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By W. D. C. MacKenzie

IT IS almost exactly fifteen years since the discovery of the Leduc oil field and, as this luncheon is part of the Thirteenth Annual Technical Meeting of the Institute's Petroleum and Natural Gas Division, it seems, therefore, a singularly appropriate time to discuss the theme which the program committee has suggested for the occasion -the progress of the Canadian oil industry during the fifteen years since the discovery of the Leduc field. As you will see, I plan to take a few minor liberties with this suggested theme. I shall present ample evidence of growth and progress, but, at the same time, I want to refer to some areas where progress has been anything but conspicuous and to see what can be learned from these areas for the future. The achievements of the Canadian oil industry since the Leduc discovery in 1947 have been substantial, and the public is relatively familiar with the more spectacular developments.

Jan 1, 1962

By H. Kudelka

Copper electrowinning at Duisburger Kupferhuette was introduced in March 1975. The electrowinning plant has a capacity of 10,000 mT of copper cathodes a year. The cuprous oxide feed material is an intermediate product of the treatment of the leach solutions, originating from chloridizing roasting of pyrite cinders. This material is characterized not only by a wide spectrum of accompanying impurities, but also by an unusually high level of precious metals. As the priority set was the production of high-purity cathodes. there was a need for developing a process which would be suited to treat complex leach liquors . The process adopted consist s of an oxidizing leach in spent electrolyte, followed by two- stage purification, By this means. a low- acid pregnant copper electrolyte is obtained free of elements detrimental to copper quality. Electrowinning is carried out at a current density of 200 A / m2 in the presence of 10 g/l zinc. The electrowon copper has a conductivity of at least 101.4% lACS and a softening temperature not exceeding 200°C, which makes it a suitable product for continuous casting and dip ?forming.

Jan 1, 1977

By Alfred E. Pugsley

PAYMASTER CONSOLIDATED MINES, LIMITED, began an investigation into the economy and use of detachable bit drill-steel in June, 1937. This investigation has continued to the present time, and was made necessary by transportation and distribution difficulties that had arisen through the use of standard steel in three widely separated mine areas serviced by a central steel-sharpening shop. Detachable bit drill-steel performance was first studied in the workings of No. 2 mine, where the rock being drilled was composed mainly of porphyry or tourmaline, and where standard drill-steel transportation costs had been excessive. The results obtained in this early work definitely established the economy of detachable bit drill-steel at No. 2 mine. This conclusion was reached when the 're-grind' system of re-sharpening dulled detachable bits was 1n use. Preliminary observations on the performance of detachable bit drill-steel in the quartz-carbonate veins of No. S and No. 6 mines gave encouraging results, and warranted a large-scale investigation under practical mining conditions. All drilling operations were gradually changed over to use of detachable bit drill-steel. This change was completed by February, 1938.

Jan 1, 1939

By Takashi Nakamura, Atsushi Iizuka, Yong Fan, Etsuro Shibata

The level of iron in typical copper slag reaches nearly 40% by mass, in the form of iron silicate. We designed a method to oxidize the nonmagnetic iron silicate to magnetite, permitting the selective recovery of the slag’s iron content by magnetic separation. This would effectively decrease the volume of dumped slag; the reclaimed iron could be used for iron and steel making. The crystallization behaviors of magnetite and hematite were studied as reaction products of the molten oxidation of copper slag. A gas atmosphere of 1% by volume of oxygen was found to effectively precipitate the slag’s iron content as magnetite.

Jan 1, 2015

By Nathalie Gauthier

Bien que le système de ventilation du Puits Penna soit de taille imposante et que plus de $30M y seront engloutis pour son développement, aucun budget spécifique n?avait été préalablement consenti pour refroidir l?air acheminé aux places de travail dans la partie profonde de la mine. Le système de ventilation a été conçu en deux étapes distinctes : le réseau du haut de la mine lequel dessert jusqu?à 1550 m de profondeur et le réseau du bas de la mine (de 1550 m à 2200m) qui a été créé ultérieurement. Le réseau inférieur a été imaginé de façon à acheminer l?air frais directement au gisement et de permettre l?évacuation aux extrémités afin de rejeter l?air chaud immédiatement après l?avoir utilisé. Au total, lorsque le réseau de ventilation sera complété, plus de 670 m3/s d?air sera véhiculé dont jusqu?à 495 m3/s pour la partie inférieure de la mine considérant une capacité totale maximum de 710 m3/s en utilisant la mine adjacente.

