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By J. Lui

Inco Copper Cliff Smelter commissioned two new Inco flash furnaces in 1991/1993 as part of its S02 abatement program. Each flash furnace is equipped with a fluid bed dryer. The ~ 12 wt% water content in the concentrate filter cake, flux, reverts and sludge is removed in the fluid bed dryer. The dry solids are discharged from the dryer together with exhaust gases into the baghouses where they are separated. The dry solids are transferred to four storage bins. In September 2003, for the first time since startup in 1991/1993, a large amount of elemental sulfur accumulation was discovered on the walls, roofs and floors of the outlet side of the baghouse chambers. Several baghouse fires were experienced during cleaning and conducting maintenance work in the elemental sulfur contaminated baghouses. Laboratory scale test work at the Inco research lab was conducted to understand the mechanism. A plant solution to minimize elemental sulfur formation was implemented with success. This paper summarizes the efforts to understand and minimize elemental sulfur formation in the baghouse chambers.

Jan 1, 2007

By K. Law

"The Hatch Product Transport (HPT) system is a highly flexible and configurable route selection and sequencing system for controlling large bulk material handling facilities. The system has a generic control algorithm that can be configured to suit any material handling facility. It can also be easily reconfigured to cater to plant expansion or modifications without incurring significant disruption to the existing production, costs in testing, and re-commissioning, thus achieving cost savings throughout a facility’s lifecycle.This new material handling control system has been installed at BHP Billiton’s Port Hedland iron ore terminal to facilitate its expansion to beyond 100 Mt output capacity."

Jan 1, 2006

By O. Garg

This paper summarizes the computer applications in open-pit mine planning at the Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC). A brief history of the use of computers at IOC is given, and a description of the existing facilities is outlined. The following systems are discussed: storage and retrieval of geological data; geotechnical data analysis; long-term grade and tonnage forecasting; ore grading; and open-pit mine design. Justification for using computers in open-pit mine planning is given, and possible future areas of application are considered.

Jan 1, 1979

By J. Cayouette, . Blatter, P. Cousin

The Laronde mill was commissioned in 1988 and has been treating the Laronde Perim ore since 2000. The Laronde plant, situated in the Abitibi region of Quebec, has experienced mill expansions to accommodate 7500 mtpd and to recover gold and silver as well as important amounts of base metals (Cu, Zn, Pb). Ten sequential metallurgical and environmental processes are responsible for metals recovery and process viability. Over 200,000 ounces of gold, 4,5 million ounces of silver, 7000 tonnes of copper, and 78,000 tonnes of zinc are produced annually. In 2008, the Goldex plant began trucking high wade (35-45 Wt Au) pyrite sulphide concentrate (TCGO) for gold extraction at a newly constructed treatment plant, increasing gold output at Laronde by 40,000 ounces. In 2009, the high gold wade Lapa ore processing facilities were annexed to the Laronde plant increasing output by 120,000 ounces of gold. TCGO and Lapa productions are forecasted until 2018 and 2015 respectively, with known reserves of each mine. Today, up to 140 permanent employees run and optimise the Laronde plant operation. As a result, Laronde has intricacies intrinsic to a large and varied operation. The paper will outline the metallurgical highlights, challenges, and future outlook related to the treatment of each ore type (Laronde, TCGO, and Lapa)

Jan 1, 2011

By Jim Cooney

Background ?1990s saw massive changes in South African mining industry ?over 100,000 jobs lost as the industry restructured; ?1999 ?Placer Dome purchased a 50% interest in South Deep (WAL), a mine located just outside Johannesburg ?This was the first major post-apartheid foreign investment in the South African mining industry The Situation ?Placer Dome decided to lay off 2560 mineworkers (one third of the workforce) from the South Deep Mine to restore the mine to economic viability. ?Unemployment in South Africa was over 25%, and the retrenched mineworkers had few skills with which to make a living. Policy Context ?Placer Dome was committed to: ?global corporate policy of Sustainable Development, ?demonstrating that its business contributes to the economic and social progress of host jurisdictions. ?Government of South Africa was committed to ?attracting foreign investment to its mining sector with a view to modernizing and enhancing its economic and social viability, ?ameliorating the negative social consequences of structural change without arresting the necessary process of restructuring. ?National Union of Mineworkers was committed to: ?working with the mining industry and the government in implementing a Code of Good Practice on Dismissals and a Social Plan to assist retrenched mineworkers (1999).

