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By P. De Kock

Strategic mine planning is concerned with the decisions that determine the value of the business, while tactical planning deals with the tasks to realize that value. When tasked with formulating a strategic mine plan, the mining engineer often turns to commercially available software. However, these software packages have limited applicability to the RBM situation. Adopting a simpler, back to basics approach founded on a deep understanding of the economics of the orebody has the advantage of providing a clear logic to guide tactical planning. By creating a coherency between strategic mine planning, and tactical planning the likelihood of successfully executing the plans and attaining the value promised by the strategic plan is increased. This paper describes the reasons why RBM embarked on a strategic mine planning process, the rationale of choosing the process, and the process itself.

Jan 1, 2007

By G. P. Dyke

The MRMR Classification System was developed specifically for mining applications, namely caving operations, and is one of three rock mass classification systems used in the South African mining industry today. Increased usage of the MRMR Classification System has raised concerns that it does not adequately address the role played by discontinuities, veins and cemented joints in a jointed rock mass. To address these concerns, Laubscher and Jakubec introduced the In-Situ Rock Mass Classification System (IRMR) in the year 2000. Although the IRMR System is more applicable to a jointed rock mass than the MRMR System, a quantitative comparison of the MRMR and IRMR Classification Systems indicates that there is not a significant difference between the resultant rock mass rating values derived from the two Classification Systems.

Jan 1, 2008

By E. Schoeman

Ion exchange resins were investigated for the effective recovery of platinum, palladium, and gold from a pregnant cyanide heap leach solution. Screening results indicated that strong-base anion exchange resins proved to be most effective in the recovery of these metal cyanides. Gold was selectively recovered with the use of Minix, while effective recovery of gold, platinum, and palladium over the base metals, copper, and iron, was achieved with Amberlite PWA-5. Successful elution of these metal cyanides was possible from both Minix and Amberlite PWA-5, using a 2M potassium thiocyanate solution at ambient temperature. Acidic thiourea was unable to elute platinum from either Minix or Amberlite PWA-5. Effective elution of palladium and gold were, however, achieved with use of acidic thiourea. Using these results, two conceptual flow diagrams for the recovery of these metals from cyanide solutions are proposed.

Jan 1, 2012

It is desirable to have a model, or method, for major project development, which will enable flexible modelling of separation circuits. This ability improves the understanding of circuits and how they should be operated, especially in a design phase, where various options are evaluated and decisions are made on the required number of stages and configuration. This paper describes existing gravity separation circuit modelling theory and concepts, as defined by Holland-Batt1 (separation window, separation efficiency and proportionality of efficiency). The crux of the paperis the application of numerical analysis to fit raw separation data by means of a modified Bézier-Spline. The paper proposes an alternative to the theory developed by Holland-Batt that provides more flexibility in the modelling of separation stages and curves, which include S-shaped curves. The paper proposes a solution to the challenge of continuously extrapolating data, and the first difficulty normally encountered, which is the fitting of an appropriate empirical formula to raw data.

Jan 1, 2007

By D. G. Krige

The problem addressed is that of estimating grade differences between sub- divisions of a new gold mining prospect when only borehole results are available. Such differential grade estimates are required in choosing the best area for initial production, and in defining the grade profile over the mine's life for purposes of feasibility studies. It is also often necessary to differentiate between the grades and hence the values of subareas, owned by separate companies, for the purpose of fixing relative share participation percentages in the new mining company. It is shown that exaggerated grade differentials will be obtained from grade estimates of the subareas based only on boreholes within each such subarea, respectively, and that it would be more realistic to apply some 'smoothing', preferably by kriging. This is feasible because the lognormal-de Wijsian model can be used to give an indication of the spatial structure for the boreholes, even where they are spaced far apart; also the degree of 'smoothing' indicated is shown to be relatively insensitive to inaccurate estimates of the relevant semivariogram parameters.

Jan 1, 1987

By S. C. Greeff

At ISCOR the quantitative determination of the structural properties of coke is done with a Leitz-TAS Image Analysis System. A reflected light microscopic image of a coke sample is converted into a binary image and stored in computer memory or on hard disc. By means of mathematical and stereological techniques the system can transform the images electronically. A lightpen can be used to determine the sequence of these operations. TASIC, which is based on BASIC language, is used as the program language on the computer. The majority of the programs are written by the user to ensure satisfactory results for specific studies. The computer controls the whole system, including the movement of the microscope stage, focusing, transformation and measurement of the image and data processing. The computer is also applied for establishing statistical correlations between the structural and other coke and coal parameters as well as for graphics and predictions of the coke structure. Factors affecting the structural properties of coke are discussed and conclusions are drawn.

