Search Documents

By T. Hidayat, D. Shishin, V. Prostakova, M. Shevchenko

The chemical compositions of copper feed streams are becoming increasingly complex following the growing demand for metals and corresponding shortages of primary sources. The optimisation of process conditions requires an accurate description of phase equilibria and thermodynamics. Integrated experimental and thermodynamic modelling research program on the characterisation of the complex, multi-component, multi-phase gas-slag-matte-speiss-metal-solids Cu2O-PbO-ZnO-Al2O3- CaO-MgO-FeO-Fe2O3-SiO2-S-(As-Bi-Ni-Sb-Sn-Ag-Au) system is being carried out to support companies undertaking the pyrometallurgical primary production and recycling of copper. The experiments involve high temperature equilibration in controlled gas atmospheres, rapid quenching and direct measurement of equilibrium phase compositions with quantitative microanalytical techniques, including electron probe X- ray microanalysis and Laser Ablation ICP-MS. The thermodynamic modelling is undertaken using FactSage computer package with advanced thermodynamic solution models. The continuing development of research methodologies has resulted in significant advances in research outcomes. Implementation of the results of these fundamental studies involves an ongoing collaboration of researchers and industry technologists. An overview of recent progress in research, implementation and applications in industrial practice are given in the paper. INTRODUCTION Rapidly developing technologies increase the demand for various metals in number and volumes. Modern technological devices such as mobile phones, computers, other electronic devices, have dozens of metals—all those metals have to be a) produced and b) recycled. The fast transition in mobility from fossil energy delivered through combustion to renewable energy first stored in bakeries and delivered through electric engines introduce a significant change in the metal demand in terms of both type and volume of metals. Pyrometallurgy is playing a key role in supporting these changes in our industrialised society.

Jan 1, 2019

Who is CIBC? ? Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (?CIBC?) is a leading North American financial institution. ? Total Assets: US$315 billion ? Market Capitalization: US$29 billion ? CIBC comprises three strategic business lines: ? CIBC Retail Bank ? CIBC Wealth Management ? CIBC Wholesale Bank ? CIBC Wholesale Bank is a leading North American investment bank with niche capabilities in Asia, Australia & Europe. ? 1,000 + employees around the world ? Product range includes: Mergers & Acquisitions advisory and financing, Equity and Debt issues, Merchant Banking and Strategic Lending ? CIBC is ranked as the #1 investment bank in Canada across most of its key products and industries ? #1 Equity Underwriter in Canada ? #1 Mergers & Acquisitions Advisor in Canada

May 1, 2010

Strengthening a mine with the Power of their Employees: ?Imagine if the global economy collapses, your head office calls, and tells you to shut down for 3 months... now what do you do? ? HVC Business Improvement Initiative Why did we need help ? External Events ? How we responded ? How we worked with Westwind ? Alignment ? Priorities ? Coaching ? Focus Groups ? Innovation ? What worked / Opportunities ? Questions

Nov 1, 2011

By H. S. Wilson

"The property owned by the Lamaque Mining Company comprises a group of forty-four claims and fractions occupying an area of about 2,458 acres, in west-central Bourlamaque township, Abitibi county, Quebec. It is on ,the outskirts of the towns of Bourlamaque and Val d'Or, about 70 miles east of Noranda, near the eastern end of the belt of greenstones of Keewatin and Timiskaming age that extends eastward through Kirkland Lake into northwestern Quebec, terminating in Haig and Jurie townships 40 miles to the east.The claims on which the orebodies occur were first staked in 1923; No. 3 vein was discovered the following year. The original discovery was made by R. Clark in 1923. This was a small quartz vein containing a pocket of coarse gold on the north side of a hill near the northwestern corner of block 3. It is said that all the gold was removed in one shot in blasting into the vein; elsewhere it was barren. A picket line was then run west along the strike of the vein, which occupied a narrow shear zone, and about 2,000 feet west, in prospecting on either side of the picket line, a large boulder of quartz and tourmaline containing visible gold was found. This led to more intensive prospecting by trenching in the vicinity with the result that the No. 3, or 'float' vein, about 250 feet north of the boulder, was found. Due to low ground this vein was exposed in only one trench. The only other important vein found on the surface was the No. 1, or H, vein, which was exposed in several places by stripping and trenching, but it did not carry appreciable amounts of gold."

