Study tour 2009

1 Australia 2009 Contents

• Participants 3 • Study tour intro 4 • Tour program 5 • Coppabella Mine 6 • Bucyrus 8 • Kestrel Mine 10 • Curragh Mine 12 • Gemfields 14 • 15 • Oaky Creel Complex 16 • Wilky Creek Mine 18 • Travel Pictures 19 • University of 20 • Gympie Gold 22 • CRC Mining 25 • Northparks Mine 26 • Simtars 28 • Sponsor page 29

Australia 2009 2 Participants Students and Staff

Staff Students

Hans de Ruiter Koen Aberkrom Ko Korenromp Peter Berkhout Daan van Berkel Stephanie Lier Stanley Kierle Louis Carlier Ruben Logister Evert Dolman Mathijs Mol Andrina Drost Laurens van der Sluijs Jeroen van Eldert Pieter Sturm Richard Hontelez Thomas Waterman

3 Australia 2009 Study tour 2009

Each year the Resource Engineering Section of the Department of Applied Earth Sciences of Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands organises an excursion for their students and staff members. The aim is to get a clear impression of the mining, extractive metallurgy and recycling industry in a particular country, its importance for Europe and the role it plays world-wide. The focus is always on the technological and economical aspects as well as on the cultural and geographical specialties of the country which is visited. This year Australia was chosen as the excursion target. The following report summarizes the information which was collected during the visit. Hans de Ruiter

Australia 2009 4 Program

04/07 Sydney 05/07 06/07 University of Queensland CRC mining 07/07 Wilkie Creek Mine 08/07 Simtars 09/07 Gympie Gold 10/07 Curragh Mine 11/07 Airlie Beach 12/07 Whitsunday Islands 13/07 Bucyrus 14/07 Coppabella Mine 15/07 Goonyella Riverside Mine 16/07 Kestrel Mine Oaky Creek Coal Complex Gemfields 17/07 Brisbane 18/07 Sydney 19/07 Sydney 20/07 Sydney 21/07 Sydney 22/07 Northparks

5 Australia 2009 or coal separation plant. Two rope shovels, a dragline and two excavators, with buckets up to 40 m3 are used to dig out the resources. Three water trucks are continually spraying water to prevent dust and to get rid of the water in the Creek Pit by evaporation. The mine is operation 7 days a week in and 24 hours a day. After an area is mined out, uses the overburden to backfill the mined out area.

Processing methods

Macathur Coal’s subsidiary, Queensland Coke & Energy Pty Ltd, together with Stanwell Corporation Ltd is in progress of investigating the feasibility of establishing a new generation coke making plant at Stanwell in .

Additional works

Coppabella Mine Currently civil workers are in the process of relocating the adjacent Peak Downs The mine mine developed from a greenfields Highway and the Goonyella-Hay Point prospect to a coalproducing mine railway corridor to access an additional The Coppabella mine is one of the two in just twelve months. At first the 20Mt of coal resource. operating mines of MacArthur Coal. overburden removal was commenced The other mine, Moorvale, is located in July 1998. After that the first coal was Product south of the Coppabella mine. The mined in October 1998. In April 2007 the mine reached a cumulative total of excavation of the coal resources is done After the coal has been washed, it is 40Mt of run of mine (ROM) coal mined. with a truck and shovel operation. transported by train to the Dalrymple

Besides the two operating mines Bay Coal Terminal. The produced coal Production MacArthur Coal is working on some has its main markets in Asia (42%, Japan, projects in the (for example Korea and Taiwan), Europe (40%) and Middlemouth). In 2003 the Coppabella Mine had Brazil (18%). A part of the customers are a workforce of approximately 300 also shareholders of Macarthur Coal. The The Coppabella mine started in 1998 by workers. These were working in mining, capital costs to mine the coal are less using draglines to strip the overburden. coal processing and additional works. than 35$/t. Nowadays the reserves will extend the The mine uses an open cut method. For the production of the coal a part of the mine life for at least ten years (2019). The mine produces a 9% ash, low volatile overburden has to be blasted, because The mine consists of two pits, with a total and low sulphur, high energy PCI coal. PCI of the high water content in the mine, length of 2 km. One of them, Johnson pit, coal is used for Pulverised Coal Injection. Coppabella uses emulsion explosives. has some major problems with mud and This is used for steel making. The mine The powder factor of 5-2.5 is used at water inflow. also produces high energy thermal coal. the side. With a 10-meter saem and 110 meters of overburden the stripping ratio The Coppabella Mine is located 140 is around 9:1. Each month 1.8 million In 2002 4.2 Mtpa was produced this kilometres southwest of MacKay, near tonnes of rock will be blasted. amount dropped down. And in 2003- the townships of Nebo (25 km SW) and 2004 the mine produced 3.92 Mt saleable (NE). coal, and 2.17 Mt in 2008. The Coppabella mine has an operating coal mine site and a coal washing plant. History 15 to 20 trucks (Cat 92) are currently used for hauling the excavated The mine lease was granted on June material either to the waste dump 1 1998. When this was granted the Australia 2009 6 Geology distributed within the basin. Group IV The mine uses 10-meter wide benches were deposited under fluviatile, in the pit with a vertical height of 15 Queensland’s coals range in age from lacustrine and paludal conditions. meters. The angle of 63 degrees is Carboniferous, 350 million years (Ma) naturally formed by the soil in the mine. , to Tertiary (65 Ma). The commercially Although the quality and rank of The benches are used to prevent dangers significant black coals are restricted to Group IV coals vary greatly, they are from geological failure. deposits within sedimentary basins of characterised by comparatively low Permian (280 Ma), Triassic (250 Ma) and reactives content and low sulphur. They Flooding and water problems Jurassic (200 Ma) age, located mainly in are of major economic importance as a the central and eastern portions of the source of coking, PCI (Pulverised Coal In 2008 the pit was flooded after heavy Queensland state. Injection) and thermal coal and have rain in Queensland, Australia. The creek been mined intensively over the past 30 pit hasn’t been pumped dry jet. Currently The coal deposits of Permian age are by years. Coppabella is one out of fourteen the water is used for the coal washing plant. far the most commercially important, of open-cut mines who is currently working Pre split holes are drilled in the coal the State’s black coal inventory totalling the Group IV coal seam. seam, because of the high water in excess of 30 billion (x109) tonnes content in the coal. These holes are (measured and indicated resources). The Local Geology 10-15 meters drilled into the seem. most important Permian coal basin is The Coppabella mine has since spent the Bowen Basin, which is exposed in a The coal seam has a thickness of 2008 2m$ to prevent another flooding. large, triangular-shaped area of central 10 meters. The coal is PCI witch is Queensland, 600km long and up to 250km a low-cost steelmaking coal (good The Galilee Basin, which is connected to wide. The basin extends south in the sub- enough for cokes). Now a part of the Bowen Basin across the surface beneath Mesozoic sediments of this coal is converted to thermal coal Shelf, also contains large quantities of the Surat Basin, and connects with the due to decreased market for PCI. high volatile, low rank thermal coal. Gunnedah and Sydney Basins in New The saem lies in a geological syncline South Wales. and the dips are 1:8 (70). The ash content of the coal is 12%. Due to the geological Coal seams in the Bowen Basin exhibit features the coal is difficult to mine (a lot major variations in rank and quality, of faults through the seam). reflecting both the depositional and tectonic history of the basin. A broad trend of increasing rank from west to east has long been recognised, and was used as a guide for coal exploration targets during the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Along the structurally disturbed north- eastern edge of the Bowen Basin, the coals range in rank from anthracite to low volatile bituminous, and deposits tend to exhibit a complex structure. Coals in the central part of the basin are medium to high volatile bituminous and include the best coking coals. Structural deformation in these deposits is generally relatively mild.

