Search Documents

By M Araos, I Onederra

A novel explosive formulation that substitutes the use of ammonium nitrate (AN) with hydrogen peroxide (HP) as the main oxidising agent has been developed and tested as part of an Australian Coal Industry Research Program (ACARP) project. The main objective was to provide a step-change solution that has the potential to completely eliminate NOx fumes in blasting. The development of this HP/fuel-based explosive started with a comprehensive detonation characterisation program, consisting of unconfined velocity of detonation (VOD) measurements of samples at different diameters, densities and void sensitisation techniques. VOD results showed that the HP/fuel-based explosive mixtures behaved similarly to non-ideal commercial explosives; in that way mixtures could be tailored to achieve specific detonation performance targets. The next stage of testing in this development involved preliminary confined tests to evaluate the rock breakage potential of the HP/fuel-based explosive mixtures. Fully instrumented single-hole tests were conducted in a limestone quarry. Results from these preliminary trials confirmed the rock breakage performance of HP/fuel-based explosive mixtures. The confined VOD measured in one of the tests was 5100 m/s in a 102 mm diameter blasthole at a density of 0.96 g/ml. The corresponding borehole pressure measurement of this HP charge was 2.61 GPa with a detonation temperature of 2921°C. Based on near-field accelerations, both HP and ANFO charges displayed similar attenuation characteristics in the test conditions. Post-blast observations indicated that the breakage performance of the HP mixtures clearly reflected the in-hole detonation performance measurements obtained, confirming the ability of these explosive mixtures to both fragment and effectively displace the rock mass under evaluation. Further research work continues with the future commissioning of a prototype mixing and delivery unit, the successful completion and analysis of data from multiple-hole trials, and further characterisation work associated with product stability, reliability and performance under different geotechnical conditions.CITATION:Onederra, I and Araos, M, 2015. Detonation and breakage performance of a hydrogen peroxide-based explosive formulation, in Proceedings 11th International Symposium on Rock Fragmentation by Blasting, pp 565–574 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Aug 24, 2015

By Hedley TP

Success for underground coal mine operators in the 1990's and beyond will be dependent upon better understanding of the dynamics of their operating environment, and extension of emerging technologies to reach new levels of output and productivity. The Collieries Division of B.H.P. Steel International Group clearly identifies with the concept of business/product life cycles - and the need to adopt strategies that can drive the business successfully into the future. Three main thrusts within BHP Collieries Division relate to: 1) Detailed assessment of current mines to determine: a) The real output potential of the current facilities. b) What factors now inhibit the full potential from being realised. c) Opportunities that exist to enhance overall mine performance. 2) Based upon the findings of these studies, putting into place cost effective strategies and systems for the ongoing "tuning" of the mine. 3) of new/improved technology primarily in areas of: a) Coal cutting and underground coal clearance. b) Controlling the overall mine gas Regime.

Jan 1, 1987

Depending upon the probability one assigns to project go-ahead, up to $10 billion (1978 figures) could be required for resource based projects in Australia in the next decade. In the past major resource projects were readily financeable against sales contracts. In the future the complexities imposed by such matters as political risk, inflation, currency movements and environmental and other socio- economic considerations on project development costs and returns may require a different approach. This paper addresses itself to the ramifications of providing development finance for resource based projects in the future - and in particular examines such factors as project completion guarantees, sales contracts, protection against exchange rate fluctuations, interest rate structures and debt/equity ratios as each relates to the provision of finance. TABLE OF CONTENTS SECTION 1 : Introduction SECTION 2 Factors Affecting Project Financing in the Next Decade SECTION 3 Some Aspects of Financing New Projects in Australia in the 1980's Conclusion

Jan 1, 1979

By I Cameron

Simulation is increasingly being used to analyse mineral processing operations and explore efficiency options. Engineers that use simulation are rightly concerned with the quality and applicability of the underlying models. However, many of these models have a significant empirical component, and the best structure for this component may not be apparent. There is an opportunity to improve the quality and application range of these models by exploring potential structures for this empirical element. One approach to this problem is the use of structural optimisation, which is a formalisation of the model development process. This method searches through a family or hyper-structure of candidate models for a model that is optimal with respect to some measure of model quality. This method has been applied to the modelling of an industrial flotation circuit. The result was a model that was a significant improvement over a number of standard models reported in the literature. Structural optimisation provides a method to compare potential models in a systematic and efficient way, and hence to improve the structure of process models.

