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Before the arrival of the first Europeans, Aborigines living in the northern Flinders Ranges mined ochre - an earthy form of haematite used for pigment.The discovery of copper ore at Kapunda and Burra in the 1840s stimulated the early settlers to prospect further north along the ranges. Many of the new discoveries were not properly evaluated and companies were floated on the most tenuous evidence.

Jan 1, 1993

By B N. Morrison

In all metallurgical plants metallurgists require analyses of the various intermediate products, eg flotation feeds, flotation concentrates, tailings, mattes, slags, etc to monitor the efficiency of the plant processes and for plant control purposes. Traditionally these samples have gone to off-site laboratories and there can be some considerable delay before analytical data are received. On-line monitors have to be used for plant control purposes and these are difficult to maintain and can give poor quality data. Recent technological advances in automation in analytical laboratories now allow a far quicker turn-around time for analytical data so they can be of more use to the metallurgist. Automation, which involves the use of robots and fewer people in laboratories, has the added benefit of providing higher quality data as the possibility of human error and bias is minimised. Differences between conventional manual laboratories and automated laboratories are described. Automated analytical laboratories are now becoming the laboratories of choice for mining companies which require large numbers of samples to be analysed on a 24/7 basis on similar sample types using the same sample preparation methods and analytical procedures. Automated laboratories have now been installed in platinum, iron ore, copper and aluminium producing mining companies. A further advantage to metallurgical plants is now the possibility of siting automated analytical laboratories in-plant and designing the plant around the laboratory. Concentrator streams, slags, etc can be sampled by automated samplers, the samples transferred by automation to the in-plant laboratories and all sample preparation and analyses carried out by automated processes. These laboratories require a minimum of staff. Such automated in-plant laboratories have been installed on a platinum mine flotation plant, a platinum mine smelter and steel plants. One is in process of being installed on an iron-ore mine with the sampling being carried out by an automated sampling tower. The procedures followed in planning an automated analytical laboratory for a metallurgical plant are described in detail in the paper. The platinum plant smelter automated system which includes rapid transport of samples by air-tube to the laboratory for the analysis of the samples by XRFS is also described in the paper. It is concluded that automated analytical laboratories can be retro-fitted to most metallurgical plants but they are best suited to greenfield sites.

Jan 1, 2008

By Fee BS

This paper describes four new families of collector products which are currently being introduced at the industrial level. A brief summary of the chemical basis behind each product family will be given. This is then followed by a selection of flotation examples which illustrate the more important use characteristics that have been observed to date. It is becoming more apparent with further testing that these four new product families can offer both technical and economic advantages to the industrial flotation process operator.

Jan 1, 1993

By Craw D

The Southern Alps in the South Island of New Zealand are currently rising rapidly as a consequence of continental collision along the Pacific-Australian plate boundary. Rapid uplift has resulted in a major thermal anomaly in the shallow crust beneath the alps. Alpine topography and associated intense precipitation, coupled with the thermal anomaly are responsible for vigorous combined topographic/convective circulation of water through the shallow crust.

Jan 1, 1995

DIVERSITY There are plenty of examples to show that diversity has been the fundamental downfall of many organisations, particularly when you consider the international position. What about core business, the return of companies to key competence directions and market focus. The stockmarket for instance defines groups and companies in key groups of core business. The expectation is that companies toe the line and do not diversify across their areas of defined expertise. In essence, the market has given notice that the requirements are to focus and stick to our core business. So what right does the conference have to suggest that diversity is the key to prosperity. Hasn't the organiser read the book, studied the history, listened to the market - obviously not. Have they got it wrong, My feeling and belief is no - the organisers have got it right. However, the matter is not as simple as first perceived. What is Diversity, or Diversification as I would prefer? Is it a product position? Is it a geographic position? Is it an expansion or change in services offered? Does a gold mining company diversify into copper or diamonds or aluminium or nickel? Does a gold miner in Australia diversify into China or Kazakhstan or West Africa? How do the two relate? They don't. A successful company will always possess a 'core competence' not so much a 'core business'. The best example of this is the service company extraordinaire - McDonalds. They don't sell hamburgers or french fries, they sell a service, a convenience, a lifestyle. The core business is hamburgers and if McDonalds were to diversify further into new styles of hamburgers, I suggest to you they would fail. But if McDonalds were to diversify into other products based on their 'core competence', provision of service, then I would suggest to you they would be very successful. The service procedure, service machine, service system, the formula, stava the rnnetant the nrnrlnrte -

Jan 1, 1996

A new classification of subduction related (epithermal- / mesother-mal) gold mineralisation styles based on the tectonic framework they occur in, has been found helpful in practice. It offers a ratio-nalisation of exploration efforts during all stages of work.Methodology on the ground during first pass- and follow up explo-ration which has been found effective for the various mineralisa-tion styles is being briefly outlined.

