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By L. Drisdelle, S. Gendron

"Survival in today's business climate requires participation of all employees in a Total Quality Management Program encompassing everything - ""safety, quality of products, quality ofet1ch and every job done, and of course production "". We all know what needs to be accomplished, but struggle with how to do it, especially in an industry which has not always experienced management/union cooperation, and mistrust is still present.This paper describes a process to improve team work and employee involvement in Inco's nickel carbonyl refinery at Copper Cliff The process involves facilitatorship training for all employees, and a system for reinforcing and accomplishing the required behavioural change. The system is described in detail and a number of examples are presented. At the refinery, the staff is starting to understand as Max DePree recently wrote ""Without Quality Behaviour, you cannot have Quality Product"". IntroductionThe Copper Cliff Nickel Refinery (CCNR) is Inco's largest and most modern nickel refinery, which celebrated its twentieth year of successful operation in April 1993.The heart of the refinery is the Inco pressure carbonyl (IPq plant which produces high purity nickel pellets and specialty powders by refining an approximate 80% nickel granule feed. The carbonyl plant is a modem chemical plant with very special and demanding requirements for safety and environmental protection due to the toxic nature of the refining gas.Since 1987, there has been an emphasis at CCNR on a comprehensive Total Quality Improvement (TQI) Program which was designed based on recognizing customers' needs for improved systems for quality management. This program is customer oriented and comprises such elements as team organizational concepts, customer audits, process assessment and internal quality auditing.A detailed review of progress was made in early 1991 and it became apparent that the ""ownership"" of the TQI program was not broad based. In fact, the program was very much a staff driven effort and fell far short of total employee involvement and relentless continuous improvement that are now considered essential to remain competitive and stay in business.Inco staff has now come to regard that early phase of our TQI program as ""the technical aspects of total quality improvement"".The safety experience was also puzzling. Even though the safety statistics were good with an average lost time frequency of 1.6 for the last five years, the perfonnance improvement had plateaued and remained pretty much the same. Clearly a new approach was required if significant progress and continuous improvement was to be made."

Jan 1, 1994

By Catalin Florin Petre, Elahe Ghasemian Langeroudi, Abdelaaziz Azizi, Éric Proulx, Caroline Olsen, Paul Blatter, Faïçal Larachi, Claude Gagnon

"The recovery of gold from ores is often accompanied by the release of other species in the leach solution. This state of affairs leads to depleted free cyanide levels in the slurry. Therefore, separation and quantification of these cyanicides and free cyanide at different stages of the cyanidation process as well as in waste solutions is crucial to provide mitigation tools by preventing leaching of deleterious metals for environmental considerations.COREM and the research group of Prof. Larachi have been working together on the control of gold passivation and cyanicides during cyanidation for several years. Previously, a first capillary electrophoresis (CE) protocol for the speciation of sulfur and cyanicides (SCN-, Cu, Fe) during cyanidation of gold complex sulfide ores was developed and validated for assessing industrial process water.The separation of zinc cyanide complexes used to be confronted with a number of difficulties due to the weak and/or undetectable cyanocomplexes in formally available CE protocols. Moreover, according to our knowledge, no direct CE protocol exists to separate free cyanide. Therefore, a new study aimed at developing a second CE protocol for the detection and quantification of cyanide complexes of zinc and nickel as well as of free cyanide in the cyanidation process water.To achieve this goal, six common carrier electrolytes such as pyridine, trimellitic acid, 4-methylbenzylamine, sodium chromate, phthalic acid and tris base were studied, using an indirect UV detection method. The best results were obtained using sodium chromate for which all ions were successfully separated and quantified. In addition, the effect of electric field strength, injection volume, electro-osmotic flow (EOF) modifier and background electrolyte (BGE) concentration were examined, while peak height, peak area and noise were considered for optimization.As a result, the new protocol is expected to complete the initial CE protocol by detecting cyanide complexes of zinc and nickel as well as free cyanide. Moreover, analytical determination of free cyanide in the presence of weak cyanide complexes achieved by the new protocol was also compared to conventional titration using silver nitrate solution. This new CE protocol will contribute to applied research and help plants to better understand and eventually control the behaviour of cyanidation circuits."

