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The perception of the mining industry in the Australian community has changed considerably over the last four decades. This has been partly brought about by changing values and expectations of the Australian community as well as by global factors. The legal environment for the Australian mining industry has undergone significant changes. Among them, the High Court's Mabo decision which confirmed native title rights as part of the common law and environmental legal developments are dealt with particularly. It is suggested that the Australian legal environment is not necessarily the prime cause for Australian mining companies taking their investment off shore. This is a summary on how native title impacts on land tenements and some of the major issues that emerged since the `Mabo decision' and the Native Title Act 1993 are discussed. Environmental legal developments have resulted in liability facing directors and senior management in compliance matters .and in operating mining and other businesses because of changes in community expectations. In the next decade it is suggested there will be many drivers for more changes in the legal environment. Some of these are touched on including the changing roles of the Commonwealth and State Governments, the High Court as -law-makers and the changing relationships with indigenous people in Australia and in overseas countries. The changing legal environment for mining demands a national approach in many areas on the proposition that resource based industries are part of a national industry. The uniform law approach among the States has been taking place but this needs to further. An appropriate task force should be forward to review the entire legal structure and regulations affecting mining on a national rather than a State basis . The mining industry will need to work with expectations of a changing community which have powerful, but sometimes contradictory, interest groups.

Jan 1, 1997

Petroleum exploration is proceed ing in Western Australia at an ever- increasing pace. Results in recent years have been very successful, with the discovery and development of the Barrow Island oilfield and the Dongara gasfield, and the discovery of several major gas-condensate fields on the Northwest Shelf. The Northwest Shelf discoveries will have a big impact on the economy of the State by providing an abundant indigenous source of energy. Prospects for further large dis- coveries are believed to be excellent. The most prospective areas are thought to be on the continental shelf in the Carnarvon, Browse, Perth, Canning, and Bonaparte Gulf Basins.

Jan 1, 1973

By Kuster D

Under humid conditions geochemical exploration for rare-metals is, at the reconnaissance level,usually carried out by stream sediment and soil sampling. As the secondary dispersion patterns are distinctly different in arid environ- ments, other exploration methods have to be applied (MATHEIS & KOSTER, 1985).

Jan 1, 1988

In 1939 at the annual meeting of the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science, held at Canberra, a paper was contributed by E. de C: Clarke and H. A. Ellist in which a plea was made for more "facts" concerning metasomatism near ore-bodies in Western Australia. From time to time writers here, and in other parts of the world, have discussed the alterations in wall rocks of various reefs and lodes, but little has yet been attempted in the matter of accumulation of quantitative data, both chemical and mineralogical, and in the correlation and comparative study of this data. Such a detailed comparative study is needed to determine the economic value of a practical application of our accumulated knowledge of the phenomena of metasomatism.When in 1939 the opportunity offered for an examination of the core from 4 bores recently put down by the Big Bell Mines Ltd., to explore the ore-body of the Corinthian G.M. 10 miles N.W. of Southern Cross, Western Australia it was hoped that some small beginnings might be made of an accumulation of comparative and quantitative data regarding the metasomatism of the wall rock immediately adjacent to this ore-body.By the courtesy of the Big Bell Mines Ltd., the core from the 4 bores was delivered to Survey Headquarters, Perth;in the middle of June, 1939 and copies of assay plans of part of the underground workings at Corinthian, and of the results of assays of the bore cores, were also supplied by the management of the above company.It was not, however, until March, 1940, that it was 'found possible to investigate the core. At that time the writer's colleague, Mr. R. S. Matheson, conducted a: megascopic examination of all the bores and selected material from two of these for possible future chemical analyses. Late in 1940 the writer commenced a microscopic petrological examination of this material.AIM OF THE INVESTIGATIONThe object of the petrological part of this investigation was to determine whether from a megascopic and microscopic examination of the core, any evidence could be obtained indicating changes, in mineralogical composition...

