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Analysis for pillar extraction potential (A-PEP) is an intelligent tool, which could be used as a preliminary output indicator when considering the secondary extraction of regional support pillars in the Witbank and Highveld coalfields of South Africa. The safe and economic extraction of underground coal pillars is of paramount significance and importance to the South African coalmining industry to ensure continuity of supply of this fossil fuel. Pillar extraction practices in South Africa have been responsible a significant proportion of safety and fatality statistics in relation to its relative output (less than 5 per cent of total South African coal production) and, as a result, research was undertaken in local pillar extraction operations and extended to similar operations in New South Wales, Australia to assess a way forward for pillar extraction in South Africa. It was found that, although little in the way of new technologies has emerged in this field in the recent past, significant contributions could be made in the field of risk analysis to obtain a generic design methodology for pillar extraction in South Africa. The resultant A-PEP tool to assess pillar extraction potential is based on certain physical, risk and economic factors, which combine to indicate operational success in terms of economic, health and safety attributes. At the time of A-PEP?s development there was alack of operating underground coal pillar extraction operations, which made it difficult to validate its applicability. Since then, however, A-PEP has been successfully tested and validated against two unique underground coal pillar operations, which is the discussion of this paper. One operation is situated in the Witbank coalfield and is extracting pillars, which are 20 years old and at a depth of 80 metres below surface, while the other operation is situated in the Highveld coalfield-which is extracting 6 month-old-pillars underneath a massive dolerite sill at a depth of 220 metres. A-PEP has shown that its predictive nature is consistent the workings at both operations, irrespective of their unique conditions, and as such it can be successfully used as a mine planning tool. The A-PEP mine planning tool thus represents a positive step toward an integrated approach to underground coal pillar extraction when considering legal and operational aspects, which could form the basis for legislative guidelines when considering the future of pillar extraction in South Africa.

Jan 1, 2005

An Integrated Solid Waste Management Method for Western Macedonia, Greece

Sep 13, 2010

Project cost control procedures and computer systems have enjoyed a successful and simple relationship over the past decade, thanks primarily to the proliferation of portable computers or PC's. Prior to the introduction of this technology, project control was largely a manual and somewhat onerous task of historical data compilations, with little time available for dynamic forecasting, staged planning, or pre-emptive cost control. Automated systems developed during this era were resident on "Heavy Iron" or mainframe computers and were expensive to maintain and operate. Use of these early systems was limited to large engineering, construction, and industrial concerns with the economies of scale and funding required for their successful application. Systems were either designed for critical path analysis or task scheduling, but rarely integrated with the other, much less cost control.

Jan 1, 1990

Oil sands processing generates huge volumes of slurry, known as tailings, that is being stored in tailings ponds. The volume of produced tailings is a very important factor in oil sands surface mine planning, because the available area for dam construction is limited to the lease areas. On the other hand, oil sands operators cannot leave mine sites without reclaiming the tailings ponds. Since most of the reclamation material is generated in either oil sands mining or processing, it is reasonable to include reclamation material requirement as part of long-term mine planning. In this paper, an integrated optimization framework is proposed to maximize the net present value (NPV) of the produced oil sands, with respect to tailings capacity constraints and reclamation material requirements. A mixed integer linear programming (MILP) model is developed to find the optimal solution for long-term mine planning problem. A sample bitumen processing flow sheet is used to formulate the volume of produced tailings, based on Clark hot water extraction method. To verify the proposed model, it is coded in Matlab and run using CPLEX. Run results for real-case oil sands dataset show that the optimal production schedule meets material requirements for reclamation, tailings volume is within tailings capacity range in all periods and the production schedule follows the predetermined horizontal direction.

Feb 27, 2013

By K. Kasas, J Kermeci, S. Vujic, S. Secei, P. Kermeci

On the ‘Majdan III’ open pit mine, supplying with brick clays the production plants of the industry of building material ‘Potisje-Kanjiza’ from Kanjiza, a modern ECS (excavator-conveyor-spreader) complex was built, integrating four bucket excavators, six conveyors and one spreader into a whole. This complex connects the mineral-exploitation unit with the final brick-products plant of the company. Monitoring and management of the ECS complex is carried out by modern computer-supported information-management system (IMS) implementing most modern measuring-regulation, computer and GPS equipment. It was concluded that, for safety reasons, the functions of the IMS should be developed by a component of active visual monitoring of the ECS complex. For this purpose, the task of making a project on intelligent system for visual monitoring of the ECS complex was entrusted to the Department of Computer Application at the Faculty of Mining and Geology, University of Belgrade. This paper gives a review of basic project solutions. Keywords: Automation, process management, information management technology, visual system, intelligent systems, TV monitoring, surface exploitation, clay, Majdan III, Potisje-Kanjiza.

