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By A Van Kersen, J Hodson

Waihi Gold Mining Co Ltd [WGM], operated by Normandy Mining, has been internationally recognised for its achievements in environmental management at the Martha Mine at Waihi. In a proactive approach to dealing with community concerns regarding blast vibrations on the North Wall cutback, trials were performed using the Cardox System [Cardox], to determine feasibility of achieving economic fragmentation of andesite overburden whilst bettering management levels of 5 mm/s peak particle velocity. Cardox is a non-explosive pressure breaking system which uses high pressure CO2, Results against conventional Ammonium Nitrate/Fuel Oil [ANFO] using a variety of delays showed that conventional blasting techniques could produce marginal fragmentation within the management levels with occasional excursions, whereas Cardox produced the required fragmentation while not registering on the vibration monitoring equipment. Fragmentation to enable normal excavation by a Hitachi EXII00 hydraulic excavator was achieved with a yield of 16m3 per round. The trails indicated that fragmentation with Cardox at the yields required of over 18m3 per round was possible with further product development. The trial demonstrated that non-explosive pressure breaking is feasible and its application warranted where environmental concerns affect the cost-benefit economics of production blasting in sensitive areas.

Jan 1, 2001

By R. J. Roman

Introduction This paper attempts to describe the characteristics of the industrial minerals segment of the minerals industry that make it different from the other segments. Also described are the trends, strengths, and shortcomings in the industrial minerals segment. This may help professionals in the minerals industry determine if there is a place for them in industrial minerals. Industry Overview It is difficult to generalize when describing the industrial minerals industry. Some products, such as cement and potash, are produced exclusively by large, well capitalized and technically sophisticated companies. Others, such as sand and gravel, are generally produced by small, family-owned companies operating on a shoestring budget. Still other products, such as feldspar, are produced by both types of companies. Not only are the companies vastly different, the products and marketing of their products are also different. Industrial mineral products are sold based on their physical characteristics (abrasives), or their chemical characteristics (trona), or both (glass sand). Marketing can be direct by the producing plant, a corporate office handling products form several plants, or through distributors. The geologic, mining, and processing skills needed can be minimal or sophisticated. There can even be large differences in the technical skills needed in two plants producing the same product. One feldspar producer may only need to mine and grind his ore, while another may use a delicate flotation process. One easy generalization is that there are industrial mineral operations in all geographic locations. A second is that industrial minerals offers more opportunities to entrepreneurs than the metals field because of the variety in the sizes and types of operations. Industry Growth Industrial minerals must be considered a mature industry. Consequently, little exciting growth can be expected. Over the past 30 years, industry sales have grown at a rate of 6.2%, compared to a 6.7% growth rate of the GNP (Kliff, 1978). A 3.8% growth rate has been forecast for the remainder of this century. The fortunes of those plants producing a product for local consumption will depend on the prosperity of the local economy. The fortunes of those plants that sell into the national market will depend on their competitiveness in their industry. Major industrial mineral products are shown in Table 1. The first three commodities account for 66% of the industrial minerals market. Typically, deposits of stone, sand and gravel, and the limestone, silica, and clay needed for cement are easy to find and mine. Role of Mining Engineers and Geologists Because a sophisticated techcical knowledge of geology or mining is not required, very few geologists and mining engineers are employed in industrial minerals. Geologists working for these companies function less as geologists than managers and executives dealing with permitting and land acquisition. Likewise, mining is done mostly by open-pit methods. It is generally supervised by an individual experienced in the operation and maintenance of heavy equipment, not a mining engineer trained in rock mechanics or computer methods of mine planning. What of the geologists and mining engineers employed by the industrial minerals industry? Many gained their positions as a result of their experience dealing with the regulatory agencies that control the operations of all mines and mills. Their technical expertise in geology or mining becomes only a side benefit. Finding and mining industrial minerals does not generally require the concentrated efforts of geologists and mining engineers. But the processing of the ores does

Jan 2, 1985

By T. Iwanowski

Stress wave measurements and calculations are often used to make a safe determination of the bearing capacity and the integrity of driven piles. Some applications to the restoration of old buildings in the Old Town of Stockholm are referred to and especially analyses of measurements combined with simulations are discussed here.

