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By L. G. Morrell

Introduction A Self-Dumping cage which combines the features of a small skip and a cage has been used in a vertical winze between the 2,000 and 2,500 levels at the Coniaurum mine for the past three years, during which time its success has been demonstrated by uninterrupted service and low maintenance charges. lt was designed by John Reddington, mine manager, and was built under his supervision in the Coniaurum mine shops. Being new in many of its operating features, a small-scale model was made and tried before the final construction was undertaken. The mechanical performance of the model suggested a few minor changes that were incorporated in the final drawings. During its three years of use, the automatic dumping device has saved the expense of deck-handling of the cars. This actually represents a gross economy of something over four times the cost of construction and installation, which totalled $1,325. The cage, empty, weighs 2,200 pounds, of which 500 pounds represents the weight of the dumping accessory and necessarily heavier construction. Besides a considerable financial saving, the time saved in unloading increases the daily hoisting capacity of the winze. In raising ore from the 2,500 level, five minutes are required for a complete trip. Allowing one minute for the alternative of decking, we believe that the automatic dumping has increased the capacity of the winze hoist nearly 20 percent.

Jan 1, 1933

By B. S. W. Buffam

"The property of Moneta Porcupine Mines, Limited, consists of a group of eight claims in Tisdale township, Ontario. It includes part of the townsite of the town of Timmins, and adjoins the west boundaries of the Hollin_ger Consolidated and Mace properties. The Moneta property was first staked in 1909, about a year after the first discovery of gold in the Porcupine camp. In 1910 the Moneta Company was incorporated and some preliminary exploratory work performed by Nova Scotia Mines of Cobalt. In 1912 English interests advanced $90,000 for diamond drilling and underground work. One drill hole gave high assays, but apparently the records were poorly kept or the cores were interchanged. As a consequence, when underground exploration was undertaken in 1923 it was directed south rather than west and no ore was found . In 1924 about 5,000 feet of diamond drilling was done in the southern part of the property, but without intersecting ore.In 1931 W. E. Segsworth assumed the direction of the property. Diamond drilling commenced on August 18, 1936. The first hole intersected 9.9 feet of ore averaging 1.23 oz. gold a ton. Underground work was started early in 1937. A mill was erected in the autumn and the first gold brick was poured January 29, 1938.The Moneta mill began operation on January 2, 1938, and the following table gives a summary of the production to June 30, 1943, when the mill was closed."

Jan 1, 1954

By Barry Hope, Javier Rico

"Goldcorp’s Hoyle Pond mine has recently completed several projects which have impacted the overall ventilation system. The project includes extending the Fresh Air Raise (FAR) to depth, development of a new Return Air Raise (RAR), and the installation of new sensors and ventilation controls throughout the mine. Two years after the completion of #2 Winze, the mine is ramping up its ore production to 1,300 tpd (up from 1,100). To ensure safe and profitable production, a reliance upon technology has been needed to provide the required ventilation to the work areas according to the mine plan. To systematically assess the mine’s ventilation in real-time, a significant increase in remote monitoring was required. This included installing additional flow, pressure, temperature and gas sensors. The first step in upgrading the existing monitoring was to purchase airflow and differential pressure monitors and install them in key areas of the mine. This paper presents the process of expanding the monitoring capability at Hoyle Pond mine, the selected equipment and the results of the implementation. The intended goal was to improve safety while minimizing capital and operation costs. The monitors were installed in strategic locations to provide immediate feedback on the impact of changes to the primary ventilation airflows. Comparing the available sensor technologies, installing them and systematically monitoring the ventilation served as a first step towards developing a mine wide Ventilation Control System. In addition, the initial state of the monitoring and control system, with final results and the chosen solution for the mine site, are presented. INTRODUCTION The Hoyle Pond mine is located in the City of Timmins, within the Porcupine mining district, Ontario, which has produced more than 70 million ounces of gold since 1910. Currently, approximately 60% of Porcupine Gold Mines gold production comes from the Hoyle Pond underground mine. Mechanized cut and fill and long-hole mining methods are used to extract the ore. The remainder of the ore comes from the Hollinger Open Pit mine. The Dome Underground mine ceased operations in 2017. Hoyle Pond is currently mining at 1820 meters below the surface and plans to go deeper. The average dry-bulb as wet-bulb temperature underground varies according to the depth and surface conditions which has extremes of –40°C in winter to +30°C in summer. The total airflow volume pushed down from surface is 240 m3/s to accommodate the diesel-powered equipment needed for normal operations. In order to improve the quality of air underground a program has been implemented to use diesel particulate filters, starting with the truck fleet and 6-yard scoops, followed by the intention to implement the rest of the functional diesel-powered equipment and eventually move to electric equipment."

