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The aim of this investigation was to study the influence that varying production rates have on iron sinter quality. This was done by performing sinter pot tests at different pressure drops over the sinter bed, namely 11 kPa and 15 kPa (for 500 mm total bed depths). During each of the sintering processes temperature-time profiles were recorded of the top, middle and bottom layers of the sinter bed. On completion of the sinter process the sinter cakes were divided into top, middle and bottom layers. The physical properties of each layer were subsequently characterized by performing a tumbler test and a sieve analysis. A comprehensive mineralogical study was also conducted on each layer. This study revealed that sinters of similar cold strength could be produced under the examined production rates. However, a higher production rate was accompanied by an increased amount of fines. The cold strengths of both sinters significantly increased from the top layer to the bottom layer of the sinter bed. This strength variation is not related in any simple way to the phase composition. Keywords: Sinter, sinter bed, production rate, phase composition, cold strength, tumbler index, sieve analysis, temperature-time profile

Jan 1, 2003

By Jacques F. Abrahamse, Kevin A. Bahe, T. Arthur Palm, Gregory E. McCluskey, Stephen L. Bessinger

Introduction Basis For System San Juan Coal Company (SJCC) is a subsidiary of BHP Billiton. Until recently, BHP Billiton operated three surface mines in northwestern New Mexico: Navajo, San Juan, and La Plata. The San Juan and La Plata Mines supplied the San Juan Generating Station operated by Public Service of New Mexico. Stripping ratios at those operations were increasing, and by 2000 a feasibility study was underway to develop SJCC’s vast underground reserves as a replacement. Early in the evaluation and planning phase for the San Juan Underground Mine, it was determined that the target seams (Fruitland #8 and #9) had a high propensity for spontaneous combustion. Spontaneous combustion was identified as a risk, both to personnel and equipment, and to the ability of SJCC to reliably fulfill its obligation to the power plant. In the last 20 years, several western US coal mines suffered underground spontaneous combustion events and/or mine fires. Included in this group were Colorado Westmoreland’s Orchard Valley Mine (1987), RAG’s Willow Creek Mine (1998 and 2000), Oxbow’s Sanborn Creek Mine (1999), the West Elk Mine of Arch Coal (2000), Arch’s Skyline Mine (2002), Western Fuels’ Deserado Mine (1996), and the West Ridge Mine of Andalex Resources (2003). The cause for the majority of these fires was spontaneous combustion. Fighting the fires required injection of an inert gas or foam. Nitrogen and carbon dioxide were the predominant choices of inert gas. In all cases, the gasses had to be trucked in from considerable distances. Before the inert gas could be used, injection holes had to be drilled into or near the suspected fire locations. This drilling and trucking caused costly delays in the timing of the fire fighting effort, and was not as precise as desirable. Emergency purchasing of gas and pumping services was extremely expensive, running as high as $70,000 per day at one mine. As a result of the experience of other western US coal operators, and the risk inherent with spontaneous combustion at SJCC, it was decided to pursue installation of a nitrogen delivery facility on-site at SJCC. This decision was later expanded to include a continuous supply of nitrogen.

Jan 1, 2005

By Alfonso Rizo-Patrón Remy

El objetivo del siguiente trabajo es señalar un método que permita la recuperación económica de metales preciosos como el oro, plata y otros metales básicos (tales como plomo y cobre) de sus respectivas menas naturales y de los concentrados o relaves que los contengan. Para ello, se utlizará dos formas de aplicación: La primera se da en el tratamiento por cianuración de las menas, donde el carbón mineral es el medio precipitante de los metales disueltos. Mientras que la segunda ocurre cuando el carbón ha sido separado de las pulpas cianuradas, conviertiéndose en un agente reductor de los metales de fundición. De forma tal que se logra una recuperación integral de los metales preciosos y básicos en las barras de fundición.

