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By R. W. Brigstocke

History The birth of the mining industry of Canada took place about 1670. According to Salone (Salone E., La Colonisation de la Nouvelle France, page 205) the first discovery of ore in the country was made by an iron-master, Monsieur de la Potardiere, near Trois Rivieres, Quebec. Under French rule some prospecting was done; but at this time no one seemed to consider the working of mines practicable. It was not until the time that Begon became Intendant, when the Marquis of Vaudreuil was Governor, that mining was attempted. Begon was a patron of industrial arts and did his best to promote home manufactures. The mining industry was developed under his regime and discoveries of copper and lead ores were made in 1730. About this time the St. Maurice Forges were erected to treat bog-iron ore, and they were in operation for many years. Prior to 1747, iron pans to the value of £21,000 were manufactured, together with bar-iron and plough-shares. About 1769, that is, ten years after the conquest by Wolfe, stoves and other articles, and, later, potash kettles, appeared. What is still more interesting to us-or was, at least, to General Wolfe-is that cannon balls made at the St. Maurice Forges delayed his operations. A map dated 1744, a copy of which appears in the report of the Ontario Bureau of Mines for 1913 (Vol. XIX), indicates the extensiveness of the wanderings of the French and also shows the location of the lead mine on the east shore of Lake Timiskaming. Bog-iron ore was turned into metal, with charcoal for fuel, at Norman-dale, Norfolk county, Ontario, in 1813, and at Clementsport, Nova Scotia, in 1825. In a volume published in 1672, reference is made to the occurrence of coal on the Atlantic seaboard, and in 1677 Monsieur Duchesneau, the Intendant, levied a royalty of twenty sous per ton on all coal taken from Cape Breton.

Jan 1, 1932

By K. H. J. Clarke

"ALTHOUGH nickel was not identified as a separate element until a Swedish scientist, Axel Frederick Cronstedt, did so in 17 51, its utilization dates from pre-historic times. From its humble beginnings nickel has grown in importance until, today, in our clocks, television sets, automobiles, and air-planes, in our bridges, tableware, farm implements, and the equipment which processes our food, it is constantly at our service.For convenience in assembly, data and information relative to The Marketing of Nickel will be outlined in five phases: (A) Sources, (B) Distribution, (C) Utilization, (D) Market Development, and (E) Conclusions."

Jan 1, 1960

By J. Duncan Keppie

"Auriferous quartz veins occupy zones of dilation. Foldgenerated dilation zones are systematically distributed and are dependent upon the folding mechanism. Comparison of natural and theoretical folds indicates that different mechanisms operated in the Halifax and Goldenville formations.In the slates of the Halifax Formation, the folds are of similar type and internal strain is most intense in the limbs. This internal strain is probably accommodated with little or no dilation.In the meta-sandstone and slates of the Goldenville Formation, a combined flexural and tangential longitudinal strain mechanism, modified by pure strain, produced the folds. Tension fissures produced by this mechanism are: (a) saddle 1'eef veins in slate horizons, (b) veins normal to bedding in meta-sandstone layers in the fold hinges,(c) veins along faults in the cores of tight fold hinges and (d) zones of en- échelon veins in slate honzons in the limbs of folds. Because veins in fold hinges (a, b and c above) account for most of the gold production in the Meguma Group, other factors controlling the distribution and size of these veins are summarized below.1. The size of saddle reef veins is controlled by the curvature of the fold hinge. Thus, a Curvature Index greater than 600 degrees indicates a promising prospect, where"

