The minerals industry often requires people to work in hazardous environments, these environments are constantly increasing in size and complexity as organisations look for new more cost-effective ways of extracting resources. Not only does this size and complexity bring with it additional safety concerns, the introduction of new legislation has placed the responsibility of employee safety with the organisation. Safety has become an important consideration, where once it might have been viewed as costly and counterproductive, organisations are now seeking to gain competitive advantage in this area. Two key areas of a successful safety management programme are risk assessment and training. These are important in designing systems and environments that are as safe as possible and in educating and training personnel to operate safely within those environments. Virtual Reality (VR) technology is one tool that has been applied successfully to the training requirements across a wide range of industries. In the past two years there is evidence to show that VR technology is becoming more widely used, partly due to the reduced cost and a reduction in the perceived technological complexity. As the cost of computing falls and the fidelity of the virtual worlds increases, VR is considered a viable option for a number of applications. Two prototype VR systems were designed and built. The first, a risk visualisation system, enhances a virtual environment with a risk-based overlay. The relationships between dangerous areas and equipment can be visualised in 3D. It also provides a framework for evaluating the risk programmatically at an arbitrary location. The second is a surface mine simulator that uses a hazard identification system as a tool to aid the training of haul truck operators in surface mine. This system includes a world construction tool that allows users to import and prepare the terrain, construct the virtual world, and specify any hazards. The training system can evaluate the performance of a trainee in the virtual world using a simple scoring algorithm.

Nine types of Al-Ti, Al-Ti-C and Al-Ti-B master alloy rods have been investigated by metallography and also by LiMCA measurements after the dissolution of the alloys in an aluminium melt. The results show the presence of TiC and TiB2 particle clusters in the Al-Ti-C and Al Ti-B alloys, respectively. The size of the clusters as measured by LiMCA was in the range of 20-100µm. The percentage of the total TiB2 and TiC additions to the melt that was found in the clusters was up to 2.8%. EDX analysis of the TiC particle clusters showed the presence of oxygen, presumably in the form of aluminium oxide, and the TiB2 clusters also contained oxygen, fluorine and potassium. AI-5Ti-1B master alloys from different manufacturers contain different quantities of impurities containing oxide and fluoride salts. Furthermore, the distribution of phases varies, especially with respect to texturing of the TiB2 particles, and the impurities show a varying degree of association with the TiB2 texture lines. The Al-Ti-C master alloys also showed texturing but the main difference was observed in their oxide content. The quantity of clusters as determined by LiMCA can be related to the microstructure of the master alloys, further supporting the conclusion that oxide plays an important role in cluster formation in the Al-Ti-C rods and the impurities containing oxide and fluoride salts in the Al-Ti-B rods. The LiMCA tests also confirm that further agglomeration of the clusters and particles occurs in the aluminium melt both for Al-Ti-C and AI-Ti-B master alloys. The flow conditions and particle distribution in an aluminium melt in launders was modelled using CFD for two launder designs. In the first design the effect of vortex formation in the dead-zone at a corner of the launder was demonstrated. Particle dispersion from a point source simulating the dissolution of a master alloy rod was modelled for the second launder. An effective distribution was achieved within 1000 mm from the source of particle introduction, this distance being less than that required for the dissolution of the soluble TiAl3 particles from the master alloys. LiMCA measurements in the first launder and chemical analysis of samples taken from the flowing melt support the flow and particle distribution modelling.

Mine surveying is at present undergoing a revolution with the possibility of fully automating survey tasks. This has become possible because of the introduction of automated systems of data measurement, acquisition, processing and plotting. The field instrumentation required for automation is explained, together with an analysis of the results from numerous evaluation tests. A guide is given to the computer facilities necessary, both hardware and software, to achieve automation within the mine survey office. Emphasis is given to the experiences and results obtained from the field applications investigated, including underground surveys and surface volumetric surveys. The efforts to automate subsidence monitoring are also covered. The investigations have highlighted the overall increase in efficiency offered by such systems, and the possible future potential offered to the discipline is discussed.

