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Some design and feasibility studies have been made into possible methods of economic recovery of sulphur from smelter gases emitted at Western Mining Corporation's Nickel smelter at KalgoorIie in Western Australia. The smelter discharges some 330 000 tonne/yr of sulphur dioxide in a stream of approximately 6 per cent by volume of S02.Three possible recovery methods have been considered:1. The manufacture of sulphuric acid using the contact process.2. The concentration of sulphur dioxide to a pure form using dimethyl aniline as an absorbing medium.3. The reduction to elemental sulphur using natural gas as the reducing agent.Design studies were carried out by final year chemical engineering undergraduate students at Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) in 1981 under the supervision of the author and other teaching staff of the chemical engineering department. These studies indicate that sulphuric acid manufacture is the economically preferred recovery route.Markets for sulphuric acid include several potential mineral processing applications and the established fertiliser industry.Sulphuric acid is currently manufactured in a number of plants located at coastal regions of Western Australia using imported sulphur. The sulphuric acid is then used for superphosphate or titanium dioxide pigment manufacture at adjacent plants.The possibility is considered of manufacturing superphosphate at Kalgoorlie from locally produced acid obtained from the smelter gases and from phosphate rock railed to the site from the coast. The advantages of such a scheme include improved scale and technology of operation compared with some existing coastal operations, use of a waste material to replace imported sulphur, and avoidance of costs and hazards associated with railing large quantities of sulphuric acid.

Jan 1, 1983

By W E. Vance, B H. Ashton

The emission of seam gases into underground workings in coal mines is acknowledged as a major hazard, particularly methane due to its possible ignition. Acknowledge of seam gas parameters is important for the prediction of gas emission rates into the ventilating air current. They are also important as the basis for the evaluation of the likely contained gas as a possible energy source.   Gas content determinations for the Kupakupa seam have been made at the Huntly West Mine.  Applying the method of Creedy (1986) to face samples, gas contents of 1.80 and 1.66 have been determined. Using desorbed and residual gas content data a content of 1.92 m3/t has been derived. These are on an ash included basis. Calculations using the adsorption equation of Kim (1977) and coal quality have given a gas content of 2.19 m3 t. Long-hole exploration drilling at Huntly West Mine has provided information on gas pressure. A pressure rise test has given a reading of 500 kPa (absolute); this is low compared with the pressure given for the determined gas content from theoretical adsorption isotherms.

Jan 1, 1991

The Northland region of New Zealand has a complex geological history which has long been the subject of considerable controversy. Small mineral deposits have been discovered in the past, and some have been mined. Except for aggregates and very high quality china clay, mining is virtually nonexistent at present. Mercury mining is proposed from small deposits in the Kaeo area. Intensive exploration for epithermal precious metals deposits in the past seven years, combined with some recent geological mapping undertaken by the Geological Survey and University thesis students has added greatly to an understanding of Northland's geology. Mapping of the Whangaroa-Kaikohe map sheet at a scale of 1:100 000 by Brown and Laurenson Limited has enabled new geological information to be collated for the first time since 1961, when the last geological map was published. The 'Northland Allochthon' is now observed to be a series of four or more thrust sheets each containing predictable formations. High angle faulting contemporaneous with overthrusting has modified the thrust sheets, and established a series of horsts and grabens. The Pirau Fault is considered to be a major earth fracture.

Jan 1, 1987

As has been the case since the early Phoenician traders, the minerals used by modern man come from deposits scattered around the globe. The price received is more and more being set by worldwide supply and demand. Thus the price component in the profit equation:Profits = Material sold (units)x(Price/unit û Cost/unit) is largely determined by others. The recent price history for two of the major metals, copper and iron, are given in Figures 1 and 2, respectively. As can be seen there has been a steady decline in the prices (when expressed in constant dollars) over the 20 years which have lapsed since the first of the International Conferences on Mass Mining, æDesign and Operation of Caving and Sublevel Stoping MinesÆ was held. If one would look back over the entire 20th century this would also be the trend. Cost containment/reduction through efficient, safe and environmentally responsive mining practices is serious business today and will be even more important in the future with increasing mining depths and more stringent regulations. A failure to keep up is expressed very simply as: Profit This, needless to say, is unfavourable for all concerned (the employees, the company, and the country or nation). The mining companies have had to look at ways of reducing the expense part of the profit equation while maintaining safe, environmentally conscious operations. Table 1 summarises the rules for working in todayÆs economy.

