Back in the early 1980s, computer technology was actually in an incomparable state compared to today. At that time, could the human brain be replicated? Could a robot be created that could behave like a human? Can computers think? Can they learn things? Answers to questions like these have not yet been found. In fact, such questions have been asked continuously for years. They have continued to be asked, and as a result, some of these questions have been partially answered today. Numerous artificial neural network models have been developed, and countless applications have emerged. Developments show that these systems will enter more and more people's lives in the future. These studies have actually emerged as a result of curiosity about how the human brain works and how it learns. How the human brain works is not yet known today? However, studies have shown that computers can learn and produce successful results. These systems are used effectively, especially in events that require the evaluation of a large amount of information. Applications are seen in many fields, from industrial life to financial life, from medical science to military systems. The successes obtained in these applications both increase the importance of artificial neural networks and increase interest in these systems. In the mining industry, there is a need for improved quality control systems in the production of minerals. In addition, the desire to recover minerals of low economic value in a cost-effective way requires a higher level of control and automation. As a result of these demands, the success and necessity of instant messaging mineral classification and the use of this information have led to the use of artificial neural networks in the mining industry. Since the 1990s, the use of artificial neural networks has been increasing day by day. However, artificial neural networks should also be selected appropriately. In this article, information about the use of artificial neural networks in the world is given, and how they are used with mineral processing systems is explained. Multifaceted research results are given on the benefits of its use in mineral processing systems.
There are different paths for the comminution of certain size ore down to a target size, such as primary crushing-single stage SAG milling, primary crushing-SAG milling-pebble crushing-ball milling or 3-stage conventional crushing-rod milling-ball milling. Different comminution alternatives result in variate investment (CAPEX) and operating (OPEX) cost options. Other than qualitative decision, decision maker (design engineer) should decide based on economics (CAPEX and OPEX). The COM_TRD_Sim software has been developed for size reduction trade-off. The software accepts the user defined schedule data, processes several different experimental indices available in the literature. It compares the economics for exactly doing the same job (for example: crushing/grinding from 800 mm down to 50 micron for all alternatives). Alternatively, the software estimates CAPEX and OPEX for size reduction of different alternatives for different tasks (from 800 mm down to 50 micron for single stage SAG or from 600 mm down to 150 micron for 3 stage crushing + rod + ball milling). The software predictions have been verified against several industrial applications and the case studies given in the paper show the software capabilities for new design challenges. This volume explains the software capabilities, infrastructure and the models utilized in the calculation order, which are from the literature and in-house models of MPES Engineering. There are almost 40 mathematical models utilized in the software including MacPherson-WMAC, Starkey-WSDT, SMC and Bond experimental indices.
Under diverse conditions, multiple empirical models are employed to forecast screen performance. Although they provide good insight for the sizing and selection of screens, they generally are insufficient for the precise quantification of the effects of parameters such as surface dimensions, aperture size, aperture shape/orientation and surface open area. Discrete element modelling has proved in many instances that it provides close-up examination of motion of particles under various conditions for a variety of mineral processing operations and provides data that is not possible to obtain with conventional experimentation or sampling. This study aims at investigating the influence of screen surface parameters (i.e. surface dimensions, aperture orientation/shape, aperture size and surface open area) on screening performance with the aid of Discrete Element Modelling (DEM) method for the simulation of vibrating screens. In order to achieve realistic simulations “multi-spheres” were used for the representation of particles with irregular shapes. The simulation results show that particle motions were accurately predicted and simulation data were evaluated using conventional screen efficiency criteria. The separation of particles was also investigated in terms of size distribution of products and residence time of particles along the screen.
To address the issue of resource wastage caused by the extraction of thick coal seams with large coal pillars, this study is based on the 1st Panel of the 110 Working Face at the Suancigou Coal Mine. It employs methods such as on-site measurement, physical similarity model experiments, theoretical analysis, and numerical simulation to investigate the reasonable width of coal pillars under the disturbance of comprehensive mechanized mining in thick coal seams. The study reveals the damage and deformation evolution patterns of the coal pillars, calculates the critical width of the coal pillars based on limit equilibrium theory and strength theory, and simulates the distribution characteristics of stress and damage failure zones in the coal pillars. The results indicate that a 45 m coal pillar still possesses substantial load-bearing capacity after multiple mining activities, suggesting the possibility of reducing its width to enhance coal recovery rates. The calculations show that the minimum width of the coal pillar should not be less than 26.18 m. Simulations demonstrate that when the width of the coal pillar is 30 m, the coal recovery rate is relatively high and meets safety production requirements. The findings of this research are significant for improving coal recovery rates in the Suancigou Coal Mine and similar mining conditions.
