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By G. M. Card, K. D. Card, B. V. Sanford

The Canadian Shield and its extensions are traversed by an orthogonal system of north-west and northeast trending arch-style uplifts. These basement arches were formed by repeated vertical movements along pre-existing structures during compressional and extensional tectonism connected with events in surrounding Proterozoic and Phanerozoic orogens and ocean basins. The arches in?uenced patterns of sedimentation and tectonism in the intervening epicratonic basins andmarginal platforms throughout the Proterozoic and Phanerozoic. Movements on the arch structuresalso triggered minor magmatism and controlled the location and timing of alkalic rock-carbonatite, kimberlite, and related intrusions in the Canadian Shield, the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin, and West Greenland.

Jan 1, 1997

By F. R. Jones, B. W. Taylor, A. R. MacPherson, L. J. Lamb

"The Lake St. Joseph Iron Deposit is in Northwestern Ontario. Exploration to date by Steep Rock Iron Mines Limited has indicated an ore reserve of 683 million long tons. Metallurgical investigations have proved that suitable oxide pellets and/or superconcentrates can be economically produced from this ore. Studies of the Lake St. Joseph iron ore deposits have covered the period 1956-71, and have embodied applications of the improvement in mining and processing technology over this period. Market demand in the early 1960's for high-grade oxide pellets as a replacement for natural iron ores for the blast furnace first drew attention to the potential of the Lake St. Joseph deposit. The current market trend toward utilization of sponge iron to replace steel scrap as feed to electric furnaces and cupolas now suggests that the deposit can better be exploited as a prime source of superconcentrates."

Jan 1, 1972

By Jason J. Ballentine

This paper presents a case study of how an asset strategy and zero based budget was developed for an existing crushing plant that had been purchased from the contract service provider by an Australian Iron Ore miner. The goal was to directly align the strategies and budget to the business goals. This however was not a simple task due to poor historical records and a general lack of information. These challenges were overcome and the benefits of a documented maintenance strategy, a justifiable zero based budget and employee engagement were realized.

May 1, 2007

By G Anders

The mucking out of sub-level headings by slusher and by Autoloader is described, and the performance and costs of both methods are compared. The introduction of the Autoloader is taken as an example to illustrate the meth-od used at the mine for evaluating the suitability of new equipment. The consecutive steps in the process are covered in detail -from the preliminary cost analysis and the preliminary estimate of savings and advantages, and the review of these data after a field investigation, through the elimination of dubious factors, and detailed time and performance studies at the property, to the final assessment of the new equipment and an evaluation of the initial forecast. The Autoloader in Operation. 1198 Introduction AT Mattagami Lake Mines Ltd., the mine workings are laid out basically on a pattern of 60-ft.-wide stapes alternating with 60-ft.-wide pillars, with stope lengths varying from 80 to 200 ft. and stope tonnages generally between 80,000 and 200,000 tons. Stapes are drilled off from sub-levels at 60-ft. intervals, with the

Jan 1, 1965

By S. Harshaw, C. Doyle, A. E. M. Warner, D. Stremlaw

"In the Utility Nickel furnaces, the hearth and sidewalls are lined with high-Al2O3 bricks. During charging and thermal cycling (more so as the linings on these reverberatory furnaces age), pieces of brick spall or abrade from the refractory and collect on the top of the bath. These pieces are removed using a non-corrosive slag toward the end of the heat when the bath temperature is ~1600°C.This benign liquid can be generated by two methods. First and most obvious, suitable ingredients can be pre-mixed so that the flux (flux A) is isochemical with the non-corrosive slag. All that is needed to produce this targetted slag is heat. Second, in other proportions (flux B), the pre-mixed ingredients generate a corrosive slag that melts completely at -1200 °C and corrodes some but not all of the brick particles on the bath surface. As the reaction progresses, the slag changes composition eventually attaining the targetted benign composition. Using this option, additions are monitored to avoid overfluxing. In both cases, the generated slag/brick mixture can then be rabbled from the furnace. This practice has been successfully used for over two years and has been a factor in extending Utility Nickel furnace life to its current levels (about25% increase)."

