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By G Ryan, Yu Nazimova

"An EXTENDED ABSTRACT is available for download. A full-length paper was not prepared for this presentation. This paper aims to highlight the global exploration opportunities that exist in connection with Ural-Alaskan (UA)-type intrusions. The key economic importance of UA intrusions is the existence of metallic platinum (mainly iron-platinum alloys) associated generally with chromite mineralisation and located within a dunite core, especially its coarse-grained part. Being very dense and resistant to erosion, platinum can form rich placers as the intrusion erodes. Big multimillion ounce placer platinum deposits of this type have historically been successfully mined for many years (eg Russia, Colombia and Alaska).However, large-scale exploration and mining of platinum placers currently occurs only in the Russian Far East. Outside of Russia, there is now little or no understanding of this type of deposit and its economic importance. Using successful operations in Russia as examples, it is demonstrated that there are many opportunities for similar discoveries all around the world, especially around the Pacific Rim, where such intrusions tend to be concentrated. Examples of highly prospective areas in eastern Australia and New Zealand are given. There is also excellent potential in British Columbia (BC) Canada, South-East Asia (Philippines, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and New Caledonia) and South America (Colombia and Ecuador).CITATION:Nazimova, Y and Ryan, G, 2015. Platinum potential of the pacific rim of Ural-Alaskan-type intrusions, in Proceedings PACRIM 2015 Congress, pp 665–670 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne)."

Mar 18, 2015

By M Qiao, A Sugden, W Zong, J Hines, J Roberts, T Ren

Long-term exposure to respirable dust continues to present an occupational health and safety hazard to mine workers in underground mines. Workers who are exposed to mine dust can develop occupational lung diseases including coal workers’ pneumoconiosis (CWP) or ‘black lung’, progressive massive fibrosis (PMF) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). To demonstrate the exposure impact of certain working conditions and improve dust management in longwall development panels, this paper details the development of a computational fluid dynamicsvirtual reality (CFD-VR) based training tool. The tool has been developed as an educational platform to facilitate the effective communication of workplace health and safety (WH&S) dust control measures for continuous miner operators and engineers. The study introduces a promising approach to model ventilation and dust flow patterns based on site-specific data, employing computational fluid dynamics (CFD) for a detailed analysis and visualisation of these mechanisms. Additionally, an algorithm has been developed for processing the large and complex CFD data sets into a form amenable for visualisation within a virtual reality (VR) environment using standalone VR headsets with limited processing power. This training tool has been deployed to mine sites with the specific purpose of educating users on the hazards of dust emissions and the best practices for control.

Apr 16, 2024

By K Whelan

The Land Access Branch of the Mines Division of the Northern Territory Department of Mines and Energy is responsible for Aboriginal Liaison and cross-cultural matters that affect the Department. In essence, it exists to provide a basis for communication between the Department, industry. Aboriginal organisations and Traditional Owners. The paper outlines the various ways in which this is accomplished including the preparation of detriment submissions for pending land claim hearings, the use of promotional material to support access to Aboriginal Land for NTGS Mapping Programs and field work, and advice/assistance on exploration and mining issues.

Jan 1, 1994

By R Rimmelin, C Vergara

Heap leach pads are composed of mined ore, usually crushed, disposed on liners to be processed with leach solutions, and the tail of the process is called “spent ore” which are then transported by conveyor belts to be disposed into dumps. It is often to observe stability problems in these dumps, that could affect the equipment working on it and the continuity of the whole mine process. These problems are related to an excess of water content at the spent ore, therefore the operational efforts are focused onto control this geotechnical parameter.This work presents the results of different geotechnical laboratory testing, using samples of spent ore of a mining operation in the north of Chile. In the last 10 years, 3 campaigns have been made to get samples. Valuable information was obtained to identify how specific operational/metallurgical factors could affect the geotechnical behaviour of the spent ore. Special attention is given to the decision to change the metallurgical process adding salt to the heap leach process and its impact to its hydraulic conductivity.Historically, the process has been based on the leaching of oxides and sulphides materials, in separate campaigns, in which it is possible to observe different geotechnical response in the spent ore generated. Recently, it was implemented a new process in which the materials are blended and salt is added, to improve metallurgical performance in terms of recovery. This change generate impacts in the dump, since the geotechnical parameters are affected; decreasing hydraulic conductivity in about one order of magnitude (explained by the salt added).Changes are shown in the geotechnical parameters of the spent ore, considering that the mining source is the same, and how the operational process and dump design are affected.CITATION:Rimmelin, R and Vergara, C, 2018. Geotechnical behaviour of spent ore – impacts of metallurgical factors, in Proceedings Mine Waste and Tailings Stewardship Conference 2018, pp 369–375 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Jul 23, 2018

