Search Documents

By Bailey DJ

Loader cut and fill stoping was first used at New Broken Hill Consolidated Limited mine in 1966. The equipment used included single boom pneumatic jumbos for drilling up- holes, diesel loaders for ore removal and diesel utility vehicles for rockbolting and servicing. Since 1966, there have been many modifi- cations and changes both in the equipment and stoping method. Twin boom pneumatic or hy- draulic drilling jumbos have replaced single boom pneumatic jumbos, electric loaders have replaced diesel loaders, diesel forklifts have replaced utility vehicles and "'flatbacking" has superseded uphole stoping. Concurrent with this has been the introduction of cable dowels in stope backs which has enabled loader cut and fill stoping to be used more extensiv- ely than in the past. There are now six loader cut and fill stopes at both mines and this paper traces the evolution of this method outlining the reasons for changes in technique and equipment.

Jan 1, 1982

This paper deals with the evolution of present mechanised declining and orebody development practices at Kambalda, since their inception in 1969. Eight separate decline accesses have been established over the past eighteen years and to date some 175 kilometres of declining and lateral development has been achieved utilizing a wide range of mechanised development and mucking units. Improvements in-the range of equipment available, functionalization of the develop- ment tasks and the resultant changes to piecework contract structuring have all contributed to the improved performances achieved in this concept of mine development. Even though numerous development advance rate records have been established at Kambalda, an ongoing evaluation of changes to both drilling and mucking units is underway to further improve these development performance rates.

Jan 1, 1987

In presenting the paper, Mr. Davey quoted subsequent work which yielded k, at miscibility gap composition, of about 50.We can confirm the authors' findings for k j 300 for nearly pure tin to k 2 about 50 (average 47) from our own experience and from repeat experiments on materials described by the authors, at 1150°C.During laboratory-scale trials we also found confirmation of the authors' view that it is more difficult to reach equilibrium from the high-iron (in slag) side than from the low-iron (high-tin) side. Working from the high-iron side tends to yield results that point to a high k, leading to optimistic values of iron/tin ratio in final slags. In practice the smelting of a tin concentrate, unless it is exceptionally low in tin and high in iron, must yield initially a tin-rich slag and therefore equilibrium can only be reached from the "tinny" side.

Jan 1, 1967

By Turner R. B

The authors have studied and analysed many mineral resource and related projects in Australia. These studies have lead them to conclude that the past performance of many project developers does play a major part in any external financial investment for new or expanding resource based projects. In this paper the authors look particularly at the influence of parties outside the direct control of developers and the effect of-these parties on projects and conclude with a number of points as guidelines for potential project developers. This paper represents the view of the authors only and should not be taken as a representation of the views of the Australian Resources Development Bank Limited.

Jan 1, 1980

The Lennard Shelf Operations owned by Western Metals Ltd evolved from the Cadjebut Zinc Lead Mine (BHP) in August 1994. Original production of 0.5 mtpa will rise to 2.0 mtpa at the end of 1998. Employees work a multiple of fly-in/fly-out (FIFO) rosters from the Kimberley region and the WA Capital. The three underground mines, treatment and services departments will employ approximately 300 people by the end of 1998. The expansion of the Lennard Shelf Operations as a remote mining location was based on a fresh look at management systems and employee rosters which were generated from many years of mining experience. This paper will endeavour to summarise these experiences and analyse some of their outcomes. Dealing with several mining methods, engineering difficulties, logistical problems and climate extremes, the Lennard Shelf Operations has managed social/employee issues with excellent results. Much time has been spent to get this correct for the Lennard ShelfÆs own set of circumstances. Employees and associated companies must expect continuing changes and improvement as Western Metals strives to continually improve its management systems and employee rosters.

Jan 1, 1998

The constraints in university courses are lack of hours, high cost of scientific equipment, and poor availability of suitably experienced staff. These have forced the balance away from practical work and towards more theory. Labelling of individuals as either practical, or academic, does not help the inter- change of staff between industry and univer- sities that is necessary to balance idealism and realism. Practical men who do return to universities may lose seniority and find that industry is reluctant to have them back. Academics who specialise too long may concentrate on their research to the exclusion of basic material. It is difficult to operate pilot scale plants in universities because of lack of time, and obsolescent equipment. Small grants from industry might enable tests to be run in research laboratories such as at C.S.I.R.O.. Within universities there may be a need for greater interchange of students among depart- ments, aided by the absence of weighted student unit measurements, as suggested by Aus.I.M.M. and A.M.I.C.

