Search Documents

By G. E. Peacock

SIGMA MINES is situated in the township of Bourlamaque, Abitibi County, Quebec. It is a gold producer, and presently treats an average of 1,200 tons of ore per day, at a grade of approximately 0.18 oz. per ton recovered. The mill started operations in March, I937, at a rate of 300 tons per day. This was increased to 800 tons in I940, and to 1,000 tons by I943. The rate was cut back during the war years, but was brought back up to capacity by I948. The mill tonnage was in-creased to the present 1,200 tons per day in I960. The underground workings are serviced through No. 2 Shaft (Figure 1), which, with 24 operating levels, extends from surface to a depth of 3,317 feet. When depth exploration was decided upon, two possibilities were considered: (a) deepen the main shaft by1,000 feet; (b) put down a winze for the same distance.

Jan 1, 1962

By Luke Meers

Roadway development rates in Australian underground coal mines are failing to keep pace with modern longwall systems and are unlikely to sustain further improvements in longwall productivity into the future unless step change improvements to roadway development equipment and practices are made. Bottlenecks which limit and constrain improved production and impact the safety of operators have been identified through a series of industry surveys, with the manual installation of strata support materials, consumables delivery, coal haulage and monorail installation being highlighted as major areas to improve development performance. This paper looks at research being carried out at the University of Wollongong in designing an integrated system approach for the fully automated handling and installing of development consumables, and the systems required to support these activities. A series of hard automation manipulation devices have been demonstrated in surface trials and the results indicate that rapid roadway development can be achieved.

Aug 1, 2013

By J. Lazareck

"XPotential Products Inc. has developed technologies to convert auto shredder residues and other forms of plastic waste into useful products such as posts suitable for retaining walls and parking curbs. The technology is competitive provided low-cost plastic waste is available, and could have applications throughout the world. The paper describes the technology used and illustrates the various processing steps. Development of the TechnologyPresently, state-of-the-art auto shredding yields approximately 75% ferrous and non-ferrous metals and approximately 25% by weight of auto shredder residue (ASR). Advances in metal shredding and non-ferrous metal separation technologies turned XPotential Products Inc.’s attention to ASR as a potential revenue source, or at least a means to markedly reduce the cost of disposal. This abundance of nuisance ASR was, in the company’s view, a potential resource as derelict autos and white goods were similarly perceived 40 years ago. As owners of General Scrap & Car Shredder Ltd. in western Canada, XPotential faced significant disposal costs for four shredders. This journey began over 10 years ago and took many twists and turns until a final course of action was chosen. The recovery of the metallic portion of vehicles and white goods has reached technological maturity and attempts to add value are now achievable only in very small increments."

Jan 1, 2004

By K. Kawagishi, J. Ang, A. Sato, H. Harada

"We have recently proposed a new ""EQ Coating"" bond coat system to solve the problem of secondary reaction zone (SRZ) formation caused by bond coats applied on the hot section components of modem jet engines. A viable EQ coating alloy was previously found for a representative znd generation superalloy, TMS-82+. It would be ideal if the same could be done for a representative 5th generation superalloy, TMS-173. In this paper, we will show that the coating with the best oxidation resistance in the EQ system of TMS-173, although possessing considerably better resistance than TMS-173, did not have sufficient oxidation resistance. In order to improve the oxidation resistance of the EQ coating for TMS-173, we have ventured into ""Pseudo-EQ coatings"". A diffusion couple between the Pseudo-EQ coating and TMS-173, after 300hrs at 1100°C, had a 0-15µm IDZ, but no SRZ. A diffusion couple between a conventional coating and TMS-173 formed a 80-150 µm SRZ. After a 1 hr oxidation test at 1100°C, the PseudoEQ coating formed a thinner oxide layer than the EQ coating, but still contained NiO and spinel. Aerospace"

