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The Douglas mineral sands deposit is located 75 km north of Hamilton in western Victoria, Australia. The deposit was discovered in the late 1990s by Basin Minerals Limited and purchased by Iluka Resources Ltd in 2002. Prestrip mining commenced in December 2004, with ore mining commencing in August 2005. Douglas is the first of several projects being implemented by Iluka Resources Ltd in the Murray Basin, with all heavy mineral concentrate planned to be treated at the companyÆs mineral separation plant in Hamilton. The mineralisation at Douglas lies along the south-eastern margin of the Murray Basin. It is hosted by marine Pliocene Loxton-Parilla Sands and consists of three discrete deposits; Bondi Main, Bondi West and Bondi East. The mineralised sediments dip at a low angle to the west and lie unconformably beneath a veneer of top soil (50 - 100 mm) and subsoil (up to 600 mm) and between three to 12 m of overburden. The barren overburden, characterised by high clay content (<53 ¦m material) generally provides a stark contrast to the sandy ore, which is between 1 m (parts of Bondi East) and 15 m (Bondi Main) thick. Both overburden and ore are removed utilising standard dry mining techniques using both scraper-bulldozer and truck-excavator combinations. All ore is delivered to run-of-mine (ROM) stockpiles before being reclaimed by front end loader into the processing plant. Grade control at Douglas is based around visual dig control aided by high precision survey, which enables accurate reference to the resource drilling and block model data. Vertical excavator faces, inclined scraper faces plus regular test pits and trenches provide opportunities for in pit mapping and sampling. This data is used to refine not only the resource estimate for Douglas but also the drilling, interpretation and resource modelling methods used for similar deposits across the basin. The foundations of the geological reconciliation process at Douglas are the in pit surveys undertaken each time the mining fleet has completed building a ROM stockpile. These surveys and the subsequent interrogation of resource models enable robust estimations of the heavy mineral content of the stockpiles, which are subsequently used to predict the daily input grades into the plant during their reclamation. Reconciliation of this daily data is then undertaken at the end of each month against metallurgical production data and plant balances. Learnings and results from the reconciliation process are used to further refine subsequent resource models and modelling methods.

Jan 1, 2009

By Collin Stewart

Bowie Resources maintains one of the most pro-active ground control programs in the U.S. mining industry today. Its guiding philosophy is that everyone in the organization, from the miners at the face all the way through the top management, are involved in ground control. Some of the unique elements of the Bowie ground control program include: ? Roof bolt operators log the stratigraphy of test holes in nearly every cut. These ?lithgraphs? are used by section foremen to determine the need for additional roof support, and they are entered into the geologic data base for use in geologic modeling and mapping. ? Underground core drilling is conducted to obtain data for CMRR and stability maps. ? Weekly ?Quality? meetings, involving mine management and technical staff, are held to ensure that ground control information is integrated into production operations. The paper will describe the program in detail, discussing the involvement of roof bolters, section foremen, surveyors, technical staff, and production managers. It will also show how the program has contributed to the mine planning process. Case histories of successful ground control interventions will be discussed.

Jan 1, 2006

By M. van Biljon

The possible closure and subsequent flooding of South Deep Gold Mine?s neighbouring Randfontein Estates Limited No. 4 Shaft (REL 4) necessitated the construction of five concrete plugs in the connecting tunnels to prevent the ingress of groundwater into REL4 from flooding South Deep mine. Several technical investigations had been carried out before and during construction of the plugs in order to reduce the probability of groundwater flow through the boundary pillar between the two mines or through the rock mass immediately around the plugs. This paper describes the geological, hydrogeological and stability investigations carried out to evaluate the structural competence of the boundary pillar.

