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By G. W. Davies

"IntroductionThe development of British Columbia's northeast coal deposits, represents the single biggest industrial undertaking in British Columbia's history.As a result of this development, several thousand jobs were created, hundreds of millions of dollars in new tax revenue and billions of dollars in new foreign exchange began flowing into Canada.The Northeast Coal Development began in 1981 with the signing of sales contracts to ship a total of 6.5 million tonnes of metallurgical and additional quantities of thermal coal annually to Japan over a 15-year period. The current long-term agreements contain provisions for extension to 20 years.The sales contracts with a group of Japanese steel mills were signed by two Vancouver-based mining companies, Quintette Coal Limited and Teck Corporation. The agreements followed years of exploration and negotiation beginning in 1968.The first shipment of coal from Quintette and Teck's Bullrnoose Mine was transported by BC Rail and Canadian National Railways to the Ridley Island coal port in the fall of 1983."

Jan 1, 1992

By G. R. Guillet

"Bricks made from local Paleozoic shales, and floor and wall tiles made from imported clays, both established record production volumes in 1985 and are the strongest segments of Ontario's clay products industries. However, renewed interest in traditional materials also supports a good market for clay flower pots and flu e liners, and innovative processing studies are showing promise for possible new production of clay roofing tiles. This paper reviews the highlights of a comprehensive study of Ontario's clay products industries, completed in 1986. IntroductionFor some years now, Ontario's clay products industries have been unspectacular in their attempt to cope with the recent recession and the impact of alternative materials. But a strong demand for bricks in recent years has done much to dispel the gloom. Bricks, drainage tiles, sewer pipes, flue liners, structural and partition tiles, and flower pots have been commonly referred to as ""heavy"" clay products, and they have been based largely on local clays and shales. To this list might be added expanded aggregate and mineral wool. Clay refractories, sanitary ware, electrical porcelain, art pottery, and floor and wall tiles are not considered heavy clay products, and are commonly made from a variety of ceramic materials, many of which are imported.Production facilities for heavy clay products often began in Ontario as small family enterprises, using whatever clay was available locally to supply the local market with building bricks and other clay products needed for construction. Improved road systems increased the market range for these plant s, and new technology and industry standards resulted in gradual upgrading and consolidation of them as traced in Table I"

Jan 1, 1988

By Brian Hart, Stamen Dimov, Aparup Chattopadhyay, Barun K. Gorain

"A novel gold deportment technique has been developed for complex copper-gold and double refractory gold ores using state-of-the-art technology. Characterization of these ores is a challenging task due to low copper and gold grades in ores, presence of both primary and secondary copper sulfide phases and variable proportion of visible and invisible gold in different sulfides and iron oxide phases.Double refractory ores are mainly composed of silicates and carbonates with moderate clay and mica, and minor amounts of sulfides and organic carbonaceous matter. Gold mostly occurs as ""invisible gold"" (sub-microscopic gold) as solid solution or as colloidal-sized particles in different sulfides and other phases. The dominance of invisible gold and presence of highly preg-robbing and finely disseminated carbonaceous matter adversely affects gold recovery in flotation and leach circuits. Characterization of this carbonaceous matter, commonly known as TCM and quantification of gold associated within TCM, along with different sulfide and oxide phases is highly complex and challenging.Studies were initiated on various complex ore deposits and also on samples representing various process streams. This paper presents the development of a systematic approach to diagnostic metallurgy using state-of-the-art optical and automated mineralogy techniques, namely, micro-probe, dynamic SIMS and TOF-SIMS analysis for quantification of invisible and visible precious metal content in various species. The relevance of the mineralogy characterization to metallurgy will also be discussed in this paper."