Jan 1, 1998

By C Hamilton

Stawell Gold Mines (SGM) is an underground mining operation located in Victoria, Australia. The mining method employed is long hole retreat stoping, utilising up and downholes and artificial concrete pillars. Stawell is currently mining the Golden Gift and Magdala orebodies.Access to the Magdala and Golden Gift deposits is via 6.0 m wide by 5.5 m high declines developed at a gradient of one in eight to one in seven from the surface to a depth of 1500 m, with a planned depth of 1650 m. From the declines, cross cutting drives are developed to intersect the orebodies. Orebodies in the Gift system are discrete lodes which are generally mined from a bottom up centre retreat to minimise geotechnical stresses.Ore development fronts are currently located between 1000 m and 1500 m below surface, with all ore being hauled to the surface using a fleet of 60 tonne underground trucks. With the use of conventional pyrotechnic long period (LP) delays, broken rock of combined ore and waste is thrown 10 m from the face and the materials hauled to the surface. The majority of the mullock from development is consumed in the underground as backfill.With the use of Orica Mining Services eDev™ Electronic Blasting System for Tunnelling, the waste is thrown up to 40 m from the face, while majority of the ore is left 5 - 10 m from the face, effectively segregating ore and waste. This enables significant recovery of gold values with minimal loss and significantly reduced dilution. By using this technique in ore drives with a 30:70 waste to ore ratio, SGM is able to haul 24 000 tonnes less mullock to the surface annually. Resue mining is applied to narrow vein headings and gives a 40 per cent grade increase at the faces as well as increasing the economic footprint of development. This will also contribute to an improved grade profile for the year from 3.98 - 4.16 g/t Au and allow extra capacity for ore haulage from stoping and for milling.This paper describes the application and the successful blast outcomes achieved using the eDev™ Electronic Blasting Systems for resue mining at SGM. Results to date, since commencement in March 2010, have been achieving significant benefits in terms of ore grade as confirmed by geologists grab sample grades. Face advance have also shown improvement with better breakage of perimeter holes giving improved face profile. These benefits are delivering increased productivity and safety performance when compared to other resue firing techniques.

Mar 21, 2011

By Horiszt G

his report is going to point to that the effect of the mining dewatering on the area of Transdanubian Mountain Range has reached a phase when the cost of dewatering and providing damages can seriously jeopardize a profitable mining operation. Up to 60s the interest of mining had been dominant only, but since the begining of 80s the conceptions of industrial development and the value of enviroment protection have been changed. The natural karstwater balance of the TMR can be presented (Figure Land 2.) and the present situation of it points to that the descharge has exceeded the reacharge in 50 %. During the past 10 years the decreasing of the stored karstic water resourches was 1.1 km . The decreasing of the spring yields reached 80-82 % of the natural ones. (Figure 3-4.). Conservation of the present discharge may lead up to the totaly drain of the karstwater regime. A computer aid control system had been to develop by the bauxite mining and using of it the yield of dewatering decreased and a moderate rising of the water table has started since 1986. A recunstruction was made at the biggest thermal-medicinal lake its springs have had their source in 40 meter depth inside a spring cave at the bottom of the lake. Earlier the spring yield decreased due to the dewatering activity of mines. As a result of using of the CAC system and the providing works at the thermal sprino,the karstwater balance has got in the state of equilibrum, the first cost was decreased and spring yield was increased and the enviromental limits were adverted from the way of mining.

Jan 1, 1988

By Davies B, Rogers A, Grainger A, Todd J, Brenman R, Jones L, Horton B, Eager L

Research into the control of diesel particulates (DP) has been. conducted by BHP Coal for more than 7 years. Personal monitoring of employee exposures (n = 480 full shift samples) conducted at nine underground coal mines has indicated that the exposure of the workforce ranges from less than 0.1 to 2.2 mg/m3 of DP dependent on job type and mining operation. Approximately 50% of the mass of DP captured is elemental carbon (EC) which is the species currently being considered by some international regulatory authorities as the exposure standard. Five technologies for controlling DP were investigated in a combination of studies conducted in an above ground simulated tunnel, in a special controlled section of underground mine roadway and validated by application in standard coal mining operations at Tower Colliery. Tests conducted under controlled conditions indicate that dependent on the type of fuel in use, the introduction of low sulphur fuels can reduce DP levels in return airways by up to 50% and in actual mining situations a reduction of 20% can be achieved in exposure of the workforce. In addition, subjective responses from the workforce indicate that exhaust emissions from low sulphur fuels provide lower irritation and a more pleasant aroma. The use of water filled scrubber tanks reduces the level of DP emissions by 25%. Chemical decoking of engines resulted in a reduction of 20% in DP in return airways. A commercially available non-flammable disposable dry exhaust filter constructed from synthetic organic fibres with an operational lifetime in excess of 20 hours was found to reduce DP exhaust emissions by 80%. Investigations have indicated that the use of increased ventilation to control DP levels particularly in multiple vehicle situations does not follow a simple dilution factor and in some instances compliance with current regulatory requirements may not produce the required reduced exposure levels. The results from single component control strategies provide considerable reduction in exposure to DP, however the most efficient and cost effective control methodology is the use of a combination of individual systems modelled to operations conducted at each mine.

