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By J. P. Rider

Along with increased production from longwall units has come the likelihood of increased worker noise exposures. In recent years, equipment has become larger, more powerful, and noisier than its predecessors. For these reasons, the Mining Division of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is investigating worker noise exposure on longwall faces and researching possible solutions to reduce this exposure. Part of this research effort involves studying the effect of covering the underside of longwall shields with acoustical material to reduce reverberating noise along the face. Experiments using acoustical absorptive insulation to cover the undersides of the shields, shearer body, and the shield supports were conducted at the full scale simulated longwall test facility located at the Pittsburgh Research Center. Sound levels were recorded every l.5 m [5 ft] along a 15.2 m [50 ft] section of the simulated face for all of the conditions tested. The analysis of the data indicated that a 2.0-3.0 dBA noise reduction was achieved between the shearer drums and a 4.0-5.5 dBA attenuation was attained upwind of the headgate drum.

Jan 1, 1997

By J. Kennedy

Rare Earths: Understanding The United States complete failure of status and relevance in Rare Earth Oxides, Elements and Alloys. Although rare earth oxides are strategic and critical in their own right, elements and alloys are even more important for the development of "Green Technologies" and advanced weapons systems. America does not have an active domestic source of rare earth oxides. America does not have any Heavy Rare Earth Elemental or Alloy capabilities. The magnitude of this failure continues to become more apparent as the manufacture of REO based electronics and magnetic components moves eastward towards China. China has succeeded in outmaneuvering The United States and the world in its quest to control the Rare Earth Oxides, Elements and Alloys, and the many industries dependent upon REO. What can be done?

Jan 1, 2010

By A. L. Slaughter

A mineral deposit has been discovered and explored sufficiently to establish the presence of ore in ?commercially marketable quantities," This is the point at which exploration ends and development begins, Of course, when the presence of commercially marketable quantities of ore are thought to be present the deposit had to be evaluated before this decision could be reached. If, on the other hand, it was thought that commercially marketable quantities of ore are not present, either more exploration has to be done or the project must be abandoned. It is this decision with which this paper is concerned, more particularly, the influencing factors behind this decision. The final question to be answered is: what profit can my company reasonably expect to make by developing this property and putting it into production? The answer must be expressed as a figure for final profit per ton, money which can be used to pay dividends or to build up cash reserves. Some acquisition cost has probably been paid and the exploration cost incurred at the time of decision, (abandonment or development). In addition to returning these acquisition and exploration costs, the deposit must pay development, mining, milling, capital expense of new plants and equipment, taxes, and various other related costs.

Jan 1, 1958

By Pierre Filiatreault, Brian Straight, Stephanie Thibeault, Devin Castendyk, Londie Cameron

"Working on or near water at active, closed or abandoned mine sites is inherently dangerous. Between 1996 and 1999, the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) reported 17 fatalities involving drowning at U.S. metal, non metal and coal mines (MSHA, 2000). Openpit mines which fill with water following mine closure, called pit lakes, present numerous risks to environmental monitoring teams including: a) drowning, b) hypothermia, c) falls to the ground from the top of high walls, d) collapse of unstable access roads, e) rock falls and avalanches from pit walls, f) avalanchegenerated tsunamis traveling across the lake surface and g) rapid degassing events.Some pit lakes are simply not safely or easily accessible for ongoing monitoring. However, the routine collection of water samples from the entire water column on a regular basis is needed to monitor the evolution of water quality over time, verify the accuracy of numerical predictions and, ultimately, manage lake water chemistry and ecological risks. For pit lakes with surface water discharge, regular monitoring is used to appropriately design and adjust water treatment plants in order to produce acceptable site discharge water quality.As a product of these risks and the need for water samples, mining companies spend considerable expense on pit lake safety as part of monitoring programs. This includes training personnel for on water duties and hazards, purchasing or hiring specialized equipment and personnel (such as boats, boat operators, personal floatation devices and cold-water clothing called mustang suits), stabilizing pit walls and maintaining safe access roads to the lake surface and employing spotters who can directly communicate with emergency medical services to watch sampling activities because cell phones and radio signals can be blocked by pit walls. Some sites utilize redundancy to prepare for unexpected incidents and accidents. For example, one Canadian mining company requires two boats on the water during pit lake sampling events, with a third boat on the shoreline, gassed and ready to go. In addition, water samplers are required to hold Marine Emergency Duties training to ensure the entire boat crew is sufficient and competent for the safe operation of the vessel in the event of an accident."

