Mining Management Research Articles

A Population Balance Model for Shear-Induced Polymer-Bridging Flocculation of Total Tailings

Shear-induced polymer-bridging flocculation is widely used in the solid–liquid separation process in cemented paste backfill, beneficial to water recycling and tailings management in metal mines. A flocculation kinetics model based on Population Balance Model (PBM) is proposed to model the polymer-bridging flocculation process of total tailings. The PBM leads to a system of ordinary differential equations describing the evolution of the size distribution, and incorporates an aggregation kernel and a breakage kernel. In the aggregation kernel, a collision frequency model describes the particle collision under the combined effects of Brownian motions, shear flow, and differential sedimentation. A semi-empirical collision efficiency model with three fitting parameters is applied. In the breakage kernel, a new breakage rate coefficient model with another three fitting parameters is introduced. Values of the six fitting parameters are determined by minimizing the difference between experimental data obtained from FBRM and modeling result through particle swarm global optimization. All of the six fitting parameters vary with flocculation conditions. The six fitting parameters are regressed with the flocculation factors with six regression models obtained. The validation modeling demonstrates that the proposed PBM quantifies well the dynamic evolution of the floc size during flocculation under the given experimental setup. The investigation will provide significant new insights into the flocculation kinetics of total tailings and lay a foundation for studying the performance of the feedwell of a gravity thickener.

Assessing Impacts of Mining Activities on Land Use/Land Cover Change Using Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques: A Case Study in Campha City, Vietnam

Coal is one of the most mining commodities to date, especially to supply both national andinternational energy needs. Coal mining activities that are not well managed will have an impact on theoccurrence of environmental damage. The present study was undertaken to analyze the process of humaninducedlandscape transformation in the coal mines affected areas of Cam Pha, northeast Vietnam byinterpreting temporal remote sensing data and using Geographic Information System. This experimentrevealed that most of the study area was dominated by forest in all the time sequence period. The forestcover has decreased about 21.3%, meanwhile having nine fold increase in mining area from 1990 to 2020.The forest area lost during the study period was 7983.45 ha due to land cover conversion into mining area.The mining activities were also detrimental to the bare land and water body cover. The results of this studyare expected to be used to support government efforts and mining managers in post-mining coal activities.

Development of Support Plan and Operation Scheme for Semimechanized Longwall Face of Coal Seam 10T, Nam Khe Tam Mine – 86 Company, Dong Bac Corporation

Support plans and operation schemes of mine faces are critical technical documents inunderground coal mining management. The development and selection of a reasonable support plan andoperation scheme of the face are complicated because they involve many factors. In specific miningconditions, developing and selecting an appropriate support plan and operation scheme will improve theworking efficiency of equipment, increase labor productivity, and ensure workers' safety. This articleresearched a mining technology for the thin seams, focusing on coal seam 10T in Nam Khe Tam coalmine, 86 Coal Company. From the analysis of geo-mining conditions, the article developed and selecteda reasonable support plan and operation scheme for the face in coal seam 10T. After being used in thefield, the support plan and operation scheme have brought the face efficiency and safety.

A Framework for Ranking the Environmental Risk of Abandoned Mines in the State of Minas Gerais/Brazil

Abandoned mines are a major mining liability for the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The impacts and risks of abandoned mines are specific to the location and type of ore, but they cover social, economic, and cultural aspects. A central element of an abandoned mine management policy is the definition of a methodology to identify and rank characteristics of abandoned mines that pose a risk to the environment and society. This article presents a methodology for the ranking of environmental risks for abandoned mines in the state of Minas Gerais based on different evaluation factors of their external effects on the environment, safety, the population and surrounding areas, heritage and the landscape. The environmental risk of the abandoned mine area was generated to establish the “Abandoned Mine Area Environmental Risk Hierarchy”. To achieve this a multi-criteria analysis (using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP)) was adopted with each preponderant factor being compared and measured. The results show that the use this framework can support in the decision-making process of an environmental agency for developing the intervention aimed at situations of greater gravity, which, ultimately, may require the use of public resources to reduce risks.

