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By Dunlop JSF

A description of general mining proced- ures and tyre maintenance practice is given with particular reference to tyre mainten- ance facilities and record keeping at Groote Eylandt. Experience with tyre wear on Wabco 85C rear dump trucks is then outlined, concen- trating on wheel camber, wheel alignment, truck speed, tyre pressure, loading and haul road design. T T.1TUnilhTPTTnAT The Groote Eylandt Mining Company Pty. Limited mines and beneficiates sedimentary manganese ores from a series of orebodies occurring in the western part of the island. The island is one of a group on the western side of the Gulf of Carpentaria, about 50 kilometres from the Arnhem Land coast and about 650 kilometres from Darwin. Whilst capacity of the mine is presently 2.3 mil- lion tonnes of product per annum, current production has been reduced to just more than half this figure, due to a general mar- ket recession.

Jan 1, 1982

By Curless JM, Power SG

Polymetallic hydrothermal veins of the Western Cascades are hosted in propylitically altered Tertiary volcanics of calc-alkaline affinity and (or) in nearby, altered, and compositionally similar plutons. Ores from shallow and now abandoned mines produced mostly gold and were considered to be of epithermal origin. However, recent discovery of breccia and porphyry types of Cu-Mo mineralisation and other data suggest that the deposits of this terrane vary systematically both regionally, south to north, and locally, high to low altitudes. The evidence includes changes in (1) size, composition, and complexity of plutons, (2) types of mineral deposits; (3) assemblages of alteration and ore minerals; (4) trace metal geochemistry of host rocks; and (5) fluid inclusion and sulphur isotope data. They collectively imply a consanguineous origin of vein, breccia, and disseminated-veinlet types of mineralisation by magmatic hydrothermal processes.

Jan 1, 1987

By K Williams

Marvel Loch South Pit has had a number of stages of open and underground mining activities before acquisition by Sons of Gwalia. The historical pit had achieved a completed pit depth of 150 metres and the shaft and decline mine had reached approximately 220 metres in depth using open stope mining methods. The various mining methods reflect the various economics and industry practice at the time. The South Pit ore zones are medium grade (~2.5 g/t) but have a regular geometry and large tonnes per vertical metre. A number of studies have been completed up to a pre-feasibility stage looking at options to extend the pit depth and to lower the unit cost of gold production. The options considered were the re-optimisation of the pit to determine further cutbacks or the innovative use of an in-the-wall ramp. The in-the-wall ramp (tunnel) would permit the removal of the in pit ramp to expose additional ore that was within the footprint of the ramp design and to provide the opportunity to increase the final pit depth. Similar mining method has only been used at Three Mile (Coolgardie, WA) and Chalice Mine (Norseman, WA). The tunnel would serve as a gateway for further extension of the south mine and the central ore zone via underground mining methods. The ultimate depth of the South Pit has been extended to 310 metres below surface and significant additional ore has been recovered. This paper will give an insight into the various studies to optimise the Tunnel mining method, the determination of the various tunnel dimensions, and the phases of mining to arrive at the completed design.

Jan 1, 2003

By G Love, S Maher

In Victoria’s onshore Gippsland Basin, geology is driving brown coal developments, and geologists are key decision-makers. Prompted by volatile energy prices and the likelihood of a carbon constrained future, significant work has been carried out on the next generation of technologies to be applied to this giant resource. These include new-generation gasification technologies, coal conversion processes yielding products as diverse as diesel and fertiliser, drying technologies producing thermal and metallurgical coals and in situ conversion processes. However, coals aren’t coals, and brown coal available for new projects will have different quality parameters and mining economics from that currently mined.New projects are likely to be developed on coals with moisture contents averaging 60 per cent and corresponding low energy values. Whilst ash values will be low, averaging just 5 per cent (dry basis), this will at times approach 10 per cent, which is a level that would challenge the installed-generation technologies. Sulfur values will average 0.4 per cent (dry basis), but at times exceed 0.6 per cent, requiring technologies that address the potential for sulfur dioxide emissions. Whilst localised high levels of the fluxes iron (>1 per cent dry basis) and sodium (>0.3 per cent dry basis) would increase fouling of installed technologies, they may be suitable for selected next-generation technologies.Project viability for this next generation of technologies will be strongly influenced by mining cost, and geologists are playing a role in identifying higher-value coal. At its simplest, this is being achieved for open cut mines through regional, vertical strip ratio assessments, which are considered a first-order proxy for mining cost. Follow up assessments are incorporating mining and processing cost, coal quality penalties and product revenues. At a regional scale, it is informing the likely location and relative timing of future mine developments, as well as thinking around rehabilitation strategies, infrastructure and land-use planning.For deeper coal, factors like macro permeability, the ability to isolate seams from aquifers, groundwater chemistry, pressure temperature conditions, connection with groundwater recharge and in situ biota are being used as vectors to in situ coal conversion opportunities.Matching coal to the next generation of technologies has benefited from regional-scale geological studies of coal quality and mining economics, and has benefited from early engagement between geologists, technology developers and project proponents.CITATION:Maher, S and Love, G, 2014. Matching brown coal to the next generation of Latrobe Valley projects, in Proceedings Ninth International Mining Geology Conference 2014 , pp 77–84 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Aug 18, 2014

