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By L. H. Cole

Introduction The increasing importance of the gypsum industry in Canada is evidenced by the fact that the production has increased from 473,129 tons valued at $809,632 in 1909 to 1,205,846 tons valued at $3,622,007 in 1928, an increase of over 155 percent in quantity, and of 347 percent in value, in the 20-year period. Although the export trade in crude gypsum still forms a large proportion of the industry, it is gratifying to see that the home consumption is steadily increasing, and while the percentage of the crude gypsum mined that is manufactured into the calcined products in the country is only 16.8 per cent, its value is practically 50 per cent of the total gypsum production of the whole country. It is to be hoped that each succeeding year will see an increase in the amount manufactured in Canada, and, with the steady growth of the country and a serious endeavour to capture a part at least of the world market in gypsum products, the outlook for the industry is decidedly promising. The value of gypsum as a commercial commodity has been known from the time of the early Egyptians; in fact its value for certain purposes has been known so long chat the date of the discovery of its peculiar properties is unrecorded.

Jan 1, 1930

By Christopher W. Corti

A major aim of the GOLD 2003 conference, is to promote new gold related science and technology with a view to developing new useful industrial applications for gold. Current industrial uses have provided a steady annual industrial demand for gold of around 350-400 tonnes in recent years, the bulk of which is centred on electronics applications, with dental uses constituting the second largest application. However, there is good reason to believe that whilst gold will continue to play a major role in these sectors in the future, substantial growth of demand is not anticipated. Increased industrial demand for gold is only likely to come through the emergence of new applications, probably most significantly in five broad market sectors: ? Pollution and emission control technologies, including fuel cells. ? New uses for gold in advanced electronics, electrical systems and devices. ? Chemical processing of a range of bulk and speciality chemicals, using gold based catalysts ? Advanced coatings exploiting the novel properties of gold, particularly in nanoparticulate form. ? New biomedical uses for gold including medical treatments, drugs, implants, sensors and devices. There is cause for optimism that many new applications for gold could emerge in these sectors over the next decade and that this will lead to a substantial growth in demand for gold. It is clear that many of these new opportunities will be based on a chemical approach to synthesis of useful products rather than what has historically been a materials or mechanical approach. To turn this expectation into reality requires sustained support of R & D and a determination to exploit this new science and technology into viable commercial applications.

Oct 1, 2003

By Marc D. Melker, Geoffrey R. Lane, Michael Jahraus

"The Cresson gold deposit is located in the Cripple Creek district of Colorado. The deposit is composed of volcanic intrusive rocks and volcanogenic sediments where gold mineralization is associated with veins and cavities within a diatremal breccia.The purpose of the current study was to:1. Determine the penetration potential of the Cripple Creek Breccia.2. Assess the relationship between penetration and gold recovery within the Breccia.Two methods were applied using a cyanide solution containing ultraviolet sensitive dye to elucidate pathways of penetration within the rock. The first involved stagnant soaking of twoinch square pieces within the solution. The second method involved column leaching of ~100kg of Breccia crushed to P80 12.7 mm (0.5 inch). Samples were selected at specified intervals to capture the penetration progress of the solution. Photomicrographs and image analysis were utilized to illustrate and quantify the degree of penetration.Results indicated that the maximum penetration for the Cripple Creek Breccia (85 to 97%) due to a porous and permeable groundmass, containing large non-porous lapilli fragments. In addition, ~90% of leachable gold was recovered with only ~50% rock penetration.INTRODUCTIONDye penetration studies were first developed at SGS-Lakefield Research for the purpose of determining the fluid penetration amenability of differing rock types. The method was to place a large rock or drill core in a pan with 1 to 2 inches of a pre-mixed, water based fluorescent dye. The sample was sequentially cut after prescribed time periods to reveal a fresh surface. The cut surface was photographed under long wave ultraviolet light, and the same piece returned to the dye and allowed to sit until the next prescribed cutting."

