Search Documents

The New South Wales Department of Mineral Resources has, since 1974, administered the Derelict Mines Rehabilitation Program (DMRP) to reduce the environmental impacts of abandoned and orphan mine sites. The application of the DMRP is presented in case studies of sites from the South Maitland Coalfield featuring residual drainage of acidic and saline water in a semi urban and rural community setting. The acidity here is typically derived from iron oxidation in shallow underground coal mine workings and in surface emplacements of coal washery reject materials. This paper presents summary information on AMD investigation, monitoring and rehabilitation. The experiences of community expectation, stakeholder consultation and peer review are discussed.

Jan 1, 2003

By R Marchant, D Willingham

"Predictive maintenance (also known as PHM or equipment ‘health monitoring’) refers to the intelligent monitoring of equipment to avoid future equipment failures. In contrast to conventional preventive maintenance, the maintenance schedule is not determined by a prescribed timeline; instead, it is determined by analytic algorithms, such as machine learning, using data collected from equipment sensors and/or via simulation.Predictive maintenance offers the following benefits for operators and equipment manufacturers:reduction of equipment downtime by identifying issues before failure, thereby enabling convenient scheduling of equipment service and extending equipment lifetimeautomatic determination of the root cause of the failure, enabling appropriate service to be performed without utilising resources to determine a diagnosis avoidance of costs of unnecessary maintenance and unexpected failures improved safety and product quality.Algorithms and data are critical to predictive maintenance success. Sensor data preprocessing is performed using advanced statistical and signal processing techniques. In the case that data isn’t available for the full range of operating modes, operating scenarios can be simulated. Machine learning techniques are then used to estimate equipment health. Once tested, predictive maintenance algorithms may be operationalised in an IT environment such as a server or cloud. Alternatively, algorithms may be implemented in an embedded system directly on the equipment, allowing for faster response times and significantly reducing the amount of data sent over the network.In this paper, we use both historical and simulated data of the plant under various modes of operation including run to failure, and we then leverage machine learning techniques in MATLAB to estimate degradation and remaining useful life. This technique, of combining both simulation models and machine learning, in the areas of predictive maintenance and equipment health monitoring has been adopted by Safran, makers of aircraft jet engines, since 2007. They now have over 160 modules developed (Lacaille and Aurelie, 2015).Citation:Willingham, D and Marchant, R, 2016. Predictive Maintenance Using Simulation and Machine Learning, in Proceedings 13th AusIMM Mill Operators’ Conference 2016, pp 279–284 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne)."

Oct 10, 2016

Over the last five years Du Pont (Australia) Ltd has developed a commercial range of new generation emulsion based explosives concurrently with the development of new explosives-placement systems. The paper outlines Du Pont's emulsion technology and history of product development from the initial emulsions (Tovex E & EL) to emulsion/ANFO blends (Tovex BE) through to the most recent development of Du Pont's SOL emulsion component. The paper also outlines the development of materials handling systems on site to load waterproof bulk explosives from the original pumper trucks through to the multipurpose agitator bowl blending and pumping units at the heart of Du Pont's SOL emulsion system currently available within Australia. The last section deals with some of the more important features of enhanced agitator bowl truck designs and outlines examples of the complete SOL emulsion system and methods of operations currently practiced at specific mines within the Bowen Basin coalfields.

Jan 1, 1986

By Tuite M. J, Woolcock L. J

The Awak Mas gold project is located in the Province of South Sulawesi, Republic of Indonesia. It is situated 300 km by road north of the provincial capital of Ujung Pandang. The capital is readily accessible by air from Australia via Denpasar on Bali or the Indonesian capital, Jakarta (Figure 1). Elevations at Awak Mas range from 850 to 1400 metres above sea level in reasonably rugged terrain. The area is covered by primary and secondary (regrowth) rain forest. The region is subject to an equatorial-type tropical climate. The annual rainfall is a high 3000 mm most of which falls in the rainy season between March and June. In the lower valleys rice, cloves and chocolate crops are cultivated. Title to the project area is secured by a Contract of Work (COW) issued to PT Masmindo Eka Sakti (MES) on 23 October 1987 by the Government of Indonesia. MES was controlled at the time by New Hope Industries group of Brisbane. After New Hope had completed initial reconnaissance exploration of the area, Battle Mountain Gold Company (BMGC) farmed-in in 1991 and earned a 60 per cent beneficial interest in MES.

