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By Diane M. Doyle-Coombs

In late July 1985, air samples from a sealed portion of the Quinland coal mine in West Virginia showed the presence of carbon monoxide (CO). Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) personnel concluded that a fire was burning behind the seals. Since an imminent danger existed, the mine operator was given a closure order. The gases behind the seals were monitored and almost 2 million ff of carbon dioxide (C02) gas was pumped into the sealed area to stabilize the environment. Sixteen days after the closure order was issued, MSHA allowed the mine to return to production. Approximately 1 yr later, mine management submitted a seal breaching request to MSHA in order to drive a set of entries to further develop the mine. The Bureau of Mines established a sampling strategy and monitored gases from behind the sealed area during the breaching operation until the atmosphere was safe. This report is an account of the seal breaching conducted by the mine, MSHA, and the Bureau. The logistics of this event, the sampling strategy, and the equations applied could be used by the mining industry in future breachings or mine recovery operations. Time to reenter the area was calculated by using the methane (CH4) concentrations sampled at the discharge of the seals. Tracer gas was used to verify the ventilation flows through the area.

Jan 1, 1988

By AIME AIME

THE growth of the spirit of progress and mutual aid which motivated the founders of the Institute sixty years ago in Wilkes-Barre was vigorously demonstrated at the sixtieth anniversary meeting held there on May 22. Committees headed by Cadwallader Evans, "resident director" of the Institute, and Paul Sterling, chairman of the local section, had arranged for a full-day tour of the northern anthracite field, so that the hundred and fifty members and guests who had come for the celebration of the anniversary might see the changes and progress made in that field in recent years. More than forty automobiles were in line in the cavalcade which left the Westmoreland Club at nine- thirty. Operations visited were fully described in the May issue of MINING AND METALLURGY, so it is enough to say that after a seventy-five mile drive through the beautiful Susquehanna Valley and over the rolling green hills of northern Pennsylvania a stop was made for lunch at Forest City. Carey, Baxter and Kennedy, contractors at the stripping operations there, had provided, in the shelter of tents, a well-prepared luncheon and other refreshments. The return trip was made by way of Scranton, arriving at Wilkes-Barre at five- thirty.

Jan 1, 1931

By Nick Barton

When the Q-system was launched in 1974, the name referred to rock mass classification, with focus on tunnel and cavern support selection. Besides empirical design of support, the Q-value, or its normalized value Qc, has been found to correlate with seismic P-wave velocity, with deformation modulus, and with deformation. The Q-system provides temporary or permanent support for road, rail, and mine roadway tunnels and for caverns for various uses. It also gives relative cost and time for tunnel construction for a complete range of rock qualities. There are also indications that Q has captured important elements of the cohesive and frictional strength of rock masses, with Qc resembling the product of rock mass cohesion and rock mass friction coefficient.

Jan 5, 2007

By Sam S. Taylor

Subsurface disposal of oil-field brines was practiced in Oklahoma on a limited scale as early as 1925. The technique of subsurface injection has been improved immensely and has been applied with varying success in many oil-producing areas in Oklahoma, and elsewhere. This method of disposal, however, is only one of several methods available to operators of oil-producing properties, but, in contrast with usual methods of handling brines on the surface it eliminates the damaging effect of mineralized water on fresh-water supplies, vegetation, and aquatic and other animal life. Other methods of brine disposal approved by regulatory agencies in some States include (1) impounding in impervious ponds and solar evaporation, (2) controlled diversion into surface waters, and (3) recovery of the mineral salts of the brine. In most States where oil is produced regulatory bodies authorize the use of one or more of these methods of brine disposal. In Oklahoma, for example, the .Oklahoma Planning and Resources Board of the Conservation Commission has been authorized4/ to adopt whatever methods or means may be necessary to prevent contamination by mineralization of all potable waters within the State.

