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By J. J. Mather

NEPHELINE SYENITE is a feldspathic rock resembling granite in texture and hardness but it is white in colour and contains appreciable quantities of the mineral nepheline, the result of a silica deficiency. It is relatively common, with known occurrences in Russia, Scandinavia, India, Canada, United States, and other parts of the world. However, the particular deposit being mined at Nephton, Ontario, by American Nepheline Limited is unique in its remarkable uniformity and low content of iron bearing minerals, both qualities essential in a ceramic raw material. The orebody is a pear-shaped mass over five miles in length, up to a mile in width, rising in three prominent ridges as much as 300 feet above the surrounding lakestudded terrain. American Nepheline holdings, consisting of 2,200 acres, comprise some 85 per cent of the total mass.

Jan 1, 1957

By M. Turek

Cost management in the conditions of increasing competition and unforeseen market turbulence constitutes one of the key areas of the enterprise?s activity. In the last two years the demand for hard coal on the domestic and global market of non-renewable resources has increased significantly. Polish hard coal mining industry, as an industry in the stage of decline, received a chance for rejuvenation. However, one of the most significant conditions of seizing this opportunity is the rationalization of mining costs and improvement of production effectiveness. Due to the significance of this issue, the main objective of the paper is to identify the possibilities of improving the production effectiveness in the hard coal mining industry. In order to meet such an objective, in the first part of the paper we measured effectiveness in the Polish hard coal mines in years 2006- 2011. The research encompassed three out of five mining enterprises operating in the country. Then based on the received results, guidelines concerning the improvement of effectiveness of production were created, taking into consideration infrastructural, technical, economic and organizational determinants. Furthermore, opportunities and threats for improving the production effectiveness, stemming from the external conditions have also been indicated.

Aug 1, 2013

By Fabio Mielli

In these times of increasing costs and diminished returns, energy consumption is one source of savings that remains relatively untapped in the mining sector. Typically, 15% to 40% of operational costs can be attributed to energy in mining operations. This ?process variable? is a complex, multi-faceted variable that involves government regulations, societal pressures, cost and competitiveness. A mining company able to successfully embrace an energy efficiency program is more often than not a successful mining company. Production optimization programs, relatively common today, provide increased production, increased availability of assets and, in many cases, improved quality. They generally ignore the energy question altogether. Production Energy Optimization combines reductions in energy consumption with production improvements to reduce the cost per unit of production while improving emissions reporting. An energy strategy in mining and mineral processing operations is a critical component of Production Energy Optimization. This strategy must support the financial and operational integrity of the business. Developing a successful energy strategy requires a well structured approach such as following: ??Understanding where energy is being used and why, ??Recommending and implementing energy conservation measures, ??Driving visibility to targets and results, ??Re-evaluating continuously. The objective of this paper is to help you better understand the process, tools and technologies that enable mining organizations today to address energy and sustainability issues more tactically and proactively.

Aug 1, 2013

By Anita Marks

In 2007 Copper Mountain Mining determined that there were sufficient resources to consider reopening the Similco Mine near Princeton, BC. The mill facility that had been built by Newmont Mining in 1972 was closed in 1996 and all of the process equipment removed. The mill had been built on the west side of the Similkameen River to facilitate mining of the Ingerbelle Deposit. In 1980 construction was completed on a primary crusher and cable belt to deliver ore across the Similkameen River from the Copper Mountain deposit to the Ingerbelle mill. With the decision to restart mining of the Copper Mountain deposit, the decision was made to design and build a 35,000 tpd grinding and flotation mill near the mining operations. This paper discusses the application of historical operating data for the selection of the mills for the new grinding circuit and provides an overview of the grinding circuit design.

Jan 1, 2012

By A. M. Christie

Acknowledgements The following account has been compiled mainly from records and maps of Eldorado Mining and Refining (1944), Limited, hereinafter called the Crown Company. This work was done under the supervision first of R. F. Murphy, Chief Geologist, and later of E. B. Gillanders, Eldorado Mine Manager and Manager of Eldorado Exploration Division. W. F. James and B. S. W. Buffam are consulting geologists. Since 1946, S. N. Kesten has supervised geological work for the Company in the Goldfields area. Where maps of Eldorado properties have been included in this paper, the name of the geologist who examined the property is acknowledged on the map. Outline of General Geology The geology of the area is described in the Goldfields and Martin Lake preliminary maps of the Geological Survey and accompanying Paper 49-17. In brief, the Tazin series of Precambrian age, consisting mainly of sediments with minor interbedded volcanics and basic intrusives, is intruded and replaced by granite, now generally gneissic. The late-Precambrian Athabaska series of conglomerate and arkose, with interbedded basalt and andesite flows, rests unconformably on the older rocks. All these rocks are cut by small diabase dykes. The geological terms used in this paper and in the accompanying figures are standard with the exception of the term 'mafic rocks'. These include all the basic or dark coloured rocks of the Tazin group, such as amphibolites, biotite schists, and chlorite-epidote rocks (greenstones), whether they be of extrusive, intrusive, or sedimentary origin.

