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Remote sensing techniques can be used to map joint sets in a rock mass for the estimation of in situ block size distribution and improved optimisation of blasting. This paper reviews remote sensing using photogrammetry and laser mapping for mapping rock masses and presents elements of the analyses applied to data acquired with these mapping technologies. These techniques enable a user to map areas of hundreds of square metres rapidly with high precision. Using this data computer programs such as Sirojoint can provide estimates of joint position and orientation with orientation measurement accuracies better than one degree. The paper describes the use of remote mapping and provides potential users with a description of some of the advantages and limitations of the mapping techniques and the data they produce. Mapping of lithology and structure of rock masses is an important task required in many areas of mining and construction. It is a complex task routinely performed using established techniques developed to provide consistent results under a wide range of conditions. The techniques for data acquisition and analysis described in this paper enable more accurate mapping to be performed rapidly and enable mapping of inaccessible sections of a rock mass. These techniques will provide geologists and geotechnical engineers with more detailed, accurate data than previously available.

Jan 1, 2001

With the continuing move towards digital signal based control and measurement, it is inevitable that such technology will be increasingly employed on remote sites. The benefits of increased metallurgical performance, of reduced energy and manpower requirements far outweigh the problems associated with high technology in remote locations, provided that the installation is well thought out from both technical and manpower viewpoints. The new accessibility of vast quantities of process data will uncover previously unthought of savings and profit opportunities but brings with it the responsibility to carefully design the data presentation methods. The resulting changes in installed hardware will force changes in the maintenance and engineering workforce and will affect even the stores and purchasing department methods.

Jan 1, 1985

Agitation leaching data has generally not been analysed to extract the maximum amount of information that is available. Analysis of heap leaching systems has been developing over the last five years to include the underlying rate determining process. This has been found to be diffusion control for all copper leaching; irrespective of whether they are oxide or sulfide minerals. Extension of the diffusion model has enabled better scale-up protocols to be developed. Acid consumption in copper heap leaching operations has been found to be a first-order chemical controlled system. The analysis of the data is relatively straightforward. However the interpretation and scale-up is not as direct as for agitation leaching. The differences in the residence time distributions (RTDs) are required to properly account for the scale-up between test columns and field. The leaching of oxide copper in agitated systems has also been found to be diffusion controlled. However, there are significant differences in the control mechanisms. Initially the leaching control is the supply of acid to the mineral surface. This is limited by the diffusion through the surface boundary layer and is thus subject to the level of agitation. Higher agitation provides thinner boundary layers and faster diffusion rates. Similarly, higher grade material creates a thicker concentration boundary layer and relatively slower leaching. Acid consumption in agitated leach systems is also a first-order system. However, the interpretation of the RTD is easier from batch testing to continuous multiple CSTR series plant operations. Altering the method of acid delivery can significantly reduce acid consumption rates. Predilution of the acid minimises the local acid concentration near the addition point and can reduce the consumption by up to 50 per cent. Modelling of the combined leach rate(s) and acid consumption rates in agitated systems allows comparison of various leaching strategies and selection of the most appropriate. Similarly, the model allows the identification of economic limits to leach recovery; where the cost of acid consumption is greater than the value of the copper recovered. From this analysis selection of residence times for agitation leaching can be determined. The modelling tools are useful in identifying optimum conditions for the leaching process.

Jan 1, 2005

By Parsons AE, Lewis IE

Selenium is a minor constituent of the raw materials processed by the Cockle Creek smelter of Sulphide Corporation Pty. Limited. Certain proposed raw materials contain higher levels of selenium, and these will create a problem with regard to the composition of liquid effluent discharged from the smelter. A method has been developed for removing selenium from the smelter circuit by the sulphation of the fume collected in the Acid Plant electrostatic-precipitators. It is planned that by treating 10-20% of the total dust arisings there will be a substantial reduction in the levels of selenium reporting in effluents when treating selenium-bearing raw materials. The selenium is recovered in elemental form.

