Search Documents

By T Horberry

This paper describes work conducted as part of an overall research project that aims to identify current and emerging trends in the development of automation and remote mining technologies, and to provide an operator-centred perspective to the design and deployment of such systems. More specifically, this paper outlines a research and development process being constructed to examine the issues of the human skills and capabilities required to operate or maintain automated/remote controlled mobile mining equipment. A human factors approach presented here, where the focus is upon designing equipment interfaces to fit operators, rather than purely designing and deploying the equipment based on a technology-centred approach. However, the importance of training to help develop the required skills and capabilities is also emphasised.The work built on a full review of the literature about the effects of automation in mining and elsewhere, extensive interviews with different stakeholders in mining automation and recognised best practice regarding designing for the human element in automated systems. The human element research and development process proposed is in four stages, ranging from understanding the tasks involved in both manual and automated equipment operation through to user trials to ensure that the automated systems are acceptable to operators and are fit for purpose.It is outside the scope of the current paper to present the full data collection described by this four stage process, but an overview of what will be collected is presented. As such, this paper focuses on the broad methods being developed, rather than the specific results to be obtained. The ultimate objective is to apply a broad ‘technology assessment’ approach to the design, deployment and evaluation of automated mining technologies, in particular by considering the user-centred design implications of these technologies.

Nov 22, 2011

By Nowell SB, Cottrill DA

Host-rock - wallrock major and trace element geochemistry associated with epithermal gold mineralisation in the Hauraki Goldfield of New Zealand is poorly documented, even though rock geochemistry is a recognised tool in exploration. Such responses assist in recognition of the regional scale imprint of fossil hydrothermal activity, and indicate targets for detailed evaluation within these alteration zones.Recent investigation of gold deposits in the Waihi (Gladstone), Golden Cross (Empire), Thames (Waiotahi) and Coromandel (Tokatea) areas indicate enrichments of Au, As and Sb in the andesitic wallrocks hosting mineralisation. Of the other elements examined, Si, K and Rb are enriched, and Na, Ca, and Sr are depleted at all deposits. These trends are best developed in the vicinity of veining. In deposits with clay alteration dominating (Waiotahi and Tokatea) there is also depletion of Mg, Mn, Zn and Cu. Ba and Cr are variably enriched or depleted within different styles of alteration. Base-metal enrichment in the wallrocks is not a feature of Hauraki deposits.

Jan 1, 1990

This paper presents an overview of a program PC-BC developed for application to the design and evaluation of block cave operations. Conventional mine planning software tools are not well suited to the evaluation of this type of deposit. The paper looks at the modelling approach as applied to a block cave mining project. The following steps are described:Initial preparation of data including block models, draw point footprint geometry and draw cone geometry. Computation of individual draw point reserves. Procedure for modelling of vertical mixing of material within each draw point and subsequent determination of the best height of draw for each draw point based upon an economic cut-off value. Smoothing of draw heights amongst neighbouring draw points to produce a realistic draw envelope. Mineable reserves within the envelope are then computed. Tools for preparation and evaluation of various production schedules. This includes definition of draw rates, and rates for commissioning new draw points. In an operating mine, the capture and analysis of daily draw tonnages is important. How PC-BC accommodates this is described as well as the processes for depleting the draw column reserves. In the 12 years since the program was first developed, it has been used on a number of projects for feasibility studies and operating mines. Some practical examples of the use of the program in these projects are presented. Finally, some commentary on the sensitivity of various parameters is presented. Particular emphasis is placed on the overall footprint design.

