, 0.27. The sulphur dioxide gas, after passing through a waste-heat boiler, proceeds through a recently redesigned low-resistance gas-purification assembly to the contact sul-phuric acid plant, of which the capacity is 200 tons of concentrates per day. The calcine is mixed with a portion of returned furnace residues and sintered on 42-in. by 44-ft. Dwight-Lloyd sintering machines, gas-fired. Wind-box gases pass through air coolers before filtering in a 1440-bag Dracco unit, and thence to stack. The Dracco fume is mixed with Cottrell dust, from roaster gas cleaning, and sent to the leach plant, where it is roasted (SO2 to acid plant) and leached with sulphuric acid to recover, as end products, lead sulphate, zinc sulphate and cadmium.

Jan 1, 1939

By F. G. Crack, R. V. Ramani, R. L. Frantz

Management for mine construction and development differs from that needed for routine mine production and maintenance. An integrated approach to managing mine development projects must consider contract documents; management organization of a project; the project manager's role and the field supervisor's responsibility; and the use of scientific techniques for planning, scheduling, executing, and controlling projects. Professional project management encompasses the following: • Preparing contract documents that establish technical and financial schedules, and detail the responsibility for the physical work commitment. • Developing a project's organizational structure, to clearly define the roles of the project manager and the field supervisors. • Establishing project management and field supervisor relationships, to avoid ambiguity in assigning responsibility and to ensure desired project progress. • Using management science techniques, particularly networking techniques such as the critical path method for planning scheduling, executing, and controlling projects. Project Versus Production Management Project management differs from routine production management in the following ways: • Uniqueness: A project is unique. Production operations tend to be repetitive. The magnitude of one-time capital expenditures for many facets of mine development warrant special skills and attention. These professional project development skills must already be available by prior experience in the management team. • Personnel: In projects, personnel are usually assigned on a specialty basis and frequently change with the project activity. On the other hand, production personnel work together, more or less permanently. • Management Structure: In a project there may be several staff-line relationships that are not clearly defined and change with changing project activities. In a production situation, the lines of communication and authority are usually well defined. • Time Frame: A difference between project and routine production management is that project activities have comparatively less well defined durations and often tend to be relatively short-term. Production usually has both long-term and short-term plans and well defined long-term and shor-term goals. In project management, formal, critical, short-term reviews are frequently required. In production management, five year plans can be formally adjusted quarterly and annually. Short-term weekly or daily reviews can be informal. • Response to Delays: Delays in a development project may occur without anyone being immediately aware of their existence or suspecting the magnitude of consequence. In contrast, any delays in the production process can be easily identified from prior results comparison. Additionally, the response is quick, usually in a set routine. This can be traced back to the management structure and personnel. • Control Techniques: Measurements of project progress for control are not easily made due to the variety of activities that are carried on at the same time by different work groups. The yard-sticks of performance measurement for individual activities, let alone for the total project, are not easily established. However, due to the difficulty in detecting project delays, a workable control system is vitally important to a project manager. To apply a scientific project control technique such as "management by exception" requires specific planning and monitoring from the project manager for each activity in the project. Production and productivity are quick and effective yard-sticks of measuring performance in a routine operation. Control techniques required in production management usually revolve around these measures. Construction Contracts The construction contract is an important document that establishes contract scope, technical and financial details of the work, and achievement deadlines. It may also serve as the contract document to pay for work done and to verify field progress with planned progress. In practice, it is a good idea to develop a job-specific contract. This whole area is replete with legal precedence and procedures, and it is not the intent here to deal with the intricacies of establishing a contract document. But it is necessary to have an understanding of major contract types. Construction contracts are extremely important legal documents. They may vary in work specifications and enforcement of the provisions. Due to their nature, they must be composed with legal help and will take some time to compile. Even with all the precautions and provisions, it is not uncommon to find owner and contractor disagreeing. Therefore, it is important to include a way to resolve any difference quickly and to incorporate aspects of the contract as part of an overall management control tool for efficient project management.

