Search Documents

By Jay Jones, William D. Rech

The Henderson Mine developed a water treatment system in 1985 to meet the NPDES requirements for its mine water discharge. Unacceptable levels of Zinc and Manganese formed the basis for the design and operation of the treatment system. Since initial start up, this system has reliably removed metals from the mine water and facilitated low cost compliance with water standards. The potential addition of a bio- monitoring requirement to the NPDES Permit in 1990 has added a second dimension to the metals removal process. This paper will review the history of Henderson's success at developing a low capital treatment system for metals removal and the anticipated effects of bio-monitoring upon this system based upon preliminary bio-monitoring screening.

Jan 1, 1991

By McKenzie A. M

The Corridor ore body is so named because it occurs in an east-west zone or corridor of schist bounded on the north by the siliceous conglomerates of Mount Lyell, and on the south by similar conglomerates of the Tharsis ridge (Fig. 1). It was discovered after the geophysical prospecting methods described below had defined a target zone for diamond drilling.Since the proving of copper mineralisation by drilling, the corridor orebody has served the vital function of a convenient known target body for the orientation of more recently developed geophysical methods. Traversing of the orebody by these new methods has provided experience for the evaluation of anomalies elsewhere.Some of the methods applied had not been used in Australia before, and were introduced to the west coast of Tasmania through the undertaking there of modern regional exploration programmes. The authors feel that the information gained could be of assistance to others engaged in geophysical prospecting.HISTORY OF DISCOVERYProspecting in the Mount Lyell district has been more or less continuous since 1881. The first geological report was published by Thureau (1886).In 1934, Blazey and Douglas (1934-38) commenced geophysical surveys at Mt. Lyell using the equipotential method.They obtained anomalous indications in several discrete zones and actually detected the south-east half of the corridor orebody but their work never became the basis for...

Jan 1, 1961

The Hishikari gold deposit, discovered by the Metal Mining Agency of Japan, has become a giant class epithermal gold deposit with the highest grade of gold yet recorded in the world through detailed exploration and development by the Sumitomo Metal Mining Co Ltd. The exploration strategy involved a regional approach combining geological and gravity surveys over a 900 km2 area which had historically produced over 120 t of gold. These surveys were carried out to grasp the common geologic features of epithermal gold deposits in the survey area. A genetic model for epithermal gold deposits in the area under regional survey was also considered based on detailed research of the Kushikino epithermal gold deposit which was in operation at that time. This model was applied to the targeted areas, and important relationships between mineralisation, host lithology, intensive propylitic alteration and gravity highs became apparent. The Hishikari block was selected in this way and bonanza gold was discovered during drilling. Since the development of the Hishikari mine, information useful for further exploration for the same type of deposit has been accumulated.

Jan 1, 1995

The Hishikari gold deposit, discovered by the Metal Mining Agency of Japan, has become a giant class epithermal gold deposit with the highest grade of gold yet recorded in the world through detailed exploration and development by the Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Ltd. The exploration strategy involved a regional approach combining geological and gravity surveys over a 900 km2 area which had historically produced over 120 t of gold. These surveys were carried out to grasp the common geologic features of epithermal gold deposits in the survey area. A genetic model for epithermal gold deposits in the area under regional survey was also considered based on detailed research of the Kushikino epithermal gold deposit which was in operation at that time. This model was applied to the targeted areas, and important relationships between mineralization, host lithology, intensive propylitic alteration and gravity highs became apparent. The Hishikari block was selected in this way and bonanza gold was discovered during drilling. Since the development of the Hishikari mine, information useful for further exploration for the same type of deposit has been accumulated.

