The Western Australian government has released new standards to help provide better rehabilitation of mine sites in the region. These standards outline several environmental criteria that mine operators can follow to help determine if they’ve successfully rehabilitated their site after mining. The report highlights several areas of improvement to the sector, suggesting that investments in financial and staff resources for the rehabilitation and closure of the mine sites should be emphasised right from the beginning.

The new guidelines encourage mining companies to invest in advancing their science-based knowledge on how to improve rehabilitation standards in Western Australia. Industry representatives like Iluka Resources and Roy Hill, Alcoa, and the country’s leading universities are heavily involved in this collaboration, a first for the government and the aforementioned industries in collaborating on mine closure criteria.

Mines and Petroleum Minister Bill Johnston made the announcement last August 20 and stated: “The new Western Australian guidance for mine closure is a great example of government and industry working together to deliver better rehabilitation outcomes for our State. It provides industry with greater clarity and consistency in the development of mine closure plans across different locations and commodities. Effective mine closure is critical to ensure the long-term environmental sustainability of the industry.”

Developing a clear and concise completion criteria for mine closure is a crucial step towards ensuring a successful transition of the mined sites for future use. In the mining industry, a completion criteria is defined as a set of agreed standards that measure the success of rehabilitation, allowing the operator to deem when its liability for an area will halt. Once they hit those standards, they can show to the mining company, regulators, and stakeholders that the liabilities and financial assurances can be eliminated.

Because of this, it’s imperative that a completion criteria must be carefully planned to achieve end-state goals. Mining is one of the biggest industries in Australia, but often times these profits come at the cost of surrounding environments. Topsoils are removed, earths are excavated, and forests are cleared to make way for mining operations. For this reason, mining rehabilitation projects have become more common and ambitious in their scopes. The scale of mining projects require extensive rehabilitation schemes that incorporate both economic initiatives and scientific advancements to reduce the damage as much as possible.

The new guidance is referred to as “A framework for developing mine-site completion criteria in Western Australia” and was developed by the Western Australian Biodiversity Science Institute. The criteria focuses on all stages of mining like environmental assessment, operations, construction, decommissioning, monitoring, and maintenance of the site post-closure. While these new standards are aimed towards the resource sector, other industries can utilise the guidance set by the WA government when doing ecological restoration.

While Western Australia has made considerable progress in mine closure and rehabilitation, there is still a need to build capacity and greater understanding of how to effectively measure rehabilitation success. Setting practical outcomes and measurable completion criteria will go a long way towards helping mine operators measure their mine rehabilitation efforts more accurately.

Should you require any further understanding on the mining situation in Western Australia, get in touch with leading mining equipment supplier Oreflow for more information.

Australia’s mining sector has experienced a steady rise in employment prospects and managed to finish strong this May. According to recruitment agency DFP, the mining industry rebounded significantly in employment results with the mining and resources job index climbing from 91.68 to 95.38. The surge came despite the circumstances of the federal election which prompted employers from other sectors to postpone their hiring procedures because of the uncertainty involved. Job vacancies in the mining and resources industry rose by four percent during May and continues to increase as the months progress.

Even with strong commodity prices, the sector’s growth recorded a 3.9% increase in permanent vacancies while temporary and contract vacancies ballooned up to 4.3%. The Reserve Bank of Australia’s DFP job index and non-rural bulk commodity price index experienced a significant boost towards the end of the second quarter. The commodity price index climbed to around 5% in May, tallying a growth of 18.9% over a span of 6 months and around 33% over a 12-month period. The DFP believes that there is room for more employment growth in the mining and resources in the coming months despite political headwinds being a potential difference-maker.

Leading the way is Western Australia with a job market increase of around 5.1%, with Queensland trailing by 4.4% and returning to positive territory. Reports have indicated that the result of the federal election will open up more opportunities for job growth in the mining and resources sector. According to DFP, a Coalition Government that’s pro-business will likely encourage job prospects more compared to a Labor Government with a neutral approach on supporting the coal industry as well as environmental causes.

The metal ore sector has maintained its status as a market leader and tallied record-breaking results. Job vacancies climbed to another 2.5% in the month of May which established a successive record high for the second time. The last three months have been working in favor of the sector, recording an amazing 16.4% increase in growth. Coal mining demands have fallen off and job vacancies suffered an 8.1% decrease this year which highlights the judicious attitude of coal producers based on the context of the election results.

The DFP expects that the employment prospects in the coal mining sector will improve since the federal election is now in the rear view mirror. Many job categories experienced plenty of growth during the first quarter and those are production managers, moving plant operators, petroleum and mining engineers, geologists, and drillers.

