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By Robert B. Scott

Acid mine drainage, discharging from coal beds, has polluted our streams and rivers since early time. These pollutants affect water quality by lowering the pH, reducing natural alkalinity, increasing total hardness, and adding undesirable amounts of iron, manganese, aluminum and sulfates, The tangible damages are the costs involved in replacing equipment corroded by the acid water, additional treatment costs at municipal and industrial water treatment plants, and damages resulting from corrosion of steel culverts, bridge piers, locks, boat hulls, steel barges, pumps, and condensers. Intangible damages, which are real and important, include destruction of biological life of the stream, reduced property values, and streams rendered undesirable for recreational uses.1 The major problems of mine drainage occur in the anthracite and bituminous coal regions in Appalachia. However, many of the western mining states have significant mine drainage problems in specific areas, but the overall problem is not as great as in the eastern states.

Jan 1, 1970

By R. C. Wilmoth, R. D. Hill, R. B. Scott

A cost breakdown is given for reclamation and mine drainage abatement conducted by the Federal Water Quality Administration's demonstration project near Elkins, W. Va. Costs for construction of control measures have been developed and include backfilling strip mines, sealing subsidence areas, reconstructing stream channels, and installing mine seals to prevent the entrance of water and air.

Jan 1, 1973

By Taner Sumer, H Altay Guvenir

Fragmentation in rock quarries is tried to be achieved by changing the specific charge, drill pattern and bore hole diameters by different experts. This paper is a brief summary consisting of the utilization of practical experiences of the other group on cost optimization procedure that takes into account blasting, transportation and crushing as a whole process and optimize the cost by defining the optimum gelatin based explosives to be used as a main primer of anfo in three different limestone and granite quarries, with similar rock characteristics.

Jan 1, 1993

By L. P. (Les) Haldane

Building a small underground coal mine is a risky endeavor, especially in the recent economic environment. ARCO's Mt. Gunnison No. 1 Mine, located in western Colorado, was designed and built as a small expandable speculation mine with initial production to be sold on the spot market, so it was very important to minimize capital exposure. This mine, operated by West Elk Coal Company, a subsidiary of Anaconda Minerals, was successfully built under budget at $35 million, and has been operating successfully since completion of construction in late 1982. The initial planning phase of a project is extremely important for testing the economic and technical feasibility of a proposal. The construction phase, by contrast, carries with it significant cost and quality risks which can relate to long-term economic and operating problems and therefore directly affect the viability of the project. This paper discusses several different aspects of the cost overrun risk involved in building an underground coal mine, and how attempts were made to minimize these risks during construction of the Mt. Gunnison Mine. Good people, construction planning, and execution are essential factors in assuring a quality, cost-effective project, with corresponding risk minimization during the construction phase and long term favorable implications for the operating phase.

Jan 1, 1985

By John Popovich

The MICON RokLok binder system including component and consolidation processes and safety and its first aide are described. The implementation procedures and selection of injection parameters are discussed. Finally a case example of recovering a 30-ft. long roof fall in mainline haulage entry is used to illustrate the economic potential of preventive measures by RokLok injection.

Jan 1, 2001

Whilst decisions to commit projects have traditionally been heavily influenced by hurdle rates for d.c.f. analysis, it is suggested that evaluation of competitors' costs may be a desirable additional tool.The MICAS system developed over the past four years is described. This computer system uses standard costs modified by District and Mine factors to allow estimation of individual mine costs. The data base contains more than 15,000 items of data and more than 6000 costs are calculated.Recent applications include use for competitive analysis, predictive analysis, statistical analysis, and comparative assessments with scopes ranging from a few mines to the whole Australian export industry. Some areas where care is necessary are outlined and potential further uses are discussed.

Jan 1, 1985

By Anderson Pereira

SORM 3plus (SORM = Superfast Optical Roughness Measurement) is a system enabling online measurement of roughness parameters during continuous strip processing. Increased requirements for new materials and more complex components call for ever increasing process safety. The roughness parameters are important quality features of uncoated and surface refined strips. The traditional method of measurement involves using a mechanical stylus based instrument. For this purpose the operator must stop the production line or samples are taken from the end of the coil and measurements are made offline in the lab. SORM 3plus, however, is a non-contact, online surface roughness measurement system that can be used for metallic and many non-metallic surfaces at strip speeds of up to 2400 m/min. The surface roughness data are stored in the system computer, displayed to the operator and if needed are fed into a higher-level network. The operator is alerted, if the limited values preset by him are exceeded or if any changes within the line will put at risk the production process. SORM 3plus calculates the roughness parameters as defined in the standards, such as the arithmetic average roughness (Ra) and the peak count (RPc).