Jan 1, 2011

By C. J. Edmonds

Of the gold mined in Canada over 90 percent is extracted from the ore by the process of "cyanidation". In this process crushed ore is treated with lime to provide "protective alkalinity" and cyanide, usually in the form of sodium cyanide. The gold is dissolved in the cyanide solution, which after further treatments for clarification, is precipitated by the addition of zinc dust. Wastes from the process consist of tailings which will contain cyanides. Water consumption, mill size, effluent quantity and quality are depicted in transparency (1). It should be noted that as far as the wastes are concerned it has been impossible to postulate a typical situation. Variation from the above data will occur. A summary of data from tailings pond effluents is presented in transparency (2). The figures in parentheses indicate the usual range of values for the parameter.

Jan 1, 1973

By D. S. Robertson

More than 700,000 feet of diamond drilling was completed in the Blind River area between 1953 and 1958. Much of this drilling was at depths which are still not usual in North America. However, as the tendency is to deeper holes, factual data from the Blind River operation may well provide information of value in future programs. Rates of drilling decreased with in-creasing depth, but uncommonly good rates (an average of over 50 feet per day over more than 4,000 feet of hole) were achieved with proper engineering and care. Costs varied as contractors and geologists became familiar with the area Hole deviation in the Blind River area was locally severe and control of the hole trace became a major problem. Careful surveying was necessary and found to be highly re-liable. It was found that control of the hole trace above 1,500 feet was much more difficult than at depths below 1,500 feet. This is explained by the mechanics of the drilling operation. Various methods of controlling hole deviation were attempted and,

Jan 1, 1962

By Owen Matthews

Introduction For the past year and a half, the mill of Cochenour Willans Gold Mines, Limited, McKenzie Island, Ontario has been roasting arsenopyrite-gold concentrates, prior to cyanidation, by means of a roaster employing techniques that are new and novel. The roaster is known as the Dorrco 'fluo-solids reactor', and the technique as 'fluidization'. The reactor has demonstrated its ability to roast a flotation concentrate containing arsenopyrite, pyrite, stibnite, small quantities of other sulphides, and some lime silicates and carbonates, yielding a calcine consisting mainly of porous iron oxide, plus the gold values. This calcine is readily amenable to cyanidation. Bulk shipments of concentrates to a distant custom smelter, as practised prior to this installation, has thus been eliminated, with appreciable savings in smelting charges, freight costs, and interest losses during shipment and smelting. This is the pioneer installation of fluo-solids roasting at a Canadian mill and up to the present performance results have not been published. It is the purpose of this paper to present the information now available for the benefit of other millmen who may be confronted with identical or similar problems to those encountered and solved at Cochenour Willans.

Jan 1, 1949

By Isabel F. Barton, J. Brent Hiskey

Chalcopyrite (CuFeS2) is the earth’s most abundant copper ore mineral, but is refractory to leaching with sulfates, chlorides, and other common lixiviants and oxidants. This has led to increasing research into alternative lixiviants for recovering Cu from chalcopyrite. Here, we review the leach kinetics of chalcopyrite in glycine, ionic liquids, and methanesulfonic acid, compared to baseline ferric sulfate and ferric chloride. Glycine (CH2NH2COOH) has long been used in applications such as biocatalysis and electroplating, and has recently been examined as a lixiviant for whole ores and concentrates of both copper and gold. It is nontoxic, biodegradable, and capable of strongly complexing Cu2+. Compatible oxidants are peroxide, dissolved oxygen, and ferric sulfate. Chalcopyrite leaching rate in glycine is chemical reaction-controlled, but the effects of grain size and the reaction orders with respect to lixiviant and oxidant concentrations and mass transfer vary. The use of ionic liquids as a leaching agent for chalcopyrite has been extensively investigated in recent years. This system is based primarily on the use of the imidazolium molecule (C3H5N2), which is a planar 5-member ring structure. This lixiviant has been applied to the leaching of chalcopyrite in the form of pure mineral, concentrates, and ores. Kinetics of ionic liquid leaching of chalcopyrite vary substantially depending on the type and concentration of ionic liquid. Methanesulfonic acid (HCH3SO3) is one of the newest lixiviants available in leaching, having only been examined in the last decade. It has been examined as a substitute for sulfuric acid, since it is less corrosive, is biodegradable, and breaks down to carbon dioxide and sulfate over time. The rate of copper leaching from chalcopyrite by methanesulfonic acid is controlled by diffusion and exhibits a strong dependence on oxidant type and concentration. Despite promising reaction rates and total extraction by some of these novel lixiviants, comparison with baseline ferric sulfate and ferric chloride systems makes it doubtful that any will be commercially viable in the near term. Only at very high reagent concentrations and temperatures, and/or very fine grain size, did any of the systems perform comparably to the much cheaper ferric chloride at extracting Cu from chalcopyrite. Most had similar overall reaction rates and total extraction to ferric sulfate, which is relatively common and cheap. However, the leaching kinetics of these novel lixiviants offer valuable insight into the dissolution behavior of chalcopyrite in various systems.