Jan 1, 2003

By J. E. Udd

"In early 2000, CANMET-MMSL was engaged by the Ontario Ministry of Labour (OMOL) to conduct an international study of the practices, in several key mining jurisdictions, of determining the criteria that are used to decide when the wire ropes used in mine hoisting are to be retired from service. Subsequently, the author visited key officials and institutions in Canada, the United States, the Republic of South Africa, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Poland. Material from the Australian province of New South Wales and Hungary was also included.The report that resulted included, among other sections: (1) the history of wire ropes and trends in manufacturing technology; (2) a review of mine hoisting practices; (3) the requirements regarding safety factors; (4) a review of the various operations and their potential future development; (5) the criteria for rope replacement; (6) potential future developments that could take place in both hoisting and rope inspection practices in Canada; and (7) recommendations.Subsequently, the report was issued by OMOL, and as a CD-ROM by CANMETMMSL. In this paper the author presents the key findings and the recommendations made in the study."

Jan 1, 2004

By S. V. Burr

"A 28-year study of cross folds leads to the conclusion that the northwest-southeast folds recognized in many areas of North America are part of a regional pattern. Detailed examination of over 650 geological maps and reports of Ontario indicates that this folding can be traced across the province. Evidence is presented that this fold pattern played an important part in determining the pattern and scale of intrusion, that its recognition in the field can aid in defining stratigraphy, folding and faulting, and that it may have played an important role in channeling hydrothermal or magmatic mineralization. IntroductionThe concept of regional cross folding in Ontario is not new. W.H. Gross (1955) discussed regional cross folds in the Archean of Northwestern Ontario, and A.M. Goodwin (1961) referred to regional cross folds in the Archean of Ontario and Quebec. However, the interpretation in this paper is new.The writer saw a cross fold for the first time, underground, at Little Long Lac Gold Mines in Geraldton, Ontario, in 1951. This recalled the ""transverse folds"" on E.R. Faribault's classical maps of Nova Scotia, published by the Geological Survey around the turn of the century; M.E. Hurst's cross fold(s) at Timmins, Ontario (Figure I); and the cross folds mapped by A.W. Jolliffe in the Yellowknife area of the Northwest Territories. All these mapped cross folds had one thing in common with the fold at Little Long Lac: A northwest-southeast axial trend. Were such cross folds of purely local extent, or might they be indicative of a widespread regional fold pattern? If so, has such folding any significance for mineral exploration or potential?By 1959, based on a study of about 1000 Canadian geological maps and reports, including 291 in Ontario, the writer reached the conclusion that cross folding trending northwest-southeast is so widespread as to constitute a pattern of folding, and that such cross folding should produce changes in plunge along pre-existing greenstone fold belts."

Jan 1, 1980

By Greenwood J. N

This work was commenced at a time when information on the manufacture of cemented tungsten carbide was urgently needed in Australia. Much information of a general type has been published, but many of the details of the processes used are still undisclosed. The aim of this research was to determine a satisfactory way in which cemented tungsten carbide could, be made, and to investigate the problems which are associated with the process. As the work proceeded, its ramifications grew continually, and it was necessary to limit the possible lines of investigation. After much experimental work, a 9% cobalt-tungsten carbide alloy was developed which had satisfactory properties when used as a cutting tip. The effect of certain variables on the properties of this particular alloy was investigated.The tungsten carbide was prepared in stages from King Island scheelite concentrates under strict laboratory control, whilst the cobalt (1) used was made from cobalt oxide prepared from crude cobalt oxide obtained from Eisdon.In order to clarify the detailed experimental work, a brief summary of the method used for the preparation of cemented tungsten carbide follows.Tungsten carbide and cobalt are prepared in a very finely powdered state, and are then thor,oughly mixed by a ball milling operation. The resultant mixture is pressed in a suitably shaped die into small compacts which are subsequently '''presintered,'' i.e., heated' in hydrogen between 800°C. and 1000°C. The final sintering is carried out in hydrogen between 1,400°C.and 1,600°C. for about half an hour. These "alloys" may contain from 3 to 13% cobalt, depending on the particular properties required of them.PREPARATION OF MATERIALSThe tungsten oxide prepared as described by Smithells (2) was extremely finely divided, and after a few hours' grinding in a ball mill, the powder consisted of material below 10 microns iJ;l size. The oxide was reduced to tungsten metal with hydrogen in a tube furnace. The reduction was carried out at 800-900° C., a rapid flow of hydrogen being maintained in order to remove the water vapour' formed as a result of the reactions:

Jan 1, 1942

By Bruno Bussière, Guosheng Zhan, Michel Aubertin, Vincent Martin, Robert P. Chapuis

The study evaluates the hydrological behaviour of exposed and covered waste rock dumps. The objectives were to determine the major factors influencing unsaturated flow in waste rock dumps and covers, and to improve the in-situ, laboratory and numerical modeling characterization methods. Using material properties obtained from in-situ and laboratory tests, waste rock dumps of different configurations, with and without covers, were modeled. It was found that a properly designed “Store, divert and release” (SDR) cover allows most of the water to be diverted downslope and discharged outside of the waste rock dumps. The SDR cover seems to work efficiently even in extreme storm events. The numerical modeling results show that the unsaturated hydraulic properties (e.g. air entry value and water entry value) of the materials largely control the infiltration of water into waste rock dumps.

Jan 1, 2005

The aim of this research was to study the absorption characteristics of thermally dried fine coal from South African collieries. After milling to ?150 µm and pressure filtration, the samples were subjected to either air drying or thermal drying at 150°C. The samples were then put into a climate box at 28°C and at three different relative humidity levels, namely 30, 60 and 94 per cent. It was found that the equilibrium moisture content of thermally dried coal at a specific relative humidity was lower than that of air dried coal. The relationship between the equilibrium moisture content and relative humidity is described by 1 ? RH = exp (-KTMen). There was no relationship between the volatile matter content and equilibrium moisture content, but there was an increase in the equilibrium moisture content of the coal with an increase in mineral content. The moisture uptake rate increased with an increase in temperature and a decrease in particle size. A model is discussed that fitted the experimental data and gave a good prediction for changes in the conditions. There was no evidence of greater moisture absorption by thermally dried coal. Keywords: Fine coal, thermal drying, drainage, South Africa, drying

Jan 1, 2002

By M. S. P. Rampedi

The paper reports on a vacation work project conducted at Khuseleka No. 1 Shaft, Anglo Platinum, where there was a need to optimize the transport of personnel to level 15 and below. Approximately 900 men per hour need to travel between the shaft and the start of the current chairlift system. Time studies were used as the major indicator of the extent of the current problem, and it is recommended that a new chairlift system be installed to cover the distance from the vertical shaft station at level 15 to the chairlift decline station on level 15. A capital cost of approximately R10 million is necessary to carry out the proposed recommendation. Khuseleka No. 1 Shaft has the capacity to wind 1070 people per hour, and the current labour complement going to the level 15 shaft station stands at 1570 employees; thus at optimum efficiency the proposed chairlift system could transport the entire shift to the start of the current chairlift system in only 1 hour and 45 minutes. Reducing the distance walked at the start of the shift may also have an impact on productivity.

Jan 1, 2012

By M. C. Bhulose

Paper written on project work carried out in partial fulfilment of B. Eng (Mining Engineering) degree The purpose of this project was to identify constraints that could occur in the current sub-decline shaft at Turffontein Shaft should an increase in production take place. Particular attention was to be paid to the transportation of men and materials and to the broken rock and ventilation capacity of the shaft. This project is an in-depth evaluation of the logistic capacity of the sub-decline system at Turffontein Shaft in order to determine by how much production can be increased in this area to replace tonnages from the vertical shaft area, where ore reserves are rapidly becoming depleted.

Jan 1, 2004

Common brattice cloths in use in Australian coal mines are compared by permeability measurements. The respective advantages of twill weave and tarpauling* weave cloths are listed, and the improvements to be obtained in the ventilation of a mine by using tarpauling cloths instead of the commonly used twill cloths are stressed. Plastic cloths are widely used overseas and are briefly discussed.INTRODUCTIONThe onset of extensive full-scale mechanization in Australian coal mines during the past few years has increased attention given to the ventilation of working places. Many inadequacies of the present system have been brought to light and not the least of these is connected with the use of brattice cloth, both in directing the flow of air around the face and in acting as a temporary sealing mechanism. A well-constructed line of brattice will only provide fair ventilation for a distance of 100 ft. Beyond this point the volume or air reaching the face falls off rapidly.Some of the shortcomings associated' with the use of brattice cloths are:1. Hurried installation, necessitated by a rapid advance, often results in poor workmanship with, consequently, an excessively high leakage rate.2. High places caused by falls of roof are difficult and time-consuming to seal.3. Curtains, in lines of brattice crossing transport routes, are difficult to maintain.4. Lines of brattice interfere with rock-dusting and clean-up of fine coal.5. Repair and maintenance of brattice consumes much...

