This dissertation analyses whether the rights of indigenous people are being recognised, respected and upheld when the state awards prospecting and mining rights on land owned and lawfully occupied by indigenous people in South Africa. This analysis is based on the fact that most prospecting and mining rights in South Africa are awarded on or around communal lands where rural communities and, in some instances, indigenous people reside. Through the Constitution, the NEMA, the MPRDA and other environmental sector-specific legislation examples, it is established that the state tends to prioritise economic development that alienates indigenous peoples' right to live in a healthy and safe environment as a result of the on-going mining operations. A sustainable approach which appreciates the balance between economic, social and environmental sustainability is proposed as a means and step towards realisation of South Africa's mineral wealth, the right of communities to live in a healthy environment and community, as well as prior consultation when prospecting and mining rights are awarded on communal lands. The approach of the Bengwenyama-ye-Maswati Constitutional Court decision pertaining to the rights of local communities and indigenous people when mining takes place in South Africa is adopted to link the three sustainability pillars to the realisation of the rights of these local communities. / LLM (Environmental Law and Governance), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

This dissertation analyses whether the rights of indigenous people are being recognised, respected and upheld when the state awards prospecting and mining rights on land owned and lawfully occupied by indigenous people in South Africa. This analysis is based on the fact that most prospecting and mining rights in South Africa are awarded on or around communal lands where rural communities and, in some instances, indigenous people reside. Through the Constitution, the NEMA, the MPRDA and other environmental sector-specific legislation examples, it is established that the state tends to prioritise economic development that alienates indigenous peoples' right to live in a healthy and safe environment as a result of the on-going mining operations. A sustainable approach which appreciates the balance between economic, social and environmental sustainability is proposed as a means and step towards realisation of South Africa's mineral wealth, the right of communities to live in a healthy environment and community, as well as prior consultation when prospecting and mining rights are awarded on communal lands. The approach of the Bengwenyama-ye-Maswati Constitutional Court decision pertaining to the rights of local communities and indigenous people when mining takes place in South Africa is adopted to link the three sustainability pillars to the realisation of the rights of these local communities. / LLM (Environmental Law and Governance), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

The objective of this thesis is to predict lining thickness inside circular mine shafts. A numerical study with different rock mass strengths and different in-situ non-hydrostatic stresses are carried out in 2D shaft section models to predict pressures that develop on lining support. An iterative process of applying support pressure until observing no failure zone around shaft is used to simulate lining support pressure for each individual model. Later, regression and fuzzy logic analyses are carried out to find a pressure equation for all of the models. Finally, the pressure equation derived is used in elastic &ldquo / thick-walled cylinder&rdquo / equation to calculate the lining thickness required to prevent the development of a failure zone around shafts. At the end of this research, a computer program &ldquo / Shaft 2D&rdquo / is developed to simplify the lining thickness calculation process.

Transportation cost is an important item in total operating cost of an open pit mining operations. In some projects, the transportation cost may reach to 60 % of total operating cost. Turkish Coal Enterprises (TKi) delivers the demanded coal to all cities of Turkey within the context of Prime Ministry Social Solidarity and Aid Fund. The project duration, demanded coal amount whether the coal is needed as packed or unpacked form are determined by local governors. In this study, a model is developed through software, called NAKMAL for the estimation of TKi&rsquo / s coal transportation cost. Transportation cost model is coded using Visual Studio.NET 2005. This model is designed in modular structure and composed of 19 modules. Excavation and transportation in a mine is an important part of the model. Model considers all the highway, railway and transportation by ship alternatives, as well as the packing operation. This model is being used in evaluation of bids by the decision of TKi&rsquo / s board of executive committee.

In this thesis, it is aimed to investigate and analyze the effect of meteorological conditions on airborne dust measured at Ovacik Open Pit Gold Mine. Meteorological data must be sound and reliable which are used mainly to design an air model to predict the effect of industrial sites on air quality during production. Wind speed, wind direction, airtemperature, air pressure, relative humidity, rainfall, evaporation and sunshine. are the parameters investigated in this study. In the thesis, the meteorological data observed are analyzed and discussed together with the airborne dust measured by MP101M Suspended Particulate Beta Gauge Monitor at Ovacik Gold Mine. In this study, the most significant meteorological parameter affecting airborne dust concentration is determined as air temperature. In this study, it is also determined through airborne dust measurements that neither the short-term limit nor the long-term limit has been exceeded. Therefore, the airborne dust concentrations at Ovacik Gold Mine comply with the Turkish Air Quality Control Regulation.

Dereliction of land by mining activities within the broad range of dereliction caused by other industrial and human activities was examined. Special attention was paid to impacts, mitigation, and costs thereof. Mine reclamation was examined in detail with special reference to professional interpretations. Mine reclamation bonding was studied with reference to environmental management planning so as to contribute to a forthcoming regulation concerning exactly these matters by providing a detailed listing of mining operations to be geared toward mine reclamation in Turkey&rsquo / s conditions and by providing key concepts in the inception of a draft regulation concerning mine reclamation as part of the EU accession program.

