Mining Unit Research Articles

Mining activity and island landscape issues: evidence from Cyclades islands, Greece

ABSTRACT This paper maps the visual impact of mining activities on terrestrial and marine landscapes of the Cyclades islands, Greece, an island complex in the Aegean Sea of particular natural and cultural heritage. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, mining activities developed on the islands, many of which are abandoned today. Some of the remaining inactive mines and accompanying structures have been registered as monuments and part of the national industrial heritage. The remaining active mining units conflict for land with the main economic activity today, tourism. The visual impact of the mining units is calculated and mapped, resulting in viewshed analysis which quantifies the impact of mining units on terrestrial and marine landscapes, with emphasis on nominated traditional settlements and mention of non-traditional ones. The quantitative results have shown that the landscape study needs to be incorporated in terrestrial and marine spatial planning.

Worlds Apart in India: Analysis of Contractualization of Labor and Evidence from Labor Market Discrimination

This study attempts to decipher the working condition of contract workers with subsequent inferences from wage-based discrimination in formal mining units to understand discriminatory practices and informalization of employment. The methodology uses both theoretical and empirical methods. The empirical analysis follows a descriptive approach with wage decomposition analysis to understand the ongoing phenomenon. The study is primarily based on field data, but we have also solicited secondary data from ASI, NSSO, etc. The field survey tries to find the extent of wage discrimination based on the responses from 300 respondents of state copper mining units located in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. The findings suggest that the socioeconomic conditions do play a massive role in discriminatory behavior in the workplace. The analysis indicates economic discrimination or inequity is high among various social groups (caste) with reference to education, work experience, and skill levels. We found that there is extensive use of contractual labor in public sector units. And informalization of labor causes massive devaluation in working conditions, as wage-based discrimination is found to be stark for contractual workers further aggravating the situation.

FEATURES OF MODELING OF OBJECTS OF THE GEOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENT IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOLID MINERAL DEPOSITS USING GGIS MICROMINE

Modern trends in the development of information support for mining technology dictate the need for a comprehensive solution of technological problems on the basis of a single software platform, which provides the ability to quickly adapt the basic functionality and develop a new one to the conditions of a mining enterprise. In this case, the ideology of building and developing information systems is of key importance. The modeling technique proposed by the authors is suitable for solving the current problems of the geological service of mining enterprises. At the same time, such software and tools have been developed as the allocation of ore standard and grade intervals, multi-criteria sampling of sampling data for assessing the reserves of useful components for the field as a whole and in mining units, as well as interactive input of geophysical sampling for underground mining. The developed software in GGIS Micromine is being tested at mining enterprises in Russia and is being improved to better meet the needs of geological services.

Performance Evaluation of Heading-and-Winning Machines in the Conditions of Potash Mines

The authors focus on the process of potash ore production by a mechanized method. They show that currently there are no approved procedures for assessing the performance of heading-and-winning machines operating in the conditions of potash mines. This causes difficulties in determining the field of application of heading-and-winning machines, complicates the search for implicit technical solutions for the modernisation of existing models of mining units, prohibits real-time monitoring of the stability of stope-based technological processes and makes it difficult to assess the performance of the services concerning mining enterprises. The work represents an aggregate assessment of the performance of heading-and-winning machines for potash mines by determining complex indicators describing the technological and technical levels of organising the work in stopes. Such indicators are the coefficients of productivity and energy efficiency, respectively. Experimental studies have been carried out in the conditions of the potash mine of the Verkhnekamskoye potassium-magnesium salt deposit to assess the performance of the latest and most productive Ural-20R heading-and-winning machines manufactured in Russia. Using the above methodological approaches, this paper shows that the unsatisfactory technological performance of the studied machine is due to the low productivity of the mine district transport. The average productivity coefficient was 0.29. At the same time, high values of the energy efficiency coefficient show that the productivity of the machine is on par with design conditions.

