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The Pilbara region, located in the north-west of Western Australia, is significant as the second-largest source of iron ore on the planet. Iron ore mines owned and operated by Pilbara Iron are located within the Hamersley Basin. This paper refers to the Greater Paraburdoo mines, the 4WEST and 4EAST pits, located on the southern margin of the Hamersley Basin. The groundwater model refers to ephemeral watercourses: Seven Mile and Pirraburdoo creeks, which are adjacent to the two pits, and Ratty Springs, located upstream from 4WEST and within Pirraburdoo creek. The spring and creeks hold cultural heritage significance for local Aboriginal communities. Two of these, the Gobawarrah Minduarra Yinhawanga (GMY) and Innawonga native title claim groups, initiated hydrological work on the two creeks and Ratty Springs, with the aim of determining the affects of dewatering on the natural water flows of these systems. The numerical model used to simulate drawdown in the Pirraburdoo and Seven Mile Creeks was derived from PMWIN Pro software and covered an area of 77 km2. The modelling period was from January 1998 to December 2004, and the prediction period was from January 2005 to December 2015. The model has four layers and incorporated effects caused by mining voids, 4WEST and 4EAST pits, creek bed material, weathered bedrock below creeks and surrounding banded iron formations (BIF). The model has been calibrated using the trial-and-error method set down by Middelmis et al (2001). The current dewatering schedule (12 ML/day) in the 4WEST and 4EAST mining areas does not affect the water table levels in the adjacent creeks significantly or for any considerable periods of time. However, changes to mine plans may occur, for example, in response to changed commodity price and may lead to significant increase in rates of vertical advancement. This, in turn, affects dewatering schedules, as greater vertical advancement requires increased dewatering effort. When an accelerated mine plan is applied to the model and dewatering rates increased to 18 ML/day, drawdowns in the creeks are more noticeable. The model has therefore helped to indicate the extent to which increased dewatering rates may be acceptable, especially in terms of immediate and longer-term damage to riparian species, ie Melaleuca and Eucalypt. Predictions from the model may also allow mine planners to schedule decreased rates of vertical advancement, where these are required to meet environmental constraints.

Jan 1, 2006

By Slater R

The initial planning and detail design phase leading to the development of a 7.5 m internal shaft to service the deep 3000 and 3500 copper orebodies at Mount Isa, Queensland is well advanced. The choice of internal shaft access was made over alternative methods such as a decline from existing levels and borehole hoisting. The resulting access development requirements and shaft configuration for production have been determined. Several techniques are being studied for shaft development. These include the application of blind shaft drilling and large hole reaming methods as well as conventional sinking techniques. As the 3000/3500 Orebodies extend from 1000 metres to more than 1800 metres below the surface, high stress conditions and ground temperatures ranging from 45CC to 62CC are anticipated. The effect of these on the methods being investigated to create a favourable working environment will influence the final choice. Exploration diamond drilling is in progress to confirm the geology of the orebodies so that planning for their extraction including refrigerated ventilation concepts can proceed.

Jan 1, 1982

By C R. Ure

To substantially reduce, if not eliminate, carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from ironmaking it is necessary to convert from blast furnace (BF) ironmaking using coking coal as the reductant to direct reduction (DR) ironmaking using hydrogen (H₂) and green electricity. Currently, almost all natural gas (NG) based direct reduced iron (DRI) production utilises iron oxide pellets in shaft furnaces, as opposed to fines in fluidised beds. Also, these pellets are ordinarily produced from high-grade magnetite concentrate, rather than hematite and goethite with typically higher gangue contents. The use of high-grade magnetite concentrate is driven by the preference to melt DRI in conventional electric arc furnaces (EAFs), thereby avoiding the basic oxygen furnace (BOF) for making crude steel (CS). However, in replacing BF with DR ironmaking it is not economically feasible to source enough high-grade magnetite to replace the lower grade hematite and goethite currently consumed. That is not to say that hematite and goethite, or even low-grade magnetite, cannot be used in DR ironmaking. However, their higher gangue content, resulting in higher slag production, requires that the EAF producing CS be replaced with a submerged arc furnace (SAF) that will produce pig iron (PI) for the BOF as does the BF. Here, critical issues to be addressed are, what are the technicalities in replacing high-grade magnetite concentrate with hematite and goethite and NG with H₂ in DRI pellet production and melting? This paper summarises certain relevant published information on DRI pellet research, test work and production together with relevant information on Pilbara ores. It attempts to illustrate the inter- relationship of composition and processing conditions on DRI pellet properties. It is intended to serve as a rudimentary guide to understanding the complexities of formulation, testing, evaluation, production and goethite and offer insight into this challenge.