Oct 8, 2019

By J. A. Herbst, A. E. Oblad, Y. C. Lo

The major cost in comminution is energy consumption, which can be as high as 50% of the operating cost. Improvements in plant operations have resulted in up to a 15% reduction in energy usage (kw-hr/t). These improvements have been made through the optimization of grinding efficiency and the use of expert model-based control systems. Optimization involves the determination of the levels of the critical-operating conditions that result in the most efficient breakage of ore in the mill. These optimal levels are identified through plant/laboratory test work and through computer simulation using advanced process models. Model-based expert control achieves the maximum performance from the grinding circuit by identifying the characteristics of the ore in the mill with an optimal on-line estimator. Using this information, the control system dynamically determines the operating point that will yield the optimal performance. Two industrial applications of grinding-circuit optimization and model-based control are presented to demonstrate the power of this new technology.

Jan 1, 1997

By V. C. Lo

The major cost in comminution is energy consumption, which can be as high as 50 percent of the operating cost. Improvements in plant operations have resulted in up to a 15-percent reduction in energy usage (kwh/t). These improvements have been made through optimization of grinding efficiency and use of expert model-based control systems. Optimization involves the determination of the levels of the critical operating conditions that result in the most efficient breakage of ore in the mill. These optimal levels are identified through plant/laboratory testwork and computer simulation using advanced process models. Model-based expert control achieves the maximum performance from the grinding circuit by identifying the characteristics of the ore in the mill with an optimal on-line estimator. Using this information, the control system dynamically determines the operating point that will yield the optimal performance. Two industrial applications of grinding circuit optimization and model-based control are presented to demonstrate the power of this new technology.

Jan 1, 1995

By M. L. Mendes, J. Q. Nojiri, S. C. Botelho, A. P. Campanha

In February 28, 2001 JOULE coordinated the first tests with an electronic detonator in South America at an iron ore operation - ITABIRA MINES from the Brazilian COMPANHIA VALE DO RIO DOCE (CVRD) - the largest producer and exporter of iron ore in the world. ITABIRA MINES (CAU and CONCEI O) belong to one of the complexes, called the Southern System, producing 56 million tons of ROM as well as concentrated products and pellets. This paper is going to describe the tests at ITABIRA MINES with results indicating the improvement in the excavator productivity and reduction of the mining global costs (due to the better performance of the equipment and potential reduction of the maintenance cost).

Jan 1, 2002

By A. Anani

The goal of hot mix asphalt (HMA) design is optimal material blending to meet Superpave specifications. HMA cost minimization has being modeled as linear programing (LP) (Awuah-Offei et al 2011) and mixed integer LP problems (Brown et al, 2012) and solved with commercial software such as LINDO and CPLEX. Often these software, which are designed to solve general optimization problems, have licenses that cost thousands of dollars. The objective of this study is to develop a novel solution algorithm to the HMA optimization problem presented by Brown et al. (2012), which will negate the need for expensive commercial packages and is specific to this problem. This novel algorithm is based on the branch and bound algorithm for solving mixed integer problems. The algorithm is incorporated into a software package with an easy-to-use graphical user interface. The developed algorithm is validated using a real-life HMA problem. Using this solution algorithm will save companies thousands of dollars, otherwise used to purchase software licenses.

Feb 23, 2014

By Malcolm Wills

Boddington Gold Mine commenced operation in 1987 with an initial production of 3.0 Mt/y at a grade of 3.5 git. Head grade has reduced over the life of the mine and the major response to the drop in grade has been to increase mining rates and increase plant throughput. A capital expansion was carried out in 1996 increasing the throughput to 6.0 Mt/y and since that date tonnage has been increased without major capital expenditure. BGM's current mill throughput is 8.77 Mt/y ( 1999). In 1999 the combined basement plant and direct leach plant processed 8,770,055 tonnes to produce 233,507 ozs or 7.262882 tonnes of gold at an average head grade of 0.83 git. With grades of 0.83 git, and gold price at record lows, $US251.95loz in August 1999 or $A393.67loz it has been necessary to make and maintain major cost savings to remain profitable. Boddington Gold Mine has achieved this by a number of steps including a productivity study by outside consultants.

