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By C. H. Wright

Introduction The rapidly expanding and increasingly complex Canadian industrial structure, with the mining, metallurgical, and chemical industries as a large integral part, has, in recent years, brought greatly increased importance and value to our industrial minerals. In the modern economy of our mineral industry the importance which is due the non-metallics has been somewhat overshadowed by the great value of our large metal production and, in addition, by the glamour and fascination usually associated with the mining and treatment of gold ores. The term 'Industrial Mineral' is used in this paper in its usual sense and refers to non-metallics other than fuels. Coal and petroleum products, including natural gas, are considered as industrial minerals in those applications in which they are used for strictly chemical process purposes. Certain reduction metallurgical industries are so closely allied to chemical industries that for purposes been of this discussion no attempt has made to differentiate between them. Chemical industry in Canada today is a fairly large factor in our national economy, whereas in 1898, when the Canadian Mining Institute was born, it was very small indeed. Chemical concerns are largely dependent on industrial minerals for raw materials and process supplies and, as the country has developed industrially, so have the demands for non-metallics increased, not only by chemical industry but also by other large consumers, such as the construction and metallurgical industries. At the present time there is a greater than normal incentive prevailing for new discoveries, due to the serious lack of balance that exists in our import and export trade. This fact has resulted in intensive efforts to rectify the situation by locating new deposits and re-assessing those already known in an effort to enlarge and improve our home production of raw materials and also to extend their processing in Canada for our own needs and for export. The rapid advances in science and technology that have taken place since 1900 have also resulted in many cases of beneficiation and utilization of otherwise too low grade materials in order to satisfy current demands. The purpose of this paper is to indicate the history and the trends of the utilization of industrial minerals in established industry and to indicate the important part played by non-metallics in connection with the opening up of new industries. Some consideration has been given to the continual competition between natural and 'synthetic products and to the general tendency towards more rigid specifications.

Jan 1, 1948

By F. E. Senftle

Introduction The usual laboratory methods of uranium analysis are either tedious, time-consuming chemical procedures or elaborate physical methods requiring sensitive equipment. There is thus an urgent need for a method of estimating the uranium content of ore samples by approximate analysis in the field. When a new property is being developed, it is desirable to know, with the least possible delay, the uranium content of channel samples in order to guide the diamond drilling and digging operations. Prospectors, too, require approximate analyses of their hand specimens to evaluate their discoveries. To satisfy the demand for these types of analyses, several field procedures have been tried. Two general plans can be followed. One is fast but will yield only a rough estimate. The other is slightly longer but, if done carefully, will give an assay probably within 10 per cent of the true value. For field operation it is necessary to strip the more accurate laboratory methods of analysis of all refinements because of the limited equipment and skilled techniques at hand. Most of the corrections normally applied, with the exception of that for equilibrium, will not alter the gross analysis to any appreciable extent. When uranium atoms in pitchblende disintegrate, they break down into other radioactive elements, and eventually the number of elements being formed is equal to the number breaking down. The ore is then said to be in equilibrium. Certain geological processes, however, such as leaching, may selectively remove some of these elements and hence reduce the radioactivity of the ore sample. The ore is then said to be out of equilibrium. The field analysis may then be in error by as much as 50 per cent since the apparatus is calibrated with standards that are in equilibrium. However, such a large error due to loss of equilibrium is the exception, and in most cases uncorrected field types of analyr.is are justified.