Jan 1, 2000

By L Teixeira, C J. Greet, P Karageorgos

Pyrite is ubiquitous within copper ores, and presents significant challenges to most operations in terms of its impact on copper sulfide concentrate grade and recovery.Samples of ore containing from 3 to 47 percent pyrite, with nominally the same chalcopyrite feed grade, were collected from a copper mine in eastern Australia for testing. The ores were ground under standard conditions using forged steel grinding media in the Magotteaux Mill® to determine the impact of increasing pyrite feed grade on the pulp chemistry of the system and subsequent rougher flotation response. Attempts were made to correlate the pulp chemical parameters (oxygen demand and EDTA extractable metal ions) with flotation behaviour to determine if one (or more) could be used as a metric to infer metallurgical behaviour.The observations made were then tested under different grinding environments (obtained using more electrochemically inert high chromium) grinding media to determine if they hold true.CITATION:Greet, C J, Karageorgos, P and Teixeira, L, 2015. The influence of pyrite on the pulp chemistry and copper flotation response of a chalcopyrite ore, in Proceedings MetPlant 2015, pp 175–187 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Sep 7, 2015

By J-M Huizenga, Q Shu, Y Lai, J Hammerli

"An EXTENDED ABSTRACT is available for download. A full-length paper was not prepared for this presentation. The Baiyinnuo’er Zn-Pb deposit is a typical skarn deposit in NE China. Skarn and orebodies mainly occur between different units of the Lower Permian Huanggangliang Formation carbonates-sandstone-mudstone or within the contact between intrusions and marble. Skarn minerals are dominated by prograde garnet and clinopyroxene, and the main ore minerals are sphalerite and galena. We conducted single fluid inclusion compositional studies using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry on clinopyroxene (pre-ore-stage mineral) and sphalerite and calcite (syn-ore-stage minerals). The results show that the Baiyinnuo’er fluids are distinctly different from basinal brine but similar to magmatic fluid, thereby indicating that the deposit has a dominantly magmatic origin. This interpretation has also been supported by the Cl/Br mole ratios, which remain stable (~500) in different fluid stages. The decreases for most of the elements in the fluid inclusions from pre-ore-stage clinopyroxene to syn-ore-stage sphalerite and calcite suggest that mixing with groundwater has occurred during mineralisation, with significant Zn, Pb and Ag deposition.CITATION:Shu, Q, Hammerli, J, Chang, Z, Lai, Y and Huizenga, J-M, 2015. Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry study on fluid inclusions of the Baiyinnuo’er skarn Zn-Pb deposit, north-east China, in Proceedings PACRIM 2015 Congress, pp 451–456 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne)."

Mar 18, 2015

Old Copper Flotation Tailings Waste Reprocessing

Sep 13, 2010

Effects of DA as a Grinding Aid on Selective Grinding of Low-Grade Bauxite Effects of DA (a copolymer of acrylic acid and acrylamide) as a grinding aid on selective grinding of low-grade bauxite were investigated in this study. The addition of DA into the grinding system enhanced the selectivity of grinding and increased the A/S ratio in the coarse fraction of ground product, leading to improved throughput of grinding mills and alumina recovery. The results showed that DA decreased the viscosity of slurry significantly and hence improved grinding efficiency due to low viscosity at a high slurry concentration. Both the hydrogen bond formation and chemical adsorption existed between DA and the surface of bauxite particles. The adsorption of DA on the surface of bauxite could decrease stress needed for crack initiation and extending during grinding, prevent new-born crack surfaces from rejoining, and promote the expansion of the cracks.

Sep 13, 2010

By C Vuillier, A Roshdieh

Water is the main medium for removing impurities from iron ore during wet processing to achieve a higher quality product. However, there is a substantial increase in freshwater consumption due to an increase in demand from the following two factors: in the past 55 years the world population has doubled from 3 to 7.5 billion and crude steel production has increased five times from approximately 350 to 1662 Mt/a (IISI, 2008). Furthermore, social development in developing countries exacerbates water consumption making freshwater an increasingly valuable resource with an average distribution of 70 per cent for agriculture, 20 per cent for industry and only ten per cent for domestic consumption (Hourtolle, 2005; OECD, 2009). Rapidly changing regulations over the access and preservation of water across the world indicates the growing importance of this issue, so the mining industry must adapt to this continual change and must be committed to increasing the efficiency of water usage.Tailings dams receive most of the water used by the process plant. In arid regions where evaporation is high and availability of water low or non-existent, technical solutions other than the conventional tailings dam, such as thickened and/or filtered tailings, exist to optimise the recovery of water and reduce the need for external water consumption. However, these solutions present additional challenges, such as energy consumption and transportation from the process plant to the ultimate storage area.This paper considers a range of alternatives covering thickening and filtering, transportation and storage, water return, closure and rehabilitation. Mining projects in the future will be more affected by the rising cost in water and tighter regulations in accessing water and energy. Good tailings management can contribute significantly to reducing the dependence on these two key commodities (water and electricity), improving the resilience of iron ore projects especially in arid regions and areas with high competition for water.CITATION:Vuillier, C and A Roshdieh, A, 2017. Minimising the water loss associated with mine tailings disposal, in Proceedings Iron Ore 2017, pp 245–250 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Jul 24, 2017

