Search Documents

By Robert E. Loftus

"The author discusses the growth in the use of ocean-going bulk carriers for the transportation of mineral commodities, and predicts future trends. The various types of tonnage carriers are described, along with the special discharging gear used, the costs involved and the duties of some of the personnel.THE FIRST CONSIDERATION in planning the ocean transportation of minerals is the type of vessel to be utilized. The modern 'Bulk Carrier' bas proved to be the most successful vehicle for the purpose. I would there-fore like to describe this fleet in some detail and at-tempt to show the impact that the bulk carrier bas bad on the movement of bulk materials."

Jan 1, 1968

By V. I. Lakshmanan

Recycling helps to save energy and is good for the environment. It is also important for preserving the limited natural resources. In addition, recycling creates economic benefits and frees up space at the landfill sites. Process Research Ortech Inc. (PRO) has conducted extensive testwork in the area of waste processing and recycling. A process was developed for the recovery of Zinc from galvanized steel by alkaline leaching followed by solvent extraction and electrowinning. Extensive testwork has been conducted at PRO to obtain a useful by-product from rice husk. Rice husk was combusted in a gas/solid reactor to obtain an environmentally acceptable amorphous silica ash suitable for use in high strength concrete. In another development, vanadium was recovered from fly ash by separating carbon first, followed by alkaline pressure leaching, solvent extraction and precipitation. PRO has also developed an environment friendly process for treatment of industrial wastewater for its reuse to obtain zero or minimal effluent discharge. In this paper, four case studies related to recycling of zinc scrap, controlled combustion of rice husk, processing of fly ash, and reuse of waste water will be discussed.

Jan 1, 2011

By A. Ojaghi, A. R. Mohammadi

"The Marvast monazite deposit is located 35 kilometres south - southwest of Marvast in Yazd province of Iran. A representative sample weighing approximately 10 tons was prepared to study the amenability of the ore to physical beneficiation. The size fraction of +1000 µm was removed due to low monazite content and the –1000 µm size fraction was concentrated by the gravity-classification-magnetic methods. According to the results of sample characterization, the representative sample contains 220 ppm REO that is contained in monazite. It was concentrated to 41.5% REO by the above mentioned methods. The recovery of REO in the monazite concentrate was 41.5%.INTRODUCTIONRare earth elements are critical metals in many countries (Gupta, 2005; UK Geological Survey, 2011). Increasing application of these metals in hi-tech industries and price fluctuation caused by Chinese production policy has led other countries to focus on their local resources (UK Geological Survey, 2011). In this case, Iran is not an exception.REE mineralization in Iran is mainly located in the central zone. Regarding the exploration data, these deposits are divided into two categories. The first group is iron ore deposits in which the REE are carried by phosphate minerals. The other group is placer deposits where monazite is the major mineral of the deposit. The Marvast placer deposit is one of these types of deposit (Daliran, 1990; Mokhtari, 2008; Torab, &Lehmann, 2007; Alipour, 2014)."

Jan 1, 2016

By Robert F. Shurtz

This paper discusses and compares methods of statistical analysis of the information relating to the evaluation of an asbestos deposit. From a study of 10-ft. lengths of drill core, the separate effects of visual evaluation errors were determined, as well as the deviations between evaluators and the deviations produced by a slight displacement in the center lines of the check drill holes. The importance of careful statistical analysis of such information is stressed.