Jan 1, 1993

By E. T. Turner

Introduction 1n assembling material for this paper on Wood Refuse Burning 1 turned first to the records of our early studies of the problem in order to learn how and why certain basic decisions were arrived at and also how it came about that the completed central steam plant differed so much from the original plans. It may be of interest, therefore, to outline the engineering problems as they presented themselves in the early part of 1948, and to indicate the economies involved. Although the principle of using wood refuse as boiler fuel instead of burning it to waste was quite sound, and in fact the practice had been in use for a long time in the boilers of many lumber companies, there was some guesswork as far as Hollinger was concerned in deciding how best to handle the large quantities of wood refuse involved and as to the type of boiler equipment necessary to .burn it efficiently. These problems will be examined first. Hollinger Boiler Equipment in 1948 Hollinger had four separate boiler houses, at Main, No. II, and No. 19 shafts, and a small unit at the compressor plant for heating purposes. Main and No. Il boiler houses operated all the year round; No. 19 and the compressor plant only in the winter. At Main there were four 36-year-old HRT boilers with total available h.p. of 500, at No. II, three 30-year-old HRT boilers with 195 available h.p., and at No. 19 two old field-type locomotive boilers capable of producing 95 h.p.

Jan 1, 1951

By M. G. Lipsett

"The Mining Information Technology User Group considers information to be a strategic enabler to improved business performance in mining. This ad hoc group has been meeting since 2000 to share knowledge and leverage their efforts in effectively using IT in mining. In this paper, core issues to mining IT are reviewed, along with initiatives to engage industry professionals and decision-makers in the potential for improved use of information in their operations. Relevance of IT to Canadian MiningMining operations always drive to improve their performance, and so far they have succeeded by using different technologies. While economies of scale have come in fragmentation and material handling, and energy usage has improved through conservation and design of integrated mineral processing plants, these systems have the net result of tightening operational constraints, through reduced excess capacity. There are higher opportunity costs of lost production when integrated, large-scale systems are operating in a sub-optimal way.The problem is that it is profoundly difficult to run a mine in an optimal way. Optimization requires a defined objective function (e.g., profit), which is hard to pose, let alone solve, because so many inter-related aspects of an operation affect the bottom line. Even for a small, well-defined process state, it is difficult to measure all the pertinent information with sufficient accuracy to ensure that the system is performing well in real time.The art of mining remains making good decisions with uncertainty: in the orebody delineation; in the allocation of resources; in the efficiency of the operation; in the reliability of components and systems; and in responding to the downstream market. As well, individual decision-makers need to know how their decisions affect other processes and systems, so that improvements in one part of an operation do not result in such degraded performance in the rest of the plant that overall profitability goes down."

Jan 1, 2003

By Keith Haddock

"The Sheerness Mine, a new surface coal mine located near Hanna, Alberta, went into full production in mid-1995. The mine, which is operated by Luscar’s subsidiary Forestburg Collieries (1984) Ltd., has the design capacity to supply up to 2.1 million tonnes of sub-bituminous coal per year to the adjacent Sheerness Generating station under a 30-year contract. This paper documents the construction phase of this project and highlights the major equipment purchases as well as the construction of the mine facilities. The paper also focuses on some of the areas where cost savings have been achieved that have allowed the mine to come on stream six months ahead of schedule, and under budget. Project ReviewMine DescriptionThe Sheerness Mine is located 25 km southeast of the town of Hanna in southeastern Alberta (Fig. 1). The mining property occupies the western portion of the Sheerness CoalField and borders the Montgomery Mine, operated by Manalta Coal Ltd. in the east, and Highway 36 in the west. The Montgomery Mine and the Sheerness Mine exclusively supply the total coal requirement of the adjacent Sheerness Generating Station. The station is owned jointly by Alberta Power Limited (APL) and TransAlta Utilities Corporation (TAU). APL is the operator. Manalta’s Montgomery Mine has supplied coal to the Sheerness Station since its opening in 1986. Coal is shipped by truck from the mines over a network of haul roads to the coal receiving hoppers located on the east side of Highway 36."

Jan 1, 1997

By Robert B. Parsons

"For the fourth time in five years, residents of northern Canada have seen a change in the tax treatment of housing and travel costs. The latest changes announced in December 1990 by the Minister of Finance are to become effective in 1991. When will the tinkering stop?IntroductionFor man y years prior to 1987, certain travel and housing allowances received by employees in remote areas were generally considered by Revenue Canada to be tax-free, even though some observers suspected that such generous treatment was contrary to the provisions of the tax legislation. In the mid-eighties, Revenue Canada decided to reconsider the tax treatment of the mining industry's long standing practice of providing housing and travel assistance to these employees. The tax- free treatment was continued by virtue of annual remission orders, but only pending the enactment of legislation which would tackle the issue head-on and layout the rules in black and white to be seen by all. The sequence of events since then may be chronicled as follows:February 26, 1986-Finance Minister Wilson's budget present s the framework for the future tax treatment of travel and housing benefits provided to residents in remote regions of Canada.December 22, 1986-The Minister of Finance announces detailed rules to fill in the earlier announced framework.January 1, 1987-The new tax rules come into effect.April 29, 1988-The Minister of Finance announces the establishment of a Task Force to examine the existing criteria for determining the eligibility of residents of northern and isolated areas for tax benefits.October 27, 1989-The Task Force presents its report.December 7, 1990-Finance Minister Wilson announces a new system of tax benefits for residents of Canada's northern and isolatedregions.January 1, 1991-The new rules become effective."

