PDA

View Full Version : Any Mining Engineers?



schurchill39
07-16-2020, 10:04 PM
Are there any mining engineers on beyond with experience with moving products by slurry? Looking to pick someone's brain on some good resources to learn about it and considerations for design.

ShermanEF9
07-16-2020, 10:12 PM
My body does this regularly.


I can talk to the SO and see if she can get you in touch with someone from her office. She works for a company with a mining division.

The_Rural_Juror
07-16-2020, 10:27 PM
Petroleum engineers make petroleum jelly. Mining engineers make dogecoins?

ercchry
07-16-2020, 11:30 PM
killramos is pretty good at mining for boogers, could probably schedule a meeting or two to eng-plain it to you

ThePenIsMightier
07-17-2020, 04:13 AM
You don't necessarily need a Mining Eng for this. Mech Eng's who have worked in tailings jobs or hydrotransport for/with the big operators in Fort McMurray will also know a reasonable amount.
I know a little bit... Some basics are that it's expensive as shit and the pumps and piping require massive maintenance more than annually (like closer to quarterly).
Tailings piping is about 0.75" wall thickness and "elbows" are chromium carbide overlay which makes them roughly $50k and they last 12 months. Hydrotransport piping is also $$$ but often uses magic rubber liners like "iracore" to wear longer. Piping is often "flanged" with glorified Victaulic couplings rather than massive bolted flanges.
Big slurry pumps usually follow HI standards rather than API. A company called GIW in Augusta, Georgia is a major player in this. 4,000 HP pumps are not a big deal for them and likely also Weir and another name similar to Bornemann that I can't precisely recall right now. Expect entire impellers to be replaced in preposterously short intervals and try to fathom the electrical requirements for pumps that big. And the piping stress and the size of the building to hold them allowing maintenance access... And the cranes... Slurries are non-Newtonian fluids and pumping them efficiently is complicated. Decades of work have resulted in a variety of fluid categories for different oilsands slurries that behave "semi plastic" or "visco-plastic" or whatever. In oilsands and from a research, PhD perspective, Dr. Masliah and Dr. Grey from the UofA are likely the top two experts in the field.

With "normal" ore mining your flow rates will likely be much lower and more "gentle" but you are more likely pumping caustic/acidic materials, so that's an issue. Your mine may also be in a 3rd world country with fuck all for reliable power.
What are you trying to do? Don't say "thinking about replacing a conveyor with a slurry pumps/piping" because once you create a slurry you also need to uncreate it and that brings you into... Tailings Ponds. The third dirtiest words in Alberta. Just ask any true expert such as a blockbuster film director or a Swedish teenager.

SJW
07-17-2020, 08:01 AM
Are there any mining engineers on beyond with experience with moving products by slurry? Looking to pick someone's brain on some good resources to learn about it and considerations for design.


My dad is a mine engineer. I could put you in touch with him.

killramos
07-17-2020, 08:28 AM
killramos is pretty good at mining for boogers, could probably schedule a meeting or two to eng-plain it to you

Hey they may not be tendies, but whatever pays the bills.

The_Rural_Juror
07-17-2020, 08:34 AM
I have ordered a brotractor from Amazon Peasant. I may not know how to use it now, but I am determined to learn how to draw triangles with it. Give me a year and I will fit in with you all.

schurchill39
07-17-2020, 09:58 AM
You don't necessarily need a Mining Eng for this. Mech Eng's who have worked in tailings jobs or hydrotransport for/with the big operators in Fort McMurray will also know a reasonable amount.
I know a little bit... Some basics are that it's expensive as shit and the pumps and piping require massive maintenance more than annually (like closer to quarterly).
Tailings piping is about 0.75" wall thickness and "elbows" are chromium carbide overlay which makes them roughly $50k and they last 12 months. Hydrotransport piping is also $$$ but often uses magic rubber liners like "iracore" to wear longer. Piping is often "flanged" with glorified Victaulic couplings rather than massive bolted flanges.
Big slurry pumps usually follow HI standards rather than API. A company called GIW in Augusta, Georgia is a major player in this. 4,000 HP pumps are not a big deal for them and likely also Weir and another name similar to Bornemann that I can't precisely recall right now. Expect entire impellers to be replaced in preposterously short intervals and try to fathom the electrical requirements for pumps that big. And the piping stress and the size of the building to hold them allowing maintenance access... And the cranes... Slurries are non-Newtonian fluids and pumping them efficiently is complicated. Decades of work have resulted in a variety of fluid categories for different oilsands slurries that behave "semi plastic" or "visco-plastic" or whatever. In oilsands and from a research, PhD perspective, Dr. Masliah and Dr. Grey from the UofA are likely the top two experts in the field.

