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Experiment of Improving the Quality and Decreasing the Impurity of Titanium Concentrate in Panzhihua Mine in China

Sep 13, 2010

With the advent of the resources boom in the late-1960s most of the larger scale resources projects in Australasia were commissioned on an æowner miningÆ basis, where the mine owners owned and operated the primary mining equipment. Then, in the 1980s with the arrival of the gold mining boom in Western Australia and elsewhere, a change occurred û most of the mining activities were carried out on a contract mining basis. Over recent years, however, there has been a marked trend amongst larger Australasian open pit mining operations back towards owner-controlled and operated mining operations. The reasons for this are many and are addressed in the paper, but centre on the concept of the owner being prepared to assume more of the mining risk in exchange for the advantage of not having to pay a contractorÆs profit margin. Where mining contracts are entered into, the older æschedule of ratesÆ format is being replaced with less adversarial and more entrepreneurial contract alternatives involving operating cost and risk sharing in a spirit of æfair dealingÆ. Leasing and maintenance issues have also been influenced in recent years by the advent of more flexible contract arrangements with equipment suppliers. Group purchasing has also had some influence for project operators. For many mine owners, the optimal risk management profile involves a practical offsetting of the assumption of mining risk on the one hand, against the removal of litigation risk and potentially reduced operating costs on the other. Potential pitfalls may arise where equipment size and type requirements vary with time or where manpower management, mining flexibility, job skills or safety exposure factors are relevant. These issues are commented on in the context of some well known examples, and an update is provided on contract mining versus owner operation in large-scale Australasian open pit mining generally.

Jan 1, 2002

By Falbo A, Quarestima S, Cozza C, Barbaro M

A new synthetic reagent of the mercaptobenzoxazole class, 5- methyl-2-mercaptobenzoxazole, has been studied. This reagent exhibits powerful selective collecting action towards copper sulphides present in several complex ores, as demonstrated both by laboratory and pilot plant tests. Industrial production is expected to start in the near future. The way this reagent reacts with pure chalcocite has been studied utilising in situ FTIR techniques, adsorption tests, electrokinetic potential measurements and Hallimond cell flotation tests. The FTIR studies have indicated the nature of the surface phase. Adsorption isotherms obtained by the rest method have revealed the quantitative evolution of surface products, permitting the determination of surface coverage at various reagent concentrations. The electrokinetic potential has been utilised to verify the stability of individual species in diverse concentration ranges. Correlation of the results obtained has provided indications on the chemical interaction of this reagent with the surface and on the surface Arrangement.

Jan 1, 1993

Application of the Anaconda Simplified Work Index for Multiple Test Sizes Vale uses Bond Work Index measurements extensively in a number of applications. The Bond Work Index is usually a good parameter for checking scale up procedures when sizing ball mills, as well as the basis for variability analysis whenever drill core data is available. It is typical to measure between 100 and 150 Bond Work Indexes, depending on the deposit characteristics. The Bond procedure is relatively complex and time costly. It also requires relatively large amounts of sample, which are very expensive to be obtained. The benefits of the Anaconda simplified procedure are: considerably smaller sample requirements and laboratory time. This makes it very much attractive at Vale's development centre, including geometallurgical mapping, operation efficiency control, mine to mill, etc. The Anaconda simplified procedure was implemented and evaluated at Vale's Development Centre using a number of ores and several samples of each ore totalling more than 190 measurements. The Anaconda simplified method was calibrated for several test sieves and a correlation for any test size was determined for Vale's test mill. The calibration was also extended for two sample top sizes. The relative error of the simplified procedure was found to be in the range of nine per cent which is within the expected error Bond standard procedure. The implementation of the Anaconda method at Vale's development center has been used with great success over the past years in several green field, brown field projects and operating plants.

