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By Edwards A. B

This paper presents the results of an examination of four samples representative of the low-lead matte, high-lead matte, lead speiss and antimony speiss, respectively, produced during smelting operations at Port Pirie Smelters. The investigation was undertaken at the request of the Broken Hill Associated Smelters Pty. Ltd., as part of the research programme of the Mineragraphic Section of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research.Analyses of the specimens are as follows:-

Jan 1, 1949

By J Vann

The key functions of project evaluation are to assess potential profitability and to develop an effective operational design. For mining projects, design aspects include mining methodology, ore treatment methodology and production rates. All of these characteristics impact on project economics and overall value. Resource models, which form the ultimate basis of project evaluation, typically consist of tonnes above cut-off, grade above cut-off and the spatial distribution (connectivity) of tonnes/grade above cut-off, for one or more variables. Dilution, ore loss and metallurgical recovery are all modifying factors applied to the resource model during evaluation and determination of profitability. A key issue is: how is the value determined? In addition to traditional combination of in situ tonnes/grade, the following merit serious consideration: the concentration of deleterious elements, throughput rates, mining/processing costs and û importantly û metallurgical recovery. Geometallurgy is an emerging field targeted at integrating these issues by identifying either direct measures or proxies for throughput (hardness, grindability), recovery (liberation, mineral shape/texture, etc) and concentrate quality from easily collected macro-, meso- and microscopic data. These ægeometallurgical variablesÆ drive project costs and revenues in a fundamental way. For geometallurgical characterisation to have a real impact on business design, it must enable improved mine planning. When creating spatial estimates for such variables, it is preferable to find proxies that can be measured as close to the intact rock mass as possible. However, spatial estimation of proxies for geometallurgical properties and responses is complex and requires special consideration. Unlike grades, both proxies and absolute measures of geometallurgical variables are not necessarily linear or additive and therefore require very careful geostatistical consideration. In some cases, models must predict extreme values of geometallurgical attributes rather than averages. Incorrect characterisation of metallurgical recovery/throughput can (and has) led to misspecification of the scale of projects, and thus can be seriously value destructive. Aspects of geometallurgy have long been important in iron, bauxite, manganese and coal deposits and are increasingly on the radar for base and precious metal miners. However, as more metallurgically complex deposits are developed and mining of large-scale, low-grade deposits becomes more commonplace, the importance of characterising the metallurgical response in order to generate properly optimised projects will rapidly increase. It is possible that in many ætraditionalÆ (ie grades and tonnes) reserve models, the variables that drive the project are missing!

Jan 1, 2007

By B S. S Rao, S Chandra

IndiaÆs iron ore mining industry is growing rapidly in order to augment the capacity to meet the unprecedented demand for the iron ore. Traditionally, much of Indian iron ore production came from exploitation of high-grade haematite ores, with the exception of Kudremukh which beneficiates lean grade Banded Magnetite Quartz ore. Now with the changed scenario of demand and supply, keeping long term sustainability in mind, it is imperative to develop suitable processing technology for exploitation of banded haematite quartz (BHQ) ore available abundantly and not utilised so far. In this direction detailed characterisation and beneficiation studies were conducted with BHQ iron ore from the Bellary-Hospet region of India, assaying 36.5 per cent Fe. The mineralogical studies with the image analyser system revealed the presence of maghemite and haematite as iron-bearing minerals. The gangue mineral associations were siliceous, ferro-magnesian and carbonate minerals. Higher degrees of liberation were observed in the size range of 75 - 212 microns. Liberation grind tests were performed by grinding the ore to different top sizes in a closed circuit laboratory ball mill with the ground samples subjected to Davis tube tests. The yield, grade and recovery were used as parameters to plan a two-stage wet drum magnetic separation based on grinding the primary magnetic concentrate. After subjecting the final magnetic concentrate to flotation to remove residual silica a concentrate assaying more than 68 per cent was obtained. The non-magnetic product from the primary magnetic separation was deslimed, ground, blended with secondary magnetic tails and was subjected to a two pass wet high intensity magnetic separation (WHIMS). The WHIMS concentrate was further subjected to two-stage flotation to remove residual silica to obtain concentrates assaying 64 - 66 per cent Fe. The final combined concentrate from wet drum magnet and WHIMS after flotation could yield a blast furnace (BF) grade pellet feed concentrate assaying more than 65 per cent Fe with a yield about 39 per cent and iron recovery about 70 per cent. A direct reduction (DR) grade pellet feed concentrate assaying 67 per cent Fe with a yield of about 28 - 31 per cent and iron recovery about 53 - 57 per cent could also be produced. Based on the test work, a process flow sheet was developed to beneficiate the BHQ ore for production of BF/DR grade pellet feed concentrate. In this paper methodology adopted for selection of individual process, various diagnostic tests performed to rule out other beneficiation processes and the final process flow sheet development is presented and discussed in detail.

