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By Hargraves A. J

With increasing depth, stresses and stress phenomena are becoming more important considerations in Australian coal mining.A large number of compressive and tensile strength tests was made on coal and rock cubes cut from samples taken in various Australian collieries. In addition, an empirical impact strength test was carriedout on fragments of the same samples, to obtain a correlation with compressive strength.In one colliery, flat-jack measurements were taken to assess stresses in coal ribs and in the roof.INTRODUCTIONBy world standards, some of the New South Wales collieries are approaching depths of cover considered a maximum for bord and pillar the normal Australian coal mining method. Several South Coast collieries are winning coal at depths of about 1500 ft., and future operations are being planned at deeper cover. Some areas of these deep workings produce considerable quantities of seam gas.Phenomena associated with high stress and copious gas under pressure in the seam violent phenoma presenting a danger and a nuisance in mine working - have occasionally occurred, and the phenomena are being investigated as a whole (Hargraves, 1958), and separately as a gas problem (Bolt and Innes, 1959; Hargraves, 1962) and as a stress problem. This paper relates to the latter - to investigations into the strengths of coals and coal measure rocks, and into the stresses in and about coal seams...

Jan 1, 1962

By L A. Maslov

We have considered the following characteristics of the crust and upper mantle of the Pacific Belt: seismic wave velocity anomalies, mechanical stress and shear deformation rate fields, heat flow and the pattern of metallogenic provinces of the Belt. It has been noted that there exist certain .regularities in distribution of the above mentioned geophysical characteristics and metallogenic zones within the Belt, displayed by prevalence of the lithophile elements in the Asia-Australian part of the Belt, and of the chalcophile ones within the American part.

Jan 1, 1995

The area around Big Bell was actively explored and sporadically mined for gold from 1904 onwards. The lease was named Big Bell in 1913. The property became established as a major mining centre with the development of the Big Bell underground mine in 1936. Mining operations commenced in late 1937 and ceased in January 1955, after milling 5.56 million tonnes of ore and producing nearly 21 tonnes of gold. In 1969 Australian Consolidated Minerals Ltd (A.C.M.) acquired the deposit then explored it alone and in joint venture until the current joint venture agreement with a subsidiary of Placer Pacific Limited (PPL) was negotiated in 1984. Following exploration and evaluation of near surface mineralisation, and a reassessment of the remnant pillars underground, the concept of a large open pit in conjunction with an underground mine evolved. The feasibility study was completed in October 1987, and the decision to go ahead was formally announced on 2nd December 1987. Placer Dome Technical Services Ltd were contracted to be the Project Managers, commencing construction on site early in January 1988 and handing the plant over to the operators 13 months later. The capital cost of the project at handover was estimated to be $133 million. The operating team commenced pre-production stripping of the open pit on 1st May 1988. By 31st January 1989 almost 16.0 million tonnes had been stripped and 350,000 tonnes of ore stockpiled.

Jan 1, 1989

The mechanization of the coal industry in New South Wales involved the introduction of large face and transport machines. The trend is towards still higher capacity units with .greater horsepower and it became apparent that a potential risk of damage to the hearing of workmen existed. In order to assess whether the sound levels were SUfficiently high to impair the hearing of workmen a sound level survey of all major operations in the industry was carried out by the Mining Engineering Division of the Joint Coal Board.The results indicated ·that the operations could be classified into three categories of risk, probably hazardous, of doubtful hazard due to the intermittency of the operations, and of low hazard.Legislation has subsequently been enacted requiring the wearing of hearing preservation aids in some of the probable risk operations.

