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By B. J. Keating

"AT PRESENT, it is not certain that any of the sulphide de in the Province of Nova Scotia attain the lower grade limit of 60 per cent sulphides over the minimum area of 1,000 square feet suggested as cut-off specifications for inclusion in this Symposium. However, several of them do include massive sections of substantial size and others represent concentrations of sulphide material that are well above average. It is felt, therefore, that a tentative classification of the deposits and presentation of their geological settings are justified and may help round out the genetic aspects of this study. Accordingly, data considered to be the most pertinent are assembled here in the event that some may fit into larger-scale patterns of mineralization that may take shape as a result of this investigation.The three principal massive sulphide deposits in Nova Scotia are the Stirling, the Smithfield, and the Walton. The locations of these are shown on the accompanying key-map (Figure 1).Three other deposits, the locations of which are also indicated on the map, are the Meat Cove, Rocky Brook, and Gays River de¬posits. Although these fall far short of the minimum dimensions and grade specifications referred to above they are singled out because they have received more than passing attention and are illustrative of the mineralization types to which they belong."

Jan 1, 1960

By C. A. Pickles, K. Mackowiak, D. Gajonera

"Shake-flask oxidation tests were performed on Red Dog mine waste to study the initial dissolution behaviours of lead, zinc, and iron. The conditions for accelerated acid generation in terms of Eh and pH were determined. Each mineral behaved distinctly, with galena dissolving first, followed by sphalerite, then pyrite, although there was some overlap in behaviour. Iron was not detected in solution until approximately day 40 and was present at low concentrations. The experimental conditions and the theoretical model results indicated the formation of iron oxyhydroxides at low weathering times and jarosite at longer times.RÉSUMÉ Des tests d’oxydation par agitation en flacon ont été effectués sur les déchets miniers de l’exploitation Red Dog afin d’étudier les comportements initiaux de dissolution du plomb, du zinc et du fer. Les conditions entraînant la production accélérée d’acide en termes d’eH (potentiel d’oxydoréduction) et de pH (potentiel d’hydrogène) ont été déterminées. Chaque minerai se comportait différemment ; la galène a été la première à se dissoudre, suivie de la sphalérite, puis de la pyrite, mais un certain chevauchement des comportements a été observé. La présence de fer en solution n’a été détectée qu’après environ 40 jours et ce, à de faibles concentrations. Les conditions expérimentales et les résultats du modèle théorique signalaient la formation d’oxyde-hydroxyde de fer sur de courtes périodes d’altération atmosphérique, et de jarosite sur des périodes plus longues."

Jan 1, 2017

By Roger V. Pierce

IN the last few years, much study has been devoted to increasing stoping efficiency. The reasons for this are shortage of manpower, shorter working hours, operating regulations, and shortages of essential materials. More efficiency in mining methods is needed to offset these adverse factors. In the past, attention has been centred upon haulage, hoisting equipment, mill flow-sheets, etc., but recently the spotlight has been focused on the cost of stoping and the cost of handling materials. Scrapers and scraper hoists have thus assumed greater importance. In order to make it possible for certain orebodies to be mined at a profit, it has been necessary to apply assembly-line practices to the streamlining of mining methods. All cycles of the mining operation must balance, and the sooner broken ore is removed from the working face, the sooner another round can be started. Since the introduction of scraper hoists in metal mines more than thirty years ago, much progress has been made in their design and application. Alert operators are now constantly watching for methods in which to apply scrapers. The saving of manpower in development work and the changing of mining methods that once employed manual handling of materials are increasing vital wartime tonnages. Essential ores from newly discovered orebodies are moving rapidly from stopes to reduction plants-because it is now possible to develop an orebody and place it in production with a minimum of manpower and development work. Today, speed is one of the prime essentials o mining. Everywhere, there is a concentrated effort to use experienced miners in breaking rock, in timbering, and in carrying out the various phases of mining that require many months of training. Much effort is being made to mechanize the working places because experienced men naturally prefer to work where the majority of materials are handled mechanically. In line with this policy, many new men are being taught the details of scraper work, because even green men can quickly become acquainted with scrapers and thereby release older heads to perform the more skilled phases of mining.

