University of Queensland researchers have joined forces with leading mining industry companies in a $710,000 Strategic Partnership with Industry Research and Training (SPRIT) project in developing new technologies to maximise open-cut mine profitability.
The project's Chief Investigator is Professor Roussos Dimitrakopoulos, Director of the W.H. Bryan Mining Geology Centre (BRC).
Funded by $450,000 over three years from Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines (KCGM), WMC Resources Ltd (WMC), and Whittle Programming Pty Ltd, the project has also attracted a three-year, $260,000 SPIRT grant from the Australian Research Council.
The research program will fund the appointment of two new researchers starting in 1998 at the BRC - Senior Research Fellow Dr Rossen Halatchev and Senior Geostatistician Andrew Richmond. An Australian Postgraduate Award (Industry) scholarship at the PhD level will also be funded by the project.
Professor Dimitrakopoulos said the project involved the modelling of the uncertainty and risk associated with open-cut mining ventures and the optimisation of open pit design and production scheduling. All relate directly to the effective management of cash flows, typically in the order of millions of dollars, and are influenced by multiple factors, including the geology, technology, economy and mine environment.
'We are the only research centre with the level of expertise in geostatistics, mine planning and mine optimisation necessary for this kind of project in the southern hemisphere,' he said.
'In simple terms, our research will allow companies to maximise the release of capital, facilitating earlier bank loan repayment and therefore increase the capital available for mine improvements, new technologies and new investments.'
Whittle Programming Managing Director and BRC Adjunct Professor Jeff Whittle said the project would involve testing the model (a practical product composed of algorithms and related software) on multiple case studies.
'The problem addressed by the project is absolutely critical given the economical importance of mining in Australia,' he said.
KCGM Chief Executive Officer Robert Crew said the research was fundamental to the development of an integrated open pit design and scheduling system.
'Such a system will also enable KCGM to undertake a risk assessment of each design and schedule, ultimately providing a more robust pit design and extraction sequence. There exists no method or software at present that assists the planning engineer in this area. KCGM is proud to be involved in this research.'
WMC Nickel Operations Manager at the time of the project instigation Mark Cutifani said the project would yield functional and applicable technologies providing optimum mining schedules.
The research quality and the BRC researchers were also praised by technical reviewers of the Australian Research Council.
The project is one of two major research initiatives currently under way at the Centre. The other involves the quantification of uncertainties and risk associated with fault systems in long-wall coal mining and has attracted a $160,000 cash grant and $65,000 in-kind from the Australian Coal Association Research Program (ACARP), Shell Coal, Newlands Coal, BHP Coal and North Goonyella Mines.
The BRC was established in 1990, as a joint venture between the Earth Sciences and Mining, Minerals and Materials Engineering Departments. Member of the Sir James Foots Institute of Mineral Resources, it also commemorates the late Prof. W. H. Bryan, a former Geology and Mineralogy Professor with the University.
In addition to its role as a collaborative research partner with the mining industry, the Centre offers PhD and MSc programs in mineral resources specifically geostatistics, mine optimisation, quantitative resource assessment and GIS, mine geophysics and advanced technologies (neural computing, genetic algorithms, animation, virtual reality).
Since 1997, the Centre develops and provides a very successful program of 'Professional Development Seminars for the Mining Industry' throughout the year with 10 seminars offered in 1998. Seminars are conducted by worldwide recognised international experts in their fields, collaborating with the Centre.
Professor Dimitrakopoulos has been Director of the Centre since mid-1996. He holds a PhD in geostatistics from Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal and a MSc in geostatistics from the University of Alberta in Edmonton. He has worked in geostatistics since 1983 both in applications as well as the development of stochastic simulation techniques, data integration, optimisation, uncertainty modelling and risk assessment.
Professor Dimitrakopoulos has been a Senior Geostatistician with Newmont Gold Co., Denver, a Senior Consultant with Geostat Systems Int., Montreal, and a geostatistics professor at McGill University, Montreal. He has experience in both the mining and petroleum industries, and has worked and taught courses in Australia, North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East and Japan.
The Centre's new premises in the University's H.C. Richards Building including a $250,000 computer facility will be officially opened by University Vice-Chancellor Professor John Hay at a function on Friday, June 5, at 4pm.
Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Ted Brown and University Senator and son of the late Professor Bryan, Bob Bryan, will also attend the opening. Several CEOs, managing directors and senior management of major mining companies together with the University's senior administration will be present at opening.
Centre staff can be contacted on telephone 07 3365 3473, facsimile 07 3365 7028, email brc@mailbox.uq.edu.au or at website http://www.minmet.uq.edu.au/~bryan.
For more information, contact Professor Dimitrakopoulos (telephone 07 3365 3472, facsimile 07 3365 7028 or email roussos@minmet.uq.edu.au).
