copper development road mapenergymining.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/...de re metallica by...

www.minerals.dpc.sa.gov.au/copperstrategy

June 2017

Copper Development Road Map

"South Australia is committed to both driving growth through innovation and unlocking the benefits of our mineral, energy and renewable assets."Hon Tom Koutsantonis MP Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy

Copper Development Road Map June 2017

Contents

Minister's foreword 04

A foreword by Terry Burgess 05

Executive Summary 06

1. Introduction 08

2. The South Australian Copper Strategy 09

3. Technology trends and value drivers in copper production 10

4. Challenges and opportunities for South Australia 16

5. Road Map programs and priorities 17

6. Progressing the Road Map 22

7. Appendix 1: The International Copper Technology and Research Hub 23

8. Appendix 2: Summary of Copper Development Road Map Workshop 26

Minister’s forewordSouth Australia is committed to both driving growth through innovation and unlocking the benefits of our mineral, energy and renewable assets. When these two government priorities work hand-in-hand, we can make significant progress in transforming the South Australian economy.

We want to encourage the resources sector to be more adaptive and to embrace innovations that increase the commercial viability of our projects. We are already witnessing some of these innovative steps through the research being carried out to improve the quality of copper concentrate.

South Australia’s Copper Strategy identified opportunities to encourage creative, innovative and adaptive firms to work with existing producers and explorers to find clever ways to develop our copper resources.

By setting a bold target to triple copper production over the next two decades, the Strategy seeks to challenge producers and explorers to embrace the actions needed to develop our existing and yet to be discovered world-class deposits.

This Copper Development Road Map defines the challenges and opportunities for South Australia that can arise from Australia becoming a global leader in copper production. The Road Map supports a coordinated and collaborative approach between industry and academic institutions, with guidance from government, to address technology challenges within the copper resources sector.

To achieve success in meeting our objectives, we invite companies and individuals who are prepared to invest in innovation and collaboration to address some of the complex processing, technological and engineering challenges the industry will face as we build a competitive and internationally-focused copper sector.

Hon Tom Koutsantonis MP Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy

4 Copper Development Road Map June 2017

Technology advances can play a key role in helping to deliver on the Copper Strategy and positioning South Australia as a technology leader.

This Copper Development Road Map is an important element in helping to define the challenges and opportunities for South Australia to be a global leader in copper production. It describes a set of opportunities and programs for delivering growth across short (two years), medium (five years) and long-term (10 years) timeframes.

This Road Map has been developed in wide consultation with copper end-producers, developers, mining equipment, technology and services (METS), universities and the CSIRO. The 12 programs outlined here provide a clear focus for our stakeholders to embrace as we seek the next breakthrough in technology to grow our copper and related services industries. I look forward to seeing this Road Map used to build the copper industry in South Australia over the next two decades.

Terry BurgessPresident, South Australian Chamber of Mines and Energy

A foreword by Terry Burgess

South Australia’s Copper Strategy sets a bold target to triple copper production over the next 15 years, with the aims of driving economic growth and increasing investment and sustainable job opportunities.

Copper Development Road Map June 2017 5

Executive SummaryThis Copper Development Road Map (the Road Map) has been developed in direct support of the Copper Strategy, and following wide consultation with key stakeholders. The aims are to accelerate the production value of copper products from commercial ore bodies and to drive global competitiveness. The industry will achieve this by adopting world-class technology and best practice approaches to reduce capital and operating costs, delivering a first-rate level of productivity, and improving environmental and safety performance.

Innovation is key to the continued success of the mining industry generally, and specifically in delivering on South Australia’s Copper Strategy. Copper mining is a complex sequence of discrete yet interrelated activities. Starting with a widely diverse input, optimising one component of the value chain, or indeed multiple units in isolation rarely results in the most effective system.

The Road Map identifies those technology and research activities that are critical in delivering on the Copper Strategy, and are prioritised according to:

• Those that can deliver the highest impact

• Where South Australia has a unique set of challenges and/or is well positioned to take an industry leading position

• Where benefits can be achieved as soon as possible. The Road Map consists of 12 program areas and provides a blueprint for future activities.