Vibrational health risk assessment for truck operators in mining using artificial neural network

Operators of mining vehicles are frequently exposed to harmful levels of whole-body vibration (WBV). Long time exposure to WBV causes backache and has non-ergonomic effects on the human body. Exposure levels of the WBV have already been evaluated for different vehicles. Among these vehicles, mining trucks usually operate at the various working phases and also in different haul road conditions. This paper aims to develop a simultaneous integrated model to predict the WBV exposure for mining truck drivers. Considering the effect of the speed level, weight and geometry of load on the WBV exposure for the mining truck drivers are limited. There is not much research to predict the vibrational health risk level in conditions with no or missing data, as well. The root mean squire (RMS) of the vertical vibration of the seat and cabin floor was obtained during different operational conditions of an open pit mine in Iran. Then an artificial neural network was designed for the prediction of the vibrational health risk level. Regarding the results of this study, haul road quality, speed level, and load profile had a significant effect on vibration exposure. The average of the RMS values were 0.942 and 1.176 m/s2 for the good and poor road conditions, respectively that are in the high health risk levels. However, there was no significant relationship between the payloads, in the range of 20 to 30 tons, in the RMS values. At speeds higher than 30 km/h, the vibrational health risk was at high level for all conditions. Moreover, there were 93.83% correlation between the measured and simulated RMS values was found in the application of the neural network. This paper helps the mine managers to predict the unsafe conditions and consider the practical approach for the WBV risk reduction.

Comparative Analysis of Three Governance Modes for Resource-Based Urban Sustainability in China Based on Residents’ Perception: An Empirical Study of Pingdingshan City, Henan Province, China

With the continuous improvement and deepened reform of institutional mechanisms in resource-based cities (RBCs) in China, mining areas have become significant urban brownfields with typical geological hazards that cause serious pollution and other disasters like landslides and subsidence. Therefore, the governance of mining areas becomes a grant challenge for local governments to sustain urban development, and different governance approaches could result in diverse effects on urban sustainability, which have not been studied in current research. In the last twenty years, the governance model of mining areas in RBCs in China can be classified into government governance model (GGM), joint governance model (JGM), and market governance model (MGM). Based on the traditional theories, we innovatively propose a structural measurement and mechanism analysis of mine management efficiency from the perspective of residents’ perceptions by designing structural equation modeling (SEM) for spatial distribution issues. The main objective is to disclose the comparative advantages of three different mine governance models and the prerequisites and considerations for the application of the three governance models in the institutional environment with Chinese characteristics, in addition to the answers of pros and cons of the three types of governance models. We find: (1) the GGM plays a necessary, positive, and effective role in guiding the governance process, and has a high level of resident satisfaction in relation to the public interest of the masses, but a problem is that the favorable groups in the implementation process mainly include the middle and senior officers. (2) The JGM as a transition and supplement to the GGM, and many large serious governance problems that cannot be solved by the GGM are reasonably solved by JGM. Lastly (3), the MGM is very different from the above two governance models, as it just concentrates on the governance of storage, transportation, and public lands within mining areas that are directly relevant to enterprises’ benefits. It indicates the urgent reforming needs of current governance models for efficient governance by integrating government, enterprise, and local communities.

Differential Game and Simulation Study on Management Synergy of Regional Coal Mine Emergencies in China

Emergency management of coal mines requires enhanced synergy among departments, institutions, and enterprises, which means overall efficiency in management. Their synergy can effectively lower the cost of emergency management, improve the effectiveness of it, and build a strong joint force for the prevention and control of emergencies. Accordingly, this study established a synergy system for regional coal mine emergency management and analyzed the interest relationship among key stakeholders in the system. Then, it established differential game models of the management synergy, explored the selection process of the behavior strategy of each stakeholder under different situations, and provided important tools for quantitative analysis on emergency management synergy practice. Furthermore, numerical simulation was carried out to analyze the influencing factors of their decision behaviors. The research results are of great significance for the comprehension of the evolution mechanism for the emergency management synergy of coal mines, the assistance for the government in determining the optimal method in emergency management synergy, the mobilization of the stakeholders, and the improvement of the current situation of emergency management synergy of coal mines in China.

