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IV
Sponsorship
The organising committee of the Third International Mining Geology Conference. in conjunction with The
Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and the Australian Institute of Geoscientists. would like to
gratefully acknowledge the generous contributions made by the following sponsors and exhibitors toward the
staging of this conference.
Aberfoyle Limited
Pasminco Limited
RGC Limited
Aminya Laboratories
Beaconsfield Mine Joint Venture
Copper Mines of Tasmania
Diamond Drilling (Tas) Pty Ltd
Mining & Resource Technology
Paydirt
,
V
VI
Foreword
As the 20th century draws to a close the mining industry maintains its critical importance
to the health and well-being of the planet and all its inhabitants. As part of the mining
industry geologists continue to sit at the forefront of innovation and improvement, Whilst
research and development activities form the basis of the industry's aim of continuous
improvement, technical conferences and mine visits are crucial in providing a forum for
exchange and discussion of issues relevant to all mining geologists, irrespective of the
location, commodity or method utilised at a site.
The Third International Mining Geology Conference follows on from successful events
staged at Kalgoorlie, Western Australia in 1993 and Mt Isa, Queensland in 1990. It
represents one of the few events in Australia aimed directly at mining geologists and has
been designed to consolidate the advances achieved in 1990 and 1993. Presentations
covering a range of commodities across both new and mature mining operations are
included in these proceedings, including exploration, resource estimation, grade/quality
control, geotechnical and structural issues, drilling, geophysics, computing and
environmental controls. I hope that the proceedings, together with the valuable learnings
gained from discussions held during the conference will provide delegates with new
insights to challenge the way we all do business, both now and in the future.
The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and the Australian Institute of
Geoscientists have joined together to organise this conference. Tasmania, the host for this
conference exemplifies the economic importance of mining to the prosperity of the
community and the generous support of the mining companies on the west coast is
gratefully acknowledged.
The organisation of a major event such as the Third International Mining Geology
Conference requires the support of a large group of people. I take this opportunity to thank
everyone who has helped on the organising and editorial committees, for without their
dedication and enthusiasm the conference would not have proceeded.
On behalf of the organising committee 1 would like to thank the authors of all technical
papers for their excellent and thought provoking contributions. Presentations are the core
of a conference and the quality of the contributions to this conference are the equal of
those at both Kalgoorlie and Mt Isa.
Mark Berry
Convenor
November 1997
Vli
Vili
Contents
The Role of Mining Geologists
Are Mining Geologists Reully Necessaty.9 B Davis 3
Focus on Tasmania
Cambrian Tectonics and Mineralisation in Western Tasmania R F Beny and R A Keele 13
Granite Related Copper-Gold Mineralisation in the Southern Mt Read B Wyman, D Cooke and 17
Volcanics, Western Tasmania, Airstralia R Large
Geology and Mineralisation of the Henty Gold Mine, Tasmania P De Mark and T Callaghan 25
The Geology oj’the Browns Creek Gold-Copper Skurn Deposit. Blayney. G Smart and C Wilkins 59
NSW
Draw Parameters and Reserve Estimution using PC-BC at the E26 Block M House and R Seck 81
Cave Mine, Northparkes NSW
Optimisation oj’ Ore Selection in Mining - Method and Case Studies N Schofield and P Rolley 93
Reconciliation ofthe McKinnons Gold Deposit, Cohar. New South Wtr1c.s S M Elliott, D V Snowden, 113
A Bywater, C A Standing
and A liyba
Quality Control Systems ut BHP '.s Mount Whaleback Iron Ore Mine. M Kainperman 127
Newman, Western Australia
Grade Control Sampling and Ore Blocking: Optimisation Based (111 W J Shaw and 131
Conditional Simulation S Khosrowshahi
Towards 2000 - The AuslMM Mineral Resources und Ore Re.sei.ve.s G I< Appleyard 135
Estimation Seminars and the JORC Reporting Code
Geotechnical Issues
Discontinuity Analysis in Open Cut Exposures - Exarnplesjrom Selected C N Winsor and 'I' J Fowler 141
Central Victorian Sites
Using Rock Mechanics Classification to Reduce Ground Instability in J C Koppe, A C Zingano 153
Amethyst Underground Mines and J F Costa
Optimising the drilling budget with geophysical logging G N Fallon and P K 167
Fullagar
Diamond Drill Core Versus RC Chips: The Real Sample, Chapter 2 M D Goodz and 175
D J D'Astoli
X
The Role of Mining Geologists
Session Chairperson
Mark Berry
Pasminco = Rosebery Mine
i
Rryun Duvis tius enjoyed ( i n extensive career in the base metul/gold mining
industiy ufter graduating ,froin the University of NSW in I967 with ( I degree
in mining engineering. He has worked with the Rio Tinto group of’
companies, Austrulian Consoliduted Mineruls, North F1inder.s Mines Limited
and Pusr?iinco Limited. He joined Pasriiinco in I99 1 us Executive Generul
Manager - Mining and was uppointed to the hoard of Pasminco us Evecutive
Director - Mining in 199.5. Uryun is directly responsible ,for the company’s
mining operations ut Broken Hill and Elura in NSW, Rosehery in 7usmaniu
and the recently acquired Century deposit in Quwnsland. He is a Fellow of‘
The AuslMM, u Member of‘ the Austruliun Institute o j Company Directors,
Chairmun of the New South Wules Mineruls Council and a Director o j the
Centre f o r Mining Technology und Equipment.
Keynote Address
ABSTRACT
Altcrnativcly are they a neccssary evil?
Exploration geologists are a much highcr protilc group but then again tlic higher they are the bigger they fhll.
At a mine site they are rcluctantly being accepted as cquals by mining cngincers given the requirements of the ‘Code’ in the reporting of
Ore Reserves. How best can mining geologists servicc their customers? Arc morc reveilling questions to be answered in who are their
customers‘!
In the past mining geologists livcd isolated existences pouring over plans and sections. now with user-fricndly software packages
available and the use of LAN, mining geologists and mining engineers talk electronically - God forbid what the future might bring - they
might even talk to accountants and metallurgists!
Keynote Address
ABSTRACT
Mine geologists have access to an economic mineral deposit, production parametcrs and secure exploitation title. They are wcll placed
to understand ore formation and should contribute to the effective exploration of company mine property. Application of their special
skills has been curbed by pre-occupation with production duties and by company re-cngincering, including stal'f reductions.
Contributions to exploration havc been diminished and personal development inhibitcd. Modified management is required. Participation
in mineral system studies and in exploration research comprise part of the b x i s for the re-emcrgcnce of mine geologists on the
exploration scene. Changes in investment strategies i n the minerals industry may create new employment opportunities. With regard to
estimation of resources and reserves, the competencc of practitioners who :ire incapable of disclosing their methods in transparent terms
is under question. Ethical standards are also under public scrutiny because of some notnble ma1pr;ictice. Independent iiuditing may
become more intrusive. While understandable in a market context, i t retlects poorly on the profession. More substantial et'fort in public
communications can improve the credihility of the industry and equip practising mine gcologisls for wider responsibility.
vary with the life cycle of the mine. Early in the life of a mine quality of resource management should not be compromised for
there will be more uncertainty o f data requirements necessitating exploration. There is littlc point in allocating funds to mine site
the potential risk of either the cost of collecting more data than is exploration without a sti-ategic objective, if tlie known ore
essential or collecting insufficient data. Late in the life cycle of resource is not being exploited efficiently.
the mine data collection could have greater emphasis on
exploration objectives than production requirements. MINE GEOLOGIST AS VALUE-ADDER AND
Regular reviews of geological requirements of the resource CHANGE AGENT
management team need a rigorous scientific approach in
conjunction with a good understanding of exploitation The roles of value iiddcr and agent o f change are implicit roles
technologies. The mine geologist has an obligation to ensure for most if not all professionals in profit driven organisations.
that the geology of the mine ore deposit is well documented and The role of the mine geologist in modern mines is no different.
understood in an explorationkacademic context but the As the role of the mine geologist continues to evolve and
management and technical change keep apace, the mine
geologist’s over-riding priority is toward the profitable
geologist will play an increasing role i n change and value adding
exploitation of the deposit. The profit/value adding objective
in the mine.
constrains the extent to which the mine geologist can go in
Value adding generally means profiting from a transformation
achieving academic goals or potential exploration benefits. process. I n the case of ;I mine this process is essentiiilly
The mine geologist’s professional work environment will also extracting an ore rcsource m d producing ii v;iluablc product such
influence the extent to which the geologist works as a as metal concentrates, gold bars, coal or maybe lump iron ore.
geotechnician or geoscientist. The image of the geologist The minimum role of the geologists and planning engineers a s
amongst other mining professionals as ‘the long haired scatter the resource managers, in the value adding process. is to provide
brain in the planning office’ is due in no small part to the contrast an extraction planning service. As professionals however, the
between the technical approach to problem solving by mining resource managers have ii responsibility to ensure that there is
maximum value adding not just in the planning services but in
engineers, metallurgists and accountants and a more scientitic the entire exploitation process and to achieve this goal requires
approach by geologists. an ongoing commitment to improving the process through
A successful mine geologist will be one that can apply his change. The mine geologist has a key role in value adding and in
scientific skills to improving the understanding of an ore deposit the change process.
that in turn leads to improved technical solutions and extraction The main factor that distinguishes mining from other value
efliciencies. adding processes is the large variability in the nature of ore
resources lroni mine to mine. No two mines are the same, but a
MINE GEOLOGIST AS EXPLORATIONIST car assembly plant in Australia will be quite similar to other car
assembly plants elsewhere in the world. ‘The variability in ore
The mine site based geologist may, when working with a well resources is compounded by the practise of defining ore reserves
explored orebody have no exploration role. It is usually the case by a cut-off grade. The same resource could theoretically have
however that at most stages in the life cycle of a mine that there different reserves and different exploitation technologies, with
different cut-offs imposed by many factors such a s location costs,
is justification for some ‘in-mine’ exploration and depending on changing mineral prices or customer requirements.
the size of the mine and the mine owner organisation, in-mine
The other factor that distinguishes mining from other value
exploration might be carried out by the mine geologist, a
adding processes is that ore resources, the raw materials, ;ire
contractor or an exploration geologist possibly from elsewhere in
finite :md therefore the mine will h w e a finite, often relatively
the owner organisation. short life.
The approach to near mine exploration may differ to green The implications of the variability i n the character of
fields exploration because of a number of factors. Exploration resources. the technical and economic difficulty of delining ore
targets are much more precisely defined in an operating mine and the finite life of mines is that the approach to value adding
where the economic and technical limits are establishcd. and process optimisation in the mining industry will be much
Secondly, traditional exploration techniques may be more urgent and dynamic than most other industries and that the
inappropriate because of cultural disruption or depth of mining burden of dealing with these inherent complexities will fall
and thirdly, a much better developed geological model in an heavily with the resource geologist and other members of tlie
operating mine should considerably constrain targets. These resource management team. The mine geologist has
factors favour the mine geologist having considerable input into considerable scope to add value in modern mines and to be an
any mine site exploration program but the requirement for agent of change either i n ;I reactive or Iexlership role.
exploration expertise will be circumstance specific.
Mine site exploration should be conducted within tlie MINE GEOLOGIST IN THE ORGANISATION
framework of existing ore reserves/resources and the current and STRUCTURE
forecast economics of the mining operation. Obviously
exploration will be low key in a prolitable mine with rclativcly Until quite recently the only geologists on the staff of mining
large ore reserves but in a mine with large reserves and companies were exploration geologists. As the mine geology
deteriorating profitability, commitments to exploration will be function developed the larger mine site ‘geology departments’
made in the context of potential changes to exploitation were split into exploration and mine geology sections with a
technologies, scale or cut-off grades or possibly mine closure. chief geologist as the department head. These dcpartmcnts
Exploration decisions then take on a strategic perspective that existed within a hierarchical organisational structure possibly
requires consideration by the resource management team and the with the chief geologist two or three levels removed from the
general management team. mine general manager.
It follows that there should be a clear distinction between The opportunities for tlie mine geologist to have any influence
funds allocated to exploration and funds allocated to resource in the operation of the mine were limited by the large vertical
evaluation and reserve definition. Similarly there should bc a and horizontal ‘distance’ between the mine geologist and the
clear distinction between the geoscientists time allocated to mine operators or general management. Opportunities for the
exploration and time allocated to resource management. The mine gcologist would also have been limited if the chief
geologist had a bias toward exploration. Recent changes in mine Changes to m;inagement :it the operations level i n recent years
general management toward flatter management structures and hiis given greater recognition and opportunities for the mine
smaller support stalling particularly in the small-medium s i x gcologist. I n the future these changes can be expected to occur at
mines has resulted in the mine geologist takin: on greater all IeveIs i n the mining industry presenting wider opportunities
responsibilities in short and medium term planning of mining for the mine geologist.
operations.
Interestingly, at head office or executive level, the mine CONCLUSION
geologyhesource management role still receives little recognition The role of the mine geologist i n modern mines has changed
in spite of the fact that ore resources are the fundamental asset of considerably in recent years from providing either a geotechnical
any mining company. In recent years, and mainly in response to service or ;in exploration role, to that of a professional resource
external forces mining companies have appointed head office inanagemcnt role. This c1i:inge has resulted from changes in
human resource managers, environmental managers, technical general mine management, considerable improvement and
resource managers and even indigenous people managers but specialisation i n resource definition technology and changes to
employ few, if any, orc resource managers or ‘chief’ mine mine planning systems.
geologists. The ore resource management responsibilities at Geologists should feel comfortable in choosing mine geology
executive level in most mining companies :ire still carried out :IS a career that offers professional stimulation, multi-disciplinary
explicitly o r implicitly by the exploration executive. cxposurc and inrich improved potential for advancement in a
rapidly changing technical environment.
Session Chairpersons
Paul Harbon
Copper Mines of Tasmania
Paul Kitto
-
CODES SRC, University of Tasmania
Cambrian Tectonics and Mineralisation in Western Tasmania
R F Berry' and R A Keelel
2 Mineral deposil
-
A Cambnan normal laults
Miners Ridge. Modder R N ~
Cambnan ThNSl
- importan1 Devonian faults
FIG3 - Map of growth fnult positions and their relation to iiiinernlisation at Koscbery Milie before tleforination The long section has been rotated to
horizontal assuining the fore-shortening due I o the 45" (lip (70 per cent) balances out the stretching :issocialed witli Devonian cleavage devclopinent. The
mine grid noilhing is preserved i n this rotatioi1. Map E-W refers to the Cuiihri:in orientatioii Reconstructed W is 111) on the long section and rcconstructcd
E is down on the long section.
The Great Lycll Fault has been tied to models of on the Henty Fault). This pohition is north of Hcnty. Cambrian
mineralisation at Mt Lyell but appears to be largely related to mineralisation along this structure arc limited to the eastern
Late Cambrian and Devonian tectonism and we havc been unable sector (Selina prospect) and thc White Spur pyrite zone.
to demonstrate any control on middle Cambrian sedimentation. A possihlc explanation for the transition from Eastern Quartz-
phyric sequence to Tyndall gi-oup along the Tyndall Range is a
Transfer zones transfer ramp geometry (TZ4. Figure I). North of this structure,
the Owcn Conglomerate sits directly on the older volcanic
A number of structures within the Mt Read volcanics strike E-W dominated units but to the south Tyndall Group is widely found
and truncate sedimentary sequences i n a style most consistent under the Owen Conglomerate. The position is only exposed at
with growth fault gcomctries. The Mt Cripps Fault (TZI, Figure the eastern limit of the Mt Kc;id Volcanics (Corhett 1992). The
I ) forms a boundary across which thcrc are largc chnnges in remainder o f any transfer system is hidden under Owen
thickness of the Dundas Group and the Tyndall Group (under the Conglomerate.
Owcn Conglomerate) which are interpretcd here as evidence that The Coinstock Vrillcy has ;I long history of fault movement. A
this fault was active i n Cambrian. This structure was also active sinall fault (TZ5 on Figure I ) was a growth fault during Tyndall
in the Devonian but Devonian deformation cannot explain the Group deposition (White, 1997). This structure is striking E-W
stratigraphic variations. The extension of the Mt Cripps Fault to in ;I transfer geometry but is mailer than the transfcr structures
thc west passes just to the south of the Que River deposit proposed above. The structiii-c lies at the northern limit of the Mt
A Rosebery/Pieman River transfer (TZ2) is proposed to Lyell mineral liclcl.
explain the northern truncation of the Husskisson Group in the A major east-wcst structure (Firewood Siding Fault - Owen
Pieman River area. There is no direct evidence of extension Thrust - Linda Zone) dominates the Mt Lycll area (TZ6, Figure
towards Rosebery but the mapping evidence (Brown 1986) I ) . There is no direct evidence that it controlled the deposition of
suggests Roscbcry is slightly north of the along strike projection C:VC rocks but i t forms tlic southern limit of the MI Lyell
of this transfcr structure. The WNW alignment of mineralised alteration zone. I t also controls thc geometry of iill Dcvonian
lenscs at Rosebery (Figure 3) are sub-parallel to this trcnd. deformation cvcnts indicating ii major crustal weakness which
A major transfcr zone is proposed along the line Zeehan - predates the Devonian.
Dundas - Henty - Selina (TZ3, Figure I). The western limit of This is not an cxhaustivc list of possible Middle Cambrian
the Dundas Group shifts west just south of Zeehan. The transfer zones. I t rctlccts those structures which unambiguously
boundary is largely covered here and the geometry is poorly off set lithological boundaries that can still he recognised. The
constrained. The southern margin o f the Precambrian hlock at conccpt of Cambrian transfer faults provides a usctul way to
Dundas lines up with an offset in the CVC boundary which explain the variation in structure along the Dundas Trough. The
Dugdale (1992) has shown is one of a set of growth faults on this structures recognised represent largc-scale transfer zones and in
contact. Just cast of Hcnty Mine, the eastern margin of the modern cxtcnsiond terrains tlicre are a large number of smaller-
Tyndall Group (under Owen Conglomerate) stcps cast rcquiring
scale structures which may also control mineralising tluids. In
a Cambrian fault (TZ3 offset by Devonian sinistral displacement
the Mt Read volcanies many deposits have a spatial association
with thc proposed transfer zones. In most cases the deposits sit Beny, II F :ind Kccle, I~ A, 1993. C;iiiibrian structure in wesicrn
just north of the position where these cross structures intersect Tasiiiania. AMlRA I’ro.jcc1 P291. Repuit 5 . 55-68 (unpuhlishctl).
the top of thc volcanic dominated package. Examples are Mt Berry, K F :ind Crawford, A 1. 1988. The tectonic significance of
Caiiihrimi allochthonous innfic-ultraiii;ltic coinplexes in Tasmania,
Lyell Mine where the altcration extends from TZ5 for 4 kni to
the north and Q u e River Mine whcrc the deposit is 600 in north
Bradhury. J. l)eniherion. J. Vicary, M J x i d Corhett K L), 1992. Mi
of the TZI. Rosebcry Mine is a good examplc 0 1 a llead Volcanics I’rcipt Map 12: Gculugy of the D’Agililar Ikinge
stratigraphically controlled line of deposits within which the area. l’a\inanian I)cpan~l~ent Mines.
largest deposit occurs along strike from a recognisable transfer Brown. A V, 1086. C;cologs of the Duntl;is-Mt Lindsay-Mt Younghuck
zonc (TZ2). No large-scale transfer fault was recognised near region. Brill Grolo~ic.ti/ I I ~2
.Survey ~ I , ~ ~ I I ~ I I62. I .2 I p.
~
Hcllyer Mine but small-scale transfers have been recognised Burton. C C J. 1975 Ikrciilcs and Farrcll orrhodies. Koscbcry d ~ s t r ~ c t .
(Downs, 1993). Ewironric tierilo,q?. ( I / Air.vrrtiliti trnd I’ir/iri(i’Nrit, Guinm - 1. Mero1.v.
pp 626-028 (lhe Austr:ilasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy:
We have recognised very few regional scale normal fiiults Me1bourne).
within the Dundas Trough. Examples are the Henty Fault Zone Corbett. K I). 1Y92 Stratipraphic-volcaiiic setting of rnas:;ive sullitle
from Tullah to Red Hills, the westcrn boundary fault west of deposits in the Cainhrian Mount IIe:id Volcanics, Tasiriania.
Rosebery and the Mt Charter Fault. These have nearby alteration ~ f ~ ~ l 87:.564-.5x6.
~ ~ ~ ~ O Ge(J/(l,c)’l f f ~ ~
zones but no major deposits havc been found near them. Cohctt, K 1) and McNeill. A W, I9XX. Mr K e d Volctinicr l’riyecr Mirp
Detailed work in the major deposits suggest very small-scale 6 Gciilii,crid i . o i r f / ) i / ( i / r o t f n r c c p [ I /
1 h c 3 Miicoi/ Head I.iilcwiic.\ R
t i . ~ . vr~c it r c d roc.tv: Hellwr r o Sourlr I)crrwin Peck Tasrnman
normal faulting in Hellyer and Rosebery. T h e displacement on
Departiiient Mines.
these structures is too small to be a reliable handrail for regional
Corbett. K I 1 : l i d Solomon. M. 1989. Cainhrian Mt Kead Volcanics m d
exploration. It may be useful as a guide to within mine associated inincr;il deposits, i n tieiilo,qv t i r i d M i n e r d Kesourcs of
exploration. 7iwminrir (Etls: C F Bui-rett and E L Martin), pp 84-153 (Special
Puhlicatiiin of the Geological Society of Austrnlia IS).
SUMMARY Crawford. A J and Berry. K F. 1992. Iinplications of Late Proteruzoic-
early kilaeozoic igneous rock associ;itions for the tectonic evolution
T h e nature of Cambrian deformation is complex in both time and of Tmiiania. 7rc.rr~rriip/r!..vic.s, 2 I4:37-50.
place. T h e whole of the Cambrian was a period of very active Ihwns. R C, 1993. Syii-depositional fault controls on Hellycr voIc:uiic-
tectonics in western Tasmania. T h e major phase of V H M S hosted iimsive sulphide deposit. MEcuiiGcol thesis (unpuhlishctl).
mineralisation in western Tasmania is restricted to the very brief Uiiivcrsity Eisin;inia. Hohnrt 65p.
pulse of extensional tectonics within t h e middle Middle Doyle, M G . 1990. The geology. miner:ilis;ition and alteration of the
Cambrian. Within this period there was a N-S graben produced Jukcs Proprietary prospect. western T:isniania. RSc(1 Ions) thtsis
with ii complex series of transfer faults, largely striking E-W. (tinpuhlishctl), University Tasinania, Hohart I 14p.
Most V H M S mineralisation is restricted to the top of the massive I)ugdale, J S, 1992. Lithostratigraphy ol’ the White Spur area, Wcstern
volcanic successions, with scvcral deposits linked to thc positions Tnsinanin. BSc(1lons) thesis (unpuhlishcd). University Tasnlallia,
llohart 031).
of the Cambrian cross structure. T h e late Cambrian
compressional events were not significant in localising ore Geininell. J H and Large, K K. 1992. Stringer systems and altcr:itiun
zones uiiderlyiiig the Hcllyer volc;inic-hosted inusive sullide
formation. deposit. Tnsinaiii;i. Ecoirrimic. G‘eolo~y,87:620-649.
Letotizey. J and Kiiriura. hi. 1985. Okiiiawn Trough genesis; structure
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS aiid evolution of a hackarc basin develoncd in a contincnt. Mtr!-rire
trnd /’erro/euin C;oilnRy. 2 : I I I - 130.
The work included was carried O u t with support Of Morley. C K. IWS. I)evelopinents in the \tructural geology of rifts over
A M l R A Projcct P29 I and an A R C grant. T h e work at Rosebery the last decade and tlicir impact oil hydrocarhon exploratioii. i n
made extcnsive use of the Rosebery Mine data and would not
have been possible without the help and support of Jim
H ~ c / i ~ i i i : t r r h o ilrttbirtir
i
(deological Society of l a i d o n Special Publication 8 0 ) .
..
. nn 1-32
111 K i f i B(isiii.p (Ed: J J Larnbiase).
Farquahar and Geoff Illiff. Vicary. M J and Peinhcrtoii, J. 1988. MI k ! i u / L4ilctinic.v Projecr Miip 7.
Grolo,cy of /lw Brick 1’c.tik- C h d l e Mnirnrtrin Link / h i d ( I I ~ N I .
Tnsinanian I>cpart~~ient Mines.
REFERENCES
White. M J. 1997. Vulcanic facies annlysis o f the Cambrian Tyndall
Berry. R F, 1989. The history of rnoveinent on the Henty Fault Zone. Group, Mount Kcad volcanics, wcstcrn Tasmania. I’hll thesis
western Tasmania: ;in analysis of fault striations. Ausr J E(irrh (uiipuhlishcd). Uiiiversity Tasmania. Hohart 225 p.
.S(iericm, 36: 189-20s. Williaiiis. E. 1989. M i d Prrl;ic.ozoic deforiii:ition. I ~ Geiiloxy I irnd M i i ~ r i ~ ~ d
Berry, K F, 1991. Structure of the Roscbcry deposit. AMlRA I’ro,iect K c w i u r i r . ~o/ 7 i i . w u i i i i i i (Eds: C F Burrc~tand E L Martin), pp 2.39-
P291 Report 3:1-16 (unpublished). 2.53 (Spcci;iI I’uhlicatioii of the Geological Society of Austrnli:~1.5).
Berry. K F, 1995. Tectonics o f westcrn Tasmania: Late Precambrian -
Devonian, Geologiccil Soc.iery of Ausrrditr. Ab.srni(m. 3 9 6 8 .
ABSTRACT granite. With increasing distance from the granite. ores vary in
style from iron-oxide veins and stockworks containing pyrite and
The Darwin granite is a highly fractionated homogeneous
chiilcopyritc f specular-hematite i magnetite f tourmaline and
phanerocrystalline pink equigranular granite of the magnetite
quartz-pyrite-chalcopyrite veins, to disseminatetl pyrite-
series. The main pink granite phase is intruded by a smaller chalcopyrite f covellite, to veins containing q u a m , bornite,
white leucocratic, phanerocrystalline, equagranular to neodigenite, chalcopyrite and hematite. At the Jukes Proprietary
porphyritic. medium to coarse-grained granite or granodiorite.
prospect (Figure 2). mineralisation is hosted in coherent rhyolitic
The Darwin granite is located in the south central portion of the
volcanics of the Central Volcanic Sequence (CVC).
Cambrian Mt Read Volcanic Belt in western Tasmania (Figure Mineralisation occurs as disseminated pyrite and chalcopyrite,
I). Numerous small tonnage but relatively high-grade copper- magnetite-pyrite +-tourmaline f scheelite veins, chaleopyrite-
gold prospects (Table I and Figure 2) are located along the
pyrite-magnetite veins, magnetite f chlorite hydrothermal
exposed llanks and northern subsurface projection of the Darwin breccias, and qu~irtz-chalcopyrite stringers. Intense chlorite
alteration and copper mineralisation also overprint the margins
and bodies of several quartz-porphyry dykes that intruded the
1 Ccntre for Ore Deposit Rcscarch (CODES), University of Tasmania, CVC rhyolite.
GPO Box 2.52-79C. Hobart TJS7001.
FIG1 - Location niap for the Cambrian Mt Read Volcanic Belt. western Tasmania. Australia.
Mt Darwin, Cu-Au No ore shipped, low Iron oxide veins and stockworks lnteiisc chlorite dtcration, wynian, 1996,
including Prince griides containing pyrite, chalcopyrite and sericitc alteration ;ind locally Wliitc. 1975.
Darwin magnctiteitourinaline. K-feldspar alteration. Hills. 1914 ...
T h e hydrothermal alteration assemblages at Jukes Proprietary magnetite o r hem;itite. 4 ) T h e degree of textural destruction -
are grossly zoned and are dominated by an inner zone of intense rocks with moderate to intense textural destruction. are most
K-feldspar alteration associated with copper mineralisation. likely hydrothernially ;iltcrcd. Exceptions to these criteria are
grading outward to zones o f chlorite and sericitc alteration. possible. For example. although albitc alteration of ;I Jukes I<oad
Accessory minerals in the K-feldspar zone include pyrite, I caused intense tcxtural destruction of the
magnetite ;itid chalcopyrite. In the chlorite zone accessory groundmass. the ;iltcr;ition assembl;ige is believed to liave
pyrite, magnetite, chalcopyrite and tourmaline occur as do barite formed during dingenesis invalidatin_c point 4. Generally,
veins. I-lydrothermal alteration appears to be most intense Lind however. these four criteria appear to he good discriminators of
widespread above and to the north of the granite and decreases Cambri;in hydrothei-mal alteration in tlic Jukes-Darwin area.
markedly in intensity away from the western side of the intrusion Sulphur isotope studies (Gadaloff, 1096; Jones, 1993; Doylc,
(Figure 2). Regional aeromagnetic data suggests that the Darwin 1990) indicate that the source of sulphur in the sulphides is most
granite underlies the entire northerly trending belt . o f likely ;I mixture o f masmatic sulpliiir and reduced seawatcr
hydrothermal alteration and Cu-Au mineralisation (Large of 01, sulphate. I n the Jukes-Darwin area. there appears to be ;In
1996; Le;iman and Richardson, 19x9; Payne, I99 1 ). T h e eastern increase i n heavy sulphur with increasing distance from the
margin of the intrusion is an erosional unconformity with Darwin granite (nv I I .3%. av) to Intercolonial Spur (15.5%:~;IV).
Cambrian Tyndall Group volcanics and therefore no A similar sulphur i w t o p e zonation hlis been observed around the
hydrothermal alteration remains exposed o n that side. Magnetite Murchison granite (Polya i'/ 01, 1986). This spatial tlistril~ution
and tourmaline veins, copper mineralisation and hydrothermal of sulphur isotope5 may hiive been c;iuscd by sulphur saturation
occurring within and close to the granite and its contacts, in the
alteration overprint the pink granite phase of the Darwin granite
early stages of granite emplacement. I n the later stages, sulphur
and appear to be related to the later -white granite phase.
saturation occurred throughout the whole system, reducing the
Hydrofracturing and phreatic brecciation resulted in release of effects of' m:rgmatic sulphur input antl resulting in a Cambrian
magmatic-hydrothermal fluids, which reacted with the country seawater sulphur signature (Solomon C / til, 1988). The sulphur
rocks and produced hydrothermal alteration, Cu-Au veins and isotopes i n the Jukcs-Darwin area (Figure. 3) contrast sh>~rply
disseminated mineralisation. with sulphur isotopes fIom Mt Lyell (av +6%) and from typical
Textural and mineralogical evidence h i v e been used to porphyry copper deposits. where v:ilucs average from -4 to +4 %IC
discriminate granite-related hydrothermal alteration froin (Ohmoto and Rye, 1979).
regional metamorphic and diagenetic alteration assemblages o n Intrusion-relatctl hydriitliermal altei-ation assemblages and Cu-
the basis of: 1 ) T h e widespread occurrence o f intense alteration Au mineralisation in the Jukcs-Darwin field share sonic
assemblages in association with mineralised veins. 2) The similarities with porphyry Cu-Au alteration and minera1is;ition
intensity with which chlorite replaces plagioclase feldspar (eg Cookc ci d . 1996; Sillitoe. 1993) ; i d could be considered a
phenocrysts (Sericite alteration of feldspar phenocrysts in weakly submarine analogue to porpliyry-style minera1is;ition.
altered rocks can vary greatly, but chlorite after plagio
Favourable elements for Cambrian porphyry-style mineralisat ion
feldspar appears to be an indicator of proximity to hydrothermal
in the Jukes-Darwin tield include:
systems). 3) T h e presence of chalcopyrite, tourmaline.
Legend
I
t
I
I Quaternary Alluvium
t
Ordovician Sediments
Gorden Group Limestone
Cambrian
Mount Read Volcanics
-
ndall Group and correlates
lddle Late Cambrian)
Central Volcanic Com lex
(mainly feldspar p h d )
Sedimentary Rocks, mainly shale and
sandstone
-
Western volcano sedimentary sequences
\ Fault
X CU-AU Prospects
Hydrothermal Alteration
C
C
c
r
N
s
Scale:
I
0 1 2Km
I
6
t
L
FIG2 - Study area showing the location of significant Cu-Au prospects and the cxtrnt of granite related hydrothermal alteration
Lyell Area
MI. sedgwldr
m- REFERENCES
Cooke, I.) R , Heithersay. I' S. Wolfe, R m i d Losada-Calderon, A, 1996.
Concepts and Exploration Criteria lor Australian and SW kicilic
Poiphyry Cu-Ail deposits. CODES Key Centre. M Econ Geol Short
Course Manual 5 - Ore Ikposit Stutlles nnd Exploration Studies -
Porphyry Cu-Au. skarn :und epitherrnal deposits (4th ed); p I . 15- I 32
LIL Lye11 (unpuhlished)
Juksr-Dawln Area
Crawford. A J and Berry, I< F. 1992. kctonic implications 01 Late
Proteromc - Early Paleozoic igneous rock associations in western
J u k m Ply.
Tasmania, Tec,fo,if,/,/?):rrc'.r. 2 1437-56
laylour R o w d
Doyle, M. 1990. The geology, mineralisation and alteration of the Jukes
Earl Dr*ln Proprietary Prospect, Western Tasmnnia, Unpublished RSc( Hons)
Findons Thesis. University of Tasinania. 1 1 4 ~ .
D a n h CrmHr Hills, C L. 1914. The Jukes-Darwin mining field, B i t / / Geol Surv I i t . w i ,
Rincr Dawln 16.
Jones, A T. 1903. The g~ology.geochemistry and structure of the Moiiiit
Darwin - South Darwin Peak area, Western Tasmania. Unpublished
RSc(Hons) Thesis, University o f Tasni;inia, 120p.
Large, K K. Doyle. M , Rayiiiond, 0. Cookc. I). Jones, A and Heasinan.
L. 1996. Evaluation of the Role of C:iiiibrian Granites in the Genesis
FIG3 - Sulphur isotope comparison of the Jukcs - Darwin area. of World Class VHMS Deposits in T:isin:inia, Ore Geology R e i ~ i ~ i i ~ . ~ .
10:2 15-230.
Leaman. D E and Richardson, K G. 1989. The granites of west ;ind
north-west Tasmania - a geophysical interpretation. Ttrsrrrtrriict
collisional event in the middle Cambrian, followed by a I)tyirrnie/ir o/ Mi,re.c. Hobcirr: C;eologtc.lr/ Survey Ritlleriri 66, 1441).
period of bimodal volcanism (Crawford and Berry, 1992); Ohmoto. H and Rye, R 0, 1979. Isotopes of Sulfur and Carbon, in (Ed:
magnetite-series granites emplaced post-obduction; H Barnes) Geochernisrr). of Hydrorheruw/ Ore De/,osif,r, pp SO9-556
(Wiley Kr Sons: New York).
Cambrian granite-related Cu-Au vein mineralisation
Payne. B. 199 I . Geophysical interpretation of the MI Sedgewick - Ked
associated with potassic and intermediate argillic (chlorite)
Hills area, western Tasmania, Unpublished BSc(Hons) Thesis,
alteration (Cooke e t u f , 1996); University of Tasmania, 107p.
the presence of tourmaline breccias and magnetite veins; and Polya. D A. Solo~iion.M. Extoe. C J and Walshe, 'J L, 1986. The
multiple intrusions. . Murehison GoIgc, Tasmania - a possihle cross-section through a
Cainbrian massive sulphide system. /:r:o,iomic G'eoloRy. 76: I34 1 -
Unfavourable elements for Cambrian 'porphyry-style' 135s.
mineralisation in the Jukes-Darwin field include: Sillitor. K I I , I993 Gold-rich porphyry copper deposits: Geologic
. no porphyritic stock recognised to-date; rnodel antl exploration ilnplications. i n (Eds: R V Kirkham. W L)
lack of quartz diorite to monzodiorite intrusions; Sinclair, R I Thorpe and J M Duke). Mineral Deposit Modeling:
Geo/ogiutl As.rocrdon of Grnc~drr.S / J C W ~ I Atper 40, pp 46.5-478.
'large-scale zoned alteration systems not known (except for
Solomon. M. h s t o e , C J, W:ilshe, J L antl Green. G R. 1988. Mineral
Mt Lyell); deposits and sulfur ahundances i n the Mount Kcad Volcanics
sulphides have heavy 6348 values; between Que River and Mount Darwin. Tasmania, Ecoriouric
barite veins; and Geology, 83: 1307- 1328.
ABSTRACT I
380000mE 390000mE
Rosebcry mine has had over 100 years of mining activity. The reserve
Post-Ccntral Volcanic
has remained static for the last cight years with an expected niine life of
six years. A move to rectify this was made in 1994 with thc birth of the
1 Complex : Middle Cambrian
\
Deep Exploration Project (DEP). $45 M was committed to drill IO0 kin Middle Cambrian Central
Volcanic Complex
of underground exploration diamond drilling and develop 5.5 kin of
decline aiming to add 9.5 MI to the reserves and nunimise lead time for
development of P and K lenses discovered in the early-1990s. In I996
this aim was expanded with the objective to build the resource b s e to 20
Mt by June 2000 allowing the inill to operate at 1 .O Mtpa (0.9 Mt from
underground). Preliminary results of the project to-date are outlined and
exploration diamond drilling techniques and strategies are described.
INTRODUCTION
Rosebery is in western Tasmania at lat 41'48's. long 145"35'E
on the Queenstown (SK 55-5) 1:250 000 scale and Ihc Sophia
(8014) 1: I 0 0 000 scale map sheets. T h e deposit is hosted by the
Cambrian Mount Read Volcanics which also host the Hercules.
Q u c River, Hellyer, klcnty and Mount Lyell sulphide deposits
(Figurc I). T h e mine is owncd by Pmminco Limited. The
Identified Mineral Resources at June 1997 were 10.28 Mt at 4.2
per cent lead, 12.1 per cent zinc, 0.39 per cent copper, 139g/t
silver, 2.3g/t gold, 9.7 per cent iron (Table I). T h e geology of
western Tasmania and thc Rosebcry district has been described in
detail by various authors and rcferenccs to these as well as a
comprehensive account of thc recent discoverics can bc Iound in
Berry et af (in press).
MINING HISTORY
Base metal mineralisation was discovered at Roscbery in 1893.
Mining commenced within three years as an open cut and a
series of small adits into the side of Mt Black and continued
semi-continuously until I9 13 when local smelting facilities
closed. For the next 2 0 years mining was intermittent, with
continuous operations commencing in the mid-1930s when a
concentrating plant was constructed at Rosebery. When the
orebody became too deep to access by adit, No I Shaft was sunk F a I - Sunplifieti geological map ot the Kosebery area, inodified from
from thc existing 8 Level adit and was completcd in the late- Allcn (1991).
1940s. A major expansion was undertaken to sink N o 2 Shaft to
mine the deeper extensions (15-18 Levels). No 2 Shalt and 7
Level adit were completed in 1972 and provides mail riding and
'I'AHLE1
gear haulage to I7 Level and ore haulage from approximately 18
Level. Diesel equipment was introduced into the mine in 1980 Iilenti/icrl rnitierul resources and ore reserves, June 1997.
starting the internal decline from 17 Level. Since then annual
mining production has grown to 0.6 Mtpa. Mining opcrations
now extend down to 25 Level some 400 m helow 17 Level over a
strike length of 2 k m and to more than I kin below surface.
GEOLOGICAL SETTING
T h e rocks o f t h e Central Volcanic Complex, part of the Cambrian
Mount Read Volcanics containing the Rosebery deposit. arc fault
bound; on the footwall (west) by the Rosebcry Fault and o n the
hanging wall (east) by the Mount Black Fault. T h e Rosebery and
Mount Black Faults are reverse faults dipping nominally 45'
east. Within this fault block the mine footwall sequence (MFW)
consists of subaqueously-deposited massive volcaniclastic development of P and K lenses and discovering other resources
pumice breccias of dacitic to rhyolitic composition. The mine up to 500 in below the current mine workings. Five and ;i hall'
host sequence (MHS) represents a transitional environment of kilometres of drive and decline were planned to be developed
bedded volcaniclastic siltstone and sandstone. In places this and some 100 000 m of underground exploration diamond
horizon is capped by a black slate which grades upward into the drilling were estimated to fulfil this god. Expenditure of $45 M
mine hanging wall sequence (MHW) which is composed over a lour-year time-frame was proposed. Development i n the
primarily of dacitic and rhyolitic volcaniclastic rocks. Overall MFW (as compared with MHW) location was considered the
the entire stratigraphic sequence dips 40 to 50" east, subparallel
preferred position for the DEP as it could also provide
to the main bounding faults, however the cleavage tends to be
consistently steeper than bedding by I O to 20". The deposit infrastructure necessary to extract the lower lenses and decrease
consists of many lenses and pods which historically have been the lead time tor the development of the orebodies. The
alphabetically named and vary in size from tens of thousands of longitudinal projection (Figure 3) of the Rosebery mine and the
tonnes (M and Q lens) up to a maximum of some 5 Mt ( F lens). DEP outlines the existing lenses and tarset areas. At June I997
Individual lenses arc typically of the order of 100 to 400 m the DEP had spent $24 M. It had drilled 68 000 m of cxploration
strike, 100 to 500 m down dip length and mostly less than 20 m holes and driven some 3.5 km of decline development, The DEP
true thickness, often less than I O m. A generalised cross-section drilling is scheduled for completion in July 1998 and
of the south end of the mine illustrates the broad geological development in October 1908.
setting and distribution of ore lenses (Figure 2).
3200 rn RL]
.Hkn.
Fir; 2 - Generalised cross-section of the Rosebery mine, south end. EXPLORATION RESULTS TO-DATE
Exploration was targeted accordins to priorities within the
Several genetic models have been applied to the Rosebery Rosebery mine objective to build the resource base to 20 Mt by
deposit since its discovery. These include Cambrian deposition June 2000. Results to-date are outlined.
of sulphide mineralisation as stratiform lenses or as replacement
of permeable horizons by hydrothermal fluids, depositing metals Short- and medium-term ore sources
shortly after the emplacement of the MHS. In contrast, a
Devonian origin with alteration and veining occurring in P lens
dilational structures formed by deformation during the
Tabberabbcran Orogeny has also been proposed (Berry et a/,in P lens is in the north o f the mine 120 in south of K lens between
press). 740 and 1 I60 m N and from 2165 to 2745 m RL (Figure 3) nnd
is a possible down dip extension of H lens. I t was discovered in
DEEP EXPLORATION PROJECT March I003 during an underground hased exploration drilling
program testing the central mine area south of K lens. P lens is a
The history of exploration at Rosebery has been successful. The series o f stacked. tabular to podilorm. stratabound sulphide
declining ore reserve in recent years has seen an increase in bodies separated by zones of weakly ~nineralisedMHS ranging
exploration. The exploration program from 1990 - 04 involved a in dip from 37" to S6". Up until recently the upper lenses were
twofold approach, drilling diamond holes from both the surface called BP lens but the latest geological interpretation has
(on Mount Black) and from underground. During this program incorporated them into I' lens. The largest sublenses arc zinc-
K, M and P lenses were discovered. These drill holes were, at lead-gold dominated massive sulphide units all with similar ore
the time, the deepest in Tasmania from both surface or characteristics of brown, low to medium iron sphalerite with
underground. intergrowths of galena and pyrite. To the south, mineralisation
The level of detailed knowledge required about the new lenses diminishes where the MHS becomes strongly chloritic and
could not be provided by a continuation of either deep surface or pyritic. Between K and P lenses the few holes drilled to-date
underground holes from existing development. Hence. the indicate only trace mineralisation and the lower limit of P lens is
Rosebery deep exploration project (DEP) (Bergin et a / . 1994) not yet defined. A total of 48 holes have intersected the lenses
was proposed, which on completion would establish access to P to-date including one surlacc hole. The June 1097 Inferred and
and K lenses and open up new target areas for further Indicated Resource is estimated at 2.86 Mt containing 3.8 per
exploration. The DEP was instigated with the specilic aims of cent lead, 10.5 per cent zinc, 0.27 per cent copper, 133 glt silver,
adding 9.5 Mt to the ore reserve, minimising lead time for 2.1 g/t gold and 6.9 per cent iron. This resource currently
comprises I I individual lenses but there is a strong likelihood of EXPLORATION DRILLING TECHNIQUES
this number increasing with further drilling. P lens is scheduled
to commence production in the I998 - 99 financial year. Cuddies are mined 40 to 80 ni apart down the length 01 the North
Exploration Decline (NED) and South Exploration Decline
T letis (SED) to allow exploration drill access along strike of the
Icosehery orebody. These cuddies are designed to nllow drill
T Lens is in the south of the mine and occurs between 560 to 700 coverage from steep up-holcs ( ~ 3 0 0m in length) using LM45
m S and 2500 to 2650 m RL at this stage (Figure 3). I t was rigs and deep holes (>IO00 m i n length) using LM75 rigs. As the
discovered i n April 1096 during exploration from tlie South drilling is from the MFW consideration is needed for the core
Exploration decline (SED). The June 1097 Inferred Resource is size and the amount of deviation (bearing or dip) required in
estimated at 0.27 Mt containing 6.1 per cent lead, 17.9 per cent order to reach the planned target area. There is a dominant
zinc, 0.4 per cent copper, 257 g/t silver, 2.6 g/t gold and 16.3 per cleavage i n the mine rocks which dips between 5 0 to 70" to the
cent iron. T lens is a single massive sulphide sphalerite-pyrite e;ist. Marked variations in thc amount of deviation in drillholes
dominant pod with a true thickness up to 15 m. Commonly the can occur depending on thc angle the hole is drilled to the
hanging wall is massive magnetite-pyrrhotite-garnet replacement cle;ivage (Figure 4) with ultimately the drill string bending until
of sphalerite-pyrite ore for up to 7 m. Exploration drilling to i t is normal to the cleavage (if the hole proceeds far enough). For
define the extent of T lens to the south continues and potential very deep holes a decision needs to be made as to the maximum
exists to exceed I Mt . Deep holes have yet to be targeted down dip possible (compared to tlic local cleavage) whereby the hole
dip o f T lens. does not dcviate to the west (opposite to the planned direction).
Generally tlie problems arisc from too much lift. Revision of
Long-term ore sources previous drill hole surveys and local geology is important when
planning deep exploration holes.
K lens
K lens is at the northern end of the mine and extends from 1280
to 1660 m N and from 2080 to 2680 m RL and is the most
northern ore lens found to date (Figure 3). It was discovered in
May 1991 by surface drill hole 120R which penetrated the lens in
its middle southern area. The June 1996 Indicated and Inferred
Resource is estimated at 2.77 Mt containing 6.2 per cent lead,
16.7 per cent zinc, 0.4 per cent copper, 103 g/t silver, 3.4 g/t gold
and 8.6 per cent iron. and production is scheduled to commence
i n 2000-2001. Drill holes to-date indicate that K lens forms a
consistent tabular horizon 350 m in strike length, 600 m long
down dip and varying from 2 to 17 m in true thickness. Relative
to its nearest neighbours, P lens (120 m to the south) and H lens
( I 5 0 m up dip and to the south), K lens mineralisation is thicker,
:. internd host rock dilution and has higher-grades.
h.'IS. I css
horizontal or climbing. The hole would use a casing wedge set tit
a planned point to continue in BQ, which would increase the lift
in the hole. A daughter or wedge hole would involve the rods
being pulled hack u p the hole and a Hall-Rowe wedge (some of
which were orientated for lift or bearing dcllcction) cemented
into the hole. The hole could continue up dip from the parent
holc in BQ. I t was possible to do two wedges from the original
parent hole.
The second phase of deep drilling using the LY44 utilised the
experience gained in the earlier holes. These holes were
generally steeper and drilled deeper in NQ in order to lessen the
flattening towards the end of hole. This enabled better hole
control and cheaper drilling costs. The wedging technique also
changed. Instead of drilling the parent hole as the deepest holc,
i t became the shallowest hole, with the greatest lift. The hole
would he cased off in NQ, and the second hole would continue in
NQ from the point where the pilot changed to BQ. In this way
the wedge was retrievable and these holes were also easier and
cheaper to drill. I t was also possible to do three deflections from
the parent hole.
Ftc 5 - Proposed method of seismic reflection to image massive sulpliitle
Current drilling philosophy (Figure 4) lenses.
The current drilling philosophy uses similar principles but with
the more powerful LM75 rigs. An NQ (chrome) hole is drilled to
plan at Rosebery is to trial the metliod underground using
the required depth and monitored by downhole camera surveys.
horehole seismic methods (Figure 5 ) . The lowermost drill hole
The hole is cased-off and drilled BQ standard barrel with step bit
of a well drilled section where an orebody interpretation and
for I O to 15 m and then surveyed. The deviation is assessed and
physical logging data exkt (probably l.rorn the central mine area)
the hole continues with standard bit and barrel if deviation is
would be used and assessments made with the seismic image of
sufficient. A survey is taken again after 15 m and should the
the orebody. I t thc method is suitable i t is hoped to be able to
hole be lifting too much a chrome barrel is supplemented and
test otlicr less explored prospective areas.
progress monitorcd with regular surveys. This method is
succcssful and typical lifts are 3" in 15 m off the casing then 2 to Apart from the targets outlined alrc;idy there is consider;ible
3" in 30 m for the continuation in BQ (chrome). Extra lift will potential for more orcbodics still to be lound at h s e h e r y . Future
sometimes occur in soft, strongly chloritic and sericitic rocks or arcas of interest outside the DEP will be largely determined by
in badly broken zones but this is not always the rule. At the the success or otherwise pf the surface exploration program
completion of this hole the BQ string can be removed and the which is currently testing prospective areas to the immediate
original NQ parent hole resumed down to the next planned lip- north and south of existing mine workings.
off. If the parent hole starts around -45 to -50' dip then it is
possible to drill two o r more deflections should it not lift too ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
much. Typical lifts for NQ chrome at this angle is around I to
1.5' in 60 m. The authors thank Pasminco Rosebery mine for permission to
publish this paper and Gillian Bennett for initial drafting of the
figures.
FUTURE DIRECTIONS
The DEP is a large amount of drilling and a substantial financial REFERENCES
commitment towards meeting Rosebery's objectives. It begs the
Allen, K L, 1991. Structure, stratigraphy and volcanology o f the
question - why not drill less holes and do more geophysics and Roscbery-Ilerculcs Zn-Pb-Cu-Au massive sulphide district,
cover more territory for the same outlay? Numerous geophysical Tasmania: Results 19x8- 1990, report to Pasminco Exploration m d
surveys (gravity, magnetics, EM, IP and others) have been Pasrriiiico Kosehery mine (unpubl). Figure 1.
attempted in the past at Rosebery and these have had only limited Bergin, N. Georgi, 11. Lorrigan, A and Lutherhorrow, C. 1991, Rosehery
succcss. deep exploration proposal. Pasrninco Rosebery mine (unpubl): 1-35.
The role and extent of in-mine geophysics is currently under Berry, M V, Edwards. P W. Georgi, H T. Graves, C C, Carnie, C W A.
consideration as a tool at Rosebery. Pare. R J, Hale. C T, Helm, S W, Hohhy. D J and Willis. R D, 1997.
Thc Kosebery Ieatl-zinc-gold-silver-copl,er deposit. in C;eo/ogy o/ r h !
c t e w Gui!iectn Miwrctl Deposils, h i press (The
Ausfrctlicoi e m f / ' e ~ ~ ~ u N
Seismic reflection surveys Austr;il;isian Institute of Mining and Met;kllurgy: Melbourne).
The use seismic techniques to locate massive Fullagar. P K, Fallon. G N. Hatherly, I' J and Zhou, B, 1996. In-iiiinc
geophysical tri:ils at Rosebery. Centre for Mining Technology and
sulphide orebodies is one such tool and has been trialled :it Equipment, Brisbone, report MM 1 - 9 W : 39-49.
Rosebery in AMIRA project P436 (Fullagar et al, 1996) with
Milkereit. B. Eaton. 11, Wu, J. Perron. G , Salisbury, M, Bcner, E K and
initial results indicating the technique could be successful. Morrison, G . 1096. Seismic imaging of innssivc sulphide deposits:
Milkereit ef a1 (1996) demonstrated, for the first time, how part 11. Reflection seismic profiling, E(wiornic Geology, !)1:829-834.
surface seismic reflection profiling may be used to accurately
detect and delineate deep, large massive sulphide deposits in a
complex geologic setting charactcrised by moderate dips. The
FIGI - Location map of Henty Gold Mine and regional geology. After Corhett and Lees. 1987
I During the 1996-1997 financial year, Henty produced 74 930 REGIONAL GEOLOGY
tonnes at 21. I g/t Au, recovering 48 377 ounces.
llenty lies within the Canibrian Mount Read Volcanic I k l t , ;I rich
mineral zone that hosts the Hellycr, Que River, Rosebery,
Exploration and mining history Hercules and Mt Lycll ore deposits. The Mount Read Volc;inics
Exploration in the Hcnty area was initiated by Renison Ltd in form a 2 0 kin wide arcuate belt of' submarine and subaerial
1966. In 1973, samples from a costcan over an IP and soil rhyolitic to basaltic liivx, intrusions, ;ind volcaniclastics with a
geochemical anomaly at the current portal pad returned 2.4 in of strike length o f over 200 km. lying along the eastern mar9in of
semi-massive sulphide mineralisation at I .8 per cent Cu, I .76 per the Dundas Trough. They ;ire bound to the east by Precambrian
cent Pb, 0.2 per cent Zn, and 37.89 per cent FeS2. At this time basement rocks o f the Tyennan Region, interlinger Cambrian
samples were not assayed for Au. Two diamond drill holes into volcano-sedimentary rocks of the Duncl;is Group to thc west iind
the costean intersected only a narrow sulphide lens. are overlain by Late Cambrian to Eorly Ordovician siliciclastics
of the Owen Conglomerate.
Goldfields Exploration Pty Ltd took over the exp1or;ition
license in 1982 and drilled three diamond holes the following
year, with two of them again intersecting thin massive sulphide Stratigraphy
mineralisation. Routine gold assaying began at this time and Corbett (1992), Corbctt and Lees (1987) and White and McPhie
returned high gold values for the massive sulphide intersection (1996) have documented the stratigraphy of the Mount Rcad
and another silica-pyrite alteration zone. Wider exploration Volcanics and form the basis of the following summary. The
around the site of the Henty Gold Mine renewed in 1984 when Cambrian Mount Read Volcanics may be divided into four major
EL 9/66 became due for reduction. The area was reinterpreted lithostratigraphic units comprising the Central Volc;inic
and previous drill holes were assayed for Au. HFZO5, one of the Sequences, the Eastern quartz-porphyritic sequence, tlie Western
first diamond drill holes sited at the portal pad, returned an volcano-sediment~ily sequences (comprising the Yolande River
intersection of 6.7 m at 7 g/t Au. sequence, the Dundas Group, and the Mount Charter Group), nnd
the Tyndall Group (Figure I). The N N E trending Henty Fnult
Exploration intensified on the basis of these results, and from
Zone was active (luring the deposition of the Tynclall Group
1984 to 1988 a further 38 diamond holes were drilled,
rocks, causing rapid facies changes i n its vicinity, and divides
identifying a shallow gold resource between 50 and 150 m below these sequences into two distinctly differing stratigraphic and
the surface over a strike length of 650 m, known as the Sill Zone. structural domains.
