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By J. E. Dodge

Tasu, currently an open-pit operation, services the primary crusher from two areas by ore-pass raises. The problems encountered and advantages gained are discussed. Mine equipment and operating practices are covered, together with blasting practices, line drilling and the pre-shearing necessary to stahilize the pit walls.

Jan 1, 1968

By J. H. Shillabeer

"Rational exploration requires the prior selection of areas possessing excellent geological potential and minimum hazards to commercial development . Within an over-all strategy of grass-roots exploration, two procedures for selecting areas for (i) coal and (ii) metals exploration are described. The procedures explicitly balance infrastructure requirements and environmental concerns for areas of geological merit not alienated in parks and reserves. Through consensus, priorities are attached to those areas meriting closer scrutiny and field reconnaissance.IntroductionMining companies need to know that having made a potentially economic discovery, they will be allowed to develop it with minimum delay and at reasonable cost. The environment for exploration in British Columbia is complex and recent experience suggests that conditions are not becoming any easier. Conflicts over land use issues, preservation and economic development are common. The high cost of exploration requires that the risks should be offset where possible by: (i) carefully selecting the areas in which to work (ii) conducting operations in a responsible manner, and (iii) working cooperatively with the community of interests. This paper concerns the first action: prior selection of areas.To aid exploration planning at Suncor, a procedure was developed to grade those areas of the province possessing favourable geology according to the ease with which a mine might be developed . This had to be done within the constraints of the company's over-all approach to exploration. This emphasizes ""grass-roots"" exploration of self-generated projects in British Columbia. In addition, having selected a favourable belt of rocks, it is intended to persevere there while steadily adding to the accumulated data base and local experience. Hence, it is intended to concentrate on an area. This implies a long-term commitment to an area which in turn increases the importance of the original selection.Suncor's search is directed to finding base and precious metals in intrusive and volcanic environments, and export quality coal."

Jan 1, 1985

By Malcolm Scoble

Process Technologies Suitable for Application Underground Design Criteria - coarse particle technologies - compact, robust, flexible - waste products suitable for use as backfill Process technologies identified: - Optical/conductivity sorting - Dense media separation - Coarse-particle flotation Process technologies supported by compact & efficient comminution stages Mineralogical evaluation to select process & estimate Performance Further Work U/G Plant Layout & Excavation Modelling Evaluate scenario at increasing depth Establish properties of waste as backfill Model impact of improved backfill quality Evaluate further case studies Evaluate further Environmental Health and Safety Issues Model impact of system development on inventory of national mineral reserves Conclusions Technologies exist for integrated underground mining and processing systems These technologies to be successfully integrated into underground mining system Positive economic and environmental benefits Technical issues to be resolved at depth System Development path identified

May 1, 2004

By W. Harry Foster

"Asbestos Corporation Limited, incorporated in 1925, operates four asbestos mines and three asbestos mills in the Thetford Mines 1•egion of Quebec's Eastern Townships. A unique asbestos orebody, located in the Ungava Peninsula of Nouveau Quebec, was purchased by Asbestos Corporation Limited in 1964 and commenced production in 1972. As there were no existing facilities in the isolated, arctic region of Asbestos Hill, it was necessary for Asbestos Corporation Limited to construct at Deception Bay a deepsea wharf, a large ungraded fibre shed, a power plant and camp facilities. Forty-two miles of road were needed and were constructed from Deception Bay to Asbestos Hill. At Asbestos Hill, a complete crushing-drying-milling complex, a power plant, pe1•sonnel accommodations and open-pit facilities were provided. Unloading facilities and a fib1•e finishing mill we1l constructed at Nordenham, West Germany. The ""Asbestos Hill- Nordenham Story” is divided into individual papers covering all aspects of the engineering, construction and operation of this unique enterprise. Particular emphasis has been placed on those unusual aspects caused by the isolated location, arctic conditions, short shipping season and the deep permafrost."

