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By Michael P. Amsden

"THE ECSTALL CONCENTRATOR is situated adjacent to Highway 101 and the Ontario Northland Railroad, 15 miles east of Timmins, Ontario. Ore is delivered to the concentrator by rail from the mine, which is 17 miles northwest of the plant. Power and fuel are obtained from the hydro and natural gas lines which pass close to the plant site. Water is obtained from the Frederickhouse River, 6 miles east of the concentrator. The main concentrator building is a large structure 500 by 640 feet by 90 feet high and contains facilities for fine crushing, crushed ore storage, grinding, flotation, tin recovery, concentrate handling and reagent handling. Located in the same building are the machine shop, warehouse, metallurgical laboratory, pilot plant, men's change room, sample preparation area and an assay laboratory. The general concentrator layout is shown in Figure 47. Originally designed to handle 9,000 tons per day, the concentrator now treats 10,000 tons per day. Two different ore types are processed by selective flotation in three individual circuits to recover copper, lead and zinc concentrates. In 1973, another circuit was added to recover pyrite and tin concentrates from the combined zinc tailings of the three main circuits."

Jan 1, 1974

By J. E. Dutrizac, J. B. O'Reilly

"Zinc is a relatively abundant element which occurs as both high-grade sulphide ores {sphalerite ZnS) and oxide ores which the ancients collectively termed ""calamine"" (smithsonite ZnC03 and/ or hemimorphite Zn4Si201(0H)2 - H20 and/ or hydrozincite Zn5(C03) 2(0H)6). Although oxidic zinc is readily reduced by carbon, the process becomes thermodynamically viable only at - 1000°C, and at this temperature the zinc is released as a vapour (B.P. 907°C). Casual cooling of the vapour results in its re-oxidation by excess combustion air or even the carbon monoxide product of the reduction reaction. ZnO + C = C09,, + Zn vapom Only fairly rapid quenching of the zinc vapour and the isolation of the reduction products from the combustion gases will yield metallic zinc; these conditions were not produced deliberately until the advent of distillation technology. Until quite recently, the principal use of zinc was in brass manufacture; galvanized iron was not discovered until the 19th century and zinc casting alloys are a relatively recent invention. As will be seen, brass could be produced without recourse to a pure zinc intermediary, and the discovery of brass preceded that of zinc by many centuries. The purpose of this paper is to outline the discovery and early development of both zinc and brass with special reference to the European scene."

Jan 1, 1999

By D. A. Barr

High-grade gold-silver mineralization associated with electrum and argentite was discovered in a quartz vein at the Chappelle property, 273 km north of Smithers, B.C., in 1969 following a regional geochemical reconnaissance program in the Cassiar-Omineca Mountains. Subsequent exploration resulted in the discovery of numerous quartz veins with associated precious-metal values in a belt 17 by 3 km in area centrally located within Toodoggone Group volcanic and sedimentary rocks of Lower to Middle Jurassic age and a window of Takla Group volcanic rocks of Upper Triassic age. More detailed investigations, consisting principally of 5677 m of surface drilling in 57 holes and crosscutting, drifting and raising on Chapelle Vein A, has outlined a high-grade gold-silver-bearing shoot with a strike length of 200 m, an average width of about 3 m and extending to an average depth of about 40 m below surface.