Jan 1, 1959

By Keith A. Heasley, Lee W. Saperstein

This paper investigates the use of backfill zones and yielding pillars for subsidence control. The investigation begins by choosing an appropriate subsidence predictive technique to simulate the proposed subsidence-control schemes. Two case studies are performed in order to delineate the accuracy and utlility of the chosen predictive technique and then the results of these case studies are used to establish appropriate sets of regional site parameters. Next, a detailed analysis of the major variables affecting the outcome of the subsidence-control simulations is conducted and graphical displays of the exact sensitivity of the surface subsidence to these variables are given. Finally, alterations to the surface subsidence that are expected from using two major subsidence-control techniques are presented. The first technique to be assessed is a backfilled pillar centered longitudinally in a panel. With this arrangement, a minimal amount of backfill material can produce substantial decreases in vertical displacements. The second technique to be assessed is the use of yielding gate pillars to reduce the sinuosity of the transverse subsidence over adjacent panels. With proper design, this technique can greatly curtail surface strains and help minimize remedial drainage control.

Jan 1, 1986

By J. J. Kim

In a study of buildup in a green-feed reverberatory furnace, it was determined that approximately half of the crucible area has a moderate buildup of 25 in. or less, and that the area extending 45 f t from the burner end of the furnace has only a slight buildup. The false bottom, averaging 6 in. in thickness, was found to cover the entire crucible area. The stratification of Cr2O3, A12O3, and SiO2 occurs throughout the slag layer; this phenomenon is the principal reason for the formation of the false bottom in the green-feed reverberatory furnace. The false bottom is caused primarily by the settling of FeO*(A1,Cr),03 aggregates, which are derived mainly from returned converter slag. The false bottom can be transformed to a solid permanent buildup in the furnace, particularly when the matte is completely withdrawn. From the material balance of Al2O3 and Cr2O3 around the furnace, It is estimated that the average rate of aluminum chromite accumulation is approximately 0.3 ton per day or less.

Jan 1, 1976

By P Duplancic and C R Lilley, R Hudson, D Beck

For deep block and panel caving mines, undercut or extraction level instability can have as much impact on overall recovery as underbreak or the premature ingress of waste. If the area of the mine affected by excessive convergence is small, recovery is usually possible. However, there are several examples of entire blocks that were abandoned prematurely due to footprint collapse. Clearly, such global instability has a major impact on recovery and must be avoided – this is one of the essential tasks for the design team.The design problem is complex. The planning engineer must ensure that the footprint has sufficient capacity to withstand the maturing loads in the cave, accounting for the effects of stress path, geological structures and the rock mass conditions. These are often uncertain and only sometimes quantified.The demand on the footprint will also be influenced by decisions and actions taken during production, especially related to draw, which can worsen a developing problem. Perhaps most importantly, the design decisions that favour stability and lead to lower deformation also negatively impact on idealised cave flow. Many engineers aim to minimise the size of extraction level pillars, to improve theoretical future resource recovery but in fact this can reduce recovery if widespread deformation ensues due to the undersized pillars.In 2014, PT Freeport Indonesia undertook detailed numerical analysis to quantify the effects of variability in rock mass conditions and geological structure on overall footprint performance. The analysis accounted for a range of stress paths and maturing cave loading scenarios sourced from a calibrated whole-of-cave deformation-flow model. The intent was to replicate some of the diversity and distribution of pillar deformation outcomes that may be seen in practice at Freeport.The discontinuum finite element analysis was able to replicate damage localisation around persistent structures, a realistic distribution of drive deformation and show how small areas of instability can evolve into major problems if poorly managed. The limits of pillar size and ground support as solutions to a number of different instability problems was also investigated, showing that pillar size alone was not a sufficient remedy for all adverse circumstances.In this paper, we describe the workflow for numerical analysis of footprint deformation. We discuss the compromises and considerations for balancing the sometimes competing needs for efficient extraction levels pillars, ground support and prudent draw strategy.CITATION:Beck, D, Hudson, R, Wilson, A D, Duplancic, P and Lilley, C R, 2016. An investigation of factors affecting the long-term reliability of extraction level pillars in deep block and panel caves, in Proceedings Seventh International Conference and Exhibition on Mass Mining (MassMin 2016), pp 295–304 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

