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By J Lyons, S Baker, D MacHunter, D Pepper

Mineral processing plants require a storage buffer to bridge differences in production rates between mining and processing. Where coarse ores are processed, such as coal or hard rock, this buffer may be an ore stockpile or silo. For wet-mining processes, eg dredging or hydraulic mining, or where fine ores are slurried close to the mining face, a surge-bin is used to contain the plant feed and smooth out the variations in mining rates. These bins have gradually evolved from simple storage vessels to units that are now frequently part of the mineral separation process itself, such as providing a desliming function to remove deleterious ultrafine gangue. This feed conditioning is often essential to achieve the levels of plant performance required in times of declining ore grades and or where inherent ore characteristics make separations harder to achieve. To achieve these dual roles requires careful consideration of bin design factors such as geometry and lining selection and increased use of instrumentation and advanced, or remotely supervised, control systems. All this ensures they provide capacity to smooth out variations in mining rates and guarantees that when conditioning ores or adjusting slurry densities ahead of the plant it is achieved without loss of valuable minerals. This paper examines the evolution of the modern surge-bin from a simple, so called, constant density tank with its inherent mass-flow compromises, limited feed preparation and beneficiation abilities, and footprint penalty, to a current state-of-the-art surge-bin, the LFCU, with a control system which provides demonstrable steady outputs, while conditioning and in some cases beneficiating the ROM material and all from a highly compact unit. It further discusses their use in other applications around the world, for example providing the necessary security for long distant high-density pumping systems; constant high density, low water usage, tailings disposal pipelines and high capacity ultrafine iron ore beneficiation.

Aug 24, 2022

By D Craw

Quaternary warping and uplift of antiformal schist ranges in Central Otago, New Zealand, has resulted in recycling of alluvial gold from widespread, generally weakly auriferous, Miocene fluvial gravels that unconformably overlie the schist, into aprons of fan sediments along the range margins. Basement erosion during uplift has been limited and so gold input from sparse gold-bearing quartz veins in the schist has been relatively minor. In an eluvial cycle on the slopes of the ranges, chemical remobilization of gold occurs during oxidation and erosion of the Miocene sediments. The typically fine-grained (300 - 400 ¦m) gold undergoes chemical modification and grain size enhancement of up to two orders of magnitude, and much of it is redeposited in a large number of relatively small alluvial fans along the range margins. Groundwater mobility within the fans results in minor additional gold mobility and grain size enhancement. During range uplift, a small number of relatively large axial streams and rivers have developed in structural lows between growing antiformal folds. Axial streams 'gather' their flow from consequent streams draining the folds, and flow parallel to a range axis for some distance before cutting across it in an antecedent gorge. The axial streams rework alluvial fan sediments along the range margins, and transport mainly fine-grained gold from the fans along the ranges. This gold is redeposited where the axial streams emerge from a range in the neighbouring structural basin. Axial streams drain relatively large areas of range surface, and thus reconcentrate significant quantities of gold in a small number of relatively large fans and fluvial deposits. The processes of gold collection and re-deposition by axial streams are essentially the same, regardless of stream size. Coarse-grained gold produced by chemical remobilization, is more difficult to transport in fluvial systems, and thus remains in close proximity to eluvial environment where it was formed.