Jan 1, 1978

By Johnny Zhang, Yang Anguo, Li Weifeng, Xueyi Guo

"SKSTM oxygen bottom blowing smelting technology was developed by SKS-ENFI at SKS Smelter, Hunan in the 1990s to replace the conventional sintering process and thus to meet the high national EHS standard for lead.Since then, two major milestones have been achieved:1. Since 2002, the SKS oxygen bottom blowing smelting-blast furnace reduction has been in operation at SKS, YGL, Chizhou smelter etc. Now in China, about 50% of the lead (4.2 millions t/year) is produced using SKS process; and2. Since 2008, the blast furnace has been replaced by direct reduction of molten rich lead slag at YGJ smelter, which is more energy-efficient since no slag cooling is required. This two stage process (SKS Oxidation- Direct Reduction) is named as the YGL process.Since 2008, numerous technological innovations have been implemented in the furnace design, process control, and maintenance at YGL. The plant has been successfully demonstrated its unique excellent performances on all aspects from processing capacity, product quality, energy reduction, cost reduction and emission reduction. The purpose of this report is to update all the improvements with proven tracks.Meanwhile, a preliminary comparison on the following aspects between the YGL process and other similar technologies has been discussed:1. Plant design and operating conditions;2. Mass and heat balances, metal (Pb, Ag) recovery;3. Consumables, oxygen gun and refractory lining life;4. Energy consumption and operating costs;5. Sulfur capture and emission reduction etc.It is concluded that the modified SKSTM process is a clean SO2-free emission process. The process is characteristic of other features such as no extra fuel addition, low capital with a small foot-print design, low OPEX, high throughput, easy operation, long refractory lining life and high productivity (95%+ on line time annually). It offers an alternative cost-effective technology for lead smelting industry."

Jan 1, 2014

By Joey Hoang, Robert Johansson, Tapani Keronen, Mikael Jåfs, Jani Jansson, Mikko Korpi

At the Copper 2016 conference in Kobe, Japan, Outotec introduced a vision for the year 2020, wherein smelting would make use of four digital cornerstones: intelligent instruments, advanced process control, improved information management and transparency of and access to data. Since then, this vision coined the phrase “Fully Automated Smelter” with the mission promising a concept where no manual actions from human operators would be needed during normal smelter operations. Replacing repetitive physical work, collection and analysis of everyday production data has a great potential for further automation and will provide productive ways to improve efficiency and safety of smelters in the future. Therefore, a lot of emphasis has been put into developing solutions to automate these tasks and to move people out of harm’s way. A lot of new equipment, systems and optimization tools are under development. In addition, a lot of effort is going into developing dynamic process models and advanced control systems to interface with the plant automation systems. The goal is to integrate all these concepts to meet Outotec’s Fully Automated Smelter vision. This paper will cover these latest achievements toward this vision and introduce the near-future of digital smelting. INTRODUCTION As is well known already, the humankind is currently experiencing a change, extent of which is broadly studied by the governmental, educational and industrial institutions and parties. The wellbeing and quality of life have traditionally been improved alongside the developments in industrial production, which is now about to enter its fourth revolution. Therefore, the current change is often described as fourth industrial revolution, or industry 4.0 (or industrie 4.0, as named by Acatech, 2013) and can be considered anything from small incremental development to a ground-breaking global reset that will affect everyone’s lives. Many seem to agree, that the scale of change will indeed be big, even significantly bigger than the three industrial revolutions before it (Pellini, Weyrauch, Malho & Carden, 2019; Geissbauer, Vedso & Schrauf, 2016; Jansson, Bjorklund, Lahtinen, Heinonen, Jafs & Fagerlund, 2016).

Jan 1, 2019

By CIM Mineral Resource, Mineral Reserve Committee

The CIM Estimation of Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves Best Practice Guidelines (MRMR Best Practice Guidelines) were prepared by the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum's (CIM) Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves Committee (CIM MRMR Committee) to update an earlier version that was accepted by CIM Council on November 23, 2003 (CIM, 2003). These 2019 MRMR Best Practice Guidelines supersede and replace the November 23, 2003 version of the MRMR Guidelines. These 2019 MRMR Guidelines are not intended to be prescriptive and are not intended to provide detailed and exhaustive instructions for preparation of Mineral Resource and/or Mineral Reserve (MRMR) estimates. Rather, they are intended as general guidance to assist professional geoscientists (or equivalent) and engineers (or equivalent) in preparing high quality estimates of MRMR that incorporate sound geoscientific, engineering, evaluation and design practices. They are based on well-established estimation and mine planning principles and are designed to provide general guidelines of best professional practices employed in the preparation of MRMR estimates. Although the 2019 MRMR Best Practice Guidelines are intended for use by Canadian-based mining/exploration practitioners, many of the concepts and practices presented herein are in general agreement with current industry practices in jurisdictions with membership in the Committee for Mineral Reserves International Reporting Standards (CRIRSCO). For this document, persons preparing MRMR estimates are called Practitioners. Preparation of MRMR estimates should be carried out by Practitioners who either hold the status of Professional Geoscientist (or equivalent) or Professional Engineer (or equivalent), or who prepare the estimates under the supervision of a Professional Geoscientist (or equivalent) or Professional Engineer (or equivalent). For the purposes of this document, all references to reporting describe such necessary reports and related documentation that are created as part of the normal-course work flow of preparing MRMR estimates for internal purposes. For clarity, all public disclosure of MRMR estimates made by, or on behalf of, an issuer and intended to be, or reasonably likely to be, made available to the public in a jurisdiction of Canada must comply with the requirements of National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (NI 43-101), as amended from time to time. At least one Qualified Person (QP) must take responsibility for each part of the estimation process when publicly disclosing the results of MRMR estimates. The intended audience for these 2019 MRMR Best Practice Guidelines includes Practitioners at all levels of skill and experience, government agencies, academic institutions, and the public.

