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By William E. Roscoe

"Valuation methods are well established for mineral properties with production or imminent production, and include discounted cash flow and comparable transactions. Valuation methods for non-producing mineral properties, however, are more subjective. Non-producing mineral properties include those at various stages of exploration, properties at the prefeasibility or feasibility stage, properties with currently uneconomic mineral resources, and past-producers. Different valuation methods may be appropriate for different types of mineral properties.Income approach methods such as discounted cash flow and option pricing are generally not applicable to properties at the exploration stage. The market approach is generally appropriate to all types of mineral properties, although it is difficult to find good comparables because of the unique nature of mineral properties and the small number of transactions. Cost approach methods, such as appraised value and geoscience factor, are commonly used for exploration stage properties.Canadian standards and guidelines for valuation of mineral properties are in the process of being finalized by a Special Committee of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIMVal Committee). The CIMVal Standards are intended to be consistent with National Instrument 43-101, which sets regulatory standards of disclosure for mineral projects, and with International Valuation Standards. The intent of the CIMVal Standards and Guidelines is that mineral property valuation be carried out by appropriately qualified individuals and that all relevant information be disclosed."

Jan 1, 2003

By Lin Li, Ahmad Ghahremaninezhad

"In this paper, the electrochemical behavior of ferric and ferrous couple on the pyrite surface was studied by application of the chronoamperometry technique in an acidic solution at room temperatures and atmospheric pressure. The effects of the pyrite origin, ferric and ferrous ions concentration on the electron transfer kinetics of Fe3+/Fe2+ reaction were probed. Tafel behavior of all the test conditions were developed. The results showed that the ferric-ferrous reaction on pyrite electrodes with different origins have a common mechanism, despite different reaction kinetics. The exchange current densities of the redox reaction have the same magnitude of about 10-5 A·cm-2, which is far lower than the value reported for the gold and platinum electrodes, but larger than that of the chalcopyrite electrode. The cathodic transfer coefficients are between 0.4 and 0.5, while the anodic transfer coefficients appear unusual with the lowest value being 0.23. It was also demonstrated that an increase of one order of magnitude of iron concentration has no clear effect on the exchange current density and cathodic transfer coefficients of Fe3+/Fe2+ redox reaction.INTRODUCTIONPyrite, FeS2, is mostly considered as a gangue mineral which frequently coexists with valuable minerals and metals, such as gold, copper and nickel. Its separation from valuable minerals can be a costly process (Chandra & Gerson, 2010). In refractory gold ores, the fine gold particles are locked inside the pyrite structure. Oxidative leaching of pyrite is a hydrometallurgical method to destroy the structure of pyrite and expose the fine gold particles to the cyanide solution in the downstream cyanidation circuit. Pyrite oxidative leaching can be achieved by oxidation of pyrite via oxygen and ferric ion(McKibben & Barnes, 1986). In fact, pyrite oxidation by oxygen and ferric is a significant source of acid mine drainage(AMD), which adversely causes serious environmental problems(V. P. Evangelou, 1995).The pyrite oxidation mechanism is accomplished in three consecutive steps: (i) pyrite is oxidized by oxygen and ferrous ion formation (Eq. 1); (ii) ferrous oxidation by oxygen and ferric ion formation (Eq. 2); (iii) pyrite oxidation by means of ferric ions (Eq. 3). Hence, both oxygen and ferric participate in the pyrite oxidation process (Moses & Herman, 1991):"

Jan 1, 2016

By J. B. De Hart

This paper has been confined to the consideration of the working of thick seams, from six feet to sixteen feet, which are pitching at about thirty degrees to the horizontal. The discussion has been limited to these set conditions because they are the ones of commonest occurrence in the Southern Alberta bituminous coal district, because, from the point of view of safety, thin seams are more easily worked, and because a discussion of all the possible combinations of thick and thin seams pitching at angles varying from zero to ninety degrees with the horizontal would involve a task impossible in the time available. It has been assumed that the mine makes gas freely and that the coal is friable and tends to make inflammable dust which is highly explosive. Since the problem requires the taking into account means of maintaining a high proportion of lump coal, it is further assumed that lump coal commands a price considerably higher than the price which can be obtained for run-of-mine or for slack coal. Figure 1, tabulating the various factors which must be considered and their relation to each other, indicates diagrammatically the complexity of the problem. Any method of working becomes divided into two distinct components, the active workings of the mine and the old abandoned workings. While these are in a measure distinct, they are nevertheless inter-related, as shown in the diagram.