The initial resource estimate of the Sill Zone in 1987 was 500
Southeast of the I lenty Fault, volcaniclastics, mudstones, and
000 tonnes at 10 g/t Au. However, the irregular spatial sandstones of the Western volcano-sedimentary sequences
distribution and style of mineralisation observed in drill holes overlie or intertingcr with the Central Volcanic Sequences. The
required further work to prove geological continuity and Central Volcanic Sequences comprises mainly rhyolitic to dacitic
sufficient tonnes and grade to economically develop the deposit. h a s , pyroclastics. and intrusives, and is characterised by
In November 1988 development commenced on an 800 in long potassic rhyolites. The Eastern quartz-porphyritic sequence
exploration decline and a 200 m long ore drive into the Sill Zone mainly comprise quartz porphyritic volcanics, intrusives, and
to further define mineralisation. Results from ii 25 m by 25 m volcaniclastics interlingering with the Central Volcanic
spaced diamond drilling program and methodical sampling of the Sequences. The Tyndall Group niiiinly comprise:; rhyolitic
volcanics and vo1c;iniclastic breccia, conglomerate. s:uidstone.
ore drive delineated insuflicient mineable reserves to justify
and mudstone and overlie both the Western volcano-sedimcntary
further development of the Sill Zone. However, continued sequences and the Central Volcanic Sequences, in places
diamond drilling located a deeper target down plunge of the Sill unconformably. The Mount Read Volcanics are overlain by tlie
Zone mineralisation at 350 to 550 m below the surface. In Owen Conglomerate, a thick sequence of shallow marine to
September 1989, diamond drill hole HP096A intersected 7.5 m fluvial conglomerate derived from the rapid uplift of the
at 107.1 g/t Au. During the next three years the Zone 96 area, Precambrian Tyennan basement rocks. The Newton Creek
named in honour of the bonanza drill hole, was drilled to 40 m Sandstone locally occupies the base o f the Owen Conglomerate
by 30 m spacing. identifying a mineable reserve of 526 OOO and unconformably overlies or interlingers with the Tyndall
tonnes at 26.2 dt Au. Group.
Following a feasibility study undertaken between I990 and Northwest of the Henty Fault. the Central Volcanic Sequences
1992, Goldfields decided to drill a shaft to access the deeper comprises lavas and pyroclastics dominated by dacites and
mineralisation. Excavation of the decline leading to the andesites. The Central Volcanic Scqucnces is unconformably
underground shaft collar and drilling of the internal shaft overlain by felsic tuffs, siltstones, grcywackes, slates, mudstones.
commenced in 1993. Henty officially opened in July 1996 after and conglomerates of the Dundas Group.
a three-year pre-production period and an investment of $53
million. Because of delays encountered in accessing the Zone 96 Regional structural setting
orebody, mining of the Sill Zone during 1995 - 1996 provided
approximatcly 22 000 tonnes at 7.09 g/t Au for the The NNE trending Henty Fault, ii Late Cambrian structure
commissioning of the gold plant. Development driving from the running for over 60 km between Mount Charter and Mount Read,
bottom of the shaft intersected the Zone 96 orebody in October dominates the structure in the centre of the Mount Read
1996. Volcanics (Figure I). The Henty Fault dips at 70' to the west
A 250 m spaced diamond drilling program in late-1995
and diverges into the North and South Henty Faults at its
identified Henty-style mineralisation at Mount Julia southern extremity near Mount Read. The Great Lyell Fault, a
approximately 1.3 km south of the current mine workings. A major Cambrian structure reactivated in the Devonian, trends
150 m by 75 m spaced infill drilling program is presently under south of and parallel to the Henty Fault and possibly intersects it
way and is expected to be completed by the end of 1997. near the Henty Gold Mine. l h e Hcnty and Great Lyell Faults
Drilling of the Intermediate Zone, located between the Sill Zone formed tlie western margin of an active graben during deposition
and Zone 96 orebodies, has been on-going since late-1996. of the Owen Conglomerate. Other important structures i n the
Should infill drilling programs in these areas prove to be area are Devonian NNW trending broad, open folds and later
successful, an incline to the Intermediate Zone and a decline to NW trending folds and faults, and a strong steeply dipping,
Mt Julia from Zone 96 will be considered. NNW trending regional foliation.
MINE GEOLOGY
Stratigraphy
Thc Hcnty minc lease covers rocks of the Central Volcanic
Scqucnces, thc Henty Fault Sequences, and Tyndall Group rocks
of the Mount Read Volc,inics and the overlying Owen
Conglomerate (Figures 2 and 3). Near the minc, thc Henty Fault
FIG2 - Plan of Henty Gold Mine and local geology splays into the North and South Henty Faults, dividing the
geology into segments to the east and west of the faults. and a The structure of the Henty Gold Mine is dominated by the
package between the splays. Gold mineralisation IS hosted i n steeply west dipping Henty Fault Zone. which splays into the
Tyndall Group rocks to the east of the Henty Fault. North and South Henty Faults in the middle of the lease. The 20
Rocks to the west of the Henty Fault comprise dominantly m wide South Henty Fault forms the upper boundary to
pink, feldspar phyric dacitic lavas and coarse grained crystal-rich mineralisation, and truncates it to the south. At depth the
volcanics of the Central Volcanic Sequences. Numerous vertically dipping orcbodies become increasingly separated from
chloritised, fine grained tholeiitic dykes of the Henty Dyke the westerly dipping fault. Adjacent to the South Hcnty Fault,
Swarm intrude rocks of the Central Volcanic Sequences. foliation intensifies and lithologies become brecciated and
The Henty Fault Sequences lie between the North and South mylonitised. The orebodies are disrupted by numerous north-
Henty Faults and comprise carbonaceous black shales, matic to south trending, steeply west dipping brittle-ductile lhults with
ultramafic volcanics, and quartz phyric volcaniclastics. displacements of up to a lcw metres.
Rocks to the east of the Henty Fault comprise quartz phyric
volcanics of the Tyndall Group and siliciclastics of the Newton Alteration
Creek Sandstone of the Owen Conglomerate. Minor altered
dacitic volcaniclastics and lavas of the Central Volcanic Nearly all of the stratigraphic units of the Tyndall Group present
Sequences also occur east of the Henty Fault in the southern area at the Henty Gold Mine have undcrgonc hydrothermal alteration.
of the lease. The most intense quartz-sericite-sulphide alteration and gold
White and McPhie (1996) have divided the Tyndall Group mineralisation has affected the Lynchford Member of the
rocks into the overlying Zig Zag Hill Formation and the Comstock Formation, adjacent to the Henty Fault, and is referred
underlying Comstock Formation, which broadly correspond to to as 'A-Zone' type alteration. A Zone alteration types include
the Upper and Lower Tyndall Groups of Corbett (1974, 1988, MA, MZ, MV, MQ. MP, and CR (Figure 3). The main
1992). They have further subdivided the Comstock Formation mineralised zone comprises MQ, MV, and MZ. and are the
into the upper Mount Julia Member and the lower Lynchlord alteration types followed in underground orc drives.
Member, which hosts the Henty orebodies. From west to east, the alteration types are as follows:
In the mine area, the Lynchford Member comprises green to MA (.wricite-quurtz k pyrite k carboriute k felrl.spar+ fuclisite
red, massive coarse grained crystal-rich feldspar phyric .schi.st) - The MA alteration type ranges between IS and 60 m
volcaniclastic sandstone with lesser siltstones and matrix
thick and lies between the Henty Fault to the west and A Zone
supported lithic breccias and minor interbedded cherts and type alteration to the east. It is an orange, brown, to green
cream, pink, or purple carbonates. Original textures are still moderately to strongly altered, highly foliated to mylnnitic rock.
discernible despite subsequent hydrothermal alteration and The original lithology is believed to be coarse epiclastic mass
deformation. flows and sandstones (Taheri and Green, 1991).
Basal units of the Mount Julia Member comprise massive MZ (quartz-sericite-sicll,hide schist)- is a black, fine grained,
quartz crystal-rich volcaniclastics and autobrecciated and llow sheared and brecciated rock containing quartz, sericite, pyrite,
banded rhyolites which thicken rapidly from north to south, local carbonate and minor chlorite. feldspar, chalcopyrite,
coinciding with a swing in the strike of lithology from 340" to
sphalerite and galena. The MZ contains less silica and sericite
020'. subparallel to the Henty Fault. The basal units of the than the MQ and MV alteration types and is less strongly
Mount Julia Member are present at Mt Julia but are not present at foliated, and has ii higher sulphide cnntcnt at about five per ccnt.
the Henty Mine. MZ is volumetricnlly the most abundant alteration type in the
The middle and upper portions of the Mount Julia Member mineralised zone, ranging between 2 and 30 m thick and is
comprise polymictic volcaniclastic grcywacke, graded mass present stratigraphically above and below the MQ and MV
flows, quartz crystal-rich volcaniclastic sandstones and epiclastic alteration types. It contains discontinuous lenses of MQ and MV.
shales, overlain by massive crystal-rich volcaniclastic sandstones Petrographic studies support a felsic epiclastic origin for the MZ.
with minor matrix supported diamictic breccias. MV. and MQ alteration types (Taheri and Green. 1991). 'The M Z
The overlying Zig Zag Hill Formation comprises polymictic averages 0.6 g/t Au.
volcaniclastic conglomerate, coarse grained quartz crystal MV (qunrrz-sericite-curbot~ute-.sup/iide .schist)- is a yellow-
sandstones, and laminated siltstones. green. tine grained, highly foliated rock containing quartz.
Abundant quartz-feldspar to quartz porphyritic rhyolites occur sericite, pyrite and local carbonate and minor chlorite, feldspar,
throughout the Tyndall Group, along with pepperitic and chalcopyrite, sphalcritc, and galena and rare purple fluorite. The
autoclastic sills, dykes, and flows. This rhyolite complex total sulphide content is less than one per cent. MV is the second
intruded the Comstock Formation lithologies and formed most volumetrically abundant alteration type in the mineralised
subaqueous extrusives and lava domes with associated zone, followed by MQ and MP. The M V forms I to 15 m thick
autoclastic deposits at the top of the Comstock Formation and lenses and commonly envelops the MQ alteration type. It
within the Zig Zag Hill Formation. The autoclastic deposits were extends for tens of metres beyond the most northerly lenses of
extensively reworked and formed a large localised sediment MQ and is more extensively developed on the hangingwall side
source for the Zig &g Hill Formation. of the MQ, where it is associated with clevated gold values and
base metal mineralisation. The MV averages 4.0 g/t Au.
Structure MQ (massive qrturtz-.sulphide-nativc gold) - is a grey, cream.
or pink massive to recrystallised brecciated quartz rock with
The Henty orebodies are hosted east of the Henty Fault (Figure minor muscovite, sericite. pyrite, carbonate and chalcopyrite,
3). on the steeply west dipping overturned western limb of a with lesser galena and sphalerite and rare gold and bismuth
shallowly south plunging asymmetric syncline trending into the metal. Si02 forms 90 - 95 per cent of the rock mass and the total
Henty Fault. The orebodies plunge at 45' to the south between sulphide content is about two per cent. It forms lenses 2 to 50 m
the Sill Zone and Zone 96, and shallow at depth towards Mt long and up to 8 m wide. Remobilised sulphides, gold, and
Julia. The mineralised zone at Zone 96 is up to 300 m long, 30 carbonates till late horizontal tension gashes in the MQ formed
m wide, and 200 m high. The lithologies and regional foliation during Devonian deformation. The MQ averages 55 g/t Au.
strike at 340' with a steep westerly dip, and swing parallel to the Thicker zones of MQ contain higher gold values.
Henty Fault as they approach the structure. Two generations of
cleavages (SI and S2) overprint the orcbodies, with the earlier S I M P ( t ~ ~ a s s i v~e~ ~ r i ~ e - c a r b o n a t e - q u ~- ~isr t a~ ~bronze-
~~ld)
cleavage dragged into the later Devonian S2 cleavage. black massive pyritic rock containing 40 t o 80 per cent pyrite
28 -
Launceston, 10 14 November 1997 Mining Geology Conference
GEOLOGY AND MINERALISATION OF THE HENTY GOLD MINE
with interstitial carbonate and quartz. I t forms discontinuous massive pyrite lenses at or below the sea Iloor. This
lenses about IO to 20 cm thick and a few metres long and is interpretation has mineralisation synchronous with deposition of
hosted in the MZ. It has undergone extensive fracturing, the Lynchford Member and positioned within I O t o 20 m of the
brecciation, and recrystallisation. sea Iloor.
CB (tnassive curbonare) - The CB alteration type forms the A second interpretation is that the sea lloor position was
hangingwall of A Zone type alteration and occurs as white to higher in the stratigraphy during mineralisation, possibly at the
pink laterally discontinuous lenses up to 5 m thick containing top of the Tyndall Group. H;ingingwall carbonate horizons may
carbonate. sericite, sulphides, albite and red jasper fragments. be replacement rather than primary features, and Na stripped
with a banded to stylolitic texture. The massive carbonate beds from the volcanic rocks in the A zone may have remobilised into
are commonly interbcdded with feldspar phyric sandstones and the overlying intense albite-silica alteration.
siltstones of the Lynchford Member. It is possible that the CB is Both models suggest that subsequent Devonian deformation
an original lithology rather than an alteration product. repeatedly fractured and vcined the brittle MQ lenses and
AS (nlhite-silica ulferntioti) - occurs to the east of the A Zone intensely foliated the more ductile, sericitic MV lenses. Au,
alteration and overprints volcaniclastics of the Lynchford pyrite. chalcopyrite, and galena sourced from the M V and MZ
Member and pervades up through the Mount Julia Member and lithologies locally remobilised on the scale of a few metres, and
the overlying Zig Zag Hill Formation. The alteration occurs as recrystallised into late brittle fractures in the MQ.
an irregular pervasive flood of massive white o r orange tine
grained silica and albite, completely destroying original textures ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
of the volcaniclastics.
Thanks to S Dunham for the opportunity to write this paper and
Mineralisation for subsequent discussions regarding the history and geology of
the Henty Mine. Thanks also to W Edgar and D Glover of Henty
Gold at the Henty Mine is present as both free gold and gold-rich Gold Mine, Dr R Berry at the University of Tasmania, and Kim
electrum associated with chalcopyrite and galena in the main Denwer and Michael Vicary of RGC Exploration for reviewing
mineralised zone (MQ, MV. MZ). The electrum forms irregular drafts ofthe paper.
grains ranging i n size from I pm to about 15 mm. Initial studies
(Taheri and Green, 1991) show that most grains are on the order REFERENCES
of 5 to 15 pm and arc found in microfractures, pyrite grain
boundaries. cleavages in galena, or as inclusions in quartz, Corbctt, K I), Reid. K 0, Corlxtt. E B. Green. G R, Wells, K and
carbonate, pyrite. chalcopyrite and galena. The presence of gold Sheppard, N W. 1974. The Mount Read Volcanics and Camhrian-
along grain boundaries or microfractures indicates remobilisation Ordovician relationships at Queenstown, Tasmania. Journctl of the
C;coloKtcd Soctrfy ofAustrdict. 2 1 : 173- 186.
of gold and later recrystallisation. Gold is also found in
subhorizontal quartz tension gash veins in MQ associated with Corbett, K D and Lees, T C, 1987. Stratigraphic and structural
relationships and evidence for Cambrian deformation ;it the western
Devonian deformation. margin of the Mt Read Volcanics. Tasmania, Ausfrcrltciti Journd of
Ectrtlt .Sc:imce.v.34:45-67.
Ore genesis Corbett, K D, 1988. Geological compilation map of the Mt Read
Volcanics and associated rocks. Hellyer to South Darwin Peaks,
The initial Cambrian system formed sub seafloor by similar Tiisinanian Department of Mines. Mt Read Volcanics Prqject Map 2.
processes to VMS systems but was probably low in base metals Corbctt. K D, 1992. Stratigraphic-volcanic setting of massive sulfide
and had a gold content of about 2 to 3 g/t Au. Devonian deposits i n the Cambrian Mount Read Volcanics. T;ismania,
deformation remobilised the gold to form the current high grade E c w l f ~ t ! l /GenloKy,
c 87564-5x0.
gold deposit. Halley. S W and Kobcns. R H. in press. Henty: A shallow-water.gold-
One model (eg Halley and Roberts, in press) suggests that rich VMS deposit in western 'I'xmania.
Henty is a Middle to Late Cambrian volcanogenic gold deposit, Taheri, J and Green, G R, 1991. The origin of the gold mineralisation at
formed in the actively filling shallow water Dundas Trough, at the Hcnty Prospect, Division of Mines and Mineral Resources.
the footwall of the early Henty Fault. The deposit is laterally and White. M J arid McPhie, J, 1996. Stratigraphy and paleovolcanology of
vertically zoned away from the Henty Fault, with proximal sub- the Cambrian Tyndall Group, Mt Read Volcanics, western Tasmania,
sea floor quartz-sericite alteration and Cu, Au, Pb, and Bi h.Yfrd/cttl Jourtictl ofEurrh Scirtices, 43: 147- 159.
mineralisation and distal low level Zn, Pb, carbonate, jasper, and
30 -
Launceston. 10 14 November 1997 Mining Geology Conference
Renison - New Advances in the Geological Understanding of a
World-Class Ore Deposit
P A Kitto', D A Evans2 and C R Mroczek3
-
LI I
RENISON HORST -1
I I -- %a t + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +\
~~
FIG1 - Generalised cross-seclion of [lie Renison Tin Mine. western Tusiiiania (Alter McQuiity er (if. in press)
economically signiticant ore type at Renison, formed by the production was lrom oxidised sulpliides. Hard rock milling
replacement of dolomite horizons by massive to semi-massive ceased i n the 1920s when only untrcatablc massive iron sulphide
pyrrhotite. Other minerals include pyrite, minor arsenopyrite and remained. Between 1925 and 1935 tlic mineral field went into
base metal sulphidcs plus gangue minerals of talc, siderite, decline and eventual abandonment iis surface deposits were
calcite and quartz. The sulphide content of stratabound depleted. In 1930, as technology overcame the difficulty of
mineralisation decreases significantly with depth along the recovering tin from massive pyrrhotite by flotation, inost of the
Federal-Rassett Fault (eg Lower Federal and Rcndeep areas). smaller leases amalgamated to form Renison Associated Tin
Fault ore contains less pyrrhotite than the stratabound Mines. Consequently, small-scale open cut and underground
mineralisation and has significant quartz plus base metal mining resumed, but production remained low (SO - 100 tonncs
sulphides, arsenopyrite, bismuth, fluorite and tourmaline.
Sn per annum; Blissett, 1962). Exploration in the late-1950s
Stratafault ore zones develop in areas of complex faulting where
defined ;I potentially major orebody and in 1960 the Mt Lyell
two or more subparallel faults allow intermediate mine sequence
Mining and Railway Company acquired control of Renison
material, both dolomitic and non-dolomitic to be mineralised.
Economic fracture mineralisation consists of quartz-pyrrhotite Associated Tin Mints. Mining of the Federal orebody
veins and disseminated pyrrhotite replacement of brecciated commenced in 1960 closely followed hy the discovery of
siliciclastic units. This ore type typically has elevated additional reserves of ‘sill ore’ (Morland, 1986).
arsenopyrite, bismuth and tourmaline. Commissioning of a new concentrator in 1967 hailed tlic
beginnings of large-scale underground mining operations ;it
MINING HISTORY AND TECHNIQUES Renison. In I976 Consolidated Gold Fields Australia Lttl (to
become RGC Pty Lttl in 1981) obtained direct control of Renison
In 1890. Ringrose Nicholson discovered alluvial and gossanous Ltd. In I990 Rcnison commenced tlic Rendeep Project. in the
cassiterite deposits at Renison, then known as the North Dundas northern section of h e operating mine adjacent to the Federal-
Mineral Field (Montgomery, 1893). At that time George Bassett Fault, resulting in the discovery of the ‘Rendecp’
Renison Bell held prospecting claims for silver and lead along orebodies (Figure 2). This discovery necessitated the
the Argent River west of Renison (Morland, 1990). The construction of a 575 n i hoisting shaft and conveyor system
discovery of cassiterite-sulphide ore occurred in 1900 during commissioned in June 1996 allowing over 700 000 t per annum
construction of the Emu Bay Railway, but processing of the tin- to be mined. At this rate of mining Renison has a life of 8.5
bearing gossan and oxidised sulphide ore only began in 1905. years based on reserves of 5.06 Mt C J ~1.88 per cent Sn and the
The total Sn production prior to this was estimated at 2N) tonnes. expected conversion of 1 Mt of resources to reserves (Mroczek.
Several small companies were formed to treat oxidised sulphide 1997).
in the first mill, erected in 1907. By 1914 the dominant
South
--F=T
Rendeep ORbod ++
++
++
++
++
++
\
FIG2 - Longitudinal projection of the Renison Tin Mlne. western Tasmania illustrating the locat~onof the new Kcndeep orebodies
32 -
Launceston, 10 14 November 1997 Mining Geology Conference
KENISON - NEW ADVANCES
At Renison, mine access from surface is via approximately 80' and produced the open northwest trending Kcnison Bell
kms of interlinked haulage declines and underground roadways Anticline ;IS part of the ZeehnnlGormanston Trend (Figure 4b).
developed in the footwall of the Federal-Bassctt structure to a Many of the structural complexities at Renison resulted from
depth 780 m below the surface. Stoping methods are primarily Mid Devonian DT deformation due to the forceful eniplaccmcnt
in-ore silling and bench techniques plus minor flatback cut and of tlic asymmetrical northwest-trending Pine Hill Granite, at the
fill. Access to and within ore i s by 6 m high and 5 m wide drives
intersection of tlie Renison Hell Anticlinal high with the
and sills. Bench stopes are designed to a height of 12 to 15 m,
Serpentine Hill Ultramafic Complex (Figure 4c). Initial normal-
whilc llatbacking faces are 3 to 4.5 m high. Some hand-held
mining i s implemented for thin high-grade resources. Bench dextral brittle deformation at Renison (D3 - i ) fornicd under a
firings typically result in 3000 to 8000 t of liberated rock; flat- near vertical maximum compressive stress, 01, and near
back firings produce 500 to 1500 t; and continuous production horizontal minimum compressive stress, 03. trending 8 4'. In
from hand-held stopes provide approximately 500 t of ore per western Tasmania this stress regime is unique to Rcnison and
week (Mroczck, 1997). initiated the Federal-Bassett Fault along a developing eastern
monoclinal margin of the northwest trending Renison Bell
REGIONAL GEOLOGY Anticline on the eastern margin of the granite. Displacement of
up to 700 m occurred on this fault during normal-dextral
The Renison Tin Mine is located in the Palaeozoic Dundas movement, and tlie early stages of mineralisation were coeval to
Trough, south-east of the Proterozoic Rocky Cape m this event. In the Rcndeep area deformation of the Mine
the Mine Sequcncc unconformably overlies the polydeformed Sequence was transitional ftom brittle to ductile (McQuitty,
Precambrian basement. The host sediments to mineralisation 1995). Initial movement on tlie Blow Fault Complex and
include the top -80 m of the shallow water terrigenous Late 'Transverse Faults' also occurred during this event. The
Precambrian Success Creek Group and the base (-60 m) of the 'Transverse Faults' interconnect the Federal-Bassett and Blow
conformably overlying Early Cambrian Crimson Creek faults. These second order listric fault structures propagated
Formation (Figure 1). The Crimson Creek Formation is a
from convex-west flexures in the footwall of the Federal-Basset1
shallow water succession of turbiditic and volcaniclastic
sedimentary rocks, interbedded with tholeiitic lavas (Kitto, Fault and dissected the mine horst, resulting in approximately IS
1990). The mine sequencc is interpreted by Morrison (1982) as per cent north-south extension. The axial regions of the flexures,
two regressive and a partial transgressive cycle of subtidal- which plunge -70" S, became major uptlow zones for tin-bearing
intertidal-supratidal and fluvial units. The stromatolitic-oolitic hydrothermal fluids as reactivations on the Fedcral-Hassett Fault
facies, ie the No I , 2 and 3 carbonate horizons are each less than breached the cooling Pine Hill Granite carapace (McQuitty et al,
30 m in thickness and are numbered in reverse stratigraphic order in press).
(Figure 1). Dextral-wrench reactivation (D3 - ii) of 5 - I O m overprintcd
The Serpentine Hill Ultramafic Complex, described by Berry earlier normal-dextral fault structures in response to a near-
and Crawford (1988) as part of an Early Middle Cambrian liorizontal (31 trending 172", and a near-vertical (32. This
allochthonous thrust sheet, occurs 2 km east of the mine area and reactivation produced a steep southerly plunging dilational jog in
passes in an arcuate manner 2.5 km south of the mine at Pine Hill the Federal region of the Federal-Bassett Fault as a consequence
(Figure 3). In the far southeast corner of the mine lease, the of differential displacement on the 'Transverse Faults' and the
Middle to Upper Cambrian Dundas Group outcrops adjacent to formation of a weak dextral kink fold across the mine horst
the ultramafic complex. The Dundas Group conglomeratic (Figure 4d). A similar dilational jog developed in the Rendeep
llysch sequences conformably overly the Crimson Creek region at this time. The stress field associated with the dextral
Formation and at least part of the ultramafic complex (Elliston, wrench may also have played ;I significant role in the formation
1954; Ranks, 1962; Blissett, 1962). Boundaries between these of the largest carbonate replnccment styles of mineralisation at
units are typically faulted (Brown, 19x6 and 1989). The Renison, which occur in dil;itional sites adjacent to sigmoidal
Devonian Pine Iiill Granite is exposed at Pine Hill, in the convex flexures on thc 'Transverse Faults'. The Melba Fracture
southcast region of the mine lease (Figure 3). This highly Orehody formed in a dilational zone in the competent Renison
fractionated tin granite forms a north-west plunging ridgc l3cII Memhcr, between 'Shear L' and 'Shear P', as a consequence
beneath the mine area, and most likely sourced the hydrothermal of normal-dextral faulting ;ind dextral wrench reactivation.
tluids responsible for carbonate replacement mineralisation ;it Carbonate-magnetite mineralisation associated with the Polaris
Renison (Leaman, 1990; Lea, 1991; Kitto, 1992). Minor Orebody occurs iit the western extremity of 'She;ir P' in a
porphyritic granite dykes radiate northwest from the apex of Pine dilational site created by the intersection of 'Shear L' and this
Hill across the mine lease. Finally, a number of minor Jurassic structure.
(3 dolerite dykes cross-cut the mine lease in a north- Third order, north-south striking, horst and graben structures
northwesterly trend through the underground mine workings at developed in response to synthetic and antithetic faulting above
Renison. basal listric extensional 'Transverse Faults'. The third ordcr
structures resulted in 20 per cent extension of the mine sequence
ORE DEPOSIT GEOLOGY i n the direction of the minimum compressive stress for normal-
dextral fiiulting above an apophysis outlined by the -500 rn
Structure granite contour. The third order faults controlled the extcnt of
carbonate replacement mineralisation in the Updip dolomite
A detailcd geological interpretation of the geology at the Renison horizons distal to the Federal-Bassett Fault.
Tin Mine using cross-section interpretations and computer
modelling has demonstrated a close association between granite Post-Devonian D4 reverse-sinistral displacements o f less than a
emplacement and brittle deformation structures (Kitto, 1994). few metres overprint earlier fnult striations and mineralisation.
Kinematic indicators on the mineralised faults were used to The stress tensors for this went indicate that 0 1 was near
detcrmine associated stress fields during mineralisation. horizontal (088'). ond 03 vertical. The reverse-sinistral event has
Devonian D1, cast-west compression associated with the Wcst not been previously reported. Finally. minor Tertiary normal-
Coast Range/Valentines Peak Trend resulted in broad scale tilting sinistral reactivations (Ds) :ire the last recognised brittle
deformation event at Renison and occurred with a near vertical
of the sediments to the east (Figure 4a; Holyland, 1987). D2
(J 1 , and horizontal (33 trending 158".
northeast-southwest cornpression overprinted these structures
FIG3 - Geological interpretation of the Renison district, compiled from mapping by Kcnisoii Ltd geologists and from dct:ulcd I:2000 cross-sectional
interpretation by the senior author.
DEVONIAN D1 DEVONIAN 0 2
d
A
FIG4 - Schematic diagram suinrnarising the main structural events associated with Devonian deform:ition in the Kenison area
1 assemblage, (ii) a metasomatic replacement assemblage, and (iii) palaeosiirface). to 300'C near the top of the mine workings.
a spatially and temporally varied vein assemblage. Thermal Mineralisation was associated with reduced (CH4-bearing).
metamorphism resulted in the development of spotted cordierite moderately saline (8 :ind 12 eq wt per cent NaCI), inaginatic
hornfels in pelitic units within 100 m of the intrusive contact, (61ROti,ll~~ =9 %o; &34Sn,ll,i= S%), h"aCI-KCI-H20 brines with
grading outward to biotite hornfels for upto XOO m (Patterson el fluid prcssures of 2.50 bars (hydrostatic). C02 vapour was only
(11, 1981). Metasomatic zones overprint the contact metamorphic detected i n CIi4-bearing tluid inclusions (COJCH4 = 0.5) in the
hornfels, and the outer limit of biotite hornfels coincides with the upper sections of the l.kleral-Bassett Fault associated with
change from amphibole to chlorite metasomatism. These zones dolomite dissolution.
are also recognised to be attenuated in the mine area along the Dextral wrench reactivation and dilation of the Federal-Dassctt
Federal-Bassett Fault away from a dilational jog in the fault and Fault was associated with ;I Stage 2 Sulphide vein assemblage
above an apophysis in the Pine Hill Granite. In the mine area, (pyrrhotite - cassiterite - quartz - fluorire - stannite - chalcopyrite
the chloriteftalc zone is best developed in and around the +arsenopyrite plus minor base metuls) which produced
carbonate replacement orebodies. When present in the dolomite
stratabound carbonate replacement orebodies that charactcrise
units of the North-Dassett Fault, the chloritehlc zone grades into
the Renison deposit. Mineral deposition in the Federal-Dassett
the amphibole zone at depth (Rcndeep orcbodies), and gives way
to a carbonate zone (siderite, ankerite and/or calcite) near Fault occurred over ii temperature range from c3.50°C,
surface, distal to the Federal-Bassett Fault. immediately above the Pine Hill Granite, to -20O'C at the top of
the mine workings Irom ;I magmatic hydrothermal tluid similar
in composition to Stage I . The deep-lcvel NaCI-KCI-HzO-rich
Mineralisation
brines however evolved to CaC1~-M~C1~-NaCI-H~O-rich tltiids
during fluid-rock reactions with carbonates in the upper mine
Renison-Dundas district levels. Contoured tin values and homogenisation teniperatures
Intimately associated with the metasomatic replacement fronts, from tluid inclusions clearly outline two high temperature tin-
and more systematic in nature, are several generations of veins rich dilational jogs (Federal and Rentleep) on the Federal-Bassett
spatially related to apophyses in the Pine Hill Granite. ~ a u ~ast do, variations i n 634~n,ineralvalues.
Mineralisation in the Renison-Dundas district exhibits a broad Minor uneconomic Stage 3 Base Metal veins (rhodochrosite-
telescoped zonation pattern centred upon the Pine Hill Granite galena-sphalerite-quartz), associated with minor fault
that passes from a tin-rich centre, to copper mineralisation, and reactivations, overprint the earlier vein stages, as do Stage 4 Vug-
out distally to a silver-lead-zinc halo (Kitto, 1094; Figure 5). A f i l l Carbonate-quartz veins (quartz-carbonate+lluorite+pyrite).
comparison of tin zones with granite contours clearly Stage 3 and 4 veins were associated with reduced (CH4-bearing),
demonstrates an association between proximity to the Pine Hill low temperature (150' to 2(x)"C), bimodal salinity ( c2 and - I O
Granite and apophyses within the roof of the intrusion. Three eq wt per cent NaCI), NaCI-KCI-HzO brines formed via mixing
distinct stages of telescoped vein mineralisation have been of contemporary meteoric groundwators derived from N-bearing
rccognised within the mineral paragenesis of the Rcnison-
sediments with (CI14-bearing) magmatic-hydrothermal fluicls.
Dundas district and similar stages are well developed in
association with the Federal-Dassett Fault at Renison: 634Sn,llciv;ilues (-S%U) remained constant within the Fetlcr;il-
Bassett Fault during Base Metal mineralisation.
(i) Oxide-Silicate Stage (quartz - arsenopyrite - tourmaline f Thermodynamic models for cassiterite-rich pyrrhotite ore
cassiterite + wolframite+pyrrhotite). deposition predict that dolomite dissolution was most cffectivc in
(ii) Main Sulphide Stage (pyrrhotite-pyrite-quartz-cassiterite precipitating >90 per cent of the Sn in solution and that processes
arsenopyrite+chalcopyritertetrahedrite). such ;IS cooling, boiling or mixing with contemporary
(iii) Carbonate-Base Metal Stage (siderite-sphalerite-galena- groundwater were ineffective mechanisms for cassiterite
pyrite). deposition (Kitto e/ nl. 1997).
A detailed paragenetic sequence has been determined for each
~
assemblage, together with a history of related deformation and EXPLORATION POTENTIAL
reactivation. In the Renison-Dundas district the early Exploration within the mine area is ongoing with signitic;int
hydrothermal Oxide-Silicate Stage occurs within the skarn and'
programs ciirrently underway in [he Rendeep area and future
amphibole zones and overlaps with the biotite metasomatic
programs envisaged for the Deep Fetlcral region (Figure 2). In
assemblages. The Main Sulphide Stage is the dominant
carbonate replacement stage in the 'distal skarn' assemblage at the Rendeep area adjacent to the North Bassett Fault the Mine
Renison (Kwak, 1987). but can be recognised in the vein Sequence has been dragged into and rotated subparallel to the
paragenesis throughout the mines and prospects of the Renison- strike and dip of the fault (McQuitty et al. in press; Figure 6). A
Dundas district. l h i s Sulphide Stage overprints the earlier series of subvertical faults splay off the North Bassett Fault and
Oxide-Silicate vein assemblages and is associated with the truncate the Mine Sequence iaa a series of downfaulted blocks
metasomatic biotite and talclchlorite zones. The final vein stage which have been selectively mineraliscd adjacent to a major
is a Carbonate-Base Metal Stage, characterised by siderite and dilational jog. Stratabound mineralisation occurs on both the
base metals, and a Late Vug-till Carbonate assemblage. This hangingwall and footwall of the North Bassett,Fault, a structure
stage, unlike the first two vein stages are uneconomic at Renison which hosts Fault-style mineralisation. Rendeep ore has higher
but have been mined in the Renison-Dundas district for Ag-Pb- grade and coarser cassiterite,. relative to the Upper Mine. which
Zn . makes metallurgical processing more amenable (McQuitty ct uf,
in press). Current drilling programs are testing projected
Renison ore genesis extensions of the mineriIlised carbonate horizons to the north
using 21 combination of geological, geochemical (fluid inclusion
At Renison deposition of a high temperature Stage 1 Oxide-
Silicate vein assemblage (qz-asp-cass-tour) was associated with and isotope studies) and gcophysical techniques (gravity and
initial faulting (Kitto, 1994). Fluid inclusion homogenisation magnetics). Future exploration programs in the Rendeep area
temperatures for this stage range from >400°C at the base of the have been proposed to test the southern extensions of
Federal-Bassett Fault (3000 m beneath the Devonian mineralisation adjacent to the Pine Hill Granite.
VJ
. . . . . . ..
. . .. .. .. .. .. .. Sn Zone
.. I ]
cu Zone ElAg-Pb-Zn Zone
FIG5 - Telescoped metal zonation in the Rcnison-Dundas district. centred around the uiiderlying Devonian Pine Hill Granite.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS REFERENCES
The authors would like to acknowledge the permission of Ra.iwah, Z U, White. A J R. Kwak. T A P and Price. R C, 1995. The
Renison Limited to publish this paper. The current level of Kcnison Granite, northwestern Tuinania: a petrological,
geological understanding of the deposit is in no small way geochemical and fluid inclusion study of hydrotherlnd alteration.
because of the dedication and contributions of a large number of Econ Geol. YO: 1663-1675.
Renison geologists both past and present. Their assistance is Banks. M R . 1962. The Cambrim System, in The Geology of 7irsmrmici
greatly appreciated. A large number of people at CODES (Eds: A H Spry ;ind M R Banks) J Geol SocAus/, 9(2): 127-145.
Special Research Centre, University of Tasmania contributed to Berry. R I: :ind Crawford, A J.1988. The tectonic significance of the
doctoral studies by the senior author on the Renison deposit. Drs Catnbri:in allochthonous ~ii:ilic-ultainafic cornplexes i n Tasmania.
David Cooke, Ron Berry and Professor Ross Large deserve A w f J C i r f h S c i . 35:161-171
special mention. Debbie Harding is thanked for her initial Blissett. A H. 1962 Zeehm. T i s Dcpt Mines Geol Surv Explan Rept.
drafiing of figures. One iiiile senes KISS-5-50.
I
0 1650 Hangingwall
I
h-
/ I
I
I
I
I
I
I 7 - I
N
I 38 -
Launceston, 10 14 November 1997 Mining Geology Conference
RENISON - NEW ADVANCES
Brooks, C. 1966. The Rb/Sr ages of some Tasmanian igneous rocks, J Lea. J K , 1991. Kenison mine lease exploration: Models, concepts,
Geol Soc. Ausf. 13:457-469. interpretations and future directions. Kenison Limited unpubl.
Brown. A V. 1986. Geology of the Dundas-MI Lindsay-Mt Rainsay area, report.
Bull Gml Sirrv firsin. 62: 22 I pp. Leainan, D E, 1990. Renison inine lease gravity survey. Renison
Brown, A V, 1989. Eo-Cambrian - Cambrian: In Ceolrixy trnd M i n e r d Limited unpubl report. Leaman Geophysics, 21 Ipp.
Resources of Ttr.rmtriiio. (Exls: C F Burrett and E L Martin) Special Leainan, I) E, 1994. Renison inine lease gravity survcy augment -
Publication IS. Geol SOCAust, pp 47-83. revised granite interpretation. Renison Limited uiipubl report.
Corbett, K D and Lees, T C , 1987. Stratigraphic and structural Learnan Geophysics.
relationships and evidence for Cambrian deformation at the western McQuirty. B M. 1095. Structural controls on ininer;ilis:ition in the
margin of the Mount Kead Volcanics, Tasmania, Ausf .I E(irf/i S c i . Rendecp area. Renison Tin Mine, Tasmania. Masters of Economic
34:45-68. Geology (Unpubl), University of Tasmania, 183pp.
Elliston, J N, 1954. Geology of the Dundas District. Tasmania, A l p Proc McQuitty. B M, Roberts. R H, (:;innard, C and Kitto, P A, (in press).
Roy SICfirs. 88: 161-183. Renison Bell Tin deposit, wcqtern Tasmania - recent developments.
Holyland, P. 1987. Structure and hydrodynamics of the Kenison Tin i n Grriloxy o/ fhc Ausfrditrir tmd I+ipu(i New Guinetin M i n e r d
Mine, PhD (unpubl). University of Queensland, 258 pp. D c p ( i . r i ~(The
,~ Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy:
Kitto. P A, 1992. The geological and structural controls on mineralisation Melboume).
at the Renison Tin Mine. Bull Geol Surv Ttis, 70:97-1 17. Montgomery. A. 1893. Report on the progress of the iniiicral fields of
Kitto. P A. 1994. Structural and geochemical controls on mineralisation the County of Montagu. Rep Sec Min; Tas Par1 Pap, v.50.
at Renison. Tasmania. Unpubl PhD thesis, University of Tasmania. Morland. K, 1986. Renison Bell Tin Mine technical review. Unpubl
4R4pp. report Renison Limited.
Kitto. P A and Berry. R F. 1991. A history of brittle deformation and Morland. R, 1990. Renison Bell Tin Deposit, in Geology o/ rhe Minerd
related mineralisation at the Renison Tin Mine. Western Tasmania. in DqmsiIv of’Aii.c/rcllici crnd Ptrpufi New Guineci, (Ed: F E Hughes) pp
SGEG Orc Fluids Corference in Ginberrci, Bur Miner Res Geol 1249- 125 I (The Australasi;iii Institute of Mining and Metallurgy:
Geophys Aust. 47-48. Me1bourne).
Kitto, P A and K F. Berry, 1992. Structural controls on mineralisation at Morrison, G W. 1982. Stratigraphy and sedimentology of the Renison
the Renison Tin Mine, western Tumania, Geol Soc Airsr Absmtcrs, inine sequence. Renison Tin Mine. Mine repon (unpubl)
32: 70-7 I . Mroczek, C R, 1997 Renison Liinitcd 1997 ore reserves. Uiipubl report,
Kitto. P A, Cooke. D R and Large, R R, 1997. Mechanisms for Kenisoii Limited.
cassiterite deposition at Renison, western Tmnania, Soc Econ Geol, Patterson, D J. Ohmoto, H H, and Solomon. M, 198 I . Geological setting
Denver. Colorado. and genesis o f cassiterite-sulfide inineralisation at Rcnison Bell.
Kwak, T A P, 1987. W-Sn s k n m deposits find rcl~rfednref(rmorp/iic western Tasmania. Econ Geol. 76393-438.
sktrrns wid ,qrrmiroids. Developments in Economic Geology, Vol 24,
4 s I pp.
Slratigraphic Unll Member Thickness The dominant discontinuities ;IS clcarly illustrated i n Figure 2
30 are B I , D ~ and
N D7s which give rise to an extremely blocky rock
I70 mass. Aside lroin the annealing effect of occasional quartz
c;irhonate veinlets, none of the discontinuities exhibit a high
40
20
degree of cohesion. Many discontinuity surfaces, particularly in
120 the Upper Transition Beds iii-e smooth and slickensides and
20 striations arc relatively common.
10
90
50
GEOMECHANICS
NUH. OF POLES
, 1 pole
2 poles
’ 3 poles
‘La 4 poles
5 poles
* 6 poles
C. 7 poles
EQUhL hREh
LWR. H E M I S P H E R E
3 45 POLES
345 ENTRIES
w
C o n t o u r e d P o l e Plot 375nL P u m p Station
FIG2 - The influence of B I . Dpi and D7s illustrated in contoured stereographic projection
of diamond drill core. To-date however, the Reef has not been integrity. The crileria for selecting sample intervals along the
accessed with development and no formal investigations of this length of the drill core was to establish three 1 m true thickness
potential have been carried out. increments on both the hangingwall and footwall of the reef.
Recovery and RQD were measured on all intervals where the
Qualitative assessments of the rock mass available core was intact prior to met;illurgical sampling. l’liis
was the case for I I intersections. Table 2 shows average
Routine measurement of gcomechanical data from diamond drill
recovery, RQD and KMR for both thc liangingwall and footwall.
core has heen established with the recent underground diamond
drilling program as a tool for predicting ground conditions ahead
of mining in a general sense. The specific use of diamond drill
core for geotechnical assessment of the rock mass has been
restricted to assessing the nature of the hangingwall and footwall
of the Tasmania Reef for the purpose of determining likely waste
dilution in stoping. It has also been used at several locations lo
assess ground conditions for raisebored shafts. The application
of recognised rock mass classification tools to analyse the data
gathered is reviewed in the following discussion.
In the majority of c;iscs. the rock mass was rated as Class I l l The technique has yet t o he proven with the completion of a
(fair) under the RMR system (40< RMR <60) which provided an shatt hut cxual observation of' the many historical mine shafts at
expectation that the material would Ixive an unsupported stand- Beaconstield that though unsupported, have remained open for
up time o f up to one week for a 5 m span. In better ground a nearly IOU years has suggcstcd that the method inipht be too
stand-up time of up to six months for an 8 m span would be conscrvativc for the blocky rock mass. The primary short-
expected for Class II (good) (60 < RMT ~ 8 0 )although
. as values coming appears to be the reliance of the technique on RQD
were at the lower end of the class, a more cautious estimate of
measurcments which don't truly reflect the ability of the ground
one month was suggested. The results were quite encouraging
from a design point of view and suggested that mass failure of to stand up.
either the hangingwall or the footwall was unlikely provided
adequate and timely reinforcement was installed. Dilution limits Subjective assessments of the rock mass
were established at 0.5 m in the hangingwall and 0.25 m in the
footwall (Rosengren, 1996). Subjective assessments avoid tlie use of established chssification
systems ;ind their associated equations and 'fiddle factors' and
rely on simple observation. They are not an attempt to
Geornechunical ussessnient for raisebored ventilution downgrade the value of the classification systems. They do
shafts however, recognise the limitations of those systems which after
Several diamond drill holes were drilled for the specilic purpose all were horn of observations in different geological and
geornechiinical environments, often for very different purposes.
of assessing ground conditions for raisebored shafts. The ,.
I wo examples ;ire discussed where observation has been the key
modified Q-System of McCracken and Stacey ( I 989) was used
to assess ground conditions for the proposed surface fresh air and t o making feotechnical judgements.
exhaust raises. The technique applied nn adjustment to the
Tunnelling Quality Index. Q, as established by Barton, Lien and Ohservutions on the mechanical nuture of the country rock
Lunde (1974) which was determined from diamond drill core as
As already observed, the l'asmania Reef is situated in a
the original authors had intended. Brietly:
transverse shear paralleling the direction of Devonian
compression. The shear itself has a dextral offset of 40 m and
RQD .Jr .Iw
Q=- x-x- extends well beyond the boundaries marked by the extent of the
- Jn Ju SRF Transition Reds. Its suitahility as a focus for economic
mineralisation is directly related to the relative ductility of the
where, Jr =joint roughness, host strata, with dilation in the direction of 03, perpendicular to
Jn = joint number, tlie shear axis, bcing greater i n less ductile rock. In the course of
Ja = joint alteration. resource modellin? and estimirtion it has been recognised that the
Jw =joint water, and Tasmania Reef could be charxtcrised into domains on the basis
SRF = stress reduction factor of relative ductility of the host rock. The Reef was found to be
thicker in the less ductile domains, averaging 3.5 - 4.0m whereas
as defined by Barton, Lien and Lunde (1974). McCracken and
the thickness 0 1 the Reef in the ductile domains averaged less
Stacey (1990) apply adjustments to Q which attempt to recognise
that: than 1.5 m. The recognition of the domains provided a useful
tool for constraining the influence of thicker and thinner resource
the shaft wall as opposed to the excavation back controls
intercepts when modelling the volume of the deposit. The five
linal stability.
domains recognised were:
the orientation of the shaft with respect to structural features,
the Western Domain broadly equivalent to the Sandstone,
and
Grit and Pebble Conglomerate Member of the Lower
the weatherability of the rock. Transition Beds;
Determinations were made for both the advancing face of the the Wet Reds Domain covering the Wet Beds Member of the
raisebored shaft and the ultimate wall to determine the maximum Lower Transition Beds;
stable diameter for a shaft in a given set of ground conditions.
Figure 3 is a histogram showing the maximum diameter for a the Central Domain combining the Sandstone and Pebble
raisebored shaft at Beaconsfield a s determined by the Beds Member of the Lower Transition Beds and the
McCracken and Stacey method plotted against depth below Siltstone, Sandstone and Stylolitic Limestone Member of the
collar. It indicates that a shaft with a maximum diameter of 3.5 Upper Transition Beds;
m as planned would be stable over much of its length but would the Calcareous Domain covering the Calcareous Siltstone
be severely compromised near the collar. Member of the Upper Transition Beds; and
Spanwallvs Depth
25.0 -
20.0 L c
FIG3 - Histogram of shaft diameter (Span,,ri) vs depth for a ruebored shaft at Beaconsfield
1 1 l T r u a :
. -3
. .
.
8
. .
1 .
I
!
I .
.. , . . . .... .... .... ..... .......... . . ...--
. .
.. .:
. .
: . .
.. ..
FIG4 - Longitudinal projection of the Txvnania Reef looking northwcst indicating the boundaries of geomcchanical dornaiiis and Reef intercept wldths
Scale approximately I .SO00
the Eastern Domain covering the Siltstone and Limestone A subjective look ut ruisebored shyfis
Member of the Upper Transition Beds.
As stated previously, a limitation in the ;tbility of the rnodilied Q-
T h e Western. Central and Eastern Domains were recognised as
being relatively less ductile than Wet Beds and Calcareous System of McCracken and Stacey (1990) to assess the suitability
Domains, Their location with respect to ,he Tasmania Reef is of the rock inass for large diameter raisebored shafts was born of
illustrated in Figure 4. casual observation of the many historical shafts still open around
Beaconsfield. To this end. two shafts were investigated in detail A discontinuity wedge analysis of the Phoenix Shaft was
and geotechnical assessments made in an attempt to ascertain undertaken and is shown graphically in Figure 6.
what might be possible. The Bonanza Shaft measuring 3.6 m x Of particular concern are large wedges formed on the WSW
1.2 m was found to be open for 45 m and to continue below a ;ind ENE walls (wedges 3 and 6). In both cases, the wedges are
blockage of collapsed shaft timbers to a depth of 165 m. The controlled by the orientation 01' the shaft with respect to bedding,
larger Phoenix shaft was found to be open to a depth of 28 m. i n the former case sliding on the two intersecting joints beneath a
The geomechanics of this excavation arc described i n further controlling bedding surface iind in the latter sliding on the
detail. bedding surface itself. This is precisely what has occurred in
The size o f the original rectangular Phoenix Shaft was reall ty.
estimated at 5.0 m NNW-SSE x 3.0 m ENE-WSW. Considerable Discontinuity tlata from the Phocnix shaft was analysed to
collapse has occurred on the ENE and WSW sides of the shaft, ascertain the potential wedge geometry for a 4.5 m diameter
principally as a result of wedge failure controlled by the bedding raisehored shaft. This situation is illustrated in Figure 7. The
which has a mean dip and dip direction of 45/044. I n fact the wedges lormed were well within the size range capable of being
orientation of the long axis of the shaft could not be much worse supported using conventional techniques. Rings ot 6 x 2.4 m
from a purely geomechanical viewpoint. The exposed section of rockbolts on ii 1.5 m pattern would be more than adequate.
the shaft is entirely within siltstones and sandstones of the lower Alternatively, 50 mm of fibre reinlorced shotcrete would suffice
member of the Upper Transition Beds. Structural mapping of the and would he far easier to apply.
shaft is reproduced in stereographic projection in Figure 5 .
The principal discontinuities are Quantitative assessments of the rock mass
Bedding BI 45/044 Gathering ofqu;intitative data on the nature of the rock mass has
Joint Set I JI 64127 0 bccn restricted to ;I program of uniaxial compressive strength and
inotlulus tests on diamond drill core. The results of tests
Joint Set 2 J2 80/1 5 1
undertaken by Barrett, Fuller and Partners ( I 997) are
These discontinuities are essentially the same as those listed in summarised in Table 3. Saniples were collected from the five
Table I . Few readings were possible in the Phoenix Shaft and it waste rock domains estahlishcd to explain consistent variations
is possible that other intermittent joints could be distinguished in the thickness of the Tasmania Reef a s discussed in the
from the noise with a larger data set. The lack of readings also previous section. The ratio Young's Modulus (E) to uniaxial
made the measurement of discontinuity spacing ditlicult, and compressive strength (UCS) bears out the assumption of relative
further analysis was undertaken assuming conservative ductility previously ascribed to the domains for resource
measurements from across the field. Those were, B I , 0.3 m, J I , estimation purposes. Samples were also tested from the
0.2 m and J29 1.2 m. Tasmania Reef categorised iis quartz rich. carbonate rich and
IR FISHER
~ONCENTmrTX
POLE
ONS
A of t o t a l pep
1.8 X ace1
< 7.5 X
< re v.
< 18.5 x
< 1s X
< 11.5 X
EQUAL AREA
LUR. HEMISPHERE
37 POLES
37 ENTRIES
NO BIAS
CORRECI I ON
I s
I Phoenix S h a f t
NO
WEDGE
FORMED
NO
WEDGE
FORMED
o aborl;>
FIG6 - Analysls of feasible wedges for each wall of the Phoenix Shaft. W~llsarc I , SSE. 3. WSW. 4. NNW mid 6. ENE.
r /-
.,,,'
---.
1'
- 4
'
c--
-.-
.- -I!
-.
FIG 7 - Wedge analysis of the Phoenix Shaft data set on a 4.5 in diaineter raisebored shaft
'TAHLE 3
Suininary of'uriiuxial compressive strength ( UCS) und Modulus resting of drill core.
quartz carbonate reef. The results predictably demonstrated that feasible wedge. Rockbolts are still required and are installed
the quartz rich reef was the least ductile material followed by between the cable bolts to reinforce the surface of the opening.
quartz carbonate and carbonate rich reef. These results formed
the basis for comminution testwork carried out as a prelude to Splitset anchors
mill design.
Splitset anchors have been used at Reaconsficld to provide
temporary reinforcement ahead of rockbolts and cable bolts in
General ground support and reinforcement permanent development, particularly where poor ground
The ground support and reinforcement of underground conditions have been encountered. They have also been used to
development needs to be flexible to deal with local conditions. provide reinforcement in temporary or short-term development
However, the choice of ground support elements available to the such as diamond drill cuddies and it is also intended that they be
mining crew and the establishment of standard ground support used as the primary reinforcement element in cut and till stopcs.
patterns utilising those elements is a geomcchanical exercise in A nominal I m x I m pattern has been selected for the use of
optimisation of resources aimed at ensuring that safe working splitset anchors from Q-System analysis of the rock inass. The
conditions iire established and can be practically maintained. limitation on splitset-anchors I i x been set at 12 months because
The following sections discuss the current standards in place at of their susceptibility to corrosion despite the use of galvanised
Beaconsfield. units exclusively.
Session Chairperson
David Evans
Renfson Limited
Geology of the Esperanza Copper Deposit
S M Richardson' and A D Moy *
INTRODUCTION
The Esperanza deposit is located 120 km N of Mount Isa,
Queensland at approximately Lit 19"20'S, long I39'22'E on the
Camooweal (SE 54-13) 1:250 000 scale map sheet. I t is one of
*
several structurally controlled copper cobalt deposils developed
d o n g the Mount Gordon Fault zone and related faults. within the
Western Fold Belt of the Mount Isa Inlier (Figure I ) . Together
with the nearby Mammoth orebodies i t forms the basis of the
Gunpowder operation of Aberfoyle Limited.
Until recently ore was mined from the Mammoth orebodies by
open stoping with decline haulage to surfnce leach pads.
Leaching of ill situ broken ore (in place) and surface heaps,
followed by solvent extraction and electro-winning (SX-EW),
produced copper metal on-site. In March 1997, mining was
suspended ;it Mammoth and the focus of the Gunpowder
operation switched to development of the Esperanza orebody,
which is expected to begin open cut production i n mid 1998.
SX-EW methods will produce 44 000 tpa of copper from an
expanded plant.
The pre-mining mineral resource at Esperanza (measured,
indicated and inferred) is estimated at 4.6 Mt averaging 7.7 per
cent copper.
EXPLORATION HISTORY
Copper mineralisation was discovered near Gunpowder Creek in
1923 by the Shah brothers, two Afghan cameleers. They worked
a small open cut on the Mammoth No I orebody irom 1927.
Between 1948 and 1969 Mammoth was worked as a small
underground operation by Italo Foschi, who sank two shafts with
three sublevcls.
In 1969 Surveys and Mining Pty Ltd took control and FIGI - Loc:uion of the Espc~iimadeposit. Tectonic units after
embarked on large-scale development. including an open cut, Blakc er d ( 1 9 9 0 ) .
330 m exploration decline and copper flotation plant. A joint
venture between Consolidated Goldfields Limited and Mitsubishi
took control in 1971 and further developed the operation to carry exploration drilling, a total of 128 holes for 24 000 m were
out sublevel overhead bench mining, with decline access. completed. In early-1997, ;I footwall drive and cross-cut were
Operation was intermittent over the next ten years until mining tlcveloped from the old exploration decline, 12 m into ore, to
was terminated in 1982. obtain a 300 t bulk sample for an on-site pilot leach plant.
