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By Nemick JA

Recent advances in computer simulation together with field measurements of caving and microseismic activity about longwall panels, has allowed a much better understanding of the caving process and the variability due to geology. The joint research between SCT Operations and CSIRO Division of Exploration and Mining has initiated new methods of computational modelling predicting various caving patterns and strata failure far ahead of the longwall face. This work was validated by field measurements of caving and microseismic activity at the longwall face.The rock fracture distribution and the caving characteristics of a range of strata sections have been simulated by computer methods. Validation studies of the method were addressed together with case studies. The interaction of caving with support convergence and face control is presented. The method allows the simulation of longwall support behaviour under various geological conditions. The system also allows a prediction of the monitoring data, which is best suited to give an early warning of weighting events or signal various key caving characteristics.

Jan 1, 1998

By T Suwa, S Ishida, J Xue, S Fuchida, H Shimada, Y Aoki, C Tokoro

Pyrite depression with prolonged pre-conditioning treatment in high salinity water has attracted much of researchers’ interest in recent years considering the increased utilisation of multiple stage flotation, closed water circuits, clay minerals, and sea water in flotation plants. In this study, the role of calcium (Ca)/magnesium (Mg) precipitates in stabilising the dissociative ferric hydroxy-xanthate (FHX), and its effect on modifying the balance of hydrophobic/hydrophilic species on the pyrite surface were primarily investigated. The total amount of extractable Fe-bearing species on pyrite concentrates and tailings after floatability test was quantitively determined using ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) extraction tests combined with inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). A more evident accumulation of extracted-Fe in pyrite concentrates rather than it in pyrite tailings was observed at both pH 9 and 10.5 when pyrite was pre-conditioned in Ca/Mg-bearing solutions for 360 min. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy showed the main xanthate derivatives changed from di-xanthogen (1155 cm-1 ) to FHX (1167 cm-1 ) on the oxidised pyrite samples that were preconditioned in Ca/Mg-bearing solutions. Scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectrometry (SEM-EDS) suggested the preferential accumulation of FHX upon secondary Ca/Mg-bearing precipitates as reflected by the higher Fe/S ratio together with the decrease of O element herein after xanthate conditioning. Although the hydrophilic secondary Ca/Mg/Fe-bearing minerals on the pyrite surface generally deteriorate pyrite’s floatability, the upper section of these secondary hydrophilic aggregates is partially covered by FHX alongside with further multilayer-adsorbed di-xanthogen. The precipitated Ca/Mg-bearing precipitates promotes the immobilisation of dissociated FHX derived from the reaction among iron oxyhydroxides and xanthate anions upon the localised secondary Ca/Mg/Fe-bearing minerals via acid–base complexation. Therefore, this phenomenon alleviates the hydrophilic modification of secondary Ca/Mg/Fe-bearing minerals to pyrite considering the immobilised FHX upon localised precipitates shows a slight hydrophobicity, and meanwhile, the upper FHX benefits the multilayer adsorption of di-xanthogen via the interaction among their inner hydrophobic alkyl chains.

Aug 24, 2022

By Recepoglu O, Tolun R, Yavasoglu N, Bulutcu AN

Scheelite was floated from a low-grade (0.28 per cent W03) calcitic (96.30 per cent CaCO3) scheelite ore using oleoyl sarcosine as collector and alkylated 8-hydroxyquinoline as modifier. Compared to oleoyl sarcosine alone, the grade and the recovery of scheelite concentrate were increased from 8.07 per cent to 33.54 per cent and from 55.1 per cent to 73.4 per cent, respectively. Infrared studies with pure calcite and scheelite minerals showed that while alkyl oxine is adsorbed on the scheelite surface, it is not adsorbed on the calcite.

