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By Colleagues from Process and Operation departments, Guy Chevalier

"QCM's pellet plant, located in Port-Cartier, Quebec, produces up to 8.6 million tons of iron ore pellets annually. Four different types are produced: three for blast furnace operations and one for direct reduction furnaces. The paper presents the scientific approach that led to the installation of new process equipment to improve the reducibility of direct reduction pellets (DR pellet). The findings, the equipment selection and some post start-up modifications are presented.This low silica DR pellet is used in Midrex and HyL shaft furnaces. A good DR pellet has to meet strict chemical, physical and metallurgical specifications. An important metallurgical property is its ability to release oxygen when exposed to reducing gases. Considering that the market for DR pellets is expanding and being aware that reducibility is critical for our clients, a program to improve the latter was undertaken. Test work showed that one factor which has a negative effect on reducibility is the proportion of particles larger than 75 microns. Knowing that the best way to reduce the amount of coarse particles was to close our open grinding circuits, we began evaluating the most suitable classification equipment applicable to our process operations. We settled on hydro-classifiers based on their very sharp cut and their low operating costs. In light of the hydro-classifiers performance it was also decided to replace the hydro-cyclones of an already closed circuit.INTRODUCTIONAt the Québec Cartier Mining pellet plant, continuous improvement programs are aimed at increasing levels of consistency and improved chemical, physical and metallurgical properties. This is being accomplished while still maintaining pellet plant production volumes to satisfy market demands.QCM produces three types of pellets for blast furnace use: acid pellets, designated as ""BHF"", fluxed pellets, designated as ""BAF"", and low silica fluxed pellets, designated as ""BSA"". For direct reduction, a low silica acid pellet or DR pellet, designated as ""BBS"" is produced. This low silica DR pellet is used in Midrex and HyL shaft furnaces.The demand for DR pellets has been increasing during the last few years and is believed to continue so in the future. Wanting to be present in this growing market QCM found that it would be essential to work at improving its DR pellets quality. Efforts have been focused on improvements in three areas: SiO2 reduction, elimination of sticking and increasing reducibility. Improvement programs have begun with laboratory research followed by plant trials and full-scale implementation as a cooperative effort among QCM, COREM, and key customers."

Jan 1, 2002

By Sherwin F. Kelly

"THE TITLE I have chosen is certainly not one of those self-explanatory ones. I shall endeavour to make its significance clear during my remarks but, in the hope of minimizing that inevitable exodus which follows a good lunch such as this, I am going to withhold the final key to its meaning until the very last sentence of this talk.Some explanation is due at the beginning, however, so for those of you unfamiliar with Spanish I will explain that casa means house, or home. The casa about which I am going to talk necessitates a wide .and generous interpretation of the word, because I am using it to indicate principally that portion of the North American continent which is the home, in the western hemisphere, of British and American ideals of justice and freedom, the dignity of the individual and his right to exercise private initiative .and engage in private enterprise. In a wider sense, I am including the entire western hemisphere, which may yet stand as the last bulwark of political and industrial democracy.As for the treasures of which I am about to speak, may I remind you that there are no• material treasures but those derived from the earth, and they are derived by one of two processes, -mining and farming. These two fundamental industries are the basis, and the sole material basis, of our welfare, our wealth, our very existence. From farming, whether it be farming of the land. or farming of the sea, we obtain the food to keep us alive, healthy and able to work."

