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By M Saghaeian, A H. Baladastian, A Dehghani Ahmadabadi, V Sheikhzadeh, R Hejazi

This research was done to reduce silica from mixed hematite concentrate of Barfkar Iron Ore Sample and increase Fe grade using reverse flotation method (Depressing Hematite and floating Silica). The used sample in the reverse flotation tests was a mixture containing two types of hematite concentrates (Spiral cleaner concentrate and Slon-VPHGMS cleaner concentrate) with the percentage of 16 per cent and 84 per cent, respectively. Fe grade of two samples was 59.31 per cent and 57.52 per cent and SiO2 grade was 5.83 per cent and 6.71 per cent, respectively. After mixing, the Fe and SiO2 grade of the mixed sample was measured at 58.10 per cent and 6.20 per cent. For flotation tests, effect of variable operational parameters including feed size distribution (d80 = 130 microns and d80 = 53 microns), pulp solidity (25 per cent and 30 per cent w/w), pH (9.70, 10.20 and 11), Sodium silicate as a dispersant (500, 1000 and 2000 g/ton), Starch as a depressant (500, 1000, 2000 and 3000 g/ton) and EDA as a collector (180, 300, 400 and 500 g/ton) were investigated. For evaluating the influence of Sodium silicate and Starch dosage, initial flotation tests were performed on the main sample (d80 = 130 microns). These two parameters had no significant effects on the yield, Fe, and SiO2 grade of flotation concentrate based on test results. In the next step, screen analysis was carried out on the main sample for mineralogical studies. Accordingly, the suitable size distribution for releasing Fe and SiO2 particles was smaller than 53 microns. Therefore, the sample was crushed until d80 = 53 microns. Then, supplementary tests were performed on the crushed sample for studying the pH range, pulp solidity, and EDA collector dosage. After doing silica removal flotation tests based on the designed pattern and comparison of the results, the conditions consisting of size distribution d80 = 53 microns, pulp solidity 25 per cent, pH 10.20, Sodium silicate 1000 g/ton, Starch 1000 g/ton, and EDA 500 g/ton was selected as optimum values. In the last test, Fe and SiO2 grade was measured at 60.00 per cent and 3.93 per cent, respectively, and Fe recovery was obtained at 74.93 per cent.

Aug 24, 2022

By M Haest, S Sandler, R Botha, H Lang, K Hume

Benchmark practices in the mining industry include the establishment of Quality Programs — Quality Assurance and Quality Control (QAQC) — to monitor the correct execution of sampling protocols and control each stage of the ‘Sample Cycle’: Sample Collection, Preparation (comminution) and Analysis. QAQC reports commonly include statistical-numerical results that quantify performance of QAQC controls (field duplicates, preparation duplicates, blanks, standards etc). Graphics such as scatter plots, QQ plots, histograms and cumulative frequencies are used to represent the results. Statistical values including relative difference, absolute difference, relative variance, averages, T-test, and Zscores are used to quantitatively express the relationship between duplicate pairs ... but is an effective quality program just a statistical exercise? This paper aims to highlight the concept of ‘Quality Management’ (QM) as the precursor of continuous monitoring (ideally in real time) of QAQC results on Exploration, Production, Processing and Port samples, determined by trend analysis performed on a time and/or grades basis. Currently, there is a paradigm in the process of quality assurance that if individual data points fall within a predetermined acceptance limit then they are ‘acceptable’ and therefore suitable for informing operational and investment decisions. However, what is stated with respect to QM is that sometimes results found within the acceptance limits can indeed be internally biased, or show material deviations over a period of time, thereby impacting reconciliation results and/or potentially creating discrepancies with the final buyers. QM refers to the proactive detection of these ‘anomalous tendencies’, the approach and communication with the source of the information, the understanding of the reasons that cause the deficiencies, and the generation of agreed action plans to remediate the situation and ensure the consistency of results, in other words: continuous improvement on proactive manners.