Sep 13, 2010

Most mining operations have been happy to live in blissful ignorance of what their equipment is really capable of. Shareholders have been shown increasing tonnes output per employee (due to rationalising employee numbers). It is now known that the best practice for large mining trucks is 52 per cent higher than average or best practice for excavators is 41 per cent higher than average, or 38 per cent in shovels or 35 per cent with draglines, etc. The data is available. The bell curve of performance is flat. Substantial underperformance is rife. If you are working in or supplying equipment or services to one of the majority of operating mines that donÆt achieve best practice surely you want to know why. Or maybe you donÆt? For many mining people this sort of knowledge could be dangerous to their career so keeping the MD or CEO in the dark is a good option. Many suppliers donÆt want the performance of their equipment benchmarked? Mining consultants donÆt have the data so they are happy to keep guessing. Unfortunately, many Business Improvement or Business Excellence projects are about ticking the participantÆs æcareer boxesÆ. The first step to capacity utilisation is knowing what the capacity is. Even then people and culture will get in the way. People are the biggest hurdle to capacity utilisation. This paper will discuss what the mine of the future (and today) will need to do to utilise the productive capacity of its assets. It is not just benchmarking. It is not just automation. It is not just technology. It is about engaging those people who impact on equipment performance; right from the operator up to the Mine Manager. Doing it better involves a process to facilitate change and a culture which says it is OK to try even if you are wrong.

Jan 1, 2009

The Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited (BHP) started as a silver-lead-zinc mining company in Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia in the 1880s. Since then it has diversified into the resource industries of steel, iron ore, coal, petroleum and copper. BHP World Minerals is a Business Group of BHP which is one of the worldÆs largest and most diverse mineral resource enterprises. BHP supplies raw materials for steelmaking, copper concentrate and other mineral commodities to customers in more than 45 countries. BHP World Minerals has operations spread throughout the world û in Australia, the United States, Brazil, Zimbabwe and Canada. Commodities produced by BHP World Minerals currently include silver, lead, zinc, titanium minerals, platinum group metals and coal. The BHP World Minerals Cannington silver-lead-zinc mine in Queensland, Australia is a return to the cradle of BHPÆs early silver-lead-zinc years. This paper compares the success factors and challenges at Broken Hill and Cannington.

Jan 1, 1998

By Gooday PE, Brech GE

Ore reserve categories used by Pancontinental Mining fall into one of three fundamental groupings: Geological In Situ Reserves Mining Reserves Production Estimates The first of these describes the total reserve within stated parameters without implication as to its mineability. The second is that part of the Geological In Situ Reserve which is considered mineable under a specific mining plan. The third is the Mining Reserve adjusted with appropriate dilution and recovery factors and thus represents the best estimate of the tonnage and grade of production. This practical three category system mirrors the standard steps traditionally taken in ore reserve estimation and readily conveys the basis of the estimates. An important, but secondary classification can be added to qualify the level of confidence in these estimates using the terms: Proved (or Measured) Probable (or Indicated) Possible (or Inferred) These terms can be applied to any of the fundamental groupings, but it is generally implicit that the level of detail required to produce meaningful Mining Reserves or Production Estimates would require the basic Geological Reserve to be at a Proved or at least Probable level of confidence. The application of these classification systems by Pancontinental is illustrated by reference to the Paddington Gold Project. The methods of calculation are described including the use of geostatistics. Reconciliations of actual production with predictions from reserves are carried out monthly and annually. To date there has been an excellent correlation with Production Estimates, based on both manual and geostatistical calculations.

Jan 1, 1987

By Pyrih R, House A, Shangraw J, Silva AJ

Sunbeam Mining -Corporation has the inten mine with heap leach gold recovery, near spent ore indicated a relatively high ar topographical configuration, the spent across a small drainage and a lake. Du permit for spent ore disposal from th agencies, concerns about the potential contamination by the arsenic were expres conducted extensive studies to addre contamination. These studies consiste( geochemical and geotechnical parameters underlying the proposed disposal si geotechnical investigations were also hydrologic characteristics were include with the use of an IBM PC computer. :ion of opening an open pit gold Stanley, Idaho. Testing of the ?enic content. Due to the local ore was planned to be disposed :ing the process of obtaining a federal and state regulatory for surface and ground water .ed. Sunbeam Mining Corporation is the potential for arsenic of laboratory testing of both of the spent ore, and the soils te. Field hydrogeologic and -onducted. Local climatic and 1 in the analysis of these data Conclusions of studies indicated that although the seepage through the spent ore disposal would contain an elevated dissolved arsenic content, the hydrologic and geochemical characteristics of the site would prevent arsenic migration into the local ground water system. The attenuation of arsenic on soils with high clay content, and dilution after reaching the ground water table would lower the arsenic content to acceptable Concentrations.

