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By J. S. Brock

Magnetic, electromagnetic and gravimetric surveys have played an important role in the mineral exploration leading to the discovery of three major massive sulphide deposits in the Anvil-Vangorda area of the Yukon Territory. During 1964 and 1965 a saturation prospecting program, relying heavily on the integrated use of airborne and ground geophysical survey techniques, led to the discovery of the Faro deposit, which was subsequently proven to be a 63-millionton lead-zinc orebody. Locating the Faro deposit, the largest found to date in this overburden-covered region, involved an exploration sequence requiring the selection of a favourable geologic environment, aeromagnetic and electromagnetic surveys, property acquisition of anomalous areas and detailed ground geophysical surveys, followed by rotary drill testing, detailed gravimetric surveys and diamond core drilling.

Jan 1, 1973

By R. W. Nice

"The Similkameen Mining Company property is situated about 9 1/2 miles south and west of Princeton B.C. Owned and operated by Newmont Mining Corporation, mining is presently taking place in the Ingerbelle pit. At 15,000 tpd of 0.50% Cu ore the Ingerbelle pit is sufficient for about 8 years. Another 8 years ore supply is available from the old Granby workings of the Copper Mountain property which operated from 1927 to 1957.The pit operations commenced in late 1970 with the concentrator starting in March 1972. Designed and built by Bechtel Corporation under the supervision of Newmont the concentrator's design was based on single-stage crushing and single-stage modified autogenous grinding. The modification was installation of a crusher to crush the critical size build-up. The description of the operation follows.CRUSHERThe primary crusher is an open pocket Allis-Chalmers. 54"" x 74"" gyratory. The basic closed side setting is 8"". The crusher is fed from one side with 100 ton Electra-haul trucks. The crusher pocket discharges to a 96"" wide conveyor belt, then to a 48"" conveyor system including a stacker belt. The crushed product is piled on a stockpile with a capacity of about 30,000 live tons. This stockpile feeds the concentrator."

Jan 1, 1975

By P. Trudel, É. Cabot, L. Cabot

"A modular gold processing unit (MGPU) was designed, installed and operated over an eight-month period by RSW-Béroma at the Granada mine located near Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec. A description of the project geology, plant set up, as well as exploitation results, including productivity and profitability curves, are given for a small-scale mining operation in comparison with larger ones. IntroductionSmall-scale mining (SSM) is a widespread activity in Africa, Mexico, Central America and South America, where numerous small mineral deposits are exploited manually or by semimechanized methods. On the other hand, SSM is almost absent in Canada, where the mining industry traditionally exploits large deposits, using concentration plants with capacities of many thousands of tonnes per day. However, many small gold (and other metallic or industrial mineral) deposits are known in Canada. Their reserves are too small to justify the cost related to the construction of a standard mill and, if they are remote from a custom milling facility, they remain unexploited. With this in mind, RSW-Béroma has developed the modular gold processing unit (MGPU) that allows the profitable exploitation of small mineral deposits. The MGPU is the perfect tool for SSM and its main advantages are a much lower capital cost than a standard mill and its portability, which makes it easy to transport and reinstall on another site, once the exploitation of a small deposit is terminated. The denomination MGPU will be used hereafter in the text as it was primarily designed for gold deposits, although it must be kept in mind that this portable plant can be adapted to other mineral substances."

