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The offshore Maui gas/condensate field was discovered by Shell BP and Todd on Services Limited in 1969. Subsequent appraisal drilling and negotiations with the Government led to a development agreement, æThe Maui White Paper' being concluded in 1973. Part of this agreement provided for the Government to take a 50 per cent shareholding in the field. The field is comprised of a double domed anticlinal structure containing two gas reservoirs at depths ranging from 2700 - 3000 m. Water depth is 110 m. The development plan called for two standalone steel platforms to be installed sequentially over a period of some years depending on gas demand. The first platform (MPA) was put in place in 1976 but difficulties were experienced with piling and drilling of the 12 (later increased to 14) wells did not start until 1978. First gas was piped ashore late in 1979.

Jan 1, 1994

By M. Rufli

Until not so long ago most ring geared mills were operated with fix speed motors only. By using the latest generation of medium voltage frequency converters, new possibilities have arisen to improve the grinding process. Beside all the direct and indirect advantages, several dedicated functions have now been implemented for ring geared grinding mills in the minerals industry. The sophisticated operational functions ensure a smooth, safe and reliable operation with minimum stress for the mechanical equipment and therefore utmost availability of the mill. Several papers have already been presented concerning the benefits of using this state of the art technology for mill drives. Now this paper is focusing on the experiences gained with this kind of sophisticated ring geared mill drive system rather than only show and explains the operational benefit of the different functions. Several measurements of different operating conditions, starting, frozen charge remover, controlled roll back, backlash, etc., made on an installed and commissioned 2 x 5 MW dual pinion ring geared mill drive system will be shown and discussed. The accuracy of the load sharing between the two 5 MW motors during starting, normal operation and stopping will be demonstrated using real measurements from an operating system. Finally the inherent features of these drive systems are briefly discussed.

Jan 1, 2011

By Georgy Cherkashov, Svetlana Babaeva, Tamara Stepanova, Firstova. Anna

Seafloor massive sulfides (SMS) study in the Russian Exploration Area at the northern equatorial Mid Atlantic Ridge began after signing the contract with International Seabed Authority in 2012. In order to evaluate the SMS resources in the course of exploration the major and rare metals with economic value should be determined. The evaluation is based on geochemistry and mineralogy and particularly on the type of rare metals occurrence in the SMS. As a case study research of the Semyenov cluster of SMS deposits have been conducted.

Sep 1, 2014

In February 2001, Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines (KCGM) commissioned its first full-scale ultra fine grinding (UFG) plant to supplement existing roaster concentrate treatment capacity. This process involves the fine grinding of refractory pyritic concentrate to 10µm, followed by direct cyanide leaching for the recovery of gold. By this means gold is economically extracted from the concentrate without the need to first oxidise the host pyrite. This paper details the history of the project from initial laboratory testwork comparing possible treatment options, to current performance of the 12 tph plant. This includes the cost comparison of the major treatment options, the laboratory and pilot scale UFG performance, the UFG mill selection, cyanide leaching of UFG product, commissioning and plant performance to date.

Jan 1, 2002

By K. M. Kim

A site-specific blasting model has been developed for the Asarco Mission mine. The main inputs to the model are the in-situ block size (F80), the post-blast fragmentation (P80) and the intact tensile strength (To). The output from the model is the specific blast energy (ESE). Modern techniques are being used to obtain the input parameters for the site-specific blast fragmentation model. In particular, image processing software is used to obtain both the in-situ block size and the post-blast fragmentation, and the Schmidt hammer is used to obtain the tensile strength at numerous locations throughout the rock mass. An initial model was developed using five test shots in one area of the mine that contains Argillite and is relatively homogeneous. This also included calibrating Schmidt hammer readings against actual Brazilian tensile measurements. The model for Argillite will be updated as more tests are conducted, and the model will be extended to the other four primary rock types at the Asarco Mission mine.

Jan 1, 2011

By J. Trow

Dowsing is really IESG which inductively locates electric gradients (dv/dx) on the flanks of SP anomalies. "Sensors" are in one?s head. The "meter" consists of one?s body, limbs, and two $.69 welding rods. The method was calibrated near Mamainse Point, Ontario, where IESG-negative chalcopyrite-bornite-chalcocite-native copper ores reveal mineral zoning related to the IESG-positive Keweenaw fault, down which oxidizing solutions moved. In Michigan, the IESG-positive Keweenaw fault suggests that oxygen-bearing solutions from the Jacobsville Sandstone moved downward to oxidize hydrothermal sulfur to produce native copper, and to supply sufficient water to satisfy Walter White.

