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By Brian W. Mackenkzie, Jozef Lajzerowicz

This paper is intended to familiarize planners in the noncommunist world with the district planning approach used in eastern Europe for mining development. It deals generally with the basic nature of the district planning problem, the planning process for mining development and the state organization for the planning of mining districts. A number of applications of district planning techniques to both established and new eastern European mining districts are described.

Jan 1, 1971

By Ryan W. Ulansky

This paper presents the conceptual design of a magnetically-levitated skip for use in an underground mine. A skip is used to move rock from an underground mine to its surface processing facility. Conventionally the skip is raised and lowered by cables, similar to an elevator. In a magnetically-levitated skip, the cable is replaced with a linear induction or synchronous motor to provide propulsion and levitation. Removal of the cables in a magnetically-levitated skip provides many advantages over a conventional system including the ability: to negotiate corners, to travel vertically in the shaft as well as horizontally to the mining face, and to move a very large volume of material using multiple skips in a small shaft. A magnetically-levitated skip is a safer, more environmentally-friendly, productive alternative to conventional skipping. It has the further advantage to decrease haulage distances for underground vehicles.

May 1, 2002

By John Plecash

This paper comprises a general outline of all of the developments, including the history, geology, mining, milling, power and transportation installations, at the gold mining operation of La Luz Mines Limited and the copper mining operation of its wholly-owned subsidiary, Rosita Mines Limited, both located in north-central Nicaragua. The low-grade, gold-bearing ore-bodies of La Luz Mines, contained in highly fractured and folded Lower Cretaceous sedimentary rocks, were from 1909 to 1928, mined and treated by primitive methods by the La Luz and Los Angeles Mining Company. The abandoned property was acquired by La Luz Mines Limited in 1936, and was equipped with modern machinery and put into production in 1939. Between 1939 and 1948, the daily rate of production was in-creased from 300 tons per day to 2,-000 ton per day. The ore reserves available for open-pit mining were depleted in 1954. Since then, the entire production has come from under-ground operations.

Jan 1, 1963

By C. Droun

"Low back pains account for about 13 per cent of all compensation claims made to the Quebec Workmen's Compensation Commission and cost the employers a sum exceeding ten million dollars. The frequency and cost of these health problems in Quebec metal mines are proportional to the provincial trends. An elaborate review of the literature on the causes, nature and prevention of low back pain is made in this presentation. A prevention program for low back pain has been designed in cooperation with a team of seven medical specialists and two physiotherapists for the Quebec metal mines. The program is especially designed for persons who have had low back pain, in order to prevent a recurrence, and for persons beginning to feel chronic difficulties. It is based on existing programs at the Hawthorne Plant of Western Electric Company and at Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing, but it requires a much different approach because of the nature of medical care available at the mining sites. The program is difficult because it involves a change of attitude for every employee and every supervisor. The program, so far, is beneficial because several men are now seriously engaged in an active program of reconditioning and because the problem of low back pain ie beginning to be seen from a new angle."

Jan 1, 1973

By Philip W. Johnson, Charles D. Haynes

"Abstract - The coalbed methane industry has become a prominent source of domestic natural gas, with its technology having evolved over the past 30 years. Whereas most coalbed methane wells are able to produce without major interruption over their economic lives, wells operating in an underground mining area are subject to being mined-through. If mine-through occurs, the productivity of the well is at least compromised, and may even be terminated. The economic consequences of mine-through may be relatively simple if mineral ownership and extraction rights are common for the coal and coalbed methane. However, if ownership is not common and a superior coalbed methane lease exists, the coalbed methane ownership must be compensated for lost production caused by mine-through. This paper presents a relatively straightforward method to calculate the value of the lost production caused by the mine-through. It uses technology from mining and petroleum engineering, as well as simple economics and financial management techniques.Sommaire - L’industrie de la production de méthane houiller est aujourd’hui une source importante de gaz naturel domestique dont la technologie a considérablement évolué au cours des trente dernières années. Bien que la plupart des puits de méthane houiller peuvent être mis en production durant l’entièreté de leur vie utile sans interruption majeure, les puits implantés en périphérie de mines souterraines sont sujets à être recoupés par ces dernières. Un tel recoupement peut compromettre, ou même mettre fin à la production d'un tel puits. Les conséquences économiques du recoupement par une mine souterraine peuvent être relativement simples quand les droits miniers et les droits d’extraction sont détenus en commun pour le charbon et le méthane houiller. Si toutefois ces droits ne sont pas détenus en commun et qu’il y a eu octroi d’une concession de méthane houiller de qualité supérieure, les détenteurs du méthane houiller doivent être compensés pour la perte de production résultant du recoupement par une mine souterraine. Cet article présente une méthode relativement simple pour calculer la valeur des pertes de production suite au recoupement par une mine souterraine. Cette méthode fait appel aux technologies de l’industrie minière et pétrolière ainsi qu’à des techniques simples d’économie et de gestion financière."

