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By Dr. Ralph W. Edie

The limestone reef reservoir at Swan Hills consists essentially of a "buildup" of successively smaller atoll-like layers. Precipitation of calcium carbonate within the lagoonal area of each layer essentially kept pace with growth of the outer organic lattice. Within the reef mass, six de-positional environments characterized by specific suites of fossils (or fossil fragments) and associated limestone textures are recognized as follows: ( 1) Aerated moderately agitated water of normal marine salinity (widespread shelf or submerged reef-built platform). Thamnopora-type corals, Amphipora, "pancake" stroma-toporoids, crinoids, articulate bra-chiopods, rare rugose cup corals, and ostracods occurs in light gray-buff skeletal microgranular limestone of low permeability. (2) Semi-stagnant quiet water of normal marine salinity (leeward side of reef). Crinoids, articulate brachio-pods, rare thamnopora-type corals, Amphipora, pancake and bulbous stromatoporoids, rugose cup corals, ostracods and gastropods occur in impermeable dark brown argillaceous skeletal calcilutite with thin black bituminous shale beds and rare dark chert nodules.

Jan 1, 1961

By G. S. Hume

"THERE HAS BEEN a marked growth in the petroleum industry in Canada since the end of the war. The rate of growth in the demand for oil products has exceeded that in United States, although the per capita consumption is still less. Estimates of the consumption of petroleum and petroleum products in Canada in 1951 are approximately 154,000,000 barrels, which is slightly more than 11 •barrels per capita, whereas the estimated consumption in United States for the same period, according to World Petroleum, is placed at 2,619,- 970,000 barrels. This, on the basis of a population of 154,000,000, would be equivalent to 17 barrels per capita. The increase in consumption of the petroleum and products is world wide. World production in 1951 has been estimated (Oil and Gas Journal) at 11,700,000 barrels a day or more than 41;4, billion barrels for the year. United States production increased 13.7 per cent to 6,143,000 •barrels a day and Canada'.s ,, total production increased about 65 per cent from a total of 29,091,235 •barrels in 1950 to an estimated (Dominion Bureau of Statistics) 48,096,800 barrels in 1951.The trend to use increased amounts of petroleum and petroleum products, particularly in the United States and Canada, has also been supplemented by increased use of natural gas. The rate of expansion of the consumption of natural gas in United States in the past few years has been very rapid, increasing from 2,600 billion cubic feet in 1940 to 5,975 billion in 1950, with the proven reserves in the same period increasing from 85,000 billion to 186,000 billion cubic feet."

Jan 1, 1952

By Alessandro Navarra, Kristian Waters

Mineral concentrators are designed from preliminary geological data, and are therefore subject to geological uncertainty. This uncertainty has a demonstrable impact on the mining lifecycle, and has motivated stochastic strategic mine planning algorithms. The current paper describes how these algorithms may be extended to consider mineral processing operations in conjunction with open-pit mining operations. In particular, the paper describes an effective way to incorporate variable concentrator feed grade into these algorithms, which is the first step toward more elaborate representations of mineral concentrators. The resulting framework will be able to connect geological data to alternate configurations of the downstream resources, hence comparing the benefit of each configuration, and the corresponding capital investments. Sample computations are presented, comparing the NPV and utilization for several different mineral processing capacities.

Jan 1, 2015

By R. L. Stanton

"The present contribution is complementary with a preceding one on the field association of the conform-able ""pyritic"" deposits. It considers the more important features of their mineralogical constitution and their microtextures, re-examines the present interpretations of these, and of-fer-some alternative explanations. The term ""pyritic"" for these de-posits is m many cases a misnomer, as two quite distinct ore types are inuolve. One is a banded pyritic sphalerite-galena-chalcopyrite ore (for which the term '•pyritic"" is in-deed quite suitable), while the other is non-banded and is composed essentially of pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite. In addition to these constitutional differences, each is distinctive in general appearance and texture. The occurrence of two such consistent but clearly distinguishable ore types is attributed -rather than to difference in source material and pressure-temperature conditions of deposition -to the contribution of similar source material to dissimilarly oxygenated environments of sedimentation. Textures in the banded ores generally thought to be indicative of replacement or of high-temperature exsolution are explained by slow, law-temperature segregation in situ during compaction, folding, and regional metamorphism."

