The Blasting Test and Blasting Vibration Monitoring of Vertical Crater Retreat Mining Method in the Luohe Iron Mine

Because the land requisition and demolishing became difficult more and more, the mining scheme of Luohe iron mine was changed from caving method to filling method. In order to ensure the safety of the residence and the underground tunnel cavern within the mobile belt of the underground mining, the Luohe iron mine did the blasting test on the vertical crater retreat mining method and blasting vibration monitoring. The blasting experiments use common emulsified oil explosives and non-electric initiation system. The way of caved ore adopts the cutting groove and bench side. The NUBOX-6016 intelligent vibration monitor was chosen in the blasting vibration monitoring. Twice experiments on the blasting vibration monitoring were done on the surface or in the underground refuge cavern. The first test select the three monitoring points on the ground and the second select two monitoring points on the ground and a monitoring point in the underground refuge cavern. The blasting vibration monitoring data were conducted by the regression analysis in the Sodev’s empirical formula. The vibration attenuation formula about the underground blasting vibration transmitting in three directions is derived. The blasting test on the vertical crater retreat mining method and the blasting vibration were analyzed. It is estimated if the vibration damage possibly the surface buildings and related facilities of mine.     

Effect of Soil Parameters on Dynamic Cone Penetration Indices of Laterite Sub-grade Soils from India

The focus of this study was on correlating the effect of grain-size, maximum dry-density (MDD), field moisture content, and the void ratios on penetration measured using the dynamic cone penetrometer (DCP) for laterite soils blended with fines. Tests were performed on soil samples compacted to MDD for moulding water contents set to the optimum moisture content (OMC), dry of OMC, and wet of OMC un-soaked condition. The results indicated that an increase in the fines-content caused a decrease in the MDD, and an increase in the OMC and the DCP penetration. Regressions were developed correlating various parameters.     

Electrical Resistivity Imaging technique to delineate coal seam barrier thickness and demarcate water filled voids

Exploration and exploitation of coal seams is one of the major resources for the energy sector in any country but at the same time water filled voids/water logged areas in the old workings of these seams are very critical problems for the coal mining industry. In such situations, disasters like inundation, landslides, collapsing of the old seams may occur. In this regard, it is necessary to find out the water saturated/water filled voids and zones in the mining areas. Since no established technique is available to find such zones, an experimental study using Electrical Resistivity Imaging (ERI) has been carried out in one of the coal mining areas near Dhanbad, to find out the feasibility of finding the barrier thickness and the water logged area in underground coal mines. The area under study forms part of Jharia coalfield in Dhanbad district, Jharkhand state. The coal bearing rocks of Barakar Formation of Lower Permian age (Gondwana period) occur in the area under a thin cover (10 m to15 m) of soil and or alluvium. Coal bearing Barakar Formations consist mainly of sandstone of varying grain size, intercalation of shale and sandstone, grey and carbonaceous-shale and coal seams. Since the water saturation reduces the resistivity of a formation to a large extent, water filled voids and old coal workings are expected to have significant resistivity contrast with the surrounding host rock. Hence, ERI technique was applied in such an environment as this technique uses high-density data acquisition both laterally and vertically by using multiple number of electrodes. Along with ERI, mise-à-la-masse (also called charged body) technique was also employed at one of the promising sites to find out the connectivity of water logged areas and also detection of these old workings from the surface measurements was analyzed. The interpreted 2D resistivity sections have clearly indicated the water bearing zone(s) along the profile which was well confirmed with the existing water level in the nearby borewells. On the other hand, this technique did not identify the size of the coal pillar and gallery (air filled voids), which might be due to the small size of the voids (i.e. about 2 m × 2 m) below a depth of 15m and more but have indicated altogether as a high resistive zone ranging from 600–1000 Ohm-m.     

Geochemical characteristics of Proterozoic granite magmatism from Southern Granulite Terrain,India: Implications for Gondwana

Granitoid intrusions occur widely in the Southern Granulite Terrain (SGT) of India, particularly within the Cauvery Suture Zone (CSZ), which is considered as the trace of the Neoproterozoic Mozambique ocean closure. Here we present the petrological and geochemical features of 19 granite plutons across the three major tectonic blocks of the terrain. Our data show a wide variation in the compositions of these intrusions from alkali feldspathic syenite to granite. The whole rock geochemistry of these intrusions displays higher concentrations of \(\hbox {SiO}_{2}\), FeO*, \(\hbox {K}_{2}\hbox {O}\), Ba, Zr, Th, LREE and low MgO, \(\hbox {Na}_{2}\hbox {O}\), Ti, P, Nb, Y and HREE’s. The granitoids are metaluminous to slightly peraluminous in nature revealing both I-type and A-type origin. In tectonic discrimination plots, the plutons dominantly show volcanic arc and syn-collisional as well as post-collisional affinity. Based on the available age data together with geochemical constrains, we demonstrate that the granitic magmatism in the centre and south of the terrain is mostly associated with the Neoproterozoic subduction–collision–accretion–orogeny, followed by extensional mechanism of Gondwana tectonics events. Similar widespread granitic activity has also been documented in the Arabian Nubian shield, Madagascar, Sri Lanka and Antarctica, providing similarities for the reconstruction of the crustal fragments of Gondwana supercontinent followed by Pan-African orogeny.     

