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By Stephen Esposito

Outline ? Brief Overview of Solid Energy New Zealand ? Need for Integrated Risk Management at Solid Energy New Zealand ? Overview of Solid Energy?s IRM program ? What are the results and key learnings? Overview Of Solid Energy New Zealand ? 100% NZ Government Owned ? Produces 95% of New Zealand?s Coal ? Sales turnover USD150 million per year ? Sold 4 million tonnes of high quality coal in 2003 ? Coking and Thermal coals ? Exported 2 million tonnes of coal ? Significant international and domestic growth expected going forward

May 1, 2004

By Joël P. T. Kapusta

Back in 1995, Air Liquide and Union Minière presented a joint paper at the Copper 95 – Cobre 95 Conference in Santiago, Chile, describing the first full scale plant trials of shrouded sonic injection in a Hoboken converter at the Hoboken smelter in Belgium. Almost a quarter of a century later, the technology known as ALSI, or Air Liquide Shrouded Injection, has been tested or commercially implemented in several copper and nickel smelters. Despite these successes, the copper industry did not adopt it widely in the same manner the steel industry adopted the Savard-Lee tuyere in the 1970s and beyond, not even in the way the lead industry adopted it with the Queneau-Schuhmann-Lurgi, or QSL, process. The development and implementation of bottom-blowing smelting and converting technologies in China in the last ten years, however, changed the industry’s perception that high- and ultra-high oxygen injection in copper smelting and converting was indeed possible under specific process conditions. In this paper, I retrace the key learnings of my journey with sonic injection over the twenty five years from my humble beginnings in my early years with Air Liquide, through plant trials and technology implementation in the late 1990s and into the first decade of the new millennium, and ultimately, to the most conclusive proof that the sonic injection design methodology I established is valid, and the calculation tools I developed are accurate. I conclude by sharing my thoughts about whether the deployment of the Savard and Lee legacy within the nonferrous industry was just a pipe dream or whether it will become a reality. INTRODUCTION In the context of lower quality ores and changing economic markets, copper smelters need to continuously innovate and improve to remain competitive and respect their corporate social responsibility engagements. One avenue towards this business, social, and environmental goal is to increase process intensity while lowering fossil fuel consumption to lower greenhouse gas emissions and reducing process off-gas volumes to better capture As and SO2–laden emissions. I believe high oxygen sonic injection for submerged tuyere copper bath smelting and converting is one technology that can help smelters achieve that goal of higher business, social, and environmental performance. Twenty five years ago, when I discovered that the Savard-Lee tuyere had revolutionized the steel industry (Savard & Lee, 1966; Knuppel, Brotzmann, Fassbieder, Savard, & Lee, 1972), I had a dream — or was it a vision? — that within the first decade of the new millennium, modern copper smelters operating submerged tuyere bath smelting and converting vessels will have implemented high oxygen sonic injection and will be reaping the financial and environmental benefits that the steel industry enjoyed in the 1970s. As we approach the end of the second decade of the new millennium, I have to admit that my dream has been all but shattered as the majority of copper bath smelting and converting vessels today continue to operate under bubbling regime conditions. This mode of operation is archaic, still requires tuyere punching and blows at inherently low enrichment levels, particularly in converting, producing large volumes of process off-gases. Under such operating conditions, regulations and emission quotas for As, SO2, and particulate matter oblige smelters to use not just primary or secondary hoods, but sometimes even tertiary hoods. I vividly recall being told, fifteen or twenty years ago when visiting smelters to promote the application of the Savard-Lee tuyere in nonferrous processes, that implementing sonic injection was not economically viable due to the high cost of compressing air and oxygen. Some of the smelters I visited back then have since mandated their engineering partners to design and build secondary or even tertiary hoods. I cannot fathom how secondary and particularly tertiary hoods, with all of their auxiliary equipment and added ducting, could be more economically viable than purchasing and installing a few compressors, expanding the pipeline network for compressed air and oxygen, and installing a new control valve train to feed sonic tuyeres. Besides, adding hoods does not address the problem of As and SO2-laden fugitive emissions at its source but merely provides a costly mitigation for it by capturing larger volumes of process off-gases rather than reducing these large volumes in the first place. Moreover, hooding does not reduce energy consumption nor does it increase process intensity, two aspects that I believe are critical for smelters to remain competitive and sustainable in a deeply changing market environment.

