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LIST OF CONTENTSAbstractIntroductionSelected Sections of the Broken Hill LodeLocality PlansPetrology1. Zinc Corporation Mine: DDH. 5.98, section 30, No. 26 level2. Zinc Corporation Mine: DDH. 838, section 30, No. 13 level3. Broken Hill Sonth Mine: 60 ft. cont01(r above 1170 ft. level4. Broken Hill South Mine : No. 7 shaft section, 1370 ft. levelOrigin of garnet sandstone5. Barrier Central Pty. Ltd.: DDH. tJ.93, Block 136. North Broken Hill Ltd.: Junction mine, DDH. 602, No. 10 level7. North Broken Hill Ltd.: Jnnction mine, DDH. 588, No. 11 level8. North Broken Hill Ltd.: North mine, DDH. through Southern ore body, 3370 ft. level9. North Broken Hill Ltd.: North mine, Northern ore body above 2300 ft. level(a) Southern end, section 27, 77 ft. above rails(b) Northern end, section 30, 6.9 ft. above rails(c) Miscellaneons samples, sections 27 and 28Relative time of ore depositionSericitizntionStructural significance of sericitizationGCLhnite OrthoclaseApatite GarnetManganese SilicatesAlteration of manganese silicatesRelation of zinc and lead to the silicatesZinc in manganese-bearing silicatesLead in potassium and lime silicates and apatite

Jan 1, 1959

By J Naude

The TauTona (Sotho for Great Lion) Mine near Carletonville, which is one of AngloGold AshantiÆs most profitable operations in South Africa, has started a multi-million dollar expansion project that is expected to extend the operational life of the mine by at least three years. The project will also secure some 1900 jobs for existing workers and contract workers. The $US140 million project entails the development of the orebody to a record depth of almost 4 km underground. It means that TauTona, which already mines gold at the deepest levels in the world, will deepen its mining activities from 3600 m to a new record depth of 3910 m. There is great anticipation about the expansion program, especially because of new technology that will contribute to a safer working environment. It includes a simplified hoisting system that will minimise safety risks in conveyance activities. Due to the unique nature of this project, depth below surface and working through a three-tier shaft system, various innovative measures were incorporated into the planning of the endeavour. Special support equipment was designed to reduce cycle times and enable the crews to install the extensive support, prescribed by the mineÆs rock engineering department, right up to the face before every blast. Both declines dip at 23¦. The personnel/material (P/M) shaft is 4.4 m wide x 3.9 m high. This shaft is unique in that the conveyance will have an onboard driver. The rock shaft is 4.5 m wide x 3.6 m high. Rock will be hoisted with two, ten-tonne overturning skips. In both cases, P/M and rock, the winders were designed for the highest duty cycle, which is encountered during sinking.

Jan 1, 2005

By P R. Lock

The Silver Swan nickel mine is located at the Black Swan Nickel Project, 53 km north east of Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. The Silver Swan orebody is a massive sulphide nickel deposit dipping 70¦ east with an average in situ grade of 14 per cent. Mining of the massive orebody is by Mechanised Ramp Cut and Fill (MRCF). A mining recovery of 98 per cent and minimising dilution are primary goals in extracting the high-grade ore. Placing a distinguishable marker bed (working platform) on rock fill was identified as a key method to achieving these goals. Gravel from a pit located onsite was considered the most suitable material for the marker beds. Research undertaken to design the marker beds using the gravel revealed conventional methods used in mining would not suffice, but that road stabilisation methods could be a viable alternative. Trials used a road recycler to mix cement and gravel in situ and several test beds were constructed on the surface to determine the final design. The trials attempted to replicate a marker bedÆs life cycle of construction and placement and mucking of ore from the marker bed. Testing the marker bed for strength for use as a working platform was completed using a Clegg Hammer; good correlation to a Clegg Impact Value and the compressive strength of the stabilised gravel was found. This paper describes the use of a road stabilisation machine, tests conducted, monitoring and marker bed design and discusses underground placement of the marker bed and its performance.

