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By Baoqi S, Zhengbing C, Wenguang L

A new flotation method is introduced for separating zircon from rutile and other Ti-bearing minerals at normal temperature, using a mixture of cationic and anionic collectors without any acid, alkali or fluoride as regulators. By combining the method with gravity concentration and magnetic separation to process the seabeach placer, the technological flowsheet can be simplified and the pollution of environment and the corrosion of acids, alkalis and fluorides on equipment can be removed.

Jan 1, 1993

By R Brake

The Enterprise Mine Project (EMP) is being developed by Mount IsaMines Limited as the future source of copper ore at the Mt Isa miningand processing complex. Environmental engineering is one of the majortechnical challenges facing the project because of the depth of theorebodies, high virgin rock temperatures and hot ambient surfacetemperatures in summer. This paper discusses the engineering principles adopted by EMP to manage the risks associated with working in these adverse thermal conditions.

Jan 1, 1998

WMC Resources Ltd has been involved the development and trialling of an automated load haul dump vehicle system since 1997. This paper describes the introduction of the system into the Olympic Dam Operation and its performance compared with existing manual loaders. In certain situations the autotram loader will outperform the manual operation, particularly on the longer distances. There were no personnel injuries associated with the operation of the system during the testing period.

Jan 1, 2005

Rock bolting and rock-bolting systems depend for success on attention to a number of simple techniques. Failure to appreciate this fact can lead to disappointing results. Careful study of rock characteristics and placement methods can allow a change to highly successful rock bolt per- formance. A number of examples are quoted to illustrate the sig- nificant improvement in results which can be achieved by use of the most suitable combination of characteristics.

Jan 1, 1971

By Wang QP, Quan YH

Mechanical models are established in accordance with the degree of mining on both sides of the coal pillar, and formulae were derived which calculated the superposition stress distribution and the width of the plastic region. The stability of the coal pillar was analysed and a reasonable size of coal pillar determined, in accordance with the elastic region rate. Further practical examples for the stability of the coal pillar are calculated and simulated.

Jan 1, 1992

By Mackinnon I. D R, Glikson M

Samples from the Callide Coal Measures, Queensland, Australia, containing the minor maceral, micrinite, have been studied using optical and electron-optical techniques to determine the precise compositional and structural nature of micrinite when in association with vitrinite macerals. Emphasis has been placed on direct spatial correlation of optical and electron-optical data due to the fine grain size (90 per cent of the component) and, as such, should not be considered a maceral.

Jan 1, 1991

By Simpson D, Skopakow J

This paper is one of the series of papers relating to the Melbourne Underground Rail Loop and specifically describes the structural and architectural design of Museum Station. Structural arrangement, loads and design methods of the major temporary and permanent works are briefly described for the main station and entrance works. Planning of the station concourse area, booking halls and entrances are described together with the selection of finishes for all above and below ground areas.

Jan 1, 1981

By T Napier-Munn, E Louwrens, L Keeney

Geometallurgical characterisation of ore deposits is accepted practice in some parts of the mining industry today. Its primary aim is to provide constrained inputs that reflect inherent geological variability and its impact on metallurgical performance for the deposit. Geometallurgy improves project value because it suggests more valuable alternatives for scheduling and processing through an increased knowledge and understanding of the interactions of rock properties and extractive technologies. Lower project cost (both capital and processing) and improved recoveries are the result from closer tailoring of the mining and mineral processing strategies to the characteristics of the resource (Dunham, Vann and Coward, 2011). Tailings storage facilities (TSFs) can be seen as potential resources and it is argued that fundamental geometallurgical characterisation as applied in ore deposit characterisation should also be applied to planning the retreatment of TSFs. This paper will describe a research project at Julius Kruttschnitt Mineral Resource Centre assessing if geometallurgical principles and methodologies can successfully be applied to TSFs as they have been to primary deposits. The project is establishing a new standard method of tailings evaluation which will include a 3D spatial model of the tailings resource. Initial domaining of the TSFs was done using principal component analysis followed by k-means cluster analysis based on chemical assays from drill core samples. The subsequent characterisation of the drill core samples has involved chemical, mineralogical and metallurgical profiling, with a range of metallurgical tests being conducted on the samples. This characterisation step is followed by class-based analysis, predictive modelling and process performance domaining with the ultimate objective of establishing a 3D spatial model incorporating geochemical, mineralogical and metallurgical performance data. This approach, which takes into account processing performance permits a more realistic (as compared to doing limited chemical assays and metallurgical testing) economic evaluation of the potential of reprocessing the tailings material. It is believed that the approach is generic and can be applied to other TSFs being considered for reprocessing. The present case study has also established the gold, copper, magnetite and cobalt deportment for an iron oxide copper-gold deposit tailings resource.CITATION:Louwrens, E, Napier-Munn, T and Keeney, L, 2015. Geometallurgical characterisation of a tailings storage facility – a novel approach, in Proceedings Tailings and Mine Waste Management for the 21st Century , pp 125–132 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Jul 27, 2015

