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By Holly J

The period following World War II has seen many changes in stoping techniques at The Great Boulder Gold Mine. The new methods resulted in improved unit production figures, and have given some relief from the rising worldwide cost spiral in the post war years.Significant production figures are shown graphically in...

Jan 1, 1956

By C Bellia, A Maldonado, S Strong, H Baxter

This paper discusses the technical and cost benefits of alternative data collection techniques used to collect lithological information, obtain laboratory testing samples and perform in situ testing. A comparison between diamond coring and sonic coring techniques is made using data from a recent geotechnical investigation for a final pit slope cut-back. The impacts of the coring method on laboratory strength testing results, material character testing and, ultimately, the mass strength parameters and subsequent slope design adopted are compared. The sonic coring method was chosen out of necessity and enabled the collection of tube samples of a clay unit of interest as well as bulk samples for material character and geochemical testing. The sonic coring generated unexpected degradation of clastic units, while cohesive clay-dominated units were recovered well. The likelihood that disturbance due to the coring method would result in lower than expected triaxial strength results was recognised ahead of time, with surplus samples collected and single-stage triaxial strength testing undertaken. This testing compared favourably with historic three-stage testing, where sample degradation occurred during the later stages. Material character testing of fine-grained, clay-dominated units was comparable with historic diamond core testing, while grain size estimates for more clastic units tended to be finer than previous results. The use of sonic coring over non-cored methods enabled the collection of material texture data, geotechnical properties and a full suite of geochemical analyses. This provided a comprehensive understanding of the lithological and geotechnical character of the rock and soil mass. A high-confidence geotechnical model was developed. The end result was the development of a slope design that was more aggressive than was previously designed (5° steeper inter-ramp angle), which has proven to be appropriate to the conditions following excavation. Overall, sonic coring was a cost-effective means of obtaining additional geotechnical data for the site.CITATION:Baxter, H, Bellia, C, Maldonado, A and Strong, S, 2015. Case study assessing alternative data collection techniques and analysis methods to assist with geotechnical slope design, in Proceedings Iron Ore 2015, pp 419–428 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Jul 13, 2015

By D Cumming-Potvin

Incidents that trap miners in underground mines have serious consequences for the miners and the mine operators involved. It is of utmost importance that mine operators utilise all available tools when trying to locate and rescue trapped miners. From testing conducted at underground hard rock mines, Cumming-Potvin et al (2013) found that pre-existing microseismic monitoring systems, which are routinely used for seismic risk management, have the potential to be used for detecting and locating trapped miners.This paper reflects on the Anzac Day seismic event that trapped two miners at Tasmania Mine, Beaconsfield, on 25 April 2006. The Anzac Day event occurred at 2123 on a Tuesday evening. Rescuers were unable to confirm that the trapped miners had survived until 1930 on Sunday evening. It is not possible to speculate on how the rescue operation may have been different had the technology to use the microseismic monitoring system for the purpose of detecting the trapped miners been available. However, it almost certainly would have been different. The recent research project has demonstrated that knowing the fate of the Beaconsfield miners might have been achievable up to 100 hours earlier than was the case in 2006. That knowledge would have been invaluable to the rescue effort.By examining the seismic array at the Tasmania Mine, the reliability of detection over the working levels of the mine could be quantified. Had the methodology been available, adding six additional sensors (at a cost of $40 000), would have been sufficient to increase the likelihood of detection to greater than 90 per cent in the working levels of the mine. This was true both at the time of closure of the mine in 2012, and just prior to the Anzac day event.CITATION:Cumming-Potvin, D and Hills, P B, 2014. Use of a pre-existing microseismic monitoring system to detect trapped miners (with reflections on Beaconsfield 2006), in Proceedings 12th AusIMM Underground Operators’ Conference 2014 , pp 143–150 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Mar 24, 2014

