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By D Miller, M Dowling, R Domotor

"This paper is focused on blasting activities undertaken as part of the Pacific Highway Upgrade – Tintenbar to Ewingsdale – project (T2E). This is a ‘priority 1’ Pacific Highway road construction project in New South Wales (NSW), to be completed by mid-2015 (weather permitting). T2E will provide approximately 17 km of dual carriageway road starting at the northern end of the Ballina bypass and extending to the Ewingsdale interchange, and will complete the existing dual carriageway road between Ballina and the NSW/Queensland border.Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) (formerly the Roads and Traffic Authority) is delivering the project on behalf of the NSW state and federal governments. In October 2011, RMS awarded a contract to Baulderstone Pty Ltd (now Lend Lease Engineering Pty Ltd – Lend Lease) to design and construct T2E. One of the key elements in this project is the St Helena Tunnel.In order to avoid the steep grades of St Helena Hill, eliminate a well-known accident black spot and maintain the aesthetics of the Byron hinterland escarpment, RMS and Lend Lease prepared designs to construct a 434 m long dual carriageway tunnel, 46 m below the ridge line of St Helena Hill. Lend Lease elected, where geotechnical conditions permitted, to use drill and blast methods to excavate the full tunnel profile, instead of traditional mechanical excavation techniques.Since all blasting locations (both inside and outside the tunnel) were in close proximity to nearby residents, the NSW Department of Planning and Infrastructure imposed strict air blast overpressure (airblast), ground vibration (vibration) limits and limited working hours. Both RMS and Lend Lease recognised that these restrictions meant that nearby residents may be exposed to blasting activities for longer than was necessary. As a result, after close consultation and agreement with the nearby residents, RMS applied successfully to the NSW Department of Planning to increase the airblast and vibration limits, as well as the working hours.Working under these new conditions, Lend Lease employed a range of best practice drill and blast technologies provided by both Orica Australia Pty Ltd and Atlas Copco Mining and Rock Excavation to improve the safety and efficiency of blasting activities and to minimise the potential negative impacts of the blasting works on affected residents. These technologies included: the use of a continuous environmental monitoring system to record the results of the blast events and provide quick and easy reporting to key stakeholders to address RMS specification requirements electronic detonators to enable accurate hole detonation timing for vibration compliance and to give project engineers the flexibility and precision to alter each design to suit the geological profile of each face the use of two software programs and advanced drill rigs to enable the efficient design of blasts, electronic transfer of designs to the drill rigs, as well as in-hole monitoring and recording of drilling performance the use of a specialised bulk emulsion system to deliver fully coupled bulk explosives into face blastholes to maximise fragmentation, and decoupled bulk explosives into perimeter blastholes, to reduce overbreak and deliver a cleaner profile.By taking a progressive approach towards the environmental restrictions and the work hours imposed, as well as utilising best practice blasting techniques, RMS and Lend Lease were able to blast with confidence and achieve their production deadlines and reduce the total cost of the project.Most importantly, RMS and Lend Lease were able to meet their environmental obligations and work constructively with the nearby residents to ensure that the blasting was undertaken as safely and efficiently as possible without delay or negative impact.CITATION:Dowling, M, Domotor, R and Miller, D, 2014. Improving excavation efficiency at the St Helena Tunnel using best practice drill and blast techniques, in Proceedings 15"

