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By Ronald J. Searle, Howard S. Latham

In April 1964 the Bureau of Reclamation awarded the first contract for rapid machine excavation of a water conveyance tunnel . Since then the Bureau has excavated seven tunnels with a total length of over 190,000 feet utilizing rapid excavation tunneling machines. Tunnel bored diameters have varied from 9' 0" to 20' 10" (See Table #1) and tunnel lengths from 5,000 feet to 67,000 feet. Driver and cutter units varied from 43 rolling teeth and eight rolling discs mounted on a rotating head driven by five 200 HP 23,000 volt electric motors to 20 discs and one tricone unit mounted on a rotating head driven by two 100 HP 440 volt motors. All tunnels were driven with a laser beam guidance system governing both line and grade. Trailing conveyors and rail haulage systems were used to dispose of the excavated material. Approved Bureau of Mines diesel locomotive engines for waste trains were prevalent power sources supplemented by battery units on some projects. Sandstone, conglomerates, agglomerates, siltstone, shale, and granite were the geological formations encountered, with sandstone and shale the preponderant material . Tunnel support systems utilized were structural steel ribs; rock bolts and metal plates; and shotcrete, or combinations of these. Progress varied from 51-1/2 feet to 154 feet per working day for three shifts, depending on rock material and supports required. One contractor established a record rate of advance of over 400 feet in one day, 1,905 feet in one week, and 6,848 feet in one month. Such diversified experience in underground machine excavation methods presented an excellent opportunity to observe, analyze, and evaluate associated environmental health problems. Also, to develop measures for controlling

Jan 1, 1997

By R. Mensah-Biney

The adsorption of gold-thiourea complex onto a cation exchange resin, Amberlite 252, has been evaluated in a batch stirred reactor. The observed non equilibrium saturation capacity was 3.20 meg Au/g dry resin (620 kg/t) whereas the equilibrium ion exchange capacity was only 0.53 meq/g (103 kg/t). The enthalpy of adsorption was 4 -25 kJ/mole under equilibrium conditions and increased to 20-200 kJ/mole under non equilibrium conditions. Under non equilibrium conditions, the adsorption capacity of the resin decreased with increasing temperature and increasing thiourea concentration and increased with increasing gold concentration. This dependence of adsorption capacity on thiourea concentration and temperature may be a useful tool for elution of gold from the loaded resin. Scanning electron microscopy revealed evidence of deposition of elemental gold on the loaded resin under non equilibrium conditions. The proposed mechanism for "adsorption" of gold-thiourea complex onto this cation exchange resin consists of an ion exchange reaction followed by a reduction of the exchanged gold complex to elemental gold on the surface of the resin.

Jan 1, 1997

By A. J. Basu

Computer assisted mine planning and design applications are routinely used by many Australian mining companies, However, the design process requires human expertise to recognize and evaluate the potential pitfalls. This paper introduces the application of a commercial optimization software (WHITTLE 4D) for strategic planning of an open pit mine in Western Australia. The authors present their experience in intelligent application of the optimization program while incorporating many technical and nontechnical obstacles. This paper provides some guidelines on how to apply the optimization software without loosing sight of practicalities. Moreover, this paper also shows how to build project evaluation guidelines for non-experts.