Coal-bearing horizons have been preserved at many stratigraphic levels throughout the Bowen Basin, but deposits of economic importance are restricted to four groups. The Coppabella mine mines Group IV coals, therefore only Group IV coals are mentioned in this part of the geology. This group includes the Rangal Coal Measures, Baralaba Coal Measures and the Bandanna Formation. The coals in this group are the most diverse in terms of quality, and also the most widely 7 Australia 2009 Bucyrus

The Company History A year later Bucyrus bought the Marion Power Shovel Company. Bucyrus international Inc. is a In 1880 the company which would manufacturing company of mining later become Bucyrus was founded in In 2007 the company merged with equipment. Until 2006 the company Bucyrus, Ohio, USA by the founding DBT GmbH, and entered the market for only produced high quality surface father of the company: Daniel P. Eells. underground mining equipment. The equipment. This equipment is used Two years after the founding the first equipment is suitable for room-and-pillar to extract a broad assortment of steam shovel was built. This was the first and longwall mining methods. minerals from the earth, such as coal, machinery built by Bucyrus. In 1883, the iron ore, tar sands, diamonds etc. first dipper dredge was shipped. In the Financial In 2007 the Bucyrus-brand started years afterwards 77 shovels were shipped to build the Panama Canal. In 1910 producing underground mining The two companies in Bucyrus Bucyrus entered the dragline market by equipment as well. International Inc. resulted in an installed purchasing manufacturing rights. In 1930 base of mining machinery value at over Bucyrus went international by merging The headquarters of the company are $25 billion in 2007, which is believed to with Ruston Hornsby in England. Three located in South Milwaukee, Wisconsin, be the largest installed base of this type years after the merge the company USA.Bucyrus has established itself as of machinery in the world. an international leader in excavation entered the drill market through the acquisition of the manufacturing rights equipment manufacturing. International Australian operations subsidiaries are located within South to the Armstrong Drill production line. Africa, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, In 1952 Bucyrus introduced its first rotary China, Europe, India and Peru. These blast hole drill, and two years later its The operations all over the world are offices support the sales and services first bucket wheel excavator (BWE). In increasing but the port facilities in needed by the customers. 1957, as a result of the declining market, Australia continue to be a bottleneck Bucyrus produced its final dredge. for the export of both thermal and The expansions overseas continued metallurgical coal to the Asian markets. During 2007 the production expansion and in 1963 joint ventures were For instance, the increased demand increased all around the world (including established in Japan, Brazil and Australia. of imported coal from India could not Australia). This increased production In 1984 the drill production line (for be met by Australia, their traditional meant an increased demand for new water and oil) was sold to Buckeye Drill supplier. machines and after-market sales. Co. In 1996 Bucyrus acquired its present name: Bucyrus International Inc. Australia 2009 8 Bucyrus has two support and service The total maintenance of one longwall, centers, in Mackay , both for underground consisting of 90 to 180 shields, one or two and surface mining equipment. These crushers, the scraper-arm and the chain centers are located a short distance from conveyor takes 4 to 8 weeks. For this each other. process the total longwall of one mine is transported to surface and the Bucyrus Underground department workspace in Mackay. Therefore most mines have two sets of equipment so they are continuously able of producing The underground center has the coal. Because of the regular maintenance major tasks for the maintenance frequency of the longwall equipment and customization of underground Bucyrus is able to plan their work over equipment. This equipment mainly one year in advance. consists of shields for longwall mining and other longwall equipment. Most of the customization is Surface department done on cursers at the longwall. The target areas are mainly the The surface department in Mackay only Bowen basin coalfields and the produces booms for draglines. These have coalmines located in New South Wales. a length around 100 meters and weight This location of the company employs up to 300 tons. This is shipped out and 90 people working in the office and 200 assembled with the rest of the dragline at people in the workshop. There are also the mining site. It takes 6 months to build 12 service engineers that can be sent to the boom and 18 months to complete the mines to do repairs at location. The a dragline. 28 Employees are currently workshop is, just as the mines, operated working at the workshop in Mackay 24 hours per day and is subdivided in different specialties. These are the valve The assembly repairs and maintaince department, the hydraulic department, of longwall machinery and surface the welding department and the equipment take place at this center. electronic department. They also work on the repairs and the manufacturing of dragline buckets.

9 Australia 2009

Quick Facts

Kestrel is a joint venture between Rio Tinto (80%) and Mitsui (20%).

Underground Coal Mine

Longwall mining

Annual production around 4 Mt saleable product

75/25 split Coking/thermal product

Average yield: approximately 80%

Estimated mine life: 2032 Kestrel

Overview coal at the Kestrel Mine is extracted by Coal Transport longwall mining, with approximately Kestrel Mine, located in Queensland’s ten per cent of total run of mine coal The coal is transported by rail to the Port Bowen Basin 50 km northeast of Emerald produced by continuous miners. of Gladstone for export. A contract with and 300 km west of , is Kestrel Mine has two longwall units the port gives Kestrel the advantage to an underground longwall operation that are operated alternately to have a stockpile at the . supplying world markets with premium minimise downtime and ensure The great advantage of this stockpile quality high volatile coking coal as well seamless production and reliability. is the opportunity to mix the different as thermal coal. Kestrel Mine is jointly The ground support is done by qualities in the port instead of on the owned by Rio Tinto (80 per cent) and roof bolting (8 x 2.1m bolts every mine site. An other advantage is that Mitsui Kestrel Coal Investment Pty Ltd (20 meter) and rib bolting (6 x 2.1m bolts they need to transport a certain amount per cent) and employs 320 people. Their every meter) and the usage of tin of coal by rail. Using the stockpile as a main markets are Japan China, Korea and cans in the tailgate of the longwall. buffer gives a flexible use of rail transport. Europe. The underground mine is ventilated by Its consistently high performance is due 3 main fans. These fans are situated at to inherent properties (high fluidity, low surface, 2 fans are normally operational Geology ash and low phosphorous contents) and and one on stand by. The capacity of the quality control standards maintained these main fans is too low for further during production at Kestrel Mine. The coal is mined from a single seam, development of the mine, a new named German Creek seam. This seam ventilation shaft is under construction. has a height of 3.0 to 3.5 meters and dips Growth prospects gently. The seam depth is 110 to 450m Raw coal is delivered to the surface via a and the ground conditions are average Kestrel is currently mining the ‘300 series’, series of conveyors. The coal is transferred to weak (10-25 Mpa). The mined areas this will continue till 2014. Afterwards they to the raw coal stockpile before being are bounded by main faults, within these will start mining the 400 and possibly 500 fed to the coal handling and preparation mining areas minor faulting exists. series. The 400-500 series lies at 250-400 plant to be processed into two premium m depth and will give a lifetime till 2032. products for export; low ash coking Process The 2 main drifts for these new series are and high energy thermal coal. currently under construction. The used longwall for this new operation will be The mine operates at a depth of 250 375m. metres below surface and is accessed by two inclined drifts. The majority of

Australia 2009 10 Groundwater housing. This included door-knocking, Kestrel Mine in 2008, which included a evacuating residents, providing medical new fire truck Groundwater production is restriced support, setting up and supporting by the Australian government. All evacuation centres and sandbagging • Kestrel Mine hosted the first Rio the groundwater produced needs to to protect property and public Tinto Coal Australia Birdwatch event at be reused in the mine. Kestrel uses infrastructure. As the waters receded, Gordon Downs Property the washing plant and abandoned the Kestrel Mine team also assisted in the recovery and rebuilding process, while mine to reuse the groundwater. • The mine finalised a draft cultural employees were directly involved in the Then Kestrel mines the last parts of the heritage management agreement with Emerald Council Flood Recovery project. 300 series. There might be a problem the Kangoulu people at Kestrel Mine, to caused by fracturing the aquifer. be implemented in 2009 • Kestrel Mine started using tomato and basil plants to help manage 2008 Highlights: • $40,000 was provided bacteria levels in its raw water dam through the Kestrel Mine Community in 2008, in an innovative project in In 2008, Kestrel Mine rehabilitated eight Development Fund in 2008 to sponsor collaboration with CQ University hectares more land than targeted and defensive driver training for all Emerald disturbed 17 hectares less land than Year 12 students. targeted • An increase in longwall productivity with the use of a support crew added $13.5 million in value at • Construction on the Kestrel Kestrel Mine in 2008 Mine extension, an expansion to the existing underground coal mine, started in August 2008, with the first coal from • Projects related to the “Kestrel the extension planned for October 2012 Blitz”, a collaborative programme led by Coal Processing Improvement contributed approximately one third • During the Queensland floods ($10.9 million) to Kestrel Mine’s $32.1 in early 2008, Kestrel Mine’s Disaster million total of savings in 2008 Management team worked with local emergency services to protect property and help residents relocate to safer • A new fire station opened at