Jan 1, 1995

By M. Wasel

The Gross Rosebel gold deposits are located in the Guiana Shield of north central Suriname. Initial discovery of surficial gold in 1880 by local artisanal miners preceded small-scale mechanized mining from 1885 to 1939. The first systematic exploration program was carried out by Placer Development from 1974 to 1977. In May 1992 Golden Star Resources optioned the property. Initial shallow reconnaissance diamond drilling of the extensive surface geochemical anomalies intersected sporadic gold mineralization with no apparent continuity between drill sections. Successive deep augering, trenching and systematic grid drilling based on information from surface mapping allowed development of a preliminary geological model. Further drilling of specific structural-lithologic targets and more complete synthesis of geological data from the trenching and deep auger sampling added to the geological model and defined the multiple controls of gold mineralization. Carefully planned infill drilling on a tighter grid spacing resulted in progressive definition of reserves within six discrete gold deposits. In a complex geological setting, the key to success at Gross Rosebel was persistent, systematic exploration, detailed mapping, careful core logging and perceptive geological interpretation. Reserves now stand at 48.6 Mt at 1.6 glt Au, or 2.4 million ounces of gold. The purpose of this paper is to describe the progression of exploration activity that led to the definition of substantial gold reserves and to summarize the geology of the deposits.

Jan 1, 1998

By S. H. Ward, R. A. Barker

THE Juniper Prospect is in Carleton County, N. B., at approximately 46º 31' north latitude, 67º 20' west longitude. During the summer of 1955 an area in west-central New Brunswick was selected for aerial electromagnetic prospecting with American Metal Co.'s helicopter-mounted equipment. Generalized, small-scale government geologic maps had suggested that this area was located along the western border of the northeast-trending granitic backbone of northwestern New Brunswick and might be underlain by the Ordovician-Silurian sediments and volcanics that are the host rocks for the recently discovered sulfide deposits of the Bathurst-Newcastle district.

Jan 1, 1958

By J. F. McDonald

On December 8th of last year, the new St. Clair River tunnel was holed-through to Port Huron, Michigan. The tunnel, commissioned by the Canadian National Railway, was needed to replace an existing tunnel that had been built between 1889 and 1890, and had remained in continuous operation until the new tunnel was opened to traffic in April of this year. The original tunnel, after more than 100 years of service, was still structurally sound, but was too small to accommodate the double stacked container cars and other advances in the railroad's equipment that had developed over the years. Prior to the construction of the first tunnel, all freight was barged across the river. It was a slow, expensive process, which in winter was sometimes impossible. The nineteenth century tunnel was built in twenty months, utilizing two shields that mined to the middle from each end. The lining, which is still in excellent condition, consisted of bolted, cast iron segments, with an O.D. of 6.4 meters. It was the first sub-aqueous tunnel built in North American, and it's use of compressed air under the river and hydraulic power on the shields may also have been firsts. The digging was done by hand, and the muck hauled out by mule drawn wagons. Boulders and methane gas were reported to be a constant problem during the drive, and compressed air sickness was common, but when the two shields came together in August of 1890, it was reported that the alignment was within 6 mm. The new St. Clair River Tunnel was constructed for basically the same reason as the original. The larger equipment which the railroad is using today would not fit through the old tunnel, and once more they were forced to ferry the cars across the river.

Jan 1, 1995

By Kenneth Denton, Michael Cutts, Andrew Bursey, Eric Eisold

Phase III of the Orme Street Combined Trunk Relief Sewer project connects two existing 2.13 m diameter combined sewers to a new 3.66 m diameter relief sewer at 7locations along a 970 m alignment in downtown Atlanta. The alignment was enveloped by adjacent structures and utilities. The project was constructed below the groundwater table through compressible residual soil, rock and mixed face using a myriad of construction techniques, including compressed air NATM and jet grouting. Numerous design and alignment changes and accommodations for existing utilities and conditions were made during construction. The authors believe this to be the ?rst NATM project in North America utilizing compressed air tunneling.

Jan 1, 2003

By D. Oyler

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Pittsburgh Research Laboratory (PRL), RAG Pennsylvania and Strata Control Technologies of Australia collaborated in an intensive study of ground behavior, reinforcement performance, and stress redistribution at the Emerald Mine in Southwestern Pennsylvania. The study site was a longwall tailgate subjected to a severe horizontal stress concentration. Field measurements indicated that the stresses applied to the study site nearly doubled during longwall mining, resulting in roof deformations extending to a height of 4.8m (16 ft) above the entry. A computer simulation of the field site was conducted using FLAC-2D, incorporating a broad range of rock behaviors and failure mechanisms. Comparison between the measurements and the simulation showed that the model was able to capture the most significant aspects of the roof and support system behavior, particularly, the extensive slip along bedding that created a partially destressed "softened" zone in the immediate roof. The model also showed that supplementing the normal roof bolt support pattern with cable bolts would allow the entry to survive a further 20-25% increase in the applied horizontal stress. Such information could have very practical application to the design of roof support systems for coal mines.