Limestone and clay group minerals are used in the production of ceramic wall tile compositions. Wall tiles must have a 10-20% water absorption depending on the EN 14411 standard. In order to meet this water absorption criterion, calcite and dolomite minerals which are in carbonated structure are used in wall tile body composition. Manufacturers supply these minerals from limestone sources close to the enterprises, which are abundant in nature. The size of raw materials must be reduced to finer sizes (-45 µm) for the production of ceramic bodies. For this reason, it is very important to control the size of the limestone during the grinding process limestone to a very fine size (-45 µm) in aqueous media in order to produce qualified wall tile body composition. In this context, this study aimed to investigate the effects of grinding of limestone samples obtained from the Derenti, Nevruz, and Terzialan regions of Çanakkale province, on ceramic wall tiles based on laboratory and industry-scale experiments/analyses. The limestone samples were firstly ground in a discontinuous mill, and the grinding performances were compared in terms of time-dependent particle size, energy consumption, and capacity. Second, the wall tile bodies were shaped and then fired in an industrial kiln, and finally analyzed in terms of sintering properties and TS EN 14411 standards. The results from this study showed that Bond Work Indexes of Derenti, Nevruz, and Terzialan limestone samples were determined as 12.8, 11.7, and 13.0 kWh/t, respectively. As a result of industrial-based discontinuous grinding studies, the energy consumption for grinding to 0.2% sieve residue for +45 µm increased from 67.4 to 73.4 kW/t and the capacity decreased from 1.34 t/h to 1.23 t/h with the increase of quartz content of limestone samples from 0.8% to 2.1%. The particle size analysis of the samples indicated the d90, d50, and d10 values of the ground samples in industrial-based grinding experiments were 16.97 µm, 1.85 µm, and 0.37 µm, respectively, As a result of the studies carried out within the scope of wall tile body composition development, the shrinkage value decreased from 0.43% to 0.31% with the increase in CaO content from 53.9% to 54.6% and wall tile with TS EN 14411 water absorption standard was obtained by using 13% limestone. In conclusion, the mineral content in limestone showed significant effects on particle size distribution, energy consumption, and capacity in the fine grinding process as well as on sintering properties of wall tile body composition.
To prevent safety accidents caused by mining vehicles and personnel entering the operation area by mistakes, it is necessary to reduce the risk of the ore pass. However, the underground space of the mine is narrow, and factors such as dust and noise during the unloading process endanger the health of the personnel on duty in the ore pass. As such, the target detection technology based on deep learning is introduced into the underground monitoring system. The underground surveillance video samples are collected to establish a dataset for Yolov3 algorithm to identify minecarts. Through optimizing the Yolov3 model training process and algorithm, and using the dual-camera collaborative discrimination method, the influence of brightness on the recognition results when the loaders or trucks lights are turned on can be overcome. Four types of minecarts can be accurately identified from the underground surveillance video. On the basis of mining car recognition, an intelligent access control system for mine shafts based on Jetson Nano’s embedded development is developed. The on-site operation results show that the average accuracy of target vehicle recognition is within the range of 95%-100%. The system continuously recognizes the mine car 5 times from the detection program and sends the opening and closing command to complete a 90 ° rotation, which takes only 3 seconds，effectively meeting the needs of the mine for ore pass control.