May 1, 2003

By R. Walker

This paper deals with the selection and design of a belt conveyor handling steam coal between a mine and a barge loading terminal, and extending for some 5 ¼ miles over some of the most rugged terrain in the state of West Virginia, U.S.A. After a thorough analysis by consulting engineers and the owner's engineers, a single-flight cablebelt conveyor was chosen as representing the alternative of greatest reliability and lowest over-all cost. The value analysis and design features of the system are covered in this paper along with an updated report on the performance of the system since its start-up in the spring of 1969.

Jan 1, 1971

By W. E. Halle, G. J. S. Govett

"The Institute of Applied Geology, Manila, Philippines, is jointly sponsored by the University of the Philippines, the Philippines Bureau of Mines and the United Nations Development Programme (Special Fund). It provides, in its fourth year of operation, an interesting example of international cooperation in mineral development. Objectives include: (1) the training of mining engineers in modern techniques of mineral exploration; (2) assisting government and industry in discovering new ore deposits; and (3) providing the basis for the establishment of an economically oriented graduate school of geology at the University, the first of its kind in the country. Training of engineers requires roughly one full year, which is divided between academic study and actual field practice. Lecture and laboratory instruction include courses at university level designed specifically to up-grade those aspects of the geological sciences that are required by mining engineers now qualifying as mineral exploration engineers-economic geology, applied geochemistry, geo-physical exploration, petrology and structural geology. The field training involves direct participation in actual mineral exploration projects arranged with the co-operation of the Bureau of Mines and private interests engaged in mineral development and production. The system works well in practice, and the Institute staff and trainees were responsible for outlining new evidence of economic mineralization. It is also apparent from the application of the exploration methods available to the project -geological mapping, air photo interpretation, magnetic, electric, electromagnetic, self potential and gravity surveying as well as geochemical prospecting -that, under the humid, tropical, mountainous conditions in which the practical program was conducted, air-supported geochemical prospecting with attendant reconnaissance geological mapping affords the most economical and effective approach to mineral exploration for at least some of the deposits characteristic of the region."

Jan 1, 1968

By J. Cayouette, . Blatter, P. Cousin

The Laronde mill was commissioned in 1988 and has been treating the Laronde Perim ore since 2000. The Laronde plant, situated in the Abitibi region of Quebec, has experienced mill expansions to accommodate 7500 mtpd and to recover gold and silver as well as important amounts of base metals (Cu, Zn, Pb). Ten sequential metallurgical and environmental processes are responsible for metals recovery and process viability. Over 200,000 ounces of gold, 4,5 million ounces of silver, 7000 tonnes of copper, and 78,000 tonnes of zinc are produced annually. In 2008, the Goldex plant began trucking high wade (35-45 Wt Au) pyrite sulphide concentrate (TCGO) for gold extraction at a newly constructed treatment plant, increasing gold output at Laronde by 40,000 ounces. In 2009, the high gold wade Lapa ore processing facilities were annexed to the Laronde plant increasing output by 120,000 ounces of gold. TCGO and Lapa productions are forecasted until 2018 and 2015 respectively, with known reserves of each mine. Today, up to 140 permanent employees run and optimise the Laronde plant operation. As a result, Laronde has intricacies intrinsic to a large and varied operation. The paper will outline the metallurgical highlights, challenges, and future outlook related to the treatment of each ore type (Laronde, TCGO, and Lapa)

Jan 1, 2011

By P. V. Golde, R. A. Poole, G. R. Baiden

"The results being presented in this paper are those obtained during 1996 on a drilling automation project at Stobie mine. This project has successfully demonstrated that the remote operation of multiple drills (by a single driller) from surface using Tamrock Data Solo 1000 Sixty drillrigs is technically feasible and can potentially bring significant rewards in terms of productivity and work environment improvements, as well as labour and maintenance savings. BackgroundThe ObjectiveThis paper is an update of a previous report on remote drilling research at Stobie mine. Enabled by the communications system installed at the mine, the ability to remotely control underground equipment from surface has been demonstrated (Poole et al., 1996). This paper discusses the needs and process required to carry this concept to consolidate the operation of multiple machines under a single operator.The TeamThe team assembled to develop and implement the automation and the communi-cations extensions needed to allow the multiple machines’ operation from the surface by one operator included the following:INCO Mines Research supplied the project management and original project initiative. The primary purpose was to prove the advantages of savings associated with the driller not being required to travel to the underground drill location coupled with the savings associated with one-man, multiple-machine techniques.Tamrock EJC supplied the Data Solo 1000 Sixty drills and the Tamrock specific machine-based custom software. The drills were produced in Finland with no provision for remote operation of the drill from other than the umbilical attached local console.Automated Mining Systems supplied the modifications to the drill communications equipment to allow the machine communications to become broadband compatible. As well, Automated Mining Systems also supplied the hardware necessary to be able to remotely control the portable video camera, as well as the data logging equipment.Stobie Mine personnel were made available to test the function and then integrate the concept of remote control drilling into the Stobie operations."

