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By S. D. F. Rocha1, L. Katsarou, G. P. Demopoulos

"Crystalline scorodite (FeAsO4·2H2O) has been pointed out as the most stable compound to immobilize arsenic for disposal due to its good stability performance according to EPA’s TCLP test. However, in anaerobic conditions, arsenic releasing is increased to undesired levels due to scorodite reductive break down, in eh <100 mV at 5.5< pH <7 which causes contamination of groundwater. In this work, the concept of encapsulation by controlled deposition of mineral coatings immune to pH or redox potential variations is presented. Aluminum and calcium phosphates were evaluated as coatings and the release of arsenic from scorodite previously coated with phosphates was substantially decreased when compared to the VALUES (obtained from crude scorodite, both in oxic and anoxic conditions. INTRODUCTIONThe widely acknowledged hazardous properties of arsenic as a soil and natural water contaminant and its adverse health effects when present in drinking water have led to very strict environmental regulations (Mandal & Suzuki, 2002) aiming at the drastic reduction of the presence of arsenic in the effluents of the mining and metallurgical industries.In Canada, the Metal Mining Effluent Regulations (Government of Canada, 2002) dictate that the maximum monthly mean concentration in tailings for arsenic must be lower than 0.5 mg/L. At the same time the new Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) standard for drinking water foresees concentrations of arsenic less than 0.01 mg/L, which means that the leachability limit for the industrial waste is set at 1 mg/L arsenic (EPA, 1994; Le Berre et. al, 2007). One of the preoccupations of the mining and metallurgical industries is directed to the elimination of arsenic presence in all its effluents, especially since arsenic is commonly found in many ores mainly in the form of oxides and sulphides. After processing of arsenic-containing ores and concentrates, arsenic can be present either in solid residues and tailings, liquid effluents or in flue dusts. Several of these forms of arsenic waste materials are soluble and therefore may cause the contamination of ground water, if disposed of without further treatment."

Jan 1, 2012

By W. Harry Foster

"Asbestos Corporation Limited, incorporated in 1925, operates four asbestos mines and three asbestos mills in the Thetford Mines 1•egion of Quebec's Eastern Townships. A unique asbestos orebody, located in the Ungava Peninsula of Nouveau Quebec, was purchased by Asbestos Corporation Limited in 1964 and commenced production in 1972. As there were no existing facilities in the isolated, arctic region of Asbestos Hill, it was necessary for Asbestos Corporation Limited to construct at Deception Bay a deepsea wharf, a large ungraded fibre shed, a power plant and camp facilities. Forty-two miles of road were needed and were constructed from Deception Bay to Asbestos Hill. At Asbestos Hill, a complete crushing-drying-milling complex, a power plant, pe1•sonnel accommodations and open-pit facilities were provided. Unloading facilities and a fib1•e finishing mill we1l constructed at Nordenham, West Germany. The ""Asbestos Hill- Nordenham Story” is divided into individual papers covering all aspects of the engineering, construction and operation of this unique enterprise. Particular emphasis has been placed on those unusual aspects caused by the isolated location, arctic conditions, short shipping season and the deep permafrost."

Jan 1, 1976

By Keith C. Hendrick

"Metal prices are frequently the most critical and least predictable element in determining the profitability of mining operations. Short -term fluctuations can be offset in varying degrees by hedging or other market actions. Such solutions are not practical for the longer term, The paper investigates the nature and extent of metal price risks and evaluates methods to reduce them.IntroductionIt is management&apos;s responsibility to improve the odds by managing the-risks by identifying them clearly, assessing them accurately, minimizing them where possible-and, then, timing decision s success fully.In determining the profitability of current operations, preparing forward plan s or developing feasibility studies for new projects or expansions, pr ices are usually the most critical input. Being market determined rather than cost based, they can also be the most unpredictable As a result, commodity prices are frequently the greatest of all risk factors.Nature of Commodity PricesThe cyclical nature of commodity prices is well known. They are stable only when supply is in balance with demand and forecast to remain that way. An imbalance on either side of the equation can lead to a price reaction completely out of proportion to the actual or perceived surplus or shortage.This exaggeration arises through the cumulative effect of market forces. When the market senses an uptrend, consumers buy for the expected increase in activity. They also seek additional quantities for inventory before price s rise. Merchants defer spot sales anticipating higher price s, speculators go along for the same reason, and producers raise prices in response to demand. Events tend to confirm the expectation of each party and strengthen their reaction causing prices to move higher."

