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There is growing acknowledgement that successful organisations, including mining companies, achieve their competitive advantage by better managing their employees, customers and other stakeholders. The fact that I have been asked to address this conference is perhaps evidence of the recognition of the importance of ensuring the improved management capabilities of the personnel within Australian mining companies. As many of you will be aware, prior to my appointment to the role of President of Minera Alumbrera Limited (MAA), the operator of the Bajo de la Alumbrera project, my career had been more generally focussed on industrial relations and human resources management. My appointment was met by surprise in some quarters, as it is unusual for a person without the technical background of a mining discipline to manage a world-class mining operation. However, it was recognised early in the life of the Alumbrera project that the operation did not lack technical expertise or a committed workforce; rather what was required was innovative management of the project and its operational resources, particularly given that we were operating with totally ægreenÆ workforce in a country without a large-scale mining culture. It is my experience that a particular shortcoming of mining companies is that they have tended to ægrowÆ managers based on their technical expertise rather than people management skills. Historically, many companies have assumed, or at least hoped, that their better technical people would develop the requisite skills to take on the challenges of management. Such philosophy has not always met with success. Whilst the topic for my presentation was originally published as People in the Mining Industry, within the context of the overall theme for this plenary session, People: Education for the Future, it is a subject with an extraordinary breadth of possibilities for discussion. Therefore, I have chosen to redefine my presentation to People Management Issues in Offshore Mining Projects,an issue which I consider to be an important area within the overall topic and one which has particular currency given the increased tendency by Australian miners towards offshore exploration. It is also relevant from the perspective of continued rationalisation of our industry, the recognition that there will be more large-scale, global corporate mining entities and that significantly more mining professionals will become æcitizens of the worldÆ. We therefore need to prepare our future leaders for these challenges. The topic also allows me to highlight the importance of an holistic management approach as the establishment of a new project in a foreign environment puts into stark relief the need for the application of the full range of competencies, rather than the narrow ætechnicalÆ approach to doing business. I hasten to add, however, that the mining industry is not alone in this regard and I was interested to read an article in the Weekend Australian of 22/23 January 2000, which reported on the first key speech of former Westpac CEO, Bob Joss, as Dean of the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. He said: à We know that when our students go out into the world, if they have to struggle, it will not be because theyÆre not smart enough, or they donÆt have enough good ideas. It will be because they struggle over managing themselves and their relationships to other people. The article then went on to say that Bob Joss foreshadowed an initiative to build alliances between the Business School and other Humanities departments within Stanford University to draw on their learning. Other business schools have also recognised this need, albeit somewhat late in the day, as have the most enlightened of modern corporations; in summary, successful businesses have recognised that in an age where competitive advantage through, for example, technological breakthroughs is very short-lived, it is the quality of management that will provide the leading edge. By using the Alumbrera project as a case study, I will identify certain of the challenges with which companies and individuals may be confronted in the establishment of a greenfields project outside Australia. However, many of the issues raised will have direct application in the context of the development of an Australian operation. My objective is to provide an indication of areas which should be considered at the formative stages of a projectÆs development, with particular focus on the issues of people management. I would expect that such a study would be of benefit to companies, education institutions and individuals in preparing themselves for similar experiences.

Jan 1, 2000

By P N. Nkrumah, A van der Ent, G Echevarria, P D. Erskine

Nickel phytomining is a low cost alternative to traditional nickel mining and a complementary process to existing mining operations in areas with low-grade nickel soils or nickel waste material. The process of nickel phytomining consists of growing selected hyperaccumulator plant species (‘metal crops’) on Ni-rich (ultramafic) soils, followed by harvesting and incineration of the biomass to produce a ‘bio-ore’ from which Ni salts or Ni metal may be recovered (Chaney et al, 2007). The ‘metal crops’ are selected on the basis of high biomass yield combined with high Ni concentrations (>1 per cent) in the above-ground biomass (Chaney et al, 2007). Currently, Alyssum murale and A. corsicum have been used for Ni phytomining trials, mainly undertaken in Albania and USA (Bani et al, 2015; Li et al, 2003), while the agronomy of <10 species has been tested in temperate regions (Nkrumah et al, 2016). Nickel phytomining has high economic potential; however, large-scale demonstrations are needed to provide ‘real-life’ evidence for commercial operations (van der Ent et al, 2015). Unrealised opportunities exist in tropical regions for commercial scale Ni phytomining. To date, the agronomy of tropical ‘metal crops’ has not been tested. This extended abstract presents the progress of tropical phytomining, and reports on agronomic trials undertaken to determine whether the trends in temperate regions could be confirmed in a wet tropical environment.CITATION:Nkrumah, P N, Erskine, P D, Echevarria, G and van der Ent, A, 2016. Progress in tropical nickel phytomining, in Proceedings Life-of-Mine 2016 Conference, pp 135–137 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Jun 28, 2016