Sep 18, 2023

By J S. J van Deventer, D C. Shallcross

New developments are taking place in the recovery of gold from leached pulps that are based upon the adsorption of the metal cyanide species onto ion exchange resins. Despite the success of several resin-in-pulp pilot plant operations in the Western World and large-scale plants in the former Soviet Union, the process is yet to gain recognition as a viable alternative to the carbon-in-pulp process. An experimental research program has investigated the use of a variety of different types of resins for the recovery of gold, but to-date no resin studied has the desired properties of high selective loading capacity for gold cyanide and a simple inexpensive elution procedure. In addition very little is known concerning the physical strength of resins and their ability to resist shattering due to osmotic shock during cycles of adsorption and elution. The ability of ion exchange resins to enhance the leaching of refractory and re-adsorbing ores has not been investigated. This paper highlights the necessary factors that need to be addressed before commercialisation of ion exchange technology for gold extraction is feasible.

Jan 1, 1998

By D Kentwell

A resource model serves two main purposes depending on the stage of a project. The first is to provide an early indication of likely tonnages and grades at certain cut-offs so that decisions can be made on whether continued spending on the project is justified. The second is to provide a basis for mine planning, feasibility studies and reserves. Resource models are not designed for selection of actual blocks in the ground for processing. This is the purpose of a grade control model, which is created at a stage beyond both resources and reserves.Inferred, Indicated and Measured Resources contain different levels of uncertainty with respect to the accuracy of the resulting grade and tonnage curves. These uncertainties arise from three broad areas: quality of information, geological assumptions and estimation technique. This paper focuses on known problems with the ordinary kriging (OK) estimation technique. Resource estimates often produce smoothed block grade distributions with much lower block grade variability than true selective mining unit (SMU) block grade distributions. There are two main factors that are involved in this smoothing. Firstly, where the block size used for estimation is larger than the SMU block size, this will smooth the block grade distribution and move the grade and tonnage curves away from the true SMU block grade and tonnage curves. Secondly, and less well recognised, is that smoothing is inherent in the OK estimator. This also moves the grade and tonnage curves away from the true SMU grade and tonnage curves, even when the estimate is done at the SMU block size. There are a number of techniques, such as simulation, uniform conditioning and degraded search neighbourhoods that can provide a better approximation of the true SMU block grade and tonnage curves at the expense of individual block accuracy.This paper aims to explore the extent to which OK resource estimates designed to maximise individual block accuracy can differ from (an estimate of) the true resource at SMU block size in terms of grade and tonnage curves. The differences at economic cut-offs and above are examined. In some cases these differences are significant. Both the OK estimation technique and block size play a part in the differences observed. To do this we will examine a number of commodities and deposit types using real project data.The conclusion is that the current industry standard default practice of targeting maximum individual block accuracy (conditional unbiasedness) using OK at resource stage, without consideration or evaluation of the extent of associated smoothing at SMU scale, can lead to significant errors in fundamental mine planning decisions. This then has implications for resource classification if the classifications are based heavily on the OK quality without consideration of the true SMU distribution.CITATION:Kentwell, D, 2014. Aligning resource estimates with mine planning, in Proceedings Orebody Modelling and Strategic Mine Planning Symposium 2014 , pp 185–192 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Nov 24, 2014

