Search Documents

By C Young

The identification of Critical Risks, their associated Critical Controls, and the implementation of processes to ensure their ongoing management can be difficult and resource intensive. Answering the following Critical Risk Management related questions can be challenging: • What is a Critical Risk? • What is a Bow-tie Analysis and when should it be used? • What is Critical Control? • How is the effectiveness of a Critical Control assured, and how is this measured? • Who is responsible for managing Critical Controls? • What are the implications if a Critical Control is not effective? It appears that in the mining industry’s efforts to implement the Critical Control Management Process outlined by the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM), instead of embedding an integrated, well understood, value adding process, we have instead created a resource hungry monster that is poorly understood by numerous layers of the organisation.

May 5, 2022

By C Young

In the vast expanse of Western Australia’s mining sector, a critical issue has come to light: many mining operations overlook the power of a Broad-Brush Risk Assessment (BBRA) to uncover their critical risks. This oversight has led to a cascade of challenges, where some mining endeavours find themselves grappling with: - Unidentified and unmanaged fatal risks, casting a shadow of uncertainty and heightened compliance risks. - A bewildering landscape where the concept of critical risks remains enigmatic, with some mistaking the risk register for the BBRA. - A fog of confusion surrounding the guardianship of these critical risks, leaving safety responsibilities blurred and undefined. Yet, the solution lies within our grasp. An effective BBRA empowers organisations to: - Pinpoint with unwavering certainty every ‘true’ critical risk. - Clarify ownership for each critical risk, ensuring accountability and swift action. - Create a prioritised roster of critical risks, illuminating the path to safer operations. - Lay the foundation for essential follow-up actions like bow-tie analysis, the identification of critical controls, and the fortification of the safety and health management system. Join us in this presentation, where we delve into the heart of an industry-leading BBRA process. Discover practical insights that will enable your organisation to craft and implement BBRA strategies, bridging the gaps in your journey toward preventing fatalities and fortifying safety protocols.

Apr 16, 2024

Many problems result when coal mine shafts are built in complicated geological conditions and serious shaft lining ruptures have often occurred in the eastern part of China since 1987. Grouting is applied as one of the major measurements for shaft lining ruptures. However, as the general location of reinforcement grouting for shaft lining is deep in or near the bottom aquifer, while using cement grout as the grouting material, the grouting mostly belongs to fracturing grouting in deep alluvium. In these conditions, the mechanism and behavior of fracturing grouting has not yet been understood. From these points of view, this paper describes the mechanism of shaft lining rupture and fracturing grouting and then discusses the effect of grout injection on the stability of shaft lining by means of numerical analysis and field data obtained so far.

Dec 6, 2010

By Mountiney B

The development and operation of three large open cut brown coal mines in the Latrobe Valley, Victoria, Australia, requires a wide range of drilling techniques for coal resource evaluation and stratigraphic defi- nition, material property identification, open cut dewatering, and instal- lation of groundwater monitoring bores. This paper describes in detail the range of drilling techniques, equip- ment used and associated problems with drilling, in a deep sedimentary basin containing several major brown coal seams, multiple aquifer sys- tems of varying pressures and thin layers of hard materials including pyrite, siderite and basalt. Methods of rotary drilling include wireline core drilling, conventional core drilling, conventional flush drilling, diamond core drilling, reverse circulation air lift drilling and bucket auger drilling. Cable tool drilling is also used for strata definition and aquifer sampling.

