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This paper describes the new iron and steelmaking process recently commissioned at NZ Steel. Ironsand mined and concentrated at Waikato North head is slurry pumped 18 km to the company's Glenbrook works. Ironmaking includes the direct reduction process pioneered at Glenbrook in the 1970s and a new continuous electric melter. The molten, high carbon pig iron produced is then fed to a vanadium recovery unit and on to the KOBM oxygen steelmaking vessel. Steel is cast into billets or slabs. The new plant, which is the first stage of a fully integrated works at Glenbrook, raises New Zealand Steel's production capacity from 150 000 t/y to 750 000 t/y.

Jan 1, 1986

By Thomas W

Due to record low tin prices and an uncompetitive position in world markets, the Renison tin mine has undergone three major phases of restructuring in the last three years. This has involved substantial job losses, almost all of which have been through voluntary retrenchments. Retrenchments took place in 1988, 1990 and 1991.The last phase of restructuring was the most dramatic, as many aspects of the operation of the mine were changed. New pay structures were introduced, and the miners' contract system was scrapped. Drastic pay cuts occurred in many areas, although the opportunity was also taken to increase pay at some of the lower levels where inequities existed. Work practices were changed, as was the management structure.

Jan 1, 1992

Autocompression and virgin rock tempera ture have a marked influence on the ventilation of the lower levels at North Broken Hill Limited N.S.W. To maintain comfortable working temp- eratures without penalty to working hours, increase in airflow or the cooling of the work area is necessary. The use of refrigerated air cooling is discussed. Ventilation of underground mining opera tions at North Broken Hill Limited is accomplished by downcasting air through No.3 shaft, the main operating shaft, 1581 m deep, with additional air through No.1 shaft (542 m) 2 and No.2 shaft (978 m), both no longer opera- tional shafts. Air is upcasted through No.3 ventilation shaft which is 4.9 m diameter and concrete lined, from the No.28 level (1140 m) to the surface. On the surface level of this shaft is a horizontally mounted Richardson 4800 mm diameter single stage axial flow fan with adjustable pitch rotor blades.

Jan 1, 1977

By S B. Fitch, S A. Wilson, A J. R Barr, P R. Searle

Improving the safety culture and performance of any operation is a fundamental goal of every mine operator. Methods of implementing, or changing a culture have developed from the early methods of operant conditioning, for example rewarding crews for achieving nominated safety milestones i.e. 3 months Lost Time Injury (LTI) free through to the current model of engaging a workforce through education and empowerment. As a large scale and mature operation with multiple contractors, Telfer has been exposed to numerous programs throughout its history. This has provided the opportunity to build on and complement these systems by integrating key elements from each. SAFE 360° is a new approach developed to engage the workforce in a holistic approach to encourage positive behaviours across all facets of an individual’s life which results in a focus on situational awareness at all times, rather than being workplace specific. It is based on three key modules: • Emotional Intelligence • Mindfulness • Situational Awareness Each module has a series of modules that help enhance the individual’s sense of self, leading to an ability to self-reflect and self-manage whilst empowering them with the moral courage to challenge their peers to raise standards. Since commencing this SAFE 360° behavioural safety risk management journey in November 2017, we have witnessed a change in the way our workforce engages with each other, their workplace and with management. There has been an increase in hazard perception, identification and ownership of issues, and we have seen a significant decrease in site TRIFR rate from 13.7 to 5.7 (as of April 2019). This paper will provide an overview of the program, how it has been implemented, case studies to demonstrate outcomes and KPIs used to measure effectiveness.

Mar 15, 2021

The region we call the West Coast is acknowledged as one of the richest and most diverse mineral provinces in the world. It's the most rugged part of Tasmania and our island is one of the most rugged parts of Australia, so that speaks for itself. A hostile land of razorback mountains, deep ravines, dangerous rivers, almost impenetrable rainforests and a climate that can change from mild to freezing in a matter of hours.