Jan 1, 1983

By D. G. Macintyre

Thick westward prograding clastic wedges were deposited along the margin of ancestral North America from Mid-Proterozoic to Mid-Paleozoic time. Periodic rifting and tectonic subsidence resulted in the formation of starved sub-basins along this otherwise passive continental margin. These sub-basins host important sedimentary exhalative barite-zinc-lead-silver deposits. In northeastern British Columbia, a thick succession of Paleozoic basinal facies clastic rocks is preserved within the northwest-trending Kechika Trough. Within the trough, sedimentary exhalative barite and barite-sulfide deposits occur in starved basin sediments of Middle Ordovician, Early Silurian, and Late Devonian age. The last are the most economically sigrrificant and are hosted by carbonaceous cherty argillites and siliceous shales of the Middle to Late Devonian Gunsteel Formation of the Lower Earn Group. The largest deposit, Cirque, has reserves in excess of 35 million tonnes averaging 100J0 (Pb +Zn) and 47 g/t Ag. Other potentially significant deposits include Driftpile Creek, Bear, Mt. Alcock, Fluke, Pie and Elf. Stratiform barite deposits are also common, particularly near the basin-to-shelf transition zone. The Late Devonian barite-sulfide deposits typically are zoned: interlarninated barite-sphalerite-galena-pyrite occurring near suspected vent areas grades outward into bedded barite. Laminated beds of pyrite typically occur in hangingwall siliceous shales, particularly above the inferred vent zone. The apparent absence of epigenetic stringer sulfide zones and footwall alteration implies that the deposits were formed from ponded brines at relatively low temperature. Away from the main deposits, the favourable stratigraphic interval is marked by the presence of thin beds of nodular and laminated barite and thin laminae of pyrite. Thin tuff beds also occur locally in this stratigraphic interval and are evidence for a Late Devonian volcanic event. A paleogeographic reconstruction of the Kechika Trough in Late Devonian to Mississippian time suggests that the barite-sulfide deposits formed in third-order starved basins between uplifted, northwest-trending horst blocks that were capped by shallow-water carbonate banks. The presence of intraformational breccias suggests that fault movement accompanied barite-sulfide precipitation. This tectonic activity may have allowed the escape of heated, overpressured metalliferous brines from permeable reservoirs within the sedimentary pile. Sedimentary exhalative deposits formed where these brines were exhaled as buoyant plumes onto the seafloor, cooled, and ponded in anoxic seafloor depressions.

Jan 1, 1992

By W. G. Davenport

Methods of extracting copper are evaluated in terms of innovations during the 1970&apos;s, and predictions to the end of this century are made. It is concluded that between one and two new smelters and refineries will be needed per year until the turn of the century, and that most of these smelters will be of the oxygen or oxygen-enriched flash furnace type. For converting, the Peirce-Smith converter will still predominate, but the Hoboken converter will play an increasingly important role. Five Japanese pollution control systems are described and it is suggested that much of this technology will be included in future smelting installations. Further growth of hydrometallurgy is predicted, especially for oxide ores, based on improved product metal quality and low plant cost. A n increased level of scrap resmelting is also expected.

Jan 1, 1980

By I. A. Cameron, F. Ham, R. Sriram

"Planned increases in electric furnace productivity and higher matte temperatures needed for the Sudbury Smelter&apos;s S02 Abatement Plan, require an improved matte tap hole. Since startup in 1978, the matte tap holes have been incrementally improved by the addition of copper cooling blocks around the refractory tap blocks. These improvements provided a tap block life of about 100 taps per campaign.In July 1993, a prototype matte taphole was installed in Number 2 Electric Furnace to develop the technology to increase tap hole service life. The design was based on a heat transfer model of the tapping process to determine candidate refractory materials and cooler arrangements. The prototype tap hole features increased copper cooling, high conductivity refractories and extensive instrumentation. Eight trial campaigns are reviewed outlining the performance of silicon carbide and graphite refractories and typical heat loads during tapping.IntroductionFalconbridge Limited operates two 36 MYA, 6 electrode submerged arc electric furnaces in Falconbridge, Ontario. The furnaces, commissioned in 1978, smelt a partially roasted nickel-copper calcine, to produce matte for converting and slag for discard. Additional details of the smelter are available in the literature(1-4).Each furnace was equipped with two matte tap holes located in the furnace end wall. Early in the campaign, matte tap holes were identified as a weak area in the furnace which could be improved. From 1981 to 1987, incremental improvements were made to the design by the addition of water cooled copper blocks. In 1993, a prototype matte tap hole was designed and installed in Number 2 electric furnace to develop the technology to increase tap hole service life. Improved service life is required to meet planned increases in electric fWl1ace productivity and the higher matte temperature needed for the smelter&apos;s S02 Abatement Plan.This paper reviews matte tap hole development since 1978; outlines the prototype matte tap hole design, refractory selection and installation; and details the performance of the prototype tap hole during the first eight campaigns."