Sep 17, 2014

By T Baumgartl, B Richards

The association of specific plants and plant communities with soils developed over underlying superficial orebodies and mineralisation has been long recognised. It has given rise to the use of plant indicators for geobotanical exploration as a regular component of primary minerals reconnaissance where there is an undisturbed vegetation cover. That the chemical composition of indicator plants is a measure of their soil environment has further led to biogeochemical prospecting methods for minerals and its use in the mapping of underlying ore deposits. Where there is a strong surface expression of metal and metalloid anomalies, concentrations of potentially phytotoxic elements may reach a level at which they have strong selective impacts on plant populations. In such circumstances, natural selection has operated in the development of a unique flora composed of plant species and individuals with genetically-based tolerances to the stressed environment in which they continue to survive. These plants are called metallophytes. Metallophytes occur globally on all metalliferous sites, both in pristine undisturbed environments and in areas of mineral workings, ancient and modern. However, the best-developed primary metallophyte vegetation is found in the most ancient areas where there has been a long-term evolutionary impact of the underlying geology through ore weathering and dispersion of metals into the rhizosphere zone. Natural selection of metal-tolerant races of plants in these largely undisturbed areas can eventually lead to speciation and the development of an endemic regional metallophyte flora (Baker et al , 2010). Mineral wastes resulting from mining activities also allow colonisation by metal-tolerant individuals leading to the establishment of metallophyte communities. The distribution and extent of such communities is determined by regional and local factors relating to climate and substrate conditions and the availability of suitable plant resources on which natural selection can operate (Baker, 2009).The ability of metallophytes to tolerate extreme metal concentrations commends them as the optimal choice for ecological restoration of mineral wastes and metal-contaminated sites. Metallophytes have recently also spawned several novel phytotechnologies, including phytoremediation and phytomining (Chaney et al, 2000, 2005; Baker and Whiting, 2008). Action towards conserving the global metallophyte resource base is imperative because many species are under threat of extinction from new and extensive mining activities (Whiting et al, 2004). This has been identified as a priority in the Mining, Minerals and Sustainable Development (MMSD) Project of the Global Mining Initiative in 2002 but positive responses from the minerals industry have been slow. The last decade has, however, seen an ever-increasing interest in metal-tolerant and metal-accumulating plants, both from an academic standpoint and their use in revegetation and phytostabilisation (Tordoff et al, 2000; Baker and Whiting, 2008; Baker, 2009). Few studies have highlighted the need to conserve and develop these unique plants (Whiting et al , 2004). This presentation identifies future research needs for the conservation and exploitation of the global metallophyte biodiversity and its potential in sustainable mine closure. CITATION:Baumgartl, T and Richards, B, 2012. Evaporation and salt transport under variable climatic conditions, in Proceedings Life-of-Mine 2012 , pp 179-186 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Jul 10, 2012

By M Barkh, F X. Spachtholz

The mining industry faces significant environmental challenges in managing tailing ponds and wastewater treatment, including the risk of contaminated water, breaches of tailing dams, and energy-intensive treatment processes. Traditional methods involve pumping water to secondary treatment facilities for neutralisation, which is costly and poses operational and environmental risks. In response to these challenges, the Professional Mine Water Action Plan (PMAP) introduces a revolutionary approach that combines cutting-edge AI technology and environmentally friendly reagents for in situ neutralisation of acidic wastewater. PMAP leverages magnesium-based slowrelease reagents and AI-driven intelligent dispensing systems to optimise treatment processes within the tailing pond itself. The unmanned smart dispensing vessel (USDV) conducts bathymetry to gather data on water quality and hydrography, allowing the system to determine the appropriate reagent quantity and injection strategy. This approach transforms the tailing pond into virtual reaction columns, enabling individual and simultaneous water treatment while optimising efficiency. PMAP’s novel reagent demonstrates exceptional efficacy in removing critical metals like cobalt, nickel, and copper, as well as reducing harmful metals such as mercury and manganese to undetectable concentrations. Unlike traditional lime-based treatments, PMAP’s reagent prevents gypsum formation and reduces waste volume significantly, improving reagent utilisation and solid waste handling. Furthermore, PMAP technology offers benefits beyond environmental stewardship. By reducing water treatment costs and improving resource management, it enhances operational efficiency and aligns with broader corporate sustainability goals. Additionally, PMAP expedites permitting processes by eliminating the need for traditional water treatment infrastructure and mitigating risks associated with hazardous reagent transportation. Integrating PMAP as a pre-treatment for existing lime facilities provides further benefits, including optimisation of treatment operations, reduced reagent consumption, and the recovery of valuable metals from generated sludges. Overall, PMAP represents a groundbreaking advancement in mining wastewater management, showcasing the transformative potential of AI and environmentally friendly solutions to foster sustainable and responsible mining practices globally. Its inaugural project in the Yukon Territory aims to demonstrate its capability to remove contaminants from mine water, paving the way for widespread adoption in the industry.