Jan 1, 2006

By John R. Hawley

"This paper is intended as a review of the progress that has been made in the Province of Ontario in the field of acid drainage waste treatment technology.Three years ago, at the Third Annual Meeting of the Canadian Mineral Processors, we presented a paper entitled ""The Problem of Acid Mine Drainage in Ontario"". At that time I was working for the Ontario Water Resources Commission. The paper turned out to be the very beginning of the Commission's acid mine drainage control program. In the intervening three years, the Ontario Water Resources Commission has been amalgamated with other government groups and has evolved into the present Ontario Ministry of the Environment. Today the Ministry is involved in running one of the most advanced acid mine waste control programs in the world.As a part of its mining program, the Ontario Ministry of the Environment has published three major reports which deal directly and specifically with the industrial waste disposal problems that may arise at a mining operation. In order of publication, these reports are as follows:(1) ""The Problem of Acid Mine Drainage in the Province of Ontario"".This 338-page report covers all aspects of the problem of acid mine drainage and includes detailed sections on acid flow detection, acid flow chemistry and acid flow treatment.(2) ""The Use, Characteristics and Toxicity of Mine-Mill Reagents in the Province of Ontario"".This report, 244 pages in length, gives the chemistry and toxicity of nearly all of the chemicals that find common use in the Canadian mining industry. Most of the toxicity figures quoted are the result of a comprehensive bioassay program that was initiated by the Ministry."

Jan 1, 1974

By Richard Morland

Some simple and fundamental objectives To challenge and inspire our people to embrace safety as a value ?A stand for safety as a value ?A stand for our people ?A stand by our people ?Prevent harm to our people ?Eliminate suffering for individuals, families, friends, colleagues

May 1, 2010

By Gregory A. Johnson

Operations and Maintenance departments have long had an adversarial relationship. The widespread evolution and adoption of modern management techniques such as Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) and Lean Production however has driven interest in working co-operatively to optimize overall plant performance. Mining and minerals operations have long adopted RCM in maintenance, and are now adopting Lean throughout the organization. Modern management initiatives like these explicitly call for co-operation between the two disciplines of maintenance and production and many advances have been made in the realms of people and methodology. One area that has lagged behind in supporting these developments however is information systems. Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) systems in maintenance and newer Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) in operations have not been truly integrated in the way needed. Complicated plants, different software architectures, continually changing conditions and many variables have lead to systems problems which have contributed to the maintenance/operations divide. Master data synchronization (the ?plant tree?) and integrated reporting of real-time data with transactional data are just two of the issues that are being solved by new approaches in information technology including web services and service orientated architectures. New technologies are coming on-stream to enable the final ?bridging of the gap?.

Feb 1, 2008

"It is projected that the reactivity of acid generating tailings and waste rock can be minimized by reducing the access of oxygen by placing these materials under water in natural or manmade lakes. A project under the MEND and B.C. AMO Task Forces has been in progress for four years to evaluate active and historic tailing sites in B.C. and Manitoba. The sophisticated geochemistry studies conducted on the interstitial pore water has illustrated encouraging results which are discussed. The additional studies which are needed to complete the scientific database for the study sites, for achieving regulatory and public approval and for the engineering of application of this method of control are outlined.IntroductionWorld wide research effort is in progress to find the solution to the acid mine drainage problem. A great deal is known about acid mine drainage but much work is required to find economic and effective approaches to the problem. Two coordinated programs have been initiated recently in Canada: the National Mine Environment Neutral Drainage (MEND) program and the British Columbia Acid Drainage Task Force.Disposal of tailings materials under a water barrier such as a natural lake, is thought to be one solution to prevent acid generation by preventing oxygen and bacterial action on the sulphide surfaces. The deposition of reactive tailings materials under water in natural lakes has been used historically at various mines in Canada. However, there has never been a thorough review of the long and short term impacts of historic sites which may provide crucial information to understand the physical, chemical and biological processes which are taking place.This paper provides a general overview of a series of studies which examine the general biophysical characteristics and the sediment geochemistry of four lakes where subaqueous disposal has been or is currently being used for acid generating tailings. The subaqueous disposal studies have been conducted from 1989 through 1991 and were initiated and supported by both research task forces. The objectives of this paper are to summarize the history and the background information of the studies conducted, the general results obtained from each lake, an overview of the major collective results and the additional work which is required to achieve the final objective of developing criteria for applying this technology in the industry."

