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In 1961, West Australian Petroleum's Eneabba No. 1 bore encountered 22 seams of coal totalling 40 ft in thickness between the depths of 6373 ft and 6441 ft. On analysis, this coal had a similar calorific value (8000-HOOO B.T.U./lb, assuming 20 per cent water) to the coal from the Collie Coalfield, Western Australia's only known area of commercially exploitable coal. Being buried to depths in excess of 6000 ft, the coal at Eneabba had developed weakly-coking properties, and thus, although much younger than the Permian coals of Collie, gave promise of being a major potential source of power for Western Australia.West Australian Petroleum undertook a programme of stratigraphic drilling and shallow test drilling to determine whether this coalhorizon persisted into the outcrop of the Lower Jurassic sediments in the Hill River district, 140 miles NNW. of Perth, and, if it was present, if the quality and quantity of the coal would warrant development of the deposits by open cutting. The coal horizon was identified in the near surface, but the poor quality of the coal and the complexity of the structure made development (in the area examined) uneconomic at the time.A strong seismic reflection in the Eneabba area occurs at the same depth as the Jurassic coals. This event originates within the upper beds of the Lower Jurassic and it is probable that the velocity contrast between the higher velocity siltstones and the very low velocity coals enhances this very strong, distinctive seismic reflection.This event can be followed on continuous seismic data over a large area of the northern Perth Basin, from 13 miles SE. of Dongara to 20 miles SW. of Coorow. It can be followed from a depth of 4000 ftnear Dongara to over 17,000 ft to the SE., so development of thisvast potential source of power will depend on the economics ofprocesses being developed for the production of power from theburning of coal seams in situ.INTRODUCTIONThe discovery of 22 seams of economically useable coaltotalling 40 ft in thickness in the Lower J urassic sedimentsof the Eneabba No. 1 bore (Fig. 1) led to the search forthese seams at economically workable depths. The Ministerfor Mines in Western Australia granted to West Australian1. Supervising Geologist, West Australian Petroleum Pty. Ltd.Manuscript received at The Institute, 25th May, 1964. and presented to the 1964Annual Conference.

Jan 1, 1964

By J Webster-Brown

The Tui Mine is an abandoned Pb-Zn mine giving rise to water quality problems in the Te Aroha region of Coromandel, New Zealand. When sampled in September 2002, for example, both the Tui and Tunakohoia Streams draining the mine site exceeded ANZECC (2000) water quality guidelines for aquatic life protection (Cu, Cd and Zn) and recreational quality (Cd). Based on trace metal mass flux (kg/yr) from parts of the mine site, the principal pathways by which Cu, Zn and Cd contamination reach these streams have been identified as:the tailings dam leachate,the diverted stream water from above the dam,the drainage from Adit 5 (which accounts for 95 % of Zn and Cd contamination in Tunakohoia Stream), andto a lesser extent, run-off from waste rock piles below Adit 4 level. Of the various remediation options, which have been proposed for the site, the following are identified as providing the best protection for the Tui and Tunakohoia streams:stabilising the tailings dam embankment and capping the embankment and tailings,constructing and/or cleaning out engineered diversion drains around the perimeter of the tailings dam to divert surface water away from the tailings dam, andinstalling bulkheads within Adit 5. A formal postal survey of the people of Te Aroha (66 respondents from 230 surveys) indicated that their priority was that the site be made safe for the public to visit, and used for recreation. As soil samples in potential recreational areas of the mine site, significantly exceeded guideline values for Cu, Pb, Zn, Cd and As, soil removal or capping clearly also needs to be part of a remediation plan. Development of the site as a historical/ecotourism area was viewed favourably, as this may encourage more visitors to the Te Aroha area as well as educate local residents.

Jan 1, 2003

Mr. BRADFORD said :-On assuming this chair, which has been occupied by so many gentlemen of conspicuous ability; my first words must be an expression of the gratitude I feel for the honour you have done me in electing me to be your President for this year.When considering the subject matter of this address to you to-night, quite frankly may it be stated that for a long time I was on the horns of a very great dilemma, for while I could discourse on the modern political trend in relation to our industries at great length, it appeared to me that this was not the place for such a discussion. Next I turned to a consideration of whether a discourse on the theory and practice of iron and steel would be of interest.I, however, banished this idea also from my mind, because it appeared to me that you have already had a surfeit of this on your visits of inspection to our local industries and I did not want in any way to be held responsible for the iron entering into your souls! I therefore propose, with your kind consideration, to address you on other subjects of common and vital interest to all.My first words and thoughts turn on the absolute necessity of eliminating waste in our methods. If we are to succeed in our...