Jan 1, 1930

By A. Proulx

Durant les années 1955 à 1961, plusieurs campagnes d?exploration ont été menées sur la zone Bond dans la partie sud-ouest de l?anneau nord de la carbonatite d?Oka (propriété de Niocan, figure 1). Les zones minéralisées HWM1 et HWM2 sont découvertes à l?ouest de la propriété. Un des forages, le S-60, avait intercepté 80 mètres de minéralisation à 0.71% Nb2O5 à l?est des zones HWM1 et HWM2 mais aucun autres travaux d?exploration n?avaient été réalisés sur cette interception minéralisée. En 1995, Niocan réalise une campagne de forage pour mieux définir la zone minéralisée recoupée par le forage S-60. En 1997, une seconde campagne de forage détermine un tonnage de 14.37 Mt avec une teneur de 0.66 % Nb2O5 pour la zone S-60 (Marcotte et Gagnon, 1997). Le complexe carbonatitique d'Oka se situe à environ 35 km à l?ouest de Montréal sur la rive nord du lac des Deux-Montagnes. Sa formation remonte au Crétacé précoce (entre 117 à 123 Ma). La carbonatite d?Oka fait partie de la suite d'intrusions alcalines que constituent les collines Montérégiennes. Le complexe a une forme allongée (7.2 km par 2.4 km) orientée NO-SE (figure 1). Il est intrusif dans des roches précambriennes constituées d?anorthosites au nord et de gneiss charnokitique au sud (Gold, 1963) appartenant à la Formation de la colline d?Oka. Les gneiss au contact du complexe sont fénitisés sur une épaisseur qui peut atteindre jusqu?à 60 mètres. Les roches carbonatitiques forment la série dominante du complexe et elles sont composées principalement de calcite (> 50 %) à gros grain et parfois rubanées. Les minéraux accessoires les plus communs sont la biotite, le pyroxène, la monticellite, la magnétite, l?apatite, la forstérite, la mélilite, le pyrochlore, la pérovskite, la niocalite, la pyrite et la pyrrhotite (Gold, 1963).

May 1, 2003

By P. A. Riveros

This paper describes the leaching of the common copper minerals tennantite (Cu12As4S13), tetrahedrite (Cu12Sb4S13) and enargite (Cu3AsS4) in acidic media using Fe(SO4)1.5, FeC13 or 02 as oxidizing agents. At temperatures <100°C, tennantite dissolves slowly in Fe(SO4)1.5-H2SO4 media, and the rate is directly proportional to the area of the sized tennantite. The rate increases sharply with increasing temperature and the apparent activation energy is 69 kJ/mol. Increasing Fe(SO4)1.5 concentrations slightly increase the tennantite leaching rate. The kinetics of dissolution of disks of synthetic iron-bearing tetrahedrite in Fe(SO4)1.5-H2SO4 media are linear; the leaching rates are slow but increase significantly with increasing temperature, with an apparent activation energy of 120 kJ/mol. The dissolution of sized particles of natural Ag-bearing tetrahedrite in FeC13- HC1 solutions proceeds according to the shrinking core model, and both Cu and Ag dissolve at about the same rate, provided that the total chloride concentration of the solution is sufficiently high to solubilize the AgC1 reaction product. The leaching rates are slow, and the apparent activation energy is 116 kJ/mol. The addition of sulphate ions to the FeC13-HC1 system reduces the tetrahedrite leaching rate to values similar to those realized in the Fe(SO4)1.5-H2SO4 system. At <100°C, enargite dissolves slowly in either Fe(SO4)1.5 or FeC13 media, and the dissolution rate obeys the shrinking core model. The rate increases with increasing temperature and the apparent activation energies are 50-64 kJ/mol. The rate increases slightly with increasing FeC13 concentrations in 0.3 M HC1 media. The leaching of enargite at elevated temperatures and pressures was also investigated. Potentially useful leaching rates are achieved above 170°C, at which temperature sulphate, rather than sulphur, is produced. Lower temperatures (130-160°C) lead to fast initial leaching rates, but the dissolution of the enargite is incomplete because of the coating of the enargite particles by elemental sulphur.