Jan 1, 1993

The value of Australia's education services exports increased to over $15 billion dollars in 2009, placing education as the third overall export earner behind coal and iron ore; however there are concerns over the impact of emerging policies on the future of both the industry and the provision of mining education. Policies have impacts on the growing number of international rankings (or league tables) of mining jurisdictions and universities. A high position in such rankings might be used as a measure of perceived quality with benefit to those at the top and to the detriment to those lower down.    Top performing companies in the relatively new domain of sustainability have been shown to achieve better financial performance than their industry competitors, assisting them in attracting top quality committed staff, hence positioning themselves well for the future. The world's mining companies, jurisdictions and universities are now ranked with results in the public domain. It is argued as to the validity of the data or perceptions used in such rankings, but there is no doubt they are influential in determining the flow of dollars around the globe. By investing your pension fund assets in the shares of the top performing companies, by placing your exploration dollars in a country at the top of such a list of attractive jurisdictions, attending or recruiting from a University at the top of the rankings - risk must surely be reduced?   While savings and risk reduction can undoubtedly result from the introduction of new technologies developed through appropriate R&D (the other core activity of a university), the maintenance of a very high level of exploration and production performance through dedicated highly skilled staff every hour of every day quietly improves financial performance, while avoiding safety, environmental and/or community incidents (ie protects the 'triple bottom line'). As always risk reduction comes down to enabling quality people to do a quality job - through the actions of such people we can sustain the global mining industry and secure our social license to operate. However, there is global concern over where the numbers of such people, including those with the recently required skills in sustainability, are going to come from.   This presentation will discuss some of the complexity and interactions involved in the development of such rankings, the dangers inherent in their simple acceptance and use, plus indicate some of the directions mining educators might take to sustain and increase the supply of quality graduates to the global mining industry. This is an ABSTRACT ONLY. No paper was prepared for this presentation.

Jun 1, 2010

By A D. Campbell

The Homer Tunnel is located in a remote area of the South Island of New Zealand and carries large numbers of tourists to Milford Sound through an avalanche prone area. The tunnel is 1280 m long with a steep ten per cent unidirectional grade descending to the west. Construction of the tunnel began in the 1930s and was completed to a nominal 6 m width in 1954. In 1996, two passing bays were stripped-out to accommodate bi-directional flow of tourist coaches. During all phases of construction and widening there have been episodes of strain bursting.The condition of the tunnel and standard of internal services is below current international practice, principally in terms of; in-tunnel air quality, fire life safety, ground support, and road safety. A number of near-miss events have occurred involving coach fires on the approaches and inside the tunnel. The national road authority, NZTA, is considering a substantial investment to improve amenity and safety of the tunnel.This paper describes the rationale for the proposed upgrade works and the investigations undertaken to enable that design. A holistic approach to road tunnel safety has been adopted that balances the key interrelated safety drivers, namely; tunnel lining, traffic operations, ventilation, power supply and egress while ensuring continuity of safe access to Milford Sound.

Mar 8, 2011

By T Muzondo, C Prins, D De Vaux, R Schouwstra

The Mogalakwena Platinum Mine in the northern limb of the Bushveld Complex is Anglo American PlatinumÆs only open cast operation exploiting the Platreef. The Platreef, which extends along the basal contact of the Bushveld Complex, is geologically and mineralogically a much more complex orebody than the Merensky and UG-2 reefs. Changes in the footwall and the genesis of the Platreef translate into a number of rock types being present. These rock types vary in hardness and recovery potential and present challenges to metallurgical staff trying to optimise the concentrator. A true understanding of the implications of treating these rock types is required if the maximum value from this orebody is to be obtained.In order to more accurately forecast production and incorporate ore variation in the mine plan and comminution and flotation circuits, a geometallurgical approach to managing the operation has been used and is being further developed.CITATION:Schouwstra, R, De Vaux, D, Muzondo, T and Prins, C, 2013. A geometallurgical approach at Anglo American PlatinumÆs Mogalakwena Operation, in Proceedings The Second AusIMM International Geometallurgy Conference (GeoMet) 2013 , pp 85-92 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Sep 29, 2013

By Colwell JB, Cronan DS

Manganese nodules cover great areas of deep ocean floor far from land, and have long been considered a major potential resource of nickel, copper, cobalt and perhaps manganese. A decade ago there was a period of intense evaluation of nodule fields, especially those lying between the Clarion and Clipperton Fracture Zones in international waters southeast of Hawaii. There, nodules are abundant and of high grade (average of 2.4% Ni+Cu+Co). The evaluation activity has since declined, but a recent agreement on lease boundaries among all interested parties may lead to a resurgence of work. Indeed, French and Japanese groups have pushed ahead with field and economic assessments.The Southwest Pacific, where there are large nodule fields in the waters of the Cook Islands and Kiribati, has seen considerable assessment of resources in the last ten years, especially through a major field programme of the Japanese Metal Mining Agency. The best prospect appears to be in the South Penrhyn Basin, in Cook Islands waters, where nodules are very abundant but of only moderate grade (1% Ni+Cu+Co). Using a cut-off of 5 kg of wet nodules per m2, Cronan (1989) and Cronan et al. (1989) have estimated the total resource to be a huge 110 million tonnes of Ni+Cu+Co.