Jan 1, 2016

By R. K. Singhal

"On the mining side the Canadian oil sands industry has become proficient in excavation and disposal of ore and overburden. Nearly twenty years of mining experience is now behind this industry. While local improvements to existing mining systems and practices will continue, it is believed that some further gains in productivity can be achieved by selectively introducing new ideas from other mining and non-mining industries. This type of technology transfer is vital for over-all cost-effective technology enhancement of oil sands mining operations.Discussed in this paper are the issues of mining equipment, equipment sizing, microprocessor and computer based technol¬ogy as applied to mine-wide data management, automation and remote control and a projection of likely mining systems in the year 2000!This paper reviews the ""state-of-the-art"" in selected surface mining systems and attempts to evaluate the forthcoming technology and its application."

Jan 1, 1989

By K. Barbetti, J. Avraamides

"The processing of gold ores with high silver contents can provide operational challenges, such as high cyanide consumption, retardation of gold leaching and competition during adsorption stages of carbon-in-pulp/leach/column (CIP/CIL/CIC) circuits. In particular, the silver, which is about 1.5% of the value of gold, competes with gold during carbon adsorption due to its higher concentration in many Ag-Au ores, potentially leading to gold solution losses. Fresh and partially fouled (barren and regenerated) activated carbons were evaluated at various Ag:Au ratios and total metal concentrations with regard to the adsorption kinetics and equilibrium loadings. Conventional Freundlich isotherms were found to be highly inaccurate for predicting equilibrium loadings in the competitive adsorption environment. An integrated model, which incorporates competitive adsorption kinetics with a modified competitive adsorption isotherm model has been developed and validated using plant and laboratory data. The model performance and some of its salient features will be discussed.INTRODUCTIONThe processing of gold ores with high silver contents can present a range of operational challenges, such as high cyanide consumption, retardation of gold leaching and competition in carbon adsorption circuits. Silver is often present at significantly higher concentrations than gold in many gold-silver ores and competes with gold in carbon adsorption circuits, limiting the gold loading rate and capacity, resulting in gold solution losses and reduced gold recovery.Curtin University’s Gold Technology Group has evaluated fresh and partially fouled (barren and regenerated) activated carbons at various Ag:Au ratios and total metal concentrations to determine the adsorption kinetics and equilibrium loadings for gold and silver. Conventional Freundlich isotherms were found to be highly inaccurate for predicting equilibrium loadings in the presence of both gold and silver.An integrated model, which incorporates competitive adsorption kinetics with a modified competitive adsorption isotherm model has been developed and validated using plant and laboratory data. This paper describes the model performance and some of its salient features."

Jan 1, 2016

By W. A. Jones

THE Ross mine, a subsidiary operation of Hollinger Consolidated Gold Mines, Limited, is situated near the north end of lot 1, concession 2, Hislop township, Ontario. The property comprises the north half of lot 1, concession 2, and the south one-third of lot 1, concession 3. It is readily reached by a good motor road from the village of Ramore, 7.5 miles to the southeast on the Temiskaming and Northern Ontario railway. The-mine has been developed to a depth of 900 feet and the current daily production rate is about 260 tons. From the inception of operations in March, 1935, until December 31st, 1942, 455,720 tons of ore with a total value of $4,169,-316 have been milled. The silver to gold ratio of 1.48 to 1 is unusually high for Ontario gold mines. The deposit is interesting because the relationship between hydrothermal metamorphism and three successive stages of fracturing and mineralization is marked with considerable clarity. During the past seven years, detailed geological maps of the mine have been kept up to date, many thousands of feet of diamond-drill core have been logged, and numerous thin and polished ore sections have been studied. The present paper describes the structure and mineralogy of the orebodies.