Jan 1, 1989

By B S. S Rao, S Chandra

IndiaÆs iron ore mining industry is growing rapidly in order to augment the capacity to meet the unprecedented demand for the iron ore. Traditionally, much of Indian iron ore production came from exploitation of high-grade haematite ores, with the exception of Kudremukh which beneficiates lean grade Banded Magnetite Quartz ore. Now with the changed scenario of demand and supply, keeping long term sustainability in mind, it is imperative to develop suitable processing technology for exploitation of banded haematite quartz (BHQ) ore available abundantly and not utilised so far. In this direction detailed characterisation and beneficiation studies were conducted with BHQ iron ore from the Bellary-Hospet region of India, assaying 36.5 per cent Fe. The mineralogical studies with the image analyser system revealed the presence of maghemite and haematite as iron-bearing minerals. The gangue mineral associations were siliceous, ferro-magnesian and carbonate minerals. Higher degrees of liberation were observed in the size range of 75 - 212 microns. Liberation grind tests were performed by grinding the ore to different top sizes in a closed circuit laboratory ball mill with the ground samples subjected to Davis tube tests. The yield, grade and recovery were used as parameters to plan a two-stage wet drum magnetic separation based on grinding the primary magnetic concentrate. After subjecting the final magnetic concentrate to flotation to remove residual silica a concentrate assaying more than 68 per cent was obtained. The non-magnetic product from the primary magnetic separation was deslimed, ground, blended with secondary magnetic tails and was subjected to a two pass wet high intensity magnetic separation (WHIMS). The WHIMS concentrate was further subjected to two-stage flotation to remove residual silica to obtain concentrates assaying 64 - 66 per cent Fe. The final combined concentrate from wet drum magnet and WHIMS after flotation could yield a blast furnace (BF) grade pellet feed concentrate assaying more than 65 per cent Fe with a yield about 39 per cent and iron recovery about 70 per cent. A direct reduction (DR) grade pellet feed concentrate assaying 67 per cent Fe with a yield of about 28 - 31 per cent and iron recovery about 53 - 57 per cent could also be produced. Based on the test work, a process flow sheet was developed to beneficiate the BHQ ore for production of BF/DR grade pellet feed concentrate. In this paper methodology adopted for selection of individual process, various diagnostic tests performed to rule out other beneficiation processes and the final process flow sheet development is presented and discussed in detail.

Jan 1, 2007

The process of resource estimation of large precious metal deposits is illustrated by reference to major deposits now being mined or developed by Placer.The estimation procedure commences with building an appropriate model of the mineralization and proceeds through steps of data validation and geostatistical studies. It is important that the geologists most familiar with a deposit be involved with all stages of the estimate, and also prepare a manual estimate used to validate the kriged resource.Resource estimates are major exercises taking many man-months of work. The most time consuming part of this is usually construction of an appropriate three dimensional geological model. The data base for the resource calculations must be complete and checked for accuracy. The most appropriate estimation method must be selected.

Jan 1, 1990

By S Sabanov

Supplementary sampling of particulate mass concentration, the number concentration and the average particle diameter of nanoparticles using a TSI Dust-Trak DRX Aerosol Monitor, Naneos Partector 2 has been conducted. The aim of this study was to evaluate suitability of the instrument for long-term monitoring of diesel particulate matter (DPM) at conditions of polymetallic mines. Sampling was conducted in an area of the active ore heading, requiring the use of a diesel-powered face haul-age loader R1700 and a mine truck Caterpillar AD-45. The sampling was done for 126 minutes at a distance of 30 metres from the mine face. Results of this field work can be used to expand the sampling program to other mines. Expected outcomes of this study are to develop costeffective DPM control strategies, improve mine ventilation, and protect mineworkers’ health.

Oct 12, 2022

By J Brown, C Roberts

The scope of this paper is to recount the development of segmental linings used in tunnel construction, starting with its inception as an improvement to the brick-lined tunnel approach of Brunel in England and moving through the history and development to the present day, before finishing with a few insights into what the future might hold. The paper also discusses the motivation for the relatively recent move towards replacing conventional steel reinforcing cages with steel fibres and the reasons why steel fibre reinforced concrete (SFRC) is rapidly becoming the material of choice for manufacturing precast concrete segmental linings.

Jan 1, 2008

By C Sylvestre

For the last 50 years, traditional safety management has improved safety performance by: • 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). Although these approaches certainly have merit, and may be part of an overall solution, they are not enough to prevent many modern-day 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

By B B. Beamish, M S. Kizil

The processes that take place during the development of a heating are difficult to visualise. Bulk coal self-heating tests at The University of Queensland (UQ) using a two-metre column are providing graphic evidence of the stages that occur during a heating. Data obtained from these tests, both temperature and corresponding off-gas evolution can be transformed into what is effectively a video-replay of the heating event. This is achieved by loading both sets of data into a newly developed animation package called Hotspot. The resulting animation is ideal for spontaneous combustion training purposes as the viewer can readily identify the different hot spot stages and corresponding off-gas signatures. Colour coding of the coal temperature, as the hot spot forms, highlights its location in the coal pile and shows its ability to migrate upwind. An added benefit of the package is that once a mine has been tested in the UQ two-metre column, there is a permanent record of that particular coals performance for mine personnel to view.