By P Christen, D R. Ashley, G R. Power

The Ernest Henry Mine is currently a copper-gold open pit operation situated in north-west Queensland, Australia. It is owned and operated by Xstrata Copper with a current throughput of 11 million tonnes per annum; however, open pit operations are scheduled to cease in late 2011. The deposit dips at approximately 45¦ and extends for at least another 400 vertical metres below the final 530 m deep pit design. Resource drilling from 2002 until mid 2008 has enabled an Indicated Mineral Resource to be established to 1000 m below surface. Scoping and prefeasibility studies (PFS) have been completed toward determining if this resource is suitable for underground mining and a feasibility study is currently progressing with a sublevel caving (SLC) concept. This paper briefly describes the process by which the SLC method was selected, conclusions regarding the non-selected methods, and then discusses the optimisation process used to derive the mining plan. The key optimisation parameters include the production drive spacing, level spacing, draw strategy, cut-off grade and production rate. Key risks will then be assessed and economic sensitivities studied. Final sensitivities will use Monte Carlo simulations to improve the transparency of the projectÆs risk profile. The feasibility study (FS) began in March 2008 and this paper describes the main optimisation steps at the time of writing and outlines the plan for study completion through to March 2009.

Jan 1, 2009

By C J. Unger, A M. Lechner, A Walton, V Glenn, M Edraki, D R. Mulligan

In Australia, responsibility for abandoned mines can be unclear. With a few exceptions, state and territory governments have become responsible for abandoned mines on Crown land and private landholders are responsible for abandoned mines on freehold land. Abandoned mines pose risks and opportunities across the full suite of sustainability themes (environmental, human health and safety, socio-economic and community development) after mining ceases.Across Australia, there are more than 50 000 abandoned mines recorded, ranging in size from individual shafts to large polluting open cut mines. Addressing the safety and environmental impacts of these sites, as well as the socio-economic development opportunities of significant rehabilitation projects, requires the implementation of effective policies and programs. Qualitatively defined graded scales or ‘rubrics’ have been used for many years in student assessment and increasingly in the performance assessment of other sectors (Davidson, 2005). While risk-based maturity models have been used for safety prioritisation (Westrum, 1993; Hudson, 2007; DRET, 2008; Hancock, 2010) and evaluation of organisational development (Esteves et al, 2010), this paper is the first to adapt maturity models for the evaluation of abandoned mine rehabilitation programs in Australia.In this paper, we used indicators based on the national policy for abandoned mines to assess the maturity of abandoned mine programs. Fourteen elements of maturity were identified (Unger et al, 2012) under the five chapters of the national policy for abandoned mines (MCMPR and MCA, 2010). Jurisdictions were then evaluated and ranked on their maturity on the basis of information that was web-accessible. Information transparency of abandoned mines policies and programs is in itself one element of the maturity chart. Each jurisdiction in Australia was compared with one another and with a Canadian jurisdiction; the British Columbia (BC) Crown Contaminated Sites Program (CCSP), which represents leading practice (Unger, 2009; Unger et al, 2012).Our research found that in some jurisdictions in Australia there is little or no information on abandoned mine programs or individual abandoned mine sites on government websites, while other jurisdictions provided very detailed program information on planning, funding and implementation. Each jurisdiction in Australia, for which web-based information was available, had some elements where they were more mature than other Australian jurisdictions. For some elements, maturity ranked equivalent to the BC CCSP, but most Australian jurisdictions were less mature. There was only one element where a single Australian jurisdiction ranked higher than the BC program in maturity. Legacy mine policies, programs, priorities and funding information via departmental websites are easier to find in some jurisdictions, indicating progression toward greater transparency and more mature programs. A systematic approach to monitoring and evaluating abandoned mines programs is essential for accountability as it can demonstrate liability reduction over time and continual improvement. The maturity model approach can provide both a measure of progress over time as well as a tool to support the implementation of the national policy for abandoned mines (MCMPR and MCA, 2010).CITATION:Unger, C J, Lechner, A M, Walton, A, Glenn, V, Edraki, M and Mulligan, D R, 2014. Maturity of jurisdictional abandoned mine programs in Australia based on web-accessible information, in Proceedings Life-of-Mine 2014 , pp 467–480 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Jul 16, 2014