By Neville Rockhouse

This paper examines the interrelationship of conducting full risk assessments in the context of the coal mining industry and under the framework of the Health's Safety in Employment Act 1992. In the context of Occupational Health's Safety, Risk Management is a holistic management process that can be used by individuals working in all organisations and from all industries. The Australian New Zealand Standard 4360: 2004 defines a Risk as being; The chance of something happening that will have an impact on objectives. This definition is followed by several notes that include: a risk is often specified in terms of an event or circumstance and the consequences that may flow from it, risk is measured in terms of a combination of the consequences of an event and their likelihood, and risk may have a positive or negative impact. For the purposes of this paper, the above definition will be adopted. This paper examines the newly expanded approach of the fully documented risk management process in the New Zealand coal mining industry. This is done in the context of the coal mining regulations but more importantly by using the framework of the Health & Safety in Employment Act 1992. This legislation under Section 6 requires all employers to, Take all Practicable Steps to prevent harm coming to employees while at work and to others who might be at or in the vicinity of a workplace. When the term 'all practicable steps' is studied, one can clearly see that such steps should be the same steps taken that a prudent and reasonable person would have taken given the same type of circumstance. Due to the fact that in New Zealand parliament made statutes is administered by a Government Department, means that their breaches will be heard before a judge in the District Court. Under the Westminster System of Justice, a basic dictum of that court in matters relating the occupational health and safety is that a breach needs to be satisfied to a specific standard. That standard is, 'Beyond a reasonable Doubt'. One of the primary benefits of adopting a proactive approach to risk management is that if the industry were to adopt similar approaches, then this mythology could be seen as an industry standard. As such, the approach carries the same status in a court of law, as that of an Approved Code of Practice.

Jan 1, 2007

By L Whitbourn, K Yang, P C, E Ramanaidou

The potential of hyperspectral mineral mapping within a mine environment is demonstrated. Central to this capability has been the development of portable or vehicle-mounted, hyperspectral mine face-mapping systems. Data from these systems were used to detect subtle mineralogical variations and map their distribution across rock faces in a fashion that previously was not possible. In one study, the data usability was enhanced by ædrapingÆ the mineralogical determinations over a three-dimensional æmodelÆ of the rock-face. The eventual melding of the spectral mine face-mapping and three-dimensional spatial technologies will result in a new generation of mineralogical and structural information becoming available to mine geologists, engineers and metallurgists. Specific uses for spectrally-derived, mineral mapping data sets could include:ore grade mapping systems based on either direct detection of ore minerals themselves (eg iron and nickel oxides), or mineralogies that may be used as surrogates for ore-grade information (via various alteration minerals) after a suitable orientation survey; detecting mineralogies that have a deleterious effect on milling, metallurgical processing or have occupational health implications (talc, swelling clays, carbonates, asbestos, etc); selective mining and blending by collecting, processing and displaying such mineralogical images in near real-time to monitor ore grade and quality, and allow the separation of ore from waste during loading operations at the mine face; a mineral detection and mapping capability to assist in structural and geotechnical mine planning applications; and an enhanced geological detection and mapping capability for ore mineral species or alteration mineralogies that may be used to vector further mineralisation, update the existing mine ore model, or provide input to assist in the control of autonomous mining equipment. Within the Woodlawn open pit, Fe- and Mg-chlorites and phengitic- micas associated with sulfide mineralisation were detected and mapped. Subsequent studies using a second generation face-mapping system demonstrated the direct detection of ore-grade materials for iron-ore and nickel laterite mining activities. Satisfactory and meaningful results were extracted from data that were collected under a variety of challenging conditions. However, these non-ideal climatic and operational conditions would be expected under most operational situations in a mine environment. Development of a system using artificial illumination, permitting night-time (and eventually underground) operation and elimination of atmospheric absorption effects is underway.