Jan 1, 1966

By H. L. Ramandi, P. Moore

"The corrosion of support bolts in underground mines has become an increasingly prevalent issue over the past two decades. With an increase of premature failures due to Stress Corrosion Cracking (SCC), it is evident that understanding the environmental factor influencing the cable bolt corrosion is critical for maintaining effective ground support hence the safety and productivity of underground spaces. Experimental testing of rock and cable bolts were accomplished in a variety of packings, including saturated clay, saturated coal, mine water and grout/cement to investigate their corrosion behaviours. Water samples were obtained and analysed for pH and electrical conductivity (EC) during the experiment. After a period of 76 days the bolts were retrieved and analysed visually. Primary factors were found to be the presence of geological materials and the aeration of the bolts, i.e. the vicinity to air and air flow, while secondary factors were observed to be pH levels and EC. It was also found that the coal/clay interfaces and the water/grout/cement interfaces are non-relevant to corrosion of rockbolts and cable bolts. The proposed framework can be applied to other reinforcement materials used in underground spaces for improved understanding of corrosion environment.INTRODUCTION Rock bolts and cable bolts are the major reinforcement elements used in mining industry to improve the rockmass properties for safe and productive mining. They are normally used to pin large beams or blocks of rock in underground mines to stabilise the rockmass in the roof (strata) against collapse. The rockbolts are typically low cost hot rolled rebar while cable bolts are composed of strands of wire, normally wound together around a central king wire (Hyett and Bawden, 1993; Vandermaat, 2014). The typical length of the bolts in underground mines is 2.4 m and 4–12 m for rockbolts and cable bolts, respectively (Vandermaat, 2014; Windsor and Thompson, 1997). Cable bolts are much more flexible and usually offer a much higher load capacity than rigid rockbolts. Their increased length and flexibility allows cable bolts longer than the height of a roadway to be used in underground mines."

Jan 1, 2017

By C. Hudson, D. Tremblay, A. Frey

"A discussion of the design, challenges and successes associated with the commissioning of the gravity recovery circuit at Canada’s newest open pit gold mine - Atlantic Gold’s Moose River Consolidated Project in Nova Scotia, Canada is presented. An overview of the project, its historical significance and overall flowsheet is provided with special focus given to the design and selection of the gravity circuit equipment including the scalping screen, gravity concentrators and the novel intensive leaching technology selected for the project. The performance of the gravity circuit is benchmarked against the feasibility study process design specifications and the outcomes are discussed. Challenges encountered during commissioning are also presented, including the use of third-party automation and the effects of screen sizing on overall gravity circuit performance. Mechanical modifications made to the Sepro Leach Reactor for the Moose River project are also discussed. A detailed technical review of the mechanical and operational aspects of the Sepro Leach Reactor is provided with key operational data on leach times, recoveries, reagent usage, solid-liquid separation, pregnant solution quality and its influence on bullion purity.INTRODUCTION Atlantic Gold Corporation’s Moose River Touquoy Mill in Nova Scotia, Canada was commissioned in the fourth quarter of 2017 with commercial production declared in March of 2018. The 2 Mtpa process plant uses a conventional, gravity-CIL process. This site was previously mined in the 1870s. Interest waned in the early 1900s but resumed in the 1930s and the mine was brought back into production in 1935 until an underground mine collapse in 1936. This mining district became famous after CRBC radio commenced a ground breaking, around the clock, broadcast of the rescue operations. Over 100 million people listened to the broadcast from Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. These broadcasts changed radio, transforming it from a medium for music to on the spot, breaking news reporting. The mill was constructed by Ausenco on a fixed price EPC contract in the historic Moose River gold mining district, 95 km north-east of Halifax by road. The mill will process ore from the adjacent Touquoy pit for the first 5+ years of operation; after the Touquoy reserves are exhausted, the mill will process ore trucked 37 km from the Beaver Dam deposit for an additional 5 years."

Jan 1, 2019

By William B. Coker, Vladimir J. Sopuck, J. S. Fox

"Preliminary investigations indicate that organic lake sediments offer some potential for gold exploration within the Canadian Shield of northwestern Saskatchewan. It is also apparent that certain precautions must be taken.Gold is primarily related to the organic fraction of the lake sediments, which, although giving consistant Au contents to those sediments, may restrict the dispersion of Au within the lake itself. It may be necessary to carry out selective extractions on the lake sediments to differentiate between Au related to organic sequestration, indicative of hydromorphic and/ or chemical dispersion, and Au related to inorganics, indicative of mechanical dispersion.Lake sediments are probably only of use for very detailed exploration (i.e. every lake). One to three samples per lake should be appropriate, although a single centre-lake organic-rich sediment sample may be adequate in very small lakes. Each lake sediment sample should be analyzed at least twice and the analytical data carefully monitored and evaluated.The use of As in lake sediments as a pathfinder element for gold is applicable in the search for certain types of gold occurrences.Following detailed lake sediment sampling, basal till sampling can possibly be used to localize areas of potential gold with or without base metal mineralization."

