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Mine scheduling is a process which represents what happens in a mine over time. An optimised plan involves selecting the best workable plan which meets a stated objective. This paper discusses some of the theory and philosophy behind mine scheduling and explains how scheduling is a step in the total iterative mine planning process. Several schedules may be necessary before arriving at a mine plan which can be considered optimal. A description of broadbrush and detailed scheduling is given and the features of computer assisted scheduling are also described. The use of mathematical modelling techniques in conjunction with scheduling to optimise the mine plan is explained. The need to incorporate these techniques to optimise the whole mining system rather than only a part, is emphasised.

Jan 1, 1991

An efficient energy management programme can often significantly reduce a company's energy costs. The programme consists of a series of steps, namely a statement of support from senior management, assigning the management team, the energy audit, defining the goals and comwnicating with and training employees. The energy audit provides the information base from which the company can start to control and improve upon energy Usage.

Jan 1, 1983

Hilton Mine is located 20 km north of the city of Mount Isa and Isa Mine in far north west Queensland. The sealed road used by the 500 employees to commute from the city is part of the Barkly Highway linking Mt Isa to the Northern Territory.Although discovered in 1947, major underground development did not start until late-1982 and first cut-and-fill production in mid-1987. The J53 exploration shaft was sunk in 1970-73 and the main P49 shaft in 1973-75. Since January 1990, most of Hilton ore production has been treated in the Hilton Concentrator, and concentrates trucked in slurry tankers to Isa for smelting or shipping.

Jan 1, 1993

By Riel RG

Nickel and cobalt mineralisation at the Murrin Murrin deposits, in the North Eastern Goldfields region of Western Australia, occurs within laterites developed on Archaean serpentinised peridotite units. Lateritic weathering of the peridotite has produced a resource of 116.8 Mt at 1.10 per cent Ni and 0.082 per cent Co (resource at May 1996 with a 0.8 per cent Ni cut-off; see Fazakerley and Monti, this volume). The mineralogy of the Murrin Murrin laterites was investigated to identify the minerals hosting significant Ni mineralisation. Laterite profiles were studied using X-ray Diffraction (XRD), impregnated polished thin sections, and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) Electron Microprobe analysis, of RC percussion drill chips. This paper summarises the results of these studies, and briefly discusses the nature of the minerals hosting Ni mineralisation.

Jan 1, 1996

In the past five years, there has been an evolution in the assessment and control of mining risks in the New South Wales coal mining industry. This change has involved the development and use of structured, systematic, team-based risk assessment exercises to identify, assess and control unacceptable risks to people, equipment and production. The outcomes have improved the management systems in the mine. This paper discusses the evolution of the risk assessment approach in equipment design and mine operations, as well as the specific risk assessment methodology. The paper also presents the reactive side of risk management, the method of investigating failures in the management system, usually referred to as incidents or accidents.

Jan 1, 1994

This paper will examine some of the significant developments in the training field in Australia in the past decade and the application of these changes to the mining industry generally, and the coal sector specifically. Three major aspects will be examined:1. Competency - the use of Industry Competency Standards and how these can be used for achieving enterprise performance requirements2. Assessment - making judgements about an individual's competence, and using a rigorous assessment system as the basis for the "authorisation" system at a mine3. Evaluation - ways to evaluate the return on investment in training, and convincing CEO's/shareholders that your training dollar is being spent wisely.Before examining these issues, it is important to understand the drivers of change in the training systems in Australia, and the functions that Industry Training Advisory Bodies (ITABs) perform.

Jan 1, 1998

Some of the major factors affecting ore reserve estimation in gold mines are discussed together with their impact on computational methods.The major priority in ore reserve estimation is to get sampling and geological problems resolved. Poor basic information cannot be remedied by mathematical methods.Generally the more complex a deposit becomes the greater the need for subjective assessment and the less applicable are more complex ore reserve methodologies.

Jan 1, 1984

A report is given of the problems of finance and physical resources that currently affect The University of New South Wales, and of some of the measures adopted to alleviate them. Partly as' a result of review procedures, a School of Mines was formed to amalgamate Applied Geology and Mining Engineering, and to add the skills of extractive metallurgy to produce a group to match the needs of the minerals industry. A review of courses within the School indicated a need for enhanced computer teaching, which is partially negated by a lack of resources. It also shows an overcrowded course whose structure could possibly benefit from a split into managerial and specialist streams.

Jan 1, 1986

By Dunlop G. A, Cantrell R. A

The metallurgical and engineering requirements that form the basis for planning column flotation Pilot Plant testwork are reviewed. Pilot plant operating issues are discussed and a basis for the testwork program formulated. The application of the testwork results to engineering design and scale-up is briefly reviewed.

Jan 1, 1992

In both exploration and mining, the laboratory is often seen as a cost rather than a profit centre. The aim in most mining companies is to increase profits by reducing costs, so the budget for the laboratory is under constant pressure.There is another option; to see the laboratory as the brain of the operation. By lifting the status of the laboratory and treating it as a profit centre, mine costs may be reduced in other ways, e.g. reduction in milling costs. This change of status will require investing more capital in better equipment, more training for employees and more employees to carry out project research.There are many examples of major costs being incurred because of inadequate laboratory work. Conversely, by spending more money on laboratories and their activities, overall costs can be reduced or profits enhanced.