Jan 1, 1976

By Yosuke Ota, Makoto Tawara, Tetsuya Kojima

"Dry-lube has been used in Europe to enhance formability of aluminum sheet for automotive applications, but it is difficult to ensure degreasing performance with lower degreasing bath temperature. However, newly developed, highly lubricating pre-coats utilizing a urethane resin, which is soluble in water, have been found to show excellent degreasing performance. Furthermore, a richer pre-coat weight coincides with a lower friction coefficient and better formability. Combined use of anti-rust liquid oil showed different friction coefficient depending on applied surface pressure.INTRODUCTION The global demand for aluminum alloy products, especially for automotive application, has been increasing because aluminum alloys can offer excellent corrosion resistance with good strength and low density compared with steel. Aluminum alloys can contribute to saving much more energy and greenhouse gas emissions over the lifetime of the product. On the other hand, the amount of aluminum alloys in vehicle architectures is still somewhat limited due to relatively low formability. As a consequence of this low formability, it is necessary to set a certain limit to the shape of an aluminum alloy panel for automotive applications. So far hot melt wax dry lubricants have been in use especially in Europe as they have been recognized to provide better lubrication than conventional rust protection oils (Meiler & Jaschke, 2005). The benefit of hot-melt wax for automotive manufacturing is associated with a more stable forming process and the possibility to avoid extra lubrication in the press shop. But because of the low poorer solubility of hot-melt wax in degreasing aqueous bath solution, a higher degreasing temperature is required so that no remnant of hot melt wax can be carried over to the next manufacturing process. This temperature control is difficult to impress upon a manufacturing degreasing bath originally designed for liquid oil, especially in Japan. The typical temperature of degreasing bath in Europe is around 60°C, while it is only around 40°C. in Japan. Various types of pre-coats other than hot-melt with high lubricity have been reported (Tawara, 1993; Ueda, Hatsuno & Totani, 2013), but a balance between sufficient degreasing performance and high lubricity has not yet been achieved for an actual production process line."

Jan 1, 2018

"THE GOLD MINING REGION of Timmins - Val d'Or, astride the Ontario-Quebec border, has long suffered the effects of rising costs during the period when the U.S. price of gold was fixed at $35 per ounce. The federal government, through such assistance programs as that set up under the Emergency Gold Mining Assistance Act (E.G.M.A. ) in 1948, has subsidized the gold mining communities of Canada for a total of over $300 million to March 31, 1972. Of this, the Timmins - Val d'Or ""gold belt"" has received more than twothirds, almost $220 million. In spite of these continuous subsidies, only 12 gold mines are still producing in the Timmins - Val d'Or belt, whereas 71 mines have received subsidies for some period since 1948. The vital question is how the communities previously supported principally by the mining of gold will survive in the long run, as many of the older mines either are already depleted or are quickly becoming so. With the rising price of gold on the 'free market in recent months, prospects look a little brighter for the time being. Even with the increased official price of U.S. $38, which made the maximum government subsidized price about $48 per ounce, gold mines have not sold any gold to the government since January 1972 and some stopped doing so months before that. The populace of the region has not been enthusiastic about relocation nor about extensive retraining programs in the past and probably will not be in the future. So, when the remaining gold mines become depleted, the old problems of community depression will remain."

Jan 1, 1973

By D. W. Ginsberg, D. Cieplinski

"The lifetime cost of a material handling system, or any mine system, can be reduced through the application of quality engineering. Dynamic simulation is a powerful tool that can be used to enhance the experience and ingenuity of the design team. It cannot only de-bottleneck the system to improve system productivity, but also define critical design criteria to eliminate over-design and reduce capital cost. Eliminating over-design also reduces operating costs by lowering component replacement costs and by ensuring all parts of the system operate at a higher utilization and efficiency. IntroductionA mine owner’s profitability is improved when a mine is developed at the lowest lifetime cost. This cost relates not only to capital and operating costs, but also, to a great extent, on the efficiency and reliability of the operation. These factors are tied directly to the quality of the engineering which depends on the experience of the engineers involved, and their ability to apply known system information in a rational and constructive manner.It is becoming apparent that it is increasingly more difficult to deliver the quality of engineering expected and needed to provide attractive lifetime costs using traditional design methods. Historically, system information has been evaluated based on a limited amount of information to which global rules-of-thumb and the engineer’s personal experience were applied to develop design criteria. However, market forces are dictating that more system parameters be defined and that they be defined more accurately so that the most economical system can be developed. This increase in the volume of information and the need for more accurate predictions is straining, if not already exceeding, the ability of engineers to apply simple global rules of- thumb and to combine all the information in a rational, comprehensive and representative set of design criteria. Furthermore, as proposed system production rates increase beyond established industry practice, the extrapolation of the engineer’s experience becomes more difficult and increases the risk in the proposed design."