Jan 1, 2007

By T J. Orr

The changing demographics of the mining industry make successful passing of knowledge and skills to the next generation critical. Training methods and technologies are being developed to meet this need. Twenty years ago classroom training was largely a one-way transfer of knowledge through instructor lectures. In contrast, instructors today can use virtual reality technologies to guide trainees as they fully participate in learning experiences. Trainees can interact with the virtual work environment, co-workers, and equipment without being exposed to workplace hazards. The speed of advancement in mine safety, health, and production training shows no sign of slowing in the next 20 years. Researchers at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health have studied and participated in the evolution of miner training. A look at training materials they have created in the past and those they are currently developing reveals changes in methods and technologies over time and also key characteristics which have remained constant. Possibilities for the future can be discussed in the framework of an implementation of virtual reality in new miner training sessions. The example computer-based training package teaches new miners to read mine maps and provides opportunity to practice navigation skills in a virtual mine. With this æserious gameÆ, trainees experience the look and feel of moving through an underground coal mine while in the safety of their classroom. During field-testing in 2007, trainees and instructors responded very favourably to this new way of learning. The software was usable by mine trainers with even limited computer expertise and could be installed on the affordable computers they were using for their more traditional slide presentations. The Underground Coal Mine Map Reading TrainingÆs foundation on past successful development strategies and its acceptance by todayÆs instructors and trainees provide valuable lessons for developing training materials, strategies, and technologies for miningÆs future.

Jan 1, 2008

The author reviews design evaluation theory and existing optinustion tools and then describes how these have guided recent developments in Whittle Programming's strategic mine design package: Four-X. A new package - Reserve Estimator is also d

Jan 1, 1998

By D La Rosa, G Power, K Riihioja

In underground mining, the often unpredictable variability in ground conditions may lead to the application of suboptimal drilling and blasting patterns, resulting in poor performance. Experience and pertinent information to develop and implement improved drilling and blasting strategies can be easily lost due to the lack of means to help engineers store, access and manage this information. The Julius Kruttschnitt Mineral Research Centre (JKMRC) through a series of industry funded applied research projects has been developing a system that can facilitate the drill and blast design, analysis, auditing, documentation and data management processes. The system is a hybrid between an information management software module called BMS (Blast Management System) and two design and analysis modules, 2DRing for underground production blasting activities and 2DFace for development blasting activities. A concise description of the software tools and its applications are given in this paper, supported by two case studies. Opportunities to further develop the software are also highlighted, they include options to integrate these tools to existing drilling and blasting automation systems and portable computing technology to facilitate the design, implementation and continuous improvement processes.

Jan 1, 2001

By Heyes GW, Orrock GI

The fine grained complex orebody at Elura contains galena, silver and sphalerite in a matrix which is mostly pyrite; sulphides account for about 90% of the orebody. A differential flotation circuit is operated to con- centrate lead and silver in the first section and zinc in the second. The metallurgical performance to date indicates the need for improvement. The lead section has been sampled in detail to comprehensively assess its overall performance and to define problems associated with lead and silver flotation. The substantial amount of pyrite in the feed dominated the perfor- mance of each stage of the separation. It was responsible for extensive dilution of all concentrates and, as a consequence, for very large circulating loads. The rougher concentrate contained 68% pyrite some of which was rejected through the three stages of cleaning to 39% in the final concen- trate. However, this was still sufficient to hold the assay of this product below 45% Pb. Size by size behaviour shows that flotation rates of the valuable minerals, as characterised by their rate coefficients, were low through- out the circuit. There was a significant deterioration in these rates between rougher and cleaner I stages which resulted in large circulating loads between these stages. There was practically no recovery of coarse valu- able minerals to the final concentrate. The dilution of the final concen- trate by non-sulphide gangue was not a major problem. If the recovery of the galena and silver in the +38¦m size range could be raised to that of the - 381Lm size range, galena recovery would rise from 78% to 86% and silver recovery would improve from 46% to 59%. The Pb grade of the final concentrate would remain the same.