Jan 1, 1976

By R. A. McIvor, R. Levac

"The Stobie No. 7 shaft, 14 ft diameter, double- drum skip hoist, was installed at the INCO Limited Frood Stobie Complex in 1942. Figure 1 shows the hoist layout. The hoist was originally equipped with babbitted journal bearings on the main drum shaft and pinion gears. In 1990, the hoist was modernized with a new braking system, two new 2000 hp D.C. drive motors, a thyristor armature supply and a PLC control system. The new drive motors were connected to the drive pinion gears with a gear type flexible coupling. The pinion gear journal bearings were refitted during the refit in 1990 as the existing babbitted bearings showed signs of wear. The pinion gear journal bearings had always run warm and had external cooling applied during the warm summer months. Figure 2 shows the journal bearings on the pinion shaft. The skip hoist main bull gear and two pinion gears were replaced in 1997 because of cracked bull gear spokes. New drive couplings were installed on the pinion gears and the pinion journal bearings were modified to allow some self-aligning properties to try to reduce the heating and wear on the babbitt. The modifications did not significantly reduce the heating problems and a decision was made in the spring of 1998 to convert the bearings to self-aligning, anti-friction-type bearings.The traditional roller bearings used on double helical pinion drive gears in hoist applications has always been double-row spherical roller bearings due to their high load-carrying capacity and misalignment allowances.Unlike single helical gears, double helical arrangements do not exert axial thrust on the pinion gear bearings, therefore, both bearings in the pillow blocks must float easily with any pinion displacement. Drum misalignment, thrust bearing end play and a multitude of other influences causes continuous axial displacement of the pinions when in operation. This constant displacement or “hunting” of the pinion gear to maintain its centre on bull gear often exceeds the axial clearance limits of spherical roller bearings thus resulting in a continuous sliding motion of the bearing outer rings against the housing seats. With time, the housing fit eventually wears, creating an out-of-round condition for bearing housing (maximum allowable cylindricity tolerance is IT4/2). When this happens, the pillow block housings must be replaced or re-machined to specification. Premature bearing wear and overheating will occur if a housing out-of-round condition is encountered."

Jan 1, 2001

By Theodore H. Boggs

The battle of the gold standard is not limited to one country alone, or even to a single group of countries. It is being waged merrily in many important commercial and industrial quarters. Though it is not always a practical issue calling for immediate attention, it is none the less, quite widely, engaging the thought of bankers and other students of finance. The controversy arises, in the last analysis, because of the desire of men to secure a stable currency. There are two ways of restoring a reasonably stable currency system: (1) the re-establishment of the gold standard, or (2) the deliberate and artificial management of a paper currency. Both systems are well known. The gold standard was in use prior to the war in the principal commercial countries. A currency of inconvertible paper has been at times employed in the past in various countries; for example in Britain from 1797 to 1821, and in the United States from 1862 to 1879. The gold standard, as all are aware, implies the selection of gold as the standard of value. The unit of value is a fixed weight of gold and, so long as the standard remains unimpaired, all other means of payment are maintained at a parity with standard gold coins. And gold coins alone constitute the standard money, inasmuch as their value as bullion equals their value as coins. Under the gold standard this would not be true of any other form of money, although all other varieties of money, including bank notes, government notes and silver coins would be freely convertible into gold money. Strictly speaking, the gold standard also implies that the gold money in turn shall itself be freely convertible, through melting, into gold bullion and freely exportable.

Jan 1, 1925

By Staff

Introduction As the Sherritt Gordon property is still in the development stage, . it is rather difficult to write a proper account of the mining methods and milling practice that will be used. While the general scheme of operation will remain the same, there will undoubtedly be many minor changes to meet special conditions which we cannot forsee at the present time. Most of the work accomplished to date has followed the usual routine of preliminary development in the Canadian North. However, we have learned a few things which might be of use to others operating under similar conditions. The most important of these is the saving in power cost made possible by the use of Diesels as against steam power when using wood fuel, and the movement of freight by tractors when rail transportation is not available. Location The property i6 located about 90 miles north of The Pas, or 40 miles northeast of the Flin Flon mine. A branch line from Cranberry Portage, on the?C. N. railway, between Flin Flon and The Pas, connects the property with the outside.

