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By E. Yan, M. Mankosa, E. B. Wasmund

Mechanical cells are the dominant unit operation in base metal rougher flotation applications worldwide. As economic demand for metals increase, and as the feasible ore grades decrease, the installed capacity of mechanical flotation units worldwide has greatly increased, adding significant capital and operating cost. One opportunity to improve this situation is to use fundamental knowledge to make the industrial flotation process more efficient. A key insight is that the flotation process can be optimized by dividing the processing of the pulp into two distinct fluidic environments; a collection cell where air and pulp mix in a highly energetic compartment, and a low energy gravity separation cell. This is the basis of the “2-stage flotation device” that has been patented by Eriez and marketed under the tradename StackCell™. Two industrial case studies will be presented to highlight the potential metallurgical and commercial advantages of the StackCell. In the first, a train consisting of three pilot scale StackCells (each 0.6 metre diameter) was run in parallel with a train of conventional mechanical cells in a major copper concentrator and benchmarked against a batch Denver test. In the second, the performance of a 3 metre diameter StackCell in a nickel sulfide cleaning application was benchmarked against a batch Denver test. The flotation kinetics observed in the StackCells were 2.4 to 2.9 times faster when compared with the lab Denver test. In the first case study, the kinetics of the StackCell was about six times faster than conventional mechanical cells. It is hypothesized that the efficiency improvement in kinetics is because of reduced “drop-back” during the froth recovery phase, which is reduced because of the reduction in the shear that is present in a conventional mechanical tank cell. This result suggests that a 2-stage flotation system can be used to reduce the working volume of flotation units by five to six times. This would allow operators to significantly reduce the size of their flotation lines for a comparable flotation objective. Some discussion will follow about the scale-up criteria, maintenance and operability issues, comparisons of layout, and possible cost savings. INTRODUCTION The solution that most equipment suppliers have offered to reduce the cost of mechanical flotation equipment over the last 30 years has been to increase the size of the flotation unit cell (Mankosa, 2017). For example, three 100 m3 machines with three smaller motors, mechanisms and control valves could be replaced with a geometrically similar 300 m3 with a larger version of each ancillary component. While there are some efficiencies and cost improvements to be gained by this approach, it does not take advantage of fundamental insights into the flotation process, and it does not represent a step-change in terms of process design or economic benefit for the customer. The advantage of the “bigger is better” approach is that there is past experience of incremental improvements by making cells larger and there is a well-established scale-up method, which allows practitioners to estimate equipment capital costs based on very simple laboratory test- work. A different paradigm, which is gaining interest rapidly is to use a unit operation in which it is easier to optimize the flotation process, which will be described in this paper. This approach is often referred to “2- stage flotation”. Because this approach is new, it is important to benchmark it against existing conventional technology and to demonstrate a robust methodology for sizing equipment and flowsheets. This paper aims to address these issues with two case studies.

