Property Evaluation and Exploration - Aggregate & Industrial Minerals

Supporting the Mining and Geothermal Industries Since 1994

Sims Professional Services

Aggregate, cement, and industrial minerals mining has become difficult as regulations are increasingly strict and opposition to mining has grown. The industry is forced to develop new resources that are further away from urban areas, where opposition is less, and to extract as much ore as possible from existing operations. Dr. Sims provides his services to help producers on both fronts.

As an exploration and engineering geologist, Dr. Sims has worked on aggregate and industrial mineral deposits that include traprock, granite, gabbro, sedimentary phosphorite, borax, silica, diamonds, dolomite and limestone. He has expanded client's mineable resources by conducting near-mine exploration and evaluating existing data and geological interpretations.

For the cement industry, Dr. Sims has conducted property evaluations and exploration for limestone, shale and silica. This includes material characterization using ASTM standards, drilling for and discovering cement components with the proper chemical and physical attributes, and mine design. At one limestone quarry he evaluated the existing geological model that had a fault-controlled contact dipping into the quarry wall and provided field data that indicated that the prior interpretation was likely incorrect. Three short core holes added years of life to the quarry.

For the aggregate industry, Dr. Sims has evaluated material properties for new prospects and operating quarries. He maps the properties and performs ASTM C-295 petrographic analysis using an in-house petrographic microscope and XRD analysis performed by Dr. Philip Neuhoff. He defines the various material types that are present and collects representative samples for further testing by an accredited laboratory.

Exploration and Property Evaluation - Aggregate and Industrial Minerals

1999

Services Offered

Dr. Sims develops regional exploration models for aggregate and industrial minerals that consider geology, transportation, land status, water availability and other critical issues. He relies on his colleagues at EnviroMINE Inc. to perform market studies and permitting.

He also performs property evaluations for existing operations and prospects. This includes characterization of material properties using ASTM standards and consultation for testing by accredited laboratories.

Much of Dr. Sims' work for aggregate producers is to perform slope designs that optimize recovery potential of existing aggregate quarries while maintain safe slopes. It is inevitable that aggregate quarries in urban areas within the western United States will need to go underground. This is already common in the eastern United States where the workforce is already accustomed to underground coal mining. Dr. Sims is familiar with recent work regarding economics of going to underground mining in urban areas, he has worked on underground mine designs, and he can provide a suitable geological model. He also works with colleagues who are experts at engineering underground mine designs.