Jan 1, 2007

By J. Tuzo Wilson

Abstract A division of part of the Canadian Shield into provinces believed to represent former mountain belts is attempted, special emphasis- being laid upon radioactive age determinations, the relation of Archaean to Proterozoic rocks, and the structure of the Grenville province. Original data on the distribution of radioactivity within several batholiths and their connection with ore deposits are&apos; presented. The possible growth of continents and a theory which explains the shape and distribution of the world&apos;s younger mountain and island areas are discussed and applied to the Canadian Shield in an attempt to explain how the growth and present structure came about. The relation of the major mining camps of northeastern Ontario to fault zones is discussed in the light of this theory. Introduction The valuable symposium issued by this Institute to celebrate its jubilees emphasizes the important role of major faults in determining the location of many ore deposits in the Canadian Shield. Many of these faults are known to extend for long distances. It is therefore widely appreciated that it would be of great value if the pattern, ages, and causes of these faults were better understood. This would be particularly useful if the relations of the major fault systems to petrological and metallogenic provinces and to former mountain belts could be established. Each year the volume of available data, and hence the chance of reaching a fuller solution of this problem, increases. This article is a review of the present situation. It is accordingly based almost wholly upon the work and ideas of others, which are gratefully acknowledged. Naturally, responsibility for the selection and marshalling of the data is the writer&apos;s.

Jan 1, 1949

By C. R. Machado

Sossego Mine was the first Vale SAG mill operation to process copper-gold ore. It is located in the state of Para, in the south-eastern Amazon region of Brazil. In the first six years of continuous operation, Vale investigated different alternatives for improving circuit performance by investigating operating conditions, mainly focusing on the SAG mill. Today, after a steady increase over five years the annual production rate seems to have stabilized. It is hoped this work will show how the SAG operating practice have been perfected with time and as new data are collected. Historical data of mill grind-outs and crash stops helped create operation curves depending on the ball charge volume and total charge volume. Also noted were impacts on throughput due to the effect of reducing liner weight and the ore type characteristics.

Jan 1, 2012

"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 W. Holdsworth

The flotation mill of Dentonia Mines, Limited, at Greenwood, B.C., went into operation on April 20th, 1934, and by October 11th a total of 15,000 tons of ore had been treated. It is intended in this paper to describe briefly the operation and to give some of the operating data which have been gathered. The metallic minerals in the Dentonia ore are pyrite, chalcopyrite, galena, and, occasionally, native gold, and the gangue includes chloritic material, vein quartz, and calcite. Pyrite makes up about 90 per cent of the metallic content of the ore, in which it is disseminated as irregular grains and well-formed cubes. An average analysis of the ore is: gold, 0.27 oz. per ton; silver, 1.73 oz. per ton; copper, 0.12 per cent; lead, 0.31 per cent; and zinc, trace. From the mine ore-bin, situated near the portal of the tunnel at the mine, the ore is hauled by motor truck to the mill, a distance of three-quarters of a mile, and there dumped into the receiving bin, which has a capacity of fifty tons. The hauling is done during one eight-hour shift, commencing at 7 a.m. The maximum size of the ore fed to the mill-bin is ten inches. Lumps larger than this are broken by sledge hammer to pass through grizzly bars, spaced ten inches apart, installed above the bin. The ore is drawn from the bin by a 30-inch, 6-ply conveyor belt, 18 feet 6 inches long. In the near future, when the cross-cut tunnel is completed, the ore will be trammed to the receiving bin. This will effect a considerable saving in cost. At the same time, the bin will be set back several feet, so that the length of the conveyor belt may be doubled. This will make efficient ore-sorting possible, and so ensure a minimum of waste rock in the mill feed.