Jan 1, 1987

To the trustees of The SAIMM Scholarship Fund We have audited the annual financial statements of The SAIMM Scholarship Fund set out on pages 587 to 592 for the year ended 30 June 2005. These financial statements are the responsibility of the trustees. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audit. Scope We have conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes: examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, and evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion. Audit opinion In our opinion, the financial statements fairly present, in all material respects, the financial position of the trust at 30 June 2005 and the results of its operations and cash flows for the year then ended in accordance with South African Statements of Generally Accepted Accounting Practice.

Jan 1, 2005

By E. -U. Reuther

To improve the climatic environment underground the German coal mining industry has installed refrigerators with a capacity of 300 MW cooling power. One third of this total is accounted for by central refrigeration plants with more than 5 MW capacity. The central refrigeration comprises three stages: mechanical cooling, transport and distribution of chilled water via pipelines and exchange of heat in the air coolers. Of these three stages only the mechanical generation of chilled water has been resolved satisfactorily. Transport (including distribution) and exchange require further technical research. The Mining Institute of the Aachen University of Technology has done extensive studies on this subject, concentrating on controlling the flow of chilled water according to demand in the mine. Additionally, the favourable exchange in the air coolers is taken into account. The studies are based on a model mine which simulates the conditions in deep coal mines in Germany. The simulation program represents firstly the condition of the mine air at the location of the air being cooled, then the heat exchange in the air cooler itself, and finally the transport of the chilled water from the central refrigerator to the consumer. The program also reproduces the seasonal and operational changes in conditions of mine air as well as different air cooler designs. A regulated distribution of chilled water is also suggested. Finally, estimations of costs can be made as an aid for further planning.

Jan 1, 1987

By H. M. Krieg, M. J. Ungerer, C. G. C. E. van Sittert, D. J. van der Westhuizen

"The transition metals tantalum (Ta) and niobium (Nb) are of significant importance, for example in the nuclear energy sector where they are used as cladding materials, as well as in capacitors and specialized materials. For these applications a high-purity metal is needed. The separation of Ta and Nb is always a challenge since they are found together in nature and have similar chemical and physical properties, resulting in costly and laborious separation processes. A technology that has been used successfully for the separation of these metals entails solvent extraction (SX)1. While separation was achieved in a previous SX study using a sulphuric acid (H2SO4) medium with the extractants diiso-octyl phosphinic acid (PA) and di-(2-ethylhexyl) phosphoric acid (D2EHPA), due to the absence of speciation data for Ta and Nb it is not clear how the separation occurred.One method that might be suitable for determining the speciation of a reaction is molecular modelling. Calculations based on the densityfunctional theory (DFT) are now used not only for light elements and small molecules, but also metal complexes, heavy metals, and especially metal separation in SX2. In this study the aqueous phase used during SX was investigated by studying periodic systems of Ta, as a metal and in salt form, when it is in contact with H2O and H2SO4. The results were used to predict the reaction mechanism occurring during SX. Results showed that (i) in a 1:1 acid-water ratio, the deprotonation of H2SO4 was endothermic, (ii) in a 1:5 ratio deprotonation was exothermic forming HSO4 -, and (iii) in a 1:10 ratio double deprotonation occurred to form SO42- exothermically."

Jan 1, 2017

Many industries base their decisions on the assaying of tiny analytical sub-samples. The problem is that most of the time several sampling and sub-sampling stages are required before the laboratory provides its ultimate assays using advanced chemical and physical methods of analysis. As long as each sampling and sub-sampling stage is the object of due diligence using the Theory of Sampling it is likely that the integrity of the sought after information has not been altered and the generated database is still capable to fulfil its informative mission. Unfortunately, more often than not, unawareness of the basic properties of heterogeneous materials combined with the unawareness of stringent requirements listed in the theory of sampling, lead to the conclusion that massive discrepancies may be observed between the expensive outcome of a long chain of sampling and analytical custody, and reality. There are no areas that are more vulnerable to such misfortune than sampling and assaying for trace amounts of constituents of interest in the environment, in high purity materials, in precious metals exploration, food chain, chemicals and pharmaceutical products. Without the preventive suggestions of the theory of sampling serious difficulties may arise when making Gaussian approximations or even log-normal manipulations in the subsequent interpretations. A complementary understanding of Poisson processes injected in the theory of sampling may greatly help the practitioner understand structural sampling problems and prevent unfortunate mistakes from being repeated over and over until a crisis is reached. This paper presents an overview of the theoretical, practical and economic difficulties often vastly underestimated in the search for quantifying trace amounts of valuable or unwelcome components.