Jan 1, 2005

By L Grigorov, G J. Jame, A V. Nguyen

The dewetting kinetics between a small air-liquid interface and a silica (negatively charged in water) planar surface in solutions of dodecylammonium chloride (cationic surfactant) has been investigated using the Scheludko cell and digital high-speed video microscopy. The gas-liquid interface was created at the bottom of a small silica capillary of the cell and then was moved towards the silica planar surface. After the rupture of the liquid films between the interfaces, the expansion of the gas-liquid-solid three-phase contact (TPC) line was observed and recorded using a digital high-speed video microscope system, operating at 1000 frames per second. The surface tension of the surfactant solution was measured using the pendant drop technique. The equilibrium contact angle was measured using the Scheludko-Minings method with a silica micro-sphere. The TPC radius was determined as a function of time and compared against the available hydrodynamic and molecular-kinetic models. The experimental data are described very well by the molecular-kinetic model for the TPC line motion. The hydrodynamic model is in agreement with the experimental data only for a short time after inception of the three-phase contact expansion.

Jan 1, 2005

By M Tayebi-Khorami

There is an increasing trend in the extraction and development of copper resources from complex deposits. The complex deposits pose mineral processing challenges, as they often contain low grade copper ore, relatively large quantity of clay minerals, complex texture, very fine disseminated ore, high amount of pyrite, and high level of impurity elements such as arsenic. With the amount of arsenic in concentrates increasing and with environment, occupational health and safety regulations becoming more restrict, there is a need for a processing method that results in no arsenic emissions and captures all arsenic while immobilizing it in a compound that is stable under a wide range of conditions, so it is suitable for long-term disposal. Some development work has been undertaken to examine the most effective arsenic treatment option for complex orebodies that contain arsenic, but a technically robust and economically viable option has not yet been developed. Previous research has demonstrated the possibility of separating arsenic-copper sulphides from other copper minerals by controlling the potential of the flotation pulp in the single mineral systems. The selective flotation of enargite from copper sulphides in a real complex ore system was studied by Tayebi-Khorami (2016), which is summarised in this paper. CITATION: Tayebi-Khorami, M, 2018. Arsenic in complex orebodies, in Proceedings Complex Orebodies Conference 2018, pp 132–134 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Nov 21, 2018

By El-Ansary M

Estimation of in-situ resources and recoverable ore reserves for the Boddington Gold Mine feasibility study was done by applying an essentially "classical" ore reserve method. This relied completely on customized graphics-based computer software requiring close co-operation and interaction between geologists and mining engineers. All geological and mining outlines were interpreted and digitized manually. Classification of selectively mineable reserves into ore, marginal and waste categories was done using a method involving convolution, devised by Dr S Carras of the Systems Research Institute of Australia, and Mr R Hooper of Kinhill Stearns. The estimation process was complicated by the frequently conflicting requirements of the various joint venture partners. The resulting ore reserve figures therefore satisfied only the most general expectations of each partner.

Jan 1, 1987

The drilling and evaluation of bore cores provides the best available statistical basis for characterizing a coal prospect. Important, long-term decisions by management frequently must be based on the results. The majority of coal mined presently is used for steam raising or the production of metallurgical coke. Common bore core tests and analyses appropriate to this usage can be cate- gorized as non-destructive, chemical, physical, petrographic, caking/plastometric and propert- ies of non-coal material. The major tests within each category are described. Certain specific information from the bore cores is required by the coal geologist, mining engineer, coal preparation engineer and the user, either individually or as a group. The optimal bore core evaluation test pro- gramme is the one which satisfies the needs of all the professional disciplines with the grtatest speed and at minimal cost. The principal steps in such a programme are listed. There is an urgent need for a bold new Australian standard to provide the necessary guidelines to an industry which at present lacks uniformity in its approach to the task.