Jan 1, 2003

By A. Dogan Paktunc

Abstract - The Mechanic Settlement pluton is a small body of mafic and ultramafic rocks of tholeiitic affinity, occurring in the Late Neoproterozoic volcanosedimentary rocks of the Avalon terrane of the Appalachian Orogen. The lenticular-shaped intrusion is layered and consists of ultramafic and mafic lithologies in at least six cyclic units that are relatively thin or short-lived. The lowermost exposed portion of the intrusion is characterized by the cumulate sequences of olivine and olivineclinopyroxene and display relatively flat rare earth element profiles. In the overlying lithologies, plagioclase is the dominant cumulus phase following olivine in the crystallization sequence. Olivine ranges in composition from Fo73 to Fo85 and plagioclase from An62 to An89. Variations in the compositions of orthopyroxene and clinopyroxene are within Wo0-4En52-87Fs11-45 and Wo39-50En23-50Fs3-19. These mineral compositional variations in part reflect cryptic patterns and correspond to normal fractionation trends in cyclic units. Elevated Pt and Pd concentrations of up to 2.6 ppm occur in ten zones within the central cyclic series in association with both the peridotitic and gabbronoritic rock types. The mineralized zones are about several meters thick and appear to have lateral continuities over several hundred meters, suggesting that they are stratiform. Platinum-group elements (PGE) occur as discrete platinum-group minerals (PGM) including vysotskite, merenskyite, michenerite, sperrylite, stillwaterite, and hollingworthite that are associated with magmatic sulfides composed of pentlandite, pyrrhotite, and chalcopyrite. PGM grains range in size from a few micrometers to well above 20 µm. Sulfur isotope ratios and the Se/S ratios of the mineralized rocks are typically higher than the mantle values. Sulfide saturation probably occurred as a result of assimilation of crustal rocks and magma mixing during emplacement of subsequent pulses of magma. Repetition of the PGE mineralization in rather thin cyclic units suggests that the replenishing magma probably had high PGE levels and was saturated with respect to sulfide during emplacement. Ingression of the replenishing magma into the chamber in a turbulent plume and its mixing with the resident magma was probably responsible for the formation of the PGE mineralizations in the Mechanic Settlement pluton.

Jan 1, 2000

By S. McPhail, D. Richardson, G. J. Simandl, C. Akam, S. Paradis, M. Yakimoski, A. Teucher, Y. Cui, F. Ferri

Historically, extracting dissolved solids from formation water was economically motivated. Today, main drivers are environmental benefits and regulations, as large volumes of water needed for hydraulic fracturing require treatment before reuse or disposal. The concentration of dissolved solids in flowback water increases with each use and may require treatment prior to disposal. Element recovery from produced water is not profitable unless market conditions are favourable, recoverable elements are abundant, and economical recovery methods are established. Sale of recovered materials could offset recycling and disposal costs. This paper describes markets for Cl, Na, Ca, K, Sr, Mg, Br, Ba, I, B, and Li, and their concentrations in produced water from oil and gas wells in British Columbia. It recommends revising sampling protocol for produced water.

Jan 1, 2018

By R. W. Schutz

"Titanium possesses an exceptional and wide-range resistance to chlorides and their compounds when compared to most corrosion-resistant engineering alloys (CRAs) used in the chemical process industry. This natural resistance to chlorides stems from titanium’s protective, tenacious, and readily rehealable titanium oxide surface film, which is chemically stable over a wide range of pH and redox potentials in aqueous environments. This passive film explains titanium’s elevated resistance to anodic pitting, crevice and stress corrosion, and erosion-corrosion in aqueous chloride environments.Guidelines for successful selection and application of industrial titanium alloys are derived from an extensive laboratory test database and more than forty years of industrial/chemical service experience. These guidelines are simplified, and alloy corrosion performance is assessed with respect to four basic aqueous chloride service categories where selection or consideration of titanium is highly merited. An overview of historical titanium alloy applications in chloride-rich environments in a wide variety of process industries substantiates their exceptional chloride tolerance. These industrial titanium alloys are cost-competitive with stainless steels and nickel alloys, readily commercially available, and routinely fabricated and welded in the shop and field via well-established methods."

Jan 1, 2002

By L. D. Smith

"This paper examines the impact of the various assumptions that go into an economic evaluation, and shows how these can be combined to show an exciting result that may not really exist. An example of an embellished case (the kind that one frequently sees when projects are being promoted) is developed and the cumulative impact is analyzed to show the actual project underneath. The paper also points out some areas to watch for overly optimistic assumptions such as prices, inflation, and debt. The concept of a “bare bones” base case is proposed (constant metal prices, constant dollars, no inflation, no debt, no interest, on a project basis, after tax) as a common reference point.As well, the discount rate is examined as one of the fundamental means of reflecting risk in discounted cash flow evaluations. Current industry practice is discussed, and a methodology for the analysis of risk levels is proposed that assesses the constituent components of the discount rate: real interest, mineral project risks, and country risk."

