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By E. M. Stiles

Introduction The papers that follow deal with recently completed major improvements in practices at the Sullivan operations in Kimberley. The papers have been prepared by members of the Consolidated Engineering Staff and outline the construction programme which has been in progress for the past three years, entailing an expenditure of some millions of dollars. Four major operational changes have been brought about in the mine and concentrator. They are: (1) A change in backfill procedure for filling stopes below the 3900 level. (2) A 12,000-ton,per-day sink-float plant at the concentrator. (3) A new haulage system from the mine to the concentrator. (4) A completely new crushing plant and ore storage facilities located underground. A brief outline of the background and history leading up to this overall project will be given to show how each started as an independent betterment and how they were finally co-ordinated into one major programme. The first of these, namely, the necessity for backfilling stopes below the 3900 level, was the most pressing problem. All filling to date bad been done above the 3900 level, where mining was carried on in an irregular pattern of open stoping. Stopes below the 3900 level were first opened in 1940 and are being worked on a regular pattern of panel sub-level open diamond drill stopes. The two areas are separated by a sill pillar traversing the entire length of the vein at the 3900 level elevation.

Jan 1, 1950

By G. Marchand, R. H. Hay, E. C. Pearson

"AbstractA polishing .technique is described together with two anodic etching methods for aluminum and its alloys. Some of the optical and structural characteristics of the film formed by •these etching methods are discussed and it is shown to what degree these properties of the film are related to the crystallographic orientation of the metallic substrate. Applications to the study of recrystallization and twinning phenomena and to the study of plastic deformation, banding, and texture estimation are discussed. Micrographs are shown .to illustrate the manner in which the technique is particularly well suited to the study of such phenomena.IntroductionThe physical metallurgist is constantly faced with the problem of polishing and etching of metallic sections. Mechanical polishing is tedious, time consuming, and not applicable whenever a surface entirely free from plastic deformation is required. Etchants are generally required to reveal the grain structure in order to determine its size, shape, and regularity, or to bring up constituents. In the case of aluminum, the .most common etchant to reveal grains is a mixture of three acids: HC1, HN03, and HF. This etchant is fairly satisfactory on certain alloys and for certain metallurgical conditions but in general fails to give a good definition of the grain on castings, on highly alloyed products, and whenever the grain is smaller than 100 microns in diameter. Besides size and shape, a grain, or crystal, has an orientation and may be endowed with several types of imperfections."

Jan 1, 1952

By Rob Kelso

What is a Lunabot? ?Robot Controlled Remotely or Autonomously ?Visual and Auditory Isolation from Operator ?Excavates Black Point 1 (BP-1) Simulant ?Weight Limit - 80 kg ?Dimension Limits - 1.5m width x .75m length x .75m height ?Designed, Built and Tested by University Student Teams

May 1, 2013

By E. Dernedde

Industrial plants located in the province of Quebec, Canada, are subjected to large variations of the ambient air temperature, Building ventilation systems of these plants must have some flexibility in order to meet industrial hygiene standards (TLV for chemical substances, heat stress and cold stress) at any time of the year, The building ventilation of a bath treatment plant of an aluminium smelter in Quebec was examined under summer and winter conditions, Part of the plant has periodic emissions of hydrogen fluoride gas and heat from hot anode butts, CFD modeling was used to optimise the building ventilation of the bath treatment plant, The present study proposes a modified building ventilation system, which improves the internal environment, complies with industrial hygiene standards and also reduces heating costs by 20 % during winter.

Jan 1, 2005

By J. W. Merkley, K. B. Hustwick

"The authors describe the use of a computer system for the control oj warehouse inventory at Cominco's Canadian operations. The challenge presented by the company's diverse products and various locations necessitated a practical approach to operational and manpower requirements. The utilization of modern forecasting techniques, manual intervention and exception reporting provides system flexibility. The system also provides both operational and management control to set required service goals at the lowest inventory levels for inventory management.IntroductionCominco Ltd. is a Canadian company, with international operations, the principal business of which is zinc, lead and chemical fertilizer s. Its involvement is fully integrated and range s from mineral exploration through mining, smelting, refining and by-product production to international marketing. It also embraces related services, including trade, wharfarge and power. With head office in Vancouver, it is involved, directly or through subsidiary or associated companies, in Canada and in the United States, Greenland, Europe, Australia, India and Japan.Cominco has over 12,000 employees and 26,000 shareholders, with 91% of all shares held in Canada.Cominco's Inventory Control System is one of the most extensively used computer systems employed by the company. Also, inventory control is regarded as one of the most economically successful computer applications to be undertaken by the Data Processing Services (D.P.S) Group that was responsible for the development of the Inventory Control System.The main use of automatic inventory control has been at operating plants in Western Canada and the Northwest Territories, which are separated by large distances. Each location has equipment-intensive mining and processing operations and it is essential to maintain control of parts and supplies inventories. Some of these locations are remote from urban and industrial centres and it is important to avoid the adverse effects of high personnel costs and re-training due to turnover."

