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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IFAC Symposium participants who may be unfamiliar with the referenced studies, and is not intended to report previously unpublished research.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

There are three major human resource management activities which, depending on how well they are done, impact on the performance of people and therefore the bottom line. These are: ò recruitment; ò training and development; and ò performance appraisal. Most sizeable organisations would say they are involved in all three, but there are many more that would admit that their human resource management practices are limited to recruitment. If we concentrate on the organisations that currently undertake all three, we have to ask, `Are they using different systems/benchmarks for each activity, or is there congruence between the activities?'. Our experience is that most organisations use different systems/benchmarks. The end result is: ò one set of criteria to recruit staff; ò another to identify their training needs; ò and yet another set of criteria to measure their staff's Performance.

Jan 1, 1995

By P C. Pistorius

Previous mineralogical investigation of all effluent flotation streams of Mimosa mine (Zimbabwe) indicated that appreciable amounts of liberated platinum-group minerals (PGMs) of the Pt-Pd-Bi-Te class are not recovered û despite electrochemical measurements showing interaction between xanthate and such minerals. In this work, the flotation recovery of synthetically prepared Pd-Bi-Te was compared with that of chalcopyrite (a typical fast-floating mineral) and pyrrhotite (a typical slow-floating mineral), with microflotation tests. These indicated Pd-Bi-Te to be a fast-floater with flotation rates exceeding that of chalcopyrite. Predicted flotation rate constants (from the Ralston model) were significantly lower for small particles (with diameters similar to those lost to the effluent streams) compared with those of particle with intermediate sizes. This supports the suggestion that losses to effluent streams are caused by particle size effects.

Jan 1, 2005

This paper will present a series of examples drawn for a number of Australian and international mining companies showing their recent attempts at optimisation of capital. The results will be compared, contrasted and discussed in the light of six factors that are considered crucial to any analysis of this subject. The factors are: ò the market availability of capital ò the corporate strategy and performance ò the capital structure appropriate to the corporate positioning within the industry ò the parties to the optimisation equation ò the measurement of success of optimisation The factors above are not mutually exclusive and are generally interdependent so their order above is of little consequence. Other papers presented at this conference will dwell in more depth on all these factors, therefore this paper shall focus only on the key elements of each factor. By way of summary this paper will also address the issue of the longevity of optimisation - is it temporary or long term.

Jan 1, 1991

Arising from prospecting success, the underlying worth of the shares of a publicly listed mining exploration company can increase many-fold. Prompt and accurate reporting during the exploration stage is therefore essential. While there is scope for varying degrees of optimism or caution in statements about the future economic prospectivity of a mineral deposit which has been discovered, the directors of a mining exploration company have both a legal and ethical obligation to keep their shareholders and the general public fully informed as to the state of progress of, and significant factual results arising from its exploration efforts. Suggestions are made as to the desirable form and content of exploration reports up to and including the time when the orebody has been delineated in terms of assured tonnage and grade. The benefits which will flow from this greater disclosure are discussed.

Jan 1, 1979

Dynamic hydrothermal modeling is a tool that can aid in studying problems associated with hydrothermal ore deposits and can help increase our understanding of the spatial distribution of ore within hydrothermal systems. Models are constructed by a sequence of steps involving development of a conceptual model, followed by its mathematical description in terms of governing equation with accompanying initial and boundary conditions. This equation is then solved either analytically or numerically. The four model types ò that fully describe a hydrothermal 'system are those for fluid flow, heat and ore solute transport, and deformation. At Renison, models have been used to help understand two major exploration problems. These are the controls on ore localisation in dolomite horizons and feeder faults respectively. The types of models used ò have simulated the distribution of all mineral zones, pyrrhotite, and temperature in the dolomites. This has allowed evaluation of the effects on ore localisation by physical and chemical heterogeneities within the dolomite host rocks, and allowed estimation of potential controls in different physical and chemical environments.