Jan 1, 2019

By Gerald Blackmore

This paper discusses the present state and future trends within the coal industry, and then goes into the reasoning behind these planned trends. Such factors as marketing, costs, new mining techniques and machinery, and manpower and human resources are considered. Finally, the author refers to the effect that these trends will have on the coal industry of Cape Breton.

Jan 1, 1968

By M. S. Badollet

"The study of the physical properties of asbestos minerals requires a careful isolation of the fiber from the wall rock and, at a later stage, a comparison of these physical properties with those of fibers that have passed through the milling and beneficiation processes.The effects of mineral impurities, loss of fiber length and the formation of extreme fines (asbestic and/or associated minerals) often show up in the formation of special asbestos products as well as in the commercial production of asbestos papers, mill-boards, asbestos cement products, plastics and insulation materials, and in the filtration of blood plasma and wines.Numerous test methods have been developed in Canada and in England for use in the asbestos industry. Special treatments of asbestos fibers have been used to improve their physical and chemical properties and to eliminate impurities.Numerous problems connected with the use of asbestos fibers are discussed, such as the effects of asbestos on filtration, surface area, surface treatments using organic or inorganic materials, the surface charge on the fiber, the presence of magnetite and air pollution elimination. Biological studies on finely ground asbestos, when dispersed in 0.9 per cent sodium chloride solution and then sterilized and injected into hamsters, show that by reducing the dose, the tissue damage can be largely avoided. In these experiments, Arizona asbestos fibers were carefully extracted from the wall rock, finely ground, and examined chemically and micros-copically for any mineral impurities that might be present so that any effect on the hamsters would be directly due to the presence of the asbestos. The harsh Arizona fiber induced more extensive tissue response than the soft fiber when tested in hamsters."

Jan 1, 1969

By M. S. Badollet

Introduction Very little fundamental research has been done on asbestos fibre to cake maximum advantage of its properties and to determine in what commercial products it can best be utilized. For the research chemist who is associated with asbestos development work, a thorough study of mineralogical information on asbestos deposits would furnish reliable information on the rock formations and the mineral impurities closely associated with the asbestos. Furthermore, ?he must have an intimate knowledge of the uses of the fibre in various products so that he can visualize the importance of the fibre and the role it plays in industry. Some of the properties of asbestos fibres such as strength, composition, length, harshness or softness, and mineral associates are of considerable importance to the manufacturer because they are responsible for many production difficulties. Fibre Strength It has been known for some time chat asbestos filaments have considerable tensile strength. These strengths have been referred to merely as 'weak' to 'very strong'. Not until recently have numerical values been applied to the strengths of asbestos fibres. But today we can take a thin fibre filament and mount it between two holders and apply a gradually increasing load or pull until the fibre breaks. By measuring the cross sectional area of the filament and the amount of load applied, we can calculate the tensile strength of the fibre in terms of pounds per square inch. This type of test is slow and rather difficult, but the fundamental data obtained furnish important basic information that can be applied to mechanical processing equipment and to certain asbestos products.