Jun 20, 1954

By W. J. Taylor, T. D. Parris

"Over 90,000 feet of raise have been bored at International Nickel underground mining operations throughout the Sudbury District since the advent of raise boring in the early part of July, 1964. With a total of 10 raise borers on hand at this time, techniques have improved steadily since introduction at INCO mines. The first unit, designed for use in rock of low compressive strength, had to be modified and redesigned to cope with Sudbury Area Precambrian rock. As equipment and boring techniques improved, a specially designed machine for larger holes was developed and is now in use. More powerful units, with a thrust capacity of up to 750,000 pounds, are under investigation. Raises have been bored up to 84-inch diameter, and the changeover to 5- and 6-foot flat reaming heads with improved cutter design has increased performance substantially. As a result, 5-foot-diameter raises have been completed to a length of 750 feet and 6- and 7-foot raises to over 500 feet. Reference is also made to the drilling of over 23,000 feet of drainage and sand-fill holes, ranging up to 7% inches in diameter, with smaller underground rotary drill equipment.Finally, a look into the future indicates the need for further improvements in equipment design to permit economic boring of 7- to 8-foot-diameter raises in Sudbury Area ground types."

Jan 1, 1972

By Percy Chávez

Dado el avance de la globalización, las empresas mineras latinas se encuentran expuestas ante el poder de las empresas transnacionales -en tanto estas utilizan información estructurada, verificada y centralizada para tomar las decisiones más acertadas y tener el control de las condiciones operativas. En este sentido, el presente texto señala la experiencia realizada en la Cía. Minera Atacocha aplicando la información centralizada para el desarrollo de proyectos de infraestructura en sus operaciones mineras.

Aug 25, 2002

Several industrial-scale HydroFloat separators have recently been installed at Mosaic?s South Fort Meade beneficiation plant for the purpose of improving phosphate recovery and throughput capacity. This technology was implemented after numerous laboratory, bench-scale and on-site, pilot-scale test campaigns. The results from this detailed test work provided sufficient justification for the complete retrofit of the existing coarse and ultra-coarse flotation cells. Data indicate that the metallurgical results obtained with the full-scale separators are consistent with that obtained during both the bench- and pilot-scale evaluations. The benefits, theory of operation and commissioning of the equipment are also discussed.

Jan 1, 2007

By C. Feng, C. Elbaum

Knoop hardness measurements were carried out on large grains of iodide titanium containing different amounts of oxygen. For each oxygen content the hardness is recorded ainingas a function of the crystal orientation and of the angle 4 between the indenter diagonal and the projection of the C (hexad) axis in the surface. The results can be expressed by the following relation; hardness = n-k cos 2ø, where n and k are constants for a given oxygen content and crystal surface orientation. A NISOTROPY of hardness is a well-known phe-nomenon and has been reported for many metals.1-3 At the present time, however, such information is not available in the literature for titanium. Consequently, a systematic study of the simultaneous effects of oxygen content and crystallographic orientation on the hardness of titanium was undertaken in this laboratory. Evaluations of oxygen content in titanium are frequently carried out through hardness tests. Although such procedures may be justified in small grain specimens, the results of the present investigation indicate that the anisotropy of hardness should be taken into account in the case of coarsegrained specimens as well as in the case of pronounced preferred orientation. Materials and Experimental Procedures Iodide titanium, 99.99 pet pure and containing of the order of 0.002 wt pet O, was used throughout this investigation. The metal was arc melted in an argon atmosphere and cold rolled into strips 1/16 in. thick. These strips were subsequently recrystal-lized and strain annealed in vacuum (10" mm Hg or better) at 850°C in order to produce crystals varying in diameter from 10 to 25 mm. Oxygen was introduced into selected large crystals by heating at 700°C in an atmosphere of pure oxygen under an observed pressure of approximately 50 mm Hg. Each sample was subsequently annealed in vacuum at 850°C for 100 hr, in order to homogenize the oxygen content throughout the specimen. It was found that longer annealing was not necessary, for no change of surface hardness in a given direction was detected after prolonged annealing. The oxygen content was determined by the difference in weight of the specimens before and after the oxidation-annealing cycle. The accuracy of oxygen determination is within ±0.1 mg in samples weighing 0.5 to 1 g. A vacuum fusion analysis of oxygen was performed on several samples and gave results in good agreement with the ones obtained by the weight change. It should be emphasized that expected weight losses through evaporation of the metal in vacuum at 850°C' are many orders of magnitude lower than the precision of these measurements. Following the annealing treatment, both oxidized and unoxidized crystals were carefully polished. All detectable traces of surface cold working were removed by repeated polishing and etching. Laue back reflection X-ray patterns were taken for each crystal for the purpose of determining the orientation and ascertaining the absence of substructures detectable by this method. Hardness measurements, using a 1 kg load, were subsequently carried out on a Tukon hardness tester equipped with a Knoop indenter. The Knoop indenter was used throughout this work because indentations obtained by means of a Vickers indenter are considerably distorted due to the anisotropy of the elastic constants in titanium. Such distortions are much less pronounced in the case of Knoop indentations, although for some orientations a cer-

