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By L Strezov, J Herbertson

Conversion of industrial waste materials to valuable resources would essentially take part in an ecologically sustainable future. There are still large amounts of undervalued biomass wastes generated from a diverse range of industries that are disposed in landfields. They have potential to produce valuable materials and fuels, such as charcoal, bio-oils and bio-gas through thermal upgrading. In order to enhance the efficiency of the thermal upgrading process, comprehensive characterisation of the raw biomass materials is essential. We have developed a novel thermal characterisation method that utilises computer aided thermal analysis incorporated with a gas analyser. The method was applied on two biomass materials, wood sawdust and bagasse. The paper discusses the results obtained with the novel thermal characterisation technique.

Jan 1, 2006

The Court rejected the suggestion that CRAE had actively misled DMR concerning the worth of its tenements. The Court agreed that CRAE remained silent about certain significant information concerning CRAE's own tenement area. It was a significant question as to what duties CRAE'was under, given that it was in joint venture with DMR in respect of one of the tenement areas. Did that joint venture create an obligation on CRAE to disclose everything it knew? The Court said no. The Court said that the fiduciary duties were defined by the terms of the farm-in agreement between DMR and CRAE. When the Court examined the disclosure obligations within the confines of the contract, it held that CRAE had not breached those terms.

Jan 1, 1990

Mine scheduling is a process which represents what happens in a mine over time. An optimised plan involves selecting the best workable plan which meets a stated objective. This paper discusses some of the theory and philosophy behind mine scheduling and explains how scheduling is a step in the total iterative mine planning process. Several schedules may be necessary before arriving at a mine plan which can be considered optimal. A description of broadbrush and detailed scheduling is given and the features of computer assisted scheduling are also described. The use of mathematical modelling techniques in conjunction with scheduling to optimise the mine plan is explained. The need to incorporate these techniques to optimise the whole mining system rather than only a part, is emphasised.

Jan 1, 1991

People in the work environment (and often elsewhere) are seen as a commodity (we use them for our purposes).The general accepted view of a Company is that shareholders are "The Company" and that they employ people to utilise their money in a particular field to generate more money to give a return on investment. To achieve this, capital equipment is purchased to fulfil a task and people are employed to use this equipment. Equipment and people are commodities purchased with money.The focus of this approach is MONEY. The equipment and people, and the use of them, determines the amount of money that can be generated. In this approach people are motivated by financial concerns. The harder the times the more money becomes the focus.

Jan 1, 1998

The determinants of human behaviour are numerous and complex. Many scientific disci- plines focus on various processes which play some part in shaping the actions of individ- uals and groups. Behavioural science attempts to synthesise data produced by these investigations in an attempt to formulate principles by which people's thoughts, feelings and actions may be described, diagnosed, predicted and changed. While no comprehensive account of people and their reactions can be attempted in a brief paper a review of six principles does provide a framework within which managers can establish reliable knowledge applicable to all their subordinates and to themselves. This information may be used to arrange organizational environments and management practices which enable people to discover, release and increase their best intellectual, emotional and motivational capacities.

Jan 1, 1982

The energy input requirement to produce the molten slag associated with iron production to the modern Australian blast furnace, is estimated to be 2.OMJ/kg. In converting blast furnace slag to products of higher commercial value, advantage should be taken of this energy content by transporting molten slag from the furnace for beneficiation and processing in the molten state at an "off furnace site". The refined slag melt may then be converted into a variety of products for use in the building and construction industries, e.g. slag cement, slag sand and slag aggregates, insulation wool and various slag ceramic products. Some results of studies into slag melt beneficiation and conversion processes involving both molten and cold granular slag raw material, are presented.

Jan 1, 1979

The attachment of a spherical particle to a bubble is theoretically investigated under the condition of a mixed sorption coating of a collector. It is shown that the attachment is determined primarily by the hydrodynamic factor involving the displacement of liquid from the gap between a bubble and a particle. The dependence of the attachment on the state of the surface of particle (sorption coating) is due to a change in the boundary conditions on the interface with water both in the case of surfactant chemical sorption and in that of the physical adsorption of oil. It is demonstrated that at large distances the thinning of a interlayer is facilitated by a physically sorbed collector, while near the bubble this is done by a chemically sorbed one.

