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A benign alkaline process for scarce metal extraction and reagent recycle. A benign alkaline process for scarce metal extraction and reagent recycle.. This project aims to selectively extract base and precious metals from their ores in saline and non-saline environments, building upon a patented process utilising edible glycine under oxidising and mildly alkaline solutions. Extraction processes of metals from primary resources mostly use harsh, toxic and/or non-recyclable reagents. Exploratory r ....A benign alkaline process for scarce metal extraction and reagent recycle. A benign alkaline process for scarce metal extraction and reagent recycle.. This project aims to selectively extract base and precious metals from their ores in saline and non-saline environments, building upon a patented process utilising edible glycine under oxidising and mildly alkaline solutions. Extraction processes of metals from primary resources mostly use harsh, toxic and/or non-recyclable reagents. Exploratory research has already indicated the potential for easy metal recovery from their alkaline glycinate solutions and recycling of the lixiviant (glycine). Anticipated outcomes are a safe, non-toxic process for extracting metals from primary resources.Read moreRead less
Maximising value in underground mine planning. Mining is crucial to Australia’s economy, contributing 8 per cent of GDP and 55 per cent of the value of goods exported. Working with mining companies Rand and Tribune, this project tackles issues faced in underground mine planning. While integrated optimisation of design and production in open cut mining is well established, no equivalent capability is available for underground mines. This project aims to develop innovative techniques to optimise t ....Maximising value in underground mine planning. Mining is crucial to Australia’s economy, contributing 8 per cent of GDP and 55 per cent of the value of goods exported. Working with mining companies Rand and Tribune, this project tackles issues faced in underground mine planning. While integrated optimisation of design and production in open cut mining is well established, no equivalent capability is available for underground mines. This project aims to develop innovative techniques to optimise the design of the access network and the production scheduling in an underground mine in order to maximise value over the life of the operation. The outcome intends to be a new strategic software tools for the sector, underpinning increased efficiency and sustainability of Australian mines as well as international competitiveness.Read moreRead less
Maximisation of value in underground mine access design. This project represents a major advance in the problem of optimising the mine value associated with the access infrastructure of underground mines and providing powerful planning tools for management. The usefulness to the mining industry of the methods and algorithms the project is pioneering lies in their accuracy, flexibility and generality. Not only can they be used for benchmarking value in the design of specific mines, but they can ....Maximisation of value in underground mine access design. This project represents a major advance in the problem of optimising the mine value associated with the access infrastructure of underground mines and providing powerful planning tools for management. The usefulness to the mining industry of the methods and algorithms the project is pioneering lies in their accuracy, flexibility and generality. Not only can they be used for benchmarking value in the design of specific mines, but they can also determine the profitability or viability of mines under the use of new technologies. This is an important project for ensuring that Australia's mining industry remains efficient and internationally competitive. Given Australia’s economic dependence on mineral resources, it will also benefit the country as a whole.Read moreRead less
Industrial Transformation Training Centres - Grant ID: IC190100017
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$3,703,664.00
Summary
ARC Training Centre for Integrated Operations for Complex Resources. This Training Centre aims to increase value in mining through clever applications of ‘lean processing’ and train the next generation of scientists and engineers in advanced sensors and data analytics in complex resources; knowledge priorities for the mining industry. Sensor information will be linked to the resource’s in-place knowledge to enable data analytics of all embedded knowledge. Processing can then be tuned to resource ....ARC Training Centre for Integrated Operations for Complex Resources. This Training Centre aims to increase value in mining through clever applications of ‘lean processing’ and train the next generation of scientists and engineers in advanced sensors and data analytics in complex resources; knowledge priorities for the mining industry. Sensor information will be linked to the resource’s in-place knowledge to enable data analytics of all embedded knowledge. Processing can then be tuned to resource attributes, maximising value ‘on the fly’. Benefits will include increasing certainty on product quality and maximising throughput and recovery. Outcomes will include new tools to rapidly model geological and geometallurgical uncertainty with sensor inputs, to track the resource to product and enhance interpretation.Read moreRead less
Avoiding catastrophic failure of cable bolts in underground mines. This work aims to identify the factors responsible for the emerging problem of catastrophic failure of high-load cable bolts in underground mines and develop strategies for resisting their failure. The work is of high importance since failure of cable bolts is now being reported in several mines across Australia and is expected to become a problem world-wide. The work is novel as it intends to be the very first study of catastrop ....Avoiding catastrophic failure of cable bolts in underground mines. This work aims to identify the factors responsible for the emerging problem of catastrophic failure of high-load cable bolts in underground mines and develop strategies for resisting their failure. The work is of high importance since failure of cable bolts is now being reported in several mines across Australia and is expected to become a problem world-wide. The work is novel as it intends to be the very first study of catastrophic cable bolt failure. The expected outcome is the development of economically viable solutions for avoiding catastrophic cable bolt failure. It is anticipated that the findings will also be relevant to the civil engineering sector.Read moreRead less
Reverse engineering nature: metal extraction through mineral replacement. This project aims to find new methods of copper recovery from low grade copper ores, which are currently uneconomic to mine. In nature, at the top of ore deposits and just below the water-table, is a region known as the supergene zone. Here mild oxidizing reactions take place causing primary ore minerals such as chalcopyrite to be replaced by more copper-rich, less refractory minerals. These processes are driven by disso ....Reverse engineering nature: metal extraction through mineral replacement. This project aims to find new methods of copper recovery from low grade copper ores, which are currently uneconomic to mine. In nature, at the top of ore deposits and just below the water-table, is a region known as the supergene zone. Here mild oxidizing reactions take place causing primary ore minerals such as chalcopyrite to be replaced by more copper-rich, less refractory minerals. These processes are driven by dissolution re-precipitation reactions (CDR reactions) and in many CDR reactions, the reaction mechanism, rather than intensive properties such as pressure and temperature, control the nature of the products and the overall reaction process. This project will explore the mechanism and controls on these reactions to see if they can be utilized in the mining industry to economically extract copper from low grade ores.