Jan 1, 1944

By Ruan Chi, Zhenyue Zhang, Zhengyan He

In order to understand what governs the leaching of exchangeable rare earth (RE) and impurities and enhance the RE leaching process, the effects of the concentration of ammonium sulfate, pH and leaching temperature on the migration of RE and aluminum (Al) during the leaching of weathered crust elution-deposited rare earth ore was studied. The elution curves for ammonium ion (NH4 +) were also studied to reduce the consumption of the leaching agent. It was found that a high concentration of leaching agent can enhance the leaching process of RE and Al, reduce the breakthrough volume of NH4 + and more rapidly obtain the equilibrium of NH4 +. However, excessive leaching agent can both increase the cost and the burden on the environment. There is almost no variation on the elution curves of RE and Al in the pH range of 4-8 and control of the pH of the leaching agent can be omitted. It is better for the leaching work to be done in summer since higher temperatures can enhance the RE leaching process and improve the use ratio of ammonium. Using 0.1 mol/L ammonium sulfate for leaching 250 g RE ore, 95.42% RE extraction can be obtained when the volume of leachate is 102.6 mL. At this moment, only 18.17% of NH4 + is used to exchange RE and 49.22% of NH4 + is left in the leachate that can be reused as leaching agent by replenishing ammonium sulfate. The results of our studies can provide theoretical guidance for high efficiency and low consumption exploitation of RE ores.

Jan 1, 2016

By Rodney Trevor Jones, Arthur Robert Barnes

Anglovaal Minerals acquired the Nkana slag dump from Zambia Consolidated Copper mines (ZCCM) in 1998 and embarked on an ambitious project to pioneer the recovery of cobalt from slag using DC smelting technology. Anglovaal Research Laboratories performed initial pioneering smelting tests in a 250 kW DC furnace over a 3-year period before engaging Mintek for three piloting campaigns at the 1.5 MW level. Mintek had previously developed a reductive smelting process, patented in 1995, using a DC arc furnace for the recovery of cobalt from slags. The results of the pilot-plant test campaigns were used as the basis for engineering the commercial 40 MW operation installed at Chambishi Metals plc in Zambia in 2001. This paper traces the development of understanding of the metallurgical fundamentals ultimately used to predict furnace performance, reviews some of the extreme technical challenges faced, how solutions were identified and highlights some of the critical issues identified during piloting and how these impacted both positively and negatively on the final commercial operation.

Jan 1, 2011

By J. A. Bossert

"In 1957, the Department of Mines and Technical Surveys (now Energy, Mines and Resources Canada) issued their first certificate for a fire-resistant conveyor belt. The testing procedure used was a combination of those used in the U.S.A. and the U.K. Subsequently, certification was granted to fire resistant electric cables (1974), fire-resistant mine duct material (1976) and fire-resistant hydraulic fluids (1978).Until recently, the testing procedures were copied from either the U.S. or the U.K. However, since the founding of the new Canadian Standards Association (CSA) Steering Committee for Electrical/Mechanical Mine Safety in 1981, these requirements have come under the close scrutiny of new CSA technical committees who will attempt to adopt or change the existing procedures to meet Canadian needs. This paper outlines the existing test requirements and attempts to predict how they will appear after ""Canadianization"" by the CSA committees.IntroductionFires in underground mines have always been considered more serious than in other locations because of the confined space and limited atmosphere. A fire can make escape difficult or impossible if it is blocking all of the routes to the surface. Also, the products of combustion from an underground fire can asphyxiate anyone not having self-contained breathing apparatus.In an underground coal mine, the consequences of a fire can be even more serious because of the presence of methane and coal dust in the atmosphere (which can explode) and because the coal itself is combustible.For these reasons, the inspection authorities having jurisdiction over underground mine s in Canada are quite concerned about the flammability of any materials that are used in quantity in the underground environmentAs early as 1957, the Canadian Explosive Atmospheres Laboratory (CEAL) was asked to certify conveyor belting as fire-resistant. This is because many miles of this material are used in underground mines in Canada and, as it generally travels through the mine, it is a perfect vehicle for spreading a fire."