Jan 1, 1997

By A. R. MacLean

This mine is situated at Point Aconi, Cape Breton , Nova Scotia, and is a replacement for the 100-year-old Princess Collie ry. It is a slope mine which is the continuation of a s trip mine operation. There are fives lopes from the surface driven with Dosco Dintheaders - this marks the first time these machines were used in North America. There are four room -and-pillar sections, each equipped with a Lee Norse HH106 continuous miner, a "Top Dog" roof bolter and two Wagner diesel Teletrams. There are also two Eimco 913 diesel LHD's , which are used for clean-up in the mines. This paper describes the mining operations of this 800,000-tpy mine which, in less than a year and a half , has been developed to the stage where four sections are producing coal at the desired rate.

Jan 1, 1978

By M. A. Cristovici

"In the last few years CANMET has taken the initiative by investigating the possibility of reactivating abandoned old tailings dumps (for gold production) which would be of potential economic interest across Canada.Nova Scotia was one location where numerous gold processing plants were in operation in the early days. A survey of the old tailing dumps was conducted and some areas of interest were selected. Among them were the sites identified as Lake Charlotte and Forest Hill.Ore samples collected from those tailing ponds were examined for their chemico-mineralogical composition and investigated for gold extraction. Three technological concepts were tested: flotation, direct cyanidation and flotation followed by cyanidation of the flotation concentrate. The combined flotation- cyanidation variant, yielding a gold recovery in the range of 90%, was recommended for processing the tailing ore.Pilot-plant runs carried out by a commercial testing firm (data not included in this paper) confirmed the conditions and results of CANMET's technology.As a result a consulting-engineering firm designed the processing plant which is expected to begin operation in the near future.IntroductionIn the last few years CANMET initiated a research program to locate in Canada, abandoned gold-silver tailing dumps of potential economic interest and to explore the possibility of recovering the precious metals from these old deposits by modern techniques.A literature search revealed that the first production of gold in Canada was recorded in British Columbia in 1858 and that, production prior to 1900 was essentially restricted to the Yukon, British Columbia Nova Scotia and Quebec. During the early 1900s, Ontario, Manitoba and the North West Territories joined the ranks of the gold producers.Early milling and recovery methods were mainly restricted to sluice boxes, gravity stamps and amalgamation. Froth flotation and cyanidation were introduced at about the turn of the century.Recovery of gold at plants using flotation and cyanidation was very good, therefore the tailing ponds resulting from those operations would, very likely be of little or no economic importance. However, the gold recovery at the amalgamation and gravity concentration plants appeared to be lower, indicating the possibility that significant amounts of recoverable gold would have been carried with the tailings to the dump sites."