By Barber J

The manganese ore of Groote Eylandt is a shallow sedimentary deposit of Cretaceous age. There are a number of deposits which vary greatly in ore texture, density, percentage of matrix and thickness. The thickness in the present five operating quarries varies from 1-5 metres. The mine output in 1973 was 3 million tonnes of which 60% was blasted, the remainder ripped and bulldozed. The shallow deposit and its varying thickness create rather unique blasting problems which must be overcome in order to produce a minimum overall mining cost but not necessarily resulting in a minimum drilling and blasting cost per tonne. Future planning envisages the introduction of site mixed slurry explosives following test work and the application of a twin boom single operator rotary percussion drill. The paper outlines the overall developments,present and envisaged practices and the reasons for these changes.

Jan 1, 1974

By Clifford C. E

1 eat my peas with honey I've done it all my lifeIt makes them taste rather funny But it keeps them on the knife.Innovation is that elusive characteristic which involves the determination of multiple and unique response to a problem, and then commitment to and action from the best of the alternatives.

Jan 1, 1993

By West Coast Staff

Attention to the design of facilities for drainage, of both surface water and seepage, made it possible to attain, for a qam impounding residues from a concentrating mill, a more stable sand wall which can eventually be carried to a greater height.EXPERIENCE WITH No. 1 DAMResidue from the lead zinc concentrating mill, which treats the ore from the Rosebery and Hercules Mines, was pumped 3,600 ft. through a 5-in. diameter woodstave pipeline to the site of the dam. It was formerly delivered through a 4-in. steel pipeline.State laws prevent the residue being discharged to waste into the Stitt River. Furthermore, as a pyritic residue it is a potential source of sulphur.Between 1936 and 1956 more than 1,000,000 tons. of residue was paddocked. The run-of-mill product was roughly classified at the dam in a 6-ft. diameter cone classifier and the sand fraction was pumped by a 3-in. pump to the front wall of the dam across a shallow valley. The overflow gravitated to the rear of the dam (Fig. 1). Typical sizings were:

Jan 1, 1958

By Ramsay WRH, Morand V

Structural, mineralogical, and textural data from the Tarnagulla Goldfield demonstrate that the area has undergone three significant phases of deformation. The first phase of deformation (Dl) predates the intrusion of the Tarnagulla pluton, which has been dated using K/Ar as 391 ¦ 5MY. We regard this pre-granite deformational event as the major regional deformation. Gold-bearing quartz veins have been deposited in dilational sites on west-dipping reverse faults. These sites demonstrate a geometry related both to faulting associated with Dl and the plunge of the Fl fold axes. This evidence, together with chronology of unmineralised ? D2 and D3 faults, the absence of quartz veining associated with D3 events, and the deformation of carbonate-quartz-biotite-sulphide aggregates within Sl by later S2, lead us to conclude that the bulk of the mineralisation was essentially syn- or late Dl. S'80 values for fluids in equilibrium with vein quartz from Central Victoria have indicated equivocal support for either a magmatic or metamorphic origin. Our evidence supports a pre-magmatic origin for mineralisation at Tarnagulla and hence tends to favour a metamorphic fluid source.

