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By R Jones

OneSteel Whyalla’s grate-kiln-cooler pelletising plant was commissioned in 1968 processing haematite feed from the local South Middleback Ranges mining area. The existence of a magnetite resource beneath the haematite ore at Iron Duke had been known for some time. In 2004, a decision was made to covert the primary iron source for the Whyalla steelworks from haematite to magnetite – known as project magnet. The intent of the project was to convert the feed to the steelworks from haematite to magnetite and to free up the remaining haematite resource for export. The pelletising plant was cut over to a magnetite feed in 2007.The thermochemical differences of magnetite compared to haematite are threefold:1. the introduction of an exothermic reaction during conversion of magnetite to haematite,2. the absence of bound water which existed within the haematite, and3. lower gangue content requiring lower fluxing levels and therefore lower calcination energy demand.The combination of these differences results in a significantly different induration requirement for magnetite as compared to haematite. The change therefore required extensive research and test work to design modifications to the furnace and to ensure appropriate risk mitigation for the Whyalla steelworks.Preliminary pot-grate test work was performed to define the pellet chemistry and confirm the suitability of the magnetite to produce pellets suitable for the OneSteel blast furnace. A heating curve was developed by use of computer-based heat and mass balance modelling. Extensive pilot scale grate-kiln-cooler test work was then performed to confirm the heating curve and to verify and fine-tune the pellet properties. Computation fluid dynamics was used to design the physical changes to the furnace required to achieve the proposed heating curve.Following installation of an additional preheat zone, including a wall and dilution air fans, into the preheating furnace, and installation of an additional wall into the cooler, the modified furnace was commissioning in December 2007. The plant performed as expected during commissioning with the actual heating curve matching the proposed curve and the produced pellets within blast furnace specifications.

Jul 11, 2011

By F D. I Hodgson

Twenty-seven observation test pits were excavated at four different spoils dumps at three collieries in the Witbank Coalfield. The holes were dug into the upper three metres of the spoils to ascertain if any weathering profiles, variation with age or influence of topsoil covering could be gauged. Samples from these holes were also subjected to laboratory testing (ABA, humidity cells and mineralogy on several selected samples). The test pits showed that there was a good correlation between in situ paste pH-values and ABA results for samples taken from the pits. At all the collieries, no correlation between age of spoils and in situ acidity could conclusively be drawn. The depth of soil cover also appears to be a minor consideration in determining the eventual acidity of the spoil. In the pits where acidity was found, the weathering was evident when contrasted to areas still buffered. It is unclear if the weathering leads to the acidity or vice versa, as the soil covering appeared to be similar. The spoils proved to be extremely variable with regard to particle size and material on a micro and macro scale. Evidence from most of the holes suggested that there was enough water contained in the fine material in the spoils to support the initiation of acid generation. Conclusions from this investigation are that the mineralogy of the spoils is the most important factor in determining the eventual occurrence of acidic hotspots, and that prior characterisation and selective handling will provide the best management practice for these spoils.

Jan 1, 2003

Rather like the mythical "Economic Man" "an employer" in this context must necessarily be an abstraction, and the views possessed by such an abstraction, a composite of many views known to have been expressed. Not even the complex Conciliation and Arbitration legislation in this country provides any helpful specifications, except in one peculiar particular. The Australian Conciliation and Arbitration Act provides an almost totally tautological definition, except in that one oddity referred to above. It is this : "An employer means any employer in any industry, and includes any person who is usually an employer in an industry, and also includes a Club." No doubt there is some perfectly justifiable reason for such specific and unique particularity in an otherwise meaning- less definition. That need not trouble us in this exercise.

Jan 1, 1982

By F Wu, H Wang, W Chen

A pressurisation method with multiparallel fans has been adopted at HongLiuLin Coalmine to control the significant external air leakage through the goaf area of coalface 15207. Potential damaging effects of large external air leakage on a coalmine’s ventilation system are analysed according to the current air leakage status caused by the exploitation of shallow-covered coal seams. The use of pressure balanced ventilation to prevent external air leakage through goaf areas is introduced. The calculation of ventilation network of HongLiuLin Coalmine shows that the air resistance of an external air leakage branch through a goaf area and the air pressure drops from the intake slope to the working face can be adopted to determine the values of pressure to be increased by regulating fans and airflow controlling parameters of regulators. By investigating airflow requirements of the pressure-balanced area as well as the performances of the auxiliary fans currently used in the coalmine, the number of pressurisation fans needed is fixed. The expected result is achieved after the pressurisation method has been carried out, which can be helpful for other coalmines to handle similar problems.CITATION:Wu, F, Chen, W and Wang, H, 2015. Multiparallel fan method to prevent significant external air leakages through a goaf area of a shallow covered coalmine, in Proceedings The Australian Mine Ventilation Conference, pp 267–270 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Aug 31, 2015