Jan 1, 2019

By E. C. Keeley

THE property of Buffalo Ankerite Gold Mines, Limited, is in Delora township, Porcupine area, Ontario. The southwestern part of the property is ground formerly owned by Marbuan Gold Mines, Limited, which was acquired by Buffalo Ankerite in January, 1936. Until 1938, the Ankerite (or North) mine and the Marbuan (or South) mine continued as separate operations, each developed through a surface shaft and winze to the 1050 level and each having its own mill. This meant high hoisting costs, which, in 1936 and 1937, amounted to 36 cents per ton. In 1938, the underground workings of the two mines were connected on the 1050 level, and ore from both mines was hoisted at the main, or No. 2, shaft of the North mine, location of which is shown in Figure l. This shaft was discontinued at a depth of 1150 feet because, owing to the soft nature of the talc (serpentine) rock in which it was sunk, it had to be concreted throughout, and also because of its great distance--1,100 feet and 1,400 feet, respectively-from the North and South orebodies.

Jan 1, 1945

By Corrie Pitzer

Safety performance in many companies and even industries has stalled in the few years. Accidents rates are at a ?plateau? and yet, serious accidents and fatality rates are not. In more dramatic cases, such as in the BP Texas disaster, organizations that have ?exemplary? safety statistics, suddenly have a catastrophic or multi-fatality event occurring. Other classic examples are the Piper Alpha disaster and NASA?s Challenger and Columbia disasters and even the Chernobyl nuclear reactor. Looking into the root causes of these accidents provides an insight into the events and deficiencies that led up to the accident, but what are the common features in the organization?s mindset? What characterizes these organizations? decision making, their approach to safety and to risk and are there specific cultural features that can be delineated? The research and review presented in this paper covers a period since 1994, which started in the Australian resource industry and since then covered international events. The features of these organizations are summarized as the seven deadly delusions, based on extensive research since 1997 of organizations that suffered unexpected disasters. Their huge focus on safety, the achievement of lofty goals and celebration of safety successes led to ?mindset? that they are leaders in safety, protected by an extraordinary safety system and that their safety incident figures indicated a truly world-class safety performance. It led them into the trap of the seven deadly delusions?

May 1, 2011

By J. E. Gill

Introduction During the past summer, detailed geological mapping was extended to cover the entire group of 31 claims owned by Waite-Ackerman-Montgomery Mines, Ltd., and considerable new information was revealed by development and exploratory work underground. These new facts provide a more complete view of the lithology and structure of the area than has heretofore been available. They also necessitate revision of certain interpretations presented last year by Peale (l), and have served to straighten out some of the problems suggested by Porritt (2). The purpose of this paper is to outline in a broad way the relations as now understood and to discuss in detail certain points which should be of interest to members of the Institute. Maps and records by the mine staff have been freely used in arriving at the interpretation presented in the following pages. The writers are especially indebted to Mr. R. V. Porritt, the mine manager, with whom many of the problems touched upon were discussed on the ground and whose intimate knowledge of the geology of the underground workings aided greatly in testing various hypotheses. The writers have profited greatly, also, from close association with Dr. W. F. James during the course of the work. Permission to publish the included data has very kindly been given .by the management.

Jan 1, 1932

By F J. Kelly

A chemical process, based on laboratory investigations, is proposed for the production of high-purity niobium oxide from a pyrochlore-perovsk1te flotation concentrate produced from ore obtained at the Oka, Quebec property of Columbium Mining Products Limited. The method developed included the decomposition and dissolution of the flotation concentrate with hot, concentrated sulphuric acid. The dissolved niobium was purified and concentrated by a solvent extraction step, using methyl isobutyl ketone as the extractant. The niobium was recovered from the extractant with ammonium fluoride solution from which niobium oxide was precipitated with ammonia. Finally, the filtered and washed precipitate was calcined. Ninety-six per cent of the niobium was recovered in a product analysing 99.9 per cent Nzo.. The reagent cost was in the range of $1.00 to $1.25 per pound of niobium recovered. Introduction OVER the past few years, Columbium Mining Products Limited has been engaged in the development of a niobium-bearing mineral deposit in the vicinity of Oka, Quebec. One phase of this program resulted in a flotation process capable of producing concentrates containing up to 50 per cent Nb205? Flotation pilot-plant