Jan 1, 1987

By M I. Jeffrey, J A. Rumbal, D M. Hewitt

Ion chromatography utilising an anion exchange column and UV detection has facilitated an improved understanding of sulfide mineral leaching in cyanide solutions. By analysing for sulfide, sulfite, thiocyanate, thiosulfate and metal cyanides it is possible to show that chalcocite dissolution is a non-oxidative process in which copper cyanide and sulfide ions are formed in solution. Further, the homogeneous oxidation of the sulfide ions by dissolved oxygen is slow, but catalysed by a surface of lead sulfide or pyrite. Polysulfides may also be formed as an intermediate oxidation product and these undergo further reaction to produce thiocyanate, thiosulfate and sulfite. The leaching of copper from a pyrite concentrate sample is shown to be rapid, and accompanied by significant iron dissolution; however, the iron is not believed to be from pyrite, pyrrhotite or chalcopyrite. The rate of iron leaching and cyanide consumption is reduced by maintaining low cyanide and high oxygen concentrations. Preoxidation or the addition of lead(II) ions does not reduce the iron dissolution from this pyrite concentrate.

Jan 1, 2007

By J Kinal

Plant trials are at the best of times difficult to perform; given variations in the ore, operating practice and economic constraints placed on a plant. Testing grinding media at industrial scale adds a further level of complexity that needs to be accounted for.Laboratory test programs consistently demonstrate that altering the grinding chemistry through the application of inert grinding media has the potential to provide significant metallurgical benefit. However, prog- ressing from laboratory testing to industrial trial is often an agonisingly slow process that can lead to inconclusive results which raise more questions than give answers. There are many factors that need to be considered when conducting plant trials aimed at demonstrating the impact of inert grinding media on metallurgical performance. The decisions (or lack thereof) made during the planning stage can heavily impact on whether a statistically meaningful result is achieved. Various factors such as how the trial is conducted (dumping or purging the charge); the circuit configuration; collection of the right data; and even the human factor will affect the outcome. The authors will use examples to demonstrate the importance of proper planning and controlled operation on grinding media plant trials.

Jan 1, 2009

Alliance Gold Mines was established in the early part of 1994 to acquire the assets of Diamin Resources NL at Maldon, Victoria. These comprised Exploration Licence 3422, some 20 sq km in area and enclosing the main part of the Goldfield, and a CIP plant - with a nominal capacity of 250 000 tpa - which was commissioned in 1988. Between 1988 and 1992 Diamin had mined - by open pit methods - and milled around one million tonnes of low grade gold ore, and recovered 55 000 ounces of gold. By 1992 the known shallow resources had been depleted. Historical gold production from the Maldon field is about 1.75 million ounces, at the surprising average recovered grade of 28 g/t. The last significant mine closed in 1926: since then there has been no comprehensive exploration program, though Lone Star Exploration NL tested part of the field for shallow open-pittable resources in the 1970s and Carpentaria Exploration Company Pty Ltd carried out widely-spaced drilling on the three main reefs from 1979 to 1982. Diamin (1983 - 1994) commenced a careful compilation of old mine records and newspaper clippings, and drilled several cored holes.

Jan 1, 1996

By A Saghafi, S Day

The control of spontaneous combustion in spoil piles is an area of concern for a number of open cut coal mines. Spontaneous combustion in spoil may occur when carbonaceous waste materials are exposed to air. In large piles, the relatively high voidage within the pile may allow sufficient movement of air through the pile to sustain oxidation and heat generation. Over the past decade, ACARP and CSIRO have funded a number of projects aimed at providing a better understanding of the causes of spontaneous combustion in spoil piles and the development of control strategies. Work has focused on prevention measures but has also considered measures available to deal with well-developed fires. Field, laboratory and numerical modelling methods have been brought to bear on the issues. Individual projects have addressed: causes of spontaneous combustion including the relative reactivities of mine waste materials; the use of cover layers to prevent spontaneous combustion; the use of flyash grout to control an active fire; the emissions of air pollutants; and the emission of greenhouse gases. This paper provides a description of the work carried out to date with an emphasis on the major findings of the research and its application to open cut mines.

