Search Documents

In the context of sustainable development, the Minerals Council of Australia (2010) states that 'investments in minerals projects should be financially profitable, technically appropriate, environmentally sound and socially responsible'. In other words, the business of mining can only be sustained if these criteria are met.   Science and technology plays a major role in all four of these criteria. This paper will present the technology and innovation emerging from the Minerals Down Under National Research Flagship which brings together CSIRO and more than ten of Australia's leading universities to work with industry to drive efficiency, productivity and environmental performance. This work is required if the Australian minerals sector is to thrive and continue to deliver national benefit in the face of increased global competition, declining ore grades, depleting ore deposits, increasingly constrained national resources (land, energy, water and people) and changing societal expectations.   Science and technology to reduce emissions and water use, discover greenfields resources, enable deeper mining operations and transform mineral processing are described. Technology is presented as an enabler of sustainability: a means to this end but not as an end in its own right.

Jun 1, 2010

The Acid Leaching Process for the Synthesis of Zeolitic Material from Paper Sludge Ash

Sep 13, 2010

By K Watanabe

A relational database in which its complex contents can be navigated through a map interface (ie spatially enabling) is relatively a new concept yet attractive for geoscience fields. This concept is made possible using the new breed of geographic information system (GIS) that utilises component object model and relational database management system. Such sophisticated yet open and highly interoperable platform makes possible the integration of data management, analysis, and modeling processes into single workflow. Taking benefit of this technology trend, several initiatives emerge in geoscience to establish digital data models, such as the petroleum industry, the North America digital geologic map data model, and the ESRI geology data model. The mining industry unfortunately has not followed same paths due to the lack of data model and standards in its history. This paper presents an effort on establishing a digital data model for mining-related geoscience databases. The aim is to promote several standards by proposing a preliminary data model and demonstrating that the model is working for the mining business datasets. The case study is the island of Java, the western part of the Sunda island arc of Indonesia. Many types of datasets, such as geologic maps, topography, mineral deposits, structures, geochemical and geophysical data were dealt with and were transformed relational geologic databases of Java using the new Geodatabase geographic data model. Intelligent GIS tools were investigated for geologic applications, ranging from generic to specific purposes. Subtypes and domain were used to set up constraints, while topology rules and relationship classes were used to create links among data layers. The linear referencing system was used to model drillhole data. The current results show that the generic GIS and relational database can handle typical tasks related with mining business datasets. A preliminary data model is finally suggested.

Jan 1, 2004

By D H. Lee, J F, J H. Rubinstein

This paper examines the problem of optimising the life-of-mine costs of an underground mine, focussing particularly on the costs associated with the underground development needed to provide access to and haulage from the ore zones. This mine optimisation problem is modelled as a network and a solution technique is outlined. The effectiveness of this solution technique is then demonstrated by applying it to a prototype test example and some actual case studies. Finally, extensions of this technique to other underground mining problems are discussed.

Jan 1, 2000

Applicaton of Agricultural Residues from Pyrolysis in Flotation of Black Coal

Sep 13, 2010

By B Nielsen, H Lehto, J Rohleder, C Robben

Sensor-based ore sorting is being increasingly used to reduce the amount of low-grade and waste material processed in mineral concentrators. This type of preconcentration provides bottom-line benefits to users by reducing the amount of energy, water and consumables, as well as reducing capital cost. Existing operations can increase metal production, while previously uneconomic deposits and low-grade stockpiles can also be exploited. The technology can also be used to separate ore types for selective processing. The path to implementing sensor-based sorting may include:• geometallurgical evaluation• first inspection testing to investigate sensor response• bench-scale testing where sensor selection is not obvious or for difficult applications• performance testing in full scale sensor-based sorting machines• larger scale site-based piloting with a temporary semi-mobile plant installation. Sorting requires material to be suitably prepared and presented to the machines and typically this consists of crushing and screening to limit top size and optimise liberation. However, where material streams are suitably sized and prepared, additional equipment may not be required (e.g. the sorting of semi-autogenous grinding (SAG) Mill pebble streams).This paper presents a case study of economic upgrading of gold ore, by preconcentrating with sensor-based ore sorting. The case study examines sorting amenability, test work, the feasibility study through to implementation, with associated flow sheet development. The development process is analysed and evaluated with a view to rationalising the process for development of future projects. In addition, limited financial modelling based on expected results is shown to illustrate the benefit to the operation.CITATION:Nielsen, B, Rohleder, J, Lehto, H and Robben, C, 2017. Sensor-based ore sorting to maximise profit in a gold operation, in Proceedings MetPlant 2017, pp 131–146 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Sep 11, 2017

By W Roy

When it comes to plan implementation and securing success in organisations in the 21st century, if there was such a thing as the secret to success it would be effective communication. Commoditisation brings financial, operational and cultural advantages to organisations that use effective communication. Effective communication tools turn æpeople problemsÆ into system control solutions, removing personality clashes that hide procedural malfunctions. By introducing communications frameworks available in the market place today, and case studies of their use, this paper provides insights into the successes available to organisations courageous enough to redefine their communications for the 21st century.