Jan 1, 1935

By J. O. Wheeler

"DEFINITION OF THE REGION, ITS BOUNDARIES, AND PHYSICAL AND GE'OLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICSTHIS PAPER concerns the Western Cordilleran region, embracing most of British Columbia, the southern half of Yukon Territory and the southwesternmost part of the District of MacKenzie. It excludes Vancouver Island and the Queen Charlotte Islands, which are discussed in a background paper on the Pacific Continental Shelf. The region is bounded on the south by the northwestern United States, on the west by the continental shelf and Alaska, on the north by the front of the Ogilvie Mountains, on the northeast by the axis of the MacKenzie Mountains and on the east by the Rocky Mountain Trench.The region is dominated by two mountain chains that con tain icefields and glaciers: the St. Elias, Coast and Cascade Mountains in the west; the Selwyn, Pelly, Cassiar, Omineca and Columbia Mountains in the east. The Intermontane region between these mountain chains consists of lower mountains and plateaus. In the mountains, the region above the timberline and many of the steep valley-walls provide good exposures of rock, but these areas are subject to rockslides and landslides and in winter to snow avalanches. Much of the Western Cordillera was covered by ice-sheets at various times during the Pleistocene epoch. Consequently, the larger valleys in the mountains and much of the Intermontane region contain much glacial drift and alluvium and only limited exposures of rock. This same terrain in the Southern Cordillera, however, is the most favourable for agriculture. Parts of the region, particularly in the two mountain chains, are heavily forested. Elsewhere, the forest cover is less, with grassland prevailing in the south and tundra in the north."

Jan 1, 1970

By P. J. Lunder, R. C. Pakalnis

This paper presents the results of research that has been undertaken in order to develop an improved method of determining the strength of hard-rock mine pillars. Pillars are found in various shapes and sizes in all underground mining operations. Prudent engineering design requires that if pillars are to perform as desired, both the pillar strength and the pillar stress must be determined. A detailed pillar stability study has been combined with an extensive database of published pillar case histories (178)resulting in a new “hybrid” pillar strength formula, “The Confinement Formula”, that utilizes classic strength of rock methods combined with empirical methods. “The Confinement Formula” utilizes a “mine pillar friction term” calculated from the average minor/major stress ratio with-in the pillar core. Statistically, the new formula provides better results at predicting pillar strength for the combined database than the best empirically ft pillar methods that currently exist. “The Confinement Formula” allows for the determination of the strength of mine pillars with an increased level of confidence over previously applied methods.

Jan 1, 1997

By G. M. Card, K. D. Card, B. V. Sanford

The Canadian Shield and its extensions are traversed by an orthogonal system of north-west and northeast trending arch-style uplifts. These basement arches were formed by repeated vertical movements along pre-existing structures during compressional and extensional tectonism connected with events in surrounding Proterozoic and Phanerozoic orogens and ocean basins. The arches in?uenced patterns of sedimentation and tectonism in the intervening epicratonic basins andmarginal platforms throughout the Proterozoic and Phanerozoic. Movements on the arch structuresalso triggered minor magmatism and controlled the location and timing of alkalic rock-carbonatite, kimberlite, and related intrusions in the Canadian Shield, the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin, and West Greenland.