Jan 1, 1993

By Wenya X, Bingchen C

About 60 per cent of magnesite ores of Haicheng Magnesium Mine, due to their low grade, are not currently commercially exploitable. In this paper, the flotabilities of the main component minerals of the ores were studied in detail with ether amine as collector. Based on. these, a new technique of reverse-direct flotation with single etheramine as collector for the beneficiation of the ores was developed. It gave highly satisfactory results. On the basis of the calculation by means of CNDO/2 method, of the studies of the solution chemistry of magnesite and of the adsorption tests and Zeta-potential measurements, the key mechanism in the new technique about activating effect of Ca2+ on the flotation of magnesite was suggested.

Jan 1, 1993

By Fulton E, Ring RJ, Waters DJ

The Nabarlek uranium treatment plant of Queensland Mines Limited (QML) is currently treating 600,000 tonnes of ore which was mined and stockpiled in a single four month period prior to commissioning of the plant. During the mining phase, material from the open pit was sorted into ore,'below ore grade uranium material (bogum) and waste using a truck discriminator (radiometric analyser) developed by Australian Mineral Development Laboratories (AMDEL). Ore was stockpiled in a single heap with the location and grade of each truck load being recorded. Bogum and waste were stored separately. From the information recorded, both computer and physical models of the stockpile were constructed. These models are currently used in the planning of day to day reclamation of ore from the stockpile.

Jan 1, 1984

The development of the Ballarat goldfield and of the city of Ballarat are a significant part of the history of the Australian mining industry. Important developments in technology, legislation and labour relations made their first Australian appearance in Ballarat. The growth of the city and its survival after the closure of the mines provide an interesting case study in the benefits flowing from a vigorous mining operation. The failure of the mines can be attributed to rising costs of materials and labour and declining manpower productivity at a time when the price of gold was not free to respond to changing market conditions. The curtailment of exploration programs and increasing labour unrest resulted from this situation, and made the closure of mines inevitable.

Jan 1, 1982

The necessity for agreed project outcomes, which are in accordance with client needs, and the subsequent requirement for a unique approach to managing project implementation is discussed. Reasons for appointing a separate project team to manage a project are established. The selection of a project manager, based on the services they can provide and on their characteristics, skills and management style, is discussed. The consequences of selecting the wrong project manager are explored. A broad overview of the requirements for the project team is provided. Criteria for the selection of team members, and the role played by the project manager in this selection, are discussed. The levers that drive `on-time and on-budget' projects are discussed in terms of the project's vision, goals, controls, and incentives.

Jan 1, 1997

By Warren R. P

When the original Mount Gunson joint venture, between CSR and United Uranium ceased operations in December 1971, an intensive ex- ploration campaign was launched to prospect for more ore in the Mount Gunson region. This campaign resulted in the discovery of the Cattle Grid deposit. A comprehensive sampling programme proved the existence of 4.6 million tonnes of ore, at a mean grade of 2.4% Cu, calculated at a 1.0% Cu cut-off. The planning and development programme that followed this discovery included not only the mining and metallurgical aspects of the exploration of the deposit, but also the en- vironmental aspects. Preliminary work included data collection with respect to meteorology, soil types, and existing flora and fauna.

Jan 1, 1976

This paper deals with the evolution of present mechanised declining and orebody development practices at Kambalda, since their inception in 1969. Eight separate decline accesses have been established over the past eighteen years and to date some 175 kilometres of declining and lateral development has been achieved utilizing a wide range of mechanised development and mucking units. Improvements in-the range of equipment available, functionalization of the develop- ment tasks and the resultant changes to piecework contract structuring have all contributed to the improved performances achieved in this concept of mine development. Even though numerous development advance rate records have been established at Kambalda, an ongoing evaluation of changes to both drilling and mucking units is underway to further improve these development performance rates.

Jan 1, 1987

By Armstrong RW, Middlin B

The development, design, construction and operation of the new Solvent Extraction/BCA process plant at Copper Refineries Pty. Ltd., Townsville is described.The process offers substantial savings in electrical power costs, improvements in plant hygiene, and a lowering of materials handling costs compared with conventional electrowinning technology.The solvent extraction process extracts arsenic from copper Tank House electrolyte using a tributyl phosphate (TBP) - kerosene solvent. The plant incorporates fourextraction stages, two scrub stages, and three stripping stages to produce an arsenic-bearing low-acid strip liquor. This strip liquor is mixed with copper sulphate, and neutralized with ammonia to form a copper (II) arsenic (V) crystalline product, bicupric arsenate (BCA). This product is then used in the manufacture of chromated copper arsenate timber preservatives (Royston 1982).