Jan 1, 1982

Agenda ?Trends in Wireless Technology ?Success and Opportunities ?Improving plants efficiency ?Improving plants reliability ?Improving plants safety and security ?Wireless Ecosystem ?Lessons Learnt / Recommendations Why Wireless? ?Lower cost (no wiring cost) ?Flexibility (no wire) ?Standards-compliant wireless devices major factor enabling growth:?Standard WLAN (IEEE 802.11)?Wireless field I/Os (IEEE 802.11, ISA100.11 and WirelessHART) ??Wireless adoption will become a milestone that will rival the introduction of Fieldbus and the distributed control system (DCS) in its importance.? ARC Advisory Group

May 1, 2009

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 F. E. Lathe

INTRODUCTION THE present study, based largely upon phase equilibrium diagrams and other theoretical considerations but nevertheless addressed primarily to the practical metallurgist, has been undertaken with a view to discovering what light can be thrown upon the role of alumina in slags. According to Liddell (23), "alumina apparently acts as .a base if much silica is present, as an acid if the silica is low, always as a nuisance." Newton and Wilson (26) state that .alumina "is never added intentionally, as it makes the slag viscous, and is generally an undesirable constituent of slags". Camp and Francis (3) sum up their views by saying, "alumina is seldom used intentionally as a flux, but it is present in nearly all raw material, hence unavoidable". One has only to read The Function of Alumina in Slags, by Henrich (I3), and the very extensive discussion that followed the presentation of his paper, to realize that, before the days of phase equilibrium diagrams, it was a very serious question indeed as to whether alumina should be calculated as a basic, acid, or neutral constituent. Opinions then differed widely, as well they might; today, even though no categorical answer can be given to the question raised, the function of alumina can be at least partly clarified by a study of the fundamental work done by the Geophysical Laboratory in Washington and by certain universities in both America and Europe. It will be a source of gratification to Canadian metallurgists and ceramists to know that work of this type is now under way in the recently organized Physical and Crystal Chemistry Section of the Mines Branch, Ottawa, and that results of practical value have in fact already been obtained.

Jan 1, 1951

By A. H. Lang

Introduction The recent uranium discovery at Theano point, lake Superior, is probably a rediscovery of the first reported Canadian uranium occurrence. A description of material from the original discovery was published in 1847 by J. L. LeConte, and many attempts have been made to relocate the deposit. Such attempts have in the past been unsuccessful because of vagueness in the original description of the locality. Besides being a prospect that seems to merit development work, the Camray discovery is important because it reaffirms the occurrence of pitchblende in the eastern part of the Precambrian shield. Much staking followed the announcement of the discovery, and some additional finds have been reported. Location The Camray discovery is at the shore of Theano point, lake Superior, about seventy miles north of Sault Ste. Marie (see Figure 1). It is in township 29, range XIV, district of Algoma. The showing is two miles from Highway No. 17, and is reached by a rough trail that leaves the highway at mileage 72.9 from Sault Ste. Marie. There are no towns of any size nearer than Sault Ste. Marie.

Jan 1, 1949

By Stephen Hardcastle

Supplying ventilation in underground metal mines can be one of the most energy demanding services required to support production activities. Consequently, as energy, in the form of electricity or combustible fuels can be expensive and their unit cost is expected to increase, there is significant interest in reducing the overall demands of a mine?s ventilation system through such initiatives as controlling ventilation based upon demand and exploring other power alternatives to the current usage of the diesel engine in mobile mine vehicles. However, determining the benefit of any energy saving technology is complex and not universal applicable across the industry, consequently they have not been widely adopted. For these technologies to succeed they must be strategically applied based upon sound business cases. The intent of this paper is to provide information on some of the prospective control strategies and their potential impact on the power consumption related to supplying ventilation.