Exploring Deep Learning for Dig-Limit Optimization in Open-Pit Mines

This paper explored a convolutional neural network to assess the clustering of selective mining units (SMUs), generated by a genetic algorithm (GA) approach. The purpose of the GA was to optimize a set of dig limits in a mine bench. Dig limits are boundaries to separate/split SMUs as per waste and other processing categorizations so they can be feasibly and profitably be extracted by existing mining infrastructure. This was achieved by involving the cluster design and the affiliated decision variables into existing mining optimization frameworks that enhance the process's efficiency and thereby increase profitability. However, the catch being that such computation comes costly both from a monetary and time consumption perceptive. This paper aimed to address this very cost issue and how to overcome this with the use of deep learning. Specifically applying the statistical learning algorithms to assess the cluster quality of the GA computed dig limit, as current assessment methodology consumes up to 70 percent of the total computation time. Short-term mine planning applications need to be directly usable by mine operators’ personnel and must be generated quickly to be useful in dynamic mining environments. This requirement shall save up time and cost. A case study was conducted on a bench with multiple destinations and 420 SMUs to test whether a convolutional neural network (CNN) can make predictions on clustering quality and discover the best CNN architecture for the task. The case study showed that using a CNN does ensure prediction accuracy and can speed up the time of computation time by 3900%.

Technique for Justifying the Amount of the Redundant Developed Reserves Considering the Content of Metal in the Mining Ore

An analysis of the preparedness of reserves in the Kazakhstan quarries has shown that in a real production process, periods of stable mining unit operation alternate with failures when the ore mass is not fully or partially supplied over the estimated time in the targeted amount and quality. To eliminate the production process breakdown and ensure continuity and consistency of the individual mining cycle stages, redundant mining units with developed reserves should be provided.A technique for justifying the prepared ore reserves is proposed considering the variability of the active mining face parameters based on a statistical analysis of data of operating mining enterprises. To determine the dependence of the produced raw material qualitative composition homogeneity on the number of open pitiable mining faces, the actual weekly-daily schedules of the mining operations of several quarries (test pit 1) and (test pit 2) have been used. It is assumed that under the conditions of an operating mining enterprise, some averaging process parameters independent of the number of mining units may be considered constant and determined based on the operation data. Therefore, the solution to the problem of determining the effect of the number of mining units on the ore flow averaging level can be simplified.The dependence of the useful component content on the number of operating mining units has been studied. A regression analysis of statistical data has been performed. Based on empirical dependencies, formulas for simplified calculating the amount of redundant developed reserves considering the required quality of the extracted ore have been obtained.

Mining Risks at Exploitation in Roşia Poieni Open Pit Mine, Romania

Abstract The mining sector is a particularly important field that has the ability to support the economic development of a country by supplying various mineral products that are used as raw materials in other sectors of activity. When the depth at which a deposit is located and the geological conditions allow, the exploitation of useful mineral substances is realized through open-pit mine. The aim of this paper is to analyze the malfunctions that could occur and cause susceptible incidents and that could have consequences on staff safety and the environment. These malfunctions can have different causes: either an internal origin of the mining unit, or in natural phenomena. In this paper are identified and analyzed the potential mining risks that may occur in the Roşia Poieni open pit mine. The guidelines underlying the identification of these risks took into account three main principles: reducing risks for people, ensuring their security and at the same time limiting the risks on the property, respectively the financial risk for the mining unit. Acknowledge these risks, allows the delimitation of areas that are directly or indirectly exposed to potential risks and the establishment of specific measures for prevention, protection and security regarding the realized activities. Depending on the potential mining risks identified, we have made a hazard map that can be used to develop a risk prevention plan, taking into account the presence of several types of risks that may overlap in the same work area of the quarry.

Immobilization of copper sulfide flotation tailings through the use of geopolymers, Tacna – Perú.

Currently, mining-metallurgical industrial activities generate significant amounts of mining tailings, and innovative environmentally friendly methods are required for their final disposal or sustainable immobilization. The objective of the study was to immobilize copper sulphide flotation tailings through the geopolymerization process. The samples were obtained from the Toquepala mining unit, - Tacna (Peru), the ash from the ENGIE-Moquegua hydroelectric plant. The results in the first phase of the characterization of the ash (FA) and the mining tailings (MT) through the chemical analysis EDX, mineralogical DRX and morphological SEM, show aluminosilicate content, in the second phase the mixtures of 55% MT, 37, 5% FA and 7.5% MK activated at 10 M at 35 days of curing, demonstrated resistance of 24.6 Mpa according to mechanical resistance tests, the mixture of 100% MT activated at 10 M at 35 days of curing, it is effective by itself for the formation of the geopolymer, obtaining resistances of 22.68 Mpa, the SEM analysis demonstrated formation of tetragonal structures typical of a geopolymer, the TCLP analysis demonstrated a significant reduction of the contaminating elements Ba, Cd, Cr, Pb, opening a new field for tailings treatment.

