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Vol.

11

No. 3

MONTHLY

October - 2009

EDITORIAL BOARD
Shri V.D. Rajagopal Prof. Dr. - Ing M.A. Ramlu Prof. Sushil Bhandari Shri S.V. Satyanarayana Shri B.K. Mohanty Shri Dipesh Dipu Shri Suresh Chandra Dr. A.K. Raina Dr. K.K. Sharma Chairman Member
News from the Mining World Editorial

CONTENTS
05 06 07 33 38

Member Member Member Member Member Member Member


1. From President's Desk MEAI News Conferences, Seminars, Workshops etc.,

TECHNICAL PAPERS
Comments on Draft - Mines and Minerals (Scientific Development and Regulation) Act, 2009 2. V.D. Rajagopal 16 14

Shri A. Sangameswara Rao Member (A.S. Rao)

EDITOR
Dr. K.K. Sharma (Tel : 040 - 23517205)

Estimation of reserves using Voxel modelling technique Mrinmoy Chakraborty & S. Karunakar Rao

3.

Manning best practice in Australia Stephen Williams, Mani Rajagopalan, Bronwyn Meadows Smith & Nicola Farrell

20

PUBLISHER
Shri A. Sangameswara Rao (A.S. Rao) Secretary General, Mining Engineers' Association of India

4.

Downtime analysis of mining equipment M.E. Michael Arputharaj

29

Correspondence Address
Secretary General, Mining Engineers' Association of India 'A' Block, VI Floor, F-608, Raghavaratna Towers, Chirag Ali Lane, Abids, Hyderabad - 500 001. Ph. : No. 040 - 23200510, Telefax : 040 - 66460479 E-mail : meai1957@gmail.com Website : www.meai.in
The Views expressed by the authors in these pages are not necessarily those of publisher / editor / MEAI. Reproduction in whole or in part is strictly

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Mining Engineers' Journal

October 2009

MINING ENGINEERS' ASSOCIATION OF INDIA


Regd. Office : Rungta House, Barbil (Orissa)
National Head Quarters & : Permanent Secretariat

Chapter
Ahmedabad Barajamda Bailadila Bangalore Belgaum Bellary-Hospet Bhubaneswar Goa

Chairman
R.L. Bhatt Arun Misra A.K. Gupta R.H. Sawkar M.P. Itnal D.Y. Mane S.R. Singh K.D. Kulkarni Arun Sharma A. Shivashanker C.V. Singh V.S. Mathur Prof. B.B. Dhar A.K.Kothari Rajoo Joshi P.V. Krishna Yadav Dr. Vinod P. Sinha Dr. L. Ajay Kumar N.K. Nuwal

Secretary
S.G. Patel Shailesh Verma K.K. Basu D.R. Veeranna Dr.P.T.Hanamgond Nagesh Shenoy J.K. Hota Kishore B. Haldankar R.K. Sharma A. Kundu P.R. Dave M. K. Prasher D.K. Chawla Dr. S.S. Rathore P.Y. Dhekne S. Ramamoorthy H. Behera K.B. Thondaiman Shiva Moorthy Swamy

LIFE INSTITUTIONAL MEMBERS


Aarvee Associates, Architects, Engineers & Consultants Pvt. Ltd. (LIM-049) 8-3-833/50, Phase-I, Kamlapuri Colony, Hyderabad-73. ACC Ltd (LIM - 25) Raw Materials & Mines Planning Division, ACC Thane Complex, LBS Marg, Thane - 400 604. (Maharashtra) A.P. Mineral Dev. Corp.Ltd., (LIM-12) Pancom Business Centre 2nd & 3rd Floors, 8-3-945, Ameerpet, Hyderabad - 16, A.P. Aravali Minerals & Chemical Industries (P) Ltd. (LM-048) B-132, Mewar Industrial Pvt. Ltd., Madri, Udaipur - 313 003. Associated Mining Co., (LIM-19) Nanak House, Narmada Nagar, Bilaspur - 495 001., Chhattisgarh Associated Soapstone Distributing Co. (P) Ltd. (LM-057) 24, Akashwavi Marg, Post Box No. 3, Udaipur - 313 003. Bharat Alloys & Energy Ltd., (LIM-36) 6-2-913/914, 3rd Floor, Progressive Towers, Khairatabad, Hyderabad - 500 004. M/s Designer Rocks (P) Ltd., (LIM-32) # 201, Archana Apartments, Behind Shoppers Stop, Begumpet, Hyderabad-05. Grasim Industries Ltd., (LIM-26) 202 & 203, 2nd Floor, May Fair, S.P. Road, Secunderabad - 500 003. Gujarat Ambuja Cements Ltd., (LIM-3) Ambuja Nagar, Kodinar (Taluk) Junagadh (Dist.), Gujarat - 362 715 Gujarat Heavy Chemicals Ltd., (LIM-6) Prakash Complex (P.O), Bomno. 28, Veraval - 362 265. Gujarat Gujarat Mineral Dev. Copr Ltd. (LIM-18) Kanij Bhavan, 132 Ft. Ring Road, University Ground, Vastrapur, Ahmedabad - 52. Gujarat Sidhee Cements Ltd., (LIM-4) Regd. Office, Sidheegram (P.O), Veraval-Kodinar Highway, Tal : Veraval, Dist. Junagadh, Gujarat Gulf Oil Corporation Ltd. (LIM-9) (Formerly IDL Industries Limited.) Kukatpally, Post Box No.1, Sanathnagar (IE) P.O. Hyderabad - 500 018. A.P. India Cements Ltd. (LIM-16) Sankarnagar (P.O) Tirunelveli - 627 357. T.N Indian Rare Earths Ltd., (LIM-35) Plot No. 1207, Veer Savarkar Marg, Prabhadevi, Mumbai - 400 028. J.K. Cement Works Ltd (LIM - 058) Kailash Nagar, Nimbahera, Dist. Chittargarh (Rajasthan) Jubilee Granites India Pvt. Ltd., (LIM-23) EGA Trade Centre, No. 6C, 6th Floor, New No. 318 (Old No. 809), Poonamallee Highroad, Kilapauk, Chennai - 600 010. Kariganur Mineral Mining Industry (LIM-41) Embitee Complex, Bellary Road, Hospet - 583201. Kirloskar Ferrous Industries Ltd., (LIM-33) Bevinahalli 583 234, Dist. Koppal (Karnataka) Krishna Mines (LIM-27) 23, Sri Puram, Tirunelveli - 627 001. Tamilnadu Madras Cements Ltd., (LIM-17) Ramasamyraja Nagar, Kamarajar (Dist.) - 626 204, Tamilnadu. Manganese Ore (India) Ltd., (LIM-37) (A Govt. undertaking) 3, Mount Road Extension, P.B. No. 34, Nagpur - 440 001. (Maharashtra) M.P.L. Parts & Services Ltd., (LIM-14) 12, Dr. Nair Rd., T. Nagar Chennai - 600 017. Tamilnadu. MSPL Limited (LIM-30) Baldota Enclave, Abheraj Baldota Road, Hospet - 583 203 (Karnataka) Mysore Minerals Limited (LIM-45) #39, M.G. Road, Bangalore - 560 001. National Aluminium Co. Ltd, (LIM-1) 'NALCO Bhavan' P/1, Nayapalli, Bhubaneswar - 751 013 NMDC Ltd., (LIM-20) 10-3-311/A, Castle Hills, Khanij Bhavan, Masab Tank, Hyderabad - 500 028. Contd. on page 3

Shri V.D. Rajagopal


MEAI - President 98491 22817, 94408 17700 Vice Presidents : Dr. S.K. Sarangi - 94370 23134 Shri A. Bagchhi - 99899 98600 Shri T. Victor - 98221 23498 Secretary General : Shri A. Sangameswara Rao - 98498 70397 (A.S. Rao) Jt. Secy & Treasurer : Shri Koneru Venkateswara Rao - 92987 59625 COUNCIL MEMBERS EX - OFFICIO

Himalayan Hyderabad Jabalpur Jodhpur Nagpur New Delhi Rajasthan Raipur Rayalaseema Sukinda Tamil Nadu Veraval-Porbandar

PAST PRESIDENTS & SECRETARIES


Period President Secretary/Secretary General Mining Engineers' Association B.L. Verma Late B.N. Kanwar N.S. Claire Late R.C. B. Srivastava L.A. Hill Late S. Chandra Late H.L. Chopra M.G. Jhingran S.S. Manjrekar V.S. Rao Late R.C.B. Srivastava M.G. Jhingsan R.K. Gandhi B. Roy Chowdhury I.N. Marwaha D.D. Sharan Late R.S. Sastry M.S. Vig G.L. Tandon K.K. Biran Mining Engineers' Association of India G.L. Tandon K.K. Biran D.L. Patni A.K. Basu R.C. Mohanty Late S.K. De M.K. Batra R.C. Dutta D.K. Bose S.B. Mukherjee P.R. Merh M.K. Srivastava V.S. Rao L.S. Sinha M.A.Khan D.K. Sen Saligram Singh A. Panigrahi M. Fasihuddin B. Mishra K.K. Biran S. Chandrasekaran N.S. Malliwal Dr. P.V. Rao T.V. Chowdary CLVR Anjaneyulu (S.G.) -do-doR.N. Singh -doMeda Venkataiah -doR.P. Gupta CLVR Anjaneyulu & A.S. Rao

IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT Shri R.P. Gupta - 93529 50025


PAST PRESIDENTS Shri Meda Venkataiah - 99002 56797 Shri R.N. Singh - 98190 89120 Shri T.V. Chowdary - 99493 59969 ELECTED Prof. Sushil Bhandari - 98296 71949 Shri Y.C. Gupta - 94142 34746 Shri C.S. Dhaveji - 94220 63909 Shri M. James - 94442 89405 Shri Santosh K Pattanayak - 99370 53927 Prof. Gurdeep Singh - 0326-2206372 Shri S. Chandrasekaran - 94433 91000 Shri B.R.V. Susheel Kumar - 98480 94373 Shri D.L. Choudhury Shri K. Madhusudhana - 99002 56759 Shri M. Srinivasa Shetty Shri K.U. Rao - 98491 77677 Shri M.C. Thomas - 93345 11343 Dr. T.N. Venugopal - 98452 17692 Shri P. Dharma Rao - 040-23396691 NOMINATED MEMBERS Shri. B. Ramesh Kumar - 98480 99868 Shri S.N. Mathur - 94273 08502 Shri V. Lakshmi Narayana - 94402 79811 Shri C.P. Parihar - 98874 82007 Shri Sohan Singh Rathore - 94141 59605

1957-64 1964-67 1967-68 1968-69 1969-70 1970-71 1971-72 1972-73 1973-75 1975-76

1975-76 1976-78 1978-80 1980-81 1981-82 1982-84 1984-86 1986-88 1988-90 1990-93 1993-95 1995-97 1997-99 1999-2001 2001-2003 2003-2007 2007-2009

Mining Engineers' Journal

October 2009

Contd. from page 2

EDITORIAL
Edelweiss (a financial services company) has predicted in a report that the Indian mining industry is likely to touch $30 billion by the end of 2012 fiscal as the country has significant amounts of natural resources and should develop as a world class mining industry. India has vast mineral resources, globally it is the largest producer of sheet mica, 3rd largest producer of coal, 4th largest producer of iron ore and 5th largest producer of bauxite. No doubt that mining companies have been affected by the global economic slowdown but analysts feel the economy is going to pick up and will provide many opportunities in the years to come. However the report has also emphasized the need to bring in a more conducive regulatory framework and attract further investment in exploration, mine development and infrastructure in order to extract the full potential of the industry. The present mining sectors contribution to the countrys GDP is only 3% of the total, however the ministry proposes to take it to 9% in near future. The secretary of Federation of Indian Mineral Industries B. Prasad said, Despite the presence of large mineral deposits, mining companies continue to face many hurdles as high risk and size of the capital required is not available in India. Thus, most of the deposits so far are chance discoveries. This category of minerals will require latest and state-of-the-art technology for exploration. Govt. of India has already approved the National Mineral Policy in March 2008, which should facilitate the foreign direct investment (FDI) in the sector. The Union Cabinet has also approved the setting up of an independent dispute resolution tribunal to be known as the Mining Administrative Appellate Tribunal. As per the new mineral policy, zero waste mining will be the national goal and improved and latest technology available will be adopted for exploration of minerals. According to Steel Minister Shri Virbhadra Singh, Indian steel industry has shown a remarkable degree of resilience from its inherent strength of cost competitiveness and also due to the stimulus announced in the last 8-10 months. As a result it moved to third position in the world steel production, after China and Japan during the first five months of 2009. While addressing the 3rd. Steel Summit organized by the ASSOCHAM, he said that due to various timely stimulus measures adopted by the Govt., the steel industry in India came out of the shadows of the economic slowdown and recorded a growth of nearly 3% in January to March quarter of 2009, followed by 5.3% increase in steel consumption and 3.4% growth in steel production during Q-1 of current fiscal. This performance has put the steel sector of the country as one of the best in the world. A condolence meeting was organized for the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Late Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy in MEAI Head Office on 06-09-09 at 11:30 hrs. which was chaired by Shri V.D. Rajagopal, President MEAI. Glowing tributes were paid to Late Dr. Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy by several members and the following resolution was read by the President, which was unanimously passed. The members of the Mining Engineers Association of India place on record their profound sense of sorrow at the sudden and untimely sad demise of Dr.Y.S.Rajasekhara Reddy, the most dynamic Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh and dearest to the entire mining community on 02-09-2009. The members of MEAI pray for the peace of the departed soul and convey their deep and heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family and pray to the Almighty God to give strength and courage to the bereaved family to bear this irreparable loss. It was also resolved that a copy of the Resolution be delivered to the members of the bereaved family. MEJ extends Deepawali greetings to all MEAI members, subscribers, readers and their families.

