Search Documents

By Frederic Benard

THE Ontario Refining Company, Limited, wholly-owned subsidiary of The International Nickel Company of Canada, refines the entire blister copper output of the latter's Copper Cliff smelter. Prior to 1936, the blister was cast in 460-lb. cakes at the smelter, loaded on open cars, and transported by rail to the refinery, a distance of approximately 1 1/4 miles. Here the cakes were transferred to the plant narrow-gauge system, charged to furnaces, and re-melted. This procedure necessitated the operation of holding furnaces and casting machines at the smelter -extensive re-handling-and melting down of a cold charge at the refinery. Transfer of the copper in molten form direct from converters to anode furnaces promised a considerable reduction in costs, and this possibility was investigated. As a result, a portable holding furnace, or hot-metal car, was designed and constructed. It was placed in operation in July, 1936, to be followed a year later by three additional units of slightly modified design. Figure 1 shows the original car, and Figure 2 the lacer type. With four cars in service, operations were placed on an all 'hot-metal' basis.

Jan 1, 1938

By Robert Hamilton

Aur Resources is Canada's leading copper mining company with producing mines and development projects in North, Central, and South America. Copper production from Louvicourt Mine in Quebec, Quebrada Blanca, and Andacollo Mines in Chile had a record of 245 million pounds in 2001. Located 600 km North of Montreal, Louvicourt Mine is a joint venture between Aur Resources (30%), Teck Cominco (45%), and Novicourt (45%). Aur Resources is the mine operator with 280 employees working to produce a copper and zinc concentrate. In operation since 1994, the mine has produced a total of 12,606,000 metric tonnes of ore grading 3.6 % Cu, 1.5 % Zn, 26gr./m.t Ag, 0.9gr.m.t Au. This highly mechanized mine reached full production in August 1995 at 4,000 tpd. From 1996 to 2001, the average mine production rate was more than 4,300 tpd. The Louvicourt Mine continued its record of solid performance in 2002 and is expected to continue to do so for the balance of its 2.5 years mine life.

May 1, 2003

By J. Lammers, D. Adams

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

Jan 1, 2004

By Norman A. Parlee

Introduction The principal primary iron and steel producing capacity of the Dominion Steel and Coal Corporation is at the Dominion Iron and Steel, Limited, plant at Sydney, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. The main raw materials are Cape Breton coal, Wabana (Newfoundland) iron ore, and Port-au-Port (Newfoundland) limestone. This plant, which was established at the turn of the century has gradually expanded its production facilities so that today its ingot producing capacity is over 720,000 tons annually. Principal operating units of the plant at present are three batteries of 173 Koppers by-product coke ovens with conventional by-product recovery equipment, three blast furnaces .of 15 ft. 6 in., 18 ft. 3 in., and 19 ft. 3 in. hearth diameter (inside the brick), one 700-ton hot metal mixer, ten open hearth furnaces (two of 175-ton capacity, three 12 5-ton, five 60-ton), one 10-ton electric furnace, a 40-inch blooming mill, a billet mill, a rail mill, a tie plate mill, rod and bar mills, and a wire and nail mill. Extensive machine shops and an iron and brass foundry are also available for plant maintenance and repairs. This paper will describe developments during the past five years and those now in process. It will also briefly discuss research being done and indicate the direction of future development.

Jan 1, 1951

By Linlin Zhang

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

Aug 1, 2013

By Paulo F. T. Sachs

ERP systems have been widely implemented nowadays in several industries. However, ERP was originally designed to fit former MRP and MRP II users, and most of the ERP research has been focused on discrete manufacturing . On the other hand, process industries ? and mining in particular ? present many peculiar characteristics, which are difficult to comply with ERP systems standard functionalities. Again, very limited research has been developed covering enterprise management systems in mining. The objective of this paper is to identify, through an explanatory study that includes a case study methodology, how ERP systems manage the functional areas of the mining industry, and how they fit into the mineral value chain IT requirements. A secondary objective is to identify the gaps between ERP?s functional capabilities and the mining industry business requirements, and to point out the perceived benefits they generate to the companies.