Jan 1, 1926

This paper sets out to discuss how alluvials - particularly mineral sands, tin and gold have adjusted to meet the problems of lower grade and more difficult physical political and economic conditions. The mineral sands industry seems to have adapted satisfactorily but less so with tin and gold.

Jan 1, 1996

By K H. Esbensen

The Theory of Sampling (TOS) has made remarkable strides and has witnessed a suite of achievements over its ~65-year history; especially in the last 15 years, since organised work began for the erstwhile fragmented sampling community (2003). Theory and practice have been very well exposed and disseminated, as witnessed in the successful series of the World Conference on Sampling and Blending (WCSB) events and other dedicated sampling and mining conferences in Australia and South Africa. At this WCSB8 occasion we fittingly devote a section of our conference to celebrate the life and monumental achievement of Pierre Gy, the originator of the Theory of Sampling; a special issue of TOS Forum was recently published to the same purpose. But TOS is most emphatically not a finished work.Here I try to look into the future with a personal view: TOS – what’s next? Commensurate with this objective there is offered some out-of-the-box thinking. The purpose is to try to zoom in on probable additional future aspects of TOS and its application compared to the first 15 years of our common journey. There are bound to be lacunae here-and-there across the vast application horizon delineated, which is as it should be, as this lecture is meant to initiate a broad(er) debate – and readers may agree with all, parts, or none of the topics presented. All is well that furthers this debate.CITATION:Esbensen, K H, 2017. Theory of Sampling – what’s next?, in Proceedings Eighth World Conference on Sampling and Blending , pp 29–38 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

May 9, 2017

By Benkendorff P. N

Cement production in Australia approximates 6.5 million tonnes per year. Cement clinker is sourced from 15 plants which operate 28 kilns. Cement grinding is conducted at 14 of the clinker plants plus 7 grinding plants. Average annual capacity per kiln or plant is lower than in many overseas countries, but kilns introduced since 1970's have been of larger size more in keeping with size trends overseas, although still smaller than the large units overseas. Substantial economies in capital and labour costs can be achieved in large production units, particularly with dry process kilns using precalcination techniques in which part of the fuel is introduced in the static preheater section ahead of the kiln while the balance is added to the kiln in a conventional manner. Precalcination techniques have been introduced to the Australian cement industry but as cement transport costs form a major part of supplying diverse market areas, the size of kilns is likely to remain less than maximum owing to balance with distribution costs. The cement industry uses significant amounts of thermal and electrical energy which can be minimised by proper selection of equipment and technology. Labour costs are also significant and can be contained by automation and computer control of the process.