Jan 7, 2017

By Rick Frechette, Greg Nelson

"The 2018 Elko Roundtable was held at the Red Lion in Elko, NV on March 15, 2018. The gracious host was once again Knight Piésold. Attendance was robust with representatives from more than 14 mining properties across Nevada representing nine corporations. Total attendance was at its highest in almost a decade. A high level of interest was also gauged by the number of companies with multiple attendees.The topic of water in mining was clearly a factor in creating the large show of interest. In terms of industry trends that are tracked annually, this topic had been absent from the list for more than 10 years (Deloitte, 2018) but was squarely planted there this year. And deservedly so. Three attending companies are signatories of the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) which espouses a firm stance on water stewardship (ICMM, 2017).How’s the water?It is reported that water scarcity affects more than 40 percent of the world’s population (Deloitte, 2018). Consumption of water in the United States, based on the last detailed census, entails only 1.5 percent usage by the mining industry. The largest users are reportedly thermoelectric power and irrigation, combining for more than 75 percent of the U.S. consumption. During the prior census period, water usage at mines was up dramatically (USGS, 2014).Mine water source usage is primarily a mix of ground water and saline or fresh surface water resources. Over the previous period, saline sources experienced the greatest percentage in growth as a mine water source, nearly doubling in use. Nevada ranks second as a state nationally in mine water consumption. California is the leader, and Nevada is immediately followed by Utah and Alaska (USGS, 2014).Water rights in Nevada and the ongoing litigation at the state level, particularly over the Humboldt River basin, have elevated the concern over the supply of water and have raised the interest regarding the topic of water across the mining industry as well as within other industries.The Elko Roundtable meeting began with a safety share and introductions, and included each attendee mentioned a water problem or solution that he or she would like to discuss during the day. An interesting list of subtopics was developed from this round robin and yielded the following most common themes:• Mine pit dewatering during operation and pit wall stability.• Draindown from tailings dams and heap leach pads and dealing with this at closure.• Post closure pit lakes, pit lake water quality and associated water rights."

Dec 1, 2018

By B. P. Faulkner

In 1974, Allis-Chalmers, in corporation with several iron ore operating companies, began to evaluate direct firing of coal in the GRATE-KILN System. Several coals were ground at the Allis-Chalmers Process Research and Test Center and shipped to Cleveland Cliff's pilot plant near Negaunee, Michigan, where they were used as fuel to pelletize Empire magnetite concentrates in the CCI pilot-scale grate kiln. Pilot plant tests were sufficiently favorable to warrant testing in a commercial-scale pelletizing plant. These tests were conducted at the Empire Mine in the late summer and fall of 1974 and again in the summer and early fall of 1975. In the fall of 1975, Allis-Chalmers Mining Systems Division started a program, in the Advanced Technology Center, designed to develop a laboratory test procedure for the evaluation and study of various parameters associated with the direct firing of coals in a GRATE-KILN System. The initial results of this program were presented at the 50th Annual Meeting Minnesota Section, AIME, January, 1977. This paper will briefly review the initial laboratory work and discuss the latest results obtained.

Jan 1, 1977

By Paul H. Earl

This paper discusses the evolution of a modeling methodology for explaining price behavior in the aluminum industry. Three generations are described, each utilizing as a foundation a microeconomic stages-of-processing approach. The second generation represents an improvement over the initial version, by incorporating more rigorous specifications of energy cost, and market strength (demand-supply balance) as well as endogenous treatment of market strength. International linkages across prices, costs, and markets, are the major extensions in the third generation. The discussion covers theoretical considerations, data problems and limitations, and model specifications. Simulation and forecasting properties of the models are also addressed.