Jan 1, 1955

By K. A. Clark

SEPARATION of the oil from the bituminons sands of the Athabaska area of Alberta has been a subject of study by the Research Council of Alberta. The results of the study have been published in the Annual Reports of the Council. However, the last Annual Report in which there is mention of bituminons sand separation is that for 1934. The attention that is being directed toward the bituminons sands at the present time calls for an up-to-date summary of the work of the Research Council of Alberta on the hot-water separation process. STATEMENT OF FUNDAMENTALS OF HOT-WATER PROCESS Studies of the hot-water separation process have been largely empirical in nature. The objective sought has been a complete recovery of oil from the sand in the form of a separated oil which, itself, is free from mineral matter. Various procedures have been tried in the hope of attaining this objective and a very considerable mass of observations and background of experience have been acquired. lt is rime that a theory for hot-water separation should commence to emerge. As a start toward the formulation of such a theory, the statements which follow regarding the constitution of bituminons sand and its reactions with water and air are presented. It is not pretended that they are entirely correct, but it is believed that they lie not far from the truth. (1) Bituminons sand is an aggregate of sand, clay, oil, and water. The sand consists mainly of quartz particles of 100 ta 200 mesh size and smaller, but also of particles of other minerais including mica, rutile, ilmenite, tour-maline, zircon, spinel, garnet, pyrite, and lignite. Clay occurs interbedded with the bituminons sand, of which, also, it is a constituent. lronstone nodules of all sizes up to eight inches in diameter are likely to be present in the bituminons sand beds. The oil is viscous, naphthenic, and of a specific gravity slightly greater than that of water. The oil content ranges up to, and sometimes even exceeds, 17 per cent by weight. Rich bituminons sand from beds not invaded by water has a water content of 3 to 5 per cent by weight. The water is probably present as a film around the sand particles. The oil surrounds the moist sand grains as an envelope. (2) Water wets quartz and other siliceous minerals more readily than does mineral oil. Consequently, water tends to displace the oil film surrounding the quartz and other siliceous particles when the bituminons sand is mixed with water. Whether the oil is completely displaced depends on the properties of the water. That is to say, the materials dissolved or suspended in the water modify its wetting properties.

Jan 1, 1944

By W. R. A. Graeser

"The Nordenham finishing mill is situated in the town of Nordenham, Fede1•al Republic of Germany, on the banks of the Weser River opposite the town of Bremerhaven, with access by water to the North Sea.The unfinished fibre, shipped j?•om Deception Bay during the sub-Arctic summer shipping season, is unloaded from bulk ocean carriers, stored and then processed throughout the year until the following shipping season. This paper describes the unloading and storage facilities,the finishing mill and the finished-fibre storage arrangement. Details of environmental and dust control practices and West German environmental standards are discussed. A resumé of fibre markets is included."

Jan 1, 1976

By H. Rozovsky

"AbstractThis paper discusses the methods of handling air in a large asbestos mill presently being completed at the Jeffrey mine of the Canadian Johns-Manville Company in Asbestos, Quebec.The mill, being the largest single asbestos producer in the world and capable of handling over 14,000 tons of ore per day, requires vast quantities of air. A minimum of 2,500.000 c.f.m. is required or about 10 tons of air for each ton of ore milled.Short descriptions of the process and systems requiring this air are given, followed by details of the fans and filters which make up the heart of the mill.This 'draw through' system, located on the top or 12th floor, is an automatically .controlled volume-pressure system creating the required suction to draw .air throughout the mill building and its numerous air systems.The dry mechanical method of milling develops enormous quantities of airborne dust and fibre. A section of this paper is devoted to a description of the multiplicity of dust systems within a system to control, filter, and remove this dust.Finally, the paper describes the method of returning the filtered air to the• working floors or to the outside, with some notes on heat, humidity and dust counts.IntroductionGeneralTHE discussions in this paper deal only with operations where air movement is involved. No attempt is made to delve into production methods.The Jeffrey mine of the Canadian Johns-Manville Company, located about 100 miles east of Montreal, is the largest single asbestos producer in the world, being responsible for over half of Canadian asbestos fibre production."

