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In the 1890s, The Goldfields Water Supply Department in Western Australia commissioned the diamond drilling of two deep artesian exploratory water bores near Coolgardie (Blatchford, 1899). At the time, in spite of strongly-worded advice to the contrary from the Government geologists, there was a wide popular belief that you could obtain artesian groundwater virtually anywhere providing you drilled deep enough. The first Coolgardie hole was drilled to over 900 m, despite the fact that the bore penetrated granite from a depth of 5 m below the surface. Drilling proceeded for more than 16 months, between July 1896 and November 1897. A small quantity of salt water was struck at a depth of 36 m. The second bore was mercifully terminated at a depth of 50 m, also in granite, with again only a small inflow of salt water. Such were the desperate lengths that were pursued to obtain a reliable water supply for the influx of people in the Eastern Goldfields gold rush. The WA Goldfields continued to rely on huge condensers for water supply until that great engineering feat, the construction of a water pipeline from Mundaring Weir to Coolgardie, was completed in 1903. An enormous network of rail tracks penetrated outwards from Kalgoorlie and Coolgardie for the collection of timber, principally to feed the condensers. Remnants of the rail network are still visible today. The acute shortage of fresh water led to great deprivation, disease and death among the early miners. Today, the water problems faced by the mining industry are thankfully not as severe, but they are nevertheless no less challenging. The southern part of the WA Goldfields is a notoriously difficult area for finding potable quality groundwater. Even as recently as the 1990s, there were occasional serious efforts to find potable groundwater in that area, some very imaginative and innovative. One mining company, working south of Southern Cross, spent many months experimenting with recovery of potable quality water from a shallow freshwater lens overlying hypersaline water in a low permeability weathered granite aquifer. They used very low capacity pumps manufactured from car windscreen washer pumps powered by solar panels.

Jan 1, 2000

By J Canterford

Although we have access to a wide range of sophisticated process design and improvement tools in combination with a significant range of case studies, the mineral resource industry still manages to be plagued by the negative publicity surrounding operating plant failures because they were neither smart nor safe, together with proposed projects that fail at the first or second hurdle. The general public and the finance industry are generally totally uniformed about projects that ramp-up to name plate capacity on time and on budget and even more so when ahead of schedule and under budget. As the saying goes, good news does not cut the mustard.The following is a summary of the author’s sometimes jaundiced view about why metallurgical plants do not live up to their technical and commercial expectations. In no way should the summary be construed as a negative reflection on the skills of the metallurgical profession. Rather, it is to be taken as a positive acknowledgement of those skills and is intended to highlight some of the major considerations that need to be assessed as a potential project transforms into a sustainable technical and commercial reality.While a considerable portion of the summary is directed at developing hydrometallurgical flowsheets, the general principles are equally important to all aspects of extractive metallurgy.For convenience, the summary covers the following five basic discussion points – project, people, process, patents and politicians.

Aug 8, 2011

Fluidised Bed Combustion technology has expanded since the first fluidised bed boiler steamed in 1974 with 58 companies currently supplying units. In Australia the market has been in small boilers and the goal of a limited attendance coal fired boiler has been achieved. On the world scene, the major incentive for development has been emission control with sulphur capture and low NOX. The potential of significant reduction in plant size is encouraging development of pressurised fluidised bed combustion.