Jan 1, 1942

'Nothing happens until something is sold' This statement is not original - it is a necessary orientation for marketing industrial minerals. The most important single philosophy of marketing is that it recognises the consumer as the starting point. Production orientation is concerned with producing products that the customer might buy. Market orientation is concerned with finding the needs of the customer and how they can be satisfied. The difference between the two approaches can be recognised in company structures but the most tangible difference is in the approach by a company to selling and development. In other words, it is the market that decides what can be done with a mineral. The markets requirements dictate what mineral, what grade and what price will be paid. Therefore it follows that when pricing a product we should avoid taking the basic cost and arriving at a final selling price through a series of standard markups (unless government insists on it). We should start with the price the market can stand and work backwards to find out whether you have a profitable product or one that will fail because it is too dear. Naturally a thorough understanding of production costs is necessary particularly when marginal markets are concerned.

Jan 1, 1978

Of the energy resources present in Australia, coal and uranium are by far the largest. These two resources ap- pear sufficient to satisfy Australia's energy needs beyond the immediately foreseeable future and long after the natural petroleum resources are exhausted or have ceased to play a significant role. By that time, coal could be converted in plants of very large size to synthetic liquid and gaseous fuels which will be used as substitutes for pet- roleum fuels, particularly for transport. The basic role of uranium will be to supply electricity from nuclear power stations for heat and power requirements, thereby freeing non-coking coal largely for conversion purposes. The establishment of these enterprises will require a massive national effort and a high degree of co-ordination at the planning stage.

Jan 1, 1975

During 1995 a catastrophic accident took place at the No 2 Vaal Reefs shaft in South Africa, when a locomotive fell onto a cage, causing the death of 104 people. The subsequent Commission of Enquiry found that the safety detaching hook had opened when hit by parts of the falling locomotive, detaching the cage from the rope and allowing the cage to drop 400 m down the shaft. It was believed that had the hook not detached, the rope would have been sufficiently elastic not to have failed, implying that many fatalities may have been avoided. In addition, the risk of accidental opening of hooks due to impact with smaller falling objects in shafts became a concern. This paper deals with a comprehensive statistical investigation that was performed to quantify this risk, establish acceptable levels of such risks and to derive criteria for the resistance of detachment hooks against accidental opening caused by impacts. The investigation involved a survey, dynamic finite element analyses and Monte Carlo simulations.

Jan 1, 2005

As a basis for my address to you tonight I thought it might be opportune if we considered the great history of the mineral industry in Australia, and the contribution it has made to the development of the country. While it is perhaps interesting to review the achievements of the past there is also the opportunity to examine the developments of the future.The names generally given to the three periods of man's life on the earth-the Stone, the Bronze, and the Iron Ageand to which should perhaps now be added the Atomic Age, imply the vast importance of the progressive steps in 'man's discovery of minerals and the means of working them. They tell the story of his advance from the flint knife to the bronze celt, and then to the keen-edged iron weapon, and now to the possibilities of the peaceful application of atomic energy. Not only have the stories of gold, iron, copper and tin told a great deal of the history of the progress of mankind, but they have also traced the commercial and industrial growth of Australia over the last century.Gold in the 1850's was responsible for the most significant period of immigration Australia has ever had-when the population almost tripled in the ten years to 1860. Minerals were also responsible for opening up Australia and determining the pattern of settlement. As mineral finds were made, railways were constructed to these fields, then agricultural development followed.Then, as the industrial era started, minerals provided the raw material for Australia's rapid industrial expansion, and they have all contributed to the extent that they have made...

Jan 1, 1960

By Smith I, Gowan M

With the advent of increased environmental regulation and high penalties for non-compliance in many countries, there has grown a need for all industries to assess their risk with respect to environmental compliance and consequently develop management systems which ensure environmental compliance and sound environmental practice. The need to better assess and manage environmental risk has developed rapidly as legal and financial penalties have increased for inappropriate management of the environment. The mechanism that industry has developed to manage risk is through the use of environmental management systems. These environmental management systems are generally based on the principles of total quality management. For example the British Standard BS7750 (Specification for Environmental Management System) shares common management system principles with ISO 9000 quality management systems. The same trends of increased environmental regulation and higher penalties for environmental impairment are now evident in Australia where environmental management systems are now being introduced. With increased penalties for environmental impairment and greater responsibility of managers and directors, environmental management systems are likely to become even more common in Australia. This paper describes some of the influences directing environmental management within the Australian industrial and mining environment, describes the elements of an environmental management system and relates these to the mining industry.

