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The long-term outlook Tor Australla's traditional mining products is for flat demand and continuing low prices. This has come about because of three far-reaching changes since earlier boom days: 1. Continuing declines in intensity of usage of basic mine products; 2. The failure of newer western and third world developing countries to realise growth expectations; and 3. Continued production pressure from third world countries (and first-world primary producers) in an effort to earn foreign exchange and rectify trade balances. These trends have led to a general situation of excess supply and weak demand. In this environment, the prerequisites for survival in the mining sector are first-class mines, modern and efficient production methods, low unit costs, aggressive marketing, and products with reasonable operating margins. Many of Australia's mines meet these prerequisites. Following the A$ depreciation and widespread unit cost reductions, most of these mines will be moderately profitable at current depressed commodity prices. They are well placed to benefit from price rises if these eventuate. A new generation of mines is concentrating on a more profitable product range (gold, diamonds, uranium, mineral sands). Australia's balance of trade remains firmly dependent on the primary mining and agricultural industries (Fig. 1). Despite optimistic talk of high-tech developments, tourism and a resurgence of manufacturing, these will remain a small component of Australia's export structure.

Jan 1, 1987

By B. A. Firth

Australia is the largest exporter of coking and thermal coal to the international market. This market has required that the coal being presented to the customer has a particular level and consistency of quality. In this context, the Australian industry has developed coal preparation practices that allow this criteria to be met while maximising the recovery of coal from the resource. This has required on- going developments in both coarse and fine coal cleaning technology over the past 30 years. Coal flotation has undergone a number of developments with regard to maximising recovery from the overall plant circuit. This includes innovative flotation circuits (split feed), methods of enhancing the use of reagents and control of pH. During the 1990s, there have been major changes in flotation as practised in Australian coal preparation plants. Columns have become the preferred technology for both greenfield developments and plant upgrades. This paper will outline the above developments with a number of plant examples and the reasoning that has driven the change. The ongoing research that is being carried out on new cells to optimise the overall fine coal circuit will also be discussed.

Jan 1, 1999

By K Devencorn

The development of robust, economical transport infrastructure has been identified as a key driver to sovereign economic growth. Notwithstanding the value of undeveloped mineral resources, unless they can be brought to market they are of little value. Within a global context, the continent of Africa probably faces one of the most significant transport driven economic development programs as countries strive to unlock their much sought after resources.The UN’s Africa Review Report on Transport (United Nations Economic and Social Council, 2009) provides an excellent context for the issue facing African countries and the potential for investment in transport to solve many of the intrinsic problems they are confronted with. With little exception, economic development in Africa is very likely to be driven ‘off the back’ of transport development – and more specifically from heavy-haul rail as a means by which economic wealth can be derived from export of the continent’s vast natural and mineral resources to the world. The report found:transport is a key driver of economic development and poverty reduction;road transport is the most dominant mode in Africa;the ‘Cost to Market’ of African goods is hampered by the reliance upon road transport;the cost of road transport is not just economic – 19 per cent of the world’s road fatalities were recorded on African roads;African railways are seen to be disjointed and under-utilised;Africa’s ports are key to export trade - yet only six ports (three in Egypt, and three in South Africa) handle about 50 per cent of the continent’s total container traffic;the cost of transport is increasing making African trade even less competitive; andsignificant negative impacts of Africa’s reliance on road transport – health, and greenhouse emissions.We understand that mining the resource is only part of the solution – it has to be put to market at a competitive landed cost.Most African countries face huge costs associated with transport development and ongoing operation – in many cases beyond their available resources.The Australian rail industry has faced and solved many of these challenges.

Nov 22, 2011

By K Williams, G M. Evans, S M. Iveson, K P. Galvin, C E. Loo

The Australian Research Council (ARC) has recently established an Industrial Transformation Research Hub in the area of iron ore, focused on iron ore characterisation, beneficiation, materials handling and end-use functionality. The research hubs are part of a new initiative aimed at building stronger relationships between industry and universities, while addressing issues of national significance. The ARC Research Hub for Advanced Technologies for Australian Iron Ore will focus its attention on developing innovative approaches for creating enhanced value across the full value chain through the characterisation of different ore types, beneficiation and materials handling and transport. This hub brings together five industrial organisations and a research team formed from well-established research groups based at the Newcastle Institute for Energy and Resources. These groups have a record of working closely with industry to create opportunities. Examples include new beneficiation technologies such as the Reflux Classifier for achieving gravity separation, the expertise of TUNRA Bulk Solids in materials handling and the Iron Making Centre at Newcastle, which is a capability maintained by BHP Billiton following the closure of its Technology Centre in 2009. The purpose of this paper is to provide an outline of the research hub and its objectives, some background on the research groups that now form the hub and an insight into the strategy adopted for developing and implementing new technologies. The paper also describes a range of novel technologies that have the potential to be developed and applied to iron ore beneficiation.CITATION:Galvin, K P, Roberts, A, Loo, C E, Evans, G M, Williams, K and Iveson, S M, 2015. Australian Research Council research hub for advanced technologies for Australian iron ore – an introduction, in Proceedings Iron Ore 2015, pp 7–12 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Jul 13, 2015

