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By C Hall, P Hazell, C Wilson

Every mine is situated within a water catchment – a catchment with potentially many other land uses. A mine may take up a relatively small area in that catchment, but its operations have the potential to affect the whole catchment and long after that mine has ceased to operate. Therefore, the residents of any given catchment have the right to feel secure in the knowledge that their catchment, and indeed the wider environment, will not be degraded by mining activities. Much conflict can arise when this confidence does not exist.But, imagine if a community not only felt confident that their catchment would not be degraded by mining activities, but was also confident that their catchment would be left in a better and continuously improving condition – with improving water quality, biodiversity and soil - and a strengthening, more resilient economy. CITATION:Hazell, P, Wilson, C and Hall, C, 2018. Landscape regeneration lessons learned from Mulloon Creek, in Proceedings Life-of-Mine 2018, pp 125–126 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Jul 25, 2018

Criteria for the manipulation of commodity markets are discussed. Against the economic background of the past twenty five years actual attempts to manipulate markets are evaluated.

Jan 1, 1985

By Bojcevski D

The deportment and textural relationships of silver bearing phases are key characteristics in understanding the behaviour of silver ores in flotation tests or processing plants. These characteristics are however difficult to define and quantif

Jan 1, 1997

A new classification of subduction related (epithermal- / mesother-mal) gold mineralisation styles based on the tectonic framework they occur in, has been found helpful in practice. It offers a ratio-nalisation of exploration efforts during all stages of work.Methodology on the ground during first pass- and follow up explo-ration which has been found effective for the various mineralisa-tion styles is being briefly outlined.

Jan 1, 1990

By Lewis RW, Wilson GI

An ore reserve estimation is only as meaningful as the quality of the data used. All required information needs to be collected in a careful and systematic manner, and be rigorously checked and verified before estimation commences. In addition to geological, assay and location data, a large variety of other information is required for the estimation process. This includes mining, metallurgical and environmental parameters. Though outside their usual area of responsibility, geologists should be involved in the selection and collection of this additional Information.

Jan 1, 1987

The history of civilisation continues to register a steady tide towards the urban life as the basis of its social organisation. The manifestation of this movement is a continuous growth and increasing density of population in our towns and cities, as the favourite space for the development of humanity. Naturally, this trend raises a certain number of problems which grow proportionally with the size of the city. The use of the underground space has an important role to play in solving such urban problems. But various issues must be taken into account when developing urban underground space.

Jan 1, 1999

Until recently, the Australian mining industry received unquestioning encouragement from both State and Federal Governments. Now governments adopt a more questioning outlook about, for example, the proportion of local mine income accruing abroad, about the contrib- ution of the industry to public revenue, and about the industry's impact on the environment. This paper reports on attitudes at a recent industry-government-academic conference on planning and problems for the minerals sector in the next decade and beyond. It also examines a government policy review in Canada, which has undertaken some change in direction of mineral policies in the last few years.

Jan 1, 1977

A vital ingredient in ensuring that metals exploration companies, working in the developing countries of the Pacific Rim, support the development of national geologists is making such a learning program cost-effective. There is a wide spectrum of learning needed in the development of these explorationists: the technical and conceptual skills to carry out exploration efficiently, the professional and managerial skills to apply the exploration in the work situation, the personal attributes required to manage their exploration effectively, and a company organisation that allows them to learn and use these skills and attributes.

Jan 1, 1995

By J S. Simmons, J G. Skousen

This project evaluated the performance of nine passive treatment methods by studying 137 treatment units in eight eastern states. Performance was normalised according to construction cost, projected service life and kilograms of acid load treated. Results were dimensioned as $/kg of acid load treated/year. These costs were then compared to those of chemical treatment. Sites that achieved acid load reductions at costs below those of chemical treatment were considered successful. In addition to evaluating the performance of the treatment methods, this paper describes the various passive treatment systems, their applications and performance data for individual treatment units.

Jan 1, 2003

By Henley S

The year 2000 is not very far ahead - only five years. It should not be hard to forecast what will happen between now and then, because the technologies that will be in practical use then should all be at least in embryo existence now. There has been a historical trend for the mining industry to work ever more difficult and ever more marginal deposits. There are clearly a few exceptions and major discoveries, but the industry is becoming heavily dependent, at both the exploration and the mining stages, on technological innovation to retain acceptable profit margins. With the new exploration and mining technologies come requirements for additional computing support. Computing technology further allows the potential integration of a wide variety of different types of data to help the explorationist to build and test exploration strategies, or to help the miner to design and schedule mining operations.

