DEVELOPMENT OF THE ARGO MINE

By
IAN McRAEl

The orebody is 90m high and will be

ABSTRACT extracted on two levels simultaneously.
Peko Mines, a Division of Peko-Wallsend Major equipment used includes inhole
Operations Limited (PWOL) has operated hammer drills, electric LRD units and
several small underground mines in the hydraulic rock breakers. The uncrushed ore
Tennant Creek district of the Northern is transported in 100 tonne road trains 60km
Territory supplying ore to a central to the Warrego concentrator for treatment.
treatment plant.

The Argo Mine is the most recently

developed by Peko Mines. A magnetic anomaly
was identified from low level airborne
magnetics in 1960 and drilling, which
commenced on the site in 1969, was halted in
1974 and resumed in 1980 following the rise
in the price of gold.
\
I 8..>0. H .l
By mid 1983 a resource of + 200 000 (
tonnes of 12 g/tonne Au had been outlined and \, .
I
l
a decision to develop the resource was taken
following the drilling of three further
'~.\,--~,
diamond drill holes which did not '\::::. .......,,~. '
significantly alter the value of the l""nhcHt~
resource. ! Of'ERATlHG MINES

~ CLOSED MINES

The small size of the orebody could not -ROADS

_._ 3JhTRANSMISSlON LINE
support the full capital cost of two shafts - -CREEt<S
and a single entry mine plan was developed to
extract the ore at a rate of 15 000 tonnes NotI~ NolI lA 0 Ll

per month and to provide all the safety

features, ventilation systems and services of
a two shaft mine. Figure 1. Location

In December 1983 a contract was let to

Allied Constructions Pty. Limited (Allied) to INTRODUCTION
sink and equip a 4.8m shaft to a depth of
410m and to convert the headframe and winder, Fig. 1 shows the location of the Argo
which are leased for the life of the mine by and Warrego Mines. Gold has been produced
PWOL from Allied, from a sinking to a from the Tennant Creek Goldfield since 1932.
production configuration. Traces of gold were first reported by H.Y.L.
Brown, South Australian Government Geologist,
Shaft equipment designed by Hardcastle & in 1895. Prospectors casually examined the
Richards Pty. Ltd. (H & R) in conjunction area with little or no success on the quartz
with PWOL includes a skip/cage, counter- ridges until in 1933 gold assaying 200
weight, and an auxiliary cage on rope guides, g/tonne was discovered in quartz haematite.
a sealed ladderway and exhaust air ducts.
Information on concealed quartz
haematite lodes is contained in the 1935-1937
1.Chief Mining Engineer, Metalliferous reports by the Aerial, Geological and
Mining Division, Peko-Wallsend Ltd.
Sydney, NSW. Geophysical Survey of Northern Australia.