Jan 1, 1995

By Menne D. M, Ladyman R

Camel Creek Mine operated by Lynch Mining Pty Ltd is located 65 km west of inghain and 160 kin north west of Townsville in North Queensland. (Figure 1). The Camel Creek gold mineralisation was discovered in mid-1987 in an area previously known for its tin workings. Mining commenced in January 1989 after an oxide reserve of 1.2 million tonnes @ 2.1 g/t gold had been delineated. The first gold pour was in May 1989. The mine developed into a medium sized open cut operation, with full site facilities. The initial mining rate was 500 000 tpa utilising run-of-mine (ROM) heap leaching to recover the gold. By the end of 1990 the wider orehodies were mined and efforts were focused on the narrow orebodies, of width typically less than three metres. Smaller earth moving equipment was employed to selectively mine the narrow orehodies leading to a decrease in the mining rate to 200 000 tpa. The Red Gold deposit (80 000 tonnes « 3.0 g/t to 18 in vertical) was mined in mid-1990 and ore was hauled approximately 8 kin to the Camel Creek heap leach operation. The ore was hauled in a dedicated campaign after being stockpiled. The cost of dedicated ore haulage ensured that only the more exceptional of the remote orebodies could be mined in this manner. The Golden Cup orebody, some 20 km from Camel Creek, was too distant to permit ore haulage. However, this prospect contained sufficient gold (initially 90 000 tonnes @ 3.0 g/t) to warrant the installation of a small mobile adsorption facility. Construction of the second heap leach operation commenced in late-1990. Gold production commenced in early April 1991. Mining of several smaller orebodies remote to the second heap leach facility has been undertaken and further mining is planned. This paper outlines heap leaching practice at Camel Creek Mine and summarises the success of the Golden Cup heap leach.

Jan 1, 1994

By Onal G, Celik MS, Dogan MZ

Chromite tailings assaying 21.2 per cent Cr2O3 was upgraded to 48.7 per cent Cr2O3 at a recovery of 72.0 per cent using column flotation with a mixture of anionic collectors at pH 11. Electrokinetic methods were used to elucidate the mechanism of collector adsorption and correlate the findings with the optimum flotation conditions. Multivalent constituent ions such as Cr3+, A13+, Fe2+ and Mg2+ were found to adsorb on chromite surface and shift the zpc of chromite in the direction of oxide form of the mineral. The anionic collectors also imparted a negative charge to chromite in the entire pH region. The higher zeta potentials obtained upon adding the anionic collectors is ascribed to the adsorption of anionic surfactant onto the positively charged chromite surface. The positive sites are generated through formation of significant amount of hydroxy complexes of magnesium at pH 11. Complementary infrared data reveal the absence of a shift in the spectra indicating the possibility of physical adsorption in the system.

Jan 1, 1993

The last two years have seen a rapid change-over from mechanised cut and fill. stoping to the more economic and productive long hole open stoping method, such that today more than 80 per cent of total production is won from open stopes. At first drilling was by sub-level rings and/or parallel up and down holes from inter- mediate sill horizons using conventional exten- sion rod equipment. Sub-levels were developed no more than 40 metres apart to allow accurate drilling. Compact, crawler mounted in-the-hole hammer equipment was introduced as soon as it became available in Australia. Today, all open stope drilling is done with three Atlas Copco ROC306 rigs and two Ingersoll-Rand CMM jumbos. Fans of 115 mm diameter holes, varying from near vertical down holes to horizontal, are drilled with a burden of 3 m. Toe spacing varies from 3.5 m to 4 m. An Atlas Copco DG418 booster compressor is used to boost run-of-mine air from 700 kPa to 1400 kPa in the areas of longest drilling. This has improved overall drilling performance in these areas by 40 percent.

Jan 1, 1977

By Hale C. T, Carnie W. A

Rosebery mine has had over 100 years of mining activity. The reserve has remained static for the last eight years with an expected mine life of six years. A move to rectify this was made in 1994 with the birth of the Deep Exploration Project (DEP). $45 M was committed to drill 100 km of underground exploration diamond drilling and develop 5.5 kin of decline aiming to add 9.5 Mt to the reserves and minimise lead time for development of P and K lenses discovered in the early-1990s. In 1996 this aim was expanded with the objective to build the resource base to 20 Mt by June 2000 allowing the mill to operate at 1.0 Mtpa (0.9 Mt from underground). Preliminary results of the project to-date are outlined and exploration diamond drilling techniques and strategies are described.

Jan 1, 1997

By Onton W

During the latter part of 1936, conditions encountered in sinking the Main Ore shaft made it impractical and uneconomical to continue deepening it to serve haulage levels below the present No. 5 level. Plans were therefore made for an interior shaft, to serve new lower levels, that terminated above No. 5 level so that ore hoisted could be drawn off on this level and transported to the Main Ore shaft for final conveyance to the mill crude ore bin. The No. 2 interior ore shaft was only developed below No. 4 level and borehole ropeways with a winder located on the surface were installed in preference to an underground winder installation. No. 2 ore shaft with borehole ropeways commenced lead ore hoisting operations in September 1938. Apart from the copper ore hoisted in the war years of 1943-46, lead ore was hoisted to No. 5 level until September, 1951.

