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By L. S. Trenholme

"Belleterre Quebec Mines, Limited, is a subsidiary of Mcintyre Porcupine Mines, Limited. The property is in Guillet township, Quebec, 45 miles due east of Haileybury, Ontario. It is accessible by 72 miles of gravelled road from New Liskeard, Ontario (Fig. 1).Gold production at the property commenced in 1936 and to March 31st, 1945, had exceeded $9,000,000. For the past 3 years the milling rate has averaged 325 tons a day and the gold recovery about $14 a ton.GENERAL GEOLOGYThe rocks of the district consist of Keewatin-like volcanics conformably overlain by Timiskaming-like sediments. Together they form the remnant of an easterly plunging anticline engulfed by granite (Fig. 2). The pregranite intrusives consist of diorite, gabbro, and ultrabasic rocks, occurring as dykes, sills, and irregular stocks. Dykes of porphyry and lamprophyre presumably related to the batholithic intrusive are common in this area. The veins of quartz are also probably derived from the batholithic intrusives. A few dykes of Keweenawan-type diabase have been observed."

Jan 1, 1954

By J. F. Harkom

Introduction The importance of the preservative treatment of mine timbers need scarcely be stressed here. Increasing the life of mine timbers will reduce one of the major costs of mining and also conserve the available timber supply which lies within easy access of the mines. When treated, several species of timber may be used which otherwise could not be considered, owing to their short life. Another feature which should appeal to the mining industry is that wood preservatives are a mine product, and the benefit to be derived from the increased consumption of wood preservatives due to the example set by mine owners is not inconsiderable. Mine timbers may be divided into three classes when considering preservative treatments. (1) Timber obviously not profitable to treat owing to long natural life or short period of time in service. (2) Timber that obviously should receive protection from decay. (3) Timber installed in locations where the length of service required will depend on future developments, so that preservative treatments might or might not prove to be a profitable investment.

Jan 1, 1930

"The Kidd Creek concentrator is situated adjacent to Highway 101, twenty-four kilometres east of the center of the city of Timmins, Ontario. Sulphide ore, received by train from the minesite twenty-nine kilometres away, is processed at a rate of twelve thousand metric tonnes per day. Saleable concentrates of copper, zinc, lead and tin are produced.The concentrator contains secondary crushing, grinding, flotation, gravity separation and concentrate handling facilities. The total concentrator manpower complement is one hundred and sixty-four which includes supervision and operating personnel. Twenty-one shift personnel are required to operate the processes involved and they occupy fifteen different operating positions in addition to that of the supervisor. These positions include:1 Central Control Operatorl Metallurgical Leader1 Dryer Control Operatorl Crusher Leader3 Copper-Lead-Zinc Flotation Circuit Operators1 Pyrite Flotation Circuit Operator1 Tin Plant Operator2 Grinding Operators1 Concentrate Operator2 Crusher Operators1 Spare Operator1 Tailings Area Operator1 Automatic Sample System Operator1 Dryer Area Helper1 Crusher Helper1 Tin Plant Helper"

Jan 1, 1981

By G. J. Hawkes

"We all know that every man who works for us should have a thorough knowledge and understanding of his responsibilities. But how about ourselves? Du we have a thorough knowledge and understanding of our own responsibilities as Mill Superintendents?I once had an occasion to say to a Manager that I did not know something was my responsibility and he replied with suitable emphasis ""Everything inside those four walls is your responsibility"". That makes the extent of our responsibilities clear but does not give us a check list to keep an eye on as we do our job from day to day.What are our responsibilities? I suggest they are the following:1. Developing and maintaining efficient operating and maintenance crews.2. Milling the required tonnage.3. Recovering the economical maximum amount of gold.4. Keeping costs at the economical minimum.5. Seeing that the figures are reasonably accurate for tonnages, assays, production, losses, and costs.6. Preventing accidents.7. Preventing fires.8. Maintaining the equipment and building and keeping them clean and tidy.9. Enforcing company rules and regulations."