Fall of Ground Management Through Underground Joint Mapping: Shallow Chrome Mining Case Study

The use of joint properties and joint mapping techniques are key for fall of ground management in underground mining. This paper outlines the use of probabilistic design approach in addressing potential falls of ground, based on identified keyblocks. A shallow chrome mine was used as a case study to identify potential causes of falls of ground with the aim of improving the existing fall of ground management system. The existing fall of ground management system comprises of visual observations, Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) scanning and Borehole camera inspections. The mine is characterised by geological structures such as faults and joints, hence the system leans towards structural analysis. Joint mapping was carried out in the North and South sections of the mine using window mapping and scanline mappint techniques. The collected joint data from each section was used to evaluate rock fall probability. Rockfall probabilistic analysis carried out in the study indicates that about 80% of all key blocks formed are 1 m3 in size. Results show that larger blocks are more likely to fail through rotation whereas small key blocks are most likely to fall in-between support units. Further stability analysis was conducted through simulation of the effect of change in support spacing on excavation stability. Indeed support spacing plays a critical role in the overall stability of the excavation as opposed to the length and capacity of the support unit. This conclusion was drawn based on the improvement of the factor of safety during the simulation exercise. This research is based on an MSc Engineering study.

Slope failure incidents and other stability concerns in surface lignite mines in Greece

An important aspect of the Greek surface lignite mines relates to the stability of the corresponding excavations. The more recent ones, over the last few decades, have become larger and deeper (up to 200m) compared to those in the past and, as a result, more difficult to manage. In fact, during the last ten years, several incidents of excessive deformations or catastrophic slope failures have been reported. Therefore, a robust practice of geotechnical engineering is very important. The scope of the present work is to provide a critical review of the relative literature on slope failure incidents and other stability concerns, and also to briefly present cases for which no information has been published in the past. The paper consists of three sections: an inclusive review of early studies, a more extensive review of recent cases of stability problems, and a critical discussion on commonly anticipated failure mechanisms. Based on the above, relevant conclusions are drawn and discussed. Overall, it is concluded that thorough practice of geotechnics is becoming increasingly crucial for the effective and sustainable management of the Greek lignite mines.

Causal relationship of some personal and impersonal variates to occupational injuries at continuous miner worksites in underground coal mines

BackgroundStudies regarding predictors of underground continuous miner technology-related injuries have been scarce in number, especially from the human error perspective. This study deals with risk factors (personal, including behavioral and work organizational) that influence human error and evaluates those risk factors as predictors of injury occurrences at continuous miner worksites. This study also deals with small sample size and collinearity between predictors. Material and methodsA match case-control study design was adopted. 135 cases were matched with 270 controls using matching criteria age (±5 years) and job occupation maintaining matching ratio of 1:2. A standard protocol was followed, which included: (1) a participation request to the mine management; and (2) administration of the standardized questionnaire, known as a worker's response device questionnaire, to the selected workers for data collection. Four models (statistical and machine learning) were explored through the empirical training–testing approach. ResultsBootstrap integrated conditional logistic regression was found to be the best model based on predictability and interpretability. Results revealed that injury occurrences were associated with multiple factors. Personal factors included big family size (ORa = 3.37, p < 0.001), no formal education (ORa = 2.80, p < 0.01), regular alcohol consumption (ORa = 2.43, p < 0.05), and presence of disease (ORa = 3.87, p < 0.01), along with high risk-taking behavior (ORa = 2.33, p < 0.05) and poor work organization (ORa = 4.75, p < 0.001). ConclusionBootstrap integrated conditional logistic model produced efficient results for the study dataset characterized by small sample size and collinearity. Injury occurrences are multifactorial; addressing these issues through appropriate prevention programs would provide a safer workplace.