By X X. Qiu, T Zhang, B L. Wang, X Qiu, Y H. Du

This paper summarises the information about current state of eco-environmental problems, geological disaster and mining waste causing during the process of limestone mining. By comparing the management experiences of limestone mines in other countries, management problems in China have been discussed and improved management options have been proposed here. These options include: accelerating the process of legislation, promoting and strengthening environmental impact assessment for limestone mine, and increasing compensation requirements according to the local eco-environment conditions.CITATION :Wang, B L, Qiu, X X, Qiu, X, Zhang, T and Du, Y H, 2012. Eco-environmental problems caused by the process of limestone mining and management options, in Proceedings Life-of-Mine 2012 , pp 357-360 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Jul 10, 2012

By J Q. Shi, M Karakus, Y Liu

Predicting the spatial distribution of rock mass properties in cave mining is a critical challenge. In this study, we introduce a novel machine learning-based model to advance our comprehension of rock behaviour. This model specifically focuses on the spatial distribution of rock mass and mechanical properties, a crucial aspect of our understanding of rock mechanics. Our model is inspired by the recognition that neighbouring information serves as crucial prior knowledge for predicting the spatial distribution of these properties, wherein closer neighbours are likely to exhibit similar characteristics. To effectively capture and model these neighbour relationships, we design a neural network-based model to map the spatial locations within the data set into a new highdimensional space. Within this transformed space, we utilise Euclidean distance to identify N neighbours. Leveraging these neighbours, we introduce a straightforward yet highly effective approach—label propagation—to construct a graph that illustrates neighbour relationships. This graph not only facilitates the prediction of the spatial distribution of rock mass properties but also offers a measure of uncertainty for these predictions. We validate the proposed method using a real rock data set and showcase its efficacy in capturing intricate relationships and distributions within rock properties, enabling precise predictions across diverse spatial scales. Our results underscore the potential of machine learning-based approaches to revolutionise the field of rock mechanics, providing valuable insights applicable to geotechnical engineering, mining, and other sectors where an accurate understanding of rock properties is paramount. This model has direct practical implications, offering a new tool for geotechnical engineers and mining professionals to enhance their understanding and prediction of rock properties, thereby improving safety and efficiency in their operations.

Sep 1, 2024

The optimisation and validation of shearer cutting methods is a time consuming engineering task. Many different parameters, of which not all can be controlled, can vary. The easiest solution, to increase the installed power and the longwall length, is not always the best. A different cutting method can increase the capacity without the need of new machines. The Department for Mining and Metallurgy Machinery at RWTH Aachen University therefore developed ProSL, the simulation tool for shearer and longwall operations. ProSL enables the engineer to create his own cutting methods and compare it with other methods. Machine-data can easily be varied to see the impact on the method. The research shows that sophisticated longwall methods increase the productivity of the system. The paper presents the results of the calculation with ProSL and shows how higher efficiency and lower costs can be achieved.