Mar 22, 2022

By Falbo A, Quarestima S, Cozza C, Barbaro M

A new synthetic reagent of the mercaptobenzoxazole class, 5- methyl-2-mercaptobenzoxazole, has been studied. This reagent exhibits powerful selective collecting action towards copper sulphides present in several complex ores, as demonstrated both by laboratory and pilot plant tests. Industrial production is expected to start in the near future. The way this reagent reacts with pure chalcocite has been studied utilising in situ FTIR techniques, adsorption tests, electrokinetic potential measurements and Hallimond cell flotation tests. The FTIR studies have indicated the nature of the surface phase. Adsorption isotherms obtained by the rest method have revealed the quantitative evolution of surface products, permitting the determination of surface coverage at various reagent concentrations. The electrokinetic potential has been utilised to verify the stability of individual species in diverse concentration ranges. Correlation of the results obtained has provided indications on the chemical interaction of this reagent with the surface and on the surface Arrangement.

Jan 1, 1993

By D Genge, E Martin, T Goswami, M Rothery

Rio Tinto’s Hunter Valley Operations is a large open pit coalmine situated in the heart of the Hunter Valley in Australia. The Riverview West Pit has faced increasing production challenges in recent times due to decreasing dragline strike lengths and increasing environmental constraints on vibration, overpressure and fume generation. Conventional mining techniques would involve five to six production blasts per strip to recover multiple coal seams. Each blast event carries the risk of exceeding the strict environmental requirements. By working collaboratively with Orica, it was realised that the blasting method known as Stratablast™, in conjunction with advanced computer modelling techniques, could provide productivity gains whilst simultaneously providing more control over the environmental effects and the impact on nearby infrastructure.As a result of this change, the number of blasts per strip was reduced to one, with the implication that a great deal of care and forethought was needed to manage the increased challenge posed by multiple constraints in the proposed mining area. This innovative approach of combining throw and stand-up blasts allowed the extraction of all major coal seams in a single pass blast event. The blasts were initially designed with a large factor of safety to stay within environmental limits as they were over 1.1 km in strike length, with more than 800 holes and with a total charge weight of about 1000 t of bulk explosives. Furthermore, there were conflicting priorities around the desired blast outcomes. So far, 11 such blasts have been designed and successfully fired. After each blast, innovative design changes have been iteratively implemented to provide further control over environmental impacts, whilst continuing to improve productivity. As a result of these changes, blasts have progressively increased in complexity with the inclusion of features such as damage zones, mid-splitting, time gaps and different directions of firing. The consequence of this complexity is that the blast duration can be as long as 28 seconds to accommodate all components of the blast.This project has increased the productivity of the Riverview West Pit through blast design improvements and allowed the environmental impacts to be managed with far more control and predictability than would have been possible under a conventional blasting regime. There still remains room for further optimisation of mine productivity and this is being addressed through a process of continuous improvement.CITATION:Goswami, T, Martin, E, Rothery, M and Genge, D, 2015. A holistic approach to managing blast outcomes, in Proceedings 11th International Symposium on Rock Fragmentation by Blasting, pp 645–654 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Aug 24, 2015