11 Australia 2009 Curragh Mine Location there is not a lot of faulting in the region. The seams have a slight dip. Quick facts The Curragh Mine is located 14 kilometres north-west of Blackwater and Mining Ownership Wesfarmers Ltd approximately 200 kilometres west of Rockhampton. The Curragh mine is divided into two Employees 1000 areas: Curragh and Curragh North. Ownership Curragh has about 6 to 7 strip mining operations which are run by three Location Blackwater, Queensland, draglines each. Australia Wesfarmers is one of Australia’s largest public companies, with more than 200.000 employees across the country. It has During our visit, we visited the Curragh Type of mining Undercut dragline investments in many different branches. North area, which consists of two strip operation Apart from coal mining (Wesfamers owns mining operations. Although this area one other mine in Western Australia), the is smaller in the number of pits, the Production rate 7,3 Mt per year company invests, among other things, in production volumes are much greater. A liquor stores, retail, pubs, insurances and conveyor belt of 42 kilometers transports Production start 1984 home improvement. the coal from the site to the entrance where the washing plant is located. Mine life Until 2025 Geology From the washing plant it goes up to a stockpile. A small bucket wheel excavator digs up the washed coal and loads it into Process Washing plant & size Mining at Curragh takes place on the Aries, wagons. Each wagon can carry 7,000 diminishing Castor, Pollux and Pisces seams within the tonnes. These trains are so long that most Rangal Coal Measures of Queensland’s of the times an extra locomotive has to Product Thermal coal & hard Bowen Basin. In North Curragh there are be put in the middle. coking coal three main seams. From top to bottom: 1 meter seam, interburden, 3 meter seam, interburden, 10 meter seam. Part of the The two draglines used in Curragh North thickest seam is used as hard coking the are used to move the overburden. The coal, the rest leaves the mine as thermal weathered zone can be excavated right coal. With exception of some big faults, away while the unweathered zone and the coal have to be blasted. The removal Australia 2009 12 of one cubic meter of rock with a dragline by running coal to Preparation Plant to provide consistent feed rate to the costs $0,7, whereas removal of the same feed stockpiles through one line and plant, is provided by two 250 tonne volume of rock with a shovel costs $3. This running bypass steam coal through surge bins fitted with electro-magnetic gives an indication of cost comparisons another. Curragh ROM coal is dumped vibratory feeders providing precise feed made by the management before they by 240 tonne haul trucks into 500 tonne rate control. The raw coal stackers and decide to buy a dragline. The topsoil and capacity hoppers. Variable speed apron reclaimers are designed and utilised to the coal seams are loaded into the haul feeders discharge coal into hammer- ensure consistency in the quality and trucks by shovels. The haul trucks used mills reducing coal lump to less than size distribution of the plant feed, prior to are CAT 793Ds; at the moment cycles are 400 millimetres. Rotary breakers further processing in the Preparation Plant. run with four trucks. All shovels and haul reduce coal to a maximum size of 63 trucks are run by a contractor. Monitoring millimetres and from this point coal can Independently or simultaneously equipment is used on all equipment, either be sent directly as bypass coal processing two different coal types, the including topography sensors on the to the secondary product coal line, or plant handles up to a maximum of 1,750 shovels, weight detectors on the trucks alternately, further crushed by double tonnes of coal per hour through two and a GPS system to keep track of the roll crushers to a maximum size of 32 modules. On entering the plant the raw cycles so they can be optimised. millimetres and stacked as Preparation coal is screened into two size fractions. Plant feed. Plant feed is stacked in Producing both coking and steam coal, The waste is directly dumped in the chevron piles to ensure consistent feed the coarse coal (+0.5 mm) is processed in a previously mined out strip. This results in for the Preparation Plant. two-stage dense medium cyclone circuit a so called ‘movement’ of the active strip with the fine coal (-0.5 mm) processed in a mine. The Curragh North ROM system is a single stage froth flotation circuit. Recent single line system capable of crushing upgrades in 2002 and 2004 have seen the Most of the coal is sold to the power up to 2500 tonnes per hour. ROM coal introduction of modern coal processing station in Rockhampton. The higher is delivered by 190 tonne rear dump technology into the Curragh CHPP. This grade hard coking coal is transported trucks or front end loaders to a 600t technology includes the installation to the port at Gladstone from hopper. The coal is fed from the hopper of two Horizontal Belt Filters, Jameson where it is shipped mostly to China. via a chain feeder into a primary crusher. Flotation Cells, 1000mm large diameter Miners at Curragh work 4 days on, 4 days From the primary crusher, the coal is dense medium cyclones, VM1500 coarse off. Water is continuously pumped away passed through a secondary crushing coal centrifuges, banana screens and dry by 160 L/s pumps. This water is caused system to achieve a maximum lump size distributors. solely by precipitation. of 32mm. The coal is then transported via the ‘World’s Longest Single Flight Outlook Conventional Conveyor’ at 20.02 Processing kilometres in length and a top speed of The current concession can be mined 27km/hr to a 500 tonne bin at the Coal out in 16 years. At that time there is a The raw coal handling system consists of Handling and Preparation Plant feed possibility to go underground and extract two main areas: the Curragh Run of Mine stockpile area. From the 500 tonne bin, the rest of the coal seam with longwall (ROM) system and the Curragh North coal can be directly fed into the CHPP for mining. There is also a lot of coal in the ROM system. processing, stockpiled to the Preparation neighbouring area, but concessions and Plant feed stockpiles or bypassed mining rights have yet to be gathered. The Curragh ROM system is a dual line onto a secondary coal product pile. The potential of this mine is quite large. design capable of crushing 1,200 tonnes Reclamation of plant feed from the per hour through each line (total 2,400 Preparation Plant feed stockpiles is via tonnes per hour). It also allows versatility two bridge reclaimers. Surge capacity,

13 Australia 2009 However, between 70 and 40 million years ago some volcanic activity erupted across the area spewing out basaltic ash and lavas. All that remains of these volcanoes now are plugs of lava that once filled their vents (eg Mount Hoy, Mount Leura); the rest having been eroded away. Referred to as the Hoy Basalt Province, it is one of many similar volcanic suites that are found throughout the highlands of eastern Australia.

It is believed that during the first phase of volcanic activity, abundant sapphires, spinels, garnets and zircons were blasted from the volcanoes as crystals in volcanic ash. Later less violent eruptions brought more normal basalt lava to the surface, carrying only a few sapphires as have been noted in the basalt at Mount Leura.