By S Maritsa, E K. Chiw, S M. Masuka, ika, T Chisahwira

The challenges facing the iron and steel industry on a global scale include depletion of resources, excessive energy consumption and CO2 emissions. The demand for iron products in Zimbabwe is increasing due to massive infrastructural development like the expansion and improvement of mines, transportation systems and water reticulation systems. In Zimbabwe, cast iron is mainly produced from recycling scrap metals. However, there is currently a shortage of scrap, which has resulted in the vandalism of state-owned properties such as bus terminals and railway wagons and lines. Nevertheless, Zimbabwe is rich in limonite ores, which are idle, and it is the aim of this research that this ore be effectively used to produce feed for the blast furnace. The Blast furnace is still the dominant route for producing cast iron where sintering and coking processes are the main routes for preparing the Blast furnace feed. Sintering limonite ore fines produce a product of poor grade because of the high value of loss on ignition that has a negative impact on Blast furnace efficiency. Furthermore, the sinter plant and the coke making plant are a source of huge environmental pollutants. Since low-grade Zimbabwean coal fines are also available in abundance, they were used in the preparation of the composite materials ensuring maximum utilisation of this resource. Results showed that the limonite ore-carbon composite pellets sample with the binary basicity ratio (CaO/SiO2) of about 0.27 and coal addition of 2.5 wt per cent achieved above the minimum physical quality requirements for pellet of drop number of at least 4, a dry compression strength greater than 2.2 kg/pellet and an indurated compression strength greater than 250 kg/pellet. Limestone was used as the binder avoiding the addition of more impurities from bentonite since the limonite ore has a high SiO2 content of about 8.78 wt per cent.

Sep 18, 2023

This paper reviews the issues of mining machinery automation with special emphasis on underground applications. Automation is desirable because it offers the following advantages: ò increased safety by reducing human exposure to hazards of underground mining; ò higher productivity; and ò reduced wear of equipment. In spite of these advantages and in spite of numerous attempts over the past several decades, mining automation has been a difficult proposition, partly because no two mining operations are exactly alike and these operations are carried out in an unpredictable environment. This is the main difference between automation in factories and in mines and that is why mining automation has been lagging so far behind factory automation. Automation is possible only when the machine 'knows' its workspace. In a factory, this workspace can be 'described' to the machine because it is sufficiently controlled. In a mine, the environment undergoes continuous change and the only way the machine can 'know' its workspace is through real-time sensing.

Jan 1, 1995

By D Cliff

"Recent underground coal mine incidents have again raised the issue of: under what circumstanceis it safe for personnel to re-enter the mine? Mine rescue guidelines make recommendations aboutthe limits in terms of the circumstances, lives at risk, no lives at risk and training exercises. Theseare based upon percentages of the upper and lower explosive limits. Many factors infl uencesett ing limits for safe re-entry. These include: the representativeness of the sampling location(s),the rapidity of gett ing an underground sample analysed and the rate of change of the atmospherebeing monitored. Value judgements based upon these parameters will then infl uence the sett ing ofa trigger point based upon per cent explosibility. This raises the question of how the percentage ofthe lower or upper explosive limit is established. It is easy to defi ne this when the sampling pointdata sit on the fresh air limit line. However - what value is used when the sample sits somewherein the body of an explosibility diagram? This paper explores the various options and illustratesvarious pitfalls and problems that are faced in making such a determination. These include howthe data are represented and the assumed knowledge of those doing the interpretation."

