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By S. J. Jung

The most frequent causes of accidental injury and fatality are carelessness and ignorance; and the most common accidents are haulage accidents, fall, drowning, and fire. However, in this modern day and age, severe injury has become the dire consequence of an ever-increasing number of industrial and mining accidents as well as sport-, military- , etc. Mine accidents have declined dramatically in number and severity through decades of research, technology, and preventive programs. However, preventing recurrence of disasters like those of the past remains a top priority requiring constant vigilance by management, labor, and government. The goal of the present research is to investigate and identify root causes associated with types of mining accidents (victim being caught by an equipment, bodily motion, over exertion, etc) and nature of injuries such as (sprain and strains, fracture, dislocation, amputation, etc). Further, we hope to discover the impetus of the root causes occurring more and more often in this modern day of technology and quality awareness. With the different dimensions of accidents and injuries brought into the fold, there is the need for researchers and mining operators to comprehend and better still visualize significant patterns of associations among these variables of interest. We assume that, there is a high correlation between many dimensions of nature of injuries and types of accidents. This suggested a principal component analysis to reduce the dimensions for easy and amenable interpretation.

Jan 1, 2012

By Kathleen A. Altman

"This paper supplements the information provided annually at the Canadian Mineral Processors Operators Conference regarding the education of Mineral Processors in Canada. The purpose of the paper is to provide information regarding the engineering accreditation process in the United States and the universities that offer programs in Mineral Processing and Extractive Metallurgy in the U.S.There is a critical shortage of trained Mineral Processors and Mining Engineers world wide. The Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration (SME) formed a task force to evaluate the national needs for trained engineers and to track the number of engineers who graduate from U.S. universities each year. The statistical information for Mining Engineers is well-developed. The current effort is to assemble similar information regarding students who graduate with expertise in Extractive Metallurgy and Mineral Processing as well as to explore the limitations of the accreditation system in the United States and its impact on the education of Mineral Processors. The long-term objective is to develop a data base regarding Mineral Processing programs and Mineral Processing graduates that is as complete as the one that has been maintained by the Canadian Mineral Processors.INTRODUCTIONIn the United States engineering curricula are accredited by ABET, which was formerly known as the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. The objective of ABET accreditation is to ensure that educational programs in applied science, computing, engineering and technology meet quality standards set in conjunction with the professional organizations that represent professionals in the industries which hire students graduating from those educational programs. For example, the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration (SME) is the lead society for accrediting Mining Engineering programs in the U.S. For Materials Science and Metallurgical Engineering programs, the lead society is The Mineral, Metals and Materials Society (TMS). SME is a cooperating society for accrediting Metallurgical Engineering programs. Cooperating societies for the accreditation of Materials Engineering include the National Institute of Ceramic Engineers (NICE), the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)."

Jan 1, 2008

By Donald F. Rapp, Thomas E. Brown

The application of commercial explosives in an underwater environment, sometimes referred to as submarine blasting, presents the blaster with a unique set of demanding conditions which require exacting detail in design and application. There are two basic methods for removing rock under water: 1) "the drill and blast method"; and 2) "the dobying method." Because it is a far less effective method of blasting, dobying will not be addressed in this 'paper but suggested criteria can be found in the 16th Edition of the **DuPont Blasters' Handbook" page 371. Some examples of submarine blasting utilizing the drill and blast method include channel expansions, harbor construction, bridge pier footer excavations, utility excavation and demolition work.

Jan 1, 1994

By T. J. Goff, G. M. Denton

Mintek has developed the EnviroplasTM process for the treatment of solid wastes from the metallurgical industry, especially steel plant dusts, without requiring agglomeration to produce inert slag and at the same time recover metal values such as nickel, chromium and zinc. The products that are generated in the plasma-arc process are usually a metal and a non-toxic slag, which are tapped from the furnace in liquid form. The metal is mainly composed of chromium, nickel and manganese. During the production of stainless steel between 30 and 70 kg of dust and fine waste is generated per ton of steel. Mintek has successfully processed around 1000t of AOD/EAF dust on a toll treatment basis in order to recover the contained Cr and Ni. The metal produced contained 18.5 per cent Cr, and 5.5 per cent Ni. All slag samples tested conformed to US EPA regulations for disposal. The chromium and nickel recovery to metal was 90 and 98 per cent respectively, on a once through basis i.e. no baghouse dust recycle. Slag tapping temperatures varied between 1650°C and 1750°C. The average actual energy requirement excluding furnace heatlosses of smelting steel plant dust with anthracite as reductant was 1.36MWh/ ton of dust. The total mass of feed reporting to the off-gas stream was 10 per cent. The average ZnO content of the fume was 35.5 per cent.