Jan 1, 1974

By M Armstrong, S J. Coward, A Galli

Mine management is often expected to make rapid evaluation decisions at different stages of projects based on limited and uncertain data. The challenge is exacerbated by having to distil technical complexity into a financial model that is usually designed to produce only one or two key indicators, eg net present value (NPV), internal rate of return (IRR). Mining is a complex environment with many sources of uncertainty ranging from sampling to economics. In order to optimise investment decision-making, an appropriately structured evaluation framework must be utilised. An evaluation framework should be designed to encapsulate and integrate the complexity across the evaluation cycle, ie sampling, resource estimation, mine planning and treatment, and financial and economic modelling. This complexity is diverse and ranges from sampling support, scale effects to understanding the impact of variability, uncertainty and flexibility on operational efficiency and economic viability. These complexities, combined with time and capital constraints, usually do not allow all facets of evaluation to be integrated into the model. The model must strike a balance between simplified estimation techniques and sufficient incorporation of aspects of the project that will make a material difference to the investment decision. This paper demonstrates the impact of the scale of measurement on the valuation of a mineral project. Comparisons are made between global estimation averages using a top-down approach and local estimates using a bottom-up approach. Three sampling campaigns were conducted on a virtual orebody to compare the relative NPV accuracies. Stochastic forward models were run on foreign exchange rates and are compared with the results from a fixed foreign exchange rate model.

Jan 1, 2006

By J Wei, A Yo, R Levy

Waste water reuse from municipal and industrial effluents is becoming increasingly important in many areas around the world. Water scarcity, local regulation and environmental impact are driving many industries like coal and copper mines to reuse the large volume of waste water they produce. For example, the Chinese coal industry generated about 4.2 billion tons of mine waste water in 2005 of which only approximately 30 per cent was reused. Coal energy represents 76.6 per cent of the total energy generated in China in 2007 and most of the coal-fired power plants are located in north-west of China, which is a water stressed area.The selection of mine waste water treatment process is challenging as the effluents typically contains high levels of organic compounds and salinity and their composition can vary significantly. In recent years there has been a growing interest in the integration of ultrafiltration (UF) and reverse osmosis (RO) membrane technologies for mine waste water treatment and reuse.In this paper, an overview of the design and performance of ultrafiltration and RO membranes applied for reuse of mine waste water are discussed. A study was carried out in two effluents treatment plants treating copper and coal mine waste water, which are located in Chile and China respectively. The following topics will be discussed to demonstrate the performance of an integrated membrane system in mine waste water reuse: The main challenges from copper mine waste water treatment: high level of chemical oxygen demand (COD); high level of total suspended solids (TSS); high salinity; high concentration of silica, sulfate, iron and other contaminants; and fluctuation of raw water quality. The main challenges from coal mine waste water treatment: high level of total dissolved solids, and waste water quality fluctuation. Design parameters for waste water treatment systems: Selection of pretreatment for dual-membrane system in the copper mine: Clarifier with coagulation and flocculation to remove high TSS; Dissolved Air Flotation (DAF) to remove non-settling solids; Media filtration to handle fine solids and particulate organics; Activated Carbon filters (ACF) to remove dissolved organics, colour and odours. Selection of UF and RO membranes and specific design of their recovery, flux, chemical dosage and cleaning regimes. Finally, the performance of UF and RO, including the main fouling factors and efficient cleaning procedures, will be presented and compared to the design parameters to demonstrate the efficiency and performance of the selected integrated membrane systems in each case.

Jan 1, 2009

The Beckman Air Comparison Pycnometer is as accurate as the specific gravity bottle for the determination of the volume of fine powders, or particles, up to 50 c.c. in volume. The determination using the air comparison pycnometer is performed in a much shorter time.A graph of density versus iron content for samples from four different iron ore deposits shows that iron contents can be obtained to within 4 per cent iron. Field geologists should be able to obtain quick and relatively accurate iron contents of ore samples using the air comparison pycnometer at these deposits.INTRODUCTIONA Beckman Model 930 Air Comparison Pycnometer was purchased to decrease the time required for the determination of the volume of stones and powders. The liquid displacement method was used previously and the time required per determination varied from a few minutes for stones to half an hour, or more for fine powders. With the air comparison pycnometer, the determination takes approximately 2 min and can be quickly checked for accuracy by a further determination. The total time for weighing, determining, and checking the volume is no more than 5 min.DESCRIPTION AND PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION OF PYCNOMETERDescriptionThe air comparison pycnometer measures the volume of materials, in c.c., by determining the amount of air displaced.A diagram of the main components is given in Fig. l.Cylinders A and B are equal in volume and each has a piston which is moved by turning a handwheel attached to a geared shaft. The measuring piston shaft is geared to a 5...