By Marlion T. McQuinn

This paper will discuss the design, construction, and performance of the support of excavation on the Dulles East and West Automated People Mover Tunnels and Station projects. The elements of the system included drilled soil nails and rock anchors with reinforced shotcrete to the excavated face. We will discuss the geotechnical characteristics, design and construction considerations, loading criteria, construction techniques, schedule constraints, and performance of the support of excavation system. In consideration of the conference theme, there will be a discussion of the application of the real-time instrumentation monitoring program. The project team worked to design and install approximately 710,000 square feet of shotcrete and 19,000 soil nails/rock anchors as well as excavate over 720,000 cubic yards of rock materials within 15 months and in such a manner as to minimize the disruption to airport passengers and operations.

Jan 1, 2006

By Allan Sylvester

This paper will discuss the design, construction, and performance of the support of excavation on the San Diego State University LRT Station. The vertical elements of the system include drilled secant piles and drilled soldier piles. We will discuss the geo-technical characteristics, design and construction considerations, loading criteria, construction techniques, schedule constraints, and performance of the pile and support of excavation systems. In consideration of the conference theme, there will be a discussion of the successful accomplishment of meeting the interim milestone dates of the Contract. The project team cooperatively worked to design and install approximately 1,100 drilled secant and soldier piles as well as excavate and install the balance of the support of excavation elements in such a manner as to minimize the disruption to campus students and operations.

Jan 1, 2002

By Joseph C. Gillen

This paper discusses the design, construction, and performance of the support of excavation system used at The Atlantic Building jobsite. The support of excavation system had to be adaptable to the different conditions surrounding the site. These conditions included support of four historic building façades, including the nine-story Atlantic Building, as well as support of three historic row-houses along two walls. Directly adjacent to the site is the historic Ford?s Theatre and townhouse. Across a 15? alley is the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) Building, and across a 30? alley is the Federal Election Commission Building and another ongoing excavation. Of historical note, these two alleys were the escape route for John Wilkes Booth following his assassination of President Lincoln. With the excavation being 53? to 58? deep, the system included driven and drilled soldier piles, drilled bracket piles, and two modified tangent walls. The bracing included tiebacks, corner braces, wales, cross lot struts, and a specially designed support system for the nine-story façade. The footprint of the excavation included 12 corners and all alleys and streets were to remain open during construction. The performance requirements for system movement at Ford?s Theatre and AILA Building were ½ inches in the horizontal direction. The modified tangent walls were used in these areas to provide stiffness. The soil conditions at the site were fill material on top of a shallow, sandy, silty, gravel layer on top of a deep layer of soft organic silt and clay. Below the silt and clay layer was fine sandy material at the subgrade.

Jan 1, 2006

By Eric Eisold

The Wachovia Headquarters and Arts and Cultural Campus project in Charlotte, NC includes a 1.5 million square foot, 48-story office tower, two museums, an Afro-American cultural center and a 1,200 seat theater for the performing arts. Public access to the Cultural Campus is through two pedestrian tunnels constructed under city streets connecting to parking garages. The 5.7 m wide by 4.7 m high mined tunnels were procured through a design-build contract. The tunnels were designed as initial/final shotcrete linings with a sprayed water barrier sandwiched between layers of shotcrete. In addition, the mix design was supplemented with a cementitious admixture to develop internal water resistant properties in the shotcrete.

By Steven Norris, William Moler, Michael Cole, Patrick Doig, Debi Lewis, Craig Pyle, Matthew Crow

The recently completed Lower Northwest Interceptor Program (LNWI) in Sacramento, California comprises, ten pairs of micro tunnels totaling 4,369 m (14,417 ft),three horizontal directionally drilled bores totaling 956 m (3,154 ft), and two large diameter tunnels under the Sacramento River totaling 1,198 m (3,953 ft). This paper briefly summarizes surface and subsurface conditions, and planning and design considerations. It then goes on to describe problems encounterd with each trenchless crossing, as well as lessons learned with respect to shaft construction, ground control at shafts during tunnel break-in and break-out, frac-out and heave, settlement, obstructions, coordination with permitting agencies, and application of geotechnical baseline reports.