Jan 1, 2019

By Norman B. Davis

Introductory Feldspar is one of the most important mineral products consumed by the various branches of the ceramic industry. In the manufacture of table ware, electric porcelain, floor tile, and enamels, it supplies the chief fluxing ingredients necessary to bond the other more or less inert materials together when moulded into desired shape and fired in a kiln. Feldspar is used in the manufacture of bottle glass as a means of introducing alumina in a form easily assimilated. It is also used in certain scouring soaps particularly designed for cleaning enamel and glass surfaces. Feldspar, as it finds its way to the trade, is not a single mineral but is rather a mixture of various proportions of the feldspar silicate series, either in natural intergrowth or blended in the milling process, to produce a desired result. It is often further modified by the presence of quartz in amounts up to 30 per cent. The table on the next page gives typical commercial analyses of feldspar from various sources. Canadian feldspar produced to date has consisted mainly of the high-potash, relatively low-soda, variety, and has enjoyed a good market in the United States for the manufacture of enamels, electric porcelain, and vitrified table-ware. About eighty per cent of the output has been exported to the United States, but, with increased milling facilities in Canada and changes taking place in domestic United States sources of supply, the proportion exported will be reduced next year.

Jan 1, 1931

By D. C. Crothers

"What is new in air compressors? A good deal - the designers have been keeping pace with technical developments in related fields and also contributing new techniques of their own. Plant reliability no longer requires bulky slow-speed machines. Even the reciprocating machines, which still provide the most efficient method of compressing air, have been greatly reduced in size and installation cost for a given capacity rating. New materials and fabrication techniques are being used, by most manufacturers, to produce less costly plants in total. Many packaged plants are available, which generally means a more complete assembly for shipment. This type of construction offers savings in handling and erection costs at the site. A warning is in order, however - the extent of packaging in any given plant should be investigated carefully to determine what is included and just what field costs can be realized. A suggested specification has been offered for consideration when studying comparative costs. Rotating machines intrigue many because of their potential as regard fewer wearing parts, higher speeds and hence smaller units, utilizing less expensive drivers, and lack of contamination of the compressed air by lubricants. The inherent shortcomings of these machines - lower •efficiency and capacity control - have been much improved lately, and this type of plant is now becoming quite popular. Noise control, of much concern to everyone, is another development that has received considerable attention.Systems for efficient capacity control and continuous monitoring of compressor operation offer additional reliability and low-cost operation of the modern compressed air plant. Accessory equipment and its effect on over-all plant operation is also considered."

Jan 1, 1972

By D. D. Tannant, H. Ozturk

Thin spray-on liners are increasingly being used as rock support in underground mines. The adhesive strength between the liner and the rock surface is an important design parameter. Adhesion tests were conducted to assess the impact on adhesion of the presence of oil, water, and dust on a substrate, and the roughness and grain size of different substrates. Other factors such as curing time, loading rate, and liner thickness were also considered. Adhesion was measured using a pull test of a 33 mm diameter elevator bolt attached to an over-cored section of liner with strong epoxy. Most tests were performed using Tekflex liner material, although five other liner products were also tested. Adhesive strengths of about 2 MPa can be achieved with Tekflex under optimal conditions. Long-term creep tests showed that the adhesive strength could drop by at least 50% when the liner carries load for about a month. Where the rock surface is contaminated with dust or the rock is weak in tension, it may be difficult to reach adhesion strengths of 1 to 1.5 MPa. As the thickness of the liner increases, the adhesive strength to a substrate appears to decrease.

