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By Phil Keele

Canadian Natural ??Business Approach Efficiency and Execution ?Drive to be the low cost producer ?Focus on exploitation ?Augment exploitation with strategic acquisitions ?Maintain Discipline and Strength while Delivering on the Defined Plan ?Maintain flexibility and control allocation of capital ?Strive for balance (asset portfolio) ?Maintain financial strength

May 1, 2010

By Seppo Haapamaki

"Since it started production in 1970, Anderson Lake Mine has experienced several radical changes in mining methods as a result of the physical characteristics of the ore zone along with the need for improved productivity. This paper examines the transition from longhole open stoping to mechanized cut-and fill then to vertical crater retreat at Anderson Lake Mine. The reasons for the need to change mining methods is analyzed taking into consideration the impact of such criteria as improved productivity and ground conditions and how these criteria affected the over-all economic viability of the mine. IntroductionAnderson Lake Mine is one of five producing copper mines in the Snow Lake area and is situated approximately 3 km southeast of the townsite of Snow Lake (Fig. I).The mine production rate at Anderson Lake is 700 tpd and all ore is trucked from the mine to the mill located approximately 2.5 km from the mine site . The mine is serviced by a three-compartment shaft sunk to a depth of 3300 ft with level spacings at 175 ft and 150 ft intervals from the 600 ft level to the 3000 ft level. .The shaft was collared in 1965 and, a year later, the hoist and compressors were installed. By 1969, a crusher system had been built and actual production began in 1970. During 1978, production was suspended for the year to allow for 430 ft of shaft deepening."

Jan 1, 1988

By B. McLaughlin

Agnico-Eagle started sinking the Penna Shaft in 1995 with a hoisting plant capable of hoisting 1800 t/d from a 2240 m deep shaft. Exploration success led to the installation of a hoisting plant capable of extracting 4500 t of ore and 1800 t of waste per day from a depth of 2210 m. The introduction of a new rope selection factor, permitting a safety factor of 4.0, represented the breakthrough required for a cost-effective project. This paper describes the process taken to introduce the new rope selection factor and its impact on the original plant.

Jan 1, 2004

By G. Taylor

"The Iron Ore Company Of Canada's Carol Project is located in Labrador City, Newfoundland. Labrador City is some 912 air kilometers northeast of Montreal, and 417 ratl kilometers north of Sept-Iles, Quebec.Over 2,800 employees work at the Carol Project to produce some 20.0 million tonnes of concentrate and 10.5 million tonnes of pellets annually.In 1979 our Training Department started to develop the DACUM System of training for our Concentrator Operations Department.DACUM is an individualized, self-learning, training program. It is both a curriculum plan and an evaluation instrument.To date, the DACUM System has been completed for all occupations in the concentrator and work will commence shortly to develop DACUM for our Pellet Plant and Mine Operations Departments."

Jan 1, 1982

By Stuart McTavish

"Noranda's Goldstream mine is a 1,500 ton per day copper-zinc mine located 60 miles north of Revelstoke, B.C.The orebody which contains 3.69% Cu and 2.69% Zn was discovered in 1972. Construction of the mine and mill was completed in 1982 and start up was achieved in May 1983.This paper will describe the flowsheet and related equipment 1n the crusher and mill, in particular the dewatering section where two Larox pressure filters are used to dry the concentrates.INTRODUCTIONThe Goldstrean property is located 60 miles north of Revelstoke, B.C. in the Goldstream River Valley (Figure #1). It was discovered during the construction of a logging road in 1972. Exploratory drilling was initiated in 1975, and in 1976 a portal was collared to obtain underground data. Samples were taken from the underground workings for metallurgical bench tests and a pilot plant run.Due to economic conditions, the decision to go into production was delayed until 1980. Concentrator construction and underground development progressed simultaneously during 1981 and 1982, and were completed by the end of 1982. Start up of the concentrator was achieved on May 2, 1983.The ore typically contains about 40% sulphides, which are chalcopyrite 10%, sphaletite 6%, pyrrhotite 20%, and pyrite less than 5%. The sulphide minerals have a high degree of intergrowth. Most of the sphalerite occurs in micron sized grains which are embedded in the pyrrhotite and, to a lesser degree in the chalcopyrite. There is also some fine dissemination of the chalcopyrite in the pyrrhotite. The waste rock is made up of about 30% quartz, 20% guange silicates, and 10% carbonates. The ore has a specific gravity of 3.2 and a natural pH of 8.2."