Jan 1, 1987

By K Sommerville, J Parkinson

"Open pit mines today have more technology and data available. The challenge is to effectively use resources to analyse and identify mine productivity improvements. AMC Consultants Pty Ltd (AMC) has completed more than 100 benchmarking studies worldwide. In the process of gathering cost and productivity data, insights have been gained on how mines are using data to drive productivity. This paper aims to share good practice on using data, what benchmarks operations should be aiming for, where mines are currently sitting, high value areas to target, and how to best prioritise improvement to meet operational goals.A key purpose of data is to assist in managing and improving operations. Key information is used to drive meetings, decisions, budget estimates and reports. Safety, equipment productivity, available stocks, grade and spatial reconciliation are examples of where data is important for management systems. The key is to keep reporting simple whilst maintaining access to source data for troubleshooting and analysis.Some operations still have paper-based reporting systems. Some operations collect data directly off machines and instruments, use cameras and have off-site control centres. The level of technology is a fit-for-purpose choice.Comparisons of productivity assumptions commonly used in feasibility studies with good practice productivity numbers sourced from AMC’s benchmarking database will be shared in this paper. A typical activity mining cost breakdown will highlight where the high value areas for productivity improvement sit.In addition to examining the productivity of each mining step it is also important to examine the impact on the mine plan. Equipment numbers, strip ratio, grade and material hardness can impact the results of bottleneck analysis. A bottleneck example case study will highlight how productivity and other factors can be used to identify and prioritise improvement opportunities.Keep it simple. Use only the critical data for meetings, decision-making, reports and plans. Knowing and communicating the key performance indicators (KPIs) you are striving for aligns the operation and prioritises improvement plans.Citation:Parkinson, J and Sommerville, K, 2016. Getting the Most Out of Technology to Drive Mine Productivity Improvements, in Proceedings Ninth AusIMM Open Pit Operators' Conference 2016, pp 84–93 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne)."

Nov 15, 2016

By I Minniakhmetov, J Ashford

Orebodies constitute naturally occurring, commonly highly variable concentrations of minerals in the earth’s crust formed through varying and highly unpredictable processes. Orebody knowledge is a core foundation of a mining company’s asset base underpinning all decisions about Mineral Resource and Ore Reserves, future production, development and ultimately the profitability and competitiveness of a mining enterprise. The decision to invest in a mineral project is usually based upon a techno-economic evaluation of the project and having clear approval pathways to gain local community support and address social and environmental impacts. The main objective of the techno-economic evaluation is to determine the optimum development sequence for the particular orebody in question and to estimate the economic viability of the project and the future return on investment to its stakeholders, balancing the inherent value of the mineral in the ground against the costs of development and market pricing. With the exception of market-driven commodity prices, virtually all revenue and cost estimates fundamentally stem from the understanding and subsequent modelling of the orebody. A reliable estimate of the ore deposit grade and other geological value-drivers is the foundation upon which the business case for future mine development and operation is intricately dependent. Orebody knowledge is, therefore, the fundamental driver of the mineral project cycle, influencing the progression of studies and consequently, the resource company’s ability to declare Exploration Results, Mineral Resources or Ore Reserves which govern the source and cost of funding available to the project. Drilling provides a ‘vector’ to the true nature of the orebody and effectively buys time to manage the technical risk associated with the orebody. Despite its perceived high cost, in both time and money terms, drilling is the only available technology for acquiring the necessary orebody knowledge to support technical and economic studies and to minimise orebody-driven cash flow uncertainty and volatility. However, like all costs, pressure to minimise drilling budgets is ubiquitous across the minerals industry. Paired with inappropriate key performance indicators, drilling is often regarded as a cost to be minimised, rather than an investment to be optimised. Furthermore, as future deposits get deeper and more complex, the collection of orebody knowledge is increasingly on the critical path for project development. The increasing cost of data collection pertaining to these deposits increases the temptation to minimise orebody knowledge gathering at the cost of long-term value as the reduction or postponement of drilling results in greater orebody knowledge risk at all stages of the value chain. Indeed the true cost of the decision to drill less is rarely known until the mine is in operation, well after the mine project evaluation team has moved on. This paper aims to promote orebody knowledge as the fundamental source of endogenous project financial risk and, consequently, its critical importance in project financial evaluation. Furthermore, the report documents experimental research into the development of an econometric model for valuing orebody knowledge. Using the density of drilling data as a proxy measure of orebody knowledge, the proposed approach integrates well-established stochastic grade modelling techniques with the mathematical mechanics of Decoupled Net Present Value (DNPV) which, combined with stochastic grade modelling (conditional simulation), lends itself to the financial International Mining Geology Conference 2022 | Brisbane, Australia and Online | 22–23 March 2022 3 assessment of orebody knowledge risk. Based on this approach, a metric is formulated, representing the minimum value of the orebody knowledge added by additional drilling