Jan 1, 2007

By K. E. Waters, N. Brodusch, R. Gauvin, A. Jordens, Teng. C., H. Demers

Rare earth elements (REEs) become increasingly significant for renewable energy devices and high-technology electronic products because of their large-scale popularity and applications. In this project, a field-emission scanning electron microscope was used to characterize the composition and distribution of REEs-bearing minerals. X-ray elemental maps were acquired with a large area x-ray detector (60 and 80 mm2 collecting area) and annular detector (60 mm2 collecting area), which allow fast x-ray acquisition at high count rate. These elemental maps were transformed into phase maps, which are used to identify the composition of the mineral phases and the REEs distribution over a large area. The phase maps are an easy way to distinguish the phases with and without REEs and compare the efficiency of different REEs extraction processes. Different methods (manual and automatic) for producing phase map were studied by comparing the distribution of REEs obtained from the same area.

Jan 1, 2015

By M. Dadvand, G. Kipuros, A. Dadvand

"The ability to codeposit fillers within a nickel matrix has led to the production of a new generation of cermet coatings with properties useful for various applications. Hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) is a ceramic-type particulate matter with thermal conductivity, thermal stability, inertness, and lubricity properties that allow it to be codeposited. In this paper, a method was developed for modifying hBN surfaces to allow them to be uniformly dispersed in water-based solutions such as an electroless nickel plating bath. hBN surface modification improved wear performance of the electroless plated cermet due to enhanced interaction between the particulate and nickel matrix. RÉSUMÉ La capacité à effectuer un dépôt simultané de charges dans une matrice nickel a abouti à la production d’une nouvelle génération de revêtements cermet (une combinaison de céramique et de métal) dotés de propriétés très utiles pour diverses applications. Le nitrure de bore hexagonal (h-BN) est une matière particulaire de type céramique utilisée pour ses excellentes conductivité et stabilité thermiques, son inertie ainsi que son caractère lubrifiant, qui permettent son dépôt simultané. Cet article explore une méthode mise au point pour modifier les surfaces du h-BN de manière à ce qu’elles se répandent uniformément dans des solutions aqueuses telles qu’un bain de dépôt autocatalytique de nickel. La modification des surfaces du h-BN a amélioré la résistance à l’usure du placage autocatalytique du cermet en raison d’une interaction accrue entre la matière particulaire et la matrice nickel.INTRODUCTION Electroless nickel alloy coatings can be used for many applications; however, the need for improved tribological properties such as higher wear resistance and better lubricity has increased interest in incorporating particulates (fillers) into the nickel matrix by codepositing the particulates with nickel during the plating process. The selection of the particulate type depends on the desired properties (Sahoo & Das, 2011; Sudagar, Lian, & Sha, 2013). In terms of tribological applications, electroless nickel-based composites are categorized mainly into lubricating and wear-resistant composite coatings depending on the type of particles incorporated. The electroless nickel-phosphorus (Ni-P) composite coatings are composed of codeposited solid lubricants such as polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), graphite, WS2, MoS2, and hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) and, compared to nanocomposite electroless Ni-P coatings, they demonstrate a lower coefficient of friction. On the other hand, the nickel-phosphorus wear-resistant composite coatings are composed of hard particles such as silicon carbide (SiC), aluminum oxide (Al2O3), boron carbide (B4C), silicon nitride (Si3N4), diamond, tungsten carbide (WC), and zirconium oxide (ZrO2) and, compared to nanocomposite electroless Ni-P coatings, they have higher hardness and better wear resistance (Sahoo & Das, 2011; Sudagar et al., 2013; Parucker, Klein, Binder, Ristow, & Binder, 2014; Chakarova, Georgieva, Petrova, Dobreva, & Stoychev, 2016)."