Jan 1, 1998

By I A. Lamb

The Melbourne City Link Project has two tunnels, the Domain and Burnley Tunnels, which have been constructed by Transfield Obayashi Joint Venture (TOJV) under a design and construct contract. The two tunnels are located essentially under the Kings Domain, the Yarra River and, in the case of the longer Burnley Tunnel, under the inner suburb of Richmond. The Burnley Tunnel is 3.5 km long and reaches a depth of 65 m at the central Swan Street Shaft, the invert being at RL -60 m. The Domain Tunnel is 1.6 km long, with the invert reaching RL -20. The tunnels were driven, for the most part, in the siltstone and sandstone of the Silurian Age Melbourne Formation. Construction aspects of the driven tunnels as related to the engineering geology have been described by Hutchison et al (1998). The Silurian bedrock is a fractured rock aquifer that is connected to overlying alluvial aquifers. Excavation of the tunnels allowed temporary groundwater inflows which substantially de-pressurised portions of the various aquifers. This de-pressurisation provided the potential to accelerate on-going secondary consolidation rates of the Holocene Aged Coode Island Silt (CIS) and the older Quaternary Fishermens Bend Silt (FBS) deposits, in areas where these materials directly overly the aquifers. As a large portion of the urban area of South Melbourne and the old river course of the Yarra River contain extensive CIS deposits, and were within the drawdown influence of the tunnels, the management of the hydrogeological regime was very important. The permanent design of the tunnels comprised drained and undrained sections (a partially tanked design) which, along with some permanent recharge, provide long-term protection against the possibility of accelerated settlement rates. During construction TOJV implemented a comprehensive groundwater management plan to deal with issues related to the temporary drawdown of the aquifers and the temporary acceleration of settlement. This paper describes the hydrogeological regime, the effects of the tunnelling, the monitoring programs, the extensive temporary recharge system, and the consultation program that TOJV utilised to manage the hydrogeological issues.

Jan 1, 1999

By D S. Stewart, K W. Keskimaki

The Henderson Mine has been utilising a continuous panel caving method to extract molybdenum ore since starting operation in 1976. In the past three decades since the mine was designed, many changes have taken place in underground technology as well as the general nature of the mining business. The impacts of larger scale underground equipment and automation are significant at Henderson and continue to reshape the nature of the enterprise. During the first years of operation in the 1970s, Henderson required almost 2000 employees to achieve full production, today only about 400 people are required to fully utilise the plantÆs capacity. The most recent change to the facility is the conversion from a rail haulage system to an underground crushing and conveying system that transports ore 25 km to the Henderson mill site. This change has required the introduction of large, rubber tired haulage trucks underground and the mining methods necessary to develop the large openings demanded by the trucks and underground crusher. The development of the underground crusher is also the first step to mining the final bottom horizon of the orebody. Along with this move comes an opportunity to almost triple the effectiveness of the mining effort, through higher draw columns and wider draw bell spacing. This final advancement to a totally trackless mine has positioned Henderson well for safe and efficient operation as it enters the 21st century.

Jan 1, 2000

By J Jeffrey, G W. Wilson, L Gilbert, C

Prior to the commencement of mining, the acid rock drainage (ARD) potential of the waste rock to be produced by an open cut mining operation is assessed by a variety of techniques carried out on drill-hole samples. These include, among others, acid base accounting (ABA), net acid generation (NAG) testing, and kinetic testing. Based on the results obtained, a strategy for the identification, separation and selective placement of waste rock having different potentials to form ARD is developed. During the course of mining, the waste rock classification scheme will be re-assessed periodically to confirm that it is appropriate. This re-evaluation may result in a change in classification scheme, and waste rock dump samples may be obtained for ARD assay purposes to confirm the appropriateness of the revised scheme. The paper describes the evolution over time of the scheme used to classify waste rock at a major open pit gold operation in New South Wales, Australia, including the development of a hydrological model. To confirm the appropriateness of the revised scheme, ARD assay testing was carried out on drill-hole samples collected from dumps having different ARD potential designations, including Non-Acid Forming (NAF), Potentially Acid Forming (PAF), and Low Grade Ore stockpiles. The results of the ARD assay testing and water quality monitoring confirmed the appropriateness of the ARD potential designations and the revised classification scheme, which has been adopted.