Mar 22, 2022

The process of hydraulic transport through pipelines, world-wide well known for the trans- port of fine-grain solids is also being used to a greater extent in mining for the handling of 1rimarily coarse-grain solid - water mixtures r the removal of, for instance Coal and waste mixtures after coal winning rising hydraulic monitors, lings for backfilling underground and :her tailings and flotation waste to A large-scale test unit was taken into service at the Bergbauforschung GmbH (Mining P',search Company) in Essen-Kray, GFR, to ¦urther improve this technology. The unit was :fanned and built by Krupp Industrie- and +hibau of Duisburg in cooperation with i r

Jan 1, 1980

By Mitchell I, Gelfi P, Dunne R, Pyper R

Dump leaching at Teller in its present form began in the fourth quarter of 1988 as an adjunct to milling operations. Initial plans called for a dedicated dump leach facility capable of processing ore at an annual rate of 2.0 million tonnes. Construction of a dump leach pad, collection and process ponds, carbon adsorption system, elution plant as well as reagent addition and ancillary facilities was initiated in mid-1988. During the course of construction, additional reserves were proven. As a result, design throughput was increased to 4.0 Mtpa. Leach pad capacity and solution supply systems were upgraded to handle the larger throughput. However, the carbon adsorption/elution facilities were not upgraded due to space limitations. During 1990 it was decided to expand the dump leach operation to 6.0 Mtpa. Construction of a second leach pad was required which was initiated in early-1991. Plans were again upgraded prior to completion to a target annual throughput of 10.0 million tonnes was. A further two leach pads have been constructed. The first of these being completed during the latter part of 1992. Construction of the latest and largest pad commenced early in 1994.

Jan 1, 1994

By B J. Wight, R Mackay, S Kim

Improving the understanding of the processes governing ground movements in and around brown coal open cuts is of significant interest for both operating stability and rehabilitation. Brown coal, lignite, is a low-rank coal that is best described as a soft rock, with geotechnical characteristics that derive from its organic origin. It is well-known that low-rank coals exhibit creep behaviour; however, little has been reported on the impacts of chemical processes on brown coal creep behaviour even though organic substances are susceptible to chemical alterations and mining processes will contribute to changes to the geochemical environment; around most mines, groundwater flow patterns are altered leading to enhanced surface water infiltration. Here we study the deformation behaviour of brown coal in response to ion exchange reaction. Our experimental results show that for different ion exchange conditions different characteristics of secondary compression are observed. With the addition of Ca2+, the ratio between coefficients of secondary and primary compression (Ca /Cc) initially decreased, presenting a minimum value at the concentration of 0.005?M, then increased significantly. This implies the importance of ion exchange process for the long-term deformation of brown coal. On the other hand, increasing Na+ concentration did not affect Ca /Cc values significantly over all tested concentrations. The suppression of diffuse double layer was still observed for Na+-treated samples as increasing Na+ concentration decreases Ca values. From a practical perspective, this study did not consider the tertiary creep behaviour and eventual creep failure.CITATION:Kim, S, Mackay, R and Wight, B J, 2014. Creep due to chemical alteration of rocks – a case study in brown coal, in Proceedings AusRock 2014: Third Australasian Ground Control in Mining Conference , pp 61–64 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Nov 5, 2014

By R Fanni, D Reid, M Kulessa

Recent updates to Australian industry guidelines emphasise the importance of the assessment of liquefaction potential of tailings. This includes assessment of the cyclic liquefaction potential, and the post-seismic strength of tailings expected to undergo strength loss from seismic loading. Despite this increase in focus, a relatively small number of Australian tailings appear to have been characterised through cyclic and post-cyclic testing. This paper presents the cyclic characterisation of four Australian tailings, consisting of iron ore, lateritic nickel, vanadium and bauxite residue. Material was obtained either from surficial tube sampling or through remoulding samples in the laboratory from slurries. Testing consisted of monotonic, cyclic and post-cyclic tests for each material. For three of the materials, laboratory-scale shear vane testing was also performed to provide a comparison to post-cyclic strengths from direct simple shear.The results indicated cyclic resistances consistent with the results of other tailings presented in the literature. The lateritic nickel tailings provided the greatest cyclic resistance of the four materials tested, followed by the vanadium tailings. This was somewhat consistent with expectations for material behaviour based on index properties. Post-cyclic strengths were seen to decrease as cyclic strains increased, consistent with typical observations in the literature. Following significant cyclic straining, in some instances the post-cyclic strengths approached those obtained through residual shear vane testing. This provides further insight into the strain-dependent nature of post-cyclic strengths for some materials. The implications of these observations on the post-seismic stability condition are discussed.CITATION:Reid, D, Fanni, R and Kulessa, M, 2015. Cyclic and post-cyclic behaviour of four Australian tailings, in Proceedings Tailings and Mine Waste Management for the 21st Century, pp 207–214 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Jul 27, 2015