Jan 1, 2002

Claiming the Green Revolution - Protecting Investment in Green Mineral Processing

Sep 13, 2010

By Concha F, Sampaio R

In most of the literature, the hydrocyclone is viewed as a black box in which only global variables are present and where the equations are obtained by curve fitting. Recently some work has appeared where the Navier Stokes equations are solved numerically in the hydrocyclone geometry. However, in all of these works the air core surface, which has an important influence on the hydrocyclone dynamical behaviour, is modelled as being a cylindrical surface of fixed radius. In this work, we model the surface of the air core as a free-boundary which has to satisfy a jump condition, the Young-Laplace equation, relating the physics to the geometry. Based on this model, we are able to explain, qualitatively, some phenomena that have puzzled research workers in the field for many years, and can show, through the air core behaviour, the influence of material parameters on the performance of the hydrocyclone.

Jan 1, 1993

By Kellett KR

Gold Mining at the Lancefield Mine was commenced initially in 1897 and continued intermittently through to 1956 when rising costs and mine cave-in forced closure. The mine was redeveloped in 1981 and a new-oxide treatment plant commissioned, followed by a new refractory treatment plant in late 1982. Both these treatment plants are located within the Windarra Nickel Project plant area.The refractory ore is processed by fluidised bed roasting of flotation concentrates. This is carried out in two series connected reactors to maximise arsenic and sulphur eliminations and to minimise reagent consumption. For gold recovery the zinc precipitation process was initially used, to be later replaced by carbon-in-pulp.

Jan 1, 1984

The energy input requirement to produce the molten slag associated with iron production to the modern Australian blast furnace, is estimated to be 2.OMJ/kg. In converting blast furnace slag to products of higher commercial value, advantage should be taken of this energy content by transporting molten slag from the furnace for beneficiation and processing in the molten state at an "off furnace site". The refined slag melt may then be converted into a variety of products for use in the building and construction industries, e.g. slag cement, slag sand and slag aggregates, insulation wool and various slag ceramic products. Some results of studies into slag melt beneficiation and conversion processes involving both molten and cold granular slag raw material, are presented.

Jan 1, 1979

By Scott RM

The project management and construction plans adopted by Davy McKee for the Cooper Basin Liquids Project resulted in a project notable for the Relatively short duration from initiation of the design through to liquids production. Two locations were involved, one at Moomba in the far northeast of South Australia some 800 km from Adelaide, and the other at Port Bonython some 40 km from Whyalla. Total expenditure by the owners at the two sites was in excess of $600 million. Matters covered include organisation, transport, construction, industrial relations, project services and commissioning.

Jan 1, 1986

Supergene enrichment of ilmenite occurs through a complex series of reactions with initial oxidation and hydration followed by leaching and dehydration. Lateritization appears to be associated with the early phase of the supergene process and if ilmenite grains are encased in iron oxides no further alteration proceeds.

Jan 1, 1986

By George CW

Western Mining Corporation (W.M.C.)operate a 30 000 tpa nickel refinery at Kwinana, W.A. using the Sherritt Gordon Process. Following ammonia/air leaching of sulphideminerals and subsequent copper removal, nickel metal is produced as powder by hydrogen red-uction of the ammonium sulphate-rich solution. Batchwise reduction in pressure autoclaves is preceded by an oxidation/hydrolysis step to ensure nickel powder quality.The reduction process is energy intensive, requiring high temperatures and pressures. Present energy requirement is 24 GJ per tonne of nickel reduced. Of this, 95% represents steam and hydrogen consumption and 5% electric power. The design and operation of the red-uction circuit is reviewed, outlining the main areas of steam and hydrogen usage.

Jan 1, 1985

By Meakins R. L, Talaska A, Kenny D, Haycraft J. A, Dickson B. L

A vehicle-mounted radiation detector interfaced to a microprocessor called PRAM (programmable radioactive analyser mobile) has been developed to provide grade control for selective mining of a soft rock uranium ore. The grade of ore over which the vehicle passes is determined and indicated by several coloured lights to a pegman who walks behind the vehicle. Coloured pegs are then laid out to mark the uranium grade ranges on the floor of the mine pit. Comparison between grade ranges determined by the PRAM and by prior drilling and downhole logging at the Yeelirrie deposit, Western Australia indicate good agreement. Use of the PRAM decreases the cost, manpower and time required to grade extensive areas of a mine pit floor.

Jan 1, 1982

By Rao SR, Finch JA

Sphalerite flotation without Cu activation in the presence of iron ions has been reported and studied as a function of pH, dissolved oxygen content and pulp potential with both single mineral and ore samples (Leroux, Rao and Finch, 1987; Xu et al, 1992; Zhang, Rao and Finch, 1992). The flotation was attributed to ferric hydroxy xanthate. As a prelude to surface analysis to try to identify the species responsible, bulk precipitates formed from iron salt and xanthate solutions under different conditions were obtained and analysed. Analysis techniques included ultraviolet spectroscopy,infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and Mossbauer spectroscopy. It is tentatively concluded that the bulk precipitates contain three ferric components, two hydroxy xanthates (Fe(OH)2X and Fe(OH)X2) and iron oxide (FeO.).

Jan 1, 1993

By A E. C Peres, J D. Donda

With the aim of producing a concentrate with silica content lower than 1.0 per cent SiO2, laboratory experiments were conducted using a sample of the final concentrate from the Samarco iron ore flotation plant (mechanical cells circuit). The sample contained 3.08 per cent SiO2. This sample was split in two size ranges: >105 ¦m and 2. The >105 ¦m fraction, representing 23.3 per cent of the initial mass, was re-ground to 100 per cent 2 content were obtained. Considering the mass proportions of the two size fractions, the calculated silica content of the combined concentrate was 0.68 per cent, which is considered satisfactory for the objective of this investigation. The major reasons for the higher (0.90 per cent) silica content of the concentrate from the coarse fraction are the presence of silicon in the lattice of goethite and the presence of residual silicious slimes in the pores of porous hematite.

Jan 1, 2005