Ultimate pit optimization with ecological cost for open pit metal mines

The ecological costs of open pit metal mining are quantified, which include lost value of direct eco-services, lost value of indirect eco-services, prevention and restoration costs, and cost of carbon emission from energy consumption. These ecological costs are incorporated in an iterative ultimate pit optimization algorithm. A case study is presented to demonstrate the influence of ecological costs on pit design outcome. The results show that it is possible to internalize ecological costs in mine designs. The pit optimization outcome shifts considerably to the conservative side and the profitability decreases substantially when ecological costs are accounted for.

集中胶带机巷的布置改进

为了提高煤矿机械化水平,山西泓翔煤业有限公司通过对集中胶带机巷的布置改进,由原来布置的两条改成一条,总长度达到992米,并由原来的只有胶带运输,改成由胶带运输和架空乘人装置在同一条巷道布置,实现了本矿一条胶带运输距离最长的胶带运输巷道运输煤炭和架空乘人装置运送人员的巷道。从今后的生产运输管理来看,省时省力,运输事故少,效益高等优点。

Theoretical analysis of thermoviscoelastic contact between friction lining and wire rope in mine friction hoists

Serious accidents of mine hoists caused by high-speed sliding between friction lining and wire rope are often seen in coal mines.In order to solve this problem,we analyzed the contact characteristics between friction lining and wire rope.Then we carried out a dynamic mechanical analysis(DMA) to explain the change in mechanical properties of the friction lining as function of temperature and load frequency and found that temperature has a stronger effect on the mechanical properties than the frequency.We used multiple regression analysis to obtain the thermoviscoelastic constitutive relations of the friction lining.As well we derived the analytic solution for the thermoviscoelastic contact radius and pressure by combining the theory of viscoelastic contact mechanics with thermoviscoelastic constitutive relations.

Beneficiation study of Eshidiya phosphorites using a rotary triboelectrostatic separator

This study was performed to investigate the feasibility of applying a Rotary Triboelectrostatic Separator（RTS） to the beneficiation of Eshidiya phosphate minerals.RTS separation tests were carried out on phosphatic bed A_1,phosphatic bed A_3 and slime samples.The bed A_1 and slime samples were tested without desliming.Two sets of tests were performed using the A_3 sample： one was performed without desliming and the other with the A_3 sample deslimed.RTS separation tests as initially performed on the bed A_1 and slime samples gave products that had essentially the same P_2O_5 content.This indicated that adsorbed clay particles on the phosphate surface are responsible for the poor separation of un-deslimed phosphates.Better triboelectrostatic separation was observed with the undeslimed A_3 phosphate sample;these tests resulted in a highest product grade of 26%P_2O_5.The deslimed A_3 sample showed far more effective separation than the undeslimed A_3 one.In fact,a concentrate of 34%P_2O_5 was obtained from the triboelectrcstatic separation of deslimed A_3.The results indicate that with deslimed A_3 P_2O_5 recovery was about 65%for a concentrate of 28%P_2O_5 and about 45%for a concentrate of 30%P_2O_5.These results clearly show the importance of desliming for effective beneficiation of phosphate by the RTS.A more efficient separation can be expected from optimized operating conditions and circuit configuration.

Mining cost analysis and cost control based on the sensitivity factor analysis

This paper systematically generalizes relevant theories and methods regarding mining cost control and constitutes the model for the mining cost analysis. It also comes up with the sensitivity factor analysis to conduct mining cost control. The theories and methods have been experimented with Jiangsu Chuanshan Mining Joint-Stock Company Ltd. Case studies have been undertaken on mining cost of the company and the most sensitive factor which affects mining cost has been found accordingly. Finally the paper concludes that the focus concerning the cost control of the company should be directed at output and material costs.

Effects of Humic Acid and Bread Yeast on Growth and Yield of Eggplant （Solanum melongena L.）

This study was carried out at the vegetable research field, College of Agriculture, University of Duhok, during the growing season of 2009 using the eggplant local cultivar. And a factorial Randomized complete block design （F-RCBD）. The experiment consisted of two factors, the first was inoculations with and without humic acid, and the second factor was three levels of dry bread yeast （0.5, 10 gm/L）. The results revealed that the growth was significantly increased in term of plant height, branches number%, total chlorophyll and mineral content in leaves （N.P.K） and the yield in term of fruit number/plant, fruit weight （gm）, plant yield （gm/plant）, total yield （ton/hectare）, fruit length and fruit diameter. The interaction between humic acid and bread yeast was highly improved the growth and yield traits.

