Exploitation
Hamid Saberi; Mohammad Golmohammadi; Mohammadali Zanjani; Yaghoub Saberi
Abstract
The Bavanapadu-Nuvvalarevu coastal sector in Andhra Pradesh, India, hosts substantial subsurface heavy mineral (HM) resources, presenting significant economic potential. This study employs ArcGIS raster techniques to estimate Total Heavy Mineral (THM) and Total Economic Heavy Mineral (TEHM) resources ...
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The Bavanapadu-Nuvvalarevu coastal sector in Andhra Pradesh, India, hosts substantial subsurface heavy mineral (HM) resources, presenting significant economic potential. This study employs ArcGIS raster techniques to estimate Total Heavy Mineral (THM) and Total Economic Heavy Mineral (TEHM) resources in a 39 square kilometers area, integrating geospatial analysis with field data from core sediment samples. The findings reveal a total of 2.681953 million tons of THM, including 2.434422 million tons of TEHM, with the highest concentration observed in the top 1-meter sea bed sediment layer (1.605286 million tons). Ilmenite, garnet, and sillimanite dominate the mineral assemblage, accompanied by smaller quantities of zircon, monazite, and rutile, offering an estimated revenue potential of $634 to $851 million USD. The application of ArcGIS methodologies, particularly inverse distance weighting (IDW) interpolation, enabled precise mapping of HM distribution, despite challenges such as wide sample spacing and shallow core penetration. While the study highlights the economic and industrial significance of the Bavanapadu sector, it also underscores environmental concerns, including habitat disruption and sediment degradation, associated with mining. Sustainable practices, such as advanced separation technologies, site rehabilitation, and comprehensive environmental impact assessments (EIAs), are essential to mitigate ecological impacts. This research demonstrates the efficacy of GIS-based techniques in resource estimation and sustainable mining, offering a replicable framework for coastal and offshore mineral resource management globally. The findings provide critical insights into balancing economic growth with environmental preservation, setting a benchmark for responsible heavy mineral extraction in dynamic coastal environments.
Exploitation
Ali Rezaei; Ebrahim Ghasemi; Ali Farhadian; Sina Ghavami
Abstract
In this study, a comprehensive investigation has been done on 10 different types of granite building stones from various mines in Iran. The study aims to investigate the relationship between the texture coefficient (TC) and abrasivity properties of the studied stones. Abrasivity of stones was quantified ...
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In this study, a comprehensive investigation has been done on 10 different types of granite building stones from various mines in Iran. The study aims to investigate the relationship between the texture coefficient (TC) and abrasivity properties of the studied stones. Abrasivity of stones was quantified through six indices, including equivalent quartz content (EQC), rock abrasivity index (RAI), Schimazek abrasivity factor (F), Cerchar abrasivity index (CAI), building stone abrasivity index (BSAI), and the Taber wear index (Iw). Bi-variate regression analysis was applied to develop the predictive equations for relationship between TC and abrasivity indices. The investigations demonstrated that there is a direct relationship between TC and all abrasivity indices. Furthermore, TC has moderate to high relationship with abrasivity indices. After developing the equations, their accuracy was evaluated by performance criteria including determination coefficient (R2), the normalized root mean square error (NRMSE), the variance account for (VAF), and the performance index (PI). The strongest relationship was found between TC and RAI (with R2, VAF, NRMSE, and PI value of 0.850, 0.074, 85.386, and 1.630, respectively), while the weakest relationship was observed between TC and F (with R2, NRMSE, VAF, and PI value of 0.491, 0.532, 47.605, and 0.435, respectively). This research demonstrates importance of the textural characteristics of stones, especially TC as a reliable index, on the abrasivity properties of granite building stones. Thus, the equations developed herein can be practically used for estimating the stone abrasivity in building stone quarrying and processing projects.
Exploitation
Assefa Hailesilasie Wolearegay; Yowhas Birhanu Amare; Asmelash Abay Hagos; Kassa Amare Mesfin; Hagos Abraha; Bereket Gebresilassie; Nageswara Rao Cheepurupalli; Yewuhalashet Fissha
Abstract
The Dichinama area in northern Ethiopia is a potential source of dimension stone, but the quality of the marble has been a major challenge for mining operations. This research aims to evaluate the quality of dimension stone by conducting a comprehensive study involving geological mapping, geotechnical ...