Jan 1, 1954

By Victor Dolmage

Introduction Although gold production in British Columbia began in 1859, lode gold was not produced till 1893. Since 1900, the annual production of lode gold has fluctuated between $3,000,000 and $6,000,000. About twenty per cent of this production may be regarded as by-product gold from base metal mining. The remainder comes from a few isolated but important mines, such as the Rossland mines, Nickel Plate, Surf Inlet, Premier, Pioneer, Bralorne, Reno, and Cariboo Gold Quartz, and from several less important mines. All of the above, except Pioneer, Bralorne, Reno, and Cariboo, are approaching or have reached the point of exhaustion, but all are now receiving, under the stimulus of the. present gold-mining boom, drastic resuscitative treatment, with, in some cases, signs of resurrection. Notwithstanding this, however, the main interest at the present time is focussed on the Bridge River and Cariboo fields. Both these fields were discovered in the early 'sixties' and, apart from the Cariboo placer production, both have from time to time contributed small amounts of lode gold; but it is only during the last two years that the real possibilities of these areas were discovered. and that they began to assume the appearance of goldfields of major importance. The two fields are sorme three hundred miles distant from one another and contain deposits of distinctly different types, so that the only reason for including them in one article is the fact that they came into prominence more or less simultaneously and at a time coinciding with, but not otherwise related to, the present gold-mining boom.

Jan 1, 1934

By J. J. Ferreira, M. L. Thurston, I. L. Chinn, D. M. Rose

"Concerns about using microdiamonds for resource estimation have been raised by workers because multiple diamond populations exist in many parts of the mantle source region, small diamonds in kimberlite could be exposed to proportionately greater levels of resorption and modification, and euhedral microdiamonds could crystallize immediately prior to kimberlite eruption. This paper addresses these concerns; discusses the geology of the mantle, the principal diamond host rocks, and the impact of mantle processes; compares micro- and macrodiamond properties and features; and outlines steps to identify and mitigate the risk of diamond resorption and its impact on the diamond grade-size relationship.RÉSUMÉ Des travailleurs se sont interrogés sur l’utilisation de microdiamants pour estimer la ressource; en effet, de multiples populations de diamants existent dans plusieurs secteurs de la région source dans le manteau. Des petits diamants dans la kimberlite pourraient être exposés à des niveaux proportionnellement supérieurs de résorption et de modification; de plus, des diamants idiomorphes pourraient cristalliser immédiatement avant l’éruption de la kimberlite. Le présent article traite de ces questions, discute de la géologie du manteau, des principales roches-mères des diamants et de l’impact des processus dans le manteau, compare les propriétés et les caractéristiques des micro- et des macrodiamants et définit les étapes pour identifier et mitiger le risque de résorption des diamants et son impact sur la relation entre la taille et la qualité des diamants."

Jan 1, 2016

By J Zhou

Based on the mineralogical characteristics and mineral processing techniques required, gold ores can be classified into 12 types, including gold placers, quartz vein-lode ores, oxidized ores, silver-rich ores, iron oxide copper gold ores, porphyry copper gold ores, iron sulphide ores, arsenic sulphide ores, antimony sulphide ores, bismuth sulphide ores, telluride ores and carbonaceous sulphide ores. The bulk mineralogy and gold deportment of each ore type is different and may have a significant impact on ore processing and metal extraction. This paper summarizes the bulk mineralogy and gold deportment in some major types of gold ores and discusses the potential impact of gold deportment on gold metallurgy.

Jan 1, 2011

By R. S. Douglas

Introduction During the past few years, a number of changes in the mine operations at Copper Mountain have taken place. The modernization and mechanization were necessitated and given impetus by wartime and other conditions, which were: (1) The urgent need for copper for wartime purposes. (2) The scarcity of skilled labour for underground work. (3) The increase in labour and supplies cost. (4) The necessity of finding ways and means of increasing the output per man-shift, because of the scarcity of skilled labour and the rising cost of labour. (5) The desire to increase safety measures, reduce the silicosis hazard, and aid mine ventilation. (6) The desire to improve the general working conditions in the mine for all workmen. (7) The desire to reduce the amount of dilution in the ore stream by a more selective yet highly productive method of mining. To this end, mining with diamond drills, and transferring broken ore with slusher hoists, appeared to be the answer to the problem. After considerable discussion and estimation of costs for comparison with those of the operation as carried on at that time, the proposed methods were tried out and, in practice, gave very gratifying results. Reference at this point is made to the paper written by C. H. Brehaut, W. N. Taylor, H. A. Shannon, and R. S. Douglas, which was published in the September, 1945, issue of Mining Technology, by the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers, Inc., and subsequently in commercial mining journals. Since that time some improvements have been made in undercutting an orebody - the first through experiment and practice, the second through making use of the earth's barodynamic or gravitational forces. It is the purpose of this paper to describe and discuss these later developments.