Exploration drilling in 1969 beneath gossanous outcrops, one Following feasibility studies ii decision to proceed with open cut
kilometre west of Mammoth mine, led to discovery of the mining of the deposit was made in July 1997. Pre-stripping is
Esperanza deposit. A decline to investigate the mineralisation currently i n progress with ore production expected to begin in
was commenced in 1972, after completion of approximately 25 mid-1998. Mining was suspended at Mammoth in March 1997
drill holes but was abandoned in 1974 after several months after resource drilling at Esperanza indicated sufficient reserves
battling poor ground conditions and high water inllows. to establish an open cut oper;rtion. Mining is planned to resume
The Adelaide Brighton Limited Group, took control in 1989. at Mammoth when Esperanza reserves are exhausted.
Production at Mammoth mine resumed from in place and heap
leaching using SX-EW methods. In 1996 Aberfoyle Limited REGIONAL GEOLOGY
acquired the Gunpowder operation from Adelaide Brighton. The Esperanza orebody occurs within the Western Fold Belt of
From August 1996 to April 1997 resource drilling was carried the Mount Isa Inlier (Figure I). It is associated with faults
out at Esperanza to infill the known deposit, within 150 m of related to the Mount Gordon Fault zone, which varies between a
surface, to a nominal 25 x 25 m pattern. Together with earlier single fault and a broad. braided fault array. In general, the
Mount Gordon Fault zone separates gently folded McNamara
Group of the Lawn Hill Platform in the west, from older, tightly
I. Senior Geologist. Aberfoyle Limitcd. Exploration IXvision, PO Box folded, Haslingden Group of the Leichhardt River Fault Trough
952. Burnie Tas 7320. (LRFT) i n the east.
2. Mine Geologist. Aberfoyle Limited, Gunpowder Division. PO Box Mineralisation at Esperanza is hosted by Proterozoic units of
2543. Mount Isa Qld 4829. the McNamara Group.
Deformation is related to four phases (DI . D4) o f the 1620 - r e ~interpreted to relate to rlevelopment of thc Mount
~ t r ~ c t u :ire
1550 Myr Isan Orogeny (Blake et d,1990). I n the mine area, DI Gordon Arch; a N-S palxogeogr:iphic element within the LRFT.
is reflected in an E-W lineation. Regional and niesoscopic, Various scquenccs are c1iaracteristic;illy thinner on top o f the
upright, N-S trending folds and greenschist Iacies Mount Gordon Arch than to the east o r west. Major thickness
metamorphism. relate to deformation during D2. Major faulting changes of some post Myally Subgroup units. across the MF ;ind
occurred during Ds, although overprinting relationships suggest MEF, indicate that these structures have formed by reactivation
many faults were active during the later stages of N-S folding of syndepositional fiiults.
during D2. D4 is expressed iis a number of mutually overprinting
fracture cleavages. Primary copper mineralisation is associated Askew ( 1902) proposed the MOUIM Gordon Fault zone 21s the
with faulting during D? (van Dijk. 1991). main structure within a D; NNE-SSW dextral strike slip system
in which the MF and MEF form a trailing extensional imbricate
Regional faults associated with the Mount Gordon Fault zone
fan splaying off tlie EF.
trend dominantly NNE-SSW, eg the Esperanza fault (EF). These
are associated with ENE-WSW trending cross faults, such ;IS the Flat ridge tops i n the Gunpowder ;irc:i are the remnants o f a
Mammoth and Mammoth Extended faults (MF and MEF). The Mesozoic land surface. This surfxc has been lateritised;
EF, MF and MEF all intersect near the southern termination of presumably during tlie Tertiary.
the Esperanza orebody (Figure 2). Recent structural studies
indic:ite the cross fiiults formed, or were reactivated, ;is a LOCAL GEOLOGY
consequence of movement on the regional faults and that all were
active at essentially the same time (DJ) (Askew, 1002; Connors, Stratigraphy
1992).
The oltlest stratigraphic units in the Esperanza area are the Lcna
Various models have been proposed for the observed fault Quartzite and intervals of metabasalt, part of the Eastern Creek
geometry. A north to south directed thrust duplex system ( D I ) Volcanics which outcrop on the western side of the EF (Figure
was proposed by Bell (1983) in which the EF was thought to be a 2).
roof thrust, folded into its current orientation during D2. The M F East of the EF, str;itigr:iphically ;it least two kilometres higher,
and MEF were interpreted as subordinate duplex structures. is the Paradise Creek Formation. This comprises grey to creim,
Thickness changes of some units in the LRFT, across E-W laminated, dolomitic siltstone around I SO in thick which
structures, led Derrick (1982) to propose that these structures outcrops GISI and south of tlie orebody. Dips are consistently
represent reactivated growth faults. The original syndepositional west at ahout 50 - 60".
Conformably overlying tlie Paradise Creek Formation is a The Espcranza chert is part of a relatively continuous,
sequence of well bedded to locally massive. black carbonaceous, contormablc unit with a strike length of at least 15 km.
to locally grey or grey green weakly dolomitic, siltstone and However, i t I i x ;i close associ;ition with the MEF and EF and is
shale. Interpreted to be around 200 m thick and corre1;ited with mapped ;is breccixtcd along its entire length. I n xldition, iit
the Esperanza Formation, this unit is liost to the Esperanza Ilsperanza the chert is not continuous at depth but generally
orebody. Carbonaceous rocks are dominant. especially in the terminates iihruptly. usually with a flat contact, on top of the
vicinity of mineralisation. orebody, at around 5200 RL (Figure 4). Exceptions to this arc
Included within the Esperanza Formation are bands. upwards north of 3575 N. where supergene ore is hosted by chert and
of ;I few metres thick, of laminated chert and bodies of chert xound 342.5 N where chert extends down the eastern side of the
breccia. The largest chert body (Esperanza chert) immediately orebody to S I25 RL.
overlies ore and locally hosts ore grade supergene mineralisation. As clicrt is ncvcr seen below [lie orebody supergene zone, it is
At surhice north of the MF, this unit of light grey to pink teriipting to reliitc siliciticatioii resulting in the Esperanza chert,
laminated chert and chert breccia is ai least 100 i n thick and to Icacliing iind silicification of a variably mincriilised fault
apparently conformably overlies the siltstone - shale sequence.
breccia. ;IS part of the secondary enrichment process. However,
The chert abuts tlie MEF along its entire length but south of 3475 this would rcquirc an unusually thick, laterally well confined
N (Esperiinza mine grid) the chert is bounded by the MEF, the zone of silicification extending 100 in down from the Mesozoic
top of the orebody and possibly the MF (Figure 3). land surface t o tlie top of the orebody. As the base of the chert
extends down into the orebody supergene zone in the north, i t is
felt that tlie base ot' tlic Espermza chert may represent some form
of primary cont;ict. This would most likely be a flat f:iult linking
[lie MEF ;ind MF or a preserved segment of an earlier fault.
Ftrrther work is required to resolve this problem.
Leaching of surface outcrop is common and related to
lateritisation. Ferruginisation is common adjacent to faults and
mincralisation, extcnding for ;it least 300 m down permeable
structures. The most intense fcrruginisation occurs along and on
tlie soutlicrn side of the M F where haematite and limonite are
well developed. At surface, ;I broad halo of ferruginisation, north
of the MEF and south of thc MF, is thought to relate to recent
we;ithering and erosion of g~iss~inous outcrops ('Taylor. 1997).
Striicture
'The major faults present in the Esperanza area are:
aQ o Laminated chert;
breccia (Esperan
- - Blackcarbonacec
- siltsbne and sha
F j DolomiCc sittsbi
Siltstone am
U dolomitic silt&
>1% Cu minera
(grade conbun
Massive sulphic
Intense ferrugii
Base of super!
mineralisatic
FIG4 - Cross-section through the Esperanza orebody on line 34.50 N. looking grid north.
I
Esperunza Fault the west dipping EF within the regional dextral strike slip system
associatcd with the Mount Gordon Fault Zone (Askcw.1992).
The Esperanza Fault is a NNE trending regional structure
dipping around 55 - 70" west. Wcst sidc u p apparcnt
displacement of greater than two kilometres is evident. The
MINERALIS ATION
MEF and MF splay off from the Esperanza fault i n the poorly
understood area just south of the orebody. Introduction
Movement along the fault during D3 is interpreted to have ~1~~ E~~~~~~~~ orebody is a s l r u c t u i - a ~ ~ y copper -
been reverse. Haslingden Group rocks form Pop cobalt orebody, hosted by carbonaccouS shales and chert breccia,
structure between the east dipping Mount Gordon Fault Zone and near of ~~~~~~l~ and Mammoth ~ ~ t ~ ~ , d ~ d
faults. The orebody trends NE-SW with a strike of 450 m and is Green chlorite is often assoc~atedwith chalcopyrite veining.
subvertical. I t comprises a primary zone of pyrite (FeS2) - Carbonaceous Irapnents, with an uncertain origin, generally 1 -
chalcopyrite (CuFeS2) - cobaltite (CoAsS) mineralisation in the 3 rnm in diameter, occur within veins and massive sulphides.
form of veins, disseminations and minor massive sulphide.
Primary mineralisation is enveloped above, below and to the NE Cobalt mineralisation
by supergene mineralisation of variable style and considerably The nature of cobalt mineralisation at Espcranza is presently not
enhanced grade. Supergene copper minerals include digenitc well understood. Elevated cobalt values arc only associated with
(CUI.RS).djurleyte (Cui.g6S), covellite (CuS), anilite (Cu1.36S) the primary zone and the transition to supergene mineralisation.
and yarrowite (CUI13s) with minor enargite (CuyAsS4). The supergene zone is depleted in cobalt.
chalcocite (CuzS), spionkopite (Cu1.4S) and gcerite (Cu I 6s). Within the orebody, cobaltite (CoAsS) and siegenitc
In overall setting, Espcranza displays characteristics similar to (ICoNi17S4) have k e n obscrvcd associated with chlorite.
the nearby Mammoth orebodies but differs in being ;I more iron Peripheral to the orebody, zones o f cobalt, typically to 0.2 per
rich system containing abundant massive sulphide. Esperanza cent over several metres, occur associated with pyrite veins in
carbonaceous sh;ile.
also features higher copper grade, higher porosity and primary
mineralisation closer to the surface than at Mammoth.
Supergene mineralisation
Primary mineralisation The upper, northern and les5 well defined lower parts of the
orebody comprise supergenc mineralisation.
Syngenetic or diagenetic pyrite The base of supergene mineralisation, is consistently S E
dipping at around 20" in the north to about 60" in the south
Fine grained framboidal pyrite, locally forming conformable (Figure 4). In long projection (Figure 5 ) this boundary closely
bands of bedded pyrite, occurs throughout the carbonaceous parallels the base o f the chert, until 3600 N where it plunges
shales but is especially well developed within shales associated steeply to the north. This surface can be modelled using ferric-
with and adjacent to copper mineralisation. This style of soluble copper assays, as the frequency distribution of the
mineralisation is most noticeable on the western side of the soluble copper to total copper ratio defines two populations
orebody where supergene enrichment has not obscured primary corresponding to primary and secondary mineralisation.
textures. Bedding to core axis angles show that bedded pyrite in Supergene mineralisation is characterised by having more than
these shales cannot be west dipping as is generally seen at SO per cent of the total copper content available as ferric-soluble
surface but is consistent with a SE dip parallel to the western copper.
orebody boundary.
Bedded pyrite is often disrupted by soft sediment deformation
to the point of forming pyrite clasts in a contorted shale matrix.
At depth and on the eastern side of the orebody, deformed
'ptygmatic' pyrite veins, at low angle to bedding, arc often
associated with bedded pyrite.
The abundance of syngenetic pyrite associated with the
Espermza orebody indicates copper mincralisation may
overprint the remnants of a sediment hosted exhalative pyrite
body.
Orebody
Outline
--.. r c-
\
Primary I Supergene
pyrite is a second phase of pyrite mineralisation. This phase is
inferred from relict colloform pyrite fragments within the -
at 1% Copper
C2u1-oTI
' Mineralisation Boundaw B
Orebody Centreline-
supergene zone. Cot loform textures clearly indicate open space
filling whilst intense brecciation and veining by a later phase
containing relict chalcopyrite is evidence of the overprinting
FIGS - Longitudinal projection of the Esperanza orebody, looking grid
nature of copper mineralisation. W'C'SI.
In the primary zone colloform textures are not seen and a
correlate of this phase is uncertain but is presumably an as yet
unrecognised early generation of pyrite veining. Helow around 5000 RL a second zone of poorly drilled
supergene minerillisation is present where groundwater has
penetrated down the MEF.
Priniu ry copper mine ralisut ion
The character of secondary mineralisation is variable, from
Primary copper mineralisation occurs as a kernel within the massive to vein and disseminated. In general. the upper and
surrounding supergene zone. Mineralisation is hosted by central parts of the orebody, from the southern end to 3600 N,
carbonaceous shale and occurs as: comprise a core of massive sulphide. This grades west, over a
few metres. into semi massive and disseminated mineralisation
I. chalcopyrite - pyrite veinlets and disseminations containing primary chalcopyrite, where bedding within pyritic
overprinting and apparently replacing bedded syngenetic mudstones becomes very prominent. The eastern margin is more
pyrite; variable, sometimes gradational as on the western side but often
showing a very sharp contact. North of 3600 N mineralisation is
2. veins to I - 2 m of chalcopyrite/pyrite * chlorite; and dominantly vein and disseminated in style, hosted by a broad
3. massive sulphides to several metres thick containing up to hiult zone (MEF). A very sharp top to the orebody occurs
60 per cent chalcopyrite. iiround 5200 RI,, presumably reflecting the water table during
secondary enricliincnl.
Conciors, K, 1992. Structural Controls on Mineralisation in the Scott. K M xnd Taylor, C F, 1981- Eastern Creek Volcanics :ts the source
Gunpowder area. Hunter Resources Liniited EPM 831 5 ; of copper a1 the Mainmoth ininc, Northwest Queensland. BMR
Unpublished report by Etheridge and Henly Geoscience Consultanrs. ./ounicil o/ Aus!i.idi(i)i C;colo,yv (rird Geo/diy,yiix, 7:93-98
37 pp. Taylor. G F. 1097. Mapping of gossan ;it the Esperanza deposit. field
Derrick. G, IOX2. A Proterozoic rift zone at Mt Isa. Qld and iinplications ohserv;itions. Unpiiblished report by Graham F Taylor Geosciences,
for inineralisation, BMR J o u r d o/ Aitsrrirlrtrii Giwloxy mid I2 pp.
C;etr/’/lysrc.s. 7:x 1-92, V;LII Dijk. P M. I90 I . Regional syiidcfornmtional copper inineralisation
Scott. K M . 198s. Sulphide geochemistry and wall rock alteration as a in the wcstcrn Mount Isa Block, Australia. Ei:oriomic: C h l o g y .
guide to inineralisalion. niaininoth area. NW Queenslaiid. Australia. X6:27X-301
Jounuil o/ (;coc./remcol EqJlonrriotr. 25:283-308.
INTRODUCTION
The Browns Creek deposit is located 8 km west ot 13layney and
220 kin west of Sydney (Figure I ) . at lat 33"32'S, long 149"IO'E
on thc Hathurst (SI 5 5 - 8 ) 1:250 000 scale map sheet. The total
measured, indicatcd and inferred resource at 30 J u n e 1997 was
1.29 Mt at 6.39 g/t gold and 0.45 per cent copper. During the
I996 - 97 year 263 557 t of ore at 6.30 g/t gold and 0.48 pcr cent
copper was treated, to produce 47 496 oz of gold, and I I69 t of
contained copper in concentrate. As the result of an increase in
the resources and reserves, because of underground exploration
drilling and accelerated mine devclopmcnt, 1997 production at
Browns Creek I S predicted to expand from 240 000 to 390 000
tpa. to yield morc than 70 0 0 oz of gold per year.
60 -
Launceston. 10 14 November 1997 Mining Geology Conference
TlIE GEOLOGY OF THE BROWNS CREEK GOLD-COPPER S K A K N DEPOSIT
A.................
. . A * A,.......,
. . . . . . A * . . * A
A A A A A A A A d
. . . . . . . . * * A *
/ / / / / / /
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \
/ / / / / / /
**............***
A * . . * * ...*....A
A A A A A A A A A A
++++++
A A A A A A A
. . A * . . + . *
**........**
. . * . . A *
* . . . . A *
++++++
+b Antifom Mafic volcaniclastlcs
Mafic VO~CPNCS
Limestone OT marble
FIG 2 - Surface geological map of the Browns Creek iniiic area (after I Coolm. unpubllshetl data. 1996)
(grossuIar-andradite)-wolIastonite-vesuvianite-hedenbcrgite-
- 3. clay breccia zones due io karst collapse in areas of intense
quartz-epidote. Vertically continuous vein skarns of ccniimetres retrograde skarning.
P
4s
L*
v;
m. , . .. .
. . - ..
FIG 3 - Longitudinal projection of the Browns Creek orebody looking FIG4 - Sectional projection (on 24 775 i t 1 N ) of the Hrowiis Creek
west, showing stoped out areas (solid fill) and outline of the resource. orebody looking north, showing the location of skarn rnincralisatioii
Granodiorite
Monzonite
Marble
Wo-Ga dominated
marble skam
Px-dominated
marble skarn
Ga garnet
Px pyroxene
Wo wollastonite
I +I I
FIG5 - Geological map o f the northern part of 577 levrl, showing the fanlt-coiitrolletI forin of thc t<rowns Creek orcbody.
I. Retrograde calcite - quartz - scricite - chlorite - epidote- Orc genesis is currently being rc-evaluated in thc light of the
amphibole -biotite are intcgrown with the disseminated strong structural control ol' the mincralised skarns in the
copper-gold ore association of pyrrhotite-pyrite- underground mine. Kjollc ef t i l ( 1 994) previously concluded that
chalcopyrite - bornite - gold - tcllurides (hessite - altaite). deformation of the skarn and granitoids was minor. relative to
Bornite is the most abundant sulphide and forms [hat in the Ordovician Volcanics, and indicated that the major
disseminations. replacements and vein fillings in all skarn deformation along the Fault zone occurred prior to the intrusion
types. o l the Long Hill diorite. However, underground mapping
2. Sheeted quartz veins containing calcite-quartz-sericte- indicates tliat fault-relatcd deformation was long lived and
chlorite-epidote-prehnite and gold-rich chalcopyritc- controlled skarn lormation and mineralisation along the 4000 E
bornitc-gold ore. fault zone.
I The Long Hill Diorite has been dated as Silurian, at 425 4.5* Carr. G. I)e;in. J A. Suppel, 1) W and Hcil1iers:iy. P S, 199.5. Precise Ie:id
Myr from alteration minerals and 418.9 *
1.4 Myr from the isotope lingerprinting o f hydrotheriiial activity associated with
0rdovici:in to C:irhoniferous inetallogeiiic events in the Lachlan Fold
magmatic rocks (Perkins, Walshe and Morrison, 1995) and hence
Helt of New South Wales. E ~ ~ J ~ I O U I ~ C 90: 1467- 1505.
(;co/ogy,
skarn formation and mineralisation closely approximate thcsc
ages. The lead isotope ratios of the gold-coppcr mineralisation Creelinan. K A. Lipton. I T : i d Stagg, K N. 1090. f3rowns Creek gold
deposit. i n Geology of f / i c Mirrenrl llcpii.vir,y of Ausrrdicr titid I’tilrritr
indicate significant mixing o f crustal and mantle derived lead N c n Grfr~re~r (Ed: I’ E Hughes), pp 1309- 1401 (Thc A u s t r i i l a h i
(Carr et a / , 199s). Possible sources of lead were thought to be Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).
the Ordovician Blayney Volcanics and the Silurian intrusive Glen. R A, 1992. Thrust. extensional mid strike slip tecronics i n ;in
Carcoar Granodiorite and Long Hill Diorite, whereby intrusive- evolving Palaeozoie orogen - a stnicriiral synthesis of the L:iclilan
related hydrothermal solutions leached copper, gold and some orogen of southextern Australia, 7tc.r~i,if’phy,vic.s , 2 l4:341-380.
lead from the Blayney Volcanics to form the skarn K j o k . I. Wilshe, J I., SiiiIixin. J A a i d Whitford, I1 J, 1994. (;old
mineralisation. Kjolle et a1 (1994) used neodymium, strontium recycled from 0rdovici:ui shoshonitcs iii the Browns Creek sk:ii-n
and lead radiogenic isotopes to assess the source of ore fluids deposit. NSW. Gtwlofircd Sociery of Ai, vrrdrtr Ab.crrtrrtr,s , 37:22 I
and metals and concluded also that their source was not solely McManiis. J H and Mortiniore. I R, 1974 Browns Creek copper-goltl-
the adjacent granitoid. They thought that gold and copper were liiiiestoiie-inarhle prospect, Tcxiiis Development Pty I.td
leached to ;I significant degree from the Blayney Volcanics (unpuhlished conipany Ieport lo New South Wnles Geological
during fluid flow around the cooling of the mid Silurian intrusion Survey, Open File GS 1074/462).
and subsequently deposited after prograde skarn formation. Meldruiii, E A. 199.5. Multisl:ige gold iniiicl.altsing events ;it the Rrowns
Creek gold-copper mine. HSc Hoiioiirs thesis (unpublished).
An alternative, more plausible, model involves a primary latc- University of Sydney.
stage intrusive-related hydrothermal fluid focussed into Perkins, C, Walshe, J L and Morrison, G , 1005. Metallogenic episodes of
permeable fault zones that propagated adjacent to pluton the Tasinnn Fold Belt Systein, eastern Australia. .Et::co/iornic Geo/o,c,v.
margins, with fluid mixing and himetasomatism during skarn 90: 1443-1466.
formation tending to obscurc a purely magmatic signature for the I’ogson. D and Wyhorii. D, 1994. Excursion guide: Bathurst 1:2.50 000
mineralisation. It is important to note that the Carcoar gcolog~calsheet. N h S o u l l ~ W d e s ( ; ~ ~ / o f i i cSurvey d Reporr GS
Granodiorite is barren of both skarns and mineralisation at the I994/ I 3 0 .
structural level of the present underground mine workings. Stanton. K L. 1948. Geological report - Browns Creek, BI:lyncy, NSW.
Broken Hill Soiith Ltd (unpublished conipnny report t o New Soilrh
Wiles Geologic;il Survey. Open File G S I948/O2O).
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Taylor, G R , 1983. Copper iind gold in sk:irn at Browns Creek, Bhyney,
This paper is published with the permission of Hargravcs NSW. , / o r ~ r ~6 ‘fcdw / o f i I c ~ r /.%~irt)’oJfArr.vIrcf/Icf.30:431 - 4 2 ,
Resources NL. The manuscript was improved by reviews and Walshe. J L. Heithersay, P S : i d Morrison, G W, 199s. Tow;iItl ;in
extensive discussions with B Cotton and A Border. P Van Lynt, I understanding o l the Tasiiian Fold Belt System, Economic C ; c w l o ~ , v .
I
Cooper and E Meldrum have all contributed greatly to 90: 13x2- 1401.
understanding the local and mine geological framework. P Wyborn. 11, 1992. The tectonic significance of Ordovician niaginatisin in
Ogdcn is thanked for his help producing some of the ligurcs. C the eastern Lachlan Fold Belt. 7ecirono/i/r,vsic~s. 2 14: 177- 192.
W is supported by a Sydney University Research Grant and by Wyborn. I>. Sttian-Smith. P G . Henderson. G A M, Willace. I> A.
Rayinond, 0, Kryncn. J, ,Moffitt, 13. Wntkins, J , 1Iawley. S, Pogson.
Hargraves Resources NL.
D. Meakin, S, Spacknian, 1. Scott, M , Warren, A and Morgan. E.
I904 Btrrhrrrsr Geology 1:250 000 .sctrle mtrp sheet SI 55-8.
REFERENCES preliiiiinary 2nd edition (New South Wiles Depnrtment of Mineral
Resources: Sydney, and Australian Geological Survey Or&anisation:
Bowman, H N, Richardson. S J and Hobbs, J J. 1977. Browns Creek Canhcrra).
disseminated gold-copper mine - a volcanogenlc deposit, New Snrtrh
I W d e s Geo/ogicu/ Survey Report 1977/086.
Burnhain, P, 1976. The geology of the Browns Creek Gold Mlne and
area. BSc Honours thesis (unpublished), University of Sydney.
I
I 64 Launeeston. 10 - 14 November 1997 Mining Geology Conference
Exploration on a Mature Mine - A Case History From Broken Hill
R Morland’
INTRODUCTION other early pioneer companies leases, largely mined out, which
continued to be operated by Minerals Mining and Metallurgy Ltd
Broken Hill has a long history of mining and i t i s without doubt a until it ceased major production in 1992.
world-class deposit. I t has seen production since 1885,
This papcr attempts to document how Pasminco Mining has
notwithstanding the strikes that made the city infamous in days explored its leases (Figure I ) . the methods used and the results
gone by and has given rise to three of the nation’s leading mining achieved. It does not cover tlic geology in detail as this has been
companies; BHP, North and CRA. well docuinented (Haydon and McConachie, 1987; Maekenzie
Prior to the formation of Pasminco in 1988, the mining and and Davies, 1990; Leyh mid Hinde, 1990; Webster, 1996;
exploration activities were undertaken by separate companies Morland and Wehster, 1997, in press; and Morland and Leevers,
who were business competitors and tended to operate in relative 1997, in press).
isolation. There were a few notable exceptions such as the
Central Geological Survey of 1936 - 38 (Gustafson. 1939; THE SITUATION PRE-PASMINCO
Gustafson et al, 1950) and the Mine Managers’ Association. The
latter sponsored many university based research projects. At a The orehody was tirst identified i n 1883 by the group that was to
local level there was good communication and cross fertilisation become BHP and which it mined until they left the city in 1939.
within this remote outback centre through personal contacts and ‘l’he ground to the north was pegged by what was to become
professional bodies such iis The AuslMM. North Broken Hill Ltd and to tlie south by the precursors of ZC
Pasminco was formed by the merging of the lead-zinc interests Mines Ply Ltd. ‘I‘he ground holdings of these two companies
of CRA Ltd and North Broken Hill Ltd. In Broken Hill this along the 1,ine of Lode ultimately became the Northern and
incant the joining together of North Mine and ZC Mines, the two Southern Leases of Pasminco Mining.
largest mines then operating on the Line of Lode, to form Exploration was undertaken by each company within its mine
Pasminco Mining Broken Hill Operations. The exception was the and leases. In tlie early-1980s North ceased surtiace lease
central part of the orebody, the original BHP, South Mine and exploration in its own right tor linancial reasons. ’The ground
covered by the two leases furthest from the mine was the subject
01’ a joint venture with CRAE. The near mine lease, considered to
I. Principal. Ron Morland Consulting Ply Ltd. 1 Hartwcll Hill Koad. he the most prospective, was retained but went unexplored in
Cainberwrll Vic 3 124. recent times until Pasminco was formed.
I
PASMlNCO
BROKEN HILL
MINE
Rlrlng Sun .)
EKjuRE1
WhltrLradr .)
On its leases North had identified mineralisation at the Flying EXPLORATION IN PASMINCO TIMES
Doctor Prospect (0.4 Mt grading 5.5 per cent lead, 3.5 per cent
zinc and 50 g/t silver) but this was uneconomic. They had With the lormation of Pasminco tlicrc was a rationalisation
identified significant high-grade mineralisation at Silver Peak, across the merged opcriition and opportunities for expanding
which was further tested by an exploration shaft and production were considered. Optimism tor the location of more
underground development. Diamond drilling from underground ore was high, indccd the only limiting factors seen were to the
did not locate sufficicnt ore t o keep it operational (0.1 Mt grading ;ivail:ibility of drill sites underground ;ind the time taken t o bring
13.4 per cent lead, 4.7 per cent zinc and 90 g/t silver). the results u p to rcscrve status. The niost attractive targets to lind
Within the North Mine exploration had been successful in more ore were considcrcd to be within the existing mines and
identifying the Fitzpatrick, a fault offset block of Lead Lode which could be reached Irom the currcitt or planned openings.
mineralisation (Widdop, 1983). While still not having fully Explor;ition drilling from underground was the most effective
drilled out the lower levels of the Fitzpatrick, i t wiis recognised
way of exploring, given the geometry of the orebodies and the
that the mineralisation could extend even deeper on the other side
of another fault. An underground diamond drill program looking location of the most promising targets (Figures 2 and 3). lust
for this downfaulted extension was developed. Initial prior to tlic formation of Pnsminco the underground rigs ;it the
intersections in the 2K zone (named because it was 2 kms below south had heen upgraded to state-of-the-;irt equipment. unlike the
surface) yielded spectacular grades and drilling continued. surface rigs which were old and i n i~eedof replacement. All
At ZC Mines exploration away from the immediate mine was drilling was done by tlic Mine's drill crews and allocation 0 1 men
undertaken by CRAE. A few prospects had been developed. to stopc detinition drillin2 underground was a priority.
Within the mine itself the mine geologists had been especially
successful in locating additional ore. The emphasis was on the
downplunge continuations of known mineralisation and in the
definition of lower-grade zones. The strategy was successful in 60 0 RC EXPLORATION
detining ore in Lower Lead Lode, and highlighting the economic B STOPE DEFINITION
potential of Zinc Lodes. A limiting factor was diamond drills,
both in availability and in sites. Production took emphasis and 50
purpose built drill sites were not ii priority in an environment
which was placing pressure on the mine to increase production.
However an underground diamond drill program was initiated
from a specially developed exploration drive on the 20 level to
test for the extension of the orebody to the south of its known
limits. This was deemed to he more cost-effective than drilling
from surface and i t was felt that the directional control of such
long drill holes would not be accurate enough. The program
encountered problems with equipment choice and high costs and
in conjunction with ;I major industrial dispute and lack of any
significant mineralisation in the initial drill holes, the program
was stopped in 1986.
A major pre-Pasminco initiative was exploration below the city
itself. The aim of this work was to test the northwestern
continuation of the prospective mine sequence and in particular
1
-1-
to follow up on the exploration work initiated by Broken Hill
89 90 91 92 93 94 95 * 96
South Ltd in the 1960s (Gentle, 1968). The drilling was costly
and difficult, failing to locate any major mineralisation worthy of
follow up work. The mineralisation was quantified as about IS
Mt grading at two per cent lead, three per cent zinc and 30&/t
silver (Haydon and McConachie, 1987). I t was believed that with 1089 - 1996
Fit.; z . Drilling metres,
a greater geological insight and with future technology changes it (89 =July 1988 - Jirly 1089).
may become the host of economic mineralisation and so the lease
was retained (the Central Lease).
The exploration thrust of both parent companies was similar in PASMINCO MINING EXPLORATION
that they recognised the economic benefits of linding additional Following the formation of Pasminco for the lirst time one
ore within the contines of the existing operations. Both were company had access to the bulk of the geological data that h;id
looking for extensions at either end of the 200 Mt orebody. North
been collected. Tlie lirst task was the consolidation of the
had the 2K but had technical problems in the data collection
whereas at the south i t appeared from drilling that the orebody geological, geochemical and geophysical databases.
terminated stratigraphically just south of the Southern Cross With the lithology and geochemistry these reviews were
Shaft. The lease exploration target was a 10 Mt plus orebody. undertaken in conjunction with Pasminco Exploration. A series
The search for open pits that could be used to supplement or of regional sections were established on the mine leases along a
substitute the ore being mined from underground did not have a strike length of 25 kms. Given the dilticulties o f the Broken Hill
high priority. geology and the multitude of geologists who had taken part, it
At the formation of Pasminco Ltd the ore reserves for the was not surprising that there were problems in some of the
interpretations. Once completed, however, it provided a valuable
merged Broken Hill operation were as follows (Pasminco insight into the geological setting of the orebody and emphasised
Prospectus, 1988): the stratigraphic setting as compared to the structural. Several
Zinc Mine, also called the Southern Operations (to avoid useful geochemical indicators of mineralisation were highlighted
confusion with the then still operating South Mine); 41. I MI which have since been used to search lor new orehodies.
grading at 7.0 per cent lead and 10.5 per cent zinc. Mining The geophysical study was undertaken by Dr John Bishop of
was at a rate of 1.8 Mtpa. Mitre Geophysics. His brief was to collect and collate every
0 North Mine; 5.4 Mt grading at I 1.7 per cent lead and 9.3 per geophysical survey that had been undertaken on the leases.
cent zinc. Mining was a rate of 0.5 Mtpa. Reprocessing and reinterpretation of the data was undertaken in
some cases. Many anomalies were found that had not been
4 , 1
3
SO
I0.X 10.2
2.5 I S.4 13.7 289
0.0 25.x 21.7 565
2 (For comp;irison [lie i n i l l feed for I3roken H i l l for the year 199.5 - 96 was
$M 5.5 per cent 7.7 I r r cent zinc and 56 g/t silver).
I.5
A new strategy was put in place. The old rigs were removed
and replaced by a modified Warman 750 rig which had been
operating succcssfully at the Elura Mine. The site was ii specially
I developed exploration drive on the 36 level in the bottom of the
mine and tlie target was between what would have been the 42
and 47 levels. The initial drill hole achieved a good rate o f
0.5 advance, with costs of the order of$100/metre, and an ore grade
intersection (plus ii keg for the drillers!). It was 9.6 in downhole
thickness grading at 54 per cent combined lead plus zinc.
Nothing stimulates an exploration program more than a good
0 intersection and the drilling continued. The diflieulties
1989 1991 1993 1995 continued. The holes had to traverse some very poor ground
conditions. the sites had ventilation and high temperature
Financial Year problems which restricted tlie hours of operation ;ind limited
drilling to one rig.
In order to speed up the data collection, downhole geophysics
OSouth Mine El Southern Leases was undertaken on the drill holes. Because of the ground
0 North Mine P Northern Leases conditions the holes were cased with PVC, a time-consuming
and logistically difficult task. The loops on surface were 1 km
square. Technical problems abounded, with the first probe failing
FIG3 - Exploration expenditure. 1989 - 1996 to operate ;it the high temperatures i t encountered (rock
(Dollars ofthe day) (X9 = J u l y X X 10 July 8 9 ) tcinpcraturcs in excess of 60 degrees Centigrade) and the poly
pipc splitting from both cemented and riveted joints. Ultimately
good geophysical responses were obtained, including one higher
previously identified or followed up. The internal report also u p the hole that was not expected. The possibility of an
commented on the efficacy of the different techniques that had intertnediate fault block or an upthrown block from below the 2K
been used to explore for Broken Hill style mineralisation. What
were proposed. The area was drill tested with no sign of
came as a surprise in this study was the poor quality of recording
and storage o f seine of the original data. Surveys were i n some niineralisation and no geophysical response. A detailed review o l
cases not reported, in others key parameters such :is loop size and the diita led to tlie conclusion that this was a false anomaly
position were not documented. Given the high cost of data Iiirgely caused by the drill hole and loop geometry (Bishop and
acquisition it was disappointing to discover this. Morland, 1094; Bishop. 1997. in press). Recause the target was
higher in the mine it was more attractive and diverted resources
trom the 2K. A combination of geological and geophysical
North Mine and Leases
modelling led to the 2K being quantified as conservatively
containing ;I resource of 0.6 Mt, grading at about 18 per cent
North Mitie lead, 17 per cent zinc and 350glt silver down to 47 level and i t
was open :it depth. Drilling was stopped prior t o the mine's
The ore reserve situation of Broken Hill had been the subject of closure in 1993 ;is i t was believed that it could not be brought on
an internal review and i t was concluded that at North it was i n time and that i t would bc uneconomic given its location,
probable that :is mining proceeded i t was likely that some ore ground conditions. ventilation. gas and water problems.
blocks would not be economically mined late in its life. Given
the reduced mine life, a detailed examination of the exploration Elsewhere on North Minc ii review of the potential for
potential was initiated. extending the depth of the number 1 open pit was undertaken
using old records and with a limited amount of extra drilling. The
Emphasis had rightly been placed by North Broken Hill Ltd on targets were remnants of ore left in the upper levels of the mine,
defining the Fitzpatrick mineralisation and upgrading i t to and zinc-rich sand fill which had been placed in the stopes in the
reserve status and the acquisition of data from the 2K zone. The very early days. Estimates of tlie potential were:
former continued unabated after the merger, however the 2K was
subject to a critical review. As a result of this i t was concluded Rock - 0.4 Mt grading 7.3 per cent lead, 7.9 per cent zinc and
that the high-cost of drilling and the relatively slow advance 103g/t silver; and
could not be justified. Over a period of seven years $6.75 M ($ of Sand - 0.3 MI grading 3.9 per cent lead, 9.4 per cent zinc and
the day) had been spent on 698 I m of drilling, at a cost o f $967 XO g/t silver.
per metre. An average o f 1.9 rigs were in use per year, mostly Geology iind mining studies cleclared them to he uneconomic.
had been made in the middle levels of the mine and i t was 1990 I’otcntial rccopnised for 0 5 Mt orebody i n tup 70 111
decided 10 undertake a major surface drilling program using May I W I Fir\[ diainontl drill hole iiiio target.
drilling contractors, complemented by downhole geophysics, to 1993 InfcIred resource of 1 .O MI i n fop 200 in rep!,nrd. -
test the Zinc Lode position adjacent to the North Mine main
orebody down to the Fitzpatrick Area. The program was 1993-1995 lnfill diamond drilling 011 4 0 i n spacing.
completed but failed to identify any mineralisation or Mining. metallurgy, finaiici:il and general feasibility
geophysical responses that were worth following up. studies undertaken.
The search for the Zinc Lodes associated with the Fitzpatrick July 1995 Ore reserve: 1 . 1 MI, 2.1%lead, 8.9% zinc, 26 g/t
silver i n top 00 in (Pasiniiico Ltd, 1995).
Area Lead Lodes was more successful. Targets defined by
geological reasoning were drill tested and reserves defined. A 1995- I096 Loc;d coiniiiiinity and govcriiinenf consultation.
resource of 0.2 Mt was defined and of this 80 000 t grading at S.5 EIS and siippleinentary reports produced.
per cent lead, 9.5 per cent zinc and 100 g/t silver was mined I996 Appi-oval to mine receivcd.
between 1991 and 1993. Although low in tonnage and grade it RC iiifill dItlling at I O 111 .spacing.
was important to North Mine as i t was close to other operating April I990 First orc to i n i l l .
faces and it helped supplement the shortfall of ore from the Lead
July 1996 Ore reserves: I .O MI, 2.3%le;id, 9.1‘5~zinc, ‘28 g/f
Lode stopes which were mining in diflicult ground conditions. It silver in pit 400 in x 220 111 x 90 in deep (I’a~.iiiinco
is unclear which, if any, of the southern Zinc Lodes it related to. Lftl, 1996)
Following a final review North Mine closed in February, 1993.
During its life it had mined 34.3 Mt of ore with 0.7 Mt coming
from the Number I open pit. The remaining ore reserve of 3.5 MI
grading at 13.5 per cent lead, 1 1 .O per cent zinc and 210 g/t silver
was downgraded to the local classilication of additional
mineralisation. Following its discovery, the Potosi mineralisation has been
After an unsuccessful attempt to sell the North Mine, all subjected to modern geophysical kchniques, especially given
salvageable equipment was removed and the mine was allowed that it is zinc dominant (Hughes (’t (:I, 1997). Downhole
to flood. electromagnctics was found to be riscful in defining lead-rich
mineralisation which was electrically connected. It was not
particularly useful i n situations where zinc was the main sulphide
Northern Leases species or where the lead was coarse and not connected. Tests
On the Northern Leases. Pasminco placed emphasis on exploring with drill hole magnetometric resistivity appear to indicate that
all possibilities for locating economic mineralisation. Reviews of this method is better able to detect this type of mineralisation
the mineralisation at Silver Peak and Flying Doctor Prospects (Bishop et d,1997). Mise-a-la-masse has also given spect;icular
were made and a better understanding of each was obtained. In results. After all drilling was completed it was found to have
the former some diamond drilling was undertaken and the pod- identified the pit mineralisation and the downplunging shoot up
like nature of the mineralisation idcntitied. Its economic potential to Morland’s Fault, a normal fault which truncated the response.
(in its own right) was not thought to be great and resources were Exploration at Ihe Potosi has continucd and the mineralisation
diverted to the newly identified Potosi Prospect. Potential was can be traced downplungc. at a grade of about one in seven, for 21
seen at the Flying Doctor Prospect but again the Potosi Prospect distance of over 1 .S kms m d is open downplunge. A Mise-a-la-
was favoured for more work because of its perceived masse survey undertaken on a mincr;ilised intersection to the
prospectivity. north of Morland’s Fault has identified its continuation and (his
Part of the exploration strategy had been to review all the is currently being drilled out. ’rhc niiiieralisafion was quantified
previously discovered mineralisation. The second prospect. after a s 0.6 MI grading at 5.3 per cent leatl, 13.1 per cent zinc and
the Round Hill mine area, was around the old Potosi mine which 57g/t silver (measured and indicated) with an inferred resource of
had been developed and operated until 1927, mining about 4000 1.2 Mt grading at 2.8 per cent lead, 14.0 per cent zinc and 39 glt
tonnes. On review it was concluded that the ore was not in lenses silver and it passes close to Silver Peak. A prefeasibility study is
but was instead in blocks that were caught up in a shear zone. underway on the underground mining options.
Thc search for any unfaulted mineralisation was undertaken, The With the success of the Potosi came the realisation that both
third drill hole intersected high-grade mineralisation (5.2 m Unit 4.5 and 4.7 were prospective. ’The push on the northern
downhole thickness grading 15.1 per cent lead, 20.6 per cent zinc leases continues and a plan to RC drill all the prospective ncar-
and 130dt silver) and provided the impetus for more work which surface areas was started. This program will be spread over three
ultimately resulted in the development of the Potosi Mine. years and is almost complete.
Potosi Mine. The Potosi orebody is significant to Broken Hill
because it is the first major new orebody to be found on the line Central Leases
of lode this century. The near-surface mineralisation occurs
within sight of the city (indeed the Pit is right on the city No active work has been undertaken on this mineralisation. The
boundary), is zinc dominant and sits stratigraphically below the area could benelit from modern downhole geophysical testing
other Broken Hill orebodics and mineralisation (IJnit 4.5 as but most of the sites are no longer accessible and surface access
against Unit 4.7). Details on the Potosi orebody has been would be very diflicult.
published in Larsen, 1994, and Morland and Leevers, 1997, in Some experimental work was undertaken on automatic ore
press. sorting as ;I means of upgrading the tenor of mineralisation from
The history of the development of the Potosi from prospect to low-grade areas. The philosophy behind the work was that if i t is
operating mine is given in Table 1. visually possible to discriminate between ore and waste then i t
should be possible to dcvclop a technological process to do the
A total of 1 1 9 10 m was diamond drilled from 9 I drill holes same. Unfortunately, it has not been H S easy as this and aller
and 9726 m of RC infill drilling from 306 drillholes. Mining is using a variety of different parameters the exercise was shelved.
planned at a rate of 0.2 Mtpa, this being limited by the capacity Again one of the major problems was the difficulty in
of the concentrator. discriminating zinc mineralisation.
Southern Operations 45 I
Exploration within the mine has continued at a high level ever
since Pasminco was formed. Each of the mine geologists has a
responsibility not only for the production function but also for
developing exploration programs within their own areas of
responsibility. This has bccn cxtremcly successful and on
average about 0.8 Mt o f additional ore has been located each
year. Given thc production lcvcl of 2.5 Mtpa the ore rcscrve has
MT 35 i‘\
stcadily declined (Figures 4 and 5 ) . except for the last few years. 30 .
25 _ .
+Reserve Tonnes (Ant)
45
20 *Zinc Grade (%)
40
35 15
30
MT 10
25
20
15
IO
5 Fic; 5 - Southern Operations - Ore reserves, 1987 - 1996.
(87 = July 1986 - July 1987).
87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 earlier work had tested too deep a target and thc strike length of
over a kilometre of potential ground was totally untested.
Pasminco was faccd with thc same dilemma as i t s predecessors
FIG4 - Southern Operations - Orc reservesltotitiesmined, 1987 - 1996. i n that the area now required drill testing and they optcd to rc-
(87 = J u l y 1986 - J u l y 1987). equip the exploration drive, purchasing an LM 75 rig for the
work. The drive had bccn optimiscd in its location for the
original program but was not idcal for the revised target, with
Apart from locating ore as extensions of existing orcbodics some drill holes going up to a kilometre in Icngth and others
there havc bccn some major succcsscs hoth in incrcasing the being drilled at llat angles. Drilling in fans on sections spaced
gcological understanding and in the discovcry of new orcbodies. approximatcly 200 m apart was undertaken. A consistent
Notable successes have been with Wcstcrn A Lode and C Lode gcological picture was drawn up for the area, some significant
which arc now hcing mincd (Morland and Webstcr, 1997, in mineralisation was intersected in thc Zinc Lode position
prcss). One of the key factors for success is as a result of (including C Lode), but inlill drilling appears to indicate the
allowing mine gcologists time to do non-production activities lensy nature of the mineralisation, none of which seem capable
and bcing prepared to dedicate diamond drill resources to test thc of being mined as an orebody. The program had high profile and
conccptual models that arc developed. visibility and was a worthy target but i t has not identified any
ore. Given its depth, the relative abundance of mineralisation. the
The exploration thrust at the Southern Extensions is worthy of
density o l drilling and the logistical problems that it would have
mention as until rcccntly i t offered the greatest potential for the
crcatcd it was dccided not to (lo downholc geophysical surveys.
discovery of large blocks of mineralisation. As indicated earlier,
The reason that the program carried on for so long was the need
the drilling program from a specially developcd exploration drive
to adequately test thc ground and the sniffs of mineralisation
on the 2 0 Level was stopped in ZC Mine days. On the Southern
proved to be too tantalising t o stop. It was also testing the end of
Leases an exploration target was generated on a regional section
a 200 Mt orebody and provided a valuable insight into the
a kilometre south of the end of the orebody. Surface drilling
stratigraphic termination of a wyld-class deposit.
intersected what was identified as B Lode style mineralisation
with a downhole thickness of 2.5 m, grading at 2.5 per cent lead I t has bccn estiinatcd that some 9 2 million tonnes of ore had
and 9.7 per cent zinc. Downhole EM gave a good geophysical been mined from underground at the Southern Opcrations up to
response but not an unequivocal target position. This led the 1996. The proved plus probable ore rcserve as at July 1996 was
mine team to consider the relationship between this intersection 2X.O Mt grading ;it 5.9 per cciit lead, 8.5 pcr cent zinc and 55g/t
and the B Lode ore position in the mine. Since 1988 B Lode had silver (Pasininco Ltd Annual Report, 1996). Mining is currcntly
;it ;I rate of 2.5 Mtpa.
hecn cxtensivcly mined and its plunge flattened to the south. The
been drilled with emphasis on the prospective depth for Gentle, L V. I9OX. Geology of the wester~i limb and Wesicrn
mineralisation. Interesting mineralisation and lithologies have Mineralisation at Broke11 Hill South Liiiiited, i n Urokoi Hill Ml,ir.v -
been intersected and geophysical responses obtained which are /Y6R (Eds: M R:idnianovich and J T Woodcock). pp 179-183 (The
being followed up. Intersections of ore and subgrade Austr;il;isian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).
mineralisation u p to 2 m thick are common on the Southern Gustafson. J K, 1939. Central Geological Survey. Geoloycal
Investigntions i n 13rokcn llill. Final Rel)ort. Unpublished Report 10
Leases. None has yet had the continuity to be considered for the Directors of North Broken Hill Limited. Broken Hill South
mining. Limited and the Zinc Corporation Limited, 2 Volumes.
The bulk of the exploration budget at thc south is spent on Gustafson. J K. Burrell, H C. and Gnrretty. M D, 19.50. The Geology of
diamond drilling. In the mine itself the drill holes are typically up the Broken Hill Ore Deposit. Drokcii Hill. New South Wiles,
to 200 m long and drilled by the mine's crew whcreas the surface ~ i /lie G'eologicwl Society cfAmc.riccr, G I : 1360-
Australia. in E i i / / e ~ / io/
drill holes tend to be over a kilometre long (and a lot fewer!) and 1438.
drilled by contractors. Haydon. R C. and McConachy, G W, 10x7 The stratigraphic setting of
Ph-Zn-Ag mineralisation at Broken Hill, in Enmomic C;colopy.
The search on the Southern Leases is aimed at finding remakes
X2:X26-856.
of the Broken Hill orebody. In both mine and leases the search
Hughes. N. Carroll, N F, Leevers. P I<. and Bishop, J K, 1097.
has extended throughout the sequence and not just the Unit 4.7, Geophysic:il Signature of the Potosi Zinc-Lead-Silver Orebody,
given the success of the Potosi. Broken Hill, i i i Prc.vicw, 66, pS7 (ASEG 12th Conference and
Given the high costs associated with diamond drilling both in Exhibition).
orebody definition and exploration, trials were undertaken using Larsen, D F, 1994. The Potosi Orebody - A Newly Discovered Base
radio imaging (RIM). Potentially a tool which could help Metal Delmit ai Broken Hill, NSW. 111 GSA Absrrcrtrrs N o 37. 12th
geologists 'see through rocks', RIM in its current state was not AGC, Pcrth, 199.4, p 238.
found to be particularly helpful in dealing with Broken Hill Leyh, W K. ;ind Hiiide, J S. 1990. Fitzpntrick Orebody North Mine.
styles of mineralisation. It produced good tomograms which Brokeii Hill -;I c;ise history, in Pniwedings Mitie Geo/o,qi.vt.v'
were correlateable with lead distributions from previously drilled c , 147-I54 (The Austr;il;isi~in Institute of Mining and
C o t i / e ~ ~ e ~ i cpp
fans of holes but not with zinc. The turnaround time and its black Metallurgy: Melbourne).
box nature counted against it too. It is an interesting concept in Mackenzie, L) II.:iiid Davits. RH, 1990. Broken Hill lead-silver-zinc
deposit at ZC Mines. i n Geoloxy o/ rhe Miwrcrl 1)elw.vir.v (!f
its infancy in metalliferous mining and it may become an
Aic.vrrtiltisrtr mid I'crpuci Ntw G'itineti. (Ed. F E Hughes). pp 1079-
extremcly useful definition and exploration tool if developcd. 10x4 (The Auslralasi;in Institute of Mining and Metallurgy:
Melbourne).
THE WAY AHEAD Morland. K. and Leevers, PI<. 1997 (in press). Potosi Zinc-Lead- Silver
Dcposiit. Broken Hill. i n C;~ology01 rlic Arrstrtrlim wid P~pucrN e w
The ore reserve at the Southern Operations is steadily declining. Guinem Mincrtrl Depi,vit,v, (The Australasian Institute of Mining
The mine has theoretically enough ore to operate at its current and Metallurgy: Melbourne).
level until 2007. The situation is probably worse than this as Morlaiid, K. ;ind Webster, A E. I997 (in press). Broken Hill Lead-Zinc-
many of the historical pillar reserves will never be mined. As the Silver Deposit. in 7%e (;eology of Air.trrctltrsititi ond I'cipu~i NCIU
mine's end approaches, some of the more remote ore blocks may Giritretiri Mitierir/ deposit,^, (The Australasian Institute of Mining
not be economically extracted. The potential lor a situation akin and Melallurgy: Mclboiirne).
to what happened at North Mine is present. Pasrninco Liiriited, I O X X . Prospectus (Pasiiiinco Limited. Melbourne).
Pasminco is actively seeking more ore discoveries from within Pasminco Limited. 1995. Annual I<eport (Pasinineo Liinitetl;
Melbourne).
the mine, the mine leases and in the district. Given the long lead
time from discovery to definition, through feasibility to Pasminco Liinited. 1996. Annual Repoil (Pasmineo Limited;
Melbourne).
production, time is of the essence if there is not to he a hiatus in
Webster. A E. 1996. A detailed description 0 1 the Broken Hill deposit -
production and if existing infrastructure is to be used.
lessons from the ore fabrics, in N e w Develripmenrs in Brokeii Hill
Unfortunately, with every passing generation of geologists the 7 j p e /kpo.virs. (Els: Pograntz and Ihvidson), pp 95- 104. CODES
chances of success are diminishing. Broken Hill may soon have Special Publication 1 (University of Hohart; Tasmania).
to acknowledge that its orebody is finite and plan accordingly. Widdop, W G. 1983. The geology of the Fitzpatriek Area, North Broken
Hill Limited. Rroken Hill, NSW, ill Proceedings Broketi Hill
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS G m / e r e w r . /98.<,pp 177- 182 (The Australasian Institute of Mining
and Melallurgy: Melbourne).
All the references in this paper are to published papers with one
exception. This does not give due credit to all the geologists who
have contributed to the increase in knowledge of the geology be
Session Chairpersons
Peter Benjamin
Copper Mines of Tasmania
Chris Davies
-
Aberfoyle Resources Hellyer Division
Scott Dunham
Goldfields (Tasmania) Limited Henty Gold Mine
Discovering New Orebodies Creation of an Exploration -
Database, Morning Star Gold Mine, Victoria
M D Goodz', F E L Harvey-Kelly1, C J Cusak2 and D J Kentwel13
grade of 24.5 g/t (Goodz and Wright, 1993). Recent exploration 0 Cambrian MI U'ell~ng~an
Reit
3. planar orientations - conjugate joints and density, S- ;ind Z- Prospcctivity V;iluc (MF'V). Total point scores WCI-etiscd to
fault systems; prioritise each intersection a s a tarset for follow-up drilling or
development. I t i s considered that the sum of the values o t the
4. mineralogical associations - hydrothermal alteration; key indic;itors can be more informative than assay data iiloiie
5. sulphide/stockwork occurrences; and (Goodz arid D'Astoli; 1997; McCarthy. IO9S).
In the case of assessing historic data where the assays do not
6. cavity details - both stope and development headings
exist, the rniner;il prospectivity value is the only numeric v;iIue
The latter item being of considerable importance in that attributuhle. With current exploration both data sets are availhlc
significant portions of the development were on gold-bearing and key indicator logging now foriiis the basis of geological
structures. The archival records contained detailed daily, weekly. sample descriptions. I l r i l l logs arc compiled in the required
fortnightly, monthly and independent consultants' reports. These format to he entcrcd directly into the IT-XPLOR database. An
provided: assignctl MPV is attributed to evcry sample interval by the
1. dates and dimensions of headings and the quantity of logging feologist.
development carried out; Treatment of cavities in structural and geological loss is
critically important in modelling orebody and grude distrihution
2. width and orientation of the gold-hearing structure: the
in old mines. For grade modelling 01 drill hole intercepts. the
characteristics of its HW and FW;
cavity must have ii zero grade effect during compositing
3. mineralogy of the reef zone, including presence of visible calculations; however for structural distribution analysis it must
gold & sulphides; be given the highest recognition factor it it is an old stope.
4. diagnostic features of the hydrothermal alteration This designation (stope versus development) is based on the
peripheral to the reef; hydrothermal alteration and mineralisation facies of the intervals
immediately before and after the cavity. Therefore an explicit
5. geotechnical characteristics and ground support; and missing sample vnlue is created which is assigned :I set colour
6. subsequent mill processing reports with recovered grade (cyan) to identify i t ;IS;I mine constructed object.