Despite significant improvements in mine safety, underground mine fires and explosions are responsible for a significant number of deaths world-wide each year. The training of personnel in safety procedures has had a significant impact on reducing the frequency of injuries and fatalities. This thesis presents an innovative virtual reality simulation, 'Fire-VR', designed to enhance the visualisation of a mine ventilation system. Fire-VR incorporates existing ventilation network analysis procedures with a graphical front-end and offers considerable potential for user interactivity in training scenarios. The system, Fire-VR incorporates a suite of programs, created to model the mine infra-structure, ventilation system and environment of a typical mine. The key components include the ventilation modelling system (VentSim-VR) to simulate the flow of air through the mine network and an environment modelling system (EnvSim-VR) to simulate the effects of various external and internal influences on the quality of the ventilated air within the mine. The environmental system is able to model both pre-defined events (such as the liberation of firedamp from the strata) which can occur at certain times and also spontaneous events which occur when pre-determined criteria have been met. The system has been created with two main interfaces for the user to interact with. Firstly, the 2D interface shows a plan view of the mine network with the primary function of displaying environmental and ventilation information. Secondly, the 3D interface, used as the main virtual reality graphical front-end to the simulation provides the user with a rich semi-immersive virtual environment. It is suggested that Fire-VR can potentially be applied in the training of personnel at a significantly reduced cost and in a safe environment. To demonstrate this a number of possible training examples have been presented to showcase the potential of the Fire-VR software.

Borehole instabilities can be encountered at any stage in the life of a well and they are the main cause of drilling difficulties, resulting in substantial expenditures, expensive loss of time, sometimes even in the loss of part of or even whole boreholes. The main aim of this research is to use new method and theory in geomechanics to conduct the stability analysis of wellbore. The cavity contraction theory is used to get the new elastic-perfectly plastic solutions for vertical borehole with anisotropic stress field. The solutions for Mohr-Coulomb and Hoek-Brown criteria are derived in this paper. A new alternative criterion, which is to limit the radius of plastic zone around borehole, to predict the wellbore instability was also recommended. The finite element code ABAQUS is applied to analyse the mechanical behaviour of wells with different inclinations and different azimuths. A Generalized Plane Strain Model is used in the calculation. The failure wellbore pressure, borehole closure, plastic zone distribution of different direction wells are given in this paper. In order to accurately predict the wellbore behaviour in soft and porous rocks, a suitable and advanced constitutive model of rocks is the key issue of the borehole instability research. A new model, called CASM (Clay And Sand Model) which is based on critical state theory and formulated in terms of the state parameter concept is applied in this research. The non-coaxiality theory is incorporated into CASM to analyse the wellbore stability. Compared with coaxial model, non-coaxial model gives more pessimistic results. However, it was found that the influence of non-coaxiality on wellbore stability depended on initial conditions of wellbore.

Haulage Costs account for a considerable portion of a surface mine's operational budget. It is therefore vital that, for a particular pit configuration, the optimum utilisation of the available truck fleet is adopted during the mine's life. Also, if the optimisation methods are established beforehand, it is possible to determine exactly how many trucks will be required. Both decisions can be made at the planning stage by the application of linear programming and discrete simulation to computer models of the haulage network. The project presented herein investigates the practicality of developing a general-purpose mine transportation selection and scheduling system within the context of a Computer Aided Design (CAD) environment. Compatibility with a purpose-built, interactive graphics package is shown to enable rapid, semiautomatic generation of model networks and the planning engineer is assisted further by the robust and friendly user-interface which has also been developed. Unlike a number of existing packages, which either make use of commercially available software on a stand-alone basis or were specifically designed for the analysis of a particular operation, this system is completely integrated with a central database which makes it applicable to any mine. The enhanced ability to produce valid mathematical solutions and their associated network models using the above systems, allows a large number of configurations and dispatching policies to be compared in a relatively short space of time. However, attention is also paid to the degree of correspondence with what can be achieved in reality since this will also effect the selection decision. All the modules mentioned form part of a much larger planning system currently being developed at The University of Nottingham, Department of Mining Engineering, known as NUmine.

The work carried out in this thesis outlines some of the problems associated with abrasive wear in machines and other mechanical equipment used to excavate or process natural rock material. It has been stated that if the problems associated with abrasion are to be better understood, then a sound knowledge of the abrasive potential of rocks is essential. A number of common wear mechanisms are described together with existing hardness and abrasive tests. The author has investigated rock hardness and abrasiveness by the use of existing methods and subsequently, developed new correlated with the well tests which can be established methods of determining physical and mechanical properties of rock. A project on hard rock drilling has been conducted to determine the rate of wear on expensive diamond impregnated coring drill bits. A detailed investigation which involved the design and manufacture of special measuring equipment to accurately measure and record changes in the profile shape of the bit during its life span. This has permitted a study of the wear characteristics related to the various drilling parameters employed. A collaborative project was carried out with DeBeers, UK, to attempt to discover methods of predicting the rate of specific wear on diamond impregnated saw blades and the cutting forces required with the sawing of hard stone materials. This project has led to a new statistical approach to the analysis of the acquired test data for this purpose. A number of case histories have been discussed and recommendations made. As a result of these investigations together with the work covered in this thesis, the author has developed two new abrasive tests. These tests can be used to test materials such as unconsolidated rocks which otherwise, could not be satisfactorily tested by the established tests already in existence. The new tests have been tried and proved by correlating the test data by combining multiple regression analysis with the results obtained from physical and petrological rock property tests with actual rock cutting data. Conclusions have been drawn and recommendations for future work suggested.

