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Photo Essay Oil well, tanks and pipelines at Belridge Oil Field, California. By Jack Caldwell Pipelines are the workhorses of mining; quiet and still, they snake across deserts, snow, valleys, and upland, carrying the water, tailings or slurried product. They may be costly to install, but once they are in they are cheap to operate. My first encounter with pipelines was in the platinum mines in the South African Bushveld. The pipelines were above-grade because the clay soils developed over a million years of norite weathering were so contractive (when dry) and so expansive (when wet) that a pipeline would be popped out, expelled within a year. But the presence of the pipeline wandering across the heaving, black soils was also a security risk. The miners feared that terrorists would come to blow up the line and sabotage mine operations. The guards wandering back and forth along a mute pipeline went away only when the government and social system changed. Then there were those big plastic pipelines carrying tailings beneath a hot tropical sun. As the day warmed, the night-cooled line would expand and wriggle out in an ever-increasing curve as 42 MINING.com September 2008 Pipelines it slide sideways to claim more ground, more attention from its handlers, and more freedom to play. I gave up trying to anchor the pipeline—it had a mind of its own and we learnt to respect it. I once drove a thousand miles just to visit PSI who know how to design and select pipelines for the mining industry. It all seems so simple: take quantity of flow, apply formula, and select big enough pipe. As always, it is never as simple as it seems. There are issues with the viscosity of the flowing fluid, the friction resistance at the wall, the crud that develops and restricts flow, the valves to insert and extract fluid, and the energy loss as you go up hill and over the road. Then there is the horror of water-hammer, that which happens in your home plumbing pipes when you turn the tap just right and you induce a loud banging in the pipes which, as a kid gave you so much delight as consternated parents rushed shouting at you to stop. Nobody will ever write a sonnet or haiku to a mine pipeline. So let us pause for just a minute to praise the designers, suppliers, installers, and operators of these essential but unsung components of mining.
Photo Essay New installation of tanks and pipelines for an oilfield, Belridge, California. Chemnitz, Germany. Gas line at sunset, Alaska. Oil Pipeline. Abandoned mine pipeline. Pipeline at Savage Mine, Tasmania. 43 MINING.com September 2008
Page 1: The Mining World Goes to Las Vegas!
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Page 6 and 7: MINExpo MINExpo: September 23 - 25,
Page 8 and 9: MINExpo Mining Las Vegas and Nevada
Page 10 and 11: MINExpo By Greg Fenrick At each MIN
Page 12 and 13: MINExpo Hitachi. cycle costs, the 9
Page 14 and 15: MINExpo Terex. supported by only fo
Page 16 and 17: Finance “Energy is the priority i
Page 18 and 19: Finance By Otto L. Schumacher, PE R
Page 20 and 21: Finance By Jennifer Leinart and Kri
Page 22 and 23: Country Mark Bristow, CEO of Randgo
Page 24 and 25: Country As for the governments, it
Page 26 and 27: Country By Dan Oancea Platinum was
Page 28 and 29: Country A Brief Review of Uranium M
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Page 44 and 45: Property By Peggy Tsai The Goldstri
Page 46 and 47: Property Above: Roaster plant. Belo
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Page 64 and 65: Technology Bob Holroyd and Paul Rob
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Page 68 and 69: Blogs By Jack Caldwell Diamonds bri
Page 70 and 71: Transportation Truck Sensor Graphic
Page 72 and 73: Transportation Winter Roads: Lifeli
Page 74 and 75: Transportation Rail Transport Puts
Page 76 and 77: Coming Events Australia PACRIM 2008
Page 78 and 79: Buyer's Guide BUyer’S gUide Page

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