Jan 1, 1988

By D Nourry

Optimising the blast is a major issue in the blasting business. It generally means acting on the blasting pattern (drilling, charging, detonating) in order to get a given æresultÆ. This result may either be related to economic reasons, such as the fragmentation influencing productivity, or technical reasons, for example vibrations and projections. Within the frame of the EEC funded Brite-Euram project entitled æBlast-ControlÆ, involving academic research and applied expertise, a general methodology was developed to approach such a problem and currently applied to the industrial partners of the project and final end-users of the generated results. These partners are the limestone ALZO quarry of the CALCINOR group in the north of Spain and the dolomite DMD (Dolomies-de-Marche-les-Dames) quarry of the LHOIST group in the east of Belgium. A first part of the project, over 18 months, was dedicated to establishing a clear relationship between productivity of operations from drilling to primary crushing and the fragmentation resulting from the blast. Extensive monitoring of blasting, production performance and fragmentation data was carried out and automatically collected into a database on both quarries. As expected, it appeared that excessive amounts of fines or boulders were substantially reducing productivity and thus profitability of the operation. Furthermore, an æoptimalÆ fragmentation was assessed for the quarries to run at the best (high throughput, low cost). The second and last part, for the remaining 18 months, was then dedicated to adapting the blasting practice in order to orientate the fragmentation towards a æbetterÆ one. A very common problem normally addressed by any consultant. Nevertheless, the target was not limited to solving the problem for these two quarries, but also to develop a generic method to address this blasting adaptation process and to implement it into a computerised tool. At this stage, it is then obvious that portability of the method and the system are major qualities to be looked for. This paper is aimed to present how this method was developed, how the system was implemented and how it was finally used.

Jan 1, 2001

By Tukkimies M

During the late-1980s crawler-mounted crusher units established their position in the aggregates industry. Between 1986 and 1994 about 700 units were delivered to customers all over the world for surface operations, mainly in Scandinavia and central Europe. The crawler-mounted units are popular among smaller crushing operators because they are versatile and easy to move between sites. In large quarries the greatest benefit is obtained by combining a primary crawler-mounted crusher unit with mobile belt conveyors which eliminates the need for costly haulage by dump truck. Savings of up to 40 per cent in production costs prior to secondary crushing have been achieved. Today the environmental aspect in quarrying is assuming ever greater importance. Besides being costly the dump trucks are also the major source of dust and exhaust fumes within a quarry. A complete face crushing system consisting of a crawler-mounted crusher unit and mobile belt conveyors can be electrically driven and can be equipped with dust encapsulation and dust collectors. A mobile crushing unit is not a new idea. From the mid-1950s onwards the mobile and self-propelled units have been built equipped with crawlers, tyres or walking mechanisms, with weights usually of 500-1000 t. Due to their massive size these unit are not mobile in the same way as the today's mobile units. It is not feasible to move them more than a few times a year unlike today's fully mobile units which are often relocated once an hour. This means that the massive units can not continuously follow the production face and their loading always requires a certain amount of haulage. Today the mining industry is facing new challenges. With low mineral prices and high labour costs, increasing productivity is essential for survival. New standards are also being set for the labour safety and the environment. Large research programs have been launched to meet these challenges. However, technology which can partly solve these problems already exist and is only waiting to be introduced into underground applications as well - the mobile crushing unit followed by belt conveying. As in surface operations the elimination of truck haulage also brings considerable savings in operating costs in underground mines and reduces the amount of dust and exhaust gases generated. An additional benefit especially in underground applications is improved safety. In an underground mine most accidents are caused by moving vehicles.