Jan 1, 2006

By S Smit, P J. J Strobo

ZINIFEX Century Mine is a zinc, lead and silver concentrate producer. Flotation is the primary method of minerals separation in this circuit. The flotation circuit is quite large with 79 flotation cells. The levels in each of these interconnected cells are controlled at more than 45 level control stations. Due to the multivariable interaction throughout the circuit, good level control was found to be difficult to achieve by just using normal Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) control. As a first step in advanced process control, the FloatStar Level Stabiliser, a multivariable controller developed specifically for flotation circuits, has been commissioned at Century mine to solve the level control problems. The first section of this paper therefore discusses and shows the results and improvements obtained by using the FloatStar level stabiliser. The results and benefits of the FloatStar Flow Optimiser are discussed in the second section of this paper.

Jan 1, 2004

In the past two and a half years, over 40 000 metalliferous mining and related services personnel have been trained through an Australian Generic Safety Induction system. This is almost half of AustraliaÆs metalliferous mining related workforce. This remarkable industry acceptance and delivery of safety courses is supported by Acacia Resources, Great Central Mines, Homestake, Newcrest Mining and WMC Resources, amongst hundreds of other mining, exploration and major contracting and services companies. MARCSTA; the Mining and Resources Contractors Safety Training Association (a pro-active not-for-profit self-help group of 24 major contracting companies) developed this generic safety induction. MARCSTA set out to find the æcommon groundÆ necessary to help address the evident safety problems and cost of re-training that were plaguing development of an internationally competitive and productive export industry. The incredible expansion of Australian mining during the decade fuelled a need for out-sourcing, resulting in much larger numbers of contractors on-site. At the same time, changes within Australian legislation, community expectations and the development of huge fly-in/fly-out operations and widespread skills shortages led to a rapid labour turnover and a higher paid workforce. Many Australian mining houses also ran international operations, particularly in South East Asia and head hunted people across the world. The skill levels fluctuated and fell at some local operations. Employers could no longer rely on systematic in-house training of permanent employees to improve safety and productivity as workers could and often did move on. Serious discrepancies in both quality and quantity of safety induction training and work practices occurred. Repetitive, boring and ineffective safety training became an embarrassing and costly burden for companies and workers alike. Then a spate of mining deaths sparked highly publicity, workforce concern and a demand for improvement from government, unions and corporate stakeholders. MARCSTA recognised it had to develop a high-quality safety-training program to satisfy the needs of all employers and be acceptable to others within the industry. This induction system had to be flexible enough to meet differences in legislation between states and industry sectors and be portable to enable cost and time savings for the new transient workforce. Changes in the last two years as a result of evaluating and incorporating various Taskforce inquiries into underground mining fatalities later led to the development of the MARCSTA Underground Safety Induction. This logical development added to the run away success of MARCSTAÆs General Safety Induction and was seen to be essential for many surface mines that were planning to develop underground operations. There are many lessons that MARCSTA learnt during its development that Pacific and South East Asian mining operations can benefit from. The most important of these are the support of stakeholders within industry and the recognition of higher safety and health expectations from workers and government. This goes hand-in-hand with the productivity and return on investment expectations of companies and their shareholders.

Jan 1, 1999

By K L. Brown

In the Waiotapu geothermal area only Champagne Pool, 109 ng/L, and Waiotapu Geyser, 7.6 ng/L, have dissolved Au concentrations greater than 5 ng/L and most springs have concentrations less than 2 ng/L. When Au concentration data are combined with other physico-chemical data from each spring including; pH, reduced sulphur concentration and temperature, the degree of Au saturation can be calculated. All samples sites except Champagne Pool, Waiotapu Geyser and the Artists Palette are under-saturated with respect to Au(s) by 1 to 3 orders of magnitude. This indicates that adsorption or co-precipitation or both are important processes depositing Au beneath hot springs. Deposition of Au by adsorption or co-precipitation beneath hot springs implies that dissolved Au may not have to reach saturation concentrations for ore to deposit. This interpretation is supported by the presence of substantial Au as sub-microscopic components within sulphide minerals in ore deposits and indicates depositional efficiency beyond that possible through precipitation of Au(s).

