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The history of black coal as a fuel dates back in Europe more than 2,300 years, and possibly longer in China. Originally the mining of coal was done by underprivileged people, but with the industrial revolution and the dawn of mechanisation, the status of the coal miner improved. The improvement continued to the present day. Coal miners now take an important role in industrialised countries and enjoy a high standard of living. The miner is amongst the highest paid and best technologically served in any industrial activity. The abundance of coal relative to alternative fuels and its widespread occurrence, brings with it a prosperity much valued in those countries with significant resources such as Australia. Coal will play a major role in easing the world energy shortage. In addition to the conventional usage, throughout the world coal gasification plants are in various stages of development. Coal liquefaction plants are beyond the drawing board stage. Slurry pipelines to supply coal for direct burning in electric generating and other plants are planned. In the current atmosphere of environment consciousness, Australia has to contend with people with only marginal interest trying to influence coal mining activities to the detriment of the overall prosperity of Australia. Fortunately enlightened legislation is the greatest protector of the environment and in many instances great improvement to the environment ensues after mining has passed. With its vast resources of black coal Australia can look forward to a significant role in future supply of fuel. As a result of the trade and industry involved, Australia can become an even more influential country in world politics, trade, and the setting of high living standards.

Jan 1, 1975

The first mining in Western Australia probably commenced some 40 000 years ago when Aborigines arrived and began quarrying stone for tools and weapons, and ochre for decoration. The earliest documented mining by European settlers took place in 1850 on a small lead vein in the bed of the Murchison River, reported by the explorer A C Gregory. However, it was the discovery of gold in the Kimberley region in 1885 that first drew wider attention to the State's mineral potential.

Jan 1, 1992

THE Taranaki oil-field is situated on the western side of the North Island of New Zealand, at about its widest part, and may be said to be the most compact and fertile part of the Dominion, for, with the exception of the. upper half of Mount Egmont and of the ranges adjoining, which absorb 36,000 acres, the whole of the area, miuus what is taken up by the rivers land streams-is suitable for settlement, and certainly two-thirds is good land. The gross area oE the district is 2,417,299 acres.The principle rivers are the Wanganui, Mokau, Waitara, Patea, and Waiwakaiho. Mount Egmont, which is 8260 ft. high, used to be called Taranaki, and from it the district takes its name (the Maori meaning of which is "sloping peak ").

Jan 1, 1911

By Hayes P. C

The reduction of small, dense zinc oxide (ZnO) samples in CO/CO2, and CO/N2 gas mixtures has been investigated at temperatures between 900 and 1100¦C. The microstructural characterisation of the reacted and partially reduced samples was complemented with measurements of the rates of the reactions. The mechanisms and kinetics of reduction of zinc oxide were found to be dependent upon the CO partial pressure, the oxygen potential of the gas mixtures, temperature and degree of reduction.

Jan 1, 1991

By Porter I, Singh RN

An advanced elasto-plastic finite element model adopting a modified Von Mises yielding criterion was used to simulate progressive failure of the rock strata surrounding a room and pillar mine structure. The model conformed to the strain-softening behaviour of rock and accounted for post-failure residual strength. The simulation was achieved in such a way that material values were updated after each FE run, according to the stress criterion until the solution reached the final equilibrium steady state of the mine structure. The suggested structural stability analysis approach accounted for the main features of the structure degradations produced during loading through changes in rock material stiffness and subsequent evolution of stresses. Comprehensive parametric analysis was performed and the inevitable effect of interaction of the roof, pillar and floor on the overall mine stability limit was investigated. The numerical results clearly showed that linear models could not realistically represent the true behaviour of the mine structure. The results obtained are in good agreement with that predicted in the field.

Jan 1, 1992

Results of investigations on adsorption and desorption of CO M CH and a mixture of the two gases are described.4 Results showed that even when the equilibrium conditions contains 50% Co and 50% CH4, the gas emission in the initia' stages will contain as much as 80% CH . 4 The temperature has a small effect and so also particle size for 1.4-11.2mm. The ratio of CO2/CH gases adsorbed in coal samples depends upon t4he equilibrium pressure and this ratio decreases with pressure. Results of field tests support laboratory studies.