LIFE INSTITUTIONAL MEMBERS


Obulapuram Mining Co. (P) Ltd. (LIM-54) (Mine located in A.P.), Off.: Ennoble House, Raghavachari Road, Bellary, (Karnataka) Panduronga - Timblo Industries (LIM-056) Subhash Timblo Bhavan, P.O. Box No. 242, MARGAO-403601, GOA. Pearl Minerals Ltd., (LIM-39) R.L. Puram, Chimakurthy Mandal, Prakasham Dist. - 523 226. (A.P.) Priyadarshini Cement Ltd., (LIM-5) No. 34, Green Tower, Srinagar Colony, Hyderabad-73. Radials International (LIM-29) 80/1, Block-II, W.H.S., Kirti Nagar, New Delhi - 110 015, Rajgarhia Group of Industries (LIM - 050) H-279, Udyog Vihar, Sukher, Udaipur - 313 004 (Rajasthan) R.K. Marbles Pvt. Ltd., (LIM - 52) 17, Old Fatehpura, Near Seva Mandir, Udaipur - 313 101, Rajasthan. Rajasthan State Mines & Minerals (LIM-053) CA Govt. of Rajasthan Enterprise) 4, Meera Marg, Udaipur - 313 004 (Rajasthan) Sandvik Asia Limited (LIM-46) Mumbai - Pune Road, Pune - 411 012. Sesa Goa Ltd., (LIM-11) Sesa Ghor 20, EDC Complex, Patto, Panjim, GOA - 403 001. Shree Cement Ltd. (LIM-051) Bangur Nagar, P.B. No. 33, Beawar - 305 901. (Rajasthan) Shri Sharda Cold Retreads (P) Ltd., (LIM-24) 15 & 16, Industrial Area Korba, Chhattisgarh. Shree Engineering Services (LIM-15) 7, Naveen Bazar, Raipur - 492 001. Sagar Cements Ltd., (LIM-21) 8-2-472/B/2, Rd. No.1, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad - 500 034. South India Mines & Minerals Industries (LIM-2) 315, Narayana Nagar, Sankaranagar (P.O) - 627 357 Tamilnadu. South West Mining Ltd. (LIM-40) Vidya Nagar (Toranagallu) Dist. Bellary (Karnataka) 583 275. Sri Kumarswamy Mineral Exports (LIM-43) No. 87, S.V. Colony, Club Road, Bellary (Karnataka) Sudarshan Group of Industries (LIM-047) 425 Sector 11, Hiran Magri, Udaipur (Rajasthan) - 313 002. Tata Chemicals Ltd., (LIM-7) Mithapur, Okhamandal, Gujarat - 361 345. Tata Iron & Steel Co, Ltd (LIM-8) Mines Division, Noamundi - 833 217 Singhbhum (West) Jharkhand. Terra Reserves Determination Technologies (P) Ltd., (LIM-055) (A member of Terra World Holdings) Plot No. 15, Madhuvan Enclave, Street No.4, Habsiguda, Hyderabad - 500 007. The K.C.P. Ltd., (LIM-22) Macherla - 522 426, Guntur Dist. A.P. Thriveni Earthmovers (P) Ltd., (LIM-31) 22/110, Greenway Road, Fairlands, Salem (TN) 636016. Tungabhadra Minerals Pvt. Ltd. (LIM-42) #322/3, 2nd Floor, Sree Sapthagiri Enclave, College Road, Hospet - 583201 (Karnataka) UltraTech Cement Ltd., A.P. Cement Works, (LIM-28) Bhogasamudram (Vill.) Tadpatri (Mandal) Anantapur Dist., A.P. Ultra Tech Cement Ltd. (LIM-10) Unit - Narmada Cement - Jafarabad Works, P.B. No. 10, Jafarabad - 365 540. Dist. Amreli, Gujarat. Veerabhadrappa Sangappa & Company (LIM-44) # 2/138, Bellary Road, Sandur, Dist. Bellary (Karnataka) V. Thirupathi Naidu (LIM-34) Railway & PWD Contractor, Basaveshwara Badavane, College Road, Hospet - 583 201. VS Lad & Sons (LIM-38) Prashant Nivas, Krishnanagar, Sandur (Dist. Bellary) - 583 119, Karnataka W.B. Engineers International Pvt. Ltd., (LIM-13) C-22, Liberty Society, North Main Road, Koregaon Park, Pune - 411 001.

(Dr. K.K. SHARMA)


5 October 2009

Mining Engineers' Journal

NEWS FROM THE MINING WORLD


IRON & Steel

Global steel markets may recover in 2010 The experts of World Steel Association forecast demand for steel resumption in the second half of 2009 and the demand growth in 2010. CEO of World Steel Ian Christmas said, The market will recover but this growth will be weak and I can not say how fast the recovery will be. In 2010 the consumption growth is expected only in the BRIC countries, some Middle East countries like Iran and Iraq, Turkey, North Africa and some countries of the ASEAN and Latin America. In big consuming regions such as EU and NAFTA, the consumption at the level of 2009 or even fall is forecast World Steel consumption Dynamics (m.t.)

companies. Steel Minister Shri Virbhadra Singh said, Iron ore is a key input in steel making. Iron ore should be conserved for the domestic consumption. Iron ore exports should be encouraged only in value added form and that too in a limited quantity. The government will ensure that reserves of iron ore are made available to domestic steel makers at reasonable prices.

2009 1120

2007 1200

2008 1179

2009 E 2010 F 1020 1070 E-Estimation F- Forecast

NMDC to sell iron ore 33-45% cheaper to Japanese mills NMDC Ltd. signed contracts to supply iron ore to Japanese steel mills at prices between 33% and 45% lower than a year earlier. The new rates will be applicable for the entire fiscal year that began April 1, as told by Shri S. Venkatesan, NMDC, Director (Production). As per the new term contract, NMDC will charge $71.60/t for lumps and $61.60/t for fines. The company will export 3.4 m.t. of iron ore to Japan in this fiscal year. ArcelorMittals Rs. 40,000 crore project put on hold for 2 years ArcelorMittal has put on hold its proposed Rs. 40,000 crore steel plant in Orissas Keonjhar district for atleast two years, as the global demand for steel is stagnating. However, the company will go ahead with its plans in Jharkhand, and has secured iron ore mines and coal linkages to the project. An e-mail reply to Business Standard said that the company was not expecting its projects in India to start before 2014. The e-mailed reply said, We have paused our growth projects at present for obvious reasons. The projects in India are greenfield ones that have considerable lead time, as they involve land acquisition, environmental concerns, etc. But we remain committed to our investment in India. Essar buys SPS steel assets for Rs. 600 crore Essar Steel Ltd acquired Pune based Shree Precoated Steel Ltds steel business assets for Rs. 600 crore and also took over its debt of Rs. 175 crore to become the countrys largest colour coated steel producer. The company will have an annual capacity of 0.4 m.t. and largest cold roller mill with an annual capacity of 2 m.t. Essar Steels CEO, Shri Jatinder Mehra said, We have planned to increase the total steel production of the Hazira plant from 4.5 m.t. to 9.6 m.t. in this fiscal. The acquisition of Shree Precoated Steels business would help us to expand our foot print in all segments of steel production, such as colour coated steel and galvanizing line. Building of $4 bn steel plant in Brazil by Wisco As reported in Metal Bulletin (MB) report, Wuhan Iron & Steel (WISCO) of China proposes to build a steel plant (Continued on page 8)

Decline in iron ore exports from Karnataka According to Simpson, Spence & Young report, iron ore and mineral exports from Karnataka declined by 50% in 2008-09 owing to 60% decline in global market prices since September 2008. For the period April February 2008-09, Karnataka iron ore and minerals export including granite amounted to Rs. 5016.1 crore against Rs. 10,197 crore export earnings in 2007-08. Indian steel production recovers in June- Secretary Steel During 3rd Steel Summit organized by ASSOCHAM the steel secretary Shri P.K. Rastogi said, In the month of April 2009, domestic steel production grew by 3.7% which fell to 1.1% in the month of May 2009. However, the growth rate increased to 5.3% in the month of June and is an indicator that henceforth it would continue to grow. Average growth rate of steel production between April to June 2009 works out at 3.4%. He also said, As regards to steel consumption in the month of April, the growth in steel consumption grew by 0.1% as against 7.5% in May 2009 which came down to 3.8% in the month of June. In April to June, the steel consumption recorded a growth rate of 5%. He added, Steel imports grew at 21% in the month of April 2009 which fell by 23% in June 2009 in which India imported 0.5 m.t. of steel. Steel ministry wants curbs on iron ore exports The Steel Ministry is in favour of restricting iron ore exports to China, South Korea and Japan to ensure availability of the raw material to domestic steel 6

Mining Engineers' Journal

October 2009

V.D. RAJAGOPAL
M.Sc., B.L.

President

MINING ENGINEERS' ASSOCIATION OF INDIA F-608, Raghavaratna Towers, ('A' Block), Chirag Ali Lane, Abids, Hyderabad - 500 001.

From the Presidents Desk


Dear Members, I would like to share with you my deep sense of grief on the sudden demise of one of the most beloved leaders of free India. Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, who met with a ghastly fatal helicopter accident on 02.09.2009, was a sweet and affectionate person who rose from a simple beginning to become a great leader of the masses. A doctor by profession, he entered politics and was elected to the State Assembly and also to the Parliament. The crowning glory of his spangled political career came when he was chosen the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh on 14.05.2004. Dr.Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy was an astute politician and a charismatic mass leader who carved for himself a niche in the State and Center politics by his exemplary devotion and dedication to the upliftment of the downtrodden and neglected segments of the society. He always struggled to secure the rights and fulfill the aspirations of the poor. During his 31 year long political career he served the people in multiple capacities, both in the Government as well as in the Congress Party. He held important ministerial portfolios related to Rural Development, Health, Education etcetera. While he was the Leader of Opposition in the eleventh state assembly, he undertook the historical PADAYATRA, which endeared him to the people of all classes in the entire State. With his quintessence of a politician he had his vision focused on the present and the future generations as well. On the agriculture front, he pioneered and successfully introduced free Electric supply to the farmer community. Several irrigation projects were grounded by him as part of the JALAYAGNAM. His innovative AAROGYA SREE Programme provided free medical aid to the poor who could not afford the high costs. The Old Age Pension Scheme gave the much needed relief to the old and infirm. Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy took keen interest in the mineral field also from his early days. He was one of the pioneers to develop the Mangampet Barytes deposit which is now the largest single mine in the world. Being a Mining Entrepreneur, he was the first to recognize the potential in the Bauxite Deposits of Visakhapatnam and East Godavari Districts and was instrumental in attracting about Rs.40,000 crore in the Alumina and Aluminium Industry coming up in the area. Dr. Reddy recognized the importance of extracting Titanium from the Beach Sands of East Coast involving an investment of Rs. 4,000 crore. The Bauxite and the Beach Sand projects are expected to contribute significantly to the socio - economic advancement of the tribal people and the coast based communities. Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy took personal interest to initiate mining and beneficiation of low grade iron ore deposits of Kadapa, Kurnool, Anantapur and Chittoor districts of A.P. which resulted in the formation of a Joint Venture between the A.P Mineral Development Corporation and the National Mineral Development Corporation, envisaging an investment of Rs. 1,000 crore. Dr. Reddy was impressed with the activities of the Mining Engineers Association of India by gracing the Seminar on Technology Upgradation in Geology and Mining conducted at Hyderabad on 2nd and 3rd October 2005. His contribution to the growth of mineral based industries in the State of A.P. is significant. He will be remembered, forever, for his commitment to the development of the State, in particular and the country in general and service to the people. His legacy will continue to inspire all in the generations to come. Perhaps, he was the only politician in India who possessed the true winning smile. We are truly and honestly saddened to have lost that WINNING SMILE forever. Sincerely yours,

(V.D.Rajagopal) Mining Engineers' Journal 7 October 2009

(Continued from page 6) in Rio de Janeiro state (Brazil), which will be located in the Acu Super Port Industrial district. The estimated investment is likely to be $4 billion. Company SAIL RINL Tata Steel Essar Steel JSW Steel JSPL Ispat Industries Bhushan Power & Steel Bhushan Steel Ltd. Others + Secondary Steel Total Existing 12.84 2.90 6.80 4.60 6.90 2.40 3.00 1.20 Brownfield 12.00 3.40 3.20 3.90 4.10 4.80 2.00 0.00

(in million tonnes) Greenfield 0.00 0.00 3.00 6.00 0.00 3.25 0.00 2.80 Total 24.84 6.30 13.00 14.50 11.00 10.45 5.00 4.00

China produced 267m.t. crude steel in H-1 According to the data released by the State Statistics Bureau China produced 258.8 m.t. of pig iron, 266.58 m.t. of crude steel and 316.48 m.t. of steel products in first half (H-1) of the year. In June 2009 alone, the production of these products were 48.9253 m.t., 49.3891 m.t. and 62.1399 m.t. respectively which was a record. Average daily production of crude steel, in particular, posted a record high of 1.6463 m.t. in June 2009 comperated with 1.5648 m.t. for the same period in the previous year. Wuhan steel finalises iron ore deal with Centrex Metals of Australia As per Global Mining News report Chinese steel maker Wuhan Steel has finalized a deal with Australias Centrex Metals Ltd., for the development of iron ore resources in southern Australias Eyre Peninsula. Wuhan Steel will spend $175.6 million for a 15% stake in Centrex by means of placements and a 60% equity in the joint venture. With estimated reserve of iron ore over 2 b.t. grading about 30%Fe, the JV has a designed mining capacity of 20 m.t.p.a. over two phases in five years. OMC mulls long term raw material supply pacts with steel units Orissa Mining Corporation is exploring the possibility of entering into a long term raw material supply agreement with the steel players who have signed MoUs with the Orissa government in a move aimed at securing supplies of raw materials like iron ore and chrome ore for those companies. The secretary at Steel and Mines Department of Orissa Government Ashok Dalwai said, The steel projects in the stake are facing problems in getting raw material like iron ore even though 28 out of the 49 steel players, that had entered into MoUs with the State Government, have resumed partial production. India to reach 124 m.t. by 2011-12 - Minister Shri A Sai Prathap Indian Minister of State for Steel in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha informed National Steel Policy 2005 has projected Indias steel production capacity at 110 m.t. by 2019-20, however, based on the investment scenario in the steel sector, it has been further assessed that the steel production capacity in the country is likely to be 124.06 m.t. by the year 201112" He informed that the details of some of the major steel investments are as under 8

0.80 23.00 64.44

0.00 0.00 33.40

5.20 5.97 26.22

6.00 28.97 124.06

Posco proposes to set up 4.5 lakh tonne galvanized steel plant Posco is looking at fresh investment in India in addition to its proposed steel project in Orissa. The company proposes to set up a galvanized steel plant in western India with an annual production capacity of 4.5 lakh tonne to cash in on the opportunity offered by a booming automobile market in the country. The construction of the plant is expected to begin in September 2010 and become operational in 2012. Steel Ministry wants captive iron ore mines allotted faster The Steel Ministry has asked the Mines Ministry to adequately equip the empowered committee to accord prior approval for mineral concessions on behalf of the Central Government. In a letter, the Steel Ministry told the Mines Ministry that it is highly imperative that iron ore linkage in the form of captive mines be made available to the steel plants since a number of projects in the steel sector are getting delayed due to non-allotment of mines to them either due to dilatory tendencies of the state government or due to other reasons. October 2009

Mining Engineers' Journal

CHROMITE

Prospects for increasing chrome ore export prices by India According to Metal Bulletin Daily (MBD) report, India is likely to increase its chorme ore export prices for August 2009 amid a shortage and rising international ore pirces of ferro-chorme. Indias April July floor price was $200/t fob for friable chorme ore and $195/t fob for concentrates on 54% Cr2O3 basis. In the last 3 months, export prices of ferro-chrome have increased to 80-82 cents/lb. cfr from 58 cents, while the prices in the domestic market have increased to Rs. 50,000 ($1033)/ t from Rs. 43,000/t. For April July, there were no export of chrome ore from Orissa Mining Corporation, as floor prices were too low. JSL secures supplies with Turkish chrome mines JSL (earlier Jindal Stainless) has acquired chrome ore assets in Turkey. The acquired mines, at a cost of $6 million by JSL, will meet captive chrome ore requirements of the proposed stainless steel plant in Orissa and also serve the demand of Asian, European and American markets. JSL director (finance) Arvind Parekh said, Prices of ferro chrome have shot up in the last few weeks thereby making it imperative for companies to focus on raw material security. Chrome ore from Turkey will mainly be shipped to India for captive use and the surplus will be sold in open market. The total chrome ore reserve from 6-7 different locations could be more than 2 m.t. JSL has already started open cast mining in these blocks and would make additional investments in geophysical and geo-mapping to identify underground reserve which may be completed in 5-6 months. JSL is in the process of setting up 8-lakh tonne stainless steel project in Orissa which would almost double its total domestic capacity to 15 lakh tonne. Phase -1 of the project, which saw installation of ferro chrome and power plant, besides a coke oven plant is over and construction of stainless steel plant has begun. The plant would get commissioned by mid- 2012.

100,000 tpd of copper sulphides from the mine to the Chuquicamata refinery plants. The project, with an investment of $370 million, is 64% complete and is expected to be finished by May 2010. The project will extend the life of Radomir Tomic mine for another 20 years, but the Codelco said that mineral resources allow the unit to be operational for the next 50 years.