Jan 1, 1995

By J Williams

The recent drought has highlighted the finite nature of AustraliaÆs divertible water resources. According to AustraliaÆs recently completed National Land and Water Resources Audit, development of water resources in southern Australia has reached or exceeded sustainable extraction limits. Similarly, 161 out of 538 groundwater management units are either totally allocated or already over allocated. Whilst mining only uses about three per cent of diverted water resources, water scarcity may be a major factor that determines whether potential mines can be developed in the future. Furthermore, the development of extraction and processing facilities that limit water use and maximise the re-use the waste water streams will be even more fundamental features of the mining industry in the 21st century than they are at present. There are encouraging examples where innovative water re-use technologies are significantly reducing the water used per unit of mined product. Whilst mining in the areas of Australia draining to the tropical seas may be less constrained by a current lack of water (60 per cent of divertible water resources drain into the Timor Sea, Gulf of Carpentaria and north east Coral Sea), it is highly probable that there will be increasing demand for these waters from the irrigation industry, whilst pressure will also be applied to ensure that environmental flows that benefit the coastal fishing and prawn industries are maintained. In the Great Artesian Basin, current research is demonstrating that the groundwaters are being recharged at rates considerably lower than current extraction. Whilst some other groundwater basins in arid and semi-arid Australia have currently untapped resources, these water are often relatively saline and/or may be intimately linked with key ecosystems in discharge areas. This paper presents an overview of the current state of our water resources and examines some of the key water use issues including allocation, use and reuse, environmental flows and competing demands on the resource that will ensure that water issues remain high on the policy agenda for mining, irrigation and other water users.

Jan 1, 2003

By M Akbarpour, M Osanloo

In mining industries, materials handling costs represent a significant component of the operational cost. A variety of methods have been applied in surface mine equipment selection in order to select the suitable loading system with the lowest loading operation cost. These are queuing theory, bunching theory, linear programming and genetic algorithm. Among them, genetic algorithm is a simple method and applied for preliminary selection of the loading system. In this study, gathering information from anomaly No 2 of Gol-e-Gohar iron mine of Iran, loading system (number and its capacity) has been optimised by genetic algorithm. The study results showed that two shovels 8.25 m3 are required for the removal of 60 million tonnes of overburden. After removal overburden, these two shovels contribute to the extraction of 42 million tonnes of ore with a stripping ratio of 1:1.

Jan 1, 2007

By Etheride MA

The evolution of economic precious metal and copper-gold deposits in high-level igneous terranes is dependent on very efficient fluid focussing. This is most readily achieved by contemporaneous deformation, igneous intrusion and hydrothermal activity. Mineralisation in these environments generally occurs in fault and fault-vein arrays developed in the cover sedimentary and volcanics sequences above older regional scale fault systems. Such reactivated fault systems an particularly prone to developing the complex fracture arrays, extreme local dilation and dramatic increases in permcahilit} that are necessary to efficiently focus hydrothermal fluid and produce large mineral deposits.

Jan 1, 1995

This paper addresses the role of mine geology in mining geotechnics. The role is assessed and discussed in terms of five main elements; geotechnical complexity, geological complexity, mine scale, percentage sampling and geological uncertainty. Lastly, the overall objectives and mine geology requirements are listed in terms of the various mine development stages; exploration, feasibility-design and operating.

Jan 1, 1993

By P Jago

KCGMÆs Fimiston Open Pit, located in the centre of the historic Golden Mile, is situated above some 3000 kilometres of old underground workings. These workings, both level and vertical, present significant safety and operational problems in the pit. One of these challenges is in safely drilling void areas so that they can be charged and blasted effectively. Current drilling practices in these areas require machines that can only drill 115 mm holes on a smaller pattern than the standard blast pattern. This results in more time and cost to both drill and charge these areas. Any other method currently available to drill out these areas involves putting operators in a potentially hazardous situation by being too close to the void area being drilled. Not effectively drilling and blasting these areas leads to hazardous situations further in the mining cycle including oversize, large toe and uncollapsed voids. Ineffective blasting also causes reductions in mining productivity and mine to mill performance. In response to these issues, KCGM has commissioned the implementation of a fully remote controlled DM45 blast hole drill rig to drill out selected void areas. The remote system, installed in conjunction with Ausdrill Ltd and GM Mining Electrics, is designed to operate similarly to a tele-remote bogging system with the operator controlling the drill rig from a separate control cabin via radio signals and video feed. This allows KCGM to drill in areas of higher risk without exposing the operators to voids. The drill rig will also be able to drill standard patterns through some specially selected void areas, reducing costs and extra time associated with drilling and charging void affected areas. The remote rig is expected to provide a number of benefits, both in the drilling process and in further downstream operations. Costs of drilling in void areas are expected to decrease with standard patterns instead of smaller patterns being drilled. Safety and operator comfort are also expected to increase through removing the operator from the pit floor. Blasting is also expected to see significant improvements through increased ease of charging void areas (because of larger holes and standard patterns), more consistent patterns resulting in less secondary blasting and toe and an overall improvement in the speed and cost of charge-up practices. This more consistent blasting will also improve shovel productivity, crusher performance and overall mine-to-mill efficiency. This paper presents an overview of the development of the remote controlled system, including modifications that have occurred since commissioning. It explains some of the problems encountered and how these have been solved. Key issues for operational success will be identified and explained with a view to making future implementations easier. Factors used to assess the performance of the remote controlled rig will also be explained in further detail and used in a preliminary assessment of the rigÆs feasibility.