A mathematical model for the scheduling and definition of mining cuts in short-term mine planning

Short-term open pit planners have to deal with the task of designing a feasible production schedule. This schedule must fulfill processing, mining and operational constraints and, at the same time, maximize the profit or total metal produced. It also must comply with the long-term production schedule and must incorporate new blasthole sampling data. This task is performed with little support of optimization tools, and therefore, there is a risk of generating suboptimal results. Several approaches have been proposed in the literature to deal with these issues, either generating operational mining cuts or obtaining a mining schedule to fulfill the short-term constraints. However, an integrated approach has remained an open challenge. In this paper, we propose an optimization model to tackle the operational and scheduling issues simultaneously. The model defines the mining cut configuration and the production schedule in the short-term. It is based on representative Selective Mining Units (SMUs) as the potential locations of the mining cuts and then each SMU is assigned to one of these locations. We tested the model with a real case study, and it was able to generate mining cuts and an extraction sequence fulfilling mining, processing and operational constraints, as well as access restrictions given by the ramp location in each bench. The mining cut design captured most of the profit, and thus it can be used as a guide for the short-term mine planner. The location of the representative SMUs and the precedence definition both impact the mining cut configuration, and future research could address how to incorporate different operational considerations and strategies on the location of these representatives.

Las chullpas incas en las quebradas Ucriamayo Y Tulpaisa, Caylloma, Arequipa

En las inmediaciones de la Unidad Minera (U. M.) Tambomayo se ubican las quebradas de Ucriamayo y Tulpaisa; y asociadas a estas áreas geográficas se registraron mediante la prospección arqueológicas los sitios arqueológicos Gentilmach’ay y Pushkanawasi. La zona se localiza en la parte alta del valle del Colca (área de influencia de la etnia Collagua), en el distrito de Tapay, provincia de Caylloma, departamento de Arequipa. Los sitios corresponden a estructuras chullparias con presencia de material cultural, como fragmentos de cerámica, restos vegetales, textiles, óseo animal y humano. La filiación cultural del material cerámico es inca y se observa la modificación cultural de cráneos. Ambos sitios presentan particularidades que sugiere la existencia de diferencias sociales de los individuos enterrados en los diferentes ambientes. Según las evidencias registradas, se proponen diferentes investigaciones con el material cultural registrado en ambos sitios arqueológicos.

Predicted concentration performance for copper-nickel ores of the Talnakh ore cluster

This paper describes a mineralogical study that looked at the copper-nickel ores of the Talnakh Ore Cluster. It also describes attempts to develop a method for predicting concentration performance on the basis of mapping data. The geological classification of the Talnakh ores developed in 1987–1992 is rather a classification of natural types and varieties as it fails to specify any particular concentration process indicators. The copper-nickel ores of the Talnakh Ore Cluster are multicomponent and it is quite difficult to develop a classification based on concentration performance that would account for the quality of concentrates and the recovery of non-ferrous and noble metals. In the period of 2015–2020, a series of experiments and a mineralogical study were conducted for 107 samples of impregnated ore, 105 samples of copper ore and 60 samples of high-grade ore under the contracts with the R&D Office of Nornickel’s Polar Division. Based on the results of the experiments, a classification was developed for impregnated, copper and high-grade ores based of one selected actual process indicator. Due to the use of a mining information system, each box of a block model representing an ore body (or, each mining unit with known characteristics) can be assigned appropriate concentration indicators. On the basis of geological mapping results, a method was applied for indirect calculation of expected concentration indicators based on a number of attributes. With the help of this method, the authors were able to determine the actual indicators, estimate the calculation error and find a way to improve the predictability of the model through analyzing additional samples and attributes.

Application Research of Big Data Analysis Technology in Oil and Gas Field Development

The goal of oil and gas field development is to maximize the benefits of exploitation work. In some large oilfields entering the mid-to-late development stage, to maximize the input-output ratio of oilfield exploitation, in oilfield development work, you will receive Due to the influence of many interference factors, in the field of oilfield exploitation, it is necessary to reduce the economic cost of oil and gas field exploitation as much as possible and continuously improve the economic benefits of oilfield mining units. In the mid-to-late production of oil and gas fields, the use of big data to establish a reasonable and scientific production plan for oil fields and an effective decision support system provide an important guarantee for the development and production of oil and gas fields in the middle and late stages. Through the use of effective production-increasing technology and production decision-making, comprehensively consider some oilfield mining areas and newly-added resource mining areas, comprehensively optimize and set up the development of oilfield resources in the middle and late stages and use big data technology to develop oilfields. Among them, the resource advantages are effectively transformed into economic advantages, in order to provide a good work plan for the middle and late stages of oilfield development.