Jan 1, 1965

By A P. Powell

This paper deals with the power plant at Cassiar Asbestos Corporation Ltd., Cassiar, B.C. It discusses the units installed in the plant, the distribution of power and the costs involved. The efficiencies and economics of this power plant are considered to be somewhat better than average. Introduction C ASSIAR Asbestos Corporation's power plant had its inception in 1952 with a 15-by 15-ft. log cabin containing two International Harvester diesel generator sets of 50 kw. total generating capacity. Over the years, it has grown to its present size -an 80 by 82 ft. by 35-ft.-high rigid-frame Butler building housing eight 2,300-volt diesel generating sets, a 2,300-volt distributing switchboard, a 550-volt auxiliary panel, three air compressors, six heat exchangers and other related equipment. The units in the power plant, numbered according to their order of placement, are rated as shown in Table I. The total generating capacity of the plant is 3,673 kw. All of the generators are of the open vertical design except that on No. 7 engine,

Jan 1, 1965

By E. S. Moore

In the townships of Genoa and Marion, Subdury Mining Division, Ontario, there is a group of twenty-three mining claims known as the Jefferson claims. They are controlled by the Jefferson Mining Corporation and they were staked in 1908 by W. E. Smith, formerly of Sudbury, Ontario, and now of Smith & Reitz, a law firm of Minneapolis, Minnesota. These claims were staked for iron ore and in 1910 about 4000 feet of diamond-drilling was done on them. During the drilling operations galena and sphalerite ~were found in the iron formation in cores from holes, Nos. 2 and 3, claim W. D. 717, Genoa township. This discovery lead to a search for galena and sphalerite in the vicinity and a streak of rock containing these minerals was found in the iron formation a short distance to the east of. the drill holes. A shaft was sunk on this outcrop in 1912 to a depth of 8 feet and bottomed in an attractive lens of galena. Stripping revealed other small exposures of galena and sphalerite in the iron formation.

Jan 1, 1926

By Marcel Vallée

"Abstract - Traditionally, the emphasis in ore and reserve inventory has been to provide fairly simple definitions and presentations for reporting to shareholders and the investing public. The recent introduction of the mineral resource category aims to take into account the "part of the deposit that cannot yet be produced or extracted legally and profitably." Recent proposals still place insufficient emphasis on relating resource/reserve reporting definitions more closely to the needs of mining and exploration operators for the estimation and inventory of these basic material assets.In most schemes, significant ambiguities and shortcomings remain. These concern the potential economic interest of resources, the concept of continuity which is fundamental to the estimation of volumes, mass and grades, the objectives of the production feasibility study and the requirements of the geology, engineering and economic appraisals leading to it, and the "availability" of the permits required to start mine development. Up to now, no industry-wide formal consensus has yet been reached for any of these steps, nor for reconciliation between successive statements.A resource/reserve inventory scheme is presented here that is based on ISO 9000 principles and the Australasian system. Explicit criteria and transition points are proposed to define resource and reserve. Similarly, appropriate criteria are proposed to classify the three mineral resource and two ore reserve categories, based on geological and value continuity and on the objectives of the feasibility study. This scheme offers a way to develop ISO 9001 certification of resource/reserve estimation procedures for mining operations and supply exploration companies with an appropriate inventory system, to allow better information for the shareholders and the investing public.Résumé - L’objectif des inventaires des minerais et des réserves est, depuis le début du siècle, de fournir des définitions simples et d’ordre général visant les actionnaires et le public investisseur. L’introduction d’une catégorie de « ressources minérales » fournira un cadre tenant compte de la "portion d’un gisement qui ne peut encore être extraite ou exploitée légalement et à profit." Cependant, les propositions récentes de systèmes d’inventaires ne comportent pas des définitions des ressources et réserves qui tiennent compte suffisamment des besoins des opérateurs en exploitation et en exploration minière.La plupart des systèmes comportent des ambiguïtés et des carences. Citons la susceptibilité d’exploitation commerciale des ressources, la continuité qui est au centre de l’estimation des volumes, masses et teneurs, les objectifs de l’étude de la faisabilité de la mise en production, le niveau requis des travaux de géologie, d’ingénierie et d’économique qui y mènent, ainsi que la disponibilité des permis dont dépend la mise en production. Il n’y a jusqu’à maintenant aucun consensus dans l’industrie sur ces points, ni sur des procédures de réconciliation entre les estimations successives.Le système d’inventaire des ressources/réserves proposé ici s’appuie sur la structure ISO 9000 et le système australien. Des critères et des points tournants explicites sont établis pour définir les ressources et les réserves. De même, les définitions des trois catégories de ressources et deux catégories de réserves, s’apparent sur la continuité de la géologie et des teneurs et sur les objectifs de l’étude de la faisabilité. Ce projet offre une voie pour développer les critères de la certification ISO 9001 pour les opérations minières, tout en fournissant un système approprié d’inventaire aux compagnies d’exploration, pour mieux informer les actionnaires et les investisseurs potentiels."

