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By Jon Errey, Aleksandar Petrovic, Karl Haase

"Developing a gold deposit of this magnitude in the Amazonian jungle of Guyana posed many challenges. This paper describes not only the process & logistical challenges arising from the remote mine site location in a tropical environment with a local industry unaccustomed to recent large scale gold mining operations, but also the innovative technical solutions employed to address the unique ore body characteristics. The best examples of this approach were dealing with the initial high clay content saprolite ore from the development phase and primary mining pits whilst ensuring that the design also implemented the right method to deal with the future fresh rock in an environmentally sensitive habitat. In order to do this separate individual crushing flowsheets were generated, focusing on the specific material handling equipment that would be suitable to handle these various types of material and ensure high recoveries were maintained.INTRODUCTIONAurora gold mine is located in forested region of Guyana, 170 km west of capital Georgetown, and 130 km West North-West of Bartica, a settlement at the junction of the Essequibo and Cuyuni Rivers.The Aurora gold project (Aurora) is a 5,000 tonne per day open-pit/underground operation, which will produce a total of 3.29 million oz. gold – averaging 194,000 oz. per year – over an initial 17 year mine life. At the final investment decision in 2014 Aurora had a total resource of 6.54 million ounces in the measured and indicated categories (62.83 million tonnes at 3.24 g/t Au) as well as additional 1.82 million ounces in the inferred category (16.93 million tonnes at 3.34 g/t Au)."

Jan 1, 2016

By Tai Sik Lee

Why ISRU into Space Exploration are important NASA and International Mission statements calls for the sustainable human exploration of the Moon, Near-Earth asteroids, and Mars Common Exploration Goals and Objectives are Strongly influenced by ISRU Extend Human Presence: Continually increase the duration and level of self sufficiency at all destinations Develop Exploration Technologies and Capabilities: Develop and validate tools, technologies, and systems that extract, process, and utilize resource to enable exploration missions Perform Science to Support Human Exploration: Characterize available resources at destinations Stimulate Economic Expansion: Encourage commercial services and create new markets, including markets for discovered resources Enhance Earth Safety: Test techniques to mitigate the risk of asteroid collisions with Earth

May 1, 2013

By L. K. Daneshmend

Key issues in managing information systems in the minerals industry will likely continue to be those relating to the integration and interoperability of disparate systems. This paper argues that, in order to harness the promised benefits of information technologies, the mining industry should adopt a set of open systems standards to define data formats and protocols for seamless data exchange. This is in direct contrast to the present situation where mining equipment, software and instrument suppliers rigidly adhere to proprietary standards for fear of losing competitive advantage. Benefits to the mining sector resulting from the adoption of such standards would be: the provision of near-time data for executive decision support, and the freedom to choose best technologies. The principal benefits to the leading mining software suppliers will be increased market share as a result of “captive sites” converting to open systems standards. Examples are given of open systems standards developed for related industries such as the Petroleum Open Systems Corporation (POSC) and the Machinery Information Management Open Systems Alliance (MIMOSA).

Jan 1, 2000

By G M. Young

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

Jan 1, 1963

By E. Lee Cameron

The old mine workings on four barite-fluorite veins of the Lake Ainslie district, Nova Scotia, were opened recently and channel sampled. The samples were then forwarded to the Ore Dressing Laboratories, Bureau of Mines, Ottawa, for chemical analyses. Following the analyses, the sample rejects were combined to form bulk samples, representing ore from each vein, for small-scale batch test work. Tonnage samples from the veins, for pilot mill testing, were submitted when requested by the Bureau. The results of the analyses on the channel samples showed that there are two grades of ore in the di strict, represented, for test purposes, by the Trout River vein and Johnson vein ores. Small-scale and pilot-plant test work was undertaken on both these ores. The Trout River ore is amenable co concentration but, because of the high-barite-co-fluorite-co-calcite ratio, a fluorite concentrate was not obtainable from the Johnson vein ore as received. However, Johnson ore blended in a 1 :1 ratio with Trout River ore gave a mill feed that was readily concentrated. The test work on these ores showed that the following concentrates are obtainable : (a) A barite concentrate, with a recovery of 85 to 95 per cent of the available barite, analysing 93 co 96 per cent BaS04, 4 co 6 per cent CaF,, and 0.5 co 2 per cent CaCO3. (b) A fluorite concentrate, with a recovery of 80 co 85 per cent of the available fluorite, analysing 94 to 97 per cent CaF, , 1 to 3 per cent BaSO., and 1 to 3 per cent CaCO3