The sapphires have since been released from the volcanic material by weathering and erosion, transported by old streams, Gemfields and concentrated in various layers of gravel (known as “wash”) of Pliocene to Pleistocene age (2 million to 10 000 years History romance of fossicking did not sit well ago). This “wash” has also been cut into with mass production. by present drainage systems. The Gemfields is a region in central- western queensland, near the town Today the field is characterised The old streams that drained the area and of Emerald. As the name suggest by mainly individual hand miners concentrated the sapphires in bed and the main industry in the gemfields is supporting the local tourist market with bank deposits flowed towards the north sapphire mining supported by tourism. larger mechanised operations being and northeast, generally parallel to, and The first Gem find in the area occurred in undertaken by mainly small family in some cases co-incident with modern 1875 when Archibald John Richardson companies or joint venture partners and streams. The sapphires and other heavy found zircons at Retreat Creek. The only one listed public company. minerals tended to be concentrated following year a prospector found in “runs” along particular channels in sapphires in the region and by 1881 Occurrence the old watercourses (palaeodrainage commercial mining operations had system). In some areas, the presence of commenced. On the Anakie field sapphires occur in several “wash” layers indicates the filling Tertiary and Quaternary alluvial deposits of channels with barren sediments and After 1935 the fields began to decline so derived from the weathering and erosion later deposition of sapphire-bearing that by 1953 there were only 21 full-time of alkali-volcanic rocks, mainly basaltic material over the top. miners working in the area. However it lavas, pyroclastics and volcaniclastics of was during this period that the Black Star Tertiary age and underlying Palaeozoic The wash so formed is termed “high level of Queensland (see picture) was found. basement rocks. The basement of the wash”, and occurs above present stream Weighing in at a remarkable 1165 carats Anakie field consists of old metamorphic levels. It is variable in thickness and depth, it was the largest black-star sapphire rocks and sediments of Late Proterozoic to reflecting original topographic features, in the world. In 1938 a twelve-year-old Ordovician age (600 to 435 million years) and has undergone varying degrees of local named Roy Spencer found the huge known as the Anakie Metamorphics and consolidation. Degradation of this wash sapphire near Reward Claim. He took it Fork Lagoons beds, and granitoids of the by erosion, in places by gravity acting home and his father, not recognising its Retreat Batholith which were intruded down-slope, and elsewhere by water, value, left it at the back door. into them in Devonian times (350 to has formed areas of secondary “lower 380 million years). Although some level wash”. Modern streams have also The fields experienced a new lease of life younger sediments overlapped the area reworked older wash deposits leading to from tourism in the 1960s. However the in subsequent times, little apart from sapphires in their drainages. big operators arrived in the early 1970s, erosion has occurred in this old basement with heavy machinery in tow. The frail block to the present day. Australia 2009 14 Goonyella Riverside Mine

General their superior coking characteristics. increasing depth of the coal seams as The seams dip 3-6 degrees to the East. they progress down dip: Goonyella riverside mine is the biggest The Riverside product will continue to material moving operation of Australia, be produced from the Goonyella lease, – Equipment is being upgraded to and one of the biggest in the world. which has economic open cut reserves increase efficiency The operation is 22 kms long and 8 of 663 million tonnes and has “in situ” resources of about 1.6 billion tonnes. kms wide. It is one of the nine BMA coal – Mine plans are continually optimised; mines is Queensland and is located 190 In 1971 BMA started mining the middle seam and dumped their waste above including development of Airstrip Pit, km west of Mackay and is accessible by and feasibility of double seam extension road and rail. The coal is mined by the the lower seam. In 1983 the lower seam surface stripping method and by the proved to be economically profitable – A program of continuous improvement underground longwall method. Surface and the mine started mining the coal (Operating Excellence) is in place to stripping produces 12.3 Mt per year under the old waste pile. This project is increase mine efficiencies and reduce and the longwall mining produces 4 Mt ongoing and splits the mine in two holes. costs per year. So the total production of the This waste dump in the middle now mine per year is 16.3 Mt of raw coal. causes severe problems with the water The produced coal is transported by rail management. to the coal terminals of Hay point and Dalrymple Bay at the shore. Cycle of operations

The mine has 1000 eployees and 300 To produce coal, the topsoil has to be contractors working at the mine, in either removed. This is done by loaders and a 7 day continuous 12 hour shift roster trucks. After that the upper half of the (for the stripping operations) or a 5 day overburden is removed by excavators and continuous 12 hour shift roster (for the trucks. What is left of the overburden gets coal mining and processing operations). drilled and blasted and will be removed The mine operates 24 hours per day, 363 by draglines. This process exposes the days per year. coals seams, which will be produced by excavators and trucks. For the underlying The employees live in the town of coals seams, the process is repeated. Moranbah, 30 kms south of the mine, which has a total population of about Coal preparation 7000 people. Raw coal from the mining faces is The equipment the mine uses for blended and processed by the coal BMA stripping, contract stripping and preparation plants (CPP), then the coal is underground mining consist of 58 trucks, crushed to 50mm. Beneficiation involves 7 draglines, 9 excavators, 3 rope shovels dense medium separation of coarse (50 x and 3 loaders. 0.5mm) product from coarse reject, and the use of column flotation to separate The mine prefers an underground fine (0.5 x 0mm) product from fine reject. operation when the overburden that has The quality is monitored at all stages to to be removed is exceeds 180 meters. ensure products are consistently “on spec”. Coal resource Outlook Three seams are mined. The Goonyella upper seam (GUS) is 6.0 to 9.5 meters Goonyella Riverside has extensive thick and the yield is 63-70%, the reserves of GUS, GMS and GLS, which Goonyella middle seam (GMS) is also will enable production of Goonyella and 6.0 to 9.5 meters thick and has a yield of Riverside products to continue well into 77-85% and the Goonyella lower seam the future (at least 60 years of mine life at (GLS) is 3.0 to 4.0 meters thick and has a current output) yield of 70-75%. Goonyella and Riverside are high quality, medium volatile coking Goonyella is addressing the major coals, and are widely recognised for issue facing Goonyella Riverside - the 15 Australia 2009

Quick Facts

Ownership: Xstrata Coal Queensland Pty Limited (55%), Sumisho Coal Australia Pty Limited (25%), Itochu Coal Resources Australia Pty Limited (15%) and ICRA OC Pty Limited (10%).

Product: Metallurgical coal (coking coal)

