Marc Bascompta

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Polytechnic University of Catalonia | UPC

Historically, one of the most common causes of dam failure has been overtopping, primarily in earthfill dam, accounting for approximately 34% in the United States, according to the Association of State Dam Safety Officials. There have been other causes which has also been contributed to dam failures throughout history, with a significant issue in m...

Subsidence is one of the main environmental impacts of underground mining worldwide. Besides, the increasing complexity of underground mining due to greater depths and interaction with inhabited and environmentally sensitive areas can lead to challenges that may threaten the viability of mining due to phenomena such as subsidence. This research aim...

A simple approach is proposed to study the main factors related to the mining activity’s impact on society, through a corporate social responsibility (CSR) qualitative analysis based on the type of raw materials extracted, either by mine site or firm. A CSR index is defined by 30 environmental and socioeconomic elements and, subsequently, it is wei...

The sustainable development of mining processes requires a deep knowledge of the effectiveness of mining equipment and is quite complex to analyze due to the intrinsic characteristics of the mining industry. In this regard, its measurement and control can lead to appropriate management, improving the mining processes' efficiency, increasing safety...

The aim of this research is to investigate the effect of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on total factor productivity (TFP) in the European mining industry, considering micro- and macroeconomic indicators of the relationship between CSR and TFP. Employing data from 40 European mining companies from content analysis, CSR Hub, and the World Ban...

The generation of CO2 is an important element in assessing the environmental impact generated in a tunnel construction project, making this knowledge very useful for evaluating different alternatives. In this study, an analysis of the carbon footprint has been carried out, including the main elements during the construction phase of a tunnel employ...

Underground mining is currently one of the Spanish economic sectors with the worst accident rates. Besides, the most frequent type of accident, and with the most serious consequences, is the one in which the injured worker is hit by a moving object. For this reason, this study focuses on the analysis of this type of accident, divided into 3 subgrou...

This article is dedicated to the pursuit of establishing a robust empirical relationship that allows for the estimation of in-situ modulus of deformations (Em and Gm) within sedimentary rock slope masses through the utilization of Qslope values. To achieve this significant objective, an expansive and thorough methodology is employed, encompassing a...

Mercury (Hg) emissions into the air can in some cases be a critical problem for public health and environmental protection. Hence, it is crucial to find cost-effective solutions to tackle this issue. An innovative solution is presented in this study using two case studies, diminishing drastically the emissions through covering high Hg-contaminated...

The definition of a rock mass’s characteristics is crucial in underground construction to avoid de-lays and cost overruns. This study proposes a system to quantify the economic uncertainty related to a lack of knowledge of a rock mass in the tunnel construction stage, either for tunnel boring machines or for drill and blast excavation techniques. U...

Underground coal mines, one of the most dangerous work environments, have experienced accidents and disasters. One of the main reasons for those unsafe events is the workers’ poor understanding of the hazards and risks of working in this work environment. Therefore, the present study aims to identify factors affecting the safety risk perception of...

Directive 2017/164/EU proposed a drastic reduction of nitrogen monoxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels, thereby fortifying the health protection framework within the mining industry. Despite the commendable record of non-road emissions standards (Stage IV and V) in continuing to reduce NOx emissions, concerns remain about compliance with th...

Flyrock is known as one of the main problems in open pit mining operations. This phenomenon can threaten the safety of mine personnel, equipment and buildings around the mine area. One way to reduce the risk of accidents due to flyrock is to accurately predict that the safe area can be identified and also with proper design of the explosion pattern...

The use of equipment such as oscilloscopes, high-speed cameras or acoustic sensors is quite common to measure detonation times from surface connectors and detonators. However, these solutions are expensive and, sometimes, not adequate to use in field conditions, such as mining or civil works. In this regard, a low-cost portable device is designed a...

The unfixed flame propagation velocity of a gas explosion and the fixed response time of explosion suppression devices are the important reasons for the poor protective effect of active explosion suppression. A flexible explosion suppression method based on buffer energy absorption is detailed in this study. The explosion suppression system consist...

Mine planning and mine design are crucial stages of a project in the mining industry. This study aimed to determine the impact of different constraints on the design and planning of a mine. Some of the deposit characteristics and parameters that influence the economic feasibility of a project were studied. Using economic criteria such as NPV, scena...

The indicative ability of a gas indicator for the spontaneous combustion of coal is affected by the secondary oxidation of oxidized coal, from old goafs, entering a new goaf through air leakages. This phenomenon can affect the accuracy of early warning systems regarding the spontaneous combustion of coal in a goaf. In this research, three kinds of...