Jan 1, 1988

By B Olsson, R Norman, M Volz

Australia has seen unprecedented demand for coal exports in the last ten years and this demand is set to expand further still according to many analysts. This rapid increase in demand has placed pressure on multi-user coal chains to guarantee the capability to meet the required demand, in terms of both current operations and capacity expansion.The projects required to deliver these forecast tonnages take place in an increasingly complex commercial and technical environment. These challenges include brownfield and greenfield projects, multiple rail and terminal service providers as well as a myriad of mine operators, all needing to operate in an increasingly integrated manner to get the most out of expensive shared assets.Increasing complexity and integration drives the need for more holistic and sophisticated analysis tools. The capacity of coal chain subsystems, such as mine, rail and port, can no longer be determined effectively in isolation. Understanding the nature of the interactions between these subsystems and the resultant capacity of the integrated system is the key to maximising value. TSG advocates the use of a total integrated system approach to understand the behaviour and performance of complex coal chains.Recently, TSG has worked in conjunction with the Integrated Logistics Company and a number of stakeholders in the Dalrymple Bay Coal Chain to deliver the first independent system master plan. This master plan has provided a quantitative and rational assessment of coal chain capacity in its current state and a prediction of its capacity once a pipeline of committed capacity improvements is in place. It is underpinned by a highly detailed discrete-event simulation model of the complete coal chain as an integrated system, including mine load-outs, rail, terminal and port operations.This paper provides an overview of the study and describes the differences between subsystem and total integrated system model performance.

Sep 26, 2011

By R M. Arellano, D M. W Harney, M Makhuvha

Mineral resource and ore reserve estimates are founded on two sources of data: tonnage and grade. The tonnage is a product of volume and density; both of which are estimates. Density impacts numerous operational factors, which include, but are not limited to, mine design, mine planning, equipment selection and operational performance. Hence, density is a significant parameter and its determination requires similar care as the measurement of grade. Selecting an appropriate method to determine density, and ensuring its rigorous application, thus reduces risk and can improve operational performance, which in turn increases profit margin.Different Anglo American sites use a variety of practices and protocols to determine density, which is highly dependent on the physical characteristics of the orebody, local conditions and historical practices. Also, individual sites sometimes execute the same method in a slightly different way, which may also affect the outcome of the measurements. In order to gain a better understanding of how density is determined at Anglo American projects and operations, a review of these techniques was undertaken. The objective of the study was to identify and share good practices across the company, as well as to look for improvement opportunities, where applicable. Ten different methods of measuring density, applied to nine different commodities, were identified and described. An additional technique was recently developed by Anglo American Technical Solutions. The core pycnometer is a large gas displacement pycnometer capable of measuring density at high accuracy on full pieces of intact core.This paper provides an overview of methods used to determine density within the Anglo American Group, including quality control and quality assurance aspects. It is not the purpose of this paper to identify a preferred method, but to highlight the importance of choosing the best suited practice for a project or mine site. In addition, a case study comparing two different density determination methods applied to the same rock samples from the Los Bronces Copper mine was undertaken and the results of that study are presented here.Selecting the most appropriate method to determine density and comparing results from two or more techniques against each other, together with other suitable quality control procedures, is considered to be of utmost importance for all mining operations and exploration projects.CITATION:Makhuvha, M, Arellano, R M and Harney, D M W, 2014. Determination of bulk density in Anglo American plc, methods and impacts, with a case study from Los Bronces Mine, in Proceedings Ninth International Mining Geology Conference 2014 , pp 85–96 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Aug 18, 2014

The organization of this department is as shown in the following chart:Chief Mechanical EngineerPowerGenerationWorkshopsNew ConstructionMaintenanceTransportCommunity ServicesMineMillSmelterDesign and OfficeOrganizationThe functions of each section will be described separately.MAINTENANCE UNDERGROUND DEPARTMENTThis section covers all mechanical equipment underground as well as fans and winders on the surface, the headframes, and conveyors from the shaft to the crude ore bins. As has been descrIbed, No. 2 Ore shaft was opened up to the surface and a new headframe and receiving bins were erected, and when the new lead crushing and screening plant was constructed and ready for operation, the rope sheaves...