Jan 1, 1992

By G. Barbery

"Particle composition distribution is an essential feature of materials processed by physical separation methods. The amenability to segregate a feed material in a concentrate and a tailings stream depends to a large extent on what is called usually the ""liberation"" of the various mineral phases that are present in an ore. In fact the energy consumed in crushing and grinding has the major justification of producing particles that are as close as possible to monominerallic. Monophasic particles are able to reveal physical differences in mineral properties that make their separation possible. For many years, various authors have insisted on the concept of liberation, without noting that, in practice, it can be a pure concept which does not lead to measurements or predictions. The present paper insists on the concept of particle composition distribution, in which the complete distribution is the information to be obtained, and not the ""liberation·· of various phases, just like for particle size distribution, the complete distribution is an objective commonly desired, and not one or two values representing the coarse or fine fraction.2. NOTATIONS-EQUATIONSFor the purpose of the paper, a particle will be characterized by its volume Vp, and its volumetric composition with respect to a mineral of interest, which will be given the notation ""O"". All the other minerals present will be called ""1"". This notation does not imply that the particles are biphasic, but that we are interested in the composition of particles with respect to one phase only. The volumetric composition will be given the sybol m:"

Jan 1, 1986

By K. S. Kalenchuk

Massive landslides display complex deformation processes. For instance, slope movements of the Downie Slide, monitored using borehole inclinometers, extensometers, and survey monuments, show considerable spatial and temporal inconsistencies in the displacement rates. This study assesses the influence that inferred shear surface geometry, as a key factor contributing to variable slope movements, has on resolving spatially discriminated slope deformations in three-dimensions. Borehole data defines the shear surface location at discrete points within the slide and therefore, the shear surface geometry for the extent of the slide must be largely inferred. A series of three-dimensional numerical simulations have been run to assess the effect of different interpretations of the shear surface geometry. This investigation illustrates the importance of rigorous geospatial definition of slip surface geometry and the value of three dimensional modelling.

May 1, 2009

By Dave Bulled, Khiratt Husain

"The use of High Pressure Grinding Rolls is gaining significant interest as a replacement for SAG milling in the comminution of hard rock ores because of the potential for reduced costs in terms of energy and grinding ball consumption. Estimation of expected energy consumption for fullscale operations has conventionally involved the testing of a few fairly large samples in pilot scale HPGRs. This paper describes the development of a small-scale batch test method for determining a work index for HPGR of a large number of samples that can be used to show the variability of the ore as an integral part of a geometallurgical approach to circuit design and production forecasting.The test equipment that was developed comprises a hydraulic press with adjustable pressure operating on small batches of ore in a locked cycle test procedure. A work index measurement was determined that links the specific energy consumed in the test to the breakage achieved such that the index can be used to predict comminution energy requirements.The measurements were calibrated against laboratory scale HPGR equipment to develop a model for design and forecasting that includes crushers, HPGRs and ball mills in a complete comminution circuit.INTRODUCTIONEstimation of the expected energy consumption for full-scale HPGR operations has conventionally involved the testing of a few fairly large samples in laboratory and pilot scale machines (Danilkewich, 2006). With the financial input of five mining corporations, SGS Lakefield Research has developed a small scale test capable of providing relevant information on the variability of energy consumption and size reduction from drill core samples. It is our intention that the values measured in the test will be scaled up, through benchmark comparison with pilot sized and full sized HPGR units, to allow plant design and throughput forecast on a block by block basis of the mine plan using a new CEET program. CEET® (an acronym for Comminution Economic Evaluation Tool) is an advanced grinding design and performance predicting tool that uses energy relationships to model the performance of SAG / Ball mill circuits."