Jan 1, 2005

By E J. Gardiner, C M. Hogan

Acidic drainage has long been recognised as the largest environmental liability facing the mining industry, and to a lesser extent, the public, through abandoned mines. The Canadian Mine Environment Neutral Drainage (MEND) initiative was the first international multi-stakeholder program to develop scientifically based technologies to reduce the effect of acidic drainage. The original MEND Program extended over a nine-year time frame ending in 1997, with technology transfer activities continuing to the end of year 2000 under the MEND 2000 program. Both programs have contributed enormously to the understanding of acidic drainage and how to prevent it. MEND3, launched in 2001, intends to further this effort with a strong, research-driven program. The successes of the MEND initiative have come through the collaborative efforts of the partners, the sharing of experiences, the thorough evaluation of technologies and their incremental improvements. As a result, the knowledge base on acidic drainage has grown considerably. An international model of alliance between the various worldwide initiative involved in acidic drainage is being formalised at this conference. This global alliance will enhance technology transfer capabilities and will lead to improved environmental performance for the industry. It is through collaboration that we have achieved the most progress in environmental performance, and this formal relationship will further expand these benefits.

Jan 1, 2003

By G Mulder, M Adams

Since the introduction of raiseboring 30 years ago there have been many operational and mechanical design improvements in the raiseboring machine, its reamers and associated cutters. These have now made the technology of raiseboring a routine and practical operation within the underground mining world. Over the last decade these advances have been aided by the introduction of robust automation packages which have allowed unattended drilling and reaming, real time performance monitoring and enhancement and the rapid diagnostic investigation of mechanical and electrical abnormalities. The constraint to higher raiseboring performance is now the drill string. However when it comes to a cost-effective solution of applying the high drill string torque and tension necessary for the next step change in performance, designers have æhit the wallÆ. Whilst carbon fiber reinforced plastic composites with abrasive resistant sheaths may offer a solution, the limit of conventional steel, drill string technology has been reached. This limit to advancement is however based on the drill string being in tension and alternative solutions may exist by literally turning the raiseboring paradigm on its head. This paper describes the story of a small Australian company engaged in the design and manufacture of mechanical excavation machines, two Australian raiseboring contractors and three Australian mines going against tradition and pushing down rather than pulling up.

Jan 1, 1998

By F Jiao, J Wang

By the year 2000, China was the sixth largest gold producer in the world, with about one-quarter of total production being derived from refractory or semi-refractory deposits. Although bacterial oxidation plants had been previously tried in China using local technology, these plants had not been commercially successful. The Laizhou Gold Enterprise (Tarzan BioGold Co Ltd) located in Shandong Province, undertook to modernise their gold processing facility in 2000 with the introduction of Bacterial Oxidation (BACOX) Technology. In 1997 BacTech Australia and Mintek of South Africa had formed a technology partnership, combining forces in the provision of bioleach technology. Under a cooperation agreement, BacTech/Mintek were chosen as the preferred technology providers for this first application of commercially proven bacterial oxidation technology within China. The paper describes the successful operation of this plant over the last three years. The events of project implementation are described, from the metallurgical testing of concentrate; through to the commissioning at the design throughput of 100 tonnes per day resulting in 80 000 ounces (2.5 tonnes) per year of refined gold. Process aspects of the operation encountered over the last three years are discussed which illustrate the robustness of the operation. The success of the bioleach facility has led to an advancement of plans to double plant capacity and some of the innovations, which may be employed in this expansion phase, are discussed.

Jan 1, 2004

In-pit crushing systems have been known in the mining industry for many decades. The question whether in-pit crushing is a viable option has often been asked. More than 200 mobile and semi mobile crushing systems have been installed worldwide at various locations and applications. Economic pressures have forced mine operators to reconsider the use of a conventional truck-shovel operation and have contributed enormously to the development of in-pit crushing and conveying systems. The in-pit crushing concepts have varying mobility capabilities. These range from fixed, stationary crushing plants to semi-mobile and fully mobile crushing plants. All these systems are operated in connection with a conveying system. In general in-pit crushing systems have technical and economical cost advantages over truck-shovel operation, particularly as mine capacities increase and mines become deeper. The integration of an in-pit crushing system represents a significant up-front capital investment and the mine is only able to depreciate the capital investment over a sufficient mine life including plant capacity to realise the benefit of the much lower operating cost.

