Energy Efficiency in the Minerals Industry

Kwame Awuah-Offei is currently an associate professor of mining engineering at Missouri University of Science and Technology, as well as a mining engineering academic fellow at the US Securities and Exchange Commission. He holds a PhD from the University of Missouri-Rolla (UMR). Part of his PhD work was done at the University of Alberta, Canada. He holds a BS (Hons) from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology, Ghana. Dr. Awuah-Offei's research focuses on the modeling and optimization of sustainable mining systems, including energy-efficient mining systems. In addition to 12 years of research and teaching experience, he has worked in surface gold mining and aggregates operations. In his current role, he teaches graduate and undergraduate mining engineering courses including Environmental Aspects of Mining. Dr. Awuah-Offei is an active member of the Society of Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration (SME) and the Society of Mining Professors (SOMP).

1.Introduction.- 2. Overview of energy input for ground fragmentation.- 3. Effect of hole stemming practices on energy efficiency of comminution.- 4. Effect of detonation wave collision on fragmentation and energy efficiency of mining and comminution.- 5. Energy efficiency of drilling operations.- 6. Estimating the energy efficiency of fragmentation during blasting.- 7. Energy efficient loading and hauling operations.- 8. Energy efficiency in cable shovel operations.- 9. Energy efficiency benefits of autonomous haul trucks.- 10. Benchmarking energy consumption of truck haulage.- 11. Optimizing gear shifting strategies for energy efficient haul truck operation.- 12. The role of operator in dragline energy efficiency.- 13. Energy efficient comminution: Best practices and future research needs.- 14. Energy efficiency of electrowinning.- 15. Plant automation for energy efficient mineral processing.- 16. Energy efficiency trends in smelting.- 17. Hybrid energy systems: State-of-the-art and possible applications in mining.- 18. Solar energy applications in mining: A case study.- 19. Towards energy efficient mine dewatering.- 20. Energy efficient mine ventilation practices.- 21. Energy efficiency and sustainability impacts of mining.