The gcologist logging should he ;iware of priority indicators
Resource analysis (ie sti-uctui-e. alteration iind mineralisation). Where n o indicators
are present. the significiince of the vein and its structural
A review of the data above led to the derivation of ;I new orient;ition should he reviewed prior to modelling.
mineralisation model referred to as the Layered Mineralisation
Model (LMM). This was based on the stacking nature of the flat
ladder veins which were formed during brittle deformation of the CAVITY MODELLING OF HISTORIC DATA
dyke. The intensity of the mineralisation is proportional to the
deformation, shearing and displacement of the dyke. The Existing data
spacings of the shears range from 5.0 to 27.5 metres; between
these zones is unmineralised diorite, hence the Inyeririg. The The existing dat:i consisted o f approxiin;itcly 450 AO-Size plms
closer the frequency of fractures and shearing - the higher the ;ind sections of the mine workings on ;I variety of scales. grid
gold - sulphide enrichment. This relationship with fracture orient;itions and units of measure. Some RL information w a s
density (Bischoff and Morley. 1993; Gleeson, 1993) is controlled nvailiiblc from assay 'floor' plans and from drill hole collar
by the rheology of the host diorite lithology. reports (historically 'floor' was the term used to describe any reef
Establishing a new model required verification. This was on which stoping w;is carried out; eg lloor refers t o the plane of
undertaken by prqjecting the underground model up to surtace the orebody not the horizontal). Whci-e survey information was
where no mining had occurred since 1868. The result was highly missing ;ill IiL's were calculated by following ;I constant gradient
successful, with delineation of an outcropping orebody validating from the plat upwards ;it either 1 in 5 0 for the upper Levels and I
the model. in 100 tor the lower Levels. In general these calculations fitted
well with isolated R L information obtained froin the drill collxs
nnd assay plans.
Computer Modelled Dyke Extensions and Fault
Displacement
Data preparation - upper workings
Consolidation of old mine plans of underground workings of the
Alps, United, Hope and Morning Star Mines showed that there The pre- I890 development outlines (surface to 2 Level) were
was a distinct offset or rotation of the host dyke body at its nssigncd RL's at their respective pcirtnls/collars/plats from the
northern extremity. Although the exact reason has not yet been best ;iv;iilnble soul-ce. Some RL's C;IIIIC from current survey data
fully resolved the important issue is that 3D modelling has shown and others came either directly or were inferred from old plans.
that an extension exists through an offset, (Cusack et 01, 1996; A grade of I :SO w;is then pro,jected Aong drives where no other
Porter, 1993). survey data was ;ivailable. Once all of the development was
fixed i n clcv;ition. the stope cavity modelling was done. Owing
This explained some of the earlier exploration failures which to the absence o f survey data ; i n d sparse amount of detail
concluded that the dyke body was terminated. This underground ;ivailablc on these upper Icvels. stopes were created by tying
feature was then prqiccted to the surface with :I follow up drilling drive sections tosether where reets of the same name were
programme extending the known size of the outcropping dyke by marked on the old plans. A single floor surface was then created
76 per cent since 1984.
fhr each stope section ; i d copied 111) 2. I in vertically to form a
back surface. These were then stitched together to form the Hec;iusc of the large ;imouiit of good detail lor both floors and
individual solids. This created some 27 stope solids from the Ixicks i n I.cvcls 2 to 9, i t w ; i x decided to attempt to model the
nine principal reel's i n the upper workings. The upper workings ;ictual stope ;ind clevelopmcnt heights rather than assume a
developinent outlines were then broken down into drives on constant height throughout. Although this made the entire
reefs. cross-cuts, rises and winzcs and input as closed polylincs. process iiiiich more complic;itcd, i t produced ;I inorc detailed
The individual closed polylines were then extriitled 2. I in (11' rcality. 'l'hcrcforc ;ill survey points, whether
;ii)i~roxiiii~itioii
vertically to form the development solids (Figures 2 4 h). rc;iI or c;iIci~I;itcd, required both a Iloor and back RL.
C;ilculations show that vcrtic;iI height of stopes rcinain fairly
constant ;it 2.1 in, even if triic stope width niirrows ;is the dip
steepens.
+N The idea was then to create ;I survey point database to act as a
skeleton to hang the entire workings from. The outlines of the
workings would then be tligitised flat and pressed onto either
centrelines or surf:ices created from the survey poinrs. Typically
-.. ccntrelincs werc used for the development antl surfaces
constructcd tor the stopcs. h irig database managcinent options,
survey poilit d;itii was digiti\ctl to obtain northing. casting. and
[tic knowii or calculated RLs tor both the floor and back; one lile
l.or each niiiie Lcvcl.
Development modelling
The next stage w;is to digitisc i n the outlines of the tlevelopment
;IS 'flat' closed polylines at the RL of the plat for each Level.
One closed polyline for each distinct feature (ie drives, cross-
cuts, rises, winzes and ore p;isscs). Where verticnl or unknown
riseslwinzcs were shown only ;I simple rectangle for the opening
PI(; 2a - Polyline tile of trace Main Shalt mine workings i n 2D. View w;is digitiscd. Again these were digitised, one file for each mine
facing east: length of section is -7.50 111 :ind depth -300 in. I.cvcl. All joins and abutments of polylines were carefully edited
aftcr digitising so ;is to conform to exactly the siime points.
'l'liesc filcs woultl form the Imis of future computer generated
Lcvcl phiis ;is well as being the outline structure for 3D
model I i ng .
Solid iiiotlcllinp for the tlc\,clopment required that centrelines
he created from survey ~ ~ ( i i n t along s each development
(separately for both floors and backs). Each section is then
pressed onto that centreline to obtain the correct gradient and RL
v;iIuc. These were saved a s iicw separate files and then stitched
together into a solid from two closed polylines. If ;ill digitising
xid editing has been done correctly as outlined above. all stope.
drive antl cross-cut solids should fit together nicely. The area
where problems arose was i n matching rises/winzcs into these
solids. Each c x c had t o be treated individually. The
rises/win7es had to be editedlnianipulnied to conform to the drive
solids. ;is each oiie intersected at a different angle arid had its
own set ot complications.
FK;2b - Solids constructed froin the same polylines coiiihined with KL Stope Modelling
survey data and presented in rendered AD view. Stopes constructed froin
Stope outlines wcrc digitisctl only when they did n o t coincide
tying together drive detail on reef structures. Same position mid view as
with drive edges. The decision was made to model stopes
above.
between development drivcs ;IS i t would give a truer
rcpresentation of the stope vcrsus drive volumes. This breaks
-
Data preparation lower workings down the stope sections into their respective Levels and makes it
visually easier to see how the workings evolved. A slightly
All Level plans were examined thoroughly and where survey
lengthier cditinglmerging process was then needed to marry the
data was insufficient new survey points were interpolated or
stope outline segments onto the edges of existing development
extrapolated such that all development and stoping had enough
workings to once again ensure that all joins and abutrnents met at
detail to enable centrelines and surfaces to be created to fix them
exactly the same points horirontally nnd that all stope outlines
in elevation. This had the eflect of requiring an interpretation of
were closcd polylines. Stope widths were controlled by their dip
the location and orientation of the stopcs. Stoping was partially
;ingle rather than the actual width of quartz (which varied in
shown on development, assay, floor and ore reserve plans, cross
thickness from ;I few centinictres to several metres). However
and long sections. All portions of this detail was trnnsferred to
the dip angle was not consixtent over any one :irc;i of stoping
the most updated relevant Level plan. Where stoping spanned
( ~ i n g e dfrom I O to 65 degrees) and a totally uniform plane
several Levels the rule of thumb was to only show the overhead c m i o t he ;issumed for the whole of a stope. Therefore to sort
stopes, ie those above the Level of the drive and leave the detail
out the best approximation to the true shape of the stope, all
below for the next Level down. This process became quite
iivailable survey data along with necessary interpolntions had to
complex where multiple stoping on dilferent structures occurred
enable a valid triangulated surface to be created for both floors
simultaneously over several floors. The aim of the exercise was ;ind hacks. Some stopes plunge through several Levels and
to show all detail and survey data on the single Level plan.
intersect with others. making i t difficult to sort out rclev;int digifisctl ;IS 31) rings and tied togcthcr to form the solid. This
survey points. To overcome this a series of inclined planes were solid i s then sliced vertically with coiitinuous segments hetween
created from three carefully selected points at the extremities of stopes/lhults/veins being assigned individual block attributes.
each structure and then using colour coding, i t was possible to Each block c m then he displaced iilong the plane of the
show only those points within a limited range of each inclined intersecting structure
plane. Altliouyh it is ;I major task to cre;ite mid validate a large solid
A separate surface was created for both the floor and back. such iis the dyke hcidy, i t is necessary to continually inodil'y the
These surfaces were then cut with the stope outlines and then solid ;is new drill hole intercepts hecome available. The
stitched together to form a solid. The pillars that were shown on advantqe of constructing such 'suh-solids' is that each caii be
the plans were digitiscd as part of the stope outlines ond a indcpcndently modified.
separate operation wiis c:irried out to 'punch' these out of the
stope, so iis to obtain their volumes for any future scavenging Vein modelling
operations.
Modcllinf of cavities from previously inincd o r developed
Solids Modelling - Hostrock mincr~ilisctlzones was tlone to document structural controls of
the ore zones ;ind t o prci,ject their cii-cchelon extensions. The
Historical documentation supports that >95 per cent of the gold extensivc detail of the survey data hiyhlighted the irregularity in
production came from diorite dyke-hosted mineralisation. HW/FW orientations antl supported the model of multiplicity of
Preliminary modelling supports the idea that prospectivity and vein splits and en-echelon steps. I t is the projections of these
periodicity of mineralisation may be related to the outer dyke irregularities i n the surfrices of thc solids that provides iicw
morphology (in turn itself related to structural and intrusional insight on the extensions of known sold-bearing structures.
controls). With all development and drill hole contacts, a new
host solid can be generated which must take into consideration The full picture
fault displacements, changes in strike direction and bifurcation
(Figure 3). The contact zone between the host dyke and The next step i n spatial correlation is using the Connelly-style
sedimentary country rocks is a complex cross-faulted and approach. The intersection of host structure^ is a control on
undulating feature (hole MS107 intersected the contact 14 rninera1is;ition / stopc width. Where there is an increase i n the
times). To model this contact zone of uncertain exit, re-entry, mineable width, there exists ;I potential zone of higher gradc and
and final re-exit, a new rock type is defined as 'DCO'. DCO tonnage. Analysing this correlation with grade (or maybe better.
defines a structural feature which would have a minimum of two the prospectivity factor) hecomes very iisefiil. The simplest way
fault zones (one sub-parallel to the contact [shear] and the second to do this is to rake the reef stope hanging wall and footwall
is an extensional ladder-vein associated feature). The DCO surfaces and create froin them ;I TIN (contour plan) of the
generally represents a reverse fault block with up to 20m separation distance (in the true width vector not vertical KL).
displacements. Contours of the stope thickness can thcii be created and plotted
with other objects (stopcs. development, grades, DDHs) antl any
correlatioii noted. Examination of any periodicity in the vertical
interval between veins merging/intcrsccting/widening, can then
he carried out (Cris;ick C I t i l . 1996; Murphy and Ward, 1997).
Back-up
With all the time and effort the user puts into acquiring and
processing data. i t is necessary to implement a backup routine.
Ftci 4b - Coding of MPV used to assess historical drillholes which
Users should save on a regular basis and exit out of the software
provided detailed descriptive logs but no assay data. The disks on the periodically. This minimises data loss in the case hardware or
power failure, lightning strikes to overhead telephone or
traces represent sulphiddstockwork mineralisation and niultiplicity o f
networking cables, or the freeze up of software (this happens to
everyone). This can be set up by running a batchfile. At the
A second series of numbers could detine distribution, eg X = click of ;in icon. integral data files may be directly copied to a
irregular 9 = pervasive. In this manner, the total code (string) can backup directory. Weekly o r as required, the entire system
then be filtered either alphabetically or sequentially. A series of should bc hacked up on to tape or CD-Rom with one copy being
coding sheets is then designed for both logging and database stored off-site.
entry. Before the computer is even turned on, time must be
allotted for planning and checking. Once data is validated it is Validation
useful to group, analyse statistically, and identify populations.
For example, high assays might be irregularly distributed, but Data needs to be validated by both internal computer checks and
always associated with quartz-arsenopyrite mineralisation, mica- through hard copy cross-referencing, to ensure a secure and
carbonate alteration or shear zones. The identification of confident work base (Larkin. 1993). As minimum, maximum
secondary indicators and associations (MPV) can be used as an and default values are predefined, any value that is out of range
excellent aid to exploration (Goodz and Harvey-Kelly, 1997). becomes automatically rejected by the computer. It may be
prudent to mention that for numeric fields i t is hest to set the Vertical Sections on Old Mine Grid
default value to NE (No Entry = blank) versus 0.00 which should
be reserved for a real measured value. Unfortunately this does Vertical cross-sectio~ipl;incs are best selected perpc1idicul:ir to
not work for fields where strings are entered, such as rock codes. the long axis of the ore host body. This faciliiates optimum niine
These must be checked manually. planning :ind resource modelling WIIC~II the Local Mine Grid
The second check is to run software validation for each field of projection i s pmllel to [lie long axis (11' the feature. 11 was iiot a
each table. This will not pick up typographical errors or good idea to change to x i AMG-type grid orientation. a s this
miscoded string fields, but i t will pick up errors such as intervnls made i t tliflicult to relate to old cross-sectional d m . In
not defined, negative length intervals, out of sequence interviils. retrospect i t wiis tliflicult to produce a new set of stantl;lrd
values greater than hole depth and duplicate intervals. referencing sections, when iill workings were approximotcly 17"
A list of errors should be printed out and crossed off by hand to the AMC; grid. Furthermore, because a phenomenal quantity
upon correction 10 the database. Signing o f f and dating of of plans existed for local mine projection. data manipulation and
correction sheets is ii critical part of ensuring that multiple users validation would have been simpler iii the original grid.
do not omit procedures.
The most important validation is to print out a hard copy of the REV I EW
entire database and to manually check it. This is best done by
the data collector. This validation will pick up typographical Utilisatioii of archival data with a Icl:itional datahase is cost-
errors, misclassified data and discontinuities between such effective when compared to commencing new field l w e d
items as grade and rock type. Most importantly. i t will give the exploration programs. I t i s ;in invalu;ihle irddition to database for
geologist and engineer another opportunity to consider their reserve. grade and tonnage calculations. I t is also an inexpensive
observations and interpretation. method of locatirig new drillhole taigcts. A relational datah;ise
Where data entry is by digitising or scanning of images plans, provides new ;ind alternative w;iys o f viewing existing
the first validation must use a printout. By overlaying on the information which may act as ;I guide to exploration ;ind
original to validate the data entry, scale and grid manipulations, interpretation. I t is i i n asset i o mine engineering in
this method quickly identifies omission or duplication of data. understanding predefined conditions in ihc rock and open spice
left by previous operations.
MINERAL PROSPECTIVITY VALUE (MPV) AND The creation o f ;I tlatahase aids statistical an;ilysis and
ASSAYS xilitates CIS interpretation. The cieation of ;I scaled, located
f. "
the data and producing :I final model. Management has to Gootlz. M 1). antl Harvey-Kelly. F E L. 1907. Man:iging the Mine
appreciate re;ilistic schedules in achieving poals. The Coniputtng System, Mount Conqueror Minerals Nl. (unpublished)
coinpxiy report No. 122 IS.
implementation of such a system should aid with pre-leasibility
studies, he an cxploration tool, and provide in1orm;ition that in C;ocitlz. M D. :itid Wright R I-. 1993. Morning Star Gold Mine
I<ecovei.:ihle Ore Reserves = .Mining Geology + Pr;ic~ic;iICents in
the long run will reduce costs and increase productivity.
/ ' n i t wilrirps lrr/crirtrnrintr/ Mrririi~G r r h x y Ciitrferrircc. pp 143- 148.
(The Akistral:isi;in Institute 01' Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS L;irkin. I3 I . I903 Checking :iiid preserving the integriry of computer
stored geologic:il (lata, i n P I O 1 c w l i n p . ~A p p / i ( , k i v t . r iJfCompufcr.c it1
Project data and computer processing facilities were provided by rlrr Mrirc,rtr/ / r i i / r i . v i y pp 1-5. (University of Wollongong Press).
clients Mount Conqueror Minerals N L and Nickelseekers Mining McCat-thy. F L, IOOS. The mc:iiiing of exploration drilling results in
Services Pty. Ltd. Victori:in reef deposits presented :it Bnllarat University Syinpsiuni
Series: Ikillmt.
REFERENCES Midge. S. 1097. The Geocentric h t u n i of Australia - Australia's new
iiiapping systein. i n The A u s l M M Bu//rliii, 2:21-26, ( The
Rischoff. K and Morley. C. 1993. Geology, resource definition and Austr:il:isian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).
reserve estiination at Mount Charlotte. Kalgoorlie. Western Murphy, M P, antl Ward. C W. 1007. Coinputer assisted inodelling of
Australia. i n P riiceedinxs ltifcrn~iiiotwlM i i i i i i ~GeokiX:!.Con/ereiic.e. narrow. elongate gold deposits for resource estimation and mine
pp 1-18. (The Auskilasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: plnnning. in /'roc.rrdii,rx.r A'c\r,unin,q fhr 2/"' Criiiirn: pp 16.5-170
Me1bourne). (The Austrnl;isi;in Institute ot Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).
Cusack. C J, Goodz, M I) and H;irvcy-Kelly. F E L. 1096. Planning for Pot tcr. S I . 1093. .l'liree-tlitneiisional inodelling of the Cenitxl Extended
Profit: Prefea.ibility Studies and Considerations i n Priiceedrnxs Gold Ikposit - Analysis 0 1 \triictural controls on mineralisation, in
DiiILir D r i i w Mine P l t r n i ~ i n ~pp
. 1-4.5 (Institute of Internation;il Priic~rrr/rn~.r ~ ~ i i r C;cri/ii,yy
Iir~rrntrfro~ici/ r n ~ Ciin/rrc.nr.c~.pp 77-80,
Research: Sydney). (The Austral:isi:in Institute ot Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).
Gleeson. 1'. 1093 Resource estimation and tliree-diinensioii;11 iiiodelling Tiylor. L. lcl93. The graphic;il integration of technical spatial data
of gold mineralisation at MI. Leyshon Gold Mine. N E Queensland, within Western Mining Corporation (An Overview). in Proceedinxs
i n Priic~ecrlit~~:.r
Inferntrrionrrl Mininx (;ro/iJ,qy Con/errirc.r. pp 47-57, A p p l i i i r / i i r i i . r I ) / Covtpfri:v iir flte M i n e r d Imfusrr\: pp R7-92.
(The Australasinn Institute of Mining nnd Metallurgy: Melbourne). (University of Wollongong I'icss).
Goodz. M D and II'Astoli. D J, 1997. 1)iainond drill core versus RC Willims, S. 1993 Some consit1cr:itions for the selection of geological
chips: The real sample chapter 2 in P r i ~ t e r d ~ n Third~ : . c Inferntrfiond inodelling and iiiine planning software. in Proctreifin,q.r App/icufiimc
Miitinx C;co/iigy Confrrewe, This volume. (The Australasian o/ Girrrpurfrr iii the M ~ I I c J[ ~ i i (h/ w y , pp 273-282. (University of
Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne). Wollongong Press).
ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION
Noithparkes Mines is located 27 k i n northwest of P;irkes i n cellti-al west -.I lieNorthparkcs copper-gold deposits are located in the
New South W:iles. The E26 deposit is the largest of a11 defined to-date i n Goonumhla district approxini;ircly 27 kni northwest of the town
the iirea. cont;iining over SO per cent of Northpnrkcs' rcwurces and 01' Parkeh in central west h e w South Wales (Figure 1).
reserves. The combination of orehotly geometry ;ind geotechnical
characteristics provide ideal conditions for thc block c;ivc method of
Northparkcs Mines is a joint venture between North Limited (80
mining of the lirst lift of the E26 deposit. Although t l ~ smethod of per cent) ;ind tlic Sumitorno group of companies (20 per cent),
underground mining has been used for dcc:rdcs in other countries. E26 is cst;ihlislierl to exploit three oi clmlies. Endeavour (E)22, E27 and
the first example of its use in Australia. E X A fourth deposit, E48, IS tinder evaluation for incorporation
Copper-gold ~iiiner;ilis;ition at Northp:irkcs is re1:itt.d to quaill into the i n h e plan and will contribute t o a total mine life of 20
iiionzonite porphyries that have intruded coeval 0rdovici;in volcanics. y e m . Mining at E22 and E27 is by open cut, while tlic first lift
Sulphide mineralisation (dominantly bornite mid chalcopyrite) occurs of E20 is hcing tlcveloped ;IS Australia's first block cave mine.
principally within quartz veins associated with the porphyry intrusions. E26 contailis over 50 per cent of the total reserve at Northparkes
Veining and inineralisation occurs within both the porphyries and (Table I ). Annual production Irorn thc deposits i s planned at 5.2
volcanics. U t o l which 4. I Mt is sourced Irom the E26 block c;ivc.
To optirnise the recovery of :I resource within a block cavc mine. ii
good understanding of the rock mass and ore flow charxtcristics is
essential. These have ;I significant effect on the fragmcnt:itioii size and
range and on parameters such a s the drawzone sp:iciug, height of
interaction zone and dilution entry. As ore within ;I C;IK coluinn moves
and mixes whcn inaterial is extracted from below and beside it. the total
reserve extracted is uiiique for a particular draw str;ite:'y/l)roductioii
history.
Until recently. reserve estimates and production schedules were based
on the application of a uniform dilution frictor to the tabu1;ited resource.
However. given the complicated flow and inixing within the cavc
column, such a simplistic approach can produce erroneous icsults.
Northparkes Mines purchased and spoiisored the uppr:iiling of ;I
coinmercially nvailahle softwnre package specifically tlevelopcd for
inodelling removal of resource blocks under caving conditions. This
Geincom softw:ire package, PC-BC. has been used for mine pl;inning,
reserve reporting and production scheduling. Blocks within :I resource
block niodel are couvened into a mineable rescrve taking Into
inixing and dilution during depletion of dciwcoluinns (by horizontal and
vertical redistribution of insitu tonnage and metal). As I'C-BC gives
individual driiwpoint reserves. it can be used during the pl:ii~ningstage to
determine whether or not a drawpoint is econoniic.
For E26 Lift 1 an optimnl layout containing 130 drawpoints h:rs been
developed based on a nominal 14 in x 14 ni drawpoint spaciug and a 0.8
per ccnt equivalent copper (eCu) cut-off grade. A I I I I I Iproduction
~I~
schedules for the depletion of material above this layout arc hxetl on: I
PROJECT DEVELOPMENT at 98 I8 mRL and 9830 mKL. The tipper undercut has been
advanced ~ihe~id of' drawpoint and drawhcll development to ;ivoid
Copper-gold mineralisation at Northparkes was first discovered damage 1.1-om high iibutincnt stressch. The lower undercut is
in 1976 when scout drilling along roadsides intersected oxide being cxcav;ited iilter completion of the upper undercut ;iiid
I mineralisation in what was later to be known a s the E22 deposit. opening ol drawhclls below. Developinent of the E26 decline
Further exploration ovcr a period of 20 ycars has identified up to comnicnced in October 1993, with tlic lirst undercut ore k i n g
12 centres of mineralisation in thc Goonumbla district. produced i n Januaiy I 990. Extraction ot' cave inaterial started in
Following project approval in Novembcr 1992, mining of tlie l'ebruary I997 lrom the wuthwcst corner drawpoints. Lift 1 of
E27 opcn cut commenced in November 1993. CIP treatment of E26 will he one o l the highest block C';IVC lifts developed to date
oxide gold ore from E22 and E27 commenccd in April I994 iind i n the world (400 in), more than douhlc the height of tnost otlier
continued to Augusi 1995. With depletion of the oxide gold operations. A sniall open cut was mined above the Liit I cave to
reserves and mining of oxide copper-gold and sulphide copper- extract ;I small oxide resource and higher-grade sulphide
gold ore, processing through a flotation plant began in September resource.
1995.
The first lift of E26 is being developed as a block cave. While GEOLOGY
block caving has bcen used for decades in Africa. Asin and the
Americas, this is the first use of this method of minins in The Laic Ordovicixi Goonumbla ;ind Wombin Volcanics that
Australia. Block caving involves the initial undercutting o f an host thc Korthparkes deposits occiir within the Goonumbla
orehody through drilling and blasting methods. Given ;I Volcanic Complex (GVC), which 1 5 part of the Early-Late
sufficiently large span of undercut and weakness of rock mass. Ordoviciari Parkes-Narrornine belt of volcanics. These volcanics
the rock above the undercut fails and caves into the area below it. wcre erupted from shallow water t t r partly emergent volcanic
With extraction of material through drawpoints. caving o f tlie centres xid show ;I mngc in composition from latite i o
rockmass abovc continues and propagates upwards. trachy;indesite, ;ind vary from flows i o volcanic breccias. The
copper-gold deposits occur witliiii a pronounced circular
A comprehcnsivc description of the mine design is given by
magnetic feature approximately 22 kin i n diameter interpretcd by
Dawson (1995). Briefly, the extraction level for Lift 1 is located
Jones ( 198.5) to he ;I collapsed caltlcra formed by cxplosive
approximately 480 in below surfacc ;it 9800 mRL (Figure 2).
mechanisms. and later by Hall (1993) to be a caldera formed by
The undercut is 45 m high and has been advanced on two levels
block subsidence ;iiid downsagging.
FIG4 - Sheeted qiiaiiz veins wiih bornite infill (field of view I m).
.. . .. . ..
G"P"",r.
Poppmllr
hotli the main northern and southern porphyry bodies resulting in
overlapping concentric grade zones producing a complex grade
distribution. In the northern cnd of E26, the porphyries are cut
hy narrow tabulor subverticnl barren felsic dykes (zero
porphyries).
Within each QMP body several monzonite phases have been
UPpmB
itlcntilied based on compositional. textural, alteration, veining
;ind mineralisation characteristics. Some stages can contain
sulphide and quartz vein clots and xenoliths. The contact
between pliascs can be Inarked by a narrow zone of
?ma~matic/liydrothermalbrecchtion. A detailed study needs to
= ..-
,.. .. .-
..-+ +
+
+ +
+
+ +
+
+ +
+
+ +
+
+ +
+
+ +
+
+ +
+
he completed to characterise and define timing relationships Rock strength tests undertaken on core samples show that the
between the phases; however as the morc mafic, poorly veined host rocks at E26 ;ire generally strong, with an intact rock
and mineralised monzonite porphyries truncate and stope out strength (IRS) ranging from I10 M p i i n the volcanics to 143
quartz veining and copper sulphide mineralisation, it appears that Mpa i n the biotite monzonite. The I")str-mineralisation gypsum
they post-date the more felsic. veined and mineralised porphyries cvent (stagcs IO and I I o f I-leithersay and Walsh. 1996) is unique
at E2A. to tlie E26 deposit and has pervaded to upper parts of the fracture
The monzonite porphyries intrude a shallowly southcast system contributing strongly to the geotechnical characteristics.
dipping sequence of trachytic lavas, hyalc Above IO OXO mRL (locally termed tlic 'gypsum linc', Figure 3)
A discrete marker unit that has a strong1 gypsum has been Iexhetl out leaving open fractures in the rock
texture is interpreted as a diorite sill emplaced prior to ,.
mass. I he intensity of gypsum veining decreases with depth,
mineralisation and alteration. The biotite monzonite to the east. decreasing I'rom two - three per cent of the rock volume above
with ii contact dipping steeply to thc west and under tlie main
body of E26, is interpreted as part of thc E3 1 stock (Figure 3). about 0950 niRL (Figure 0) to less th;ui 0.5 per cent below 9800
mRL. Approximately 20 in above the gypsum line, a 10 to 35 in
Copper sulphide mineralisation occurs mainly ;is bornite with thick one ot the highly I'ractured rock has been re-cemented by
lesser chalcopyrite and minor chalcocite. tetrahedrite and carbonate (Carbonate Iiiipregnated Zone, Figurc 3). Fracture
covellite (House, 1994). Gold occurs principally within bornite frequencies in general ;ire related to gypsum vein densities
as free gold and occasionally as tellurides. Sulpliides are zoned ranging from two per metre on the O X O 0 level to over five per
laterally from a bornite dominant core through to a chalcopyrite metre above the gypsum line. Four piiiicipal joint sets have been
dominated periphery. Pyrite increases outward at the expense of identitied (Figure 7) with spacings Ior each set averaging 0.4 m
bornite. to 0.8 in on the 9800 l e \ ~ and
l 4 . 2 in above the gypsum line.
Copper/gold ratios vary both vcrtically and laterally at E20 Two sets clip steeply (>75") to the west and northeast, a third also
(House 1994). Two distinct copper-gold ratio domains have been dips steeply (60" - 70") to the northwest, while the fourth
identified - an upper copper-rich/gold-poor domain and a lower- (dominantly gypsum veins) dip shallowly ( ~ 3 0 " to) the south.
middle copper-rich/gold-rich domain. The copper/gold ratio (as
defined by Cu per ccnt:Au g/t) increases systematically laterully
away from the southern porphyry within both domains from I : I
in the core to IO: 1 in the peripheries. This is in contrast to E27
and E22 where copper/gold ratios are close to I : I throughout.
Heithersay and Walsh (1996) document I I stages of alteration
ociatcd with the hydrothermal system that
produced the E26 orebody. Stages 1 - 3 represent veins and
alteration assemblages that wcrc precursors to the main
mineralising stages. Biotite and magnetite alteration occurred
during stage 3 associated with anhydrite and alkali feldspar, and
forms an annulus to the deposit. Stage 3 was overprinted hy
Stagc 4 veinlets (quartz-K-feldspar-albite) with associiitcd
sulphides and hematisation of magnetite. Stagc 5 is composed of
multi-stage stockwork quartz veins and sulphides. Stages A to X
are associated with the northern porphyry and are equivalents o f
stages I , 4 and 5 respcctivcly of the southern porphyry, although
sulphidc mineralisation occurs principally as chalcopyrite. Stage
9 is quartz-scricitc alteration and stages 10 and 1 I arc veins of
gypsum and anhydrite. The stage 9 alteration usually occurs ;IS
structurally and fracture controlled quartz-sericite-pyrite shears FIG0 - Gypsum vciiiing o i i 10 030 iriKL lcvcl (field of view 3 in)
that crosscut the mainbody of mineralisation and continue for :it
least a kilometre beyond it. These shears generally trend NW-SE
and dip stccply to the north and north cast.
Sulphur isotope and fluid inclusion studies by Heithersay iind
Walsh (1996) demonstrate high temperature and high salinity
fluid conditions during formation of stages 3 - 6 (pcak
hydrothermal conditions) related to thc emplacement of the
southern and northern porphyries. Most quartz vein development
and sulphide precipitation occurred over a temperature range of
500 to 800°C. Decreasing temperatures and :i waning of tlic
hydrothermal system is recorded by stages 7 to I 1.
GEOTECHNICAL
Until the recent excavation of underground development, all
gcotechnical assessment at E26 was based on diamond drill core.
Fracture frequencies were taken from counts of the number of
open fractures per 3 in of drilled core. These counts had to be
adjusted to account for geometric considerations to obtain the
true joint spacings. Oriented drill core helped identify ;ind
orientate joint sets, however as the majority of holes were drillcd
from cast to west, there was a large 'blind zone' (ie joint sets
running subparallel to the drill holes were under-represented)
(Rosengren, 1992). Recent mapping of underground exposures
using a 5 m cell mapping system has provided much needed FIG7 - Stcrcographic:il projection of joint WI poles from 9x30 and '98 1 X
suhlcvcl rnappiiig.
additional data. 1
Based on the geological and geotechnical characteristics of the Secondly, what fmgmentation size and range can he expected.
orebody (principally gypsum vein density), Rosengren ( 1992) I’or hoth these questions an understanding of the rock mass
dividcd E26 lift I into nine geotechnical zones. The rock inass chmicteristics is essential.
rating (defined below) within each zone varies from 53 at the
9800 level to 40 or less above the gypsum line (Figure 8). Cavabihty
__
Surface
The cavability ot’;i rock mass i s a function ofthe hydraulic radius
and tlie qu;ility o f the rock I I I ~ S S . The hydraulic radius is ii
v’/+ ,CLAY,(removed) ’ /’/ //
10285rnRL,
10260mRL, nieiisurc o l [he area of undercutting divided by the perimeter.
Several rock mass schemes arc in use in mining and engineering.
F) B OXIDE 10240rnRL I
Northparkes h a s used the Lauhscher ( I 990) system of rock mass
r-
Dool
-
cuss II
Coves PWI
C“,OS wuu
Resource modelling is based on 184 inclined diamond, rotary
and percussion drill holes. Most are NQ-sized diamond holes
drilled from surface and underground. Drill hole densities vary
-t
c m v
cover very
from 40 m x 40 m x 75 m in Lift 1 to 80 m x 100 in x 130 m XCil
below and to the north of Lift I. Holes were half core sampled D
on I m intervals prior to I993 and 2 in intervals thereafter. Both HYDRAULIC RADIUS = AreqlPerirneler
copper and gold show a log normal distribution; gold having a
pronounced positive skew, copper a slight negative skew.
Resource block models are constructed using DATAMINE
software with interpolation of grade into IO m x IO in x 20 m
blocks using the inverse distance squared method. Grade
interpolation is carried out within wireframes defined by plan FIG9 - Laubscher stability diagram (after Laubscher 1990).
contours at intervals o f 0.5, 1.O and 2.0 per cent for copper and
0.25, 0.5 and Ig/t for gold. The contours are ‘snapped’ onto the
drill holes in GUIDE. Drill hole intercepts included within a
wireframe are extracted and given a 5 m up and down hole Fragmentation
‘dilution skin’. The diluted intercepts are merged with the
sample data and downhole composited to 5 in intervals For caving operations, fragnentation is one of the most
preparatory for grade interpolation. Each grade zone is important tactors controlling the drawpoint spacing, dilution
interpolated separately using search parameters based on entry. draw control, productivity and secondary breakage
variography, orebody geometry and drill hole spacing. requirements (Laubscher, 1905). These in turn influence
strongly the production schedules and reserve estimate.
Primary fragmentation (ie what falls off the cave back) is
CAVE THEORY controlled by the orientation and strength of joints with respect to
Much of the current cave theory is based upon experience and the induced stresses within tlie cave back (Laubscher, 1993).
sand model experiments. It is only recently that numerical Secondary fragmentation is the reduction in primary block size
modelling has been used to predict such things as the critical as it is drawn down the cave column (comminution), This occurs
hydraulic radius, the zone of influence of draw. etc. In when stresses within the cave column exceed the strength of
considering a block cave operation two main concerns need to be weaknesses (fracture planes o r intact rock) within the rock block.
addressed. Firstly, at what point will the rockrnass cave. Controlling factors on secondary fragmentation are therefore the
block shape. fractures or lower IRS zones within tlie block, draw
height, incidence of arching in the draw column, range in
fragmentation. draw scenario. and ratio of height to width o f cave
zone (Laubscher. 1993).
A computer program based on empirical and analytical models
has been developed by Esterhuizen (1993) for predicting both
primary and secondary fragmentation under caving conditions.
Although the primary fragmentation at E26 Lift 1 might be
coarse, the combination of increasing draw height and lower 3 0
2
RMR produces a fragmentation curve that initially shows
significant coarse material but lines rapidly, so that by 150 in E0
height of draw, more than 95 per cent of material reporting to the 4 2
drawpoints passes 2 m3 (Chen, 1996, Figure IO).
loo%, I 5
-E
N
V 6
C
.-
0
c)
"
0
&E
U
Interactive Draw
1
Draw theory
To optimise the recovery of a block cave ore reserve one has to
ensure an overlap of drawzones and minimise dilution. Sand and 2
gravel model experiments (eg Marano. 1980; Peters, 1984) have
shown that a drawpoint drawn in isolation will draw a discrete
column of caved material above it. This column (termed the
isolated draw zone - IDZ) forms a cylindrical shape for higher 3 0
drawcolumns (Peters, 1984) and its diameter is dependent on the z
fragmentation size and range and the loading width at the
drawpoint. Fine material will have a smaller IDZ than coarse
?i0
4 '
material. Experiments have also shown that concurrent drawing
of adjacent drawpoints whose spacing is less than a critical
distance, creates interaction between the drawzones (Marano.
5
1980). This results in a different and wider draw zone than if
they had been drawn in isolation (Figure I I ) , thought to he
because of the creation of a low density zone encouraging
movement of material from outside the IDZ into the drawzone. 6
Based on these sand model experiments and experience from
operating mines, Laubscher (1995) has developed guidelines !or
determining the critical minimum spacing which ensure
interaction between drawzones for a given fragmentation profile
and loading width. This critical distance determines the
drawpoint spacing for a particular layout, measured as tlie
minimum spacing across the major apex (Figure 12).
For E26 Lift I the minimum IDZ (for material above the
gypsum line) is 8 in. Concurrent drawing of the two drawpoiiits
forming a drawbell and the drawing of adjacent drawbells is
expected to increase the drawzone diameter for each drawpoint Isolated Draw
to I6 m. The offset herringbone drawpoint layout of 14 m x 14
m spacing corresponds to a maximum and minimum drawzone
spacing of 19 m and I O m respectively (Figure 12). This spacing
has been selected as a compromise between the draw of early
coarse and later fine material, as well as pillar stability and FIGI I - Draw patterns for m i d inodcl cxpcriinents (Laubscher 1995).
loader operation reasons.
I'C-BC
Isolated Draw Zones The Lilt I reserves have bccn estimated using the GEMCOM
d t w a r e pxkkagc PC-BC vcrsion 3.0 developed by Diering
lnteiaclion between ( 1996). Thc program has been developed specifically to simulate
draw zones increasing the processes o t draw and draw control under block-caving
the area 01 influence
conditions. Iri situ reserves arc converted into mineable reserves
taking into ;icc~untmixing and dilution during interactive draw
(by horizontal and vertical redistribution of in situ tonnage and
metal). I ~ n gand short-tcrm planning can be carricd o u t by
lnteracllon between adlacenl inputting mine layouts, sliut-off grades, draw rates and
drawbells increases aiea of
inlluence la eliplical shape I)roduction schedules.
I n cstahlishing ;I PC-BC niodcl the resource block model,
drawpoint layout, ;ind drawcone geometries are essential (Figure
13). Slices within each drawcolumn are assigned a tonnage and
grade valuc based on the input'resource block model. This forms
tlie raw grade database for material extraction and mixing.
Proportions of sliccs are then mixed as slices below are extracted
FIG12 - E26 Lift I drawzones. o r moved.
Production rates
Production rates from caving operations are measured as the
height drawn in mm/day, and can be a s high as 400 mm/day
depending on the fragmentation, drawpoint spacing and specific
gravity of the ore (Laubscher. 1993). When inducing caving,
draw rates should not exceed tlie rate of advance of tlie cave back
;is this could lead to the creation of an excessive air gap; however
draw rates should be large enough to prevent loading and damage
to tlie extraction level. Based on the number of drawpoints and
production schcdule, tlie average drawrate at E26 is 200 mm/day.
General
Once the fragmentation characteristics are known (giving a FIG13 - Flow diagram of establishing drawcolumn reserves in PC-BC
drawpoint spacing, height of interaction zone and dilution entry
point), reserve estimation can begin. Unlike other mining
Each di-iiwpoint is given ;I location (XYZ co-ordinate). a
methods such :is open cut mining, ore extraction by block caving
record number. a name, a type nnd status. Each drawpoint type
is non-linear (Diering. 1996). In considering open cut mining for contains ii set drawcone geonictry and cost of development. The
example, the mining sequence does not effect tlie reserve. iis ore drawcone may be circular o r rectangular in cross section and
blocks remain fixed in their location regardless of wliiit is mined may have v;iried radii at dillcrent heights. For example, by
around them. In block caving however, the remov;il of an ore having two distinct drawpoint types and cones one can define
block causes movement of material around it. thus influencing central drawpoints with a vertical draw column and peripheral
the future location of another block of ore or block o f dilution. drawpoints with an inclined draw column.
'I'he reserves are therefore unique for each draw scenario and can The resource block model IS imported from DATAMINE into
be reduced significantly through poor draw control practice. The PC-BC. Each ccll within thc model has three grade values (Cu
application of a uniform dilution factor to an 'in-cave' resource per cent. Auglt and eCu per cent), a ff/m and per cent fines
can lead to erroneous results. v;ilue. Density and rocktype codes are also set for cnch cell. In
preparing the E26 model, density values were reduced for cells
between the 9800 and 9860 levels to account for swell removed
during undercutting; also cells lying above the open pit were
removed.
For each drawcolumn. a proportion of the material is I
exclusively accessible from the underlying drawpoint, while
some is accessible by other drawpoints (ie 'unique' and 'shared'
material respectively). While unique material will only report to
the drawpoint below i t , shared material is available for cross
drawpoint (horizontal) mixing.
The first step in preparing the model is to compute the block I
fractions within each drawcolumn that are unique and shared i
(Figure 14). Next the resource blocks arc transferred to the
sliccfile. Once these two steps are completed, ore column
depletion can start (Figure 15).
\ '
\,
I
!
\
efficient of $20 per percentage eCu. Resource block grades were height of tlic interaction zonc (within which mixing occurs) is
transferred to the drawcolumn slicefile. A shut-off grade of 0.8 modified by the draw control factor prior to depletion. The
per cent eCu ($16 - ie $20 x 0.8) was applied to the drawpoint process ot tinding the best height of draw is repeated after year 7
columns after vertical and horizontal mixing. Drawpoints having to give the tonnes available for year 8 - when the lift is
an ore column with an average grade below 0.8 per cent eCu exhausted. Sections through the lift after 3 stages of mining are
were removed from the layout. Drawpoints which have an ore shown in Figures I6 - 19. The reserve tabulated from the annual
column grade of >0.8 per cent eCu but at a low tonnage are also production schedules is unique for the particular draw strategy
excluded if they have a negative nett revenue. The reniaining chosen and documented above
layout of 130 drawpoints were then used as the recommended .
Draw strategy
The draw strategy at E26 must account for the orebody geometry.
I
grade distribution and rock mass characteristics, plus production
and economic parameters. I t seeks to maximisc ore recovery,
maintain production and maximisc the project NPV. Within Lift I -E
1 the orebody tapers towards the surface with the central
drawpoints in general having a higher ore column than peripheral I
drawpoints. The central core of the orebody is also expected to I
produce coarser fragmentation because of lower gypsum veining
and induration by silica (associated with high quartz vein
densities). I
The draw strategy for Lift I aims 10 draw tlie central
drawpoints at higher rates than the outer drawpoints i n tlie first
three years of cave production. This strategy aims to: I
I
1. flatten the ordwaste interface thus reducing dilution;
2. remove the expected higher grade coarser material s o that i t
is not isolated by finer faster flowing low-grade material;
3. maximise the project NPV by providing higher grades and
revenues in early years.
Drawpoints selected for higher draw rates were done so based
on average expected grade from the drawpoint and the height of
tlic ore column.
After this, draw rates will be proportional to the amount of
material remaining in the ore column such that all drawpoints
reach their shut-off grades in the same year.
FIGI6 - Section through drawcolumns along drawbell row four prior t o
tlcpletion.
Draw simulation
With the selection of the 130 drawpoint layout the Lilt I reserve
is constructed from the annual production schedule. Annual The PC-RC reserve is coinpared to the 'in cave' resource in
tonnes for each drawpoint arc assigned and extracted with Table 2 at a cut-olf of 0.8 per cent eCu. The 'in-cave' resource
vertical and horizontal mixing parameters turned on. The only includes resource inside ii vertical projection of the layout
tonnage calls are based on the draw strategy outlined above. above 9800 mKL, excluding undercut swell and the open pit
Specifically, this entails: material. At a cut-off of 0.8 per cent eCu the reserve represents
mi increase i n tonnage of IO per cent and reductions of 12 per
I. even draw in years I and 2 to allow undercutting and cave cent in coppcr and 16 per cent in gold grades compared to the
propagation; resource. Metal contents increase by two per cent for copper but
2. differential draw of higher grade drawpoints i n years 3, 4 decrease by three per cent for gold. These changes are a measure
and 5. Draw ratios are: of' resource recovery combined with dilution and mixing.
3 x for drawpoints >2.0 per cent eCu (approx 400 Mixing results in some in sirir ore being lost while some waste is
midday) included. As the copper/gold ratio increases towards the
peripheral xid upper parts ot tlie mineralisation, the inclusion of
2 x for drawpoints > I .2 and .O per cent eCu (approx dilution atfects the gold grades more than the copper grades.
270 m d d a y ) The loss ot gold metal reflects ore loss or sterilisation because of
I x for drawpoints <l.2 per cent eCu (approx 130 dilution by waste material i o below shut-off value drawpoint
mdday); grades.
3. draw proportional to tonnes remaining above a drawpoint
for years 6 - 8. Thus high tonnage drawpoints are drawn at PRODUCTION SCHEDULING
a rate higher than lower tonnage drawpoints.
Since the start 01' cave extraction in February 1997. PC-BC has
The total tonnage remaining after year 5 u p to the optimal heen used lor short-term production scheduling and monthly
height of draw for $16/t (ie 0.8 per cent CCU) .\hut-off is grade reporting. These slio1.t-term production schedules (ie
calculated as described above. This tonnage record is then scaled drawpoint calls) are determined from PC-BC based on the
to produce a total tonnage for the drawpoints of 4.1 Mt. The planned draw strategy (as used for reserve estimation. ie base
scaled tonnage record is depleted from the draw column reserves case). Actual drawpoint production rarely matches the planned
using vertical and horizontal mixing for years 6 ;ind 7. The h w straicgy because of circumstances such as drawpoint
-
---- - \
-. -
I I
I
I
! I
I
\
I
I
I
I
i
I
I
I
i
FIG17 - Drawbell row four after year three production Ftc; I9 - Drnwbell row four alter year 7.
TAHLB 2
E26 liJi I - c ~ o ~ t ~ ~ ~ uof'
r i s'iti-covc
ori re.\ortrce 'und PC-RC rescriw.
(Note: Tot;d reserve ( 1 1 26.6 MI includes C;IW reserve plus undercut and
open pit production.)
CALIBRATION
PC-BC has been a useful tool in block cave reserve estimation
and planning of ore extraction trom a block cave mine.
Calibration of the system however needs to be undcrtaken. 21s
FIG I8 - Dr:iwhell row four after year five production mixing parameters and the area and ;ingle of influence of a
drawcolumn have been based on ;inecdotal evidence and
expcrience of draw from other caving operations. This
ABSTRACT also incorporate some sense ot the spatial uncertainry that exists
I n the course of reviewing grade control practices at the M;irvcl Loch i n knowing precisely which small mineable volumes or blocks
gold mine in Western Australia in 1992. FSSl Consultants developed and will be recovered as ore in the mining process.
iinplcinentcd ;I novel approach to ore selection using ;I iiiethotl to The problems of estimating accurately the grades of small
niaxirnise financial return (the MP method*). The approdl was based blocks in resource models liave been reeognised lor several
on improved grade control sampling and an ore selection incthod which decades and provided sonic of the motivation for the
directly incorporates both a measure of the uncertainty in knowing the
tlevelopmcnt of indicator ;itid other non-linear methods of
true grade of selection units in the definition of ore. ;is well 3s the
operating cost and revenue parameters of the mining operation. Icsourcc estimation. However, the practice of estimating the
grades o t small selection units at the mining stage has not
During the past four years. FSSI Consultants have evaluated and
refined the use of this approach and have iinpleiiienrcd custornised advanced significantly until the implementation of grade control
variations of the MP method at seven gold mines and a gold-copper mine optimisation approaches. Uncertainty in knowing the true grade
in Australia. The previous methods of ore selection :it most of these of ;I selection unit has not liad any significant role in the
operations were based mainly on polygonal - sectional methods of grade classitication of tlic material ;ISore or waste.
estimation, Until recently. the most commonly used methods for defining
At all of the sites where grade control optirnisation h i ~ sbeen given a ore i n open pit and underground mines were based on variations
fair trial over several months of production. the use of the M P method
has been consistently rewarding to the mining operations. The benefits 01' tlie nearest neighbour or polygonal method. Such ;ipproaches
include increased run of mine ore stockpiles and low-grade stockpiles oftcn incorporate ad hoc grade cutting or top cutting procedures
and decreased fluctuation in the production grade. Most oper;itions have which reduce the predicted werage grade to that reported by the
also benefited from a consistent ability to improve production grade mill. However. the most serious problem with polygonal methods
through high-grading of the increased ore production. l'hc increase in is that they almost always ciiuse a large proportion of economic
ore production has the logical benefit of reducing stripping ratios.
increasing mine profitability atid mine life. mineralisation to be lost to waste.
Even where mines have graduated to a better estimation
INTRODUCTION procedure such a s ordinary ki-igingt, a range of local correction
procedures are commonly used to modify the estimates in
In the experience of the authors. there are generally two stages at rcsponsc to feedback from the mill. In general, the inverse
which spatial definition of ore is required in underground and distance and kriging estimators have the reverse effect to that of
opcn pit mining projects. At the feasibility stage. spatial polygonal methods: they tend to misclassify subeconomic
definition of the resources i s required for mine planning and inaterial Io ore. This misclassilication is largely caused by the
mine design. The resource delinition is usually done from smoothing effect of these estimators on the higher-grade
relatively widely spaced sampling which precludes tlie accurate samples. Grade cutting, the use of inverse distance to the power
estimation of the grade of small blocks that would be suitable for [lirce: and ccmstrained estimation through the use of grade
ore selection at the mining stage of the project. For open pit zoning are some of the procedures used to reduce the spatial
mining, ;I number of algorithms have been developed lor smoothing clfect 01' these estiinators on higher-grade simples.
generating optimum pits and practical mine scheduling such as
the Lerchs-Grossmann and Cone Mining algorithms. The GRADE ESTIMATION AND UNCERTAINTY
authors are not aware of any generally accepted methods for
optimisation of reserves for underground mining. Regardless o f what kind of estimation method is used to estimate
the grade of t i mineralised block of material. the estimate
Optimisation methods such a s Lerchs-Grossmann (Lerchs and
provided almost never corresponds to the true grade of the block:
Grossmann, 1965) are usually applied in practice to spatial block
tliat is. the grade o f the block tliiit would be achieved it' the block
models of the mineralisation under the assumption that the grade were sent t o the mill and processed as ore. T h e odd occasion
of any particular block in the model is accurately estimated by wlien the estimate does correspond lo the true block grade goes
the method used to model the grades. I t is only recently that unrccognised by the estimation procedure.
serious attempts have been made to incorporate recoverable
resource models constructed using indicator and other non-linear
kriging methods in these optimisation procedures (Schotield. " It h;is been soinetiincs refei.red to incorrectly as conditional
1995; Rolley and Johnson, 1997). The ;idvantage that siinu1ation.
recoverable resource models bring to optimisation is that they
i 0rdiii;ir.y kriging, the forin o f kriging under which the kriging
provide more accurate estimates o f tonnes and grade of resources weights are constrained to suiii to one, is sometimes referred to in the
that will be recovered in mining based on realistic ore selection inining coiiiinunity as normal kriging m d occasionally referred to
procedures to be used in the mine. Recoverable resource models incorrectly as siiiiple kriging. The gcostatistical community uses the
term siiiiple kripiiig when the kriging weights are unconstrained and
the global inean o f the grade\ IS rrssuined to bc known t o within
I. FSSl Consultant (Australia) Pty Liniited. PO Box 657. Epping NSW :iccept;ihle accuracy
2121.
iThe inverse dista~iceestiiixitors to the power three and greater
2. FSSl Consultant (Australia) Pty Limited. PO Box 426. Lcederville provide h i n a t e s similar to p)lygonal estimates because by far the
WA 6903. greatest weight IS given to the nearest sample.
I
The difference between the estimated grade and the true grade For tlic purpose of describing local uncertainty in the grade of
of a hlock is generally called the estimation error. The cxiict mincr;ilisntion, coiitlitionnl simulation methods provide only one
error in the case of' any particular estimation method and any possihly import;int advantage ovci the non-linear kriging
particular hlock remains unknown. However the use of ;I methods discussed above: direct :icccss to the block griide
probabilistic method. like indicator kriging for modelling the distribution through averaging of ilie local point simulated
grade distribution can provide a description of the range of values.
grades that are likely to occur at a particular location in the In addition to the more usual situation where the economics of
mineralisation usually presented in the form of a cumulative mining depends 011 ii single metal such a s gold. some deposits
histogram. This histogram may also be seen as ii description of require the modelling o f two or more elements which arc
the uncertainty in knowing the true grade at that location. important to the economics of mining. An example of this
situation IS gold mineralisation closely iissociated with sulphidcs
Traditional grade estimation methods such a s nearest where the grade of sulpliur in the concentrate is critical to the
neighbour methods and inverse distance methods do not provide efficient operatioil of the gold rccovery process. Another
a direct way to describe the uncertainty attached to an estimate i n example is iron ore wliere the concentration and variability of
the form of a histogram. The kriging variance of ordinary silica, ;ilumina ant1 phosphorus in addition to iron arc importiint
kriging may be used to provide some description of the in defining the quality of the product produced for sale (GuibA c'i
uncertainty but its use requires an assumption about the shape of ul, IWO). In these Aituations, appropriate models of the
the histogram of possible grades which is totally unrealistic; that mineralisation sliould Iionour the 5pitiA continuity of each
is. the histogram of possible grades is almost always assumed to elenient ;is expressed through the direct variograin of that
he gaussian in shape. A more severe limitation of the use of the element ;is well ;is the spatial cross correlation between the
ordinary kriging variance is the assumption that the estimation various clciiicnts :is expressed through the cross variogram. For
variance is independent of the magnitude of the grade being example. i n the c w c of gold and sulphur, the variogram of gold,
estimated. However. in many mineral deposits, the variability of the variogram of sulphur and the cross viiriogram of gold with
the grades is directly related to the magnitude of the grade' and sulphur :ill need to he c:ilculated and niodelled.
this places a severe limitation on the ordinary kriging variance as
ti useful description of uncertainty in knowing the true grade o f ;I UNCERTAINTY AND OPTIMUM ORE SELECTION
mining unit.
Uncertainty in the grade o l a block is ;I consequence of a nunibcr
Among the geostatistical kriging methods, there are a number of factors, some 01' which can be coiitrolled to ii limited extent
of methods which can provide a good description of the loci11 ;ind otliers over \vliich there is no direct control (Schofield,
, uncertainty in knowing the grade at any point in a miner;il 1993). 11icr.c is no question that local uncertainty in knowing the
deposit (Schofield, 1992). These mcthods include indicator block grade can be reduced by improving the quality of
kriging, disjunctive kriging, multigaussian kriging and their inform;ition through better sampling and assaying procedures.
many varieties. One of the limitations of the indicator and Uncertainty may iilso he reduced Ily decreasing the s;imple
disjunctive kriging methods is that they do not provide directly a spacing and thus increasing the number of samples ;idjacent to
description of the uncertainty at a block scale. The multi- any individual block. These are factors over which the mine
gaussian kriging method of Verly (1986) does provide access to geologist liiis some control. flowever. improving thc quality of
this histogram but only through the use of conditional simulation. information or increasin? the number of samples used to
generate estimates o f the grades may come at some additional
cost. The cost-effectiveness of improved sampling may be
CONDITIONAL SIMULATION AND addressed tlirough optimum ore selection processes.