Jan 1, 1943

By E. Lee Cameron

The old mine workings on four barite-fluorite veins of the Lake Ainslie district, Nova Scotia, were opened recently and channel sampled. The samples were then forwarded to the Ore Dressing Laboratories, Bureau of Mines, Ottawa, for chemical analyses. Following the analyses, the sample rejects were combined to form bulk samples, representing ore from each vein, for small-scale batch test work. Tonnage samples from the veins, for pilot mill testing, were submitted when requested by the Bureau. The results of the analyses on the channel samples showed that there are two grades of ore in the di strict, represented, for test purposes, by the Trout River vein and Johnson vein ores. Small-scale and pilot-plant test work was undertaken on both these ores. The Trout River ore is amenable co concentration but, because of the high-barite-co-fluorite-co-calcite ratio, a fluorite concentrate was not obtainable from the Johnson vein ore as received. However, Johnson ore blended in a 1 :1 ratio with Trout River ore gave a mill feed that was readily concentrated. The test work on these ores showed that the following concentrates are obtainable : (a) A barite concentrate, with a recovery of 85 to 95 per cent of the available barite, analysing 93 co 96 per cent BaS04, 4 co 6 per cent CaF,, and 0.5 co 2 per cent CaCO3. (b) A fluorite concentrate, with a recovery of 80 co 85 per cent of the available fluorite, analysing 94 to 97 per cent CaF, , 1 to 3 per cent BaSO., and 1 to 3 per cent CaCO3

Jan 1, 1945

By W W. Moorhouse

A survey of recent literature indicates that sulphides occur in the volcanic rocks of the Archean, or in sedimentary rocks intercalated with the volcanic rocks. The thick sedimentary sections are generally poor in sulphides. Thus, the widespread pyrite and pyrrhotite mineralization in the Archean may be largely of volcanic origin. Introduction I N this paper, commercial base-metal deposits will not be considered, as they are dealt with in other papers of the Symposium. Instead, attention will be focused on those sulphides, often associated with graphitic argillites or tuffs, which have appeared in such embarrassing abundance in electromagnetic surveys of Archean areas. The data on which the paper is based are drawn from recent reports of the Ontario Department of Mines, the Quebec Department of Natural Resources and the Geological Survey of Canada. The information available from these sources is unfortunately limited, because sulphides commonly occur in sheared rocks, such as black argillites and tuffs, which rarely form conspicuous outcrops, and may not be exposed at all. Thus, in the absence of geophysical information, even detailed mapping may fail to reveal the presence of sulphide-rich rocks.

Jan 1, 1965

By Philippe Caudal

This paper presents a case study in which a slope failure was observed on the west wall of the LAB Chrysotile mine in the vicinity of the main ramp in January 2010. Airborne LiDAR results were used to evaluate slope geometry before and after the failure occurred. Back analysis of the failure was performed to assess rock mass properties at the slope scale using various numerical techniques: limit equilibrium, finite elements and fracture networks. The various approaches correlated well with field observations.

Aug 1, 2013

By Eliodor Stoian

PRESSURE information has earned a place of recognition to almost everyone interested in oil and gas production. This interest is due chiefly to the multitude of uses to which it can be put. A sub-surface pressure test, conducted for as little as $60, may yield data worth many times its cost. To the uninformed, the testing techniques may seem complex. Fundamentally, however, they consist merely of the application of common sense. At one time, sub-surface pressure data were used only in identifying individual well problems and in finding appropriate solutions. Today, it is generally acknowledged that sub-surface pres-sure .data are essential for the proper evaluation and exploitation of oil and gas pools. The following is a review of significant applications of sub-surface data with regard to: (A).-Development (B) .-Completion and work-overs (C) .-Production (D) .-Reservoir engineering (E).-Proration (F) .Other applications of pressure data of a more general nature.

Jan 1, 1958

By L. S. Beck

"The Athabasca region forms part of the Churchill province of the Canadian Shield and is underlain by an Archean or Aphebian assemblage of rocks that underwent severe metamorphism and granitization during the Hudsonian orogeny (1750-1950 m.y. ago). In places, the eroded orogen is overlain by unmetamorphosed cover rocks (in-cluding the Martin and Athabasca formations) of probable Paleohelikian age. Basic dykes cut all the rocks of the region.There are innumerable vein-type pitchblende deposits and many syngenetic occurrences of uraninite in crystalline basement rocks. Evidence is presented to show that pitch-blende was emplaced during the final stages of the Hud-sonian granitization and followed the crystallization of syngenetic uraninite transitionally. In terms of P-T condi-tions, the pitchblende deposits belong essentially to Lindgren's mesothermal group.Based on the postulated uranium metallogenesis, the possibilities of finding further deposits of pitchblende and other types of uranium deposits are discussed."