Jun 1, 2012

By Song Yongxue

During the design and operation stages of a block caving project, a large amount of research and development work has been undertaken in the Tongkuangyu Copper Mine. This paper presents the research achievements from these studies, including a rock mass quality evaluation method, cavability prediction, fragmentation evaluation, caving mechanisms, a computerised production scheduling model and the optimised draw control system. The main features of the block caving system in the Tongkuangyu Copper Mine are also discussed.

Jan 1, 2000

Gwalia Consolidated Ltd has been in the mining industry for about 15 years, yet its key wholly owned Greenbushes Mine has a history dating back to the last century. Similarly Gwalia Consolidated's associate, Sons of Gwalia Ltd owns the historic Sons of Gwalia and Marvel Loch Mines with Sons of Gwalia celebrating its centenary this year. This durability is a testament to the quality of the orebodies concerned and the massive technological achievements over this time which have enabled each of these mines to maintain their competitiveness. While Sons of Gwalia and Marvel Loch were and continue to be gold mines, the wholly owned Greenbushes Mine has survived and in fact prospered through the development of alternative products from its rich and unique pegmatite. Similarly, for Gwalia Consolidated to grow and prosper it will be necessary to expand the current portfolio of products and operations. The Greenbushes Mine has already given Gwalia world `No 1' status in both the supply of primary tantalite concentrates and lithium minerals (spodumene). The asset base contributed by Gwalia's gold investments assisted in the recapitalisation of the Greenbushes assets to fully develop their potential. Industrial minerals and strategic metals were of interest to Gwalia as these markets are relatively small and it is possible to develop an influential if not dominant position in the market with a quality asset. Capital expenditure to develop such projects are also usually in the order of $10 m to $20 m, a manageable range relative to Gwalia's size.

Jan 1, 1996

By D Piason

Newstan Mine commenced mining operations in 1887 and has since undertaken extensive mining within the Young Wallsend, Great Northern, Fassifern, Borehole and West Borehole coal seams using a range of mining methods including board and pillar mining and longwall mining.Newstan Mine is planning to extend the existing mine workings using longwall and miniwall mining methods to produce up to 4.5 Mt/a of run-of-mine (ROM) coal for at least 25 years. The planned extension in the Main East and South West sections will involve developing new longwall panels and related mains headings. The new area contains higher specific gas emissions (SGE) than previously experienced at Newstan Mine. To achieve the optimum ventilation requirements for the longwall operation in this new area, a new ventilation shaft was designed to be constructed using the blind boring method in the South West Headings section.This paper presents the shaft design parameters and selection criteria for the construction of the new ventilation shaft, including the construction phase and the holing process to connect the shaft to the underground workings. The paper also discusses future ventilation requirements for Newstan Mine.CITATION:Piason, D, 2015. South-west ventilation shaft project at Newstan Mine, in Proceedings The Australian Mine Ventilation Conference, pp 229–238 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Aug 31, 2015

By M R. Asef

Although generation of environmentally harmful hydrogen sulfide is considered to be related to sour gas fields, sweet gas reservoirs and waste fluids, travertine springs and geothermal fields may also produce acid gas (H2S and CO2) under certain conditions. The potential parameters influencing such a possibility need to be fully investigated to evaluate the extent of the consequences and predict hydrogen sulfide generation accordingly. Reports on hydrogen sulfide production at different regions and fields were gathered worldwide for the cases when some of them did not have such a problem previously. In order to inspect different aspects of these case studies, some other regions with no hydrogen sulfide content were selected as control. In all cases water samples were taken carefully for chemical analysis in the laboratory. Besides, mineral compositions were characterised in some cases for better evaluation. In order to give a thorough prospect of hydrogen sulfide production, a geochemical model was prepared. In situ engineering geological conditions, especially pressure and temperature, were assigned in the model to investigate the possibility of H2S generation using PHREEQC software. The results of modelling revealed that although many similarities existed between mineral compositions of the cases, certain formations were particularly prone to hydrogen sulfide generation. For better evaluation, important exchangeable cation ratios such as potassium/sodium, calcium/magnesium and ion proportions like sulfate and chloride were calculated as trends of the formations. As expected, the model could successfully monitor a higher ratio of SO42- and Cl- in potential H2S generator formations. Wide variation in percentage of HCO3- was considered as a secondary observatory parameter for better estimation. In addition, it was noticed that higher anion content created an environment ready to absorb any cations and this makes H2S generation easier. Finally, using correlations between predictors and estimators for low depth and deep samples defined the degree of effectiveness for every sample.

