view in one page and print
Prof. Jag Mohan Humar is currently a Distinguished Research Professor of Civil Engineering at Carleton University at Ottawa, Canada. He obtained PhD in Civil Engineering from the Carleton University, where he teaches since 1975.
Along with teaching and academic administration, Dr. Humar has also been active in engineering consulting. He served as a special consultant for several outstanding civil engineering projects, including the National Aviation Museum in Ottawa and the SkyDome in Toronto, a stadium with the capacity of about 70,000 with a fully retractable roof. In 1989 he received along with his co-authors the prestigious Gzowski medal of the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering for a technical paper on the design of SkyDome.
Dr. Humar is an active member of the community. He serves as the President of the Jain Society of Ottawa Carleton and a member of Ottawa’s Multi-faith Council. He is also the President of the Mahatma Gandhi Society of Ottawa. Dr. Humar is one of the founders of an ambitious project on Women Empowerment located in Udaipur, India and is actively involved in its operation.
In addition to his academic and community work Dr. Humar takes part in many extra-curricular activities. He is well known for his poetical works in Hindi and has published a book of poems entitled “Jeevan ke Rang”.
Yogesh K. Upadhyaya from Chronicle took the opportunity to interview him for his multi-faceted life.
(Prof. Jag Mohan Humar)
To view his bio-data, please click here Jag_humar_cv.pdf
Q-1: Welcome, Sir. Please introduce yourself to our readers.
I was born on September 15, 1937 in Udaipur, Rajasthan. My father started his career in the civil service of the Mewar State, serving in various capacities: as district magistrate and collector, and as session judge. When Mewar became part of Rajashtan, he was included as a member of the Rajasthan judiciary. He retired as a judge of the High Court of Rajasthan.
I obtained my early education from Grade 6 to Grade 10 at Vidya Bhavan High School in Udaipur. After High School I completed two years of Intermediate education at Maharana Bhupal College in Udaipur. The fact that I stood first in the Intermediate Examination of the University of Rajputana earned me admission to the Banaras Engineering College and a scholarship for the princely sum of Rs. 25 per month.
After 4 years at BENCO I graduated in 1958 with a B.H.U. gold medal for the first rank in Civil Engineering.
During 1958-1959 I completed an M.Tech. degree at
While still working with CPWD in 1971, I received a Canadian Commonwealth Scholarship to pursue graduate studies at Carleton University in Canada. My family and I spent 3 wonderful years in Canada during which period I completed a Ph.D. degree.
We returned to India and I resumed my job in CPWD as Superintending Engineer, but soon afterwards Carleton invited me to join its civil engineering faculty. Thus began my long career in teaching and research at Carleton, starting in 1975 and still continuing.
Q-2: Please tell us about your teaching experience at Carleton University?
Carleton is a mid-size university with a current enrollment of about 25,000 students. It is one of the two universities in Ottawa, the nation’s capital. It is reputed for its programs, at both undergraduate and graduate levels, in Political Science and International Studies, Journalism, Business, Engineering, and others. Since 1975 the Civil Engineering department has grown in strength to become a centre of excellence in teaching and research and has added both undergraduate and graduate programs in Environmental Engineering
I served on the faculty of engineering at Carleton as Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering from 1975 to 1978, as Associate Professor from 1978 to 1983 and as full Professor from 1983 to 2003. During this period I was Chairman of the department from 1990 to 2000. In 2001 the university honoured me by appointing me as Chancellor’s Professor. Upon my retirement in 2003 I was given a life-time appointment as Emeritus Professor with the special designation of Distinguished Research Professor.
My main research interest is in Structural Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, and I have published over 120 journal and conference papers in these and related areas. I have also authored a widely respected text book on Dynamics of Structures first published in 1990 by Prentice Hall. The second edition of the book was published by Balkema Publishers of Netherlands in 2002.
Over the years I have directed many research projects related to my area of interest and funded by both the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the Industry
I have had the honour of receiving several awards for my work in both teaching and research. These include Carleton’s awards for teaching achievement, research excellence, Davidson Dunton Lecturer ship, and John Adjeleian Lecturer ship, Canadian Society’s Gzowski Medal, Whitman Wright Award, and Sanderson Award. I also received the Fellowships of the Canadian Society of Civil Engineering, the Engineering Institute of Canada and the Canadian Academy of Engineering
Q-3: You are also actively involved in civil engineering consulting work.
My work in CPWD exposed me to the practical world of Civil Engineering. Throughout my teaching career I have been actively involved in consulting work, particularly on projects that involved innovation and challenge. Among the several structural design and review projects that I was involved in, the two that are outstanding in many ways are the National Aviation Museum of Ottawa and the SkyDome of Toronto.
The National Aviation Museum has a space frame roof of steel spanning large areas with just a few supporting columns so that planes with large wing spans could be displayed.
The SkyDome of Toronto is a stadium with a seating capacity of about 70,000 designed to serve as a venue for baseball, football, soccer and large concerts. The unique feature of the stadium is its 7000 tonne steel frame roof that could be opened in about 20 minutes to expose a major portion of the field to open sky and sunshine, or closed in inclement weather. The self propelled roof is one of a kind in the world. The roof is designed to withstand strong winds, heavy snow and even collision by a small aircraft.
Q-4: Your advice to civil engineers looking to involve in engineering consulting work?