Jan 1, 1945

By W. G. Scott

IT IS APPROPRIATE that your Institute should have chosen, for its 1956 Annual General Meeting, the Capital City of a province which is making such rapid advances in mining. The railway industry is proud to be playing an active role in this development, expenditures on equipment and railway construction in the Province of Quebec alone in recent years being in ?excess of a quarter of a billion dollars. In looking up some background material for this address I ran across a definition of a mine by Mark Twain, the great American humorist, which I thought might amuse you. He said that a mine was "a hole in the ground owned by a liar". I am sure that if he were alive to witness the enormous value attached to Canada's mineral resources today he would quickly change his definition. Canada's postwar record of mining development has been staggering in its variety and enormity. Historically, only the ?construction of our transcontinental rail ways outranks the largest of three of these development projects - the aluminum undertaking at Kitimat; the Quebec-Labrador iron ore deposits ; and the petroleum and natural gas developments in Wes tern Canada.

Jan 1, 1956

By B. Courtaud, L. Donati, V. Weigel

As a growing mining company, ERAMET is looking for new positions in the strategic metals market. In this context, the Gabonese Maboumine pyrochlore deposit is currently being studied for the recovery of niobium, tantalum, rare earths and uranium. This ore shows mineralogical and chemical characteristics that make it challenging to process by existing practices, from both technical and economic points of view. ERAMET has developed since 2008 an innovative hydrometallurgical process, which has been successfully operated at a pilot plant scale (more than 35 weeks in continuous). The upstream part of the process aims to dissolve valuable elements in sulphuric acid. The first step is dedicated to dissolve the ore matrix, leaving the pyrochlore unleached. The second step consists in chemically breaking down pyrochlores in order to form soluble species of the valuable elements. After dissolution, the valuable elements are separated into different flows: niobium and tantalum are recovered and transformed as commercial ferroniobium on one side, and rare earths and uranium remain in the solution to be recovered in the downstream part of the process. The main goal of this paper is to discuss the upstream part of the process, which has given successful results.

Jan 1, 2014

By D. Jean Hutchinson, Mark Diederichs

"Cable bolts are an important support component in modern underground mines. If an optimized cable bolt system is to be achieved, it is insufficient to focus on cable bolt layout design or on cable bolt installation in isolation. Cable bolt support, like all engineered systems, requires a holistic approach, encompassing integrated elements of design, implementation and verification. The “Cable bolting Cycle” described in this paper incorporates these components along with related tools and procedures which should be used together to ensure effective and efficient cable bolt support.Design involves the consideration of demand, capacity and constraints as outlined in this paper. The demands imposed on the sup-port system by the rock mass response to excavation under the combined action of stress and gravity must be matched to the capacity of the cable bolt array. The cable bolt system capacity is a function of the component strengths of the steel strand and the bond (load transfer) and by the deformation response and retention characteristics of the system. The design is bounded by operational and economic constraints.Implementation of the cable bolt array can then proceed and must include appropriate protocols of communication, training and quality control, in addition to both general and site specific installation procedures. Implementation will be discussed as the sum of these components.Implementation of the cable bolt array can then proceed and must include appropriate protocols of communication, training and quality control, in addition to both general and site specific installation procedures. Implementation will be discussed as the sum of these components.The information presented in this paper represents a very abbreviated version of much broader concepts, procedures and design charts, presented in a practical cable bolting handbook by Hutchinson and Diederichs (1996)."

