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This paper summarises the development t,) date for the Hidden Valley Gold (HVG) Project. It starts with the original exploration work, covers the detailed feasibility study activities and concludes with the current phase of extra exploration drilling. A brief technical summary has been made from the various mining, process and environmental studies that were undertaken as part of the project approval process. A discussion of the influential non-technical factors is included, as well as a view of the future prospects for an operating mine. The project was always seen as marginal, given the low grades, small resource and short mine life. However the capital and operating costs were lowered with aggressive design and it was regarded an acceptable development by CRA. The opportunity was taken to review the project when delays in start-up were encountered. An updated financial evaluation showed a subeconomic resource in 1990 terms and this resulted in a new exploration phase to identify a larger deposit.

Jan 1, 1991

By V. D. Ayurov, N. O. Kaledina

The coal mines monitoring should be based on the usage of simple and evident models, letting in the total unity to reflect a structure of organization of mine, system ability of its construction and specific character of its functioning. Such models are offered to create on the basis of extracted hierarchies of objects of mine. All objects of mine are broken on levels of technological hierarchy. For objects of each level of hierarchy there are made balanced models of entering and leaving material flows. Then these balanced models are coordinated among themselves by the help of the inter hierarchical relations. So the structured-qualitative characteristic of the object of monitoring, reflecting in a kind of the table structure of formation of material flows on mine, their intensity and measure of transformation is formed under transition from one level of hierarchy of mine to another. An example of real us- age of hierarchical balanced models on mine is given. The mathematical models of coal mine monitoring should reflect objective laws of their structural organization and functioning. Therefore under the constructing of mathematical models it is important such a way to reflect a structure of the mine organization, that in totality the models has been reproduction of system ability of its construction. The knowledge of the separate parties of functioning of mine, reflected in particular mathematical models, should "to be packed" in combined unity. Or else, they should be connected in system, convenient for recognition by the person. Considering the mine, the expert allocates multi-dimensionality of the objects of making its elements. He always has the knowledge of laws of development of mining work that is connected with pithy stratification of researched object. In dependence of sparial-temporary level of abstracting there are allocated the horizon, wing of a mine field, layer, panel, extracting face, longwall in coal mine. The human thinking on each of these levels operates with a set of concepts peculiar to him, characteristics, definitions.

Jan 1, 1996

Open pit mine plans define the complex strategy of displacement of ore and waste over the mine life. Various mixed integer linear programming (MILP) formulations have been used for production scheduling of open pit mines. The main problem with these models is the inability to solve real size mining problems. We present a mixed integer linear programming formulation for the open pit long-term production scheduling problem. To reduce the number of binary integer variables in the formulation, we aggregate blocks into larger units referred to as mining-cuts. We present a semi-supervised clustering algorithm which aggregates smaller blocks based on rock types and grade ranges into mining-cuts without introducing an error in the grade estimated values. The cluster-based aggregation algorithm is fully integrated into an MILP mine production scheduling prototype software. We have implemented, verified, and validated our models. The efficiency of the new platform is evaluated through iron ore mine case study.

Dec 6, 2010

By J. C. Watts

Monitoring and control of conventional industrial wet grinding circuits is conceptually straightforward. However, since production objectives and operating constraints can vary widely from plant to plant, there is probably no single overall grinding circuit control strategy which is "best" in all cases; in-variably some compromise is necessary between performance desired under ideal conditions and performance achievable in practice. The recent advent of relatively low cost, reliable, high speed small computer systems is revolutionizing daily operations in increasing numbers of metallurgical processing plants. Of special power and capability is a hierarchical computer network like that currently in use at the Pinto Valley Operations of the Cities Service Company. Several satellite processors for key plant areas communicate with a master computer operating under a powerful multitasking real-time operating system. Hardware and software structure is such that downtime on one of the processors -including the master -does not have a major impact on overall system operation. Admittedly, the powerful, core efficient table driven satellite software, which handles process/computer communication, calculation of nonmeasured process variables, and basic Direct Digital Control functions, is difficult to modify. However, important high level process monitoring, report preparation, graphic display, and supervisory control functions -including economic optimization -can be implemented by project engineers at the plant site. Thus, for example, new control strategies can be quickly examined and rapidly evaluated. Such computer monitoring capability also permits use of short duration process pulse tests for approximate dynamic modeling and rapid calculation of controller tuning constants for single loop dominant systems. Following a brief back-ground discussion of the Pinto Valley Project, we present some of the more interesting results and conclusions of our work over the past year.