Jan 1, 1998

By V. Polotski

This paper describes a platform for autonomous operations in open pit mining environments. A typical operation consists of: (1) Initial locomotion toward a remote worksite; (2) Pattern navigation within the worksite; (3) Worksite manipulations and (4) Return locomotion to the start location. The platform includes precise localization module based upon the fusion of odometry, inertial and GPS measurements. The guidance module starts from a set of way points specified on a GPSreferenced map and plans and executes the mission. A typical mission includes specified manipulative tasks along the navigation path. During motion execution the on-board system continuously verifies that the path is free of obstacles and that the hardware is not overloaded. Momentary losses of external positioning measurements does not adversely affect the performance, owing to the redundancy in position and heading estimation. A rehearsal phase follows planning and allows the supervisor to examine the kinematic behavior of the platform during motion, thus reducing the need for continuous monitoring during execution and providing protection against potential losses of communication.

May 1, 2003

By Kostas Fytas

Acid mine drainage (AMD) is a serious environmental problem that preoccupies the Canadian Mining Industry. Considerable amounts of money are spent every year in an effort to prevent or reduce the acid mine drainage phenomenon. AMD occurs when sulphide minerals (ex. pyrite) contained in rock are exposed to air and water and subsequently oxidize to produce low pH water. This acid effluent has the potential to mobilize any heavy metals contained in the rock. Coating the sulphide minerals with silicates is a new promising technology to reduce AMD. Pyrite is treated with a solution containing H2O2, sodium silicate and a buffering agent. H2O2 oxidizes a small part of pyrite producing ferric iron (Fe3+) ions. These ions subsequently react with the silicate ions to produce ferric hydroxide-silica that precipitates on the pyrite surface producing a passive coating. This silicate coating can protect the grains of pyrite from oxidation. This paper presents a series of experiments that confirm that silicate coating can considerably reduce AMD.

May 1, 2001

By W. H. Hodgson, A. R. Preston

"Improved rail production techniques provide new options for the rail user. Steelmaking improvements offer tighter composition control, lower oxide and sulphide counts, greater control of segregates and freedom from hydrogen problem s. New ultrasonic, laser and eddy current equipment gives printout information on surf ace flatness, straightness and internal condition. These have come along at a time when dramatic changes have occurred on the rail heat treatment scene. Rails can now be deep hardened on or offline in ways which should eventually result in a complete rewrite of the world's specifications. Rails of simple composition can be produced in the hardness range 2801400 BHN as required. The rail user can choose the hardness within this range according to requirement without the necessity for any step changes in the process routes.It is suggested that this is the pattern f or the next decade.IntroductionRails have been the subject of very slow improvement over many years but developments gathered momentum in the early seventies. Recent improvements in quality and properties have provided dramatic increases in rail life under the more severe service situations. Rail profile grinding, lubrication and other track improvements have greatly added to expectations of even longer life. All of this, coupled to even newer mill heat treatment developments, tilt both technical and economic advantages away from tradition to the point where specifications will need to be rewritten so that railroads can take full advantage of these new products."