Jan 1, 1978

Spiral separators have been used to treat heavy mineralsands in Australia for some 35 years. During the last five years the logical extension of this technology has been torecover cassiterite from alluvial deposits. Plants incorporating spirals are already operating in Indonesian andAustralian tin mines. A more fundamental understanding of the design of spiral separators has recently led to their use in other mineral treatment plants.In particular, the treatment of alluvial gold and fine coal has been most successful. The new generation of spirals that has been developed to treat these minerals is more easily operated than other competing processes and is therefore ideal for new mine situations.

Jan 1, 1986

By J Wu

Swirl Flow Technology (SFT), a novel approach for agitation in large industrial slurry tanks, was jointly developed and patented by CSIRO and Queensland Alumina Ltd (QAL). Currently, SFT is used in 16 alumina precipitation tanks at QAL, with the first installation in January 1997. This paper provides insight to the underlying fluid dynamics, which were investigated through pilot-scale experiments. A key finding was that SFT produces tank wall velocities approximately four times that of conventional draft tube agitator systems for the same power input, whilst for solids suspension, much less power is needed. SFT is energy efficient and practical in scaling suppression as demonstrated by the full-scale experience at QAL.

Aug 8, 2011

By K Sanematsu

"An EXTENDED ABSTRACT is available for download. A full-length paper was not prepared for this presentation. Ore deposits of rare earth elements (REE) in South-East Asia are classified into four types: carbonatite, allanite, ion-adsorption and placer. Occurrences of the carbonatite deposits are confined almost exclusively to the Red River Fault Zone of northern Vietnam. Since the carbonatites contain dominantly REE fluorocarbonates (eg bastnasite) and lesser amounts of monazite, they are rich in light REE but poor in heavy REE. The ion-adsorption type deposits and prospects were found in Myanmar, Vietnam and Thailand. The ion-adsorption ores generally show lower REE grades than those of the carbonatite type and placer deposits; however, they could be enriched in HREE, which are more precious and scarce commodities than LREE. The ores consist of weathered granites with a significant amount of ion-exchangeable REE, which are extracted by using a dilute electrolyte solution. The ion-exchangeable REE are likely to be sourced from REE fluorocarbonates, allanite and titanite because these minerals are relatively susceptible to weathering and release REE3+ ions into soil water. In contrast, monazite and xenotime are resistant to chemical weathering and could form placer ores. Placer monazite and xenotime have been processed as by-products of placer Sn, Zr or Ti in Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia, although the current production is small.CITATION:Sanematsu, K, 2015. Rare earth element deposits and prospective areas in South-East Asia, in Proceedings PACRIM 2015 Congress, pp 671–678 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne)."

Mar 18, 2015

By A R. Firth

The induration furnace for iron ore pellets was originally designed to process concentrates with high contents of magnetite. To support the use of haematite concentrates, internal fuel was added to the pellets in the form of ground coke breeze or anthracite. To ensure that the addition of coke breeze was not excessive, the ‘heat of magnetite equivalent’ or heat of magnetite equivalent (HME) relationship was developed, guaranteeing that the fi ring temperature requirements remained the same. However, this oversimplifi es the different reaction paths of magnetite and carbon in iron ore pellets. At fi ring temperatures, gas diffusion controlled reactions such as the combustion of coke, the calcination of carbonates and the reduction and oxidation of iron oxides can all occur in different parts of the pellet simultaneously. The interaction of these reactions produces a range of atmospheres across the diameter of the pellet that vary from oxidising at the pellet shell to reducing at the pellet core. Mathematical modelling and pellet fi ring experiments to preheat temperatures before quenching have shown that a higher proportion of coke relative to magnetite slows down the oxidation process, irrespective of temperature. A higher temperature, however, results in an increase in the rate of haematite reduction in the pellet core and a more reducing atmosphere, which could lead to different sintering rates in different parts of the pellet and shrinkage cracks forming. To observe these gas-solid reaction rates at a larger scale, the COREM pot grate has been updated with an additional oxygen analyser. This, along with other improvements, will allow better optimisation of straight-grate firing cycles for different pellet compositions.