Investment by Chinese firm in Zambian copper projects According to Global Mining News report, Chinese firm proposes to invest about $3.6 billion in copper exploration and mining in Zambia, reflecting growting interest of China in the countrys mineral wealth, a senior investment official said. Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) spokeswomen Margaret Chimanse said Zambia and Zhonghui Mining Group signed an investment agreenment. The $3.6 billion will be invested by Zhonghui in the first five years from 2009 and it is likely to be increased depending on economic factors affecting the copper industry. Margaret Chimanse said that the Chinese firm also plans to construct a major copper smelter in Kitwe, 350 km. north of the capital Lusaka, and that exploration of minerals by Zhonghui in the north western and copper belt provinces of Zambia had already started.

BAUXITE

COPPER

Bauxite resources upgraded by Cape Alumina According to Metal Bulletin Daily (MBD) report, Cape Alumina has raised the bauxite resource on its proposed 7 m.t.p.a. Pisolite Hills project in Queensland, Australia by 30% to 130 m.t. The bauxite resource upgrade will form a pivotal component of the bankable feasibility study due to commence in September 2009, according to Cape Alumina. CEO of Cape Alumina, Paul Messenger said in a statement, We see potential for an initial 1215 year operation at Pisolite Hills at a target production rate of 7 m.t.p.a. There is a growing market for the resource as the bauxite is suitable as a blending feed for the new breed of low-temperature Bayer process refineries in China. Hindalco profit drops 31% Hindalco Industries of Aditya Birla has reported a 31% drop in its first quarter net profit, though better than market expectations. The company informed that its net profit in the April June period dipped to Rs. 480.56 crore, compared to Rs. 696.76 crore in the same period last year. Hindalcos revenue fell 16% to Rs. 3,899.49 crore in the same period.

Radomiro Tomic mine of Codelco to add 200,000 tpa of copper production Codelco proposes to develop a second expansion of its Radomiro Tomic mine, which would add 200,000 tpa of copper fines and 3000 tpa of molybdenum production in the near future. In order to achieve this, the copper producer in Chile will construct a 100,000-150,000 tpd concentration plant near the Radomiro Tomic sulphide deposit. This second phase of the project is possible following Codelco's recent discovery that resources in Radomiro Tomic reach around 6 m.t. with average copper grade of 0.4%. Codelco is developing this sulphide project which consists of extracting and transporting upto 9

GOLD

AP enters JV for gold exploration Andhra Pradesh is joining hands with NMDC Ltd. to October 2009

Mining Engineers' Journal

explore gold and iron ore deposits in the state. The State Government is planning a joint venture of AP Mineral Development Corporation and NMDC Ltd. on a 50:50 sharing basis. This was decided at a meeting reviewed by the Chief Minister Late Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, with the Union Minister of State for Steel, Shri A. Sai Prathap.

South Africa. Kiepersol is a mothballed, underground mine which produces mid-low volatile content thermal coal used mostly for power generation, the sources said. The mine was sold by a group of private shareholders to Jindal for an undisclosed price.

COAL

Tata Steel to start production of coal in Mozambique in 2011. As per News report of London Commodity, Tata Steel and its Australia based joint venture partner Riversdale will star t production at Bengal coal project in Mozambique in 2011. The first stage production will commence in 2011 whereas the second stage production of development is expected to start in 2014. The Bengal coal project is likely to yield over 20 m.t. of the dry fuel every year. Additional build up of 13.9 b.t. of coal reserves in India According to London Commodity News report, Indian Government has identified new coal deposits of an estimated 13,909 m.t. in the last three years. Minister for Coal Shri Sriprakash Jaiswal said that continuous exploration activities in the country have established additional resources for coal. The inventory of geological resources of Indian coals has risen by 13,909 m.t. due to establishment of additional coal resources. Out of 13,909 m.t., 3228 m.t. is from Orissa, 3074 m.t. from Chhattisgarh and 2814 m.t. from Jharkhand. The deposits in A.P., M.P. and Maharashtra are estimated to be 1,781 m.t., 1,223 m.t. and 1,078 m.t. respectively. Jindal to acquires Kiepersol coal mine of South Africa As per News report of London Commodity Jindal Steel & Power has bought the Kiepersol thermal coal mine in

Jharkhand coal idles because of no rail link Vast thermal coal reserves that can yield up to 100 m.t.p.a. are lying untapped in Jharkhand apparently due to absence of rail connectivity over a 100 km stretch. This is the position when the country is hunting for coal abroad to avert the probable power shortage. CMD of Central Coalfields Ltd. R.K. Saha told Business Line, Tori-Shibpur Hazaribagh rail connectivity was slated to be ready almost a decade ago for evacuation of coal from the rich North Karanpura coalfields. The Coal Ministry has already awarded 28 blocks with an estimated annual production capacity of 60 m.t. to captive users, mostly power utilities including NTPC. The rest, with an estimated production capacity of 40 m.t. was offered to Coal India Ltd. However, the rail connectivity project did not progress beyond the drawing board stage. According to him, the logistics shortcoming is severally affecting evacuation from CCLs mines in the area and holding up development of at least two large open-cast mines Magadh (20 m.t.) and Amrapali (12 m.t.) both linked to NTPCs proposed power plants at Tandwa (1,980 m.w.) in Jharkhand and Barh I (1,980 m.w) in Bihar.

Coal availability in the world Coal is required for electricity generation, steel production or conversion into liquid fuels. It is a fuel on which our society is largely dependent. The International Energy Outlook 2009 has revised the coal reserve position of the world. The current report states that coal consumption in the world will increase by 49% from 2006 to 2030, however last year's report stated 50% increase.

Proved coal reserves at the end of 2008 (million tonne) Country Anthracite & bituminous 108,950 49,088 62,200 36,800 54,000 Sub-bituminous & lignite 129,358 107,922 52,300 39,400 4,600 10 Total Share of total 0/0 28.9 19.0 13.9 9.2 7.1 R/Pratio

*
224 481 41 190 114 October 2009

USA Russian Federation China Australia India

238,308 157,010 114,500 76,200 58,600

Mining Engineers' Journal

Ukraine Kazakhstan South Africa Poland Brazil

15,351 28,710 32,408 6,012 -

18,522 3,130 1,490 7,059

33,873 31,300 30,408 7,502 7,059

4.1 3.8 3.7 0.9 0.9

438 273 121 52 >500

Source : BP Statistical Review of World Energy June/2009

* R.P. Ratio - if the reserves remaining at the end of the year are divided by the production in that year, the result is the length of time (in years) remaining reserves would last if production were to continue at that rate.

Govt. of India pushing for early tabling of coal reform bills The Government of India has speeded its plan for an independent regulator for the coal sector and to allow private entry into coal mining. Coal Minister Shri Sriprakash Jaiswal told Business Standard, A Bill will be made soon for setting up a coal regulator. Also, the Bill to allow private players to mine coal might be reintroduced in the next session of Parliament. It should happen in 4-6 months. But if Parliament sends the Bills to the standing committee, it might take longer. Coal Minister Calls meeting with states for coal block auctioning Coal Minister Shri Sriprakash Jaiswal convened a meeting of states to fine tune the policy to allocate coal and lignite blocks for captive use. But the Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI) and the domestic miners opposed the move saying it would lead to an increase in prices of the dry fuel. The minister had convened a meeting on August 10, 2009 to formulate a policy to amend the existing act through which coal and lignite blocks are allocated. Lump sum payment for coal auction The Coal Ministry is considering a proposal to opt for a lump sum payment route for auctioning coal blocks to private companies, instead of production and profit share system being followed in case of handing out oil or gas concession acreages, according to a note prepared by the coal ministry. According to the note, the bid amount will be realized in installments over 10 years. Bidders will be asked to make their offer above the floor price worked out on the basis of the governemnts estimate of coal reserves in a block. This is a transparent method. It will free the government from monitoring production 11

and sale that leaves scope for corruption. Otherwise an operator will sell 100 trucks and show only 50, Coal Minister Shri Sriprakash Jaiswal told to Times of India. When asked about a report that L.N. Mittal has complained about the delays in getting coal and iron ore mines for his Rs. 50,000 crore steel project each in Jharkhand and Orissa Shri Jaiswal said, We are coming out with a new policy for captive coal blocks, everyone will have to bid if they want coal blocks.

CIL invites foreign mining bids Navratna PSU Coal India has invited initial bids for selecting strategic partners for undertaking coal mining activities in foreign countries. Coal ministry notifies strict norms for underground gasification The Coal Ministry has notified stringent guidelines for carrying out underground coal gasification (UCG). Normative time ceilings have been announced to ensure that Syngas production from the captive block will commence within 36 months (42 months in case the area is in a forest land) from the date of issue of the latter of allocation. Any slippage in meeting the dead lines, unless previously agreed due to special reasons to be recorded in writing, may lead to the forfeiture of bank quarutees or / and allocation cancellation of the previous approval under section 5(1) of the Mines & Minerals Act, 1957 or mining lease. According to the World Energy Council and the coal ministry, there are about 52 m.t. of coal reserve for USG in the country. The coal ministry expects the UCG to be carried out through joint venture. Singareni seeks banker to fund Rs. 3000 crore plant. Singareni Collieries Company (SCCL) is in talks with a clutch of banks including SBI, SBH, Axis bank, IDBI and Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) to raise Rs. 2100 crore to part fund the state owned mining firms October 2009

Mining Engineers' Journal

investment in a 600 mega watt thermal power plant in the state. The project is estimated to cost over Rs. 3000 crore. While nearly three fourths will be funded through a bank loan, the balance will come from internal accruals, according to JV Dattatreyulu, director operations SCCL.

GRANITE

DIAMOND

NMDC resumes diamond mining in Panna Paving the way for domestic production of one lakh carat of rough diamonds, NMDCs diamond mine in M.P. has been re-opened by the Steel Minister Shri Virbhadra Singh. Panna diamond mines (at Ramkheria and Majhgawan) were commissioned in 1968-69. Ramkheria gravel deposit mine was exhausted and closed long back but the Majhgawan mine was lying idle since 2005 due to problems related to environmental clearance and approval of the adjoining Gangau wildlife sanctuary. NMDC intends to reach a mining capacity to produce 1,00,000 carats of diamonds in the next fiscal. The company has assured to comply with conditions laid down by the Supreme Court and other statutory authorities involved. Dull Indian diamond trade gets Chinese sparkle A number of Indian firms are busy setting up diamond processing units and retail outlets across China as they bet on Asian markets to more than make up for the drop in demand from traditionally large consumers, the US, Europe and Japan. Indian and non-resident Indian diamond businessmen are setting up retail shops in Shanghai, Beijing and urban areas of Southern China, says Pravin Sankar Pandya, Chairman Diamond India (DIL), an amalganmation of 58 Indian diamond merchants. According to him, the demand for polished diamond from China and other oriental markets such as Taiwan, Korea, Singapore and Hong kong will be at par with the US in another five years. Indias polished diamond exports were $4,666.25 million during April June 2009, almost 5% lower than the year ago figure, according to data published by Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council, the apex body of the countrys diamond industry. To sell diamonds in China, a company must set up processing units in that country, points out Sumit Shah, MD of Renaissance Jewellery. Like India, it offers cheap labour, and unlike India , it has modern processing equipment. Those who have set up shops there include Shrenuj & Co., Gitanjali Group and Sheetal Group. (China started sending persons in large number to India to learn cutting and polishing of diamonds long ago and now by providing facilities to Indian traders, the major part of industry may shift to China from India. Probably such facilities could be provided to the Indian traders in India also Editor) 12

Steep fall in granite exports Indian granite exports have declined 33% between 200607 and 2008-09. Its export revenues fell sharply in 200708. According to data provided by CAPEXIL, the value of granite export from India was Rs. 2738 crore in 200809, compared with Rs. 4086 crore in 2006-07. In 200708, the export value stood at Rs. 3367 crore. In terms of volume, the country exported 30 lakh tonnes of granite in 2008-09, compared with 31 lakh tonnes in 2006-07. In 2007-08, it was 34.12 lakh tonnes. The US market has fallen by about 80%, while the European market has fallen between 30-40%, said Shri R. Veeramani, Founder President, All India Granite and Stone Assocaition (AIGSA). About 85 90% of the total granite production in the country is for exports, he added. The export of polished granite blocks and slabs more than halved in 2008-09 at 2.75 lakh tonnes compared with 5.52 lakh tonnes in 2007, while in 2007-08 it was 4.13 lakh tonnes. Export revenue in this segment declined 51.9% - more than the sector as a whole to Rs. 862.63 crore in 2008-09 from Rs. 1791.98 crore in 200607. In 2007-08, it was Rs. 1332.56 crore.

OIL & NATURAL GAS

AP Government forms corporation for oil and gas exploration Andhra Pradesh government has formed a joint venture company AP Gas Infrastructure Corporation (APGIC) in association with AP Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) holding 51% stake and AP Generation Corporation (APGENCO) the remaining 49%. The joint venture is aimed at optimizing the utilization of oil and gas in the Krishna-Godavari basin and create employment potential in the state. The new company will also be involved in related fields in upstream, midstream and downstream activities in the oil and gas sector.

GENERAL

State Geological Programming Board Meeting A meeting of the State Geological Programming Board was conducted on 05-09-2009 at APMDC Conference Hall. Smt. Y. Srilakshmi, IAS, Secretary, Industries & Commerce, Govt. of A.P. was in the chair. At the outset Shri V.D. Rajagopal, Director, Dept. of Mines & Geology, Govt. of A.P. and MEAI President, welcomed the participants. The GSI, IBM, AMD, NMDC, APMDC, MECL and Rio Tinto and Debeers (MNC's) presented summaries of their works completed so far. Rungta mines plans cement plant in Orissa Iron ore mining firm Rungta Mines (RML) plans to setup a 1 m.t.p.a. cement plant in Orissa, with an investment October 2009

Mining Engineers' Journal

of around Rs. 600 crore, a top company executive said. RML is in talks with the Orissa government for allocation of limestone reserves to execute the cement project.

SC clears Rs. 5000 crore for forests The Supreme Court has given an order that raises hopes of rapid afforestation in the country by making available the key ingredient for it Money. The court directed a panel of experts to release Rs. 1000 crore every year for five years for reclaiming forest land devastated by mining and other industries. The Panel Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority, or Campa has collected about Rs. 11,000 core over five years from entities conducting non-forest work in forest areas. Spurred on by this order, the Ministry of Environment & Forests intends to increase the area under forest coverage from 19%, which has been for several years, to 33% which has been the target for half a century. Shri Jairam Ramesh Minister of State (independent charge) for Environment & Forest told to Business Standard, We will use this money to treble the pace of reforestation. After this order, money is not a problem. What we need to look at is management. We will need innovative management techniques to achieve this goal. Shri Siddharth Rungta elected as FIMI President Shri Siddarth Rungta, President, Rungta Mines Ltd., Chaibasa has been elected as President of Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI) in its 43rd Annual General Meeting on 18th August 2009. Bharat Refractories merged with SAIL Steel Authority of India Ltd. (SAIL) has taken over state owned Bharat Refractories (BRL) and merged it with the company. The merger is effective from April 1, 2007 with the approval of the ministry of corporate affairs, a company official said. BRL makes high temperature bearing refractory materials used in inner linings of blast furnaces. The merger will help SAIL to utilize the excess capacity of BRL for its present and future requirement of refractories. Already SAIL consumes about 85% to 90% of BRLs production. No selling of surplus coal from captive blocks Steel, power and cement companies may not be able to earn profit by selling surplus coal from their captive blocks as per a policy being worked out in the coal ministry. Over 200 coal blocks with reserves of over 40 billion tonne have been allocated to various public and private sector companies. As per current guidelines, 13

surplus coal generated by a captive block has to be transferred to the nearest CIL subsidiary. The price to be paid for the surplus is determined by the coal controller on case to-case basis. The countrys coal production has reached close to 500 m.t. in 2008-09. Companies may have to sell surplus coal below 20% of the government-determined price. The government determined price of coal is already between 40 50% lower than the market rates.