Jan 1, 1985

By Erin Legault Seguin, Mike Rylatt, Curtis Mohns

"With energy costs increasing and ore grades diminishing, the role of pre-concentration in hard rock mining operations has been gaining greater interest. To maximize energy conservation, the pre-concentration process should be conducted at as coarse a crush size as possible while minimizing losses of pay metals. Dense medium separation (DMS) is a robust process that can be conducted at particle sizes as coarse as 300 mm and as fine as 500 µm with high separation efficiency, depending on liberation characteristics of the value minerals. The DMS process involves three steps: feed preparation, dense medium separation, and ferrous-based media recovery. This paper discusses each of these processing steps, but focus will be given to the dense medium separation stage. Various types of DMS equipment are reviewed. Pilot plant campaign case studies conducted at the SGS Lakefield site are presented, which have included a variety of mineral systems such as spodumene, sulphide-bearing gold ores, and complex sulphide ores. These case studies demonstrate that for amenable ores, mass rejection of 20-60% is possible while maintaining recoveries of greater than 90% in most cases.IntroductionPre-concentration is a process of rejecting mass of gangue while ensuring recovery of valuable minerals prior to more intensive, downstream processing. Pre-concentration has been practiced in industry for many years, and is gaining greater interest as the industry copes with processing lower grade, more difficult ores, typically requiring finer grind sizes and higher energy costs."

Jan 1, 2016

By J. F. Archibald

A research effort has been undertaken, under Workplace Safety and Insurance Board of Ontario (WSIB) sponsorship, to characterize the support capabilities of conventional and innovative spray-on lining materials for mitigating dynamic failure effects created by simulated rockbursts. Conventional spray support media, such as shotcrete and fibrecrete linings, and a variety of new spray-on lining materials [thin, spray-on liners (TSLs)], typically polymer-type thin coatings, were subjected to simulated rockburst influence. For baseline comparison, conventional rockbolt and bolt-and-mesh support products were also evaluated. Observation of lining performance was undertaken through completion of field-scale support and rock detonation trials. Controlled blasting tests were conducted at the Queen’s University Explosives Laboratory to examine the effectiveness of the variety of surface coating agents for modifying dynamic rock spalling processes. All tests were performed upon largely undisturbed and homogeneous rock materials in highly repeatable fashion. All blasts were observed seismically and photographically to provide detailed information concerning rock motion, surface fracturing, ejected fragment motion and support liner survivability characteristics. These material comparison trials were performed to assess the relative effectiveness of a wide range of currently available area support techniques for suppressing hazards associated with dynamic rock ejection. The results of this study validate that thin, spray-on linings may be equally as effective, and often better, than conventional support materials at mitigating rockburst or like damage in highly stressed mine environments.

Jan 1, 2004

By F. Charette

The paper reviews recent investigations of the impact of corrosion on the performance of both plain and coated Swellex rock bolts. It addresses the problems associated with estimating and predicting corrosion rates of friction bolts, and based on field data it suggests an empirical relationship to predict corrosion rates. A review of the necessary qualities for a protective coating leads to recent experience with coated Swellex bolts that suggest that they can contribute to extending the useful life of Swellex bolts in potentially corrosive environments.