Jan 1, 1949

By Hatch, A. Reple, W Valery

The mining industry is facing declining feed grades which require the mining and processing of larger volumes of material per tonne of product. Pre-concentration aims to remove barren material at as coarse a particle size and as early in the process as possible to reduce processing costs, energy consumption, water losses, and greenhouse gas emissions while increasing production and profitability. This may be achieved using bulk ore sorting—the separation of barren gangue from a fully loaded conveyor belt based on the grade as measured or inferred from a sensor. This paper evaluates the technical and economic viability of bulk ore sorting for the PanAust Phu Kham copper deposit in Lao PDR. Bulk ore sorting technology is described briefly along with discussion of appropriate sensor and diversion systems for the Phu Kham operation. To evaluate the economic implications, the actual mined material and costs from 2014 were used as the base-case. Sampling data was not available; therefore, the ore grade variability that would feed a bulk ore sorter was estimated using geo-statistical tools based on mine grade control data. The sorter performance when treating this material was simulated considering the accuracy of the sensor measurement and errors associated with material diversion. The impact on inferred cash flow was estimated for several different scenarios considering the additional costs for sorter operation and reject handling. The evaluation demonstrated that bulk ore sorting at Phu Kham has the potential to increase the amount of metal in product and/or reduce processing plant throughput (and costs) to improve the annual inferred cash flow for the conditions investigated. The sorter is the gatekeeper – only material above the cut-off grade (value-adding) reports to the processing plant; no waste dilutes the feed. Likewise, above cutoff grade material is not lost to waste; preventing lost revenue.

Jan 1, 2016

By Smortchevskyk N. J.

THIS paper describes the electrical features of the locomotive now (August, 1962) under construction for Craigmont Mines. Intended for non-specialists, it avoids details of design and calculations interesting to electricians only. The paper is divided into three sections. The first deals very briefly with the mine layout and with operating conditions -existing and expected. Reference is made to economic considerations leading to the selection of the type and size of locomotive, as well as to traction diagrams and the calculations. This material is not included in the paper because of its length and because it does not represent anything new. The second section deals with engineering and economic considerations and shows, in some detail, why the A.C. system was chosen. The third section describes the basic components of the locomotive, including the voltage regulator, the rectifiers, the control arrangement and the filter, and deals with considerations affecting the selection of their rating and design. A concluding sub-section describes, very briefly, the track and trolley details and the power distribution switchgear.

Jan 1, 1963

By S. W. Marcuson, P. J. Mackey

The 1973 Oil Embargo and succeeding disruptions in supply had a profound effect on energy costs and consumption patterns in the developed world. This was especially true in the USA where post World War II growth, fueled by low-cost imported oil, left the country dependent on uninterrupted oil shipments from the volatile Middle East. In this atmosphere, Professor H.H. Kellogg of Columbia University, convinced of the necessity of good environmental stewardship by the writings of the era’s leading environmentalists, developed a methodology for evaluating energy and process efficiency of metallurgical processes and wrote a series of papers describing and applying the techniques. One of these, "Energy Use in Sulfide Smelting of Copper" is recognized as a seminal work which both described the state of energy usage in copper smelting in the mid-1970’s and portended future developments. The background to these papers is examined and the current and past Cu-Ni matte smelting practices in Canada are examined in the context of the results. Data from early 20th century publications describing reverberatory and blast furnace operation is employed to show that energy consumption for much of the century was several multiples higher than that calculated for best reverberatory operation in the 1970’s.

Jan 1, 2015

By F. Bourgeois, J. -S. Kroll-Rabotin

ABSTRACT: Falcon concentrators are enhanced gravity separators designed for concentrating fine particles. The Falcon UF model is unique in that it is dedicated to beneficiation of ultrafines, one key feature being that it does not make use of any fluidization water. We investigated the physics of particle transport inside Falcon concentrators, and concluded that separation efficiency is governed by differential settling velocity. We derived and published a predictive model of the partition function under dilute conditions. We intend to extend the initial model to concentrated ultrafine suspensions for application to industrial scenarios by adding hindered settling to account for solid concentration effects.