Exploration is recognised as a key enabler in delivering South Australia's Copper Strategy, and while covered in this Road Map, the geoscience technical challenges to improve discovery rates are addressed more extensively in the PACE Copper initiative1 and at a national level as part of the UNCOVER Road Map2 of which South Australia is a key sponsor.


1 PACE Copper http://minerals.dpc.sa.gov.au/geoscience/pace_copper.2 UNCOVER Road Map www.uncoverminerals.org.au.

Program Description Value lever Potential 10 year deliverable

Rapid project development

Faster project delivery, reduced CAPEX and OPEX

Reduce time taken between exploration and commissioning

50% reduction in development time

Underground automation

Automate components and the total system

Improved safety and productivity

Towards full automation

Novel processing Increased extraction, less waste, tolerate impurities

Increased recovery, treat lower grade ore

One new process fully implemented

Smart tailings treatment

Better ways to treat and store waste

Environmental and cost benefits

Full scale application

Modular plants More flexible mines, reduced start-up costs

Faster start-up and unlocking smaller, higher grade deposits

Modular plants are regularly deployed

Ore sorting/ grade engineer

Handle multiple ore streams for tailored processing

Optimising ore value Ore sorting fully implemented

Integrated simulation and modelling

Optimise the total system and not sub components

Optimising overall outputs through a systems approach

Predictable and optimal operation

Ore body modelling

Allow for better definition of mining and sequencing

Productivity and higher value Modelling integrated with design/operation

Sensors and data analytics

Current and new sensors with analytics deployed from exploration to production

More efficient operations and maintenance

South Australia a leader in mining for data analytics

In situ recovery In situ extraction of copper Reduced development time, CAPEX, OPEX, rehabilitation

Commercial scale mine operational

Pilot plants for testing

Pilot plants to de-risk the deployment of new technology

De-risking and accelerate technology deployment

Access to latest technology

Advanced training Advanced training to equip the workforce of the future

Optimised construction and operation of mines

World’s best training facility in place

It is expected various stakeholders, including prospective end users, METS companies, researchers from South Australian universities and companies, CSIRO and the proposed International Copper Technology and Research Hub (the Hub) will progress projects within the context of the Road Map.


Table 1: Road Map projects

8 Copper Development Road Map June 2017Copper Development Road Map June 2017 8

1. Introduction

The Copper Development Road Map provides a blueprint for contributing to the Copper Strategy over the next decade.

Figure 1: Achieving the increased production based on potential resources from publicly available information3

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3 South Australia’s Copper Strategy, 2016.

Input into the Road Map included feedback from a Road Map workshop held in Adelaide in February 2017. The workshop was attended by 79 delegates, including explorers and developers, existing and prospective end users, METS, and researchers from South Australian universities and the CSIRO.

Figure 1 shows the source of the production increases required to achieve the target of one million tonnes per year of copper production.

The Road Map comprises five key elements:

• Links with South Australia’s Copper Strategy

• Technology trends and value drivers

• Challenges and opportunities in delivering South Australia’s Copper Strategy

• Programs and priorities

• Proposed International Copper Technology and Research Hub.

South Australia has developed a comprehensive long-term Copper Strategy to create the best technical and business environment for a continued positive copper future for South Australia4.

VisionBy 2030, South Australia will be the major contributor to Australia’s position as the world’s third largest copper producer. To achieve this vision, the key objective of the Strategy is to more than triple South Australian copper production to 1 million tonnes per annum.

ActionsThe vision is supported by activities across three themes:

Theme 1: Accelerate exploration, discovery and information

Theme 2: Develop innovative infrastructure, services and research

Theme 3: Build industry and community capacity.

2. The South Australian Copper Strategy

4 Terry Burgess, President, South Australian Chamber of Mines and Energy.

CuCopper63.546

29


This Road Map specifically relates to Theme 2 – Developing innovative infrastructure, services and research and supports the activities in the other two themes.

Enhancing the collaboration between South Australia’s mining industry, METS suppliers and research institutions, public and private, is seen as fundamental to the continued development of technologies and globally competitive services across the copper value chain.


de re Metallica

by Georgius Agricola

de re Metallica remained an authoritative text on mining for well over 100 years after its publication, and indeed many of the basic principles remain relevant today.