May 1, 2007

The dissolution of chalcopyrite has received a significant amount of attention. The predominant paradigm of investigation is that its rate of dissolution is limited or passivated by a surface coating or film of material. The common candidates for such a passivating coating are numerous: polysulfide coating, metal deficient layers, copper sulfide coating, bornite layers, jarosite precipitates, and elemental sulfur films. While this line of explanation, that is, the explanation based on passivation, seems to have won some form of consensus with researchers, there is another explanation for the results that can account for all the results observed. Crundwell (1988) proposed that the solid state properties of chalcopyrite, in particular, the semiconducting properties, are responsible for the observed behaviour of chalcopyrite. The purpose of this paper is to outline the semiconductor mechanism of dissolution, and to show how this mechanism accounts for all the observed phenomena recently reported in the literature. The paper outlines the semiconductor mechanism of dissolution, shows how this mechanism accounts for the dissolution

Jan 1, 2014

By B. MohammadSadeghi, S. Bakhshivash, M. Haghshenas, F. Rahimi

"Constrained groove pressing (CGP), as a severe plastic deformation (SPD) technique, is one of the applicable methods for sheet metal forming capable of producing ultra-fine grained materials (UFGMs). In CGP, processing and die design parameters can significantly affect the deformation response of sheet metal specimen. Having said this, in the present research the effects of die design variables and processing parameters (i.e. shear angle and friction) on the deformation behaviour of an Al-Mg-Si Alloy are studied thoroughly. Finite element analysis (FEA), was used to evaluate the effectiveness of mentioned parameters on the deformation homogeneity, strain distribution and pressing load variations. Also, mechanical properties of the deformed sample in term of micro-hardness was analyzed. It is observed that with increasing the shear angle, effective stress, strain and pressing load are enhanced. Moreover, by increasing the coefficient of friction, pressing load enhances. The color coded micro-hardness measurement showed a good agreement with the strain distribution obtained from FEA (higher hardness for the zones associated with higher shear plastic strain values).INTRODUCTIONWork hardening results in enhanced mechanical properties upon cycles of deformation (Hosford & Caddell, 2007). However, the formability of the processed products are affected by work hardening reducing the possibility of processing in subsequent deformation cycles. Therefore, many industrial processes cannot be performed on sheet metals to produce products with desired mechanical and physical properties (Valiev, Islamgaliev, & Alexandrov, 2000). Severe plastic deformation (SPD) is an effective grain refining technique which can impose large plastic strains through cold working on a metallic specimen (Bisadi, Rastgou, Payganeh, Zeynali, & Ghahremani, 2010). SPD techniques are mainly categorized into three types; sheet, bulk and tube forming. Among SPD sheet forming methods, Constrained Groove Pressing (CGP) (Shin, Park, Kim, & Park, 2002), Accumulative Roll Bonding (ARB) (Saito, Tsuji, Utsunomiya, Sakai, & Hong, 1998) and Repetitive Corrugation and Straightening (RCS) (Zhu, Lowe, Jiang, & Huang, 2001) possess potential applications in manufacturing industries."

Jan 1, 2016

By D. F. Coates

Slope problems arise on mining properties from cuts for roads and railroads and from open pits. When it is 'realized that 1,000,000 extra tons of waste may have to be mined as a result of an average slope being reduced by 1 ° it is easy to appreciate that the slope problems connected with open pits are of far greater importance than the others. The type of slope failure that can occur can be classified in different ways. The most useful classification would be one that separates the causes in such a way as to provide a basis for studies to deal with problems of prevention and control. Using this criterion the types of slope failures are classified into four groups. Having classified the problems in this way an understanding can be gained of the various mechanisms involved in failure ..

