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By R Dimitrakopoulos, R Senécal

This paper presents a metaheuristic solution to the optimisation of open pit long-term production scheduling with a stockpile and geological uncertainty. The optimisation formulation is a two-stage stochastic integer programming (SIP) model that determines the optimal mining sequence that maximises the total discounted cash flow, while penalising for high deviations from production targets. A parallel implementation of Tabu Search is proposed to accelerate the solution of the SIP formulation and take full advantage of multicore computer processing. Different variants of the proposed algorithm are applied to a case study to assess the performance of the parallel approach. The proposed algorithm and variants are benchmarked using linear relaxation of the complete problem to determine robustness and provide a better overview of the related performance. The results show a net improvement over the sequential solution, and the new proposal seems to be promising when working with a large-scale data set.CITATION:Senécal, R and Dimitrakopoulos, R, 2014. Parallel implementation of a Tabu search procedure for stochastic mine scheduling, in Proceedings Orebody Modelling and Strategic Mine Planning Symposium 2014 , pp 405–414 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Nov 24, 2014

By D Carroll

Mining of the zinc, lead and silver deposit at the Broken Hill Southern Operations site has been occurring for over 100 years. As a result of this, a significant amount of high-grade ore is now taken from narrow remnant pillars left between old stopes and zones of previously mined ground. Stopes have been filled with either hydraulic fill (also known as ‘sandfill’), cemented hydraulic fill (cemented sandfill), waste rock backfill or a mixture of these fill types.In the last ten years, there has been considerable success mining through narrow pillars where sandfill is exposed in the development face and/or walls using a ‘shell’ support regime, wherein a layer of bolted mesh is sandwiched between two layers of sprayed fibrecrete (25 mm fibrecrete, then mesh and bolt, followed by a final 50 mm layer of fibrecrete). Shell support is also used in very poor, broken, relaxed ground conditions and in areas filled with cemented fill (sandfill with a minimum four per cent cement content).The next stage of innovation has been to develop a technique for mining through old stope voids filled with uncemented sandfill, known locally as ‘contours’ (old cut-and-fill working), an activity where unconsolidated sandfill can run at the face and from the backs. The challenge is to prevent exposed sandfill in the face and the backs from failing before it can be supported.To achieve this, the Southern Operations mine has implemented a technique in which 6 m long spiling bars are used to strengthen and stabilise the sandfill in front of the face. The hollow steel bars are driven in around the heading perimeter in a closely spaced pattern then pumped full of grout. The bars and the grout stabilise the sandfill in front of the face, preventing it from failing into the drive during excavation and prior to further support being installed.A final support system consisting of shotcrete, mesh, bolts and steel girders is installed as excavation progresses. Both the initial and final support systems are essentially passive support systems designed for a low-stress environment (as the stress originates mostly from the mass of unconsolidated sandfill).This process is slow and labour intensive. Fifteen separate cycles of people/machinery are needed to progress one equivalent heading cut (compared to six for a standard fibrecrete- and bolt pattern-supported rock face heading). This slow pace introduces scheduling challenges, but the process opens up parts of the orebody that were previously uneconomical to mine.CITATION:Carroll, D, 2014. Mining through sandfill using spiling bars, in Proceedings AusRock 2014: Third Australasian Ground Control in Mining Conference , pp 95–100 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Nov 5, 2014

The Kiirunavaara apatite-magnetite orebody is about 4 km long and approximately 100 m thick sheet-like body, which lies roughly in a north-south direction and dips from the horizontal plane along its entire length, in towards the town of Kiruna. The origin of this orebody has been a matter of controversy, with both magmatic and hydrothermal origins proposed. Traditionally and for practical purposes this rich apatite-magnetite ore has been divided into two main types: low phosphorous ore (B-ore) and high phosphorous ore (D-ore). Further the low phosphorous ore is divided into the low alkali (B1) and the high alkali (B2) ore.