By A Karrech, G M. Hassan, A Varghese, E Lessing, S Martins

Pumps play a critical role in mining operations, and their energy consumption and environmental impact are significant. This paper addresses the need for a holistic approach to sustainable pump deployment by expanding on previous work presented at IMPC Asia Pacific 2022 and World Mining Congress 2023. The research takes a significant step forward by outlining a structured approach to estimate and demonstrate sustainability tailored for operational slurry pumps. It details the calculation methodologies used to quantify the carbon dioxide emissions from electricity, wear materials and transport, as well as sealing water usage. To enhance practicality and usability, a simplified visual representation—called sustainability metrics—has been developed to monitor overall efficiency. The sustainability metrics consist of the availability, pump efficiency, and water utilisation efficiency. The proposed methodology is integrated with Pumps Condition Monitoring Service to maximise benefits. Three case studies, from iron ore, copper, and nickel operations globally, were employed to evaluate the proposed methodology. The findings demonstrate the critical role of sustainability calculations in understanding pumps operation. These calculations improve awareness of the pump’s role in the sustainability journey and enable effective monitoring. The studies highlight that continuous monitoring paired with effective prescriptive maintenance strategy can significantly reduce power and water consumption while maximising pump availability. The case studies also reveal significant shortcomings in current operational practices and non-optimal maintenance regimes, emphasising the need for practical recommendations to maximise savings and optimise pump performance. In the context of increasing climate change awareness and the imperative for global decarbonisation, this research highlights the necessity of critically assessing methods and operations to drive sustainability in the mining industry. By adopting a holistic approach to sustainable pump deployment, mining operations can effectively reduce their environmental impact while enhancing operational efficiency and economic viability. The proposed methodology and case studies provide valuable insights and practical recommendations for mining companies seeking to achieve sustainable practices and contribute to a decarbonised future.

Sep 1, 2024

By Zichenko ZA, Volkov SV, Shaluhina LM, Emelyanov AF

A method of selective gold recovery from black sands has been elaborated which is based on the liquid phase low temperature chlorination of materials. A liquid agent mixture of sulphur monochloride S2C12 and sulphur dichloride SC12 is used. This method ensures the gold extraction either in the state of AuC13.SC14 complex salt solution or as metal. The kinetics and main physico-chemical parameters of the process (eg density, solid: liquid ratio, temperature) have been investigated. The materials investigated were quartz-insipid ride samples with low sulphur and high iron (up to 70 per cent Fe2O3) contents. Gold recovery is 96 - 99 per cent at temperatures not exceeding 100¦C. Most of the associated minerals remain in the cake. To obtain metallic gold, the resulting solution of the AuC13.SC14 salt after leaching is reduced by hydrazine with subsequent annealing. The elaborated method is remarkable for small energy expenditures owing to low process temperature and a high gold dissolution rate. The solution of sulphur chlorides and other reagents are used in closed cycle.

Jan 1, 1993

By C K. McKenzie

As more and more mining operations around the world either switch to, or trial, electronic initiation systems, the breadth of knowledge and experience regarding their effective application has widened considerably.In South America, for example, there is a strong perception that in order to achieve the finest possible fragmentation, very short electronic delays must be used between successive holes within a row. Limited field studies involving measurement of fragmentation have been conducted to support that paradigm and there are few long term studies which have been strongly supported by measurements of productivity either in the pit, in the plant, or in the leaching pads.On the other hand, some well documented studies have been conducted in North America, showing not only the impact of delay timing on fragmentation but also the effect on semi-autogenous grinding (SAG) mill productivity over extended periods of in excess of 12 months. To date, those studies suggest that optimum timing is considerably longer than the times commonly used in South America.This paper explores the current knowledge of the effects of delay timing on issues ranging from size distribution to vibration impacts in pit walls, to vibration and overpressure impacts in surrounding communities. It also explores how fragmentation modelling can be adapted to reflect fragmentation trends that have been reported in various technical conferences around the world.

Nov 8, 2011

Titanium dioxide (TiG ) is produced 2 commercially by two methods generally referred to as the "sulfate" route and the "chloride" route. The SCM Corporation, in supplying 15% of the world's demand for TiO 2, uses both of these processes. Of the two processes the sulfate route is generally regarded as the older and more established technology. Worldwide the sulfate route accounts for some 70% of total Ti02 production. However, in the U.S.A. the chloride process accounts for 80% of production. The processes vary in chemistry and raw material requirements. In the "sulfate" process finely ground ilmenite or titanium slag is digested with sulfuric acid to produce a porous "cake" vrnich is extracted with water and recovered liquor. The solution is treated with scrap iron to reduce any ferric ions to the ferrous state which is then crystallised and removed as ferrous sulfate heptahydrate. The liquor is concentrated by evaporation and hydrolysed to form the insoluble hydroxide which is filtered and washed free of impurities. This is converted to the dioxide by calcination at 800 - 1000¦C and milled to break up any aggregates. The "chloride" process uses a higher quality feedstock of natural or synthetic rutile and/or high grade titania slag. The feedstock is mixed with ground high-purity coke and chlorinated at 950¦C in a fluidised bed. The resulting crude titanium tetrachloride is purified by distillation and chemical treatment. The purified titanium tetrachloride is burned with oxygen or oxygen enriched air to give titanium dioxide and chlorine, which is recovered and recycled to chlorination. Titanium dioxide pigment from both processing routes undergoes similar finishing techniques. It is subjected to further stages of wet and dry milling, then coated with layers of inorganic oxides in order to enhance its properties for specialist applications.