May 1, 2004

By G M. Young

IT IS most appropriate that this first Memorial Lecture should be given in the Province of Quebec, near the site of the first metallurgical industry in Canada. At La Forge, about seven miles north of Three Rivers, iron was produced in 1783. We are told that the early settlers obtained most of their iron-ware -stoves, kettles, axes and ploughshares -from this smelter, with its foundry and forge. The Canadian copper industry also had its beginnings in Quebec when, nearly 100 years later, in the 1880's, several small copper smelters were erected in the Eastern Townships. Later, in 1899, Canada's first aluminum smelter was built at Shawinigan. From these small beginnings has grown a vast metals industry, the export value of its products being only exceeded by that of our forest products -newsprint, pulp-wood and lumber. As we are not a large country in terms of population, our domestic capacity to consume is often small in relation to our developed capacity to produce.

Jan 1, 1963

By M. N. Collison

"In 1960, with the opening of the Chisel Lake mine near Snow Lake, Manitoba, the Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting Co., Limited, commenced a new phase in their mining operation -that of bringing ore to Flin Flon over 100 miles of railroad.The schedule of operations required to accomplish this, together with an outline of some of the problems of handling ore at 40° and 50,0 below zero, are discussed. The facilities required to thaw and unload from twenty to fifty cars per working day are also described."

Jan 1, 1966

By G. A. Mallory

"The South Bay Division of Selco Mining is located fifty-four miles northeast of Ear Falls Ontario on Confederation Lake. The concentrator operates five days a week and processes six hundred tons per day of copper zinc silver sulphide ore. The concentrator is comprised of crushing, grinding, differential flotation, thickening and drying circuits. The major constituents of the concentrator feed are: chalcopyrite 7%, sphalerite 20%, pyrrhotite 3%, pyrite 25 - 30% and felsitic volcanics 40 - 50%. The mine went into production in March 1971 with an anticipated three year life and is now scheduled for closure in the summer of 1981. Recent mine production has been limited to three cut and fill stopes which have widely varying ore grades, therefore mill feeds vary from 0.25 to 4% copper, 3.5 to 27% zinc, 0 to 0.4% lead and 15 to 30% iron.In mid 1977 Selco negotiated a six month rental purchase agreement with Outokumpu Instruments Canada Limited for a five stream analyser system. The Minexan 202 probes were the first Outokumpu probe type analysers installed in Canada although Outokumpus' Courier systems are well known. Installation of the system took place in April 1978 and after numerous hardware faults the six month evaluation began in August. By December it was obvious that the Minexan 202 probes with proportional detectors did not have adequate resolution to determine low copper values in either of the tailings streams. Outokumpu offered to replace the tailings analysers with a new prototype solid state detector probe the following summer. The evaluation on the five Minexan 202 probes continued until August 1979 when the new solid probe was installed. The Minexan S (solid state) probe was evaluated with the three remaining Minexan 202 probes until December 1979 when Selco elected to purchase the system."

Jan 1, 1981

By A. Todd Davis

"Introduction“CAN YQUR Company afford not to train?"" This question was asked by Jack Taylor in the Factory Management Magazine for June, 1950. Mr. Taylor went on to say, ""No, it can't; no Company can"". It's true that many training programmes have not done the job they were designed to do because of a number of factors such as parts of management resenting training, management failing to understand the abstract values of training, and management giving impossible assignments or picking the wrong trainers. However, Mr. Taylor summarizes his article by saying that a properly-designed and •conducted training programme brings a company or a corporation to the point where the question is: ""Can my Company afford not to train?""About two years ago, in July, 1952, Nevada Mines Division of the Kennecott Copper Corporation embarked on a training programme, the same type of programme that had been inaugurated earlier at the •Utah Copper Division at Bingham, Magna, and Garfield, Utah. President Charles Cox of Kennecott, in •a speech made •before the Utah Bankers Association in June of 1951, stated that, ""I think that our programme of employee training is one of the most important phases of our entire operation"". That statement might be said to be one of the guiding principles of training at Nevada Mines Division. Training is supported by top managements and down the line to Division managements. As the years go by, the Company expects to receive many benefits from training."