May 1, 2004

By Rajiv Kalra

This paper reviews the following aspects of the world?s largest manufactured Grinding Mill?s in terms of diameter and power, along with the world?s biggest shop assembly and trial run of the mills delivered to Sino Iron Magnetite Project in Australia. 1. An overview of the basic flow sheet of the Sino Iron (Magnetite) Project located in Australia 2. An overview of in-house designed CITIC Heavy Industries 12.2 m (40ft) F x 11 m(36ft) LG ? 28MW AG mills including FEA and major components 3. In-house manufacturing at CITIC-HIC work in Luoyang China of all major components for 6 off Ø12.2 m(40ft) AG mills and 6 off Ø7.9 m(26ft) x 13.6 m(44.6ft) LG-2 x 7.8 MW Ball Mills 4. Major aspects of design and preparation of the biggest shop trial run of Ø7.9 m(26ft) x 13.6 m(44.6ft) LG Ball Mill witnessed by international EPCM?s and clients in July 2009. 5. Major aspects of one piece assembly of 1300 tonne rotating element of the Ø12.2 m(40ft) x 11 m(36ft) LG AG Mill and Ø7.9 m F (26) x 13.6 m(44.6ft) LG Ball Mill at the port of the export China and transport to Australian Port and then to site. 6. An insight to unique installation methods used for Ø12.2 m(40ft) and Ø7.9 m(26ft) rotating element lifting on the mill foundation in one piece assemblies. 7. CITIC Heavy Industries present capability for in house design and manufacture of Grinding Mills up to Ø13.7 m (45 ft) with 35 MW Gearless drives and Ø12.2 m(40ft) with 2 x 10 MW Geared Mill drives

Jan 1, 2012

By B. R. Boardman

Project Environmental Approval is a multi-faceted issue. From a mining perspective, it is a costly item because of avoidable time delay. The government perspective is that the approvals are a necessary part of meeting departmental requirements to ensure that the wellbeing of other uses of the environment is maintained. This paper outlines some of the problems inherent in the environmental approvals process and makes recommendations to both the proponent and government about improving the efficiency of the process.

Jan 1, 1978

By Roger Payne, John R. Goode, Feng Gao, James Brown

The Eco Ridge deposit is located in the Elliot Lake mining camp in Northern Ontario, Canada. Between 1955 and 1996, the area produced more than 138,000 t (300 million pounds) of U3O8 and very significant amounts of thorium and heavy rare earths. Based on the NI 43-101 Preliminary Economic Assessment by Roscoe Postle Associates (RPA) dated June 2012, and the economic review by RPA as announced in Pele Mountains’ Press release dated September 12, 2013, the Eco Ridge Mine Project would extract and process 46 Mt of material to produce about 19,000 t (42 million pounds) of U3O8 and about 65,000 t of rare earth oxide (REO) over a 14-year life. This paper discusses process optimization studies including beneficiation and hydrometallurgical testwork. The proposed modified flowsheet includes the flotation and processing of 1) a pyrite concentrate, 2) a dominantly light rare earth elements (LREE) concentrate, 3) a concentrate containing most of the balance of the uranium and heavy rare earths (HREE), and 4) a relatively inert tailings.

Jan 1, 2014

By A. R. Guest, R. Clayton, J. Jakubec

"The potential for mudrushes is a potential hazard that should be evaluated during cave mining studies. Mudrushes are a phenomenon that can have very different origins, but produce the same results: injury, loss of life, damage to property, excess dilution, production delays, or mine closure. Although mudrushes are more common in cave mines than other mines, any mining activity that enables the accumulation of fine particles and water is susceptible to mudflow. This paper describes the process developed by the authors during the past decade to evaluate the risk of mudrushes, specifically in caving and sublevel caving mines.RÉSUMÉ Un danger potentiel qui devrait être évalué durant les études d’exploitation par blocs foudroyés est la possibilité d’afflux de boue. Le phénomène des afflux de boue peut avoir des origines très diverses; les résultats sont cependant les mêmes : des blessures, des pertes de vie, des dommages à la propriété, une dilution excessive, des délais de production ou des fermetures de mines. Bien que les afflux de boue soient plus fréquents dans les mines exploitées par blocs foudroyés, toute activité minière qui permet l’accumulation de particules fines et d’eau est sujette à des coulées de boue. Le présent article décrit le processus développé par les auteurs au cours de la dernière décennie pour évaluer le risque d’afflux de boue, surtout dans les mines exploitées par blocs foudroyés et par sousniveaux foudroyés."