Jan 1, 1990

By M Russ, J Gediga

This paper shows an economic feasible approach to implement greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction measures into the mining and metallurgy industry (MMI). The goal to improve energy consumption is directly linked to the reduction of GHG emissions in the MMI. A baseline scenario of the considered reference system and of the respective reference year has to be designed and analysed. In a second step an analysis of the same operation using the best available technology (BAT) processes is carried out to generate a basis for a benchmark system. The identified gaps will be reported and the potential GHG emission reductions will be put into relation to the investment, running cost and generated carbon credits of the new process technologies to be implemented. This economic feasibility calculation is necessary to realise a cost efficient GHG reduction roadmap decision-making for implementing new technology into the companyÆs business operations. The GHG reduction roadmap is developed using the marginal abatement curve approach.

Jan 1, 2009

By T Hill, J Everingham, P Clark

Currently, social impact assessment (SIA) is used to determine social impacts across the life-of-mine (LOM) to closure. This paper draws on recently completed SIA reports from the Martha gold mine in Waihi and qualitative interviews in the community that explored post-closure options, to review the challenges mining companies face when engaging with iwi4 through the SIA process and what that may mean for closure planning. The Maori of New Zealand consistently lobby to have a distinct voice in resource management issues. This is in line with the evolution of indigenous participation in SIA globally and with New Zealand policies, not least of which, the Treaty of Waitangi (the founding document of New Zealand) makes provision for Maori self-determination with regard to natural resources. Land use for mining has been a source of conflict for Maori and mining can have profound cultural and social impacts on the Maori community, yet despite Treaty intentions their representation in SIA has been comparatively limited. With this in mind, the Waitangi Tribunal has released the Ko Aotearoa Tenei (Wai 262) report, which recommends far reaching reforms to laws and policies affecting Maori culture and identity including natural resource management. This landmark report seeks to move the Maori-Government relationship beyond grievance to partnership. Given suggested policy changes in Wai 262 and the risks of poorly conceived closure planning, it is timely to review where Maori currently fit into the SIA process. The findings of this research suggest that improvements to the outcomes of this process will require companies to act beyond compliance. However, these improvements may also ensure mining companies maintain their social license to operate and to ensure continued influence across the life of a project to closure.CITATION:Hill, H, Clark, P and Everingham, J, 2012. æThere is an emptiness for Maori here in WaihiÆ - Understanding indigenous perspectives on post-mine land uses in closure planning, in Proceedings Life-of-Mine 2012 , pp 153-160 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Jul 10, 2012

By G Capes

A novel open stope design approach is presented that delivered improved performance in a mining area with poor ground conditions at the Olympic Dam mine. During 2019, a large open stope had an unplanned caving event resulting in the inability to extract the planned tonnes and subsequent sterilisation of nearby stopes. A design limitation was the lack of data and understanding around the alteration domain extents, the rock mass strength controls and limits, the failure modes controlling stope stability in the local area, and the use of conventional stope shapes. From the available data and failure observations, it was inferred that the dominant caving failure mode resulted from a blocky rock mass impacted by structure and alteration causing an unravelling failure mechanism. Numerical and empirical analyses were conducted to test this hypothesis and establish strength limits for design. The strength limits for the design were then used to provide a range of outcomes from which future stope design shapes such as chamfered backs could be selected. Three alternate chamfered geometries were selected to trial the innovative designs. The application of this methodology in 2020 resulted in overbreak reduction from >100 per cent in the initial caved stope to

Mar 29, 2023

This report will differ slightly from the traditional scientific and technical discussions given at this type of conference. It will focus on the personal experiences and choices that I undertook when deciding on my graduate position and location after completing university studies. Throughout the duration of my course I had experience in both fly-in, fly-out operations in the Pilbara and residential operations in the West Australian Goldfields. These experiences, though limited, allowed me to explore the two different methods and their pros and cons, and consequently to make my choice for graduate employment. Throughout the duration of my degree I believed it was important to gain a basic understanding of the two methods, focusing on lifestyle and personal interactions. The decision that a residential site suited my personality and lifestyle then allowed me to refine my job applications to a more specific list of mine sites and companies, resulting in a residential position with BHP Billiton at their Iron Ore operations in the Pilbara, Western Australia.

