#mining method

[yesinflatablepackers]

Block Caving - A Cost-Effective Underground Mining Method

Block caving is a very efficient underground mining method. Its costs are lower than other mining methods per tonne mined. In addition, it requires a lower ventilation requirement. It also allows for a more flexible use of equipment, such as LHDs.

In block cave mining, a section of the rock mass is undercut and then collapses into excavations. These form ore extraction drawpoints.

Cost-effectiveness

Compared with other mining methods, block caving is one of the most cost-effective ways to mine copper and gold. It also reduces the need for surface waste disposal. However, it requires substantial planning and infrastructure and a long lead time. This method can be more sensitive to world events than other mining techniques, making it a riskier investment.

To develop a block cave, access shafts are excavated to a level below the ore body. Horizontal tunnels, known as haulage tunnels, are then dug benearth the ore body. These are followed by a series of upward-sloping tunnels, known as raises. Blasting is used to create these, and large rock funnels, called drawbells, are excavated beneath the undercut level.

A major challenge for block cave mining is the ability to fracture the rock mass and generate enough fragmentation to support long-life drawpoints and excavation tunnels. This requires preconditioning, which is a comprehensive process that includes destressing and fracturing the in situ rock mass.

Safety

Block caving is a safe mining method, but it requires special skills and equipment. Mining machinery manufacturers have been developing automated systems to increase safety. Caterpillar has developed a system for loading and hauling that is specifically designed for block caving, making it safer for miners.

This system will enable real-time mapping of cave material movement, which can help minimise dilution and improve recovery. It will also allow miners to design cave layouts that are more efficient. It will also help reduce mine safety risks and environmental impacts.

The technology has already been tested at Ridgeway Deeps and was found to be effective. It will be available on the market next year. Its development is supported by the mining industry and the University of Western Australia. Increasing numbers of PEAs and feasibility studies are recommending the use of this technique. This is a good sign that the future of block caving is bright. It can be used for both new mines and for extending the life of open pits.

Environmental impact

The success of block caving means mining companies are turning to it for deeper ore bodies that could not be mined profitably using traditional methods. However, deeper rocks are stronger and less fractured, so they require a lot more support to allow for natural caves to form. This means that companies need to give nature a helping hand, using technologies such as remote operation and collision avoidance systems for hydraulic breakers.

The development sequence for a block cave begins with the establishment of access drifts around the ore body. Once this is done, a grid of crosscuts are developed for workers and equipment. A new level is then developed above the first drift, and mining begins. Blasting and hydraulic breaking are used to break up the ore.

The key to successful block cave mining is a well-designed development, which allows for the creation of undercuts that will automatically collapse when the orebody is undercut. The dimensions of the undercuts are important, as they determine the speed at which ore is drawn down through the drawpoints and transferred to the transfer raises. Insufficient undercuts can lead to a loss of productivity and may cause the cave roof to stabilize or even collapse.

Technology

Increasingly, mining companies are considering block caving as an alternative to developing new mines or extending the life of existing open pits. The method involves drilling access shafts into an ore deposit and excavating a network of tunnels underneath the surface. These tunnels are known as haulage tunnels and are linked by upward-sloping rock funnels called raises. They are excavated by blasting from a central location called an undercut.

Block caving has several advantages over other underground mining methods. It offers higher production rates and lower operating costs. It also reduces the amount of waste rock generated by a mine, as it is buried below ground level.

However, the process requires significant initial investment and long lead times. It can take up to 20 years for a large-scale block cave to be established. Furthermore, the method is not suitable for all ore bodies. The rocks should be competent, with good permeability and low fracture energy.

[r0semultiverse]

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE ORIGINAL MARCELINE OF THE WINTER KING'S UNIVERSE!? 😨

Is the implication that Ice King took her out with all of the other oozers or did the oozers end up killing her?? Either way, it seems that this Simon was not coping well with any of what was going on in his life. Living a life of hypocrisy & ruling a false kingdom.

[lesbiansuga]

ytc busan yoongi save me save me ytc busan yoongi....

cr.moreloveforhobi

[yourbuckies]

— For Your Own Good, Leah Horlick

[deadrlngers]

I'm the reticent vampire of the Ninth Arrondissement. I walk the night capturing disappointment and regret as only the reticent vampire can.

INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE (2022-)

[zxnin]

Tengen Uzui | Sound Hashira ♫

[khaotunq]

Seduction 101, according to Ayan: Step 101/101: Kiss your boyfriend goodnight.

[anakinh]

Cloud. I've come across the most fascinating passage.

[canon-gabriel-quotes]

Transcript:

I'd like to congratulate you on getting your CPR certification.