Mining activities are usually associated with negative outcomes. Therefore, it is crucial to identify and assess these outcomes by the mining company to achieve proper management. The present study has been defined to discover the outcomes of mining activities and their testing in one of the open pit mines of Iran. The present research has been def...

Given the significant role of mining in sustainable development and its intrinsic characteristics, the hazards and potential consequences are a great concern for the industry. A design error is one of the main reasons behind accidents and environmental disasters. This study aims to identify and categorize effective factors influencing design errors...

A new quantitative index to analyse the corporate social responsibility (CSR) level of mine sites was developed, providing an easy and friendly tool to analyse and apply a continuous improvement approach to CSR levels, being able to involve all the potential stakeholders. The index can be used in any type of project and stage: prospecting and explo...

Friction factor is a crucial parameter for assessing and modelling the ventilation system in underground mining, becoming essential as we deepen the mining activity. This parameter is related to the loss of energy due to air friction inside the mine and consequently to the energy consumption in the fans. So, it must properly calculate in order to r...

Subsidence is an important environmental and safety issue in the mining sector, yet there remain voids in knowledge in terms of management and prediction. This study aims to improve knowledge on the impact of mining operations on the surface, reducing their effect on the environment, increasing the safety of mining operations, monitoring stress beh...

Future engineers, in addition to technical knowledge, should incorporate in their academic curricula aspects that contribute to make mining a sustainable activity. This will contribute to changing the concept that society has about mining and to be a socially accepted activity. In the mining engineering studies at the Universitat Politècnica de Cat...

The production of mineral resources from quarrying is vital and irreplaceable for providing raw materials for a wide range of economic sectors. Additionally, today's society demands a supply of mineral resources that is as sustainable as possible. This paper presents a comprehensive LCA study comparing two commonly used techniques to extract minera...

Four different scenarios have been studied in an underground mine, validating the results by actual data. Finding the best ventilation conditions in terms of air velocity and heat load removal. The conditions worsen as the duct is placed further from the face. While the position of the duct regarding cross-section, lower or upper side of the drift,...

This work attempts to estimate the amount of fly-rock in the Angoran mine in the Zanjan province (Iran) using the gene expression programming (GEP) predictive technique. For this, the input data including the fly-rock, mean depth of the hole, powder factor, stemming, explosive weight, number of holes, and booster is collected from the mine. Then us...

Ground vibrations due to blasting can cause damage to nearby structures. In this context, a damage prevention criterion was developed to avoid this potential risk, establishing a limit value for the Peak Particle Velocity (PPV) as a function of ground natural frequency and type of structure to protect. In addition, several empirical attenuation law...

In this research work, a comprehensive study is conducted to predict flyrock as a typical and undesirable phenomenon occurring during the blasting operation in open-pit mining. Despite the availability of several empirical methods for predicting the flyrock distance, the complexity of flyrock analysis has resulted in the low performance of these mo...

A new approach to determine the most efficient blast design was proposed, taking the peak particle velocity (PPV) as the main constraint, while including costs, production, granulome-try, air blast and carbon footprint as relevant characteristics. The research was based on a case study that registered and analyzed 548 blasts over more than 10 years...

Occupational accidents in the Spanish mining industry have been substantially reduced over the last decades. However, the incidence rate shows higher values than other leading mining countries. In this regard, the research carried out reveals the factors influencing the high incidence rates of the Spanish mining sector, based on three scenarios: un...

This work analyzes how gases emitted during the manufacture of clinker vary in a cement plant using two types of fuel: petroleum coke and unusable tires (UTs). This study is based on a case study using real time data on more than 40 process variables. Gases are analyzed from two points of the production process: from the sintering kiln, where the m...

The objective of this work is to compare how the gases emitted during the manufacture of the clinker vary in a cement plant, using two types of fuel: petroleum coke and unusable tires (UTs). The study is based on a case study using real time data on more than 40 process variables. Gases are analysed from two points of the production process: Sinter...

The general transmissivity law of ground vibrations was studied, and a user-friendly methodology for determining the behavior of vibrations generated in any rock mass is proposed. The study was based on a single blast in a trench excavation, analyzing the vibration components recorded from two fixed locations. The attenuation law and the main varia...

A model to forecast the underground temperature in a mine ventilation circuit was developed on the basis of a case study and actual data describing temperature, airflow, and drift length collected over several years. A mathematical model featuring seven variables with interactions provided reliable predicted temperatures, achieving a correlation of...