Jan 1, 1997

By Richard H. T. Garnett

In 1900, placer gold was discovered on the beach of Nome, AK on the southern coastline of Alaska's Seward Peninsula (Garnett, 1991). The site is about 800 km (500 miles) from Anchorage. Nome is connected to Anchorage only by air (daily) and by sea (summer). Total onshore placer gold production from Nome's immediate vicinity was more than 155.5 t (5 million oz). Alaska Gold Co, has continued to produce gold onshore with, until recently, two bucketladder dredges, each of 255-L (9-cu ft) bucket capacity. Small-scale marine dredging for gold has been at- tempted several times this century (Garnett, 1991). Western Gold Exploration and Mining Co. Ltd. Partnership (WestGold) is the only company to have been successful in achieving a significant offshore production. The Nome bucketladder-dredging operation from 1986 to 1990 constituted a unique marine-mining experience in the United States. \Inspiration Gold Inc., WestGold's predecessor, acquired six offshore leases in 1985. The total lease area of 87 km2 (21,551 acres) extended from the coastline to the 4.8-km (3-mile) offshore limit (Fig. 1). Those leases al- ready had been partially explored. Drilling was conducted off the shorefast winter sea ice. Therefore, it was rarely more than 1.6 km (1 mile) from the shore or in water deeper than about 9 m (30 ft). In 1985, estimated reserves comprised of a 5-m (17-ft) vertical thickness of sediments below 6.3 m (20 ft) of water. This meant a mean digging depth below the mean sea level (msl) of 11.3 m (37 ft). It was thought that the offshore Nome deposit possessed a feature that is common with many terrestrial gold placers - the secret of profitable exploitation of the marine deposit lay in maximizing the dredge throughput to minimize the unit costs. The inability of the project to withstand the prohibitively high cost of a new dredge was recognized. So Inspiration Gold purchased a used unit. This was the world's largest ocean- going bucketladder dredge (Fig. 2). Binzn was an 850-L (30 cu ft) bucket capacity dredge that was lying idle in Singapore. Originally constructed in the Jurong shipyard of Singapore in 1979, Bima was designed by Mining and Transport Engineering, a subsidiary of IHC Holland. Billiton Marine used the dredge for tin production at Pulau Tujuh in Indonesia (Dieperink, 1978) before it was laid up in mid-1985. Bima underwent a nine-week refit before departing Singapore on June 4,1986, with 800-t (880-st ) of deck cargo. It was dry-towed for 32 days to Alaska. A slower, less expensive, wet-tow at the authorized 5.5 kmthr (3 knots/hour) would have delayed the dredge's arrival in Alaska untl almost the onset of winter. The 13,000-km (8,100-mile) voyage was made on the deck of Smit Lloyd's "Giant-4" submersible barge towed by its 7.8- MW (10,500-hp) tugboat. The first season's dredging revealed several major shortcomings in Bima. Further repairs and modifications were undertaken at Tacoma, WA. The dredge returned to Nome for the June start of the 1987 summer dredging season. The refitted Bima worked offshore at Nome from 1987 to 1990. It produced 3.67 t (118,078 oz) of gold at an average recovered grade of 824 mg/m3 (0.0204 oz/cu yd). In 1991, the dredge was dismantled and sold.

Jan 1, 1997

By Lee Ann Arrington-Webb

Thiele Kaolin Co. has invested much time and money in achieving and maintaining its IS0 9002 certification. Through a regimen of process control and documentation, routine audits and a commitment to quality management, this kaolin producer is a competitive pigment supplier in a worldwide market. Background In 1987, the International Organization for Standards developed the ISO 9000 quality management system. This series of standards is used as a means to ensure customers that a quality management system is in place. Certification of a company does not mean that an individual product is of high quality. Rather, it demonstrates a supplier's ability to meet its customers' product and service needs. It also shows that a company has documented records to assure product consistency. The ISO 9000 system was begun in England during the early 1980s. During the mid-1970s, the British manufacturing industry was experiencing low quality. In an attempt to boost quality standards, the British government established the BS 5750 standards system. In 1987, BS 5750 was incorporated into ISO 9000. The ISO 9000 series consists of three levels of certification. ISO 9001 is the model for quality assurance in "design/development, production, installation and servicing." This standard applies to companies that rely on research and development to bring products that frequently change to market. ISO 9002 involves "production and installation" only. This standard is relevant to industries that produce a specific product according to specifications - either their own or their customer's. ISO 9003 is the model in "final inspection and test." This standard is the least detailed of the 9000 series. It is also the most applicable to companies that purchase, inspect or sort and resell. The quality system requirements for certification are outlined in the 18 elements of ISO 9002. These include: 4.1 - Management responsibility. 4.2 - Quality systems. 4.3 - Contract review. 4.4 - Design control. 4.5 - Document and data control. 4.6 - Purchasing. 4.7 - Control of customer-supplied product. 4.8 - Product identification and traceability. 4.9 - Process control. 4.10 - Inspection and testing. 4.11- Control of inspection, measuring and test equipment. 4.12 - Inspection and test status. 4.13 - Control of nonconforming product. 4.14 - Corrective and preventive action. 4.15 - Handling, storage, packaging, preservation and delivery. 4.16 - Control of quality records. 4.17 - Internal quality audits. 4.18 -Training. Continuous improvement, though implied in maintaining these requirements, could potentially be included in the quality system requirements in the next revision. The ISO 9000 requirements and documentation system is shown in the hierarchy pyramid (Fig. 1). A company's quality policy serves as the top of the pyra-