Jan 1, 2006

By Radenkovic C, Ivkovic S, Minic I

The model, already tested and applied, enables a highly efficaceous solution of the problem of issuing instructions for interested services on the basis of known contents of in- dividual stages of mine mechanization repair and known time intervals between repairs for specific machines and total mechanization. Application of the model provides work orders for all types of repairs for specific machines or systems, and orders for the commercial department regarding spare parts Supply.

Jan 1, 1977

Successful management is ultimately measured by return on shareholders' funds. This is the inescapable and inexorable discipline that ultimately rules every investment. Shareholders today are predominantly, and increasingly, the superannuation funds and insurance funds of almost all of us. We have already reached the situation in Australian investment history in which the best interests of employees can be very directly identified with the best interests of the owners of the capital invested.

Jan 1, 1992

In December 1997, a series of new environmental legislation was enacted including:ò Environmental Planning andAssessmentAmendmentAct 1997; ò Contaminated Land ManagementAct 1997;ò Protection of the Environment (Operations) Act 1997; ò Native Vegetation Conservation Act 1997; andò Pollution Control (Load Based Licensing) Act 1997.These new Acts will have varying degrees of impact on the coal mining industry in New South Wales when they commence later this year.

Jan 1, 1998

By Gillies A. D S

The paper presents a review of research in the area of explosible coal dust with respect to safety in the underground mining environment. Research over the last several decades has concentrated on generating dust clouds in small scale laboratory explosion chambers to study flammability limits and the physical and chemical variables which affect explosion propensity. The validity of this approach is discussed and the results obtained for a range of coal types compared.

Jan 1, 1994

This paper provides a financial perspective to the valuation of Australian resource companies and projects. Valuation exercises need, however, to be seen in the broader context of a thorough business appraisal, one that incorporates all disciplines employed in the resources industry. Fine tuning a discount rate or determining a particular capital structure is likely to be less important to valuation than an adequate understanding of industry dynamics and a company's likely performance in future years.

Jan 1, 1989

By Collins AR, Meares RMD, Graham JM

Exploration programs for both alluvial (placer) and hardrock platinum group metal deposits are being conducted in Papua New Guinea by a joint venture between Degussa AG and Pancontinental Mining Limited. Prospective areas were defined on the basis of ultramafic/ophiolitic source rocks shedding detrital platinoid grains. Field sampling techniques including churn drilling, together with appropriate laboratory analytical and mineralogical techniques, were developed and are contributing to the success of the exploration programs.

Jan 1, 1987

By Williams RJ

This paper presents an overview of the design and development , application to date and potential of a real-time return gas monitoring system.Initially developed as an ACARP/Industry funded project, whose prime aim was to create a `turn-key', prototype, stand alone, real-time, Return Gas Monitoring System (RGMS) capable of providing quantitative assessments of gassiness levels on a shift by shift basis, enabling unusual gas emission patterns to be readily flagged.

Jan 1, 1998

Sublevel open stoping was introduced at Rosebery in 1972; most of the stoping prior to this was horizontal cut and fill. Sublevel open stoping presently accounts for 65% of the Rosebery underground production of 560 000 tonnes per year. This primary stoping technique leaves 50% of the ore in the crown and transverse pillars. The methods used in pillar recovery to date are reviewed and comments made on the success of these operations.

