Argyle diamond mine located in the Kimberley region of Western Australia ranks as the world’s biggest diamond mine if JORC reserves alone are taken into account. The recoverable diamond reserve at Argyle as of December 2012 was estimated to be 140Mct (67Mt grading 2.1ct/t diamond). The diamond mine, owned by Rio Tinto, has been in production since 1983. Argyle is currently transitioning from open pit to underground operations to access diamonds at depth. Argyle Underground will be the first block cave mine in Western Australia. At peak production, Argyle Underground is expected to produce 20Mct of diamonds a year, which will make it the largest diamond producing mine in the world. The open p

In this process stage, the crushed material can be further disintegrated in a cylinder mill, which is a cylindrical container built to varying length-to-diameter ratios, mounted with the axis substantially horizontal, and partially filled with grinding bodies (e.g., flint stones, iron or steel balls) that are caused to tumble, under the influence of gravity, by revolving the container. A special development is the autogenous or semi-autogenous mill. Autogenous mills operate without grinding bodies; instead, the coarser part of the ore simply grinds itself and the smaller fractions. To semi-autogenous mills (which have become widespread), 5 to 10 percent grinding bodies (usually metal spheres

Ranked at no 2 in the world, the Komatsu D575A uses Komatsu’s SA12V170E (12-cylinder turbocharged) diesel engine. It has a displacement of 46.3 l, a fuel tank capacity of 2100 liters, and three forward and three reverse speeds, and a machine length of 11.72 meters. D575A-3SD Main technical data: * Maximum power: 858kW (1167 hp) / 1800rpm * Working weight: 153 tonnes - Mega Machines.

Rill cut, or rill stoping, as shown at B in the figure below, has the principal advantage that when filling is used it can be run down through a raise at the apex of the stope and will fill the stope without shoveling. Its disadvantages, on the other hand, are as follows: When waste filling is run in from the raise it has a sloping surface which makes it difficult to keep ore and waste from mixing, and is unhandy for men to work. Raises must be put in at frequent intervals, and the added cost of, these raises may exceed the cost of spreading the filling in a flat-back stope. Ore chutes must be carried up through the filling, and the timber used in their construction cannot be recovered. This

Arsenopyrite is an iron arsenic sulfide mineral with a chemical composition of FeAsS. It is the most abundant arsenic mineral and the primary ore of arsenic metal. In addition to being found in deposits that are large enough to be minable, arsenopyrite is widely distributed. However, it usually occurs in such small amounts and in such small particle sizes that it is easily overlooked. It is associated with other sulfide minerals in organic-rich sedimentary rocks, metamorphic rocks, and igneous rocks in many parts of the world - "Geology.com".

Catoca diamond mine in Angola ranks as the fifth biggest diamond mine in the world. The Catoca open-pit located near Saurimo, around 840km east of Luanda, is estimated to contain up to 130Mct of mineable diamonds. The diamond mine is operated by Sociedade Mineira de Catoca, a joint venture of Angola’s state-owned diamond company Endiama (32.8%), Alrosa (32.8), as well as China and state oil producer Sonangol (18%) and Odebrecht of Brazil (16.4%). The mine has been operational since 1993. Catoca mine produced 6.5Mct of diamonds from around 10Mt of ore in 2012, which accounted for about 70% of Angola’s total diamond output. The open-pit currently operating at a depth exceeding 200m is schedule

For those who don't have the software but would like exposure to mine design and scheduling, and fully understand the life of mine cycle. The courses are presented at the university of Pretoria, 10 to 14 December. CPD points also awarded for professionally registered persons. Kindly visit our website for course details: "www.schoolofrockmining.com/upcoming-course-details"

Some ores occur in nature as mixtures of discrete mineral particles, such as gold in gravel beds and streams and diamonds in mines. These mixtures require little or no crushing, since the valuables are recoverable using other techniques (breaking up placer material in log washers, for instance). Most ores, however, are made up of hard, tough rock masses that must be crushed before the valuable minerals can be released. In order to produce a crushed material suitable for use as mill feed (100 percent of the pieces must be less than 10 to 14 millimetres, or 0.4 to 0.6 inch, in diameter), crushing is done in stages. In the primary stage, the devices used are mostly jaw crushers with openings as

The D11 series is the largest bulldozers from Caterpillar, and ranks as the third largest bulldozer in the world. It has a displacement of 32L of the Cat C32 ACERT diesel engine. It has a fuel tank capacity of 1609 liters, forward (3-speed) of 7.3 km/h, and reverse (3-speed) of 8.7 km/h. The D11's Technical Data: * Maximum power: 698kW (950 hp) / 1800rpm * Working weight: 113 tons - Mega Machines.

After starting an overhand stope the shape in which the back is carried is often of prime importance. Position A in the figure illustrates the method of carrying a flat or longitudinal back (the term long-wall is used sometimes when the vein lies nearly flat). In this method the benches or breasts are frequently made of a height sufficient to allow of a square set being placed. This is done at Butte and it is often referred to as breast stoping - 911 Metallurgist.