Jan 1, 1954

By D. Maddocks

"IntroductionThe greater part of the iron ore industry in Canada is located along the Labrador-Quebec border on a geological formation known as the Labrador trough. The Labrador trough is a 700 · mile long geosynclinal segment composed of folded and faulted Proterozoic sediments, volcanics and intrusives, extending from Gagnon, Quebec, to the north west tip of Ungava Bay. This geosyncline can be divided into three parts (Fig. 1).The northern unmined part, extending from southern to northern Ungava Bay, is a low grade metamorphosed iron formation.The iron deposits of the central region, represented by Schefferville, are hematite-limonite ores formed by oxidation and leaching of an unmetamorphosed taconite formation. Average iron content of the ore is greater than 540Jo for direct shipping and 50% for plant feed.The deposits of the southern section (Carol Lake, Wabush, Mt. Wright, Gagnon) extend from just north of Carol Lake to Gagnon and is a metamorphosed silica-iron oxide (specular hematite and magnetite) formation averaging plus 30% iron.The mineral wealth of this area was first observed by Father Louis Babel about 1870 and again by Dr. A.P. Low of the Geological Survey of Canada in 1894. However, the remote location hindered development until after 1945. First production of direct shipping ore from Schefferville was in 1954. Production at Carol Lake commenced in 1962.This area now accounts for sixty million long tons (61 Mt) per year of processed iron ore products as follows:This chapter will concentrate on pelletizing and agglomeration as experienced at the Iron Ore Company's Carol Lake operation. However, whenever possible, reference will be made to alternate methods, procedures, equipment, etc."

Jan 1, 1989

By S. Rash Ahmadi

One of the most important elements in power plants is rotors and repairing the damaged rotors is very important in view point of economics. One of the most complicated problems in power plants is increasing of stiffness of the turbine rotors. This problem which occurs mainly due to thermal shock or rubbing makes to exit damaged rotor from service. These elements can be repaired effectively by heat treatment methods. Tempering heat treatment is the most common solution for straightening of damaged rotors but it requires having good knowledge about heat treatment parameters (temperature and time) and their affects on fundamental properties of rotors. In this article, a suitable method is introduced in order to modify the increased stiffness in journal part of rotors due to martensite transformation, using heat treatment tempering process.

Oct 1, 2011

By F. L. Thompson

MAN has been using lubricants of one type or another for at least four thousand years, and probably for a much longer period. We have learned from the inner wall of the tomb of Tehuti-Hetep, on which is a decoration illustrating the method of moving a great stone statue, that as early as 1650 B.C. lubricants were used to facilitate the movement of heavy loads. The Egyptians had available nearly every animal oil and fat, as well as at least thirteen vegetable oils, of our time, all used for food products and in the arts. Examination of the deposit on the axle of a chariot from an Egyptian tomb of 1400 B.C. showed it to consist of animal fat, quartz, sand, iron, and compounds of aluminium and lime-indicating a manufactured lime-soap grease made with lime-soap and possibly tallow. This would not be a bad lubricant for the axles of chariots which had to travel over sandy soil in hot weather. As to the method of grease application, it is remarkable that, from the time wheels were first used in the far distant past up to the present day, no one has ever thought it necessary to design a seal to keep the lubricant in and the dirt out. While time certainly marches on, we have today, in waggons throughout the world, exactly the same form of lubrication as was used in the earliest chariots. From the early days of the chariot until shortly before 1800 A.D. (when the steam engine was introduced), the main heavy equipment required for mining purposes, for machines of war, etc., was made of wood. The bearings were rough, but usually they had metal in the lower half. Light machinery was made of bronze, brass, or iron. Large clearances and poor alignment, plus the fact that speeds were much below present-day demands, combined to provide conditions that were quite satisfactorily met by the lubricants available. These were often produced locally by the machine operator. In northern countries, lard oil, prepared from the fat of hogs, was the universal lubricant employed in machine shop, as a belt and leather dressing, and for cutting operations. Sperm oils were used for light machinery, whereas beef and mutton tallow were more generally employed for the largest bearings. For the early steam cylinders, a slug of heated beef tallow was injected wherever the cylinders gruntingly complained of a lack of lubricant. Southern countries, however, resorted to the use of vegetable oils-olive, cocoanut, etc.