Jan 1, 1997

By C. E. Semler

A 5 year test program, involving on-line, in-vessel exposures at Barrick Goldstrike Mines. Inc. has provided valuable information and experience about the materials and designs for brickwork linings in pressure oxidation autoclaves. A variety of brick and mortar products have been evaluated. Properties before and after exposure are used to document the performance. Benefits have included the development of a new silicate mortar improved understanding of brick requirements and increased autoclave operating time between maintenance shut-downs. More improvements are expected in the future based on further information from the test program.

Jan 1, 1997

By Krzysztof Filek, Anindya Sinha, Bernard Nowak

Taking into account the possibilities of condensation of water vapour contained in air during its flow through a series of spot coolers as well as formation of eventual fog, a mathematical model of dynamic temperature, specific humidity and degree of fogging of cooled air in underground mining galleries with direct ventilation is developed. In the gallery, there situated various heat and moisture sources both of distributive and of concentrated types. The model is represented by three partial differential equations of first order. The cases of cooling with full as well as with partial air stream flowing through the gallery are distinguished. Owing to the fact that in practical designing, more important is the knowledge of the variation process of temperature, specific humidity and fogging of cooled mine air at steady state conditions, the model is modified to a set of three nonlinear ordinary differential equations. Based on the presented algorithm, the obtained set of ordinary differential equations is numerically solved which enables to: • specify the distribution of temperature, specific humidity, relative humidity and degree of fogging of cooled air in mining galleries; • determine the cooling powers of air coolers for their known locations; • indicate the locations of the coolers of known cooling powers. Exemplary calculations of temperature and relative humidity of cooled air are presented graphically in a number of diagrams.

Jan 1, 1997

By B. K. Sternberg

Since 1986, we have developed a series of electromagnetic (EM) sounding systems at the Laboratory for Advanced Subsurface Imaging (LASI). These may be categorized by their frequency ranges: low frequency (LF, 30 Hz to 30 kHz), medium frequency (MF, 1 kHz to 1 MHz), and high frequency (HF, 30 kHz to 30 MHz). We have applied these EM systems to a variety of targets, including: mapping of plumes of contaminated groundwater, tracing leachate for an in-situ leaching operation, locating buried hazardous waste, identifying subsidence-prone zones and detecting buried voids. These systems are also applicable to exploration for ore bodies. Currently, our sounding system uses a vertical magnetic field vector. Previous systems of this type required a slow and relatively inaccurate manual rotation of the sensing coils. The systems also used occasional calibrations of the measuring system. We have developed a 3-dimensional mathematical rotation procedure for the data, as well as a simultaneous, high-accuracy, calibration method. These new developments have greatly increased the speed of the measurements, as well as improving the accuracy of the ellipticity data. We use stepped-frequency measurements along with narrow-band filtering to allow accurate measurements, even in high-noise areas. We typically obtain ellipticity measurements at eleven frequencies and along densely sampled profile lines. We use neural networks to help interpret the measured ellipticity patterns. Neural networks can be trained to relate the measured ellipticity patterns to earth resistivities or to discrete targets buried in the earth. The neural network training may use theoretical EM responses calculated from computer codes for relatively simple structures. The theoretical EM response for many complex targets that are of interest cannot currently be reliably calculated, even with the largest supercomputers available. We have therefore chosen to do some of the training using theoretical EM responses generated in a full-scale modeling tank located at our Avra Valley Geophysical Test Site. We have also developed data-visualization software to help interpret the large data sets produced by this system.