Jan 1, 1988

By R T. A MacGillivray, S B. Curtis

Bacteriophage (phage) are viruses that infect bacteria. Protein coatings on the surface of the phage particle can be genetically engineered so that they bind to inorganic molecules. The filamentous phage particle is about 930 nanometres in length and 6.5 nanometres in diameter and consists of a single-stranded molecule of DNA surrounded by five different coat protein molecules denoted P3, P6, P7, P8 and P9. Peptide sequences in the P3 coat protein that bind to sphalerite and chalcopyrite have been identified. The binding is selective; phage with specific P3 peptide sequences bind to minerals but do not bind to silica or to pyrite. Two peptide sequences in the P8 coat protein that bind selectively to chalcopyrite and pyrite have also been identified. The amino acids in the P8 binding sequences are hydrophilic and thus a coating of a mineral particle with phage having these peptide sequences may render the particle hydrophilic. Experiments are underway to confirm this. Phage are relatively easy to grow and are not living organisms requiring an energy source to maintain life. Phage can also tolerate a range of pH and temperatures. Given this, and the ability to indentify phage coat proteins that bind selectively to a variety of inorganic molecules, phage have the potential to be useful tools in mineral processing and waste treatment.

Jan 1, 2008

This paper discusses how the i-kon TM Digital Energy Control System may be deployed by miners of massive underground orebodies to deliver significant advantage in terms of safety, cost and environmental compliance. Digital Energy Control offers an exciting opportunity for mine operators to review their blasting and mining practice to gain the most advantage from this new technology.

Jan 1, 2000

By V M. Silva, P A. A Martins, V O. Matthew, A L. S Fonseca, E B. Cunha, A J. D Ferrari, E M. S Silva, A C. Silva, D R. T Vilela

The Anglo American phosphate mine is located in the Brazilian state of Goiás and possesses one of Brazil’s most important phosphate rock deposits, with the site being the country’s second largest producer of phosphate rock concentrate. Despite the site having been in operation since 1979, the mining team only started using explosives in 2004 when rocks with greater hardness started to appear in the mine’s geological profile. Rock excavation was previously performed mechanically. Until 2013, only rocks with high hardness were blasted, this following the standard drilling grid that was defined in 2004 without any changes in the blast parameters. The aim of this paper is to show how fragmentation optimisation has yielded positive results at all stages of the production chain, from the mine to the mill passing through an impact hammer crusher, a rod mill and ball mill, operating in close circuit with hydrocyclones.While incorporating the mine to mill holistic approach during the operational integration, the focus was on defining the blasting domains and respective optimal fragmentation and measuring the benefits of blasting in terms of reduction in energy and grinding media consumed in the comminution processes. In the first stage, the blasting team made changes to the blasting parameters and assessed the effects of these changes on fragmentation using computer software and on-site measurements. This generated a database that made it possible to divide the mine into blasting domains. For the second stage, teams from the plant, geology, mine planning and operation departments jointly made comparisons between the performance when processing stockpiles, which only included high hardness blasted ore (20–30 per cent of blasted ore). Changing the drilling grid’s size from 3.0 m × 3.8 m to 2.0 m × 2.6 m for high hardness rock with the presence of silicates resulted in a 40 per cent reduction in the P80 for the blasted material (from 459 to 278 mm), while changing the grid from 3.0 m × 3.8 m to 2.6 m × 3.2 m for high hardness rock without the presence of silicates generated a reduction of 25 per cent (from 270 to 204 mm). There were gains observed from the measurements at the mineral processing plant in terms of specific energy spent on comminution and on the consumption of grinding bodies in the rod mill. There was a measured reduction of circulating load during secondary grinding and a reduction in slime generation.CITATION:Silva, A C, Martins, P A A, Silva, E M S, Fonseca, A L S, Ferrari, A J D, Cunha, E B, Silva, V M, Matthew, V O and Vilela, D R T, 2015. Fragmentation optimisation – adopting mine to mill for reducing costs and increasing productivity, in Proceedings 11th International Symposium on Rock Fragmentation by Blasting, pp 363–368 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Aug 24, 2015

