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A wide range of drill holes and process streams are sampled for resource estimation, grade control, and contractual purposes in the minerals industry. However, despite the availability of training courses, conferences and both national and international standards on correct sampling practices, it is still surprising how often little attention is given to ensuring that representative samples are collected for analysis. The reason for this is that the responsibility for sampling is often entrusted to personnel who do not appreciate the significance and importance of sampling, with cost being the main driving force rather than whether the sample is representative of the material from which it was extracted. This seriously undermines the precision and accuracy of the analyses subsequently generated and can render the analysis process a total waste of time and money and expose mining companies to serious, potential, financial losses. Company management needs to reverse this situation and ensure that sampling is given the attention it deserves to generate representative samples for analysis.

Jan 1, 2010

By M. C. Bhulose

Paper written on project work carried out in partial fulfilment of B. Eng (Mining Engineering) degree The purpose of this project was to identify constraints that could occur in the current sub-decline shaft at Turffontein Shaft should an increase in production take place. Particular attention was to be paid to the transportation of men and materials and to the broken rock and ventilation capacity of the shaft. This project is an in-depth evaluation of the logistic capacity of the sub-decline system at Turffontein Shaft in order to determine by how much production can be increased in this area to replace tonnages from the vertical shaft area, where ore reserves are rapidly becoming depleted.

Jan 1, 2004

By M. Visser

Keywords: Pyrometallurgy, furnace, ferrochrome, Samancor, ferrochrome process Samancor Chrome has been, and continues to be, a major player in ferrochromium production. The company has a proud history and possesses benchmark technology and operations. Currently five business units are operating: two sets of mines and three smelter plants. Samancor Chrome produces around one million tons of charge chrome annually. Chrome ore, intermediate-carbon ferrochrome, and low-carbon ferrochrome, form part of the portfolio. Electrode paste is also manufactured through a joint venture with Highveld Steel and Vanadium. Samancor Chrome has a balanced approach towards operational strategy, and has entered into a number of joint venture partnerships. Through its access to quality raw materials, knowledge, and experience of various production technologies, and its strategic abilities, Samancor Chrome is well positioned to reap the benefits from opportunities in the current and future industry context.

Jan 1, 2006

By H. Cevizci

"Numerical simulation of the plaster stemming method (PSM) was performed and compared with the conventional drill cuttings stemming method (DCSM). Many earlier in situ tests have proved that PSM can use the blast energy more efficiently than DCSM. Despite PSM generating more blast vibrations, it has advantages over DCSM such as better fragmentation and lower cost per unit volume of rock blasted. In this study, numerical simulation with Autodyn software using a 2D tool was employed to prove the efficiency of plaster stemming by comparing parameters such as pressure, Y-velocity, Y-force, internal energy, acceleration-Y, and compression. For example, the maximum pressure attained at the top of explosive column was 7 395 MPa for DCSM whereas it was as high as 11 945 MPa for PSM. Most of the computed parameters were significantly higher in PSM than those obtained for DCSM. This paper is the first study elucidating the efficiency of PSM by numerical simulation. It is concluded that PSM can save substantial amounts of money and effort. IntroductionThe stemming of blast-hole collars in surface mines with an inert material redirects blasting energy to the rock more efficiently, thus the blast-induced energy is utilized more effectively in breaking rock. With proper stemming, the gases should not escape due to loose stemming material. More efficient stemming with better confinement therefore increases the blast fragmentation. In addition, the distance of scatter is increased, giving rise to a looser rock pile that can be more easily loaded and transported. In order to improve the performance of a blast, stemming is used to help maintain the gas pressure over time (Konya and Konya, 2018). Proper stemming has been shown to increase the explosive efficiency by over 41% (Snelling and Hall, 1912).The most common stemming material in open pits and quarries is drill cuttings because of their ready availability at blast sites and the drill cuttings stemming method (DCSM) is a low-cost method. However, it has a major disadvantage in that dry drill cuttings eject very easily from blast-holes during an explosion, thus a great percentage of the blast energy is wasted and lost to the atmosphere. Cevizci (2012, 2014, 2013, 2017) studied blasting parameters in open pits and obtained better results with the plaster stemming method (PSM) in many limestone, basalt, and clay quarries. Moulding plaster is preferred for stemming because of the fast hardening time of 25–30 minutes."

