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By Malcolm Ross

Asbestos crystallizes within rock formations undergoing intense deformation characterized by folding, faulting, shearing, and dilation. Some of these conditions have prevailed during formation of the taconite iron ore deposits in the eastern Mesabi Iron Range of Minnesota. This range includes the Peter Mitchell Taconite Mine at Babbitt, Minnesota. The mine pit is over 8 miles long, up to 1 mile wide. Fifty three samples were collected from 30 sites within areas of the pit where faulting, shearing and folding occur and where fibrous minerals might occur. Eight samples from seven collecting sites contain significant amounts of ferroactinolite amphibole that is partially to completely altered to fibrous ferroactinolite. Two samples from two other sites contain ferroactinolite degraded to ropy masses of fibers consisting mostly of ferrian sepiolite as defined by X-ray diffraction and TEM and SEM X-ray spectral analysis. Samples from five other sites contain unaltered amphiboles, however some of these samples also contain a very small number of fiber bundles composed of mixtures of grunerite, ferroactinolite, and ferrian sepiolite. It is proposed that the alteration of the amphiboles was caused by reaction with water-rich acidic fluids that moved through the mine faults and shear zones. The fibrous amphiboles and ferrian sepiolite collected at the Peter Mitchell Mine composes a tiny fraction of one percent of the total rock mass of this taconite deposit; an even a smaller amount of these mineral fragments enter the ambient air during mining and milling. These fibrous minerals thus do not present a significant health hazard to the miners nor to those non-occupationally exposed. No asbestos of any type was found in the mine pit. © 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Keywords: Taconite; Asbestos; Amphibole; Reserve mining; Tailings; Mesabi iron range; Mineral fibers

Jan 1, 2007

By John D. Spencer

Research on the development of new and improved methods for the discovery and production of oil and gas and production of fluid fuels from coal continued to be the major thrust of the Bureau of Mines energy research program during 1973. Crude oil recovery from tar sands and oil shale also retained a high priority in this work. Complementing this program were numerous studies aimed at accomplishing the objective of increased energy output with greater safety and minimum harm to the natural environment. This report summarizes research objectives and results and itemizes formal publications of the Bureau of Mines on energy and related subjects.

Jan 1, 1974

By C. M. Kleemann

The paper describes the present milling practice at Western Mining Corporation Limited's new nickel mine at Kambalda in Western Australia. It details the crushing, autogenous grinding, flotation and spray drying circuits for the production of a nickel concentrate. It also indicates some of the metallurgical problems which have been encountered in concentrating this ore.

Jan 1, 1973

Same-batch and non-blind as well as blind pulp duplicates are often submitted as quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) control samples to a routine laboratory along with routine assays (and other control samples such as reference material samples). The current ways of interpreting the results of duplicate assays to derive QA/QC conclusions and decisions, however, has not yet been formalised in a scientific manner. The current, prevailing approach and its limitations are reviewed and a new method is proposed as a substitute tool. This new tool should allow for operational error detection on a batch per batch basis (ie batch rejection) as well as laboratory performance assessment with time on reproducibility.

Jan 1, 2008

By Jerry C. Tien

China?s remarkable levels of economic growth during the past three decades have lifted almost 300 million people out of poverty. This amazing achievement has placed an increasing demand on energy and minerals, especially coal, which supplies 68.7 percent of China?s energy (June 2011). It is estimated that China mined more than 3 Gt (3.3 billion st) of coal in 2010, three times as much when compared to merely 10 years earlier. Such an impressive achievement does not come without major costs ?? including concerns with mine safety and an increasing number of occupational illnesses due to fast growth. This article reports on one of the major safety concerns in China?s coal mining, dust and dust control practices, and known cases of caol worker?s pneumoconiosis affiliated with prolonged exposure to excessive coal dusts. The exact size of China?s mining industry is not known, but it is estimated the coal industry is at least five-million people strong, and the metal and nonmetals industry probably employs another three million people. To meet increasing energy demand, China mined more than 3.1 Gt (3.4 billion st) of coal in 2010 from its 15,000 plus coal operations1, most of which are small- to medium-sized operations with annual coal productions ranging from a few thousand tons to 300 kt (330,000 st). These small coal operations are typically in remote areas, inadequately engineered, poorly ventilated and still using rudimentary drilling and blasting mining methods employing antiquated mining equipment and, presenting safety concerns, i.e., methane and dust explosions.

