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By J F. C L Costa, J C. Koppe

The goal of this study is to characterise co-processed clinkers by identifying the most common minor elements, their distribution in the clinkers and possible effects on the mineralogical properties of the same. The results show the presence of an elevated content of transition metals, especially manganese concentrated in the matrix (up to three per cent) of the clinkers. Anomalous concentrations of arsenic have also been detected, especially at silicate crystal edges. The results indicate that the tracer elements can perfectly be associated to the mineralogical characteristics of the clinkers.

Jan 1, 2008

By M Dietrich

The paper describes an efficient method for analysing the different attachment kinematics of excavators and other linkages by taking into account digging forces, the workspace and the stability of the machines. The different attachment kinematic systems of hydraulic excavators and a æclassical analysing methodÆ will be presented. The method was integrated as a plug-in for the multibody simulation (MBS) software MSC.ADAMS to create an easy to use solution for design engineers. A comparison of the new MBS-solution with the classical static analysis is a part of this paper and shows the advantages of the new method. This takes into account the manifold and new dynamic analysing opportunities, as well as more detailed models leading to more accurate results.

Sep 26, 2011

EQUIPMENT TO BE DISCUSSED It is the intention of this paper to discuss the transporting of large skid mounted equipment and track machines around open cut mines. By large I mean 100 to 350 tonne capacity being trans- ported on minesite lowloaders and the capability of moving loads of 300 to 1200 tonne by other means. It is also possible to move larger loads. The main factor in transporting large loads is eco- nomics and is a balance between the cost of the transporter and the increased production from the equipment being moved. For example it could be possible to shift a 7000 tonne dragline faster than their own means of propulsion, being the "walking feet" method. However for the cost of $10 to $12,000,000.00 or more you can afford to walk the dragline and suffer the production loss. Let us concentrate on the economically realistic. BOSICH FBT MINESITE LOWLOADERS 100 TO 350 TONNE CAPACITY. Why initially consider having such a transporter? Our experience has shown that initial enquiries evolve from mines requiring to move large drills, 50 to 200 tonne weight and large hydraulic excavators or backhoes which are track mounted. The reason for shifting them is to move equipment from a mining face to enable blasting, to remove to the central workshop for repairs, overhauls and routine maintenance, to transport equip- ment from one mine face to another, and for drills, to move from one drilling pattern to the next. The cost in terms of time lost and extra wear on tracked equip- ment easily justifies the cost of the transporter. The tracks on large drills and shovels are not intended for long distance walk- ing. These tracks are designed to move the machines to position for drill holes, or moving around the mine face. Long distance travel, ie generally 1 km or more, results in overheating of track rollers, track drive components and accelerated wear on tracks.

Jan 1, 1989

Both as an energy source and as a raw material, natural gas is playing an increasingly important role as a catalyst for the development, continuation and rebirth of mining projects in Australia. Pipelines are the vital link in making natural gas available to a region and to individual mines. This paper will cover the role of pipelines in supplying mining projects in Australia, the development and status of the Ballera to Mount Isa gas pipeline and the future prospects for gas pipelines in the Carpentaria Mineral Province.

Jan 1, 1998

This paper describes several sources of external dilution affecting the stope walls during underground sub-level and bench stoping. Factors which control ground behaviour such as the geometry of the openings, the influence of geological discontinuities, stress re-distribution and blasting practices are discussed. Crown stope instability due to stress concentrations induced by changes in the excavation geometry, is discussed and the most efficient ways to sequence blasting within a stope are analysed. Effects of undercutting by blasting, blast damage in the near field and cut-off slot blast designs are analysed. The influence of dynamic loading on the exposed walls as well as the practice of blasting fill passes within stope crowns are discussed.

