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The resource industry must prepare for the inevitable shift towards automation as an operational objective. Although this may seem like a distant concern, many mining companies and equipment manufacturers are already conducting full-scale automation trials. The necessary technology is advancing at a rapid pace yet the training of people to support it at the trade level lags far behind. Those given the responsibility of installing and maintaining automated equipment in the mining environment require a unique set of skills and knowledge. These training needs demand attention to ensure that the wider uptake of automation is sustainable and achieves its full potential.   This paper documents work undertaken by CRCMining and the Mining Industry Skills Centre towards establishing a training framework seeking to address the needs of trade level personnel tasked with the support of automation equipment. A comprehensive definition of the skills and knowledge required by the hypothetical automation-specialised tradesperson is presented. The training pathway identified for these personnel is also described. This work forms part of the Mining Industry Skills Centre's Automation Skills Formation Strategy, funded by the Queensland Department of Education and Training.

Jun 1, 2010

Jan 1, 2004

By A D. Campbell, G R. Power

The objective of the draw strategy in a caving mine is to maximise economic return by minimising waste dilution3 and maximising ore recovery4. The draw strategy must also include suitable controls for air blast and mud rush hazards and is highly constrained until continuous cave propagation has been achieved. This paper details a three-year project at the Ernest Henry Mine (EHM), which used cave flow simulation software to develop a draw strategy that increased the mine value by 32 per cent.Dilution and ore loss can be significant in sublevel cave (SLC) operations and result in poor recovery and considerable economic losses. To minimise dilution and ore loss, cellular automata software was used to simulate cave flow over the mine life. The optimisation project required mining footprints for various cut-off grades to be developed. Draw strategies for each mine footprint were then generated using a range of shut-off grades. Economic assessment of each scenario was then conducted to determine the mine footprint and corresponding draw strategy that generated the highest NPV (net present value). The iterative simulation process was improved by developing automated software functions in the flow modelling software to reduce time taken to generate and assess life-of-mine (LOM) draw strategy scenarios.In addition to improving the NPV of the mine, the optimisation project also enabled a decrease in the mine cut-off grade which increased the ore reserve and extended the mine life. Overall, an iterative process of mine planning, cave simulation, economic evaluation and geotechnical analysis was used to significantly increase the economic return of the SLC whilst ensuring caving risks were controlled to an acceptable level.CITATION:Campbell, A D and Power, G R, 2016. Increasing net present value by a third at an operating sublevel cave mine using draw strategy optimisation, in Proceedings Seventh International Conference and Exhibition on Mass Mining (MassMin 2016), pp 167–174 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

May 9, 2016

By D J. Brake

There has been a strong trend over the past decade in hard rock mines towards the use of very high powered auxiliary (or secondary) fans; in many mines, the installed power for the secondary ventilation system now exceeds that of the primary ventilation system. This also reflects the trend to use two-stage auxiliary fans pushing air into a single ‘trunk’ duct that in turn splits into multiple branches with multiple outlets feeding multiple workplaces. This often produces a poor result in terms of face flows due to the high resistance, high leakage and badly managed duct outlets, as well as high fan capital and operating (power) costs, which in turn also results in a higher cost for the underground power reticulation/distribution systems. This paper explores the reasons why this trend exists and what ventilation practitioners can do to utilise less expensive systems that simultaneously deliver better workplace conditions. It includes a case study.CITATION:Brake, D J, 2017. Auxiliary ventilation design – why and how mines waste so much power on inferior systems, in Proceedings Australian Mine Vent Conference 2017, pp 27–34 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Aug 28, 2017

By D J. Black

The process of longwall coal extraction coal causes fractures in the overlying and underlying strata and these fractures become pathways for gas released from adjacent coal seams to flow into the mine workings and contaminate the ventilation air. If the rate of gas emission exceeds the diluting capacity of the ventilation air, the gas concentration will increase and exceed the statutory limit resulting in production delays.All potential gas sources within the planned mining area, including coal seams located above and below the working seam, should be identified and sufficient gas data collected and used to determine the specific gas emission from each gas source. Gas reservoir and emission modelling is recommended to determine specific gas emission and changes in gas emission from individual sources over the planned mining area. Accurate gas reservoir and emission modelling provides the information required to accurately design gas drainage programs to effectively manage gas emissions and minimise the risk of ‘gas-outs’.Given the increasing occurrence of incidents of gas concentration in ventilation air exceeding the 2.0 per cent statutory limit and changes to mine plans to avoid ‘difficult-to-drain’ areas, it is apparent that many operations are not effectively utilising gas reservoir and emission modelling to identify high gas emission areas and are not completing sufficient gas drainage in advance of planned mining.The process of gas reservoir and emission modelling to support gas drainage design to control tailgate gas concentration and fugitive emissions is presented and discussed.CITATION:Black, D J, 2017. Gas reservoir and emission modelling to evaluate gas drainage to control tailgate gas concentration and fugitive emissions, in Proceedings Australian Mine Vent Conference 2017, pp 65–72 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Aug 28, 2017