Jan 1, 2011

By W. Joseph Schlitt

The use of plate and frame filter presses for dewatering cement copper at Kennecott' s Bingham Canyon precipitation plant is described. The dewatering process begins by periodically flushing a dilute copper slurry from cone precipitators to a rake thickener. The thickener underflows intermittently to an agitated surge tank which feeds the filter presses with a relatively constant slurry containing 10 to 20% solids. The presses operate with a three-stage cycle; loading, air blowing and discharging. Exothermic reactions occur during the air blow which cause actual drying as well as promoting dewatering via simple filtration. At the completion of the air blow, the presses are discharged onto a conveyor belt which transfers material to the load-out building for shipment to the smelter. An extended investigation was undertaken to relate moisture content in the filter cake to maximum press temperature, acidification of press feed, percent solids in the feed, and percent insol in the copper. Of these, press tempera¬ture and feed pH (3. 5 to 1. 0) have the greatest impact on drying. Because the discharged filter cake is hot and continues to undergo exothermic oxidation, significant drying occurs during subsequent handling so that a product containing 8 to 14% moisture is delivered to the smelter.

Jan 1, 1977

By Charles Vaught

The purpose of this study was to determine mine workers' state of fie-fighting preparedness and the technology being used to detect and respond to underground coal mine fires. To investigate this problem, 214 underground coal miners were interviewed by U.S. Bureau of Mines researchers. Frequency distributions of workers' responses are presented in this report, along with segments of narrative accounts, to profile miners' fire-fighting capabilities. The data indicated that much variability exists from mine to mine and that there are several important changes operators may undertake in order to make miners better prepared to deal with fire underground: select appropriate sensors, establish and test a warning and communication protocol, construct a system capable of delivering hundreds of gallons of water per minute for sustained periods, institute formal fire preparedness audits, develop case studies of events that occur at an operation to use as teaching and assessment tools, and provide structured practice that can be incorporated into fire drills.

Jan 1, 2010

By Jim Britton

Sustained elevated metal and coal prices in 2011 continued to drive mining projects across British Columbia. The province is the top producer of copper, exporter of coal and the only producer of molybdenum in Canada. The province also produces significant amounts of gold, silver, lead and zinc and more than 30 industrial minerals. The total 2011 value of solid metal production is an estimated $8.6 billion and the outlook for 2012 is positive. British Columbia is poised to bring several new mines onstream in the next few years. Construction continues at the New Afton and Mt Milligan copper-gold projects that are anticipated to be open in 2012 and 2013, respectively. The provincial Environmental Assessment Office indicates there are 26 mine proposals in process with three currently under review and 23 in the preapplication stage. The following text briefly describes 2011 metal and coal mining activities in the five regions reported on by the provinces? regional geologists (Fig. 1).

Jan 1, 2012

By D Tuazon, M Powell, M Ziemski, G D. Corder

Although mining companies have made broad corporate-level commitments to adopt sustainability, there continue to be problems when attempts are made to adopt higher-level sustainability aspirations and translate them into appropriate targets and methods at the more-specific operational level. The integration of sustainability principles into minerals processing operational decision-making processes has unique challenges that are not addressed adequately by current tools and methodologies, yet impacts from operational decisions can have longer-term effects realised at closure and rehabilitation.This paper describes a proposed methodology to achieve the integration of sustainability at the operational level through a systematic and rigorous process of identifying and qualifying sustainability issues and opportunities in an operation. The methodology, starting from a sustainability point of view rather than an operational one, guides the identification of process issues and opportunities by examining the operation, unit-by-unit, similar to a Hazard and Operability (HAZOP) process. Each issue or opportunity is qualified according to its measurability, scopes of impact and consequences so that it may be understood fully and the correct engineering problems are formed. Through improved decision-making to account for broader sustainability factors, operations can better address environmental and social expectations and pressures (both corporate and community, as well as immediate and in the longer-term), whilst still delivering on operational and business goals.The methodology has been tested with two case studies at minerals processing operations. At one site, the methodology identified a dust issue which had considerable business risks (loss of valuable product) compared to conventional engineering analysis processes. The other site also benefited from using the methodology as an opportunity to improve the operation of the milling and flotation circuits was identified. The opportunity not only showed a potential to improve operational efficiency, but also potential improvements in water and energy efficiency and a resulting increased resilience against water and energy supply risks. It was important to utilise the holistic approach of the methodology in the identification of opportunities at this site; the goals of the operation showed a strong coupling between water and energy issues which would be difficult to overcome using the operationÆs current organisational model, which deals with such issues separately of each other.CITATION:Tuazon, D, Corder, G D, Powell, M and Ziemski, M, 2012. A practical and rigorous approach for integrating sustainability principles into decision-making processes at minerals processing operations, in Proceedings Life-of-Mine 2012 , pp 233-242 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Jul 10, 2012

