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By L. Drisdelle, S. Gendron

"Survival in today's business climate requires participation of all employees in a Total Quality Management Program encompassing everything - ""safety, quality of products, quality ofet1ch and every job done, and of course production "". We all know what needs to be accomplished, but struggle with how to do it, especially in an industry which has not always experienced management/union cooperation, and mistrust is still present.This paper describes a process to improve team work and employee involvement in Inco's nickel carbonyl refinery at Copper Cliff The process involves facilitatorship training for all employees, and a system for reinforcing and accomplishing the required behavioural change. The system is described in detail and a number of examples are presented. At the refinery, the staff is starting to understand as Max DePree recently wrote ""Without Quality Behaviour, you cannot have Quality Product"". IntroductionThe Copper Cliff Nickel Refinery (CCNR) is Inco's largest and most modern nickel refinery, which celebrated its twentieth year of successful operation in April 1993.The heart of the refinery is the Inco pressure carbonyl (IPq plant which produces high purity nickel pellets and specialty powders by refining an approximate 80% nickel granule feed. The carbonyl plant is a modem chemical plant with very special and demanding requirements for safety and environmental protection due to the toxic nature of the refining gas.Since 1987, there has been an emphasis at CCNR on a comprehensive Total Quality Improvement (TQI) Program which was designed based on recognizing customers' needs for improved systems for quality management. This program is customer oriented and comprises such elements as team organizational concepts, customer audits, process assessment and internal quality auditing.A detailed review of progress was made in early 1991 and it became apparent that the ""ownership"" of the TQI program was not broad based. In fact, the program was very much a staff driven effort and fell far short of total employee involvement and relentless continuous improvement that are now considered essential to remain competitive and stay in business.Inco staff has now come to regard that early phase of our TQI program as ""the technical aspects of total quality improvement"".The safety experience was also puzzling. Even though the safety statistics were good with an average lost time frequency of 1.6 for the last five years, the perfonnance improvement had plateaued and remained pretty much the same. Clearly a new approach was required if significant progress and continuous improvement was to be made."

Jan 1, 1994

By B. K. Ayres

Modern management of uranium mine or mill waste storage facilities (WSFs) often requires that they be remediated or decommissioned with a cover system. In addition to creating a self-sustaining landscape that supports the end land use, cover systems are intended to reduce long-term risks to human and ecological receptors from the stored waste to acceptable levels. The performance and longevity of a cover system will be strongly influenced by the features or shapes of the WSF final landform. Hence, cover systems and landforms must be thought of as an integrated design. Based on the author’s experience, the most important elements of the design process for maximizing the potential of WSF final landforms / cover systems being sustainable over the long term are noted in this manuscript. Several key items that must be considered and addressed during the planning phase of constructing a WSF final landform are also described. Various methods for monitoring performance of a WSF final landform are also reviewed. Key aspects associated with decommissioning a tailings WSF and waste rock pile at the former Cluff Lake uranium mine in northern Saskatchewan are included to illustrate many of the practical insights provided in this paper.

Jan 1, 2020

By Gerald Sanders

Presentation Topics ? We?re Going to the Moon Again? ? What is Lunar Mining ? In-Situ Resource Utilization? ? What Are The Challenges to Lunar Mining? ? What is NASA Currently Doing?