The major technological advances of the last 30 years have profoundly reshaped mining practices. Machines keep getting bigger while productivity continues to increase and manning levels drop. These trends will continue and the introduction of breakthrough technologies will continue to accelerate, driven by a continued focus on lowering the cost of production, improving the productivity of workers and machines, and ensuring safer working environments. At the same time, global consolidation of mining companies has impacted on technology development in a range of ways. There are many potential technologies being proposed, some already operating in Australian mines. The automation of underground load-haul-dump (LHD) trucks for example, continues the process of removing workers from the most dangerous operating environments. Global positioning systems fitted to draglines, fibre optic communication channels, and 400 tonne trucks are only some examples of what lies ahead. However, where we need to return focus is to the technology of management û which is also one of the two key interrelated themes of this keynote address. Have we, as an industry, adequately been able to keep up with technological advances? Are our management systems as competent as the machinery we employ? The other key theme is the processes of globalisation and consolidation. What are the impacts on our industry? What are the implications of these processes, particularly for the ways in which we manage our people? My paper is divided into several components:some comments on the coal industry and the dramatic restructuring we have seen in recent years; in the context of this restructuring, an overview of my company and its evolution; my views on the role of contractors; some comments on the consolidation also occurring in the mining machinery and equipment, technology and services sectors; some observations on two major areas of technology û drill and blast; and trucks, shovels and excavators; the implications of consolidation and new technology for our employees and management; and finally some comments on research programs.

Jan 1, 2001

The changes in layout and design over 48 years, from the first crushing and shiploading plant installed at Whyalla in 1915, up to the present plant being built at Koolan Island, Yampi Sound may be summarized as follows.1. Smaller motors and lower power consumption have resulted froma. oil lubrication, where practicable, in place of grease,b. a high pressure "oil-lift" device to reduce starting torque in crushers with white metal bearings, andc. roller bearings in place of white metal.2. Short centre drives with pivot-based motors permit controlled loads on bearings and a reduction in size of crusher houses and motor rooms.3. Dust proofing and pressurising of crusher houses and motor rooms reduces working temperatures and improves cleanliness.4. Variable speed pan feeders give improved plant control, with the use of one man only, and remove the need for large surge bins between crushing stages.5. The use of diesel quarry trucks to dump ore through a "drive over"tip results in faster truck cycles.6. Elevated cylindrical silos with air operated chutes, replace long horizontal storage bins with multiple manually operated side discharge chutes for loading rail cars, and give faster and more accurate truck loading. The silos are charged by belt conveyors with automatic distributors.7. Increased shipping bin capacity (40,000 tons at Whyalla and 6O,OOO tons being built at Koolan Island) caters for the bigger vessels now in use and envisaged for the future. Automatic travelling distributors deliver ore to the bins in layers to ensure, maximum mixing and a more uniform grade for blast furnaces.INTRODUCTIONThe Broken Hill Proprietary Company Ltd has six major crushing plants in Australia at its principal sources of raw material. These are at Iron Knob bench G, Iron Knob scree ore plant, Iron Baron, and Cockatoo Island, all of which are ironstone operations. The other two plants are at Rapid Bay, a limestone quarry, and at Ardrossan, which is the Company's only source of dolomite.

Jan 1, 1963

By S R. Williams

There is a sense of geometallurgy being new; a new methodology for mining project development and improved operational strategy. One of the main challenges that any ænewÆ technology faces is a validation of the value and the need to produce case studies. However, producing case studies can often be problematic particularly given the long cycle from mineral deposit project, through feasibility and construction to stabilised operation of a mine.However, the roots of geometallurgy go back quite some time. Successful practices with geometallurgy can be seen from as early as the 1980s. Many times those practices were not called geometallurgy but something else and, in other cases, what can be seen are various components of the geometallurgical ævalue chainÆ.This paper will analyse a selection of published past practices from a geometallurgical perspective to demonstrate the value realised from the application of this methodology. The paper will then make some general comments on where this history of work in geometallurgy has lead us to and what are the challenges today for the geometallurgical effort.CITATION:S R Williams, 2013. A historical perspective of the application and success of geometallurgical methodologies, in Proceedings The Second AusIMM International Geometallurgy Conference (GeoMet) 2013 , pp 37-48 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Sep 29, 2013