Jan 1, 1992

By James M. Riddle

A discussion of frequently asked questions may help individuals trying to interpret subsidence regulations or prepare permit applications. The subsidence permitting process involves just one part of the mass of Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act regulations. But of the 18 main SMCRA sections, subsidence is critical to the permitting process for coal operators. It's an area in which applicants have had problems interpreting regulations and preparing permit applications. Of 22 western states, only Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, and Utah heave thus far received approval for their mining and reclamation plans. The other states are now involved in the permit application process and will be dealing with SMCRA regulations for the next year or so. Some state programs, when approved, may differ substantially from the federal SMCRA program. But, to be approved, the state programs must be deemed equal to or more stringent than the federal regulations. SMCRA regulations apply to any coal operation "that exhibits surface effects." Thus they apply to surface strip mines as well as underground coal operations. The regulations do not apply to hardrock mining operations. Since August 3, 1977, the government, industry, and the public have wrestled with SMCRA. They have struggled through an initial program with the US Geological Survey; a new agency, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM); an interim program; and a "final" permanent regulatory program. Even now, OSM is reluctant to publish formal program guidelines because: •The regulations are still in the process of judicial review. • Some approvable state programs will supersede the federal regula¬tions. • The flexible regulations are open to interpretation, which is desir¬able to maintain. •Guidelines could be misleading until regulations and interpretations are revised and finalized.

Jan 12, 1980

By Denis Thibodeau

The selected mining method for the Rodeo lower Zone is slot and slash. Initial design indicated that the stope height should be limited to a maximum of 18 m, thus six levels were needed to extract the ore. Higher stope height in the Rodeo Lower Zone means less development thus less capital required to extract the available reserves. It was proposed to eliminate one level by establishing 30 m and 24 m level intervals. To ensure that no stability problems will be encountered by eliminating one level, a Matthew analysis, based on diamond drill core information, was performed for the Lower Rodeo Ore Body. In addition, comparisons between the rock mass quality of Meikle Main Zone below 1825 L and Meikle East Zone between 1600 L and 1750 L with the rock mass quality of the Lower Rodeo were made

May 1, 2002

By Garry M. Johnston, Matthew L. Sutcliffe, Nicholas J. Welham

"The predominant current processes for the treatment of oxidized copper–cobalt ores use a reductive acid leach to bring the desired metals into solution. However, the indiscriminate nature of acid leaching results in a solution, akin to a metal soup, containing not only the Cu and Co but also an extensive suite of other metals. These other metals, notably Fe, Mn, Al, Ca, Mg and Si, all have to be eliminated from solution before the copper and cobalt can be recovered. Generally precipitation processes are used, but these tend to result in significant losses of copper and/or more usually cobalt from solution, leading to reduced recoveries. The AmmLeach® process uses ammonia-based chemistry to selectively leach the target metals, leaving the rest behind in the leach residue. This approach eliminates any need to clean the solution of unwanted metals and the consequent metal losses. After solid–liquid separation, the leach solution is immediately subjected to separation and concentration of the copper and cobalt using solvent extraction and electrowinning. INTRODUCTION The Copper Belt extends through the northern part of Zambia and the southern province of Katanga in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and contains the richest and highest grade deposits of copper and cobalt remaining in the world. Whilst there are a number of mines that produce sulphide concentrates, using froth flotation, the largest deposits are those where near-surface sulphides have been weathered over time to form oxides. The oxides cannot be concentrated by conventional physical means to give high recoveries. Despite this, a number of dense medium separation plants have been installed and used to produce a higher grade concentrate which is typically exported (while the rejects, typically 2 to 3% Cu are stockpiled for treatment at a later date). These plants generally have low recoveries and can only be used on the dwindling supply of high grade materials. In exporting the concentrate, little value adding is undertaken within the country, thus greatly reducing the economic benefits to the country. Recent changes to the regulations in the DRC will effectively ban the export of low value ores, concentrates and intermediates in favour of high value metals. This will necessitate mines to install new processing circuits in order to comply with these regulations. The head grade of ores currently being treated in the DRC is slowly decreasing as the extremely high grade materials are being selectively mined out. In many cases, the removal of a small volume of high grade materials leaves a much larger volume of economically marginal ore behind. This is due to a desire for short-term profits overtaking long-term prosperity. The remaining ore, which in many cases is still of relatively high value by world class standards, is likely to be only treatable by low cost heap leaching. There are some initial trials of heap leaching within the DRC, but implementation at a large scale has yet to be adopted."