Jan 1, 2007

By Jerry F. Parola

In current practice, pile foundation design is based on a general under-standing of pile-soil interaction during installation and superstructure-pile-soil interaction after construction. The pile design is a reflection of experience, precedent and judgment for normal piling practice of working load capacities up to approximately 100 tons with corresponding ultimate capacities up to 200 tons. For higher capacity piles, pile design is even less predictable. In particular, the feasibility of pile installation is an important design consideration that must be given the proper attention. An installation capability that is not given the required emphasis can cause unnecessary problems.

Jan 1, 1986

By Kathleen Lagnese, Srikanth Muddasani, Kashi Banerjee, Carla Robinson

"Mine water generated from underground coal mining operations contains both dissolved and particulate solids. Dissolved solids primarily consist of sodium, calcium, magnesium, potassium, chlorides and sulfates. When discharged to a receiving stream without treatment, these constituents create a potentially toxic environment for aquatic life.A case study is presented to discuss how a centralized treatment plant treats mine water from six locations to meet discharge limitations for chlorides. Located in West Virginia, this facility consistently achieves less than the National Pollutant Discharge Elemenation System (NPDES) permit limitation of 218 mg/L chlorides in the discharge while generating almost zero liquid waste. The dissolved solids concentration in the influent ranges between 5,000 and 10,000 mg/L, with chloride concentrations of 1,000 to 2,000 mg/L and sulfate concentrations of 2,000 to 6,000 mg/L.The mine water is treated using advanced treatment technology to produce clean water for discharge or reuse. The treatment process comprises aeration, softening, filtration, reverse osmosis (RO) reject softening, evaporation, crystallization, final effluent remineralization and sludge dewatering. The solid waste generated in the treatment process is landfilled on site. The leachate is sent back to the facility’s thermal treatment process. Because no liquid waste leaves the property, this plant is termed a zero liquid waste (ZLW) facility.The advanced water treatment system was built to meet a new 218 mg/L regulatory limitation imposed by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection for chlorides discharged to surface waters. The system is designed to treat a maximum flow of approximately 795 m3/h (5 million gpd) of mine water. The treatment process utilizes RO membrane treatment to achieve the effluent criteria, and evaporation and crystallization technology to manage the RO concentrate from the water treatment process. As a result, the system produces clean water for discharge while generating zero liquid waste. The effluent water can be used for industrial purposes or discharged to a receiving stream. A water impact index (WIIx) study indicated that discharge of this high-quality water into the Monongahela River watershed may improve the water quality for downstream water users. The waste produced in the treatment process, including softening sludge and salt, is disposed of in an onsite landfill. Currently, the plant is treating at an average flow of 490 m3/h (3.1 million gpd) of mine water with an average influent chloride concentration of 1,530 mg/L and an average effluent chloride concentration of 11 mg/L."

Jan 1, 2014

By Scott A. Walker, Gabriel J. Alcantar, Brian Zuckerman, Ramin Golesorkhi

"The stadium development consists of construction of a 68,500-seat, open-air NFL football stadium for the San Francisco 49ers. The main structure will consist of a 7-story above grade steel structure supported by over 3,000 piles. Berkel and Company Contractors, Inc. (Berkel) was selected as the design-build pile contractor who used their auger pressure grouted displacement (APGD) piles for this project. During an indicator pile installation and pile load test program, fifteen piles were tested to develop installation criteria to support demands of 150kips tension and 180 kips compression. Following the indicator pile program Berkel installed 3088 piles in 30 working days. Throughout pile installation data were collected with an automated data acquisition system (DAS). During pile installation field engineers from Treadwell & Rollo observed the pile installation as well as the real-time data from the DAS. Strategic staging and pre-production planning by Berkel along with consistent collaboration with the design team created an atmosphere for a successful and on schedule project completion.IntroductionThe new San Francisco 49ers Stadium in Santa Clara, California will be a 68,500-seat facility, a rendering of which is shown in Figure 1. The main structure will consist of a 7-story above grade steel structure supported by more than 3,000 piles. The north, east and south portions of the stadium are designed as an open seating bowl, while the western portion includes open seating at the lower levels and seven-story tower which houses over 150 suites.The stadium project includes the stadium structure, as well as elevated open pedestrian walkways, commercial community space, and three new pedestrian bridges spanning a nearby by creek. Sustainable designs and innovations such as a green roof, photovoltaic panels, a ground source geothermal system, stadium-wide Wi-Fi capability, and access to public transit are provided throughout the project. The stadium is designed as an open, light, and airy structure and is surrounded by an existing amusement park, office buildings, the Santa Clara Convention Center, and the training facility of the 49ers."