Jan 1, 2004

By Dean E. Matthews

The concept of a pile for construction is credited to a Neolithic tribe called the "Swiss Lake Dwellers" who lived in what is now Switzerland about 6,000 years ago. They used piling, not for supporting heavy loads as we do today, but for elevation to protect themselves from wildlife. The Romans often used piles, and built many structures, including buildings, homes, bridges, roads and viaducts on piling. The Romans built the first bridge across the Tiber River in Rome on timber piles in B.C. 1620. Homes in the cities of Venice and Ravenna were built on piles from B.C. 100 to A.D. 400. The Romans also built the first bridge across the Thames River in London in A.D. 60 on timber piling.

Jan 1, 2003

By Jury P. Nazarov

"At present the traditional study of crystal lattices of nmerials in a topic “flota tion mineralogy ” is used up. The present investigation is development of the a sclsical approaches to t he analy sis of ideal crystal lattices and f ormation on the basic obtained results of consultation, having practical chara cter.The strategy of develop ment floatation reagents i s offered, which basic pr inciple – complementary assembling m olecules forming surface co mpounds so thatth e steric charact eristic of the “visitor "" (of a polar gro up of molecule SAS) corresponded to the st er ic requirements of the ""o wner"" (elementary cell of a mineral), or coincided inter molecular cavities). In itsh case process of for mation of surface com pounds ca n be considered(a first approximation) as a realization of a principle of the design er "" LEGO "".The approach, which basic idea consi deration actioonf reactant ions and ions of ele mentary cell as three-di mensional objects is developed. And at suchp paroach the laws of a ster eometry - laws describin g spatial effect s are applicable. Thus it is possible toconsider a miner al surface as a mat r ix - basis for formation of the requirem ents to polar group of a molleec cuollector, and or (it is possible) depressant. As a whole approach represents a generalized principle double com plementation, enveloping both power, and geometric asp ects (concept ""lock "" and “key "" - spatial conform ity. Figure 7 (left). Fragment of a crystal lat tice of ap atite. Oleic acid ions interact on ly with th e calcium cations locate d on a long axi s of an elementary c ell. Magenta colour represe nts the calciu m cations, which are n ot particip atin g in interactio n, as th e degree of screening by ions neighbours exceeds 1.Figure 2. (right)The illustration of space complementary. “Afterbuilding” an elementary cell of apatite (radical PO4) related molecules of the visitor – alkyl phosphate (polar group PO4). Cations of calcium are not shown."

Jan 1, 2003

Bubble Load Measurements in Flotation - A Critical Review of Current Practice

Sep 13, 2010

By Nicolae Dobritoiu

The literature in this field and the practical activity record that a method, respectively the technology used for an underground mining work have many components which, in order to be applied, demand that for each of the parameters that describe the environment of the mining work and that influence the chosing of that method and that technology of execution, must have values in an interval well determined. There are situations when one or many parameters of the set of parameters that describe the environment of the mining work, can modify its values, and, as a result, one or more components of the methods or technology cannot be applied anymore, making necessary a replacement of their values. The information offered by this graphical-analytical model allow the determination of optimum solutions for the process of digging of the underground mining work and thus it will result the incresing of the technical-economical efficiency of the digging process and, also the increasing of the quality of the underground mining work.

Oct 1, 2009

Study of Bauxite Separation by Using Flotation Column

Sep 13, 2010

By P. C. Fletcher, E. Kaya

The Bond grindability testing procedure has been standardized to measure the same grindability values, i.e. Bond work index (BWi), for the same ore when tests are performed in different laboratories or by different operators. This is accomplished by the standardization of mill dimensions, tumbling speed, grinding ball charge weight and distribution, sample ore charge weight in the mill and operating practice. The results of this investigation reveal that the Bond work index grindability values may differ substantially with different standard Bond ball mills. This paper will review the results.