Jan 1, 2000

By K Ehrig, V Liebezeit, E Macmillan

The results from metallurgical test programs are used in feasibility studies for design of new plants and brownfield expansions, in long term mine plans, and to make decisions in an operating plant. There are many elements which contribute to a well-constructed test work program. Ultimately, understanding the accuracy and precision of the test work results is critical to ensuring good decision-making at various phases of a project.Every resource drilling and associated assaying program will have a quality assurance / quality control (QA/QC) component, however this often seems to be overlooked in metallurgical testing programs. The principles of “international standard” or “certified reference material” samples and replicate/duplicate testing can be applied to metallurgical programs, although there are metallurgical-specific considerations in both generating and analysing the data.This paper will describe the QA/QC program carried out within the Olympic Dam geometallurgy program. It will present results in the form of case studies from ten years of testing of replicates and bulk reference samples for industry-standard comminution tests as well as laboratory flotation and leaching tests. The Olympic Dam geometallurgy quality control program has enabled quantification of the precision of metallurgical testing and improved our understanding of the best possible modelling results given the underlying dataCITATION:Ehrig, K, Liebezeit, V and Macmillan, E, 2017. Metallurgical QA/QC – who needs it? The Olympic Dam experience, in Proceedings MetPlant 2017, pp 31–44 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Sep 11, 2017

By P Stoker

The need for quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) in the sampling and assaying of minerals is fundamental to the reliability and confidence of a mineral resource estimate, reserve estimate and possibly profitability of a mine. In spite of this, QA/QC practices in the mining industry are commonly applied poorly, or misunderstood. As New Leaders, we should aim to correct the poor practices and become fully informed on appropriate procedures. This paper uses worked examples that show the usefulness and importance of best practice QA/QC procedures. Fundamentals of reviewing the performance of the laboratory by examining the results of client inserted standard reference material (standards), blank material and duplicate samples are discussed. To do this, three examples from Australian data sets have been used. For each example, simple and efficient plotting techniques are suggested with subsequent evaluations of each plot. The first case study compares the results of internal standards from a laboratory with blind standards (where the expected value is unknown to the laboratory) submitted by the client. It was demonstrated over time that the laboratory was unintentionally analysing the internal standards in a different manner to the remainder of the sample batch. In this example, not understanding the cause of a high negative laboratory bias could have led to poor understanding of the depositÆs grade and in the extreme a proposed mining operation may have reached operational stage with a subeconomic grade. The second case study discusses the quality of blank material submitted by a mining operation to monitor cross-contamination within the laboratory. The blank material contained background levels of the element under investigation. This created uncertainty in the assay results, which could have led to the need for additional assays and drilling programs. Finally, the third case study demonstrates the use of the relative paired differences (RPD) technique to cross-validate the results from duplicates and repeat analyses from two laboratories. The three examples given show either laboratory or operational error. If left undetected, each example could have had serious implications for the mineral resource estimate and ultimately, the mining operation. These examples are not isolated occurrences; poor QA/QC practices are an industry wide problem exacerbated by rapid staff turnover and increased contractor positions on-site. New Leaders must be equipped with a thorough grounding in QA/QC best practices to improve its application and confidence in the results of sample analysis.

Jan 1, 2009

By B C. Povey, K Lagutin, M Mryasov, V Noll

The current Stoilensky magnetite concentrator comprises a three-stage crushing circuit followed by three stages of ball milling, grinding and concentration to produce a magnetite concentrate with 66.5% iron (Fe). The plant is built in four lines, three lines having four mills and one line with five mills, to treat 32 Mt/y of ore and produce 13.9 Mt/y of concentrate.NLMK, the owner, is Russia’s third largest steel maker and while the ore from the Stoilensky Mining and Beneficiation Plant (SGOK) provides the bulk of their supply, they still must buy ore from external sources at world prices. A decision was taken to expand the SGOK operation to supply all the NLMK concentrate, including the production of pellets.To commence the expansion, high pressure grinding rolls (HPGRs) were introduced as a fourth stage of crushing ahead of the first ball mill. This was a relatively low capital cost expansion and increased production by 12 to 15%, the cost being much less than an additional grinding line. The importance of this development was that earlier introductions of HPGRs in Russia had presented several problems so there was some reluctance to the initial concept. The even greater significance was that nearly every magnetite plant in Russia had a three-stage crushing circuit so the successful introduction of HPGRs was of interest to many operators.The design was developed by a team, consisting of Worley Parson, Mineralconsult and PiterGORproject (PGP), for the first four units to fit inside existing building structures. The first two units were commissioned in March 2016 and the next two units in May 2016, and production improved by over 12%. The design of the installation of the final four units is in progress and the installation is expected in late 2017.CITATION:Povey, B C, Noll, V, Lagutin, K and Mryasov, M, 2017. Introducing HPGR quaternary crushers in a Russian magnetite operation – challenges and solutions, in Proceedings MetPlant 2017, pp 84–100 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Sep 11, 2017