Jan 1, 1959

By H. P. Greenwald

Cooperation between the Bureau of Mines of the United States Department of the Interior and the Safety in Mines Research Board of Great Britain dates from 1924. It has been intimate and has involved exchange of personnel and. equipment as well as information. Correlation of divergent results obtained in large-scale tests of the explosibility3/ of coal dusts made in the respective countries was one of the first problems to be studied. The purpose of this paper is to show to what extent such correlation has been achieved. COMPARISON OF TEST METHODS The first research accomplished Jointly by the two organizations was a comparison of large-scale methods of determining the explosibility of coal dust. Large samples of coal were exchanged and subjected to test in the Bureau's Experimental coal mine and in the Board's steel gallery, 38 inches

Jan 1, 1939

By H. P. Greenwald

Cooperation between the Bureau of Mines of the United States Department of the Interior and the Safety in Mines Research Board of Great Britain dates from 1924. It has been intimate and has involved exchange of personnel and. equipment as well as information. Correlation of divergent results obtained in large-scale tests of the explosibility3/ of coal dusts made in the respective countries was one of the first problems to be studied. The purpose of this paper is to show to what extent such correlation has been achieved. COMPARISON OF TEST METHODS The first research accomplished Jointly by the two organizations was a comparison of large-scale methods of determining the explosibility of coal dust. Large samples of coal were exchanged and subjected to test in the Bureau's Experimental coal mine and in the Board's steel gallery, 38 inches

Jan 1, 1939

In mining industries, materials loading and handling costs represent a significant component of the total (capital and operation) costs. A variety of methods have been applied in surface mine equipment selection in order to select the suitable loading and haulage system with the lowest total cost. The optimal size and number of equipment calculation are very important task for mining engineering because loading and haulage equipment are major proportion of open pit mining cost. Capital and operating cost are considered in objective function with respect to interest rate, insurance and tax in non-linear form. Shovel and truck annual productivity constraint, fleet matching constraint and number of truck per shovel constraint are incorporated in this optimisation problem with continuous variables. This formulation will yield total cost minimisation per hour and good accuracy compared to previous methods.

Dec 6, 2010

By Foster Fraas

One of the lithium minerals most widespread in the earth's surface is spodumene (Li20-A1203-4Si02), a lithium aluminium silicate. For some time, deposits of this mineral were known to exist in the Black Hills of South Dakota, but it was only quite recently that Hess4/ pointed out the great magnitude of the low-grade deposits in forth Carolina. The theoretical lithia (Li20) content of spodumene is 9.04 percent. The only other minerals with such high lithia content are the phosphates, but these occur only in pockets and are not in extensive deposits5/. Actually, however, the lithia content in spodumene is never found to be this high, being nearly always below 7 percent for the pure mineral, and part of the lithia is apparently replaced by other alkalies.

Jan 1, 1937

By D A. Edmunds

The most important development that has been taking place recently relating to mining operations in New Zealand would generally be regarded as being the Resource Management Law Reform. This has been widely publicised by the Government as a comprehensive review of the laws governing New Zealand's natural and physical resources. Submissions have been sought and a free phone provided to encourage public participation. Recently a Discussion Paper has been prepared by the Core Group coordinating the review to explain progress on Phase One (Ministry for the Environment, Directions for Change: A Discussion Paper, Wellington 1988). It outlines Government decisions already taken which impinge on the Review and describes the possible models for resource management laws. However, it is possible that some fundamental practical issues of significance to the mining industry will not be addressed and may be lost sight of in the much wider issues which are to be covered. The purpose of our paper is to address one of these issues namely, the interrelationship between any new resource management legislation and the Conservation Act 1987 (as recently amended) in the context of Ministerial consents. The importance of this issue can be seen from the fact that as at 7 June 1988 there were 279 mining licence applications and 223 prospecting licence applications waiting to be determined by the Minister of Conservation. Since April 1987 only 19 mining and 13 prospecting licences have been consented to. In addition a major proportion of New Zealand's mineral resources are contained with land administered by the Department.

