This product is available as a print book, eBook, or a bundle. Take advantage of a 25% discount when you purchase the bundle.

This third edition of the SME Mining Engineering Handbook reaffirms its international reputation as "the handbook of choice" for today's practicing mining engineer. It distills the body of knowledge that characterizes mining engineering as a disciplinary field and has subsequently helped to inspire and inform generations of mining professionals.

Virtually all of the information is original content, representing the latest information from more than 250 internationally recognized mining industry experts. The book's 115 thought-provoking chapters examine nearly every aspect of mining including:

• Market economics
• Exploration
• Deposit assessment
• Management and administration
• Method selection
• Rock breaking
• Ground mechanics
• Infrastructure and services
• Surface extraction
• Hydraulic and pipeline mining
• Underground development
• Underground extraction
• Mineral processing
• Health and safety
• Environmental issues
• Community and social issues

This product is available as a print book, eBook, or a bundle. Take advantage of a 25% discount when you purchase the bundle.

Before You Ever Put the First Shovel in the Ground--This Book Could Be the Difference Between a Successful Mining Operation and a Money Pit.

Opening a successful new mine is a vastly complex undertaking entailing several years and millions to billions of dollars.

In today's world, when environmental and labor policies, regulatory compliance, and impact on the community must be factored in, you cannot afford to make a mistake. Written by two hands-on, in-the-trenches mining project managers with decades of experience who bring some of the world's most successful, profitable mines into operation on time, within budget, and ethically, Project Management for Mining gives you step-by-step instructions in every process you are likely to encounter.

Beginning with a discussion of mining ethics and governance, this clearly written manual walks you through all the project management steps--defining the scope, performing prefeasibility and feasibility studies, gaining societal acceptance, minimizing the impact and risks, creating workable schedules and budgets, setting in place the project execution plan, assembling the human resources, hiring the contractors, and establishing project controls--and then on into the delivery of the engineering and design, construction, progress reviews, pre-launch commissioning, and ramping up for operation.

Each chapter includes several useful aids such as figures, checklists, and flowcharts to guide you through every step, from conception through successful opening.

This product is available as a print book, eBook, or a bundle. Take advantage of a 25% discount when you purchase the bundle.

"The key to conducting detailed feasibility studies and due diligence examinations is to ask a million questions because each project has unique issues, challenges, and attributes. Many have attempted to quantify this complex exercise, but without success. As always, Richard Bullock does not disappoint. This important work, Mineral Property Evaluation: Handbook for Feasibility Studies and Due Diligence, is destined to become the educational standard on this subject. If you are new to this field, you should memorize each page. It provides concise details, excellent figures and tables, and interesting historical anecdotes to emphasize important concepts. If you are a regular practitioner, this handbook should reside on your favorite bookshelf because it will become a well-worn reference as its short overviews refresh your knowledge. If you are an old-timer, you will enjoy how Richard has extracted the essence of this subject matter."

Douglas B. Silver
Portfolio Manager, Orion Mine Finance
SME Distinguished Member and 2017 Keynote Speaker

"In 2011, Dr. Bullock delivered a Jackling Lecture that reset the way we think about feasibility studies. One thing was clear from his lecture: the industry desperately needed standards and guidelines with respect to feasibility and due diligence studies. In this handbook, Dr. Bullock and his coauthors have not only solved that dilemma but once again set the standard for mining textbooks.

As is pointed out in the handbook, there are many national standards pertaining to resources and reserves, but most of these codes and guides have only a few sentences or paragraphs of guidance when it comes to the rest of what goes into the engineering of feasibility studies. This important text needs to be used as a guideline to accompany VALMIN, JORC, NI 43-101, and Industry Guide 7.

In addition to being important, it is easy to read and even includes some humor. Whether you are a junior in engineering or a seasoned professional, you will enjoy this well-written guide, brought to you by world-class experts in their respective topics. This belongs in the library of all geologists, engineers, and financiers doing any type of feasibility or evaluation work in the mining industry."

Timothy D. Arnold
Vice President Operations, Pershing Gold Corp.
SME President 2016

"In this handbook consisting of 20 chapters, Dr. Bullock gives a comprehensive integration of all aspects of mineral property feasibility analysis through due diligence. The many complicated economic, social, environmental, and financial considerations are covered in great depth, including the risk of an investment as a mine project evolves temporally through different stages. With his deep, prolonged experience in performing feasibility analyses around the world, he threads experiences on projects throughout the handbook, which is an invaluable contribution to understanding the intricacies of doing thorough mine project evaluations. In his career, he was not only adept at doing the analyses, but also, as the Quenon Chair at the University of Missouri-Rolla, now Missouri University of Science and Technology, he imparted his expertise to many students who now work in the mining industry. This handbook will provide expert guidance and information for professionals who will pursue feasibility analyses in the future."