Now remember, when you’re going in for compressions, it should sound like somebody is standing behind you with the worlds largest Dorito and cracking it open!

Go in firm and hard and snap as many ribs as you can on the way down, that means you’re doing it right.

You save that life. Good luck.

Or... Or... Or kill them, I don’t fucking care.

Audio source

[crickets-everywhere]

Just got reminded of the "When they find your bones they'll say your female" comment

and how it won't work on me bc I intend on being cremated <3

[marimbles]

skylands🌤️

[bbbbbbbbatman]

headcanon that tim is the most emotionally mature and competent of all the robins but he doesn't seem like it because he is best at examining and identifying his emotions and what's causing them and stuff, but he just doesn't. He starts to feel any kind of big emotion and he's like 'nope, not doing that right now' and he packs it up in a mental box and puts it away to be thought about later (he never thinks about it later). Like he could sit and think for five minutes and have such a deep understanding of himself but he just says 'no thanks' instead.

[hauntedorpheum]

I mean, we all, we all play a part. But you, It's like... It's like you like it

[milkchuu]

𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒅 | 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒇𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒏𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔

if you are like me, you struggle with your mental diet, and have negative and intrusive thoughts. you can use this to your advantage in your affirmations!

➛ introduction

➛ i have struggled for a very long time with negative thoughts holding me back, and while looking for ways to get rid of them, I also found a way to weaponize them to get what i want

➛ how it works

➛ if your brain is used to negative self talk and negative thoughts about your current reality, negative affirmations and thoughts might just work better than positive ones, as that's much more familiar and therefore, to your mind, much more realistic

➛ how to

➛ its very simple, just affirm for your goals in negatives! for example "I hate how long my hair is! My hair is simply too long and thick!" or "I hate being this short! Everyone is taller than me, its not fair!"

➛ one of my personal favorites is "I hate how easily I manifest, it's no fun when everything is perfect and instant!"

!!note: i don't know if this has been done before, and if it has, please tell me. i am not trying to pretend someone else's work is mine, so if that's the case, i'm sorry!!

DNI: terf/swerf, abdl/bdsm/nsfw blogs, pro-ed, anti-LGBTQ+/anti-MOGAI, pro-ship, pro-inc*st, anti-endo, (NO)MAP/PEAR/supporter, anti-agere, trump supporter, anti-feminist, anti-BLM/anti-ACAB, abrahamic religions (there's nothing wrong with this one, it's just a trigger for me), will add as i remember other nasty people

[synthaphone]

If it's not too much to ask, how do you shade complex patterns easier?

Its not too much to ask at all!!

My easy trick for shading complex patterns in cel shaded Neopets style art, where you'd want to hand pick your shadow colors for each element:

First, I make a flat base layer, and put each unique color on its own layer that i clip to the base.

After i finish the flats, i then duplicate ALL of those layers, lock them, and recolor each duplicate with the color i want to use for that element's shadow. these are now effectively my Shadow layer, and i rename the base duplicated layer so i know its my shadow base.

and then i use a layer mask on either the base layer or a folder i put the shadow layers in- i use this to paint in the spots where i want the unshaded areas to be.

This method makes it really easy to change my mind on a shading color for a specific area without having to carefully repaint the shadows, or tweak where i want the shadows to fall without having to worry about matching the colors, similarly to having the shadows painted on a multiply layer.

if i'm using a PSD where I already made a shadow layer, like my basic Centibyte base, i just duplicate all of the clipped areas from the flat color base, clip the dupes onto that shadow layer, recolor it to be the shadow color for the base color, and proceed from there.

You can do this trick for highlights also- I've noticed that highlights are typically used sparingly in Neopets art though, so I kind of just go with whatever i think looks right.

For Tyrannian, I decided it looks fine with solid white highlights at a lowered opacity of 70%, so i didn't bother coming up with a unique highlight color for each area. Sometimes I'll make the highlight layer an Overlay layer since that can help the highlights with not looking washed out, but it feels a little inauthentic and loses contrast over certain colors, and in this instance Normal ended up looking better.

I hope this was helpful and not too unclear! I'm not super experienced with making tutorials, but I'm always happy to share what works for me as best I can!

[generic-sonic-fan]

Metal Sonic being voiceless and that being played for the horror, but less in the way of "he doesn't physically have a voice box" and more in the sense that he's voiceless metaphorically.

Not only does he not possess the voice box, but he doesn't have any tools to communicate. He's never offered pen and paper. Never given the opportunity to write digital reports except with only the briefest of words. Never taught even a scrap of sign language, as crude as such a communication would be due to his lack of facial features.

If you handed him a speech generating device, would he even know what to do with it?