Jan 1, 1930

By Robert C. Stanley

Early History Probably the first use of nickel by man was in the fashioning of implements, and later swords, from nickel-bearing meteorites, masses of metal that have fallen from time to time at many points on the earth's surface and which consist normally of iron carrying substantial amounts of nickel. Meteorites were perhaps the first metal known to man. The falling star, sought out with fear overborne by curiosity, was found to be a better stone than the earth-given, truly a boon from the gods. Archeologists tell us there is good evidence that the ancient oriental peoples learned at an early date to make these stones into useful implements. The invincible blades of the great warriors of old in China, Persia, and in northern Europe, were Heaven-sent, a fable which sounds significant of meteoric iron. Probably some of the ancient swords of Khorassan and of Damascus were of meteoric nickel-bearing iron (1). Fifty centuries were to pass before men learned to isolate nickel and add it to iron to produce the same alloy for much the same purpose. Meanwhile, man had found another natural alloy of nickel, known first to the Chinese as paktong, or 'white copper.' It was obtained from complex copper-nickel sulphide ores of Yunnan in southern China. This metal was brought by caravan through India into Bactria, a country north of the Hindu-Kush mountains, in what is now known as Russian Turkestan. The earliest specimen extant is a Bactrian coin attributed to 235 B.C. The rough reddish-white metal was also sent in the form of triangular rings to Canton, where zinc ores were added and the whole smelted to a more malleable alloy, also known later as paktong. This alloy was the forerunner of German-or nickel-silver. Specimens of this alloy, wrought into ornamental candlesticks and boxes, were brought from Canton to Europe by the East India Company in the early days of the China trade. Paktong was highly prized for its beauty as well as its eastern origin in far-away China. By 1760 the unwrought metal was imported into England for domestic manufacture.

Jan 1, 1935

I N the introductory chapter to "Man and Metals," T. A. Rickard wrote "Five hundred thousand years ago the first footfalls of man's oncoming echoed down the corridors of time." This phrase has always appealed to me, not only for its resonance but because it seems to place in some perspective man's place in the cosmos. As we go about our daily occupations and as we meet here tonight, we must agree that we have come a long way slowly at first through the ages of change but with a quickening pace that has brought to man's know-ledge and use, within the last hundred years, more ideas, more material advantages, more opportunities and more comforts than were ever imagined or dreamed of in those long corridors of time. Looking back to the dawn of his-tory, a mere five thousand years ago, there is one aspect of the birth and growth of civilization that has particular significance for the miner and the metallurgist.

Jan 1, 1965

By Arthur Notman

For the period January 1st, 1942, to January 1st, 1946, the American Bureau of Metal Statistics records the gold production of the world as 118,788,000 fine ounces. If we include 1946 at the same rate as 1945 (26,- 590,000), we arrive at a total of 145,378,000 fine ounces in the past five years . Included in these figures are estimates of Russian output at 4,000,000 ounces per annum for the five years, and 1,300,000 ounces per annum for Korea and Japan. The remaining 120,000,000 ounces represent the aggregate production from official reports of the other gold producing areas of the world, with the exception of the 1946 figures, as noted above. At $35.00 per fine ounce, this represents $5,188,230,000. According to the reports of the Federal Reserve System of the United States, on December 31st, 1941, the monetary gold reserves of the United States were $22,736,- 600,000 (at $35.00 per fine ounce) , while on October 31st, 1946 (latest available) , they had fallen to $20,402,000,000, a decline of $2,334,600,000. Adding this decline to the value of the new production for the five years, we have a total of $7,522,830,000, which has been absorbed by the rest of the world since Pearl Harbour, a rate of absorption of over $1,500,000,000 per annum. This has taken place at a rime when the advocates of purely managed currencies had convinced many people that gold performed no really essential function in the world's economy, and that we could get along perfectly well without it. It was pointed out that gold could not be eaten, it could not clothe our nakedness, it could not shelter us from storms, and, therefore, it was a non-essential, even though it could be used to settle international balances of trade. Apparently, the world as a whole still regards it as preferable to the paper promises of governments, however sound, relatively, they may appear. Actually, we have no way of measuring the true strength of this feeling, because the principal governments of the world have made it legally impossible for their citizens to own gold, except in the form of ornaments.

Jan 1, 1947

By E. LaRocque

"Long term contracts requiring delivery of 6,000,000 pounds of U308 per year to its customers have made it necessary for Denison Mines to expand its milling capacity from 7,100 tons per day to 15,000 tons per day.Previous papers (1) and (2) described the old leaching and product recovery practice. The flowsheet briefly includes a crushing and grinding circuit, sulphuric acid leaching in a Pachuca plant, liquid-solid separation with wash thickeners and two-stage drum filtration, concentration and purification by moving bed ion exchange followed by two-stage precipitation to produce an ammonia yellowcake.No. 1 Shaft ore, about 4,000 tons per day, will be processed through the truck dump into the old crushing and grinding plant and through the old leaching plant. Ore from Stanrock (No. 3 shaft) will be hauled by truck and also processed through the truck dump as No. 1 shaft ore. Beginning in 1982, ore production from Stanrock will gradually increase until 1985 when some 3,000 tons per day will be milled from the source.A new 8,000 ton per day circuit was designed and constructed to increase the milling capacity to 15,000 tons per day. The new circuit is separate from the old one except that it coins together for the precipitation and tailings neutralization sections of the plant. The feed to the new plant will be from No. 2 shaft.The flowsheet is much the same as the old plant with the exception of the grinding circuit and the ion exchange plant. A semi-autogenous grinding (SAG) plant, unique in the Elliot Lake area, has been installed rather than the conventional crushing and grinding plant; the ion exchange plant is the stationery bed type.This paper describes the major equipment installed for the expanded grinding and hydrometallurgical plant."

