Engineering Commons^™

Characterization Of Granite And Subsequent Ground Control Management Plan At Orphan Boy Mine – Butte, Montana, Emily Rose

Graduate Theses & Non-Theses

The Underground Mine Education Center (UMEC) and World Museum of Mining facilities began as shallow underground mines in the 1880’s during the mining boom that populated Butte, Montana. The UMEC is a multi-disciplinary facility that provides an on-campus underground laboratory environment and a place for students to learn and practice practical underground mining techniques; therefore, the longevity of the facility is important to Montana Tech. The goal of this project is to develop a Ground Control Management Plan (GCMP) for the UMEC and World Museum of Mining facilities.

The World Museum of Mining (Orphan Girl) and UMEC (Orphan Boy) facilities …

New-Generation Nasa Aura Ozone Monitoring Instrument (Omi) Volcanic So2 Dataset: Algorithm Description, Initial Results, And Continuation With The Suomi-Npp Ozone Mapping And Profiler Suite (Omps), Can Li, Nickolay A. Krotkov, Simon Carn, Yan Zhang, Robert J.D. Spurr, Joanna Joiner

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Since the fall of 2004, the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) has been providing global monitoring of volcanic SO2 emissions, helping to understand their climate impacts and to mitigate aviation hazards. Here we introduce a new-generation OMI volcanic SO2 dataset based on a principal component analysis (PCA) retrieval technique. To reduce retrieval noise and artifacts as seen in the current operational linear fit (LF) algorithm, the new algorithm, OMSO2VOLCANO, uses characteristic features extracted directly from OMI radiances in the spectral fitting, thereby helping to minimize interferences from various geophysical processes (e.g., O3 absorption) and measurement details (e.g., wavelength shift). To solve …

Luck & Skill: Black Swans & Machiavelli's Ideas On Power, Fortune, Virtu, Thomas W. Camm

Mining Engineering

We hear all the time about the value of hard work and perseverance, and the part they play in the professional life of successful people. What we do not hear so much about are the many professionals who work hard and persevere, yet never seem to quite reach the level of success they aim for. Some current authors are beginning to give more attention to the part luck/black swans/outliers play in success. This is not a new phenomenon, Machiavelli had a lot to say about it back in the Renaissance. So how can knowledge of this dynamic help in a …

Determine The Potential Drill Utilization Improvements And Rock Fragmentation Requirements Using Directional Drilling In A Coal Mining Overburden Highwall Application, K. D. Dill, S. D. Rosenthal

Mining Engineering

This project analyzed the efficiency of incorporating the use of directional drilling technology into coal overburden blasting. Directional drilling is currently in use in the petroleum industry and it is believed that it will be a valuable asset in the mining industry. This project has shown that directional drilling can be a viable technology for use in the coal overburden removal process resulting in increased drill utilization and potential for cost savings. Future work regarding blasting and geotechnical evaluation should be performed to solidify the concept.

Managing Engineering Talent: Unique Challenges To Optimize The Best And Brightest, Thomas W. Camm, J. C. Johnson

Mining Engineering

Most engineers are bright, hard-working, reliable, and prefer to avoid conflict. An engineering curriculum tends to self-select these characteristics. By most standards, you would expect workers exhibiting these traits to require minimal supervision. But is this true? Is this how most current engineering managers lead? Looking at some current theories on leadership combined with personal anecdotes, this presentation will look at some common misconceptions about leading engineers.

All-In Sustaining Cost Analysis: Pros And Cons, Asseu Gilbert Yapo, Thomas W. Camm

Mining Engineering

All-in sustaining cost is a metric used by mining companies to reflect the cost of gold mining in a consistent format useful to both investors and mining professionals. Cost reporting focused on the direct cost of mining and processing ore was summarized in the non-GAAP cash cost developed by the Gold Institute in 1996. In 2013, a group of mining companies, working with the World Gold Council, developed a more inclusive approach to reporting costs designed to solve the dilemma of showing a more comprehensive reflection of recurring costs involved in producing gold, without discouraging investors.