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The Dichinama area in northern Ethiopia is a potential source of dimension stone, but the quality of the marble has been a major challenge for mining operations. This research aims to evaluate the quality of dimension stone by conducting a comprehensive study involving geological mapping, geotechnical testing, and geochemical analysis. The study collected nine rock samples from three active mining sites in the Dichinama area, analyzing properties such as density, water absorption, compressive strength, flexural strength, and abrasion resistance. Additionally, ten samples were collected for geochemical analysis, focusing on parameters like calcite, CaO values, LOI, SiO2 content, and other oxide concentrations. The geotechnical tests revealed that the properties of the marble in the Dichinama area were mainly calcite, with compressive strength values ranging from 29.6 to 74.5 MPa, flexural strength from 7 to 52.5 MPa, abrasion resistance from 8.3 to 17.2, density from 2257 to 2562 kg/m3, and water absorption from 0.12 to 0.93. However, most of these parameters fell below the minimum ASTM standards for marble dimension stone. The results suggest that these inferior characteristics negatively affect the recovery and quality of the dimension stone.
Exploitation
Mohammad Hossein Jalalian; Raheb Bagherpour; Mehrbod Khoshouei; S. Najmedin Almasi
Abstract
Diamond wire cutting is a common method to extract dimension stones, which depends on various factors, including the mechanical and physical properties of the stone, cutting specifications, and operational characteristics. Specific energy, production rate, efficiency, and wear of diamond beads are some ...
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Diamond wire cutting is a common method to extract dimension stones, which depends on various factors, including the mechanical and physical properties of the stone, cutting specifications, and operational characteristics. Specific energy, production rate, efficiency, and wear of diamond beads are some of the criteria that influence economic and environmental optimization of diamond wire cutting operations. In this study, the specific energy of the diamond wire cutting process was measured for 11 samples of Granite stones. By analyzing the impact of parameters such as stone density, porosity, and cutting rate on energy consumption, a linear regression model was developed with a correlation coefficient (R2) of 0.944 to predict specific energy for different types of stones. Statistical analyses, including ANOVA, have confirmed that the model accurately predicts specific energy values. Data from three new stone samples were used to validate the model, and their predicted energy values were compared with actual values. The model presented achieved an R2 value of 0.827, demonstrating its high accuracy. The results indicate that energy consumption in dimension stone cutting operation can be accurately predicted and characterized indirectly using high precision stone properties and operational parameters. This method can accurately and indirectly monitor energy consumption and cutting machine performance during the dimension stone cutting operation and can be used to optimize economic and environmental aspects of this process.
Exploitation
Shahrokh Khosravimanesh; Masoud Cheraghi Seifabad; Reza Mikaeil; Raheb Bagherpour
Abstract
Specific energy is a key indicator of drilling performance to consider in the feasibility and economic analyses of drilling projects. Any improvement in the specific energy of a drilling operation may reflect an improvement in the overall efficiency of drilling operations. This improvement can be achieved ...
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Specific energy is a key indicator of drilling performance to consider in the feasibility and economic analyses of drilling projects. Any improvement in the specific energy of a drilling operation may reflect an improvement in the overall efficiency of drilling operations. This improvement can be achieved by delivering a suitable cooling lubricant into the drilling environment. The present study examines the mechanical characteristics of the drilled rock, the physical qualities of the cooling lubricant employed, and the drilling rig operational parameters related to the drilling-specific energy (DSE). To this end, seven rock samples (granite, marble, and travertine) were drilled using water and five other fluids as the cooling lubricants. A total of 492 drilling experiments were conducted with a custom-designed and built laboratory-scale drilling rig on cuboid rock specimens. The univariate linear regression analysis of experimental results revealed a significant drop in DSE after using cooling lubricants instead of conventional cooling fluid (i.e. water). Under constant conditions in terms of mechanical properties of the rock, using Syncool with a concentration of 1:100 and soap water with a concentration of 1:120 instead of water led to 34% and 43% DSE reductions in the granite samples, 48% and 54% in the marble samples, and 41% and 50% in the travertine samples, respectively. These variations in specific energy suggest that the drilling efficiency and performance can be augmented using properly selected cooling lubricants.