Jan 1, 2003

By C M. Côte, P Bolz, R Chrystal

The design of final landforms is an integral part of mine closure plans in Queensland and aims to ensure the rehabilitated land is safe, stable and non-polluting. Landform stability in this context is commonly assessed using Landscape Evolutions Models (LEM) which are physical models simulating sediment erosion and deposition around individual landforms over long timespans (up to thousands of years). The most used LEM for assessment of rehabilitated landforms in Queensland is SIBERIA (Willgoose, Bras and Rodriguez-Iturbe, 1991; Tucker and Hancock, 2010). SIBERIA models are complex, require very detailed input data and simulate erosion and deposition over time frames that extend decades beyond closure. They are not suitable to assess erosion risks during the operational phase of a mine and to support the development of erosion and sediment control plans. Other types of erosion models, such as the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE, Wischmeier and Smith, 1978) or Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP, Nearing et al, 1989) calculate soil loss on a monthly or yearly basis and are much better suited to erosion management during the operational phase. They are simpler to implement and can support the design of control measures. For instance, designing a sediment basin requires quantification of sediment loads, which can be produced by these models. In Queensland, the legislation around sediment and erosion control for open cut mines is currently tightening. Soil erosion remains a major concern due to potential impacts on the receiving environment. It requires management during operation and for closure consideration alike and it is critical that erosion and sediment control plans are developed with the most appropriate tools. Globally, RUSLE is the most widely used soil loss model (Borrelli et al, 2021). This is because it is an empirical model with relatively simple input requirements: biophysical data such as soil properties, vegetation cover, topography and rainfall variability, which can be directly measured or derived from regional or national databases and/or spatial data sets that are available in most parts of the world. The second most used model is WEPP (Borrelli et al, 2021) but compared to RUSLE, there is a large drop in the frequency of its use. This is because WEPP is physically-based and has more complex data requirements. WEPP integrates hydrology, hydraulics, erosion mechanics and land cover to predict soil erosion and sediment transport on hill slope profiles and small watersheds (Stolpe, 2005). It requires some biophysical parameters in formats different from those of RUSLE, as well as detailed hydrologic and catchment data. Nevertheless, it has been used in landform design for mines across Australia to determine final landform stability (eg Howard and Roddy, 2012; Costin, 2020). In this study, we assess which tool would be the most appropriate to support development of erosion and sediment control plans from operation to closure. We use RUSLE and WEPP to predict soil loss from a mine site, compare the results from both models and outline the advantages of each method.

Aug 2, 2023

By C A Heinrich, Jaques A. L, L A I Wyborn

Most orebodies have cross-sections of less than I km2 and hence do not offer a particularly large target for exploration. Fortunately, although in the geological record ore deposits are small and rare and result from the exceptional coincidence of certain geological processes, these processes are mappable on a much larger, district to regional scale and constitute a mineral system in which the ore deposit is the central feature. A mineral system can therefore be defmed as 'all geological factors that control the generation and preservation of mineral deposits, and stress the processes that are involved in mobilising ore components from a source, transporting and accumulating them in more concentrated form and then preserving them throughout the subsequent geological history'. The mineral system concept emphasises that for many ore deposit types, although economically viable mineralisation may only occur on a scale of say, hundreds of metres, the total system offluid-rock interactions that led to ore formation can extend over a distance of tens to hundreds of kilometres around the deposit. When mapped out, the total mineral system provides a far larger exploration target than the actual ore deposit itself. Important geological factors defining the characteristics of any mineralising system include: I. sources ofthe mineralising fluids and transporting ligands; 2. sources ofthe metals and other ore components; 3. migration pathway; 4. thermal gradient; 5. energy source; 6. a mechanical and structural focusing mechanism at the trap site; 7. chemical and/or physical traps for ore precipitation. Many of these factors individually are common through

Jan 1, 1994

By M Simanjuntak, A M. Supomo

PT Freeport IndonesiaÆs copper/gold operation disposes of approximately 222 000 dry metric tonnes of tailings per day via two thickeners. Reduction of the flocculant dosage rates in each of the tailing thickeners has been achieved with the installation of Clarometers«, modifications to the existing operating DCS control strategy and a change in plant flocculant. This has reduced the flocculant consumption rate in the last twelve months by approximately 20 per cent. It has also highlighted the disparity in the settling rates of the two thickeners. Collaborative efforts between Cytec technical site engineers and Freeport operational personnel have made possible the overall gains achieved in the tailings thickener optimisation.

