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By Seshold P

The cost of capital is the rate at which a project's cash flow should be discounted to obtain the Net Present Value. The cost of capital is a weighted average of both debt and equity funds of a company, on an after tax basis. Two methods are described for calculating a company's cost of equity, the Dividend Valu- ation Model and, more importantly, the Capital Asset Pricing Model. A worked example is presented where the cost of capital was obtain- ed for two resource companies. The application of the cost of capital was illustrated by way of a mining equipment replacement problem. The paper outlines refinements and problems that may be encountered with the use of the cost of capital, and concludes that it is an integral part of any project evaluation.

Jan 1, 1983

Australia has a high level of research and development capabilities in government, industry and tertiary institutions. In the- remote sensing fields, we have developed a range of applications in geology, agriculture, infrastructure and environmental monitoring which are very cost effective and applicable to projects in the Asian and Pacific region. Support by the Department of Science through the Scientific Industries Steering Committee has enabled rapid penetration of this technological capability into projects with significant economic and financial benefits. It has also led to the opportunity for development of new sensors and processing systems, through collaborative projects with regional countries, which. will have applications in cloud covered, rainforest, and coastal tropical regions for geological and resource applications.

Jan 1, 1987

By D R. van der Meulen, P Ande, D J. Lunt

Pressure hydrometallurgy is becoming an increasingly common unit operation in the treatment of gold and base metal ores and concentrates. The design of an adequate and appropriate pilot-scale testwork program is, therefore, essential in order to minimise the risks associated with developing a project in which autoclaves form a key part of the operation. This paper identifies the approaches that have been taken in the piloting of oxidative and pressure acid leach operations. Particular emphasis is placed on the determination of scale-up ratios between the pilot and commercial plants and the pilot-plant run durations. The issues, both metallurgical and project-specific, that can impact these key parameters are reviewed.

Jan 1, 2004

By Brennan D. J

The trend worldwide is for increasingly stringent control of sulphur dioxide emissions to the environment. It is therefore likely that Australian industry will be placed under increased pressure to restrict such emissions, and this will have implications for Australian smelters of mineral sulphide ores. Traditional outlets for sulphur dioxide emissions have been in sulphuric acid manufacture, but Australian demand for sulphuric acid has declined markedly in recent years. This paper examines the balance of supply and demand for sulphur and related products in Australia, the shifts occurring in that balance and the underlying causes of those trends.

Jan 1, 1994

By K McCaffery, R P. Halomoan

Two column flotation cells have been installed as single-stage rougher cleaners at Batu Hijau. The objective was to provide additional residence time in the cleaner circuit to maintain maximum recovery during high mill throughput and high feed grade periods. Installation of the columns has allowed the relatively coarse, well-liberated rougher concentrate and the relatively fine, low-grade scavenger concentrate to be treated separately, improving metallurgical performance in the cleaner circuit. Plant results show that the columns produce a high-grade concentrate at an average stage copper recovery of approximately 80 per cent. There is also indication of increases in both overall plant copper recovery and final concentrate copper grade. In addition, the operability and stability of the cleaner circuit has greatly improved.

Jan 1, 2007

Clearly visible in geophysics is a trend away from simply finding and drilling anomalies obtained with off-the-shelf equipment, condes- cendingly sold by travelling salesmen. Instead, technical tools are becoming available which allow us to choose or design equipment and sur- vey procedures for the specific problem at hand. The advent of micro- and smaller computers enable us to collect more and better measure- ments and to rapidly process them so as to emphasize the features which are being sought. These new capabilities have important consequ- ences both to the extent to which geophysical tools will be applied in the industry, and to the skills which will be demanded of those using them. Because of its uniquely difficult exploration problems, Australia must expect to amplify its new prominence in the development of mining geophysical technology.