Jan 1, 1970

By G. H. McKay

AT the Eagle mine, near Gilman, Colorado, where the Empire Zinc Company have installed an underground mill, transportation problems were comparatively simple. A railway siding on the Denver and Rio Grande railway is equipped with an unloading dock or platform at the portal of their service incline adit to the mill. This 18-degree incline is approximately 600 feet long from the unloading track to the head of the mill skipway. For the Big Missouri mill, upwards of 2,500 tons of material and equipment had to be trucked from tidewater at Stewart, B.C., a distance of 21 miles to the Big Missouri camp at elevation 2,800. From that point, this freight had to be moved either over or through the Big Missouri ridge, rising to elevation 3,450, to its final location 800 feet from the surface between elevations 2,150 and 2,350. Immediately after leaving the government dock at Stewart, the road crosses the International boundary line into Hyder, Alaska, and then follows a water grade for eleven miles along the lower stretches of the Salmon river. leaving the river, the road climbs for two miles before crossing back into British Columbia territory at Silver Heights, and then continues for another mile and a half to where the Big Missouri road branches off from the main road to the Premier mine. For a distance of four miles from the junction of the roads, the Missouri road is very narrow, with many sharp curves and with irregular up and down pitches and grades up to 25 per cent until it reaches the Summit. From there on, a fairly easy grade leads a mile and a half to the end of the road on Joker Plats. In winter, the last stretch of road is subject to heavy snow drifting, especially through a narrow funnel-shaped gulch, known as 'The Gap', where the snow may pile up to a depth of over twenty feet.

Jan 1, 1938

By B. M. Monaghan

"The developments of the 1950s and 1960s have seen Canada become an international source of iron ore, trading in all geographical areas and hemispheres. Canada's production will significantly increase in the next decade. However, although the outlook is bright, iron ore producers cannot be complacent. Instead, we must weigh the factors that have brought about the development of the Canadian iron ore industry and examine the probable changes for the next decade that will affect its growth.Looking ahead in the 1970s, competition will be severe. Pressure on prices will continue as new sources of supply bid for long-term contracts and as steel producers continue to develop mines around the world. Rising costs will make these pressures more severe. We must balance the growth of the world's steel makers with the emergence of new supplies of iron ore. The iron ore industry is now part of a new era in which demand and supply are intermeshed, and the developments around the world are acting on the Canadian iron ore industry's future."

Jan 1, 1971

By Nav Dhadli

Tailings from Oil Sands MiningWhat are they? Challenges Solutions Regulatory Environment Definition of the AFD Tailings Treatment Process 2010 AFD Pilot/Demonstration ProgramTechnical challenges Performance and Results Next steps Oil Sands Industry Collaboration on Tailings Technology TAILINGS ?WHAT ARE THEY? Mixture of remaining water and solids following bitumen extraction process Composed of water, sand, silt, clay, small amounts of hydrocarbon (bitumen, solvent, and asphaltenes) A necessary part of production in excavation of oil sands and removal of bitumen

May 1, 2011

By N. J. Duncan

"Coal mining, whether surface or underground, has hazards that make it unique in the field of industrial safety and health. The often soft, faulted and folded sedimentary strata make wall or roof movement a risk to the safe and economic removal of the coal, while the extraction and handling of coal may create an explosion hazard even in surface operations, In Canada, these problems are compounded by the situation of the coal fields which range from deep undersea deposits in Nova Scotia to steeply pitching thick coal seams high in the Rocky Mountains. Climate too can create its own problems, particularly the effect of metals of minus 40°C temperatures, as crumpled dragline booms at prairie strip mines witness. Because of the difficult and sometimes hazardous conditions, Canada's underground colliery managers, in common with those of other Commonwealth coal-producing countries, must have a government ""certificate of competency"" before being appointed as mine managers. Certification of assistant managers (""under-managers"") and foremen (""fire-bosses"") is also a legal requirement for all of Canada's underground collieries, while the province of Alberta requires certification of surface management personnel. Electricians and mechanics who install and maintain the specially designed equipment underground and in hazardous areas of surface mines and processing plants, and mine surveyors who ensure accuracy of the location of underground workings, must also hold government certificates of competency. The requisites for all certification include a minimum work experience and knowledge of coal mining technology and mine safety and health legislation. Despite recognition of the hazards and increasing knowledge of methods of preventing explosions of flammable gas and coal dust in Canada's underground mines, there have been several disastrous explosions such as those at Springhill Colliery in Nova Scotia in 1891 with the loss of 125 lives, at Hillcrest Colliery in Alberta in 1914 with 189 dead, and more recently · explosions and fires in No. 20 and No. 26 Collieries in Cape Breton. Preventing explosions has required developing optimal ventilation techniques, reducing ignition potential, suppressing ignition at source, draining flammable gas before it can enter the air courses, and preventing, or sealing off, autogenous heatings with their associated carbon monoxide or explosion dangers."

