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By E. A. Brown

"IntroductionBACK IN THE nineteen-thirties, when Eldorado was a private company and was preparing to become Canada's first radium producer, the Mines Branch in Ottawa did much work on the development of chemical processes for the Port Hope refinery (1).In 1945, after the Canadian Government had taken over Eldorado for •atomic energy reasons, the Mines Branch was called upon again, this time to help out by looking into ways and means of improving ore treatment methods for the mine at Great Bear Lake. A group of technical men was assembled to devote full attention to this work, which was known as the Eldorado Project.Three years later, in 1948, the Government decided to reopen the development and operation of uranium properties to private enterprise.Since it is a function of the Mines Branch to assisit private development of Canadian mineral resources, this new uranium policy made it important for the Branch to be in a position where it could provide up-to-date services, technical assistance, and information relating to treatment of radioactive ores, mineralogy of radioactive ores, and assay methods for radioactive ores.At the same time, .because of the demand for increased uranium production, lower grade ores had definitely come into the picture, ores that might be of decidedly lower grade than, say, Eldorado pitchblende, and of entirely different nature."

Jan 1, 1953

By Ralph W. Edie

"IntroductionTHIS PAPER deals with chemical and mineralogical changes in wall-rocks associated with pitchblende mineralization in the Gold-fields area of Saskatchewan. The localities at which the rock specimens studied were collected, and descriptions of the various rock-types referred to, are given in a previous paper by the author (5).The geological field work upon which this paper is based was carried out while the writer was employed by the Eldorado Mining and Refining Company during the summers of 1948, 1949 and 1950. The laboratory work§ consisted largely of quantitative spectrographic analyses for both major and minor elements, supplemented by an examination of 250 thin sections of both altered and unaltered rocks.Character of the AlterationHydrothermal alteration, with associated pitchbende mineralization, is widespread in the Goldfields area of Saskatchewan. The most intense alteration is restricted to the immediate vicinity of fault or breccia zones, but large areas are affected to a minor extent.In detail, the relationship between alteration and pitchblende mineralization is complex, as individual veins do not in general have separate alteration halos. Pitchblende generally occurs in gash-like calcite veins or stringers in wide, fractured zones associated with faulting. Large, lenticular and tabular masses of slightly to intensely altered rock occur in the same wide fracture zones as the mineralized veins. However, vein deposition appears to be-long to a later fracturing period, after hydrothermal alteration was more or: less completed. Generally, the veins transect and are confined to highly altered rock, but on the other hand many highly altered zones intersected in diamond drill-core are barren of mineralized veins."

Jan 1, 1953

By M. M. Williams

WESTERN CAN ADA'S coal industry has experienced a serious set-back since 1949, following a pattern well known to its counterpart in the United States. The loss in coal markets in Western Canada has been particularly severe as the discovery of large reserves of oil and natural gas and the subsequent construction of re-fineries and pipelines roughly coincided with the dieselization of both main railways. While the coal industry will have to face a further decline in markets of long standing, others with a large growth potential can be se-cured if present marketing methods are changed where needed and if fundamental and applied research programmes are actively pursued. The energy and chemical potential of Western Canada's coals will eventually find their place in the ever-growing needs of industry and electric power producers. Electric power generation would appear to offer the largest and most immediate market for coal. If the coal industry is to serve this market adequately and gain as much of it as possible, coal operators ? must have a good knowledge of certain characteristics -of the electric utility industry and its fuel requirements. This paper is prepared primarily to set out some of these characteristics, but also discusses other probable markets for coal.

