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By Mohan R. Srivastava

- OUTLINE - apologies and explanations - a quick bit of history - the wisdom of Wikipedia - ?Matheronian geostatistics continued to convert Bre-X?s bogus grades and Busang?s barren rock into a massive phantom gold resource?? - variogram analysis for Busang - would variogram analysis (or variance analysis) have revealed the fraud? - what went right, what went wrong

May 1, 2007

By D. A. Sloan

THE Young Davidson mine is of particular interest because of the extremely low costs and also because of the novel method devised for pillar recovery. The outstanding feature of the mining system is its simplicity and regularity. The successful operation of this property was de-finitely assured by the rise in price of gold in 1934. The mine is situated in the southeastern part of Powell township, about forty-five miles southeast of Timmins, Ontario. The local town, two miles distant, in Matachewan, which is twenty-five miles northwest of Elk Lake, the terminus of a branch line of the Temiskaming and Northern Ontario railway. Mining is confined to one of a group of five claims. The ore occurs in a body of syen.ite porphyry which is intruded along a contact of Timiskaming conglomerates with Keewatin altered ruffs and greenstones. This intrusion extends in a north-easterly direction from Davidson creek for 3,300 feet, of which length 700 feet lies within the Matachewan Consolidated property. The maximum width of the mass is 700 feet; it tapers off as it extends east-ward. The Orebody.-The syenite porphyry is of three types, probably all differentiates of the same magma, but only one of them is gold bearing. This is a cherry-red, coarsely crystalline type which forms the central part of the mass. It is more brittle and more fractured than the others, and consequently has allowed easier access to the gold-bearing solutions. The gold has been brought in by a branching system of quartz veins and along minute fractures. It is mainly in the form of very fine 'free' gold, but also occurs in pyrite, which is the chief metallic mineral.

Jan 1, 1942

By H. S. Wilson

"The property owned by the Lamaque Mining Company comprises a group of forty-four claims and fractions occupying an area of about 2,458 acres, in west-central Bourlamaque township, Abitibi county, Quebec. It is on ,the outskirts of the towns of Bourlamaque and Val d'Or, about 70 miles east of Noranda, near the eastern end of the belt of greenstones of Keewatin and Timiskaming age that extends eastward through Kirkland Lake into northwestern Quebec, terminating in Haig and Jurie townships 40 miles to the east.The claims on which the orebodies occur were first staked in 1923; No. 3 vein was discovered the following year. The original discovery was made by R. Clark in 1923. This was a small quartz vein containing a pocket of coarse gold on the north side of a hill near the northwestern corner of block 3. It is said that all the gold was removed in one shot in blasting into the vein; elsewhere it was barren. A picket line was then run west along the strike of the vein, which occupied a narrow shear zone, and about 2,000 feet west, in prospecting on either side of the picket line, a large boulder of quartz and tourmaline containing visible gold was found. This led to more intensive prospecting by trenching in the vicinity with the result that the No. 3, or 'float' vein, about 250 feet north of the boulder, was found. Due to low ground this vein was exposed in only one trench. The only other important vein found on the surface was the No. 1, or H, vein, which was exposed in several places by stripping and trenching, but it did not carry appreciable amounts of gold."

Jan 1, 1954

By Yu Chen, Charlie C. Li

The application of rock bolts for the stabilisation of underground openings needs a good understanding of the response of the bolts during rock excavation. The pull-and-shear performance of two types of rock bolts—that is, the fully encapsulated rebar and the D-Bolt—has been studied both experimentally and numerically. The rock bolts were tested under a pull-and-shear load at five displacing angles (i.e., 0°, 20°, 40°, 60°, and 90°), and at the same time, the strains on the bolts were monitored during testing. The two types of rock bolts have similar loading capacities, while the loading angle has obvious influence on the deformation capacity of the D-Bolt. The ultimate total displacement of the D-Bolt decreases from 140 mm under pure pull loading to 70 mm under shearing. The displacement capacity of the rebar is not significantly influenced by the loading angle but remains at a quite low level from 29 to 53 mm. The D-Bolt yielded in a longer section the rebar bolt under pure shear. A trilinear material model was used to simulate the strain hardening behaviour of the bolt steels in the numerical code FLAC3D. The numerical results show that the axial load in the bolt decreases exponentially with the distance from the loading position for the rebar bolts, but it remains constant in the bolt sections between the anchor positions for the D-Bolts. When the bolt is subjected to a lateral load, shear stresses are created on the D-Bolt surface within a short distance from the loading position.