Apatite is the name of a group of phosphate minerals with similar chemical compositions and physical properties. They are an important constituent of phosphorite, a rock mined for its phosphorus content and used to make fertilizers, acids, and chemicals. Apatite has a relatively consistent hardness and serves as the index mineral for a hardness of five in the Mohs Hardness Scale. Specimens with excellent clarity and color are sometimes cut as faceted gemstones. Those with good color and translucence are cut as cabochons - "Geology.com"

Venetia diamond mine located 80km from Musina in Limpopo Province of South Africa ranks as the world’s sixth largest diamond mine. Venetia’s diamond reserves as of December 2012 stood at more than 102Mct. The open pit reserves are estimated to be 32.8Mct (33.6Mt grading 0.975ct/t diamond) and the underground diamond reserves are estimated at 70Mct (91.4Mt grading 0.765ct/t diamond). Venetia is the largest diamond producing mine in South Africa. It produced 3.066Mct of diamonds from 5.618Mt of ore in 2012. The deposit comprises of 12 kimberlite pipes. The mine is owned and operated by De Beers and has been in production since 1992. The open-pit operation is expected to continue up to 2021, af

This process is used for the concentration of particles that have sufficiently different colours (the best contrast being black and white) to be detected by the naked eye. In addition, electro-optic detectors collect data on the responses of minerals when exposed to infrared, visible, and ultraviolet light. The same principle, only using gamma radiation, is called radiometric separation - Encyclopaedia Britannica.

Ranked as the 4th largest bulldozer, the latest version of D475A-5SD uses KOMATSU's SAA12V140E-3 12-cylinder engine, with a fuel tank capacity 1670 liters. The D475's main technical data: * Maximum power: 671kW (913 hp) / 2000rpm * Working weight: 113 tons - Mega Machines.

The figure below shows various methods of working the back in overhand stoping. To start the stope, if the ore is low grade and timber is scarce, a pillar or pillars are left above the level as shown in A, and if the ore is high grade it is all removed above the level and stulls are placed as shown at B. To start a stope as shown at B, a cutting out or lead stope is broken immediately above the level as shown at D. C is a wide raise or raise stope, which is one method of opening an overhand stope, and E is a drift stope, which is a term used in the Lake Superior copper mines and means a wide and high drift as a start for the overhand stoping - 911 Metallurgist.

Anhydrite is an evaporite mineral that occurs in extensive layered deposits in sedimentary basins where large volumes of sea water have been evaporated. It is typically interbedded with halite, gypsum, and limestone in accumulations that can be up to hundreds of feet thick. On a much smaller scale, anhydrite can form in shoreline or tidal flat sediments from the evaporation of sea water. Anhydrite also occurs as a vein-filling mineral in hydrothermal deposits. It is deposited from solution, often along with calcite and halite, as gangue in sulfide mineral deposits. Anhydrite is also found in the cap rock of salt domes and in cavities of trap rock - "Gelogy.com"

Grib diamond mine is Russia’s fourth largest and world’s seventh largest diamond mine. The estimated diamond reserve of the mine exceeds 98Mct. The mine was being developed by Russian oil company Lukoil through its diamond-mining subsidiary Arkhangelskgeoldobycha (AGD). The mine is extracting the Grib pipe situated at Verkhotina in the Arkhangelsk region of north-western Russia. Diamond mining at Grib commenced in 2014. The annual diamond production at Grib at that time was anticipated to be 4Mct. The mine is planned to go underground after 16 years of open-pit operation. The mine was sold to a Russian investment group Otkritie Holdings for $1.45 billion during the first quarter of 2017 - "M

The electrostatic method separates particles of different electrical charges and, when possible, of different sizes. When particles of different polarity are brought into an electrical field, they follow different motion trajectories and can be caught separately. Electrostatic separation is used in all plants that process heavy mineral sands bearing zircon, rutile, and monazite. In addition, the cleaning of special iron ore and cassiterite concentrates as well as the separation of cassiterite-scheelite ores are conducted by electrostatic methods - Encyclopaedia Britannica.

Ranking at number 5, the T-800 reigned from Russia’s Qieliyabin Minsk tractor production plant. It featured a hydraulic – mechanical transmission, and was equipped with a 6-cylinder turbocharged diesel engine — 6DM-21T. It had four forward and 2 reverse gears, and its main application was to move frozen soil and other serious mining materials. Unfortunately, there were only 8 units produced of this model. The T-800 main technical data was: * Maximum power: 603kW (820 hp) / 1500rpm * Working weight: 106 tons - Mega Machines.

The method of underhand stoping in which the ore is drawn to the level above (Position B in the figure below), is called Cornish stoping. It finds application only when it is necessary to mine a lens of good ore below a level and it is not practicable or financially possible to do the necessary development to come up from underneath. Its disadvantages are the excessive cost of raising both ore and water. Underhand stoping where the ore is drawn from the bottom (Position A in the figure below), has more merit than is usually accorded it, especially in the Western States. On the Rand it has been used almost exclusively - 911 Metallurgist.