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The extraction of world-class mineral deposits using massive underground mining techniques is not an entirely new theme to world mining companies and experts. Previous MassMin conferences have helped to gather and disseminate the valuable experience and knowledge so important for the proliferation of safe and efficient mining of large underground deposits. With the passing years since the first MassMin conference in Denver in 1981, a number of factors have contributed to an increase in massive underground mining around the world, including environmental pressures, gradual exhaustion of shallower deposits and the enabling effects of improving technology in disciplines related to underground mining. Massive underground mining is heading deeper, embracing challenges which include working with elevated temperatures, increasing in situ and mining induced stress levels and longer ore transport routes. Improvements in mineral processing technology will tend to lead operators to contemplate the extraction of lower grade orebodies in the event that the ore can be efficiently transported to the surface and hence the plant. No doubt this tendency, and its associated challenges is encouraging a rich growth in innovative engineering in such fields as mine planning and materials handling as well as geomechanical issues such as support design and the simulation of extraction sequence effects on stress re-distribution. MassMin 2000, we are sure, will showcase a wide variety of new contributions in thought and actions in these fields. There is a definite place for academic institutions and mining related suppliers in the process of developing new technologies and practices in support of present and future endeavour in this field. Dyno Nobel has its own part to play, certainly as an enthusiastic and proud major sponsor of MassMin 2000, but also by means of identifying common cause between our Vision and Values and the needs, present and future, of the underground massive mining industry. The critical success factors, which Dyno Nobel pursues are:health, safety and environment, customer relationships and market development, cost optimisation (while maintaining quality), technology and innovation, organisational development, and leveraging capabilities globally. Through the present paper we would like to share some of these values and offer some practical insights as to how their realisation will contribute to the achievement of MassMin goals and needs.

Jan 1, 2000

Over a four year period from 1984 to 1987, a broad range of ground conditions were experienced in recovering old workings at the Walhalla mine in central-eastern Victoria. Access to the ore zone was gained via old workings and new development. The work included: Recovery of vertical and inclined shafts. Recovery of collapsed winzes. Recovery of level drives and crosscuts. Spiling through broken ground and old mullock. Pre-grouting of caved zones. New development using small-scale rail equipment and "bobcat" Loaders.

Jan 1, 1988

By M Tessier, M Pahkala, L Sletmoe

The Red Lake mine is one of the richest gold mines in the world. The primary mining methods are overhand and underhand cut and fill. Starting in 2003, Goldcorp initiated an expansion program at the mine. The expansion includes a new 6.55 m diameter hoisting shaft currently under construction. The shaft will be driven to a length of over 2180 m. The shaft will be used as a primary ventilation intake to the mine. In addition to the new hoisting shaft, a return air raise is being driven approximately 1690 m from surface. This raise will be a parallel return to the existing mine infrastructure. This paper describes the ventilation and climatic analyses performed in support of the expansion project. The study included a full mine ventilation survey, in situ rock mass measurements, analysing options related to mine layout, airway sizing calculations, air heating options, and climatic simulations. Specifications were prepared for an air heating system and main and booster fans. Analyses were also performed related to heat in the stoping areas namely caused by auxiliary fans and backfill with high cement content.

Jan 1, 2005

By Mason P, Waller C

The Phase I electrowinning system at KCGM's Fimiston Operation utilised the well proven technology of electrowinning precious metal values onto steel wool followed by calcining and direct smelting to bullion. The above process, while reliable and successful, was to some extent labour intensive. The Williams Mine in Ontario, Canada had published conditions under which precious metal values are electrowon onto woven stainless steel and directly removed using high pressure sprays. The current paper describes the testwork which was carried out to check the applicability of the Williams criteria to KCGM eluates arising from the elution of highly loaded carbon from the calcine circuit and lowly loaded carbon from the float tails circuit. Information is also given on the commissioning and operational experience which occurred.