Jan 1, 2008

By Flavio Rojos-Tapia, Oscar Pereira-Cerda, Samuel Sánchez-Pino, Samuel Sánchez-Baquedano

"Pneumatic flotation was introduced to the Chilean Copper Mining Industry in 1993 by Ingeniería de Minerales S.A. (IDM). The technology is based on the designs of Dr. Rainer Imhof from Germany, who is the designer of several different types of pneumatic flotation cells, already sold through his Company Maelgwyn Mineral Service Limited (MMH). The company is represented by Ingenieria de Minerales S.A. (IDM) in South America.Pneumatic flotation, has been used in tough industrial applications .It has been successfully used for metallic ores such as copper sulphide and oxide minerals, copper slag, silica and silicates from iron magnetic preconcentrate (reverse flotation) and gold. It has also provided promising results when applied to molybdenum flotation. The latest applications, with ultrafine molybdenum particles in operating plants, is showing the V and G Cell (end model designed) as a real technological alternative to conventional flotation., The G Cell is an extremely high speed flotation machine with high selectivity which introduces the possibility of producing a final molybdenum concentrate with only one stage of cleaning. This is a completely new development in molybdenum flotation in the industrial circuit which has the potential to dramatically reduce the circulating load in the cleaning circuit. As a consequence the capital costs of future Molybdenum plants may also be reduced. The suitability of the G Cell will have to be determined on a case by case basis but it provides the metallurgist with an alternate flowsheet for consideration.The good performance of the G Cell can be explained by the high gas hold-up and very effective micro-turbulence which helps improve the attachment of solid particles to the bubbles. This technology may change our traditional concept of residence time in flotation. Additionally, the rotation phenomena introduced in the vessel of the G Cell ,creates radial separation forces which are critical to achieving a more rapid separation of the target minerals from the tailing. This results in a much reduced residence time requirement in the flotation machine. Some benefits associated with the use of the new G Cell are: less energy consumption, less maintenance costs, simple and reliable circuit to operate and a small area required for installing the circuits.As a result of the industrial experience in the Chile, the pneumatic flotation type G Cell can be regarded as a technology which must be considered as a replacement technology for the rougher and cleaner stages for fine particle flotation."

Jan 1, 2008

By L. Li

The rock quality designation (RQD) was initially introduced by Deere (1963) for civil engineering. But, its application has been largely extended to rock mechanics and has become a fundamental parameter in geotechnical engineering (e.g., Hoek & Brown 1980; Milne et al. 1998). The success of this definition is due, in great part, to its simplicity. However, this index includes a number of limitations. Among these limitations, a critical one is associated with the arbitrarily selected threshold value (e.g., Priest & Hudson 1976). Consequently, the RQD value would vary with different threshold length for the same core. Also, using the customarily and universally adopted but very arbitrarily selected threshold value of 10 cm (for NX cores) in the assessment of RQD, the RQD values usually tend to be either high or low in most rock engineering. Some intermediate values (50%) are less frequently encountered (Harrison 1999). The original definition of RQD does not well represent the actual quality of rock masses. In this paper, an improved definition of rock quality designation (RQDc) is given.