May 1, 2006

By S. G. Shabestari

Thermal analysis is a tool that is generally employed to predict the structure of the alloy before the actual casting is carried out. By cooling a sample of the molten alloy and recording the temperature-time curve, important solidification events may be analyzed by using the first derivative-cooling curve. In this research, strontium is added to (AS5U3G) 319 aluminum alloy and its influence on the formation of intermetallic compounds e.g. Al15(Mn,Fe)3Si2, Al2Cu, Al5Mg8Cu2Si6 formed during pre- and post-eutectic reaction have been investigated. Also any changes in solidification parameters such as temperature of Al-Si eutectic under cooling and temperatures of nucleation and growth of each phases caused by strontium addition, have been determined via the first derivative cooling curves. The effect of strontium on the formation of various intermetallic compounds has been studied by using very accurate thermal analysis equipment and the microstructures were analyzed using an optical microscope. The various phases reported in this paper were identified using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and linked to Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS). Formation of all pre- and post-eutectic phases was interpreted by comparing the phases formed in the microstructure and the reactions detected by using cooling curves. The results of this research indicate that thermal analysis technique can be used as an on-line process control in the production lines in aluminum casting industries.

Jan 1, 2004

By J. A. Finch

The metallurgical performance of a flotation cell is strongly influenced by the features of the bubble population, characterized by the gas dispersion properties, a collective term including bubble size, superficial gas velocity and gas holdup. It is required that gas be well distributed throughout the cell. Gas distribution is estimated here by simultaneous measurement of gas velocity (Jg) at different distances from the center (radial Jg mapping). This communication describes a technique to perform radial Jg mapping together with fundamentals for the interpretation of the data.

