ACARP ACARP ACARP ACARP
Open Cut

Tool for In-Situ Determination of Sulphur

Open Cut » General

Published: November 01Project Number: C9035

Get ReportAuthor: Mihai Borsaru, Arojc, C Smith | CSIRO Exploration & Mining

The work described in this report was carried out by CSIRO Exploration and Mining, Queensland Centre for Advanced Technologies Laboratory in Brisbane. The objectives of the project were:

  1. To develop an operational system and logging tool to determine in-situ sulphur content in coal.
  2. To develop the tool to determine in-situ sulphur in overburden rocks for the purpose of environmental studies

The technique employed for this work was Prompt Gamma Neutron Activation Analysis (PGNAA). This technique was developed by CSIRO in the past for the delineation of the coal seams and in-situ determination of ash, iron, silica, alumina, calcium and density of coal seams. The technique is also able to determine in-situ the deformation temperature of coals for which a correlation exists between the deformation temperature and the percentage of Al, Si and Fe present in coal. The PGNAA tool uses a 252 Cf neutron source as the primary source of radiation and has an external diameter of 72 mm. The strength of the neutron source is 5 to 10 µg. This is not considered a high activity radioactive source and is treated the same as routine nuclear logging carried out by commercial logging companies.

The present work demonstrated that PGNAA can also be employed for the in-situ determination of sulphur in coal seams and overburden. The PGNAA tool can therefore provide the most comprehensive set of petrophysical and elemental quality data for coal seams (and base metal mineralisation) and overburden of any of the logging tools currently available.

The PGNAA logging tool developed for the present work is suitable for both coal logging and environmental applications in acid mine draining.

The PGNAA logging tool is one of a number of logging probes developed by CSIRO under the name SIROLOG. The SIROLOG system has been commercialized and is available to the coal mining industry. The tools are jointly manufactured in Brisbane by SCINTREX-AUSLOG and CSIRO.

Underground

Health and safety, productivity and environment initiatives.

Recently Completed Projects

C33029Review Longwall Face Ventilation To Mitigate Goaf Gas Emissions Onto Walkways And Tailgate End

As longwall mining increasingly targets deeper coal seams, managing ...

C29009Control Of Transient Touch Voltages During Switching

There have been an increasing number of electric shock incidents rep...

C29025Effectiveness Of Shotcrete In Underground Coal Mines

The primary objective of this project is to quantify the effectivene...

Underground

Open Cut

Safety, productivity and the right to operate are priorities for open cut mine research.

Open Cut

Coal Preparation

Maximising throughput and yield while minimising costs and emissions.

Recently Completed Projects

C34041A Coal Spiral For The 2020S

The objective of this project is to develop an enhanced coal process...

C33057Foreign Contaminants Detection On Conveyor Belts Using Digital Imaging Processing Techniques And Coal Penetrating Sensors

This project was initiated to tackle the ongoing issue of foreign co...

C29065Wash Plant Fines Testing Methods Enhancement

Accurately estimating the proportion of expected fine size material ...

Coal Preparation

Technical Market Support

Market acceptance and emphasising the advantages of Australian coals.

Recently Completed Projects

C34054Scoping Study: Design Of Cokes From Biomass-Coal Blends For Sustainable Blast Furnace Ironmaking

There is an increasing focus on improving the environmental sustaina...

C34058Strength Development In Fouling Deposits

When coal is combusted in a boiler, the fly ash that is produced flo...

C34059Coke Reactivity With CO2 And H2O And Impacts On Coke Microstructure And Gas Diffusion

With the global shift to low-carbon ironmaking, partial substitution...

Technical Market Support

Mine Site Greenhouse Gas Mitigation

Mitigating greenhouse gas emissions from the production of coal.

Recently Completed Projects

C34066Safe Operation Of Catalytic Reactors For The Oxidation Of VAM Operating Under Abnormal Reaction Conditions

The catalyst Pd/TS-1 has shown excellent activity in oxidising venti...

C28076Selective Absorption Of Methane By Ionic Liquids (SAMIL)

This third and final stage of this project was the culmination of a ...

C29069Low-Cost Catalyst Materials For Effective VAM Catalytic Oxidation

Application of ventilation air methane (VAM) thermal oxidiser requir...

Mine Site Greenhouse Gas Mitigation

Low Emission Coal Use

Step-change technologies aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Recently Completed Projects

C17060BGasification Of Australian Coals

Four Australian coals were trialled in the Siemens 5 MWth pilot scale ga...

C17060AOxyfuel Technology For Carbon Capture And Storage Critical Clean Coal Technology - Interim Support

The status of oxy-fuel technology for first-generation plant is indicate...

C18007Review Of Underground Coal Gasification

This report consists of a broad review of underground coal gasification,...

Low Emission Coal Use

Mining And The Community

The relationship between mines and the local community.

Recently Completed Projects

C16027Assessing Housing And Labour Market Impacts Of Mining Developments In Bowen Basin Communities

The focus of this ACARP-funded project has been to identify a number...

C22029Understanding And Managing Cumulative Impacts Of Coal Mining And Other Land Uses In Regions With Diversified Economies

The coal industry operates in the context of competing land-uses that sh...

C23016Approval And Planning Assessment Of Black Coal Mines In NSW And Qld: A Review Of Economic Assessment Techniques

This reports on issues surrounding economic assessment and analysis ...

Mining And The Community

NERDDC

National Energy Research,Development & Demonstration Council (NERDDC) reports - pre 1992.

Recently Completed Projects

1609-C1609Self Heating of Spoil Piles from Open Cut Coal Mines

Self Heating of Spoil Piles from Open Cut Coal Mines

1301-C1301Stress Control Methods for Optimised Development...

Stress Control Methods for Optimised Development and Extraction Operations

0033-C1356Commissioned Report: Australian Thermal Coals...

Commissioned Report: Australian Thermal Coals - An Industry Handbook

NERDDC