Jan 1, 1947

By Xing-Liang Sun, Xian-Min Han, Zheng-Guo Zhu

The study on the material properties of frozen soils in China was being developed quickly in the past decades of years, because of the increase of the engineering constructed in frozen soil regions on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau, and numerous research results were achieved mainly about strength and deformation behaviour and constitutive models of frozen soils. Studies have shown that the deformation procedure of frozen soils is irreversible; therefore, it is more appropriate to research mechanical properties of frozen soils by means of damage mechanics theory. In this paper, an elasto-viscoplastic anisotropic damage model is presented by introduction of Perzyna viscoplastic equation into analyzing the deformation of frozen soil. In addition, an anisotropic damage evolution equation is obtained by means of extending non-viscous damage to viscous damage. Triaxial tests at different strain rates are chosen to illustrate the application of this model, and good agreement between experimental data and numerically simulated results is obtained. The calculated results indicate that, under the same conditions, the damage at higher strain rate is less than that at low one. So the phenomena are explained from damage mechanics that the frozen soil has larger elastic modulus and shear strength at higher strain rates, and explained from mechanism that the emergence and development of micro-cracks in the body of frozen soil can be to some extent retarded at higher strain rates.

Jan 1, 2015

By Malcolm Scoble, Nick Vagenas, Greg Baiden

Recent advances in underground communications technology have demonstrated the feasibility of teleoperation and automation in underground metal mines. One major challenge lies in the automation of underground mobile machines from surface, with the potential to reduce significantly the need for human involvement in underground operations. This paper reviews the evolution of underground metal mining automation, principally related to the development of teleoperation and automation of mobile mining machines. Examples of prototype systems are given and the associated benefits that have been observed are reviewed.

Jan 1, 1997

By W. M. Williams

The Canadian steel industry is now in many ways a mature one, having achieved many technical successes during its hundred-year history. It is interesting to look back over this period, to learn something of the histories of the different producers and of the people and forces that shaped their development. The following article provides a thumbnail sketch of the Canadian steel industry as it exists today. It is intended for the general reader, not for the specialist who will want to consult the several books and theses written on the development of the industry during the last hundred years. The famous Les Forges du Saint-Maurice, an important iron producer for a century and a half, provides a natural historical starting point for a look at the four major players - Dosco, Algoma, Stelco and Dofasco - who have provided most of the hundreds of millions of tonnes of steel, in every form from horseshoes to tinplate, needed in the twentieth century. The smaller companies which have sprung up in the last 20 or 30 years are dealt with briefly - but only because their history is so recent. Not so long ago the mini-mill, based on scrap rather than on the blast furnace, was thought to be specially suited to the economies of the smaller developing countries of the Third World. However, recent history has made it evident that the small plant, specializing in a few basic products (e.g. reinforcing bar) or taking advantage of special circumstances, can successfully compete with the large blast furnace/primary steel producers.

Jan 1, 1999

By A. Alwasel

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) threaten the wellbeing and livelihood of a large number of construction workers incurring a significant cost to society. We present a new method to monitor and diagnose MSD risks in the workplace. The sensing unit of the system is an optical encoder encompassed within a non-intrusive exoskeleton to measure the joint angle of interest. This sensor can be applied to ball-and-socket and hinge-type joints of the human body, such as the shoulder, elbow, and knee joints. The system is contactless and does not require markers or cameras. Angle measurements are acquired directly without mathematical post-processing, thereby avoiding numerical noise and drift challenges. The system is a simple, robust, and deployable, but it currently lacks resolution of parallel degrees of freedom.

Aug 1, 2013

By T. H. Patching

This paper provides a review of the available information on the origin and mechanisms of the release of gas from coal seams. With the opening up of new mines in Western Canada and the increased mechanization of underground coal mines, the study of gas emissions is of increasing importance in providing safe working places underground.

