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By Stefan Boshkov

THE ADVENT of mining at great depth has brought to the fore the question of stresses around mine openings. The many-pronged attack on this problem is certified by the accelerated appearance, in the mining literature, of articles on various topics related to this subject (1). Whereas it may be agreed that we, of the mining profession, have fallen woefully behind in research and the development of an understanding of this important facet of the general problem of mining, it must also be accepted that the analysis of the stresses in a mine structure is usually more complex than is the case in the majority of structures encountered and dealt with in civil engineering. Whereas homogeneity and isotropy are readily acceptable for most metals, such properties are but crudely approximated in rocks. Whereas the external loads on a structure in civil engineering may be readily determined, those on a mining structure are subject to ?conjecture. Whereas the limits of the structure may readily be defined in civil engineering, the boundaries of the mining structure are, in most cases, indeterminate, and subject to intelligent guesswork, at best.

Jan 1, 1956

By T. H. Patching

This paper provides a review of the available information on the origin and mechanisms of the release of gas from coal seams. With the opening up of new mines in Western Canada and the increased mechanization of underground coal mines, the study of gas emissions is of increasing importance in providing safe working places underground.

Jan 1, 1970

By Shoma Sinha, Nirmal K. Sinha

Deformation in a material at any temperature is known to consist of two major components - a reversible (elastic) part and an irreversible part (often called plastic). What is not universally known is the fact that at high temperatures greater than about 0.4Tm, where Tm, is the melting point in Kelvin, the reversible part includes not only elastic but also a delayed elastic (recoverable but time dependent) component. A very simple computational model is presented here for a constant-strain stress relaxation test (SRT) on the basis of a three-component constant-stress rheological equation derived from strain relaxation and recovery test (SRRT) data. It is shown that the rapid stress reduction during the early periods of relaxation when the stresses are high is governed primarily by delayed elasticity irrespective of the imposed strain level. This is in contradiction to the popular concept prevailing today. The asymptotic approach to a quasi-stable stress rate at longer times and lower stresses is, however, controlled by viscous flow (power-law creep). The validity of the theory is examined by comparing the predictions with experimental results obtained for a titanium-base alloy Ti-6246 at 0.45Tm.

Jan 1, 2004

By G. M. Ross, J. A. Scott, C. A. Laamanen, H. Shang

"Indirect recovery and use of waste heat contained in smelter off-gas is proposed to expand regions available for year-round, on-site production of micro-algae–sourced biodiesel, a fuel that could be used in underground machinery. A dynamic model of an off-gas heat exchanger describes capture and distribution of heat into open, external, rectangular micro-algae ponds. Smelter off-gas contains sufficient energy to maintain large-scale micro-algae cultivation pond temperatures above 15°C, even with winter ambient temperatures below –15°C. Results highlight opportunities that could lie in tapping these heat resources to produce renewable biofuels on-site and sequester CO2 while leaving the industrial process unaffected.RÉSUMÉ On propose la récupération et l’utilisation indirectes de la chaleur résiduelle contenue dans les dégagements gazeux des fonderies pour développer les régions se prêtant à une production toute l’année durant et sur place de biodiesel à partir de micro-algues, carburant dont on pourrait se servir pour le matériel d’exploitation souterraine. Un modèle dynamique d’échangeur de chaleur contenue dans les dégagements gazeux décrit le captage et la distribution de la chaleur dans des bassins rectangulaires ouverts de micro-algues en extérieur. Les dégagements gazeux des fonderies contiennent suffisamment d’énergie pour maintenir les températures des grands bassins de culture de micro-algues au-delà de 15°C, même avec des températures ambiantes en hiver inférieures à –15°C. Ces résultats soulignent les possibilités que pourrait offrir l’exploitation de ces sources de chaleur pour la production de biocarburants renouvelables sur place et pour la séquestration de CO2 sans que cela n’ait d’incidence sur le procédé industriel.INTRODUCTIONMicro-algae that grow in water can efficiently convertsolar energy and carbon dioxide into biomass. This biomass can be up to 50% oils (lipids), which can be extracted and converted into biodiesel through transesterification (Demirbas, 2008). Compared to terrestrial plants that produce similar oils (e.g., jatropha, soybean, and rapeseed), micro-algae represent an order of magnitude increase in areal productivity, do not require arable land, and can be continuously harvested (Rawat, Ranjith Kumar, Mutanda, & Bux, 2013). The potential advantages through the production of biodiesel from micro-algae also include sequestration of carbon dioxide, reduced reliance on fossil fuels, and the co-production of other value-added bioproducts."