Engineering offers many interesting career opportunities. It is my belief that, poised to become an economic power of the 21st century, India has great demand for its own engineers and scientists. In fact, Indian industry has become more and more outward looking spreading its operations in the global arena. India has also one of the largest skilled manpower in science and engineering.
Civil engineering graduates in India should have many job openings, both in the public and private sectors. I feel that engineers should also explore the route to private enterprise, setting up consultancy practices to serve both the domestic and international markets. Many civil engineering industries, consulting firms, and construction management companies in Canada, USA, UK and other countries work in the international arena.
Excellent opportunities for higher studies exist in both Canada and USA. Scholarships are limited but are available to the bright students. By and large Canadian universities have very good standards. In US the standards can vary, from exceptional to average. Details of admission process can usually be obtained on-line through the university web pages.
To be able to work in Canada you need either a work permit or an immigration visa. Qualification obtained outside is not automatically recognized, and one must obtain either a Canadian degree or pass an examination offered by a professional organization. Eventually, a professional license or a P.Eng./P.E. is required to continue working and to progress.
Q-5: Please tell us more about your involvement in social work.
Born a Jain, but not only because of it, I have admired the principles enunciated by Jainism, those of universal love, nonviolence, compassion, and respect for another point of view, and have therefore attempted to follow these principles. The small Jain community of Ottawa has organized itself into a Society and seems to have appointed me its life time President. As the resident expert in Jainism (perhaps by default) I am often called upon by other church groups and high schools to speak about Jainism. I also serve on several multi-faith organizations in the City to represent the Jain view point.
As an extension of my interest in Jainism, whose principles shaped many of the viewpoints, thoughts, and actions of Mahatma Gandhi, I have worked with the Gandhi Society of Ottawa and have been its president for the last three years. We organize events around the birth and death anniversaries of Gandhi and are in the process of initiating academic studies on Gandhian thought at my university. One major initiative of the Gandhi Society, currently being pursued actively, is the installation of a life-size Gandhi Statue in Ottawa. The City of Ottawa has allocated us a site for the installation and the Government of India through its High Commission in Canada has offered to donate the statue. Details about the Society can be found on its web site at www.gandhiji.ws.
My family and I will always cherish our roots in India. We owe so much to India that it is natural for us to give back whatever little we can. It was this feeling that provided me the motivation to undertake, with the help of a family trust in India, a project on women empowerment in Udaipur. The main objectives of the project are to provide educational and skills development facilities to widows, abandoned women, and young women from villages and small towns around Udaipur where opportunities for college education do not exist, so that they could become full partners in the development of the society. All these women are provided highly subsidized or free lodging and boarding facilities in Udaipur in a clean, decent, and well-maintained and secure facility, known as the Pragati Ashram. Also provided is transportation to the local colleges, university, or training schools, and based on need, scholarships to cover the cost of education. In-house workshops and special classes are offered for personality and skill development.
In recognition of its merit, the project was provided a matching grant by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) during the first three years of the project’s operation by which CIDA matched two to one every dollar that our family contributed in Canada. The project is now in the sixth year of its operation and is currently benefiting about 80 residents. A few pictures from the project are attached.
We have attempted to contribute in other ways; we are currently constructing a school building in the inner city Udaipur for primary education of the children in the surrounding area. Our son Dr. Abhinav Humar, who is the Head of Organ Transplant Institute of Pittsburgh University Medical Centre, frequently visits Mumbai to perform live liver transplants at Jaslok Hospital and help the hospital set up a program in that field.
Q-6: Please describe your college days
The four years that I spent at BENCO were some of the best days of my life. I developed a special bond with my colleagues and friends in the engineering class, who gave me love and respect in abundance. In the final year they elected me unopposed the president of the student union.
Besides studies we had a lot of fun. I did have the time to play field hockey, soccer, basketball, table tennis and bridge. We had small messes where friends with similar culinary taste could dine together. I still preserve the group photos of our basketball team and our mess.
We had some wonderful teachers, each with his own idiosyncrasy, whom we fondly assigned names. There was the very strict Prof. Charu Chandra Chakravarti (
Recently, after a gap of 50 years I, along with my wife, went back to IT BHU. The two hostels, Rajputana and Limbdi where I had lived were still there, better looking because of the greenery. The engineering complex had grown and graduate programs (Master’s and PhD) had been established. There were other signs of progress. There were significant number of female students in engineering (we had none), and in fact, there were two hostels especially for ladies. We stayed a night in the beautiful new alumni guest house on the campus and I even presented a seminar to the graduate students in engineering.
The 50-year reunion of our graduating class was celebrated in January this year in New Delhi. It gave us the opportunity to meet old friends and revive old memories.
My one year at
At Carleton I was a mature student and my professors were more like colleagues. My family was with me and our children soon started to love Canada in spite of its harsh climate, its long winters and its snow. We learnt to skate and to enjoy the winters. Academically, and professionally it was a time of growth and development. Because of those 3 wonderful years returning to Canada for a life-long career was so smooth and pleasant.