Jan 1, 1998

By Zani J. A, Jackson W. D

Bauxite was discovered in the Kimberley in 1965 by an Amax field crew. Reserves of 230 million tons, of bauxite. averaging 47% total alumina on Mitchell Plateau and 980 million tons averaging 36% total alumina on Cape Bougainville have been indicated by the results of drilling and bulk sampling. Laterite which contains the bauxite deposits caps basalt and interbedded sandstone and siltstone of the Carson Volcanics formation. Bauxite on Mitchell Plateau is 3.2 metres thick on average and is underlain successively by nodular ironstone, clay and basalt. The major components of the bauxite are gibbsite,boehmite, hematite and goethite containing some alumina, anatase and clay minerals. Quartz and vanadium oxide are minor constituents. Boehmite and hematite are concentrated near the surface, whereas gibbsite and goethite predominate at depth. The bauxite profile consists of ferru- ginous, pisolitic and gibbsitic zones with increasing depth. Cape Bougainville bauxite is 8.6 metres thick on average and of tubular structure; its mineralogy is relatively uniform..

Jan 1, 1973

Burra was the largest metalliferous mine in Aus- tralia between 1845 and 1860 and employed as many as 1000 men and boys. The workforce was predominantly Cornish, Burra being the first con- centration of Cornish folk in Australia. The sur- face and underground mining operations were typically Cornish and virtually all positions of responsibility were held by Cornishmen. Beam pumping and winding engines were imported from Cornwall and housed in traditional Cornish engi- nehouses. Burra had the first significant number of beam engines in Australia: six were installed between 1849 and 1861. These engines, ranging in size from 20 inches to 80 inches in diameter, were used for pumping, hauling, and driving Cornish roll crush- ers and dressing machinery. Derelict enginehouses of the great beam engines are a striking reminder of former mining activity in Cornwall and South Australia. In South Aus- tralia about 35 enginehouses were erected between 1848 and 1887, of which eight still remain, three of them at Burra (Figure 1). These remain as a tangible link with the Industrial Revolution.

Jan 1, 1987

The Douglas mineral sands deposit is located 75 km north of Hamilton in western Victoria, Australia. The deposit was discovered in the late 1990s by Basin Minerals Limited and purchased by Iluka Resources Ltd in 2002. Prestrip mining commenced in December 2004, with ore mining commencing in August 2005. Douglas is the first of several projects being implemented by Iluka Resources Ltd in the Murray Basin, with all heavy mineral concentrate planned to be treated at the companyÆs mineral separation plant in Hamilton. The mineralisation at Douglas lies along the south-eastern margin of the Murray Basin. It is hosted by marine Pliocene Loxton-Parilla Sands and consists of three discrete deposits; Bondi Main, Bondi West and Bondi East. The mineralised sediments dip at a low angle to the west and lie unconformably beneath a veneer of top soil (50 - 100 mm) and subsoil (up to 600 mm) and between three to 12 m of overburden. The barren overburden, characterised by high clay content (<53 ¦m material) generally provides a stark contrast to the sandy ore, which is between 1 m (parts of Bondi East) and 15 m (Bondi Main) thick. Both overburden and ore are removed utilising standard dry mining techniques using both scraper-bulldozer and truck-excavator combinations. All ore is delivered to run-of-mine (ROM) stockpiles before being reclaimed by front end loader into the processing plant. Grade control at Douglas is based around visual dig control aided by high precision survey, which enables accurate reference to the resource drilling and block model data. Vertical excavator faces, inclined scraper faces plus regular test pits and trenches provide opportunities for in pit mapping and sampling. This data is used to refine not only the resource estimate for Douglas but also the drilling, interpretation and resource modelling methods used for similar deposits across the basin. The foundations of the geological reconciliation process at Douglas are the in pit surveys undertaken each time the mining fleet has completed building a ROM stockpile. These surveys and the subsequent interrogation of resource models enable robust estimations of the heavy mineral content of the stockpiles, which are subsequently used to predict the daily input grades into the plant during their reclamation. Reconciliation of this daily data is then undertaken at the end of each month against metallurgical production data and plant balances. Learnings and results from the reconciliation process are used to further refine subsequent resource models and modelling methods.

Jan 1, 2009

By V Sahajwalla, S Shin

Research activities to classify the quality of iron oxides have a long history but most of such activities are for the existing processes such as blast furnace or DR plant. Therefore the newly developed process, such as the COREX process, needs new standardisation although some basic functions of the new process have similarity to the existing processes. Many researchers (Hauk, 1990; Cho et al, 1998) in the field of COREX process have conducted investigations since the early stages of the process development and activities are underway for further plant optimisation. As Agrawal and Oshnock (1995) pointed out, because coke is not included in the COREX reduction shaft the strength requirement of the feed materials in COREX process will be more demanding than that in the blast furnace. This condition is similar to Midrex DR plant but the main reduction gas of COREX plant is carbon monoxide generated from coal combustion while that of Midrex DR plant is hydrogen from natural gas.