Jan 1, 2019

By Irving Wigden

The world is fast becoming information based. Mine companies migrate business infrastructures to be handled electronically. Suppliers move onto the worldwide web. In this ?e-world? successful suppliers will recognize they no longer trade in just equipment, but in knowledge. Companies can no longer just provide products and services, but instead must find ways to harness their knowledge to provide new value for customers. Mine customers will be attracted to suppliers that can help them streamline the process and use Information Technology to optimize operations, increase profit, reduce cost and enhance shareholder value. With the continued move to industry standard communications and software platforms, technology that formerly stood alone can now be integrated with other technologies. This creates more powerful systems that mine operators can use quickly, easily and cost effectively. These unified architectures improve productivity, provide higher asset optimization and allow more informed decision-making. As a leading supplier of process automation solutions for the industry, ABB provides a dynamic range of such control systems. These systems are designed for instrumentation controls, variable speed drives, electrical distribution, electrical equipment and related services for Mine Automation. Enhanced by ABB´s new family of integrated software solutions ? collectively known as Industrial IT ? ABB´s control and Scada systems place you in the best position to optimize your plant, process and enterprise operations. The paper discuss system integration and installation of High-Tec system in an underground mine. ABB has the ambition to be a System Integrator and co-operate with partners in different areas of technology. To day it is a problem to find one Supplier that can be responsible for the complete Automation System. The design of the system is also much depending of the design of the mine and also which caving procedure that is used in the current mine. Much of the work must be done in a feasibility study and during the design phase. If there is careful planning and consideration during these phases is vital in order to avoid costly changes during the commissioning phase The paper will also include a presentation of the benefit of using Automation in an Underground Mine, and how important the integration of the Human Being is to the Automation System. The most profit gained in mining industries are received when the mines can reduce internal and external disturbances in the production flow and speed. Must of the experience and discussed in this paper is from advanced technology, that has been developed in Scandinavian and adopted of LKAB in Kiruna. The author of this paper has been responsible för the Automation projects in the Kiruna Mine during 1994 - 1999. These projects include: Broadband communication of data, audio, compressed video in one data stream. Control System for Haulage -1045m Automation of Load Haulage and Dumping machines (LHD) Control of Production Drilling Riggs from a Central Control Room.

May 1, 2002

By Siavash Zamiran, Abdolreza Osouli

"One of the most concerns of room and pillar mining system is subsidence of the ground surface due to coal mining particularly in room and pillar mines. Subsidence of ground surface is a result of floor, pillar, or roof failure of the mine. At the same, due to many difficulties associated with surface disposal facilities of coal refuse, some mining companies are trying to use underground space as a disposal storage place. In this study, stability and subsidence analyses of an underground coal mine located in the Illinois Basin are conducted. This room and pillar mine was abandoned and later on was used as a storage place to accommodate the coal fine refuse with slurry backfilling method. The geological stratigrophy and geomechanical properties of the mine floor and roof were collected. Floor and pillar stability analyses were conducted for areas with various extraction ratios. The stability of the mine was evaluated both prior and after slurry backfilling. The floor and pillar stability analyses results of the mine due to moisture exposure after slurry backfilling are discussed. The subsidence potential due to mine failure is also evaluated.INTRODUCTIONA typical lithology of coal seams in the Illinois Basin consists of weak underclay stratum. The immediate weak underclay causes frequent floor instability problems in Illinois underground coal mines. There are two different stages in assessing floor stability of the mines where slurry backfilling is planned. The first stage is during the mining operation when weak underclay layer squeezes under pillar stress and results in punching or bearing capacity failure. The second stage is after slurry backfilling. During this stage, the slurry material soaks non-durable floor layers and causes strength reduction in floor material. Pillar stability conditions should also be taken into account during both the operational period and after the slurry backfilling."

Jan 1, 2015

By N. Tassé

Les substrats organiques sont à la base des biofiltres utilisant la réduction des sulfates pour générer de l&apos;alcalinité et diminuer la concentration des métaux dans des effluents contaminés. Afin de tester l&apos;efficacité de résidus forestiers utilisés dans de tels contextes, cinq types d&apos;écorce de nature et d&apos;âge variables ont été placés dans des contenants hermétiques et mis en présence d&apos;une solution synthétique de drainage minier acide. Le pH, l&apos;alcalinité et les concentrations de Fe2+ et SO4 2- ont été mesurés à intervalles réguliers pendant 70 jours. L&apos;importance d&apos;un éventuel neutralisant minéral et du type de souches de bactéries sulfato-réductrices pour l&apos;initiation et l&apos;évolution des réactions d&apos;oxydo-réduction ont été évalués en utilisant de la dolomite ainsi que des inocula de sédiments portuaires réducteurs et de boues d&apos;usine d&apos;épuration. Une augmentation de pH et des diminutions de Fe2+ et SO4 2- ont été notées dans tous les réacteurs. En l&apos;absence de dolomite, le pH augmentait de 1.6 à 5-6, Fe2+ diminuait de 400 à moins de 5-100 mg/L, et SO4 2- diminuait de 2500 à 750-1250 mg/L. Les échantillons inoculés avec des sédiments s&apos;avéraient légèrement plus performants que ceux avec boues. En présence de dolomite, le pH atteignait 6.5-7.0, et Fe2+ et SO4 2- tombaient à <5 et 20-40 mg/L, respectivement. Le degré de réactivité des résidus forestiers n&apos;était pas une simple fonction inverse de leur âge. Les échantillons ayant le mieux réagi, bien que parmi les plus vieux testés (années 1980), étaient ceux contenant une proportion significative d&apos;écorces de feuillus et peu de bran de scie. Les échantillons avec des proportions élevées d&apos;écorce de conifères ou de bran de scie étaient associés à des taux de réduction moindre. Nonobstant l&apos;amélioration rapide des conditions obtenue avec la dolomite, grâce à une neutralisation initiale plus prompte, il s&apos;avère que le type de résidus forestiers éventuellement utilisé dans une barrière réactive est de première importance pour l&apos;efficacité des mécanismes de réduction. Un système basé sur l&apos;utilisation de résidus forestiers devrait utiliser des écorces (plutôt que du bois) provenant de feuillus (plutôt que de conifères).

