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By M J. Sale

The Epithermal and Mesothermal Gold Prospectivity Modelling Projects recently completed by Crown Minerals provided explorers in New Zealand with a new compilation of historical exploration data combined with new geological information from the GNS QMap 1:250 000 scale mapping project. These data were used to produce predictive mineral potential maps for gold mineralisation in New Zealand. The aim of these projects, which was to stimulate mineral exploration and investment in exploration, has been successful with new companies acquiring new tenements and committing significant exploration expenditure to exploring in New Zealand in the coming years. The projects were undertaken at a national scale and consequently not all exploration data were compiled into the prospectivity models. HPD New Zealand Ltd recognised the value of the prospectivity modeling work and committed exploration funds to continue the modelling process started by the projects. They recognised the need to compile the remaining data and run the models again to allow detailed exploration targeting.

Jan 1, 2004

By Brechtel C. E

Providing adequate airflow to effectively dilute and remove diesel pollutants in large mine working headings is a little researched area. A simulated diesel mucking operation was carried out in the Exxon Colony Pilot Mine in Colorado to establish expected levels of diesel pollutants in dead-ended working headings. This heading was nominally 15.3 m (50-ft) wide by 9.2 m (30-ft) high. Two face ventilation systems were tested using sulfur hexafluoride tracer gas to represent the diesel pollutants. The results of these tests showed that conventional face ventilation systems operating at high flow rates could adequately ventilate diesel equipment in the 447-522 kW (600-700 hp) range, even in a dead heading 91.4 m (300 ft) in length.

Jan 1, 1988

By Matsuo T, Uga Y

The tunnelling work to construct a sewage trunk line designed by the Sewage Bureau of Kobe City along north side slope of Rokko mountain range incorporated an all ground condition type (broad spectrum) TBM with slurry transport system with jet pump manufactured by Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. Boring dia. of the tunnel measured to 2.0 m. The construction planning and implemen- tation were done by Ohbayashi Corporation, the general contractor. The heading way was 3342.4 m in overall length.; construction work ran from April '84 to June '85. The max. daily progress marked 31.9 m and the max. monthly progress 493.1 m according to the relevant record. The machine proceeded with the work under geological conditions featured with conglomerate, rhyolite, tuff breccia and slate, whereby soft soil zone mostly of clay was encountered in a limited area. In the latter case, however, steel segments were substituted for supporting steel ribs. The tunnel was routed beneath a meandering road with the result that more than 40% of overall length show a curvature of 50 to 200 m radius.

Jan 1, 1987

By A Dix

Fire suppression systems are but one of the many technologies currently available to manage operational tunnel risks. However, the actual reasons for their use are often shrouded in mischievous discussions of the marketing variety.The international tunnelling community still stands divided on the merits (or otherwise) of fire suppression systems. For some the debate focuses on their cost compared to the theoretical benefits they bring to human safety.Long standing concerns about their potential adverse effects in an emergency are often at odds with the experience from tunnels which use them. High installation and operational costs are cited as reasons not to use them, yet toll road operators and insurers increasingly use them as a risk mitigation strategy for toll revenue protection.Fact or fiction, myth or reality, should such systems be seriously entertained or are they just another expensive gadget in the escalating array of expensive toys for modern tunnels? Ultimately this presentation argues that they have their place as a risk mitigation measure to achieve a range of objectives. The exact circumstances for their use ultimately fashioning their design and operational characteristics. This is an abstract only. No paper was prepared for this abstract.

Mar 8, 2011

Green policies have gained momentum since the 1972 Stockholm Environment Conference. The environmental movement has influenced political initiatives both in New Zealand and abroad. Governments and international institutions have addressed local, regional and global environmental issues with varying degrees of success. New Zealand so far has not supported the United Nations' call for sustainable development in a,consistent manner.New institutions and new rules for resource management mean there are opportunities to look after the land in different and more ecologically sensitive ways than has happened in the past.The increasing influence of regional councils in resource management planning will have important implications for mining and mineral exploration. These trends are discussed and possible future events outlined.