Jan 1, 1997

By Mark W. Booth

THE Dominion Steel and Coal Corporation, as a coal mining concern and as a steel industry, has much pumping to do, and the conditions are as varied as it is possible to make them. We are faced with handling large quantities of water at low heads, and small quantities of water at high heads. We have fresh water, we have salt water, and we have highly acidulous water (see Table II). Our pumping problems are concerned chiefly with mechanical reliability, continuous, reliable operation, first cost, and operating cost. The Corporation is actually expending more than 15 per cent of its power consumption at the mines in pumping water, and at the steel plant about 17 per cent; that is to say, 16 per cent of the Corporation&apos;s entire power consumption goes into pumping water ( see Table I). We are pumping out of the mines 2 ½ tons of water for every tan of coal that is produced. At the Steel Plant, we are pumping 188 tans of water for every ton of steel we produce. (See Tables III and IV). The mine is pumping at high heads, up to as high as 1,400 feet in one lift ; in the Steel Plant it is, fortunately, at lower heads, 250 feet or 110 lb. being the general maximum. It behooves us, therefore, to look into the question of efficiency. In whatever direction we can gain something, it will be worth while. The centrifugal pump is not an adaptable machine. That is, a pump designed for some particular location and purpose will not always work efficiently if installed in some other place and used for some other purpose. It must generally be designed for the particular job it has to do. Reciprocating pumps are not so sensitive. We have Cameron plunger pumps that can be set up almost anywhere in a mine and they will work, but for big jobs they are apt to be clumsy and the driving power becomes a factor- which is, in fact, the controlling factor in deciding the type of pump we use. One disadvantage of the a.c. induction motor, however, is that its speed cannot easily be controlled. At its rated speed and output, it is a highly efficient machine, but, with any change in these, its efficiency goes all to pieces.

Jan 1, 1944

By G. M. Card, K. D. Card, B. V. Sanford

Abstract-The Canadian Shield and its extensions are traversed by an orthogonal system of northwest and northeast trending arch-style uplifts. These basement arches were formed by repeated vertical movements along pre-existing structures during compressional and extensional tectonism connected with events in surrounding Proterozoic and Phanerozoic orogens and ocean basins. The arches influenced patterns of sedimentation and tectonism in the intervening epicratonic basins and marginal platforms throughout the Proterozoic and Phanerozoic. Movements on the arch structures also triggered minor magmatism and controlled the location and timing of alkalic rock-carbonatite, kimberlite, and related intrusions in the Canadian Shield, the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin, and West Greenland.

Jan 1, 1997

By James H. C. Martens

Among the many interesting problems of the pre-Cambrian of the Canadian Shield is that of the origin of certain types of gneisses which are intimately associated with the granites on the one hand and with the metamorphic rocks of known sedimentary origin on the other. The observations recorded in this paper on the structure and composition of these ancient rocks found in a small part of northern Quebec may help to lead to a clearer understanding of the way in which they were formed and also constitute a contribution to the regional geology and petrography of a district for which little detailed information is available. The area considered is located near the Ashuapmuchuan, or Chamuchuan, river about 180 miles north-northwest of the city of Quebec, and therefore well within the Canadian Shield. Although most attention was devoted to the rocks along this river from the 57th to the 70th mile above its entrance into Lake St. John, a few observations on other localities to the north and northwest of that lake will be included. The field work was done in the summer of 1924 in cooperation with L. W. MacNaughton, E. S. Roberts, and B. M. Shaub, all of Cornell University. The party ascended the Ashuapmuchuan river by canoe and spent about a month near the mouth of Stacker, or Brochet, river, the outlet of the lake of the same name, returning by way of Mikoasas river. The writer wishes to express his obligation to his associates for their co-operation in the field and for their permission to publish the results. He is especially indebted to B. M. Shaub for the photographs of rock outcrops. Professor A. C. Gill g:ive many suggestions which were helpful in the laboratory study of specimens and in the preparation of this paper.