Jan 1, 1977

By Hussey K. J, Morrison R. S

Recent mapping (1989-1992) by the Northern Territory Geological Survey in the Tennant Creek 1:250 000 map sheet area has resulted in substantial revision of the lithostratigraphy of the Tennant Creek Block (Donnellan, Hussey, and Morrison, in press). Briefly, the former Warramunga Group (Dunnet and Harding, 1967; Dodson and Gardener, 1978) is divided into the Warramunga Formation, and an overlying less deformed volcano-sedimentary succession, the Flynn Subgroup. The latter is conformably overlain by the Tomkinson Creek Subgroup of the Tomkinson Creek province in the north of the Tennant Creek Inlier. These two Subgroups constitute the Churchills Head Group which is essentially equivalent to the Hatches Creek Group of the Davenport province to the south of the Inlier.

Jan 1, 1994

Developing and operating mines in developing countries is never dull, but continuously challenging in terms of geology and terrain, geography and location, culture and land tenure, environmental and social issues, fiscal regimes and in some cases political risk. In addition, the rapidly changing nature of the communities with little understanding of the nature of mining at the community level requires us to continually manage issues affecting project development and mine operations with greater sensitivity. In frontier regions, people skills can become more essential than technical skills, particularly in dealing with indigenous people. Hence, managing a mining project requires a huge relationship effort.Effective communication with communities of different cultural background and proactive management of issues influencing community aspirations and desires requires not only new skills but also creativity with new concepts on how to deal with social issues under a different cultural context. The involvement of government agencies and NGOs is an important ingredient to creating understanding and collaborative approaches to common social issues. Maintaining stakeholder relationships pays in the long-run and is a useful exercise in getting information feedback from the wider community.

Jan 1, 1997

The celebrations which took place in 1986 to mark South Australia's Jubilee 150 served to focus attention on all aspects of the State's heritage. Until that time the sites and relics of South Aus- tralia's early mines had been generally neglected. Marked by the ruins of enginehouses and littered with the remains of the massive technology of the Industrial Revolution, these sites have now been recognised as containing the threads of a fascinat- ing story. In the early days of settlement the economy of the Colony was based on land and farming. Droughts caused periods of economic depression which were alleviated by chance discoveries of gold, lead, silver, and copper ore. Some of the mines which were opened on the copper deposits were the largest in the world at that time and their names well-known throughout mining circles. Working by hand with primitive equipment, the early miners excavated vast networks of shafts and stopes often extending to great depths: at Moonta- Wallaroo Mines for example workings extended to 860 m below ground. Because of the presence of underground water, mining to these depths would not have been possible without the Cornish pumping engine. Operated by steam power these massive engines and their associated equipment were transported from Cornwall by clipper and delivered to the mines by bullock cart. At this time the engines were at the peak of their devel- opment and, although expensive to import and install, they were highly reliable: the engine oper- ating Hughes pump at Moonta worked continu- ously for sixty years without a major breakdown.

Jan 1, 1987

This paper contends that optimisation of energy resources through active control and predictive simulation modelling is possible, and that such monitoring leads to large savings in the electricity costs of hot mines (where refrigeration has to be employed). In addition, active monitoring and control can positively affect the establishment of a safe, healthy and productive working environment. In the entire optimisation process certain guidelines were set to ensure that the requirements of the Mine Health and Safety Act were met (South Africa). Varying the quantity of air supplied underground by means of variable speed drive (VSD) fans is one of the crucial factors in the interactive approach towards the optimisation of ventilation, as is refrigeration and the pumping requirements associated with refrigeration. This article highlights the interaction between the amount of air supplied and the effect it has on refrigeration requirements underground. This article also considers the effect that this would have on contaminant control. Various tools are available for ventilation and cooling design for mining. A lot of these tools are based on the assumption of steady state conditions and do not take into account instantaneous changes in conditions, day-to-day, or hour-to-hour (such as for temperature and contaminants). They also do not take into account the optimisation of energy resources related to the creation of the acceptable underground conditions. With these tools worst-case and best-case scenarios are identified, and strategic decisions are made accordingly. Currently, the amount of the fresh air, the velocity of the air, and its general temperature in the mine are only changed when one production phase changes into another (or when unacceptable conditions occur as a result of poor design or neglect). This means that during a specific production phase (which can last for several months), there can be an oversupply, or undersupply, of energy resources, which will obviously affect the concentration levels of the various contaminants (through under or oversupply of air).