Jan 1, 2006

By F Faraj, M Pal, M Haest, M Bradshaw, H Lang, K Hume

MineSense Technologies Ltd. is revolutionising grade control at mining operations by installing ShovelSense® sensors on buckets that measure the grade of every load before it is dumped in the truck. This allows the mine to exploit grade variations at a resolution that was not available before, reducing the amount of ore loss to the waste stream and removing waste from material destined for processing. These changes dramatically improve the profitability and sustainability of mining operations. ShovelSense relies on X-ray fluorescence analysis of the rocks as they flow in the bucket and is integrated with fleet management to direct the trucks to the right destination. Lab simulations of ShovelSense measurements on porphyry copper ores show correlations between predictions and lab measurements at 0.98 r-squared with a coefficient of variation of 10 per cent. Visualisation of copper grade predictions in three dimensions shows a reasonable match with the dig plan, but with local changes in the ore-waste contact due to more accurate contact identification, related to blast movement and other mining factors. Correct delineation of these contacts ensures ore trucks are not sent to the waste dump and waste trucks are diverted from the crusher, creating enormous value for the operation and the environment.

Mar 22, 2022

By D Woolmer

Since January 2019, BHP Olympic Dam have been trialling the use of a drone based LiDAR mapping system for the purpose for surveying stope voids. This new technology utilises Simultaneous Location and Mapping (SLAM) algorithm providing positioning, stability and collision avoidance in GPS denied environments. Implementation of this system utilised underground personnel trained in the equipment’s use. The study’s intention was to evaluate the effectiveness of this equipment versus traditional surveying methods in regards to quality, safety and productivity. The trial results showed a marked improvement in the quality, productivity and personnel safety when conducting surveys. The use of the drone and LiDAR system reduced personnel and equipment requirements for surveys, thus allowing these resources to be deployed elsewhere. The technology’s simple and rapid deployment allowed multiple surveys to be conducted during a 12 hour shift, including ad-hoc work with minimal disruption to underground operations. After the drone’s initial trial, further work was conducted to utilise the Hovermap LiDAR scanner on other platforms to increase utilisation. A mounting system was created allowing the LiDAR to be mounted on a remotely operated loader or vehicle. This enabled drawpoint scans to be taken directly after production completion, resulting in faster stope close outs and drive scans for convergence monitoring. Implementation of the LiDAR system has resulted in improvements in the stope production cycle by reducing delays previously associated with data capture. The increase in the volume and quality of data has also allowed in-depth back-analysis of stopes in new mining areas to be conducted, which have driven improvements in the design process.

Mar 15, 2021

By R H. Knight

Uncertainty in prediction and modelling of geological (physical) ore continuity in geometrically complex ore deposits is a key risk factor in mining. Reducing geometric uncertainty of hard-boundary ore/waste contacts and related geological features improves the efficiency of local mineral resource estimation and reserve calculation, mine/stope planning, ore control and in-mine exploration. Detailed underground mapping of serial-level drives provides a continuous record of the characteristics and contact configuration of ore, as well as crucial ore-related geological features that are required to resolve geometrical variability when closely spaced drilling proves inadequate or is cost-prohibitive. The mapping-based approach described in this paper re-establishes the focus on the geology of the orebody by incorporating high-value, detailed geologic mine mapping information. Mapped ore-related configurations and relationships, recorded on a succession of faces or on a series of levels, provide the basis for 3D interpolation and extrapolation of the local geologic continuity of an orebody. Correlative points representing locations of key ore-related geologic features on each face or level are linked by 3D polylines or trajectories forming a coherent geometrical framework. The coherent progression of geometric changes mapped by these trajectories reveals the overall ‘dynamic’ of the geometrical framework, as well as the spatial tendencies of its geological constituents. Distinct sets of ore control trajectories are selected from within the framework and are used in the construction of alternative geological ore continuity models. As mining proceeds, alternative models are evaluated, and are then either refined or rejected. The geometrical framework is used to evaluate theoretical models and practical heuristics, focus exploration targeting and inform and guide all aspects of mine geology in active mines. This approach also lends itself to analysis of global ore continuity in the re-evaluation of mature or abandoned mines. Its use is particularly effective in geometrically complex orebodies such as the West Branch orebody and the orebodies of No 2 mine of the Balmat-Edwards-Pierrepont zinc district, which are used to illustrate the method. CITATION:Knight, R H, 2014. A mapping-based approach to geological continuity prediction using examples from the Balmat-Edwards-Pierrepont Zinc District, St Lawrence County, New York, USA, in Proceedings Ninth International Mining Geology Conference 2014 , pp 65–76 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Aug 18, 2014