Jan 1, 1963

Treatment of Gold-Bearing Oxide High-Clayish Ores The analysis of modern state of treatment technologies of gold-bearing oxide high-clayish ores showed that the main method applied both in Russia and abroad is sorption leaching and heap leaching with preliminary granulating. The use of any of these processes depends on many factors including average gold grade, site and area of a deposit, clay content and etc. The two processes are often used at the same deposit. In this case, rich ores are treated according to a plant technology, poor ores and ores with cut-off grade are treated with heap leaching. Both technologies possess their own advantages and disadvantages. A plant technology is characterised by high recovery with higher capital and operating costs at the same time. Lower recovery during heap leaching can be attributed to an unstable quality of ore granulating due to both technological and weather conditions. In case of poor high-clayish ores, the use of a combined ore treatment is possible and profitable. It includes the ore disintegration and a clayish fraction treatment by using a heap leaching. In this case, capital and operating costs reduce in comparison with a plant technology and the recovery increases in comparison with heap leaching. Sometimes it reaches a plant recovery. These ores possess special features. As a rule, gold is associated with ore fraction, so it liberates readily from the association with ore ore-forming minerals even with relatively coarse grinding explain their high solution velocity in a hydrometallurgical cycle. Clayish ores are characterised by high sorption activity to gold cyanide complexes as well as extremely low velocity of filtration and thickening of slimic pulps at the same time. The paper describes the options of oxidised high-clayish ores treatment, such as, a plant technology (PIP and CIP process), heap leaching and a combined technology (disintegration, heap leaching of a crystalline fraction and sorption cyanidation). The obtained results were used when selecting a treatment technology and during construction of a plant for oxidised high-clayish ores treatment.

Sep 13, 2010

To the industrial geologist, as wen as to the general or historic geologist, the possession of a reliable key to the true order or sequence of the stratigraphy or position of the various upper rocky envelopes of the earth's crust, is, equally, a desideratum of the utmost importance. Of similar value to the two groups of students is the possession of facts which throw light upon the relationships which subsist between the puccessive rock formation of different countries, especially between countries lying close to each other, or within the same great geographical division.But there is necessarily a fundamental distinction which marks the respective limits of the field of observations of the industrial geologist, and the purely historic interest of the general geologist. The former has a more definite though less extensive scope. The scope of the latter is wide and indeterminate. In short, the observations of the industrial geologist are, 'from a commercial or economic point of view, of a more practical character, and are, therefore, intentionally restricted to the study of all geological questions which throw light upon the rocks which yield products of economic value and only include the study of the character and history of other rocks, in so far, as they afford aid to the more perfect comprehension of the best manner in which materials of economic value are likely to be sought, and the best means whereby these products may be secured for the material advantage of the community. The motive of the general geologist-in most cases-is a love of the study of some particular branch or province of the geological field, and the fascination of opening a new volume in nature's library, and the hope of extending the realm of knowledge, however slight, are often sufficient, as a motive, to enlist the energy and life's devotion of the true brethren of the hammer, irrespective of considerations regarding the commercial utility of the pursuit.

The Physiographical Features of the Region The Middleback; Range proper, from the Iron Duke in the south to the Iron Prince in the north, extends in a meridional direction for 21 miles, but may well be taken to embrace also the Iron Knob and Iron Monarch prominences so that the total length of the Range is 37 miles.Although no great altitudes are reached, the slopes of the high country are steep and the Range stands out prominently above the peneplaned surface of upper Eyre Peninsula. The Range is built up of sub-parallel ridges at some places, and its continuity is interrupted by transverse breaks or gaps resulting from normal stream erosion and corrosion during earlier periods when precipitation was heavier and streams were more active. Traces of high-level gravels remain on the flanks of Kimba Gap. A former mature stream on the western side of the Range has had its lower reaches blocked by sand and the old stream channel has been converted into an eiongated basin of internal drainage. The sand dunes in this area appear to be practically stationary at present, being fixed by mallee vegetation. Their trend is west-northwest.The relief of the Range is regarded as having been determined primarily by meridional strike faulting and selective silification of some of the beds. Dip faulting on the Iron Duchess leases has produced subsidiary features only.The Rocks of the Region: In order that some of the points made in the discussion of the genesis of the ore bodies may be appreciated it is necessary to consider the stratigraphical succession and the igneous types represented. This classification may be...