By S Wilkinson, S Black, L van den Berg

"The mine ventilation system plays an important role in mitigating human exposure to diesel particulate emissions (DPM), exhaust gases and heat in underground mines. The mine’s secondary ventilation systems are critical for diluting contaminants when working at the face of a heading. To improve these systems it is important to understand and visualise the localised air flow profiles. We have considered an approach that includes both tracer gas measurement–modelling to analyse this complex flow behaviour in a heading. The use of tracer gas enables reliable measurements of flow behaviour and differentiation between the contributions of various contaminant sources including DPM. A pilot study was conducted to demonstrate how tracer gas can be used to directly measure the effectiveness of ventilation dilution in a heading during shotcrete activity. This activity is considered to be one of the more challenging areas for diesel exhaust exposure management. Exposure sources include the diesel engine of the spraying equipment (Spraymech) and concrete agitator truck (Agi) that supplies the shotcrete. During operation both the Spraymech and Agi operators are located outside the equipment’s air-conditioned cabins and both are exposed to diesel exhaust. In the pilot study tracer gas was injected directly into the Spraymech exhaust stream. This allowed thorough mixing, ensuring the tracer gas was able to track exhaust gases and particulates released to the heading. The release was repeated at three different headings with varying degrees of secondary ventilation controls. The study showed that small changes to the secondary ventilation system can significantly impact the contaminant concentration. It also demonstrated that tracer gas can be used to isolate different contaminant sources. The intent is to use this technique in a more comprehensive study to develop best practice guidelines for secondary ventilation installations. This paper presents the technique used and the preliminary results from the pilot study. CITATION: Wilkinson, S, van den Berg, L and Black, S, 2015. Application of tracer gas flow profiling to improve secondary ventilation practice – a pilot study, in Proceedings The Australian Mine Ventilation Conference, pp 345–352 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne)."

Aug 31, 2015

Before attempting to outline the Australian Stock Exchange's perspective on expert reports, I think it would be appropriate to explain to those of you -who are not familiar with the Stock Exchange listing rules on just when ASX currently requires companies to obtain an expert report and equally important to note, what the regulators have to say.

Jan 1, 1989

By Plyley WF

Kidston Gold Mine is a 3.5 million tonnes per year operation located 280 kilometres west of Townsville, Queensland. Kidston's ore body consists of 44.3 million tonnes graded at 1.79 grams per tonne gold and 2.22 grams per tonne silver. Full production commenced in March, 1985. During the remainder of 1985, Kidston milled 3.77 million tonnes of ore and produced 213,614 ounces of gold.The ore is comprised of granodiorite, polymictic and volcanic breccias. The degree of oxidation of the rock influences the milling capacity and therefore determines the cut-off grade; ore is categorised as oxide, transition and fresh. The milling rates are 15,400, 12,000 and 9,600 tonnes per day for oxide, transition and fresh ore respectively.The ore is treated in a conventional cyanidation/ carbon-in-pulp plant (CIP). The plant consists of a primary crusher, semi-autogenous grinding (SAG) and ball mills, leach circuit and carbon-in-pulp circuit. Carbon stripping and dore smelting are done on site. The major difference between the Kidston plant and other Australian CIP plants is that a cyclone separation and washing circuit rejects half of the dry tonnage as a sand tail prior to CIP treatment. This difference allows the CIP circuit at Ki.dston to be smaller and makes the CIP less sensitive to the grind circuit product size.

Jan 1, 1986

Copper was first produced in Australia in 1844, at the Kapunda Mine in South Australia, and, by 18i>0, production exceeded 2,000 tons of copper a year. Output increased ,steadily, reaching a peak of 14,00Qo tons a year in 1867 and 1868, when the Burra Burra and Kapunda Mines in South Australia and the Peak Downs Moine at Clermont, Queensland, were at the height of their production. At this period, Australian copper formed a considerable percentage of the world's supply, its output equalling, for a short time, that of the United States. Production declined to between 3,000 and 4,000 tons a year after the closing of' these three mines between 18717 and 1879, and, at this stage, the Australian output came chiefly from the Wallatoo and Moonta mines in South Australia. About 19000, it began to rise again, with the extension of the railway to the copper fields of Chillagoe and Cloncurry, and, between 1905 and 1912, was at its greatest, with a maximum of 47,774 tons of copper in 1912. During this period, Australia contributed 4,7 per cent. of the world's annual production, and ranked among the six major copper-producing countries of the world (Table 1).

Jan 1, 1943