Jan 1, 1988

The screening of iron ores, sinter and coke, and investigations undertaken to improve screening efficiency and cloth life are discussed. The major modifications to coke screening proposed with the construction of No. 7 coke ovens battery are briefly described. The major problem areas were identified as screen cloth blinding and pegging, feed presentation and screen overloading. Blinding and pegging have had a significant effect upon screening efficiency with the screening of sinter, coke breeze and wet iron ores in particular. Pegging can be reduced or eliminated by the correct selection of aperture size and shape, screen excitation and slope, and screening medium. Blinding encountered with wet coke breeze was a particular problem in which no significant progress was made.

Jan 1, 1984

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

Weinberg, born and educated in Germany, worked in'the American West for 10 years as a mining engineer and metallurgist. He was the first head of the Queensland Smelting Co. and from 1889 through 1915 was a prominent mining figure in Queensland. He was a competent manager at Aldershot, Dapto, and Chillagoe, but always lacked huge ore deposits for his smelters.

Jan 1, 1985

Refractory gold concentrates and their roasted products have been examined by mineralogical and chemical methods, and the distribution of gold in the tailings after leaching has been Investigated.

Jan 1, 1989

By Takasaki Y, Ohzeki S, Hotta H

TO measure high temperature properties of blast furnace burdens ( the change of gas permeability accompanied by contraction, soft- ening and melting ) which govern the gas flow and its distribution, a series of experiments were carried out under simulated blast furnace conditions, using sinter, acid pellets and self -fluxing pellets. 1) The high temperature properties are affected by the ore's reducibility ( up to 1000 -1200¦C ), and the composition, and volume of gangue before reduction. Generally, the burde- ns with high basicity ( Ca0/Si02 ), high reduc- ibility and low volume of gangue have good high temperature properties. Good high temperature properties are : a high temperature at which the gas permeability rapidly decreases, a high melting point and a low maximum pressure drop. 2) Using acid pellets, slow-down of red- uction rate occurs around 1000¦C because the pellet forms a dense metallic shell, while its slag core, resulting from a FeO, Si02 and A1203 reaction, has a lower melting point. 3) The addition of MgO sources improves high temperature properties both of sinter and Pellets.

Jan 1, 1980

There exist many formulae for designing coal pillars. However, when applied to a given set of mining parameters, they lead to different pillar sizes and factors of safety. From the subsidence point of view, the pillars designed as protection pillars not only have to be stable, but also have to limit subsidence over them to a level acceptable to the structure being protected. The subsidence over a pillar of given width to height ratio depends upon the mining depth. A pillar may be stable, but the subsidence over it may be quite large and unacceptable for the structure. In many cases even though pillars may yield, they support the undermined strata and reduce surface subsidence. In addition, the yielding pillars eliminate peaks and troughs in the surface subsidence profile and reduce ground strains. In a given situation, whether a pillar yields or not depends primarily upon its width in relation to mining depth.

Jan 1, 1992

The patterns of occupational health pro- grammes in mining and metallurgy are discussed in relation to the impact of chemical and phy- sical hazards on the health of workers in these fields. Mining and metallurgy are quite unique in that their history and practice embrace virtually the total spectrum of occupational health problems and hazards as understood today. A panoramic concept of the possibilities would comprise the following fields: 1. The Pneumoconioses or Dust Diseases. 2. Physical stress due to exertion, and exposure to heat and humidity in deep mines. 3. The toxic effects of various metals in the mining of ore. The most obvious are lead, mercury, arsenic and manganese. 4. Diseases associated with mining. These include leptospirosis, ankylostomiasis and mycotic infections of the skin. 5. The Beat Diseases of coal miners working in narrow seams. 6. Illumination problems and miners nystagmus. 7. Geographical and climatic problems

Jan 1, 1975

The Koongarra uranium deposit was discovered in August 1970 by Noranda Australia Limited. Denison Mines Limited acquired the rights of ownership in October 1980 and has continued the 'struggle' to bring the proposed mine, containing approximately 13 300 tonnes of U308 of Indicated ore and having a value of $1 billion (1984 dollars), into operation. During the 14 years that have passed, the owners have found it necessary to deal with numerous Federal, State and Territory government departments, aboriginal representatives, handle thousands of communications, attend and convene countless meetings and spend millions of dollars. This paper addresses the history, the requirements, the problems and the costs to date for what - no return.