Nov 29, 2019

By George Hope, Brigitte Lacouture

"The Red Dog Mine has increased mill throughput for most years since startup. Although flotation equipment has been added over the last 10 years, the Red Dog metallurgical performance has been restricted by a lack of adequate flotation capacity. Two reduced tonnage trials conducted in 1997 as well as numerous SAG relines have consistently indicated the potential to significantly increase both zinc concentrate recovery and grade with additional flotation capacity. Late in 1999, a new circuit was designed with increased flotation capacity while simplifylng the current circuit, providing for three stages of dilution cleaning, and creating a retreat section. The purpose of the retreat section is to target the more complex particles and allow the chemical environment to be fine tuned for improved iron depression. In total, twentyone (21) Outokumpu OK50 mechanical flotation cells and four (4) 3.66m dia. column cells will be added to the current flotation circuit. The VIP (Value Improvement Program) Mill Optimization project is also addressing thickening, water treatment and power issues and has a total budget of $US105 M. Startup of equipment will be phased in to minimize the impact on current operations and is expected to be complete by the end of Q3-2001.INTRODUCTIONRed Dog Operations started production in November 1989. The mine is located above the arctic circle in northwest Alaska. It is linked by an 80 km road to a port-site facility where the concentrate is stored. Concentrate is shipped to markets throughout the world during the one hundred (100) days of open seas. Typical of sedimentary exhalative deposits, the metallurgy proved to be challenging and coupled with many mechanical shortcomings, the initial few years were very difficult. The start-up issues were slowly resolved and in 1998, a major grinding expansion, the PRI (Production Rate Increase) project, was completed. The project was designed to allow a 40% increase over the 1995 throughput. In 2000 mill throughput was 3,050,000 tonnes to produce a total of 960,000 and 140,000 dry tonnes of zinc and lead concentrates respectively, making Red Dog the largest zinc concentrate producer in the world. To address a shortage of flotation capacity remaining from the PRI grinding expansion, a project designated as the VIP (Value Improvement Program) Mill Optimization project was initiated. The mill optimization project is targeted to produce 1,100,000 tonnes of zinc concentrate at 56% zinc grade and 87% zinc recovery. The project will add twenty-one (21) Outokumpu OK50 (50m3) flotation cells, four (4) 3.66mO column cells and address water treatment, thickening and power generation capacities."

Jan 1, 2002

By Alfred W. G. Wilson

THE ultimate purpose of the Chemical Manufacturer is to produce consumer products which can be sold to customers. Such production and sales can be continued only if the operations yield a profit to the manufacturer and if the products meet the requirements o the consumer--bath parties to the transaction must be satisfied. There are vast numbers of consumer products, made by chemical pro-cesses. The production of some of these ultimate products may involve the use of several intermediate chemicals, applications of few or many different processes, and the utilization, somewhere in the series of operations, of a variety of raw materials. On the other hand, some ultimate products have a very simple chemical history between raw materials and end products. There are no chemical products in use which are completely independent of the mineral industry. For many, the association is direct and obvious; for others, it may be indirect and even obscure. Analyses of the process and raw-material ancestry of a very large number of consumer products would suggest that many products are derived from Industrial Mineral products directly, that there are many in which the connection is indirect, and that there are only a few products with which industrial minerals are not in some way or other associated. The vast majority of the more important chemical products, and especially the basic chemicals from which other products are made, are directly dependent for their production upon Industrial Minerals or their derivatives. In the preceding part of this paper, for each raw material mentioned some references have been made to the leading chemical products based on this material. This, however, is only part of the story, because in most cases the consumer product can be made from any special raw material mentioned only by the use of other materials or chemicals made from them. The production of consumer chemicals is really possible only through an intricate interlocking of processes, materials, and apparatus.