Jan 1, 1988

By W. S. Sanner

Pyrolysis (destructive distillation) techniques developed at the Bureau of Mines to determine the yield and quality of the products from coal were used to convert municipal (household) and industrial refuse into potentially useful solids, liquids, and gases without adding to environmental pollution. The tests demonstrated that a ton of municipal refuse can be converted into 154 to 424 pounds of solid residue, 0.5 to 6 gallons of tar, 1 to 4 gallons of light oil, 97 to 133 gallons of liquor, 16 to 32 pounds of ammonium sulfate, and 7,380 to 18,058 cubic feet of gas. A ton of industrial refuse, consisting of paper, rags, and cardboard, can be converted to 618 to 838 pounds of residue, 1.5 to 3 gallons of light oil, 68 to 75 gallons of liquor, 12 to 23 pounds of ammonium sulfate, and 9,270 to 14,065 cubic feet of gas. The energy from the gas is more than sufficient to provide the heat for the pyrolysis.

Jan 1, 1970

By Richard D. Short

The Pseudo Static Pile Load Test, PLT, is a rapid method for determining pile capacity. Pile design is usually based on theoretical calculations of ultimate load capacity using soil data from a field investigation. The pile capacity is confirmed during construction by analysis of blow counts using dynamic formulae, dynamic pile monitoring, and load testing. Load testing is the most direct and reliable method of determining the actual capacity of a pile. Conventional load testing procedures, however, are time consuming and expensive. A typical load test requires installation of two to four reaction piles, construction of a high-capacity steel test frame, hydraulic jacks, and dial gauges, and will typically take one to three days per pile. Costs for load tests range from $10,000 to $20,000 per test. The Pile Load Test machine features a 25-tonne weight mounted on a mobile test frame. PLT load tests can be performed in a matter of minutes once the equipment has been mobilized to the site. This paper examines three test sites where the PLT test method was used and compares the results to conventional load test results and theoretical capacity calculations.

Jan 1, 2000

Two coal seams were selected and the conceptual designs were based on the geological and physical conditions typical of these seams. As a result of the screening process presented below, the two coal seams selected were the Lower Kittanning Seam in central Cambria County, Pennsylvania and the Pittsburgh Seam in northwestern West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania. SELECTION PROCESS FIRST SCREENING OF LONGWALL OPERATIONS The list of longwall operations prepared in Phase I and included in the Phase I report, was used as the basis for a first screening. From this list it was determined which longwall operations were not in the Appalachian coal fields and not in a coal seam of the thickness range of 42 to 72 inches. The first screening eliminated 30 of the listed operations, leaving 48.

Jan 1, 1976

By L. B. Berger

The Haldane gas-analysis apparatus used by the Bureau of Mines is patterned after the device developed by Haldane 4/ and differs from it only in structural modifications that have been added to facilitate operation and simplify construction. The apparatus was developed to permit determination of carbon dioxide, combustible gases, and oxygen with a degree of accuracy not attainable with apparatus of the types ordinarily used for the analysis of fuel gases, flue gases, and similar mixtures. The Haldane apparatus is used by the Bureau of Mines chiefly in the analysis of air samples collected in coal and metal mines and other underground workings and is applied also in the analysis of many other types of gas mixtures when accurate determination of certain constituents is desired.

Jan 1, 1938

The operations management system at Olympic Dam has evolved over a two-year period to the state described in this paper. This evolution has been driven largely by the requirements of the recent expansion of the Olympic Dam operation from three to nine million tonnes of ore per year. Such a change process demands an holistic approach to mine management and several techniques have been employed including XPAC, Mine Works Planner as well as a basic philosophy of æjust-in-timeÆ completion. The philosophies, software and tracking mechanisms for managing a large tonnage operation are described, outlining a fully integrated scheduling system from shift to shift detailed activity planning to a 20 year production plan. Moreover, the vision of production exceeding the current limit of nine million tonnes means that there are to be further developments to this state-of-the-art system in use at the Olympic Dam mine.

Jan 1, 2000

By Sanna Mustonen, Seppo Mellanen, Mellanen, Pekka Kantia

In Finland Posiva Oy (Company) is responsible for implementing the final disposal programme for spent nuclear fuel of its owners. Company is preparing for the geological disposal in Olkiluoto crystalline bedrock. Excavation will be executed using drill and blast method. Method unavoidably causes variable excavation damaged zone (EDZ) on tunnel surfaces. The EDZ constitutes a risk for long term safety and therefore good control methodology of the blasting technique is required. The thicker the EDZ, the greater is the likelihood for detrimental transport pathways for ground water to transport radio nuclides, should those be present.