Jan 1, 1979

By Miguel Angel Banuet Rodriquez, Hector Conceso Aragon

"Construction of the longest road tunnel in Mexico is part of Acapulco’s alternate roadway to the scenic roadway project. This article provides a brief summary regarding details of the construction since the project began. Work was done by skilled engineers and Mexican workers that includes outstanding execution of the work in an urban and tourist area. This project will have a strong impact on the steady development of the port of Acapulco.Project locationAcapulco’s Alternate Roadway Project is currently under construction in the city of Acapulco, located in the Guerrero state of Mexico. It is an 8-km (5-mile) long roadway that starts at the Icacos neighborhood, heading toward Acapulco’s airport, crossing a drill-and-blast tunnel that is 3,160 m (10,350 ft) long under Veladero Park, a mountainous area. The tunnel overburden reaches a depth of 380 m (1,250 ft) approximately at the central point of the horizontal alignment, and continues with a 4-km (2.5-mile) long elevated road to connect to the existing Viaducto Diamante toll road (Fig. 1).Tunnel construction has already been finished using two portals for drilling and blasting operations; Brisamar Portal on the west side and Cayaco Portal on the east side (Fig. 2).Geometric dataOnly two main excavation cross-sections were considered in the executive design. The first one corresponds to the running tunnel for a three-lane vehicle section, with crosssection areas between 120 and 130 m2 (1,290 and 1,400 sq ft) taking into consideration different geological and geotechnical conditions to be encountered (Fig. 3).The second one corresponds to eight emergency bays, each one 50 m (164 ft) long, laid down within the tunnel outline, located at 400 m (1,312 ft) from each one with excavation cross-sections between 156 to 169 m2 (1,680 to 1,820 sq ft), in accordance to geological and geotechnical conditions to be encountered (Fig. 4).The tunnel’s horizontal alignment is completely straight, having a small curve within the vertical alignment on Cayaco portal, because there were some differences in levels when tunnel excavation started. Tunnel slopes were designed in such a way that rainwater does not run down into the tunnel at any time."

Jan 3, 2018

By R. V. Ramani, K. V. Raj, S. Bandopadhyay

The air flow problems in openpit mines are complex. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models can provide detailed information regarding air flow pattern, velocity distribution, temperature, and pollutant concentration in an enclosed domain of an openpit mine. A range of turbulent models can be selected with varying complexity and accuracy. Pollutant transport models, however, differ in their assumptions and structure as well as in the algorithms they use. As a result, predictions vary from model to model. This paper presents a study of pollutant transport in an actual openpit mine under a stable boundary layer. The objective was to test two turbulence models using similar geometry and the same input conditions and model constants. Measured data were used to compare the results of the two CFD models, namely, the kappa-epsilon (к-є) model and the Large Eddy Simulation model. Despite the complex synoptic situations, different meteorological input data and fast-changing conditions, the simulation results from both the models were in good agreement regarding the dispersion of pollutants.

Jan 1, 2015

By K. L. Ludeke

For many reasons it appears that deep-rooted, perennial shrubs offer potential for improved stabilization and provide maintenance-free vegetative cover to harsh sites where perennial grasses have not been successful. The very fact that a drought-adapted shrub has a massive root system that can use moisture from a greater volume of mineral waste soil materials suggests that long-range arid environment resource development may be greatly enhanced by utilization of desirable forage shrubs. An effort is underway to assemble information and plant materials of promising species from many arid regions of the world. Surprisingly, many of the better plants for arid sites are quite high in protein content, and with proper management, breeding, and selection may prove to be very desirable livestock feed. Advancements in arid-land solid waste stabilization hold favorable promise for many industries that mine and mill in arid regions for effective reclamation of disturbed areas. Particularly exciting is the possibility of establishment of high density maintenance-free vegetative cover of climax vegetation that reclaims the disturbed area back to its original land use. Because of high shrub productivity, stabilization potential, nutritional quality, and reclamation success, greater use should be made of shrubs in disturbed land reclamation associated with mining and milling operations in harsh arid environments.