Jan 1, 1942

By R. K. Zipf

The sudden, violent collapse of large areas of room-and-pillar mines poses a special hazard for miners and mine operators. This type of failure, termed a cascading pillar failure, occurs when one pillar in the mine layout fails, transferring its load to neighbouring pillars and causing them to fail in succession. Recent examples of this kind of failure in coal, metal and non-metal mines in the USA are documented. Mining engineers can limit the danger presented by these failures through improved design practice. Whether failure occurs in a slow, non-violent manner or in a rapid, violent manner is governed by the local mine stiffness stability criterion. This is used as a basis for three design approaches to control cascading pillar failure: containment with barrier pillars during pillar splitting; prevention with panel pillars of high width-to-height ratio and small-centre mining; and full extraction by retreat mining

Jun 19, 1905

By Finch JA, Uribe-Salas A

The relationship between the process variables and hydrodynamics of a downflow concurrent column (Jameson cell) was investigated in both two and three-phase systems. Gas holdups from 10 to -60 per cent were obtained at gas rates up to 15 cm/s (STP), liquid (slurry) rates up to 25 cm/s, frother concentrations of 5 and 25 ppm, and slurry density (silica) up to 1.23 g/cm3 ina 3.8 cm diameter, 190 cm high column with a 0.5 cm diameter nozzle. Gas holdup decreases with feed rate and increases with gas rate, reaching a maximum (-60 per cent) at a gas rate to feed rate ratio of about one. Gas holdups were higher with slurry compared to water as feed. Stable operation was difficult to maintain at high gas rates especially with low frother dosage; operation was not possible without some frother. Instability was characterised by loss of pool level or formation of slugs. The slugs could move up or down or remain oscillatory. A quantitative relationship between the variables and gas holdup or onset of instability was not identified. Conductivity and pressure-based techniques were successfully tested on-line for estimation of gas holdup and to judge the state of operation (eg formation of slugs).

Jan 1, 1993

1. New books P. Sarnoff. Trading in gold. Cambridge, Woodhead- Faulkner, 1980. 136 pp. £3.50 by airmail. Environmental Planning Professions Interdisciplinary Committee (EPPIC). Proceedings: Joint EPPIC/Habitat Symposium: Shaping Our Environment. Johannesburg, EPPIC (P.O. Box 61019, Marshalltown 2107), 1980. R3 per set of 2 issues. H. P. Patra and K. Mallick. Time-varying geoelectric sounding. Amsterdam, Elsevier, 1980. 420 pp. D.S. $87.75. Die Suid-AfrikaanseSteenkoolverwerkingsvereniging. Steenkoolvoorbereidingskursus. J ohannes burg, die Vereniging, 1930. 335 pp. Members of Chamber of Mines of South Africa R15, nonmembers R40. D. R. Derry. A concise world atlas of geology and mineral deposits. London, Mining Journal Books, 1980. HO pp. £26.25 byairmail. 2. Journal Remote sensing of environment (RSE). 3. NIM reports Report No. 2064 The on-line monitoring of gold in barren solutions. Report No. 2065 The determination, by X-ray-fluorescence spectrometry, of gold, silver, and base metals on activated carbon. Report No. 2068 The determination of platinum, palladiuim, rhodium, and gold in ores and concentrates by the fusion technique with lead as the collector. Report 2061 The determination, by anodic-stripping voltammetry, of copper and lead in silicate reference materials. Report 2062 The reduction by computer of photoplate data obtained by spark-source mass spectrornetry. Report 2071 The determination, by X-ray-fluorescence spectrometry, of tin and tungsten in scheelite and ca8siterite ores and concentrates. Tunnelling Tunnelling '82, the third international symposium in the series, is being organized by the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy, with the co-operation of the British Tunnelling Society, the Institution of Mining Engineers, and the Transport and Road Research Laboratory.