Jul 11, 2011

The role of metals in the economy is discussed with regard to the flow of metals through to final demand and is illustrated by data for seven metals. Factors influencing the changing pattern of metal consumption are described, including relative prices. A des- cription and discussion of current metal demand forecasting methodologies precedes a discussion firstly of broad economic trends and secondly of the evolving pattern of metal consumption relative to GDP (metal consumption intensity), as technology and other factors change and as economies mature. The tendency for metal consumption intensity to plateau and decline when economies reach a certain region of per capita GDP, following a rapid rise early in the industrial- ization process, is shown in comparative data for seven metals and six countries.

Jan 1, 1979

By Kolarczyk M

When controlling the ventilation process in a deep mine some knowledge of the sensitivity of the air volume output to changes in the resistances of network side branches is of great advantage.Sensitivity is taken to mean the limit of the differential quotient AV /ART where AV. is the change in air output in the i--h side branch caused by a change of resistance LI R in the r-th side branch. A method Is presen- ted for determining any arbitrary co- lumn of the sensitivity matrix. A network interpretation of this met- hod was developed in which an ancilla- ry network additional the basic network is constructed and solved, giving an analysis of the sensitivity signs de- pending on the structure of the network.

Jan 1, 1988

By T C. Souza Pinto, M Safari, F S. Hoseinian, D Deglon, L Leal Filhoc

In this study, the effect of hydrodynamic parameters on the iron ore reverse was investigated in a mechanical flotation cell. The work carries out using the case study of Iron ore from Vale in Brazil. The influence of hydrodynamic factors such as froth height, impeller speed, superficial gas velocity and solids percentage were evaluated on the quartz flotation. The results showed that the hydrodynamic conditions have a great effect on the flotation performance, especially on the fine and coarse quartz. The size-by-size analysis of the froth products showed that froth height, impeller speed, superficial gas velocity and solids percentage have a significant effect on true flotation quartz particles. The increase in the froth height decreased the recovery of quartz particles. The increase in the impeller speed increases the recovery of quartz particles to an optimum. The increase in the superficial gas velocity improved the flotation of coarse quartz particles. The increase in the solids percentage increases the recovery of quartz particles.

Sep 18, 2023

By Watters R

Modem open cut and underground mining in the tropics inevitably expose partially weathered and unweathered rocks to oxygen and water, leading to weathering and the release of solutes and often acidity as well. Historical monitoring data can demonstrate these phenomena. Three case studies from open cut mines in the north of the Northern Territory illustrate the deterioration in quality of pond water receiving drainage from waste rock dumps. The potential for deterioration of water quality was not recognised in many mine Environmental Impact Statements prepared and accepted in the 1980s. The examples documented indicate the importance of adequately planning for this near inevitable process. Retrofitting a mine water management system to 'no' or minimal release can be very difficult and expensive, and may not be feasible, leading to downstream pollution. The characterisation of acid and solute production potential of ore and waste rock, and improved dumping strategies and water management are very important to minimise the environmental impact of mining in the tropics.

Jan 1, 1994

By S M. Denn

The Cawse nickel-cobalt operation is situated 50 km NW of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia, at latitude30o22'30'' south and longitude 121o08'30'' east on the Kalgoorlie 1:250 000 geological map sheet (SH 51-9) (see Figure 1). The project is owned and operated by Centaur Nickel Pty Ltd (CTR) and was the first in Australia to commercially produce nickel metal and cobalt sulphide through pressure acid leach (PAL) technology. Cawse has a total resource base (all categories of resources + reserves) of 213 million tonnes Mt at 0.7 per cent Ni and 0.04 per cent Co, comprising 127 Mt at Cawse Central which is 100 per cent owned by CTR and 86 Mt at Cawse Extended where CTR has a 80 per cent equity. Cawse Extended is located immediately to the northwest of the Cawse Central leases. All current reserves (proved and probable) of 30 Mt at 1.0 per cent nickel are contained within Cawse Central. In addition the Siberia project area 20 kilometres to the NW has a resource of 63 Mt at 0.7 per cent Ni. Cawse is a dry laterite deposit, with nickel and cobalt hosted by iron and manganese oxides. Cawse Central mineralisation extends over a ten kilometre strike length, with three pits currently being mined. The Bunyip pit has the premier nickel and cobalt grades within Cawse Central. There are seven dominant lithology types forming mappable units within current pit exposures. Four of these units are host to nickel and cobalt mineralisation. Ore types are defined as Upgrade, Grind and Non-upgrade, depending on their physical characteristics with respect to the treatment route. Mining commenced in February 1998. To the end of calender 1999 the operation has produced 2100 tonnes nickel plate and 470 tonnes of cobalt as a cobalt sulphide product. Future production will target 9000 tonnes per annum Ni metal and up to 2000 tonnes per annum Co, based on processing 500 000 tonnes of ore per annum.