Jan 1, 2017

By Staff

One hundred thousand miles of flying over the North country without a single air casualty; much of it over virgin territory probably never before visited by white men; some of it over regions that abound with possibilities for minerals; all of it effective, for exploration and the establishment of bases and supply-stations, and for the carrying of men and their tools and provisions- this, briefly, is the record of Northern Aerial Minerals Exploration, Limited, a Canadian company organized Jess than nine months ago, which has been functioning, without interruption, during spring, summer, and now into winter. Our planes have ranged from the Alaskan boundary on the west to the Labrador coast on the east, and from the Transcontinental railway north to the Arctic circle. Our prospectors, carried on trips of hundreds, and occasionally thousands, of miles, have gone over large sections of country which were never before explored, and at the end of the prospecting season the Company finds itself in possession of several groups of important gold claims, which look most promising. In addition to this, we have been in contact with deposits of almost every known mineral.

Jan 1, 1929

"Developed by CRIRSCO, IRT is a document that draws on the best of the CRIRSCO-style reporting standards. These reporting standards are recognised and adopted world-wide for market-related reporting and financial investment.The IRT is not an international reporting code and does not supersede existing national reporting standards. Rather it is a guideline that encapsulates the content of these standards for the benefit of the international mining industry and its various stakeholders.The template is a 'living document' that is continuously updated and improved as new national laws, rules, codes and guidelines are created or amended.The International Template is advisory only and where national codes already exist, these will take precedence. The International Template is intended to assist those countries that either do not have a reporting code or whose code is outdated, to produce a new code consistent with international best practice. It also provides a consolidated version of national codes that reflects their compatible international components and may thus be used in comparisons with other international reporting systems. The word 'Template' is used advisedly to indicate that this document is a model for code development and does not in itself constitute a 'code' which implies that it has legal or other regulatory force.From this point forward, the Template includes words that imply a mandatory action, such as ""requires"", ""applies"", ""must"" etc. This is to enable the Template to be easily adopted by countries and organisations wishing to do so, and does not imply that the Template itself is a mandatory reporting standard.INTRODUCTION2 In this edition of the International Reporting Template (""The Template""), important terms and their definitions are highlighted in bold text. The guidelines are placed after the respective Template clauses using indented italics. They are intended to provide assistance and guidance to readers for interpreting the application of the clauses in the Template.Indented italics are also used for Appendix 1 — 'Generic Terms and Equivalents"", and Table 1 —'Check List of Assessment and Reporting Criteria' to make it clear that they are also part of the guidelines for the application of the Template.Appendix 1 contains a table of generic terms and their equivalents, designed to avoid unnecessary duplication or ambiguity in the textAppendix 2 provides Rules of Conduct for Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve estimators that may be considered in addition to the Codes of Ethics or Practice normally applying to members of professional institutions."