Nov 1, 2002

By A. Haque

"This paper describes an improved formulation of an analytical shear strength model developed by Haque & Kodikara (2012) by incorporating the failure of regular concrete/rock joints subjected to CNS condition. Sokolovskii’s analytical solutions developed for failure stress of slopes have been found to be effective in this regard. The analytical models have been validated for predicting the shear behaviour of concrete/rock joints subjected to various CNS loading conditions. The model has been found to accurately predict the dilation, normal stress and shear stress behaviour for a regular triangular saw-tooth joint up to the peak shear stress. Moreover, the peak shear stresses of concrete-rock joints with asperity angles ranging from 5 to 27.5o compared reasonably well with the available laboratory test results.INTRODUCTIONA new shear strength model for elastic regular triangular concrete/rock joints loaded under Constant Normal Stiffness (CNS) boundary condition has been developed by Haque & Kodikara (2012). The salient feature of this model is its capability of accurately estimating the normal and shear stresses of joints with shear displacements under CNS condition by incorporating the elastic deformation of asperities. However, the shear strength model of Haque & Kodikara (2012) for the elastic asperities cannot be directly employed to predict the peak shear stress of a joint experiencing plasticity under applied loads. Therefore, the model inevitability requires articulation of an appropriate shear failure criterion simulating the boundary conditions of the loaded asperity to predict the peak shear stress and corresponding normal stress and dilation behaviour of concrete/rock joints. Sokolovskii (1960) developed a set of analytical solutions for failure stress of slopes comprising c-??soils, which can be exploited effectively to simulate the failure condition as encountered for loaded regular triangular concrete/rock joints (Seidel & Haberfield, 2002)."

Jan 1, 2015

By M. E. Hurst

SINCE 1934 there has been a marked revival of interest in the Porcupine district, especially in the eastern portion of the area, where exploration on the property of Pamour Gold Mines has indicated the presence of extensive gold-bearing deposits. Owing to the prevalence of overburden and the limited amount of exploratory work that has been done, little information is available as yet concerning the distribution and structural relationships of the rocks in the area to the east of Porcupine lake. In order to throw some light on the structural conditions in this section, a brief discussion of the sequence and character of the formations in the better known, producing section of the camp has been included. It should be emphasized that this paper is a preliminary study and that, consequently, the conclusions expressed should not be regarded as final. The writer wishes to acknowledge his indebtedness to P. C. Benedict, whose study of the geological relationships on the Foley-O&apos;Brien property has made possible a fuller understanding of the structure in the central portion of the area. The writer also wishes to express his appreciation of the information and facilities placed at his disposal by R. M. Macaulay and C. D. Stevenson, of Pamour Gold Mines, and by A. Bell, of Noranda Mines, Limited.