By A D. Wulfse, C M. D Barton

Underground fractured aquifers in the Ernest Henry deposit are to a large extent controlled by deposit scale brittle structures. The underground mine has been subdivided into nine water zones based on hydrogeological characteristics, including conductivity and connectivity, within the mining areas bound by these structures. The nine water zones and the hydrological characteristics of the associated structures are utilised for risk assessing mine development and for targeting diamond drilling dewatering activities. Wireline and conventional underground diamond drilling techniques have been used throughout the network of underground aquifers with the aim of dewatering areas within the mining footprint. These dewatering drilling campaigns have historically been highly successful at lowering aquifer water levels throughout the underground workings. As part of recent mine expansion activities, diamond drilling has intersected high pressure (>507 psi), high temperature (>50°C) and high flow water (>3 L/sec) in as yet unconstrained underground aquifers. Groundwater is typically conducted through rubble and clay rich faults, further hampering progression of drilling. Drilling through fractured aquifers at depth presents both mine planning as well as safety challenges. Recent drill holes have been delayed or abandoned when aquifers hosting this high pressure, high flow water have been intersected, risking mine planning deadlines. Recent technological innovation developed to control groundwater outflows from the diamond drill hole whilst drilling has been trialled at the Ernest Henry Mine. This case study focuses on the utilisation of alternative drill methodologies to allow the current drilling campaign to continue without delay, whilst also improving safety conditions encountered on the drill site.

Mar 22, 2022

By D François-Bongarçon

The theory of sampling (TOS), and therefore representative sampling, is based on three fundamental principles: sample correctness, which handles the search for non-bias; segregation, the effects of which must be eliminated or minimised; and variance control to help achieve the desired reproducibility. After briefly reviewing these very few, albeit essential first principles of Gy’s TOS, the state-of-the-art in TOS is examined through the prism of these principles and the prospects for the future are explored, with suggestions for further research where relevant. Regarding segregation, which is currently the focus of much research, new orientations are proposed. For correctness, which takes on a major importance when it comes to sampling devices, some new, important principles that have been put forth by recent research, are described in details.CITATION:François-Bongarçon, D, 2014. State of affairs and current research trends in theory of sampling fundamentals, including segregation and correctness, in Proceedings Sampling 2014 , pp 11–16 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Jul 29, 2014

By Grossi M, Baiden G

This paper describes a new mine backfill method based on a newly invented binder with several years of test results from laboratory and on- site applications. The new binder has several advantages over traditional Portland and slag cement binders. One tonne of the new binder can replace two to three tonne of Portland cement when used to consolidate backfill and can result in the same compressive strength within seven days. When comparing backfill slurries of the same pulp density, the new binder attains more volume of in-place backfill mass than Portland cement because of the high crystallisation of water, resulting in tightly filled stopes. The crystallisation of the water provides for less or no de- watering in the backfill stope and easier transportation of the backfill slurry. Pastefill performance can be achieved by using pulp densities typical of a hydraulic backfill and the new binder, all the while transporting with the same ease of hydraulic fill.