Jan 1, 2000

By Dennis A. Clark, Brent Larsson

Tunnelling today is a lot more than drilling and blasting. The developments in drilling and blasting technique have made it pos¬sible to save costs both by increasing the advance per round and optimizing the demands on the final contour. Increasing the hole depth by using longer feeds and bigger dril¬ling rigs make the drilling time shorter compared to the set up time. It is important that the deeper holes are followed up by using a suitable cut. The most common cut in Sweden today is a parallel hole cut with one or more large holes; with a diameter corresponding to the hole depth and wanted advance per round. It is often specified that smooth blasting is to be carried out with a specific drill hole spacing. It is extremely rare, however, for specifications to be issued concerning the alignment of the raw of holes closest to the contour holes. It is very easy to ruin the effect of smooth blasting altogether by firing the rest of the round carelessly with an excessively high charge distribution. The drilling and blasting of the contour holes and the line of holes closest to the contour holes is therefore an extremely important part of any underground work. Accuracy and care in connection with the drilling of contour holes is also extremely important since it is possible to reduce the amount of overbreak, the result being more rapid mucking out, smoother and more durable surfaces and also less consumption of concrete for lining purposes.

Jan 1, 1983

By Michael Drozd

The operation of an activated charcoal system has five separate unit operations. These unit operations have common points for CIP, CIL and CIS system, which vary widely in application. a. Absorption b. Desorption (Stripping) c. Acid Washing d. Reactivation e. Carbon Handling ( carbon transportation, sizing, de­watering, etc.) Cost optimization starts with the basic operating parameters (design philosophy) set down at the time of engineering design. This parameters undergo almost immediate change due to site specific ore requirements, throughput changes, operator requirements or reagent availability. Activated charcoal is sometimes viewed as simple, uncomplicated reagent that requires not optimization. To some extent, this statement is true, but under most circumstances, if the time necessary to optimize the use of activated charcoal is available, the effort is rewarded with significant savings. CPL-Carbon Link has embarked upon a program of supplying technical support with its activated charcoal. Several operation in the United States have under taken to have CPL-Carbon Link do an operational survey to determine if potential savings are possible. CPL-Carbon Link has offered to do these surveys for projects that are clients or simply would like to have CPL-Carbon Link review their operation. The information accumulated by CPL-Carbon Link is being used to attempt to fashion industry standards so that a common reference point came be establish for activated charcoal usage.

Jan 1, 2000

By Gavin A. Hunt

In order for mines to operate profitably throughout their life it is important to monitor and maximise ore recovery. A common problem facing many mines is the underestimation of clay type and its distribution in ore at the mine face, blast hole or in the ore stockpile. Too much clay entering the heap leach ore stream for example causes a dramatic reduction in heap leach efficacy and or increased leaching times. The end result is poor leaching performance and much reduced metal production. Poor clay identification and quantification is attributable to many factors, including costly and slow off-site mineral analysis techniques, such as XRD, XRF and petrology, the visual and subjective limitations of the core logging geologist and a lack of suitable low cost, high throughput mineral logging instruments. To get round these problems a new, non-contact, imaging spectrometer - the SpecCam - was developed by Spectra-Map Ltd, to allow high throughput identification and quantification of minerals from mineable material. Its novel imaging design can collect millions of data points (pixels) per day; each pixel contains spectral information that allows a wide variety of mineral types, including the smectite and illite clays, and phyllosilicates such as talc and kaolin, to be identified. Because all the ore can be imaged a much more reliable mineral log can be made. Hence, mapping changes in mineral composition - related to variations in phenocrysts, macrocrysts, veining or wall rock - is possible. Examples of SpecCam data from Goldfields Cerro Corona Porphyry stockpile and from Rio Tinto?s Argyle Diamond mine illustrate the mineral identification and quantification capabilities of the SpecCam. More importantly, for the first time very accurate % abundances for the different minerals can be obtained using an image-based modal count technique. The modular design of the camera, plus its extremely flexible high speed filter, mean that the SpecCam can be easily installed on different equipment, each one suited to different ore recovery problems. For example the SpecCam can be used on an automated portable logging frame to measure drill core, RC chips, hand samples or powder, or alternatively installed on a Geotek multi-sensor core logger for high-throughput, automated logging of drill or blast hole core using co-registered multi-sensor data. An exciting recent development has been the installation of the SpecCam on CommoDas ore sorting equipment, used around the world for 24 hour mill-feed monitoring and automatic ore sorting. Real-time ore sorting decisions can be made as material is monitored on a conveyor belt running at 3m s-1, from which the ore can be automatically sorted into high-grade, low-grade or waste streams for example. The three installation options for the SpecCam mean that most mineral analysis and automated core logging or ore monitoring needs can be met at the mine. For the first time rapid and automatic mineral identification and accurate quantification can be made. All of which allow the mine geologist or metallurgist to make important decisions about maximising the metal recovery process.

