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Carbothermal Reduction and Nitridation of Ilmenite Concentrates and Chlorination of the Reduced Samples

Sep 13, 2010

The port of Townsville is situated on the main north/south rail system of the Queens- land Government Railways and is the eastern terminus of the east/west rail link from Towns- ville to Mount Isa. With a stable beef and wool producing area along the east/west rail route, the expanding mineral industry development at its western end and the continuing growth of the Townsville region the administrators of the port are continually'keeping abreast and ahead of port development to ensure an effective and economic growth of port facilities to meet the needs of the area served by Townsville.

Jan 1, 1974

By Lane D. P, Malone J. G

The slag fuming furnaces are the major bottleneck in the BHAS zinc production flowsheet. Intensification of the fuming process could significantly reduce this production restriction. Oxygen enrichment was proven to be a means of intensifying the fuming process. This procedure resulted in higher slag bath temperatures, and development work was undertaken towards obtaining accurate slag bath temperature measurement and control. Slag bath temperature measurement techniques were evaluated, with infra red optical pyrometry established as the system with the most potential for continuous temperature measurement and control. Oxygen enrichment resulted in a zinc production capacity increase of 1 000 tonnes per year. An oxygen enrichment technique was developed which both minimized the risk of furnace damage and made the most efficient use of the enrichment oxygen.

Jan 1, 1989

By I Sheppard, A Hills

This paper describes a multi-lift bench stoping method introduced recently to extract the narrow silver-lead-zinc orebodies at the Isa Lead Mine. Cut-and-fill methods were chief mining methods for the narrow orebodies at the mine over 35 years ago. Benching methods were introduced approximately two decades later, and quickly replacing the cut-and-fill methods. The benching methods had improved both the economy scale and safety of the mining operation. The multi-lift benching method combines a number of bench lifts into a single stope to further improve the operational efficiency. Three stopes in the initial multi-lift benching trials are described.

Jan 1, 2003

By Lumley G. I, Duffy W. J

The risk involved with incorporating new/unfamiliar technology into mines has, in the past, largely been evaluated by the supplier of the technology. The implications on safety and productivity has been accepted as part of the process of `getting up and running'.This has changed. As companies see the lost productivity and accidents actually costing significant dollars, risk assessment is becoming an important part of the implementation of new equipment. Regulatory authorities are also seeing the preventable incidents and in some cases are now requiring a risk assessment to be undertaken on new equipment at a Mine.

Jan 1, 1992

By Woodlands W. K

A 3D graphics modelling system has been applied to longhole stope ring design at Z.C. Mines, Broken Hill, NSW. This has been in operation for a four month period (January, 1988). The purpose of this application was to provide computer assistance to mine planning engineers and blasthole design draftsmen for the longhole design process, particularly by: 1. reducing the- volume of tracing, drafting and geometric manipulation which is a significant feature of the manual design process, 2. providing additional design drawings to enhance the conception and implementation of stoping design.

Jan 1, 1988

By Gregg PEH, Horne D, Bolan N, Stewart RB

The Tui mine site is situated on the NW flank of Mt. Te Aroha, at approximately 400 m altitude. During underground mining operations two lead-copper-zinc ore bodies were exploited and processed on site. The legacy of the mining operation is a barren dam containing over 100,000 m3 of sulphide-rich tailings. The Tui mine site is arguably the worst case of environmental degradation resulting from past mining activity in New Zealand. Although the impacted area (approximately 4 ha) is extremely small by international standards, acid mine drainage (AMD) emanating from the abandoned tailings dam and mine adits has severely contaminated local streams and prevented natural plant recolonisation of the site for more than 20 years.