Jan 1, 1958

By R. N. Chakravorty

Early detection of spontaneous combustion is of utmost importance in underground coal mining to prevent major disruptions of production and to ensure a safer working environment. This paper presents the work done in developing a suitable system for the early detection of heating in a hydraulic coal mine. Laboratory studies on the products of oxidation for Balmer 10 seam coal showed that a significant amount of carbon monoxide is produced during the early stages of heating and that detection methods based on the analysis of other gases, such as hydrogen, ethane or ethylene, are not a better alternative for this coal. The four-point carbon monoxide monitoring system recently installed at the hydraulic mine is discussed in this paper. It is believed that by studying the trend of carbon monoxide concentration in the mine air, it will be possible to detect heating at an early stage. Field tests carried out so far have indicated that infra-red technology will prove to be a powerful tool in the hydraulic mine, particularly for locating hidden oxidation or fire in cracks, fissures, underground workings and coal outcrop areas before it spreads extensively. The project is jointly sponsored by EMR, CANMET, Mining Research Laboratories and Kaiser Resources Ltd.

Jan 1, 1978

By W. K. A. Congreve

Introduction Less than a hundred years ago the engineer was able to do his job without concern for the science that underlay his practices or for the men who operated his machines. But toward the end of the last century science began to be applied to industry, and its success was such that the plant which clung to empiricism was unable to compete with the plant that followed science. Even more recently, the engineer has been forced to consider the men who operate his machines, for modern large-scale industry has given these men education, social security, and power. Hence the engineer can get good, steady labour to operate his machines only if he can offer inducements. Wages are in general outside the control of the engineer, but he is able to control working conditions. This essay is concerned with one factor of good working conditions: safety. The writer became interested in this problem during three months' summer employment as a student at the Sullivan concentrator of the Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company and was surprised at the distance his investigations led him from the field of pure engineering into the fields of psychology, education, and publicity. Nevertheless, because safety has to do with machines and with men who operate machines, and because it profoundly affects plant efficiency, it is the job of an engineer, not of a psychologist or teacher, nor of the salesman publicity expert who is often so unfortunately employed in personnel relations. The size and complexity of the subject has limited the scope of this essay to the consideration of only a few aspects of industrial safety. Considerable attention has been given to the underlying principles, but the mechanical side of accident prevention, the design of equipment, erection of guards, etc., and the very important problems of organization and administration, have not been given attention proportionate to their importance.

Jan 1, 1948

By A. Bauer

This paper describes the trends in recent years in explosives formulated to produce larger blast-hole spacings and over-all lower drilling and blasting costs in hard formations. A consideration of current rotary drilling costs per ft of hole and per ton of muck versus hole diameter indicates that it is now possible that we shall see much further use of lower-energy-content, lower-cost slurries and dry mixes, and larger-diameter and, in many instances, cheaper blast holes. These will be drilled on current or slightly larger blast patterns to yield the same energy input per ton of rock and similar fragmentation at lower costs.

Jan 1, 1968

By J. Lammers, D. Adams

Most pressure oxidation operations introduce oxygen through a large multi-use nozzle in the vapour space of the autoclave. Sparge pipes extend inside the vessel to the point of discharge below the compartment agitator. However, two zinc pressure leach operations have successfully used a bottom entry oxygen sparge system for a number of years. Recently, the concept has been used in a whole ore gold pressure oxidation operation as well as a copper pressure leach plant. Both of the latter operations also introduce cooling water for temperature control through the same sparge pipe. This paper addresses the benefits of the bottom entry system with regards to autoclave performance and the positive effects on agitator performance.

Jan 1, 2004

By Michael Magerstädt

Material loss by abrasion of contact surfaces of pipes, chutes, pumps, and other equipment in contact with ore is one of the main reasons for downtime of mining operations. Abrasion protection materials in use range from expensive tungsten carbide overlay to hardened steels, ceramics, as well as polymers, particularly polyurethanes (PUR). This paper describes abrasion protection products made from High Performance Polyurethane Elastomers. An interior pipe coating was developed that exhibited outstanding abrasion resistance and an extremely high adhesion to steel. Years of field testing in oil sands tailings as well as applications in slurry lines (e.g., phosphate slurries) have proven the performance of this material. A proprietary field joining process was developed and successfully applied in the field. This joining process requires only one field weld per joint very similar to the joining of uncoated pipe. No internal re-coating is necessary adding savings during pipe laying to the significant savings of reduced down time. Using the building-kit chemistry of polyurethane synthesis, similar high performance elastomers were used to extend the life time of ball mills. An intelligent system was developed in which wear parts contain sensors reporting the actual wear thereby optimizing maintenance interval leading to significant cost savings for the operator. Test data as well as field experience with High Performance PUR Elastomers for abrasion protection in mining are presented.

