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Amongst the Pacific Rim countries, Papua New Guinea (PNG) is the leader in new gold discoveries and developments leading to new production. PNG has shown a dramatic increase in gold production when taken from a base of about 600 000 ounces in 1984 to 1 160 000 ounces in 1986. 1987 is expected to produce about 1 500 000 ounces and new planned developments will give further large increases. PNG's leading position when compared with neighboring Pacific Rim countries is only partly due to its favorable geological setting along the "Rim of Fire" epithermal zone. More important have been well-thought-out mining development legislation and good administration as well as consistent taxation and royalty policies. A stable political environment and a track record of new mining developments over the last 15 years, both pre and post Independence in 1975, have also been important factors in encouraging the new developments. Early Portuguese explorers associated the New Guinea mainland with gold as early as 1525 but it was not un,11 1R77 that a small ill-fated gold rush gave the first recorded production at Laloki near Port Moresby. Modest but commercial discoveries were made in the outer islands and coastal mainland regions from 1888 to 1926. In 1922 William "Sharkeye" Park found gold at Edie Creek and this led to major discoveries at Wau and Bulolo which were the first large scale commercial gold Operations.

Jan 1, 1987

Nuclear power stations to be installed in Australia will be fuelled from Australian resources of raw materials.This will require the establishment of new manufacturing industries and the eventual expansion of established activities, especially in uranium mining and the preparation of precision metal products.This paper presents some predictions of the possible growth of nuclear power installations in Australia.These might amount to 4000 MWE by 1985 and 11,500 MWE by 1990 and towards the end of the century, about 50 per cent of new generating plant might be nuclear.Predictions are given of the demands for materials (uranium and zirconium) and fuel manufacturing services for four reactor systems which might be considered in the programme.The availability of raw materials and technical capability place Australia in a particularly good position to undertake the manufacture of nuclear fuel; in addition to satisfying the domestic demand we should actively seek export markets for these products.

Jan 1, 1971

By P Ramsaywok

The use of saline water for mineral beneficiation in arid regions is general practice and also the case with Exxaro Namakwa Sands, situated on the west coast of South Africa. Although it is ‘cost effective’ to use sea water for mineral beneficiation, downstream process separation efficiencies may be negatively affected. This is more specific to surface dependent separation techniques such as electrostatic and high tension (HT) separation. If minimal fresh water is available then, proper washing is often neglected. Salt crystals can form on particle surfaces during the drying process before electrostatic separation.This paper describes a study that has been conducted to determine the effect of upfront salt water processing on downstream electrostatic/HT separation. The study indicated that minor quantities of salt can cause the separation efficiency to decrease substantially.

Oct 5, 2011

By R Klepper

Separation of leach residue suspended solids from pregnant liquor solution is an important step in hydrometallurgy flowsheets. Alternative flowsheet options are counter-current decantation (CCD) thickeners or counter current washing (CCW) horizontal belt vacuum filters. Extensive sedimentation and vacuum filtration simulations have been completed by FLSmidth on leach discharge slurries to indentify equipment capacity and performance. These data were used to compare Capex and Opex for CCD versus CCW alternatives. In addition, Capex and Opex for large horizontal belt vacuum filters with filtration areas greater than 250m2 are compared to current state of the art sizes of 150m2. This paper presents this information and discusses various advantages and disadvantages.

Aug 8, 2011

By K Rau

The overall success of a mining operation is directly impacted by the reliability and availability of mining equipment. Heavy-duty vehicles such as excavators and haul trucks are used for conveying of bulk material and improving such assets’ availability helps reduce costs, increase throughputs and improve safety (Ravande, 2022). If a mining operation’s key performance indicators (KPIs) are tied to operational performance, then overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) is an essential metric to track progress and to identify areas of improvement.