Jan 1, 2004

By Y Xie, D Willingham

Predictive maintenance (also known as ‘condition/health monitoring’) refers to the intelligent monitoring of equipment to avoid future failures. In contrast to conventional preventive maintenance, the maintenance schedule is not determined by a prescribed timeline; instead, it is determined by analytic algorithms, such as machine learning, using data collected from equipment sensors and/or via simulation.Predictive maintenance offers the following benefits for operators and equipment manufacturers:- reduces equipment downtime by identifying issues before failure, thereby enabling convenient scheduling of equipment service and extending equipment lifetime- determines the root cause of the failure, enabling appropriate service to be performed without utilising resources to determine a diagnosis- avoids the unnecessary costs of maintenance and unexpected failures- improves safety and product quality.Algorithms and data are critical to predictive maintenance success. Sensor data is first preprocessed using advanced statistical and signal processing techniques; it is then combined with predictive modelling techniques, such as machine learning, to estimate equipment health.Once tested, predictive maintenance algorithms may be used in an operational setting within an IT environment, such as a server or cloud. Alternatively, algorithms may be implemented in an embedded system directly on the equipment, allowing for faster response times and significantly reducing the amount of data sent over the network.CITATION:Willingham, D and Xie, Y, 2017. Predictive maintenance modelling for bearing-based equipment, in Proceedings Iron Ore 2017, pp 627–630 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Jul 24, 2017

By M Lentz

This paper will discuss the issues associated with blasting in an urban mining environment that have been addressed by Winstone Aggregates at the Mt Wellington Quarry. These issues include - control of vibration and air overpressure, repeatability of shot performance, fragmentation on an extremely low maximum instantaneous charge, compliance with Territorial Authority regulations and perception. Over the last two years, in order to address these issues, Winstone Aggregates have undertaken a programme of continuous improvement, which has included; ò implementation of new technology; ò revising site procedures; ò conducting an investigation into the structural response of local buildings; ò investigating safe extrapolation; ò extensive public consultation; ò establishing credibility during the consent process; ò identification of perception issues; and ò building relationships and trust with neighbours. The issues addressed at the Mt Wellington Quarry have increasing significance for traditionally rural mining operations, as the input of the local community being urban or rural, increases. New and existing operations have the potential to adopt best practice now, building trust with the community and raising the profile of the industry.  

Jan 1, 1999

A variety of cement raw materials occur within the Cenozoic sequence in Northland. These form the basis of Golden Bay Cement's cement manufacturing operation at Portland, Whangarei. High grade limestone is taken from the Whangarei Limestone formation, which has been shown to have been sub-aerially weathered and developed mature karst features prior to deposition of the overlying allochthon sediments. In this instance, remobilisation of allochthon sediments following uplift and erosion is inferred. At Portland Quarry, argillaceous limestone is extracted from deformed thrust sheets in the allochthon sequence. Quarry operations have been designed to handle the steep asymmetric folds, thrust faults and fracture zones that affect the resource.

Jan 1, 1999

The 115-year history of the Hall-Heroult process for production of aluminium has been characterised by a sustained technology-driven improvement in costs and productivity. In the past decade the industry has effectively transferred best practice into older technology with improvements through computer control of the process, and redesign of cell linings using computer modelling . Incremental development is now at the point where diminishing returns will apply for further technical improvement effort however, until the gap between technical limits and current best practice is addressed through major process redesign. The process remains a long way short of its technical limits in energy consumption, carbon anode consumption, cell life and product purity. Investment cost in new capacity is very high, supporting the retention of older and less efficient technology and hence limiting the application of best practice in environmental performance and occupational health exposure. The industry is a major emitter of greenhouse gases yet the process has the potential to release oxygen as the primary waste. All of the above issues will be addressed in the new century, but only through commitment to the necessary long-term research and development that is required to achieve a redesign of the process.

Jan 1, 2000

By D Yan, D Connelly

Beneficiation of magnetite is an integral part of the future of iron ore processing. Historically, the focus of Western Australian producers has been on exporting direct shipping ore (DSO) namely haematite. The future for new DSO resources is limited so companies are changing their emphasis into processing the very large, undeveloped magnetite ores in Western Australia (WA), using beneficiation to produce shippable magnetite concentrates. These magnetite resources require higher cost processing techniques such as fine grinding and beneficiation to produce saleable concentrates. This distinct difference, from the DSO ores, has led to the development of a number of new technologies. This paper reviews: the different techniques used for magnetite beneficiation and provides some case studies in the WA industry; the use of mineral liberation analysis (MLA) to describe the nature, grain size, occurrence and associations of the mineralisation;the consideration of coarse cobbing as a critical upgrading; the application of high pressure grinding rolls (HPGR) to save energy; how the field of magnetic separation has resulted in new machines with higher field strength (SLon Separators); ultra fine grinding requirements of magnetite concentrates; andthe application of reverse flotation to reduce silica in the concentrates.