Jan 1, 2006

By M. Boher, J. Lehmann, M. C. Kaerlé

"In the production of high quality steel, the understanding of the interactions between liquid steel and refractories and of their effect on steel purity and cleanness are becoming more and more important.An experimental study has been per-formed in order to estimate the importance of the reaction between a MgO-based tundish refractory and an Al-killed steel. The results show a pollution of the liquid steel:•the silicon content of the liquid steel increases due to the reduction of the silica of the refractory by the aluminum contained in the steel; and•a reoxidation of the steel occurs and the formation of an oxide layer on the refracto-ry, mainly composed of spinel crystals and of Ca-aluminates is observed.The transfer mechanisms of the various elements are analyzed."

Jan 1, 1997

By Bill Almdal

Today?s presentation ? Role of the Regional Issues Working Group ? What does RIWG do? ? How can RIWG?s work benefit Stakeholders? ? Review of forecasts vs. reality ? How have past investment compared to the reality? ? Risks to future growth ? The growth potential is very high and so are the risks ? Examples of outputs ? Housing needs ? Growth in population ? Tires for large trucks The Regional Issues Working Group ? Our vision ? To provide a proactive process which promotes the responsible, sustainable development of resources within the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo for the benefit of all stakeholders ? What we do ? Facilitate planning for growth ? Facilitate effective and efficient resolution of issues ? Involve all of the resource developers and affected stakeholders in planning ? Develop plans for sharing benefits with Aboriginal stakeholders ? Benefits for Stakeholders ? Our forecasts include up-to-date information from all developers ? including information on employment and housing needs ? Our forecasts are the basis of planning for many stakeholders ? and can assist in their development planning

May 1, 2002

By Barbara H. Scott Smith

"During the last two decades lamproites have joined kimberlites as the only two known primary sources of economic quantities of diamonds. This paper contrasts the petrography, primary and xenocrystic mineralogy and pipe geology of these petrogenetically separate rock types. The petrographic discrimination of kimberlites and lamproites from each other, as well as other rock types found during diamond prospecting, is discussed. Kimberlites and lamproites can be classified texturally and mineralogically. Such classifications highlight the differences between, and among, lamproites and kimberlites. The implications of these differences for diamond exploration programs are discussed, with particular emphasis on the application of petrography. IntroductionKimberlite was the term coined in the late 19th century to describe the host rock of diamond at the type locality, Kimberley, South Africa (Lewis, 1887, 1888). Innumerable kimberlites are now known worldwide; some of them contain economic quantities of diamond (e.g. South Africa, Botswana and Russia) while many are barren. Jennings (1989) suggests that less than 3% of the known kimberlites can be considered to be commercial. Kimberlite was thought to be the only important primary source of diamond for approximately a century. Until the late 1970s, lamproites were thought to be only academic curiosities. Some workers (e.g. Wade and Prider, 1940), however, did comment on certain similarities between lamproites and kimberlites and, hence, inferred a potential for lamproites to carry diamonds.The term lamproite was introduced by Niggli (1923) for leucite-bearing rocks from southeast Spain and Wyoming which had some unusual geochemical characteristics. Wade and Prider (1940) used the term lamproite (as defined by Troger, 1935) to embrace rock types found in the West Kimberley area of Western Australia. All the lamproites described by Wade and Prider (1940) form distinct topographic features. Subsequently in the late 1970s, additional pipes, which have little or no relief, were discovered in the same area, but only as the result of a major diamond exploration program (Atkinson et al., 1984; Jaques et al., 1984, 1986). Some of these bodies are diamondiferous. In 1979, the Argyle pipe was discovered in the East Kimberley area which, in terms of grade, is the richest known primary diamond deposit in the world with some parts of the body having grades greater than 500 carats/100 tonnes (Madigan, 1983; Boxer et al., 1989). All the initial new discoveries in Western Australia resulted from classic stream sampling for ""kimberlite indicator minerals"" (Atkinson, 1989)."