Jan 1, 1982

By Paul Billingsley

NICKEL Plate mountain coincides closely with that portion of the Hedley mining district which is of economic interest. From it has come almost the entire past production, and the active mines of the present epoch, Nickel Plate-Sunnyside and Hedley Mascot, lie in a compact group near its summit. The Hedley district, which is 210 miles due east of Vancouver, is situated in the Okanagan range of southern British Columbia, where this rather gentle uplift is deeply dissected by the canyons of the Similkameen and its tributaries. The region is essentially part of the Interior Plateau of the Province (Figure 1), but is adjacent to easterly elements of the Coast Range. The Similkameen canyon, 4,000 feet in depth and frequently less than 4 miles from rim to rim, traverses the district from northwest to southeast. The deepest and narrowest portion of the canyon lies between Hedley and Keremeos, 18 miles to the southeast. At Hedley, an important tributary, Twenty Mile creek, enters from the north in a bold canyon, making a focus of unusually rugged topography. Nickel Plate mountain occupies the sector to the east of this junction (see Figure 2) and its flanks are ringed by the cliffs of Twenty Mile canyon on the west and by those of the Similkameen canyon on the south. On the east, it slopes gently to the hanging valley of Eighteen Mile creek, and on the north, with only slight loss of elevation, it merges into the moderately hilly surface of the plateau.

Jan 1, 1941

By Hazel Lyman Nickel

Daring to try where others had failed, Herbert and Lou Henry Hoover translated from the Latin the principal (and first) textbook on the mining and metallurgical profession, De Re Metallica, 1556, which had been in use for two centuries and then had lain dormant for 350 years in a language unreadable except by a chosen few. Thus the Hoovers enriched the English tongue with a vitally important contribution to history in the fields of mining, metallurgy, and chemistry. To them it was a joint hobby, because they were actively interested in the beginnings of the mining profession in which they had both been trained. Illuminating the years of toil to perfect this translation shone their ideal of service to humanity, since, in the Preface, they refer to their task as "a labour of love", which had to find the moments for its execution in night hours, weekends, and holidays, extending over a period of about five years. And they add: "If the work serves to strengthen the traditions of one of the most important and least recognized of the world's professions, we shall be amply repaid". While a student at Stanford University, during the years of 1891-95, Herbert Hoover had become familiar with a copy of this Latin mineralogy classic, De Re Metallica, a rare book in the private library of Dr. John C. Branner, at that time head of the department of geology and mining. Another Stanford student in geology was also examining and studying the ponderous volume of twelve 'books'. She was Miss Lou Henry, of Monterey, who graduated in 1898, and the following year became Mrs. Herbert Hoover. Interwoven through the tapestry of their life experiences gleamed the silver thread of their interest in this mediaeval Latin textbook. Just nine years lacer, the Hoovers had commenced their translation, while they were in temporary residence in London after the seething years in China under the shadow of the Boxer rebellion.

Jan 1, 1949

By G. Van Weert

In the spring of 2010 double refractory ores from historical stockpiles were processed through Barrick's Goldstrike pressure oxidation facility, thereby providing preg robbing feeds for a variety of metallurgical testwork. This paper describes the effects of amount, type, place and time of addition of activated carbons on CIL gold recovery and shows that native carbon in plant PDX'ed discharge solids can still preg rob gold loaded activated carbon.

