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The results of self potential geophysical surveys conducted over base metal prospects near Orange, Goulburn, and Wellington, N.S.W., indicate that this rapid and inexpensive exploration procedure merits wider application within eastern New South Wales, and in similar environments elsewhere.

Jan 1, 1973

The notes from which this paper has been prepared were set down at the time of the author's departure from Australia in 1935. Mr. Frank Forman, Government Geologist of Western Australia, who has very kindly read the paper in manuscript, affirms that the views here set forth are now accepted by most geologists. Thus, Forman's recent presidential address before the Royal Society of Western Australia (1937) mentions sediments in the Kalgoorlie Series "including banded jaspers and jaspilites."While it may, therefore, be superfluous to belabour the question further at this time, Mr. Forman has encouraged the author to publish this paper as a summary or both past and present views.To those specially interested in the subject of the paper, a study of pertinent Plates attached to Western Australian Geological Survey Bulletin No. 71, 1917, is suggested.The type of rock which is variously called "jasper bar," jaspilite, or "ferruginous quartzite" is familiar to all mining men who have worked in the West Australian goldfields.In its typical form it is a "striped" rock consisting of alternate layers of white or pinkish silica with red to brown bands of iron-bearing silica.In the course of geological work in many parts of Western Australia I studied exposures of jasper bar and was repeatedly impressed with the similarity of much of the material to the sedimentary "banded iron formation" of Canada. It was, therefore, a surprise to learn that the jasper bars were not generally regarded in Australia as sedimentary horizons. It is true that Honman offered convincing evidence of the sedimentary origin of the jaspers...

Jan 1, 1939

By AMIRA P588 Research Team

This contribution summarises new knowledge and data, obtained during a three year ARCAMIRA funded research project, on the mineralogical and geochemical characteristics of hydrothermal alteration associated with low sulfidation, gold-silver epithermal deposits. These data are used to develop exploration vectors for use at both deposit and district scales, plus techniques have been established to distinguish ore grade epithermal systems from barren or low grade systems. Deposits investigated were Ladolam, Papua New Guinea, Gosowong and Mt Muro, Indonesia, Cerro Vaguardia, Argentina and Bimurra and Twin Hills, Australia.

Jan 1, 2005

It is a great honour to be privileged to address The Institute for a second time as President and I appreciate it more than I can say. Eight years ago in Hobart I tried to cover the development of the mineral industry in Tasmania. That was a general subject. Tonight I want to be more specific - I propose to talk to you about rutile.The choice of subject for a Presidential Address is never easy. One is addressing an informed audience and the best one can do is to try to crystallize a particular subject and to present it in a form that willbe of interest to those who listen.I looked carefully at the addresses given by our Presidents over the past seven or eight years. The titles are impressive, the content excellent, and the length, as published, much greater than I had hoped.It is therefore with some trepidation that I have chosen as a subject one only of the three crystal forms of titanium dioxide. This subject is not as limited as may at first appear.There are two aspects with which I can deal - the mineral itself, which has become familiar as the major product of the East Coast beach sand operations, and the lesser-known "synthetic" product, which is the major pigment in almost all the white paints in common use today, and in cosmetics and white-walled tyres and toothpaste, and even the better types of fine papers. The synthetic form of rutile is' the "whitest"of white pigments.

Jan 1, 1966

Mining ventures are essentially risky businesses. Explorers and project developers (plus their investors and financiers) attempt to minimise the risks involved or at least manage them. Core considerations are the obvious technical and commercial risks, but the socio-political system and regulatory environment in which the project will operate can be more important. Successful mineral investments in a country depend upon obtaining realistic and reliable technical results in a country that provides certainty, to gain and maintain investor confidence in a project. Brief commentary is provided on the usefulness of professional accreditation and ethics plus other specific reporting codes (eg JORC/VALMIN Codes) in reducing risks by reinforcing high technical competence and reputable individual professional behaviour (particularly in the context of currently perceived high corruption levels in so many countries). These various risk components are reviewed, especially in a global context, to showcase New ZealandÆs current position. Successful projects are those which provide investors with credible and reliable optimal results in less volatile environments because investors/lenders hate uncertainty and surprises even more.