Jan 1, 1995

The recovery of Copper by solvent extraction was arguably the most significant hydrometallurgical development of the 1960's. However, only dilute solutions at relatively high ph. could be treated effectively. ICVAcorga introduced in the 1970's the much stronger salicylaldoxime based reagents, which resulted in a dramatic change in plant configurations. So for example plants which normally use 3 extraction stages and 3 stripping stages could be reduced to 2 + 2 staging or 2 + 1 staging, even for high copper tenors at low ph. Leach liquors up to 40 g A copper are being treated at some locations so that almost any copper bearing liquor can now be purified by solvent extraction. Following a considerable amount of research and development effort ICI/Acorga have made further significant advances in the application of copper solvent extraction. The first of these is in computerised flowsheeting. In conjunction with ICI's Process Technology Department, Acorga have developed the Minchem Computer program, which uses laboratory generated equilibrium data to facilitate optimisation of metallurgical operating parameters. The program can operate in two modes, prediction and assessment so that given suitable extract and strip isotherms plant performance can be predicted for a given set of conditions. Alternatively existing plant performance can be assessed rapidly and accurately, thus providing a valuable quality control tool. Pilot plant work can now be restricted to evaluation of the physical aspects of the SX circuits, and to looking for the unexpected. Secondly using the patented 5-Nonyl Salicylaldoxime in precise admixture with a number of carefully selected strip modifiers, the Acorga M-range has resulted. Reagent selection from these new extractants can now be based on how the reagent can alleviate the remaining problems such as hydrolytic stability, transfer of iron, and organic losses by entrainment which may be related to particular features of the operating plant. Thus the Acorga M-range has enhanced and significantly extended the use of solvent extraction for copper, whilst refinements in the processing of metallurgical data has considerably simplified circuit design and analysis of results.

Jan 1, 1989

By Golosinski T. S, Jorgenson J. D

Several methods are available for inspections of mine shafts. These involve use of inclinometers, moving beams, inertial platforms and decelerometers. Inspections which use decelerometers are of most interest since they allow assessment of conditions of shaft steelwork, conveyances and the shaft itself. This assessment is based on recording and analysing dynamic behaviour of shaft conveyances. Sample inspections of several WA shafts confirm feasibility of using this method for periodic shaft Inspections.

Jan 1, 1995

Based on the idea to copy crystallisation and precipitation phenomena occurring in nature, a new technology was developed allowing the preparation of metastable, mineral forming solutions. If these solutions are brought into soil or rock formations, directed precipitation of slightly soluble minerals takes place. Immobilisation of dissolved heavy metals as well as overlaying of reactive mineral surfaces with insoluble minerals can be achieved. It is possible to prepare solutions leading to the formation of gypsum, BaSO4, CaCO3, Ca(OH)2, Al(OH)3 or Fe(OH)3. The successful large-scale application of BaSO4 forming solutions was demonstrated in the former uranium mine Koenigstein of Wismut GmbH, (Germany).

Jan 1, 2003

By Houtgraaf M

The Far Fanning gold deposit is situated 60 kilometres south-west of Townsville (Fig. 1). Previous recorded production is 3756 tonnes returning about 1600 ounces of gold. This has been taken from surface and shallow underground workings- scattered over the strike length of the deposit of 1700 metres. The main production period was from 1895 to 1908.Previous exploration involving extensive trenching and sampling has been: carried out intermittently. since the 1930's, by Gold Mines of Australia (1932), Placer (1974), Anaconda (1975), Marathon (1980-8-1), Aberfoyle (1981-82), and The Northern Queensland Company (NQC) (1983-present).In 1980 Marathon undertook an extensive drilling programme to test the oxidised mineralisation. Over 200 percussion holes and- 7 diamond holes were drilled along traverse lines spaced 29 to 103 metres apart covering a strike length of around 1800 metres.

Jan 1, 1986

By M D. Goodz, Wright R. F

This paper highlights the importance of accurate observational technical reports compiled by Mining Geologists and Engineers. Before uncovering the original reports in July 1992, all previous investigations discounted returning to old mining areas on the belief that all operations were suspended because they were 'unpayable'. However, the detail of the original reports removed any doubt of the economic value of retrieving remnant ore.The important feature was that the description of 'unpayable' by GMA could be equated to 11.6 - 35 g/t over the history of the mine. On the basis of these reports the Morning Star mine has been re-opened.