The AuslMM Sydney Branch, Second Project Development Symposium, October 1986

241
242 I MCRAE

Mines in the Tennant Creek area have no exception. For example, in two holes 8m
generally been very small and only six mines apart, one hole recorded three intersections,
have each produced over 200 000 tonnes of the longest being 3.6m and the highest grade
ore. Before 1940, 113 mines were in being 10 g/tonne Au, while the other hole had
production, in 1950 25 mines operated and a 17m intersection grading 36 g/tonne Au.
today there are three major operations, Similarly, two consecutive one metre
namely PWOL, Australian Development Limited analytical results returned 3 g/tonne Au and
(ADL) and Cuprex Limited. 130 g/tonne Au.
TENURE It was not possible to guarantee
continuity of gold grades over several
A magnetic anomaly 4 km SE of Tennant metres, and as such any attempt at an ore
Creek first identified in June 1980 was resource calculation was at best an estimate
pegged as Mineral Lease 388E in August 1967 based on a number of assumptions.
and named Explorer 46. Subsequently eight
mineral leases completely surrounding ML 388E GEOTECHNICAL
were granted to ADL.
A geotechnical investigation was under-
In November 1978 the Warumungu Land taken by Barrett, Fuller and Partners to
Claim was lodged. However the hearings on assess design parameters for roads and
this claim have yet to be completed. buildings through a programme of shallow pits
Subsequently the Tennant Creek Town Planning and laboratory testing.
Boundary was altered placing the Explorer 46
lease which is 2 km outside the town boundary Conditions for shaft sinking were
well within the new Planning Boundary. There assessed through test pits at the surface
is still uncertainty whether the Aboriginal plus an examination of relevant diamond drill
Land Claim will take precedence over the core.
revised boundary.
The investigation recommended that major
Exploration Licence 2535 which covered foundations be founded on the strata 2m below
the Explorer 46 prospect and probable road, the surface and that the shaft be concrete
power and water accesses was applied for in lined to 45m. It further recommended that
March 1980. Although it would be necessary dry excavation techniques be used with a
to cross over leases held by ADL they maximum wall exposure of 2m. From 45m to
indicated their willingness to assist 140m the weathered rock would be highly
wherever possible. fractured and immediate bolting and meshing
with shotcrete or early placement of the
EXPLORATION final lining would be required. Below 140m,
bolting and meshing would be required with
Drilling commenced in July 1969 and 2.4m full lining in the vicinity of shear zones.
of 7 g/tonne Au was intersected in the first Shotcreting over large areas could be
hole and 4.8m of 5 g/tonne Au in a wedge run required depending on the tightness of the
off. Better values were intersected in the joints in situ.
second hole, drilled in 1970 and the
programme was suspended in 1972 after four MINE PLANNING
holes and nine wedge run offs were completed.
A resource of 61 000 tonnes of ore at 11 PWOL proposed a mining plan using only a
g/tonne was computed but that resource could single entry and initiated discussions with
not justify the development required to the Chief Government Mining Engineer of the
extract it. N.T. Department of Mines and Energy (DME) in
1980.
The significant rise in the gold price
in early 1980 revived interest in Explorer 46 The idea of a single entry is not new
and by the end of that year a resource and many mines have bratticed shafts to
approaching 200 000 tonnes was outlined. The separate intake and fresh air, particularly
Peko Walls end Limited Annual Report for 1982 in South Africa. The following points
stated "further drilling of the Explorer 46 summarise the arguments supporting the case.
anomaly did not add to the existing resource
of 200 000 tonnes of lode at a gold grade of 1. Many orebodies in the Tennant Creek
18 grams per tonne". field are relatively small.
Development of these bodies might
The distribution of gold both spatially not be possible if they had to bear
and in abundance in Tennant Creek orebodies the full capital cost of two shafts.
is often very erratic. Distribution of
economic gold grades in the Argo orebody is 2. With very small tonnages, the amount

The AuslMM Sydney Branch, Second Project Development Symposium, October 1986
 I MCRAE
of ore involved approximated to a
'bulk sample' for metallurgical test
work for very large orebodies. Such
samples were usually taken from a
single entry.
3. The number of men underground at any
one time was unlikely to exceed 15.
The outcome of the first meeting with
the DME was that it was possible to develop a
mine with all the safety features and
facilities of a conventional two shaft system
contained in a single shaft and that the DME
would consider a detailed proposal to develop
the Explorer 46 orebody with a single shaft.
Initial requirements of the DME included
the following.
1. A brattice in the shaft to separate
the intake and upcast air streams.
2. An enclosed ladderway the full
length of the shaft.
3. Electric power to the winder to be
supplied from two separate sources
and by two separate cables.
4. An independently powered auxiliary
emergency cage.
5. Diesel powered equipment and an
explosives magazine would not be
permitted underground.
6. Minimum use of flammable materials.
Consulting Engineers (H&R) were engaged
by PWOL to assist with mine planning and
shaft design to meet the requirements of the
DME.
A submission by the PWOL and H&R design
team to the DME resulted in Departmental
approval in principle for the project.
A full feasibility study was prepared
and three further drill holes were completed
in 1983 and a revised resource of 224 700
tonnes at 13.5 g/tonne Au was calculated.
The proposal to develop the orebody was
approved by the Board of Peko Walls end
Limited in September 1983 and the project
named Argo Mine.
SERVICES
POWER
The peak power load was estimated for
each major component of electrical plant
without any diversity factor as it was
thought probable that in a small mine all
machines would be on load simultaneously for
significant periods of time.
Three sources of power were considered,
from the Warrego Power Station, from the
The AuslMM Sydney Branch, Second Project Development Symposium, October 1986
243
Northern Territory Electricity Commission's
(NTEC) Tennant Creek Power Station and from
diesel generators on site.
The NTEC advised that they were not in a
position to supply the additional and
fluctuating load forecast by PWOL without
installation of additional equipment.
In the case of supply from the Warrego
Mine the limiting factor was that the
existing power line was limited to 1 MW over
and above the amount sent to the Gecko Mine,
and the line would require extending by 6
km.
The preferred option was therefore to
supply power from diesel generators on site,
either three 600 kW sets, two running and one
on standby or four 400 kW sets, three running
and one on standby.
However a decision was taken to cease
operations at Gecko Mine at the end of 1983
and surplus power became available from the
20 MW Warrego Station, 60 km to the north-
west.
The line, which had not been in use for
six years, had to be re-routed 2 km around
the Mary Ann Dam Recreation Reserve and a 6
km line established from Peko Mine, using
salvaged power poles and aerials from the
line to Juno Mine.
A 600 kW skid mounted generator was
installed adjacent to the winderhouse as an
independent and emergency power supply.
COMPRESSED AIR
Air consumption was estimated to peak
about 1 100 litre/s but to have a wide
fluctuation in demand. Two Atlas Copco ER6
compressors, each with a capacity of 510
litre/s, and two Atlas Copco ZR3 compressors,
each with a capacity of 300 litre/s, were
installed. This would enable demand to be
met with one compressor off line. Total load
could be varied between 300 litre/s and 1 620
litre/s and so air power requirements could
be minimised at weekends. An air receiver of
8 000 litre capacity was installed at the
surface. All the compressors and the air
receiver were surplus from operations within
the Peko Wallsend group.
WATER
Water was available from either of two
sources,
1. the Waggaridge Dams 5 km NE of Argo
Mine, or
2. the Tennant Creek Town supply.
244 I MCRAE

