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By Reis. E., P. Pino Véliz

"Along the process of defining the fundamentals of a ferronickel project, several questions require proper answers from the very beginning such as the size and characteristics of the laterite deposit (oxide or silicate), the mineralogical variability, and the selection of the most valuable process route. In general, these elements will be defined along the progress of the exploration and feasibility studies, and definitive engineering. Also, from the very preliminary estimates, three questions are very common: what should be the plant capacity (annual tonnes of contained nickel), what will be the probable capital required (CAPEX), and what will be the estimated timeline (schedule) between the initial stage, say the feasibility study and the plant start-up and ramp-up to designed capacity. The accuracy of the capital cost estimates also progresses along the different stages of development from ±50% at the Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) stage down to ±5% for the Detailed Engineering and Construction stage. These accuracies of estimates have been, in some ways, accepted by the mining community and investors. The industry accepted benchmark for ferronickel projects in terms of CAPEX are then in the order of US$50,000 per tonne of nickel contained in the FeNi product. In this paper, the authors analyze in some details three ferronickel projects for lateritic ores that have selected the Rotary Kiln - Electric Furnace (RKEF) as the suitable technological route and have started production in the period 2006–2016. Some key aspects of the ferronickel projects are examined: 1) size and type of deposit; 2) flowsheet selection; 3) evolution of capital cost as a function of capacity from the feasibility stage to construction; 4) comparison between planned production scale and actual ramp up; 5) estimated capital expenditure (CAPEX) compared with actual figures; 6) nickel price evolution and timing of the approval for the project to proceed to construction and production start-up. The objective of this paper is to identify key elements that should be addressed in future projects and that are proposed as benchmark figures for similar projects."

Jan 1, 2017

By H. A. Wilson

Introduction Salt (sodium chloride) occurs naturally either in the solid state as rock salt or in solution as a component of natural brines. It is the major saline constituent of sea water, which contains about 4 percent salt-roughly 164 million tons, or enough to meet world salt demands for five years, per cubic mile. The great rock salt deposits of the world are generally regarded as having been formed by the evaporation of sea water over long periods of rime in wholly, partially, or periodically cut-off bays of ancient oceans. History and Occurrence of Salt in Canada We can speak today of the vastness of Canada's salt resources, but it was not always so. Settlement of our Atlantic seaboard and the Sr. Lawrence valley began in earnest in the early 1600's. The first small commercial salt works in Canada did not come into operation until 1866. Thus, for some two and a half centuries, the inhabitants of this growing country were entirely dependent on foreign sources for every pound of salt they consumed. The record shows that from at !east 1800 onward, the need for a domestic salt industry was clearly recognized by the governments of the day. It was during the Western Ontario oil-boom of 1866 that the initial discovery of rock salt in Canada was made, not far from Goderich, at a depth of 1,000 feet. A salt company was promptly organized, and with their operations there began the gradual and still uncompleted conquest of the Canadian salt market by the Canadian salt industry. Over the next thirty years many holes were drilled into the Salina formation both in Ontario and Michigan, and encountered rock salt. A vast salt-basin was disclosed, approximately outlined, and given the name Ontario-Michigan Salt Basin. The Ontario portion of the basin extends over at least 3,500 square miles, is met with at a depth varying between 800 and 1,600 feet, and has a thickness of 50 to 250 feet. No attempt has ever been made, so far as we know, to calculate the total salt reserves of this basin, but the minimum indicated in the Ontario portion by the figures just cited is just under thirty-five cubic miles. The specific gravity of rock salt is 2.2. From these data, those so inclined may calculate the tonnage.

Jan 1, 1947

By P. C. Benedict

Introduction and Summary The Northern Empire mine is a mile east of Beardmore, and 100 miles northeast of Port Arthur, district of Thunder Bay, Ontario. Production started in March, 1934, and terminated in September, 1941. During this period, the mill treated 425,866 tons of ore, from which 153,103 ounces of gold were recovered. The lowest level from which ore was mined was the 1900, but considerable drifting was performed on the 2075 level and 800 feet on the 2415, the deepest level. The following description of the geology of the mine is recorded by the senior author but is based on the observations and complementary mapping of both authors. The vein strikes about N.72°E. and has an average dip of 80°S. (Figure 1). In stoped sections, the quartz averaged about two feet wide. On the 1725 level it was drifted on continuously for more than 7,000 feet, but in the mine as a whole practically no commercial ore was found beyond points 1,400 feet west and 1,800 feet east of the shaft. Conspicuous wall-rock alteration extended throughout this section but not much beyond its limits. There was some splitting of the vein and widening of the alteration halo on the lower levels. The average general colour of the quartz changes with depth. It may be generalized, from top to bottom, as light grey to dark grey to brownish. The brownish quartz first appeared near the bottom of the ore.

