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I would take this, opportunity of thanking you for the high honour you have conferred on me in electing me to the responsible position of President. You may rest assured I will use my best endeavours to promote the interests of the Institute in every way that lies in my power. In reviewing the work of the past year, it is a matter for congratulation to find the Institute in a position at once so healthy and robust, and that notwithstanding the acute depression which has prevailed in the mining industry.Owing to deaths or departures from the colony, the names of six members have disappeared from the roll of membership, but you will be pleaed to learn that several new members have been elected, the register now, showing 56 Members, 25Associates and 2 Students. A complete record of the papers read and the discussions that took place will be found embodied in the splendid volume of Transactions which has just been issued, and which I am sure will be welcomed by mining engineers in all parts of the world.

Jan 1, 1901

YOUR Excellency, Fellow Members of the Australasian Institute of Mining Engineers and Gentlemen:-Nearly a decade has passed since our Institute first met in New Zealand. May I, at the very outset of this second gathering, congratulate the Institute on the great progress that has been made in the interval. At the first meeting in New Zealand in the year 1903, I understand that less than 20 persons were present, and now in the large concourse before me I believe there are not fewer than 140 persons, while if every member of the Institute to-day where here there would be over 500 with usagreat change from a membership of only 250 in 1903. I feel deeply appreciative of the honour you have conferred upon me by electing me your President for the year 1911. In return for the compliment, may I ask you to believe that I shall do everythingin my power to further the interests of the Institute throughout the coming year.It is a great regret to me to realise that soon my work in New Zealand will be over. However, I trust that the new...

Jan 1, 1912

When Haematite Explorations Pty. Ltd. began prospecting for petroleum in 1960, there was only ill-defined geological evidence on the land bordering Bass Strait to support the belief that petroleum lay trapped in sedimentary formations beneath its shallow waters.A reconnaissance of the area, made in 1961 by the airborne magnetometer method, covered the waters and islands of the Strait and overlapped the Victorian and Tasmanian coasts. The survey indicated the presence of the Bass Basin (which is completely water-covered), assisted in outlining the Otway and Gippsland Basins, and showed that each basin contains sedimentary rocks over 10,000 ft thick. Information on the regional geology and minor volcanic activity was also obtained.Marine seismic surveys carried out from 1962 to 1965 defined these basins more accurately and showed the nature and structure of the thick sedimentary sections.Correlation of the seismic data with onshore wells identified the sediments as Tertiary and Mesozoic. Subdivisions of the former in all basins and the latter in the Otway Basin were made. These Tertiary and Mesozoic rocks are not seriously deformed and they have good prospects of containing petroleum.Possible structural and stratigraphic traps, recognized from the seismic record sections by petroleum geologists, are being tested by offshore drilling which began in 1964.

Jan 1, 1966

The mineral composition and microtextures of a cubanite-rich sulphide ore are described and cubanite breakdown textures are illustrated. The occurrence of cubanite in macroscopic dimensions is featured.The origin of the ore is tentatively related to a composite ore fluid arising initially from an ultramalic source and extracting some metal components from an older granite mass along the margin of which the serpentine was emplaced. Some alternative possibilities as to origin are also mentioned.

Jan 1, 1969

By Edwards A. B

A suite of specimens from the newly developed Black Star copper ore body at Mount Isa was made available for mineragraphic study by the Mount Isa Mines, Ltd. The specimens were selected as representative of the different phases of mineralisation found in the ore body, rather than with a view to furnishing a complete cross-section of it; and the examination has been carried out with a view to ascertaining (1) the nature, extent and association of the arsenic, antimony and possibly bismuth, minerals in the ore, (2) the mode of occurrence of silver in the ore, and (3) whether galena and sphalerite occur in minute forms well below the sIzes readily observed in hand specimens.Analyses of the January to June, 1944, mill head composites show that the proportions of the elements Ag, As, Sb and Bi in the ore are as follows:Ag 0.000013 = 0.35 oz./tonAs 0.024Sb 0:002Bi 0.0005The copper content of the mill heads ranges from 3.5% to 4.75%, the lead content from 0.03% to 0.08,% and the zinc content from 0.09% to 0.23%.MINERAL COMPOSITIONThe specimens range from massive sulphide ore, consisting of areas of chalcopyrite, pyrrhotite, and rarely sphalerite, from 1 to 3 cm. across, to fragments of extremely finely banded pyritic shale in which no minerals other than pyrite are visible. The gangue associated with the massive sulphides is chiefly dolomite, and sometimes white quartz. The pyritic shale fragments show evidence of shearing and faulting on a micro-scale, the fractures sometimes being filled with sulphides and vein minerals.The ore minerals found in the polished sections are pyrite, arsenopyrite, marcasite, sphalerite, chalcopyrite, valleriite, chalcostibite, galena, dyscrasite, jamesonite, magnetite, gold, graphite and rutile.Pyrite (FeS2)Pyrite occurs chiefly in two forms according to whether deposition took place along the bedding planes or along the intersecting faults and fractures. Deposition of pyrite along the bedding planes of dense, thinly banded shales ha,s produced a metasomatically altered shale in which the pyritic bands are from 0.02 to 0.03 mm. wide, and alternate with bands...