According to Agricola:

A miner should have knowledge of philosophy, medicine, astronomy, surveying, arithmetic, architecture, drawing and law, though few are masters of the whole craft and most are specialists.”

Technology trends and value drivers in copper production

3.

Continuing innovation is key to the ongoing growth and success of the mining industry generally, and specifically in delivering on the South Australian Copper Strategy. Copper mining is a complex sequence of discrete yet interrelated activities. Decisions with respect to mine life and sequencing are critical in optimising the overall mine value.

Copper is traded as a global commodity and its selling price rises and falls in line with international supply and demand forces. Each individual supplier is a price taker.

One of the earliest text’s dedicated to mining and metallurgy was de re Metallica. First published in 1556, the book described the prevailing state of the art of mining, refining and smelting practices.

“

Copper is in high demand in growing and advanced economies5 (Figure 2). In addition, community expectations of a sustainable mining industry and best practice environmental management have changed dramatically over the years.

It is important to put the production (and challenge) of copper in some perspective. Typically for every 100 tonnes of ore mined, processing yields less than one tonne of copper and 99 tonnes of waste material (Figure 3). In addition, ore bodies are typically diverse at both a macro (metre scale) through to microscale (microns). Hence small improvements in extraction efficiency can result in major value uplifts.

In addition to the mined ore, water, energy and other chemicals are also required. The aim is to extract the valuable copper in the safest and most cost-effective manner and to optimise value over a prescribed time range. This is achieved through optimising the overall value chain and its sub components. At the end of its economic life, the mine must also be restored to an acceptable state.

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Japan

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Demand for copperIncreasing around the globe

Much has progressed since de re Metallica was first published, spanning the industrial revolution, an expanding global population demanding more copper, the rise of mass manufacturing methods, increasing automation and the digital revolution.

Agricola’s required knowledge areas have largely stood the test of time, but new knowledge areas like mass mechanical production, materials science, advanced computing and economics now need to be added to the modern miner’s toolkit.

Figure 2: Demand for copper is increasing around the globe6

5 Copper demand trends are well described in “The Copper Technology Road map 2030”, The Warren Centre, 2017. 6 South Australia’s Copper Strategy, 2016.



Figure 3: Copper production is a complex process where the final product only represents one per cent of the input stream

Great technological progress has been made in copper production over the decades, and particularly in terms of the scale of operations. However the degree of difficulty has also increased as copper grades have declined and ore bodies have become more complex (Figure 4); and new deposits are generally found at greater depths. Typically the increasing scale of copper operations has also tempered technical progress, as operators are less inclined to embrace new technologies at a large scale because of the inherent risks.

Figure 4: Declining grades of copper over time

Copp

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rade

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0.81990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022

Industry Head Grade Trends (Weighted Paid Copper)

Copper only represents 1% of the input stream

Source: Brook Hunt


The copper industry has also typically cycled between periods of rapid growth and a focus on cost containment and productivity, sometimes separately and sometimes in combination.

Much has been made of automation and the digital revolution in mining over the last 10 years in particular, often expressed in a mining context as the connected mine, the digital mine or the autonomous mine. All terms are somewhat related and just part of the unfolding technological revolution.

The intent of this chapter is not to provide an exhaustive list of potential technology trends and opportunities, but more to provide a higher level view of current and emerging developments. Technology is developing at pace, which is why this Road Map needs to be reviewed and updated on a regular basis.

There are numerous trends and opportunities in the development of an advanced copper mine. Six key trends have been identified and these are provided in Figure 5; and described in more detail in Table 2. While shown separately, there is significant overlap across many of the areas.

