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The waste products acid mine drainage formed during coal mining and fly ash from coal burning power generation, pose substantial environmental and economic problems for South Africa. Eskom has developed a remediation system employing alkaline fly ash to neutralize and precipitate heavy metals from toxic acidic acid mine drainage streams. The aim of this study was to assess the microbial diversity in and microbial impact on this remediation system.

This research investigated the potential of smouldering combustion to be employed as a remediation approach for soil contaminated by non-aqueous phase liquids (NAPLs). Small-scale (~15 cm), proof-of-concept experiments were the first to demonstrate that organic liquids embedded within an inert soil matrix can be successfully smouldered. Intermediate-scale (~30 cm) column experiments examined in detail the behaviour of the combustion process including its relationship to mass and energy balance and the evolution of temperature profiles. In addition, detailed evaluations of environmental parameters (e.g., soil concentrations, gas emissions) were conducted. For the first time, it was demonstrated that NAPL smouldering combustion can be self-sustaining (i.e., propagation of the smouldering front after termination of the igniter) and self-terminating (i.e., natural extinction of the reaction after all of the NAPL is destroyed). More than 30 column sensitivity experiments quantified the broad range of process parameters - including contaminant type, contaminant mass, soil type, and oxidizer flow rates - within which the process was self-sustaining and essentially complete remediation was achieved (i.e. contaminant mass removal in excess of 99.5%). Maximum burning temperatures were observed in the range 600-1100 C. Average propagation velocities varied between 0.7e-4 and 1.2e-4 m/s. Intensity and velocity of the process were shown to be controlled by the rate at which oxidizer is delivered. Contaminant type and mass was observed to affect peak temperatures and propagation velocity by influencing the energy balance at the reaction front. Moreover, mass and energy balance models were demonstrated to provide reasonable predictions of the observed propagation velocities. Overall, this research introduced an entirely new approach to the remediation of NAPL-contaminated soils and, further, advanced the understanding of the mechanisms that control the underlying process of smouldering combustion of liquids.

This research is addressing the causes and effects of project delays in the coal mining industry in South Africa. A literature review was conducted and it was found that the causes of delays are extensively researched in the construction industry with only limited reference to delays in the mining industry which are mainly risk based. The effects of delays are predominantly listed as timing and cost effects.

<p>“Redistributing Risk” explains how coal, which powered the industrial revolution, continued to be a linchpin of U.S. energy production long into the post-industrial era. During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, coal fueled everything from railroad engines to the foundries that forged the steel on which they rode. But the market for coal dwindled during the middle of the twentieth century, and by the 1960s many Americans viewed it as a relic of a dirty and dangerous industrial past. Surprisingly, the industry rebounded during the 1970s, when concerns about energy supplies pushed policymakers and electricity producers to renew the nation’s reliance on coal. In the forty years since, new technology has amplified demand for electricity, and coal has powered yet another revolution in the global political economy. Ironically, a fuel that mid-century observers saw as a thing of the past actually illuminated their future.</p><p>I argue that the key to the industry’s success during the 1970s was a redistribution of the risks associated with coal mining. By the late 1960s, the danger of underground mining was among the industry’s greatest liabilities. High death rates from workplace accidents and the millions disabled by respiratory diseases like coal miners’ pneumoconiosis (commonly referred to as black lung) contributed significantly to coal’s poor reputation. Death rates began to plummet after Congress passed the first comprehensive federal mine safety law in 1969, but miners’ efforts to enforce safety through work stoppages and the pressure to stabilize productivity led operators toward a greater reliance on surface methods, which were safer for workers but more dangerous for nearby communities, ecosystems, and—with the later spread of mountaintop removal—to the mountains themselves.</p> / Dissertation

The analytical advantages of some novel approaches to atomisation using gaseous sample transport and slurry nebulization have been investigated and applied to the determination of trace metals in coal. A cold vapour atomic fluorescence spectroscopic method for the determination of mercury using a gas-sheathed atom cell and front surface illumination was developed. With a manual injection technique the detection limit was 0.01 ng. Replacement with a continuous flow system yielded a more rapid and precise method with a detection limit of C.045 ng.ml-1. Quantitative recoveries of mercury from a standard coal were obtained through liberation of the analyte using nonoxidative pyrolysis. Continuous hydride generation methods for the determination of arsenic and selenium using atomic absorption and atomic fluorescence spectrometry were developed.