By B Hawkins, S Durkin, V Lawrence

The requirement for secondary egress from underground workings has long been regulated in Australia. Escape way systems have evolved from simple airleg rising ladders and timber ladders to steel galvanised ladders and more recently fully enclosed polyethylene ladders.The polyethylene ladder, Safescape Laddertube, was introduced to the underground mining industry in 2010. It is an enclosed cylindrical modular plastic ladder designed for use in underground escape ways and access ways. Since its first installation in May 2010, the Laddertube has been installed in 43 mines across four countries, totalling 8800 m of ladders installed to December 2013.The Cracow Gold mine is one operation using Laddertube, located 500 km north-west of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Upon discovering and developing both the Empire and Roses Pride orebodies, a safe and economically viable secondary egress system and surface primary ventilation exhaust shafts were necessary to support development and production activities to these workings. The need arose to merge these two critical requirements together between surface and underground mine workings some 200 m and 400 m respectively for each orebody. Neither egress has intermediate access points within their full service length from top to bottom. Several options were considered, the preferable and most feasible method adopted was Laddertube.The longest egress length requiring Laddertube within the two vertical surface exhaust shafts was 400 m long, within a 3.5 m diameter shaft. Due to the length of the vertical Laddertube system in both egresses, personnel are to be assisted by mechanical means using the Extended Ladder Climb Assist system.The Gossan Hill mine also uses Laddertube for their escape ways. Part of the Golden Grove operation, Gossan Hill is an underground sublevel open stoping mine located in the mid-west of Western Australia.With a considerable mine life remaining and a history of acidic water and stress related deterioration in vertical openings, the mine operators sought an escape way solution that would provide for the long-term needs of Gossan Hill. Laddertube was selected due to its non-corrosive properties and the ability to fill in around the ladder way to provide stability to the raise opening.Laddertube is a recent development in escape way systems, and is effectively being applied in a variety of operations, meeting the specific needs of underground mines.CITATION:Durkin, S, Hawkins, B and Lawrence, V, 2014. The application of Safescape Ladders at the Cracow and Golden Grove operations, in Proceedings 12th AusIMM Underground Operators’ Conference 2014 , pp 311–318 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Mar 24, 2014

This study begins with the semivario- gram modelling of variables rutile grade and clay content from a beach sand rutile deposit. This is followed by two dimensional block kriging. The deposit was divided into blocks of 30 x 30 x 1.5 m dimensions and the kriged estimate together with the associated kriging variances for each variable within each block were determined. Finally, using the results of the krig- ing program and considering the acceptable limit of clay content together with the cutoff grade for rutile, a method for optimization of mineable thickness and hence the tonnage of ore was applied and the results were dis- Cussed.