Figure 5: Trends in copper mining

Lean mine development

Integrated mine

Next gen mining &

processing

Remote operated

mine

Low emission

mine

Emerging trends

Digital mine

Table 2: Innovation trends in copper mining and processing

Area Enablers Value driver

Lean mine development

Reducing the time and cost from ore body identification to commercial exploitation

• Lean project design techniques

• Retaining optionality

• Improved project evaluation tools

• Modularity for smaller mines

Increased net present value (NPV) through early cash flow generated

The digital mine

The digital mine is data driven using both historic and real time data to make optimal decisions based on multiple parameters

• New sensors

• New methods for mounting sensors and collecting data (e.g. drones)

• Advanced data analytics capable of handling vast data sets

• Data fusion allowing for optimising across difference data sets

• Improved ore body modelling in short, medium and long-term time horizons

Maximising realised NPV through process optimisation and increased productivity

The integrated mine

Where the overall end-to-end process is optimised rather than individual unit operations

• Improved ore body knowledge

• Optimising blasting practices for the best mill feed and mineral liberation

• Real time modelling

• Advanced modelling capability

• The Internet of Things

Maximum output for lowest up-front CAPEX, by optimising the whole system rather than sub components

Next generation mining

Increased productivity, from bulk mining to precision mining

• Larger equipment for mega mines (up to 2010)

• Smaller equipment and increasing flexibility (post 2010) and modular approach

• Higher levels of mechanisation, including robots

• Maintenance based on failure prediction rather than mean time to failure

Increased productivity, lower costs, less waste and a reduced mining footprint

Next generation processing

Development of more efficient machinery and processing systems

• Matching blasting practices to effectively use particle size distribution for grinding and mineral liberation

• Ore sorting with streaming to different processing options

• Reduced footprint mining, e.g. in situ leaching

• Lean operating practices

• Next generation process control systems incorporating machine learning, artificial intelligence and self-learning systems

Increased productivity, lower costs and less waste


Area Enablers Value driver

The remotely operated mine

Remote mine sites operated from major urban centres

• Communications technology

• Increased band width

• Secured networks for data transmission

• New visualisation techniques

• Urbanisation

Reduced costs and improved workforce availability

The autonomous mine

Automated trucks, trains and drills. Each device generating a stream of new data

• Self-driving vehicles

• Vehicle awareness and communication between vehicles

• Communication technology and protocols

• GPS and radar systems

Improved safety and reduced downtime

The low environmental impact mine

Low carbon emissions, low dust emissions and limited tailings disposal

• On site low carbon energy generation

• High density tailings disposal

• New rehabilitation practices

• Energy efficiency

Environmental performance, licence to operate and reduced costs


The South Australian Copper Summit in May 2015 brought together more than 100 leaders from across the mineral resources and services industries, research institutions and government agencies. Participants discussed the challenges, opportunities and actions needed to achieve the vision of the Copper Strategy.

The strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) from the Summit, confronting the continued growth of the copper industry in South Australia, are summarised in Table 37. This SWOT analysis has been used as one of the key inputs in developing the Road Map.

Challenges and opportunities for South Australia

7 The Summit identified a broader range of issues, but it should be noted that the Road Map is only one element of the South Australian Government’s action agenda.

Table 3: SWOT analysis, extracted from the Copper Summit 2015

Strengths/advantages Weaknesses/gaps

Copper grade higher than world average High operating costs (in Australia compared with international producers)

Major deposits are poly metallic Complex mineralogy requiring increased processing

Excellent research infrastructure and programs Lack of holistic approach within South Australia, with a diverse range of interests

Strong culture of collaboration Limitations on water and power in remote regions

Opportunities/ideas Threats/weaknesses

Collaborative integrated approach to exploration, mining and processing

Community concerns about mining

Discovery of exceptional new copper deposits High cost structures in Australia

Capitalise on technologies and infrastructure from other industries

High entry costs due to deep cover ore deposits

Technology to create cleaner ore for downstream processing

Impurities unable to be removed at competitive cost

Research technologies to reduce OPEX and CAPEX Uncertainty over future research funding

4.



This Road Map outlines those technology and research activities that will have the most significant positive impact in delivering on South Australia’s Copper Strategy. The focus is on:

• Activities that can deliver the highest impact

• Where South Australia is well positioned to take an industry leading position, and/or has a unique set of challenges

• Where deliverables can be achieved within a two year period9.

The most compelling ideas from the workshop have been grouped into 12 programs, summarised in Figure 6. Some programs relate to a specific position in the copper value chain, while others span several parts, or indeed all of the value chain.