Jan 1, 1947

By M. Nejati, A. Paluszny, R. W. Zimmerman

A numerical method is proposed to propagate multiple discrete fractures leading to primary fragmentation in a mine that is being worked using block caving. Deformation is computed using the finite element method, fractures are represented explicitly, and the mine domain is discretized by an unstructured mesh. Bedding planes are represented by systematically varying the elastic modulus of the rock and by defining horizontal weakness planes. Fractures and matrix are represented using parametric surfaces, and tips are defined by their boundary curves. Tip advance is controlled by a failure criterion, and a criterion for propagation direction and magnitude, based on the evaluation of the modal stress intensity factors. A novel domain integral approach is applied to accurately compute stress intensity factors (K) ahead of fracture tips in three dimensions. The method does not require a structured volumetric mesh structure around the crack tip, as integration is performed over a series of virtual surface domains along the crack front. The method is efficient, as it makes direct use of automatically generated, arbitrary tetrahedral meshes, and approximates stress intensity factors (KI, KII, KIII) along each crack front using Interaction-integrals. As opposed to the JIntegral, the method does not decompose K a-posteriori, but instead uses an auxiliary field to directly compute modal K. When using this method, numerical approximations of K do not exhibit dependence on the mesh layout, and require meshes that can generally be ten times coarser than are required by displacement- and stress-based methods. Volumetric meshing requires only, on average, 17% of each computation step. Thus, cracks do not follow any pre-existing mesh structure, and the method is well suited for high-density fracture datasets. The method is demonstrated for primary fragmentation of a mine area covering 110 initial draw points, immediately beneath a 2m high undercut. Displacement is constrained at all boundaries except the surface of the undercut. The growth of the fractures is investigated at the onset of the undercut. Ninety initial disc-shaped fractures are taken into account, each having an initial radius of 10 m. Fractures grow around the undercut, intersect the bedding plane boundaries, and the domain is fragmented as a result.

Jan 1, 2015

By Adriana Ramirez, Bradford C. Wesstrom, Blanca Olave

The Freeport McMoRan El Paso Copper Refinery optimizes electrolyte quality using a number of systems. The facility controls copper, arsenic, antimony and bismuth using electro-winning cells within the Tank House and Nickel Carbonate Plant Liberator Circuit (NCP). The NCP manages sulfuric acid content utilizing recycled electrolyte in the slimes autoclave as well as operation of the Acid Purification Unit, APU. The El Paso Refinery removes common sulfates using metal hydrolysis with sodium carbonate. Finally, a Mechanical Vapor Recompression, (MVR), at the water recovery plant removes sodium sulfate generated by the NCP. This paper will provide a summary of these operations. INTRODUCTION In the mid 1920’s Nichols Copper Company, in Laurel Hill, New York, recognized the need for a modern copper refining facility in the southwest. Because of the many railroad heads, affordable power and abundant labor supply, and the close proximity to regional copper smelters in Mexico, Arizona, and New Mexico, El Paso became the ideal location. In December 1928, ground was broken for the joint venture refinery between the Nichols Copper Company, Phelps Dodge, and the Calumet and Arizona Mining Company. In September 1930, Nichols Copper Company became a part of Phelps Dodge Corporation after a stock exchange. In July 1938, Nichols Division officially became Phelps Dodge Refining Corporation. In March 2007, Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold acquired Phelps Dodge. Water is a precious commodity in the desert southwest, making conservation of this natural resource an important goal for the El Paso Operations. In the 1980’s, work on the treatment of slimes was improved through the use of pressure leaching of the refinery slimes using an autoclave. Due to the high tellurium content in the leached slimes solution, it was crucial to implement a method for its removal before the solution returns to the tank house electrolyte. A copper telluride cementation operation was installed for tellurium recovery and the ability for the recycle of the leachate and wash water to the refinery electrolyte. In October of 1997, ground was broken for the construction of the water recovery plant using an MVR to reuse process water, reducing water consumption by 25%. In 2002, electrolyte purification was further improved with the installation of an Acid Purification Unit, (APU) (Sheedy, Pajunen, & Wesstrom, 2007). The APU recycles 90% of the acids (both sulfuric and arsenic acids) back to the tank house electrolyte. The solution that passes through the APU is treated with soda ash to precipitate metals out of solution as carbonates and generates a sodium sulfate solution. This sodium sulfate solution is easily processed in the new water recovery plant, where the majority of the water recycles back into the plant as pure condensate. In 2012, the power plant at the refinery upgraded its Reverse Osmosis System to provide RO water to the tankhouse. This insured that the refinery would not have to bleed electrolyte for metals contained in well water such as: calcium, magnesium, iron and sodium chloride.