The status of job burnout and its influence on the working ability of copper-nickel miners in Xinjiang, China

BackgroundJob burnout is increasingly common among occupational groups, and it is evolving into a new occupationally harmful phenomenon. The purpose of this study was to investigate the status of job burnout and its influence on the working ability of copper-nickel miners in Xinjiang, China, and to provide a theoretical basis for alleviating job burnout and improving the working ability of copper and nickel miners.MethodsA cross-sectional survey was carried out in June 2017 to September 2018 in Hami City, Xinjiang Autonomous Uygur Region, China. According to the main production process stratification of copper-nickel ore (mining unit, beneficiation unit, smelting unit), a self-administered questionnaire survey on the general situation of miners was conducted on the basis of the Chinese Maslach Burnout Inventory and Work Ability Index Questionnaire among 1400 miners registered in the human resources department of copper and nickel mines by stratified cluster sampling.ResultsThere were 1014 miners with different degrees of burnout, accounting for 80.86% of the total: 432 people reported mild burnout (34.45%), 516 reported moderate burnout (41.15%), and 66 reported high burnout (5.26%). There were significant differences in the degree of burnout according to sex, age, education level, monthly income, and work unit (p < 0.05). The level of male burnout was higher than that of females. Miners aged 35–40 years, with a high-school education, a monthly income of less than 2500 yuan, and who belonged to the smelting unit had the highest job burnout.There were significant differences in working ability among miners with different burnout level (p < 0.01). Partial correlation analysis showed that work ability was negatively correlated with emotional exhaustion, reduced sense of achievement, and total burnout score (p < 0.001). Multinomial logistic regression analyses showed that the education level, professional title,work units and job burnout level had a pronounced impact on the working ability of miners (p < 0.001); The reduced level of education, primary title, smelting unit, and the increase in job burnout are risk factors for the reduction of working ability.ConclusionsOur results indicate that job burnout is common among copper and nickel miners. Furthermore, working ability decreases with an increase in job burnout, and reducing job burnout can improve the working ability of copper and nickel miners.

Increased power efficiency in mining by using high-fidelity haul truck simulation

Abstract The current economic and political scenario in Brazil has allowed small, medium and large companies to adopt cost cutdown and productivity increase strategies. Diesel fuel consumption by off-highway haul trucks stands for one of the largest costs at the Sossego Mine operational management department. Based on this fact, as well as on the 8% increase in the budgeted diesel fuel cost for 2017, the mining unit has decided to implement a project, previously implemented at the Capao Xavier mine site, which makes use of a high-fidelity haul truck simulator for operators' qualification, by working on the major factors impacting fuel consumption. The application of the simulator has been observed to be a potential upturn for the identification and correction of major failures and bad habits impacting fuel consumption. The results suggest a significant diesel fuel consumption cutdown, as well as enhanced haul truck operation ability and performance.

Creation of a Mining Unit in the Azov Region – Basis For the Formation of Rare-Metal and Rare-Earth Industry of Ukraine

Creation of a Mining Unit in the Azov Region – Basis For the Formation of Rare-Metal and Rare-Earth Industry of Ukraine

Impact of demolition work of the environment, generated by mine closures in Jiu Valley

Extractive industry has had and has negative effects on environmental factors. Limitation of industrial activities carried out in Jiu Valley, materialized by closure of mining units, brings to actuality the rehabilitation of areas occupied by constructions and surface utilities related to the technological process of underground coal extraction. First stage of surface rehabilitation and greening is the demolition of surface buildings by means of technical implosion / blasting or classic techniques. This stage generates a series of physicochemical pollutants that can have a significant impact on environmental factors. The main objective of the current paper is to identify pollutants and the negative effects they may have on human health as well as to reduce the environmental impact of materials from demolition operations. The paper has the advantage of quantifying waste resulting from demolitions in order to reduce impact on the environment by revalorizing the obtained materials (metal, concrete, wood, brick etc.) thus reducing the quantities of industrial waste to be stored. Thus, it is possible to plan the greening of areas affected by mining activities in the shortest possible time, correlated with the program of territorial systematization, in order to capitalize on new economic opportunities for use of these lands.

