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In 1975 the US Bureau of Mines (BOM) under contract with the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), began a systematic mineral resource evaluation of Indian reservations in the United States. The purpose of the BIA/BOM program was to stimulate economic development on Indian lands through exploration and mining ventures with the mining industry. Since that time, 109 phase I reports (literature studies) and nearly 45 phase II and phase III (field studies) reports have been written by the BOM. The various tribes in conjunction with the BIA have access to these reports for decision making regarding mineral resource development.

Jan 1, 1990

The mining industry in common with the rest of Australian industry is in the critical situation of facing a rapidly diminishing insurance market. Huge industrial complexes and massive mining risks with limits of liability of millions upon millions of dollars are becoming increasingly difficult to insure. Insurance underwriters are still reeling from the financial shocks of cyclones, floods and fires in Australia over the past couple of years. Risk Management which calls for manage- ment involvement in the control of losses offers a serious challenge to miners, industrialists and insurance underwriters alike. Without it the insurance market could disappear altogether.

Jan 1, 1975

By Collins L

The commercial success of a mining project can be strongly influenced by the business activity which takes place away from the mine site. The project revenue is determined by marketing success which results from persistent research and full realisation of suitable products and by-products and appropriate upgrading achieved in conjunction with proper material security and insurance. Significant costs of transport can be optimised, protection of the environment carefully managed and skilled employees acquired as a valuable asset. Working capital requirements are often substantial and should be carefully established and financed, possibly by special contractual arrangements for product sales.

Jan 1, 1997

By Wickham P

Digital computer based control systems are used to implement control and monitoring over most unit operations in Mount Isa Mines Limited lead-zinc concentrator and copper concentrator. Implementation has been gradually devel- oped and expanded since the first process computer installation in 1969. Operations currently using high level control logic include crushing, grinding, on-stream analysis of flotation products, flotation reagent additions, and tailings thickening. Details of gains in metallurgical efficiency for each system are considered.

Jan 1, 1978

By Gadsden R. W

Physical and chemical requirements are defined for coke and ferrous materials used in modern high productivity blast furnaces operating in Australian conditions. Recent developments in the type of equipment required to be installed at the steelworks to ensure these requirements are described with illustrations from current plant practice provided.

Jan 1, 1976

The smaller mining company with full ownership of, or participation in, a mining project is generally unable to obtain funding as easily as the major mining house. While the equity market remains the main funding source for small projects, debt fund- ing options are becoming more available. Many international banks possess in-house mine fin- ancing expertise which can assist the smaller company in financing its share of project development. A clear understanding is necessary of both the benefits and limitations of bank funding, to ensure that all potential sources of funds are properly considered and integ- rated into the financial plans of the smaller mining companies.

Jan 1, 1984

Two recently published studies have considered whether and how robots, which have been designed for manufacturing applications, could find use in mining. The conclusions of both studies, if not identical, are compatible. Automation of mining activities will continue. Robots, at least in the short term, will have little application in mining. However, robotic concepts, both hardware and software, are of considerable relevance to mining automation, and can be anticipated to diffuse gradually into mine environments. The present paper is intended to convey the current state of thought on this subject to IFAC Symposium participants who may be unfamiliar with the referenced studies, and is not intended to report previously unpublished research.

Jan 1, 1985

By Xin J

In China, the State-run mines are currently practising an information card management system, to collect data about mine production and safety condition. Since large volumes of data will be obtained every day, efficiently and effectively processing data and sorting out valuable information will take enormous resources of manpower, if by hand. Therefore, an intelligent database system with easy data inputting was developed to assist information processors in data classifying, filing and retrieving. For analyzing and improving production performances, reliability models and production functions were embodied. The system was implemented on AST-286 in DBASE M. Preliminary applications have proved effective and successful.

Jan 1, 1991

This paper suggests the models for determination the optimum life of machines on the basis of sum and difference of investment and maintenance costs. The economic-mathematical models are based on complex percentage method taking into account the time factor of referring cost. The following strategies of maintenance policy have been considered in machines repair: a strategy without investment, a strategy with continuous investment and a strategy with step-like investment. The effect of value of investment in repairing and time interval of investment on optimum machine exploitation life has also been considered. An illustrative example is presented.

Jan 1, 2003

By Adamiak Z. P

A study has been made of the influence of bentonite type on the wet strengths, dry strengths and drying rates of pressed iron ore pellets. Measurements of the influence of bentonite on the kinetics of growth of pellets are also reported. The results show that bentonite decreases the rate of growth of pellets and the drying rates of pellets while increases are observed in both wet and dry strengths. The results have been interpreted in terms of the physical and chemical charact- istics of the bentonite and the suitability of a given bentonite for particular pelletising operations has been discussed.

Jan 1, 1973

By W F. Bawden, J T. Paynter

This investigation involves laboratory testing and stability analysis of paste fill at the Golden Giant Mine. Site-cast samples are tested in unconfined, confined, and consolidated-undrained triaxial compression. Pore pressures during shear and consolidation characteristics are measured to determine both drained and undrained shear strength parameters and assess the potential for undrained loading. Liquefaction potential is also considered. A limit equilibrium solution is used to obtain factors of safety against failure of the fill during mining of adjacent stopes.