Jan 1, 1988

By M. A. Upham

"Prairie Evaporites of the Province of Saskatchewan in a deep oil-well hole. Exploitation started in 1950 under a shroud of doubt that this huge reserve could be mined. It was fraught with almost insurmountable physical problems in penetrating the Prairie Evaporites. After 12 years of experimentation and development of new shaft-sinking methods, mining equipment and processes to treat the high-grade potash ore (sylvanite), a new era of high-risk resource development dawned in Saskatchewan.The development of 10 new mines opened up the largest known mineable potash reserves in the world and Canada became the second largest. producer of potash to supply domestic (U.S.A. and Canada) and overseas markets. A monumental program in marketing-devising new transportation systems and strategically locating warehouses-was developed in order to expeditiously service domestic and overseas customers. The year 1969/70 started a period of overcapacity and the problem of prorationing. As the market strengthened in 1974, the Saskatchewan Government applied the reserve tax to the industry. Then, they announced the setting up of a Crown corporation to acquire ownership by purchase of up to fifty per cent of the industry. During this time, potash was discovered in New Brunswick within 50 to 60 miles of a seaport, where two deposits have been explored by the same pioneers who started the potash development in Saskatchewan.With this background, the paper will examine various elements of the economics and marketing of Canadian potash."

Jan 1, 1980

By A. Piche, J. Nantel

"This paper describes the recent developments in Canada toward the establishment of a Canadian Centre for Mining Automation and Robotics, at McGill University and École Polytechnique in Montreal. The role of the Mining Association of Canada (MA C) and of the National Advisory Committee on Mining Automation will also be reviewed. IntroductionIn order to remain competitive, the mining industry must increase its productivity and reduce its costs. In the last two decades, this objective has been achieved through mechanization. From now on, any further improvement in productivity will be gained through increasingly more automated mining equipment.Recent international developments following the Versailles Economic Summit in June 1982, having given rise in Canada, to a renewed interest in applications of robotics and automation to mining.The mineral industry in Canada is at a crossroads. Competition in emerging from everywhere: lower grade ore bodies, increasing distances between viable mines and markets, third world massive production of certain commodities, substitution of "" space age"" materials (ceramics, plastics, composites, etc.) for metals.On the positive side, it is generally believed that present mineral commodities, i.e. base metal, gold, iron, industrial mineral s, etc ., will continue to be in high demand for centuries to come despite substitution. New applications for conventional metals will be found and the enhancement of certain properties of these conventional metals mean continued demand. For some mineral commodities, there will never exist an y substitute."

Jan 1, 1988

By Robert B. Parsons

"Next month will mark the anniversary of the release of an important federal study on a mineral policy for Canada. The study, entitled ""Mineral Policy-A Discussion Paper"", provides well-researched coverage of a broad range of issues that are of interest to the mining industry. Unfortunately, there is a real possibility that the discussion paper will wither and die on the vine, unless the federal and provincial governments, and the private sector, collectively ensure that some of the key considerations which are raised by the paper are acted upon.IntroductionAlmost one year ago, on March 8, 1982, Federal Mines Minister July Erola released an important study entitled ""Mineral Policy-A Discussion Paper"". The discussion paper, which presents the government's assessment of the opportunities and constraints facing the Canadian mineral industry in the 1980s, was prepared within the context o f three principal objectives-strengthening the resource base on which the industry rests, ensuring the adequacy of research activities needed to support development of the resource, and furthering the development of markets for the resource It is clear that, in today's economic climate, not even the most generous incentives would turn the industry around: what is needed is a sound base for future development, when this is possible. In this regard, the discussion paper is an excellent stepping stone, in that it reviews a wide range o f fundamental policy issues which touch on all facets o f the mining industry."

Jan 1, 1983

By M. Dosoudil

"Continuous pressure filtration is a modern process for the mechanical dewatering of flotation concentrates of coal and similar coal slurries. This method will give a lower moisture content than classical vacuum filtration, the improvement lying in the range 5% to 15%. Eighteen coal slurries have been examined in this survey. They are representative of a wide spectrum of filtered slurries. IntroductionDuring the last five years, a number of coal slurries have been tested either in the laboratory or with a pilot plant. The test pressure ranged from one to six bar. The results have been evaluated by mean s of a computer. Determination of the filter capacity and the resulting moisture content and energy consumption has been made with respect to the continuous pressure filter, Amafilter construction-type KDF (Fig. I) . Standard sizes of these filters are 60 m2, 90 m2 and 120 m2.The continuous pressure filter is a horizontal filter with a level tank. Six filter axles are mounted on a rotating main shaft, each with a particular number of elements attached. The elements rotate on their axes and move along a circular trajectory. Periodically the elements submerge into and emerge out of the slurry. A constant air pressure is maintained above the suspension, thus providing the pressure gradient necessary for filtration. The filtrate together with the dewatering air flows through the elements into the hollow axle and out of the filter."

