TECHNOLOGICAL RESOURCES PTY. LIMITED

A network product planner ( 29 ) ascertains material levels required at dispatch stockpiles ( 15 ), for example by checking upcoming orders for material to be shipped by transport ships ( 19 ) to end customers. Tolerance bands for chemical components required at the dispatch stockpiles are then ascertained. The tolerance bands are defined by upper and lower expected value control limits for each chemical component. The network product planner ( 29 ) then passes the collected information to the optimization engine ( 29 a ), which finds the values of decision variables in the form of weights, that minimize variance of the chemical components in the dispatch stockpiles, whilst being constrained to comply with the specified tolerance bands of the chemical components. The network product planner ( 29 ) then passes the weight values to the rail dispatch controller ( 23 ) in messages ( 14 ). The rail dispatch controller ( 23 ) refers to the weight values when generating schedules for the trains ( 13 ) so that as they travel over rail network ( 11 ), trains ( 13 ) pick up material from mine stockpiles ( 9 ) and deposit material to dispatch stockpiles ( 15 ) in accordance with the weights to thereby create the dispatch stockpiles with chemical components complying with the tolerance bands and with variance of chemical components minimized.

Methods and systems for mining, for example a mining operation including: a surface mine site including a processing site situated remotely from a blast site within the mine site and coupled by a network of roads, wherein a first proportion of the roads are sealed and a second proportion of the roads have a maximum width in the range of 3 to 12 metres; a fleet of autonomous material handling units located at the surface mine site, each autonomous material handling unit including a wireless transceiver for coupling to a communications network. The autonomous material handling units include a plurality of small capacity haulage vehicles, each having a maximum payload capacity of 80 tonnes or less. The autonomous material handling units are configured to be controlled by a control centre via the communications network.

A method and an apparatus for producing direct reduced iron (DRI) move a material comprising iron ore and biomass through a preheat zone ( 20 ) and then a reduction zone ( 30 ) of a hearth furnace ( 3 ) and heat and progressively reduce iron ore and discharge DRI. Reduction gases flow in an opposite direction to material, and combustible gases in the reduction gases are combusted in the preheat zone and generate heat. Microwave energy heats material and reduces iron ore in the reduction zone. The microwave energy is supplied via a plurality of microwave applicators ( 66 ) arranged in a plurality of rows of applicators extending across a width of and along a section of a length of the reduction zone. The reduction zone ( 56 ) includes a lower sub zone ( 58 ) and an upper sub zone separated by an interface ( 80 ). The interface is configured to so that (a) microwave energy is at least substantially prevented from passing through the interface to the upper sub zone and (b) reduction gases produced in the lower sub zone from reduction of iron ore can flow through the interface into the upper sub zone.

A compact hyperspectral imager adapted to operate in harsh environments and to conduct post acquisition signal processing to provide automated and improved hyperspectral processing results is disclosed. The processing includes luminance and brightness processing of captured hyperspectral images, hyperspectral image classification and inverse rendering to produce luminance invariance image processing.

A method of separating a mined material that comprises assessing the grade of successive segments of the mined material, and separating each segment on the basis of grade into a category that is at or above a grade threshold or a category that is below the grade threshold. An apparatus is also disclosed.

A method of leaching a gold/copper-containing sulfidic mined material that includes two leach stages, with a gold leach stage leaching gold from the material with a gold leach liquor and a copper leach stage leaching copper from the material with a copper leach liquor.

A method of leaching copper-containing ores, such as chalcopyrite ores, with a leach liquor in the presence of silver and an activation agent that activates silver whereby the silver enhances copper extraction from copper ores.

A method is provided for operating a railway network having a number of trains, the method comprises operating a scheduling machine that is in communication with the railway network over a data communication system, to receive time separated state data defining states of the railway network at respective times. The scheduling machine accesses a model of the railway network that is stored in an electronic data source. The model defines locations in the railway network that allows for passing of trains and paths for journeys of each of the trains. The method includes operating the scheduling machine to apply the state data to the model to determine, at each of the respective times, controls associated with each trains' path for each of the trains. The scheduling machine is operated to determine the controls by optimizing an objective function for the trains, such as minimizing total travel time of the trains, taking into account the locations in the network, positions of the trains and paths of each of the trains. The controls are transmitted, via the data communication system, to control movement of the trains, for example by operation of railway network switches (points) and signal lights, through the railway network based on the controls.

A bucket wheel machine 100 having a base 102 and an operating block 104 . The operating block has a bucket wheel 106 , a bearing 112,114 , and at least one of a ring chute 120 , a bucket wheel chute 108 , and a bucket wheel drive 116 . The operating block 104 is detachably attached to the base of the bucket wheel machine 102 . The operating block 104 also has a support frame 130 which is connected to the bearing 112,114.

A method is provided to coordinate loading of a material in an operational area by machine actors including haul trucks and loading vehicles. The method implements quick and efficient loading of trucks with the material in order to ensure that they are highly utilized. A vehicle coordination assembly is provided to establish data communications with vehicle sensing systems of the haul trucks and of the loading vehicles and determine load-ready haul trucks. For each load-ready haul truck, a loading task is assigned to two or more of the loading vehicles for loading of the load-ready haul truck. Each task specifies a respective safe operating space in which a loading vehicle is restricted to operating. The assigned loading vehicle with a safe operating space extending over a side of the haul truck can only perform a dumping operation to the haul truck at any one time.