May 1, 2009

By C. Hudson, D. Tremblay, A. Frey

"A discussion of the design, challenges and successes associated with the commissioning of the gravity recovery circuit at Canada’s newest open pit gold mine - Atlantic Gold’s Moose River Consolidated Project in Nova Scotia, Canada is presented. An overview of the project, its historical significance and overall flowsheet is provided with special focus given to the design and selection of the gravity circuit equipment including the scalping screen, gravity concentrators and the novel intensive leaching technology selected for the project. The performance of the gravity circuit is benchmarked against the feasibility study process design specifications and the outcomes are discussed. Challenges encountered during commissioning are also presented, including the use of third-party automation and the effects of screen sizing on overall gravity circuit performance. Mechanical modifications made to the Sepro Leach Reactor for the Moose River project are also discussed. A detailed technical review of the mechanical and operational aspects of the Sepro Leach Reactor is provided with key operational data on leach times, recoveries, reagent usage, solid-liquid separation, pregnant solution quality and its influence on bullion purity.INTRODUCTION Atlantic Gold Corporation’s Moose River Touquoy Mill in Nova Scotia, Canada was commissioned in the fourth quarter of 2017 with commercial production declared in March of 2018. The 2 Mtpa process plant uses a conventional, gravity-CIL process. This site was previously mined in the 1870s. Interest waned in the early 1900s but resumed in the 1930s and the mine was brought back into production in 1935 until an underground mine collapse in 1936. This mining district became famous after CRBC radio commenced a ground breaking, around the clock, broadcast of the rescue operations. Over 100 million people listened to the broadcast from Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. These broadcasts changed radio, transforming it from a medium for music to on the spot, breaking news reporting. The mill was constructed by Ausenco on a fixed price EPC contract in the historic Moose River gold mining district, 95 km north-east of Halifax by road. The mill will process ore from the adjacent Touquoy pit for the first 5+ years of operation; after the Touquoy reserves are exhausted, the mill will process ore trucked 37 km from the Beaver Dam deposit for an additional 5 years."

Jan 1, 2019

By Oliver Bowles

Cementing materials of mineral origin were well known to the ancients. Ordinary lime and gypsum plasters were the first to be recorded by historians. The next development was the discovery that certain limes would set under water, but the hydraulic property was not definitely attributed to the presence of clay in the limestone until many centuries later. The Romans advanced a step nearer to modern cement in the development of 'pozzuolana', a mixture of volcanic ash or trass with hydrated lime. The silicate of aluminium in the volcanic rock combined readily with the lime, forming a hydraulic mortar or cement which was widely used. Natural Cement In Europe (1) No further progress was made in the art of manufacturing cement for several centuries, during which the Roman Empire declined and passed away, and the Anglo-Saxon race slowly and painfully evolved through the Middle Ages an ever-increasing prestige. An Englishman, John Smeaton, is credited with the honour of the next important development, for he employed a little-known cementing material-natural cement-in constructing the Eddystone lighthouse in 1756. It was called 'natural' cement because it was made from a natural rock with no additions of other materials. The process consisted of calcining an argillaceous limestone at a comparatively low temperature and grinding the product to a fine powder. Care was exercised to keep the temperature low, and any material burned to the clinkering point was thrown away, although such material was, as learned at a later time, Portland cement.

Jan 1, 1933

By A. O. Dufresne

A Step which, it is believed, will prove extremely beneficial to the Quebec asbestos-mining industry was taken during 1931, when the asbestos mine operators of the Province assembled to work out a uniform method of naming the products of their mines. The outcome of several meetings was the drawing-up of a classification which defined, limited, and designated anew the numerous grades of asbestos marketed. It entailed no drastic departure from the existing processes of grading, nor any revolutionary changes in methods of testing, but aimed rather to perfect existing methods. The classification proposed has been accepted by all operators in the Province, who, from January first of this year, began introducing the new nomenclature. Unless one is conversant with the properties and mode of occurrence of chrysotile asbestos, with the unique milling methods devised for its recovery, and with the history of the development of their technique, he may not readily understand the basis of the new classification. For information on these and other data concerning the industry, the reader is referred to a recent publication, Chrysotile Asbestos in (Canada, by James Gordon Ross, issued by the Mines. Branch of the Department of Mines, Ottawa. The object of this paper is to present briefly some of the phases in the evolution of the classification of Canadian chrysotile asbestos, in the hope that the recent effort to standardize the marketable products of one of Canada's most important non-metallic mineral industries will open a field for discussion, fruitful in new ideas and constructive suggestions. The necessity for the grading of asbestos results fundamentally from the fact that the price per ton depends on the length of fibre. At all times in the history of the industry, the very limited available supply of the longer grades, as well as the requirements of the trade, have caused relatively very high prices to be paid for fibre over half an inch in length, while for the shorter grades the price decreases rapidly, and at a rate which bears no proportionate relation to the length of fibre.