Jan 1, 1978

By F. G. Robb, D. N. Madge

This paper details some of the specifications and problems associated with implementing on-line control of a potash concentrator. The computer system described has the capability of three levels of control, including DDC with a single central processor. The system is also capable of on-line program compilation and modification through an extension of vendor utilities. The system is now in operation.

Jan 1, 1969

By Yianatos J. B

The advances in the study of control alternatives for flotation columns are reviewed. An integral solution to the control problem has to deal with problems associated with instrumentation, process modelling, control strategies and control algorithms. The term hierarchical control is used here to mean the intelligent integration of available knowledge, control algorithms and logic rules of decision. The selection of information, algorithms and rules is based on the experimental and theoretical knowledge of the column flotation process. The software support was designed and implemented in object oriented computer programs. This technique allowed the implementation of a combination of control techniques, algorithmics and heuristics, in the form of a control strategy. This strategy has shown to fit well with processes exhibiting complex dynamic characteristics. The hierarchical control was implemented in a pilot column and included the following general aspects: co-ordination of distributed conventional control loops, use of sets of control parameters for the froth depth control loop according to the froth depth state, verification and diagnosis of sensors, on-line predictive estimation of gas hold-up, diagnosis of common operating problems and the use of predictive control to account for feed flowrate changes.

Jan 1, 1995

By Julián Ortiz C., Clayton V. Deutsch

Indicator simulation allows specification of different continuity of high and low values through the use of grade thresholds. The sequential implementation of indicator simulation has been widely used, but the problem of order relation deviations remains a significant drawback. A new procedure for "Hierarchical Indicator Simulation" is introduced that avoids order relations and offers greater flexibility than the conventional sequential approach. The new implementation simulates all locations at the largest threshold and then considers decreasing thresholds in turn. All nodes with grades that are above the previous threshold are excluded from the domain of the current threshold and therefore, they are not used as conditioning data. The probability of being above or below the threshold is calculated using simple indicator kriging using all conditioning data in the domain, thus the covariance structure is preserved. The theoretical framework of this new approach is fully developed. Practical implementation details are discussed. Application to a copper deposit shows the advantages and drawbacks of the method. Finally, the possibility of incorporating multiple-point statistics is discussed.

Jan 1, 2002

By K. E. Kolm, W. H. Langer

Developing natural aggregate resources (sand, gravel, and stone) creates environmental impacts. A systems analysis method has been designed to characterize the components of the environmental system, identify potential impacts to those systems, and evaluate the extent of those impacts. The step-wise method consists of problem definition, data collection, preliminary conceptualization and characterization, additional data collection, data analysis, and refinement. The method requires analyzes of various systems making up the environment, including land surface, geomorphic, subsurface, and groundwater systems. After system characterization is complete, the method focuses on identifying and evaluating potential environmental impacts to determine acceptable mining strategies.

Jan 1, 2001

By Akram Marseet, Andrew J. Petruska, Rik Banerjee

Event cameras are used for their performance in high dynamic-range lighting conditions which are canonical to active mining environments. Direct labeling of event-based image data to train a model to perform semantic segmentation using traditional methods is slow and error-prone. This study proposes a framework to use roughly hand-labeled color images from a mine as an input to an intermediary probabilistic algorithm called alphamatting to generate a ground-truth data set. These high-fidelity labels can be used to train a semantic segmentation model to differentiate the support strap from the roof. This model can then be leveraged to segment an event-based scene to enable autonomous roof bolting. This pipeline has been shown to achieve an accuracy of 88% with a false positive rate of 3%.

