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The Central West of New South Wales is emerging as a significant metallogenic province. The development of Northparkes Mines (North Limited) and the Cadia Hill deposit (Newcrest) are establishing NSW as a highly prospective porphyry copper-gold province. Exploration in the area has been further buoyed by the Ridgeway discovery by Newcrest near Cadia. The fact that the Ridgeway prospect was discovered 300 m below surface under Tertiary basalt cover indicates that surface prospecting can no longer be considered alone as an adequate method to find significant new deposits.

Jan 1, 1997

By Dan Armour

Bolting solutions traditionally offered only wet drilling or dry drilling options; each with advantages and disadvantages. Joy Mining Machinery has developed a Mist Drilling System that incorporates the best of both types of drilling. Compared to wet drilling, mist drilling offers as much as a 90% reduction in water use. As a result, floor and roof conditions are tremendously improved. This offers a safer and more comfortable work environment for operators. Mist drilling can offer a significant reduction in noise levels compared to dry drilling and in recent trials, bit life has been greatly improved. Holes are cleaner and operators experience less exposure to respirable dust.

Jan 1, 2005

By Martin Herrenknecht

After the successful breakthrough at the end of 2006 of both TBMs into the multifunctional site Faido (MFS), in the middle of 2007 the two tunnel boring machines resumed the 12 km long section between Faido and Sedrun. In the roughly a 10 month interval both approximately 465 m long tunnel boring machines were partly dismantled, pushed through the 2.5 km long MFS, rebuilt for the new larger diameter of 9.5 m and reassembled to be ready for operation. In the rebuilding phase, improvements were made to the equipment, especially as a result of experience gained from the previous 14 km long drive in the section Bodio and taking into account the latest information regarding the upcoming 14 km section Faido. Both TBM drives are currently in the rock formations of the Lucomagno gneiss, which stretch over a section of 3.5 km from the MFS Faido to the predicted Piora Syncline. This section is divided into two fold axes of the Chièra Synform, where the Lucomagno gneiss pass from a sub-horizontal into vertical bedding. The drives, with current rock overburdens exceeding 1,500 m and, as known from the excavation phase of the MFS, in part highly disturbed rock formations, are characterized by the locally intense rock squeezing conditions with large convergences in the vicinity of the driving TBM as well as backwards due to the interaction of the two drives. High expenditure for the support measures, reduced driving performances together with extensive extra work associated with deadlines and increased costs are the result. In the paper the previous experience with the TBM drives in the section Faido and the challenges still awaiting us are presented and discussed.

By Rees J. Llewellyn

Improved product development, assessment methods and evaluation studies of materials for oil sands applications have traditionally focused on low and high stress abrasion and slurry erosion resistance mechanisms, because they were considered to be the predominant wear modes prevailing in oil sands mining, transportation and bitumen recovery. More recently with the very successful introduction of oil sands hydraulic transportation systems, there has been increasing use of crusher systems in which materials of construction are also required to have good toughness and gouging abrasion properties to withstand impact and the severe indentation and ploughing forces that are involved. To assess material property requirements for mitigating this additional wear mechanism, jaw crusher gouging abrasion tests using a modified ASTM G81 procedure, have been carried out on a range of wear materials of interest for oil sands mining service. The method involves a comparison of the wear losses that occur for reference and selected test plates when a controlled amount of standard feed rock is comminuted in a laboratory jaw crusher. Among the classes of material evaluated have been Q&T plate steels, austenitic manganese steel, chromium and chromium molybdenum white irons as plain castings and in laminated forms and also chromium carbide and tungsten carbide overlaid wear plates.

May 1, 2004

By D. S. Choi

The paper presents the result of analysis of subsidence data collected from coal mines operating in Northern West Virginia and Southwestern Pennsylvania. A particular emphasis la placed on the measurement of the angle of draw for the protection of surface structures.