Jan 1, 1960

By Y. Kashiwaya, J. Yagi, P. R. Austin

The problems of global environment and resources have become important issues in recent years, and the iron and steelmaking industry is requested to decrease energy consumption and carbon dioxide emission. The improvement of efficiency of ironmaking system is one of the countermeasures for these problems because more than a half of total energy input to the integrated steelwork is input to the ironmaking system. Various approaches to improve the blast furnace process have been made. The authors examined their performances through mathematical simulations of blast furnace operation, and confirmed the improvement of blast furnace efficiency under some operating conditions. The ironmaking system consists of various processes, and the materials and the energy are transported among these processes. Thus it is necessary to evaluate the efficiency of the novel operation of blast furnace based on the ironmaking system. In this study, the balances of material and energy on ironmaking system that consists of blast furnace, coke oven, sintering and hot stove processes were analyzed. The operation status of each process in the system was adjusted according to the results of the operation simulation of the blast furnace under novel operating conditions. The analysis clarified the effect of the blast furnace operation on the energy balance and CO2 emission of the ironmaking system.

Jan 1, 2015

Mining companies around the globe have long struggled with the need to ensure that earth moving equipment is designed to be operated and maintained under all site conditions without causing harm to people. Incident and accident data from a range of sources clearly identify mining equipment related issues as major causal factors. One Australian source, the NSW Department of Primary Industries? International Mining Fatality Database Project Report (2008) noted that ?Approximately 77% of mining accidents resulting in a fatality have? involved equipment?. The largest number of fatalities were associated with trucks; the next with LHDs. Many of the technical advances in equipment design over the past few decades have not been matched by advances in the human factors design of mining equipment, resulting in a ?design vacuum? that must be filled prior to commissioning new equipment. This ?design vacuum? is generally filled by local dealers. They retrofit equipment according to customer requirements to mitigate risks that have not been designed out by the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM). Mining companies have been frustrated by lost time and additional costs associated with this need to retrofit ex-factory designs. Some companies have attempted to address the problem by negotiating company or site-wide ?solutions? to equipment designs, but this has not simplified or clarified the issue from the point of view of the equipment manufacturers. A number of mining companies operating in Australia first discussed the concept of a joint customer approach to improve the Human Factors design of earth moving equipment at the factory level in 2004. They agreed that a new approach to engaging with OEMs was needed; one that would define the ?Problem?, in other words, the basis of the risks, rather than dictate the ?Solution?. The Earth Moving Equipment Safety Round Table (EMESRT) was formally established in 2006 by six global mining companies to establish a process of engagement between Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and mining customers.

May 1, 2009

By J. Zachwieja

As part of a general review on study of surfactant blinding agents to improve gold recovery during cyanide leaching of carbonaceous gold ores, processes of CIL and RIL leaching using surfactants were investigated. When refractory ores were treated by surfactants, CIL and RIL leaching processes yielded significant improvement on gold recovery. This paper will discuss and compare the laboratory results from two different leaching processes on preg-robbing ores, as well as, illustrate the difference of potential fouling of the blinding agents on activated carbon and resins.