Jan 1, 1997

Planning the primary development of a mineral deposit usually is done only once during the life of a mine. As a consequence, not optimizing the primary development of a mineral deposit can cause disadvantages over the whole life of a mine and can lead to higher costs. As a contribution to an improved primary development design procedure beyond the already existing work a study of the identification and quantification of the influence of parameters on primary development based on operational data from working mining operations has been completed. Based upon such a quantification of the influence of parameters a sequenced decision model was developed, that enables to develop an initial concept for the design of the accesses from the surface based upon a few critical parameters. Such a model will not replace detailed planning work within a feasibility study, but it is intended to reduce the amount of planning efforts at an early project stage through providing information what are most likely economic solutions, based on simple rules.

Jan 1, 1997

This paper addresses the valuation and development timing of an undeveloped mineral project. Traditional analysis has us developing the project immediately if its net present value (NPV) is positive. Option pricing theory finds that it is better to wait until the NPV of the property is significantly greater than zero before developing. Alternatively, when evaluating the development timing decision, we must calculate NPV using a higher "timing-adjusted" discount rate, and develop the property only if its NPV using this timing-adjusted discount rate is greater than zero. This paper uses option pricing ideas to convert this development timing advice into a more concrete and user-friendly decision rule: develop the project when its "development-timing NPV" is positive, this development-timing NPV being calculated using the normal discount rate.

Jan 1, 1997

By L. R. Chirinos

The Tintaya mine of BHP Copper, located in Southern Peru, includes a copper oxide deposit hosted in a mineralized skarn zone. The ore contains large amounts of clays and high acid consuming species resulting in low heap leaching performance. A treatment scheme was proposed that included a wet screening separation. The coarse fraction would be treated by heap and the fines by agitation leaching. The dissolved copper would then be recovered through solvent extraction and electrowinning (SXEW). Testwork determined the optimum heap leaching conditions to treat the oxide in on/off pads of 3 meter height with an initial acid cure followed by variable acid strength during irrigation. The method resulted in a reduced acid consumption and good copper recoveries.

Jan 1, 1997

By Sigmund D. Schwarz

INTRODUCTION In late 1970, an experimental geophysical program was undertaken at the Lake Huron Tunnel for the purpose of developing a geophysical technique that could be applied to determining the thickness of rock above the crown of the tunnel and identifying anomalous geologic conditions ahead of the face as the tunnel was advanced. The Lake Huron Tunnel is an 18.5 foot diameter machine bored tunnel having a total length of approximately 6 miles. The easternmost 4.5 mile section of the tunnel extends offshore beneath Lake Huron. At the time this study was started, approximately 1.5 miles of bore remained to be completed at the east end of the project. The tunnel is part of a raw water intake for the City of Detroit water supply. The Lake Huron Tunnel is bored in Antrim shale, a dense marine shale of Mississippian or Devonian age. The west end of the project encountered banded brown shale containing numerous calcareous concretions ranging in size from a few inches to more than 16 feet in diameter. As the tunnel was advanced in an easterly direction, a transition was encountered into very uniform gray shale. One set of prominent vertical joints was encountered with a strike running approximately 15 to 20 degrees askew of the tunnel axis. Bedding is essentially flat. Variable quantities of salt water and natural gas occur in the rock. The results of exploratory drilling carried out for preliminary design studies indicated that as little as 30 to 35 feet of rock cover could be expected under the lake at the east end of the project.

Jan 1, 1997

By Timothy P. Smirnoff, Anthony Stirbys, Amanda Elioff

The construction of the continuing expansion of the Los Angeles Metro System has required the construction of eight new station structures. One contractor proposed, as a construction alternative for the support of excavation of the Hollywood/Vine Station, the use of soil-mix walls instead of the conventional soldier piles and wood lagging. Soldier piles and shotcrete or wood lagging support systems had been generally used on the other sub-way station excavations constructed to date throughout the system. Immediately east of that station and in almost exactly the same geology, the Hollywood/Western Station was being excavated at the same time using a conventional support system. This paper com-pares the performance of these two support systems in the alluvial soils of the Los Angeles Basin.