Jan 1, 2009

"Load-haul-dump machines (LHDs) are typically used in underground metal mining operations. Delays or inappropriate use of LHDs can result in production loss. Optimized LHD use is especially crucial in larger mines because longer travel distances increase heat, dust, and gas emissions, which in turn increase ventilation costs. This study, conducted at an existing Swedish sublevel cave underground mine, used discrete event simulation and the AutoMod™ DES tool to determine the ventilation costs related to using too many diesel LHDs in a production area with reduced ore pass availability. When fewer ore passes are available, ventilation costs related to operating LHDs in the production area were found to increase by as much as 200, 224, and 306% for one, three, and six LHDs in operation, respectively. ¦ KEYWORDS Discrete event simulation (DES), Loading operations, Production rate, Ventilation costs RÉSUMÉ Dans les exploitations souterraines d’extraction des métaux, on utilise généralement des chargeurs-transporteurs (LHD, de l’anglais Load-haul-dump machines). Les retards ou l’utilisation abusive des LHD peuvent entraîner une perte de production. L’utilisation optimisée des LHD est particulièrement importante dans les grandes mines en raison des longues distances parcourues, lesquelles augmentent la chaleur, la poussière et les émissions de gaz qui, à leur tour, décuplent les coûts de l’aérage. Cette étude, menée en Suède dans une mine souterraine utilisant la méthode d’exploitation en sous étages avec foudroyage, s’est basée sur la simulation à événements discrets (SED) et l’outil de SED AutoMod™ pour déterminer les coûts de l’aérage liés à l’utilisation d’un nombre trop élevé de LHD alimentés au diesel dans la zone de production, avec une disponibilité réduite de la cheminée à minerai. Lorsque les mines disposent de moins de cheminées à minerai, l’étude montre que les coûts de l’aérage liés à l’exploitation des LHD dans la zone de production augmentent respectivement de 200, 224 et 306 % pour un, trois et six LHD en fonctionnement. ¦ MOTS CLÉS coûts de l’aérage, opérations de chargement, simulation à événements discrets (SED), taux de productionINTRODUCTION Transporting material from the mine face to the dumping location requires flexible loading and hauling equipment that is able to cope with sharp curves and a complex mining environment. Load-haul-dump machines (LHDs) are designed for such an environment. Models are available to suit specific features of the working environment such as small, large, or narrow open stopes (Atlas Copco Rock Drills AB, 2007). When carrying a full load, haulage speed is higher for LHDs than for front-end loaders with the same engine size. Also, payloads are approximately 50% higher for LHDs than for front-end loaders (Atlas Copco Rock Drills AB, 2007). LHDs are capable of climbing steep (Bloss, Harvey, Grant, & Routley, 2011). The haulage distance between stope and ore pass is usually between 50 m and 400 m. LHDs are efficient for tramming distances up to 200 m (Bloss et al., 2011), whereas when loading trucks, the LHDs work efficiently when the distance is less than 100 m (Atlas Copco Rock Drills AB, 2007). The largest diesel-powered LHDs, with drive motors of up to 350 kW, can handle a payload of 21 t (Wennmohs, 2014). Most mining equipment runs on diesel fuel, which provides flexibility, high durability, and high efficiency (Pronk, Coble, & Stewart, 2009); however, other alternatives such as electric, hybrid diesel/electric, or hydrogen fuel cell machines are increasingly being developed and used. This change is due to diesel-powered machines accounting for a significant portion of the ventilation costs in the mine (Chadwick, 2008; Paraszczak, Laflamme, & Fytas, 2013). Currently, as part of the European sustainable intelligent mining systems (SIMS) project, Epiroc AB is planning to demonstrate technology for a diesel-free underground mine at Agnico Eagle’s Kittlä mine in Finland using"

Jan 1, 2019

By G. F. Vander Voort

Over the past twenty years, steelmakers have introduced improved practices for reducing the inclusion content of steels. The success of these practice changes can be monitored in a variety of ways. Chemical analysis of the bulk sulphur and oxygen contents provides a relatively simple means to assess the impact of these changes. However, microscopical test methods are still needed to assess the nature of the inclusions present. Traditional chartbased measurement methods have wide acceptability, and their data are well understood by both purchaser and producer for heat acceptance purposes. However, these methods do have inherent weaknesses which limit their usefulness for quality control, SPC, and database applications. Image analysis-based chart measurements are an improvement over manually generated chart ratings, but the data still do not lend themselves to databases and statistical comparisons. ASTM Committee E-4 on Metallography has developed a stereologicallybased image analysis standard test method, E 1245, which provides the necessary data in a form which is easily databased and analyzed statistically. This paper describes E 1245 and shows how data from different heats and melting practices can be compared statistically to ascertain valid test differences.

Jan 1, 1998

By D. Bouchard, M. Forté, A. Charette

A transparent replica of a casting die was built to achieve a better understanding of the filling mechanisms of aluminum in high pressure die casting. Water and tomato paste were respectively used as analogues for the Newtonian liquid aluminum and the non-Newtonian semi-solid aluminum. The transparent die was installed on an industrial casting press and filling was filmed with a high-speed camera. Differences between the Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids are presented and discussed.