Jan 1, 1991

By F. X. Meyer

THE United States Smelting Refining and Mining Company maintains an ore-purchasing department for procurement of custom tonnages of milling and smelting ores and concentrates for treatment at its Midvale plant. Arrangements with other companies provide for treatment of Company and custom zinc concentrates. Location of the Midvale plant in the heart of the Western mining country makes it possible to serve shippers from these nine producing states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington. Shipments from most of these states travel over main-line railroads, delivery being made at Midvale within a short time after billing of the shipment. Shipments varying in size from a few sacks to carloads can be handled at

Jan 1, 1948

By R Vuolio, B A. Jonsson

In the center of Helsinki - capital of Finland - extensive blasting operations were carried out during the years 1982 - 84. At the corner of the streets Mannerheimintie and Simonkatu - in the Forum block - about 125,000 cu.m. of rock were blasted to give place for a new modern shopping centre (Fig. 1). Added to this amount of rock another 10,000 cu.m. were blasted for a transport tunnel to an adjacent underground bombshelter (Fig.2) which is to be used as a parking place in peace-time. The blasting work was demanding and difficult to carry out due to old buildings surrounding the work-site as well as computers and other sensitive equipment installed in some of them.

Jan 1, 1985

By Luis Fortunato Rioja

Southern Peru, es una empresa minera que explota cobre a Tajo Abierto, en cuyo proceso de explotación del mineral se utiliza un sistema mecánico manual de introducción de las barras de acero a los molinos que genera una serie de problemas como el mayor empleo de mano de obra, carguío mecánico manual, inseguridad y la elevada pérdida de producción anual. En ese sentido, el presente trabajo señala el uso del equipo “Fighter Bull" para introducir las barras al molino en el menor tiempo posible. El diseño de este equipo se desarrolló en los Talleres de Maestranza de Toquepala de nuestra empresa Southern Peru Copper Corporation y permite reducir en gran porcentaje las pérdidas de producción de molienda de mineral y no produce riesgos de accidentes de accidentes para los trabajadores.

Sep 19, 2006

By F. Habashi

"The rare earths industry started in Austria in 1887 by Carl Auer von Welsbach (1858-1929) Professor of Chemistry at the University of Vienna. The process was based on monazite sand transported from Brazil as shipping ballast free of charge. This made possible producing thorium, cerium, and other rare earths at a low cost, thus permitting the growth of the industry. However, once the Brazilian authorities realized the strategic importance of the sand, shipping was stopped. Brazil then started its own processing of the sand in 1949. The background for Auer’s work, the role of Robert Bunsen in Heidelberg, and the invention of the spectroscope will be presented. INTRODUCTIONHeidelberg on the Neckar (Figure 1) was the meeting place for chemistry students from all over Europe in the nineteenth century. Her university founded in 1386 had already a famous professor of chemistry and medecine in the Faculty of Medicine by the name Leopold Gmelin whose three - volume Handbuch der theoretischen Chemie appeared in 1817-1819, that became later a multi-volume monumental work. As successor to Gmelin came Robert Bunsen (Figure 2) in 1852 who made this university town the Mecca of chemistry students. One of his students, the English Henry Roscoe (1833-1915) who became later a distinguished professor in Manchester, described him as follows: ""As an investigator he was great, as a teacher he was greater, as a man and a friend he was greatest""."

Jan 1, 2012

Located 19 km (12 miles) north of the Carlin gold mine and 43 km (27 miles) north of Carlin, Nevada, is Carlin Gold Mining Company's Bootstrap mine. This deposit is similar in character to the Carlin ore, except it occurs in the upper plate formation of the Roberts thrust fault rather than in the lower plate rocks. The deposit was discovered over 50 years ago and operated on a small scale in the early 1960s using vat cyanide leaching. Newmont Mining Corporation acquired the property in 1967, and from an open pit mined 650,000 mt (717,000 st) of ore which was trucked to the Carlin conventional cyanide plant. (See Gold and Silver Cyanidation Plant Practice by F. W. McQuiston, Jr. and R. S. Shoemaker, Society of Mining Engineers, AIME, 1975. ) With the same grade of ore, the gold recovery by conventional methods is somewhat lower than that of the Carlin ore, even with a finer grind. Leaching tests were first conducted by the United States Bureau of Mines in 1968; and in 1971, ‘72, Carlin conducted extensive cyanidation investigations by bottle testing, simulated heap leaching in tall columns, and small scale pad heap leaches. Gold extractions ranged from 55% to 95% with low reagent consumptions. In 1974, a 545 mt (600 st) heap leach test was made at Carlin on pit-run low-grade material assaying 1.37 g per mt (0.04 oz per st). In a six week period the extraction of gold was 47.57'0. Carlin uses atomic absorption analyses on cyanide leach liquors to determine potential leach ore grade rather than fire assaying because it gives a more practical assessment of leach recovery than does fire assaying, which accounts for the total gold content. Before open-pit mining was started, plans were made to heap leach, the ore at Bootstrap which was too low grade for transport to Carlin. The topsoil outside of the designed pit area overlaid ancient lakebed clays which were found suitable for compaction to form an impervious base on which the dumps to be leached could be placed. By using the cost of truck haulage and milling at the Carlin plant and the price of gold 'at that time, a cutoff grade was established which resulted in the gold content of the first 150,000 mt (165,000 st) of the heap leaching ore being 1.51 g per mt (0.044 oz per st). An additional 500,000 mt (552,000 st) of lower grade material, assaying 0.96 g per mt (0.028 oz per st), is available for leaching as economics permit.