Embrace The Unknown: Stop Saying “It’S Too Hard” And Start Embracing Uncertainty In Your Mine Plans, C. Roos

Mining Engineering

Nearly every input to a mine plan is based on an estimate. The estimates may be from sample data, historical information, models, or personal opinion, but in all cases, these values are simply expected values (means). In real life, we do not get to iterate the exact conditions at our mining operation many times to ensure that that average value is attained. The expected value also tells us nothing about the spread of values that that input might take on. The result is a significant amount of unquantified uncertainty in our mine plans. Unfortunately, it is often too expensive or …

Evaluation & Selection Of Novel Surveying Systems For Use In Surface Coal Mining, M. Drake, C. Roos, P. Conrad, T. Stack

Mining Engineering

This paper presents the evaluation Montana Tech completed for the Western Energy Company Rosebud Mine relating to the benefits of survey data collected using novel technologies over traditional methods for topographic surveys. These technologies include Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), photogrammetry, and laser scanning/LIDAR. Utilizing these technologies, large areas such as reclamation areas and cast blasts can be surveyed in a timely manner for use by the mining operation. The areas that were evaluated were the improvements in the safety of employees and the time required to collect data. In addition, there is also a potential cost savings for the operation, …

Arctic Micromonas Uses Protein Pools And Non-Photochemical Quenching To Cope With Temperature Restrictions On Photosystem Ii Protein Turnover, Guangyan Ni, Gabrielle Zimbalatti, Cole D. Murphy, Audrey B. Barnett, Christopher M. Arsenault, Gang Li, Amanda M. Cockshutt, Douglas A. Campbell

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Micromonas strains of small prasinophyte green algae are found throughout the world’s oceans, exploiting widely different niches. We grew arctic and temperate strains of Micromonas and compared their susceptibilities to photoinactivation of Photosystem II, their counteracting Photosystem II repair capacities, their Photosystem II content, and their induction and relaxation of non-photochemical quenching. In the arctic strain Micromonas NCMA 2099, the cellular content of active Photosystem II represents only about 50 % of total Photosystem II protein, as a slow rate constant for clearance of PsbA protein limits instantaneous repair. In contrast, the temperate strain NCMA 1646 shows a faster clearance …

Wellbore Stability Evaluation For Mishrif Formation, Ethar H.K. Alkamil, Husam R. Abbood, Ralph E. Flori, Andreas Eckert

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

During drilling operations for the E oilfield in the Mishrif formation in southern Iraq, stuck pipe has been identified as a significant geomechanical problem for several wells. In this study, a 1-D mechanical earth model (MEM) of the Mishrif formation is compiled based on its state of stress and rock strength parameters and is utilized to assess the contribution of borehole collapse leading to the stuck pipe problems. The MEM model is based on the principal in situ stresses and their orientation obtained from wireline logs measurements, measuring while drilling (MWD), and leak off test (LOT). Rock strength properties are …

Assessment Of Potential Impacts To Surface And Subsurface Water Bodies Due To Longwall Mining, Christopher R. Newman, Zacharias Agioutantis, Gabriel Boede Jimenez Leon

Mining Engineering Faculty Publications

Ground movements due to longwall mining operations have the potential to damage the hydrological balance within as well as outside the mine permit area in the form of increased surface ponding and changes to hydrogeological properties. Recently, the Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) in the USA, has completed a public comment period on a newly proposed rule for the protection of streams and groundwater from adverse impacts of surface and underground mining operations (80 FR 44435). With increased community and regulatory focus on mining operations and their potential to adversely affect streams and groundwater, now there is …

Laboratory Performance Comparison Of Vortecone Inertial Dust Scrubber To Flooded-Bed Dust Scrubber, Adam J. Levy

Theses and Dissertations--Mining Engineering

Increasing incidence of Black Lung disease in miners since the early 1990s has concerned law makers and the mining industry. New regulations promulgated by MSHA in 2014 lowered the permissible limit of dust exposure of underground workers. The hazards of respirable coal dust have been common knowledge throughout the mining industry since the enactment of the 1969 Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act, and many administrative controls have been put in place since its enactment.