Jan 1, 1994

By Dunstan N, Valentine C

Gas power was first used on the Sons of Gwalia mine in January 1911, when a twin-cylinder Crossley engine of 167 hp was installed to belt-drive a 112 kw 550-volt ac generator. This engine was connected with a No 8 Crossley up-draught suction gas producer, using mulga charcoal as fuel.A second Crossley engine, of 400 hp direct-coupled to a 550-volt ac generator, was installed in 1912, and operated by a down-draught wood producer.This was followed by a large Kynoch twin tandem four-cylinder engine, rated at 660 hp, sea level, with a rope drive to the crushing and treatment sections of the plant.These engines operated until January 1921, when the plant and power house were destroyed by fire. After the fire, both Kynoch and second Crossley engines were salvaged and reconditioned and they continued to give useful service for some years.

Jan 1, 1932

By M F. Navarrete

During 2003, different plastic stemming plugs (Cats«, Stemtite«, and Taponex«) were tested in EscondidaÆs Mina Sur, to determine the effect on gas retention time when used in conjunction with drill cuttings in production shots with a blasthole diameter of 10 5/8ö. Longer retention times were expected to provide greater fragmentation and muckpile looseness. In order to determine which plug showed the greatest enhancement of stemming retention, 17 trials were carried out û in the first seven tests, only the Cats were used, in the following five tests, a combination of Cats, Taponex and Stemtite were used, and in the last three tests, only the Taponex plug was used. In the last two blasts, drill cuttings were used without stemming plugs as a benchmarking exercise. Blasts were filmed with a high-speed camera, which could record the detonation times of holes using rolls of shock tube tied to stakes at the hole collars, to act as flash indicators. The camera allowed measurement of the time between charge detonation and the commencement of stemming ejection. In order to obtain the statistical parameters of each one of the stemming plugs used in the 17 trials carried out, the Minitab software was used and a data base was created for it, corresponding to each stemming configuration with the retention time obtained from the filming. Once it was determined which stemming plug provided the greatest enhancement of stemming retention, the impact on the fragmentation was analysed using the WipFrag image analysis software to estimate the muckpile size distribution.

Jan 1, 2004

By E Werner, J J. Donovan, A J. Morris

Coal mining in the Pittsburgh coal seam, in the eastern United States, began in the late-1700s. Since that time numerous mining technologies have been used throughout the basin. Environmental concerns, particularly mine discharge quality, have only been considered since the early-1970s. During the last 20 years, many of the larger underground mines have closed and are now either flooding or already flooded. In order to understand the consequences and potential future effects of this flooding, mine mapping of the basin has been compiled utilising a geographic information system (GIS) with an emphasis on locating barrier pillars between mines. Mine flooding has been monitored at numerous sites utilising pressure transducers and data loggers. These data have been combined with historical data from mining companies and structure contour maps to yield chronological flooding maps of the basin from 1980 to present. Utilising these maps and the indicated flooding rates, future discharge locations have been identified along with estimates of when these discharges are likely to occur. Related work has identified barrier pillar hydraulic conductivities and vertical infiltration rates as a function of overburden thickness. All of this information has been integrated into a groundwater flow model that simulates mine flooding. This model is useful in defining mine to mine interactions as the various mines fill with water, and the testing of various flooding scenarios. The model will be used in evaluating mine discharge rates and evaluating the options for regional mine drainage treatment.

Jan 1, 2003

Current NSW Government policy requires searching for more than just minerals during an exploration program û add endangered fauna and archaeological relics for a start.

Jan 1, 1995

Transport infrastructure constitutes, since always, an essential link between regions, countries and continents, for economical, commercial and human purposes. Permanently growing mobility needs, which are encountered in the whole world, lead to a more and more clear necessity to increase and modernise these transport infrastructures, as well in quantity as in quality, for all transport modes, and for all what is able to be transported, from people to consumption goods and energy. With only very few exceptions, transport infrastructure achievements have for long been the concern of the sole public authorities, at the various levels, which put them, mostly free of charge or at very low cost, at the disposition of the user or the customer.