Jan 1, 2000

By J E. Everett

A block model of the orebody is used to plan a mine. The first requirement is to identify ore to be extracted, discarding waste, so as to meet target grade, generally in multiple analytes. Commonly, cut-off values are set for each analyte, so as to distinguish ore from waste. It will be shown that, if more than one analyte is important, this procedure is wasteful of ore and a composite cut-off function is preferable.A second requirement is to sequence the ore extraction so that the variability in ore grade is controlled: failure to do so will result either in low-quality ore being marketed, or excessive re-handling being required to blend the ore to reduce the grade variability.A third requirement is that the extraction sequence should be such as to control the amount of equipment movement required, enhancing the equipment productivity.The overall objective, to optimise the Net Present Value (NPV) of the mined ore, is simply stated but complex in realisation, since so many factors, such as target grade, grade variability, equipment choice, equipment movement, and downstream blending all have alternatives which can be traded off against each other, and all of which contribute to the costs and benefits making up the total NPV.There exist commercial packages for ore selection and mine planning. However, they are often of a ‘black box’ nature, and users are sometimes not fully aware of the criteria being applied. In particular, the treatment of quality as a multidimensional vector may be problematic. The purpose of this paper is to discuss some of the issues involved and to suggest an alternative set of approaches, which should complement existing commercial treatments.The discussion will be illustrated specifically by reference to the mining of iron ore, but the issues are relevant to a wide variety of mining situations

Sep 5, 2011

By X Hu, J Björkvall, L Sundqvist Ökvist

The metal production industry is a significant contributor to global CO2 emissions due to the use of fossil fuels such as coal and coke. To mitigate these emissions and meet climate goals, innovative and sustainable technologies are required. Molten salt electrolysis is a promising technology that directly produces metals from their precursor sulfides or oxides using electricity. When combined with renewable electricity and an inert anode, the electrolysis process can be carbon neutral. This paper presents the results of two pilot-scale studies on the electrolytic reduction of metal oxides and sulfides in molten salts. The first study focuses on the electrolytic reduction of chalcopyrite in molten NaCl-KCl salt. The results demonstrate that in situ separation of copper, iron, and sulfur is possible, enabling the extraction of all valuable elements without CO2 emissions. Furthermore, the findings underscore the capability to eliminate impurities like zinc, antimony, arsenic, and mercury from the electrolysis product. The second study investigates the electrolytic reduction of pure/synthetic chemicals of wüstite, hematite, and magnetite, as well as a magnetite-type iron ore in molten NaOH salt. The findings reveal a stepwise reduction of iron oxides from high valence to low valence, ultimately leading to the production of metallic iron electrolytically. Notably, this study underscores the challenges associated with the selection of an economically viable and durable inert anode material for efficient oxygen generation. These results indicate that molten salt electrolysis provides a sustainable and green route for base metal production. The use of this technology has the potential to significantly reduce CO2 emissions in the metal production industry, contributing to achieving climate goals.