Sep 1, 2024

By I Chan

The Wambo Rail Spur located near Singleton, New South Wales, Australia, runs for 14 km linking the Mt Thorley rail loop and running north-west alongside Jerrys Plain Road to the Wambo Coal Mine at Warkworth. A portion of the project is a 260 m long tunnel located where the rail line passes under Jerrys Plain Road. The tunnel has a low cover and is mostly within highly weathered to fresh laminated siltstone interbedded with coal seams, sandstone and conglomerate. This paper presents the design basis and construction methods used to achieve the 100 year design life of the tunnel required by Wambo Coal while also satisfying settlement and vibration limits imposed on Jerrys Plain Road. 

Jan 1, 2008

By Shuguang L, Jing S

Computer controlled truck dispatching systems is a newly-developed technical system in surface mines with shovel-truck technology. The real time dispatching criteria, as the core of optimal truck dispatching software, are analysed and a new criterion, complex dispatching criterion, is put forward. Dispatching criteria previously proposed include: 1. `Earliest Loading' (EL) - to assign a truck to the shovel at which the truck can be loaded earliest. 2. `Max Truck' (MT) - to assign a truck to the shovel at which the truck will have the shortest waiting time. 3. `Max Shovel' (MS) - to assign a truck to the shovel which has been waiting for the longest time. 4. `Minimum Saturation Degree' (MSD) - to assign a truck to the shovel at the branch where the truck flow saturation degree is minimum. 5. `Minimum Saturation Degree with Truck Cycle time consideration' (MSDTC) - as the MSD principle, with the truck travel cycle also considered. 6. `Fixed Dispatching' (FIX) - to assign trucks to fixed shovels. A system simulation model has been set up for truck dispatching system analysis. A few surface coal mines have been selected for case studies. Equipment waiting times and shift production of the system are obtained as the main outputs of the model. Simulation results show that each dispatching criterion has its own applicable range, no one can absolutely dominate the others. For example, when under-trucked, EL and MT criterion can obtain higher production than the MS criterion; when over-trucked, it is vice versa; while for MSD criteria, better results can be obtained no matter how the truck numbers fluctuate. From the view point of shovel output balance, large fluctuations occur for EL and MT criteria, while a good balance can be obtained for other criteria. In the light of dynamic change of mining system conditions, a single dispatching criterion is not necessarily reasonable. A complex dispatching criterion has been put forward to seek the complex optimum effect. Taking the advantage of each dispatching criteria, the dispatching result of a complex dispatching criterion dominates over individual dispatching criterion and a comprehensive optimum effect can be reached.

Jan 1, 1995

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 J Wood

Steady depletion of the world’s primary copper reserves coupled with a meteoric rise in electronic waste (e-waste) generation has led to secondary copper processing assuming an ever-increasing importance within the global copper industry. Treatment of secondary copper feeds at existing smelting operations has traditionally been performed in the Blast furnace, Peirce-Smith converter and/or anode furnace. In the past decade or more, bath smelting technologies have been preferred for the processing of these materials due to their superior environmental performance and flexibility to operate under a wide range of conditions. This paper focuses on the pyrometallurgical processing of copper secondaries in the Outotec Ausmelt TSL Furnace and some of the unique issues facing secondary copper smelters and downstream gas handling/cleaning equipment.