Aug 1, 2013

At the end of a century of mining education in South Africa, it is appropriate to reflect on the past, take stock of the present and ponder the future of mining education. While it is likely that changes in the mining industry will generate an increased demand for mining graduates, the number of suitably qualified applicants to study mining is worryingly small. While good progress has been made in unifying the educational system that previously provided schooling on a racially separate basis, it appears that a decade or more will be required to raise competency levels in mathematics, science and English, and this paper describes the process as it affects mining engineering programs. It also describes the initiatives currently being undertaken by the University of the Witwatersrand and the mining industry to ensure that the South African industry receives an adequate flow of well-qualified mining graduates, despite more than 70% of the intake coming from severely disadvantaged educational backgrounds.

Jan 1, 1999

By Peter Hood

Data on world-wide geophysical activity in mining exploration programs are collected annually by the Society of Exploration Geophysicists' Geo-physical Activity Committee as part of a continuing service to the industry. The data are obtained by sending out questionnaires to all organizations which are known to be carrying out mining geophysical work; the organizations canvassed include mining companies, contractors, government departments and universities. The questionnaire is divided into three sections; namely, ground methods, airborne methods and research. The data compiled from the questionnaires show that world-wide utilization of mining geophysical methods reached a new high in 1967 with total expenditures of (U .S.) $32,323,240. This was divided as follows: ground methods, $18,106,785; airborne methods, $10,-123,405; and research, $4,093,050. For the ground methods, most money was spent on the induced polarization technique ($5,681,780); electromagne-tic methods were second in reported expenditures ($2,010,900). The total reported geophysical line mileage flown was 1,275,072 line miles, with aeromagnetic surveying being the most popular airborne method. The total amount spent on aeromagnetic surveys was $5,832,564 for 895,420 line miles. This gives an average cost of (U.S.)$6.50 per line mile.

Jan 1, 1968

By D. C. Sharpstone

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

Jan 1, 1938

By F. R. Nogas

"Because of the elements of uncertainty and instabilitp associated with single-enterprise communities, there is increasing interest in the alternatives to developing additional new communities of this nature. Gulf Minerals Canada Limited has chosen a unique alternative means to accommodate employees at a new uranium mine/mill complex at Rabbit Lake in Northern Saskatchewan. Gulf has adopted a fly-in program which moves their staff from a 450-mile radius, in and out of the on-site facilities, on a 7-day rotation."

Jan 1, 1976

By J. F. Davis

Pegmatite dykes containing lithium minerals and beryl occur dose to the borders of intrusive masses of granitic rock in the Winnipeg River area of Manitoba. Both vertical and flat-lying dykes are present. Most of the pegmatites consist of zones, containing characteristic mineral assemblages, arranged more or Jess parallel to the borders of the dykes. Five important lithium minerals are present; each occurs in a separate zone, but all the lithium-bearing zones are situated toward the centres of the pegmatites. Spodumene is the most abundant and widespread of the lithium minerals and occurs as small crystals intimately intergrown with quartz. Beryl is not an important constituent of the lithium pegmatites, but when .present, occurs outside the lithium zones, toward the margins of the -dykes. Beryl is most common in dykes containing few or no lithium minerals. The mineral assemblage in the beryl zone of the lithium dykes is the same as that of the beryl dykes. The attitude and internal structure, particularly zoning, of the pegmatite dykes, and the texture and assemblages of the constituent minerals, have an important bearing on exploration, development, and mining of these pegmatites, and on the extraction of various mineral products from them.