5th longest tunnel in the world being driven in A.P. Srisailam Left Bank Canal Tunnel of Alimineti Madhava Reddy Project envisages carrying 113.28 cumecs of water from Srisailam reservoir to the plains of Nalgonda district (A.P.) through Tunnel-1 about 43.9 km. long. Since the proposed alignment of tunnel passes through R.F. of 'Wild Life Sancuary Project Tiger' therefore in order to save environment, and wild life, the work of Tunnel-1 is to be executed by Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) from both ends. No blasting is to be done. The first TBM from outlet end of Tunnel - 1, was commissioned by Hon'ble Chief Minister Late Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy on 2403-2008. This project once commissioned shall provide 30 TMC water for drinking as well as for irrigation potential of 3 lakh acres. The Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) Tunnel Project is the 5th longest tunnel in the world with 10m. excavated diameter and 9.2m. finished diameter with a length of about 43.9 km The shape of the tunnel will be circular with flat invert portion, the carrying capacity is 4000 cusecs which can also get enhanced upto 5570 cusecs. The tunnel boring commenced from outlet end in May 2008. Similarly, the tunnel boring work is scheduled to commnce for inlet end in October 2009. The contract for execution of the works, was awarded in October 2005 to Jaiprakash Associates Ltd., a company of Jaypee Group, who have extensive experience of tunneling and construction of hydro power projects. The project is estimated to cost about Rs. 2500 crore, and is likely to be commissioned in 2013.

Jaypee Balaji cement plant Jaiprakash Associates Ltd. propose to set up a cement plant 'Jaypee Balaji Cement Plant' of 5 m.t.p.a. capacity along with 50 m.w. coal based captive power plant near Budawada village, Jaggayyapeta Mandal (Krishna dist., A.P.). Limestone for the plant will be provided from the captive limestone mines. The project will be implemented at a cost of Rs. 1650 crore, of which about Rs. 75 crore will be incurred towards environmental management. The plant is likely to be commissioned in 2013. (Continued on page 15) October 2009

Mining Engineers' Journal

COMMENTS ON DRAFT - MINES AND MINERALS (SCIENTIFIC DEVELOPMENT & REGULATION) ACT, 2009.
* V.D. Rajagopal We are aware that Government of India constituted Anwar-ul HODA Committee to suggest changes to the National Mineral Policy keeping in view the low GDP in mineral sector when compared to the average GDP of all the sectors in India. After thorough debate on the subject with various stakeholders as well as respective State Governments, Anwar-ul HODA Committee submitted its recommendations and consequently National Mineral Policy 2008 has been announced by the GoI. Now GoI has come out with the draft Mines and Minerals (Scientific Development & Regulation) Act, 2009 and is placed in the website at: http://mines.gov.policy/MMSDRACT.pdf The new Act is intended to decentralize the powers and cut short the delays in granting mineral concessions for the development of mineral sector in the country. In fact, the purpose of appointing Anwar-ul HODA Committee is to suggest new mineral Policy keeping in view the bottlenecks in the existing policy for the development of mineral sector. But, as could be seen from the proposed new Act, some of the powers are again centralized, though in some areas the proposals are very good. Therefore, it is time to appropriately react so that the Government may take the views positively and modify whenever the proposals are contributed for the development of the mineral sector. With a view to focus attention on the issues, some of these issues are highlighted in the present topic. (I) Maximum and Minimum extents for grant of Mineral Concessions: Hitherto, the maximum extents for grant of RP, PL and ML were 10,000 Sq.Km, 25 Sq.Km and 1 Sq.Km respectively. These are enhanced to 10,000 Sq.Km, 5000 Sq.Km, 500 Sq.km and 100 Sq. Km in respect of RPs, Large Area Prospecting Licences, Prospecting Licences and Mining Leases respectively by introducing one more tier in between RP and prospecting licence in the name of Large Area Prospecting Licence (5000 Sq.Km). Grant of such huge extent amounts to blocking of areas by a few entrepreneurs and the new entrepreneurs may have to suffer a lot for want of areas. This needs to be debated upon. It would have been idealistic to enhance the present limits by one time with the provision for GOI to relax on case to case basis. (II) MINIMUM EXTENTS: Similarly, minimum extent proposed for PL is 1 Sq.Km (1000 hectares) and for ML it is 10 hectares. Here also, the small entrepreneurs get adversely affected since there are many small deposits which are available in less than 10 hectares area. If this system is introduced the deposits available within 10 hectares cannot be exploited. Many small deposits of minerals like quartz, feldspar, dolomite, limestone etc., are available in small leaseholds and if such deposits are prohibited it amounts to untapping valuable minerals. Hence, present minimum limits of 4 hectares in case of bedded deposits and one hectare in case of vein type deposits may better be continued. (III) POWERS TO IBM : Under the new Act, the IBM is getting powers to even stop mining operations by following the same powers as are there with the Mines Safety Department, to prohibit mining if considered dangerous, merely on the basis that mining operations are a threat to conservation and environment. This will result in undue hardship to the entrepreneurs. This may also be debated upon. (IV) BIDDING PROCESS: Another area causing concern is about a stipulation that the mineral rights are to be disposed of by way of bidding. If this is introduced only some of the few rich entrepreneurs will block the areas by taking rights in the bidding and the small entrepreneurs cannot think of entering the field of mining. The concept of bidding will lead to total collapse of the system and would help develop capitalism in the country. Therefore, this is a serious issue to be debated upon. (V) RESERVATION FOR PUBLIC SECTOR: Another area where the new proposals brought out by Government of India is taking away the enabling provisions for reservation of mineral bearing areas in favour of Public Sector undertakings. This may result in complete closure of public sector undertakings in future. When very important strategic minerals are available the same need to be exploited by PSUs for the benefit of the Nation. Under new Policy this may not be possible. (VI) CONSTITUTION OF STATE AND CENTRAL TRIBUNALS: The Government of India is contemplating to constitute Central Tribunals to settle issues relating to non-disposal of mineral concession applications by the State Governments with in

* President MEAI, Director of Mines & Geology, GoAP. Vice-Chairman-cum-Managing Director, APMDC. The above comments were presented in the National Seminar on 'Challenges in the Changed Scenario of Mining' on 13-09-2009 at Bangaluru. Mining Engineers' Journal 14 October 2009

the stipulated time limit. It is good if such powers are vested with the State Level Tribunals instead of Central Tribunals to avoid carrying on litigations to National Headquarters. Moreover, the litigations from the Central Tribunals go to the High Courts situated in the National Headquarters. By this process the mining entrepreneurs may have to go round the National Headquarters for each and every issue. When the concept of the New Act is to decentralize - will it not amount to centralize the process, and thus defeat the purpose of new Mineral Policy? (VII) CREATION OF NATIONAL MINERAL FUND & STATE MINERAL FUND : Though this is an admirable move instead of National Mineral Fund, it is better to confine to State Mineral Fund for effective implementation. (VIII) RESTRICTIONS ON TRANSFER OF RECONNAISSANCE LICENCE AND PROSPECTING LICENCE : Transfer of lease involves large-scale speculation. GOI is contemplating to introduce a very liberal transfer policy. This also needs to be debated. (IX) RESTRICTIONS ON ALLOCATION OF MINERAL BEARING AREAS : One more area the GOI would have touched is Mineral Exclusive Areas to be reserved just as the Reserve Forests. But unfortunately this was not taken up. (X) GRANT FOR LEASES IN FOREST AREAS : In the new policy it is now envisaged that only after taking forest clearances areas must be notified for grant. This may lead to non-clearances for forest areas and the scope of granting leases in forest areas may considerably get reduced. Instead of stipulating a time limit of say one year in-principle the applications for grant of leases in forest areas may be considered and final grants can be extended after getting forest clearances under F.C Act1980 by the applicants. (XI) APPROVAL OF MINING PLANS: The new act envisages delegation of powers for approval of mining plans only to IBM. Hitherto the State Directorates are approving the plans for selected group of minerals. This amounts to only centralization of powers. CONCLUSION: It is time that all the stakeholders concerned with mining shall go through the draft Mines and Minerals (Scientific Development & Regulation) Act, 2009 and give their suggestions wherever they feel such amendments come in the way for the development and growth of mining sector, since the purpose of any change is only to achieve maximum growth in mining sector. Let us be proactive and air our views to the Policy Makers for their reconsideration. Mining Engineers' Journal 15

(Continued from page 13)

RINL signs a JV with MOIL Rashtriya Ispat Nigam (RINL) has entered into a joint venture with Manganese Ore India (MOIL) to form a RINMOIL Ferro Alloys (Private) Ltd., to produce ferro alloys. The two partners will have equal stakes in the joint venture company. RINL which is currently implementing a project to raise steel making capacity to 6.3 m.t., would require nearly 70,000t of silico manganese, another 15,000t of ferro silicon annually, after the expansion. In addition it would also need about 2000t. of ferro manganese, the supply of which is likely to be ensured by the new venture. FIMI Awards Federation of Indian Mineral Inudstries (FIMI) in its 43rd Annual General Meeting on 18-08-2009 at Balroom, Hotel Shangri-La, New Delhi gave away the following awards for the year 2008-09. Fimi Excellence Award (2008-09) Bala Gulshan Tandon Excellence Award Jilling Langalota Iron Ore & Manganese Mine of Essel Mining & Industries Ltd. (Orissa) Fimi Environment Award (2008-09) a) Abheraj Baldota Environment Award : (Mechanised Mine) Wadi Cement Limetone Mine ACC Ltd. (b) Gem Granite Environment Award : (Mechanised Mine) Devapur Limestone Mine APMDC Ltd. (c) Misrilall Jain Environment Award : (Mechanised Mine) Naubasta Limestone Mine, Jaiprakash Associates Ltd. (d) Subh Karan Sarawagi Environment Award : (Mechanised Mine) Pale Iron Ore Mine Chowgule & Co. Pvt. Ltd.

(i)

(ii)

(iii) Fimi Social Awareness Award : (a) Sita Ram Rungta Social Awareness Award : Aditya Limestone Mines Grasim Industries Ltd. Chittorgarh (Rajasthan) (b) NMDC Social Awareness Award : Vikram Cement Grasim Industries Ltd. Neemuch (M.P.) In the Stone Age, all men were sculptures - Enrique Jardiel Poncela Every Business is built on friendship - J.C. Penney A happy marriage is the union of two forgivers - Ruth Bell Graham October 2009

ESTIMATION OF RESERVES USING VOXEL MODELLING TECHNIQUE


Mrinmoy Chakraborty1 and S.Karunakar Rao2

Abstract
Ore reserve estimation is the statistical/mathematical method of calculating the volume of an ore body in a given area. It involves very long process of drawing sections and fences and there by estimating their presence in volume according to their grade. But with the advancement in the technology, Voxel modelling has become one of the effective methods in the visualization and the estimation of the reserves. The study of voxel model throws a light on various aspects of the models and perspective to help in the volumetric estimation of the reserves. It will also deal with the enhancement in visualization of the grades in the ore minerals. Geosoft Target TM is one of the software which provides us the platform to work with the Voxel model. It also has a capability to draw sections, striplogs and fence diagrams. In this paper we are going to precisely cover the various aspects of voxel modelling and its benefits in the estimation of the ore and the effects of various gridding methods on reserve estimation using some practical and illustrative examples. The paper also covers aspects of integration of various dataset namely, Remote sensing Images, Geophysical data (airborne/ground), Geochemical data apart from basic drill hole data. It also discusses the mathematical aspects of various gridding methods for better understanding and application.
INTRODUCTION Ore reserve estimation is to asses the quantity and tenor of a mineral that may be profitably and legally extracted from the mineral through mining and/or mineral benefication. Estimation of the resource require analysis and synthesis of the data to develop a model, which involves compilation of geologic and assay data, delineation of the ore reserves, compositing of the samples into larger units such as mining bench height, thickness or minable vein width, modelling of the grade distribution based on the histogram and cumulative frequency plots of grades, evaluation of the spatial variability of the grade using experimental variograms, selection of the resource/reserve estimation method and estimate the quantity and grade of the mineral resource. Estimation of the reserve or modelling of the ore body can be achieved by traditional geometric methods by calculating on the plans, sections and interpolation or gridding methods, and calculating not only the volumes but also defining the shape of the ore body. Since late 1950s computerized evaluation of the mineral deposits have been in use and has become more sophisticated and easier to use the commercial software in the public domain. Computerized deposit modelling provides a means of tailoring a mine plan based on the end-use specifications. The basic strategy involves the creation of the borehole database that includes results of the various physical and chemical properties as functions of the depths. Once the database has been created, visualizations such as cross sections, fence diagrams and block diagrams may be quickly generated to check the validity and geological reasonability of modelling .The next step later involves the calculation of the volumetric and optimal pit design based on the series of user defined parameters. The process of creating a spatial array of estimations is referred to as modelling. These array may be two dimensional or three dimensional. The two-dimensional array is also referred to as Grid Model; the dependent variable (Z) is the function of the horizontal (X, Y) co-ordinates. In three dimensional array (also referred to as Solid or Block Model), the dependent variable (g) is a function of the horizontal (X, Y) and vertical co-ordinates (Z). The parameters that are being estimated may be thickness of the ore, the grade of the ore or some property that is useful for the evaluation of the resource. Grids are used to model statigraphy contacts isopachs, while solids are useful in the geochemistry, ore grades and geo-technical properties. TWO-DIMENSIONAL GRIDDING The first step in the modelling process is to super impose an imaginary grid over the project area. This grid defines the resolution of the subsequent model in a manner analogous to pixels within a digital image specifically as pixel becomes smaller, smaller features are resolved at the expense of the

1. Business Head, DATACODE, Nagpur, India. E mail: mrinmoy@datacodeintl.com 2. DATACODE, Nagpur, India The paper was presented during International Conference on 'Advanced Technology in Exploration and Exploitation of Minerals' on 14-15th February 2009 at Jodhpur (Rajasthan) Mining Engineers' Journal 16 October 2009

FIG 3- The three types of voxel adjancencies in 3D-discrete space (1) The six voxels that are 6-adjacents to the voxel at the center (not seen) (2) The eighteen voxels that are 18-adjacent to the voxel at the center (3) 26- adjacent to the voxel center. FIG 1- Two-Dimensional Grid where the randomly observed data are spread with the grid nodes computer memory and speed. It is useful to represent the data by determining its value at points locally equally far apart at the nodes of a grid as shown in the Figure 1. THREE DIMENSIONAL BLOCK MODELLING Block modelling is simply the three dimensional version of gridding. The original data points typically consist quantitative down hole data (ex: geochemistry, ore grades, physical properties etc) an imaginary 3D-lattice (matrix blocks) is constructed and computed for each block or voxel. Voxel is a blende of the words Volumetric and Pixel, voxel is a volume element representing a value on a grid in three dimensional spaces. The 3D-discrete space is a set of integral grid points in a 3DEuclidean space defined by their Cartesian co-ordinate (X, Y, Z). A voxel to the unit cubic volume centered at the integral grid point. The voxel value is mapped into [0, 1]: the voxels assigned 1 are called the black voxels representing opaque objects and those assigned 0 are the white voxels representing the transparent background. Outside the scope of the paper are non-binary approaches where voxel value is mapped onto the interval [0,1] representing either partial coverage, variable densities or graded opacities. Two voxels are 26-adjacent if they share a vertex, an edge or a face. In the Figure 4, every voxel has 26 such adjacent voxels: eight share a vertex ( corner) with the center voxel ( Fig 4(1) ) , twelve share an edge ( fig 4(2) ) and six share a face ( fig 4(3) ). Accordingly face-sharing voxels are defined as 6-adjacent, and edge sharing and share-sharing voxels are defined as 18-adjacent. The prefix N is used to define the adjacency relation where N= 6, 18 or 26 we say that that a sequence of voxels having the same value (e.g., black) is an N-path if all consecutive pairs are N-adjacent. A set of voxels A is N-connected if there is an N-path between every pair of voxels in A. An N-connected component is a maximal N-connected set. MODELLING STRATEGIES The selection of the proper modelling technique (gridding or block modelling) as well as the algorithms e.g. Inverse distance weighting, triangulation, polynomial trend, kridging etc represents the biggest hurdle for the novice user. Grid models are commonly used to produce color coded contour maps by averaging the regions between the cells. In fact most computer contouring uses gridding as a preliminary, behind the scenes, step-towards producing the contours. These are however many more things that can be done with grids including volumetrics. Many types of mineral deposits, such as clay, consist of layercake geology in which an economic resource is sandwiched between two non-economic layers. If the grade of the material does not vary, laterally or vertically, the deposit can be effectively modelled by gridding the top and bottom of the ore layer. Conversely, if the grade varies laterally and/or vertically, then a block modelling method, 17 October 2009

FIG 1- Block Model showing a voxel The process of converting a geometric object from continuous geometric representation into a set of voxels that best approximates the continuous object. The theory that deals with these topological issues is called 3D- discrete topology.