Jan 1, 1995

By V. Gaudreault

Rio Tinto Alcan (RTA) has three smelters that use the Alcoa P155 technology: two in Canada (Grande-Baie and Laterrière, Saguenay, QC) and one in the United States (Sebree, Kentucky). The oldest RTA P155 smelter was built in the 1970s (Sebree) and had an initial current intensity of 155 kA. In the 1990s, RTA installed an amperage booster in Grande-Baie smelter to increase cell productivity. Since then, RTA has continuously pushed the limit of this technology and the target amperage that was 195 kA in 2005 has been increased to 210 kA in 2010.This article describes the successful plant-scale trials to increase current intensity from 195 kA to 210 kA, and the key performance indicator results. It demonstrates RTA&apos;s technology leadership to undertake such a development with its Brownfield smelters.

Jan 1, 2011

By J. Guha, R. Kanwar, G. Archambault, A. Tremblay

The Copper Rand Cu-Au deposit lies within a shear zone which strikes N50-60W and dips steeply southward (50°-55°) and extends over 1. 5 km with a thickness which varies form 350 to 425 metres. Mineralization, inside the shear zone, is structurally controlled by a dilation mechanism which can be explained by a fracture dilatancy model. The principle of this model involves the mechanics of overriding of irregular planes and surfaces of faults and schistosities, These structures are characteristic features of the Copper Rand shear zone. A structural analysis of the shear zone has been carried out to establish relations between the different structures within the shear zone and their evolution with the development of the shear zone. A geomechanical interpretation of the Copper Rand shear zone explains the formation of internal structures such as faults, schistosities and microstructure during the shearing. This interpretation confirms Ramsay's theoretical model on the geomechanical evolutuion of shear zone development, and the experimental work of Morgenstern-Tchalenko on the simulation of shear zones in clay models. The geomechanical interpretation of the shear zone demonstrates that at the onset, subsidiary fracture patterns are developed in second order faults in the following sequence. At peak strength Riedel shears ( R and R') are formed which propagate outside the strength, restraint (P) shears are developed in the thrust attitude within the shear zones. Principal displacement shears (D) develop toward residual strength in the direction of movement. Shear lenses are formed by the interaction of these shear discontinuities and these facilitate the formation of schis tosi ties with the continuation of the shear displacement within the main shear zone. While the main shear zone and the P and D shears within the main shear zone were in continual movement, the Rand R' structures, once formed, retained a simple fracture pattern and moved little outside the shear limits in comparison to the main shear zone. Parts of these structures inside the shear zone were reactivated by subsequent movements and deformed into folds to account for the present attitudes of the HW-1 and HW-2 and HW-3 structures. This geomechanical model for the shear zone with its subsidiary structures (R, R', P and D shears) is also applied on a larger scale to the Dore Lake shear belt and explains the different structures accompanying it. The initial development of the WNW shears (most are ore deposits) was followed by the subsidiary structures of the Dore Lake shear in a north-south stress field and is well defined by the movements characteristic of the different structures. It is concluded that the Dore Lake shear cannot be the prolongation of the McKenzie Narrows shear but it seems that this prolongation relates to the Henderson-Portage shear zone.

Jan 1, 1984

By V. G. Papangelakis, J. E. Dutrizac, G. Azimi

A new model capable of predicting the solubility of calcium sulphate solid phases in zinc sulphate processing solutions from 25 to 95°C was developed. The model uses the Mixed Solvent Electrolyte (MSE) model of the OLI systems software to calculate the mean activity coefficients of the electrolyte species. The model was tested using recently developed experimental measurements. It was shown to predict accurately the solubility behaviour of calcium sulphate in multi-component zinc processing solutions containing ZnSO4, H2SO4, MgSO4, MnSO4, Fe2(SO4)3, Na2SO4 and (NH4)2SO4. The model can also explain the complex effect of coexisting metal sulphates on the solubility of the CaSO4 phases. The model is a practical tool for assessing the process chemistry of a wide variety of complex aqueous processing streams.