Jan 1, 1984

By J M. Dwyer, S Williamson

Acceptable post-closure performance of decommissioned mining operations is a critical factor in persuading todayÆs environmentally conscious public that the mining industry will not continue to burden future generations with the legacy of environmental tragedies. Post-closure impacts must be identified and managed through robust engineering design if the post-closure environment is to be environmentally sustainable. To manage potential post-closure risks (environmental, health, safety, social and economic) within acceptable limits, WMC incorporates a risk-based approach to closure planning and engineering design. WMCÆs risk-based closure engineering design process provides a simple methodology for developing robust closure plans û the process æengineers outÆ unacceptable risks and æengineers inÆ a sustainable post-closure environment. Benefits of the risk-based process include stakeholder endorsed closure criteria for an agreed post-closure land-use, focusing of resources on major risks, and a realistic and accurate estimate of the required closure provision. The outcome is an increased likelihood of satisfying the three pillar goals of sustainable development û a financially sound solution that poses a low risk to the environment and future generations.

Jan 1, 2003

Outsourcing of mining operations and services is done for various reasons and there is no single model which fits all situations. Experienced contractors and mine owners have also developed, more often than not, jointly, numerous commercial arrangements and project delivery methods to suit their particular project. It is often the case that some mine owners who have not considered outsourcing to contractors do so because of a simple lack of understanding of the potential benefits. This paper will highlight the potential benefits and perceived disadvantages of outsourcing for mine owners and demonstrate how these issues have been addressed by the mining contracting community over recent times as well as demonstrate the evolution of current commercial arrangements in engaging mining contractors.

Jan 1, 2006

The Bowen Basin of Central Queensland covers a total area of 3 200 000 ha. The Basin has proven reserves of about 24 000 000 tonnes of coking coal and steaming coal which constitutes about 70 percent of the known coal reserves in Queensland. Large scale open cut coal mining in the Bowen Basin commenced at Moura in 1959. There are now 16 open cut mines operating in the Basin and they collectively mine through about 3000 ha of land each year. Most of the land which has been mined has previously been used for extensive grazing. No mining has yet taken place on cropping land although coal reserves underlie land which has been cropped or has potential for cropping. The primary objectives of almost all of the mining companies operating in the Bowen Basin are to rehabilitate mined land to a stable and productive form which is compatible with surrounding land use which is dominantly grazing. The acceptability of these objectives is considered against the prospect of mining of cropping land and the qualified success of the return of rehabilitated land to grazing uses.

Jan 1, 1987

By Denholm WT

A mathematical model has been developed for intense pneumatic smelting processes, such as the Sirosmelt group of processes, to assist in establishing optimum process conditions and to permit operator training. The model first solicits input operating conditions from disk files and from the operator. During operation, the feed, fuel, and air (or oxygen) rates are automatically adjusted to maintain the desired process targets. Alternatively, these parameters, as with all other inputs, may be manually controlled by the operator. Selected process parameters are displayed to the terminal in a regularly updated diagram of the process,. Outputs of detailed information including heat and mass balances are available for immediate inspection or for use by ancillary plotting packages. Development of a robust free energy minimization routine has led to a flexible and time efficent model capable of handling a range of pyrometallurical systems. Modelling of tin smelting, lead smelting, copper smelting, matte fuming, and pneumatic steel-making has been sucessfully carried out. Typical outputs from the model are given and discussed in terms of their internal consistency and relationship to the operation of the relevant Sirosmelt process. `

Jan 1, 1984

A zone rich in-fish debris in the Rolling Dow= Group in the sub-surface of the Great-Artesian Basin has been discovered a Further research has shoe i this zone to-be of very wide distribution in the Artesian Basin and to occur. at the base of the Ta?nbo .f ormati'on resting on the Roma forma-tion. The zone gives a very characteristic curve on the electric and' gamma ray logs and is thus an excellent correlation marker in the sub-surface over a very wide area. It is probably to be correlated sith.the Toolebuc member described from: outcrops east of Boulia. There .are apparent similarities between the Fishecale zone of the Great Artesian Basin in' Australia and the Fishscale sand of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin.