By B Y. Luan, Y Tian, W Zhou, X Lu, Q X. Cai

The unmanned driving technology in open pit coalmines is an important technology that relies on innovation to drive the development of the open pit coal mining industry in China’s transformation of growth drivers and industrial structure upgrading. It is an important path to solve the shortage of mine truck drivers in the future mining, an important way to improve the working environment of open pit mining personnel, and an important foundation for achieving flexible production capacity in open pit mining to cooperate with the coordinated development of new energy. The communication rules at intersections are key to ensuring the safety and efficiency of unmanned driving in open pit coalmines. This paper proposes a collaborative traffic strategy between unmanned trucks for the single bucket unmanned truck intermittent process system in open pit coalmines. Based on the gap theory, this paper analyses the conflict characteristics and establishes a coordinated traffic strategy for the common intersection and merging conflicts of unmanned truck trucks in open pit coalmines, A multi-agent system simulation platform was built to evaluate the coordinated traffic efficiency under different initial average gap sizes of vehicles, with intersection traffic density, vehicle speed, and gap changes as key indicators. The results show that under the simulation conditions of this article, when the initial average gap of vehicles reaches three (four) times or more of the safe distance, the coordinated traffic performance of intersection conflicts (merging conflicts) is better, and the traffic capacity of intersections is close to the traffic capacity without conflicts.

Sep 1, 2024

By R Hargreaves, T Elkington, W J. Shaw, G W. Booth

Every day, around the world, thousands of tons of ore are loaded onto ships completing the miningproduction process and starting a multimillion-dollar economic transactions process. These transactions are based on the supply of tons of a commodity with certain specifications of assays of the main element (or physical properties) and concentration of contaminants, which are finally verified and evaluated by buyers, and also are considered ‘as true’ during Reconciliation process. On Sample Stations, this ‘true’ is based on a few kilograms of sample, often representing thousands of tons, that are sent to laboratories for further sample preparation and chemical analysis, where finally assay information is obtained from a few grams of pulverised sample, and are used for further production, planning, operational and financial-marketing decisions. Different International Standards (depending on the commodity) are used to establish the methodology to be followed, to set-up and obtain samples from the Sample Stations, and the specifications are visually inspected to give an estimation on the performance of the sampling point. This paper seeks to highlight with examples, the importance of the implementation of a continuously monitored Quality Program (QAQC and QM) on Sample Stations, focused on the parameters that directly affect the quality and representativeness of the samples. By this implementation, a proactive approach and better-informed decisions can be taken for mining companies to: a) quantify/improve production and reconciliation results, and b) to supply the right specifications of shipped ore, increasing the value of the Resources. Finally, laboratory results are normally used as an indication of the quality of the information applied for the economic transaction, but it should be considered, clarified and highlighted that the laboratory will only process and analyse a sample obtained from a Sample Station, and potential problems on bias or precision may occur in stages prior to the laboratory reception. Hence the importance of the implementation of a quality assurance program that protects multi-million dollar decisions.

Mar 22, 2022

By M Castello, P Bouchard, M Sabsabi, A Blouin, B Nguegang Kamwa, M Constantin, K Fytas, M Laflamme, K Rifai, F Vidal

Canada’s Quebec province operates 26 metal mines, 19 of which are producing gold and generating over C$1.8 billion (US$1.3 billion) annually. In all those mines, numerous samples of rock are collected and analysed daily in laboratories in order to determine their gold content. However, laboratory results are generally available within 48 hours of sampling (depending on the number of samples received by the laboratory and the priority of the results), thus potentially slowing down mining activities. In an attempt to find a solution for delayed laboratory results, Laval University, in partnership with the National Research Council Canada (NRC), the National Institute for Scientific Research (INRS) and four mining companies (Agnico Eagle, Canadian Malartic, Hecla Québec and Iamgold) have launched the Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) project for in situ real-time mining sample analysis. This work aims to minimise the amount of LIBS point sampling necessary to be representative of a full scan of the analysed area. Eight sampling patterns are investigated. A statistical analysis of the data was performed by varying the pattern steps. Results show that two of the patterns, 1 and 5 (single diagonal crossing the stratification of the samples with opposite slopes) minimise the amount of point sampling while remaining representative. The most successful results are obtained from steps which are greater than 6. In terms of the type of material, pattern 5 and steps 9 are better for core sampling, while pattern 1 and steps 8 are better for rock sampling. The geological explanation for these results is the heterogeneous distribution of gold in the sample which seems to be more homogeneous in the rocks than in the core sample due to the small rock size. In terms of the mineralisation, pattern 5 is better for mixed sulfides and quartz veins, and steps 8 and 9 are better for quartz veins.CITATION:Nguegang Kamwa, B, Rifai, K, Laflamme, M, Constantin, M, Castello, M, Vidal, F, Bouchard, P, Fytas, K, Blouin, A and Sabsabi, M, 2017. Sampling strategy by statistical analyses of LIBS data in the context of a portable gold analyser, in Proceedings Tenth International Mining Geology Conference 2017, pp 221–232 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Sep 20, 2017