Sep 26, 2011

By S Lockie, G Ivanova, J Rolfe

One of the consequences of mining expansion in the Bowen Basin region of Central Queensland in Australia has been a substantial increase in demand for housing, with subsequent impacts on housing and rental markets. Those pressures are reduced to some extent by a proportion of the workforce choosing to live in other centres and commuting to workplace for block periods. The main factors influencing location choice are: housing availability and affordability, basic urban services and lifestyle of the town and the town physical attractiveness such as coastal town. Low costs housing provided by the mining company acts as an attracting factor for some miners to live in the mining town. Recommendations for three short-term and two long-term strategic policy guidelines to address housing situation and location issues are provided.

Jan 1, 2009

By H Plewes, A Bur, L Murray, J Pottie

Water recovery from tailings for reuse in mineral processing is essential to operation of mines in the Atacama Desert of Chile. With annual rainfall of 5 mm, the prudent and efficient use of available water resources is a major issue for the Escondida Mine and other mines in the area. The Escondida Mine is located at an altitude of 3100 m, in a very arid, seismically active part of the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. The site is located about 170 km from the coastal city of Antofagasta. From 1994 to 2002, tailings were discharged into the Hamburgo Tailings Facility, which comprises a series of æpaddiesÆ located near the open pit and mill. Because water in the region is only obtainable from groundwater sources, the paddy system incorporated a number of design features with the aim to maximise water recovery from the tailings. As part of the recent mill expansion to 237 500 metric tonnes per day, a new tailings facility, the Laguna Seca Tailings Facility, projected to be one of the largest tailings facilities in the world, was commissioned in 2002. Extensive studies were conducted for the design of the new facility to predict water recovery from the conventional wet disposal of tailings. The predictions were calibrated against the performance of the Hamburgo Tailings Facility and subsequently re-calibrated against actual performance during the first year of operation at the Laguna Seca Tailings Facility. Initial operation of the Laguna Seca Facility was marked by a coincidental change in tailings characteristics from design, which highlighted the need for thoroughly understanding tailings behaviour during deposition, and the parameters and deposition techniques that could enhance water recovery. Systems have been put in place to manage the tailings deposition and respond to changes in key parameters such that water recovery targets can be reliably achieved. This paper describes the background studies that were conducted to evaluate evaporation and tailings behaviour, summarises the water balance and then presents some observations from the commissioning and start-up of the facility.

Jan 1, 2003

By Isobe K, Muchi I, Hsieh YS

Theoretical and experimental studies have been made-to clarify the physical and chemical behavior of the tuyere combustion zone of blast furnace. Gas streamlines around this zone were visualized by the use of the two-dimensional equip- ment. Close agreement between the observed stream- lines and the calculated ones is found. The three- dimensional experimental studies have revealed that there exists a so-called dry zone in the neighbor- hood of the raceway and the trickling liquid be- haves approximately like a continuum. A kinetic model is develdped to describe the behavior of coke combustion in the tuyere zone. The model is based on the reaction kinetics, the differential balances of heat and mass, and the mechanics of gas flows. Regarding-the-axial distribution of gas composition in the tuyere zone, good agreement is obtained be- tween the model prediction and the data observed in a working furnace by the other investigators. Cal- culated results-show that the maximum consumption of coke occurs at the intermediate region of the raceway. For the blowing of oxygen-enriched or high -humidity blast, the position at which the maximum consumption of coke occurs is shifted toward the tuyere nose. Similar effect is found when the par- ticle diameter of coke in the tuyere zone is de- creased. The solid flow pattern around the tuyere combustion zone was visualized by the use of the two-dimensional equipment in which the sublimation of dry ice particles in front of the tuyere was

