Investigation of Coupled Processes During Underground Coal Gasification. Coal values could be extracted directly from coal seams through underground coal gasification (UCG) without the need for mining. The practical application of UCG is restricted primarily by lack of satisfactory quantitative descriptions of the processes involved. The proposed study will address this critical issue through an intergated approach of computer modelling and its verification against real field trials.
Mechanism and Control of In-situ Minerals Extraction. By introducing the theory of coupled hydraulic-mechanical-thermal-chemical processes and the well technology in petroleum engineering into in-situ minerals extraction, mineral values will be extracted directly from ore deposits without the need for mining. This work will have the potential to convert the known sub-economic mineral resources (about 37 million tonnes in Australia alone) into reserves. The five-year project will lead to a comput ....Mechanism and Control of In-situ Minerals Extraction. By introducing the theory of coupled hydraulic-mechanical-thermal-chemical processes and the well technology in petroleum engineering into in-situ minerals extraction, mineral values will be extracted directly from ore deposits without the need for mining. This work will have the potential to convert the known sub-economic mineral resources (about 37 million tonnes in Australia alone) into reserves. The five-year project will lead to a computer simulation assisted in-situ minerals extraction methodology for application in mining industry.Read moreRead less
Continuum Damage Mechanics in Geotechnical Engineering. Mining and oil exploration are amongst the major industries in Australia and must address geotechnical problems in which growth in damage plays a central role. For example, failure of an offshore platform can occur under cyclic environmental loading, due to accumulated damage to the seabed soils. Design tools are therefore needed that incorporate continuum damage mechanics in modelling the response of geomaterials. The project will place Au ....Continuum Damage Mechanics in Geotechnical Engineering. Mining and oil exploration are amongst the major industries in Australia and must address geotechnical problems in which growth in damage plays a central role. For example, failure of an offshore platform can occur under cyclic environmental loading, due to accumulated damage to the seabed soils. Design tools are therefore needed that incorporate continuum damage mechanics in modelling the response of geomaterials. The project will place Australia at the forefront in this field through the development of rigorous yet simple numerical models that achieve this, and thus underpin safe but economic geotechnical engineering solutions in the mineral resource industries.Read moreRead less
Microbiologically Induced Stress Corrosion Cracking in Underground Mines. Premature brittle failure of rock & cable bolts due to stress corrosion cracking can cause fatalities and serious damage, and has been reported in several mining operations across Australia and world-wide. The evidence suggests that microbial activity is a contributing factor. The project aims to implement experimental methodologies to determine the specific conditions responsible for bolt failure and develop novel prevent ....Microbiologically Induced Stress Corrosion Cracking in Underground Mines. Premature brittle failure of rock & cable bolts due to stress corrosion cracking can cause fatalities and serious damage, and has been reported in several mining operations across Australia and world-wide. The evidence suggests that microbial activity is a contributing factor. The project aims to implement experimental methodologies to determine the specific conditions responsible for bolt failure and develop novel prevention techniques applicable in underground mines. The benefits of this research will be improved understanding of the environment causing catastrophic failure of bolts and avoidance of potential hazards & economic loss in mining projects. This will lead to improved safety & increased productivity in mining operations.Read moreRead less
Excavation Design and Sequencing in Highly Stressed Rock Masses. An increasingly large number of Australian underground mines are being operated in highly stressed rock mass conditions, where safe and economic mining is a real challenge due to rock mass instability. In the future, this problem will become more significant as extraction gets deeper with the discoveries of new deeper orebodies or the extension of current operations at depth. The aim of this research project is to provide the Austr ....Excavation Design and Sequencing in Highly Stressed Rock Masses. An increasingly large number of Australian underground mines are being operated in highly stressed rock mass conditions, where safe and economic mining is a real challenge due to rock mass instability. In the future, this problem will become more significant as extraction gets deeper with the discoveries of new deeper orebodies or the extension of current operations at depth. The aim of this research project is to provide the Australian mining industry with effective design tools to engineer the largest, most economical, yet stable excavations in rock. The research project will use a generalised framework for design where rock mass characterisation, excavation design, behaviour and dilution control will be studied in detail.Read moreRead less