By P D. Erskine, A Hine

The current Queensland Government’s rehabilitation guidelines for post-mining landforms present a hierarchy of preferred outcomes for different areas within the mine site (see Figure 1). Within all areas, restoration of a ‘natural’ ecosystem is clearly prioritised as the preferred end land use, although it is not a mandatory practice. Beyond the official guidelines, there is also an implied preference for renaturalisation echoed in most environmental impact assessments and closure plans (Lamb, Erskine and Fletcher, 2015). In practice, however, ecosystem restoration does not extend to construction of a realistic topographic form, largely rejecting the ‘natural’ aesthetic implied by ecosystem restoration in favour of adopting a functional aesthetic in deference to standard engineering criteria.This presentation argues that the established disconnection between actual and implied landform aesthetics is indicative of a wider problem around end landform planning. It contends that such disconnects are the result of the impact of competing ‘ways of seeing’ (Bradley and Kearney, 2007) the same landscape, and reflect the struggle between, and inclusion of, these differing perspectives within the planning process itself. We propose that recognition of the complexity of landscape perceptions is key to improving post-mining landscape outcomes, and the misalignment between land use values and landscape aesthetics can be addressed by establishing an overarching framework for landscape preferences. As such, we outline the reality of stakeholder landscape preferences, and present a critical response to current planning practices within the life-of-mine (LOM).CITATION:Hine, A and Erskine, P, 2016. Recognising and integrating stakeholder landform expectations into life-of-mine planning, in Proceedings Life-of-Mine 2016 Conference, pp 154–157 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Jun 28, 2016

Background A recent development in many industries,' including the mining industry, has been ever increasing acceptance and adoption of extended (12-hour) shifts and compressed work cycles compensated by more time off work by employees between cycles. In the Western Australian mining industry development of `long-distance-commute' (LDC) coincided with adoption of 12-hour rotating shifts. Preludes to LDC were the `construction-style' rosters with two crews plus allowance for annual and sick leave relievers working the statutory 13 consecutive shifts followed by one shift off. Crews rotated day to night shift weekly or at fortnightly intervals. Average hours of 72 to 78 per week were common. The author had personal experience working these rosters in the East Pilbara of Western Australia from 1977 to 1982. Workers tolerated these rosters until a suitable combination of frustration, boredom, despair and the `Five Grand Fever' triggered them to `pull the pin' and head for relaxation in Bangkok, Manila, Nimbin, or Margaret River according to their personal tastes.

Jan 1, 1996

By N Barnett, M Dello-lacovo, J Oh, S Saydam, T Pelech

In-Situ Resource Utilisation and Off-Earth mining require the application of horizontal drilling. The stability of such openings is challenging when excavating in the lunar regolith. Excavations on the Moon will encounter unconventional operational conditions such as different material properties, low gravity, and a moonquake. Micro-tunnelling or drilling to support lunar exploration and development of infrastructure on the Moon requires stability analysis to ensure its desired performance. The discrete element method (DEM) modelling technique has been utilised to investigate the optimum opening sizes on the lunar soil. From the literature, the mechanical properties of the lunar regolith have been reviewed and used for numerical model development. The model has been calibrated by simulating numerical triaxial tests with the Mohr–Coulomb failure criterion. Then, detailed parametric studies have been performed to investigate the influence of confinement, opening dimensions and moonquakes on the stability of openings. The findings have led to the development of a simple stability chart of the relationship between unsupported opening sizes and lunar regolith properties at different depths.

