The aims of this handbook are to give practical guidelines to quarry operators and to discuss problems connected with operations which affect their employees and the general public: the handbook also points out obligations that arise out of legislation, and the responsibilities of quarry operators to the community. Consideration must be given to many diverse factors in the overall planning of a quarry, including: size, shape and type of deposit intended to be worked; rate of production and hence the life of the project; short and long term effects of quarrying on the surrounding area; subsequent use of the quarry site.

The principal aim of this handbook is to help owners, managers and operators of small mines by providing them with useful and well-tested technical information including safe, practical operating ideas. For this exercise 'small mines' are considered to be underground mines producing metallic and non-metallic ores and minerals; coal mines are not included. Attention is drawn to the legislation governing the conduct of mining and to the services available in State Mines Departments, covering advice and practical help on problems connected with geology, mineralogy, assaying, mining and related matters. The mine owner or manager needs, firstly, to be familiar with the legal requirements covering the claim or lease under which the mineral deposit is held. Secondly, he needs to know the type of deposit he proposes to mine, its characteristics and those of the enclosing rocks. Thirdly, he must choose a method of mining suitable for such a deposit, having regard to its geological features, safe working practices and environmental considerations. It is most important that at an early stage he should investigate fully the sale of the mineral products from the mine and the process or processes necessary to make those products marketable. All these aspects of the mining industry are covered by this handbook.

South Australia has had a very long geological history traceable back for over 2000 million years. It has areas of ancient basement rocks and of younger rocks representing most of the geological column, which are exposed at the surface or have been revealed by deep drilling in exploration for minerals, petroleum and artesian groundwater. This handbook is intended as a guide to the geology of the State, and has been compiled from the work of many geologists involved in producing maps for the Geological Survey of South Australia. The mineral resources information has been compiled as extracts from either the SA Department of Mines and Energy' Mineral Information Series of publications, or from contributions to the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy published monographs on economic geology.

This handbook is a selection of shortened reports by geologists of the South Australian Department of Mines and Energy dealing with some of the semiprecious and ornamental stones in this State. It is not intended to be a comprehensive review of these mineral deposits. Emphasis is placed upon geological and mining aspects of the deposits. With the exception of the Mount Fitton talc and Cowell jade, there is little discussion of the considerable work involved in the treatment and/or cutting and polishing of these minerals to produce saleable or artistic items. Although the minerals discussed in this book, and some others, are grouped by hobbyists and gemmologists into semiprecious, precious or ornamental stones, they are all classed as 'minerals' under the South Australian Mining Act, 1971-1978.

South Australia's famous desert opalfields supply about 80% of the world output of precious opal, with current production coming almost entirely from the major fields at Andamooka, Coober Pedy and Mintabie, each of which is expected to increase output in the long term. This informative handbook, written by SA State Government experts on the subject, is a compilation of several existing reports that describe the geology and opal occurrences at numerous fields. The known extent of typical host rocks to the main opal occurrences suggests that there remains considerable potential for making numerous small finds across the northern part of the State.

This publication highlights how the availability of minerals is crucial to providing the basic requisites of life, or else, to fundamentally contributing for the manufacture of vital requisites such as food, clothing, heat, light and shelter, in order for human communities to exist. As the countries of the world develop, their needs for minerals are ever-increasing, and world history reflects how the discovery and possession of minerals, the adoption of mineral-based new technologies, and the ability to trade effectively in minerals has influenced the relative progress of nations through time, based on the perceived value of particular minerals. The land usage and environmental change ramifications of mining for minerals are also considered, with careful emphasis on ways of maximising any consequential benefits to the community. The handbook is copiously illustrated with photographs and diagrams that are intended to convey the scope and dynamism of our past and current mineral-proud society that has grown up over 150 years in South Australia.

This volume is historically the fifth and most comprehensive catalogue of South Australian minerals yet prepared, and is based on work begun by the South Australian Department of Mines in 1956. For descriptive convenience, the State has been areally divided into fourteen regions: these regions (if relevant) are arranged alphabetically for each mineral species included in the catalogue, and known localities are grouped under the particular region. A set of regional maps, which act as a guide to the location of prominent mineral occurrences, has been provided. More detailed maps are readily available from State and Commonwealth mapping authorities. The Mineralogical Record - published, 1980 edition of M. Fleischer's Glossary of Mineral Species, has been used as the controlling reference on formal mineral names and compositions given collectively to specimen descriptions presented.

This handbook brings together a local science history of all of the applied aspects of geology, the responsible exercising of which has helped to shape metropolitan Adelaide, and even if indirectly, has also invariably affected the lives of its inhabitants. It is not intended as definitive geological text.

This work aims to thoroughly assist the student and collector in identifying the Quaternary molluscs preserved in SA rocks. Many of the molluscan fossils occurring in Late Pleistocene deposits are representatives of still living species, although some of these species no longer inhabit SA waters. Includes an introduction on the basics of identifying fossils, and provides a comprehensive list of fossil descriptions, including photographs. A CD reprint copy is available on the minerals and energy CD publications list