Jan 1, 2003

By K. Trapani

"The study undertaken aims to investigate an ice stope heating and cooling system for its potential to be implemented in sub-arctic mines, as a low carbon alternative to conventional natural gas and refrigeration chiller systems. Its performance was simulated for a years’ worth of data, taking into consideration hourly temperature data. Results showed that to supply the required heating and cooling loads, the ice stope system had to supplement its heating with natural heating. The techno-economic performance of this system was compared to that of a conventional heating and cooling system in a mine, with the ice stope thermal storage system hawing the lowest annuitized cost and significantly lower carbon emissions.INTRODUCTIONConventional heating and cooling, in a mine is implemented using natural gas heaters and chiller refrigeration systems respectively. This results in a significant portion of energy consumption in underground mines attributable to ventilation (De Souza, 2015), including the conditioning of the air to ensure that temperatures do not exceed work comfort standards (ACGIH, 2011). Especially at depth where heat could become a significant issue. An ice stope thermal storage, using ice as the storage medium is being proposed as an alternative to provide the heating and cooling—with the ice creation resulting in heating and the ice melting providing the cooling required. A techno-economic investigation of the two systems is undertaken to identify the capital and operating costs for the two systems, and to assess the ice stope’s potential to be considered a low cost and carbon solution for heating and cooling of mines in sub-arctic climates.NATURAL STORAGE SYSTEM – CONCEPT DEVELOPMENTThe concept for the natural storage system is developed from the ice stope at Frood-Stobie Mine, ON, Canada (Stachulak, 1991). The ice stope was developed for mine air heating, with the heating occurring by spraying warm return service water onto the cold intake air—resulting in the air temperature increasing and ice being created in the stope. In summer this ice was melted by passing warm air on top of it, resulting in slight cooling of the air but no significant temperature difference which could allow effective cooling. A schematic of the Frood-Stobie Mine ice stope is provided in Figure 1."

Jan 1, 2019

By Yoginder P. Chugh

This paper discusses an ongoing field study in southern Illinois (USA) that focuses on: 1) Identifying mechanisms of instability in the set-up rooms (SR) and their T-junctions with headgate and tailgate entries, 2) Developing alternate 3-entry and 4-entry set-up rooms geometry using 3-D numerical analyses, 3) Implementing developed geometries in cooperation with mining professionals and regulatory agencies, and 4) Demonstrating performance of implemented geometries through field monitoring. Illinois longwall mining operations typically experience ground control problems (roof falls, rib sloughing, floor heave, etc.) within SR layouts and around the T-junctions of SR. These occur around the areas where the SR for adjacent longwall face (to be mined) connect with the SR of the previously mined face, and around the tail-gate entries of the mined-out longwall face and around the T-junctions of SR. The problems manifest as highly fractured immediate roof strata, major shear zones in the roof, horizontal displacements within the excavations that result in shearing off the heads of the bolts, floor heave and severe rib sloughing. Similar observations have also been made in longwall mining in Utah.

Aug 1, 2013

By L. Klatzel-Mudry, D. J. Nikols, J. D. Hughes

"The Geological Survey of Canada Paper 88-21, A Standardized Coal Resource/Reserve Reporting System for Canada, is referenced by National Instrument 43-101 for the preparation of resource and reserve estimates on coal deposits. However, for all disclosure of mineral resources or mineral reserves for coal, issuers are required by NI 43-101 to use the equivalent mineral resource or mineral reserve categories set out in the CIM Definition Standards and not the categories set out in Paper 88-21. “Because the framework is based on Canadian deposits and their tectonic regimes, the Canadian Securities Administrators believe it is not reasonable to apply Paper 88-21 to foreign coal properties. The “Resource Links” at the end of this volume provide website links to guidance documents for preparing coal resource and reserve estimates in Australia, South Africa, and the USA.”This report discusses definitions, concepts and parameters used to determine coal resource and reserve quantities, and provides a framework to facilitate consistent categorization of coal quantities found within various depositional and tectonic regimes in Canada.Coal deposits, or portions thereof, are first categorized in terms of their geological complexity <Geology Type), and probable recovery method (Deposit Type). Methods for determining quantification parameters including seam thickness, areal extent and bulk density are outlined for each geology/deposit category. Within each geology/deposit category, coal resources are further divided, based on their assurance of existence, into measured, indicated, inferred and speculative subdivisions and, according to their feasibility of exploitation, into immediate and future interest subdivisions. Coal reserves within each geology/deposit category are subdivided according to whether they are within or outside active mining areas, and may be reported on in place, recoverable and saleable bases.A wide cross-section of the coal industry in Canada contributed to the development of this reporting system. To ensure that the parameters and concepts expressed in the system continue to reflect technological and economic realities in the future, the Coal Association of Canada has established a committee to facilitate periodic reviews."