Jan 1, 2015

By Charlie Watts, Ken Smales, Ron Fleming

The Manapouri Power Station is an underground hydro-electric station located in the South Island of New Zealand, and was constructed in the 1960s. Between 1997and 2002, a second 10m diameter tailrace tunnel was constructed to increase the out-put and to improve the overall hydraulic efficiency and output of the station. A critical economic and project approval consideration for the second tunnel was the outage time required for the breakthrough into the power station. The power station is in part dedicated to providing power to an aluminum smelter with the balance to the National Grid, and apart from the physical problems associated with providing an alter-native power supply to the smelter, the loss of generation revenue and supply risk were significant issues. Innovative planning reduced the planned outage time from several months to21 days, and the breakthrough was eventually achieved in 11 days as a result of additional value engineering measures implemented during construction. This paper describes the engineering optimization that took place during the planning stages of the project and later during construction, as well as describing the construction methodology used.

Jan 1, 2007

By P. J. Watson

The objective of this study was to prioritize the potential risks nuisance and biologically active dusts and fumes present in metal and nonmetal mines. This was accomplished by ranking numerical values derived from a matrix formula calculation that took into account dose, mine population, and sampling size. Data used in these calculations were obtained from the Mine Inspection Data Analysis System (MIDAS). The dusts determined to have the highest risk potential were quartz respirable particulates, mine dust, cristobalite respirable particulates, welding fume components, and nuisance respirable dust. Other dusts and fumes that were not ranked in this study, due to small sampling population, but which show a potential risk, include asbestos, talc, hydrogen cyanide, organic compound dusts, arsenic, metal dusts, and metal and nonmetal fumes.

Jan 1, 1987

By Carl Johnson, D. R. Todd

The Blue Ridge Low Level Outlet (LLO) was a design/build contract to provide a secondary means of discharging water from the Blue Ridge Reservoir. The project involved driving a 3.25 m (11 ft) modified horseshoe tunnel by 293.5 m (963 ft) long utilizing conventional drill and blast methodology. The intake shaft and structure were constructed inside of a sheet pile cofferdam surrounded by a maximum of 20.1 m (66 ft) of water. The shaft was excavated 4.87 m(16 ft) diameter to a depth of 12.8 m (42 ft) below the tremie slab elevation. Steel lining, including a transition from 3.66 m to 2.74 m (12 to 9 ft) diameter and a90 degree elbow were installed in the inlet shaft and then backfilled with concrete. This paper will describe the RFP phase, the design phase, challenges of the underground construction and contractual challenges.

Jan 1, 2005

By Lee J. Raabe

A specialized loading system for tensile and fatigue testing of wire rope was constructed and installed in the U.S. Bureau of Mine Wire Rope Test Facility in Bruceton, Pennsylvania. The computer-controlled closed-loop servo-hydraulic test system which can apply up to 800,000 pounds of force on the rope while stretching it up to 30 inches will be used in the development and verification of hoist rope retirement criteria for ropes in the 1 to 2 ½ in. diameter range. Characteristics and capabilities of the system are discussed.