Jan 1, 2016

By T. R. Kostecki

"Instrumented rock bolts are effective tools for assessing the reinforcement and condition of immediate roofs; however, instrumentation can have relatively high costs, which can be justified by high reliability and repeatable and representative data measurements. The instrument’s durability and operational life are of great importance, along with accuracy, applicability, and usefulness. This paper develops reliability models for three instrumentation technologies used in slotted rebar, drawing data from studies at five underground coal mines. Three case studies demonstrate instrument applicability and usefulness. Finally, two types of instrumented rock bolts are used to determine the direction of bend and maximum bending strain. RÉSUMÉ Les boulons d’ancrage instrumentés sont des outils performants qui permettent d’évaluer la consolidation et la condition des toits immédiats. L’instrumentation peut cependant se révéler très onéreuse, des coûts qui se justifient par sa fiabilité élevée ainsi que par des mesures de données reproductibles et représentatives. La durabilité de l’instrument et sa durée de vie opérationnelle sont très importantes, de même que son exactitude, son applicabilité et son utilité. En s’appuyant sur des données issues d’études menées dans cinq mines de charbon souterraines, cet article développe des modèles de fiabilité pour trois technologies d’instrumentation utilisées pour des barres d’armature nervurées. Trois études de cas démontrent l’applicabilité de l’instrument et son utilité. Enfin, deux types de boulons d’ancrage instrumentés sont utilisés pour déterminer la direction de la flexion et la contrainte de flexion maximale.INTRODUCTION Using instrumented rock bolts to monitor strain changes in a rock bolt array allows engineers to understand the per-formance and effectiveness of the rock reinforcement system and the response of the rock mass to such support; however, instrumentation remains a niche solution for solving complex ground-control problems—particularly for underground coal mines, which is where they are needed most. From 2000 to 2016, fall-of-ground fatalities still accounted for an average of approximately 30% of the total annual underground coal mine fatalities in the United States alone (United States Department of Labor, 2018). These tools would also be useful for deep hard-rock mining conditions. The main reasons for the lack of widespread use are not only cost but also accuracy, applicability, implementation procedures, intrinsic permissibility, and reliability (Peng, 2015). As a result, measurements of coal mine roof behaviour using instrumented rock bolts are quite scarce, not widely published, or inadequately presented to provide a seamless understanding of a roof’s response to support."

Jan 1, 2018

By Rajiv Kalra, Ji Jiangang

"This paper reviews the following aspects of the world’s largest manufactured Grinding Mill’s in terms of diameter and power, along with the world’s biggest shop assembly and trial run of the mills delivered to Sino Iron Magnetite Project in Australia.1. An overview of the basic flow sheet of the Sino Iron (Magnetite) Project located in Australia2. An overview of in-house designed CITIC Heavy Industries 12.2 m (40ft) F x 11 m(36ft) LG – 28MW AG mills including FEA and major components3. In-house manufacturing at CITIC-HIC work in Luoyang China of all major components for 6 off Ø12.2 m(40ft) AG mills and 6 off Ø7.9 m(26ft) x 13.6 m(44.6ft) LG – 2 x 7.8 MW Ball Mills4. Major aspects of design and preparation of the biggest shop trial run of Ø7.9 m(26ft) x 13.6 m(44.6ft) LG Ball Mill witnessed by international EPCM’s and clients in July 2009.5. Major aspects of one piece assembly of 1300 tonne rotating element of the Ø12.2 m(40ft) x 11 m(36ft) LG AG Mill and Ø7.9 m F (26) x 13.6 m(44.6ft) LG Ball Mill at the port of the export China and transport to Australian Port and then to site.6. An insight to unique installation methods used for Ø12.2 m(40ft) and Ø7.9 m(26ft) rotating element lifting on the mill foundation in one piece assemblies.7. CITIC Heavy Industries present capability for in house design and manufacture of Grinding Mills up to Ø13.7 m (45 ft) with 35 MW Gearless drives and Ø12.2 m(40ft) with 2 x 10 MW Geared Mill drives"