Jan 1, 1984

By David Newman

"Horizontal stress can have a profound effect on the stability of an underground limestone mine. The presence of horizontal stress is usually determined once the mine has been developed and the orientation of headers and crosscuts are well established. Multiple attempts are typically made to control roof falls without re-orienting the mine. Once the decision has been made to change the orientation, pillar centers, mine opening widths, and the question of how to determine the correct orientation must be answered.A case history is presented to illustrate how geologic structure, ground conditions and roof falls in adjacent mines, the World Stress Map (Heidbach et al., 2016), in-mine measurement of “cutter” roof orientation, the orientation of strata offset (cats eyes) within borescope holes, and the diametral deviation method of determining horizontal strain from drill core were used to establish the most likely range of horizontal stress.The main headers were re-orientated in a direction parallel to the median of the range of horizontal stress. The crosscuts were angled 60° to the headers to avoid being perpendicular to the horizontal stress direction. Pillar centers and opening widths were increased in the favorable stress direction of the mains and decreased in the less favorable crosscut orientation. The major principal horizontal stress magnitude was estimated using the strain measurements from the diametral deviation method and elastic modulus obtained through testing.INTRODUCTIONOver the past decade, there has been a significant increase in the number of underground stone mining operations in the United States. As stripping ratios at surface quarries become uneconomical and reach the extent of the mineral boundary, coupled with the encroachment of urban development on previously rural mining operations, the remaining mine reserves are best accessed through underground development.Although the majority of underground limestone mines in the Midwest are in relatively flat lying deposits with minimal geologic structure, many Appalachian mines are in folded and faulted environments. Tectonic horizontal stresses associated with multiple orogenic episodes are locked in the formation and are released as the underground mine is developed.A common misconception is that horizontal stress impacts are more prevalent at shallow depths where the ratio of horizontal to vertical stress may be high. However, field observations and academic research indicates that horizontal stress conditions may be encountered at any depth due to the tectonic compression of the limestone formation (Esterhuizen et al., 2007; Dolinar and Esterhuizen, 2007; Iannacchione et al., 2003; Slaker, Murphy, and Miller, 2017; Kuhnhein and Ramer, 2004). This paper outlines mine design and layout guidelines for the mitigation of horizontal stress impacts on underground stone mining operations through a case history example. This approach to mine planning and the ability to anticipate horizontal stress can significantly improve future production of multiple levels (Newman and Newman, 2019). As underground stone production continues at deeper depths and in more geologically and geometrically complex mining conditions, an emphasis on ground control and the anticipation of horizontal stress can provide safer and more productive single and multiple level mining operations."

Jan 1, 2019

By Don L. Deardorff

The Deserado Mine and transportation system is the fuel supply portion of the Bonanza Power Plant project. Deserado Mine con¬sists of an underground mine with a capacity of 1,224,700 tonnes (1,350,000 tons) of clean coal per year, a 649 tonne (715 tons) per hour closed water circuit jig type preparation plant, a 5.6-kilometer (3 ½ -mile) overland conveyor with covered slot storage, a unit train rail load-out and 59.5 kilometers (37 miles) of totally independ¬ent, captive electrified railroad. Planning and exploration started in March of 1978. Construction of all facilities was completed in April of 1984, approximately six years after initial planning was commenced. This paper will discuss exploration, environmental permitting, mine planning, engineering and construction of the Deserado Mine project.

Jan 1, 1984

By Fred Heivilin

A symposium on the characterization and toxicology of mineral dusts was held Sept. 19 and20 in Washington, D.C. The symposium was held to update the minerals industry, the health community, government agencies and academia on the technical, health and regulatory aspects of minerals to be evaluated by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).In October 1996, the IARC met in Lyon, France, to discuss and prepare “Volume 68 of the IARC Mono-graphs on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans on Silica, Silicates, Dusts and Organic Fibers.”

Jan 1, 1996

By Vikram P. Mehrotra

A laboratory investigation was carried out to study the influence of asphalt, bentonite and corn starch binders on the pelletization kinetics of coal fines and on the quality of the resulting pellets. Pellet quality was evaluated in terns of the compression strength, impact resistance (drop test), abrasion resistance and resistance to severe weather conditions. The amount of binder addition did not significantly influence the pellet growth kinetics. However, the pellet quality varied markedly depending upon the type and the amount of binder used. Experimental results are explained on the basis of the mechanism of interaction between the coal particles and the binders. Of the three binders tested, corn starch proved to be the best in all respects but for the resistance to water penetration. Finally, a combination of corn starch (imparting strength) and asphalt emulsion (imparting resistance to water penetration) was found to yield the best quality coal pellets.

Jan 1, 1981

By M. Downing

This paper gives a brief overview of impacts of coal blending on coal-fired power plants performance and discuses the preliminary results of an on-going study aimed at evaluating the effect of coal properties on the effectiveness, compatibility and thermal reactivity of coal blends. Plant survey studies reported no significant impacts on an existing plant designed for a high rank coal when switched to a blend of low-and high-rank coal. However, slight modification of some aspects (handling, fuel storage/stockpile, transportation, preparation, and general housekeeping) of plant design and operation may be necessary. The preliminary results of an on-going study at the Mineral Industry Research Laboratory shows that more compatible and better blends could be made from coals where ranks are closer than from those where ranks are far apart.