May 1, 2019

In their excellent paper, Milev and Spottiswoode have provided quantitative and definitive descriptions of an important phenomenon that hitherto has been largely the subject of conjecture. They convincingly show that ?site-response? can amplify the strong ground motions on the rock-wall of a stressed tunnel by a factor of 10 to 12 compared with the PPV in the solid rock mass (at the same distance from source). This knowledge gives us a firm foundation from which to begin to build an understanding of the mechanism of damage resulting from a rock burst. Regrettably this understanding is still far from adequate, in my opinion. The authors of this paper, however, have made some statements that are too reassuring and which tend to reinforce the sense of complacency that prevails among many members of the rock engineering community on the deep gold mines.

Jan 1, 2006

By M. Matabane, T. Khati

"Accurate delineation of the contact between a kimberlite pipe and country rock at production level depths is a challenge due to limited geological data. Geological information is obtained from widely spaced diamond core boreholes which are drilled either from surface or from higher mining levels within the pipe. Kimberlite pipe/country rock contacts are notoriously irregular and variable, further reducing the confidence in contact positions defined by the drill-holes. At Finsch Diamond Mine (FDM), the opportunity arose to further improve the confidence in the contact positions relative to the planned slot (end) positions of each sublevel cave tunnel during the development stage of these tunnels. As a result, the accuracy of the 3D geological model has improved.The use of diamond drill core for this purpose is expensive due to site establishment requirements. The lengthy time taken during site establishment also delays the development of tunnels and support cycles, thereby extending the completion dates. FDM has reduced delays during development by adopting percussion drilling, in conjunction with gamma ray logging. The S36 drill rig is mounted on a moveable platform and does not require a costly and lengthy site establishment. The holes are generally drilled (0°/flat) on grade elevation, and these holes could also be drilled from the rim tunnels (developed in waste) into the kimberlite pipe. A single-boom production drill rig is normally used to drill holes about 20 m in length.On completion of the contact delineation drilling, gamma logging of the holes is conducted using the GeoVista geophysical sonde (or probe) to log the natural gamma signature of the dolomite/ kimberlite contact. The advantage of this tool is that the readings are continuous within centimetre intervals, and due to contrasting characteristics between kimberlite (rich in clay minerals) and dolomite, the contact position can be determined accurately. The better definition of contact positions also adds value to tunnel stopping distance in terms of developing the tunnel’s slot at the optimum distance from the contact (easier blasting of longhole rings, avoidance of contact overbreak and premature waste ingress, and other matters relating to extraction of ore from these tunnels). This method is highly successful and has reduced development costs (on-time completion), improved definition of the pipe’s contact position for geological modelling, improved blast design, and mitigated early waste ingress by maintaining the contact’s integrity."

Feb 1, 2019

By D. G. Krige

Using chip sample data and spatial structure parameters from a large mined-out section of a South African gold mine the advantages to be gained from a regular underground borehole drilling programme have been investigated for short- and medium- to long-term planning based on block valuations. The results have been compared with the current position, which relies invariably on the extrapolation of limited peripheral sampling data from raises, gullies or stope faces. Some preliminary work has also been done regarding the implications of such underground drilling on costs used for the present pay limit calculations. The results of the study, though preliminary, show that the net advantage of advance regular underground drilling could be substantial and that a more intensive follow-up research is warranted.

Jan 1, 2003

By L. Munsamy, B. J. Madden

OpenRisk, an open cast risk rating system, takes into account relative differences in the importance of hazards, as experienced on each mine as a result of different combinations of geotechnical factors and mining conditions. The system is based on critical geotechnical and operational parameters that have been identified by mining personnel and rock engineers. The primary advantage of this risk rating system is that all the strip mines would use an identical system, which enables the user to compare their risk to the risk at neighbouring mines and/or other open cast mines. The system can be adjusted to meet local, mine specific requirements. This system has been made practical and easy to use. Therefore, this tool can be used by personnel from other disciplines not directly related to rock engineering. OpenRisk system has been in operation at nine Anglo Coal and other open cast mines. It adequately detects areas of high risk and generates adequate remedial solutions to reduce the risks. Awareness of the personnel has been higher at the sites that use OpenRisk. The proactive approach of OpenRisk ensures that all personnel are aware of risks in the pits and how to deal with potential risky areas.