Jan 1, 2002

By John Dasher

The analyses reported on in this paper indicate that there are hydrometallurgical routes from sulphide concentrates to copper that are potentially competitive with smelters which are not permitted to emit sulphur oxides. The various hydrometallurgical processes, and their economics, are discussed.

Jan 1, 1973

By Zhiwei Wang, Chunsheng Qiao

"Aiming at the problems of the existing calculation methods for the support pressures of shallow tunnels in layered jointed rock strata, by using OAT (orthogonal array testing strategy) and DEM (distinct element method), 12 influencing factors including the thickness of the weathered overburden, and the states of the rock joints were considered. Then, the classification of the loosening zone was analysized. On this basis, by using the DEA (data envelopment analysis) theory, quantitative analysis on the influencing factors was conducted. By analyzing the influence of the key factors, a prediction formula of the boundary of the ringent trumpet-shaped loosening zone was established. According to principles of stress transformation, the formula of support pressures of the loosening zone which could considering the key factors were deduced. Finally, a practical case was introduced and studied to verify the proposed method.INTRODUCTIONIn recent years, various urban subway tunnels are increasingly carried out through jointed rock strata in many cities. Rock masses are discontinuous mediums with fissures, fractures, joints, bedding planes, and faults. The frequency of joints, their orientation with respect to the engineering structures, and the roughness of the joint have a significant importance from the stability point of view. However, there is a lack of understanding about the influence of the joints on the stability of tunnels. Therefore, how to measure the degree of the joints’ influence is a problem that needs to be solved.For the calculation of the support pressures, until now, many research results were focused on soil ground (Bierbäumer 1913; Terzaghi, 1943; Peck, 1969; Sabatini et al., 1999). In terms of site tests and model indoor tests, by measuring strut loads and calculating earth pressure based on strut spacing, the results proposed by Peck (1969) and Tschebotarioff (1973) have been widely used in practice for designing excavation support systems under sand (drained) and clay (undrained) soil conditions. Note that, it is unclear whether these findings could be extended to rock strata. For numerical simulations, how to simulate the states of the rock joints is a key problem that needs to be solved."

Jan 1, 2015

By John D. Godfrey

A brief account of economic developments in and around northeastern Alberta is presented and mention is made of mining and industrial developments currently of interest in the area. Planned and projected operations are briefly discussed for this region. The history of geological surveys and mining activities in the Shield area of Alberta and the adjoining parts of Northwest Territories and Saskatchewan is traced. Reassessment of the presently-known economic picture of northwestern Canada in conjunction with some recent information on Precambrian structures of northeastern Alberta points to some interesting mining possibilities, particularly in and around that province.

Jan 1, 1960

By S. Haggarty

"Wholly owned by Corona Corporation, the Nickel Plate Mine is an open pit, gold mining operation located near Hedley, 50 km west of Penticton, in Southern British Columbia.Milling capacity is 3,400 SDT /Day with an average feed grade of 0.080 Oz Au/Ton. Gold processing involves three stage grinding including tertiary pebble milling, two stage cyanide leaching and filtering and Merrill-Crowe zinc precipitation.A summary of process improvements required to increase milling capacity above the initial design tonnage of 2, 700 SDT /Day are described -Installation of a 42"" x 65"" Allis Chalmers Gyratory crusher replacing a 42"" x 48"" Traylor jaw crusher.Installation of polyurethane screen panels replacing woven wire cloths on an 8' x 20 ft triple deck screen.Installation of a hopper clarifier to reduce filtrate turbidity.Automated control of solution balancing and effluent treatment circuits.INTRODUCTIONThis paper describes mining and milling practices at the Nickel Plate Mine and details post start-up process modifications which were required to attain design tonnage.Wholly owned by Corona Corporation, the Nickel Plate Mine is an open pit, gold mining operation located near Hedley, 50 km west of Penticton, in Southern British Columbia.Mining capacity from the open pit is approximately 32,000 TPD with an average waste/ore ratio of 8.4:1.Milling capacity is 3,400 SOT/Day, above initial design tonnage of 2,700 SOT/Day. Feed grade averages 0.08 Oz Au per ton yielding 85,000 troy ounces of gold per year."