Both sources were considered as earlier H&R prepared tender documents for the
discussions with the Area Manager for the shaft in four phases.
Department of Transport and Works (T&W)
estimated that only 50 kilolitres per week 1. Sink a 4.5m diameter shaft to a
would be available from the Tennant Creek depth of 400m and develop four
Town supply with the balance therefore to be plats.
provided through a pipeline from the 2. Install all shaft equipment and
Waggaridge Dams. convert the winder and headframe
from a sinking to a production
In 1983 an agreement was reached with mode.
T&W to supply all the mine water requirements 3. Lease the winder and head frame to
at commercial rates fom the Tennant Creek PWOL.
Town supply. 4. Demobilise and remove all equipment.

THE SHAFT Fig. 2 shows the shaft layout.

WINDER AND HEADFRAME

Three alternatives were available to

PWOL.

1. Use the existing 270 kW winder and

headframe from the Peko Mine No. 4
Shaft which ceased production in
1976. This winder would have
Skip/Cage !
required extensive upgrading
(estimated at over $200 000 in 1981)
S kip apaclty 6·4
I
Tonnes
-(8-'
L_c_ag_e_c_a_pa_Ci_IY_~3_4M
----j_T~-;.n _~_~
·C 0

to meet
conform
the
with
proposed duty and
new regulations
...J0 - - - - -1-- . -
-

gazetted following the recommend-

Counte:weight
ations of the report on Safe Man
Riding in Mines. Further costs
would be incurred in modifying the
skyshaft to suit the circular Argo
shaft.
2. Purchase a suitable winder and
custom built headframe. Design work
commenced on a new head frame
suitable for both sinking and
production. Indications were that
it could be fabricated, transported Figure 2. Shaft Layout
to site and erected in the time
required to call tenders and
mobilise the shaft sinking MAJOR CONTRACT
contractor to site. The estimated
cost of the headframe was $220 000. On PWOL's behalf H&R called and
A secondhand or new winder was negotiated tenders resulting in the award of
considered but in the latter case it a contract to Allied. Following the award
was necessary to use the of the contract H&R carried out shaft
contractor's sinking winder until equipment design to suit the contractor's
the new winder was commissioned. winding plant and subsequently provided
3. Lease a suitable winder and procurement services for this equipment.
headframe for the duration of the
mining operation. Allied's tender proposed a fully lined
shaft having a diameter of 4.8m which was
The design team had discussions with larger than the originally proposed shaft of
all potential shaft sinking 4.5m diameter but suited existing equipment
tenderers as to the availability of in their plant stocks.
suitable equipment for leasing.
This option appeared the most SINKING
favourable because of the short life
of the Argo Mine which, with the The collar and first 20m of the shaft
known reserves, would be developed were excavated by backhoe and jack picks
and extracted within two years. assisted by light explosive charges. The

The AuslMM Sydney Branch, Second Project Development Symposium, October 1986
 I MCRAE 245

mobile 50 tonne crane on site to erect the station.