Jan 1, 2005

By N Weatherstone

A consistent and reliable international approach to public reporting of a mining companyÆs main assets, its Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves, has become of increasing importance in recent years with the rapid globalisation of the mining industry. Through the efforts of the Committee for Mineral Reserves International Reporting Standards (CRIRSCO), a committee representing national resource/reserve reporting committees in Australia, South Africa, UK/Ireland/Western Europe, Canada, USA and Chile, the reporting standards in most æwesternÆ countries use almost identical resource and reserve definitions and are generally around 90 - 95 per cent compatible. New codes based on the CRIRSCO model are being developed or considered in other countries, including Peru and the Philippines. This unified approach has provided the mining industry, regulators and investors with a common framework to report and interpret mineral resource and reserve estimates, thereby facilitating funding to the mining industry through improved investor understanding and confidence. The common reporting standards are reflected in the CRIRSCO International Template, available on CRIRSCOÆs web site, a document that is kept æliveÆ by reflecting the best of the most recently published CRIRSCO-type national standards. In a significant exception to this unified industry approach, the USA Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires adherence to its own standard, only partly compatible with CRIRSCO-type standards, with adverse and costly implications for companies listed in the USA. A major industry submission was presented to SEC in April 2005 which, if accepted, would bring about considerable compatibility of CRIRSCO and SEC standards. The UN Economic Commission for Europe (UN-ECE) has, since 1992, been developing its Framework Classification (UNFC) as a single global system for harmonising all existing national and international resource/reserve reporting systems, covering both government and industry requirements and both the hydrocarbon and solid minerals sectors. While few mining companies report their resources and reserves using the UNFC, the system is accepted or is being examined as a basis for reporting by some governments, including those of Russia, China and India. The UN-ECE agreed in 1999 to incorporate CRIRSCO definitions into the UNFC for those categories of resources and reserves used for market-related reporting, but a more recent edition of the UNFC removed or changed the definitions, requiring re-engagement by CRIRSCO to ensure compatibility. Since 2005, CRIRSCO and the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) have been involved in discussions with the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), which plans to develop a new Accounting Standard for the Extractive Industries as part of its International Financial Reporting Standards. At the request of the IASB, CRIRSCO and SPE have been examining any potential for convergence of resource/reserve definitions between the mining and hydrocarbon industries. Each of these systems is described in this paper and high level comparisons made.

Jan 1, 2006

The first stage in the refining of lead blast furnace bullion is the removal of copper and is normally done as a batch process in open kettles.A number of attempts have been made to establish continuous processes operating in reverberatory type furnaces, but the growth of accretions in the furnace has always presented a serious problem.The Broken Hill Associated Smelters Pty. Ltd. (RH.A.S.) at Port Pirie have overcome this problem by constructing a reverberatory furnace and ancillary cooling system of a novel design.Although a number of mechanical and metallurgical problems still remain to be solved, it is claimed that a workable continuous copper drossing process has been established.INTRODUCTIONLead bullion emerging from the blast furnaces at Port Pirie is at a temperature of about 1100°C and contains, among other impurities, about 1 per cent of copper.The first stage of refining is the removal of this copper by a drossing operation and in the past this was done, batchwise, by allowing the bullion to cool back in 100 ton kettles.At about 700°C, copper dross begins to separate as a crust on the surface of the kettle and this separation was allowed to continue down to about 450°C when the crust was brokenup and skimmed manually using a long handled, balanced, spoon. The dross was then smelted in a reverberatory furnace to produce a saleable copper matte and separate out lead bullion, which was returned to the drossing kettles. The copper content of the drossed bullion was then further reduced by a sulphur treatment process.The drossing operations involved hard manual labour under arduous conditions and the pouring of hot bullion into...

Jan 1, 1963