Jan 1, 2006

By B Xiao, J Yang, H Chen

"An EXTENDED ABSTRACT is available for download. A full-length paper was not prepared for this presentation. The Tuwu-Yandong Cu deposit, located in the East Tianshan mountains in the eastern section of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt, is the largest and economically most important porphyry Cu deposit in Xinjiang, China. It contains ~3 Mt of copper at an average grade of 0.46 per cent Cu and 0.2 g/t Au, with significant amounts of Mo and Ag. The deposit is mainly hosted in the Carboniferous Qi’eshan Group and plagiogranite porphyry, and is controlled by faults that are east–west-, north-west- and north-east-trending. Ore minerals in the Tuwu-Yandong deposit are dominated by pyrite, chalcopyrite and molybdenite, with minor bornite, chalcocite, magnetite, sphalerite and galena. Gangue minerals are mainly composed of quartz, sericite, chlorite, epidote, anhydrite, gypsum, muscovite, biotite, phosphorite, sphene, dolomite, actinolite, barite, albite and calcite. Based on the megascopic and microscopic textural relationships and mineral assemblages, five stages of hydrothermal alteration and hypogene mineralisation are recognized in the Tuwu-Yandong Cu deposit: the potassic stage, propylitic stage, phyllic stage, late veins stage and supergene stage. Most of the copper was deposited during the phyllic stage, along with less molybdenite.CITATION:Xiao, B, Chen, H, Wang, Y and Yang, J, 2015. Geology, mineralisation and alteration of the Tuwu-Yandong porphyry Cu deposit, north-west China, in Proceedings PACRIM 2015 Congress, pp 641–644 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne)."

Mar 18, 2015

By I M. Platten, S C. Dominy

The Clogau St DavidÆs gold mine has a recorded production of around 81 000 oz Au and it is the largest mine in the Dolgellau gold-belt and BritainÆs most prolific historical producer. The original mine was first worked for copper, however; in 1854, gold was found in waste material from the St DavidÆs section. In recent times the mine has operated intermittently between 1983 - 2007. The principal black shale-hosted gold-bearing reef (Main Reef) can be traced for about 3 km, striking approximately NE-SW and dipping steeply between 60¦ - 90¦ SE. The reef system pinches and swells, changes strike and splits into a number of smaller branches. Reef width is variable, ranging from over 6 m to a few cm and in places reducing to small irregular blobs. The reef is internally complex and composed of swarms of narrow (1 - 300 mm) subparallel veins separated by country rock sheets. The gold-bearing veins within the reef package are discontinuous; though generally possess bonanza grades running 10s - 100s oz/t Au. It has historically been shown that some gold-rich vein segments can grade up to 300 oz/t Au. The predictability of the gold-rich segments is poor, but has been shown to be related to presence of the Clogau (black shale) Formation, and/or the mechanical interactions of the reef with greenstone sills, reef branching and splitting and/or cross-fractures to form ore shoots. The mine is currently being re-evaluated as a potential small-scale selective operation.CITATION:Dominy, S C and Platten, I M, 2012. Geology, mineralisation and potential of the Clogau St DavidÆs mine, Dolgellau gold-belt, Gwynedd, Wales, in Proceedings Narrow Vein Mining 2012 , pp 101-120 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Mar 26, 2012

The Quiruvilca district, located 80 km east of Trujillo in north central Peru (Fig. 1), has produced over eight million tons of Cu-Pb- Zn-Ag ore from approximately 60 veins since 1789. "Quiruvilca means "sacred tooth" in Quechua, the lingua franca of the Incas. The expression refers to a prominent volcanic neck exposed several kilometers northeast of the district. The district covers an area of approx- imately 24 km2. The mines occupy the eastern quarter; workings underlie 6.7 km2 with a developed vertical range of 280 m. All pres- ently operating workings are owned by Corpora- cion Minera Nor Peru S.A., a subsidiary of ASARCO Incorporated. The oldest rocks in the area are Lower Cretaceous clastic sedimentary rocks exposed 7 km to the east. Lithologies include sand- stone, siltstone, shale, coal seams, and carbonates (Cossio, 1964). These rocks were folded and affected by regional low-grade metamorphism during the early Tertiary, 40-65 m.y. (Hollister, 1977).

