Tag Archives: Colorado School of Mines

Sidney Resources teams up with Colorado School of Mines for laser mining tests

Environmental, Explosives and blasting, Mining equipment, Mining techniques, , ,

Sidney Resources Corp says it has reached an agreement with the Colorado School of Mines for testing of its new laser mining technology.

Founded in 1874 with specialties in mining and metallurgy, Colorado School of Mines is a public university focused on science and engineering. Over the years, its scope and mission have expanded to meet the needs of industry and society, becoming a world leader in advancing sustainable use of the Earth’s resources.

The testing of the Sidney’s new laser mining technology has been coordinated with the assistance of IPG Photonics and will use the 4 kW IPG Photonics laser housed at the university. With the assistance of the Colorado School of Mines team, Sidney’s engineering team will test its newly designed and configured unit so that a variety of specialty directional laser pointing devices and their inherent custom software control are interchangeable for use in various mining operations. Testing will evaluate the ability to cut, facture and spall various samples of geologic materials.

The patent-pending technology is designed for use in mining operations such as explosive installation preparation, rock bolting operations, drifting, expanding raises, winzes and stope mining.

Testing at Colorado School of Mines is a major step forward for Sidney Resources in its pursuit of technology that will provide tremendous value for not just Sidney Resources itself but for the mining industry as a whole with the ability to be deployed across multiple vertical industries, it said.

“We are exploring additional transformative and disruptive technologies to expand our impact on the mining industry while reducing the impact on the environment,” it added.

Sidney anticipates testing will take place late this year. Its team is continuing work to complete the testing protocols with the team at the university and IPG Photonics.

Minalyze and Colorado School of Mines team up to tackle advanced drill core analysis

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Researchers at the Colorado School of Mines are teaming up with Minalyze AB to build an advanced geosciences research laboratory for non-destructive compositional analysis of drill core, the Sweden-based company says.

“This new laboratory establishes the Colorado School of Mines as a global leader in this emerging field with important applications in the development of Earth resources such as the critical minerals needed in the manufacturing of clean energy technologies,” Thomas Monecke, Director of the Center for Advanced Subsurface Earth Resource Models (CASERM) at the Colorado School of Mines, says.

“Minalyze’s choice of CASERM as a research partner is a testament to the calibre of our faculty and students we have, and the establishment of the new research facility will help our research team to advance solutions for the mining sector and contribute to our fundamental understanding of the geological processes resulting in the concentration of metals in the Earth’s crust.”

The new laboratory will support research conducted within CASERM, a collaborative research venture between the Colorado School of Mines and Virginia Tech supported by a consortium of mining companies and federal agencies aiming to transform the way geoscience data is used across the mining value chain.

Minalyze’s X-ray Fluorescence-backed CS scanner has been used throughout the mining sector for drill core analysis and, more recently, is being used in artificial intelligence-backed projects.

In addition to ore deposit research, the new core scanning laboratory will offer unparalleled opportunities for undergraduate and graduate student education, according to Minalyze.

Annelie Lundström, Chief Executive Officer of Minalyze AB, added: “We are excited to collaborate with the CASERM research team and look forward to helping build a strong future in Earth resource research at the Colorado School of Mines and Virginia Tech.”

Initial research using the new analytical capabilities will focus on the identification of elemental enrichment and depletion patterns around ore deposits that were caused by the interaction of ore-forming fluids with the host rocks during deposit formation, Minalyze explained. Identification of these vectors to ores requires the use of machine-learning techniques that are currently developed and tested by the CASERM research team.

In addition to data science, the research team is planning on conducting method developments involving the integration of additional sensors in the core scanner.

TOMRA seminar highlights sensor-based ore sorting benefits

Comminution of minerals, Environmental, IoT, Mineral processing, Mining events, Mining services, Sustainable mining, Water management, , , , , , , , , , ,

TOMRA recently held a seminar on sustainable mining solutions and sensor-based sorting that, it said, addressed major challenges of the mining industry, including increasing pressure to be more financially streamlined and radically more efficient, while addressing environmental and sustainability concerns.

Sensor-based sorting (SBS) is proving to be an increasingly important tool both to formulate optimal solutions for greenfield projects and to help conquer challenges for keeping brownfields operations viable, converting the mining operation’s resource into value, according to TOMRA.

During this seminar at the Colorado School of Mines, TOMRA’s specialists were joined by guest speakers to examine all aspects of a sensor-based sorting operation with a broad range of topics including sorting technology, applications, plant design, test work and economic considerations.

The 62 participants came from all across the US and Canada, and included representatives from mining companies, engineering firms and students and professors eager to learn more about the applications and technology.

Corby Anderson, Harrison Western Professor at the Colorado School of Mines, opened the seminar with an introduction of recycling, recovery and sorting. The next talk focused on sensor-based sorting technologies and their applications, as well as highlighting fully operational SBS plants in the mining industry.

TOMRA’s Mathilde Robben explained the importance of setting objectives for SBS and the financial and technical aspects to evaluate.

