Henry Krumb lecture series [Mining Engineering]

<table cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 border=0><tr><td align=right>Copyright: </td><td>(c) 2011 Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration, Inc.</td></tr><tr><td align=right>Source: </td><td>Proquest LLC</td></tr><tr><td align=right>Wordcount: </td><td>2862</td></tr></table><!-- start_body --><br><p>SME announces the 201 1 -2012</p><p>The Henry Krumb Lecture series was established in 1966 so that local SME sections could hear prominent minerals professionals speak on subjects in which they had recognized expertise. <person>Henry Krumb</person>, a 1897 graduate of the <org>Columbia School of Mines</org>, had an interest in engineering education and improving the status of the mining profession. He anonymously established an endowment fund "for any purpose that is for the benefit of the Institute (AIME)."</p><p>The 2011-2012 <person>Henry Krumb</person> lecturers are profiled below. To request a lecturer to speak at one of your local section meetings, visit <a href="http://www.smenet.org">www.smenet.org</a>, click sections, click Krumb Lecture Series and fill out the lecture request form.</p><p>If you have any questions, please call <person>Tessa Baxter</person> at 303-948-4208.</p><p><person>MARK BARTLETT</person></p><p>Fatigue Monitoring: Is Big Brother Watching? A <person>Case Study</person> in Change Management</p><p>New technologies are coming to the mining industry more rapidly than ever before. Those that directly impact the work force typically struggle for survival even though the technology solution is straight forward and the business process is thoroughly understood. People are creatures of habit, and very few willingly accept change, especially ' if there are perceptions of new consequences. Fatigue monitoring technologies are moving from field trials to extended pilot tests. Haul truck operators are being told to accept cameras in their cabs or to wear special hats or glasses which are capable of measuring their state of alertness in real-time. Big brother is watching but for what purpose? This paper will present the authors experience in introducing fatigue monitoring technology to surface mining operators at several large, openpit mines. Successful acceptance is highly dependent on the message from management and their actions.</p><p><person>Mark Bartlett</person> is the manager of mining at FreeportMcMoRan's Technology Center. He obtained his Ph.D. in economic geology in 1984. During the last 20 years, he has worked as a geologist, operations superintendent and engineering manager, primarily in <location value="LS/us.az" idsrc="xmltag.org">Arizona</location>. His current responsibilities are to locate, evaluate and implement technologies that will benefit <location value="LU/bs..freort" idsrc="xmltag.org">Freeport's</location> mining operations.</p><p><person>ROBERT BRATTON</person></p><p>Application of Air Table Technologies for Cleaning Indian Coal</p><p>Beneficiation of thermal coal in <location value="LC/in" idsrc="xmltag.org">India</location> is a relatively new development. In 2006, <location value="LC/in" idsrc="xmltag.org">India</location> produced 380 Mt (419 million st) of thermal coal, of which only 17 Mt (19 million st) were beneficiated coals. One potentially attractive method for upgrading <location value="LC/in" idsrc="xmltag.org">India's</location> coal feed stocks is the air table dry deshaling technology. Dry deshaling offers significant advantages over wet cleaning operations, including reduced surface moisture, enhanced heating value, elimination of processing water and waste slurries, and reduced transportation of large amounts of ash-forming minerals. A pilot-scale air table deshaling unit was tested at three locations in <location value="LC/in" idsrc="xmltag.org">India</location> to evaluate the potential to beneficiate thermal coals. The testing confirmed the separation performance for Indian coals is similar to that which has been achieved at sites in <location value="LC/us" idsrc="xmltag.org">the United States</location> with the same feed coal characteristics, namely a portion of high-density (highash) material. The paper reviews the results of the testing in <location value="LC/in" idsrc="xmltag.org">India</location>, which indicate that material with 80 percent ash and higher can be rejected by the deshaler unit with a combustible recovery of more than 90 percent.</p><p><person>Robert (Bob) Bratton</person> is a senior research associate in the <org>Department of Mining and Minerals Engineering</org> at the <org>Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University</org>. He is also an industrial programs manager for the <org>Center for Advanced Separation Technologies</org>. He has taught mineral processing and process automation labs, authored and coauthored technical publications, delivered technical presentations and conducted and co-conducted workshops in coal processing and plant automation.</p><p><person>JOSE BOTIN</person></p><p>A Methodological Model to Assist on the Optimization and Risk Management of Mining Investment Decisions</p><p>Identifying, quantifying and minimizing technical risks associated with investment decisions is a key challenge for minerals industry decision makers and investors. However, risk analysis in most bankable mine feasibility studies is based on stochastic modeling of the project's net present value, which, in most cases, fails to provide decision makers with a truly comprehensive analysis of risks associated with technical and management uncertainty. As a result, it is of little use for risk management and project optimization. In this conference paper, Botin presents a new value-chain, risk-management approach, where project risk is evaluated for each step of the project lifecycle, from exploration to mine closure, and risk management is performed as part of a stepwise, value-added optimization process.