Jan 1, 1991

By H. Brodie Hicks

"THE REVIVAL of the Mayo mining camp, with particular reference to the activities of United Keno Hill Mines, Limited, has been one •of the more spectacular and also one of the most important of the post-war developments in the Canadian mining field. The geological location of the camp, coupled with other natural disadvantages, have in the past limited the mining area to small-scale, highgrading operations, but the post-war improvement in metal prices has now broadened the possibilities and has led to the considerable success achieved by United Keno Hill Mines, Limited, and the present boom-type development by a whole host of newcomers to the field.LocationYukon which has an area of 207,000 square miles, is showing ever increasing possibilities as a mineral source of great value and more and more attention is being focussed on the Territory. The accompanying generalized map (Figure 1) shows the main transportation routes and mining districts.The Mayo Mining District comprises roughly the eastern two thirds of Yukon Territory lying north of McMillan river and south of the Peel. The district was one of the first in the Territory in which placer gold was discovered, but the occurrences proved of minor importance. Other minerals reported include ores of tungsten, tin, antimony, and several other metals, but of primary importance have been the ores containing silver-lead-zinc-cadmium now being developed and mined in the Keno area. Similar ores have been found over a very considerable area, extending some 50 miles north, 15 miles east, 30 miles west, and 10 miles south of the townsite of Keno Hills, Keno City, a total area of 2,700 square miles."

Jan 1, 1952

By D. Prince, G. Nollet

"Since 1994, Aur Ressources has operated Louvicourt mine, a zinc and copper mine close to Val d’Or, at a rate of 4300 t/d. Ever since the start-up of the plant, management has encouraged innovative approaches in reliability.The first of three papers will discuss the vibration monitoring program in place. The program will be described and two examples will be given: detection of a rolling bearing defect on a pinion driving the ball mill and identification of wear on the bearings of the flotation cells. Figures on the return on investment and the costs of a monitoring program will also be given.The second article will discuss the lubrication aspect. Since the establishment of a good monitoring and oil analyses, Louvicourt mine decreased its oil consumption by more than 38 000 L/yr. In addition, the company set up an oil regeneration system that restores the original properties of oil.The third article will cover the management aspect. Work organization as well as the management philosophy enabling the employees to push predictive technology to higher levels will be examined in detail. The key elements which made it possible for Louvicourt mine to position itself among world-class companies in the organization of maintenance will be discussed. IntroductionThis article is the second of three on predictive maintenance at the Louvicourt mine operated by Aur Resources Inc. The first article, published in the October 2002 issue, was about vibration analysis for rotating machines. This article describes how lubrication and oil analysis for stationary machines permitted Louvicourt to save more than $150,000 within two years and presents the evolution of the oil analysis program.Louvicourt mine, located near Val-d’Or, Quebec, is a copper and zinc mining and milling operation that processes 4300 t/d of ore and employs 289 people. Production began in 1994. Louvicourt mine is a partnership between Aur Ressources (30%), Teck Corp. (25%), and Novicourt (45%)."

Jan 1, 2003

By G. Shore

"The development of a DC resistivity instrumentation system for data acquisition in extreme topography yielded an unexpected bonus in the quality and information content of the type of raw data gathered. Not only were traditionally too-rough areas being investigated systematically for the first time, the unique high-density, multi-directional raw data were providing the opportunity to greatly expand the range of conductive and resistive signatures that could be accurately recognized. Using a true 3-D inversion algorithm, 3-D earth resistivity imagery began to show distinctive anomaly patterns for hydrothermal mineralization at the seldom-visited resistive end of the spectrum, successfully imaging epithermal gold systems in conditions that had defied conventional ground and airborne geophysics for years.The traditional mode of designing a resistivity survey to test a specific target concept was shown to be an unnecessary limitation on exploration thinking when a single sweep acquisition of dense, multi-directional 3-D raw data could effectively provide the all-targets “shotgun” coverage that would take 10 or 12 conventional surveys to duplicate. Exploration planning has the opportunity to move from single steps of trial and error geophysical testing to a mode of mapping everything at the outset, and then sorting out what might be of exploration interest in the results. Survey parameterization becomes the non-technical process of marking an outline on a map and declaring “survey here.” Operational and interpretational reasons for not testing where the exploration interest lies have all but disappeared. With any-terrain capabilities and unprecedented raw data density and overlap to support interpretation of complex conditions, that outline can be drawn through extreme rough terrain, including lakes, cliffs, industrial facilities, and grounded installations to test for generally unknown sub-surface features of potential interest.As more is learned about the larger-scale signatures of ore settings and the district-scale geo-electric imprint of hydrothermal processes on lithology, it appears that the only thing certain about ore signatures is their uncertainty. This is not bad news. New opportunities abound as the advanced 3-D technology allows a first effective look at the previously unexplorable rough terrain or complicated settings, and a second look at areas where older results may now be known to be non-definitive."