Jan 1, 1986

By M A. González, J A. Romero, D L. Fuentes, C J. Poblete, O Abdrashitova

"Robustness can be defined as the ability of a system to resist change without adapting its initial stable configuration. Robust design methodology, which is widely accepted in the manufacturing industry, allows the establishment of robustness and reliability metrics in scenario analysis.In the mining industry, a mine can be considered as a system with design parameters such as processing plant and mining capacities. Traditionally, a limited number of scenario iterations are performed in an attempt to determine optimal capacity values. An important strategic decision such as process plant capacity in particular is made during the very early stages of a mining study, often based on a low level of information. Lack of time and tools to run and analyse a larger number of possible scenarios for different design parameter combinations are usually the main reasons for not performing a full analysis. In addition, the uncertainty of other mining study input parameters creates more risk in decision-making.With advances in technology, it is now possible to automate the process of generating several thousands of scenarios in an affordable and timely manner. This allows performing the results analysis and assessing robustness and reliability criteria within a reasonable time frame. It is possible to generate a surface of results based on the net present value (NPV) for each scenario. This surface will reflect the efficiency level of the capture of the economic rent for each production scale. In addition, each scenario can be tested under diverse conditions of volatility of other external variables such as prices, costs or recoveries for example.This paper aims to establish a methodology that applies robustness criteria to determine the best scenario on several surfaces of value, which is then assessed with real data from a mining project. Obtained results demonstrate the advantages of using the proposed methodology in dealing with the above-mentioned multidimensional problems. It allows better decision-making on key design parameters and better control of the risks of a strategic mine plan.Citation:Poblete, C J, González, M A, Romero, J A, Fuentes, D L and Abdrashitova, O, 2016. Use of Robust Design Methodology for Production Scale Definition in Open Pit Mining, in Proceedings Ninth AusIMM Open Pit Operators' Conference 2016, pp 284–291 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne)."

Nov 15, 2016

By B Stewart

It has long been recognised that knowledge of the conditions existing in a mine after an incident is essential in deciding whether to deploy responders as part of the incident recovery process. Applying this knowledge in a structured manner to the assessment and the acceptability of the risks likely to be faced by those teams during response activities before authorising their deployment is an onerous task incumbent upon the person controlling the incident response. The Mine Event Management System (MEMS) provides structure and coordination in the management of mine events. It assists with the skills and knowledge for incident control teams to effectively manage any emergency or non-emergency event, be it large or small. In cases where multiple organisations are involved, the MEMS promotes effective joint operations through the use of common terminology and structure to provide seamless communication between agencies at all operational levels. The SQL-based software developed by Queensland Mines Rescue Service (QMRS) assists decision-makers to make considered options; it does not make decisions for you. When set-up, it allows the information that already exists within a mine’s Safety Health Management System that is relevant to the incident to be accessed and considered rapidly within the pressured environment of an emergency. Additionally, the incident specific questions contained within MEMS focuses the management team on gathering and assessing information relevant to the incident as it progresses. The software’s event log can be utilised as an auditable document for post incident investigation. The MEMS provides a process to properly consider the adequacy of the information available upon which decisions have to be made, to consider and acknowledge the hazards of the environments within or adjacent to which responders will need to work and to acknowledge and authorise the entry of responders into or to remain within a mine either during or post an incident occurring, once an acceptable level of risk is achieved.