Jan 1, 1982

By Brock Morrison, Bernt Ling

"The Kiruna Electric System is an all electric ramp haulage system developed for underground mining. This electric truck haulage system is currently operating on three continents. This paper will review the technology of the system, existing installations as well as the economical benefits to the mining industry. The system was designed and developed to extend and exploit the economical advantages of ramp haulage. Performance information is provided. IntroductionThe Kiruna Electric System has been the subject of a number of technical papers over the past sever al years. During that period, the content of the presentations has changed from concept and theory to prototype testing to description of installed and operating systems.The intent of this paper is threefold:1. to present a brief review of the technical features of the Kiruna Electric Systems;2. to review the existing installations with performance data; and3. to provide a description of on-going developments within the Kiruna Electric Program during 1991.The Kiruna Electric is a high capacity ramp haulage system for underground mining operations due to an All-Electric Drive System, including two heavy duty electric traction motors. The high capacity of the K1050E results from three factors:• payload - 50 tonne• speed - 18 km/hr to 20 km/hr up a IS0J0 ramp (total resistance)• availability - over 90010 during a 12-month period"

Jan 1, 1991

By William E. Stanley

The paper examines the problems that arise in undertaking socio-economic impact studies to meet the requirements of environmental-impact legislation governing new mine development or expansion. An approach to undertaking socioeconomic impact studies is outlined, responses to specific problems are discussed and ways in which the mining company can use these studies to meet its general objectives are explored. The paper concludes by examining how a socio-economic study, as required by legislation, can be used to assist the mining company in achieving some general objectives it will have in developing a mine.

Jan 1, 1979

By B. Morrison

"The Kiruna Electric System is a recently developed inclined ore haul age system for underground mining operations. Although an initial investigation was carried out at the Swedish underground iron ore mine LKAB almost three decades ago, it was not until 1981 that the resources of LKAB, ASEA and Kiruna Truck AB were combined to investigate, and subsequently develop an ""all- electric truck"" for the mining industry.It has long been appreciated, that major economical advantages could be realized by a mining operation through an extension of the cost-effective life of the existing ore hoisting system by the use of ramps to haul ore up to the main haulage level. Diesel truck s have been used and are being used for ramp haulage. Their use however, is limited due to ventilation and operating costs restraints.There are numerous instances of orebodies, located within a couple of hundred metre s of surface, or below an existing hoisting facility, being developed by ramp access while the shaft is being sunk. Development of an orebody via ramp access has many advantages to a mining operation where mechanized mining is to be practiced. These advantages are both practical and economical; generally falling within the over-all umbrella of the phrase ""cash flow"" mining.The decision to sink a shaft is a major committment by any mining company, regardless of size and financial reserves. Extensive diamond drilling, both shallow and deep must be carried out before a decision can be executed. This constitutes a major financial expenditure over an extended period of time.The decision to sink a shaft must be weighed against the reliability of geological interpretation of the deep diamond drilling results, the stability of the mineral market and potential fluctuation in ore prices and interest rates."

Jan 1, 1989

By Robert B. Parsons

"While it might seem like heresy to suggest that ""taxation"" can be a source of financing, never the less some generous tax rules can considerably enhance the tax savings pertaining to a particular expenditure or project. A basic tax knowledge, and careful tax planning, can optimize government participation in a project. INTRODUCTIONIn trying to identify sources of financing for a project, ""government"" as a source of funding is normally thought of in terms of government grants, loan guarantees, interest rate buy downs, property tax waivers, hydro subsidies, and so on. Generally, such concessions are somewhat difficult to obtain, especially in the current period of apparent fiscal restraint. One source of government funding which should not be overlooked is the income tax regime, and, at the provincial level, the various provincial mining tax regimes.While the taxpayer would not normally view a tax system as a potential source of government financing, nevertheless various federal and provincial rules applicable to the mining industry can offer attractive tax deductions - and tax savings - with respect to particular expenditures. In fact, it is not unusual for a civil servant to refer to a tax deduction as a tax ""subsidy"". For example, in the right circumstances, the cost of a smelter expansion in New Brunswick would cost the operator only 31 cents on the dollar, with the federal and provincial governments paying for the other 69 cents by foregoing tax revenues (Table I). In a sense, such tax savings could be compared to a government grant equal to 69% of project costs. Of course, not every project expenditure will generate that degree of government funding. The fact of the matter is that the percentages of tax savings attached to different expenditures cover a wide range, depending on a complex mix of factors. The point to understand is that the tax rules can offer some valuable savings, even after tax reform, and that a basic knowledge of the tax rules can yield some fruitful rewards."