Jan 1, 2003

By E. V. Konopleva, H. J. McQueen

"The isothermal bainite transformation kinetics of low- and medium-carbon alloy steels after hot deformation and the rmocycling treatment (TC) has been studied by the magneto - metric method. Deformation was produced by rolling at 800°C-1000°C. TC included three cycles of rapid (30°C/s) electro-heating up to 900°C-1000°C followed by quenching.Hot deformation retards bainite transformation in the lower part of bainite range (<400°C) and accelerates it in the upper part (>400°C). The effect is greater for higher strain and lower deformation temperature. Deformation also diminishes the overall bainite fraction below 400°C and increases the completeness of reaction above 400°C.Thermocycling provides more uniform ultrafine austenite grains with average size of 3 µm -4 µm compared to 12 µm -14 µm after conventional heating. The transformation rate after TC was almost the same as after conventional heating in low-carbon steel but was faster in medium-carbon with no change in the completeness of reaction. The degree of acceleration increased with rise of transformation temperature.There are a number of factors which are responsible for a change in bainite transformation kinetics in austenite deformed at high temperatures or subjected to TC. One of the most important factors is the refinement of structure, another one is structural and chemical inhomogenity of austenite due to deformation or to rapid heating. To estimate the contribution of these factors, ?-transformation was studied after different austenitizing conditions (low-temperature heating at 850°C- 950°C; high-temperature heating at 1100°C; step treatment – austenitizing at 1100°C, then cooling to 950°C-850°C). The results obtained make it possible to conclude that the structural and chemical inhomogeneity of austenite activate the bainite reaction while the grain refinement retards it. Intensity of the effect produced by each factor depends strongly on the steel composition."

Jan 1, 1997

By James R. Kuipers

Center for Science in Public Participation CSP2 ? Organized in 1997 to provide technical assistance to public interest groups on mining and water quality issues ? 80%of effort devoted to direct support of grassroots groups and tribal governments ? 20% of effort devoted to public-oriented education for public, tribal, state and federal regulators, and for industry ? Board represented by public interest groups, at large citizens, and academia ? Professional staff with experience from mining industry, academia and government ? website: www.csp2.org CSP2 Mission Statement The CENTER for SCIENCE in PUBLIC PARTICIPATION provides training and technical advice to grassroots groups on water pollution and natural resource development issues, especially those related to mining. CSP2 seeks to focus the debate on factual issues, as brought to light by its technical analyses, and whenever possible to seek consensus and win-win solutions. CSP2 also performs policy related work with federal and state regulatory agencies on the implementation of water quality, waste disposal, and mining reclamation regulations.

May 1, 2002

By Link. Theo A.

Introduction Since the discovery of a major oil pool at Leduc, Alberta, on February 13th, 1947, the long spell of &apos;oil drought&apos; in Western Canada is now being turned into an oil and gas flood which requires immediate action to obtain the optimum economic benefits. The Woodbend, Section 9, and Okalta extensions of the Leduc field itself have been established; the Redwater pool, lying thirty-seven miles northeast of Edmonton, has been discovered and is being drilled up, and the Imperial Schoepp No. 1 or Golden Spike discovery holds promise of something phenomenal in view of the 500 feet of oil-saturated coral-reef porosity whose areal extent is not known. Imperial Stanolind Barrhead No. 1, northwest of Edmonton, revealed the presence of oil in the Madison, and just recently Gulf N.J. Ellis No. 1, some sixty miles southeast of Leduc, found commercial production in the Leduc D-2 discovery zone. In addition to these Paloeozoic discoveries, gas and oil reserves have also been established in the Upper and Lower Cretaceous, which must be penetrated by all tests on the way through the geological column to the Devonian. If ever there appeared to be an index of &apos;things to come&apos; in the oil industry, this is it. However, without these recent discoveries the picture in Western Canada does and always did, look very promising indeed. A brief survey of the geological setting in Western Canada is the object of this contribution.