Dec 6, 2010

By W Mez

The German mining industry uses different residues for backfilling and stowing. A hydraulic pipe conveying technology for these materials has shown advantages for the transportation into the mine. Pipeline conveying systems are able to bridge long distances, they save room within the underground workings and they save staff and costs. Absolutely necessary for successful use of the hydraulic conveying technology is the knowledge about the unusual non-Newtonian flow properties of solid/liquid mixtures like pastes and slurries. The flow resistance of these materials cannot be described easily by one viscosity. Owing to a yield point and a pseudo-plastic behaviour the viscosity changes with the shear rate and with the streaming velocity inside the pipe. Also these flow behaviours depend very sensitively on the liquid/solid-ratio, often so dramatically that gravimetric or volumetric dosing equipment is not in a position to control the production of backfill pastes. Quality changes of the solid raw materials (particle size distribution, density, mineralogical composition) lead to additional difficulties. The first experiences with hydraulic backfilling plants were troubled by plugged pipes, a bad backfill quality caused by unnecessarily high water content and high costs for chemical binders to solidify the backfill. The installation of viscosity controlled paste production leads to success with the hydraulic backfill technology. A development of the DMT, a bypass pipe-viscometer, has been the key technology. The system is able to analyse on-line, difficult, sticky and abrasive substances and determine their non-Newtonian flow properties. Because the system measures real physical values it is in a position to pre-calculate process relevant parameters like the pressure drop of the backfilling paste in the conveying pipeline. Newer types of the viscometer system also measure the slurry density and calculate its composition. These systems have proven a success controlling backfill paste production plants. They offer a secure prevention of pipeline plugging and a production of high quality backfill pastes with a water content as low as possible.

Jan 1, 1998

Electronic Detonators have made significant strides over the last few years, both in quality of product and performance in different blast applications. The precision and flexibility of the SMARTDET units provides the mines with a powerful means of controlling blast results, giving both cost and productivity improvements. The SMARTDET Electronic Detonator System, robust and easy to use, has been successfully deployed over the last 18 months in improving mine productivity and creating safer working conditions in both quarrying and long-hole stoping. The key to the improvements has been the precision and flexibility of the electronic timing, and the ability of the mine personnel to grasp the concept quickly and use it effectively.

Jan 1, 1999

By J Plinke

The imperative to operate sustainably requires all equipment and processes to operate at their maximum possible efficiency. Achieving this ideal state requires a thorough understanding, not only of the process itself, but also of the tools available to design and assess potential improvements. This paper presents a case where the widely employed Discrete Element Method (DEM) toolset proved insufficient to model problematic material flow during the process of optimising wet screening performance. A Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) model was found to more accurately replicate the flow characteristics of the physical system. Site observations identified biased loading of the screen decks to cause inefficiencies in the wet screening of an iron ore processing circuit. Two numerical modelling approaches were pursued with the aim to select the most suitable one and continue the optimisation process based on that selected model. Selection criteria were established, based on the minimum requirements of being able to replicate the problem, including the main flow dynamics deemed to cause the issue. The DEM model was found to over-simplify the slurry flow dynamics within the scrubber and no laterally biased flow was introduced by the scrubber’s rotation to the otherwise symmetric system. Since DEM was not able to accurately replicate the existing problem, it was deemed an unsuitable method to assess the effect of any changes to the system. The second approach consisted of a SPH model. This model was deemed to map the flow within the scrubber with sufficient accuracy to address the problem, as it produced biased screen loading comparable to that reported from site. Changes to the wet chute, delivering material from the scrubber to the screen, aimed to neutralise the non-centrality introduced via the scrubber, were then successfully designed and assessed using the SPH model.

Nov 8, 2021

By D Lalor, N Goodman

The increasing demand for batteries is resulting in the development of large-scale projects for the production of key battery metals such as nickel and vanadium. Several of these projects plan to extract the battery metals from the ore via chemical roasting, leaving large volumes of waste iron oxides after fuming and/or leaching of the battery metals. These iron oxide wastes can be smelted in a HIsmelt furnace using biochar as the reductant, to produce clean, green pig iron with net zero carbon emissions. This green pig iron can then be added to basic oxygen or electric arc steelmaking furnaces to produce green, net zero carbon, steel. This paper describes the flow sheets and the economics for potential projects producing green pig iron via HIsmelt using waste iron oxides from nickel and vanadium production plants.