Exploration is recognised as a key enabler in delivering South Australia's Copper Strategy, and while covered in this Road Map, the geoscience technical challenges to improve discovery rates are addressed more extensively in the PACE Copper initiative and at national level as part of the UNCOVER Road Map10 of which South Australia is a key sponsor.

Road Map programs and priorities

8 ‘Outputs of the Copper Development Road Map Workshop’, held at the South Australia Drill Core Reference Library on Wednesday 8 February, 2017.9 The full benefits of a program may occur over a longer timeframe, but it is important that some key deliverables are created within at least a two year timeframe.10 UNCOVER Road Map www.uncoverminerals.org.au

A Copper Development Road Map workshop was held in February 2017 and identified a wide range of opportunities in support of South Australia’s Copper Strategy8. A summary of the workshop is detailed in Appendix 1.

5.

Figure 6: Key program areas across the copper extraction value chain

A brief description of each program area is presented in Table 4. It should also be emphasised that a number of the activities described are complementary, and hence moving forward will rely on progressing on multiple fronts.

Learnings from other industries and global technology trends will also input into the Road Map over time.

Best practice Underground automation

Ore sorting & grade

engineering


Smart tailings

treatment

Small modular

plants

Novel processing

Ore body modelling


In situ recovery


Advanced training

Exploration Projectdevelopment

Undergroundautomation

Assetmanagement

Novel processing

InfrastructureSmart

tailingstreatment



"South Australia’s Copper Strategy identified opportunities to encourage creative, innovative and adaptive firms to work with existing producers and explorers to find clever ways to develop our resources."

Hon Tom Koutsantonis MP Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy

Table 4: Key Road Map programs and potential delivery timeframes

Program Description Value Lever Potential 2 year deliverables

Potential 5 year deliverables


Best practice in project development management

Exploring new approaches to increase the speed of project delivery, reduce CAPEX and OPEX and extend optionality further into the delivery process

Reduced time taken between exploration and commissioning, so bringing production online sooner and substantially increasing project NPV

Benchmarking best practice in other industries including manufacturing, IT and aviation

New approaches in project management allow for a 50 per cent reduction in project development times

Continued development of the project development model

Underground automation

Automating individual underground components and also system components

Improved safety and productivity of the underground mine

Establishing reliable communications systems. Automating individual components

Automating full underground systems

Moving towards full automation of the underground mine

Novel processing

Better ways of processing ores to increase extraction efficiency, accommodate impurities and minimise waste. (The range of opportunities is wide)

Increased recovering, and allowing a broader range of ores to be considered economic

New approaches tested at laboratory scale. Full understanding of amenable ores, value proposition understood

New processes being tested and evaluated at the demonstration scale

Full scale implementation of at least one breakthrough technique

Smart tailings treatment

Better ways to treat and store waste generated in copper production

Potential for environmental and cost benefits

New approaches developed and tested at laboratory and pilot scale

New approaches demonstrated to minimise water and waste volume

Plant scale application of new tailing system approach

Small modular plants

The potential to create more flexible mine sites, and reducing start-up costs through a phased approach

Faster start-up and unlocking smaller, higher grade deposits

Full design of a modular plant completed. Economics understood

New mines established in South Australia using a modular approach

Using modular plants is a mainstream standard approach

Ore sorting and grade engineering

Providing for multiple ore streams of different grades and or mineralogy. Allows for more efficient processing

Unlocking lower grade deposits or maximising the value of higher grade materials

The potential for upgrading of South Australian ores determined. Test work completed to demonstrate the amenability for upgrading. The value proposition well understood

Ore sorting fully demonstrated across a range of candidate ores. Design for full scale plants fully developed

Ore sorting fully implemented in a working mine


Program Description Value Lever Potential 2 year deliverables




Optimising the total system rather than specific activities within the value chain – from exploration to production

Optimising overall outputs and reducing OPEX through a systems approach

Completed review of available modelling approaches. New models developed and tested with a single end user

An exemplar South Australian mine established where model and operation are well aligned. The real mine is optimised