Jan 1, 2015

By John D. Carriere, Jean Leung, Daniel. Laguitton, Michael .. J. Burrows

"The objective of this expert system application in a copper-zinc concentrator, is to increase the availability of assay data through substitution for erroneous data. The assay data is used by the Operations personnel and automatic process control strategies to control flotation circuit performance. Two online X-ray fluorescence analysis systems analyze 24 streams across four divisions to provide the required data. Data availability of individual streams average 90% while the resulting circuit availabilities are 70%. The unavailability of correct data results from mechanical, X-ray or process problems. The erroneous data can be identified by process experts using knowledge relating stream interdependencies and historical process behaviour. An expert system was devised to provide real time identification of erroneous data and substitute for that data with the ultimate aim of improving metallurgical response by both the operator and automatic control systems.The paper discusses the early development work and architecture of the knowledge base designed using Neuron Data's expert shell NEXPERT.INTRODUCTIONThis paper describes the early development of an expert system (ES) prototype at the Kidd Creek concentrator. The project is a joint undertaking of the Kidd Creek Division of Falconbridge Limited and CANMET. Kidd Creek entered into the project to apply heuristic rules to the XRF assay data to improve the metallurgical control of the flotation process by increasing availability of analysis data. This project provided a problem of suitable size and future expandability while making use of a wide base of in-house expertise and experience. Another important benefit is the introduction of expert system technology to the site providing tools and experience for future system selection and technology application. CANMET has an on-going interest in assessing various aspects of ES technology (hardware, software, knowledge engineering, integration) while addressing problems in process operations that could most readily benefit from the technique. CANMET's role in the project was to provide project assistance, financial support, substitution algorithm assistance and software for data substitution. The knowledge bases (rules) have now been completed and are to be tested in the online environment."

Jan 1, 1989

By T. G. Ewart

INTRODUCTION FOR THE purpose of this paper, western bituminous coal is defined as steam coal produced in Alberta and southeastern British Columbia for sale primarily to railways and industries. Before examining present and future markets of this industry, it is proper to review briefly financial and operating conditions within the industry. The report of the Royal Commission on Coal, 1946, supplies financial data from which some conclusions may be drawn. In 1944, the industry as defined above had share capital of $24,886,696. In the fifteen years 1930 to 1944, inclusive, the industry produced: 44,364,211 tons of coal. The profit on this tonnage amounted to $4,678,382.58, which represented 10.6 cents per ton of production. Miscellaneous earnings increased the amount available for dividends to shareholders to a total of $8,487,952.41, which is equal to, 19.1 cents per ton of production. Dividends actually paid in this fifteen-year period amounted to $12,332,040.64, which represented an annual average rate of 3.40 per cent on share capital. It is worthy of note that, in 1944, the net current position of the industry, including investments, was $8,753,874.51. The writer believes that the financial position of the industry with respect to capital, current financial position, and net earnings, has not significantly changed from the fifteen-year period out-lined above. The figures quoted indicate the following situation: (1) The western bituminous coal industry is adequately financed. (2) The industry has followed a conservative dividend policy and has accrued funds for contingencies. (3) The industry has sold its production at very reasonable prices as evidenced by its moderate earnings per ton of production.

Jan 1, 1951

By George H. Bodfish

This paper begins with a short history of air compressors, emphasizing their "roots" in the mining industry. It then describes the types of compressors available, including reciprocal, the various rotary positive-displacement compressors, and the centrifugal. The advantages and disadvantages of selecting a certain type of compressor over another are enumerated, considering customer requirements and operating costs, among other factors. Guidelines to operation and maintenance are discussed, including installation, monitoring and maintenance procedures. Finally, the paper addresses itself to future trends, with special attention being given to the system concept, the increasing use of rotary compressors, power consumption, reliability, packaging and noise attenuation.

Jan 1, 1978

By Dwayne D. Tannant

This paper presents a summary of results from a questionnaire sent to surface mines in western Canada seeking information on haul road design, construction, and maintenance. There has been a marked increase in the size of the trucks used over the last decade with some mines now using trucks with a payload capacity of 360mt. Consequentially, geometrical elements of haul roads, such as width, have been enlarged to accommodate larger trucks. Most haul roads are constructed on the basis of past experience without use of formal design procedures. With the introduction of larger haul trucks, problems related to rolling resistance, deterioration, and maintenance of the haul roads have become more important. This has lead to adoption of more rigorous design methods for roads at some mines, most notably for the oil sand mines operated by Syncrude Canada Ltd. A summary of the evolution of haul road designs implemented at Syncrude Canada Ltd. is presented.

