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By W. S. Sanner

Anthracite was used extensively as a fuel in iron metallurgy from 1840 to 1880. In 1874, 226 of the 680 blast furnaces in the United States were operating on anthracite and producing almost one-half of the Nation's pig iron. However, by 1890, railroad expansion, the development of western iron-ore reserves, and the growing use of coke decreased the importance of anthracite as a metallurgical fuel. As a result, the last blast furnace designed exclusively for anthracite use was built in 1891. Because of the increased energy requirements of our expanding national economy, the abnormally high demands during national emergencies, and the proximity of anthracite deposits to eastern steel-producing areas, interest has grown in again using anthracite in iron metallurgy. Estimates of anthracite reserves indicate a 300-yr. supply at a production rate of 30 million tons per year. These large reserves dictate the development of an adequate technology for the use of anthracite by the metallurgical industry.

Jan 1, 1961

Detailed investigation was carried out on the dephosphorization of a number of phosphorus-rich manganese or samples of India by leaching with dilute sulphuric acid. Various process parameters like concentration of acid, liquid-solid ratio, temperature of leaching, time of leaching, and particle size of the ore were studied in detail for the three samples of manganese ore from central India, and optimum values were worked out on a laboratory scale. Preliminary studies show that certain ores which are not easily amemlible to appreciable dephosphorization by leaching with dilute sulphuric acid can be made amenable by :roasting to 700-900°C before leaching.

Jan 1, 1974

By Cooper R. J

The essential features of the zinc concentrate roasting installation at the Risdon Works by the Electrolytic Zinc Company of Australasia Ltd. are given.The problem of maintenance of ignition in down-draught zinc concentrate flash roasters is discussed, and a solution offered.A successful and economical method of using by-product oxygen for raising the roasting efficiency of hearth roasters is described. Three methods of utilizing oxygen for the same purpose in flash roasting are detailed, and their relative merit, considered.INTRODUCTIONThe zinc sulphide concentrate used at the Risdon Works is roasted autogenously for removal of sulphur in two hearth roasters, and four flash roasters. The hearth roasters are of modified Skinner type with eleven hearths. They were designed, and are used, for roasting mixtures of relatively low sulphide content. Their design and operation have been described elsewhere (Forster, 1949).The flash roasters are down-draughted furnaces with cross-section and rabbling equipment based on the hearth roaster design, and the process is similar to that developed by the Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company of Canada Ltd. (Cominco) at Trail, B.C. (Stimmel, Hannay, and McBean, 1936).These furnaces are 20 ft. in diameter. They have three drying hearths through which hot gas is drawn from the combustion chamber by the burner fan. The combustion chamber is 2'1 ft. high above the collecting hearth (27 ft. in No. 4 unit), and the discharge hearth below it is 6 ft. high, so that a large gas offtake is possible. Four rabble arms for each hearth are carried on a central column. Dried, ground concentrate, and the air for roasting it, are fed to a burner...

Jan 1, 1958

By P. E. J. Pitfield, S. D. G. Campbell

The regional structure of shear and deformation zones in the belt, which is recognisable in plan view on Landsat TM images, is interpreted in terms of a conjugate-shear model. Gold mineralisation is related to this framework at a variety of scales. The principal recurrent structural geometries hosting deposits at mines such as Motapa, Durban, Charliesona, Cecil, Sunace, Turk group, Queens district, How, Peter Pat, Matabele Sheba, Goodenough, Old Nic and Bushtick are associated with shear zones and folds and include conjugate systems (shears, shear intersections, kink sets), side-step systems (en echelon segmentation, duplexes, monoclinal inflections, antiform-synform couplets) and interactions of the two. Linear sections of shear zones are generally poorly mineralised. The same geometries are identifiable on all scales from local to regional, so sections of regional structural lineaments or areas within mines should be prioritised for further investigation or development on the basis of the gold-bearing geometries observed to be dominant locally

Apr 1, 1996

A series of gas inrush events occurred during development at Grosvenor mine resulting in exposure to elevated levels of methane at the production face. A total of 22 gas inrush events occurred releasing between 15 and 130 m3 of methane during each event. The presence of an undrained seam in the immediate floor, geotechnical characteristics of the floor, and the stress environment all contributed to these dynamic floor events, while the geological characteristics of the seam below, such as the seam thickness and ash content of 75%, prevented effective pre-drainage. However, events only occurred in headings mined parallel to the principal horizontal stress direction. In cut-throughs (C/Ts) perpendicular to the principal stress direction, no events occurred, and higher methane levels were observed at the production face.