Jan 1, 2012

By Bruno Bussière

Le drainage minier acide (DMA) provenant de la circulation des eaux à travers les rejets miniers sulfureux est sans doute le principal problème environnemental auquel est confrontée l?industrie minière. Afin de prévenir les problèmes environnementaux reliés au DMA, on doit restreindre la présence de l?une et/ou de l?autre des principales composantes menant à la production d?acide, soit l?eau, l?air et les sulfures. Pour ce faire, différentes techniques ont été proposées au cours des dernières années, dont la désulfuration environnementale et les couvertures avec effets de barrière capillaire (CEBC). Dans ce papier, on propose d?utiliser ces deux techniques en combinaison. Ainsi, on produirait un rejet désulfuré à l?usine de traitement qui pourrait, par la suite, être utilisé comme matériau pour la couche de rétention d?eau de la CEBC. Dans un premier temps, on présente les résultats d?une étude de laboratoire qui montre qu?il est possible de désulfurer les rejets de concentrateur à l?aide de la flottation non sélective jusqu?à l?obtention d?un résidu non générateur d?acide. Par la suite, des essais en colonne ont permis de démontrer qu?il est possible de limiter la production de DMA d?un résidu sulfureux à l?aide d?une CEBC dont la couche fine est constituée de résidus désulfurés. Des prédictions théoriques estiment même que la présence de sulfures résiduels dans la fraction désulfurée utilisée comme matériau pour la rétention d?eau peut avoir un effet bénéfique en réduisant la migration d?oxygène. En effet, les sulfures contenus dans la couche de rétention d?eau peuvent consommer l?oxygène qui tente de migrer vers le bas et, ainsi, réduire les flux d?oxygène qui atteignent les rejets réactifs.

Nov 1, 2002

By Philippe Angers

This article analyzes the social acceptability process of a mining project located in an existing city. It will explore how the principles of sustainable development have been integrated in the project of the Canadian Malartic open pit mine held by the Osisko Mining Corporation, and the corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives proposed to strengthen the social acceptability of the project. This mine is located on the ancient south quarter of Malartic and has required the displacement of hundred of houses and five institutions. The location and the inherent social impacts generated by the relocation of the citizens of the south quarter makes this case particularly interesting to understand social dynamics in an era of environmental consciousness. These major constraints of the mine generate high expectations within the urban population with regard to the social and economic benefits it will receive from the project. In a context where society demands higher CSR from the corporation, Osisko is closely followed regarding their actions toward the sustainable development principles to see if they respect the environment and the desires of the community. From the beginning, the company had to be a model of sustainable development in various aspects reflected by the manifold interest of the population. To understand the endeavor made by the company to fulfill the demand of CSR, we will analyze how the company understood sustainable development principles and what CSR initiatives Osisko company put forward. We will explore the involvement of the company in various social aspects like employment, employee satisfaction, and the level of commitment to non-discrimination policy in employment, notably with the native populations. We will also take a closer look at the relationship built by the company with the community and the level of commitment with the various stakeholders of the community. In this way, we will be able to seize the level of involvement of the company in the fulfillment of the principles of sustainable development toward a higher CSR, and to specify the trajectory adopted to build social acceptance.

Aug 1, 2013

By M. A. Bérubé, M. Choquette, P. W. Godbehere

"RESUMELa scorie produite par le procédé pyrométallurgique d'extraction Noranda contient environ5% de cuivre. Elle est traitée comme un minerai conventionnel de cuivre au concentrateur de Mines Noranda et les rejets de flottation présentent encore des teneurs souvent supérieures à 0.3% en cuivre. La scorie est principalement constituée de magnétite, de fayalite et d'un verre siliceux. Bien sûr, Ie cuivre y est majoritairement sous forme de sulfures et d'un peu de cuivre métallique. Le verre contient toutefois un peu de cuivre en solution, de 0.14 à 0.33% en moyenne, selon l’echantillon examine, ce qui représente à peine 1% de tout Ie cuivre de la scorie. Dans les rejets de flottation, cela justifie par contre de 15 à 25% des pertes totales en cuivre, Ie reste se retrouvant sous forme de tres petits globules de sulfures de cuivre ou de cuivre métallique, en moyenne de 2 à 3 micromètres de diamètre et bien emprisonnes dans Ie verre.SUMMARYThe slag produced by the Noranda continuous smelting process usually contains about 5% copper. It is processed as a conventional copper ore at the concentrator of Noranda Mines. The flotation tailings still often contain more than 0.3% Cu. The slag is mainly constituted by magnetite, fayalite and a siliceous glass. Evidently, the copper occurs mostly as sulphides and, to a lesser extent, as metallic copper. However the glass contains a small amount of this metal in solution, between 0.14 and 0.33% on an average, depending upon the investigated sample. This represents scarcely 1% of the total copper in the crude slag, but as much as 15 to 25% of this metal in the flotation tailings, in which the major part of the copper occurs as very small globules of copper sulphides or metallic copper with an average diameter of about 2 to 3 um and well-locked in the glass."