Jan 1, 2006

By Muhammad Zaka Emad

Cemented rockfill (CRF) is a mixture of rock aggregate and binder slurry. It is a stiff backfill, it is fast curing, its operation is simple, placement rate is reasonably high and no drainage is required. The main demerit of CRF is failure of exposed faces causing ore dilution, which can be associated with the fill placement method. This paper discusses the effects of two placement methods being practiced by mines and numerical modelling is used as a tool to evaluate stability of the backfill column. In the first method, practiced in longitudinal retreat mining of a narrow vein deposit, the rockfill is hauled and dumped into the stope with a LHD scooptram. Once dumped, cement slurry is sprayed into the stope. In the second method, a raise situated centrally above the mined stope is used to convey already mixed CRF into the stope. Stopes are mined out transversely in primary and secondary blocks in a sublevel stoping system. Problems of poor mixing in combination with both placement methods are discussed. The two backfill placement methods are analyzed for blast induced vibration damage using the dynamic Flac3D modelling technique accounting for rock mass and fill damping characteristics, and a pressure wave is used to simulate the blast vibrations. Fill heterogeneity has also been considered for the two cases and results are compared.

Jun 1, 2012

By C. Arson

"Optimizing hydraulic fracture injection parameters in order to maximize hydrocarbon extraction and to avoid extensive borehole spalling is still an open issue. In this paper, the Differential Stress Induced Damage (DSID) model is employed to simulate the anisotropic damage distribution around pressurized boreholes drilled in fractured shale. The loading path is purely mechanical: excavation and fluid injection are simulated by stress relaxation followed by pressurization. We investigate the effect of pre-existing fracture orientation, in-situ stress and injection pressure on the propagation of anisotropic damage during pressurization. Finite Element results indicate that (1) damage initiates and develops when the ratio of two in-situ stress component deviates from 1, and the magnitude of damage is proportional to this stress deviation; (2) For a given in-situ stress field, damage initiates for a certain threshold of injection pressure, and the damage zone extends as the injection pressure increases; (3) A pre-existing fracture only affects the damage zone locally; the orientation of that fracture does not affect the damaged zone, which is controlled by in situ stress and injection pressure.INTRODUCTIONHydraulic fracturing is used to increase shale permeability and to enhance hydrocarbon extraction. In order to maximize the extraction ratio and to avoid wellbore spalling and clogging during fluid injection, the parameters related to injection for each particular site need to be optimized. Therefore, it is necessary to clearly understand how shale responses upon excavation and pressurization.It is well known that breakouts grow in the direction of minimum compression and that plastic deformation around wellbores tends to arrest breakouts (Zoback et al., 1985). Laboratory acoustic emission tests revealed that fractures propagate along the direction of maximum compression stress, and fractures (breakouts) are surrounded by the Excavation Damaged Zone (EDZ), in which rock properties are weakened by the presence of micro cracks (Eberhardt et al., 1999; Martino et al., 2004). The anisotropy from orientated foliations and cracks may influence the development and propagation of fractures and breakouts (Everitt et al., 2004). Sonic televiewer logs proved that during hydraulic fracturing, fluid injection further alters the stress distribution (Evans et al., 2005). Shale natural fabric strongly affects the evolution of the EDZ around boreholes."