Jan 1, 1961

By R. W. Lawrence

"The management of acid rock drainage( ARD) to prevent impact when tailings are disposed of in the environment requires understanding of the phenomena giving rise to acidic drainage, a rigorous evaluation of the weathering characteristics of the tailings, and the successful implementation of control measures that will be effective in the long term. This paper provides a brief theoretical background to the complex reactions taking place in mill tailings containing residual sulfide minerals which must be appreciated to enable waste characterization program to be effective in predicting the future behavior of the tailings and in designing control methods which will work. The principals and practice of prediction and control as part of an ARD management strategy will then be discussed.Paper Not Available at Time of Publication"

Jan 1, 1997

By J. T. Fyles, C. G. Hewlett

"THE TOWN OF Salmo, rail centre for the Salmo lead-zinc mining district, is in southeastern British Columbia 26 miles by road east of Trail an about the same distance south of Nelson. The belt in which the mines occur is a few miles east of Salmo and extends about 6 miles north of the town and 17 miles south and southwest to the International Boundary. The belt includes the H. B. mine of The Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company of Canada, Limited, the Jersey mine of Canadian Exploration Limited, the Reeves MacDonald mine, and the Jack Pot property of New Jersey Zinc Explorations Limited.Since 1949, the Jersey and Reeves MacDonald mines have produced most of the lead and zinc in the district. From 1949 through 1954 these two mines together produced a total of 233,134 ounces of silver, 87,659,399 pounds of lead, 215,708,856 pounds of zinc and 475,397 pounds of cadmium. This amounts to more than 80 per cent of the total production of lead and 95 per cent of the total production of zinc from the district since the first recorded production in 1906. Reserves at the largest properties amount to several million tons of ore containing 4 to 7 per cent combined lead and zinc. Several prospects are potential producers.Regional StructureThe main structural units in the Salmo area are outlined in Figure I, and the major rock units of the stratigraphic column are listed in the following table. The lead and zinc deposits are replacements in a highly deformed limestone formation near the base of the Laib group, and all mineralized zones are on the south and east side of structural unit 2 (see Figure I)."

Jan 1, 1949

By L. K. Sinclair

In situ leaching of copper has the potential to deliver low-cost recovery for soluble copper deposits of sufficient permeability. In order to provide key inputs for modeling of the in situ leaching process, bench scale test work can be used in conjunction with geochemical software to identify key leaching and precipitation reactions. A case study is presented in which a series of flow-through acid leaching tests were conducted on drill core sections from a porphyry copper deposit without crushing or grinding. Concentrations of copper and other key elements were monitored in the recirculating leach solution over several months. A geochemical model of each leaching test was prepared using Geochemist's Workbench using a combination of diffusion-controlled and reaction-controlled rate mechanisms. Key reactions included leaching of chrysocolla, iron oxides, and plagioclase. The model was able to simultaneously satisfy the evolving chemistry of the recirculating leach solution, mineralogy of the head and leach residue, measured acid consumption, and leaching rates for key minerals reported from previous laboratory studies. Opportunities and limitations for scaling up the model to simulate the commercial wellfield are discussed.

Jan 1, 2015

By S. Fahland, P. Vogel

"The Gorleben salt dome has been investigated since 1979 for its suitability as a repository for the disposal of high-level radioactive wastes. The geoscientific surface exploration was followed by underground exploration of the site beginning in 1983: underground excavation work included the sinking of two shafts from 1986 to 1994, the excavation of the infrastructure area and of drifts located in the first exploration area EB1 within the following years. The exploration was interrupted for ten years from 2000 to 2010 as part of a moratorium. After the expiry of the moratorium in March 2010, the geoscientific underground exploration at the Gorleben site was resumed. The investigations were interrupted again in autumn 2012 due to a political decision. The exploration programme included extensive geoscientific investigations: geological exploration, geophysical investigations, mining exploration and mining observation, laboratory tests, in-situ geotechnical measurements, geological modelling and numerical model calculations. To analyse and interpret the results of the in-situ measurements and mining observation geomechanical, thermal and thermo-mechanical model calculations were carried out. One of the main elements of the in-situ geotechnical investigations were high-resolution geothermal measurements performed in boreholes used for geological exploration and geotechnical tests.The geothermal measurements are used to evaluate several geotechnical findings, e. g. drift closure, rock deformation, stress change, and are completed by thermal model calculations to analyse and interpret the results of in-situ measurements and mining observation. The model calculations have been carried out using the special purpose JIFE code. To consider the whole exploration mine with the adjoining host rock as well as the successive excavation of drifts and boreholes in detail a three-dimensional finite-element model was developed. The model calculations are used to analyse the cooling-off of the surrounding rock of the drifts caused by ventilation. The cooling-off of the surrounding rock is an ongoing process affecting the results of further geotechnical measurements in the near field of the drifts. To predict a realistic time and space dependent distribution of the temperature field of the host rock within the exploration area which is influenced by ventilation thermal model calculations are necessary. Comparing the calculated temperature field with the in-situ determined rock mass temperature field within the exploration area EB 1 the results show a sufficient agreement. Furthermore there is very good correspondence, both qualitatively and quantitatively, between the experimental and the calculated findings regarding the temperature profiles including the effects of excavation and ventilation of the drifts."