Jan 1, 1998

By G Bubner, C Gaughan

Magnetite mineralisation within the South Middleback Range has been known since the early 1930s; however, it was not until 1989 that BHP (then owners of the Middleback Ranges mining leases) drilled 10 700 m of diamond core into what was then known as the Iron Duchess low-grade deposit. In 2002 a review of Iron Resources left in the Middleback Ranges and the identification of downstream processing benefits using magnetite as a primary feed source led to the commencement of an 18 000 m resource drilling program of the high-grade core of the Iron Duchess low-grade orebody (renamed the Iron Magnet deposit). This paper describes the geology, processes and procedures used since drilling recommenced in early 2003. The Iron Magnet deposit is located 53 km southwest of Whyalla in the South Middleback Range, South Australia. It is a Paleoproterozoic stratabound magnetite deposit that lies down-dip and lateral to the Iron Duke hematite deposit, hosted within the Lower Middleback Iron Formation of the Hutchison Group meta-sediments within the Cleve subdomain of the Gawler Craton. Magnetite bearing host units within the Lower Middleback Iron Formation can be divided into a æmixedÆ basal sequence, a lower iron carbonate unit, a middle iron talc unit and an upper iron silica unit, all units grading up sequence and laterally into one another. The magnetite mineralisation is hydrothermal in origin. The strongest consistent mineralisation coincides with the iron carbonate unit, and the hematite orebodies of the Iron Duke are interpreted to represent up-dip supergene enrichment of the same unit. The Iron Magnet occurs within a large-scale parasitic syncline-anticline pair on the west limb of a larger syncline. Major bounding north-south shear zones occur on the east and west sides of the deposit. Cross-cutting west-northwest, northwest, northeast and east-northeast trending faults displace mineralisation. The commencement of drilling in 2003 lead to the migration of geological and geochemical databases, re-logging and re-assaying of all old cores that intersected the deposit, updating of logging codes and procedures, and strict Qa/Qc procedures to ensure the study satisfied JORC standards. External consultants were used for auditing and bench marking. The strong geophysical responses of magnetite and the wealth of close spaced ground magnetic and gravity data already completed over the Middleback Ranges allowed for refining of drill hole targets for the drilling program. It also provided an indirect method for ascertaining magnetite grade and tonnage volumes.

Jan 1, 2005

By D La Rosa, D Bennett

"Exploration drill core provides for a number of standard measurements essential for determining the viability of a new mine or the extension of an existing one. Rock lithology and alteration can be visually determined and grade measured from the half core. Geotechnical parameters such as rock strength and structure can also be measured. Using suitable proxies, these metrics can then be used to estimate run-of-mine (ROM) particle size. In combination with comminution test results, these can subsequently be used to design comminution circuit configurations and estimate their performance.The Frieda River Project drill core for the large Horse-Ivaal-Trukai copper-gold porphyry deposit was unusual due to a late stage gypsum-anhydrite stockwork event that overprinted much of the deposit. Above the base of the oxidised zone, which closely matches the water table, gypsum and anhydrite has been leached out, effectively removing the glue holding the rock mass together. As a result, much of the rock above this gypsum-anhydrite surface is fragmented and gravel-like in texture, while the material below this horizon is typically uniform and competent.Large volumes of the orebody above the gypsum-anhydrite surface are expected to need minimal or no blasting for efficient excavation. In addition, the fragmented nature of much of the material was expected to reduce comminution specific energy as it already appears as though it has been crushed. While this was expected to have positive impacts to the operation, the lack of standard geological logging methods available to accurately define the degree of in situ fragmentation led to difficulty in gaining certainty over the ROM product and grinding circuit feed size distributions.Using the extensive library of core photos for the project, a novel method using image analysis techniques to take both the intact core and gravel into account to predict ROM fragmentation was developed. In addition, existing point load test data was used to infer the strength of the rock and its impact on the blasting, crushing and grinding processes. The novel approach allowed development of ROM size distribution data and improved certainty in the results of comminution circuit designs.This paper describes the methodology undertaken in detail, and discusses the results obtained.CITATION:Bennett, D and La Rosa, D, 2016. The Frieda River Project – a Novel Approach to Analysing Exploration Drill Core: How Broken is Broken?, in Proceedings The Third AusIMM International Geometallurgy Conference (GeoMet) 2016, pp 65–76 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne)."

Jun 15, 2016

By V Lawson

Vale’s Sudbury Clarabelle Mill processes Cu/Ni ores from a number of mines in the Sudbury basin in Ontario, Canada. Bulk sulphide flotation produces a copper-nickel concentrate with pyrrhotite as the major diluent. After successful commissioning of the Voisey’s Bay Cu/Ni Mill (VBN) in Labrador, a miniplant campaign on Clarabelle ore with the VBN flow sheet produced a significant recovery improvement over current performance. In 2001, the Mill Redesign Project moved grinding energy into rock/sulphide and pentlandite/pyrrhotite separation and in 2006 Cu/Ni separation was re-introduced to Clarabelle Mill to produce a saleable Cu concentrate. The projects were a great success. What remained was to simplify the Clarabelle flow sheet by introducing the missing components found in the VBN flow sheet. This project known as CORe has evolved through many stages including the mining boom and surviving the 2008 economic downturn and it is scheduled for completion in mid 2013. This paper outlines some of the challenges faced in this major brownfields project – organizational, technical, financial and operational.