Jan 1, 1948

By K. Pirapakaran

The Geotechnical Engineering research group at James Cook University has been working closely with all the leading mines in Australia in the area of minefills. They have carried out substantial research and consulting work on the drainage and stress developments within hydraulic fills. The objective of this paper is to summarize their work during the past five years on hydraulic fills. The paper will serve as a one-stop reference, pointing to relevant literature including the authors? own publications, on various issues covering drainage and stress developments within hydraulic fills. More than 15 different hydraulic fills, representing five major mines in Australia, were studied. Their grain size distributions and placement characteristics including permeability, porosity and dry density were studied and comparisons were made with the limited in situ data available in the literature. Stress development within hydraulic fills has been studied to minimize the risk associated with barricades failure. FLAC and FLAC3D were used to model stress developments within the hydraulic fills and were compared against the approximate closed form solutions available in the literature. A laboratory model was developed to study arching effects within the hydraulic fills.

May 1, 2007

By R. I. Cavanagh, A J. Last

THE USE of higher grade charges in blast furnaces in the form of sintered or pelletized concentrates has been increasing rapidly. The question of beneficiation of iron ores for this purpose is therefore receiving much attention as more deposits are developed. Many iron ores may respond well to magnetic roasting procedures followed by magnetic concentration, however, in most cases other more standard ore dressing methods are competitive and cheaper. For magnetic roasting as applied to iron ore beneficiation, the present question is "Can it be economically justified in situations where it appears to produce good results?" The following collection of information on the general status and operations of magnetic roasting methods may be helpful in considering this question. Magnetic Roasting Magnetic roasting involves the transformation of non-magnetic iron oxides, hydrated oxides and carbonates by means of heat and suitable

Jan 1, 1961

By Glenn Kosick, Roger Amelunxen, Glenn Dobby

"The variability in flotation response within an orebody is often a significant problem to address during the design phase of a flotation circuit. In addition, for existing operating plants, the reasons for such a variability need to be clearly understood and accounted for if plant performance is to be optimized. MinnovEX Technologies, in collaboration with major mining companies, is developing methodologies and tools to address the issue of variability in ore characteristics (such as ore hardness and flotation response). The tool is used for design and scale-up of flotation circuits from lab flotation data, and for prediction of recovery and final concentrate grades throughout the mine block model for any given circuit design.INTRODUCTIOTNH: EI SSUEB EINGA DDRESSEDThis paper describes the current development of a methodology and software tool for improved flotation plant design and enhanced prediction of froth flotation performance in an operating plant. The need for this tool is attributed to two primary factors: variability of flotation response properties throughout an orebody and related difficulties with scaleup from laboratory tests. Consider these in more detail.It is well recognized that separation performance via froth flotation will vary significantly within a single mineral deposit. This has been enhanced through the wide application of SAG milling. Throughput with SAG mills is more susceptible to ore hardness changes than is the case with crushing-rod-ball circuits; it is not uncommon to see SAG mill throughput to vary by up to 100% on a regular basis, e.g. 1000 tph to 2000 tph.The implication of this on laboratory testing for prediction of metallurgical performance is as follows: it is unlikely that either the plant grind (size distribution) feeding froth flotation or the flotation residence time will be known at the time of laboratory testing for a given block of ore. Hence, the grind used for the laboratory test is not likely to be that which actually occurs once the ore is processed, and the laboratory retention time may not represent the plant conditions."

Jan 1, 2002

By P. H. Jennings, J. C. T. Farge

Commercial tellurium commonly contains heavy base-metal impurities such as lead, copper, iron, etc., as well as selenium and oxygen. The base metals may be removed by vacuum distillation or by zone melting. Vacuum distillation is a convenient method for treating moderate quantities ( 100 kg.) for the production of a material having a total content of heavy metals in the 10-30 ppm range. By zone melting, it is possible to lower all the heavy metal impurities tm below the limits of spectrographie detection. Neither vacuum distillation nor zone melting is effective for the removal of selenium, but treatment of molten tellurium with hydrogen converts selenium to hydrogen selenide. This procedure is too slow to be considered except as an adjunct to zone melting. In the course of air-melting, many of the more easily oxidized impurities form a dross and may thus be readily removed. Substantial refinement with respect to iron, tin, chromium, aluminum, sodium, silicon, magnesium, calcium and manganese can be achieved in this way. Although tellurium can be electrodeposited from either acid or alkaline solutions of the dioxide, various factors militate against successful electro-refining, amongst which may be mentioned the brittleness of cast tellurium anodes and the tendency for the metal to be deposited in dendritic form, even at low current densities.