By A Vakili

Dilution is associated with considerable direct and indirect costs in underground open stoping operations. As shown in previous works, an improved ability to predict dilution enables the economic risks associated with unplanned dilution to be reduced. Depending on the width of the orebody and depth of mining, the economic performance of an open stoping operation can become even more sensitive to dilution. It is shown in several well-documented studies that as little as 1 per cent of additional dilution can impose millions of dollars of lost profits per annum. Optimisation of a stoping operation is therefore largely dependent on the ability of the operation to minimise dilution. This can only be achieved through sensible analysis of past and future performance of mined stopes using the most appropriate recent available technologies and tools. This article presents a new design process that utilises advanced geotechnical numerical modelling and various other analytical tools to assist with a more robust mine design of open stoping operations. The focus of this design process is on geotechnical factors affecting dilution during the life-of-mine. A recent application of this optimisation method for a mining operation is presented in this paper as a case study. Through the application of this method and various other operational improvements, the mine was able to deliver more consistent production and lower operating costs over its life-ofmine outlook and was able to reduce dilution by up to 50 per cent and achieve sustainable record high production rates.

Mar 29, 2023

By P Craig, I Canbulat, J Naylor, J Emery, A Sykes

Longwall mining is by far the most common method of underground coal extraction in Australia. Industry trends and expectations are placing increasing emphasis on the reliability and productivity of these operations. Longwalls are becoming wider and longer while retreat rates are continuously increasing due to significant improvements achieved in longwall equipment reliability and automation. This increased longwall productivity is placing significant emphasis on the reliability of longwall panel development.Although there have been significant improvements in the reliability of continuous miners and hydraulic drill rigs, the traditional resin-encapsulated bolt installation is still the principal method used in all major coal producing countries around the world. Anglo American realised that an opportunity existed to introduce an alternative roof bolt installation technique called ‘spin-to-stall’ (STS) into Australia. STS was first introduced by Anglo American Coal in South Africa, where it has been successfully used for over a decade, though implementation of South African STS resin in Australia has proven to be near impossible. Therefore, a new STS development project was initiated between Anglo American Coal and Jennmar Australia. This paper summarises the journey of this project, the results achieved and the successful implementation of STS at Grasstree mine.CITATION:Emery, J, Canbulat, I, Craig, P, Naylor, J and Sykes, A, 2014. Development and implementation of spin-to-stall resin at Anglo American’s Australian Underground Coal Operations, in Proceedings AusRock 2014: Third Australasian Ground Control in Mining Conference , pp 287–294 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Nov 5, 2014

With more difficult economic conditions and increased competition, the Australian exploration industry is allocating increased resources to developing more effective and efficient exploration technologies. A significant number of new techniques have been developed, and Australian companies are now at the forefront of exploration technology worldwide. These should increase the chances of maintaining Australia's leading position in world mining over the long term.

Jan 1, 1987

By D Hatton, S Wilson, F Orrante, M Taghimohammadi, F van der Walt, N Arslan, M Westcott