Jan 1, 1987

By R. A. D. Pattrick, R. A. F. Ixer

Paper presented at Mineralisation in the Caledonides, the Mike Gallagher memorial meeting held in Edinburgh, 27-28 June 1996. At Calliachar Burn, 14 steeply dipping quartz-sulphide veins, with and without gold, infill master joints that crosscut gently dipping metasediments and metabasics of the Pitlochry Schist Formation. The wallrock is extremely bleached and enriched in sericite, chlorite and carbonate. Gold grades vary from high with quartz-galena-pyrite to low with galena-chalcopyrite; the gold forms electrum inclusions smaller than 20 micrometres in pyrite or, rarely, arsenopyrite. At Urlar Burn, gold is present in small amounts in 4 quartz-galena-chalcopyrite veins. Although much of the mineralogy is similar to that at Calliachar, there are significant differences in Sb-, Te-, Bi- and Hg-bearing phases. Fluid inclusion data suggest mineralisation occurred over the range 320-140 degrees C, from fluids with significant CO2 and 2-13 wt% equiv. NaCl. Mantle-derived fluids appear to have been generated during the late Caledonian and focused by the Urlar Burn fault

Jun 19, 1905

By W. K. Connor, O&apos

The Bureau of Mines is investigating the Co and Mn resource of the West-Central Arkansas District, including field investigations, mineralogical characterization, beneficiation, and hydrometallurgical tests. The deposits occur within the Ouachita Mountains and are con-trolled structurally, occurring along the axes of anticlines making up the mountain ridges. Brecciated novaculite is cemented with a mixture of Mn oxides, primarily cryptomelane and psilome-lane. Cobalt is concentrated within a particular Mn oxide phase, lithiophorite. Chemical analyses on head samples reported up to 25 pct Mn and 0.17 pct Co. Magnetic separation yielded products with up to 41 pct Mn and 0.22 pct Co at recoveries of 95 pct Mn and 93 pct Co.

Jan 1, 1991

By E. A. Domínguez

La Espingarda kaolin deposit was formed by ?in situ? alteration of volcaniclastic rhyolitic rocks belonging to Jurassic Marifil Formation. Three volcanic lithofacies were identified: porphyric biotitic ignimbrites (PBI), a coarse lithic ignimbrite (ILG), a fluidal intrusive rhyolite (RFI), all kaolinized in different degrees. The alteration covers an ellipsoidal area of ~20,000 m2, with its alteration decreasing downwards and disappearing at 8-12 m from the surface. The length to thickness ratio of alteration is 60:1. An erratic silicification was found as small zones (<3 m2) of quartz stockwork. The mineralogy is kaolinite + quartz + feldspars + Fe-oxyhydroxides ± halloysite ± illite and interstratified I/S, although the relative proportions change in each rock type. Due to coarse grain size and high quartz content, natural kaolin is unsuitable for slip cast ceramics, unless beneficiated. Washed ILG kaolin has the best rheological properties and behavior in casting and drying for its mineralogy, particle size distribution, thin texture and surface activity, as well as a certain fusibility and firing kinetics. PBI and RFI kaolins, due to finer texture, smaller grain size, lower surface activity, and higher halloysite amount, have worse slip viscosity and thixotropy that are due also to soluble salts. For the same reason, they have good casting and drying properties, but their purity brings about higher softening temperatures and water absorption. Several parameters are used to discriminate between hypogene or supergene kaolinite genesis. The hydrothermal genesis is mainly sustained by fluid inclusion temperature (150-180ºC) in quartz veinlets, while weathering is supported by deposit morphology, simple mineralogy, kaolinite stable isotopes (d18O ? 18, 13; dD ? ?59; ?85) and paleoclimatic record. It is concluded that a weathering process formed the main alteration with some participation of steam-heated meteoric waters. Neither the contents of Au, Ag, As, Sb, Hg, nor drill data support the existence of any epithermal gold mineralization at the kaolinite bottom.