Instability in stope panels in shallow mines manifests itself as rockfalls from the hangingwall. Rockfalls from unstable stope panels vary in size from rockfalls between support units, to rockfalls spanning between pillars or solid abutments, to rockfalls bridging several panels and pillars. A suitable and reliable design methodology for stable stope panels at shallow depths is therefore required. This methodology must consider all manifestations of instability in stope panels and take account of the factors governing the stability. Very few mines design stope panels according to a systematic design procedure or methodology. Rock mass characterisation, estimation of rock mass properties, identification of potential failure modes, appropriate stability analyses and other elements of the rock engineering design process are often neglected. Instead, panel lengths are often dictated by the equipment in use and by previous experience under similar conditions. Consequently, unplanned stope panel collapses occur on most near-surface and shallow mines. Although these incidents often occur during blasting, they pose a major threat to the safety of underground workers and the economic extraction of orebodies. Hence, a rock engineering design methodology for the design of stable stope panels between pillars is of vital importance for optimum safety and production in shallow mining operations. Using the proposed design methodology, rock mechanics practitioners and mine planners should be able to identify and quantify the critical factors influencing the stability of stope panels. The critical factors should then be used as input to the design of stable stope panels that will provide the necessary safe environment for underground personnel working in stopes. It is concluded that the design of stable stope panels should be a process of defining the means of creating stable stope panels for the safety of underground workers and optimum extraction of the orebody. Therefore, a method is required whereby all rock properties, their variability, and an understanding of all rock mechanisms affecting the stability of stope spans are used as a fundamental base. A procedure for identifying the mechanisms and rock properties relevant to the specific problem is then required. In this way, existing knowledge should be used in an optimal way to design site specific stable stope spans. Hence, it is proposed that the design methodology for stable stope panels is a process consisting of the following steps: 1. Define objective. 2. Rock mass characterisation. 3. Estimation of in situ rock mass properties. 4. Consider an “ideal” stope panel. 5. Identification of potential failure modes. 6. Stability analyses. 7. Identify all significant hazards and assess the significant risks. 8. Geometric optimisation. 9. Determination of support requirements. 10. Design of support. 11. Evaluation. 12. Recommendation and implementation. 13. Monitoring of excavation and support behaviour to validate design and permit modifications. / Dissertation (MEng (Mining))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Mining Engineering / unrestricted

No description available.

Student Number : 7439270 - MSc research report - School of Mining - Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment / In tabular mining, common in South African gold and platinum mines, the removal of the tabular ore body by mining operations leaves behind excavations known as stopes. These stopes form the production areas of a mine and have to be supported in order that a safe working environment is created. Stopes generally have widths of close to a metre but, in some areas and on certain reefs, may be much wider. Prior to the 1980s, a combination of in-stope pillars and timber was used to support these stopes, but innovations from the 1970s have produced grout packs as a viable support option. These packs are cast in situ through the use of cemented classified tailings gravitated from surface and placed in reinforced geotextile bags at the stope face. As these packs cure and become rigid they are able to bear load when compressed by stope closure. In this way, the packs keep the working areas open. To quantify the load-bearing capacity of grout packs, a range of sizes and designs was tested in a laboratory press and, thereafter, a select few were tested underground. Initially, two aspects of grout packs that had not been adequately quantified previously were addressed. These were: the in situ load / compression characteristics of different forms of grout packs; and the relationship between laboratory test results and in situ performance. The laboratory test programme was extended to allow for an investigation into methods of improving the yieldability of grout packs and the possibility of using them to replace in-stope pillars. It was found that the factors that most affect the initial strength and post-failure characteristics of a grout pack are: the grout strength; the amount and type of steel reinforcement; the inclusion of ancillary columnar support; and the height and diameter of the pack. It was also found that grout packs could be used to replace in-stope pillars, but that pack strength and spacing should be conservatively calculated before implementation. A provisional relationship between the behaviour of packs tested in a press and those placed underground was determined.

Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is a powerful technique for relatively efficiency measurement and it is intensively used in different kind of disciplines but this technique has some drawbacks. In the conventional DEA technique, total number of inputs and outputs is determined by the number of evaluated firms. Therefore, this powerful efficiency measurement technique cannot be employed for limited number firm problems. DEA uses realized data so it can be used for objective evaluations. However, in some Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) and mining cases, subjective evaluation is also very important so it should be included in DEA analyses. To get rid of these drawbacks, a new technique is developed with integration of DEA and Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and it is named as AHP.DEA Method. The developed method creates an opportunity using more inputs and outputs in the relatively efficiency measurement for limited number firm cases. Therefore, reliability of the estimation is increased with increasing the number of inputs and outputs in the estimations. The AHP.DEA technique also integrates both subjective opinion of experts and objective evaluation. Combination of them can give more consistent results when compared only subjective or objective evaluation methods. After the application of AHP.DEA method in mining and OHS industry, managers of mining companies can compare their organizations with the competitors or their branches and they can identify strengths and weakness of them. Therefore, quantity and quality of output may be increased while number of accidents is decreased and also new opportunities can be identified to upgrade current operations.