By P Card

Some project managers accept unsatisfactory economic evaluation modelling because they are unaware of what constitutes good practice. They tend to leave it to the evaluation specialist or others to decide. The AusIMM has published on its website a draft set of guidelines for technical economic evaluation which will allow these project managers to take control and demand worldÆs best practices.The style of the guidelines is described and the source of a worked spreadsheet example in Excel is given.Economic evaluation in project management is described. A simple test for the acceptance or rejection of evaluation work is offered. The nature of modelling and evaluation in each of the three study phases of concept, prefeasibility and final feasibility are described. Suggestions on the selection of specialists for each phase are given. The three levels of evaluation thinking are described, namely, modelling, valuation and evaluation. Finally the meaning of æfinancial analysisÆ is explained.The conclusion is that æthe role of an economic evaluation specialist is to create models and evaluations for the whole project team to readily understand and use: it is not to create models for his/her own useÆ.CITATION:Card, P, 2012. What project managers must demand from an economic evaluation!, in Proceedings Project Evaluation 2012 , pp 173-176 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

May 24, 2012

Gentlemen, you heard the good Doctor has commissioned me to make a'summary of the proceedings to date and also to close the said proceedings. It seems that over the years the business of making a summary alternates between'Mr. Pearce and myself, also I,think that w~oever is around onthe day in question 'obtains the task and apparently I drew it this, year. It is hoped you will be patient as previous experience in this capacity'indicates that the best way to proceed is to have a brief summary on each paper and then do a summary of summa~ies. This makes the approacha little cumbersome but it is felt to be fair to each author and it brings'back to the audience some recollections of what transpired at the time and they can make their own decisions, which may not necessarily agree with those of the 'sum'marisor.

Jan 1, 1983

By Hellsten K, Eshuys E

The best long-term approach to exploration involves the use of extensive quality data and the integration of many different factors, methods and techniques. The successful exploration manager needs to integrate people, area selection and exploration methods, with the use of descriptive and genetic geological models. Based on a syn-metamorphic genetic model for Archaean gold, successful exploration in Western Australia requires the integration of data on anomalous gold, alteration, lithology and structure. Many other parameters such as geophysics, geochemistry and regolith studies provide additional, indirect information that needs to be integrated into the overall exploration programme. Timely access to research findings and ability to integrate these into immediate exploration has contributed considerably to the success of the gold industry in Western Australia since 1980. Extensive and deeper drilling, and the ability of computers to handle the volume of data generated have enabled effective testing of many more geological targets.

Jan 1, 1996

By J Sykes, W Treasure, A Saleem, A Trench, S Ulrich, R S. Davies

Below-ground technical complexity remains a traditional source of project challenge. Above-ground challenges then augment this complexity, including in the domain of commodity marketing. All challenges must be solved to produce quality, saleable, ex-mine product. The situation is further complicated in that technical complexities are not independent of each other, so complexity is best regarded as a system rather than a series of isolated factors. Additional above-ground challenges to mining projects are also increasingly sourced from societal and environmental factors, locally and globally. These challenges not only confer project complexity, but have their source in larger, global wicked problems. Finally, financing and resourcing of projects represents an ever-present challenge for all but the highest-quality mineral deposits. CITATION: Trench, A, Davies, R S, Saleem, A, Sykes, J, Treasure, W and Ulrich, S, 2018. On the sources of complexity in contemporary and future mining projects, in Proceedings Complex Orebodies Conference 2018, pp 65–66 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Nov 21, 2018

A mining joint venture presents a real management challenge to achieve harmony with the other participants in the successful development and operation of a mine. This can best be facilitated by a detailed agreement and guided by a set of joint venture principles which recognise the differences of the interests of the parties and seek to establish sound business and personal principles by which differences not anticipated in the agreement might be resolved. The major and minor co-venturers can and do present potential difficulties to one another. This paper, one of the pair in the joint venture panel discussion session, predominately presents the minor's viewpoint. Usually commercial matters such as project finance, areas of interest, divestment, pre-emptive rights and decision-making can be adequately covered in the agreement. However, when the parties disagree and have difficulty in resolving their differences, the joint venture principles should be used to advantage to resolve relationship difficulties.