Jan 1, 2015

By E. Vesely, A. Saxena

"SAG mill liners are designed for protecting the mill shell and providing lifting power for ore charge and grinding media. Due to the impacts from the charge and the grinding media, the liner experiences dimple, plastic deformation, strain hardening, fatigue, peening and final failure. Because of the collisional environment directly measuring such dynamical loads is extremely difficult if not impossible. In this study we tried to evaluate the liner failure risk by simulating the collisions of solid particles with mill liner using Discrete Element Method (DEM). DEM simulation has been proved to be a very useful tool in evaluation of granular flow and its impacts on the solid structure. But there are certain limits in DEM coherently, such as the number of solid elements, the computer runtime, etc. Here we first present the general feature of the particle-liner collision in terms of impact force and collision energy. Then the effects of parameter selection is discussed. Our simulations show the fatal collisional event of huge impact force is very rare and the collisional events of low impact is much more frequent. The fatal event may contribute most to the liner failure. The rarity of the fatal events may be missed in a short runtime simulation. This technical challenge combined with lacking of criterion to evaluate varying impact loads in fatigue problems may further complicate the evaluation. Should we use the largest impact force alone or we should use the more frequent events is an open question and requires more effort. In order to evaluate the quality of liner design, we proposed a relative comparison method. In the end we show the implication and application of this method in liner optimization by a work example. In particular, the effects of the charge level of grinding balls and their size on the operation performance is presented.INTRODUCTION Grinding is one of the most important and expensive steps of mineral processing. A variety of grinding mills such as rod mills, ball mills, semi-autogenous (SAG) mills and autogenous (AG) mills are being utilized for comminution of mineral ores (Gupta & Yan, 2016). Up to today, SAG mills and AG mills have been widely used to reduce operation costs and increase throughput. In an AG mill, a rotating drum throws larger rocks of ore in a cascading motion which causes impact breakage of larger rocks and compressive grinding of finer particles. Unlike AG mills, SAG mills use steel grinding balls to break ores of size quite small such that they cannot be easily broken in AG mill. SAG mill liners are designed for protecting the mill shell and providing lifting power for ore charge and grinding media. Due to the impacts from the charge and the grinding media, the liner experiences dimple, plastic deformation, strain hardening, fatigue, peening and final failure. Quality and performance of SAG mill liners play a fundamental role to enhance efficiency of grinding mills, because failure of liners is the major cause for unexpected breakdown (Banisi, Hadizadeh, Mahmoudabadi, & Eilkhany, 2006)."

Jan 1, 2019

By H. C. M. Gordon

IT is essential to the success of any mining op::ration that the roadways through which the material wrought and ocher materials and supplies are to be transported should be kept in such condition that this transportation cart be effected rapidly and without difficulty. The longer the roadway and the greater the tonnage to be taken over it, the more necessary it becomes chat the construction and maintenance of the road be such chat traffic delays can be reduced co a minimum. le is proposed co deal with the development and construction of roadways serving longwall operations and, since a recreating system of longwall is worked, as a rule, only where roadways driven in the solid coal can be readily maintained, the discussion will be confined co advancing longwall roads which are driven through areas from which the coal seam has been totally extracted. In order to construct a roadway through extracted ground in such a manner that it will remain in a state of reasonably good repair without undue maintenance, it is necessary chat everything possible be done to bring the overlying strata co a state of equilibrium as quickly as this can be effected, and the operations should be so planned that future workings will not disturb the equilibrium so set up more than can be avoided. Obviously, the readiest way to obtain a stable roadway is to develop it by tunnelling through a settled waste. However, this cannot always be done, as some of the roadways must be developed and constructed as the walls progress, but level or lateral cut-offs can be constructed in this manner. Main-slope roads can be developed in a similar manner after the coal has been extracted and a waste formed for at !east five hundred feet on either side of the line of the permanent roadway from temporary subsidiary roads developed for this purpose along one or other of the flanks of the waste to be formed. This interval must be obtained in order chat the lacer extraction of the seam will not set up movements in the waste immediately overlying or adjacent to the constructed roadway, thus upsetting the equilibrium of the strata and distorting the road.