"Cayeli Bakir Isletmeleri is an underground copper-zinc mine in turkey. The ore is highly variable with feed grades ranging from 1–4 per cent copper and 1–10 per cent zinc. Due to this variability, ore characterisation and blending strategies are crucial for performance optimisation.This paper presents a case study for a multidisciplinary approach to process optimisation, integrating Geometallurgical and advanced control methods to achieve optimised plant performance. The results from comprehensive metallurgical tests and surveys were used to develop a mathematical model utilising SGS’s Integrated Geometallurgical Simulator® (version number 2.5.24.0). The model was employed to determine the most appropriate operational settings required to ensure that optimised grades and recoveries are achieved for each ore type.SGS’s Modular Expert Technology (MET) expert system was then implemented to target these optimum operational ranges utilising online grade and froth velocity measurements. The successful conversion and deployment of the modelled process parameters into an expert system has resulted in significant improvements in overall recovery and circuit stability.Citation:Arslan, N, Westcott, M, van der Walt, F, Hatton, D, Taghimohammadi, M, Orrante, F and Wilson, S, 2016. A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Optimisation and Control of a Copper-zinc Grinding and Flotation Circuit, in Proceedings 13th AusIMM Mill Operators’ Conference 2016, pp 115–122 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne)."

Oct 10, 2016

By W A. Take, M McKellar, A Walsh, S McDougall, S G. Evans

Recent tailings dam failures have heightened public awareness of the hazard posed by storage facilities for mining waste, illustrating the need for a more critical examination of tailings dam breach mechanisms and the potential mobility of liquefied tailings. Knowledge from tailings dam breach studies will help improve safety and risk management through more accurate inundation maps, dam consequence classifications and emergency preparedness plans. Tailings dams differ from conventional water retaining dams, although dam breach relationships used in practice rely heavily on relationships derived for breach processes from the latter. Physical modelling offers a controlled environment to advance the understanding of tailings dam breach processes, thereby allowing for modelling of simple geometry and boundary conditions to test hypotheses. The performed experiments investigate prototypical tailings dam configurations and material behaviour, with the objective of validating numerical models that will enable practitioners to better assess and mitigate tailings flows resulting from tailings dam failures. Research conducted in the Queen’s University Landslide Flume at the Coastal Engineering Laboratory has investigated the breaching of 1 m high dams with tailings geometry by overtopping initiated by a v-notch incised in the dam crest. This paper presents the initial results of the next stage of this research comparing the outflow hydrograph following loss of containment caused by shear failure to overtopping initiated by notch flow. The two dam experiments presented are constructed with similar dam and reservoir geometries allowing for a direct comparison of the effect on the outflow hydrograph of each failure event. Preliminary outcomes suggest that although both dam failure events are triggered from separate mechanisms their geometries allow for similar values of Q_peak to be reached. Future work is currently planned to expand the shear test series to explore the influence of failure mechanism on the outflow hydrograph.

Jul 1, 2021

By Pullen G, Rose M

Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is not just a catch-cry. It is an essential component of every-day life in many professions, including accountancy, law and public administration. Without realising it, many other professions are undertaking CPD activities in an un-structured way, including mining, metallurgy and geology. Examples include Annual and technical conferences of The Institute, Branch-level technical meetings and in-company training and development programmes and technical exchanges. Whilst approaches to date have undoubtedly helped keep the Australian mining industry at the forefront of mining technology, one cannot presume that technological development will stand still. To meet this challenge, human resource development must keep pace, not only to optimize utilization of technological developments, but more importantly to develop firm bases from which new products, processes and technologies can be developed within Australia.

Jan 1, 1989

The words ""Uncertainty"" and ""Risk"" pervade every discussion about mining exploration and investment. Perhaps these terms are subjectively understood by industry professionals, but objective portrayal of these concepts outside the industry is a woefully undeveloped science. This paper addresses current industry understanding and practice regarding quantitative risk assessment techniques, and provides examples of the application of three of these techniques. Probabilistic techniques for financial risk assessment are valuable adjuncts to conventional financial analysis, and address a range of issues not assessable by any other means. The value of whole-of-project probabilistic risk assessment is currently debatable for decision-making purposes, but is seen as important as a mechanism to focus attention to the critical issues that ultimately impact on project success. The dissection of project capital into risk and non-risk components provides valuable insights into risk characteristics not readily quantifiable in any other way. This technique also provides a framework for more objective ""what if?"" scenario evaluation and for the capital structure of resource projects. Finally, mechanisms for the valuation of undeveloped reserves are examined, and guidelines suggested. The importance of reliability in production cost estimates is highlighted and the impact of early development on reserve valuations is discussed. The importance of economics throughout all stages of the evaluation process is fundamental.