Jan 1, 1996

By A. McEachern

At the Annual Meeting of this society, held in Halifax last year, a paper entitled "Closed System Breathing Apparatus" was read by I. C. Mackie, metallurgist, British Empire Steel Corporation. Coming from such an authority it was most instructive and illuminating. The purpose of the paper was to emphasize the necessity of a full supply of oxygen and the danger of oxygen shortage in the use of rescue breathing apparatus. In connection with this he pointed out: "In times of emergency, when life is at stake, rescue men cannot be restrained from using their utmost endeavor, and unless the apparatus is adequate to meet the heaviest load, the result may be fatal to the wearer. The body's demand for its oxygen requirement is absolutely imperative and must be granted at once. We can do without food for many days and without water for many hours, but we cannot do without full requirements of oxygen even for a few minutes. Furthermore, the victim of oxygen shortage gets practically no warning. He may fall helpless or unconscious before realizing that he is in a serious condition." Hence the necessity for expelling all the nitrogen from the breathing-bag and filling it with pure oxygen; also filling the lungs of the wearer with oxygen before he begins to use the breathing apparatus. This practice is general at all the collieries under the British Empire Steel Corporation.

Jan 1, 1924

By A. R. Harrington

BEFORE discussing some of the technical aspects of the steam generating plants of Nova Scotia Light and Power Company, Limited, it might be of interest to go back through history and see the development of steam generation in this public utility. Back around 1902 Nova Scotia Light and Power Company, Limited, had three slide-valve engines in-stalled at its Water Street, Halifax, generating station for a total capacity of 1,800 kilowatts. The plant remained at about this size until 1910 and in 1911 a 2,000 kilowatt steam turbine was installed to raise the total capacity of the plant to 3,800 kilowatts. In 1916, a 3,000 kilowatt turbine was installed and one of the slide-valve engines was removed to make a total plant capacity of 6,200 kilowatts. The total demand in the Company's service 8rea was at that time 4,000 kilo-watts.

Jan 1, 1958

By G. J. McTeer, D. L. Verhelst, D. J. Rioux

Teck Metals Ltd. operates an integrated zinc-lead complex at Trail, British Columbia, Canada. Since 1997, KIVCETTM flash smelting technology has been utilized for the treatment of zinc plant residues and lead concentrates. Trail Operations’ furnace uses four water-cooled jackets for bullion tapping. This paper provides an overview of KIVCET bullion tapping for the past 16 years, and discusses successes and challenges encountered with respect to operations, training and monitoring.