Jan 1, 1945

By J C. Waters

Pseudoclastic hydrothermal alteration textures occur within quenched coherent dykes forming part of a subaqueous dome complex (~4 Ma) onPonza Island, Italy. These textures are similar to those observed in considerably older (~500 Ma) subaqueous volcanic rocks at a number of localities throughout the Mount Read Volcanics in Tasmania and elsewhere in ancient volcanic sequences of this type in Australia. This is significant because the processes of formation, hydrothermal alteration and secondary mineralisation of ancient volcanic sequences may be better understood if we can make comparisons with modern analogues. Observations at Ponza imply that these pseudoclastic alteration features form synvolcanically or immediately after dyke emplacement and lava extrusion. This is compatible with scenarios presented for their formation in ancient sequences in the Mount Read Volcanics, Tasmania.

Jan 1, 1995

In several of the States of Australia, mining on private property has been seriously hampered by the fact that large areas of land have been alienated from the Crown before the discovery of gold or other minerals. In Western Australia this difficultyhas only occurred to a small extent, and has largely been overcome by an act entituled "An Act to Permit Mining on Private Property, No. XXIX., 'October, 28th, 1898." Under this act, the holder of a miner's right can apply for a gold mining lease on private land; such applicant may treat privately with the owner of such land as to the amount of compensation to be paid for surface ,damage, or the case may be brought before the Warden who will assess the damages. Private land used as a garden, orchard, or vineyard is exempt from lease, unless the applicant has authority from the owner, or such lease is limited to a greater depth than 100 feet from the lowest part of the surface.No lease shall be granted of any mines under any private land in any municipality unless either the applicant has authority from the owner, or such lease is limited to a greater depth than two hundred feet from the lowest part of the surface.The same regulation applies to leases of private land on which any hospital, asylum, or public building is situated or under or within one hundred and fifty yards laterally of any...

Jan 1, 1901

The New South Wales coal industry is a highly mechanised well organised industry which has developed from an annual production of slightly less than 13 million tons in 1950 to over 33 million tons in 1969. Although continuous miners were not introduced into the mines until 1950, by Jillle 1969 the percentage of coal won by these units was 87.3. The paper describes mining conditions in the various coalfields of the State, their complexities and problems and how these have been dealt with. The introduction of fully mechanised long wall faces has presented a challenge which has been accepted and descriptions of systems in use are discussed. Major expansion of the industry is anticipated to meet the requirements of the growing Australian steel industry, for local power generation and to meet the increasing demands of overseas markets.

