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By T Mizuta, T Nakano, D Ishiyama

The Tamagawa Hot Spring, from which Ra-Pb-Sr-bearing barite precipitates, is a representative hot spring in a volcanic gas-bearing hydrothermal system associated with Quaternary andesitic to dacitic magmatic activity beneath the Yakeyama Volcano. Thermal water in the Tamagawa Hot Spring is divided into three types: Cl-SO4-type (Ohbuki hot spring: pH 1.2); SO4-type (pH 1.8 to 2.9); and neutral-type (pH 6.1). The concentrations of dissolved components in the Ohbuki Cl-SO4-type thermal water are about ten times higher than in the SO4-type thermal water. The 87Sr/86Sr isotopic signatures of the Ohbuki Cl-SO4-type thermal waters (0.703992 ¦ 0.000004 to 0.704032 ¦ 0.000006) are different from those of SO4-type thermal waters (0.704245 ¦ 0.000003) formed by the interaction of andesitic volcanic rocks (0.704065 ¦ 0.000007 to 0.704093 ¦ 0.000009) and groundwater derived from river water (0.704314 ¦ 0.000012 to 0.704519 ¦ 0.000013) in a shallower part of the hot spring area. The possible origins of Sr in the Ohbuki Cl-SO4-type thermal water and in the SO4-type thermal water are different. The Sr isotopic ratios (0.704130 ¦ 0.000012 to 0.707556 ¦ 0.000014) of Aniai Formation andPreYakeyama Lake deposits occurring below the hot spring area are distinctly higher than those of the Cl-SO4-type thermal water. However, it is expected that a solidifying andesitic or dacitic magma which has similar Sr isotopic ratios of the Ohbuki Cl-SO4-type thermal water, occur in the deep portion of the Tamagawa Hot Spring. The Cl-SO4-type thermal waters having low Sr isotopic ratios do not acquire their Sr isotopic signatures by interaction with strata below the hot spring area, but they are likely to reflect water interaction with a solidifying magma with low Sr isotopic ratios. Components including rare metals in Cl-SO4 type thermal water could be transported from a deeper part. An EXTENDED ABSTRACT is available for download. A full-length paper was not prepared for this presentation.

Jan 1, 2008

In the past two and a half years, over 40 000 metalliferous mining and related services personnel have been trained through an Australian Generic Safety Induction system. This is almost half of AustraliaÆs metalliferous mining related workforce. This remarkable industry acceptance and delivery of safety courses is supported by Acacia Resources, Great Central Mines, Homestake, Newcrest Mining and WMC Resources, amongst hundreds of other mining, exploration and major contracting and services companies. MARCSTA; the Mining and Resources Contractors Safety Training Association (a pro-active not-for-profit self-help group of 24 major contracting companies) developed this generic safety induction. MARCSTA set out to find the æcommon groundÆ necessary to help address the evident safety problems and cost of re-training that were plaguing development of an internationally competitive and productive export industry. The incredible expansion of Australian mining during the decade fuelled a need for out-sourcing, resulting in much larger numbers of contractors on-site. At the same time, changes within Australian legislation, community expectations and the development of huge fly-in/fly-out operations and widespread skills shortages led to a rapid labour turnover and a higher paid workforce. Many Australian mining houses also ran international operations, particularly in South East Asia and head hunted people across the world. The skill levels fluctuated and fell at some local operations. Employers could no longer rely on systematic in-house training of permanent employees to improve safety and productivity as workers could and often did move on. Serious discrepancies in both quality and quantity of safety induction training and work practices occurred. Repetitive, boring and ineffective safety training became an embarrassing and costly burden for companies and workers alike. Then a spate of mining deaths sparked highly publicity, workforce concern and a demand for improvement from government, unions and corporate stakeholders. MARCSTA recognised it had to develop a high-quality safety-training program to satisfy the needs of all employers and be acceptable to others within the industry. This induction system had to be flexible enough to meet differences in legislation between states and industry sectors and be portable to enable cost and time savings for the new transient workforce. Changes in the last two years as a result of evaluating and incorporating various Taskforce inquiries into underground mining fatalities later led to the development of the MARCSTA Underground Safety Induction. This logical development added to the run away success of MARCSTAÆs General Safety Induction and was seen to be essential for many surface mines that were planning to develop underground operations. There are many lessons that MARCSTA learnt during its development that Pacific and South East Asian mining operations can benefit from. The most important of these are the support of stakeholders within industry and the recognition of higher safety and health expectations from workers and government. This goes hand-in-hand with the productivity and return on investment expectations of companies and their shareholders.