By Michel Rodrigue, Sylvain Duchesne, Louis Racine

"LocationThe Louvicourt mine is located 20 km east of Val d'Or in Abitibi, in the northwest part of the province of Quebec. The mine is located on Highway 117 connecting Val d'Or to Montreal and very close to the main railway networkHistoryFive successive exploration attempts by Aur Resources resulted in the discovery of the large Louvicourt orebody in June 1989. Construction of the surface and underground infrastructures commenced in the spring of 1991. Milling operations commenced in July 1994. The entire project cost CDN$290 million, almost CDN$20 million less than initially estimated. The concentrator infrastructure cost CDN$64 million.Louvicourt mine is owned in partnership by Novicourt Inc. (45%), Teck Corporation (25%), and Aur Resources Inc., the administrator (30%).Brief DescriptionLouvicourt mine is the largest producer of base metals (Cu and Zn) in Abitibi-Temiscamingue. Its average daily production is nearly 4300 t of ore, for an annual production of 200 000 t of copper concentrate (28% Cu) and 33 000 t of zinc concentrate (57% Zn). After only a few weeks of operation, it had attained its objectives for the most part, and operations continue to be improved."

Jan 1, 2000

By AIME AIME

TO THE AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS. AMERICAN INSTITUTE OE MINING ENGINEERS. MINING AND METALLURGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA. The committee that makes this report was appointed at the meeting of the American Mining Congress, at Denver, Colo., in. November, 1906. The appointment had in view the drafting. of a law for the regulation of quarrying and metalliferous mining under the police laws of the States, with the hope that the uniform adoption of such a law could tend to reduce the number of accidents in mining. Since its. appointment, the committee has had' under serious and continuous consideration the matter with which it was charged. At the meetings 0f the American Mining Congress in 19o7, 1908 and 1909, it reported progress. At the meeting in 1909 it was authorized to present its report not only to the American Mining Congress, but also to the American Institute of Mining Engineers and the. Mining and Metallurgical Society of America, and to present its report in printed form during the interim between meetings of the American Mining Congress. The committee collected from the officials of the States of the Union copies of their mining laws. With the assistance of the Engineering and Mining Journal copies of the laws 0f Great Britain, the Transvaal, New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, Tasmania, New aland, and certain European countries were also obtained. These laws were subjected to careful study. The first publication of the committee was a summary of the more important metalliferous mining laws 0f this country. Upon the basis of the existing laws of the States of the Union, Great Britain, and the English speaking colonies, a tentative draft. was prepared and printed in limited number in 1909, for convenience in securing the advice and criticism of a considerable number 0f persons engaged in the mining industry. In this way valuable suggestions were received. At the request of the chairman of this committee, Mr. Frederick L. Hoffman, statistician of the Prudential Insurance Company, of Newark, N. J., summarized and reviewed the available statistics of fatalities in metalliferous mining in the United States. Mr. Hoffman's report was published in the Engineering and Mining

Jan 10, 1910

By D. R. Wilburn

his summary of international mineral exploration activities for the year 2011 draws upon available information from industry sources, published literature and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) specialists. The summary provides data on exploration budgets by region and mineral commodity, identifies significant mineral discoveries and areas of mineral exploration, discusses government programs affecting the mineral exploration industry and presents [ ] analyses of exploration activities performed by the mineral industry. Three sources of information are reported and analyzed in this annual review of international exploration: 1) budgetary statistics expressed in U.S. nominal dollars provided by Metals Economics Group (MEG) of Halifax, Nova Scotia; 2) regional and site-specific exploration activities that took place in 2011 as compiled by the USGS and 3) regional events including economic, social and political conditions that affected exploration activities, which were derived from published sources and unpublished discussions with USGS and industry specialists.

Jan 1, 2012

By W. Leblanc, J. C. Marsh, D. Kettle, J. Tompkins, G. Hartley

"The Lingan Mine is the newest of the four operating collieries of the Cape Breton Development Corporation and is located on the east coast of Cape Breton Island. Development of slopes began in 1969 using four Dosco Roadheaders. Production commenced in October 1972, when a partial extraction section utilizing a continuous miner, loader and shuttle car was installed. A second Joy unit is scheduled to begin production early in 1973. This paper describes the production and development operations, the ventilation system and the equipment in use at the mine."

Jan 1, 1973

By J. J. Forbes

This publication is a revision of the first of a series of four Miners' Circulars originally prepared and issued in 19'29 for use in a course of training designed to prepare mine officials to organize men for rescue and recovery operations. These circulars were revised in 1937 and 1938 and again in 1948. This circular (Miners' Circular 33) discusses mine gases and methods for detecting them. The second of this series (Miners' Circular 34) gives instruction in Bureau of Mines methods of sampling and analysis of mine gases; the third (Miners' Circular 35) describes methods and equipment used for protection against mine gases; and the fourth (Miners' Circular 36) explains procedures used in sealing and unsealing mine fires and in recovery operations after mine fires or mine explosions.