Jan 1, 1971

By B M. Washington, R R. Lovel, G J. Sparrow, M J. Fisher-White

"Work in CSIRO with several Australian ores has shown that?by heating a high-phosphorus goethitic iron ore and then leaching with caustic or acid, the phosphorus levels in the ore can be lowered to a commercially acceptable value of around 0.08 weight per cent phosphorus (P). With increasing heating temperatures up to 1300¦C, the extent of phosphorus removal increased. This is considered to be associated with mineralogical changes in the iron oxide phases in the ore during the heating.Little phosphorus was removed from four high-phosphorus goethitic iron ores containing 0.12 - 0.16 weight per cent P in leaches with boiling water. However, leaches with sulfuric acid removed ten to 20 weight per cent of the phosphorus and leaching with sodium hydroxide removed even more phosphorus to produce leach products containing between 0.08 and 0.12 weight per cent P from three of the ores.After heating at 300¦C, leaches at a low pulp density of 0.5 weight per cent solids with 1 - 5 M NaOH and 0.1 - 1 M H2SO4 gave leach products with 0.06 - 0.09 weight per cent P. The lixiviant concentration required and extent of phosphorus removal depended on the ore. At a higher pulp density of 25 weight per cent solids, leach residues with between 0.07 - 0.14 weight per cent P were obtained.More phosphorus was removed from ores heated at 900¦C. Leaches at both the low and high pulp densities, with 1 - 5 M NaOH and 0.1 - 1 M H2SO4, gave leach products with 0.05 - 0.09 weight per cent P. However, the lowest phosphorus levels were obtained after heating the ores at 1200 or 1300¦C and leaching with 1 M NaOH or 0.1 M H2SO4. Leach residues with 0.02 - 0.06 weight per cent P were obtained, even from leaches at the higher pulp density of 25 weight per cent solids. Leaching tests on heated samples under heap leaching conditions at ambient temperatures have shown that phosphorus levels can be reduced to similar levels to that achieved in an agitation leach within ten days.CITATION:Fisher-White, M J, Lovel, R R, Sparrow, G J and Washington, B M, 2013. Effect of temperature on removal of phosphorus from Australian Goethitic iron ores, in Proceedings Iron Ore 2013, pp 373-380 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne)."

Aug 12, 2013

By A Reid

The Late Archaean of South AustraliaÆs Gawler Craton contains significant potential for gold resources. The main targets of interest are migmatised gold style systems of which the Challenger deposit is the best known example. This deposit is one of the lower cost gold producers in Australia due to the high-grade, low-tonnage nature of the mineralisation. Structurally controlled, metamorphosed deposit styles are also possible throughout the Archaean of the Gawler Craton, including occurrences within reactivated shear zones. More typical, lower metamorphic grade orogenic gold styles are also possible within greenstone host sequences identified in the central and southern parts of the Gawler Craton.

Jan 1, 2007

A study of drilling data at various stages of development of an orebody show that the semi-variogram, used for calculating the accuracy of block estimates can be ill-defined if too few data are available. The consequencesin this case are to have blocks supposedly more accurately known than is possible at the early drilling stage; such a result being potentially dangerous. However, as the amount of data increases the recalculated, semi-variograms approach the underlying semi-variogram of the deposit and the calculations made using them become more reliable and robust.

Jan 1, 1977

The Mount Lyell Mining Field is Australia's chief productive source of copper. It is situated near Queenstown, on the western flanks of the West Coast Ranges, about 20 miles from the west coast of Tasmania (Fig. 1).The following observations on the mineral composition of the copper ores of the Mount Lyell Field are based on a...

Jan 1, 1939

With a price slowly rising above US$35 per ounce gold became a mineral worthy of prospecting and mining endeavour in the early to mid 1970s. Fortune therefore appeared to smile onNew Zealand with its favourable geological environment for gold and past record of major gold production from both hard rock and placer deposits. This was a particularly welcome development as the post war years, including both the base metal exploration boom of 1967/1971 (which produced major nickel, iron and bauxite mines in Australia) and the earlier period of uranium exploration failed to produce any mines in New Zealand with the exception of the small Tui Mine and iron sand mining. Whilst hard rock mining now appears imminent it is 15 years further along the track since the 1967/1971 exploration boom and eight years since the upsurge in prospecting for gold in 1978. New Zealand still has no hard rock base or precious metal mining. This is not for want of proven or potential gold mining situations for these clearly exist at Waihi, Monowai Reef, Golden Cross, MacRaes Flat and elsewhere.