Q-7: Please tell us about your personal life
We are blessed with three children and eight grandchildren. Our daughter Rachna Jain who is a family physician lives close to us in Ottawa. She is married to Rajesh Jain, a software engineer with the Department of Defence. Our son Abhinav is a transplant surgeon. He does the transplant of liver, kidney, pancreas as well as vascular surgery. He is currently the Head of the Thomas Strazl Transplant Institute, University of Pittsburgh Medical Centre; as well, he holds an Endowed Professor Chair at the University of Pittsburgh. The Strazl Transplant Centre is a world renowned centre of organ transplant and had pioneered liver transplant. One of Abhinav’s specialties is live liver transplant. In addition to clinical practice he is engaged in research, and his research has led to a large number of publications and several books. He is married to Priya who works for a bank. Our youngest son Atul is a physician with specialization in infectious diseases, and post-transplant infections. He works at the University of Alberta Medical Centre, is the Director of Centre’s Post-Transplant Infectious Diseases Program and an Associate Professor in the University. Recently he won the prestigious award of Canada’s top 40 under 40 for his research and clinical practice in the area of post-transplant infections. His wife Deepali is also a physician with the same specialty as Atul. She works in the same unit as Atul and leads a strong research program. Much can be learnt about our family by searching through Google.
I still have a strong interest in playing bridge. Until about a few years ago I regularly played badminton, but that has now become rare. We do travel when we can or in conjunction with my attendance at a conference. Composing Hindi poetry and reciting it is a hobby that is dear to me since my school days. It was perhaps dormant during my engineering education and early parts of my career but over all these years in Canada it has been an inspiring pursuit. My poetry has appeared in many Hindi magazines and anthologies of Hindi Poetry published in Canada. I have also published my own book of poems entitled “Jeevan ke Rang.”
My father had the greatest impact on my thinking. From him we learnt that absolute honesty and integrity were virtues to be instilled. So, these attributes came naturally to me even when I worked in the Public Works Department in India, where graft is regarded as a part of the work environment. I know that these attributes, while requiring frugality and restraint, did inspire respect among colleagues, co-workers, and subordinates and in public contacts. I am not sure that that is true any more.
Sir, it was nice talking to you.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share my experience with your readers. BENCO (which is now a constituent of IT BHU) will always have an especial place in my life, which has been shaped largely by what I learnt there.
Prof. Jag Humar can be reached at: jag_humar@carleton.ca
______________________________
Education of Prof. Jag Mohan Humar
*BSc Civil Engineering from Banaras Engineering College (now IT-BHU), Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi in 1958
*M. Tech. in Civil Engineering from
*PhD in 1974 from Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada in 1974
_____________________________________________________________________________
Additional links:
1) Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada
2) Profile of Prof. Jag Humar on Carleton University website
http://www.cee.carleton.ca/faculty/Bio_Faculty.php3?Faculty=3
3) Mahatma Gandhi Society of Ottawa, Canada
http://www.gandhiji.ws/
4) Jain Samaj (Ahimsa Foundation), New Delhi
5) Women Empowerment Project in Udaipur, India
http://www.jainsamaj.org/magazines/february2005.htm
http://www.hindu-society.ca/udaipur_project.html
6) Dynamics of Structures: Second Edition by Jagmohan L. Humar
http://www.amazon.com/reader/9058092461?%5Fencoding=UTF8&go.y=9&ref%5F=sib%5Fdp%5Fsrch%5Fpop&go.x=10&v=search-inside&query=
_________________________________________________________________________
SkyDome (now Rogers Centre) at Ottawa, Canada
http://www.rogerscentre.com/
Rogers Centre is recognized as one of the world's premiere entertainment centres, which since its spectacular opening on June 3, 1989, has achieved the highest honours in the stadium entertainment industry. Formerly known as SkyDome, the venue was renamed the Rogers Centre on February 2, 2005.
(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogers_Centre)
______________________________________________________________________________
 Pragati Ashram Buildings |  Pragati Ashram Building |
 Pragati Ashram Grounds |  Yoga practice at the Pragati Ashram |
_____________________________________________________________________________
view in one page and print
Application of computer-aided design in the Ontario Domed Stadium project1
Selected Excerpts from the original paper (Co-author: Jagmohan Humar)
To view the full documents including diagrams, etc. in PDF version, click here Skydome.pdf
______________________________________________________________________________
(Selected excerpts from the original Technical Paper)
C. MICHAELA LLENA ND DONALDD UCHESNE
Adjeleinn Allerz R~ibelLi td., Consulting Etzgineers. 75 Albert Street. Suite 1005, Ottnwn, Ont., Canada KIP 5E7
AND
JAGMOHAHNU MAR
Deparanetzt of Civil Engineering, Cnrleton University. Ottarvn, Ont., Canndn KIS 5B6
Received February 1 1, 1987
Revised manuscript accepted August 26, 1987
Application of computer-aided design (CAD) in civil engineering is most effective when the entire design process, from design and analysis to construction, is integrated. Owing to the complexity of civil engineering projects, complete integration of design has not been achieved as yet. However, even partial integration considerably improves the reliability and efficiency of the design process. This is illustrated in the paper through a case study on the application of CAD in the structural design of the Ontario Domed Stadium. The Ontario Domed Stadium, currently being constructed on a site near the Toronto harbour, will have a seating capacity of 55 000. A unique feature of the stadium is its fully retractable roof. The proposed roof has four separate steel space truss panels, three of which move along tracks and one of which is fixed. To handle the large volume of data involved in the design and analysis of the roof structure, generation of data files containing information on the geometry and topology of the roof structure was automated as much as possible. Special interfaces were developed to transfer this data to application programs for structural analysis, design, and production of working drawings. Computer graphics played a vital role in the design process, assisting in data generation, visual check of geometry and deflected shapes, and seating layout.