This paper deals with the Australian taxation laws, and in particular the income tax laws, as they apply to mineral exploration and development both in Australia and off-shore. The Australian tax laws are imposed principally at a Commonwealth level. The most important Commonwealth taxes are Income Tax, including Capital Gains Tax, Fringe Benefits Tax, Sales Tax, Customs Duty, Excise Duty and Bank Accounts Debits Tax. The States of Australia impose Stamp Duties and Financial Duties, Payroll Tax and Land Tax. The Australian Income Tax Law including Capital Gains Tax, is the most significant tax in the country. The principal features of the income tax law are as follows: tax is imposed on a taxable income being the assessable income less allowable deductions; a full imputation system of company tax applies; a foreign tax credit system applies to both companies and individuals; capital gains are taxed as income and subject to income tax rates but the gain is inflation adjusted. Australia has negotiated tax treaties with most of its trading partners based on the OECD model; and special tax concessions apply to the mining industry.

Jan 1, 1987

By M. S. Hunter, Al Bishop

In 1994, Lone Tree Mine invited Hunter Hawk to participate in a problem-solving arena at their mine located in Valmy, Nevada. Lone Tree was experiencing consistency problems with autoclave valve component quality and delivery. Based upon a prior working relationship at Homestake Mining Company's McLauglin Mine, located in Lake County, California, both customer and vendor enjoyed a measure of rap­po1i and trust - the keys to problem solving communication. This paper is an overview of the problem solving process that has contributed to Lone Tree's excellent record of 95 per cent autoclave availability since 1995.

Jan 1, 1998

By A. K. Ratte, C. M. Brown

"IntroductionIn autogenous mills, grinding of the ore feed is accomplished by the direct action of the variously sized rocks making up the feed on each other and the mill interior. Size reduction is achieved without the addition of grinding media foreign to the mill feed, differing in this respect from rod, ball, and pebble milling. The term ""semi-autogenous"" has entered common usage in the industry to describe autogenous mills to which supplementary grinding ball additions are made to increase the rate at which size reduction of the mill feed occurs, beyond that achieved solely by the action of rock on rock. In a semi-autogenous grinding (SAG) mill, 50Jo to 10% of the mill volume may be occupied by grinding balls, whereas a range of 25% to 45% is more usual in ball milling.The comminution of mineral ores using ""conventional"" techniques has been described in previous papers. In conventional operations, size reduction of mined ore, and liberation of the valuable mineral content, is typically accomplished using flowsheets employing two to four stages of crushing. Crushing is followed by one to three stages of grinding and classification using various combinations of rod, ball, and pebble mills. This paper describes operations employing autogenous or semiautogenous grinding as the principal stage in the comminution process. Primary crusher discharge, or in some instances run of mine ore, is fed directly to an autogenous or semi-autogenous grinding circuit. Final product sizing may be accomplished in a single grinding stage, the mills operating in closed circuit with classification equipment, or in several stages using autogenous and semi-autogenous mills for primary grinding, and ball or pebble mills for secondary grinding. In several operations a portion of the primary mill discharge is crushed in an intermediate comminution step, these circuits being called autogenousball- crusher circuits (ABC). Many different flowsheets exist, but common and important to most are crushed ore stockpiles, reclaim feeder and mill feed conveyor systems, pumps, screens, and classifiers. Autogenous grinding is employed in both wet and dry processes, although today wet predominate."

Jan 1, 1989

By Fabrício Tibúrcio Silva Araújo

O AutoLog é uma solução em tecnologia de automação e informação para controle absoluto do carregamento e descarregamento de caminhões em um grande cliente no ramo de fertilizantes. Seu objetivo é garantir uma operação autônoma que otimize os lucros e reduza os custos em logística. Este trabalho visa demonstrar o problema que originou a solução, a metodologia utilizada no seu desenvolvimento e o seu objetivo final.