Jan 7, 2020

By Unal Artan

It is well known in the robotics community that the ability to determine the position of vehicles in real time is a key enabling technology required for automation, traffic management, and to ensure safety in the presence of multiple vehicles. Because of this, the introduction of global positioning systems (GPS) has had a remarkable impact on the surface mining industry, enabling real-time tracking of mobile assets, improved safety, and production optimization. Unfortunately, satellite-based GPS is not available underground. This paper reports on the preliminary results of a study to develop a robust method for globally consistent mapping of large-scale underground mine environments. We believe that this may additionally become the first step towards the development of a novel underground positioning technology. Presented are preliminary results from data collected at two underground mines using an Atlas Copco ST14 LHD machine.

Oct 1, 2009

By D. R. Cook

This paper is a case history of an exploration venture for base metals, begun by the Rocky Mountain District of Bear Creek Mining Company in 1952 and completed in 1954. The project was based on the idea of W. S. Burbank, U. S. Geological Survey, that commercial deposits of base metals might occur in Paleozoic sediments beneath hydrothermally altered volcanic rocks in the Southern Bonanza mining district, Colorado. Here, an area of andesitic rocks, four square miles in extent, has been argillized, pyritized, chloritized and silicified. Geological, geophysical and geochemical studies were followed by the diamond drilling of three holes totalling 6,220 feet. Further alteration ang geochemical studies were made on the cores from these holes. A brief review of the alteration and geologic mapping, colored aerial photograph interpretation, geochemical soil and rock sampling, magnetic, gravity and radio-metric surveys are presented together with some conclusions regarding this work. This paper is a case history of an exploration venture for base metals, begun by the Rocky Mountain District of Bear Creek Mining Company in 1952 and completed in 1954. Important contributions were made to the project by personnel of the Rocky Mountain District and the Geophysics Division. Individual acknowledgements to these people are made at the end of the paper. BASIS FOR THE PROJECT The project was based on the idea of W. S. Burbank (1947, p. 444) that commercial deposits of base metals might occur in Paleozoic sediments beneath hydrothermally altered volcanic rocks in the Southern Bonanza mining district, Colorado. Paleozoic sedimentary rocks, including the favorable Leadville limestone, are exposed three miles south of the altered area, and reason exists to believe that they might underlie it within a reasonable depth. Alteration of pre-mineral volcanic rocks has been used successfully as a guide to concealed orebodies in the Main Tintic and East Tin tic mining districts, Utah (Bill-ingsley, 1933, p. 120-122; Lovering et al, 1949; Howd, 1957, p. 124-134; Cook, 1957, p. 73) and could be a useful guide here. GENERAL GEOLOGY AND STRUCTURE The Northern and Southern Bonanza mining districts are northwest of the San Luis Valley in southern Colorado, just within the northeastern edge of the San Juan volcanic province. The districts are1ocated on the southern extension of the Sawatch uplift, a prorninent northwest-trending structural high. The highly productive mining camp. of Leadville, Gilman and Aspen are on the northeastern and northwestern flanks of this uplift where Paleozoic limestones have