Location: Bowen basin, Central Queensland, Australia

Current production rate: 11Mt

Reserves: 63.1 Mt of proved marketable reserves

Start of production: 1983

Mining method: Longwall underground and open cut

Processing technology: Cyclones, spirals, flotation and filters/thickeners

Oaky Creek Coal Complex Employees: 1230

Overview Location Oaky Creek North was developed as a major longwall mine and is generally a larger scale operation than the Oaky No This project is managed by Oaky Creek The mine is located in Queensland’s 1 mine, thicker seams, wider longwall Coal Pty Ltd. It is a modern large-scale Bowen Basin 200 kilometres west blocks and bigger more powerful mining operation producing at a rate of northwest of Rockhampton. OCC equipment. In both mines continuous approximately 11 million tonnes a year. workforce and their families mainly live miners develop the blocks for longwall The mine comprises two underground in (approximately 2000 inhabitants), extraction, maintaining minimum operations, Oaky No1 and Oaky North, 14km west of the mine. developed longwall inventories of at least and a preparation plant in Queensland’s two blocks at all times. The underground Bowen Basin a coal province Mining mines at the OCC complex have optimum internationally known for its high quality working conditions with a stable roof, coking coals. All raw coal is washed to floor and coalface and an above average ensure consistent product quality. The Exploration at Oaky Creek began in 1977 seam thickness. coal is transported to ports of Dalrymple and in 1981 MIM acquired a major stake Bay and Gladstone, via the Queensland in the operation. In 1983 the mine was Government Railway lines. officially opened, initially as an open cut When production commenced in 1998, dragline operation. But underground coal recovery became less economically operations commenced in 1989 to profitable and therefore the open cut Ownership increase coal production as the open mine was closed in 1999. Changes in the cut mine became deeper and stripping exchange rates and coal prices saw the The Oaky Creek Coal (OCC) complex is ratios increased. Longwall operations at open cut operation become economical a joint venture between Xstrata Coal Oaky No 1 began in 1990 and Oaky North again, reopening in 2001 with two Queensland Pty Limited (55%), Sumisho development started in 1995. The Oaky draglines in the high quality Aquila seam. Coal Australia Pty Limited (25%), Itochu Creek No 1 mine was developed from Finally in December 2006 the open cut Coal Resources Australia Pty Limited the highwall of a worked out open cut operation was closed again. (15%) and ICRA OC Pty Limited (10%) pit close to the preparation plant. The longwall extracts coal from a series of The OCC complex produces premium pre-developed blocks. quality, medium volatile coking coal. Australia 2009 16 The coals contain moderately low ash, Geology Middle Triassic. Source rocks have been low sulphur and low alkalis and exert identified throughout the Permian and negligible pressure on coke oven walls. Oaky Creek lies in the central Bowen in the Middle Triassic and are mostly The Oaky Creek coals exhibit plastic Basin, next to Rio Tinto’s Kestrel mine. nonmarine. Proven plays comprise mostly properties such as high fluidity and high The Bowen Basin contains the largest anticlinal closures sometimes enhanced dilatation, which are exceptional for this coal reserve in Australia. This major coal- by a stratigraphic component, as well rank of Australian coal. producing region contains one of the as fault rollovers. The Large volumes of world’s largest deposits of bituminous methane gas are held at shallow depths Processing coal. The Basin contains much of the within Permian coals in the north and known Permian coal resources in has potential for coal seam methane developments. Run of mine coal is transported from Queensland including virtually the the underground mines directly to the entire known mineable prime coking surface raw coal stockpiles by high coal. The Bowen Basin covers an area of The OCC complex mines from two seams capacity conveyor belt systems. From over 60,000 square kilometres in Central the German Creek, which can be up to these stockpiles the coal is fed through Queensland running from Collinsville to 4.5 metres thick, averaging 2.6 metres. rotary coal breakers, which size the coal Theodore. The Aquila seam is thinner, averaging 1.4 and make an initial segregation of waste metres, but is of complementary quality rock material. It is then conveyed to The foreland, Early Permian to Middle to the German Creek seam. stackers which place the raw coal on a Triassic Bowen Basin of eastern series of stockpiles one for each of the Queensland occupies about 160,000 Growth Prospects qualities being mined. km2, the southern half of which is covered by the Surat Basin. It has a maximum There are currently no plans to increase Vibrating feeders reclaim coal from sediment thickness of about 10,000 the production, this is all due to the these stockpiles. It is then blended to metres concentrated in two N trending financial crisis that hit at the end of 2008. ensure consistency of quality and fed depocentres, the Taroom Trough to the In December 2008 Xstrata coal announced to the preparation plant for washing. east and the Denison Trough to the west. the suspension of longwall operations The preparation plant consists of four Deposition in the basin commenced at Oaky No 1. due to the financial crisis. parallel modules. Each module has a during an Early Permian extensional In August 2009 the operations were heavy medium system for treating coarse phase, with fluvial and lacustrine restarted at Oaky No 1. in response to coal of 50*1mm, a primary spirals unit sediments and volcanics being deposited increased spot market sales to China. The treating the 1.0 *0.2mm size fraction and in a series of half-graben in the east while remaining mine life is 32 years for the froth flotation for processing fines of less in the west a thick succession of coals operations at the OCC complex. than 0.2mm. A secondary spirals unit and nonmarine clastics. processes misplaced material from the Outlook primary spirals circuit. Following rifting there was a thermal subsidence phase extending from the At the end of 2008, in response to the mid Early to Late Permian, during which In 2000 horizontal belt filters where fitted global economic crisis, worldwide a basin-wide transgression allowed to replace the original drum filters on the demand for coal imports fell deposition of deltaic and shallow marine, fines circuit. This has improved both the precipitously, and the ensuing coal predominantly clastic sediments as well throughput capacity and the recovery of supply glut prompted many mines in as extensive coal measures. Foreland high quality fine coal. Fine reject material coal exporting countries to lower their loading of the basin spread from east to from the preparation plant goes to a production levels. Although the break west during the Late Permian, resulting thickener for concentration and is later from intense global coal demand could in accelerated subsidence, which transferred to a tailings storage facility. provide an opportunity for coal trade allowed the deposition of a very thick Clarified water from the thickener and infrastructure—including mine, rail, and succession of Late Permian marine and tailings storage facility is pumped back port capacity—an opportunity to catch fluvial clastics, again with coal and Early to the plant for re use in the washing up with the previous years’ fast-paced to Middle Triassic fluvial and lacustrine process. growth, many infrastructure projects in clastics. the early stages are likely to be deferred. A radial stacker places the washed Projects that are in progress, however, are product onto separate areas of the Sedimentation in the basin was assumed to continue. Despite the global product stockpile depending on grade. terminated by a Middle to Late economic crisis, the duration of which is As it leaves the preparation plant, the Triassic contractional event. Over 100 uncertain, over the long run the volumes product coal is sampled and analysed hydrocarbon accumulations have been of total coal traded internationally continuously to ensure that quality meets discovered in the Bowen Basin, of which increase steadily through 2030. contract specifications. All operations of about one third are producing fields. the preparation plant are governed from Accumulations occur throughout the a central control room, and monitored by succession, but the most important modern sensing and control equipment. reservoirs are in the Early Permian and 17 Australia 2009 Wilkie Creek Mine

Overview modern, efficient mining operation that by truck to the rail load-facility on the will continue to expand as new long- Surat Moreton Rail Line. Trains with 1,940 Wilkie Creek mine is located in the Surat term coal sales contracts are secured. tonnes (2,100 ton) capacity transport Basin of south-east Queensland. Although Wilkie Creek’s coal is steadily winning the coal by a direct rail link 250 kms (150 mining originally started in 1994, Peabody acceptance in the export market as miles) to the Port of Brisbane coal export didn’t commence operations until 2005. its superior combustion performance, terminal. Currently producing around 1.8 million favorable ash properties and low tonnes (2 million tons) of low sulphur, environmental impact become known. A feasibility study is underway to low nitrogen, environmentally superior The mine has 50 million tonnes (55 increase production at Wilkie Creek that thermal coal, plans are underway to million tons) of recoverable coal. would involve upgrading the preparation ramp up to 2.5 million tonnes (2.8 million plant and upgrading the transportation tons) in 2008. Wilkie Creek’s 58 employees use a infrastructure, augmenting water and combination of dozers, scrapers, power facilities. The open-cut operation utilises excavators, front-end loaders and trucks excavators, loaders and trucks for to uncover the coal and move the The Wilkie Creek Mine is a subsidiary of mining. Coal is railed 250 kilometres to overburden. With a favorable stripping Peabody Energy. Acquired in 2002, it the Port of Brisbane where it is exported ratio, minimal blasting of overburden marked the return of Peabody to Australia, to Japan, the Philippines, Chile and or coal is required. Four seams of coal where the company has operated for Korea for power generation. Coal is ranging from 1 metre to more than much of the past decade. St. Louis-based also sold to domestic customers. Wilkie 4.3 metres thick (3.3 feet to more than Peabody Energy is the world’s largest Creek has an active mining lease of 128 14 feet thick) are mined individually. private-sector coal company, with 2004 hectares and has 201 million tonnes The coal from each seam is hauled by truck sales of 227 million tons and $3.6 billion (221 million tons) of recoverable coal. from the pit and stockpiled individually. in revenues. Its coal products fuel more Peabody Energy Australia’s other thermal If blending is required, this occurs when than 10 percent of all U.S. electricity coal resource in the Surat, Horse Creek, the coal is fed into the preparation plant and 3 percent of worldwide electricity. also has significant reserves. at a rate of 350 tonnes (390 tons) per hour. The company is serving global coal The coal is crushed, sorted and washed demand from electricity generators and with water obtained from recycled Mining and Production steelmakers, and is growing to serve pit water, direct rainfall into the dam new global customers and emerging Btu catchment area and ground water wells. Conversion markets. Wilkie Creek was opened in 1995 and From the preparation plant, the washed has been progressively developed as a coal is hauled about 14 kms (8 miles) Australia 2009 18 19 Australia 2009 University of Queensland