Aug 8, 2011

By A L. Stewart, M Baatar

"An EXTENDED ABSTRACT is available for download. A full-length paper was not prepared for this presentation.The Middle Palaeozoic Gurvansaikhan Belt (Southern Mongolia) of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt is one of Central Asia’s most significant emerging porphyry copper provinces. The belt has become the focus of extensive exploration for porphyry copper-gold deposits over the last decade following the discovery of the giant Oyu Tolgoi porphyry copper-gold deposit. The Gurvansaikhan Belt is known to host porphyry deposits of Late Devonian (~370 Ma) and Early Carboniferous (~320 Ma) age. The characteristics of Early Carboniferous porphyry systems are poorly known compared to their older counterparts, despite their probable abundance and potential economic significance. Exploration within the Kharmagtai porphyry breccia complex has identified multiple cogenetic gold-copper-porphyry centres and late-stage mineralised magmatic-hydrothermal tourmaline breccias emplacement within a composite high-K calc-alkaline quartz monzodiorite intrusive complex. Early porphyry alteration and mineralisation at Kharmagtai are zoned around vertically attenuated early- and inter-mineral quartz monzodiorite dykes and stocks and comprises a complex sequence of calc-potassic, potassic and propylitic assemblages. Hematite dusting is a common alteration product that gives intrusions and the host rocks a distinctive pink-orange colour. Several of the systems have bornite-rich cores, where mineralisation is characterised by high gold grades (0.7 to >5 g/t Au) that zone outward to chalcopyrite-rich and then outer pyritic halos. Early stockwork mineralisation is overprinted by magmatic-hydrothermal tourmaline breccias. High-grade magmatic-hydrothermal tourmaline breccias form part of a major copper-gold mineralised breccia system with significant exploration potential. The Early Carboniferous porphyry copper-gold systems of the Gurvansaikhan Belt represent a substantial exploration challenge in an area of increasing exploration maturity. This paper summarises the characteristics of the Kharmagtai porphyry system that have helped to define the Early Carboniferous porphyry province of the Gurvansaikhan Belt and discusses implications for future exploration.CITATION:Stewart, A L and Baatar, M, 2015. The Kharmagtai porphyry breccia complex – characteristics of early Carboniferous porphyry mineralisation in the Gurvansaikhan Belt, Southern Mongolia, in Proceedings PACRIM 2015 Congress, pp 383–388 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne)."

Mar 18, 2015

By R Saha, D Barry, C Mawdesley, O Bertoli

Kriged estimates are not typically calculated on blocks substantially smaller than the sample spacing (eg the Standard Mining Unit or SMU). Moreover, the sample spacing for quality variables is often much greater than the SMU size. For short to medium term planning decisions, the shorter term variability in the quality variables is a key economic consideration in defining, setting and meeting coal product specifications.Global uncertainties can be calculated using Drill Hole Spacing Analyses (DHSA). However, knowing the precision of a variable for a one or two year production volume is usually not adequate for variables with low spatial continuity that may fluctuate significantly over daily, weekly, SMU, or shipment volumes.Is there a feasible, reasonable and valid geostatistical method to model the uncertainty of coal quality variables on blocks substantially smaller than the drill spacing (say on the SMU)?The validity of using co-kriging variances, calculated on SMUs to characterise local uncertainty, was tested using a suite of conditional simulations generated for several quality variables for BHP’s Blackwater operation. The conditional simulation results were used as a benchmark against which the results derived from the kriging variances could be compared.The agreement between the kriging and simulation methods for thickness is excellent, with much closer correlations than for the quality variables. Typically, the kriging variances give very reasonable approximations to the simulation-based uncertainties, although there could be some systematic discrepancies which may become much more critical if a classification is to be based on a thresholding of the SMUs relative uncertainties.CITATION:Mawdesley, C, Barry, D, Bertoli, O and Saha, R, 2017. Local uncertainty benchmarking – a coal case study, in Proceedings Tenth International Mining Geology Conference 2017, pp 43–50 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Sep 20, 2017

By J Player, P Evans, G Sweby

Achieving quick underground access after the completion of an open pit mine can be critical to maintaining project value and ensuring regular ore feed to the mill. This paper outlines the design and construction for two portals in an active open pit to commence underground development quickly whilst installing appropriate ground control to maintain long term access in an uncertain setting. Implementation of the portal designs was complicated by the change in underground design from hangingwall access to footwall access late in the life of the open pit due to preferable ground conditions. The portal locations did not have easy access for ground support installation integrated into the pit design due to the timing of the underground design changes. Practical implementation of the ground support systems subsequently became a key part of the project. Intact rock strength, rock mass characteristics, gradational weathering / alteration profile and structural information were modelled against pit displacement monitoring as the basis from which the portals were located and ground support schemes designed. Conditions around one of the portals necessitated numerical modelling to estimate the appropriate level of ground control for long term stability. The design was completed whilst the open pit was actively on-going and the portal areas not entirely exposed. The rock mass assessment and analysis for the two portals indicated different ground support scheme capacities would be required. The expected level of control for one of the portals also necessitated the use of monitoring with extensometers and load cells to ensure the rock mass response and ground support scheme performed as planned. Construction of the portals demonstrates the benefit of a considered design process, a plan which allows practical installation of ground support schemes where access is limited, the benefit of ongoing monitoring to ensure performance remains within design limits and the challenges involved working within an active pit with limited floor space.