Jan 1, 1965

By F. Ajersch, A. R. Hekmat

Apparent viscosities of hypo-eutectic (Al-7% Al) and hyper-eutectic (Al-35% Si) binary alloys were measured in the semi-solid state using a Couette type viscometer at variable shear rates. Analysis of the microstructural evolution demonstrates the differences in the rate and degree of attrition of the primary phase particles which are characteristic of the thixotropic nature of the semi-solid alloy. It was observed that the Si primary phase in the hyper-eutectic alloy is much more difficult to fragment than the dendritic a-Al phase in the hypo-eutectic alloy. For the case of the a-Al, the dendritic structure is broken down by attrition and fracture of the dendrite arms whereas the fracture of the Si hexagonal crystals in the hypereutectic alloy occurs along the {100} and {110} cleavage planes. Results are presented for fixed solid fractions of the primary phase at isotherm condition for each type of alloy.

Jan 1, 2006

"These standards were developed by the CIM for use with the value or worth of a Mineral Property as opposed to “evaluation” where the key objective is an economic assessment or determination of the economic merit of a propertyP1 .0 BACKGROUNDPl.1 There are at present no comprehensive standards for valuation of Mineral Properties in the Canadian mining industry. The Mining Standards Task Force (MSTF) of the Toronto Stock Exchange and the Ontario Securities Commission in its Final Report (January 1999) specifically recommended that the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM) form a committee of valuation practitioners to review and advise on approaches to valuation of Mineral Properties.Pl.2 On May 5, 1999 at the Calgary Annual General Meeting, CIM Council approved the formation of a Special Committee on Valuation of Mineral Properties (CIMV al) to be co-chaired by Keith Spence (Chairman of the CIM Mineral Economics Society) and Dr. William Roscoe (Roscoe Postle Associates Inc.).Pl.3 The mandate of CIMVal is to recommend Standards and Guidelines for Valuation of Mineral Properties to be used by the mining industry in general and to be adopted by Canadian securities regulators and Canadian stock exchanges.Pl.4 The members of CIMVal represent of a mix of professional disciplines and experience in the field of Mineral Property valuation:Keith N. Spence (Co-chair), Alliance Pacific Resources Inc., TorontoWilliam E. Roscoe (Co-chair), Roscoe Postle Associates Inc., TorontoMichael J. Bourassa (Secretary), Aird & Berlis LLP, TorontoChristopher R. Lattanzi, Micon International Limited, TorontoRoss D. Lawrence, Watts, Griffis and McOuat Limited, TorontoPaul E. Lunney, Noranda Inc., TorontoCraig A. Roberts, Pacific International Securities, VancouverDavid A. Scott, CIBC World Markets, TorontoIan S. Thompson, Derry, Michener, Booth & Wahl Consultants Ltd., VancouverWilloughby A. Trythall, retired Placer Dome executive and consultant, Vancouver"

Jan 1, 2003

By 13409, B. Arjang

"Ground stresses are one of the significant factors in the context of rockbursts and underground instability at some hard rock mines in Canada. Overcoring strain relief measurements using triaxial strain cells were performed at several mine sites to provide stress data for stability evaluations and mine design. Pre-mining stress determinations carried out at depths between 60 m to 1890 m resulted in the following average stress gradients:Maximum horizontal stress, s Hmax = 8.18 + 0.0422 MPa/m depthMinimum horizontal stress, s Hmin = 3.64 + 0.0276 MPa/m depthAverage horizontal stress, s Ha = 5.91 + 0.0349 MPa/m depthVertical stress, a; = 0.0266 ± 0.008 MPa/m depthThe maximum and minimum horizontal compressive stresses, with an average ratio of J.75 ± 0.45, prevail in east-west and northerly directions, respectively. Horizontal compressive stresses in excess of vertical overburden load were determined, indicating large variations in ratios to a depth of about 1000 m with decreasing trend toward depth.From present data, a particular regional zoning for the magnitude and direction of horizontal stress fields cannot be outlined.A common feature at mines with near vertical orebodies is that the maximum horizontal stress acts perpendicular to strike while the minimum horizontal stress is aligned on-strike. The vertical stress components approach the gravitational overburden load."