Jan 1, 1955

By E. R. Weltevreden, C. Klauber, C. Vernon

"In this paper a review of the current status in recycling technologies for cathode ray tubes is given for both the glass and phosphors. Particular emphasis is placed on the opportunities for the recovery of the rare earth elements (REE) from the phosphor coatings. This is placed in the market context of alternative virgin sources and some of the advantages and disadvantages for REE waste recovery. Future opportunities are explored and also some experimental detail on a low cost leach system is presented. INTRODUCTIONThe disposal of cathode ray tube (CRT) based colour televisions has accelerated world-wide with the development of high definition flat screen panels. The total number of colour CRT televisions that have been sold in the United States in the mid-20th century is estimated to have been over 2 billion (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2007), with high current rates of disposal. It is estimated that of the 20 million televisions annually discarded, 78% are send to landfill (Nnorom, Osibanjo & Ogwuegbu, 2011). However, this easily accessible item of electronics cannot only be turned into a valuable resource using the right recovery procedures, it can also prevent the substantial environmental contamination arising from improper disposal. In this review we focus on previous and current work performed on the recycling of CRT based televisions. Due to the increasing demand for rare earth metals, the main focus will be on the possibilities and challenges of recycling the fluorescent phosphor powders on the CRT’s panel glass.CATHODE RAY TUBE’S GLASS RECYCLINGConventional cathode ray tubes consist of three main parts, the panel, the funnel and the neck (Figure 1). To produce the different colours on the screen, the inside of the panel is coated with a matrix of hundreds of thousands of small phosphor dots. Each dot is one of three types of coloured phosphors, emitting either red, green or blue light. These emit light when excited by a beam of electrons generated by electron guns located in the neck of the CRT. These beams pass through holes in the shadow mask and excite the phosphor coating on the inside of the panel, to give light of variable RGB composition, see Figure 1."

Jan 1, 2012

By D. A. Livingstone

Abstract Golden Manitou Mines, Limited, nine miles east of the town of Val d'Or in northwestern Quebec, are presently milling, at the rate of 1,000 tons daily, a relatively complex 3.11-phide ore and producing, in decreasing order of value, zinc, silver, gold, lead, and copper. The products are a zinc concentrate, a silver-lead-copper concentrate, and a silver-gold precipitate from cyanidation. Although several independent pre-production metallurgical investigations into the treatment of the ore were carried out, current practice is different from any of the recommended methods and, while still leaving room for improvement, is considerably more effective than earlier performance. Flow-sheet developments from the commencement of operations in 1942 are dealt with briefly, showing the reasons for making numerous changes, the shortcomings of the various schemes tried, and, finally, covering data pertinent to present-day practice. From the recovery standpoint, silver has presented the greatest difficulty. The writer's association with the Company coincided with the start of production. Characteristics of the Ore The predominant metallic minerals present in the ore, in decreasing order of their abundance, are: pyrite, sphalerite, galena and chalcopyrite, with lesser amounts of argentiferous tennantite-tetrahedrite, arsenopyrite, covellite, bornite, and chalcocite. The sphalerite is mostly light in colour, sometimes colourless, and practically free from combined iron. Some of the sphalerite is very closely associated with minor amounts of pyrite, chalcopyrite, and galena. Pyrie is abundantly disseminated as medium to fine grains; more rarely it is massive and contains occasional grains of sphalerite, galena, and chalcopyrite.

Jan 1, 1952

By P. Cain, B. Martens

"Grande Cache Coal (GCC), an investor-owned Alberta company, is in the final stages of the regulatory process leading to the resumption of coal mining in the Smoky River Coal Field of Alberta. Although many opportunities for low-cost, high-yield mining remained on the property, GCC opted for a long-term production plan that ensures stability for the local economy, sustainable use of the resources in the area, environmental responsibility and a satisfactory return for its investors.GCC entered the Alberta coal approval process in late 2000 with a public disclosure document. In October 2001, GCC formally submitted an application for mining approval and an environmental impact assessment (EIA) to the government and the public. The application covered the proposed Grande Cache Coal project, which includes the No. 7 underground mine, No. 8 surface mine and coal processing operations. The EIA provided a comprehensive investigation of environmental sensitivities in the project area, matched with environmental protection programs. The project is based on commencement of operations in late 2002. GCC’s plans are founded on a commitment to sustainable development and has framed this commitment in the context of a long-range mine development plan that will sustain the community of Grande Cache over the next 25 years. The Grande Cache coalfields offer extensive coal reserves and opportunities, for both surface and underground mining. Combining highly productive U.S.-style room and- pillar underground mining methods and conventional truck-and-shovel open pit mining, GCC’s approach to sustainable development encompasses community involvement and reclamation of mine sites to productive land uses after mining."