This document constitutes a brief discussion of the total concept of mining limestone, particularly for lime and cement manufacture. Actual case studies in which the writer has participated have been used to demonstrate the methods used by the various operators and their attitude to matters such as the environment has been described. The document has been written to be presented as suitable material for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy, however, on reading several cotemporary theses which deal solely with the matter concerning the degree, the writer has chosen to produce a document that compiles material from a multitude of sources, including the writers own experience which he thinks may be of interest to mining students. The part of this document that complies with the requirement to "advance science" is in the use of explosives and the principles of rock breakage, this is the main area of the writers expertise and is to be found, in Chapters ten and eleven. The method of blasting and the reasoning for its evident success, challenges some, and agrees with other, mathematical theorem that have been presented previously. Most mathematical theorem use either perfect models, or require so many variables that the accuracy of the maths becomes doubtful, because of this, their usefulness to the mining engineer is limited. Chapter eleven explains how explosives work in surface mining and identifies enhanced effects. The writer believes that these enhanced effects are the result of coincidences in the pulses of the shock waves. The writer first noticed the effects of a shock wave on rock when designing huge blasts for strip mining of coal in Zambia, where the rock had to be totally shattered but remain in place, further experiments in the Falkland Islands with spacing and timing, finally led to application in African limestone quarries. The blasting described at Chilanga has been designed to first shatter the rock then produce further breakage in the enhanced heaving process, in addition, the imperfect rock formation provides a perfect example of using explosives to blend the various grades of material. Many photographs are included of the results of blasting and as the practice is still current, the readers are able to visit Zambia to examine the effects for themselves.

The factors which influence the performance characteristics of diamond impregnated core bits and roller cone bits are examined, and actual field drilling data are analysed to determine these factors. Methods for selecting the appropriate bit type for optimised drilling are also highlighted. The importance of core drilling to the exploration and exploitation of the earth's natural resources and to the integrity of engineering structures is highlighted. An investigation of the slim hole continuous core drilling system and its application in the oil and gas exploration is analysed. The highly successful integration of oilfield, mining and geotechnical exploration technologies in a special investigation programme includes several elements which are important in the application of slim hole methods for oil and gas exploration are analysed. Many of the technical issues associated with a slim hole approach have been addressed in the development and application of the drilling, and coring equipment and systems. The project has given an opportunity to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages, merits and limitations for applying different drilling and associated technologies for deep hole construction to safety.

Microwave energy has previously been shown to have a major influence on the comminution behaviour of minerals and ores. Significant reductions in strength have been observed for microwave-treated ores. Other workers have reported increases in liberation after treatment. However, the majority of the work has been carried out at energy inputs too high for economic implementation. Whilst it was thought that the weakening and enhanced liberation was due to differential expansion of the heated constituent phases resulting in increased predominance of inter-granular fracture, the exact mechanisms have been poorly understood. Due to difficulties in measuring events inside a microwave cavity and inside the material being irradiated, it was suggested that numerical modelling could be used to simulate a simplified system in order to determine the underlying mechanisms. The model was used to examine the development of stresses as heat was applied to certain mineral phases. No heat was applied directly to the matrix component of the simulated ore. Given sufficient energy input, the stresses would exceed the strength of the material. It was found that the shear stresses in particular were likely to be highest at the edges of the grain boundaries of 2-D circular heated particles inside an unheated (microwave-transparent) matrix. This explained the increased occurrence of inter-granular fracture which has led to observations of enhanced liberation. It was also discovered that weakening is facilitated at very high microwave power densities, due to the increased magnitude of expansion and subsequent forces generated. The overall energy balance can be made favourable by using microwave exposure times of less than 0.1 seconds. Shorter exposure times result in less time for conduction to occur from the heated phase into the unheated phase, and temperature gradients are maximised leading to elevated shear stresses and increased likelihood of fracture.