Jan 1, 1958

By A. McLean, X. Men

"With high quality sulphide ores diminishing, nickel production from low-grade oxide ores becomes increasingly important and a major concern is the high sulphur level in the resultant ferro-alloy. So, desulphurization of the ferronickel becomes an important consideration. Red mud is a waste product of alumina industry and causes adverse effects on environment. In the present study, experiments were conducted to determine feasibility of using red mud as a major ingredient of refining fluxes for ferronickel desulphurization. In view of their influence on slag-metal separation, contact angle measurements between ferronickel alloy and molten slag made from red mud were also determined. INTRODUCTIONNickel is a very important metal that finds a variety of applications including consumer products, building, automotive and electronics. There are two kinds of ores containing nickel, namely oxide and sulphide ores. Anthony and Flett [1] reported that about 55% of the world’s nickel production originates from sulphide ores while the balance of new nickel is derived from oxide ores. However, oxide ores count for about 70% of the worldwide reserves. Apparently, oxide ores will play a significant role in the production of nickel in the future. Most of nickel produced using oxide ores is from pyrometallurgical processes namely ferronickel smelting or matte smelting. So, we can draw such a conclusion that using nickel oxide ores to produce ferronickel will become more and more important .Before used to make stainless steel or other materials, the ferronickel need pretreatment to remove impurities especially sulphur and phosphorus that will cause negative influence on the properties of steel product. Red mud is a by-product during alumina production. Usually, about 1 to 1.5 tons of red mud will be produced when we get 1 ton of alumina. About 90 million tones of red mud are produced every year in the world [2].Red mud is deemed as a toxic industrial waste which needs treatment before discharge because of alkalinity and chemical and mineralogical properties. Until now, the main means to deal with red mud are to store it in impoundments or dump it in the sea depending on local environment. Nowadays, how to recycle red mud has become a pretty hot topic around the world. The last 40 years have witnessed a lot of patent applications concerning the ways of red mud utilization. However, a little amount of red mud is consumed until now due to the limitations of recycling red mud."

Jan 1, 2012

By S. Espley, T. Nyabeze, D. Beneteau

"Many mentorship programs are available to Canadian mining industry employees. Some are company-led initiatives, whereas others are provided through educational institutions or nonprofit organizations. In 2016, a national survey was launched to gain insight into perceptions of what mentorship is, learn about available programs, and collate experiences with formal and informal mentorship opportunities. This paper outlines survey findings and delivers recommendations to industry for consideration in employee mentorship programs. In addition, mining industry leaders share their mentor/mentee perspectives. The intent of this paper is to bring awareness of best practices that can help employees grow and develop in their profession.RÉSUMÉ Les employés de l’industrie minière canadienne ont accès à de nombreux programmes d’encadrement. Certains sont des initiatives menées par les sociétés, d’autres sont proposées par le biais d’établissements d’enseignement ou d’organismes à but non lucratif. En 2016, une enquête à l’échelle nationale a été lancée en vue d’obtenir des informations quant à la perception de ce qu’est réellement l’encadrement, de découvrir les programmes proposés et de comparer les expériences aux possibilités d’encadrement, officielles ou non. Cet article présente les résultats de cette enquête et fournit des recommandations à l’intention de l’industrie afin qu’elle les prenne en compte dans ses programmes d’encadrement des employés. En outre, des chefs de file de l’industrie minière partagent leurs points de vue conseillers/protégés. L’intention de cet article est de sensibiliser les employés aux meilleures pratiques, ce qui les aidera à évoluer et à se développer dans leur profession. INTRODUCTIONThis paper about mentorship in the mining industry is based on voluntary responses to a cold survey, written and circulated by the authors. In 2016, a link to an online mentorship survey was circulated to males and females in the mining industry with the belief that mentorship programs should be available to everyone. The link was delivered via the authors’ personal networks in mining, the CIM Reporter, Women in Mining (WIM) email blasts, LinkedIn, and Facebook. This paper summarizes the answers to the survey questions. The paper is a follow up to one by the same authors (Nyabeze, Espley, & Beneteau, 2010), which was written to gain insight into why women join and stay in the mining industry, and to learn why the overall representation of women is low."