Jan 1, 1993

By G Senanayake, J Andreazza

The general experience in gold cyanidation research activities and plant practice is that high oxygen and cyanide concentrations improve gold leaching kinetics which in turn reduce residence time and increase throughput. This paper shows how the improved pre-oxidation method for the pyrrhotite rich gold ore of Bounty Gold Mine has increased gold recoveries at lower reagent consumption rates. The installation of a pipe reactor, in conjunction with a Multi Mix Systems oxygen injector, has lowered the amount of oxygen required to achieve a dissolved oxygen level target of 20 mg/L. The improvement of the pre-oxidation stage and lead nitrate solution addition has led to a reduction in the free cyanide concentration required for leaching, resulting in a decrease in cyanide consumption rate by 36 per cent to achieve a one to two per cent improvement in the gold recovery.

Jan 1, 2002

By Mendeckl A. J

Anglo American Corporation has always viewed technological development as vital and as such has placed research and the implementation of new technological practices high on its priority list. Support is given to a number of research institutes but a significant degree of reliance is placed on in-house research carried out at individual companies and at the Group's main laboratory complexes. The Corporation's interests are diverse with advanced practices and innovative technology ranging from new battery technology with wide application to deep level shaft technology with very specific application. In this paper, we aim to concentrate on a particular system developed primarily for use in seismically active deep mines. The system has proved to have far wider application and has the potential to be further enhanced to meet the needs of users across a broad range within the industry and even beyond. As the nature of this conference is to inform delegates of advanced mining practices, we should simply mention that we could have talked on subjects relating to the advances made in deep level winding technology including winder drive and brake control to alleviate dynamic rope loads, shaft steel design for high pay load high speed winding and shaft safety systems such as slack rope devices and moving lip loading facilities to cater for rope stretch. Other areas of interest relating to refrigeration using ice technology or non-explosive rock cutting using diamond wire or saw technology could also have been of interest. As the South African gold mines become deeper and the problems associated with depth become more acute, answers had to be found and systems developed to cope with very high rock stress and the related seismicity. The fundamental understanding of the behaviour of the rock mass has always been important but became critical on our mines to ensure the safe extraction of the orebody. Basic research into and the application of physics, applied mathematics, seismology, rock mechanics, electronics and computer technology have helped us to develop the Integrated Seismic System - Integrated because of the system's abilty to monitor seismic and non-seismic sensors simultaneously and because it encompasses data acquisition, processing and interpretation into one system. The system which is in use at all our gold mines has found application not only in South Africa but also in such locations as Australia, Chile, Canada, Europe and Japan. A highly motivated team of scientists under the leadership of Aleksander Mendecki developed the majority of the hardware and software needed for the system. In essence, the system allows us real time monitoring of energy release and stress transfer data that with the aid of modern computers is turned into useful information. The information so obtained has allowed us to improve our mine and extraction designs to minimise the inherent hazards. The system has proved to be an extremely useful management tool as substantiated by the demand for the product. The paper is intended to convey to the reader the technical concepts and the presentation is intended to demonstrate the usefulness of the system.

Jan 1, 1995

By G A. Partington

Recent research has highlighted the potential of a relatively new style of gold mineralisation related to granite intrusion. New discoveries in Alaska, Central Europe and Asia and Eastern Australia with total resources of 1600 t Au offer attractive targets for regional exploration in areas which may have been overlooked in the past. A spatial information system was developed to target granite-gold systems in eastern Australia and the West coast of New Zealand, using well constrained geological and exploration models derived from current research. Target areas were recognised in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand that have similar spatial data relationships to known granite gold mineralisation elsewhere in the world. The second phase of the modelling better constrained the regional scale target areas by including more detailed geological, geochemical and geophysical data in the GIS to develop prospect-scale targets and to allow the acquisition of tenements over these areas. A geological review of each target area was carried out in the field to put the GIS models into context. The fieldwork has highlighted the potential for this style of mineralisation in New Zealand and will increase investment in mineral exploration and development in New Zealand in the near future.

