A. Owolabi
Abstract
In this paper, we report a geospatial assessment of the selected mine sites in the Plateau State, Nigeria. The aim of this work is to determine the impact of mining on the terrain as well as the Land Use/Land Cover (LULC) of the host communities. The Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission (SRTM) is used for ...
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In this paper, we report a geospatial assessment of the selected mine sites in the Plateau State, Nigeria. The aim of this work is to determine the impact of mining on the terrain as well as the Land Use/Land Cover (LULC) of the host communities. The Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission (SRTM) is used for the terrain mapping. The derived impact of mining on LULC between 1975 and 2014 is determined by classifying the relevant Landsat imageries. The digital terrain map reveal that the mining activity is not well-coordinated. Hence, the parts of the mine sites that are rich in the desired minerals are punctuated with low depth, while the other parts have high terrain as a result of the haphazard mining activity. The analysis of the LULC change show that the degraded land (DL), built-up area (BU), water bodies (WB), and exposed rock outcrop (RO) increase by 15.68%, 4.68%, 0.06%, and 14.5%, respectively, whereas the arable farmland (FL) and forest reserve (FR) decrease by 28.29% and 6.63%, respectively. Mining has adversely affected the natural ecology of the studied area. Therefore, the mine sites should be monitored, and their environmental damages should be pre-determined and mitigated. There should be regular inspections to keep these activities under control. The existing laws and regulations to conserve the natural ecosystems of the host communities should be enforced to curtail the excesses of the operators of the mining industries. Restoration of the minefields to reduce the existing hazards prevent further environmental degradation, and facilitating the socio-economic development of the area is also suggested.
Exploration
N. Mahvash Mohammadi; A. Hezarkhani
Abstract
Identification and mapping of the significant alterations are the main objectives of the exploration geochemical surveys. The field study is time-consuming and costly to produce the classified maps. Therefore, the processing of remotely sensed data, which provide timely and multi-band (multi-layer) data, ...
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Identification and mapping of the significant alterations are the main objectives of the exploration geochemical surveys. The field study is time-consuming and costly to produce the classified maps. Therefore, the processing of remotely sensed data, which provide timely and multi-band (multi-layer) data, can be substituted for the field study. In this study, the ASTER imagery is used for alteration classification by applying two new methods of machine learning, including Random Forest and Support Vector Machine. The 14 band ASTER and 19 derivative data layers extracted from ASTER including band ratio and PC imagery, are used as training datasets for improving the results. Comparison of analytical results achieved from the two mentioned methods confirmed that the SVM model has sufficient accuracy and more powerful performance than RF model for alteration classification in the study area.
Seyyed M. Hoseini; F. Sereshki; M. Ataei
Abstract
By evaluation of the blasting results, a proper blast pattern can be presented. It is, therefore, essential to employ a reliable method to evaluate blastings for the effective control and optimization of the main cycle operations. This paper aims to propose a criterion for evaluating the blasting results ...
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By evaluation of the blasting results, a proper blast pattern can be presented. It is, therefore, essential to employ a reliable method to evaluate blastings for the effective control and optimization of the main cycle operations. This paper aims to propose a criterion for evaluating the blasting results such as the fragmentation, muckpile condition, back-break, and fly rock, and to make a possible comparison between the blast parameters including the blasting pattern, explosives used, hole depths, and volume of the blasted rocks in the lead and zinc mine in Angouran (Iran). Using the global criterion, making the decision matrix dimensionless, and defining the appropriate conditions for the results obtained, a scalar value is devoted for the blasts, whose larger values denote a larger deviation from the proper blasting conditions and express undesirable blasts regarding the blasting results. By taking into consideration the mining operation conditions and weights of the results obtained, the influence of the results obtained on the mining operation index is also investigated using the genetic algorithm. Furthermore, by composing the weighted decision matrix, the blastings are evaluated and classified. Analyzing the results obtained for blastings in the Angouran mine reveals that the proposed method is an effective approach for evaluation of the blasting results and comparison of the blasts.
M. Koneshloo; Jean-Paul Chiles
Abstract
The kaolinitic clays have been exploited for more than a hundred years, in the western part of the Charentes Basin, France, and belong to a paleo-deltaic network. The recent deposits are relatively richer in alumina in comparison with the older ones. The genesis of the kaolin deposits of the Charentes ...
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The kaolinitic clays have been exploited for more than a hundred years, in the western part of the Charentes Basin, France, and belong to a paleo-deltaic network. The recent deposits are relatively richer in alumina in comparison with the older ones. The genesis of the kaolin deposits of the Charentes Basin follows simple geological rules, but their detailed geometry has a great complexity, reinforced by the fact that one must distinguish very different clay qualities. The exploitation of the complex deposits which are buried in the deeper level needs the more powerful tools. The paper aims at analyzing the adequacy of the traditional method used in the exploitations of the kaolin deposits of the Charentes Basin in comparison with another method based on geostatistics to define criteria of selection and classification of reserves.