May 1, 2001

By G. Song

This paper reports the anodizing voltage, gas evolution and sparking behaviors of an anodized coating formed on AZ91D in a silicate containing solution. According to their responses to an anodizing current, a four-stage anodizing mechanism is proposed. At the same time, the formed coating is characterized in terms of its microstructure, composition, thickness and corrosion performance. It was found that deposition of MgSiO3, Mg(OH)2 and MgO as well as dehydration of Mg(OH)2 are involved in the anodising process; the vigorous gas evolution accompanied by intensive sparking and the corresponding negative anodising efficiency in the later stage of the anodising process are closely associated with thermal decomposition of water due to the high temperature resulting from the intense sparking on the surface of the anodized alloy; the thickness, porosity, and composition of the anodised coating on a magnesium alloy depend on the final anodising cell voltage; and the corrosion resistance of a thick but porous coating containing more silicates appears to be more corrosion resistant than a thin but compact coating containing less silicates.

Jan 1, 2006

By Seong-Ho Ha, Shae K. Kim, Young-Ok Yoon

In the this study, surface segregation of Mg and Ca with Mg addition range from 5 to 10wt% in Al-Mg alloys with Mg+Al2Ca master alloy and its effect on the oxidation resistance were investigated. The addition of Mg+Al2Ca master alloy as the Mg alloying element led to the surface enrichment of Mg and Ca during high temperature oxidation. As a result of the oxidation test by TGA, the oxidation resistance of all the examined alloys was significantly improved with increasing Al2Ca content. The weight change of Al2Ca added Al-5Mg and Al-7.5Mg alloys indicated the complete oxidation resistance during the whole oxidation test time, while a slight weight increase was shown in the case of Al-Mg alloys even with Al2Ca addition. The improvement of the oxidation resistance in Al2Ca added alloys may be attributed to the formation of the protective oxide layer mixed with CaO and MgO on the surface.

Jan 1, 2015

By Jerry Handford

Investing in the Development of our Future Workforce ?Collaborative partnerships with educational institutions, industry associations, governments and other businesses. ?Programs: »Co-op / Discipline Student Program »Trades Development Initiatives »Operator Training Programs »General Student Program »Careers Next Generation / Community Careers Co-operative

May 1, 2006

By Donald L. Mordell

Introduction A very large part of the world's fuel resources are in solid form, as various grades of ?coal, but an increasing proportion of fuel demands on this Continent and else-where are having to be met by liquid fuels. Convenience and, in many cases, cost weigh heavily in favour of the liquid: fuels, and there are many fuel burning applications where the use of coal would be impractical, such as for automotive or air transport. By extrapolating the present trends one might conclude that, in future years in Canada and the United States, coal will be used only in a few power stations close to coal fields. If such a state of affairs should arise, it will obviously prove embarrassing to those accustomed to make their livelihood from the winning and marketing of coal, but it is perhaps not so obvious that it must also prove an embarrassment to the nation. The major reasons for this are two in number. Firstly, if present coal production is to be replaced by oil production, a large capital expenditure is necessary, which must inevitably be paid by the consumer; and secondly, in times of emergency, large amounts of oil fuels are required for military purposes which cannot be achieved with solid fuels. It is obviously unwise, therefore, to discontinue the use of coal for those non-military jobs that it can do. If we examine the major fuel markets we find that there are three: Domestic heating Steam generation Transport by air, sea, and land For domestic heating, the extreme convenience of oil, in spite of its greater cost, has captured much of the coal market.

Jan 1, 1952

By R. C. A. Thurston

Introduction A mechanical spring has been .defined by Wahl ( 1) as 'an elastic body whose ?primary function is? to deflect or distort under load, and which recovers its original shape when released after being distorted'. Most material bodies are elastic to some extent ? and will deform under load, but they are seldom regarded as springs since this is not their primary function. The principal applications of springs are the absorption of energy and the mitigation of shock, the support cf moving masses or the isolation of vibration, and the provision or measurement of definite loads or torques. A large number of spring types have been developed to serve these purposes and to meet the different operational requirements; they range from the large semi-elliptic leaf suspension spring to the delicate watch hairspring. The springs of most importance in machine design, however, are the helical round-wire compression or tension types. They are made in a wide variety of sizes and are used in tremendous quantities, mainly because of their low cost, their compactness, and their relatively high efficiency. Their field of application is as broad as that of machine design itself, but the bulk of production is almost certainly for suspension systems of vehicles such as automobiles, freight and passenger cars, and mine cars, and it is with the last of these applications that this paper is primarily concerned.