Jan 1, 1999

By N Madani

Linear interpolation of geo-related variables is important to different aspects of mining engineering such as long and short-term mine planning. The ore deposit description attained from spatial modeling of blast hole datasets has been widely taken into account, particularly, for short-term mine design and grade control, so as to define the ultimate destination of a mined block. It is approved in practice that making the wrong decision leads to losing a huge amount of money for choosing the destination of a mined block. In the case of complex ore deposits, the issue of estimation of variables in the region is questionable and somehow tedious. Due to this fact, modeling those complications in the co-spatial behavior of the grades in multi-element deposits prompts one to employ enhanced geostatistical techniques. Traditional approaches of this purpose such as polygon, inverse distance weighted and even (co)-kriging approaches, are incapable of reproducing those complexities such as non-linearity, heteroscedasticity and geological constraint that frequently exist among the variables of interest in those deposits. Another difficulty in employing those linear interpolations in grade estimation is smoothing effect, in which the estimated grades are over and under estimated. CITATION: Madani, N, 2018. 3D estimation of variables with complexity in cross-correlation structures, in Proceedings Complex Orebodies Conference 2018, pp 49–52 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Nov 21, 2018

By C E. Woolley, A Hosseini, J Foster

Northern Star’s Thunderbox Open Pit C-Zone cutback was designed to maximise extraction in a short life excavation; In fresh rock on the western wall this included 20 m to 30 m bench heights with 6.5 m to 10 m berm widths and a 90° pre-split angle. Rock mass quality in this area is generally fair to good, however, there are sections where the dominant foliation runs parallel with the designed pit wall, and more closely spaced, altered, foliation is present: these areas are difficult to predict and prone to failure. Stringent controls and monitoring were required in order to safely access below these areas, in particular the use of slope stability monitoring radar, Trigger Action Response Plans (TARPs), re-entry procedures, visual inspections, drone inspections and day-to-day personnel awareness of the hazard. Robust and comprehensively planned remediation was also required after two significant slope failure events where long reach equipment and rope access techniques were utilised to remediate the areas in question safely, but also in a timely manner, such that expected production targets were impacted as little as reasonably practicable. This combination of rigorous risk management and well planned remediation resulted in a successful and complete extraction of the C-Zone cutback with no impact to operational safety.

Jun 22, 2022

By L Blackwell

Strategic mine scheduling is an industry best practice for increasing the long-term value of mining operations and supply chains. The application of optimisation technology such as mixed integer linear programming (MILP) is able to achieve a mathematically optimal result for a given scheduling model. Such a model will typically define the available source material, processing options and desired constraints for accessing and processing the material. Most strategic scheduling models, however, do not include a sufficiently detailed model of capital expenditure options related to capacity expansion.Typical strategic schedule models do not include important capital expenditure features such as capacity decay or expiration (limited lifespan of trucks), precedence relationships over time (rail construction before a new plant or non-linear expansions due to economies of scale) or mutually exclusive option sets (choices of plant size). By not including these features, a strategic mine scheduling model for a capital-sensitive operation is unable to be optimised to deliver maximum value or profitability.This paper presents several results of MILP optimisation using advanced capital expenditure modelling for mining operations and supply chains. Results of the study demonstrate that optimising capital expenditure at the same time as optimising the mining schedule allows for minimisation of capital purchasing, optimal timing for those purchases and optimal scheduling around them. Overall, this results in an increase in net present value.CITATION:Blackwell, L, 2014. Capital expenditure modelling for strategic mine scheduling, in Proceedings Orebody Modelling and Strategic Mine Planning Symposium 2014 , pp 315–322 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Nov 24, 2014