Jan 1, 1991

By J. C. White

"During the early development of the Mattabi Mine in 1970, discussions with the Ontario Government revealed their policy of prohibiting, as much as possible, the development of new, isolated, single-industry townsites. Subsequently, Mattabi located its first housing in the Township of Ignace, which is situated 50 miles from the site of the mine and plant. Over 200 employees now commute 100 miles daily to and from work.This paper describes the experience gained and discusses the advantages and disadvantages of a remote townsite."

Jan 1, 1976

By D. C. Sharpstone

THE Polaris-Taku mine is a new gold property, situated in the far north-west corner of British Columbia. Production was started in November, 1937, at the rate of 150 tons a day, and recently has been increased to 200 tons. The property, which promises to become one of British Columbia's important gold mines, was developed and brought into production in twenty-nine months after work was started on it as a virtual prospect in June, 1935, by Edward C. Congdon and associates. Inaccessibility, extraordinarily complicated geological problems, and difficult metallurgy retarded development of the property before acquisition by the present interests, an::l, in fact, discouraged two companies that had spent substantial sums upon it from continuing development. This paper is concerned with reviewing the development of the property and describing the principal features of the geology, the mining and metallurgical practices, and the equipment employed. Acknowledgments The writer is indebted to Mr. Edward C. Congdon, President of the Polaris-Taku Mining Company, and to various members of the mine staff for their assistance in assembling the data for this paper. Special thanks are due to Mr. George G. Griswold, Jr., of Butte, Montana, who generously and painstakingly prepared the section dealing with milling and power. Microscopic studies of ores were made by Professors Frank Grout an::l G. M. Schwartz, of the University of Minnesota, and by Mr. Griswold.

Jan 1, 1938

By J. B. Gilliatt

The discovery of ore at Wabana was quickly followed by the mining of the ore beds where they outcropped in the land areas. The third phase, as at present carried out, consists of extensive submarine operations, which were commenced in 1908, by driving a pair of slopes out under Conception bay, opening. the mine for a distance of a mile and a half from the shore. Two other slopes, now driven just beyond the shore line, are being sunk to the submarine territory where, it is generally recognized, huge reserves of ore lie under the bay. The process of erosion of the land, the solution and re-disposition of its iron-bearing minerals in thick beds of ore have been considered elsewhere, but these bear small relation to the physical forces which have acted upon the ore-beds since the deposition of the strata. These physical changes are made manifest by jointing and cleavage and faulting. The discussion of these, the relation they bear to each other, and to the folding of the strata, is the purpose of this article. For the benefit of those who may not be familiar with the formation in which the ore occurs, I include a general summary of the geology of Be!! island and its environs; also a description of conditions that prevailed during the period of deposition, so that the reader may appreciate some of the later changes that took place during or subsequent to its emergence from the sea, and the folding or tilting of the strata to the position it now occupies.

Jan 1, 1924

By L. Heber Cole

The search for potash in western Canada during the years of the great war led to the staking of claims on many of the "alkali lakes" and sloughs which occur in numerous localities in the morainic areas of the prairies, as well as in British Columbia, in the hope that potash salts would be found in commercial quantities. While the search for potash, up to the present time, has been disappointing, the prospecting of these areas has demonstrated that Canada possesses large reserves of sodium and magnesium compounds, principally in the form of sulphates, carbonates and chlorides. he writer first became interested in these deposits in 1911 while investigating the sodium chloride springs of northern Manitoba. In the fall of that year a number of the sulphate ? deposits in Saskatchewan and Alberta were visited, but owing to the excessive rains at that period, all the deposits were under water and only a few brine samples were obtained. Owing to pressure of other work investigations of the alkali deposits in western Canada, by the Mines Branch of the Department of Mines, could not be undertaken until the field season of 1921, but since that time the work has been continuous. During the summer of 1918 a reported discovery of a large deposit of potash bearing salts was featured in western papers and in a short time practically all the lakes and sloughs of the prairie provinces, which showed the least indication of being saline, were staked for potash. This reported discovery was not substantiated on investigation and many of those who had staked claims allowed them t~ lapse without the slightest effort to determine the character of the material in the deposits which they? had leased.