Jan 1, 1936

By J. G. Kim, B. G. Chae, D. S. Cheon, E. S. Park

The underground structures such as high-level radioactive waste disposal thermal energy storage should be designed and constructed considering thermal-mechanical characterization because of long term and/or cyclic thermal stress. High temperature changes in these structures can extend the existing cracks and generate new cracks in surrounding rock mass. In case of long term and/or cyclic thermal stress conditions, it is possible to lose the function of structures caused by the significant cracks and fracture growth in the rock mass. In this study, the critical thermal crack temperature of the granite, limestone and thermal Kaiser effect were evaluated. Experiments were carried out with the heating speed of 1.5?/min. To avoid thermal shock and target temperatures were set at 150? and 250?. In order to verify the thermal Kaiser effect, the samples were heated by 150 ? after 2-3 repetition to 250?. The generation and growth of cracks were observed through an acoustic emission measuring system. The variation of the physical rock properties was measured before and after thermal experiments. After compared with the thermal experiments using PFC2D, numerical simulations were carried out at higher temperatures (400?). The experiments showed that the initial thermal crack temperature of granite and limestone is about 35?, 32? and the critical thermal crack temperature were about 69? , and 49? , respectively. The experiments confirmed the thermal Kaiser effect of experimented granite and limestone due to thermal cyclic loading. From the numerical analysis, the critical crack temperature showed the same tendency as the thermal experiments. The P and S wave velocity of the sample after the experiment were reduced. Therefore, when heat is applied in long-term and repetitive conditions, these cracks may affect the function and stability of the underground structure. Therefore, further studies of thermal stress effects should be performed.

Jan 1, 2015

By W. Blum

Progress made in improving the creep resistance of Mg alloys is reviewed with the emphasis on microstructural interpretation. Experimental results on the increase of creep strain with time at constant stress a measured for limited times and strains are displayed in a transparent form as creep rate-strain diagrams from which the minimum creep rate stress is safely derived. In addition, data on the thermal stress component a derived from high-precision a-reduction tests are reported. Within a simple statistical dislocation model these data allow one to quantify the relation between dislocation velocity v and a . In combination with structure evolution laws this relation serves as a basis for modeling the creep rate. New alloys have distinctly higher creep resistance than AZ91 where precipitation hardening plays a minor role. This is due to hardening by intermetallic phases which may form a continuous skeleton along the grain boundaries (e.g. Ca-alloyed AZ91) and/or submicron-sized precipitates within the grains (MRI230D, Mg-Zn-Ca alloys).

Jan 1, 2006

By Irving Wigden

The world is fast becoming information based. Mine companies migrate business infrastructures to be handled electronically. Suppliers move onto the worldwide web. In this ?e-world? successful suppliers will recognize they no longer trade in just equipment, but in knowledge. Companies can no longer just provide products and services, but instead must find ways to harness their knowledge to provide new value for customers. Mine customers will be attracted to suppliers that can help them streamline the process and use Information Technology to optimize operations, increase profit, reduce cost and enhance shareholder value. With the continued move to industry standard communications and software platforms, technology that formerly stood alone can now be integrated with other technologies. This creates more powerful systems that mine operators can use quickly, easily and cost effectively. These unified architectures improve productivity, provide higher asset optimization and allow more informed decision-making. As a leading supplier of process automation solutions for the industry, ABB provides a dynamic range of such control systems. These systems are designed for instrumentation controls, variable speed drives, electrical distribution, electrical equipment and related services for Mine Automation. Enhanced by ABB´s new family of integrated software solutions ? collectively known as Industrial IT ? ABB´s control and Scada systems place you in the best position to optimize your plant, process and enterprise operations. The paper discuss system integration and installation of High-Tec system in an underground mine. ABB has the ambition to be a System Integrator and co-operate with partners in different areas of technology. To day it is a problem to find one Supplier that can be responsible for the complete Automation System. The design of the system is also much depending of the design of the mine and also which caving procedure that is used in the current mine. Much of the work must be done in a feasibility study and during the design phase. If there is careful planning and consideration during these phases is vital in order to avoid costly changes during the commissioning phase. The paper will also include a presentation of the benefit of using Automation in an Underground Mine, and how important the integration of the Human Being is to the Automation System. The most profit gained in mining industries are received when the mines can reduce internal and external disturbances in the production flow and speed. Must of the experience and discussed in this paper is from advanced technology, that has been developed in Scandinavian and adopted of LKAB in Kiruna. The author of this paper has been responsible för the Automation projects in the Kiruna Mine during 1994 - 1999. These projects include: Broadband communication of data, audio, compressed video in one data stream. Control System for Haulage -1045m Automation of Load Haulage and Dumping machines (LHD) Control of Production Drilling Riggs from a Central Control Room.