Cretaceous to Cenozoic sedimentary basins in Western Southland include a wide range of non-marine and marine sediments, in a structurally complex setting dominated by major fault systems. A reassessment of their mineral potential confirms large quantities of nonmetallic minerals (limestone, aggregate, marl), and smaller reserves of bituminous coal, lignite, clays, and oil shale. Hydrocarbon potential is largely untested. Metallic minerals are present in trace amounts, apart from platinum group minerals and some detrital gold. In the offshore area, seismic data suggest the hydrocarbon potential is significant. The Orepuki area has the most interest onshore.

Jan 1, 1992

Bacterial Leaching of Complex Polymetallic Sulfide Ore The work described here concerned the study on bacterial leaching of complex sulfide minerals and polymetallic ores operated in shaken flasks and small-scale columns. The bioleaching of jamesonite was not accessible. The iron extraction in pyrrhotite leaching reached 98.2 per cent after 23 days. After 26 days, the zinc extraction of marmatite reached 92.3 per cent while the iron extraction only reached 13.6 per cent. The pulp density had effect on the metal extraction of pyrrhppite and marmatite. For complex polymetallic sulfide ores, after 10 days in shaken flasks, 97.1 per cent zinc extraction was achieved. While after 60 days in small-scale column, the zinc extraction only proceeded to 7.8 per cent; By SEM and EDXA of experimental samples and their leaching residuum, the bioleaching mechanism was discussed.

Sep 13, 2010

By F Rashidinejad

Iran has had an active mining sector for some 7000 years. Exceptional in terms of its mineral diversity, Iran produces 62 minerals, and is ranked among the world’s 15 most mineral-rich countries. Many people around the world know Iran as one of the major petroleum exporters. Oil and natural gas dominate Iran’s economy, and oil exports provide the principal source of income, contributing more than 80 per cent of foreign exchange earnings. Transformation of Iran from an oil exporter to an independent country to oil has been on the table for many years, even before the Islamic Revolution of 1979. Development of the Iran’s mineral industry is one of the major replacements for petroleum exports. In the last decade, Iran invested billion dollars in the mining and mineral industry sectors and to increase the added value, tried to export processed minerals instead of the raw materials. In accordance with the ‘20-year Perspective 2025’ that targeted by the Supreme Leader, Iran will be a country with the first rank in economy, science and technology in its region. The objectives over this perspective include briefly increasing annual production to 55 Mt of crude steel, 800 000 tonne of copper cathode, 1.5 Mt of aluminium, 200 Mt mineral products, 300 000 tonne of zinc and 5 000 kg of gold. These goals are achievable in normal circumstances, but concurrency of the 20-year Perspective 2025 with commencement of the UN Security Council sanctions against Iran, frustrated objectives of the perspective, at least the ones related to the mining and mineral industry sectors. This paper tries to elaborate the development programs and following challenges for the mining activities of Iran by 2025.

Nov 22, 2011

By J Fisher, M Castro, A Hariyadi

The train haulage system being designed for PT Freeport Indonesia’s Grasberg Block Cave (GBC) will be located within the mine at an elevation of almost 3000 m above sea level on the west side of the island of Papua, Indonesia. The developing block cave is beneath the active Grasberg Open Pit and will transport 160 000 t of ore per day from multiple chute galleries to the underground crushing plants. The design entails 28 km of rail and 119 ore chutes, which will be brought online over the course of ten years.The train haulage system will be driverless and fully automated. Sequentially, the system includes remote controlled rock breakers at the top of the chute grizzlies, followed by remote controlled chute loading of the trains, then autonomous train haulage and autonomous unloading. An overhead catenary system (OCS) will power the locomotives, which are equipped with on-board batteries to drive through the loading and unloading sections. Service locomotives with drivers move material-laden freight cars in and out of the service shaft, destined for workshops, the magazine and batch plants. Service locomotives are also used for haulage level maintenance. Highly reliable and redundant control and communications systems are required to manage 12 trains in simultaneous operation.This paper provides an overview of the train haulage system’s technical complexities and the associated support systems interactions. The paper also highlights the project management issues and successes of this globally sourced project.CITATION:Hariyadi, A, Castro, M and Fisher, J, 2016. Automated train ore transport, in Proceedings Seventh International Conference and Exhibition on Mass Mining (MassMin 2016), pp 563–570 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