Jan 1, 1940

By R. Stauffer, S. Lindsay

"Sherritt Gordon Mines Limited utilizes pressure hydro-metallurgical techniques to recover nickel, copper and cobalt from su1phidic concentrates, mattes and various other metal-bearing materials.A brief description of the nickel refinery operation is given. In the nickel refinery process, an ammonia pressure leach is employed to treat the feed materials to dissolve the non-ferrous metals as their respective ammine complexes. The resulting leach solution goes through a series of steps which removes copper as copper sulphide and further purifies the solution prior to nickel precipitation by hydrogen reduction. The reduction end solution, containing the cobalt which was originally present in the leach solution as well as residual nickel, is treated with hydrogen sulphide. The resulting nickel-cobalt sulphide precipitate feeds the soluble cobaltic ammine process, which separates the nickel and cobalt and recovers the cobalt as a pure powder.A detailed description of the cobalt recovery process is given. Included are the various steps, comprising: acid leaching of the mixed sulphides, solution purification, ammine complex formation and cobaltous oxidation, two-stage nickel precipitation, cobalt conversion and reduction. A brief description of cobalt powder handling is included, along with typical physical properties and chemical analyses of the cobalt product. In general, the purpose of this paper is to describe the present plant practices employed in the recovery of cobalt as a by-product of the nickel refinery operations."

Jan 1, 1967

By K. E. Barnes

"The “Jameson Cell” flotation cell was developed at Mount Isa Mines in the late 1980’s to address deficiencies in our flotation column installations. Early base metal installations had a variable record. The test work and trials showed they made an improvement metallurgically when operated correctly, but performance of the early installations was hindered by a range of operational and maintenance issues. The installations needed to be more robust, and we needed a better understanding of how to successfully integrate the cells into the plant flow sheet.During the 1990’s, Jameson Cells had great success in coal fines flotation and organic removal in SXEW applications, and became the standard in these applications in Australia. These installations improved the cell design and materials of construction and the cell flow sheet design, to make it low wear with self-regulating control, producing good performance with little operator input.These improvements have enabled a fresh look at the use of Jameson Cells in base metals. Recent new installations have shown significant benefits in “hybrid” circuits, that combine the best features of both Jameson Cells and conventional flotation cells, achieving better overall circuit performance in a smaller footprint than either technology could do by itself.Case studies of successful base metal applications are discussed, using size-by-size mineralogical performance to explain the improved circuit performance. The new methods of flow sheet test work design are also described."

Jan 1, 2006

By R. H. Pemberton

"THE Mattagami district of Quebec has, during the past few years, experienced intense exploration by virtually every mining company operating in Canada. As a result of this activity, a number of well-mineralized zinc-copper bearing bodies have been found, some of which will almost certainly go into production. Much of the area has undergone what is now termed ""Saturation Prospecting"" or intense and detailed geological and geophysical surveying, followed by the drilling of nearly all possible bets. Considering only the airborne geophysical surveying, some blocks of ground have been flown by virtually every geophysical instrument which has to date been installed in an aircraft. A list of these different geophysical instruments would include: l. Fluxgate-type total field magnetometers 2. Vertical field magnetometer ,3. Nuclear-precession magnetometers 4. Single-frequency out-of-phase electromagnetometers 5. Dual-frequency out-of-phase electromagnetometers 6. Horizontal component measuring electromagnetometers 7. In-phase and out-of-phase electromagnetometers8. Dip-angle measuring electromagnetometers."