Jan 1, 2006

By Dan Currie, Tom Lamb, J. Coady Marsh, Gary Landry

"This paper describes the Cape Breton Development Corporation's experience with the Lovat M-300 tunnel-boring machine at the Donkin-Morien Mine. Between January 3 and December 21, 1984, the 7.6 m (25 It) diameter TBM advanced 3350 m (10 990 ft) . The authors will describe experiences with the machine and highlight the implications of tunnelling machines to underground coal mine development in Canada. IntroductionThe Cape Breton Development Corporation (CBDC) has recently completed the drivage of a 7.6 m (25 ft) diameter tunnel, 3.5 km (2.2 miles) in length , to access the Harbour Coal Seam at the Donkin-Morien Project. The tunnel was successfully driven with the first Canadian rock tunnel-boring machine (RTBM or TBM), designed and built by Lovat Tunnel Equipment, Inc. The initial mine development consists of the drivage of two tunnels to the first major coal seam. Future plans are proposed for the development of a 4 million tonne-per-year mine (Marsh et al., 1983, Gillman, 1982), which will require the drivage of a further two tunnels and could access up to four coal seams. The tunnel cross-sectional areas were designed to provide sufficient ventilation area and access for a production of 4 million tonnes per year."

Jan 1, 1986

By S. Rivard

"This paper demonstrates the selection of grinding circuit technology for a number of recent projects including discussion of the key drivers and the role of energy efficiency. Decreasing head grades combined with a strong and sustained increase in operating costs has forced miners to examine increased project size, increased equipment capacity and efficiency improvements in order to reduce their unit operating costs and improve overall project economics. Comminution energy consumption, safety and capital cost considerations play a critical role in the success of projects. This paper presents some key guidelines for a successful and cost effective comminution circuit design and includes a case study on three projects, outlining the issues and the drivers which led to the ultimate circuit selection and the critical role that energy efficiency played.IntroductionComminution circuits for minerals processing are selected based on their suitability and efficiency in reducing run-of-mine ore to the desired feed size for the downstream process. The input material (ore) properties and downstream process requirements are the key determinants and there are standard approaches for each circumstance.The minerals processing industry has been a fast adaptor of efficiency improvements based on increasing capacity of equipment (e.g. trucks, crushers, mills, pumps) but less successful in adapting radically new technologies that disrupt incumbent flowsheets or processes.The installed power of grinding mills has increased linearly over the past 25 years (Meka & Lane, 2010) and pumps and classification equipment have kept pace. The autogenous grinding (AG) and semi- autogenous grinding (SAG) mills displaced stage crushing as a dominant method of coarse rock breakage in many applications causing crusher manufactures to increase the capacity of cone crushers to meet the competitive demand.Examples of new comminution technology in the 20th and 21st centuries are the development and adoption of cyclone classification in the 1940s (Newtech, 2016), AG milling in the late 1950s, vertical grinding mills in the 1980s, high pressure grinding rolls (HPGRs) also in the 1980s and ultrafine milling technology in the 1990s (Meka & Lane, 2010)."

Jan 1, 2017

By M. R. Coffin

Since the plant startup in 1972, the leaching and jarosite precipitation circuits at the zinc plant of the Kidd Metallurgical Division have been reconfigured several times to improve overall performance, and/or to respond to market conditions. For the most part, the circuit changes have been driven by two market factors: the price of zinc and the price of silver. Until recently, circuit modifications undertaken to improve zinc extraction and recovery came at the expense of silver recovery, and vice versa. In 2004, the plant was modified once again to produce a precious metals-bearing residue, but additional leaching circuits were added to ensure that zinc extraction and recovery did not suffer as a consequence. The development of the zinc plant of the Kidd Metallurgical Division is updated in this paper, with a focus on the recent circuit modifications and associated control strategies that were implemented to maximize zinc and precious metals recoveries, and control the quality of the jarosite residue.

Jan 1, 2006

By G. M. Behrend

"The mining and processing of mineral ores is a very old industry which is steeped in tradition. Rising demand for metals has recently forced the exploitation of lower-grade orebodies which require extensive beneficiation. The high capital expenditures involved, together with market pressures for high-quality concentrates and pellets, have forced the development of new process technologies which are heavily dependent on automatic process control. Development of suitable instrumentation has been rapid and it is being applied to mining processes today with a high degree of sophistication. The drive for higher efficiency and profitability goes on and has reached a level at which modern digital computers appear to be the only answer. However, the efficient application of a digital process computer is extremely complicated and is therefore approached by the mining industry with considerable hesitation.Some of the benefits promised by the digital computer can be obtained today by other means, which are more manageable and can provide immediate payoff. The result would be a building-block system which would utilize the digital process computer as its final component, to perform true plant optimization, free from routine chores."