Jan 1, 2002

By S. Uddin

Microsegregation manifests its effect on microstructural evolution of cast or welded alloys which in turn influences their important mechanical and electro-chemical properties. In the above context, mathematical models of microsegregation have proven to play an important role in estimating the nature and predicting the effects of this phenomenon in wide varieties of solidification processes. Microsegregation models are useful in designing new commercial alloys, in estimating the homogenization time for the post-process heat treatments and in many other practical applications. In this study, two semi-analytical models of microsegregation were developed to predict the concentration field of solute in the liquid and solid regions for dendritic solidification of binary metallic alloys. Both models assume that the growing dendrites are cylindrical in shape. This assumption is more realistic compared to the common assumptions of plate like dendrites that most of the earlier researchers employed in their microsegregation modeling study. The solute redistribution profile, in the developing solid layer, necessary to determine the back diffusion parameter was derived from Fick's second law for the model without coarsening. The application of this parameter in a wide range of conditions and the use of its basic form in the model with coarsening has been verified. The concept of coordinate transformation and enhancement of back-diffusion Fourier number were used in deriving the model which took into account the coarsening of dendrites. The models are then extended to deal with rapid solidification and peritectic transformations and the results were compared with relevant experimental data for Aluminum and other alloys. A good agreement between model predictions and experimental results was found.

Jan 1, 2007

By C. P. Browning

Copper, as far as we know, was the first metal used by man, and due to the fact that it occurs in many places in the 'native' state, and also to the ease with which it may be shaped, it has played an important part in the evolution of civilization. Copper tools with inscriptions dating back to 6,000 B.C. are known in Egypt, where the metal probably got its start as a useful material in human hands. Just how far back the use of copper in Canada dates is difficult to say, but it was in use by the Indians in the Lake Superior country long before the arrival of the first white man. For many generations the Eskimos also have used copper derived fr0m deposits of the native metal found in the Coronation Gulf district. Due to the metal's many unique qualities, imperishable with age, ancient implements and utensils are apparently as good today as when they were made, having withstood the onslaught of time probably better than objects of any of the other base metals. Copper alloys so well with other metals that today it is second only to iron in its industrial value. Even at the beginning of the eighteenth century the world's production of copper was probably not more than seven thousand tons a year, with Great Britain producing three-fourths of this. One hundred years ago the mines of the United States, Chili, Mexico, Canada, South Africa, Australia, and Tasmania, which now produce about nine-tenths of the copper of the world, were totally undeveloped. Ln 1926 the world production of copper was approximately 1,658,000 tons, which was seventy thousand tons greater than in the preceding year; but growing demand absorbed the increased production, so that the stock of rough copper throughout the world is comparatively small. Of this huge tonnage of the metal, Canada produced four percent, two-thirds of it emanating from British Columbia, nearly one-third from the Province of Ontario, and the balance from Quebec.

Jan 1, 1927

By B. M. Hamilton

"IntroductionTHE PROCEDURE and technique for drilling holes has probably undergone as great a change during the past ten years as any one of the other operations conducted in hard-rock mining. During this period, we have seen a change from the heavy leyners and drifters to the light jackleg type of drill machine; from steels that were forged and hardened on the bit end to the inserted •carbide-tipped rod, from the necessity of providing special bit-end fabrication and beat treatment of shank steels to the simple grinding or turning of a plain section on a shank with no heat treatment required for bit attachment.When the steel maker was first called upon to manufacture a hollow drill rod, it was required that the steel must not only have sufficient strength and fatigue resistance to cope with the stresses of service, but also must be capable of being heat treated on the bit end to a high hardness for resistance to wear and abrasion . Little was known at that time about alloy steels and the beneficial effects to be gained from additions of chromium, nickel , and molybdenum. So it was that the plain 0.80 per cent carbon analysis was selected, since it had already proven to be a suitable grade for chisels, hammers, and other such shock tools. This grade has long endured the test of time and is still used in considerable tonnage today, particularly by the construction industry.As the metallurgist learned more about the influence of alloying elements, a new hollow drill analysis was placed on the market in the early 'thirties'."