Jan 1, 1949

The mineral matter has been isolated from a selection of Australian bituminous coals using low temperature (radio-frequency) oxidation or hydrogen peroxidation techniques and the species present identified by x-raydiffraction. Quartz, kaolinite, and a range of mixed layer clay minerals are the dominant constituents of the coals studied, with carbonate, sulphate, and phosphate minerals abundant in some samples. The clay bands thatoccur within these coal seams contain similar mineral assemblages to the coals themselves, but the lutites that form the inter-seam strata have a markedly different mineralogy, characterized by abundant quartz andillite and a low kaolinite content.The kaolinite is thought to have formed chiefly by interaction of silica and alumina in the waters of the coal swamp, aided by the catalytic action of organic acids, while most of the other clay minerals are probablydetrital. The absence of illite from Australian coals is not fully understood, but it may reflect the action of organic acids on the detritus in the swamp, coupled with deposition in freshwater rather thanmarine conditions. Pyrite, although present in some coal samples when fresh, may undergo oxidation during storage to form a number of sulphate minerals, some of which may interact with any calcite present toform gypsum.The mineral matter assemblage in the coal determines to a great extent the fusion characteristics of the ash.Unless abundant carbonates are present, coals with kaolinite-rich assemblages have a very refractory ash, while those rich in chlorite or montmorillonite have ash fusion temperatures between 1000 and 1300°C. Theinfluence of the minerals on coal preparation and coking properties is also brieflY discussed, as well as the potential of mineral matter studies in coal seam correlation.

Jan 1, 1978

By T Sylow, A Correa De Araujo, M Gotelip Barbosa

ArcelorMittal is among the largest world’s producers of iron ore. With a geographically diversified portfolio of iron ore and coal assets, it is strategically positioned to serve the network of steel plants, as well as supply the external global market. ArcelorMittal Mining has a global portfolio of 14 iron ore operating units across Brazil, Bosnia, Canada, Kazakhstan, Liberia, Mexico, Ukraine and the United States. Iron ore products include concentrate for sintering and pelletising, pellets, directly shipped fines and lump ore. This paper presents an overview of ArcelorMittal iron ore mines including iron ore typologies and the annual production of each unit. It will also briefly discuss the processing required in order to obtain marketable products.CITATION:Gotelip Barbosa, M, Correa De Araujo, A and Sylow, T, 2017. Overview of ArcelorMittal mining operations and research and development, in Proceedings Iron Ore 2017, pp 161–116 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Jul 24, 2017

By Creasey J. W, Huntington J. F

Faults cutting the Lithgow and Katoomba seams in some collieries of the Western Coalfield can be classified, on the basis of spatial pattern, into three principal groups: meridional swarms of closely spaced minor faults and associated joints, with throws of less than 0.5 m and with exceptional faults of up to 5 m; isolated interswarm strike-slip faults in the Lithgow seam and widely spaced strike-slip faults in swarms in the Katoomba seam; and low-angle normal faults associated with the Lidsdale-Lithgow seam split.Orientations of faults and coal cleats in the coalfield are presented on stereoplots and histograms, as a basis for an analysis of fault dynamics. The low-angle normal faults were found to have been formed only along the Lidsdale-Lithgow seam split, and before the high-angle faults. The origin of the high-angle normal faults in the meridional swarms is discussed and it is suggested that basementcover interactions must have occurred. This suggestion is supported by geophysical evidence. Low-amplitude monoclines in the coal seam, and the spacing of swarms 0.9 to 4.5 km apart, may be due to the underlying basement structure.It is clear that postextensional compressive deformation of swarms in the coalfield gave rise to shortening by minor thrust development, and probably also caused the synchronous strike-slip movement on pre-existing normal faults. There is evidence to show that isolated interswarm strike-slip faults in the Lithgow seam, and widely spaced strike-slip faults in the Katoomba seam, may have originated synchronously with such thrusts. The axis of maximum principal compression ('71) for the thrust event was inferred to be near horizontal and aligned approximately E-W. Recent rock mechanics measurements of the present day stress field indicate a similar stress configuration.