Jan 1, 1990

By S Marsters

Imerys Tableware New Zealand Limited has mining rights to four deposits of halloysite, which are located about 203 km north of Auckland, New Zealand. These primary deposits were formed by the hydrothermal alteration and weathering of rhyolite domes. Halloysite clay is currently being mined from two of these deposits and then processed for export markets. From humble beginnings in the mid 1950s, the Northland halloysite was processed initially for paper filler markets and then for higher value tableware and technical ceramic niche export markets. The paper will briefly cover the geology and processing of halloysite and then examine the history of New Zealand China Clays Limited, now Imerys Tableware New Zealand Limited and then look to its future as part of global industrial minerals company, Imerys.

Jan 1, 2002

The need for the hydraulic transportation of coal in the New South Wales coal industry, both from the coal face to the surface and from the coal mine to the consumer or the port for export, is explained. Details of research projects currently in progress and involving the hydraulic transportation of New South Wales coals are given together with information on the hydraulic transportation of coal in the United States of America. The potential of hydraulic transportation as a viable alternative to the proposed expansion and upgrading of the New South Wales railway system to meet the projected New South Wales coal production to the year 2000 is described.

Jan 1, 1980

By G A. Partington

Recent research has highlighted the potential of a relatively new style of gold mineralisation related to granite intrusion. New discoveries in Alaska, Central Europe and Asia and Eastern Australia with total resources of 1600 t Au offer attractive targets for regional exploration in areas which may have been overlooked in the past. A spatial information system was developed to target granite-gold systems in eastern Australia and the West coast of New Zealand, using well constrained geological and exploration models derived from current research. Target areas were recognised in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand that have similar spatial data relationships to known granite gold mineralisation elsewhere in the world. The second phase of the modelling better constrained the regional scale target areas by including more detailed geological, geochemical and geophysical data in the GIS to develop prospect-scale targets and to allow the acquisition of tenements over these areas. A geological review of each target area was carried out in the field to put the GIS models into context. The fieldwork has highlighted the potential for this style of mineralisation in New Zealand and will increase investment in mineral exploration and development in New Zealand in the near future.

Jan 1, 2005

This paper discusses the implementation and potential limitations of the method for estimating sampling and analytical errors of multiple source mine output blended into a shipping product, described by Everett and Ziegelaar (2010). The practice of quality measurement varies between iron ore miners. The common objective is to monitor effective resource utilisation and control of product quality to customers. A flow diagram is given presenting the various options used by iron ore mine operators and the merits of the different options are discussed.

Mar 1, 2010

The prospect of utilization of phosphate ores which contain high P205 values associated with Al and Fe has produced a great deal of interest over many years. Processing options have generally been based on the utilization of by-products which were required to offset the processing costs.This paper presents a range of processing options which have been investigated at laboratory or technical scale on phosphate ores which predominantly consist of crandallite, CaA13(PO4)2(OH)5.3H20 and millisite, Ca(NaK)Al6(PO4)4(OH)9.3H20. Christmas Island (Indian Ocean) and Mt. Weld (Western Australia) phosphate ores are good examples of such feedstocks. It is expected that these processes may also be applicable to such phosphate ores from other locations.

Jan 1, 1990

By J A. M Luz, A T. Bernardes

HukkiÆs law is an empirical law, which does not take into account several events of energy loss during the fragmentation processes. Since experimental results are very difficult to obtain, for a large range of fragment sizes, the verification of the law is very difficult. The relation between fractures and fragmentation processes with fractal geometry was proposed some decades ago. Empirical laws known in this context show basic features of fractal geometry, mainly self-affinity and power law behaviour. Thus, in this work a model was developed to simulate the fragmentation process and to check the relation between energy consumption and fragment sizes. The model is represented on a regular lattice. Links can represent pathways for fracture processes. The events of fragmentation have energy given by a probability distribution function. In the model there is no mass loss. Propagation of fractures occurs as self-avoiding random walks on the regular lattice.