Jan 1, 2018

By S. Rash Ahmadi

Thin brittle coatings are deposited or developed on component surfaces for different reasons. In many practical applications the coatings are stressed by externally applied loads. Under such conditions, coating failure can occur. In this paper the probability of the extension of surface crack in coated materials due to cylindrical sliding indentation is analyzed. Contact loading problems typically result in multi-axle and strongly inhomogeneous stress fields near the contact surface. This property which strongly affects the stress intensity factors is taken into account in the failure analysis. Edge cracks were selected to model the actually accruing surface flaws. A suitable method is described for calculating the contact stress fields in coating and substrate. The coating is idealized as a brittle-elastic layer of uniform thickness, which is bonded to the surface of a half space. Method of linear elastic fracture mechanics are then used to calculate the load required to cause fracture in the coating.

Oct 1, 2011

By P. Mišcevic, B. Kavur, I. Vrkljan, N. Štambuk Cvitanovic

It is known from earlier and recent research that mechanical properties of intact rock like uniaxial compressive strength (UCS), Young's modulus (E) and Poisson's ratio (?) are influenced by shape deviations of test specimens as deviations from the ideal cylinder. That impact can be significant at certain level of inaccuracy of specimen preparing, and it should be objectively evaluated and controlled in testing. The effects of intact specimens side straightness, ends flatness, ends parallelism and perpendicularity to the specimen axis, on UCS, E, and ?, measured in several actual ways during laboratory compression tests, were determined by previous research on 90 homogeneous specimens of limestone. In this paper, we subject these new experimental results to Response Surface Methodology (RSM) to model the mentioned dependence, to identify significant connections of variables and to evaluate the conclusions obtained directly from experimental phase. This study indicates how the responses of the model (outputs) – parameters UCS/E/??of limestone rock depend on factors (inputs) – parameters of specimen shape deviations like flatness R, parallelism P and perpendicularity O, assuming modern test machines with spherically seated upper platen. Starting from general RSM model with three factors (R, P, and O), we investigated the multiple linear regression models of specific mechanical property (UCS, E, and ?). Using the NCSS program ("NCSS 2004 and PASS 2005") in several steps, final models with very high coefficients of determination were developed for properties with the most evident effects of specimen shape deviations: nine models for strength UCS and UCS50 (equivalent UCS for specimen with 50 mm diameter), and three models for ?L (Poisson's ratio calculated from axial deformations measured on the entire specimen length). These statistical models with their response surfaces further strengthen and confirm the results and conclusions from the experimental phase. The critical values of R, P, and O are established using an additional statistical analysis to determine the lower and upper engineering limits. These findings set the basis for the new eligibility criteria for specimens of limestone (and similar rock with UCS about 100-150 MPa) in further testing of strength and deformability.

Jan 1, 2015

By N. A. Beier, R. Amos, Smith. L., C. Atherton, D. R. Barsi, D. Blowes, D. C. Sego