Aug 8, 2011

By H Hoogvliet

The Goondicum Crater industrial minerals deposit is located about 30 km east of Monto, Central Queensland, Australia. Early exploration programs in the 1990s found alluvial ilmenite along the banks of the Burnett River. This mineralisation was traced upstream to the Goondicum Crater. The Goondicum Crater is a topographic feature centred on a roughly circular 6 km diameter layered gabbro complex. Significant ilmenite, apatite, titano-magnetite and feldspar mineralisation are present in a weathered horizon up to 25 m thick. After several drilling campaigns in the Crater and subsequent feasibility studies, the project was developed by Monto Minerals Ltd, an ASX listed company, in 2007. However, the project never achieved production performance expectations and ran out of commissioning funds. The company subsequently went into voluntary administration in August 2008.In 2009, the RMM Capital group, of Brisbane, took control of Monto Resources Pty Ltd, and renamed the company Belridge Enterprises Pty Ltd (Belridge). Belridge commissioned a redevelopment study aimed at recommencing mining and processing operations. As part of the redevelopment study the authors planned a drilling campaign, managed a quality control program and developed a block model. This paper describes the drilling program, analytical procedures, quality control procedures and the preparation of the block model.The block model for the resource estimate was created using 1 m high blocks, wireframes defining the main material types, and 2.5 m thick horizontal search ellipsoids with a radial pattern. The deposit was ‘flattened’ prior to modelling. To assist with the economic evaluation of the project, each block in the model was assigned a net dollar value based on economic parameters provided by Belridge, including anticipated revenues and costs. This modelling technique allowed for efficient investigation of various scenarios and was used extensively in the development and optimisation of the project’s financial model. At a zero net value per block, comparable to a break-even cut-off grade of four per cent ilmenite equivalent, the Indicated plus Measured resource is estimated at 51 Mt, averaging 4.1 per cent ilmenite, 1.9 per cent apatite and 2.5 per cent titano-magnetite.

Oct 5, 2011

By N Setoudeh, A Nosrati, N J. Welham

The current surge of interest in lithium (Li) is due to the anticipated demand for electric vehicles and small scale power storage. Brine deposits contain most of the global Li resource, however hard rock deposits can be more readily and rapidly developed and comprise the majority of proposed projects. These projects plan to use the conventional processing routes of dense medium separation and / or flotation to produce a spodumene concentrate for sale. The standard route for subsequent processing of spodumene concentrate is thermal decrepitation, acid leaching, solution purification and precipitation of lithium carbonate. This is typically followed by further purification. A number of projects have ores which contain other lithium minerals, principally micas, lepidolite and zinnwaldite, necessitating an alternative treatment route. Several different routes for spodumene processing are under development to reduce costs to compete with brine projects. This paper will give an overview of the strengths and weaknesses of the current and alternative processes.CITATION:Welham, N J, Nosrati, A and Setoudeh, N, 2017. Lithium ore processing – an overview of the current and new processes, in Proceedings MetPlant 2017, pp 185–194 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Sep 11, 2017

By D H MACKENZIE

In common with several great orebodies and mineral camps around the world Broken Hill has been the subject of state-of-the-art technical and scientific scrutiny during its long working life. During the early years geological interest in Broken Hill tended to be directed at the body for its intrinsic scientific worth, mainly on account of its large size, high grade and wealth of mineral species. For much of the last 60 years the interest has had a more applied motivation, namely, to assist the search for either repetitions in the Broken Hill field or analogues in other terrains. This paper looks at the major changes in geological concepts and exploration techniques applied at Broken Hill and attempts to assess their impact.

Jan 1, 1992

By S Fityus, K Koosmen, J Simmons

The purpose of this paper is to therefore investigate the hydrogeological characteristics of tailings, coarse and mixed rejects from coal processing to enable better understanding of the potential for undrained behaviours in coal mine spoil piles. This is achieved by analysing the results from permeability and oedometer testing of tailings, coarse rejects and mixtures thereof. Focus is given to the effect that tailings content has on the behaviour of mixed rejects, the transition point between drained and undrained material behaviours, and the evolution of properties with increasing stress that would occur with increased depth of burial in a mine spoil pile. The implications of the findings are discussed with respect to spoil pile stability.