Jan 1, 2015

By G. R. Yourt

"Generally speaking the usual approach for controlling dust is three-fold:1. Suppress the formation of dust at the source.2. Confine dust that cannot be suppressed.3. Dilute and remove dust that cannot be confined.This discussion will be concentrated on the second approach, namely, confining and disposing of dusty air.Dust BehaviourBefore delving into actual design principles a brief discussion on behaviour of dust should be helpful. For prevention of silicosis only respirable dust, ranging in size from < 0.5 to 5u needs to be controlled. As particles of this size have insignificant mass and momentum they follow air movements very closely. Consequently if contaminated air around dust sources is confined within enclosures and leakages maintained, strongly indraft dust is automatically controlled and capture velocities are of no concern.Dust SourcesAt metal mining operations ore is prepared for wet concentration by crushing it to mostly <3"" in size. This usually involves a jaw crusher, one or two cone crushers, one or more screens and several conveyors. Dust is actually produced only by the crushing action but it is liberated also when numerous fine particles contained in the ore stream are dispersed by surges and vibration at the discharge of the crushers, screens and headpulleys of conveyors. Furthermore, dust is dis¬persed when the slime adhering to the underside of the return portion of belts becomes dry and is rendered airborne by vibration and by cleaning floors especially where the slime has dropped."

Jan 1, 1971

By R. A. Halet

"The Malartic Gold Fields mine is a good example of the association of ore deposits with a major fault zone. It also exemplifies the control exerted by the physical and chemical character of the host rocks on the localization of orebodies.The mine is in Fourniere and Dubuisson townships, Abitibi county. It is 6 miles east of the town of Malartic, 9n the main highway and railway from Noranda to Val d'Or.The discovery of the mine is due largely to the enterprise of the late J. P. Norrie, who organized the present Company in 1935. The ground is entirely covered by overburden, but Mr. Norrie believed that the extension of the Cadillac-Malartic 'break', the principal ore-bearing structure of the district, would be found on this group of claims. This belief was supported by the discovery of gold-bearing float in the area, and was confirmed by a dip-needle survey and a few pilot diamond drill holes that showed that the favourable Malartic greenstone band passes through the centre of the property.In this way the most favourable area for prospecting was narrowed to a zone 2 ½ miles long by ½ mile wide underlain' by greenstone. The remainder of the property is underlain by sedimentary rocks, which, from experience elsewhere in the camp, were not considered as promising. However, as the entire surface is covered by deep overburden, the location of orebodies even within this more or less restricted area could be accomplished only by a long campaign of diamond drilling. Systematic diamond drilling began in 1936.The contacts of the greenstone band were considered to be the most promising places to begin the work, and the early drilling was concentrated on the south contact, because the orebody of the East Malartic mine, 4 miles to the west, had been discovered on this structure and it was reasonable to hope for a repetition of these conditions. Although the south contact was very thoroughly explored, with a certain amount of encouragement, the work did not prove the existence of deposits of ore grade, and attention was shifted to the north contact zone of the greenstone band. In this locality much more promising results were obtained, and a number of good orebodies were outlined."

Jan 1, 1954

By W. D. Robson

THE prevention of silicosis by metallic aluminium has been reported by Denny, Robson, and Irwin in two papers. The first (1) was published in 1937; the second (2), in 1939. The results definitely established that silicosis was prevented in animals by the inhalation of small quantities of aluminium. The present communication records subsequent progress in this field of research. HARMLESSNESS OF ALUMINIUM Animal experiments having served their purpose, it became necessary to consider means to test the discovery on humans. A question for immediate consideration was: Is aluminium harmful to man when inhaled as a fine powder? While the animal experiments were reassuring, since they conclusively showed the powder to be innocuous when breathed by animals, it was, nevertheless, desirable to have additional reassurance with regard to its effect upon human beings. Through the courtesy of the Aluminum Company of America and especially the valued interest in this problem displayed by that Company&apos;s Director of Research, Dr. Francis C. Frary, a study was made of the records pertaining to the health of a group of 125 employees who had for many years been engaged in the manufacture of finely powdered, metallic aluminium for the paint and ink industries. The conditions were such that these employees had inhaled varying and oft-times very dense concentrations of this powder daily over periods ranging from 6 to 23 years, the average for the group being 12 years. X-ray pictures of their chests showed no abnormalities attributable to aluminium. Their general health seemed better than that of the 3,000 workers in other sections of the plant. In fact, the early films of three employees in this group of 125 showed shadows suggestive of minimal tuberculosis, which shadows were not discernible in films taken after considerable periods of exposure to aluminium powder. The harmlessness of aluminium was, by this study, reasonably well established at the outset, a finding subsequently verified by Ontario research on humans.