Jan 1, 1992

By G. Van Weert, O. Wang

ABSTRACT: When exposed to microwaves, rocks containing sulphides adsorb energy preferentially over barren gangue and quickly become warmer with minimal energy consumption. This effect makes subsequent machine sorting of ore from waste rocks or overburden possible using infrared sensing. This paper reports on the 2450 MHz microwave response of a variety of sulphide minerals by mesh size and spatial distribution, as they might occur in ore rocks. The implications for infrared ore sorting are discussed.

Jan 1, 2011

By G. Van Weert

ABSTRACT When exposed to microwaves, rocks containing sulphides adsorb energy preferentially over barren gangue and quickly become warmer with minimal energy consumption. This effect makes subsequent machine sorting of ore from waste rocks or overburden possible using infrared sensing. This paper reports on the 2450 MHz microwave response of a variety of sulphide minerals by mesh size and spatial distribution, as they might occur in ore rocks. The implications for infrared ore sorting are discussed.

Aug 1, 2011

By The Staff

Introduction It is the purpose of this paper to discuss a number of the metallurgical improvements in the technology of copper-nickel ore treatment which have been introduced during recent years in the plants of ?the International Nickel Company of Canada, Limited. In common with other ore treatment processes, the procedure for extracting nickel and copper is changing almost continuous! y. These changes are necessitated by reason of changes in ore grades and characteristics, rising material and labour charges, and the constant drive to maximize metal recovery and to minimize production costs. It is not possible to present a comprehensive list of all the changes made, and only a selected number of the improvements in the milling, smelting, and refining operations are covered. It should be clearly understood that some phases of the procedures described have been pioneered by others in kindred fields and due acknowledgment is given to their foresight and efforts. Articles have been published over the years describing the operations of the International Nickel Company plants and the reader is referred to the Engineering and Mining Journal, Vol. 130, No. 9, November 10th, 1930, and to the Canadian Mining Journal, Vol. 58, No. 11, November, 1937, and Vol. 67, No. 5, May, 1946. Other references are the Transactions of this Institute, 1932, 1938, and 1946; Metals Technology, American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers, February, 1938, and Canadian Chemistry and Process Industries, April, 1940.

Jan 1, 1948

By Victor R. Eyzaguirre

Cerro Verde is one of several large porphyry-type copper deposits in Southern Peru. The copper occurs as primary sulphides, with a significant oxide capping. The exploitation of the deposit has been correspondingly divided into two stages, the first consisting of copper production from oxides, and the second from sulphides. Minero Peru successfully started the Stage I plant in June of 1977 with the first production of electrowon copper cathodes. This paper is essentially devoted to a description of the Stage I process, which can be summarized as follows: Ore is trucked to the primary crusher, where it is crushed to 225 mm and conveyed to a coarse ore stockpile. Ore withdrawn from the stockpile is secondary crushed to 65 mm, conveyed to a truck loadout bin, loaded into trucks and driven to the leaching pads. Ore is placed on the pads in lifts and sprayed with sulphuric acid solution to dissolve the copper. Copper-bearing solution forms a pond behind a dam at the lower end of each pad and is pumped from there to the solvent extraction plant. Copper is extracted from the leach solution into an organic phase and is then stripped from the organic phase to form a purified concentrated copper solution suitable for feed to electrowinning. In electrowinning, the copper is finally recovered as cathodes suitable for sale as refined copper.

Jan 1, 1978

ABSTRACT Understanding process histories and worker exposures in nickel production operations is critical in determining the role nickel compounds play in respiratory cancer incidence. As part of a series on Vale Canada’s (previously known as Inco) nickel processing operations, this paper includes descriptions of Ni electrolytic operations at refineries in Port Colborne, Ontario (1922–1984), and Thompson, Manitoba (1961–present). Industrial hygiene measurements, by area and personal sampling, of workplace aerosols at these operations are reported.