Jan 1, 1999

Aspects and anomalies in the present Standard Specifications for Blended Cements which may have operated in Australia against the development of the greater use of Slag Blended Cements are noted. Estimates of slag and ash usage in Australia are given and the need for further research with local materials stressed.

Jan 1, 1979

In Australia a social impact assessment (SIA) is generally required prior to the approval of a mineral resource extraction or processing projects as a part of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process. In recent years there has been increased attention on the adequacy of the SIA process applied in major project assessment. Most applications have focused on the impact identification process with little attempt given to the community negotiating power over how impacts will be addressed. The impact assessment tends to occur at a single point in time, with no subsequent re-evaluation or ongoing social impact management and monitoring process. The assessments rarely specify how responsibilities for impacts on communities may be apportioned between project proponents and government, and have been inadequate in dealing with cumulative project impacts. In Queensland, concern about these shortfalls have led to the release of the Sustainable Resource Communities Policy 2008 and requirements for social impact management plans (SIMP) to be developed for each resource development in the State. In this paper a 'pressure-state-response' approach to impact assessment is used to develop an 'impact-response-monitoring-evaluation' (IRME) framework that can be applied to ongoing evaluation and monitoring of social impacts. The framework is applied to coal resource developments in the northern Bowen Basin in Queensland to identify core requirements in a SIMP. The IRME framework is flexible enough to be implemented at various spatial and time scales, for the wellbeing of the local and regional mining and non-mining communities in Australia. The framework can be further examined in other mine developments and could be integrated with the existing mining or environmental protection acts.

Jun 1, 2010

By K Steamy, D Lesmana, K Yulia

Effective selective mining relies heavily on high quality geological data and assay data. Such assay data is dependent on effective sampling protocols, sample preparation techniques, assaying practices and well founded quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) procedures. This paper describes recent developments in grade control sampling at PT Nusa Halmahera Minerals high-grade Kencana gold mine at Gosowong Indonesia and presents a case study in identifying, minimising and monitoring random and systematic sampling error including the use of duplicate sampling and the Thompson Howarth technique for quantifying random sampling error.

Jan 1, 2009

The chief use of manganese ore is in the production of ferromanganese alloys for steelmaking. Manganese ores generally occur in tropical areas, which influences the type of treatment required. Present methods of treatment are relatively unsophist- icated but demands by customers for tighter specifications will necessitate the installation of gravity concentrator at many mines At present only limited tonnages of minus j in. product can be sold hence future development will centre around methods of producing an agglomerate satisfactory to the smelter.

Jan 1, 1969

The earliest caveman, very much a minority group, in the face of great adversity and person- al peril, had to take his livelihood by stealth or force of arms - aided by some degree of reas- on and ingenuity. He was pretty much a law unto himself. As time went on, his type became more numerous; and, after bumping heads with the- tough bloke who lived in the cave across the valley, he decided that perhaps he ought to try to get along with him. Perhaps he could trade some over-ripe emu meat for that `roo skin that he had tried to take. Then too, next time he wants a woman, he had better use a lighter club and just stun her a little - that last one was pretty badly bashed. Perhaps he should keep her around the cave and train her to keep the fire going, gather some roots, and skin the game. Those joeys of hers are kind of cute too. Of course they eat, and it would necessitate bringing in more food. So man gained increasing responsib- ilities to his family and neighbours. He domesticated animals, learned that he could cultivate certain plants that were palat- able and would supplement the meat diet, and found that he could modify earth materials to make tools - he became a grazier, a farmer, a miner and a manufacturer. He ceased to be nom- adic and community life came into being. This complicated life and made more rules essential.

Jan 1, 1974

By Harrison J

The correct selection of equipment to use in a mine is a problem which constantly faces the mining engineer. In some cases a wide choice of equipment with different operating characteristics is available. If this equipment is to be used to assist in moving the ore it may be possible to build a computer simulation model to predict how it will perform. Typical problems that lend themselves to this type of analysis are presented. The computer models are constructed using a recent form of the GPSS computer language, namely GPSS/PC for the personal computer. This language allows the programmer to construct models in a very short time and at a low cost. Of great importance is the easy way in which it is possible to change the models to answer any of the "what if?" questions the engineer may pose.

Jan 1, 1987