winder and headframe was used to hoist dirt
and lower concrete during this time.
Handheld SrG sinkers were used until a
shaft depth of I40m was reached when they
were replaced with a 3 boom Montabert shaft
jumbo for the remainder of the shaft, pulling
an average of I.9m per blast.
A Cryderman shaft mucker handled the
material into a single kibble for raising to
the surface chute which was fitted with an
automatic rotating turntable to permit
tipping between the two double chains of the
kibble. The two deck sinking stage was
suspended by four inline ropes.
Plats were excavated 20-30m from the
shaft to develop ore pass, substation and
pumping sites. Rock was moved to the shaft
with an Eimco 630 air powered loader fitted
with a side discharging bucket. Concurrent
with the excavation of the 325m plat the
ore pass from 265m to 325m was drilled and
during development of the 365m plat the
ore pass from the 325m level was drilled.
These passes were vertical and drilled by a
contractor with downhole hammer rigs.
Seventeen I05mm diameter holes were
drilled in each orepass but the rises were
not blasted until the loading station had
been installed.
Access to levels above the sink was via
a retractable drawbridge between the plat and
the sinking kibble.
The sinking shaft was force ventilated
using one of the final production exhaust
ventilation ducts.
No electrical power was used in the
shaft and compressed air pumps were used to
stage lift water to the surface. Three water
rings were installed and the maximum water
flow was 9 000 litres per hour.
The permanent air, water and pump lines
were installed and used during sinking.
Concrete was supplied ready mixed from
Tennant Creek and was lowered in a
conventional concrete kibble feeding into a
four hose octopus rather than by a pipeline
in the shaft.
SHAFT EQUIPMENT
The skip/cage, counterweight and
emergency cage all run on rope guides except
that the skip/cage has fixed guides between
the loading station and the 365m level and
between the surface brace and the tipping
At the intermediate levels (26Om, 280m
and 325m) moving platforms were provided to
bridge the gap between the conveyance and the
plats because of the geometry (in plan) and
the large clearance required for rope
guides. The moving platforms and shaft gates
are interlocked with the winder and if any
shaft gate is opened the winder is reduced to
slow speed travel. If either the loading
flask gate is opened or the skip loading
chute of the spillage collection system is
extended into the shaft the winder cannot be
moved. Skip loading from the 377m level is
by weight measure and automatic recording of
each skip load is telemetered to the surface
to a printer with accumulation facilities.
The winder is fitted with man riding
overwind limits to prevent overwinding above
the surface or below the loading station man
access level. These limits may be by-passed
by selecting the ore mode. A second set of
overwind limits prevents travel beyond the
skip loading and tipping positions. These
are permanently in circuit and provide two
sets of overwind limits for man riding as
well as the ultimate track switches. The
winder is also fitted with a rope maintenance
selector switch which provides increased
braking torque and limits operating speed to
I m/s for rope cropping operations when the
winder must be moved with one conveyance off
the rope resulting in high out of balance
loads. The shaft ladderway and brattice was
pre-assembled on the surface into 5m modular
sections.
The ladderway is completely sealed and
able to be force ventilated thus providing a
fresh air escapeway in an evacuation
situation. All shaft steelwork fabrication
including the complete top deck of the
head frame was checked by Technical
Inspections (Aust) Pty. Ltd., and fully trial
assembled on the contractor's premises before
shipping to site.
Surplus PWOL mill liners in steel
baskets were used as tension weights for the
guide ropes and for the skip counterweight.
There are three galvanised steel
ventilation ducts, one 9I4mm diameter
exhausting from the 365m level and a 762mm
diameter duct exhausting from each of the
325m and 280m levels.
SHAFT EQUIPPING
Fig. 3 shows plat layouts and the
location of the equipping cage.

The AuslMM Sydney Branch, Second Project Development Symposium, October 1986
246 I MCRAE

After completing the shaft sink to a

INTERIM CAGE TRAVEL DURING depth of 410m the shaft bottom steelwork,
SHAFT EQUIPPING including the Selda arrestors loading
station, spillage handling facilities and the
fixed skip/cage guides below the 365m level,
were installed from a service stage slung
below the sinking stage.

The conveyance guide ropes were lowered

and stored on the 365m (No 5) level.