Jan 1, 2003

By N McIntyre, R Trancoso, N Bulovic

Mining is essential for facilitating human development particularly as demand for critical minerals grows. However, over the mine life cycle, the environment is permanently changed. Once mining ceases, mine-affected land can leave significant legacy issues on the surrounding environment if not managed. Therefore, mine closure planning is critical. Mine closure occurs over large scales often with the aim of recreating resilient ecosystems over mined landscapes with mitigated negative impacts. The natural state of the landscape and the environmental risks over planning time-scales are largely driven by climate. Climate change is expected to impact different parts of the post-mining landscape, from stable landform design (soil erosion mitigation) to revegetation efforts and pit lake management. Consequently, mine closure plans may need to account for a non-stationary and uncertain future climate, that may be both different to the current climate and evolve during the mine life and post-closure. Here a new data-based approach is presented for incorporating climate change projections in mine closure planning, based on the recently released Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 6 (CMIP6) climate data used in the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessment report. The approach: (i) characterises closure-related attributes of the future climate, and (ii) identifies the amount (and direction) of change expected to occur, and its uncertainty, focusing on five metrics for demonstrative purposes and initially describing changes in erosive potential below. This provides information on the type of future environment (ie the changing baseline) that mine closure should plan towards, and identifies rehabilitation options that may be susceptible to increased risks from climate change.

Aug 2, 2023

Within the Mt Whaleback open cut mine the integrity of the final pit wall is achieved through careful rock slope design, use of rock reinforecement technology where marginal stability exists and use of controlled blasting techniques and excavation practices. By reducing the effective density of ANFO explosive within blastholes to around 0.2 glcm', and developing standard blast pattern designs for various rock types, blast damage to pit walls has been minimised. Accurate geological prediction is necessary for optimum blast design. Controlled blasting is undertaken where blasting occurs within 90 m of the designed final batter crest and hole by hole assessment of final limit blast patterns is undertaken before pattern charging. Shovels and trucks remove the bulk of blasted and dozed rock material, but due to the mine's variable pit wall slope configuration, bulldozer excavation of some critical design batters has been successfully Implemented.

Jan 1, 1986

By S Porter

The Melbourne City Link Project is a privately funded road infrastructure project linking three significant existing freeways in the vicinity of the Central Business District. The State Government, through the Melbourne City Link Authority, has contracted Transurban to build, own and operate City Link for a concession period of 34 years before the road network is transferred to the State. Transurban has a contract with Transfield Obayashi Joint Venture (TOJV) to design and construct the works. The project is divided into the southern and western sections and the tunnel works comprised the significant component of the Southern Link. Outside of the cut and cover tunnels at the portals, the driven tunnels component was constructed by TOJV direct labour. TOJV subcontracted all design work to a joint venture of Hyder Consulting and CMPS&F (Hyder/CMP). The geology in the tunnel corridor and generally below the city of Melbourne is highly variable and constantly changing. The tunnels were driven, for the most part, in siltstone and sandstone of the Silurian age, but also intersected overlying basalts and clays. The Silurian bedrock is a fractured aquifer that is connected to overlying alluvial aquifers. Consequently, the construction of the tunnels was a complex engineering task. This paper details the operational relationships and procedures developed to deliver a design that was aligned to the construction constraints and delivered an end product that met all technical, quality, cost and program goals.