Sep 1, 2024

By N M. Rana, A Take, N Ghahramani, S McDougall, S G. Evans

A critical issue associated with mining operations has been the stability of tailings impoundments. Some breach events have produced catastrophic tailings flows that have caused significant economic damage, mass casualties and long-lasting environmental impact in the downstream environment. This paper reports independently estimated values of runout distance, inundation area and fahrboschung of 16 tailings flows. The adopted methodology involves the geospatial analysis of satellite and aerial imagery to classify each tailings flow into a primary impact zone (Zone 1: main overland flow) and a secondary impact zone (Zone 2: along-creek diluted flow) to characterise runout. Only Zone 1 runout values are reported herein given the greater significance in relation to downstream impact. The fahrboschung is calculated using elevation data from global 30 m digital elevation models (DEMs) and source literature. The results show that all the selected tailings flows travelled long distances (2.4 km to 98.5 km) and inundated large areas (0.35 km2 to 27.0 km2) over very low fahrboschung values (0.04° to 4.8°). This indicates very high flow mobility that is largely governed by the high water content sourced from interstitial waters and, in many cases, supernatant ponds. Scatter plots display poor correlations owing to the complexity and variability in travel path characteristics (confinement, slope angle and obstructions) and the inherent properties of the flowing mass. The slope angle of the travel path exerts a strong control over the flow velocity which has implications on kinetic energy and downstream geomorphological impact. Mean tailings flow velocities may range from ~6 m/s on near-flat, open terrain to over 30 m/s in relatively steeper, channelised travel paths, indicating that tailings flows fall within the extremely rapid and high mobility spectrum of global mass movements. The presented work forms an inceptive part of the CanBreach tailings project, a major component of which is to develop a comprehensive database of case histories to examine the role of geotechnics, failure modes and downstream terrains in influencing tailings flow behaviour.

Jul 1, 2021

By C Smith, J Cilliers, K Hadler

Unstable flotation froths, that burst before they overflow, produce no concentrate. Increasing the froth stability to improve recovery is therefore an obvious control strategy. Froth stability can be measured readily as the fraction of air entering the flotation cell that overflows as froth, rather than bursting on the surface; the ‘air recovery.’ Air rate is one of the most significant variables affecting froth stability. It is interesting that froth stability (air recovery) is maximised at a specific air rate, above or below which it decreases. It is important for metallurgists to realise that this maximum froth stability also produces the maximum mineral recovery, without compromising concentrate grade. Flotation cells must be operated at the air rate that produces the highest air recovery. The peak air recovery (PAR) to maximum mineral recovery relationship was first demonstrated by Hadler and Cilliers in 2009. Since then, the relationship between PAR and flotation performance has been widely explored; varying air rate, froth depth and particle size. Industrially, reducing the flotation bank air rate to achieve PAR yielded better mineral recoveries than other down-the-bank air rate profiles. In this paper, we present an overview of these key developments and findings in flotation optimisation based on PAR. Furthermore, using new industrial data, we show that PAR is not just applicable to rougher-scavenger cells, but also to flotation columns. Finally, we consider the future application of such an optimising control concept. CITATION:Smith, C, Hadler, K and Cilliers, J, 2018. Flotation control using froth stability: past, present and future, in Proceedings 14th AusIMM Mill Operators' Conference 2018, pp 441–454 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Aug 29, 2018