Jan 1, 1971

By M. Greyling, C. Panaou, M. Bellino

Commonly the most frequent method of calculating the overall mass balance of a multi mineral platinum-group metal (PGM) concentrator circuit in Southern Africa has been through the use of spreadsheets, typically Microsoft EXCEL®. While there are some advantages in using spreadsheet based mass balances during the conceptual design phase of the project, their use becomes limited in the detailed design phase of the project. This paper discusses the successful application of METSIM® for mass balancing of a PGM concentrator and highlights the benefits gained during the conceptual and design phase of the project.

Jan 1, 2005

By G. P. Contractor

Medium and low carbon steels, modified with uranium, were studied in order to evaluate the influence of uranium on forge ability, mechanical 11roperties, response to heat treatment and microstructure. Uranium contents ranged up to 0.70 per cent. The medium carbon steels are hot short if the uranium content exceeds about 0.35 per cent. More uranium can be tolerated in low carbon steels. The hot shortness is caused by the formation of intergranular phase UFe2. Critical transformation temperatures, Jominy hardenability, and resistance to tempering are not significantly affected by the 11resence of uranium. Similarly, uranium has little or no effect on the tensile properties of carbon steels. The addition of uranium has a favourable effect 11n the stress-rupture characteristics and some beneficial effect on fatigue properties. However, more results are required for verification. In the steels investigated, it seems that most of the uranium carbide combines to form complex inclusions of U (0, C, N) or (C, N), rich in oxygen or nitrogen or both.

Jan 1, 1963

By W. G. Worcester

IN the presentation of this paper to the Institute, three objects are in the mind of the writer: first, to set forth the close relation which, of necessity, exists between ceramics and the industrial minerals; second, to clarify the apparently hazy understanding which many have of ceramics in general; and lastly, of equal or even more importance, to stimulate a greater interest in the industrial minerals, especially in those used and required by the ceramic industries. While Canada is now producing in large quantities a fairly wide variety of the ceramic industrial minerals, there are some which are not known to occur in the Dominion. Hence it is to be desired that our geologists, prospectors, and others, while on field work, should be on the look out for commercial deposits of such minerals as diaspore, bauxite, ucts of a value in excess of $600,000,000, a figure which places ceramics as kyanite, massive topaz, and sillimanite. A find of any of these in quantity would prove of very great importance and value to the country as a whole. At this point it seems desirable to introduce formally the word ceramic or the plural of it, ceramics. In doing so it may be stated that the origin of the word dates far back in history in that it was derived in part from the Greek word Keramos, 'a potter' or 'pottery', which in turn has been traced back to an older Sanskrit root meaning 'to burn' or 'burned stuff', having reference, no doubt, to burned pottery or other clay wares; and the word was so used until near the close of the last century, when the world's first schools of ceramic engineering were established in the United States. The use of the term ceramics was then expanded to cover a much larger field the entire field of the silicate industries and products. At one time it was suggested by a limited number of ceramists that the term 'ceramic engineering' be changed to 'silicate engineering'. This proposal, however, gained little support and was soon abandoned.

Jan 1, 1945

By B. Arlyuk

On the basis of research of relations among the market participants the analytical model has been created which connects the price of industrial good at stock exchange with volume of sales and the stock of the sellers and buyers, Also a model was developed for assessment of these parameters of the market status by the actually fixed stock exchange and general market indicators. The composition of these models made it possible to create reliable system of short-term price forecasting for commodities or base metals up to one quarter ahead. Imperfectability of creation a model for reliable price forecasting by purely statistic methods (by the "black box" principle) was shown. A model of price behavior qualitative forecasting till one quarter ahead has been developed, which determines the probability of reaching in future of the given level as well as of the price maximums and minimums, Optimal values of threshold probability were determined for forecasting the future price maximums and minimums securing the maximum profit from the forecasting system application for commercial activity. The developed system of forecasting was identified for primary aluminium at the period of 1990-2003. The system was tested daily during 20 months period for speculations on 3M primary aluminium forwards at London Metal Exchange with high commercial result.

Jan 1, 2004

By E. Viljamaa

In this research, earlier developed information integration method and novel web technologies are applied to intensify infrastructure construction process control. The applied method uses semantic methods to integrate scattered information that is later on exploited by process management using state-of-the-art web technologies. The applied method and web technologies not only improve the process management situation awareness by integrated up-todate multi-source process data but also provide platform independent access and visualization tool for process data. Utilization of such technologies potentially lead on cost savings, make processes safer and also more environmentally friendly. The integration method also enables intelligent queries to the integrated data making possible to use machine based inferring to the data.