Jan 1, 2015

By Paul J. Axtell

This case history describes the foundation design and construction for the New Mississippi River Bridge, presently under construction in St. Louis, Missouri. The 1,500 ft (457.2 m) main span of the cable-stayed bridge is supported by two delta tower pylons in the river, with anchor piers on each bank. The final foundation design was completed as a part of an Alternate Technical Concept (ATC) proposal by the winning construction team, and utilized drilled shafts up to 11.5-ft (3.5-m) diameter that were socketed into very hard limestone. As part of the ATC foundation design, a full-scale, bi-directional static load test was performed to verify the design and allow use of higher resistance values. This paper presents the results of the site exploration, construction of the load test shaft, details of the load testing, and a comparison of the test results with various design parameters.

Jan 1, 2011

By Paul J. Axtell

Two new railroad bridges in Kansas City, Missouri are founded on drilled shafts embedded into the soil and underlying shale. The uncertainty arising from the non-homogeneous, anisotropic nature of most shales, and the variability of shales across the U.S., makes it a difficult material to assign appropriate design properties. As was the case on this project, the uncertainty of foundation performance in shale can lead to overly conservative designs, particularly with drilled shaft foundations. An extensive Statnamic axial testing program was performed to verify that the load-settlement behavior of the drilled shafts would be acceptable for the intended railroad traffic. Axial Statnamic testing was applied in three increasing cycles of 927 kips, 1007 kips, and 3177 kips, respectively. The maximum movements recorded at the shaft head during each of the loadings were 0.052 inches, 0.062 inches, and 0.257 inches, respectively. The loads applied in each of the respective Statnamic tests were not sufficient to reach the capacity of the shaft; so direct comparison of measured and calculated capacities is not possible. However, evaluation of the estimated design capacity can be accomplished based on results from the Statnamic testing program by utilizing normalized load transfer relations presented by O?Neill and Reese (1999). Such comparisons necessarily require extrapolation of the data measured in the Statnamic tests following typical load-displacement response. Results indicate the Kulhawy and Phoon (1993) method for estimating side resistance in Pleasanton shale rock sockets, assuming a smooth socket, appears to agree well with observed behavior during Statnamic testing. Accordingly, the O?Neill and Reese (1999) method for estimating the toe resistance in intermediate geomaterials, assuming cohesive rock with Rock Quality Designation (RQD) between 70 and 100, appears to agree well with observed behavior during Statnamic testing. Finally, based on Statnamic testing at varying load magnitudes and normalized curves developed by O?Neill and Reese (1999), the contribution of side resistance to the capacity of a deep foundation can be determined assuming no load is transferred to the base of the foundation during lower magnitude testing. Furthermore, higher magnitude testing can provide a means to evaluate the accuracy of design end bearing calculations.

Jan 1, 2006

By Randy R. Huberty

Although originally designed with deep foundations consisting of all driven steel H piles and drilled caissons, a unique application of Augered Cast-in-Place (ACIP) piles as an alternate design resulted in a significant cost savings for the Midfield Terminal Project at the Pittsburgh International Airport. The project was enormous in scope covering an area two miles long by one mile wide, with changes in elevation of over 200 ft. The varying geology combined with the large amounts of fill required resulted in a complex set of geotechnical design parameters that had to be evaluated through both load testing and analyses. A total of almost 400,000 lineal feet of ACIP piles were installed for this project.

Jan 1, 2001