Alkaline rocks of the deccan traps

Recent investigations on the Deccan Traps reveal many new findings of alkaline rocks more commonly occurring as minor intrusions than as lava flows. In comparison to the vast extent of the Deccan Traps, the alkaline rocks are negligible in their volume and are confined to tectonic belts in parts of Western India. The rocks exhibit no systematic variation in their petrographical and chemical characters thereby suggesting that they were not derived from a primary alkali olivine-basalt magma. The possibility of derivation of alkaline magma locally along the rift zones is proposed. Some of the alkaline rocks are shown to have been formed due to the effective role of volatiles in bringing dissociation of feldspar in certain cases, and alkali metasomatism in others. The syntexis of the pre-Deccan Trap carbonate rocks along the Narmada rift zone is also responsible for some occurrences.     

Lateritised gravel bed: A new guide horizon for lateritic gold?

Geological studies made in the area of Mara Rosa in Goias State, Brazil, where small occurrences of gold are known in river placers, have revealed an interesting and extensive “lateritised gravel bed” overlying an inexpressive nodular lateritic crust horizon. The gravel has pebbles of vein quartz, quartzites and gneisses, which are interlocked and compacted by intense lateritisation with brown hydrous Fe-oxide (goethite). The underlying nodular crusts grade from deep brown to mottled, and occasionally have cavities. They possibly represent an interface between the bed rock and the gravel bed. The intensity of lateritisation is attributed to the existence of volcanogenic mafic sequences in the rock. The presence of pebbles of the same nature in the small placers with Au, suggest that Au has been dissolved and precipitated during the lateritisation process. Its abundance is mainly restricted to the lateritic gravel bed, which in turn has contributed Au to the stream placers. Thus, it is considered as a new guide horizon for lateritic Au.     

Identification of aquifer-recharge zones and sources in an urban development area (Delhi, India), by correlating isotopic tracers with hydrological features

Recharge zones and sources in an urban setup (NCT of Delhi, India) were identified using environmental isotopes (²H, ³H, ¹⁸O); they were then correlated with hydrogeological conditions. The isotopic results showed that groundwater is being recharged by surface water during the dry season, while recharge associated with local precipitation becomes prominent during the monsoon. The effect of source-water evaporation and altitude on the isotopic characteristics of groundwater was clearly noted. A gradual increase in groundwater age, i.e. decrease in tritium content, while moving away from the river/canals/drains, suggests a degree of mixing of old-aged groundwater with relatively young recharging water. Further, to substantiate the findings of isotopic investigations, surface recharge conditions were differentiated into potential pervious (recharge prone) and impervious (recharge resistant) surfaces through mapping of potential recharge areas based on soil type and water-table depth, to depict a three-dimensional illustration of hydrogeologically mediated recharge zones of the area. The hydrogeological evidence thus obtained about the spatial distribution of permeable zones, slope and boundary conditions, aptly substantiates the isotopic findings. The study seeks its impact by correlation of the isotopic findings with the regional groundwater flow regime which has been altered by the urban development.     

Assessment of groundwater contamination from a hazardous dump site in Ranipet, Tamil Nadu, India

Tanneries located in an industrial development area of Ranipet (India) manufactured chromate chemicals during 1976?C1996. A large quantity of associated hazardous solid wastes has been stacked about 5-m high above ground level, spread over 3.5?ha inside one of the factory premises. The study area receives an average annual rainfall of 1,100?mm. The granitic formation in the northern part of Palar River catchment has high infiltration rates and has resulted in fast migration of the contamination to the water table. Chromium levels in the groundwater were found up to 275?mg/l. The available hydrogeological, geophysical and groundwater quality data bases have been used to construct a groundwater flow and mass transport model for assessing the groundwater contamination and it has been calibrated for the next 30?years. The migration has been found to be very slow, with a groundwater velocity of 10?m/year. This is the first field-scale study of its kind in this industrial area. The findings are of relevance to addressing the groundwater pollution due to indiscriminate disposal practices of hazardous waste in areas located on the phreatic aquifer. Further, it has been reported that the untreated effluent discharge adjacent to the chromium dump site is most influential in the migration of contaminants.     

Neural network-based methodology for inter-arrival times of earthquakes

In this paper, an artificial neural network (ANN)?Cbased methodology is proposed to determine the probability of inter-arrival time (IAT) of main shock of six broad seismic regions of India. Initially, classical methodology using exponential distribution is applied to IAT of earthquake events computed from earthquake catalog data. From the goodness-of-fit test results, it has been found that exponential distribution is not adequate. In this paper, a more efficient ANN-based methodology is proposed, and two ANN models are developed to determine the probability of IAT of earthquake events for a specified region, specified magnitude range or magnitude greater than the specified value. The performance of ANN models developed is validated with number of examples and found to predict the probability with minimal error compared to exponential distribution model. The methodology developed can be applied to any other region with the database of the respective regions.