For the past 3 years Waihi as a community has been actively engaged in consultation about its future with regard to the environmental, cultural, economic and social viability. This has been made possible through the implementation of the Waihi Community Vision (WCV) process which bought together a diverse range of people and interests.   Through their collaboration and collective energies, they produced a montage of possibilities for the future of Waihi, known as the 2020 Vision. A proceeding evaluation process was adopted by the group to enable the myriad of projects to be assessed and prioritised in terms of the communityÆs social, economic, cultural, environmental and spiritual values.   From this came the desire to be involved in the implementation of these ideas and create an organisation that could facilitate the successful manifestation of the 2020 Vision and other suitable projects.   The Vision Waihi Trust (VWT) was formed in February 2006 and is intended to be a tool through which the community can address issues about its future sustainability. They will work collaboratively with community groups, Hauraki District Council and Newmont Waihi Gold to develop and implement innovative and practical solutions. It should be acknowledged that such outcomes are subject to influence by both external and internal factors and it is important to consider this when looking at sustainability issues.   Waihi is now at a very interesting stage of its development and has the opportunity to proactively design and implement plans to determine its future rather than just let things evolve. A town with a strong sense of its roots and with a strong community identity may be a more attractive as a place live and work. There are additional business opportunities which may also be stimulated by a community that takes charge of its own destiny.   The process that has been worked through over the past three years gives a solid foundation on which to build and must be viewed as positive community development. Waihi certainly has a unique proposition to take to the marketplace, based on its rich gold mining heritage and current modern day mining operations. This requires investigation, refinement and implementation and Vision Waihi Trust looks forward to building to a vibrant and prosperous Waihi in the years to come.

Jan 1, 2006

By E Skinner, G Lane

Project delivery strategies are determined by project context, business case requirements, scale of project, market conditions, ownerÆs capability and preference, contractorÆs experience, resource and skill availability, project location and type of project or facility.Successful project management requires the setting of coherent, effective and realistic business objectives and success criteria. The management team needs to lead, prioritise, resource, align, plan, track and communicate the processes that enable the realisation of these business objectives and success criteria.For any given project there is a unique balance between selection of a simple project delivery strategy that minimises interfaces and a complex strategy that necessarily engages the use of expertise and experience from numerous parties. The right balance for a project between these "book-end cases" is a function of how the project owner or managing contractor defines its objectives and chooses to manage risk, cost, schedule and project quality, in the context of the conditions affecting the project.Selection of an effective project delivery strategy requires a detailed appreciation of the range of external and internal environmental / shaping factors which influence the project. These factors include the project constraints imposed by the business, market or operational environments and the selection of an effective mix of primary (head contract), secondary (mix of vertical and horizontal packages) and tertiary (type of individual contract) strategies. The selection of the primary, secondary and tertiary strategies also shapes the project, the size and responsibilities of the ownerÆs team and the framework for delivery of outcomes.How does an owner or prime contractor decide? What is the optimum for a given project? Those with operations management backgrounds will have different views to those with project and construction management backgrounds.Is the simplest practical approach the best approach? Each and every interface needs to be managed.The owner will want a very experienced team that is engaged directly with the owner. The team will have a track record of successfully performing projects using contractors skilled in their respective disciplines and selected using competitive tendering on brilliantly designed scopes of work and good contract terms, with a fully defined project scope and appropriate schedule, for which all significant risks have been addressed and no scope changes are outstanding. Budget and schedule will be expected to have been developed with a full understanding of the scope, situation, risk management requirements etc.The problem is that these conditions rarely exist. The challenge in selection of a project delivery strategy is to resolve how best to address the inadequacies between the ideal case and the present reality. The mechanism for addressing the inadequacies defines the likely outcome of the project.CITATION:Lane, G and Skinner, E, 2013. Project delivery, in Proceedings MetPlant 2013 , pp 50-65 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Jul 15, 2013