Jan 1, 2009

Application of Kriging in Approximations of Grained Materials Characteristics Distribution Functions

Sep 13, 2010

This paper discusses the prediction of subsidence over partial extraction systems in thick coal seams. A model based on empirical techniques using influence functions is developed to calculate the surface ground settlements above extraction panels. Independent of the influence function, two field parameters, the subsidence factor and the angle of draw (limit angle) are required to define the model. Both these parameters are best observed from critical or super critical subsidence areas. However in thick seams, extraction widths are typically sub critical and therefore it was necessary to refine an estimation process for sub critical conditions. Partial extraction systems in NZ are characterised by variability with respect to extraction thickness and depth. As extraction proceeds along a panel, conditions deteriorate once the critical span width is exceeded and therefore percentage extraction decreases. A further variable was introduced to the modelling which allows for varying extraction sequences. Two comparisons with field observations, one over a partial extraction panel, the other over abandoned workings, showed the method gave good agreement to measured subsidence values.

Jan 1, 2002

In August, 1975, North Broken Hill Limited announced that an intersection of 37.3 m of high grade lead-silver-zinc mineralisation, assaying 26.2 per cent Pb, 495 g/tonne Ag and 21.2 per cent Zn had been obtained at its Mine at Broken Hill, 520 m north-east of its No. 3 Shaft and slightly below the No. 36 level (1581 m). Subsequent drilling confirmed the presence of the extension of the Broken Hill Orebody on the north-western side of the Globe Vauxhall Retrograde Shear Zone and defined 1.8 million tonnes of high grade mineralisation. The area containing this mineralisation was subsequently named the Fitzpatrick Area in tribute to the late Mr. W.E. Fitzpatrick a former Member of the the Board and Manager of the Ccnpany's Broken Hill operations. This paper describes in brief the exploration programme leading up to the discovery, the general geology of the area and the proposed future exploration progranme for further extensions of the orebody within the mining leases of North Broken Hill Limited.

Jan 1, 1983

By C Bailey, T Kojovic, M M. Hilden, M S. Powell

The Julius Kruttschnitt semi-autogenous grinding (SAG) mill model was developed by Leung in the 1980s and extensively updated to the variable rates model by Morrell and Morrison in 1996. Since then only minor upgrades have been incorporated in the version distributed in the JKSimMet simulator. A number of improvements, developed over the course of the AMIRA P9 project and in recent independent work, have now been incorporated. These improvements are based on a power-based model that directly relates the degree of breakage with energy consumption. The new size-dependent breakage function has been incorporated. The upgrades include more accurate predictions for a wide range of mill fillings (ten - 40 per cent), slurry hold-up in the mill, pebble discharge rate and the influence of changes in feed size and ball load.The paper presents the status of progress in the model development. The upgraded model will greatly enhance its application to challenging design and optimisation studies required to optimise the performance of SAG milling circuits.CITATION:Kojovic, T, Hilden, M M, Powell, M S and Bailey, C, 2012. Updated Julius Kruttschnitt semi-autogenous grinding mill model, in Proceedings 11th AusIMM Mill OperatorsÆ Conference, pp 71-80 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Oct 29, 2012

By R J. In, C Moore, P J. Moffitt, T Hansen

Telfer Gold Mine combines a world-class gold and copper resource and longevity of operation as a major gold and copper producer. Telfer Gold Mine has undergone a series of transformations since mining commenced as a high-grade narrow-vein oxide open pit operation in 1977. In 1986, the open pit operation converted from a narrow-vein, high-grade operation, to a low-grade high-volume oxide mining operation utilising dump leach processing technology. Mechanised underground mining of the high-grade narrow-veins commenced in 1990. Total recovered gold production between 1977 to 1999 has totalled 5.7 million ounces. The Telfer Extension Project consists of two pre-feasibility studies, the Surface Extension Project (SEP) and the I-Series Project (ISP). The combined studies represent one of the more significant resource evaluations undertaken in the gold industry in recent times. Geological activities for the SEP pre-feasibility study have included the drill definition of a large low-grade resource within an area of 25 km2 . The surface drilling program has completed 15 000 metres of HQ3 diamond drilling and over 30 000 metres of RC between last quarter of 1998 and late-1999. The ISP pre-feasibility study is currently evaluating the resource potential of both a high-grade low-volume and a lower grade bulk mining scenario, 800 m to 1200 m below the surface of Main Dome. 15 000 metres of underground diamond drilling have been completed between last quarter of 1998 and August 1999 as part of this study. Systems and cultures have been developed to maximise safety, monitor the quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) on all aspects of the operation, and minimise impact on the environment. All data are stored in database systems, specifically designed for Telfer operations. 3D geostatistical resource estimation using ordinary kriging has been carried out for over 220 geological domains within the 25 km3 of mineralised system. Non-linear geostatistical techniques are being investigated as part of the pre-feasibility study.

Jan 1, 2000