Jan 1, 1961

By John Russell

"The South American mining community leads the world in recognition and adoption of the latest grinding mill relining technologies. Clearly this region has recognised the benefits of improved relining performance.Six of the seven RUSSELL TWIN 8 Mill Relining Systems, ordered to date, are either operating or being manufactured for South American mine sites.This paradigm shift, towards very short relining times, aims at displacing mill relining activities from the critical path of concentrator maintenance shutdown schedules.The first uses of the RUSSELL TWIN 8 Mill Relining System have seen some of the highest SAG mill new liner placement rates ever observed by RME, as would be expected with two, independent Machines working simultaneously in the one mill.The liner-replacement-rate, averaged over the whole reline, is good (27% improvement over single Machine System in the same mill) but short of full potential. This modest result can be attributed to reline crews unfamiliarity with RUSSELL TWIN 8 System operation.This paper compares a sample of conventional (single machine) RME Mill Relining System performance data with one ‘double head’ mill liner handler by others. Early performance of Escondida’s new RUSSELL TWIN 8 System performance is then compared with recent single Machine data from Escondida, immediately prior to RUSSELL TWIN 8 commissioning. RME and Escondida look to constantly improving RUSSELL TWIN 8 System performance as full operational familiarity is achieved.Also, the preparation of this paper revealed a need to develop a global industry standard for mill relining data collection. A web based platform, to develop and then distribute standardised data collection templates, is discussed in Annexure 1."

Jan 1, 2010

As it is my opinion that deep alluvial mining in Victoria and in the Murray Flats in New South Wales is practically in its infancy, and considering that we, the old school of alluvial miners, who have thirty or forty years' experience to guide us, must in the natural order of things hand over the management of our mine, to the younger and less experienced' generation of miners, I thought that as our Association has been formed for the purpose of disseminating information and the exchange of ideas, a few notes on the practical working of alluvial mines might be of some service to aspirants for the position of mining manager.The greatest difficulty the alluvial miner has to contend against is the immense quantity of water contained in the drifts overlying the wash in the gutters or ancient river beds, and to cope with this water successfully and economically is the point to be aimed at by our mining managers; and if they thoroughly understand this part of their business in all its details, they will not only win kudos for themselves, but will be the means of saving large sums of money to the companies they represent, and, in many instances, will make a success of a venture which otherwise might be stopped for want of funds before it is properly proved. At the present time, although we have had over forty years' experience indraining the deep leads of the colony, I regret to say that a large amount of ignorance still prevails amongst both directors and managers.

Jan 1, 1901

By Christian Divis

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Jan 1, 2002

By D. Kwietnewski

With all of the unknowns associated with tunnel construction, how does a contractor choose a roadheader? This paper presents a review of several models of roadheaders being used in today?s tunnel projects. The features of different models of roadheaders are presented and compared. Roadheader size and cutter power generally determine which roadheader is best for a particular job. We will also present a model for matching features of the roadheader to the anticipated ground conditions such that the most efficient machine is selected for the project.

Jan 1, 2011

By F. A. Forward, A. H. Ross, J. Halpern

Application of the carbonate leaching process to carno-tite ores has often been limited by the difficulty of obtaining simultaneous high recoveries of uranium and vanadium. The chemical aspects of this problem are discussed and the effect of prior roasting procedures on this discovery is described. IN treating carnotite ores by carbonate leaching it is often necessary to subject the ore to a prior roast. Among the advantages that may result from roasting are: 1) improvement in settling and filtering characteristics of the ore; 2) destruction of carbonaceous impurities that would otherwise contaminate the leach solution and consume carbonate reagent; and 3) substantial increase in extraction of vanadium, which is usually low when the un-roasted ore is leached. Recovery of vanadium may be an important factor in processing carnotite ores, and the fact that vanadium is usually recovered in good yield by acid leaching has often been an economic advantage over results obtained with carbonate leaching. It has been found that response of an ore to carbonate leaching, following roasting, depends primarily on its composition and on the conditions of the prior roast treatment, particularly with regard to the roasting temperature, the atmosphere maintained above the charge during roasting and cooling, and the presence of certain reagents. These factors, especially the last, virtually determine the extractions of uranium and vanadium attainable by carbonate leaching, as well as the reagent consumption on leaching, whereas adjustment of the leaching conditions has only a limited influence. These variables were examined systematically to elucidate roasting and carbonate leaching of carnotite ores and to establish a treatment yielding high recoveries of both uranium and vanadium. Tests were conducted on samples of four different Colorado Plateau ores, described in Table I. Roasting Procedure: The roasting tests were conducted in an electrically heated furnace in which the temperature was controlled to ±15°C. The ore (usually a 500-g charge) was ground to —100 mesh, mixed with the desired reagent, and spread in a silica tray to a bed depth of about 1/2 in. During the roast the charge was rabbled at intervals of 15 min. To provide free access of air the furnace was usually ventilated; however, in a few experiments a controlled atmosphere such as carbon dioxide or hydrogen was maintained above the charge. Leaching Procedure: The pulp, generally comprising 500 g of ore and a 2000-cc solution containing 80 g per liter of Na2CO8 and 20 g per liter of NaHCO3, was agitated in an autoclave at 120°C, under 30 psi 02. Samples were withdrawn periodically, and the solution and ore residue were analyzed. Under the conditions employed, maximum attainable extractions were generally achieved in 4