Jan 1, 1996

A process was developed based on the thermal hydrolysis and precipitation of iron from solutions resulting from the leaching of zinc plant residue. A study was made of the hydrolysis of iron, at temperatures in the range 140-220°C, in both pure solutions of ferrie sulphate and in leach solutions derived from plant spent electrolyte.At 200°C hydrolysis of pure ferric sulphate solutions results in the precipitation of ferric oxide, Fe2O3, at low acid. concentrations, and a basic salt, Fe2O3.2S03.H20, at hIgher acid concentrations. At 180°C ferric oxide is precipitated at low acid concentrations, but at higher acidities. carphosiderite, 3Fe203.4SO.3.9H20, is the stable phase. Frequently a mIxture of ferric oxide and carphosldente IS produced at 180°C, the ratio of phases being dependent on the non-equilibrium experimental conditions.With solutions derived from plant spent electrolyte hydrolysIS at elevated temperatures results in the precipitation of jarosite compounds of the type NaFe3(S04)2(OH)6 The precipitation of natrojarosite jarosite, and ammonio-jarosite was studied in detail. Temperature, free acidity, and the concentration of sodium potassium, and ammonium ions are critical factors which affect the extent of precipitation.A process based on ammonio-jarosite precipitation was tested in a pilot plant.An alternative method of iron removal based on the addition of zinc oxide calcine, to neutralize excess acidity, and the precipitation of ferric oxide was also tested in the pilot plant. Both processes appear economically favourable...

Jan 1, 1967

By Manlapig EV, Lawson F, Clarkson CJ

A low grade middling sample from Mount Isa, Australia, assaying 31.7 per cent zinc, 12.9 per cent lead and 14.5 per cent iron was leached under atmospheric pressure in sulphate and sulphate-chloride solutions with ferric ions as oxidants. About 96 per cent of the contained zinc was dissolved into a 0.5 M H2SO4 - 0.5 M Fe2(SO4)3 solution at 90¦C within three hours from a five per cent by weight slurry density mixture. The leaching process is very temperature-dependent, suggesting a surface chemical control. In the latter stage, the leaching rates levelled off and the leaching was most probably controlled by both surface chemical reaction and diffusion processes. The addition of chloride ions in the leach solution resulted in an increase in the leaching rate. About 95 per cent of the lead sulphide contained was converted to lead sulphate which precipitated and remained in the residue. Essentially no lead remained in solution and the low chloride concentration did not affect the precipitation of lead sulphate. Half of the iron orginally present remained in the residue as pyrite although essentially all the cadmium and 90 per cent of the copper initially present were dissolved. Some three per cent of sulphide sulphur was oxidised through to sulphate, about 67 per cent was converted to elemental sulphur which can be recovered by solvent extraction, the rest remained in the residue mainly as pyrite. Ferric sulphate and sulphate-chloride solutions can be used to effectively leach finely ground lead-zinc middlings and other bulk sulphide concentrates. A complete separation of zinc from lead and silver has been demonstrated.

Jan 1, 1993

The Mineral Resources Act 1989 was assented to on 25th October, 1989 after more than two years of consultation and negotiation between Government, the mining industry and other affected parties particularly the major rural organisations.The legislation proposes major conceptual changes in a number of areas and adopts a totally new approach to the definition of land and the mechanisms available to the mining industry for accessing such land.Unfortunately the passage of the legislation through Parliament coincided with the lead-up to the State election. Ultimately it became an election issue generating much adverse comment in the media particularly from rural and landholder groups. It was obvious that much of this anti-mining propaganda resulted from a lack of understanding of the legislation and the benefits that flow to the majority of landholders as well as the mining industry.It is essential that the contents of the Mineral Resources Act be thoroughly understood by all parties. Only then will all the State's resources be able to be developed in a multiple land use environment.This paper outlines the philosophy behind the new Act and the more important provisions contained therein.

Jan 1, 1990

A viable flow sheet of the sorption-flotation technology for gold recovery from low-grade ores and concentrates using powdered activated carbon modified by organic compounds as the sorbent-bearer has been developed. The powdered activated carbon, with high kinetic ability and sufficient specific area, was selected as the all-purpose gold cyanide complex-bearing sorbent which is active during flotation. To improve carbon adsorption capacity and to provide the required floatability its porous structure was filled with a quaternary ammonium compound which can extract gold cyanide complexes and render additional flotation properties to the carbon. To optimise the process and to simplify the layout, adsorption and flotation processes were carried out simultaneously in a mechanical flotation cell. The proposed technology was used for extended and pilot-plant tests of sorption-flotation gold recovery from 0.6 g/t Au final tailings and 2.0 g/t Au gravity tailings. The extended tests were carried out on Taseevskaya (Chita Region) flotation tailings, whereas pilot-plant tests were conducted on Kommunarovskaya (Krasnoyarsk Region) gravity tailings passing to cyanidation, followed by processing with filtration technology. Additional gold recovery from Taseevskaya final flotation tailings was 50.8 per cent. Gold recovery from Kommunarovskaya final gravity tailings was 92.5 per cent. Compared to the complete sludge process conventionally used at the plant, gold recovery was increased by 7.5 per cent due to lower gold losses in the liquid phase and conversion of the refractory non-cyanided metal into a carbon concentrate. This paper presents the experimental results of gold adsorption onto powdered activated carbon modified with quaternary ammonium compounds (sorbent-bearer) as well as sorbent-bearer flotation with various collectors from cyanide solutions and pulps.