The purpose of this thesis is to analyze the performance of a Vortecone scrubber, used in the automotive industry to remove paint overspray from …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Carbon Doped Tio2 Photocatalysts Supported On Stainless Steel Mesh By Sol-Gel Method, J. O. Tijani, O. O. Fatoba, T. C. Totito, W. D. Roos, L. F. Petrik

Mining Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This study synthesized pure anatase carbon doped TiO₂ photocatalysts supported on a stainless-steel mesh using a sol-gel solution of 8% polyacrylonitrile (PAN)/dimethylformamide (DMF)/TiCl4. The influence of the pyrolysis temperature and holding time on the morphological characteristics, particle sizes and surface area of the prepared catalyst was investigated. The prepared catalysts were characterized by several analytical methods: high resolution scanning electron microscopy (HRSEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The XRD patterns showed that the supported TiO2 nanocrystals are typically anatase, polycrystalline and body-centered tetragonal in structure. The EDS and XPS results …

Performance Evaluation Of Integrated Co2 Huff-N-Puff And Wag In Low-Pressure Heterogeneous Reservoir, Hutthapong Yoosook

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

The integrated CO2 Huff-n-Puff and WAG is a novel technique to combine CO2 Huff-n-Puff technique that conducted at early state and followed by WAG technique until the end of operating time. This technique is effectiveness in term of increased oil recovery and reduced CO2 utilization. However, the integrated CO2 Huff-n-Puff and WAG process contains numerous adjustable operating parameters. Hence, numerical simulation study and sensitivity analysis become essential to investigate the effects of main operational parameters and evaluate the performance of the integrated CO2 Huff-n-Puff and WAG process in low-pressure heterogeneous reservoir to achieve the maximum benefits. According to simulation results, …

Transformation Of South African Coal Fly Ash Into Zsm-5 Zeolite And Its Application As An Mto Catalyst, Roland Na M. Missengue, Pit Losch, Grant Sedres, Nicholas M. Musyoka, Ojo O. Fatoba, Benoit Louis, Patrick Pale, Leslie F. Petrik

Mining Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This study presents a way of using South African coal fly ash by extracting metals such as Al and Fe with concentrated sulphuric acid, and then using the solid residue as a feedstock for the synthesis of ZSM-5 zeolite. The percentage of aluminum and iron oxides decreased from 28.0 ± 0.2% and 5.0 ± 0.1% in coal fly ash to 24.6 ± 0.1% and 1.6 ± 0.01% in the acid treated coal fly ash respectively. The fly ash-based zeolite ZSM-5 sample synthesized from the solid residue after extraction of Al and Fe, contained 62% of ZSM-5 zeolite pure phase with …

Estimating The Effects Of Blasting Vibrations On The High-Wall Stability, Abhinav Sharma

Theses and Dissertations--Mining Engineering

The stability of the high-walls is one of the major concerns for open pit mines. Among the various factors affecting the stability of high-walls, blast vibrations can be an important one. In general, worldwide the established respective government regulations and industry standards are used as guidance to determine the maximum recommended levels of the peak particle velocity and frequency from the blast to avoid any effects on the structures around the mining project. However, most of the regulations are meant for buildings or houses and do not concern high-walls.

This thesis investigates the response of high-walls under the effects of …

Assessment Of Potential Impacts To Subsurface Bodies Of Water Due To Underground Coal Mining, Gabriel Bode-Jimenez

Theses and Dissertations--Mining Engineering

Underground coal mining operations induce ground movements, which may impact overlying hydrogeologic systems. Potential impacts mainly include changes in the hydraulic conductivity of overlying strata, decreasing of the hydraulic head and changes in water flow. The present research quantifies potential hydrogeologic impacts caused by underground mining through modeling of pre- and post-mining hydrogeologic systems.