Jan 1, 1932

By M. F. Ameur, M. Habak, H. Aouici, M. Kenane

Present study interest by aluminium alloy (Al 7175-T5173) drilled without cooling fluid. The influence of the machining parameters (spindle speed and feed rate) on the holes quality was analyzed. Drilling tools are made of carbide (WC); high speed steel (HSS) and TiN coated carbide (WC-Ti).The Experiment design was reinforced by the application of statistical analysis of variance (ANOVA).The results show that the thrust force is influenced principally by the spindle speed and feed rate. Though, both feed rate and tool materials have statistical significance on the surface roughness. In addition, the objective of correlations between spindle speed and feed rate with the evolution of the machining parameters was established. These correlations were obtained by quadratic regression using the response surface methodology. Finally, useful to select optimum values of drilling parameters, that would minimize thrust force, torque, cutting temperature and surface roughness.

Jan 1, 2015

By S. Setayeshgar

The identification of potential accidents on construction sites has been a major concern in the construction industry and it needs a proactive safety plan to reduce the risk of accidents. There are no efficient methods for checking if safety measures are taken properly on construction sites. Consequently, workers on site are not given enough awareness about dangerous areas. In addition, construction sites are dynamic and on-site situations are changing in terms of permanent and temporary structures and facilities. This information can be represented using Building Information Modeling (BIM). This paper proposes the integration of BIM and safety risk analysis by considering the risk levels associated with the work spaces of different construction tasks. Work spaces are generated in a BIM model according to the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) of the project, reference objects in the BIM, and the schedule and resources of the task. Each work space is assigned to one or more tasks or functions, e.g., work spaces for specific tasks, shared spaces (paths), storage spaces, or spaces prohibited to workers. The assignment of work spaces is based on the workers, equipment and materials involved in the task. All the work spaces are associated with a specific duration according to the schedule of the project. Then risk evaluation of the construction site is applied in order to evaluate safety risks based on their severity and the degree of exposure of workers. For example, work spaces for storing hazard materials and for heavy construction equipment have higher risks than other work spaces. The results of the risk evaluation can be visualized in a 4D BIM model.

Aug 1, 2013

"THE Canadian Advisory Committee on Coal Research, which is commonly known as CACCR, has been in existence for the past five years and has held annual meetings during that period. This Committee is comprised of representatives from: the Mines Branch, Fuels and Mining Practice Division, Ottawa; the Geological Survey of Canada; the Dominion Coal Board; and the Provincial Research Councils and Foundations. It embraces all coal research in Canada that is sponsored, for the most part, by Government funds.To bring the country's coal research activities to the notice of the Canadian coal industry, the Coal Research Committee of the Coal Division, C.I.M., passed a resolution at the 1964 business meeting in favour of recommending the publication of an annual research report prepared by the CACCR. The first such report was published in the September, 1964, issue of the C.I.M. Bulletin; the second appeared in the November, 1965, issue of the same publication."

Jan 1, 1966

By W. G. Miller, J. D. Scott, D. C. Sego

ABSTRACT The influence of using different extraction processes (caustic versus non-caustic) on thethixotropic strength of oil sands fine tailings is examined, as is the influence of adding a coagulant tocaustic fine tailings. The thixotropic strength of fine tailings at large void ratios manifests itself as a bonding or gel strength that has been widely noted both in the laboratory and in the field. This gel strength has a significant influence on preventing the initial consolidation or settlement of fine tailings. Differences between the fine tailings’ thixotropic strength development are explained based on their physical and chemical characteristics.

Jan 1, 2010

By X. Wu

Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) are widely used for tunneling in urban areas because of their high advance rate, precise as-built profile and minimal impact to buildings and traffic on the ground. For a tunnel built by a TBM, there are strict requirements on alignment control and safety. To meet these requirements, it is important to monitor the position of the TBM. In the current practice, the TBM position data, including advance distance and line and level deviations, are reported manually to the managers on a daily basis. To interpret and analyze the position data, the managers also need to refer to various construction drawings. This practice is untimely, inefficient, and error prone for decision making. To improve the current practice, an automatic approach for real-time as-built tunnel product modeling and visualization is proposed, based on TBM position and orientation data autonomously sourced from the Virtual Laser Target Board (VLTB) TBM Guidance System developed at University of Alberta. Related information of the tunnel project, such as the as-designed alignment, soil layers, the ground, existing utility lines, is also visualized together with the model of the as-built tunnel. The modeling algorithm is presented step by step. Its application in a real-life drainage tunnel project is discussed and limitations are also identified.