Jan 1, 2010

By Henry Mulryan

THE largest and purest known deposit of diatomite is being actively mined and processed 3 ½ miles south of Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, Calif., by the Johns-Manville Products Corporation. The workings FIG. 1-LOCATION OF DIATOMITE DEPOSIT AT LOMPOC. cover 4000 acres, the depth of economically recoverable diatomite being 1000 ft. (Fig. 1). Lompoc, a community of 2500 population, is situated in the Santa Ynez River Valley 10 miles inland from the Pacific Ocean. It is 44 miles

Jan 1, 1936

By Morley C

The Mount Charlotte gold mine is located 0.75 km east of the General Post Office in Hannan Street, Kalgoorlie WA and about 3.5 km north of the Fimiston Operations on the famous Golden Mile.Mechanised underground bulk-mining at Mount Charlotte has been in continuous operation since 1963. For the 30-year period ending December 1992, the mine produced 22 million tonnes (Mt) of ore for a recovery of 2.73 million ounces. During 1991/92, the mine produced 1.53 Mt of ore at a head grade of 3.15 gramshonne (g/t) for a recovery of 135 822 ounces.The principal ore source at Mount Charlotte has been the Charlotte Orebody which is now largely mined out. Since 1990, approximately 75 per cent of production has been sourced from the Reward Orebodies. The Charlotte Orebody was a relatively homogeneous quartz stockwork with simple geometry and average bulked grades in the range of 4.0 to 5.5 g/t. This is in contrast to the Reward Orebodies and the more recently defined Charlotte Deeps and Maritana Stockworks, which have complex grade distribution and geometry with lower average bulked grades (2 to 4 g/t). The lower grades are principally due to the decreased density and volume of stockwork venation and related vein halo alteration. Typically, these stockworks comprise a patchy mosaic of quartz veins and vein swarms, with irregular distribution and geometry within the quartz gabbro host rock.

Jan 1, 1993

By Ihsan Berk Tulu, Haochen Zhao, Deniz Tuncay

The process of designing pillars and selecting support measures in underground coal mines relies highly on the accurate assessment of mining-induced loads and the load-bearing capacities of the supports. This study proposes a new method to estimate the percentage of load carried by the gob in underground coal mines using a new parameter that introduces the site-specific overburden geology.

Jun 1, 2023

By Ihsan Berk Tulu, Haochen Zhao, Deniz Tuncay

This paper proposes a new method to estimate the percentage of load carried by the gob in underground coal mines using a new parameter that introduces the site-specific overburden geology. The new parameter was defined as the total strong layer thickness (tstr) that represents the strength and stiffness of the overburden with a single value. Twelve field measurement case studies from 11 different U.S. longwall mines with different overburden geologies were used to develop the new methodology. 2D numerical models of these case studies (and additional parametric runs with different panel widths) were verified against field measurements such as surface subsidence and stress. Statistical analyses using the model results were conducted for a loading model with the new tstr parameter as one of the variables. The new methodology was found to have a coefficient of determination (R2) of 85% when compared to the field measurements and the parametric models. The method was then tested for practical implementation for pillar design. The percentages of load carried by the gob as estimated by the new method were implemented into the LaModel program, that is commonly used in the coal industry. The results obtained from LaModel were compared to the available field stress measurements, and the new method implemented into LaModel was found to give successful results.

Jul 18, 2022

By Mario J. Arenas

El presente texto describe la geología de la mina Hércules situada en el departamento de Ancash, sus nuevas interpretaciones volcanogenéticas, el zoneamiento mineralógico, así como las condiciones físico-estructurales de las rocas en que fueron diseñadas y las operaciones del sistema mecanizado de rieles.

Jul 20, 1980

By Julio W. Meza P.

El presente trabajo expone la geología al extremo este de Veta Calera en la compañía minera Orcopampa, Arequipa a través de la descripción del fallamiento regional de gran ángulo y orientación NW - SE, responsables de este gran Valle de Orcopampa - Andagua y así determinar los nuevos frentes mineralizados en base a las evidencias que nos muestra la zona. En consecuencia, solo será posible una relación favorable de mineralización a través de la determinación espacial de los posibles cuellos de domos volcánicos.

Aug 26, 1988

By Richard Keyon

El presente texto describe la geología, depósito, litología y fisuras de la mina de Toquepala. El depósito está situado en un terreno compuesto de volcanitas Mesozoicas y Terciarias, intrusionadas por apófisis dioríticas del batolito andino. La alteración hidrotermal se generaliza en la zona de mineralización. Los minerales de arcilla se presentan en abundancia en algunos sitios, pero su porcentaje está indeterminado. El cuarzo y la sericita constituyen los principales productos de alteración, y en muchos casos las texturas de la roca original han desaparecido.