Jan 1, 1986

New GSP Trade Status Approved.--President Carter, by Executive Order effective March 30, has approved Generalized System of Preference treatment for imports of nonferrous metal products and other imports from Ecuador, Indonesia, Zimbabwe, Uganda, and Venezuela. As of May 2, Afghanistan and Ethiopia will be taken off GSP status. Under the Generalized System of Preferences, certain imports from developing countries are provided duty-free treatment. A country can lose its GSP status if its shipments of the product exceed $41.9 million or more than 50% of total U.S. imports during the preceding year. However, the President can waive the 50% rule in cases where total U.S. imports of an item in 1979 were less than $1 million. Certain nonferrous imports from Mexico, Peru, Chile, and Zambia are already covered by GSP. Hearings April 10 on International Tin Agreement.--The Fifth International Tin Agreement of which the United States is a signatory, which entered into force on July 1, 1976, will expire on June 30, 1981. A negotiating conference for a Sixth International Tin Agreement will be held under auspices of the United Nations at Geneva from April 14 to May 16, 1980.

Jan 1, 1980

Law of the Sea. - The Ninth Session of the Law of the Sea Conference resumed July 28 at Geneva and will run for 5 weeks. The 160-nation Conference began in 1973. Two of the major factors to be discussed are the transfer of technology to the UN-controlled Enterprise or mining authority, and how the 36-member Council will make decisions. As the session completed its third week, delegates expressed little hope of completing a treaty text this year. There was a feeling, though, that substantive issues might be settled so that a treaty text can be completed next year. The Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act signed by the President on June 28, provides an interim regulatory procedure for ocean mining activities conducted by U.S. nationals that may be superseded by a law of the sea treaty.

Jan 1, 1980

Duty on Lead Reduced. -On December 28, the President signed H.R. 5047 which reduces the duty on unwrought lead from 3.5% ad valorem to 3% ad valorem, with a floor level of 1.0625 cents per pound, effective retroactively from January 1, 1980, through June 30, 1983. Pacific Northwest Power Bill Passed. -On December 5, the President signed S. 885 which will enable the Bonneville Power Administration to guarantee 20-year contracts to its 15 major industrial customers in exchange for higher rates. In effect, the bill will have industrial customers pay some of the costs of building additional generating facilities in the Northwest, of which thermal units are expected to be a major part. BPA supplies power to six primary aluminum producers which operate eleven plants having over 30% of the primary aluminum capacity in the United States.

Jan 1, 1980

New Trade Status for Mainland China--On January 24, the Congress approved a most-favored-nation trade status with Mainland China for both imports and exports. A Presidential Proclamation had been issued earlier in anticipation of the Congressional action. Import duties on such commodities as tungsten, mercury, and antimony are automatically decreased. Defense Production Act Extended--The Defense Production Act of 1950 was extended 60 days to March 28, 1980. The provision for the usual 2-year extension of the Act is reportedly included in an omnibus energy bill that is tied up in committee. The Act under Title III provides for the expansion of productive capacity and supply and, more specifically, it gives priority to defense contracting where defense and non-defense interests conflict

Jan 1, 1980

Duties on Lead Imports from Mexico. - On September 15, the President signed Proclamation 4792 suspending concessions formerly granted as of January 1 on red lead imported from Mexico. The Proclamation also increased the duty payable on litharge imported from Mexico from 3% ad valorem to 3.5% ad valorem, effective September 15. Appeal of Lead Standards. - The U.S. Court of Appeals for Washington, D.C., rejected petitions by the Lead Industries Assoc. and St. Joe Minerals Corp. for a review of standards promulgated by EPA and OSHA. The Lead Industries Assoc. reportedly will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court on the basis of the "benzene" and "cotton dust" decisions. Scheduled implementation of standards will continue during the appeal.

Jan 1, 1980

Arsenic.--Inorganic arsenic has been added to the Environmental Protection Agency's list of hazardous air pollutants because of a high probability it can cause cancer. EPA estimates that inorganic arsenic emissions into ambient air total more than 6,000 tons per year, with about 65;L of this coming from the operations of copper, lead, and zinc smelters. Asbestos Detection.--In June 14, the President signed S. 1658 providing $172.5 million to detect and remove asbestos hazards in schools. Asbestos Use Must be Reported.--All firms using asbestos in the manufacture of some 30 categories of products must describe in detail how they use the mineral to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, for all manufactures since January 1, 1977.