“The most critical factors to consider when assessing the feasibility of sorting are throughput requirements, particle size and potential water usage, as well as the mineralogy of the ore,” TOMRA said, adding that having a clear understanding of where sorting can benefit in the process is paramount when planning to use this technology.

Test work is the best way to determine if SBS will work for an application, and TOMRA’s Chris Korsten explained the company’s test work philosophy to identify the best solution that will meet the mining operation’s specific conditions and objectives.

Guest speaker Erik Stepperud of Hazen Research, the industrial R&D company specialising in the mining, chemical, energy and environmental industries, shared his expertise in assays and interpretation of test results, while Craig Murray of the Saskatchewan Research Council spoke about testing and support services for projects using sorting technology.

Downstream impacts

When designing optimal sorting plants, it is critical to understand the necessary auxiliary components for materials handling, such as screens, washing and conveying, and where to place the sorter in the flowsheet to optimise the process and get the most out of SBS, according to TOMRA.

Particle size is critical to SBS, so designing optimal crushing and screening units is vital, and TOMRA invited expert speakers to cover these topics: Jörn Rohleder of Outotec, which specialises in designing leading technologies and services for the sustainable use of natural resources, discussed crushing design and Eli Cannell of Joest, a leader in vibration technology, elaborated on screening. Greg Black of Golden Eagle Technologies, meanwhile, covered the topic of dust extraction.

SBS can have a huge positive impact on the downstream operations of a flowsheet, as more waste is rejected from the process upstream. This means waste is not carried through the rest of the process, resulting in significant savings in energy, water and chemicals. A further benefit is the reduction of fine tailings that are environmentally challenging to manage.

The seminar was very well received, according to TOMRA, and achieved its goal of providing a pragmatic foundation on SBS projects. Genevieve Gosselin, Senior Technical Metallurgist at Agnico Eagle Mines, said, “The seminar gave us keys for the implementation of ore sorting in brownfields and greenfields mining projects”. Vera Gella, Metallurgist at BBA, said: “For us, the test work preparation and flowsheet design are most relevant to what we do every day and being able to quickly assess whether or not sorting is applicable to a given project. Like Jörn pointed out, if you pick the wrong crushing/SBS circuit design up front, it can drastically change the outcome of a project. It’s critical to think carefully about how to get the most out of your sorting circuit.”

It also raised awareness of aspects that participants may not have considered in the past. For Gosselin it was “how important the geology of the deposit is, and the need to evaluate this before starting bench and pilot scale testing”. Gella, on the other hand, was struck by the sustainability aspect, which is becoming increasingly important: “One of the things that we hadn’t thought about because our scope was focused on the economic tradeoff was the environmental impacts of SBS. The environment is becoming more and more of a focus for all stakeholders and will be a key driver for mining projects going forward.”

Epiroc gifts COP 1238K rock drill to Colorado School of Mines

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Epiroc says it has donated a COP 1238K rock drill to the Excavation Engineering and Earth Mechanics Institute (EMI) at the Colorado School of Mines in the US.

The COP 1238K hydraulic rock drill for tunnelling and drifting applications updates testing equipment at EMI, the largest independent rock drilling and excavation research facility in the world, according to Epiroc.

Located in Golden, Colorado, the Colorado School of Mines is known globally for its expertise in topics related to earth, energy and the environment. EMI was established in 1974 to enhance education and research in the field of excavation technology for mining and civil underground construction, and the institute has become one of the world’s leading research facilities.

Epiroc said: “Over its 45 years of existence, EMI has developed a suite of physical property tests, cutter and cutterhead evaluation procedures for performance prediction, project costing, and design of mechanical rock excavation tools for all types of mechanical excavators in mining, civil underground construction, and microtunneling.

“The developed test procedures and performance/cost prediction models have been validated with extensive field data from excavation and drilling projects around the world.”

The rock drill donation came about through collaboration between Shawn Cheney, Epiroc Business Line Manager – Rock Drilling Tools, and Jamal Rostami, Director of the Earth Mechanics Institute. A member of the EMI industrial advisory board, Cheney facilitated the donation of the COP 1238K to replace EMI’s decades-old testing drill, Epiroc said. The new test cell installation was completed in February 2019.

Cheney said: “Epiroc has tremendous appreciation for and confidence in the work that EMI does. We recently partnered with EMI on a project related to the cutting technology on our Mobile Miner. We’re honoured to donate equipment that will help EMI continue to serve as a valuable resource for the mining and civil underground construction industries.”

The COP 1238K is developed to maximise impact power while optimising durability in underground applications, according to Epiroc, with its sweet spot being hole diameters from 2-3½ in (51-89 mm). It has a power rating of 12 kW.

The rock drill features a built-in reflex damper that contributes to improved drill steel economy and reduces wear on the rock drill, feed and boom, according to Epiroc. “A powerful stepless variable and reversible rotation motor provides high torque and excellent speed control. In addition, a long, slender piston matched to the drill steel delivers optimal impact power without damaging the drill steel,” the company said.

Rostami said: “The COP 1238K rock drill donation gives EMI the opportunity to perform full-scale testing using the latest in rock drilling technology. This test unit will drive research that contributes to more efficient and safer drilling operations in the industries we support.”