Jan 1, 1981

The alluvial diamond deposit in the Kimberley Region of Western Australia which became to be known as the Bow River Diamond Mine was discovered in 1982 by joint venture partners Freeport of Australia Inc and Gem Exploration and Minerals Ltd. Mining commenced in 1987. This paper describes the exploration programs and results from discovery to commencement of mining and reviews the public reporting of this process in the light of 1992 Ore Reserves Code (JORC, 1992). This case study illustrates the difficulties involved in resource estimation of alluvial diamond deposits. The study also shows that current reporting standards were, to a large extent, adhered to a full ten years before the diamond reporting section to the Code was formulated.

Jan 1, 1996

The unique characteristics of the Target orebody and modernistic approach to mining present significant challenges and a concomitant high potential for new opportunities. The break-away from the traditional labour intensive mining methods improves both safety and productivity significantly. The intention of the paper is to illustrate the application of well known mining methods to the particular requirements of a complex orebody at depth. The evolutionary process followed to establish the final mining method design provides insight behind the finished product, and the modern approach to the planning and service principles equips the reader with a suite of mining engineering ideas.

Jan 1, 2000

By J Ralston, R Sedev, D Fornasiero

The foam behaviour of low molecular weight polypropylene glycols (PPG) was investigated as a function of concentration and molecular weight (190 - 2000 g mol-1). For each polypropylene glycol, foam stability increases with concentration and passes through a maximum, beyond which foamability is suppressed as the solubility limit of the glycol is exceeded and droplets of glycol form. Light scattering data as well as static and dynamic surface tension results provide the key information leading to these interpretations. A maximum in foamability was observed for the PPG molecules with increasing molecular weight (caused by a change in molecular conformation at the interface). This suppresses the Marangoni effect and leads to a decrease in foam stability.

Jan 1, 2005

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

Jan 1, 1984

The theme of this Annual Conference of The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy is in the form of a question: `Adding Value to our Resources - Our Future?' There are two ways of looking at this question. The first is to assume that any mineral or energy resource is worthless until it is identified, recovered and put on the market. In this sense all our current operations, be they open cut coal mines or aluminium smelters, are engaged in adding value. The question then becomes: what is the future of the minerals and energy resource industries with which we are familiar - will they grow or contract? The second way is to emphasis the value-adding aspect. The question is now one of whether or not our future depends on adding further value to resources we are currently selling.

Jan 1, 1995

We live in a world in crisis. One where the tides of change run ever faster. Where the only thing we can be sure of is change itself. The challenge we face, therefore, is not how to resist the forces that move us nor even to try to predict where they will lead us, but to harness their energy and use their momentum to find new and innovative solutions to problems that can seem intractable. Indeed, crisis is often the catalyst which energises a business to change its technology and to form a partnership with a company which specialises in pioneering new technology.

Jan 1, 1993

By Isaev EN, Levin LE

New data on the geology of the Late Jurassic to Holocene sediments cover of the World and associated mineral resources (oil, gas, ferromanganese nodules, ores of massive sulphides and other metals) have been compilled in the Atlas at scale 1:25,000,000 and 1:10,000,000. The work was performed by scientists from four Institutes of Russia (VNllzarubezhgeologia, VNlloceangeologia, Vernadsky Institute of Geochemistry and Analytical Chemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Geological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences). The Atlas shows variation of thickness and formational composition of the large complexes (Upper Jurassic-Early Cretaceous, Upper Cretaceous- Eocene, Oligocene-Neogene, Pliocene-Pleistocene), distribution of oil/gas and ore deposits in each complex, data of deep- sea drilling (leg 1-130), thermo-pressure condition in the sedimentary basins within Circum-Pacific Rim.

Jan 1, 1995

By Shiels O. J

The paper reviews developments in general galvanising in Australia, including a brief history of the industry and its technology. The changes in galvanising process technology are covered, as well as developments in galvanising bath design, materials handling and pre-treatment. Developments in zinc management through the use of aluminium and nickel alloys are discussed. The paper addresses the cost components of general galvanising and relates this to the competitive position of general galvanising against other coatings used for protecting steel. The environmental aspects of the general galvanising industry in Australia are outlined with respect to the utilisation of process chemicals, problems associated with their disposal and developments in filtering and regeneration of process solutions. The current status of the industry is assessed in terms of zinc usage and usage trends. Likely changes in technology which may impact on the general galvanising industry in the future are reviewed.