Jan 1, 2005

By M-A Van Ende, N Kumar, I-H Jung

In order to utilise the powerful thermodynamic databases for process simulations, a concept called Effective Equilibrium Reaction Zone (EERZ) was introduced to couple thermodynamic database calculations and reaction kinetics. Using the EERZ concept, many process simulation models for steelmaking processes have been developed within the FactSage steelmaking consortium. After validation of the simulation results by comparing with plant data, the simulation models have been applied to improve plant operations. Several success stories of the improvement of real steelmaking operations are shared. A new user-friendly FactProSim software developed for building process simulations is introduced.

Aug 21, 2024

By C Catania

Mining companies and operations across the globe typically target best practice financial management, along with a focus on economically driven mine plans. Not only is this inherent in running a successful mining business, but also critical in addressing investor scrutiny. The standards for social and environmental practices is less consistent than this, with most companies adopting standards that are driven through legislative and compliance requirements of the nations in which they operate. Although there is still room for improvement, Australian is a country that stands at the forefront of social and environmental legislation, driving more sustainable planning practices for mining operations, with an ever-increasing focus on mine closure considerations. Of the many nations yet to reach such a legislative position, Kazakhstan is a place where some companies are driving towards world class standards beyond what is government mandated. CITATION:Catania, C, 2018. World-class mine planning for a sustainable future in Kazakhstan Mining, in Proceedings Life-of-Mine 2018, pp 6–7 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Jul 25, 2018

COAL constitutes such a gigantic item in modern industry, either for direct heating, production of coke for smelting, or for the generation of power, that its quality and price play a very significant part in economic industrial progress. Australia is still a very young country industrially, and is groaning under many disabilities compared with competitors overseas, not the least of which is the quality of coal. Linked with the word "quality" should be that of "utility," for high-ash content prevents efficient utilization of the fuel.The marketing of good quality coal is a very important matter indeed, and if industry in Australia is to progress in the way that it should, this matter must receive keen attention.New South Wales, above all the other Australian States, has been blessed by nature with vast coal-fields, from which fuel is shipped to every State, and provides the base for power for most of our railroads and industries.Experts frequently refer to the fact that in some districts only partial extraction of thick seam coal is being made, without a care or thought for the future. Ranking next in importance to this is the fact that much of the coal is being carelessly marketed.Very few collieries in Australia are equipped with coal-washing plants for dealing more particularly with small coal grading which most industries require, and to which coal producers as a whole pay the least attention. In England each year nearly20,000,000 tons of coal is being water-washed before sale, and is marketed as a fuel of far greater utility once it has been freed from extraneous ash.Investigation proves that a great many pits in New South Wales are marketing coal (more particularly small coal) containing a considerable quantity of extraneous ash, due to the admixture...

Jan 1, 1926

By A Densten, C Gimber

Surface water management and drainage is a key aspect of mine rehabilitation and closure planning. In the authors’ experience, drainage related problems are amongst the most common forms of failure in mined landscapes. The appropriate design of surface water infrastructure is therefore a key focus of practitioners. While there is currently a trend towards distributed drainage networks and avoiding hard engineered structures, in many situations (especially for existing landforms) engineered drainage structures cannot be avoided. CITATION:Gimber, C and Densten, A, 2018. A risk-based approach to drainage design standard selection for mine rehabilitation and relinquishment, in Proceedings Life-of-Mine 2018, pp 116–118 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Jul 25, 2018

Faced with low prices and weak demand in an oversupplied market, the Australian coal industry must seek to further reduce its costs. The paper examines minesite competitiveness of the open cut coal industry in Australia with some references to the coal operations of M.I.M. Holdings Limited. The make-up of F.O.R. mine costs is analysed in order to identify where efforts should be directed to maintain competitiveness. The scope for mine site improvements through changes to working practices, the application of new technology and cost management is examined.

Jan 1, 1987

By Channon W, Dube M, Makwana M, Kerfoot D. G

In early-1995, the Bindura Nickel Corporation commissioned a pressure leach plant at its Smelter and Refinery complex located in Bindura, Zimbabwe. The novel pressure leach process was developed by Sherritt to treat the nickel-copper sulphide residue produced from the original atmospheric leach circuit. The process extracts essentially all the nickel from the nickel-copper sulphide residue under non-oxidising acid pressure leach conditions, thereby producing an upgraded copper sulphide residue suitable for smelting and refining to electrolytic copper. The commissioning of the pressure leach plant was relatively smooth and design conditions were achieved within six weeks of operation. This paper presents a brief description of the process development and the plant design, followed by highlights of the plant start-up activities and summary of the plant performance.