Aug 1, 2013

By L Gill

The four basic types of electric motors -squirrel-cage, wound rotor, synchronous and D.C. -are de-scribed, with particular reference to speed-torque characteristics. The three classifications of squirrel-cage motors, C.E.M.A. B, C and D, are compared, and methods of selection for specific drives are outlined. Wound rotor and synchronous motors are covered from the viewpoint of construction details, methods of operation and control required. The application of these motors to crushers, conveyors and ball mills is described and reasons for their selection are given. The application of D.C. motors to haulage equipment and mine hoist drives is included, and the basic principles of a variable voltage drive are illustrated. Efforts have been made through-out to provide specific examples of motor selection, with particular reference to the mining industry. THIS paper will attempt to answer the question -"which motor should be used for a specific drive?" Although it is impossible to cover the complete subject of electric motor application here, we hope to give some idea of the types of motors available and why certain types are used on specific applications.

Jan 1, 1963

By F. T. Mooney

Introduction The Flin Flon mine of the Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting Company, Limited, is on the interprovincial boundary between Manitoba and Saskatchewan, about four hundred miles north of the Canada-United States boundary. The orebodies are gold, silver, zinc, and copper replacement deposits occurring as irregular lenses of massive sulphides, arranged en echelon, and irregular masses of disseminated copper sulphides in chlorite. The country rocks are of Precambrian age, dominantly lava flows. Development of the Mine The mine is opened by two vertical main shafts- the North Main and South Main shafts- 3,800 feet apart. The North Main shaft has a depth of 2,210 feet and the South Main shaft is completed for stoping operations to the 3,250-foot level (see Figure 1). These shafts are connected by main haulages driven, on the footwall side of the orebodies, at 520-foot intervals down to the 2,210-foot level. No. 3 (subsidiary) shaft is on the footwall side of the orebodies at a point between the North Main and South Main shafts, 2,400 feet south of the former. It has a depth of 3,250 feet and connects with all main haulage levels- with both Main shafts down to the 2,210-foot level and with the South Main shaft on the 2,750-, 3,000-, and 3,250-foot levels. Other openings tO the mine include B North fan raise, the opening due to the recovery of the open pit sill pillar, and several back-fill raises.

Jan 1, 1949

RISKGATE is an interactive online risk management system developed by the Minerals Industry Safety and Health Centre (MISHC; University of Queensland) to maximise health and safety performance in the mining industry through implementing continual improvement in management of major unwanted events. A comprehensive knowledge base has been captured for risk management of tyres, collisions, fires, isolation, strata underground, ground control open cut, explosions, explosives, manual tasks and slips/trips/falls. This will be extended to outburst, coal burst and bumps, interface displays and controls, tailings dams and inrush in 2013. RISKGATE presents substantive and leading edge controls to assist industry stakeholders in the design, management and reporting of organisational and regulatory compliance requirements. From a broader industry perspective, RISKGATE provides an environment for knowledge capture and knowledge exchange to drive innovation and best practice in the identification, assessment and management of risk. By capturing operational knowledge from industry experts, RISKGATE provides a cumulative corporate memory at a time of high personnel turnover in the coal industry. All major Australian mining companies are contributing topic experts to this broad industry initiative. In the first 24 months, nine coal mining companies nominated over 80 different experts who contributed over 400 days of individual time to the knowledge capture workshops. RISKGATE is the largest single Australian Coal Association Research Program (ACARP) occupational health and safety (OHS) initiative to date.