Jan 1, 1987

By J. H. Nantel, J. F. Archibald

"The presence of radon from uranium-bearing ores, waste and from backfill material introduced underground to provide ground support, work platform and waste disposal functions, requires that ventilation controls be established to maintain safe working level concentrations. One approach has been developed at Queen's University to quantify radon and radon daughter source level s and to estimate ventilation requirements necessary to maintain these safe levels.Knowledge concerning the sources of radioactive contaminants and their production quantities is of value for planning and design stages of ventilation control systems. For any given mine layout, radiation level estimates may be forecast and modified by ventilation network design where excessive production quantities may exist.Behaviour of Radon Gas in MinesRadon gas, produced from the decay of Ra-226 in a host medium, will diffuse through porous media. In areas adjacent to mine workings, radon will be liberated into the mine atmosphere. The rate of radon emanation is proportional to the rate at which radon is produced within the host material (a function of the ore grade of U308) , to the radon concentration gradient in the host pores and to the diffusion properties of the material.The radon source concentration is determined by the rate at which Rn-222 is produced by the decay of Ra-226, and by the emanating coefficient (E), or fraction of the radon which escapes from the source matrix and is free to diffuse through the pore spaces."

Jan 1, 1984

By D. L. Marchioni

"The detection and quantification of the degree of weathering is an important aspect of coal exploration and mining. Tests for weathering which are suitable for the exploration camp should be fast, simple, and require minimal equipment and operator expertise. In this study, two tests which fulfill these requirements were evaluated using samples of Western Canadian coals. These tests, one based on the pH of a coal slurry and the other on the flotation of coal in a water/diesel oil mixture, do not appear to give consistent results and are not recommended as ideal weathering parameters.IntroductionThe weathering of coal results in a deterioration of those properties which render it suitable for use in industrial processes. Consequently, the detection and quantification of the degree of weathering is an important aspect of exploration and mining. Frequently, decisions related to the depth of the weathered zone must be made at the exploration camp and, therefore, tests for weathering which are fast, and require relatively inexpensive and portable equipment and minimal operator experience, would be very useful. The aim of the study reported here was to evaluate two tests used by U. S. Steel Corp. to detect coal weathering and which satisfy the requirements for use in an exploration camp. The study is a continuation of a more extensive examination of the detection of coal weathering by various methods, reported elsewhere (Marchioni, in press)."

Jan 1, 1981

"Cambior currently has nearly 80 exploration properties, acting as operator on about 60 of these. The company's exploration budget has increased to over $11,100,000 for 1990. On-going efforts recently yielded a new gold discovery on the Douay- Vezza property, a joint venture project with Inco and Vior. Cambior continues to seek out new opportunities, recently acquiring an option agreement on the Sleeping Giant project in Quebec and four new exploration agreements in the United States, through its Reno office. Other nearly-concluded joint venture agreements have also given the company entries into Indonesia and Guyana.SummaryWhen it acquired SOQUEM's assets on August I, 1986, Cambior also acquired interests in 45 exploration projects. The subsequent mergers with Aiguebelle Resources and Sullivan Mines in 1987 brought the total number of exploration projects to 83, most of which are concentrated in northwestern Quebec. Cambior's strategy emphasizes gold exploration, and exploration activities were, therefore, initially limited to the Val d'Or and Rouyn-Noranda mining camps, where Cambior has a large portfolio of properties. Approximately $25.8 million has been spent on surface exploration in this area since the formation of the company, resulting in the discovery of the Mouska deposit and four sub-economic zones on the Porcupine, Forbex, Bloc Sud and Flavrian project s. In 1988, Cambior became involved in projects in the United States to which the company expects to allocate about 38070 of its 1989 exploration budget."