Jan 1, 2011

By Dave Thomas

?Uranium is a common trace metal at the earth?s surface, but these are amazing super-high grade (up to 25%) pods, veins and disseminated uraninite (UO2) near unconformities between Proterozoic siliciclastic red beds and metamorphic basement with graphitic metapelite and radiogenic granite. ?Pitchblende fills extensional features in reactivated fault zones and replaces matrix in sandstone ?One mining district in Canada ?the Athabasca Basin ->30 deposits /prospects -most in eastern ¼of basin -produces 1/3 of world?s U -employs northerners -VERY high tech -VERY high safety standards Unconformity-associated uranium depositsUnconformity-deposits

May 1, 2006

The use of QemSCAN in providing mineralogical input to detailed ore and product characterization has proved of immense value in recent years. In this paper, a brief review of selected Cu-case studies is presented to demonstrate the versatility of automated, quantitative mineralogy by QemSCAN. This versatility ranges from measurement and analysis strategies through to data processing and presentation. As a rapid diagnostic service, it is common to find that only grain size, the degrees of liberation and/or ore mineral modal mineralogy are of interest. By contrast, the detail afforded by the simultaneous determination of both gangue and ore minerals can alert mineral engineers to fatal flaws and attributes deleterious to processing that are directly a function of silicate and other gangue mineralogy. Examples of the latter effects include the influence of micaceous minerals and acid consuming species, while the former include fluorine minerals, which can provide both processing and environmental challenges.

Jan 1, 2007

By P. Clinton Milne

Uranium mines in Washington State include the producing Midnite and Sherwood mines and several mined-out deposits, the most productive of which was the Daybreak mine. The Midnite mine is generally classified as a hydrothermal deposit consisting of tabular orebodies in Precambrian pelitic and calcareous metasedimentary host rocks. The host rocks occur as roof pendants in a Cretaceous porphyritic quartz monzonite intrusive; the quartz monzonite averages 12 ppm U308 The uranium deposit appears to have undergone a complex genesis, involving a series of depositional and enrichment stages. The Sherwood uranium deposit, approximately 4 miles south of the Midnite mine, occurs near the bottom of a basal Late Cretaceous to Paleocene arkosic conglomerate. The conglomerate lies nonconformably on the porphyritic quartz monzonite that is associated with the Midnite deposit. The Sherwood and Midnite uranium deposits may have had a similar genetic history linked by a common uraniferous pluton source, ground-water action, and/or leaching of uranium-rich ash flows from now-eroded, overlying, Eocene volcanics. The Daybreak deposit, in northeastern Spokane County, consists entirely of secondary uranium mineralization (metaautunite) in a quartz monzonite pluton. Mineralization is confined to a low-angle fault zone and is most highly concentrated at the intersection of primary and secondary shears. Both hydrothermal and ground-water origins are feasible. Besides the Midnite-Sherwood area, 14 other areas in the western Okanogan Highlands physiographic province and Cascades region have favourable characteristics for uranium potential. Criteria include the existence of uranium occurrences, Tertiary basin sediments with intercalated volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks, favourable geochemical data, alkaline plutons associated with uranium occurrences or borders of Tertiary basins, and structural controls.

Jan 1, 1979

By P. M. Dranchuk

"""PLANET EARTH seen from space appears as a fragile and limited life-supporting system in a vast emptiness. That such a view is, in fact, an accurate one is now more widely accepted than it was not long ago, before Earth's problems of over-population, overconsumption, limited resources and environmental degradation attained the limelight. The danger is that a government and public now deluged by doomsday prophecies and bemused by equally confident reiterations that technology will cure all may hesitate in coming to grips with the problem, in the hope that, given time, it will go away."" With these words, Preston Cloud begins a recent editorial, in Science(l), in which he presents a brief resume of some of the findings of the Committee on Resources and Man of the National Academy of Science-National Research Council(20.Their report, which is based on a two-year study by an extremely competent group and consists of some 250 pages of text, is even more far-reaching and sobering than the report on Energy Resources(3). It begins by quoting Sir Macfarlane Burnet as follows:""There are three imperatives: to reduce war to a minimum; to stabilize human population, and to pre-vent the progressive destruction of the earth's irreplaceable resources.(4)"

Jan 1, 1971

By E. C. W. Perryman

Materials research and development has played an important role in the commercial success of the CANDU- PHW nuclear reactor and in the production of heavy water. Both capital investment and energy conservation demand very high component reliability in such systems. The interactions among reliability, plant performance and economics will be discussed in relation to materials research and development. Likely materials requirements for the nuclear industry over the next twenty five years will also be discussed.