</p><p>José Botin is professor and head of the <org>Mining Engineering Department</org> at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de <location value="LC/cl" idsrc="xmltag.org">Chile</location>. From 1970 to 2000, he worked for Placer, <location value="LC/ca" idsrc="xmltag.org">Canada</location>, Fosbucraa Mining in the <location value="LC/eh" idsrc="xmltag.org">Western Sahara</location>, <person>Rio Tinto</person> in <location value="LC/es" idsrc="xmltag.org">Spain</location>, Comineo and as chief executive officer for <person>Anglo American</person> in <location value="LC/es" idsrc="xmltag.org">Spain</location>. From 2000 to 201 1, he served as professor and chair of the <org>Mining Engineering Department</org> at the Universidad Politecnica de Madrid. Botin received an Engineer of Mines degree and a Ph.D. in mining from the Universidad Politécnica <person>de Madrid</person>, an M.S. in mining from the <org>Colorado School of Mines</org> and a diploma in High Management (PADE) from the <org>Universidad de Navarra</org>, <org>IESE Business School</org>. Botin also serves as a management consultant to the minerals industry.</p><p><person>FRANK FILAS</person></p><p>Public Outreach in Permitting the Piñón <location>Ridge Uranium/Vanadium Mill</location></p><p>Although environmental permitting of new mining projects is largely driven by technical and compliance issues, public perception and acceptance of a project is increasingly becoming an important aspect of the permitting process that has to be actively managed. <org value="Toronto:EFR" idsrc="xmltag.org">Energy Fuels</org> purchased the Piñón Ridge site in western <location value="LU/us.co.monose" idsrc="xmltag.org">Montrose County, CO</location> in <chron>July 2007</chron> with the intent to permit and construct the first new conventional uranium mill in <location value="LC/us" idsrc="xmltag.org">the United States</location> in almost three decades.</p><p>The company realized that antinuclear groups would strongly oppose the project and, therefore, started an informational campaign to educate the public and build support for the mill early in the permitting process. The campaign included hosting voluntary public informational meetings, establishing a mill website, electronically posting project documents, preparing professional and comprehensive presentations, maintaining an open-door policy with the media, developing talking points for mill supporters, keeping state and county regulators and officials informed of company activities and communicating with local residents. This ultimately paid large dividends as the majority of the West Enders, as the locals refer to themselves, strongly supported the mill during the extensive public meetings and comment periods conducted by the county and state.</p><p><person>Frank Filas P.E</person>. is a professional engineer with 30 years of experience in mining and environmental engineering. He is the director of environmental and regulatory affairs for Energy Fuels Resources, which is currently permitting the Piñón Ridge uranium and vanadium mill in <location value="LU/us.co.monose" idsrc="xmltag.org">Montrose County, CO.</location> This is expected to be the first uranium mill permitted in <location value="LC/us" idsrc="xmltag.org">the United States</location> in the last 30 years. Filas has a bachelor's degree in mining engineering from the <org>University of Wisconsin-Madison</org> and a master's degree in environmental science and engineering from the <org>Colorado School of Mines</org>. He has worked in underground coal and in surface and underground hard rock operations. His environmental expertise includes site permitting, permit compliance, environmental audits, site decommissioning and cleanup, mine and mill reclamation, surface and ground water evaluations, and water treatment.</p><p>JEFFR.EY LIGHT</p><p>Modeling and Design Inputs for a <org>Clay-Dominated Sand and Gravel Greenfield Aggregate Project</org></p><p>Today's aggregate mining industry has seen dramatic increases in costs relative to property acquisition, permitting, mining, plant equipment and plant processing. Whether you are evaluating a greenfield resource opportunity or re-evaluating a producing reserve, it is important to incorporate the disciplines of geology, material testing, mine design, plant design and mine planning into the overall operation plan. Light presents a case study where an integrated approach was used to better understand the appropriate mining technique, processing equipment needs, potential water demands and final product quality of a greenfield, aggregate plant producing from a clay-rich, alluvial deposit. Light's team used exploratory boreholes and appropriate gradation data to develop a geologic model that extrapolates material qualities and waste percentages throughout the deposit. First, a general geology model was developed for the deposition of the sand and gravel deposits that were going to be mined. Second, a detailed geology model was developed and used to describe the location and thickness of clay lenses and the internal variability of pit run gradation, specific to clay content. This information is used to plan out stripping efforts and determine average and maximum clay percents that the plant would see during normal operations. All of this information is used to produce a functional mine plan with appropriate wash pond sizing and design and appropriate washing capacity built into the plant. Finally, after the first years production, modifications were made to the plant equipment to deal with unforeseen issues around clay.