Jan 1, 2005

Barrick Gold Granny Smith Mine is currently undergoing conversion from an open cut operation to an underground mine at the Wallaby deposit. The underground project commenced in 2005 with the development of the reserves immediately below the pit and is now currently entering a production ramp-up phase for mining of these two initial surfaces below the pit. With increasing gold prices the owner has been forced to re-evaluate the underground project and has decided to investigate the potential of a deep level mine. This deep level underground mine presents a collection of challenges with the most notable being exploitation of a series of well separated near horizontal lodes ranging in thickness from less than 1 to 20 m. A variety of room and pillar mining methods are employed for extraction with careful consideration to resource recovery and pillar design for long-term stability. Compounding these deep level challenges is a need to accelerate mine level development to maintain the production profile of the mine. This paper describes the challenges, key learnings and outcomes of the studies undertaken to date associated with this project.

Jan 1, 2008

By D Howe, J Conn, J G. McLellan, K Gates

The Red October Gold Mine, owned by Saracen Gold Mines Pty Ltd, is located approximately 80 km south of Laverton, Western Australia. It is considered to be of a similar nature to many of the Archaean granite-greenstone deposits in the Laverton Tectonic Zone, and presents as an intriguing and relatively young deposit in terms of developed structural and genetic models. Regional deformation events have been proposed for the area, and are relatively well accepted. The most important of these deformation events in the region were the D4b (WNW–ESE sinistral transpression) and D5 (ENE–WSW dextral transpression) which have been attributed to the main Au mineralising phases. At the local scale there appears to have been a rotation of the regional stress field to provide the optimum orientation of maximum principal stress for sinistral movement on the main shear zone.Fully coupled 3D finite element analysis (FEA) was used to simulate the geomechanical response of the system based on structural observations. The geomechanical modelling resulted in highlighting anomalous patterns of stress and strain and subsequent fluid flow as a result of the two main deformation events. The D4 simulation provided a good correlation with the known distribution of subsidiary structures on the main shear zone, and furthermore provided several geomechanical targets that suggested locations of additional subsidiary structures. The D5 simulation provided a great insight into the response of the main shear zone and known subsidiary structures also highlighting additional targets indicating potential for further mineralisation. These targets have since been followed up with a 732 m deep surface reverse circulation (RC) drill hole, resulting in the discovery of two high-grade shoots, with follow up testing currently planned for mid-2014.CITATION:McLellan, J G, Conn, J, Howe, D and Gates, K, 2014. Structural controls and strain partitioning in the Red October Gold Mine, Western Australia, in Proceedings Ninth International Mining Geology Conference 2014 , pp 315–322 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Aug 18, 2014

By E Widzyk-Capehart, C Hölck Teuber, S Steffen, V Rivero, O Fredes, E Sanchez, I Pedemonte, N Gonzalez

This paper summarises the research, development and initial application of a sensing platform that has the potential to monitor subsurface deformations, pore pressure and other variables simultaneously to gain a better understanding of rock mass behaviour. The platform is based on Networked Smart Markers (NSMs) devices, which, with their ability for wireless communication between individual sensors and the possibility of real-time data acquisition and processing, will assist in the development of predictive tools to better assess rock mass behaviour.A good opportunity to implement this technology is in the specific application of transitioning from an open pit mine to an underground caving operation. One of the key elements to maintaining the mining business during such a transition is having a good understanding of the unique geotechnical conditions of mutual influence created during the open pit to underground interaction. The knowledge acquisition will require the implementation of a robust platform for geotechnical monitoring, which could be enhanced by incorporating the NSMs. The integration of sensors within the NSMs would enable the collection of additional data about rock mass behaviour (ie caving propagation and crown pillar fracturing), which could be used to improve the management of mining operations and, specifically, allow the development of reliable predictive tools based on the data collected.CITATION:Widzyk-Capehart, E, Hölck Teuber, C, Fredes, O, Rivero, V, Sanchez, E, Pedemonte, I, Gonzalez, N and Steffen, S, 2016. Understanding rock mass behaviour through the development of an integrated sensing platform, in Proceedings Seventh International Conference and Exhibition on Mass Mining (MassMin 2016), pp 275–284 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