Jan 1, 1954

By Juliana Mendonça Silva de Jesus

O estudo do comportamento de membranas trocadoras de íons em um sistema específico permite verificar a interação de um eletrólito com suas propriedades. No presente trabalho, foram utilizadas soluções de cobre à base de HEDP, proveniente de um banho galvânico isento de cianeto. A membrana utilizada foi a HDX 200 (aniônica) fornecida pela empresa Hidrodex. Amostras da membrana foram submetidas a um ensaio de envelhecimento durante 13, 26, 60 e 90 dias, imersas em uma solução a 5% v/v do banho de cobre. Após o envelhecimento essas foram preparadas para a realização de análises estruturais por FTIR, MEV e TGA. Os resultados obtidos pelo MEV e FTIR mostram que a membrana possui morfologia heterogênea. Além disso, verificou-se pelos resultados da análise térmica que o complexo presente no banho eletrolítico influi no comportamento térmico da membrana.

Aug 17, 2017

By João Paulo Ferreira Santos

Neste trabalho foram obtidos nanocompósitos híbridos constituídos por nanotubos de carbono de paredes múltiplas (MWCNT) e por nanofibras eletrofiadas de nylon 6 em uma matriz epoxídica. Os MWCNT foram funcionalizados com grupamentos carboxílicos e dispersos através de ultrassom na resina epoxídica. A composição resultante foi disposta de maneira alternada com mantas de nanofibras de nylon 6 para formar estruturas compósitas na forma de sanduiches, as quais foram termicamente curadas. Medidas de resistividade elétrica das estruturas obtidas mostraram que uma percolação elétrica entre 0,05% e 0,5% (v/v) de MWCNT foi alcançada. Do ponto de vista mecânico, a incorporação de MWCNT na matriz epoxídica resultou em aumentos de módulo de elasticidade (26%) e na resistência a ruptura (19%), porém, devido a presença de aglomerados de nanocargas, a deformação na ruptura e a resistência ao impacto foram severamente reduzidas para 71% e 33%, respectivamente. Por outro lado, a adição de nanofibras de nylon 6 para formar um híbrido, mostrou-se, bastante promissora ao levar a aumentos de 8% na resistência ao impacto sem ocasionar perdas de módulo elástico, na resistência à ruptura e na deformação na ruptura.

Aug 8, 2018

Jan 1, 2003

By W. A. Grosh

Records show that much of the lead produced in the Upper Mississippi Valley lead-zinc field was taken from natural openings along crevice systems at shallow horizons or at the surface. During the early history of the district, the shallow deposits were worked intensively; but in recent years the production of lead, except as a byproduct of deeper mining for zinc ores, has not been significant. Considering the methods of early mining, the character of mineralization, and the fact that galena can still be found on the surface of the old digging areas, it was reasoned that enough mineralization might remain on and above bedrock to permit, through the use of modern equipment and methods, economical re-treatment of surface material in the digging areas.

Jan 1, 1960

By Phillip M. Busch

VANADIUM was discovered in 1801 by Andres Manuel del Rio, a professor of mineralogy at the School of Mines in Mexico City. Del Rio called the new element erythronium. Later, he decided that this was not a new element but a form of chromium. Not until 1831 did Nils G. Sefström, a Swedish chemist, positively determine that the metal was a new element which he named vanadium, after Vanadis, the Scandanavian goddess of beauty. From 1831 to the 1860's and 1870's, the comparative scarcity and high cost of vanadium restricted its commercial use. Shortly after 1870, more information was obtained on the physical and chemical properties of the element. Thereafter, research on vanadium has dealt largely with its use as an alloying element in steel and nonferrous metals. Vanadium is a widely distributed element in the earth's crust. It is more abundant than many metals but is disseminated in small quantities throughout a great variety of rocks. Relatively few deposits have contained ore of a grade suitable to warrant development for vanadium alone. It is produced in conjunction with uranium, iron, titanium, aluminum, and lead-zinc ores.

Jan 1, 1961

By W. S. Sanner

This report describes the commercial application of the launder screen in anthracite-industry fine-coal cleaning operations. No new device, the launder screen has been used since the early part of the present century to size, screen, classify, and deslime the fine-anthracite sizes (Buckwheat Nos. 1 through 5) recovered by "river-coal" men dredging along streams draining the anthracite fields. The launder screen is stationary, has no moving parts, requires ample water for operation, and can be constructed economically on the job. Essentially, it consists of a wooden trough with baffles placed through its width to form a well system. The wells are covered by fine-mesh woven-wire screening. Each well is tapped with a number of orifices, and the hydraulic suction head developed in this manner removes high-gravity fines and slimes through the screening as underflow to waste. Material retained on the screen surface discharges as overflow product.

Jan 1, 1954