Jan 1, 1989

By G Ma, L Qi, J G. Shellnutt

"An EXTENDED ABSTRACT is available for download. A full-length paper was not prepared for this presentation. The Emeishan large igneous province (ELIP) of SW China is host to magmatic Ni–Cu–(PGE) sulfide and Fe–Ti–V oxide deposits which contain economic to subeconomic concentrations of precious and base metals. The formation of a given deposit-type (ie sulfide versus oxide) is thought to be related to the type of parental magma (ie high-Ti versus low-Ti) and the subsequent processes (ie fractional crystallisation and sulfide segregation), which allowed for metal enrichment.We examined the PGE of Baima and Taihe oxide-bearing layered mafic intrusions from the ELIP (Shellnutt, Ma and Qi, in press), and compared them with the nearby Xinjie and Hongge intrusions as well as with the Emeishan flood basalts. The PGE results for the two intrusions are contrasting. The Baima gabbroic rocks are almost PGE-barren (SPGE < 4 ppb) whereas the Taihe gabbroic rocks are variable, but generally much higher in PGE concentrations (SPGE < 2 to ~300 ppb), although the gabbros from both intrusions are enriched in platinum-subgroup PGE (PPGE = Rh, Pt and Pd) relative to iridium-subgroup PGE (IPGE = Os, Ir and Ru). Cu/Zr, Ni/Ir, Y/Pt, Cu/Pd and Ni/Ir systematics suggest that the Baima rocks were derived from a relatively evolved, mafic, S-undersaturated parental magma that was affected by earlier sulfide segregation. In contrast, the Taihe rocks record evidence of both S-saturated and S-undersaturated conditions and that the parental magma was likely emplaced very close to S-saturation. Through comparison of the PGE contents in the Emeishan flood basalts and the Emeishan oxide-bearing intrusions, we provide a self-consistent model for ELIP that the PGE budget in a magma is not strictly controlled by magma series (high-Ti versus low-Ti), but very much by crustal contamination.CITATION:Ma, G, Shellnutt, J G and Qi, L, 2015. Platinum group elements in the Baima and Taihe Fe-Ti oxide-bearing gabbroic intrusions of emeishan large igneous province and problems on propensity of magma series for sulfide- versus oxide-dominated deposit types, in Proceedings PACRIM 2015 Congress, pp 303–310 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne)."

Mar 18, 2015

By Gupta R. C

Direct reduction of iron ore by solid reducing agents have been studied extensively and summarised by several authors (Otsuka and Kunii, 1969; Abraham and Ghosh, 1979; Frauhan, 1977; Rao, 1971; Kawasaki, Sanscainte and Walsh, 1962; Ghosh, 1970; Rao, 1979). While studying the reduction behaviour, it is generally agreed that the reduction occurs via gaseous intermediate, generated by carbon gasification reaction which involves mass transfer, heat transfer nucleation and growth, etc through a) reduction reaction occurring at solid reductant, and b) reduction reaction occurring at solid iron oxides, thus making the overall reduction process very complex in terms of clearly defining the reduction kinetics of the system. In addition to this, practical difficulties like correctness of reaction temperature, (Seaton, Foster and Velasco, 1983) difficulties in isothermal temperature studies of reduction, difficulties in monitoring the reduction process while using gaseous reductants and separation of reduction by volatile matter from overall reduction process make the reduction kinetics more complex (Misra).

Jan 1, 1999

The Hill 50 Gold Mine is situated at Boogardie, 3 miles on a bearing of 295 degrees from; Mount Magnet township. Mount Magnet lies 300 miles north-north-east of Perth, Western Australia (Fig. 1).The older workings of the mine may be identified with those of Sirdar, Gold Mining Lease 696M The Sirdar had been worked before 1902 though no records remain, and irom 1903 to 1912 about a thousana tons at a grade of 6' 2 dwt. was extracted annually; by the end of 1918 6,225 oz. of gold had been obtained from the milling of 17,852 tons of ore. In view of these yields, and the length and width of the lode, this mine was early recognized as one of the most promising in the district. From 1919 to 1924 the ground,including G.M.L. 1282M, was held as Mt. Zion G.M.L. 1183M.The Hill 50 Gold Mine N.L. company took up the workings as Hill 50 G.M.L. 1282M in 1934 and have continued operations to the date of writing. To the end of 1956 the Hill 50 Gold Mine had yielded 982,106 tons of ore for a return of 448,'602 fine oz. of gold.The mine has been described by: J utson (1915), Feldtmann (1920), Johnson (1949), and Finucane (1953). Finucane (1953) details the mine structure to a depth of 414 ft. The author was able to examine the mine to a depth of 1305 ft. Detailed main level mapping to the 1060 level and a detailed surface examination have revealed aspects of the structure which were previously obscure.