Jan 1, 1998

By Roger Lafrance

"This paper discusses various aspects affected by the use of large-diameter boreholes in underground mines. Topics covered consist of noxious fumes, vibrations, post-blast effects, various types of explosives, the cordine system in production blasts, the slider primer system and wall-control methods. In general, the paper is an overview of this important fact of underground mining.IntroductionWith economical factors leading the way, many reasons motivated drilling equipment companies to develop equipment that can drill holes up to eight inches in diameter and even larger for underground applications. One of these other reasons is the fact that many orebodies were considered marginal, given the high costs of conventional mining methods utilizing small diameter boreholes. With these criteria in mind, accelerated programs were put in motion to develop equipment that would reduce both-development and production costs in underground mines. Change s in any basic program often affect other areas down the line. This is particularly true with the ad vent of large-diameter boreholes underground.C-I-L Inc. is certainly no stranger to this phenomena. Whether production headings increase in size and tonnage or whether production increases due to lower costs, one fact remains unchanged and that is the fact that all development and production holes are loaded and blasted whether they be of small or large diameter. Due to this fact, C-I-L Inc., as a leading explosives manufacturer, initiated a program to examine blasting methods in use in surface work with the intent of revising these method s for underground applications. Research facilities were also oriented toward developing appropriate products. This was a task that was accepted with anticipation, with the result that many new blasting systems and methods were brought forward, thanks to the collective efforts of both the consumers and manufacturers."

Jan 1, 1984

By Barry James

"This paper discusses past and current energy use patterns in the mining and manufacturing sectors of the industrial minerals industry. Information is presented on the primary energy input types as purchased by the industry, the quality and form of the energy actually required by the various production processes, and the residual form of this energy, either embodied in the product or rejected in gaseous and liquid waste heat streams. With the continuing concerns about the availability of energy combined with the rapidly increasing cost of energy as a production input, the reduction of energy usage through improved efficiency will undoubtedly be an increasing priority for the industry during the 1980s. Reduced energy consumption through investment to improve energy efficiency appears to be advantageous from both the corporate and national perspectives.IntroductionEnergy, like labour and materials, is one of the basic production input s to the various mining, processing and manufacturing production stages in the industrial minerals industry. Energy costs, as a percentage of total production costs, have been well above the average for industry in Canada, accounting for more than 50 cents out of every dollar in the most extreme cases. Consequently, energy has always been a relatively important management concern in the industrial minerals industry.The energy supply and price situation in Canada and internationally has been changing rapidly since 1973, following a long period characterized by declining real energy prices and an abundance and wide choice of energy supplies. It is generally accepted that energy prices will continue to increase rapidly, and that there will be uncertainties about the long-term continuity of supply of some energy types. In essence, a period of relative stability has been replaced by a period of relative uncertainty. In such a changing situation, a reassessment of the role of energy as a production input is appropriate.The following sections outline some of the effects of the changing energy scene on the industrial minerals industry. These effects are dealt with primarily in terms of energy costs, because, in most circumstances, a change in the cost of energy as a production input is the end result of both energy price and energy supply changes."