May 9, 2016

By P S. Heithersay, M McGeough

The discovery of Olympic Dam in 1975 and, more recently, Prominent Hill in 2001 and Carrapateena in 2005 demonstrates the potential for world-class IOCG deposits in South Australia. Potential for further discovery of large IOCG mineral deposits in the Gawler Craton and the Curnamona Province is high because of continental-scale pervasive iron-rich alteration, crustal-scale structural preparation and unique magmatic-hydrothermal conditions. Recent exploration successes point to the effectiveness of new exploration tools and technologies to locate this style of mineralisation under cover. The gold endowment of these orebodies located in South Australia exceeds 75 Moz, with further discoveries to come. The lead time between discovery and development of the multi-million ounce Prominent Hill copper-gold mine in less than seven years demonstrates how quickly this style of deposit can be brought into production in South Australia. Clearly these long-life, multi- commodity IOCG deposits mines are an immediate exploration and future growth opportunity for the gold mining industry to replace ever depleting gold inventories.

Jan 1, 2007

Kinetic Study on the Leaching of Vanadium from LD Converter Slag Using Sulfuric Acid In order to reduce the environmental impact due to land disposal of LD (Linz-Donawitz) converter slag from steelmaking plant and to valorise this waste material, an acid leaching study was carried out to assess the effect of several parameters on the kinetics of vanadium dissolution. The characterisation and morphology of the feed investigated using XRD, XRF. The factors influencing leaching vanadium such as particle size, temperature, slurry density and the concentration of sulfuric acid were investigated and optimised. The maximum vanadium recovery about 95 per cent achieved at 70¦C, S/L: 1/15, acid concentration: 3M and for 150 minutes of leaching time. The dissolution of vanadium in sulfuric acid shows that there are two stages in the kinetics of leaching. At the first 15 minutes, there is a sharp increase in the amount of vanadium extracted and at longer leaching time, the extraction increase slightly. In the present work, the shrinking core model (SCM) was used to describe the acid leaching of vanadium compounds. A summary of the controlling regimes in the SCM are examined below for short time (less than 12 min.) and long time (more than 30 min.) stages. So, it was found that the kinetics of leaching in both stages is controlled by solid product diffusion regime.

Sep 13, 2010

By G Stanway, P Mahoney, C Griebel

The Mining Innovation – State of Play was initiated three years ago by VCI in partnership with the University of Western Australia. The ambition was to create a ‘think tank’ type platform to support industry discussion on how it is performing in terms of innovation at a strategic level, what needs to change in the industry ‘ecosystem’, and how businesses may more effectively develop their strategy and architecture to innovate for competitive advantage.The drivers for this ambition were straightforward. The industry recognises itself as being conservative with respect to innovation and it knows the business and community endowment dividend from getting better at innovation is large; however, much of the material that seeks to provide insight on innovation tends to be drawn from industries that do not have the same high capital, long life cycle and market uncertainty characteristics as that faced by mining. Material that does focus on mining innovation is orientated towards technical innovation, not innovation strategy. There exists a significant knowledge gap, and filling it is valuable to both mining businesses and communities.The 2014 Mining Innovation State of Play report (Stanway, Griebel and Mahoney, 2014), based on a survey of over 230 mining executives, uncovered a range of insights but left several questions unresolved. The people with the best perspective on these questions are CEOs. They can see the business issues with sufficient clarity and have the influence to shape both the industry and its organisations, as seen in Figure 1. Discussing these questions with the view to progressing our collective understanding was the primary reason this interview series was conducted.Unsurprisingly, interviewing 15 CEOs and Chairpersons from different industries and commodities, across the globe resulted in a broad range of views. The discussions were frank and often blunt in assessing the short comings in the industry and suggestions for improvement. This degree of candour is hugely valuable as a basis for improvement. In the end, four key areas emerged as a basis for improvement.CITATION:Stanway, G, Griebel, C and Mahoney, P, 2017. Mining Innovation State of PlayTM – iron ore insights, in Proceedings Iron Ore 2017, pp 439–442 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Jul 24, 2017

By R Lethlean

The mining industry in its drive to optimise equipment use and minimise cost simply to remain profitable in an uncertain commodity market needs to develop a greater understanding of equipment capabilities and cost. The factors influencing mobile equipment fleet cost and performance commence at the time of mine planning and continue to exert an influence over the life of the mine. These factors must be understood at the early stages of any operationÆs planning process as they continue to impact both positively and negatively on fleet performance and operating cost throughout the life of the mine. The key factors examined in this paper include: grades; rolling resistance; fragmentation and truck loading.