Jan 1, 2008

By Manqiu Xu, Songtao Yang, Zongfu Dai, Robert Pelton

Five years ago, VALE Base Metals (then INCO), approached Pelton&apos;s group at McMaster and described a challenging mineral separations problem. The McMaster group has a strong track record in colloids, polymers, and chemical additives for papermaking; however, they had no experience in mineral processing. They proposed employing hydrophobic nanoparticles to replace conventional low molecular weight, water-soluble flotation collectors. Over the last five years, Vale, together with the Ontario Government (OCE) have funded two graduate students at McMaster who have worked closely with flotation experts at Vale. Experiments involving both very clean model mineral suspensions at McMaster and complex ores at Vale, have shown that hydrophobic nanoparticles do indeed function as collectors. Key nanoparticle properties and mechanisms have been identified and the technology has been protected in patent applications. Efforts to commercialize the technology are on-going. We believe that this project is a good case study demonstrating the advantages of industry-university collaboration and the use of outside experts, who may come up with novel solutions to complex problems.

Jan 1, 2011

By Franc R. Joubin, Donald H. James

"The Property of Rix Athabasca Uranium Mines Limited is in the Beaverlodge area of northwestern Saskatchewan. The mine is 7 miles by road north from the Lake Athabasca port of Bushell which is 250 miles north by aircraft or boat from railhead at Waterways, Alberta.The Rix property is a portion of the former DD 1 concession, obtained in 1949 from the government of Saskatchewan when private prospecting for uranium became permissible. The concession was prospected in detail during the 1950 and 1951 field seasons and a great many radioactive show-ings were discovered. Development and drilling were concentrated in two and later three of these areas, and by late 1952 enough ore had been indicated in the Leonard series and ""Smitty"" zone to justify underground development by adit-drift and shaft respectively.Four hundred feet of drift development on the Leonard No. 1 vein and the sinking of a two-level vertical shaft with related lateral development on the Smitty zone were completed in 1953. In April 1954 the Smitty section was placed in production at a rate averaging 100 tons per day, thereupon becoming the first privately owned post-war uranium producer in Canada. The ore is shipped for processing 12 miles by truck to the mill of Eldorado Mining and Refining Limited.Until recently all of the Company's production was drawn from the Smitty orebody. In April, 1955, ore production commenced from the faulted west extension of the Smitty structure, known as the Rix 62 zone, and from the Leonard No. 1 vein.The Smitty orebody (see Figure 2) is an intensely brecciated lenticular zone bordering both sides of the Smitty fault. The breccia areas are irregularly mineralized with pitchblende, very sparse galena, and pyrite in a gangue of feldspar, chlorite, calcite, and silica, all thoroughly soaked with fine-grained hematite to produce the locally-called ""red alteration"".Tenor of the ore currently being mined is classified information. The average grade estimated, prior to production, was 0.20 per cent (4.0 lbs.) U308 per ton."

Jan 1, 1949

By John A. Dresser

Seventy years ago a period of prospecting and mining activity began in the Eastern Townships of Quebec that seems to have been quite equal to that of recent years in the Rouyn field. In the following six or seven years a large amount of work was done over a widespread area. About fifty deposits gave some shipment of ore, from a few tons upwards, and as many as five hundred occurrences of copper were made known in the district by official records. Comparing the scale of commercial undertakings of that time and of the present day, these developments must have occupied quite as large a share of the capital and man-power of the Province as northern Quebec employs today. Working conditions at that time were not very favourable. The country was then only newly opened for settlement, and colonists were few and widely separated. Roads of the class built today were unknown. A single line of railway, the Grand Trunk, crossed the district from east to west. Colonization companies controlled large blocks of land on which they owned mining rights and usually reserved these rights in whole, or in part, when selling the lands. Then, as now, the precious metals belonged to the Crown. Yet the work was not without its successes. One of the first deposits discovered, the Acton, was, for a few years, one of the most profitable producing copper mines of its time. Another, the Eustis mine, has been in almost constant operation ever since, and is now vigorously pushing further development. At least two others, now quiescent, proved profitable operations, and several made considerable production. The manufacture of sulphuric acid in Canada was begun by the founder of the Nichols Company at Capelton, on a deposit that is now being re-developed, after a long and creditable career.

