SP-04: Future Challenges in Earth Sciences for Energy and Mineral Resources

The crushing process begins with the communition of extracted ore in preparation for further activities to achieve ore values. Crushing operations are designed to produce uniform sized particles by crushing, grinding, and wet or dry classification. The capital investment and operation costs of milling equipment are high. For this reason it is important for us to choose the suitable crushing equipment. Factors that decide the choosing of crushing machine include the value concentration of the ore, its mineralogy, hardness, and moisture content. Today's infrastructure is literally built of rocks. Buildings, roads, bridges and railways constructions are almost entirely built out of excavated rock material, after being processed out into some usable products, such as aggregates and metals. Aggregates are processed rock materials such as sand and gravel, commonly used in roads and construction. Structural frames and rails are constructed from steel which is a product of mining, and a metallurgical process in which the metals in the ore are extracted from the raw material and then used to create other products, for example steel.Crushing plants have now-a-days became a vital part in the production of aggregates and metals. Steady-state simulation is mainly used for simulation of plants. With steady-state simulation the plant is simulated until equilibrium is reached. However, crushing is a continuous process and as such it is subjected to variations and changes in performance depending on the dynamics of the system.This paper stresses that crushing plants are affected by both gradual and discrete changes in the process which alter the performance of the entire system, making it dynamic. A dynamic simulation is defined here as continuous simulations with sets of differential equations to reproduce the dynamic behavior of a system. Crushing plants experience different operating performance depending on the configuration of each individual processing unit, the configuration of the plant, the design of the control system, events occurring in the process and additional disturbances.

The present study is an investigation on the Salbardi fault and associated lineaments using a multi-spectral satellite image and also geographic information systems (GIS) techniques. Several morphotectonic landforms in the study area including fault scarps, triangular facets, erosional benches and offset streams are well recognized both from remotely-sensed data and in the field. These landforms, which are in most cases related to the studied fault, indicate active-faulting in the study area. The Salbardi fault trending ENE-WSW is an important element of the Son Narmada Tapti lineament, the most important lineament in the central India. Analysis of Salbardi and the adjoining area was carried out using an IRS-LISS-3 imagery. The tectonic study of the area is relevant for understanding the broad tectonics of the Son Narmada Tapti Lineament (SONATA) which is the major tectonic element in Central India.

Oil-in-water (O/W) emulsion drilling fluid is one of the most important low-density drilling fluids suitable for depleted fractured reservoirs for avoiding formation damage during oil and gas well drilling. In this work, an attempt has been made to study the rheological and filtration properties of oil-in-water emulsion drilling fluids containing guar gum as viscosifier and calcium carbonate as filtration controlling agent. Test results have shown that guar gum shows vicosifying properties for oil-inwater emulsion drilling fluids (diesel oil as dispersed phase and KCl brine as continuous phase). The stability of the emulsion systems was well achieved by an anionic, water soluble and biodegradable surfactant. The filtrate loss was mainly controlled by CaCO3.. The filter cakes formed were thin, impermeable and the volumes of filtrate obtained were within the limits reported in literatures. Drilling fluid combinations were developed by varying concentration of guar gum and CaCO3 to examine the effect of these additives on emulsion and these combinations have shown favourable rheological and filtration properties up to 70?C; these can be used for the better drilling performance in depleted fractured reservoirs.

Unlike conventional reservoirs, drilling and completion program for shale gas reservoirs need high technical expertise and vast experience. Drilling of shale formations poses high challenge to drilling engineers due to the presence of different clay minerals which lead to swelling of the shale formations when interaction with drilling fluid occurs. Hence, an attempt is made to develop a non-damaging drilling fluid which can drill the shale formations effectively and safely. In this work a non-damaging drilling fluid system is developed with the use of different polymers. The developed system contains xanthan gum, pre-gelatinized starch, polyanionic cellulose and calcium carbonate and it is inhibited by potassium chloride salt. An extensive experimental analysis has been carried out with these polymers in order to have optimal rheological and filtration properties. Fann viscometer model 35SA is used to perform rheological studies and Fann API filter press is used to optimize filtration properties. The experimental investigation brings out that the developed drilling fluids have favorable rheological and filtration properties and can be used to drill the shale gas reservoirs without raising any environmental issues.