With "normal" ore mining your flow rates will likely be much lower and more "gentle" but you are more likely pumping caustic/acidic materials, so that's an issue. Your mine may also be in a 3rd world country with fuck all for reliable power.
What are you trying to do? Don't say "thinking about replacing a conveyor with a slurry pumps/piping" because once you create a slurry you also need to uncreate it and that brings you into... Tailings Ponds. The third dirtiest words in Alberta. Just ask any true expert such as a blockbuster film director or a Swedish teenager.

Thanks for the insight. I will put some more ideas together and maybe bug you with more questions. Without going into too much detail I've been spit balling a variety of high level ideas with a client for transporting sand 4-6km as they have some insurmountable challenges in that area that make trucking impossible . The idea would be to transport large amounts of sand to a slurry station then pump it down a right of way to a dewatering and drying facility where it could then continue its travel. I've pumped sand that kind of distance my whole career in all sorts of fluids but its always been down a well which obviously has different dynamics. Right now I am just trying to wrap my head around the concept and figure out how to size pipes and pumps for the kind of volumes we are thinking and what a maintenance schedule looks like. Also if there are any additives required to keep it in a slurry and reduce friction or if we can get away with just keeping up the velocity to overcome settling That will tell us if it's worth continuing to bark up that tree or if we should keep looking for other ideas.

I'm looking through some of my old fluid dynamics text books but I figured I'd ask here if anyone had any other papers or text books on this subject that I should be reading.

The_Rural_Juror
07-17-2020, 12:09 PM
I'm looking through some of my old fluid dynamics text books but I figured I'd ask here if anyone had any other papers or text books on this subject that I should be reading.

Can I has your old fluid dynamics text books after you are done? I think that is a topic I could be good at.

92982

ThePenIsMightier
07-17-2020, 12:44 PM
There will not be additives required; but, you will need to maintain flow above the "deposition velocity" to avoid it settling into the bottom. That's really bad because eventually it becomes plugged which they call "sanded off".

schurchill39
07-17-2020, 01:18 PM
Ahh yes, the ol sandoff scenario. I'm familiar with that concept having frac'ed for a decade, but I don't think there is any flowing back a pipeline. Do you have any articles, papers, or text books you can think of I should read?

The_Rural_Juror
07-17-2020, 02:09 PM
Ahh yes, the ol Mexican sandoff.

92985

Rat Fink
07-18-2020, 05:00 AM
.

schurchill39
07-18-2020, 11:36 AM
I think you are onto something here, if by "sand" you mean cocaine.....and if you are talking about Trump's wall as the 4-6km of insurmountable challenges. Genius idea

Hmmm I like way you think. How about I figure out how to do a proof of concept using actual sand first and if that's successful we talk about slurrying blow.

The_Rural_Juror
07-21-2020, 08:29 AM
Engineering sounds like a fascinating career choice. I would love to learn more but I can't find any online engineering degrees. Do they even exist?

zaider
07-21-2020, 10:12 AM
Are there any mining engineers on beyond with experience with moving products by slurry? Looking to pick someone's brain on some good resources to learn about it and considerations for design.

Im a mining engineer. Some, but not a ton, of experience with tailings. Shoot me a message if you've got questions. If i can't answer it, i can always ask around.

Darell_n
07-21-2020, 11:01 AM
Engineering sounds like a fascinating career choice. I would love to learn more but I can't find any online engineering degrees. Do they even exist?

Have you tried a NE driving school? I’ve heard they sell them there.

killramos
07-21-2020, 11:23 AM
Engineering sounds like a fascinating career choice. I would love to learn more but I can't find any online engineering degrees. Do they even exist?

Find the first 3 years of any science degree and then add a couple courses on fudge factors and you will be 99% there.

Oh and you need to make sure you take a course on being a pretentious douche to affirm your status as better than everyone around you.

Pinkey ring you can get on eBay.