May 1, 2009

By Robert E. McIvor

"The design/optimization of the pump and cyclones to maximize grinding circuit efficiency first requires a concise understanding of, and clearly defined specifications for, desired grinding circuit performance. Subsequently, the pump and cyclone performances that provide the desired grinding circuit performance can be defined. Once the performance requirements of each process unit are determined, selection of physical equipment parameters that will deliver those performances can be carried out.The Functional Performance Equation shows that there are two distinct efficiencies in closed circuit ball milling. One of these, “Circuit Classification System Efficiency” (CSE), is the fraction of “coarse” material inside the ball mill upon which grinding energy is deliberately expended, versus the remaining fraction of “fines” or finished size material inside the mill, upon which grinding energy is wasted (on over-grinding). The role of the pump and cyclones is to maximize CSE, which is the desired grinding circuit performance. The obtainable target CSE for any given circuit can be estimated, for example, by referring to a plant data base of CSE’s. Design/optimization guidelines then allow us to specify the pump and cyclone performances that will achieve the target CSE.This paper outlines the step-by-step, systematic method of pump and cyclone selection which maximizes CSE. Numerous examples of its successful application are provided.THE FUNCTIONAL PERFORMANCE EQUATIONObservation of the feed and product size distributions going into and discharging from the mill in grinding circuits with low versus high circulating load ratios initially led to the definition of “Circuit Classification System Efficiency” (or CSE, McIvor, 1988a), and subsequently the discovery of the Functional Performance Equation (McIvor, 1988b; McIvor et al, 1992). The CSE is the fraction or percentage of “coarse” (usually in reference to the plus P80) size material inside the mill, versus “fines” or product size material finer than the circuit P80. It can be readily calculated by taking the average of the percentage of said coarse material in the mill feed and mill discharge streams. As this also represents the percentage of the mill energy expended on targeted, coarse size material, it is directly proportional to overall grinding circuit efficiency and production rate. This is all clearly expressed in the Functional Performance Equation for ball milling circuits, for which the derivation has often been presented (e.g. McIvor, 2006)."

Jan 1, 2011

By M. Helinski

In the authors? experience inappropriate water management in hydraulic fill masses has been the root cause of most barricade failures. Inappropriate water management can lead to high water pressures, reduced effective stresses and increased barricade stresses (Kuganathan 2002). In addition the high hydraulic conductivity and non-plastic nature of most hydraulic fills makes susceptibility to piping failure (Cowling et al. 1987) a high possibility in many hydraulic backfills where a static water head is available. In order to avert both of these failure mechanisms it is essential to control the elevation of the phreatic surface within the fill mass. This is usually achieved through campaigned filling and resting periods. The duration of filling and resting periods are often estimated using some form of stope drainage simulator. Due to the random nature of many characteristics that influence the fill mass hydraulic conductivity, simulation of hydraulic fill drainage can be difficult. The high consequences of inaccurate phreatic surface estimates combined with the high variability in drainage properties often results in operators taking a conservative approach to this modelling. This conservative approach can lead to significant delays in the filling cycle which can have a major impact on the productivity of many hydraulic fill operations and can often results in an unnecessary movement towards capital intensive paste fill systems. This paper presents a water management technique which combines a simplified drainage model with in-situ monitoring to provide a rational approach to water management. With an accurate drainage model filling operations can be carried out at optimum efficiency without compromising safety. The implementation of this strategy has lead to a significant increase in filling rates at a number of Australian filling operations. A brief case study from one of these sites has been presented.

May 1, 2007

By K. V. Konigsmann

"The results of Mr. Klymowsky's research confirm the essential role played by oxidation products in the flotation of base metal sulphides. They invite a discussion on the subject of aeration which I may open by a brief description of the development and current practice of aeration. The first installation of pre-flotation aeration in Canadian milling practice was undertaken during the years 1928 and 29 at the then new Noranda Mill. C.G. McLachlan and his collaborators demonstrated that the flotation differential between chalcopyrite and iron sulphides was enhanced by aeration in soda ash alkaline pulps. The ores treated contained more than 80 per cent sulphides. It was proposed already then that the products of mineral oxidation assisted copper and retarded iron sulphides, at least pyrrhotite flotation. The concentration of thiosulphates was used as a measure of the progress of oxidation. Several papers by C.G. McLachlan elaborate on this subject.The aerator was also used as classifier since it was held that aeration, i.e. controlled oxidation, should go hand in hand with creation of new mineral surfaces. Grinding mills and aerators were placed in closed circuit. Figure 1. This aeration was essential for successful separation at Noranda.Following the application of aeration at Noranda the technique was applied to existing mills in N.W. Quebec. Impressive improvements in concentrate grades and recoveries were obtained. It was observedthat the zinc flotation benefitted from aeration as much as the preceding copper float. In the late forties and fifties the aerator classifier was installed in new mills associated with the Noranda group. A diagrammatic sketch of the Quemont flow-sheet (figure 2) may serve as a typical example."

