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The world is getting flatter through internet, mobile phone technology, relatively low cost travel, massive outsourcing of manufacturing to China and the transfer of company backroom operations to India. In the iron and steel industry, however, things will remain relatively the same with slow gradual improvements in technology; only the geographic location of plants may change over time. Or will it? The blast furnace smelting process has remained largely unchanged since 1828 when James Neilson came up with the idea of preheated air being delivered to the tuyeres. Likewise, oxygen steelmaking that takes molten iron from such blast furnaces has remained conceptually unchanged since Sir Henry Bessemer invented an air-based system in 1856. These two processes are the core of integrated steel mills that we know today. Typically such mills consist of coke ovens, sinter plant, blast furnace, oxygen steelmaking, continuous caster, rolling mills and metal coating lines. In the intervening 150 years the only real disruptive technology to the integrated steel mill has been the minimill. Based on the use of the electric arc furnace (EAF), in conjunction with a continuous caster and rolling mill, the term minimill is used because steel products are produced at down to one-tenth the scale required for economic operation of an integrated mill, with the EAF producing molten steel using largely scrap steel as its feed, as against transforming coal to coke (coke ovens), iron ore, coke and limestone into molten iron (blast furnace) and molten iron to steel (oxygen steelmaking). There are, however, a number of technologies in development that may cause a paradigm shift in the way steel products are produced and perhaps push the evolution of the minimill as a disruptive technology. Two examples are direct iron smelting, where iron is produced in a matter of seconds by injection of ironmaking feed materials into a molten bath, and thin strip casting, where molten steel is cast into 2 mm strip or less, in similar time. Both have Australian connections. A leading iron smelting technology is the HIsmelt« process, which has its first commercial application at Kwinana, Western Australia, where a joint venture of international parties, consisting of Rio Tinto and the Nucor, Mitsubishi and Shougang corporations, are in the stage of ramping up commercial production. The leading strip casting technology is the Castrip« process that arose from development work done by then BHP Steel, with IHI of Japan, at Port Kembla, New South Wales in the 1990s. Nucor followed this work up, building the first commercial plant for the technology at its Crawfordsville site in Indiana in 2001 and has recently announced an intention to build a second plant in the USA. While both technologies are only into the early stages of commercialisation they are likely to change the face of iron and steelmaking as we know it over the next 20 years. This paper elaborates on the technology of the two processes, why they could change the face of the iron and steel industry forever, what might drive the rapid change and what the changes may look like.

Jan 1, 2006

The value derived by good mine planning is often underestimated as many mines steer their attention to the more immediate and more easily recognised successes made by the day-to-day operational æbush fireÆ fighting. Similar to machine maintenance, the efforts made to quickly rectify short-term breakdowns are well recognised; whereas the value derived from the work in planning, scheduling and undertaking preventative maintenance is not so obvious or readily quantified. Too often the focus of the business shifts to building and supporting an efficient operations team at the expense of developing a highly experienced team of mine planning practitioners that are well trained with procedures and purpose-built tools to develop optimum mining strategies. A resource has an inherent value based on its quality parameters and its likely mining conditions. How well that value can be unlocked is governed, to a large degree, by the proficiency of the mine planning practitioners, as they, essentially, set the foundation of the mine business and the path along which the mine will operate. The importance of having a well documented and procedural mine planning methodology that integrates both a thorough technical and economic understanding of the resource cannot be over emphasised. The aim of the mine planning process is to develop a robust mine design and production capability which can best cater for future uncertainty whilst providing the best opportunity to maximise cash flow into the business. The planning process must be transparent and auditable, clearly summarising the process steps and assumptions made to arrive at a justifiable and defendable outcome. To provide maximum value to the business, the planning process must be repeatable and scalable to enable easy replication throughout the different mines and projects within an organisation. The diminishing numbers of highly experienced personnel within our industry, coupled with the growing pressure to clearly demonstrate that appropriate due diligence has been exercised, means that well documented and monitored mine planning processes using purposed built and innovative tools need to be developed to ensure optimum outcomes.

Jan 1, 2009

By P Bethune

Back Creek is a tributary of the Condamine River. It flows in a northerly direction across the existing Commodore coal reserves. The diversion of Back Creek was proposed to minimise sterilisation of the reserves. The approval process required a Waterworks Licence application, under the Water Resources Act 1989 (Qld), for the construction of a stream diversion channel and floodway. The diversion was designed using the æreference reachÆ approach, which mimicked existing properties of Back Creek. The following design standards were developed for the diversion: the diversion corridor width was 500 m; the diversion geometry was specified for both the low-flow channel, and the floodplain; material properties were specified for both the low-flow channel lining and the diversion bund; compaction standards for both the low-flow channel and floodplain were set; and the diversion rehabilitation included a riparian corridor and pasture land with clumps of native trees and shrubs. The following performance criteria were developed for the diversion: velocity regimes were replicated for the design events considered, in an attempt to avoid increasing the diversion flow velocities in comparison with the existing creek flow velocities; sediment transport calculations indicated that no significant change in sediment transport was expected within the diversion; overburden settlement estimates for the spoil placed in the corridor were summarised, and will be monitored throughout the construction process; geotechnical stability of the proposed Eastern Pit Buttress and the diversion bund configurations was confirmed; and groundwater impacts were assessed. Construction techniques, monitoring and further investigations are also discussed in this paper.