Jan 1, 1995

Cut and fillstoping using hydraulically placed mill tailings has become an essential feature of stoping operations in Kalgoorlie. ' Approximately 30 per cent of the total production is currently mined by this method. Fill is prepared by thickening or cycloning and is gravitated or pumped underground. The average pulp density is 70 per cent solids by weight, Recent cost reducing innovations are the use of steel passes, corrugated iron manways, polythene film sealing, and the replacing of vertical cement lined pipes with boreholes. TTTTTI rvr T Trim r l1TT

Jan 1, 1964

By Sheer T. J

The increasing demand for underground cooling in South African gold mines has resulted in various cooling methods being con- sidered, including the use of ice. Two main areas in connection with ice cooling systems are being investigated. The first concerns the efficient and cost effective production of ice on a larger scale than previously required for any other application. The second con- cerns the transportation of ice in pipes from surface ice-making machines to underground melting sites.

Jan 1, 1988

The Canada Centre for Mineral and Energy Technology (CANMET) /Calgary Coal Research Laboratory and the National Research Council in Ottawa established a joint working research group with industry to develop and test various computer models for application in surface coal mining operations in western Canada.The first part of the paper deals with the problems the group experienced during the past two years especially having model specification and requirements defined and understand site management practices.The second part of the paper deals with site specific development of general mine model for TransAlta Utilities' Highvale Mine in Alberta. Described here are the development of an interactive truck/shovel model for their three pit operation, selection and application of dragline model for tandem operation with the extended bench method, criteria for operational model of the five seams operation with selec-tive mining approach.

Jan 1, 1985

Although a small quantity of lc,;v viscosity index ' (L.V.I.) oils are presently manufactured in. Australia, lubricating oil refining methods are assuming gxeater significance since in 1964 Australia will be locally refining the bulk of its requirements and some companies may be exporting a surplus. New plants are ' planned to refine mainly high and medium viscosity index oils from imported crudes and the paper describes typical techniques used òto: produce. thes& oils. .

Jan 1, 1962

By E Villaescusa

This paper describes a methodology for the design of mine pillars at the McArthur River Mine. The pillar strength is calculated using a method that accounts for confinement, pillar geometry and intact rock properties. The average pillar stress was calculated using in situ measurements of vertical stresses at shallow depth and the tributary area method in conjunction with numerical modelling. Observations of pillar behaviour indicate that an existing pillar stability graph may be slightly conservative and further adjustments for the local rockmass conditions are needed. The results to-date indicate that all mine pillars are stable for a range of mining geometries at McArthur River Mine.

Jan 1, 1998

By M Scoble, R A. Hall

The mining industry has aggressively sought competitiveness through increased productivity and return on investment. A primary strategy has been the pursuit of economies of scale. This has also been dependent upon the implementation of new technology and systems integration. System integration has been accomplished through the implementation of mine dispatch, global positioning and mine wide communication technologies. These technologies have tended to advance at different rates of development and implementation. The result has been that across the industry, and even within companies, mines are at various stages of operational system re-engineering in these areas, driven by improvements in productivity and operational efficiency. Although this strategy has been successful, little effort has been made to analyse change in operational performance in order to understand and model the effects of scale in a quantitative manner. This paper considers the particular impact of equipment scale, together with potential future trends. It then presents and demonstrates a preliminary method to quantify through simulation the anticipated benefits of economies of scale.

Jan 1, 2003

The purpose of this paper is to present a detailed account of the development of the Blasthole Diamond Drilling method of stoping now used at the property of Big Bell Mines Limited, in Western Australia.The ore body is one of the large low grade gold deposits of this State, being a continuous lens 1,850 ft. long and ranging in width from 15 ft. at the ends to 120 ft. at the widest part, the average width being 59 ft. It was first worked in 1913 by a local syndicate, and up to 1924, when operations ceased, 64,448 tons of 3.4 dwt. ore were mined from a shallow open cut. Between 1928 and 1932, 15 deep diamond drill holes were put down to test the ore body at vertical depths ranging from 100 to 700 ft. On the information gained from these drill holes, Premier Gold Mining Co. Ltd. began underground explQration. A level was driven at a depth of 253 ft. and crosscuts put out to the full width of the, orebody at intervals of 100 ft. along the strike, all ore broken being put through a sampling plant. On completion of this sampling,' Big Bell Mines Limited was formed as the operating company, and a plant with a capacity of 1,000 long tons per day was erected and mining and milling operations were commenced in 1937. Ore was first mined from glory hole stopes, 65 ft. long, separated by 35 ft. pillars, by benching using conventional steel with changes up to 20 ft., all broken ore being hauled to the main shaft on the...