Jan 1, 1980

By T. Kagogo, M. Neser, C. Knobbs, E. Gerryts

"Contrary to the way it is often portrayed, the average organization or company is far from being a cold, calculating machine. It is actually a highly emotive place where interaction with people is a fundamental part of its ability to perform satisfactorily.The company, through its employers, expects employees, including new graduates, to have the ability to cope adequately with this emotive environment. The graduate is frequently unable to meet this expectation because he/she has not been developed to do so. Technical knowledge is his only asset. This deficiency manifests itself in leadership shortcomings, both intrapersonal and interpersonal. Further analysis reveals a deficiency in three elements of leadership - self-awareness, oral communication, and an ability to work cooperatively in teams.To address these three elements of leadership, Sasol Coal, a subsidiary of the big petrochemical company in South Africa, sponsored a leadership programme at the University of Pretoria for their final-year bursary students in the faculty of Engineering. This programme, the Sasol Engineering and Leadership Academy (SELA), consisted of a number of interventions designed to address the three areas of self-awareness, oral communication, and cooperative behaviour in teams. These interventions varied from an intrapersonal nature to interpersonal aspects. Psychometric assessments were followed by experiential modules dealing with the three constructs.SELA was evaluated at the end of the year. The results showed a positive shift in the main constructs of self-awareness, communications, and cooperation. This was measured quantitatively and qualitatively. Conclusions were drawn and recommendations for improving the programme were proposed."

Jan 1, 2014

By C. Knobbs

Contrary to the way it is often portrayed, the average organization or company is far from being a cold, calculating machine. It is actually a highly emotive place where interaction with people is a fundamental part of its ability to perform satisfactorily. The company, through its employers, expects employees, including new graduates, to have the ability to cope adequately with this emotive environment. The graduate is frequently unable to meet this expectation because he/she has not been developed to do so. Technical knowledge is his only asset. This deficiency manifests itself in leadership shortcomings, both intrapersonal and interpersonal. Further analysis reveals a deficiency in three elements of leadership ? self-awareness, oral communication, and an ability to work cooperatively in teams. To address these three elements of leadership, Sasol Coal, a subsidiary of the big petrochemical company in South Africa, sponsored a leadership programme at the University of Pretoria for their final-year bursary students in the faculty of Engineering. This programme, the Sasol Engineering and Leadership Academy (SELA), consisted of a number of interventions designed to address the three areas of self-awareness, oral communication, and cooperative behaviour in teams. These interventions varied from an intrapersonal nature to interpersonal aspects. Psychometric assessments were followed by experiential modules dealing with the three constructs. SELA was evaluated at the end of the year. The results showed a positive shift in the main constructs of self-awareness, communications, and cooperation. This was measured quantitatively and qualitatively. Conclusions were drawn and recommendations for improving the programme were proposed.

Jan 1, 2014

By Etienne Audibert

No satisfactory theory has yet been advanced to explain what takes place when an explosive is fired in a mixture of firedamp and air. The only means of measuring the' danger is to fire the explosive into the gas mixture and note the effect, but the conditions of firing must be chosen carefully. This report is presented in the hope that it will assist in determining what method to use. The experiments have been designed to show the effect of the principal factors involved in the conditions of firing, and the results give information that seems to have some value.

Jan 1, 1940

By Etienne Audibert

No satisfactory theory has yet been advanced to explain what takes place when an explosive is fired in a mixture of firedamp and air. The only means of measuring the danger is to fire the explosive into the gas mixture and note the effect, but the conditions of firing must be chosen carefully. This report is presented in the hope that it will assist in determining what method to use. The experiments have been designed to show the effect of the principal factors involved in the conditions of firing, and the results give information that seems to have some value.

Jan 1, 1940

The Bureau of Mines found sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), released from a lecture bottle, to be an ideal gaseous tracer for studying mine ventilation systems. Air samples were collected in glass syringes and analyzed by electron-capture gas chromatography. In these studies, the lower limit of detection was about I part per billion by volume (ppb) of SF6 per part of air. Experiments conducted in a Pennsylvania limestone mine showed this technique useful in evaluating the effectiveness of auxiliary fans, measuring low flow velocities, probing the air circulating near a working face region where ventilation appeared to be poor, and estimating volumetric flow rates in airways of large cross-sectional area and having low flow velocities. This technique was also used in a western vein-type metal mine to measure the amount of return air being recirculated into the intake air due to leakage through old stoped areas.

