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The paper examines the current status of risk and accepted practice in mining geomechanics. It explores some deficiencies in human capital, risk analysis and our future technical needs, and suggests ways of improving our estimates of slope reliability through knowledge sharing and research.

Jan 1, 2003

Bougainville copper concentrate was leached with a strain of Thiobacillus ferrooxidans (SPKI) in a 5 per cent CO2 nitrogen atmosphere.Copper solubilization was 100 per cent in presence of bacteria and only 30 per cent in a sterile acid control medium.Anaerobic copper solubilization rates were one quarter of those measured under aerobic conditions and did not generate acidity.

Jan 1, 1985

When a fire or explosion occurs underground the ventilation maybe disrupted and the atmos- phere may become oxygen deficient and filled with noxious and flammable gases. The basic survival technique for:any man alive underground is to escape and this may be achieved and rescue workers may enter such atmospheres to carry out rescue work underground by using appropriate breathing apparatus.

Jan 1, 1983

By Bounsombath P

Underground mine development remains as one of the most important factors in cost effective mining. Various forms of continuous development have been proposed with some of the earliest conceived centuries ago.The bore, fire and muck approach remains, in the late 20th century, as the predominant method of underground development, despite intense efforts over the past decade or so to develop other systems.Following a comprehensive analysis of development in the Australian mining industry, the reasons why the traditional development cycle has remained unchanged are identified and potential directions for the future are suggested.

Jan 1, 1992

There are a number of methodologies which can be used for the preparation of environ- mental impact statements. Selection of a method depends upon the type of project and the environmental characteristics of the area where it is to be built. Most methods are satisfactory for assessing impacts on the physical environment but less so for the biological. Major problems may arise in deal ing with sociological issues because value judgements are involved. Several methods of approaching problems of this nature have been tried with some limited success.

Jan 1, 1976

By R A. Bearman

Recent demand pressures for iron ore should not distract from the longer term view that intense competition in the industry has demanded technological innovation of a high order. There is a long track record of successful innovation underpinned by a solid base of scientific research and knowledge. By comment on recent developments in trucks, comminution and direct smelting, this paper suggests that innovation is still a key attribute of the industry. The spending of the minerals industry on underlying science, however, is not particularly high. By looking at other industries we can ascertain that for step change technologies, it is particularly advantageous to have a solid base of science and technology underpinning developments.

Jan 1, 2005

This paper describes thick seam mining as practised at Westfalen Colliery, Redbank via Ipswich,in South Queensland. The author describes the develop- ment of the mine from conception to the time of successful operation and compares the two systems of mining adopted at the colliery.

Jan 1, 1976

This paper provides a financial perspective to the valuation of Australian resource companies and projects. Valuation exercises need, however, to be seen in the broader context of a thorough business appraisal, one that incorporates all disciplines employed in the resources industry. Fine tuning a discount rate or determining a particular capital structure is likely to be less important to valuation than an adequate understanding of industry dynamics and a company's likely performance in future years.

Jan 1, 1989

We live in a world in crisis. One where the tides of change run ever faster. Where the only thing we can be sure of is change itself. The challenge we face, therefore, is not how to resist the forces that move us nor even to try to predict where they will lead us, but to harness their energy and use their momentum to find new and innovative solutions to problems that can seem intractable. Indeed, crisis is often the catalyst which energises a business to change its technology and to form a partnership with a company which specialises in pioneering new technology.

Jan 1, 1993

By Whiteley M, Robinson T, Vernon B

The Western Australian gold industry has approximately 100 operating plants, mainly CIP/CIL. The nature of the State's rapidly expanding gold industry gave rise to concerns over management of the cyanide hazard, in that most plants are remote from major population centres, have a workforce with a high turn over and use highly saline process water. Approximately 4,500 workers in the industry have the potential to be exposed to cyanide in the course of their normal work.This paper outlines the risk management strategy developed by Government and industry to monitor atmospheric HCN gas in the work environment and the role of continuing education and training along with regular site inspections by Department of Mines Inspectors.

Jan 1, 1990

Because the Australian resource industry differs from the resource industries of other countries, direct application of manpower planning processes derived from overseas experience may be singularly inappropriate for Australian projects. Too often in Australia, project manpower planning has been undertaken as an afterthought to technical and financial analysis. A wide variety of complex and interrelated manpower considerations should be evaluated from the beginning of project planning, even at feasibility study stage, and relevant deductions should be incorporated into all other planning. Many manpower factors can be considered sequentially but it is probably necessary to undertake critical path analysis for manpower planning. The paper highlights some key factors involved in project manpower planning and suggests a simple linear planning sequence which integrates the analysis of factors and can in turn be integrated into technical and financial planning.

Jan 1, 1983

By Massy-Greene RB

Limited recourse financing techniques reduce the financial exposure of equity holders to major mining projects by transfering some of the risks to the banks which provide loan funds for project development. This can only be achieved by a clear understanding of the principles involved. Engineering and management decisions on how the resource is to be developed and extracted must be made in the light of lender's requirements. The structure of sales contracts, joint venture agreements and many other documents can be important in limited recourse financing. If projections show that the debt can be repaid from project cash flow, loan agreements and other arrangements can restrict lenders ability to look to the equity holders for repayment of project loans.