FIG 2- An example of a discrete curve (shaded pixels) that intuitively seperates its two sides even without containing all those pixels pierced by the continous line Mining Engineers' Journal

constrained by upper and lower grids (the top and base of the unit) should be used. General guidelines are graphically summarized as follows. Volumetric calculation by taking a suitable example In this paper an example from Pre-Cambrian Schist Belt is

taken where in the ore reserve estimation for Iron has been done. A series of boreholes were spread along the area at a regular interval on the surface maps to know the concentration of Iron. The voxel models for estimation of the ore are taken into consideration and the outputs generated are as given below.

FIG 4- Showing the different modeling strategies

FIG 5- Plan Map of the area with reference to the elevation using Kridging Mining Engineers' Journal 18 October 2009

The Plan map was prepared to the scale of 1: 5000 meters, elevation of the area was considered and gridded using the Kridging method. The lowest relief regions are represented by the blue colour that are mostly found in the southern parts of the area. The highest relief regions are represented by the pink colour that are widely spread across the northern regions of the area.

Figure 8 represents the model generated by the voxel gridding technique for the concentration of the Fe around the study area. The least concentrations are represented by the blue and the higher concentrations by the pink colours. The volume calculation of the ore done in terms of cubic meters is shown in the report with their minimum and maximum values. GRIDVOL GX is used to calculate the volume of space defined by a grid surface, above and below a base of reference. This GX can help to determine the volume of material defined by grid surfaces in topographic applications. Some geophysical applications also make use of volumes under anomalies to derive physical properties. The volume of the grid is simply displayed on the default output as a floating point number. This output can be piped to another application if desired. The volume is calculated by summing the product of the grid cell area times each nondummy grid point. CONCLUSIONS Exploration of minerals is a game of gambling in which ore reserve estimation is one of the challenging tasks of exploration which is being employed with the different methods, so to estimate the accurate amount of the reserve to be estimated with the variation in the grade. This is followed by the process of drawing profiles, sections fences to know their extents and the shape of the ore body. The estimation of the quantity of the ore with the amount of the over burden also estimates the total costs of the mining and hence the volumetric calculations plays an important role. Many types of modelling techniques have come through to fulfill these in these requirements. Voxel modelling which is volumetric element in the computational work has been considered as one better technique to achieve the desired results. The voxel models constructed in this paper gives a clear picture about how this method can be used for the calculation of the volume with the drawing of the sections and can be used to its best level with your applicable knowledge. It also avoids the series of long mathematical calculations and increases the accuracy of the calculations by avoiding the errors in them. REFERENCES
Hortman, H L, Seeley.W.Mudd Memorial Fund of AIME (1992) SME Mining Engineering Handbook Published by SME, pp 334-360 Min Qi, Bao-lin Zhang, Guang-he Liang, Jie Wang, Xin-ping CaiData Science Journal, Volume 6, Supplement, 2007. 3D modeling and visualization of geology volume based on geophysical field data. Volume Graphics, IEEE Computer, Vol. 26, No. 7 July 1993 pp 51-64 Reed, J P, Volumetric Analysis & Three-Dimensional Visualiz-ation of Industrial Mineral Deposits, RockWare Inc. Yamamot, J K, 1999. Quantification of Uncertainty in Ore-Reserve Estimation: Applications to Chapada Copper Deposit, State of Goias, Brazil Natural Resources Research, Vol. 8. McInerney, P M, Guillen, A, and Lees, T, creating realistic 3d geology models rapidly,using geophysics Mauro De Donatis, Giuliano Gallerini, and Sara Susini, 3D Modelling Techniques for Geological and Environmental Visualisation and Analysis

FIG 6- Section Map along the plan area representing the topography and the bar graph representing the Fe concentrations along the section The section map represents the topography along the section and the profile is represented along with it. The scale of the section is 1:1500 meters, the bar graph is the representation of the of the Iron concentration varying vertically down in the depth.

FIG 7- Voxel model of the Fe ore reserve along the area Mining Engineers' Journal 19

Sheelagh, M, Carpendale, T, Cowperthwaite, D J, and Fracchia, F D, Extending Distortion Viewing From 2D To 3D, Simon Fraser University.

October 2009

MANNING BEST PRACTICE IN AUSTRALIA


Stephen Williams 1 , Mani Rajagopalan 2 , Bronwyn Meadows Smith 3 and Nicola Farrell 4

Abstract
This paper examines manning best practice in the Australian mining industry. In particular, the paper considers a range of mining operations and their manning levels as measured by operational benchmarking. The benchmarking results presented cover 15 open pit and 37 underground studies in Australia. The data was collected as part of AMCs benchmarking and operational improvement studies conducted between 1999 and 2008. The results examine overall manning levels in mining, processing and administration functions. Manning levels for a range of mining methods, including open pit and underground methods, are segmented. Productivity measures such as ore tonnes per man day and metres developed per man day are presented and where direct relationships can be established, the relationships are described. Finally, the paper considers perspectives on best practice with regard to manning in the Australian mining industry and the limitations in application of this type of analysis in a global context.
INTRODUCTION Best practice mines deliver their corporate goals by efficiently and effectively implementing their mine plan. From the authors experience, these best practice mines have the following similarities: Sound mine planning and mine operational practices. Appropriate equipment and manning levels. Good information collection and reporting. A continuous improvement culture which is outcome focused. For manning best practice in the Australian mining industry, the result derived from performance evaluation and benchmarking studies can provide insight into the key drivers of manning requirements on mines and enable determination of appropriate manning levels. In the Australian mining industry in recent years the shortage of skilled and experienced labour has been acute. Labour shortages have been spread across all organisational levels, from trades based roles through to engineering and senior management positions. This has resulted in equipment being underutilized due to a lack of available drivers or operators; and maintenance departments with half of their available positions unfilled. In the Australian context, labour represents a substantial component of most mines operating costs. Total labour costs can amount to 15 % to 37 % of total operating costs for underground mines, see Figure 1. While total labour costs for open pit mines can range from 12 to 26 % of total operating costs, see Figure 2. Beyond direct salaries, on-costs can also be substantial. Oncosts include salaries, state and federal labour related taxes, superannuation, workers compensation and entitlements. In addition, many Australian mines are located in remote areas away from the larger cities or regional centres. These mines are often operated on a fly-in/fly-out basis with commuting and remote allowances further increasing the resulting operational expenditure. The impact of recent tightening of the credit market and weakness in mining commodity prices suggest that the labour shortages seen in recent years may, at least in part, decline. It is also anticipated that upward pressure on salaries and spiralling on-costs may have stalled. This creates a climate whereby the analysis of appropriate manning levels and industry best practice in this regard becomes even more crucial. THE BENCHMARKING DATABASE Over the past decade AMC Consultants Pty Ltd (AMC) has

1. Manager Business Analysis / Principal Mining Engineer, AMC Consultants Pty Ltd, 19/114 William Street, Melbourne E mail: swilliams@amcconsultants.com.au 2. Senior Mining Engineer, AMC Consultants Pty Ltd, 19/114 William Street, Melbourne. 3. Knowledge Manager / Senior Mining Analyst, AMC Consultants Pty Ltd, 19 / 114 William Street, Melbourne. 4. Mining Analyst, AMC Consultants Pty Ltd, 19 / 114 William Street, Melbourne. The paper was presented during International Conference on 'Advanced Technology in Exploration and Exploitation of Minerals' on 14-16 February 2009 at Jodhpur (Rajasthan) Mining Engineers' Journal 20 October 2009

The benchmarking team conduct a site visit to gain a thorough understanding of the activities involved and the operational issues specific to the mine. The knowledge of the people working on the mine site is as important as the data itself in conducting meaningful analysis. During the site visit the team liaise directly with key members of the operations workforce, collect primary data and observe all of the activities which are to be analysed and which may affect the benchmarking study. For the benchmarking process to produce meaningful results, the data used must be accurate and consistent across the operations in the AMC database. To ensure this comparability of data, information is collected using standard templates which contain clear definitions of the data required. FIG 1 UNDERGROUND: Labour Cost as a Percentage of Total Operating Cost Cost and physical data is collected at the lowest possible level and allocated to the physical asset or individual activity such as a truck, or to the survey department, or perhaps, costs associated with an individual drill rig. Operational manning data is collected in the context of the organisational structure and labour roles. Through the processing of data in this way, costs, productivities and manning are able to be linked for meaningful comparison. Processing of Manning Data AMC have used standard manning templates based on typical organisational structures found at operating mines. Standard classifications are used for the collection and processing of data to allow meaningful comparison across a range of operational scales. These are shown for mining personnel at underground mines, mining personnel at open pit mines and for processing and general and administration personnel, in Tables 1, 2 & 3, respectively. Manning productivities are compared on a tonnes per man day basis as tonnes per man shift can be distorted by different lengths of shift. One man day is considered equal to 24 hours. Also, maintenance personnel are allocated on an equipment/ activity basis to ensure the total manning associated with individual operational activities are captured and reflected. Manning numbers are allocated in this way to ensure results are representative of underlying performance and comparable to other operations. TABLE 1 Underground Mining Manning Classifications MINE DEPARTMENT MINE SUPERVISION & CONTROL OPERATIONAL MANAGEMENT & SUPPORT Principle / Primary Contractor Manager Superintendent/Senior Engineer Shift Supervisor/Engineer Technician/Other 21 October 2009

FIG 2 OPENPIT: Labour Cost as a Percentage of Total Operating Cost conducted over 60 detailed benchmarking studies at Australian and international open pit and underground, metalliferous and coal mines. A number of longitudinal benchmarking studies, where annual or biannual performance is assessed over a number of years, have also been undertaken. AMC have developed detailed databases cataloguing mining practices, manning levels, technologies, costs and productivities. The data gained through conducting these studies has enabled identification of the key drivers of best practices, hence the development of a benchmarking model which is a comprehensive and practical mine performance evaluation and reporting structure. The Benchmarking Process The initial stage of the benchmarking is information gathering. Information collected as part of the AMC process includes detailed cost data, equipment productivity data and manning levels. Mining Engineers' Journal

TECHNICAL SERVICES Principle / Primary Contractor Manager Senior Engineer Engineer Surveyor Technician/Other MAINTENANCE MANAGEMENT & SUPPORT Principle / Primary Contractor Superintendent/Senior Engineer Shift Supervisor/Engineer Technician/Other GEOLOGY / GRADE CONTROL Manager Senior Geologist Geologist Technician/Other Total MINE OPERATIONS DEVELOPMENT DEVELOPMENT FACE DRILLING - TWIN BOOM Principle / Primary Contractor Operator/Other DEVELOPMENT FACE DRILLING - SINGLE BOOM Principle / Primary Contractor Operator/Other CHARGE UP Principle / Primary Contractor Operator/Other GROUND SUPPORT Principle / Primary Contractor Operator/Other SERVICES / OTHER Principle / Primary Contractor Operator/Other PRODUCTION PRODUCTION DRILLING Principle / Primary Contractor Operator/Other Other Contractor Operator/Other CHARGE UP Principle / Primary Contractor Operator/Other Other Contractor Operator/Other Mining Engineers' Journal 22

GROUND SUPPORT CABLEBOLTER Principle / Primary Contractor Operator/Other MATERIALS HANDLING LOAD Principle / Primary Contractor Operator/Other Other Contractor Operator/Other TRUCK Principle / Primary Contractor Operator/Other Other Contractor Operator/Other SHAFT OTHER/UNALLOCATED Principle / Primary Contractor Operator/Other SURFACE HAUL (MINE TO ROM) Principle / Primary Contractor Operator/Other BACKFILL Principle / Primary Contractor Operator/Other GENERAL MINE SERVICES Principle / Primary Contractor Operator/Other Other Contractor Operator/Other TABLE 2 Open Pit Mining Manning Classifications MINE DEPARTMENT MINE SUPERVISION & CONTROL OPERATIONAL MANAGEMENT & SUPPORT Principle / Primary Contractor Manager Superintendent/Senior Engineer Shift Supervisor/Engineer Technician/Other TECHNICAL SERVICES Principle / Primary Contractor Manager Senior Engineer Engineer Surveyor Technician/Other October 2009

MAINTENANCE MANAGEMENT & SUPPORT Principle / Primary Contractor Manager Superintendent/Senior Engineer Shift Supervisor/Engineer Technician/Other GEOLOGY / GRADE CONTROL Manager Senior Geologist Geologist Technician/Other MINE OPERATIONS OPERATIONS DRILLING Principle / Primary Contractor Supervisor Operator/Other Other Contractor Operator/Other BLASTING Principle / Primary Contractor Supervisor Operator/Other Other Contractor Supervisor Operator/Other LOADING Principle / Primary Contractor Supervisor Operator/Other HAULING Principle / Primary Contractor Supervisor Operator/Other ANCILLARY Principle / Primary Contractor Supervisor Operator/Other MINE SERVICES Principle / Primary Contractor Supervisor Operator/Other TABLE 3 Processing and General and Administration Manning Classifications PROCESSING PROCESSINGSUPERVISION&CONTROL Manager SeniorMetallurgists/Superintendents Mining Engineers' Journal 23

Metallurgists/Supervisor Technician/Other OPERATIONS OPERATIONS OTHER/UNALLOCATED Principle/PrimaryContractor Supervisor Operator/Other TOTALOPERATIONS Principle/PrimaryContractor Supervisor Operator/Other MAINTENANCE Senior Engineer/Superintendent Engineer/Supervisor Technician/Other GENERAL&ADMINISTRATION ENGINEERING&INFRASTRUCTURE Manager Supervisor/Professional Other HUMANRESOURCES Manager Other OCCUPATIONALHEALTH&SAFETY Manager Other GENERAL&ADMINISTRATION/UNALLOCATED Supervisor/Professional Other THE DATABASE AMCs underground benchmarking database presents production, cost and performance results from 37 underground operations in Australia. The data was collected as part of AMCs ongoing benchmarking studies conducted since 1999. Operations range in size from 150 ktpa to 8.9 Mtpa of ore and a full range of mining methods are represented. The underground database includes gold, base metals and uranium mining operations. AMCs open pit benchmarking database presents production, cost and performance results from 15 open pit operations in Australia. The data was collected as part of AMCs ongoing benchmarking studies conducted from 2001. Operations range in size from 780 ktpa to 25.4 Mtpa of ore. The total material movement ranges from 7 Mtpa to 112 Mtpa. The open pit database includes gold, base metals and iron ore mining operations. October 2009

For the analysis of appropriate manning levels, an extract from the underground and open pit benchmarking database has been taken. The extracted data has been reviewed to confirm the reliability of the sub-set and in some cases outliers have been removed. Outliers include missing data, zero figures and data that was not sufficiently detailed to support the analysis. Each graph presented indicates the size of the data set. Where sufficient data has been available and a trend is apparent, a trend line has been plotted with the corresponding equation for the line and the coefficient of determination. Some trend lines have been further adjusted to fix an intercept so that a more meaningful relationship between variables is established. BENCHMARKING RESULTS Underground Mining The underground manning data is processed into three broad classifications: mining, processing and general and administration. The proportion in each of these classifications is shown in Table 4 and in Figure 3. TABLE 4 Breakdown of Manning Underground Mining
Classification Mining personnel including supervision and control, operatio-ns and maintenance personnel Processing personnel General and administration personnel Minimum Maximum 42% 85% Median 61%

The relationship between ore tonnes mined and total mining personnel is shown in Figure 4. This data suggests that a minimum number of between 60 persons are required for even the smallest of underground operations.