Jan 1, 1997

By N. D. Cristescu

An analysis of the interaction between a creeping rock and a yieldable lining is presented. The following cases are considered: an elastic lining, a lining made of circular shaft rings that may slide at their joints, a lining made of circular reinforced concrete panels with wooden compressible strips inserted between the longitudinal joints and a yieldable support that has a compressible broken-rock stratum between the support and plane rock. By formulating a mathematical model for the rock-lining interaction, one can optimize the sequence of excavation-lining application. To keep costs to a minimum, one can also choose the most appropriate lining for the corresponding rheological properties of the rock.

Jan 1, 1997

By Claude Boisjoly, Pierre de Courval, Don Nguyen

The Sainte-Marguerite-3 (SM3) hydro project, presently under construction, requires the excavation of an underground powerhouse and large water conveyance tunnels. This paper describes the planning of the project, main features of underground structures, excavation techniques and ground support.

Jan 1, 1997

By J. M. Gambogi

Demand for titanium minerals and pigments was nearly unchanged in 1996 compared with 1995. However, through mine expansions and process optimization by the TiO, pigment industry, the available supply of titanium minerals and pigments increased moderately. At the end of 1996, exploration, development and expansion programs were ongoing in the mining sector. But expansion projects in the pigment sector were delayed pending increased demand.

Jan 1, 1997

By Masahiro Lnoue, Kenichi Uchino

Airflow velocity vectors by a forcing auxiliary fan at a heading face were measured in an actual size model gallery and an actual mine. The location of an outlet of ventilation duct gives significant effects on the airflow at the heading in the gallery. It was also found that there were several stagnated regions which may have danger of methane accumulation. The flow were also examined using the visualization technique by laser light in a reduced scale model. The flow in reduced scale model showed similar behavior to those observed in actual size galleries. The air velocity at the outlet has no significant effect on the airflow. It was found that a region to be ventilated by the direct flow of the exhaust fan is limited to a relatively short distance but a secondary flow region is generated near the heading face. CFD ( Computational Fluid Dynamics ) method was also developed to examine the airflow. The calculated results coincides with those measured by actual and reduced scale models. It is concluded that the CFD is useful tool for the analysis of ventilation at the headings.

Jan 1, 1997

By A. T. Iannacchione

Unfortunately from 1991 through 1995, 44 miners were fatally injured in the stone industry. Of these 12 occurred at underground mines from a total work force of less than 2,000 miners. Nine of these 12 miners were fatally injured in falls of roof or rib. A safer environment for the miners can be achieved by evaluating the nature of the hazardous ground and by developing more efficient and effective ground control strategies. Roof and rib conditions in the underground stone industry were observed and assessed at 33 mines in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia (Figure 1). Hazard assessment indicated that those ground failures occurring under moderate to substantial overburden ( > 30 m [100 ft]) were caused by stress concentrations and geologic structures. Ground failures near the surface are caused by solution (water) processes. Selection of the mining horizon and mine layout decisions tremendously influence ground stability.

Jan 1, 1997

By Joseph J. Diehl, Brian B. Khalighi

This paper discusses the Queens Water Tunnel, No. 3, Stage 2, being driven by a new Robbins High Performance (HP) Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM).The paper is divided into four sections. In the INTRODUCTION section, a short overview of the scope of the project is presented. In the GEOLOGY section, the geological condition along the tunnel drive is briefly introduced. The TBM DESIGN section discusses the various design criteria and the resulting machine specifications. The paper concludes, in the TBM OPERATION section, with a case history describing the tunneling operation from start-up to the time of the writing of this paper.

Jan 1, 1997

By M. J. Scoble

There is no straightforward and systematic method for adequately measuring blast damage in on-going mining operations. This paper considers various techniques available for the measurement of blast damage, making particular reference to recent underground hardrock mine studies. This paper concludes by indicating the importance of understanding and accounting for geology and emphasizes the need for a robust damage-audit procedure.

Jan 1, 1997