• Ocean and Polar Research
• /
• v.33 no.1
• /
• pp.69-76
• /
• 2011

A test miner named MineRo was constructed for the purpose of shallow water test of mining performance. In June of 2009, the performance test was conducted in depth of 100 m, 5 km away from Hupo-port (Korean East Sea), to assess if the developed system is able to collect and lift manganese nodules from seafloor. In August of 2010, in-situ test of automatic path tracking control of MineRo was performed in depth of 120 m at the same site. For path tracking control, a localization algorithm determining MineRo's position on seabed is prerequisite. This study proposes an improved underwater navigation algorithm through estimation of MineRo's kinematic parameters. In general, the kinematic parameters such as track slips and slip angle are indirectly calculated using the position data from USBL (Ultra-Short Base Line) system and heading data from gyro sensors. However, the obtained data values are likely to be different from the real values, primarily due to the random noise of position data. The aim of this study is to enhance the reliability of the algorithm by measuring kinematic parameters, track slips and slip angle.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.28 no.2
• /
• pp.152-159
• /
• 2014

KRISO(Korea Research Institute of Ships & Ocean Engineering) designed and manufactured a pilot mining robot called "MineRo" in 2012. MineRo is composed of four track modules. In general, much time and money are needed for deep-sea tests. Therefore, a numerical analysis to predict the dynamic behaviors has to be performed before a deep-sea test. In the numerical analysis, the information about the mining robot and soil properties are the most important factors to analyze the driving performance and dynamic response of MineRo. A terra-mechanics model of extremely cohesive soft soil is implemented in the form of the relationships between the normal pressure and sinkage, and between the shear stress and shear displacement. It is possible to acquire information about MineRo from the CAD model in the design phase. The Wong model is applied to the terra-mechanics model. This model is necessary to acquire many soil coefficients for a numerical analysis. However, in soil testing, the amount of soil property data obtained is limited. Moreover, it is difficult to analyze all of the cases for the many soil coefficients. In this paper, the dynamic behaviors of MineRo are analyzed according to the driving velocity, steering ratio, and variable extremely cohesive soft soil properties using a table of orthogonal arrays. The dynamic responses of MineRo are the turning radius, sinkage, and slip ratio. The relationships between the dynamic responses and variable soil properties are derived for MineRo.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.28 no.2
• /
• pp.167-176
• /
• 2014

This paper proposes an optimum curve driving method for adeep-seabed mining robot(MineRo) in deep-sea soft ground. MineRo was designed as afour-row tracked vehicle. A study on the turning methods for the four-row tracked vehicle was conducted using three case by changing the velocity profile of each track. The configuration of the four-row tracked vehicle and soft ground equation are introduced, along with the dynamics analysis models of MineRo and soft ground, which were constructed using the commercial software DAFUL. Because the purpose of this study was to investigate a driving method on soft ground, the marine environment of the deep sea was not considered.

• Ocean and Polar Research
• /
• v.36 no.4
• /
• pp.455-463
• /
• 2014

This paper presents data from performance tests carried out to assess a manganese nodule crusher. Manganese nodules should be crushed into smaller pieces in order to assure the slurry flow of the lifting system. Both artificial nodules and real manganese nodules are used to evaluate nodule breaking ability of the crusher. The crushing performance of the crusher depends on the flow rate and pressure of the power transmission device. The size of the crushed manganese nodules also depends on the shape of the crushing drum. In this paper, several comparative tests are carried out to evaluate and improve the crushing performance and find the optimal design point of the crusher.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.27 no.2
• /
• pp.80-86
• /
• 2013

KIOST developed a deep-sea mining robot called "MineRo" to collect manganese nodules in 2007. MineRo operates on flat ground. SMS (seafloor massive sulfide) deposits are shaped like undulating mountains. This paper deals with a numerical analysis model of a mining robot for SMS deposits. The mining robot consists of a tracked vehicle, chassis structure with a turntable, boom arm with 2 articulations, excavation tool, discharging unit, hydro-electric system, and sensing-and-monitoring system. In order to compare and analyze the dynamic responses of the driving mechanism, various tracked vehicles are modeled using commercial software. Straight driving simulations are conducted under undulating ground conditions. A conceptual design of a mining robot with four track systems for SMS deposits is modeled on the basis of these results.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
• /
• v.27 no.3
• /
• pp.266-271
• /
• 2011

