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By Windsor C

A review of the current pit design procedures and their performance has been undertaken recently by Mining Research Associates (MRA) and the CSIRO Division of Geomechanics. Visits were made to mines covering a wide range of operations. A questionnaire was completed by each mine in order to collate the relevant information. Interviews were also made with representatives of the Mines Departments to ascertain their role in regulating mine designs. Design expectations were compared with field performance, and reasons for variations noted. Problems associated with designs were identified and suggested methods of alleviating the problems have been made.

Jan 1, 1986

The alluvial diamond deposit in the Kimberley Region of Western Australia which became to be known as the Bow River Diamond Mine was discovered in 1982 by joint venture partners Freeport of Australia Inc and Gem Exploration and Minerals Ltd. Mining commenced in 1987. This paper describes the exploration programs and results from discovery to commencement of mining and reviews the public reporting of this process in the light of 1992 Ore Reserves Code (JORC, 1992). This case study illustrates the difficulties involved in resource estimation of alluvial diamond deposits. The study also shows that current reporting standards were, to a large extent, adhered to a full ten years before the diamond reporting section to the Code was formulated.

Jan 1, 1996

The curbing of expansion in tertiary level education in Australia and the question- ing of its objectives which are now occurring are likely to have important effects on mining and metallurgical education. Student enrol- ments are low but the serious shortage of specialised minerals industry graduates pre- dicted during the boom of the late 60's has not eventuated. Other manning problems of a less quantitative but possibly equally import- ant kind have been identified. They point to a need for a full and deep review of the education and training programmes available to Australian graduates planning to enter product- ion areas of the minerals industry. An alter- native educational structure providing greater flexibility is suggested.

Jan 1, 1977

Recent research publications in extractive metallurgy were analysed for their stated and self-evident objectives. Over 100 different objectives (not specific to a metal or unit operation) were identified. These were divided into groups of economic, environmental, professional and fundamental significance. Comparisons were made of the objectives adopted in universities, industry and national research organisations. The most common primary and secondary objectives (by a large margin) were "to develop a new process (different chemistry)" and "to determine the effects of variables on a process" respectively. It was concluded that, overall, recent research has been dominated by commercial objectives. Objectives related to thermodynamics and kinetics have been the most common of the fundamental sort. Those related to professional methods in general, sensors and process dynamics, among others, have been largely neglected.

Jan 1, 1986

As Project Managers for the Blair Athol Coal Mine Project, CMPS selected a number of computer systems to assist in project control. The areas where computers were used were: 1) Planning & Scheduling 2) Procurement Reporting 3) Document Control 4) Accounting 5) Cost Control 6) Control of project management and engineering manhours The computer packages selected were generally effective in their own areas. During 1982, CMPS acquired an in-house project control package called GC/Cue. Project control systems for the project are progressively being set up on this system. The advantages of this type of system are: 1) Improved accessibility of information, due to on-line operation and the use of VDU's. 2) Improved turn around time for computer runs and production of reports. 3) Improved presentation and format of reports. 4) Lower costs.

Jan 1, 1983

This paper sets out a number of means by which professionals can reduce or eliminate the risk of professional liability whether as directors, employees, partners, independent consultants or contractors. A relationship between client and professional is commonly cited as an example of a fiduciary relationship: the professional "undertakes or agrees to act for or on behalf of or in the interests of' the client "in the exercise of a power or discretion which will affect the interests of that other person in a legal or practical sense."2 As a fiduciary, a professional must ensure that his or her exercise of power does not result in a position of ascendancy or undue influence over the client. Also, a professional must avoid situations where there is scope for even the perception of potential conflict between his or her professional duty to the client and his or her own Interest.