The future of the Australian mining sector

The boom in the Australian mining sector has created plenty of optimism for those who are keen on working in the industry. But what does the future look like for the sector in general? Given that Australia derives 8.5% of its GDP to the mining sector, it is particularly prone to changes in the commodities market. Roughly 60% of the country’s export is accounted by the mining sector and previous declines in the industry have resulted in widespread unemployment, mainly around towns where mining operations are built.

There is an increasing need to caution workers intending to work within the mining industry, both globally and in Australia. Digitalisation and automation are slowly taking place and soon enough, it will creep up on employment rates and affect miners, truckers, and machinists who comprise most of the workforce. The shift from thermal coal to renewable energy sources should also be taken into consideration. This transition is currently underway in Australia and despite the government’s support, the decreasing cost of solar technology is leading many to believe that thermal coal mining in Australia is nearing its end.

The Commonwealth Department of Employment projects that the coal mining workforce will experience a 21% drop in the final quarter of the year 2020. In the short term, this can prove detrimental to the Australian mining sector. The transition is happening at a rapid pace and is making it increasingly difficult to phase out coal mining operations in a fair and sustainable manner. As of now, 60% of employed miners are under the age of 45. Once the coal mines shut down, they’ll be forced to find other employment, sometimes in regions where there are only a few options.

With the increases in the price of commodities, the mining sector has experienced a sudden resurgence whether it be in greenfield sites and established mines. The growth in opportunities has continued throughout the first quarter of 2019 and brings good news to the mining sector. The salaries remain comparatively high with an average salary of A$137,600 per year compared to an average full-time salary of around A$87,200 yearly. Despite the uncertainty in the future, the mining sector is awash with opportunities for those who are interested in working in the mining industry.

The conveyor is one of the cornerstones of any modern mining operation, providing a safe and reliable way to transport ore from one place to the other, provided that it is a relatively short distance. Although for most industries the flat conveyor belt is the most commonly used, the mining industry tends to use troughed belt conveyors. This type of conveyor lifts up the sides of the normally flat conveyor belt, forming a trough that allows a much larger holding capacity for loose ores with minimal risk of said ores falling off the belt, which happens much more often on a flat conveyor belt. In this article we will be discussing and familiarising ourselves with the important bits of this crucial component and it is always advisable to speak with an expert when it comes to information regarding conveyors.

Before we get to our actual diagram however, there is an important detail that needs to be cleared up. Although the diagram we will be showing below is one of a conveyor belt that is used in the real world, manufacturers design these conveyors with different specifications to suit certain workloads. Some of the most common variations can be found in the dimensions of the conveyor belt, the angle of the trough, the power of the drive motor, the sizes of the pulleys, and the type of takeup mechanism.

Feed Chute: Loose ore and rocks enter through the feed chute and drop down onto the conveyor belt.

Loading Skirts: The loading skirts guide the ores entering through the feed chute from falling out of the conveyor belt.

Troughing Carrying Idlers: As the name implies, troughing carrying idlers are set at a specific angle to lift up the sides of the conveyor belt to create the trough shape, and help bear the load of ores and rocks.

Troughed Conveyor Belt: With the help of the troughing idlers, the conveyor belt is shaped to form the distinct trough shape.

Discharge Chute: Objects on the conveyor belt drop through this chute at the end of the conveyor belt, guiding them to the next area.

Head Pulley and Drive: The head pulley is located at the end point of the conveyor belt and is powered by the drive motor.

Snub Pulley: The snub pulley is a secondary pulley placed not too far from the head pulley, the purpose of which is to increase the tension on the conveyor belt at that point, which reduces the amount of power needed for the drive motor to move the belt, improving efficiency and reducing energy costs.

Return Idlers: These idlers help return the conveyor belt into its original flat shape and guides it to the tail pulley.

Stringer: The stringer is the general frame of the conveyor belt to which all of the pulley shafts are mounted.

Closely Spaced Idlers at Loading Point: Because heavy ores and rocks drop vertically through the feed chute and onto the conveyor belt, there are more idlers at the area of impact to spread the weight throughout a larger area, reducing the amount of wear on the idlers. In most cases there are specially-designed idlers called impact idlers, which have a distinct shape designed to absorb more impact than standard idlers.

Horizontal Screw Take-up: The takeup mechanism maintains tension at the tail end of the conveyor to make sure that the conveyor belt is guided correctly as it returns to the top side.

Tail Pulley: Located near the feed chute, the tail pulley guides the conveyor belt back up to the top side, repeating the cycle.