Jan 1, 2019

By A. S. Baillie

THE subject of taxes appears to engage our attention altogether too lightly. At least it would seem that, notwithstanding the increase in the cost of government, and its concomitant increased taxation, little constructive work is being done with a view to solving the problem of increased taxes. I believe that the inattention of the public generally to the subject of increased taxation is due largely to the fact that shareholders are not advised of the amount of taxes paid by industry. Were companies to advise their shareholders the amount of monies paid or payable out of each year's earnings for taxes in one form or another, and were such amounts compared with the amounts available for distribution to shareholders, the effect would be a general demand for more equitable taxation methods. While I am not unmindful of the burdens and inequities in taxation confronting industry generally, I believe that the mining industry in this Province does not fully appreciate the burden represented by the costs of taxation. My reason for this belief is based partly upon1the fact that no serious effort has so far been made to devise some means By which the mining industry in British Columbia might protect itself against the ever-increasing burden of taxation. In addition to this fact the widely diverse nature of mining in British Columbia makes the accumulation of comparable data a problem which, so far as I can ascertain, has never been attempted in a manner which would be authoritative. It should not be necessary to cite the effects of this burden upon any one mining company or upon any branch of the mining industry, such as coal mining, placer mining, base-metal mining, or the precious-metal mines. In my opinion, the operation of our mines by large corporations is conducive to the payment of taxes with much less protest than would be the case were the taxes being taken out of the earnings of just a few partners or a very few shareholders. We appear to be too unmindful of the taxes, paid by mining companies, of a kind that are not so prominently brought to our attention as are the taxes which are calculated upon the taxable income of the company at the end of its fiscal year. British Columbian mining companies pay many other taxes besides those which are calculated upon taxable income. Among these are school taxes, property taxes, gasoline taxes, mineral taxes, coal royalty, to say nothing of fuel-oil tax, sales tax, and excise taxes.

Jan 1, 1935

By Stephan I. Zajac, Roger A. Blais, John B. Stubbins

THE iron deposits of central Labrador occur within a relatively small area, herein called the Knob Lake Iron Range, in which a northwest-trending series of low hills and ridges defines the height-of-land at the boundary between provinces of Quebec and Newfound-land. Approximately two-thirds of the deposits are in Quebec and the remainder in Labrador, with several deposits straddling the inter-provincial boundary. These deposits are being exploited in open-pit mines by the Iron Ore Company of Canada centered at Schefferville, Quebec. Since 1954 this company has produced more than 56 million tons of iron ore to become Canada's leading iron ore producer. With indicated reserves of more than 375 million tons of direct-shipping ore and large tonnages of iron formation amenable to beneficiation, this mining district is assured of a long life. This paper describes the Knob Lake iron ores and their geological settings and stresses the features that lead to a better understanding of their origin. The

Jan 1, 1961

By J. Shibata, N. Murayama

"Rare earth elements are present in more than 100 minerals, of which monazite, bastnaesite and xenotime are typical. Rare earth elements have excellent chemical and physical properties for industrial use in functional materials such as phosphors, magnets, electronic components, abrasives and catalysts. China produces more than 90 % of the world’s rare earths, and Chinese trends significantly influence the demand and price of rare earths. From the viewpoint of resource securement, it is desirable to separate and recover rare earth elements from low-grade resources and wastes. Phosphate gypsum, which is a by-product of wet phosphoric acid manufacturing, contains low concentrations of rare earth elements. In this research, the separation and recovery of rare earth elements from phosphate gypsum were investigated. A series of recovery methods including washing of phosphate gypsum, leaching of the rare earth elements with sulfuric acid, adsorption and desorption of rare earth elements by using ion-exchange resin, and precipitation of rare earth oxalates were carried out. The separation of rare earth elements from Ca2+ simultaneously leached from phosphate gypsum was also investigated."