Jan 1, 2018

By Osvaldo A. Bascur, Curt Heftier

The lack of integrated information including the Energy/Utility Suppliers with sufficient detail for analysis causes inefficient operation in metallurgical complexes including the Energy/Utility Suppliers . Defining the right context for information use is essential for sustainable operations. This being said, what are we doing to enable people to act upon information and to be aligned to optimize the use of resources like raw materials, energy, water and consumables for an entire metallurgical complex? Collaboration between all company entities is a key component of improving efficiency. Evolution of web technology and object modeling of enterprise assets enables collaboration across the whole business. Operational troubleshooting occurs more quickly as the organization acts on issues to reduce wasteful operation. This paper presents a real time software infrastructure with tools that give users the ability to sift through available data, transform data into information for business continuous improvement and optimization. We will introduce a new technology for analyzing real time data, information and events using multidimensional analysis of information to detect anomalies based on the statistics of the data classified by time events to reduce the information into action. A new paradigm for collaboration at a local and strategic level is proposed to enable the enterprise to become proactive in dealing with wasted time and products. Three examples from the industry will presented and their benefits highlighted.

Jan 1, 2011

By Sakellariou M., Ferentinou M.

Determination of the nonlinear behavior of multivariate dynamic systems often presents a challenging and demanding task. Therefore, complex geomechanics systems are an ideal area for the application of intelligent methods. Often the physical problem is controlled by nonlinear equations, conveying to the use of neural networks. Hudson, (1992a), aiming at efficient engineering modelling and design, introduced and developed Rock Engineering Systems (RES) approach, through the implementation of generic interaction matrix GIM. This approach has been used for a wide variety of rock engineering and other problems, resulting in many case studies available, which illustrate the application of RES to rock engineering problems. Considering the spectrum of the coding methods for the Generic Interaction Matrix, we suggest an objective coding approach. Among the five proposed coding GIM methods, the coding method according to the slope of Pi and Pj relation is relatively accurate, but it might be difficult or impossible to establish or estimate the exact relation of Pi vs Pj for most of the variables involved within a rock engineering system. Self organising maps, are a special type of unsupervised artificial neural networks, which can learn from complex, multidimensional data, and transform them to visually decipherable clusters. The proposed, coding of the GIM, is performed through the combined use of scatter plots produced through, (SOM), and the coding according Pi vs Pj slope. Naghadehi et al., (2013) constructed a database of worldwide experience, in open-pit mine slope stability, the selection of the principal factors was based on Hudson (1992a) who proposed an ‘atlas’ of factors affecting the stability of rock slopes. Slope classification was performed according to status of stability. The rating of the GIM matrix was completed, coupling scatter matrix produced by SOM training, and Pi vs Pj slope plot. Results refer to the identification of clusters, according to status of stability within the original multivariate data set, and the rating of the principal factors according to the dominance and interaction intensity within the open pit mines RES.

Jan 1, 2015

By P. M. STILES

Acquired in 1957, the limestone quarry of Ideal Basic Industries on Texada Island north of Vancouver has become a major supplier of high purity limestone and construction stone. Crushed limestone products are shipped by barge to various destinations along the B.C. and northern U.S. coasts.