Foundation floor mapping is essential for important structures to provide permanent data set for geological interpretations. At Rawatbhata, Rajasthan, two units of 700 MW each Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) type Nuclear Reactors are being constructed adjacent to existing Rajasthan Atomic Power Project (RAPP) units 1 to 6. In order to evaluate the design basis foundation parameters engineering geological mapping on 1:100 scale was carried out for Nuclear Building-7 structures. 1 m x 1 m grids were prepared for mapping of the floors and walls. Based on the field observations and evidences, it was found that the floor area consists of fine to medium grained, compact quartzitic sandstones. The floor region was seen to contain certain iron stained and weathered zone. No evidence of faulting was observed on the surface of the floor areas. However, there were some isolated patches of soft, weathered/altered rock and small fractures in the rocks. Geotechnical assessment of the foundations of RB-7, RAB-7 and ECCS north and south pits was done on the basis of detailed engineering geological mapping, geological drill holes logging data, rock mass permeability values, geophysical profiling and laboratory test results. This permanent foundation record will assist in making better interpretation of post-construction foundation instrumentation data.

There are several issues associated with infrastructure development in the Himalayas; they fall under diverse categories like administrative, socio-economic, environmental, and techno-geological. The techno-geological issues which are of immediate concern to us are generally referred to as 'Geological Uncertainties' in engineering parlance. They are, generally, due to insufficient budget allocation for quality geological surveys, and unavailability of manpower appropriately trained in geological engineering field. Many hydropower projects have been and are to be constructed in the area to harness the hydropower potential of the rivers and their tributaries. These major infrastructure projects lead to development of ancillary industries, communication routes, transportation, tourism and other development works in the area. Serious consequences may result from inadequate or incompetent geotechnical investigations. This paper outlines the geotechnical problems and related issues associated with these developmental projects and to collate the basic information inputs for identifying the problems in future and addressing their solutions.

The effect of sandiness parameter and inhomogeneity parameter on the propagation of SH-type waves in a dry sandy medium sandwiched between an inhomogeneous isotropic elastic half- space and isotropic layer is studied. The dispersion relation is obtained and special cases are discussed. Numerical results are shown graphically by plotting graphs of phase velocity against non-dimensional wave number for different values of sandiness parameter, ratio of thickness and inhomogeneity parameter.

Coal fires are a universal problem in worldwide coal mining areas. They burn out precious coal resources, hinder mining activities and pose a danger to man and machine, besides leading to environmental pollution and land subsidence problems. In this context, high resolution magnetic survey offers a powerful tool for the detection, delineation and monitoring of coalfires. The Jharia coalfield in India is known for its high grade coal and associated coal fires. The valuable coal reserves are destroyed in the subsurface due to fire, before their exploitation. The present study deals with the mapping and understanding of subsurface coal fire on the basis of magnetic properties of materials and their changes with temperatures above or below the Curie temperature. The coal burning heat rising above Curie temperature results in a loss of natural magnetism in nearby area. Small regions, called domains, within the crystal structure reorient themselves which upon cooling; align themselves more or less in the direction of the ambient magnetic field. This remanent magnetism may be several orders of magnitude greater than the natural magnetism. The minerals which are formed and their respective magnetic strengths depend on the temperatures reached and the amount of oxygen available. Magnetic data acquisition has been carried out using high resolution GSM-19T proton precession magnetometer in gradient mode. The acquired magnetic data have been processed and analyzed using Geosoft Oasis Montaj software to study magnetic field anomaly of Patherdih Colliery in Jharia coal field, India for mapping and understanding of subsurface coal fire. The processed data provide a clear indication of location of active coal fire affected area. This repeated study could help for characterization of dynamics of coal fire of the region.