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Controlling arsenic to unlock value in gold and copper resources. This project aims to characterise the transformation of arsenic between oxidation states during mineral processing. Up to one third of the world’s gold reserves are locked up in arsenic rich minerals and 5000 tonnes of arsenic is released annually from mine waste. The project will enable the development of process technology that immobilises and removes arsenic at the earliest possible stage. The use of novel time-resolved in-situ ....Controlling arsenic to unlock value in gold and copper resources. This project aims to characterise the transformation of arsenic between oxidation states during mineral processing. Up to one third of the world’s gold reserves are locked up in arsenic rich minerals and 5000 tonnes of arsenic is released annually from mine waste. The project will enable the development of process technology that immobilises and removes arsenic at the earliest possible stage. The use of novel time-resolved in-situ techniques proposed in this research will give vital information of the complex chemical pathways involved during processing which current characterization methods on pre- and post-processed species do not achieve.Read moreRead less
A Machine Learning driven flow modelling of fragmented rocks in cave mining. The project aims to develop an integrated method that uses micro scale and macro scale information to predict block scale behaviour so that a better cave mining design can be established. The role of various mineral composition on the energy storage and fracture properties of rocks will be investigated to examine rock fragmentation for block cave mining. Later Machine Learning based models will be developed to establis ....A Machine Learning driven flow modelling of fragmented rocks in cave mining. The project aims to develop an integrated method that uses micro scale and macro scale information to predict block scale behaviour so that a better cave mining design can be established. The role of various mineral composition on the energy storage and fracture properties of rocks will be investigated to examine rock fragmentation for block cave mining. Later Machine Learning based models will be developed to establish various predictive models for Block Scale rock mass behaviour and caveability of ore deposit. Finally, we will develop a new constitutive model based on a dual damage concept that will capture the rock fragmentation and simulate the cave propagation in a large scale mine layout using Smoothed-particle hydrodynamics.Read moreRead less
Advanced studies on the hydrometallurgy and electrochemistry of primary copper sulphide ores. The exploitation of low quality copper ores is hampered by our poor understanding of the fundamental chemistry involved. In this project, advanced techniques will be developed to understand the leaching of copper to a level of detail not obtained before. This will allow mining companies to extract copper with minimal environmental footprint.
Multi-phase modelling and characterisation of mudrush hazard in cave mining. A mudrush is a sudden, uncontrolled flow of wet fine particles (mud) into an underground mine that damages equipment, infrastructure, and can even cause fatalities. This project aims to develop cost-effective management and monitoring of mudrush hazards within the at-risk Carrapateena cave mine operated by OZ Minerals. Building on recent technological and numerical advances, a novel experimental–theoretical–numerical ap ....Multi-phase modelling and characterisation of mudrush hazard in cave mining. A mudrush is a sudden, uncontrolled flow of wet fine particles (mud) into an underground mine that damages equipment, infrastructure, and can even cause fatalities. This project aims to develop cost-effective management and monitoring of mudrush hazards within the at-risk Carrapateena cave mine operated by OZ Minerals. Building on recent technological and numerical advances, a novel experimental–theoretical–numerical approach will be used to simulate mudrush risk based on moisture content, particle sizes, compaction, geological conditions, and seismic energy. Outputs will include a practical framework to boost the safety, productivity, and profitability of caving operations to benefit miners and the broader resources industry.Read moreRead less