"Waste rock is one of the most abundant materials at mine sites and must be properly characterized and managed to limit acid rock drainage and other harmful byproducts. An experimental waste rock pile—part of the test piles research program—located at the Diavik diamond mine (Northwest Territories, Canada) was deconstructed and sampled to study the spatial variability of material properties. Bulk samples were classified based on the amount of material finer than 4.75 mm. Hydraulic properties of each sample were estimated and particle size distribution analysis was completed. These datasets and classification methods might be used to improve the understanding of hydraulic and geochemical behaviour of the material and to study waste rock at other sites. ¦ KEYWORDS Acid rock drainage (ARD), Material classification, Particle size distribution (PSD), Waste rock RÉSUMÉ Les stériles font partie des matériaux les plus abondants sur les sites miniers et, en tant que tels, doivent être correctement caractérisés et gérés afin de limiter le drainage rocheux acide (DRA) et la pré¬sence d’autres sous-produits nocifs. Dans le cadre du programme Test Piles Research Program, un amas de roches stériles expérimental situé à la mine de diamant Diavik (Territoires du Nord-Ouest, Canada) a été décomposé et mis à l’essai afin d’étudier la variabilité spatiale des propriétés des matériaux. Les échan¬tillons en vrac ont été classés en fonction de la quantité de matériaux plus fins que 4,75 mm. Les propriétés hydrauliques de chaque échantillon ont été estimées et l’analyse de la composition granulométrique effectuée. Ces ensembles de données et méthodes de classement serviront à mieux comprendre le com¬portement hydraulique et géochimique du matériau et à étudier les stériles sur d’autres sites. ¦ MOTS CLÉS classement des matériaux, composition granulométrique, drainage rocheux acide (DRA), stérilesINTRODUCTION Statement of problem The characterization of mine waste rock remains a challenge in active mining sites. The large volume of material and the large size of particles make it difficult to collect representative samples. Sampling techniques are often dis-ruptive to mining operations because they alter the structure of the waste rock pile or interfere with mine traffic. The convention at most mine sites to collect little to no information on waste rock material means that models and predictions of how waste material will behave and interact with the surrounding environment are based on general information that might not be site specific. This could lead to environmental damage or higher costs if environmental effects are underestimated during the construction of waste rock structures."

Jan 1, 2019

By J. R. Goode

ABSTRACT Aurora Energy Ltd. is considering a 10,000 t/d process plant to produce 97 million lb (43,998,460 kg) of U3O8 over a 17-year project from uranium deposits in coastal Labrador. This paper summarizes the test work, mostly done by SGS Mineral Services in Lakefield, Ontario, and the economic studies supporting flowsheet selection. The proposed flowsheet includes semi-autogenous grinding (SAG) and ball milling, acid leaching using air/SO2 as an oxidant, and resin-in-pulp (RIP) extraction of uranium from the leached slurry. Other unit operations examined include ore sorting, heap leaching, liquid- solid separation, solvent extraction, and nanofiltration for eluate upgrading. We also review the extensive environmental test work and studies that were completed.

Jan 1, 2012

By J. B. Boisvert, W. Board, C. R. Mooney

"Traditional geostatistical modelling methods are difficult to apply to heavy-tailed deposits because the extreme positive skew of the grade distribution leads to bias. The focus here is on an innovative method of modelling the high-grade population by conditionally simulating discrete volumes (nuggets) of gold with marked Poisson and Cox processes. Capping and other ad-hoc manipulation of the assay data is not required; however, an intensity map for the point processes is required. The method is demonstrated on a dataset from an epithermal deposit and demonstrates an improvement in reducing smearing and controlling the skew of the grade distribution.RÉSUMÉ Les méthodes traditionnelles de modélisation géostatistique sont difficiles à appliquer dans des gisements dont la distribution de la teneur est à queue lourde car l’extrême asymétrie positive de la distribution de la teneur génère des biais. Dans le présent article, l’accent est mis sur une méthode novatrice de modélisation de la population à haute teneur par la simulation conditionnelle des volumes discrets d’or (pépites) au moyen de procédés marqués de Poisson et de Cox. La limite d’utilisation et d’autres manipulations ad hoc des données ne sont pas requises; toutefois, il faut une carte des intensités pour le processus ponctuel. La méthode est démontrée sur un ensemble de données d’essais provenant d’un gisement épithermal et elle montre une amélioration dans le lissage du flou et dans le contrôle de l’asymétrie de la distribution de la teneur."

Jan 1, 2015