Jan 1, 1995

By T Napier-Munn, E Louwrens, L Keeney

Geometallurgical characterisation of ore deposits is accepted practice in some parts of the mining industry today. Its primary aim is to provide constrained inputs that reflect inherent geological variability and its impact on metallurgical performance for the deposit. Geometallurgy improves project value because it suggests more valuable alternatives for scheduling and processing through an increased knowledge and understanding of the interactions of rock properties and extractive technologies. Lower project cost (both capital and processing) and improved recoveries are the result from closer tailoring of the mining and mineral processing strategies to the characteristics of the resource (Dunham, Vann and Coward, 2011). Tailings storage facilities (TSFs) can be seen as potential resources and it is argued that fundamental geometallurgical characterisation as applied in ore deposit characterisation should also be applied to planning the retreatment of TSFs. This paper will describe a research project at Julius Kruttschnitt Mineral Resource Centre assessing if geometallurgical principles and methodologies can successfully be applied to TSFs as they have been to primary deposits. The project is establishing a new standard method of tailings evaluation which will include a 3D spatial model of the tailings resource. Initial domaining of the TSFs was done using principal component analysis followed by k-means cluster analysis based on chemical assays from drill core samples. The subsequent characterisation of the drill core samples has involved chemical, mineralogical and metallurgical profiling, with a range of metallurgical tests being conducted on the samples. This characterisation step is followed by class-based analysis, predictive modelling and process performance domaining with the ultimate objective of establishing a 3D spatial model incorporating geochemical, mineralogical and metallurgical performance data. This approach, which takes into account processing performance permits a more realistic (as compared to doing limited chemical assays and metallurgical testing) economic evaluation of the potential of reprocessing the tailings material. It is believed that the approach is generic and can be applied to other TSFs being considered for reprocessing. The present case study has also established the gold, copper, magnetite and cobalt deportment for an iron oxide copper-gold deposit tailings resource.CITATION:Louwrens, E, Napier-Munn, T and Keeney, L, 2015. Geometallurgical characterisation of a tailings storage facility – a novel approach, in Proceedings Tailings and Mine Waste Management for the 21st Century , pp 125–132 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Jul 27, 2015

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

The purpose, basic data requirements and various analysis/modelling tools employed for geomechanical evaluation of mine-site conditions are overviewed. The impact and application of computer technology are dis- cussed. Broad guidelines and criteria are presented for establishment of a practical geomechanics data-base system to yield infor- mation suitable for mine design purposes. Future needs of the Australian mining in- dustry are examined.

Jan 1, 1983

By Roderick W. F

The equipment and procedures used for green pellet production on a laboratory scale are given, together with a description of the straight grate pellet strand analogue which has been developed to examine the response of various ore types to heat hardening. The capabilities of the analogue are illustrated with data obtained from the balling and drying studies using a manganese ore. Differences in inter-batch pellet quality are discussed, and method of minimising the experimental error that can arise from these differences is Presented.

Jan 1, 1974

The writer had the pleasure of several months' laboratory tests on a metallurgical process for copper ores devised by Mr. W. H. Corbould, Consulting Engineer, North Queensland. Mr. Corbould's research work in this direction commenced somesix years ago, and he eventually succeeded in obtaining a good extraction of copper and a resulting solution practically free from iron and other impurities. The commercial operation of the process was investigated and special machines with novel features were designed. OUTLINE OF THE PROCESS.The process described in detail in the following pages, required for successful application that the ores contain at least the minimum ratio of sulphur to copper, consistent with the production of sulphadising roasting conditions.

Jan 1, 1921

By Deutsch G. P

The output of an underground mine often depends entirely on the mine winding system. -Decisions made--at the design stage affect the economy and operation'of the mine'.througb -its entire life. A modern mine winding installation is an integrated system and its design requires a multidisciplinary approach including expertise in the-materials handling, mining, mechanical, civil, structural, electrical and control engineering fields. The paper-sets out the elements of typical mine wind- ing systems-and describes some of the more important decisions which must be made during the planning and design process, It is no longer.adequate to. base the choice of a system on the pre- ferences and experiences of individuals. Major Australian winding install- ations are usually designed on the basis of overseas experience and some of the detail design is often carried, out overseas. Differences in basic design criteria occur from country to