Sep 18, 2023

By G Chitumbura

Raise boring is a critical aspect of mining at Xstrata Copper’s Mount Isa Copper Operations (MICO). MICO’s internal raise boring department regularly develops ventilation rises, orepasses and stope cut-off rises and reams approximately 2500 m per annum. Developed, trialled and implemented as standard practice over the past two years, procedural changes in constructing the raise bore machine’s foundations have significantly reduced operator exposure to raise boring’s inherent risks of working around open holes and manual handling. An additional cost benefit of this newly-adopted procedure is derived from reducing the likelihood of damaging the machine while de-rigging.When conforming to standard industry raise boring practices, exposure to an open hole begins when the reamer breaks through the concrete pad and ends when it is removed from the hole – a process which, depending on the size of the hole and the raise boring machine, can take up to three days to complete. Although wearing fall restraint equipment, operators working on and around the raise bore machine during de-rigging are continually exposed to the risk of falling from heights. In contrast, MICO’s newly-developed and successfully-implemented presink raise boring system reduces this exposure to a maximum of four hours, regardless of hole size. Exposure to manual handling hazards is also substantially reduced as the presink procedure eliminates manual placement of a 100 kg drill bit under the machine to commence pilot-hole drilling. Outcomes of implementing the presink System at MICO have been so beneficial that it is now standard procedure for all reaming in excess of 1 m diameters.

Mar 21, 2011

By K Banerjee, C Dube

Veolia Water Technologies was contracted by a global coal mining company to design a retrofit acid mine drainage treatment facility using DenseSludge™ technology on a former coal refuse disposal site. The project constraint was to reuse current facilities in order to reduce additional capital work cost and avoid additional footprint requirements while improving treatment performance and reducing sludge production and chemical consumption. The initial installation of 454 m3/h served as a pilot plant to demonstrate the benefits of the process and ultimately provided design criteria for the new facility. The pilot demonstrated the benefit of the technology by reducing sludge volume by 90 per cent compared to conventional processes currently in use. The sludge that is reinjected into the mine contains less water, which reduces the volume of water that returns to the mine pool for treatment and mine water balance. Furthermore, the pilot plant reduced lime usage compared to conventional processes by operating at a lower pH set point, demonstrating steady pH control and stoichiometric lime utilisation.CITATION:Dube, C and Banerjee, K, 2015. Sludge conditioning technology to reduce sludge and the cost of acid mine drainage treatment, in Proceedings Tailings and Mine Waste Management for the 21st Century , pp 105–110 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Jul 27, 2015

By D Bruce, D Cox

The main access decline at Carrapateena mine was excavated through two different underground aquifers. In these areas of decline, pressurised water finds the path of least resistance through the rock and into the excavation. In some locations the ground water would upwell underneath the roadway resulting in rapid deterioration of the running surface. The deterioration of the road was so rapid that the two areas of decline required significant roadworks every single shift or it would become impassable by mine traffic. With a full fleet of underground trucks hauling to the surface, managing these sections of roadway was impractical and unproductive. The site team resolved this issue by installing Roller Compacted Concrete (RCC) to the affected sections of decline. RCC is a specialist concrete product that is delivered to the site near dry and is installed using a grader and roller similar to road base. This product can be installed quickly and be trafficked within hours of installation, making it ideal for mines with single access declines and unfavourable road conditions. RCC roadways were successfully installed at Carrapateena mine in conjunction with under-road drainage. These roadways have proved to be a very effective solution which requires minimal maintenance and are resistant to water ingress from the aquifer. This paper discusses the technical aspects of the RCC, as well as the practical implementation of the solution as a whole.