Introduction is that the TU Delft offers more than There is also research about spontaneous just the mining part. The faculty also combustion of coal, the student The University of Queensland, located offers courses in petroleum engineering conducting these experiments is Will in Brisbane, has a beautiful campus with and geo-engineering, so there is more Hitchcock, a PhD student. He works a park and old monumental buildings. overlap with civil engineering. with coals of different ash content and The UQ located. The number of students moisture contents. He uses small furnaces exceeds 30.000. Another difference compared to the TU with different pressures and air inside the Delft is that students starting at UQ first furnaces. This way a lot can be learned about spontaneous combustion of coal. The mining department has a short have an engineering year and then, in history with an experimental mine their 2nd year, choose to what field of Indooroopilly. engineering they want to go. At the TU The experimental mine Delft you choose straight away what your field of engineering will be when UQ itself consists of six research institutes As part of the mining department students begin their study in Delft. where 350 researchers conduct their there is an old mine which is used for research. teaching and conducting experiments Department of mining on subjects like ventilation, electricity, and automatisation. Comparison with TU Delft The mineral processing laboratory operates with Mr. Sante di Pasquale First a short history: The Mining department works together as head of the section. The laboratory with the mechanical engineering facilities are divided into three department. In order to learn more • 1918: Discovery of silver-lead subsections: physical, pyro- and about the materialistic part of mining by P J Madden & G Olsen. First hydrometallurgy. equipment. In the future the mines will mineral lease was granted be using more continuous processes and and the first parcel of ore larger equipment. In each subsection there were numerous dispatched to Cockle Creek. processing machines available where bachelor students have to do an Compared to the Netherlands, where experiment every year. This way students the mining department is combined here learn more about practical work than with civil engineering, this is quite a • 1919: Open cut mining the way it’s taught in the Netherlands difference. The reason for this choice commenced and the first where you learn it the theoretical way. underground shaft sunk.

Australia 2009 20 • 1920: First recorded geophysical prospecting in Queensland carried out at Indooroopilly mines.

• 1921: Main shaft sunk.

• 1924: Small treatment plant erected.

• 1925: Open cut deepened. Plant expanded.

• 1926: Financial problems caused the mine to close, P J Madden purchased the property.

• 1928: Short lived revival of production.

• 1929: All operations ceased.

• 1951: Site acquired by the University of Queensland.

Quick facts:

• Previous know as: The Indooroopilly Silver mine

• Area: Approximate 8.6 acres

• Total production: 227.343 oz. of silver and 1.796 tons of lead

When UQ acquired the mine, the mine was flooded. The students redeveloped a part of the mine. The mine is now used for research on for example ventilation, geomechanics, electrics, etc.

21 Australia 2009 mixture of gold and silver in cast bars, as bullion). The current operations provide a basis for quickly bringing to account any future exploration success with many of the most advanced exploration prospects able to be accessed using existing mine infrastructure.

Location

The Gympie Goldfield is located 150km north of Brisbane. It has excellent infrastructure with easy access to highway and rail transport, power, water and workforce.

Discovery and development

James Nash discovered alluvial gold in October 1867 in gullies that were called Nashville and then later became Gympie. Though gold had been discovered earlier in several other regions of the colony, none had given prospects of such enormous wealth as Gympie which is ranked sixth in Australian hard rock gold producers behind Kalgoorlie, Bendigo, Ballarat, Mount Morgan and Charters Gympie Gold Towers. The first modern exploration of the Gympie Goldfield occurred between Overview military, rural, transport, communications 1980 and 1995, and was conducted by and steam development in Australia. Freeport and BHP, under joint ventures Gympie is known as “Queensland’s with GEGM. The majority of that work Golden City” following Queensland’s Ownership concentrated on the ore reserve definition first gold rush in 1867. Originally settled of the Inglewood Reef, on which the present Monkland Mine is based. Some for grazing purposes, in 1867 the area Gympie Eldorado Gold Mines Pty Ltd first-pass, stratigraphic drilling was became prominent when James Nash (GEGM) owned the tenements over conducted elsewhere on the Goldfield, discovered gold. At the time Queensland the Gympie Goldfield and surrounding as well as some scout drilling on outlying was suffering from a severe economic exploration region. These permits historic workings. depression and the discovery probably covered an area of over 1300 square saved the colony from bankruptcy. This kilometers and surround our Monkland event is still celebrated today in the and Lewis Mines at the south end of Mining Gympie Gold Rush Festival, held annually the Goldfield. The Gympie Eldorado from the 8-18th of October. Gold mining Goldmine Pty Ltd was sold in 2004 after The mine was worked continuously for still plays a role in the area’s fortunes, the parent company Gympie Eldorado 60 years until 1927. Hard rock production along with agriculture (predominantly Goldmine Ltd went into receivership. The totaled 116 tonnes of gold (3.73 million oz) dairy), timber and tourism. new Company Gympie Eldorado Mine from 4.5 million tonnes of ore averaging Ltd wound down the operation and is 25.8 g/t recovered or about 29 g/t head The Museum houses a vast collection currently in maintenance mode. It is grade. It was historically the 6th largest of documentation, artefacts and presently owned by Buka Gold Limited goldfield in Australia and the 3rd largest photographs from the discovery of gold which claims that Gympie is an operating in Queensland after Charters Towers and in 1867 by James Nash to the current mine with full infrastructure and services Mount Morgan. Gympie was one of the operations of the Gympie Eldorado capable of rapid production scale up. highest grade and richest goldfields in Goldmine which is the 8th greatest gold Gold is mined at GEM’s Monkland Mine the world, paying handsome dividends producing mine in Australia today. Set by using traditional underground mining to its investors in Australia and especially a picturesque lake, the museum houses methods. Mined ore is processed in a Scotland for several decades. The Gympie memorabilia from the early gold mining modern carbon-in-leach process plant Goldfield is famous for its coarse gold era, as well as displays showcasing to recover gold in the form of doré (a specimen stone that occurs where