Coal exports are forecast to grow strongly, so that coal is likely to remain very important to Australia for the foreseeable future. However there is no sign that prices or profitability will rise of their own accord. Therefore the intense squeeze on costs will continue for the foreseeable future. This will mean lower manning, more outsourcing and probably an increasing rate of company attrition. As well, the political pressure from the greenhouse debate is only going to intensify and the pressure on the Federal Government after Kyoto is likely to be irresistible.

Jan 1, 1998

Vatukoula is a gold mining township situated at the south-west periphery of a Tertiary caldera which measures 3 miles by 4 miles. Erosion of the caldera resulted in the formation of a topographic depression, called the Tavua basin, covering about 30 square miles. This area, also known as the Tavua Goldfield, has been the site for spasmodic prospecting since the initial discovery of gold in 1932.The mineralization at Vatukoula is typically epithermal with the gold occurring as tellurides, auriferous sulphides, and to a much less extent as native gold. The lodes are confined to three major structures i.e. north-west shears, flatly dipping structures (flat makes), and local shatter orebodies.Within these structures, at least five types of controls are recognized to account for the localization of the oreshoots. The dominant control is structure.The lode structures are related to the overall structural pattern of the Tavua basin. This pattern, which is controlled by the collapse planes of the caldera and a north-west shear system, produced a "shatter block" atVatukoula and elsewhere around the caldera.Structural analysis indicates there are certain areas in the Tavua basin where exploration could be rewarded by the discovery of orebodies with similar controls to those of the productive Vatukoula block.

Jan 1, 1967

By D Finn, D Kentwell

Experience has shown that the E-Type multiple indicator kriging (MIK) estimation technique often works well for resource estimation in stockwork mineralisation that contains a mixture of high and low-grade mineralisation types that are difficult or impossible to separate spatially. E-Type MIK, like ordinary kriging (OK) is a smoothing estimator and where data is sparse can result in estimates of grade tonnage curves that do not reflect the true block variability at selective mining unit (SMU) scale. The rank and replace (RR) estimation methodology is designed to reproduce both local block accuracy and true block variability at SMU scale and has shown good results when used with highly skewed unimodal diffusive style mineralisation. This paper examines the use of RR with mosaic style mineralisation typically found in stockworks via a case study using real data from Newcrest’s Telfer West Dome deposit. Resource level estimation results for ordinary kriging (OK), E-Type MIK and RR are compared to close spaced grade control models as the reference reality.Results show that stationarity requirements and declustering can severely impact on the usefulness of the rank and replace technique and that it should only be used where trends are not too strong and data are relatively uniformly spaced. This does not rule out its application to stockwork or mosaic style deposits. However, in this case, the presence of trends and different data densities requires the non-stationary domain to be further broken down into sub domains for the RR technique to be effective.CITATION:Kentwell, D and Finn, D, 2017. Testing new estimation techniques – rank and replace: a stockwork case study, in Proceedings Tenth International Mining Geology Conference 2017, pp 365–374 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Sep 20, 2017