Nov 29, 2022

By Mining Geophysics

Modern geostatistics has eliminated much of the guess-work in ore reserve estimation, and can calculate levels of confidence for the reserve estimate. Geological modelling software has brought about a revolution in the communication of complex geo-variables to mining engineers, metallurgists, surveyors and managers. Mine planning and scheduling can now avail itself of a veritable toolbox of enabling technologies.

Jan 1, 1994

By S Nowosad, A Binder, O Langefeld, M Bothe-Fiekert, F Apollo

The mining industry faces complex and urgent challenges driven by an increasing demand for raw materials, and a socially demanding globalised world. The extraction of primary raw materials is today more important than ever as one of the cornerstones towards a sustainable future since the increasing demand for the raw materials required for the energy transition. In the last three years, leading countries as USA, China, Canada, Australia, and the European Union (EU) have developed and adopted strategies to enhance domestic extraction capabilities, diversifying sources, fostering innovation in recycling, and promoting international collaboration related to critical raw materials. On 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act was signed into law in the USA, in June 2023, the Australian Critical Minerals Strategy 2023–2030 was published and in March 2024, the Council of the EU adopted the European Critical Raw Materials Act. On the other hand, raw materials extraction is facing higher environmental and safety standards and regulations, as well as scrutiny from the broader public. Regrettable environmental accidents as tailing dam failures or acid mine drainage occurrences have led to a general distrust of mining activities leaving mining companies with the dual imperative of increasing output while implementing sustainability, decarbonisation, and circularity as a core value in their production processes. This challenging environment offers the opportunity to enhance ‘blue mining’ (BM) as a sustainable holistic approach that integrates the principles needed to plan sustainable, reliable, and responsible mines for today’s and future generations by implementing the principles of circular economy (CE). This requires a fundamental shift from the traditional linear economy approach to a sustainable, circular economy strategy. At its essence, BM encapsulates four crucial aspects – energy, ergonomics, water, and circularity and integrates these four aspects into integrative mine planning, defining clear goals and objectives from the ‘blueprint’ of a mine towards a beneficial post-mining activity. Its implementation can lead to maximisation of resources beyond the life of the extractive mine and sustainable use of materials by integrating the principles of circular economy and multiuse mine, see Figure 1. These concepts complement and recognise the need to minimise environmental and social impacts while advancing economic development. Finally, this contribution explains the requirements and challenges of moving from linear to dynamic planning approaches under the BM concept. This way, BM stands as an approach that can contribute to the mining industry receiving necessary approvals and support from society leading to a long-term transformation of the industry’s image.

Sep 1, 2024

The Mount Whaleback iron ore deposit at Newman, Western Australia comprises the largest known continuous iron ore deposit in Australia, originally with a Measured Resource in excess of 1700 Mt of hematite ore. The deposit occurs within the Hamersley Province which forms part of the Pilbara Block in the NW of Western Australia (Figure 1). The Mount Whaleback iron ore deposit, together with a number of discrete iron ore bearing satellite orebodies in the Newman district, contributes to the Newman Lump and Fines products. Extensive quality control systems are utilised from mining to shipping to ensure that each product meets a narrow geochemical target grade range.

Jan 1, 1997

By N Bianco, D Drinkwater

The professional skills shortage is intensifying, and commentators are predicting a shortfall in supply of qualified professionals for the mining industry, ranging from thousands to tens-of-thousands by 2020 (Tuckwell, 2011; Scoble, 2011; Laurence and Hebblewhite, 2011). Human resources are already stretched, and university graduates arriving in the workplace are often moved rapidly into management positions where there is limited scope to develop their engineering proficiency. This process may well be developing excellent young managers, but our industry is producing fewer excellent young engineers (Munro and Tilyard, 2009). Many believe that it is engineering excellence that is likely to be the key to our industryÆs success in the decade to come. An innovative in-house graduate development program has been created by specialists at the JK Centre in partnership with two mining companies. This program, known as MetSkill«, has been running throughout 2012. Groups of graduates have had to identify a process plant optimisation opportunity and embark on a structured program of data collection and analysis, facilitated by a æteaching teamÆ of researchers and consultants from the Julius Kruttschnitt Mineral Research Centre (JKMRC) and JKTech. This group project culminates in a report-back session to senior company officials. Along the way, a series of short workshops and other activities provide opportunities to work on specialist skills, and support is also offered by senior technical specialists from the companies involved.This paper outlines key features of the MetSkill« program, along with a report-card on progress in 2012 and plans for further program development in 2013.CITATION:Drinkwater, D and Bianco, N, 2012. Developing minerals industry leaders by encouraging metallurgical excellence, in Proceedings 11th AusIMM Mill OperatorsÆ Conference, pp 287-290 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Oct 29, 2012