Jan 1, 1981

By R. F. Sheldon

The discovery of the Carlin deposit was the result of discriminating geologic research and prospecting devoted to the objective of finding a gold deposit that could be mined by open pit methods. By the late 1950s, Newmont Mining Corp. was becoming increasingly concerned about the trend of rapidly rising underground mining costs unless bulk mining methods could be applied. The desirability of finding an open-pittable gold deposit was apparent. The attention of Newmont geologists was directed to Nevada by the publication of two papers: "Paleozoic rocks in North-central Nevada" (1958) and "Alinements of Mining Districts in North-central Nevada" (1960), both authored or co-authored by Ralph J. Roberts of the United States Geological Survey. John Livermore, geologist of Newmont Exploration Ltd., attended a talk given by Roberts in Ely, Nevada in the summer of 1961. These papers and the address by Roberts gave details concerning the Roberts Mountain overthrust, a 483 km (300-mile) long, shallowdipping fault which pushed clastic and volcanic rocks of early and middle Paleozoic age eastward over younger marine formations. Subsequent uplift and doming with consequent erosion had locally removed the upper plate strata exposing windows of lower plate carbonate rocks. Roberts noted that the principal mineral deposits of the region, including gold, were associated with these windows which exhibited a preferred alinement. In the summer and fall of 1961 Newmont's exploration geologists John Livermore and J. Alan Coope began a systematic examination of gold occurrences associated with these windows, aided by further discussion with geologists of the US Geological Survey. Attention was directed to the Lynn and Carlin windows, particularly to those formations lying immediately above and below the Roberts Mountain fault. It was appreciated at the time that many of the gold occurrences in the region were unusual in that no colours were obtained even when panning high grade samples. A large number of rock samples were collected and analysed using fire assaying procedures, and background values for gold were established. This systematic rock sampling resulted in the identification of a distinct area of anomalous gold values, and a block of claims was staked in late October, 1961. These claims, plus an adjoining optioned 32.4 ha (80 acres) of ground, cover the main area of the present Carlin gold mine. Prior to snowfall that winter, one of the bulldozed assessment pits required to establish a claim's discovery exposed 24 m (80 ft) of mineralization assaying 0.007 kg/t (0.22 oz per st) gold. In the spring of 1962 a program of trenching, sampling, and geological mapping followed by rotary drilling was underway. Other properties in the area were acquired. The generally undistinguished nature of the dolomitic siltstones and silty dolomitic limestones hosting the micron-sized gold particles, coupled with the lack of visually associated guide minerals, made identification of the gold bearing areas very difficult. The entire drill column had to be assayed to ensure that values were not overlooked, as very often sections that might be assumed to be waste turned out to be high grade. On September 10, 1962 a high grade intersection of 24 m (80 ft) assaying over 0.03 kg/t (1 oz per st) gold was encountered in the third hole drilled. An expanded program of both rotary and diamond drilling led to the further delineation of the ore body. By December 1963, the exploration program had established an initial reserve of 10 Mt (11 million st) grading 0.01 kg/t (0.32 oz per st) gold. A 1.8 kt/d (2,000 stpd) processing plant was constructed and the first gold bullion was poured in May, 1965, just two years and eight months after the discovery hole was drilled. REFERENCES Roberts, R.J., Holz, P.E., Gilluly, J., and Ferguson, H.G., 1958, "Paleozoic Rocks in North-central Nevada," Bulletin American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Vol. 42, No. 12. Roberts, R.J., 1960, "Alinements of Mining Districts in North-central Nevada," Professional Paper 400-B, US Geological Survey, Article 9.