Physicochemical characteristics and heavy metal content of soils located along the drainage way of an abandoned mine at Busan, Korea ($35^{\circ}31'N$, $129^{\circ}22'E$) (contaminated soil; CS) and uncontaminated soils (50-70 m apart from the drainage way) (NS) were examined. Growth of tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicom cv. Rutgers) in CS and NS, development of the root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne incognita) as root-knot gall formation on tomato plants, and non-parasitic nematode populations in soil were also examined. Growth of tomato plants, root-knot gall formation, and non-parasitic nematode populations were significantly reduced in CS with higher As content, lower pH, higher electrical conductivity (EC), and lower available phosphate (av. $P_2O_5$) than in NS. None of the other physicochemical characters examined differed significantly between CS and NS (low and no significance) and were above or below the critical levels detrimental to plant growth and nematode development, suggesting that As may be the primary hazardous heavy metal in CS. The toxicity of As might be enhanced at low pH in CS because exchangeable forms of some heavy metals increase with the decrease of soil pH. The heavy metals, especially As, may have contributed to increasing EC and decreasing av. $P_2O_5$. Therefore, the effects of mine drainage contamination from the abandoned mine were derived primarily from contamination by heavy metals such as As. These may have been enhanced in toxicity (solubility) by the lowered pH, increased soil salinity (EC) and decreased av. $P_2O_5$. Our results suggest synergistic adverse effects on the plant and the nematode by decreasing osmotic potential and nutrient availability.

• Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
• /
• v.2
• /
• pp.728-731
• /
• 2006

Ground subsidence near abandoned underground coal mines has become a serious social problem in Korea. The purpose of this study is to perform a comparative analysis between the ground subsidence area and the electrical resistivity measured by field survey at Samcheok City. A raster database composed of ground subsidence areas and electrical resistivity data was constructed for GIS. To analyze correlation between the two constructed raster datasets, we used a frequency ratio model. The results show that low and high electrical resistivity anomaly zones coincide with the existing subsidence areas. We infer that the high anomaly zone means saturated and low anomaly zone means vacant. It suggests that electrical resistivity might be a useful factor for analyzing ground subsidence hazard zone.

• Resources Recycling
• /
• v.8 no.3
• /
• pp.37-42
• /
• 1999

Ths sludy was canied out to recover gold and sllics from abandoned gold mine talings with about 4.5 ghonAu and 84.88 wt% SOz. Tl~bee nef~cialiop~ro~c esses including crushing, screening, magnelic and gravity (humprey sp~rals,h aking table) separation \ulcornervex employed. Results were Feasible to rccovn h e gold concentrates (307.1 gltoilon .4u . 0.60 wr%, 97.7 giton Au : 0.27 wl%, 15.3 &/ton Au . 5.23 wt%, 21.2 g/ton Au : 2.42 wl%) and silica (96.40 wi% SiO\ulcorner yield 60 65 ~ 1 % )

• Economic and Environmental Geology
• /
• v.40 no.3 s.184
• /
• pp.295-306
• /
• 2007

In this study, we predicted areas vulnerable to ground subsidence near abandoned underground coal mine at Sam-cheok City in Korea using a probability (frequency ratio) model with Geographic Information System (GIS). To extract the factors related to ground subsidence, a spatial database was constructed from a topographical map, geo-logical map, mining tunnel map, land characteristic map, and borehole data on the study area including subsidence sites surveyed in 2000. Eight major factors were extracted from the spatial analysis and the probability analysis of the surveyed ground subsidence sites. We have calculated the decision coefficient ($R^2$) to find out the relationship between eight factors and the occurrence of ground subsidence. The frequency ratio model was applied to deter-mine each factor's relative rating, then the ratings were overlaid for ground subsidence hazard mapping. The ground subsidence hazard map was then verified and compared with the surveyed ground subsidence sites. The results of verification showed high accuracy of 96.05% between the predicted hazard map and the actual ground subsidence sites. Therefore, the quantitative analysis of ground subsidence near abandoned underground coal mine would be possible with a frequency ratio model and a GIS.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Mineral and Energy Resources Engineers
• /
• v.55 no.6
• /
• pp.553-563
• /
• 2018

In this study, the location conditions and optimal technologies required for creating urban municipalities that can utilize the space in an abandoned mine area, where there is no infrastructure related to recycling wastes and valuable metals, are investigated. The urban mining industry deals with mineral resources through the processing of high value-added industrial by-products and wastes, and it is a useful linkage industry for the development of mineral resources and prevention of mining hazards. Urban mining technologies targeted at the abandoned mine area constitute screening, extraction, and smelting for recycling waste products. By analyzing the technologies available, an industrial network can be developed for recycling waste batteries and catalysts, which are promising raw materials. It is also important to establish an appropriate location for related industries that can generate value-added resources, rather than the resource supply and demand conditions seen in general urban mines. In order to overcome the accessibility and infrastructure limitations, the economic foundation of the abandoned mine area should consider the linkage of raw material supply, key technologies for recycling useful mineral resources that are derived from urban mines, spatial and site conditions, and industrial characteristics.