Australia 2009 22 gold-bearing reefs come into contact box a heavy wire screen was fitted to an Isotopic dating of the mineralization with a seam of black slate known as the opening to which the ore was required to gives a Triassic age. ‘Productive Horizon’. At today’s gold price, be crushed to release the particles of gold. Gympie gold production is worth over Each stamper dropped at approximately A large proportion of the gold produced $1,500,000 (AU) which gives substance 100 drops per minute, when the ore from Gympie has come from reefs that to the historian claims that Gympie was was crushed to sufficient fineness it was do not outcrop at surface and are totally the town that saved the then Colony of washed through the wire screen and concealed beneath the barren limestone. Queensland from bankruptcy. The ore was washed down over the amalgamating The miners of 100 years ago understood mined by hand using hammer and tap plates where the gold was recovered. this, and had such confidence that they drilling to insert black powder explosive Periodically, each five-head of stampers would sink deep shafts through barren that blasted the rock. Men loaded the were held up above the revolving cams, limestone to the Productive Beds to find handpicked ore into rail carts that were where clean water was allowed to pass rich reefs that had no surface indication. drawn along underground railways through the box and wash all the crushed The mineralization continues past the old to the shafts by the men themselves. ore off the amalgamating plates. The workings down the dip of the Productive The heroic achievements of these early water was then turned off and the gold Beds. Thin river gravels of the Mary River miners cannot be overstated. The earth amalgam was rubbed off the plates and cover much of the field but the old timers was hot in deeper mines and ventilation collected in an amalgam bucket ready would not risk sinking shafts anywhere limitations became the main engineering for further refining. Before restarting the near the river for fear of flooding. constraint on production at depth. crusher more mercury was added and spread over the amalgamating plates. The Goldfield is fragmented into a number As any coarse gold in the ore could not The modern era of the Gympie Goldfield of “Blocks” which have been shuffled up be crushed to pass through the wire commenced in the 1970’s with the and down by later fault movement. In screen on the mortar box, small amounts amalgamation of the fragmented some cases this movement has exposed of mercury were regularly added to the mining tenements. Surface exploration the veining in the Productive Beds at the mortar box to amalgamate the coarser commenced in 1980 with deep diamond surface whilst in other blocks the veins gold which could then be collected from drill holes that tested unmined portions are concealed at shallow depth beneath within the mortar box from time to time. of historically known ore zones. In 1988, the barren limestone. the deepest shaft in the field, West of Scotland Shaft at the outskirts of Gympie Geology Operating performance was reopened after 84 years. In 1993, the reopening of the Scottish Gympie The Gympie Goldfield covers an area The Gympie Goldfield produced No. 2 Shaft commenced and came into of 4km by 10km and consists of an 4,084,772 ounces of gold, recorded production after the official opening in extensive, mesothermal quartz vein by the Gold Escorts in the 60 years 1996. A modern powerful ventilation fan system hosted within the Permo–Triassic between 1876 and 1926. Gympie has fitted to the top of the Scottish Gympie No. mafic to intermediate island arc volcanics the distinction of having produced the 3 Shaft upgraded ventilation throughout and sediments of the Gympie Group. largest nugget found in Queensland, the interconnected workings. In 1996, the The Gympie Group sits on a Devonian the 30-kilogram (975 oz) Curtis Nugget old Scottish Gympie No. 1 Shaft across basement of deformed, deep marine, unearthed in February 1868 as well as the road from the Mining Museum was basalt, chert and sediments called the the Monkland `Big Cake’ of 5972 ounces. renamed after the famous geologist, Bas Amamoor Beds. These have been intruded Mining on the field ceased in 1927 due Lewis and it reopened in 1988 after being by mid- to late-Triassic granite and diorite. to diminishing returns and rising costs as refurbished. The nearest intrusion to the Goldfield mining chased the veins deeper at a time lies 10 km to the south east. The upper of high cost inflation and a pegged gold Processing units of the Gympie Group comprise the price. Other than the re-treatment of South Curra Limestone and shale beds old mine tailings, the field lay effectively of the Tamaree Formation. These upper Only one piece of mining machinery dormant from 1927 until the mid 1970’s units appear to be unmineralised. Most remains on its original site on the Gympie with over 200 small lease holdings across of the high-grade mineralization occurs Goldfield: a ten-head crushing stamper the field making it unattractive to invest beneath the limestone where the quartz battery. The original battery building significant exploration funds. on this mine, No. 2 South Great Eastern, veins are in contact with carbon-rich housed 80 head of stampers, or eight sediments, historically referred to as “The Environment sets of ten-head stamper batteries, which Productive Beds”. The Productive Beds were built by a Foundry at Bundaberg, lie above volcanic rock units and dip Queensland, around about the 1900’s. from 10 to 45 degrees to the east. The The Gympie Goldmine operates beneath The gold-bearing ore was fed into the mineralization at Gympie occurs as low a modern city and the Mill operates just mortar box through an opening at the sulphide, quartz-carbonate veins that outside the city limits. The operation has rear of the box. Water was added through are often associated with carbonate- achieved a good environmental record two openings on top of the mortar box, altered dolerite dykes. The gold occurs due to the desire to be a respected long- and to the front lower part of the mortar as free grains, which can be very coarse. term business in Gympie with guidance

23 Australia 2009 and monitoring by the Government and Operations at the Gympie Eldorado gold local community. Discharge mine water is mine have been scaled back with staff almost potable quality is supplied to the retrenchments taking place recently and community during periods of extended the Monkland site believed to be for sale. low rainfall to keep the duck ponds in the David Hillier told The Gympie Times that nearby park fresh. The Mill discharges the closure was “an inevitable winding water and tailings into a sealed and down of a 100-year-old mine”. fenced dam with the Mill waters and tailings neutralized prior to discharge to In Buka Gold’s Report to Shareholders stock-quality standards. Wildlife uses this for the 2008 September quarter, it stated dam for water during drought. that the core focus of the company’s activities would now be the Mt Scotchy The Museum and Maryborough Basin exploration projects. The report read: “Given that • Relics of later Mining and the (Monkland) mine is no longer the Gold recovery including gem company’s principal focus and that mining displays. operations have, for some time been making only modest contributions to exploration costs, the Board has decided • Military History such as The to close the Monkland operations while it 5th Light Horse Regimental continues to seek buyers for the Gympie Military Museum which houses assets. “Mining will remove all available an Award Winning Collection. broken stocks, complete stoping of 13- It includes Military equipment 47 and 124-49ELC and then remove all and memorabilia of sons and equipment for sale that can be retrieved daughters from the Gympie economically.” area that went to war.

The Gympie Goldfield was the first • The Andrew Fisher House, profitable redevelopment of an eastern named after Australians’’ Australian historical goldfield. In its second Labour Prime modern heyday, the Monkland Mine Minister between greatly benefited Gympie in many ways, 1908 - 1915. Andrew Fisher employing professional and skilled trades lived here with his Family. people with the natural flow on to the community at large. • An original old Jail House from the Gympie area. Mineral resources

Outlook In 1991, Gympie Eldorado Gold Mines acquired the mine at Gympie and initiated As stated previously, the mine is currently an active regional exploration program owned by Buka Minerals Ltd, which was performed by “Terranean mapping at the time of purchase, 2004, chaired technologies”. Initially, there was an by mining magnate Robert Champion enormous quantity of uncatalogued de Crespigny. In 2002, Champion de exploration data, some dating back to Crespigny was awarded the Companion the beginning of the 20th century. These of the Order of Australia for his service data included field survey notes, drill to the mining industry, to business logs, geological maps, interpretations in and to the community in the areas of various scales and projections, airborne cultural preservation and education. He and ground geophysics in different was also in the same year awarded the formats, media and levels of processing. South Australian Director of the Year The challenge was to process and by the Australian Institute of Company integrate these valuable, but unusable, Directors and South Australian of the Year data resources into an integrated for 2002 by SA Great.[8] In 1993 he was information base, which could be awarded Australian Businessman of the interrogated and used to support multi- Year. Nowadays, David Hillier is executive million dollar investment decisions. chairman of the company. Gympie’s current gold rush could be over for now.

Australia 2009 24 CRC Mining

CRC mining started in July 2003 as a By testing the shovel design in realistic when they get longer and longer, the research centre for the mining industry. conditions CRC mining is able to advise strain on the chain is increasing. CRC The centre which is a non-profit mining company on their choices of mining is now developing strain gauges organisation was established by the shovels. This includes advice concerning to measure these strains to predict commonwealth government under the shape and size of shovel, number and and avoid chain failure. Although this cooperative research centres programme. shape of used teeth, to achieve maximum technology would indicate accurate The centre is located near Brisbane and production. strain on the chain, no company is truly is currently supported by 14 companies interested in it. Installation of the strain gauge takes up to 12 hours. This means and 5 universities of which 4 in Australia Coil tube drilling: and 1 in USA. Some major supporting a loss of production of 12 hours which companies are Anglo Coal, Rio Tinto, BHP, according the mining companies is not Although coil tube drilling is not a new Caterpillar, Xstrata and more. worth it. technique, CRC mining now wants to apply this technique underground. The Conclusion Current research projects: main objective is to drain methane from coal seams. The main challenge is formed Shovels: restricted working space available for the Through its relatively short existence CRC machine. Due to the restricted working mining has developed some innovation CRC mining now uses the fourth space a small diameter spool has to be technologies to improve effectiveness generation of a shovel testing machine. used to wind up the coil tube. However in the mining industry. Although these The test machine which has been one of the issues is to wind up the coil new technologies are likely to improve designed and improved over a time tube on a small diameter spool without the production process and safety of span of 10 years is based on a 1:25 scale damaging the tube itself. Another mines, companies remain quiet. The imitating the true situation. The high challenge is to get the coil tube out in fact that different parties are rewarded precision and reliability has been made one piece, because when it breaks and a by delivered ton of coal means that possible by the development of a unique part of it stays stuck in the hole, the long installation of new technology results in algorithm which links the values acquired wall can’t be placed on that specific spot, loss of money for each party on the short with the testing machine to full scale and that equals lots of money lost. term. Unless this does not change, it will values. Beside using a miniature shovel remain a challenge for CRC mining to sell their technology. the muck pile is designed to imitate Chain strain gauges: the true situation as best as possible. To achieve this site, analysis of the muck pile Chains used in the longwall machinery is required. Rock samples are taken and are subjected to extensive wear and used in combination with different gravel tear. To get more production the mining- sizes to build the miniature muck pile. companies ask for longer longwalls, but