Jan 1, 1949

By Edward Rybinski

Compañía Minera Antamina is a polymetallic mining complex that produces copper and zinc concentrates as primary products and molybdenum and lead/bismuth/silver concentrates as by-products. In 2007, Metso Process Technology and Innovation (PTI) was contracted to increase SAG mill throughput by integrating and optimising blast fragmentation, crushing and grinding for the harder M4/M4A (CuZn) ores. Following the implementation of recommendations provided by Metso PTI, the SAG mill throughput increased from 2750tph to reach an average of 3600tph for the remainder of 2007. Due to continued application of mine to mill integration and optimisation philosophy, by 2010, the concentrator consistently exceeded the target of 4400tph while processing harder CuZn ores.

Jan 1, 2012

By G. A. Sutton

"At the San Manuel mine (Arizona, USA), in-situ copper leaching of a copper porphyry deposit was carried out from 1986 to 1999 during underground and open-pit mining. In 1993–1994, well¬field testing of the supergene zone, composed primarily of chrysocolla and copper-rich clay minerals, led to estimates that 52% of the acid-soluble copper (ASCu) could be recovered during in-situ leaching; however, the actual recovery from zone 6, which had the longest leach history, was approximately 42%. Comparing drillcore assay data from holes drilled before and after leaching also indicated an approximate recovery of 42%. The discrepancy between the predicted (52%) and actual (42%) recovery is probably related to several factors, including difficulty maintaining fluid saturation, channelling effects, and gypsum precipitation. ¦ KEYWORDS Copper oxides, in-situ leaching, Modelling, Porphyry, Solvent extraction and electrowinning (SXEW), Well-to-well RÉSUMÉ À la mine San Manuel (Arizona, États-Unis), on a procédé de 1986 à 1999 à la lixiviation in-situ de cuivre d’un gisement porphyre cuprifère pendant l’exploitation minière souterraine et à ciel ouvert. En 1993 et 1994, des essais effectués dans des champs de captage de la zone supergène, composée principalement de chrysocolle et de minéraux argileux cuprifères, ont abouti à des estimations selon lesquelles on peut récupérer 52 % de cuivre soluble dans l’acide (ASCu) pendant la lixiviation in-situ ; toutefois, la récupération réelle dans la zone 6, qui affiche l’histoire la plus ancienne en matière de lixiviation, était d’environ 42 %. La comparaison des données d’analyses de forage obtenues à partir de trous forés avant et après la lixiviation indiquait également une récupération approximative de 42 %. La différence entre la récupération prévue (52 %) et réelle (42 %) réside probablement dans plusieurs facteurs, notamment la difficulté à maintenir la saturation des fluides, les effets de canalisation et la précipitation du gypse. ¦ MOTS CLÉS d’un puits à l’autre, extraction par solvant et extraction électrolytique (SXEW), lixiviation in-situ, modélisation, oxydes de cuivre, porphyreINTRODUCTION in-situ copper leaching at the San Manuel mine, Arizona, USA (Figure 1), began in 1986. It was recognized that some of the copper oxide resource was not economically recoverable by conventional open-pit and heap leach methods using solvent extraction and electrowinning (SXEW) and a high stripping ratio would be required to access part of the resource. At the time, in-situ leaching was becoming popular in the uranium industry, but the approach was virtually unknown in the copper industry, especially at a large scale."

Jan 1, 2019

By J. Dubinski

Poland is the ninth largest coal producer in the world and Coal Company is the largest Polish producer of this deposit yielding 51% of national production. Coal Company mines are located in the Upper Silesian Coal Basin. These are underground mines which operate in difficult geological conditions at great depths of up to 1200 m. One of the most common natural hazards in Polish mines are rockburst and seismic hazard impacting on surface infrastructure and habitants. In the assessment of the rockburst and seismic hazard methods of mining seismology play a leading role. This paper presents progress that was achieved in the last few years in the implementation of new seismic monitoring systems and seismic interpretation methods for the prevention of hazard deriving from seismicity induced by mining. This progress in assessment of rockburst hazard and impact of seismic activity on the surface infrastructure was achieved through close cooperation between the Coal Company and Central Mining Institute ? the country?s leading scientific institute in the field of mining seismology. New theoretical solutions are in the process of testing in mines of Coal Company where seismic monitoring systems are installed and controlled by well-qualified personnel. Some directions of further joint actions to increase the effectiveness of rockburst and seismic hazard assessment are presented as well.