Jan 1, 1962

Natural gas was introduced to the Melbourne reticulation system in April 1969 and since that date sales to industrial consumers in the Gas & Fuel Corporation of Victoria area of supply, have increased by over 50% This increase has occurred despite the fact that the areas in which the new fuel is available have been dependent on the progress of the conversion operation from manufactured gas. The half way mark for conversion was reached in May 1970. The reason for the adoption of natural gas by industrial users is usually the result of objective financial analysis leading to the conclusion that the new fuel will give the lowest overall production cost. Many factors are involved in such an analysis of which the price of the fuel is only one. Amongst other important elements in the cost calculation are:- -ò òò -(1) The effect of fuel on product quality (2) Maintenance and handling costs for alternative fuel. In addition to economic gains for the individual user, the use of natural gas should benefit the whole community through its effect on such things as, air pollution and overseas balance of payments.

Jan 1, 1970

In order to formulate appropriate and useful education and training policies and practices, it is crucial to firstly consider the demographic environment of our workforce-and the direction in which it is (known to be) heading. We can predict with a degree of certainty, that the role and influence of training on the future survivability of organisations will- become increasingly critical. This will be particularly relevant for those industries and organisations which are technologically based. The ad-hoc use of training is and, will no longer be appropriate. Organisations must move toward the on-going use of a dynamic education and training strategy based on an effective staff development programme, which meets the short and medium term needs of the organisation. The Technisearch approach is based on maximizing the efficacy of training and learning. The package provides.a total service to meet clients training needs using educational techniques geared to adult learning. it stresses the importance of ongoing research into industrial adult training and its effectiveness in improving skills and productivity. Current research on roles of supervisors in the Australian workplace and the development of the Supervisory Behaviour Questionnaire. (SBQ) indicates the need for a proper framework within which the objectives of training can be addressed.

Jan 1, 1986

By A S. Ray, P S. Thomas

The characterisation of the surface area and porosity of opals derived from Tintenbar, a volcanic environment, and Lightning Ridge, a sedimentary environment, using nitrogen gas adsorption at -196¦C is reported. Both opal types were found to have relatively low surface areas and displayed little porosity. The low surface areas observed is indicative of the ability of silica to infill voids and interstices. Thermogravimetric analysis of the samples before and after degassing was carried out to determine the amount of water removed by the degassing process. Negligible difference was found in the water content before and after degassing in the case of the Lightning Ridge sedimentary opal, while the Tintenbar volcanic opal was found to have lost more that 60 per cent of its water during the degassing process. These differences were ascribed to the differences in the silica structure of the opals with the Lightning Ridge opal having a denser cage structure, which traps the molecular water, while a more open structure is postulated for the Tintenbar opal, allowing the water to be relatively easily removed.

Jan 1, 2008

Mining is claimed to be unique among industries owing to its dependence on exploration for its existence, the need to operate in remote, inhospitable areas, the vast capital sums required for development, the need to pay royalties regardless of profitabil- ity, the wide swings in prices for many of its products, the finite life of each-mineral deposit, its susceptibility to criticism by environmentalists, its dependence on export markets and sensitivity to' cost and exchange rate fluctuations, the uncertainties inherent in most mining legislation, pressures to grant mineral rights to aboriginal communities and the burden of having to finance its own infrastructure. The special problems of the industry have been recognised in the income tax laws which, generally speaking, allow for the deduction of all capital expenditure before tax is payable. Notable exceptions to this rule are the absence of special deductions for mineral processing facilities and the absence of any deductions for a large part of the expenditure on ports and port towns. The scope and extent of infrastructure expenditure is discussed. The consequences of the burden imposed on the industry include tax inequity, higher capital and operating costs, "high grading" and

Jan 1, 1974

By Borsaru M

The production of high-grade calcined bauxite is very dependent on the moisture content of the final product. Existing procedures rely on the ignition of small samples to monitor the effectiveness of the calcination process. The results obtained by this gravimetric technique are several hours behind production and do not permit regular adjustment of the furnace to optimize the control of the chemically bound water content (LOI).To provide rapid and hence more relevant results, a neutron moderation technique has been developed for measuring the LOI of bulk samples of calcined bauxite while they are still hot. The method uses fast neutrons from an 241 Am-Be neutron source to irradiate the samples, and the backscattered thermal neutrons detected are a measure of bound moisture content.The rms deviation between neutron and conventional determinations of LOI, in 15 calcined bauxite samples, was 0.08 per cent LOI over the range 0.1 to 0.9 per cent LOI. When allowance is made for the rms error in the ignition method, the error in the neutron method is found to be 0.07 per cent LOI.