Statistic constitutive equation of top-coal damage for fully mechanized coal face with sublevel caving

Under the action of abutment pressure in front of fully mechanized coal face with sublevel caving(CFSC),top-coal over CFSC deformed.In the process of whole de- formation of top-coal,it changed from continuum elastic mass to non-continuum plastic mass contained fissures,become a loose body.According to its bearing characteristics and mechanical properties,top-coal mass can be divided into four deformation zones along the winning direction of CFSC,i.e.initial stress zone,elastic zone,plastic zone and loose zone.Top-coal in plastic zone located in the post-peak zone of the stress-strain curve for top-coal.With equivalent strain principle of damage mechanics and mathemati- cal theory of statistic,combining the movement law of top-coal,set up a constitutive equa- tion with damage statistics for top-coal in different position in CFSC.The equation illus- trated the mathematical relationship among top-coal bearing capacity,horizontal confining pressure along the winning direction of CFSC and mechanical properties of top-coal mate- rial.The conclusions not only provide a basis for numerical computer simulations on damage deformation and failure mechanism for top-coal,but also further promote the ap- plication of damage mechanics in CFSC.

Deformation characteristics and constitutive model of seafloor massive sulfides

Deformation characteristics and constitutive model of seafloor massive sulfide(SMS)were selected as the research object.Uniaxial/triaxial compression test were carried out on the mineral samples,and the deformation characteristics of specimens under various conditions were studied.According to characteristics of the mineral,a new three stages constitutive equation was proposed.The conclusions are as follows:The axial strain,peak strain and maximum strength of seafloor massive sulfide increase with the confining pressure.The elastic modulus of the metal sulfide samples is decreased sharply with the increase of confining pressure.According to characteristics of seafloor massive sulfide,the constitutive equation is divided into three parts,the comparison between theoretical curves and experimental data shows that both of them are in good agreement,which also proves the correctness of the constitutive equation for uniaxial compression.

Balance Analysis of Profit and Loss on Exploiting Coal-Bed Gas in China

Models about four aspects according to the balance principle and practice in China were established, which involve the minimum production scale, alert production scale, safe running scale, and the goal production scale for specified profit level. It provides an effective quantitative analyzing method for the investors of coal bed gas exploitation project.

Deep mine cooling, a case for Northern Ontario:Part Ⅱ

Cooling energy needs, for mines in Northern Ontario, are mainly driven by the mining cooling technologies available and the cost to implement them in a 2500 m deep underground mine. The cooling technologies reviewed herein include mechanical and natural cooling systems, ranging from mechanical chillers to seasonal thermal storages. The economic and operating parameters for each technology were estimated and evaluated according to the mine's energy loads. Including consideration of any combined heat and power benefits of the technology, cooling tower requirements, etc., the resulting cost of implementation for each technology could be ranked. This showed that the natural thermal storage systems and conventional chillers were the most cost-effective, mainly since the natural systems had very low operating cost and the chillers had relatively low capital costs.

bStudy on constitutive relationship of coal based on conventional triaxial compression test

Constitutive relationship of coal under triaxial compression must be determined during solving the theoretical calculation and numerical simulation about coal body failure. This paper carried out conventional triaxial compression test on No.3 coal of Baodian Colliery using MTS815.03 servo-controlled rock mechanical test system. The results indicate that the failure process of coal can be divided into 5 stages： densification stage, apparent linear elastic deformation stage, accelerated inelastic deformation stage, fracture and developing stage and plasticity flow stage. Combined with the test results, the constitutive relationship model of coal can be simplified as the four segments of straight line model of elastic-plastic hardening-plastic softening-residual perfectly plastic. Through fitting calculation of test data, the segmented constitutive equation of coal can be obtained.

Flotation studies on low grade graphite ore from eastern India

A low grade graphite ore from eastern India was beneficiated by flotation to improve its quality. The ore was composed of 87.80%ash and 8.59%fixed carbon. Primary coarse wet grinding （d80：186 μm） followed by rougher flotation in Denver flotation cell using diesel as collector and pine oil as frother yielded a rougher concentrate. Regrinding （d80：144 μm） of this rougher concentrate was opted for further libera-tion of graphite. It was followed by cleaning in laboratory flotation column. This combined process of relatively coarse primary grinding followed by regrinding and cleaning in flotation column resulted in final concentrate of 7.44% yield with 89.65% fixed carbon and 6.00% ash. This approach of two-stage grinding to recover the flake graphite at the coarsest possible grind can help to minimize grinding energy costs. A conceptual flow sheet which is cost effective was developed based on this methodology.

Calculation of slope-cover height under price fluctuation in open-pit mines

Leaving ditches between adjacent mining areas can effectively reduce re-stripping in the latter mining area and simultaneously lead to an increment in internal dumping costs in the former mining area. This paper establishes calculation models for these two marginal costs. The optimizing model for slope cover height can be determined by including marginal cost models in the objective function. The paper has two main contributions:(a) it fully considers redistribution of dumping space in the model;(b) it introduces price fluctuations and cash discounts in the model. We use the typical open-pit mine as an example to test and prove the model. We conclude that a completely covered slope is reasonable in Haerwusu open pit mine; in addition to an increasing price index, the slope cover height can be reduced; and that price changes are one of the most important influencing factors of slope cover height optimization in an open-pit mine.