Jan 1, 1959

By Edward L. McHugh, Stanley M. Miller, Jeffrey K. Whyatt

The point estimation method can be applied to the safety factor (SF) equation for any specified rock slope failure mode (such as plane shear, step path, or wedge) to obtain reliable estimates of the mean and standard deviation of the SF probability distribution. A gamma probability density function is recommended for modeling this probability distribution, because it allows only for positive values and is flexible enough to provide symmetrical shapes and right-skewed, exponential-type shapes for the SF distribution. The mean and standard deviation define this distribution, which then can be integrated numerically from 0 to 1 to obtain the probability of sliding, PS (portion of the SF distribution where SF < 1.0). The overall probability of failure, PF, for the potential slope failure mass is the joint probability that the rock discontinuities are long enough to allow kinematic failure (PL) and that sliding occurs along the rock discontinuities (PS); that is, PF = PSPL. This method for estimating the probability of sliding is extremely efficient computationally, and thus, expedites slope stability simulation routines used by NIOSH software to stochastically describe rock slope behavior and assist the engineer in designing catch benches for large rock slopes. Enhanced bench design translates into increased operational efficiency and safer working conditions in open pit mines and quarries.

By Esteban Bravo

El presente señala la utilidad del último software y equipos desarrollados como herramientas que permiten analizar, monitorear y reparar los problemas que se presenten en el funcionamiento de motores diesel, además de disminuir los costos para su mantenimiento.

Aug 25, 2002

By Juan M. Antorena

A dynamic testing program was performed to evaluate installation procedures, assess capacity of 610-mm (24-inch) diameter open ended steel pipe to evaluate set-up and provide minimum pile tip elevation based on the dynamic testing results. The program was performed for a marine terminal project consisting of a 570-meter (1900-foot) long, overwater railroad trestle. The project location is Santa Marta, Colombia, South America. The subsurface profile generally consisted of 4m (12 ft.) of water and soft to hard silty clays. The piles were installed to an approximate tip elevation of -22 meters (MSL). Three piles were initially dynamically monitored during installation and then later monitored during restrike driving to evaluate pile drivability and bearing capacity including time related capacity increases due to soil "set-up". Knowledge of change in pile capacity with time after end of initial driving is important for design of pile foundations.