Jan 1, 2003

Three key areas of C.I.P. plant design, viz. leach- ing time, adsorption and the gold loading on the carbon, are discussed and illustrated with examples. The need for accurate pilot plant data for use in assessing and optimising design is emphasized. This approach should minimize capital and maximise return on capital. It is demonstrated that, as regards adsorption, economics favours short retention time, high gold loadings and mechanically agitated, draft tube reactors. INTRODUCTION Little attempt appears to have been made in Australia to design the present generation of C.I.P. plants to achieve an economic optimum. Most would, seem to have been based on pre- liminary leaching data, gold extraction and value and rule of thumb which, in general, has led to over design and over capitalisation. An essential step to effective economic design is a comprehensive pilot plant study to establish definitive operating parameters, yields and reagent costs. In most cases the cost of developing this data will be more than offset against capital savings in plant; the operating profit should be increased substantially, and profit is maximised for known

Jan 1, 1982

By S K. Michelic, M Schickbichler, A Kharicha, E Karimi-Sibaki

The requirements for the controllability of metallurgical processes are increasingly becoming the focus of both industry and research. Advances in this field of research not only impact the stability of processes but often also influence the quality of the final product. One important way to examine processes in-depth, and thus show potential for improvement, is to describe them using physicsdriven models. In metallurgy, thermodynamic and kinetic descriptions of interactions between individual components of a system are often used to describe and analyse important metallurgical phenomena across the entire process. However, for the creation of physics-based models, boundary conditions and process variables must be implemented to enable a description that is as realistic as possible. The collection and generalisation of boundary conditions and process variables is, therefore, an important step towards functional models. The focus of this study is the determination of mass transfer coefficients between all components in a steel/slag/refractory system. For this purpose, experimental and theoretical methods are applied. Laboratory scale experiments are carried out in an induction furnace, and the mass transfer coefficients of the defined steel/slag/refractory system are calculated from changes in the chemical composition of the various components. Additionally, a calculation of the mass transfer coefficients based on dimensionless quantities is carried out. By comparing the values of the mass transfer coefficients determined theoretically and those determined experimentally in the trials, the suitability of the calculation is examined. The collection of mass transfer coefficients provides essential findings for future kinetic descriptions of inclusion modification based on the effective equilibrium reaction zone (EERZ) approach.

Aug 21, 2024

An improved technique for the quick and accurate measurement of the weight and centre of mass in the horizontal plane of large machines has been developed. On-site weighing of large plant such as bucket wheel dredgers is an important part of the commissioning procedure. The results from the weighing assist in determining the stability of the machine and also enable confirmation of the structural weight distribution used for stress analysis at the design stage. In this paper the techniques previously used for weighing are reviewed and the sources of error using these methods examined. A full descrip- tion of the current technique and procedure is given explaining how the measurement system comprising strain gauge load cells, displacement transducers, wind speed and direction sensors, data logger, computer and software was developed to enable quick and accurate measurements to be made. Proposed modifications to software necessitated by the replace- ment of current measuring instrumentation and computer are discussed. A typical example of measurements from the weighing of a large dredger, illustrating the accuracy of the new technique is given and the calibration technique used to check the accuracy of the force and moment measurements is explained. An outline of how the results are used to certify the machine for operation is given.