Jan 1, 1996

By G Hall

BHP BillitonÆs (BHPB) Yandi ore deposit is a channel iron deposit (CID) in the Pilbara district of WA. The ore is predominantly a goethite-hematite pisolite and overlays a clay at the base of the deposit. Knowledge of the location of the contact prior to mining is critical to maximise ore extraction and minimise contamination from and mining of the underlying clays which contain high levels of alumina. The contact between the iron ore and the clay is highly irregular. Traditionally the contact has been delineated by closely spaced drilling û this can be expensive and since each drill hole only provides a point sample measurement, irregularities in the contact surface can be missed. In September 2001, three high resolution geophysical techniques were trialled to see if they could be used to improve the efficiency and accuracy of ore delineation. The three techniques were resistivity imaging, ground penetrating radar and electromagnetic conductivity imaging. The resistivity data showed a favourable correlation with the available ground truth data from drilling. Using this ground truth data as a calibration, an interpretation of the depth to the base of the channel iron deposit (CID) ore was constructed for the areas surveyed. A significant attribute of the method is that the position of the base of the ore is imaged continuously along the lines that are surveyed rather than at discrete points. No continuous well defined ground penetrating radar (GPR) reflections were observed from the base of the CID ore. There did appear to be some correlation between the range of echo times that reflections were observed and the drill data, however the precision to which the range of echo times could be estimated was of the order of several metres and therefore not adequate to replace current procedures. The electromagnetic data showed good correlations with the existence of shallow clays but did not discriminate between variations in CID ore depth. This technique is therefore not suitable for mapping the base of the CID ore but may still be useful as a rapid tool for mapping the position of clay bands.

Jan 1, 2002

By Johnstone RD, Rattenbury MS

RACE Quartz-calcite veins containing Au, As, W, Cu, Pb, Zn and Fe cross-cut Alpine Fault- related structures in the Alpine Schist of South Island, New Zealand. These veins, and some other related veins have been deposited by metamorphic fluids at 250¦C to >320¦C at pressures of a few hundred bars. The fluids were very variable in composition, with 0 to 50 mole % CO2 and 2 to 18 wt. % NaCl equivalent. Penetration of hot metamorphic fluids to shallow levels in the crust was facilitated by rapid uplift of hot rocks at a compressive plate margin. Fluid immiscibility at shallow levels caused concentration of salts and metals into the aqueous phase. Gold precipitation was caused by reduction by pelitic country rock and/nr dluILion by other aqueous fluids.

Jan 1, 1987

By A Mcquillan, N Bar

Geotechnical models developed during the open pit mine planning stage are generally three-dimensional (3D) in component to capture the spatial variation in geological, structural, hydrogeological and geomechanical conditions. Yet when geotechnical analysis is completed, often the 3D geological, hydrogeological and structural models are simplified to two-dimensions (2D). This paper demonstrates this simplification, through referenced case studies, can lead to the wrong failure mechanism being analysed and/or a conservative Factor of Safety (FOS), or Strength Reduction Factor (SRF), being calculated, leading to a false sense of stability. There exists a paradigm that the FOS calculated using 2D limit equilibrium (LE), or the Strength Reduction Factor (SRF) calculated using 2D finite element (FE), modelling methods is generally conservative, ie lower, than the true FOS. However, this assumption that 3D FOS, or 3D SRF, is always higher than 2D FOS, or 2D SRF, is not always correct (Chen and Chameau, 1983; Bromhead and Martin, 2004; Herza et al, 2017; Pyke, 2017; Dana et al, 2018).