UNCERTAINTY The I'iictors affecting uncertainty which cannot be controlled
Geostatistical conditional simulation methods (Deutsch and directly ;ire inherent propcrties of tlie mineralisation: tlic
Joumel, 1992) in their many forms provide a way of generating continuity of grade and propensity tor uncertainty to increxe
maps of the grade of mineralisation at either a point or a block with increasing grade. Fortunately, some indirect control over
these tactors is possible by modifying sampling density.
scale which honour the sample grades at the sample locations,
Mineralisation which displays weak continuity characteristics
the histogram of the sample grades and the variogram or spatial will generally necessitate closer spaced sampling for efficient ore
continuity of the sample grades. In other words, if one were to selection; ;I need for ore selection at ;I significantly higher cut-off
calculate the histogram and the variogram of the simulated grade may trigger ;I similar requiremerit.
values, they would correspond closely to those of the sample
Uncertainty in the grade of a block ( 1 1 selection unit affects ore
grades. The reproduction of the short-scale variogram in selection because i t causes misclassilication of ore to waste and
conditional simulation is important in ore selection problems waste to ore. In tr;iditional ore selection, if the estimate of the
because it is usually the short-scale variation that causes ore grade 01' ii block is below the cut-oft' grade, the block is sent to
misclassification problems in mining. waste. However, if the true grade 01 tlie block exceeds the cut-
By generating a large number of spatial conditional off grade. then misclassitication of ore to waste has occurred.
simulations (say 100) of the grade in a deposit or part of a The real cost of inisclassifying a block of ore to waste is the cost
deposit, one ciin have direct access to a histogram of possihle of mining the block plus the value of the surplus that could have
values for the grade at any particular point or block location in been made from processing the block and recovering the metal
the deposit. The vnlue generated at a particular location in the for sale. The operating prolit of the mine is decreased by that
deposit in one simulation is independent of the values generated amount. The real cost 01. inisclassifying a block of waste to ore
i n other simulations and is no more likely to be the true value of is the value of tlie metal recovered minus the mining and
processing costs. While ;I hlock of material with a grade below
the grade at that location than any other simulated value.
the designated cut-off grade does not generate enough revenue to
pay for its mining and processing, the loss may be quite different
to that incurred from discarding a block of ore to waste.
nThis is the well known proportional effect (Isaaks and Srivastavu,
1989). The profit function for ore selectioii i n most mining operations
is a lincar function of costs and revenucs.
Profit = Revenue - Costs *. Grade control optimisatiori provides a useful solution to this
problem because tlic geostatistical models generated with non-
Revenue = Ore-tonnes x ore-grade x mill-recovery x lineiir kriging methods and conditional simulation implicitly
uni t-metal-price
;iccount tor tlie increase in grade variability at higher-grade. For
Costs = Milling-cost_per_tonnc + Ore-mining-cost + '111 operation which is mill limited, tlie approach c;in be used to
Waste-mining-cost Fenerate orc outlincs which maximise the grade of ore delivered
to tlie mill. Alternatively. if [lie operation wishes to produce ore
As a consequence, thc cost of misclassification is a linear ;it a certain werage grade intlcpendent of mill capacity. this goal
function of the estimation error in the grade. For example, if a can be accommodated.
block with true grade equal to 0.75 times the cut-oft grade were
estimated to have a grade equal to the cut-off grade, tlic cost of
misclassification would be precisely 0.25 x cut-oil' x metal price
APPLICATIONS OF GRADE CONTROL
x recovery plus the milling costs. The use of ordinary kriging as OPTIMISATION
a grade estimator or thc use of the expected value or E-type FSSI Consti1t:ints lias developed the application of grade control
estimates generated from non-linear kriging methods implicitly optimisation in mining over tlie past five years and lias applied
iissumes that the cost of misclassification is proportional to tlie tlie method i n a number of opcrations with substantial reward for
square of the estimation error ;ind that the costs of tlwc operations. The method lias found greatest acceptance in
inisclassifying ore to waste and waste to ore ;ire tlie same lor ;I opcrations wliere problems i i i ore selection have been obvious;
specified magnitude of estimation error. Tlie non-linear and shortfalls i n tonncs and gradc compared to the reserve model and
symmetric nature o f this profit function is clearly at odds with sliortfdls i i i metal compared to that predicted from grade control.
the linear and asymmctric character of the real protit tunction I n these operations, the implementation of griide control
used in most mining operations as described above (Srivastava, optimisation has brought significant rewards including large
1987). increases 111 tlie tonnages ol' profitable ore and consistent
Probability theory provides ;i way t o integrate tlie profit improvement in the grade of tlic ROM stockpile. Our predictions
function (a function of the ore grade) with the local unccrtainty of tlie improvements in performance in these operations based on
function ( a cumulative distribution function 01' the grade) prior orientation studies have lor the most part been rc;ilised.
described by conditional simulation o r non-linear kriging to I n some operations, the improvements in ore selection have led
evaluate the expected value of the profit for a particular choice of io ;I complete rc-cvaluation o f the mine economics and a
economic cut-off grade (gc) (Clacken. 1996). Tlie use of grade hignificant extension to the mine life. In other operations where
control optimisation for defining ore is intended to minimisc the problems iii ore selection weIc not apparent even if the polygonal
impact of uncertainty in knowing the true grade on the expected modelling were the method ol choice, grade control optimisation
operating prolitability of the operation. The decision as to 1ias providctl increased tonn;igcs of profitable ore. consistent
whether a block should be selected as ore or waste is based on prediction 01' 1ie;id grade antl improved cl
whether the expected benefit of accepting the block a s ore (Bo) is ore types.
greater than the cxpected henelit of rejecting the block ;IS waste
(Bw). In mining terms, this means that if a block is iiccepted a s -
Marvel Loch gold mine WA Sons of Gwalia Limited
ore. then the cut-offgrade at which Bo is greater than or equal to
In 1991, tlic Marvel Loch gold mine, then operated by Reynolds
the Rw is less than or equal to the economic cutoff gr:ide gc. Australia. was experiencing major problems in ore production
with shortfalls i n production ronnage and grade compared to the
DEFINITION OF THE CUT-OFF GRADE rcscrve motlel and the grade ol ore predicted from g r x k control.
Mill production was limited I>y the tonnage of ore tliat the mine
In practice. the marginal economic cut-off grade uscd in most
could produce.
mines is that grade at which the cost of processing ;I block of
material exactly balances the revenue from the metal rccovered. Ore selection ;it tlie mine WJS based on the use of ;I sectional -
polygonal nicthod applied to 1111: grades of open hole percussion
marginal cut-off ' = unit cost of processing ore I (unii price of samples collected specifically for grade control. A number of top
metal x recovery lactor)
cuts and clilution tiictors were used in different areas of tlie
Many mines use this cut-off to define the lower limit of grade clcposit to reduce [lie intluencc of high-grade samples on the
for material going to tlie low-grade stockpile. Commonly, a estimated grades of ore polygons and to account for the lower
higher cut-off grade is used to define the mill feed ore. This is than predicted grade of the oIc received at the mill.
usually because the operation is mill limited on toiinage but there The implementation o f the MP method at this operation
may bc some other opportunity function that the mine is pursuing rc;ilised iiii increase of around 30 per cent in protitable ore
such as improving their market perception as a Iiigli-grade tonnage antl much improved reconciliation between mill and
producer. In any case. there is frequently ii need to provide ore mine grades. Some other benctits derived from the use of the
outlines which will deliver a higher-grade of ore to the mill MP method included:
without modifying the operating parameters of [lie mining
operation. Most mines seek to do this by increasing the
operating cut-off grade. * I n S ~ I I I I Colxmlions, thc rcvc~~iie
inay be dependent on some non-
linear Iecovcry liiiiction. bur 111the authors' experience. this is rare.
One of tlic most important weaknesses of tlie traditional
estimation methods and ordinary kriging is that they provide no + 111 SOIIIC inincs. the K ~ O V K IIS~ related to the grade so the break-
insight into tlie way in which the uncertainty i n dclining ore even CUI-offgr;idc is defined hy a ciirvc rather than a single fixed
(C
changes with increasing cut-off grade . 13ecause the uncertainty wliie. This is o l t e n the case L I pold
~ deposits where the $old occurs
h o ~ h:is IWK gold und in 3ssoui;11ionwith sutphides.
in knowing [lie grade at a particular location is usually strongly
related to the grade, it increases with increasing grade. This 6 This 15 :iIso triir olthe noiiliiie:ir estin~ationmethods where only
usually causes greater misclassification of ore and waste when ilie expccicd wliic or E-iypc cstiiiiator is used instead 01 the entire
higher cut-off grades are used with the consequence that the histogram.
C~II~IIIOII;II
higher grades expected at the mill arc often n o t realised.
improved profitability; hole sampling on tlie mine bench. ( h d e s in holes from the
lowering of sample density and therefore milling cost of bench ;ihovc did not play ;I signiticaiit role in the ore definition
grade control per tonne of ore; on the cui-rent bench. Tlic mine had not been experiencing any
hetter use o f geological staff in mapping rather than (lata significant shortfhlls in ore tonnage or grade except the difliculty
plotting and digitising; with the C I L O N L,Y ore I rient ioned ahovc.
An orientation study of grade conti-ol optimisation indic.ited
more consistency between geologists over time in the
interpretation of ore: that ore production within tlie present p i t could he increased by
20 per cent incurring ;I comp;ira[ivcly small drop in the
the increase in tonnes without a significant decrease i n grade
production grade of gold. Over ;I period o f 14 months
brought about full utilisation of the mill; and production. i t was estimated that the mine produced an additional
the development of large ore stockpiles as the operation 22 per cent more orc coinpiired to wliiit would have resulted from
became mill limited brought the opportunity to process the polygonal grade control method lor ;in increase in protit of
higher-grade material. nround five per cent or $ 2 3 M ( p e n coinin G Scott ).
*
As ii consequence of these improvements, the mine The sclection ol' CIL-ONLY ore w ; i h also much improved with
management completely reviewed the value of the operation to glade control optirnis;ition. The niine management .iIso
the organisation and investigated further pit expansion. recogniscd the hcncfits of improved sampling through 1<C
drilling and sevcr;il programs were mempted. However,
-
Yilgarn Star gold mine WA Yilgarn Star Joint production pressures in this pit comhtned with slow drilling Lind
Venture extremely hard ground made the schctluling of the additional
drilling very difficult.
Grade control optimisation was introduced to assist ore selection
in the mine in 1993. At that time. the mine was experiencing
shortfalls in both the tonnage and grade of the run of mine ore COMPARISON WITH KRIGING ESTIMATORS
and had no significant stockpiles of low-grade material. Ore The majority of coinparisons we have inade are between grade
selection was based on a sectional - polygonal method applied to control optimisation and sectional - polygonal methods for ore
dedicated grade control sampling using hollow-hammer RC selection. Most gcostatisticians would not regard favourable
drilling with holes angled across the dip of the mineralisation. comparisons with iieurest-neighhour methods as a significant
Some I5 vertical metres were sampled during each grade control indication of performance because these methods are known to
sampling campaign. he strongly conditionally biased and inefficient.
Within three months o f the introduction of the MP method. tlie Compirisons of the performance ol' g r x k control optimisation
quarterly reports of the mine showed a marked improvement in i n ore definition with iiiverse distance estimation methods,
the tonnage and grade of the run of mine ore and the tonnage of ordinary kriging iintl indicator kriging all show that M P method
low-grade stockpiles. Thereafter, until the completion of tlie is superior in defining ore. More significantly, the efficiency of
open pit. the mine consistently produced run of mine ore ;it MP over the kriging estimators increases as the sample spacing is
grades exceeding 4 g/t Au. The tonnage of low-grade and run of increased, To ;icliicvc tlie same level of accuracy in ore
mine ore produced using grade control optimisation exceeded definition, tlic kri9iiig methods need higher density sampling
that produced by the polygonal method by around 40 per cent in
the test area used for a detailed comparison of the methods.
Campaign milling of the M P ore outlines consistently supported
CONCLUSIONS
the grade of ore predicted by the MP method. All ore selection methods are affected by errors in the prediction
Grade control optimisation was subsequently adopted for of the block grade from sample assays. These errors detract lrom
preliminary ore definition in the Yilgarn Star underground mine the efficiency of the ore selection proccss and necessarily c;iuse
and continues to be used. In thc underground niinc, the sonic loss o f met;il. Traditionnl cstimitors such a s tlic scctional
prediction of the ore production grade is significantly more polygonal inethorls and the more rcucnt geostatistical kriging
difficult for two main reasons. The ore cut-off grade is much estimators do not provitlc ;I useful measure of the uncertainty in
higher than in the open pit which makes the grade prediction knowing the true grade o f mining blocks. These estimators all
more sensitive to the proportion of extreme grades in the sample ;issumc that the cost o f misclassif'itAon of ore and waste
population. In addition, the spacing of the samples is much resulting from the estimation errors I S symmetric at all cut-off
broader which combined with the weaker continuity at highcr- grades. In rcality, i t is rarely the case t1i;it the cost of dispatching
grades makes grade prediction much more difficult. ore to the waste ( o r ii long-term low-gr;ide dump) is the same as
the cost of sending subeconomic material to the mill.
-
Red Dome Gold Copper Mine, QLD - Niugini Geostatistical conditional simulation allows us to model the
uncertainty in knowing the true gixde of a block. This
Mining
description of th e uncertainty can he integrated with ;in
The gold - copper mineralisation at the Red Dome deposit occurs optimisation algorithm to identify tli;it set of blocks which
mainly in the skarn alteration zone surrounding small acid maximises the expected mining profit to the organisation given
porphyry bodies which intrude limestone and other sediments. the various operating parameters.
Ore in the open pit was classified into three main types
depending on the grades of gold and copper. If the copper and
gold grades both exceed a certain threshold, the material was sent 0 FLOT-CIL rcfers 10 [he flotation and CIL milling circuit. Ore on
to a FLOT-CIL* stockpile. Material with low gold grade but this stockpile was tirst processed throughout the flotation circuit lo
recover copper :uitl gold contained in llic sulphides and then
relatively high copper grade was sent to a FLOT-ONLY stockpile throuphoiit the CIL circuit IO recover tlic remaining gold High
and material with very low copper grade and relatively high gold copper-low gold ores were treated with the FLOT ONLY circuit
grade was sent to I I CIL-ONLY stockpile. The mine had while low copper-highgold o r a were Ireated with the CIL-ONLY
experienced some difficulty with correct classilication of the circuit.
CIL-ONLY material where copper grade tended to exceed
Geoff Scott was chief geologist at die Ked Dome mine during the
expectations and cause problems in the CIL processing. M P :ind provided fccdback on thc perforinancc
iiiil)leiiicnlalioii of
Prior to the introduction of the M P method, ore selection at OfMP
Red Dome was based on a polygonal method applied to blast
longer mine life. Scholield. N A. 1002. Miiicrril rcsourcc mapping niethods and
dgonrhins: a discussion 0 1 their strengths and weaknesses, in
P:-w c w l r i i ~ s / 002 Au.r/MM Aii:iutrl Conference. pp 33-37 (The
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Austrtilasian Institute of Mining and Mevallurgy: Melbourne).
Scliofield. N A 1093. Optiiiiimtion of near mine resources. in
The authors gratefully acknowledge the assistance of many ~ / J p / f r ~ ~ i l i f i : lGmpurer.x
,~ i i i / / , eMiirenil Iiidusrry, (El.E Y Baafi),
geological staff at the mines where we have worked to )'I' 34-41
implement grade control optimisation, in particular Gary Scholield. N A 1095. Kecoverahlc resource models and optimization. in
Brabham, Geoff Scott, Nie Johnson, Michael Erickson. Richard I'roccccliiigs 01 the I995 Wiirtle Conlerence. Optimizing With
Crookes and Hob Love. \Vlrirr/c. pp 125- 134.
Sriv;istava. I< M. 19x7. Minimum variance or rnaximuin profitability?
CIM f h / / ~ ~ l i :XO(901
l, ):63-X8
Verly, G W. 1986. Multigaussi;iii kriging: a complete ~ i s estudy, in
. r 19th A/'(,'OM ,synipo.riurn. (Ed: K Ramani) pp
/ ' r ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ t / i iO/i , yrlrc
203-298 (Society of Mining Eiigineers ofthe AIME).
MODELLING TEXTURES
Modelling of textures at a scale practical for orebody mcidclling
and mine planning, is based on four factors:
1. the unbiased collection of texture data at the core scale I oca1 anti Slatlstlcally
(mesotexture),
.doha1 bias representative
2. compositing mesotextures to equal sample support.
U ~I'cxturcA Texture D = Texture C
2. the composite interval can be minimised to honour both SIMULATING MESOTEXTUKES AND ECONOMIC
local and global statistics. IMPLICATIONS
The second approach to compositing mesotexture information
To illustl.;i[e the proposed method. an cxample of modclling tliree
is recommended. mesotextures in ;I deposit and their influence on ore/waste
delincatioii is prcsciitcd i n this section.
Spatial structures
Consider K mutually exclusive mesotextures. An indicator Simulating mesotextures
transform for a particular mesotexture k ( k = I .2,..,K) ;it ;I sainplc Consider live vertical drill holes that Iiave been logged for three
location x in a mineral deposit is given by: mesotexturcs that display different iiietnllurgical chaiacteristics,
as shown in Figure 2. This example could represent mesotexture
1 if location x bclongs to mesotexlurc k
data from ;I scdimciitary-hosted base nietal deposit with: A being
ih(x) = coarse-grained splderitc and galeiia mineralisation; B being
0 otherwise massive pyrite: and C being fine-grained sphalerite
mineralisation. Metal recovery from material composed entirely
of mesotexture A is X I per cent, mesotexture R is 5.5 per cent and
For each mesotexture, k , a different set of indicator transforms mesotexture C is 77 per cent. Foi- this example, it will be
is defined. To quantify the spatial variability of the k assuinctl t h i i t the metal recovery is ;I I i n c x function related to the
mesotextures, a multi-texture variogram is used. The multi- proportions of the three niesotexturc types. Thus, based on the
texture or phase variogram (Soares, 1992) measures the global proportions of the inesotextures (Figure 2). the avcr-;ige
likelihood that two points separated by distance / I belong to the metal recovery is 7.5 per cent. The presence of diffcrent metal
same mesotexture and is given by: recoveries is the justitication foI the modelling of ore
mesotexttires. The economic effects will be further discussed in
n subsequent section.
1.oo L
..
.
d
8 0.75
0.50
......
0.25
1
0 IO
-
20
Experimental
Model
30 40 0 5
......
-
Model
IO
Experimental
15
Distance (m) Distance (m)
Realisation 1 Realisation 2
0
0 Tcxtlllc A Tc uturc B Tcxtuic t '
I used in this study. The results for several blocks are reported in
Figure 5. Note that the size of the blocks docs not have to he
regular (Figure 6).
hz1 Ore
0Waste
Text. A
.Text. B ME Gzde (%)
Text. C Net Value (a)
Recovery
Recovery=75%
Recoveries as YO
Blocks 8x8~3111;S.G=3.0,Metal Value $1.50kg
Textures as Mining costs $42.0011; Milling costs %12.00/1
proportions
L part of the figure changes from ore 10 waste with a negative net
value.
c)
'
0 3
i.?
.
?...?:'
.*
0 0 : .
O
0Waste
ME Grade (%:
Recovery
0Texture12 TexturcI3 = Texturcc'
0
Nett Value ($)
Examining economic implications Fic; X - Net value 0 1 hlocks if inincd and processed incorporating boih
The economic implications from the combination of texture nnd gmdc and texture intormation.
grade models may be demonstrated in a simple example. The
traditional approach to delineating orelwaste boundaries
The above example demonstrates the benefit of spatially
considers a domain of mineralised material to be metallurgically
modelling ore textures, where appropriate. Sediment-hosted base
homogenous. The net value of a block of material is the
metal deposits contain specific mineralisation styles where ore
extractable metal value minus the mining and milling costs. If
textures effect metal recoveries, thus are suitable for the
the net value is positive the block. is ore, otherwise i t is waste.
application of the proposed methodology.
An example from the deposit in the previous section, shown in
Figure 7, may be considered. In Figure 7, the bottom
westernmost block has a net value of -$933 and is classified a s COMMENTS AND CONCLUSIONS
waste. This classification is based on all blocks being The approach to texture modelling described in this paper
metallurgically identical and, consequently, the ordwaste generates distributions of mesotextures for any block size or
discrimination is simply related to the interpolated grade. shape from simulations of mesotextures at a small grid scale.
In the previous section each of textures A, B and C present in The texture modelling is based on mesotexture core descriptions
the deposit were reported to yield different metal recoveries. If that can he easily recorded during nortnal logging procedures
the ore texture distributions modelled in the previous section are The economic benefit from modelling mesotextures is, in part,
combined with the interpolated grades, the re-evaluation 0 1 the related to the integrity of the texture model at a mining scale.
blocks in the deposit changes the orelwaste boundary. This is The question of scnle and when t o upscale during the data
shown in Figure 8, where the net value of the same blocks in acquisition, compositing and texture inodelling process is critical
REGIONAL GEOLOGY
'The Mt Muro deposits arc hosted in a sequence of Latc
Oligocene - Early Miocene andesitic volcanics (Figure 2)
including mid-Tertiary subaerial lavas, tuffs and volcanic
hreccias of intermediate c k - a l k a l i n e affinities and lesser
siltstones and shales (Simmons and Brownc. 1990; Moyle et a /
1996). Late-stage dacite plugs crop out. Limited exposures of
younger tine grained basalt represent the last eruptive phase in
the cow.
To the northwest H dcforrncd sequence of Mesozoic shales,
sandstone and carbonates is exposed. Mid-Tertiary Harito Basin
limestones, shales, and sandstones with interbedded andesitic
volc;inics crop out to the soutI~e;~st.
The prominent I'ault directions within the COW are: northeast,
n~rtli-northwest and west-northwest. Mt Muro lies on a
northeast structur;il trend identified by van Leeuwen (!I al(1990).
LOCAL GEOLOGY
Gold-silver miner:ilisation is hosted in hydrothermally altered
lault and lracture zones, which cross-cut the andesitic volcanic
;iiitl pyrocliistic host rocks. The deposits fall in the low
Fiti 1 - Location inap of the Mt Muro project. bulphidation category (Leach and Corhett, 1995; Corbett and
Leach, 1995; Corbett, 1996). The best grades usually occur in
multi-phase quartz veins iiiid breccias associated with fault
Aurora Gold Ltd, an Australian public company, holds a 90 intersections. Major ore structures. which are locally referred to
per cent interest in the 480 km2 PT lndo Muro Kencana Contract as 'lodes', comprise (Moyle ct (11, 1996):
of Work ( C o w ) which encompasses more than 75 known 0 quartz veins between 0 3 and 15 m wide, with an average
width o f approximately 4 in;
footwall breccias between 0.3 and 2 m wide;
1. PT lndo Muro Kencana Wisina Pondok lndah Suite 600. Level 6, JI 0 hanging wall alteration halos up to 6 m thick;
Sultan lskandar Muda Blok V - TA Pondok lndah Jakarta Selatan
12310 hanging wall quartz stockwork mineralisation; and
supergene enrichment of silver in 'flat lying' patches.
The majority of the mineralisation is contained in the quartz They arc 5 - IS cni wide with spacings of 0.5 to 3 in,
veins and footwall bre s. High-grades are associated with the s e p m t e d by waste. Grades are berween 2 and 150 dt AuEq.
occurrence of thin discontinuous sulphide-rich stringers, which The veins dip i n the opposite direction compared to the main
occur in the quartz veins. These stringers are up to 5 cm wide. lode.
and several may occur in bands of up to 0.5 m wide. Grades can The mincability of these lodes viiiies. Selective miniiiy is
be up to 4000 g/t Au and over one per cent Ag, though they applied niost of tlie time. 'The minimum mining width is 2 in in
average between 500 and 1500 g/t Au and between 2000 and contr;ictu;iI terms. hut occasionally lodcs of I m are mined with
40O(l glt Ag. The approximate dimensions may be as large ;IS 40 the s m n l l PC400 if warranted b y grade considerations.
m along strike and 40 m down dip. Mineability of the lodes is assisted by the high degree of
The lodes are generally associated with topographic ritlyes. visibility 01. the ore inatel-ial, and the Iiish clay content. In tlic
Near the top the lode is weathered and intensely oxidised. and majority of' case:, [lie lode will st;ind up after cleaning iip of
through mechanical processes has been distributed over the side hangins will1 wasic. 1r should howcver be noted that not all
I
of the hill to form a blanket of eluvial. Oxidation in the lode can quartz I:, 01-eand not a11 ore IS quartz. T h e geology assistants arc
be over 100 m from the surface. given ;I high degrcc of responsibility i n deciding what is ore and
As shown in Figures 3. 4 and 5 (Spiers, 1997) complicalions
waste. They are q ~ p l i e dwith re1ev;int level plans and sections
associated with the lodes include: containing assay dais o r block niodel values.
'Rolling' of the lode with dips in opposite directions along Bulk mining is applied i n tlie following situations:
strike. Wlici-e \utficicnt tcnsion veins .~vcrageout the veins iiiid
Significant changes in strike direction. alternating wiis~ein1crvals abovc c u t - o f t grade, generally in
tlie I ilnge of 2 - 3 AuEq.
Hanging wall lodcs with different strike and dip compared to
the main lode. Whcre supergene enrichment of' \ilver averages abovc ilie
crir-(iff'grade: gold grade may bc la:, than 0.5 g/t. but silver
Pinch and swell o f the lode; the width may v x y tIom 8 in iii may he above I 5 0 g/t.
one location to less than a metre 2 0 m away. and change 1.1-om
Where hanging wall iind main I(itlc join up. Ore blocks of
high-grade to low-grade o r waste.
this type may be up to 30 m wide and contain both high-
Cross-cutting structures, which may or may not be grade gold ( 5 g/t) and silver (100 ?/[).
mineralised. If they are mineralised, the intersection with the
I main lode often carries high-grades. I f they are not RESERVES
mineralised. the main lode may locally disappear or have
low-grade or waste material only. Premining reserves are made up from 10 pits and 22 stiycs.
I Some cross cutting structures display dips of less than 45". Three pits 1 i ; w now been completed. Crirrently there are seven
Tension veins between hanging wall and footwall structures. pits and 17 stages rcinaining. The stccp terrain. high rainfall and
I
PIT OUTLINE
LEGEND
'
~
PRODUCTION
An Indonesian contractor, PT Pama Persada N u s a n t m (Pama),
ciirrics out mining. All early construction of haul roads and other
earthworks outside the plant site was carried out by Pama. who
;iIso liiive tlie first lour-year iiiining contract (Gregory. 1006).
The first prestripping took pl;icc i n March 1994, with excavation
ol' ore md w:istc from tlic Muro Sawang pit. The main
cqtiipment on site includes:
~ I X Koiriatsu excavators including PC 1000. PC650 and
FIG4 - Geology of [he Serii.jan Central dcposil oil sc'c[ioii 12 650 E.
PC400.
i !
Om 10 m 20 m 30 rn
. ..
1Cm
!a
FIG5 - Mapped geology in the Scrujan Cciifrd deposit :II 150 IIIKL,looking cast.
graders, and front end loaders. All these units were shipped u p Cash COSI (SUSlor)
the Barito River by barge.
The 1997 budget requires the excavation of I .5 Mt of ore, iind
an average total material removal of 600 000 bcm per month.
The waste to ore stripping ratio is approximately 10: I . At any
one time three pits with up to three stages per pit are active. senior) with betwccii two and eight years experience on a 4/2
Each year one or two new pits are commenced.
roster ;ind one expatriate supcrinrcndent with I3 y c x s
The mill commenced operation in November 1994. During experience. also on ;I 4/2 roster.
1995 the hardrock and eluvial circuits were run in parallel.
However. in January I996 the Eluvial circuit was stopped, and Dilurion ;ind qu;iltty control measui-cs of the ore include: pxiel
eluvial material was blended with Hardrock material. This mining, supcrvision by ii geological assistant, ore excavation
solved the problems of the inconsistent supply and material during day shift only, and batch millirlg tests. Approximately
handling difficulties and helped increase the silver recovery of half of the crew have a tiiickground small-scale or traditional
the eluvial material. Mill production was increased from 1.2 miners and have ;I good understaticling o f the requirements
Mtpa to I .5 Mtpa. Gold recovery is generally above 95 per cent, during ore excavation.
while silver recovery is approximately 75 per cent. The
successful start-up of Mt Muro is shown in Table 2. Gcnct-;il grade control activities include:
It should be noted that current production of ;i nominal 1.5 drill hole planiiing.
Mtpa is 28 per cent above the feasibility design numbers of 1.175 collection of s:iniples t'roni drilling.
Mtpa. 0 collection 01' samples from exposed faces (channel
sampling),
GRADE CONTROL GENERAL ACTIVITIES 0 collection of sxnples to dcterniine Net Acid Producing
Potential (NAPP).
The grade control team includes 15 national field crew (local miscell;ineous s;iniple collection iiicluding density, grab and
hire) on a 612 roster, five national geologists (of which one btockpilcs,
floor mapping every five vertical metres, The blast hole s;iinpling method was not ideal. Tlic open hole
survey of all sample locations, sampling method, i n particu1;ir beneath the water table. allowed
c(iiit~iinin~itioi1.vertical holcs i n ii near vertical dipping lode
on-site assay for gold and silver for all samples, hystein with generally sharp boundaries result in 'hit or miss' of
data storage, thc lode. The problem was ininimised by using ;I staggered
modelling, pattern, which reduced the uncertainty of the boundary to I .25
ore block design, in. and the supervision of ore excavation. Dilution niinimisation
w;is aided hy the ore standing up well as a result of the high clay
ore mark up, content and by tlie generally visual distinction between the ore
ore excavation supervision, and ; i d the n':iste. I lowever, medium-term scheduling was not
reconciliation. possible with bliist hole sampling, and i t caused bottle necks at
the completion p h x e of pits.
All grade control computer work is carried out on PCs with
Micromine software, connected through ;I LAN. All day-to-day I:ollowing discussions over the advantages and disadvantages
work is carried out entirely by Indonesian stalf. of tlie bliist hole and RC methods, two RC grade control drilling
tests were carried out. one i n March 1905 and another in August
In the three-year history of the project significant
1990. The 1-est11tsof the lirst lest were inconclusive as the 12.5
improvements have been achieved; in particular with the drillinp.
m spiicing o f the vxtions was kx) wide and did not allow for the
sampling and reconciliation procedures and national employee
gcologic variation of the Iode. The second test. which
skill levels.
iiicorpor;itetl 7.S 111 section spicing in a relatively 5imple lode,
indicated ;I live per cent tangihlc improvement of ore definition
HARDROCK ORE DEFINITION representing improved profits i n the order of $US I.X M per year.
Dctlucted Irom tliiit amount would be the additional cost of
Drill blast sampling getting the int'ormation, estiin;ited iit $US03 M. I n addition to
the tangihlc henelits there were the intangible benefits. including
The use of blast hole rigs was the primary method of collecting better sampling, fewer samples. better geological understanding.
grade control samples between August 1904 and December improved short-term scheduling, improved efficiency in blast
1996. During this period most standard procedures were patterns (and reduced blasting cost), and an opportunity to train
established including all database management, data tlie ~ r a d econtrol geologists i n tlie first principles of modelling.
manipulation procedures and skill development of the national In Noveinher 1990 the decision was made to change over to
geologists. RC grade control drilling.
The early use of airtrack rigs at the start up of prcstripping in
March 1004, was soon replaced by the use o f Atlas Copco and Reverse circulation sampling
lngersoll Rand machines. Grade control drilling was carried out
on a 4 x 2.5 m staggered pattern. Holes were vertical. Two licverse circulation (RC) gi-aclc control started on I December
samples were collected over two 2.5 m intervals from each hole. 1996. in one pit with relatively simple geology and low pressure
Any subdrill, drilled for blasting purposes, was not sampled. i n terms o f production. Chanycover was gradual and for about
5 i x inontlis both I<C and hlast hole drilling methods were
Geological assistants recorded brief geological data during the
drilling phase. Each hole number is unique l o r ii pit and each employetl. No ;idtlitional personnel were hired.
sample number is unique for the project. Each hole location was The basic operating procedures applied were:
surveyed. The samples were assayed at the on-site laboratory lor drill piittern 0.25 x 5 in tlillicult areas and 7.5 x 5 in better
gold and silver. Results were generally available within 36 understood ant1 simpler ;ireas;
hours. Both assay and survey data were electronically sample interv;il at 1 in;
transferred via the LAN. Data entry clerks entered geological drilling to continue seven h y s per week ten hours per day;
data on a daily basis. Either the mine geologist or the geological
assistant carried out floor mapping. Digitising was done by the hudgct metres per shift I 7 5 m; budget waste:orc ratio 2.1:l
mine geologist. (approximately 20 Vsamplc);
drill hole angle 00 or 5 5 degrees; and
Upon receipt of all the information, a geologist validated tlie
ass;iy data, ciilculated the cut and gold equivalent values (85 g/t vertical udv;incc IO m ( l o u r Ilitches) or 13 111 downhole.
Ag=l s/t Au) and merged the data in with the sample numbers Where the geology \v;is sufficiently understood, the
and geology. From the survey data the 3D co-ordinates of all clownhole depth could vary hetween 6 and 13 m.
samples were calculnted. Assay and survey data were stored in There were several signiticiint issues involved with the change
separate master files. This process took about ten minutes. At over to RC grade control:
the completion of this process AuEq values and gcology were contracf tender process.
plotted on the screen or on hardcopy for ore block design. no disruption to ore mining.
Ore blocks need to be designed for hardrock (=not eluvial) planning and modeling procedures, and
high-grade and low-grade and for eluvial. A further subdivision training the grade control yeologists in modelling.
was occasionally required to separate high grade silver (>IS0dt)
from low-grade silver. The plant experienced significant Coritruct tcwder process
recovery problems with silver grades above 150 g/t and with high
variations of the daily silver feed grade. The recovery of gold I3ec;iusc of H commitment at management level. RC grade
and silver is insensitive to oxide or sulphide material. control was instigated before ii separate contract w:ih tendered.
At the completion of the ore block design, the boundary points Tlicrefore. for ii period o f f o u r months, a modified exploration
were electronically numbered with a unique number for the schedule of rates was ;ipplicd with the exploration contract
bench. These numbers and their co-ordinates were transferred to drilling company while the contract was designed and tendered.
survey, where the data was uploaded to the survey equipment and Tlic whole tender process, from the date the tender documents
set out in the pit. The geological assistant connects the pegs with were sent out to tlie date the contractor was selected, took three
various colours of flagging tape, depending on the ore grade and months. The signcd contract. with the same contractor as for our
~ y p e .It is then ready for excavation. exploration drilling, achieved better terms than the modified
exploration contract.
N o disruption to ore mining to start tlic prograin, wiis replaced wi(1i the CD350, which is
equipped with a 4 5 " fnce sampling hammer, a 350/600 onl)oard
Because the mill throughput requirements were continually compressor. and ;I c;irouscI. I t is dedicated to grade control.
putting pressure on the mining operation, it was imperative that
there would be no disruption to the ore supply. Therefore both
RC and blast hole drilling methods were applied for about six ELUVIAL ORE DEFINITION
months, the latter being phased out gradually. Also, t o develop The eluvial matcri;il is clitlicult to mine because of its high clay
field and modelling procedures. RC drilling commenced in low content, its t h i n nature. its low angle illid tlic disturbance c;iused
priority areas. With six active stages this posed no problem. by exploration drilling ant1 surface clearing prior to mining.
Occasionally a double RC shift was operated. The only
Originally eluvial ore blocks \vere based on existing
disruption occurred when both Permata Stage 2 and Huluhzii. ;I
new pit opened up in February 1997, were available at the same exploration and development drilling (RC, DDH and Wacca)
time in early-April. and both urgent. However. by May 1997, RC data. N o new data was collected. Al'tcr the lirst six months of
grade control was applied to all hardrock. The good start-up was milling it became evident that [lie eluvi;il griides were
partially because the budgeted I75 d s h i f t was gener;illy significantly lower tliari predicted. The discrepancy was
achieved, and the waste to ore sampling ratio was signiticantly attributed to dilution caused by lack ot' o r incorrect information.
better than budget at 1.4: I (2.1: I). To overcome this problem a special \v:icca team was created to
drill out the eluvi;il ;ireas on a 5 x 5 in pattern, after surtace
Planning and niodelling procedures clearing. lliis has significantly improved the predicted tonnes
and grade on tlie Eluvial material at the mininglgradc control
Planning and modelling is carried out using Micromine software. stage, tliough cx;ict numbers are not available since the Eluvial
A Micromine consultant visited site for a week in December was combined with Harclrock in early- 1996. The cost for one
1996 and development of basic procedures was completed by the wacca drill hole at xi avcrage of 6 i n per hole, including luhour
end of January. Historical modelling experience WEIS used. and the rig. is ;ipprwirnately XJS3.50.
Variations include a block size of 1 x 1 x 1 in and using inverse
distance interpolation with a power 3, instead of 2.
Planning utilised different sources of information INTEGRATED MILL PRODUCTION RESERVES
simultaneously. All grade control ore blocks were put into ii 3D AND RECONCILIATION REPORTING SYSTEM
model in order to slice them by section. In Vulcan the pit design During 199s the mining engineering department developed a
and lode interpretations were sliced into the sections required by production accouriting systcni using P~i-adoxsoftware. However,
grade control. The exploration and development drill hole data there w a s no equivalent system i n the geology department.
base complimented this data. Using all this information, a Signitic;int ;imounts o f time were spent by the geology
sectional interpretation was made, which was then extrapolated department on producing quarterly and annual ore reserve
to the next I O m. This then formed the basis upon which to plan statements. reserve\ for scheduling ;ind strategic planning and
each hole in detail. The Micromine blast hole set-up module is reconciliutioii data. ;IS information Iiad to he collected and
used to create a basic hole location, dip and dip direction manipulated i n ii Ixgely manual manner. I n addition, multiple
database. This was followed by checking each section to pits, stagcs, bcnclics and material typcs had t o be accounted t'or,
maximise information per hole and could include changing and tlie JORC classitication.
collar, depth or dip, or any combination of these, deleting or
I n late- I996 i t wiis decided to intefi-;ite the geology production
adding holes, always with the aim of getting a minimum of two
and reserve reporting with the existing mining production
intercepts in both the hanging wall and footwall. After both the
system. A consultiiiit from Perth was hi-ed who made three trips
mine geologist and the supervisor had checked the proposed
to site over a period of five months t o dcvelop the most important
program, a set of hard copies of the sections were plotted.
aspects of tlie system. The system is referred to as the Integrated
The hole co-ordinates were passed on to survey lor mark-up i n Mill, l'roduction. Reserves and recoilciliation reporting System
the pit. Drilling is supervised by a geological assistant who (IMPRES).
makes sure hole set-up and total depth are according to plan nnd
The main teatiires of IMPRES arc:
who has the authority to extend or shorten a hole and records
basic geology and daily drilling statistics. A data entry clerk comparison betweeii depleted rescrvcs and adjusted
enters geology into a geological database. production t'or any period against any generation of resei-ves.
with ;issoci;itcd call factors;
Training the grade control geologists in tnodellitig repoi-tins of rescrvcs and resources for high-grade, low-
grade. hardrock and eluvial ole, either premining or
The first round of modelling in the third week of December took renxiining, in two different formats:
six days, with several late night sessions. None of the Indonesian coinpirison between reserves and adjusted production on 21
geologists had had any previous modelling exposure. By April pit by pit and stage by stage basis t o r hardrock. eluvial, liigh-
1997 each geologist could run a model in less than 24 hours. grade or low-grade selection;
The basic modelling steps include the set-up o f a model. conip;irisons between two gener ;it ions of reserves for the
interpretation of the sections upon receipt of all results, creation
s;inie pit; and
of level plans at bench midpoint based on the sliced sections.
llagging of the samples that fall inside the lode. modelling by export o f the reserve table to tlic existing engineering
ID3 for each domain that has a different strike or dip, deleting schctluling routine.
the blocks outside the lodes and adding the final block model The production o f mine-mill-rcsci vcs call factors now only
data t o the master data base. Several verification checks are built takes ;I traction ot the time ;ind the cIi;incc lor errors has reduced
in the procedures. signiticiintly. I t is utiliscd by 1ndonesi;in staff.
Since the change over to RC grade control available ore stocks All geology functions are tied togetlier in ii geology menu
have increased to around 70 000 tonnes, a doubling from the which allows data entry i n t o the engineerinp production table tor
previous inventory levels. For the first four months drilling daily pivduction statistics, update 01 reserves into the reserves
averaged 170 m per active shift and rig availability averaged 88 table, and tlic various report outputs. A security access system is
pcr cent. including all rig moves and service. The H I3 rig, used also i n p l x c .
Project-to-date reconciliation is shown i n Table 3 (hardrock w n p l e s taken. I t shows lliiit between 1994 and 1997
and eluvial combined): productivity i n terms of tonncs per crew. tonnes per geologist,
s m p l c s per crew and samplea per geologists have approximately
ti-iplcd. I t should he noted 11i;it the change over to RC grade
'rAULE 3
control hat1 the effect of reducing sampling activity without
Mini~-millreconciliuIion 11/94 IO 3/97, reducing tonnage mined. In I095 up to ten per cent of the grade
control sampling was channcl sampling in order to understand
tlie ore distribution. In I906 and 1097 this percentage has
gr;itlually clcclined to below l i v e per cent, another indication of
increased experience and understanding of the geology by the
workforce.
Mine-inill call factor
INDONESIANISATION
Initially there were two Indonesian mine geologists. one
expatriate geologist and 12 crew. Only one of the Indonesian
geologists had previous mine experience and at the end of 1994
the combined mining geology experience between the geologists
totaled five years (Table 4). This increased to seven geologists
and 15 crew in 1995, including a second expatriate for training
purposes. Combined years of mining experience increased to 13.
This stabilised in I996 with one expatriate leaving the Note: Milied tonnes ale unadjustctl to the Inill.
department and Indonesian geologists taking more control. In Nolc: Tonncs niinetl ;ind samples collected for 1997 are as of 31/3/1997.
Now: S;implcs and tonnes per einployee for I997 are annualised.
1997 the combined Indonesian mining experience was almost
equal that o f all Indonesian and expatriate geologists i n 1995. I n
1997 Indonesians carried out all day-to-day activities without
expatriate supervision. A key to the success of grade control has been the strict vetting
o f nation;il staff'. Attitude and (perceived) potential were
lndonesianisation coincided with significant productivity
i-c&ed higher t l m previous experience. The progress within
improvements. Table 5 shows the comparison between the
the grade control department is a representative departmental
number of field crew and geologists related to tonnes mined and
example ol tlie S U C C ~ S Sat PI' Indo Muro Kencana i n developing
Ititlonesian staft. whilst at the same time improving productivity
;uid maintaining iippropriate technical standards.
CONCLUSIONS
MI Muro has made :I successl'ul start by producing above budget
1994 1995 1996 I997
ounces at helow budget cost in spite of the remote location, a
Expat 1 2 3 4 5 largely untrained workforce at start-up, and logistically
Expat 2 6 challenging conditions.
'l'lie MI Muro deposits iirc complex, structurally controlled.
lodes that require ;I high degree of geological control to ensure
maximum extraction of ore.
Grade c o n m l has undergone signiticant and successful
cliiingcs including the change over from blast hole to reverse
circulation drilling and saiiipling. and the development of
IMPRES. Productivity per geologist and per crew has tripled in
tlie 2.5 ye;irs since start-up.
Indonesianisation in the gr;idc control department as well as
the other cleparrments on the project is progressing well with all
tl;iily activities plimned and carried out by National geologists.
REFERENCES
Corbett. G J and Leach. T M, 199.5. Southwest Pacific Rim Gold-Copper
Systems: Structure. Alteration and Mineralization. A workshop
presented at the Pacrim Conference Auckland. New Zcalaiid. 23-24
Noveinber 1995.
Corbett. G J, 1996. Cominents on the Structure and Controls to Gold
Mineralisafion at fhc MI Muro Gold Mine Kalimantan. Indonesia.
Unpublished.
Gregory, R C, 1996 - Case Study - Mt Muro Gold Mine. Pwceedinx:.r CJ/
I I I
50WE
I
51WE
I
5200E
4 800- 49W E
I I I
FIG1 - Geology of the McKinnons Gold Deposit 180 IIIKL(after Elliott et t r l , In picss).
variance relationship i n :I high nugget rnvironmenl. If not. the case srudy been more difliciilt to define visu;illy, with irregular quartz
will illustrate the dangers of allowing geostatistical models to wander veinin? and minor to ahscnt silicification.
beyond the limits of geological reality.
Although ore feeder fault structures assist in controlling the
location of tlie orc pods, geological features cannot be used alone
INTRODUCTION t o detine 01-cboundaries. which are I'irpely dependent on assay
McKinnons open pit gold mine commenced mining in January grades.
1995, based on a linal pit design proved ore reserve of 2.39 MI at
ii grade of 1.75 g/t gold with 134 200 contained ounces. This RESOURCE DEFINITION AND DATA QUALITY
was defined by a close spaced RC drilling pattern ranging trom
A range o l drilling methods has been ubcd to outline the resource
12 m by 12 m to 6 m by 6 m. An erratic gold distribution
required further grade control drilling (blast hole sampling) tit McKinnons. Geological and sampling data are essentially
dependent on KC drilling mcthods.
during mining for ore boundaiy definition. Mining was
completed in December 1996, with stockpiled run of mine Geopeko completed diamond. crms-over RC perciission and
(ROM) ore (>1.3 g/t) milled to August 1997. The low-grade open hole percussion drilling at McKinnons between 1990 and
1992. A total of 65 Iioles were drilled, totalling 4920 in
stockpiled ore (0.7 - I .3 g/t) is currently being milled. Detailed
percussion and 1070 m diamond. Between December I993 ;ind
mapping and ore monitoring occurred during the mining and
June 1994. Burdekin completed 98 tacc sampling R C percussion
milling cycle, to validate parameters used by the ore reserve holes tot;illing 5743 in i i n d five diamond holes totalling 380 in.
estimate. This paper analyses the similarities and discrepancies Most drilling of the deposit hiis been cxrricd out on 25 m spaced
between the final pit ore reserve estimation with linal ROM east-west sections with holes incIinccI at 45" to 60" to the east
milled tonnes and grade along with grade control estimates of and west ;it approximately 20 m intervals. Some lioles were
low-grade stockpile material. drilled oblique to the cast-west grid to check continuity of
mineralisation. The average hole diameter was I30 nim.
McKINNONS GOLD DEPOSIT Gcopeko ;ind Rurdekin surveyed all cll-ill collars and carried out
down hole surveys.
The McKinnons gold deposit is described by Elliott ( 1995). Three to lour kilogram samples \\'ere taken for assay every
Rugless and Elliott (199s). Bywater et 01 (1996) and Elliott er a1 metre and reduced to 90 per cent passing I06 pm. Routine 5 0 g
(In press) so only :I brief outline of the regional and local tire assay incorporating an AAS aqua regia tinish was used with
geology will he provided in this paper. A summary geology map ii lower detection liinit of0.0I g/t gold.
ofthe McKinnons gold deposit is shown in Figure I . Hurdekin adopted rigorous sampling and checking procedures
The Cobar Basin comprises Early Devonian marine sediment during AI its drilling programs to verify reliability of kits
and minor volcanic rocks deposited in a deep sedimentary basin (Elliott, 1995). 'l'he procedures included using independent
with flanking shallow-water sediments along its margins (Glen. control simples. inter-1;iboratory checks, replicate samples,
1987). The first deformation folding event occurred shortly after duplicate simples. x i d large 3 - 4 kg samples reduced to a fine
deposition at 390 - 400 Ma followed by a second deformation fraction hctore il subsample was taken tor analysis. Accuracy
event in the mid-Devonian. and precision tests checked the reli;ibility of the assays tor
mineral resource estimation. Accurxy is estimated to he
The McKinnons gold deposit outcropped on a low lying ridge between three per cent to seven per cent from control sample
of silicified weakly metamorphosed monotonous laminated to results and precision ranged from f 9 pcr cent to f 13 per cent iit
massive siltstone, mudstone and tine grained quartz sandstone, two standard deviations from duplicatc assay results.
known as the Amphitheatre Group, near the western margin of Twinning RC versus diamond aiid RC versus RC holes
the basin. The deposit is up to 350 m long, 120 m wide and 80 in checked rclinbility of the drilling method. This check on drilling
deep. Mineralisation occurs from the surface (202 mRL) to the methods investigates ;issay value variability and smearing
122.5 mRL, with highest grades centred around 190 m to 170 characteristics. Although differences were noted between
mRL. Textures show that gold has formed hy primary and twinned IioIcs, they wcrc interpreted to represent natural
secondary (supergene) processes. In the oxide zone. gold is variahility i n the deposit's gold distrihution rather than being [lie
enriched forming economic mineralisation associated with iron result of poor quality drilling, sampling or analytical methods.
oxide and quartz. In tlie primary zone gold is largely No sme;iring of gold grades was evidcnt and all drilling i n tlie
uneconomic averaging around 0.3 g/t. It occurs in quartz veins, deposit was carried out above the water-table. Sample recoveries
silica breccia and pyrite veins. Alteration associated with were commonly constant and considcrcd acceptable.
mineralisation includes an extensive outer carbonate. Another area for resource estim;ition error is bulk density
intermediate pyrite and inner silica zones. determin;itions. Tlicy wei-e carried out using drill core on oi-e
Mineralisation is structurally controlled forming near the and waste matcrinl throughout the clcposit. A total 0 1 233
determinations were made i n the oxide zone and a bulk density
intersection of steep faults in the hinge zone of an anticline of 2.5 t/m' is used tor w x t e and ore. In the oxide zone there is
resulting in complex mineralisation controls. Both intill and no apparent change in the average bulk density value with depth.
replacement silica textures are associated with mineralisation. Approximutely ten per cent of the ore reserve occurs in the ,
The ore deposit trends NW with internal controls on individual primary zone. Twenty-one ore and waste sample from the
pods oriented north and north-east parallel to cleavage and fault 5
primary zone gave an avcr;ige bulk density of 2.6 t/m . The risk
directions. Bedding has variable dips between 15" - 35" towards of a significant error in the bulk density affecting the resource
the north and north-west. with local disruptions common in f i i u l t estimate is considered low.
wedges. The reliability o f tlie data used i n the pre-development
The bulk of McKinnons mineralisation is situated within one resource estimation was sufficient ('or i t to be placed i n a
main ore block in the central portion of the pit (Figure 2). l'he Measured mineral resource category according to the July I090
boundary o f this pod forms an irregular polygon that required JORC cotlc.
detailed drilling (3.5 in x 3.5 m pattern) for accurate boundary
definition. A major 040" trending breccia zone bounds the
western side of this block, and it is bounded to the N E by a 325"
PRE-DEVELOPMENT RESOURCE DRILLING
trending fault. Ore controls to the S E and SW boundaries arc A prc-development close spaced drillins program was completed
less readily definable. Figure 2 shows that other smaller pods over the entire deposit prior to the commencement of mining.
occur to the SE of tlie main pod. Low-grade mineralisation has The perceived main benelits for this sti.ategy were:
I
5100 E 5200 E
w 15200N
metres
151WN
>3.5g/tAu
13-35gltAu
n 07-13MAu
u
00 3 - 0 7 f l A U
14 900 N
Fiti 2 - Pit plan showing ore blocks at 1 x 0 inKL (atter Elliotr C I til. In pres\)
I. to reduce project risk, hterilised i i i the ramp by the original pit design but the new pit
design was able to include i t iis ore. The benefits of this pre-
2. to enable mining rates to exceed treatment rates i n a small development drilling that cost $I.2 million and iidded four
pit to reduce mining costs, months to the timetable can he reviewed now that mining has
hcen completed.
3. to improve Lcrchs-Grossmann(LG) optiniisations and pit
design, and I t is evident that detailed quality data collected from the
McKinnons deposit for ore rcserve estimation does not stop
4. to reduce grade control costs and sample turnaround time errors introduced by poor y a d e control/mining practice or
during mining. inappropriate resource modclling paramctcrs or techniques.
This program consisted of drilling 528. 120 mm face sampling McKinnons may have benctitcd more by not undertaking the
RC holes, totalling 34 390 m between August and mid-October detailed pre-development drill out program and undergoing a
I994 using two UDR650 rigs on double shifts. The deposit was more traditional detailed grade control program during mining.
drilled out on a 12 m by 12 rn to 6 m by 6 m pattern. The same Thc planned reconciliation 01' the low-grade material will clarify
rigorous procedures for checks on quality control used in the ore this.
delineation program were also adopted in this program. The
main difference was that a 20 g aqua regia digest with an AAS MINING
linish was adopted instead of thc 50 g lire assay.
The reserve estimated at June 1994 (2.2Mt at 1.91 g/tAu; 135 Open pit mining ;it McKinnons involved excavation. drill and
200 0 2 ) and the January 1995 final pit estimate (2.39 MI at 1.75 hlwt by ;I contractor with grade control, ore delineation.
g/tAu; 134 200 oz) was similar. Mineralisation would have been cxtr;iction m d milling by Burdekin personnel (Discombe and
Engelhardt, 1996). To optimise profit, the mining occurred on involve very ttlc sampling i n the high grade central cores of
double shifts with the mining rate higher than the milling rate. large pods. This c;iuscd the grade coiitrol estimated grade o f the
Mining commenced in February 1995 and was completed in ROM ore to be under-estimated (2.30 g/t) compared to milled
December 1996. Five metre benches were each mined in two 2.5 grade (2.05 g/t).
m flitches. Treatment by the 500 000 tpa CIP plant is planned to Approximately 30 saniples were taken of the low-grade
continue until the end of 1998. Treating the ROM ore (>1.3 stockpile each month during mining a b a check on pit grade
g/tAu) was completed in August 1997 allowing mill tonnage and control values. Although stockpile sumpling is considered a
grade reconciliations to be carried out to check original rough method it scrvcs a s a guide. T h e 0.75 g/t avenge of 3 I4
assumptions and parameters used in the ore reserve estimation. stockpile siimples is lower than the grxlc control value o f 0.9 I
g/t gold.
RESOURCE MODELLING
A geostatistical modelling technique was adopted using indicator GEOSTATISTICAL CHARACTERISTICS
kriging. The resource was modelled on 2.5 by 2.5 m blocks on A retrospective study of the statistical relationships between blast
2.5 m flitches based on uncut I m assay data. The gold grades hole assays, exploration KC assay5. block model grades and
approach a lognormal distribution in all seven domains. high- production has highlighted a number 0 1 classical issues related to
grade outliers are present and there is evidence of mixed the following aspects of resource estiiitation:
populations. The global statistics for 1 m composites (n=48 455) inability of geostatistical estimates to respond to geologically
above a mineralisation indicator grade o f 0.1 glt reflect an distinct boundaries when gradational behaviour has been
average grade of 1.60 g/t with a variance of 22.2 (log variance assumed;
1.55). Individual domains range in average grade from 0.9 g/t to
1.9 dt (above 0. I g/t). the difference between setting cut-offs on assays versus
smoothed block grades:
Full indicator variography was undertaken for each of nine
the sensitivity of the estimate to the nugget effect;
indicator grades. based on the deciles of the data above the
mineralisation indicator grade. The subtle anisotropy interpreted tlie poretitiel for more low-grade tonnage according to the
from the variography confirmed the changes in strike and dip block estimate cornpared with polygonal grade control
interpreted geologically. Short range structures of 4 m to 12 m, estimates;
up to a maximum of 22 m were nested within structures of the the problem o f deciding whether ;I block is ore or waste iri a
order of 20 rn to 60 m. The nugget effect was notably high for high nugget efiect environment; and
all but one domain, comprising 45 per cent to 70 per cent of the the optimum resourcc drill density pattern.
total variability. This reflects the poddy nature of the
mineralisation. Nugget effect
Full indicator kriging was used to interpolate block g p k s and
indicator cut-offs were set at the data deciles (10 to 90‘” The nugget effect describes how well sampling results can be
percentile) plus the 95‘’’ and 97.5‘” perccntilcs of each data set. reproduced by repeated sampling ;it the same location. It
This method of interpolation is appropriate for skewed data and incorporates both the natural inherent variability of the deposit
mixed populations such as exist at McKinnons. It was not plus vari;ibility because o f sample size, sample preparation and
analysis. Heteroscncous minera1is:ition is sensitive to the
possible to define precise geological boundaries or to accept that
method of sampling and could give vxiahle results from a single
a robust mineralisation envelope (0.1 g/t) existed at the time. location. Precision checks previously given indicate sampling
Therefore soft boundaries were applied between domains. and analytical errors are at acceptable levels.
