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Western Australian tin deposits are similar to those of other Precam- brian terrains in that they are mainly associated with rare-metal pegmatites, in which cassiterite is found with minerals containing any or all of the elements Ta, Nb, Be, Li, Cs, Rb and the rare earths.. They differ from Phanerozoic deposits where cassiterite occurs in quartz veins, greisens, dis- seminations in granite or sulphide lodes, and is associated with minerals containing W, Mo, Bi, Sb, As, Ag, or Cu. The main tin production in Western Australia has come from the Pilbara Block where the more important tin- bearing pegmatites are related to a younger granite phase, and from Green- bushes where large albite pegmatites intrude ?Proterozoic metamorphic rocks. The more important tin deposits in the Pilbara Block, and those in the Halls Creek and Murchison Provinces, are related to granites which are richer in Si and K and poorer in Ca, Mg, Fe and Ti than 'average granite'. The tin granites tend to have higher than average contents of Sn, Rb and Li.

Jan 1, 1973

By J Planner

As Australia’s coal and iron ore export volumes increase to meet international market growth, port terminals, mining operations and rail transport systems can be the source of increased dust emission. Current and future sustainable expansion must minimise dust emission from bulk handling and transport operations located in close proximity to residential areas. Lower level dust emissions can be controlled by operational measures such as water addition to products, and use of water spray on stockpile surfaces. Recent research has shown that higher levels of dust emission can be more effectively controlled by understanding and treating the dust characteristics of each individual bulk product. Application of this research, progressively being applied at Australia’s coal and iron ore port terminals and rail transport systems, is achieving compliance with health standards and minimising dust nuisance effects to an acceptable level.

Nov 22, 2011

Development of the Davcra flotation cell has continued over the past seven years. Preliminary testwork on single cells has now been extended to a com- plete Davcra flotation circuit, to cells ranging from 5 to 400 tons per hour capacity and to cells operating on a variety of materials. Operation of both test and production units has shown the Davcra cell to be competitive with conventional flotation machines. It offers a lower capital cost installation than conventional cells and in addition has a number of. operating advantages, particularly in its adaptability to automatic control.'

Jan 1, 1971

By H Kurth

High specification Prompt Gamma Neutron Activation Analysis (PGNAA) has been successfully applied to conveyed flows at iron ore operations since 2002 to representatively measure ore quality for improved quality management and process control. While the PGNAA technique has changed little since that time, significant improvements have been made in measurement capability. Elements previously unable to be measured well or at all using this technique are now measurable and one of these is phosphorus. Aluminium and magnesium are also key elements in addition to calcium and silicon in determining sinter basicity in ironmaking. Other elements measured routinely in iron ores include iron, carbon, potassium, sulfur and manganese. The benefits of representative measurement cannot be overstated as iron ore mining operations in South Africa, Europe, Australia, Asia and the Americas have discovered. The technology is applicable to any conveyed flow where elemental analysis in real time assists with quality management, from raw materials in ironmaking through to scrap steel in steelmaking and coal quality for coke-making. Major benefits are realised when raw material processing is optimised and this often includes diversion of material meeting a required quality so it can bypass unnecessary processing. This includes waste rock which can be diverted from a plant feed stream in 30 sec increments or ore that meets product quality being diverted to bypass beneficiation. Analysers are successfully utilised to identify ore types that assist with upgrade optimisation in jig plants; measuring feed, product and discard flows to also account for metal content. Product flows to stockpiles help manage production flows and stockpile qualities for different products and assist in blending ores into trains or ships to confirm specification compliance. Technologies can be used in magnetite processing but are predominantly used in hematite and goethite ore processing operations. The paper details examples of the above applications at various operational sites providing estimates of economic benefit as well as operational improvements.