Apr 16, 2024

By R Castroviejo, E Pirard, L PTrez-Barnuevo

Process mineralogy provides the mineralogical information required by geometallurgists to address the inherent variation of geological data. The successful beneficiation of ores mostly depends on the ability of mineral processing to be efficiently adapted to the ore characteristics, liberation being one of the most relevant mineralogical parameters. The liberation characteristics of ores are intimately related to mineral texture. Therefore, the characterisation of liberation necessarily requires the identification and quantification of those textural features with a major bearing on mineral liberation. From this point of view, grain size, bonding between mineral grains and intergrowth types are considered the most influential textural attributes. While the quantification of grain size is a usual output of automated current technologies, information about grain boundaries and intergrowth types is usually descriptive and difficult to quantify to be included in the geometallurgical model.Aiming at the systematic and quantitative analysis of the intergrowth type within mineral particles, a new methodology based on digital image analysis has been developed. In this work, the ability of this methodology to achieve a more complete characterisation of liberation is explored by the analysis of chalcopyrite in the rougher concentrate of the Kansanshi copper-gold mine (Zambia). Results obtained show that the method provides valuable textural information to achieve a better understanding of mineral behaviour during concentration processes. The potential of this method is enhanced by the fact that it provides data unavailable using current technologies. This opens up new perspectives to the quantitative analysis of mineral processing performance based on textural attributes.CITATION:PTrez-Barnuevo, L, Castroviejo, R and Pirard, E, 2013. New perspectives on quantitative textural analysis, in Proceedings The Second AusIMM International Geometallurgy Conference (GeoMet) 2013 , pp 191-198 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Sep 29, 2013

By R deMoraes, A Bobet

The last decade has seen a resurgence of interest in lunar exploration and the emergence of countries like China and India as space fairing nations. In 2004, the US announced a new Vision for Space Exploration, whose objectives focused on human missions to the Moon and then Mars. The near future is likely to see the emergence of a worldwide drive to revisit the Moon as the first step in investigating the Solar System. To date, the Apollo missions provide our only experience of human operations on the Moon or anywhere else beyond Low Earth Orbit. Much was learned from these missions. However, their short duration means that many of the environmental effects that will be important for longer-duration missions could not be quantified. In addition, long-duration missions and infrastructure on the Moon require new technologies and capabilities, which must operate successfully and reliably in this lunar environment. Developing these technologies poses significant challenges for the exploration program. The paper discusses the risks associated with the construction of lunar surface and underground structures and the challenges to adopting the standards and rock mass classification systems developed on Earth and their applicability to the Moon. Moreover, an exchange of views to explore near-surface geologic and geotechnical profiles of the Moon is emphasized and implications of the lack of knowledge on rock mass characterisation of the Moonrock mass, the lack of theoretical/empirical experience on the use of rock mass systems outside Earth, and uncertainties.

Nov 29, 2022

The Callie Underground Gold Mine (Callie) is owned by Newmont Asia Pacific and located 531 km north-west of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. Historically, stopes have been mined utilising a primary and secondary stoping sequence with cemented aggregate fill and rock fill respectively. Current and near-future mining will employ long hole open stoping with rib pillars and rock fill with a paste fill system approved to allow a higher extraction ratio from mid-2011. The Callie rock mass is of good quality with little or no mining difficulties during development and stoping to a depth of 1140 m below surface. Development is currently occurring at depth of 1360 m below surface. Stress damage previously observed only in secondary stope accesses is now observed in development unaffected by stoping stresses. A change in rock mass properties is being experienced with depth, with more pronounced and frequent joint planes. Also, other structures are intersected more commonly, such as lithological boundaries and fault zones. The 'Callie rock factory' mentality that has persisted for years is challenged. This paper covers an appraisal of the stress and ground condition changes at Callie. The appraisal outlines the mine design criterion that was developed and examines the transition from a low stress environment to one where stress damage is observed. Discussion includes a judgement on the rock mass damage observed in development, the dominant geotechnical factors influencing the change in ground conditions, and if a correlation can be made between the observed rock mass damage with stress through the use of numerical modelling.