Jan 1, 1990

By D Trembath

"One of the key risks to the success of a mining operation is the accuracy of the estimates of both the economic mineral and any accompanying contaminants contained within the ore reserve. Misrepresenting the mineralogical characteristics of the ore reserve can result in considerable financial investment in an operation that is in fact uneconomic and/or carries a significant environmental risk. This in turn can result in an unplanned closure of the operation with associated financial, environmental and social legacy. One way to minimise this risk is to undertake high density resource sampling to gain a better understanding of the resource characteristics. However, such an approach is expensive, time-consuming and often impractical. The risk of not having an accurate model is typically assessed during a feasibility study utilising a Monte Carlo simulation method or some form of sensitivity analysis. Importantly, the error margins used in these types of analyses are often based on subjective or very general criteria such as ‘professional judgement’ or an ‘industry standard’. This presentation introduces a conditional simulation method for developing a range of mineralogical distribution models. Based broadly on the method outlined in Journel and Kyriakidis (2004) the proposed approach develops this work further. It combines a geostatistical analysis of the available data with automated mine design software to provide a rigorous method for assessing the confidence in the mineralogical characterisation of the ore reserve. The process is based on simulating possible mine plans based on the statistical characteristics of the available resource sample data. These plans are then assessed against high resolution resource models generated using a Sequential Gaussian Simulation method. The outcome is confidence intervals for important characteristics of the ore reserve estimate relative to the actual resource. These confidence intervals are an objective and transparent measure important for assessing closure risks and represent an improvement over common practice.CITATION:Trembath, D, 2016. A simulation approach for improving the assessment of closure risks, in Proceedings Life-of-Mine 2016 Conference , pp 36–38 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne)."

Jun 28, 2016

The new field of environmental investiga tions introduces new problems of ethics, res- ponsibility, conflict of interest and technical procedures. Such investigations involve four elements: developer, consultant, approving authority and the public. It is essential that the consultant provide technical competence, speed and efficiency, impartiality and credibi- lity. Despite allegations to the contrary, it is not in the consultant's own best interest to omit, ignore or obscure significant adverse en vironmental impacts.

Jan 1, 1975

Two continuous computer controlled, remote air analysis (RAA) systems operate at The Zinc Corporation, Limited (ZC) to give early warning in case of an underground fire at ZC or New Broken Hill Consolidated Limited (NBHC) mines. Air drawn from underground sampling points via a tube bundle system is analysed for carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. An alarm is sounded if the concentrations of these gases exceed bench mark figures.

Jan 1, 1983

By Xizhen J

Point load testing for irregular rock specimens was studied to determine the relationship between tensile and compressive strengths, drill penetration rate and other rotary drilling parameters. The DH-l type point load tester was developed and more than 2 000 irregular specimens of over 60 kinds of rock from 16 mines and quarries were tested. The effects of size, shape and number of samples on the point load strength index were investigated, using regression analysis. Experiments were carried out to investigate the relationship between point load strength index and uniaxial compressive strength on 29 kinds of rock. The relationship between these values and the drill penetration rate for rotary and percussion drills is discussed.

Jan 1, 1986

By Smit J. G

Following an increase in the number of methane ignitions in South African coal mines a new ventilation system was developed. The "Hydravert" system conceived in late 1979 for use in low seam coal mines, where the bord and pillar method of working is used, has been extensively developed to include applications for mining seams up to 4.5 metres high. A brief history of the development is supplied including some of the pitfalls encountered in the hydraulic equipment design and selection.

Jan 1, 1988

By D L. Kennedy

Many aspects of the physical layout of manufacturing plants and storage facilities for explosives are governed by so-called quantity-distances tables. Both the British and the American tables were originally derived from an analysis of the injuries and the building damage documented by an early 20th century compilation of significant accidental explosions. However, progressive changes in explosive process technology and in building techniques have reduced the relevance of much of this historic data set. Extensive scientific research has been conducted over recent decades to characterise the potential injuries and damage from accidental explosions under more modern conditions. This presentation will showcase some of this research.**This is an abstract only. No paper was provided for this abstract**

Nov 8, 2011

A number of cooperative studies have been carried out as preliminary work for drafting a standard for application of granulated slag sand for concrete, and the following conclusions were reached 1 The ten kinds of granulated slag sands pro- duced in Japan satisfy the national standard for fine aggregate in terms of physical and chemical properties. 2 Mortar and concrete tests conducted with granulated slag sand revealed that, although with slight differences in the extent, gran- ulated slag sands used in these tests were applicable'as fine aggregate for concrete, 3 The pumpability test by a concrete pump carried out on concrete with two kinds of now commercially available granulated slag sand demonstrated that the pump pressure feeding is applicable in the same manner as in the case of ordinary concrete. These tests permitted' preparation of a draft standard for application of granulated slag sand, and the results formed the first step toward utilizing this material as a sub- stitute for natural sand.

Jan 1, 1979

By Dorricott M. G

Rock bolt installation is generally carried out in two steps. First the hole is drilled and the drill steel is extracted, then the bolt is inserted into the hole and tightened or grouted. With single pass bolting (SPB), however, these two steps can be carried out at the same time. This kind of bolting system has at least three advantages, (1) the time used for the bolt installation could be reduced, (2) the condition of safety for the operators could be improved, and (3) the degree of automation of the rock bolting practice could be increased. The study presented in this paper is concerned with the development of the SPB system. The current state of the system is discussed, and further improvement of the technique is explored.