Jan 1, 1995

This work provides a comparison between the most commonly used classification equipment in the treatment of minerals - hydrocyclones and spiral classifiers - considering their applications and costs. Although in use for decades in the mining industry, spiral classifiers have lost a lot of their importance due to the development of cyclones. This trend, however, is now being reversed, and in the last few years there has been an increasing interest in spiral classifiers, in view of their advantages over cyclones, such as: ò possibility of obtaining more thickened solids; ò less by-pass; ò great durability; ò lower operating cost. This work approaches the different aspects related to the installation, operation and costs of maintenance of these machines, giving a critical comparison of the involved costs.

Jan 1, 1993

The metallurgical testwork program is generally the most important critical path item for the completion of a bankable feasibility study and hence can become the critical parameter for financing of potential mining projects. This paper presents generic detailed testwork programs suitable for bankable feasibility studies for a gold leaching and polymetallic flotation study. The design of the metallurgical testwork program for each of the two differing processes is discussed and the critical factors that effect the selection of the testwork programs are highlighted. The importance of the metallurgical testwork results in predicting the metal recoveries and cash flow prediction for the project is presented. The detail of the testwork programs costing is broken into activity based methods based on the laboratory and management hours/costs, such that generic rule of thumb costing guidelines can be generated. The scheduling, costing and importance of the metallurgical testwork program to process feasibility studies are discussed in this paper.

Jan 1, 2000

By Ward S. D

When using grinding time for a batch grinding operation as a measure of the energy usefully employed for comminution; the assumptions made are often not valid. A kinetic approach, based on a study of the rate constant, or k, value for the material is more acceptable. The Rosin-Rammler distribution equation has been theoretically derived from the general equation for first-order batch grinding. This relationship, incorporating a term for k, was used in a study of the rod milling of a binary mixture of quartz and limestone.The presence and degree of interaction between the components was considered by comparing the size distribution of the mill product with that predicted by assuming the overall distribution equal to the sum ofthe distributions given by the Rosin-Rammler equations for each component weighted according to its volume fraction in the mixture. The interaction was found to be complex and particularly sensitive to particle size.A simple graphical procedure was devised to predict the size distribution of the mill. Product components and this gave a fairly good approximation to experimental data.

Jan 1, 1976

There is very little in Australian mining law that sets out the rights of mining tenement and exploration licence holders as against other parties who wish to carry out ground or aerial surveillance over those areas.There have already been several legal actions arising out of this lack, and more can be expected as the public places more rigorous constraints on corporate and individual behaviour. Field personnel, who are mainly fairly junior and less experienced, are entitled to some guidance from the minerals industry, guidance which up to now appears to have been either lacking or covering such a wide range of standards from corporation to corporation as to be virtually useless.Because each State writes its own laws there is no consistency, and the laws generally are lagging behind developments in the industry. In particular, the practice of granting mining tenements for sporadic exploration, a practice that is a leftover from much earlier mining law, has dotted the Australian continent with unattended and unmarked or poorly marked tenements that are difficult to find but confer on the holder prior rights to the minerals under them. Entry onto those areas in most jurisdictions is an offence and their existence compromises the efforts of regional explorers.This clearly unsatisfactory situation requires remedying, which is the purpose of these proposals. A more systematic approach to the granting of reconnaissance, regional and detailed exploration, mining, and retention rights will eliminate much of the problem. For the rest, a code of practice needs to be adopted as soon as possible.

Jan 1, 1996

By H Höft

Today tunnel segment liners are sealed with corner-vulcanised gaskets made of extruded elastomeric compression profiles. The profile geometries and the elastomeric materials have been further developed in course of time to meet the steadily increasing water-proofing requirements. After 40 years of using such compression gaskets, a wide range of proven standard profile geometries and well-known brands can be found on the market. Even so, there is still potential for further developments and improvement, not only with regard to the water-proofing performance. Permanently increasing cost pressure in the segment production plants demands further developments and new solutions with regard to application techniques. This is an abstract only. No paper was prepared for this abstract.

Mar 8, 2011

By E Ahern

In exchange for issuing minerals rights from the Crown Mineral Estate to explorers and miners, the Crown expects a æfair returnÆ on this investment, ultimately for the benefit of all New Zealanders. In the case of mining permits, this return is in the form of a tangible asset û royalties from mining activities. But for exploration activity, the return sought by the Crown is an intangible asset û information. The information obtained serves three purposes û in helping Crown Minerals to set work programme conditions during permit allocation, for monitoring the performance of permit holders in accordance with permit conditions, and for archiving and making available for future interested explorers and other parties. Difficulties can arise during the allocation and monitoring process when either party has more information than the other that is not shared. To date not enough emphasis has been placed on the intrinsic value and content of the information generated by explorers and the importance this information can have in the exploration process leading to new mineral discoveries. For attracting exploration investment, the quality and availability of such information, combined with other geoscientific data, is a fundamental determinant for potential explorers when choosing to explore in a global market, and strongly defines the mineral prospectivity for a country. This is something the Australian States and other jurisdictions seeking mineral investment learnt long ago, and who now provide substantial amounts of cheaply or freely available packaged geoscientific datasets, increasingly over the Internet. To have a vibrant mineral exploration industry so that the benefits from the mineral estate can be realised for all New Zealanders, a shift in emphasis to the value of its mineral information base itself is required. Such an approach is befitting of a true Knowledge Economy, and would enable the Crown to make better-informed decisions regarding utilisation of its natural resources.