Jan 1, 2002

By C. Veloo

"Westmin Resources operates a mine/mill complex at Myra Falls and produces copper and zinc concentrates with minor associations of gold, silver, and lead from a polymetallic, massive sulphide orebody. Mill flotation performance has historically been plagued by periods of uncontrollably high circulating loads leading to low concentrate grades and below optimal tails. This led to a detailed examination of the flotation process. Locked cycle, and pilot plant data are presented. In addition, plant design and commissioning as well as column cell details are discussed. A comparison between actual and predicted performance is also presented. Benefits realized are higher copper and zinc concentrate grades and improved zinc recovery.PrologueMyra Falls Operations is located at the south end of Suttle Lake in Strathcona Provincial Park. Access to the mine site is provided by a 90km paved highway from Campbell River, British Columbia.The mine and facilities are nestled in the narrow Myra Valley between Mount Phillips and Mount Myra. These steep, rugged mountains rise from the valley floor at an elevation of 900 feet to summits of almost 6000 feet. The steep slopes are heavily wooded with fir, hemlock, and cedar up to an elevation of 4000 feet where a transition to alpine meadows occurs. The summits are craggy rock faces, some capped with glacial ice. Myra Creek winds its way through the valley dropping several hundred feet into Suttle Lake. Precipitation is high at over 100 inches per year, which may include up to 10 feet of snow in winter. The temperature may range from 32° C in summer to -18° C in winter.Myra Falls began production in 1965 with the Lynx Mine, supplemented by the Myra and Price Mines in subsequent years, feeding a 950 stpd mill up until the middle of 1985 when the H-W mine was brought into production. The original mill was replaced with a modern 2700 mtpd facility and in 1988 production was increased to 4000 mtpd.Both Lynx and H-W mines are currently in production producing an average of 3650 mtpd. The ore minerals are primarily sphalerite and chalcopyrite, with subordinate galena, bornite, tetrahedrite, and electrum."

Jan 1, 1992

By A Walker

The presence of high noise levels in many industries, together with the fact that countries are becoming increasingly concerned with the health of its citizens, has contributed to the importance of the problem of hearing loss. This problem has become the focus of scientific research, law and medicine, and the object of this thesis is to present the means whereby noise may be detected, with its resulting effects and possible means of control, in mining operations. 0BJECTIONABLE noise is a particularly prevalent by-product of the mining industry, and, al-though a dangerous noise level has been recognized, it is believed that at no time now, or in the future, will it be possible to enumerate a single over-all decibel figure at which hearing impairment will oc-cur. Individual susceptibility must be recognized in any study of occupational loss of hearing aimed at the setting of standards and criteria for industrial noise control.