In this research, the processing of gold from artisanal small-scale gold mining was investigated by cyanidation using an agitation process. The sample's characterization shows that the silicate mineral exhibits the sample mineralogy, according to the results of the XRD examination. In XRF analysis, the mineralogical and chemical structure shows 77.1% SiO2, 8.08% Al2O3, 5.76% Fe2O3, 1.67% CaO, 0.97% K2O, 0.054% As2O3, 1.1% Na2O, 0.392% SO3, 0.454% TiO2, 0.049% MnO and 0.005% ZrO. The parameters of the experiments were stirring speed, NaCN concentration, solid-liquid ratio, temperature, and pH. The purpose of gold leaching in artisanal small-scale gold mining at Arbaat region is to find the appropriate conditions that will ensure maximum recovery. It was found that the gold dissolution decreases with increasing solid ratio. Furthermore, the cyanide concentration positively influences the range of 0.05–0.5 g/L. It is seen that the dissolution rate increases with the range of pH 10-10.30, while it starts to incline at pH after 10.30. However, the temperature and agitation speed have a significant effect on the gold dissolution. Cyanidation tests revealed that it is easy to apply the cyanidation process and recover about 87.52% Au content from the tailings of artisanal small-scale gold mining. The obtained recovery indicates the commercial and economic viability of the process that will be applied to extract Au from artisanal small-scale gold mining tailings in Arbaat.
Since our country is located on the Alpine-Himalayan orogenic belt, both surface and underground mining sectors have developed. Occupational health and safety have gained importance as the developing mining sector, the increase in raw material production and the increase in the workforce. In this study, considering the geological structure of the marble quarry operating areas and the activities carried out in the quarry on Marmara Island, the second largest island of Turkey in Balıkesir province, 59 hazards and risks from 26 activity areas were determined.These hazards and risks were compared using 5x5 L-type Matrix, Fine-Kinney and Potential Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) quantitative risk methods.In the 5x5 L type Matrix method, 25 are high risk, 1 is medium risk, in the Fine-Kinney method, 16 are very high risk, 8 are high risk, 2 are in the important risk group, and in the FMEA method, 13 "precautions need to be taken" according to RÖS values, 11 “precautions can be taken” and 2 “no precautions needed” risks were identified. Among these methods, it has been determined that the Fine-Kinney method is a suitable method to be used in the operation of surface marble quarries, as it provides safer results by analyzing the hazards and risks specific to the environmental conditions, work areas and employees in a more detailed, comprehensive and more sensitive manner.
Particulate matter is one of the primary pollutants in open pit mining operations. Measurements must be taken to control particulate matter created during open pit mining activities and to compare them to the regulatory limits. Numerous studies have been undertaken to estimate particulate matter emissions produced by open pit mining. It was discovered that the research were largely conducted on coal mines (69.4%), with little study done in other mining types. Research studies on particulate matter estimation took into consideration mostly machine characteristics (loader bucket volume, truck capacity, number of truck wheels etc.) and atmospheric conditions (air temperature, wind speed, relative humidity etc.). This study emphasizes on particulate matter measurement methods along with other measuring parameters and equipment for particulate matter estimation (TSP, PM10, PM4, PM2.5, and PM1).
In order to accurately obtain the gas content of in-situ coal seams in coal mines, a sealed coring technology for in-situ coal seams in coal mines has been proposed. By utilizing the pressure difference generated by high-pressure water at both ends of the piston, the piston is driven to cut off the positioning pin, which in turn drives the ball valve in the coring device to rotate, achieving the goal of cutting off and sealing the in-situ coal core. Performance tests were conducted on the sealing pressure of the coring device by opening the amount of water holes on the piston and using suspension pins of different materials, verifying the working parameters of the piston opening amount and suspension pins of different materials, providing basic data for subsequent industrial underground tests. Finally, during the industrial test underground, it was found that the gas content in the coal seam measured by closed sampling was 1.9-2.5 times higher than that of the coal seam sampled by the hole, which verified the successful design of the closed sampling device.
Plaster is among the most needed raw materials in the world. In this study, thermal activation provided by calcination and mechanical activation methods provided by intensive milling in the plaster production process were evaluated in terms of activation energy. In this context, the energies of laboratory-scale thermal and mechanical activation processes were calculated and these activation methods were evaluated economically and the ideal activation methods were determined. Although the mechanical activation method creates additional investment and operating costs, it reduces the calcination temperature by 13 °C, thus provides lower energy costs. Addition of a mechanical activator mill before thermal activation in plaster production as a more economical and more environmentally friendly method was proposed.