Jan 1, 2014

By Jeremy P. Richards

Key inputs are volatiles and heat: Slab dehydration: Breakdown of amphibole and serpentine in hydrated oceanic crust releases fluids into mantle wedge, causing metasomatism.

May 1, 2008

By Robert B. Parsons

"Starting January 1, 1987 employers, employees, and other taxpayers are confronted with a new set of rules dealing with the taxation of travel and housing benefits relating to isolated posts in Canada, and tax deductions relating thereto. The new rules may not be the simplest in the world, but they are reasonably fair and at least offer a hitherto unknown degree of certainty as to how such allowances are to be treated. IntroductionThe first shoe fell on February 26, 1986 when Finance Minister Michael Wilson' s first budget presented the framework for the future tax treatment of travel and housing benefits (so-called ""northern allowances"") provided to residents in remote regions of Canada. The second shoe fell some ten months later on December 22, 1986 when the Minister of Finance filled in the earlier announced framework with detailed rules. We now have a complete picture of the tax treatment of northern allowances. Here is what the picture looks like with effect from January 1, 1987.According to Revenue Canada, the net housing benefit to employees will be equal to the value of the accommodation provided, less any rent they have paid. In major centres such as Yellowknife and Whitehorse, having a developed rental housing market, the benefit amount will be based on the fair market value of the rental accommodation in that location. In other areas, employers will be required to value the housing benefits and, to assist employers, Revenue Canada has provided the following guidelines: Common shelter- $100 per month including the value of subsidized utilities Apartment! duplex-$270 per month excluding the value of subsidized utilities, or $400 per month including the value of subsidized utilities House-$450 per month excluding the value of subsidized utilities, or $650 per month in- c1uding the value of subsidized utilities.The amounts established as the values of accommodation will be adjusted annually after 1987 based on the housing component of the Consumer Price Index."

Jan 1, 1987

By P. W. Waggitt

ABSTRACT From approximately 1986 until 2000, uranium production was at a historic low. In 2003, uranium mineral exploration surged, despite the global financial crisis; however, the shortage and aging of qualified and experienced operators and regulators might soon become a constraint to this upsurge. This is true for all types of engineers, geologists, other scientists, tradespeople, and technicians. The situation raises questions about how the global mining industry in general and the uranium sector in particular will cope with future staffing needs. In this paper, the author examines the current situation and describes how some organizations are seeking possible solutions.

Jan 1, 2014

By A. J. Paul Laprairie

"ADVANCE planning of mining methods, from the first development openings to stope layout and pillar recovery, has long been accepted as a normal method of operating a mine. Recently, mine managers have become increasingly aware that advance planning of cost and accounting controls can also be considered a normal method of operation. The use of such controls is wide-spread in manufacturing industries. In mining, the gold mines of South Africa have pioneered, with marked success, in this field and have been closely associated with most of the research and field work in accounting control. Canadian mine managers are also beginning to realize the advantages of using planned costs. The control procedures which subsequently have been introduced at various mines have come to be known by such names as ""Responsibility Costing"" or Budgetary Control"".Budgetary control, the term used in this paper, is based on the concept of decentralized authority with centralized control. ;The control is achieved by measuring results against yardsticks which are in the form of budgets or standards. Bud-gets are made for the future activities of each possible operation as planned by the department head, and attention is directed to variations from this plan. Furthermore, the control process charges to each operation only those costs which are incurred directly for that operation, and which can be controlled by the person in charge. Thus, budgetary control relates results to the officials responsible for those results. Expenditures are analyzed according to the organizational structure of the mine and the people who run it, and not according to production processes."

Jan 1, 1960

By Michael Bowker

Au/TiO2 catalysts were prepared by incipient wetness impregnation and tested for the room temperature photocatalytic reforming of methanol in aqueous solution. These catalysts proved to be more active, on a molar basis, than Pd/TiO2. The dependence on loading of gold was different from that of palladium, showing a double maximum in yield at 0.1 and 2 wt. % with low rate below 0.01% and above 10%. A model is proposed for the reaction involving band gap excitation of titania electrons which are used to oxidise the methanol via adsorbed CO. With palladium, photoreforming of CO and water can be achieved, but this is much less effective on gold, presumably due to the much weaker bonding of CO on Au.