Jan 1, 1995

By L. J. Heaslip, J. M. Toguri, T. R. Meadowcroft, R. L. Addinall

"""Pilot Plant Operations"" is a final-year core course given to the Metallurgy and Materials Science students at the University of Toronto. This course involves a laboratory study of an industrial project at an industrial site. Details of this program are discussed and reviewed after eight years of experience. IntroductionEducators in the field of Metallurgy and Materials Science have long agreed that ""hands-on"" experience is an important component in the education of metallurgical engineers. This philosophy is reflected in the undergraduate curricula of most metallurgical schools. The major problems encountered with laboratory-associated courses are the requirements for equipment, space and funds for both purchase and maintenance of equipment. For example, consider an exercise in crushing and grinding treatment in a mineral processing laboratory. Such operations require the handling of tons of material and often equipment of large size. The problems of storage of ore, methods of handling and maintenance of equipment are a few of the concerns facing the department. Considering that metallurgical departments at universities are, in general, relatively small, the support to purchase and maintain largescale equipment becomes an annual budgetary concern. In reality, universities today are not geared to operate mini-pilot plant equipment, either in terms of space or personnel.For the above reasons, in 1972an undergraduate core course called ""Pilot Plant Operations"" was introduced to the fourth year curriculum in Metallurgy and Materials Science at the University of Toronto. This course consists of I to 2 full weeks (8 hrs per day) of pilot plant laboratory study at an industrial site on a project of mutual interest with the industrial organization whose facility is being used. The first 5 years of the program were carried out at the pilot plant facility at the Ontario Research Foundation; Stelco&apos;s Research Centre in Burlington, Ontario, was used for the last 3 years. The nature of the projects undertaken during the 8-year period is shown in Table 1."

Jan 1, 1980

By Jason J. Crowder

Presentation Outline ? Introduction ? Costs of ground support and rehabilitation ? Why post-failure rock mass properties are necessary ? The Rock Mechanics Problem ? Present State of Modelling and Instrumentation in Mining ? Case Study Background ??Williams Mine ? Deriving Parameters for Modelling from Instrumentation ? Results from Case Study ??Back Analyses ? Discussion of Research Impact t Summary

May 1, 2006

By R. P. H. Willis

Uranium is back on the radar. Uranium has always been a controversial metal, from its role in the arms race to its claim to be the only viable alternative to fossil fuel. This paper will cover its properties and use, its occurrence and production in South Africa, the current market drivers and its future role as a primary energy fuel. It will highlight the difference between uranium used to make a bomb and uranium used in a power station. The recent significant uranium price rise will be put into context of the market drivers including geopolitical issues. Planned expansions in nuclear power station capacity will be reviewed, as will new mine production. Future demand will also be speculated on.

Jan 1, 2006

The Australian Gas Light. Company was established in 1837, the first gas being sent out from the Kent Street Works, then the headquarters, in 1841. Mortlake Works were opened in 1886, and has since grown to the vast undertaking inspected by members of the Institute.The Kent Street Works were closed in 1921. The area of the, company&apos;s property at Mortlake is 117 acres.Some interesting figures from the statistics of the company&apos;s activities for 1937 are:-

Jan 1, 1938

By S. Sridhar, R. E. Aune, M. Hayashi

Thermophysical properties of silicate melts are strongly structure dependent. It is well known that the viscosities of slags increase with increasing the degree of polymerization of silicate anions. Even the thermodynamic properties of slags are dependent on the types of species and the population of the same in the melt. Thus, a link between the thermophysical and thermochemical properties of silicate melts is logically expected. The present paper elucidates the salient features of Darken?s excess stability approach to the Gibbs energies of solutions as applied to the viscosities of silicate melts. It is demonstrated, that the second derivatives of the viscosities of binary silicate melts with respect to composition indicate a maxima corresponding to the existence of stable compounds in these systems. The concept was successfully applied to the following systems: Al2O3-SiO2, CaO-SiO2, FeO-SiO2, MgO-SiO2and MnO-SiO2. In all the cases, the second derivative plots of viscosities with respect to composition showed peaks corresponding to the metasilicates. The second derivatives of the activation energies of viscous flow with respect to temperature has earlier been shown to reflect the formation of associates/embryos in the homogeneous silicate melts, indicating the readiness of the melt to separate a solid phase. Thermodynamic coupling of thermal diffusivities in the case of the system CaO-Al2O3-SiO2from the laser-flash measurements of these slags as a function of temperature are examined as part of the present study. Densities are estimated from integral molar enthalpies in the case of silicate systems and the results are presented. Keywords: silicate melts, viscosity; activation energy, thermal diffusivity; density

Jan 1, 2004