Jan 1, 1997

By Parker JB

The Channar Iron Ore Mining Project (the Project) is a joint venture involving the Hamersley Holdings group (Hamersley) and the China Metallurgical Import and Export Corporation (CMIEC). The Project represents the first new iron ore mine development in Australia since 1971/72 and is the first major overseas mining investment by the People's Republic of China (PRC). The Channar mine is being constructed in the Pilbara region of Western Australia and will operate for more than 20 years supplying the PRC with 200 M tonne of high grade iron ore. The Project is configured to take advantage of Hamersley's existing production and support facilities. The Joint Venturers will invest A$280 million to achieve an initial production rate of 3 M tonne/yr and an additional A$120 million over the next 8 years to achieve full capacity of 10 M tonne/yr. Financing the Project to meet the requirements of both Hamersley and CMIEC, with the dependance of the Project on Hamersley's infrastructure, and in a depressed iron ore market, required an innovative financial structure to be arranged in a limited period. This paper describes both the financial structure and its implementation, and draws a number of conclusions regarding the financing of resource projects.

Jan 1, 1989

By P McCarthy

Despite significant advances in the platform technologies that could form part of a system of mine automation, the goal of full automation in most underground mining applications remains distant. This is because the industry developed these platform technologies to achieve local improvements in safety, machine and labour productivity, and asset utilisation, rather than to work towards a goal of a complete system of automation for general application in underground mines. This paper reviews the history and current state of automation in the underground mining industry and uses lessons learnt from the automobile and general manufacturing industries to gain insight into the opportunities and pitfalls in the complex and uncertain path to automation of underground mines. It also evaluates the relevance of the current drivers of interest in the industry. From this, we hope to engender an attainable vision of automation in underground mining and determine the best development path, process and timeline to achieve this vision.

Jan 1, 2008

Despite the large areas of sedimentary basins in Western Australia, the coal resources are very meagre., This is a serious problem for the State, which-at present-lacks any other alternate source of fuel-for power production.. Located coal deposits are all poor in quality and mostly brown coals of little importance. The best..coal suitable for extraction is at Collie, where a black=sub- bituminous non-coking coal is mined. Most other coals recorded are low grade or lignite, with high ash'and moisture content and a low calorific value. Coal was first discovered in Western Australia in the bed of the Irwin River, 50-miles south-east of Geraldton, by the Gregory brothers, explorers, in the year 18+6,. but although investigated, it has never been developed. The most noteworthy discovery of coal was in the Collie River, 26 miles east of Bunbury, by Arthur Perrin in 1883. Production commenced in 1898 and ever since, Collie has continued to be the State's sole producing coalfield.

Jan 1, 1964

By C P. C David, J P. T Domingo

Addressing nutrient deficiency, among other factors, is vital to the growth and establishment of plants in mine spoils and tailings ponds. Although several organic amendments are available for this purpose, it is important to determine the appropriate ameliorant for the selected plant species. This research examined the effect of different amendments on the growth and ground cover of Centrosema molle, Calopogonium mucunoides and Sorghum spp. in copper/gold tailings. Plant growth and ground cover drastically increased with the application of organic ameliorants, especially manure. Among the three plants, Calopogonium exhibited the best growth and has shown its capability to establish a dense ground cover even in unamended tailings. Results suggest that the plant species and the ameliorants used in this study could be effective in a low-input approach to mine rehabilitation.CITATION:Domingo, J P T and David, C P C, 2014. Legume and grass revegetation of mine tailings, in Proceedings Life-of-Mine 2014 , pp 525–534 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Jul 16, 2014