Key words: computer-aided design, CAD, computer graphics, Ontario Domed Stadium, sight line studies, solids modeling.
Introduction
It is now well recognized that the application of computers to civil engineering design can give significant productivity gains.
In civil engineering, the term computer-aided design (CAD) seems to have several different interpretations. It must be realized that CAD is fully effective only when the entire design process from conceptual planning to construction is integrated.
Thus, CAD is not simply computer analysis, nor is it computer drafting; in fact, in a broad sense, it is a reliable means of information processing.
Reliability and efficiency in information processing is best achieved through the use of a centralized database which serves as a repository of global data managed by a database management system. The centralized data is shared by a number of application programs and users, who can, when authorized, retrieve, update, modify, or delete the data. The application programs may cover such activities as analysis, design, and cost
Structural framing and geometry
The stadium structure consists of a roof of three-dimensional steel frames supported by massive concrete frames. Figures 3 and 4 show respectively the layout of the stadium at the esplanade level and level H6; Fig. 5 shows a simplified plan of the top chord of the roof. The main concrete structure is essentially circular in shape and consists of 48 post-tensioned concrete frames located along radial lines. However, these lines do not all radiate from the centre of the stadium. In fact, there are 13 different foci forming a cluster around the main centre.
This refinement was essential to ensure that the concrete frames caused the least obstruction to the lines of sight so that the optimum field of vision was obtained from each seat.' The project and its complexity. Concrete frames are founded on rock and designed to withstand
The Ontario Domed Stadium, the first stadium with a fully the loads from the seating and concourse areas as well as the roof retractable roof, is being built for The Stadium Corporation by trusses.
the Ontario-based Ellis Don Ltd. as a design and build contract. Figures 6 and 7 show different sections through the stadium
The primary consultant for the project is the firm Robbie/ and Fig. 8 shows the west-side elevation. As seen in Figs. 5 and AdjeleianIN~rra,~ c onsortium of architects and engineers. 6, the roof is composed of four different panels, all built of Located on Toronto's waterfront, the domed stadium is structural steel. TWO of the panels are in the form of barrel being built on a 3.2 h (8 ac) site immediately west of the CN vaults, the other two are shaped like quarter domes. One of these
Tower between Lakeshore Boulevard on the south and CN rail four panels, the quarter dome at the north end of the stadium, is lines on the north. The stadium has been designed as a multipurpose facility with the capacity to seat 54000 for baseball, 55 000 for football, and 70 000 for concerts. Also, the playing surface has been designed for a superimposed live loading of 48 kPa (1000 psf) to accommodate events like off-road vehicle or dirt bike racing.
A unique feature of the stadium is a fully retractable roof consisting of steel space trusses. The roof is designed to open in about 20 min in winds of up to 65 km/h. When fully open, the roof will expose 91% of the seating to the sky. The proposed
roof consists of four separate panels, two in the form of barrel vaults and two shaped like quarter domes. One of the two quarter domes is fixed; the remaining sections are supported on self-propelled bogies that move along tracks.
The complete roof will weigh 6800 t with the steel accounting for 5500 t. The steel space trusses will be covered with standard fixed, whereas the other three are supported on self-propelled bogies that move along tracks. The two barrel vaults move along straight tracks running north-south and when open stack up at the north end over the fixed auarter dome. The other auarter dome moves along a circular track, and, in its open position, nests between the barrel vaults and the fixed quarter dome as shown in Fin. 6.
The barrervaults curve gently in the north-south direction so that the entire roof takes a pleasing crustacean shape when closed. The complex geometry of the roof is, in fact, defined by a set of simple equations. long the north-south centre line the roof profile follows the equation
For the barrel vaults, the height Z is measured downwards from a horizontal line running north-south and the horizontal 75 mm steel decking, rigid insulation, and a single-ply rubber distance X is measured from an origin as shown in Fig. 9 the membrane, resulting in a very light structure. Position of the origin was determined by a process of trial and the size and importance of the structure, the complicated error to obtain the desired roof shape. Further, as shown in Fig.
Three-dimensional geometry of the roof, and the large number of members and joints posed unique challenges for the structural designers. The seating sight line design also posed special difficulties. Requirements to optimize the sight lines so that, as far as possible, every seat had an unobstructed view of the field added another level of complexity. A large number of seating layouts had to be tried out and the field of view obtained with each alternate design had to be examined.
___________________________________________________________________________
view in one page and print
Vijay Kumar is a mining engineer from our institute. He has extensive technical expertise in mining of traditional minerals such as coal/copper/iron ore as well as exotic minerals such as Platinum, Gold and Diamond. Currently he is employed as Mineral Resource Manager with Anglo Platinum, South Africa.
Vijay Kumar obtained MBA from XLRI, Jamshedpur and completed Advanced Course in Mining Engineering at University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. He worked with Tata Steel for coal mining projects. For past two years, he is working with Anglo-American plc in South Africa for development of Iron ore, Platinum, Gold and Diamond mines. His experience includes design and development of mining deposits, mining technology, project management, mining safety and risk assessment, etc.
For Chronicle Yogesh K Upadhyaya discusses with Vijay about his high-profile career. His technical paper on mining of diamonds is also published at the end of this interview.