By C Rule

In 2003, Anglo Platinum, in a joint development with Xstrata Technology, installed the world’s first 10 000 litre IsaMillTM in a concentrate regrind duty at the Western Limb Tailings Re-treatment Plant. The success of that installation was the enabling event for Anglo Platinum to proceed with a substantial investment in horizontal stirred milling technology. Since 2006 an additional three IsaMillsTM in concentrate regrind duties and a further 18 IsaMillsTM in the more technically challenging coarse grinding mainstream applications, have been commissioned in group Concentrator operations - bringing the total number of IsaMillsTM installed in Anglo Platinum plants to 22.A collaborative approach between Anglo Platinum and Xstrata Technology towards improving milling efficiency and reducing operating costs, through internal mill component wear optimization and operating recipe development, has resulted in further improvements in the overall success of IsaMillsTM in the flow sheets of many Anglo Platinum operations. The addition of IsaMillsTM in the Anglo Platinum flow sheets has improved plant PGM recoveries by as much as 5%.This paper explores the improvements made to the IsaMillsTM flow sheet and mill internal design and shares some of the operating experience with IsaMillsTM technology in Anglo Platinum

Aug 8, 2011

By R Shaw, R Williamson

Global iron ore demand, sparked by ChinaÆs rapid industrialisation and emergence as the worldÆs newest steel market, has seen iron ore groups investing heavily in production capacity as well as infrastructure. The success of these new projects depends heavily on reliability, competitiveness and quality control in an increasingly demanding trading environment. Furthermore, the iron ore industry continues to improve its competitiveness in mining practices, technology innovation and management processes. The continued fine tuning of these sectors will be critical to the success of the industry in the years ahead, and this mining sector will continue to demand process improvements from their service suppliers to maintain competitiveness. Automation offers a real solution to these demands. A crucial quality control element in mining, beneficiation, stockpiling and shipping stages is ensuring representative samples of ore are taken along each step of the process. When these samples reach the laboratory it is imperative that the sample is representative of the entire stream and that no induced errors occur. Examples of automation start with mechanical primary and secondary samplers in the run-of-mine processes through to sample tower and laboratory crushers, dividers and collectors. Automation is widely used in many forms to provide reliable and repeatable samples for analysis whilst providing a safer working environment. Laboratory automation systems in use today vary from simple linear systems to sophisticated robotic cells. Sample automation in the iron ore industry has resulted in many benefits for both producers and their customers. The most significant benefits have come in the form of higher safety standards whilst reducing sample error, sample handling and sample contamination during collection. These benefits have been further augmented by reliability and repeatability of automating the final sample preparation and analysis stage. Today these benefits are reflected in reduced costs of sampling and improvement in both turnaround time and quality of results, whilst complying with Australian safety and ISO sampling standards.

Jan 1, 2007

While the new Minister of Economic Development sends his apologies at being unable to speak at this Conference, I am delighted to present on his behalf. The Ministry of Economic Development is not only responsible for managing the Crown mineral estate, but also for developing initiatives and policies to promote regional economic development and for managing the GovernmentÆs broader economic development strategy. IÆd like to talk to you today about the critical links that need to exist between these three areas.   I am going to start with a question for all of you. What do these towns have in common? +        Waiuku, +        Thames, +        New Plymouth, +        Nelson, +        Greymouth, +        Arrowtown, +        Reefton, +        Palmerston, and +        Dunedin.   The answer is minerals. These towns were nearly all founded on the back of minerals and mining. In the case of Greymouth it was gold that brought the people to the mouth of the Grey River and it is coal that sustains the town.   In 1870 the town of Shortland had 20 000 people, 90 hotels and was twice the size of Auckland. We now know Shortland as Thames, and of course Auckland is considerably larger. One wonders whether the good folk of Shortland suffered from ætraffic jamsÆ with 90 pubs to navigate between. Gold mining in the Aorere River near Collingwood led early entrepreneurs to develop the land surrounding Nelson as a food basket to sustain the mining population. Nelson is still thriving on this legacy today. The town of Palmerston was founded in 1862 as a stopping point for gold miners heading into central Otago. The gold rush made Dunedin New ZealandÆs first highly industrialised city. Reefton on the West Coast was the first town in New Zealand to have electric lights and in the recent past we were wondering whoÆd be left to turn them off. New Plymouth, and Waiuku are still known as energy and mining centres.   By contrast once thriving towns like Capleston, Canvastown and Blackball are just names on a map now, and at the extreme you have places like Waiuta which has been reclaimed by the West Coast forest. Queenstown was built off the back of the gold rush, but by 1900 with the gold gone, only 190 people lived there yet Queenstown has managed to rebuild itself thanks to some other stunning natural assets. These examples help illustrate three key points that I am sure will each be extensively linked with our minerals and mining industries. First, NZÆs development and that of its regions has been, and continues to be, inextricably linked with our minerals and mining industries.   Second, things change. Sectors, regions and countries must continually adapt and improve if the are to avoid the fate of the Waiutas of this world. And third, the development challenges faced by NZ and its mining industry in the 21st century are vastly more complex than in the past. Governments and industry alike must balance and respond to a range of domestic and international environmental, cultural, economic and other interests and considerations. If you thought of your industry as æjust digging holes in the groundÆ then you may as well simply stick your head in one!