Jan 1, 1990

By Robert B. Parsons

"It is quite likely that more than a handful of junior exploration companies will receive some startling news from their accountants this spring when 1989s tax returns are being prepared. These companies could find that, for the first time ever, they will have to write a cheque to the federal government on account of a new federal capital tax which became effective July I, 1989IntroductionMany mining companies which have never had to pay a federal income tax are finding that they indeed have a tax liability for 1989. Non-producing companies, such as junior exploration companies, almost automatically assume that they don't have to pay any income tax. But, a new tax imposed under the Income Tax Act catches especially the company that has no income.Effective July 1, 1989, a federal capital tax (some call it a corporation minimum tax) is payable by any corporate carrying on business in Canada where the corporation has ""taxable capital"" exceeding $10 million. As a result of the popular use of flow-through shares in recent years, many junior exploration companies are finding that their balance sheets show capital stock over $10 million, and that they are consequently caught by the new tax. Further, some of these companies are finding, to their chagrin, that the tax for 1989 was due on February 28, 1990, and that non-deductible interest is ticking away on unpaid taxes."

Jan 1, 1990

By Lorant B. Geller

Sixteen miners died tragically at the Paymaster gold mine at Timmins, Ontario in February, 1945, when a badly corroded hoist rope broke. The investigation of the Royal Commission that followed arrived at a number of recommendations (Investigations, 1947) aimed at avoiding future disasters of this kind. One consequence was the development, and legislated use in Canada, several decades ago, of powerful electromagnetic (EM) instruments for the nondestructive testing of mine shaft wire ropes. The authors have been involved for many years in the design, production, and testing of EM instruments (Geller and Udd, 1990 and 1992, Geller and Kitzinger, 1991, Geller et al., 1993). Since the mid-1990s particular attention was paid to the design and operational results obtained from the computer- controlled portable MagnographJ II wire rope tester (Geller et al., 1995 and 1998). In the present article the authors summarize further hardware- and software-related developments of this instrument. Further, an account is given of the results obtained from the most recent design known as the PermaScanJ testing system. This is also a computerized dual-function system. In it, however, the sensor head is designed primarily, if not solely, for permanent installation and for remotely controlled operation. This represents a basic departure from traditional designs, which were intended for ad hoc temporary installations. The remotecontrolled instrument described in this paper has now been in operational use for more than 4 years.

May 1, 2003

By Robert A. Creaser, Iain Mitchell, Robert L. Linnen

Abstract - The Bermuda Zn-Pb showing is hosted by dolomitized Blue Fiord Formation of Devonian age, located east of the Ensorcellement dome on the Grinnell Peninsula of Devon Island. Fluid inclusions in hydrothermal calcite indicate that the mineralization precipitated from low-temperature, highly saline brines. The ?34S compositions of sphalerite, galena, and marcasite range from 16.1‰ to 35.2‰. Consequently, the Bermuda showing is interpreted to be Mississippi Valley-type (MVT) mineralization. The apparent age of mineralization has been determined by the Rb-Sr method from sphalerite separates, and a Late Devonian age of 357 ± 50 Ma (MSWD=65), with an initial 87Sr/86Sr ratio of 0.7083 ± 0.0020 is indicated. This date, within error, is the same as the Polaris deposit. This suggests that the mineralization formed during the Ellesmerian Orogen, although it is also possible that mineralization is associated with extension, related to the opening of the Sverdrup basin. The strontium and sulfur isotopes and fluid inclusion analyses indicate the involvement of a brine that acquired its salinity from interaction with evaporites, lower in the stratigraphic succession. The Polaris mine is the type deposit in the Cornwallis Zn-Pb district and is hosted by the Thumb Mountain Formation. The results of this study are significant because they demonstrate that regional brine movement is more widespread than previously recognized, and that MVT mineralization in the Cornwallis Zn-Pb district is not restricted to the Thumb Mountain Formation.

Jan 1, 2004