Jan 1, 1995

The global recession of the 1980s drove commodity prices down and intensified cost competition. The 1990s saw a restructuring of the mining industry with the survivors adopting new technology, significantly increasing workplace productivity and reducing capital and operating costs. Major changes in mining industry business strategies evolved in the late-1980s including the development of miner - supplier - manufacturer - partnerships, cultural changes in work practices and common goals between the partners to reduce the cost of production. These industry trends are putting new demands on mining machine manufacturers and dealers both on the `hard' side of the machine business, such as research and product development programs, and on the `soft' side in terms of business processes, use of human resources and communication. The paper describes several mining industry trends as identified by a large supplier to the industry, and discusses the impact they are having, and will have, on mining machine development and the provision of product support services to the industry.

Jan 1, 1995

By Young JA, Rogers G, Bannister S, Edwards SA

Many coal mine operators have responded to economic pressures by massive investment in machinery to reduce unit costs. To sustain the increased production which must justify the expenditure it is essential to know the resource in great detail months or even years in advance of its extraction. The required detail includes variations in composition and any lateral disruptions to the seam which night affect production. As Wilson (1985) has pointed out, a day's production loss can mean half a million dollars income forgone, and an unexpected major fault can mean a shutdown of weeks. Traditionally, seams were probed by surface drilling on (typically) 250 or 500m centres, and by horizontal drilling from sithin'the seam. Core was analysed chemically. The new generation machinery cannot tolerate the risk attendant on such widely spaced sampling, but the costs of much closer sampling rapidly become prohibitive.

Jan 1, 1987

The primary objective of any planning exercise is to maximise the return on funds utilised while maintaining a safe and socially responsible working environment. In order to achieve this, it is essential that the assumptions applied reflect as accurately as possible the future realisation of the project. In narrow vein mining, the risk that this will not occur can be significantly greater than that associated with other types of mining projects. This results partially because of dramatic effects upon project cash flows with seemingly minor changes in operating parameters such as orebody width and wall rock competency.The validity of a planning exercise can therefore be related to the extent of available data and to the experience and perceptions of the operating entity. The various factors which must be assessed include absolute values and variations in a range of factors, especially the dip and dimensions of the orebody, the geotechnical parameters and anticipated ground conditions, the productivity and production characteristics of the selected mining method as applied to the specific orebody, and the impact of mine access and development.

Jan 1, 1993

The Liddell longwall equipment consists of 118 four leg supports, a shearer and armoured face conveyor of 170mm length. The equipment was supplied to Coal & Allied Operations Pty Limited (Coal and Allied) by Westfalia Australia Pty Limited (Westfalia). The project commenced as a feasibility study in 1983, a proposal was put to the board of directors in March 1984 and a specification distributed. Nine companies tendered for the supply of a longwall face and the supplier was selected from a short list of four companies. At the same time Coal & Allied examined the facilities at Liddell Colliery and decided to upgrade the conveyor belt system to cater for the high production from a longwall face. The surface facilities, transport system, water and electrical supplies to the colliery were also to be upgraded. During the twelve months to December 1985, the colliery was upgraded while the longwall equipment was being manufactured. The manufacturing process involved roof support testing, compatibility testing and finally a build up of 40m of longwall face

Jan 1, 1986

By Parker GJ

The financing of smaller resource projects has proven to be a difficult problem for promoters and financiers alike as very often such projects have not met the requirements of available financing methods and promoters have equally found it difficult to establish credibility, management and technical ability with potential financing sources. Solutions to the dilemma in which many of these projects find themselves are not readily apparent but will need to be found if the full potential of Australia's resources is to be realised. INTRODUCTION The growth of so called project financing in its present form is normally considered to be a phenomenon of very recent times, however, paradoxically there are references to what could be called financing in the old testament. To confuse the issue further financing small resource projects may not, and very often are not undertaken on a project financing basis. It is therefore quite apparent that one should be completely clear on:

Jan 1, 1982

One distinctive feature of the global mining industry approaching the twenty-first century is the worldwide commitment of mining houses to large-scale projects in developing countries. One good example is BHP's development of the Escondida copper project in Chile. The Escondida orebody was discovered in 1981 and construction began in July 1988. Mining began in December 1990 at a design capacity of 320 000 tonnes of copper contained in concentrate. Out put has grown significantly and shortly Escondida will become the largest single copper mine in the world producing copper at the rate of 800 000 tonnes per annum, including 80 000 tonnes of copper metal. Escondida provides a case study of the development and growth of a large-scale mining operation in a developing country. Key elements have been innovative financing, the management of country risk, the recruitment of an excellent workforce, the use of advanced technologies and best practice in environmental management and community relations. Escondida is one of the global mining industry's success stories in the 1990s.