Jan 1, 1940

By C. H. Madsen

THE Hard Rock gold mine is in the Little Long Lac mining area, Thunder Bay district, northwestern Ontario. It is four miles by road from the town of Geraldton, which is on the Canadian National railway, 180 miles northeast of Port Arthur. The original discovery of gold-bearing quartz veins on the property was made in 1931. Shaft sinking began in the fall of 1934 and approximately 7,400 feet of lateral development on four levels was completed. In 1935, further discoveries were made half a mile west of the early workings, and the No. 2 shaft was sunk in this area in a porphyry zone. In January, 1938, a 20C-ton cyanide plant was completed and began drilling ore from the gold-bearing porphyry orebody. The daily feed was increased gradually to 300 tons in the next six months and a recovery of 97.5 per cent was effected. During the summer of the same year, a new and larger orebody was discovered to the north of the porphyry zone. It occurs in a band of iron formation and contains a high percentage of pyrite and arsenopyrite. Extensive tests were rr.ace on this sulphide ore in the Mines Branch ore dressing laboratory at Ottawa, in the laboratory of Canadian Industries, limited, at Toronto, and later at the mine, to find a suitable method of treatrr.ent. As a result of this research, a Potation plant was added to the original cyanide mill and on November 7th, 1938, differential flotation was used to separate the pyrite from the arsenopyrite fraction of the ore. The pyrite concentrate was re-ground and cyanide:l, and the arsenopyrire concentrate was stored for subsequent treatment. Differential flotation was discontinued in April, 1939, in favour of bulk formation of all the sulphides, and the whole cyanide residue was stored. On March 15th, 1939, a 10-ton pilot roaster was completed and rests were conducted on the arsenopyrite concentrate and the bulk concentrate. The results obtained led to the building of two roasters of the same type, large enough to roast all the concentrates. These roasters were put in operation on September 24th, 1939, and the calcines were cyanided in the original circuit.

Jan 1, 1941

By L. Iacopetti, A. Calderara, M. Perego, P. Perrone, T. Furusawa

De Nora, a global leader in the development, manufacture and sale of all DSA® anodes based on titanium coated with mixed metal oxide (MMO) for electrochemical processes will present key advancements made to Self-Protected Anodes (SPA) for metal electrowinning. (DSA® is a registered trademark of Industrie De Nora S.p.A., Italy). In 2017 pre-commercial demonstration cells were operated in industrial environment. The program’s focus was to fully demonstrate the SPA anode’s superior mechanical and electrochemical robustness during normal and induced dendrite shorting occurrences while providing quality of plating in commercial operation. De Nora specialists focus on key components, in particular the engineering of the self-protection system, DSA® anodes and catalyst formulation capable to cope with high levels of pollutants while providing long service life in the meantime. Results of field trials confirmed the expected anode performance and enabled the selection of the most suitable “SPA” structure, based on resistive protective elements. Summarizing the economic benefits to copper electrowinning tankhouse operation with De Nora’s self- protected all DSA® anodes are; Double-digits power savings Cobalt-free electrolyte operations Minimal dendrite shorting damage incurred at the SPA anode Smoother, uniform cathode deposits with tangible improvement on current efficiency Tankhouse operations producing lead-free copper quality cathodes, in addition to elimination of lead waste for improved operator health and environment. INTRODUCTION De Nora’s engineered “Value Technology Package” (“VTP”) for electrowinning, consisting of our DSA® anodes coated with mixed metal oxide specifically formulated for copper electrowinning in conjunction with an advanced self-protected full titanium anode (“SPA”), underwent an intense field qualification program, inclusive of the behavior under massive short-circuits as part of the field investigation, with the goal to select and appoint the ultimate design configuration of “SPA”. Optimized wireless-based monitoring system was included in the field program, demonstrating good functionality for cell parameters monitoring and remote shorts detection.

Jan 1, 2019

By M. Kawahara, H. Sunayama

Oxidation rates of the cubic specimens, which were prepared by cutting the shaped magnesia-carbon bricks, were measured continuously with a thermo balance in the temperature range from 1273 to 1 823 K in N2-02 and Ar-02 mixed gas with 2.1 x 104 and 3.7x 102 Pa of oxygen partial pressure respectively. The effect of the graphite content, the maximum grain size of magnesia clinker and the oxygen concentration in the atmospheric gas on the oxidation rate for the MgO-C refractory has been investigated. The value of effective diffusion coefficient of O2, which diffuses through the porous decarburized layer, decreased with the decreasing of the porosity and the oxygen concentration in the external gas phase. It was speculated that the dense layer formed easily due to the high tortuosity of pores and the low recession speed of the carbon interface in the MgO-C bricks.