May 1, 2007

By C. Milne, T. M. Dyhr, T. E. Wilson

As time progresses, new concerns regarding long-term post-mining effects are identified, increasing mine closure costs. Regulators responding to public interest must take a “worst case” view and require post-closure monitoring or remediation processes. Although closure costs depend on the size and type of operation, general cost categories are defined, and median values (per acre, or per unit of production) are identified. Closure cost categories, as well as amounts, have increased with time. Except for increased efficiency in earth-moving and water management (surface or subsurface), there are no apparent offsets to a steady rise in closure costs. When the historical trend of closure costs is considered, it is probable that additional cost categories will come into being. For mine operators, the challenge will be to anticipate them and devise cost-effective remedies.

Jan 1, 2003

By T. M. Dyhr, T. E. Wilson

Although environmental management costs during mine operation depend on the size, type, climatic and geochemical conditions of operation, general cost categories are identified and mean values, as a percentage of total operating cost, are determined for coal and non-coal surface and underground mines (medium-size) with on-site beneficiation and tailings disposal facilities. Cost trends are charted from 1963 through the present.

Jan 1, 2004

By Joseph A. Dos Santos

"The subject of this writing was first published in 1998 with the emphasis on the hardware cost comparison. Other costs, such as the required land area and spatial volume, were mentioned but not emphasized, as these were not deemed as important for new projects where the space was appropriated as required. During the last decade, these other costs have proven to be more than equal in importance. These costs are emphasized here through specific accounts of actual highangle conveyor installations that demonstrate the importance and the high-angle advantage An update on the progress in sandwich belt highangleconveyor technology is also provided.Origin and progress in sandwich belt conveyorsCover belts of the 1950s. Large volume, highangle conveying by “conveyors with cover belt, dates back to the early 1950s, when such systems were employed at the bucket wheel excavator boom conveyor in German lignite mines to increase the depth of cut without increasing the boom length. Various systems were developed, patented and built. These systems were not a lasting success for various reasons, which are noted by Rasper[1]. In his 1958 “Review of Cover Belt Systems,” Rasper summarizes the characteristics which are worth pursing and those that should be abandoned. The former are akin to good conveyor engineering. The sandwich belt conveyor model. The first sandwich belt conveyor model allowed calculation of the required hugging pressure to develop the bulk material’s internal friction and preclude material slideback. A modern, accurate version of the sandwich belt conveyor model is presented in Fig. 1. This model depicts accurately a derating of the material cross-section allowing an ample belt edge distance that can tolerate normal belt misalignment without material spillage. The calculations must thus recognize that only part of the hugging pressure is imparted onto the material with the remainder transferred belt edge to belt edge affecting a material seal. Mathematical development of the sandwich belt model is covered by Dos Santos and Frizzell in their 1983 article, “Evolution of Sandwich Belt High Angle Conveyors.”"

Sep 1, 2016

By Thomas H. Sheldon

IN the zeal for opening up new ore-bodies, or for. extracting the ore from attractive bodies gal ready opened up, we very often lose sight of the fact, that, after all, the operation of a mine is a business proposition, pure and simple; and for the best working-results should be treated upon a strict business basis. Of course, in every mine of consequence a record is kept of expenditures and receipts, and such glittering generalities as "gross receipts," " net receipts," " mining expenses," .and " per cent. profit," can be told to the cent; but does this . record show economy of management, either as compared with the same record of other months, or as compared to the record of other mines of the' same class ? Moreover, if such a record shows that the cost of mining is high, does it in any way en¬able the manager to put his finger on the leakage? Does it necessarily follow that a mine which makes a profit of, say, 40 per cent on 25-dollar ore, is doing less economical mining than one which saves 60 per cent on 80-dollar ore ? Of course the figures in the latter case look the more attractive, but when it comes to a point of saving everything which can be saved, and of cutting down expenses to the lowest possible cost of operation, the former mine is doubtless on the most firm and economical financial basis. But as the relative merits of the system of mining in the two cases, nothing could be decided without a basis of detailed comparison ; if one system is more economical than the other, why is it so, and wherein does the advantage lie ? This can be shown only by keeping accurately the cost of each mining operation. And no matter how dissimilar two mines may be in character and operation, yet there are a few general heads common to all mining operations. In the first place, it is necessary to break the ore from the solid ground ;

Nov 1, 1905

By Suresh K. Bhatt

A mathematically simulated modeling technique is used in this U.S. Bureau of Mines paper to represent a hypothetical mining operation with existing mining technology and prevalent mining costs. Mining scenarios are prepared and evaluated for potential benefits and costs available through computer-assisted mining. Base criteria, parameters, and methodology are described.

Jan 1, 1991