By S H. Begg

There is strong evidence that many major oil and gas (O&G) projects are plagued by large cost and schedule overruns, or significant underperformance in productivity. Similar evidence exists for large mining projects. This paper claims that uncertainty is the underlying reason why projects fail to deliver the metrics used to justify their investment, or to deliver the economic value possible if alternative decisions had been made.Most technical and economic analyses are performed to reduce uncertainty to help make decisions. Decision-making is about ranking alternatives and choosing the best; rarely are precise predictions required, if this is even possible. Better uncertainty assessment is one of the keys to better decisions, thus better business outcomes. To get better decisions it is suggested that the focus or reward/penalty incentives be shifted away from the quality of outcomes to the quality of decisions. High-quality decisions are those that are generated from the skilled use of the tools, methodologies and processes from the discipline of decision analysis.Uncertainty is quantified by probability, which is a degree of belief in the truth/falsity of some proposition about a quantity relevant to a decision, such as volume of in-place resource, future price or action of a competitor. The probability a person ascribes to a proposition depends upon their information set; hence probability is subjective – it is not an inherent attribute of the quantity of interest or the physical system.The above simple observations have profound implications for modelling approaches, how they deal with uncertainty, the use of data to help assess uncertainty and the reliability of information provided by subject-matter experts. The limited circumstances under which frequency data (from spatial or temporal variables) can be used to assign probabilities is also reviewed.People, in general, are subject to a range of biases and cognitive errors. Research with O&G subject-matter experts shows that their expertise offers little or no protection from making errors in probability assessments and other judgements.CITATION:Begg, S H, 2016. Decisions, decisions – uncertainty, variability, modelling and psychology, in Proceedings Seventh International Conference and Exhibition on Mass Mining (MassMin 2016), pp 9–18 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

May 9, 2016

By H Ishikawa, H Zhou, M Spagnolo, R Halomoan, S Palaniandy

The Karara Mine concentrator commenced operation in November 2012 to produce high-grade magnetite concentrate. The circuit consists of three stages of comminution plus magnetic separation at each stage for early gangue rejection. High-Pressure Grinding Rolls (HPGRs) are used for fine crushing, followed by ball mills and TowerMills in secondary and fine grinding duties respectively. In recent times, the plant throughput rate has had to exceed design by 18% to maintain the targeted concentrate productivity. Meanwhile, the ore hardness has increased by 25% to 15 kWh/t, leading to changes in the circuit operation and design. These changes led to coarser and harder feed to the TowerMill circuit that affects the subsequent separation processes. Nippon Eirich (the TowerMill manufacturer) has partnered with Karara Mining Limited (Karara) to optimise the TowerMill circuit operation to achieve a circuit product with an 80% passing (P80) of 35 µm. Several activities, including a TowerMill circuit audit and performance evaluation, multi-component analysis, modelling and simulation, were carried out as part of the optimisation exercise. The circuit audit results revealed that the TowerMill circuit feed size F80 had increased and ranged from 67–75 µm. The circuit product P80 ranged between 42–55 µm. The average circuit specific energy was 3.4 kWh/t. Moreover, the differences in density between magnetite and gangue minerals had affected the hydrocyclone performance where the efficiency curve exhibits coarse end deflection indicating that low-density coarse material was bypassing to the overflow stream. A multi-component analysis was carried out to further investigate the coarse end deflection of the hydrocyclone efficiency curve. The analysis showed that the magnetite and gangue minerals had different cut sizes of 32 and 64 µm respectively. Furthermore, 33% of the magnetite (below 35 µm) was being recycled back to the mill due to the density effect. Based on these findings, several recommendations for process improvement were identified and implemented including:• converting to a bottom feeding configuration to improve the grinding efficiency in the mill• additional grinding power in the fine grinding duty to compensate for the increase in plant throughput and ore hardness• improved classification efficiency by converting to smaller size hydrocyclones. Simulation studies carried out to evaluate the impact of these implementations had indicated that a P80 close to 35 µm with a steeper size distribution could be achieved by using the bottom feed configuration with additional grinding power. The TowerMill circuit was converted to bottom feed configuration and the performance was evaluated. The operating work index, size specific energy and circulating load were 30% lower than the top feed configuration, indicating that the bottom feed configuration had a higher grinding efficiency. This paper discusses the outcome of the circuit audit, multicomponent analysis, circuit simulations, improvement strategies and quantification of the improvements. CITATION:Palaniandy, S, Spagnolo, M, Halomoan, R, Zhou, H and Ishikawa, H, 2017. Fine grinding circuit process improvement at the Karara mine concentrator, in Proceedings MetPlant 2017, pp 101–120 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Sep 11, 2017

