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Some Statistics ? Feasibilitystudiescostbetween2% & 3% of capital andrequire8% to15% of total engineering effort ? Feasibilitystudiesusuallytakebetween8 and16 months ? Historically more than80% of projects fail to achieve all their objectives, usually blame the feasibility study ? What is bankable? Means that your promises will long be remembered. ? Poorly executed feasibility studies ? Driven by inexperience, unrealistic expectations, time constraints, financial constraints, lack of objectivity, front end loading activities incomplete or poorly done ? lack of minimum standard to provide a consistent approach Trend to improve???

May 1, 2010

By M. C. Bétournay

? Prioritization of this research area identified through a CANMET-MMSL industry survey ? Possible technological breakthrough ? Prioritization of this research area identified through a CANMET-MMSL industry survey ? Possible technological breakthrough Disadvantages ? High cost and long time for equipment development ? Hard rock mining condition limitations ? Size of equipment ? Equipment set-up time, down time ? Performance does not meet financial return targets ? Ground control issues ? Drill and blast retains overall advantage

Feb 1, 2008

By Jerry Danni

In order to remain viable today, corporations must view the environment as a strategic issue, and integrate environmental management throughout the organization. Corporate programs that used to be based primarily on regulatory compliance now must emphasize strategic environmental management systems, and must integrate these environmental systems with basic business functions. The mining industry today is global, and must have an organizational structure that can embrace different cultures, physical settings, and regulatory regimes. Sound environmental management practices are not different from good management principles. An effective environmental management system should be a complementary system to an organization?s overall management framework, integrated and aligned with the existing management structure. Integrating environmental management into core business functions is just good business. An effective environmental management system is a critical component of a company?s commitment to environmental, social and economic accountability. This paper presents the elements of the Kinross Gold Corporation strategic environmental management system and discusses the integration of the environmental management system into the core business functions throughout the Company

May 1, 2003

By Zhanyou Huang

The logic and capabilities of a short-term planning tool are presented. It was developed using mixed integer linear programming (MILP) techniques to solve the open-pit and underground mine planning problems that include multiple mining areas, multiple processes, multiple destinations and blending requirements. It finds the optimum schedule that achieves the objective while satisfying comprehensive product quality and quantity requirements, equipment utilizations, as well as physical and technical constraints. A case study is given to demonstrate its applications.

Oct 1, 2009

By Zhanyou Huang

The logic and capabilities of a short-term planning tool are presented. It was developed using mixed integer linear programming (MILP) techniques to solve the open-pit and underground mine planning problems that include multiple mining areas, multiple processes, multiple destinations and blending requirements. It finds the optimum schedule that achieves the objective while satisfying comprehensive product quality and quantity requirements, equipment utilizations, as well as physical and technical constraints. A case study is given to demonstrate its applications.

Oct 1, 2009

By Sobczyk

The article will present a comparison of classifications of resources according to the JORC Code System with Polish classification, basing on system used in Eastern Europe. The differences between these classifications are significant. The information about mineral resources in Poland is not comparable to the main international system of reporting reserves like JORC, SAMREC, and PERC. Although comparisons between these systems are used, the transfer of particular categories of resources from the Polish system into a JORC category is not simple. Basing on the examples of privatization of Polish coal companies through initial public offering on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, the current practices providing guidelines how to convert resources from the Polish classification to the JORC system are described. Such independent assessment of resources is necessary for development of Mineral Expert?s Report (MER or CPR) which is an integral attachment to the prospectus.

Aug 1, 2013

By Bish Chanda

In the minerals business, like any other commodity-based business, management faces the daily challenge of holding down costs while the real prices of products are continually falling on an inflation-adjusted basis. Since the marketplace sets the prices, often without any premium attached for product quality, being one of the lowest-cost producers is the most viable competitive strategy. Continuous improvement is the mantra that can make the difference in terms of long-term survival of a mining company. Yet, this message has not always been followed, especially during periods of prosperity ushered by high commodity prices. More often than not, the need for improvement is only triggered by a crisis. This may be caused by events such as the onset of a severe economic recession, a prolonged oversupply situation due to an optimistic expansion of capacity during the period of prosperity, or simply falling profits alerting management to bring costs under control. At that time, there would be a need to implement a new cost-saving program, bring in a consultant to find ways to reduce costs, or re-activate an old program that had been shelved for some time.