Oct 1, 2003

By Robert B. Parsons

"Although the April 19, 1983 federal budget appears to put greater emphasis on new or expanded government spending programs in an effort to get Canadians working again, the budget proposals contain a light sprinkling of tax changes which could be of some direct benefit to the mining industry.This month, Tax Notes examines some of the more important of these changes.IntroductionSome sectors of Canada's mining industry could benefit from the proposed income tax changes announced by Finance Minister Lalonde in delivering his budget address to the House of Commons on April 19, 1983. Improved depletion allowance rules, expanded investment tax credits, better use of business losses, and inflation proofing of personal capital gains on Canadian common shares are all part of the measures included in Mr. Lalonde's first budget to try to reinvigorate the battered Canadian economy.Improved DepletionUnder the Income Tax Regulations, a taxpayer who incurs Canadian exploration expense (and certain other eligible expenses) is permitted to deduct not only the full amount of the Canadian exploration expense (""CEE""), but also an additional allowance (the so-called earned depletion allowance) equal to one-third of the CEE. Thus, a taxpayer in certain circumstances can claim a deduction of $1.33 for each $1.00 of eligible expenditure, including CEE.Although CEE can be deducted from any source of the taxpayer's income (for example, from investment income, salary income, and so on), prior to budget date the earned depletion allowance was deductible only from the taxpayer's resource profits. This restriction on the deductibility of the earned depletion allowance substantially reduced the attraction of the allowance: few individual investors or investment companies, for example, have the required stream of resource profits, at least when the CEE or other eligible expenditure is made."

Jan 1, 1983

By T. Lamb, T. Aston

"The Gays River Mine is located within a complex hydrological regime and underground mining environment. Early in the mine history, the operation was' affected by an inability to control mine water inflows. More recently, the reopened mine operation had been unable to maintain consistent drainage of groundwater to the mine workings and sustain low groundwater levels.In 1992, a series of investigations were completed, which in part Were funded under the Canada-Nova Scotia Mineral Development Agreement. The studies undertaken included: hydrochemical and drainhole well screen assessments, an air photo study of sinkhole features, numerical modelling studies and a major piezometer installation and overburden soil study. The results indicate that the water draining to the underground workings is comprised of two distinct components: precipitation over the drawdown cone catchment area and seepage from the nearby Gays River. In addition, a third ""balance"" component was' also found, which represents uncertainties in the areal extent of the drawdown cone and river seepage components.After outlining the history of the groundwater problems experienced at the Gays River Mine, this paper examines the various studies undertaken during 1991-1992 and concludes that control of groundwater levels in the mine area is achievable. A number of recommendations are also proposed for future study ."

Jan 1, 1993

By L. Veleva, Garcia. A., G. Perez

Aluminum is a metal used for the transmission of electricity of high voltage, in the construction industry and other areas. In atmospheric conditions aluminum forms an oxide layer (Alz03'H20) as a result of its corrosion, entering the passive state. The oxide layer can be destroyed by the presence of ions (Cr, SOx-n) developing localized (non uniform) corrosion attack by pitting, difficult for evaluation. The concepts of fractals and self-similarity were used in this study for the characterization of the development of localized corrosion. Images obtained with a scanning electron microscope (SEM) of samples of electrolytic aluminum wire that have been exposed during one year in ruralurban and marine-coastal environments of the humid tropical climate of Mexico, have been processed. The development of pitting has been studied as a function of time, making a statistics of the frequency of appearance of pits versus the area occupied by them. The data show that the distribution of the pits follows a power law. Therefore, the concept of self-similarity can be applied for the study of the phenomenon of localized corrosion, describing their development with time.