Jan 1, 1989

By Kennewell G. J

This paper aims to present the evolution of the mining method in the Prince Lyell orebody. Initial strategy and practical experience are detailed as are the reasons for and benefits of changes to the method since 1972 when underground mining began. This section of the paper starts with ten series and concludes with 40 series which was completed in 1989/90.In addition, to update the series of papers written by various authors over the past ten years on Mount Lyell, a review of the experience in the current 50 series lift of mining will be given. As well, the basic planning guidelines are discussed for 60 series - the final lift of the Prince Lyell orebody.

Jan 1, 1992

By A G. Greenwood

Research into cemented rock fill at Mount Isa Mines Limited since 1992 is described. The key mechanisms controlling segregation during stope filling with cemented rock fill are described and include the gravity flow mechanism which is described in detail. Examples are provided to demonstrate these mechanisms. Comparisons are made between Mount Isa MinesÆ cemented rock fill and slurry-based cemented rock fills. Recent backfill stability modelling using a three-dimensional finite element program is described.

Jan 1, 1998

By P Andrieux

By 1996 ground control-related problems at Brunswick Mine had raised serious concerns regarding the safe and economical extraction of large portions of the reserves. These difficulties were mainly caused by high stress levels in pillars, instabilities resulting from wide spans supported by ageing support elements, and chronic difficulties supplying rock fill from the surface quarry to the underground workings, which resulted in many large voids remaining open for long periods of time. Significant changes have been implemented at the site since 1996, amongst which were a change of mining method, the introduction of paste backfill, the establishment of stress management measures, and the introduction of shotcrete on a large-scale. This paper focuses on the regional ground conditions associated with both the previously used primary-secondary mining method and the newly implemented pyramidal pillarless technique, as well as on some of the stress management measures implemented at the mine.

Jan 1, 2000

Contemporary approaches to safety management appear to be failing short of meeting its mark in improving mine safety. This is evidenced by the high workers compensation, high incidence rates and fatalities. Evidence from high-risk and complex organisations points towards safety culture as being important in improving site safety. In more recent years resilience engineering has been touted as a new and innovative way of managing safety. This paper reviews and synthesises previous literature on safety culture and resilience engineering. It then highlights methods that can be used to measure safety culture and resilience engineering, and explores similarities and differences between complex organisations and gold mining to identify opportunities for more innovative approaches to improving safety in gold mining operations through safety culture and resilience engineering.

Aug 1, 2010

By Jones JJ

A laboratory study of size segregation is described using a model of a Paul Wurth hopper industrailly employed for blast furnace charg- ing purposes. Experimental charge materials used in the study were glass ballotin.i (1-4mm dia.) and sinter fines (0.25-4mm). The tracer material employed consisted of coloured glass beads. The results of the study show that the discharge stream from a Paul Wurth hopper is characterised by an initial negative segregation followed by a positive segregation and that this segregation pattern is a property of the hopper geometry and the filling conditions. A simple computer model based on experimental tracer concentration results is proposed. The measured segregation results and those predicted by the model show close agreement. Application of the results with special reference to the effect of size segregation on charge permeability in blast furnaces is also included.

Jan 1, 1984

The Rosebery Mine on the west coast of Tasmania is a world class polymetallic base metal deposit, containing six major minerals: galena, sphalerite, chalcopyrite, gold, silver and pyrite. This resource has been exploited for nearly a century, yet a reliable estimate of the reserve continues to present a challenge.Over the past twenty years, the operation has changed from relatively low productivity cut and fill timber-support scraper mining, to higher productivity bulk mechanised open stoping. At the same time, economic constraints have changed and grades have fallen, which have increased the pressure to refine the resource/reserve estimating processes. This paper compares the restrictions of the polygonal section method of the past with the advantages of a kriged block model. The limitations of Mine Call Factors, the problems involved in converting decades of diamond drilling data on paper into a computer data base, and the effect of this new methodology at Rosebery, are described.