FIG 4 UNDERGROUND: Ore Tonnes vs Mining Personnel Mining personnel can be further divided into two broad classifications: supervision and control and operations and maintenance (refer Table 1). The proportion of each is shown in Figure 5 and it indicates that operations and maintenance personnel constitute 39% to 79% of the total mining workforce. The remainder of the mining personnel are in supervision and control roles.

8%

42%

23%

3%

38%

16%

FIG 5 UNDERGROUND: Mining Personnel by Percentage of Supervision & Control, Operations & Maintenance Figure 6 examines the relationship between annual development metres and total mining manning numbers. The trend line, informed by 27 mines in the current dataset, indicates that a minimum of 51 persons are required, with an additional 35 mining personnel on average for each additional 2,000 metres developed. 24 October 2009

FIG 3 UNDERGROUND: Median Percentage of Personnel by Area Mining Engineers' Journal

FIG 6 UNDERGROUND: Lateral Development Meters vs Mining Personnel A commonly used measure of underground mining productivity is the ore production per unit of worked time, typically measured as tonnes per man-shift or tonnes per man day. In Figure 7, this measure has been compared against the total mining personnel levels. Poor correlation in these two variables suggests that whilst mines may have larger numbers of mining personnel, they are not necessarily more productive. Other factors also driving productivity beyond overall levels of manning, such as mining method, degree of automation, geology, ore body geometry or ground controls. Another productivity measure is the metres per man day of lateral development. This relationship is shown in Figure 8 compared against the total numbers of mining personnel. The resultant trend line demonstrates a low correlation between these two variables. Results cluster around 0.15 and 0.20 metres developed per man day. Factors such as ground control, drive dimensions and equipment used would impact on the relationship between the meters developed and the number of people required. FIG 8 UNDERGROUND: Meters Developed per Man-Day vs Mining Personnel Finally, the relationship between underground mining method, ore production and mining personnel is plotted in Figure 9. Mining methods have been segmented into stoping methods, caving methods and narrow vein mining methods. As expected, due to the small tonnage involved in narrow vein mining, these operations cluster at the lower limits of the production range. Alternatively, caving methods which involve mining higher volumes, cluster at the higher end. Operations demonstrate greater productivity with more tonnes mined per man day. While no trend line has been shown there appears to be a clearly defined lower boundary in which no mines operate, suggesting that a minimum manning level exists irrespective of the size of the operation.

FIG 9 UNDERGROUND: Ore Tonnes vs Mining Personnel vs Mining Method Open Pit Mining The open pit manning data is processed into three broad classifications: mining, processing and general and administration. The proportion in each of these classifications is shown in Table 5 and in Figure 10. 25 October 2009

FIG 7 UNDERGROUND: Ore Tonnes per Man-Day vs Mining Personnel Mining Engineers' Journal

TABLE 5 Breakdown of Manning Underground Mining Classification Mining personnel including supervision and control, operations and maintenance personnel Processing personnel General and administration Personnel Minimum Maximum Median

39%

82%

60%

8% 3%

34% 35%

16% 24% FIG 11 OPENPIT: Ore Tonnes vs Mining (Supervision & Control) Personnel

FIG 10 OPENPIT: Median Percentage of Personnel by Area The relationship between ore tonnes mined and mining supervision and control personnel is shown in Figure 11. The trend line developed for this data suggests that a minimum number of between 20 and 30 persons are required for even the smallest open pit operation. The relationship between total material mined and mining operations and maintenance personnel is shown in Figure 12. The trend line for this data suggests that as the total material mined increases, mines can continue to require more and more staff. In larger operations, better economies of scale are expected, resulting in an anticipated increase in productivity per unit personnel. The results based on the current dataset of 15 operations, suggest that larger mines are not necessarily more efficient in the use of operational and maintenance personnel. The proportion of supervision and control and operations and maintenance personnel for the benchmarking dataset is shown in Figure 13, indicating that operations and maintenance personnel range from 38% to 90% of the total mining workforce. The remainder of the mining workforce are in supervision and control roles. Mining Engineers' Journal 26

FIG 12 OPENPIT: Material Mine vs Mining (Operations & Maintenance) Personnel

FIG 13 OPENPIT: Mining Personnel Percentage of Supervision & Control, Operations & Maintenance October 2009

Figure 14 shows the relationship between ore tonnes per man day and the total number of mining supervision and control personnel. It is generally anticipated that most mines produce 1,000 to 2,000 tonnes per man day with the best performing mines producing 3,000 or higher tonnes per day. The trend line of these results, informed by a current dataset of 10 operations, demonstrates poor correlation between ore tonnes per man day and the total number of mining supervision and control personnel. This suggests that the ore tonnes per man day may not have any significant relationship to the number of supervision and control personnel required in an operation.

Ore Processing For the analysis of processing manning numbers the underground and open pit operations have been combined. Process plant supervision and control plus maintenance personnel have been included in these figures. Results had been coded by commodity and are shown in Figure 16. There is no clear trend line for this data although most operations line in a band between 20 and 80 persons. Numbers of processing personnel are likely to be linked to other factors such as the processing technology, complexity of the ore, plant design and plant control philosophy.

FIG 14 OPENPIT: Ore Tonnes Per Man-Day vs Mining (Supervision & Control) Personnel Finally, Figure 15 shows the relationship between material mined and the total number of mining operations and maintenance personnel. The trend line shows a correlation between these variables, indicating that the better performing mines produce more than 3,000 tonnes per man day. Observed productivity drops may be attributable to high tonnage operations such as large open pits which have deep pits, long haul distances due to large, widely spaced waste stockpiles and slower haul rates due to long ramp climbs. All of these factors impact on personnel numbers.

FIG 16 UNDERGROUND & OPENPIT: Ore Processed vs Processing personnel General and Administration For the analysis of general and administration manning numbers the underground and open pit operations have also been combined and are shown in Figure 17. Results have also been coded by commodity to determine if there are any trends in the data. Overall the results do not appear to display any trends despite the coding. Results may be distorted by some general and administration personnel being located off site or the use of contractors who have not being in the organisational counts.

FIG 15 OPENPIT: Material Mined Per Man-Day vs Mining (Operations & Maintenance) Personnel Mining Engineers' Journal 27

FIG 17 UNDERGROUND & OPEN PIT: Ore Tonnes vs Control & Administration personnel October 2009

BEST PRACTICE Best practice mines deliver their corporate goals by efficiently and effectively implementing their mine plan. Best practice mines having the following similarities: Sound mine planning and mine operational practices. Appropriate equipment and manning levels. Good information collection and reporting. A continuous improvement culture which is outcome focused.

operations. However, as a number of other factors also have influence, so the benchmarking results should be used with caution when determining appropriate manning levels. Appropriate manning levels are not just a numbers game where having the lowest manning levels reflects best practice. Individuals get work done within the context of the organisation and insufficient levels of manning can result in not all the work that needs to be done, getting done. For a mining operation this can mean inadequate maintenance being performed, lack of supervisory personnel to manage a key contractor or a shortage of planners to update short, medium or long term plans. Clearly these are undesirable outcomes with potentially significant detrimental impacts on factors such as safety or efficiency. Appropriate manning levels are strongly related to the way in which work is organised. Factors such as role clarity, organisational structure, workplace processes, use of information technology such as mine automation, and work complexity all influence manning levels. Furthermore, the skill levels of the individuals within particular work roles are important in determining manning levels. An under skilled workforce will require more support including mentoring and work place training. This is likely to increase overall manning numbers, but produce better outcomes. When the manning results are reviewed with productivity and cost data they are helpful in identifying areas for potential business improvement. When benchmarking is conducted on a periodic basis, the productivity data can be used as a formative tool for continuous improvement. For manning best practice in the Australian mining industry, the result derived from performance evaluation and benchmarking studies can provide insight into the key drivers of manning requirements. This can lead to the development of a best practice approach incorporating sound mine planning and mine operational practices, appropriate equipment and manning levels and an outcome focussed, continuous improvement culture. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors would like to thank the management of AMC Consultants Pty Ltd for permission to prepare and present this paper. The authors would also like to thank their colleagues at AMC Consultants Pvt. Ltd. who have either directly or indirectly contributed to this paper. REFERENCES AMC Consultants Benchmarking database. 28 October 2009

In the context of AMCs benchmarking manning results, what assistance can these results provide in determining appropriate manning levels? The AMC benchmarking database demonstrates that for underground mining, a minimum number of approximately 60 supervision and control personnel are required. Operations and maintenance personnel constitute from 39% to 79% of the total mining workforce, with the remainder in supervision and control. The metres of lateral development mined per man day demonstrates a correlation to numbers of mining personnel, with approximately 35 extra mining personnel needed for each additional 2,000 metres developed, but may also be influenced by other factors. In terms of mining method used, a minimum manning level exists irrespective of the size of the operation and greater productivity is observed, with more tonnes mined per unit personnel. However, mines that have larger numbers of mining personnel do not necessarily produce more ore. The AMC benchmarking database demonstrates that for open pit mining, a minimum number of approximately 20 supervision and control personnel persons are required. Operations and maintenance personnel range from 38% to 90 % of the total mining workforce. As the total material mined increases, mines are not necessarily being more efficient in their use of personnel and volume increases do not necessarily result in an increase in the number of supervision and control personnel required. The data suggests that the better operations produce more than 3,000 tonnes per man day. Furthermore, the AMC benchmarking database demonstrates that for processing, no clear relationship to manning level is observable, with numbers of processing personnel likely to be linked to other factors. In terms of general and administration manning numbers, no clear trends are apparent with distortion suspected due to the off-site location of some staff. The benchmarking results provide guidance by indicating a range of manning numbers and trends which are likely to be appropriate for the scale and type of a range of mining Mining Engineers' Journal

DOWNTIME ANALYSIS OF MINING EQUIPMENT


M.E.Michael Arputharaj*

Abstract
The performance of machine depends on its availability. To increase availability, machine downtime has to be reduced. Proper maintenance management is essential to reduce the frequency of failures. The break down analysis is a valuable tool in maintenance management. Breakdown analysis helps to identify the root causes of high frequency of failures and reduce the machine downtime and thus increasing the availability of the equipment. This paper aims at analysis of breakdowns in case of a shovel. Both the traditional and alternative methods are used in downtime analysis. Finally the merits of down time analysis are brought out. Key words : Performance, Availability, Utilization, Down time analysis, Mean time to repair.
The Breakdown analysis helps to determine the root case of high frequency of failures and delays in doing repair works. Objectives of Maintenance : The key functions of maintenance department are to production will result if shovel down time is programmed to coincide with crusher downtime. Approaches for Downtime Analysis : Maintenance downtime is the product of two factors: the frequency of failure in a particular failure code category and the associated mean time to repair. In order to determine those failures that contribute to the majority of unplanned equipment downtime, the traditional approach has been to plot histograms of downtime categorized by failure code. The problem with this approach is that it does not adequately represent the influence of the two previous factors. A new approach for classifying unplanned repairs and maintenance is through the use of log dispersion plots. The resulting graphs enable failures to be readily classified according to whether they are acute (requiring substantial repair time), chronic (excessive failure frequency) or a combination of both. The graphs provide a detailed representation of the failure and provide useful information concerning optimum stock level of spares. In addition the graph enables a better prioritization of maintenance problems so that limited maintenance resources can be more effectively employed. Different failures occurred during August 2000December 2001 in a shovel have been categorized into five failure codes as shown in Table-1. Those failure codes are body, engine, hydraulic system, bucket and final drive.

have equipment available as specified by the production programme. guarantee that it will produce at a specified rate guarantee that it will not breakdown

These services must be provided over the life of the equipment. The challenge is to achieve this at minimum cost. Unplanned breakdowns conflict with these objectives and impose higher cost on the organization. The higher cost arises from production loss, time lost in travelling to and from equipment, possible restriction in accessing the components due to the circumstances of the failure, delays in obtaining spare parts, labour, tools or workshop space, the possible need to work over time to return the equipment to service and foregone planned maintenance on other equipment due to preassignment of maintenance resources. Ideally all maintenance should be performed in a planned manner. Planned maintenance assists a mine to focus on system availability through synchronization of major equipment maintenance. For example fewer interruptions to

Table 1 Various Failures in Shovel during August 2000-December 2001 S.NO. FAILURE MACHINE COMPONENT Bucket Body DATE OF FAILURE 25.09.2000 19.10.2000 TIME OF REPAIR (In Hrs.) 288 96

1. 2.

Bucket tip reconditioning Centre boom pin cut

* Executive Engineer, Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd, Tamilnadu Mining Engineers' Journal 29 October 2009

3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22.