Jan 1, 1984

By Cyril Wells, Paul E. Busby, Donald P. Hart

EARLY workers in the field have established that the diffusion of nitrogen follows normal diffusion laws. Concentration-penetration data from layer analyses of reasonably pure iron specimens nitrided in an atmosphere of CO-NH, are given in the literature,' and were utilized to calculate diffusion constants for nitrogen. The diffusion of nitrogen in y-iron may be represented approximately by the equation D - 1.07x10-' e-:".'m'"'r The diflusion coefficients, D, given by this relation represent mean values, since carburization occurred simultaneously with nitriding. The rate of diffusion in a-iron has been determined from calculations based on data obtained by measuring the internal friction of samples at each of several frequencies and temperatures.' The expression for the diffusion of nitrogen in a-iron derived from these experiments is D= 1.4x10-1 e-it tudent Increasing carbon content decreases the diffusion of nitrogen in a-iron.3 Oxygen, either dissolved or combined, has been shown' to exert a marked influence on the diffusion of nitrogen from a nitriding atmosphere. D values increase rapidly with increasing amount of dissolved oxide in the metal, but diffusion is completely inhibited if preliminary oxidation has produced the slightest trace of iron oxide on the surface. Diffusion coefficients have also been calculated from permeability and solubility data,' but these values are of questionable accuracy since the boundary conditions assumed may not actually exist. Experimental Method The method selected for determining the diffusion coefficient of nitrogen in a-iron in the present investigation was the so-called fractional saturation method. This method consists of heating the specimen in an atmosphere of H2-NH8 mixtures of known composition for a predetermined time. Following this treatment, the specimen is analyzed for nitrogen; and the diffusion coefficient is calculated from a known relationship of the fractional saturation, time of diffusion, and dimensions of the specimen. This relation is based on a solution of Fick's second law and assumes that the surface of the specimen immediately reaches a given concentration which remains constant during the diffusion anneal. Tabular solutions are available4-5 and provide the relationship between fractional saturation and the quantity \/Dt /a, where D is the diffusion coefficient in cm2 per sec, t is the time of the diffusion anneal in seconds, and a, in the present experiments, is the half-thickness of the slab specimen in cm. The method is adequately discussed elsewhere.9-10 Material The material for this study consisted of 3/32 in. thick (0.24 cm) carbonyl iron plate. The major impurities in this iron are oxygen and carbon, which are readily removed by long time high temperature treatment in an atmosphere of purified hydrogen. In order to reduce the diffusion anneal time for saturation runs, some of this material was rolled to a thickness of 0.015 in. (0.038 cm) prior to the hydrogen treatment. Hydrogen treatments were carried out in a hydrogen-purified Armco iron tube heated in a global

Jan 1, 1957

By Garry Keizer

The Cortez gold mine is located in Lander County, NR, about 130 km (80 miles) southwest of Elko. Cortez Gold Mines (CGM) is a joint venture between Placer Dome US Inc. (60% operator) and Kennecott Corp. (40%). The claims that supply oxide and refractory ore feed to the Cortez milling facility are located in both Lander and Eureka counties. These include the Cortez and Horse Canyon deposits, all operated by the joint venture. Other deposits outside the CGM claim area include Fire Creek, Buckhorn, Gold Bar and Tonkin Springs. These deposits all occur along the Battle Mountain-Eureka Trend. History Mining in the Cortez district began in 1862 with the discovery of high-grade silver ores. Grades in the hundreds of ounces per ton occurred in an area 7 km (4.5 miles) southeast of the current CGM mill site. Underground mining through the Garrison and Arctic tunnels provided the bulk of the ore production between 1864 and 1895. To a lesser extent, the Mill Canyon area also supplied ore until 1930.

Jan 1, 1993

By A. M. Krzanowski, T. S. Golosinski

"This paper presents results of a study undertaken to determinethe feasibility of mining plains overburdens with bucket wheel excavators. Based on extensive geotechnical testing of overburdens under study, the relations between material geotechnical properties and its cuttability were defined. The properties with the highest correlations to the cuttability werethen used to develop the material diggability classification. This classification may be used for identification of overburdens and coals mineable by bucket wheel excavators.IntroductionLow cost of mining and high productivity can be achieved when mining unconsolidated soils and soft rocks with bucket wheel excavators. As a result this mining equipment will likely be introduced into plains coal mines. At present there are plans to use a bucketwheel excavator (BWE) in at least one mine by the end of this decade. Unfortunately, the performance of a BWE deteriorates rapidly with the increasing strength of mined material. To avoid costly misapplication, material diggability must be defined in advance of an application (i.e. the force required at the cutting edges of BWE buckets must be quantified). Correct definition of material diggability permits reliable selection of a BWE, or may indicate unsuitability of this equipment for a particular application.The reported studyu i was undertaken to investigate the diggability of typical prairie overburdens and thus provide a guidance for likely future applications of bucketwheel equipment. Investigations concentrated on the parts of overburden most likely to create problems for a BWE mining. These are defined in Table 1. At present, thin layers of the two investigated materials (samples K and L) are mined by a BWE in an oil sand mine, after being loosened by blasting."