Jan 1, 1982

By H. R. Butler, R. N. Browne

"The International Nickel Company of Canada Limited consumes some 33 ½ millions of gallons of fresh water and reuses more than 100 millions of gallons of water daily. The continuing search for suitable recycle methodology has enabled the Company to put one 25,000 TPD mill on line utilizing recycled water entirely and a second 35,000 TPD mill is under construction which will likewise employ the concept of recycled water. Future milling plans are aimed at the replacement of all fresh water with recycled water, including sewage effluent and mine waste water.WATER REUSE AT INCO’s SUDBURY MILLSAs man searches unexplored horizons for new and economic industry, he must be constantly and acutely aware of the presence or absence of that precious commodity without which Industry, indeed Man himself, could not survive -- W A T E R. The water requirements of the world today are magnanimous, considering that in 1960 the estimated consumption in the United States was over 300 billion GPD (l) or more than 1,700 GPD per person(5) The magnitude of the problem can be visualized as one considers that three times this quantity of water will be required in the United States by the year 2000, when the dependable supplies of water are estimated to be only two-thirds of that required(2). How, then can we continue to wreak such havoc on that life-sustaining substance - WATER?"

Jan 1, 1970

By S. Espley, G. Tan

"Inco's Little Stobie Mine is a low-grade nickel operation producing approximately 4()()() tons per day. Backfill has never been an economical option at the mine; therefore, the only viable type of mining in the upper zones has been by sub-level cave. This mining method allows for the draw-down of a rock cover into the empty stopes to provide stability to the over-all rock mass. In the lower areas of the mine, bulk blasthole mining methods have taken place, without rock fill, resulting in extremely large open stopes. As the mine reaches its final stage of recovery, it is inevitable that the hangingwall of the large voids will undergo tensile failure via spoiling.This paper deals with the collaborating efforts of Inco's Rock Mechanics group and the Little Stobie mining operations toward the successful recovery of the ore zone remnants such that the inevitable failure, and time of failure, of the rock mass is ""controlled"". Within the mining scheme, several key requirements had to be met to satisfy the operations: (1) production rates; (2) good blast fragmentation; and (3) secure pulling-horizons. A full-scale rock mechanics study was carried out involving: numerical modelling studies; pulling ellipse analyses; blast design, monitoring and analyses; laser profiling; and time domain rej7ectometry (TDR) instrumentation. The final recovery scheme, employing a controlled failure, involves recommendations on: (1) blasting techniques; (2) support systems; (3) mining sequences and scenarios; and (4) monitoring systems."

Jan 1, 1994

By J. R. Jutras, C. Brissette, J. Champagne

"Pure cadmium sulphide was leached by the action of the bacterium Thiobacillus thiooxidans in the presence of finely divided sulphur. The influence of time, temperature, pH and concentration of inoculum on the extent of the cadmium extraction was studied. Under optimum conditions, up to 72 per cent of the cadmium could be dissolved over a six-week period. A cursory study of the role played by elemental sulphur seems to indicate that its presence is essential but that the sul1>huric acid produced through its oxidation is a minor factor in the cadmium extraction."

Jan 1, 1971

By R. D. Brown

On November 16, 1978, Finance Minister Chretien delivered his second formal budget in the House of Commons. Over-all, the provisions of the budget should provide moderate stimulus to the Canadian economy. With respect to the mining industry, the budget offers some welcome changes in the form of' improved write-offs for development expenses and social assets; higher investment tax credits; and a reduction in federal sales tax. On the other hand, income bond financing of new mineral ventures may be restricted.