Jan 1, 1985

By C Maloloy-on, S Morgan, M Deiparine, H Mackie

There is a strong focus in the mining industry to limit its impact on water quality and usage. This is even more evident in developing countries, where mining companies operate within local communities and have to be diligent not to affect them negatively. In mineral processing operations, the vast majority of water reclamation occurs at the tailings thickener area and tailings storage dam. It is often more effective to maximise water recovery at the tailings thickener before material transport to the tailings dam. Tailing dams are relatively inefficient, and experience a high degree of water loss due to evaporation, seepage and water retention. In addition, tailings dams present the biggest environmental liability for mineral resource projects, so it is beneficial to limit their size and loading.In the past, it was common for tailings thickener areas to have a significant footprint with several large diameter conventional thickeners, producing underflows of between 45-55% solids (w/w). At times, these multiple thickeners were difficult to operate, leading to inefficiencies in water recovery and quality. The development of High-Rate Thickeners (HRT) has resulted in improved settling properties and HRTs usually operate at significantly higher solids loadings (= 1.2 t/m2.h) when compared to conventional thickeners (= 0.1 t/m2.h). Subsequently, thickener diameters have reduced in size and HRT technology has become the preferred option for thickener circuit design in both new and existing operations. HRTs also produce higher water recoveries with increased underflow densities = 55% solids (w/w).The Carmen Copper Corporation (“Carmen Copper”) circuit upgrade is a recent example of these HRT benefits, where one, 39 m diameter, Outotec HRT treats the solids flow rate of five 76 m diameter conventional thickeners. This has allowed operations to increase dry plant tonnage by 50%, maintain key performance targets and provide a framework for further plant expansion. This paper details the sustainable approach to the Carmen Copper tailings thickener upgrade, where metallurgical performance, cost-effectiveness and environmental impact were key considerations.CITATION:Morgan, S, Mackie, H, Maloloy-on, C and Deiparine, M, 2015. Carmen Copper – a sustainable approach to tailings thickener upgrades, in Proceedings MetPlant 2015, pp 416–430 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Sep 7, 2015

By C. S. R. Rondestvedt

In February 2010, Teck?s newest Concentrator at Mina Carmen de Andacollo (CDA), Andacollo, Chile was commissioned. The Concentrator is a single line configuration, comprising of one 36 ft diameter x 20 ft long SAG mill driven by an 18,000 hp gearless drive. The SAG mill feeds two ball mills each 25 ft in diameter x 40.5 ft long, each driven by a total of 19,000 hp through dual pinion drives. A series of four phases will be reviewed from operational readiness, mechanical completion, commissioning, and ramp-up. Also, now after 6 months of operation, this paper will review the significant steps taken during ramp-up enabling the announcement of commercial production, in October 2010.

Jan 1, 2012

By Harry M. Castrantas

Caro's acid (peroxymonosulfuric acid-H2SO5) is used to destroy cyanides in tailings slurries due to its rapid reaction and low capital and operating costs. Due to its instability, Caro's acid is generated at the mine site using a hot or cold process. The majority of gold mines that use Caro's acid use the FMC hot process. In the FMC hot process, it is not necessary to cool the Caro's acid to minimize decomposition since it is used immediately upon generation. In contrast, the cold process uses a chiller to cool the raw materials and product. This paper will show, using laboratory and field data, that there is virtually no difference in Caro's acid yield between the cold and the FMC hot processes. Caro's acid yield depends on the mole ratio and concentration of sulfuric acid and hydrogen peroxide and is independent of operating temperature.

Jan 1, 1997

By H. M. Castrantas

Caro's (peroxymonosulfuric) acid has been reported to destroy WAD (weakly acid dissociable) CN-but, until recently, the technology has not been demonstrated in other than a laboratory setting. During the last two years, Caro's acid has been shown to successfully detoxify WAD CN-in tailings at two large North American gold mines. Using on-site FMC generators, Caro's acid reduced the WAD CN-from 40-55 ppm to below 20-35 ppm WAD CN-, the target range for the two mines. The detoxification costs using Caro's acid were less than 50% of the treatment cost of using hydrogen peroxide, the previous oxidant of choice. In addition to the considerable savings in CN-detoxification costs, lower WAD CN-values were achieved and the detoxification time with Caro's acid was greatly reduced compared to hydrogen peroxide.