The search for onshore oil and gas in Britain has had an erratic pattern of historical development but since the discovery of the Wytch Farm field in Dorset, during 1973, the industry has undergone a marked revival. Over the past ten years one of the highest levels of exploration ever experienced has been achieved and this has raised a number of interesting new questions in relation to planning for these developments. One of the main problems is that although the drilling of an exploratory borehole requires planning permission the work itself is only a temporary operation and on the basis of this argument permission has been sought to drill wells on land of high amenity or ecological value. However, a successful exploratory borehole can lead to a planning application for the installation of more permanent production facilities and this can lead to something of a dilemma for planners as to where exploratory drilling should be permitted. This research aimed to investigate the onshore hydrocarbons industry and determine what were the impacts of and the issues raised by this new phase of activity. The work was given an exciting new dimension when a public inquiry was called to investigate Shell UK's planning application to sink an exploratory borehole in the New Forest. The proceedings of the Inquiry were followed and the evidence presented was used to help determine the important issues. A series of detailed interviews were then undertaken to illuminate the problems from the viewpoint of both the industry and the planners. Mineral Planning Officers and Oil Company Officials answered similar questions and related these to their own individual experiences of onshore hydrocarbons operations. The research concluded that although the industry raised a number of problems the use of effective planning control at both central and local levels could overcome most of these. A series of recommendations were made.

The purpose of the study is to develop a project health check model to evaluate the status of projects within the coal mining industry. The model will be based on the Buttrick (2000) project health check model as described in his book “The Interactive Project Workout”. The model assesses the current “health” or status of a project. It looks at the full project environment and uses a set of question results in an assessment of the overall risk associated with the project. The model evaluates seven key project success factors which include: 1. Project Plan 5. Expertise 2. Resources 6. Clear Specification 3. Ownership 7. Top Level Support 4. Justifiable Case The model fulfils two roles: • As a checklist, and • As a tool to indicate where a project manager’s efforts should be directed. This study will give an overview of the coal mining industry and the way projects are being evaluated and prioritised. The Buttrick (2000) project health check model will be assessed and adapted to evaluate projects within the coal mining industry. The “new / adapted” model will be applied to the Douglas / Middelburg Optimisation (DMO) to evaluate the health status of the project which is currently at the end of definition (feasibility) stage within BHP Billiton Energy Coal South Africa. The results obtained from the new health check model showed that the DMO project was in a healthy state with a project health check score of 47.33. It could 4 thus be concluded that the DMO project is ready to move in to the execution phase of the BHP Billiton capital investment process. The results obtained from the project team member participants were split into management perception and team members’ perception. The overall health of the DMO project between the two parties gave similar results with the team members score of 43.76 being slightly lower than the management health score of 45.42. The only major difference was observed on the “Communication” project evaluation criteria where the management perspective on the communication effectiveness was higher than that of the project team members.

The story of Nanticoke, Pennsylvania from 1747 to 2006 is at the same time a look into the economic, political, and social aspects of America. From the birth of the American Industrial Revolution in the eighteenth century, Nanticoke played an important role in the economic health of the country. Profits from capital investment brought great wealth to the elite of the Wyoming Valley and financiers in New York and Philadelphia. The use of immigrant labor to maintain labor costs would presage corporate use of other groups. With the change in technology and the movement of capital elsewhere, Nanticoke faced the trauma of economic hardship and the need to address the human and social cost of the loss of coal mining. The actions taken by the local leadership failed to meet the challenge. Confronting the harsh reality of possible further decline, the community of Nanticoke must take action upon a plan that holds out a possibility of stopping the hemorrhage of its decline, and perhaps even begin a recovery. The people of Nanticoke and their problems are now one being repeated elsewhere in America. The questions raised by what happened in Nanticoke lie at the core of the economic, political, and social questions facing the United States today. Corporate responsibility, quality of life, immigration, and effective urban planning are just some of the issues that Nanticoke's story poses for the rest of America.