Sep 18, 2023

By Colston M. B, Johnson I. D

The importance which matters of social welfare and environmental quality have assumed recently is the underlying theme of this paper. Demands for infrastructure reflect the change in emphasis from economic and technological development to those issues which affect the total well-being of the community. To put the importance of social change in perspective, examples are cited and a theme is developed which underlines the relevance of changes in public attitude and in government policies on mineral exploitation and related development and on the regimen of associated infrastructure sought. Planning on a long term or strategic basis and on a broad scale is put forward as an effective means of identifying changing social attitudes for the purpose of framing government and corporate policies. As a prelude to a section in which a description is given of a novel 'services baseline' concept and its use in the assessment of the current backlog of services

Jan 1, 1977

The intention of this work was to con struct a machine on a pilot scale which could hoist a mixture of ore and water through a height of 300 metres and to operate the mach- ine to determine the parameters which affect the success of upscaling the machine to a pro- duction unit size. The investigation into this form of hoist- ing was stimulated by the interest shown by Roan Selection Trust (RST) into the Mills Pulse vessel system. Agreement was reached between these two parties that RST would in- vestigate the Mills System and determine if this system, shown to be successful on a Lab- oratory scale, would be successful as a pro- duction unit. The investigation has shown, however, that for practical reasons, the Mills System is not satisfactory. As a consequence, the RST system was invented and developed which on a pilot plant scale would be capable of lifting 7,000 tonnes of ore per month. The inventions included amongst other things, a valve to control the flow of the abrasive mixture of ore and water, a new pumping system employing a filter mechanism, and a method of changing the downward direction of flow of the pipe mixture through the plant to an upward flow in the hoisting pipe. The valve has operated to pressures equivalent to 300 metres

Jan 1, 1973

By J A. van Niekerk, J G. Jardine, J W. Olivier

The Runruno Gold Project is located on the island of Luzon, approximately 200 miles north of Manilla in the Philippines. The mine is an open cut operation and uses the proven BIOX® and carbon-in-leach (CIL) processes to recover gold, and the ASTER™ process for detoxification of the CIL residue prior to discharge to the Residue Storage Impoundment (RSI). Work to date has defined a mineral resource of 1.39 million ounces (Moz) of gold, and the operation will produce 96 700 oz of gold per annum over a mine life of 10.4 years. The BIOX circuit is designed to treat 140 000 t/y of concentrate with a design capacity of 404 t/d of concentrate at a design sulfide sulfur grade of 17% S2-.The Runruno BIOX Plant is the first application of the Outotec BIOX Generation III design principles, focussing on ease of operation and maintainability. During development and implementation, the project team focussed on identifying opportunities to optimise the capital efficiency while not compromising on the operability or overall efficiency of the process or the equipment. The BIOX plant also incorporates the latest developments in the design of the BIOX agitators for more efficient mixing and gas dispersion. This paper will discuss some of the critical aspects and decisions taken during the development and implementation of the BIOX Process at the Runruno Gold Project. The paper will highlight some of the factors affecting the commissioning process as well as the improvements seen through the introduction of the Generation III BIOX design principles. CITATION:van Niekerk, J A, Olivier, J W and Jardine, J G, 2017. Implementation of the BIOX® process at the Runruno Gold project, in Proceedings MetPlant 2017, pp 218–228 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Sep 11, 2017

By J R. Ruiseco, D La Rosa, L Julian, W Hunt

The DeGrussa copper-gold deposit is located 900 km North of Perth. Copper-gold bearing massive sulfide lenses occur in lower greenschist facies meta-sedimentary and mafic volcanics of the Bryah Basin. Regional folding, faulting, and tilting of the stratigraphy primarily occurred during the Capricorn Orogen (Johnson, 2013). The Shiraz Fault and Merlot Fault are regional oblique-sinistral faults that offset the DeGrussa massive sulfides lenses into three fault blocks by ~350 m and ~120 m, respectively. A network of deposit-scale brittle-ductile faults splay from, and in one example are cut by, the Shiraz and Merlot faults. This results in localised ore displacement, selvage alteration and degradation of the rock mass integrity. Historically, only the Shiraz and Merlot Faults were modelled and validated during mining and grade control. The requirement for a comprehensive structural model became more relevant as mining became advanced and confining stresses on local rock mass became more complicated. The DeGrussa Structural Model has been developed to delineate areas of structural complexity and is an important tool in mitigating rockfall risk through well informed technical design. During this process, every accessible excavation was walked and structurally mapped. New workflows in Leapfrog Geo and new technology, including an app that runs on mobile phones streamlined the validation process. Drill hole orientation was a limiting factor during validation. At the time of writing this submission, the DeGrussa Structural Model consists of 34 faults, and is now an important tool for the Technical Service team when developing mine plans and schedules. Applied structural geology is often seen as exclusive to those with a PhD in the field. Faults at DeGrussa have been modelled and reconciled by a Mine Geologist and Geotechnical Engineer, using first principles geological characterisation. This is a simple process that demonstrates any geologist can contribute to a structural model, provided they understand the fundamentals of unbiased structural measurements and consistent record of observation