Jan 1, 2005

Research of 200 m3 Self-Suction Flotation Machine

Sep 13, 2010

The cyclone, or centrifugal separator, ,is firmly established in industry as a low cost separator of solids from gases.While it will also separate fluids of different densities, and solids from liquids, its main use is to remove relatively fine dusts from gases whose pr~erties are generally not greatly different from those of air. This latter phase of operation is the one that will be dealt with here.The duty of such a cyclone separating system is to take in a supply of dusty gas and separate it into its components of dust and clean gas as perfectly as possible for the least consumption of pressure head. Any separation at all causes pressure loss and, in general, the greater the separation, the greater the pressure drop needed to effect it. The percentage of dust in suspension which is separated from the gas-dust mixture is commonly called the collection or separation efficiency. Overall or "true" efficiency must take pressure drop into account and may be considered as proportional to the ratio of the percentage of dust collected to the resultant pressure drop. For any cyclone It will vary with different dusts.Many commercial adaptions of the simple cyclone are made solely on the basis of pressure drop improvement, without taking into account the effect on separation efficiency, probably because the latter is so difficult to assess correctly. It appears unfortunate but true that the majority of such adaptions and patent gadgets fitted to cyclones which decrease pressure drop, do have an adverse effect on separation. In other' words, the true efficiency is seldom increased but often diminished.Without a knowledge of what actually goes on inside a cyclone, it is impossible fully to appreciate the real effect of a modification. For instance, it is on record that a cyclone...

Jan 1, 1949

By Silver EA

The Finisterre Range on the north coast of Papua New Guinea is the uplifted forearc riagio.n. of a modern arc-continent collision. The core of the range is composed of the P- nisterre Volcanics, an Oligocene''-arc terrane. The southern flank of the range consists of a clastic sedimentary sequence which is an uplifted accretionary wedge and collision complex. This clastic sequence can be subdivided into three distinct units. To the south of aiid structurally below the Finisterre Valcanics are the Mebu beds, an Oligocene- $arly Miocene sequence of volcanolithic turbidites. The Erap Structural Complex is south of, and structurally below the Mebu 43eds. , It consists of three subunits; the 3rly Pliocene micaceous turbidites of the Sukurum unit, contemporaneous pillow basalts AF{ the Basalt unit, and Late Pliocene to Pleistocene volcanolithic turbidites of the -Nariawang unit. The Quaternary Leron Formation, a fluvial to shallow marine 'clastic unit, is the southernmdst. and structurally lowest unit of the clastic -sequence The Finisterre Range is dominated by a fold-and-thrust belt with most thrusts "dipping steeply N. Melange fabric _ is developed in the vicinity of major thrusts. "ffle thrust belt strikes NW, oblique to the regional convergence direction, but no strike-slip motion is observed along NW striking faults.

Jan 1, 1991

By D Brooks, S Gunn, T Perkins, J Siliezar

Ernest Henry Mining (EHM) is a copper, gold and magnetite mining and processing operation located 38km north east of Cloncurry. The EHM ore body has an average grade of 0.9% copper (chalcopyrite), 0.5g/t gold and 22% magnetite.Open pit mining commenced in March 1998, but EHM transitioned to underground mining in December 2012, extending the life of operations beyond 2024. The underground mine currently produces up to 3Mt/year of ore, hauled up a decline by truck. This figure shall double in 2014 with the completion of a 1000m shaft. The EHM Concentrator has a nameplate capacity of 10Mt/year. In June 2011, Xstrata Copper acquired the Mount Margaret resource to supplement underground production and utilise the full capacity of the Concentrator. The Mount Margaret Mining (MMM) operation was established to develop the five deposits making up the resource by way of open pit mining.Copper concentrate is produced by the EHM Concentrator via grinding, flotation and dewatering circuits. The grinding circuit comprises a SAG and ball mill in a closed AB configuration. Flotation consists of a rougher train, regrind and three stages of cleaning, with the tail from the first stage reporting to the tailings thickener.The mineralogy of the MMM ores is complex, comprising fine textures of active pyrite, copper oxides, native copper, clay and secondary copper sulphides. This paper provides an overview of the metallurgical test work completed to forecast the performance of the MMM ores through the EHM Concentrator and identify flow sheet modifications for maximising copper recovery and producing a saleable concentrate. A discussion of the challenges experienced in the plant to date follows.CITATION:Gunn, S, Siliezar, J, Brooks, D and Perkins, T, 2013. Adapting the Ernest Henry Mining concentrator to process the Mount Margaret ores, in Proceedings MetPlant 2013 , pp 347-370 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Jul 15, 2013

By Clarke P. E

At the end of the recent war, reports became available from Europe of the use of tungsten-carbide inserts in percussion rockdrill bits. These bits were used with small size rockdrills, so that the only advantage gained from the use of the harder, abrasion resistant, tungsten-carbide appears to have been the greater life of the bit. Larger machines, such as used in Australia in conventional practice, had to be discarded to protect the relatively brittle tungstencarbide inserts and the vulnerable bonding with the bit body.As it had been found in machine shop practice that some grades of tungsten-carbide had been produced with considerably improved toughness, it was decided by Gold Mines of Australia Ltd. that drilling practice with tungstencarbide bits warranted detailed examination under Australian conditions, and that drilling tests should be undertaken at Morning Star (G.M.A.) Mines N.L., for which it acts as General Manager and Consultant.These investigations progressed through three stages:1. Preliminary Investigations and Tests.When the investigations were initiated no commercial bits were available in Australia, and manufacture was commenced with improvised equipment from virtual scratch. These early tests indicated that the use of 3 in. bore rockdrills in conjunction with tungsten-carbide insert bits was a 'possibility, and that it was unlikely that a small bore...