May 1, 2002

By Sylvain Castonguay, Sylvain Pilon

"Operator competency is an important factor in the safe and successful operation of today’s complex processes. Competent process unit operators deliver superior performance and results. In greenfield projects, operator competency is particularly critical, as the lack of specific operations experience must be offset with proven practical knowledge and skills to avoid mistakes that can cost millions in terms of start-up delays, production losses and equipment damage. It is, therefore, important to know precisely what competencies are required for a project or site, and what any gaps in operator competency need to be addressed and improved. The success of plant commissioning, start-up and sustainable operations is directly tied to operator competency. The significant investments required for new projects, the exploitation of more challenging ore bodies, and the increasing complexity of plant operations have placed renewed emphasis on the need for competent operators. Furthermore, many large capital projects are being developed in remote regions, often with ties to the delivery of social benefits for the local population in terms of jobs, training and other development opportunities. While automation and processing technologies have helped do more with less, indicators now point to a bottleneck in human performance limiting operational results.Automation industry development in managing abnormal situations, including solutions for simulation and operator training, has produced applications to provide customized and flexible training methods. This paper will discuss tools to automate the operator competency process in order to guide trainers to effectively teach, measure, control, provide feedback, and monitor operator skills. Today’s competency management solutions can be effectively applied throughout the course of an operator’s professional life, as a guide to hiring new operators, for developing competencies to support operations, and also to develop and refine best practices and share lessons learned."

Jan 1, 2016

By M. Soleimanifar

With more and more industrial construction projects implementing RFID and other sensor-based technologies on fabrication and project sites, new innovative processes are needed to help automatically read and re-position RFID tags while reducing the cost to deploy RFID infrastructure over large areas. RFID tags are being used on construction sites to help identify the location of materials, equipment and personnel to aid in finding project critical materials and equipment required to construct the industrial facility on time and on budget. This research provides a cost-effective process for reading tens of thousands of RFID tags over large project sites from outdoor laydown yards, to warehouses to the workface where the materials and tagged equipment are installed. Based on the collected RFID and sensor data, localization mechanisms determine the most recent coordinates of the tagged components. The paper will cover analysis of RFID collected data and key lessons learned from a commercial deployment of the SiteSense® system with one Alberta-based industrial contractor, JV Driver Fabricators, at an 80-Acre module, pipe spool and structural steel fabrication site.