Mar 22, 2022

By X Li, W McKeague, M S. Powell

This paper explores the importance of operators in the overall efficiency of mineral processing plants. With the potential of future control configurations becoming more remote, it is time to review the implementation of control and utilisation of operators. This paper is based on a preliminary review of operators and control room operations and clearly shows that, in the minerals industry, operations are typically run in a reactive mode (with a focus on ensuring equipment operation), rather than in a proactive mode (with a focus on optimising the process performance). The primary reason for this misguided approach is the short sighted thinking applied to the challenges of designing technology and organisational tools capable of addressing the essential operational needs: an approach which inevitably results in a disconnect between people and technology. Contrary to the popular approach of replacing operators with expert systems, the thesis of this paper is that the shift to more complex circuits, with higher demands on processing capability and control, will require the actual upskilling of operators. Experience in mineral processing and other industries indicates that expert systems cope well with small changes but are typically unable to respond to major changes in feed material and this is where the expert operator becomes crucial. Providing operators with ongoing high level training in process understanding, and restructuring how they interact with the plant and interface with the control system is the approach being proposed here - an approach surprisingly underutilised and often absent in the minerals industry today.CITATION:Li, X, Powell, M S and McKeague, W, 2012. Unlocking processing potential by empowering our operators, in Proceedings 11th AusIMM Mill OperatorsÆ Conference, pp 333-340 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Oct 29, 2012

By H Arvidson, A Walker, N Pollock

Following the recent tailings tragedy in Brumadinho, the Investor Mining and Tailings Safety Initiative was formed representing institutional investors in the mining industry. This Initiative, led by The Church of England (CoE), requested data from 726 mining companies on each of their Tailings Storage Facilities (TSFs). What this exercise confirmed was that there was no public database of TSFs, and that there was a clear gap in tailings management systems within the disclosing companies. We present an approach using technology to support best practice TSF management, governance and disclosure which was originally submitted as part of University of Cambridge Post-graduate studies in Sustainability Leadership in January 2020. The aim of the paper is to discuss how technology could be used to deliver a Tailings Management Solution (TMS) that is aligned with the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM), and supports rigorous governance leading to disclosure. Subsequently the goals of the plan are aligned with that of the co-conveners of the GISTM (the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM), Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) and United Nations Environment Program (UNEP)) which is to facilitate operators’ trajectory towards zero harm to people and the environment. Most of the focus to date around tailings management post Brumadinho has been on monitoring technologies, of which there are many. It is obviously important to acknowledge the critical role of monitoring technologies; however, our approach is agnostic to monitoring technologies and assumes that all of them are relevant. Our focus is on the data management, reporting and governance leading to disclosure of the information. Critical components of developing the TMS include adapting existing software products and solutions, recognising a system thinking approach is needed, strategic partnerships to deliver an accessible solution faster and more cost effectively, and, new ways of collaborating. The TMS should also accommodate relevant regional geotechnical codes and standards. The industry need for a TMS is well established and urgent, with significant pressure from regulators and civil society for the industry to address this significant issue.