Jan 1, 1998

By A Kemp, I Taylor, S C. Lamoureux

Detailed landform designs were completed for six (integrated) iron ore waste rock dumps at a Western Australian iron ore mine site to meet closure objectives and to optimise material movements for closure. The designs were based on specific physical and geochemical properties of waste material and the design was undertaken to enhance long-term stability of the dumps and optimise material movements, and therefore minimise closure cost. Construction of the re-shaped waste rock dumps have been completed. Following construction, surface material characteristics were found to deviate from those used in the design assessment. Materials present at surface following re-shaping were generally finer textured than those sampled for modelling. It is anticipated that the embankment slopes may experience increased rates of surface erosion compared to the rates predicted from modelling and used in design. The finer textured material is thought to be generated from exposing finer material that has migrated into the coarser matrix over time or that was not present in the sampled top surface of the landforms. This is due to armouring processes over time and this phenomenon is likely to recur following further wet seasons. The majority of the waste materials present in the waste rock dumps were subgrade banded iron formations (BIF) and chert, which are generally competent and geochemically inert. Some waste material was known to have an elevated risk of erosion but present in relatively small quantities. The presence of a large number of dolerite dyke swarms indicates appreciable volumes of dolerite were produced as waste from the pits. This material has an elevated risk of being highly erodible/dispersive. Clays and shales are also likely to be present in the dumps and are considered to be less competent material (relative to the BIF/chert). This paper presents the process from upfront materials assessment through detailed design to construction of the rehabilitated waste rock dumps, and post-construction sampling and testing to validate model findings.CITATION:Kemp, A, Taylor, I and Lamoureux, S C, 2017. Design to closure – construction of detailed rehabilitation designed iron ore waste rock dumps based on upfront site specific assessment, in Proceedings Iron Ore 2017, pp 353–358 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Jul 24, 2017

By D F. S Natusch, R J. Hooper

Recent lignite investigations indicate their potential as a strategic long-term fuel resource. This potential however would be determined not only by lignite quantity and quality, but also by economic, physical and social resources required to support it. The following discussion uses the example of a typical lignite mining operation to review the major resource requirements. While recognising that the implications of supplying those resources may be as important as their actual existence, this paper has purposely omitted such discussion as this will be one of the main target areas for the next phase of investigations.

Jan 1, 1983

By I Sherrell, R Jain, P Jansson

With the depleting iron reserves and difficult market conditions, precision in separation efficiency is of utmost importance. Classical local control options are predominant in the industry, but their inability to adjust to resolve application problems of interest has furthered the need of developing and implementing continuous control methodologies.This paper highlights the recent development in control of Outotec SLon® vertically pulsating high gradient magnetic separator (VPHGMS) including programmable logic controllers (PLC) coupled with distributed control system (DCS), on-site human–machine interface (HMI) control panel, advanced process control, continuous online sampling using Courier® 8 and additional modernisation packages including level control and cooling monitoring. These modern control options result in improved efficiencies, promote safer operation and at the same time reduce operational manpower needs.CITATION:Jain, R, Sherrell, I and Jansson, P, 2017. Automation for efficient separation with the Outotec SLon® vertically pulsating high gradient magnetic separator, in Proceedings Iron Ore 2017, pp 211–214 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Jul 24, 2017

By R L. Brathwaite

In New Zealand, volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) deposits are found in three main geological environments associated with: 1.   ophiolitic basalts of Oligocene age in Northland and East Cape (eg Pupuke, Pakotai, Parakao and Lottin Point); 2.   with chert and pillow lava in greywacke sequences of Permian-Jurassic age (Torlesse and Waipapa terranes; eg Kawau Island, Te Kumi and Maharahara) and their metamorphic equivalents (Haast Schist; eg Moke Creek and Waitahuna); and 3.   with greenschists (metabasalts) and metaserpentinite of Permian-Triassic age (Ponamu Ultramafics) in Westland (eg Bowen and Wilberg ranges). The deposits consist of small lenses of disseminated to massive sulfide minerals, mainly pyrite and chalcopyrite. Small quantities of copper ore were mined from some deposits in the 1800s (eg Kawau Island from 1846), with the last mining at Parakao from 1961 to 1966. Several deposits have been recently examined for their gold potential with assays on sulfide rock samples as high as 75 g/t Au (Lottin Point).