Jan 1, 1999

The GDR has extensive lignite deposits at its disposal, which formed the basis for the development of an independent energy source after 1945 and which will retain their significance well beyond the year 2000 (see fig. 1). In 1946 lignite output was about 110 x 106 t. In 1985 312x 106 t was produced and in 1988 the planned output will be ca. 315 x 106 t. Thus, the domestic produc- tion of lignite covers ca. 75% of the GDR's primary energy requirements. More than 80% of the electrical energy is gener- ated by the use of lignite and about 12% by nuclear energy. In addition to this, about 18 x 106 t/a mineral oil and about 6 x 109, m3/a natural gas are imported, predominantly from the Soviet Union. The lignite deposits of the GDR are of Tertiary origin and are recovered exclusively by opencast mining. There are two large regions (fig. 2): - in the region east of the river Elbe (Cottbus/Senftenberg- "Niederlausitz") and - in the region west of the river Elbe (Halle/Leip- zig/Magdeburg). These deposits differ in geological age and conditions of depo- sition, consequently there are differences in their chemical and physical composition and, thus, in their uses. The younger Mio- cene coals of the main region in the East of the river Elbe belong to the epirogenetic type and have a low content of ash and sul- phur. Among other things, they are suitable for the production of brown coal high-temperature coke (Lauchhammer and Schwarze Pumpe). The older Oligocene coals of the Halle/Leip- zig region are bitumenous in certain areas. Therefore, they form the basis for production in low-temperature carbonizing and chemical plants. In the Halle-Magdeburg region, where the lig- nite is in contact with the underlying Zechstein subdivision, so- called "salt coals" are found.

Jan 1, 1989

Authorisation No.66 (to Prospect) was allocated to R.W. Miller & Co. Pty. Ltd. on 1st November, 1976. Exploration has brought coal reserves to measured status in the Jerry's Plains sub-group which are about 550m. thick. The immediately lower Vane Sub-group, about 200m. thick, includes about 20 seams. The total measured and indicated reserves of the two sub-groups based on the criteria adopted by the company amount to 1362 million tonnes in situ. This very large resource is subject to very many mining constraints both physical and economic which limit the saleable reserves under present conditions to about 120 million tonnes. The results of the calculation of reserves after exploration is complete in a deep multiple seam situation is dependent upon the criteria used to include or exclude seams in the reserves. These criteria are state- ments of the miner's expectations of the market, mining and coal preparation technology, local and national politics and the law as it may be applied in the future.

Jan 1, 1979

Discovered in 1954 and mined since 1966, the X41 copper orebodies have produced over 143 Mt @ 3.3 per cent copper. By June 2002 the production from these orebodies had depleted the Mineral Resource to 36.6 Mt @ 2.8 per cent Cu (including 31.5 Mt @ 2.5 per cent Cu combined 2002 Ore Reserve). Mine production will ramp down to cessation beyond ten years. The 2002 Copper Business Study was commissioned to review the status of the Mount Isa copper business and to optimise the long-term strategy of the operations. The study resulted in a vastly improved geological and geostatistical model, and financial studies led to the optimisation of mine cut-off grades. Utilising these new models, a near-mine target generation workshop was conducted by the copper stream geology team. The workshop focussed on exploration for new ore sources and the extension of existing orebodies to supplement the Mineral Resource inventory for future conversion to Ore Reserves. Several prospective targets were identified and the Conceptual Northern 1100 Drilling program was subsequently designed. This paper shall discuss the practicalities of near-mine target generation in Mount Isa, the issues faced when locating and preparing drill sites in a mature mine environment, and the preliminary results of the drilling program so far.

Jan 1, 2003

By S Azam

Coal is a vital energy source and source of carbon for metallurgical applications, contributing significantly to the world economy. Coal mining and processing involve multiple processes that generate Respirable Coal Mine Dust (RCMD), one of the primary sources of health hazards for coal workers. Since 2000, the rate of Coal Workers’ Pneumoconiosis (CWP) has continually increased in the U.S, with severity of the cases also worsening. Increasing evidence shows that exposure to RCMD in coal workers is a high-risk factor for lung cancer, which causes more deaths than the following three major cancers combined in the US Recent observations show an increased incidenceof CWP or other lung diseases, particularly among young miners in the Appalachian basin. The CWP prevalence in Appalachia is four times higher than the national average. Although various regulations are in place, the resurgence of such disease among coalminers demands additional efforts to better understand all the possible facets of coal dust toxicity, taking insights from current interdisciplinaryresearch efforts. One such important field is the interaction of coal dust with moisture in underground mines. Although moisture is prevalent and dynamic in an underground mining environment, it has never been evaluated for its impact on modifying the toxicity of coal dust and transport or flow behaviour. However, research conducted in atmospheric sciences in the past decade makes it clear that moisture in the atmosphere can significantly alter the behaviour of mineral dust. This paper is a part of research aimed at understanding how moisture interacts and alters the characteristics of coal dust. Such insight is crucial in understanding the potential toxicity of coal dust and developing mitigation technologies.

Oct 12, 2022