Jan 1, 1973

By Peter Dunn

London Mining Plc. is developing an iron ore project in Sierra Leone. The Marampa mine is a brownfield development effort, having been operated by others since the 1930?s until low iron ore prices forced closure. Peak production of the prior operations was approximately 2.5 Mt/a in the 1960?s. Following civil war In Sierra Leone, London Mining obtained the mining license in 2006 and commenced activity to redevelop the Marampa mining and processing operations. There are two ore deposits of interest for development as well as a resource comprised of tailings from previous operations. Phase 1 will be the mining of the tailings resource with a 1.8 Mt/a plant producing 66 per cent Fe sinter feed, expandable to 3.6 Mtpa. The first phase is currently under construction with start-up expected in the third quarter of 2011. Phase 2 will include development of the two ore deposits. These deposits are weathered secondary ore and the main primary ore resource. Phase 2 is currently under prefeasibility study and targets a final 16 Mt/a concentrate production in 2016. Outotec partnered with London Mining on testing efforts to develop the magnetic separation flowsheet using SLon VPHGMS machines to process the Marampa material. This paper explains the flowsheet development process for the weathered and primary ores commencing with sample characterization and detailed parametric investigations to evaluate SLon performance. The final flowsheet configuration is explained, including expected circuit recoveries and concentrate quality, clearly demonstrating the performance of the SLon VPHGMS circuit in iron ore tailings treatment applications.

May 1, 2011

By Norman O. Lotter

Drill core is preferred as the sample material for metallurgical and mineralogical characterisation and flowsheeting of an orebody. The question arises as to how to do this at the economic optimum, since geologists have several other strategic uses for their drill core. The limiting factors are the cost of extra drilling for the metallurgical testwork and the need to preserve the drill core record. In this study, the representative sampling of drill core at an economic optimum for metallurgical testing is addressed. This phase of the drill core work is preceded by earlier drill core characterisation - for which other appropriate sampling protocols are used - that has provisionally categorised the orebody into geometallurgical units. In stratified sampling of drill core, use is made of a version of the stratified approach to compound distributions proposed by Cochran in 1946. Use is made of Gy’s 50-piece minimum sample mass model to estimate minimum requisite sample mass. In the case where sampling and testwork are required on a Lifeof- Mine blend of a given ore deposit, whereby defined ore types or geometallurgical units are present, the sample mass requirement is significantly reduced by working from drill-core at the geometallurgical unit level. A case study using Raglan drill core is discussed. Using nickel as an indicator paymetal, and sampling at a fundamental variance level of 8%, the minimum sample masses for disseminated sulphides, net-textured sulphides, and massive sulphides are 3.80, 7.37 and 4.39 kg respectively. When the same drill-core is sampled as a Life-of-Mine mixture without knowledge of the geometallurgical units, the minimum sample mass increases to 84.28 kg. It is thus possible to assemble a representative Life-of-Mine sample of drill-core more economically, at the same time validating its representativity. Equivalent calculations for copper, platinum and palladium are discussed, with outcomes consistent with this finding. When all four paymetals are considered, one selects the largest minimum mass out of all four cases. This results in minimum sample masses of 11.67, 74.90 and 175.16 kg for disseminated sulphides, net-textured sulphides and massive sulphides respectively. The simulated Life-of- Mine blend would require a minimum sample mass of 377.33 kg to cover all four paymetals.