Jan 1, 1950

The early history of the mine is traced from the beginning of shaft sinking in 1886 to the purchase by the Broken Hill Proprietary Co. Ltd. in 1949. A necessary preliminary to mechanisation of the Borehole Seam was development of the Young Wallsend seam, andthis development is described. Surface reorganisation and coal handling arrangements are dealt with in detail. Then follows a description of the Borehole Seam mechanisation, the provision of power supply for this purpose, arid pumping arrangements in themine.INTRODUCTIONStockton Borehole Colliery is in the Parish of Teralba, between the townships of Teralba and Boolaroo, and about 12 miles from Newcastle. The colliery holding, a freehofd area of 2,560 acres, was apparently an original land grant when acquired by Teralba Co-operative Coal Company who decided to mine for coal and named the mine "Teralba Colliery." Shaft sinking was commenced in 1886 but was delayed by financial and water troubles to such an extent that it was not until 1901 that the Borehole Seam was reached.Coal was won until 1904 using a single 16 ft. diameter shaft, ventilation being achieved by means of a wooden boxing down one side of the shaft. This collapsed, and operations ceased until the mine was taken over in 1906 by a company known as "Borehole Colliery Limited," the principal stockholder being the Stockton Coal Company. It renamed the mine "Borehole Colliery." This new company immediately commenced sinking a 13 ft. diameter air shaft. In 1908 the Stocktol1 Colliery at Stockton was abandoned, and during the following year much of its equipment was transferred to Borehole Colliery. The name was again changed becoming "Stockton Borehole Colliery." From this period on, coal was produced from the Borehole Seam by...

Jan 1, 1957

By D G. Randall, R Jivanji, J Nathoo, T Reddy

Paradoxically, the increased emphasis on water treatment in mining has generated a new problem û hypersaline brines. Currently brines are either disposed of into ash systems, lined evaporation ponds or hazardous waste sites. Evaporative crystallisation (EC) is an alternative, but the energy requirements can be prohibitive and the salt product is still a waste that must be disposed of. Eutectic freeze crystallisation (EFC) is an alternative technology that is capable of separating aqueous solutions into pure water (as ice) and pure, solidified solutes. It is highly energy efficient and does not depend on the introduction of any solvents. In addition, the simultaneous production of pure ice and potentially saleable pure salt(s) is a major advantage. Although EFC has been shown to be effective in separating a single salt and water, it is still in the early stages of being applied to the multi-component hypersaline brines that are typical of reverse osmosis retentates generated by mining and extractive metallurgy.This paper presents an EFC brine treatment protocol developed by the Crystallisation and Precipitation Unit at the University of Cape Town. The protocol incorporates brine analysis, thermodynamic modelling to establish which salts will freeze out and at which temperatures, followed by experimental studies to determine the kinetic parameters, such as nucleation temperatures, salt yields and crystal purity.Case studies showing the application of EFC for the purification of typical brines containing high levels of sodium, chlorine, sulfate and ammonia (Brine 1) and a mixture of sodium and magnesium sulfate (Brine 2) are covered. Modelling tools were applied to describe the phase behaviour of the multi-component saline systems under different process conditions. Experimental validation was carried out using synthetic brines of different (and increasingly complex) compositions. The results showed that EFC could be used to selectively recover the sodium as a sodium sulfate salt from both different brines. The simulation tools were useful in the analysis and understanding of the process.A preliminary economic analysis showed that the operating costs for EC were approximately nine times those for EFC, but the capital costs were much less- equipment for EC cost about half that of EFC. However, it is important to note that the capital cost calculations for EC are based on a technology that is already well established and with only relatively marginal future equipment cost savings expected. In contrast, EFC is a new technology, with significant future technology improvements expected.