Jan 1, 2014

By A. L. Mular

"IntroductionThe mining industry has made slow but steady progress toward the automation of mineral processing plants over the last 35 years. The stimulus to automate is associated with important economic and hidden benefits, so that today, the latest in instrumentation and technology is being employed.This chapter assesses the status of instrumentation justified economically, defines levels of control and certain fundamentals of feedback control loops, describes typical sensors employed in concentrator circuits, summarizes control strategies employed therein, and briefly highlights trends in integrated plant control.Current Status of AutomationAs early as 1948, the mining industry began to show interest in automation, probably because of its close association with the petroleum industry. By 1958, some regulatory control had been achieved in various sections of a concentrator, particularly in crushing circuits. Successes were attributed primarily to the reliability of sensors employed in the corresponding control scheme. By 1961, computers had appeared on the scene, initially, for data logging purposes.From 1958 to 1965, very few new control strategies had been implemented. Guidelines in vogue at this time appeared to be:- Install proven automation, unless a good instrumentation department exists at the concentrator.- Do not bite off too much instrumentation at one time.- Do not purchase on price alone; instrumentation must function in the concentrator environment.- Do not purchase automatic control equipment to be fashionable.Such guidelines were employed1 because of a lack of: (a) quantitative process knowledge, (b) reliable primary sensors, (c) initiative to try something new, (d) trained personnel, and (e) understanding that older concentrators could justify automation in many situations."

Jan 1, 1989

By Scott A. Stebbins

Cost evaluation models constructed specifically to evaluate the economic potential of an individually motorized railcar system of ore and waste transport demonstrate that the approach may be considerably more cost effective than traditional rubber-tired haulage methods. The system design places a motorized drive unit on each railcar, as opposed to the more common configuration in which a series of un-motorized cars trail behind a single locomotive. These motorized railcars are directed to various load and dump points by a computerized dispatch system, and as such have the advantage of operating unmanned. In addition, the tractive effort of the rail-type drive system is noticeably more efficient than that of the rubber-tired mode of transport. The savings are realized primarily through comparative reductions in the requirements for labor and, to a lesser degree, energy.

Nov 1, 2011

By L. McFarlane, D. Rollwagen

"Madawaska Mines produces a uranium precipitate (83-85% u3o8) using a magnesium oxide slurry to precipitate the uranium from solution. The solution, at approximately 9""0 g/l u3o8 is neutralized to a pH of 7.0. At the Eldorado Nuclear Refinery in Port Hope, the precipitate is not acceptable as a single feed to the refinery process. It was discovered that a 2% silica impurity caused emulsion problems in the solvent extraction column.After extensive studies of possible solutions, such as two-stage precipitation and solvent extraction, an acceptable solution was found. The selective precipitation of uranium at a pH of 3.5-4.0 using Hydrogen Peroxide produces an almost silica free product of higher purity (90-93% u3o8) to that of straight magnesium oxide precipitation. Introduction Madawaska Mines Limited is located four miles southwest of Bancroft, Ontario. The annual production of u3o8 is approximately 610,000 pounds. To produce the final product or yellowcake, nine separate steps are required. These are (1) grinding, (2) dewatering, (3) leaching, (4) acid filtration, (5) clarification, (6) ion exchange, (7) precipitation, (8) washing, and (9) drying and packaging. To illustrate these steps, a complete flowsheet of the mill is displayed on page three.The yellowcake is sent to Eldorado Nuclear Limited in Port Hope, Ontario for further concentrating and refining. As part of their routine specification check, a test called the amenability test is performed. This test indicates how a particular dissolved yellowcake product reacts to solvent extraction. The Madawaska yellowcake did not pass the test."

Jan 1, 1982

By T. Backers

In fracture mechanics modeling the rock mass is seen as the combination of rock material and fractures, which are evident on different scales. The activation and propagation of fractures dominates the stability and performance issues as well as fluid flow potential. Once fractures have started to grow into each other and create through going separations, stability of rock engineering constructions may be violated. Further, as fracture mechanics inherently incorporated a scaling law in the form of the participating fracture length, scaling issues can be more accurately mirrored. This contribution highlights some examples of application of a fracture mechanics based code on some rock mechanics issues such as numerical laboratory experiments, borehole stability or the creation of fluid pathways due to underground constructions. The results show explicitly the creation of fractures and connection of existing ones, and hence the safety and performance issues. It has to be concluded that the basis for frequent application of fracture mechanics on specialized challenges in Geomechanics is laid, and the needs for future developments are defined.