Jan 1, 1970

Mineral resource development activities impact the health and well-being of many people, from workers, to families and surrounding communities. In the decade up to 2010, mining revenues increased from 6% to 14% of Australian GDP, and minerals contributed 55% of total exports, with a growth in mining employment from 1% to 1.7% of the national workforce (Connolly and Orsmund, 2011). The growth in Australia?s minerals operations is mostly located in remote areas, or in rural communities with a limited population. As a result, operations have increasingly implemented long distance commuting (LDC) programs, often called ?fly-in, fly-out? (FIFO) and ?drive-in, drive-out? (DIDO), as a staffing strategy to meet rapid industry growth in locations with limited local populations. The rapid expansion of the minerals industry has resulted in considerable public debate about the benefits and costs to all sectors of Australian society. In response to the concerns of constituencies from many parts of Australia, the Minister for Regional Australia, Regional Development and Local Government, The Hon Simon Crean MP, asked the House Standing Committee on Regional Australia on Tuesday 23 August 2011 to inquire into and report on the use of ?fly-in, fly-out? (FIFO) and ?drive-in, drive-out? (DIDO) workforce practices in Regional Australia. The recently published report highlights the national interest and the diverse opinions about this practice in Australia. Resource extraction companies have developed several options to meet the accommodation requirements of their long distance commuting workforce. In this paper, initial results are reported from an ongoing survey of FIFO (and other non-residential) resource industry workers (n = 286) in the Australian resource extraction industries. The purpose of this study was to better understand how accommodation arrangements may impact on the health, wellbeing and job satisfaction of non-resident workers; and to attempt to find a relationship between different accommodation variables and workforce wellbeing and retention. In doing this it investigates evidence for the linkage between accommodation factors, hours of work, health, well-being, job satisfaction and job retention in the LDC work force.

Aug 1, 2013

By James R. Hein, Jane Reid, Robert W. Embley, Se-Won Chang, Randolph A. Koski

"Abstract - This is the first reported occurrence of an active hydrothermal field in an oceanic fracture zone setting. The hydrothermal field occurs in a pull-apart basin within the Blanco Fracture Zone (BFZ), which has four distinct mineral deposit types: (1) barite mounds and chimneys, (2) barite stockwork breccia, (3) silica-barite beds, and (4) silica, barite, and Fe-Mn oxyhydroxide in sediments. All deposit types contain minor amounts of sulfides. In barite stockwork, silica-barite beds, and mineralized sediment, Ba, Pb, Ag, S, Au, Zn, Cu, Hg, Tl, As, Mo, Sb, U, Cd, and Cu are enriched relative to unmineralized rocks and sediments of the BFZ. Fe and Mn are not enriched in the barite stockwork or silica-barite beds, but along with P, Co, and Mg are enriched in the mineralized sediments. Silver contents in deposits of the hydrothermal field range up to 86 ppm, gold to 0.7 ppm, zinc to 3.2%, copper to 0.8%, and barium to 22%.Mineralization occurred by diffuse, low to intermediate temperature (mostly <250°C) discharge of hydrothermal fluids through pillow lavas and ponds of mixed volcaniclastic and biosiliceous sediments. Bacterial mats were mineralized by silica, barite, and minor Fe hydroxides, or less commonly, by Mn oxyhydroxides. Pervasive mineralization of bacterial mats resulted in formation of silica- barite beds. Silica precipitated from hydrothermal fluids by conductive cooling and mixing with seawater. Sulfate, U, and rare earth elements (REEs) in barite were derived from seawater, whereas the REE content of hydrothermal silica deposits and mineralized sediments is associated with the aluminosilicate detrital fraction. Fe-, Zn-, Cu-, Pb-, and Hg-sulfide minerals, Ba in barite, and Eu in all mineralized deposits were derived from hydrothermal fluids. Manganese oxides and associated elements (Co, Sb, Mo, W, Cl, and Cu) and Fe oxides and associated elements (Be, B, P, and Mo) precipitated as the result of mixing of hydrothermal fluids with seawater."

Jan 1, 1999

By Edward Thomas

Note. - Securing mine roof through consolidating thin or otherwise incompetent strata to increase overall thickness of the immediate roof beam is a new method of roof support and control which has aroused great interest amongst mining engineers and which is now being experimented with and thoroughly investigated by the United States Bureau of Mines. A paper on Roof Bolting, illustrated by photographs and motion-picture films, will be presented by Edward Thomas, of the U. S. Bureau of Mines, at the forthcoming Annual Meeting of the Mining Society of Nova Scotia. In the following pages, Mr. Thomas describes the methods used in roof bolting as illustrated by the photographs that accompanied his paper. The photographs are supplied through the courtesy of the United States Bureau of Mines, whose willing cooperation with miners and mining engineers in Canada is very well known and even more greatly appreciated. This method of publishing Mr. Thomas&apos;s paper is adopted because few, if any, Canadian mining engineers have actually seen installations of roof bolts and it is felt that the best possible presentation of such an interesting subject through the medium of the Bulletin will be attained by publication of the photograps over explanatory captions. - Ed.