Aug 1, 2013

By M. Dupuis

In the present study, the heat balance of the Hirakud smelter aluminium reduction cell has been accurately assessed using only a surface thermocouple and a pyrometer, As it is well known that using a single linear or quadratic relationship to estimate the heat flux from the measured surface temperature does not provide the accuracy required to close the cell heat balance, this approach was not used in this study, Instead, the fundamental natural convection and radiation heat flux equations were used systematically for each measurement point, Practically, this means that the ambient air temperature and at least one ambient radiative temperature must also be known in addition to the surface temperature for each measurement point. Sometimes, the radiative heat flux could not be accurately estimated using a single ambient radiative temperature, In those cases, a more accurate estimation based on two ambient radiative temperatures and corresponding view factors has been used instead, It turns out that although at least three temperature measurements are required to estimate a single heat flux, it takes a lot less time to make those temperature measurements using a pyrometer than directly measuring the heat flux using an expensive heat flux meter, Furthermore, no loss in accuracy was detected when using this approach as the cell heat balance could be closed within 5%, the level of accuracy typical of cell heat balance assessment using heat flux meter.

Jan 1, 2004

By Robert F. Shurtz

This paper discusses and compares methods of statistical analysis of the information relating to the evaluation of an asbestos deposit. From a study of 10-ft. lengths of drill core, the separate effects of visual evaluation errors were determined, as well as the deviations between evaluators and the deviations produced by a slight displacement in the center lines of the check drill holes. The importance of careful statistical analysis of such information is stressed.

Jan 1, 1966

By G. H. Robbins

"Originally presented at TORONTO 94, CIM-AGM, this paper has been updated to reflect the present status of business development for theSO2/AIR process. The paper reviews the back-ground leading to the invention, discusses the process chemistry and historically tracks the commercial development. Engineering and cost considerations are presented.IntroductionThe year 1994 was particularly significant in terms of the technical and business development of the INCO SO2/AIR cyanide destruction process. The year marked a decade of service to the world mining community since INCO acquired the Canadian patent in 1984. In that time period, the technology had become widely recognized as the state-of-the-art process in the field of cyanide detoxification and today we enjoy the distinction of having licensed the process at over 50 project sites worldwide. The application for the process has mostly been in the mining industry in precious metal recovery plants where it offers treatment for a wide range of waste streams such as: CIP/CIL slurries, Merrill-Crowe barren bleed solutions and/or re-pulped filter cakes, tailings pond water recycle or discharge, make-up water to flotation circuits and feed to underground backfill plants. The process also applies to the treatment of high cyanide rinsewaters from metal plating shops. More recently the process is being applied to the rinsing and abandonment of heap leach pads where it has proven to be a very cost-effective application of the INCO process. The distinct advantages that have led to the success of the process are the ability to work on slurries as well as solutions and the significantly low cost of sulphur dioxide products. The process is safe and easy to manage and uses all forms of SO2(liquid, gas or salts) which gives the process tremendous versatility with respect to geographic application. Having more than ten years of service"