Jan 1, 2016

Narrow vein mining, with enough challenge and also where the cutting edge technology can be applied, is still a very important and exciting portion of the mining industry. Based on the deposit characteristics, the most flexible mining method, cut and fill, has been being tested mining this high grade Northern Nevada property, Hollister, since the year of 2008. In the last three years, 254,000 tons of ore were hauled out of the portal and 23,000 feet of development were excavated underground with the winning of several safety and environmental awards. Together with mine geology, the essential segments include mining cycle, ground control, ventilation, grade control and backfill method in cut and fill stopes were covered in this paper.

Jan 1, 2012

By K. E. Merklin, F. D. DeVaney

Students of the modern blast furnace seem unanimously agreed that they are observing a major revolution in practice. Rather than changing construction and operation of the furnaces, most of the great advances now under way deal with the raw materials feed. Prepared burdens have gained increasing significance during recent years. Sizing, concentration, and agglomeration have all become bywords to greater production and reduced operating costs. The remarkable results with test furnaces in which self-fluxing sinter makes up part or all of the ore charge foretell even greater improvements. Other investigators have reported many of these advances, and it is enough to predict here that more and more operators will turn to the use of self-fluxing sinter. This change in the operator's requirements comes at a time when one major section of the iron ore regions, the Mesabi, is finding it difficult to maintain, let alone improve, the tonnage and grade of its shipping product. To meet the new demands with respect to quality and structure, the iron ore producers of this area turned first to screening, crushing, and concentrating intermediate ores. More recently, declining higher-grade reserves have led to multimillion-dollar investments in plants to treat the low-grade magnetic taconites.1,2 To yield a suitable concentrate, the Minnesota magnetic taconites must be ground to about 80 pct through 325 mesh, too fine to be charged directly to the blast furnace or to make acceptable feed to the sinter strand. The pelletizing process was developed to meet the structure requirements laid down by the blast furnace operators. Taconite producers are succeeding in their efforts just when the attention of the blast furnace man is being drawn to the great advantages of self-fluxing sinter.3 The taconite operators are ready with an alternative. Why not produce sclf-flus ing pellets? At the Hibbing laboratory of Pickands Mather & Co., where much of the early work was done that led to Erie Mining's 7.5-million ton taconite plant at Hoyt Lakes, Minn., preliminary investigations have been made. Present Taconite Operations: Details of this work will be clarified by a brief review of agglomeration practice in commercial taconite plants. After the taconite has been ground to about 80 pct through 325 mesh to liberate the magnetite grains, the ore is concentrated on magnetic separators, thickened, and filtered to about 10 pct moisture. This structure and moisture fit in closely with the conditions required to produce good balls. It has been found with taconite concentrates that at least 60 pct of the feed to the balling drum must be —325 mesh to obtain good ball compaction within reasonable time. The filter cake moisture usually permits a slight water addition at the balling drum, and further balling control is obtained by adding about 12 Ib of bentonite and 1 1/2 lb of soda ash per dry short ton of concentrate. These additives, and occasionally small quantities of fine coal, are thoroughly mixed with the filter cake ahead of balling. The swelling property of bentonite improves the green and dry strength of the balls so they can be handled without breakage until they are fired. Soda ash is added for pH control to insure maximum performance of the bentonite, and coal is added for more heat in the firing process when required. The balls, normally 3/8 to l-in. diam, are brought to a temperature of 2350" to 2500°F in the indurating furnace. Heat for this process comes from three sources: 1) fuel burned in the combustion chamber, 2) oxidation of the magnetite concentrates to hematite, and 3) coal added to the balls. Pellet strength is developed by grain growth and bridging and, if enough slag-forming constituents are present, by slag bonding. Conversion to hematite is usually close to 100 pct in the fired pellets. Batch Test Procedures: Initial studies of self-fluxing pellets were made by producing balls on a batch basis under carefully controlled laboratory conditions. The l-in. balls, uniform in size, were fired in an oxidizing atmosphere in a standard laboratory muffle furnace. The firing procedure consisted of

Jan 1, 1961