Jan 1, 2000

By P Dean, M Elmouttie

Radar monitors are now widely used in surface mining for monitoring slope deformations and predicting failure events. Their introduction has facilitated better management of risk associated with slope failure during mining and therefore protection of personnel and equipment. However, a wellrecognised problem is that radar monitors only measure deformation directed towards the detector (line-of-sight bias). This bias can lead to misinterpretation of deformation size, rate and failure mechanism, and therefore miscalculation of failure volume, which can significantly impact safety and productivity. This paper presents recently completed research and field trials into the feasibility of using low cost vision systems to mitigate this issue. It has been demonstrated that by integrating a computer vision system with an existing slope monitor, high precision tracking of features in the field of view can be performed. Combined with assumptions on the deformation characteristics, the true 3D deformation vector can be estimated. The applicability of using this technique for monitoring iron ore mine slopes is discussed.

Nov 8, 2021

There are significant Mineral Resource and Reserve reporting challenges facing a mining company operating in the global arena. This paper specifically examines the Mineral Resource and Reserve reporting challenge facing BHP Billiton. The changing regulatory environment creates a significant challenge for global mining companies when reporting Mineral Resources and Reserves. The development and implementation of internal policies and standards for collecting and collating resource and reserve information is required for corporate governance, however the challenge is then to report this information publicly in such a way as to comply with the various codes and requirements in the many jurisdictions in which the company is required to report. The move to an International Code is not only desirable but is an essential requirement in todayÆs global market. The agreement to report using a single code internationally is however only the first step. A truly practical international reporting system must have common definitions and guidelines for interpretation as well as an international approach to the definition of a Competent Person, and even more importantly a common acceptance of that code by the relevant investment regulatory bodies. Without the universal acceptance of the concept of an international reporting code by the major regulatory bodies, implementation of such a code will be limited. With the major global mining companies seeking to raise capital in the USA, the worldÆs largest capital market, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and its approach to reserve reporting is becoming increasingly important. The development and implementation of an International Code must gain the support and acceptance of the SEC if it is to be successful.

Jan 1, 2002

Ulan Coal Mines Limited operates an underground and open cut mine near Mudgee in the Central West of NSW. The mines are part of a Joint Venture managed by Exxon Coal and Minerals Australia Limited (ECMAL). Currently all the mines output of over five million tonnes per annum is sold into the export market predominantly as a steaming product.

Jan 1, 1993

During the life of a mining project in Papua New Guinea (PNG), the greatest impact is on the people of the project area and the most intense, day-to-day contact is between these people and the project's field staff. Yet formal structures at present emphasise contact between much higher levels of national government and company personnel. Whilst understandable, this is unfortunate particularly since, given the nature of PNG politics, villagers do have a powerful influence on project success, as recent dramatic events on Bougainville have indicated. A greater role for local views and greater attention to such views by other parties is clearly required. But to achieve a successful marriage between informal village politics and the formal structures of investment procedures will require considerable patience and adjustment. This should be reflected in the cost of project development and be regarded as being as of a significance equal to that currently accorded to the technical aspects of project development.

Jan 1, 1990

Nickel ores from three different mines, Digger Rocks, Cosmic Boy and Flying Fox, are treated at the Forrestania concentration plant. The ore types vary from oxidised supergene ores to primary pyrrhotite+pentlandite ores. Mineralogical investigations on the ore and process samples have been carried out in different stages of process development. One of the studies was done with the samples collected from the flotation circuit in 19 June 1994 when the Cosmic Boy ore was processed. The process products were screened, and the size fractions were analysed for the main elements by appropriate analytical methods. Mineralogy of the products was studied microscopically and composition of the sulphides was analysed with an electron microprobe. Liberation of the main sulphides in the flotation feed was determined with the point-counting method, and weight percentages of the minerals were calculated using chemical and mineralogical data. The typical sulphide assemblage of the Cosmic Boy ore is violarite, pentlandite, pyrite, pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite. Violarite dominates over pentlandite (ratio being 70 per cent to 30 per cent), and pyrrhotite is strongly replaced with pyrite and magnetite. One of the most common mineralogical features of this ore type is secondary magnetite, which occurs as narrow rims in porous violarite or in association with secondary pyrite. Serpentine, talc and chlorite are the main gangue minerals. In the milled feed (76 per cent -74 ¦m) locked particles between nickel and iron sulphides are common. About 41 per cent of total pentlandite occurs as pure liberated particles, and 33 per cent as locked grains with violarite. Liberation degree of violarite is 55 per cent, and the most common type of locked particles is violarite+magnetite, carrying about 20 per cent of total violarite. To achieve a recovery of 80 per cent for pentlandite, all the particles containing at least 50 vol-% pentlandite should be floated into the nickel concentrate. Correspondingly recovery of 80 per cent can be reached for violarite if all the particles containing at least 65 vol-% violarite are floated.