Jan 1, 1996

By Davood Moradkhani, Maryam Rasouli

"The present study reports solvent extraction and separation of zinc from concentrated nickel sulfate solution. In our previous study, Zn and Cd in cold filter cake (CFC, 45-55% Zn, 11-16% Cd, and 2.5-4% Ni) were extracted by alkaline leaching followed by electrowinning processes respectively. The strip solution from electrowinning process, was a pregnant liquor solution (PLS) containing 16.8 g/l Ni and 4.2 g/l Zn. In this work, PLS is subjected to the solvent extraction process for separation of traces of Zn from high grade nickel. The zinc free raffinate containing 16.6 g/l Ni sulfate solution will flow to nickel electrowinning plant for cathode production. Di-(2-ethylhexyl) phosphoric acid (D2EHPA) is the organic phase used in this study. The effects of various parameters such as organic phase concentration (10- 40 % v/v), pH (1.5-3), and temperature (25 and 45°) are investigated. Zinc over nickel separation factor increases by increasing pH from1.5 to 3. The results show that 98.7% of Zn was loaded at25°C O/A ratio of 1, pH 3, and 10% vol. D2EHPA. A 10 M NaOH is used for pH control. However, replacement of pH controlling agent with ammonia solution (25%. v/v) results in interesting observations. Ammonia addition, reduces the solubility of Ni2+ cations in solution. Nickel starts to precipitate from raffinate in a crystalline bluish-green form. The obtained crystals are characterized by XRF and identified to be nickel-bearing analog of boussingaultite, a rare sulfate mineral of nickel with chemical formula of Ni (NH4)2(SO4)2.6H2O. The crystallization rate of crystals is studied. It is a slow precipitation process with 75% in 4 days.INTRODUCTION Annually, many hydrometallurgical processes such as electrowinning, solvent extraction and leaching are applied to waste filter cakes in Zanjan, Iran. These additional processes on filter cakes are critical from both environmental and economic points of view. CFC (cold filter cake) is a toxic but valuable filter cake (45-55% Zn, 11-16% Cd, 2.5-4% Ni, and 0.2-1.5% Cu) produced in many zinc production plants. Our research group at Research and Engineering Company for Non-ferrous Metals (ReCo.), developed a series of hydrometallurgical methods for extraction of zinc, cadmium and nickel from CFC (Moradkhani, & Rasouli 2012). The recovery of zinc and cadmium with alkaline leaching and electrowinning was successfully studied. The strip sulfate solution from cadmium electrowinning unit, contains high concentration of nickel with some traces of zinc impurity. This pregnant liquor solution (PLS) was analyzed and reported to contain 16.8 g/l Ni and 4.2 g/l Zn. In this work, PLS is subjected to the solvent extraction process to separate Zn from nickel (Fig. 1). The organic phase stripping solution containing 4.2 g/l zinc and 200 ppm nickel can be circulated and used in the acidic leaching step. This generates nickel solution with high purity suitable for nickel cathode production."

Jan 1, 2017

By E. Dalgaard

During linear friction welding of titanium alloy Ti-5A1-5V-5Mo-3Cr (Ti-5553), the weld zone exhibits beta (B) grain refinement and alpha (a) phase depletion that have the combined effect of deteriorating the mechanical performance of the weldment. In this work, linear friction welded Ti-5553 was subjected to pre- and post- weld heat treatments in order to determine the conditions under which a phase depletion could be mitigated in the weld zone and thermomechanically affected zone (TMAZ). The mechanical response of the welded samples to the heat treatments was determined by performing tensile testing at room temperature. While the pre-weld heat treatments had no significant effect, the post-weld heat treatments were instrumental in restoring the strength of the starting (heat-treated) material.

Jan 1, 2011

By Greg Baiden

Telerobotics focused on mining is currently being introduced into production systems around the world. Mining companies in Canada, Sweden, South Africa and Australia have tended to lead the international charge to this form of technology for mining. While this introduction is taking place a few basic questions have yet to be answered. How many machines can a single operator run? How many types of machines can a single operator run? A new Canadian Research Chair in Robotics and Mine Automation has been established at Laurentian University. This chair will investigate these questions and many more through a series of experiments in a newly established telerobotics laboratory that connects Laurentian teleoperation workstations to model mining machines at Cambrian college?s eDome. The laboratory will support many experiments allowing researchers to physically run multiple robot scenarios differing the numbers and types of machines at one/quarter scale. Further experiments are being designed to investigate the potential for managing time delays in telerobotics. This paper describes the laboratory, experiments and some preliminary results.