Jan 1, 2009

By R F. G Phelps, C J. S Sangster, G S. C

Narrow vein metalliferous mining in the UK has a long history, but there are only two small gold operations at present (Clogau and Gwynfynydd). Four further gold properties are at various stages of evaluation (Calliachar, Cononish, Curraghinalt and Maestryfer). The South Crofty tin mine closed earlier in the year. Narrow veins are exploited underground and are challenging to evaluate because of their geologically variable nature. They are generally less than 3 m wide, discordant, of variable dip (

Jan 1, 1998

By Prosser A. P

The conditions under which vanadium is rendered insoluble by silica in the alkali-roast process have been investigated starting with both slag and reagent-grade materials. The inert phase is a glass formed slowlyfrom soluble NaV03 produced at lower temperatures. It contains approximately 30 per cent V in a partly reduced state; iron is not a principal component. Some of the vanadium in the inert phase is slowly returned to a soluble form by heating in an oxidizing atmosphere below the temperature at which the glass is formed (750°C). As the reaction leading to the required, soluble form of vanadium is also slow between 600 and 750° optimization and control of the temperature profile and atmosphere in the furnace, and the residence time of the solids, are necessary to ensure high vanadium extraction during subsequent leaching.

Jan 1, 1976

On Kinetic Coupling in Meso-Scale Phenomena in Mineral Froth Flotation

Sep 13, 2010

THE Talisman mine is situated on the Waitawheta (pronounced Wytaffetta) river just above its junction with the Chinemuri (pronounced Chinnemurre) river near Karangahake, NZ. The explored reef-bearing portion of the claim includes the angleformed by the junction of the rivers and extends southwards for slightly over a mile (See Plate V.). The country is mountainous both rivers flowing through precipitous gorges.The trig. station on Karangahake mountain is almost directly above the workings on the Bonanza section and is 1680 ft. above river level, the adit from the gorge giving 1200 ft. of backs measured vertically. The officers of the N.Z. Geological Survey are engaged in a detailed survey of the Waihi district and the rocks of Karangahake are under examination. The rocks of the district are andesites and dacites much altered and silicified. One of these exhibits a columnar structure in the mass in the Waitawheta gorge near the surface workings on Taukani hill, also on the southern bank...

Jan 1, 1912

By R Fury, I Skepper, D White, G Miller

Although the Pressure Acid Leaching (PAL) of nickel laterites has been conducted at Moa Bay, Cuba, since the early 1960s, the commissioning delays generally encountered by the æsecond generationÆ of PAL lateritic nickel producers in the late 1990s have demonstrated the potential complexity of the PAL process and the importance of technical risk management in maximising the realised project value. This paper describes some of the strategies used by the Ravensthorpe Nickel Project (RNP) to manage the technical aspects of the Ravensthorpe project risk. Central to these strategies is the use of Front End Loading (FEL) to deal with issues early in the development phase, when changes to the project structure can be made most effectively and cheaply. Such an approach requires a management philosophy that recognises risk as a potential cost, which accepts responsibility for dealing with risk, and which is prepared to provide adequate resources for risk management.

Jan 1, 2004

Recycling and Recovering Fine Particles from Auto Shredding Residue (ASR/SR) to Conserve Raw Materials and Protect Environment

Sep 13, 2010

Stratiform lead-zinc mineralization at the Pegmont prospect occurs as a 4-6 m thick body interbedded within arkose, schist, amphibolite, and pegmatite of the Kuridala Formation in the Eastern Belt of the Lower Proterozoic of northwest Queensland.The overall structure of the body is that of a strongly crumpled east-dipping sheet. In detail it is subjected to complex and irregular deformation.Gossaneous outcrops of the mineralised body are anomalous in Pb-Zn-Ag content and have been traced, discontinuously, over about 36 km2 in a NNE-trending belt.Below the zone of oxidation, which reaches 25-40 m below the surface, the primary sulphides are galena, sphalerite, and pyrite.Drilling on a 2 km2 area near the discovery outcrops indicates fairly uniform grades of lead and zinc.Changes in thickness of the mineralised body are gradual.

Jan 1, 1977

By Ruxton B. P, Rhodes J. M

Two Rb-Sr ages are discernible in data concerning the leucocratic granite which is the youngest pre-sedimentation phase of the crystalline basement complex at Rum Jungle, Northern Territory, Australia. Whole-rockdata suggest that intrusion of this unit took place at about 2400 my ago, with a probable initial ratio around o·707; whole rock-potassium feldspar tie-lines indicate redistribution of strontium at about 1800 my ago. The former age correlates with other measurements on rocks which form basement to the mantling Pine Creek Geosyncline; the latter correlates also with isotopic evidence for regional metamorphism and emplacement of some younger intrusive granites elsewhere within the geosyncline. A few K-Ar ages, from scattered localities, conform generally with the later event or events which appear to have some connection with the structural deformation clearly observable both in the complex and the surrounding metasediments. It is these younger events which appear to match the residual evidence for the earliest detectable concentration of uranium minerals in the Alligator Rivers district.

Jan 1, 1977