Jan 1, 1991

By Christine Hansen

?Kiss my Asteroid? Unofficial Title Human life is tied to minerals It?s worth noting that: The living human body consumes minerals. The minerals we take in multivitamins show the close linkage between human beings and mineral resources. Unlike tourism or specialized manufacturing, a human being could not live without mineral consumption. Minerals and their consumption is a tangible part of human life.

May 1, 2013

By Marcin Ziemski

This paper reports on an energy efficiency analysis completed as part of a research project looking at energy reduction opportunities in minerals processing operations. The plant discussed is a gold production facility owned by Newmont Gold in the Tanami region of central Australia. Due to its remote location, lack of nearby gas pipeline or power grid, the operation has been completely dependent on diesel fuel for its electricity generation and transport needs. The mine and processing plant use electrical power at a rate of 12MW to 18MW, resulting in a monthly electricity cost of over US$1.5M. The high cost of diesel combined with an impending power generation capacity shortage drove Newmont to undertake the energy efficiency study. An energy audit of the plant showed opportunities for significant energy savings through the strategic use of waste heat, fuel replacement alternatives and renewable energy sources.

May 1, 2007

By B. A. Kjarsgaard, C. J. Mwenifumbo

"Abstract - Natural gamma-ray measurements were made in the GSC Smeaton drillhole as part of the borehole geophysical classification of kimberlite pipe 169. In addition, forty samples of Cretaceous sediments (shales, siltstones, and sandstones) and thirty-five kimberlite samples, selected from the drill core, were analyzed for major and trace elements. These elements included potassium (K), uranium (U), and thorium (Th), which are the main naturally-occurring radioactive elements.Different phases of the kimberlite, and the Cretaceous sediments which show variations in the gamma-ray activity, can be easily delineated on the gamma-ray logs. The gamma-ray logs indicate that the radioactivity in the kimberlite derives mainly from Th, and, to a lesser extent, U. Most of the kimberlite units are enriched in Th and U relative to the Cretaceous sediments, and these radioelements are mainly hosted by accessory apatite and perovskite, and minor zircon. Potassium concentrations are low in the kimberlite. The higher K concentration in the sediments clearly distinguishes the Cretaceous sediments from the kimberlite.The U/K and Th/K ratios show important and distinct differences between the two major types of volcaniclastic kimberlite. Kimberlite lapillistones have higher U/K and Th/K ratios than the olivine crystal tuffs. Furthermore, standardized U/K and Th/K geophysical logs can be used to separate marine reworked olivine shoreface sands from other shallow marine sediments that contain kimberlitic detritus. The identification of different phases and/or stratigraphic facies of kimberlite on the basis of radioelement distributions means that gamma-ray spectrometry can assist exploration, particularly in regard to diamond grade distribution."

Jan 1, 1999

By E. B. Spice

"IntroductionExperience at Eldorado has been gained with a variety of mill feeds. That is, the actual mode of occurrence of the pitchblende varies to such an extent that gravity concentration has at times been decidedly unattractive and at others highly successful. Because of this, the type of ore necessary for economic recovery of pitchblende have become well known. Also, those types which do not lend themselves to gravity concentration have become familiar. In general, it may be said that when the pitchblende occurs free, to a large extent, from sulphides or arsenides of high specific gravity, and when the bulk of the pitchblende is localized rather than disseminated, excellent recoveries, high ratios of concentration, and good grades of concentrates , will result from proper gravity concentration. On the other hand, if the ore contains pitchblende intimately or otherwise mixed with large quantities of arsenides or sulphides, or if the pitchblende is finely disseminated, gravity concentration alone will yield high recoveries only at the expense of very low-grade concentrates and low ratios of concentration.According to Taggart, the ease with which gravity separation may be effected is determined by the value of the following ratio: []It is stated that when the ratio is above 1.75, gravity separation can be expected to be easy. Thus with pure U308 (S.G. over 9) and gangue consisting chiefly of siliceous material, the process can he expected to be entirely successful even when carried on at very fine sizes. Unfortunately, the term pitchblende covers a great diversity of material. Although some of the mineral occurs pure enough to have a specific gravity of about 7, the average is much lower than this and is probably well under 5. Some of the pitchblende particles have a specific gravity so low that gravity concentration fails completely. It may also be said that no degree of grinding will produce free pitchblende of sufficient density from such particles. This, then, represents the most important limitation to the application of gravity separation to pitchblende ores."