Jan 1, 2006

By M. Sephton

Slat-band chains, currently manufactured from Type 430 ferritic stainless steel, are used as conveyors in various industries. A process to strengthen these chains?with the aim of prolonging the lifetime of the conveyors?was developed recently. The process entails heat treating the cold-worked chain at 475°C,strengthening the material by precipitation of the Cr-rich phase a? at relatively long periods of aging. In the present work, it was found that increasing the interstitial content by solution heat treatments (at 880°C or 930°C) prior to cold rolling and aging, causes an increase in strength at shorter aging times as a result of the precipitation of chromium-rich carbides and nitrides. The solution treatments can introduce martensite into the microstructure if carried out at a sufficiently high temperature. This, along with the deformation caused by cold work, also increases the strength. Corrosion resistance is not affected by the treatments, but ductility is lowered. However, calculated critical crack lengths indicate that solution treatment at a temperature below the Ac1allows for a larger critical flaw size, and that the lifetime of the chains will probably be determined by fatigue. Although the duration of the service of the chains are reportedly controlled by wear, with these treatments the tensile strength of the material is increased to within acceptable limits for conveyor chains. The tensile strength is an indication of the wear or abrasion resistance of a material. It is expected that after the treatments, the wear resistance will be improved, but since embrittlement occurs, the fatigue resistance is lowered. It is concluded that the preferred processing route for the chains would be solution treatment at 880°C, fast quenching to trap the interstitial atoms, cold rolling and then aging at 475°C for 8 minutes.

Jan 1, 1997

By E. Harris

Frithia humilis is an endangered succulent plant species. Its distribution range overlaps with the coal fields of Mpumalanga and it is therefore threatened by opencast mining activities in particular. One of the 11 known populations of F. humilis was translocated from a licensed coal mining site to three suitable receptor sites within the species? distribution range. A longterm monitoring programme was initiated to track the progress of the newly established populations. Temporal trends in population demography, size classes, and fecundity were recorded. Population numbers of size classes fluctuated annually. However, flower frequency increased over time and seedling recruitment contributed significantly to population growth. Receptor sites with similar geological conditions to the donor site had more persistent cohorts, which suggest that such sites should receive priority during the translocation of endangered edaphic specialists. This study not only confirms that a Frithia humilis population can successfully establish after a translocation, but also serves as an important baseline for future comparative purposes to gauge the long-term success of the translocation effort.

Jan 1, 2014

By T. Bohmer, L. Auret, N. Pillay, Z. Horn, P. Rambalee, A. Haasbroek

As part of a broader digital technology-enabled transformation programme, a major mining company is systematically implementing Advanced Process Control (APC) solutions and associated instrumentation throughout their operations. This paper highlights the approach and benefits of this holistic approach for a specific instrumentation installation, and APC installation at a South African coal processing plant. For the coal processing plant under consideration, a systematic approach was followed. Process sections/units are considered from upstream to downstream processing. APC solutions are designed for each process section and each process section is interrogated in terms of availability of sufficient process measurements to ensure stable, capable, and ultimately, optimised performance. Where insufficient process measurements are available, instrumentation upgrades are implemented. Finally, APC solutions are implemented, and evaluated in terms of productivity, safety, health, and environmental benefits. For the flotation section, an opportunity was identified to install froth sensors. The installed froth sensors provide measurements on froth velocity, bubble size, height, colour, and stability. The improved visibility that the froth sensors provided on the flotation process resulted in quick gains in terms of productivity: for example, instability in the feed to the flotation section could be quantified. This resulted in targeted process troubleshooting in an upstream thickener, and subsequent improvement of process stability, and reduced feed variance. The measurements from the froth sensors were further integrated in an APC solution. Proportional mass pull contributions per cell and per line can be inferred from the froth sensors, serving as controlled variables, while pulp level set points serve as the manipulated variables. On-off tests indicated that the advanced process control solution provided increases in yield and product quality.

Sep 1, 2021

Experimental results are presented that test the hypothesis that the descaling behaviour of stainless steel slabs following reheating is controlled by interfacial roughening at the scale-steel interface. In this investigation, two stainless steels were considered: type 304 (austenitic, with 18% Cr and 8% Ni) and type 412 (ferritic/martensitic, with 11.6% Cr). It was found that the entanglement that arises at the scale-steel interface was in fact effective in maintaining scale-steel adhesion, under the mechanical descaling conditions used. In the case of type 304, descaling proceeded by fracture along chromite layers, which formed (by internal oxidation) on the austenite grain boundaries; for this steel, the extent of descaling depends most strongly on austenite grain structure, and not primarily on the conditions in the reheating furnace. In contrast, type 412 samples descaled only at the edge of the entangled zone, and showed a greater sensitivity to the reheating conditions; specifically, higher free oxygen in the reheating gas and longer reheating times were found to increase the residual scale thickness. Key words: stainless steel, reheating, scale, entanglement, descaling, fayalite, internal oxidation, grain structure, free oxygen.