Modeling processes are carried out in the mineral industry as well as in many areas depending on the development of computer technologies and software. Discrete Element Method (DEM) is used in modeling studies to explain the interaction of particles with other particles and communication equipment. The DEM provides the capability to simulate the movement of the granular media in a series of computational processes of each individual particle that consists of the granular media. It is becoming increasingly widely used to predict energy consumption, wear, particle breakage and particle size distribution in crushing and grinding processes that can be described in terms of granular materials using DEM. The selection of particle breakage models used by commercial software for modeling DEM particle breakage is important. In this study, it is summarized the studies have been carried out to understand the performance of particle breakage methods, which are Bonded Particle Model (BPM), Fast Breakage Model (FBM) and Particle Replacement Model (PRM), in the modeling of comminution equipment. In addition, the relationship between particle and breakage energies and theory of applied forces are described in detail for three breakage models existing in commercial DEM simulators.
In this study, the subsidence induced by sublevel caving production method applied in the Divriği Ekinbaşı underground mine was investigated and evaluated. In this context, on-site observations and measurements were made in the underground mine. Two point cloud datasets with an approximately seven-month time difference were analyzed, and surface collapses, cracks, and fractures were plotted on the map For each periods, the fracture initiation and subsidence angles of hangingwall and footwall sides were determined. As a result of the analysis of first and second data sets, subsidence angle of the hangingwall side remained the same as 50.40°, in the footwall side 72.84° and 53.44° respectively. The areas of fracture and subsidence regions increased by 4.67 ha and 7.67 ha, respectively, over a period of around seven months.
Halloysite is a type of clay mineral found in the kaolin group together with kaolinite, dickite, and nacrite minerals. Kaolinite is the most common mineral in this group, while dickite, nacrite, and halloysite are rarer. Although halloysite is primarily used in ceramic production, application in other industries is increasing and gaining economic value due to its unique properties. The use of halloysite is determined by the degree of purity and the properties of the nano-sized tubular structure. Naturally obtained halloysite mineral has a key position in the field of nanotechnology due to its unique physicochemical properties originating from its tubular structure. Also, due to its reserves in many parts of the world, halloysite is a more economical material for the sectors compared to artificially produced nanomaterials. And, they find many different application areas because of these features (morphological and physicochemical). Halloysite reserves known in Türkiye are located in the Çanakkale and Balıkesir regions. Although there are many useful studies on halloysite in different, additional studies are needed to understand the nano-sized properties of halloysite ore and to ensure its use that will provide maximum benefit. This study aimed to contribute to the studies on halloysite in terms of literature by compiling studies on the characterization of halloysite minerals, reserve information, physicochemical properties, enrichment methods, and usage areas.
In the present study, the effect of various The oil agglomeration method is of great importance for high recovery and low cost in capitalizing our energy resources that create environmental problems due to fineness of particle size or our low quality, oxidized coal resources with large reserves. Inorganic pretreatment materials, the ratio of bridging liquid, agglomeration time and mixing speed on the agglomeration recovery in the beneficiation of Zonguldak coal with low ash content (2.23%) through oil agglomeration. In the experiments, kerosene was used as the bridging liquid and NaCl, FeCl2, Fe2(SO4)3, Al2(SO4)3 were used as inorganic pretreatment materials. In the agglomeration experiments in which inorganic pretreatment materials and kerosene were used together, the maximum recovery was determined in the condition where the kerosene concentration was 15%, the mixing speed was 800 rpm and the agglomeration time was 10 min. It was found that, the recovery under suitable conditions was 71.5% in the agglomeration experiments conducted with only kerosene, whereas it was in varying rates between 76.5% and 81.6% in experiments where pretreatment materials and kerosene were used together. Among the inorganic pretreatment materials, when used together with kerosene, the best recovery was obtained with the use of 50 mg/L Fe2(SO4)3. The agglomeration recovery obtained in the experiments conducted with only kerosene under optimum conditions was reached when the agglomeration time was 5 min in the experiments in which the inorganic pretreatment materials and kerosene were used together.