Jan 1, 1928

By L. Janku, G. Hancox, M. Villenueve, C. Massey

Wellington lies in a seismically active area 150 km from a subduction zone and in the vicinity of several active faults, which poses a risk to its infrastructure and inhabitants. One of these major faults, the Wellington Fault, runs through the centre of the city and across several lifelines, including the natural gas pipeline and the freshwater pipeline. The first settlement in the area was severely damaged in 1848, soon after its establishment, by an earthquake of approximate magnitude Mw 7.4 - 7.5 (Grapes, Little, & Downes, 1998). In 1855, another earthquake of magnitude Mw 8.2 generated by a nearby fault uplifted the eastern part of the current Wellington area and caused several landslides in the surrounding hills (Grapes & Downes, 1997). The Central Business District lies in the area of a sedimentary basin and partly on reclaimed land. Many residential areas, as well as some vital infrastructure, however, lie on or along the slopes in the surrounding hills. The bedrock in the area comprises predominantly the Torlesse greywacke of Permian – Late Triassic age. The greywacke is tilted to a steep angle, intensively faulted and fractured (Cook, 2001). Even though several studies in the past assessed the seismic risk in the area (e.g. Brabhaharan, Hancox, Perrin, & Dellow, 1994), the studies either focussed solely on the area of the sedimentary basin or based their assessment of the hilly terrain purely on slope morphology (slope angle). Previous studies have shown that slope shape and contrasting materials in the slope can amplify earthquake ground motions, such factors are typically called site effects (e.g. Geli, Bard, & Jullien, 1988). Any attempt to systematically quantify the site effects and consequent seismic response of the slopes and use it to predict the consequences of the next large-magnitude earthquake, has not yet been carried out. In this extended abstract we outline the methodology of a PhD research project, focussed on investigating the site effects on the slopes around Wellington and on creating representative numerical models of ‘characteristic’ Wellington slopes and materials. This extended abstract presents the methodology adopted for the assessment using the Te Ahumairangi Hill site as an example.

Jan 1, 2015

By C. Chapman, M. G. Reading, M. P. Amsden

Ecstall Mining Limited, a subsidiary of Texasgulf Incorporated, operates the Kidd Creek mine, a 10,000- tpd base metal producer, near Timmins, Ontario. Two different ore types are mined and milled copper-zinc and silver-lead-zinc. At the highly automated Ecstall concentrator, the ores are processed by selective flotation in three individual circuits. One of the most important metallurgical tools for process control is a sample system incorporating continuous onstream X-ray analysis. Recently this system was further automated by adding computer control of reagents for two copper-zinc flotation circuits. The computer programs, utilizing optimum seeking methods and smelter contract terms, have increased copper recovery 0.8% and zinc recovery 1.6%, and reduced reagent costs by 12%. Although not anticipated, copper and zinc concentrate grades were improved modestly as well.

Jan 1, 1973

By R. S. Adhikari

This paper presents an innovative computer vision method for condition assessments of bridges with multiple defects in bridge elements using digital images. This work utilizes 3D model of existing bridges and overlays digital images on 3D model to simulate on-site visual inspection. The analysis of element condition index (ECI) of bridges requires information about the severity and extent of defects in elements. In general, ECI is evaluated manually during routine bridge inspection considering the severity of dominant defects. The evaluation of ECI with multiple defects needs to be addressed with consideration of dominant defect as well as the interaction among defects. However, Image-based quantification techniques largely depend on geometry of objects (i.e. shapes). Shape vectors of a given object change as they are translated, rotated, and scaled with different magnitudes. This work considers shape preserving algorithms such as, affine and projective transformation for proper image alignment. Semi-automated approach for detection and quantification of concrete distress such as cracks and spalling are considered for the defects analysis. The proposed methodology ensures the consistency in reporting ECI and eliminates the shortcoming of traditional approaches.