Mar 15, 2021

By M P. Schwarz

A major issue presently faced by companies producing and processing iron ore is the need to maximise throughput while minimising capital expenditure. While present high demand means this is of prime importance, the perennial issues of maintenance, operating costs, reliability, quality and environmental sustainability are also critical to profi tability. Attempts to address these issues generally require modifi cations to existing equipment, or trials of new equipment when designing plant for new projects.The risk involved can be substantially minimised by testing equipment improvements using advanced computational models prior to implementation. Examples of application of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and Discrete Element Method (DEM) modelling to sampling, cyclones, conveyor transfers, classifiers, dust control, banana screens, comminution and smelt-reduction will be given to illustrate the benefi ts of such an approach. *This is an abstract only. No paper was provided for this abstract.*

Jul 11, 2011

By G D. Matthews, M E. Haylett, S Khosrowshahi, A Weeks

In narrow orebodies the use of ordinary kriging (OK) may pose certain limitations when used for grade control modelling. The smoothing effect of kriging, by its very nature, cannot retain or accurately characterise the dispersion (variability) that is inherent in gold deposits. This dispersion is a critical component of determining the desired level of ore loss and dilution.Fixed block model positions used in OK, and all estimation approaches, within a grade control process may never align with the ‘true’ ore boundary. This may lead to excessive ore loss and dilution, especially within narrow lodes.Using a risk-based approach to ore block design based on the geostatistical method of conditional simulation (CS) can highlight the differences achieved when an alternative method to OK is used for grade control modelling. By using a mesh of nodes and the application of a ‘transfer function’ to the simulation models, the position for ore contacts can be better assessed than when using fixed blocks in OK. Therefore, the value of various ore block boundaries can be better analysed by objective assessment of ore loss and dilution for a given minimum mining selectivity (selective mining unit or SMU), even in narrow lodes.A case study of a narrow vein gold deposit, comparing the results from an OK model and a CS model shows that whilst both models show similar trends – waste, low-grade, and high-grade regions are the same in both cases – the simulation model can provide greater insight for optimal definition of the mineralisation boundary.CITATION:Haylett, M E, Weeks, A, Matthews, G D and Khosrowshahi, S, 2014. Ore block design in narrow vein gold deposits – estimate or simulate?, in Proceedings Ninth International Mining Geology Conference 2014 , pp 421–424 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Aug 18, 2014

By A Harburg, A Dendys, G Green

Dugald River Mine (DRM) is located approximately 85 km north-east of Mount Isa, and 65 km northwest of Cloncurry, in the north-west Queensland Minerals Province of Australia. DRM is an underground operation and includes an above ground processing area, a 200 ha tailings facility, two waste rock dumps and associated infrastructure. The mining method is conventional underground longhole open stoping and downhole benching of a lead/zinc deposit within a black slate environment. The deposit is estimated to contain ~53 Mt of zinc and lead, which will be mined over a 30-year period. During operations, waste rock is segregated into either Potentially Acid Forming (PAF) or Non-Acid Forming (NAF) based primarily on the sulfide concentration of the rock. In particular, the NAF waste rock is an asset and is used for various small construction projects during operation; however, its primary use is for rehabilitation work at closure. Since beginning operations in 2017, DRM has generated more NAF than was originally anticipated. Whilst this is an excellent asset to DRM, it did pose a logistical problem of where to store the additional NAF for the life-of-mine and how to manage the run-off. DRM experiences distinct wet and dry seasons with hot conditions and periods of rainfall between November to April, and relatively dry and mild conditions between May to October. Majority of rainfall is received between January and February with an annual average rainfall of 501.1 mm. Short and intense rainfall events are common. DRM’s above ground infrastructure is land-locked between two large ephemeral watercourses, making the significant expansion of any assets challenging from a permitting/regulation and cost perspective. MMG is also a member of the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) and is committed to adapting to a changing climate through operations and closure. Following extensive studies DRM opted to store the additional NAF material into the adjoining NAF Dam and concurrently upgrade a previously minor sediment basin into a highly engineered sediment basin which relies on automatic flocculant dosing to meet the required discharge quality limits. This basin is climate-resilient in that the dosing system can be adjusted to counter high intensity extended rainfall events which produce highly variable inflow water quality. This abstract broadly describes how DRM designed and implemented an engineering innovation to enable the site to meet the changing climatic challenges. The abstract then describes the process to design the sediment basin and how the dosing rate was established and validated. Finally, the abstract comments on the effectiveness of the sediment basin and how it has revolutionised DRM’s approach to water treatment and management; all whilst minimising the disturbance footprint of the operation