May 1, 2009

By Gustavo Angeloci

Artisanal mining is a rudimentary activity that today attracts over 30 million people in virtually all developing countries around the world. As the price of gold has steadily increased over the past decade, 15 million people have become involved in extracting this metal in 55 countries. Individuals have switched to mining from primary industrial sectors such as agriculture to increase their income. These workers generally have little capital, low education levels, and no previous experience in mining. Together with a lack of technical support from governments, these factors lead to disorganized and informal mining activities that generate environmental and social chaos. The absence of technical knowledge and capital has caused a proliferation of Gold Ore Processing Centres (GOPCs) around the world established by local entrepreneurs, who provide a way for miners to process their ores using amalgamation for a fee that is relatively low to non-existent. Gold recovery by the independent miners rarely exceeds 30 % and gold-rich tailings are left at GOPC facilities as a form of payment. GOPCs recover around 90 % of the remaining gold using cyanidation, flotation, and amalgamation, without any compensation paid to the miners. In processing these mercury (Hg)-contaminated tailings, Hg cyanide complexes are produced that are dumped into aquatic environments, leading to rapid bioaccumulation of Hg by fish. In the town of Portovelo, Ecuador, the establishment of partnerships between GOPC entrepreneurs and artisanal miners has proven to be successful in forming legal small-mining companies to create more equity and reduce pollution. About 108 GOPCs operate in Portovelo-Zaruma, with 40 % of these still working illegally without proper regulation and permitting. Over 20 % of these GOPCs continue to use grinding, concentrating and amalgamating of the gold, with 58 % performing cyanidation of tailings and/or gravity concentrates, and 15 % combining flotation with cyanidation. About 94 % of the GOPCs concentrate the ore prior to applying amalgamation, which significantly reduces Hg emissions to the environment. Incorporating flotation has given the operators increased skills in mineral recovery, with the side benefit of producing a copper concentrate as added value. Despite these innovations, mineral recovery is still inefficient, and waste management is a major challenge in creating true sustainability in this sector (technical efficiency together with social and environmental responsibilities). Further organization, training and capacity-building are needed. The principles of Lean Manufacturing Methods ("Just in Time" production and "Automation") are suggested as possible techniques to assist small GOPCs to become sustainable. In this concept, a larger mining company can become associated with artisanal miners in a partnership to provide training and investment for exploitation of small deposits that would be infeasible as a single large operation. As well, an International Training Centre for Artisanal Miners (ITCAM) is being established in Portovelo with collaboration of the Government of Ecuador to further enhance and upgrade mining activities in this region. ITCAM will provide artisanal miners with technical, business and environmental training to become responsible small-scale miners. In building this new capacity, ITCAM intends to create an atmosphere of trust to attract private and corporate investors to become partners with artisanal miners.

Aug 1, 2013

By Dave Stefanuto

Voisey?s Bay Project Components ? Mine/Mill Port In Labrador ? Mini Plant in Mississauga ? Demonstration Plant in Argentia ? Supply Vessel (Umiak1) ? Transshipment Facility (Quebec) ? Concentrate Handling & Transport to Sudbury/Thompson ? Cobalt Refinery Upgrade (Thompson) Project Setting ? The Project is on the traditional lands of the Labrador Inuit and the Labrador Innu ? Canadian courts have held that Aboriginal peoples in Canada possess special rights to traditional Aboriginal lands Those rights can include requiring resource developers to enter into Impacts and Benefits Agreements (IBAs) on traditional lands to set forth how lands can be used and benefits to be received by Aboriginal people

May 1, 2006

By J. B. Mawdsley

From the view point of the mining engineer, the square-set method of stoping as practised at Butte, Montana, is one ?of the outstanding features of well conducted mining operations in that camp. The following information was obtained in the course of two months underground work in the Granite Mountain mine, during the summer of 1920, which is one of the properties of the North Butte Mining Company, situated on the well known Speculator vein. Most of the information was derived from personal observation and from discussions with various miners and with members of the staff. Geology The copper mining area of the Butte district is some two miles long by one and a half miles wide, a mineralized area in a great batholith of monzonite granite, locally known as the Boulder batholith. This extensive body of granite is traversed by several series of mineralized fault-fissures which differ in strike but generally dip steeply. Geologists agree that following the formation of the fissures, alkaline solutions ascended and decomposed the felspathic portions of the granite in the immediate vicinity of the fissure walls, and that these alkaline solutions were followed by cupiferous solutions which filled the fissures and replaced the granite next to the walls. A zone of oxidized ore, varying in thickness from 10 to 400 feet, overlies a sulphide zone containing chalcocite, enargite, bornite and chalcopyrite, with a small amount of quartz gangue. The veins are from 3 to 100 feet in width and contain, on the average, 3 per cent of copper, 2 ounces of silver, and 15 cents in gold per ton.

Jan 1, 1925