May 9, 2016

By P Gomez, R Baumgartner, G Escobar

"The Cerro Corona mine consists of a Cu-Au porphyry deposit located in the Andes of northern Peru. The deposit comprises a typical Cu-Au multiphase porphyry mineralisation that has been overprinted by an epithermal event. This has generated a complex pattern of argillic alteration facies, which was accompanied by a locally structural-controlled Au-Cu mineralisation with the presence of gold and limited Cu sulfides and sulfosalts. These features, along with the porphyry-style mineralisation, produced a multifaceted occurrence of gold.Since the beginning of operations at Cerro Corona in 2008 there has been a continuous improvement of the geological and mineralogical knowledge. All mineralogical studies have mainly focused on host rock types and, to a lesser extent, alteration minerals, but little work has been done on the mineralisation itself. As a consequence, limited mineralogical information was available for use in the process optimisation initiatives.In the last two years, a series of mineralogical characterisation studies were undertaken with two main goals. First, to gain an understanding of the mineralisation genesis and second, to obtain a detailed characterisation of copper and gold minerals to support ongoing process optimisation. The first goal was achieved by conventional optical microscopy while the second required electronic microscopy and other microanalyses due to the necessity of quantifying several minerals of interest for the processing.The results were used to refine pre-existing geometallurgical domains, explain copper and gold losses in the flotation process and to some extent, improve copper and gold recoveries. The mineralogical characterisation is an ongoing work. Mineralogy provides the basis for any optimisation exercise since it looks in detail at the material to be treated and therefore, should be part of all geometallurgical programs.CITATION:Baumgartner, R, Gomez, P and Escobar, G, 2016. Comprehensive Mineralogical Characterisation at the Cerro Corona Cu-Au Porphyry Mine – the Fundamental Key for Geometallurgical Applications, in Proceedings The Third AusIMM International Geometallurgy Conference (GeoMet) 2016, pp 221–230 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne)."

Jun 15, 2016

By D-J Min

Strategies and achievements in the Asian steel industry to construct industrial ecological chain are reviewed largely in the case of Japan, Korea and China. Emphasis is placed on the development of resource circulatory system for the minimisation of various wastes and emissions of green house gases (GHG), toxic gases and polluting particulates. The minimisation includes:Rationalisation of iron and steelmaking processes; Implementation of available relevant measures/technologies; Life cycle assessment in designing steel from semis to assembled products; Reduction, reuse and recycling of materials and energies; and Utilisation of core competence technologies to process domestic and industrial wastes. In view of global nature of the above wastes- and emission-issues, inter-industrial linkage and international cooperation across the borders in the Asian countries have become more important. Inter-industrial linkage definitely serves to cut back the wastes and emissions. Examples of such linkage and factors influencing the sustainability of the linkage are described with expectation for further development of the linkage. Importance of international cooperation cannot be overstressed under the circumstances where steel production in China exceeded 220 Mt and world production exceeded 945 Mt in 2003 and is still increasing. Practical measures are discussed to enhance the linkage and cooperation for effectively promoting the reduction, reuse and recycling, including implications for the nonferrous industry.

Jan 1, 2004

By K Lee, L Mann, J Bygrave, G Sheldon

Ausmelt is supplying commercial quantities of an alkyl hydroxamate flotation collector AM28 for flotation of oxide and supergene base metal ores and tailings. AM28 is a non-hazardous product used as a ten per cent to 50 per cent solution in dilute potassium hydroxide. It is a selective flotation collector for oxide or oxidised base metal minerals and replaces conventional sulfidisation for oxide mineral flotation. At Radio Hill, the AM28 is used in conjunction with traditional sulfide collectors, which allows simultaneous flotation of oxide and sulfide copper minerals. The Fox Resources Radio Hill copper concentrator near Karratha, Western Australia, is currently configured to treat supergene copper ore sourced from the West Whundo open pit. This Archean VMS type copper deposit has been deformed and remobilised with uplift, erosion and weathering to form a significant supergene zone. The sulfide copper minerals present in the upper zone are digenite and chalcocite with lesser chalcopyrite and covellite. Oxide copper minerals present include cuprite, with lesser malachite and azurite. Gangue minerals include quartz, talc and chlorite. Plant trials at Radio Hill are reported for supergene West Whundo ore, where the AM28 was stage added into the circuit at nominally 80 g/t. Plant data over three months shows the copper recovery increased consistently from around 50 - 60 per cent to above 70 per cent when AM28 was added. This has been proven statistically. The grade of the concentrate was consistent with and without AM28, at nominally 22 - 24 per cent copper.