Large scale rhyolitic volcanism is an important process at some convergent plate margins because it leads to chemical differentiation of the upper.-crust and is responsible for the production of long lived near surface thermal anomalies; the Taupo Volcanic Zone is.a Quaternary example. The main features of the magmatic systems-of the zone. are the existence of large high level chambers containing homogeneous silicic magma which erupt at intervals of thousands to tens of thousands of years. Geochemical work on the deposits resulting from these eruptions has shown that with few exceptions the magmas have been remarkably uniform in their . composition throughout the history of the zone although individual batches with lifespans of the order of. one hundred thousand years can be recognised by subtle differences in trace element ratios. Basalt is a rare proportion of the rocks exposed at the surface but has played a major role as a medium for heat transfer and as an end member in chemical mixing processes.

Jan 1, 1987

By Adam R. A

Techniques for the optimisation of open pit design and development are now accepted as standard practice in the mining industry. These techniques are used to analyse the impacts on project profitability of factors such as product price, slope design criteria and equipment selection. A fundamental assumption used in this type of analysis is that dump and stockpile designs and sequencing are predetermined. The cost of haulage for a typical truck shovel mining operation is in the range of 25 - 50 per cent of mine operating costs. Substantial cost savings can be achieved by optimisation of dump design and location of associated road and ramp systems.Factors which affect both the operation and total cost of dumping include; Ramp gradients and location, road design, dump placement and shape, dumping height, slope design (interim and final), slope stability, environmental requirements and equipment selection. This paper discusses these factors and their effects on the total mining operation and project value. Reference is made to case studies in which some of these factors have had a significant impact.

Jan 1, 1992

By I Warren, M P. Simpson

Adularia-sericite epithermal ore deposits have well-documented alteration mineral zonation patterns with distinctive geochemical signatures. Proper use of whole-rock geochemistry can provide useful vectors for exploration and can enhance efforts to characterise and quantify the mineralogy and intensity of hydrothermal alteration.   Analyses of Au and Ag provide the most direct vectors to orebodies, and pathfinder elements such as As, Sb, Hg, Zn, Pb and Se are similarly zoned around at least some orebodies. However, the minerals that contain these elements occur almost exclusively in veins, and therefore identifying geochemical vectors related to wallrock alteration that is zoned outward from orebodies is crucial for effective exploration.   Distal alteration zones contain quartz-illite-chlorite-carbonate-pyrite, whereas samples proximal to veins contain quartz-adularia-pyrite, with lesser though variable illite-chlorite-carbonate. Therefore, adularia-sericite epithermal ore deposits show K alteration in their cores. The resulting K-metasomatism can be evaluated in several ways. Areas that have been most intensely altered are commonly characterised by highest K contents, but these results can be complicated by variations in rock type across the prospective area. Potassium mass balance results provide a robust and rigorous assessment of K-metasomatism, however, knowledge about the composition of fresh rocks and correct identification of fresh precursor compositions of altered rocks are required. Three alteration indices provide effective evaluation of K-metasomatism: 1.   the K number, which is the ratio K/(2Ca+K+Na) (molar); 2.   Barrie values [(K2O * 100) / Sr]; and 3.   the Rb/Sr ratio. In most places these provide similar vectors, although K numbers can be complicated by the appearance of hydrothermal calcite and/or albite.   Plots of K/Al vs (2 Ca + K + Na)/Al (molar) allow estimation of the intensity of K-metasomatism and its mineralogical products, thereby complementing traditional XRD and petrographic studies of alteration minerals.