Jan 1, 1998

This paper examines the properties of Australian indigenous crude oil and the changes to Australian refinery process- ing required after the Gippsland crude finds in the late '60s. In addition the paper details the dif- ferent crudes available to Australian ref ineries and the relative product yields in relation to Australian crudes. Market demand for petroleum products both now and in the future is then related to the products yields. The paper also examines the impact of the OPEC induced crude price spiral and the subsequent changes in refinery engineering, current and projected market demands, and energy conservation measures both inside and outside the industry.

Jan 1, 1982

Although most N.S.W. coal mines contain large amounts of combustible materials such as coal and timber, the introduction of mechanisation has extended the range of combustible materials now found underground. The role of combustible material in a fire is not clearly understood and as a result the assessment of these materials for flammability by small and large scale tests is doubtful. Extensive research has been carried out on the toxic and irritating gases evolved during the combustion of plastics. However, most autopsies report death due to carbon monoxide inhalation because the combined toxicity of smoke and fire gases is unknown.

Jan 1, 1981

Within the Ross River Basin, the following types of water were collected and analysed; 19 streams, 24 wells and bores together with 19 samples from the Ross River Dam. The waters were found to contain up to 269 ppm of silica and, although they meet the requirements for industry in all other respects, this extremely high figure means that two basic guidelines should be followed. All steam generation units, except those less than 150 psi should employ hot lime zeolite softening, demineralization or evaporation to remove silica. Cooling systems should only operate on a once through basis.

Jan 1, 1978

By Rawlings C. D

An assessment is made of the potential for thick seam underground mining of black coal in Australia. A brief summary is given of the geomechanical environment and previous mining history existing in a number of areas of particular interest from the point of view of thick seam mining. A classification of thick seam mining methods is presented with emphasis on the critical geomechanical para- meters influencing the performance of such methods. A summary is made of perceived geomechanical research requirements related to thick seam mining in Australian coalfields.

Jan 1, 1980

By Zieg GA

The Sheep Creek Project lies 30 km north of White Sulphur Springs in the Little Belt Mountains of central Montana. Homestake Mining Co. discovered base metal anomalous pyrite beds downdip from gossans in 1974. Cominco American began exploration in 1976, consolidated adjacent properties, and joint ventured with BHP-Utah International in 1985. High . grade Cu and Cu/Co mineralization intersected in a 1985 drill hole led to discovery of two separate deposits. The project area now covers over 175 km2 and is being actively explored for Cu, Co and Zn in a shale hosted bedded sulphide system.Proterozoic Belt Supergroup sediments host the Sullivan Pb/Zn deposit, stratabound Ag/Cu ores of the Revett Formation at Troy and Rock Creek, and base metal rich pyrite beds at Sheep Creek.

Jan 1, 1990

The aspect ratio (mill diameter/mill length) of autogenous and semi autogenous mills varies widely and can be as high as three or as low as 0.5. The literature on the subject of what effect aspect ratio has on grinding mill performance or energy efficiency is almost non-existent. However, at the design stage of many grinding circuits the subject is often vigorously debated amongst metallurgists. In this paper the performance characteristics of mills with different aspect ratios are examined to determine whether process performance characteristics are a function of aspect ratio and whether high aspect ratio mills are any more or less energy efficient than low aspect ratio units. Data from both pilot and full-scale mills are used for this purpose in open and closed circuit configurations.

Jan 1, 2007

ICI Australia has been developing PC-based software to assist the blast engineer to design and monitor open pit blasts. The scope of this software differs significantly from commercially available mine design packages.The software is designed for routine use in a normal production environment. The system enables the engineer to produce practical documents which include: a drilling plan, a loading sheet, a hook-up diagram, an inventory of explosives and auxiliary items, and other data on the blast such as tonnages and powder factors.

Jan 1, 1992

By Samyguin VD, Filippov LO

The aim of this paper is to emphasise the importance of knowing of the rate of the elementary flotation acts (EFA) - attachment and detachment. By studying the simplest linear model notion of the column flotation, the results of the nonlinear simulaton of flotation separation in the column with lengthwise upward mixing show two principal different types of separative mass-transfer in the column. The first is, the case of a small EFA intensity, almost without the detachment. The second is, the case of a big EFA rate, when the process is close to a local attachment-detachment equilibrium. There is also an attempt to estimate the EFA rate for three different kinds of quartz particles, floated by cation collector in the laboratory column apparatus.

Jan 1, 1993

The paper contains the publication of timber shapes recovered from the Burra Mines during open cut operations in the 1970s. The timber was in the process of being disposed of for fire wood. All timber shapes still in existence in September 1990 were drawn.The collection revealed a number of different types of caps and legs. There were also end plates and wall plates from what appeared to be a hanging sets of shaft timber.

Jan 1, 1993