Feb 1, 2024

By D FitzGerald, S Jakica, R Paterson, J Silic

A new 2.5D airborne electromagnetic (AEM) algorithm has been developed by Intrepid Geophysics and Jovan Silic & Associates. The advantage of 2.5D (2D geology, 3D source) AEM inversion in 3D geological mapping applications and identification of conductive drilling targets, compared to the more commonly used conductivity-depth imaging (CDI) transforms or 1D inversions, are demonstrated using examples from banded iron formations (BIFs) and other geological settings. We show emerging AEM systems are capable of providing estimates of economic rock unit thicknesses, dips and fault definition at an accuracy that mitigates the need for pattern drilling.The 2.5D inversion application used in this work and described in Silic et al (2015) is a substantially changed version of ArjunAir (Wilson, Raiche and Sugeng, 2006), a product of CSIRO/AMIRA project P223F. The changes include a new forward model algorithm and a new inversion solver. The application enables the accurate simulation of 3D source excitation for full domain models inclusive of topography, non-conforming boundaries and very high resistivity contrasts. Solution is accurate for a geoelectrical cross-section, which is relatively constant along a strike length that exceeds the AEM system footprint.The major innovation includes a new inversion solver with adaptive regularisation, which allows the incorporation of a misfit to the reference model and the model smoothness function.Memory usage has been dramatically reduced and is estimated prior to execution. For speed the software has been parallelised using Intel message passing interface (MPI) and can be used on standard computing hardware or computing clusters. Data from survey lines with lengths exceeding 100 km can be inverted on high end laptop computers.We allow flexibility in the selection of components and in the estimation of noise.AEM inversion examples are shown for surveys from BIFs, base metals (volcanogenic massive sulfides) and geological mapping projects and the results are compared with known geology and drilling. We demonstrate the much improved mapping and target definition delivered by this inversion method when compared with the other more common transforms or inversion methods used on these projects.CITATION:Paterson, R, Silic, J, FitzGerald, D and Jakica, S, 2017. High accuracy .D airborne electromagnetic inversion method for banded iron formation and other geological settings, in Proceedings Iron Ore 2017, pp 319–330 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Jul 24, 2017

By K. Whiting, R. Huffsmith, R. Olsen, D. Adams

Long-term closure alternative selection for heap leach pad effluent is a daunting task. Passive water treatment, if designed with enough long-term capacity, can minimize long term O&M while meeting water quality objectives. Leach pad effluent from a 30-acre leach pad at Basin Creek Mine, Basin, Montana was targeted for long-term water treatment using a passive water treatment system. The objectives and results of design and construction are: 1. Design a long-term passive system utilizing existing infrastructure. 2. Construct a field scale pilot test at the mine site.

Jan 1, 2002

By C M. Sennitt, M J. Spadafora

Systematic field evaluation of known gold and clay occurrences in South Korea has led to the recognition and discovery of both high and low sulphidation gold-silver epithermal systems. These are associated with Cretaceous acid-intermediate volcanic centres in the southern parts of the peninsula. The high sulphidation deposits such as Seongsan and Kohung are characterised by pervasive silica-alunite-dickite-pyrophyllite alteration with anomalous arsenic geochemical signatures. Gold mineralisation is associated with fine grained marcasite and pyrite. A low sulphidation quartz vein system observed at the Tongyoung mine comprises multistage colloform banded quartz-carbonate assemblages, with minor manganese and base metals. Gold and silver occur as electrum and tellurium minerals. Some deposits such as Gasado and Dogcheon display both high and low sulphidation alteration assemblages. Early pervasive silica-alunite-pyrophyllite alteration caps formed by acid fluids with a significant magmatic component, occur above cryptocrystalline colloform banded vein systems. The quartz vein stage hosts the precious metal mineralisation and appears to have been deposited by later neutral fluids generated in part through mixing with meteroric water.

Jan 1, 1999

By J. A. Dos Santos

"INTRODUCTION Dramatic reduction in energy use and environmental impact can be achieved with sandwich belt high angle conveyors that serve as the vital link in any IPCC (In-pit Crushing and Conveying) system. These high angle conveyors are not new at all, but have not found wide use in IPCC systems where they can realize the greatest advantage. Reduced energy consumption and environmental impact, with IPCC systems, was already realized in the 1970s. With the bulk material haulage limited to conventional open trough conveyors the most direct path out of the open pit was precluded, requiring low angle spiral ramps and/or deep slots and/or tunnels through the high wall of the open pit. These excavations, to accommodate the low angle limitations, represented undesirable impact on cost and on the environment. Against this backdrop, a major study in 1979 sought to develop high angle conveying systems that could continuously haul the mined bulk material directly out of the pit, along the high wall – the shortest distance between the two end points. Between 1979 and 1982, that study developed sandwich belt high angle conveying systems that utilized all conventional conveyor equipment including smooth surfaced rubber belts that could be continuously scraped clean. These systems had all of the positive features of conventional conveyors but overcame the angle limitation. By hugging the bulk material between two belts, the material’s internal friction could be developed to facilitate conveying at any high angle up to 90 degrees (vertical). After an intense testing period (about one year) on the first large scale prototype system, commercialization began in 1983 with the installation of a 60 degree incline system at a western United States coal mine, elevating 2000 t/h of coal to a train load out system. It did not take a long period of scrutiny and acceptance before this high angle conveyor found use in the most rugged requirements of an IPCC system. This was only the second commercial sale, and after more than 150 commercial installations, it remains arguably the most significant high angle conveying system. In 1984, a copper mine in Serbia, already using pit perimeter crushing and conveying, decided to move their primary crusher deep into the pit and to use a sandwich belt high angle conveying system to elevate the ore continuously, directly out of the pit, along the high wall to the pit perimeter where it then transferred to a conventional conveyor for the remaining haul to the plant. The system had significant features including 2000mm wide belts that elevated 250mm coarse ore, at 4000 t/h, over six 15-meter high benches for a total 90 meters of net lift. The system was able to reduce the truck haulage fleet by ten 200 ton trucks realizing great cost savings, zero emissions to the air and greatly reduced traffic congestion in the pit. The system operated successfully until 2002 when the mine shut down. Many successful sandwich belt high angle conveyors followed with the current count of commercial installations at more than 150. Despite the great success with this system, its use has not been repeated as part of an IPCC system."