Jan 1, 2003

Author Biography William Poole was born in Sydney, NSW in August 1868. He was educated at Sydney Grammar School. William spent two and a half years as a cadet in the Railway Construction Branch of the NSW Department of Public Works doing office and field work. He then undertook a civil engineering course at Sydney University. Following this he was employed for six years as assistant and resident engineer at the Water Conservation Branch, NSW and was in responsible charge of various field operations, surveys, river gaugings and works of constructions including a large timber weir and also a concrete weir on the Macquarie River, NSW. He then undertook a mining and metallurgical course at Sydney University and became a graduate (BE) with honours in civil engineering, mining engineering and metallurgy. He then spent four and a half years with BHP Co, one and a half years at Broken Hill in the mining and concentration works and three years at the smelting works in Port Pirie, SA, in the latter case he was metallurgist and night superintendent and during that time had responsibility and control at night of the blast furnaces and, during the last 15 months, of the whole of these large works. The author left the Port Pirie, SA works to assume the position of Director of the State School of Mines at Charters Towers and had responsible control of the establishment and also lectured in mining, surveying and structure. William Poole was honoured to hold membership in the following organisations: Assoc M Inst C E, L S of NSW, M Aus Inst M M, Assoc Inst M & M (London).

Jan 1, 2006

By M I. Pownceby, M A. Rhamdhani, S Purohit, G Brooks

The use of concentrated solar flux for high temperature metallurgical applications is a wellresearched area with several reported literatures on solar calcination and metal oxide reduction. This paper presents two such processes with potential to reduce the carbon footprint from ironmaking through using concentrated solar flux. The first process involves solar flux incorporation to the recently developed lime-magnetite pellet (LMP) route of magnetite ore agglomeration. The second process is a hybrid solar-smelting route for iron ore-coal composite pellets that utilises solar flux to provide process heat. Both the concepts of solar agglomeration and solar smelting process were investigated using a solar simulator-hybrid reactor set-up at Swinburne University of Technology. Results from solar agglomeration experiments at 950°C suggested no change in the reaction mechanism of the LMPs under solar irradiation compared to electrical heating. The percentage and morphology of the primary phases (mainly CaFe3O5) appeared similar for both solar and electric heated LMPs. The solar-smelting of magnetite concentrate-lignite coal composite pellets at 1130°C showed a maximum metallisation of 55 per cent after 1.5 hrs of reaction. The solar-smelt process has about 25 to 35 per cent lower CO2 emission compared to the blast furnace ironmaking. Technoeconomic analysis of implementing a CST facility in an existing composite pellet process suggested a payback period of about ten years at a heliostat cost of $A100/m2 and natural gas cost of A$10/GJ. The economics of CST implementation can be further enhanced by decreasing the thermal losses from the heliostat field and reactor.

Nov 8, 2021

The mineralised members of the Brockman Iron Formation mined at Mt Whaleback are overlain and underlain by shale horizons. To maximise resource recovery, waste movement within the life of mine plan includes mining of the:unmineralised banded iron formation (BIF), Mt Whaleback Shale, Mt McRae Shale, Mt Sylvia Formation, and parts of the Wittenoom and Jeerinah Formation. With the exception of BIFs, all other units contain zones with varying amounts of sulphides and carbon û æreactive shaleÆ. Reactive shale has a propensity to self-heat and can react with some explosives, resulting in spontaneous explosion. Sulphide rich zones also have the potential to generate acid rock drainage (ARD). Mining reactive shale at the Mt Whaleback mine must be undertaken in a safe, efficient and environmentally responsible manner. Key tasks in the mining process include:100 per cent identification of blastholes that may contain reactive shale; 100 per cent correct loading of blastholes with specified blasting products; 100 per cent of reactive shale mined, hauled and dumped in designated overburden storage areas; 100 per cent containment and treatment of ARD water onsite; and ongoing research into ARD, self-heating and spontaneous combustion. Successful mining of reactive shale requires constant co-ordination between the geology, mine planning, mining and environment departments.