Jan 1, 1953

The mining industry is quite often faced with declining selling prices for its products in the face of rising prices for the input cost resources that it uses. Blasting is a key activity within the mining system and has a vital role to play within the Mine to MillTM concept. It is therefore important that blasting makes a positive contribution to mine profit and productivity. There are several variables involved in considering the profitability and productivity of blasting. The rock types and structures, the bench height, the blast hole drill rig specifications, hole diameter, spacing and burden, explosive loading and initiation and blast size fragmentation. Productivity accounting is a methodology which is used elsewhere to give additional insights into the productivity and pricing factors that drive the financial performance of a business. Miners know intuitively that productivity and pricing influence costs and profit, but only with productivity accounting can the dollars involved be calculated. Drilling and blasting are part of a chain of unit operations in a mine. For an owner-miner, drilling and blasting would be considered as cost centres and a productivity accounting cost model approach would be relevant. On the other hand a contractor is likely to consider drilling and blasting as a profit centre, in which case a productivity accounting profit model approach would be appropriate. Both of these will be explained. The paper provides a basic outline of deterministic productivity accounting and demonstrates its application to blasting. Drilling and blasting data from a mine was obtained for a two-month period. The change in productivity and prices was calculated to obtain the dollar contributions from them towards the change in cost. It was determined that although there had been productivity dollar gains these were offset by larger pricing dollar losses, the net effect being that total drilling and blasting costs increased. The productivity accounting analysis gives the facts and the mine is in a position to establish priorities based on knowing the dollar contributions of each input used.

Jan 1, 2001

The Inglewood Gold Project consists of several titles in and around the Inglewood and Wedderburn Goldfields which were purchased from Strata Mining Corporation (now Excalibur Mining Corporation). The Inglewood goldfield has a historical production of approximately 160 000 tonnes at 23 grams per tonne. The company has reopened and developed the Maxwells reef, picking up a high-grade shoot (Max Shoot) identified and worked by Goldquest et al up until 1994. Production ceased on a low gold price, rapidly reducing vein size and a requirement for further development. Greater Bendigo Gold Mines Ltd (GBM) has undertaken the development and encountered the mineralised vein in an increasing size setting with high grades and the existing mine development has access to a further shoot to the north (Max North Shoot). The Maxwells reef also contains the Woolf shoot south of the Maxwells shaft and an inferred resource of ~20 000 ounces is contained from 60 m below surface. Best intersection 2.9 m at 50 g/t. The Maxwells reef area produced approximately 20 per cent of the Inglewood goldfields production and GBM is preparing to increase its exploration efforts across the rest of the field. A processing plant has been constructed at the Maxwells mine site, which is capable of treating tailings, hard rock and alluvial material utilising gravity recovery. The existing Maxwells tailings have been excavated and treatment commenced. It is intended to produce a sand product from the tailings for resale and to reduce the storage requirements per tonne. Several large water dams constructed by Goldquest in the 1990s are being re-engineered to enable storage of significant tonnages of tailings. A level of surface and underground production is planned for 2008 and this is to be expanded into 2009 and beyond. The long-term future at Inglewood is envisaged as structural repeats at depth below the current workings and a project plan to gain deep access will be prepared on successful drilling results.

Jan 1, 2008

Radioisotope x-ray methods for the on-stream determination of copper, lead, and zinc in mineral product slurries were developed, and were successfully tested at the plant of Cobar Mines Pty. Ltd.The tests were made in three stages. Measurements to determine the precision of analysis were made initially on briquettes of the mineral products. The effect of slurry solids content variations was then determined by measurements on the mineral products in a recirculating slurry loop. The radioisotope analyser was finally tested in a series of on-stream measurements in the plant.Copper, lead, and zinc in flotation feed and in copper concentrate were determined to a precision ranging between 1·4 and 15 per cent of the mean element concentration in the slurry solids. These precisions are within limits required for plant control purposes at Cobar.