By B Stewart

It has long been recognised that knowledge of the conditions existing in a mine after an incident is essential in deciding whether to deploy responders as part of the incident recovery process. Applying this knowledge in a structured manner to the assessment and the acceptability of the risks likely to be faced by those teams during response activities before authorising their deployment is an onerous task incumbent upon the person controlling the incident response. The Mine Event Management System (MEMS) provides structure and coordination in the management of mine events. It assists with the skills and knowledge for incident control teams to effectively manage any emergency or non-emergency event, be it large or small. In cases where multiple organisations are involved, the MEMS promotes effective joint operations through the use of common terminology and structure to provide seamless communication between agencies at all operational levels. The SQL-based software developed by Queensland Mines Rescue Service (QMRS) assists decision-makers to make considered options; it does not make decisions for you. When set-up, it allows the information that already exists within a mine’s Safety Health Management System that is relevant to the incident to be accessed and considered rapidly within the pressured environment of an emergency. Additionally, the incident specific questions contained within MEMS focuses the management team on gathering and assessing information relevant to the incident as it progresses. The software’s event log can be utilised as an auditable document for post incident investigation. The MEMS provides a process to properly consider the adequacy of the information available upon which decisions have to be made, to consider and acknowledge the hazards of the environments within or adjacent to which responders will need to work and to acknowledge and authorise the entry of responders into or to remain within a mine either during or post an incident occurring, once an acceptable level of risk is achieved.

Apr 16, 2024

By A McGann, P J. Coghill, D Miljak

"It is widely accepted that bulk ore sorting could provide a step change in processing of low-grade ores. For this to be achieved a rapid, accurate bulk sensor of grade is required as well as sufficient natural variation of grade in the ore stream. CSIRO trialled a magnetic resonance (MR) sensor capable of measuring chalcopyrite, and by inference total copper grade, on the 1300 t/h Ridgeway portal conveyor. The gauge produced an unprecedented set of data down to a 1 t scale for months at a time. This paper analyses the measured variation and compares it to a simple model derived from the bore core data and mixing within the block cave mine.The model of the small-scale (<1000 t) variation is developed using fractal methods which have successfully been used in the past for copper porphyry deposits showing a power law or near power law distribution of copper grade and vein sizes. These fractal distributions have two features highly favourable for segregating ore, a large proportion of low-grade pods and the large-scale spatial clustering of grade. We show the presence of fractal ordering in bore core data at short range in the Cadia Ridgeway porphyry deposit and measure its persistence in the crushed rock produced by the Ridgeway block cave mine over one month. The model is then extended to demonstrate the effect of varying head grade, mixing and pod (or diversion) weight on bulk sorting efficiency.CITATION:Coghill, P J, Miljak, D, McGann, A, 2016. Modelling Grade Variation in Crushed Ore at Cadia Ridgeway and Its Potential Consequences for Bulk Ore Sorting, in Proceedings The Third AusIMM International Geometallurgy Conference (GeoMet) 2016, pp 77–88 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne)."

Jun 15, 2016

By G Pattenden, R Hargreaves, P Pettit

"Even with the cyclic nature of mining, when it comes down to it, the bottom line is that whatever direction the commodity market is going there is always a desire to improve the economics of an operation in order to deliver a greater return to investors. Adapting to market pressures by introduction of an operational process change can often have a downstream impact. What may be less obvious is that reconciliation can play an important part in measuring the effectiveness of many operational changes. Through the adoption of best practice reconciliation and related comparisons, it is possible to measure the impact of changes across the mine value chain and identify variability that may have been introduced. Using analytical business improvement tools, examining and monitoring planned changes can be crucial in understanding whether the introduced changes have been effective and whether they have provided the expected result. Using several case studies, the authors will highlight the benefits provided by modern business intelligence tools, which can provide data validation and accurately report data trends related to both planned and unplanned change events.Citation:Hargreaves, R, Pattenden, G and Pettit, P, 2016. Measuring the Effectiveness of Change through Best Practice Reconciliation, in Proceedings Ninth AusIMM Open Pit Operators' Conference 2016, pp 71–83 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne)."