Jan 1, 1966

By James B. Templeton

"IntroductionWith the steady rise of the cost of coal and freight, the time is now ripe for an investigation into the feasibility of using the heat pump for heating purposes in fairly remote industrial areas.The gold mines of northern Ontario seemed to be a most likely place for the application of the heat pump.It was decided that the first step in the investigation would be to determine what economic advantage was to be gained by using the heat pump and thereby determining whether a further and more detailed research programme was warranted.If we can use the heat pump with economic advantage, we can reduce our mining costs and make a worthwhile contribution to our national economy by reducing the import of U. S. coal.The investigation was conducted under the auspices of the Nipissing Fellowship and directed by Professor R. E. Barrett of the Department of Mining Engineering, University of Toronto.With the able guidance of Mr. C. S. Gibson, of the Mines Accident Prevention Association of Ontario, the author visited the following mines: Mcintyre-Porcupine, Delnite, Dome, Lake Shore, Wright-Hargreaves, Kirkland Lake, Macassa, and Kerr Adcliso11.In all cases, the management and technical personnel of these mines were most co-operative and helpful in supplying information and ideas.It should be emphasized at the outset that the design and operation of the heat pump itself is by no means complicated or even new. The reason we hear so much about it today is because there have been improvements in compressors, motors, and heat exchangers in the past few years, and because fuel and freight rates have risen to such a point that, in some cases, the heat pump now has an economic advantage over other methods of heating."

Jan 1, 1950

By A. Rajan

"Drawing upon the experiences of a gold extraction plant startup in the Southern Pacific, this paper will describe the importance of the commissioning phases to the project outcomes to achieve early target production despite an overall time compression to attain full plant production. Some of the highlights of the paper include: impact of roles played by the Owner’s construction and operations representatives during project commissioning, the formation of a capable and competent “Mod Squad,” availability of trained operating personnel, control over work priorities and the scope of work needed to bring the plant to safe initial operations. The commissioning team comprised subject matter experts skilled in process technology supported by “generalists” thoroughly conversant in overall plant operations. The merits of a structured team approach to brainstorm and resolve commissioning challenges as opposed to direction from individual subject matter experts is discussed. IntroductionStartup or commissioning is a unique period in the life of a project. Each stage of a project-exploration, feasibility, design, construction, commissioning, initial operations and continuing operations-requires special talents, know-how, and practices. Each stage makes particular demands of the people involved. Initial operations are no exception.Having experienced the 1997 startup phases of oxide and sulfide facilities for a gold extraction plant at a remote island in the Southern Pacific, I can attest to the many challenges and rewards. Commissioning for both facilities was extremely successful and brought the entire project on line well ahead of the targeted completion dates. Using this specific project as an example, this paper will highlight some of the key features of project commissioning. In this paper, the term “pre-commissioning” denotes all activities that lead to mechanical completion; “commissioning” occurs when feed is introduced; and “initial operations” are defined as the duration when operations accepts the system/facility and takes over."

Jan 1, 2000

By H. U. Ross

ROASTING is usually thought of as a process in which finely crushed or ground ore is heated with air in a suitable furnace in which the ore is rabbled or agitated in such a way as to insure complete reaction between the oxygen of the air and the oxidisable constituents of the ore. Roasting in this sense is used only to a very limited extent in the iron and steel industry. This is because, in most iron ore deposits mined today, the ore is of a type that does not require roasting. Where this process is used, it is usually because of some special circumstance, such as a peculiar economic condition, that warrants it. If roasting is looked upon in the broader sense as a gas-solid chemical reaction carried out at an elevated temperature in which both gaseous and solid products are formed, then the process is used in the iron and steel industry to a greater extent