Jan 1, 1940

By W. Leblanc, J. Phalen

This paper tells the story of a serious mine fire on a mechanized longwall face in a submarine coal mine at Glace Bay, Nova Scotia. The story gives, in chronological order, a technical account of the steps taken to investigate, fight and contain the fire. The time during which the events took place spans from June 19 to November 7, 1975.

Jan 1, 1976

By J. C. Ingram

IT SEEMS particularly appropriate that, in celebrating its Diamond Anniversary, the Canadian Institute of Mining and Metalturgy chose our Province of British Columbia as its locale in this, our own Centennial year. I am sure your organization is justifiably proud of its achievements and growth over the period of its sixty years, and we, for our part, are justifiably proud of our growth over our first one hundred years. With your kind indulgence I pro-pose to talk to you today about our industrial growth, or, to put it an-other way, to highlight, historically, our progress in industrial development over the past one hundred years, and to take the liberty of speculating on what we may reasonably look forward to over the next few years. I am sure, Mr. Chairman, that some may have questioned the appropriateness of a talk on the industrial development of British Columbia to the Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. However, strangely enough, we in British Columbia owe our origin, constitution-ally and industrially, to the mining industry.

Jan 1, 1958

By Harold N. Miller

Lost time and services caused by electrical equipment breakdown or cable faults can often be substantially reduced by the use of direct-current high-voltage testing as a maintenance tool. This paper discusses the relative merits of alternating-current versus direct-current testing, pointing out the advantages in size and cost of equipment and more definitive results achieved through the use of D.C. General principles of direct-current high-volt-age testing, types of testing, methods of performing the actual test and interpreting the results are explained. ?The value of insulation resistance measurements and their relationship to high-voltage testing is discussed. Pinpointing the physical location of a cable defect using a fault locator or thumper is described. Reference is made to several organizations that have effected considerable savings with high-voltage test programs. Introduction T HE past decades have seen great advances in the field of electrical power distribution and application. Motor generators, power-operated equipment, cables, etc., have all gone through various stages of improvement both in efficiency and reliability. Un-fortunately, however, power failures and equipment breakdown still occur -frequently with disastrous effects in loss of time,

Jan 1, 1965

By Dart Wantland

"AbstractThe scope of geophysics in civil engineering and the nature of exploration geophysics are briefly discussed. Engineering problems amenable to geophysical attack are illustrated by specific examples. The various methods available, accuracy of results, and costs are treated. The possibilities of new uses of geophysical techniques are pointed out.IntroductionTHE SCOPE of geophysics in engineering is different than in oil or mining exploration. In civil engineering, geophysics solves specific problems; as for example, what is the depth to bed-rock along the axis of a proposed dam? The area to be surveyed is of limited extent, and the subsurface information .sought is relatively near the surface. The engineering geophysicist is not called upon to investigate geological basins or extensive mineralized areas or to probe for data to thousands of feet in depth. The geophysical tools employed in the three fields are, however, quite similar; the differences are mainly in the objectives.The Natural Geophysical ExplorationThe terms geophysics and geophysical exploration have been used heretofore and will .be employed in what follows. The question is, therefore, What is geophysical exploration?Geophysical exploration is a line of field work where measurements are made at the ground surface with special instruments to get geological subsurface information. Briefly stated, geophysics is a form of exploration that supplements geological work. It is a blend of physics and geology since physical measurements are made •at the surface of the ground that can be interpreted in terms of subsurface conditions."