Aug 1, 2013

The writer presents a concise summary of eleven recent discoveries made in the Maritime Appalachian area, with suggestions for fur the research. This information may prove helpful to geologists working in other fields and to students contemplating further avenues of research in mining geology and exploration. INTRODUCTION THIS paper is not intended as a research study on the subject, but i. merely a brief review of eleven discoveries that have been made in the Canadian Appalachian area. Furthermore, this is not a critical analysis of the merits of any one geophysical method, but it is an un-prejudiced observation of how these discoveries were actually made and what techniques were apparently most fruitful. Some generalizations are attempted whicl1 may suggest further avenues of research in the field of mining exploration. The writer wishes to thank his colleagues in the field for their comments, which he was able to in-corporate into this paper. In particular, he is grateful to Dr. Paul Bevan and

Jan 1, 1963

By W. D. Bonisteel

In 1976, Rio Algom Limited began the expansion of uranium production facilities at Elliot Lake. Quirke Mine was the only property in operation at the time, and plans were made to expand its milling capacity from 4,500 to 7,000 tons of ore per day. Following this expansion, other properties in the area will be reactivated to fulfill long-term contracts for uranium. As part of the expansion program, it was decided that in view of the escalating cost and impending shortage of energy, heat reclaim and conservation would be employed wherever practicable. In general terms, heat reclaim applications fall into three main classifications: ventilation, utility and process. Two of the ventilation applications and one process application will be described in some detail. Several other systems will be presented briefly as a matter of general interest. Some future possibilities will also be mentioned, together with their potential for economical heat recovery.

Jan 1, 1979

By C. E. White

The depletion of higher grade mineral reserves will accelerate the trend toward production from progressively larger and lower grade deposits. The discovery of adequate reserves of leaner ores will require the development of improved exploration techniques with a greater depth range. The principal challenges to the Canadian mining industry are to find the mineral resources required to meet fast growing world demand and to develop mining methods and equipment to ensure production costs which will strengthen our position in export markets in the face of in-creasing world competition. The challenges cannot be met without intensive efforts to attract more technical men to the industry and to improve their training.

Jan 1, 1967

By W. G. Worcester

IN the presentation of this paper to the Institute, three objects are in the mind of the writer: first, to set forth the close relation which, of necessity, exists between ceramics and the industrial minerals; second, to clarify the apparently hazy understanding which many have of ceramics in general; and lastly, of equal or even more importance, to stimulate a greater interest in the industrial minerals, especially in those used and required by the ceramic industries. While Canada is now producing in large quantities a fairly wide variety of the ceramic industrial minerals, there are some which are not known to occur in the Dominion. Hence it is to be desired that our geologists, prospectors, and others, while on field work, should be on the look out for commercial deposits of such minerals as diaspore, bauxite, ucts of a value in excess of $600,000,000, a figure which places ceramics as kyanite, massive topaz, and sillimanite. A find of any of these in quantity would prove of very great importance and value to the country as a whole. At this point it seems desirable to introduce formally the word ceramic or the plural of it, ceramics. In doing so it may be stated that the origin of the word dates far back in history in that it was derived in part from the Greek word Keramos, 'a potter' or 'pottery', which in turn has been traced back to an older Sanskrit root meaning 'to burn' or 'burned stuff', having reference, no doubt, to burned pottery or other clay wares; and the word was so used until near the close of the last century, when the world's first schools of ceramic engineering were established in the United States. The use of the term ceramics was then expanded to cover a much larger field the entire field of the silicate industries and products. At one time it was suggested by a limited number of ceramists that the term 'ceramic engineering' be changed to 'silicate engineering'. This proposal, however, gained little support and was soon abandoned.