By P J. Chapman

Recent catastrophic failures of tailings storage facilities (TSFs) continue to highlight the need for a detailed understanding of failure modes and the defences that are in place within the design to mitigate the failure modes. However, in many cases the instrumentation devices and monitoring approaches selected during operation do not link back to the design defences and inappropriate or redundant instrumentation is often installed. Candidate instruments and monitoring approaches (critical controls) are presented and matched to critical failure modes, with clear linkages to the intent of each instrument/monitoring approach. Commentary on where complementary measurements with independent technology types are recommended to provide greater assurance of trends to the design engineer or TSF owner is also presented. In response to the recent TSF failures, an increasing focus is being placed on instrumentation and monitoring relating to slope instability and safeguarding against the potential for static liquefaction, using a critical state soil mechanics framework. To support selection of appropriate zoning within a stability model, three complementary devices are recommended – vibrating wire piezometers to provide an indication of pore pressure and allow the phreatic surface to be inferred, tensiometers to confirm the presence of unsaturated conditions (and hence low potential for undrained failure) and moisture content sensors to provide an indication of void ratio, and hence state parameter, in saturated zones. The combination of VWPs and tensiometers will provide complementary measurements in the saturated and unsaturated zones, and also provide information on the extent of any near-saturated zones, provided that sufficient instruments are installed.

Jul 1, 2021

Avoca Resources LimitedÆs Higginsville Gold Project has a resource base of over 1 300 000 oz of gold. The Trident underground mine, which forms the basis of the project development, has a resource base of 927 000 oz of gold. Avoca is building the Higginsville Gold Project based on a minimum ten year vision, producing over 150 000 oz per annum. The project development has taken less than three years from the Trident discovery hole in October 2004 to the first ore production in June 2007. This paper discusses the background work associated with the development of the Trident underground mine in a difficult period for new project development in Western Australia. The resources boom, led by the iron ore industry in the Western Australian Pilbara region, is creating cost pressures and, combined with a lack of people and equipment, is placing cost and timing stress on a small developing project. Avoca Resources has developed a project execution management strategy aimed at mitigating cost blow outs and schedule delays.

Jan 1, 2008

By Massacci P

A review has been made of the studies focusing on methods for the description of grain -size distribution after breakage and, separa- tely, of the degree of liberation of the miner- al species making up the various grain-size classes of comminution products. The purpose of the study has been to de- velop an overall model of the phenomenon which, owing to the very effect of comminution, leads to the formation of grains that are generally of mixed composition. A calculation procedure has thus been de- veloped for the liberation function taken as the assessment of the distribution of mix com- ponents in the products obtained after a commi- nution process. The aim is to identify a func- tion which may, to a certain extent, simulate the variation of the grade-recovery function of an ore in relation to its degree of comminu- tion. The numerical model thus obtained has been tested out on results obtained experimentally.

Jan 1, 1986

By Wong KY, Woodcock JT

Previous results have shown how con- trolled-potential sulphidization (CPS) can give improved metallurgy during rougher flo- tation of mixed oxide-sulphide copper ores. Results in this paper, using different samples and different equipment, confirm the previous results and extend the application of CPS to cleaner flotation. By using CPS, faster flotation of copper minerals (chalcocite and malachite) from clay was obtained in roughing and cleaning, and improved concentrate grades and recoveries were achieved over those by conventional manual control. The optimum sulphidizing potential (i.e. the potential of a sulphide ion-selective electrode versus a saturated calomel electrode) was -500 mV, and could be controlled to ¦5 mV, during four rougher- scavenger and three cleaner-re cleaner stages. This optimum gives the best balance between copper recovery, concentrate grade, and sodium sulphide consumption. Five cleaning circuits and five ore com- posites of different composition (0.55-1.50 per cent Cu) were examined as well as the effect of feed size and pulp density. Better results were obtained at 20 per cent solids in a Denver cell than at 33 per cent solids in an Agitair cell; this may have been related to the high clay content of the ore. Commercial equipment for pilot plant or full-scale plant application of CPS is cur- rently being developed.