Jan 1, 1944

By P. C. Parsons, G. C. Milligan

"IN FIELD WORK in the Cape Breton Highlands, which are heavily covered with vegetation, it is necessary to run traverses along the valleys of small brooks. We encountered difficulty in closing such traverses, and the following technique was developed to solve this problem. It has been tested in the field for four seasons by several people, and found to be simple, efficient and more accurate than any other compass-and-pace system of which we are aware. So far as we can find, the technique has not been described previously. It may be of use to others.The Cape Breton Highlands of Nova Scotia consist of hills of old intrusive and metamorphosed sedimentary rocks protruding up to 1,000 feet above the general level of the younger sediments which underlie the valleys. The flat hill-tops are the remnants of a plateau; drainage off the edge of this plateau has produced many small steep brooks. They occupy valleys which are up to 800 feet deep, and V-shaped in cross section, with steep sides covered by mixed conifers and hardwoods. The stream at the bottom is rarely more than a few feet wide, with a negligible meander belt, but with many bends, rapids and falls. Visibility along the stream, in consequence, is rarely more than a few hundred feet, and in many places much less.It was found impractical to map the streams by the method of meander lines, as described in many standard surveying texts and hand-books. The limited visibility, and the numerous bends of the brooks, necessitated many corners. Every corner introduces errors. To 'close' a survey with 40 or 50 such corners proved either very time-consuming or impossible. In most cases, however, the general direction of a valley may be obtained from an aerial photograph, or by direct observation, and this became the basis of the method adopted."

Jan 1, 1971

By Donald A. Cranstone

Donald Cranstone holds B.Sc. (Honours) and M.Sc. degrees in Geology from the University of Manitoba and a Ph.D. in Economic Geology from Harvard University. He has worked as a mine geologist, a provincial geological survey geologist and as a senior exploration geologist. He joined what is now the Minerals and Metals Sector of Natural Resources Canada in 1971, where he has been a commodity specialist for gold, for copper and another 28 metals. He is a senior mineral economist, currently engaged in analysis of mineral exploration and discovery success in Canada and of the future of the Canadian mining industry. Abstract This paper examines the history of Canadian non-petroleum mineral production. The outlook over the next 25 years, for mining in Canada and in each province and territory, is reviewed. The outlook for mining in Canada and in most provinces/territories is favourable, but problems seem likely in a few jurisdictions unless new orebodies are brought into production. In terms of exploration potential, Canada consistently ranks among the top three countries in the world. Over the last eight years, Canada has consistently been second only to Australia as a destination for exploration investment. For the first time, Canada is ranked in terms of total mineral production, including coal and construction materials, relative to all the countries of the world including countries of the former communist bloc.

May 1, 2001

By Carl Lausen

Within recent years several mining companies have sent expeditions co the east end of Great Slave lake co determine the mineral possibilities of that area. Little was known of the geography of the region, and even less of the geology; and, not until Blancher&apos;s survey was made and the results published, was an accurate map of the lake available. Early explorers followed the Inconnu channel and the north shore of McLeod bay to Port Reliance, and, just prior to Blancher&apos;s survey, Hornby showed that the southern passage was feasible. Apparently, but few geologists have ? travelled through the country, for geological information is meager. In 1900, Robert Bell, of the Geological Survey, made a trip to Fort Reliance by way of the north shore of McLeod bay, and he gives a brief description of the geology. The present paper is the result of an expedition into this little-known region by Mr. Geo. M. Douglas and the writer in the summer of 1928. The south shore of Great Slave lake was followed to the east end of Tochatwi bay, and an extensive exploration was made of Kahochella and Pethei peninsulas. The prime object of the expedition was co determine the presence or absence of the copper-bearing Keweenawan basalts.