Jan 1, 1984

By P. J. Urso

"The coal reserves of the Crow's Nest Basin in British Columbia have been known since the late 1860's. The 51.0-million-long-ton (over 15 years) sale of low-volatile coking coal to Japanese steel mills, as finalized in 1968, establishes the importance of these coal reserves in the world markets.In the early stages of the exploration program, which began in January, 1967, emphasis was placed on deter-mining the reserve of underground low-pitch coal within the No. 10 or Balmer seam of the Kootenay coal forma-tion. The finding of low-cover reserves in excess of 100,000,000 tons altered the initially planned underground program. Extensive tests were performed, establishing the excellent coking characteristics of the open-cast Balmer coal. Due recognition was given to the ultimate reclamation costs of mined lands and associated spoil areas.t was determined that, to achieve the costs desired, a high productivity was necessary, requiring large mining equipment. Operating criteria were set out, based on producing 4.2 million tons of clean coal per year. To optimize recovery, the preparation plant feed size was fixed at Yi in. x 0. The initial basic design capacity of the plant was 1,000 tph. The washing plant is composed essentially of four separate cleaning sections: a dedusting section; a multi-stage heavy media cyclone section; water cyclones; and flotation cells. Subsequent to the basic program, additional sales were made of 6.0 million long tons over the initial three-year period and the plant capacity was raised to 1,400 tph through the addition of a 400-tph coarse-coal treatment section. All wet coal products from the fine coal plant will be dried in a 70-tph (water) heat dryer. A unit-train concept of coal transportation between the mine site and the Westward Terminals at Roberts Bank has been negotiated with the Canadian Pacific Railroad. Facilities at the port will include a 4,000-tph rotary car bumper, 400,000-ton clean-coal stockpiles, and a bucket reclaiming system having a total ship-loading capacity of 6,000 tph."

Jan 1, 1969

By Patrick E. Cavanagh

"A pilot shaft furnace was operated for one year at Steep Rock to produce special high-grade products from coarse ore, using lignite as fuel. The furnace is 10 ft in diameter and 60 ft high. When operated to heat coarse Steep Rock ore to drive off combined water and give a 64-per-cent-Fe product, the fuel consomption was 900,000 Btu's per long ton of product. The furnace was run in this way from September 1966 to January 1967 to establish the technique of feeding and discharging the furnace and controlling the gas composition and temperature. The furnace is similar in operation to a lignite water gas producer containing a large proportion of catalytic iron oxide. Steam injection is used to control the temperature. The product was tumbled in a rotary trommel to stabilize it. The resulting fines could be fed to the conventional pellet plant at Steep Rock. The furnace was next operated to make 77-per-cent-Fe metallized coarse ore. Several major modifications in de-sign were made and the furnace was successfully operated for short periods to maintain the required conditions to remove 75 per cent of the oxygen from the ore to give a 75-per-cent-reduced product at a grade of 77 per cent iron. The furnace cooling zone was operated under positive pressure, with internai alkaline water sprays to cool the charge. The product was discharged from the open bottom of the furnace without serions reoxidation. The metallized ore was magnetically separated from the discharge. Most of the charred lignite discharged along with the ore is re-cycled. Fuel requirement was 11,000,000 Btu's per long ton of product. This metallized coarse ore is intended for blast furnace feed. A short test run was carried out to establish the conditions for making a highly reduced melting stock for steel furnaces. To achieve 90 per cent reduction and over 90 per cent Fe, the furnace must be slowed down so that the production rate is about one-half the rate when making a 75-per-cent-reduced metallized product. Fuel requirement is 15,000,000 Btu's per long ton of product. The simple shaft furnace developed is similar to the top half of a blast furnace, with some major modifications to allow discharging into the open air. This Low Temperature Blast Furnace program has been technically successful and has resulted in making data available for the design of a commercial plant. Study of the commercial feasibility of large-scale production of metallized coarse ore at Steep Rock is still continuing."

Jan 1, 1968

By A. Taylor, E. Thorn Corthay, J. Farrell, L. A. Westfall, S. Borchardt

Mining and metallurgical industries need to minimize their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; Hatch specializes in conducting mining and metallurgical energy management assessments and optimizing productivity. Projects executed have demonstrated that there is a wealth of energy management, waste reduction, and process efficiency improvements that require no or low capital investment. Typical energy cost savings are on the order of 5% to 12%, with similar reductions in GHG emissions. Hatch generates Marginal Abatement Cost Curves to optimize the implementation pathway, maximizing carbon abatement and minimizing cost. The findings of a practical case study from Cameco are presented.