Feldspar is usually found in conjunction with titanium and iron minerals. Feldspar should be separated from other minerals by generally magnetic separation or/and flotation with high grade. However, due to the similarities in the properties, feldspars are difficult to separate from gangue minerals by flotation. In this study, the degradability of iron was investigated by mica flotation, and Central Composite Design (CCD) was used to plan and analyze the results. During the study, the effect of solid ratio, pH, collector amount and airflow on the iron content and the yield of the obtained clean feldspar were modelled. Then, estimation of the optimum conditions and verification tests were performed. The iron content was reduced to 0.14% by mica flotation. However, this reduction amount was found to be insufficient. Finally, iron content was reduced to 0.05%. Considering that the maximum iron content of the superior grade feldspar is 0.1%, it can be said that two stage flotation is successful without different processes such as magnetic separation.
Support pressure is a key factor in the stability of the excavation area during mining and tunneling. The vital thing desired in an underground engineering structure is to ensure that the structure survives safely throughout its lifetime. For this reason, choosing the right support system at the planning stage is very important for the pressure that will affect the support system must be determined with a certain convergence. This article aims to discuss the support pressures by the finite element method and convergence-confinement method and compare the results. A series of two-dimensional finite element models are established to analyze support pressure with different rock masses selected from the literature. The results reveal that since the convergence-confinement method and the finite element method have high-order relationships regarding support pressures and displacements for weak rock masses, the support pressures and the displacement values for similar conditions can be estimated with the convergence-confinement method, which is more practical than the finite element method.
To solve the problem of floor water inrush in the process of coal mining on a confined aquifer and study the law of floor instability, a cemented filling mining method is proposed in the paper. Using river sand and cement as filling materials, the cementitious material with a concentration of 75% and cement content of 15% has the best flow and mechanical properties. Based on the elastic half-space theory and the bearing characteristics of the backfill, the mechanical model of floor stability is established, the critical criterion of floor instability is proposed, and the relationship between the failure depth of floor and the location and pressure of confined aquifer is obtained. The numerical simulation test scheme is designed, and the FLAC3D fluid-structure coupling element is used to explore the instability characteristics of the floor in the mining process. The research results show that the failure depth of the floor will gradually decrease with the increase of the strength of filling materials, the increase of aquifer distance, and the decrease of water pressure. The research results provide a useful reference for the study of safe mining of coal resources on a confined aquifer.
Mechanical excavation and the successive processes coal production are the main reason for the occurrence of fine waste coals. These wastes are normally discharged without being processed from coal washing plants. Therefore, it causes not only economic loses but also severe environmental problems. It was attempted to enrich waste coals of WLC by using physical and physico-chemical methods and the results were compared. From the tests the optimum carbon content and the combustible recovery values were obtained as 85% and 97%, respectively, when heavy media and the coarse particle size group were chosen. From the tests with the medium particle size group using spiral and Knelson separators, combustible recovery of up to 90% was reached together with a carbon content of 80%. Moreover, a carbon content of 86.5% with a combustible recovery of 56.6% was obtained by using MGS. In the fine particle size group, the highest combustible recovery was obtained by using spiral and Knelson separators. The highest carbon content in the fine particle size group was obtained through MGS and Jameson Cell.
The traditional way of coal production and management is still predominant in the Indian coal mining industry which has led to a widespread waste of resources both materials and humans. Operational loss of the mining machinery and equipment is one of the key factors for the low performance and productivity of mines. This research presents an application of the integrated approach of the Mine Production Index and Ishikawa Diagram in an Indian coal mine to study the bottleneck equipment in the mining operation among the fleet of the shovel, dumper, and dozer. Mine Production Index (MPI) identifies the bottleneck equipment in the mining operation, and Ishikawa Diagram presents the Root Cause Analysis of bottleneck equipment. The fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP) is used to determine weights for MPI calculation using information gathered from a group of 11 experts through Structured interviews. The study found that the dozer fleet is the bottleneck equipment and the ineffectiveness of the dozer fleet can be grouped into 4 categories as enumerated on the Ishikawa diagram. The study proposes that the ineffectiveness of the dozer fleet can be improved with an increase in its performance rate. The study is based on the judgments of the experts for the case mine, which may limit the external validity. This paper is an original contribution to the analysis of mining equipment using the Mine Production Index and Ishikawa Diagram in an Indian coal mine.