Sep 26, 2011

By D J. Brake

In most underground mines, the ventilation system is a significant portion of the total mine capital and operating cost and the largest consumer of underground electrical power. The effectiveness of the ventilation system has a major bearing on the safety, health, comfort and morale of underground personnel, and has a critical role in meeting production targets and therefore business revenue. Perhaps the most important component of the primary ventilation system is the primary fan. Correct performance testing of the primary fan during the warranty period is important not only to ensure the mine has obtained the asset that it paid for and can therefore deliver on the fanÆs crucial safety and economic role in the future of the mine, and to provide a justification for releasing final performance warranty payments to the supplier, but also to provide a benchmark or baseline against which to assess future performance issues. As there are at least three potential international standards available to measure fan performance, there has been considerable confusion regarding which of these to use for testing primary mine fans, and also the correct allowances and tolerances to use. This paper provides guidance on which standards to use for different applications, how the standards should be interpreted, what allowances and tolerances are reasonable, and other important issues to be resolved with the fan supplier prior to making a contract award. The paper also discusses practical issues and methodology for in situ primary fan performance testing.CITATION:Brake, D J, 2013. Performance and acceptance testing of main mine ventilation fans, in Proceedings The Australian Mine Ventilation Conference , pp 141-148 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Jul 1, 2013

By M Noakes

EcoTechnology refers to a series of potential metallurgical processes for complex ores, concentrates, tailings and slags that are all based on an initial chlorination step at low to moderate temperatures probably in a fluid bed chlorinator (FBC). Examples of the research and development (R&D) results are provided in this paper for a high grade Au/Sb Leach Tailings (EcoGold<sub>®</sub> Process), a very refractory sulphide Au concentrate, a refractory gold calcine tailings, a Cu/Au tailings (EcoCopper<sub>®</sub> Process), bulk polymetallic sulphide concentrates and polymetallic sulphide/oxide complex ores (EcoZinc<sub>®</sub> Process and EcoLead<sub>®</sub> Process). R&D on over thirty different ore types has been conducted at a bench scale as discussed. Latterly a dedicated pilot plant was designed and constructed by EcoTech Mining Pty Ltd (EML) and several of the different feed stock results have been confirmed by pilot plant testing. It is planned to scale up to a commercial demonstration plant. To demonstrate the versatility of EcoTechnology, bench and pilot plant test results on five of the projects are used as case studies as follows: Fosterville ‘leach tailing’, VIC; Wiluna flotation concentrate – BIOX Feed, WA; Wiluna calcine facility tailings, WA; Mt Morgan Cu/Au tailings, QLD; Polymetallic sulphide concentrates from Pegmont Deposit, QLD and Polymetallic sulphide/oxide ores from Commonwealth Mine Project, NSW. CITATION: Noakes, M, 2018. Improved recoveries and environmental outcomes from complex ores utilising EcoTechnology, in Proceedings Complex Orebodies Conference 2018, pp 122–123 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Nov 21, 2018

By A Tsoy

This abstract describes long-term mining schedule optimisation approach that may be suitable for complex marginal projects and is based on modern scheduling techniques. CITATION: Tsoy, A, 2018. Strategic mine schedule optimisation, in Proceedings Complex Orebodies Conference 2018, pp 91–92 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Nov 21, 2018

By M A. Tuck

Air blasts or wind blasts as they are termed in underground coal mining, occur in a number of types of underground mining where a void develops and the overlying or adjacent rock fails rapidly to allow the development of a high pressure air pulse. The effects of air blast vary widely from very low consequence to high consequence events causing multiple fatalities as occurred at North Parkes mine. The aim of this paper is to examine the phenomena of air blasts and the underlying parameters which determine the severity of the air blast event. A basic model under development is then detailed. The aim of the model is to determine the magnitude of the pressure pulse(s) developed during an air blast event. This, combined with a transient ventilation network analysis model will enable the airflows and associated pressure drops to be determined and allow the pressure pulse around the mine to be evaluated. The overall aim is to allow mining engineers and mine ventilation engineers to undertake a risk assessment of air blasts at individual mine sites, allowing working parameters to be changed to eliminate or reduce air blasts, or engineering controls to be developed to reduce the effects of air blasts.CITATION:Tuck, M A, 2013. Determining the pressure pulse for an air blast, in Proceedings The Australian Mine Ventilation Conference , pp 103-106 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Jul 1, 2013