Jan 1, 1981

By Marc C. Betournay, John E. Udd

"In this study, the authors investigated the stabilities of slopes cut predominantly into Trenton limestone in a large quarry in the Montreal region. Analyses of the bench and pit walls indicated that small-scale toppling, ravelling, and wedge failures are the most likely modes of instabilities. Because most of the joints dip steeply, however, the conclusion was made that relatively high walls could probably be justified.The field investigations were supplemented with the determinations of the shearing strengths of artificial discontinuities that were cut into samples of the limestone. The properties of a fine-grained limestone were found to be influenced very much by the magnitudes of the loads that were applied, while the properties of a crystalline limestone were found to be much less, or not load-dependent.The study is one of a number that are being conducted in this area.IntroductionExtensive quarrying has been done in the sedimentary strata of the Montreal area for a very long time. By any standards, it can be said that the Island of Montreal is a major mining area. At present, approximately 20 quarries are being operated in, or near, the city of Montreal.In addition to the millions of tons of limestone that are removed each year, a large number of excavations for foundations are cut into the sedimentary rocks.To date, however, very little information has been published concerning the engineering properties of the local geological materials. No mention is made of this aspect in the references which are presently available.Because of this lack of information, the senior author has initiated a study in which the strength properties of most of the rock types, and of the natural discontinuities contained in these, would be investigated. To date, the results of one other investigation have been published and other work is in process. It is hoped that the end result will be a comprehensive knowledge of the important strength properties of all of the rocks in the entire region."

Jan 1, 1983

By H. Tudeshki

A great amount of aggregate is utilized in civil engineering applications such as road construction, railway infrastructure, concrete production, etc. Igneous rocks are the preferred raw material due to their high strength and abrasion resistance. Rock quality assurance is a key factor and has great influence on the quality of constructions in civil engineering. One of the major problems encountered by both the producers and users of igneous aggregate rock is the fact that, with the passage of time, some specific rocks lose their strength, up to a complete loss of structure, i.e. disintegrate and degrade. This phenomenon has a great influence on the quality, strength and durability of aggregates. In the last decades, different methods and procedures such as the glycol test, the methylene blue dye test, as well as the Los Angeles test, have been introduced to distinguish rock properties, and to identify these problems. However, as these wet-chemical methods are time consuming, hard to perform, only to be applied to hand-piece samples, requiring special laboratory equipments, and are only possible to be accomplished under laboratory conditions, their application has always been severely limited. To address this widespread quality management problem of the quarry industry, a relatively quick, easy and user-friendly approach is necessary. It calls for a systematic solution with a device that can simply be used in the day-to-day routine of a mine for quality control of the quarry´s daily production. Our research is concentrated on developing a systematic method for early recognition and diagnosis of rock quality, in order to control and manage the quality of the quarry production in advance. Our new approach is based on two rock parameters: magnetic susceptibility and loss on ignition. The measurement of these parameters provides reliable information on the quality of the rock and allows the quality control process to be accomplished and performed at the borehole location. Our new approach has been assessed through extensive field and laboratory studies and has been implemented on the drill-cuttings of a basaltic andesite quarry. The results of the experiments are discussed in detail, including their impact on increasing resources and environmental protection.

Aug 1, 2013

By W. A. D. Edwards

"The Edmonton region accounted for 40% of Alberta's sand and gravel production in 1981 (about 12 million m3). Most of this production was by commercial operations (75%) for use in essential public works projects (64% in road and asphalt production).Although the Alberta Geological Survey delineated 1157 million m3 of gravel, a number of areas are considered to be in short supply. An econometric model was used for forecast demand in the region. Predictions, based on this forecast and estimated supply, are that 15% of the region's gravel and 3% of the sand will be consumed by the year 2010.The City of Edmonton is the largest consumer of aggregate in the region. Approximately 40% of the gravel in Edmonton's current supply area (about 55 km radius) will be used by 2010. These estimates are considered optimistic because the supply figures do not account for sterilization of deposits - some has already taken place in the region. If 25% to 50% of Edmonton's current supplies (one major deposit) were sterilized it would result in $1,000 million of additional cost due to increased haulage alone.Information on the value of aggregate resources, the location of sand and gravel deposit s and forecast demand has been made available to all municipalities in the region to aid planners and regulators in effective future use of this important resource.INTRODUCTIONAlberta is the second largest producer of sand and gravel in Canada at ab out 50 million tonnes annually. Value of provincial production exceeded $120 million in 1985. In Albert a, aggregate is used primarily in road and building construction (about 50% and 15%, respectively) and is important in such activities as petroleum exploration, oil sands development and the forestry industry.The Edmonton region (Fig. I) accounts for about 40% of provincial production and has a per capita consumption rate of about 13.4 m3 of sand and gravel per annum. Although Edmonton dominates, with approximately 50% of regional production going into the city, aggregate is produced in every county and municipal district in the region.Sand and gravel is essential to the current way of life in the Edmonton region. The resource is valuable and dwindling. The Alberta Geological Survey (a department of the Alberta Research Council) has collected information on aggregate in this region for the last decade which ca n aid government planners and regulators in pre venting sterilization and misallocation of this critical resource. This paper is a summary of that information."