Jan 1, 1974

By J. S. Dunning

One Federal Bureau of Mines research goal, to minimize requirements for domestically scarce mineral commodities through conservation and substitution, can be accomplished by utilizing more abundant elements such as iron, molybdenum, and titanium. An example of this research is the study of precipitation-hardening, iron-base alloys containing molybdenum and titanium, as substitutes for the high-tonnage stainless steels that are high in imported nickel and chromium. The precipitation hardened iron-base alloys are strengthened by a dispersion of the ternary Laves phase, Fe2 (Mo, Ti). Aluminum and chromium additions changed the solid solubility limits of molybdenum and titanium in a-iron and affected the composition of precipitating phases. A baseline composition of Fe-7Mo-2Ti was selected to study the effects of aluminum and chromium additions on the precipitation-hardening mechanism and microstructure and was also used in studies of mechanical properties and oxidation resistance. The study yielded workable, precipitation-hardening alloys, with elevated temperature strengths equivalent to or superior to types 304 and 316 stainless steels. Chromium and aluminum additions in combination were more effective in providing oxidation resistance than either addition was alone.

Jan 1, 1980

By Jean J. Tancous

Chromium recovery from wet-blue offal trimmings and shavings can be done with substantial chemical cost gains by incineration at 600° C for 5 hr. Pretreating the offal with 0.5 M Na2C03 and air-drying prior to incineration produce Cr04 .By simply incinerating the offal, without pretreatment, an ash containing water insoluble Cr203 was produced. The Cr203 in the ash was purified by leaching with water. Chromium and crude protein were efficiently extracted from offal using 5 pct Na103, 5 pct H2S04, and 3 pct NaCl at 40° C. This procedure was effective but expensive. Satisfactory leather as to odor, appearance and shrinkage temperature was made from chromium recovered from wet-blue offal by incineration and by extraction. Chromium conservation is possible by recycling chromium liquors and by precipitating chromium from spent tanning liquors prior to combining these liquors with other tannery wastes. Combining chromium liquors with other wastes introduces contaminants that make chromium recovery and reuse difficult. Leaching sludges with H2SO4 produced marginal chemical cost gains. Leather tanned with these solutions had satisfactory shrinkage temperature but the sludge odors and iron contamination were objectionable.

Jan 1, 1979

6889. Aslakson, C. I., and Swick, C. H. Gravity Observations in Peru and Colombia. Coast and Geodetic Survey,-Special Pub. 233, U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C., 1943, 18 pp. (Price, 10 cents.) In accordance with the policy of cooperation among American republics, the-United States Coast and Geodetic Survey in 1941 made gravity surveys in Peru and-Colombia. The information was desirable for determining the figure of the earth for geophysical purposes and for studying the relationship between intensities of gravity and deflections of the vertical. The survey instrument was the Brown pendulum apparatus. 11 gravity stations were established in Peru and 13 in Colombia. The results obtained at these stations are given in a table covering observed gravity, theoretical gravity, and anamalies. - V. S.

Jan 1, 1943

By B. R. MacKay

Introduction During the past six seasons the writer has been engaged in semi-detailed investigations on the coal areas lying along the front of the Rocky mountains between the Brazeau river and the Smoky River Coal Reserve (see Map, Figure 1). The purpose of this paper is to present some observations pertaining to the stratigraphy and structure of the district, touching especially upon the lithological units into which the Lower Cretaceous sediments have been divided, the thicknesses of the formations at different localities, the number, thicknesses and horizons of the principal coal seams, and the structural conditions which exist in the various fields.