By J Fisher, M Castro, A Hariyadi

The train haulage system being designed for PT Freeport Indonesia’s Grasberg Block Cave (GBC) will be located within the mine at an elevation of almost 3000 m above sea level on the west side of the island of Papua, Indonesia. The developing block cave is beneath the active Grasberg Open Pit and will transport 160 000 t of ore per day from multiple chute galleries to the underground crushing plants. The design entails 28 km of rail and 119 ore chutes, which will be brought online over the course of ten years.The train haulage system will be driverless and fully automated. Sequentially, the system includes remote controlled rock breakers at the top of the chute grizzlies, followed by remote controlled chute loading of the trains, then autonomous train haulage and autonomous unloading. An overhead catenary system (OCS) will power the locomotives, which are equipped with on-board batteries to drive through the loading and unloading sections. Service locomotives with drivers move material-laden freight cars in and out of the service shaft, destined for workshops, the magazine and batch plants. Service locomotives are also used for haulage level maintenance. Highly reliable and redundant control and communications systems are required to manage 12 trains in simultaneous operation.This paper provides an overview of the train haulage system’s technical complexities and the associated support systems interactions. The paper also highlights the project management issues and successes of this globally sourced project.CITATION:Hariyadi, A, Castro, M and Fisher, J, 2016. Automated train ore transport, in Proceedings Seventh International Conference and Exhibition on Mass Mining (MassMin 2016), pp 563–570 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

May 9, 2016

B. P. Thomson (South Aust. Dept. of Mines): Dr. A. B. Edwards presents in the published discussion on the above paper, his interpretation of the dolerite dyke-lode relationship as a major objection to the syngenetic origin for Broken Hill ore bodies to which Mr. Condon subscribes.Dr. Edwards claims that the dyke-lode relationships indicate clearly that the Broken Hill orebody was formed after the folding and regional metamorphism of the Willyama Series. Field evidence compels m:e to join with H. F. King (1958), in finding this conclusion unacceptable-as follows:(1) Broken Hill type mineralization, as defined by King and Thomson (1953), is clearly confined by the regional sillimanite isograd and does not extend into the lower temperature almandine and biotite zones as does the Thackaringa type mineralization.(2) In the Corruga area the writer has mapped a dolerite dyke apparently cutting a conformable quartz gahnite lode of the Broken Hill type (see Edwards 1958, p. 12).(3) At the Champion mine a similar lode is cut by a fine grained granite dyke.An alternative history of the dolerite dykes to that given by Stillwell & Edwards (1956, p. 26) appears possible. It has been suggested by the writer in an unpublished thesis, (Thomson 1955, p. 30), that the pyroxenite and serpentine plugs and dolerite dykes are rheomorphic end-products of a complex regional metamorphic and metasomatic process involving the formation of amphibolite and pegmatite. The analogy in composition between the dolerite and normal amphibolite is close (see Edwards 1958, Fig. 1, p. 22).

Jan 1, 1959

By M Watts, P Lindsay

Herbert Stream, a tributary of the Waimangaroa River on the Stockton Plateau, has elevated metal concentrations and low pH characteristic of acid mine drainage (AMD). Dissolved aluminium concentrations average 8.3 ppm, iron 1.4 ppm, manganese 0.69 ppm, and zinc 0.12 ppm and pH ranges from 2.8 to 3.2. Flow rates range from 2.3 to 26.6 L/s with an average of 5.3 L/s. To determine the effectiveness of different treatment strategies, a small amount of the AMD was diverted through three small-scale passive AMD remediation systems over an eight month period. These included a reducing and alkalinity producing system (RAPS), a limestone leaching bed (LLB), and an open limestone channel (OLC). Both the RAPS and the LLB performed well, effectively removing metals and restoring pH. The RAPS lowered aluminium concentrations by up to 99%, iron 97%, manganese 95%, and zinc 80% and the LLB lowered aluminium concentrations by up to 99%, iron 99%, manganese 92%, and zinc 91%. The pH was restored to between 6.4 and 7.4 by the RAPS and to between 7.3 and 7.9 by the LLB. The OLC performed well as long as the residence time was similar to that of the other treatment systems. OLC removal rates for aluminium was up to 99%, iron 94%, and manganese 21%, and the pH was restored up to 5.6. Due to its simplicity and effectiveness, it is proposed the LLB be constructed to fullscale size to treat the entire Herbert Stream.