Jan 1, 1950

By M. Kaya, A. R. Laplante

"Since the beginning of eighties the use of flotation columns has surged in Canada and abroad; the metallurgical superiority of columns over mechanical cells is in great part due to froth washing, which ensures higher gangue rejection and selectivity. Can wash water, which has proven so beneficial, be used in mechanical cells? Although froth washing technology was widely implemented in Soviet plants for bi tuminuous coal, and alusite, powellite, scheelite, molybdenite, etc. more than 25 years, it has been neglected in the western world. Published data suggest 10 to 15~ increases in grade and/or recovery with wash water in mechanical cells (Klassen and Mokrousov, 1963). There are at least three wash water plant applications in Zaire, Chile, and Canada, but little, if any, published information is available. This research work, which is the first extensive fundamental study related to froth washing in mechanical cells, attempts to answer the questions of how, how much, and where should wash water be added.This project was undertaken in three stages:1. Bench-scale laboratory tests with a 6.5 L Denver cell at McGill using a silica flour and a slime reject from Niobec (St.Honor6).2. Pilot-plant scale tests with a 65 L Denver cell at McGill using the silica flour and a complex Cu-Ni sulphide ore from the Strathcona mill of Falconbridge.3. Plant-scale tests with a bank of 2800 L Denver cells at Falconbridge Ltd. for complex Cu-Ni sulphide ore and Eastmaque Gold Mines Ltd. for Au tailing reclaimation."

Jan 1, 1989

By Donald O. Downing

"IntroductionThis paper provides an overview of the coal mining industry in Canada with a description of current circumstances. The Canadian industry is placed in a global context and the future prospects of the industry are described. The export market is very important to the future of Canadian coal production and the essential aspects of the market are explained. Future prospects are very much tied to metallurgical coal exports and some key characteristics of that market are discussed, including major technological changes in the industry. Stability in 1996The Canadian coal industry enjoyed another strong year in 1996 continuing a trend established over the last four years. The strength of the industry is based on a stable domestic industry and a relatively healthy inter- national market. The figures bear out these statements. In 1996 total production reached 75 million tonnes and consumption was 52 million tonnes. The major markets for coal in Canada are electricity generating stations (Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia) and the steel industry in southern Ontario. Approximately 11 million tonnes of coal were imported and exports reached a new record of 34.5 million tonnes, mainly from western Canada. Canadian Coal FlowsCanada represents a unique case in the coal world because we both import and export coal (Fig. 1). The reason for this apparent dichotomy is Canada’s geography. Eastern Canadian coal markets are located closer to the eastern United States coal fields and are basically served by them. This is true for both thermal and metallurgical coal. Major imported coal users are the steel industry, electricity generators and other industry including the cement industry in southern Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, with a little coal imported into Manitoba. Only about 2.2 million tonnes of western Canadian coal move into the east, including both lignite and bituminous coal."

