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By Jan Klein

"The last decade of the 20th century saw the development of one of the last missing geophysical tools for mineral exploration: the Airborne Gravity Gradiometer. It is possible that Airborne Induced Polarization, one of the stillelusive systems, will make its debut in the next few years. In this sense, the paper point out are the most recent and important improvements in geophysical technologies for mineral exploration. Airborne techniques are followed by the systems used on the ground and in boreholes. New equipment and data processing and modeling software are referred to. Brief remarks are made about developments that can be expected in the years to come, these will be mainly focussing on deep search in rugged and conductive terrains. "

Apr 24, 2001

By H. E. Wyslouzil

Column flotation technology was introduced to the market place about thirty ago years as a device capable of producing concentrates that were lower in impurities than those produced by other types of flotation machines. The ability to operate columns with significantly deeper froth beds and the provision of a froth washing system were the main reasons cited for the improved metallurgical performance. Column cells are now well accepted by the industry for cleaning applications, but there continues to be considerable skepticism about their use as roughers. There have been several documented cases of rougher installations which fell well short of predicted metallurgical performance. The reasons for the shortcomings vary from case to case, however they can be generally attributed to incorrect sizing, inappropriate application and or a lack of understanding of how column cells must be integrated into an existing plant or new project. Columns may not be the best choice for every application. In this sense, this paper discusses some of the important considerations that designers must take into account when contemplating the use of columns as roughers.

Sep 12, 2005

By William R. Adamson

"The paper point out how mechanistic blast outcome models can be employed to explore the likely extent of achievable benefits associated with application of different explosive products, of quantifiably known characteristics.maximizing the advantages of the use of this modeling approach requires the use of field based measurements as model inputs, as has been done in this particular study. Inevitably, enhanced confidence in the routine application of the approach will be obtained through the collection, analysis and interpretation of field performance verification data such as fragmentation size distribution data. "

Jul 31, 2003

By Enrique Rubio

Mine planning is the discipline of mining engineering that transforms geological resources into the best productive business for the owner. The production schedule is the best reflection of the company's business plan, which reflects the strategic, tactical and operational objectives to reach the defined production targets subject to the restrictions imposed by the mineral resource, by access to capital, medium environmental, market, technology and others. Traditionally the process of mine planning has been carried out through multiple steps generally disjointed and not with a clear connection with the ultimate goal that is to carry out a mining business.

Sep 1, 2017

By Quan Situ

In evaluating the influence of increased mine ventilation utilizing the vertical production shaft as intake or exhaust, various factors, such as conveyance motion and especially the shaft guide system, have been studied. Case studies of two typical conveyance guide systems, namely rope guide (in a potash mine) and fixed guide (in a hard rock mine) are presented.

Oct 21, 2015

By Alex Jankovic

The paper point out the high capacity processing of a hard, fine grained silica rich magnetite ore with several circuit operations was carried out to assess the energy efficiency, operating cost and project economics expressed through NPV. The result of the study autogeneuss grinding technologíes offers significant benefits over the conventional grinding circuits options.

Sep 21, 2013

By Marc Leduc

Since co-disposal technology promises to replace conventional tailings disposal methods at sites with high strip ratios or plentiful old dumps. While the mine waste needs to be relatively strong and low in fine material, and chemical compatibility must be assured, when these parameters are satisfied there are no other significant hurdles to its implementation. In this sense, the paper describe the resulting benefits range from substantial reduction in capital and operating costs to reduction or essential elimination of the short- and long-term liabilities associated with tailings dams are impoundments.Since tailings dam failures are arguably the greatest environmental liability and public relations problem in the industry, reducing the quantity of tailings managed behind dams is a worthy goal.

Jul 31, 2003

By Dario Bernabe

This paper evaluates four open pit mine scheduling programs recently developed and compares them in order to determine if significant differences exist among them. The same input data, which consist of a 3-D block model, an economic set of parameters, and the initial surface topography for a operating copper mine in Southern Peru, was used to test each technique.

Aug 25, 2002

By Ron H. Derammelaere

"The paper point out of the copper slurry pipelines in South America, providing key statistics, such as throughput, diameter, length, etc. In addition, it will present technical aspects of pipeline design that are unique tomountainous terrain, specifically: choke stations for the control of slack flow, batch hydraulics, automation and training.The pipelines listed in this paper operate successfully at availabilities in excess of 98%. Breaks and plugs can occur due to operator error, but are extremely rare. A review of cross-country slurry pipeline operations worldwide over the last 30 years shows that such a major event occurs, on average, once every five years. Under such a worstcase condition, the downtime rarely exceeds five days. Some pipelines have already been in operation over 30 years, the life span being a function of how well corrosion is kept in check."

Jul 31, 2003

By Chris Twigge

The paper point out development and successful commercial introduction of new technologies into a metalurgicall. The discussion that follows examines the overall issues of implementation from a management perspectiva and will highlight areas where key success factors are often overlooked. The framework presented is structured around the following key themes: The prime incentive for introducing new technologies is broadly one of economics, the implementation of new technologies is, to a large degree, a process of risk management and although the implementation of new technologies revolves around technical and economic issues, in the end the decisiva factor is people. Proper recognition of the human factors is critical to success. In this sense, the above principles are discussed in the sections that follow and include a number of examples to illustrate how technology can be successfully implementad and how it can fail.