Jan 1, 1986

By Hawkins L. V, Seedsman K

A combined reflection seismic and magnetic survey off the south coast of New South Wales has revealed six distinct reflection horizons within the Lower Triassic- Upper Permian sequence, and has enabled the upper part of the Illawarra Coal Measures to be mapped in considerable detail. Large magnetic anomalies in the eastern half of the survey area appear to originate in the Gerringong Volcanic Sequence which forms the magnetic basement in this survey. Small residual anomalies in the western half of the area can be correlated with small scale faulting and folding in the uppert part of the Illawarra Coal Measures, as revealed by the seismic reflection survey. A synclinal axis striking at approximately 55¦ has been mapped near the western margin of the survey area, and areas of faulting and folding have been outlined by com- bined analysis of seismic and magnetic results.

Jan 1, 1969

By M Griffiths

This paper outlines an approach to high solids slurry pipeline design with data generated from a closed pipe-loop test system. The pressure and flow rate data generated is used to develop a pseudo-shear diagram for the purposes of system design. Following this approach enables the design of a full pipe flow system maximising system life and reliability. The alternative free fall system is explained and the disadvantages highlighted.Environmental and social considerations are discussed; mainly water and land use, and how designing for high solids slurry pipeline systems can be used improve these aspects of a mining project.Also discussed is how the use of high solids slurry pipeline systems can help to mitigate the risk associated with surface tailings storage facility failure, with the Bulyanhulu project used as a positive example.

Aug 8, 2011

By J Darbritz

"This paper details the events leading up to a slope failure that occurred at Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines (KCGM) and the remediation method executed using rope access specialists.n January 2016, KCGM Fimiston Pit experienced a double bench wall failure where approximately 80 000 t of material fell from the wall that blocked access to a ramp and caused minor damage to equipment.The event was triggered by heavy rainfall and occurred along unfavourable eastward dipping structures that lead into weaker shale/porphyry bands, which in turn left more material on the face. A remediation plan was formulated that would allow for the continuation of open pit operations while a full geotechnical assessment of the failure area could be conducted. This was accomplished by means of rope access specialists who abseiled down the wall and blasted off the remaining overhang using a portable drill rig and prepackaged explosives.This paper provides a brief overview of the KCGM operations, how the instability was identified and monitored, details of the failure event, outcomes of the geotechnical assessment and details on the remediation work.Citation:Graf, C and Sullivan, R, 2016. The Journey to Steepening the Pit Slope Angle - Advancing the Effectiveness of Wall Control, in Proceedings Ninth AusIMM Open Pit Operators' Conference 2016, pp 104–114 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne)."

Nov 15, 2016

By Norman TE

The design of composite materials for wear resistant service aims at com- bining two or more materials in such a way as to achieve unique and useful properties not generally available in any single homogeneous material. Properties and applications are presented of what might be described as a new generation of wear resistant materials, namely, metallic and part- metallic composites suitable for use in the high abrasion/moderate impact environment encountered in the crushing and screening of ore. Significant cost performance benefit can result from the use of such materials and several specific case histories are discussed. Some promising new developments, utilis- inn white iron and rubber, as yet in the field testing stage, are reviewed. Further comments are offered foreshadow- ing new composite developments, as yet untried but which appear to h,uve merit.

Jan 1, 1978

By J-P Franzidis

The Floatability Characterisation Test Rig (FCTR) is a self-contained, highly instrumented, mobile pilot plant. It was developed as part of the AMIRA P9 project, primarily to determine ore floatability characteristics and to develop and validate flotation plant modelling, scale-up and simulation methodologies. This paper describes the use of the FCTR in validating the AMIRA P9 flotation model and modelling methodology. In 2001 the FCTR was installed and operated in parallel with WMCÆs (now BHP BillitonÆs) Kambalda Nickel Operation. The FCTR was operated using four different circuit configurations of increasing complexity. Metallurgical surveys, cell characterisation measurements and batch flotation tests were performed around each circuit. This allowed the calibration of a number of flotation models using a combination of data from one, two, three or four circuit configurations. The calibrated flotation models were then validated using predictive validation. To do this, data around a further five FCTR circuit configurations were collected (three of which are presented in this paper). The performance of each of the five circuit configurations was predicted using JKSimFloat V6.1 and the parameters from the various calibrated flotation models. The predicted performance was compared to the experimentally determined performance of each circuit. The validation of the AMIRA P9 model was shown to be largely successful except in the case where the reagent addition (depressant) to the validation circuit was different to that in the calibration circuits. The results also provided information regarding the required complexity of the calibration circuit and how many calibration circuits are required to obtain an accurate prediction of circuit performance. These results have increased the confidence in the AMIRA P9 flotation modelling methodology and have provided important information on what data must be collected to allow the accurate prediction of plant performance using the floatability component modelling approach.