Jan 1, 2002

By C. Anderson, Mike Michaelis

Ammonium Nitrate (AN) - based commercial explosives are non-ideal explosives. This is because the chemical and physical structure is heterogeneous on a distance scale comparable to, and in many cases larger than, the reaction zone in the detonating explosive. Such systems consist of inter-molecular fuel-oxidizer systems. Attempts have been made to minimize the heterogeneous nature (inter-molecular distances) of these explosives; emulsion systems are the latest examples of these commercialized AN-based explosives which balance cost, utility and performance. This latter factor (increased performance) is a direct result of increasing the contact between oxidizer and fuel.

Jan 1, 2003

Splashing and wave formation has been studied experimentally by using one-seventh water model of CLU (Creusot-Loire Uddeholm) reactor with two different tuyere configurations by using paraffin and water as simulated slag and simulated metal respectively. Experimental results have been discussed in terms of total splash volume, relative slag volume in splash (dispersed-slag phase holdup in splash), wave frequency and wave amplitude with respect to gas injection rate and tuyere configuration at bath heights between 0.25m and 0.38m. Gas flow rates ranged from 0.00599m3/s to 0.01312 m3/s. The results of splash measurements showed that splash volume increased with increasing gas flow rate and decreasing bath heights for both tuyere arrangements. However, off-centre configuration resulted in relatively higher amounts of splash. The slag volume in splash (Dph in splash) was also found to increase with decreasing bath heights and increasing gas injection rates. The high speed photography revealed that the frequency and wave amplitude increased with gas injection rate. The experimental results also showed that the frequency and vertical displacement of the rotating wave increased when the tuyere orientation became off-centered. This might be used to explain why off-center configuration resulted in generating higher splash volumes than the center configuration.

Jan 1, 2004

By Jean-Claude LeRoy, Herman Keller

"INTRODUCTIONEROCON's work is the reclamation of mine wastelands. It has had considerable experience in particular in the reclamation of gold mine tailings in the Canadian Shield since the latter part of the sixties when most gold mines were closing down.A typical example is the famous Hollinger Mine in Timmins which produced $566 million worth of metal from 1910 to 1968 and had left behind some 56 million tons of tailings covering about 1,000 acres which were reclaimed on very short order and are now lush meadows of agricultural quality.To date, practically all gold mine tailings have been reclaimed once and for all by establishing a permanent, self-sustaining and maintenance free vegetation cover.RECLAMATION & THE MINING TOWNSThe first appreciation of people in a mining community where the tailings have been revegetated will be noticing one day the elimination of dusty conditions that used to arise formerly on every dry and windy day. In that respect, EROCON encourages not only vegetating the tailings but also the immediate surroundings of the mills and plants themselves at active mines. The elimination of windborne dust will result in an appreciable decrease in maintenance costs of plant and machinery and more pleasant working conditions for all."

Jan 1, 1975

By Robert B. Bittner

The Sutong Bridge across the lower Yangtze River in China will have, when completed, the longest span (1,088 m) and the highest towers (306 m) of any cable stayed span in the world. The foundations for this record setting span will also be record setting. They are located in water depths exceeding 30 m with maximum flows exceeding 3 m/sec. The soil at the site of the main pylons consists of layers of silty sands and silty clays extending to bed rock at 270 m below river elevation. This paper describes the innovative methods used by the team of foundation designers and constructors to support this record setting bridge at this very challenging site. This paper covers three specific topics related to the foundations of the Sutong Bridge: ? Design and construction of the 131 drilled shaft (2.8/2.5 m diameter and 114/117 m long) under each of the two main pylons, ? Design and construction of the scour protection for the two main pylons, ? Construction methods used to construct the waterline pile caps (113.8 m by 48.1 m by 13.3 m deep) under each pylon.

Jan 1, 2005

This paper presents the near-field rock damage owing to production blasting in limestone quarry in the western region of Japan. The study's purpose is to learn the mechanism of crack development due to blast vibration. In this study, blast vibration's magnitude was expressed with peak particle velocity (PPV) which was obtained based on seismographs recorded database. In attempt to pursue a research's purpose of this study, there were two considerable interests: near-field blast vibration propagation and prediction, and crack observed and prediction. Furthermore, with regards to considerable interest of the study, there were three essential aspects which were challenged, such as: monitoring and interpretation of seismic wave propagation in a rock mass near large explosive charge of production blast scale, measurement of blast rock damage in adjacent to blasthole, and determine critical value of PPV which may produce significant rock damage. In order to determine precision critical PPV, understanding correlation between rock damage with vibration level is firstly important to be done. This paper also discusses how to measure, detect and quantify near-field blast vibration and blast rock damage in adjacent to blasthole.