Jan 1, 1945

By Renliang Shan

Site conditions of China?s coal roadways are complex and changeable, and scientific classification of them is the fundamental basis for coal roadway support design, with great significance for ensuring proper roadway service. Upon analysis of the issues, a commentary regarding the research progress on classification of the stability of rocks surrounding coal roadways in China has been achieved from the point of view of classification methods and indexes. The shortcomings and applicable scope of rock stability classification methods related to coal roadways have been analyzed. It has been asserted that combining artificial neural networks with fuzzy mathematics, combining fuzzy mathematics with grey theory, applying new avenues such as support vector machine algorithms or unascertained average classification, and making classification indexes more scientific are future directions for development of rock stability classification for coal roadways.

Aug 1, 2013

By P. C. Lighthall, D. W. Zandee, W. Shukin

"IntroductionThis chapter deals with the on land disposal and storage of fine tailing in slurry form behind dams. Other types of tailing, such as coarse dry cobbs from magnetic separation of iron ores and other dry materials, have special problems and are not addressed in this paper. The disposal of mine waste is not included, except as such materials may be of value in the construction activities related to tailing disposal.In earlier North American mining, mines were smaller and frequently disposed of their tailing by direct discharge into neighbouring streams or bodies of water. Where that was not practical or not permitted, the solids were collected in tailing ponds and only the effluent liquids were released or decanted. The dams used for these early impoundments were fragile structures and failures were common. With the advent of large, low-grade open pit mines, and increasing awareness of environmental and safety considerations, recently established mines have carefully-designed tailing disposal systems, with wellconstructed dams and attention given to protection of the environment. Older mines are being improved or at least being examined critically with a view to upgrading as necessary to meet the new standards.Modern tailing disposal systems are highly variable and unique to each mine. Tailing pond selection and design is dependent on available topography as also is the design of transport and water reclaim systems. Suitable sites that are at higher elevations than the mills or distant from them may require that the tailings be pumped. Dams, either earth or rock structures built of the most convenient and economic material, are usually a suitable mix of local borrow, mine waste and coarse tailings. The most economic structures are those built mostly of coarse tailing."

Jan 1, 1989

By Jean-Louis Robert

Field work inaugurated in 1962 in the townships of Lemieux and Lesseps, in the Gaspe Peninsula of Quebec, has permitted the author to delineate the lithologic units of the area, to elucidate a few stratigraphic problems and to outline several zones of alteration. Certain features of these zones and the numerous mineralized showings in the area merit the attention of prospectors and exploration companies.

Jan 1, 1966

By Yve Fourmanoit

"This paper discusses the exploitation of shallow underground deposits in a very altered geological environment. The methods, their adaptation to local conditions, their evolution, dilution control and recovery of mineral reserves will all be dealt with.The recovery of the B zone crown pillar under 40 m of till that was originally saturated with water, is of particular interest.Future underground development and production start-up of the A-2 zone, organization of mining operations, mechanical services, group incentives and safety practices will also be given.IntroductionThe underground deposit of B zone is not very deep. A 300 m shaft provides access to the mine. In addition , exploitation sublevels are developed every 20 m and are linked by a service ramp. The overburden located on top of the deposit is 40 m thick and is composed of a very dense till.A detailed work plan was initiated to permit mining under the overburden. To do so, it was imperative that efficient methods be developed. At a time when an accident at the Belmoral Mine shook the mining world , it was a task to convince provincial authorities that it was safe.While B zone was being mined , development began in the A-2 zone deposit which has recently been put into production (Figs. 1 and 2).The intention of this paper is to provide an outline of the mining method s and their particular aspects. To do so, some of the mine services are described and a brief outline of the under ground department is provided."

Jan 1, 1990

By G. Danko, C. Lu

"High temperature and humidity at the working negatively affect safety and health in deep and hot underground mines. It is necessary to predict during design the dynamic changes in temperature with heat and moisture emitted into the mine ventilation-thermal-humidity (VTH) system from various sources such as auto-compression, wall of strata, mining equipment and workers. Currently available mine ventilation and climate models are either furnished with a simplified, step-change-type (SCT) model for thermal solver (such as in Climsim, VnetPC, Minevent, MFire, etc), or with more advanced models to account for the “thermal history effect” (also known as thermal flywheel effect), such as in Ventsim and MULTIFLUX. The goal is to quantify the modelling error caused by the lack of variable thermal history component in the SCT model. Two models are compared: one with and one without the thermal history component in long, single airway examples with long-term climate simulations for 20 years assuming an input air temperature with daily variation. The examples illustrate the magnitude and the time-lag phase of the variation of the modelling errors with space, time and model conditions. Large errors are shown in the order of +14°C and –7°C errors, persistent for long time periods, up to 20 days in one example.INTRODUCTIONIt is important to predict the heat and humidity distributions during the design of hot and humid underground mines for the safety and health of the workers. The feasibility of extracting a rich deposit in great depth may depend on the extent of ventilation and mine climatization for maintaining an acceptable working environment. The cost of ventilation and cooling may be substantial, up to 40–50% of the total energy cost of mining (Clausen, 2017). The accuracy of model solution is important in view of the low profit margin in mine feasibility for deep and hot mines. Safety and health of the miners, the primary concerns, are therefore inherently connected to finding ever better solutions in simulation methods and ventilation control techniques."