Jan 1, 1979

By R. A. Brown

RIGHT NOW the Canadian oil business is suffering from growing pains brought on by developments outside our borders. I would like, therefore, to place our industry in perspective for you in two ways. I would like first to describe it briefly and let you see it in relation to the world oil industry. Then I would like to bring it back and place it into perspective against a strictly Canadian background. Naturally, in such a discussion, it is necessary to use a certain amount of statistical material. I'll endeavour, however, to keep it to a minimum. Eleven years ago, before the discovery of Leduc, Alberta could boast of having 21,000,000 barrels of crude oil reserves. Five years ago we had 1,810,000,000 barrels. At year end, 1957, our remaining recoverable reserves totalled more than 3,000,000,000 barrels. In 1957, our potential production in Alberta reached an all-time high of 756,000 barrels a day. Unfortunately, our actual average daily production dropped from 393,000 barrels per day in 1956 to 376,000 barrels per day in 1957. And in 1958, to date, it has dropped sharply to around 300,000 barrels per day.

Jan 1, 1958

"THE Canadian Advisory Committee on Coal Research, which is commonly known as CACCR, has been in existence for the past five years and has held annual meetings during that period. This Committee is comprised of representatives from: the Mines Branch, Fuels and Mining Practice Division, Ottawa; the Geological Survey of Canada; the Dominion Coal Board; and the Provincial Research Councils and Foundations. It embraces all coal research in Canada that is sponsored, for the most part, by Government funds.To bring the country's coal research activities to the notice of the Canadian coal industry, the Coal Research Committee of the Coal Division, C.I.M., passed a resolution at the 1964 business meeting in favour of recommending the publication of an annual research report prepared by the CACCR. The first such report was published in the September, 1964, issue of the C.I.M. Bulletin; the second appeared in the November, 1965, issue of the same publication."

Jan 1, 1966

By Himanshu Dehra

The pre-fabricated outdoor rooms are often utilised near the mines and construction sites for office purposes. The paper has presented modelling and simulation results of the integration of commercially available glass coated photovoltaic (PV) energy technology and solar ventilation technology into a pre-fabricated outdoor room. The pre-fabricated outdoor room has been setup at Concordia University, Montréal for full scale testing of the glass coated PV modules with solar air ventilation. The computer simulation model has been developed for PV modules installed on a double wall wooden frame in an outdoor room based on its preliminary field testing. The testing apparatus was a wooden frame assembly of double wall with solar air ventilation: two adjacent glass coated PV modules, air column and plywood board filled with polystyrene. The measurement data collected from various sensors were: solar intensity, ambient air temperature, room air temperature, electric power, surface temperatures of PV modules and plywood board, air velocities and air temperatures in the air column. The enhancement in the air velocity of the air column was achieved with an exhaust fan fixed in an outdoor room. The simulation model is used to perform the two dimensional energy analyses with applied one dimensional solution of steady state heat conduction equations. The simulation model is based on conjugate heat exchange paths with network boundary conditions of convection, radiation heat exchange and solar air ventilation heat transport. The model parameters are based on measured values of ambient air temperature, room air temperature, air velocity at outlet of air column in double wall, electric power and available solar intensity. The model has predicted fairly well energy performance of glass coated PV modules with solar air ventilation installed on a wooden frame. The model is also useful for predicting heating, ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC) requirements for the pre-fabricated outdoor rooms.