Jan 1, 1949

By Y. Wang, S. Liu, K. Jiang

China is the world’s largest producer and consumer of non-ferrous metals. In recent years, significant progress has been made in research and commercial application of pressure leaching technology to produce some nonferrous metals. Research and development activities include a low-pressure, low-temperature leaching technology for complex copper concentrates, a hematite process to treat pressure leach solutions from zinc concentrates, and a pressure leaching - solvent extraction process for molybdenum and rhenium. Examples of commercial practices include a two-stage pressure leach technology in a zinc plant in Danxia, a direct leaching technology in a zinc plant in Zhuzhou, a high pressure acid leaching process for a nickel laterite project in RAMU, and a pressure leaching technology to treat arsenic sulfides in a plant in Guixi. The development of pressure leaching technology for the recovery of lead, vanadium, gallium, germanium, and precious metals in China will also be described in this paper.

Jan 1, 2015

By Milton Fies

Introduction The first experiment in underground gasification of coal in the United States was conducted at Gorgas, Walker county, Alabama, under a co-operative arrangement between the U.S. Bureau of Mines and the Alabama Power Company, at the suggestion of the Power Company. The test was conducted on property of the Alabama Power Company, that owns some 19,000 acres of coal-bearing lands on which there is developed a highly mechanized mine producing some 2,500 cons of good quality steam coal per day. At the same locality ?there is a 200,000 kilowatt steam plant one of the largest in the southern portion of the United States. The Alabama Power Company owes much of its beginning in 1912 to British vision and courage. The original plans for building hydroelectric plants in Alabama, and for the construction of necessary transmission lines, were submitted to Sperling & Company, bankers of London, who agreed to underwrite certain bond issues, the proceeds of which would be used in launching the new Company on its programme. The set-up by which these funds from England were received was through an intermediary Canadian company, which the English investors desired. The Canadian company - Alabama Traction, Light and Power Company, Ltd. became owner of the securities of the Alabama Power Company and marketed its own securities through the banking house of Sperling & Company. Without assistance at this time the Alabama Power Company could not have gone ahead with its programme of expansion and the bringing together of the properties necessary for laying the foundation for a strong Company, fortified with ample power resources essential for future requirements and for dependable service to the public.

Jan 1, 1948

By J. Tuzo Wilson

"AT ANY TIME, it is a pleasure to me to be invited to address The Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy because it represents an industry and men with whom I have been happily, if peripherally, associated continuously for forty years. This year, it is a particular pleasure because I believe that an important subject has arisen which I propose to discuss.This is a major discovery in the earth sciences, first fully revealed this winter, but already widely accepted. The basis of this revolution, for it is no less, is that measurements of three different features of the earth all change in exactly the same ratios. These ratios are the same in all parts of the world. The results from one set are thus being used to make precise numerical predictions about all the sets in all parts of the world. No such accurate correlations and predictions have ever been found before in geology or areal geophysics. The whole subject of earth science has thereby been radically altered.The first of these measurements is that of the direction of magnetic polarity in lava flows. When piles of young lavas are examined with the aid of a pocket compass, it is noted that some flows are magnetized in the direction of the earth's field and some in the reverse direction (Figure 1). By accurately dating enough flows, a time scale of the dates of reversals has been established. During the past four million years, nine reversals have occurred synchronously all over the world (Cox, Darymple and Doell, 1967, McDougall and Chamalaun, 1966) (Figure 2). It appears that the scale can be extended back to Precambrian times (McMahon and Strangway, 1967). This time scale is the first of the 'three identical ratios."