Jan 1, 1973

By Rashad MZ

The evaluation of ore deposits consumes much effort, cost and time, hence research work must aim to minimize these inputs with no loss of accuracy. The present study is devoted to assess the optimum conditions and methods of calculations which give minimum costs of ore exploration. An area of (a x a) where "a" is the zone of influence of the semi-variogram, i.e. (2800 x 2800 square metres) located within the Abu Tartur plateau is the subject of the intensive study. The distances between boreholes are varied ie. a/4, a/6, a/8 and a/ 10 respectively. The average ore grade (G), thickness (t) and relative ore reserves (tG) are calculated by four methods. The results indicate that at a distance equal to a/5, the inverse distance squared method gives the best results. These parameters save about 50 percent of the cost of exploration with a map accuracy greater than 90 Percent.

Jan 1, 1987

Since the introduction of the Neil George Five Point Safety System, to the underground sections of The Zinc Corporation, Limited and New Broken Hill Consolidated Limited mines in March, 1969, the Disabling Injury Frequency Rate has been halved and shows signs of contin- uing to fall. The total accident frequency rate has also fallen, although the decrease has not been as significant. Before the introduction of the Neil George Safety System, analyses of the direct causes of accidents showed that approx- imately 25 per cent were caused by "unsafe conditions", while 75 per cent were attribu- table to "unsafe acts". Within twelve months of introducing the system, these percentages had significantly changed to 7 per cent unsafe conditions and 93 per cent unsafe acts. Today, the figures are 3 per cent and 97 per cent respectively, and these figures clearly show that the main emphasis in the current programme must be directed towards making the operating men safety conscious. The effort must be focused on changing the minds of men.

Jan 1, 1975

By Hall S. F, Quast K. B Newell R, Ketteridge I. B

For the past six years research funded by the State Energy Research Advisory Commit- tee of South Australia has been conducted at the South Australian Institute of Technology, School of Mining and Metallurgy on South Australian lignites. A major part of this work has been a study of the potential bene- fication of Bowmans lignite using hydrometal- lurgical techniques. The Bowmans lignite de- posit is the largest of its type in South Australia and is a major energy reserve for the state. The utilization potential of this deposit is reduced by its very high insitu NaCl content which presents serious problems for any process. Previous research conducted by Readett and co-workers (1984a & b) has shown that NaCl is amenable to extraction using simple batch water leaching operations. This leaching has been successfully described using a two stage diffusion model derived from first principles based on a simple diaphragm cell.

Jan 1, 1987

A combination of the needs of business, employee desires and safety and health considerations is stimulating increasing attention to the time spent by people at work and the timing of that work. Particularly we are seeing: - innovative work schedules for 24-hour mining businesses; and - response from industry to accommodate the needs, even the desires, of employees in return for systems which are more productive and more capital efficient. There appears to be an evolutionary trend for business management to become more sophisticated and responsive to the need for achieving close to best cost work schedules to sustain continuous improvement. The underlying motivating forces driving this trend for improved techniques in organising attendance at, and time spent at work, is the seemingly inseparable combination of technological advance and ever-increasing accumulation of capital. The mining industry has not remained untouched by this thrust for ever-increasing need for best use of labour, to adopt advances in technology and to provide attractive opportunities for putting accumulated capital to work. An essential component of this on-going thrust is a substantial effort by the mining industry to improve the performance of labour by providing most-productive work schedules.

Jan 1, 1996

By Davison GR

The cost of drilling consumables is always a large component of any mine budget. It is important that this cost be carefully examined with a view to reducing the overall cost per inetre or at least minimising its escalation.At Renison it is considered that the only way to ensure drilling costs do not rise unduly is through a total system of control from purchase to disposal.In 1979 extension of an existing drill supply service contract was carefully examined and abandoned in favour of a hybrid system. This system is providing a great deal of control over the use of drilling consumables and has maintained a relatively constant cost per drilled metre over the last five years.Current consignment stock contracts for drilling consumables are strictly specified by the Technical Services section of the Mine Department and consumables purchased under these contracts are distributed and refurbished/sharpened by a contractor.The total result of this package is individual drilling items that achieve the best cost per metre and careful distribution and maintenance to ensure maximum life.

Jan 1, 1985