Moving towards all mines operated in a totally predictable and optimal way

Ore body modelling

Getting a better understanding of the ore body to assist in defining the mining approach and sequencing

Better understanding of un-developed deposits and optimal approaches. Better productivity and more value extracted from current operations

An optimum approach to ore body modelling is selected and implemented for a model mine

Best practice ore body modelling approach is applied to a one model mine

Moving towards ore body modelling being totally integrated with plant design and operation


The development of new sensors and better analysis of new and current data to extract better insights from exploration, operation and maintenance practices

More efficient operations and maintenance increasing yields, less waste and increased value

Test site established for sensors. Centre established for data analytics; smart maintenance and operations

An advanced data analytics facility established providing a service to mines in Australia and globally

South Australia is the leader in mining for data analytics, sensor design and verification

In situ recovery The extraction of copper in situ through direct exposure of the copper minerals to a lixiviant

Potential to reduce project development time and cut CAPEX and OPEX. Faster rehabilitation

Potential sites identified in South Australia for in situ recovery

Demonstration scale in situ mine operating in South Australia

Commercial scale in situ mine operating in South Australia


Developing or using existing pilot plants to de-risk the deployment of new technology

Potential contribution to de-risking new technologies, in order to accelerate their deployment

Needs analysis completed. Facilities designed and costed

South Australia establishes a basic demonstration mine

South Australia has a fully working demonstration mine

Advanced training

Providing advanced training using new technology, such as virtual reality, to equip the workforce of the future

Accelerate the build and operation of copper mines by having access to employees with a broadened range of skill sets

South Australia leads the world in developing VR training modules for specific unit operations

South Australia has the first fully VR copper mine in the world

South Australia moving towards full suite of virtual training facilities



It is expected various stakeholders, including prospective end users, METS companies, researchers from South Australian universities, CSIRO and the proposed International Copper Technology and Research Hub (the Hub) will progress projects within the context of the Road Map.

The Hub would be established to ’accelerate the commercial production and value of copper products from South Australian ore bodies and to drive global competitiveness’11.

One of the prime functions of the Hub will be to support and foster collaboration between existing and prospective end users, METS, non-mining industries, researchers from South Australian universities and companies and the CSIRO. Appendix 1 outlines the role and functions of the proposed Hub.

6. Progressing the Road MapThis Road Map will be updated on a regular basis, to accommodate new and emerging market, technology and social trends. It has been developed with the input of a broad range of key stakeholders from within and outside the copper industry.

11 International Copper Technology and Research Hub Concept Report, Stage 1-July 2016.


In direct support of the Copper Strategy, and following wide consultation with a range of key stakeholders, it is proposed to establish an International Copper Technology and Research Hub (the Hub) in South Australia. The Hub would be headquartered at Tonsley12, and activities undertaken at a range of stakeholder sites, including operating mines and other research facilities. The Hub would be governed by the Hub Steering Committee, consisting of representatives from each of the key stakeholders.

The Hub will be a business activity magnet for key stakeholders in South Australia and globally.

Figure 7: The Hub will be a magnet for key stakeholders in South Australia and globally13

Researchers looking to partner for

scale up

Non traditional technology providers

Exploration companies looking for innovative solutions

METS looking to scale up new

technologies

Regional business and communities

Mining companies looking for innovative solutions

Attracting new and

innovative developer and users

Appendix 1: The International Copper Technology and Research Hub

12 Tonsley – Australia’s first technology precinct (https://tonsley.com.au).13 International Copper Technology and Research Hub Concept Report, Stage 1-July 2016.

7.

The Copper Development Road Map provides a blueprint for Hub activities over the next decade.

The Hub will be ‘established to accelerate the commercial production and value of copper products from South Australian ore bodies and to drive global competitiveness’ 14. It will do this by:

• Adopting world-class technology and best practice approaches to reduce capital and operating costs

• Delivering world-class levels of productivity

• Improving environmental and safety performance.