Nov 25, 2010

Rather like the mythical "Economic Man" "an employer" in this context must necessarily be an abstraction, and the views possessed by such an abstraction, a composite of many views known to have been expressed. Not even the complex Conciliation and Arbitration legislation in this country provides any helpful specifications, except in one peculiar particular. The Australian Conciliation and Arbitration Act provides an almost totally tautological definition, except in that one oddity referred to above. It is this : "An employer means any employer in any industry, and includes any person who is usually an employer in an industry, and also includes a Club." No doubt there is some perfectly justifiable reason for such specific and unique particularity in an otherwise meaning- less definition. That need not trouble us in this exercise.

Jan 1, 1982

By T Dawson, B Haskins

Fatigue is it the newest buzz word or is fatigue a real phenomenon that is creating safety and organisational risk for you? There is no debate that fatigue is natural, and it affects us all, just like gravity; however, there has been much debate on the severity of its impact in the workplace. For many years the impact was not measurable, hidden out of sight and, quite frankly, written off as the infamous ‘operator error’. Over the last several years, advancements in technology have provided safety and health professionals, sleep scientists, fatigue experts and organisations with the ability to monitor and detect fatigue events in real time, as well as predict and monitor increased risk for fatigue events. Caterpillar Safety Services has assembled an extensive and exceptional set of technologies that will provide the best methods and data to measure the impact of fatigue. This paper will discuss fatigue in the workplace and review the technologies and data sets available, which will allow the reader to determine whether this risk is real or rubbish.CITATION:Haskins, B and Dawson, T, 2017. Fatigue risk in your operations – real or rubbish? It actually depends , in Proceedings 13th AusIMM Underground Operators’ Conference 2017, pp 137–142 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Oct 16, 2017

Response of a mineral to anionic and cationic flotation reagentsvaries with the nature of the mineral and the particle size. A ruleis deduced for the selection of the correct type of reagent, which leads to a simple method of testing ores to determine the possibility of separating the constituents by flotation.

Jan 1, 1963

By T Takayama, R Muroi, M Matsumura

The steel industry occupies 14 per cent of CO2 emissions in Japan, and the sintering process is one of the major emitters. Since most of CO2 released from the sintering process comes from coke fine combustion, replacement of coke fines with biomass char as bonding agent is a potential countermeasure. In order to explore the effective use of biomass char, we chose char made from Palm Kernel Shell (PKS) as a sample. First, the char’s combustion behaviour was examined with varying the char’s particle size by means of admixing the char in alumina ball packed bed placed in an electric furnace. As a result, the finer the PKS char the faster the burning rate and reaching a higher temperature compared to coke fine. In addition, it is also concluded that the optimum size of PKS char was larger than coke fines. Next, the effect of different heat profiles on sinter structure was examined by sintering tablet made of chemical reagents. In this experiment, the chemical composition is designed based on sinter composition. By this sintering test, even at high temperature, rapid cooling is effective to make fine sinter matrix and fine pores, which has possibility for high sinter reducibility. Based on these two experiments, using PKS char as a sinter fine source has the possibility to improve sinter reducibility.