Jan 1, 1977

By S. A. G. Poppen, J. Konopka

"Petro-Canada's project investigative and experimental underground work in the Galt coal seam at Kipp, Alberta included the construction of an emergency egress and ventilation raise from surface.The Galt coal seam is 206 m below the surface and covered by 8 m of shale, sandstone and clay beds of the Oldman Formation, 128 m of shale, bentonite beds and sandstone of the Bearpaw Formation, and 70 m of glacial till and basal gravel. Free water was encountered from sand lenses in the glacial till and the basal gravel.Excavation for the ventilation raise was a nominal 2 m diameter and it was lined with a welded, continuous, steel liner of 1.2 m 1.D.Excavation in the glacial till was carried out with a surface bucket drill rig combined with hand mining. Ground support in the glacial till consisted of liner plates and backfill grout. The Bearpaw and Oldman formations were excavated by employing standard raise boring techniques. The individual liner sections of the continuous steel liner were assembled on surface and the entire liner column was lowered into the raise by employing hydraulic lift climbers. The liner column was back-filled with concrete.IntroductionThe Lethbridge Coal Field comprises an area of approximately 1 165 square km in the vicinity of Lethbridge in southern Alberta. Pacific Petroleums Ltd. proposed in a Preliminary Disclosure in January 1979 ""to open an experimental mine prior to development of a producing underground mine with an initial rate of 540,000 tonnes per year"". A 2 900-hectare group of leases in the Kipp-Coalhurst area was selected as the primary target for the Kipp experimental mine. The scope of work for the experimental mine included the construction of an access shaft with production capabilities, the construction of a ventilation and emergency exit raise, drive-ages in coal to yield a bulk sample, gathering of geotechnical information and the testing of experimental mining methods."

Jan 1, 1983

By The Staff

"IntroductionThe published information concerning treatment of uranium ores has been very limited as far as Canadian ores are concerned. Such information has dealt mainly with refining processes for concentrates or rich ores, designed to recover radium rather than uranium; these methods could not be economically applied to low-grade ores.The purpose of this paper is to describe treatment possibilities for some of the .ores that have been treated at the Mines Branch, and .to show how the character of these ores influences methods and results.What is a Uranium Ore?Prospecting for uranium has been extremely active during the past two years and a great many occurrences of radioactive minerals have been recorded. Such prospecting has been based to a large extent on the use of the Geiger counter in the fie1d. This equipment is an invaluable aid when the results are properly interpreted.Most definitely, indications of high radioactivity do not always prove the presence of a valuable orebody. First we have to determine:(1) Is the radioactivity due to uranium or to thorium. There is no immediate market for thorium.(2) Can the uranium in the ore be economically recovered.Chemical analysis is the most exact method of determining uranium content, but a fair estimate of the uranium, and also of the thorium, content can be made from the difference in gamma and beta activity. The Mines Branch guards against misinterpretation by determining both beta and gamma activities and, if more than a minor amount of thorium is indicated, then a Chemical analysis is made."

Jan 1, 1950

By M. Sengupta, A. A. de Gast

"With rapid deterioration in the urban environment caused by air pollution, the possibility of chemical reaction between dimension stone and the industrial waste gases present in the ambient atmosphere remains. The chemical reaction can cause expensive damage to building stone; it is essential that a stone evaluation for use in construction should assess the possibility of this type of decay. This paper endeavours to develop testing procedures for evaluating stone decay in polluted environments. Such tests can accompany other standard tests used in dimension- stone evaluation."