Oct 30, 2017

By J Välivaara

The mining industry will face numerous challenges over the next 10–15 years as new deposits are likely to be more remote and lower grade and existing deposits will be mined deeper. As a result, mines and mining contractors operating in deep-mine conditions will need to focus on the quality of drilling and blasting to minimise unnecessary waste rock excavation to keep costs at an acceptable level. In addition, increased demand for improved safety and operator ergonomics will set greater demands on original equipment manufacturers of mining equipment. Finally, difficulties finding a skilled and experienced workforce, particularly in remote mine locations, have already negatively impacted mines’ ability to achieve high productivity and low operating costs.This paper introduces techniques and shares practical experiences in increasing productivity and reducing the costs of excavation in underground face drilling. The paper uses Sandvik’s new DD422i automated mining jumbo as an example of the type of equipment needed to deliver the features and corresponding benefits for future mine development. Case studies using this equipment are presented to illustrate the points made in this paper.CITATION:Välivaara, J, 2016. Automated drilling features for improving productivity and reducing costs in underground development, in Proceedings Seventh International Conference and Exhibition on Mass Mining (MassMin 2016), pp 723–730 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

May 9, 2016

By Julian V. Simela

Conventional methods of underground surveying use theodolites/total stations and 3D laser scanners to obtain information about the underground environment. Current methods of geo-referencing these instruments to a mine reference system include triangulation, trilateration and resection. However, despite technological advancements, surveying procedures have remained slow, laborious and relatively unchanged during the last half-century. Recent innovations in the robotics community have shown that automated mapping of underground mining tunnels can be undertaken using 2D/3D laser scanners. These techniques have the potential to, in turn, improve upon current underground surveying and mapping methods. Automating surveying and mapping using current surveying tools without changing the setting up procedures or removing current constraints, or even changing the type of equipment used, does not change the status quo. The problem of moving from a static, tripod based surveying and mapping system to an unconstrained mobile surveying and mapping system is the subject of this paper. A current challenge for automated mapping is the ability to automatically geo-reference a mobile mapping system to a mine reference system. For a mobile mapping system that uses a horizontally mounted 2D laser scanner to gather data of the underground environment, the challenge of determining its position and orientation within the mine environment is magnified even more. This paper introduces Mobile Automated Scanner Triangulateration (MAST), a technique under development at Queen?s that is designed to geo-reference a mobile mapping system to a mine reference system for the purposes of underground mine surveying. MAST quickly and automatically determines scanner 2D position and orientation (azimuth) in a mine reference frame by using minimal human input.

Aug 1, 2013

By C McHugh, F Oppolzer, B Rogers, A Stokes

Rio Tinto has embarked on a journey to use automation to improve the performance of its surface mines. The driver for automation has more to do with improving the accuracy and consistency of mining processes and less to do with cost savings through labour reduction.A key task in most surface mines is blasthole drilling. The degree to how well this is done cascades through the downstream mining process. It impacts scheduling, excavation, slope stability, material handling, beneficiation, ore loss and final product blending. Improved blasthole drilling was identified as an objective that has a significant business case in most of Rio TintoÆs surface mines.This paper describes Rio TintoÆs multi-drill automation project, which has developed a robust system for automating most of the functions on several Caterpillar SKSS16 drill rigs. Automated drilling is currently being trialled in production at the West Angelas iron ore mine in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. A description of the essential elements of the automated multi-drill system is given together with an overview of how automated drilling is performed remotely from the operating bench.A review of the performance and benefits of the automated multi-drill system is given together with future plans to extend the functionality of automated drills.CITATION:McHugh, C, Stokes, A, Oppolzer, F and Rogers, B, 2012. Automated multi-drills in Rio Tinto, in Proceedings Eighth Open Pit OperatorsÆ Conference , pp 83-88 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Sep 18, 2012

By J. M. Rebstock

Recent re-classification of crystalline silica as a potential human carcinogen has resulted in a new limit of 0.1% free silica in bulk powdered minerals. Detection of silica at this level can be expected to severely challenge or exceed the capabilities of existing protocols for x-ray diffraction, the traditional method for free silica determination. Automated SEH-EOS analysis provides an attractive alternative method, with direct analysis of individual particles for the determination of the concentration of free silica, and a direct measurement of silica particle sizes. This paper will discuss automated SEH analytical procedures, sample preparation, and statistical considerations.