Concern about excessive edge dilution was addressed by re-
running the model constrained within all blocks exceeding 0.25 Recognition ot’ the nugget effect is vital to resource estimation.
The higher the nugget effect. the higher the degree of smoothing
glt, using only the data from within this constraint. Hard
boundaries were used at the edge ol’ the mineralisarion envelope required i n the eztimation where thc estimate is a weighted
average of samples within the range of inlluence of the block
and solt boundaries within the envelope, between the dom:iins.
being cvaluatcd. Kriging is an estimation technique which
Owing to time constraints median indicator kriging was used for
includes the nugget effect in the derivation of sample weights.
the second model and the data was cut to the 99‘” percentile.
There was no significant change to the resource estimate. The higher the nugget effect the higher the degree of smoothing;
that is samples arc more evenly weighted. If the nugget effect is
low enough the block derives its avei-age grade from the closest
GRADE CONTROL METHOD sample grade. Otherwise the block grade is a weighted avet-age
Grade control was undertaken using a manual polygonal of the sxnplcs within the range of influcitce.
methodology incorporating the data from the original RC holes
plus blast hole data to refine the edges of the mining block. Ore Volume variance effect
boundaries were digitised in plan for each 2.5 m flitch, with
grades calculated by arithmetic average. No smoothing was The volume variance eftcct, which rcllects the change of support
applied at this stage. A top cut of 15 g/t was applied to raw RC and hence tlie decreasc in variability between sample siicd
and blast-hole data, as determined by statistical analysis and volumes and blocks representing selective mining units, causes a
reconciled trial ore parcels. This technique resulted in the strict regression relationship between sample estimates and actual
application of a 1.3 g/t assay cut-off for high-grade material and block grades. Samples overestimate hlock grades in high-grade
a 0.7 g/t cut-off for low-grade material, with 0.3 - 0.7 glt material areas and underestimate them i n low-grade areas. Cut-offs
being delivered to the mineralised waste stockpile. should be ;ipplictl to block estimates in order to optimise
Dilution in the pit was reduced by drilling 5 m deep holes and orcfwaste decisions and avoid misclassitying ore as waste.
inserting poly-pipe, then surveying the pre and post-blast
positions to monitor movement. Ore boundaries were then Statistical reconciliation within test area
adjusted for heave to reduce dilution.
A comparison between 2 3 in blast hole samples, exploration RC
As detailed reserve drilling had been undertaken prior to
mining, grade control drilling during mining was restricted to composites and block model estimates in a test area representing
strategic areas of defining boundary margins. This would the extent of all blast hole simpling ;it McKinnons is summarised
i n Table I and the Q-Q plots in Figures 3 to 5.
TAHLE 1
Cii~ripciruiivc2.5 in siuiisiics iri icsi uriu
In 3 /
0 01 1/.
0 01
, , ,,,,I
01
, , , , ,,,,,
1
, , , , ,,,,I
10
, , , , , "'1
100
IO,
FIG4 ~ 0-Qplot coiiipnring modcl blocks with 2 5 in KC coinposites.
1-
0 1-
FIG3 - 0-0 plot coinparing 2.Sm composites from KC and blast hole
sainpling. q - 10 0
0 01 0 1 1 10 100
blast h o l e 2 5 m comps Au
There is no bias between the exploration RC and blast hole
grades as evidenced by their comparable statistics and the 1:l McKinnons B4 and A 8 Benches
relationship in Figure 3. Comparisons between block grades and
either raw exploration RC sample grades or blast hole sample
grades (Figures 4 and 5 respectively) both illustrate a marked Pic S - 0-Qplot comparing inodel blocks with 2.5 in blast hole
regression caused by the lower variability of the model block cotiiposites.
grades. In this case the block grades are higher than the sample
grades in the low-grade areas and lower than the sample grades
in the high-grade areas. The overall block average is similar to 'liible 2 shows the regression co-efficient. which is the measure
the average sample grades. The log histograms and log o l conditional bias, and kriging efficiency which is the measure
probability plots in Figures 6, 7 and 8 illustrate the smoothing in of reliability for ;I given block size and grid spacing using a
the model block grades compared with the raw data. Delineation typical variogram from one of the domains at McKinnons.
of mining blocks at cut-offs below I glt would outline more These parameters suggest that the kriged blocks would not
tonnes at higher grades than polygons defined on raw assay have much conditional bias ( a regression co-efficient of 1 is
grades (either blast hole or RC). pertect) but krising efficiency i s low (above 50 per cent is
considered advisable by Krigc). The kriging efficiency would be
improved by increasing the block size.
Conditional bias and kriging efficiency
The apparent discrepancy between sample and block grades is,,
The relationship between input assays and actual block grades according to this tcst, an expected outcome and it suggests that
can be predicted from the variography using the method the block grades would eventuate if the cut-off was set on
recommended by Krige (1996) to review whether the model has smoothed estimates. This is an important relationship to
the appropriate amount of smoothing according to geostatistical understand and, if block grades are indeed realistic, there is
theory.
FIG6 - Log histogram and log probability plot for inotlel blocks iii test :ires.
5
a
- n n r- T
0 010
Real Value Real Value
FIG 7 - Log histogram and lo&probability plot for 2.S 111 I<C coiiiposites in tesl area.
FIG8 - Log histograin and log probability plor for 2.S i n I)l:ist hole coiiiposiites 111 test area.
. . .- ,
1x8
I
K x 8 m grid. 2.5 in conips 0.93 40 4,
=-%-- i
Feasibility reserves final mine pit disign (Jan 95 Grade control and inill reserves difference
grade tonncs x 1000 t grade glt au tonnes x 1000 t grade glt ail tonnes 70 I grade % contained au 70
KOM 1151 2 62 117.5' 2 6Sl +2 I +I +3
Low I239 0 04 S632 OOI* -55 -4 -56
I
Total 2390 I75 17% 2 09 -27 I +I9 -13
Note
I. Mill rcconcilcd ore reserve for KOM ;it August 1997.
2. Grade control O K reserve of low-grade. survey adjusted in January 1997
3. Grade control ore reserve of IlOM is 1 2 I 5 000 I gr:itliiig 2.30 g / ~ A i i .
TABLE 4
Comparison of raw KC grades with block model grades (182.5
m-180 mRL).
Ftc; I O - Pit plan showing grade control ;uid hlock tnodcl 0.7 g/t Au
boundaries.
CONCLUSIONS
The accuracy of the feasibility ore reserve tonnes at McKinnons
appeared to vary suhstantially between high-grade (>I .3 g/t) and
Note: low-grade (0.7 - 1.3 glt) a s delined hy later grade control and
w - waste (<.3g/l) mill reconciliations. The high-grade material milled is within
MW- mineralised w ~ s t c(0.3- 0.7g/l) one per cent to two per cent of the feasibility model's tonnes atid
LG- low-grade (0.7 - I .3g/t) grade which is ;in excellent result. However, the low-grade
ROM - Run of Mine gr:ide (>I .$$)
material determined by grade control shows a 55 per cent
shortfall using the same modelling piirameters. This has led to
an estimated 13 per cent shortfall of contained gold.
than the block grades in these low-grade areas - in fact many If' thc gcostatistical modelling is correct, it would suggest
samples are totally barren - the hlock model must be in doubt lor misc1assific;ition of low-grade tonnagc during mining caused by
the low-grade categories. This is explained. as being because of the high nugget el'fect and the volunic variance relationship. A
the existence of sharp mineralisation contacts which the higher block grade would he expccted compared with the
unconstrained model did not consider. These contacts arc arithmetic average o f raw drill assays for the mined low-grde
difficult to map in the pit in relation to iron staining; silicification pods. Site personnel believe the unconstrained modelling
and faults so in practise the ore boundaries are largely based on method used mny have created non-cxistent low-grade blocks,
assay grades. Statistically, if there are no visible geological citing 21s evidencc stockpile sampling, sharp mineralisation
boundaries the combination of high nugget eflect and the volume boundaries based on close spaced grade control patterns, bench
variance effect lends credence to the possibility that there could mapping atid face clianncl sampling.
be extra 'ore' on the mineralised waste stockpiles and This issue should he resolved after the low grade material has
mineralised waste on the waste stockpiles. been processed to check if the grade is higher than estimated hy
In an attempt to understand the relationships observed, the grade control methods ( I . 1 glt instead 010.9 g/t).
operation has committed to processing material classified in the
pit as low-grade (0.7 - 1.3 g/t material based on assays) which is REFERENCES
equivalent to an apparent block cut-off of 0.85 g/t. The results of
this trial should be definitive as to the merits of using hlock Dywater, A , Johnston. C, 1-1;111. C R . W;LII;ice Bell, P and Elliott. S M.
grades compared with assay grades at McKinnons. If the model 1996. Geology of ,McKinnonsgold niine, Cobar. New South Wales,
is correct, the low-grade material should be about 0.15 to 0.2 glt in Thc Cohtrr Miwrtrl Field - A I Y Y 6 /+r.xpective ( a s : W G Cook,
A J H Ford. J J McDcrinott, P N St;indish, C L Stegman and T M
higher than shown in the production inventory. The high nugget Stegman), pp 270-29 I (l'he Austral;lsian Institute of Mining and
effect and the volume variance relationship could have hidden Metallurgy: Melbourne).
some or all of the missing low-grade material. If not, this case Discombe. M B and Engelhartlt. D. 1990. The Cobar gold field - A
study will illustrate the dangers of allowing geostatistical models geological perslxctivc. i n The C o l ~ vMittercil Field - A / Y O 6
to wander beyond the limits of geological reality. In the case of Per.vpecc/iw, (Eds: W G Cook, A J 1-1 Ford. J J McDennott, P N
McKinnons. this was a difficult limit to set on close spaced Standish. C L Stegm:in and T M Stcgrnan). pp 85.5-381 (The
exploration RC drilling and remained difficult even using blast Australasi:in Iiislitute of Mining m d Metallurgy: Melboiime).
Elliott. S M. 199s. I k c o v e r y and developinent of the McKiiinons gold Ki-igc, I) G. 1006. A Practical Analysis o f t h e Effects of Sp;itial Structure
deposit, Cobar. New South Wales, i n New Grnercirioti Gold Mines: :ind 0 1 Data Available and Accessed, on Conditioiinl Biases in
Ctise Hisrnrir.t of Discwver): 1995. pp 12.1 - 12. I I (Australian ~ (Etls: E Y Raafi
Ordinary Kriging. in Geo.wi/iyiics W o l l o r i ~ o t i'Y6
Mineral Foundation: Adelaide). aiid N A Schofield) Vol 2 pp 709-810.
Elliott. S M. Bywater, A and Johnston. C. In press. McKinnons Gold Iluglcss. C S aiid Elliott, S M. 199.5. Multi-element geochemical
Deposit. Cohar, in Geoloay of rhe Aiisrrdicin mid fopuci New explor;irion in deeply weathered terrain: the McKinnons gold deposit
Guiwxti Minenil Depo.tir.y, (The Australasian Institute of Mining iiear Cohar. NSW. Australia - :I case study, in 17rh ICES, 15/19 May
and Metallurgy: Melbourne). 1995. lownsville. Extended Alistracts. pp 100-102.
Glen, R A, 19x7. Geology of the Wrightville l : l O O 000 sheet 8034, Standing. C A. 19'9s. McKiiinons Project, Geostatistical Resource
Geological Survey of New South Wales. Estiiiialion. Snowden Associates Report.
I
Ag Pb GEOLOGICAL MODELLING OF THE UPPER
nw FOOTWALL LEAD LODE
LOOES
Introduction
\ Ag - Pb Zn
The FW Pb lode i n the vicinity o f the initial production block
\ 211 strikes north-south, dips to the east at (15" and varies in thickness
Fw
from three to 20 metres. Historically. ordinary kriging has been
I LODES used ai Cannington for all the feasibility studies and preliminxy
' Ag - Pb
[ NITHSDALE 1 planning. Morc recently, geological modelling and grade
estimation of the Footwall Lead lode wiis undertaken by two
1 WARENDA 3 different estimation methods: ordinary kriging with a wireframe
control, and a method of optimising ore selection using
condition;il simulation c;illcd MP (Maximisc Profit). For a
FIG1 - Cannington lode horizons and mineralisation typcs detailed description of the MP process. readers are referred to the
paper that is being presented in these proceedings (Schofield and
J o k y , I n Press).
With the ordinary kriging approach, wireframes of the lodes
based on i i n equivalent value cut-of1 Sr;ide applied to drill hole
samples were generated using Guide m d Datamine software.
These wire frames ignored the subdivision of the lode into
various mineralisation styles. The grades of lead, silver, zinc ;ind
iron for blocks within the wire frames were estimated by
Datamine using the ordinary kriging algorithm provided in the
200m GSLlB software ( I h ~ t s c hand Journel. 1992).
The MP method of ore definition differs from the ortlinxy
kriging approach in ;I number of ways (Schofield and Rolley, In
Press). The method first provides a niodel of the distribution of
mineralisation types based on the mineralisation classification of
the drill hole samples. The classification is based mainly on the
lead, zinc and iron chemistry of the s;imples and the geologists
interpretation of the spatial position o f the mineralisation in tlie
geological sequence. Using this model of the distribution of
mineralisation types, the method then generates a model of the
distribution of lead, silver and zinc griides within each o f the
tion types. In this way, the final model respects the
n of mineralisation types ;is defined in the drill holes a s
well a s the grade distributions of lead. zinc and silver within each
mineralisat ion type.
Ordinary kriging is still used in conjunction with M P ;IS i t
provides ii control for cornparison purposes. It is anticipated that
as the level of geological understanding increases and sufficient
reconciliation of production versus predicted ore has occurred. i t
will become apparent which method (11interpretation is the most
suitable. This comparison is compounded by the different styles
of miner;ilisation, which can require different approaches to
interpretation.
Geological investigations
Looking North
I Drilling of the FW Pb lode was undertaken from both the surfiicc
and from underground development iidjacent to the lode. l'he
FIG2 - Generalised cross-section of the Southern zone lode distribution. drilling w;is conducted i n several underground and surface
phases over a period of five to six years, resulting in the drill
spacing being decreased from 50 to 25 metres to a final spacing
silver-zinc mineralisation (Glenholme). The FW Zn lode is o f 12.5 metres. The drilling data obtiiined was used to generate
situated stratigraphically above the FW Pb lode. preliminary wireframes of key faults, lithological boundaries and
The down dip extension of the Glenholme mineralisation in the lode boundaries. These wireframes were further refined as
the FW Zn lode is the Glenholme Breccia (GHB) lode in the keel the drilling density was increased.
of the synform. The main distinction between the Glenholme Gaining an understanding of the spatial distribution o f the
and GHB is the increased presence of breccia texture in the mineralisation is ;I key to modelling the lodes. As can be seen
GHB. from Figure 2, tlie lotles are 'draped' around the core
The Hangingwall Zinc (HW Zn) lode is composed of a mafic amphibolite. The boundaries between the different styles of
zinc style of mineralisation (Kheri). mineralisation which make-up the lodes are irregular and
date, which are because of the different approaches to grndc niitl Metallurgy Melboiirne).
estimation involved. The reconciliation process will help to Skrreczynski. R, I W 3 . I71-oiii concept ICI Cmnington: A tlec;itlc o f
identify the most appropriate longer-term modelling technique explor;ition i n the I k t e r n Succes~ioii. Syiiiposiuiii on I z c e i ~
ndv;inces in the Mount Isa Block. A I ( ; Hit/le!in. I3:35-38.
for the Cannington orebody a s production continues in the
longer-term. Walters, S G. I994 Geology and lode cliaracterisntion. Canniiigron
Southern Zvne. UHPM Ikport CK7907
Walters. S G and Bailey, A. 111 press. Geology and inineralisation at the
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS C:innington Ag-Ph-Zn deposit - An exninplc of Broken Hill T y p e
inineralisarion 111 the Eastern Succession of the Mount Isa Inlier. NW
The author would like to thank Andrew Bailey. Stuart Jeffrey and Qucciisl;ind. Austr:din. liconoinic Geol~igy.
Neil Scholield, not only for their assistance in the preparation of
this paper. but also for their technical guidance during the
undertaking of the work described.
Indian
Ocean
PORT HEDLAND
--YARRIE
W.A S.A -
...._
FIG I -
-
0 100 Km
Mcmber is subdivided into four units, D I - D4,on the basis of Geological and geochemical systems
geology, geochemistry and geophysics. The Whalcback Shale
Mcmber separates tlie Dales Gorge Membcr from the Joffre Geological control is initiated by cxploration and high density
Member, which accounts for the remaining 20 per cent of Mount (40 m x 20 m) resource drilling, using both reverse circulation
Whalcback's iron ore resource. On a regional scale the Joftrc and diainond drilling. On-going drilling programs cimtinue to
Member is over 300 m thick, but only thc lower 2UO m is present provide dctailed structural information for final pit limit designs
at Mount Whalcback. The Joffre Mcmbcr is subdivided into six and grndc control purposes. Geologicd controls on a inine scale
geologically distinct units, J I - J6. These units can olso be are used to tlclinciitc iicciiriitc ore-wxte boundaries and higli-
idcntificd by geophysics and, to a lesser extent, by gcochcmistry. grade and low-griidc zones of mineralisation. These include face
Iron ore mineralisation of the Dales Gorge Member consists of' ii mapping programs and tlie gcologicill logging of blast holes
high-grade, low phosphorus, hard, microplaty hematite ore. I n associated with grade drilling.
contrast, ore in the Joffre Member can be high grade, but is Geochemical control is derived trom grade drilling and
gencrally softer and usually more gocthitic than ore in the Dales sampling of blast patterns. Individual units of the Dales Gorgc
Gorgc Member. and Joffre Members ciin be identilled on the basis of silic;i
Goethitic iron ore mineralisation is found at Orcbody 29. (SiOl), phosphorous (P) ;ind alumin;l (A1203). which are tlie
approximately 5 km SE from the Mount Whalcback dcposit, in main cont;iiiiinanis in iron ore and iroil. Blast hole geochemical
the Marra Mamba Formation of thc Hamersley Group. results obtained trom drill patterns are rcconcilcd against
Currently, iron ore is also mined in thc Dalcs Gorge and Joffrc geologicnl logs. Tlic gcochcmical and geological data are used
Members of the Hamcrslcy Group at two satellite orebodics. to subdivide single blast patterns into wi:illcr blast blocks which
namcly Jimblebar and Orebody 23/25, to the East of thc Mount ;ire individually characterised by having similar grade and ore
Whaleback deposit. The satellite orebodies, together with ore type material. Blast blocking rcsultb ;ire used to assign material
from Mount Whalcback and Orebody 29, are an important for direct crushing o r stockpiling. H1;ist hole geochemistry and
component in the Ncwman Product blend. ensuing blast block grades and tonnes are reconciled annually
against tlic geological orcbody modcl using a short-term orebody
model.
QUALITY CONTROL SYSTEMS
From the Mount Whaleback mine operations to the Port Hcdland Visual grade and blending systems
port operations a scrics of individual quality control systems are
monitored to ensure that a high quality iron ore product of target Visual grade and blending control at the Mount Whaleback Mine
grade composition is mined. railed and stockpiled before being takes place on a continuous 12-hour shift rostcr and is based on
shipped to individual customers (Figure 2). Thcse control information generated from geological and geochemical controls.
systems can be described as follows: geological and Ore production is controllcd by a crushing schedule which plans
geochemical. visual gradc and blending, railing and stockpiling. for ore to be rccliiimetl from minmg faces and prc-crusher
Stoc
!-
RaillDump
Sample
pile
+
ACTUAL SHIFT GRADE
SATELLITE STOCKPILE
GRADE
LOADOUT
Y K P I L E MODEL
--t
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
Port
-
I- I
Stockpile
Sample
MINE PREDICTED RAIL GRADES
+
PORT ACTUAL RAIL GRADES - I
I
ACTUAL PORT STOCKPILE GRADE[- - - - - - - - - - - - - - 4
~ ~
128 -
Launceston. 10 14 November 1997 Mining Geology Conference
QUALITY CONTROL SYSTEMS A T HI-IP’S MOUN’I‘ WHALERACK IRON ORE MINE
stockpiles. The crushing schedule takes into account available I. stockpiles act as a huller to maintain adequate stocks for
mining units, daily railing and tonnes requirements. geochemical unforeseen production delays;
target grades and geochemical blast block grades for each
individual ore source, whether ex-pit or pre-crusher stockpile. 2. they torin a sulliciently large blend source to minimise the
Included in the daily crushing schedule are contributing tonnes ellect of variation in mined grades; and
and grades from a beneficiation plant, which upgrades low-grade 3. they ;ire a reclaimable source with a narrow chemical target
shale-ore contact material into a higher grade ore through the grade i-ange to minimise inter-shipping variability.
removal of the shale component using heavy medium separation
techniques. Hourly sampling of post crusher ore streams acts as Monitoring systems
a blend control monitoring process immediately before ore is
stockpiled onto two surge piles. Corrective actions are taken All quality control systems ;we guided and monitored on Unix,
when blended, crushed and sampled ore fails to meet the desired Mainframe or PC based software systems. Two systems, the
target grades. ,Mine Quality (MQ) and the Port Quality (PQ) systems. are
directly linked and monitor many process variables. These
Railing and stockpiling systems include hourly sample results and tonnes as mined and blended,
surge pile grades above loadout tunnels, train grades as loaded.
Iron ore contributing to the Newman Product blend is railed from [rain grades as dumped and stockpiled, the progressive build of
three geographically distinct sources: Mount Whaleback. clilfcrent stockpiles and ships loaded with ore from stockpiles.
Orebody 23/25 and Jimblebar. Mount Whaleback ore is blended
to target grades as a post primary (-200 mm) and secondary
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
crusher (-100 mm) product onto one of two loadout tunnels and
consists of direct ex-Pit, stockpile, beneficiated and Orebody 29 The author wishes to thank the management of BHP Iron Ore Pty
ores. In contrast. Jimhlehar and Orebody 23/25 ore is loaded Lid and in particular to R V Faeldan and C M Brown for
onto trains from various post-crusher stockpiles. Trains from the permission to publish this manuscript. Special acknowledgments
three contributing sources run as separate units from the mines to go to the conference reviewers.
Port Hedland where the product is processed through tertiary
crushing, screened for size, sampled and stockpiled onto REFERENCES
Newman Product Lump (30 mm to +6 mm) and Fines (-6 mm)
stockpiles. Hariusworth, R A. Knceshaw. M. Moms, R C. Robinson. C J and
Shrivasrava, P K, 1990. HIF-derived iron ores of the Hamersley
Stockpiling controls at the Port Hedland operations fulfil
Province. i n Geoloxy o f f h e Mimrul Deposifs ofAusrrtrlici und Pupuu
several basic functions: Ncw Giiirteu (Ed: F E Huphts), pp 617-642 (The Australasian
Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).
1. Principal Consultants. Mining CG Resource Technology Pty Ltd. This error IS eliminated by ensuring that all the material in the
Kirin Centre, IS Ogilvie Road, Mt Pleasant WA 6153. s m p l e comes frorn the right plnce. ie from the zone for which
tlie grade prediction is required. Usually blast holes penetrate
through the base of the mining bench to provide 'suhdrill' to comparative smpling tests empiric.illy can be significantly
improve the blasting. The common example of incorrect sample reduced. In addition, the inconclusive results often caused by
delimitation is where this subdrill material is included with tlic interruption o t sampling trials by production requirements c;in be
sample that is used to represent the grade of the mining bench. avoided.
This error can also lead to misclassification between ore and
A conditional simulation motlcl. is produced of ;I
waste.
representative section ot' the deposit tising the bcst available data.
I n some c:ises, t l i i h I i x bccn based on the current grade control
Suinple extraction sampling regime and i n other cases o i i the more broadly s p x e d
This error is incurred where material is lost from the sample. resource drilling. Obviously significant care and attention must
Common examples are dust loss or poor sample recovery in open be devoted to ensuring that the conditional simulation model is
hole percussion drilling. Such errors can lead to problems of valid. This model is maclc-up of a hrgc number of realisations
bias (ie accuracy) and are bcst identified by testwork. (images) th;it each reflect the spatiiil variability of the availnblc
data and honour dl the known dat;i points. The conditional
Sample yrepurutioti simulation model is generated on a closely spaced mesh of points
(nodes) i n three-tlimensioiis, using the continuity and misotropy
The relationship between the inherent particle size of the
of miner;iIis;ition dclincd by experimental variography. I t is
mineralisation (the liberation size) and the particle size of the
important that the known geological features of the deposit ;ire
sample is referred to as the Fundamental Error of the sample.
This relationship can be defined for a deposit by testwork and also correctly rellected in the model. Once these criteria are met,
used to predict the error produced at each stage of sample this mathematical model may be taken ;is ii representation o f tlie
preparation and subsampling for assaying. Delinition of the distribution of grades in the deposit.
sample preparation errors provides an estimate of the precision The conditional simulation model can then be 'sampled' to
(ie repeatability) of samples. The collection and averaging of represent the grade at different positions and the impact of
many samples can reduce the impact of poor precision on the estimating hlock grades t'rom those s;mple results. The sampling
estimation of the average grade of an ore block. However assay ciin be designed to represent ditchwitch trenching, blast hole
results with high individual errors will still ciiuse random sampling over viirious bench heights (Ivith or without the subtlrill
misclassification at the margins of ore blocks and this can lead to i n the sample) and I-everse circuliition drilling. In each case the
extensive ore loss and dilution in highly structured orebodies that sampling can be ciirried out on a 1;irge number of different
have a high perimeter to area ratio. drilling grids and the optimum sampling method can be
Testwork to measure bias and precision and the use of a determined using sampling iind assaying costs. the value of the
relative measure referred to as the HARD (half absolute relative ore mined, tlie cost of milling the included dilution and tlie
difference) are discussed in Shaw (1097). This provides a robust impact ot ore loss ;is an opportunity cost.
measure for comparison between sample batches, assaying
Resource rnotlclling ot the Sunrise Dam Project of Acacia
methods, laboratories and deposits. I t can be used to generate
Resources Limited is discussed in Giize, Khosrowshahi (!I a/
tcstwork results that are repeatable and to define sampling
(1097). As part o f a subsequent grade control sampling
nomograms. The Fundamental Error can be dclined using the
optimisation study tlie following scenxios were evaluated:
parameters k and cx (using the terminology of Franqois-
Bongarcon). These can be used to characterise the deposit and verticd blast hole drilling on vai-ious staggered grids using
provide a basis for comparison with other orebodies. In gold 2.5 in siimplcs:
deposits, other non-parametric measures such as the nominal vertical blast hole drilling on various staggered grids using
liberation particle size of the gold, or statistics on the HARD I .O in samples;
values can be used ;is comparative measures of the expected inclined reverse circulation drilling on various staggered
relative sampling error. In summary, the statistical methods grids using 1.0 in samples; and
presented in that paper provide a means by which the quality of 0 1iorizont;il ditchwitch trenching with I .O in samples and
sampling data can be quantified. various line spiicings.
Errors may be introduced to the grade control process by At node position the grade was estimated from the
ignoring these four components of correct sampling. In the past, sampling data and an ore - waste boundary was delined. The
the first three of these errors were regarded as non-quantifiable in values were then ;iccumulated at every node point to define the
that the sampling wiis regarded as either 'right' or 'wrong'. The tonnes and grade ot ore and waste delineated by that sampling
method discussed below enables the impact of all four errors on method. Since the conditional simulation model was ;ivailable to
misclassification between ore and waste and thus on provide iin exhaustive data set, a comparison could be made
reconciliations. to be evaluated. between tlic true grade, the estimated grade and the classification
as either ore o r waste by the sampling method.
Optimisation of the sampling grid In some ciises, inaterial above the cut-off grade would be
Under the pressure of mining production. it is often necessary to defined ;is waste by tlic sampling method being trialled,
make pragmatic compromises. At many mine sites now, the indicating that ore loss woultl be incurred. The converse was that
grade control program commences with reverse circulation i n other ciiscs material below the cut-ol't grade would be defined
drilling. When the soft weathered zone gives way to hard fresh as ore, indicating that dilution would be incurred.
material the sampling costs increase significantly. Blast holes From this information. iit any specilied cut-off grade the
appear more attractive as a source of samples and it would be tonnes and grade could be defined in live ways:
useful to know the comparative costs and benefits of using them.
Trialing different sampling regimes in practice can be costly.
Even if the area to be mined is sampled using two different &Theprinciples ;ind practice of producing and using cont1ition:il
methods, in a fair test it can only be mined on the results of one siiiiulation models for resource estirnntioii and grade control are
of the methods. The procedure outlined here neatly avoids this discussed in detail i n Khosrowshahi and Shaw (1997) and are not
difficulty and provides a mechanism whereby objective reiterated here.
comparisons can be produced. The cost and time to carry out
TRUE the true tonnes and grade for ;ill matcrial above the pdygonal. sectional, inverse distance squared or even kriging
specified cut-off grade. derived from tlie exhaustive set of the nietliods). Frequently the reliitive impact of ore loss and dilution
conditional simulation model. In a real mine this value can never could not he estimated. The linear estimators smooth the data
be known. and do not provide any information on the expected variability at
ESTIMATE the expected tonnes and grade that would he the unknown points betweeii the sampling data+. For all
estimations. regions o f ore ;ind waste are defined that show
defined, based upon the sampling method and grid adopted. greater continuity than those i n the actual deposit. The true
ORE LOSS the tonnes and grade of material incorrectly v.li.'.
i r ib'ility of the deposit. which may be referred to as the
'
classified as waste by the sampling method. dispersion. is not rctlected. The use of conditional simulation to
DILUTION the tonnes and grade of matcrial incorrectly Sencr;ite equiprobable a1tern;itive maps (realisations) has been
classified as ore by the sampling method. ;idopted to provide information on this variability. The
iwlisations generated at c l o x spaced nodes again provide an
PGC the tonncs and grade of material that would be mined as exhaustive data set that can be used to optimise decision-making.
ore after correcting for ore loss and dilution. The tonnes for Of course. the differences and subtleties of the conditional
PGC and ESTIMATE are identical (since i n both cxics i t is tlie simulation tools used to produce the realisations that represent
mined tonnage) hut the PGC grade is lower. I n some places tlie variability of tlie deposit need to be understood.
dilution has been included and in other places ore has been
Interpretation of the conditional simulation model is carried
omitted. In both cases metal units have been lost. *
out through a transfer function (Journel, 1985, p 31) which is
The relationship between the metal content of these various used here iis a generic name tor the process used to evaluate the
categories is shown in Equation 1 ( a s tonncs times grade), and similarities and differences hetween the realisations. The
can be used to define the efficiency of a grade control sampling conditional simulation model can be used to define the
method, as first presented in Shaw (1991): probability of ore heing above or below the cut-off grade at each
node and tlie expected grade at that node. The Ore Block
Optimisatiori (OHOo) procesh is a transfer function that uses this
probabilistic information to determine the optimum configuration
For the Sunrise Dam Project a large number of grid spacings of mineable ore blocks and produces a three-dimensional model
and cut-off grades were evaluated. To determine the effects of of the optimal (best) ore block outlines.
geological trends on the sampling, two orientations were I n producing optimal ore blocks. it is necessary to consider a
examined in each case. A sensitivity study was also carried out number o f site specific parameters. The paramount consideration
to evaluate the effects of different sampling quality between the is o f course the geology. The conditional simulation model
methods. All the cases were repeated with a specific random should take into consideration not only the assay grades but also
relative error applied based on experience and previous sampling lithological domains and the relationship between mapping and
studies carried out on the deposit. When all the different logging with the mineralisation. This has been applied at
sampling methods, grid spacings, cut-off grades. grid different sites i n different ways. At the Union Reefs Gold Mine
orientations and error sensitivity studies were completed there of Acacia Resources Limited, drill chip logging that
had been 46 400 sampling scenarios evaluated on tlie conditional differentiated the lithologies into siltstone and shale was used to
simulation model. contirm and provide lithologicd controls on the mirieralisation.
A more recent trial at an Indonesian mine took into account
The results indicated that, for this relatively high-grade different structural orientations in different domains.
deposit. the sampling strategy to maximise profit;ihility for
mining the saprolite was dedicated rcvcrse circulation drilling I n addition to definition of' the geological and grade variability
using 1 m samples with holes drilled on a 4 m by 5 ni grid. The i n the condirion;il simulation model. a number of mining
holes were best oriented perpendicular to the dip of the pxiincters must he specified for the OBO' process. These
mineralisation. (This last observation is hardly surprising to the include the minimum mineable block size, the mining and
experienced mining geologist but nice to prove objectively.) milling costs and tlie economic cut-off grades for the desired ore
This sampling regime was implemented with spectacular and low-grade stockpiles. Generation of the conditional
results. The usual reconciliation problems experienced by mines simulation model can take considerable time (usually an
that adopt blast hole sampling was avoided (many mines liwe a overnight run): once completed the OBO' process produces
deficiency of up to 0.5 g/t Au in the mill compared to the grade optimal ore block outlines from this model.
control predictions). This success must be attributed not only to I3ecause of the sensitivity o f many operations to the decision
the sampling quality but also to the geological controls applied o f hulk niining versus selective mining (see Shaw. 1993) the
by the mining geologists on-site and to the adoption of the Ore possibility of examining dif'fcrent mining scenarios is also
Block Optimisation method discussed next. incorporated. Results of the Ore Block Optimisation process can
The objectivity of the method described is only limited by the he imported into mining sot'twiire as a block model with the
reliability o f the input data. The costs of the various sampling entire volume catcgorised iis ore, low-grade ( i n various
scenarios to be evaluated must be defined. If sampling errors are categories it required) or waste. Maps in plan and section can be
used then the quality of the sampling data must he qu;intitied. To generated indicating the ore hlock boundaries. These provide a
this end, MRT has accumulated ;I significant database that clc;ir guide for the mining gcologist to refine as required, mark-
quantities sampling quality at a large number of deposits using o u t and dig.
the HARD statistic. This enables realistic assumptions to be
made of tlie impact on sampling quality of the various sampling
errors discussed in the previous section. Usually the studies arc + The x r o n y i n I'GC represciits the Predicted Grade Coiitrol value,
ie [he v:iliie that should be predicted by grade control 10accurately
also carried out on a 'perfect sampling' basis with no error define Ihe grade of the ore hciiig mined. The term Actu;il Mined Ore
component to ensure that such assumptions have not distorted the is rescrvcd for the tonnes and @e of ore after mining. which m~y
results. he tlilfcrent due to changes I ~ ore
I blocks based o n visual control or
other inining practices.
OPTIMISATION OF ORE BLOCKING *A li111 discussioii of the dil'lcrcnces between estimation (with
associated siriootliing)and siiwlation (where the variability or
The use of the grade control data can also be optiinised. I n the tlislwsioii is ret;iiiicd)is pro\.itlcd in Khosrowshahi and Shaw
past ore and waste boundaries were often defined using a linear ( 1997)
interpolation ;ilgorithm that smoothed the data (such as
landmark nature of The AuslMM’s monograph series. This will In cf’fect tlie Code. sponsored by l h c AuslMM, the Austr;ilian
feature chapters on the key aspects of resource and reserve Institute of’ Geoscienti$t\ (AIG) iinil tlie Minerals (huncil o f
estimation. including exploration data collection, geological Australia (MCA). sets the standards for public reporting on
interpretation, the resource database, resource estimation, mineral resources. reserves and cxplor;ition results, while the
metallurgical testing. reserve estimation. risk iisscssnicnt, ASX is [he vehicle under which such rcports are monitored when
reporting, and bankable feasibility studies. The AuslMM hopes submitted by stock exchange listed cciiiipiinies under Appendix 5.
that this monograph will be viewed around the world as a manual
of best practice, and will enhance the status of The AuslMM and NON-COMPLIANCE REPORTING
the Australian minerals industry as world leaders.
Instances where reports issued to the ASX do not comply with
The Best Practice Initiative and the JORC Code the JOKC Code and the ASX listing Rules include the
following:
The Australasian Code on Keporting of Mineral Resources and
Ore Reserves. commonly known as the JORC Code. is Lack of categorisation
effectively i n mandatory use in Australia and has been adopted as
the standard by the investment regulatory authorities, the The Code strongly discourages statenient, which provide only
Australian Securities commission and the Australian Stock total tigtircs lor Mineral liesources or Ore Reserves. I n public
Exchange. International initiatives in the same area ;ire involving reports. mineral icsourcc estimates should be allocated to one or
the Australasian Code to considerable extent and the Code itself more o f the defined clitegories 01 Measured, Indicated and
is continually under review and improvement. Inferred and the tonnageslgrades allocnted should he stated.
The Best Practices Initiative is being developed in parallel with Likewise. ore reserves estimates of tonnage and grade should be
the JORC Code and i t is hoped that in time it will receive the allocated to Proved and Probable categories.
same degree of recognition. While there is not intended to be
any duplication of the matters covered by the two initiatives, the Use of incorrect terminology
papers presented as part of the Best Practices Initiative to-date
Terms such ;is ‘Prohable liesources’. ’Geological Resources’. ‘In
have, in a number of cases, highlighted issues relevant to the
Situ Reserves’, ‘Mining Reserves’. ‘Possible Reserves’ and so on
JORC Code and. in many cases. currently under review by that
have no incaning under the Code and should not be used in
committee. Some of these issues include
public reports.
the identity of the Competent Person(s);
the approach to determining cut-off grade; Reporting of only contained metal without also
the possible need to define dilution and other mining inputs reporting tonnage’s and grade
in an ore reserve report.
the need to comment on the quality of the database and The Guidelines st;ite that such reporting ‘deprives the public of
estimating procedures used in preparing a report and, vital information’ and ‘is not in accortl;ince with the Code’. I t is
possibly a need to comment on the risks involved; very relevant to the potential investoi t o know whether a quoted
quantity of contained metal is the product of a large tonnage of
a possible need to comment on the objective of the reported low-grade material or o f ;I small tonn;ige of high- grade material.
estimate; and
The practice of quoting contained nictal without also quoting
a possible need to quantify in some way the contidence levels grades c m , particularly for Mineral Resources. result in a value
in the various categories of resource and reserve. for the deposit which is totally at vari;ince with its true realisable
Vivienne Snowden’s presentation at the Perth Conference value.
provides an excellent summary of some of the issues currently A variation of this. though far from common, is for reports for
relevant to the JORC Code, its use and its on-going review and polymet;illic deporits to quote equiv;ilcnt metal vnlues without
involvement in the international initiative. The relevant showing clearly the full data and assumptions (grades for
paragraphs from that paper are reproduced below. individud inetals and iissuined metill prices) employed i n [he
estimntionlconversion to ;I single equiwlent grade.
JORC INTERFACE WITH THE AUSTRALIAN
INVESTMENT REGULATORY AUTHORITIES Lack of explanation as to the relationship between
reported Mineral Resources and ore Reserve
The main investment regulatory authorities i n Australia are the
Australian Securities Commission (ASC), and the Australian lieports often do not make it clear whether stated Mineral
Stock Exchange (ASX). Their respective areas of responsibility Resources ;ire inclusive o f , o r additional to stated Orc Rcserves.
and contact with respect to the JORC Code have some overlap The relationship is impoi-tant because readers of the report might
but in essence, the ASX has the most direct ‘working face’ otherwise add together tonnage/grade figures. which are not
involvement with it. intended to he added toceether and so reach incorrect conclusions.
The ASX has ii clear preference for the integrity of the The Guitlclines provide recommended forms of clarifying
financial markets for which it is responsible IO be based on the stnteinents.
premise of co-operative self-regulation, rather than hy
governmental 1egisl;ition or regulation. Lack of reference, where necessary to assessment
In pursuance of this policy, from I July I989 the ASX annexed criteria (Table 1 of Code)
the JORC Code and Guidelines (and subsequently the Diamond Any report of ‘exploration results’ m u s t include details which
Appendix) as part of its Listing Kules - Appendix 5 . The Code hear on sainpling of the mineralisaticin such as drilling/sairil)ling
and Guidelines are the only inclusion of an externally sourced density, driIling/sampling methodology. sample and assay quality
document in the ASX Listing Rules. Furthermore, Australia and and so on. Reports of Mineral Resources and/or Ore Reserves
New Zealand are the lirst countries to have their mineral should state the n;iture of data on which the estimates are h s e d
resources and reserves reporting standards, a s set by their mining and make mention ol m y assessment criteria for which
institute, as an integral inclusion in their Stock Exchange Listing inadequate (ir only poor quality data is ;ivailable.
Kules.
Inadequate and/or incorrect statements regarding the Siniil;irly. coi p a t e compelition amongst listed coinpanics to
Competent Person catch the eye o f the investor and to ensure the investor is
fully informed has bccn ,I force making for better reporting.
The ASX Listing Iiules require that ;I statement he included in Since the introduction 01' tlic Code in 1989, many companies
those public reports which contain information on Mineral hnve t;iken pride in supplying rcsources/rcscrvcs iiiformation
liesources and Ore Reserves to the cflect that the requirements 01' which i s exeinplary and which exceeds the Code's minimum
the Code with respect to the competent Person have been met. requirement by ;I large iiwgin.
The Guidelines (page 19) provide a recommended form of The mcmbership of the JORC Committee has hceii one o f its
statement. which covers the requirement, arid it (or minor strengths. Initially JORC comprised rcprescntatives from
variations o f i t ) should be used in all relev;int reports. In an The AuslMM and the Australian Mining Intlustry Council
addition to the ASX Listing Kules effective I July 1995. the (now Minerals Council 0 1 Australia). I n recent years, six
name of the Competent Person must be given. organisations have been represented on JORC - The
AuslMM, MCA. AIG Mineral Industry Consultants
Statements to the effect that Resources and/or Reserves Association (MICA), ASX and the Securities Institute of
figures have been 'estimated' (or even worse Australi;i (IS).
'calculated') in accordance with the Code No codc C;IH cover oll conditions and times and the Code
The Code does not regulate estiination methodology. I t 5pecifically statcs i t will he reviewed from time to time as
establishes ;I system of Kesources/Rcservcs classification and appropriate, to reflect changes i n circunistanccs. Some
sets minimum standards for public reporting. changes have already heen m;de since its introduction in
1989 and ;I review ofthe code is currently in progress.
Session Chairperson
Peter Hills
Beaconsfield Mine JointVenture
Discontinuity Analysis in Open Cut Exposures Examples From -
Selected Central Victorian Sites
C N Winsor' and T J Fowle?
Igneous rocks arc solidified magma. Primary flow surfaces display ;i close relationship to fold development. Norinal,
b) reverse or strike-slip laults have predictable geometries, but their
can be present, related to flow direction, topography or
parallel to magma contacts. Grain size often exerts a location usually iniist be confirmed by geological mappiny or
remotc sensing.
control on spacing. The spacing of cooling fractures is
dependent on cooling rate and composition.
CASE STUDIES
c) Metamorphic rocks are modified because of changes in
temperature and/or pressure. An anisotropy is often present Thc following examples illustrate thc results of discontinuity
as a foliation andor lineation. Other fabrics include analysis i n ii range of geological tcrrains. from essentially
crenulations, or cleavage fissility, folds, faults, shear zones, undeformcd, to simple lolded. to multi-faultedfolded regimes
veins and fractures. Discontinuities arc controlled by the and for a variety of rock types. This investigation extends the
macrostructure. with spacing dependent on local and/or examination of rock discontinuitics in the Adelaide region
regional controls. (Winsor and Priest, 1996). Examplcs arc presented from central
Victoria. encompassing a wide spectrum of rock typcs of vcry
A wide range of terrains are evident in the geological record. different gcological ages (Cambrian to Carboniferous).
dependent on the tectonic conditions and history. Terrains may Although the rocks examined vary i n terms of age, composition
include the following tectonic environments (Hobbs et a / . 1976): and proccsscs involved i n their forni;ition it is noted that the
a. igneous intrusions, general oricntatioiis of discontinuities ;ire similar throughout the
region.
b. extensional blocks,
c. flat lying sediments, Examples: Central Victoria
d. foldthrust belts,
Regionul setting
e. graben - rifts,
The geology of central Victoria, as reviewed by Douglas and
f. polydeformed areas.
Ferguson (1988). comprise Palaeozoic sediments of the Tastnan
g. salt dome, Orogenic belt froin early Cambrian to early Carboniferous.
These sediments have undcrgone a complex history involving
h. shale structure, burial, inctamorphism. folding, faulting and uplift and form part
I. simple folded region, of the metalliferous Lachlan Foldbelt (Ramsay and Vandenberg,
1986). Thc folding style is generally chevron, with N-S plunging
j. slate - schist belt, axes and large-scale folds exhibiting wavelengths of IO to 15
k. tectonic melange, kms. Steeply dipping faults are common along axial planes to
folds. The area ot' Central Victoria under invcstigation is known
I. wrench faulted area, and as thc Bendigo-Ballarat zone, across which an upright to vertical
cleavage is well dcvelopcd as Gray (1988) reveals. On thc
m. regions effected by synsedimentary deformation.
This list is not exclusive, but reflects a spectrum of tectonic
conditions that have been described. Generally for each of the
environments, discontinuities display a Consistent pattern,
dependent on structural overprints and rock types. Where an
area is subjected to recurring tectonic events the discontinuities
present reflect this history. Man induced joints generally exhibit
a non systematic (random) pattern. In this article we are
concerned with discontinuity analysis in areas that have been
either simply folding or polydeformed. Case studies from central
Victoria will be presented.
Simple folds
For areas affected by simple folding, there is commonly a
consistent fold axis orientation. While there may be a gradual
change in the orientation of the fold axis, in a given area, the
style and geometry of folding should not exhibit sudden
variability. Knowledge of the structural history and orientation
o f the regional forces, together with local geology can enable
determination of discontinuity characteristics. Joints related to
the folding process exhibit distinct orientations. Across a simple
folded sequence, where folds are upright and gently to
moderately plunging, ideal discontinuities can be predicted as
demonstrated by Winsor (1985, 1995) and Winsor and Priest
( 1996).
Reverse fault
Anticline
-+
Syndine +
Bedding trend -- .
Polydeformed
These are regions affected by multiple folding and faulting where
discontinuity predictions can be problematic, as fractures can
develop at any state in the deformation process (cg Winsor, FIGI - Stnicttiral inap of the Bcndigo - B;illarat Zone of Central Victoria,
1983). Commonly igneous activity, metamorphism and thrusting displayiiig sitcs of discontinuity analysis ;ind regional fold and bcddiiig
trends. after Gray ( 19x8).
eastern margin of this zone (location I ; Figure I ) a prominent N- The discontinuities present includc joints subparallel to the
S, west dipping reverse fault is present. Locally adjaccnt to the adjacent thrust fiiult and subparallel to fold axial planes (set I ) ,
sediments arc fault bounded Cambrian greenstone rock slices. joints normal to tlie told axis of regional folds ('ac' joints - set 2);
Sites at which discontinuities were analysed include: and subhorizontal joints, related to topography (set 3). Two
a. Cambrian greenstones metavolcanics - site I , slic;ir fracture sets are also developed.
Location 1
0 100
L I I I I I
metres
i Bedding
Chert bed
Pillow Lava
with
Fault
younging
Basalt Sill
Scanline survey
Quarry wall
O'&
H
-.-.,. .
.....
.....
---
A -
si
GC
rmals
FIG 2 - Geological plan. stereographic projection of a) structural and b) discontinuity data. site I . Lake Coopcr Quarry. Greenstones.
TAHLE 1
Discontinuity dura sites 1-5 (all distributions are negutivc
~~~
Location 3
Discontinuities
SI
-- GC 1
Location 5
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
T h e advisc and assistancc provided by Dr Anthony G Meycrs.
Professor Stephen D Priest and Dr Robct-t G Wiltshire, School of
Engineering. University 01' South Australia is appreciated. Alex
Kavoukis o f the Multimedia Services Section. FLC, University
of South Australia is thanked for p r c p x i n g the diagrams.
REFERENCES
kll. T H ;itid Duncan. A C. 1978. A rationalised and unified shorthand
S<!t s1 teriiiinology for lineations and fold axes in tectonites.
Set GC 1 ~ ' ~ ~ l ~ l J l ~ J / 47. l / l )TI
' . -T5
~ ~ ~ ~ . ~ .
3. Identify the geometry of macroscopic faults and dctermine Hobbs. I3 E. Means. W D xid Williaiiis. P F. 1976. h i ourliw of'
.r~rirc.~frt.ct/ peolq:?. 57 Ipp Wiley (Intcriiational. New York).
how thcy influence the geometry of penetrative fabrics.
Marsden. M A H. 1988. Upper Devonian Carboniferous. in Geo/opy O f
4. Undertake structural analysis (as outlined by Marshak and I . J ~ I J G I)ouglas and J A Ferguson) 5: 1-36 (DITR.
V J ~ . I ( J (Eds:
Mitra, 1988; Ragan, 1985) and determine the geometry, Victoria).
scale and timing of macroscopic folding and related Marshak. S. and Miti-a, G. 1988. Btrsic. fJferhod.cOf .trruciurcr/ Reology,
structures. 446pp (Prentice Hall).
Meycrs. A C;. Priest. S I 1 and Walker. II J. 1993a. A technique for
5. M a k e idealised discontinuity predictions in relation to the preparing rock inass discontinuity gcoiiietry files for slope stability
macrostructure. monitoring. in O/wn /'ir ctnd U~tc/c!rxr~imdMining (Ed: T
Szwcdzicki), pp 365-374 (Geotcch Imt :ind Mon).
6. Carefully select positions for scanlines. inlight of their
relation to the macrostructure. Meyers. A G. W:ilker. D ;ind Priest. S 1). 1993b. SCANEDIT mid
SCANMASTER users inanual - limited version. Internal report to
7. Undertake scanline survcys and dctcrminc geometry and BHP Raw inaterials rese:irch group, unpublished. 32p.
spacing of discontinuities. Priest. s D. 1985. / ~ I ' f f t i . ~ ~ J / t ~ ~ t/JrfJjCClJfJlJ
'ic'tf/ it1
J~lC'l/lfJd,~ r~~c~hr/~trr:.~.
I24pp (George Allen and Unwin).
8. Compare discontinuity predictions with the results of
Priest, S I). 1903. D ~ . W J J I I J m y .~\ ( I. \~/ i ~ rr w k engineertnx.473pp
I IdU
scanline surveys. If discrepancies exist review the (Ch;ipm;in and Hnll. London).
macrostructural interpretation. Ragan. I)M. 1985. .Slt~ucrur.cr/ xeoloxy, 3rd cd (John Wiley) 393 pp.
9. Document investigation results. Ranisay. W K I{ :ind Vandeliberg, A H M. 1986. Metallogeny :ind
tectonic dcvelopnicnt of the Tasinan Foltlhelt system in Victoria. Ore
C;eo/n,yy Kcview. I :213-257.
CONCLUSIONS Stapledon. D H. 1990. Keeping the 'GEO'; Why and How. in
Assessment of the structural geology over an area can providc an ~ ~ c o ~ t/t(ifift:s
ter i f , (I C / f t r n ~ f nWOI ~ / I / , 71h A N Z conference in
Geortrev /J(III~CT(Ells: M A Jxksa. W Shaggwa and D A Cameron). pp
aid to discontinuity predictions, particularly for undeformed or
3-1 X (7th ANZ conferelice i n Gcoinech:uiics. Adelaide July, 1996).
simply deformed areas. The benefits of incorporating knowledge
Winsor. C N. I9X.3. Vein and syntectonic libre growth associated wlth
concerning the regional macrostructure as part of scanline mult iple slaty clcavngc tlevclopment i n the Lake Moondarra ;iren.
surveys is apparent. Discontinuities at a number of mine sitcs i n Mount Isa. Australia. Tec I O / I ( J ~ / I ~ . T ~ C 92: Y . 19.5-210.
rocks of different origin and age, in central Victoria ;ire Winsor. C N. 1985. Iiirerprcration of a set ( i f faults across the hingc :ind a
controlled by the underlying tectonic fabric. Such results are liinh of ;I large sc;ile flexure i n the Mount Isa district, Qucensland in
apparent at other sites, in the Adelaide region, a1 Broken Hill, at terms of fractures related to the folding process. J Srrutv (;c,ol,
Iron Duke and at Olympic Dam. This suggcsts that in parts of 717 10-725.
the Australian continent, rock mass discontinuitics will exhibit Winsor. C N. 199.5. 'l'he prediction of rock inass discontinuities i n the
Clarc V:illey Syncline. b e d on reyonal geology interpretation.
similar characteristics. Using local and regional information, Clare Valley conference. Geological Society of Australia, SGTSG.
rock mass predictions arc feasible a s an aid to conventional Mine 2.5-2') Sept IOOS. 177-178.
Geotechnical investigations assisting in the preliminary stages of Winsor, C N ;ind Priest. S 1). 1996. The controls exeited on rock
site investigaions and there after improving safety, efficiency and discontinuities - exaiiiples from tlic Adelaide fold belt, i n
communication between mine geologists and mining engineers. C;c,o,frrc./tcitiit.r J J J (1 Clicin~inx W d d . 71h ANZ conferenuJ in
~ ; ~ ' ~ J l t f ~ ~ ' / t (Eds:
~ t ~ l fM ~ . Jaksa. W Skaggwa and D A Cameron).
~ : .A
Investigations arc underway to charactcrise discontinuities in a
pp 240.245 (7th ANZ Conference i n Gcoinechanics, Atlelaide July.
range of geological situations.
1996).
Wittke. W. 1993. I<ein;irks on the pfiictical application of rock
InecI1;inIcs. I n ! Sor KocQ Mr1.h Nov.~Jot!t.ftttl, I :21-24.
and arbitrary slip surfaces. In this method, two factors of salety Definition of performance function
which are based on both force and overall moment limit
I n the probability analysis of slope stability, a performance
equilibrium equations need to be calculated as follows:
function. G ( X ) = FOS - I , is always used to indicate whether the
F =
c
,=I
{C,AX, +( W, +AT, -U,)tan@,}seca, I m,,,
slope is in a 'safe state' (G(X)> 0) 01- i n a 'failure state' ( G ( X )<
0). Theretore, the failure probability ol' a slope can be defined as
(1) follows
I
2I= I
(W, + A T , ) t a n a ,
I>,=Pr( G(X/IO] (5)
Tri (0.5) riindom v;iriables and the correlation coefficients between them
iirc specified. The failure probability of a slope can he defined
Tri(0.25) 7 by tlie ratio between numbers o f FOScI and numbers of FOS>I.
'The empirical distribution 01 FOS can be described with a
histogram. The mean value (111:) and standard deviation (OF) of
FOS can be estimated by the following equations:
p
is lower than that of the cont:ict.
265
rk- BIF 7 ..........