Nov 15, 2016

By King RP, Kientzler P

In recent years, ultrasonic comminution technology has been developed at the Utah Comminution Center. An ultrasonic grinding device was assembled and investigated. An ultrasonic transducer system has been significantly improved by using a special type of piezoelectric ceramic and preloading to 4.1 x le kPa to obtain maximum strength. The improved system provides constant and rapid vibratory promotion of fatigue fracture resulting in more effective breakage. The design principles for an ultrasonic mill are developed in this paper. Size reduction was successfully achieved in the ultrasonic nip-roll device for a variety of materials. Ultrasonic comminution has repeatedly demonstrated the capability of producing fine particles from a variety of materials. A comparison between ultrasonic grinding and dry ball milling of limestone showed that the ultrasonic device produced much narrower size distributions than the ball mill. This trend is especially obvious in the coarse size range where few particles remain, and in the fine size range where overgrinding is prevented. This behavior might have some interesting applications in areas other than mineral processing like powder metallurgy or material science where narrow and controlled product sizes are required for the successful elaboration of high-technology ceramics and glasses. Ultrasonic comminution has a significant advantage in the accurate control of the product size.

Jan 1, 1993

By J A. Meadows, M G. Annandale, G Castelain

Bauxite mining on Cape York Peninsula (CYP) commenced in the early 1960s in the region surrounding the town of Weipa. Rio Tinto Alcan (RTA) operates its bauxite mines on the homelands of 11 Indigenous Traditional Owner groups. The mining activity currently operates under three Aboriginal Agreements including an Indigenous Land Use Agreement – the Western Cape Communities Coexistence Agreement (WCCCA) – which provides RTA with access to the land in return for a range of benefits to the Traditional Owners, including employment, training, royalty payments and future relinquishment of the land (Klimenko and Evans, 2009). Despite reports of some ‘good progress’ in meeting the terms of the WCCCA (Klimenko and Evans, 2009, p 5), many of the region’s Traditional Owners remain dissatisfied. Two key areas of Indigenous community concern are the current premining management practices and the outcomes of post-mining landscape rehabilitation efforts.CITATION:Annandale, M G, Castelain, G and Meadows, J A, 2016. Sustainable mining – indigenous community benefit, in Proceedings Life-of-Mine 2016 Conference, pp 173–175 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Jun 28, 2016

By S D. Fox, P B. Swart

Statistics showing that mine rehabilitation is falling behind rates of disturbance continue to be reported in the media. Unfortunately, most reported statistics do not account for the large growth-cycle that mining in Australia experiences, where there are typically significant new disturbances with large portions of these areas not being available for rehabilitation for a number of years. Many commentators assert that better planning is required to ensure that rehabilitation will be able to achieve a safe, stable, non-polluting landform that meets the agreed post-mining landuse.This paper focusses on the revegetation aspects of mine rehabilitation and in particular the matters that need to be addressed in the planning stage so that revegetation success is ultimately able to be demonstrated to regulators and other stakeholders.CITATION:Fox, S D and Swart, P B, 2018. Planning revegetation for relinquishment, in Proceedings Life-of-Mine 2018, pp 113–115 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Jul 25, 2018

There is a difference in design aspects between steel linings and rubber linings for grinding mills. The basic design rules for rub- ber are described as well as the liner designs for different applications.

Jan 1, 1978

By C E. Woolley, H Jebaliya, J Foster

The East wall of the Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines Fimiston Open Pit (KCGM Superpit) has a history of wall instabilities impacting mining operations; the most significant of which occurred in May 2018, when more than 1 Mt of rock dislodged over six, 30 m high bench stacks and impacted the pit floor. Since 2011 approximately 1.250 Mt of material has fallen from the East wall at Fimiston Pit across three failure events (2011, 2018 and 2020). Each failure has been associated with major structures intersecting the pit walls: the Fiji Fault, the Australia East Secondary Splay Fault and the EWD3 Fault. In each instance the trigger for failure has been transient pore pressure in the pit walls. Northern Star will mine a cut back behind the failure area over a vertical distance of 180 m. Cut back mining will include the extraction of a remaining in situ wedge, which is assessed as kinematically able to fail, and a subvertical failure backscarp in Stage 1. A substantial amount of rill material from the 2018 and 2020 failures will be extracted in Stage 2. This paper presents the methodology in use to mine Stage 1 of the cut back, safely, through this potentially high-risk area, detailing the specific mining methodology employed, the controls put in place and the monitoring required. Day-to-day monitoring will be undertaken using the already installed slope stability radar and will feed into a daily assessment of activities which may be undertaken in the cut back area. Initial activities will focus on eliminating the potentially unstable wedge and vertical backscarp with use of innovative drill and blast techniques/products and the extensive use of remote capable equipment to limit personnel exposure.