Jan 1, 1996

The development of paraprofessional courses in metallurgy and related disciplines, by the Department of Technical and Further Education in New South Wales, is outlined in this paper. The changing nature of metall- urgical educational requirements is summarised, and various attendance patterns discussed. The potential advantages of the sandwich system of College attendance, to the more distant sectors of the mineral processing and metallurgical industry is outlined. Some of the likely future trends in technician education are presented. These include the need to respond to the changing expectations of technician employers, as shown by industrial surveys, the role of experiential learning, the need to integrate courses so that students can build on prev- iously completed courses, the possibility that future technicians will require a multi- disciplinary background and the provision of easier access to technical college facilities by potential students and industries.

Jan 1, 1978

By W J. Rankin

A study of refined metallic copper and nickel production was carried out using Life Cycle Assessment methodology to estimate the life cycle emissions of greenhouse and acid rain gases for these metals using data derived from the literature. Various processing routes were investigated which included a pyrometallurgical and a hydrometallurgical route for each metal. The effect of a number of process variables, namely ore grade, fuel type for electricity generation and efficiency of generation were also examined in the study. The results of the study, expressed in terms of total (or full cycle) energy consumption, Global Warming Potential (GWP) and Acidification Potential (AP), showed that the hydrometallurgical processes involving solvent extraction and electrowinning had higher energy consumptions and GWPs than the pyrometallurgical processes for both metals. Nickel metal production was shown to be several-fold more energy intensive than copper metal production. The significant effect that falling ore grades have on attempts to meet greenhouse emission targets was also highlighted in the study.

Jan 1, 2000

The type of population encountered in the sampling of coal, ores and other products of natural phenomena is one in which the variance within a cluster of elements generally increases steadily as the size of the cluster increases. To enable estimation of variances of stratified random or systematic sampling for such populations one must model the serial correlation function or alternatively, the variogram function. The author has postulated a specific symmetry of the serial correlation function which leads to expressions with rich theoretical and practical implications. These expressions provide a spatial correlation function which explains power law relationships often observed in studies of dispersion variances. They also enable straightforward calculations of sampling variances. The importance of the role of finite population size in the equations leads one to examine previously held concepts of ælargeÆ and æsmallÆ sample populations. The model based on the symmetry postulate is a fractal model with the serial correlation function of a hypothetically infinite population being of the same form as that developed by Mandelbrot for discrete fractional noise. Techniques used in fractal mathematics apply, including box counting and fitting of a dimension function. The paper establishes a framework for the understanding of this fractal theory and demonstrates how to calculate sampling variances from the model variogram using simulated data fitting the model.

Jan 1, 2008

The new South Australian Mining Act be came operative in July, 1972. It provides appropriate updated legislation covering pro- specting, exploration and development of mining properties. Anomalies inherent in earlier legislation which provided for the private ownership of minerals in certain areas have been overcome by the vesting of the property in. all minerals in the Crown. Appropriate transition- al and long term provisions protect the right of individuals thereby divested of their former property in minerals. In the matter of pro- specting for and quarrying of extractive minerals, the rights of landowners have been formally recognized, and the concept of rehab- ilitation of quarried areas has been introduced utilizing money provided from a royalty fund especially established for this purpose. Con- temporary company exploration practice is catered for under a new exploration tenement and at the same time the legislation makes provision for the interests of individual pro- spectors. Special provisions have been enacted to cope with the rapidly developing opal mining industry. A feature of the new Act is the introduction of legislation which recognizes enlightened contemporary thinking on the matter of environmental considerations. The Act has also extended the powers and widened the jurisdiction of the Warden's Court. In general,