Jan 1, 2009

By B. Mulcahy, M. Valenta

"The purpose of executing a project in a stagewise fashion is to evaluate all potential options in a cost-effective manner and develop an understanding of the project drivers, thereby minimizing overall project risk to the client. Among the more valuable tools for this exercise are production and financial models that can be used to quantify the sensitivity of the project to the critical parameters.The mine and concentrator used in this case study are located on the Kalahari Copper Belt, which extends from Zambia through northern Botswana into Namibia. This area of Africa has seen very little industrial development and the project will create much-needed employment and development in the region.The success of this project thus far can be attributed to the close cooperation between the geological, mining, and metallurgical disciplines. Regular updates of projected capital and operating cost estimates coupled with project outputs guided the teams in optimizing their various discipline models, ultimately delivering a compelling argument for the execution of the project. Key to the success was the development of a geometallurgical model for the prediction of concentrate tonnage, grade, and recovery for the life of the mine from the mining plan.This paper summarizes the metallurgical findings and the outcome of the various project stages. The development of the model is discussed, as are the challenges faced in developing a suitable metallurgical process route. IntroductionThe Kalahari Copper BeltThe Kalahari Copperbelt, which extends from Zambia across northwest Botswana into Namibia, is considered to be a broad time equivalent of the Central African Copperbelt, with a similar style of mineralization. However, at shallower depths (<25 m), chrysocolla and malachite exist in significant proportions in certain geological areas. As illustrated in Figure 1, the project is located in the Ghanzi-Chobe Fold Belt which forms part of the Kalahari Copper Belt. The Ghanzi Group, which overlies the lowest stratigraphic unit (the Kwebe Formation), consists of three formations, namely the Ngwako Pan, the D’Kar, and the Mamuno Formation (Hall, 2012)."

Jan 1, 2016

By W. J. Jordaan

The ability of soils to retain and hold cations is called the cation exchange capacity (CEC). Adsorbed cations, however, can be replaced by other cations through the process of cation exchange. Heavy mineral deposits contain a significant portion of slimes including the very fine clay minerals. In most circuits the slimes fraction hampers efficiency and has to be removed during early stages of the process. Being a nonvaluable process stream, the processing of the slimes is a costly exercise. In thickening applications it might be possible to manipulate the ability of clay minerals to retain and hold positively charged cations in order to optimize flocculation and therefore reduce flocculation costs. The CEC value of the slimes could be a measure of this possibility. To investigate this hypothesis, different slimes samples were characterized for size, chemical composition and clay minerals present. The CEC value of each sample was determined and explained in terms of the mineral phases present. Settling tests were conducted and an attempt was made to explain the CEC characteristics of the clay minerals in terms of settling rate. The scope of this investigation was to test the hypothesis and should not be seen as an in-depth study of the subject matter. A greater number of samples and detailed analyses to identify and quantify minerals and phases present would be required to investigate further the relationships between clay minerals in the deposit, CEC and settling rates. Location and geological setting Exxaro KZN Sands is mining a heavy minerals deposit at Hillendale mine located at Richards Bay, South Africa. The orebody consist of a dune some 8 km inland from the coast to the north of eSikhawini. A geological synopsis undertaken by Botha1 concluded that the Hillendale mining area represents a coastal dune sequence that accumulated north of the Tugela River. The northward movement of sediment by long shore drift currents result in a high sand budget on the beaches north of the river youth and is the dominant contributing factor to the accretion of the coastline and development of parallel dune systems along the coastal zone in this area. Beach swash zone processes and enrichment of the fine sand fraction occurs during wind transport off the beach by ascending parabolic dunes that form the coastal barrier dunes. This process results in heavy mineral concentration on the windward dune face and localized enrichment parallel to the dune forms. The aeolian sedimentary facies processes result in the primary concentration of higher grades in the upper silt-enriched reddish brown horizons of the profile. The synopsis by Botha1 further showed that an additional component of heavy mineral concentration can be ascribed to the post-depositional relative enrichment of heavy minerals due to weathering. Therefore, it is likely that the Hillendale orebody protolith was pedogenically weathered to form the homogeneous, silt-enriched, clayey reddish brown to dark red, palaeosol profile that grades downwards into yellowish brown, less clay-enriched sand. Slimes characterization Samples The Hillendale orebody was divided into geochemically discretized zones based on the concentration of ilmenite and other specific minerals and/or phases. Six composite samples were made up from exploration samples taken from Zone 9, Zone 11 and Zone 12. The red and orange horizons within these composite samples were separated and test samples were prepared to conduct test work and analyses. The test samples were submitted for preparation and analysis to characterize the slimes properties. Each test sample was deslimed at 45 µm representing the slimes fraction (-45 µm) and dried at 40°C. The -45 µm slimes samples were then split to conduct size analysis, chemical analysis, XRD and to determine the CEC. Size analysis The size distribution of the composite samples is shown in Table I. The size analysis shows that there is a difference in size distribution between the orange and red horizons of each zone. The orange horizons contain less 850 µ material as well as less slimes (-45 µm). The red horizons contain yore slimes (-45 µm). The size distribution of the slimes fraction (-45 µm) was determined using Malvern size analysis. The cumulative particle size distribution of the slimes is shown in Figure 1. The red horizons of the different zones show similar size distributions. The orange horizons show some differences. However, there is a difference in size distributions between the red and orange horizons.