25 Australia 2009 Northparks Introduction: Different operations: The underground operation:

Northparks is a copper and gold mine The open-cut operation: The Endeavour 26 (E26) ore body is the located 27 kilometres north-west of largest and highest grade of the ore Parkes in the Central West of New South The Northparkes Open Cut operation bodies at Northparkes. The mine, which Wales, Australia. Its a joint venture comprises two Open Cut mines that is currently in full production, had pre- between Rio Tinto (80%) and the have been in production on and off mining reserves of approximately 50 Mt Sumitomo Group (20%). since November 1993. The Open at grade 1.4% copper and 0.4 g/t gold. Cut ore bodies are E22 and E27. Original ore body dimensions were Operations include both underground Ore body E27 is mined out and is now approximately 200m in diameter and over block cave mines and open-cut mines. being used as a tailing site. E22 is at 800m in depth extending from just below Northparkes was the first in the country the moment 120m deep with a copper the surface. Access to the Underground to use a variation of the cost-effective grade of 1%. they are planning to go up operations is by a decline from the surface block cave mining technique in its to 250m depth. for personnel and materials access, with underground operations. Underground ore being transported to surface by conveyor belts to a hoisting shaft. block cave operations include the E26 Mining of the Open Cuts involves Lift 2 and Lift 2 North block caves as well conventional practises of drilling and as the E48 block cave project. Open-cut blasting with a 160 ton hydraulic The mining method used is block caving mining campaigns have been undertaken excavator and haul trucks of with the mine being developed in two in the E22 and E27 pits. approximately 90 ton capacity loading lifts, initially to 480m below surface and hauling the material. accessing the first lift of approximately Northparkes Mines owns 6,000 hectares 25 Mt. The second lift extending to the of land around the mine, of which the full depth of 830m below the surface Mining is carried out on a 5 m bench accessing 25 Mt. mining lease covers 1,630 hectares. The height and an overall waste: ore ratio for remaining land is actively farmed using Open Pit is approximately 1.5:1. best practice farming methods developed Block caving is possible at Northparkes and adopted to maximise productivity due to the nature of the rock and the size Ore processing takes large quantities and quality while conserving water and of the ore body. Caving occurs when a of low grade ore from the mines and soils. sufficient area of rock is undercut to the converts it into a much smaller quantity point where the rock mass fails and breaks of high quality concentrate suitable for up. This occurs without the requirement selling to copper smelters. for drilling and blasting and the rock Australia 2009 26 continues to fail and break up whilst the Grinding: Concentrate Handling: broken rock beneath is removed. The grinding circuit is comprised of two Concentrate is removed from the storage Broken rock is removed from the separate modules, each incorporating bays using a Caterpillar front-end loader, column at the extraction level through Semi Autogenous Grinding (SAG), two which loads concentrate into shipping a grid of draw points. Feeding from stages of ball milling and flash flotation. containers carried on a semi-trailer. The these draw points are Load Haul Dump containers are sealed and trucked to (LHD) machines (between three to five Flotation: the Goonumbla rail siding 12km from operating) each of 6m3 carrying capacity, the concentrator. The full containers transporting the rock to a crusher located are loaded onto trains with the carrying Flotation takes place in two distinct on the western side of the ore body. The capacity of each train being 60 containers modules, each linked to its own grinding rock is gyratory crushed to 150mm and is of concentrate. Concentrate is currently circuit. The flotation process aims to then conveyed and hoisted, through the railed to the Port Kembla for shipping to float a sulphide concentrate to recover hoisting shaft to the surface for overland overseas customers. the major copper and gold bearing conveying to the crushed ore stockpiles. minerals. Tailings Disposal: The E48 block cave project where The final concentrate produced for development is finished for 96% has each module assays 36-40 per cent Three sets of slurry pumps pump the been put on hold by Rio Tinto due to copper and is pumped to a concentrate thickened underflow tailings to either of the economic recession. This was a thickener. Final tailing from each module the two tailings dams. Two pipelines are great opportunity for us to see every is pumped to a common tails thickener used to transport the tailings to the dam, bit of development of a block caving for dewatering. 2 km away from the plant. Tailings Dam method. E48 has pre-mining reserves of 1 has an area of 141 ha and Tailings Dam approximately 63,4 Mt at grade 0.85% 2 at 137 ha. Wall construction is via rock Concentrate Thickening and Filtration: copper and 0.34 g/t gold. The company and clay upstream method. also applied some new technologies in the development of E48; post undercut and Final concentrate from the flotation Water is recovered from the tailings dam preconditioning. Also little improvements circuits is pumped to thickeners back to the plant. are made, for example the blocks in the where it is thickened to an average corner of the dump. underflow density of 60 per cent solids. Thickened concentrate is then pumped Crushed Ore Handling: to concentrate storage tanks prior to treatment through the filtration circuit, using ceramic disc filters. There are two coarse ore stockpiles receiving coarse material from the surface and underground crushers. The total The filtered concentrate is discharged capacity of each stockpile is 100,000t. onto slow moving conveyor belts, Crushed ore is reclaimed by four vibrating each equipped with a weightometer feeders from each stockpile. to determine final production of concentrate.

27 Australia 2009 Simtars

Simtars was founded in 1975 after a this centre provides services in health, as air quality, dust, chemicals and noise. mine disaster in Queensland where hygiene, safety and environmental thirteen miners were killed. Simtars management. Mine-gas monitoring and In the ETCC the company provides stands for Safety in Mines Testing laboratory analysis are also provided. electrical and mechanical testing. As and Research Station. It is a company well as combustible dust testing for dust which looks after safety in mines. The • Engineering, Testing and clouds and dust layers. With those tests company has different research subjects, Certification Centre (ETCC) the explosion indices can be determined such as spontaneous combustion and as well as the lower explosible limit environmental monitoring. Simtars This division is allowed to certifi other and the minimum ignition energy and also provides On-Site -and Personal laboratories. It does specialized testing minimum ignition temperature can be monitoring. The company has an eighty- and calibration services for electrical and obtained. five percent market share in Queensland mechanical equipment as well. and has clients in over twenty countries. The MRDC is investigating the • Mining Research and propagation of explosives; the company Simtars is a non-profit organization, which Development Centre (MRDC) has a thirty meter tube for testing with is partly supported by the Australian the explosive gases. Simtars’ MRDC is also Government (Department of Mines and doing a lot of research in dust control and Mine safety research is part of this centre; Energy); seventy percent of the income is spontaneous combustion. through companies. Offices are in McKay it also applies new safety technologies in and in Redbank, with a workforce of ten the industry. In the STC the company provides training and eighty respectively. courses on all levels (i.e. operators, • Safety Training Centre (STC) inspectors, workers, managers). The company has four different centres Additionally the STC provides confined all related to the company’s research in This centre focuses mainly focused on space entry tests in order to improve the different areas: giving courses and seminars and safety safety. trainings to other companies on site or at • Occupational Hygiene, their own training facilities. Environment and Chemistry Centre (OHECC) The OHECC is specifically involved in the sampling and analysis of contaminants associated with mining operations such

Australia 2009 28 29 Australia 2009 Glück Auf!! SME-TMS 2009; Hans de Ruiter, Evert Dolman, Pieter Sturm and Peter Berkhout

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