Nov 29, 2022

The mining, metallurgical, and petroleum industries can be viewed as financial or as social institutions or both. The differences between these two conceptions of their businesses will influence their environmental and social actions. During the next 10-20 years western industry will be subject to a drop in the growth of a more highly educated labour force and to the emergence of holistic economics, new national goals, and a new ecological perspective. The profitability of the mining industry may therefore be influenced by the human side of its business to a greater degree. The increas- ing human, social, and environmental responsibilities can be discharged by improving the miner's equip- ment; by learning to look at situations through the eyes of all those involved; by developing common `languages' which governments and the public can understand; and by mediating where feasible on the international scene.

Jan 1, 1978

By P Chapman, B Moosapoor

The objective of this paper is to present the potential applications of geostatistical analyses in planning CPTu investigations, as well as interpolation of CPTu data. The paper presents a case study of a geostatistical analysis of CPTu data undertaken between 2004 and 2017 for an upstreamraised TSF located in the Goldfields region of Western Australia. An initial model is developed using the 2004, 2009 and 2017 CPTu data. The model is used to predict in situ cone tip resistance (qc) measurements, as the interested primary variable, at the selected locations where 2019 CPTu were undertaken, and the results of the prediction and the actual data are compared.

Jul 1, 2021

By A D. Campbell, G R. Power

The increasing availability of marker data in sublevel caving operations is changing the way draw can be managed to achieve positive recovery outcomes in these mines. This paper describes how marker data has been incorporated into flow simulations to help calibrate full mine ore recovery simulations for the forecasting and optimisation of recovery.Some flow modelling techniques do not use marker data, relying instead on the outcomes of physical and numerical experiments to guide assumptions about an idealised recovery flow shape. Other mines have access to marker trial data, but find it difficult to specifically link this marker trial information to their recovery models. This can make it difficult to create a link between the marker trial information and recovery forecasting and limits the potential value of the marker trials at the mine.In the simulations shown here, the marker rings are fully incorporated into the flow model, and can be tracked in the model. The model is compared against the real underground marker recovery information to give the user an indication of how accurately the flow settings in the model are reflecting the conditions in the experimental marker rings. An example of use of this system at an operational mine is included.CITATION:Power, G R and Campbell, A D, 2016. Modelling of real-time marker data to improve operational recovery in sublevel caving mines, in Proceedings Seventh International Conference and Exhibition on Mass Mining (MassMin 2016), pp 105–110 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

May 9, 2016

By Warner N. A

There is an inherent problem in producing simultaneously lead, zinc and copper as metals in a single polymetallic smelting furnace. It relates to the condensation of lead and zinc from the gas phase under vacuum conditions such that metals in bulk form, either solid or liquid, are obtained as products rather than a fume or dust containing both metallic and non-metallic components. To understand this phenomenon, it has been necessary to establish mathematical models with computer simulation to identify the process requirements for effecting the objective of maximum bulk metal production with minimum fog formation. The theoretical framework of simultaneous heat and mass transfer involved in condensation from gas mixtures containing a non-condensable gas has been extended to the high temperature and reduced pressure conditions. These apply to new technology for polymetallic smelting now being developed in a project currently funded jointly by the Commission of the European Communities and the Mineral Industry Research Organisation. Under the right conditions it is theoretically possible to condense out both lead and zinc with minimal fume formation, but in all practical cases it is anticipated that some circulating load for reversion back to the smelter will be needed.