Jan 1, 2010

By P. F. Venus

In December 1977, a large pillar was removed by blasthole mining methods at lnco's Creighton No. 3 mine. Although the 2,363.000-ton blast was not a size record for a single underground blast at Inco, it did represent a significant departure from conventional blasthole mining. In terms of the application of nominal 6-inch-diameter boreholes underground, coupled with bulk slurry explosives, the magnitude of the blast is considered a first and very important development. The application of large-diameter boreholes in underground operations was first tried successfully in 1973. Since that time over 13/4 million feet have been drilled in this adaptation of an open-pit technique to underground operations. The blast, which required 708 holes, totalling 131,500 feet of drilling, was loaded in a six-week period, using special slurry handling techniques developed jointly by Inco and CIL. Inco operating and engineering personnel consider this application of large boreholes and slurry explosives for blasthole mining a very important milestone in modern mining technology.

Jan 1, 1978

By Seong-Ho Ha, Shae K. Kim, Young-Ok Yoon

In the this study, surface segregation of Mg and Ca with Mg addition range from 5 to 10wt% in Al-Mg alloys with Mg+Al2Ca master alloy and its effect on the oxidation resistance were investigated. The addition of Mg+Al2Ca master alloy as the Mg alloying element led to the surface enrichment of Mg and Ca during high temperature oxidation. As a result of the oxidation test by TGA, the oxidation resistance of all the examined alloys was significantly improved with increasing Al2Ca content. The weight change of Al2Ca added Al-5Mg and Al-7.5Mg alloys indicated the complete oxidation resistance during the whole oxidation test time, while a slight weight increase was shown in the case of Al-Mg alloys even with Al2Ca addition. The improvement of the oxidation resistance in Al2Ca added alloys may be attributed to the formation of the protective oxide layer mixed with CaO and MgO on the surface.

Jan 1, 2015

By Pierre St-Julien, Réjean Hebert, M. Racine, Roch Gaudreau, Pierre Lacoste, Michel Rocheleau

"Les unités volcano-sédimentaires de la ceinture de l'Abitibi à l’est de Val-d' Or ont été regroupées en quatre domaines litho tectoniques. Du nord vers le sud, nous reconnaissons les domaines d'Assup, de Garden lsland de Val-d' Or, de Trivio et de Villebon. Deux de ces domaines (Garden Island et Trivio) correspondent à des couloirs de déformation, d’envergure régionale et d’orientation approximative E-W. Les trois autres domaines sont caractérises par des volcanites defond océanique de type MORB (tholéiites et komatiites) qui sont en position inferieure; ces volcanites sont surmontées par des sédiments marins de type turbidite (domaine de Ville bon) ou évoluent dans le temps, soit vers un volcanisme bimodal d'affinités tholéiitique et calco-alcaline ( domaine d'Assup), soit vers un volcanisme d'arc insulaire (domaine de Val-d'Or). Il n'existe aucune certitude de corrélation litho stratigraphique entre les différents domaines et l'on doit considérer la possibilité que ceux-ci représentent l'accolage tectonique de terranes de nature et d'origine différente.Les principales caractéristiques structurales de la région sont regroupées en quatre étapes de déformation dont trois sont archéennes et la quatrième attribuée à l'orogenèse grenvillienne. Au moins cinq facies métamorphiques ont été reconnus: I) un facies régional faible propre à la province du Supérieur, 2) un facies de cornéennes a amphibole en périphérie du pluton de Pershing, 3) un facies hydrothermal dans la zone tectonique de Cadillac, 4) un facies régional moyen dans la zone de bordure de la province de Grenville, et 5) un facies régional élevé a l'intérieur de la zone structurale du front de Grenville.Le front de Grenville est défini dans la région par l’apparition subite des ortho gneiss au faciès métamorphique élevé et par la disparition du grain tectonique E-W. Le contact brusque entre les deux provinces pourrait correspondre à une zone de chevauchement de la province de Grenville sur la province du Supérieur. La région étudiée est l’hôte d’un gite majeur de sulfures massifs et de plusieurs gites et indices aurifères; elle présente des cibles favorables pour l’exploration minière dans le contexte tectonométa-morphique de l'influence grenvillienne. L'intérêt de la Formation de Val-d' Or pour les métaux de base et le potentiel aurifère des couloirs de déformation d'orientation approximative E-W, sont bien connus. Les structures grenvilliennes NE-SW, qui se développent vers l'est, représentent aussi des cibles intéressantes, en particulier dans les secteurs ou elles intersectent des cisaillements E-W kénoriens."