Aug 2, 2023

By J Player, G Sweby, S Webber, E Jones

Seismic systems are a tool for the monitoring and forecasting the rock mass response to excavation. Common issues encountered at mine site audits and reviews are: how to design an effective seismic system, implementation of the design, interpretation of seismic source results and understanding the reliability of the seismic source. These issues are often a function of several items including: • Experience of site personnel in undertaking seismic system design. • Personnel not envisioning multiple phases of system expansion to understand system robustness issues. • System design/expansion occurring in response to damaging seismic activity rather than planned expansion of a system • The mine access development is often localised in comparison to the total orebody being mined hence, planning sensors in longholes in advance of development rather than in short holes close to development will improve the three-dimensional aspect of the network. • Limited site processing of the seismic event data, hence engineers do not see the uncertainty associated with event location, size, source and system layout. Mine site users require a framework to appreciate the challenges and limitations in locating large events. For example, event locations are given as precise measurements (to the nearest centimetre) whereas the volume of deformation resulting in the event often has dimensions of tens of metres or more (as defined by the source radius). A stronger awareness of the uncertainty of rock mass yield within large seismic sources will assist site users in the interpretation of rock mass damage. The encountered design and implementation errors are reviewed and discussed with a practical set of rules presented to provide a robust seismic system that provides consistent results and increases the user’s understanding of uncertainty in source location and size. The authors’ experience across multiple mine sites, seismic systems and damaging seismic events over a 30 year period has been summarised into practical rules for site personnel of all experience levels.

Nov 29, 2022

By J J. Jiang, B G. Bow

Atlas Iron Limited’s (Atlas) Abydos Mine has developed its Scarborough open pit proximal to a rock shelter that has been assessed as a significant Aboriginal heritage site by the Traditional Owners of the land. The rock shelter, named Yurlu Kankala, is located to the north-west of the pit with a stand-off distance of 35 m. Within Atlas’ Native Title Agreement with the Traditional Owners, and approvals from the Western Australian Department of Aboriginal Affairs, commitments have been made to conduct mining in a way that avoids or at least minimises disturbance and damage to the rock shelter. This complies with the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972 (WA) and respects the heritage and culture of the Traditional Owners.CITATION:Bow, B G and Jiang, J J, 2018. Iron ore mining in proximity to a significant Aboriginal heritage rock shelter, Pilbara Region, Western Australia, in Proceedings Life-of-Mine 2018, pp 2–5 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Jul 25, 2018

By B Hall

In feasibility studies the choice of optimum cut-off grade is typically based on an evaluation of tonnage grade curves and manual design of stopes at one or two cut-off grades. In the industry these stope designs are usually based on break-even cut-off grades, but there is little consensus on what cost and price assumptions ought to be included. A new tool for automated stope design has been developed that generates sets of stope shapes for a nominated range of cut-off grades, or depending on the nature of the mineralisation, cut-off values based on net smelter return calculations in the block model. The stope design procedure includes constraints in stope and pillar geometry for the selected mining method and can be used to evaluate sublevel interval and sensitivities to other design parameters in the specific geological and geotechnical environment. These ænested stopesÆ are analogous to ænested pitsÆ in open cut design, and can be used as a key input in the æhill of valueÆ methodology for the evaluation of the optimum cut-off grade in underground design. The results of many consulting studies indicate that a break-even cut-off grade will not be the optimum cut-off grade. A particular benefit of the new stope design tool is that the design rules used to establish stope shapes in the feasibility study can then be used in mine production, in an optimal and repeatable method. This methodology is being advanced in the AMIRA P884 PRIMO project, which is a new research collaboration coordinated by AMIRA International. The project has brought together active research groups in Australia and Canada, with the goal of developing a flexible framework and set of software tools for optimisation in underground mine design.