Jun 19, 2024

By Paine G. G

The Red Dome Gold/Copper Mine is located approximately 15 km west of the township of Chillagoe which itself is approximately 220 km by road west of Cairns, Far North Queensland. The deposit, with other mines in the Mungana region, was worked from about 1901 to 1927. Exploration by Amoco Minerals Australia in the 1970s and early 1980s outlined a geological resource of 15 million tonnes. A mining reserve of 9.3 million tonnes was identified and originally developed by Elders Resources Limited. The mine commenced operations in March 1986 and was the first large-scale gold project in Australia to be developed solely on the heap leach process. The mine operated successfully as a gold heap leach operation until 1989 when new grinding, flotation and carbon-in-leach plant facilities were installed to process the non heap-leachable component of the orebody including the copper rich -ore. In March 1991, Red Dome Pty Ltd became a wholly owned subsidiary of Niugini Mining Limited. After six years of successful operation and having excavated a 200 in deep pit, it became evident in 1992 that unless more open cut reserves could be identified the operation was limited to six to nine months of high grade ore and a further 15 months of low grade stockpile material. A preliminary feasibility study was carried out to assess the viability of deepening the open cut. This indicated that from a technical and financial point of view it was possible to expand and deepen the open cut. This presented the daunting challenge of developing a 300 in deep, single access, open cut between a high chert ridge, a government railway line and a National Park. The meeting of this challenge is the subject of this paper.

Jan 1, 1994

By J Krnmmelbein, T Raab

In Lusatia, lignite mining causes major disturbances on the landscape scale. Reclamation procedures are applied to recover the reconstructed landscape for different land use options. In this study we investigate soil physical properties of an agricultural reclamation/recultivation site directly after site restoration and the development of selected parameters within the first years after site restoration depending on varying recultivation strategies.The sandy substrates used for recultivation stem from depths of several meters. They are unstructured, free of recent organic matter and have high contents of calcium carbonate. During reconstruction and most of all during surface levelling with heavy crawlers, the substrate?undergoes high mechanical stresses. This leads to partly severe soil or substrate compaction, depending amongst others on substrate water content and mechanical stresses during site construction. We investigate the effect of different organic soil amendments, different crop rotations and partly subsoiling on the development of soil structure. We compare results of laboratory measurements directly after site construction before any reclamation measures had been applied to results we gained after three and four years of recultivation. The results show that after the earthworks are completed, the site is strongly heterogeneous in relation to mechanical stability, permeability for air and water, pore volume and bulk density. The results after three and four years show that the heterogeneity of soil physical parameters decreases. The selection of suitable crop rotations superimposes the affects of other reclamation measures, eg varying organic fertilisers or deep loosening.CITATION:Krnmmelbein, J and Raab, T, 2012. Reclaimed lignite mining areas A73 in Lusatia - Development of soil physical parameters of an agricultural site within the first years after site reconstruction, in Proceedings Life-of-Mine 2012 , pp 117-122 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Jul 10, 2012

By T Clemens, D Trumm

Adopting environmentally acceptable practices in New Zealand is a crucial requirement for mineral wealth development. Recent planned expansions in the coal and gold industry have increasingly placed mining in the media spotlight. A lack of appropriate standard environmental guidelines has resulted in inconsistent responses and assessments of current and proposed mines. These inconsistencies have lead to delays in decisions on developing economic mineral deposits that may have only minor short-term impacts, and have also allowed unacceptable environmental management practices to continue elsewhere. A research collaboration between CRL Energy, Landcare Research, University of Canterbury and University of Otago aims to provide regulator groups and the mining industry with a unified approach to the requirements of the Resource Management Act 1991,the legislation that largely drives the nationÆs environmental policies and guidelines. The tangible outcome of this research program will be water quality and impact management guidelines integrated into a decision-making framework. The result of this unification will assist in the development of viable mineral deposits and minimise environmental impacts. The framework will be derived from a synthesis of three objectives. Objective 1 identifies potential water quality impact. This objective is based on a targeted geochemical study of the lithology and waterways of the West Coast and Southland regions. Objective 2 categorises the degree of impacts on the ecology of receiving aquatic ecosystems and determines the processes that drive aquatic ecosystem recovery. Objective 3 identifies best strategies to sufficiently manage impacted ecosystems, and to prevent future unacceptable impacts. Wide consultation with representatives of the mining industry and regulator groups will occur frequently during the development stages of the framework. It is anticipated that this multidisciplinary approach will provide a robust and coherent, standardised system that will assist in achieving industry and environmental targets.

