The cross-sectional texture of rock varnish varies considerably with the scale of analysis and technique used to image a sample. Each jump in resolution results in new insight, with the current state-of-the-art resting at the nanoscale. One key to nanoscale analysis involves focused ion beam (FIB) techniques used most frequently in material science and semiconductor failure analysis. FIB prepar...

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[1] Acoustic emissions and tremor‐like signals are widely recorded in laboratory experiments. We are able to isolate the physical origins of these signals using high resolution nanoseismic analysis. The use of a picometer‐sensitive, wide‐band sensor array permits us to determine force‐time functions and focal mechanisms for discrete events found amid the “noise” of friction, similar to how low ...

Phosphate tailings pose significant risk to the environment as point sources of basic, carbonate-rich effluents. This waste may be judiciously used for the biofertilizer preparation. The enrichment of compost by adding low grade rock phosphate also offers a potential preposition for the effective utilization of insoluble P. Experimentally, the compostable material (Biogas spent slurry) is mixed...

in the past, rock slope stability analysis were performed either graphically or using a hand-held calculator, but nowadays there are variety of slope stability analysis which can be used according to the field condition and potential failure mode. in 2-d analysis, effect of convex and concave walls are neglected, however concave slopes are believed to be more stable than straight walls due to t...

Broadband electromagnetic frequency or time domain sensor techniques present high potential for quantitative water content monitoring in porous media. Prior to in situ application, the impact of the relationship between the broadband electromagnetic properties of the porous material (clay-rock) and the water content on the frequency or time domain sensor response is required. For this purpose, ...

Granite is a typical crystalline material, often used as a building material, but also a candidate host rock for the repository of high-level radioactive waste. The petrographic texture-including mineral constituents, grain shape, size, and distribution-controls the fracture initiation, propagation, and coalescence within granitic rocks. In this paper, experimental laboratory tests and numerica...

An ideal engineered soil cover can mitigate acid rock drainage (ARD) by limiting water and gaseous O2 ingress into an underlying waste rock pile. However, the barrier layer in the soil cover almost invariably tends to develop cracks or fractures after placement. These cracks may change water flow and O2 transport in the soil cover and decrease performance in the long run. The present study empl...

This paper focuses on the issues pertaining to the introduction of mechanization in an underground narrow reef hard rock mine typified by, but not solely restricted to, platinum mining in South Africa. In the context of this paper, mechanization refers to any machine, process or activity that reduces the human effort required to break or move rock or material in a mine. The following mechanizat...