Jan 1, 2009

The Pacific Rim and its environment involves a vast array of natural phenomena, and a vast array of situations which show the impact of man. Almost half the world's population of over five billion live in nations" which border the Pacific, but the concentration is focussed in the North. Great experiments are occurring in this region, the industrialization and energy development in- Japan and China, the growth of Indonesia, (now 168 million - soon 368 million; Brown and Jacobson, 1986), the enormous developments of agriculture and the metals resource base in Australia and China. At the same time, the Pacific Rim does not project images of hopelessness, the mood is upbeat. Over the past decade, incomes have increased substantially in most of the major countries of Pacific Rim (e.g. over the period 1980-86, + 58% in China, + 21% in Japan, + 34% in South Korea; Brown and Jacobson, 1986). In September, 1986, at the general assembly of the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU) in Bern, Switzerland, representatives of over 50 nations approved a new initiative, "The International Geosphere Biosphere Programme: A Study of Global Change". The focus of this new program is "To describe and understand the interactive physical , chemical , and biological processes that regulate the total Earth system, the unique environment that it provides for life, the changes that are occurring in this system, and the manner in which they are influenced by man. The IGBP will be a tightly-defined programme of research, directed at providing fundamental knowledge that will serve as a basis for assessing likely future changes on the Earth in the next 100 years" (ICSU, 1986). For the earth scientist, and all resource scientists, there is an emerging agenda; new priorities are appearing, new questions are being asked. The recent report of the World Resources Institute (1986) focusses on this emerging agenda. Topics which are at centre stage in this report include the following: The environment and human health Tropical deforestation The atmosphere as a shared resource and climates Soil-degradation Rural-urban migrations Food and agriculture The diversity of species-ecosystems Freshwater as a finite resource Coastal areas and resources

Jan 1, 1987

By D A. Collins

The floatability methodology developed by the AMIRA P9 project through research contributions by the Julius Kruttschnitt Minerals Research Centre (JKMRC, Brisbane, Australia), University of Cape Town (UCT, Cape Town, South Africa) and McGill University (Montreal, Canada) has been successfully commercialised through JKTech. The methodology involves detailed flotation plant campaigns which require large quantities of data to fit models that can be used in JKSimFloat (a steady state simulator for the flotation process). The methodology to date, although widely accepted as the best flotation optimisation technology available, is limited to existing circuit optimisation and requires full plant or pilot plant data to calibrate new models. The floatability of new ore types cannot be characterised using this method unless a pilot campaign is undertaken. After reviewing a large database of existing industrial floatability data, a new methodology is proposed that involves a laboratory based flotation test procedure and review of the floatability database to characterise the floatability of new ores. The full methodology is labelled the floatability index test procedure (JKFIT). This paper outlines the JKFIT procedure and the results of applying this methodology to pilot plant data from a copper ore. JKFIT was applied to two different feed sizes (namely a P80 of 180 microns and 212 microns) of this copper ore. The results of applying JKFIT to this case showed that the metallurgical response (in terms of grade and recovery) from the full pilot plant survey data could be predicted well. Further validation of this methodology was conducted on a separate copper ore. The results from this validation also showed that the JKFIT test was able to be used to predict the full plant performance. The JKFIT test has the potential to become the 'drop weight' test of flotation which will improve the confidence in plant design flow sheet layouts, allow full orebody characterisation and prediction of key grades and recoveries before the ore enters the plant, and will provide an improved methodology for chemistry impact analysis on different ores.

Jan 1, 2008