Jan 1, 1989

By A. McLean, D. K. A Donyina, R. S. Segsworth

"Various aspects of processing ferro-manganese fines generated during the crushing of standard ferro-manganese have been studied in laboratory-scaleplasma furnaces. These laboratory furnaces are based on the use of conventional graphite electrodes rather than water-cooled non-consumable torch devices. The reactor system has separate, distinct zones for pre-healing, melting and smelting. This unique feature assists in the removal of undesirable elements from the molten alloy. Ferro-manganese alloys containing over 82% manganese, 0.004% sulphur, less than 0.01% silicon, 0.006% nitrogen, 0.001% oxygen and 0.0006% hydrogen have been produced from the offgrade ferro-manganese fines.IntroductionThe major application of manganese is as an alloying additive to numerous metals such as steel, aluminum, copper and magnesium. Manganese is mainly consumed in the ferrous industry in the form of ferro-manganese and silicon-manganese, or in its pure state as electrolytic manganese when certain impurities inherent in the manufacture of ferro-manganese and silicon-manganese alloys must be avoided. Before being sold on the market, ferro-manganese is crushed and during this process alloy fines are generated. Due to the nature of the casting process, the fines produced are contaminated with silica sand. In addition, due to segregation effect s, the pho sphorus content of the alloy fines is higher than that found in the bulk of the material produced. Because of the smaller particle size and the higher impurity content, there is only a limited market available for the alloy fines. For this reason, there has been increasing attention directed toward the development of processes for recycling fines through the conventional smelting furnaces. The fines may be charged to the furnace either directly or after agglomeration. The detrimental effects of charging the fines directly include:(1) decrease in gas permeability, causing irregular gas flow;(2) increase in the amount of dust produced;(3) packing and bridging; and(4) intensive reactions due to sudden flow in hot zones."

Jan 1, 1982

By J. C. Taylor, J. A. Davis

"Existing environmental, health and safety regulations have forced pyrometallurgical facilities worldwide to drastically change some of their traditional methods of operation. In extreme cases, a number of facilities have been closed due to their inability to conform to these existing regulations. Tougher future legislation and government policy will lead to more stringent regulations and enforcement policies. The efficient control of smelter secondary emissions will, therefore, become critical to successful smelter operation.Much attention has been paid to the smelter primary process off-gas systems, including the development of new process designs to reduce the number of uncontrolled transfer operations. However, even the most modem smelter design requires control of its secondary contaminant sources, which mayor may not be directly related to the process operation.This paper discusses some of the potential secondary emissions encountered in many of the present process technologies. A few of the emission sources presented are only periodic in nature, such as those caused by maintenance procedures, but which have the capability of forcing smelter shut-down because of their direct impact on worker health and safety. The paper deals with a variety of topics relating to the efficient control, maintenance and monitoring of secondary emissions in copper, nickel, aluminum, magnesium and lead smelters, as well as in iron foundries and steel making facilities. Examples of the typical problems encountered in each of the above process operations are presented, including fume control at furnace tapping and slagging locations, metal transfer stations, tapping launders, and ladle transfer operations. The parameters for the most efficient design of fume capture systems, problems encountered with the handling and clean-up of certain collected emissions, and examples of successful solutions in particular operations are discussed."