Jan 1, 1989

By Nural Kuyucak, Bohumil Volesky

"Extensive screening revealed a seaweed (alga) biomass type which in its non-living state possesses a very high cobalt sequestering capacity comparable to that of activated carbon and the ion-exchange resin currently used in the cobalt production process. Performance of the new bio-sorbent material was studied by examining its equilibrium metal uptake isotherms generated under different solution conditions such as initial cobalt concentration pH, temperature, and the presence of selected cations and anions. The rate of cobalt uptake was determined, which is a crucial parameter for recovery process design. Almost all cobalt sorbed can also be desorbed with a solution of CaCI2. The bio-sorbent material can be used repeatedly in the sorption-desorption cobalt concentration process. IntroductionIt has been well documented that certain types of microbial biomass, living or non-living, possess a high potential to sequester and accumulate inorganic ions present in aqueous solutions. Metal concentration by microbial biomass from a solution is termed bio-sorption. This phenomenon is quite complex and includes adsorption of metals onto the surface of a microorganism and/or into the cellular structure in combination with ion-exchange, complexation, and/or micro-precipitation. Bio-sorption is generally considered to be a rapid physical/chemical process. The cell wall structure is porous and allows metal ions, as well as large organic nutrient molecules, to pass freely through. Polysaccharides of the cell wall could provide binding amino, carboxyl, phosphate and sulphate groups. In addition to these functional binding groups, polysaccharides often have ion-exchange properties. Sometimes, bivalent cations, such as Ca2+ or Mg2+, help the formation of ionic bond bridges between the negatively charged cell surfaces and positively charged cations in the solution, Proteins in the cell wall could offer functional groups and also offer peptide bonds to bind ions. Interactions between metal and the cell wall components are responsible for the sequestering of metals by way of bio-sorption. Many metals feature a complex solution chemistry and it is not always possible to determine what ionic species are actually present in the solution. The equilibria involved are dependent on pH, concentration, the anions present and other factors. The transport system for the ions are sometimes dependent on both temperature and energy. Biosorbent material could also be regenerated for multiple reuse."

Jan 1, 1988

"Technological innovation is an extremely complex activity. The author presents his interpretation of innovation and the innovative process. He reviews the strategy used by participants in coal mining innovation in the past and discusses changes required to meet the challenges of the future.Introduction if an industry is to be successful and viable in today's world, the companies active within the industry must remain close to the frontiers of knowledge. The coal mining industry is no exception. Technological problems facing the coal mining industry are basically economic and social. Economic problems are those concerned with the long-term growth and profitability and social problems, with the health and safety of the mine worker and the impact of the mining operation on the environment.Technological innovation can be a key factor in meeting these problems successfully. The general belief is that the information base for technological innovation exists within mining companies and governmental agencies but current industrial and governmental strategies and structures impede the transformation of this knowledge into the mining products and processes required for growth.The purpose of this paper is to determine where Canada is in terms of coal mining on the innovative ladder. The paper as presented: defines innovation and innovative process; gives an historical ""broad brush"" review o f innovation in the industry; and suggests the challenges to be faced in the future."

Jan 1, 1985

By D. Cruden

DISCODAT is a system of computer programs written for CANMET, Canadian Department of Energy, Mines and resources, to be used in analyzing geological data for rock slope design. The programs were written in Fortran IV for an IBM 360/67 computer. A program conditions field data from field forms for storage in a line file. Data may be selectively retrieved from the line file by a general retrieval program which uses a variety of relational operators. The retrieved data may be displayed as structural diagrams or histograms produced on a line printer or in a number of maps produced on a drum plotter. There is a logical sequence which leads to the characterization of those elements of the subfabrics of a rock mass which may be kinematically active. Structural domains within the rock mass can also be outlined by a procedure described as areal analysis. Costs for a complete analysis are usually substantially less than $l/discontinuity.