Jan 1, 2003

By K. I. Afewu

A modified approach to the implementation of Gy?s sampling theory is discussed and used to design a procedure for sampling crushed gold ore feed to metallurgical process plants. The approach involves calibration of certain ore-specific parameters. These parameters were calibrated for two different crushed gold ores en route to grinding mills in process plants. The model predictions were compared with the predictions from Gy?s original model. Far smaller masses of samples are required by the modified model than by Gy?s model at the same relative variance. The representativeness of the sampling procedure if normally distributed errors are assumed was also calculated. These procedures and evaluations lead to significant savings on cost of handling and preparation of the samples and to a quantifiable degree of confidence in the analytical results for the process plant.

Jan 1, 1998

By R. Shen

This paper presents results of a feasibility study of recycling manganese furnace dust generated in production of ferromanganese and silicomanganese at Tasmanian Electrometallurgical Company, Australia. Dried manganese furnace dust contains about 20 wt% of carbon, in average 33.4 wt% of manganese and 1.3 wt% of zinc. Manganese in the dust is in the form of MnO, Mn3O4 and MnCO3; zinc is mainly in the form of ZnO andZnSO4. Analysis of the zinc balance with dust recycling showed that to keep zinc intake at the acceptable level, it should be partly removed from the dust. In the reduction laboratory experiments, zinc oxide was reduced to zinc vapour by tar of the dust. Reduction of zinc oxide started at 800°C and zinc removal rate increased with increasing temperature; removal of zinc was close to completion at 1100oC. Optimal conditions for removing zinc from the dust include temperature in the range 1000-1150°C, inert gas atmosphere and furnace dust fraction in the furnace dust-manganese ore mixture above 60%. In the sintering of manganese ore with addition of manganese dust in the sintering pot, zinc was reoxidised and deposited in the sinter bed. Removal of zinc in the sintering pot tests was in the range 4-17%. Up to 30% zinc removal was achieved from the bottom layer of the sinter bed. It can be concluded that zinc removal will be low during the processing of manganese furnace dust in the sinter plant. The zinc removal rate will be the highest when pelletised manganese furnace dust is added to the bottom layer of the sintering bed.

Jan 1, 2007

By Mark Coleman

Pnuematic Conveying and Process Injection Technologies have been implimented in the metals markets for the last 40 years and have consideribly improved the productivity and the performance of many processes. There have been many steps forward in handling technology and this paper seeks to consider those now offered by Clyde Materials Handling who as an established customer-driven solutions provider, which has turned its attention to supporting the Metals Market. Clyde seek to utilises its knowledge, expertise and technologies to transform the production processes of its customers, who operate in the ferrous and non-ferrous metals industries. With over 30 years experience in the process improvement industry, Clyde Materials Handling has helped their global customer base transform the way in which they operate their processes, which has enabled them to generate sustainable economic benefit and maintain their positions as leaders in their respective markets. Operators within the metals market have developed and deployed pneumatic conveying and pneumatic injection technologies. These environmentally supportive and sustain-able solutions have been used to transport raw materials within operating facilities, from storage to silo, as well as injecting these materials directly into the heart of production processes. Operators, such as Codelco in Chile, Corus Steel in the UK, and many others across the World have seen pneumatic injection solutions transform their process and costs. To inject a consistent, pulseless and accurate flow of material to a copper concentrate bath smelter, or injecting granular or pulverized coal as a coke substitute in to a blast furnace via the Tuyeres helps to increase the operational capacity, availability and productivity and reduce the cost of the operation. This paper will discuss and highlight the ways in which pneumatic conveying and injection technologies, created by Clyde Materials Handling, and applied in partnership with the customer, have helped to improve the operational performance of the production processes of operators across the non-ferrous metals markets with specific reference to applications in the Lead and Zinc Industries. With examples from Zinc Fuming in Australia, Zinc Calcine and Powder Handling in Korea, Precision coal injection to QSL and TSL Furnaces, and metered distribution of Zinc Calcine to Reactors.