Jan 1, 2015

By T. T. Wang, T. H. Huang, S. S. Zhan

"Fractures with diverse features dominate the hydraulic behavior of fractured rocks and are one of the major subjects for hydrogeological characterization of a site. This study investigates curve patterns obtained by packed tests, and as well the influence of fracture features based on 59 sets of in situ packer tests with different fracture combinations and fracture features. The result shows that, in the example of Heshe site, neat and tidy fractures usually provide stable channel for water flow during testing, and the hydraulic properties of fractures infilled with breccia and mud may change during testing because of leaching and/or washed out of infilling breccia and mud. Different combinations of fractures with diverse features in packed test sections lead to different curve patterns for in situ hydrogeological tests. For groundwater flowing predominately through neat and tidy fractures, the pressure-discharge curve of modified Lugeon tests are usually linear curve pattern, and the pressure decrease while the discharge increase in pressure-discharge-time curves of single-hole double packer tests, which benefit statistically determining the transmissivity of dominant fracture sets. INTRODUCTIONFractures interlaced in rock masses are major channels for groundwater flow and generally account for the anisotropic and heterogeneous characteristics of permeability for fracture rocks. To describe reasonably the permeability of a fracture rock, the Discrete Fracture Network (DFN) approach and others with similar ideals have been developed. Many methodologies and associate equipment, for instance, the televiewer and the in situ hydrogeological test, have been proposed to investigate the spatial distribution and the transmissivity for different fracture sets, which are two main parameters necessary for the DFN or similar model simulation (Pearson & Money, 1977; Barker & Black, 1983; Hsieh et al., 1985; Bernard et al., 2006; Quinn et al., 2012). However, diverse outlooks for the pressure-discharge curves and the temporal pressure and associate temporal discharge curves often confuse the investigation results by significant deviations on derived permeability (Houlsby, 1976; Zlotnik, 1994; Royle, 2009; Camilo, 2010).Aiming on technical development for in situ hydrogeological tests and fracture investigation, an experimental well site with 10 wells has been established in Heshe in central Taiwan since 2011 (Wang et al., 2011; Song, 2012; Zhan et al., 2013). Extensive geological survey and well-hole scanning by a televiewer provide spatial distributions and outlooks of fractures in detail. Additionally, a series of Lugeon tests, double packer injection tests and pumping tests have been performed to investigate the permeability of fracture rocks, and dominate fracture sets as well. Based on the results obtained from the Heshe site, this study classifies the curve patterns of hydraulic packer tests. The features of fractures involved in packed sections for packer tests are then inspected in detail. Relationship between the curve patterns of hydraulic packer tests and associated features of corresponding fractures in rock are discussed and addressed accordingly."

Jan 1, 2015

By T. Lu

Microwaves have considerable potential as an energy source in both mineral processing and metals extraction. In this research, the utilization of microwave radiation for the heating of a gibbsite type bauxite ore was investigated. Firstly, thermogravimetric studies were performed in order to characterize the dewatering processes of the ore. Secondly, both the real and the imaginary permittivities, which are the fundamental properties that determine the interaction of microwaves with any given material, were measured for the bauxite ore as a function of temperature. The changes in the permittivities were shown to be related to the dewatering processes. Subsequently, the effects of operating variables such as processing time, sample mass, particle size, microwave power, sample bulk density and carbon and magnetite additions on the sample temperature in a microwave field were studied. The results showed that under suitable conditions the bauxite ore could be readily heated. Therefore, there is considerable potential for the application of microwaves for the heating of bauxite ores.

Jan 1, 2007

By S P. Giambra

The 50,000-ton-per-day Concentrator and Crushing Plant, complete with its related water supply, tailings disposal and concentrate handling systems, was started up in a five-month period, with the entire plant obtaining its design capacity six months after the first mill became operational. Individual mill lines, with their spiral circuits, achieved design capacities within a week after the first treatment of ore through each mill. Construction and start-up proceeded together in many areas of the plant, and considerable organization and cooperation between the Owner, the Engineer and the Contractors permitted a smooth transition from construction to operation. PLANT DESCRIPTION THE Carol Lake Plant of the Iron Ore Company of Canada l1as been well described in various technical magazines. The purpose of this paper is to present a brief outline of the start-up of the con-centration complex. This start-up was accomplished in a period of five months, with the plant producing one million tons of concentrate and achieving its design-rated tonnage less than six months after the first ore was treated.

Jan 1, 1963

By S. Hume, J. Shepherd

Meso-2,3-dimercaptosuccinic acid(DMSA) was studied as an additive for thiosulfate leaching of gold. DMSA was added to solutionscomposed of either sodium thiosulfate or calcium thiosulfate and the solutions were tested for their ability to leach pure gold samples as well as a calcined gold ore from Barrick Gold Corp. Results showed prolonged leaching of pure gold samples when DMSA was added at a concentration of 5µM; however, higher concentrations were shown to inhibit leaching. Differential capacitance measurements of the interface indicated that DMSA adsorbed as a defective monolayer on the surface of gold at low concentrations and formed a more compact monolayer with increased concentration. It is proposed that a concentration of 5µM DMSA produces a defectivemonolayer on the surface that still allowsthe transport of oxidants to the underling metal while inhibiting the formation of polysulfide passive layers that arise fromdecomposed thiosulfate.The 5µM DMSA/CaS2O3 system was also studied using calcined ore. Results showed that the initial leaching rates in the presence of DMSA are lower than those obtained in thiosulfate alone. However, after 10h, prolonged leaching is again observed when DMSA is included.