Mar 15, 2021

By T Belligoi

Diamond cores and drill chips provide the only direct physical evidence for ore containing rocks. Early characterisation of cores and drill chips is important as it provides critical information for downstream processing. Traditional characterisation techniques include visual logging by a geologist or analytic and spectroscopic methods but they are time consuming and can miss some important textural or geomechanical features.The goal of this work is to evaluate the application of image analysis to iron ore cores and drill chips and to suggest improvements to existing core-scanning and chip monitoring systems. Two samples of massive ore differing by their mineralogy and texture, as well as two different batches of drill chips, have been imaged and analysed. Results are compared in function of the imaging system and the classification algorithms.As a conclusion, despite the necessity for more testing and improvements in calibration and lighting, it is obvious that image analysis technologies can bring a lot of useful information in the perspective of a geometallurgical mapping of the deposit.

Jul 11, 2011

By B W. Atkinson

Full-stream mechanised sampling apparatus, that collect a full cross-sectional increment from the complete screen discharge, will always be the preferred option for sampling screen overflows. However, the reality is that provisions for automated sampling are rarely, if ever, provided at the discharges of individual screens within beneficiation plants.Sampling from the discharge of high capacity vibrating screens, especially multi-slope screens, is subject to sampling bias, due to the stratification of the ore that occurs on the vibrating screen deck. The stratification in the vibrating bed translates to a stratified falling stream at the discharge end of the screen, typically with smaller particles at the back of the falling stream and large particles at the front of the falling stream (Figure 1).The chemical and physical characteristics of heterogeneous ore (mineral or coal) particles vary significantly with particle size. If samples do not correctly reflect the source material size distribution, they will be biased and the resulting analytical/assay data will not reflect the actual physical nor chemical characteristics of the source material.Prior published data for coal preparation research (Australian Coal Association Research Program) has demonstrated that a bias appears to exist for samples collected from high capacity multi-slope screens.A new form of sampling scoop has been developed with the aim of overcoming this issue.Bias was evaluated at a coal preparation plant by comparing the desliming screen overflow size distribution to that for æreferenceÆ coal preparation plant feed samples collected using the recognised stopped-belt technique. The study procured 20 sets of comparison samples in order to ensure statistical relevance.Two forms of sampling device were employed for the multislope screen discharge.A conventional square aperture scoop was demonstrated to exhibit a significant coarse bias, in that the resulting samples exhibited a significantly coarser size distribution compared to the reference samples. In other words it was evident that the conventional scoop æfavouredÆ material from the front of the falling stream.A new æcollapsibleÆ sample scoop was evaluated in parallel, and its samples were found to exhibit no relevant bias.CITATION:Atkinson, B W and Swanson, A R, 2012. A new method for sampling from high capacity screens, in Proceedings Sampling 2012 , pp 89-94 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Aug 21, 2012

By R Stefansen, T Wisdom, A Nicholson, K Rahal

The challenges of increasingly scarce water resources and the risk of dam failures has seen the mining industry turn to sustainable tailings management solutions such as dewatering and dry stacking. Filtering tailings has been seen in the past as a cost-prohibitive process for larger throughput mines. However, as larger pressure filters are developed, the economic case for filtered tailings has gained traction.Focus has largely been placed on the correct design and operation of the filters. It is critical, however, that the material handling portion of the disposal system is also properly designed and operated. Thorough testing at laboratory and pilot scale to determine the conveying properties of the filtered material needs to be conducted. This testing will insure the material handling system meets the important availability needs of the mine even during periods of variability in the upstream processes and mine plan.The control system must also be robust and flexible in design to compensate for this upstream process variability. The control system needs to allow for different flowsheets including straight filtered tails as well as EcoTails™, a low-energy solution for co-mingling waste rock and filter cake.This paper will present case studies of different material handling solutions, the testing required for them and the lessons learned from each.CITATION:Rahal, K, Nicholson, A, Stefansen, R and Wisdom, T, 2018. Material handling testing and control system requirements for dry stack tailings, in Proceedings Mine Waste and Tailings Stewardship Conference 2018, pp 361–368 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Jul 23, 2018