Stick cylinder crack Stick cylinder gun metal bush failure Side landing gear failure Slow movement Center boom pin cut Control unit cannibalized Control unit reconditioned Landing gear flange bolts cut Black smoke coming from engine Black smoke coming from engine Control valve failure Turbo leakage Hydraulic system failure Engine downed from machine due to balance weight end play over New landing gear assembly mounted Oil leakage through turbo charger Head along with piston replaced Heavy black smoke noticed turbo charger replaced Hydraulic system failure Hydraulic oil leakage

Hydraulic system Body Final drive Hydraulic system Body Hydraulic system Hydraulic system Final drive Engine Engine Hydraulic system Engine Hydraulic system Engine Final drive Engine Engine Engine Hydraulic system Hydraulic system

31.10.2001 09.11.2001 26.02.2001 26.03.2001 05.04.2001 16.04.2001 19.04.2001 30.04.2001 08.05.2001 09.05.2001 06.06.2001 13.07.2001 25.08.2001 26.10.2001 12.11.2001 23.11.2001 26.11.2001 28.11.2001 04.12.2001 29.12.2001

144 432 48 24 19 6 24 72 6 6 6 168 6 168 24 30 12 24 78 54

The contribution of each failure code towards the total down time has been given in Table-2. Table 2 Component Wise Failure Analysis S.No Machine Component Number of Failures Mean time to repair hour (MTTR) 182.23 59.14 42.75 288.0 48.0 30 Down time Percentage of in hour total down time Log (N) Log (MTTR)

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Body Engine Hydraulic system Bucket Final drive

3 7 8 1 3

547 414 342 288 144

31.53 23.86 19.71 16.60 08.30

0.477 0.845 0.903 0.000 0475

2.261 1.772 1.631 2.459 1.681 October 2009

Mining Engineers' Journal

2. a. Traditional Approach : Failure codes have been ranked in descending order as it is the common practice. In accordance to the duration of the downtime accumulated against each code, a histogram of the downtime duration (Fig.1) enables to identify the critical failure code.

reoccur (i.e. high n) are chronic problems. By determining threshold value for MTTR and n, log dispersion plot can be partitioned into four quadrants. The upper quadrants denote acute failures, whilst the right hand quadrants denote chronic failures. The upper right hand quadrant is the region of acute and chronic failure. 2.c Determining Limit Values : Thresholds can be either absolute values determined by mine policy, or relative values, which depend on the relative magnitude and quality of the repair data. One approach for determining relative threshold values is to use average values as follows. The total downtime consumed by unplanned failures is given by D=Sdi Where di is the total downtime due to the i th failure code. The total number of unplanned failures is N=Sni Letting Q be the number of distinct failure codes used to categorize their repair data, the threshold limit for acute can be defined as Limit MTTR = D/N Let the threshold limit for the chronic failure be determined as Limit n=N/Q The division of the log dispersion plot into quadrants allows us to classify the failure codes into distinct categories as shown in the Figure.2

2.b. Alternative Approach Total downtime for a particular failure code iis the product of two factors: the number of unplanned failures associated with that code ni, and the mean time necessary to diagnose and repir it. MTTR - total downtime can be given by Downtime = ni *MTTRi The X-Y plot of the mean time to repair each failure, MMTRI, versus the number of unplanned failures ni a family of hyperbolae can represent curves of constant downtime. It can be seen that the most costly failures (failures consuming most downtime) are those associated with codes 1 and 2. Thus the prioritization scheme used in the traditional approach is preserved, however, a clearer picture is available as to which factor-failure frequency or mean time to repair is dominant. The disadvantage of this graph is that constant downtime curves are hyperbolae, which are difficult to plot. A solution to this is to take the logarithm of the above equation. Thus. Log (downtime) = log (ni) + log (MTTRi) If an X-Y graph is prepared of log (ni) against log (MTTRi), the curves of constant downtime and log (downtime) now appear as straight lines having gradient equal to 1. This log dispersion plot considerably simplifies the process of identifying those failures which contribute most of the unplanned downtime, whilst continuing to permit the visualization as to which of the factors MTTR1 or ni is dominant. Repairs necessitating lengthy mean repair times can be considered acute problem. These failures that frequently Mining Engineers' Journal 31

The failure code 1 (body), though comes under non-chronic category, has contributed to the total down time in the largest way. This is due to lack of spare part (centre boom pin). Since the failure codes 2 (engine) and 3 (hydraulic system) are chronic, the maintenance practice must be made more October 2009

stringent for engine and hydraulic system. The bucket reconditioning work might have been done when the shovel was not available for work due to some other break down. Thus stoppage of machine due to time consuming maintenance works can be reduced. 3. Improving Equipment availability: To improve equipment availability, efforts can be directed to either reduce or eliminate the number of unplanned failures or to reduce the time necessary to diagnose and repair equipment failures. 3.a Determining the Root Causes of Failure or Repair Delays: Once a prioritized list of failure codes has been identified, hypothesis can be made about the possible cause or causes of each problem. Experienced maintenance and operating personnel are indispensable to this process, since familiarity with the machine, the operating environment and maintenance and operating practices is required. A list of possible root causes is illustrated. The process of repairing the unplanned failure begins with an operator notifying the maintenance department that the machine is faulty. Time is then required for maintenance personnel to reach to the machine, examine the faulty component and diagnose the problem. If a spare part is required, more time is lost in collecting and transporting the same from the warehouse to the machine. If the spare part is not immediately available, the machine may have to remain idle until a suitable component is obtained. When the spare part arrives at the machine, active repair work begins. The final work involves testing the machine to verify that it has been repaired and brought back to its normal operating state. Although not necessarily exhaustive, these root causes can be grouped according to whether they are of inspection, maintenance, operation, design, material quality or maintenance resource problems. 1. Inspection a. Insufficient inspection frequency. b. Inadequate inspection procedures. c. Poor quality inspection. d. Difficulty in accessing the component / diagnosing the fault. 2. Maintenance a. Insufficient inspection frequency. b. Inadequate inspection procedures. c. Poor quality predictive maintenance. d. Poor quality component installation. 3. Operation a. Incorrect operation or operator's abuse. 4. Design a. Original component or design inadequacy. b. Modify component or design inadequacy. Mining Engineers' Journal 32

5. Materials a. Variation in component quality-(single supplier.) b. Variation in component quality-(many suppliers.) 6. Resources a. Delay in getting spares. 3.b Actions to be taken: The following actions may be taken to reduce the number of failures and to mitigate the delay in repair works. 1. Inspection a. Increase inspection frequency. b. Revise inspection procedures and training. c. Revise preventive maintenance or inspection supervision. 2. Maintenance a. Increase predictive maintenance frequency. b. Revise installation producers and training. 3. Operation a. Design warning system for operator's abuse. b. Design warning system for impending failures. c. Implement operator precautions. 4. Design a. Modify or adopt machine or component design. 5. Materials a. Change component supplier. b. Standardize component suppliers. 6. Resources a. Analyze procedure for reconditioning spares. b. Revise spare stocking policy. c. Contract extra labour. Following the assignation of root causes to each failure code, a set of actions should be formulated to eliminate or mitigate the factors causing unplanned downtime. Some maintenance actions will involve an investment on the part of contracting company or mine. An estimation of the expected reduction in downtime allows a cost benefit evaluation of implementing the maintenance action plan to be made. If the cost savings are projected over a five year period for example, an NPV can be calculated for maintenance project. The advantage of this approach is that it permits senior management to evaluate maintenance projects along with competing project alternatives. Finally, an important prerequisite for applying the methodology is the availability of sufficient maintenance record of good quality. Indeed maintenance need no longer be perceived a costly overhead, but as a strategic tool to maximize asset utilization. Conclusion : The breakdown analysis is a valuable tool in maintenance management of mining equipment, that too in the year of globalization resulting in cut-throat competition. The alternative approach has an edge over the traditional way of doing downtime analysis. The views expressed in this paper are of the author and not necessarily of the organization he belongs to. October 2009

MEAI NEWS
I GOA CHAPTER MEAI, Goa Chapter conducted a technical session on Recent development in transport trucks for open cast mines on 4th August 2009 at hotel Kenilworth. President, A. Sivasankar, Chairman (Hyderabad chapter), Ramesh Kumar, Former CMD, NMDC, N.K. Nanda, Director (Technical-NMDC) and V.K. Sharma, Director (Commercial, NMDC). About 70 members and invitees attended the meeting. Flower bouquets were presented to all dignitaries on the dais. Before presentation of technical paper S/Shri B. Ramesh Kumar (Former CMD-NMDC) and V.D. Rajagopal (MEAI, President, Director of Mines & Geology, Govt. of A.P. and Vice-Chairman-cum-MD of APMDC) gave blessings to Shri A. Sivasankar, Chairman, MEAI, Hyderabad Chapter and his team and valuable suggestions. Shri V. Veda Kumar, Head (Geology & Mining), Indian Operations, Robo Silican Ltd. Hyderabad presented a very interesting talk on Vertical sounding with electrical resistively vis-a-vis core drilling - A comparison The paper generated lot of interest and many questions were asked from the audience. Session in progress (L-R) S/Shri Ajit Dewan, Parag Gohel, Ashwin Naik, Aashish Tondon, K.D. Kulkarni, A.K. Megharaj, A.B. Panigrahi, T. Victor and Kishore B. Haldankar. In the above technical session 95 members participated, Shri A.K. Megharaj, Director of Mines Safety (Goa Region) was the Chief guest and Shri A.S. Panigrahi, RCOM, IBM (Goa Region) was the guest of honour. M/s. Tata Motors introduced their latest especially designed trucks CONSTRUCKS. There was a live demonstration of the new trucks and was followed by a detailed technical presentation. Shri Megharaj and Shri Panigrahi addressed the gathering and there was active interaction. The session was followed by dinner and the entire session was hosted by M/s. Tata Motors. II HYDERABAD CHAPTER MEAI, Hyderabad Chapter conducted its first Executive Body (2009-11) meeting on 26-08-2009 at 17.30 hrs. in the HRD Conference hall of NMDC Ltd. Masab Tank, Hyderabad. Shri A. Sivasankar, Chairman, presided over the executive body meeting, which was followed by technical paper meeting. At the outset Shri Sivasankar welcomed the members to the meeting and outlined the future programme to conduct monthly technical meetings and organize atleast two visits outside, one to Singareni Collieries and other to some limestone quarry. After the executive body meeting, the technical paper meeting started. In this meeting the dignitaries on the dais were S/ Shri A. Kundu, Secretary, V.D. Rajagopal, MEAI President, V. Veda Kumar (Head, Indian Operations, Robo Silican Ltd.) Mining Engineers' Journal 33 In the end a memento was presented to Shri V. Vedakumar, by Shri B. Ramesh Kumar and the meeting ended with vote of thanks proposed by Shri A. Kundu. III Veeraval Porbandar Chapter MEAI, VP Chapter organised a workshop on 'Safety Observation Tour and Behavioural Safety' on 05-09-2009 at the Regional Training Centre of M/s. Ambuja Cements Ltd., Ambuja Nagar, (Gujarat). The workshop was attended by Director and Dy. Director Mines Safety, (Udaipur Region), President Ambuja Cement Ltd., President UltraTech Cement Ltd and 44 members from various cement, chemical and bauxite industries of Saurashtra region. At the outset Shri N.K. Nuwal, Chairman, MEAI, V.P. Chapter welcomed the guests and members and emphasized the need of safe working since the mining industry involves high risk. He pointed out that the safety is a journey and there is no destiny.

Shri N.K. Nuwal (in centre) addressing the gathering October 2009

Shri S.K. Udaiwal, Head-Regional Training Centre conducted a lively workshop on Safety Observation tour demonstrating safety leadership which requires pro-active approach to encourage safe method of work. This could be achieved by intervening and correcting unsafe methods of working before they become an incident. He said that safety is the job for all the line managers and not simply of safety officers.

2.

Shri B.J. Sridhar (LM-2123) General Manager, Pearl Mineral Pvt. Ltd., Res. No. : 55/6 B, R.L. Puram, Chimakurthy 523 226. Prakasam District, A.P. Shri V.S. Mathur (LM 116) 485/17E, Chopasani Housing Board, Jodhpur 342 003. Rajasthan Shri S. Srinivasan, (LM-320) Asst. Vice-President (Geological Services), Vanpic Ports Pvt. Ltd., Plot No. 96, Road No. 2, Meenakashi Banjara Ville, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad 500 034. Shri Govind Singh (LM 1032) C/o. Shri Laxmi Prasad Singh, Devipur Kheshami, Domchanch Bazar, Koderma (Jharkhand) 825 418. Shri S. Krishnamurthy Director of Mines Safety, Flat No. 206, Marvel Mansion, Amba Theatre Road, Mehdipatnam, Hyderabad 500 028. Cell No. : 96425 96224 Shri S. Bharath (LM-2023) Dy. Manager (Resources), Indian Rare Earths Ltd., Manavalakurichi, Kanyakumari 629 252, Tamilnadu. Tel. No.: 04652 261856, Mobile : 9360138217, Email : bharathirel@yahoo.co.in Shri P. Saravanan (LM-3176) Ganesh Nilaya, Near TCH College, Gavisiddeswara Nagar, Jambunath Road, Hospet, Bellary 583 201. Karnakata Shri K.S. Sreenivasan (LM-2971) Mines Manager, Sociedade De Fomento Industrial Pvt. Ltd. Vila Flores Da Silva, Eramso Carvalho Street, Post Box. 31, Margoa, Goa 403 601.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Presentation on Safety Observation Tour by Shri S.K. Udaiwal Shri V. Shrikanth, AVP (Mines) of M/s. Ultra Tech Cements Ltd. gave a presentation on 'Behavioural Safety' and demonstrated few traits of human mind and pattern of thinking and communication. 7.

8.

9.

10. Shri Yogest Gulabrao Kale (LM 1774) Flat No. 001, Chandragupta Appts, Plot No. 13 & 14, Mangaldham Co-op Society, Takli (Seem), Nagpur 440 016. Presentation on 'Behavioural Safety' by Shri V. Srikanth IV Change of Address The latest addresses of MEAI life members, who have changed their jobs or residences are given below. 1. Shri G.L. Tandon (LM-019) Padmabhushan Flat No. 619 (First Floor), Sector A, Pocket B, Vasantkunj, New Delhi - 110 070. 34 11. Shri Ram Abhilash (LM 1917) Dy. Director of Mines Safety, Bilaspur Region, SECL Campus, Seepat Road, Bilaspur 495 006. (C.G.) 12. Shri U.C. Tiwari (LM-922) H-1544 F/F, C.R. Park, New Delhi 110 019. 13. Shri N. Anantha Goplan (LM 2096) Asst. Director, Dept. of Geology of Mining, Industrial Estate, Guindy, Chennai 600 032. October 2009

Mining Engineers' Journal

14. Shri Dilip Bhargava (LM-665) Deputy General Manager (Maintanance), RMD, SAIL, Bolani Ore Mines, P.O. Bolani 758 037, Dist., Keonjhar (Orissa) 15. Shri D. Ravi, (LM-2614) Asst. Geologist, Flat No. 204, H.No. 11-13-1257, Vasavi Colony, DSNR, Hyderabad-500 035. 16. Shri G.M. Rao (LM-2343) #402, Sindhuja Habitat, Plot No. 33, Srinagar Colony, Hyderabad-500 073. 17. Dr. Manish Kumar Jain (LM-2499) Asst. Professor, C/o. Sheela Kanuajia, 10, Surya Vihar Colony, Bartand, Dhanbad - 826 004. 18. Shri K. Satyanarayana Retd. Senior Mining Engineer, Gurukrupa, Ambedkar Nagar, Kadu 577 548. Dist. Chikkamanguluru 19. Shri Jagadeeshwar, S.M. (LM-2357) Quarter No. 70/TS/IV, BIOM Kirandul Complex, P.O. Kirandul 494556 Dist. Dantewada (Chhattisgarh) 20. Shri P.R. Parmar (LM-2325) Sr. Manager (Mines) Hindalco Industries Ltd., Post. Kusmi - 497 222. Dist. Surguja (Chhattisgarh) 21. Shri Rasik Lal Parmar (LM-1993) D-9, Hawa Magri RHB Hiran Magri, Sector - 14, Udaipur 313002 (Rajasthan) 22. Shri Ajay Kumar Jain (LM-2054) General Manager (Mines) KJS Cement Ltd., Near Railway Crossing P.O. Maihar 485 771. Dist., Satna (M.P) 23. Shri Tej Bahadur Sahib (LM-0241) House No. 887/20, Kamat Nagar, Succor, Porvorim - Goa - 403 521. 24. Shri G. Harihara Iyer (LM-0814) 145, Jal Yayu Vihar, JNTU, Hyderabad - 500 085. 25. Shri Agadi, R.Y. (LM-087) Sr. Geologist, Kalpavraksha Apartment, Opposite to B.V.B. Engineering College Gate, Vidya Nagar, Hubli - 580 031. Dist. Dharwad (Karnataka) Mining Engineers' Journal 35