Jan 1, 2018

By J. A. Dos Santos

High angle conveyor (HAC®) systems in open pit mining offer many advantages over the traditional, truck only, haulage systems, including: (1) superior energy efficiency, (2) less dependency on petroleum products, (3) less sensitivity to inflation, (4) less labor, (5) less excavation for the amount of ore recovered, and (6) less ramp construction and maintenance costs. Previous studies had revealed the technical and economic feasibility of high angle conveyors. This paper presents the Sandwich Belt HAC® as the vital link to optimization of in-pit conveying systems. HAC development to date is discussed, beginning with studies in 1979, to the first large scale prototype in 1983, to the first commercial unit in 1984, into "the latest commercial installations. Discussion continues with the HAC systems to suit the various open pit mining operations and the corresponding characteristics of the system components, particularly the high angle conveyor. The range of HAC systems from the low capacity (up to 1,814 t/h), low lift (10.7 to 36.6M), highly mobile to the moderate capacity (1,814 to 3,629 t/h), moderate lift (36.6 to 76.2M), intermittently mobile to the high capacity (greater than 3,629 t/h), high lift (greater than 76.2M), semi-mobile, are discussed along with some possible combinations of these.

Jan 1, 1989

By Xi Zhang

A technique for fabricating free-standing, high-aspect-ratio porous and pillar-type Ni structures has been developed using wet Si processing. A wafer of (100) Si was initially etched in HF solution to form deep pores with micron-sized diameter. The aspect ratio can exceed 200. By introducing the as-etched Si into a defined aqueous Ni2+ solution, Ni deposits grew rapidly onto the sidewalls and replaced the Si. Long-time immersion allows the Si sidewalls to be completely converted and thus form a metallic Ni structure with high-aspect-ratio pores. It is known that close-packed submicron Si pillars can be formed by oxidizing and subsequent etching of the macropore sidewalls. Treated in the same Ni solution, high-aspect-ratio Ni pillars were correspondingly emerged by replicating the original pillar-type Si structure.

Jan 1, 2006

By Walther Mathesus

INTRODUCTION THE use of high blast heats on furnaces melting Mesaba ores is still the exception, the average blast temperatures carried on Mesaba stacks seldom reaching 1,100° F. Some 15 years ago, when the use of fine Mesaba ores in larger proportions to the total burden first came into practice, it was found difficult to employ even those blast heats which it had been possible to carry with the Old Range ores. The furnaces refused to "take" high heats, and would persistently labor with irregular stock movement, which impaired the practice and increased the coke consumption. By lowering the blast temperature, the working of the furnace became smoother, and experience taught that with the softer and more easily reduced Mesaba ores, satisfactory practice could be obtained with comparatively low blast heats. Therefore a large number of Mesaba furnaces have ever since been operated on very low blast temperatures, ranging between 800° and 1,000° F. In the face of these difficulties, furnace men were slow to recognize that furnaces could be so designed as to permit a free movement of the charges in combination with the use of higher heats. Since higher blast temperatures did not seem to offer great advantages in the smelting of Mesaba ores, investments in hot-blast stoves were not as attractive to the furnace man as labor-saving devices and means of obtaining greater tonnages. The effect of this preference is keenly felt at the present time. It has brought about the peculiar situation, that the majority of our furnace plants (among them some of the most progressive) lack modern and efficient stove equipment. The result is that, even where the proper furnace lines have been adopted and conditions are now favorable to the successful employment of higher blast temperatures, the heats required for the greatest fuel economy are not available.