Jun 22, 2022

When, in 1985, Marty McFly is accidentally sent back to 1955 in a DeLorean ‘time machine’ in Back to the Future, he encounters young versions of his parents, and must make sure they fall in love or he will cease to exist. This Conference celebrates 40 years since the inaugural Mill Operators’ Conference in Mt Isa in 1978; over this period, great technological advances have been made in almost all aspects of mill operation, resulting in considerable improvements in grades and recoveries from ever-more complex ores. However, in 2018, the mining industry is facing challenges that might have been difficult to predict in 1978 (or were they?). The computer revolution, the information revolution, and the bio-technology revolution have all contributed to the increase in operating efficiencies, but, combined with the social revolution, they also call into question the existence of the mining industry as we know it. This presentation looks back at the ‘way things were’ in the 1970s, and at what was then considered to be the ‘basics,’ and attempts to sketch what the mining industry might be like in 2058. As Back to the Future Part II demonstrates so vividly, it is much easier to review the past than predict the future. It is difficult to know what form the mining industry will have in 40 years’ time. Nevertheless, as this presentation will argue, it is important to take action now, to ensure that it (like Marty McFly) does not cease to exist. Some courses of action are proposed, including going back to the basics of a very different past.*This is an abstract only. No full paper was prepared for this abstract.*CITATION:Franzidis, J P, 2018. Back to basics or back to the future?, in Proceedings 14th AusIMM Mill Operators' Conference 2018, pp 3–4 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Aug 29, 2018

By Smele J. S, Dawes W. D

In recent years there has been a trend among mining companies to diversify exploration and development away from the countries that have dominated mining activity for the latter half of this century. With some exceptions, this trend is accelerating and is a function of the recognition that many parts of the world, with no previous exposure to modern exploration, are endowed with considerable mineral potential. In addition coincident with changing political and economic circumstances, many countries have recognised the benefits of attracting international mining investment and have radically changed policies, fiscal and legal regimes so as to encourage exploration and mining. Some countries, however, have not readily accepted mining for cultural or social reasons and have yet to make effective changes to mining legislation. For historical reasons, other countries may have little or no direct experience of western economics, nor may they fully recognise the need for stability and competitive fiscal and legal systems to attract foreign investment. Not all ventures in new countries have been commercial successes and there have been some lamentable and recent lapses from grace. Company strategies, company standards and management objectives can also vary widely from company to company. What may be an acceptable risk or rate of return for one may be completely

Jan 1, 1997

Mining of the Martha Hill epithermal gold deposit via open pit methods will excavate a pit to 15 m below sea level. Regular geotechnical evaluations of pit slopes have taken place. Details of the various components of these evaluations, including geological structure, material strength, and groundwater, are covered. Pitwall geological structures are represented clearly on pit floor grade control maps with the dominant sets being steeply dipping strike fractures. Cross cutting shears are common. Material strength is reflected by the oxidation status of the hydrothermally altered host rocks, with weaker material occurring in partially oxidised ground. Regional groundwater is generally high, particularly on the north-eastern side of the pit, where it has been little affected by de-watering. Geological structures appear to control the flow of groundwater in the proximity of pitwalls and require draining by the introduction of horizontal drains. An overview of pit slope design is given. Slopes are designed for overall slope stability, allowing for the occurrence of minor interbench failures.