Jul 1, 2021

By A Vakili

Dilution is associated with considerable direct and indirect costs in underground open stoping operations. As shown in previous works, an improved ability to predict dilution enables the economic risks associated with unplanned dilution to be reduced. Depending on the width of the orebody and depth of mining, the economic performance of an open stoping operation can become even more sensitive to dilution. It is shown in several well-documented studies that as little as 1 per cent of additional dilution can impose millions of dollars of lost profits per annum. Optimisation of a stoping operation is therefore largely dependent on the ability of the operation to minimise dilution. This can only be achieved through sensible analysis of past and future performance of mined stopes using the most appropriate recent available technologies and tools. This article presents a new design process that utilises advanced geotechnical numerical modelling and various other analytical tools to assist with a more robust mine design of open stoping operations. The focus of this design process is on geotechnical factors affecting dilution during the life-of-mine. A recent application of this optimisation method for a mining operation is presented in this paper as a case study. Through the application of this method and various other operational improvements, the mine was able to deliver more consistent production and lower operating costs over its life-ofmine outlook and was able to reduce dilution by up to 50 per cent and achieve sustainable record high production rates.

Mar 29, 2023

By He F, Zhu D

How to monitor and control the support and surrounding strata system on a longwall face effectively is one of the major research problems in ground control. Based on observations on movements of the support and surrounding strata of face No. 2703 of Dongpang colliery, the relationship between the downtime related to support and surrounding strata and other influential factors is analysed systematically in this paper. Monitoring indices and control measures are then determined by taking corresponding downtime as an objective function. When the monitoring method, developed from the above findings, was used on face No. 2703, the downtime due to support and surrounding strata was remarkably reduced, and the face advanced Normally.

Jan 1, 1992

Vatukoula is credited with the second largest population in the Colony of Fiji. Within an area comprising 550 acres are living approximately 4,500 people. Of these, about 1,150 Fijians, 90 Rotumans, 90 Europeans, 180 Part-Europeans, 180 Indians and 30 Chinese and miscellaneous Pacific islanders are employees of the Associated Mining Companies.The remainder is made up of employees dependants with a small minority of tradespeople and Government servants, such as storekeepers, school teachers, police and post office officials.To appreciate fully the work involved in the administration of this unusual community it is necessary firstly to know something about the various types of people which compose it.The FijiansAlthough the Fijians are of Melanesian stock their physical characteristics indicate a Polynesian strain. Natives from all provinces in the Colony are to be found in Vatukoula and their varied types point to this MelanesianPolynesian intermixture. For example, there are people from Lau** and Kadavu who are tall and well built with good features and comparatively fair skins contrasting with the dark, broad featured and generally short people of the hill tribes of Ra and the coastal tribes of Bua.The Fijians, particularly the older people, are noted for their dignity, courtesy and hospitality. The young Fijians of the present generation, large numbers of whom are...

Jan 1, 1953

In most mining operations the ore undergoes several processes such as drilling, blasting, loading, hauling, crushing, grinding and liberation to become the final salable product. Drilling and blasting is an important step in this process chain and itÆs results such as fragmentation, muckpile shape and looseness, dilution, damage and rock softening effect the efficiency of downstream processes. The value created per ton of broken ore is the difference between the price it commands when sold as the final product and the cost to produce it. Traditionally, the total process in the mining industry is classified into two groups as mining and milling. These are managed as separate cost centres inspite of the interdependency. Each process has a budget and production target and emphasis is usually on maximising production (tons) and minimising cost rather than the overall profitability of the whole business unit. The efficiency of each process is considered to be satisfactory as long as they are within budget and meet the production targets. The mine and mill managers usually try to optimise each process independently rather than the entire process. This paper discusses the potential pitfalls of decreasing the drilling and blasting cost per ton of broken rock without considering its impact on downstream processes. It introduces a holistic approach to blast optimisation by identifying and measuring the leverage that blast results have on different downstream processes and then optimising the blast design to achieve the results that maximise the overall profitability rather than just minimising the drilling and blasting costs. This paper demonstrates the benefits of such a holistic approach to blasting based on computer model simulations and field studies from metal and open cut coal mining.