Jan 1, 2005

By R Stefansen

Stockyard operations are governed by the interaction between the different disciplines required to successfully schedule and control the supply chain of raw material through the stockyard in combination with the effectivity of the operation of the stockyard equipment. The system demonstrates a proven technology for implementing a centralised operation of full unmanned stockyard equipment, using a high precision absolute positioning system based on a Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receivers in combination with 3D rangefinders. The system implementation maps the surface profile of the stockyard inventory and allows in combination with proprietary algorithms for full operation of the stockyard machines without on-board operators. The operational impact of delayering the process by moving to a centralised operation is examined, together with the combined effect on the overall safety in the stockyard as a result of a change in reliance on operator skill dependencies. Average performance gains range from 10–20 per cent. The performance of the automation system is related to a consistency and reliability of uniform operation, which has an impact on the life expectancy and the effectiveness of the equipment. The effects of having instantaneous and correct information about the stockyard inventory volume measurement are investigated in relation towards spot price trading in current fast reacting markets.CITATION:Stefansen, R, 2017. Advanced automation for centralised stockyard operations, in Proceedings Iron Ore 2017, pp 105–110 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Jul 24, 2017

By J Joy, A Bye, G V. Kizil

This paper demonstrates an application of a recently developed Risk-Cost-Benefit (RCB) Framework to environmental risk management in the mining industry. The environmental application of the RCB Framework as part of an ACARP project (Kizil, Bye and Joy, 2012) involved a thorough selection process with site visits and in-depth discussions with the case study siteÆs environmental management team. Under their guidance, the highest risk of environmental impact at the case study site was identified as æroad subsidenceÆ at the time when the project work was undertaken. This paper presents the unique application of the RCB Framework to examine the risk of mining-induced subsidence and its impact on one of AustraliaÆs busiest highways, with a traffic volume of 38 000 vehicles per day (NSW RTA AADT, 2008). The RCB Framework was employed to assess the optimum group of controls for road subsidence risk management to ensure highway availability while mining occurs. Whilst this paper focuses on road subsidence, the methodology employed can be directly applied to other environmental concerns including preparation for mine closure, rehabilitation planning and waste management. The RCB Framework incorporates mathematical modules which were developed to enable complex yet tightly integrated RCB calculations. The process integrates the risk-control effectiveness assessment to determine that the selected safety initiative is financially beneficial to the mine site and company. This concept has been applied to a number of high-risk mining areas targeting safety, productivity and environmental issues. This paper introduces the five-staged RCB Framework, incorporating the RCB tools RCBGEN (Risk-Cost-Benefit Generator) and RCEMETHOD (Risk-Control-Effectiveness Method), and demonstrates its practical application to the risk management of a road subsidence case study. The case study looks at potential pavement damages, in particular, the occurrence of pavement stepping on the surface of the highway as a result of vertical subsidence. This type of road damage was previously experienced at another major inter-city route while underground mining occurred in the region where the case study site is located. The RCB Framework has been successfully applied to the analysis of the road subsidence case study and determined the risk reduction and financial benefits of implementing a range of risk-controls. User-friendly RCB Charts to provide an aid for decision-making were produced. The value of using the RCB charts to achieve balance between risk, cost and productivity in the decision-making process for risk management has been explained. The case study determined that pavement slots and fibre-optic cable monitoring were relatively low-cost and effective controls applied in the mining industry for the first time at a global level.This paper supports the industryÆs ongoing efforts to manage risk to ALARP (as low as reasonably practicable) and achieve æzero harmÆ by providing a new Framework to more effectively establish the adequacy of controls.CITATION:Kizil, G V, Bye, A and Joy, J, 2012. Application of risk-cost-benefit analysis to highway subsidence due to mining, in Proceedings Life-of-Mine 2012 , pp 197-206 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Jul 10, 2012

Neither the copper orebodies nor the zinc-lead-silver orebodies at Mount Isa were formed syntectonically as has been claimed for the last 20 and 10 years respectively. Both orebody types were cogenetic, coeval, and formed early during the sedimentation and diagenesis of the host formation. The copper orebodies are interpreted as having formed diagenetically at hand specimen scale, syngenetically at formation scale. The zinc-lead-silver orebodies are interpreted as having formed primarily by sedimentary means at both hand specimen and formation scales.

Jan 1, 2000