Jan 1, 2005

By Brouwer G, Shaw J

As South African gold mines go deeper, and improved and more uniform working condi- tions are required, ever larger amounts of refrigeration are needed. At the same time new and more suitable cooling equipment is becoming available for use with new mining layouts as well as on existing shaft systems. The advent of the large diameter rotor screw compressor has meant that there is now a machine available with great flexibility in performance and construction for efficient underground use. The first installation using this type of machine is described.

Jan 1, 1988

By A Fern, A Hawkes, o, W Smith, K Mee

Serious Injury and Fatality (SIF) prevention remains a priority focus within high-risk industries sector. A major mining operation sought to strengthen their approach to the management of high-risk activities through an in-depth review of all historical incidents that had serious injury or fatality potential (SIFp) events (sometimes known as hi-potential events). The analysis found that the organisation invested a disproportionate level of resources, time and effort on low consequence incidents with a high proportion of SIFp incidents going under the radar. It was found that 76 per cent of SIFp incidents were rated in moderate or lower risk categories and conversely, almost half of those incidents with a ‘serious risk’ rating had little or no potential for a serious outcome. As a result of this project, the operation engaged in a renewed focus on critical risk management and enhanced its operating cadence in critical risk for the workforce. This included bow tie analysis, an update to critical risk standards and increased workforce engagement in the use of critical control verifications in the field. Data analytics with lead and lag indicators continue to provide senior leadership team and risk owners with an understanding of exposure for SIFp and control effectiveness. The audience will take away learnings from a real-world case study that provides data-driven insights of the human, local and organisational factors contributing to incidents with SIF potential. In addition, participants will understand the steps taken to categorise and analyse this incident data and the initiatives currently being implemented by the organisation as a result.

Apr 16, 2024

By C Yeung, N Swa, D Gribble, R Reupana

BlastLiteÖ is a low density explosive developed by Dyno Nobel and has been in use at BHP Billiton Iron OreÆs Mt Whaleback Operation since March 2004. The Mt Whaleback Operation utilises BlastLite because it offers an attractive alternative to ANFO in soft to medium strength rock types. Its use also reduces the amount of liquid fuel oil consumed and is well aligned with BHP BillitonÆs corporate Energy Excellence initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This paper presents the:results of characterisation work completed on-site as a fourth year mining engineering thesis, and application and benefits of the product at Mt Whaleback. One of the key features of low density products is that the detonation is non-ideal. That is, the explosive does not react fully in the detonation driving zone. This manifests itself in that the product is highly dependent on charge diameter and confinement conditions. Dyno Nobel has access to the Vixen suite of detonation codes for characterising the ideal and non-ideal behaviour of explosives. The objectives of this work were to use the Vixen_i code to characterise the detonation performance of BlastLite, in order to understand the role of the bulking agent and to allow modelling of the explosive. The detonation performance was established by detonating a series of unconfined charges at various diameters and measuring the velocity of detonation (VoD). The work program consisted of sourcing and preparing cardboard tubes of various diameters (80 mm to 305 mm). The tubes were loaded with explosive at the BHP Billiton Iron Ore Mt Whaleback test range and detonated one at a time. Over the past three years BlastLite has been used in various applications across the site. Initial findings illustrate that shovel productivity from BlastLite shots was comparable to the baseline ANFO blasts. The study results were also backed with visual inspection and feedback from shovel operators. A work program is currently in place to develop different blends of BlastLite and TITAN« BlastLite to tailor the explosives to various blasting applications. The trials at Mt Whaleback are leading to future opportunities of BHP BillitonÆs satellite orebodies.