Jan 1, 2010

By Ken Norris

"Campbell Mine which has been in continuous operation since 1949 has undergone numerous operational changes in the past 3 years. This paper describes the process changes which have occurred at the Campbell Mill since 1991. The paper discusses the engineering, construction and startup of the effluent treatment circuit, the new oxide filtering and merrill-crowe precipitation circuit, and the changes to the pressure oxidation circuit. Particular attention is paid to startup problems and solutions to these problems. A review of the benefits and results of these process changes is also discussed. Future changes are also briefly reviewed with anticipated goals and expectations.IntroductionCampbell Mine is a gold mine 100% owned and operated by Placer Dome Canada. It is located in Balmertown, Ontario which is located 300 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Campbell Mine has been in continuous operation since 1949, producing nearly 8,000,000 ounces. In 1993 Campbell Mine is budgeted to produce 289, 750 ounces of gold at a cash cost of $157 US/ounce. Daily mill tonnage is budgeted for 1,430 tons/day but has milled as high as 1,600 tons/day on a consistent basis. Recovery in 1993 is 93.4% and is budgeted to average 94.5% in 1994.In the 1992 edition of the proceedings of the Canadian Mineral Processors conference I described the changes that were made at Campbell starting in 1989. This paper continues where the 1992 paper ended and discusses the changes to the Campbell mill since that lime. The changes to Campbell since January 1992 have been numerous with capital expenditure in the mill exceeding $14.1 million. This paper describes three primary projects since that lime: the effluent treatment project ($5.5 million), the oxide leach/filtering and merrill-crowe project ($4.6 million) and the pretreatment project ($2.81 million). The focus of this paper is to highlight the justification of each project, the design and engineering, and some of the initial operational problems and solutions applied to those problems."

Jan 1, 1994

By Christoph Müller

Information exchange for mine process optimization is essential. Today, modern mining equipment uses the IREDES standard to exchange production plans and reports for easy management and storage. To gain further benefits from process optimization, a mine wide access to real-time information is needed as e.g.: The current status of a machine, operational details etc. Presently, real-time data exchange systems are developed by machine producers. Each machine producer uses its own way of gathering, managing, and storing production data. These proprietary mining processes increase the complexity of cross platform data exchange and management for mines which involves machines produced by different vendors. Casting and unifying the data requires much effort. For this purpose, ?IREDES On-line? currently is being introduced. The standard defines an open, web based method for the exchange of volatile real time machine information. Two different principles are used: Web Services for cross platform information exchange within the IT world and the optional OPC UA for use with automation and process control systems. With such a standard information from machines of different vendors may be managed by using one common platform without spending the effort for dedicated interface development. Additionally, information management and storage will become straight forward since all the data are of the same format. The IREDES On-line standard utilizes the latest IT technologies as well as the knowledge and experiences gained from the previous IREDES standard. The paper explains the benefits, the use, as well as the technical design of the standard and gives application examples from the practice.

Oct 1, 2009

"INTRODUCTIONThe Kidd Creek Concentrator is located 28 kilometers east of the city of Timmins, Ontario. Two types of ore are treated; 'A' type, a copper-zinc-low silver ore producing copper and zinc concentrates, and 'C' type, a copper-lead-zinc-high silver ore producing copper, lead and zinc concentrates.The ore is processed at a combined rate of 12,400 metric tonnes per day through four parallel grinding and flotation divisions. Three divisions treat the 'A' type ore and the fourth treats the 'C' ore. Each division is fed from its own fine ore bin.This paper reviews the grinding section with specific emphasis on grinding media consumption and the factors affecting it as related to 'A' type ore. At Kidd Creek there was an awareness that grinding media consumption varied on a weekly and monthly basis. The reasons for this variation was usually attributed to ore hardness as evidenced by short term variations in the circuit feedrate and head assays. However, there has been a diversity of opinion published in recent years regarding the factors contributing to steel consumption. This initiated a study of historical Kidd Creek operating data, from the period 1970 to 1986 inclusive, to determine the effect of various operating parameters on media consumption. The results of the study could then be used as a baseline for future media consumption testwork."

Jan 1, 1988