Jan 1, 1951

By E. Lee Cameron

Summary Records of the past show that the first mineral production in what is now the Province of Manitoba consisted of salt, obtained about the year 1800 by the evaporation of brine. Also at an early time in our history, the Ordovician limestone at St. Andrews Locks, East Selkirk, and other localities was quarried for use as building scone in the construction of forts and fur trading posts. Both salt and building stone are still produced in Manitoba, although not from the original sources. In addition, there is now a substantial production of a variety of other industrial minerals and their products such as lime, crushed stone, gypsum, peat moss, and bentonite. The annual dollar value of production of the industrial mineral industry in Manitoba is today greater than at any time in our past and is derived from a greater variety of products. At the present time, exclusive of the various gravel pits operated by the Provincial Department of Public Works, twenty companies operating thirty-four separate pits, quarries, or mines are producing industrial mineral raw materials in Manitoba. This paper attempts to outline the development of the industry from its start about 1800 to the present, giving general information on the various materials produced. Some suggestions regarding the possibilities of establishing new industries based on other raw materials are given at the end of the paper.

Jan 1, 1949

By Y. Thibault, L. Morin, R. Cameron, D. Gould

"There are an estimated 50 to 100 million dry metric tonnes of low-grade nickeliferous pyrrhotite tailings in the Sudbury area alone, with an average nickel grade ~0.8% (plus cobalt). Pyrrhotite is a highly reactive sulphide mineral that has the potential to generate acidity; consequently, it is stored in large tailings ponds that require perpetual treatment to avoid the production of acidic drainage. Re-processing this material using bioleaching technologies has the potential to recover valuable metals, while reducing the toxicity, reactivity, and acid generating potential of the remaining residues. CanmetMINING is currently developing a stirred-tank bioleaching process to recovery nickel and cobalt from pyrrhotite-rich tailings. Stirred-tank experiments have been conducted with one tailings sample over a range of pH and temperature conditions, resulting in 80 to 90% and 70 to 80% leaching of nickel and cobalt respectively in 10 days.INTRODUCTION Sulphide tailings may represent a significant financial liability for mining companies as these wastes may produce acidic drainage under some disposal conditions. As a result, the companies must post financial bonds large enough to ensure there are sufficient funds for perpetual management of these wastes. At the same time, there are billions of dollars in metals incorporated into these mining wastes waiting to become valorized. Many sulphide tailings are amendable to bacterial oxidation for metal extraction. Re-processing of tailings using bacterial leaching has the potential to recover valuable metals from waste; and reduce the toxicity, the reactivity, and the acid generating potential of the remaining residue. By reprocessing these wastes there is an opportunity to significantly reduce liabilities and financial assurance bonds, while recovering metal values. There are an estimated 50 to 100 million dry metric tonnes of low-grade nickeliferous pyrrhotite-rich tailings in the Sudbury area alone with an average nickel grade ~0.8% (Peek et al., 2011) plus cobalt and copper. Pyrrhotite is separated from pentlandite concentrates by magnetic separation and flotation. It is already finely ground and has often been segregated from other tailings material, making „mining? relatively inexpensive. This represents roughly (> $100/ton) in contained value, with negligible mining costs. This paper reports on the development of a stirred-tank bioleaching process for recovering nickel and cobalt from pyrrhoitite-rich tailings, which is currently underway at Canmet MINING."