R. Larry Grayson, Ph.D.
Retired Deike Chair and Professor, The Pennsylvania State University
Professor Emeritus, Missouri University of Science and Technology
Retired Professor, West Virginia University

This product is available as a print book, eBook, or a bundle. Take advantage of a 25% discount when you purchase the bundle.

This landmark publication distills the body of knowledge that characterizes mineral processing and extractive metallurgy as disciplinary fields. It will inspire and inform current and future generations of mineral processing and extractive metallurgy professionals.

Mineral processing and extractive metallurgy are atypical disciplines, requiring a combination of knowledge, experience, and art. Investing in this trove of valuable information is a must for all those involved in the minerals industry—students, engineers, mill managers, and operators.

More than 192 internationally recognized experts have contributed to the handbook’s 128 thought-provoking chapters that examine nearly every aspect of mineral processing and extractive metallurgy. This inclusive reference addresses the magnitude of traditional industry topics and also addresses the new technologies and important cultural and social issues that are important today.

Contents:

• Mineral Characterization and Analysis
• Management and Reporting
• Comminution
• Classification and Washing
• Transport and Storage
• Physical Separations
• Flotation
• Solid and Liquid Separation
• Disposal
• Hydrometallurgy
• Pyrometallurgy
• Processing of Selected Metals, Minerals, and Materials

How Mining Works explains complex mining concepts in a way simple enough for those who are not familiar with the industry, yet thorough enough to be useful to long-time professionals.

This colorful book presents a logical and sensible sequence for acquiring a strong working knowledge of the world of mining. Chapter 1 provides a quick geology review, explaining how the earth is structured; how, why, and where mineral ores are created; and how technological advances help us make educated guesses about where to locate new mines.

The next three chapters present mining and refining operations. Chapter 2 offers in-depth explanations about the different types of mining, the equipment and procedures needed for both surface and underground mining. Chapter 3 follows with six methods for processing the ore into usable refined metal. And, since not all mines  produce metals, Chapter 4 covers nonmetallic operations that produce coal, diamonds, and aggregates.

The second half of the book puts mining in the context of the wider world. Chapter 5 examines four types of mining waste and how to deal with each. Chaper 6 looks at labor practices, environmental sustainability, and work and community health and safety--all critical in today's highly regulated environment.

Chaper 7 highlights mining economics, with detailed information on how mined prducts are priced, monetary arranagmeents between mines and smelters, and even the impact of reserves on mining's future.

Chapter 8 takes a visionary yet practical look at the future of mining, covering not only advances in expected areas (like robotics) but also in biotechnology, with a fascinating look at how plants, insects, and various microbes could be used to detect the presence of minerals and extract metals. Appendix A provides a crash course in the chemistry sometimes needed to understand why rock goes in and metal comes out.

This product is available as a print book, eBook, or a bundle. Take advantage of a 25% discount when you purchase the bundle.

Nearly every recent article on tailings starts by mentioning a large tailings dam failure. The consequences of these failures have been so devastating they have pushed conversations about the risks inherent in these structures beyond the mining community into the general population. We are left to question how we address the risks associated with tailings disposal, and in so doing, transform the image of the mining industry and perhaps the industry itself.  

With this as a backdrop, the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration (SME) challenged tailings and mining professionals to re-imagine the future of tailings. The Mine Tailings: Perspectives for a Changing World symposium, held at the SME 2020 annual conference, started that conversation. Over three days, tailings professionals from around the world gathered to discuss tailings storage practices and the changes both the industry and the world want and need. The discussions squarely focused on how we, as an industry, can collectively make changes that will eliminate catastrophic tailings dam failures and lead to better outcomes for the industry and society.

Through sharing and conversation, the symposium participants recognized risks associated with our approach to tailings management and existing structures and discussed the gaps that need to be addressed, including how the behavior of tailings and mining professionals must change. The human element of risk must be recognized so it can be talked about openly, given the attention it deserves, and adequately addressed. We need to own this problem and the impact of our actions. We have the power to change this; when we own our actions, we can act differently for a different outcome.

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