Management of mining wastes through their transformation into useful sorbent

Every year a few hundred million or so tons of industrial waste are generated all over Europe. A considerable share is attributable to exploratory wastes from the mining sector and combustion byproducts. The process of their reprocessing and utilization fits into the following rules subject to intensive development, viz.: zero waste economy (Zero Waste Europe), effective use of resources (Resource Efficient Europe) as well as closed-circuit economy (Circular Economy). The article shows some research results to corroborate the concept of industrial waste processing of carbonaceous shales into sorbent materials. The applied process of carbonaceous shale calcination led to the obtaining of a material containing metakaolinite, then used in the synthesis of zeolites. The specific surface of the sorbent obtained in the aforesaid way exceeded 100 m2/g.

Developing a method to assess risks and unsafety in drilling - blasting activities at limestone quarries in Lao PDR

Currently, the demand for stone construction materials in Lao PDR to serve industrial and traffic works is very large. Currently, the management of mining activities at limestone quarries in Lao PDR is facing many difficulties due to the existence of many types of mines, mining technologies, and equipment. The occupational safety and environmental protection used at the limestone quarries have not been paid due attention. The loss and waste of natural resources are increasing. In particular, labor accidents caused by unsafe drilling and blasting activities often occur at the limestone quarries of construction materials in all provinces of this country. The article analysed the current situation of drilling and blasting activities at the limestone quarries of construction materials of Lao PDR, thereby proposed a method to assess risks and unsafety in drilling and blasting activities at the limestone quarries for mining the construction materials to improve the efficiency of the mining management and safety in Lao PDR.

Continuous Detection of Surface-Mining Footprint in Copper Mine Using Google Earth Engine

Socioeconomic development is often dependent on the production of mining resources, but both opencast and underground mining harm vegetation and the eco-environment. Under the requirements of the construction for ecological civilization in China, more attention has been paid to the reclamation of mines and mining management. Thus, it is the basement of formulating policies related to mining management and implementing reclamation that detection of mining disturbance rapidly and accurately. This research carries on an empirical study in the Dexing copper mine, Jiangxi, China, aiming at exploring the process of distance and reclamation. Based on the dense time-series stack derived from the Landsat archive on Google Earth Engine (GEE), the disturbance of surface mining in the 1986–2020 period has been detected using the continuous change detection and classification (CCDC) algorithm. The results are that: (1) the overall accuracy of damage and recovery is 92% and 88%, respectively, and the Kappa coefficient is 85% and 84% respectively. This means that we obtained an ideal detection effect; (2) the surface-mining area was increasing from 1986–2020 in the Dexing copper mine, and the accumulation of mining damage is approximately 2865.96 ha with an annual area of 81.88 ha. We also found that the area was fluctuating with the increase. The detected natural restoration was appraised at a total of 544.95 ha in the 1988–2020 period with an average restoration of 16.03 ha. This means that it just restores less in general; (3) it has always been the case that the Dexing mine is damaged by mining and reclamation in the whole year (it is most frequently damaged month is July). All imageries in the mine are detected by the CCDC algorithm, and they are classified as four types by disturbing number in pixel scale (i.e., 0, 1, 2, more than 2 times). Based on that, we found that the only once disturbed pixels account for 64.75% of the whole disturbed pixels, which is the majority in the four classes; (4) this method provides an innovative perspective for obtaining the mining disturbed dynamic information timely and accurately and ensures that the time and number of surface mining disturbed areas are identified accurately. This method is also valuable in other applications including the detection of other similar regions.