Jan 1, 2001

By Reid A. F

Since early 1971 Western Titanium N.L. has been operating an ilmenite upgrading plant on a commercial basis at Capel, Western Australia. In their process ilmenite is pre- oxidized, then reduced in a rotary kiln to a mixture of metallic iron and titanium oxides. The iron is leached out by accelerated rusting in aerated water, leaving a product with titanium content, expressed as Ti02, of about 92%. Samples from different stages of the up- grading process, representing operations over the last two years, have been studied in detail by X-ray diffraction methods, and the sequences of phases and reactions occurring have been determined. Quantitative X-ray studies showed the ilmenite feed materials to consist of a mixture of ilmenite and pseudo- rutile. Pre-oxidation of the ilmenite at =1000¦C leads to the formation of rutile plus a Fe2TiO5-FeTi205-Mn2TiO5 solid solution. The final reduction product consisted of a mixture of metallic iron, reduced rutile and a FeTi05-MnTi205-Ti305 solid solution. The relative amounts of these reduction products were very sensitive to the initial concentra- tions of the minor constituents manganese and magnesium. The effects of variation of ilmenite feed rate, reducing atmosphere,- reduction temperature and controlled addition of magnesium were also studied.

Jan 1, 1973

By Kavanagh M. E, Henley R. W

The Meekatharra mining district lies in the northern pan of the Murchison Province of the Archaean Ynlgam block of Western Australia. Since dis- covery of the Paddy's Flat belt in the district in 1897 total gold production has been 67 tonnes and a further 33 tonnes in resources have been defined by drilling. The Paddy's Flat gold deposits occur within the Gabanintha Formation, a basal formation of the Murchison greenstone sequence containing komatiitic basalts, ultramafics and minor banded iron formations. The regional control on the distribution of deposits is an anastomosing shear belt which extends over 350 km and incorporates the Mt Magnet, Reedys and Meekatharra deposits. The following gold deposit styles may be recognized based on lithological association and alteration: Albite porphyry hosted, Carbonate-fuchsite- quartz alteration hosted deposits, Banded Iron Formation hosted sulphide replacement gold deposits and quartz vein deposits. With the exception of the banded iron formation hosted deposits, the Paddy's Flat alteration zone shows strong similarities to the alteration styles at Kerr-Addison (Ontario).

Jan 1, 1991

By M Player, R Klug, N Schwarz

There are several technologies available for thickening and dewatering of mining process slurries. The most commonly used are thickeners and filters, but technological developments have made solid bowl decanter centrifuges a viable option and their use, as a modern and alternative technology, is being considered more and more. In terms of tailings, the main goal for all mine operations is to minimize operating costs and the environmental impact of the disposed material. The high potential risk of wet tailings storage in tailings dams is causing this technology to become unpopular, and there is a strong drive in many parts of the world, by governments, communities and environmental agencies to limit any further construction and use of such facilities. For the alternative disposal method of dry disposal of tailings, two aspects of the process have to be evaluated, namely the maximum dryness of the separated solids and the maximum liquid recovery. For most mining operations dry disposal is a new concept. Presenting these companies with examples of operations where this processing option has been successfully applied and proven, will help them to adapt to the changing requirements in the future. Focus has been placed on adapting decanter centrifuges to the mining environment. Modern decanters stand out in terms of their small footprint, low water demand, high availability and their high degree of automation, combined with the excellent cost / performance ratio. Decanter centrifuges have started to play a key role in applications such as tailing dewatering, drilling and tunnelling muds processing, hydrometallurgical processes of gold, nickel or zinc and separating crud in solvent extraction plants. This paper will present advantages of decanter centrifuges compared to the traditional technology and corroborate these advantages by case studies.