May 1, 2007

By Arthur Barnes, Mika Muinonen, M. J. Lavigne

"The carbothermic reduction of chromite ore to produce high carbon ferrochromium is among the most energy intensive metal extraction processes performed, due not only to the highly endothermic nature of the reduction reactions but also the very high operating temperatures required for the smelting operation to separate the chrome-containing alloy from the discard slag.KWG Resources and XPS have collaborated over the last 3 years in developing a patented (Winter) processing alternative to the traditional smelting operation in which all processing takes place in the solid state at temperatures many hundreds of degrees lower than those required for liquid processing. Amongst the attractions of the process are much lower capital costs, as well as reduced operating costs, particularly of energy.A techno-economic study on the new process identifies a reduction in overall energy consumption of 70% against conventional processing and approximately 40% lower than the current best practice. By utilising more natural gas than coal based energy sources, the KWG process is able to show an overall 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared with the most energy efficient current practice. The impact of the new process on future processing is therefore regarded as highly significant, with global energy reductions equivalent to the effect of completely eliminating energy demand from a country the size of Italy.The study concluded that the potential for this process to completely revolutionise the global ferrochrome industry should not be underestimated. Its impact reaches far beyond exploitation of a regional natural resource."

Jan 1, 2015

By R. Agius, A. Nacu

"Cyanide destruction technologies are implemented at gold and silver operations to comply with the International Cyanide Management Code and meet ever more stringent discharge limits. Currently, the most common chemical cyanide destruction processes used in industry are sulfur dioxide/oxygen, hydrogen peroxide, and Caro’s acid. The cyanide destruction process used at an operation must reliably generate streams of acceptable quality at all times, and depends on numerous factors, including permit discharge requirements, tailings chemistry, location, site-specific climatic conditions and size of the operation. Selecting the most appropriate cyanide destruction process and determining the process design criteria requires accurate laboratory testing. This paper presents and discusses the results of a number of cyanide destruction evaluations that have been conducted to reduce cyanide concentration in process solutions or cyanidation tails. Laboratory testing provides important insights into reagent consumption and other factors required to achieve the target residual weak acid dissociable cyanide (CNWAD) levels.INTRODUCTION Process solutions associated with the extraction of gold and silver contain several forms of cyanide. The most toxic form of cyanide is free cyanide, which can be present as a dissociated cyanide anion (CN-) or gaseous or aqueous HCN. Weak or moderately stable cyanide complexes such as those of zinc, copper and nickel are classified as weak acid dissociable (CNWAD). Although less toxic than free cyanide, weak acid dissociable cyanide complexes are considered “ecologically sensitive” forms of cyanide and are regulated in most jurisdictions. In practice, reported WAD cyanide values comprises both free cyanide and weak acid dissociable cyanide complexes. Cyanide complexes with gold, mercury, cobalt and iron are referred to as strong acid dissociable complexes (CNSAD) and are much more stable, even under mildly acidic conditions. Another term commonly used in cyanide chemistry is total cyanide, which represents all cyanide compounds present in solution. Total cyanide levels in solutions are always equal to or higher than WAD cyanide values and the difference between the two usually indicates the presence of iron-cyanide compounds. Typically in Canada, CNTOTAL levels cannot exceed 1 mg/L in solutions discharged to the environment."

Jan 1, 2017

By M. Reda

Inorganic oxidizing agents of the type MeOx-z such as Chromate, Vanadate, Tungstate, and Molybdate... etc. are widely used as corrosion inhibitor. In non acidic solution these oxidizing agent are reduced on the surface of the meta, according to OX + m e + p H20 Red + n OH" In which y = (n-m)/m. The purpose of this publication is to show that for many metals the value of y for any oxidizing agent determines the possibility of that oxidizing agent being an inhibitor or activator for the corrosion process. The inhibition efficiency for other ions such as Pertecnetate and Tellurate which have not been extensively studied can be predicted. A mathematical, equation was derived to express the relationship among the concentration of oxidizing agent, degree of retardation of the corrosion process I cord cor ° (ratio of corrosion current in the solution containing inhibitor to the base solution) , ionic strength of the solution and the coefficient y. The validity of y and the mathematical, equation were verified by many experimental, works on various metals such as zinc, aluminum and steel. Al, the above research works are based on the published research works of Prof. Mikhailoviskii (from 1979 til, 1998) from the Russian Academy of Science.