Jan 1, 1961

By Patrick M. - Langevin

THIS TALK IS ABOUT : How the DBL mining camp deposits have been found and what is done to find the next one PLAN: Overview of the geological context Historical exploration perspective Deposits geology and key features Conclusion

May 1, 2006

By Judy K. Todd

Double benching has been utilized as an excavation technique in open pit mines for many years. This process involves drilling, blasting, and excavating the material for the design bench height. A second bench is then excavated without the creation of a catch bench, i.e. only minimal offset from the first bench face is allowed when drilling off the second bench. The result is a double high bench face or double bench. When drilling off the second bench, the offset of the drill from the bench face projects the lower bench face into the pit up to an extra five meters. This reduces the maximum attainable bench angle, enhances the probability of rock escaping the catch bench and increases the overall strip ratio. The generally utilized process of trim blasting also can impact on the final bench profile by contributing to blast damage of the face. BHP Billiton Diamonds Inc., Ekati Mine Diamond MineTM, has pioneered the usage of a technique that eliminates this offset. Double benching is accomplished by drilling a single, 30m pre-shear (two 15m benches) to define and protect the final bench profile. This article provides a comparison of the attained face angles obtained in the field utilizing both of the above methods, as well as a comparison with the analytically predicted angles prior to excavation.

May 1, 2002

By R. J. Goodman, P. Lafleur

This paper presents a current interpretation and projections of recent statistics on raw materials availability based on familiarity with the Canadian steel industry and its development. Problems and opportunities are recognized and discussed.

Jan 1, 1976

By Karl J. C. Harries

"12.1. NO DEPRECIATION/GAAPAll calculations and computations relating to the Royalty shall be carried out in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles consistently applied to the extent that such principles are not inconsistent with the provisions of this Schedule and the agreement attached hereto, it being specifically agreed that nothing herein contained shall permit, or be construed to permit, the Operator to deduct any amount for depletion, depreciation, amortization or any deduction that represents a non-cash outlay.Comment: In cases like net profit royalties where recoupment of prior expenditures is permitted, care should be taken to avoid any implication that depreciation may also be taken. It is only logical and equitable that Property Owners should not be permitted an apparent ability to “double dip” with respect to deductions. A provision like this example should accomplish the task. It will be noted that the example specifically contemplates that the negotiated arrangements will prevail over any requirements of GAAP. Accordingly, if the parties agree to an unusual formula for recoupment, it will not be set aside to accommodate GAAP requirements. Under GAAP, revenues and expenditures are accounted for on an accrual basis. In addition, it specifically prohibits the taking of non-cash deductions, which is in keeping with the concept of recoupment.Although in some ways the example states the obvious and could be considered redundant, its presence, especially in provisions contemplating recoupment, makes it clear to the financial people that there may well be some variations from normal practices dictated by GAAP, while at the same time confirming the availability of GAAP to fill any voids.The accounting profession often makes the caveat that application of GAAP is an “art”, not a “science”. GAAP do not provide a cure-all and can create problems that will have to be addressed. For example, GAAP contemplate that asset costs are to be reduced by investment tax credits, which can cause a problem for a payor with more than one mine."

Jan 1, 2003

By George Chung

"The Iron Ore Company of Canada's Carol Lake Project is Located near the western boundary of Labrador, 960 air kilometers northeast of Montreal (Figure 1).The Concentrator operation was started in 1962 with a capacity to produce 7 million tonnes of concentrate per year. The bulk of the concentrate was pelletized at a 6 million tonnes per year pelletizing plant completed in 1963. The remaining concentrate was sold in the international market. The concentrator was first expanded in 1966 to 10 million tonnes per year capacity with the pellet plant also expanded in 1967 to match the increase in concentrate production. In 1973, the concentrator was further expanded to gear with the increase in concentrate sales. In 1977, more than 40 million tonnes of crude ore was processed to produce in excess of 17.4 million tonnes of concentrate and 10.4 million tonnes of pellets."