Jan 1, 1950

Situation Brands & Employment Value Propositions of mining sector firms are perceived negatively Competitive labour market is generally not aware of the diversity of mining careers Jobs requiring unique skills & experiences are no filled Traditional means of generating awareness to attract candidates is not aligned with how youth (for example) uses technology throughout the recruitment process Gobal economic downturn

May 1, 2009

By William H. McCracken, William G. Holroyd

"The People&apos;s Republic of China could very well be considered the largest untapped mineral and metal resource in the world. The proven reserves of antimony, barite, bauxite, fluorspar, graphite, lithium, magnesite, mercury, molybdenum, phosphate, pyrite, rare earths, talc, tin, titanium, tungsten, vanadium and zinc are among the largest in the world.Any company involved in the purchase or supply of industrial raw materials has undoubtedly followed the phenomenal growth of some of the Chinese mineral commodities, where growths in production of more than 200010 have occurred during the past ten years, for commodities like barite, cement, gold, gympsum silver and talc. Others, like bauxite and phosphate, experienced production increases in one year alone of over 45%, from 1986 through 1987!A popular rationale in the United States during the past two years has been the acknowledgment by Professor David Calleo, of Johns Hopkins School of Advanced Studies, that ""America is not sinking-the rest of the world is rising"". While we recognized this rise to be that of economic power for Japan, Korea, Brazil, Taiwan and, more recently, the newly-combined Germanies, China has also successfully completed her own modern five year development binge. But with each boom there is also a bust, and the start of the 1990sfor China shows signs of economic distress. China posted a budget deficit equivalent of US$1.9 billion in 1989 coupled with official inflation at 18010. Projections for 1990 are for US$1.8 billion deficit and inflation as high as 24%. However, government spending in the first seven months of the year climbed 16.4%, outpacing an 11.6% rise in revenue. Spending increases have been related to the government policy to keep prices on domestic goods artificially low, through subsidies, and to bailout inefficient state companies."

Jan 1, 1991

By R. M. S. Häggblad

The article deals with stabilisation and regeneration of Ce02 and Ce02/Zr02 based Pt water gas shift catalysts, subject to high initial deactivation. The reaction gas species effect on the catalyst deactivation was investigated by H2-TPR. Activity measurements enabled the effect of different promoters, some added to the Ce02 based catalysts and some to the Ce02/Zr02 based Pt catalysts, to be investigated. The catalysts were also characterised by BET and CO-TPR. Deactivated catalysts activity was restored by using various regeneration methods. Of the two selected carriers the Ce02/Zr02 based Pt catalyst showed the highest resilience to deactivation. For the two different carriers, Ce02 and Ce02/Zr02, Wand Re were the best promoters when the catalyst was subject to deactivation. Experiments with Hr TPR indicate a fast initial change in the platinum oxides concentration and composition. The CO-TPR was used to make conclusions about the various regeneration effects of water and oxygen on the catalyst. Finally it is suggested that not one deactivation mechanism is possible and which mechanism that dominates is dependant on the catalyst and the reaction gas composition.

Jan 1, 2005

In this study, we develop a detailed model of the likely future carbon footprint of primary copper supply. We develop a peak copper production model, based on a detailed copper resource data set, and combine this with a comprehensive life cycle assessment model of copper mining and milling to predict greenhouse gas emission rates and intensities of Australian and global copper production up to 2100. By establishing a quantitative prediction of both copper production and corresponding greenhouse gas emissions of Australian and global copper industry, we then analysed the emissions intensity of various energy input scenarios, such as business-as-usual, solar thermal electricity and solar thermal electricity with biodiesel. The Australian Government has an aspirational goal for long-term greenhouse gas emissions of an 80% reduction from the 2000 level by 2050. For the copper sector, this means moving from about 12.6 Mt CO2e in 2000 to a goal of some 2.52 Mt CO2e in 2050 (assuming equal emissions reductions across the economy). Based on the energy sources modelled, only the solar thermal plus biodiesel scenario was capable of achieving this goal at about 0.15 Mt CO2e, since the solar thermal alone scenario still includes normal petro-diesel as a major source of emissions. Overall, it is clear that there are abundant resources which can meet expected long-term copper demands, the critical issue is more the carbon (and environmental) footprint of different copper supplies and use rather than how much is available for mining. It is clear that the switch to renewable energy can have a profound impact on the carbon intensity of copper supply, even allowing for increased energy intensity as ore grades decline, and a complete conversion to renewable energy will position the copper sector to meet existing annual greenhouse gas emissions targets and goals.

Aug 1, 2013