Jan 1, 2002

By Ö Aydan

Rock dynamics is one of the most important topics in the field of rock mechanics and rock engineering. The spectrum of rock dynamics is very wide and it includes the failure of rocks, rock masses and rock engineering structures such as rock bursting, spalling, popping, collapse, toppling, sliding, blasting, non-destructive testing, geophysical explorations, science and engineering of rocks, earthquakes, and impacts. Undoubtedly, the rock dynamics issues in Mars would remain to be the same. Although mankind has no direct access to Mars yet, the Mars exploration rovers (Opportunity, Sprit, Curiosity and Perseverance), Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and InSight Lander provided very valuable data so that some rock dynamics issues can be recognised. The author reports his considerations on rock dynamics issues in Mars from very careful examination of images and data provided from MERs and MRO and discusses their implications.

Nov 29, 2022

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, fatalities from road transport accidents represented an average of over 97 per cent of all transport related accidents between 1997 and 2002. With increasing traffic density, tunnels are becoming a more viable means of providing alternative travel routes to ease areas of congestion in the road transport network. However, unlike open road conditions, a fire incident in the confined space of a tunnel environment may impact upon many users that are remote from the incident location. In this context, designing for an appropriate level of safety in tunnels is therefore an important consideration for achieving consistency in the life safety measures for users of the road transport network. Unfortunately, like fire safety engineering design for buildings, there are presently no clear measures in the design processes to assess the adequacy of the design in terms of attaining the level of safety implicated in the design objectives. This is partly due to the indeterminate nature in which the design objective or the level of performance measure is stated û the intent of the objective is relatively clear but the measure of it is not. Another reason is the lack of a standardised procedure for determining the critical design variables affecting life safety. This is important to ascertain consistency in the use or adoption of the important parameters for design. This paper looks at the processes involved in the fire engineering design of road tunnels that are currently practised. A review of the design processes for fire safety in road tunnels is provided, which includes the range of fire scenarios in a tunnel environment, the traffic flow and composition, the relevant fire protection systems, the ventilation and smoke control system, the egress provisions and the benefits of incorporating fire brigade intervention. A simplified risk assessment approach is developed for a typical road tunnel to assess and evaluate the impact of a range of design parameters on life safety. Using a sensitivity technique, the important variables are then identified and means of reducing design variations associated with them are recommended. The technique may be further refined for use in the development of codes or guidelines in order to develop a suitable means of deriving more consistent design values, and hence achieve better consistency in the overall level of safety in the design.

Jan 1, 2008

By D C. Verdon-Kidd, G R. Hancock, M J. Saynor, J B. C Lowry, T J. Coulthard

Designing post-mining landscapes requires quantifying the short and long-term risks. In recent years, computer based landscape evolution models (LEMs) have been used to provide insight into both erosion rates and processes (i.e. sheetwash, rill, gully erosion). An important requirement of these models is high quality model input parameter data, which includes both the surface material (i.e. soil and waste rock) and climate information. However, in many cases such data is limited and in the case of climate information, the data is often short and incomplete. Here we develop climate scenarios and examine different surface material properties using a case study at the ERA Ranger mine located in the Northern Territory, Australia Firstly we develop scenarios that represent the range of future climates that may be experienced at the site. Secondly we develop a series of plausible particle size distributions based on a large sampling exercise of the waste rock material. We then test the sensitivity of different rainfall sequences and surface materials on sediment output using a well-tested landscape evolution and sediment transport model (Hancock et al., 2017). CITATION:Hancock, G R, Verdon-Kidd, D C, Coulthard, T J, Lowry, J B C and Saynor, M J, 2018. Quantifying the effect of climate and surface materials on post-mining landscape erosion – a risk approach using landscape evolution models, in Proceedings Life-of-Mine 2018, pp 122–124 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Jul 25, 2018