Three-dimensional conceptual hydrogeologic models were constructed with the Processing Modflow for Windows software package (PMWiN). The models are based on an actual case study, but were simplified in terms of geometry and material properties. Water flow was simulated under changing hydrogeologic properties. A number of scenarios …

Surface Chemisty Study Of Monazite Flotation In Coal Refuse Systems, Wencai Zhang

Theses and Dissertations--Mining Engineering

Rare earth mineral recovery from alternative resources such as coal and coal byproducts is increasingly important to provide an opportunity for economic recovery from U.S. sources. Currently, China produces the majority of the 149,000 tons of rare earth elements used annually worldwide of which the U.S. imports 11% or around 16,000 tons. There are no significant mining operations producing rare earth elements in the U.S. However, there are many U.S. sources containing rare earth minerals such as monazite including heavy mineral sand and phosphate operations. Monazite mineral particles of a few microns have also been detected in Fire Clay seam …

Calculation Of The Edge Effect Offset For High Extraction Coal Panels, Joshua Hescock

Theses and Dissertations--Mining Engineering

The Surface Deformation Prediction System (SDPS) program has been developed as an engineering tool for the prediction of subsidence deformation indices through the implementation of an influence function. SDPS provides reliable predictions of mining induced surface displacements, strains, and tilt for varying surface topography. One of the key aspects in obtaining reliable ground deformation prediction is the determination of the edge effect offset. The value assigned to the edge effect corresponds to a virtual offsetting of boundary lines delineating the extracted panel to allow for roof cantilevering over the mined out area.

The objective of this thesis is to describe …

Fundamental Improvement In The Tribocharging Separation Process For Upgrading Coal, Jinxiang Chen

Theses and Dissertations--Mining Engineering

Triboelectrostatic separation is a physical separation technique that is based on surface electronic property differences among minerals to achieve a separation. Minerals have different surface conductivities and electron affinities. They are charged differently in quantity and/or polarity after a tribocharging process. Particles with different surface charges move discretely under external electric field produce a separation. Electrostatic separation is a dry mineral processing method that does not require any water or chemical reagents. It can greatly simplify the processing circuit and reduce operating cost. Additionally, problems caused by water in conventional wet mineral processing such as water freezing, dewatering, water pollution …

Designing Efficient Petroleum Fiscal System For Mozambique, Nelson Victor

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Nowadays, tax regime is designed to attract investment and provide the contractor with fair return on investment, at the same time, provide the host government with adequate resources for rent, thereby resulting in win-win situation. This study analyses the existing petroleum fiscal regime in the Republic of Mozambique and proposes a more efficient and flexible regime. The analysis shows that the government take currently remains at around 39% while the contactors' net present value (NPV) increases as field sizes and oil prices increase. The current system is considered a regressive system which is inefficient in distributing wealth from oil profit. …

Real-Time Diesel Particulate Matter Monitoring In Underground Mine Atmospheres, Association With The Standard Method And Related Challenges, Muhammad Usman Khan

Doctoral Dissertations

"Diesel-powered equipment is a significant component of underground mining operations. Miners' exposure to diesel exhaust is harmful. The standard Diesel Particulate Matter (DPM) monitoring method (NIOSH 5040 method) has limitations that preclude rapid DPM estimation and detailed understanding of DPM variations over time. However, real-time DPM monitors do not inherit these limitations. Biodiesel is often used as a substitute for regular petroleum-diesel because of its ability to emit less DPM. However, accuracy of available real-time DPM monitors has not been determined in mines using 70% to 99% (high-percent) biodiesel. The present research addresses this need by rigorous testing of a …

Mining Asteroids For Volatile Resources: An Experimental Demonstration Of Extraction And Recovery, Egboche Christopher Unobe

Masters Theses

"Gaseous compounds trapped within carbonaceous asteroids may prove to be important targets for prospective space miners in the near-term. Volatile release is from hydrated, hydroxylated and carbonated phases present, making such bodies attractive as feedstock for the production of H₂O, CO₂ and simple organic compounds. A source of these species in orbit provides an opportunity to locally produce space-craft propellant and other life-support gases through the application of In-situ Resource Utilization (ISRU).

For this study, an experimental vacuum system was modified and used to test the technical validity of radiatively heating asteroid simulants to extract contained gaseous …

Detection Of Mine Roof Failure Using Inexpensive Lidar Technology, Ali Abdullah M. Alzahrani

Masters Theses

"Slope, Roof, and mine wall stability problems are some of the main reasons for deaths at U.S. surface or underground mining. The safety instruments were not enough to prevent that failure or even predict it before it occurs. However, the cost of such a tool that can be helpful in detecting roof failures is very high and not reachable in most instances.