Jan 1, 1986

By D B. Donato

Gold mining cyanide-bearing solutions can pose a risk, cause significant wildlife deaths and adverse public relations and result in non-compliance with regulatory conditions. The International Cyanide Management Code for the Manufacture, Transport and Use of Cyanide in the Production of Gold (the Code) was developed as a voluntary code to encourage industry-wide improvements in managing cyanide responsibly. The Code requires design and implementation of robust monitoring programs for compliance under the following standards of practice: 4.1, 4.4 and 4.9. A robust monitoring regime can be complicated as each processing and tailing system is different. The following systems are commonly used in Australia: carbon-in-leach (CIL); carbon-in-pulp (CIP); heap leach process ponds; tailing waste disposal systems; peripheral discharge, central discharge and in-pit disposal. Some terrestrial wildlife can be denied access by fencing tailing storage facilities (TSFs) or other physical barriers, therefore limiting wildlife interaction with cyanide-bearing tailing and solutions to mainly birds and bats. While wildlife monitoring programs for processing and TSFs contain similar core attributes, it is necessary to adapt monitoring to take into account the site-specific features of each system. These core attributes are discussed in this paper, with reference made to cyanide concentration and associated methodologies. The issue is considerably complicated if tailing solutions are deemed or discovered to be toxic to wildlife. Essentially cyanides are required to be measured to gain an understanding of the concentrations to which wildlife may be exposed. This usually equates to measuring the cyanide concentration of solutions entering and leaving a tailing system. To assess the risk to wildlife presented by tailing and heap leach systems it is necessary to monitor both the hazard (cyanide concentrations) and the exposure (live wildlife species, presence and interaction). These tasks need not be arduous and a system of simple frequent monitoring has been developed and implemented for Code compliance. The wildlife monitoring developed by Donato Environmental Services (DES) and used at mining operations departs from the industry norm. It documents observer effort, live wildlife presence, habitat and behaviour in a tailing system, as well as deaths and carcasses. A greater understanding of wildlife cyanide toxicosis associated with this monitoring approach will enable mining companies to adopt a proactive approach to significantly reduce, or preferably eliminate, the impact on wildlife and assist in gaining Code compliance.

Jan 1, 2007

Geological models for the exploration and evaluation of epithermal Au and porphyry Cu-Au deposits rely upon a classification of different deposit styles and an understanding of the evolutionary processes of deposit formation. These models guide the interpretation of subsurface deposit anatomy in order to target drill testing and assist the explorationist to focus on the more prospective projects. It is important for the explorationist to distinguish between different styles of magmatic arc Au deposits as each style displays distinctive characteristics with exploration implications. Magmatic arc Au deposits are distinguished as porphyry Cu-Au formed at depths of 1 - 2 km at the apophysis to larger, buried, magmatic sources which are also the ultimate metal sources for the varying styles of shallower level epithermal Au deposits. Low sulfidation epithermal Au deposits characteristically develop from dilute circulating meteoric waters and are distinguished as the group with a closer relationship to intrusive source rocks, and slightly higher sulfide contents (still generally

Jan 1, 2004

By P K. Seccombe

The McKinnons gold deposit is hosted by weakly deformed, Palaeozoic metasedimentary rocks of the Cobar Basin in the western Lachlan Fold Belt of New South Wales. Mineralisation comprised a largely supergene resource of 1.7 Mt of ore, grading 1.7 g/t gold, established over structurally controlled, primary gold and base-metal mineralisation in underlying, carbonate-rich meta-siltstones and sandstones of Early Devonian age. Mineralisation was associated with at least two major fluid cycles. The first cycle was characterised by four stages of vein formation. Early quartz and carbonate veins (Stages 1 and 2) and quartz-pyrite breccias (Stage-3) occurred prior to, or early in, the main regional deformation (D1). Continued D1 deformation produced syntectonic, carbonate-base-metal veins (Stage-4), primarily in dilatant zones adjacent to fold axes. The second cycle of mineralisation was an epithermal-style event, driven by a shallow, syn-D2 or post-tectonic intrusion, defined by aeromagnetic imaging. The intrusion may have exploited a jog, controlled along the basin margin by basement faults. Mineralisation produced gold-pyrite veins, associated with pervasive quartz-sericite-adularia and chlorite-sericite alteration. Highest primary gold grades are confined to quartz-adularia boiling zones. The McKinnons deposit offers an important example of mineralisation formed by multiple processes. Early-stage, base-metal mineralisation at McKinnons reflects structurally focussed, basin dewatering and metamorphic processes, typical of other deposits in the Cobar Basin. By contrast, late-stage gold mineralisation at McKinnons is magmatically driven and of epithermal style. Recognition of overprinting distinctive geological events is critical, not only in modelling ore formation, but in developing a versatile exploration concept.