Jan 1, 1985

By Trendell B

While objective selection and assessments are an accepted part of employing managers and other staff, they have had only a limited place when selecting mineworkers in Australia. Wambo Mining Corporation has used occupational testing as part of its recruitment process since 1994. For managers and staff in particular, it is considered this has contributed significantly to a 95 % fit of those appointees. In 1997 when Wambo undertook development of a new "on site" subsidiary underground mine called Wollemi Services, they wanted to select the most appropriate people in terms of skill and on the job performance. To achieve this they reviewed and improved their recruitment processes to facilitate selection and transfer of an initial intake of almost 50 staff and mineworkers.One of the issues for Human Resource Management was to provide an environment where employees could let go of previously held (but not necessarily individually believed) entrenched views about individual performance and assessment. It needed to be emphasised that performance could be objectively and fairly assessed. More importantly, the performance being assessed was the application of skills and that new skills could be learnt and individuals could choose to change Behaviour.

Jan 1, 1998

We have been exploring for minerals in Australia for over 100 years and our methods are constantly improving - but why do we pros- pect? Is the effort justified? Obviously the main motive is economic gain. It is now and always has been but conditions are changing rapidly. Once it was the prospector who could cash the nugget. Then it was the syndicate, the small company, an amalgamation of small companies, the large company, the corporation; the multinational corporation - where do we go from there? Early there was personal satisfaction and excitement in out-door activity which gave scope for individual energy, hope and in some cases reward. There still remains the satisfaction, either individual or corporate that a mineral discovery creates new wealth and makes a contribution to the nation's well being. Parallel with developments has always been the growth of restraints on exploration, frequently out of phase with the current mineral developments - miners' rights, licences, titles, royalties, mining laws and regulations, taxation etc. As the operations have become more complex so the restraints have become more confining until it is now very necessary to question whether the chances of economic gain justify the risk and responsibility of mounting costly mineral exploration leading-to extensive capital development.

Jan 1, 1974

By van Eck M, Orr T, Eggleton R. A, Taylor G

The Charters Towers locality has been a historically renowned gold producing region and discovery of new ore deposits during the past decade have renewed exploration interests in the area. Further mineral exploration with conventional techniques is hindered by the presence of Cainozoic sedimentary deposits and volcanic flows overlying a major portion of the basement geology. Mineral exploration thus warrants new, innovative and cost-effective methods to probe beneath the Cainozoic cover in an attempt to discover new orebodies. There is growing awareness of the role of weathering as an agent of chemical dispersion into the cover sediments as well as a producer of supergene deposits in tectonically stable cratons (Butt and Zeegers, 1992). Consequently, landscape evolution coupled with regolith geochemistry is one of the methods increasingly being used to identify relevant sampling media to explore beneath weathered cover sediments and deeply weathered bedrock terrain (Anand, 1993). The aim of this paper is to describe and elucidate the regolith - landscape features of the region and combine geochemistry to assess the pertinence of the same on mineral exploration strategies in the Charters Towers area.

Jan 1, 1997

By P Hucker, E Hall

Harmony Gold operates the Mount Marion underground gold mine near Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. The mine consists of two ore zones, East and West, and mining of these zones is currently conducted using the sublevel caving method. When mining commenced in the Western zone, the span was insufficient to induce caving of the country rock above. Dyno Nobel, together with Harmony and 360 Drilling, developed an innovative drill and blast solution in order to promote cave propagation and improve the safety of personnel at the operation. The solution involved a series of shallow angle drill holes up to 90 m into the hanging wall of the West zone. These were charged with Titan« 7000 underground bulk emulsion and the HotShotÖ electronic initiation system. The blast used over seven tonnes of emulsion and 46 detonators and achieved the desired result without damaging nearby mine infrastructure.

Jan 1, 2007