</p><p><person>JEFFREY LIGHT</person> received his B.A. from <org>Stanford University</org>, and his M.S. in geology from the <org>University of California-Davis</org>. He worked in the oil industry as an exploration geologist and has been working in the aggregates and heavy civil contracting industries for the past 11 years. Light is a licensed professional geologist in <location value="LS/us.ca" idsrc="xmltag.org">California</location>.</p><p><person>JOHN LIZAK</person></p><p>Discount Rates in <org>Mineral Company</org> and Mineral Property Valuation</p><p>The derivation of a discount rate is often the most contentious and flawed component of a mineral valuation. The weighted average cost of capital (WACC) is the discount rate that should be used in the common income approach to derive the present value of a company's or a mineral lease's future cash flows. The WACC method has many applications in investment management, corporate finance and regulatory and tax proceedings. It is used in business valuation, regulatory proceedings, project selection and shareholder value determinations. It is used in the valuation of entire mineral companies and mineral properties. The derivation of the WACC and the resultant discount rate will be examined in this paper. The historical discount rates and the risk premiums for the energy, the industrial mineral and the metal industries will be tracked and compared to current transactional rates. The discount rates used to value entire mineral companies will be compared to the rates used to value mineral royalty interests.</p><p><person>JOHN LIZAK</person> graduated with a B.S. degree in fundamental sciences from <org>Lehigh University</org> with a specialty in geology and geotechnical engineering. He received an M.S. degree in geology from <org>Purdue University</org>. He has also done post-graduate study in mineral economics, corporate finance and the valuation of minerals and resource extraction companies. He is a licensed professional geologist in <location value="LS/us.pa" idsrc="xmltag.org">Pennsylvania</location>, <location value="LS/us.il" idsrc="xmltag.org">Illinois</location>, <location value="LS/us.in" idsrc="xmltag.org">Indiana</location> and <location value="LS/us.ky" idsrc="xmltag.org">Kentucky</location>. He worked as a geologist with Exxon Coal & Minerals and served as a senior manager with <org value="LSE:BP" idsrc="xmltag.org">British Petroleum's</org> mineral acquisition group.</p><p>Lizak is currently a principal in Mineral Valuation & Capital, a consulting company specializing in mineral valuation and development, mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, capital sourcing, market studies, strategic formulation and implementation, bank workouts and turnaround management. Lizak is also a principal in Lizak Geoscience & Engineering, a mining and geological consulting company. He has given expert testimony on mineral valuation, resource extraction and geoscience issues. He is a past chair of SME 's Mineral Management Resource Committee and a past president of the <org>Indiana-Kentucky Geological Society</org>.</p><p><person>KEVIN J. MA</person></p><p>Stress, Geologic and Support Design System for Underground Mine Slopes</p><p>Accurate evaluation of stress and geological conditions is critical to ground control design in underground openings. For a slope entry, the problem is more difficult because a slope will transverse through many different types of strata. During the past three years, Keystone Mining Services, an affiliate company of <org value="ACORN:3761795031" idsrc="xmltag.org">Jennmar</org>, has developed a new methodology designated the Stress, Geologic and Support Design System (SGSsm).This patent-pending method analyzes the stress, geology and support design for a mine slope. It has been successfully applied in various new slopes across <location value="LC/us" idsrc="xmltag.org">the United States</location>.</p><p>This paper will detail the main concepts of the methodology, including an analysis of stress and geology and identification of strong, fair and weak zones along the slope; primary and supplemental support design; long-term support design in the form of steel square sets or arches and validation of the support design utilizing advanced finite element computer modeling.</p><p><person>KEVIN J. MA P.E</person>. is a senior ground control research engineer at Keystone Mining Services. He has more than 15 years of research and engineering experience in underground mining, surface mining, rock mechanics, ground control, underground infrastructure design, slope stability and mining economics analysis.</p><p>In his current position, Ma conducts research and development of innovative ground control products, provides consulting and engineering support services at customers' sites, analyzes geological and geotechnical condition and develops optimal ground support system, and designs underground structures and excavations in rock and soil.</p><p>Ma worked as a research associate at the <org value="ACORN:1815934697" idsrc="xmltag.org">China Coal Research Institute</org> from 1996 to 1999 and served as a mining consultant at <org>Marshall Miller & Associates</org>. He holds a B.S. degree in mining from <org>Liaoning Technical University</org> in <location value="LC/cn" idsrc="xmltag.org">China</location> and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in mining engineering from <org>Southern Illinois University</org> Carbondaie.