Jan 1, 2015

Mirador - Overview ? Located in Andean foothills of SE Ecuador ? Copper-gold porphyry hosted by calc-alkaline Late Jurassic granitic and porphyritic rocks ? 438 MT of 0.61% Cu and 0.19 g/t Au measured and indicated resources (at 0.4% Cu cut-off) ? Additional inferred resources of 235 MT of 0.52% Cu and 0.17 g/t Au ? Initial 25,000 tonnes/day production, expanding to 50,000 in year 6 320 MT of 0.62% Cu, 0.2 g/t Au ore mined at an average 1.4:1 strip ratio over a 21 year mine-life

May 1, 2006

By Pierre Pelletier, Christian Pichetie, Dany Pelletier

"IntroductionDuring 1994, Barrick Gold Corporation, or American Barrick at that period, acquired Lac Minerals Ltd. properties. One of them was the Bousquet Complex. The Bousquet Complex is divided into three distinct sites: one mine (Bousquet 2), one mill (Est-Malartic Division) and one analytical chemistry laboratory (Les Terrains auriferes).The Bousquet 2 orebody was discovered in 1986. An extensive drilling program was initiated during 1987. Its purpose was to define the orebody extent. At the end of 1997, gold production from Bousquet 2 mine reached 1 290 000 oz of gold from a cumulative tonnage processed of 4 175 000 M t.From 1980 to 1990, the Est-Malartic mill was used for the treatment of ore from the following mines: Bousquet 1, Doyon, Francoeur (Richmont mines), Buckshot and 1-20 stope. At present, the mill receives ore from the Bousquet 2 mine.HistoryThe Est-Malartic mill is located close to the town of Malartic in northwestern Quebec. The mill has been in production since the mid-1930s processing mainly clean, free mill gold ore. Active mining from the Est-Malartic mine ceased in 1979 and the mill was switched to custom processing of ore from La Mine Doyon located some 45 km to the west. This custom processing arrangement continued until 1987 when the expanded mill at Doyon became available to process all of the Doyon production. In 1987, Lac Minerals commenced development of a second mine at the Bousquet site located 40 km west of Malartic. This mine, Bousquet 2, is the down dip extension of the La Ronde mine developed by Agnico Eagle. During pre-feasibility evaluations, it was determined that it would be economically more attractive to modify the existing Est-Malartic mill than building a new facility on site. The Est-Malartic mill modifications for processing the high-copper/gold ore from the Bousquet 2 mine began in late 1989 and new circuits were commissioned in mid-1990. Modifications included the addition of both gravity and flotation concentration circuits to recover coarse, free gold and the copper. The existing leaching circuit continued to operate on the copper flotation tailings with some minor modifications to the solution handling systems. A S02/Air cyanide destruction circuit was also added at that time."

Jan 1, 2000

By A. Mitrašinovic, A. Wolf

"The aim of this investigation was to determine the most suitable additive for recovering metals from converter slags generated during Ni extraction. Fluxes analyzed were silica and lime and reductants included pig iron, ferrosilicon and copper-silicon compound. Slag was settled at 1300°C for one hour to simulate the smelting environment. The newly formed matte and slag were characterized by chemical composition and morphology. Microstructural studies showed that slag formed after adding reductants consisted of primarily fayalite, with traces of magnetite. Entrained matte was present in the slag mostly as prills of Ni3S2-FeS matrix and a Cu2S-FeS secondary phase below 10µm in diameter. Kinetic parameters of matte formation, valuable metal recovery rates and partition coefficients were deduced. Silica additions generated higher partition coefficients for copper and nickel than the addition of lime. Additives used as reducing agents had higher valuable metal recovery rates and partition coefficients. Silica additions favoured the formation a higher grade matte while lime additions will hinder metal recovery. Pig iron, ferrosilicon and Cu30Si were the most effective reductants for valuable metals recovery. Cu10Si and coke additions had little to no effect on valuable metals recovery."

Jan 1, 2015