By ZáWang, F Hungerford, T Ren

Operations in an underground drill site have to co-exist within the mineÆs ventilation and operational system. The space requirements of a drilling operation have to be adapted to the limitations provided in available site space, which is usually defined by standard mining operations and geotechnical influences. These limitations affect borehole design, equipment positioning in the site layout and possible interactions with mining equipment and services such as water and power supply.The ventilation requirements for drill sites and the means employed vary with depth of the site, space and likely presence of gas. All drilling operations provide a particular service for the mine and in each case, drilling must operate in a manner which controls all gas, water and cuttings returning from the borehole. The various standpiping systems employed have evolved under differing influences and must cater for conditions during and after the drilling operations.The influences that gas content, pressure and flow, rib stability, cleat direction, borehole length, potential water pressure and flow have on a mineÆs operation and ventilation systems have to be considered in the design of standpipe length, diameter and fittings. Past history has a strong influence on common practice while worst case effects of a possible in-hole event should be catered for.This paper describes the early drilling systems and their limitations in ventilation and gas management. The drill site dimensions and set-up are discussed in the context of roadway conditions, equipment layout, ventilation and logistics. The use of standpiping to control all returns from the borehole is illustrated by referring to likely scenarios in a drilling site to achieve the most effective sealed depth to accommodate the worst case possibility of intersecting high pressure gas or water during the drilling operation. Practices to allow gas drainage in the return airway of a panel are described.CITATION:Hungerford, F, Ren, T and Wang, Z, 2013. operational management of underground in-seam drilling sites, in Proceedings The Australian Mine Ventilation Conference , pp 43-48 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Jul 1, 2013

By J Webb

The mining industry is relatively niche and complex compared to other global industries in its safety and operating environment. Whilst some of the technology required to decarbonise the mining industry will emerge from the mass market (eg batteries, energy storage solutions and renewable power generation) where exogeneous external investment and innovation will drive supply, bespoke applications such as material movement will be constrained by industry limitations. Underground load and haul equipment burns the majority portion of underground mine diesel, and typically 25 per cent of scope one and two emissions. Transitioning away from incumbent diesel engines offers a considerable health benefit to all mine workers, as well as decarbonisation achievements, and through trials there is emerging evidence of more productive equipment and realistic expectations of lower operating costs of fleet. However, new equipment and material movement systems that support these industry goals are currently approached with caution due to the pivotal role they play in delivering productivity goals, and the lack of experiential data and certainty to mitigate the supplier development risk during this technology transition period, where all resources are required to meet a booming industry. A group of mining companies and suppliers have the aligned aim to accelerate the understanding and availability of heavy haulage mobile equipment through collaboratively piloting equipment and working with suppliers and each other to aggregate market demand, encourage investment and resolve the mine design and technology choices through their involvement in the Electric Mine Consortium (EMC). This paper will outline the major challenges the industry must overcome in sourcing and adopting a zero-diesel particulate and zero-emission mine, drawn from cases and insights across ten EMC mining company members.

Mar 29, 2023

By A Vakili

Dilution is associated with considerable direct and indirect costs in underground open stoping operations. As shown in previous works, an improved ability to predict dilution enables the economic risks associated with unplanned dilution to be reduced. Depending on the width of the orebody and depth of mining, the economic performance of an open stoping operation can become even more sensitive to dilution. It is shown in several well-documented studies that as little as 1 per cent of additional dilution can impose millions of dollars of lost profits per annum. Optimisation of a stoping operation is therefore largely dependent on the ability of the operation to minimise dilution. This can only be achieved through sensible analysis of past and future performance of mined stopes using the most appropriate recent available technologies and tools. This article presents a new design process that utilises advanced geotechnical numerical modelling and various other analytical tools to assist with a more robust mine design of open stoping operations. The focus of this design process is on geotechnical factors affecting dilution during the life-of-mine. A recent application of this optimisation method for a mining operation is presented in this paper as a case study. Through the application of this method and various other operational improvements, the mine was able to deliver more consistent production and lower operating costs over its life-ofmine outlook and was able to reduce dilution by up to 50 per cent and achieve sustainable record high production rates.

Mar 29, 2023