Jan 1, 1994

By B. M. Das, F. Claridge, V. K. Garga

Coal, as well as a large part of other minerals in Canada, is produced by surface mining methods. This has resulted in short and long-term accumulation of waste rock in dumps. Two main problems arise from the flow of water through these dumps: stability of dumps and the impact on stream flows. In recent years, a number of mines have started placing waste rock in valleys for general disposal or far constructing mine access road ways. All these have created challenges in the following areas: effective design of dumps and flow-through dams; stability monitoring of the structures; environmental impacts downstream by way of increased amount of fines in suspension, sedimentation, and toxic substances; and long-term status of flow and flood. Similar situations also exist in many civil engineering structures. This paper discusses the status of rock drains and the immediate and future research needs.

Jan 1, 1990

By Sukumar Bandopadhyay, Arunapuram Sundararajan

"Unique production and environmental problems are associated with multiple seam mining where dragfines are used for overburden and interburden removal. On the production side, the problems are decreased dragfine efficiency in chopdown operations, the general need for spoil rehandle, complications in sequencing stripping and coal handling operations, and potential stability problems in highly stacked spoil. Many variations of dragline methods have been reported in the literature to encounter these problems. Because of the physical properties and peculiar hydrology of sub-arctic region mining of multiple seams in such areas probably could not be done with the methods used in temperate regions.The properties of thawed material would make spoil hard to place in a stable manner and thus would influence the mini sequence. For instance, multiple seam mining which requires some rehandling of spoil and prolonged exposure of overburden and interburden material might be precluded by the instability of thawed spoil and therefore mining techniques have to be modified. Since the deployment and operation of a dragline in modes different from conventional schemes will affect productivity, it will be necessary to study the effects on production of changing the dragfine operational schemes. This paper presents a heuristic simulation model of multi-seam dragline operation of a sub-arctic mine that can be used to analyze the handling of overburden and detailed study of the dragfine performance."

Jan 1, 1986

By Lawrence Devon Smith

"The concept of risk is well established in the mining industry. It is acknowledged when estimates of reserves are expressed as proven or probable, when mining and metallurgical recoveries are applied to the ore, and when contingencies are added to costs. However, it is difficult to provide a quantitative assessment of risk. The significant sources of risk in a mineral project and how these are addressed in project evaluations are discussed.The discount rate is examined as a fundamental means of reflecting risk in discounted cash flow evaluations. Current industry practice is discussed, and a methodology for the analysis of risk levels is proposed that assesses the constituent components of the discount rate: real interest, mineral project risks, and country risk.IntroductionThis paper examines the components of the discounted cash flow discount rate and proposes a method of estimating project-specific discount rates. The motivation for this work comes from experience of project evaluations in which owners and purchasers had agreed on virtually every aspect of the evaluation except how much the project was worth. Agreement was reached on reserves, grade, recovery, capital costs, operating costs, taxes, and, by combining these components, even on the final cash flow values. The only difference in opinion concerned the discount rate to be used in the calculation of the net present value. Depending on the life of the project, such differences of opinion can cause a variation of more than 50% in the value placed on a project! This is illustrated in Figure I."