Jan 1, 1968

By C. H. Hopper

DIAMOND drills have played an important part in the development of mines for many years. Recently. they have also entered the production field arid the use of diamond drills m the primary breaking of ores has become a big branch of the industry. The writer has estimated roughly that the total diamond drilling in Canada during 1942 was 5,625,000 feet, of which 2,250,000 feet, or 40 per cent, was for blast-holes. This accounts for 6,750,000 tons of ore broken, using the conservative factor of 3 tons per foot of hole. Many consider that the use of diamond drills for blast-holes is the most important advance in mine practice of the past decade, and the industry owes a great deal to the staff of Noranda Mines, Limited, for the pioneering they have done in the development of long-hole mining methods and for publishing their results. A great many mines have followed Noranda&apos;s lead. At the Waite-Amulet, Aldermac, Flin Flon, Canadian Malartic, Hoyle, and Matachewan Consolidated mines, most of the ore is broken by long-hole blasting. While the mines were developing new methods, the diamond-drill industry was developing mechanically-set bits and better machines. Through the effective use o smaller, cheaper diamonds, as well as more efficient setting, bit costs per foot are only one-half what they were ten years ago. Few people realize that a diamond bit is relatively inexpensive. The common EXT coring bit, for example, contains some 200 small diamonds, weighing altogether about 2.70 carats which, at $3.40 per carat, cost $9.20. After use, the equivalent of about 100 of these diamonds may be recovered. Therefore the true cost of the bit is only $7.00, made up of $4.60, the cost of the diamonds lost, $2.00 for setting, and $0.40 tax. The trend in machines has been toward specialization for the different classes of rock in blast-hole work. Light, high-speed machines have been developed for soft ores and higher powered machines for hard ores.

Jan 1, 1943

By B. Yu, Y. O. Oyediran, M. Robart

"This paper presents the latest flotation development testwork conducted in 2015 on the ‘B Zone’ samples from the Strange Lake Alkalic Complex (SLAC). Since the discovery by Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC), metallurgical development has been under taken by a number of mining companies targeting various value metals, including yttrium, zirconium, niobium, and rare earths.Most recent, Quest Rare Minerals Ltd. (Quest) completed a Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) in 2013 where the flowsheet was relatively complex and led Quest to explore alternative options. In 2014, the PFS flowsheet was simplified and one of the features introduced was pre-concentration by rougher flotation. The combined rougher flotation concentrate and slimes successfully recovered >90% TREE in 60% mass thus reducing capital cost and technical risks of the downstream hydrometallurgical processes. The latest flotation development testwork focused on achieving a pre-concentrate in which >80% TREE are recovered in 20% mass. Two separate reagent schemes, based on an ester phosphate collector (Clariant 1682) and a benzoylhydroxamic acid collector (Florrea 7510), were developed. Parameters evaluated in the development testwork included desliming, secondary yttrium and zircon collectors, depressants, temperature, conditioning temperature, time, and density, pH, sodium silicate type, cleaning, and flowsheet configuration. Both developed reagent schemes achieved the targeted metallurgy.INTRODUCTIONThe Strange Lake Alkalic Complex (SLAC) was discovered after geological survey and mapping studies by Geological Survey of Canada and Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Natural Resources between 1967 and 1980. Subsequent exploratory drilling programs by Iron Ore Company (IOC) in the 1980s found that the REE and high field strength element (HFSE) mineralization were within the central region of the SLAC which was named A Zone by IOC and later renamed Main Zone by Quest Rare Minerals Ltd. (Quest). Additional exploratory drilling outside the Main Zone by IOC and later by Quest, led to the discovery of B Zone, which was recognized as the most significant deposit of rare earth elements, yttrium, and zirconium in the SLAC. The B Zone Indicated Resources are estimated at 278.13 Mt at 0.93% total rare earth oxide (TREO) and Inferred Mineral Resources are estimated at 214.35 Mt at 0.85% TREO (Oyediran et al., 2014)."

Jan 1, 2016

By Elaine Ellingham, Francis T. Manns

"Abstract -The Orostar and Scadding were two small gold mines owned and operated by Orofino Resources Limited. Conventional statistical treatment indicates an identical arithmetic mean grade of 0.22 oz/T Au for both mineable reserves. Further, the deposits are both shown to have cut weighted average reserve grade of 0.21 oz/T. Orostar mined out at 0.206 oz/T and Scadding at0.156 oz/TAu . The combined exploration and development database contained 1394 fire assays, more than enough for statistical confidence in a normal distribution. Therefore this study was initiated to determine, if possible, why the mill head grades were lower than the averages and to experiment with several methods to determine whether a reliable statistical mill head grade estimation method would emerge. Despite the identical reserve grades, distinct differences in the grade distribution histograms are present. By studying the arithmetic and log-normal grade distribution s, with some attention to South African practices, this paper reports on those differences which may account for the considerable divergence in the mill head grades. Furthermore, this study casts considerable doubt on the industry standard method of cut weighted averages.The global mill head grades of the two deposits have been derived from the arithmetic average grades by graphic means. This precise method of mill head grade prediction, if applied to complex orebodies, could permit selective grade control and result in direct cost savings by allowing the operator to detect false value stopes, benches or levels and emphasize reliable regions of not only gold mines, but also uranium or base metal deposits."