Jan 1, 1995

By M. Yamine, R. J. Ring, D. J. Waters

"An experimental program has been carried out by the Australian Atomic Energy Commission to compare the effectiveness of Caro's acid as an alternative oxidant to pyrolusite in the leaching of uranium ores from the Alligator Rivers region of northern Australia. Batch leaching tests on Ranger, Nabarlek, Koongarra and Jabiluka ores showed that uranium extraction was unaffected by choice of oxidant, but that Caro's acid reduced acid requirements by 15 - 25%. Lime requirements for neutralization of tailings liquors were reduced by 20 - 30%.The batch studies were extended to a four-stage continuous leaching circuit with a capacity of 400 gore h-I. Comparative leaching tests confirmed the reagent savings obtained in the batch tests. Following these encouraging laboratory results, lnterox Chemicals Pty Ltd carried out plant trials using Caro's acid. Reagent savings in the mill were similar to, or better than, those obtained in laboratory test work. The trials also established that Caro's acid has a number of operational advantages over pyrolusite.IntroductionUranium is most commonly extracted from its ores by leaching in sulphuric acid. Simple hexavalent uranium oxides and compounds are readily soluble but uranium in the tetravalent form is insoluble and must be oxidized for dissolution to occur. The most commonly used oxidants have been sodium chlorate and manganese dioxide. They act indirectly by maintaining iron as the ferric ion which oxidizes uranium by a surface electro- chemical reaction. An Fe3+ concentration of about 1 - 2 g L-I is usually considered adequate for the effective dissolution of uraninite(1)."

Jan 1, 1984

By F. Richards

"The property of the Cariboo Gold Quartz Mining Company; Limited; is in the Wells-Barkerville district of Cariboo mining division. It consists of a group of 106 Crown granted mineral claims and fractions; and extends for over 6 miles along what is termed the Barkerville gold belt. The main portal and mine camp are half a mile south of Wells; which lies at the northeast end of Jack of Clubs lake and is reached by a 55-mile motor road from Quesnel; the northern terminus of the Pacific Great Eastern railway.Gold-bearing quartz veins were discovered on the surface in various parts of the property by different prospectors as far back as 1877, but the work that led to the formation of the present company was performed by Al Sanders in the year 1926. Sanders dug trenches and drove small adits on quartz veins containing gold above what is now known as the Sanders zone. Very little underground work has been done beneath the earliest known discovery-the B.C. vein. The Cariboo Gold Quartz Mining Company was formed in the autumn of 1926. The total production of gold from its beginning in 1933 to the end of 1944 has been as follows:"

Jan 1, 1954

By D. Pearcey, S. T. Vessey, V. Hegde, J. Staples

"Pellet quality has taken on a new dimension during the last ten years. Quality in the seventies was generally defined as adherence to certain physical and chemical specifications. Today, the talk is in terms of how the business is managed, how customer's expectations can be exceeded, not only in product quality, but in service responsiveness.Coke breeze and flux additions, lower silica levels, and improved furnace control practices have all contributed to the improvement of pellet physical and metallurgical properties. Statistical process control has provided additional insight into the parameters that affect pellet quality.Increased customer contact and product quality surveys have heightened our awareness of customer needs and also provide direction for quality improvement test work. Current work is focussed on improving reducibility and understanding the relationship between tumble, fired compression and metallurgical properties.This paper will review the Iron Ore Company of Canada's efforts during the past decade and describe some of its initiatives for the future.IntroductionThe Carol Pellet PlantThe Iron Ore Company of Canada's Carol Project is located in Labrador City in the southwestern portion of Newfoundland and Labrador , approximately 965 Ian northeast of Montreal. The project consists of mining facilities, beneficiation complex and a pellet plant, which began operations in 1962. The pellet plant consists of six Dravo-Lurgi straight grate machines, regrinding, filtering and balling facilities. The current capacity of the Carol pellet plant is approximately 10.5 million tonnes , while the concentrator has the capacity to produce about 18 million tonnes of concentrate.The orebody consists of specular hematite, magnetite and small quantities of limonite and goethite. The average grade of the orebody is approximately 39% iron."