Jan 1, 2007

By S. V. Lukichev, O. V. Nagovitsyn, V. V. Laptev

In this paper the authors describe the developed algorithms of short- and medium-term planning of underground mining operations. The algorithms were developed using the example of the flat-back cut-and-fill method, and provide multifactor accounting of mining conditions, technical and technological limitations: state and properties of the rock mass; the current mining situation; mining rules; availability of safety pillars; properties of the filling; additional characteristics of technological objects that complicate the driving of workings; sufficiency of human and technical resources; employee specialisation; existing machinery and equipment; opportunities and limitations of the transport scheme of the mine, and work schedule. The paper is presented by means of a dynamic model of mining development, which shows the sequence of mining operations in the mine workings. Besides animation, the tool provides an opportunity to form tabular and graphical reports.

Sep 1, 2021

By T. Flitton, R. Peattie

"The extreme depths and consequent expense of drilling and sampling the gold-bearing reefs of the Witwatersrand Basin have resulted in limited data being available for estimation of grade ahead of the mining face. There is, however, a wealth of information from mined-out areas of these deposits. This estimation challenge resulted in the development of a unique method of Mineral Resource estimation.AngloGold Ashanti (AGA) utilizes a technique termed macro cokriging (MCK), which allows for the integration of the limited advanced borehole data with the large chip sample data-sets from the previously mined-out areas by adopting a Bayesian geostatistical approach. The MCK process, in short, is the estimation of mixed support size data together with the application of four-parameter distribution models.The gold value estimation for the Carbon Leader Reef (CLR) on the AGA TauTona Mine is used in this paper as a case study of the process and to demonstrate the effectiveness of this technique through production reconciliation. The current method has been proven over the last 20 years and is now an established part of the Mineral Resource evaluation process within AGA.IntroductionOwing to the extreme depths of the goldbearing reefs at the AngloGold Ashanti (AGA) Witwatersrand operations and the prohibitive expense and time involved in drilling boreholes to the required depth, only limited drilling and sampling data is available ahead of the mining face. Whereas traditional estimation techniques are interpolative, within the Witwatersrand the estimation is primarily extrapolative, with the majority of the data being sourced from the mined-out areas. This significant challenge to estimation resulted in the development of a unique method of Mineral Resource estimation and evaluation."

Jan 1, 2016

By M. L. Pududu, B. Ceki, K. Mohajane

This study was aimed at determining the effects of industrial action on profitability in the South African platinum mining sector. We compared companies where employees engaged in industrial action (affected companies) to strike-free companies (competing companies). Industrial action refers to strikes by rockdrillers, as these strikes typically result in the shutdown of production at the mines affected. A t-statistics analysis of significant differences in revenue and earnings of affected and non-affected platinum companies was conducted using data from platinum mining companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange from 2011 to 2015. Contrary to international studies, which suggest that the spillover effects of industrial action positively affect competing companies, our findings show that profits in the platinum sector decrease significantly during strike periods for both affected and competing companies. The results indicate industrial action is a threat to the profitability of all companies, and that employee demands should be prioritized and negotiated before they result in industrial action. Improved dialogue between management, labour unions, and employees in the platinum mining industry is recommended. The study contributes to the scanty literature on the effect of industrial action on the profitability of mining companies in a developing economy.