Dec 6, 2010

The design of excavations in high displacement mining environments requires consideration of both the load and displacement capacity of the ground reinforcement and support systems. This paper is a case study on the design of point anchored rebar bolts using laboratory tests and field trials at the Ridgeway Deeps block cave. A laboratory testing program was carried out to measure the mechanical properties of the Strata Control Systems R27 Secura resin bolt which is currently being installed on the extraction and undercut level at the Ridgeway Deeps block cave. The aim was to quantify elastic, plastic and energy parameters for various bolt, mesh and plate systems. Experiments were performed on bar segments, bolt/plate systems, and bolt/plate/mesh/resin systems. The mechanical properties were calculated from tensile tests with a 500 kN Avery machine. Load-displacement data was collected from four different testing configurations. The laboratory results are compared with underground measurements and observations of bolt performance.

Nov 25, 2010

By B Moynihan

The Roa Opencast Coal Mine is situated at the north-eastern end of the Greymouth Coalfield. It lies on an eastern flank of the Paparoa Range, 16 km north-east of the town of Greymouth on the West Coast of the South Island. Road access is via a sealed road from Blackball to Roa, then by a 5.3 km all weather, gravel road, which gains 340 m in elevation from 190 m RL at Roa to a maximum height of 530 m near the opencast.

Jan 1, 1993

Mining Systems and Technology - Synchronous Electric Drives for Grinding Mills

Sep 13, 2010

By A. Adu-Acheampong

A geotechnical study was conducted to identify the cause(s) of stope instability at the Ashanti Mine (Obuasi, Ghana). As part of the investigation, laboratory testing of rock was performed and the rock mass was classified according to the Q-System (Barton et al., 1974).Numerical analyses were performed using the computer program FLAC (Itasca, 2001). The observed failure zone around the stopes was simulated using both Mohr-Coulomb and Hoek-Brown (Sheorey,1997) models. Yielding along peripheral graphite bands and tensile failure were clearly identified to be the major contributors to stope instability.

Jan 1, 2003

By K. G. Thorne, M. J. McLeod, D. Hoy

"Throughout the Paleozoic, a variety of gold depositional environments were created in the New Brunswick segment of the northern Appalachians because of the complexity of arc and continental plate collisions and subsequent erosion of the orogen. In southwestern New Brunswick, recent exploration and research has focused on deposits and occurrences that can be broadly classified as intrusion-related, generated by late- to post-orogenic felsic to intermediate plutonic rocks emplaced during the Early to Middle Devonian. This work has led to the establishment of models for gold mineralization and guidelines for exploration in this area, which might also be applicable elsewhere in the southern part of the province and, perhaps, throughout the northern Appalachians. The deposits in the vicinity of Clarence Stream in southwestern New Brunswick exemplify this deposit type, and highlight the emergence of a possible major gold district in the region. Durant le Paléozoïque, une grande variété d’environnements aurifères ont été créés dans le segment néo-brunswickois des Appalaches du nord en raison de la complexité des collisions entre arcs et plaques continentales ainsi que durant l’érosion subséquente de l’orogène. Dans le sud-ouest du Nouveau Brunswick, les travaux d’exploration et de recherche récents se sont tournés vers les gisements et les indices appartenant à la classe des gîtes associés aux intrusions, générés par des roches plutoniques felsiques à intermédiaires tardi- à post-orogéniques mises en place au Dévonien précoce à moyen. Ces travaux ont permis d’établir des modèles de mise en place pour la minéralisation aurifère ainsi que des guides d’exploration pour ce secteur, lesquels pourraient aussi être appliqués ailleurs dans le sud de la province et, possiblement, dans l’ensemble des Appalaches du nord. Les gîtes aux environs de Clarence Stream dans le sud-ouest du Nouveau Brunswick sont un exemple de ce type de gisement, mettant en valeur ce qui pourrait devenir un district aurifère majeur dans la région."

Jan 1, 2008