Jan 1, 1927

By U. Caliskan, S. Miskovic

Gravity separation is a technique that depends on the difference in density of minerals for their separation. Although this method is one of the oldest separation techniques, it is still preferred in the industry because of its low capital and operating cost while it is environmental-friendly. In this paper, we present a new numerical methodology that can be used to investigate dynamics of dense slurry flows in gravity separation systems. A simple channel with a set of riffles is selected as a test platform in order to observe the effect of the riffle shape on segregation profile of particles with different densities. It is believed that the riffle shape would affect the slurry flow and possibly cause one class of particles to segregate within the riffle zone. The turbulence, as a disturbance effect within the riffle zone, causes heavy particles to displace the light, that is, the heavy particles will be trapped in riffles, while the lighter particles are carried by water to the end of the channel, which is an example to uninterrupted suspension. MP-PIC model in OpenFOAM is used to study the effect of riffle shape and slurry percentage of solids in this simple gravity separator on particle segregation profile of four discrete mineral density classes, which are Quartz/Clay (SG 2.6), Pyrite (SG 4.2), Chalcopyrite (SG 5.1), and Gold (SG 19.32). Gold particles are found to be readily captured and retained in the riffles because of their high density, while particles with the intermediate densities are more influenced by the flow. The developed model framework has been proven robust and capable of providing physical results even for the flows with a very high percentage of solids, characteristic for mineral processing operations. INTRODUCTION Gravity-based ore concentration techniques make use of differences in density of minerals within an ore to enable separation of valuables from the gangue. As some of the oldest techniques used for ore beneficiation, they are known to offer a range of benefits such as low specific energy consumption and low capital and operating costs (Burt, 1999; Falconer, 2003; Holland-Batt, 1998), however, they suffer from low selectivity, poor separation efficiency, and low capacity. Gravity separation techniques are common practices in the mining industry and are employed widely for the precious mineral concentration, iron ore recovery and coal preparation (Kroll-Rabotin, Bourgeois, & Climent, 2013; Laplante & Spiller, 2002; Williams, 1997). For example, gravity separation systems are highly applicable for precious metal enrichment operations by being included in primary grinding circuits, shaking table tailing separation, pre-concentration of leach feed and flotation concentrate enrichment for both flash and conventional flotation purposes (Burt, 1999; Falconer, 2003; Holland-Batt, 1998; Laplante & Spiller, 2002; McAlister, 1992). Gravity separation can be employed in the copper processing circuits by being integrated into the pre-flotation circuit to capture the gravity recoverable gold (GRG) and any free copper aiming to enhance the gold and copper recovery of the plant. When native copper and GRGs are present in the deposit, this integration not only facilitates plant overall performance via removal of the valuables early in the circuit, but it also reduces downstream operational expenditures due to less retention time of coarser copper particles in the system.

Jan 1, 2019

By B. Hohenstein, B. McBain, B. de Jong

"The automated fire assay system (Fast In-line Fire Assay or FIFA) has not found acceptance in the Au mining industry as the lower measurable limit of 0.20 ppm did not allow Au tailings to be measured with confidence. The development of arrested cupellation has overcome this hurdle which was a limiting factor in the FIFA 1 process. In the new automated fire assay process, automated sample preparation, fluxing, fusion and separation of a Pb button are essentially similar to the FIFA 1 process, albeit with some improvements. However, the game-changer is the development and incorporation of arrested cupellation into the automated system, now called FIFA 2. The purpose of arrested cupellation is to reduce the 50 g Pb button to a 5 g Pb button by partial cupellation in a specially developed arrested cupellation system thereby concentrating the Au in the Pb by a factor of 10 and in so doing moving them into higher concentration ranges in the mini-button where they can be read on the spark spectrometer. Results show that concentrations down to 0.02 ppm Au in geological materials can now be determined using arrested cupellation in the FIFA 2 process, an order of magnitude improvement over FIFA 1.INTRODUCTION Traditional fire assay for Au has remained virtually unchanged for 3000 years. It has survived for so long because it is accurate, has relatively low detection limits and is relatively inexpensive. However, it is labour intensive, has a long turn-around time (typically at least 7 hours), is environmentally unfriendly and exposes assay operators to potentially unsafe conditions (toxic fumes, toxic dust and extreme heat from furnaces). The NiS collection method is not as effective for the assay of Au as it is for the PGEs. A rapid, accurate, cost-effective method for the determination of Au and the Platinum Group Elements (PGEs) in geological materials would be a tremendous benefit to mining companies. Many of these objectives have been met by the FIFA 1 (Fast In-line Fire Assay) developed some 15 years ago in which automated methods have replaced the manual procedures which are part and parcel of conventional fire assay. However, concentrations below 0.2 ppm have been very difficult to achieve with sufficient reliability."