Mining truck scheduling with stochastic maintenance cost

Open pit mining operations utilize large scale and expensive equipment. For the mines implementing shovel and truck operation system, trucks constitute a large portion of these equipment and are used for hauling the mined materials. In order to have sustainable and viable operation, these equipment need to be utilized efficiently with minimum operating cost. Maintenance cost is a significant proportion of the overall operating costs. The maintenance cost of a truck changes non-linearly depending on the type, age and truck types. A new approach based on stochastic integer programming （SIP） techniques is used for annually scheduling a fixed fleet of mining trucks in a given operation, over the life of mine （multi-year time horizon） to minimize maintenance cost. The maintenance cost data in mining usually has uncertainty caused from the variability of the operational conditions at mines. To estimate the cost, usually historic data from different operations for new mines, and/or the historic data at the operating mines are used. However, maintenance cost varies depending on road conditions, age of equipment and many other local conditions at an operation. Traditional models aim to estimate the maintenance cost as a deterministic single value and financial evaluations are based on the estimated value. However, it does not provide a confidence on the estimate. The proposed model in this study assumes the truck maintenance cost is a stochastic parameter due to the significant level of uncertainty in the data and schedules the available fleet to meet the annual production targets. The scheduling has been performed by applying both the proposed stochastic and deterministic approaches. The approach provides a distribution for the maintenance cost of the optimized equipment schedule minimizing the cost.

The revision of classical stock model

On the basis of the analysis of classical stock model, according to the limitation of the model, the article puts forward the revision of classical model and enforces the applicability of the stock model.

Application of fuzzy logic for determining of coal mine mechanization

The fundamental task of mining engineers is to produce more coal at a given level of labour input and material costs, for optimum quality and maximum efficiency. To achieve these goals, it is necessary to automate and mechanize mining operations. Mechanization is an objective that can result in significant cost reduction and higher levels of profitability for underground mines. To analyze the potential of mechanization, some important factors such as seam inclination and thickness, geological disturbances, seam floor conditions and roof conditions should be considered. In this study we have used fuzzy logic, membership functions and created fuzzy rule-based methods and considered the ultimate objective： mechanization of mining. As a case study, the mechanization of the Tazare coal seams in Shahroud area of Iran was investigated. The results show a low potential for mechanization in most of the Tazare coal seams.

Fabrication of cost effective iron ore slime ceramic membrane for the recovery of organic solvent used in coke production

Improvement of coking properties of sub-bituminous coal （A） and bituminous coal （B） was done using blended organic solvents, namely, n-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone （NMP） and ethylenediamine （EDA）. Various solvent blends were employed for the coal extraction under the total reflux condition. A low-cost ceramic membrane was fabricated using industrial waste iron ore slime of M/s TATA steel R＆D, Jamshedpur （India） to separate out the dissolved coking fraction from the solvent-coal mixture. Membrane separations were carried out in a batch cell, and around 75 % recovered NMP was reused. The fractionated coal properties were determined using proximate and ultimate analyses. In the case of bituminous coal, the ash and sulfur contents were decreased by 99.3 % and 79.2 %, respectively, whereas, the carbon content was increased by 23.9 % in the separated coal fraction. Three different cleaning agents, namely deionized water, sodium dodecyl sulphate and NMP were used to regain the original membrane permeability for the reusing.

Optimization of drilling and blasting operations in an open pit mine——the SOMAIR experience

Drilling and blasting play vital roles in opencast mining. These operations not only affect the cost of production directly but as well and significantly, the overall operational costs. This research was carried out to find a possible way of optimizing the drilling and blasting operations in an open pit mine of Somair (Société des Mines de l’Air), in the Niger Republic. In order to optimize the drilling operation, the time taken by two drilling machines to accomplish the same task was analyzed statistically. The result indicates that the Down the Hole Hammer Drilling Rig (DMNo406) is more efficient than the Drill Master (DM405). The relative unit consumption of two explosives (Explus and Nitram 9), when used under the same operating conditions, were also considered and the results indicate Explus to be more economical per unit consumption with a range of 0.15 g/t–0.183 g/t, when compared with Nitram 9 with a unit consumption range of 0.19 g/t-0.24 g/t in the study area.

Effect of Rice-Based Cropping System on Organic Matter Status in Soils

A long-term simulation experiment was carried out to study the effect of rice-based cropping system,green manure and ground-water level on soil organic matter. Soil organic matter content increased when upland soil was puddled and cropped under submerged conditions. Among all treatments, soil organic matter contents in the treatments of rice-rice-flooded fallow in winter (WF) were the highest, those in the treatments of rice-rice-astragalus (WG) came the second, and those in the treatments of rice-rice-rape (WR)were the lowest. At the same rate of green manure application, the degrees of organo-mineral complexing in soils of treatments WG and WR were higher than those of treatment WF. After 9-year rice cultivation, the state of combination of humus in heavy fraction varied with treatments. The relative content of loosely bonded humus decreased in the order of WR > WG > WF, and it correlated significantly with Se availability.