Jan 1, 1993

By Davy A. T, Hansen J. O

The causes of ferrosilicon loss from Dense Media Separation (DMS) plants, and the related properties of ferrosilicon, are identified. Two characteristics, corrosion resistance and saturation magnetisation, are examined in detail. The chemistry of the corrosion mechanism is described and its relationship to plant parameters discussed. Methods of reducing corrosion losses are proposed. Lack of particle homogeneity, and its influence on corrosion and abrasion is noted. The relationship between low magnetic susceptibility-and increased magnetic separator losses is demonstrated experimentally.

Jan 1, 1986

By D Craw, K A. Hunter

Deposits of the metalloids arsenic and antimony occur in quartz veins of mesothermal hydrothermalsystems in the South Island as arsenopyrite (AsFeS) and stibnite (Sb2S3). Arsenopyrite and stibnite occur in natural exposures in gold-mining areas, and additional arsenopyrite and stibnite have been exposed to the atmosphere by mining activity. At present the drinking water limits for dissolved As and Sb are 10 ppb and 3 ppb respectively. Sampling and analysis techniques are critical to determination of metalloid concentrations at these low levels. Endeavour Inlet in the Marlborough Sounds is an historic mining area (late 19th Century) with elevated As and Sb in waters emanating from mineralised rocks. Waters running out of abandoned adits have concentrations of As and/or Sb up to ppm levels. Natural waters have high Sb and low As, and the As levels increase markedly where anthropogenic activity has exposed rock. Changes in Sb/As ratio could potentially be used to quantify the anthropogenic component of metalloid mobility on mine sites on the 100-year time scale.

Jan 1, 2002

MR. W. E. WAINWRIGHT occupied the chair, and in introducing the lecturer said, on account of the absence of the vice-president, it fell to his lot to introduce the lecturer. Mr. Tennberg, he said, was visiting Australia, and those present might wonder who he was.He understood that the lecturer w~s a reputable practising geophysicist, associated with a reputable company! It was rather desirable perhaps to say that the Institute had made some inquiries with regard to his status. Geophysics was a comparatively newscience, and had suffered several hard knocks in Australia and elsewhere. Most of those knocks had been the result of undue optimism of a number of people who did not understand what they were talking about. It had been claimed that geophysics was a...

Jan 1, 1930

In reviewing recent developments in the process mineralogy of gold it is convenient to distinguish between visible (>0.1 pm) and invisible gold (1 - 2 pm in size in polished section; these can scan the surface of a polished section, identifying the gold minerals, recording co-ordinates of the grains for subsequent examination, and making measurements of areas and sizes of the grains. However, problems of sample reliresentivity in polished section mean that such data may not give good quantification of gold mineral proportions and liberation/locking characteristics and other methods are required for this (amalgamation, cyanidation, ultra-fine milling and cyanidation). Characterisation of invisible gold in bulk material (eg a sulphide concentrate) can be done by mineral separation, ultra-fine milling and cyanidation or by quantitative point analyses of a large number of mineral grains. Analytical methods include electron microprobe analysis (detection limit normally -200 ppm but -10 ppm by using special techniques), ion microprobe analysis (secondary ion mass spectrometry - SIMS; detection limit -0.2 ppm) or proton microprobe analysis (PIXE; detection limit

Jan 1, 1992

By E S. Souza, H Delboni Jr, M F. Calixto

This paper aims at presenting the results of laboratory, pilot plant and simulation studies for the design of the grinding circuit for the beneficiation of compact itabirites from the Conceitpo mine. Two alternatives were investigated, both utilising the current crushing circuit up to tertiary crushing. Under alternative #1, quaternary crushing was considered to produce the feed of the ball mill; under alternative #2, high pressure grinding rolls were selected to prepare the ball mill circuit feed. Pilot scale studies pointed towards the use of high pressure grinding rolls (HPGR). The circuit design was based on a throughput of 720 t/h, representing a nominal solids flow rate of 600 t/h, considering a design factor of 1.2, and P80 of 95 ¦m.