Jan 1, 1981

Accident control has been a pre occupation of progressive industrial and mining companies for many years but few have attempted more than direct injury control. In recent years, particularly in North America, analyses of accident costs have shown that material damage resulting from accidents is usually of greater economic significance than injuries and this has led to the concept of loss control. Loss control is an attempt to take the emphasis off injury prevention and to concentrate on the basic factors which affect both the health of the individual and of the company. The deterrent to greater acceptance of this philosophy has been the apparent diffi- culties of implementing a loss control programme but Associated Minerals Consolidated Limited has adopted a simple approach. It has had a minimum disturbing effect on normal operations because existing systems have been modified to provide the new information required. It is suggested that the programme outlined is applicable to other mining ventures and is a practical method of providing benefits for both the company and its employees.

Jan 1, 1975

In the consideration of coal resources in this country one of the most neglected aspects and perhaps one of the most important is that of the geologic controls on coal formation. The composition, properties, thickness and distribution of the coal are all determined by geological factors. The extent and amounts of coal to be found in the South Auckland area have great economic significance, and are in the main considered here. Upheaval of the New Zealand geosyncline during the Rangitata Orogeny produced a system of parallel, north-south trending basement ridges and basins in the South Auckland area. A subtropical climate and relative tectonic stability allowed deep weathering of these mesozoic greywackes in the late Cretaceous and early Tertiary. Such weathering, markedly reduced the landscape relief, and provided vast supplied of very fine detritus for later sedimentation as the Waikato Coal Measures. This coal measure phase marked the beginnings of Tertiary  sedimentation in this region and represented a change from a sub-aerial weathering regime to a fresh water swamp environment.

Jan 1, 1976

By Sroka J

A comprehensive feasibility study should be submitted as part of the loan application to a financial institution for debt funding of a proposed project. Its scope should include technical, costing, marketing and other aspects pertinent to the project. The technical presentation should be sufficiently detailed to show that the assumpt- ions concerning future performance are realistic. A lender needs to be convinced that the capital and operating cost estimates are conservatively based with adequate allowances included for contingency and escalation. The marketing assumptions determine the level of revenue from which operating cost, debt servicing, and other commitments are to be met. The foregoing aspects establish the economic viability of the project, and are therefore relevant to the risk assessment and cash flow analysis carried out by a potential lender which determine his ultimate lending Decision

Jan 1, 1978

By James DG, Turner JH

This paper describes laboratory testwork for the beneficiation of a medium grade iron ore, using Wet High Intensity Magnetic Separation (WHIMS). Factors leading to the selection of machine type for this method of separation are discussed and the design of the WHIMS section flowsheet of an iron ore beneficiation production plant are described including methods to achieve operational flexibility and adequate protection of the WHIMS separating chamber. The results of the commissioning and operation of the production plant over several years are described, together with experience developed in plant operation. Data on recovery of hematite over the full range of size fractions treated is presented and compared with data in the literature. Potential methods of improving plant performance are discussed. KEYWORDS: Iron ore beneficiation, plant design, wet high intensity magnetic separation.

Jan 1, 1993

One of the major changes in the resource industry in the nineties has been the re-internationalisation of the industry. The history of the resource business has been one of companies from the developed world utilising the cash flows from their operations to explore and develop mines in less developed regions of the world. This resource development has progressively generated wealth and economic development, which in turn, has led to a new generation of exploration and mining projects. In South America, Chile had led the way in a mining resurgence, now closely followed by Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela and Peru. Although Chile has long had a significant copper mining industry, the pre-nationalisation phase was driven by American capital; the current phase has been spearheaded by R.T.Z. - B.H.P. at Escondida with Canadian junior companies, in particular, providing major speculative impetus. The Australian junior companies have not been significant in South America.

Jan 1, 1995

In order to achieve optimum results for money spent in construction of new projects there is a need for mining developers to pay greater attention to cost control. Control is achieved by establishing a frame of reference, a method of checking and a means of remedial action. The frame of reference is a well coded set of budget estimates which graduate into definitive estimates as design is completed, backed up by drawings, specifications and bills of quantities. The method of checking is provided by cost engineering and quantity surveying input, at both feasibility study and design and documentation stages. Remedial action follows if the checking process reveals a need. In large complex projects where construction completion time is often of prime importance, control of costs can sometimes be relegated to second place. To avoid this it may be necessary to include specialists in cost control in project management teams. Quantity surveyors are trained specifically in construction economics and can provide develop- ers and project engineers with valuable support at all stages of construction.

Jan 1, 1983

By M A. Faizulin, N G. Stukalova

The present till now practice of averaging of ore by metal content at mining-dressing enterprises does not allow evaluating objectively really existing regularities of dressing process. The processing of large statistical data by specially designed methods has revealed the relationships of extracted mass of metals into concentrates when processing of ore at preparation plants. The analysis of the obtained relationships points to necessity of timely control by flows of ore with due account of different sorts of metal. For this problem solving it is offered to use specially designed methods on carrying out of calendar planning of a mining and shipment of ore at open casts, based on ranked arriving of flows of different sorts ores to preparation plant. The given methods includes economic-mathematical model forming and its implementing by worked out method. The formed model allows taking into account different technological and organisation limits, typical operation conditions of open cast and preparation plants. Using this methods of control of mining operations and designed on its basis the complex of software allows increasing volume of metals, extracting into concentrate, up to two per cent without any additional costs and saving of the existing technological schemes at preparation plant.

Jan 1, 2003

Modern mining and coal cleaning techniques lead to the generation of large quantities of fines which give rise to problems in their storage, handling, transportation and further processing. Pelletisation, a method of particle agglomeration, can alleviate such problems. This paper provides a brief overview of the principles of pelletisation and a survey of the coal pelletisation literature. Then it reports results from an experimental investigation of the effect of surface active reagents on coal pelletisation. Finally the paper is concluded with a few remarks on applying the results from the experimental study to practical coal agglomeration.

Jan 1, 2000