May 1, 2003

By C. T. Morley

The steadily increasing interest in high pressure grinding rolls (HPGR) as a legitimate alternative comminution technology for hard rock applications has led to a proportional increase in the demand for trade-off studies comparing HPGR with more established approaches, typically SAG-based but including AG and stage-crushing designs. The primary trade-off is between a) the higher capital cost typically incurred with HPGR-based designs and b) the higher operating costs of the more traditional technologies. However, if, through circuit design innovation, the capital cost penalty of HPGR circuits could be eliminated or reversed, then the need for trade-off studies would diminish.

Jan 1, 2012

By J. Lu

The impact of acid treatment in agglomeration/acid curing on copper extraction and acid consumption was investigated with respect to acid dosage and moisture. Without the addition of water, no agglomeration occurred. At an acid dosage above 15 kg/t, the acid was not completely consumed during acid curing. With the addition of 6.2% water, the particles agglomerated together. Copper, iron, magnesium and manganese were dissolved as sulfates and enriched in the fine fraction of the ore. The copper extraction and net acid consumption increased with increasing acid dosage. The copper extraction for acid curing with the addition of 6.2% water was higher than that without the addition of water due to the improved permeability and the increase in the contact with acid-soluble copper. During acid curing, the reaction of sulfuric acid with muscovite, abite and nacrite mainly took place on the surface of the particles while the reaction of sulfuric acid with clinochlore occurred not only on the surface but also inside the particles.

Jan 1, 2007

By Simon C. Dominy

"There are two main issues stemming from Vallée’s (2002) comments on Dominy et al. (2001b). First, he raises the importance of quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) during resource estimation programs, and second, he indicates that the resolution and understanding of continuity (grade and geological) issues are paramount in the classification of resources. In particular, continuity is critical at the boundary between the Inferred and Indicated Mineral Resource categories. The original contribution agrees with the importance of these points, and the principal author offers the following discussion and clarification. Further comment is also provided on the reporting of grade uncertainty through grade ranges.It is worth remembering that vein-gold deposits (e.g., shear-zone, lode-gold, mesothermal types etc.), particularly those containing coarse gold particles (e.g., >100 µm), generally show large variations in grade and an erratic grade distribution. In most cases, diamond drilling is a good measure of geological continuity (depending on drill spacing), but a poor measure of grade and its distribution. High-nugget effect deposits rank among the most difficult deposit types in terms of producing an accurate and precise resource estimate, and clearly represent a distinct deposit type."

Jan 1, 2002

By Manouchehr Oliazadeh

Talc is used as a gelating, diluting, antimould and softening agent in the pharmaceutical industries. This article reviews efforts made for producing pharmaceutical grade talc from a mine located in the west of Iran, called Masoud Abad. Reaching to the pharmaceutical standards, was the principal goal of the talc beneficiation. Methods such as flotation and leaching were applied to eliminate the impurities. Considering to the negligible Fe content of the ore, the major impurity was calcium carbonate and to some extent dolomite. Depressants used in froth flotation were dextrine, quebraco and sodium silicate. Variation of collectors such as oil petroleum, paraffin, stearic acid were also used. After optimization of the effective parameters, followed by two stages of flotation (rougher and cleaner) acid leaching process was also applied as a complementary step to remove the impurities. CaO impurities in the sample was 11.63% which reduced to 1.03% after two stages of flotation, and finally reached to 0.03% CaO by leaching process. This figure is more lower than the world pharmaceutical standards (i.e. <0.6 % CaO). The highest recovery was 55% at the best conditions. Other impurities (i.e.As, lead, heavy metals ,?) which were at standard levels, confirmed by the authorized health organizations.