Jan 1, 1991

By John J. Simmons

Federal and state regulations, in an effort to reduce acid rain, are becoming increasing more stringent regarding sulfur content of fossil fuels. Whereas coal from Illinois and Ohio contains between 1.5 and 37. sulfur, Wyoming has billions of tons of coal reserves containing less than O.5/% sulfur. However, much of Wyoming's coal is high in moisture, 25-30%, and low in energy, 8,200 to 8,900 BTU, vs. 10,500+ BTU for Illinois and Ohio Basin coals. Wyoming currently ships in excess of 130 million tons of coal to utilities as distant as Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas. With freight charges ranging from $12.00-$20.00/ton, more than $1.5 billion a year is spent to transport water. A test shipment of more than 50,000 tons of Wyoming coal has recently been made from Mobil's Cabello Rojo Mine, south of Gillette, by Burlington Northern to the Robert's Bank British Columbia coal terminal for transloading and shipment to Taiwan Power Company. This coal assayed approximately 8,400 BTU/lb. and 277. moisture. Carbontec Energy Corporation feels the future availability of dried coal containing 11,000+ BTU could substantially enhance the potential export as well as the domestic market for Wyoming coal. Large and small utilities, along with industrial furnaces require tens of millions of tons of Wyoming, West Virginia, and other Eastern The federal government is encouraging the expenditure of hundreds of million of dollars by utilities to retrofit their boilers to allow them to burn higher sulfur coal. This program, if carried to completion, would cost many tens of billions of dollars, with the net result being high power costs sustained by the utilities. These costs will be passed on and paid for by the American consumer. A sensible alternative would be the burning of low sulfur coal by the utilities, without costly capital and operating expenditures. Carbontec Energy feels the successful operation of a Carbondry Coal Drying Plant in Wyoming will be the forerunner to other similar and larger operations in the State. CARBONTEC RESEARCH The activities of Carbontec's personnel to develop a viable process to dry sub-bituminous and lignite coal goes back some 14 years; in fact, for some of us it goes back to 1962 when we were involved in a program under which lignite coal from Truax Trayer's Velva mine was placed in low sulfur coal, which are burned alone or blended with high sulfur, Midwestern coal. Carbontec believes that a high BTU. reasonably priced, shippable coal fuel produced in Wyoming and delivered at costs competitive with Eastern low sulfur coal, could offer substantial benefits to Wyoming coal producers, utility customers, and to the State of Wyoming.

Jan 1, 1989

After extensive testing and a period of plant trials to establish the benefits of Caro's acid (H2S05) as an alternative oxidant, Queensland Mines Limited (QML) decided to replace pyrolusite with Caro's acid in its acid leach uranium treatment plant at Nabarlek. The decision was based on the reagent savings and environmental gains associated with the removal of manganese from the process liquors, as well as the labour savings and improved oxidation reduction potential control possible in leaching using the Caro's acid system. The permanent Caro's acid generating plant was designed by Interox Chemicals Pty Ltd of Australia (IC) to suit QML's require- ments and differed from the unit used during the plant trials. Commissioning of the plant was completed in April 1983 and it has been continuously used since that date.

Jan 1, 1984

By A Mooney, J Marsden, H Grosser, G Dunstan

Carrapateena is a copper-gold deposit hosted in a brecciated granite complex, located 500km North of Adelaide, South Australia. The deposit is being mined using the Sub Level Caving (SLC) Mining method at a rate of 4.25 MTPA. The Carrapateena SLC construction was completed in Q4 2019, with ramp up to a mine production rate of 4.25 MTPA completed within 12 months; ~ 6 months earlier than originally planned (OZ Minerals, 2020b). Traditional SLC designs have had issues with safety interactions on production levels, namely at the perimeter drive, as well as presented challenges for the application of automation due to frequency of activity required to achieve ring turnover rates. Safety in design provides an opportunity to learn from experience at recent modern SLC operations and by considering hazards early in the design process minimise exposure and improve safety, productivity and automation of mining activity. This paper discusses the work carried out during the Carrapateena feasibility study and optimised during project execution; to update the SLC production level mine design, with a layout known as the Carrapateena Crows Foot Level Layout. This paper focuses on: • An introduction to the Carrapateena Operation and mine plan. • An overview and historical challenges of traditional level layout. • An introduction to the Carrapateena Crows Foot level layout, including production level design parameters as well as development metres and productivity comparisons. • Outlines the benefits of the Crows Foot design for safety in design of SLC operations. Provides a roadmap for improved production efficiency, level operational philosophy and the application of automation within the SLC.

Mar 15, 2021

By A Mooney, G Balog, P Burns, R Brooks

This paper outlines the rationale for the location of the crusher, geotechnical analysis and basis of ground support design, design and scheduling of the chamber and supporting excavations as well as the operational outcomes and lessons learned. Contributions from mining operations, planning, geotechnical and infrastructure teams enabled the Crusher Station One excavation to be completed on schedule, with opportunities taken for underground mining and infrastructure to work safely in parallel to deliver crusher station infrastructure on schedule. Installation of crusher infrastructure was ongoing at the time of writing.

Mar 15, 2021