Jan 1, 1985

By Javier Linares García

At then end of this year will be 10 years of producing concentrate for Antamina. This is a summary of what occurred over the last decade to increase production and tonnage above the design tonnage of 70,000 tonnes per day, up to an average of 100,018 tonnes per day in 2010, an increase in production of 42.9%. Equipment currently in use is the originally installed equipment, signifying a meaningful increase in capacity without capital. In this paper, the different phases of improvements and the realization of their impacts in chronological order will be outlined. Figure 1 below shows the average daily tonnage processed each year (tonnage throughput each year/calendar days), as well as the percentage increase over the tonnage of design.

Jan 1, 2012

By Q. H. Bui

The elastoplastic self-consistent model is one of the effective models to study the initial microstructure effect on the mechanical behavior of bulk materials. However, the use of this micromechanics-based model which takes into account only the Hall-Petch relationship at grain level for predicting the grain sized effects on the strength of the deformed materials is not accurate yet because of the fact that the dislocation density contributes also to the strengthening of this kind of materials. In this study, a modification made to the Hill-Hutchinson elastoplastic self-consistent model was proposed for investigating the microstructure dependence of the mechanical behavior of cold-drawn 6063 aluminium tubes. Because of the novel modification, an estimation procedure with two steps was required to identify the parameters of this micromechanical model. An acceptable agreement between experimental and theoretical stress-strain curves was achieved.

Jan 1, 2011

By S. W. Marcuson, P. J. Mackey

The 1973 Oil Embargo and succeeding disruptions in supply had a profound effect on energy costs and consumption patterns in the developed world. This was especially true in the USA where post World War II growth, fueled by low-cost imported oil, left the country dependent on uninterrupted oil shipments from the volatile Middle East. In this atmosphere, Professor H.H. Kellogg of Columbia University, convinced of the necessity of good environmental stewardship by the writings of the era’s leading environmentalists, developed a methodology for evaluating energy and process efficiency of metallurgical processes and wrote a series of papers describing and applying the techniques. One of these, "Energy Use in Sulfide Smelting of Copper" is recognized as a seminal work which both described the state of energy usage in copper smelting in the mid-1970’s and portended future developments. The background to these papers is examined and the current and past Cu-Ni matte smelting practices in Canada are examined in the context of the results. Data from early 20th century publications describing reverberatory and blast furnace operation is employed to show that energy consumption for much of the century was several multiples higher than that calculated for best reverberatory operation in the 1970’s.

Jan 1, 2015

By W. A. Lang

COAL of sub-bituminous rank underlies much of the plains area of Alberta. This coal is geo-logically young, and occurs in Belly River and Edmonton strata of Up-per Cretaceous age. Generally, the seams are flat-lying, but in some areas they may dip as much as 5 degrees. The overburden, composed mainly of glacial clays and sand-stones, may vary in depth from a few feet to several thousand feet. Recovery of the coal has 'been by drift, slope, and shaft underground mines, and by open-pit stripping operations. Production has been obtained from a large number of mines, most of which have been relatively small and with preparation equipment limited to a loading tipple with screening facilities, and a picking belt where high-ash materials can be removed from the larger sizes. The coal has been sold for domestic and industrial space-heating, for production of process steam, and for power generation. In re-cent years competition from natural gas, propane, and oil has seriously interfered with the production and marketing of sub-bituminous coal, especially with the disposal of the smaller sizes at a realistic price.

Jan 1, 1958

By Gorrell. H. A.

Subsurface water data can be very valuable in .petroleum exploration and research. For the discussion of problems related to subsurface waters uniform nomenclature and classifications are required. The term 'connate water' has frequently been incorrectly used. It should .only be used in its original sense in which it is analagous to 'fossil water'. Classifications .based on origin and on sodium-chloride content are proposed. Present and possible uses of formation water analyses are briefly discussed. Since the potential uses of formation water data are not fully understood, complete analyses of selected samples should be made to insure against future requirements. The subsurface waters of Alberta show considerable regional variation in amount and proportion of dissolved salts.