May 1, 2003

By W. van der Merwe

ABSTRACT With the gold industry processing more complex ores, the online measurement and control of cyanide addition to the gold leaching circuit has become more critical. This paper compares the two commonly employed ‘free’ cyanide online analysis methods (amperometric and potentiometric endpoint silver nitrate titration) with the rhodanine endpoint silver nitrate titration and ion selective electrode methods common at site laboratories. Measurement differences between these methods are presented and discussed for cyanide solutions containing copper and zinc with varying cyanide to metal ion ratios. The resulting cyanide available to leach gold is also compared using these measurement techniques.

Jan 1, 2013

By Morris J. Viljoen, Young. David R.

"Abstract -The zone of economic interest at H.J . Joel Gold Mine is the VS5/Beatrix Composite Reef, a quartz-pebble conglomerate of Archean age. The reef occurs at the base of the Eldorado Formation, Central Rand Group, of the Witwatersrand Supergroup. At !east three stratigraphically distinct conglomerates form this economic zone. In order of deposition these are the Footwall, Beatrix, and the VS5/Beatrix reefs. The Footwall and Beatrix reefs are equated with the Aandenk Formation with transport directions toward the northwest, whereas the VS5/Beatrix Reef is of Eldorado age, with transport directions toward the south. The change in the drainage direction was caused by a major basin-wide tectonic event that occurred prior to the deposition of the Eldorado Formation. The Beatrix Reef was formed in a proximal, braided, fluvial environment by a process of aggrading gravel bars between channelways. The VS5/Beatrix Reef was formed by the desegregation of pre-existing Beatrix Reef with the introduction of new material containing much shale detritus and is seen to have been deposited in a more ·distal, braided, fluvial environment, similar to the Beatrix Reef.The average gold concentrations are different for each conglomerate; the Beatrix at 32.1 ppm Au, the Footwall at 24.4 ppm Au, and the VS5/Beatrix at only 12.4 ppm Au. A sedimentary gold concentrating process related to higher energy braid channels was primarily responsible for these high gold grades. Not only the basal unconformity surface, but also, internal degredation surfaces, were prime sites for concentration. An understanding of the spatial distribution of these differing conglomerates and their braid channels forming the economic reef zone is necessary in predicting ore grades for future mining."

Jan 1, 1994

By Jr. Watts, B. K. Cantrell, K. L. Bickel, J. F. McDonald

"A field trial was conducted at an underground gold mine to evaluate diesel fuel derived from soybean oil (soy-methyl-esters or “biodiesel”) as an alternative to commercial, low-sulphur, number 2 diesel fuel (D2). A 2.7 m3, 18-ton load-haul-dump (LHD) unit, powered by a naturally aspirated, indirect injection (pre-chamber), 100 kW diesel engine was used as the test vehicle. The LHD was equipped with a diesel oxidation catalyst. The LHD operated satisfactorily on the biodiesel fuel. Operators observed a slight decrease in power and an absence of black smoke.Diesel particulate matter (DPM) concentrations were monitored for a six-week period while the LHD was operated with either the biodiesel fuel or the D2 fuel. DPM concentrations were measured in the mining section’s clean air intake, exhaust and on the LHD. Reduction in DPM emissions was determined from the measured difference in DPM concentrations between the clean air intake and the exhaust. The biodiesel fuel reduced energyspecific DPM emissions approximately 75%, from 3.6 ± 1.8 g/kW-hr to 0.86 ± 0.27 g/kWhr. Time-weighted average DPM exposure, measured near the LHD operator, was reduced from 0.67 ± 0.13 mg/sm3 to 0.28 ± 0.12 mg/sm3, or approximately 58%, when the biodiesel fuel was used. IntroductionDiesel exhaust consists of noxious gases and diesel particulate matter (DPM). Recent attention has focussed on the potential carcinogenicity of DPM and the potential health impact on miners. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recommended that whole diesel exhaust be regarded as a “potential occupational carcinogen”, and that reductions in workplace exposure would reduce cancer risks (NIOSH, 1988). The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) declared that “diesel engine exhaust is probably carcinogenic to humans” (IARC, 1989)."

Jan 1, 1997