Jul 1, 2021

This paper concerns a pragmatic approach to a problem that is common to many operations in the mining industry: how, over the short-term, to grasp the extent and distribution of long-term financial risk from environmental causes and reduce these risks strategically, in order to maintain stability and flexibility in the operations. Surprisingly, many companies operate without an environmental master plan or tools that can help managers measure and reduce financial risks. Such companies may be subject to unknown unacceptable financial risks from environmental causes. While many companies have some kind of internal system of environmental standards, it is often the case that such systems have uneven or limited effect, and offer no opportunities for visualising, measuring or managing aggregate financial risks from environmental causes. `Aggregate risks' are defined here as the calculated total expected financial costs to a company, or a subdivision of a company, from environmental causes at nominated operations over a defined time period. Aggregate risks take into account the type and magnitude of an environmental problem set, the likelihood of occurrence, and the time frame during which the problems will develop or solutions are required. For the large corporation, the 'amount of' aggregate environmental risk is a statistic that can be managed, along with other financial parameters, at the corporate level to improve the stability and predictability of operations, and protect the interests of shareholders. This paper concerns development of a management framework and a tool for the large corporation that responds to the need for managing aggregate environmental financial risks. The logical framework proposed to overcome the need for strategic vision is the Environmental Master Plan, and this is described in the next section. The analytical tool proposed to measure aggregate risks and provide relevant data and insights to managers, is called an Environmental Risk Management Information System, and its mechanics are described in a subsequent section.

Jan 1, 1994

By S Tjerry, S Szylkarski, B Willis-Jones, I Dubinski

Achieving relinquishment of mining sites is becoming increasingly difficult, with a study by Byrne (2013) estimating that out of a set of 73 mining and metals sites around the world, less than ten per cent had achieved relinquishment over the last 50 years. The median forecast duration of time allocated for water management in the closure plans studied was approximately ten years, while the reality at the actual sites was a median duration of 22 years to date and growing.One of many challenges in mine closure planning is managing geomorphic stability of stream diversions. The challenge is to be able to demonstrate to regulators and the community that a proposed rehabilitation solution will be stable over the long term.During the mining operations, local watercourses and surface drainage can be diverted and managed using engineered channels and drainage structures. However, during the post-operations stage, the engineered channel and drainage may require modification to a more natural condition that will facilitate long-term environmental sustainability. Achieving geomorphic stability of a diverted watercourse is difficult, with the majority of stream diversions in Australia failing to meet expected design performance (White et al, 2013). Geomorphic stability is a complex process that is controlled by a combination of factors, including hydraulic flow conditions, geotechnical conditions and vegetation.This paper proposes that a fully dynamic and deterministic geomorphological model can be used to supplement the traditional empirical approaches to assess long-term geomorphic stability. The paper provides an overview of the geomorphological models and how they have been applied in engineering studies for forecasting future evolution of stream systems. The paper discusses the potential application of these models in the mining industry for forecasting and optimising surface water structures for the operations and post-operations stages of the mining cycle.CITATION:Szylkarski, S, Willis-Jones, B, Tjerry, S and Dubinski, I, 2016. Improving the reliability of stream diversion designs in mine closure plans using a morphological tool, in Proceedings Life-of-Mine 2016 Conference, pp 212–215 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne)

Jun 28, 2016

By J Davidson

Ion exchange using strong base resins is a well established technology for the recovery and purification of uranium from sulfuric acid leach liquors. Production of uranium at the Beverley Mine in South Australia includes acidic in situ leaching, ion exchange and uranium precipitation. The salinity present in the groundwater results in a relatively high concentration of chloride in the leach liquor reporting to the ion exchange plant. The impact of chloride on the ion exchange process is discussed in this paper. The results presented show that an increased chloride concentration in the lixiviant solution feeding the ion exchange plant leads to increased uptake of chloride by the resin during the loading cycle. At the highest chloride concentration studied (7.5 g/L Cl) chloride took up to 60 per cent of the resin loading sites. The impact of the chloride can be summarised as follows: for a given uranium concentration in the lixiviant feed solution, the uranium loading decreased with increasing chloride concentration; a consequence of decreased uranium loading is an increase in the frequency of elution, with an associated increase in elution reagent costs; and for a given elution efficiency, the uranium concentration in the barrens is expected to increase with increasing chloride concentration.A few options were examined to counteract the impact of chloride: an increase in elution efficiency was targeted to reduce the amount of uranium returning to the loading circuit; increasing the pH improved uranium loading, but this was found to also increase iron extraction; and preliminary screening of alternative resins showed that the higher the theoretical ion exchange capacity of the strong base resin, the higher the uranium loading.Work is continuing on uranium recovery from saline leach liquors, specifically investigating the performance of alternative resins.

Jan 1, 2005