</p><p>Ma is a licensed professional engineer. He has been recognized as a Competent Person and is a registered member of SME. He currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of SME's Pittsburgh Section.</p><p><person>HANK RAWLINS</person></p><p>Mechanisms for Flotation of Fine Oil Droplets: Oilfield Mineral Processing as a Method for Recursive Technology Transfer</p><p>The upstream oil and gas industry produces five to seven barrels of water for each barrel of oil. Mineral processing technologies such as sedimentation, hydrocyclones, filtration and flotation cells are employed to concentrate the oil and separate the water phases. These technologies have developed a unique oilfield mineral processing approach that can benefit the petroleum, mineral processing, solvent extraction and oil sands industries. As part of a larger study to optimize oilfield mineral processing circuits, the current project investigates the mechanisms by which fine oil droplets are captured and conveyed by gas flotation. Dropletbubble processes include encapsulation by free energy minimization, hydrodynamic wake transfer, formation of aggregate buoyant mats and gas-bubble nucleation and growth. Compared to traditional mineral flotation, the removal of oil droplets using hydraulic or mechanical cells has undergone far less investigation. Produced water is hypersaline and the flotation gas is methane, both of which affect the interfacial tension relationship between the three-phase droplet-water-bubble system. Oil droplets in this size range act as near perfect rigid spheres, so the surface area for attachment approach is smaller compared to an irregular mineral grain. Oil droplets are naturally buoyant and hydrophobic, thus chemical additions are rarely used. Oilfield flotation is used to decrease vessel residence time and not provide a concentration function.</p><p>All of these factors lead to unique features required by an oil-droplet flotation cell. The extensive heritage of mineral flotation can offer better scientific understanding to the oil flotation process, and the experiences from oilfield flotation can offer practical solutions to the mineral processing, solvent extraction and oil sands industries in a cursive technology transfer approach.</p><p><person>HANK RAWLINS</person> is the director of the <org>Montana Process Research</org> in <location value="LU/us.mt.butte" idsrc="xmltag.org">Butte, MT.</location> He received B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in metallurgical engineering from the <org>University of Missouri-Rolla</org>. Combining 20 years of experience in the processing of minerals, metals and petroleum fluids, Rawlins specializes in technology transfer between these industries. He has held research and technology management roles with Krebs Engineers, Kvaerner Process Systems, <org value="NYSE:DRC" idsrc="xmltag.org">Dresser-Rand</org> and Fuel Cell Energy. He has held engineering roles with AngloPlatinum, <org value="ACORN:586422002" idsrc="xmltag.org">U.S. Steel</org> and <org value="NYSE:BHI" idsrc="xmltag.org">Baker Hughes</org>. He is a registered professional engineer and has authored 45 publications. Rawlins continues his involvement in academia as an adjunct professor at <org>Montana Tech</org> in the <org>Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering</org>.</p><p><person>STEVEN SCHAFRIK</person></p><p>Wireless Mesh Communication Systems Optimization in Underground Coal</p><p>Underground coal mines in <location value="LC/us" idsrc="xmltag.org">the United States</location> have tracking and communication systems installed as mandated by the Miner Act. Development and introduction of such systems has proceeded rapidly. However, engineering design tools for the newly developed systems were not available for the mining engineer.</p><p><org>The Virginia Center for Coal and Energy Research</org> (VCCER) has been developing models of wireless signal propagation in underground coal mines since 2007. The current mine propagation modeling software, named <org value="ACORN:1978948096" idsrc="xmltag.org">COMMS</org>, is able to locate potential broadcast points for underground wireless mesh systems and estimate their coverage. <org value="ACORN:1978948096" idsrc="xmltag.org">COMMS</org> utilizes programmed routines to calculate necessary values to quantitatively and qualitatively solve and analyze predicted coverage areas. The program approximates the spatial relationships that are encountered, such as ventilation regulators, belts and other obstructions. Using this model for propagation allows optimal communications node locations to be calculated, based on lessons learned from current installations and experience with the new technology. In addition, the optimization can be calculated by checking all possible combinations of broadcast locations.</p><p>This presentation compares these optimization calculation methods. Optimizing a mine's communication network allows the creation of a pre-installation mine network design map, creates coverage maps of the mine and allows planning for future communication activities.</p><p><person>STEVEN SCHAFRIK</person> is a research associate at the <org>Virginia Center for Coal and Energy Research</org>. He has been in this position since 2001 and has worked for the VCCER in numerous roles since 1997. He has a B.S. (1999) and M.S. (2001) in mining and minerals engineering from <org>Virginia Tech.</org> In 2009, he enrolled as a full time graduate student at <org>Virginia Tech</org>, and he expects to complete his Ph.D. in mining and minerals engineering in <chron>December 2011</chron>.</p>