Jan 1, 1960

The objectives of this paper are to introduce the International Code of Practice for Risk Management of Tunnel Works and to illustrate to the participants of the 13th Australian Tunnelling Conference 2008 how the insurance industry would like to see the future of tunnelling insurance. Tunnel construction projects have suffered large losses over the years as can be shown from various loss examples and a list of major losses over the last ten to 15 years. Since the consequences of insufficient risk control had to be borne by insurers, these losses have heightened the need for improved and adequate risk management measures so that insurance cover can also in future be provided for this hazardous industry sector. Observations are made as regards to the prevailing trends in the tunnelling industry, which contribute to the increase in risk and have adverse consequences for the insurance industry. To find a solution to this dilemma various options are examined with the suggestion of a Joint Code of Practice for Tunnel Works being agreed by all stakeholders, which would become essential to secure future insurance protection for such project work. The British Tunnelling Society has, in cooperation with the Association of British Insurers, developed such a code, which the International Tunnelling Insurance Group has now adopted for global application in international markets. The content and concept of this code is explained to establish a framework of understanding and applied risk management principles for tunnel works. This initiative also has the support of the International Tunnelling Association and the International Association of Engineering Insurers. The international application of this new code is demonstrated with a few examples, which also includes Australian projects. It is the aim that this code forms in future part of the insurance coverage for tunnelling works in order to put this risk segment on a more sustainable basis. For that reason the insurance industry is seeking the support of all stakeholders of tunnelling construction projects.

Jan 1, 2008

The mining industry is generally regarded as a high risk industry, mainly because of the difficulties in estimating the tonnage and grade of mineral resources, the fluctuations in metal prices, mining problems and other problems which occur with mining in offshore and remote locations, such as appropriation or disruption to supply. As a consequence, finance providers require a high reward from mining projects. In the past two decades, the development of "mega" projects has led to the packaging of the finance becoming more sophisticated. Some would see this move as a measure of the evolution of banking rather than an intrinsic facet of mining finance itself. Project financial managers now require a thorough knowledge of all the financial tools which are available and have to be aware of the funding options so that they can put together a finance package which minimises the cost of the financing with the risk spread adequately between the partners of the financing. The different sources and types of finance for mining projects are described herein along with the factors which determine their costs. To understand the ramifications of financing mining projects, it is essential to appreciate the fundamental difference between debt and equity, which illustrates the importance of gearing. Costs of finance are determined by the interaction of supply and demand forces. Bankers and other financiers have become more adept at isolating a wide selection of risk elements and have devised a formidable range of insurance mechanisms. There is still a lot of money looking for good project risks and if a good project is properly presented and structured, financing can be obtained in today's market.

Jan 1, 1990

By W Skinner, C G. Kelsey, J R. Kelly

The iron ore industry has reached the end of an unprecedented period of expansion triggered by China’s demand for iron ore. Lower ore prices have led producers to focus on optimising mining operations while extracting the maximum tonnage from the infrastructure presently in place or from projects already underway. A rising global surplus is expected to further force ore prices down and lead to output curtailments, which in turn will help to restore market balance. However, investment in the development of new resources and the development of new infrastructure will inevitably become necessary. Making the right decisions in relation to future processing infrastructure in a climate of uncertain demand and price volatility will not be as straightforward as in the past, where expanding the scale of a proposed operation has been the answer to ensuring economic viability. Overall cost and environmental pressures particularly in relation to wet processing will dominate the decision-making process. IMP Technologies (IMPTEC) has anticipated the need for a dry low cost processing alternative, which can open the way for the development of lower grade magnetite deposits and ensure the sustainability of processing in Australia. The lower grade magnetite deposits are generally fine grained and require grinding to p80 of 30 to 40 microns. Historically, the cost of grinding to these sizes has been and remains a key factor determining the economic viability of a magnetite processing operation. The IMPTEC Super-fine Crusher and Cyclomag Separator are the key components of a proposed radically simplified dry processing alternative, which addresses both cost and environmental issues. This paper reports on the results of pilot super-fine crushing and cyclomag separation test work, focused on supporting the feasibility of the proposed dry processing route for the production of high-grade pellet plant feed from fine grained low-grade magnetic ores.CITATION:Kelsey, C G, Kelly, J R and Skinner, W, 2017. Dry processing of magnetic iron ores – addressing cost and environmental issues, in Proceedings Iron Ore 2017, pp 215–220 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Jul 24, 2017

By N E. Whitehead

An application to mine an ilmenite-rich sand deposit in Westland led to public concern about potential radioactive hazards should the ore be further processed to recover zircon or monazite. A review recommended that any material involved in the heavy mineral sand industry containing more than 0.05% thorium, uranium or their mixture should be considered a radioactive substance and, for mining purposes, a notifiable product. Safeguards for those occupationally exposed would operate via the Radiation Protection Regulations. The major safety requirement would be the minimisation of dust in certain operations.