Jan 1, 2015

By L. Gonzalez-Sardi, W. McCombe, M. Pearson

Pressure oxidation is increasingly being used for processing refractory sulphide ores and concentrates because it offers highly effective base metal and precious metal extraction while minimizing elemental sulphur, arsenic & mercury emissions. Yet pressure oxidation processes introduce new safety concerns and process risks as demonstrated by a number of safety incidents over the last 20 years, including overfilling, oxygen-metal fires, nozzle/sparger failures, and uncontrolled pressure relief events. Chemical Process Safety regulations in the United States and Canada mandate that companies constructing or operating chemical process facilities perform a rigorous hazard and risk analysis based on either ANSI/ISA-84.00.01 or IEC 61511 safety standards to determine the level of protection required for each hazard in the plant. This paper describes the application and implementation of three (3) unique safety instrumented systems developed by Hatch for ensuring the safe operation of three different pressure oxidation processes.

Jan 1, 2014

By Sophia Wong

Nickel is used in a wide variety of applications from consumer goods to industrial uses. In many of these uses, nickel contributes to the environmental attributes of the product. The challenge, however, is measuring that contribution, comparing it to the environmental cost of production, and communicating the role of nickel to the customer in a way that is easy to understand. This paper presents the Nickel Institute?s approach to climate change as a global commodity industry association, and discusses where we stand with regard to some of these key questions. It also identifies issues for the nickel industry moving forward ? challenges that are likely to be common to other commodities.

May 1, 2009

By K. M. Mayhew, G. D. Barr, T. M. McCoy, C. T. Knilans

"Teck Resources Limited (“Teck”) has developed and extensively tested on a continuous basis the CESL Technology hydrometallurgical process for treating copper and nickel sulphide concentrates, including bulk copper-nickel concentrates. Copper, nickel and cobalt are leached efficiently into solution, utilizing CESL process conditions. Total precious metals including gold, silver, platinum and palladium are recovered from the residue stream via sulphur flotation. This paper describes the CESL Technology testwork on a bulk copper-nickel concentrate derived from Twin Metals Minnesota?s (TMM) deposits within the Duluth complex and evaluates the economic benefits (increased cash flow, increased revenue certainty) and investment criteria (capital cost, payback and cash flow) of incorporating CESL Technology into the staged development of TMM?s deposits.INTRODUCTION Mineral Processing and the Role of Hydromet in the Duluth Complex The Duluth Complex in northern Minnesota, United States (US), represents one of the largest undeveloped accumulations of copper, nickel, gold, and platinum group metals (PGMs) in the world, ranking second in copper and PMs and third in accumulation of nickel. The figure below identifies some of the larger known deposits within the Complex (see Figure 1). Copper, nickel, PM and PGM mineralization within the Duluth Complex is hosted by mafic to ultramafic intrusive rocks that are part of the overall intrusive complex.One of the mineral processing challenges of Cu-Ni-PM-PGM deposits in this Complex is the complicated, polymetallic nature of the mineralization1: copper occurs primarily as chalcopyrite and cubanite with minor occurrence of talnakhite; nickel occurs as pentlandite and refractory nickel oxide/silicates; iron sulphides are present as both pyrrhotite and troilite; and PMs/PGMs occur in both the sulphide matrix as well as discrete minerals. An additional challenge for the Duluth Complex is the ratio between copper and nickel; in most of the identified deposits, copper grade is three to four times greater than the nickel grade, which precludes the production of a simple bulk concentrate due to the lack of a traditional smelting market for a bulk concentrate of this character."