Jan 1, 1929

By Angus D. Campbell

"IntroductionThe subject assigned to me tonight gives unlimited scope. The material available is so voluminous and leads into so many ramifications, and the memories of the Camp are so vivid and treasured, that it is difficult to decide just what to use. Then, too, the geologists are the story-tellers of our tribe - I am only a hard rock miner.Members of the Cobalt Branch and Cobalters everywhere will agree without question that this Cobalt camp has been the greatest of all influences on Canadian mining. To those who do not know Cobalt, our opinion may seem prejudiced and our statement exaggerated.Be that as it may, discussion on this subject can be profitable, since it is worthwhile now and then to think on 'whence we came' and 'where we are going'.In the revival of interest in the Cobalt camp, we hope our guests may feel some of the old Cobalt Spirit, which has become the Spirit of the North.Visitors may even, while here, catch a glimpse of that whimsical little guardian spirit of the camp - the original goblin, the Kobold - for which Cobalt was named.While Kobold brings that good luck which plays so important a part in mining, he can have his evil moments, as in his original German home. There, when he made the silver disappear from their good ore, they cursed the grey ore, calling it Kobold.Although this little goblin bas frequently upset our best mining plans and geological calculations, be has played the game as well. He placed •some silver on the surface, and when he hid ~t at depth he left dues .for its finding. He has rewarded many who sought his treasure and is still rewarding those who have persevered and had faith in him. t:lis influence and that of Cobalt camp has probably had a greater influence on your work and your mining areas than you realize"

Jan 1, 1950

By A. Gourlie

"This paper describes the performance properties of a new 95 ksi minimum yield strength, oil well casing grade designed specifically to resist hydrogen sulphide stress corrosion cracking, SSCc. The new grade, Soo-95SS, demonstrates NACE Tensile threshold values greater than 90% specified minimum yield strength, SMYS, and NACE Bent Beam values in excess of 12.7 x 1()4 psi. The new Soo-9588 grade also exhibits superior collapse and notch toughness values. IntroductionIn recent years, a trend toward casing grade specialization has resulted in the introduction of numerous proprietary grades designed specifically for particular production environments, In response, Algoma Steel has developed, as part of a "" grade for service"" philosophy, two new 95 ksi minimum yield grades. The two grades are Soo-95, High Collapse (HC), and Sour Service (SS). This paper describes the development of Soo-95 Sour Service.Four main objectives were established:1. Definition of the steelmaking and continuous cast processing practices2. Determination of the acceptable maximum and minimum levels for all chemical elements3. Definition of special processing requirements4. Definition of the physical characteristics and ranges of the product properties.This paper provides a description of the experimental approach, followed by a presentation and discussion of the trial results . Finally, a number of conclusions are given."

Jan 1, 1988

By F. A. Forward

"NINETEEN sixty-six is a year of unusual significance in our Institute and in our country. It marks two-thirds of a century of service by the Institute to the people of the mineral industry and two-thirds of the century that Sir Wilfred Laurier said ""belongs to Canada."" As we meet here today within the historic walls of Canada's oldest city, a city that looks back on three hundred and fifty years of progress, I am reminded that it is almost a third of a century ago -in April, 1934 -that here in Quebec I first attended an Annual General Meeting of the Institute. It occurred to me that it might be appropriate to examine briefly the change that the middle third of this century has brought in the affairs of the mineral industry and, with some trepidation, to consider the prospect for the third that lies ahead.Opinions differ as to the relative importance of factors that have been responsible for the expansion and growth of Canada in its first hundred years. Some will say that it has been due to the abundance and fertility of agricultural land, others to the early enterprise of the railroads, and financiers believe that the banking system has been a major factor; -the fisherman -the forester -the teacher -each has his own view. I suspect, however, that most of us here would subscribe to the thesis of T. A. Rickard -miner, author, imperialist -who wrote, a gene-ration ago, ""Trade follows the flag, but the flag follows the pick,"" and thus agree that the finest contribution to progress, to wealth, to extension of frontiers and to inter-national trade has been provided by the mineral industry."