Jan 1, 1993

Early in 1940 the development and sampling programmes in hand on the North and British Sections of North Broken Hill Limited were such as to necessitate the drilling of a large number of drill holes ranging up to about thirty feet in length. On the British Section, one purpose was to test the existence, width, and value of narrow lodes believed, for geological reasons, to occur in the walls of the existing workings. Another object was to definitely disprove the existence of payable shoots of ore in certain largerhodonite and quartz-garnet ("garnet sandstone") pillars which had been formerly left as unpayable.On the North Section, the main purpose of the short holes was to delineate the ore-body boundaries by drilling laterally from drives in ore, and thus enable level layout to be planned in advance of sill stoping. It was also desired to test the walls of stopes in those portions of the mine where the economic limit of mining is not rendered obvious by a clear-cut wall, but should be determined by assay. In these latter cases it was hoped to eliminate "prospecting by stoping," a procedure by which any doubts as to the existence of further good ore behind the low-grade walls were settled by continuing to stope laterally until all chance of such an occurrence was removed.LONG HOLE ROCK DRILLINGFollowing an investigation of recorded instances of similar practice elsewhere it was decided to use the rock drill for a series of trial sample holes. A 3-in. drifter was used. This was selected from those in use underground, and was given a special overhaul; had a new machine been purchased, a 4-in. type would probably have been obtained as being more suited to the work. The rods were H in. hollow round steel with a type "1" Jackrod thread. Couplings were of chrome steel, and were H in. in diameter, and 2 in. long. Jackbits (type "1" thread) in sizes from 2 in. to 4 in., with 1-in. gauge changes, gave a range of nine bit sizes. They were resharpened by hot milling, and were not milled to a definite gauge size.After sharpening, bits were sent underground without sorting into sizes, the drillers selecting the next bit with callipers. In view of the small scale of operations, it was not considered worth while to adopt special measures, such as the cold grinding of bits, which might have given a better product. Later, however, new bits were used exclusively, the idea being to accumulate enough blunt Jackbits to warrant a thorough treatment of the sharpening...

Jan 1, 1941

Samples of a refractory copper ore were examined to test their response to segregation roasting, flotation, and acetonitrile leaching. Recoveries in the segregation roasting stage were between 60 and 100 per cent, while flotation recoveries varied between 60 and 85 per cent in cleaner concentrates assaying 25-40 per cent copper.The fraction of the copper which could be leached from the concentrate by an acetonitrile/sulphuric acid/cupric ion leach solution varied from 16 to 97 per cent, the lower recoveries being correlated with the presence of sulphide in the concentrate.

Jan 1, 1973

By Yindong Yang

Despite the importance and usefulness of basicity in metallurgical slags, the optimum quantitative expression of it has remained elusive, partly due to the fact that the precise concept of basicity has not been properly clarified. The two basic approaches to the concept of basicity are the Lux-Flood, which perceives basicity in terms of the activity of the free oxide ion, a O2- , and the Lewis, which perceives basicity in terms of the ability to donate negative charge. The former has been almost universally adopted in the area of metallurgical slags, while the latter has been increasingly accepted in the field of glass chemistry. In this paper, some difficulties of the Lux-Flood approach are pointed out, including the need for indirect measures of a O2- , which have proliferated in recent years. Accordingly, it is suggested that the Lewis approach has a good deal to commend it, and that the quantification of it in terms of optical basicity is the best measure of basicity available, which should therefore be more widely applied in metallurgical slags than it currently is. The fact that there are intrinsic problems in evaluating the optical basicities for the transition metal oxides is acknowledged, and a new scale is recommended. The patterns of iso-optical basicity lines in ternary systems are shown to agree well with the pattern of iso-activity and iso-capacity lines under appropriate conditions. * Originally published in the Proceedings of MINPREX 2000, published by The AusIMM.