Water Quality Assessment in a Watershed in Cusco, Peru using the Grey Clustering Method

Water quality assessment is a current issue of increasing concern in many countries around the world for reasons such as population health, national economic development and the environmental quality of ecosystems. At this juncture, the Grey Clustering method is used to assess water quality at discharge points, from the beginning to the end of the environmental monitoring process in the area of influence of the Anabi mining unit in the Chonta and Milos micro-watershed. The parameters evaluated were pH, dissolved oxygen, total suspended solids (TSS), iron and manganese. The results obtained through the Grey Clustering methodology showed a monitoring point with contamination from a treated water discharge. On the other hand, in order to obtain greater efficiency in the evaluation of water quality, national standard DS 004-2017-Minam (Water Quality Standards) and international standards were used through the PRATI index. Through the results obtained it was observed that (by means of the Prati index ) there is a better classification of the water quality in each point, therefore this research becomes an important tool for future studies to consider the Prati index for greater reliability of results.

Stochastic Modeling of Chemical Compounds in a Limestone Deposit by Unlocking the Complexity in Bivariate Relationships

Modeling multivariate variables with complexity in a cross-correlation structure is always applicable to mineral resource evaluation and exploration in multi-element deposits. However, the geostatistical algorithm for such modeling is usually challenging. In this respect, projection pursuit multivariate transform (PPMT), which can successfully handle the complexity of interest in bivariate relationships, may be particularly useful. This work presents an algorithm for combining projection pursuit multivariate transform (PPMT) with a conventional (co)-simulation technique where spatial dependency among variables can be defined by a linear model of co-regionalization (LMC). This algorithm is examined by one real case study in a limestone deposit in the south of Kazakhstan, in which four chemical compounds (CaO, Al2O3, Fe2O3, and SiO2) with complexity in bivariate relationships are analyzed and 100 realizations are produced for each variable. To show the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm, the outputs (realizations) are statistically examined and the results show that this methodology is legitimate for reproduction of original mean, variance, and complex cross-correlation among the variables and can be employed for further processes. Then, the applicability of the concept is demonstrated on a workflow to classify this limestone deposit as measured, indicated, or inferred based on Joint Ore Reserves Committee (JORC) code. The categorization is carried out based on two zone definitions, geological, and mining units.

An analysis of the optimalization of bucket series against soil removal rate at The Dredger 21 Singkep 1 in PT. Timah (persero) tbk, Bangka Sea Mining Unit of Bangka Belitung Province

Dredger 21 Singkep 1 is a ship that serves to conduct excavation of tin ore offshore. The dredger is equipped with digging tools such as bucket, ladder, ladder roll, onder roll and other supporting tools that are connected to become one unit that is called bucket series. The bucket series is the main tool of the excavation process which continuously operates that has an impact on the depreciation of the performance capability of the equipment so that it is necessary to conduct an analysis of optimization of the bucket series in order to operate optimally and the targets of the work plan of the removal rate of the soil can be achieved. Based on the observation and data analysis on the field it is known that the applied ladder suppression is 0.46 meter at the top soil and 0.26 meter at tin-borne layer which results in 229.54 m3 / hour of soil removal rate which is very far from the target of the planned work of the soil removal rate determined by the production team of 389 m3 / hour, so to fulfill the work plan of the LPT the ideal ladder suppression that must be applied is 0.57 meter for top soil and at the tin ore is 0,31 meter, out of this ideal ladder suppression, is obtained the removal rate of the soil of 408.25 m3 / hour. In addition to that, the ideal length of the steek to achieve that removal rate of the soil should be at the average maximum length of 1225 mm.

Substantiation of the Draghead Application as a Mining Unit in Conditions of Solid Minerals Deep-Sea Mining

Deep sea solid mineral resources (SMR) of the World Ocean, such as ferromanganese nodules (FMN), cobalt-manganese crusts (CMC) and the depth polymetallic sulphides (DPS) should become an alternative source of mineral resources in the near future. Reliable and productive complexes are necessary for the implementation of deep-sea mining on an industrial scale, which will be able to develop deposit with a minimum ecosystem load. So, the main problems in technological solutions are the collection or separation of SMR at the bottom and lifting them to the surface. As a technical solution, it is proposed to use a special construction draghead device for FMN and CMC collecting and separating from the bottom. The distinctive feature of the device is a vertical axis of rotation of the drive engine and the working body, which can be represented by a faceplate or a crown, the working element with the engine are concentrically inscribed in the casing with the catcher, which enclose the loosening zone, protecting surrounding water area from the turbulent mud and separated fractions. Nodules and crusts lifting using the draghead is carried out in the form of slurry through a pipeline.