Jan 1, 1989

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

By A F. Cropp, D J. Bradshaw, W R. Goodall

Mineralogy and critically the texture of both the ore and gangue phases are of paramount importance in the flotation recovery of copper from porphyry ores. Mineralogy and texture will define the theoretical grade recovery curve for a feed ore. Actual grade-recovery falling below this may be due to texture and gangue influences, whilst desired grade-recovery above this line will not be possible unless the characteristics of the feed are altered.This review discusses examples of porphyry copper deposits where process mineralogy has been used to characterise these textural and gangue influences on recovery by flotation. More specifically, the influence exerted by grain size, liberation, association and elemental distribution is explored. The implications of these on overall plant philosophy and operation are highlighted, along with the subsequent potential impact on recovery.CITATION:Cropp, A F, Goodall, W R and Bradshaw, D J, 2013. The influence of textural variation and gangue mineralogy on recovery of copper by flotation from porphyry ore - a review, in Proceedings The Second AusIMM International Geometallurgy Conference (GeoMet) 2013 , pp 279-292 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Sep 29, 2013

By T J. Laing, A B. Richards, A J. Moore

Blastholes fired in a pattern with a constant initiation delay create a frequency in the ground vibration similar to that from a percussion instrument, such as a drum, in the air. A constant firing delay generates a prime or forcing frequency into the ground motion. The forcing frequency may then be modified by ground transmission characteristics into subharmonics of the forcing frequency. The moving vibration source between blastholes also creates a frequency shift because of a Doppler effect. Other wave interactions may form beats. The effects are exacerbated by the accurate firing times of electronic detonators. This paper demonstrates how observations of wavetraces and frequency spectral analysis were used to recognise:Doppler effect and frequency ellipsoidssubharmonics (and sub-subharmonics) of the forcing frequencybeat formation that may double or triple peak particle velocity (PPV) levels.Recognition of beats permitted techniques to be used to control ground vibration from coal overburden blasting to limits deemed to cause no further instability in a slip failure. An understanding of the science involved has practical application elsewhere that has been successfully applied to initiation timings to reduce PPV and adverse human and structure response from other blasting operations.CITATION:Moore, A J, Richards, A B and Laing, T J, 2015. Blasting harmonics and controlling peak particle velocity, in Proceedings 11th International Symposium on Rock Fragmentation by Blasting, pp 527–532 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Aug 24, 2015

The concentrating plant of the Broken Hill South Limited was described in Proceedings No. 44, Australasian Institute Mining and Metallurgy, December, 1921, by Wainwright and Read. It was erected on the present site in 1907 and 1908.From that date, the plant has undergone various alterations consistent with metallurgical improvements. By 1925, the timber work of the gravity secti"on had seriously deteriorated, so much so, that, when the machinery was working, the floors and supports vibrated badly, causing heavy maintenance costs.In 1928, it was decided to erect a new gravity-treatment section, to be followed later by a new flotation section.

Jan 1, 1932

By Boswell GB, Mori W, Stevens MR

The Onemana prospect is located on the eastern Coromandel Peninsula, North Island, New Zealand. Systematic exploration involving surface geological mapping, geophysics, rock and soil geochemistry, reverse-circulation and diamond drilling has identified a number of important features of a fossil hydrothermal system at Onemana. This relatively intact gold mineralised system is hosted within a sequence of rhyolitic volcanics and volcaniclastics, overlain by lake sediments, sinters and hydrothermal eruption breccia. The system lies within a graben/half graben bounded by major NE-trending faults which form the approximate boundaries to hydrothermal alteration.

Jan 1, 1995

In terms of tunnelling the mining industry is generally thought of as the crude cousin of the civil construction industry. Mining has tended to concentrate on speed and flexibility rather than the high standards required in civil tunnelling. Historically this difference has been based on the belief that such high standards were not required by the mining industry, they would slow down the development of the project and as a result increase the costs and extend the time period between start up and a positive cashflow.For civil works the construction of a tunnel is the project, for mining the construction of declines, crosscuts and drives are merely the means of accessing the orebody so that the real work can begin û MINING. Extraction of ore is the core business of most mining companies û it is what pays the bills.Though most mining companies have the equipment, the people, the knowledge and the ability to excavate tunnels, in the past mining companies did not appear to put the same energy into their tunnelling operations as they put into improving their ore extraction operations. In the past decade this appears to have changed, many mining companies now realise how important the correct excavation of a decline is to the success of the overall mining operation. They began to recognise that there were cost benefits to be gained in using the correct development techniques without overly sacrificing the benefits of speed and flexibility.This recognition also coincided with the growth of underground contractors whose predominant work was primary development (declines and ore access crosscuts and drives). The contractors again had the same knowledge, the same people, and similar equipment but their focus was different from that of the mining company û the contractors were focused on the development of the mine, the excavation of declines, crosscuts and drives. These deliverables were the contractorsÆ core business û itÆs what paid the bills.