Marble deposits of dolomitic variety are available in large quantities in India and for extracting these deposits diamond wire saw cutting machine is mainly used. Cutting performance of the diamond wire saw machine depends on rock parameters, machine parameters and operational parameters. Rock parameters related to physico-mechanical properties, such as, compressive strength, tensile strength, shear strength, modulus of elasticity and abrasion resistance of marble play role in determining cutting rate and beads wear rate. Thus, this study was undertaken to determine the relationship between different physico-mechanical properties and cutting performance. This work also aimed at enhancing the cutting performance of diamond wire saw in dolomitic marble deposit. Study was conducted in the field at three different zones having deposit of soft, medium hard and hard dolomitic marble. During the study, cutting rates and wearing of diamond beads were recorded in the field. Physico-mechanical properties were determined in the laboratory. The results obtained were subsequently evaluated by using statistical analysis. Study revealed that these properties of marble play a significant role in the performance of diamond wire saw machine. Predictive equations for the wearing of diamond beads and cutting rate were developed based on regression models. Results of this study will be of ample use for operators of wire saw to achieve maximum cutting performance and for manufacturers in designing the diamond beads.

Dec 6, 2010

By A Gray

Physical separation features in almost every mineral processing circuit. The category encompasses a broad range of techniques and technologies including hydrocyclones, gravity concentration methods (including jigs, spirals, centrifugal concentrators, tables, heavy media separators) and thickeners, all of which make use of the inherent density differences between two mediums. It is also possible to include flotation, magnetic separation, and ore sorting in the physical separation category.However, opportunities for enhanced physical separation performance can now go beyond the common practice of optimising unit operations. Improved options exist for feed preparation ahead of the physical separation stage, enabling higher performance and lower cost outcomes for physical separation flow sheets and technologies.The use of new applications in breakage technologies combined with mineral liberation analysis to optimise liberation prior to the physical separation stage provides options for preconcentration and gangue rejection as well as better separation efficiency. The use of low cost gangue rejection and preconcentration can be an intermediate step between mining and processing that allows processing of lower cut-off grades from the mine whilst delivering higher grades to the mill.Optimising flow sheets and technology performance requires detailed understanding of particle size and shape distributions as well as liberation characteristics to suit the particular separation unit, combined with knowledge of the available technologies, their capabilities and the economic impact across the whole mine cycle.CITATION:Gray, A, 2017. The role of liberation in physical separation techniques, in Proceedings MetPlant 2017, pp 147–156 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Sep 11, 2017

By D Andrew, G Stanway, P Mahoney, C Griebel

The iron ore mining industry is currently going through an adjustment from high to more moderate growth as China’s economy transitions from capital-intensive investment to a more services-oriented economy. We are now witnessing a renewed focus on productivity improvements and cost savings as planned expansions are completed. Despite the scale and importance that the mining industry plays in the global economy, innovation literature is generally more targeted at faster-moving industries with shorter innovation timeframes and lower capital requirements. To fill this gap, VCI set out to understand the state of innovation in the mining industry in 2014. This State of Play report aims to give an objective appraisal of the strengths and weaknesses of innovation in mining. The report has three sections covering both the structure and delivery of innovation in mining:Ecosystem – focused on understanding how the iron ore mining innovation ecosystem system works, including the roles of large and small miners, service companies, researchers and governments. Our recommendations focus on what is required for the system to work well and improve the level and quality of innovation in the industry.Strategy – how do companies define their innovation strategy in relation to their corporate strategy? How are these related to prevailing global and industry trends? How do they communicate this with their business? How successful are they? These are among the questions that this section attempts to answer. Our recommendations are pitched at the executive leadership of iron ore mining and service companies.Delivery – focused on how companies develop and deliver innovation, looking at the success of different structural options, leadership and culture, partnerships and the best approaches to change. Recommendations are aimed at improving outcomes within the iron ore mining value chain, including the role that suppliers play.CITATION:Stanway, G, Mahoney, P, Andrew, D and Griebel, C, 2015. Understanding the state of innovation in the iron ore industry, in Proceedings Iron Ore 2015, pp 631–646 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Jul 13, 2015