Jan 1, 1953

By J. Stiksma, K. Buban, J. Oftsie, R. Kalanchey, S. Sadykov, E. McConaghy

The Kazakhmys zinc refinery in Balkhash, Kazakhstan, which employs the Dynatec Zinc Pressure Leach Process, officially launched autoclave operations on December 27, 2003. The Kazakhmys plant is the world's first greenfields zinc refinery based on Dynatec's two-stage pressure leach technology. Production of zinc was realized on February 9, 2004, when the first cathode was stripped. Currently the plant start-up is ongoing, with progression to two-stage zinc pressure leach operation and ramp-up to full design capacity continuing through 2004.

Jan 1, 2004

By William M. (Bill) Shaver

"The author will review the early history of shaft sinking as well as focus on the improvements made in shaft design and construction over the last fifty years (1970 to 2019) to predict how shaft sinking will change over the next fifty years and describe what the shaft sinking world might look like in 2070. INTRODUCTION It is a great honour to be one of your keynote speakers for the Fourth International Conference on Shaft Design and Construction being held in Toronto in November 2019. This is one of the opportunities we have to thank the Mining Companies of the world as well as the industries and companies we serve for their support of the mining contracting and shaft sinking business of Canada and the world at large. Many of these companies are represented here today. Without your support many of the innovations we will talk about today would not be possible. We would also like to thank all the companies that work with us in our business including all the contractors and suppliers who provide the various services we require. These include equipment manufacturers, engineering companies, project management companies and suppliers large and small who cater to our every need as quickly as possible. Without all these partners we would not be as good as we are. Many of these companies are our sponsors this week. Thank you from all of us! This is also an appropriate time to pause and think about those Shaft Sinkers we have lost and those who have been injured on our projects around the world. Please bow your head and remember the Shaft Sinkers you have worked with, who did not return home or those who returned home injured. Think about how we can continue the work of making shafts safer every day as we go forward with our projects so everyone goes home to their families safe and sound. Pause for a minute and thank you. The subject matter we have chosen to discuss today is “Shaft Sinking in the Next Five Decades”. How will the work be done, how fast will it be done, what will it cost, and why we think this may occur? It is appropriate to consider this over the next few days with this auspicious group we have assembled. Today, we will look back at all the advances that have been made over the last many years and look ahead to the future to attempt to predict what shaft sinking will look like in 2070. When I look around the room I recognize that many of us will not be around then so we need not worry about being wrong. Suffice it to say that the next 50 years will be very interesting and exciting for the shaft sinking business."

Jan 1, 2019

By Carl O. Nickle

"IntroductionIF I WERE ASKED what are the two most important single factors in shaping the growth of Canada to date, and in building its future, the answer would be: first, the treasure house of natural resources on and below the surface over the length and breadth of our country; and two, the pioneering spirit and 'get up and go' of many of our people. The two factors are inseparable. Without the pioneering spirit, the natural resources of land, forest, stream, and the subsurface would have continued •to be useless,. Idle assets. With the pioneering spirit, Canada's natural resources have been and are creating economic revolutions.Western Canada oil and natural gas rank high on the list of such revolutions. Calgary, your meeting place today, is the birthplace of this economic revolution, one that has already sharply altered the economy .of the middle half of Canada, particularly that of Alberta; is increasingly making its weight felt on the economy of all Canada; and is helping re-shape world thinking on sources of vital petroleum supply for both peace and war. Calgary is today the 'operation headquarters' for the great bulk of a huge exploration and development programme that now extends over a quarter of a million square miles of Canada's West. As a Calgarian, •therefore, I am particularly happy to have this privilege of talking about oil and natural gas to members of the C.I.M.M., who play a key role in the development of all Canada's varied natural resources."

Jan 1, 1952