Jan 1, 1999

By La Brooy S R, Fenton K

A low grade copper flotation tailing from Telfer containing 1.2% Cu as chalcocite and cuprite and 5 gt-t Au was leached with ammonia, cyanide and ammonia-cyanide mixtures to extract copper and/or gold. Direct cyanidation extracted both copper and gold but consumed about 30 kgt 1 NaCN. Pre-leaching the tailing with an aerated ammonia solution containing 28 kgt 1NH3 and 17 kgtl(NHa)2S0a at pH 10 readily extracted up to 95% Cu in about 6 hours under optimum conditions. However pH and total ammonia concentration were critical factors. Subsequent cyanidation ex- tracted 80% Au using 6 kgt NNaCN. Ammonia-cyanide mixtures werefound to selectively leach gold over copper depending on the concentration and relative proportion of NH3 and CN. The best composition for leaching up to 80% Au from Teller tailing was 1.6 kgt t NaCN and 1.1 kgf 1 NH3 in the presence of 0.3 kgt t Cue+. Such a mixture left only 50 mgL-1Cu in the final solution after precipitation of some of the initially dissolved copper.

Jan 1, 1991

By Wong KY, Woodcock JT

Previous results have shown how con- trolled-potential sulphidization (CPS) can give improved metallurgy during rougher flo- tation of mixed oxide-sulphide copper ores. Results in this paper, using different samples and different equipment, confirm the previous results and extend the application of CPS to cleaner flotation. By using CPS, faster flotation of copper minerals (chalcocite and malachite) from clay was obtained in roughing and cleaning, and improved concentrate grades and recoveries were achieved over those by conventional manual control. The optimum sulphidizing potential (i.e. the potential of a sulphide ion-selective electrode versus a saturated calomel electrode) was -500 mV, and could be controlled to ¦5 mV, during four rougher- scavenger and three cleaner-re cleaner stages. This optimum gives the best balance between copper recovery, concentrate grade, and sodium sulphide consumption. Five cleaning circuits and five ore com- posites of different composition (0.55-1.50 per cent Cu) were examined as well as the effect of feed size and pulp density. Better results were obtained at 20 per cent solids in a Denver cell than at 33 per cent solids in an Agitair cell; this may have been related to the high clay content of the ore. Commercial equipment for pilot plant or full-scale plant application of CPS is cur- rently being developed.

Jan 1, 1986

Acupan is considered to be an intrusive centre as several igneous phases have been emplaced in the vicinity of the mine over the past 8 Ma. They include the Lucbuban gabbro, Virac granodiorite, Ampucao dacite porphyry (ADP), Hartwell plug, Itogon plug and the multi-phase Balatoc diatreme. These intrusives have high-K calc-alkaline affinities and are grouped together as the Virac Complex.Porphyry-style mineralisation formed during the final crystallization of the ADP in the late Pliocene, with the deposition of two vein stages from high-temperature hypersaline magmatic-hydrothermal fluids. K-silicate alteration halos surround the first stage of veinlets (stage I); they are surrounded in turn by a propylitic assemblage. White sericite and/or intense propylitic halos envelop the second stage of veinlets (stage II) and grade into a weak nrnnvlitir accPmht o

Jan 1, 1990

By J J. L du Plessis

Escalating energy and electricity costs have become one of the biggest expenditure drivers in mining operations. During the last eight years, energy costs have trebled when expressed as a percentage of total running cost in South African mines. Power consumption on mines is controlled by three main strategies, namely load clipping where energy use is reduced for parts of the day, load shifting where energy use is shifted to other parts of the day, and energy efficiency where energy use is reduced permanently.To reduce the operating costs of ventilating and cooling underground mines continuously, system optimisation studies must be completed. A part of this paper describes methods that can be used to reduce energy usage by optimising cooling and ventilation systems during planning and in existing operations using network simulation models that accurately reflect the current and planned ventilation conditions. These models are used to examine various options for improving the overall ventilation and cooling efficiency. Furthermore, an overview of refrigeration and cooling practices, and ventilation strategies is presented.Ventilation-on-demand and cooling-on-demand strategies have the potential to reduce both the capital and operating costs associated with mine ventilation and cooling systems. In addition, it has been proven that modern strategies and energy-efficient tactics are technically feasible.It is also important that the correct equipment selection is made. This must be based on the best technology with the highest energy efficiency. Where equipment replacement is being considered, energy efficiency must be one of the key decision drivers.In this paper a number of studies were presented and from the experience and the data presented it is clear that a large financial benefit is possible through optimising ventilation and cooling during the planning of mines or within an existing operating mine.CITATION:du Plessis, J J L, 2015. Strategy and tactics implemented to achieve energy-efficient ventilation and cooling of mines, in Proceedings The Australian Mine Ventilation Conference, pp 9–18 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Aug 31, 2015