Aug 1, 2013

By Edgar Dernedde

Cryolitic melts at a temperature of about 960 °C are used in reduction cells to dissolve alumina and to produce primary aluminium. At these temperatures cryolitic melts with an acidic composition have a significant vapour pressure, which contributes substantially to the evolution of fluorides from these cells, The Antoine equation is commonly used for relating vapour pressure data of liquids at different temperatures, It is also applicable to cryolitic melts, Published equations have at least 20 numerical constants, in order to allow for the effects of melt composition. In the present work a simplified equation with only 12 numerical constants was developed and is applicable for multiple additions to molten cryolite up to 30 wt %, The simplified equation was compared with the published equations of Haupin & Kvande and Gustaysen & Ostvold using 472 vapour pressure data of cryolitic melts. Results showed that the simplified equation has the same accuracy as the published equations in the composition range of interest to industry.

Jan 1, 2004

By C. H. Knight

"THE OBSERVATIONS that follow are confined to simple wet cyclones such as the cylindro-conical unit developed by the Dutch States Mines and marketed in America under the trademark 'Dorr-Clone'. Energy to do the work comes from the inlet velocity of the feed slurry, which is usually pumped' to the unit by a centrifugal pump.Such cyclones are simply classifiers of enormous capacity and depend for their separating effect on differences in rates of particle settlement. These particle settling rates, of course, vary with particle size, particle density, particle shape, pulp viscosity, and pulp density.The dilution of the overflow product affects both pulp viscosity and pulp density. In most operations, the temperature and the composition of the liquid -hence its viscosity --are fixed, but both pulp viscosity and pulp density can be changed by changing pulp dilution.Since the separating effect depends on differences in rates of particle setting, a perfect split with 100 per cent of the particles coarser than a given size in the underflow and 100 per cent of the finer sizes in the overflow is not possible. Just how far the separation departs from this perfection can be calculated rather exactly from the following principles, which also apply to mechanical classifiers. In removing or settling out of the overflow product all particles up to a specified size, some of the finer particles must settle out simultaneously."

Jan 1, 1955

By C. R. Machado

Sossego Mine was the first Vale SAG mill operation to process copper-gold ore. It is located in the state of Para, in the south-eastern Amazon region of Brazil. In the first six years of continuous operation, Vale investigated different alternatives for improving circuit performance by investigating operating conditions, mainly focusing on the SAG mill. Today, after a steady increase over five years the annual production rate seems to have stabilized. It is hoped this work will show how the SAG operating practice have been perfected with time and as new data are collected. Historical data of mill grind-outs and crash stops helped create operation curves depending on the ball charge volume and total charge volume. Also noted were impacts on throughput due to the effect of reducing liner weight and the ore type characteristics.

Jan 1, 2012

By W. Kunda, J P. Warner

SHERRITT GORDON Mines Limited annually produce 300,-000 pounds of pure cobalt by processing a nickel-cobalt-copper-iron sulphide ore which is mined at Lynn Lake, Manitoba. The ore (containing 0.04 per cent Co) is •concentrated to give a concentrate containing l 1-12 per cent nickel, about 2.0 per cent .copper, and 0.25-0.35 per cent cobalt, which is treated at the Refinery in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta. The concentrate is leached in an ammoniacal solution of ammonium sulphate using compressed air as the oxidant. After filtration the leach solution contains, besides nickel and cobalt, copper ammines, sulpharnates and salts of various thionic acids. The copper is removed by precipitation as sulphide and the sulphur compounds converted to ammonium sulphate by a combined oxidation and hydrolysis treatment. The purified solution •Containing about 45 gpl of nickel and 1 gpl of cobalt is treated with gaseous hydrogen under pressure at 350°F to precipitate metallic nickel powder, the precipitation 'being terminated when the nickel content of the solution is about 0.8-1 gpl. Only about

Jan 1, 1962

By BRIAN HITCHON

Calcium, magnesium, bromide and iodide extraction from formation waters for use as industrial minerals has occurred in several countries, but not yet in Canada. Potential commercial brine fields exist in th e Upper Devonian Beaverhill Lake Formation of so uthern Alberta, and the Middle Devonian Elk Point Subgroup of north-central Alberta, f rom which calcium, magnesium and bromide are potential products. Iodide contents in fo rmation waters f rom the Upper Cretaceous Belly River Formation and the Lower Cretaceous Viking and Bow Island fo rmations in central and southern Alberta are at the lower range limit of commercial iodide-bearing formation waters elsewhere in the world. Available information is insufficient 10 outline potentially commercial areas in Alberta, but such info rmation can be most easily obtained f rom test borings for shallow natural gas. Lithium is not now produced commercially f rom formation waters but its content should be monitored in view of f uture increased demand for this metal.

Jan 1, 1984