Jan 3, 1915

Discussion of the paper of WALTHER MATHESIUS, presented at the New York meeting, February, 1915, and printed in Bulletin No. 99, March, 1915, pp. 539 to 555. JOSEPH W. RICHARDS, So. Bethlehem, Pa.-This paper answers. partly the difficult questions which have come up as to why it is not economical to use higher blast temperatures in the smelting of Mesaba ores, such as the high temperatures used in European practices, and the answer is very plain that the ores will not stand the higher temperature. But the paper does not go into detail as to what special difficulties were found with the higher temperature of blast, and I would ask the author to kindly specify them. W. A. FORBES, New York, N. Y.-A large part of the troubles that furnace men experienced in using high-blast heats in smelting Mesaba ores in the early days of using Mesaba ores, was clue to the attempt to use these soft ores on furnaces having the same lines as the furnaces used in smelting the hard Old Range ores. As the result of observation and study, the dimensions of the lower part of the blast furnaces have been changed and the difficulties of the blast-furnace men in operating with a large percentage of Mesaba ore and high-blast temperatures have been largely overcome. The changes I refer to in particular are: (1) steepening the angle of the bosh; (2), decreasing the height of the bosh; (3) increasing the diameter of the hearth. JOSEPH W. RICHARDS.-Mr. Forbes's answer is quite satisfactory, and the moral which it points is that when the furnace is run with a higher temperature in the smelting zone, the furnace lines which were adapted for the lower temperatures are not necessarily those best suited for the higher hearth temperatures. If. enriched blast were used in a furnace, and higher temperatures run, it would be found necessary to further modify the lines of the furnace to meet the new conditions and to get the maximum output with economy. J. E. JOHNSON, JR., New York, N. Y.-It seems to me this is one of the few papers which could well have been a little longer. The data which Mr. Mathesius has given us, I think should be considered in connection with the paper which Mr. Brassert read before the American Iron and Steel Institute last spring, in which he described how they had obtained remarkable results with furnaces with steep but very short boshes; the angles have been raised to 80°, and the boshes made so short that they no longer appear as a conspicuous part of the shape of the furnace.

Jan 5, 1915

The introduction of many new hydraulic ally and pneumatically powered impact breakers over the past few years demonstrates the growing interest in this technique of breaking rocklike material. The most practical method yet devised to increase the blow energy range of hammer type impactors without incurring weight penalities, is to cushion the impact of the hammer on the tool. This has been achieved in one impact breaker by means of replenisible fluid cushions between the tool and the hammer, and blow energies up to 27,000 joule (20,000 ft. lbs.) have been achieved. Impact rock breaking is becoming an important alternative to the use of explosives in the mining and the construction industry. The design of impactors is discussed and manufacturers data is presented for most of the machines now available. A review of the research and mechanics of breaking rocks with impactors is presented and the benefits of high energy impactors are discussed. The relative merits of three impactor design types are explored with regard to achieving high blow energy.

Jan 1, 1978

By L. A. Henry

The island of Jamaica consists predominantly of Carbonate rocks which vary in chemical & physical characteristics. Currently these rocks are used for construction and road aggregate, landfill and as a raw material in the manufacture of cement. Over the past fifteen years the Geological Survey of Jamaica with assistance from a number of international aid agencies and the private sector have identified deposits of high calcium/high brightness limestones which have the potential to be utilized as a high quality filler and a number of other commercial applications. Geologically, these limestones are formed within the Eocene Swanswick Formation, the Oligocene Walderston-Browns Town Formation and to a lesser extent the Miocene Montpelier and Newport Formations.

Jan 1, 1998

By Anthony D. Barley

Over 60,000 multiple anchors have been used internationally since their introduction in the early 1990s, including 1000 in the United States. The multiple anchor system comprises a "multiple" of "unit" anchors installed within a single borehole - each unit anchor being staggered within the borehole length to mobilize its own capacity independently of the other unit anchors. These systems offer higher capacity than conventional anchors with identical bond lengths due to superior load transfer efficiency. The use of higher capacity anchors may allow reduction in the number of anchors required on a project, which results in time and cost benefits to the anchor installer, contractor, and the owner. Fully removable temporary multiple anchors are available, and have been used with consistent success. Three case histories are discussed highlighting the use of these systems

Jan 1, 2002