Jan 1, 1963

By M. J. Fairweather

"The nature of minor element values and impurities are important both in the assessment of new properties and in the continuing improvement of operating plants. Impurity elements are frequently present as fixed solid solution impurities in association with the constituent minerals of a deposit or process streams in a concentrator. This paper uses five case studies to illustrate the application of simple regression analysis to the evaluation of minor element distribution in both operating mines and new deposits using analytical information readily available. This information maybe used to determine opportunities for improvements to the performance of an operating mine, to the economic assessment of anew deposit, or to the subsequent planning of an experimental study.IntroductionThe nature of minor element values and impurities are important, both in the assessment of new properties and in the continuing improvement of operating plants. Minor element values often contribute appreciable incremental revenue to a complex base metal deposit. Examples of valuable elements include precious metals, but may also include elements such as indium and bismuth which can be recovered at a profit by smelters provided with the necessary recovery circuits. During preliminary metallurgical studies of a new property there is usually a strong incentive to maximize the recovery of such valuable by-product elements. For example, the extent to which the by-product gold in a porphyry copper deposit is associated with chalcopyrite rather than pyrite may determine theeconomics of developing a new property.The nature of impurity elements in base metal concentrates is correspondingly important in minimizing the penalties which may be imposed by smelters in the treatment of such concentrates. Penalty elements include silica, dolomite (magnesia), arsenic, antimony, mercury, nickel and cobalt. The mineralogical association of these minor elements determines the ability of the mine to remove them in the concentrating process. This paper discusses means of assessing the mineralogical nature of such impurities without the use of sophisticated micro-analytical techniques."

Jan 1, 1997

By R. A. Bergman, C. A. Pickles, J. M. Toguri

"Black calcium cyanide is utilized mainly as a reagent for gold extraction. It is produced by reacting calcium cyanamide, sodium chloride and calcium carbide at temperatures in the range of 1200°C to 1400°C in a smothered arc furnace. The equivalent sodium cyanide content of the product is in the range of 45% to 50% and the calcium cyanamide conversion efficiency is in the range of 90% to 95%. Since black cyanide contains impurities such as salt and lime and also because the conversion efficiencies are below 100%, the product contains unwanted materials which significantly increase the shipping costs.The impurity content of the raw materials can not be lowered without increasing their cost and/or the processes to produce them, and therefore the present research was focussed on studying those factors which affect the cyanide grade. The major variables investigated were: the heating rate, the reaction temperature, the salt to cyanamide ratio, the nitrogen content of the calcium cyanamide, moisture additions and calcium carbide additions. It was found that each of these variables had a significant effect on the product grade. The highest cyanide content of the product was obtained for salt to cyanamide mass ratios of 0.55 to 0.60. The salt reduces the decomposition rate of the cyanide and, therefore, at low salt to cyanamide ratios and at higher temperatures, the product grade is decreased. It is likely that the salt evaporates at the higher reaction temperatures and this decreases the cyanide capacity of the melt. High heating rates minimize the residence time and thus salt evaporation is reduced and higher grades can be obtained. As expected, the cyanide content increased with the nitrogen content of the cyanamide. Calcium carbide additions resulted in an increase in the product grade. The presence of small amounts of moisture in the charge caused a significant decrease in the cyanide content of the black cyanide. An equilibrium reaction is postulated in order to explain the black cyanide process and in particular the effect of calcium carbide on the product grade."

Jan 1, 2002

By T. Gerritsen, R. MacRosty, R. Pula, P. Gebski, W. L. Ying

Furnace run-outs can cause extended furnace downtime for repair, while leaks or more severe failures in the cooling system can lead to brick hydration or in severe cases, steam explosions. These incidents can result in lost production, damage to equipment, injuries and casualties. To prevent such incidents, reliable and accurate techniques to monitor the critical components of the furnace such as refractory lining, furnace structure, taphole integrity and main water circuits are required. This paper describes several advanced methods that have been developed to assess the condition of furnace integrity, refractory lining, tapholes and cooling water circuits.

Jan 1, 2015

By A. D. Hunt

THIS PAPER will review Canada's fossil fuel situation as we understand it today and indicate some of the options available to meet our energy requirements during the next 15 years. It would therefore be helpful to examine Canada's total energy requirements and discuss the un certainties of the data base on which we must base future energy investment decisions. On the world scene, Canada is at the top of the energy-consuming nations, using about 49 bbls of oil equivalent per caput/ year. This appears to be slightly ahead of the U.S. and of course much higher than that of many countries. It is generally accepted that there is a more or less direct relationship between energy consumption and material standard of living. However , as we know, Canada, when compared with other industrialized countries on a GNP, an individual-income or some other standard basis, is lower in the list. This situation may be explained by our more severe climate and a relatively small population distributed over a land mass second only to that of the Soviet Union.

Jan 1, 1977