Jan 1, 2017

By R. Noorani, M. Cai

"Excavation of deep underground openings in highly stressed grounds can generate new fractures near the openings. As a result, rock mass bulking may occur, leading to large wall deformation. A better understanding of brittle rock failure and the associated fracturing process at the laboratory scale is an essential step towards evaluating dilation behavior of rocks. A grain-based model that can capture dilation behavior of rocks under various loading conditions at the laboratory scale can be a useful approach to study rock mass bulking at the field scale. The aim of the paper is to study the dilation behavior of rocks at the laboratory scale employing numerical simulation. A modified grain-based model is used to simulate the macroscopic response of crystalline rocks by considering micro-fractures at the grain scale. Grains generated with the Voronoi tessellation are allowed to fail in tension or in shear using a strain-softening model. Damage is represented by either grain boundary fracture or grain failure, or the combination of the two. As stress increases, the process of damage, fracture initiation and coalescence in rocks can be captured.The grain-based model was calibrated using test data of the Lac du Bonnet granite and a parametric study was conducted. Numerical simulation results showed that the proposed modeling approach is able to capture most of the mechanical properties, fracture pattern, and dilation behavior in both unconfined and confined loading conditions. In an unconfined compression test, interactions of microscopic fractures may lead to macroscopic shear or axial splitting failure depending on the chosen micromechanical parameters. Numerical experimental results show that the dilation behavior of the model is strongly related to the failure mechanism of rocks. Tensile-failure-dominated failure mode generates large dilation due to the formation of new cracks that are sub-parallel to the loading direction. On the other hand, shear-failure-dominated failure mode produces small volume increase. One significant finding from this study is that in order to capture large dilation using grain-based UDEC models, intragranular grain failure should be considered."

Jan 1, 2015

By J-S. Marois, F. Cappucitti, Y. Dodier, D. Downey, G. Matton

"The flotation processes of the Niobec Mine have been affected by a seasonal loss of recovery and a significant increase in reagent consumption over the past few winters. This paper discusses the problem-solving methodology that was used to identify the root causes, to develop solutions and to implement changes that resolved the problem to restore the process to summer-like conditions year-round. Mainly, it was found that the process water was contaminated by phosphates ions, which adversely affected the carbonate pre-flotation, and caused detrimental effects on the subsequent niobium flotation. The phosphate ions were being generated by the process itself, but were consumed by algae in summer conditions. It was determined in laboratory studies that concentrations as low as 5 ppm were enough to affect the circuit and that the multiple additions of process water throughout the circuit was worsening the effect. Also, temperature was found to have an impact on the reagent performance. The performance of the plant was restored by implementing a natural treatment of our process water with a simple cost-free rearrangement of our circuit streams. In addition to that, our extensive geometallurgical program was used to provide ore to the plant restricting phosphate generation in the process. Also, a modification of the collector was developed and introduced in the carbonate pre-flotation that provided improved performance during the periods of low pulp temperature.INTRODUCTION Niobec is one the three major global producers of niobium presently in operation. Situated in the Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean region of Quebec and in operation since 1976, the site produces ferroniobium (FeNb) to be used mainly in High Strength Low Alloy (HSLA) steel, which is known to have better mechanical properties than carbon steel. The Niobec operation consists of an underground mine, a concentrator and a converter plant. The concentrator concentrates niobium-bearing minerals, mainly pyrochlore and columbite, to produce a high-content Nb2O5 concentrate which is then converted to FeNb in the converter plant by an aluminothermic reaction. The Niobec concentrator flowsheet, which has gone through many expansions and optimisation over the years, consists of grinding, desliming, flotation and leaching steps. The flotation steps are numerous, sensitive and difficult to operate due to the non-selective nature of oxide mineral collectors. Thus, the pyrochlore concentration process at Niobec still faces many challenges and is constantly going through periods of continuous improvement."

Jan 1, 2018