Jan 1, 1930

By S Lal, S Rost, Q Williams, K Collerson

"An EXTENDED ABSTRACT is available for download. A full-length paper was not prepared for this presentation. Shoshonite suite (absarokite-shoshonite-banakite) and adakite-hosted epithermal Au deposits are a feature of circum-Pacific magmatism. Fijian examples include Tavua (Emperor) and Tuvatu on Viti Levu. New discoveries of shoshonite suite and adakite-hosted epithermal Au mineralisation have been made in the southern Yasawa Islands and in central-northern and central-western Viti Levu. The Fijian shoshonites define four NE–SW trending suites. The oldest is the northern 7.9–5.0 Ma Yasawa suite, followed by the 4.7–3.5 Ma Sabeto–Tavua–Rakiraki suite in northern Viti Levu, the 4.7–4.2 Ma Yanuca–Vatulele suite approximately 20 km south of Viti Levu and the 3.4 Ma Astrolabe suite approximately 75 km further south. Shoshonite suite lithologies with 3.8–3.0 Ma ages also occur in the Lomaiviti islands between Vatu-Cake and Moala, to the east of Viti Levu, defining a trend oblique to the NE–SW shoshonite belts. Seatura, a 3.3–2.8 Ma ocean island basalt (OIB) volcano, sits at the northern end of the Lomaiviti trend shoshonites. Trace element/isotopic chemistries indicate that shoshonite arc magma genesis involved the melting of a hydrated supra-subduction zone mantle wedge and also a lower mantle-derived plume (OIB) component. The upwelling plume provided heat for melting and possibly Au enrichment. Accessing the melt generation zone associated with the plume required a slab conduit or window. Such slab windows form by tearing during subduction or occur at slab edges. Adakites form by plume-induced slab melting. The four NE–SW Fijian shoshonite suites are interpreted to occur in back-arc extensional zones above a slab window (tear) that migrated southward during rollback of the New Hebrides–Vanuatu subduction zone. The plume (Seatura OIB) that is interpreted to have caused mantle wedge melting and formation of the Lomaviti trend shoshonites was focused along the interface between the north-dipping Vanuatu–New Hebrides subduction zone and the west-dipping Tonga subduction zone, which we have seismically imaged at approximately 400 km depth. Our model ‘cracks the metallogenetic code’ for shoshonites and adakites and has regional and global implications for Au exploration.CITATION:Collerson, K, Lal, S, Williams, Q and Rost, S, 2015. Cracking the metallogenetic code for Fijian epithermal gold mineralisation , in Proceedings PACRIM 2015 Congress, pp 219–226 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne)."

Mar 18, 2015

By J. E. Misiewicz, A Rozendaal

Paper presented at Geofluids '93, held in Torquay, UK, 4-7 May 1993. The tin field consists of a fragment of Lower Proterozoic volcanosedimentary rocks surrounded by granitoids. Almost all the significant deposits are hosted by arkoses and are classified as replacement and space-filling types, with particular styles of mineralisation dominating at different mines. Petrological and geochemical investigation of borehole cores from four centres indicated the presence of a stratified zone 500-600 m thick and continuous over at least 20 km along strike, consisting of pervasively altered clastic arenitic sediments. The alteration is zoned into a grey-green sodic albitised footwall, an 80 m thick sericitised-tourmalinised sulphidic tin zone and a red haematitic potassic hanging-wall. The zoning and the localisation of three cassiterite phases are consistent with the tectonic history and with multiple pulses of stanniferous hydrothermal fluids derived from late differentiates of the granites over a prolonged period. Areas of high fracture density acted as conduits for the fluids, whose initially rapid ascent was retarded by decreasing pressure contrast, limited development of fracturing and/or impermeable shaly arkose to cause lateral spreading and pervasive alteration over a broad, stratified front. Lateral overlapping of local fronts at the various centres suggests a continuous zone, while the many petrological and geochemical similarities point to a shared fluid composition