Jan 1, 1978

By N. Fukatsu

The recent development of galvanic cell-type hydrogen sensor for molten copper was outlined. The principle of the sensing mechanism, the fundamental structure of the sensor, and its performance as a process control device are discussed based on experimental work undertaken by the authors. Besides sensors based on usual perovskite-type proton conducting oxide, those using magnesium-doped alpha alumina, which was recently known as a proton conductor, were investigated and the results at the laboratory scale are reported. Considering the excellent sensitivity at high temperature and the stability to the disturbance from the attendant oxygen activity, magnesium-doped alpha alumina was regarded to be a superior material for the sensors used for such purposes.

Jan 1, 2007

By S. Balideh

A good understanding of the behavior of broken rock helps to make more informed decisions regarding slope stability and waste dump issues in mines. The cohesion coefficient of rock has little influence on the strength of broken rock; therefore, a criterion based on friction and cohesion of intact materials does not provide an accurate analysis for the strength of broken rock. This paper illustrates the effective strength of broken rock through a brief literature review about failure of intact rock and rock masses. The complete stress- strain curve and some important points of residual strength of rock are summarized in this paper.

Jun 1, 2012

By K. Ogawa, T. Yokoyama

Hydraulic fracturing technique, an applied technique to cause tensile fractures to rock by injecting water pressure to a certain closed section of the borehole, is a measurement method of in-situ rock stress. This technique has the highest track record for techniques used in sub 1000 meter. A feature of this technique is comparatively simple and easy for in-situ stress measurement, because the measurement is applicable when a drilled borehole is available. The predominant advantage of this method is that elastic constants such as Young’s modulus and Poisson’s ratio are not required for determining the value and direction of initial stress. The factors to determine the stress state are the water pressures of re-opening and shut-in of fractures around the borehole wall and its directions. With conventional methods, however, the accuracy of the derived stress states from the observation equations was often adversely affected by the lack of consideration of the remaining water pressure in fractures and insufficient stiffness of the pressurization system. We have developed a new hydraulic fracturing system based on a new test method concept overcoming these defects, and applied to a 300 meter deep borehole in granite. The most important improvement of the new system is an employment of a syringe pump which enables an accurate flow control of fluid with less than 1ml/min in the pressure of 30MPa. Therefore the new test system has a quick response for pressurising in the interval zone, and the measured data was confirmed extremely accurate.

Jan 1, 2015

By G. J. Kipouros, P. W. Kingston, W. F. Caley

"Current practice in advanced materials processing has involved the dispersion of a second-phase, commonly SiC, glass, or other non-metallic fibres/whiskers/particulates to enhance physical characteristics of the matrix. These matrices may be either ceramic or metallic but in either case it is important that the physical and chemical properties of each phase be compatible. The dispersed, finely divided second phase is often both expensive and foreign-produced and may exhibit chemical instability at elevated temperatures. Thus, it would appear that certain naturally-occurring industrial mineral fibres/whiskers/particulates might offer an attractive and low-cost alternative. Suitable candidates, such as wollastonite and sillimanite, are available in Canada and may be milled to produce particles whose shape is appropriate for this application. It is suggested that wollastonite, in particular, may be a useful modifying agent in metal matrix composites utilizing AI, Al-Si, Zn-Al or other light metals and alloys. In addition, the possible use of these minerals in ceramic matrix materials is also addressed, with reference to a preliminary thermodynamic analysis of the systems involved.IntroductionBackgroundA composite material may be thought of as consisting of a matrix component, the properties of which are improved by the addition of a second component or dispersed phase which forms a distinct three-dimensional interface with the matrix. This matrix is commonly either metallic or ceramic, which leads to the two most popular types of composites: metal-matrix composites (MMC); and ceramic-matrix composites (CMC).Such materials are by no means new. Early composites include fiberglass, mixtures of plaster and horsehair in wall plastering, as well as use of natural materials such as bamboo in fishing rods. Some of the newer applications include high strength, low-weight bicycle rims, as well as the more familiar role in aircraft and automobile engine components."

Jan 1, 1993