Jan 1, 2007

Application of the Anaconda Simplified Work Index for Multiple Test Sizes Vale uses Bond Work Index measurements extensively in a number of applications. The Bond Work Index is usually a good parameter for checking scale up procedures when sizing ball mills, as well as the basis for variability analysis whenever drill core data is available. It is typical to measure between 100 and 150 Bond Work Indexes, depending on the deposit characteristics. The Bond procedure is relatively complex and time costly. It also requires relatively large amounts of sample, which are very expensive to be obtained. The benefits of the Anaconda simplified procedure are: considerably smaller sample requirements and laboratory time. This makes it very much attractive at Vale's development centre, including geometallurgical mapping, operation efficiency control, mine to mill, etc. The Anaconda simplified procedure was implemented and evaluated at Vale's Development Centre using a number of ores and several samples of each ore totalling more than 190 measurements. The Anaconda simplified method was calibrated for several test sieves and a correlation for any test size was determined for Vale's test mill. The calibration was also extended for two sample top sizes. The relative error of the simplified procedure was found to be in the range of nine per cent which is within the expected error Bond standard procedure. The implementation of the Anaconda method at Vale's development center has been used with great success over the past years in several green field, brown field projects and operating plants.

Sep 13, 2010

The paper presents a brief history of endeavours to start a mining education programme which began in the days when Papua New Guinea's first large mine, at Panguna (Bougainville), was coming into production. The status of the Public Investment Programme in Mining Engineering and the facilities being created for the education and training of Papua New Guinean citizens in mining and mineral processing are also described. Future expansion plans are also detailed including those for the commencement of petroleum engineering and geological engineering which would include courses in mining geology, exploration geology, engineering geology and petroleum geology. The paper also looks at the manpower training requirements in the lower levels of mining industry such as pit foreman, blasting foreman and other similar positions. It stresses the need to start mining technical training programs at pre- employment level and at certificate level in a technical college, possibly Lae Technical Colleqe.

Jan 1, 1991

By A Reid

The Late Archaean of South AustraliaÆs Gawler Craton contains significant potential for gold resources. The main targets of interest are migmatised gold style systems of which the Challenger deposit is the best known example. This deposit is one of the lower cost gold producers in Australia due to the high-grade, low-tonnage nature of the mineralisation. Structurally controlled, metamorphosed deposit styles are also possible throughout the Archaean of the Gawler Craton, including occurrences within reactivated shear zones. More typical, lower metamorphic grade orogenic gold styles are also possible within greenstone host sequences identified in the central and southern parts of the Gawler Craton.

Jan 1, 2007

Resonance re-emission from nickel vapour affords a convenient method for isolating the resonance lines at 3415A, 3515A, and 3524A. The vapour is generated by cathodic sputtering and is illuminated by light from a nickel atomic spectral lamp. The resonance lines thus isolated can be usefully employed for absorption measurements on mineral samples where the nickel concentration is too high for measurements with the more sensitive line at 2320A. A spectrophotometer employing a resonance lamp as monochromator possesses several advantages where a great number of determinations are made under routine conditions. The wavelength setting is stable under even the most rigorous conditions and with the provision for automatic setting of full scale deflection the instrument requires virtually no adjustment. The instrument has been used under routine conditions for the determination of nickel (in the range O· 05-2 per cent) in mineral samples.

Jan 1, 1968

Willyamite from the type locality, Consols mine, Broken Hill, N.S.W., has been re-examined, and found to consist of zones with widely different Co:Ni ratios. The name willyamite is redefined to include the portion of the (Co, Ni)SbS series with cobalt in excess of nickel. Willyamite is pseudo-cubic, with the three axes equal to within 0·001 A.

Jan 1, 1970

The sedimentary basins of this region developed in the collision zone of thePacific Ocean plate and the continent. Stresses were transmitted thorough wedge-like lithospheric blocks, such as the Okotsk Sea, East Kamchatka, Aleutian and other smaller blocks. Compression and inversion were more active at the boundaries: ***INSERT EQ*** and ***INSERT EQ*** in places. Tension, rifting and the increase in the rate of sedimentation were marked in P1-2, P3, N12, and also in N2 û Q in places. Structural plan changes of the sedimentary basins and possible oil, gas and fluid migration occurred more actively at the boundaries: ***INSERT EQ***.

Jan 1, 1995