Jan 1, 2005

By N Madani, Y Abildin, E Topal

Mine planning is a crucial part of all mining industry projects, and nowadays, geometallurgical mapping through advanced computer technologies provides an opportunity to involve metallurgical responses of a deposit into 3D block model in order to optimise mine planning activities, especially for production forecasting. Including these metallurgical parameters apart from traditional geology and grade-based attributes into resource modelling leads to an extensive approximation for the economic maximisation of mine production due to better forecasting, planning and increasing certainty and the reliability of the resource model (Macfarlane and Williams, 2014). Commonly, geostatistical techniques and algorithms are used to produce models with the high resolution (Brissette et al. 2014; Deutsch et al. 2014; Tolosana-Delgado et al. 2015). The accuracy of the modelling procedure deeply depends on a reliable block model, produced by spatial analysis of corresponding variables that define the geological, metallurgical, mineralogical and chemical behaviour of the deposit. However, there are special cases, where the application of enhanced geostatistical methods is required, to solve the occurred difficulties between variables with multivariate complexities. For example, in oxide copper deposits, the soluble copper grade is a percentage of total copper grade and recoverable by heap leaching processes (Emery, 2012; Hosseini and Asghari, 2015). Hence, the joint spatial modelling of these variables has two difficulties.CITATION:Abildin, Y, Madani, N and Topal, E, 2018. Forecast the mineral processing destinations based on spatial interpolation of geometallurgical variables, in Proceedings Complex Orebodies Conference 2018, pp 2–5 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Nov 21, 2018

This paper refers to the open cut mining practice developed at Western Mining Corporation's Kalgoorlie Gold Operations (K.G.O.). Mining activity was centred attwo areas, namely W.M.C.'s Siberia "Sand King" and"Missouri" open cuts plus W.M.C.'s "Great Boulder" and K.M.A.'s "Horshoe" and "Morrison -Hannan's Star" open cuts in Fimiston.Kalgoorlie Gold Operations was set up initially to look after W.M.C.'s open cut interests in and about the Kalgoorlie area. The first mine commenced was, the Sand King open cut, approx 75 km NW of Kalgoorlie. it was here that the requirement for a highly selective form of mining first became apparent.

Jan 1, 1984

The estimate of an ore reserve is a vital statement made about a mineral occurrence by an evaluator. It is important that such a statement communicate reality to all groups involved in a mining project, be they technical, financial, company directors, Stock Exchanges or the public. Ore reserve statements should state both resources and recoverable ore reserves. Resources may be important in very long term considerations, (because mining, metallurgical technology and economics change with time) but recoverable reserves are todays reality. The important factors contributing to recoverable reserves (in a general sense) are geology, mining method (and its impact on dilution and ore loss), metallurgical recovery, costs and commodity prices. These all need to be reflected in the ore reserve statement. In this paper recoverable ore reserve concepts across a wide range of orebodies are considered and discussed with respect to geology, mining method and ore reserve calculation procedures.

Jan 1, 1987

By Wooller R

The 3-D regular block model used for long term mine planning at Hamersley Iron did not fulfil the requirements for short term mine planning in terms of accurate representation of geological structures, contacts and boundaries in the orebodies. A computer model, based on zone plans, is being created as a single orebody model for all phases of mine planning. The zone plan is the primary interface between the geologists and mining engineers. It is essentially a bench plan at mid-bench height showing geological structure, material type boundaries, the grade and physical characteristics of ore blocks. The method allows for the dilution of ore zones by waste material. The stratiform nature of the orebodies allows zones of varying grade to be readily delineated on the plans. The Zone Plan Model (ZPM) is the interface between geological and mine planning computer systems. It is the basis of all mine planning with applications including long and short term mine plans, reconciliations, general ore reserve estimations, pit design and general model enquiries. The system was designed to be user driven. The user has complete control at all times as all computer generated data are fed back to the user who may then elect to override the computer. Various controls were built into the system to ensure model validity and integrity. The system has proved to be invaluable as a tool for users with little or no computing experience.

Jan 1, 1986

Here, in what is partly a review and partly a personal viewpoint, I take stock of changes in emphasis and comprehension on the subject of basaltic volcanism in the decade that has passed since the completion of the landmark Basaltic Volcanism Study Project (1981). I concentrate attention on the relatively neglected physical-volcanology aspects (in 1988 it was still possible to publish a 340-page book on flood basalts with barely any mention of physical mechanisms).I adopt the useful unifying concept of "volcanic system" to embrace the invariably-present intrusions as well as the volcano; I consider controls exercised by magma-supply rate and modulator-mechanisms on the nature of the system;I emphasize that sheeted-intrusion complexes, consisting either of dikes or inclined sheets (depending on the ability of the system to expand laterally) occur in all eroded major systems and fuel geothermal systems; I show how constraints set by cooling of narrow intrusions cause such complexes to be wedge-like and produce considerable rotations; I consider the role of the level of neutral buoyancy in making magma chambers possible, causing lateral subsurface magma flow and localizing intrusions, while the LNB itself can be accentuated by intrusions; and I examine the possibility that underwater systems could have very different internal structures from systems on land.