Jan 1, 2004

By D Giurco

As part of global systems of mineral production and consumption, the Australian minerals sector is facing sustainability challenges across technological, social, ecological, economic and governance domains, as well as between local, national and global scales. To ensure that the Australian minerals sector progresses towards sustainability, it is imperative to understand the possible ways in which AustraliaÆs mineral resources could support sustainable futures. A significant research gap exists between the complex nature of questions concerning minerals sustainability and the reductionist methods available to deal with them. This paper argues the need for broader, more integrated approaches to questions concerning minerals sustainability, which can address multiple human perspectives, complex and æmessyÆ patterns and processes across multiple organisational, temporal and geographical scales and whole systems of mineral production and consumption. To inform the development of a new approach to minerals sustainability, this work reviews the contemporary understanding of the Australian minerals sustainability problematic, from the perspective of the Australian minerals sector (Minerals Council of Australia), the Australian research sector (Mudd 2007a, 2007b; Mudd and Ward 2008) and a multi-scale international project (MMSD 2002). This review shows the focus of current responses to the minerals sustainability problematic, identifies the need for an integrated approach to questions of minerals sustainability and addresses how different approaches are informed by underlying and unarticulated assumptions about the tolerability of tradeoffs between different societal goals, the treatment of uncertainty and the application of different conceptual geographical, organisational, temporal and life cycle scales to define the minerals sustainability problematic. The Mineral Resources Landscape proposed, offers an expanded conceptualisation of minerals sustainability, to link minerals production and consumption in an integrated assessment across the entire minerals supply chain, connecting social, ecological, technological, economic and governance domains across local, national and global scales. The key leverage points governing change in the Mineral Resources Landscape are identified as: the material source, extraction and production technologies, level of service and value, and consumption patterns. Mapping the key challenges facing the minerals sector, as identified in the review herein, indicates that the boundaries defining traditional conceptualisations of minerals sustainability focus on the material source and technology and ignore two very key drivers of the Mineral Resources Landscape û the æservicesÆ minerals offer to society and the æconsumption trendsÆ which assimilate these services into society. Understanding these overlooked aspects of the Mineral Resources Landscape, along with the conventional areas of focus, is essential for identifying the Australian minerals sector as a provider of sustainable mineral services. This insight prompts a reconsideration of the role of minerals services and consumption trends, together with the role of the material source and technology in shaping change and the emergence of sustainable systems of Australian minerals production and consumption, across multiple scales and domains.

Jan 1, 2009

By A Murphy, D Lauder, J Miranda

Minera Alumbrera Limited operates the Alumbrera concentrator, treating a nominal 80 000 tpd of porphyry gold/copper ore. It is located in Argentina, 1200 km north-west of Buenos Aires in Catamarca Province, at an elevation of 2550 m above sea level. Treatment facilities consist of crushing, SAG and primary ball mill grinding circuits, rougher flotation, ball mill regrinding, gravity recovery and cleaner flotation. It is one of only a small number of concentrators in the world, which uses Jameson Cells alone for cleaner circuit flotation. Plant design was started in June 1995, with commissioning commencing in July 1997. Following a successful ramping up to design tonnages and recoveries, a number of options were reviewed to improve gold and copper recoveries. This paper concentrates on a detailed size by size flotation recovery project, commenced in May 1999. Utilising optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and analysis of surface chemistry it has allowed losses by size fraction to be quantified and options for enhanced recoveries to be developed. Coupled with extensive circuit surveys it has also provided an insight into previously unknown properties of Jameson Cell operation. Among these are unique residence time and bubble formation reactions to reagent and pulp flow variations, which has permitted a number of novel changes to the operation to maximise capacity and recovery.

Jan 1, 2000