Jan 1, 1980

Lead Tariff.--The full House Ways and Means Committee approved H.R. 6089 which will have the effect of reducing the tariff on unwrought lead to 3% ad valorem, with a floor duty of 1.0625 cents per pound, compared with the currently effective rate of 3.5% ad valorem. Consideration is also being given to tariff rates on imports of red lead and litharge from Mexico. A consortium of domestic producers has appealed to the Office of the Special Trade Representative (STR) requesting a return to tariff schedules which were in effect prior to the concessions made effective on January 1. Mexican producers have filed a proposal in favor of lower duties, and the matter now awaits a ruling by the STR. Ferrous Scrap Exports.--After holding public hearings and receiving public comments in May, the Department of Commerce announced that it would not institute formal monitoring of ferrous scrap exports, as requested by the Ferrous Scrap Consumers Coalition. The Department said, however, that it would follow the trend of scrap exports and prices. Ferrous scrap prices are currently low and supplies are reported to be adequate.

Jan 1, 1980

Antitrust Investigation Dropped. - The Department of Justice announced that it was dropping its 5-year investigation of the aluminum industry. The investigation was over whether the aluminum companies were acting as if they were a shared monopoly. Deep Seabed Mining. - The Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has established an Office of Ocean Minerals and Energy which will be responsible for implementing the Deep Seabed Nard Minerals and Energy Act and the Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion Act. It will establish licensing and regulatory programs.

Jan 1, 1980

Tax for Toxic Waste Cleanup. - The Superfund Act of 1980 became effective April 1, and provides that producers of certain metals and chemical substances are to be taxed in order to fund toxic waste cleanup. Industry will provide 88% of the 5-year, $1.6 billion fund. The Environmental Protection Agency will administer the Act, but the Internal Revenue Service will be responsible for collection of the industry tax. Under the Act, nickel companies, for example, will be required to pay a tax of 0.225 cents per pound on pure nickel products produced or imported into the United States. Standard for Exposure to Lead. - The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSPA) has announced a stricter standard on the test of a worker's exposure to lead. Effective May 15, in all lead intensive occupations with the exception of those at primary and secondary lead smelters, a worker would have to be removed from his work station if the level of lead in his blood tests out at 60 micrograms of lead per 100 grams of blood, instead of the previous standard of 70 micrograms. In the case of primary and secondary lead smelters, the ruling has been stayed until June 1, 1981, to allow time for further study.

Jan 1, 1981

Metals From Oil Shale. -A Geological Survey News Release in mid-January indicated that a surface sample analysis of oil shale in central Montana found a ton of shale to contain up to 13 pounds of zinc, 2 pounds of nickel, 1.8 pounds of molybdenum, 16 pounds of vanadium oxide, and nearly a quarter pound of selenium. It might be possible to recover some of these metals economically on a byproduct basis. The shale in central Montana was also estimated to contain 180 billion barrels of synthetic crude oil, which compares to estimated oil reserves in the Middle East of 360 billion barrels. Merchant Fleet Dwindles. -The National Maritime Council reports that although the U.S. is the world's largest trading power and that well over 90% of its foreign trade is conducted by shipping, the U.S. fleet is tenth in absolute numbers and less than 5% of its foreign trade is carried on U.S. ships. In 30 years, the U.S. fleet has dwindled from over 4,000 oceangoing vessels to about 600. U.S. ships carry less than 2% of imported iron ore, bauxite, and tungsten, and only 3% of oil imports.

Jan 1, 1981

By Evan Just

Government aid, regulation, and participation in the mineral industry are not new; they date back to the time when man first adopted communal living. Even in primitive tribal life, the obtaining of arrowhead or ceramic materials, washing of gold, or mining of copper were specialized activities, under tribal sponsorship. Later, when kingdoms, dynasties, and hierarchies developed, titles to mining properties were held by the sovereign or the state, work usually being done by slaves. Title acquisition through denouncement developed in Europe in the late Middle Ages and spread to the Western Hemisphere with the Spanish and Portuguese empires. Denouncements still recognized the rights of the sovereign in the requirement to pay royalties, which practice continues in many places today. Thus, anyone who views government participation in mineral activity as "encroachment" has no historical perspective. Only in a few countries and for a few generations have private interests enjoyed the right to exploit mineral deposits without the specific consent of the sovereign or without payment-of-royalty. Governments and the mineral industry have been linked together by other factors. Governments have had special interest in metals and minerals as stores of value and for armaments. Spanish conquests in the New World were energized by the lure of gold and silver. Pursuit of gold led to the American seizure of California in the days of the Forty-niners. The strategic importance of minerals in our own times has called for special steps to stimulate production in national emergencies and to prevent the enemy from acquiring mineral supplies. Our export controls to deny certain minerals to unfriendly countries, purchases for Government stockpile, and subsidies for domestic production are examples. Production regulation by state governments of oil and gas has become a well established routine. In brief, the mineral industry has never lacked aid, regulation, and participation by governments. The entrepreneur who wishes to explore for or develop minerals must deal with governments in most areas before he can begin, because mineral rights are reserved by them. He can proceed through discovery and de-

