Thesis (Professional Degree)--University of Missouri, School of Mines and Metallurgy, 1926. / The entire thesis text is included in file. Typescript. Title from title screen of thesis/dissertation PDF file (viewed October 5, 2009) Includes index (p. [35-38]).

Long term planning is the process used by a mining organization to develop a strategic business plan. The plan describes how the ore is going to be extracted over the mine life. As such, it is routinely updated in order to declare annual reserves, evaluate options and react to changes in the initial assumptions. Inputs into this planning process are the parameters that drive profitability. The purpose of this research is to understand and document the open pit long range planning process in current use by mining operations, isolate the input parameters that feed into this process, and conduct a critical review of these parameters in an effort to develop a more robust plan. The thesis also searches for answers to the following questions: Can the copper metal price be correlated to a factor (or a set of factors)? Can the price be predicted? How useful is the work of O’Hara and Taylor in predicting the mine life and milling rate at the scoping study stage? How can the pit by pit graph be used to better guide the selection of the ultimate pit? Is there a realized benefit from operating at an elevated cutoff grade strategy with low grade copper porphyry deposits? The research concludes with a proposal (not common in the industry) for the selection of the metal price as an input into the mine planning process. This approach, if implemented, can give a corporation a dominant position in the future. The research also presents a modified approach for the selection of the ultimate pit. Furthermore, the use of Taylor’s rule in predicting the mine life was tested and verified on an open pit copper porphyry deposit and the benefits of operating at an elevated cutoff grade strategy was demonstrated for the deposit. / Thesis (Master, Mining Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2013-04-30 12:57:12.084

A dissertation submitted to the faculty of engineering, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment for the degree of master of science in engineering JULY, 1984 / It is economically desirable to build dumps of coarse mine waste as high a, possible. A review of available literature indicated that a significant decrease in the strength of coarse material occurs at high stress levels. A literature survey was conducted to establish possible dump failure modes and methods of slope stability analysis appropriate to dumps. Consolidated, drained triaxial tests on several mine waste materials have shown that above a normal stress of 1600 kPa, slight curvature of the Mohr strength envelope occurs. However, sample stability analyses show that there is little or no difference in factors of safety for typical dump slopes, obtained by using a constant average friction angle, or by using variable friction angles derived from a power equation which describes the curved strength envelope. Thus it is concluded that the curvature of the strength envelope, has little influence on the factor of safety of dump slopes.

Rock Mechanics, as such, is a comparatively young science. It has gradually evolved from minor branches of activity in Engineering, Physics, and Geology. Today it may be considered as being a separate field of scientific endeavour. The earliest investigations into the behaviour of rocks under pressure were described over a hundred and fifty years ago. Observations related the observed phenomena to geological structures, and were qualitative rather than quantitative.

Rocks are generally heterogeneous and anisotropic. The development of the geological sciences has required some form of classification. This has been based largely on origin and mineral contents. Such classifications meat geological requirements but, except in an empirical sense, give little indication of rocks reaction to stress. Even at the present time, most operations involving rocks are initiated and conducted more or less on a trial-and-error basis. Research to develop methods of predicting rock behavior under mining conditions is the only alternative to these empirical methods. In a scientific age such research becomes very urgent.

A brief resume of the Theory of Photoelasticity is given, particular emphasis being laid on theory pertaining to the subject of the thesis. Experimental procedures have been described in great detail. The solution of LaPlace's Equation by a numerical method has been exhaustively explained, as it is felt, that such a method will be used more extensively in photoelastic stress analysis. The results have been presented as a series of figures and the discussion has spotlighted the main points. [...]

In the design of multistorey steel frames, a common method of analysis is to assume that, for vertical loads on the beams, the joints at the ends of the members are flexible and allow the members to rotate freely at the ends. The same frame, however, when analyzed for lateral loads, is assumed to have rigid connections. Building connections, in general, are neither perfectly rigid nor completely flexible, but belong to a category that is intermediate between these two extremes and are known as semi-rigid joints. [...]

The stability of underground openings is a problem of paramount importance in some phases of both mining and civil engineering. The design of underground openings that will remain open for a sufficient time to achieve maximum recovery from the mineral deposit is a problem of the mining engineer. [...]

When a hole is made underground, stress redistribution occurs in its vicinity. The resulting concentration of stress is highest at the boundary and approaches unity as distance from the hole increases. [...]

The gravity field of 300 sq. miles of the St. Lawrence Lowlands is investigated, particularly the anomalous gravity effect of the Delson and Tracy Brook faults. Theoretically this results from the mass distribution about the fault plane and is the difference between the observed gravity, corrected to sea level, and gravity according to the International Gravity Formula, at sea level and the latitude of the fault. [...]