Jan 1, 2011

By G. M. Carr-Harris

"THE SUBJECT of permanent molding has received a great deal of attention in the technical press as illustrated by the many excellent articles in the bibliography which follows. In general, this covers the period 1940-1958 and is merely representative of what is available. Numbers in •brackets refer to items in the bibliography.It may be desirable at the outset to give a few definitions covering those terms directly related to this subject. The following is a definition of permanent-mold casting as given by J. W. Meier in a paper, ""The Non-Ferrous Metals and Alloys"", read before the Ottawa Valley Chapt.er of the American Society for Metals:""Permanent Mold Casting is used where a large number of castings of the same part are required and higher mechanical properties, greater density and closer tolerances are essential. Since metallic mold s are very expensive, the number of castings must be sufficient to, defray, at least partially, the added expense. Molds are usually made from a good quality cast iron, 1but other mold materials, such as the aluminum and copper alloys, graphite, ceramics, etc., are being used in certain cases. Important factors in permanent mold casting are the mold temperature; the proper mold dressing; and, as in all other casting methods, the mold geometry, that is to say, the design of spruces, gates, risers and vents""."

Jan 1, 1960

By Kah Lert

"The Red Mountain porphyry molybdenum deposit is situated in the Big Salmon Range, approximately 80 km east-northeast of Whitehorse, Yukon.Red Mountain is underlain by Paleozoic, argillaceous sedimentary rocks of the Yukon Cataclastic Complex, which have been intruded by a multi-phase mid-Cretaceous stock.Mineraliwtion, quartz stockwork, metal zonation, and an alteration assemblage characteristic of a porphyry molybdenum system have been superimposed on quartz monzonite porphyry and adjacent homfelsed sedimentary rocks. A later, barren and pyritic quartzeye diorite porphyry body and related dikes have dissected the quartz monzonite porphyry, homfelsed sedimentary rocks and associated molybdenite mineralization.Drill-indicated geological reserves of molybdenum mineralization outlined consist of 187 270 000 tonnes grading 0.167% MoS2.IntroductionLocationThe Red Mountain porphyry molybdenum deposit is located at 60°59'N, 133°44'W (NTS 105 C), approximately 80 km east-northeast of Whitehorse, Yukon. The property is situated within the rugged Big Salmon Range, 15 km east of the north-northwest-trending Teslin River. Red Mountain, at an elevation of 1702 m, consists of relatively steep, talus covered slopes with prominent gossanous bluffs marking the southeast flank. Relief on the property is 700 m, with tree-line at an elevation of 1450 m to 1500 m (Fig. 1)."

Jan 1, 1995

By J. Budac, R. Krentz, P. Cordingley, G. Freeman, M. E. Chalkley, H. Scheie

Pressure hydrometallurgical unit operations have been in commercial use at the Fort Saskatchewan refinery of Sherritt International Corporation for fifty years. This paper traces the history of Sherritt from its origins in northern Manitoba, and the development of the first hydrometallurgical nickel-cobalt refinery in 1954, utilizing pressure hydrometallurgy, to the modern day refinery. Sherritt's involvement with pressure hydrometallurgy during the past 50 years has included the operation of the refinery, the development and licensing of technology, incorporating pressure hydrometallurgical unit operations, to more than 30 companies worldwide, the joint venture at Moa, Cuba involving both leaching and precipitation at elevated temperature and pressure, and the production of specialty metal powders. Developments in each of these areas are reviewed.