Jan 1, 2004

By John L. Bonus

"WITHIN THE BROAD PARAMETERS implied by the title of my speech, I propose to deal more particularly this evening with a subject the many aspects of which have constituted the essential elements of one of the main thrusts undertaken by the MAC in the past two years, i.e., to create among Canadians a much greater awareness of the importance of mining and to demonstrate to them what are the many and varied benefits they derive from mining activities across their country. In other words, MINING - WHAT IT MEANS TO CANADA.I also intend to discuss some aspects of government-industry relationships.I am very conscious of the fact that I am speaking to an audience made u in large part of experts in several fields of mining and exploration activities. They will be familiar with many of the points I intend to discuss. However, without in any way suggesting that familiarity breeds contempt, might I emphasize that even in this particular forum there is justification for reiterating some of our basic philosophies and suggesting ways whereby they might be better understood and promoted.Let us first summarize the present dimensions of the Canadian mining industry."

Jan 1, 1971

By Robert B. Parsons

"The Whitehorse Mining Initiative (WMI) brought together all of the key stakeholders in Canada's mining industry to develop a framework whereby the industry can meet the challenges that it faces into the 21st century. The WMI Accord7 which was signed at the annual Mines Ministers Conference in Victoria, British Columbia, on September 137 1994, touches all of the important issues that confront the industry, including taxation. IntroductionSeptember 13, 1994, was a historical day for Canada's mining industry. On that day, on the occasion of the annual Mines Ministers Conference in Victoria, British Columbia, the Whitehorse Mining Initiative (WMI) Accord was signed by the leaders of the five principal stakeholders in the industry: industry; government; labour; environmentalists; and aboriginals. The Accord is the culmination of two years of hard work and intense collaboration by these stakeholders. But, the Accord is not the end result. The Accord can better be described as a springboard to a prosperous future for mining in Canada.The WMI had its beginnings at the Mines Ministers Conference in Whitehorse, Yukon, in September 1992 (hence, the name of the initiative). At that time, the mining industry was well aware of the serious challenges facing the industry, including significantly increased competition for mineral investment from other mining countries, coupled with an atmosphere of uncertainty surrounding land access, environmental regulations, and taxation. The diversion of investment abroad was hurting, and would continue to hurt, all Canadians. Something had to be done. At the 1992"

Jan 1, 1994

By R. H. Coloquhoun

"INTRODUCTIONDome Mines Limited is located on 3,149 acres in Tisdale, Whitney and Shaw Townships in the City of Timmins in Northern Ontario. The mine and mill facilities are two miles from the town of South Porcupine, now part of greater Timmins.In April of 1909, J.S. Wilson of Massey, Ontario headed a party of prospectors into the Porcupine region. Disembarking from the Temiskaming and Northern Ontario Railway at mileage 222, they established an initial camp on the shore of Frederick House Lake. Following the lake ""break up"" they canoed to their destination, Porcupine Lake, and established a base camp on the west side of the lake by May 23, 1909. At a point approximately two miles from Porcupine Lake the moss on an outcrop was rolled back and gold was discovered.In the spring of 1911, the first mill structure was in the process of being built and consisted of 40 stamp mills, five S'x22' pebble mills and the ancillary equipment for a 300-400 T.P.O. operation. This structure was destroyed along with much of the Porcupine Camp by the famous Porcupine Fire of July 1911. By mid-1912, a steel ""fire proof"" structure was built and utilizing the salvaged mills from the fire, supplemented by the installation of three, 8'x30"" cylindro-conical Hardinge ball mills purchased third hand from Vipond Mines, processed 75,088 tons by year's end.The mill was again levelled by fire in October of 1929, this time caused by an overheated boiler stack. This 11 fire proof"" structure was immediately replaced by a wood structure and again the three Hardinge conical mills and the five 5'x22' pebble mills were restored and utilized. The new mill operated close to its daily capacity of 1500 tons during the last two months of 1930. During the rebuilding phase, the crushing plant was remodelled and a new crusher installed. These plants were protected from fire by a 60,000 gallon water tank and an automatic sprinkler system."

Jan 1, 1984