Jan 1, 1990

By E Widijanto, A Srikant

PT Freeport Indonesia operates a copper-gold mine located in the remote highlands of Papua, Indonesia, about 3500 km east of Jakarta. Currently, the district produces about 240 000 tonnes per day (tpd) of which about 45 000 tpd come from the DOZ Block Cave and the rest is mined from the Grasberg Open Pit. Over the next ten years, ore production from large block caves in the area is expected to reach about 200 000 tpd, replacing a large part of the production from the Grasberg Pit. Block cave mining alters the hydrological characteristics of the area being mined and when the cave expresses itself at the surface in the form of subsidence, it increases the entrapment area for surface water. Operating a large block cave mine in a region with an average annual rainfall of 5500 mm in steep mountainous terrain and complex geological and hydrological features presents a challenging scenario for dewatering or depressurisation of the area. The high rainfall infiltration and entrapment in stacked mines operating within an essentially single orebody, coupled with the presence of fine-grained and clayey material within the draw points of the block cave, creates mud rushes or wet muck spills, which can endanger the personnel and interrupt production. This paper outlines the problems caused by high water inflow into the DOZ Block Cave and the efforts undertaken to ensure the safety of the miners and continued achievement of desired production rates from underground mining in the district.

Jan 1, 2006

By M Mohammad Khani

An economic block cave is dependent to the characteristics of the rock mass at stages of caving. These are cave initiation, propagation and ore flow. In this research, the rock engineering system (RES), first established by Hudson (1992) to solve complex rock engineering problems, is introduced and verified against the well-established caving parameters established by Laubscher. There are two types of factors influencing caving and these are natural (cannot be controlled) and induced (operator controlled). A RES based interaction matrix is developed by determining the rating parameters required to reproduce the caving database using Laubscher’s caving parameters. This provides the relative importance of the parameters in the interaction matrix. After discussing the rock mass caving process and identifying all the effective parameters, an interaction matrix is introduced to study the cave initiation of rock masses. The expert-semi-quantitative (ESQ) coding method is utilised to assign the numerical value to each parameter’s interaction. Thereafter, the interaction intensity and dominance of each factor in the system is determined to classify these factors. Finally, all the parameters affecting caving operation and their weights on the RES system are identified. This new application of RES in block caving is very efficient and useful for any stage of caving studies and helps experts to make decisions more accurately.CITATION:Mohammad Khani, M, 2016. The application of rock engineering systems to block caving to identify the effective parameters, in Proceedings Seventh International Conference and Exhibition on Mass Mining (MassMin 2016), pp 853–860 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

May 9, 2016

Degussa's PAL-system (peroxide assisted leach) has been proven to be more economical than the conventional cyanidation technique. Significant in- creases in the gold recovery have been reported, accompanied by savings in cyanide. Accelerated extraction kinetics and modified reagent demands necessitate a redesign of the conventional cyanidation plant. The South African Osprey Mine is presented as an example of a successful PAL-application. Based on the plant and laboratory data it is shown that the redesign of the flowsheet can be an important factor for the effectiveness of a metallurgical plant. In the case of the Osprey Mine, the PAL-technology all ows a modification of the current preoxidation-ClPcircuit to two separate CIL-plants to treat run-of-mine ore and old tailings dumps. A doubling of the throughput is possible without enlargement of the plant. This innovation in the field of gold extraction, the combination of the PAL-process with a redesign of the metallurgical plant, can be considered as a basis for a more profitable gold mine.

Jan 1, 1991

By Glassock C. D

Most Australian mining projects are becoming smaller, more remote and with lower grades of ore. Their small size has been making it harder for mining companies to absorb the large infrastructure costs. This has forced companies to reduce those costs in every way they can. Social factors, environmental groups and even tax laws have added other pressures to force down the infrastructure costs for remote projects. For the last ten years, the downward trend in costs has been marked. It seems certain to continue for years into the Future.

Jan 1, 1997