Jan 1, 1984

By J B. Holman, P A. Weber, P Lindsay

Underground and opencast coal mining has occurred since 1896 on the Stockton Plateau, West Coast, New Zealand. Acid Rock Drainage (ARD) from historic and current mine workings has had an adverse environmental impact on the surrounding aquatic environment. The two main catchments affected by ARD from historic and current mine workings are the Mangatini and St Patrick Stream catchments. Solid Energy New Zealand Ltd (SENZ) is using active (e.g. alkali dosing) and passive (e.g. engineered cover) technologies to mitigate the adverse environmental effects associated with ARD contaminated waterways. This paper discusses the passive technologies. Principal strategies include the capping of high capacity potentially acid-forming volumes of overburden. The mudstones were found to generally have the highest sulphur levels compared to other overburden lithologies. Areas with high mudstone volumes are prioritised to be encapsulated and 390 Ha is planned to be capped in the Mangatini catchment in the near future.   Monitoring beneath granite, cement kiln dust and coal combustion product covers show oxygen can be reduced to less than 10% of atmospheric levels. Laboratory column leach tests that were subjected to oxygen flux rates of 10 % showed reducing oxygen ingress into acid-forming material can result in significant acid load reductions.   The oxygen content below the cement kiln dust cover was generally lower than 5% and water quality measured in lysimeters beneath this cover improved after 50 weeks of emplacement. Column leach tests containing saturated samples were undertaken to determine the most appropriate water medium in preventing pyrite oxidation. The sample saturated with ARD (pH ~ 3) had a negligible acid production rate and leached very minor Al concentrations although Al is soluble at low pH. This indicated saturating waste rock dumps with ARD can be an effective method in mitigating ARD formation.

Jan 1, 2007

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

This paper provides an overview of current and future mine developments in the major island nations Indonesia, Papua New Guinea (PNG), New Zealand, and Fiji, and the French territory of New Caledonia. Many of the other 11 small island nations in the region, such as Vanuatu, Pulau and the Solomons have been the subject of considerable exploration orientated towards gold in the past few years but without any deposit found with confirmed economic viability.

Jan 1, 1990

The Palmer River rises in the Windsor Tablelands area of the Paleozoic Hodgkinson Basin, 110 kilometres northwest of Cairns. It flows west across the Palmerville Fault and Proterozoic Dargalong Metamorphics to the Mitchell River. East of the Palmerville Fault, its course lies immediately south of the onlapping Mesozoic Laura Basin conglomerates, sandstones and siltstones.Gold occurs in quartz reefs in the Hodgkinson rocks of the Maytown District, in narrow quartz veins in the Dargalong Metamorphics, in the basal conglomerates of the Mesozoic, and more importantly, in alluvial bars within the Palmer River.

Jan 1, 1986

By Swain H. D, Kay R. L

Assessment of mineral reserves in any ore- body hinges on both mineralisation characteris- tics and the economics of extraction. The mineral reserves statement depends on interpre- tation of diamond drill information by geolo- gists, determination of the production plan and operating costs by mining and metallurgical engineers and prediction of future income by economists. The techniques used to generate the mineral reserves statement for Bougainville Copper Limited in 1969 are described and the accuracy of predictions discussed. Preliminary results from a geostatistical reassessment are comp- ared with the ore zone model, blast hole data and concentrator reconciled production results.

Jan 1, 1979

By Egan J. R

Changes have recently been applied to the Sullivan Concentrator lead and zinc circuits to treat fine-grained ores which make-up the majority of ore reserves in the mine. Pilot plant testwork conducted in 1990 - 91 indicated that concentrate grades would be substantially improved by reducing the particle size (Pao) of the lead from 38 to 15 ¦m and the zinc from 45 to 24 ¦m. Circuit revisions involved installation of major new equipment including: two 600-kilowatt Vertimills for regrinding, a four metre diametre column flotation cell and a four metre diameter hyperbaric pressure filter for dewatering. Duties of the existing regrind mills were Reassigned.

Jan 1, 1993