Jan 1, 1995

By M. E. Wilson, A. C. Lee

"The property owned by Senator-Rouyn Mines, Limited, is in Rouyn township about 17'2 miles southwest of the town of Rouyn. It adjoins the Chadbourne claims of Noranda Mines, Limited, on the south and the Bagamac property on the ·west. It includes seven claims-block 44, blocks 80 to 83 and blocks 96 and 97; the mine is wholly in blocks 44 and 82.Late in 1936 gold was discovered in an outcrop of rusty weathering carbonate rock near the north end of block 44, and the following year the present Company was organized to proceed with the development of the property. During 1937-38, 17,000 feet of diamond drill core were bored to determine the extent of the ore deposit at depth. From October 15th, 1940, to April 15th, 1941, the ore was hauled to the mill at the Arntfield mine for treatment. The mill on the Senator-Rouyn property started on April 25th, 1941, and has been in practically continuous operation since than time. To the end of 1946, 574,874 tons of ore, from which gold having a value of $3,836,450 was recovered, were treated in the mill.GEOLOGYThe rocks exposed at the Senator-Rouyn mine, except in the southern part of the property, are almost wholly quartz diorite, part of an irregular mass that extends west from the town of Rouyn along the north shore of Noranda lake and thence southwest across the Senator-Rouyn claims. In the northern part of the propertyt inclusions of rhyolite occur here and there in the diorite. In the southern part the predominant rock is dacite and in the east-central part of block 44 claim andesite. Dykes of andesite, quartz syenite, and later diabase also occur on the property.The andesite of the Abitibi volcanics is not exposed on the property, but has been intersected in three diamond drill holes, one on the eastern boundary of block 44 and two farther west within the block. This andesite is probably the western end of a band of pillowed andesite well exposed in the Larose claim to the east."

Jan 1, 1954

By Russell McIntosh

"The Madsen mine is in the southeastern part of Baird township, in Red Lake area, Ontario. It lies about 6 miles southwest of the town of Red Lake, with which it is connected by an all-weather road.The Madsen Red Lake Gold Mines Company was formed in March, 1935, to take over the holdings of the Falcon Gold and Jomac Gold syndicates. During 1935 an4 the early part of 1936 No. 1 shaft was sunk and drifts driven on four levels, all on a narrow quartz vein in a granite dyke.In July, 1936, the Austin zone was discovered about half a mile north of No. 1 shaft by Austin McVeigh, a prospector employed by the Company. Diamond drilling showed that the zone included an orebody worth development, and in 1937 No. 2 shaft was sunk, three levels opened up and sufficient ore outlined to justify the installation of a mill. Milling commenced in August, 1938, at the rate of 300 tons a day, which was later increased to 400 tons a day.The total production from 1938 to 1946 was 1,116,307 tons from which gold and silver having a value of $9,949,010 were recovered. The gold produced ranged from a minimum of 0.1910 oz. a ton in 1939 to a maximum of 0.2827 oz. in 1944. The average grade in 1946 was 0.2345 oz. to the ton."

Jan 1, 1954

By J. W. Reynolds

"The use of approved fire-resistant hydraulic fluids in equipment operating underground was made mandatory in British Columbia by amendment to the Provincial Mines Regulation Act effective January 1, 1975. This paper covers the action taken to achieve this, in the largest underground metal mine in British Columbia. Some evaluation of costs and effects based on experience to date is included.BackgroundAn amendment to the Mines Regulation Act of the Province of British Columbia was passed in July 1974 as follow s: "" Rule 111 (b) Hydraulic Fluids. After the first day of January 1975, all hydraulic fluids used in equipment operating underground shall be of a fire-resistant type accept able to the chief inspector.""Unquestionably, its intent was justified as a safety improvement measure. The list of fires in mines involving machinery where hydraulic fluid was a factor in the fires is long and sobering. In British Columbia, in a 22-month period from 1972 to 1974, there were six fires in metal mines resulting in extensive equipment damage and injury to four workmen. Nevertheless, no provision was made for research or development of systems modifications compatible with conditions encountered in B.C. and, as late as June 1977, the Mining Association of British Columbia continued to argue that fire suppression systems should be considered sufficient until a universal suitable hydraulic fluid could be developed. The sole concession was to issue permits for continued use of mineral oil in equipment bought prior to 1975 in order to allow producing operations to continue. The burden of developing the necessary technology was laid on the industry.The Sullivan Mine at Kimberley, the largest and longest established underground mine in the province, and Cominco's most important source of ore s for its smelter at Trail, B.C., was at the outset of a conversion from conventional to trackless mechanized mining methods in pillar recovery operation s. Introduction of fire-resistant hydraulic fluid s had to be done in a period of change, in many instances on equipment for which no data existed, and called for research which had to be done while retraining the work force.The introductory phase is complete. All equipment is on FRF, the requirements of Rule 111(b) are being satisfied, and a number of research and development programs continue."

Jan 1, 1980