Jul 1, 2021

By J M. Shekiro

In the chloride process to manufacture TiO2 pigment, feedstocks containing higher TiO2 contents (high-grade ores or HGOs) are favoured in order to minimise production of undesirable by-products. Most of today’s HGOs are produced through the smelting or reduction and leaching of ilmenite, processes which consume significant energy and/or produce large volumes of non-titanium materials that may have to be landfilled. In order to improve the economic and environmental sustainability of its TiO2 business, the DuPont Company, working with Kobe Steel Ltd, has developed an innovative process called TiRON for making HGO. Using a rotary hearth furnace, the process reduces ilmenite to a high TiO2 slag and metallic iron granules. The TiO2 slag is suitable for TiO2 pigment manufacture, and the iron is suitable for steel making. TiRON can process sand or rock ilmenite of varying compositions and particle sizes. Fossil fuel instead of electricity supplies the energy for the reduction. Dusts and off-spec materials are recycled. These process attributes, together with capital requirements estimated to be significantly lower, give TiRON substantial economic, environmental, and process flexibility advantages over conventional ilmenite upgrading processes. TiRON has been demonstrated at the semi-works scale, and preparations are being made to bring it to the pilot scale.

Oct 5, 2011

By D W. Stevens

Mechanical sampling provides a definitive value for the product sampled but the results are not instantaneous, meaning that decisions on process control can only be made hours after the sample is taken. Chemicals are added, tailings are sent to waste, stockyards are laid and the data for the decision-making is historical. Online analysers provide instantaneous information, allowing operators to make immediate and cost-saving decisions on the process. However, pending the specific online analysis application, there is a need for reference sampling for dynamic calibration/bias updating of the analysers so that they can deliver the desired precision and accuracy. What would be the economic justification for combining mechanical sampling with online analysis to reduce laboratory costs and provide immediate process control with certainty of accuracy? Approved sampling according to the Theory of Sampling, with immediate process control information.CITATION:Stevens, D W, 2014. Justification for integrating mechanical sampling with online analysis, in Proceedings Sampling 2014 , pp 135–138 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Jul 29, 2014

By M L. Muller, A R. O’Donnell

The Mount Isa Mines (MIM) Copper Concentrator has an extensive history of reagent trials, with different reagents coming in and out of favour over the years. The research and use of carbon depressants is particularly prevalent, as carbonaceous pyrite is a major source of concentrate dilution. Years of research led to the use of naphthalene sulphonate due to its excellent carbon depression properties. However, due to rising reagent costs carbon depression ceased in the late 1990s. This led to the loss of knowledge about the use and value of naphthalene sulphonate. Cyanide is used at the Copper Concentrator for the sole purpose of pyrite depression and over the years multiple projects have been devoted to finding alternatives to it. In 2012 the neighbouring MIM Lead-Zinc Concentrator replaced cyanide with naphthalene sulphonate which resulted in cost savings and the elimination of a hazardous reagent. In 2013, plant trials were conducted at the Copper Concentrator in hopes to replicate the outcomes obtained at the Lead-Zinc Concentrator. The results of the trials conducted at the Copper Concentrator showed that naphthalene sulphonate could not replace cyanide and this work was set aside to pursue more promising projects. Further research conducted in 2014 found that mineralogy and a better understanding of the depressing mechanism of naphthalene sulphonate held the key to improved pyrite depression at the Copper Concentrator. The findings showed that Mount Isa copper ore contains two forms of pyrite; euhedral pyrite (cubic pyrite) and framboidal pyrite (carbon rimmed spheres of pyrite), both of which require different reagents to sufficiently depress them. Naphthalene sulphonate was found to be an excellent carbon depressant, suitable for depressing graphite and framboidal pyrite, whilst cyanide specifically targets euhedral pyrite.In 2015 laboratory test work was conducted to examine the use of naphthalene sulphonate in conjunction with cyanide to selectively target both forms of pyrite. This work led to a full plant trial, the results of which showed a significant increase in plant performance, with higher copper concentrate grades and recoveries being achieved. This paper aims to focus on the benefits and importance of understanding past work and linking a detailed knowledge of feed mineralogy to reagent selection for improved plant outcomes.CITATION:O’Donnell, A R and Muller, M L, 2018. Selectively targeting hydrophobic gangue minerals at the Mount Isa Mines Copper Concentrator, in Proceedings 14th AusIMM Mill Operators' Conference 2018, pp 413–421 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Aug 29, 2018

