October 2017 / Mining Method Selection
Selecting a mining method is one of the most critical and problematic activities of mining engineering. The ultimate goal of the mining method is to maximise the profit and extraction of the mineral resources while providing a safe working environment. The selection...
May 2017 / Gold Cost Curves
Industry cost curves are valuable tools to benchmark the operational cost performance of an existing operation or new proposed mine project against industry. The industry cost curve indicates the ability of the existing mines to endure cyclical commodity prices and...
April 2017 / The Minefield of Geology or Resource Software
Geological/Mineral Resource estimation software today has become a very diverse field with immense competition between software companies. Very often exploration and mining companies are at a complete loss as to what software to choose. It is often easier to let one...
SAIMM presentation / Post Pit Optimisation Strategic Alignment
INTRODUCTION It is common to select a optimal pit shell defining the mineral reserve without much further consideration Other strategic opportunities are being ignored? Small value compromise for significant strategic gain PIT OPTIMISATION The objective is...
Dec 2016 / What on Earth are Rare Earths
The term “rare” in reference to rare earth elements (“REEs”) is not strictly correct and stems from the early 1950s. The complexity of REE ores and elements made the separate economic extraction of individual elements more difficult and costly. Some of the elements...
June 2016 / Who Needs Geology
Very often Companies are faced with budgetary constraints. This results in placing pressure on the time spent on generating Mineral Resource models. Technical Reports often vividly describe a projects’ geological location and the mineralisation mechanisms that have...
August 2018 – Gold Cost Curves
September 2018 / Platinum Cost Curves
Notes: All-in Sustainable Cost (“AISC”) includes cash cost incurred at each processing stage, from mining through to recoverable metal delivered to market inclusive of royalties and production taxes, sustaining and reserve development capital expenditure, corporate...