Jan 1, 1966

By W. A. Parks

Stone that may be applied to purposes of construction is available in nearly all the inhabited parts of Canada, the most important exception being the prairie region, but, even here, the deficiency is overcome in many parts by a wealth of glacial field-stones. In many parts of the country, also, the accessible stone is of a quality so poor that brick is more generally used. There is a great difference, however, between stone that &apos;may be used&apos; and stone suitable for buildings of a monumental type or even for &apos;trimmings&apos; on the better class of dwelling in the cities and towns. It is in the latter sense that the expression &apos;building stone&apos; is commonly used. Thus restricted the term includes varieties of sandstone, limestone, and granite, using the latter word in the custom of the quarryman, not only for the true granite of the geologist but for many other igneous rocks as well. Building stone of high quality grades imperceptibly into stone suitable for monuments, particularly in the case of the granites. The present review will deal with building and monumental stone in this restricted sense and will omit marble, although that material has been used to some extent for building. For instance, the Great West block in Winnipeg is built of marble from British Columbia.

Jan 1, 1925

By Peter McBride

Human excellence in all areas of endeavour is acknowledged and recognized. Establishing role models and spreading the word on best practices helps broader audiences. For on-the-job safety, recognition awards are a component of successful programs. In Canada?s mining industry since 1941, the John T. Ryan Safety Trophies initiative has contributed to the sector?s improving record in this area. The much sought after and rich in history John T. Ryan trophies are recognized symbols of safety excellence in Canada. The effectiveness of the Ryan safety recognition program in Canada has led to its export to other mining countries seeking to improve their overall safety performance.

May 1, 2008

By Saeid Akhavan

Accumulative roll bonding (ARB) is a severe plastic deformation process for achieving ultrafine grains in metallic sheets without changing the sample dimensions. In this study, ARB process was carried out on 5083 aluminum alloy sheets up to 6 cycles. In this process, the surfaces of the strips to be joined are roughened and cleaned and then stacked. After stacking, the specimen is roll-bonded by rolling using a 50% reduction. The rolled specimen is cut into two halves, and the above-mentioned procedure is repeated for several times. Microstructural characterizations were analyzed by transmition electron microscopy (TEM). Tension and Vickers hardness tests were performed on produced sheets for evaluating their mechanical properties. Moreover the texture parameter of the ARB-ed samples was calculated using their XRD patterns and the related equation. Additionally, the texture evolution during the ARB process was demonstrate by analyzing the measured pole figures and orientation distribution functions (ODF) and skeleton lines. The results indicated that at the early stages of ARB process, grains were subdivided by deformation induced boundaries. After several ARB cycles continuous recrystallization resulted in a microstructure covered with small recrystallized grains with an average diameter below 100 nm at the end of four cycle. Texture analysis revealed fiber textures have been discovered with continiuose of the ARB process cupper. Brass, S and dillamor textures identify which their differences are in intensity of ARB process. Results indicated conformity between mechanical evolutions and texture evolutions during ARB process.

Oct 1, 2011

By Bradley Stoughton

The magnetic oxide of iron, F eO4 , contains a theoretically larger amount of iron ( 72.4 per cent.) than any other commercial ore. It is probable that it has originated in many cases by the prolonged exposure of the hydrated oxide, ZF e20 a + 3H20 to heat and pressure which converts it first into hematite, F e20 3, and then into magnetite. It would thus appear as if nature had already done part of the work of removing all the oxygen and that magnetite should be relatively easy to reduce. That it is, in fact, less reducible than either limonite or hematite, is due chiefly to its dense and compact physical structure, which makes it less pervious to the furnace gases, and also to its characteristic action in resisting crushing to a uniform size, with consequent irregularity in reducing conditions within the furnace. The net result is that the magnetic oxide requires more fuel and more time for its reduction in the blast-furnace than any other iron ore of similar iron content and physical condition. There is another very important reason why the smelting of magnetite is more costly than that of hematite, and its treatment viewed with a great deal of adverse prejudice by blast furnace operators, namely, that magnetite decreases the proportion of heat developed by the fuel in the stack of the furnace, and increases the already excessive heat requirements of the heart.