Jan 1, 1992

By Charles J. Zablocki, Robert J. Kamilli

"Buried, possibly mineralized granite cupolas at the Silsilah tin deposit in Saudi Arabia (lat. 26°06&apos; N, long. 42°40&apos; E) have been successfully located using a closely spaced electric-field-ratio profiling technique. In this study, electrical fields at 27 and 270 Hz across grounded electrodes spaced 50 m apart were measured along six traverses. This method is interpretable by inspection, unlike the dipole-dipole technique, which requires mathematical modeling for interpretation.In the study area, the technique allowed the authors to identify and distinguish among unroofed granite cupolas, cupolas with their aplite-pegmatite apical contact zones intact, strong (quartz-rich) and weak (relatively quartz-poor) greisens, dikes, faults, and pervasively argillized rocks.This method should be useful in the valuation of other shallow mineral prospects in similar settings in other parts of the world, especially deposits for which the location of vertical contrasts is important, such as veins or mineralized zones associated with the apexes of small igneous cupolas."

Jan 1, 1993

By H. Sato, Y. Sato, T. Ooishi, K. Sakamoto

"Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Ltd.(SMM)'s Niihama Nickel Refinery(NNR) produces high quality Nickel cathode, Cobaltcathode and other by-products using hydrometallurgical refining process called “MCLE”(Matte Chlorine Leach and Electro-Winning). In 2005,NNR started to use nickel and cobalt mixed sulfide (MS) produced by one of the SMM’s subsidiaries Coral Bay Nickel Corporation(CBNC)’s HPAL plant in Philippines, although its main and the only raw material until then was nickel matte. With start-up of the second HPAL plant at Taganito in 2013, NNR expanded its production capacity of nickel cathode from 41,000 to 65,000 tpa and finally achieved its target in 2015 by producing 65,980 tpa. SMM developed the technologies to improve poor reactivity of MS and installed new facilities to cope with increased Cobalt and Sulfur production at that time. This paper describes the technical approach to increase MS treatment with high efficiency.INTRODUCTIONThe Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Ltd.(SMM)Niihama Nickel Refinery(NNR) produces Nickel cathode, Cobalt cathode and other by-products using Matte Chlorine Leach and Electro-Winning (MCLE) process technology. SMM uses nickel matte and nickel & cobalt mixed sulfide (MS) as raw materials for the MCLE process. Table 1 shows typical composition of these raw materials. Nickel matte had been only raw material until 2005, and with start-up of Coral Bay Nickel Corporation (CBNC) operation in the Republic of the Philippines, MS became major part of it. In 2009, when CBNC doubled its production capacity, NNR also expanded its plant capacity of electrolytic nickel from 36ktpa to 41ktpa, keeping an eye on the possibility of 65ktpa with oncoming SMM’s second HPAL in Philippines. Poor reactivity of MS was the prime concern at that time because our intention was to increase production with MS. Nickel extraction rate deteriorated with increasing usage ratio of MS in raw materials. To keep high nickel extraction rate under high ratio of MS, NNR developed a new leaching technology. Another concern arising from treatment of MS was Cobalt and Sulfur contents that are much more than those of nickel matte as shown in Table 1.NNR introduced new technology of solvent extraction process as to Co/Ni separation process in order to keep cost competitiveness instead of the conventional cobalt oxidation–neutralizing method. As to sulfur products, new sulfur productive facility was installed to improve the exposure to sulfur dust and the hot working conditions for workers. As a result of process development and installation of new facilities against the problem with MSusage,65 ktpa production was achieved in 2015."

Jan 1, 2017