Jan 1, 1990

By M J. Thurley, L Lindqvist, D Degerfeldt, J Nyström, R Nordenskjöld

Rock breakage is a major component of all mining and mineral processing operations with the particle size distribution linked to productivity through the comminution chain. Optimisation and automatic control of comminution, material handling, and agglomeration processes is a complex task with large potential for gains in productivity, and energy efficiency. A key factor in realising these gains is the requirement for fully-automated online particle size distribution measurement to provide the necessary feedback and input for control. Moreover, to enable automatic control system it is necessary to provide a consistent, reliable size distribution measurement that avoids the significant errors resulting from under-sizing overlapped particles and over-sizing clusters of fine particles. Published literature and observation of commercial systems indicate a body of predominantly 2D photographic based particle size measurement systems that suffer from a number of significant errors except in the simplest case of a monolayer of particles under good illumination with limited colour variation in the material. In order to overcome these limitations a university and industry collaboration developed three-dimensional particle measurement (3DPM) between 2006 and 2012, based on 3D surface profile measurement of the visible material on conveyor. 3DPM avoids particle delineation errors due to variation in material colour and shadows, detects overlapping versus non-overlapping particles, and identifies areas of fine particles as fines and not large rocks. 3DPM measures: the visible material and calculates its particle size distribution, bulk volume, detects boulders, and conveyor belt fill factor in an automated consistent manner. Furthermore, 3DPM’s advanced algorithms allow observation of particle variation that would otherwise be undetected without the capacity to identify visible areas-of-fines and overlapped particles. Boliden Mines has installed 3DPM at three operations for measurement between the stockpile silo and grinding mill, and measurement after the primary crusher. Fragmentation measurements across multiple years of measurement are presented with some observations of plant behaviour. In the future 3DPM results will be incorporated into automatic control strategies for plant optimisation. 3DPM is used across a wide range of material types and applications that also includes; limestone aggregate for quality control in manufacturing, agglomerates for closed-loop automatic control in chemical production, and measurement of coke for size-based blending feed control to the blast furnace in steel production. CITATION:Thurley, M J, Degerfeldt, D, Nyström, J, Nordenskjöld, R and Lindqvist, L, 2018. Automated, online measurement of bulk material size distribution on conveyor using 3D profile imaging at Boliden Mines, in Proceedings 14th AusIMM Mill Operators' Conference 2018, pp 641–652 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Aug 29, 2018

By Thierry Bernard

New technology to automatically design a blast based on autonomous drone. The process of flying a drone, calculating the 3D cloud of points, generating the critical face profiles and placing holes automatically according to burden specification becomes fully automatic. A nice time saving with more efficiency

Feb 1, 2020

By CK Tsang, Jack Muir, Dharman Gersch, Joshua Barry

Correct face pressure is critical to safe operation of a closed face TBM. If inadequate face pressure is applied, this will lead to excessive ground movement, and may result in collapse of the tunnel face. Face pressure calculations are performed manually every few meters along the tunnel alignment. With the application of a 3D ground model, ground profile information can be extracted for automatic computation. This will significantly improve the efficiency and accuracy and is adaptable to changes in design parameters. This paper will discuss the development of automatic computation techniques in extracting information from a 3D ground model.

Jun 13, 2021

By S. Caron, M. Bourassa, J. Châteauneuf, L. Tardif

"Since many years, the Yvan-Vézina gold plant custom mills and processes different ore types that show different behaviors. Because of this, cyanidation control is more complex than for a typical milling operation. In 1992, a Cyancor™ on-line « free cyanide » analyzer has been installed for monitoring and optimizing cyanidation. This implementation significantly reduced cyanide consumption for the overall cyanidation process. In order to further reduce cyanide costs, an automatic control strategy has been implemented to decrease fluctuations of« free cyanide » from their set points.This paper outlines the major steps of the project: process control audit, control strategy development, implementation and running-in period. Control strategy features include data filtering modules, adaptive PID algorithm and set points management modules are also presented. Finally, the strategy efficiency is illustrated with load-disturbance responses.IntroductionLocated in northwestern Quebec, the Yvan-Vézina plant has an average capacity of 1300 t/d using carbon-in-pulp technology. In 1991, the Yvan-Vézina gold plant was processing three types of ores (Beauchemin, Mouska and Silidor mines) and a pyrite concentrate (Beliveau mine). A cyanide reduction program was then undertaken to reduce « free cyanide» fluctuations <6>. To reach this objective, the optimum cyanide concentration was determined for each ore, a continuous monitoring method with the Cyancor™ on-line analyzer was developed and a tighter control of cyanide addition was applied. These modifications to the leaching practice significantly reduced cyanide consumption.After a while, it was observed that regulation of « free cyanide » concentrations could still be improved by the use of an automatic control strategy. Yvan-Vézina and CRM began collaborating in 1995 to develop and implement such a strategy. Results show that main disturbances of the circuit (e.g. ore mineralogy and pulp feed rate) can be significantly overcome in order to reduce their effects on the leaching operation."