Jan 1, 1986

By Alfred Guenkel, Kyle Marte, K. Nikolaisen

"The INCO SO2/air process was patented by INCO in 1985 (Borbely, Devuyst, Ettel, Mosoiu & Schitka, 1985). Well over 80 mining operations worldwide are using this process to oxidize cyanides to cyanates in the tailings from gold, silver and copper mining operations. Though it is possible to supply sulphur dioxide (SO2) in either gas or liquid form, the majority of these SO2/air operations use sulphite-based salts as the ‘SO2’ equivalent reducing agent. This is probably due to the lower capital cost, safety concerns with, and availability of liquid SO2. Sodium metabisulphite (SMBS) is commonly employed, and its cost is an order of magnitude higher than that of sulphur. The increased capital expenditures (CAPEX) for a sulphur-burning SO2 gas plant could have a pay-back of less than two years. In addition, a SO2 gas plant offers potential for significant heat recovery from the sulphur burning process. In terms of safety, the SO2 gas plant only requires the storage of relatively benign sulphur and the site inventory of SO2 will be limited to the plant gas inventory. Furthermore, a SO2 gas plant will not trigger the US Clean Air Act Section 112(r) accident prevention regulations, as may be the case for liquid SO2.Most existing mining operations using ‘SO2’ are gold operations, but in recent years there has been an increased interest in larger sulphur dioxide gas plants for hydrometallurgical facilities that employ leaching of cobalt/manganese minerals or precipitation of manganese/iron (e.g. Tenke Fungurume and Boleo).This paper discusses the different processes which require SO2 as a reducing agent and compares the capital and operational costs of a SO2 gas plant to conventional process alternatives using sulphite-based salts or liquid SO2.The heart of the SO2 gas plant is the sulphur furnace. The most economical way to produce SO2 is by combustion of sulphur in air producing up to 19.5 vol% SO2. Examples of large and small sulphur furnaces are discussed in terms of design, operation, and impacts on operational costs.The SO2 gas produced in a sulphur-burning plant has to be contacted with the liquor to be reduced. The choice of gas-liquid contacting device is important, and two contacting devices are discussed: 1) Gas sparging into the bottom of leach tanks (high, nearly constant, back pressure due to liquid head) and 2) absorption columns (low gas-side pressure drop)."

Jan 1, 2014

By F. Dai

Granitic rocks usually exhibit strongly anisotropy due to pre-existing microcracks induced by geologic loadings. The understanding of the rock anisotropy in mechanical properties such as tensile strength is critical to quarrying and stabilization of underground structures. In this paper, Brazilian tests are conducted in combination with MTS material testing machine and split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) system to measure both static and dynamic tensile strength of anisotropic Barre granite. Samples are cored and labeled using the three principle anisotropic directions of Barre granite (BG). These directions are also chosen as the loading directions for the Brazilian discs. For dynamic tests, pulse shaping technique is used to achieve dynamic equilibrium in the samples during the test. Finite Element Method is implemented to formulate equations that relate the failure load to the material tensile strength employing a orthotropic model for Barre granite. For samples in the same orientation group, the tensile strength shows clear loading rate sensitivity. The tensile strengths exhibit clear anisotropy under static loading; while less anisotropy under dynamic loading. The tensile strength anisotropy of Barre granite is interpreted as interactions of the pre-existing microcracks.

May 1, 2009

By Juliana Parreira

The past decade shows record increases in global demand for minerals and metals with an accompanying significant decline in skilled personnel. Mining companies today are examining new technologies to maximize production, reduce costs, and create safer work conditions to deal with this shortfall. Automation of an open-pit mine haulage system is receiving attention as a beneficial option since it provides more consistent and efficient operation of mining equipment, it removes workers from potential danger, it reduces fuel consumption significantly reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and it can help optimize vehicle repairs and equipment replacement because of more-predictable and better-controlled maintenance. This paper describes a simulation model under development using the EXTENDSIM software package to examine scale-up issues and constraints of autonomous vehicles in comparison to a manual system. The software can predict and manage Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), such as productivity, safety, cost, equipment failures, fuel consumption, and tire wear under different road and load conditions. By breaking-down the various systems of an autonomous haulage truck and simulating the overall haulage system using a Monte Carlo approach, the model becomes a flexible and powerful tool to use within a mining organization. Direct comparison to a manuallyrun system can be done to show the cost and operational benefits of automation. Project managers can use this tool to guide decision-making about possible application of autonomous haulage trucks at a specific mine site.

May 1, 2010

By R. A. Nemchek

Over the years, concentrator plant design has evolved from a large number of small grinding mills to a small number of large mills. In many cases, all of the tonnage runs through a single mill (typically a large SAG mill), so that the plant?s performance hinges on the productivity of this one machine. Industry specifications attempt to address the critical nature of today?s grinding mills in a manner that is often overly complex, neglects economics, and is not clearly focused on the end user?s goals. This paper surveys current industry practices, and proposes an improved approach to standards writing recognizing that product design, procurement, manufacturing, and quality are all inter-related in contributing to a project?s success. The lessons learned here can be extended to specifications for all types of machinery.