Nov 8, 2021

By R Tooher, S J. Oliver

The operation of copper flotation circuit is a challenging task for the site metallurgists and plant operators. To optimise the performance requires meeting both grade and recovery objectives. These plants have numerous pieces of equipment that are monitored by hundreds of sensors. The challenge is to review these sensors and adjust the numerous control inputs to maintain peak operational efficiency for extended periods. There is also a need to respond to equipment failure. These challenges lead to in operational inefficiencies and can result in a reduction in revenue.This paper details an overview of an operational assistance tool implemented at Newcrest's Telfer plant’s copper flotation circuit. This tool is based on a digital twin of the plant. A digital twin is a model of the plant that is simulated in parallel to the normal plant operation. It is fed with the plant data in real time to provide a prediction of plant operation. The model outputs directly generate the metrics that are used to assess the plant performance, and these are compared with the metrics calculated from the actual plant’s operation. Deviations between the model estimate and the plant’s actual performance are used to gather insight into plant health and alert the operator to poor performance. The operators gather more information regarding the root cause by reviewing the model’s inputs that have deviated outside their normal operating range. An evaluation of the plant performance, following the commissioning of the digital twin, showed an overall reduction of acid soluble copper in the tails.This paper discusses the implementation of a digital twin of the plant to monitor plant performance during live operation. It will include details on data collection and cleansing, data reduction techniques, model development, and real-time implementation. The results of the case study of an implementation of a digital twin at Newcrest's Telfer copper flotation plant will be used throughout the paper.CITATION:Oliver, S J and Tooher, R, 2018. Optimising flotation plant operation by using a digital twin in the control room, in Proceedings 14th AusIMM Mill Operators' Conference 2018, pp 93–100 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Aug 29, 2018

By S N. Donaldson, B L. Hollis, K Wynn, L Potts, M Evans

A real-time load-haul-dump (LHD) dispatch optimisation tool has been deployed at Panel Cave 1 and Panel Cave 2 at Newcrest’s Cadia Valley Operations. The tool, known as ORB, is the first known successful implementation of an optimisation-based, autonomous, real-time dispatch tool, custombuilt for underground mining operations. ORB can co-ordinate the optimal dispatch of LHD’s in a block cave to achieve a range of objectives while adhering to draw compliance and geotechnical constraints. It is an example of highly automated short-term interval control. This paper starts by outlining the pre-existing business planning process, detailing the simple logic that produced the daily draw order. Next, the motivations for a real-time dispatch tool are presented, drawing comparison to the limitations in existing planning processes and how these can be overcome through an optimisation-based, autonomous, real-time dispatch tool. Subsequently, the paper details the Ratio Bogging Draw Strategy, through which tonnes targets are expressed continuously on draw bells or draw points as a ratio of total cumulative cave draw. This signifies artificial planning boundaries are removed and that draw targets are linked within a cave; such that tonnes are unlocked by bogging other parts of the cave, instead of as a function of time. This creates incentive within the target mechanism for fixing and bogging struggling draw areas whilst allowing uncapped progress if all draw targets are progressing within compliance. Furthermore, the optimisation tool developed is outlined, including the data it uses and the objectives it optimises. Finally, detail on the improvements to operations the implementation of this tool has brought, and the business process change it has facilitated are presented using Newcrest’s Cadia Valley Operations as a case study.

Mar 15, 2021

By W Potma, C Brauhart, S Halley, S Urbisinov, A Scogings

Truly integrated, quantitative, 3D GEOmetallurgical (or mineral system) characterisation, classification and 3D modelling should provide a cradle to grave unifying link across the exploration and mining value chain. All too often, spatially representative (quantitative) characterisation and modelling of a mineral system is delayed until feasibility stage, incurring a significant opportunity cost. The application of robust GEOmet characterisation methods early in the project lifecycle (at exploration stage) improves ground selection, exploration, and Mineral Resource estimation outcomes, long before there is a need for metallurgical test work. The value of this early provision of quantitative 3D mineralogy models is compounded at project feasibility stage, and continues to accrue over the entire project lifecycle, delivering cost savings, improved decision making and early warning of issues and opportunities.CITATION: Potma, W, Halley, S, Scogings, A, Urbisinov, S and Brauhart, C, 2018. Putting the ‘GEO’ back in front of GEOmetallurgy: importance of early implementation of quantitative mineral system characterisation, classification and modelling, in Proceedings Complex Orebodies Conference 2018, pp 55–57 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Nov 21, 2018