Jan 1, 2006

By R. Scheepers

"Mineral deposits and prospects of the Pan African Saldanian orogenic belt in the southwestern Cape Province South Africa, are reviewed. Despite the entire absence of operating base or precious metal mines in the area, this study has established at least four metal associations that offer enticing exploration potential.The poly-phase deformed, low-grade metamorphosed volcano-sedimentary Malmesbury Group constitutes a complex, poorly understood supracrustal sequence that has been loosely subdivided into the Tygerberg, Swartland and Boland tectono-stratigraphic terranes by northwesterly trending fault zones. Syn- and post-tectonic granitoids of the Cape Granite Suite selectively intruded these terranes. Early S-types preferred the Tygerberg terrane whereas the later I-types dominate the remaining areas. Anorogenic A-type granites, however, occur in all three domains. Known metallization is directly or indirectly related to the intrusives, yet syngenetic deposits are conspicuously absent from the supracrustals. Four metal associations have been identified.• Cassiterite-wolframite (± Au, Cu, Mo, Fe-sulfides) in quartz and quartz/aplite veins hosted by tourmalinized and locally greissenized S-type granite. Similar exo-granitic veins occur in proximal metamorphites.• Juxtaposed disseminated, stockwork, breccia and vein style Cu-Mo-Fe-(Au)-sulfide mineralization hosted by mafic to intermediate intrusives of high K calc-alkaline, I-type affinity. • Cu-Mo-Au-sulfides hosted by hydraulic breccia pipes, stocks and veins occurring in anorogenic A-type alkali feldspar granites and amphibole quartz syenites.• Scheelite with minor Cu-Mo-sulfides and Au-associated with endo- and exo-skarns spatially related to I-type monzogranite, granite and alkali feldspar granite.The first three associations occur along the Yzerfontein-Helderberg-Zone, a 180 km lineament in the Tygerberg terrane, a zone exploited by syn-, late- and post-tectonic intrusives and their related mineralization. The fourth association is typical of the Boland terrane. The spatial and temporal relationships between the various metal associations is interpreted as the result of sequential intrusion of relative early high level S-type, followed by intermediate level I-type and finally anorogenic A-type granitoids during the evolution of a contracting continental margin arc and its irmer arc. This plate tectonic setting suggests subduction in an easterly direction underneath the Kalahari craton. The spatial configuration of the various terranes at the present erosional levels is the result of rifting and significant differential vertical displacement following cessation of subduction, a terminal tectonic event possibly synchronous with intrusion of the A-type granitoids.Near surface preserved roof zones and cupolas of both S- and I-type granitoids in the Tygerberg and Boland terranes, respectively, render these areas extremely prospective for Sn, W, Mo and Au mineralization. The presence of intermediate to mafic volcanics, a diversity of calcareous lithotypes and favorable plate tectonic setting of the Malmesbury Group suggest potential for the thus far elusive VMS, MVT and Sedex base metal and minor precious metal deposits."

Jan 1, 1994

By George J. Cymerman

Since 1978, Syncrude Canada Ltd. has been expanding steadily its oil sand mining and processing capacity while reducing unit energy requirements. At the current rate of ~180 M tonne/year oil sand, the originally adopted Karl Clark?s 80°C version of the Hot Water process would require some 53 PJ (53 x 1015 Joule) heat. If this amount of heat were to be derived from burning natural gas it would cost $369 M/y (at $7/GJ). Fortunately, effective recovery of waste heat from the upgrading operations at the Mildred Lake site obviated the need for water heating with natural gas. The oil sand hydrotransport technology, first utilized commercially in the mid-nineties at Syncrude?s North Mine, reduced slurry temperature from ~80°C to ~50°C, cutting the unit heat requirement from 293 MJ/tonne to 183 MJ/t. However, in the new 100 Mt/year Aurora Mine even a 50°C process temperature would still require 18 PJ of heat energy per year. Only limited quantity of 65°C water could be imported from Mildred Lake site and some waste heat would be available from Gas Turbine Generators. A new, Low Energy Extraction (LEE) process was developed to minimize heat requirements by further reducing process temperatures to 25°C in the slurry pipeline and 35°C in the Primary Separation Vessels (PSV). Unfortunately, when applied to certain ore facies in Aurora, the LEE process yielded disappointing bitumen recoveries, necessitating an increase in slurry temperatures from 25°C to 35°C in the pipeline and from 35°C to 42°C in Primary Separation. In 2004, an Optimized Low Energy process (OLE) was developed and piloted at Syncrude Research using a 2000 kg/hour pilot plant. In the OLE process, most available heat is applied up-front to produce 45°C pipeline slurry at a density of 1.58 kg/l. Once the pipeline conditioning process is completed, the slurry is flooded with cold (10°C) water, resulting in PSV temperature of 34°C. The overall heat and water requirements are the same, or slightly lower, compared to those of the LEE process ? but without the penalty in bitumen recovery. Processing 100 Mt oil sand at 34°C (96 MJ/t), rather than at 50°C (183 MJ/t), will save $61 M/y (@ $7/GJ) and reduce green house gas emissions by ~47 %. The OLE process is currently being implemented at the Syncrude Aurora Mine.