- 255
E 245
c 235 Slope Profile
V.
7
"
2 225 t - -
f 215
2 205
x Value 195
185
222 242 262 282 302 322 342
Horizontal Distance (m)
FIG S - Logistic distribution
the normal distribution can be used to simulate the basic input FIG6 - A criiicnl scction for thc south wall Pit-D stability analysis
data for the slope probability analysis. However, depending on
how much knowledge has been obtained, other distributions may
need to be used for generating the basic input random variables.
Read (1994) mentioned that i f there is a genuine lack of I n ordci- to conduct probability analyses, the input data shown
knowledge, the correct probability distribution is the uniform i n liiblc I were used. A total of I O 000 time simulations were
distribution and the value that is selected will have 21 SO per cent carried o u t . All basic input data were assumed to he normally
chance of being correct. Because maximum entropy in a closed distributed. After calculation, the mean value and standard
system is equivalent to maximum randomness o r chaos. all deviation of FOS obtained were 1.1 19 and 0.141 rcspectively.
outcomes are equally likely. The empirical and normal distributions of FOS for this section is
shown in Figure 7. It is interesting to note that the empirical
T h e empirical probability distribution of FOS for a rock distribution of FOS was close t o the normal distribution. T h e
and/or soil slope can be simulated by the Monte Carlo simulation failure probabilities obtained from the empirical and the normal
method once the probability distribution of all the basic input distrihutions were 22 per cent and 20 per cent respectively.
TABLE
1
700 1.00
600 0.80 p ~
$500 -g;
g400 0.60 53
&300
:200
0.40 E3
100
0.20 z
0 0.00
xo qo qo s oq r; rg rq rq rp r
Factor of Safety
330 4
20 60 100 140 180 220
Horlrontal Dlstance (m)
Note: R,/H and RvJB mean that the relevant shear strength pnraineters are along the bcddlng planes of the McKac Shale.
CONCLUSIONS
A comprehensive probability analysis computer package was
tlevcloped to provide a powerful tool for geotechnical engineers
to conduct the probability andysis of rock slopcs undcr complex
geological conditions. Five types of probability distribution were
used in this package to simulate the basic input data. Two
realistic cases were selected to conduct thc probability analysis
o f rock slopes bascd on the developed package. The calculated
results indicated that the failure probability was significantly
FIG I I - Distributions of factor of safety based on input data with norinal
affected hy tlic asymmetry ol the distribution of the basic input
distribution (in coinplcx geological conditions).
data. In most cases, as long iis the distribution functions are
peakiness or kurtosis the failure probability obtained by the
cinpirical distribution is close to the normal distribution. The
rcsults from the probability analysis can provide yeotechnical
RISWCOST ANALYSIS
ciigincers a quantitative confident level for assessing the slope
I n the enginccring context, the term 'risk analysis' is almost stability wlicn the basic input data have certainly unconfident
always related to an analysis within the framework o f probability tlegrcc. I t is bclicved that tlic application of thc probability
theory and costing. For example, if onc rock slope has a high ;in;ilysis to the assessment ol' pit wall stability will not only
failure probability but the cost due to that slope failing is quite supplement tlic conventional stability methods available to
low, thcn the risk of this slope may be in the low category. In georcchnical cnginccrs but ;ilso bring significant financial
contrast to this, if a slope failure will sevcrcly jeopmlise mining Ixiictils to open pit mining.
production o r significantly impact orebody exposure, the risk
may he high even if the failure probability is reasonably low. So ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
far no uniform theory or model is available to estimate [lic risk of
pit wall failure. Read (1994) proposed a conceptual model as Thc author gratet'ully acknowledges the permission of BHP Iron
follows: Orc managcmcnt to use company data. Thanks are also extended
to Dr I4 Guo for his constructivc comments.
Risk = P, x [value of investmcnt to prevent failurc +
consequences of failure (financial, judicial, social and political REFERENCES
costs)) (7) Hishop. A W. l9SS. The use of tlic slip circlc in the stability analysis of
u cI. ):7- 17.
slopes, ~ ; c ~ o l e c ~ / r f l i yS(
where, PI is failure probability of pit wall. HcIget. G, 19x2. Probabilistic dope design for open pit mines, Rock
Herget (1982) suggested that the cost o f possible instabilities Mec./icorr~..v. .SLI/I/I/, 12: 163- 17X
may be estimated by: J;iiibu, N. 1977. Slope stability cotnputations, in Embtinkmenl Dttm
Enx:riicvi.in,q. (Eds: R C Hirschfeld and S D Poulos), pp 44-86
(Wiley).
C = P, x N x C, (8)
Kirsten. H A 1). 1'9x3. Significmice of the probability of filure in slope
cnginceriiig. 711r Civil €n,qii~c~cr itr Souih Africro. 25( 1 ): 17-27.
Whcrc, PI is failure probability of pit wall; McMahoii. H K, 19x5. Soine prxtical considerations of the estimation
N is number of unit cclls; of she:ir strength ofioints aiitl other discontinuities. in Proceedin,qs
C, is cost of instability of a unit cell Inwriicitiiinul Synposium I.'iint1timenrtrls Rock J i i r n ~ . ~ .(Lulea.
Sweden). lip 475-485.
It is remarkable that both equations need to use the failure McMahon. H K 1988. Geotechiiic;il design in the face of uncertainty.
probability o f t h c slope to estimate the risk or cost. A u . w o / i m Civil Eiixineerinx 7irirr.rtrcrions. CE30(3):93-IOS.
Miller. S M 1984. Probabilistic rock slope engineering, H(wtrrc~liI(qiorr. Sariria. S K 1079. Stability analysis 01 ciiibankinents and slopes. J
US Army Corp of Eng. /\.SCE, IO5( 12) I 5 1 I - 1 S24.
i ~ . i t/hi:
C ; ~ ~ i i r i ~ i . l ~ i iE112 l
Morgenslern. N R and Price. V E 196.5. The analysis of llic stability of Spenccr. E 1073. Tlii tist line ci-itcrion iii ciiihnnkirient stability analysis,
general slip surface. Georechniyite, 1.5:70-93. C;i’il/rt llIllC/UC. 23( I ) : K -100.
Moss. A S E and Steffen. 0 K H 197X. Geolechnology mid probability in Kcad, J I< L l W 4 . 1 1 1 4 ~iii~ilysis and iinccil.iiiity i i i open pit mine design.
open-pit mine planning. in Proceedings I / I h G i i i r n i o i t ~ v ~ ~ ~ rMi11
lrli I I ~ IL~ :I . Iv ~O ~~ V II’ir M I ~ I I I I Contrrertre,
iii I J ~ ~ ~ ( . ~ ( , [ J’” ~ pp I YJ- I 43.
wid Mcriill Coiigrexr. Hong Kong, pp S43-590. (The Aiistralasixi Inslitiite of Mining ;iiid Metallurgy: Melbouriie)
Nguyen. V U and Chowdhury. K N 1984. Prohabilistic analysis of
mining spoil piles - two techniques compared. I i i r Kook Mech .Fer
(;eoniecli Absir. 2 I (6):303-312.
ABSTRACT Geology
Rraziliiin ainethyst production is mostly obtained from underground Thc Alto Uruguay geode-type amethyst deposits arc hosted by
mines in the southernmost part of the country. involving approxiinately continental Ilood hasalts belonying to the Serra Geral Formation
6O(X) miners and generating an income of US$ 20 million per yeor. of Cktaceous age. 'The v o l c ~ ~ n succession
ic is reprcscnted by a
Amethyst-hearing geodes arc hosted by Cretaceous continental flood sequence u t nine basaltic to andesitic continental lavnl flow with
bxalts of the Serra Geral Formation. The economic zone occurs i n the
massive (colonnade) intermediary section of the Sjio Gabriel Rasnlto. t h i n eolian arenite interlayers. The economic zone is confined to
the iiiasstve (colonnade) interrnediary section of the Sio Gabriel
The tunnels and stopes follow the occurrence of geodes Ie;iding to ;in
erratic and complex layout. A ground control survey reve:iled excessive H:lsalto.
roof convergence. Topographic results show excessive roof deforination Geologicill and structural mapping of the mineralised area
and some roof falls have already been reported. To understand the ground indicates that thc mineable m i c is restricted to a 2 to 3 m thick
conditions, prevent roof falls and better define the pillar dimensions horizon within an elongated zone that broadly delineates the tlow
detailed geoiricchanical mapping was carried out using lhc scanline 'plug' of the basaltic unit. Within these mineralised zones there
method. Uniaxial compressive strength tests provided complementary is an inner core of densely clustered amethyst-bearing geodes.
information for rock inus classification. Results of the geomechanical
classification were used to modify the mining layout taking into account The outer parts of mineralised zones contain significantly fewer
the roof and pillar geomechanical characteristics. Retreat pillar mining geodes tilled with quartz, amethyst, calcite, zeolite, gibbsite and
minimised ground instahility. ;ig;ile crystals (Correa, 1995).
INTRODUCTION Mining
Mining operations essentially involve the removal of the soft
Location overburden tiillowcd by the development of the main ;icccss drift
horizontally into [lie mineralised basalt layer. Mining is partially
The amethyst deposits reported in this study cover an area of
inechaniscd and uses a rudimentary system for energy
approximately 16 000 ha with more than I O 0 0 drifts and a total
distribution and water drainiigc. Light air compressors provide
production of 300 t of amethyst per month. These dcposits are
energy to the pneumatic hammers required for drilling. Black
located in the Medio and Alto Uruguay region in the
powder blasting is required to avoid damaging the quality of the
southernmost part of Brazil (Figure I). There are approximately
geodes. The waste muckpile is shovelled into small mine trucks
6000 workers directly involved in the operation of these mines
which transport the material to waste dumps adjacent to the main
generating ii gross income of US$ 20 million per year (Koppe
entrance. The waste material consists of basalt and geode
and Costa, 1996).
fragments o t different granulotnetry. The valuable geodes are
carcl'ully rcmoved from the host rock by hand hammers.
PROCEDURE
I. Mining Engineering Department. Federal University of Rio Grande
(lo SUI,Av Osvaldo Aranha 99/.504- Porto Alegrc - Hr:r/d - 9003S- Preliminary studies in the m i i recorded signilicant brittle
190. dctormation and Ioof falls rcwlting in zones of critical instability
(Koppe ef al, 1993). To minimise the roof falls and also to !IO" and their freclticncy was mcasurctl at I .q joints per metre.
properly design pillars and underground openings detailed The joint frequency was used to measurc RQD by the method of
geomechanical mapping was carried out. Field and laboratory Priest ;iiid 1 ludson ( 1976):
work consisted of the following steps:
I. underground surveys measuring pillar and opening widths.
Detailed measurcments were taken at tunnel intersections
because of the increase in the roof span; where h i s the mean frequency oI h e discontinuiiies. RQD
was estimatcd at 98 per cent using Equation I which classilied
2. mapping the discontinuities using the sciinline method the matcrial as high quality i n terms 01' resistance.
(Brady and Brown, 1985);
3. uniaxial compression strength (UCS) tests on samples from
the zones where the scanline method was applied;
4. estimating the rock quality designation (RQD) following
the Priest and Hudson ( I 976) equation; and
5. application of two geomechanical classifications to the host
rock.
Scanlines were used following the criteria of mapping the left-
hand side of the drifts at the mid-point between roof and tloor.
Sample locations lor UCS tests are displayed in Figure 2.
These samples were collectcd at the main entrance, half distmce
from the entrance and close to the mining face along the main
drift. The samples were collected in zones without apparent
fractures avoiding the use of explosives to extract the material.
o WATER WELLS
- WATER DRAINS
The second procedure used for rock classification is the rock
quality index or (Q) system of Barton er nl (1974) which uses the FIG4 - Plan view for the proposed mine layout
following parameters: (i) number of joint sets (Jll), ( i i ) joint
roughness (Jr), ( i i i ) joint weathering (JJ, (iv) water tlow (J,) and
(v) a factor related t o existent tension in the rock niiiss. the stress designed to take into account tlie rock pressure calculated by the
reduction factor (SRF). The rock quality index ( Q )is defined as: tributary ;ires method and its resistance based on the rock mass
classification (Hieniawski, 1984). The new mine layout
(2) improved the safety of the mining operations without affecting
the operational costs.
RQD was again determined by the method of Priest and
Hudson (1976). Barton ei a / (1974) contains tables detailing CONCLUSIONS
appropriate parameter values for J,, , Jr, JiI, J, and SRF. Table 3
summarises tlie values assigned to each of the remaining five To address the problem of ground instability and roof falls a
parameters required in calculating Q. The resulting vnlue of Q is monitoring program and ;I geomechanical rock mass
9.8 which classifies the rock mass in the group of resistant and classification were carried out. Two rock mass classification
stable material (good quality rock) according to Hartoii er a1 methods were used. namely rock mass rating (RMR) and rock
(1974). The Q value confirms the RMR classification. qu;ility index (Q), to classify the inineralised horizon as rock of
good quality. The hanging w;ill was extremely fractured and
classified as poor rock.
TABLE 3 Although the mineralised horizon was classified as good
Indices assipled 10 parariierers reyrrired iti rock quulir): index qtiality, rock haphazard mining development generated zones of
cak:lclarioll.~. roof and pillar instability. The current mine layout required
modification i n order to improve underground safety. A new
mine layout wiis proposed. taking into account the
geomechanical characterisation of the rock niass ;IS well as
operational and financial aspects. The efficiency of the proposed
I .o mining method h x not yet been evaluated and will require
SRF 2.5
continuous roof and pillar monitoring during its implementation.
The additional information ohtained from the monitoring
program based on measuring roof convergence will he used to
control ground stability.
Good quality rock allows excavations to stay unsupported for
several months or even years depending upon the selected span. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The actual mining layout (Figure 2) shows that the span of the Financial support for this work was provided by CNPq
openings vary significantly resulting in situations where the (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e
pillars are as narrow as 1 m. This erratic layout may lead to Tecnol6gico), FLE (Fundaqiio Luis Englert) and PADCT/FINEP
future instability. The hanging wall, contr;iry to the mineralised (Program de Apoio ao 1)esenvolvimento Cientifico e
horizon, is highly fractured making it difficult to classify the Tccnologico - Fin;inciadora de Estudos e Projetos). research
material properly. Geomechanical classification was not carried organisations in Brazil. Thc authors thank Andrew Richmond
out at the hanging wall rock mass. for his comments and proofreding this paper.
Bieniawski. Z T, 19x4. Rock niechrmic.v desixri LI rninIrr,q c i r i d f i t r i t i c / ~ t r ~ , Koppe. J C: Costa. J F C L: Jahlonski. A . Hrcssani. L A; Azainbol:i, M
272 p (AA Balkemn: Rotterdam). A; G;ivroiiski. J I):Sa1v:idoretti. P :ind .Muller, B. 1993. I'Ioposiqdcs
Brady. B H G and Brown. E T, 1985. Ri1c.k Mec~/rrrrirc~.cfirr Ud?rxritiirid de solusc?cs tcciiic;is dc ciigeiiharia p x i inclhorin das condiqics dc
MItiItig. 527 p (George Allen and Unwin: London). segurmqa e higieiic tlo [I:ihalho eiti y i i n p o s de ainetista. Mining
Correa. T E. 1995. Geologia e crittrios de prospecc;9o para os dcspositos Eiigiiieering Dcpt iiiterii:il technical Icport, Fetler:il Uiiivcrsity 0 1 Kit>
de ainetista do Alto Uruguai. MSc dissertation (unpuhlished).
Graiide do SUI. Porto AlegIe. Brazil.
Mining Engineering Department. Universidadc Federal do Kio Priest. S L) and Hutlsoii, J A. 1976. Discoittinuity spacings in rock. / , I [ J
Grantle do SUI. Hmzil. Rock Mec.hcirric..vMiri S c ~ c ~ / r c ~ . 17:
v , 135-I4X.
Koppe. J C and Costa, J F C L, 1996. Environmental issues and social
effects of the amethyst underground mining in southeminost Hruzil.
in /'nrcwdinx.c of SWkTMPY6. (Ed: R Ciccu) pp I 1 13-1 I 2 0
(Marghcrita di Pula: Cagliari).
156 -
Launceston, 10 14 November 1997 Mining Geology Confererice
Structural Geological Modelling for Geotechnical Investigations
at BHP Iron Ore, Newman, Western Australia
J Ronaszeki'
ABSTRACT
The nectl for structural geological modelling to support slope
Structural geological modelling is a process which results i n a stability investigation has been highlighted by a major wall
3D computer model that represents the essence of the geological t'ailure in August 1'9x9 on thc South Wall of the Mt Whaleback
and structural understanding of an area and is presented i n a way Mine. Three slope failures I'ollowed shortly after (September
that is directly useable, typically by internal customer groups. I99 I, February I992 and July 1992) on pit walls designed in the
HHP Iron Ore operates a number of open cut iron ore niines i n 1980s. All failures were structurally controlled. therefore
the Pilbara Region of Western Australix The largest mine is the improving srructurd geological understanding plays i i major part
MI Whaleback Mine located at Newman close to the southern i n optimising pit slopes f o r RHPlO. Structural geological
margin of the Pilbara Craton. The structurally complex Mt modelling has been systematically and successfully used at
Whaleback Mine is the largest metalliferous single pit open cut I3llPIO since I992 when the company placed a major emphasis
mine in Australia with over 1 .G billion fonnes of original iron ore on developing in-house expertise.
resource. Additional to the Mt Whalehack Mine, ii number of A Strucrural Geology Group in Newman supports all the
satellite open cut iron ore mines are operated by BHP Iron Ore operiitions. After establishing ;I project, all previous data are
(BHPIO) in tlie Newman area. BHPIO also operates the Yarrie reviewed and :I structural geological data collection program is
mine approximately 400 km north of Newman at the northern established. During the structural modelling phase, all relevant
edge of the Pilbara Craton structural geological data ;ire evaluated from all sources
Most of the BHPIO mines are located in the Archean- including structural mapping, diamond core evaluation and
Proterozoic Hamersley Province that overlies the Archean reverse circulation drilling interpretation. Stratigraphy, structural
granite-greenstone terrain of the Pilbara Craton. The orebodies elements, structtml style and deformational sequence are
identified. All relevant data iirc digitised and transferred into
are considered to be the result of supergene enrichment of the
data bases. interpretation is facilitated by using state of the art
approximately 2.5 Ga Brockman Iron Formation and the slightly
Silicon Graphics workstations iind Vulcan software. 'I'he product
older Marra Mamba Iron Formation.
o f structural interpretation are 3D open or closed surface models
Folding represents the most prevalent and penetrative o r solid structural block modcls that can be viewed ;ind sliced at
structural element in the Newman area. Four folding phases have any orientation.
been identified regionally (FI, F2, F3. Fs), while :I more local 3D sri-uctural computer inodelling resulted in ;I manyfold
folding deformation (Fj) developed mainly in the Mt Wh;ileback increase i n speed in structural interpretation. The model can be
and Orebody 29 mine area. kept up to date and a lot of 'what if' scenarios can be investigated
A northeast trending. southeast dipping, 45 km long, high quickly :ind cos^ -effectivcl y.
angle. normal fault zone, the Whaleback Fault Zone, cuts
through the Mt Whaleback mine resulting in ;in approximately
1400 m gap in stratigraphy. Additionally, two large, low angle,
normal faults, the East Footwall Fault and the Central Fault, are
present at tlie Mt Whaleback Mine. During the formation of
supergene orebodies, up to 40 - 45 per cent volume loss occurred
resulting in local non-tectonic deformation in the orebodies.
Session Chairperson
Garxy McArthur
Aberfoyle Resources Limited
Applications of Downhole Electromagnetics in Extensional
Exploration in the >NickelMines of Kambalda
A Wellington'
INTRODUCTION
Several years ago, i t was renlised that the large resource of drill
holes at Katnbalda was being under utilised. A successful
program of borehole geophysics had been itnplemcnted for
exploration around the mines. so wliy not d o the same for in-
mine exploration'? T h e result of this question was ;I number of
geophysical experiments conducted :it the Kambiilda nickel
mines. T h e success of these experiments prompted the
deployment of ;I full-time mine geophysics team on-site.
Surveys are now routinely conducted at e x h of the I I operating
mines of Kambalda Nickel Operations. This paper details the
results from one technique which has been incorporated into in-
mine and near-mine exploration at K;itnbalda; the technique of
downhole clectromagnetics (DHEM). Brief introductions to the
regional setting and stratigraphy are presented, followed by ;I
review o f the deposit geology. A description of the DHEM
technique follows, and an explanation o f wliy i t was chosen as ;I
potentially useful technique. Three case studies are then
presented to illustrate the way in which DHEM is used at
FIGI - Location plan of the Kaiiihalda area showing the positions o f the
Kambalda. qcrating nickel niines. WMC mining and exploration lexes are also
shown. Hcliiiut South, Carnilyn Hill and Victor are Iabelletl (case studies
KEGIONAL SETTING :ire presented f r o m each of these mines).
tholeiitic composition and, of at least 2000 m thickness. Above Ore zones are typically composed 01 three ore types; massive,
this is the Silver Lake Peridotite ultramafic unit, iit the base of matrix ;ind disseminated ores (see F I p c 3). Massive oIc is
which arc located the nickel sulphide deposits. The deposit present on the basal contact and is dclined ;IS ore with greater
characteristics will be discussed in detail later. l'he Silver Lake than 80 per cent sulphide. Sulphide species present ;ire
Peridotite consists of one to three flows (Stone, 1007) between pyrrhotitc, pentlandite. pyrite, chnlcopyritc plus other minor
30 and 100 m thick. Metamorphism and alteration have been species. Magnetite and chromite can also be present i n
extensive but igneous textures such as cumulate and spinifex signiticant proportions i n massive ore. Nickel grade in massive
textures are sometimes preserved. Alteration of ultramatics ore varies substantially hetween deposits and within deposits.
commonly results in either; talc dominant or serpentine dominant High tenor examples, such as Victor'. have nickel grades i n
'
lithologies. massive ore as high as 23 per cent, while low tenor orebotlies,
The contact between the Lunnon Basalt and the Silver Lake such as llelmut. have Nickel grades i n massive ore of six to eight
Peridotite is often covered by sulphidic sediment. Such per cent
sediments are generally only present in unmineralised tlank
environments.
Above the Silver Lake Peridotite is the Tripod Hill Member;
another ultra-mafic unit. This unit is up to 700 m thick and
composed of numerous thin flows 0.5 to I O m ,thick (Thomson, BARREN
ULTRAMAFIC
1989). This sequence is essentially unmineralised. Above tlie
Tripod Hill Member is a thick sequence of hasalts and sediments
i
DISSEMINATED
(Devon Consols Basalt, Paringa Basalt, Black Flag Beds). The ORE
Av 1.5% Ni
entire sequence is intruded by dolerites and granitoids. 'l'he
complete stratigraphic column is presented in Figure 2.
ZIRCON
WAMBALDA STRAlTGRAPHY MATRIX ORE
Av 3.5% Ni
(GE DATING TRES
-7-7-7-7-1-7 ME
--- ---
MA
MEROUGIL
FORMATION MAGNETITE-
6500 RICH MATRIX
ORE LAYER 4- PYRITE SELVAGE
6000 LAYERED
BLACK MASSIVE ORE &FOLIATED PYRITE
FLAG Av 10%Ni LENSES
BEDS
6500
4---SPINEL-RICH
1 LAYER
CO*D~*,lR 5000
FOOTWALL I1
-
I*D.I"*CIIW
WLCllrru BASALT
G.W"OS STRINGER
4500 J '
0 u)
4000
PARINGA
BASALT
3500
E%
:tl
-
3000
KAPAl SLATE
DEVON CONSOLS -.-
BASALT 2500
I----,.. L
I
1RVM"lLl
KAMBALDA mcwDcn FIG3 - Iklailcd stratigraphy of ;I rypical orc prolilc.
KOMATllTE 2000
SLLMllAlS
"11.11
1500
LUNNON 1000 Above the massive ore, a layer of niatrix ore generally exists.
BASALT
atrix ore is defined as having hetween 40 and 80 per cent
-500 sulphide, with the remainder generally being ultramafic rock.
Above tlie matrix ore is generally a 1;iyer of disseminated ore.
L 2 Disseminated ore is defined as having less than 40 per cent
sulphidcs within ;in ultramafic rock. Thicknesses of
disseminated ore can be highly variable between deposits and
within ;I single deposit. Nickel grades within disseminated orc
FIG 2 - Stratigraphic column of the Kainhalda area are generally not sullicient to allow mining without some
massive or matrix ore being present.
The Kambalda deposits are complicated by the later intrusion
of felsic and intermediated dyke swarms (generally referred to :IS
porphyries). These dykes oitcn intrude along the
Deposit geology basalt/ultramatic contact, obliterating the ore.
Nickel sulphide deposits typically occur within trough structures
in the footwall basalt, where sulphides accumulate. The range of IN-MINE GEOPHYSICS
dimensions of the deposits arc given by Marston and Kay ( I 980).
Deposits are up to 3000 m long, 300 m wide, generally less than The starting point tor most geophysical programs is to identify
5 m thick and consist of between 0.5 and ten million tonnes of the physical properties of tlie target to be identified, in this case,
B nickel sulphide orebody. Once the physical properties are
ore.
known, :I contrast between the target properties and host DHEM involves transmitting an oscillating electric current into
sequence properties must be found. The physical properties of ii wire loop positioned close to the area of interest (surface loops
the nickel sulphide orebodies are as follows. are the most common, but underground loops have been used).
,.
I his I-csults i n ;in oscillatin? magnetic field being generated,
high density,
mid to high magnetic susceptibility, which i n turn generates a curl-cnt in any conductors present in the
ground. The oscillating nxignetic tield generated by these
high conductivity, and currents is detected by the receiver probe which is positioned in a
minimal seismic velocity contrast with host sequence. drill hole. A protile is built up by taking measurements of the
From the above physical properties, one might expect ch;ingc i n inagnctic lield with time at a number of st;itions along
electrical, gravity and magnetic methods to be ;ippropriate in the hole. If conductors are present, an anomaly (either a peak,
searching for these deposits. However, neither gravity or trough or combin;ition) will iippear on the profile. From the
magnetics are particularly appropriate due t o their low resolution shape of this anomaly. the SIK and approximate position of the
and the small size of the orebodies. In addition. the basalts and conductor can often be determined. More conductive bodies
ultramatics ;ire both reasonably dense and the ultramatics have produce longer decays, and their anomalies can be recorded at
high magnetic susceptibility. The relatively small size of the later delay times. In simplc tcrms, high conductivity bodies
nickel sulphide unit also makes direct detection by either gravity produce ;inomalics on late time decays (referred to ;is 'late time'
or magnetics difficult. This can be demonstrated by constructing responses)
a standard section with and without a sulphide body present. and In-mine geophysics currently performed at Kamhalda can be
then calculating the magnetic or gravity response of each.model. grouped into two main c;itegorics: extensional exploration
Even when a vcry large (750 m dip extent, 40 in thickness) iiround the existing deposits and re-evaluation of previously
sulphide body is added to the section, the response does not mined ;ireas. Typically, down plunge extensions of nickel shoots
change noticeably for either gravity or magnetics (see Figure 4). ;ire not completely drilled out before mining commences, so
exploration continues through tlic life of the mine.
M d c l data olmpgnetic profile ovcr komsliitc hosted nickel sulphidr% Use of Dl IEM surveys in extensional exploration can increase
tlic efficiency of drilling programs in a number of ways:
Drill spacings can be increased as DHEM has a large search
radius mound the drill hole (this search radius depends on the
hize and conductivity of the target).
When an anomaly is detected. a vector toward the
mineralisation can be given through detailed modelling,
which can tocus the drilling program quickly to the desired
target.
When mineralisation is iiitcrsected, DHEM surveys can give
a i indic;ition of the size ol the body and its attitude.
UPPcr Basal Komaliitc Nickcl I3a<alt h-0 003
b:isaltr Flow k-0 05 Sulphidcr
I n addition to this, areas where no anomalies arc detected can
k=O 001 k=O 187 he identified a s having minimal potential therefore lowering
drill priority.
Modcl data o f m a i n c l i c profile over komsliilc flow wilh no nickel sulphidrs. Re-evaluation ot old areas th;it have been mined previously is
another area where DHEM c;in assist in locating ore hlocks. In
structurally complex areas. i t i s common for pods 01' ore to be
rcinobilisctl away from the main ore surface. Such pods arc
dillicult to target with drilling but can often be detected via
DHEM surveys from existins drill holes. If an ore block is
loc;itcd, i t is generally close to existing development and can be
extracted at minimal cost.
CASE STUDIES
-_ - - .- __
The DHEM log of TD.5747 indicated that tlie mineralisation
HELMUT
continued predominantly to the south, with some continuation to OREBODY
the east of the hole, so a wedge was drilled testing the contact 40 7
m to the east of TD.5747. This hole intersected a subgrade
intersection, with only a small associated EM response. Though LEGEND
only of a low level, the response indicated the strongest potential
RECENT DRILLING
was to the South. A new hole TD.5073 was started 60 m to the
south and 40 m east of TD.5747. This hole intersected subgrade
mineralisation but a large off-hole DHEM response was detected.
! ._
-
(DOWVIIOLE INIFHSECTIONSI
PORPHYRY
O L :
This was a high amplitude, late time response indicating a large LI ORE POTENTIAL METRES
513950rnN I
,I'*I
.
FIG6 - Plan of Helrnut Soiith after four drillholes had been c~implctcd
DHEM vcctors have been depicted with :wows The anomaly above was
recortled 111 tlie hole I;ibellcd S/G and T115073Wl was drilled as a result.
I
7 0 7 8 0 The resultiiig intcrscctioii confirmed tlic Dl-IEM interpretation 1h;it ;I
, ,,*.,,,,, . I , . , , , . , I . , , . , ,, . , , , , , . , . , ,,,,., signi1ic:iiit conductor existed to the west Two nuinhers appear next to
each tlrillhnle. The lirst is the down hole length of the intersection. ;uid
the secoiid IS tlie grxle of the ~ntersection For exaniple. TDSO73W I 11.1s
FIG S - DHEM log of drill hole TDS073. A large negative response is f 2o In.6 metres ;II \ 5 per cent nickel.
;in ~ ~ ~ t e r s c c ot ~
present between 780 and 870 in. This was interpreted to be produced hy
nlarge conductor located west ofthe hole. The horizontal axis show:.
metres form the collar of the drill hole. The verticd :\xis scale is i i i
microvolts/amp. The numbers at the end of each trace refer to the dec:iy
channel.
Victor NO8
The Victor mine is located on the Kambalda Dome (see Figure
I ) . Victor is ii tnature mine, but with significant potential for
discovery ot' new ore surlaccs. One such surface is the NO8
surkice, which is located on the flank of the niiiin channel.
Drilling h x l yielded several plwnising intersections to-date. The
surface i s o f p;irticular interest because i t is only ;iround 50 m
FIG8 - Level plan of the 320 decline area at Cnrnilya Hill. The three from current development. Mineralisation on tlie NO8 i s
holes which had recorded anomalies are shown. The pod of massive ore
adjacent to the 327 mill hole was located by a DIIEM siirvey of generally disseminated with rare massive ore on the contact. The
hole 3-180 and subsequently mined. distribution and size of thcsc isolated massive ore pods will
probably determine the viahility of mining the surface. A recent
program of three holes was drilled into the southern section of
This discovery was precisely the type required to keep the NO8 with typically t h i n intersections of disseminated
Carnilya Hill operating, and as such was a success for the in- mineralisation obtained. Suhsequent DHEM surveys did not
mine geophysics program. In fact, tlie profits from this one detect any significant conductors. As a result, it can he
LogTrans was prompted by a desire for an intuitive, system, and the day-to-day operating cost, in the range of $0.20
computationally fast and readily adaptable procedure, which to $5.50 per metre (Fallon and Fullagar, 1995. Table 4. I ; Fullagar
generates a measure of confidence in its interpretation. LogTrans et af, (1996a). Table 4.10). Hence the capital cost of a logging
is best dcscribed as a generalisation of scatterplot interpretation, system can be equated approximately to replacement of 3 km of
eg Emilsson (1993). whereby geological identity is inferred on
~
i
u
2N16 *\
2N17 \
\, ’
FIG 1 - Stylised natural gamma logging in blastholes at Scuddles mine (modified after Fullagar e; ul, 1YY6d). Natural gamma alone accurately defines
limits of sulphides, but does not distinguish sphalerite from pyrite.
increase in drill holes. The superior control arising from two velocities and density data (eg Campbell, 1994). These
additional ore intercepts can translate into substantial parameters provide a basis for detailed geomechanical modeling.
performance improvements via reduced dilution (planned or At minimum, sonic logs can be used to optimise thc selection
unplanned) and enhanced ore recovery. McCreary and Wanstedt of core samples for testing and calibration. However, during
(1995) calculated a 50 per cent increase in intercepts at project feasibility there is great potential for mapping
Noranda’s mining operations if only 30 per cent of the life-of- geotechnical parameters in three-dimensions, providing a greater
mine resource definition diamond drilling was substituted with than normal degree of control for mine design, using sonic logs
percussion drilling and geophysical logging. The introduction of recorded in surface delineation holes. The main disadvantage of
percussion drilling plus logging option allows the mix of drilling sonic logging is that it is restricted to water-filled holes.
to be optimised to suit the circumstances. Depending on geological conditions, density and electrical
In the context of diamond drill substitution, it should be parameters can also provide structural and rock mass information
stressed that it is rarely possible or desirable to completely from percussion or diamond holes. The dipmeter tool can
replace diamond drilling with percussion drilling plus logging, determine orientation of fractures as well as bedding via analysis
not least because interpretation of the geophysical logs is usually of the high resolution resistivity logs recorded simultaneously at
based on control data derived from core. The question is then between three and eight electrodes around the probe
how much diamond drilling can be replaced without any sacrifice circumference. eg Fullagar et a1 (1996b). Such information can
in terms of mine performance? The answer to this question will be critical for mine planning applications, given the influence of
be site dependent. The critical issue is whether the logging data fracture orientation on pit slopes, ground support, and blast
can deliver adequate information to substitute for conventional design.
core-based geochemical and geotechnical data. The information
derived from the geophysical logs will not be the same as that Logging of blast holes and ground support holes
from core, but depending on the circumstances it may prove to be
Provided fast interpretation is guaranteed (within one hour after
superior. equivalent, adequate, or inadequate for the purpose.
logging the hole), blast hole logs can provide a basis for
The amount of core drilling which can be foregone in favour optimisation of blast designs or fine tuning of ground support.
of more economical drilling plus logging expands enormously if
Geophysical logging in blastholes represents an additional cost
grade can be accurately inferred from petrophysical logs. For
outlay, justified if it reduces the risk of extracting waste or
somc ore systems this is feasible: natural gamma activity is an
leaving ore. Arguably the greatest return is obtained when
effective indicator of uranium grade (eg Conaway and Killeen,
internal dilution is the dominant problem. At lnco’s Stobie Mine
1978). magnetic susceptibility provides a measure of iron grade
near Sudbury, Canada, highly irregular rock clast inclusions
in magnetite deposits such as Malmberget (Virkkunen and
within the ore can lead to erroneous delineation of the ore-waste
Hattula, 1992), while conductivity correlates closely with grade
boundary in vertical retreat mining stopes. Logging of blast
for some base metal sulphide deposits, eg Enonkoski nickel
holes with simple conductivity probes has proved extremely
deposit (Hattula, 1992). In other cases, the point by point
effective in accurately defining the contact, permitting refinement
correlation between a petrophysical parameter and grade may be
of charge placement to reduce dilution and enhance ore recovery.
erratic, but grade rangc may be reliably inferred over intervals of
The net benefit from reduced mining costs and increased revenue
a few metres. This is illustrated below for Rosebery mine.
at Stobie Mine was estimated to be C$4 million in 1993 (King,
In addition to reducing dependence on core drilling, grade Fullagar and Lamontagne, 1994). This represents an excellent
estimation from geophysical logs shortens turn-around times and example of how geophysical logging can contribute to ‘the
obviates the need for core handling and storage. Geochemical minimisation of ore loss and dilution’, nominated as one of the
precision is sacrificed to a greater or lesser extent, but for ore
reserve modelling the loss of precision is compensated to a two foremost priorities in a study of thc metalliferous mining
degree by the increase in the ‘support’ volume: geophysical industry’s future research needs by Scott, Gurgenci and Slifirski.
measurements over a depth interval are representative of a ( 1992).
volume of rock at least two orders of magnitude greater than the Drill performance is directly affected by rock strength.
core volume over the same interval, owing to the radius of Monitoring of drill performance in blast holes can provide an
excitation of the downhole probes. immediate measure of blastability, and hence permit optimisation
Structural and rock mass information can also be recovered of blasting patterns for each bench or stope. Likewise, MWD of
from percussion holes via geophysical logging. Acoustic ground support holes can allow dynamic adjustment of support
televiewers and borehole cameras cannot be surpassed for design, eg establish the integrity of anchor points for cable bolts.
mapping of individual fine structures, but the detection of This has been demonstrated at the Kushiro colliery in Japan
broader fracture zones need not involve such sophisticated (ltakura et al, 1997). If the ore itself is mechanically distinct
probes. Seismic velocity and attenuation are the most widely from the host. MWD data can be interpreted to define ore
used petrophysical parameters in geotechnical applications boundaries, as shown by Schunnesson (1990) at the Zinkgruvan
because they are sensitive to rock stress, strength. and degree of base metal mine in Sweden.
fracturing. Sonic logging can signify fracturing as a reduction in
the compressional velocity or as a pronounced attenuation of
high frequencies (King, Pandit and Stauffer, 1978). The Geophysical logging of diamond holes
relationship between sonic velocity and mechanical parameters Geophysical logging of cored holes can be extremely valuable.
such as hardness and uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) can be Objective, consistent geophysical logs can be used qualitatively,
established empirically for the relevant lithologies at a mine site, as aids to conventional geological logging, or quantitatively, as a
eg McNally (1990).
basis for estimation of grade or rock strength. The scale of
Sonic logging enjoys distinct advantages over conventional interpretation of geophysical logs can be freely adjusted from
testing of individual core samples insofar as it provides a centimetres to tens of metres. Automated interpretation of logs
continuous record of rock character in sifu. In conventional core
testing procedures it is difficult to avoid biasing sample selection can highlight the depth intervals which warrant most careful
towards competent intervals; weak zones, which ultimately may geological interpretation and thus optimise the effectiveness of
prove to be the most critical for purposes of mine design, are hard-pressed mine geologists. Moreover, geophysical logging
poorly represented duc to core fragmentation and loss. Full can bridge gaps across intervals with poor core recovery; this is
waveform sonic can provide shear velocity in addition to especially advantageous in the context of rock mass
compressional velocity, eg Hatherly er a1 (1997). Poisson’s ratio characterisation.
and the three dynamic elastic moduli can be calculated from the
50
I
FIG 2- A comparison between the Zn-equivalent grade, based on core assays, and the logarithm of the reciprocal gamma product (RGP), derived from the
natural gamma and gamma-gammalogs. in borehole R5437 at Rosebery Mine (after Fullagar et ul. 1996~).The degree of comspondence provides
A ‘rock-ore’ log generated by LogTrans for one of the control factors such as the mining method, orebody mineralogy and
holes, R5437, is shown in Figure 3; the original colour version of geometry and logistics.
this diagram was produced using program Logview, written by The most common rationale for logging is to permit
the GSC, Ottawa. Only intervals interpreted as medium or high- substitution of diamond drilling with percussion drilling; the
grade are regarded as ‘ore’. The visual impression is very degree of substitution is governed by the extent to which
encouraging, since a finite number of ore and waste intervals information derived from geophysical logs can replace core-
have been inferred. Confidence relates to the ‘ore’ or ‘rock’ based geological, geochemical, and geotechnical data. The
designation, not the individual grade assignment. Almost benefit may be direct, as an immediate cost saving and/or it could
without exception, when the confidence index (CONF in Figure be indirect, in the form of an improved orebody model (or
3) is high, the interpretation is correct. Exceptions can plausibly geomechanical model) constructed within the original drilling
be attributed to depth errors. budget from a larger number of drill intercepts. At the Rosebery
Mine it has been demonstrated that substitution of some diamond
The success rates for the four control holes were as follows: 76 reserve delineation holes with percussion holes is feasible: ore
per cent of the 1318 data points from ‘ore’ zones (HGHF, HGLF, boundaries and grade range in J Lens can be interpreted from
MGHF, MGLF) were correctly interpreted as ore and 87 per cent natural gamma, density, susceptibility, and conductivity logs.
of the 2952 data points from intervals of ‘rock’ were successfully Geophysical logging of blast holes to define ore boundaries
classified as such. This is a very satisfactory result, especially in and/or rock strength, constitutes an additional cost, but can often
view of the variability of Rosebery ore (Aerden, 1994). Of much be justified in terms of reduced dilution, enhanced ore recovery,
greater potential significance than these statistics is the or improved safety. MWD has great potential in this context,
observation that at Rosebery not only can auto-interpretation of where rapid turn-around is essential.
geophysical logs discriminate ore from waste. but it also offers a The value of the detailed, in riru information derived from
means (in the form of the RGP parameter) for differentiating geophysical logging of diamond holes often justifies the cost.
high-grade from low-grade (Figure 2). This augurs well for For example, sonic velocity logging of resource definition holes
substitution of some diamond drilling with percussion drilling during mine feasibility assessment could reduce the risk in mine
plus logging. design by providing the basis for a detailed 3D geotechnical
model of the orebody and its environment.
CONCLUSION The keys to greater acceptance of geophysical logging at
mining operations are:
Geophysical borehole logging is not a panacea for mining incrcased awareness on the part of mining geologists,
operations but should be viewed as an additional tool in the on- engineers, and managers of the potential of geophysics to
going struggle to improve overall performance. The magnitude cost-effectively reduce the risks inherent in operational
of the benefit it delivers will be determined by site-specific decisions;
ROCK
ORE
R@E
LOW
LGLF ROCK
LOW
U
s
v
ROCK
%
ROCK
ROCK 2f
ABSTRACT
I n 1993 a detailed review of drill sample quality was conducted through
twin and triplet drill holes using open hole. crossover subreverse
circulation (RC) and diamond drill methods.
Advances in face-sampling RC methods demanded a further review of
the validity and reproducibility of drill sample data. A program was
undertaken to drill three RC holes using the latest technology (new face-
smpling bits. dust suppresscrs. cyclones and compressors). Volumetric
and inass studies were undertaken to review sample recoveries. Modal
analyses on indicator minerals were logged to interpret the relative
degree of mineralisation.
Ambiguities in the results were immediately apparent and the
consensus was for follow-up twin diainond holes using HQ3 coring
tubes. The most inineralised RC hole was selected for the first twin
diamond hole. This RC hole (MS 313) encountered one intersection of
>0.47 g/t; in contrmt the diamond hole (MS 342) had nine intersections
:It >I g/t.
Results at hand show definitively that face-sampling RC drilling is not
eptable zs a method of exploration for gold deposits of the Woods
Late Devonian Maryrvillc Complex
Point type.
Furthermore it is demonstrated that RC drilling should not he used for
~ exploration of high-grade gold vein deposits related to highly
any [ y p of
fractured o r porous hostrock. or areas of previous ininiiig activity.
Methods are proposed for reviewing of rates of s;imple recovery,
distribution and cross-contamination.
Coinparisons also show that in limited rnctreagt: reconnaissance drill
programs. diamond drilling is more similar to percussion in per metre
costs. than it is credited with. and always provides more hang for the
buck. FIG I - Morning Star Mine locat~tlI I O km east-northeast o l Melbourne
in the Wallialla synclinoriuin.
INTRODUCTION
At the Morning Star mine. the 'diorite' dyke is a complex
T h e Woods Point - Walhalla Goldfield produced 155 tonnes of
multi-stage intrusive rock having more than ten s e p m t e phases
gold (>5 000 000 ounces) between I860 and 1992. of which the hornblende diorite and hornblende-biotite diorite
Surface mining was suspended about 186X in favour of deep phiises are said to comprise 80 per cent of the total body.
shaft mining o n quartz reef lodes associated with diorite dykes. T h e Morning Star dyke is approximately 600 m long by 100 m
Surface drilling programs and techniques were reviewed between i n width at surface and varies t o 7 5 0 m long by 80 m wide o n No
1984 to I992 and found that diamond drilling was the only I 6 I,cvel. I t has ;I known depth of >1 100 m. At its strike
x c e p t a b l e method (Goodz and Frith. 1993; Wroe and extremities, the dyke is documented to pinch down to between 3
Rosenhain, 1984). ;ind I O rn wide. T h e dyke dips GO to 8O"W and has been
Subsequently, new face sampling RC hammers have replaced sinistrally rotated to form a SCI-ICS of reverse fault steps with u p to
cross-over subs and it was agreed that a 500 m program be 2 0 in displacements on each step. This gives an overall apparent
dip of 78'W. T h e major historic production stopes are based o n
carried out to re-assess this method with a Samplcx hammer.
quartz-gold-sulpliide veins within the 'Ilat-conjugate' reverse
Twin-hole diamond drilling was complcted in December 1996.
t s an average spacing o f 30 metres.
f ~ ~ i lon
Modelling of drill hole intci-cepts shows a vein spacing of 5.0
Geological overview to 27.5 in with substantial auriferous stockwork developments at
T h e Woods Point goldfield is related to a series of mafic to inllcxion points in the fault systems. Gold grades are
proportional to fracture density. intensity and sulphide content.
intermediate Middle-Devonian dykes which intruded the Siluro-
Devonian stratigraphy of the Melbourne Trough in the eastern
portion of the Lachlan Fold Belt (Figure I ) . Mineralisation
During the Late-Devonian, the dykes underwent brittle Appendix 1 identities the main mineralisation - altcriition facies
deformation which resulted in the formation of both extensional and their respective gold grade association. Economic gold
and shear vein systems. contents arc found in four host situations:
I, quartz veins with arsenopyrite k sulphosalts;
I. Managing Director. Goodz & Associates GMC Ply Ltd. PO Box 700, 2. quartz stockworks with disseminated sulphides within the
Mansfield Vic 3722. wnll rocks;
2. Managing Director, D' Astoli Drilling Services Ply Ltd. Private Bag
No 2, Mansfield Vic 3722.
3. sulphide stockworks with arsenopyrite dominant; and
4. primary cli;ilcopyrite-pyrl.liotitc massive sulphides in fresh
undtercd dyke.
HobD
Interval
(m)
ALS
walght
1 1 1
.ample
lab
01 mine
Split
sample M=ds.palp
i semp4e
I i l s a m+p b ~
(weighed (weighedat w r e d i f a c t o r
- I
Comctsd SpcMc
mine sile) (unique lo specihc told ALS + Qravhy (be&
CalculaW R u o v n y
Actual Ruovury =
%(awreded total I
CalnWed nnmery)
l~adatedushgSG6hhde ~1oOxmntpmh.sled Gnda Roch
d= 15) (kg) (%) (pn)
MS313 Oool 1.25 1 05 0 77 2 02 2: 40 6 498% 084 G
MS313 01-02 2.58 2 15 1 77 4 35 2: 40 6 1071% 046 G
MS313 0203 6 85 15 90 2: 40 6 39.16% 007 D
MS313 03-04 12 8 21 07 2.6! 466 4502% 001 E
MS313 04-05 5 6 11 ea 2.: 40 6 29 26% 002 D
MS313 0506 4 4 838 2.! 442 18 96% 013 D
MS313 08-07 9 10 20 72 2.! 442 46 88% 005 D
MS313 07-08 7 8 15 03 2.! 442 340076 002 D
MS313 0809 6 8 16 67 2.5 442 37 71% 003 D
MS313 0 8 1 0 75 10 16 92 2.t 442 42 81% 001 D
MS313 1011 95 5 14 68 2.a 468 31 37% 003 E
MS313 11-12 8 10 5 19 18 2.6: 46 8 40 08% a01 E
MS313 12-13 10 9 20 60 2.6: 468 44 02% coo1 E
MS313 13-14 11 5 10 21 30 2 61 468 45 51% <001 E
MS313 14-15 15 15 3030 2.6: 46 6 64 74% 001 E
MS313 1516 16 14 5 32 40 2.6: 468 69 23% 002 c
MS313 18-17 15 14 30 10 2.E 468 64 32% 001 E
MS313 17-18 11 11 23 50 2.6: 46 8 5021% oca E
MS313 18-19 20 18 3900 2.6: 468 83 33% 002 E
MS313 19-20 10 11 23 80 2 6: 468 50 43% 005 D
MS313 20-21 14 5 18 3490 2.85 468 74 57% COO1 c
MS313 21-22 18 14 32 70 2.6: 468 69 8% 001 E
MS313 22-23 16 5 14 5 3060 2.6: 468 65 38% 001 E
MS313 23-24 13 13 27 60 2.6: 468 58 97% 001 E
MS313 24-25 12 5 14 27 40 2.65 468 58 55% 001 D
MS313 2S26 16 5 14 5 34 70 2.85 468 74 15% 002 D
MS313 2 8 2 7 14 16 31 70 2.65 468 87 74% 001 E
MS313 27-28 13 11 24 40 2 65 468 52 14% 003 E
MS313 28-29 12.8 13 11 5 12.00 24 80
- _- - __ .
2.65 -4.6-8 -_____ 52 99% 010 E-
MS313 29-30 16.1 16 5 14.50 2 65 466 65 38% 001 E
MS313 30-31 17.5 17 5 14.72 2 65 468 88 65% oca E
MS313 31-32 12.8 11 5 14 72 2 65 46 8 58 80% 001 E
MS313 32-33 19.5 17 18.72 2 65 46 8 81 67% 001 E
MS313 33-34 24 22 17.72 2 65 46 8 89 15% 002 E
MS313 34-35 17.8 17 5 23.22 2 65 46 8 87 65% 001 E
MS313 35-38 20.6 18 19.72 2 65 46 8 ea 15% 001 E
MS313 36-37 15.8 12 5 16.72 2 65 46 8 69 49% 003 E
MS313 37-38 16.9 15 17.22 2 65 468 72 91% 001 D
MS313 38-39 22.3 21 20.72 2 65 468 91 92% 041 B
MS313 39-40 16.6 15 5 15.22 2 65 46 8 67 99% 0 13 A
MS313 4041 21 19 19.72 2 65 46 8 87 01% 001 B
MS313 41-42 15 13 25.22 2 65 468 85 84% 003 C
MS313 42-43 17.7 16 5 21.22 2 65 468 83 16% <001 E
MS313 43-44 21.2 19 17.72 2 65 468 83 16% coo1 E
MS313 4 4 4 5 16.4 14 20.72 2 65 46 8 79 32% eo01 E
MS313 4546 10.4 7 15.72 2 65 46 8 55 81% 001 E
MS313 16-47 21.3 18 26.72 2 65 46 8 conlaminated 102 61% coo1 A
MS313 4 7 4 20.5 18 5 20.22 2 65 46 8 87 01% 004 B
MS313 4 8 4 9 20.9 16 5 19.72 2 65 468 88 79% 002 B
MS313 49-50 15.4 13 21.22 2 65 468 78 25% 007 A
MS313 50-51 19.1 17 5 17.72 2 65 46 8 78 68% 001 c
MS313 51-52 14.2 12 5 16.22 265 468 6 5 m 377 A
MS313 52-53 18.2 17 5 18.22 265 468 79 96% 034 A
MS313 53-54 8.04 65 13.72 2 65 468 u)5ox OM A
MS313 54-55 27.5 28 31.72 2 65 46 8 mtamneled 128 54% 017 A
MS313 55-56 18.6 18 19.22 2 65 468 80 81% O M A
MS313 5857 16.7 13 5 17.22 2 65 46 8 72 48% 001 B
W 1 3 57-58 15.5 15 5 16.72 2 65 46 8 68 85% 001 B
W 1 3 58-59 19.8 17 5 24.72 2 65 468 95 13% a01 E
MS313 5 9 6 0 17.7 16 5 19.22 2 65 468 78 89% <001 E
MS313 6 0 8 1 15.2 14 16.22 2 65 466 67 14% 047 B
MS313 81-62 17.5 15 5 19.72 2 65 468 79 53% 002 E
MS313 6263 21 19 5 21.72 2 65 468 91 26% 003 E
MS313 63-84 10.3 9 11.72 2 65 468 47 05% cool E
MS313 81-65 22.2 20 23.72 2 65 46 8 98 12% 001 E
17 5 17.72 2 65 46 8 78 68% 001 E
MS313 8588 ... 19.1
2
TABLE
Average recowries for drill holes MS31-3 - MS31.5.
COST ANALYSIS
I n this program, no matter how the costs are analysetl, diainond
drilling has a lower per nietre cost than RC. Final cost per metre
of NQ / HQ drillcore averaged $1 18 to $122. The cost of f x c -
sample RC per metre recovered was S22X.
The actual rcaliscd costs of these programs are listed in Tahle
4. The cost of follow up review o f the RC results was not
incorporated i n thc drilling costs. howcver triplicate interval
sampling, relogping. excavation 01' holes to measure tIue
diameters and statistical ;inalysis 0 1 SG/holc diiimcter effects
would have significantly increased tinal per metre outgoings.
TABLE
4
Cost c.oinp(iri.sori hetweeir drill riiethods.
RC Face Diamond
Hammer' HQ3NQ3'
Drilling/metre $28 $82.50
Sample diameter (mm) I50 60147
Cross-contamination Metres drilled 174 801
Down time (hours) 1I 58
Cross-contamination was believed to be endemic in this RC (cost) $9 50 $7.20
program. Although difficult to measure it was apparent wlien Sample lost (m) 78 25
Loss correction factor 45% 3.1%
either of the following occurred: intervals with greater than 100
per cent recovery; and intervals with unusual quartz volumes Technical handling costs
[smearing]. Days 5 51
Note: if the supposed maximum hole OD was 139 mm (5.5
inches) as suggested by RC contractors, along with corrected SG 2.5 Geol Assist 0.25
(2.96 for 'E'), then the statistics worsen in that 40 per cent of all 1.5 Geol Assist 0.25
$17 20 $4.40
intervals have >IO0 per cent recovery (ie cross contamination)
and that the average recovery of non 'E' rock type in Consumables $2.20 $8.90
intersections only rises from 55 to 57 pcr cent! Mobilisation $43.20 $0.90
Therefore we have reported an average recovery of 55 per cent ( I S.50)
for all rock types excluding 'E'. The minimum range factor Site preparation $5.60 52.50
yielded an average of only 36 per cent. Special polymer additives $7.80
Assaying costs'
Equipment review Samples 210 360
Costlm $19.80 $4.05
It is proposed that the compressor provided with the drillrig was
never adequate to perform to the necessary level for complete Cost per metre drilled $125 50 $1 18.25
recovery of sample. Further compounding this problem, the
contractor selected too narrow a rod string at 114 mm, thereby Real cost per metre of
exacerbating the volume to be sealed outside the rods. This sample recovered ($228.18) ($ 122.03)
would mean that the back pressure required to optimise sample
recovery was never achievable in the weathered profile. It is lotcs: Down time; $150 (I), $100 (2); (3) laboratory servicc
advised that the minimum size recommended for this type of harges for sample preparation, assaying and freight RC
work is a 350 psi1900 cfm compressor. 1S.001sample; COR $9.001sample.