We hope this will inspire our fellow mining engineers to take up challenging assignments within mining industry.
(Vijay Kumar)
To view his bio-data, please click here Vijay Kumar_biodata.pdf
Q-1: Welcome, Vijay. Please tell us about yourself.
Thanks a lot for this opportunity to share something about me with the fellow alumni of IT –BHU.
I was born in a small village in Bihar but grew up in the mining towns close to Ranchi as my father was working for Coal India limited. I studied in a Kendriya Vidyalaya in the region. For my 10+2 study, I went to St. Columba’s college in Hazaribagh and thereafter I got into IT-BHU.
In terms of planning my career to tell you very frankly, was the fact that I came from a very small town, and the only career I saw flying was that of a mining engineer who used to have lots of social, political financial powers. That obviously had an influence on me but to until 3rd year of my engineering I never thought seriously over what I want to be.
Based on my on assessment of my capabilities and also the optimism put in my batch-mates that I will be flag bearer of my department I decided to embrace mining engineering as a career.
Q-2: Please tell us about your career at Tata Steel
I must start with a comment that if you want to start a career it must start with Tata. Having seen many organizations around the world, there are very few organizations which really develop an individual to his/her right potential.
My batch-mates would certainly remember me as a typical “desi” boy who I feel was gradually transformed to survive in the corporate world. This is mainly because of the climate that I got during my stay with Tata Steel.
I got a job in Tata steel from campus and was placed in their coal mines close to Dhanbad in Jharkhand. Out of a batch of 5 graduates I was the only one from our college. Added to the fact was that there were very few alumni in the organization. I did struggle during the 1st year certainly, but adjusted gradually.
I worked in different roles starting with hardcore underground mining to strategic planning early in my career and eventually became the youngest Mine manager there. Then I was give charge for acquisition of raw material assets globally which was really challenging, given the fact that I had no global experience.
I was lucky to get a good mentor early enough in my career who guided me through especially keeping me motivated and challenged during the tough times.
There is critical learning especially from what I consider some of my failures during my career at Tata Steel, that I would like share which may help the younger alumni’s in their career.
* If you are growing too fast in your organization then you need to work hard in maintaining your relationships. Just remember it’s the relationships help creating a perception around you especially in a large organization.
* You must maintain a balance between work and personal life. If I reflect back today I realize how much did I lose during certain period of my life due to the imbalance.
Q-3: You are currently working at Anglo American plc, South Africa
This opportunity actually came to be through my contacts within the industry.
The basic reason to make a move was actually because of the fact that mining sector especially in India was not growing. The resistance against the true liberalization of the industry was high, so I didn’t see any good opportunity in the near term.
Why South Africa? Obviously South Africa has a long history of mining and a wide range of commodities are being mined here. The other natural choice could have been Australia, but unfortunately majority of mining towns in Australia are far off from civilization. Back here I am in a mining town still only 2 hrs drive from Johannesburg.
Other factor was obviously a large Indian community in south Africa, so the move was quite easy, you don’t really feel out of place.
Q-4: What is life of a mining engineer working for a mine?
Mining is unique in many ways, depends on what you like. If you really like the city life then it is going to be difficult at least in the initial years. As you gain experience you can actually move to cities in consultancy jobs.
However having spent time in small mining towns I seem to have developed a liking for them. The community is very close, and you have a nice identity.
In terms of the working conditions Mining is considered a hazardous industry, but over the years safety performance of the industry has improved a lot. Other than the Gold mining industry majority of other mines safety is not a big concern
In terms of frequent travel, only if you are working in business development you need to travel a lot. Most of these travels will be to remote locations.
The mining industry in majority of the economies is considered on of the top pay masters. Unfortunately it is not the case in India, primarily due to the fact that mining has never been allowed to flourish as a standalone industry. Most of the mines in the private sector exist as a captive unit to either steel or power company.
On new techniques, I must say that the speed of change in the industry has been slow, so you are not exposed to fast changes. The industry somehow seems to be maturing in techniques with the only change now a days being the move to bigger and bigger equipments.
I must not forget to tell you one thing if anyone wants to succeed in the industry he must be prepared to handle human interface.
Q-5: Many of the mining graduates prefer to work in area other than mining. What is your advice to them?
My comment for these guys is simple; if you don’t want to be a mining engineer, why waste four years studying it. I saw it with many of my batch-mates; they got into mining to get an engineering degree.
I would simply say start with the “end game” in picture. Most of the time, our choice of career develops gradually. I can’t say it’s bad but surely if you start with a clear picture may be you will end up doing better.
There are certainly challenges associated with the mining industry in terms of attractiveness mainly due to current legislative environment in India. Overseas also majority of the mining companies rely on local talent. During the recent commodity boom I did see lot of movement of talent from India to Australia. However, because of high level of safety risks associated with the industry most of the times the regulatory certificates obtained from one country are not valid elsewhere, which restricts the movement quite a lot.
Q-6: Please describe your college days
Out of all the places I studied I must say IT-BHU was certainly the best. It had a huge impact on me. It transformed me into a completely new person. I may end up writing a novel like “five point someone” but I will never forget three of my friends (Janoo, Nigam and Jhaji). Nigam is the only one other than me left in mining, Janoo is a doing his bit to the environment as an IFS and Jhaji, I don’t know is lost somewhere.