Jan 1, 1986

The recent paper by Dr. Edwards upon the copper deposits of Australia furnishes a perspective upon that portion of the Commonwealth's mineral deposits which is the more welcome because it has been long overdue. The paper yields in compressed form and in handy arrangement for reference the more relevant data to end of 1938 for all of Australia's important copper deposits 'past"and. present, and for many of the lesser ones. The information supplied 'obviously' has 15een collected' painstakingly and compiled with discrimination.Such published surveys of a national character have been far too few.The Mineral Resources Survey branch of the Department of Supply and Shipping at Canberra has been engaged for several years upon comprehensive compilations of data concerning each of the more important minerals used in industry. Presumably the results will be published after the war. The group will constitute an impressive and valuable series.As yet the work has not been completed, and, for security reasons, much of that which has been finalized is not publicly available. This makes the paper by Dr. Edwards the more timely.In the compilation of data by those not acquainted at first hand with many of the districts involved it is inevitable that, from reading of the literature alone, certain misconceptions will arise relationships become confused; and some of the more recently acquired information unavoidably fail to be taken into account. One need only compare his own impressions of a district, gained from reading the published literature prior to inspection, with the impressions later arrived at following a visit, to realize the difficulties in appraising the various features,in their proper relationships.On the whole, Dr. Edwards has, kept such misinterpretations at a minimum, which is a tribute to the care he must have exercised in analysing the vast fund of data perused. A few errors of statement, mainly concerning, Queensland deposits, have been noted. None is vital, but in the interests of accuracy it seems well to point them out.QUEENSLANDMount IsaOn page 108 Mount Isa's prospective output of 12,000 tons of copper per year is stated as coming from the Doherty section (O'Doherty, Black Rock mine, R.B.),- the copper ore-body is said to occur in dolomitic limestone (-Page 110)-, and Mount Isa's copper output for 1938 from that source is given as 22 tons. On page 145 the same prospective copper output is stated as coming from a body lying out in the hanging-wall of the silver-lead-zinc...

Jan 1, 1943

By D A. Cuello, G B. Sharrock

The Prince Lyell orebody at Mount Lyell Mine has a rich mining history commencing with the open pit in 1935, which transitioned underground in 1972. Between 1972 and 2014 a total of 64 Mt was mined underground as the mine extended from 210 m to 1100 m below surface. As the depth increased, three separate transitions in the mining method occurred to meet the changing geotechnical conditions, ore grade, mining costs and metal prices. The first was open stoping with pillar recovery in 1972, followed by front caving and longitudinal sublevel caving (1995), and finally transverse sublevel caving (2004 to 2014). This paper provides an overview of key geotechnical and planning milestones relating to the evolution of the mining method including underground stability, gravity flow, cavability and subsidence. Key aspects of the mine design, geotechnical parameters and rock mass response are described and critiqued with reference to observational, numerical and empirical methods.CITATION:Sharrock, G B and Cuello, D A, 2016. Geotechnical milestones at Mount Lyell Mine, in Proceedings Seventh International Conference and Exhibition on Mass Mining (MassMin 2016), pp 427–438 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

May 9, 2016

Lower Miocene Maryville Coal Measures at Waitewhena Coalfield, in the Taranaki coal region, include seams of sub-bituminous coal up to 4 m thick. During coalfield exploration Fletcher Challenge Ltd drilled ten cored holes, all of which encountered at least one seam. Coal quality is variable. Ash ranges from six to 12 per cent and sulphur from 0.5 to three per cent. A basal seam, overlying the Lower Mokau Sandstone, appears to extend throughout the area under investigation. A rider seam, of variable thickness, closely overlies the main seam in most drillholes. The rider converges with the main seam to the north and vertical trends in coal properties suggest that the seams are united in some locations. A less extensive seam sometimes occurs at the top of the coal measures beneath the Upper Mokau Sandstone. The lithostratigraphy of the intervening coal measures is complex, and coexistence of fluviodeltaic, lagoonal/lacustrine, and marine depositional environments is provisionally inferred. Lateral variations in coal properties (clastic derived ash, volatile matter, inertinite, hydrogen), thickness of the sedimentary parting between the basal seam and rider, texture of the coal measure sediments, and distribution of the upper seam all indicate persistence of a relatively low lying northeast-trending zone which may have been structurally controlled. Available data indicate that coal measure accumulation was terminated by marine transgression from north to south.