Jan 7, 1982

By Suzann C. Ambrosio

Cameroon's mining industry continued to be dominated by crude petroleum. The value of petroleum output was estimated at $1 billion.2 The 1982 gross domestic product (GOP) was approximately $8.4 billion. During 1981, crude oil export revenues increased in value 30%, comprising approximately 56% of Cameroon's total export earnings. The 1982-87 5-year plan emphasized, hydrocarbon and agricultural development and targeted the exploitation of bauxite and clay deposits. New petroleum legislation was promulgated on November 26, 1982. Public Law No. 82-20 detailed hydrocarbon companies' obligations concerning oil and gas discoveries and exploitation. In general, the Cameroon Government has participated in joint ventures with private companies and has levied a 57.5% petroleum tax plus adjustable royalties. Exploration expenses were paid by concession holding companies, and the Government in the past has reimbursed 50% of expenses under certain conditions.

Jan 1, 1984

By Rogers Wade

THE Pilares mine of the Moctezuma Copper Co. is situated at Los Pilares de Nacozari, Sonora, Mexico, about 75 mi. (120.7 km.) South of the international boundary and about 7 mi. (11.26 kin.) east of the town of Nacozari de Garcia. It is situated at an elevation of 5000 ft. (1524 m.) in one of the northward trending ridges that form part of the mountain mass that culminates in the Sierra Madre de Mexico. To the east, south, and west, the topography is rugged and diversified; to the north less diversity exists, ranges of mountains rise sharply out of almost level ground and give the basin range structure characteristic of the southwest. The climate is dry, the average rainfall of 15 in. (38 cm.) being confined almost entirely to the months of June, July, and August. The

Jan 8, 1919

This publication summarizes the in-house and contract research and development projects programed for fiscal year 1981 by the Bureau of Mines under its Minerals Environmental Technology activity. The document provides a mechanism for interested parties, including potential contractors, to gain insight into ongoing and projected work of the Bureau?s environmental research efforts. Research to identify and correct environmental problems associated with mining and metallurgical operations has long been an integral part of the Bureau's mission. The environmental research and demonstration activities of the Bureau were consolidate in 1979 with the formation of the Minerals Environmental Technology program, which is directed toward the elimination or reduction of environmental problems associated with the extraction and processing of minerals. Among the efforts underway are development of data and technology for assessing the potential environmental impact of minerals development, for monitoring minerals extraction operations, and for establishing viable reclamation requirements on abandoned mine lands; development and demonstration of technology 'or control of environmental disturbances during minerals extraction operations; development and demonstration of land reclamation and mine closure techniques to restore or enhance the productive use of mined lands; development of engineering techniques that incorporate state-of-the-art mining environmental technology in the design and planning of minerals extraction operations; development and demonstration of new mining systems that greatly reduce or eliminate the adverse environmental impacts of minerals extraction; and providing the technologic base for Federal, State, and local establishment of environmental standards for mining operations. Included in the minerals-processing-related work are projects to clean mineral-processing waters: demonstrate a Bureau process for scrubbing SO from powerplant stack :;as; recover dissolved minerals from process streams; stabilize discarded dusts, slags, and tailings: remove hazardous contaminates from byproduct wastes; reduce generation of waste solids; and improve metallurgical process engineering to eliminate pollution. Approximately $21 million was appropriated for this work in fiscal year 1981.

Jan 1, 1981

By John L. Bonus

"WITHIN THE BROAD PARAMETERS implied by the title of my speech, I propose to deal more particularly this evening with a subject the many aspects of which have constituted the essential elements of one of the main thrusts undertaken by the MAC in the past two years, i.e., to create among Canadians a much greater awareness of the importance of mining and to demonstrate to them what are the many and varied benefits they derive from mining activities across their country. In other words, MINING - WHAT IT MEANS TO CANADA.I also intend to discuss some aspects of government-industry relationships.I am very conscious of the fact that I am speaking to an audience made u in large part of experts in several fields of mining and exploration activities. They will be familiar with many of the points I intend to discuss. However, without in any way suggesting that familiarity breeds contempt, might I emphasize that even in this particular forum there is justification for reiterating some of our basic philosophies and suggesting ways whereby they might be better understood and promoted.Let us first summarize the present dimensions of the Canadian mining industry."