One of the major changes in the resource industry in the nineties has been the re- internationalisation of the industry. The history of the resource business has been one of companies from the developed world utilising the cash flows from their operations to explore and develop mines in less developed regions of the world. This resource development has progressively generated wealth and economic development, which in tum, has led to a new generation of exploration and mining projects.   InSouth America, Chile had led the way in a mining resurgence, now closely followed by Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela and Peru. Although Chile has long had a significant copper mining industry, the pre-nationalisation phase was driven by American capital; the current phase has been spearheaded by RTZ - BHP at Escondida with Canadian junior companies, in particular, providing major speculative impetus. The Australian junior companies have not been significant in South America.   Although Canadian and USA exploration appears to be in decline, the mining industry, particularly in gold, is buoyant in North America. Interestingly, a number of listed and unlisted Australian companies are active, particularly in United States exploration.   Australian-based companies have dominated the South-East Asian exploration scene, especially in the Vietnam region. To date, the combination of political and legislative uncertainties have failed to lead to significant resource developments in this region. The area remains one of great potential, as exemplified by the exciting developments in Indonesia.   The Philippines has a history of mining, and this has been dominated by both local and North American operators. Both large and small Australian resource companies have a presence in the Philippines, and the development of the copper-gold potential could be impressive over the next decade.   The tales of the undeveloped mineral potential of China are probably rivalled only by the supposed strings of virgin Russian orebodies! Many Australian companies appear to have looked but few have chosen to proceed with Chinese developments. There seems little likelihood that China will, in the foreseeable future, rival South America as a target for Australian and North American resource capital.   Papua New Guinea has had an active, albeit chequered history in mining, with Australia long being the predominant source of exploration and development funds. The developing nation status of PNG has generated extreme uncertainty, with the current exploration scene all but dead. Most recently, the international flotation of Lihir Gold has tested the international and Australian investment community's commitment to PNG resource development.   The Australian exploration scene continues buoyant, although dominated by gold. The base metals scene is generating, on average, one significant base metal mine developed every couple of years. This is probably the fastest rate of significant base metal development in Australia's history.   The gold scene has been one of incredible dynamics, and there is no evidence that this momentum is waning. The development of new exploration techniques, together with a number of the companies reaching a critical size, has added to the momentum in the industry.

Jan 1, 1995

By M Costa, L Polizzi

Process optimisation and continuous improvement are usually acknowledged when making a process more effective, efficient and transparent. During the last few decades, thousands of companies around the world have used total quality concepts in order to establish a continuous improvement process in their companies. Typically these companies apply some kind of Kaizen-type tools and expect results in the short term; however, the great majority of companies are poorly implementing these continuous improvement programs.Usually the most common reasons for failure of the program are lack of commitment from leaders, lack of discipline and engagement from the team to follow process and lack of clear targets for the program. When the results do not come at the expected timeline, it is common to simply drop the current process and apply a different approach from another company or consulting firm.This paper will explore some successful cases of companies that have invested time and effort to establish a reliable and sustainable process of continuous improvement. The focus will be case studies of mines and smelters around the world that use the plan–do–check–act (PDCA) cycle to increase productivity with the best services and lowest costs. The main tools and processes used by these companies will be discussed, as well as results achieved.CITATION:Costa, M and Polizzi, L, 2014. Introducing and sustaining a continuous improvement program in mines and smelters, in Proceedings 12th AusIMM Mill Operators’ Conference 2014 , pp 55–62 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Sep 1, 2014