Although these were short shallow programs, the comparison I n the case of high grade gold vein deposits. where the nugget
is critical to junior exploration companies who fund only 500 to efl'ect is considered signiticant. sample quality (eg intact
1000 m drill programs in the hope of intersecting a positive drillcore) is most important (Goodz et al, 1997; McCarthy, 1995;
indication of mineralisation. The higher mobilisation cost of RC Gilrnsey, 1993; Lee. 1989).
rigs is a burden in this area. Structural analysis of the core (Gaboury, 1997) indicated a
The reflection of cost per inetre recovered is tlic conjugate wcst-dipping reef (Figure 2). which the next four
juiidainerital reality tlint you must p i y f o r ivliat diamond holes all intersectcd. Diamond hole MS 342 had
you do iiot receive'. identilied a completely new mineralised zone. With the four
subsequent diamond holes. this zone now represents an Indicated
and Inferred Resource of 520 000 tonnes @ 2.4 glt gold.
MINERALISATION ANALYSIS
On RC drill results alone. this area might never have been
Mineralisation analysis should be more important than cost, drilled again!
however dollars speak louder than geologists. The hottom line
was that RC drilling gave one assay greater than 0.47 g/t gold. In
contrast. the diamond drillcore yielded nine ass;iys greater than CONCLUSION
I .o g/t gold. Diamond tlrilling provides an intact, complete geological sample
Mineral distributions (quartz and sulphides) were significantly with far less on-costs than RC drilling. It identilied a new
different between the methods, with the diamond results showing resource where RC drilling had suggested that no further
narrow higher grade mineralisation, whereas the RC results cxploration be undertaken.
suggested broad zones of insignificant grade. Although RC drilling has ;L low up-front per metre cost, the
relative quantity and quality of the recovered sample is always
iiw om
P
1
Rti 2 the 700 NF north-facingsection showing twinholes MS313 (RC) and MS342 (tlia~nond)and later confinii:ilory hole MS3.59(dialnoid) outlining the
position ofthe new west-dipping reef.
I questionable. T h e new face sampling drill bits have improved , 157- 16 I (The Austr:il:isinn Institute of Mining ; I I ~
( ‘ f i t i / c n 3 i r c c ~lip
the return. but concealed the sample quality. Met;illuIgy: .Melhmirne)
It is recommended that all project managers review McCarthy. P L. 1905 Tlic incaning of cxploration drilling res~~lts 111
Victorian reef deposits presented :it B;iII;irnt University Sylnposllllll
I compressor capacities (and operating efficiency), rod string serlcs: B;1llamt, 01)
diameters, the reactive and erosional nature of’ their geological
P;iley. N. 1902. Errorb i n s:iiiipling rock Ir:igmentation froin Imagcs 111
profile, and recovered sample weights. It is also recornmended I’,ric.iices i i i !lie Miiirr(i/.r /du.\.rry
P r i i f w i / i t i ~ . r .Y(iiiip/i~i,y
, that for each program, at least o n e collar should b e excavated to S 1-97. (The A u s t r ; ~ l ; iInstitute
~ f J ~ l / ~ 8 1 ’e.~ ! pp
l l ~ ~ ~ ~ of Mining :lnd
measure the true hole diameter. Met:illurgy: Melhourne)
RC drill methods are not suitable for high grade vein gold Vallee. M. I002. Guide to the evolnation 01 gold deposits. CIM Spc.1 i d
deposits. Nor in scenarios where the geological profile is highly KJ/UIJW45, 2991) (Canadian Institute 0 1 Mining. MetalluIgy and
decomposed, numerous jointdcavities are related to the Pet r~ileuiii:Montre:iI).
mineralisation, the water table is shallow, o r the Wroe. J A and Rosciihain, P H, 1984. Uepiirt on Percussion Drilling on
topography/relief/weather affect access. the Morning Star Dyke. Freepon Ausrr:ilia. (unpublished) C O I I I ~ I I I ~
report.
Diamond drilling still remains the only method to provide
structural control, adequate sample recovery and quality.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Mount Conqueror Minerals NL is acknowledged for providing Alteration / Grade Range
the sample data. D’Astoli Drilling Services provided the Mineraliition (AspDpy) (aver 0 . h )
diamond twin hole free of cost. R . Baldry of Wilson Drilling for Dyke-Hosted
his technical review of the RC drilling.
REFERENCES
Bevan, Peter A, 1993. The weighting of assays and the importance of
both grade and specific gravity. CIM Rulleiiri Kilume 86. N o 967.
pp 88-90,
Gaboury. D. 1997. Practical rncthods for correlating diamond-drill core
intersections: Applications to complex vein-type orebodies. CIM
Bullerin. 90( 1008): 135-138.
Gxnsey. G. 1993. Ore reserves and reconciliations in an orebotly
containing coarse gold in P roceedinp Iniermiriiind M i u i q Gedog.v
Conference. pp 207-212, (The Australasian Institute of Mining mid
Metallurgy: Melbourne).
Goodz, M D, and Frith K A, 1993 The Kea1 Sample: Variations between
dust. chip and core drilling in Priicwdinxs Intenrtrfioiitrl Mitiitig
Geoliixy Cot!ferefrce, pp 19-23. (The Australasian Institute of Mining
and Metallurgy: Melbourne).
Goodz. M D, Harvey-Kelly, F E L. Cusack, CJ and Kentwell. DJ. 1997.
Discovering New Orebodies, in ProcecditiR.r Volume 3rd
Iiiiernirrioncil Mining Geiiliigy Conference. pp 73 -XO(The kdiment-Hosted I
Australasian Institute of Mining mtl Metallurgy: Melbourne).
Lee, T, 1989. Drilling . Continuity - Mine Planning in The A u s I M M
QuMz-Sulphide Vcins <lorn from Dyke Contact
>IOm fromDyke Conlac1
0.5 to 30
< 0.01 1
Session Chairperson
Mark Berry
-
Pasminco Roseberg Mine
Goonumbla: 25 years, four deposits, 52 prospects
and still drilling . . .
M Arundell’
Mesozcu x OepOSlt
0Devman I Prospect
a Silurian - Fault
lntwwe
0W o m b i n v w i c s
0GoonuntbVdcarucs
0Nelungaloo Volcanin
I M Tnnnes I cu %
Reserves
Oxide C d A u
Proved - E22E27 33 0.x I
Sulphide Cu/Au
Proh;ihlc - E22E27 22 .-- 0 70
1’rob;iblc - E26NE4S 66.8 I .40
Total reserve 92 3 1.21 0.54
In November 1992, North Broken Hill Pcko Ltd (now North GEOLOGY OF THE GOONUMBLA AREA
Limited) approved the development of the Northparkes Mines
project encompassing the Cu and Au deposits ;it E26. E22 and The Goonumbla Volcanic Complex (GVC) was classified by
E27. Project development commenced with open cut mining of Schcihner ( 1977) a s part of the Rogan Gale Synclinorial zone
oxide Au ore from E22 and E27. With exhaustion of oxidc Au (Figure I ). The GVC was originally subdivided into the
reserves, mining of oxide Cu-Au ore commenced from the E22 Goonumbla Volc;inics arid Wombin Volcanics (Jones, 10x5).
and E27 deposits. Currently, sulphide Cu-Au ore is being mined Kecent work by ;I variety of workers including I M l (1993) and
from open cuts at E22, E26 and E27 and underground at E26. Sherwin (1996) would suggest that tlic sequence should no1 be
The E48 deposit, which was discovered in 1992. is scheduled to divided and that the Wombin Volcanics represent the fractionated
be mined later. A mine life of up to 20 years is expected, with end member of the Goonumbla Volcanics.
the project commencing operations in May 1994 and current The Late Ordovician Goonumbla Volcanics are regarded by
production of five million tpa. The current resource and reserve Heithersay (199 I ) to have erupted from shallow submarine to
estimates for Northparkes Mines as at June 1996 are given in partly emergent volcanic centres. He noted that the volcanics
Table I . show a range in composition from shoshonite through latite
(trachyantlesite) to trachyte. Volcanic breccias, volcaniclastic
sediments and reel(?) limestones are prevalent interbedded with
PREVIOUS WORK true volcanics on the llanks of these centres. A prominent
A number of workers have contributed to the understanding of circular to ovoid feature, notable i n regional magnetics and
the Goonumbla mineralised system. The first detailed account of approximately 25 kin in diameter, has been interpreted by Jones
the geology of the Goonumbla deposits was by Jones (1985) (1985) to represent the remnants o f ;I collapsed caldera formed
from explosive eruptions. Hall ( 1993) suggests that the ‘caldera’
which summarised Gcopeko’s work in the area. describing the
formed by block subsidence and clownsagging rather than
regional geology as well as providing an account of the three ’ pyroclastic activity. He cited the lack of pyroclastic deposits in
main Goonumbla deposits discovered to that time (E22, E27 and the area a s suggestive that effusive rather than explosive
E26). A more detailed review of the regional geology of the volcanism was dominant within the Goonumbla area. However,
Parkes and Goonumbla area is given in Clarke and Sherwin Hollamby ( 1996) suggests that the textural evidence from drill
(IYYO). A summary o f mineralisation discovered in the core samples indicates an explosive mode of derivation for the
Goonumbla area is presented by Heithersay et NL (1990) and a material. Further detailed work on reconstnicting the
detailed description of the E26 deposit is provided by Heithersay paleovo1c;inology of the Goonumbla area is currently in progress.
(1986) and Heithersay and Walshe (1996). House (1994) A series of mineraliscd monzonite porphyries have intruded
described the distribution of gold mineralisation at the E26 the volcanics of the GVC. The geochronological work of
deposit. Squires (1992) described the geology, alteration and
Perkins et al (1990) indicates that the intrusives are coeval with Ordovician volcanic and intrusive sequence. Gcopeko’s
the Late Ordovician volcanics (approximately 440 Ma). cxperience trom the Tennant Creek area meant that geophysical
lntrusives i n the area vary from diorite through to syenite. The tcchniques, pxticularly magnetics, were applied routinely to
Endeavour 31 stock, which crops out east of the E20 and E48 explore under regolith cover.
deposits, is distinguished by biotite and lesser hornblende Since grid drilling was pi-ohihitively expensive. drilling
phenocrysts, and is approximately 1.5 km by I kin in plan t;irgcted on geophysical targets was the preferred technique. The
*
dimension ;it the surface (Heithersay, 1991; Figure 2). This stock discovery of the E27 deposit which shows a classical magnetic
has previously been interpreted to be the parent for the ‘doughnut’ signature enabled ii geophysical niotlel to be
mineralised porphyritic pipes such as at E26, which are thought developed for regional exploration. The rim of the ‘doughnut’. a
to occur around its margins (Heithersay, 1991). However, recent magnetic high, w;is thought to be because of potassic alteration
(biotite - magnetite +/- K-feldspar) of the volcanic pile encircling
work by Arundell (1995) would indicate that the location of the
the mineralising haematitic monzonite porphyry (relative
Altona Thrust to the west of the E3 I stock would prevent the E3 I
magnetic low). Thus. many magnetic lows were targeted for
stock from occurring proximal to the E26 and E48 deposits. A drilling which met with variable success. In more recent times,
separate intrusive body nominally called the E26 stock, albeit tlie E48 deposit can be claimed as a direct result of drilling a
geochemically indistinguishable from the E3 I stock, is proposed ‘look a like’ magnetic target to the E27 signature (Hooper et al,
to be the parent stock for the E26 and E48 deposits. 1996).
Mineralised quartz monzonite porphyries (QMPs) crosscut the vA I :I O U S electrical geophysical techniques have been applied
E26 stock. and represent focused late-stage release of magma with limited succcss. A major IP survey was conducted over the
and volatiles concentrated on the margins of the stock
Goonumbln area i n the early- 1980s initiated by Chevron who
(Heithersay, 1991). Subvolcanic emplacement of tlie intrusives
is suggested by their line-grained nature, bre were ;I joint venture partner ;it the time. Their experience in
presence of pebble dykes (Heithersay, 1994). The QMPs tend to North America susgested that IP would be an cxcellcnt technique
be pipe-like in shape at E26 and E48 and vary from SO to 200 m for tindins other porphyry copper deposits. However. the low
in diameter. The mineralisation at E27 appears to be associated sulphide content of the Goonumbla deposits, particularly
with a QMP but the intrusive relationships are difficult t o compared with tlie regional pyritic propylitic alteration, means
determine (Squires. 1092). The high-grade zone of that electrical geophysics is not a good technique for the direct
mineralisation at the E22 deposit occurs at the intersection of two detection of mineralisation. The presence of highly conductive
QMP dykes striking NW and NE. The individual deposits are material in tlie cover sequenccs also meant electrical techniques
characterised by differing levels of intrusive emplacement and Iixl great difficulty penetrating the cover sequence and thus any
also by their level of preservation (Heithersay. 1996). At E26 response illat may have been associated with mineralisation
and E48, mineralisation is very narrow and approximately 50 to would be subtle, it’ present at ;ill.
IO0 metres below surface, suggesting that the complete porphyry Regional gravity delines tlic Goonumbla circular feature very
system is preserved at both deposits. The deposits :it E22 and well. However, within the circular feature. gravity hiis not been a
E27 however, are considered to be signiticantly eroded, with only
uscful exploration techniquo. The mineralised monzonite
the middle and deeper parts of the porphyry system preserved.
Post-mineralisation monzonite to syenite dykes, locally termed porphyries have a negligible hulk density contrast conipared with
zero porphyries, crosscut mineralisation. These are subvertical tlie volcanic pile they intrude. Also. the low sulphide content
and tend to follow prominent structural trends. means little bulk density contrast is associated with the
I-leithersay (1991) notes that a large copper anomaly ranging mineralising event. To complicate matters, the variable thickness
from 1000 to 4000 ppm blankets the E3 1 stock, with local copper o f low density regolith matcri;il, both transported and it, s h ,
highs associated with quartz monzonite porphyries. He also provides an excellent gravity contrast with the basement,
states that the QMPs disrupt an annular zinc geochemical pattern nieaning that removal of this layer through modelling is difficult.
centred on the E31 stock and that i t appears that the quartz Kegion;il RA13 drilling has been conducted on 400 in centres,
monzonite porphyries have overprinted the Cu and Zn halos ;IS :I minimum, within the Goonumbla circular f e m r e . This
associated with the E31 stock. work was primarily completed to gather bedrock geological
The host sequence of volcanics and associated volcanics at information. Thus, only hottom of the hole samples were
E22. E26, E27 and E48 dip gently to the southeast and lie on the rctained and analysed. Profile sampling was not conducted nor
western limb o f the Milpose Syncline (Jones, 1985). The vertical wiis logging of tlie ‘transported’ material from each hole.
to near-vertical attitude of the quartz monzonite pipes suggests Fortunately. a lor of this matcriiil has been retained in storage and
that deformation has not affected the deposits (Jones. 1985). in recent years lias been logged and analysed revealing a
Few major faults or shears have been mapped on surface, complex regolith development in the Goonumbla area.
although significant structure has been interpreted from detailed In an ewluation of the exploration that has been conducted
aerial and ground magnetics conducted over the area. A major over the Goonumbla area i n ilie last 25 years. one could easily
north-south trending structure (the Endeavour Linear. llooper c t
conclude that the area lias been well explored and thus needs no
(if (1996)) has been defined, along which many of the major
deposits lie. I t is thus suggested that there is some structural further work. This could be true of an area where no significant
control to QMP emplacement (Hooper et al. 1996). The top of niineralisation has been discovered. However. evaluating the
the E48 deposit and the base of the E28 deposit are displaced by cxploratiori conducted in light of thc proximity of the
a major shallow east dipping fault known as the ‘Altona Thrust’. Northparkes mines operation indicates that significant potential
However, the relative displacement associated with this structure I S present.
and its lateral extent are largely unknown and thus i t is currently I t is thus suggested that thc Goonumbla area has been under-
referred to as ALAS (Altona Low Angle Structure). Small explored. Twenty-five years of exploration has not meant 25
shears, faults and post-mineralisation dykes tend to be years of systematic regional exploration and evaluation. For
subvertical, striking NW-SE and NNE-SSW and ;ire often many years. work (ie money) was purely focussed on drilling out
associated with Pb-Zn mineralisation (House, 1994). the deposits. Vcry little effort over the period has been directed
at collectins a regional geological and geochemical cl;itaset. This
PREVIOUS EXPLORATION h a s largely heen because of the lack of funds available to conduct
regional exploration. Emphasis has been on the direct detection
Surface prospecting in the Parkes area is hampered by the of miner;iltsation. particularly through geophysical techniques,
presence o f recent cover sequences concealing much of the I-ather than systematic regional exploration.
Detailed ground magnetics has previously heen conducted (Ed. I:, A 13erkinan). pp I8 I - I X9 (The 13th Congress of
E.ipliir(irioii
only over areas of perceived greater prospectivity. Thus small the Couiicil of Miiiing and Metalliirycal Institutions: Melbourne;
:ind The Auslfiilxian Institute o f Mining and Metallurgy:
grids were established over individual prospects. Rapid Melhouriie).
sampling GPS controllcd ground magnetics (RSGM) h;is now Ilcilheixiy. I‘ S. O’Nctill. W J. V:III tler Heldcr. I: Moore. C R mid liarlion,
been conducted over all of the Northparkes Mines mining leases P C. I900 Gooiiuinhl;i porphyry copper district - Entle:ivour 26
and not just selected airborne magnetic targets. This has led to North. Endeavour 22 :id Endeavour 27 copper-gold dcposils iii
the generation of new anomalies not apparent in the airborne (;P(J/o~J o/ tlic. MIiici.tr/Dc~pi.cits,J/ Air.crrciliii iind A i p i d NCW
G i i i i i c v i (Ed: F E I lughcs), pp 138.5- I 7 O X (The Australasian Insliiute
magnetics which are being drill tested. In areas where RSGM is
of Mining and Met:illurgy: Melbourne).
considered not to be cost-effective, detailed helimag has been
Heithersay, I’ S, 199 I The slioshonite-associated. Endeavour 26 North
conducted. Note that the approach is to cover ‘target areas’ not porphyry copper-gold deposit, Go~iiiunibla, NSW, PhD Thesis
just specific targets or prospects. T h e approach to exploration is (unpublished). AusIrali:ui National Uiiivcrsity, Canberra.
being balanced between detailed work in the near mine area and Heithersay. I’ S, 1994 The Central West New South Wales Copper-Gold
regional data collection in the peripheral tenements. Province. i n Ow /Irpiisir Studies ( i i i d hplorutioii Models. Miisre,
o / ’ E ~ ~ o i i ~ i Ccwlrixy
i~iIc Cour.ce M(inuri/ I , pp I . 1-1.26. Centre for Ore
Exploration on the mine leases and in the near mine area is
Deposit ;ind Exploration Studies. Pan I
being approached with an aggressive stance. The cost benefit of
Heithersay. P S and Wdshe. J L. 1996. Endeavour 26 North : a porphyry
discovering mineralisation proximal t o current infrastructure is copper gold i n the Late Ordovici;ui, shoshonitic Goonuiiihla
enormous. New techniques are being trialled in an effort to Volcniiic Coinplex. NSW. Australia. / ; ( . o i i Geol, Y0:/506-/532.
directly detect mineralisation. Also, the re-interpretation of Hollainhy, J. 1996. The Mincralised Ortlovician Gooiiumbla Volcmiic
historic geological, geochemical and geophysical data is being Complex. Lachlan Fold Bell, New South Walcs: A
integrated with new data collected from underground and open p:~l;icovoIcaiiological:uid palaeogeogfiiphic reconstruction. First S I X
cut mapping and drilling in order to better understand the monthly report - PhD Research Prrilcct (unpublished). Moimh
University. Melhourne.
Goonumbla mineralised systems and thus refine the exploration
Hooper. B. Heithersay, P S, Mills, M B, Lindhorst. J W and I’reyberg, J,
model. 1996. Shoshonitc-hosted Endeavour 4X porphyry copper-gold
This aggressive approach in the near mine area is balanced deposit. Nonhparkes, central New South Wales, Ausr I €iir//i Sci.
with a systematic approach to regional exploration. The 43:27wn8.
collection of a ‘basic geochemical data layer’ over the complete House, M J. 1994. Gold Distribution at tlic E26 Porphyry Copper-Gold
Goonumbla tenement package is the first objective of this Ikposit. Goonumbla NSW. MEconGcol Thesis (unpublished),
regional work. This is not a short-term program since i t is University of T:isinnni:i. Hobart.
Deposit. Goonumbla NSW. MEconGeol Thesis (unpublished). Sherwin. L. 1990. Nnrroriiinc I :?SO OOO Geological Sheet SISS/3:
University of Tasmania. Hobart. Explanatory Notes. Geol Sui\’ NSW, Sydney, 104p.
Howland-Rose. J S. 1996. Fluid evolution at the Endeavour 48 Porphyry Squires. V E. 1092. The Miner:ilization and Alteration o f [lie Endeavour
CU-Au Deposit. Pnrkes. NSW. RSc (Hoiis) Thesis (unpublished). 27 Porphyry Copper-Gold Ikposit, Goonumbla. New South Wales.
Ilniversity of Newcastle. 13Sc (lions) Tliesis (unpublislred), University of Sydney.
Jones. G J. 198.5. The Goonumhla Porphyry copper dcpohits. New South Wolle. R C, 1094. The Geology. Paragenesis mid Alteration
Wales. C . ~ l l Geol.
I RO:59/-6/3. Geoclieiiiistry of the Ende:ivour 48 Cu-Au Porphyry. Cioonumbla.
I’crkins. C. MeDougall. 1. Claoue-Long. J and Heithersay. P S. 1990. NSW. I F k (Hoiis) lhesis (unpublished). University of Tasmania.
40Ar/39Ar and U-Pb Geochronology of the Goonuiiihla Porphyry Hobart.
Cu-Au deposits, NSW, Australia, Ecoti C;eri/.XS:IXOh‘-ISZ+‘.
Scheibner. E, 1973. A Plate Tectonic Model of the Pal:iewoic Tectonic
History of New South Wales. J (;eo/ S(ic.Ausr. 20.405-426.
Sherwin. L, 1973. Stratigraphy ofthe Forks - Hogan Gate district., NSIV
Gcol Sun: Rec. 1.5:47-101.
ABSTRACT matrix, transport these to ground and surface watcr, nnd affcct
The Mt Lyell Mine. situated in Queenstown on the west coast of
tlie itnmcdiatc and surrounding environment (CMA, 1092).
Tamiania. has a production history of inore than 100 yeat-s. Previous The Mt Lyell Mine is located in a high rainfall environment
niining activities have resulted i n suhstantial inoditications to ( 2 3 - 3 m/yr) on the west CO;ISI of Tasmania (Figure I ) and has a
environmental conditions at Mt Lyell and disposal of sulphidic waste history of mining activities over more than a century which have
rock across the lease has left a legacy of on-going cnvironnienlal impacts resulted i n substantial modificiitions to environmental conditions.
including acid drainage (AD). Disposal o t sulphidic waste rock across thc lease has left ii legacy
In I Y Y S Copper Mines of Tasinlrnia (CMT) was g r x w d iiiining lease o f on-going environmcntal impacts. AD emitted from
froin the Tasmanian State Government for redevelopment of Mt Lyell and underground workings and wastc rock dumps at the mine site has
indemnity from actions concerning pollution from previous occupation
and use of leased land. The Environmental Management Plan (EMP) for
severely impacted o n water quality downstream in the Queen and
the Mt Lyell redevelopment committed CMT to be responsible for waste King Rivers and Macquarie Harbour (Koehnken, 1907).
rock dumps generated from their activities and to ensure that
management is in-line with best practice environmental manageinent
principles. CMT commenced commercial production in I>ecembcr 199s
with sulphidic material from development of the underground Prince
Lyell mine reporting to a single waste rock dump constructed according
to a management plan developed in July 199.5 and superseded hy a
management plan for extension in May 1997.
The CMT waste rock dump currently has a total capacity of 220 000
ini and approximately 120 000 ni’ of rock have been placed 10-date.
Material reporting to the dump is placed in a densely conipacted state to
n controlled surface profile. The dump is clay capped and a final
revegetated soil layer placed on top. A rock pitched drain extends down
to a wetland area in order to remove storinwater and niiniiirise possible
soil erosion on the revegetatcd sections.
An integral pan of the inanagcment pl:in for thc waste rock dump
involves characterisation of waste rock to identify geochemical rock
types according to acid forming potential with provision for selective
placement within the dump. High-risk materials are selectively placed
and covercd within the core of the waste rock dump. whcre possible, to
control sirlphide oxidation.
Monitoring rquipinent has been installed i n the waste rock dump by
the Australian Nuclcar Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO)
and an on-going monitoring program h s bccn established to tlcinonstrate
the integrity of tlie dump cover iis a barrier to the influx of atniospheric
oxygen into the dump.
The overall objectives of this program of work ;ire t o control the
oxidation of sulphidic w x t e rock in the waste rock dump. ininiinise the
risk of AD. prevent pollution of the aquatic environment and thereby
deinonstrate tlie integrity of the CMT waste rock dump iiinnagerncnt
strategy.
Mines of Australia (GMA), a mining lease the following year for degratlctl and untidy :is well ;is being readily visible from the
redevelopment of Mt Lyell and indemnity from actions Quccnstowii townsliip and tlie Lyell Ili~1iw;iy.
concerning pollution from previous occupation iind use of le;ised
land. The Environmental Management Plan (EMP) for the MI MANAGEMENT S'I'RATEGY
Lyell redevelopment has committed CMT to be responsible for
waste rock dumps generated from current and future activities CMT Iiiis been y x i t c d indemnity Irom actions concei-ning
and to ensure that environmental management is in-line with the pollution from previous occupation and use of Ic;ised h i d .
principles of best practice. Nevertheless, senior m;inagcmcnt Iiiis endorsed a pro-active
CMT commenced commercial production in December 1995 company environmentnl policy t o ensure that CMT ;ire
with sulphidic material from development of the underground responsible for the effective environinental management ot all
Prince Lyell mine reporting to ti single wiiste rock dump site activities including the operatioii o f tlic current ~vasterock
constructed according to a planned management strategy clump.
(Thompson and Brett, l99S). This has since been updated to
cover the extension of the current waste rock dump t o provide Dump construction
sufficient capacity for waste rock generated until the end of I998
Waste material reporting to the dump IS integrated into the stascd
(Thompson and Brett, 1997).
construction of a terraced dump. Existing erosion problems 11;ive
The C M T waste rock dump currently has ii total capacity of been tackled by building ;I series 01 live metre benches ;ind ;I
some 220 000 m3 and approximately 120 000 m3 of rock lias rock lined drain which extends down t o ;I wetland area in ordcr to
been placed to-date. Material reporting to the dump is placed in remove stormwatci- and minimise possible soil erosion on the
a densely compacted state to a controlled surface profile. The revegetated sections. l3atters are constructed at 3H: I V ( I 8.5 'I) to
dump is clay capped and a final revegetated soil layer placed on provide maximum stability and facilitate progressive
top. A rock pitched drain extends down to a wetland area in rehabilitation. Waste is piddock dumped onto a llat area until a
order to remove stormwater and minimise possible soil erosion reasonable iircii is covered and the heaps are then flattened with ;I
on the revegetated sections. towed vibr;iting roller ;itid compacted into one metre nominal
The waste rock dump management strategy involves layers.
characterisation of waste rock to identify geochemical rock types 'ilit! efl'ectivencss of tliis compaction has been tested (I3E'P.
according to acid forming potential with provision for selective 1996) i i n d results indicatc tlie mainten;incc of maximum air voids
placement within the dump. High risk (ie high acid forming ratios well within the ten per cent iccommcndcd to minimise
potential) materials are selectively placed and covered within tlie oxygen migration into waste rock (EGi. 1995). 'I'hc civil woi-ks
core of the waste rock dump, where possible, to control sulphide on the dump are being performed by MacWest Pty Ltd under
oxidation. supervision of the CMT Mining Department.
In March 1997. ANSTO were commissioned by CMT to Clay from the abutting hillside is u c d in construction of ;I 30
install monitoring equipment in the waste rock dump. A long- cm clay cap on the dump faces. The 1in;il revegetated surface of
term monitoring program has been established to demonstrate the the dump is a 30 cm layer of soil retrieved from CMT's lantll'km
integrity of the dump cover to minimisc water infiltration and or from construction of the 'Princess Creek tailings dams prior to
provide a barrier to the influx of atmospheric oxygen. inundation. The overall objective is to create a waste rock dump
The objective of this paper is to provide a description of the in accordance with the principles of best practice in
program of work carried out in the operation of the CMT waste environmental management. A recent photograph of the CMT
rock dump to control the oxidation of sulphidic waste rock, waste rock dump is sliown in Figure 2 .
minimise the risk of AD and prevent pollution of the downstream
aquatic environment. Details of the monitoring program set up
to investigate the integrity of the management strategy used for . - -
the waste rock dump are also provided. However, long-term
monitoring data will be required to provide a full evaluation of
the performance of the dump.
SITE HISTORY
The CMT waste rock dump is built on a site that has been used
historically as a smelter slag heap and more recently as a waste
rock dump. The MLMRC managed the dump with inclusion of
waste lime from their slaking plant. Nevertheless. extensive
visible oxidation was evident at the dump prior to
commencement of the CMT operation, which was assessed ;IS il
source of acid drainage.
The slag material is highly permeable and the presence of the
slag heap complicated drainage control of the site. Rainfall onto
the heap or run-off from adjacent areas percolated readily into
the heap and included acid drainage from the MLMRC dump. FIG2 - Picttirr of CMT waste rock duiiip showing completed bench.
The drainage pattern actually deflected water from the llat area storinwater rock dmin and iiatural regrowth.
to the cast of the dump to the slag heap, from where it infiltrated
through unknown materials to Haulage Creek in an uncontrolled
manner. Geochemical testing and selective placement
Drainage from the hills to the south was picked up by a table Management of the CMT waste rock dump involves
drain on the old railway formation and directed to a culvert to the characterisation of waste rock to identi ly geochemical rock types
south of the slag heap. Severe erosion from the hills and from according to acid forming potential with provision for selective
the base of the culvert outlet lead to washout of gravel and even placement within the dump. High-risk materials are placed and
coarse boulders. The visual appearance o f the general area was covered within tlie core o f the waste rock dump with low-risk
materials forming the face of the dump profile. where possible. ;in;ilysis (medinn value) for tlie water exiting the wetlands into
i n order to control sulphide oxidation. Haulage ('1-eek over the two-year period is provided in Table 1.
The potential for waste rock to generate acid IS assessed
,.
l ypical water quality mediaii values for (a) leachate emmitted
routinely by CMT using the Net Acid Generation (NAG) test from a poorly managed histoi-ical waste rock dump and (b) King
(Miller and Jeffery, 1995; AMIRA, 1096; Miller V I al 1907) River water unimpacted by acid drainage are also provided in
established on-site in 1995 by EGi Pty Ltd. The NAG test Tiihle I .
involves addition of H202 to a pulvcrised waste rock sample to
oxidise reactive sulphide, prior to mensurement of pH and
titration of any net acidity produced by the acid gener;ition and
acid neutralisation reactions occurring in the sample.
The NAG testing has been routinely ciirried out i n tlie CMT
laboratory on lace samples from waste development. Five
geochemical rock types or risk categories were originally
identified from the NAG test work depending on thc amount of
net acidity produced. Type 5 samples have tlie potential to
produce the greatest iiinount of acidity per unit mass (ie > 50 kg
H2S04/t) and type I are non-acid forming. In practice, attempts
to correlate NAG data with rock characteristics to fiicilitatc
prediction of geochemical rock type on a day-to-day basis proved
diflicult due to the high variability of geoc1iemic;il rock type
identified in the NAG test. A summary of the NAG test data for
291 samples tested from various mining development areas
shown i n Figure 3.
70
60
50
-
Y)
0 40
I. All results showii in mg/l exccpt pH
E 2 . Typical w:iter quality for King lliver unimpacted by acid drainage
% 30
0 3 TSS = Total susl>ciidedsolids
20
4 ii/n = iiot av3ihide
10
I SOFTWARE
I BACKUP REGIME --
aided design package Microstation. The result of this incomplete that the package was useable. for cxamplc minc planning
changeover on many fronts at the one time meant that a number cngincers wcrc using i t tor feasibility studies on data entcred by
of systems were being partially maintained simultaneously. For geology, a situation that had not developed fully under packages
example, the hand drawn geological sections were being utilised already available on-site.
by the minc planning staff for stope and development drive
design: yet drill holes and mapping information was only THE DRILL HOLE DATABASE
haphazardly updated onto these sections. Similarly, diamond
drill hole information was being automatically updated in The ZC custom designed Orex system provided only cross-
Microstation and Orcx, but mapping information was irregularly sectional representation of resource data. Fortunately the
updated in these computing tools. Vicwing the ore resource and Techbase drill hole database held the frill data set lor drill hole
reserve and thc available systems was also difficult. Orex was an surveys. Tcchbase is the public issue commercial program on
appropriate tool for thick, continuous massive sulphidcs, which which Orcx is based. Tcchbase uses three storage arcx lor
characterise large sections of lead lode which have been sloped. assay, collar and sui-vcy data, which nliiy be output as an ASCII
Much of the current mining and remaining primary ore resource text file tor input into Vulcan. For the ZCINRHCISX operations
is in thin stringers down to 2 m in thickness with poor continuity thcse outpiit tilcs were as large as 42 meg;ibytes. Initial attempts
between sections. to usc the ASCII tile directly in Vulcan failed due to the tile
The decision was made to move to Vulcan following structure. Two options were available to solve this problem,
considerable consultation with company and outside pcrsonncl. writing AWK scripts to modify the tliita or somehow modifying
Vulcan had some comparative disadvantages, especially in tcrms the output from Techbase. Efforts wei-e directed at modifying tlic
of on-site experiencc. but the 'front end' ease o f use of Vulcan Tcchbase output and eventually a .solution was obtaincd. The
and its three-dimensional viewing tool. Envisage. made the ASCII tile output was rcady to import into Vulcan with only
package attractivc to Pasminco. The relative case of use mciint hcader modifications and 21 ticld calculation on the dip 01' the
that there would be lcss reliance on an 'expert user', which was survey dat;~.
rccognised as a key problem with existing systcms. Whilc A number of diamond drill holes (;iiourid 200) wcrc not ahlc to
mining software had been on-sitc for a numbcr of ycars, the be rcprcscnted i n Vulcan because o l overlaps in data or and
difficulty o f use of the packages meant that the site required an apparent lack of assay data. Research into old core logs indicated
'cxpert user', who needed to devote most of their tirnc to that assay data was available for m;my of thc holes in question,
maintaining the ore rcsourcc systcms within software tools. but had somehow not made it into Techbasc. A similar prohlcrn
Within months of the introduction of Vulcan i t become obvious was recogniscd with numerous older drill holes (around 1940 -
I950 vintage), whereby survey data wiis 180" out. fiillaciously and high shape o f the ore lenses into Vulcan from the old
placing a new lens of ore out to tlie east of the mine. The issues transparencies. The process was complicated by the lack of
of overlaps, lack of hole assay data and incorrect survey data recent data on the transparcncies. a 'clean up process' was
were diligently addressed by tlie technical officer responsible for required on every section usins the up-to-date Vu1c;in drill hole
the drill hole database. (1iir;ihase. Also digitised were the shears, mined out areas and
Finally, representation of drill hole data for the underground geological information. With [lie exception of the resource data.
mining operation was available through Vulcan. New data from however. ;ill tlat;i w:is entered ;is open strings for modelling of
drilling or re-assays was directed through lechbase into Vulcan surl';ices rather tlim solids.
in the existing system on a temporary basis. These interfaces Ti) facilitate tlic process ot digitking, a long section of the
will be removed eventually when an Access core logging system ininc was printed and displaycd above the digitiscr. l'his long
is installed and Vulcan uses an Access database, probably later in section w x used to record progress by the geologists i n various
1997. .irc;is of the mine, with goals recorded on the sheet. Use of the
digitiscr was schcduled for each geologist on every day of the
SYSTEM STRUCTURE week. Inevitably there were teething problems with tlie use of
the tligitiser, particularly for those geologists not fmniliar with
Pasminco runs two Sun Ultra work stations with Vulcan and has the use of computers. The scale of this task and the organisation
three additional X term licences for the Vulcan soltw;irc. The X required c;uinot be underestimated for an operation the size of
terms are connected by licensed Retlections X software. A hsininco Rroken Hill mine.
number of personnel can potentially ;icccss tlatabascs I n many ciiscs interpretation of the available inlormation was
simultaneously, consequently systems were created to avoid required, hcfore entry into tlic computer. through the digitiser.
conflicts, reduce time required for updates and reduce space The resource categories WCI-ccarefully entered on section as
requirements on the hard drives. The tinderground mine was closed polygons to enablc wire framing of solids for
divided into five separate directories: the upper ;ircii (Upper), geostatisticA motlclling a n t l eventually tonncs ;ind grade
Western A Lode (wal), Southern Cross (sx), Stope Database, calculations. Scanned imagcs did exist in Microstation, these
(stopedb) and Lower Lead Lode (111). all with access to the drill were of little or no use a s were digital outlines of the ore
hole database through symbolic link files. A similar arrangement resource i n Orex. The process really went back to first principles
was created for the Potosi (potosi). Flying Doctor, (Ilydoc) and in order t o ensure accuracy. A major benefit of this effort was,
northern leases (nlease) accessing a single drill hole database. To however. the opportunity for eiich area geologist to obtain a clear
make the system uniform a third southern database was created three-dimensional picture in their mind of the geology of their
with symbolic links from the southern lease (slease) directory. A ;irc;i.
summary of the System is attached in Figure I .
'I'hree resourcc categories were created with specific graphics
Most geologists have a limited interest in becoming Unix c(IcIcs:
gurus. So aliases were created meaning that individuals need
only sit :it the machine and type a two or three letter code to Lode: ;I broad envelope around the mineralisation
access their directory. ie sx for Southern Cross. Similarly, aliases usu;illy defined by lode rocks, orange with no
were created to initiate access to Vulcan by typing 'm' for the intill,
mine. o r 'I' for the lease. Low-grade: specilically the seven to ten per cent combined
The centrally located drill hole data for the underground Ic;id zinc rniiici-alis~ition,but loosely defined in
operations is located in ii directory called 'minedrill' and as order t o corrcliite iirex between sections and
stated above ;iccess to the database is via symbolic link files. levels. pink with pink dot infill,
Hence. an uptlate of the data in 'minedrill' instantly means an
High-grade: tightly detined combined lead zinc mineralisation
update of the data in all other directories. A large disk space
saving is also achieved by this arrangement as the large database above ten per cent. red with red dot infill.
is only required in one rather than numerous locations. An Geostatistical block model were created within the confining
additional benefit is that the drill hole database is secure, any wire frames antl ;I resource and subsequently ;I resource and
unwanted changes to 'minedrill' are overwritten when 'minedrill' reserve calculatetl. Mined o u t areas were entered ;is closed
is updated by the technical officer who has responsibility for the polygons for the creation of wire frames to enable the subtraction
database. The 'live' or most current version of the database i s ( i t these ;ire;is from the resource. For the first year ol' Vulcan the
held in the technical officers directory which no other personnel mined out shapes were a conservative geological estimate, in
have reason to access. future years ;I precise mine planning will be used for the mined
shapes. Atlditioniil geological data was also entered as part of
tlie process. Open strings r;ither than polygons were used for all
DIGITISING no11 resource surfaces such ;IS shears and geological contacts.
A major part of the move to three-dimensions at Brokcn Hill was The exercise of converting Interpreted transparency section to
digitising every geological section. l h e geologist responsible for digitised. then three-dimensional data provided an opportunity
an area was given individual responsibility for digitising. wire for the geologists performing the task to reassess, reinterpret and
framing and modelling the area in Vulcan in order to create an generally understand the mol phology of the ore lenses in their
ore resource for the area. The exercise of transferring to Vulcan respective ;ireas. 'This understxiding in turn led to the generation
was compounded by the need to maintain the existing ore ol' exploration targets with the ultimate gaol of extending the
resource system while the process was occurring. The duplicate mine life. Every ndditional year of mining means ;in additional
ore resource system included Orex for most of tlic mine. year of exploration and analysis further enhancing the mine's
Datamine for Western A Lode and Potosi and polygonal methods potential into the f'uturc.
for the leases.
Digitising into Vulcan was carried out throughout the mine and WIRE FRAMING
leases. Some digital information, scanned sections in
Microstation and the ore block shapes in Orex. did exist to some Once shapes were digitised into Vulcan, connecting the ore
extent, prior to the installation of Vulcan. However, the existing resource sh;ipes became possible, this was probably the most
digitised information sources were of little use in the transfer to denimding and difficult phase of the entire project. For some
Vulcan. Geologists were required to digitise the lode, low-grade areas o f the mine with limited resources and simple shapes, wire
framing was a simple, quick process. For the majority of the complete interpretation of areas and digitise inform:ition onto
mine. however, intense concentration and focus was required of sections gave tlic :irc;i geologists unique opportunity to
the geologists to connect the various lenses without crossing over understand the geology of their area of responsibility. Similxly,
between ore occurrences. The wire frames were made in groups the use of existing mine data in a morc readily accessible format
of ten (about 200 metres) to facilitate the process and to allow for provides for a hettcr understanding (it' the morphology of thc (11-e-
ease of modification when new information becomes available. body. I t i s unlikely that all mineable i'esources in the mine area
A entire lens or lode, ie lead lode or one lens, was then modelled have heen recognised and mined, p:ii.ticularly when thc highcr-
by merging the wire frames in the area. Where mineralisation grades required l'or economic mining in prior times ;ire
clearly crossed areas of responsibility in the mine separate considered. Should each o r any of thcse result in additional ore
models were created, with amalgamation occurring at tlie ;it appropriate grade. ;in extension of niine life is likely.
resource accounting stage.
CONCLUSIONS
MODELLING
The process of transferring an old niinc into tlirce-diniension;iI
Three separate block models were created for each lens ;ind software o r any other system will always be fraught with
occurrence of mineralisation in the mine area, lode. low-grade difliculties. problcms from imperial conversion, differing data
and high-grade. Lode is defined as a boundary of lode rocks sources, nuinerou~grids designed to pi-wide local perpendicular
around the mineralisation which is slightly outside the low-grade to strike cross-sections prior to the use of computers and the
where the mineralisation has a sharp contact with the wall rocks. reluctance of many geologists to dciil with the intricacies of
Low-grade is defined as seven to ten per cent mineralisation, hut computers (coloured pencils are likely to remain an important
the practicalities of creating shapes around variable orebodies geological tool for quite some time yct).
make this a fairly loose definition. High-grade is the tightest For tlic Pasminco Broken Hill mine the time consuming
definition, where the material inside this string is above ten per strategy of running tlie existing. outtluted, ore resource system
cent combined lead and zinc. The wire frame models act to for the first year of the new system pi-ovided a necessary safety
confine the assays within the models, thus using a combination net. On completion of tlie I997 resource, this proved a sound
of geological interpretation and digital analysis to obtain an ore strategy as part of tlie Southern Cross m i l needed to be reported
resource. Statistics were generated by 'bounding' these models, from Orcx.
that is, assays were only used if they were exclusively within the The difliculties of wading through hundreds of sections and
boundary in question. plans stored in ancient, heavy to use. overloaded filing systems
should be ameliorated to some extent by the transfer to 1111-ee-
BENEFITS O F A 3D MODEL dimensional analysis. Similarly. new cxploration targets hec;iinc
apparent, through both tlie new system and the exercise of
The benefits of a three-dimensional model became apparent prior changing over which i n time should provide resources to enahlc
to the completion of digitising and modelling. Inspection of the
production a t the mine beyond 2008. If this is the case the efl'ort
drill hole database in 3D led to the genesis of exploration targets
of 'Moving Hrokcn Hill into the Thii-d Dimension' will prove
in the north and south of the Broken Hill field. One area in the
more than worth w 11 i le.
north had been investigated as two separate mineralised zones
because of different grids straddling the area. The potential of
the area as a single resource became apparent when viewed in ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
three dimensions. The efforts of Colin Lutherborrow, Nicola McGunnigle. Kerstin
The current focus of mine exploration is o n smaller Drauns and Frann Sette were appreciiircd in making the transfer
economically mineable ore bodies, rather than 'elephants', while to Vulcan work for the Pasininco Broken Ilill Mine.
this may not seem as glamorous as previous strategies, it is likely
to extend the mine life. The painstaking effort required to
Copies of all books currently in print can be obtained from The Institute office
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The ‘S’numhers i n tlic third column refer to an older identifying nuniher for Symposi:i. tlie numhers prcceedirigs tlic ‘ S ’ number signiIy tlie new
puhlication ordcring number.
1981 I/8I S26 * International Blast Furnace Hearth and Ilnccway Symposiuin. Newcastle
218 1 * Fourth Australian ‘l‘unnellingConterencc
318 I S27 * Ignitions. Explosions and Fires. Wollongong
418 I * Annrial Conference. Sydney
518 1 S28 * Strip Mining 45 Metres and Beyond. Central Queensland
I982 1/82 s29 * Cont’erericc. Newman
Off I-Iighway lruck l-I:iul~~gc
2/82 s30 * Mill Operators’ Conference, North Wcst Queciislantl
3/82 S3 1 * Underground Operators‘ C’onference. Wcst Coast Tasmania
4/82 * Annual Conference. Melbourne
5/82 S32 * Carbon-In-Pulp I echnology for tlic Extraction of Gold. I’erth and Kalgoorlie.
(Iceprinted 1988)
6/82 s33 * Seam Gas Drainage with I’nrticular liclcrence to the Working Seam, Wolloiigong
I983 I183 s34 * C:omputcrs in Mining. Southern Qucenslaiid
2/83 * Annual Conference, Broken Hill
3/83 s35 * I’ro.iect Devclopment Symposium. Sydney
4/83 s37 * Ventilation of Coal Mines. Wollongong
5/83 s40 * Principles of Mineral Flotation (‘l‘he Wark Symposium). Adelaide
I984 I 184 S36 * Metallurgy Symposium. Melbourne
2/84 S38 * Coal and Mineral Sizing. Wollongong
3/84 * Annual Conference. 1)arwin
4/84 S30 Gold Mining. Metallurgy and Geology. Kalgoorlie
1985 1/85 S4 I * Smelting and Kefining Operators’ Symposium. North Queensland
2/85 S42 * Underground Operators’ Conference, Kalgoorlie
3/85 * Annual Conference. Brisbane
4/85 s43 * Scientific and Technological Developinents in Extractive Metallurgy (G K
Williiuns Memorial Volume). Melbourne
1986 1/86 * 13th Congress The Council of Mining and Metallurgical Institutions, Singapore, 6
Volumes
2/86 s44 * Sclcctive, Open Pit Gold Mining Scniinar. I’crth
3/86 s45 * Ground Moveincnt and Control Iiclated to Coal Milling. Wollongong
4/86 S46 * Australia: A World Source o i Illincnite. Ihtile. Monnrite and Zircon Confercncc,
Pert h
5/86 s47 * Second I’rqiect Devclopment Symposium. Sydney
6/86 S48 * Large Open Pit Mining Conference. Newman
7/86 s49 * Iducation and Research lor the Mineral Industry for the Iuturc. Melbourne
8/86 ’l‘heAuslMM IO Year Intles
1987 I 187 * VI Australian Tunnelling Conlercnce: Bore or Blast. hklbourne
2/87 S50 * Risk and Survival Seminar. Canberra
3/87 * Annual Conference, Newcastle: Coal I’ower ‘87
4/87 S5 I * Kcscarch and Development in Extractive Metallurgy. Adelaide
5/87 * I.eslie Bradford Golden Ithilee Oration
6/81 S52 * Mining and Environment: A I’rot’essional Approach. 13risbane
1/87 * I’acrini ‘87, Gold Coast. Queensland
8/87 s.53 * Dense Medium Operators’ Conference, Brisbane
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publication ordering number.
9187 s54 * Equipment in the Minerals Industry: Exploration Mining :inti Processing
Conference, Kalgoorlie
101x7 s55 * Resources and Reserves. Sydney
1 1/87 * south /\llStrdlia’S Mining 1-lcritage
1988 11x8 S56 * 2 I ” Century Higher Production Coal Mining Systems Syniposium. Wollongong
2/8X * The Second International Conference on Prospecting i n Arid Terrain. Perth
3/88 s57 * Third Mill Operators’ Conference, Cobar
4/88 S58 * Underground Operators’ Confcrence. Mount Is21
5/88 * Fourth International Mine Ventilatioii Congress. Brisbanc. (I’roceedings ;ind
Addendum volume)
6/88 * Annual Conference. Sydney: Minerals and Lxploration at the Crossroads: The
International Outreach
71x8 s59 * Second AuslMM Mineral I Ieritage Scminar. Sydney
8/88 S60 * Economics and Practice of IHeap Leaching i n Gold Mining Workshop, Cairns
9/88 * Third International Minc Water Congress, Melbournc
10188 S6 1 * Explosives in Mining Workshop. Melbourne
1989 1/89 * Mineralogy and Pctrology. Sydney, Fcbruary
2/89 * Second I..arge Open Pit Mining Conference. I-atrobc Valley Vic
3/89 * NQ Gold ‘89 Conference. ’I’ownsville Qld
4/89 * Annual Conference, Perth-Kalgoorlie: Education, Training and Professional
Development; Industrial Minerals; I’rqjcct I~evelopmen~l’rocessing
5/89 * Mineral Fuel Alternatives and the Greenhouse Effect, July 1989
6/89 Non-ferrous Smelting Symposium: I O 0 Years of Smelting and Refining
Operations in Port Pirie. SA September 19x9
71x9 * Dewatering Technology & I’racticc Conference. Brisbanc October 1989
1990 1 190 * Ore Keservc Estiniates - ‘l‘lie Impact on Miners and Financiers, Melbourne, March
1990
2/90 Annual Conference. The Mineral Industry i n New Zealand. liotorua New
Zealand. March 1990
3/90 Pacific Rim Congress, Gold Coast Qld. May 1990
4/90 * Mining Industry Capital and Operating Cost Estimation Conference, Sydney. June
1990
5/90 * Third International Symposium on Rock Fragmentation by Lxlasting, Brislxine.
August 1990
6/90 * Sir Edgeworth David Memorial Oration, May I990
7/90 * Mine Geologists’ Conference. Mount Isa, October 1990
1991 1/91 * Fourth Mill Operators’ Confcrence. Burnie Tas, March 199 I
219 1 * World Gold ’91. Cairns Qltl. April 1991
319 1 Mining Industry 0ptimis;ition Conference, Sydney, Junc I99 I
419 1 * PNG Geology, Exploration and Mining Confcrcnce, Rabaul. June 1991
519 1 Qld Coal Symposium, Brishane. August 1991
619 I * lieliability Production and Control in Coal Mincs, Wollongong, September I99 I
719 1 * Fifth AuslMM Extractive Metallurgy Conference, Perth. October I99 I
I992 1192 Envirominc Australia, Sydney NSW. March 1992
2/92 The AuslMM Annual Conference, ’The State-of-the-Art - A Product of 100 Years
oflearning’. Broken Hill NSW. May 1992
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= Out of print
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I puhlication ordering numher.
3/92 ‘Energy. Economics and Environinent’ Ciippsland L h i n Symposium. Melbotirne.
lune 1992
4/92 Arnold 13lack Mineral Heritage Oration
5/92 The Man from ASARCO: a life and times of Julius Kruttschnitt
6/92 5’” Underground Operators’ Conference. Ballarat, July 1092
7/92 * I l t h Intcrnational Conl’erence on (iround Control in Mining. Wollongong, Iuly
I002
8/92 * Third I a g e Open Pit Mining Conl‘erencc. Mackay. /\tigust 1992.
0192 Extractive Mctalhrgy of Cioltl and Base Metals Conl‘crence. Kalgoorlic. Octobcr
I092
10192 Sampling I’ractices i n the Miner;ils Industry. Mount 1s;~. November 1992
I 1/92 * Rehabilitate Victoria. I.atrobc V;illey. November I002
1993 1/93 Mining People - A Century
2/93 The AuslMM Centenary Conference. Adelaide. March I993
3/93 XVlll International Mineral I’rocessing Congress, Syrlney. May 1993
4/93 Narrow Vein Mining Seminar. Hcntligo. June 1993
5/93 Intcrnational Mining Cieology Conference. Kalgoorlic. July 1993
6/93 Vlll Australian ’l’unnelling Conference. Sydney. Auptist 1993
7/93 World Zinc ‘93 - International Syniposiiim. Hobart. October 1993
I994 I 194 I994 AuslMM Student Conference. Brislxine, April I004
2/94 PN(i Geology. Exploration and Mining Confcrcnce. 1 , ~ . PNG. lune 1994
3/94 No Two The Same by Bert Masoii
4/94 Sixth Extractive Metallurgy Conference. Lirisbane Jiily 1994
5/94 I994 AuslMM Annual Conference. Darwin, August I994
6/94 4Ih Large Open Pit Mining Conference. I’crth, September I994
7/94 Recent Trends in Heap Leaching. Hendigo. September I994
8/94 Maintenance in the Mining and Metallurgical Industrics.Wollongoiig. October
I004
9/94 Fifth Mill Operators’ Conlkrcncc. Roxhy I>owns. October 1094
10194 Mineral Valuation Methodologies 1994. Sytlncy. October I994
I 1/94 Victorian Mining Week Conference. Melbourne. Octoher I094
1995 I 195 I095 AuslMM Annual Conference. Newcastle, March I995
2/95 Sir Maurice Mawby Memorial Oration
3/95 World’s Best Practice i n Mining and Processing Confcrence. Sydney. May I095
4/95 APCOM XXV 1995 Conference. I3risbane. July 1995
5/95 Mineral Valuation Methodologies 1994. Sydney, October 1994 (revised)
6/95 EXPO 95 Conference, Brisbane. September 1995
7/95 Ilnderground Operators’ Confercncc, Kalgoorlie, Novtmber I095
819 5 Young Professionals’ Conference. Mt Isa. October 1005
9/95 * I’ACRIM ‘95 Congress. Auckland. New Zealand. Novcinber 1995
10195 Ethics. Liability and the Technical Expert. Sydney, 1)cceinber 1995
1996 I 196 * I996 AusIMM Annual Conference. I’erth. March 1996
1 a/96 * I996 AuslMM Annual Conference Suppleinentary Volume, Perth, March 1996
2/96 Ethics, Liability and the Technical Expert. Sydney, March 1996
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3/96 Entrepreneurs and Partners. Sydney. Iuly lW6
4/96 Contract Operators’ Conference. Kalgoorlic. October 1000
5/96 Asi;l/Pacilic Mining Comiiitiiiicatioiis Suinniit. Singaporc. Novenibcr 1906 -
Withdraw1
6/96 * Nickel .OO. Kalgoorlic, November IO06
1997 1/97 I997 AuslMM Annual Conli.rcncc. 13allarat. March I997
2/97 World Gold 9 7 Confcrcnec. Singapore. September I997
3/97 Sixth Mill Operators’ Conference. Mxlang. I’NG. Octohcr I997
4/97 Gem 97. Madang. I’NG. October I007
5/97 Contract Operators’ Conference. I3rishane. Qld. October I997
6/97 Third International Mining Geology C:o:ifcrcnce. 1,aunccston. Tar;. Novembcr
I997
Copies of all books currently in print can be obtained froni The Institute office
Tel(03) 9662 3166 or Fax (03) 9662 3662
=Out o f print
The ‘S’ numbers in the third column refer to an older identitjiing nuinber I‘or Symposia. the nuinbers preceediiigstllc ‘S‘number signily the ncw
publication ordering number
SPECTRUM SERIES
I. Making thc Mount Isa Mine, 1923 - 1933
2. llistory ofnrilling
3. The Cobar Mineral Field - A 1996 Perspective
Copies of all books currently in print can be obtained from The Institute office
Tel(O3) 9662 3166 or Fax (03) 9662 3662