Jan 1, 1996

By K Sherry, N Shahbazi

Scope 3 emissions are a set of often overlooked indirect greenhouse gas emissions within a company’s value chain and represent the majority of emissions for many sectors. These emissions arise from activities conducted by entities beyond the reporting organisation’s ownership or direct control and are often challenging to calculate. Scope 3 emissions typically encompass purchasing goods and services, transportation and distribution, managing operational waste, downstream processing and utilising sold products. Within the mining sector, scope 3 emissions often constitute a significant portion of the overall carbon footprint. Therefore, these emissions are a significant aspect of the future of sustainable mining. As the journey towards a world committed to achieving Net Zero Emissions has started, the time to spark a transformative conversation in the mining industry has arrived. Consequently, a better knowledge of scope 3 footprints allows organisations to assess their emission mitigation projects against the total carbon impact of their operations and products.

Sep 1, 2024

By H J. J Boshoff, A J. Karrasch

Mine planners frequently face the challenge of mitigating the impact of climatic events on mining operations, such as floods and droughts. Specific water management infrastructure can be implemented to meet operational requirements in response to these events. However, the effect of flood protection, for instance, may reduce the resilience of the site to drought. The probability and duration of unfavourable climate sequences significantly influences the net present value (NPV) of implementing specific water management infrastructure.Good life-of-mine planning will consider the incremental development of the project, and provide staged development plans. Water management infrastructure and the timing of implementation are facets of this process.CITATION:Boshoff, H J J and Karrasch, A J, 2016. A decision-making framework for water supply and flood protection options in net present value terms, in Proceedings Life-of-Mine 2016 Conference , pp 196–199 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Jun 28, 2016

By T R. Anderson, A R. Butler

Haymont (2012) notes that in parts of Australia significant areas of mining disturbance cannot be relinquished. In Queensland it has been estimated that by 2010, just 0.3 per cent 507 ha of mining disturbance had been rehabilitated to the regulator’s satisfaction (Short, 2015).One reason for this poor record is the presence of inappropriate, unachievable or unmeasurable rehabilitation targets (Glenn et al, 2014; Butler, Anderson and Sexton, 2015). In the authors’ experience in Queensland many mature operations have licence conditions that hinder the achievement of sustainable outcomes or prevent successful validation of rehabilitation success. This creates a lack of certainty for industry and a lack of confidence in the community that the sector can deliver good rehabilitation outcomes (Short, 2015).This extended abstract presents a framework approach that has been applied at two contrasting operations. Without the changes presented, the goal of progressive rehabilitation certification, reduction in financial assurance (FA) and a path to surrender at these sites would have been impossible. The framework can be adapted for use across different bioregions and commodities.CITATION:Butler, A R and Anderson, T R, 2016. Reassessing rehabilitation objectives and targets for mature mining operations in Queensland, in Proceedings Life-of-Mine 2016 Conference, pp 139–141 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Jun 28, 2016

The law including legislation such as the Occupational Health & Safety Act 1983 imposes stringent obligations on employers to ensure the health and safety of their employees. The use of pre-employment medical examinations is one tool that employers can use to assess the suitability of a job applicant for a particular position and protect themselves from prosecution or claims for compensation or damages.At the same time, however, legislation such as The Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Commonwealth) ("DDA") and The Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 (New South Wales) ("ADA") affords protection to individuals against discrimination.

Jan 1, 1998

The subject `access to land' is often seen as an item high on the list of matters of concern to mining interests not only in New South Wales but throughout the whole of Australia and other countries. Just what are the problems/issues of access to lands today? What is being done about them? What can be achieved? What is practical to achieve? And where does New South Wales sit in relation to all this? These and a range of other issues are addressed in this paper.

Jan 1, 1995

The Ertsberg (Gunung Bijih) Mining District is located in the core of the highlands of west New Guinea, an island long recognised as the product of a Cenozoic arccontinent collision. Geologic studies in the Central Ranges of the Papua Province of Indonesia (near Puncak Jaya, 4884 m) have revealed timing relationships, when combined with mechanical considerations, led to a refined model for the tectonomagmatic effects of collisional orogenesis and the formation of the spectacular Grasberg porphyry-type copper-gold (Cu-Au) deposit.   An EXTENDED ABSTRACT is available for download. A full-length paper was not prepared for this presentation.

Jan 1, 2008