Jan 1, 2008

The paper provides a brief review of a multivariate uniform conditioning and a localized multivariate uniform conditioning (LMUC) technique, and presents a production reconciliation case study based on a porphyry copper-gold deposit in Peru. The reconciliation study compares the longterm LMUC mineral resources model (typical of new mining projects, which are invariably based on drilling data on a relatively large grid) to the corresponding production blast-hole grade control model, as well as the final plant production.

Jan 1, 2014

By A. W. Dougall, T. M. Mmola

"SynopsisThe global resources and commodities market has become highly competitive. While southern Africa’s abundance of minerals resources is still unrivalled, it has lost considerable dominance in terms of production output. The sustainability of southern Africa’s mining industry is increasingly becoming dependent on its ability to manage the performance of its operations well. A valuable tool for monitoring and managing performance is the use of key performance areas (KPAs) – which are those areas of performance that are reflected explicitly or implicitly in the vision and strategies of an organization and reflect the critical success factors of the organization. This paper is a review of key performance areas in the southern African mining delivery environment. The KPAs discussed in this paper have been identified by comparing KPAs of the several mining houses engaged in surface mining operations in southern Africa and then extracting those KPAs that are common to most of them. Although the authors support the view that each organization should develop KPAs to specifically fit its needs, the study reveals that five KPAs – safety and health, costs, product quality, fleet management, and delivery should form a default list that covers the key areas that any organization should consider when choosing KPAs. KPIs are those subsets of KPAs that we measure in order to manage KPAs.IntroductionThe global resources and commodities market has become highly competitive. While southern Africa’s abundance of minerals resources is still unrivalled, it has lost considerable dominance in terms of production output. The sustainability of southern Africa’s mining industry is increasingly becoming dependent on its ability to manage the performance of its operations well. A valuable tool for monitoring and managing performance is the use of key performance areas (KPAs), which are ‘those areas of performance that are reflected explicitly or implicitly in the vision and strategies of the organization’ (Barker, 1997). The terms KPA and KPI (key performance indicator) are often used interchangeably – whether correctly or erroneously is debatable. KPIs are ‘quantifiable measurements, agreed to beforehand, that reflect the critical success factors of an organization’ (O’Neill, 2007). Each KPA probably has multiple KPIs associated with it."

Jan 1, 2015

By A. S. Macfarlane

Mineral resource management (MRM) practice has developed in South Africa over the course of the last ten years, with the purpose of integrating previously isolated technical functions into a value chain aligned, process organization, responsible for mine planning and optimization. The implementation of MRM within various companies has met with varying degrees of success, often resulting in incremental improvements in the planning process and, conversely, often becoming the scapegoat for poor delivery on plans and projects. The reason for this has been, amongst others, a lack of a suitable metric to define the success rate of MRM in the business at hand, in terms of its contribution to the bottom line. This paper is the result of extensive research by the author into this subject, which has resulted in the conclusion that economic value added is an appropriate measure that will lead to real optimization and value creation in mining companies, if applied within a new, holistic model

Jan 1, 2006

By M. Onifade, B. Genc, P. O. Akinseye, M. Fourie, K. O. Said

Coal is mined by both surface and underground methods and its extraction is normally characterized by numerous hazards that can lead to catastrophic accidents, which result in devastating effects such as injuries or fatalities, damage to mining assets, and destruction of mineral resources. These hazards exist due to the ability of coal to support combustion and its association with toxic, flammable, and explosive gases. Underground coal mining entails higher safety risks than opencast coal mining, chiefly because of issues relating to mine ventilation and mine collapse. Furthermore, coal mine collapses mostly occur due to crumbling of mining supports, especially in room and pillar mining systems. To avoid such adverse occurrences, safety management systems need to be in place. This study reviews the various technological safety systems and principles that are used for safe-rescue and self-escape of miners in underground coal fires, particularly in South Africa, using data obtained from Mines Rescue Services in Carltonville, South Africa. The outcome of the review shows that practising safety culture has been given priority across many South African underground coal mines through setting up safety management systems and encouraging workers to stay committed to safety principles.

May 2, 2022

By M. Moys

The use of temperature measurements for unusual applications in the analysis and control of column flotation and milling is discussed. This is followed by a review of some of the authors current research in the application of the discrete element method to the modelling of particulate processes, specifically milling, fluidized beds and chute flow.

Jan 1, 2005