Jan 1, 2007

By D Shuen, R Sales, D La Rosa

Semi-autogenous grinding (SAG) mill control is complex and depends on many dynamic process variables. Good control strategies ensure that a mill is operating as close to optimal as possible, resulting in significant economic benefits to an operation. Pueblo Viejo, a gold mine in the Dominican Republic, has been actively improving their control strategies since start-up in 2012, and one of these initiatives was to install an acoustic monitoring system on the SAG mill. The data from the system is used to optimise the mill’s performance by limiting the time the mill is either running too quiet or too loud. The lower limit is an indication that the charge in the mill is too high for efficient breakage or that the mill speed is too low and grinding media are not striking the toe of the charge. Conversely, when the acoustic emissions from the mill are too high, this can indicate that the balls are striking above the toe of the charge, resulting in inefficient grinding and excessive liner and lifter wear. Adjusting mill operating conditions to keep acoustic emissions in the ‘sweet spot’ between these limits results in more efficient grinding.Pueblo Viejo installed a Metso SmartEar™ to monitor the acoustic emissions of their SAG mill in January 2013. This system has been installed on many mills around the world and is specifically designed for optimising SAG mill control. One system output is the impact counter which measures steel-on-steel impacts on the mill shell. The impact counter uses both frequency and time domain analysis to approximate the number of ball impacts per minute. This method of analysis excludes parts of the sound signal not associated with steel-on-steel impacts and gives an accurate measure of this critical control parameter. After the acoustic system was installed, Pueblo Viejo collected data to determine the upper and lower limits for the impact count variable. The live data is available to the mill operators and it is used as one of the key operating variables to control the mill.Through continuous improvement and the use of advanced technologies like SmartEar™, Pueblo Viejo are improving the control and operation of their SAG mill, resulting in reduced liner wear, more efficient mill performance and optimised energy consumption. This paper discusses the installation of the system, and the measureable benefits obtained by using acoustic monitoring to control their SAG mill.CITATION:Shuen, D, Sales, R, Wortley, M and La Rosa, D, 2014. The benefits of using SmartEar™at Pueblo Viejo, in Proceedings 12th AusIMM Mill Operators’ Conference 2014 , pp 297–304 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Sep 1, 2014

By Bahsford A

The presence of coal in the Sydney area was confirmed in 1891 when Cremorne Bore No. I intersected cindered coal at 1 854 m. The decision to develop Sydney Harbour Colliery was based on the results of Cremorne Bore No. 2 (drilled in 1892) in which a 3.12 m. seam of unaltered coal was encountered at 889 m. Geologists from the New South Wales Department of Mineral Resources consider that this seam is probably equivalent to an upper split of the Bulli seam. Long Cove at Balmain was selected by Sydney Harbour Collieries Ltd. as the site for mine development in 1896. This was due to opposition to the proposed establishment of a colliery on the north shore of Port Jackson near Cremorne. Construction of the main access and ventilation shafts (termed Birth- day and Jubilee), other mine infrastructure and the quay wall occurred between 1897 and 1902. A fatal accident in which five men were killed occurred during the construction of the Birthday Shaft in 1900. This acci- dent resulted in amendments to the Mining Act providing for guide rails in shafts.