May 1, 2001

By Eva Surová, Molák. Bohumil, Márta Polgári

The Úrkút rhodochrosite deposit and Branisko Mn showings (rancieite, manganiferous calcite), located in Lower Jurassic marine sedimentary rocks with black shale, were studied by organicgeochemical methods. Both depositional localities were affected by the Lower Jurassic Toarcian anoxic event. UrkUt shales are rich in organic matter (av. 2.94 wtOJo total organic carbon), the composition of which indicates derivation mainly from marine sources, with some terrigenous component. The shales matured in a bacterially active environment under reducing conditions of diagenesis-catagenesis. Branisko shales (~0.2 wt % TOC) with lenses of Mn oxide ore were weakly metamorphosed and their organic matter thermally degraded. The model for Mn carbonate ore formation envisages reaction of Mn derived from sediments, with carbonate generated by a bacterially mediated process of decomposition of organic matter that also involved Mn reduction.

Jan 1, 1992

By Nick Vayenas

This paper discusses the application of a commercially available state-of-the-art PC discrete-event simulation modeling software, called Promodel, for simulating a typical underground mine hoist system in the Sudbury mining region, in the province of Ontario in Canada. The reasons for using Promodel as a two-dimensional simulation development tool is its simplicity in use and its capabilities to provide enough flexibility to meet the modeling requirements of a mine hoist system. General information of a mine hoist system was collected for building the model. Example of the model?s output is also presented. The application of Promodel in underground mining offers a powerful, two-dimensional simulation environment in an affordable price for mining engineers to analyze and study operational problems. This hoist simulation model is an intuitive demonstration of the mine hoisting elements and the operational logic of the hoist, based on which optimization of the entire mine system materials flow can be considered as part of a mine cycle management feasibility study.

Oct 1, 2009

By Vincent H. Hartung

The process of estimating tailings deposition for a given basin is a relatively tedious process without dedicated software tools. The amount of time required to generate a tailings surface for a given set of conditions tends to limit the number of design alternatives that can be considered for a particular project. Recent innovations in the Surpac Vision mining software include the widely used scripting language TCL (Tool Command Language) that brings with it the ability for non-programmers to extend the software functionality beyond mining applications alone. A software tool was developed using the Surpac Vision scripting language to take advantage of 3D visualization and create a flexible tailings modeling solution. The result is an application that removes much of the drafting overhead required to produce a tailings surface. It provides the means for reviewing alternatives and performing sensitivity analysis with variables such as pond elevation, dam or spigot location and height without a significant increase in overall time for a project.

May 1, 2001

By Neil Westoll

Extensive Global Network ?Working together, AECOM provides clients with a unique blend of global reach, local knowledge, innovation and technical excellence. ?43,000+ team members worldwide ?450+ offices ?100+ countries ?6 continents The Changing Climate ?Climate change is ?official??IPCC 2007 ?Climate change will create instability, change and opportunities ?Companies that are resilient and adapt will survive and evolve ?CO2/GHG emissions will be curbed by legislation ?How will this affect the mining industry? ?How can the mining industry adapt to the new realities?

May 1, 2009

By Mario A. Morin

Over the years, several sources have stressed the need to better integrate the underground mine design and planning processes. The belief is that with better integration, better designs and plans will result - designs that are ?optimized?. Some researchers have focused their efforts on data integration, others have looked at closing the loop between production control & monitoring with mine planning & scheduling. In spite of all these efforts, fully integrated applications combining geological modeling, stope design and geomechanics, mine planning and scheduling, rock extraction and material handling system design, mine support systems, economic analysis with production control do not yet exist for the underground hard rock mining industry. There are several likely explanations - some economic, some technical. It is certain that the design and planning processes are interrelated and interdependent and thus are extremely complex to describe and understand. The mining engineer has an appreciation of the complexities involved - but how does he convey this knowledge to a programming team responsible for developing an integrated design & planning system. This paper will focus on software engineering methods, and other possible approaches, to describe and manage the complexities inherent in the underground mine design and planning process and the development of an integrated computerized system.