Jan 1, 2005

When a major mineral find has been announced the general perception is that a battle between Aborigines and the mining company involved will inevitably occur.It is a fact that many miners in the past have not had a good relationship with Aborigines because of their indifferent attitudes towards them. They saw no common future and went their particular way. However, attitudes have changed significantly since Noonkanbah and both miners and Aborigines are seeking common ground in order to achieve mutual benefits from the establishment of a mine on or near Aboriginal land. There are many obstacles that both miners and Aborigines need to overcome inordertofindthiscommongroundtoachieveawin/win situation. The obstacles can be found in entrenched ideas and practices which need overhauling, not the least of which emanate from government policy and requirements.Without going into specifics, the Noonkanbah incident during the 1970's where Aborigines and their supporters confronted miners who were ordered by the Western Australian governmentto drill on Aboriginal land, polarized Aborigines and miners. Since this incident, many Aborigines, particularly those in the cities, have had the attitude that mining and Aboriginal culture are in direct conflict. Aboriginal opinion is generally shaped in the larger cities through mass media coverage of the opinions of urban Aborigines and their supporters. Through no fault of their own, these Aborigines were removedfromthe land of their ancestors and have notlived atraditional Aboriginal life-style for a number of generations and most have little knowledge of, nor have had involvement in, traditional Aboriginal lore and culture. For the most part these people live in awestern life-style and few still know their language. They generally have high profiles, often giving viewpoints that are wrongly considered "Aboriginal" and supposedly representing all Aborigines. This group is very different with their thought processes and values from those Aborigines who live on their own traditional lands with a traditional life-style, and practise their age old ceremonies. Their tribal values are based in their relationship with the land, expressed through complex religious ceremonial rites of song, dance and legend. Today this group is very much diminished in numbers but nevertheless in the region of the Gulf of Carpentaria there is a high proportion ofpeople who practise their lore, speak their own languages and pass on traditions to their children. It is well documented in the history of Australia that Aborigines have been decimated in numbers and whole tribes have been wiped out. Certainly in this region the experience has been no different.

Jan 1, 1993

The first steps towards the use of artificial intelligence to manage ground conditions have been made. Millar and Hudson (1993) outline the theory behind the use of neural networks in monitoring rock engineering performance.

Jan 1, 1994

By R C. Morris

Supergene lateritic iron ores are uncommon when compared with the vast tonnages of BIF-hosted microplaty haematite ores of the world or with the dominant supergene mimetic martite-goethite ores of the Hamersleys. In Australia and to a lesser extent in India and South America, mimetic replacement of gangue minerals by iron hydroxyoxides is a major factor in forming supergene iron ore from banded iron-formation (BIF) and results in the superb preservation of all of the original BIF features. This includes primary banding down to the finest inclusions, as a result of pseudomorphing of the BIF gangue at depth by goethite. The enrichment as a whole is an absolute accumulation of Fe at depth, dissolved from the surface BIF, and a removal of the gangue elements without loss of the original BIF mineral textures. Thus the ores grow upward to meet the downward destruction of the surface BIF by erosion. By contrast the supergene lateritic ores including the 'blue dust ores' are residual ores resulting from the relative accumulation of Fe. In the supergene lateritic ores derived from BIF, removal of the gangue is accompanied by repetitive solution and reprecipitation by secondary haematite and goethite. The final product of lateritisation of BIF and BIF-derived ores is typically complex, due to successive overprinting of earlier stages of alteration during the process, and because of the different precursors. This progressive lateritic modification tends to produce a varied surface complex including massive, vermiform, and botryoidal, or nodular aluminous/siliceous goethite and haematite, variously known as ferricrete, duricrust, canga, or 'hydrated zone hardcap'. The significant difference in these ores to the supergene mimetic martite-goethite ores is that they grow downward, with the total destruction of any of the parent BIF or BIF-ore textures.