Jan 1, 2017

By P. Mattar

The geotechnical importance of studying fluid flow through porous media and soils in particular, becomes evident when dealing with groundwater movement in surficial geomaterials that can be initiated by hydraulic gradients that develop during construction activity, groundwater extraction, impounding of reservoirs and groundwater recharge during adverse climatic events. In a geotechnical context, rocks are regarded as virtually impermeable materials, with comparatively greater resistance to flow of water through their pore structure. The importance of the permeability of rocks comes to the forefront when deep geologic formations are used in geoenvironmental activities for disposal of hazardous and toxic materials. The permeability of the rocks encountered is of critical importance to these geoenvironmental activities since the movement or transport of the hazardous materials during their eventual release will be largely governed by the permeability characteristics of the geologic formation. The estimation of the permeability characteristic of geologic formations is a non-trivial exercise since the measure of permeability can be influenced by the scale at which the measurement is made. Regional-scale and borehole-scale estimates of the permeability can be greatly influenced by the inhomogeneities, including fractures, fissures, solution channels and other anomalies that are present in naturally occurring geologic media. These anomalies are considered to be site specific and can only be determined in a reliable fashion by either conducting tests at the appropriate scale or in the regional-scale through inverse analysis of tracer movement patterns in rock masses. The estimation of the permeability of intact units of a geologic medium has important geoenvironmental applications in connection with storage of wastes since the units in which repositories will be located should be sparsely fractured and the sealing of the fractures and fissures are a prerequisite to developing an efficient solution for storage. The intact permeability of geomaterials is therefore regarded as an important property that influences efficiency and reliability of geoenvironmental solutions for deep geologic disposal. The permeability of geomaterials such as concrete and cementitious grouts are also important to many geoenvironmental and infrastructure applications where durability of structural materials in general and cements used for sealing deep boreholes and other access shafts employed in waste management endeavours is influenced by the permeability characteristics of these materials

May 1, 2009

By B. Drew, K. Budna, C. Wenzl, D. Gregurek, A. Spanring

"The metallurgy of nickel and cobalt and of copper is closely interlinked when processing sulfidic Ni-Co ores and Cu-Co ores. The respective furnaces are typically lined with magnesia-chromite refractories, which are exposed to multiple and complex stresses. The selection of the processing route, furnace type and slag system will be dictated by the specific ore type available, this will determine the individual refractory wear mode. This paper evaluates the common refractory wear mechanisms, namely infiltration, spalling and chemical attack by various slag systems, as well as sulfur attack, as observed when processing primary sulfidic ores. All these wear parameters, which are discussed in this paper, lead to a severe degeneration of the brick microstructure and a decreased lining life. Therefore, a detailed investigation and understanding of the wear mechanisms through “post mortem studies” is an important prerequisite for the refractory producer. Based on such research results, combined with specific process knowledge, appropriate brick lining solutions for nickel and cobalt processing furnaces can be recommended.INTRODUCTION The metallurgical production of cobalt and nickel and of copper is closely interlinked to the mineralogy of the respective ores: cobalt is found in African Cu-Co ores as well as in Co-rich nickel ores (laterites and sulfides). Also, Co-bearing secondary raw materials contain the mentioned elements in different contents. In pyrometallurgical processing of sulfidic ores, cobalt is generally recovered as a by-product during the production of copper and nickel, whereas it is normally not recovered separately during the processing of nickel laterites but remains in the FeNi product. Besides various hydrometallurgical production routes, the pyrometallurgical processes involved comprise smelting (i.e., production of a Cu-Ni-Co-Fe matte in electric or flash furnaces), converting and refining (i.e. removal of Fe and S as well as other elements from matte by oxidation). The ongoing trend to use higher oxygen enrichment in process air enables higher intensity processes but also increases the oxidation potential in the vessel. Therefore, during smelting and especially during the oxidative treatment in converting and refining, some amounts of valuable metals are also transferred to the slag in their oxides form. A subsequent slag treatment is then applied for recovering valuable metals from the slag, namely allowing an economic material stream handling and minimizing metal losses. This is often done in a slag reduction furnace. Additionally, copper and nickel are very good collectors for precious metals and platinum group metals (PGMs) - therefore, depending on the content of these metals, an additional refining process is used to recover these valuable metals from the matte or metal phase (Elvers et al., 1997; Davenport et al., 2002; Crundwell et al., 2011)."

Jan 1, 2017