Aug 1, 2013

By Bahri Öteyaka, Ali Uçar, Oktay Sahbaz

"A Jet Diffuser Flotation Column (JDFC) is a newcomer flotation device whose operation principles similar with Jameson cell but it has an essential change in downcomer. By taking into account the hydrodynamic and fluid mechanic principles (Sahbaz et al. 2013) downcomer was changed as a diffuser, therefore turbulence at the end of the downcomer was reduced to provide better aggregate stability and homogenous dissipation of the bubbles in the separation tank. Thus the performance increase has been aimed for the coarse particles.According to theoretical results, obtained by the formula of Oteyaka (1993) showing the relationship between velocity gradient and maximum floatable size for the various contact angles, the d50 of quartz flotation of JFDC is about 240 µm and 310 µm for the contact angle of 50° and 60°, respectively. This result was verified by the experiments. According to the experimental results; d50 which was accepted the maximum floatable particle size of quartz flotation of JFDC was about 256 µm and 300 µm for the contact angle of 50° and 60°, respectively.INTRODUCTIONFlotation is a kinetic process used for separation of hydrophobic particles from hydrophilic particles. There are many different parameters affects the success of the flotation and particle size is one of them. While the flotation is very efficient for intermediate size, the efficiency of the process starts to decrease for both fine and coarse sizes (Trahar, 1981; Muganda et al., 2011). Therefore; researchers have tried to find a solution for the efficiency decrease in fine and coarse sizes by modifying the chemical condition and designing the new devices. For example, Jameson cell is a unique device for the fine particle flotation due to the suitable design and fine bubble producing (Jameson, 1988; Evans et al., 1995; Sahbaz, 2010). Because of this success operation the Jameson cell is applied more than 200 flotation plants in worldwide. On the contrary, the efficiency of the cell decreases for coarse particle flotation due to the turbulence occurred in the separation tank (Sahbaz, 2010; Cowburn et al., 2007). That’s why, new flotation device was designed in loboratory scale by Sahbaz, Oteyaka and Ucar in 2010s and it has been called as Jet Diffuser Flotation Column (JDFC) recently."

Jan 1, 2016

By Chen Bang, Xia Xiao’ou, Zhang Feng

"Ores with compressive strength lower than 150 MPa are usually easy to be crushed by conventional jaw crushers and cone crushers. However, for hard ores with compressive strength exceeding 150 MPa and 200 MPa and even up to 250 MPa, such as andesite, hard basalt and olivine, it is difficult to reach satisfactory crushing size and yield or difficult to meet service life and stability use requirements of quick-wear parts by using conventional crushers. As continued increase in ore mining depth and constant generation of new type materials, equipment demand for crushing hard ores becomes increasing high. A new type inertia vibrating crusher is designed. It is powered by a high-speed rotating vibration exciter and can obtain required crushing force by adjusting eccentric mass, eccentricity and rotating speed so as to crush various ores with high hardness. This paper introduces the design process of its structure and working principle, discusses the design calculation methods of vibration excitation system, vibration damping and energy storage system and other key mechanism and provides technical references for this type of vibrating crusher.DESIGN PHILOSOPHYThe conventional jaw crusher mainly acquires extrusion force from crank motion to realize crushing. The motor drives the eccentric shaft via the transmission device to bring the moving jaw to swing relative to the stationary jaw. When the moving jaw moves close to the stationary jaw, ores between them are crushed by extrusion; when the moving jaw moves away from the stationary jaw, crushed ores are discharged from the discharge gate at the lower end between the moving jaw and the stationary jaw.The conventional spring cone crusher and the hydraulic cone crusher mainly acquire extrusion force from cranking motion to realize crushing. The motor drives the eccentric sleeve via the transmission device, the moving cone shaft generates an eccentric distance to make cranking motion under the action of the eccentric sleeve. When the moving cone moves close to the stationary cone, ores between them are crushed by extrusion. When the moving cone moves away from the stationary jaw, crushed ores are discharged from the discharge gate at the lower end between the moving cone and the stationary cone under the action of dead weight."

Jan 1, 2016

By Y. Wang

Phosphates and fluorides are used as regulators for the removal of silicates from diasporic-bauxite both in direct and reverse flotation. While using dodecylamine chloride as a collector, micro-flotation studies showed that sodium hexametaphosphate has stronger depressing power on diaspore than on silicate minerals with increasing sodium hexametaphosphate concentration at pH 6.5, but sodium fluorosilicate shows poor depression on diaspore with increasing sodium fluorosilicate concentration at the same pH. Zeta potentials of diaspore and silicate minerals become more negative both in the presence of sodium hexametaphosphate and sodium fluorosilicate. Adsorption density studies indicated that the adsorption density of sodium hexametaphosphate on diaspore is much higher than that on silicate minerals at the concentration of 75 mg/L. FTIR spectroscopy studies show that sodium hexametaphosphate interacted with the Al atoms exposed on the diaspore and silicate minerals surfaces to form P?O?Al bonds through the P02 groups. It is possible that sodium fluorosilicate interacted through F- or [SiF6]2- with silicate minerals surfaces based on the analysis by AES.