Jan 1, 1981

By G Lane

This paper discusses the factors that contribute to the cost effective design of a concentrator. Concentrator design and layout outcomes are functions of the team (engineer’s and owner’s) participating in each particular project. The benchmark for relatively modest projects was set in the 1980s and 1990s during the ‘gold boom’ when numerous cost effective plants were designed and constructed on a lump sum basis in a very competitive market. A number of factors contribute to lack of transference of the lessons learnt in gold plant design to concentrator design including established paradigms in the design and layout of concentrators, lack of experience in cost effective design, operator’s preferences for flowsheet and layout and simple lack of appreciation of the impact of plant footprint on materials quantities and resultant capital costs.Experiences with recent copper concentrator projects (both small and large) are used as case studies.

Aug 8, 2011

By K Katov, S T. Ciutina, J D. Pyke

The development and optimisation of mill discharge trommels, and specifically their screen panels, can be a neglected area in the complex operation of a minerals processing plant. Trommels are often seen as a ‘set and forget’ component of the circuit, even when significant improvements in design are possible. A redesigned trommel and panel arrangement has simplified and added flexibility to the plant shutdown schedule at Kirkland Lake Gold’s Fosterville Gold Mine in Central Victoria.Prior to the trommel redesign, the shutdown frequency was determined by the expected life of trommel panels at 14 weeks. Planning downtime around this item led to higher maintenance costs and wastage in other areas of the plant. This was particularly disruptive with respect to mill lining change-outs, which were forced out of sequence and often changed prematurely. Fosterville Gold engaged Metso Australia Limited to propose a new trommel design that would better suit the site. The new trommel was engineered to balance simplicity with performance, and incorporated the latest in Modular trommel design, modelling and Finite Elemental Analysis (FEA). Modular Panels and Spiral Segments achieve significantly longer life, and allow in-situ panel change outs, flexibility in spiral and dam positioning and an improvement in classification performance. Trommel panel life has significantly increased from 14 to 71 weeks in the trommel’s highest wearing zone. The new design has eliminated some risks to safety by reducing manual labour and lifting requirements during shutdowns. There is greater flexibility with respect to shutdown requirements. The site is no longer at the mercy of trommel panel lifespan, which allows for better optimisation of wear components in the circuit. CITATION:Pyke, J D, Katov, K and Ciutina, S T, 2018. Modular SAG mill discharge trommel for maintenance flexibility and performance, in Proceedings 14th AusIMM Mill Operators' Conference 2018, pp 613–620 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Aug 29, 2018

By R Steven

"Surveying, and as a result, surveyors, have been around since the start of time, and it has been said that so has their methodology!The theodolite and tape have been the backbone of a time-tested practice that has led to ground breaking advancements such as electronic distance measurement (EDM), global positioning system (GPS) and positional laser scanning. However, it was the introduction of the unmanned aerial system (UAS) that has allowed mine sites such as St Ives to take the next step towards truly turning survey data into metadata.This paper will explain how the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was adapted to meet the requirements of a mine site supporting a major open pit operation, and how the open pit mining team adjusted their planning and production processes to maximise use of the extra data and information available to them.The advantages of the system include point cloud surveys with corresponding large-scale up-to-date photography and computer generated high detail contouring of mined areas that are then incorporated into the mine plan. All the while, the use of the UAV must be tailored to each specific problem encountered and a solution then matched.Citation:Steven, R, 2016. Trials, Tribulations and Triumphs of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Surveying at St Ives Gold Mine, in Proceedings Ninth AusIMM Open Pit Operators' Conference 2016, pp 170–184 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne)."

Nov 15, 2016