Jan 1, 1996

By Canning RG, Uusna S, Goodheart BA

The paper outlines the development of"a process for removal of iron oxides from ilmenite, thereby upgrading the TiO2 content of Western Australian ilmenites, from 55 to approximately 90 per cent. In the first stage, the iron oxides are reduced with solid carbon (coal) to metallic iron. Experimental reduc- tions were carried out in crucibles,, a fluidised bed and a small pilot plant rotary kiln. The reduced'ilmenite is,then agitated in aerated water, in the presence of catalysts, so that the iron "rusts" away from the ilmenite'grains and the precipitated iron oxide is easily separable by decantation. The influence of variables on the rates. of reduction and oxidation are discussed, The oxidation rate was exam- ined for both - the' physical oxygen-transfer characteristics and electrochemically by reference to Peurbaix diagrams, which plot redox potential against solution 'PH, The upgraded ilmenite is expected to be an attractive material. for pigment -manufacture,, and the iron oxide has prospects of being a marketable by-product. The process may possibly be. applied, to .other..ores.

Jan 1, 1964

Part of a four-year course in metallurgy, dealing with metallurgical process engineering, was designed for students to acquire knowledge and skill from physical science, metallurgy, process engineering, and social science. Principles of education, and guidelines obtained from a study of professional practice, indicated that students may learn effectively through a planned sequence of problem-solving exercises based on the diverse functions of metallurgists in industry. The more important characteristics of the curriculum and a few illustrations of the problems are included. An outline is given of the current procedures used to develop parts of the curriculum, and of the students' diffic- ulties and achievements.

Jan 1, 1984

The continuously growing coal mining industry of India presently includes shovel dumper combinations in open cast mines, sometimes with dragline mining of overburden, together with the whole range of longwall and bord and pillar underground mining, continuously undergoing fuller mechanisation. This transition from "low tech" to "high tech" systems is now monitored for reliability and provides bases for comparisons of downtime relative to age and make of equipment, whether imported or indigenous, including spare parts, as well as frequencies of particular failures to allow analysis and progressive improvement. Varying geologies complicate technology and equipment requirements, especially in underground mine,s with minimal technological standardisation, but now, reliability in South Eastern Coalfields Limited has been given more importance and superior technological back-up is being developed.

Jan 1, 1991

By Yianatos J. B

The advances in the study of control alternatives for flotation columns are reviewed. An integral solution to the control problem has to deal with problems associated with instrumentation, process modelling, control strategies and control algorithms. The term hierarchical control is used here to mean the intelligent integration of available knowledge, control algorithms and logic rules of decision. The selection of information, algorithms and rules is based on the experimental and theoretical knowledge of the column flotation process. The software support was designed and implemented in object oriented computer programs. This technique allowed the implementation of a combination of control techniques, algorithmics and heuristics, in the form of a control strategy. This strategy has shown to fit well with processes exhibiting complex dynamic characteristics. The hierarchical control was implemented in a pilot column and included the following general aspects: co-ordination of distributed conventional control loops, use of sets of control parameters for the froth depth control loop according to the froth depth state, verification and diagnosis of sensors, on-line predictive estimation of gas hold-up, diagnosis of common operating problems and the use of predictive control to account for feed flowrate changes.

Jan 1, 1995

The Kwademen Au deposit was discovered in 1977- 1978 following a regional geochemical survey carried out as part of a UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) and BUMIGEB (Bureau des Mines et de la Geologie du Burkina) mineral exploration programme. The climate in Burkina Faso is rather dry, with markedly seasonal rainfall averaging 800 mm pa in the Kwademen project area. The relief is low and the drainage poorly developed, so that soil sampling was preferred to stream sediment sampling. Rocks have been subjected to deep lateritic weathering, so that they are transformed into a mixture of Fe-oxides and kaolinite over depths varying between 30 and 40 m. At the regional stage, soil samples (30-40 cm depth) were collected a a 300 x 500 m grid. The Kwademen deposit was indicated by Cu, Zn, Mo and Au anomalies. Subsequently, an area of 9.2 km2 was covered by a detailed geochemical survey by soil (100 x 50 m) and auger sampling. The regional anomaly was fully confirmed, and subsequent drilling intersected mineralized ore shoots, justifying the establishment of an evaluation project led by the U.N.R.F. (United Nations Revolving Fund) in 1983- 1985.