Jan 1, 1948

By M Wilkes, C-Q Liu

Microbial oxidation of refractory sulphide ores (particularly gold and copper ores) are well-established techniques that are increasingly employed because of their low capital and operating costs and environmental benefits. CSIRO has established a multidivisional project, the æBioMineral Processing InitiativeÆ, with the goal of generating new and improved high temperature micro-organisms for biological oxidation of these refractory ores. The project is currently focused on the discovery/generation of novel hyperthermophiles for the bioleaching of copper from chalcopyrite. As part of this project we are investigating the practicalities of genetic modification of iron/sulphur oxidising micro-organisms. The molecular biology of iron/sulphur oxidising acidophiles is still in its infancy. This work is aimed at improving our knowledge of vectors, promoters, selectable markers, gene transfer and expression in these organisms. The Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans genome is currently available and genomics is proceeding at a rate where in the next few years we can expect at least one or two relevant microbial genomes to be sequenced each year. New genes that impart useful characteristics to iron/sulphur oxidising acidophiles will be available from published genomes and the study of newly isolated hyperthermophiles. We need to be in a position to clone and express those genes. This paper will describe the isolation, transfer and expression of thiocyanate hydrolase genes in Escherichia coli and At. ferrooxidans. Most common antibiotics are not effective against iron/sulphur oxidising acidophiles. Also, the use of antibiotics or their resistance markers outside of a laboratory setting would not be appropriate. Resistance to thiocyanate should be a useful selectable marker, without implications for human or animal health. Additionally, thiocyanate resistant iron/sulphur oxidising acidophiles might have application in gold bio-oxidation plants in arid areas where reuse of contaminated tailings water is desirable. The cloning of thiocyanate genes in broad host range plasmids under the control of E. coli and At. ferrooxidans promoters and the expression and phenotypic effects in both species will be described.

Jan 1, 2002

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 Sweet I. P

Stratigraphic correlations across the Mur- phy Tectonic Ridge are crucial to regional corr. elations between the Mount Isa and McArthur River areas. Recent work in the Westmoreland and surrounding areas has substantiated the earlier general correlations between the Mount Isa and McArthur River sequences. The Mount Isa and McArthur Groups, and their equivalents, remain prime prospecting targets for major lead-zinc deposits of the Mount Isa and R.Y.C. type. A prospective area for Redbank-type copper mineralization is suggested.

Jan 1, 1974

By Yuanping H

There is a practical method of handling methane in a fully mechanized high output coal face when the methane outflow rate from the face is too high to be handled by ventilation alone, a combined method would be adopted. Before adopting this method, above all, the sources of methane outflow, which can be divided into methane in the intake airflow and methane emitted from the working seam and from the worked-out area, are determined by air-methane measure- ments in the tail gate and intake conveyor gate or by air-methane measurements in the working space of the coal face. Then, in

Jan 1, 1988

By D Kent, J Kirkpatrick

The mining industry has long wanted a single communication back bone to cover the majority of their requirements underground. The convergence of communication technologies in the office/surface environment has been identified by the mining industry as a means to achieve their long-standing goal. In particular use of Internet Protocol (IP) systems are seen as proving a basis for a mineÆs communication infrastructure. This paper presents the development philosophy and work undertaken by Inco Limited in Canada, as well as the implications of this on suppliers to enable the technology to be mine worthy and readily available.

Jan 1, 2005

The Olympic Dam Mine is a large, mechanised, underground operation currently producing 2.2 million tonnes-per-year of copper/uranium/gold ore. The mine is accessed via one shaft and one service decline. An additional 13 raise bored ventilation shafts have been completed to-date.Ventilation requirements are stringent in order to provide adequate dilution and removal of diesel fumes, radon gas/daughters and heat generated from both engines and wall rock.Due to the nature of the orebodies, the mine workings will continue to expand laterally necessitating the addition of at least one major surface raise every year.

Jan 1, 1992