Jan 1, 1982

By N TassT, J Cyr

At the East Sullivan site, wood wastes covering the abandoned mine tailings impoundment prevent sulfide oxidation by creating an anoxic environment. The addition of coarse ligneous wastes and their high permeability favour infiltration, resulting in a water table rise that maintains most tailings under water saturation and thus provides an additional protection against sulfide oxidation. Moreover, high infiltration allows a more rapid flushing of acid prone groundwater generated prior to the cover placement, which could cause acid mine drainage over a long period of time. Finally, the pore-waters under the cover are characterised by a strong reducing potential, high alkalinity, and near neutral pHs. These conditions favour sulfate reduction and base metal precipitation as sulfides and as carbonates. Pore-water composition monitored from 1992 to 1998 showed a significant Fe2+ decrease, following cover placement. Thereafter, the restoration strategy capitalised on the alkaline and reductive properties of the waters underlying the wood-waste cover. An original treatment of acid effluents, based on the recirculation of water discharging around the impoundment through the organic cover, was implemented. In 2002, the recirculated water from May to October had a mean pumping rate of 240 m3/h, for a total volume of 800 000 m3. Data gathered near the dispersal zone from 2000 to 2002 show that despite the recirculation of acid water (pH ÿ3), the pH decreases by only one unit from 7 to 6, during the recirculation period, ie from May to November. However, alkalinity decreases from 800 to 100 mg/L-CaCO3. Despite this decrease, the alkalinity is back up to 800 mg/L-CaCO3 the following May, thanks to sulfate reduction. From 2000 to 2002, Fe2+ concentration in the pore waters near the dispersal zone is maintained below 2 mg/L. Evolution of surface water quality suggests that the contaminated groundwater flush is completed in the north and north-west area of the impoundment; the east sector is under recovery, while the south sector remains the most problematic. A wood-waste cover, besides limiting sulfide oxidation, can fill the role of alkaline reducing barrier for the treatment of these acidogenic waters, until a balance between acidity and alkalinity in the effluent is reached.

Jan 1, 2003

By R M. Hough, G Duclaux, M A. Pearce, M F. Gazley

"An EXTENDED ABSTRACT is available for download. A full-length paper was not prepared for this presentation. Microcharacterisation, such as that described in this paper, provides understanding of a mineral system at multiple scales, and understanding microscale variations is the key to understanding the large-scale variations in a mineral system. More than 50 high-grade lode samples from across Plutonic Gold Mine (Plutonic), Marymia Inlier, Western Australia were analysed by a variety of techniques, including micro X-ray fluorescence (µXRF) mapping, micro X-ray computed tomography (µCT), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), field emission gun SEM, electron back-scatter detector (EBSD), proton-induced X-ray emission microprobe and synchrotron XRF mapping. These data demonstrate that competency contrasts are the key to governing the location of Au mineralisation at Plutonic. Micro CT imaging of high-grade samples shows the Au filling in voids and pore-space in the rock, after having travelled along more permeable layers and already existing or reaction-induced pores formed during hydrothermal circulation. Using 3D visualisation, the Au is seen to form a connected network that appears undisturbed at the scale of the samples, and a high-grade Au deposition event was one of the last events to affect the rock. This interpretation is supported by SEM analyses on high-grade samples that reveal calc-silicate (epidote-clinozoisite) alteration that is not present in lower Au grade samples, which are typically dominated by potassic alteration, and that sulfides are typically less abundant close to the Au. The replacement of biotite by chlorite is an alteration associated with the high-grade Au-mineralising fluid. Gold is coarsest where Au particles are located on the margins of minerals, typically sulfide and quartz grains, suggesting the importance of rheological contrast at the microscale. Furthermore, EBSD data reveals that Au is undeformed and overprints peak metamorphic and retrograde minerals. Data confirm recent deposit-scale observations, suggesting that deposition of high-grade, visible Au was related to a hydrothermal fluid circulation event late in the geological history of Plutonic.CITATION:Gazley, M F, Duclaux, G, Fisher, L A, Hough, R M and Pearce, M A, 2015. High-resolution characterisation of gold mineralisation at Plutonic Gold Mine, Western Australia – evidence for the late-stage deposition of high-grade gold , in Proceedings PACRIM 2015 Congress, pp 51–58 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne)."

Mar 18, 2015