Jan 1, 1988

By D Kentwell

IGO Ltd’s (IGO) Nova Operation (Nova) is 160 km east-north-east of the town of Norseman in Western Australia (WA). Discovered by Sirius Resources NL (Sirius) in 2012 and acquired by IGO in 2015, the Nova-Bollinger Deposit (Nova-Bollinger) occurs within the Fraser Zone of the AlbanyFraser Orogen. Nova-Bollinger is a complex nickel-copper-cobalt (Ni-Cu-Co) magmatic intrusive sulfide deposit, which is characterised by high-grade folded and undulating breccia lodes that host the bulk of the payable metals. Significant sulfide mineralisation is also found in several magmatic intrusive styles including net-textured, disseminated and blebby styles. A smaller but material volume of sulfides has also been remobilised into the deposit’s footwall rocks as ‘stringer’ bands in metasediments, or as discrete massive sulfide lenses. When interpolating Mineral Resource estimate (MRE) block grades in the presence of locally varying grade connectivity trends, such as folds or undulations, the sample search neighbourhood, which is used to identify the composites subset that is used for each block estimate, should be oriented to match the local trends. In theory, the most robust method of estimation where locally varying angles (LVAs) are applied to search neighbourhoods, are techniques where the composites and the blocks to be estimated are transformed to an unfolded coordinate system (UCS). However, UCS methods can be tedious to implement and require subjective decisions to be made that cannot always be fully defended. An alternative LVA method commonly used in the industry is dynamic anisotropy (DA), which is much simpler to implement and is often assumed (but not that often demonstrated) to result in similar results to UCS-style estimation. In 2018, Nova’s Mine Geology team (MGT) estimated the grades and density of the Nova-Bollinger MRE using the UCS approach. For the 2020 MRE update, Nova’s MGT tested and compared the USC grade interpolation method with the DA approach. As applied to the Nova-Bollinger’s 2020 MRE, the comparison, advantages and disadvantages of the two estimation methods are the subject of this paper

Mar 22, 2022

By S Coward, C Xu, P A. Dowd

"This paper provides an assessment of the current challenges in strategic mine planning and design and suggested approaches for addressing them. The specific challenges covered are: realistic quantification of downstream processes applied to orebody models to provide an integrated approach to mine design and optimisation modelling, estimation and simulation of geometallurgical variables and their integration into resource and reserve estimation and mine planning modelling, estimation and simulation of new variables for new forms of mining – deep mining, particularly block caving, and solution mining flexibility in planning and design to manage risk and minimise its impact information technology (IT) infrastructure and platforms for rapid online data collection, storage, access and processing.Most of these challenges require new types of data, variables, modelling and estimation methods. Foremost among the new types of variables and data are geometallurgical and dynamic rock mass characterisation variables. New types of data and data collection include rapid generation of very large amounts of online sensor data and the consequent need for rapid processing and modelling of these data.This paper outlines the challenges and strategies in each of these areas and uses examples of models and outputs to illustrate approaches and potential solutions.CITATION:Dowd, P A, Xu, C and Coward, S, 2014. Strategies for mine planning and design, in Proceedings Orebody Modelling and Strategic Mine Planning Symposium 2014, pp 41–50 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne)."

Nov 24, 2014

The selection and implementation of the right technology for a project is critical to the future development of the resource industry. It is essential for companies to ensure ongoing competitive viability that where practical new or alternative technology be adopted. Analysis of historical data relating to development of resource-based process plants provides an enlightening insight into the key factors which influence their success or failure. The adoption of new technology does not guarantee the success of a project. The outcomes of this analysis have been used to develop some general guidelines and principles the author believes are useful in the selection and implementation of new or alternative technology in resource projects. This paper is available as a PowerPoint presentation only.

Jan 1, 2006