Study on the gas migration laws of non-pillar mining with gob-side entry retaining in high gas outburst coal seam

Mining fractures are the channel of gas migration, and it is important to figure out the gas migration laws for gas control. Combined with the actual geological conditions of Shaqu No. 2 coal mine, a numerical model of no-pillar mining with automatically retained entry was built to simulate the deformation and fracture of overburden rock and the evolution laws of cracks above the goaf during mining. Subsequently, CFD software is used to theoretically stimulate the gas concentration distribution laws of non-pillar mining with the automatically retained entry in the stope under non-drainage and high-level borehole drainage conditions. The laws of gas concentration in the stope were compared and analyzed under the condition of the Y-type ventilation of non-pillar mining and U-type ventilation of coal pillar mining. The results show that Y-type ventilation of non-pillar mining reduces the gas concentration in the upper corner of the working face and the goaf, and effectively solves the gas accumulation problem in the upper corner of the working face in the mode of U-type ventilation of coal pillar mining. On this basis, the high-level borehole drainage technology is adopted to effectively reduce the gas concentration in the goaf. The research has certain guiding significance for the gas management of non-pillar mining with gob-side entry automatically retained.

An affective absence: Memorialising loss at Pike River Mine, New Zealand

Pike River Mine was an ordinary, everyday workplace, unremarkable, pragmatic, an industrial aesthetic inserted into a pristine landscape. Following an explosion in November 2010, 29 men became entombed in the mine and their bodies remain there. Unfolding revelations of the culpability of the mine's management and a shocking narrative of events left the mine suspended in time. As a crime scene, it remained sealed off until mid-2019, when the process of re-entry began. All of this is set within one of the country's most sublime landscapes, with lush rainforest, dripping, moist, tranquil. The living and the dead continue to communicate, families shouting names into the portal, Mines Rescue leaving a note for the dead men to read, and out of the mine flows the water that has crossed their bodies. The dead, the living, the mine, the forest, and the deep history of Māori, coalesce in the affective landscape of Pike River. This paper explores affectivity in the context of co-designing a memorial landscape with the dead men's families, local Māori, and the Department of Conservation.

Biowaste-based biodegradable flocculants for clean and sustainable tailings management in industrial mining and mineral processing

Massive fluid tailings discharged from industrial mining and mineral processing operations pose numerous economic and environmental challenges. To remove water and condense tailings into sediment, we developed a novel bioflocculant from specified risk materials, a particular type of waste biomass from the animal rendering industry. By properly controlling key synthesis conditions, the bioflocculant successfully met industrial requirements for fluid tailings treatment, including enhanced short-term tailings settling and improved ultimate water removal extent. Settling tests using real industrial fluid tailings showed that the synthesized bioflocculant enabled an initial settling rate 4 magnitudes higher than the control case and achieved 93.2% the dewatering efficiency of a commercial flocculant (hydrolyzed polyacrylamide; HPAM). In contrast to HPAM, our bioflocculant can achieve tailings settling without gypsum, a common processing aid that can hinder downstream industrial operations. More importantly, growth tests using two common microorganisms (Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Escherichia coli) suggested that the bioflocculant can be easily degraded, indicating reduced negative environmental impacts after its use. Taken together, this study demonstrates the great potential of implementing a biodegradable bioflocculant from proteinaceous wastes for clean and sustainable management of mining and mineral processing fluid tailings.

Gold mining in Ecuador: Innovative recommendations for the management and remediation of mercury-contaminated waters

ASGM Mining processes have increased in recent years, becoming one of the main activities re-sponsible for serious impacts on ecosystems, affecting biodiversity and valuable resources such as soil and water. It is necessary to analyze the successful management developed by some countries in gold extraction, through innovative techniques and procedures, and recommend its replication in Ecuador. It is undeniable that mercury is one of the main contaminants in gold mining, it is important to establish the best techniques to protect natural resources. The first section of this paper analyzed the changes in Ecuadorian mining management with a focus on gold mining processes, followed by a description of ASGM mining and mercury use in Ecuador. Finally, the main sources of contamination were analyzed and recommendations were made to improve mining management and reduce contamination of water bodies. The methodology used was based on a bibliographic review of gray and scientific literature. The recommendations establish that mining management in Ecuador should focus its efforts on improving control and monitoring capacity, regularization of mining registries, and strengthening regulations with new policies. Finally, to reduce the impact of Hg on water bodies, it is necessary to educate ASGM miners about the risks of indiscriminate use of mercury and about techniques that can provide better socioeconomic benefits.