Jan 1, 1985

By Gigmai W

Ok Tedi Mine is a high production open pit porphyry copper mine located high in the Star mountains of Papua New Guinea. The mine produces an average of 160 000 tonnes of ore and waste daily at a 1:1 strip ratio. Full scale drilling and blasting began in 1988, prior to which time all material was ripped and dozed.Drilling and blasting procedures at Ok Tedi underwent a major review commencing mid-1989. As a result of a mutual commitment by management at Ok Tedi and the mines explosives supplier ICI, significant reductions in overall blasting costs have been realised. These cost savings are primarily the result of the introduction of air bags, expanded patterns and better field execution.

Jan 1, 1992

By S Porter, R Woodall, N Weeks

Nelsen, Porter and Wilson (1996) provided some preliminary concepts for the design of the Melbourne City Link tunnels. At that time, the City Link project was in the early design phase whereas now it is nearing completion. This paper provides details of the actual design adopted for the various sections of the tunnels as well as some commentary on the design process. The tunnels form a critical element of the project and the design of both driven and cut and cover tunnel sections is a significant factor contributing to successful project execution. Geology, hydrogeology, site constraints, traffic management and program were important design inputs. Design for the cut and cover sections in particular varied significantly in response to these differing inputs.

Jan 1, 1999

By Lane D. P, Malone J. G

The slag fuming furnaces are the major bottleneck in the BHAS zinc production flowsheet. Intensification of the fuming process could significantly reduce this production restriction. Oxygen enrichment was proven to be a means of intensifying the fuming process. This procedure resulted in higher slag bath temperatures, and development work was undertaken towards obtaining accurate slag bath temperature measurement and control. Slag bath temperature measurement techniques were evaluated, with infra red optical pyrometry established as the system with the most potential for continuous temperature measurement and control. Oxygen enrichment resulted in a zinc production capacity increase of 1 000 tonnes per year. An oxygen enrichment technique was developed which both minimized the risk of furnace damage and made the most efficient use of the enrichment oxygen.

Jan 1, 1989

Industry can achieve best results via thorough planning, consultatiion with agencies and local communities and a 'hands on' approach to' environmental problem solvingThe Department of Energy and Minerals, through its Minerals Group, has regulatory responsibility for the mining and extractive industries in Victoria. The role of the group is to facilitate the environmentally responsible development of these industries for the benefit of Victorians. It has a wide range of contacts with other government agencies, local government and community groups.The paper is in three parts; firstly, an overview of the nature and contribution of the mining and extractive industries in Victoria; secondly, the industries' regulatory framework; and thirdly, the environmental issues facing the industries and the management of these issues.

Jan 1, 1992

By Stevens LG, Mok JK

With the long lead time requirement for engineering and construction of mineral pro- cessing facilities and the costly financing arrangements necessary, effective project management is essential to the successful and timely start up of these major production units. An added complexity is the frequently remote location of such projects and the demands this imposes on efficient project staffing, scheduling, logistics and cost control. Parsons recent experience with major projects such as Greenvale in Queensland and La Caridad in the desert of Northern Mexico and at remote locations like Sar Cheshmeh in Iran are described. The applications being developed for improving project controls through the use of computer techniques such as MSCS-COPES, and readily accessible and versatile transportation means are reviewed.

Jan 1, 1981

By J C. Macintosh

Capcoal Mine has modified its water use practices over the past 15 years. Two issues have changed the way water was managed:an economic review of water supply options for a planned expansion of the coal handling and preparation plant (CHPP) in the early 1990s, and increasing neighbour concerns about discharge of worked water from the mine into the local streams. These issues resulted in commitment by the site General Manager to cease discharge of worked water from site and to convert from using raw water to worked water in the CHPP. Operational needs, societal demands and continuing dry weather are again demanding change to the siteÆs water management strategy. This paper outlines the drivers for past and future operational change.

Jan 1, 2006