Eighth Mill Operators' Conference Proceedings 2003 - Evolution and Survival in the Minerals Industry

Description

The mining industry has always been cyclical but with the present global economy a trend of short good times followed by extended periods of low prices, coupled with increasing shareholder demand for performance in all parts of the cycle, has been seen. The conference theme was about evolution and operating excellence becoming essential for survival in the minerals industry. These 2003 Conference Proceedings contain a diverse range of papers, including the design of the Telfer expansion; ramp up of new operations such as Century, Lihir and Ridgeway; major upgrades at Goldfields; solar drying of laterite ores at Yabulu and novel technologies such as the Acacia Reactor for gold recovery, and new moisture probe developed in Canada. A third of the papers came from overseas operations. In keeping with the mill operations focus, papers written or co-authored by an operating site were specifically selected by the organizing committee to ensure appeal and relevance to most delegates, and readers of these proceedings. This volume is a valuable record of achievements in mill operations over the past four years. Content: Front Matter • Table of Contents •Section 1. Comminution 1. Comparison of One Stage and Two Stage Classification - A Case Study 2. Ultra Fine Grinding - A Practical Alternative to Oxidative Treatment of Refractory Gold Ores 3. Fines Minimisation in the Comminution of Phosphate Rock 4. Evolution of SAG Milling Performance - A Comparison of Alumbrera and Ernest Henry •Section 2. Flotation 5. Flotation Circuit Analysis at WMC Ltd Olympic Dam Operation 6. Expansion of the Mount Isa Mines Copper Concentrator Phase One Cleaner Circuit Expansion 7. Design and Commissioning of the Ridgeway Concentrator 8. Bringing Split Flotation to Reality - The Cannington Experience 9. The Floatability Characterisation Test Rig as a Pilot Plant for Flotation Testing - An Operator's Viewpoint 10. Advances in Flotation Process Control at Porgera Gold Mine Using JK FrothCam Imaging Technology 11. The Flotation Capacity Project to Increase the Recovery in the Mount Isa Mines Copper Concentrator •Section 3. Operations 12. Telfer Project Process Plant Design 13. Lihir Gold Five Years on - Maximising Throughput and Capital Utilisation 14. Improving the Flexibility of the Mt Gordon Ferric Leaching Process 15. Thalanga Processing Plant - As Many Lives as a Cat and Just as Curious 16. The Phased Metallurgical Upgrade Strategy at Gold Fields Limited South African Operations 17. Ramp Up of the Pasminco Century Concentrator to 500 000 tpa Zinc Metal Production in Concentrate •Section 4. Process Improvement 18. Gravity Leaching with the Consep ACACIA Reactor - Results from AngloGold Union Reefs 19. Metallurgical Performance Models to Improve Cut-off Grade Determination at Mount Isa Mines 20. On-Line Moisture Determination of Ore Concentrates - A Review of Traditional Methods and Introduction of a Novel Solution 21. PIMS - The Road to Efficient, Cost-Effective Plant Operation 22. Fluorine Removal from Ok Tedi Copper/Gold Concentrates 23. Mineralogy Controlling Metallurgy at Ernest Henry Mining Revisited •Section 5. Utilities 24. Commissioning and Process Development of Pipeline and Port Operations at Pasminco Century 25. Solar Drying of Laterite Ores at QNI Yabulu Refinery 26. Process Control and Flocculant Optimisation of Tailings Thickeners at PT Freeport Indonesia