Jan 1, 1987

By G. A. Kosick, G. S. Dobby

"This paper presents the principles and application of a recently developed control system for flotation columns and column circuits. The control system uses triple pressure sensors to directly sense zone densities and level, and to help in characterizing the operating behaviour of individual columns. A complete expert system development tool is incorporated within the system to provide the facility for full operator training, an on-line help facility, and a means for incorporating the column behavioural patterns into decision making rules. The system is configurable to any number of columns and can be run in either supervisory mode or direct control through Minnovex PIO software. Additional process signals can be interfaced with the system if desired. Operating experience with the control system on the Minnovex column flotation pilot plant is described.I: INTRODUCTIONColumn flotation cells have been more difficult to control and are more sensitive to circuit changes than conventional mechanical flotation cells. This susceptibility encouraged investigation into various types of control strategies ranging from inexpensive single pressure measurements for level control, to highly instrumented and expensive systems using a variety of control methods.Flotation operators, in many cases, do not understand the column control philosophy or have not been trained to deal with this new type of cell. Some operators have subsequently absolved themselves of the column operating responsibility. Some column cells, for example, have run for hours with slurry pouring over the top or no froth coming off at all.ColumnEX is a column flotation control system which was developed from the viewpoint of an operating shift foreman who wishes to:1. control the column or column circuit through a genuine understanding of what is happening inside the columns, and2. to share this knowledge with his flotation operators and be available to guide them through times of circuit upsets."

Jan 1, 1990

By W. Bullen

A hypothetical economic model has been developed for diamond projects in the Canadian Arctic using data from recent exploration and mining projects. The model reflects economic conditions applicable to the diamond mining industry in the Canadian Arctic at the present time. The economic model captures pre-production expenditures, production data, and post-production costs. Before- and after-tax cash flows are derived from the data along with the relevant economic criteria. From the corporate perspective, the model provides guidance concerning the minimum size and/or in situ value per tonne requirements of targets being sought in order to ensure economic success and predict exploration and development expenditures. From the government perspective, the model provides an indication of income and mining tax revenues that can be expected from a particular diamond project. The model shows, on average, diamond projects in the Canadian Arctic are expensive to explore for and develop, but are economically robust under the present conditions. They generate great economic return for mining companies and significant amounts of tax revenue for governments. The fact that diamonds can be transported directly from the minesite by air makes them particularly attractive targets for mining companies that operate in the Canadian Arctic.

Jan 1, 2006

By E. J. Sun

The ADS system was developed to reduce accidents related to haul trucks operating under low visibility conditions in surface mining and construction sites, which is based on the GPS, mesh-wireless networks, and the Google-Earth 3D graphic engine as the graphic interface and mine-mapping server. This system has the capability to pin-point and track vehicles in real time using a 3D interface, which is based on user-based AutoCAD mine maps using the Google-Earth graphics interface. All equipped vehicles are shown in a 3D mine map stored in a local server through a wireless network. When low visibility conditions are present, the system indicates available exit/escape routes for driver safety. The research results indicate that the ADS system potentially increases reliability and reduces uncertainty in open pit mining operations by customizing the local 3D digital mining map, constructing the truck 3D models, tracking vehicles in real time using a 3D interface and indicating available escape routes for driver safety.

Oct 1, 2009