Simultaneously on No 5 level the pump

station, substation and orepass grizzly were
installed. The sinking stage was then raised
to the surface and moving platforms installed
on the 325m, 280m and 260m levels. At the
surface the shaft cover was removed and a
doubledeck equipping stage installed. On the
downward pass of this stage, telephone,
control and printer cables were installed and
on its upward pass the ladderway and the
remaining two ventilation ducts were
325 PLAT LEVEL installed.

MOVING PLATFORM A side section of the equipping stage

was then removed, and the stage rebalanced to
permit the installation of the moving
platform beams on its downward pass.

There was now too little clearance for

safety between the corner of the enclosed
ladderway and the sinking kibble. The kibble
sheave wheel was repositioned in the
skip/cage location and the kibble repla~ed
with the emergency cage on the kibble rope
with an offset rider from the stage ropes.

The emergency cage was detached from the

winder rope at the 365m level and the
emergency cage guide ropes pulled to the
headframe with the kibble winder. After
location of the guide ropes, tension weights
were attached.

The emergency cage rider was then

modified to run on its final guide ropes but
suspended from the kibble rope.

The skip/cage and counterweight guide

ropes were similarly installed.

The equipping stage was then raised to

the surface, removed from the shaft and the
stage winder dismantled.

The emergency cage was not relocated to

its final position until the Beebe winch, the
hoist for the emergency cage, was
commissioned.

The stage winder was then removed from

the site.

Figure 3. Plat Layouts

The AuslMM Sydney Branch, Second Project Development Symposium, October 1986
 I MCRAE 247

PRODUCTION WINDER loading station while winding on the

counterweight rope.
The Argo production winder is a 550 kW 7. The counterweight rope was cut,
single drum kibble winder which has been capped and attached to the counter-
arranged to operate in a two rope 'double weight.
drum~ type configuration. A combined
skip/cage conveyance, operating in balance DEVELOPMENT
with a counterweight conveyance is hoisted by
the winder. Immediately after commissioning the
shaft system the pre-drilled ore passes
Normal operating speed is 4.0m/s and the between 365m and 325m and between 325m and
skip payload 6.4 tonnes. The hoist ropes are 250m horizons were blasted and horizontal
arranged such that the rope being wound onto development commenced. PWOL miners
the winder drum occupies grooves that the developed the 365m level using airleg
rope being wound off t4e drum has vacated. rock drills and an Eimco 903E LHD, and the
280m level using airleg rock drills and a
The width of the winder drum limits the Cavo 511 dumper.
maximum length of rope that can be installed
into the hoisting system and it is not Coya Constructions Pty. Limited
possible to install a length greatly in developed the 325m level using a two boom
excess of actual requirements. Therefore the jumbo and an Eimco 903E LHD.
service life of the hoist ropes is partially
dependent on efficient use of that length of Production commenced in April 1986, the
rope that can be installed. ore being trucked in 100 tonne capacity road
trains 55 kilometres to the Warrego
Operation of this single drum, two rope Concentrator.
hoisting system is similar to that of a
conventional double drum system except that CONCLUSION
relative vertical conveyance positions cannot
be adjusted by 'clutching' the winder. The single entry shaft system would be
Stretch occurring in the ropes, rope cuts for considered again by PWOL to mine marginal
tests and recapping, etc. lead to relative orebodies with a short extraction life.
vertical displacement of conveyances which
can only be adjusted by altering the number The additional requirements placed on
of rope coils on the winder drum and/or by the project by the DME did not restrict
cutting and recapping the ropes. In order to development of the mine.
prevent excessive rope maintenance operations
and to prevent wastage of the available rope ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
length, the hoisting system has been designed
to accommodate large displacements to The author wishes to record his thanks
vertical conveyance relationships. to the management of Peko-Wallsend Limited
for ~o-operation with this paper and their
ROPING UP permission to publish it. The assistance of
Mr. R. Searle of Allied Constructions Pty.
The sequence in roping the winder was as Limited and Mr. N. Wiggs of Hardcastle and
follows. Richards Pty. Limited is gratefully
acknowledged.
1. The kibble rope was removed.
2. The skip/cage rope was wound under
tension onto the left hand side of
the winder drum in the overlay
position.
3. The tail end of the counterweight
rope was attached to the right hand
side of the winder drum in the
underlay position.
4. While winding on the counterweight
rope under tension the skip/cage
rope was paid out over the head
sheave.
5. The skip/cage combination was
installed at the surface brace, the
rope was capped and connected to the
conveyance.
6. The skip/cage was lowered to the

The AuslMM Sydney Branch, Second Project Development Symposium, October 1986