Jan 1, 2004

By J. A. Scott, K. Moreau, H. Shang

"Trials of automated technology at underground mine sites around the world have reported increased production and the potential for lower energy consumption. Autonomous mining eliminates a range of delays related to operator downtime and travel to the workface and facilitates continuous operation in conditions that are unsafe for workers. Automation also introduces complexities and safety hazards arising from equipment–personnel interactions; automated processes must be isolated from other stope-cycle–related activities such as production drilling, development, loading, and backfilling, poten¬tially requiring changes to the mine design to maintain an efficient and safe operation. This paper reviews and discusses the implementation of automated equipment in deep underground mining operations and the challenges and advantages associated with the technology. ¦ KEYWORDS Automated equipment, Emissions reduction, Energy, Productivity, Sustainability, Technology, Underground mines RÉSUMÉ Des essais de technologies automatisées dans des sites miniers souterrains aux quatre coins du monde ont indiqué une production accrue et la possibilité de réduire la consommation d’énergie. L’exploitation minière autonome élimine tout un éventail de retards liés aux temps d’immobilisation des opérateurs et aux déplacements vers le front de taille, et facilite l’exploitation continue dans des conditions qui s’avèrent peu sécurisées pour les travailleurs. L’automatisation introduit également des complexités et des risques pour la sécurité, qui surviennent en raison des interactions entre l’équipement et le personnel. On recommande d’isoler les procédés automatisés des autres activités liées au cycle des chantiers telles que le forage de production, le développement, le chargement et le remblai, ce qui pourrait entraîner des changements au niveau de la conception de la mine afin de préserver rendement et sécurité dans l’exploitation. Cet article examine et aborde la mise en oeuvre de l’équipement automatisé dans des exploitations minières souterraines profondes, ainsi que les enjeux et les avantages associés à cette technologie. ¦ MOTS CLÉS durabilité, énergie, équipement automatisé, mines souterraines, productivité, réduction des émissions, technologieINTRODUCTION As the mining industry continues to exhaust easily accessible orebodies, the need for efficient, deep (typically below 2,500 m) mine operations increases (Atlas Copco, 2013a); however, the mining process can become economically infeasible at great depths because operation costs drastically increase. This has resulted in investigations into automating mining operations as the industry strives for improved productivity (Schunnesson, Gustafson, & Kumar, 2009) and ways to remove personnel from hazardous work areas."

Jan 1, 2019

By Steve Hubbard, Brad Marchant, Rolando Cuadra

"Triton Mining Corporation acquired the rights to Mina El Limon in Nicaragua in 1993 by international bid. The bid included the gold operations at Limon and an exploration concession of approximately 4000 km2. Triton assumed control of operations and exploration in May 1994.The Limon mine is located in west-central Nicaragua, approximately 100 kilometers northwest of Managua. The climate is tropical, characterized by a wet season from May through October, and a dry season November through April. Gold at Limon is associated with both banded quartz and silicified breccia veins in Tertiary volcanic rocks, belonging to the lower Coyol Group. Mining is from two open pits and one mechanized underground operation. A second underground mine is currently under development for production during 1997.This paper describes the expansion of the milling facility at El Limon from a nominal capacity of 400 tonnes/day, producing approximately 20,000 ounces of gold annually, to the existing 900 tonne per day mill operation. Engineering of the new mill facility was initiated in September 1994 and construction was completed a year later."

Jan 1, 1997

By Michael P. Amsden

"THE ECSTALL CONCENTRATOR is situated adjacent to Highway 101 and the Ontario Northland Railroad, 15 miles east of Timmins, Ontario. Ore is delivered to the concentrator by rail from the mine, which is 17 miles northwest of the plant. Power and fuel are obtained from the hydro and natural gas lines which pass close to the plant site. Water is obtained from the Frederickhouse River, 6 miles east of the concentrator. The main concentrator building is a large structure 500 by 640 feet by 90 feet high and contains facilities for fine crushing, crushed ore storage, grinding, flotation, tin recovery, concentrate handling and reagent handling. Located in the same building are the machine shop, warehouse, metallurgical laboratory, pilot plant, men's change room, sample preparation area and an assay laboratory. The general concentrator layout is shown in Figure 47. Originally designed to handle 9,000 tons per day, the concentrator now treats 10,000 tons per day. Two different ore types are processed by selective flotation in three individual circuits to recover copper, lead and zinc concentrates. In 1973, another circuit was added to recover pyrite and tin concentrates from the combined zinc tailings of the three main circuits."

Jan 1, 1974

By M. Ataee-pour, S. E. Jalali

So far, a large number of algorithms have been developed for the optimization of pit limits, most of which follow deterministic rules. In this paper, a new algorithm is introduced, which follows a probabilistic logic using the Markov chain process. The algorithm is implemented on a transition matrix that corresponds to the 2D conventional economic block model of the mining area. The probability of mining a block is proportional to the desirability it may provide. Applying this algorithm, the probability of mining each block is obtained, and finally, the optimum pit limits are defined as the pit, which provides the highest probability of mining. In order to validate the proposed model, a numerical example is given and the results of the algorithm are compared to those of a dynamic programming algorithm. A 2D analysis of the problem is discussed in this paper. Although dealing with 3D problems requires larger size matrices, the optimization method is the same and the algorithm does not need any smoothing.

Jan 1, 2006