Aug 1, 1995

"Shales play a major role in the stability of slopes, both natural and engineered. This paper attempts to provide a review of the state-of-the-art in shale slope stability. The complexities of shale terminology and classification are first reviewed followed by a brief discussion of the important physical and mechanical properties of relevance to shale slope stability. The varied mechanisms of shale slope stability are outlined and their importance highlighted by reference to international shale slope failures. Stability analysis and modelling of anisotropic rock slope masses are briefly discussed and the potential role of brittle rock fracture and damage highlighted. A short review of shale slopes in open pits is presented.INTRODUCTIONShales have been stated to form approximately 58% of sedimentary rock so it is not surprising that they are frequently encountered in both natural and engineered slopes. They represent challenging environments for slope stability due to the wide variation in their engineering properties, their changing behaviour with time due to geomorphic processes and the variation in the failure mechanisms as a function of both stratigraphy and tectonics. An extensive body of literature exists on the terminology and classification relevant to shales; it is not possible in the scope and length of the current paper to review these works in detail and the reader is referred to Farrokhrouz and Asef (2013), Bell (2000) and Goodman (1993) for detailed discussions. It is arguably the case that no universally accepted classification of shales exists today and depending on the field of application the terminology varies widely. Shales in slope stability, for the purpose of this keynote paper, are taken to include material varying in properties from weak rocks to soils and therein lies one of the most challenging aspects in shale slope characterisation for engineering purposes. They have been classified as “rock-like” or “soil-like’, (Underwood 1967) or compacted and cemented, Table 1, Yagiz (2001). Classifications have considered numerous factors including composition, cementation and a wide range of engineering properties.The propensity of shales to degrade with time due to geomorphic processes has resulted in an important aspect in their classification, that is, the attempts to incorporate slaking, durability and swelling and softening behavior through purpose developed testing methods (Gamble 1971, Morgenstern and Eigenbrod, 1974). Figures 1 and 2 show examples of terminology used to describe argillaceous materials and some proposed engineering classification schemes (Grainger 1984 and Bott 1986). Corominas (2014) provides a recent classification of argillaceous rocks and their durability relating five stages of slope deterioration to the texture of the rock on Ternary diagrams. No attempt will be made here to discuss the merits of the proposed terminology and classifications, suffice it to say, that the controversy and flux surrounding these issues is a strong indicator of the complexities in the behavior of these materials. In this paper the author will consider slope stability in the materials indicated in Table 1, Figures 1 and 2 without undue focus on terminology. At the lower strength limit of shales the engineer must design slopes using the principles of soil mechanics which may vary from the simple Mohr Coulomb plasticity constitutive criterion to modified critical state models, some even attempting to incorporate softening behaviour in the weaker clay shale materials. Given the transitional nature of shale materials several workers have treated overconsolidated clays and clay shales using concepts such as peak and residual shear strength, brittleness index and softening. Martin and Stacey (2013) provide a useful review of the importance of weak rocks in open pit mining, with mudrocks as a specific member, and note the importance of delayed failure, progressive failure and loosening in the stability of"

Jan 1, 2015

By Clyde L. Brown

The ignition source of fires and explosions in coal mines is sometimes difficult to explain because resulting widespread destruction often erases valuable evidence that might reveal the cause. However, through years of experience, investigators have been able to piece together enough evidence to establish the reasons and, thereby, have been equipped to recommend corrective or preventative measures. The pattern of hazards is not constant. It changes with the development of new practices and new equipment. Important among the new hazards to coal mining are those introduced by electricity. In addition to the dangers of electric shock, fires and explosions from heat and arcs, and premature blasts, certain others have developed as a result of stray electric currents from direct-current traction systems. The conventional direct-current power-distribution system in coal mines is conducive to electrolysis damage to mine tracks, metallic pipelines, grounded power conductors, and structures in a position to become conductors of stray currents. The voltage drop resulting from power demand on intentionally grounded power conductors and accidental grounds on insulated conductors are common sources of stray currents in coal mines. Uncontrolled electric cur-rents flowing through the earth and metallic structures can be a menace, and these contribute to the estimated $6,000,000,000 annual loss caused by corrosion. The purpose of this publication is to discuss some of the electrolysis hazards in the coal-mining industry and to outline corrective measures to alleviate them.

Jan 1, 1962