Jan 1, 1997

By Dan Zou, Ji Chen, Deqian Li

"Bayan Obo mixed RE concentrate is the largest RE source in the world. RE elements occur dominantly in bastnaesite and monazite. This paper describes a clean and green technique for processing Bayan Obo mixed rare earth (RE) concentrate. A two-step oxidation method can lead to the effective recovery of REs, thorium (Th), fluorine (F) and phosphorus (P). Ce has a property of valency change, enabling the separation of it from other RE(III) elements. Making use of the interactions of cerium (IV) (Ce(IV)), F and P, a new extraction system was created to separate Ce(IV) effectively from other RE(III) while recovering F, P and Th by complexing F and P following the oxidation of Ce(III) to Ce(IV). The method includes two parts. Firstly, bastnaesite is oxidized by air roasting and sulfuric acid leaching. And then a first leach liquor containing Ce(IV), F and P is obtained. Secondly, monazite was converted into REhydroxide through alkaline attack and then Ce(III) in the RE-hydroxide was oxidized into Ce(IV) by wetair oxidation. After sulfuric acid leaching the oxidized RE-hydroxide, a second leach liquor is obtained. The two parts of leach liquor containing Ce(IV), F and P are then extracted by Cyanex923 to obtain CeO2, CeF3 and CePO4 based on the complex of Ce(IV) with F and P. The raffinate was further extracted by the primary amine N1923, and Th-product was recovered as ThO2. The RE elements recovery yield during the whole process is greater than 92%. The new technique not only provides a new way for Bayan Obo RE ore utilization, but also avoids resource waste and environment pollution.INTRODUCTIONRare Earths (REs) refer to lanthanides, including scandium and yttrium. Owing to the similar structure and property of RE(III), it is difficult to separate them from each other, especially for the adjacent elements. According to the United States Geological Survey, in 2010, the whole world has about 142 million tonnes of rare earth reserves. In that, China ranks the second with 22% following Brazil which ranks first with 32% (Cheng, 2011). There are three main RE ore types in China with about 80% mixed ores in Bayan Obo, 10% bastnaesite ores in SiChuan and ShanDong province and 2.9% ion adsorption ores in Southern China. Bayan Obo mixed RE concentrate consists of bastnaesite and monazite. The concentrate contains CeO2/_REO of 50% and there are 7–8% F, 4-6% P and 0.2–0.3% Th."

Jan 1, 2016

By Derek V. Ellis

Coastal and marine mines affect the seabed?s biological resources, eg fisheries, when large volume wastes such as tailings are placed on the seabed, and by the extraction processes from marine mining. Worldwide monitoring of such effects for the past 30+ years now provides information to describe Best Practice design, construction and monitoring procedures. The critical environmental factors for submarine tailings placement (STP) are the selection of an appropriate deposition site and discharge depth, the deposition rate of the tailings, and the speed of biodiversity recovery to a sustainable ecological succession. These should be predictable at new sites using current modeling and experimental procedures. Prediction procedures are still needed to minimize potential destabilization of deposited tailings, and consequent biodiversity recovery setbacks. Comparable environmental information is needed from marine mining sites.

May 1, 2002

By C. M. Diaz, P. J. Mackey

Since its inception, in 1987, the Copper-Cobre series of conferences has established itself as the prime world forum for discussing advances in copper process metallurgy, in particular copper sulfide smelting, copper recovery by leaching and electrowinning and copper electrorefining. All copper producing countries have actively participated in the pyrometallurgy symposia held in the framework of these conferences. In 1999 and 2003, the close to 100 pyrometallurgy papers that were presented had to be accommodated in two volumes. In the present paper, the authors firstly provide a brief historical sketch of the Copper-Cobre conferences and then focus on providing a retrospective look at the dramatic changes that have taken place in copper smelting in the last few decades, primarily as discussed in the Copper-Cobre and precursor conferences pyrometallurgy proceedings. Topics include: the development of autogenous, increasingly more intensive, environmentally sound and energy efficient smelting processes; significant improvements in Peirce-Smith converting practice and at the same time the commercialization of alternative continuous converting routes; the consequent expansion and modernization of smelters; the increasing compliance with strict government environmental regulations in most copper producing regions of the world; the realignment of the copper smelting industry throughout the world; and trends in copper smelting R&D. A look at the future closes these reflections on the contribution of the Copper-Cobre conferences to the advancement of copper smelting technology.

Jan 1, 2007

By P. Strand

Talk Outline ? Location and Regional Geology ? Two Unique Kimberlite Sources ? Mineral Chemistry ? Petrography, Age Dates ? Geophysics ? Exploration and Challenges ? Dyke versus Pipe dispersions ? Geophysics ? Prospecting ? Diamond Results ? Summary & Conclusions

May 1, 2008

The Discrete Element Method (DEM) is a powerful tool for analysing the flow of charge, the energy consumption and the pattern of energy utilisation of a SAG mill. With the development of laser scanning measurement, the detailed internal working surfaces of a SAG mill can now be included in DEM models. Using scanned results for new and worn shell liners for a 32? (9.75 m) SAG mill, it is shown that the feed and discharge lifters have significant effect on the flow of the charge introducing significant threedimensionality. The effects of the resolution accuracy of liner geometry and the lower cut-off of the rock size distribution are explored. Finally, using a matched new and end of life worn liner and operating conditions taken from site surveys, the effect of wear on charge motion, distribution and energy utilisation are evaluated.

Jan 1, 2012