Deep Coal Mining. The occurrence of progressively larger gas outbursts, coal bumps, and the potential for the catastrophic collapse of coal pillars is of increasing importance as mining drives deeper in seams rich in methane and other hydrocarbons. This study will address this issue by examining the roles of stress level, strain-rate, gas desorption rate, and drained and undrained gas and liquid pressures in the dynamic failure of coal, while simultaneously evaluating the promise and fidelity of ....Deep Coal Mining. The occurrence of progressively larger gas outbursts, coal bumps, and the potential for the catastrophic collapse of coal pillars is of increasing importance as mining drives deeper in seams rich in methane and other hydrocarbons. This study will address this issue by examining the roles of stress level, strain-rate, gas desorption rate, and drained and undrained gas and liquid pressures in the dynamic failure of coal, while simultaneously evaluating the promise and fidelity of a variety of hazard indices and precursive signals.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354778
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$30,000.00
Summary
Deep Earth Resource Characterisation and Extraction - An Integrated Geoscience Approach. Sustainability, economy and safety in resource recovery require a high level of understanding of the mechanics of geomaterials in their natural conditions and a multidisciplinary approach to the geotechnical issues involved. This initiative aims to bridge gaps between geotechnical disciplines, to combine the testing, analytical skills and experience of the research groups and to incorporate expertise and ide ....Deep Earth Resource Characterisation and Extraction - An Integrated Geoscience Approach. Sustainability, economy and safety in resource recovery require a high level of understanding of the mechanics of geomaterials in their natural conditions and a multidisciplinary approach to the geotechnical issues involved. This initiative aims to bridge gaps between geotechnical disciplines, to combine the testing, analytical skills and experience of the research groups and to incorporate expertise and ideas from the cognate disciplines of geology and geophysics so that innovative engineering practice will develop. This approach should achieve breakthroughs in understanding the behaviour of, and the safe economic extraction from deep resources including minerals, coal, gas drainage, petroleum and geothermal energy.Read moreRead less
Benign recovery of precious metals from deep pristine environments. This project aims to extract precious metals from natural deposits conventional mining methods cannot reach. Glycine-peroxide systems can dissolve precious metals without pollution. Understanding these systems’ behaviour in natural orebodies could lead to in-situ leaching methods that complement conventional mining, especially in low grade deposits. This project intends to use a modern scientific workflow based on exploratory, d ....Benign recovery of precious metals from deep pristine environments. This project aims to extract precious metals from natural deposits conventional mining methods cannot reach. Glycine-peroxide systems can dissolve precious metals without pollution. Understanding these systems’ behaviour in natural orebodies could lead to in-situ leaching methods that complement conventional mining, especially in low grade deposits. This project intends to use a modern scientific workflow based on exploratory, descriptive and explanatory phases to model the coupled multi-physics of precious metals transport, introduce a high performance computing strategy for in-situ leaching, develop an experimental protocol that explains the recovery mechanisms, and propose optimal leaching patterns that maximise productivity.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
Behaviour of a cementing slurry in a full-scale mining stope. Any mining technique that allows improved extraction of ore from underground workings results in improved financial viability of the mining process concerned. Such improved extraction rates are being achieved by backfilling previously mined voids with cemented mine waste, which also improves stability of the underground workings. This research will further improve the financial viability of mines using this technique by reducing the a ....Behaviour of a cementing slurry in a full-scale mining stope. Any mining technique that allows improved extraction of ore from underground workings results in improved financial viability of the mining process concerned. Such improved extraction rates are being achieved by backfilling previously mined voids with cemented mine waste, which also improves stability of the underground workings. This research will further improve the financial viability of mines using this technique by reducing the amount of cement used, without compromising the safety of workers. In some otherwise marginal mines, these savings could be the difference between the mine staying open and being placed on care-and-maintenance, with the potential loss of jobs in mainly remote parts of the country.Read moreRead less