Jan 1, 1990

In Australia we usually define "resource" in purely material terms, and rarely relate it to intellect and human capacity. We look at the sheer abundance of our natural resources and are satisfied with the feeling that we don't really need-to rely on using our brains. Certainly our country is fortunate to have the mineral resources it does, but in many ways Australia's worst enemy is its "lucky country" syndrome because we tend to underutilise the great resource we have in the capacities of our people. Raw material exports will undoubtedly continue to contribute a major share of our export revenue, but to harness the riches our country has to offer most effectively we need the vision and planning necessary to bring together our material and human resources. There is a need not only to find, exploit and process our minerals economically, but to turn as much of our mineral wealth as possible into high value products before it leaves the country. In particular we must use our brainpower if we want to maximise economic benefit from and political influence over the strategic minerals which leave our shores. In the past we have been successful in finding and exploiting minerals because our mining industry has been in the forefront of private sector research and development. But if Australia is to have an advantage over other mineral rich countries in insulating itself from the effects of cyclical swings in commodity prices, then the future of the industry must lie even more in technological sophistication rather than depending. on such considerations as size and location of mineral deposits. To survive, our mineral industry must have the foresight and resourcefulness to make its own luck. There are two keys to increased efficiency in exploration and production and in further processing methods: enhancement of the skills of the workforce and continual improvement of R&D.

Jan 1, 1986

By Rashleigh C

The selection and application of an effect- ive firing system first require a clear under- standing of the initiating abilities of the com- ponents in such systems. The conditions under which charges can be prematurely initiated by a detonating cord downline must be appreciated. This is a principal consideration in the design of a successful downline/'Anodet'/primer assembly. The advantages and limitations of an electric and several non-electric initiating systems are explained. The factors which in- fluenced selection of the two most suitable systems for use at Isa Mine (viz. downline/ 'Anodet'/primer assemblies and the reinforced long-lead 'Anodet'-type delay system) are dis- cussed. Blasts are detailed in which each of these has been applied. The initiating design for a hypothetical 2 x 106 tonne blast using electric short delay detonators and multi-channel exploders is presented. In this design, charges in remote blastholes are activated after the detonation of earlier firing charges by protecting the firing lines with sandbags.

Jan 1, 1978

By Burman B. C

This paper describes studies into two particular aspects of the Lochiel deposit which formed part of feasibility level geot2chnical and hydrogeological investigations for proposed open cut mine development. The two aspects were depressurisation of thick beds of silt located through the profile and the determination of characteristics and origins of soil structure and their effect on pit stability. The studies were very detailed and multi disciplinary and highlight the integration of geology, geotechnics, hydrogeology and mining that is required for mine development studies. It is considered that as more marginal deposits are developed throughout the world the demands for efficient economic mining together with in- creasing scales of operation will require simi- lar types of studies. As such the studies pre- sented herein are likely to be a forerunner to a,emerging trend for development of open pit mines in difficult ground and water conditions.

Jan 1, 1986

It is my role at this juncture to report to you on behalf of the Council of Mining and Metallurgical Institutions itself. In essence, the Council is an orbital body - a little like Halley's Comet - it returns to earth, in spectacular style, once in every four years. We must acknowledge, however, that the spectacle is provided by the constituent member body organising the particular event and, on this occasion, it is The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. On behalf of the Council and its other constituent bodies may I thank the Australasian Institute most sincerely. Our thanks go to Sir James Foots, the President of the 13th Congress, and to all the members of the organising committee and to the five sub- committees. Over 40 people are involved as full members and I am certain there will have been many more involved in very meaningful ways. None of this great- team would ask me to mention them individually, I'm sure, but to fail to acknowledge the role of John Funnell, the Honorary Secretary, would be an unforgivable omission. We must also thank the kindred institutions in Japan, Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia who all helped with the tours themselves or with the initial preparations. Qantas, Jetabout Australia, and Jetabout Singapore have all also made very important contributions and, in our different ways, we each owe our thanks to them. At the two most recent meetings of the Congress - in Hong Kong and Johannesburg - Professor Marston Fleming made this report on behalf of the Council and was supported on both occasions by Robert MacWilliam as vice- chairman. Marston died in 1983 and Robert died in 1984; both men contributed a great deal to CMMI and we will miss their counsel for a long time. As you know, Sir Alistair Frame succeeded Marston Fleming as chairman in 1984 and I succeeded Robert MacWilliam as Vice-chairman.