Jul 1, 1958

By J. S. Page

El objetivo del texto estriba en una descripción del panorama geológico de las regiones en las que la Cerro de Pasco Corporation realiza sus operaciones de extracción y exploración por carbón, a fin sirva de pauta y guía en este proceso minero. Para ello, se muestran algunos diagramas y descripciones de la geología de Goillard, así como en Jatunhuasi. Posteriormente se anota el grado y los tipos de carbón obtenidos en el país. Finalmente se advierte de que a causa de su origen y subsiguiente deformación, los mantos carboníferos adolecen de defectos y no se logra una adecuada explotación venta del mismo.

Jul 20, 1960

By Fredy Llerena B.

El presente trabajo describe la geología del depósito minero Candelaria, perteneciente al distrito minero de Castrovirrey, Huancavelica. Dicho depósito está asociado a la actividad ígnea de centros y domos volcánicos del terciario medio o superior, mientras que la veta Candelaria está constituida por tetrahodrita, enargita, boulangerita, bournouita, jamesonita, esfalerita, galena, bismutinito, chalcopirita y como minerales de ganga, pirita, cuarzo, barita, oropimente, regelgar, marcasita, arsenopirita, así como hay lazos cimoidea. De otro lado, las intersecciones de vetas favorecen la mineralización y el Domo Volcánico Candelaria es favorable a la mineralización al igual que los tufos.

Oct 14, 1980

By J. Nelson Rivera

El presente texto señala la geología del distrito minero de Huarón, ubicado en Cerro de Pasco. Los depósitos minerales se han localizado dentro de un anticlinal asimétrico de doble hundida que se orienta al N 25°W. Asímismo, los precipitados se distribuyen según el zoneamiento siguiente: la zona del cobre, conformada por las asociaciones minerales de alta temperatura que acompañan tanto a la enargita que se ubica en la parte central del distrito como a la tetraedrita que se sitúa en la periferia; zona del zinc-plomo, constituída por los minerales de temperatura intermedia que acompañan a la esfalerita marrón y a la galena, que se sitúan en el área periférica a la zona del cobre; y la zona del zinc-plomo-plata constituida por los precipitados de baja temperatura que contienen minerales de plomo-zinc con valores altos de plata y que se sitúan en la periferia del distrito.

May 1, 1978

By U. Petersen B

El presente estudio señala la historiografía, geología, mineralización, tamaño, forma de estructuras y controles de la mineralización en el yacimiento minero de Antamina, Ancash. En 1850, Leonardo Pflücker fue el primer propietario y operador de Antamina. Posteriormente Vicente Lezamet trabajó en la región hasta 1914 obteniendo matas de cobre de 32%. Es a partir de 1951 que la Cerro de Pasco se interesa por el yacimiento, adquiriendo derechos de propiedad, e iniciándose el proceso de exporación hacia 1953. Con la experiencia y resultados de la primera campaña, se realizó la segunda etapa de exploración, culminándose en 1958. Los minerales más importantes son los granates verdes y marrón-rojizos seguidos de la clorita. La topografía del valle de Antamina es glaciar con valles en forma de "U" y está rodeado de lagunas de 30 hectáreas con una represa natural de roca. De otro lado, Antamina es un ejemplo de "metasomatismo de contacto", donde en los depósitos del mineral, existe un contacto entre un intrusivo y los sedimentos que lo rodean. Existen tres zonas en el área de Antamina: la zona de "Laberinto" situada al lado SE del valle, la zona lamada "Taco" al NW del valle, y "Usupallares" situada a un kilómetro al SW de " Laberinto". De las tres zonas señaladas, la primera, es la más importante puesto que allí están emplazados dos cuerpos mineralizados con leyes comerciales. El principal control de la mineralización son los agregados de cristales de granate, los que a su vez, obedecen a controles que no han sido todavía explicados con claridad. Sin embargo, los pliegues, fracturas y zonas de cizallamiento, constituyen controles importantes. Finalmente, dadas las características de este tipo de yacimiento, el proceso de exploración resulta muy costoso, requiriéndose gran número de labores para encontrar y delinear las zonas mineralizadas.

Jul 20, 1959