The Hub will specifically focus on technologies that are ready for deployment, or at least ready for pilot or demonstration scale testing (Figure 2). While the formation of concepts and proof of testing is vital in the innovation process, these phases are already represented by existing stakeholders. The Hub will focus on the key stage between research and technology implementation. This covers the critical stage between where a technology has been conceived and tested on a small scale, but then needs to proceed to pilot testing and beyond. The Hub will assist technology developers and technology users to cross the pilot and demonstration phases.

Figure 8: The Hub will focus particularly on pilot and demonstration testing of new technology15

In field use

Demonstration

Pilot

Concept

Idea

Mine DevelopmentExploration ProcessingMining Logistics

H U B F O C U S

14 International Copper Technology and Research Hub Concept Report, Stage 1-July 2016.15 The stages covering pilot and beyond can also be described according to Technology Readiness Levels (US Department of Defence). Pilot and beyond is typically TRL5 and above.



Area Timing Functions

Networking and brokering

Immediate • Provide a focal point for copper activities in South Australia and copper globally

• Central point for collecting and collating data around projects and activities

• Run regular workshops to address specific end user challenges or opportunities

Project management Immediate • Establish and run technical projects on behalf of participants

METS commercialisation Medium term • Attract global METS to South Australia

• Incubate new METS at Tonsley to support the Copper Road Map

• Establish a capability to determine the value of new METS technologies in South Australian operations

Digital capacity Medium term • Establish a capacity to host the Copper Internet of Things at the Hub. This could include a central locale to stream data from operating sites and undertake complex analysis

• Establish a global centre for excellence for copper operations

• A ‘living lab’ based approach

Living laboratory Medium term • Establish or use existing test infrastructure (at pilot and demonstration scale) at Tonsley and/or Hub nodes

Table 5: Hub roles and functions

The Road Map provides the basis for prioritising work activities undertaken by the Hub, taking a long-term view of the challenges and opportunities in developing South Australia’s copper industry.

The Hub is expected to have five specific functions, described in Table 5.

Copper Development Road Map Workshop

Held at the South Australia Drill Core Reference Library, Wednesday 8 February, 2017

The Copper Development Road Map Workshop attracted 79 attendees covering representatives from the exploration and mining, METS, research and education sectors.

165 project ideas were suggested and categorised into 15 potential program areas in three themes as outlined in Table 6.

Theme Program areas

Technology futures In situ recoveryProcessing improvementsHydromet and world’s best concentratorsSmart sensorsDrones and unmanned vehiclesData communications and what to do with dataIntelligent machine managementOre body modelling and project evaluationAttraction of global OEM’s to South Australia

Project accelerators Small modular processing plantsAgile project managementShared infrastructureCommercialisation program of METS ideasTechnology development access to test sites

Environment and safety Turning waste into opportunity

The summary of projects from the workshop is available from the Copper Strategy team in Resources Infrastructure and Investment Task Force, Department of the Premier and Cabinet [email protected]

Appendix 2: Summary of Copper Development Road Map Workshop


8.

Table 6: Themes and Program areas identified at Copper Development Road Map Workshop, February 2017


Stakeholder acknowledegements

The Government of South Australia wishes to acknowledge and thank the many contributors to the Copper Development Road Map, including the Hub Steering Committee and Dr Christopher Goodes.

Image captions

Cover page: BHP Olympic Dam

Page 4: Kanmantoo mine, processing plant, Hillgrove Resources

Page 7: Copper flotation, BHP Olympic Dam

Page 11: Copper plate, BHP Olympic Dam

Page 15: Copper plate, BHP, Olympic Dam

Page 16: BHP Olympic Dam

Page 18: Core samples, OZ Minerals

Page 19: Core samples, OZ Minerals

Page 22: Copper plate, BHP

Page 25: Mine planning, OZ Minerals

Page 26: Copper smelting, BHP Olympic Dam


For more information on the Copper Development Road Map please contact:

Copper Strategy team

Resources Infrastructure and Investment Task ForceDepartment of the Premier and Cabinet

Level 4, 11 Waymouth StreetAdelaide, South Australia 5000GPO Box 320Adelaide, South Australia 5001

T: 8303 2204E: [email protected]

www.minerals.dpc.sa.gov.au/copperstrategy

copper development road mapenergymining.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/...de re metallica by...

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