Jan 1, 1991

By L Tatnell, R Mackay, A Tolooiyan

The multi-reversal direct shear test (MRDS) method is commonly used to measure the residual shear strength of soils. However, when the standard direct shear (DS) apparatus is used, the MRDS method is prone to two major sources of error: load cap tilting and specimen loss. These two sources of error can cause erratic behaviour in the residual shear strength curve, making it difficult or even impossible to determine the correct residual shear strength value of the specimen being tested. This paper presents the results of new modifications to the standard DS apparatus that prevent load cap tilting and specimen loss. Consolidated drained testing was performed on highly-over consolidated cohesive soil samples from a Latrobe Valley open pit mine, with results obtained from the modified DS apparatus showing a great improvement in the residual shear strength profile compared to those obtained using the standard apparatus. Large numbers of reversals (up to 14) conducted on a single specimen in the modified DS apparatus showed no notable load cap tilting and no specimen loss occurred. The modifications are easily applied to the standard DS apparatus, and analysis and correction of the data are simple.CITATION:Tatnell, L, Tolooiyan, A and Mackay, R, 2014. Measurement of residual shear strength using a modified direct shear apparatus, in Proceedings AusRock 2014: Third Australasian Ground Control in Mining Conference , pp 425–434 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Nov 5, 2014

By I Gipps

A vision of what the future mine involves all aspects of mining, ie orebody access, ore stoping, material transport, processing and waste material disposal. This paper examines one aspect of the future mine: rock extraction, stoping, automated for remote operation, high productivity and low cost. Concepts for the future require a re-think of the mining process and ROES® re-examines how bulk stoping of ore can be undertaken and how this should be redesigned to accommodate the possibilities that exists with remote control and automated operations.ROES® is a new mining system for underground mines and quarries utilising a shaft located close to or within the stope for the ore breakage process. The system is designed to exclude personnel from contact with production drilling, explosive placement and detonation so all of these tasks are remotely controlled or automated. Survey of the shaft, stope back and broken rock within the stope will occur, following each blast, by remote control or automated techniques. The survey will include excavation geometry, rock fragmentation, geotechnical characterisation and estimation of ore grade. Blastholes will be surveyed before placement of explosives and, with the survey data, the optimal explosive placement and blast timing will be determined with the best available information.ROES® is designed for application in open stoping or sublevel caving in disseminated, geologically defined, thick tabular or narrow vein ore bodies. Technologies developed for ROES® will also have potential applications to caving operations, reducing the risk of frozen ore and poor fragmentation. In a typical sublevel open stope application, ROES® will reduce the stope associated development by half and will allow ore to be brought on-stream sooner and at lower cost. Other savings will flow with the centralisation of mining activities and operational data, reduction in mining fleet, reduction in ventilation requirements, improved occupational safety and reduced mine complexity.

Nov 22, 2011

The mechanisms of fragmentation in homogeneous materials and structured rock mass are reviewed. A method previously used to predict vibration damage to the remaining rock is extended and shown to be valid for the prediction of fragmentation in the rock mass removed by blasting. The effectiveness of different explosives in different types of rock blasting is discussed.

Jan 1, 1990

By G Chitombo, A Perryman, A D. Campbell, J White, B Hollis

This paper describes the development and implementation of an optimisation tool developed as part of the Mass Mining Technology (MMT) Project. The tool, known as the SLC Schedule Optimiser, is capable of optimising the schedule of development and production activity for a sublevel cave, given a fixed draw strategy, for the life of the mine.This paper starts by describing the development and production scheduling problem for a sublevel cave, the geotechnical constraint that a schedule of activities must adhere to, and outlines the pre-existing manual planning procedures used to produce schedules.Following this, the paper then outlines the optimisation tool developed, describes the changes to the planning process it has enabled and finally quantifies the improvement to operations this tool has brought using Glencore’s Ernest Henry Mining Operations as a case study.CITATION:White, J, Perryman, A, Campbell, A D, Hollis, B and Chitombo, G, 2016. Life-of-mine development and production scheduling optimisation for sublevel cave operations, in Proceedings Seventh International Conference and Exhibition on Mass Mining (MassMin 2016), pp 133–138 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

May 9, 2016