Jan 1, 1972

By Marvin E. Lane

Viburnum, located in the foothills of the Ozarks in south-east Missouri, is the site of a modern lead mining and milling operation. Two mines are currently producing a total of 5,000 tons per day and a third mine is in the final development stage, with full production scheduled for late this year (1964). These mines will supply the tonnage required to keep the Viburnum mill operating at a full capacity of 7,000 tons per day for many years. The efficient underground mining operation is completely trackless. Drill jumbos are used to break the ore in a room and pillar method of mining. Transloaders, or St. Joe shovels, and trucks do the loading and hauling. The Viburnum mill has a world-wide reputation as a most efficient operation. This is due to the extensive use of automatic process controls, and labour saving materials handling facilities. Introduction THE St. Joseph Lead Co., has operated lead mines in southeast Missouri for 100 years. These operations have been confined largely to the area called the

Jan 1, 1964

By P. G. Thornhill

EARLY in 1951, Falconbridge undertook a research program aimed at the development of a sulphate roasting process for the recovery of the non-ferrous rnetals from the nickeliferous pyrrhotite fraction of Falconbridge ore, in order to reduce the tonnage of iron entering the srnelter. Such a method, it was hoped, would permit a high recovery of the nickel from pyrrhotite otherwise entering the smelter feed, thus not only raising the grade of the latter and reducing its iron content, but also providing an iron oxide residue useful as a source of by-product iron ore. At an early stage in the exploratory laboratory test work it was found that the degree to which the nickel could be solubilized by the sulphating roasting treatment was limited by particle size and the ex-tent to which the pyrrhotite concentrates were freed of the nickel occurring as physically separable pentlandite, a mineral relatively difficult to roast. ( 1) Thus the program

Jan 1, 1961

"Shales play a major role in the stability of slopes, both natural and engineered. This paper attempts to provide a review of the state-of-the-art in shale slope stability. The complexities of shale terminology and classification are first reviewed followed by a brief discussion of the important physical and mechanical properties of relevance to shale slope stability. The varied mechanisms of shale slope stability are outlined and their importance highlighted by reference to international shale slope failures. Stability analysis and modelling of anisotropic rock slope masses are briefly discussed and the potential role of brittle rock fracture and damage highlighted. A short review of shale slopes in open pits is presented.INTRODUCTIONShales have been stated to form approximately 58% of sedimentary rock so it is not surprising that they are frequently encountered in both natural and engineered slopes. They represent challenging environments for slope stability due to the wide variation in their engineering properties, their changing behaviour with time due to geomorphic processes and the variation in the failure mechanisms as a function of both stratigraphy and tectonics. An extensive body of literature exists on the terminology and classification relevant to shales; it is not possible in the scope and length of the current paper to review these works in detail and the reader is referred to Farrokhrouz and Asef (2013), Bell (2000) and Goodman (1993) for detailed discussions. It is arguably the case that no universally accepted classification of shales exists today and depending on the field of application the terminology varies widely. Shales in slope stability, for the purpose of this keynote paper, are taken to include material varying in properties from weak rocks to soils and therein lies one of the most challenging aspects in shale slope characterisation for engineering purposes. They have been classified as “rock-like” or “soil-like’, (Underwood 1967) or compacted and cemented, Table 1, Yagiz (2001). Classifications have considered numerous factors including composition, cementation and a wide range of engineering properties.The propensity of shales to degrade with time due to geomorphic processes has resulted in an important aspect in their classification, that is, the attempts to incorporate slaking, durability and swelling and softening behavior through purpose developed testing methods (Gamble 1971, Morgenstern and Eigenbrod, 1974). Figures 1 and 2 show examples of terminology used to describe argillaceous materials and some proposed engineering classification schemes (Grainger 1984 and Bott 1986). Corominas (2014) provides a recent classification of argillaceous rocks and their durability relating five stages of slope deterioration to the texture of the rock on Ternary diagrams. No attempt will be made here to discuss the merits of the proposed terminology and classifications, suffice it to say, that the controversy and flux surrounding these issues is a strong indicator of the complexities in the behavior of these materials. In this paper the author will consider slope stability in the materials indicated in Table 1, Figures 1 and 2 without undue focus on terminology. At the lower strength limit of shales the engineer must design slopes using the principles of soil mechanics which may vary from the simple Mohr Coulomb plasticity constitutive criterion to modified critical state models, some even attempting to incorporate softening behaviour in the weaker clay shale materials. Given the transitional nature of shale materials several workers have treated overconsolidated clays and clay shales using concepts such as peak and residual shear strength, brittleness index and softening. Martin and Stacey (2013) provide a useful review of the importance of weak rocks in open pit mining, with mudrocks as a specific member, and note the importance of delayed failure, progressive failure and loosening in the stability of"

Jan 1, 2015

By P. Burke, V. Vuaroqueaux, A. Doyle, C. Petit, Kipouros. G. J.