The_Rural_Juror
07-21-2020, 12:02 PM
Ordered the ring. Only $9.99!

93061

killramos
07-21-2020, 12:07 PM
I’ve never seen a better example of showing everyone around you how much better you are than them

The_Rural_Juror
07-21-2020, 12:10 PM
Here I thought I was being humble. Is it the gold plate? They probably come in silver.

ExtraSlow
07-21-2020, 01:02 PM
Pinkey ring you can get on eBay.
I suggest Amazon. Just search "Iron Ring" and it's right there.
93062

The_Rural_Juror
07-21-2020, 01:04 PM
Thanks. That ring is crinkled. No wonder that bridge broke.

killramos
07-21-2020, 01:05 PM
I suggest Amazon. Just search "Iron Ring" and it's right there.
93062

You are so up on the times! Even has prime shipping!

ExtraSlow
07-21-2020, 01:11 PM
My current wedding band is from amazon, and I was really happy with it. Since it's plain stainless too, I found lots of nice options of that type.

The_Rural_Juror
07-21-2020, 01:20 PM
Left or right pinky?

Online science courses are easier to find than engineering.

ExtraSlow
07-21-2020, 01:32 PM
Left or right pinky?

Both just to be safe.

zaider
07-21-2020, 01:50 PM
Left or right pinky?



Opposite your wedding ring generally. And that Amazon price is $5 too high... I think mine was $25 back in the day.

Lots of mining engineers (including me) dont wear them though... its a good way to tell who your operations folks will ignore. They're generally the same people who will wear pointy dress shoes to site or who have clean steel toes.

killramos
07-21-2020, 01:51 PM
Opposite your wedding ring generally. And that Amazon price is $5 too high... I think mine was $25 back in the day.

Lots of mining engineers (including me) dont wear them though... its a good way to tell who your operations folks will ignore. They're generally the same people who will wear pointy dress shoes to site or who have clean steel toes.

Ring goes on whatever hand you write with, they didn’t explain that one at the cult ceremony?

The_Rural_Juror
07-21-2020, 03:56 PM
Do engineering techs get a ring too? They probably should, seeing as they design everything anyway.

zaider
07-21-2020, 04:21 PM
Ring goes on whatever hand you write with, they didn’t explain that one at the cult ceremony?

They explained it to us as ring goes on opposite of wedding ring cause you didn't want the two rings hitting (work and wife dont mix is the way the 70 year old men explained it).

The_Rural_Juror
07-21-2020, 05:08 PM
They explained it to us as ring goes on opposite of wedding ring cause you didn't want the two rings hitting (work and wife dont mix is the way the 70 year old men explained it).

I view that as such a trivial concern as the APEGGA stats show that 80% of engineers are virgins into middle age. The other story is therefore more plausible.

killramos
07-21-2020, 06:17 PM
They explained it to us as ring goes on opposite of wedding ring cause you didn't want the two rings hitting (work and wife dont mix is the way the 70 year old men explained it).

Ring is supposed to be a constant reminder of your ethical duty to the public and as such you are supposed to think of it while you write... what kind of new age crap do they teach out here?

Shoot you almost caught me taking the profession seriously for a second there.

- - - Updated - - -


I view that as such a trivial concern as the APEGGA stats show that 80% of engineers are virgins into middle age. The other story is therefore more plausible.

My explanation do enough to confirm my sexuality for you?

The_Rural_Juror
07-21-2020, 07:04 PM
My explanation do enough to confirm my sexuality for you?

You're an engineer? Shit. My apologies. I thought you were a Powerpoint specialist. It is so confusing who does what around here.

killramos
07-21-2020, 07:33 PM
You're an engineer? Shit. My apologies. I thought you were a Powerpoint specialist. It is so confusing who does what around here.

93068

zaider
07-21-2020, 08:01 PM
Ring is supposed to be a constant reminder of your ethical duty to the public and as such you are supposed to think of it while you write... what kind of new age crap do they teach out here?


Lol. Dont wear mine anyway, so sure, whatever tickles your pickle.

The_Rural_Juror
07-21-2020, 09:55 PM
Lol. Dont wear mine anyway, so sure, whatever tickles your pickle.

Mind if I borrow it for a job interview?

schurchill39
07-21-2020, 10:12 PM
:hijack: That went off the rails...