Jan 1, 2006

By Michael K. O’Leary, William D. Coplin

"Risks from political instability and government policies restricting equity ownership, local operations and transfers of payments affect the profitability of foreign mining ventures. More than seat-of-the-pants judgments and old-boy networks are required to anticipate these risks and to take actions appropriate to offsetting them. A system for making political forecasts, called the Prince System, and a series of charts relaying risk s to a production of key minerals will be presented.IntroductionFirm s with extractive operations outside their home country do not have to be told that political stability and government decisions play a big role in the success o f their operations. The takeover of copper firm s in Chile during the Allende administration in 1971 and the recent decision by Venezuela to reduce Reynolds Metals equity share in a smelting operation from 50% to 28% are two examples of hundreds of events that have determined the profitability of extractive operations over the past decade. Both risks and opportunities for international firms seeking to produce and market raw materials are heavily affected by political conditions. While news of political events travel much faster than in the past and host governments are more clever in shaping the risks as well as the opportunities, politics has always been part of the mining business.What has changed is the need to be more systematic in approaching the assessment of political conditions and how it affects business. The increasing costs of extractive operations, the need for long-range planning, the importance of financial arrangements and the world-wide scope of man y firm s&apos; activities require that the assessment be updated continuously and be comparable across different countries and different types of investments. Political risk analysis, the assessment o f macro-political changes and specific governmental decision s on the operations of extractive industries needs to become as systematic and integrated into corporate decision -making as economic analysis has become over the past two decade s."

Jan 1, 1983

By Gaston Gingras

"IntroductionL&apos;entretien de l&apos;equipement minier dans les mines à ciel ouvert est une activité qui est aussi vieille que I&apos;existence des mines et qui a progressé au cours des années pour suivre l&apos;évolution des techniques d&apos;exploitation. Lors de la mise en usage de s premières pelles à la va peur, celles-ci étaient généralement entretenues par I ‘équipe de quatre hommes qui était responsable de son opération. Pour les travaux plus compliqués ils utilisaient les services de machinistes qui eux savaient comment réparer Ie moteur à vapeur et couler des coussinets de ""babbit"". Les premières pelles diesel étaient entretenues de la même façon mais pour les réparations au moteur, on devait recourir au représentant du manufacturier qui était Ie seul à avoir les compétences nécessaires.Ce n&apos;est vraiment qu ‘après la deuxième guerre mondiale que I ‘usage de l&apos;équipement mobile s&apos;est répandu dans les mines à ciel ouvert pour débuter les extractions selon les méthodes que I&apos;on connaît aujourd&apos;hui.L&apos;entretien de l&apos;équipement minier de façon organisée à débute avec I ‘usage de ces machines dans nos mines. Ces machines étaient un peu primitives, petites et pas très dispendieuses a I&apos;achat. Même si la disponibilité était basse, elles fournissaient quand même un rendement qui en ces temps était acceptable. L’organisation de I ‘entretien de cet équipèrent était assez primitif et n&apos;occupait qu&apos;une place secondaire aux yeux de la direction de la mine."

Jan 1, 1988

By G. Yan

The gas diffusion layer (GDL) is one of the most critical components of the proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) in achieving good performance. The GDL serves as a current collector, transport media for fuel and oxidant to the catalyst layers, a support for the catalyst layer and a medium for water management. In this paper, we will discuss the modeling and experimental measurement of the reactant distribution in the GDL and to the catalyst layer. This will be done for some new and advanced engineered GDLs. Novel optical technique which correlates measured data with reactant distribution are used. This technique combined with modeling allows optimal design of engineered GDLs.