Magnesium and its alloys are attractive for use in automotive and aerospace applications because of their low density and good mechanical properties. However, difficulty in forming magnesium and the limited number of available commercial alloys limit their use. The present work reviews the efforts to improve the attractiveness of magnesium through non-traditional processing, and presents results of current work on producing magnesium alloys via powder metallurgy (P/M). P/M can be used to alleviate the formability problem through near-net-shape processing, and also allows unique chemical compositions that can lead to new alloys with novel properties. The surface layer formed on the Mg powders during processing acts as a barrier to diffusion and sintering is problematic. The layer contains oxides, hydroxides and carbonates of magnesium, formed by reactions with the atmosphere. There are several means to possibly overcome this barrier. Alloying additions have been identified that may promote surface layer disruption during sintering. Processing variables such as sintering atmosphere may reduce the layer or allow the formation of less detrimental compounds. Post-sintering processes such as hot working may disrupt the layer and improve density. The experimental effect of all these processing parameters is presented in this paper.

Jan 1, 2010

By W. D. Robson

THE prevention of silicosis by metallic aluminium has been reported by Denny, Robson, and Irwin in two papers. The first (1) was published in 1937; the second (2), in 1939. The results definitely established that silicosis was prevented in animals by the inhalation of small quantities of aluminium. The present communication records subsequent progress in this field of research. HARMLESSNESS OF ALUMINIUM Animal experiments having served their purpose, it became necessary to consider means to test the discovery on humans. A question for immediate consideration was: Is aluminium harmful to man when inhaled as a fine powder? While the animal experiments were reassuring, since they conclusively showed the powder to be innocuous when breathed by animals, it was, nevertheless, desirable to have additional reassurance with regard to its effect upon human beings. Through the courtesy of the Aluminum Company of America and especially the valued interest in this problem displayed by that Company's Director of Research, Dr. Francis C. Frary, a study was made of the records pertaining to the health of a group of 125 employees who had for many years been engaged in the manufacture of finely powdered, metallic aluminium for the paint and ink industries. The conditions were such that these employees had inhaled varying and oft-times very dense concentrations of this powder daily over periods ranging from 6 to 23 years, the average for the group being 12 years. X-ray pictures of their chests showed no abnormalities attributable to aluminium. Their general health seemed better than that of the 3,000 workers in other sections of the plant. In fact, the early films of three employees in this group of 125 showed shadows suggestive of minimal tuberculosis, which shadows were not discernible in films taken after considerable periods of exposure to aluminium powder. The harmlessness of aluminium was, by this study, reasonably well established at the outset, a finding subsequently verified by Ontario research on humans.

Jan 1, 1944

By P. E. Cavanagh

THIS REPORT is not intended to be a ?comprehensive survey of the steel industry in Europe. For the past ten years the Ontario Research Foundation has been interested in several developments in the steel industry in Europe which it was felt would be of particular interest in Canada and might possibly find application in this country. This is an account of the present status of some of these developments. The economies of steel making in Canada are somewhat different than in the United States because of the nature of the market and the relative costs and availability of such raw materials as metallurgical coke and electric power. There are cases in Europe where a great deal of effort and money has been spent in trying to make steel profitably by methods which take advantage of locally available and cheap raw materials by modifying standard practices. ln cases wl1ere the investigations have been successful and the data are available to allow translation of the results into Canadian conditions, it is felt that such information may be of great benefit in the future in Canada and at !east should be known to all those in the steel industry in this country. The field to be covered in this report only comprises the steps from concentration and treatment of iron ores to production of iron and is only concerned with those commercially operating processes well known to us and judged to be of present interest in Canada.

Jan 1, 1957