1. What are the processes for developing a new mine in Western Australia?
2. Schedule production for the mine detailed below to optimize copper concentrate at minimum mining cost using a maximum of five stopes
operating at a time. Assume each month consists of 21 operating days. The mine has the following stopes with the characteristics as outlined.
The schedule must aim for the following as far as possible:
a) Maximum, constant tonnage per month
b) Constant grade
c) Constant cost
3. What are strategic risks? How would you manage these risks?
4. Define short, medium and long term planning?
5. Discuss some of the factors that an engineer needs to account for when planning a mining operation
6. What techniques of pit optimisation are available?
7. Define the following in relation to network techniques (CPM and PERT)
a. Earliest start time
b. Latest start time
c. Earliest finish time
d. Latest finish time
e. Slack
f. Float
8. A project is defined by the list of activities detailed in Table 1.
i. Draw the network as an activity on the arc network
ii. Find the critical path
iii. Find the slack for each activity
9. The network shown in the next diagram is to be used in the planning of the installation of an underground crusher station. Determine the total project time and the critical path.
10. A 10,000 tpd underground coal mine is in the planning stages. It is anticipated that salaried and supervisory staff will constitute 20% of the work force. Each production crew will consist of 8 miners and 1 foreman. Several of the other mines operated by the company have been averaging 10 tonnes per person per day and 200 tonnes per unit shift. However there is no reason not to believe that the new mine will average 15 tonnes per person per day and 300 tonnes per unit shift. Determine the size of the required labour force for both rates of productivity.
11. Calculate the Net Values for gold ore containing 1.3 g/t, 4.5 g/t , 8.0 g/t and 15.7 g/t. Use the input values given below.
12. Cut-off Grade
a. Following are the variables for choosing the "Optimum Cut-off Grade":
M = maximum amount of material that the mine can produce in
any given time (mine capacity)
C = maximum amount of ore that can be put through the concentrator in
any given time (mill capacity)
R = maximum amount of final product that can be produced in
the given time period (production capacity)
m = mining costs, $/t of material mined
c = concentrator cost, $/t of ore milled
r = smelting, refining, packaging, insurance cost, $/kg of final product
f = fixed cost
s = selling price
y = recovery
T = length of production period
Qm = quantity of material to be mined
Qc =quantity of ore sent to the concentrator
Qr = amount of product actually produced over this production period
a. Using these above variables, develop the basic equations for
i. total cost, Tc
ii. revenue, R
iii. profit, P
b. Develop the equations for cut-off grade assuming that
i. mining rate is the governing constraint
ii. concentrating rate is the governing constraint
iii. refining rate is the governing constraint
13. Define the following terms used with respect to the Lerchs-Grossmann 3D algorithm
a) Directed arc
b) Edge
c) Weight
d) Node
e) Graph
f) Directed graph
g) Sub graph
h) Closure
i) Maximum closure
j) Circuit
k) Chain
l) Cycle
m) Path
n) Tree
o) Root
p) Branch
q) Twig
14. Discuss the floating cone process
15. Describe three problems with regard to the application of the floating cone technique. What are the positive aspects of the floating cone technique?
16. Summarise the steps in the Lerchs-Grossmann 2D algorithm
17. Define the terms:
a) Project year
b) Production year
c) Calendar year
18. Summarise the basic concepts behind Lane's algorithm