The present study investigates the feasibility of using the M16 Leddar Evaluation Kit to detect the roof failure in mines. The M16 Leddar Evaluation kit cost is between 300$-800$, so it is the reachable price if it provides …

Recovery Of Phosphate Minerals From Plant Tailings Using Direct Froth Flotation Process, Ashraf Alsafasfeh

Masters Theses

"The wastes produced from phosphate industry presents many challenges due to the economic and environmental impacts of their disposal. In the meantime, scarcity of high-grade phosphate ores persuades researchers to find novel methods of upgrading these wastes (secondary sources) and recycling them in the production plant circuit. The goal of this study is to investigate the potential to upgrade the phosphorus content in the tailing produced from a phosphorous production plant using direct froth flotation process. Characterization studies such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and mineral liberation analysis (MLA) were first conducted to identify the mineralogical and …

Controlling Properties Of Agglomerates For Chemical Processes, Joseph A. Halt

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Iron ore pellets are hard spheres made from powdered ore and binders. Pellets are used to make iron, mainly in blast furnaces. Around the time that the pelletizing process was developed, starch was proposed as a binder because it’s viscous, adheres well to iron oxides, does not contaminate pellets and is relatively cheap. In practice, however, starch leads to weak pellets with rough surfaces – these increase the amount of dust generated within process equipment and during pellet shipping and handling. Thus, even though the usual binder (bentonite clay) contaminates pellets, pelletizers prefer it to starch or other organics.

This …

The Andacollo's Mining Community: Ethnographic Work-Based Approach To Corporate Social Responsibility Policies And Practices, Ubirata De Oliveira

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This ethnographic study was designed to explore the phenomenon of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the mining industry. The research addressed the impacts of a problematic, systemic, and ethnocentric (top-down) CSR approach driven by a transnational mining company, and proposed a novel cultural relativist (bottom-up) CSR approach looking at the social needs of the community. Solving the problem stemming from the ethnocentric approach is important for both the mining company and the community affected by the CSR program, as it will alter dynamics between actors and mitigate social conflicts. The purpose of this study was to investigate factors that improve …

Thermomechanical Fatigue Life Investigation Of An Ultra-Large Mining Dump Truck Tire, Wedam Nyaaba

Doctoral Dissertations

The cost benefits associated with the use of heavy mining machinery in the surface mining industry has led to a surge in the production of ultra-large radial tires with rim diameters in excess of 35 in. These tires experience fatigue failures in operation. The use of reinforcing fillers and processing aids in tire compounds results in the formation of microstructural inhomogeneity in the compounds and may serve as sources of crack initiation in the tire. Abrasive material cutting is another source of cracks in tires used in mining applications. It suffices, then, to assume that every material plane in the …

Characterization And Numerical Simulation Of The Microstructural And Micromechanical Viscoelastic Behavior Of Oil Sands Using The Discrete Element Method, Eric Kofi Gbadam

Doctoral Dissertations

"Oil sands are naturally geologic formations of predominantly quartz sand grains whose void spaces are filled with bitumen, water, and dissolved gases. The electric rope shovel is the primary equipment used for excavating the Athabasca oil sand formations. The equipment's static and dynamic loads are transferred to the formation during excavation and propel. These loads cause ground instability leading to sinkage or rutting, crawler wear, and fracture failures. These problems result in unplanned downtimes, production losses, and high maintenance costs. In order to address these problems, there is a need to develop valid models that capture the behavior and performance …

Lhd Vibrations Analysis And Numerical Modeling During Operations, Kgosietsile Kolobe

Doctoral Dissertations

"Load-haul-dump vehicles (LHDs) are extensively used as primary loaders in mining operations. LHDs have proven to be vigorous, extremely productive and reliable in mining applications. They have a wide range of tramming capacities that have enabled them to become an essential component in the hard rock mining industry.

Increased mining economic challenges and global competition means the mining industry has to maximize productivity by cutting down operating and capital costs. Also, improvements in safety standards have led to the demand for safer and efficient machines.

LHD operators are at a high risk of whole-body vibrations (WBVs) exposure leading to musculoskeletal …