Jan 1, 1958

By N. Waters

"Nickel saprolite ores are normally mined as feed to Fe-Ni smelters or Ni matte smelting operations. The smelting processes typically require high Ni cut-off grades of approximately 1.5 to 2.2% Ni, depending on the operation. These very high cut-off grades result in a significant portion of the saprolite profile being regarded as “waste” and hence having little to no value. The Starved Acid Leach Technology (SALT) was developed to recover nickel and cobalt from nickel saprolites and Caron plant residues. Relatively small amounts of acid are applied to ground saprolites or Caron residues in order to selectively leach nickel and cobalt. The leaching is performed atmospherically under low free acid conditions. Nickel and cobalt may be recovered from the leachate as a mixed hydroxide. The mixed hydroxide may be added directly to a saprolite smelting operation or refined separately. InCoR Technologies is advancing the application of SALT at a number of sites. Bench scale testing has provided a relationship between acid addition and nickel extraction in leaching. Conceptual engineering studies have been completed by SNC Lavalin. The simplicity of the SALT technology provides the benefits of low capital and operating cost and an expected rapid ramp up to full production.INTRODUCTION The recent history of hydrometallurgical nickel laterite treatment plants has demonstrated mixed financial and operational performance. Table 1 summarizes the next generation plants built after the financial and/or technical failure of the Bulong, Cawse and Murrin-Murrin plants in Australia. The Coral Bay plants (Line 1 and 2) stand out (and now Taganito) as relatively low capital cost, simple (no acid plant, production of mixed sulfide product), and modest in scale (10, 12 and 36 kt Ni/a). However, the other plants in the list (Ravensthorpe, Ramu, Goro and Ambatovy) are all characterized by financial and technical challenges. All plants have a very high capital cost ($67,000 to $120,000 USD/annual t of Ni production). Ravensthorpe was sold by BHP Billiton after a poor startup. Ramu has had a steady ramp up but only produces mixed hydroxide for refining by others. Goro has had an extended construction period (since 2001), is high cost and has been very slow to ramp up to design production rates. Ambatovy has had a steady ramp up."

Jan 1, 2017

By H. O. Lien

Among the known iron deposits in Canada, many are of low grade and require beneficiation to produce an acceptable blast-furnace feed. Some of the deposits have never been considered for commercial exploitation due to the lack of a suitable concentrating process. A number of deposits of this type are located in Northern Ontario. The problem in upgrading these deposits is three fold. Firstly, the iron occurs as a mixture of magnetite and hematite. Secondly, the grain size of the material can be fine to very fine. Thirdly, the complex mixture of gangue minerals, which consists invariably of silica, flaky silicates and carbonates, slimes excessively on fine grinding. Algoma's efforts to concentrate these iron-bearing materials culminated in the development of a "Selective Flocculation and Desliming Process" employing slimes removal as the sole beneficiation technique. The process was applied successfully in the laboratory using two stages of grinding and a total of seven deslimings. Prior to the removal of slimes, the iron-bearing fines were selectively flocculated from a thoroughly dispersed pulp using a modified starch as flocculant, Sodium silicate was employed as dispersant. An attempt was made to optimize some of the process variables using material from one specific iron formation near the town of Geraldton in Northern Ontario. The preparation of the starch proved most critical. This matter, and the method used to evaluate the degree of breakdown of the starch molecule, are therefore discussed in some detail.

Jan 1, 1978

By J. Visman

The water cyclone washer has a number of advantages that makes it a desirable machine for the cleaning of fine-grained and friable materials such as 1,4 x 0" slack coals. In this paper results are presented of tests carried out on a shaly coal containing a high percentage of inter-grown materials from the Minto area, New Brunswick. The tests were con-ducted in the pilot plant of the Western Regional Laboratory in Edmonton. The test results show that the cleaning characteristics of this coal can be improved by lightly grinding the recirculating middlings fraction, which constitutes approximately 30 per cent (1.45-2.00 fraction) of the raw feed. • The cleaning of 1;4 x 0" fines by water cyclones compares favourably with other coal cleaning machines and has an added advantage of being extremely simple to operate, low in capital and operating cost, and high in capacity. The application of water cy-clones dates back approximately ten years, following its development at the Dutch State Mines. ( 3) A number of papers published d

Jan 1, 1961