Jan 1, 1924

By C. M. Campbell

THE dire effects of rapidly vanishing natural resources, widespread unemployment, and increased debt and taxation in recent years have challenged Canadians to produce a practical solution to these national economic problems. In more recent months, wars and rumours of war have indicated, among other things, the need for better control of our mineral wealth. The erection of a smelter on the lower mainland coast of British Columbia, treating all Western ores, and such ores as it will be found advisable to import, will make an important contribution toward a solution of these problems. It is believed that the ores tributary justify a smelter of major proportions. A stock-taking to confirm this can be made with reason-able accuracy in a short time, and this should be undertaken without delay. Enough general information is, however, available .in this paper to justify the technicians of the Department of Mines at Ottawa and of interested smelting companies making a preliminary study of the matter. THE DEFENCE ARGUMENT As a factor in rearmament, metals play a vital part. That rearmament is to continue on an increasing scale is indicated in Premier Chamberlain&apos;s address of October 3rd last, when he said: ?&apos;For a long period now we have been engaged in this country in a great programme of rearmament which is daily increasing in pace and volume. let no one think because we have signed &apos;this agreement between the four powers at Munich we can afford to relax our efforts or call a halt in our armaments at this moment&apos;. As matters stand, the facilities in British Columbia are entirely out of line with the strategic importance of this Province as the Western Front of Canada and the Empire. All our copper ores, and an appreciable part of our lead and zinc ores, are sent for treatment to Japan, United States, and Europe, while we import our iron and alloys. A treatment plant on this Coast would not only give us control of war metals and chemicals but it would provide an increased industrial and research population, badly needed in this area and of the greatest value in the case of war. This is where the mining industry can do its bit.

Jan 1, 1939

By B. R. Schneiders

"Atikokan is 200 km west of Thunder Bay and earned its mining fame from the discovery of the Steep Rock Iron Range in the late 1930s. Gold, however, was discovered in the Atikokan and Mine Centre areas in the late 1800s and eventually led to one of Ontario&apos;s first gold camps, and a total production of approximately 52,000 oz of gold and 174,000 oz of silver from 218,000 tons milled.The general geology of the area consists of Early Precambrian rocks of the Wabigoon and Quetico subprovinces, separated by the east-trending Quetico Fault. The Wabigoon Subprovince, to the north, consists of metavolcanics, minor metasediments and granitic batholiths. The Quetico Subprovince consists of metasediments and granitoids. Small ultramafic plutons occur throughout the metasediments.Within a 50-km radius of Atikokan, more than 50 gold occurrences, prospects and past producers have been discovered since the 18oos. The Atikokan Gold Study performed by the Ontario Geological Sur vey (Wilkinson, 1980, 1982) defined three types of gold mineralization in which gold is concentrated in quartz and quartz-carbonate veins:I) Metavolcanic-Hosted, Stratabound Type-associated with altered felsic fragmental units and chemical sedimentary rocks; possible gold mineralization source rocks. The mineralization is due to metamorphogenic (epigenetic) enrichment. Associated with dynamic metamorphism events and/or felsic intrusive events.2) Marmion Lake Batholith Type-occurs within the gneissic core of the batholith associated with north east-trending lineaments, representing faults or shear zones. Mineralized veins are related to several periods of deformation and shearing, suggesting that metamorphogenic veins were produced during dynamic metamorphism.3) Contact Zone Type -occurs in the contact zone rocks between gneissic batholiths and meta volcanic belts. Hydrothermal solutions produced during several deformational periods acted to leach and concentrate gold mineralization. Localized, discontinuous shear zones host the epigenetic (metamorphogenic) veins.Twenty-one properties in the area were mapped and sampled, and researched petrographically and geochemically. Geological data from the Atikokan Economic Geologist Program of the Ontario Geological Survey are used in discussing the types of mineralization, genetic models, and exploration targets and techiques."

Jan 1, 1983

By M. J. Marinigh

Increased safety requirements, higher operational costs, greater environmental restrictions, and new competitive processing techniques are the challenges smelter operators must confront in order to remain economically viable. In converting furnaces which have tuyeres such as the Noranda Reactor and the Teniente, Peirce Smith and Hoboken converters, efficient tuyere line management is critical to optimizing blowing rates, increasing refractory life, and improving safety. This paper will describe recent improvements made to equipment used for tuyere punching, tuyere silencing, tuyere pyrometry and refractory drilling of tuyeres and how the proper application of the equipment can lead to operational and safety improvements.

Jan 1, 2007