Jan 1, 1959

By Evan Just

Government aid, regulation, and participation in the mineral industry are not new; they date back to the time when man first adopted communal living. Even in primitive tribal life, the obtaining of arrowhead or ceramic materials, washing of gold, or mining of copper were specialized activities, under tribal sponsorship. Later, when kingdoms, dynasties, and hierarchies developed, titles to mining properties were held by the sovereign or the state, work usually being done by slaves. Title acquisition through denouncement developed in Europe in the late Middle Ages and spread to the Western Hemisphere with the Spanish and Portuguese empires. Denouncements still recognized the rights of the sovereign in the requirement to pay royalties, which practice continues in many places today. Thus, anyone who views government participation in mineral activity as "encroachment" has no historical perspective. Only in a few countries and for a few generations have private interests enjoyed the right to exploit mineral deposits without the specific consent of the sovereign or without payment of royalty. Governments and the mineral industry have been linked together by other factors. Governments have had special interest in metals and minerals as stores of value and for armaments. Spanish conquests in the New World were energized by the lure of gold and silver. Pursuit of gold led to the American seizure of California in the days of the Forty-niners. The strategic importance of minerals in our own times has called for special steps to stimulate production in national emergencies and to prevent the enemy from acquiring mineral supplies. Our export controls to deny certain minerals to unfriendly countries, purchases for Government stockpile, and subsidies for domestic production are examples. Production regulation by state governments of oil and gas has become a well established routine. In brief, the mineral industry has never lacked aid, regulation, and participation by governments. The entrepreneur who wishes to explore for or develop minerals must deal with governments in most areas before he can begin, because mineral rights are reserved by them. He can proceed through discovery and de-

Jan 1, 1964

By Andrew E. Nevin

The government of India convened a precedent-setting meeting in New Delhi on Nov. 12, 2001.The meeting brought together regulators and the mining industry in an attempt to fix the industry’s mine development problems in that country. More than 150people attended the all-day session. Ram Vilas Paswan, Minister of Coal and Mines, chaired the meeting. Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister of State for Coal and Mines, was also present. The secretary of the Department of Mines and the Joint Secretaries and Additional Secretary also participated. The Department of Mines’ mandate is for economic growth: to get new mine development going and to make investment in mining attractive for both domestic and foreign-owned companies.

Jan 1, 2002

By Allan F. Lawrence

"I AM SURE you do not expect from me any learned dissertation on the problems and opportunities of the mining industry. Y our program committee must have recognized my limitations when issuing the invitation to speak to you, because they very thoughtfully left the subject wide open.With the leeway thus granted, I hope that you will bear with me for a few minutes while I try to clarify the impressions of the mining industry that I have gained in the very short time I have held the Mines portfolio and some of the parts that government bas or should have in furthering its development.As I see it, it is the duty of the Mines Department, as an arm of the provincial government, to balance the proprietary rights of all the people against the interests to whom the privilege of developing our resources are, in a s e n s e, leased. To strike a fair balance is not always easy, nor is it possible always to satisfy both sides. Still, under the free enterprise democratie form of government to which I think we al! subscribe, no better way of handling the problem has yet been discovered."

Jan 1, 1968

Throughout history, many of the world's achievements, conflicts and problems can be traced to the demand for minerals. With the rapid expansion of our industrialised society in recent years the demand for minerals has grown to such an extent that uncertainties about availability and cost have arisen, especially in the case of energy minerals.Minerals have acquired a new dimension for governments as the availability of these resources is interwoven with the ability of governments to achieve their developmental goals on national and international levels. Accordingly, the supply of minerals will increasingly be affected by social and political factors.

Jan 1, 1986