Jan 1, 1954

Agenda ?Trends in Wireless Technology ?Success and Opportunities ?Improving plants efficiency ?Improving plants reliability ?Improving plants safety and security ?Wireless Ecosystem ?Lessons Learnt / Recommendations Why Wireless? ?Lower cost (no wiring cost) ?Flexibility (no wire) ?Standards-compliant wireless devices major factor enabling growth:?Standard WLAN (IEEE 802.11)?Wireless field I/Os (IEEE 802.11, ISA100.11 and WirelessHART) ??Wireless adoption will become a milestone that will rival the introduction of Fieldbus and the distributed control system (DCS) in its importance.? ARC Advisory Group

May 1, 2009

"Under the term ""paleogeomorphology"" are grouped together all geo-morphological phenomena which are recognizable in subsurface geology. Since geomorphology is the science of the earth's relief features, paleogeomorphology is the science of buried relief features. Such features are of importance to the petroleum geologist whenever they lead to the trapping of hydrocarbons. In areas where these features abound -and western Canada certainly is such an area -pale-ogeomorphology ranks in importance with stratigraphy and structural geology as a hydrocarbon-finding tool. Hydrocarbons may be trapped either directly or indirectly due to paleogeomorphological processes. Both types of traps may occur either below the morphological surface or above (against) it. Several examples of types of paleogeomorphological traps are given. A new classification of geomorphological .features is proposed, with a subdivision into two main groups: constructive and destructive geomorphic processes. Of the many geomorphic classifications, some are of greater interest to the petroleum geologist in western -Canada than others. In the present paper the morphology of reefs and of buried erosional land forms are discussed in greater detail. In dealing with the reefs of the Devonian Leduc formation in Alberta, it is found that several groups of reefs can be distinguished and that each group presents a separate set of morphological characteristics. The effects of erosion and weathering are exemplified mostly in the Devonian, Mississippian and Jurassic of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Hydrocarbon traps occur below the highs on the erosional surface as well as in sands laid down in the lows of that surface. The rules which govern the formation of ancient landscape forms are worked out, using an area in southeastern Saskatchewan as an example."

Jan 1, 1960

By F. A. McLean

At the Annual Western Meeting held at Blairmore, Alta., October 1924, the writer presented a paper drawing attention -to the advantages of portable gas-driven equipment for developing isolated mining properties. This type of equipment was at that time practically in its infancy and the details of results actually accomplished were somewhat meagre. During the last year or so a number of these plants have been installed so that it is now possible to offer more definite information regarding the actual mining progress accomplished with such plants and their cost of operation in various parts of the country. This paper has been written with the idea of reviewing the work done during the past year, and to supply data which may be of interest to those wh9 are confronted with the problem of selecting equipment for development or assessment work. Because drilling operations play such an important part in mining, one of the first problems that usually confront the prospective? mine owner is the selection of the proper com-pressed-air plant. The size and type of equipment and the method of driving it require careful consideration. The size and type of equipment is determined largely by the funds available, transportation facilities, and the speed with which the programme of development is to be carried out. The selection of the proper method of drive usually depends on local conditions, such as the relative cost of various fuels, and has an important bearing on operating costs.

Jan 1, 1926

By S. Shairp

The first commercial application of the Dynatec two-stage zinc pressure leach process commenced operation at the metallurgical complex of Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting Co., Limited in Flin Flon, Manitoba in 1993. A key feature of the successful leaching operation is the presence of iron in solution, which facilitates oxygen transfer in the autoclaves and enables rapid oxidation of zinc sulphide minerals. At the same time, the solution from which zinc is recovered must be essentially iron free. Precipitation of iron from the solution starts in the autoclaves and is completed in subsequent atmospheric purification steps. Conveniently, these iron precipitation steps also remove nuisance elements such as arsenic and fluoride from the solution, while producing solids with good liquid-solid separation characteristics. This paper provides an overview of the current operations in Flin Flon, with particular reference to the behaviour and deportment of iron throughout the zinc plant.