Jan 1, 2017

By D. Pacey

"This paper reviews the installation, start-up, and operation of a comprehensive monitoring and targeting management technique in which all plant utilities (i.e., electricity, natural gas, compressed air, and water) are managed as controllable resources in the same way that raw materials, mined ore, personnel and capital are managed.The essential elements of monitoring and targeting (M&T) include:•gathering in a systematic, disciplined way the utility information by energy account centres;•closely monitoring the utilities used in each centre and comparing them with production on a common time base (e.g., kWh/ton per day);•bench marking and target setting to pro-vide attainable energy reduction goals which can be further refined as they are achieved; and•establishing an implementation plant that may provide efficiency enhancing benefits to various operating areas within the plant.The M&T system will reduce utility consumption per unit of production on a continuing basis.This would translate into sustained operating cost and waste. M&T will also provide better information for assessing the plant operation and progressively implementing further enhancements."

Jan 1, 1997

By Frank Ebbutt

Introduction The property of the Britannia Mining and Smelting Company, Limited, is situated on the east side of Howe sound, about six miles from its head. It is roughly thirty miles by water from Vancouver, one of the important ports of the Pacific and the industrial and financial centre of British Columbia. Howe sound is navigable for ocean-going vessels and Britannia Beach is a daily port of call for the commodious boats of the Union Steam-ship Company, sailing from Vancouver. Few mines are so ideally situated or have so many or varied natural advantages. Copper was first found on Britannia mountain in 1888, by Forbes, but it was not until 1898 that five claims were staked here by Oliver Furry, a trapper. It is from these claims that the major production during the past thirty years has come. In 1900 the Britannia Copper Syndicate was formed and development of the property was commenced. In 1903 the late Grant B. Schley obtained control, and through his efforts the Britannia Mining and Smelting Company was organized in 1908 as a subsidiary of the Howe Sound Company. Since that time, a persistent and progressive policy has been followed, which has resulted in a prolonged and profitable operation. The country in the immediate vicinity of the mine is marked by strong relief, with mountains rising abruptly from tide-water to elevations of 5,000 feet and more. Two broad transverse valleys deeply dissect the area. These are the valleys of Britannia creek and Furry creek. The region has under-gone prolonged and relatively recent glaciation. Over much of the surface there is deep overburden and dense vegetation. The geology of the mine and vicinity has been described in reports by S. J. Schofield (1), H. T. James (2), J. G. Barry, and others (3). The present writer is in accord with much of this literature on Britannia, but during recent years, extended observations made underground have shown that the &apos;quartz porphyry&apos;, or &apos;mine porphyry&apos;, of several of the earlier writers is not the host rock to the commercial mineralization; and he contends that the mineralization occurs in highly altered phases of a complex series of ruffs, flows, and pyroclastics and their autoclastic metamorphosed products.

Jan 1, 1935

By J. O. Wheeler

"DEFINITION OF THE REGION, ITS BOUNDARIES, AND PHYSICAL AND GE'OLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICSTHIS PAPER concerns the Western Cordilleran region, embracing most of British Columbia, the southern half of Yukon Territory and the southwestern most part of the District of MacKenzie. It excludes Vancouver Island and the Queen Charlotte Islands, which are discussed in a background paper on the Pacific Continental Shelf. The region is bounded on the south by the northwestern United States, on the west by the continental shelf and Alaska, on the north by the front of the Ogilvie Mountains, on the northeast by the axis of the MacKenzie Mountains and on the east by the Rocky Mountain Trench.The region is dominated by two mountain chains that con tain icefields and glaciers: the St. Elias, Coast and Cascade Mountains in the west; the Selwyn, Pelly, Cassiar, Omineca and Columbia Mountains in the east. The Intermontane region between these mountain chains consists of lower mountains and plateaus. In the mountains, the region above the timberline and many of the steep valley-walls provide good exposures of rock, but these areas are subject to rockslides and landslides and in winter to snow avalanches. Much of the Western Cordillera was covered by ice-sheets at various times during the Pleistocene epoch. Consequently, the larger valleys in the mountains and much of the Intermontane region contain much glacial drift and alluvium and only limited exposures of rock. This same terrain in the Southern Cordillera, however, is the most favourable for agriculture. Parts of the region, particularly in the two mountain chains, are heavily forested. Elsewhere, the forest cover is less, with grassland prevailing in the south and tundra in the north."

Jan 1, 1969