Aug 1, 2013

By N. Sarmady, Mei Li, N. C. Parson, W. J. Poole

"The mechanical behaviour of AA6082 is a function of the extrusion conditions and in particular, the quench rate after extrusion. It is well known that precipitation of Mg-Si phases on grain boundaries during quenching can negatively affect the ductility of the alloy. In this study, AA6082 alloys containing 0.5 wt. % Mn and 0.15 wt. % Cr were direct chill (DC) cast, homogenized and then extruded to produce 3 mm x 42 mm strips. The microstructure in the as-extruded strips was unrecrystallized due to the Zener-Smith drag from the Mn/Cr dispersoids. It was shown that a solution treatment of 5 minutes at 560°C did not significantly affecting the as-extruded microstructure but if the as-extruded strip was cold rolled prior to heating, recrystallization occurred concurrently with the solution treatment. As such, 3 initial microstructures were produced, i.e. unrecrystallized and recrystallized with a grain size of 9 and 40 µm. After the solution treatment, controlled cooling experiments were conducted using the Gleeble 3500 thermomechanical simulator with cooling rates of 10, 25, 80°C/s as well as water quenched. The mechanical properties (e.g. yield stress, fracture stress and fracture strain) were determined from tensile tests for the different combinations of initial microstructure and cooling rate. The relationship between the quench rate and precipitation of Mg-Si phases on grain boundaries was examined by FEG-SEM. It was found that the yield stress decreased as the cooling rate decreased and that there was complex relationship between the fracture properties and the microstructure.INTRODUCTION As the automotive industry strives to reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions with the goal of reducing the environmental impact, there is a need for lighter vehicles. As a result, aluminum alloys are gaining popularity to replace steel parts as structural components. An exemplar of this is the Ford F-150 pickup truck which has an aluminum body and is ˜750 pounds lighter than the previous steel version of the vehicle. The structure includes a mix of aluminum sheet, extrusions and cast alloys. The current research is concerned with the performance of aluminum extrusions in applications such as side rails, crash tubes and other structural parts. These components experience a combination of bending, stretching and folding both during the forming of the part and in service, e.g. crash of a vehicle. There is a need to have detailed information on the influence of processing on final material performance, in particular the cooling rate after extrusion."

Jan 1, 2018

By A. J. Macdonald

Gold deposits hosted by banded iron formation (BIF) in Ontario exhibit a marked association with localized zones of deformed and hydrothermally altered BI:F . Secondary sulphides and carbonates are conspicuous. Proposed carbonate-facies IF , or exhali tes, such as green carbonate in the Larder Lake camp and ankerite veins in the Porcupine Camp are structurally controlled, hydrothermally deposited zones of carbonate replacement and fissure filling. Gold precipitation from hyd r othermal fluids in strain-generated conduits may be due to (a) plating upon secondary sulphides, (b) pH change due to carbonatization of BIF or (c) destabilization of gold in solution due to sulphidation of BIF .

Jan 1, 1984

By A. Mosqueda Martinez, L. C. Trytten, R. P. Kofluk, J. J. Budac

The Corefco ammonia leach nickel refinery treats Ni-Co mixed sulphides from the high-pressure acid leaching of Moa Bay nickel laterite. Due to the low iron content of the feed, the ammonia leach process generates a leach residue with ~10% Ni+Co. Since commissioning a leach residue pressure filtration circuit in 2002, this residue has been stockpiled, dried, and sold commercially. For several years, the residue was sold to nickel smelters overseas. In 2014, re-processing of the residue in the high-pressure acid leach was tested. Lab test work was completed showing excellent extraction of the contained nickel and cobalt, and additional beneficial effects in the high-pressure acid leach circuit. A plant test in Moa confirmed the results, and preparation for shipment of the valuable leach residue for re-processing has begun. This paper outlines the test work and results, and some commercial considerations.

Jan 1, 2015

By Etienne Roy Grégoire

Since the early 1990s, the Canadian mining industry has been increasingly defined by the signing of Impact and Benefit Agreements (IBAs) between mining companies and Aboriginal peoples. While these agreements are intended to complement the legal system, they also serve to establish the legitimacy of mining projects and to encourage the harmonious integration of these projects into their social and environmental contexts. Beyond their practical implications, what are the effects of such agreements on the ability of Aboriginal communities to access the institutional space where the authorization of mining projects and the conditions of their implementation are decided? Can we view IBAs as a preliminary step towards the operationalization of the principle of Free, Prior and Informed Consent? This paper aims to explore the potential of IBAs as a sustainable solution to the legitimacy issues that result from the implementation of the formal regulatory framework governing mining activities in this jurisdiction. We highlight what constraints and opportunities the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement (JBNQA) engenders for local communities and draw attention to the ways in which the negotiation of the Raglan IBA and the environmental evaluation processes act upon each other. We find that certain structural problems - and problems of legitimacy ? related to mining in Northern Quebec cannot be solved by the sole signature of an IBA, which suggests the need for caution when considering such agreements as a panacea. The Raglan case demonstrates that IBAs, like other modes of regulation relying on the direct interface between companies and communities, would benefit from a stricter framework and more explicit ties with official regulation channels.

Aug 1, 2013