Jan 1, 2005

The Buzwagi Project is owned by Barrick Gold Corporation and located in the Lake Victoria Goldfields of central Tanzania in the District of Kahama in the Region of Shinyanga. The property is 6 km Southeast of the town of Kahama, 3 km South and adjacent to the road between Nzega and Burundi. The Buzwagi property is 97 km South of Barrick?s Bulyanhulu Mine. There is access to the rail line which connects from Isaka to the Indian Ocean coastal ports of Dares Salaam and Tanga. The Feasibility Study and permitting were started in early 2006. Project Execution commenced in August 2007. Process Plant commissioning started in January 2009 and the first gold pour is scheduled for Q2 2009. The reserve has been established as 3.3M oz of gold plus 177M lbs of copper. The project has been developed to include a 30Mtpa Open Pit Mine and 4.4 Mtpa Process Plant. Over an expected 15 year mine life, Buzwagi is anticipated to produce approximately 3.02M oz of gold and 220,000 tonnes of copper concentrate. Infrastructure associated with the project includes a 107 km 220kV power line, site accommodation, water harvest and extensive security facilities. The project is expected to be built on budget and on time during a period of extreme market volatility. This paper reviews the initiatives taken to achieve community support, control cost escalation, maintain schedule and manage logistic challenges, plus ensure security and safety of all workers.

May 1, 2009

By W. E. Cockfield

"The Stump Lake mining camp is in Nicola mining division of southern British Columbia. It lies about halfway between the cities of Kamloops and Merritt.The deposits at Stump Lake are among the earliest lode discoveries of British Columbia, many of the claims having been staked between 1882 and 1885. A considerable amount of work was done prior to 189Cl, after which very little was done until 1916. Since that time mining has been carried on at intervals, much of it on the same deposits, by a number of companies, including the Donahue Mines Corporation, the Planet Mines and Reduction Company, the Nicola Mines and Metals Company, the Consolidated Nicola Goldfields, Limited, and others. According to the British Columbia Department of Mines, total production from the area has been: gold, 8,520 oz.; silver, 259,413 oz.; copper, 40,822 lb.; lead, 2,208,859 lb.; and zinc, 367,869 lb. Most of the production has come from the Enterprise vein and a branch of the Enterprrsethe King William vein."

Jan 1, 1954

By Frank D. Shepherd

THE Gunnar Gold Mines property is on the west shore of Beresford lake, in the Rice Lake mining division, southeastern Manitoba. Gold was first discovered in place in the Rice-Beresford Lakes area in 1911 on the Gabrielle claim, now included in the San Antonio Mines property at Rice lake. Following an eastward trend of favourable prospecting ground, promising showings were next staked in the vicinity of Long lake during the years 1915 and 1916. At that time, William Walton and associates, among them Gilbert LaBine, staked the Eldorado vein, north of Long lake, and Eldorado Gold Mines, Limited, was formed to develop the property a Company that, later, was to become widely known through successful operation of its radium-silver mine at Great Bear lake, Northwest Territories. Continuing eastward from Long lake, Walton and his partners, Gunnar Berg, Leo Seaberg, and Wm. Quesnel, staked claims during the years 1920-24 in the vicinity of Beresford lake which, later, were to become incorporated into the Gunnar Gold Mines property. The presence of gold-bearing quartz on these claims had been known from the time they were staked, but an opportunity to consolidate them into a group was not forth-coming until early in the year 1933. Although promising gold showings had been disclosed during the performance of assessment work on individual claims, no continuous mineralization having mine-making possibilities was discovered until after the consolidation of the entire group. From this stage onward, progress was rapid. Active exploration was begun on August 1st, 1933, and late in October James Houston reported favourably on the property. On October 27th, Gunnar Gold Mines, Limited, was incorporated in the Province of Ontario to develop and operate the property. The Company is also registered in Manitoba. The authorized capitalization is 3,000,000 shares of $1.00 par value. Gilbert LaBine was appointed president of the Company, with James Houston as mine manager. Following completion of a diamond-drilling programme, planned in 1933, it was decided to install a mine plant capable of carrying development to a depth of 1,000 feet. A transmission line, 5 miles in length, was built to the Great Falls-Central Manitoba line of the Manitoba Power Company, Limited.

Jan 1, 1939