May 9, 2016

Grouting is mainly used to improve mechanical properties or decrease the permeability of rock mass around civil and mining projects. The purpose of this paper is to present the most effective factors on grout penetration depth in rock mass. Such factors are essential for reliable estimation of the grout penetration depth and the expense for cement take of any grouting project. In this paper, about 50 different types of the relations presented so far by various researchers to estimate the depth of penetration in fractured rock were studied. The effective factors are classified to rock mass properties, grout properties, and operational factors. Results show that firstly, the discontinuities aperture and Lugeon value are respectively the most investigated factors of rock mass properties influencing on penetration depth. Secondly, the yielding stress, viscosity, and density of grout are the most effective factors of grout properties. Finally, grouting pressure has an intense effect among other operational factors. The investigations were also verified in Siah Bishe dam case study. Keyword: grout penetration depth, rock mass properties, grout properties, operational factors.

Feb 27, 2013

By L. Bbosa

Paper written on project work carried out in partial fulfilment of BSc (Hons) (Eng) (Mechanical) degree Discrete element methods (DEM) are being used to provide detailed impact histories of the particles in comminution devices, such as mills. To match this immense detail of information, far more informative breakage tests than those that are generally conducted are now required. The split Hopkinson pressure bar apparatus is used in this study, as it allows the calculation of breakage forces and absorbed energies. The geometry of rock particles has been identified as significant, so this project undertook to identify the influence of shape on the breakage pattern of blue stone. Comparisons are then made between the breakage pattern of angular rocks and rounded, milled rocks for single impact fracture and consecutive impact loading at low energy. Results of this experiment indicate that although breakage for both geometries occurs over a similar energy range, rounded particles have the greater probability of fracture because they absorb more of the impact energy for a given loading. Size distributions of progeny show that five pebbles or more are sufficient to predict the distribution of most particles in small energy regimes. Cumulative impact testing shows that considerably more energy is required to break a rock through cumulative damage than through a single impact?this is of considerable importance in the light of the indications from DEM simulations that most breakage in a mill will be from cumulative damage rather than single impact breakage.

Jan 1, 2006

By Tiezheng Li

Keywords: Laminate Composites; Mechanical Behavior; Damage Evolution The mechanical performance of Ti-6-4-Al3Ti metal-intermetallic laminate (MIL) composites synthesized by a reactive foil sintering technique was evaluated. Crack morphology of untested Ti-6-4-Al3Ti MIL composites has been characterized by optical microscopy. Mechanical tests were performed on Ti-Al3Ti metal-intermetallic laminate (MIL) composites and pure Al3Ti, and the principal mechanisms of damage initiation and accumulation were identified experimentally. The elastic properties and anisotropy of the laminates were calculated and successfully compared with Resonant Ultrasonic Spectroscopy (RUS) measurements. The effect of residual stress on the fracture toughness of the Ti-6-4-Al3Ti MIL composites was analyzed.

Jan 1, 2005

By F. P. Hassani

Today, mine backfilling has become an integral part of mining operations, both from a local and overall ground control point of view, and as regards mining techniques and environmental considerations. During the past decade, substantial research has been carried out to contribute to the better understanding of the mechanisms involved in mine backfill behaviour. This work involved analytical, experimental and numerical studies at different scales. Accordingly, this work has been aimed at developing backfill design guidelines for actual working conditions. Backfill design for deep mining conditions is complex and requires understanding of various elements. The most important of these elements are: backfill inherent strength parameters, backfill placement method, stope geometry and interaction between backfill and host rock. The mobilization of backfill strength parameters controls the backfill behaviour and thus, its failure mode. It is believed that the governing boundary conditions and backfill-rock interaction influence the backfill strength mobilization significantly. Accordingly, the interaction between backfill and host rock is an influential factor in overall backfill behaviour under applied loads. The focus of this research is to investigate the backfill-rock interaction, considering a nonlinear behaviour for both backfill and rock mass. Assuming typical stope geometry, the FLAC code was used to model the complex boundary condition associated with narrow vein mining conditions and to simulate the backfill behaviour. A comprehensive numerical study was conducted and the results obtained were compared against field observations. The analysis of findings provides qualitative results, which can be used for backfill design. Keywords: Numerical modelling, backfill, deep mining, non-linear behaviour, rock mechanics, backfill behaviour, narrow vein mining.

Jan 1, 2008