13th U.S./North American Mine Ventilation Conference, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, June 2010Authors: A. Adu-Acheampong and S. B. Patton (AAI) and J. Breen (Agnico-Eagle Mexico, SA de CV, Chihuahua, Chihuahua, Mexico) The design of a major underground ventilation and environmental control system is a complex process with many interacting features and, therefore, must not be treated in [...]
Industrial Minerals
2002 SME Annual Meeting & Exhibit, February 25–27, Phoenix, ArizonaAuthors: F. S. Kendorski (AAI) Several startup or longtime underground stone mines have experienced unanticipated roof control difficulties due to the variable geologic character of the roof strata. Careful mapping of roof conditions, and identification of controlling geologic and mine geometric factors, lead to an understanding [...]
26th International Ground Control Conference in Mining 2007Authors: Francis S. Kendorski (AAI) The mining engineering design professional has limited practical and reliable tools for planning successful room-and-pillar stone mines using readily-available and collectible information. Three techniques are in common use today: the hard rock CANMET method of Hedley and Grant, the hard rock method of [...]
Solution Mining Research Institute, Fall 2004 Technical Meeting, October 4–6, Berlin, Germany Authors: Max Ramey (American Soda, LLP), and Mike Hardy (AAI) American Soda, LLP (American Soda), developed a solution mine plan for recovery of nahcolite from the vast resource in the Piceance Creek Basin using vertical wells and injection of high-temperature, pressurized water. The [...]
2004 SME Annual Meeting & Exhibit, February 23–25, Denver, ColoradoAuthors: J. F. T. Agapito and L. J. Gilbride (AAI), and K. Hollberg (OCI Wyoming, LP) Room-and-pillar mining at the Big Island Mine uses narrow, yield (i.e., load transferring) pillars to achieve high resource recovery and productivity. Two flat-lying 3- to 3½-meter (10- to 11½-ft) seams [...]
2003 SME Annual Meeting & Exhibit, February 24–26, Cincinnati, Ohio Mining Engineering, October 2003 Authors: M. P. Hardy (AAI), and M. Ramey, C. Yates, and K. Nielsen (American Soda, L.L.P.) American Soda, L.L.P. has commissioned the first solution mine for recovery of naturally formed sodium bicarbonate (nahcolite) from low-grade deposits using high-pressure, high-temperature injection fluid. [...]
EUROCK ’92, International ISRM Symposium on Rock Characterization, Chester, United Kingdom, 14–17 September 1992 Authors: M. P. Hardy and R. R. Goodrich (AAI), and H. Brenner (Vulcan Chemicals Company) Stability assessment of large solution mining cavities near the surface was required to develop guidelines for termination of production. The stability of existing irregular-shaped cavity clusters [...]
19th Conference on Ground Control in Mining, Morgantown, West Virginia, August 8–10, 2000Authors: F. S. Kendorski (AAI) Underground stone mines for construction aggregates and industrial minerals are being planned in increasing numbers throughout the United States. At the middle of the last century (1950s) underground stone mines were much more common, and characteristically had no [...]
19th U.S. Rock Mechanics Symposium, University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada, May 1978Authors: J. F. T. Agapito (AAI), and J. W. Bennett and J. P. Hunter (Stauffer Chemical Company of Wyoming) This paper describes part of a rock mechanics program being conducted at the Big Island Mine of Stauffer Chemical Company of Wyoming. The program objective [...]
2001 SME Annual Meeting & Exhibit, Denver, Colorado, February 2001 Mining Engineering, November 2003 Authors: J. F. T. Agapito and R. R. Goodrich (AAI) Yield pillars have been used for many years to help reduce stresses near mine openings and improve roof and floor stability. A yield pillar is often defined as a pillar that [...]
SME Annual Meeting, Denver, Colorado, 1–3 March 1999, Preprint No. 99-8 Authors: J. F. T. Agapito and R. R. Goodrich (AAI), and M. L. Andrews (OCI Wyoming, L.P.) Two flat-lying trona seams 3- to 3.5-m thick, approximately 10 m apart, and at depths of 250 m are mined by room-and-pillar at OCI’s Big Island Mine [...]
SME Annual Meeting, Phoenix, Arizona, 25–28 January 1988, Preprint No. 88-73 Authors: J. F. T. Agapito (AAI) and R. V. Hunter (Stauffer Chemical Company of Wyoming) Significant increases in extraction ratio on the order of six to eight percent, equivalent to as much as 142 t/m of panel advance, have occurred at the Big Island [...]
2004 SME Annual Meeting & Exhibit, Denver, Colorado, 23–25 February 2004 Authors: K. S. Free (AAI) and M. K. McCarter and R. P. King (University of Utah) Mine plans typically consider the profits and costs associated with extracting and processing minerals into marketable products. Interrelationships between mine and mill costs are often overlooked during the [...]
2002 SME Annual Meeting, Phoenix, Arizona, 25–27 February 2002 Authors: J. A. Cremeens (AAI) and M. H. Rauschkolb (US Borax) Geotechnical solutions were developed for closure of two historic, remote underground mines in the deserts of southern California. Closure criteria included access closure, minimal site impact, and optimum use of native materials. The closure designs [...]
Solution Mining Research Instititue: Spring 2005 Technical Meeting, Syracuse, New York, USA, April 17-20, 2005 Authors: M. Ramey (AAI), J. Descour (C-Thru Ground, Inc.), and M.P. Hardy (AAI) To comply with permit conditions and to provide valuable data for locating future wells, American Soda, L.L.P. (ASLLP) needed to characterize the shape of cavities developed by [...]
Solution Mining Research Instititue: Fall 2007 Technical Meeting, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, October 8-9, 2007Authors: S. P. Halabura (North Rim Exploration, Ltd.) and M.P. Hardy (AAI) Presently, there is great interest in exploring for, and developing, potash deposits around the world. This interest has created record levels of interest in potash deposits within the Elk [...]
Longwall U.S.A., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, June 1991 Authors: H. N. Maleki (AAI) and P. Hynes (Tg Soda Ash, Inc.) Cooperative effort between Tg (Texasgulf) Soda Ash, Inc.’s and J.F.T. Agapito & Associates, Inc.’s (AAI) ground control engineers has resulted in an innovative mine design and a continuous monitoring system at Tg’s trona operation, Wyoming. Performing geotechnical [...]