Jan 1, 1981

THERE are certain facts that the mining industry in Australia is faced with at the present moment which may be accepted as axioms. The industry is at a low ebb, as evidenced by statistics. Metals form the basis of all modern industries, and are necessaryfor the welfare of Australia. Mining is a wasting asset. Every ton of ore extracted is one ton less which c.annot be made good, and it should be our duty to get as much profit froin that ore as possible, otherwise there is a permanent loss to the country.The metal market cannot be controlled by Australia; it is more or less an international matter. Australia has not been thoroughly prospected. There are no mines being developed that are likely to replace those which are being depleted.Our mining engineers are as capable as those in other parts of the world, and have made good where they have been given a chance. There is no one cause for the present depression; there are several, more or less, interwoven. Of course, the war has had an adverse effect, but that has only dislocated things temporarily; it upset our markets, influenced the price of metals, and affected the labour market and cost of stores. Labour troubles made their appearance before the wave of unrest swept over the world. The cause of labour discontent must be investigated, and if possible removed. As each industry has .its·own problems, miners must inquire into their special problems, as there is no sovereign remedy that will suit all cases.It is obvious that we cannot mine ore if we do not know where it is; therefore, the first thing is to discover workable deposits.

Jan 1, 1919

It is a great honour to be privileged to address The Institute for a second time as President and I appreciate it more than I can say. Eight years ago in Hobart I tried to cover the development of the mineral industry in Tasmania. That was a general subject. Tonight I want to be more specific - I propose to talk to you about rutile.The choice of subject for a Presidential Address is never easy. One is addressing an informed audience and the best one can do is to try to crystallize a particular subject and to present it in a form that willbe of interest to those who listen.I looked carefully at the addresses given by our Presidents over the past seven or eight years. The titles are impressive, the content excellent, and the length, as published, much greater than I had hoped.It is therefore with some trepidation that I have chosen as a subject one only of the three crystal forms of titanium dioxide. This subject is not as limited as may at first appear.There are two aspects with which I can deal - the mineral itself, which has become familiar as the major product of the East Coast beach sand operations, and the lesser-known "synthetic" product, which is the major pigment in almost all the white paints in common use today, and in cosmetics and white-walled tyres and toothpaste, and even the better types of fine papers. The synthetic form of rutile is' the "whitest"of white pigments.

Jan 1, 1966

Mr. Murray said: Having recently returned from a visit to America, it may be of interest to members to hear something from me of the mining fields and metallurgical works which I had the opportunity of seeing, and the impressions which I formed concerning general practice and conditions there, as compared with our Australian standards in the mining industry, and in matters generally.The most striking feature of the North American continent is thehuge plan upon which Nature has built, the multiplicity of immense mountains, rivers, and lakes, the snow-covered tops of the former forming reservoirs for the latter during the summer months, being most impressive to the Australian visitor. Starting from Vancouver I travelled east for over 500 miles through the wonderful Canadian...

Jan 1, 1927

By Woodcock J. T

During the dissolution of gold in fully aerated cyanide solutions the CN ion is the active agent, and consequently the usual method of evaluating the dissolving power of such solutions is to determine the CN- concentration analytically. The presence in the solutions of copper and/or zinc which themselves form complex cyanides, may result in erroneous conclusions as to the free cyanide ion concentration determined by titration.In this paper the theory of titration of such solutions has been developed, and potentiometric methods have been used to follow the behaviour of complex cyanides of copper and zinc. The results for cuprocyanides show Cu (CN)s to be the most important copper complex, and in addition they explain the reported low rates of solution of gold in copperbearing solutions which when titrated in the usual way, appear to have adequate free cyanide. An explanation of the misleading value of the titration is given, and suggestions for recognition of the condition are offered. Preliminary results for zinc-bearing solutions show that there is no satisfactory end-point for the titration of CN- in excess of that in the complex Zn (CN) 4=, which dissociates to CN and Zn(CN)g-.