I got involved in the university politics. Politics has its positives but the real problem that had on our class was that it clearly divided the class along cast lines quite a lot. This was not a real problem in the initial years but as the politics in the campus grew the fabric of our branch as well as the college certainly started weakening.
Q-7: Please tell us about your personal life
I have a loving wife and two kids. On the hobbies front I must say nothing significant.
On the personal side I help with studies of some kids in my village in an informal way. I want to change that to a more formal approach in the coming years so that I can return something back to the society.
The biggest influence in my life has been my father whom I have seen giving me the direction whenever I needed.
Vijay, it was nice talking to you.
Thanks Yogesh, I must say it’s a privilege to get this opportunity. i look forward to help our alumni in whatever way its possible.
Vijay Kumar can be reached at: VKumar@Angloplat.com
______________________________
Education of Vijay Kumar
*B. Tech. Mining Engineering from Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University (IT-BHU), Varanasi in 1995
*MBA from XLRI, Jamshedpur in 1999
*Advanced Course in Mining Engineering from University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia in 2004.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Additional links:
1) Tata Steel, Coal Mining Division
http://www.tatasteel.com/rawmaterials/
2) Anglo American plc
http://www.angloamerican.co.uk/
3) Gold Mining
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_mining
4) Introduction and illustrative charts for various mining processes
http://www.chartechnica.com/index.htm
5) The School of Mining Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
http://www.mining.unsw.edu.au/
_____________________________________________________________________________
view in one page and print
(Written by Vijay Kumar, Mining Resource manager, Anglo Platinum, South Africa)
To view the technical paper in PDF, please click here diamond_mining-Technical Paper.pdf
Mining of Diamonds
1. Introduction:
The Greek word "Adamas" meaning unconquerable and indestructible is the root word of diamond. Diamonds have been sought the world over, fought over, worshipped and used to cast love spells
Diamond is carbon in its most concentrated form. Except for trace impurities like boron and nitrogen, diamond is composed solely of carbon, the chemical element that is fundamental to all life.
But diamond is distinctly different from its close cousins the common mineral graphite and lonsdaleite, both of which are also composed of carbon. Why is diamond the hardest surface known while graphite is exceedingly soft? Why is diamond transparent while graphite is opaque and metallic black? What is it that makes diamond so unique?
The key to these questions lie in diamond's particular arrangement of carbon atoms or its crystal structure--the feature that defines any mineral's fundamental properties. A crystal is a solid body formed from the bonding of atomic elements or compounds in a repeating arrangement. Often, crystals possess smooth external faces. Due to their symmetrical and finite nature, the building blocks of crystals are limited to relatively small numbers of atoms, and their chemical compositions to simple numerical combinations of elements.
All diamonds are at least 990,000,000 years old. Many are 3.2 billion years old
2. Formation:
Geologic processes create two basic types of diamond deposits, referred to as primary and secondary sources. Primary sources are the kimberlite and lamproite pipes that raise diamonds from Earth's mantle, where they originate. Secondary sources, created by erosion, include such deposits as surface scatterings around a pipe, concentrations in river channels, and fluxes from rivers moved by wave action along ocean coasts, past and present. Mining of these deposits depends upon sufficient concentration and quality of diamonds.
 |
This diagram shows the trail of diamonds left by geological processes. The primary deposits, or diamond pipes, are the vertical portion. The flared top of the pipes can yield substantial quantities of diamonds, but following the narrowing pipe downward eventually becomes unprofitable. Note how erosion of the landscape moves surface minerals -- including the diamonds -- from the pipes down hills, streams, and rivers to their ultimate destination, the ocean. Because diamonds are dense they concentrate at the bottom of active zones of moving sand and gravel. Secondary deposits may be found far from active means of transport, in the fossilized channels of now-vanished rivers or under fossil beaches.
3. Discovery:
The first river-bed (alluvial) diamonds were probably discovered in India, in around 800 B.C. The volcanic source of these diamonds was never discovered, but the alluvial deposits were rich enough to supply most of the world's diamonds until the eighteenth century, when dwindling Indian supplies probably spurred the exploration that led to the discovery of diamonds in Brazil, which became the next important diamond source. Beginning in l866, South Africa's massive diamond deposits were discovered, and a world-wide diamond rush was on. The South African diamond output was unraveled until major deposits were found in Siberian permafrost in l954. And currently Western Canada is the site of the world's newest diamond rush.
Throughout much of history, diamonds were mined from the sand and gravel surrounding rivers. But in South Africa in 1870 diamond was found in the earth far from a river source, and the practice of dry-digging for diamonds was born. More sophisticated mining techniques allowed deeper subterranean digging, as well as more efficient river (and, most recently, marine) mining, than ever before.
4. Mining of Diamonds:
4.1. Alluvial mining: Alluvial mining extracts diamonds from sand, gravel and clay using the open-pit method. The process involves removing the overlying barren ground, digging up the bearing ground, and then extracting the diamonds.
4.1.1. Overburden removal: The first step in the mining process is to remove the overburden – the surface material covering the diamonds. This can be anything up to 40m thick and can vary from loose sand to cemented conglomerate.