Jan 1, 1999

Employing gravity recovery for coarsely liberated gold and sulfide ores has potential to lead to a signifi cant reduction in the energy required for comminution and ultimately can have a significant impact on gold processing. Most of the recognised metallurgical tools at our disposal currently have been designed around recovery of relatively finely ground minerals. In order to change the paradigm of fine grind for liberation, a new set of tools need to be recognised that are capable of separations in the coarser size fractions. Some of these tools already exist and some need to be developed but the key is the way in which the fl ow sheets are arranged. A very strong understanding is required in the existing tools and their capabilities before these new flow sheets can be optimised. Only when we understand the existing gaps in technology can we start to fill these positions with new candidates. Many ores when crushed liberate their gold bearing minerals at coarser sizes than current practice would suggest (Figure 1). In order to characterise this response in ores it is necessary to utilise some new techniques in the lab such as gravity separation and ore sorting at the sizes greater than 15 mm followed by gravity recovery on fractions from 15 mm down to 150 ¦m. The most difficult range has been the mid-sized fraction from 4.0 mm down to around 150 ¦m. This is the size range in which many ores show economic liberation starting to occur and coincidentally this is the range in which many commonly used metallurgical processes reach their operational limits due to physical constraints. Examples of these processes are flotation, hydrocyclones and whole ore leach in agitated tanks which are currently the mainstays of the processing fraternity. This is an ABSTRACT ONLY. No paper was prepared for this presentation.

Aug 1, 2010

By J Abols, T Hughes

The selective recovery of gold and silver from solutions containing other metals, such as copper, is possible using AuRIX«100 resin in conjunction with the Gekko Resin Column. Selectivity is driven by controlling the solution pH, which enables activities such as loading copper, gold and silver and then selectively stripping copper before gold and silver. Alternatively gold and silver can be loaded and the copper left in solution. The selective loading of gold while reducing the silver loading has also been demonstrated, opening the possibility of producing high grade gold dorT from high grade silver pregnant leach solutions. This paper reviews the AuRIX«100 resin and Gekko Resin Column Technologies, discusses the uses of AuRIX«100 in the recovery of gold and silver and the chemistry relating to several projects for which AuRIX«100 is being tested.

Jan 1, 2005

By R Zhang, J Xu, X Lv, C Bai, S Zhang

This paper studies the grinding behaviour of vanadium-titanium magnetite concentrate in a ball mill. The grinding kinetics, surface morphology, lattice distortion, wettability and moisture capacity were analysed. Grinding kinetics equation was established based on population balances model with the size distribution data from a laser diffraction technique. The SEM photos of the ground concentrate showed that the surface gets rough with increasing grind time. Agglomeration of fine particles was enhanced when the grinding time reached 30 minutes. X-ray diffraction results showed that a loss in crystalline occurred with increasing the grinding time. The peaks of the X-ray diffraction patterns are significantly broadened with increasing grinding time. Wettability, characterised by contact angle between the material and water, improved due to the fact that the surface roughness increased with increasing grinding time. Moisture capacity of concentrate ascends abruptly in the first three minutes and then changed slowly with increasing grinding time. The water transfer coefficient in the particles increased rapidly in the first six minutes and then decreased quickly until grinding time reached 12 minutes.CITATION:Zhang, R, Lv, X, Bai, C, Xu, J and Zhang, S, 2013. Wet grinding of ?vanadium-titanium magnetite concentrate in a ball mill, in Proceedings Iron Ore 2013 , pp 511-518 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Aug 12, 2013