Jan 1, 2001

By Madgwick J. C

Powders prepared from the algae Gracilaria secundata, Ulva lactuca and Ecklonia radiatawere shown to provide sole nutritional support for microbial, microaerobic, biodegradation of low-grade manganese dioxide ore. G. secundata was the most effective bacterial nutrient giving 32 per cent recovery of Mn++, at an average rate of 63 mg Mn++/litre/day and a yield of 24 mg Mn++/g dry powder in microaerobic cultures containing 1.5 per cent (w/v)MnOz ore and 3per cent (w/v) powder over 14 days. Although G. secundata was approximately half as effective as molasses in supporting microbial decomposition ofMnOz, possible on-site growth ofthe alga could be economicaIIy more practical than transporting carbohydrate to a distant mine site.

Jan 1, 1987

In a previous paper the author showed that silver considerably delayed the recrystallisation of lead after cold work. The effect of antimony on the rate of recrystallisation of distorted lead was studied next, and the experiments performed, and the results obtained, are described in this paper. Electrolytic lead was used as a standard of comparison.It was also used to make the lead antimony alloys.This electrolytic lead contained 0.0005% total impurities.It was prepared from commercial lead by fire refining, followed by electrolysis and finally by vacuum casting. The process was described in the previous paper and the description need not be repeated here. PREPARATION OF LEAD - ANTIMONY ALLOYS.The steps taken to procure pure antimony are outlined in the appendix. To make the lead antimony alloys a mother alloy was prepared thus:-A quantity of the antimony (it was received in the powdered form) was placed in a pyrex glass tube, which was closed at one end. The antimony was washed with hot hydrochloric acid (1: 1), then with more dilute acid, then with distilled water, and finally with absolute alcohol; it was dried by warming and evacu,ating the tube. This should leave the antimony more nearly free from surface oxides.The amount of antimony was determined by weighing quickly; the appropriate amount of vacuum-cast electrolytic *Research Fellow, Dept. of Metallurgy, University of Melbourne.

Jan 1, 1936

By Blanchard R

The discussion submitted by Drs. Stillwell and Edwards is at once helpful and gratifying to the authors. Their contribution deals with two phases of the problem-(I) an additional suggestion for the relative solubility of galena and marmatite, and (2) submission of an alternative explanation for the greater leaching of the Northern ore-body. With the first we agree in principle, and herewith present recent data which will help to substantiate the idea, though the mechanism is not believed to be as simple as indicated by Stillwell and Edwards. Concerning the second suggestion, the original explanation put forward. in the paper is held to fit the facts more closely.In view of the influence, as shown by Garrells' paper,in which the presence of Cl' ion may have upon the relative solubilities of lead and zinc, it is perhaps worth noting that Broken Hill mine water carries a higher content of Cl' than has been reported from many of the other lead-zinc districts.Since our paper was published, an analysis of water issuing from the newly-opened Northern ore-body on the 2,600-ft. level has been made (12/1/43). It is compared with that quoted in the original paper as follows:

Jan 1, 1943

As it is probable that a large proportion of the members of the Institute attending this meeting are connected with the metalliferous side of mining, the writer thought that, as coal and coke are required for various purposes in considerable quantities by their companies, some particulars of the coal industry might be of interest, especially when visiting such an important coal-mining centre as Newcastle. It is proposed to deal with the matter from the mining and economic point of view, as the geology has been so well and exhaustively dealt with in various publications referred to in the bibliography at the end of this paper. In the immediate vicinity of the city of Newcastle the collieries are gradually being abandoned, and during the past few years the Wickham and Bullock Island, Stockton, Hetton, Newcastle Coal Mining Company's "B," and the Australian Agricultural Co's Sea pit, have disappeared from the coal-producing list of collieries. AIl of these collieries worked the Borehole seam, from which, up to date, the largest quantity of coal has been produced in the northern district.It is the bottom seam of any present commercial value in the Upper or Newcastle coal-measures, and although the coal-in this seam has not been entirely 'exhausted in the collieries referred to, they have been abandoned for various reasons. For example, although about 60% of the seam (18 to 20 ft. thick) was left in the workings in the form of rectangular pillars under the city of Newcastle, this was not sufficient to 1?revent'the subsidence which took place about twelve years ago.Again, large quantities of coal in the Borehole seam have been left to protect the shipping arrangements at the Dyke, and other...

Jan 1, 1918