Jan 1, 1980

By Selwyn G. Blaylock

There is no more important problem today than industrial relationship, and probably none that is receiving more thought. But in these days of Epie and Utopia, one has to be rather careful in speaking on this subject. Consequently, for fear that my plea for taking the working man into the family might be misconstrued, by some, as a step towards communism or socialism, I would like to say at the outset that I believe that, so long as we have human individualism, human ambitions, human hopes and fears, straight socialism is as far off as the Millennium. The same applies to communism, which only differs from socialism in that the communist realizes that his ideals can only be attained by massacring millions and destroying all that we hold sacred. Each still looks to Russia for inspiration and guidance, totally disregarding the Soviet swing-back to individual contract work and differential wage scales. They seem to be oblivious of the tyranny and repression in the present Russian system, and get very restless when reminded of it. In spite of the fact that the standard of living in civilized countries has improved tremendously and is still improving, we find that, every seven or eight years, production in many lines has outstripped consumption, and we have had panics or depressions of greater or less magnitude, accompanied by extensive unemployment. It is evident to every thinking person that there must be no little inefficiency in the control of industry. For four long years, governments and industrialists have striven to find the key to solve the present problem. Many countries are getting back to a position approaching normal-Canada probably more so than most. None, however, can feel assured that they have actually cured the situation. All kinds of schemes have been developed; tariff barriers have sprung up over-night where none existed before; currencies have been inflated to gain added security in the home markets and to try to gain advantage in export trade; and each country watches the movements of the others with fear and mistrust. I am not prepared to formulate a full solution of our troubles, but I hope to be able to demonstrate the feasibility and wisdom of the type of industrial relationship I advocate, and also that it may be a large, and possibly an essential, step towards the solution of our difficulties.

Jan 1, 1935

By Nicholas J. Grant

It is the purpose of this paper to examine a number of the recent developments in powder metallurgy, being most concerned with those which are yet to prove themselves rather than those which have achieved commercial maturity. Such developments include the production of very much coarser and very much finer powders, down to the near-micron size range. Also considered are activated sintering, direct powder rolling and extrusion (both hot and cold), brazing and welding, hydrides of reactive metals, oxide dispersion strengthened alloys and theoretical evaluations. Introduction T HERE surely can't be very much argument with the fact that powder metallurgy has made large advances on many fronts during the past ten or more years (1). These advances have taken place in raw materials, in processing, in product development and in a better understanding of many of the phenomena which occur in the various steps involved in powder metallurgy. It should be clear, in view of such growth, that it will not be possible to highlight all of the new developments in the present paper. Many of these developments,

Jan 1, 1965

By Timothy W. Ellis

Wire Bonding is the dominant IC interconnection process presently used in the semiconductor assembly industry (1). The flexibility, adaptability and cost of wire bonding will continue to keep it as the key process for the interconnection of integrated circuits to substrates. However, wire bonding still has certain technological hurdles to overcome if it is to continue following the semiconductor roadmap (2). Particular issues which need to be addressed include low overall tensile strength, low elastic modulus, low shear per unit area and mechanical loop stability of Gold based micro-alloys. The ability to produce ?Deformation Process Metal-Metal Matrix Composites? (DMMCs) is based upon the deformation nature of immissible metallic systems. For reference, the Gold (Au)-Molybdenum (Mo) phase diagram is shown in Figure 1 (3). By inspection of the diagram, Au has a very low solubility for Mo, while Mo has essentially no solubility for Au. This is the metallurgical analog of oil and water. In the Au-Mo case, this is particularly troublesome when producing precursor ingots of the alloy to be formed into wire products. In Table 1, the melting points and densities are shown for Au and Mo. As shown, the melting point of Mo is significantly higher than Au, and is very close to the boiling point of Au (2856°C). However, Au?s density is higher than that of Mo. As such, conventional casting techniques are not suitable, since solid Mo would float off the surface of an Au melt thus depleting the matrix of its alloy addition. In this work, two-phase composite wires were produced by deformation processing to develop an interconnection wire with elevated tensile strength, modulus and shear to those commonly available in the market (4). This technology has been used previously in the production of high strength electrical conductors particularly for high field pulsed magnets (5).

Oct 1, 2003

By Julie Dénommé

Today few in business would argue with the idea that we are living in a world that is Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous. Coined VUCA by the US Army War College, these four words define the ?turbulence? and ?continuous white water? that the business literature has been documenting for the last decade. This VUCA world became even more relevant to business in 2007 when the Institute for the Future fellow Bob Johansen published the idea of transforming VUCA into Vision, Understanding, Clarity, and Agility. We call this VUCA Prime (VUCA'), and place an infinity loop (8) between them to show their dynamic interaction. This paper presents an exploration of the impact of VUCA 8 VUCA' on business and the conditions under which these dynamic forces help to successfully navigate change.

Oct 1, 2010