Jan 1, 2007

By Rosengren KJ

Geotechnical conditions often have a critical influence on the design of new open pit and underground mines, but they are often considered of secondary importance in relation to other factors, such as detailed geology, orebody geometry and grade distribution. As a result, geotechnical studies may not be carried out during early project investigations or, at best, may be given only superficial attention, often to the overall detriment of the project. Technically and economically, it is logical that geotechnical studies should be integrated with geological investigations as soon as it becomes evident that the particular deposit may prove to be economic. The paper discusses the use of geotechnical information in the selection of mining methods and mine design for underground mines and for wall design and assessment of excavation characteristics in open pit mines. It then considers methods of obtaining the relevant data, with particular reference to exploration boreholes. Selected case studies on the application of geotechnical data to mine design are Included.

Jan 1, 1986

By M Weeks

Melbourne Water Corporation, through the Pipelines Alliance, has commenced construction of a new drainage pipeline to provide additional flood protection within the Sandgate Avenue Main Drain catchment, in order to mitigate against the risk of flooding of Frankston’s central activity district (CAD).The project involves the construction of a 1550 m long, 2.5 m internal diameter tunnel, commencing upstream at the Monash University Peninsula Campus and traversing approximately west to the outlet located at Kananook Creek. The tunnel was excavated by a dual slurry-earth pressure balance tunnel boring machine (TBM), with the depth to tunnel crown ranging from 0.7 m to 14 m below the natural surface level. The TBM navigated 500 m radius curves, with a maximum drive length of 608 m. The tunnel lining consists of 2.5 m internal diameter, 250 mm thick reinforced concrete jacking pipe.The geotechnical conditions along the tunnel alignment consisted of mixed face ground conditions, predominately clay, with clayey sand and sandy clay and some sand deposits near Kananook Creek.This paper presents the challenges associated with the operation of the slurry separation plant during tunnel construction. In particular, the paper focuses the impact of slurry separation on tunnel advance rates, the lessons learnt during construction with regards to slurry separation and on the decision to adopt a dual slurry-earth pressure balance shield TBM. In addition this paper highlights the importance of having a thorough understanding of the slurry separation requirements on a slurry TBM project prior to selecting the necessary plant.

Mar 8, 2011

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

With the declining of high-quality hematite and magnetite iron ore reserves and the increasing accumulation of material resulting from mining and beneficiation operations that appear as lowquality depots and discharged materials in tailing dams, the necessity of recycling these reserves is increasingly becoming a critical demand. The Chadormalu iron ore mine is among the largest deposits of magnetite-hematite iron ore in Iran. In this mine, the total wet processing tails accumulated in tailing dams are over 92 Mt containing 25–40 per cent Fe. Laboratory and pilot tests on tailing samples led to the design and implementation of the Chadormalu Tailing Recovery plant (CTR) with a unique process circuit in Iran. In the CTR plant, after three steps of re-pulping with spiral classifiers and sanding machines, the underflow is concentrated by two stages of WMIMS and produces 64 per cent Fe grade magnetite concentrate. The tailings of the drums are mixed together and introduced into the hematite recovery section, including two stages of VPHGMS separators, and 60 per cent Fe grade hematite concentrate is produced. This plant has been in operation for over ten years with a total yield of 18.93 per cent. Due to changes in the materials extracted through new tailing dams, the quality of the final concentrate dramatically dropped to 56.36 per cent Fe and 0.79 per cent P; therefore, applying reverse flotation and removing phosphorus from the final concentrate was inevitable. By using this approach, upgrading of the concentrate to 63.01 per cent Fe and 0.05 per cent P was obtained. Furthermore, regarding the high amount of phosphorus in the tailing streams, direct flotation has been designed to produce apatite concentrate as a by-product stream through a flotation system comprising series banks of Rougher, Cleaner, and Re-Cleaners flotation cells. Hence based on the results, at optimum conditions, a final apatite concentrate with a yield of 15.78 per cent and 14.06 per cent P could be achieved. Successful implementation of this project has led to the production of magnetite-hematite and apatite concentrates with annual capacities of 250 000 and 45 000 t, together with total yields of 11.59 per cent and 6.19 per cent (includes de-sliming of apatite flotation feed), respectively.

Aug 24, 2022