May 1, 2001

Experimental determination of the response of an AG/SAG mill treating two components of significantly different impact resistance is challenging for two main reasons: firstly, small scale laboratory tests have yet to be confirmed as valid representations of the full scale milling environment, and secondly pilot plant testing requires 10-20 tonnes of ore per scenario which precludes the use of drill core, rendering the process very expensive. In order to mitigate these difficulties, modelling was considered as a potential way forward. However, as the JKSimMet AG/SAG model currently has no capacity to simulate the interaction of two ore types with differing impact resistance, density and/or feed size distributions, an alternative modelling approach was developed. This approach aims to essentially calibrate the AG/SAG process under a set of given conditions, for which survey data and the ore properties of the main components in the feed blend already exist. This paper describes a new conceptual model, which provides a simplified approach for investigating the multi-component behaviour of two ores of differing hardness/SG in a given AG/SAG milling environment, and which can potentially be used for scale-up from laboratory/pilot testwork and geometallurgical estimation of throughput.

Jan 1, 2012

By Sheila E. Daniel

"Since 1989, the Mine Environmental Neutral Drainage Program (MEND) has sponsored research into ways of reducing the environmental impact and financial liabilities associated with Acid Mine Drainage from tailings and waste rock. Toward this overall objective, Kilborn was contracted to review the use and applicability of passive treatment systems for acid mine drainage.Experimentation using passive systems to treat acid mine drainage has been ongoing since the early 1980's in North America. Passive treatments are generally considered an attractive alternative to active lime treatment, since they require minimal human involvement, no power, and only seasonal or periodic care and maintenance after establishment. Most attractive is that initial capital cost to implement a passive treatement system is generally low to moderate. Ongoing operating costs are similarly low when compared to active treatment systems.Passive treatment systems currently used, or under investigation to treat acid mine drainage include: anoxic limestone drains, aerobic wetlands, reed bed wetlands, compost wetlands, microbial systems and bioabsorption systems. These wastewater treatment systems utilize the chemical, biological and physical removal processes that occur naturally in the environment to improve wastewater quality, including: oxidation, reduction, coagulation, adsorption, absorption and precipitation; microbial activity; and, gravity aeration and dilution. The rates at which these processes occur determines the loading which can be treated and the effectiveness of the system.The results of our literature review will be summarized, and insight provided into the applicability of passive systems to treat acid mine drainage from Canadian Mines."

Jan 1, 1995

By C. C. Li

The D bolt is a new type of energy-absorbing rock support element recently developed in Nor-way. The D bolt is not only able to accommodate large rock deformations, but can also provide a load-bearing capacity as high as that of rebar bolts. Furthermore, the anchoring quality of the D bolt is similar to rebar bolts because of its multi-point anchoring design.

May 1, 2009

By Timothy D. Dreger

In the spring of 2009, Suncor Energy Inc. technical personnel saw an opportunity to improve planning 0and mining of overburden material in order to address aggressive construction goals and increased mining complexity. By tying together current and historical equipment performance, geological model information, and material observation in the field new operating elevations for the shovels were developed. At the same time, methodology of recording and reporting overburden movement through the Modular Mining DISPATCH system was changed. The result of this first stage of improvements was an increase in construction-grade material available at the face. The personnel involved realized that other opportunities were available to build on the initial successes and establish processes that would stand up to attrition and experience levels. A cross-functional technical team was assembled to identify ways of further improving workflows around overburden mining. Some of the opportunities realized include greater alignment between planning, reporting and operations as well as development of reporting tools that help steward Mine Operations to the plan. All of which have resulted in Suncor meeting or beating its forecast overburden targets. The cross-functional technical team continues to seek out new and better ways of doing business so Suncor can continue to deliver on its commitment of outstanding performance and results.

May 1, 2011