Jan 1, 2006

By J. R. Emery, D. F. Coates

"FOUR PAPERS ON CEMENTED BACKFILL were given at the Annual General Meeting of The Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy in 1970:Weaver, W. S., and Luka, R., ""Laboratory Studies of Cement-Stabilized Mine Tailings"".Pasieka, A. R., Beattie, H. F., and Espley, G. H., ""Cemented Hydraulic Backill within the Falconbridge Group of Companies"".McLeod, P. C., and Schwartz, A., ""Consolidated Fill at Noranda Mines Limited (Geco Division)"".Clement, W. P., and Sokoloski, R., ""Pumping Cemented Backfill"".These four papers give the impression of a development in mining technology that has been substantially completed. Somewhat over ten years ago, The Inter-national Nickel Company of Canada, Limited and Falconbridge Nickel Mines Limited started experimenting with the addition of Portland cement to mill tailings to produce improved backfill and cheaper floors for scraping. Shortly after, the Canada Cement Company Limited (now Canada Cement Lafarge Ltd.), with full support of the two mining companies, started an extensive research program to provide the technologic-al data necessary to exploit what was obviously going to be a significant development in mining technology."

Jan 1, 1970

By P. M. May, V. Gella

The deportment and speciation of trace elements during mining and minerals processing is becoming an area of increasing concern with regards to potential health and environment risks. The use of chemical modelling can enhance our basic understanding of the deportment and speciation of trace metals under conditions present in gold processing solutions, and assist in laboratory and field investigations. In this paper, we report the results of chemical speciation modelling using the JESS software package for the trace toxic elements Pb, Cd, Hg, Se and Te in cyanidation solutions of varying salinity and relate the models to experimental data. The speciation of mercury is examined in detail.

Jan 1, 2011

By N. A. Warner

Virtually zero gas emission smelting is promoted as a means for securing environmental advantages and the general public’s acceptance. Concerns about climate change will increasingly make it more difficult for new primary metals projects to come to fruition unless greenhouse gas emissions are decreased. Assuming a sustainable market for sulphuric acid is not locally available, the next best option is high temperature reaction of strong SO2 with limestone or dolomite. This is followed by CO2 liquefaction and disposal either underground or in the deep ocean. The Voisey’s Bay nickel project is cited as an example where appropriate location of a new smelter close to large dolomite or limestone deposits would lead to a virtually zero gas emission operation. Most of the electrical energy required for producing technically pure oxygen and for liquefying CO2 and transporting it to disposal can be derived from smelting a bulk sulphide concentrate and then reacting SO2 at high temperature. Provided the smelter gases are properly cleaned before sulphur fixation, the sulphated stone should be uncontaminated and environmentally benign and possibly of use in the building and construction industry.

Jan 1, 1999

By F. Daniel Rosenkranz, Peter L. Silveston

Experiments investigating the treatment of a ground wood white water waste from an Ontario pulp and paper mill by an HVCB coal are reported. Adsorption capacity for the waste, with a soluble COD contribution of 2,100 mg/I, amounted to 0.17 per cent, by weight, of the Nova Scotia coal used. Percolation of the white water waste through a coal bed indicated that soluble COD is removed. For finely ground coals, over 90 per cent of the suspended solids in the waste are retained on the coal. Plugging of the coal bed is rapid, so that any treating process using filtration would have to renew the surface of the bed frequently.

Jan 1, 1970

By Robert B. Parsons

"Originally intended to be implemented in 1977, but actually introduced effective May 6, 1974, the earned depletion regulations have been substantially refined and modified since their appearance on the Canadian tax scene, so that this important legislation now consists of a highly complicated set of rules which even the most astute follower of tax law has considerable difficulty sorting out!This month, Tax Notes attempts to cut through this bewildering array oj regulations, in reviewing the main features of the earned depletion allowance applicable to mining operations. Despite the phase-out of earned depletion allowances for most oil and gas operations as part of the federal government's new National Energy Program, earned depletion provisions are still alive and well for the mining sector, although they might well be slowly strangling to death in their own entanglement of complexity!"

Jan 1, 1981