Jan 1, 2002

By S Dunbar, S Harrison, J Cilliers

‘Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.’George Santayana (16 December 1863 in Madrid, Spain to 26 September 1952 in Rome, Italy). Philosopher, essayist, poet and novelist.The minerals industry requires specific technical expertise in mining and mineral process engineering, geoscience, environmental science and social sciences to maintain and operate its current business and to develop future projects. A steady supply of new graduates is essential to replace not only retirees, but also those who left the industry during the recent downturn. The supply of trained graduates is however not instantaneous, and there is a four-year lag from entry into university to graduation. It is essential that this lag in human resource supply and a likely shortage of knowledgeable, qualified talent is taken into account when considering risks to the business of mining. The shortage of skilled professionals has in the past resulted in unsustainable salary expectations and is likely to pose financial and execution risk to new projects. This paper will review some recent statistics of students in training from around the world and explore what action is required to not only sustain the training courses that provide future ready talent to the mining industry, but also ensure that graduates from these courses are equipped to create change and be leaders in the industry. The future prosperity of the industry is dependent on delivering sustainable stakeholder returns through the cycle. This will be achieved by developing capable individuals that can respond to the complex, adaptive challenges facing the industry.*This is an abstract only. No full paper was prepared for this abstract.*CITATION:Plint, N, Cilliers, J, Dunbar, S and Harrison, S, 2018. Back to basics: resourcing the mining industry, in Proceedings 14th AusIMM Mill Operators' Conference 2018, pp 33–34 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Aug 29, 2018

Australia is a highly significant hub in the global minerals business. This paper will present the results of global and national studies looking at the potential 20 to 30 year future evolution of the mining and metals industry.   Globally, the World Economic Forum launched a Mining and Metals Scenarios project in January 2009 to explore the question: 'How will the environment for the global mining and metals industry look in 2030?'. As part of a structured strategic foresight process, eight workshops were held across the world over the course of a year which brought together over 200 leaders from the private sector, government, academia and non-governmental organisations. The workshops were supplemented by personal interviews and guided by an international advisory board.   Critical uncertainties for the future of the industry were identified and compare extremely well with the outcomes of a national survey of AusIMM members identifying the key issues and drivers shaping the future of their operations. Global context was one of the most significant issues identified by The AusIMM membership, which is expanded in the World Economic Forum study in terms of: geopolitics; global governance; action on climate change; and economic outlook. More specifically, this global study developed three divergent yet plausible scenarios describing potential environments for the global metals and mining industry in 2030. These scenarios are compared with ground-breaking global foresight work coordinated by the Stockholm Environment Institute in the 1990s. The scenarios will help decision makers rehearse alternative futures, anticipate potential hazards and identify business opportunities - new solutions, new markets and new connections. The presentation will present these scenarios as a way of challenging thinking, testing established wisdom, and stimulating imagination about the business case for the mine of the future. As Marcel Proust put it, 'The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes'. This is an ABSTRACT ONLY no paper was prepared for this presentation.

Jun 1, 2010

By H Ş. Duzgun

It is expected that the future of mines will heavily adopt autonomy. However, problems with leveraging workforce transition, meeting Sustainable Development Goals, SDG’s (poverty, reduced inequalities), managing uncertainties (geologic, operational, economic), cybersecurity (connectivity, cyber-physical infrastructure) and innovation (transformative processes, real-time decision-making etc) are required to be solved for the intended autonomy. These problems also impact the safety of the future mine environment. The AI technologies provide a broad range of opportunities for enhancing mine safety. However, development of an accurate AI model for mine safety requires a large number of data, which may not be readily available to overcome the associated uncertainties in the mine environment.

May 5, 2022

By S Johnston, L Howe, S Stevens

Regulators have an important role to play in fostering and enabling reliable, effective, environmental management. Given this, it is perhaps surprising that there has been relatively little debate on exactly how regulators can enhance their own approaches, in order to promote improved outcomes overall. The authors argue that applying research on High Reliability Organisations, as well as the University of Pennsylvania’s Penn Program Framework for Regulatory Excellence, to regulators has the potential to facilitate positive environmental results across the mine life cycle.

Aug 2, 2023