Jan 1, 1950

The proper selection of a coal for a particular use depends on knowledge of fundamental data concerning the coals that offer, particularly their type and rank. Type of coal depends on the nature of the original plants and the environment in which they accumulated.Rank reflects the subsequent metamorphism of the coal, and is of two kinds-physical rank and chemical rank.INTRODUCTIONIn the different coalfields of the Commonwealth of Australia there occur many different kinds of coal which provide the coal-research worker with a wide range of material, but to the fuel technologist they represent complex problems in utilization.In the past it has been common practice to instal coal-using equipment of a design based on plant used in large industrial centres of other countries and then search for supplies of suitable coal. This has led to the transportation of coal mainly from New South Wales to other States, which have inadequate supplies of coal suitable for use in the equipment they have installed. However, modern economy and industrial practice demand local resources of coal for the development of industry, transport and domestic services, and a change in the old order is rapidly taking place. Technologists and engineers are now faced with the problem of designing and installing equipment to use whatever kind of coal is available in local coalfields.Much has been accomplished in this direction and important investigations are at present being carried out, but there still remains a wide field of problems for research.In planning and carrying out investigations into coal utilization it is essential that fundamental data and knowledge should be available and that its significance should be appreciated.

Jan 1, 1955

By F N. Baez

This paper supplements a keynote address prepared for the MassMin 2016 conference on mass underground mining methods, including block, panel, inclined and sublevel caving. It advocates for a new cave mining paradigm that takes advantage of a number of new and disruptive technologies or innovations that have evolved over the last 15 years, some of which were initiated by major mining companies such as Codelco. The paper will address the challenges that the industry will be facing in the future as well as possible solutions. As background, the paper summarises the challenges that the industry has faced in the past and how such challenges were addressed. The author acknowledges that given his more than 30 years of experience with Codelco Chile (operations and corporate), aspects of his intelligent mining concept have no doubt been influenced and have matured during his invaluable time with Codelco also as the Head of Technology and Innovation. In the paper, he uses some of the innovations developed within Codelco and by the Chilean Government to illustrate the concept of ‘intelligent mining’.CITATION:Baez, F N, 2016. ‘Intelligent mining’ – the way of the future, in Proceedings Seventh International Conference and Exhibition on Mass Mining (MassMin 2016), pp 3–8 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

May 9, 2016

The prevention of silicosis by metallic aluminium has been reported by Denny, Robson, and Irwin in two papers. The first was published in 1937; the second in 1939. The results definitely established that silicosis was prevented in animals by the inhalation of small quantities of aluminium. The present communication records subsequent progress in this field of research.HARMLESSNESS OF ALUMINIUMAnimal experiments having served their purpose, it became necessary to consider means to test the discovery on humans. A question for immediate consideration was: Is aluminium harmful to man when inhaled as a fine powder? While the animal experiments were reassuring, since they conclusively showed the powder to be innocuous when breathed by animals, it was, nevertheless, desirable to have additional reassurance with regard to its effect upon human beings.Through the courtesy of the Aluminium Company of America and especially the valued interest in this problem displayed by that Company's Director of Research, Dr. Francis C. Frary, a study was made of the records pertaining to the health of a group of 125 employees who had for many years been engaged in the manufacture of finely powdered, metallic aluminium for the paint and ink industries. The conditions were such that these employees had inhaled varying and oft-times very dense concentrations of this powder daily over periods ranging from 6 to 23 years, the average 101 the group being 12 years. X-ray pictures of their chests showed no abnormalities attributable to aluminium. Their general health seemed better than that of the 3,000 workers in other sections of the plant. In fact, the early films of three employees in this group of 125 showed shadows suggestive of minimal tuberculosis, which shadows were not discernible in films taken after considerable periods of exposure to aluminium powder.The harmlessness of aluminium was; by this study, reasonably well established at the outset, a finding subsequently verified by Ontario research on humans.PROPOSAL TO TREAT HUMAN SILICOSISBased upon these findings, a proposal to treat silicotics with aluminium was discussed by officials of the Mclntyre Mine and the Banting Institute.

Jan 1, 1945