Jan 1, 1971

By E R. Ramanaidou, C Tessarolo, M Verrall

Garnierite mineralogy in saprolitic ore of the Goro lateritic nickel deposit, New Caledonia , was investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), optical and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electron microprobe (EMP) analyses. These conspicuously, green-coloured phases occur either as submillimetre to centimetresized veins or as æbookletsÆ arranged in, macroscopic (subcentimetre sized), accordionlike structures supported in an undifferentiated matrix of mixed ÿ7+ and ÿ10+ phases. Within the veins, nickel for Mg solid solution increased from ten wt per cent NiO at the edge to 34 wt per cent NiO at the core, with vein edges comprising Ni-kerolite with <1.5 Ni per formula unit (pfu) grading to pimelite containing >1.5 Ni pfu at vein cores. The æbookletsÆ comprised nTpouite of formula, (Mg0.67Ni1.59Fe3+0.05)(Si2.17Al0.22)O5(OH)4 and averaged 30 per cent NiO. SEM element mapping highlighted the distribution and mineralogical association of Ni and Mg and emphasised the inverse relationship between Ni and Mg at the macroscopic (thin-section) scale. An EXTENDED ABSTRACT is available for download. A full-length paper was not prepared for this presentation.

Jan 1, 2008

THIS has been a much-neglected branch of engineering. With the majority of industries labour is the chief item of trouble and expense. Anything that will reduce trouble and increase efficiency is well worth considering. It is only of recent years that any attempt has been made on a scientific basis to improve conditions sporadic attempts having been made from time to time, privately and by law. Some have been successful, others unsuccessful not necessarily the fault of those who initiated the ideas, though naturally mistakes were made in some cases for want of experience, but those whom it was desired to benefit were not always prepared for the change, and by their distrust hampered schemes instead of assisting them.Man power is generally more expensive than machinery, though there are exceptions, such as when a small amount of work has to be done in a place where machinery does not exist, and it would not pay to instal any or where labour is cheap, and skilled workmen are scarce as in some tropical countries. When machinery is first introduced it generally causes the suspicion that it will deprive men of their work. It may cause men to vary the conditions of their work, and in some individual cases, when men are unable to conform to changed circumstances it may result in a certain amount of hardship; but, after all, the less competent must not hold back progress for the general good. Besides, changes as a rule do not take place suddenly, so old hands can generally find work at their particular calling 'till nature requires them to retire. In cases where men take to machinery, they not only find that they are relieved of the...

Jan 1, 1918

Recovery of Precious Metals from Chloride Solution by Magnetite The development of environmental-friendly lixiviants as alternatives to cyanide and the increasing recycling activities to recover precious metals from waste materials have prompted researchers to find efficient methods and alternative sorbents to recover precious metals, such as Au and Pt, from aqueous solutions. This study explored the use of magnetite (Fe3O4) as a sorbent to recover Au and Pt from chloride solutions. Magnetite is a semiconductor and has the capability of transferring electrons both within the solid state and across the solid-liquid interface and has the ability to reduce metal species on its surface. The sorption of AuCl4- and PtCl62- from NaCl solution on commercial grade magnetite powder was investigated by batch-sorption experiments. The effects of pH, contact time, NaCl concentration and precious metal concentration on the recovery were studied. Sorption experiments revealed that magnetite exhibited selectivity towards other metals with the strongest affinity for Au. Both Au and Pt recoveries showed similar pH dependence curves, with peaks at pH 6 - 7. At this pH range, a maximum of 4.4 ¦mol Au/g Fe3O4 and 3.0 ¦mol Pt/g Fe3O4 were recovered after 24 h at an initial metal concentration of 0.05 mol/m3. Increasing the initial precious metal concentration increased the Au and Pt uptake amount by magnetite. It was also observed that the recovery decreased with high NaCl concentrations. The SEM images of the magnetite particles after the treatment showed that gold, which was confirmed by the EDX analysis, agglomerated and were deposited on Fe3O4 surface.