Jan 1, 1987

By Driver R. C, Moelle K. H R

This paper is dedicated to the memory of our friend Peter McKenzie who contributed much to the knowledge of the New South Wales Coalfields.ABSTRACTA fossil river system was recently mapped over parts of the Southern Coalfield, N.S.W. This river system occurs in the roof strata of the Bulli Seam. Sandstone of a fluvial nature was deposited in its course. The sandstone exhibits strong sedimentary vectorial properties and has a marked influence on strata-control in colliery workings.The sedimentary features analysed indicate an approximate S200W flow direction. Petrological studies reveal a clastic, well-cemented sedimentologically and structurally anistropic rock type. Washouts have been found and isopach maps of both sandstone and underlying roof-strata have been compiled. Relevant measurements were carried out in existing colliery workings and on bore cores.Optical determinations of feldspars revealed the presence of plagiocIase feldspars with few exceptions. Most of the feldspars are altered to clay minerals. It was found that a geographical trend exists in the distribution of feldspars, with more basic plagioclase in the northern part of the field.The source area of the fluvial sandstone lies to the north of the Southern Coalfield.Petrofabric analyses were done on several specimens of the fluvial sandstone. In the vicinity of major disturbances, penetrative fabrics were discovered.Calcites (e, 0112), micas (001), and quartz (crystalIo graphic c) show preferred orientations.

Jan 1, 1967

The Zeehan field has yielded over 190 000 tons of lead and 26,000,000 oz of silver. Moh of the production took place between the initial discovery of silver-lead ore in 1882 and 1920, and the greatest part was extracted from fissure lodes in the Proterozoic to (?) lower Cambrian rocks. It is demonstrated that the prosperity of the mines relied upon the silver content, which is apparently highest in these beds, particularly where spilitic rocks are associated with them. In contrast, galena occurring in orebodies emplaced in the Gordon Limestone is low in silver.Most of the workings are relatively shallow due in some cases to enrichment related to erosion surfaces.Fault zones within a complex anticlinal structure exposing the Proterozoic to (?) lower Cambrian formations appear to have been major factors in the control of mineralization.

Jan 1, 1968

The latest outcome of science is that aII bodies are composed of vibrating atoms or molecules. In almost all mineral bodies when changing from the gaseous or liquid condition to the solid, if the vibrating molecules are allowed free play, they arrange themselves in a symmetrical manner, and at a definite angle to each other: This angle varies with each system of crystallization. In a great many bodies this process may be brought about artificially, and the growth of the crystal watched. The most common method is to dissolve some substance in water or some other liquid, on slowly evaporating the liquid, the substance dissolved will solidify and the molecules will arrange themselves in their particular crystalline form.The element carbon crystallizes in two forms; as graphite in the form of a short six-sided prism', and in the diamond generally as the octohedron in the cubical system of crystallization. Orystalline bodies, as a rule, have plain faces but what is remarkable in the diamond is that in a great many cases the faces are rounded. Its great beauty as a gem when cut, and the high artificial value placed upon it by fashion, as well as its value as a cutting and boring instrument-it being the hardest body in nature-has caused many attempts to be made to form it artificially. These attempts have met with fair success as a scientific experiment, but as a commercial speculation they have been a complete failure. The most noted of these experIments was carried out by Mr. Hannay, of Glasgow.Paraffin spirit with lithium was submitted td prolonged heating in strong wrought-iron tubes securely welded. In most of the experiments the tubes exploded; but in a few cases the experiments were successful, and on cutting open the tubes small crystals of diamonds were found embedded in a black mass.Despretz produced minute diamonds under the influence of a powerful electric current from coal.

Regions with extensive reserves of brown coal but with inadequate deposits of hard coal provide a particularly suitable field for the application of brown coal petrology.In fact, this discipline is indispensable where brown coal is to form the basis for high-quality products of upgrading. Both chemical and physical analyses are required in addition to the techniques employed in coal petrology, but it is the macropetrographic and the microscopic investigations that are of decisive and specific importance.Foremost among the methods of upgrading brown coal is briquetting. From the raw materials aspect the biochemical rank of coal (i.e. the type of deposit) and the coal variety (i.e. the lithotype) exert a marked influence on briquette strength. These are also the significant factors in the suitability of a brown coal for high temperature carbonization; here the demands on coal quality are even more exacting if adequately sintered and therefore high-strength lump chars are to be obtained. The principle applies also to the char from low temperature carbonization. There are close relationships between the tar yield and the remission of the coal.The reflectivity measurement therefore provides a rapid method for evaluating the suitability of a brown coal for low temperature carbonization. Similar correlations have been established between the content of extraction bitumen (raw montan wax) and the remission. Petrological investigations show that the quality of the coal bitumen is a function of the type of deposit and of the lithotype.

Jan 1, 1968