Jan 1, 1924

By J. L. Jambor, T. C. Birkett, W. D. Sinclair

Abstract -The rare-earth elements (REE) form a significant part of the group of so-called "high­ technology" metals whose glamour has attracted both the scientific community and the mining industry. Despite this attraction, world production of REE declined abruptly in 1985 and only recently has begun to approach production levels of 1984. The decline in 1985 was primarily due to decreased demand for light REE used as catalysts in the production of lead-bearing gasoline. Incorporated within the current trend toward increased production of REE is an increasing demand for higher value elements such as yttrium and other members of the heavy REE group, and for specific REE rather than mixed products . The former demand has made some Canadian deposits and prospects economically attractive despite a surplus of REE reserves on a world scale. The chief attractions of Canadian deposits such as Strange Lake, Labrador-Quebec, Thor Lake, Northwest Territories, and Kipawa, Quebec, are that they are relatively rich in yttrium and other heavy REE compared to light REE, and that they offer a potential security of supply to counterbalance the rapidly escalating dominance of China in the world market.

Jan 1, 1992

By Guangyuan Li

A 3-D block-spring model (BSM) has been developed for simulating the behaviour of jointed rocks. The model uses a discontinuous formulation and an iterative procedure to solve the large displacements in jointed and faulted rock masses. The 3-D BSM has been used to simulate mining excavations in jointed rocks around an open pit and underground settings. The applications have demonstrated that it is a practical tool to solve complicated problems of rock mechanics in civil and mining engineering. This model has recently been modified to incorporate complex geological conditions, such as underground water flow (seepage), unstable blocks and the time-dependent behavior of backfill materials. To demonstrate the capability of the 3-D model this paper presents the fundamentals of the 3- D BSM and its application for open-pit mining. A complete computer package BSM3D has been developed based on the 3-D block-spring model. The package consists of a solving engine for numerical analysis and a Windows based processor for mesh generation and results display. The multi-functioned pre-processor provides tools and menus to help users setting up models easily and conveniently. The fully featured post-processor allows users to view the results in different windows and orientations. The graphical results include contours, vectors, animation of rock movement, and the failure state of the rock structures.

May 1, 2001

By B. Crane, S. Schwartz

"IntroductionThe Cape Breton Development Corporation (CBDC) located in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, in eastern Canada, was established in 1967. Its mandate at that time was to facilitate a phased downsizing of the coal industry and developing viable replacement industries. The oil crisis in the early 1970s changed CBDC’s mandate and focus was modified to increase coal production to support Nova Scotia Power Commission’s “off oil” policy for their power generators. In the late 1980s the mandate to develop viable replacement industries was eliminated and CBDC became primarily a coal mining company. CBDC presently operates two underground coal mines, Phalen Colliery and Prince Colliery, using a retreat longwall method of mining. Both mines operate beneath the Atlantic Ocean. CBDC also operates associated infrastructure — central workshops, a railroad, coal preparation plant, and international pier. The Need For Substantial ChangeOver the last few years, CBDC has been facing some challenging issues, including improving labour management relations and achieving financial self-sufficiency and profitability. Recent achievements with regard to human resource issues, especially in the areas of collective bargaining, absenteeism, and attendance, show noticeable improvements. All participants should be commended for successfully concluding the collective bargaining process with all four CBDC unions, CUPE; CAW; IAM&AW; and UMWA. However, although these changes are encouraging, even critical in the short term, they are not sufficient to ensure the long-term viability of the company. Market ForcesShort- and long-term financial realities are drawing the need for further substantive changes. The corporation has a mandate to achieve financial self-sufficiency by the year 1999. This goal can only be achieved through a combination of cost reductions and productivity gains, specifically, a reduction in the workforce of 658 and an increase in production of 800 000 tonnes annually. This increase in productivity requires CBDC to re-think the way it does things.In the longer term, CBDC faces even greater challenges. The energy market is becoming more competitive. The electrical utilities across Canada are anticipating deregulation and are positioning themselves for the resultant competition. As primary fuel supplier to Nova Scotia Power Inc. (NSPI), the corporation will have to become ever more competitive to stay in business."

Jan 1, 1997

By D. W. Bacon

Plant process optimization programs are often costly, both in technical effort and loss of production. Evolutionary Operation or "EVOP" is a mode of plant operation consisting of controlled cyclical changes in process conditions by which information is provided concerning potential process improvements while both volume and quality uniformity in production are maintained. Its conceptual simplicity and low cost of utilization have led to successful adoption in a variety of industrial manufacturing operations. This paper is an expository account of basic EVOP theory, the problems encountered and the organization required in applying it to a processing plant. Illustrations are provided which indicate the payoff that can result.