Jan 1, 1997

By Paul R. Wieber

This paper describes the U. S. Energy Research and Development Administration's (ERDA) program to develop in situ coal conversion processes, especially gasification, he potential of this technology, the technical directions being explored, and the program strategy to carry the process concepts toward commercialization are emphasized. The geographic location of the U. S. coal resources and a market analysis are described. Commercially successful in situ coal processes could add over a trillion tons of coal to the U. S. coal reserves. The economics of these processes is compared with surface gasification independent studies show this process to be 25Z cheaper than surface gasification for Western coals. The major projects are briefly described. The Linked Vertical Well process is in the lost advanced stage and shows great promise. The last test produced a low-Btu gas averaging 171 Btu per standard cubic foot for average pro¬duction rates of 5.5 million standard cubic feet per day. The other projects are Packed Bed, Longwall Generator, and Steeply Dipping Beds.

Jan 1, 1977

By Christopher J. Bise

It is somewhat reassuring to note that the United States has an abundance of coal reserves which can be used to bridge the widening gap between the nation's energy production and consumption. The U. S. Bureau of Mines has recently established a demonstrated coal reserve base of 434 billion tons. (31)(Figure 1) As can be observed, the major percentage of the reserves is in the West. Although surface coal mining in the West has been gaining increased attention in recent years, western reserves that must be deep mined are significantly greater. Though deep mining activity in the west is very limited and accounts for less than 2% of the annual production, the primary reason, quite probably, is the greater thickness of the seams as compared to those found in the East. Forty-five billion tons of the western demonstrated coal reserve base for underground mining are in seams greater than 10 ft. in thickness. (37) Thick coal seams do not lend themselves readily to extraction with the underground mining methods practiced in the United States today. Experiences from the practices in other countries can serve only as guidelines. Consequently, a concerted effort is necessary to overcome the technical difficulties.

Jan 1, 1975

By A. López-Valdivieso, M. A. Corona-Arroyo, M. Llamas-Bueno

Magnetite (Fe3O4) ore is concentrated by low-magnetic-field drums to recover a magnetite concentrate that is low in silica (SiO2). The presence of SiO2 in the magnetite concentrate for steel production increases the steel processing costs, so a major challenge in magnetic concentration is to lower the SiO2 grade in the Fe concentrate. This work presents studies that were carried out on the removal of SiO2 from the magnetite concentration at the plant scale. Studies were performed with a three 36 × 96″ drum unit processing 46 ton/h of rougher magnetite concentrate. These studies showed that silica appears in the magnetite concentrate by three mechanisms, namely SiO2 entrainment in Fe3O4 chains, heterocoagulation between Fe3O4 and SiO2 particles, and mineral locking of SiO2 to Fe3O4. The SiO2 entrainment mechanism had the highest contribution (75%) to the SiO2 recovered in the Fe concentrate. Electrokinetic studies on Fe3O4 and SiO2 showed that heterocoagulation occurs because of the low negative zeta potential of the minerals at the pH of the plant slurry. This study also showed that a high percentage of ultrafine size SiO2 particles trapped in Fe3O4 agglomerates was not removed by the dilution water for the slurry fed to the drum. To lower the SiO2 recovery in the drum magnetic concentration process, work should be directed towards the removal of trapped SiO2 in Fe3O4 agglomerates.

By Dan S. Nilsson

Small-scale mines are today expected to provide much of the increased production of metals, industnial minerals and coal this country demands in the future. But what is the size trend in the mining industry?

Jan 1, 1980

By Joseph W. Murray

Prior to 1950 Magma's ore production came from two parallel, steeply dipping, east-west striking mineralized faults, one called the Main or Magma vein, and the other the Koerner vein, which lay about 1100 feet to the south, This vein system has been explored and mined over 9000 feet horizontally and 4800 vertically. In 1950 continued exploration led to the discovery and subsequent development of replacement ore bodies in the Devonian limestone zones adjacent to the veins. These replacement deposits occur in the eastern part of the Magma Mine, and follow the strike and the 30" east dip of the host limestone. Strike length of the ore bodies varies from 250 to 500 ft., and thickness from 15 to 125 ft. The ore bodies are large tabular masses with chalcopyrite and bornite being the dominant ore minerals. Hematite and pyrite are the most abundant gangue minerals. Incompetent limestone, shale, or a porphyry sill hanging wall is charactertistic of substantial portions of the replacement beds. In many instances the ore itself is blocky, badly fractured, and intermixed with layers of limestone gouge, pyrite and hematite.

Jan 1, 1973