Jan 1, 1998

By Lorenzo Bacchetti

Automatic yards with ad-hoc WMS (Warehouse management software), are the key for a modern and efficient warehousing which can face today logistic challenges. WMS boosts the traceability of material while optimizing the storage space. The operations in the yard are safer and logically organized according to algorithms that are specifically adjusted case by case. WMS can easily handle multi-cranes yard avoiding conflicts and increasing accuracy of positioning with decreased number of movements. The synergy of automatic cranes and WMS reduces bottlenecks and speeds up the preparation of deliveries with an overall improvement of warehousing and shipping scheduling.

Oct 1, 2019

By David Hoadley, Kenneth R. Maser, Ashok B. Boghani, James E. Billar, D. Randolph Berry, Mackenzie Burnett, Robert H. Trent

C 6 Automatic Elevator Control Systems An automatic elevator control system, consisting of position sensing devices and a control unit, can be used to control an emergency mine hoist. While automatic elevator control systems are assembled from standard components, they are typically custom designed to suit a given customer&apos;s application. Various manufacturers contacted indicated that the price range, less installation, for a simple two-stop control system begins at approximately $2500 and can increase depending upon the type of components used, shaft depth, the type of mechanical drive used, and the maximum operating speed A partial list of elevator control manufacturers follows. They should be contacted for further details. Marshall Elevator Company Pittsburgh, P A 412 -431 -1340 Armor Elevator Company, Inc. Louisville, KY 502-361 -7181

Jan 1, 1976

By J. Lee

A monolithic caisson is one of the major structural components commonly used in the construction of docks, breakwaters, and container terminal quay walls. Since the structure of monolithic caissons is typical and somewhat simple, its design process is also typical and repetitive, but still time consuming. To reduce the total time and enhance productivity, we developed a parametric model in Revit to automatically generate a 3D model of a monolithic caisson. It is designed to generate the Revit model of a caisson with concrete body and reinforcing bars. The size of caisson, the number of reinforcing bars, and the space between reinforcing bars are automatically changed when users update parameters. This paper presents how we developed this parametric family in Revit for monolithic caisson design and how it would enhance its design process.

Aug 1, 2013

By K. Bommer

"In today’s fast paced, globally competitive world, reliability and machine uptime are of the utmost importance to a successful operation. Along with these targets more emphasis is being put on cost reduction and decreasing the environmental impact of the overall system. To achieve these goals, automatic lubricators and lubrication systems have been used in many industries for years and are now becoming a common tool in the mining industry as well. These systems are able to provide proper lubrication amounts at the proper times autonomously, helping to keep the machines running smoothly while minimizing the physical support required. Copper mines in the southwest have begun utilizing auto lubrication to avoid mistakes and unplanned shut downs on critical equipment. This paper will describe the engineering behind these products and review case histories where these tools have been successfully utilized in the mining industry. INTRODUCTION In a dirty, dusty, wet environment, where machine uptime is imperative, proper lubrication of bearings is the only way to survive. With the push for cost reduction and mines striving to lower their environmental impact and increase worker safety according to MSHA guidelines, the old lubrication practices have come under scrutiny. It is no longer encouraged or cost effective to have maintenance personal walk from point to point throughout the entire mine pumping a shot of grease into each bearing once per shift. Automatic lubricators and lubrication systems have been on the market for years but recently, as the market focus has changed and technology has developed, the use of these systems has begun to rise in the mining industry. Automatic lubrication systems can be as simple as a single point lubricator lubricating one (1) bearing or a more complex system lubricating numerous bearings. With system design, the automatic lubricator provides a preset amount of grease to a bearing at regular, predetermined intervals. The systems designed to lubricate more than one bearing contain grease pumps of some design and possibly PLC controllers which can be used to remotely adjust and monitor the system. As can be seen in Figure 1, the right amount of lubrication can be achieved much more reliably with automatic lubricators. Depending on application needs, the market now has products to fit almost every wish list. This paper is going to focus on the single point systems that are lower in cost but are still being effective."

Jan 1, 2015