Jan 1, 1961

By M. Courtin, D. Berthelot, M. Haggis, D. McClarty, R. Payne

Over forty years of uranium mining in the Elliot Lake region of Ontario (1956–1996) has resulted in the production of over 300 million pounds of uranium. With the completion of mining activity, Rio Algom Limited and Denison Mines Limited are utilizing progressive environmental technologies and management systems to reduce and manage the environmental risks associated with the 150 million tonnes of potentially acid-generating tailings in nine regional waste management areas. Water covers designed to reduce oxygen entry and, thereby, significantly inhibit acid generation, have been applied at six of the sites with the Quirke site serving as a demonstration site for the Mine Environmental Neutral Drainage program. All five of Rio Algom Limited’s effluent treatment plants are monitored and controlled from a central control station utilizing a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system based on “Fix Dmacs” technology. Scheduling, auditing and reporting of plant operating and environmental monitoring programs for the entire watershed are controlled utilizing the Regional Environmental Information Management System (REIMS). Proper application of these technologies and management systems facilitates delivery of cost-effective environmental monitoring, care and maintenance programs at these sites and provides tools to demonstrate compliance with all environmental performance criteria.

Jan 1, 1999

"Background:The recorded coal production in Nova Scotia from 1863 to 1980 was 390, 000, 000 short tons. This extraction was associated with an estimated 60,000,000 short tons of discarded material. This mining discard and coal washing plant reject are located in numerous, varying sized dumps throughout the mining areas. Approximately 70% of these dumps are in the Sydney coal field region of Nova Scotia.The coal content of these dumps varies from 10 to 30% coal with an average of 18%.Energy Costs:The explosion of energy costs in the mid-1970 's greatly increased the sale price of thermal coal which made recovery of coal from some of the dumps economical. The environmental spin-off of these operations will be the rehabilitation of the dumps upon cessation of the coal reclamation operation.Cape Breton Development Corporation, the owner of most of the dumps in the Sydney coal field was receptive to an approach by Selco of reclaiming coal from their dumps. The technology to be used, had been developed by an associate firm in the United Kingdom on similar mine dump situations."

Jan 1, 1983

By Jean-Pierre Côté, Alexandre Noiseux

"Hatch and ArcelorMittal Mines Canada have combined their expertise to develop a dynamic model of the latter’s Iron Ore Pellet Plant in Quebec, Canada. This model was used to predict the benefits of different expansion projects, as well as asses the best implementation sequence.Two modelling tools were used: a discrete-event simulation software used to develop the dynamic model of the Pellet Plant and an in-house process simulator. The latter was based on operational data and known behavior of the process, and was calibrated with historical data gathered under different operating conditions.The results of the process simulator were used as input values for the dynamic model, which included all of the operation steps of the pelletizing process, from concentrate beneficiation to baking of the pellets. The model has been validated by assessing its capacity to represent adequately the operation of the plant during a 20-month operating period. It was able to reproduce the plant capacity within a precision of 1.2%.Simulated “what-if” scenarios allowed quantifying the production increase associated with the addition of new equipment such as ball mills or balling discs, implemented individually or in combination. Results revealed a potential 10% increase in the annual plant production by adding additional equipment in the two most limiting sectors of the plant, grinding and agglomeration. The simulation results made it possible to quantify the synergistic effect of two projects on plant throughput; the model showed that the combination of two projects resulted in a greater production increase than the sum of the same projects evaluated individually.Now that it has proven reliable, the simulation tool can readily be used by ArcelorMittal Mines Canada process engineers to perform simulations for equipment optimization, and to evaluate the impact of various operating parameters such as equipment availability and tonnage, product mix or concentrate quality. This work showed that a reliable model can be developed based on known parameters in combination with the proper integration of the process knowledge."

Jan 1, 2010

By M. L. Joy

The heat pipe is a self-contained, passive structure that uses a liquid-vapour fluid cycle to provide high thermal conductance . Through the proper selection of working fluids and container materials, heat pipes have been operated at temperatures ranging from less than -300°F to more than 3,000 °F. The passive nature, high efficiency and configuration flexibility of the heat pipe are presented. The application of McDonnell Douglas Astronautics Company Cryo-Anchor® heat pipes for foundation and support stabilization in permafrost regions is discussed. Using the proven Cryo-Anchor technology base. a proposed application of heat pipes in a cold -region mine ventilation system heat recovery heat exchanger is presented. Information obtained from the development of an air-cooled heat pipe steam condenser provides the technical basis for large -scale heat pipe applications.

Jan 1, 1978