Jan 1, 2012

By J. M. Cummings

CONSIPERABLE information on the industrial or non-metallic mineral resources of British Columbia has been published. For a general resume of the subject, reference may be made to a paper presented by A. M. Richmond before the Annual General Meeting of the Institute in 1935 (1). To avoid duplication, the present paper is confined to a discussion of the existing industrial mineral industry of the Province and of the factors governing its present and future development. British Columbia's mineral production in 1936 had a value approximately 15 per cent of that for the whole of Canada. Preliminary estimates for 1937 indicate that this proportion has been maintained, although the totals have increased about 25 per cent. The following table presents comparative figures, for the year 1936, illustrating the relative importance of the major divisions of the mineral industry in British Columbia and in Canada as a whole.

Jan 1, 1938

By A. R. Turner

AERIAL survey methods have made enormous technical advances and gained new recognition since World War II. Before enlarging on this statement and reviewing some of the uses of aerial survey in industrial development it is important to de-fine what is meant by "aerial survey". The subject will be discussed in the broadest sense and references will be made to the four sections that compose the overall field of surveying operations from the air. These are: 1. Aerial photography and photo-graphic mapping. 2. The use of airborne electronic instruments for geodetic distance measurement and the determination of ground elevations. 3. Airborne geophysical surveying. 4. The extraction of qualitative and quantitative information from aerial photographs through the processes of "reading", analysis and interpretation. Many sciences and techniques are combined in aerial survey operations. The tools of the business include aircraft, finely engineered cameras, elaborate film processing and printing equipment, ground survey instruments, precision stereo-plotting instruments, map -

Jan 1, 1961

By D. G. Sinclair

In any discussion on the subject of mine-safety, it is well to honestly face the fact at the outset that mining is a hazardous occupation and that certain inherent dangers attach to the work, which, in spite of the greatest vigilance on the part of everyone concerned, will from time to time exact their toll of in jury or death from the underground worker. Great progress has been made of late years in narrowing down the range of these necessary risks, and, illustrative of what can be done along these lines by concerted effort, it is pleasing to read from time to time of large operating mines running for weeks, months, a year or more, without a single lost-time accident. To achieve any results in the work of accident prevention it is necessary, first, to have a definite goal, such as a no-accident period, be it a week, a month, or a year, to aim at; and, second, to set up definite standards to work by. The legal code of regulations should form the basis of all standards of work at every mine and should, for this reason, cover as far as possible all conceivable phases of operation. This represents the ideal, but in practice it is unattainable, largely because of the many variables that must be considered, due to the divergence in the scale of operations and to differing geological conditions at the different mines. Hence it becomes necessary for the operator who wishes to attain the maximum in the establishment of high standards of safe operation to so amplify the code as to meet the peculiar requirements of his operation.

Jan 1, 1930

By D. W. Euler, D. G. Brophey

"In an attempt to address the issue of rising labour costs, and to improve productivity, a laser-based system to guide underground LHDs and trucks has been developed. This comprehensive system is known as the Opti-Trak system.Essentially, the vehicle is equipped with front and rear-mounted lasers which scan a reference strip mounted on the drift back. The vehicle follows this reference strip and in addition, based on reflective bar codes mounted beside the reference strip, initiates certain functions (i.e. dump cycle, speed change, brake check, etc.). Any programming that is drift-specific is handled by the positioning of the reference strips and bar codes. Consequently, the vehicle can easily travel to many different haulageways or branches, providing the reference strip and bar codes are in place.The advantages of this system are an immediate elimination of haulage operator costs and an increase in available hauling time to 7 hours out of an 8-hour shift as compared to the typical 5Y2 out of 8 hours that a manned haulage system offers.This paper describes the Opti-Trak system and the benefits to be realized from automation of mine haulage requirements."

Jan 1, 1994

By Kenji Koga

In order to derive the population distribution of gold nanoparticle morphologies as a function of size, highresolution electron microscopic (HREM) observations and structural analyses were done for over 4000 particles (3-18 nm) grown by an inert gas aggregation (IGA) source using helium. To obtain structural features threedimensionally and not to skip high-contrast images, twenty photos were taken for each particle by changing tilting angle of a specimen holder in combination with the through-focus procedure. For the reliable structural determinations, HREM images and their tilting sequences were directly compared with multislice-simulation results for icosahedral, decahedral and face-centered cubic morphologies, and finally the population distribution of each morphology was obtained as a function of size. In the present sample, icosahedral particles were dominantly populated over the whole observed size range and decahedral particles with non-spherical truncated bi-pyramid shape were secondly dominant. Even though a large number of sampling has been done, few crystalline particles were observed.

Oct 1, 2003