This paper examines the complex interplay of deposit characteristics, mining plans, tailings disposal techniques and rehabilitation requirements on planning for mineral sands operations. All component parts of this mining cycle are interdependent and cannot be evaluated in isolation when optimising a mineral sands operation. This is most evident when projects are large-scale or involve resources that contain complexities such as high slimes content, consolidated hard band materials, acid forming materials and radioactive materials. Projects located in environmentally sensitive areas add further to the need for more stringent planning. This paper describes the analysis techniques adopted by Hatch to evaluate mining and tailings placement options for a dredging and floating concentrator system. The principles and methods used in the analysis are applicable to any mining system involving the complexities listed above. The focus of this paper is on the reconstitution of mined material as tailings and the impact of this process on mining schedules and tailings construction and placement options.

Jan 1, 2001

With the use of 36 rock drills of the jackhammer type at the West Lyell Open Cuts of the Mt Lyell Mining & Railway Co, it is of importance to determine the economic as well as the physical life of these machines. With this purpose in mind records have been kept of the footage bored and the cost of new parts placed in each machine, and the following procedure adopted.A graph is plotted for each machine showing the footage bored as a horizontal line and at each 5000 feet of boring the total cost of new parts is noted on this line (see Figure 1). Thus at a glance it is possible to see the amount of work done by each machine and the money spent on it in new parts. However, it is difficult to visualise from this graph the increase in the cost of new parts for each machine as its life advances. To obviate this clifficulty a curve is plotted with the cost of new parts as the vertical component and the distance bored as the horizontal component.As before the cost of new parts are taken at each 5000 feet bored (see Figure 2).

Jan 1, 1994

By C Sylvestre

Leaders have invested heavily in traditional safety management to improve safety performance over the years. This primarily involved: • fixing the environment (eliminating the hazard) • improving the system (more/less rules, procedures etc) • making safety more conscious (more/better interactions about the importance of safety). These approaches have helped improve safety performance significantly during the last 50 years and will continue to play a role in the future. Although these approaches may be part of an overall solution, they are not enough to prevent many incidents. Today, these three approaches are used more than before, and are used better than ever before. Yet, workplace fatalities in Australia have stagnated from 2013 to 2019, as have the number of incidents, even serious ones. In the USA, workplace fatalities have increased by 15 per cent in the same period.

May 5, 2022

Government established and financed the NZ Steel Investigating Co in 1960. Its investigations showed that a steel industry was feasible and desirable based uponNorth Island titanomagnetite ironsands, and charted a route for its establishment. The initial processing used post-1945 preheating and prereduction developments, but later innovative improvements created what was essentially a new New Zealand technology. Of the North Island titanomagnetite deposits: the small ones at Waipipi were best made available for export; those at Kawhia and Taharoa were too remote for the economic siting of a mill; that at Raglan proved too small; while at Waikato North Head three times the requirement of 50 million tons of concentrate were located in two sand areas averaging 18 per cent titanomagnetite. Economic studies showed that a South Auckland site would be ideal, close to New Zealand's biggest market. The mill site, on a basalt flow at Glenbrook, was located by a half-day's fieldwork - near both the Waikato North Head deposit, and a railhead for bringing in Waikato coal, etc, and taking out steel products.   This development was one of several since World War II which altered significantly the lives and homes of New Zealanders (others were natural gas, oil, geothermal power, epithermal gold, aluminium, opencastable lignite, etc). All had the essential ingredients of the highest government backing, direct or indirect government finance, and first-class New Zealand scientific and engineering skills (eg to create new technologies). Not one such project failed.

Jan 1, 1993

By V Malysiak, N J. Shackleton

In the flotation of platinum group minerals pyroxene is a major gangue mineral. This study shows using zeta potential and ToF-SIMS analyses that when pyroxene is exposed to copper, nickel and/or calcium ions in solution at alkaline pHs a surface reaction occurs between the hydroxy species, in the case of copper and nickel, or divalent calcium ions and the pyroxene surface which influences the floatability of the pyroxene. Following exposure to copper and nickel ions at pH 9 addition of SIBX resulted in the pyroxene floating readily. It is also shown, in the case of copper, that the activating effect of the adsorbed copper hydroxy species can be reduced by the addition of complexing amines prior to SIBX. Proposals are made to explain these observations.

Jan 1, 2005