Blockchain-Based Security Mechanism for the Medical Data at Fog Computing Architecture of Internet of Things

The recent developments in fog computing architecture and cloud of things (CoT) technology includes data mining management and artificial intelligence operations. However, one of the major challenges of this model is vulnerability to security threats and cyber-attacks against the fog computing layers. In such a scenario, each of the layers are susceptible to different intimidations, including the sensed data (edge layer), computing and processing of data (fog (layer), and storage and management for public users (cloud). The conventional data storage and security mechanisms that are currently in use appear to not be suitable for such a huge amount of generated data in the fog computing architecture. Thus, the major focus of this research is to provide security countermeasures against medical data mining threats, which are generated from the sensing layer (a human wearable device) and storage of data in the cloud database of internet of things (IoT). Therefore, we propose a public-permissioned blockchain security mechanism using elliptic curve crypto (ECC) digital signature that that supports a distributed ledger database (server) to provide an immutable security solution, transaction transparency and prevent the patient records tampering at the IoTs fog layer. The blockchain technology approach also helps to mitigate these issues of latency, centralization, and scalability in the fog model.

Обоснование условий применения автоматизированных систем управления открытыми горными работами строительства комплекса циклично-поточной геотехнологии в карьере с помощью имитационного моделирования

The simulation modeling approach described in the article is intended to assess the efficiency of geo-technologies and can be applied: 1) to evaluate the implementation of smart geotechnologies with digital transformation of the mining systems; 2) to select the mining and transportation management system as well as the preferred logistic scheme of the mine. This approach makes it possible to make more reasonable investment decisions based on an objective quantitative assessment. Simulation modeling should be based on the results of geotechnical justification of structural parameters of the pit walls and benches in operating and limit states. Transition to automated systems to control smart geotechnologies in programmable mode and timely inclusion of the In Pit Crushing and Conveying (IPCC) technology into the transport scheme helps to: 1) remove people from the working zones inside the open pit; 2) significantly reduce the ore mining costs; 3) advance to a higher level of technology in developing the deposits; 4) process ores that were previously considered substandard. As an example, the assessment results are provided of the implementation of new rock mass transportation technologies at the Codelco copper mine in Chile in the Radomiro Tomic open pit.

Exploring the challenges in leadership roles experienced by nurse managers in a mining primary healthcare setting in South Africa.

BackgroundThe challenges in leadership roles hinder the rendering of quality primary healthcare service in the mines. Mining, the heart of the South African economy, requires good health to its personnel to carry out operations. However, nurse managers, the leaders in a mining primary healthcare setting experience difficulties in their leadership roles.ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to explore and describe the challenges in leadership roles experienced by nurse managers in a mining primary healthcare setting in South Africa.MethodThe study was conducted in a mining primary healthcare setting in West Rand, Gauteng province, South Africa. A qualitative, exploratory, descriptive design that is contextual in nature, using a phenomenological approach, was adopted. Data from nurse managers in the mine were collected and data saturation was reached by the seventh participant. The study followed Giorgi’s four stages of the phenomenological descriptive data analysis. An expert independent coder in qualitative research coded the data, and consensus on the findings was reached with the researcher.ResultsThree subthemes emerged from the study: mining management and unions interfere with nurse managers’ leadership roles, incongruent mining primary healthcare policies and communication gap between nurse managers and mining management.ConclusionThe triangulation of nurse managers, mining management and unions requires a collective fusion to directly tackle the challenges in leadership roles in mining primary healthcare.