Jan 1, 1993

By Morrison R. D

This paper describes major events in the design, construction, camtissioning and operation of the Elura concentrator. It covers the period fran September, 1974 when laboratory testwork on drill core cotmenced to March, 1983 when the concentrator catmenced operation on run of mine ore following successful completion of initial ccnmissioning tests. The concentrator was designed to treat 1.1 million tonnes of lead-zinc-silver ore per year with a plant availability of 89 per cent. This treatment rate has been achieved for test periods.

Jan 1, 1983

Australia had been enjoying a market boom led by the mining sector and West Australian mines were leading the way to satisfy the massive demand for our natural resources, especially from China. However, the Apache gas explosion on Varanus Island, 97 km off the west coast, has clearly demonstrated how the unexpected can suddenly impact on profitability and investor confidence for the mining industry. Risk management with contingency planning can provide the most cost-effective solution to help ensure mining projects are successful. For this discussion we will focus primarily on contingency planning, CP for mining projects à and how to plan for the unexpected. The Apache gas explosion will be our example æUnexpected EventÆ. Insurance may provide financial compensation but it will not protect your reputation as a reliable supplier or prevent damage to investor confidence and future mine projects. However, contingency planning can provide real protection for mining projects à to survive the unexpected.

Jan 1, 2009

Pressures are foreseen for departments of metallurgy to make. radical changes in their undergraduate curricula. The curricula need to be made more attractive to high'school students in -order to increase the number of enrolled students. The distinctive character of extractive metallurgy needs to be emphasised to resist encroachment by chemical engineering. There should be content relevant to each of the professional functions and, particularly, to' society's broad expectations of metallurgists. Content, teaching methods, etc. need to be acceptable to women, mature-age -students, Aboriginals, and other groups, as well as young white males. Learning experiences should be negotiable by the students in response to the advent of learning packages delivered via personal computers. All of these needs could be satisfied by a radical change. in attitudes and objectives during the design; implementation and evaluation stages of . a new type of curriculum, using a wide range of problem-based learning experiences..

Jan 1, 1986

The history of the discovery. and successful development of the offshore Gippsland Basin oil and gas fields has been well docu- mented in contemporarary and more recent industry and profes- sional literature. The various articles, papers and books record fairly balanced views and comments as to the nature and results of the explora- tion effort, and factual data concerning the subsequent develop- ment of the fields and facilities concerned with petroleum production in the Bass Strait and Gippsland environment. Recommended reading for those interested in the scientific and technical aspects of the Gippsland Basin developments and the search for petroleum in the Bass and Alway Basins includes the available library contained in the publications of The Australasian Institute of Mining & Metallurgy The Commonwealth Mining Congres since 1960 The Australian Petroleum Exploration Association The Geological Society of Australia The American Association of Petroleum Geologists Various Commonwealth and Victorian Government instrumentalities Trade Journals

Jan 1, 1988

By Randall C

Energy studies have been undertaken at a number of open coal mines in the Hunter valley. A range of energy efficiency benchmarks and targets have been established, which, when applied across coal mines, will assist in leading to a significant improvement in energy efficiency in the coal mining industry in NSW, thereby leading to an improvement in environmental performance. Typically, energy efficiency improvements of 20 per cent and higher appear possible at many mines leading to a commensurate reduction in this controllable operating cost, ie energy. On the basis that annual energy costs and net profit are similar for many mines, a reduction in energy costs by 20 per cent will lead to increase of 20 per cent in net profit.

Jan 1, 1995

As world demand for various minerals increases the mining industry in its endeavour to satisfy this demand will, eventually,look to the extraction of orebodies which previously may have been uneconomical to mine. These orebodies may be of two types. Firstly, new low grade orebodies and secondly, remnant sections of previously mined orebodies. Some of the factors relative to remnant mining operations are discussed and the potent- ial of remnant mining in providing an important contribution to future world metal production is considered.

Jan 1, 1975