Sep 13, 2010

By P N. Nkrumah, A van der Ent, G Echevarria, P D. Erskine

Nickel phytomining is a low cost alternative to traditional nickel mining and a complementary process to existing mining operations in areas with low-grade nickel soils or nickel waste material. The process of nickel phytomining consists of growing selected hyperaccumulator plant species (‘metal crops’) on Ni-rich (ultramafic) soils, followed by harvesting and incineration of the biomass to produce a ‘bio-ore’ from which Ni salts or Ni metal may be recovered (Chaney et al, 2007). The ‘metal crops’ are selected on the basis of high biomass yield combined with high Ni concentrations (>1 per cent) in the above-ground biomass (Chaney et al, 2007). Currently, Alyssum murale and A. corsicum have been used for Ni phytomining trials, mainly undertaken in Albania and USA (Bani et al, 2015; Li et al, 2003), while the agronomy of <10 species has been tested in temperate regions (Nkrumah et al, 2016). Nickel phytomining has high economic potential; however, large-scale demonstrations are needed to provide ‘real-life’ evidence for commercial operations (van der Ent et al, 2015). Unrealised opportunities exist in tropical regions for commercial scale Ni phytomining. To date, the agronomy of tropical ‘metal crops’ has not been tested. This extended abstract presents the progress of tropical phytomining, and reports on agronomic trials undertaken to determine whether the trends in temperate regions could be confirmed in a wet tropical environment.CITATION:Nkrumah, P N, Erskine, P D, Echevarria, G and van der Ent, A, 2016. Progress in tropical nickel phytomining, in Proceedings Life-of-Mine 2016 Conference, pp 135–137 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Jun 28, 2016

By Falbo A, Barbaro M, Esposito MA, Passariello B

Acidic reductive leaching is one of the best known and most widely employed chemical processes for beneficiating minerals of industrial interest. Conventional acidic leaching with sodium dithionite (Na2S2O4), employed to bleach industrial minerals used in the production of ceramics, glassware, paper etc, does not always allow products of high quality to be obtained. In the work reported here two reducing agents, ascorbic acid and oxalic acid, have been employed in a medium acidified by means of sulphuric acid. Continuous systematic tests have been performed on a kaolin sample containing 0.8 per cent Fe2O3, adopting various operating parameters such as, leaching time, temperature and reagent concentration. In each case the total quantity of bi- and trivalent iron dissolved was ascertained. Removal of 80 per cent and 100 per cent of iron with ascorbic and oxalic acid respectively was obtained, while less than one per cent of iron was dissolved in the presence of sulphuric acid only. Products having a very good degree of whiteness (92 - 94 per cent) were obtained, whereas with sodium dithionite the degree of whiteness was in the 85 to 88 per cent range. The best conditions identified were applied to a sample of quartz for the removal of ferric impurities.

Jan 1, 1993

Forty years ago Dr Pierre M Gy, a metallurgist, introduced variography as applied to monitoring a process. Consequently, his followers used the variogram to elaborate meaningful process control charts, especially since 1993. The name æChronostatisticsÆ was suggested several times by Gy as a logical name for this new science. The intent was to draw a parallel between the variogram identifying the variability components affecting a process parameter as a function of time, and the variogram used in geostatistics identifying the variability components of a given mineral content as a function of space. Heterogeneity problems encountered have indeed strong similarities. However, there is a fundamental difference. The variogram used in geostatistics is often stationary within a given type of mineralisation. While investigating a dynamic process through Chronostatistics, there is no such thing as a stationary variogram. Still, the evolving variogram provides essential information about subtle, often overlooked process difficulties. Chronostatistics is especially useful for management to take advantage of existing data that are often a forgotten source of valuable information to pinpoint recurring structural problems. The superiority of Chronostatistics over conventional statistical process control approaches is that it links observations to the inherent heterogeneity of materials under investigation, therefore to the sampling theory. Chronostatistics is like opening a new world to the metallurgist, making the process variability speak in a more comprehensive and in-depth way. Several case studies are presented to demonstrate the potency of this new science. For each of them, observations lead to solutions for continuous process improvement, therefore attractive economic opportunities. The philosophy is this: if a control chart shows a process is out of control, it must also suggest logical and pragmatic directions for solutions. The intent of this presentation is to vastly expand on these valuable, almost forgotten ideas.

Jan 1, 2006