Jan 1, 2010

"Yara Siilinjärvi in Finland is the Western Europe's only apatite mine. Annually it produces one million tons of apatite concentrate, which creates 10 million tons of tailings. At the beginning of 2017, Yara replaced their conventional TSF with a new tailings treatment plant, which increased the solids content of the slurry from 45–48% to 66–68%, making it possible to deposit as a paste. This extended the life-span of the current TSF from 2020 to 2035. This paper presents the storyline of the Yara paste plant project. The project began with laboratory testing and then progressed to pilot-scale thickening and beaching trials. After successful pilot trials, the final process design was implemented. Process automation played a key role in the project. An advanced control system is needed to maintain process stability and the desired operation point in various operational circumstances. Since commissioning the paste plant has been running consistently with an underflow solids content of 66-68%, with average beach slope angles of 3.5 degrees in the tailings disposal area. Robust thickener operation also leads to the trouble-free high-density pumping and high availability of the plan. During first year of operation the plant’s availability has been very good, over 97%, and currently, the plant is operated remotely from the main concentrator plant.INTRODUCTION The Yara Siilinjärvi Plant is owned by Yara International, a Norwegian fertiliser company. Yara Siilinjärvi is Western Europe's only apatite mine, and it primarily produces apatite concentrate for its Siilinjärvi phosphoric acid plant. A portion of the concentrate is also dried and shipped to other Yara fertiliser plants. The site annually produces one million tons of apatite concentrate, which creates approximately 10 million tons of tailings. Extending the lifespan of the 1150-hectare tailings storage facility has been studied in Siilinjärvi for a long time. The aim has been to use the same tailings area footprint, without any new land purchases or major dam increases. An important part of the process has been to study the possibilities for using new technologies, especially thickened tailings technology (Ruhanen, 2014)."

Jan 1, 2019

By Pierre Buteau

Peat/ands distribution in Canada is widely spread thoughout the country and corresponds to a wide spectrum of wetland habitats which overlay peat deposits. The development and the evolution ofpeat/ands and peat deposits are closely linked together, since the vegetal remains of the peat deposits originate from the peatland habitats, and the peatland habitats constitute a response to many factors, including the properties of the substrate, which are the peat deposits. Peat/ands are defined as waterlogged terrains where the production of plant materials usually exceeds the rate of decomposition. The underlying peat deposits consists of organic residues associated to peatland vegetation, more or less decomposed, built up and kept under anaerobic conditions. Peat/ands evolution and distribution are determined primarily by climatic factors, but also by the geomorphology and edaphic conditions. All of these create particular hydrodynamical environments which will vary according to different regional settings, and sequentially to an evolutive time frame.

Jan 1, 2001

By Sunil S. Gandhi

Magmatic-hydrothermal deposits rich in magnetite and/or hematite form a broad group that includes monometallic Fe deposits and polymetallic (mainly Cu and Au) deposits. They show a considerable variation in deposit characteristics, but share the genetic processes of magmatic differentiation and related hydrothermal activity in intermediate to felsic melts, and in some cases involve brines and/or meteoric waters during mineralization. They include several world-class deposits. They range in age from Proterozoic to Recent, and form important metallogenic districts in Scandinavian, Canadian, Brazilian and Australian Shields, Circum-Pacific regions, and in China, Iran and Turkey. Monometallic deposits have been important sources of iron in the past and still contain significant resources of the metal, e.g., the Kiirunavaara deposit in Sweden. The giant Olympic Dam Cu-Au-Ag-U-REE deposit was discovered in 1975, and since then explorationists have focussed on search for analogues worldwide. This has brought to light a number of economically important new deposits and prospects, including examples in Canada. The discoveries have in turn prompted considerable research on individual deposits and the group as a whole. This short paper is an attempt to summarize the main aspects of the group from the literature cited in Gandhi and Bell (1996), and from the papers published recently in two milestone volumes on these deposits, edited by Porter (2000 and 2002).

May 1, 2003