Jan 1, 2003

By W J

Al ores arriving at the works which contain more than 3% sulphur, together with all sands and other fine residues, are delivered to the roasting department. Those that are in a coarse condition are first sent to the crushing plant, consisting of 15 in. x 9 in. jaw crushers and two No. 5 Krupp mills. The ore is here crushed through a quarter mesh screen. Any pyritic concentrates high in sulphur are given a preliminary roasting, to bring the sulphur contents down to about 12 % and the roasted material is delivered to the H. H. charge-making bins. Here the various ores, sands, residues, roasted pyrites, together with about 12 % of limestone, are made up into I-ton charges in hopper trucks with bottom discharge. The trucks are elevated by hydraulic lifts to a tramway running over the roasting furnaces, and the contents are dropped into hoppers over each furnace, from whence the mixture is fed into the centre of each furnace by means of a Challenge ore-feeder.

Jan 1, 1918

By A Cornelius, P Connor, S Fraser

Iron ore mining is a major source of export income for Australia. However with the decreasing reserves of high-grade, low-phosphorus hematite ore, there is mounting pressure to provide consistent mineralogical ore grade. Enhanced 3D characterisation and modelling are crucial to respond to these exigent requirements. To tackle this problem a revolutionary mine-based, imaging system (based on Visible Near Infrared û Short Wave Infrared reflectance spectroscopy û VNIR-SWIR) has been developed. This innovative, CSIRO-built prototype produces mineralogical maps that will have a major impact on ore grade characterisation. Australian iron ore companies will benefit immensely by pioneering this emerging and unique mining technology. The significance of VNIR-SWIR reflectance spectroscopy is well demonstrated with field portable spectrometers and airborne hyperspectral systems. At the mine-scale level, this newly developed imaging system will allow accurate and objective mineralogical mapping of mine faces and benches with very closely spaced sampling. These spectral mineral maps will improve deposit delineation and bring accurate and objective ore grade characterisation that will minimise drilling and enhance ore recovery. This will in turn lead to cost saving and better long-term block model planning. This system will also improve safety for mine geologists in providing mineralogical information at a distance, avoiding the need for any close contact with the mine face. The mine imaging concept is a logical response to the industry need for automatic and objective tools for sustainable and future mining practices.

Jan 1, 2002

Registrations for the Congress were 393 asdelegates and 200 as accompanying persons.The breakdown of registrations by countries isshown in Table 1.

Jan 1, 1986

MAXIMINE is a compiled, comprehensive, spreadsheet-based, macro- driven software package, written to aid in the rapid and early assessment and design of virtually any small, medium, and large mining or quarrying project. The system has been des

Jan 1, 1998

Criteria for the manipulation of commodity markets are discussed. Against the economic background of the past twenty five years actual attempts to manipulate markets are evaluated.

Jan 1, 1985

At CPA we believe that ore bodies discovered in future will be bigger and higher grade than the ones currently known and set out targets accordingly. Discoveries over the last three decades substantiated this approach.

Jan 1, 1987

I will confine my remarks to normal computers that people interact with, rather than built-in processors which exist in every watch and washing machine these days. I will also confine myself to computing in the technical side of mining. Bu

Jan 1, 1998

Sustainable development places a heavy burden upon everyone involved in the public policy debate, about how to balance economic growth and environmental protection. We must treat that responsibility very seriously indeed. The mining industry especially cannot dodge the responsibility, even if it wished to.

Jan 1, 1992

Techno-Economic Evaluation of a New Early Removal Process to Treat High-Arsenic Copper Ores

Sep 13, 2010

By Brown AP

Comparison of legal permits required for mining (as opposed to prospecting or exploration) in New Zealand, under the Mining Act 1971 and the Resource Management Act/Crown Minerals Act 1991. Mining generally receives the same treatment as any other industrial or commercial activity.

Jan 1, 1995

Thank you for asking me to address you. The topic may sound formidable. Those of you with determination to go somewhere in your careers will understand that by taking geoscience, mining and metallurgy courses as students, you are declaring your intere

Jan 1, 1994

PAPERS : 1 COMPUTER AIDED DESIGN OF MINE WATER MANAGEMENT - Z KESSERU 2 THE HYDROGEOLOGICAL PROBLEMS OF GROUNDWATER PROTECTION IN MINING REGIONS - V A MIRONENKO 3 WATER MANAGEMENT OF THE MAE MOH PROJECT -òò SIRI CHITCHOB 4 WATER MANAGEMENT AND WATER TREATMENT AT GOLDPN CROSS - M P A WILLIAMS

Jan 1, 1988

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

Most of you who are attending this conference are probably Student Members of The Institute and well aware of the advantages which flow from student membership. You will probably agree that the major benefits are: ò Low and subsidised membership fees;

Jan 1, 1994

Concepts of facies are of proven worth in sedimentology, but have hitherto received little attention from volcanologists. The time is now ripe to develop facies schemes for volcanic products. This paper discusses possible facies applicable specifically to lava flows and ignimbrites, the intention being to explore possible approaches to the problem of recogniz- ing volcanic facies rather than attempting to develop a comprehensive facies scheme

Jan 1, 1987

By Bekturganov NS, Satayev I

The paper deals with the effect of sodium polysulphides in chrysocolla flotation. Activity of elementary sulphur adsorption on the mineral surface is discussed. The mechanism of polysulphide action in the process of sulphidisation and formation of sulphur on the mineral surface is proposed. Sodium pentasulphide is shown to be the most effective modifier of chrysocolla flotation.

Jan 1, 1993

By Holly J

Mr. Champness: I wish to congratulate the authors on their paper, which covers a large variety of subjects. Not every mine is in the fortunate position to effect cost reductions by the sinking of a new shaft, but, as the authors have endeavoured to show in their paper, with improved techniques further reductions are possible. I would like to ask two questions. Can the authors give me an approximate idea...

Jan 1, 1956