Jan 1, 1990

By Linlin Zhang

Rare earth elements (REEs) are a group of lanthanides elements which have been widely used in the electronic, petrochemistry, metallurgy, and defense industries. Their demand has increased sharply in the past decade with the boom in electronic device production. Some countries now consider them strategic metals for the future and it has been forecasted that REEs may become a dominant contributor to global economy. In the wake of REE exploration, mining and processing, concern has grown over occupational and community health issues and risks. A portion of available literature on this topic however is written in the Chinese language, and thus research information related to health and REE mining is not readily accessible to mineral development planners in countries such as Canada, where REE mining is now evolving. As REEs also represent an important commodity, primarily stemming from Chinese production, it is important to begin to understand the potential health costs related to this mining sector. There are two main objectives of this paper. The first is to present an overview of REE mining with a focus on geological characteristics, global production and uses with particular attention to the main producer: China. The second is to present the results of a literature review (using both Chinese and English sources) on REE mining and health and identifies key occupational and community health issues that require consideration. This paper concludes by identifying some critical issues this sector needs to address to ensure the sustainable development of this mining activity.

Aug 1, 2013

The principles and utility of in-situ coal gasification are discussed, and a first field test conducted by the Alberta Research Council in 1976 near Forestburg, Alberta, is described. The test was carried out in a 12-ft subbituminous coal seam under 60 feet of cover. Within this seam, a 30 by 60-foot block , containing approximately 650 tons of coal, was delineated by four injection/production holes which were oriented to take advantage of the natural fracture system in the coal. Linkage between holes was established by reverse combustion and gasification was accomplished by injecting air into the ignited coal. No steam was injected but operating pressures were adjusted to utilize formation waters for partial carbon -steam gasification. The coal gasification runs lasted six weeks and gasified an estimated 900 tons of coal ,' during sustained periods of gasification, a fuel gas with heating values of between 110 and 150 Btu/scf was obtained. Plans are now being developed for excavating the test site and inspecting the subsurface cavities created by gasification.

Jan 1, 1977

By M. Okada

Consumption of refined copper in Asia, especially in China and India, has soared, and the copper price is at its historic height. New smelters and refineries have been built in the region with state-of-the-art technology to meet the unprecedented demands. Supply of copper concentrate, on the other hand, has fallen short of the growing demand for concentrate by the smelters and refineries with expanded production capacities. The shortage of copper concentrate is attributable to the delay in the mining development, caused by the prolonged price slump of before 2005. The mismatch between supply of concentrate and smelting and refining capacities may cause disorderly movement of copper price, and hamper the sound development of the industry. The recent high copper price may prompt substitution with alternate materials. With electrical and thermal conductivity and workability, copper is one of the most customer-friendly materials. It is regrettable for both customers and suppliers if the high copper price would become an impediment to promoting copper use. Some outdated and environmentally unfriendly facilities still operate. In view of recent lower-grade copper concentrate with higher sulfur content, these facilities must reform their equipment to environmental-responsive one. The current level of per capita consumption of refined copper in Asia shows that the demand of copper will further grow. It is necessary to realize stable supply of refined copper and stable copper price, to help developing countries including China and India to economically take off. Hence, it is essential that the development of the copper industry be accompanied by environmentally friendly facilities, and harmoniously increased capacities between mining and smelting and refining.

Jan 1, 2007