Jan 1, 1967

By E. C. Harder

BRITISH Guiana, Great Britain's only South American colony, may be reached by very comfortable steamers, both from North America and Europe. The trip from North American Atlantic ports requires about 12 to 14 days; that from Europe about 18 to 20 days. A number of steamship lines, including Canadian, American, and Dutch, have regular sailings between North America and British Guiana, with calls en route at various interesting ports in the West Indies and northern South America. Moreover, several lines, including British, German, and French, have steamships operating regularly between Europe and the West Indies. Indeed, so popular have the West Indian voyages become in recent years that, during the winter months, special cruises in considerable number are organized for many vessels that ply in the trans-Atlantic service in the summer. A trip to British Guiana, therefore, has become a delightful experience. After visits at the various attractive Leeward and Windward islands and Trinidad, the approach to the low, flat, British Guiana coast, with its muddy coastal waters extending for many miles offshore, is somewhat of a contrast. Arrival in Guiana waters is signalled by the appearance of the modern high-power Demerara Light, located "on a shoal about twelve miles from the mouth of Demerara river. From this point, if the tide is right, a pilot takes the steamer across the bar, eight to ten miles offshore, and into Georgetown harbour. At high tide, the water above the bar ranges from 15 to 18 feet in depth, depending on whether it is neap tide or spring tide; at low tide, the corresponding depths are 9 to 11 feet. As the bar is of soft mud, however, it is usually possible for vessels to pass over it with a draught of about two feet in excess of that indicated by the tide tables. Upon nearing the shore, one sees first the Georgetown wireless towers, then the light-house and the tall chimneys of sugar mills and of various factories in Georgetown, and finally the palms and other tropical trees and the houses of Georgetown itself along the sea shore and the east bank of Demerara river. Extensive wharves operated by various exporting and importing companies stretch along the river bank and activity prevails in Georgetown harbour. The principal exports are sugar, rice, gold, diamonds, bauxite, balata, lumber, fruit and other tropical products. The imports are food-stuffs, wearing apparel, and manufactured materials of many kinds.

Jan 1, 1936

By W. H. MacLean, S. Liaghat

Abstract- The Key Tuffite is a thick (0.3 m to 6 m) and laterally extensive (-10 km) cherty, sulfide-bearing tuff unit in Archean greenstones in the Matagami mining district in northwestern Quebec. It lies at the contact of the Watson Lake Group and overlying Wabassee Group volcanic rocks, and is host to major Zn-Cu volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits. The tuff component is highly altered and its volcanic precursors are not identifiable by petrographie means. The tuff is mixed with a volcanic exhalative component comprising chert, carbonate and sulfides (pyrite, pyrrhotite, and minor sphalerite and chalcopyrite). The normative mineral composition of the Key Tuffite is 33% quartz, 28% sulfides, 16% sericite, 8% carbonate, 60Jo chlorite and 9% other minerals. In the vicinity of the Bell Allard and Orchan mines, the precursor tuff components are identified using immobile major and trace elements, as Watson Lake tholeiitic rhyolite (Zr/Y = 1.5 to 3.5, LaN/Ybn. = 1.7 to 2.8, Si02 = 72.5 ± 1.2 wt %, and Wabassee calc-alkaline andesite (Zr/Y =9, LaN/Ybn. = 4 to 8, Si02 = 56% to 65%). Immobile element computation techniques were used to calculate mass additions and losses in the conversion of the tuff to the Key Tuffite. Average net amounts of Fep3 (27% total iron), Si02 (14%), CaO (8%), S and K20 ( + 2%), were added, Na2O was removed (-2.8%), and MgO was over-all unchanged. Total net mass change was +63%, which comprises mainly exhalative additions, but also includes changes owing to hydrothermal alteration of the tuff component.

Jan 1, 1992

By D. DeGagne, E. De Souza, J. F. Archibald

This paper describes the potential use of anew agent material for backfill consolidation, ground waste glass, to be used as partial replacement of Portland cement fractions within backfill. Significant fractions of commercial and residential silica glass production is currently utilized as waste landfill and must be disposed of at high cost and with no foreseeable environ-mental benefit. This paper also demonstrates that waste glass materials could be effectively recycled as backfill additives, and that a significant, large and stable source of additive supply, currently land filled, can be developed. This new application will generate added value for such materials, serve to promote positive environ-mental stewardship and satisfy engineering sup-port requirements in mines.

Jan 1, 1997