May 1, 2006

By D. Mills, W. J. Brantina

"Mechanical and magnetic characteristics of ferromagnetic materials were investigated by a pulsed ultra-sonic technique. Two instruments, the Ultrasonic Attenuation Comparator (Sperry) and the standard type Reflectoscope (Sperry) were used for measurements of the attenuation of the ultrasonic pulse. The effects of elastic tensile and compressive stresses on the attenuation of annealed and cold worked material are described. In addition, the effects of plastic de-formation, relaxation and aging processes and different ultrasonic test frequencies are reported. The results for Armco iron, SAE 1020 steel, SAE 4340 steel and AISI 420 stainless steel are shown. Under the test conditions, the attenuation was found to be largely a sum of two components; a ""dislocation"" component associated with the losses accompanying the oscillations of dislocation line segments and a ""ferromagnetic"" component associated with the microeddy currents generated by magnetic domain wall oscillations. Either of these components might be dominant depending on the nature of the particular specimen and the test conditions. Finally, the possibilities of using ultrasonics in residual stress determinations, in fatigue studies and in the study of the ductile-brittle transition in ferrous materials, are briefly discussed."

Jan 1, 1960

By Louise Corriveau

A Targeted Geoscience Initiative transect in the eastern Grenville Province reveals an extensive VHMS-style cupriferous hydrothermal system among rhyolitic pyroclastic rocks of the Wakeham Group at La Romaine, Québec. The volcanic rocks outcrop sporadically along a < 10 km-wide by about 100 km-long belt correlated with the south-eastern extension of the Wakeham Group. This belt occurs among voluminous, magnetite-bearing, granitic gneiss. At Lake Musquaro, 1.51 Ga metarhyolitic to dacitic lapillistones and flows, locally with aluminous nodules and veins, are intruded by 1.49 Ga feldspar porphyries. This volcanic package was deposited on typical Wakeham Group arenite (< 1.52 Ga) interbedded with nodular, muscovite- and fibrolite-bearing gneiss, and minor marble hosting finely layered garnetiferous hornblendite, garnetite and magnetite-bearing coticule. The latter are interpreted as meta-exhalite and with the associated albitite (sodic alteration), aluminous veins (hydrothermal leaching) and magnetite-rich granitoids, they are key elements in the search for concealed mineral deposits in this area. At La Romaine, to the south, 1.5 Ga lapillistones outcrop structurally above metasediments and below a composite amphibolite unit of uncertain origin (lava or sills) with magnetite-rich (BIF?) units. An extensive zone of aluminous gneiss, with lapilli textures, provide evidences for severe hydrothermal leaching of the volcanic rocks prior to metamorphism. An adjacent siliceous vein-textured unit likely represent a zone of intense silicification (74 wt.% SiO2), while aluminous, hematite to magnetite-bearing veins in adjacent felsic gneiss (tuff?) preserve evidences for the sequence of alteration events. Despite granulite-facies metamorphism, the main characteristics of the amphibolite unit persist along the entire belt. This competent unit likely served as a cap rock; the garnetite, diopsidite and hornblendite it hosts provide effective guides to the sites of fluid discharge and mineralization. A number of Cu showings, modest in size, were discovered in this unit. Their systematic occurrence, in a structural-stratigraphic sense, indicates that this setting is attractive for mineral exploration despite high-grade metamorphism and deformation. Late-stage veins laden with fluorite crosscut these alteration zones, and are themselves metamorphosed, indicating that hydrothermal activity was polyphased. SHRIMP U-Pb ages obtained on detrital zircons (1 arenite) and on igneous zircons (5 volcanic rocks, 1 porphyry and 6 granitoids), pervasive arc-type geochemical signatures and presence of in situ rafts of barium-rich garnetite in the granitoids indicate that sedimentation and volcanism occurred between 1.52 and 1.49 Ga coevally with hydrothermal activity and emplacement of a sub-volcanic 1.5 Ga granitic batholith with early, 1.53 Ga tonalite intrusion. Such a geological context can sustain large-scale hydrothermal cells and development of VHMS, Cu-Fe oxides or SEDEX deposits.

May 1, 2003