Various methods and equipment are used for this process:
* Conventional stripping using bowl scrapers and bulldozers, although flexible, it is a costly system
* ADT stripping uses excavators and articulated dump trucks (ADTs) and is flexible and cost-effective
* Stripping by bucket-wheel excavator
* Stripping by dragline, although the lowest-cost stripping method, reduces flexibility as the dragline is cumbersome
4.1.2. Ore excavation and bedrock cleaning: Most of the ore is excavated by trackdozers and excavators. They create windows from which front-end loaders remove ground and place into ADTs and haultrucks. The bedrock is then cleaned by employees using pneumatic breakers and a containerised vacuum cleaning system. In areas where cemented conglomerates occur, it is necessary to drill and blast.
For lightly cemented areas, we use hydraulic impact hammers to separate the diamond-bearing material from the bedrock, or we use the trackdozers’ ripping tool to break it up.
Once excavated, the ore is transported to ore processing plants where it is crushed to pieces smaller than 150mm. A process of dense medium separation, using ferrosilicon as the medium, produces a diamond-rich concentrate from the crushed gravel.
The final concentrate represents around 1% of the material originally fed to the plant. The concentrate is sent to a central recovery plant, which produces the final 100% diamond product.
4.1.3. Dewatering: As alluvial mining takes place close to rivers and/or the ocean, water has to be drained from the working area. For instance, beach walls help us to mine the area between the original sea low-water mark and the original high-water mark.
These walls prevent wave erosion and are created and maintained by dumping overburden sand onto a wall and then pushing it out to sea with trackdozers. Mining now takes places some 300m beyond the original high-water mark and 19m below mean sea-level.
In areas where the water table is above the diamondiferous horizon, we install a system of well points along the landward side of the beach wall. This stabilises the wall and reduces seepage into the working area.
Further dewatering is carried out by conventional pumps and this allows the mining operations to proceed below sea-level.
4.2. Marine mining: Marine mining extracts diamonds from the seabed. Methods vary from shore-diving to specialised ships, each of which is, in effect, a mine.
Two mining methods are used:
Horizontal system: a seabed crawler brings diamond-bearing gravels to the vessel through flexible slurry hoses.
Vertical system: a large-diameter drilling device mounted on a compensated steel pipe drill string, recovers diamond-bearing gravels from the seabed following a systematic pattern over the mining block.
Namibia has the richest known marine diamond deposits in the world, estimated at over 80 million carats - all of these deposits originally coming from kimberlites in South Africa.
They were washed down the Orange River and deposited at the river mouth as well as along the coastlines of Namibia and South Africa.
Debmar Atlantic 2: One of the ships used in Marine mining by DeBeers
4.3. Open-pit mining: Diamonds can be found in volcanic pipes filled with a blue rock called kimberlite. Mining of the diamond-bearing pipe starts with the excavation of a pit into the pipe. In this process, called "open-pit" or "open-cast" mining, the initially loose and eventually hard ore material is removed with large hydraulic shovels and ore trucks. Hard rock is drilled and blasted with explosives so the broken material can be removed.
Venetia Mine: currently the largest producer of diamonds in South Africa.
Open-pit mining is used when diamond deposits appear on or near the surface. The overburden, or surface material covering the diamond deposit (or ore body), is relatively thin and unsuitable for tunnelling (as would be the case for sand, cinder, and gravel).
Open-pit mining generally:
* Generates revenue quite early
* Results in a flexible mining rate and sequence
* Has a lower initial capital and operating cost per tonne mined
* Allows larger machinery to be used
* Leads to better blending capabilities
The size, shape and value of the deposit, as well as the stability of the host rock, determine the layout and ultimate depth of the open-pit mine.
This method uses GPS and dispatch type control systems, and integrates this with on-line drilling systems and blast design, to make the mining operations as efficient as possible.
When the open pit is deep enough, mining goes underground with vertical shafts that descend into horizontal drifts, or passageways, that enter the pipe.
4.4. Underground mining: Underground mining is used to extract diamonds from kimberlite pipes that occur below ground.There are numerous methods of underground mining, but mechanised blast hole open stopping (BHOS) is the most often used.
One of the main advantages of BHOS is that it allows a mine to be converted from open-pit to underground because it:
* Is able to build tonnage and can easily interface with open-pit layout
* Does not require major upfront capital, but does require high long-term development cost
* Can selectively mine waste
* Is less dependent on the predictability of the rock mass
In BHOS mining, long hole drilling rigs are used to drill rings of holes from drill drives situated perpendicular to the pit faces. These holes are then charged and blasted and the broken ore is loaded by load-haul-dump units (LHDs).
BHOS cannot be used too deeply when kimberlite pipes are situated in unstable country rock such as the Karoo System as it vulnerable to waste dilution. Where this occurs the mining method is changed to modified sub-level caving.
The underground infrastructure (tunnels, level spacing, etc) remains largely unchanged, but the amount of material extracted is reduced to facilitate semi-choke blasting. The broken ore is then loaded via the tunnels by LHDs. This creates a layer of ore above the retreating tunnels that protects against waste ingress with the loaded ore.
This method reduces the amount of ore that can be extracted as some is left behind in the protective layer. It is, therefore, an interim method which is used while the infrastructure for a block cave is being established.
Block caving is the most cost-effective and productive method of mining kimberlite underground. It does depend, though, on the pipe having sufficient cross-sectional area to allow the ore to cave, once it has been undercut.