Jan 1, 1974

By Thomas R

The successful `marriage' between a company seeking to raise funds to develop a project and their financiers calls for a strong mutual understanding of each other's needs. For a company attempting to raise funding, the alternative methods are ever expanding. The optimum method will vary depending on the financial position, risk/reward outlook of the company and the strength of the project for which development capital is being sought. It is likely that small mining companies will need to raise equity funds for advancing projects to the development stage. At that time, they will probably still require a reasonable level of shareholder equity to meet the requirements of banks and other parties to cover potential cost over-runs on the project and feasibility costs. Larger companies, however, are likely to find it much easier and cheaper to raise debt from banks. When evaluating companies and projects for funding, banks will pay particular attention to the quality and experience of management in developing similar projects and it may be necessary for some companies to retain the services of outside consultants. Before a project needs funding, companies should meet with potential financiers to develop relationships to select and ensure a smooth transaction to funding in the future.

Jan 1, 1997

Erratic, though spatially localised occurrences of gold particles are a common feature of high-nugget gold systems. In many cases, gold is present as isolated or clustered, often coarse particles. The nugget effect is a part consequence of small-scale geologically controlled enrichment, and the inclusion or exclusion of gold particles from samples. Economic zones are generally contained within discrete structurally-controlled ore shoots which are surrounded by, and may include barren to low-grade background material. Problems are often encountered where small sample types (eg drill core and channel samples) of a few kilograms mass understate in situ grade by up to a few orders of magnitude, due to their general inability to represent the true gold particle distribution. This leads to uncertainty in mineral resource estimates. This contribution presents case studies where geologically-based parameters have been collected from drill core and underground faces to support grade determination. These parameters - or proxies - are based on mineralogical and/or geochemical (eg specific elemental ratios, fluid inclusion compositions and elemental correlations) criteria. Such criteria can be correlated with different grade domains to provide an indication of true grade within a geologically-controlled context. Proxies have recently been used to support resource estimates reported in accordance with the JORC Code.

Mar 1, 2010

By P Cameron

The Julius Kruttschnitt Mineral Research Centre (JKMRC) has recently commercialised a variety of new products for the mining industry through its commercial division (JKTech). Although the products cover a wide variety of niche applications, a common thread runs through the Research, Development and Commercialisation (RD and C) process: they have emerged from industry sponsored projects. The development history of JigScan (a control system for the mineral-processing jig) is a good example of how this RD and C process works in practice. It involves building mutually beneficial partnerships between the JKMRC and the mining industry through several incremental projects with one or more industry sponsors. All research projects have objectives to demonstrate but these projects also feature a degree of product development to actively encourage and support the longer-term vision for the mature commercial technology. The process to develop JigScan as a commercial product worked because each incremental project recovered costs, provided an immediate benefit for the sponsor and contributed to the longer-term development objectives of the JKMRC. Integrating development with research need not greatly increase the cost of research objectives generally provides a more robust research outcome for the sponsor and greatly reduces the overall development risk. Successful projects often feature industry mentors actively participating in the RD and C process. Additional funding from government appears to be easier to obtain when such close partnerships with industry are apparent. Finally, the business structure of the JKMRC within the University of Queensland ensures that commercial outcomes, developed within the contractual arrangements of the underlying RD and C projects, are used to benefit and support further RD and C with the mining industry. This paper tells the story of the development and commercialisation of JigScan, and draws conclusions about this kind of RD and C model.

Jan 1, 2000

It is suggested that if adequate knowledge is available about classifiers in closed grinding circuits, these units may be used as on-stream size analysers when equipped with suitable sensing devices. Research work which is at present in progress to enable a hydrocyclone to be used for this purpose is discussed.

Jan 1, 1967