Jan 1, 2007

Neutralisation, normally using lime, is the most widely used method for treating high flows of acid mine drainage (AMD). Lime costs can be very high however. If carbonate sources could be used to achieve pH values above six, costs could be greatly reduced. For example, use of locally quarried limestone at Mt Lyell could potentially reduce alkali costs from about $A 3.5 to $A 1 million/year. Methods for enhancing the effectiveness of limestone and magnesite for neutralising Mt Lyell and Savage River AMD respectively have been examined through a series of investigations. Small-scale testwork found that the maximum pH economically achievable with ground limestone was about five, due to slow dissolution rates and surface armouring. The problems of surface armouring were greatly reduced by the use of crushed limestone or magnesite at high pulp densities (75 per cent solids w/w), enabling pH values >6 to be achieved in a practical time frame. The use of particle sizes in the range 6 mm and finer also reduces costs by avoiding the need for grinding, and reduces the problems of solid-liquid separation and solid recycling that arise if large additions of ground carbonate are used. Pilot scale tests were carried out using tumbling drum reactors with limestone and Mt Lyell AMD and a pulsed-bed static reactor with magnesite and Savage River AMD. pH values averaging 6.2 and 6.4 were achieved with Mt Lyell and Savage River AMD respectively. Approximately 80 per cent of feed acidity was neutralised. A preliminary engineering design and cost estimate has been completed on the pulsed-bed reactor and shows that the concept is technically feasible and, if results are confirmed, economically attractive. Further pilot testing is planned.

Jan 1, 2002

Brief summary of results obtained by a French-Japanese cooperative study on the bottom of trenches around Japan. The geophysical prospection, multi beam echo sounding and direct observation with submersible dives of the trench bottom clarified the details of the subduction of oceanic plates. It may be noted, among many new facts found: 1. The subduction and geologic structure resulted from the process is different according to the nature of subducting oceanic plate, and the geology of the land behind the trench. Thus the Nankai trough characterized by the developpement of accretionary prisms is contrasted to that of the Japan Trench where the basement rocks are exposed on the land side cliff of the trench wall. 2. The compressional tectonic situation prevailing in the trench bottom provokes the venting, along the fissures on the bottom, of water contained in sediments. Hydrocarbons contained in the sediments are comming out with water and give nutrients for bacteria. Clams, tube warms, sea slugs and shrimps are taking these bacteria as their food and biological communities with exceptionally dense population for the deep sea of more than 3000 meters in depth are formed on the field of accretionary prism and wall of the land side cliff. 3. An intense compressional tectonic field resulted from the subduction is inducing the transition from the subduction of oceanic plate to the collision of a part of the plate to the continental plate.

Jan 1, 1987

By Connell JE

The Worthing Mine near Hallett Cove. 20 km southwest of the cite of Adelaide, belongs to Aus- tralia's first mining era, which took place in South Australia between 1841 and 1851 (Figure 1). Oper- ations began in 1849 only six years after the com- mencement of metal mining in Australia at Glen Osmond. Although not as historically significant as Glen Osmond (1841), or the much larger copper mines of Kapunda (1844) or Burra (1845) its importance lies with its Cornish enginehouse and chimney. The Worthing enginehouse, built in 1851-1852 is the oldest remaining in Australia and certainly the most significant relic of Australia's first mining era. Six other stone enginehouses were built during that period: at Kapunda in 1848 and 1850: at Burra in 1849, 1850 and 1851; and at Tungkillo in 1849. All of these houses have long since dis- appeared although the foundations of one (Kapunda, 1850) still remain. The significance of the Worthing site is enhanced by its magnificant environmental setting in the bare, steep valley of Field River. Currently (1986) the Worthing Mine is the only site within the City of Marion which is on the Register of State Heritage Items. The site is also included in the Classified List of the National Trust of South Australia and on the Register of the National Estate.