Jan 1, 2007

By Fairhurst RM

High pressure abrasive water jets have been shown capable of cutting a wide range of materials including steel, stone, rock and concrete. Acceptable performance can be achieved using relatively low pressures and expendable abrasives. The cutting head can be made small and abrasive feed systems have been developed that allow reliable pumping of slurries over long distances to supply such cutting heads. These features make abrasive water jets ideally suited to automated control in remote areas.Another major advantage of abrasive entraining water jet cutting heads is that they may be operated safely in potentially explosive environments due to their cold cutting ability. Therefore there are many possible applications for such equipment in mining.This paper gives an introduction to the abrasive water jet process and includes results of trials carried out at BHRA on a range of hard materials. Work is also described which investigated the operational safety of abrasive water jets in explosive environ-ments. In a special environmental chamber, cuts were made on steel and sandstone with atmospheres of methane/air and hydrogen/air, without caypsing ignition.

Jan 1, 1985

By L Dyer, A Keith, G D. Corder

As mining activity moves to remote and less developed locations globally, a holistic approach to mine development is fundamental for achieving a balance between strong financial returns and corporate social responsibility and transparency. Key inter-related fundamentals such as social licence to operate, life-of-mine operational planning, minimising environmental impacts and, most importantly, attractive investment returns for the mining company all contribute to the viability of any new mining project.However, the typical practice in the mining industry is often to treat environmental and social/community aspects as separate compliance issues that are dealt with at minimum cost and disruption to the project and resulting operation. This often results in less than optimum environmental and social outcomes, and presents considerable liabilities at the time of closure when rehabilitation programs continue to require funding when all revenue has ceased.The five capitals model seeks to identify each of the key contributors to sustainable development as financial, manufactured/physical, social, human and natural to formulate a type of triple bottom line approach balancing these often competing project factors. The SUSOP® sustainability risks and opportunities framework, developed by the mining industry, bases its approach on the five capitals model and proposes an approach that breaks down enterprise silos to identify innovative solutions for life-of-mine sustainability. This framework has been developed with the nature of mining projects in mind in order to produce approaches and outcomes relevant throughout the life cycle from the planning phases, through project design and construction into operation and closure.This paper argues the need for a more holistic approach to the development and operation of mining projects, and presents case studies where a holistic approach has been applied, in whole or part, and discusses the lessons learned from these case studies.CITATION:Corder, G D, Keith, A and Dyer, L, 2014. A capitals based approach – leading innovation in planning for life-of-mine sustainability, in Proceedings Life-of-Mine 2014, pp 499–512 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Jul 16, 2014

By Cunningham DA

Plant based on the New Jersey refluxing process has been installed at the Cockle Creek Works of Sulphide Corporation Pty. Limited to refine portion of the zinc output from the Imperial Smelting Furnace. Refining of impure zinc is effected by distillation in two stages in vertical columns compris- ing a series of superimposed silicon carbide trays designed such that ascending zinc vapours and descending liquid metal are in intimate contact. In the first stage the volatile elements (zinc and cadmium) are distilled from impure metal, condensed, and while still molten, fed to the second column in which zinc is boiled under controlled refluxing conditions to remove the cadmium content. The resultant zinc has a purity in excess of 99,995 per cent zinc. The availability of refined zinc has made possible the production of a number of zinc alloys for marketing in addition to the basis grades of zinc.

Jan 1, 1969

By W A. van der Westhuizen, Beukes G. J, Vermaak J. J

Large parts of the arid northern Cape Province South Africa are blanketed by Quaternary cal- crete under which potential base-metal ore- deposits may occur. In an attempt to examine the nature of the distribution of such ore-re- lated elements in a calcrete environment, calcrete and soil samples from the copper-nic- kel prospect at Jacomynspan and the copper- zinc deposit at Copperton were examined. Both deposits form part of the Namaqua mobile belt. CALCRETE GENESIS In Southern Africa calcrete is restricted mainly to the western two-thirds of the sub-continent, south of the latitude 17¦ S. Various models have been put forward to explain calcrete genesis and Goudie (1973) and Netterberg (1969a) give detailed discussions on this topic. The most popular model for calcrete genesis is one of pedogenic origin. McPherson (1979), Watts (1980), Wright (1982), Arakel (1982), Netterberg (1969a), Goudie (1973) and Multer and Hoffmeister (1968), amongst others, support the hypothesis of calcrete formation by carbonate precipitation from downward percolating calcium carbonate rich soil waters. Calcium carbonate is usually initially precipitated as nodules or grains which can develop to form more compact layers.

Jan 1, 1988

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