26. Prof. Arvind Kumar Mishra Associate Professor, Department of Mining Engineering Indian School of Mines University, Dhanbad - 826 004 (Jharkhand) Mobile : 9471191122 27. Dr. Amitabh Tripathi NMDC Ltd., BIOM, Bacheli Complex, Qtr. No. Type IV / DS / 38, Subhash Nagar, P.O. Bacheli, Dist., Dantewada - 494 553. (Chhattisgarh), Mobile : 94077 16351 Email : amitabhtripathi@hotmail.com 28. Shri H.V. Nadagoudar (LM-2007) Senior Geolophysicist C/o. The Deputy Director, Dept. of Mines & Geology, 68, Banashankari Krupa APMC Road, Sangameshwara Nagar, Belgaum - 590 010 (Karnataka) 29. Shri Neeraj Pareek (LM - 1805) B-10-, GMDC Colony, S.K.V. Nagar - Lakhpat Taluk, Dist., Kutch (Gujarat) - 370 601. 30. Shri A.S. Giri Rao (LM-073) #31/7-1, 8th Main, 11th Cross, Malleswaram, Bangaluru - 560 003. 31. Shri J.L. Mathur (LM-0493) C/o. Shri Kamal Kishore Mathur Umaid Villa, 4-L-36, Jawahar Nagar, Jaipur - 302 004 (Rajasthan) Mobile : 92143 20039. 32. Shri P.V. Krishnaiah Yadavv (LM-1442) DGM - Mines & Chairman Rayalaseema chapter, M/s. Penna Cement Industries Ltd., Boyareddypalli (Village) - 515 408. Yadiki (Mandal), Anantapur (Dist.,) 33. Shri K. Ramanjaneya Reddy (LM-2488) Manager (Mines) M/s. Penna Cement Industries Ltd., Poyareddypalli Village, Yadiki Mandal, Dist. Anantapur - 515 408. 34. Dr. V.V. Samba Siva Rao (LM-2613) Asst. Geologist Dept. of Mines & Geology, Buggaiah Compound, Tadipatri - Village & Mandal, Ananatapur Dist. 35. Shri Anil Kumar Verma (LM-2046) Qtr. No. E Star 07, P.O. Jaypee Nagar, Dist. Rewa (M.P) - 486 450, Mobile : 98937 00710 Email : ak_verma99@rediffmail.com October 2009

OBITUARY
ADVERTISE IN MINING ENGINEERS' JOURNAL
(The Official Organ of Mining Engineer's Association of India)
It reaches to more than 3500 core professionals in mining and allied industries by first week of every month. Mechanical Data : Overall size Print Area No. of Columns Width of Column Advertisement Tariff : Centre spread 44 cm x 27.5 cm (multi colour) Front cover page (multi colour) (Print area - 18.5 cm x 18 cm) Front inside cover page (in multi colour) Front inside cover page (in two colours) Back cover page (in multi colour) Back inside cover page (in multi colour) Back inside cover page (in two colours) Inside page (in two colours) Inside page (black & white) Inside half page (black & white) Inside quarter page (black & white) Classifieds : Consultants, positions vacant, Positions wanted etc., (4 cm x 9 cm) Note : 1) Transperancies shall be supplied by the advertiser. 2) For every five continuous insertions one next immediate insertion shall be given free of charge. 3) Life institutional members of MEAI shall be given 25% discount on the above tariff. 4) All life members of MEAI shall be given 20% discount on the above tariff. 5) For contractual terms please contact the publisher. 6) All payments should be made by D.D./Banker's cheque / Local cheque in favour of "Mining Engineers' Association of india" payble at Hyderabad / Secunderabad or by cash. Out station cheques must include Rs. 25/- extra towards colletion charges. For further details, if any, please contact :

21.5 cm x 27.5 cm 18.5 cm x 23.0 cm Two 9 cm Rate per insertion Rs. 10,000/Rs. 8.000/-

Syed Mahmood Naqvi (1941-2009) With profound sense of sorrow and grief we regret to inform that Dr. Syed Mohmood Naqvi, an eminent Earth Scientist and Vice President of the Geological Society of India breathed his last on September 4, 2009. Born in Amroha (UP) on August 28, 1941, Syed Mahmood Naqvi obtained M.Sc. (Geology) in 1964 from AMU Aligarh and joined NGRI as Jr. Scientific Assistant. He was awarded Ph.D.degree by AMU Aligarh (1972) for his intensive studies on the structure, petrology, geochemistry, gravity field and tectonics of the Chitradurga Schist Belt, Dharwar Craton. He superannuated as Acting Director of NGRI in 2003 and continued his research as CSIR Emeritus and INSA Sr. Scientist at NGRI. Dr. Naqvi was in Advisory Board of Terra World Group of Companies dealing in mines and minerals. Dr. Naqvi published over 250 research papers in national and international journals and authored 8 books/ monographs including the latest book Geology and Evolution of Indian Plate. He was recipient of several awards: Some of them being Gold Medal of Geological Society of India (1978), Shantiswarup Bhatnagar Award (1983), National Mineral Award (1992), Amroha Gaurav (1994), Life-time achievement National Mineral Award for Excellence (2006) and many others. He was very fond of Urdu poetry and literature and ardent admirer of Mirza Ghalib and Ahmed Faraz. Dr. Naqvi is survived by his wife, three sons, collegues, friends and admirers. MEJ extends sincere condolences to the bereaved family. 36 October 2009

Rs. 6,000/Rs. 5,000/Rs. 8,000/Rs. 6,000/Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs. 5,000/4,000/3,000/2,000/1,000/-

Rs. 500/-

Secretary General Mining Engineers' Association of India


Block 'A", F-608, Raghavaratna Towers, Chirag Ali Lane, Abids, Hyderabad - 500 001. Ph. 040-23200510, 66460479, E-mail : meai1957@gmail.com Website : www.meai.in

Mining Engineers' Journal

REQUIREMENT OF TECHNICAL PERSONS


We are in Mining & Civil construction works for last few decades and satisfactorily meeting the demands of our esteemed clients, like JSPL, JSL, IMFA, BAL, ECL, Ushamartin, Mesco etc. Our strength is in our dedicated manpower, large fleet of HEMM and utilisation of modern technology. Our activities are spread over Orissa, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and shortly shall cover orther states like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, U.P. etc. We want to strengthen our organistaion with additional technical personnel. We presently require the following personnel. For serial number 1,2 & 3 : Selected person shall be independently responsible for all operations for the project assigned. He shall have to attend all State/Central Govt. Authorities (Labour, DGMS, P.F., Pollution Control Board) associated in the Project besides attending to local/village/panchayat/forest level issues besides adhering to the project schedules and clients requirement. Please apply to M/s. Coronation Infrastructure Ltd., N-3/27, IRC Village, Nayapally, Bhubaneswar 751015. with complete bio data and salary presently drawn and expected salary. Remuneration is no constraint for right person. Application with complete bio data may also be sent by e-mail : bbsratwalcoronation@yahoo.com
Sl.No. Post required & number Stream Qualification Experience Age

1.

G.M. (Mines) (One post)

Mining

B.E. in Mining Engineering with 1st class unrestricted certificate of competency B.E. in Mining Engineering with 1st class unrestricted certificate of competency B.E. in Mining Engineering with 1st class unrestricted certificate of competency Diploma/Degree in Mining Engineering with 2 nd Class unrestricted certificate or competency. Over man unrestricted certificate of competency. Degree in Mining Engineering (restricted certificate of competency) Dip / Degree with 2nd Class (restricted certificate of competency) Diploma with Foreman Certificate of competency Diploma in Mining Engineering with Surveyor certificate of competency Degree in Mechanical Engineering

15-20 yrs in 1st class Coal Mine (open cast) deploying HEMM Minimum 5 MBCM excavation/ annum. 10 years in 1st Coal Mine (open cast) deploying HEMM Minimum 5 MBCM excavation/annum 5-10 years in 1st class Coal Mine (open cast) deploying HEMM Minimum 5 MBCM excavation/ annum 5 years in open cast coal mine deploying HEMM

45 60

2.

Dy. G.M. (Mines) (two posts) Manager 1st Class (two posts)

Mining

45-50

3.

Mining

40-50

4.

Manager 2nd Class (two posts)

Mining

35-45

5. 6.

Over man (six posts) Manager 1st Class (Metalliferous Mines) (One post)

Mining Mining

6 years (open cast mine with HEMM) 5 years experience in Bauxite mine using Ripper Dozer & other HEMM 10 years as 2nd class Manager deploying HEMM 5 years experience as foreman with HEMM 5 years with Total Station Survey 10 years experience in HEMM repair maintenance 200 HP and above equipments. Construction/Irrigations Project/ Dam etc 10 yrs. 10 years in construction work at least 5 yrs in .

35-45 35-45

7. 8. 9. 10.

Manager 2nd Class (Metalli- Mining ferous Mines) (two posts) Mine Foreman (six posts) Surveyor (two posts) Manager (Mechanical) (three posts) Manager (Civil) (two posts) Asst. Engineer (Civil) (two posts) Mining Mining Mining

35-45 30-40 35-45 35-45

11. 12.

Mining Mining

Degree in Civil Engineering Diploma/Degree in Civil Engineering

35-45 35-45

Mining Engineers' Journal

37

October 2009

CONFERENCES, SEMINARS, WORKSHOPS ETC.,


INDIA 2009 5 - 9 October 2009 : International Seminar on "Prospects of Marine Sediments as Resource Base for the growth of amnkind", Contact : Prof. C.V. Raman, Director (ISMS), Dept. of Geology, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam - 530 003. Tel.: 91-0891-2344709(O), 2500384(R), 9885896620(Mob.), e-mail:cvraman@yahoo.co.in/cvraman8@rediffmail.com 19 - 21 October 2009 : International Conference on "Emerging trends Technologies Environmental Science and Engineering" organised at AMU Aligarh in Collaboration with College of Engineering The University of Toledo, Ohio, USA. Contact : Dr. Izharul Haq Farooqui, Organising Secretary, Dept. of Civil Engineering, AMU, Aligarh. Email : icetese20094@yahoo.com 28 - 30 October 2009 : "International Seminar on Mineral Processing Technology (MPT-2009)" at Institute of Minerals and Metals Technology (IMMT), Bhubaneswar. Contact : Shri P.S.R. Reddy, Convener, MPT-2009, IMMT, Bhubaneswar - 751 013. Tel.: +91 674 2581635/636/638/639. Ext. 536, Fax : 0674-2581160/2581637, Email: pssreddy@immt.res.in. Website:www.immt.res.in/mpt2009 6 - 7 November 2009 : Investor's Meet & Conference on "Development of Mineral Resources & Mineral Based Industry in North - Eastern Region" at Maniram Dewan Trade Centre, Guwahati (Assam). Contact : Conference Secretariat, Federation of Indian Mineral Industries, FIMI House, B-311, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase-I, New Delhi -20. Tel.: +91-1126814596, E-mail : fimi@fedmin.com Website : www.fedmin.com 10 - 13 November 2009 : "Ninth International Mine ventilation congress" at Hotel Crown Plaza, New Delhi, India. Organised by : Department of Mining Engineering Indian School of Mines University, Dhanbad - 826 004. For further details, please contact : Prof. D.C. Panigrahi, Convenor & head, Deptt. of Mining Engineering. Indian School of Mines University, Dhanbad - 826 004. Email: dc_panigrahi@yahoo.co.in, Web : www.9thimvc.org 12 - 13 November 2009 : "14th PA Drilling & Blasting Conference" The Penn Stater Conference Center State College, PA USA. 15 - 17 January 2010 : International Conference on "Iron Ore Future The Next Decade" Hotel Oberoi Grand, Kolkata. Contact : Prof. A.K. Ghose, Journal of Mines, Metals & Fuels, 6/2 Madan Street, Kolkata - 700 072. Tel. : 033-22126526, Email : ghose.ajay@gmail.com 22 - 25 January 2010 : 3rd Asian Mining Congress 2010 "Resurgence of Mining in Asia : Prospects and Challenges" & International Mining Machinery Exhibition (IME 2010)" organised by MGMI Kolkata. Details can be had from MGMI website : www.mgmiindia.com or from the MGMI office GN 38/4 Salt Lake Sector - V, Kolkata - 700 091. 4 - 7 February 2010 : "STONA 2010 - 9th International Granites and Stone Fair" at Bangalore : Contact Chairman, STONA 2010 Fair Steering Committee, STONA#429/7, 12th Cross Sadashivnagar, Bangalore - 560 080. Tel. : +91-80-23612541, Fax : 23610993, Email : aigsa@vsnl.net/ aigsa@ebhasin.com/stona@stonaaigra.com, Website:www.stonaaigra.com 4 - 7 February 2010 : "6th International Dyke Conference" for further details, please contact : Prof. Rajesh K. Srivastava, Deptt. of Geology, BHU, IT, Varanasi - 221 005. 7 - 8 May 2010 : Bhubaneswar, India Mine TECH' 10 Seminar on "Mining Technology - Extraction, Beneficiation for Safe and Sustainable Development" contact : IMEJ Convener Prof. S. Jayanthu, Head, Dept. Mining Engineering, N.I.T. Rourkela. l.me.journal@hotmail.com or sjayanthu@rediffmail.com ABROAD 2009 5 - 9 October 2009 : "Argentina, 24th World Gas Conference" Buenos Aires, Argentina Organisers: The CWC Group, Email: nhoward@thecwcgroup.com; www.wgc2009.com 12 - 14 October 2009 : "Mill Operator's 2009 Adelaide, SA" Contact : Alison McKenzie Telephone : +16 3 9658 6123; Facsimile: +61 3 9662 3662. 14 - 17 October 2009 : "Mining Indonesia2009 - The 14th International Mining and Minerals Recovery Exhibition and Conference" Jakarta International Expo Kemayoran, Jakarta, Indonesia. www.pamerindo.com 19 - 23 October 2009 : International Mine Water Conference Pretoria, South Africa. www.wisa.org.za/minewater2009.htm 20 - 22 October 2009 : "China Mining, Binhai International Convention" and Exhibition Center (BICEC), Tianjin, China. 26 - 30 October 2009 : "World Gold 2009" Johannesburg, South Africa. Contact : Leon Lorenzen Website : www.worldgold2009.orgza 27 - 29 October 2009 : "Mining and Energy" South Australia, Adelaide, South Australia. www.seedminingevents.com.au 27 - 30 October 2009 : China Coal & Mining Expo 2009, National Agriculture Exhibition Center, Beijing, P.R. China. www.chinaminingcoal.com/ 2009 28 - 31 October 2009 : WXXVII International mining Congress & Exhibit World Trade Centre, Veracruz, Mexico. http:// www.expominmexico.com.mx/ 1 - 4 November 2009 : Tailings and Mine Waste 2009, Alberta, Canada. www.ostrf.com/seminars 9 - 12 November : "Flotation 09" Capetown, South Africa, www.mineng.com/conferences/ 12 - 13 November 2009 : "14th PA Drilling & Blasting Conference" The Penn Stater Conference Center State College, PA USA 16 - 19 November 2009 : "MEPS-2009 - 18th International Symposium on Mine Planning & Equipment Selections" at Banff Alberta, Canada, Contact : Dr. Raj K. Singhal, P.O. Box 68002, Crow foot Postal Outlet, 28 Crowfoot Terrdce NW, Calgery, Alberta, T3G 1YO, Canada, Fax : (403)241-9460, Email : singhal@shaw.ca Website : http://www.mpes-camiswemp.com 21 - 23 November 2009 : "International Symposium on Mine Planning & Equipment Selection (MPES 2009)" Banff, Canada, www.mpes-camiswemp.com 1 - 3 December 2009 : "7th Fennoscandian Exploration and Mining" Rovaniemi, Finland. www.lapinliitto.fi/fem2009 9 - 12 May 2010 : CIM Conference and Exhibition, Vancouver, BC CANADA, www.cimorg 11 - 12 May 2010 : Sampling 2010, Perth, WA Contact : The AusIMM Events; Telephone: +61 3 9662 3166; Facsimile: +61 3 9662 3662 23 - 24 June 2010 : AusIMM International Uranium Conference 2010, Adelaide, SA Contact : The AusIMM Events Department; Telephone : +61 3 9662 3166; Facsimile: +61 3 9662 3662

Printed by A.S. Rao, Secretary General, Mining Engineers' Association of India, Published by A.S. Rao, Secretary General, on behalf of Mining Engineers' Association of India and printed at Deepu Printers at 5-8-352, Raghav Ratna Towers (Ground Floor), Chirag Ali Lane, Abids, Hyderabad - 500 001. and published at 5-8-352, Raghav Ratna Towers (Ground Floor), Chirag Ali Lane, Abids, Hyderabad - 500 001. Editor : Dr. K.K. Sharma

Mining Engineers' Journal

38

October 2009

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