5. Processing of Diamonds:
Once a mining operation yields ore, the diamonds must be sorted from the other materials. This process relies primarily on diamond's high density. An old but effective method is to use a washing pan, which forces heavy minerals like diamond to the bottom and waste to the top. Cones and cyclones use swirling heavy fluids mixed with crushed ore to achieve density separations. With 99 percent of the waste in the ore removed, further separations may use either a grease table or an x-ray separator. Final separation and sorting is done by eye.
Crushed ore is mixed with a muddy water suspension, called puddle, and all is stirred by angled rotating blades in the circular washing pan. Heavier minerals settle to the bottom and are pushed toward an exit point, while lighter waste rises to the top and overflows as a separate stream of material.
The surface of diamond is highly unusual in that it resists being wetted by water but sticks readily to grease. Here, wet gravel washes across 3 inclined surfaces covered with beeswax and paraffin. Diamonds stick to the grease while wetted waste minerals flow past. The operator routinely scrapes the material that adheres to the table into a grease pot, using a trowel. The grease in the pot is melted and the diamonds are removed in a strainer. More automated systems use a rotating
grease belt and scraper.
This diagram shows how cones (left) and cyclones (right) use heavy-media separation. Diamond-bearing concentrate is mixed with a fluid near the density of diamond. Separation occurs in cones and cyclones by swirling the mixture at low and high velocities respectively. In the cone, rotational mixing permits lighter minerals to float to the top and run out as overflow, while diamonds and dense minerals sink to the bottom and are sucked out with a compressed air siphon. In the cyclone, fast rotation of the suspension drives heavy minerals to the conical wall, where they sink to the bottom and are extracted, while float waste minerals are sucked from the center of the vortex. Cyclones are about 99.999% efficient at concentrating diamonds and similarly dense minerals from the original ore.
The x-ray separator system acts on a thin stream of particles from the concentrate accelerated off a moving belt into the air, where they encounter an intense beam of x-rays. Any diamond fluoresces in the x-rays, activating a
photomultiplier that triggers a jet of air, deflecting the diamonds (red) into a collector bin.
6. Famous Diamonds: Famous diamonds often have complex and even controversial histories because of the secrecy surrounding such stones
6.1. The Star of Africa: At 530.20 carats the Cullinan I or Star Africa diamond is the largest cut diamond in the world. Pear-shaped, with 74 facets, it is set in the Royal Scepter (kept with the other Crown Jewels in the Tower of London). It was cut from the 3,106-carat Cullinan, the largest diamond crystal ever found. The Cullinan was discovered in Transvaal, South Africa in l095 on an inspection tour of the Premier Mine.
The Cullinan was cut by Joseph Asscher and Company of Amsterdam, who examined the enormous crystal for around six months before determining how to divide it. It eventually yielded nine major, and 96 smaller brilliant-cut stones. When the Cullinan was first discovered, certain signs suggested that it may have been part of a much larger crystal. But no discovery of the "missing half" has ever been authenticated.
6.2. The Excelsior: Probably the second largest stone ever found (if the lost Braganza cannot be found and authenticated). A high-clarity, blue-white stone, it was found in l893 by a South African mine worker who picked it out of a shovelful of gravel. Because of its irregular shape, it was cut into 21 polished stones, of which the largest was a marquise of 69.80 carats. A smaller, 18-carat marquise stone cut from the Excelsior was displayed at the 1939 World's Fair by De Beers.
6.3. The Great Mogul: The world's third largest gem-quality diamond was named after Shah Jehan. It was found in the mid-seventeenth century in Hyderabad, India. Its whereabouts are not presently known, and it may no longer exist as a single large stone e. It has been confused with several other famous diamonds, most importantly the Orloff, which has also been described as a faintly blue rose-cut stone. It is said that the stone was so badly cut that the lapidary, instead of being paid by the Shah, was forced to pay a heavy fine. When Tavernier so the Mogul, he described it as looking like an egg, and weighing 280 old carats.
6.4. The Darya-I-Noor: The Darya-I-Noor is a flawless, transparent pink stone, estimated at 175 to 195 carats. It is the largest and most remarkable gem in the Crown Jewels of Iran, and was one of the spoils of Persia's attack on Delhi in l739. It is now set in a gold frame with other diamonds, topped by a crown bearing lions with ruby eyes, holding scimitars. It was worn by the last Shah for his coronation in l967.
6.5. The Koh-I-Noor: The name of this diamond means "Mountain of Light" and its history, dating back to1304, is the longest of all famous diamonds. It was captured by the Rajahs of Malwa in the sixteenth century by the Mogul, Sultan Babur and remained in the possession of later Mogul emperors. It may have been set in the famous Peacock Throne made for Shah Jehan. After the break-up of the Persian Empire the diamond found its way to India. It may have traveled to Afghanistan with a bodyguard of Nadir Shah, who fled with the stone when the Shah was murdered, to be later offered to Ranjit Singh of the Punjab in exchange for military help (which was never delivered). After fighting broke out between the Sikhs and the British, The East India Company claimed the diamond as a partial indemnity, and then presented it to Queen Victoria in 1850. When the stone came from India, it weighed l986 carats; it was later recut to l08.93 carats. It was first worn by the Queen in a brooch. It was later set in the State Crown, worn by Queen Alexandra and Queen Mary, and 1937 was worn for by Queen Elizabeth for her coronation. It is kept in the Tower of London, with the other Crown Jewels.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University
Varanasi 221005, UP