Jan 1, 1987

By Waghorne E. P

The State Electricity Commission of Victoria is Australia's largest single coal producer. Approximately 19 Mt of coal will be produced in 1989 from the SEC V's newest mine, Loy Yang Open Cut (LYOC), which com- menced overburden stripping operation in October 1982. When the adja- cent Loy Yang Power Station is completed in the late 1990's, LYOC will supply between 35 to 45 Mt/a, depending on power station performance and demand of coal for non-power generation uses. LYOC has been a major challenge for the SECV. It is the biggest single open pit coal mining development undertaken in Australia, with a whole of life capital cost approaching A$1 billion. The mine has supplied a very rapidly growing demand for coal from the expanding power station while developing in breadth, length and depth. Coal demand has consistently been above the figures anticipated during the initial planning because of the substantially improved performance of the 500 MW units of the Loy Yang A Power Station. The superior performance of the LYOC and power station has generated additional electrical energy during the first 5 years of power station operation compared with the initial planning targets- at almost no additional capital cost. This has been a major benefit to the SECV. LYOC will continue to present major challenges for the SECV, particularly in achieving overburden removal and coal reserve targets as development of the open cut continues to full depth over the next 15 years.

Jan 1, 1989

By H Bao, M Nehring, M Kizil, P Knights

The mining sector, a notably energy-intensive industry worldwide, is a major consumer of fossil fuels, leading to significant carbon emissions globally. The move towards electrification, coupled with advancements in battery technology, has redirected focus from traditional diesel-powered solutions to battery-powered alternatives. This paper introduces a novel mining haulage system, termed the Battery Trolley system, and examines its theoretical foundations, configurations, and operational processes. It offers a comprehensive analysis of the system’s characteristics and limitations. Through a hypothetical road simulation, the study analyses various battery mining trucks, calculating energy consumption based on force parameters and tailoring battery sizes to contemporary materials and technology. When assessing various battery truck alternatives—considering aspects such as battery size, effective payload, duty cycle, energy efficiency, productivity, and single-shift production—a range of performance outcomes and characters become apparent within the mining context. The findings indicate that Battery Trolley configurations, requiring smaller battery capacities, entail lesser compromises on effective payload. Consequently, these configurations achieve a higher duty cycle, reduced energy consumption per tonne, heightened productivity, and enhanced singleshift production capabilities compared to Battery-only alternatives. The comparative analysis of Battery Trolley with stationary charging (BT-S) and Battery Trolley – dynamic charging (BT-D) underlines that battery Trolley systems are capable of overcoming the challenges associated with battery size, thus successfully fulfilling the production demands of large truck applications in mining. This positions Battery Trolley systems as a more advantageous option for the decarbonisation of mining fleets, underscoring their potential in contributing to the sector’s sustainable evolution.

Sep 1, 2024

The non-renewable energy resources of Queensland comprise coal, petroleum (oil and gas), oil shale and uranium. Coal is widely distributed., and has been developed extensively both for export and for use within the State. Proven reserves total 5 390 million tonnes recoverable of coking coal and 5 580 million tonnes recoverable of non-coking; very large resources particularly of non-coking coal are still to be quantified by further drilling. Annual production is of the order of 20 million tonnes of coking coal, principally for export, and 6 million tonnes of non-coking, mainly for power generation within the State. Petroleum resources are meagre in com- parison with those of coal. Initial recover- able reserves of liquids (mainly in the now substantially depleted Moonie Oil Field) totalled only 4.2 million m3. Initial recover- able reserves of gas (mainly in the western Surat and Bowen Basins) totalled 7 800 million m3. Annual production is of the order of 64 thousand m3 of liquids for refining in Bris- bane, and 268 million m3 of gas mainly for production of fertiliser and for industrial and domestic heating, in Brisbane. Prospects are fair for the discovery of additional reserves. Two deposits of oil shale are potentially of economic significance. The Rundle deposit at The Narrows in central Queensland has the

Jan 1, 1979