Jan 1, 1992

The needs for improved technology for the mineral industry are widely recognised and a summary list is given. Ways in which technology has been introduced into the industry are discussed, as are the means by which the general process of technology transfer takes place. Some possible sources of improved and new technology are considered, together with the constraints to its introduction into the industry. Responses to recent external influences on the industry are discussed in relation to their effects on technology development.

Jan 1, 1986

By D Suppel, Y Miezitis, S Jaireth

The competition between various options for the use of land is ever increasing. Commonly in Australia large tracts of land were un-encumbered by sweeping land use option limitations, but this situation has been rapidly altering in recent decades as governments are obliged to maximise the utility of the land for a broad range of competing interests. While the interests of miners have always been considered, the effects on limiting access to land for exploration and possible mining have not always been effectively incorporated into decision-making processes. As a result the challenge for national and state organisations representing these interests has been to develop a transparent process to allow for the mineral potential of an area to be systematically assessed and for information to be presented for use by specialists and non-specialists. Government agencies are called upon to implement government policy but also to provide accurate and meaningful advice which can assist in policy and land use decisions. Commonly timeframes are short and information can be less than complete. Nevertheless on-going decisions are made based upon the best available understanding. It is in this operational framework that the methods described in this paper are set. The paper describes a process for quickly and systematically providing advice on mineral potential for use by government agencies and ultimately the community within tight time and resource constraints. It is a method of combining the accumulated knowledge about mineral resources and their potential and presenting this information in an easily accessible form which can be used in a negotiation and policy development environment. Development of the method was undertaken to meet the needs of the Regional Forestry Agreement process in Australia. The method has been applied to study areas in New South Wales, Tasmania, Western Australia and elsewhere. Examples in this paper are taken from north eastern New South Wales.

Jan 1, 1999

By H Park, D J. Holland, L Wang, Y Matviychuk, Y Lee

Reuse of process water in mineral and coal flotation plants is widespread to effectively reduce freshwater consumption. However, the accumulation of the frother in the recycled process water is a growing problem as high remnant frother concentration often leads to undesirable overfrothing issues throughout the plants. Various approaches have been proposed by others to measure frother concentration, but none of them is used in flotation practice owing to the requirement of timeconsuming sample preparation steps and/or specialist training to operate and maintain. There is a pressing need for the development of a simple and fast frother concentration measuring technique to avoid overfrothing issues and to optimise the flotation process. The present paper presents two promising approaches to measuring frother concentration online. The first approach measures the concentration of alcohol type frothers based on the host-guest interactions between frother molecules and a formulated liquid. This method is simple and fast as it only requires mixing the formulated liquid with the water sample for up to one minute. The potential of this approach was demonstrated by determination of the residual MIBC concentrations at different locations across a coal flotation plant. The second approach measures frother concentration using a solid-phase extraction (SPE) process and a cryogen-free benchtop NMR spectrometer. Using this approach, both alcohol type and polyglycol type frother solutions can be analysed for concentration determination within 30 minutes. It has also been demonstrated that the concentration of individual frothers in a frother blend (ie MIBC and PPG425 in water) can be accurately analysed even in the presence of background chemicals. This technique has otential for real-time measurement of frother concentration as the whole process can be fully automated.

Aug 24, 2022

One does not need to travel too far back in time to find that the manpower requirements for new projects were focused mainly on: ò plentifulness of supply; ò cheapness of use; and ò fitness for use. These were primarily quantitative considerations and corresponded with the dominant view of labour as a commodity. Qualitative considerations were not very evident with the exception of judgements of industrial militancy. It was not unusual for areas of known militancy to be excluded from the recruitment net (eg Captain's Flat, Broken Hill, Pilbara).

Jan 1, 1991

There is no good news! The market environment for raising capital for resource projects is getting tougher. The regulatory and accounting environment is fast becoming more difficult and the hurdles to successfully raising debt, lease, equity or hybrid finance are now considerably higher. As ever, well structured companies and capital issues can and will survive, if not thrive. An outline of the market and regulatory environment for successful issues is set out below, followed by some comparison of stockmarket values of resource assets compared to more technical appraisals.

Jan 1, 1990

The importance of proper planning, preparation, and execution of a steady state sampling campaign for metallurgical plant assessment must not be underestimated. Careful planning can increase the amount and reliability of information from an optimum number of samples and fully utilize available plant data. It requires specification of the data required, determination of run duration sampling frequency, the selection, modification and testing of sample points and cutters, as well as organisation and briefing of plant and sampling personnel. Preparation immediately prior to sampling, the conduct of the sampling campaign itself and procedures to handle the collected samples and information are discussed. Cutter design, fabrication and use are described in detail, and typical sampling situations, for ball mills, classifiers, pipes, launders, flotation cells and thickeners are considered individually. Measurement of pulp flow rate can often resolve difficult mass balance problems, and discussion of convenient techniques is included.

Jan 1, 1976