Jan 1, 1988

By Lownds C. M

Several classes of commercial explosives and blasting agents behave non-ideally, especially in diameters near their critical diameter. A direct and convenient measure of non-ideal behavior is the detonation velocity (VOD); if the VOD is less than the ideal value, usually obtained by calculation, then the explosive is detonating in the non-ideal mode. Such lowering of the VOD is usually due to both lateral loss of energy and post-CJ release of energy. The second of these factors, namely slow release of chemical energy, is of most interest in blasting. While the observation of a low VOD clearly suggests slow reaction of part of the explosive composition, it does not necessarily mean that the energy is lost to the overall rock-breaking process. The partition of the energy of the explosive into various useful and wasteful categories is considered. Simple models of energy partition in blasting, and of explosive reaction kinetics, are presented. The models consider the effect of explosive type and rock type, the explosive being described in terms of the most common phases namely liquid, air bubbles, porous ammonium nitrate, dense or crystalline ammonium nitrate, and aluminum. Over a range of combinations of the above phases, the model predicts reasonable critical diameters and VOD's. Results are presented which show the effects of non-ideal detonation on fragmentation and heave in different rock types. Conclusions are drawn about those blasting conditions in which ideal behavior is beneficial, or Disadvantageous.

Jan 1, 1990

By M Suzuki

Although several models for the surface tension of molten oxide slag have been proposed, suitably accurate predictions of this property are not yet possible. The surface tension, or surface excess free energy, of molten oxides is largely determined by the ionic coordination induced by surface relaxation. However, the associated mechanism of surface structural relaxation for molten oxide mixtures such as slag is complex and not yet fully understood. To allow a better evaluation of surface relaxation characteristics, the present work analysed the ionic coordination associated with the surface-relaxed states of several oxide mixtures. This work especially focused on calcium aluminate slags because these materials exhibit complex relationships between composition and surface tension. The effects of incorporating low concentrations of SiO2 as a surface active component on the surface ionic coordination were also examined. X-ray absorption techniques were used to assess oxygen and cationic elements in glassy samples after surface relaxation treatments, and molecular dynamics simulations based on a polarisable ion model of molten slag with vacuum/melt interfaces were also performed. The X-ray absorption techniques provided data related to electron yields (which are primarily associated with surface features) and fluorescence yields (which evaluate the bulk material). Thus, the ionic coordination characteristics of both regions were investigated. The results of molecular dynamics calculations allowed statistical analysis of the distributions of Al- or Sicentred polymorphs as well as the bond angles between cations and oxygen anions in the vacuumexposed and bulk regions in the equilibrated melt. The results indicated that bridging oxygen ions were preferentially distributed in the relaxed surface region rather than non-bridging oxygens. These bridging oxygen ions represented vertex connections between AlO4 or SiO4 tetrahedra. In the case of the calcium aluminate slags, the addition of one Ca2+ ion as charge compensation for two Al3+ ions was found to be necessary to form two AlO4 tetrahedra. This specific feature of surface ionic coordination could be responsible for the complex trends observed in surface tension data. The incorporation of low concentrations of SiO2 reduced the proportion of tetrahedrally-coordinated Al ions such that higher coordination states become dominant in the bulk of the material, whereas AlO4 tetrahedra were preferentially distributed in the surface region. SiO4 tetrahedra were the preferred Si-centred polymorph and were likely connected to one another to form bridging oxygen ions at the surface. On the basis of these results, a model to predict slag surface tension was proposed, and the energy of the formation of the ionic clusters resulting from surface relaxation was taken into account.

Aug 21, 2024

This paper will review some of the work conducted in the past at the Dynamic Effects Laboratory to examine the use of stress waves and fracture mechanics in understanding dynamic fracture and fragmentation in blasting applications. Along the way, we will use photoelasticity and high-speed photography to better understand the mechanisms of fracture and fragmentation.CITATION:Fourney, W L, 2015. The role of stress waves and fracture mechanics in fragmentation, in Proceedings 11th International Symposium on Rock Fragmentation by Blasting, pp 27–40 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Aug 24, 2015