By N Haque

Base metal ores contain low levels of toxic/hazardous elements such as arsenic, antimony, bismuth, cadmium, lead and mercury. Given the large tonnage of base metal ores mined and processed each year globally, the accumulated mass of minor elements introduced into the biosphere is large and could be expected to have a significant environmental impact. Life cycle analysis (LCA) is a methodology that has been developed to assess the environmental impacts of material supply chains over their entire life cycle. Assessing the toxicity impacts of metallic wastes and incorporating these impacts into LCA methodology is not a simple task given the complexity of the issue. However, research and methodology development is in progress internationally to address this. Despite limitations concerning the lack of a coherent framework for characterising the toxicity impacts of metals, including issues such as bioavailability, a study was carried out to give first estimates of the relative toxicity impacts of various waste streams from metal production processes. The wastes considered were: red mud; sulfide tailings (copper, nickel, lead/zinc); lead/zinc slags; synthetic rutile residue; iron oxide residue; and copper slags and anode slimes. These toxicity estimates can be considered the æworst caseÆ scenario for these wastes, where all the metals present are bioavailable. Combining estimates of the amounts of the various waste streams produced in Australia each year with the toxicity results showed that despite their relatively low human toxicity impact per unit mass compared to some other waste streams, red mud and the various sulphide tailings had the highest annual human toxicity load on the environment, along with copper smelting slag and dust. Data from the pH dependent leaching test reported in the literature were assumed to represent first approximations of metal bioavailability and used to compare the two approaches to estimating the toxicity impacts of red mud.

Jan 1, 2009

By L Gobbo

X-ray diffraction (XRD) provides useful information about the composition of an ore sample in terms of quantification of crystalline phases and amorphous content. The use of new, fast detection systems implemented in CubiX FAST industrial diffractometers creates the opportunity to use this technique in exploration and modern process control. Besides the chemical composition of iron ores, their phase composition is also an important factor for exploration, quality control and processing. In the analysis of iron ore, XRD can identify the phases containing iron, such as haematite Fe2O3, magnetite Fe3O4, and goethite FeO(OH), and any other mineral phases present, especially silicas. Quantitative analysis is possible by various classical methods such as straight line or polynomial calibration with standards, but modern quantification analysis techniques such as Rietveld analysis or full pattern autoscale analysis are attractive alternatives, as they do not require any standards. These methods offer impressive accuracy and speed of analysis. Another analysis technique offering great benefit to ore exploration and process control is cluster analysis. This technique greatly simplifies the analysis of a large amount of data, eg from drill core samplings, and automatically sorts closely related scans of an experiment into separate clusters and marks the most representative scan of each cluster as well as outlying patterns. This can facilitate multi-dimensional compositional mapping of ore deposits, identifying regions of favourable mineral composition and allows fast and reliable tracking of the process. It is the most economic procedure to have automatic data evaluation without involving any dedicated personnel in the process. Details of the techniques used, sample optimisation methodologies, results, data precision and limitations will be discussed. The approaches have enormous potential as an inexpensive, reliable tool, useful in the characterisation of iron ore materials in an industrial environment.

Jan 1, 2009

By D R. Anstey

The growing demand for iron ore from Western Australia has led to an increased focus on the development of magnetite and lower grade iron ore deposits. The need to process and beneficiate the ore from these projects can result in the generation of significant quantities of iron ore tailings over the life of a project. Over the coming decades, the management of iron ore tailings will become a significant aspect of the mining landscape in Western Australia.The tailings generated from iron ore projects differ signifi cantly from other mineral tailings currently produced in Western Australia. Iron ore tailings are generated on a scale not matched by any other mineral process and can often contain asbestiform or potentially acid forming components. New iron ore projects are coming under increased environmental scrutiny because of their large scale operations and the sensitive environments in which they occur. This combination of factors creates some unique challenges for the management of tailings generated by iron ore mining in Western Australia.This paper presents the fi ndings of two studies conducted in recent years to overcome the challenges posed by iron ore tailings. The paper discusses the role of laboratory testing in the development of management strategies for asbestiform minerals in tailings. It also presents a numerical modelling approach for evaluating the rates of rise in the storage of magnetite tailings. The paper concludes by outlining how the findings of these studies can be applied to reduce tailings management costs, lower risks and improve environmental outcomes for the management of tailings from iron ore mining.

Jul 11, 2011