Jan 1, 1987

By Q Johnston

Since its inception in 1990, improved metallurgical processing technologies, coupled with mine planning enhancements and improved geological knowledge, have sequentially enabled better efficiencies and economies of scale at the Macraes Gold Project. Over a period of 11 years, processing enhancements have been achieved by: +        increasing mill throughput, from one million tonnes per year, to current throughput of 3.9 million tonnes per year; +        improving recovery rates, from 70 % to approx 84 %; and +        performance enhancement through innovation, eg the use of kerosene to combat ClL pregrobbing. Future processing improvements have been identified in optimising the ore feed and processing flowsheet. The introduction of the autoclave has transformed the process flow form a traditional 'mill headgrade and tonnes milled' operation, to a 'sulphur/gold ratio and sulphur tonnes oxidised' operation.

Jan 1, 2001

By Gerry Houlahan

The east span of the 3.5 km long SF-Oakland Bay Bridge is supported by different types of foundations along its span. Starting from the west, its first 460 m section comprising twin concrete box-girders is supported by sands and rock on Yerba Buena Island. A 620 m long steel suspension span then bridges a 25 m deep channel that is formed in sediments overlying rock. Twin concrete box girder structures, each 2.4 km long, complete the stretch over the remainder of San Francisco Bay to the engineered earth fill landing at its east end. For most of its length, the Skyway bridges water 3 to 10 m deep over soft surficial Young Bay Mud. The foundation types include spread footings with hold-downs, steel and concrete piles that are set in drilled rock sockets up to 3 m in diameter and 2.5 m diameter steel tubular piles driven to penetrations of up to 100 m. The design and construction-related considerations are presented. The different foundation types, influences of the site geology and earthquake demands on the substructures are discussed. The seismic motions of the bridge superstructures and substructures, as well as the depth-varying soil motions, influenced the foundation design. Together with performance-based design criteria, including post-earthquake footing displacement limits, these seismic demands influenced various aspects of the foundation design, including the use of battered and vertical piles.

Jan 1, 2005

Collaboration between education providers is the key to long-term sustainability and improved quality in mining education. The mining industry is now, more than ever, an industry doing business on a global basis. Staff are recruited by global mining companies in many different countries and can find themselves deployed anywhere in the world. The mining engineer of tomorrow must be willing to take on this international challenge, and must be educated to a level where he or she has a comprehensive grounding in technical aspects of mining engineering, but also a well-founded appreciation of management, social, environmental and cultural issues that may be encountered around the world. In order to deliver such an education, academic providers must collaborate at both a national and international level. This paper provides an overview of progress that has been made in Australia through the national joint venture ? Min¬ing Education Australia (MEA). Supported by the mining industry in Australia, through the Minerals Council of Australia (MCA), MEA has been operational since 2007 and is seeing the development of a range of innovative courses and delivery methods, together with a high level of staff cooperation across the country. MEA has also commenced some international teaching initiatives that are seen as a catalyst for a far greater degree of international collaboration in the future. Such activity is not only to the benefit of the students who are taught by experts from around the world, but it also ensures that individual univer¬sity programs remain viable in terms of staffing numbers and financial performance. The paper also presents some statistics on recent upward trends in mining engineering student numbers from around the world, in response to the global shortage of mining engineers.

Jan 2, 2010

By María Julia Ubillús Mellet

El presente texto complementa el estudio de las estrategias de seguridad en las empresas mineras a través de la alienación de las herramientas de gestión humana en una cultura de seguridad y prevención competitiva, de forma que se mejore el estilo de gestión en seguridad de los equipos gerenciales en las empresas mineras, y se desarrolle un manejo adecuado y responsable entre el área gestión humana y cultura organizacional. En ese sentido, la excelencia de gestión en seguridad radica en que el elemento humano se conecte de forma sistemática a las estrategías que la organización plantee.

Sep 12, 2005