Jan 1, 2009

Fundamentally, the development of a minerals processing project is a very risky enterprise. Most mining companies do not have sufficient financial resources to undertake significant projects and hence have to undertake external financing. Indeed, most resource companies understand the high risks associated in developing their projects and therefore, wish others to share in the risks. Most merchant banks, on the other hand, are searching to find suitable resource development projects in which they can share their risk and also share a large proportion of the ærewardÆ. To resolve this issue a Feasibility Study is completed by the project developer and assessed by the merchant bank often with the assistance of an æIndependent EngineerÆ (IE) who assesses the validity of the development proposal. Generally speaking, unless the Feasibility Study has been prepared improperly, the technical aspects of most mineral projects are reasonable. Some of the more recent so-called æhigh techÆ projects are exceptions but these still do not present major technical mistakes or misconceptions. p> In most cases, the major criticism the IE presents after discussing the validity of the ore reserves focuses on production plans, capital costs and operating costs. Of these three parameters the production plan is one in which owners tend to be far too optimistic and financiers, until recent years, have not taken a position. The most critical part of the development plan is the ability of the project, as designed, to attain the required design performance and, even more critically, the ability of the owner to reach and sustain this level of production. In short, how long should the æramp-upÆ be planned to take? Financiers have become more circumspect and are now taking a more conservative view of new project performance by factoring into their project financial analysis longer periods of ramp-up, higher capital costs and higher operating costs. However, these financiers can also be part of the æproblemÆ if they become overly conservative. This paper attempts, by way of case studies available from the public arena, to identify the pitfalls the project owners can meet and possible means of avoiding the disastrous financial conundrum whereby the second or third æownerÆ is the company that reaps the rewards initially extrapolated. The paper briefly discusses this problem by referring to projects known to the author and including previous studies that looked at this very problem. It is emphasised that many of the opinions stated within the paper are strictly those of the author and could be subject of much debate.

Jan 1, 2003

This presentation opens with a definition of technology and how it is implemented. The expenditure and progress on R&D in the mining industry is then investigated and found to be difficult to quantify. The needs and interests of that industry including contribution to this Congress are examined and it is concluded that short-term rather than long-term goals seem to be prevalent. The presentation concludes with the opinion that the answer to the question in the title is both affirmative and negative but overall there is a need for the mining industry to become more innovative.

Jan 1, 1990

By Sijing Cai, Chengpu Zhou

The requirement of mineral resources is increasing as the economy is continually increasing in China. The mining practices of various complex sulphide deposits and precious metal deposits, and the treatment of mine tailings and other industrial solid wastes, have greatly improved fill quality in the metal mines. From early-1980s, high density slurry fill, paste fill of total tailings, low density slurry fill with addition of silicate gelling agent, etc has been studied and applied, and some progress has been achieved. Today, mine tailings, slag and power plant ash are widely used as fill materials in mining. A number of cemented fill mines equipped with large capacity trackless mining machines are in production. Recently, The 3rd Chinese National Symposium on Mining with Backfill, 1995 has been held, the progress of fill technology in mines has been exchanged and summarised. In the paper, some aspects of fill technology used in the metal mines of China are briefly introduced and some applications of fill research work are presented.

Jan 1, 1998

Bulk mining and handling technologies have been affected in two ways by the soaring costs of oil products in recent years. Firstly, the substition of oil by coal, oil sands and oil shale demands the development of high-capacity mining and handling equipment, and secondly the rising fuel costs favour a trend away from cost-intensive heavy truck transport. To cope with the growing volumes of material in mining and handling, larger equip- ment units have to be designed. This tendency becomes apparent from the examples of the Hambach open pit mine in Germany, and the Port Kembla handling plant in Australia. A combination of the flexibility of heavy truck transport and the cost advantages of belt conveyors is achieved by the system of semi-mobile crushing installations described in this paper.

Jan 1, 1981

By I F. Wood

Planning for flooding and assessment of flood impacts are important requirements for mining projects, as they are also for other types of development. With more intense development and concern from the community, supported by government regulatory requirements, assessment of flood concerns and impacts has become of increasing importance. To ensure that flooding issues are fully understood and results presented in an appropriate format, advanced hydraulic analysis procedures have been developed and are beginning to be applied. These procedures must be rigorous in an engineering context but the results must also be readily understood by the community and government agencies. Advanced two-dimensional hydraulic modelling is becoming accepted as an important means of assessing flooding issues for mining projects. With presentation of results from hydraulic models with Geographic Information Systems (GIS), flood impacts can be analysed rigorously and presented clearly. This paper discusses the application of advanced hydraulic modelling in the planning and impact assessment of a major mining project located on a floodplain where there is extensive inundation. The analysis provides for both input to the planning of the project and for detailed assessment of potential impacts. This case study illustrates some important aspects of the application of hydraulic modelling using a two-dimensional modelling to a critical flood design.

Jan 1, 2003