Dec 13, 2022

By L. Pretorius, S. Uludağ

This paper explores how to apply system dynamics principles to surface mining problems towards understanding the consequences of mining efficiencies. Some simulation examples related to machine and people performance have been used to demonstrate systems engineering concepts to mining engineers. The simulation tool used is Vensim, which is widely used in industrial engineering applicable to systems thinking, and systems dynamics. The science and mathematics behind the system dynamics as well as benefits and typical challenges are discussed to explore the applicability to mining problems. The benefit of having one less drill is easily quantifiable with the developed model which is one of many other measurable benefits, using the developed model. Some of the benefits of the improved quality of drill holes are not fully quantified as this depends on the mine specific inputs. There are examples of quantifying this in the other industries using system dynamics tools.

Sep 1, 2021

By D. F. Malan, L. Scheepers

Seismic risk in the deep gold mines of South Africa has been studied for many decades. A clear understanding of the effect of geotechnical conditions on the seismic hazard nevertheless remains elusive. Certain reef types seem to be associated with a higher risk of rockbursts. The stability and deformation behaviour of excavations on the different reef horizons are affected by the rock types and the varying strength properties. The seismic response to mining is therefore also expected to differ according to the geotechnical conditions. As a case study of this behaviour, the seismicity at Mponeng mine was investigated. On the VCR (Ventersdorp Contact Reef) horizon, two areas can be delineated. On the eastern side of the mine, the footwall is shale, and on the western side it is a strong brittle quartzite. More large-magnitude events occur in the area with the shale footwall than the area with the quartzite footwall. Moment tensor analyses indicated that the majority of the large-magnitude events are not related to geological structures, but are face-related, implying that shear failure of intact rock is occurring ahead of the mining front. Preliminary modelling indicated that the closure volume for the shale footwall may be higher than that for the quartzite footwall, providing a possible explanation for the observed difference in seismic response.

Mar 2, 2022

Mining executives often have a difficult task determining what the strategic objective of the business should be as this can be impacted by the prevailing market conditions. In addition, they have no mechanism to quantitatively &apos;test&apos; the impact of this strategic decision on the business and understand the underlying dynamics. During the commodities bull run of 2003 to 2008 the strategic objective may have been to grow the long term value of the business (NPV) through increased tonnage, acquisition and finding new reserves, which all came with an increasing fixed cost base. Now with the financial crisis upon us and the collapse of commodity prices and demand, executives have adjusted their strategies as &apos;cash is king&apos; and short-term cash flow, in some instances at the expense of long terms value, is the order of the day. For many mining companies, mine closures, reductions in production and cost cutting exercisers are now the focus. In many instances, management do not have an ability to rapidly test different strategic alternatives to &apos;test&apos; the impact on value, unit costs, reserves and profitability at the operational level and optimize the underlying trade-off variables. Economic modelling of the complete business value chain is a means of linking the operational &apos;reality&apos; and strategic choices, so that the full impact can be assessed. This paper describes some of the challenges facing mining executives and how economic modelling can be applied to make decision making more rigorous.

Jan 1, 2010

By R. P. King

A class of gravity separation unit operations in ore-dressing relies for its operation on the production of a stratified bed. Heavier material gravitates downwards, and separation is achieved by splitting the ore horizontally, with the recovery of a dense stream and a lighter stream. The important ore-dressing unit operations that fall in this class are the jig, the Reichert cone and the pinched sluice. A new quantitative model based on Mayer&apos;s potential theory is developed here. This model is developed completely for the simple case of binary mono-size particulate materials, but the extension to units operating with feed material distributed over particle size and density is discussed in principle. The model can be used to predict the performance of these units and is very suitable for simulation. The model is tested successfully against experimental data obtained from a batch jig and a Reichert cone.

Jan 1, 1987

By P. J. Kinver

This paper deals with the development of backfilling methods and systems at the Broken Hill orebody of Black Mountain Mineral Development Company (Pty) Limited, at Aggeneys in the north-western Cape Province. Production started in 1979, being confined to large diameter blasthole stoping methods in the upper, steeply dipping areas of the orebody. This blasthole reserve is now depleted and the production tonnage, 100000 tons per month, is produced from eight cut and fill stopes in the flatter dipping areas of the orebody. The fill methods of the blasthole stoping area evolved prior to the pillar extraction are briefly discussed together with the resulting experiences gained that enabled virtually 100% extraction to be achieved. The original cut and fill mining used costly hydraulic cemented fill; this was replaced partly by unconsolidated river sand and later by dune sand which occurs in abundance. The paper describes the planning, research work and commissioning of a cycloning plant that now enables dune sand to be used successfully as an unconsolidated hydraulic fill. The development of drainage, placement and control methods are also reviewed.

Jan 1, 1988