Jan 1, 1994

By D Howe

The Athena gold deposit was discovered in 2007 by Gold Fields Australia Ltd, at the St Ives Gold Mine, 35 km southeast of Kambalda, Western Australia. Gold anomalism was identified in sheared Paringa Basalt as a result of a regional scale aircore drilling program, in association with geophysics. In the 18 months following discovery, the deposit was intensely drilled and by June 2009, it was announced that the Athena deposit contained an ore reserve of 1.7 Mt @ 5.6 g/t for 316 koz. This was followed by a feasibility study, and as a result mine development commenced in November 2009.The Athena mineralisation is hosted in a discrete, north-south striking, steep to moderately dipping shear zone within the southwest dipping Paringa Basalt. Vein intensity has a strong correlation to grade and vein type varies from early thin quartz-albite-sulfide (pyrite and/or pyrrhotite) shear parallel veins to strong brecciation and irregular veining with quartz-albite-actinolite-biotite-pyrrhotite infill. The geology preproduction process developed at the Argo mine was refined and improved following a business improvement project. The aim of the process is to construct detailed geological interpretations prior to development allowing informed mining decisions to be made. The process delivers significant cost savings and revenue enhancements.The development of macroscopic classification scheme was critical to determine ore or waste in the early phases of mining. The Style of Deformation, Alteration and Veining (SAV) Code was the result, and has been enhanced as greater geological knowledge is gained over time.

Aug 22, 2011

The use of walk-through inspections, approvals and ad hoc investigations to ensure risk is kept within acceptable levels is reaching its limits of effectiveness. Further improvement in occupational health and safety requires a systems approach, and the use of Quality Management principles is an obvious basis for this. SafeGuard, a æbest practiceÆ model health and safety management system and audit criteria based on AS/NZS ISO 9001:1994, has been produced by the Department of Mines and Energy. Quality style audits of mine and quarry health and safety systems are now being carried out by the Inspectorate.

Jan 1, 1998

By B Flynn, P Knights

Low-loaders or 'floats' for relocating equipment in surface mines are limited to a capacity of approximately 350 t. In the iron ore industry it is desirable to be able to rapidly relocate excavators in order to maintain production rates within appropriate quality limits. In addition, the ability to rapidly relocate heavy equipment raises the possibility of improving the quality of repairs by performing maintenance in controlled shop conditions. However, many iron ore operations operate hydraulic excavators in the 600 to 800 t range, with newly released excavator models exceeding 800 t. These excavators are too large to float using conventional technology. This paper examines the potential for using multi-bogie transporters to relocate large hydraulic excavators in surface mines. Recent innovations have seen the development of modular transporters which can be coupled together to achieve larger platform areas. When separated, and with their drive bogies neutralised, these units are able to be towed behind prime movers and relocated between mines via public roads. The potential cost savings for relocating a Terex RH170 excavator in an open pit coal mine are examined. In the first six months of 2008, the analysis showed the potential for a 38 per cent reduction in total travel time with a corresponding revenue increase of approximately $350 k. The paper recommends that a feasibility study be conducted into offering a heavy equipment relocation service within the Pilbara region.

Jan 1, 2009

By C Beal

Proper understanding and management of production drilling in sublevel cave (SLC) mines is essential for meeting production targets and for avoiding inefficiencies that could lead to costly bottlenecks. In many SLC mine management models drilling is considered a derivative activity of firing and bogging. Its scheduling is considered to be implied in a firing schedule and given an arbitrary target completion, ‘several weeks’ or ‘a month’, ahead of production firing. Like development, drilling activities are most efficient when conducted separately from other production activities. Unlike development, however, it is not apparent during planning and feasibility how far in advance of firing drilling activities ought to be conducted. This paper presents a method of defining a minimum threshold of drilled stocks above which drilling, firing and bogging operations occur most efficiently. As an example, the drilling activities, procedures, and maintenance at Glencore Xstrata’s Ernest Henry Mine are presented, and the larger scale consequences of improvements to these areas are presented to illustrate their importance in the operation of an SLC mine.CITATION:Beal, C, 2014. Understanding the role of production drilling and drilled stocks in efficient operation of a sublevel cave mine, in Proceedings 12th AusIMM Underground Operators’ Conference 2014 , pp 235–242 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Mar 24, 2014