Jan 1, 1971

By Robert R. Walden, LaMont West

KENTUCKY'S first acid-grade fluorspar flotation mill, shown in Fig. 1, was placed in operation Aug. 1, 1952, by the Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Co. at Mexico, Ky. During 1951 a critical shortage of acid-grade fluorspar developed and it became necessary for the company to produce part of its fluorspar requirements. In 1951 the company purchased the Crider and Lennen metallurgical fluorspar mill and an adjacent stockpile of tailing at Mexico, Ky. The tailing, assaying about 26 pct calcium fluoride, originated from log washer and jig mill concentrators in the area. As the mill did not have a fluorspar dryer or convenient rail facilities, the company leased the Burleson concentrator at Marion, Ky., where these facilities were available. At Marion, Ky., on the Illinois Central Railroad, dry acid-grade fluorspar is transported direct to the company's Calvert City, Ky., hydrofluoric acid plant.

Jan 5, 1954

By N. Bahrani

Photogrammetry surveys were used to document a footwall slab failure that occurred at a surface coal mine located on the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains. Photographs taken before and after the failure provided the pre- and post-failure geometry of the slope and the failed slab. A 2D finite element model was constructed using slope profiles. The model contained joint elements that represented the bedding surface upon which the slab slid and the model was used to analyze the footwall slope. The in situ stresses, rock properties and the bedding surface shear strength and stiffness properties are discussed. The process of mining out a valley and exposing a highwall was modelled. As expected, elastic valley rebound occurred in the model, but shear stress and shear displacement reversals along the slip surface were also observed. The modelling results provided new insight into shear strength degradation that occurs when the pit floor approaches and then passes a specific point in the highwall.

Jan 1, 2009

By R. O. Kneisley

This U.S. Bureau of Mines report summarizes a study of large-scale strata response to longwall mining at a western U.S. coal mine. This study utilized surface and subsurface measurements, geologic mapping, in situ stress measurements, and pressure cell readings to characterize strata behavior. Preliminary analysis of surface subsidence and time-domain reflectometry (TDR) was used to determine a suggested main roof caving sequence. Coal ejected from the face apparently resulted from brittle failures that occurred because of lack of significant yield zone development. The combination of a strong coal with pronounced directional behavior, low overburden pressures, a good caving roof, and a high-production environment that minimized time-dependent loading apparently reduced yielding of the longwall face. The panel 1 headgate-entry design appears adequate; however, the abutment pillar and adjacent panel tailgate rib are highly stressed and may contribute to problems during second panel mining. The small chain pillar yielded after passage of the face, but the pillar width may be near maximum since evidence of a stressed core exists.

Jan 1, 2010

By L. A. Morely

The overall objective of the subject contract was to investigate the application, economic, and safety considerations of electrical-shock prevention techniques applied to surface and underground mines. Volume I of the four-volume final report starts by summarizing all research performed, and synopses of the three other report volumes are included. The balance of this volume concerns one major task of the contract, the protection of maintenance personnel. After specifying the scope of work for the task, electrical is defined, and needed ground-fault relay characteristics to prevent ventricular fibrillation are established. This is followed by an analysis of alternating-current systems, a comparison of these systems with respect to body currents, and the advantages and disadvantages of the various ground-fault protection techniques. An analysis of direct-current systems for off-track vehicles is then covered. These analyses form the basis for the research recommendations which along with suggestions for future research, conclude the report volume.

Jan 1, 1982

Jan 1, 1970