A laboratory-scale analysis using coal from an underground mine was carried out, emulating a mixture from the gob area in an actual mine, consisting of waste, coal, and free space for the flow of air. Experimental tests and computational fluid dynamics modelling were done to define and verify the behavior of the collapsed region in a time-dependent...

A fire has been analyzed in a real underground coal mine, using a sublevel method, during an entire year. The study was focused on the collapsed area, reproducing a real mixture formed by coal, waste, and air gap. The analysis was done by means of an experimental analysis, a computational fuid dynamic model (CFD), and simulations using a mine venti...

The potential affection of any construction, and especially historical sites, is of great concern for their long-term maintenance and stability. This study has determined the vibration behavior in poor-quality rock mass conditions generated by some of the most typical equipment used in construction: excavator, ripper, ripper vibrator, hydraulic ham...

The strategic importance of tantalum and its scarcity in Europe makes its recovery from low grade deposits and tailings interesting. In Penouta, the contents of Ta and Sn in old tailings from an Sn mine are of economic interest. Due to the relatively low grade of Ta of around 100 ppm, a detailed study of the mineralogy and liberation conditions is...

Fires in underground spaces are especially relevant due to their potential mortality. However, there is not much research in real-scale spaces done so far. In this study, several fire scenarios were analyzed in an underground drift, taking into account the main environmental variables: airflow, temperature, oxygen, and pollutants. The behavior befo...

An accurate transmission of the orientation between surface and underground workings, by means of vertical shafts, is a major challenge in the mining industry, especially for deep mines. We assessed the accuracy of this operation in a case study using the two-shaft plumbing and gyroscopic methods in order to compare and analyse the planimetric disp...

A model for High Pressure Grinding Rolls (HPGR) was developed in this work based on the widely used Population Balance Model (PBM). This approach uses a variety of different functions one of which is the breakage distribution function. The methodology to determine the function parameters is presented and using these values, the model was compared w...

Synopsis Friction factor is a crucial parameter in assessing and modelling ventilation systems in underground mining. However, the development of a mine along its life-cycle can complicate the airflow supply required at the working faces, creating setbacks in terms of productivity and production. Hence, it is very important to determine all the ven...

There has been a long history of coal mine accidents and these, usually, involve serious injuries, fatalities, and the destruction of facilities. In the seventies, an explosion killed 28 miners in a Spanish coal mine. This paper gives insight into the main factors of the accident by means of the causation mode, using two well-known alternatives: (1...

Mineralogy and gold processing techniques from several mining areas of the Nazca-Ocoña gold belt, Mid-South Peru, were investigated to assess the efficiency of gold extraction methods in relation to their mineralogy. The deposits from this belt are intrusion gold related to mineralization in quartz veins. Native gold occurs as micrometric grains en...

An improved approach is presented to model the product particle size distribution resulting from grinding in high-pressure roll crusher with the aim to be used in standard high-pressure grinding rolls (HPGR). This approach uses different breakage distribution function parameter values for a single particle compression condition and a bed compressio...

BACKGROUND Health and safety is a crucial issue in the mining industry due to the implication of accidents in the sector.OBJECTIVE This study determines the safety culture characteristics in several mining activities from South America.METHODSA survey of the safety culture maturity has been done by means of 24 questions regarding the type of activi...

Airflow reverse is a severe problem in an underground ventilation system. In addition, the airflow stability and safety production can be seriously affected by the problem of air velocity overrun in the roadways. In this study the crucial causes of the ventilation problems in a coal mine case study are analyzed and a solution is proposed through an...

A proper transmission of the orientation between surface and underground workings, by means of vertical shafts, is an important challenge in the mining industry, especially when the mine exceeds 200 meters deep. In fact, this study is developed in a mine located to 700 meters deep. Likewise, this paper assesses the accuracy of this operation, in a...

Potash mining is an important economic activity in the north-east of Spain. However, one of the main environmental issues produced for such type of mining is subsidence, which generates horizontal and vertical ground displacements. A Geographic Information System (GIS)-based model is proposed as a management system in a case study with two mines. T...

A database of tourist mines and caves has been created to investigate the requirements of an integrated monitoring system with the aim of ensuring the safety of visitors and preserving the environment of the activities. It contains the main features of each site, in particular the physical, geological and technical information. The results unfold t...

The modelling of high pressure grinding rolls is described by the population balance model, a mass balance which includes several functions that are related to the mineral characteristics, material kinetics and operative conditions of the device. The breakage distribution function is one of these functions and refers to the way in which the daughte...