Jan 1, 2019

By C. W. Drake, J. H. Walsh

"The Canadian Carbonization Re-search Association was formed during 1965, with seven founding members representing four integrated steel companies, two coal companies and one high-temperature tar processing company. The purpose of this paper is to review the circumstances which led to the formation of this new research association and to discuss its general objectives. Also discussed will be the organization of the Association, the nature of its relationship with the Department of Energy, Mines and Resources in the early stages, and some of the technical programs which have now been initiated."

Jan 1, 1967

By Harry Jomini

Introduction The Wakefield plant of the Aluminum Company of Canada, Limited - a member of the Aluminum, Limited, group of companies - produces magnesia, magnesia fertilizer ingredient, and hydrated lime, from brucitic limestone. Wakefield is on the Gatineau river in Wakefield township, Quebec, some 22 miles north of Ottawa. The plant is near the western bank of the river adjacent to the Ottawa-Maniwaki highway and branch line of the Canadian Pacific railway. The plant is unique in the sense that it is the only place in Canada where brucite is processed. It is also distinguished for its outstanding safety record, as not a single lost-time accident occurred during either 1948 or 1949. The plant is amply provided with safety and comfort provisions in keeping with the standard practice in all of the twelve plants operated in Canada by Alcan and its associated companies. History Following the identification of brucite in the Rutherglen and Bryson districts in Ontario, occurrences of the mineral were discovered in the Wakefield area, Quebec, in 1939. After exploratory work on these deposits and investigation by the Bureau of Mines, Ottawa, on a method of extracting the brucite from the ore, a plant for treating the ore from the Maxwell property was built in 1941 by the Aluminum Company of Canada and commenced operations in early 1942. The process used is more or less in accordance with the method worked out by Mr. M. F. Goudge of the Bureau of Mines.

Jan 1, 1950

By S. G. Enns, E. W. Yarrow

"Situated about 200 km southeast of Juneau, Alaska, within the lower Stikine River region of northwestern British Columbia, the Galore Creek porphyry Cu-Au deposits are hosted by Upper Triassic to Lower Jurassic alkaline volcanic rocks and comagmatic syenite intrusions. Early and late breccias are also locally important host rocks for mineralization. Of the twelve identified Cu-Au deposits, the most important are the Central zone, Southwest zone and the Junction deposits with a combined resource of 284 million tonnes at 0.67 % Cu.The composition of the intrusive rocks is predominantly silica-undersaturated, alkaline, and metaluminous. Four intrusive suites are identified from field, petrographic and petrochemical data. Variation within suites or lineages can be explained by alkali feldspar fractionation. An oscillation between porphyritic and equigranular intrusions is suggested by the sequence of different intrusive lineages. The youngest intrusive phase is silica-saturated.A complex succession of intrusive and hydrothermal events is demonstrated at Galore Creek, with the most intense alteration and mineralization developing early in its history. In the Central zone, early Ca-K-silicate alteration, dominated by garnet, biotite, Kfeldspar, and anhydrite grades outward into K-silicate alteration. Both are locally overprinted by retrograde sericite± anhydrite± carbonate (SAC) alteration. The most intense Ca-K-si/icate alteration, a magmatic-hydrothermal breccia, and an early syenite intrusion are all coincident with copper mineralization in the core region of the Central zone. However, higher grade mineralization in the zone, exceeding 1 % Cu with more than 0.5 g/ t Au, is typically associated with intense biotite-rich, K-silicate alteration primarily hosted by altered volcanic rocks. The highest gold grades, commonly exceeding 1 g/t, are associated with bornite-rich mineralization situated in the northern and southern parts of the Central zone.Mineralization in the Southwest zone occurs as disseminated chalcopyrite within a late, diatreme breccia and adjacent K-feldspar porphyry. In the other satellite deposits, disseminated chalcopyrite and bornite occur in volcanic rocks with alteration that is similar to the Central zone."

Jan 1, 1995