Jan 1, 1986

By Lawson E, Purkiss S. A R, Van Ashwegen p C

It is only in the past decade or so that industrial exploitation of biological resources and techniques has become regarded as a distinct discipline. Commonly referred to as Biotechnology, it embraces biochemistry, microbiology and the engineering sciences and is mainly aimed at the biological conversion of suitable raw materials into desired end products. The catalytic agents are more often than not bacteria although other micro-organisms such as fungi are used. The range of micro-organisms used is wide and the choice depends upon the desired end product, which in turn depends upon the metabolic attributes, genetically engineered or otherwise, of the cells. The metabolic diversity of micro-organisms has been applied to processes such as antibiotic production, food processing, brewing and chemical production, and of course extraction of metals from ores. Metabolic diversity is, to a certain extent, based on nutrition, which, in its simplest form, can be divided into energy source, carbon requirements and nature of the electron donor producing reducing power to the cells. The source of energy may be light, in which case the organisms are phototrophic (eg green plants, algae). The carbon requirements and reducing power may come from organic sources. These organisms are then called heterotrophic (eg man and most bacteria, including the well known Escherichia colt). However, there is a group of bacteria whose energy metabolism depends upon chemical redox reactions, use inorganic carbon (CO2) and obtain their reducing power from reduced chemicals such as metal sulphides. These are known as chemolithotrophs. They play an important role in mineral recycling in nature and are also ideal for extraction of metals from ores. This is because they are extremeophiles being acidophilic (grow at very low pH) and sometimes also thermophilic (grow at very high temperatures). These bacteria operate in such hostile environments that competition, or contamination, by other organisms does not occur. Extraction of metals from ores by chemolithotrophic bacteria is commonly referred to as biohydrometallurgy. Other related areas are bioadsorption of metals from dilute solution,- microbial treatment of metal contaminated wastes and removal of toxic chemicals produced or used during mineral processing. This paper basically reviews the work that Gencor has undertaken in the field of biohydrometallurgy and the advancements it has made in commercialising the technology, but also touches on certain long-term areas of research that are currently under investigation.

Jan 1, 1995

The theme i wish to develop in this talk is how we might make use of the scientific and technological knowledge we now have ofextraction metallurgy to meet the present-day needs of the production industry.Before doing so, I would like to say a few words in tribute to Dr. G.K. Williams since he was a past master at precisely what I wish to talk about. I knew G.K., as everybody called him, during the time he spent at Avonmouth in the late 40's and in the 50's. Later, when he was ostensibly retired, I had the pleasure several times of lunching with him when I was visiting Melbourne.When G.K. was at Avonmouth, the Imperial Smelting Process was in that capricious adolescent stage in between the pilot plant and the full-scale commercial unit. G.K. was a great collector of process plant data which hung in cascades from the walls of his office and-from his hand-operated desk calculator. What G.K. understood very well were the basic metallurgical and engineering principles of what was going on in the sinter machine, the shaft furnace and all their ancillaries.

Jan 1, 1985

By Falbo A, Quarestima S, Cozza C, Barbaro M

A new synthetic reagent of the mercaptobenzoxazole class, 5- methyl-2-mercaptobenzoxazole, has been studied. This reagent exhibits powerful selective collecting action towards copper sulphides present in several complex ores, as demonstrated both by laboratory and pilot plant tests. Industrial production is expected to start in the near future. The way this reagent reacts with pure chalcocite has been studied utilising in situ FTIR techniques, adsorption tests, electrokinetic potential measurements and Hallimond cell flotation tests. The FTIR studies have indicated the nature of the surface phase. Adsorption isotherms obtained by the rest method have revealed the quantitative evolution of surface products, permitting the determination of surface coverage at various reagent concentrations. The electrokinetic potential has been utilised to verify the stability of individual species in diverse concentration ranges. Correlation of the results obtained has provided indications on the chemical interaction of this reagent with the surface and on the surface Arrangement.

Jan 1, 1993