Oct 6, 1999

By Carl Verholek

Remote control systems for industrial applications have advanced since the early 20 years, increasing its capabilities by utilizing new electronic technology. This electronic “tool” has benefited many mining operations, making them a safer place to work and at the same time more productive. Almost any operation that presently uses a man at the controls of the machine or using a wired tether control, is a candidate for improvement by the addition of a remote control. Remote control systems add safety, reliability and productivity at a cost that is usually recovered in mere months after installation.

May 25, 1998

By Edmundo Alfaro

The paper describes the thiosulfate process for gold leaching like the best non-polluting alternative to cyanide. Thiosulfate is a non-toxic lixiviant and has the ability to complex gold and silver. Copper bearing ores are not harmful for the process and does not suffer the preg-robbing phenomenon like in the case of cyanide. Nevertheless, the process is not fully developed, basically because of the poor understanding of the solution chemistry. Upon thermodynamic considerations and experimental evaluations it was found that the system is unstable; thiosulfate oxidation is unavoidable and ammonia is lost by evaporation. Measures to reduce thiosulfate oxidation include the adequate balance of ammonia and thiosulfate concentrations, adequate pH, additions of sulfite and additions of complexing agents like glycine.

Sep 12, 2005

By Rajiv Kalra

"The paper point out at evaluating the merits of oflarge geared mills versus gearless driven mills by evaluating the following factors: The capability of currently available systems in terms of power and milldiameter, efficiency in terms of overall electrical power consumed vs mechanical output power, capital cost, running costs, rooling requirements in terms of air versus water cooling and the installation and delivery time"

Sep 12, 2011

By R. W. Lawrence

This paper provides a brief overview of biogenic sulphide reagent production from elemental sulphur, discusses the main advantages of recovering metals and treating heavy metal pollution using biogenic sulphide, and presents operating results from commercial plants.

Sep 12, 2005

By Roger Henning

Although flotation is widely used throughout the minerals industry, it is a relatively inefficient process. The economic benefits of improved operation are considerable. A multivariable level stabilising system has been developed to reduce the amount of fluctuation in flotation levels. It has been shown on several plants that the better level control leads to improved metallurgical performance. A level measurement based on conductivity is also described. The device provides some insight into the behaviour of the froth.

May 25, 1998

By J. Hantelmann

The Yanaquihua gold-bearing vein-fault deposit is associated with a sinistral strike-slip fault system, hosted within granite to granodiorite of the Tiabaya Super Unit of the Coastal batholith. The deposit is located near the northwest striking Cincha-Lluta-Incapuquio (System 11) regional fault system . Mineralization exhibits vertical trends and is primarily controlled by sub-vertical vein-fault structures. Mineralization includes variably abundant quartz, clay minerals, pyrite, calcite.

May 1, 2008

By Hoerger Steve

Minera Yanacocha S.R.L. (MYsrl) operates the largest gold mine in South America near Cajamarca in Northern Peru. In 2002, the minera set the goal of being the world’s best heap leach gold operation in terms of efficiency, safety and environmental performance. In support of this goal, the long term planning function seeks to maximize the value of MYsrl’s resources. This includes not only the value of the orebody, but also the value of all past and future investments and the value of the company’s relationships with its employees, the environment and the local communities. All of these components will be critical to MYsrl’s continued long-term success.

Aug 25, 2002

By Reinhold A. Errath

"The paper describes the problem related with contradiction to the development of sag mills, which one are becoming bigger in size almost every year. In this sense, the concentrator plants are being built more and more in remote areas where the power supply and network conditions are not necessarily covering the needs for the operation of such plants. It also illustrates the permissible tolerances in terms of commutation of the powerelectronics, based on already realized installations. Finally the paper gave an overview about the technical impact of a strong versus weak networks."

Jul 31, 2003

By Patrick P. M. Afenya

"The paper point out the mineralogical aspects about metals processing volcano-related gold, silver and copper ores. The copper group of metals comprises gold, cooper and silver. These metals have been considered together here because of similarities in their chemical properties. Consequently, these metals commonly form minerals with the same elements or group of elements. It is realized that the formation of minerals and final physicaland chemical states of any mineral may depend on many factors such as temperature, pressure, activity of species and pH of the fluid, mode of formation, paragenesis, geological age and post crystallization events. For the purpose of this discussion, attention will be focused on temperature as the principal factor influencing mineral formation."

Jul 31, 2003

By Mafalda Arias

The role of our industry is essential to future societal needs and to set the foundation for a better world, it?s important to built trust and relationships inside your global team, within communities and together with stakeholders. The objective of this paper is to raise awareness of the importance of including “culture” as one of the four pillars of sustainability and to highlight the disjointed nature of the existing concept of sustainability and the goal of that concept. In other words, the conflicting propositions between the western beliefs that set the foundation of the sustainability concept and the eastern beliefs that aims to have sustainability as an end result. The incorporation of “culture” aims to find a balance, which unites these opposite perspectives to result in a more harmonious solution for society.

Sep 12, 2011