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By Dwayne D. Tannant

The Fox Pit at EKATI Diamond Mine reached a depth of approximately 150 m as of September 2005. The pit is designed with 11 m wide benches excavated using a double benching technique leaving 30 m high bench faces. A series of blasting tests were conducted to improve catch bench reliability and increase the percentage of benches that meet an 11 m catch width. The design changes focussed on reducing damage to the bench crest because maintaining the bench crests is the most important factor in achieving good bench reliability. The most significant improvement was obtained by raising the bottoms of the lower trim blastholes by 0.5 m. This change decreases the depth of broken rock below the final bench elevation, and consequently reduces damage to rock that forms the bench crest below. Another improvement was the use of smaller diameter (165 mm vs. 270 mm) blastholes in the A and B rows for the upper trim blast. This change reduces the charge per delay during detonation, reduces the powder factor slightly, and reduces the energy affecting the final pit wall and crest. As mining and the blast testing progressed, the portion of the bench with crest achievements (>11 m) increased from 57% to 75%.

May 1, 2006

By M. Sakata, H. Hata, K. Haiki

"Most of the secondary ZnO contains fluorine (F) in large quantities. Serious troubles at the zinc electrowinning are occurred by the cathode corrosion caused by F, therefore we developed iron compounds as F-adsorbents used in zinc sulfate solution. The iron compounds can be reused repeatedly as F-adsorbents because they can adsorb/desorb F alternatively depending on the pH. Moreover, if the adsorptive capacity decreases, we can dissolve and re-synthesize them easily. In this paper, results of the experimental process which consists of five steps (leaching, F removal, Cl removal, purification and electrowinning) to produce high purity electrolytic zinc from the secondary ZnO are reported. INTRODUCTIONThe recycle material for zinc, secondary ZnO, contains large amounts of fluorine (F) and chlorine (Cl) which are halogen elements, compared with calcine obtained by roasting of zinc sulfide concentrate. The halogen elements cause adverse effects in the zinc electrowinning process and particularly F causes corrosion of aluminum cathode plates and eventually sticking of electrodeposited zinc and therefore, F concentration in the electrolyte is controlled to less than approximately 20 mg/L. There are several methods to remove F from secondary ZnO, such as leaching with Na2CO3 or NaOH solution [1-2], vaporizing in a rotary kiln by roasting at 1000 to 1200 degrees C [3-4]. However, up to the moment, there has been no effective method for the removal of F from zinc electrolyte and it has been a big obstacle in treatment of secondary ZnO in electrowining of zinc.The authors, therefore, developed an iron compound used as an adsorbent of F in the zinc sulfate solution [5-8]. This iron compound is Akaganeite that has a crystalline structure of ß-FeOOH. Akaganeite is synthesized by neutralization of FeCl3 solution containing a small amount of SO4 2- with Na2CO3. When this iron compound is immersed into weak acidified zinc sulfate solution, F in the solution is adsorbed. F adsorbed in the iron compound is removed by immersing in weak alkaline solution and the iron compound can be reused as F adsorbent."

Jan 1, 2012

"The Crescent, DM, and Pothook zones are copper-gold porphyry deposits which formed in association with alkalic intrusions of the early Jurassic Iron Mask batholith. The characteristics of the Crescent and DM deposits are nearly identical. Both formed along the contact between the Cherry Creek monzodiorite and Pothook diorite phases of the batholith. Permeable intrusion breccias along the contact concentrated the flow of hydrothermal fluids. Early, pre-ore alteration is represented by pervasive, sulphide-barren potassium metasomatism. The precipitation of copper-gold ore occurred during subsequent fracture-controlled potassic alteration, and is most strongly developed in chlorite-sulphide veins and their alteration envelopes. A central zone of potassic alteration is surrounded by a propylitic, pyritic halo in both deposits. The DM zone is unique among alkalic porphyry deposits in its high abundance of quartz-sulphide veins.The Pothook deposit formed at the westernmost contact of the Iron Mask batholith with enclosing Nicola Group volcanic rocks. Pervasive potassium metasomatism, similar in style to that at Crescent and DM, is associated with intrusion of the Cherry Creek monzonite. Pervasive and fracture-controlled albitic alteration is associated with intrusion of the Sugarloaf diorite and introduced minor copper-gold mineralization. Most of the copper-gold mineralization was introduced during formation of veins and breccia matrices dominated by magnetite/hematite and sulphide. Late-stage chlorite veining may have remobilized or introduced additional gold mineralization.Copper and gold assays in the Crescent deposit are well-correlated and have a nearly constant Cu:Au ratio, suggesting that the metals coprecipitated during a single hydrothermal event. In the Pothook deposit, copper and gold do not correlate closely, lack spatial correspondence, and suggest that transport and/or deposition of the two metals were not identically controlled and that they may have been introduced at different times by separate hydrothermal events."

Jan 1, 1995

By Jae-Chun Lee, Sadia Ilyas

We investigate the technical feasibility of bioleaching of metals from low grade sulphidic ore. Experiments were conducted with an adapted consortium of Sulfobacillus thermosulfidooxidans and Thermoplasm acidophilum in batch bioreactors (1.5 L), small columns (10 kg ore load, 8 % S0 sludge) and large columns (80 kg ore load, 12 % S0 sludge). Approximately 83 % Ni, 85 % Cu, 55 % Fe and 81 % Zn was leached out in batch mode while 93 % Ni, 89 % Zn, 81 % Cu and 65 % Fe was leached out in column reactors. Bioleaching potential improved by acid pre-leaching, adaptation of microbial consortium and periodic bleeding of effluents.

Jan 1, 2014

By Dirk Claessens

The term ?cost? is too small when describing the destructive power of safety incidents for mining companies. Breaches in employee or environmental safety are felt way beyond the bottom-line: human life can be taken; ecosystems tarnished; the ire of peoples, media and government inflamed; significant halting of production; and high levels of legal and financial challenges. According to a recent survey of Mining executivesi, ?ensuring workforce safety? was the most important issues identified above any other, with a plurality of 31 percent, reigning above capital projects, product efficiency, and equipment reliability. We accept that safety is a most paramount issue, yet for many reasons we keep approaching the problem the same way we have in the past. We need to stop doing the same things decade over decade and try something new. New innovations are significantly changing the fundamentals of how mining companies explore, excavate, produce, refine and distribute their valuable commodities. Technologies such as visualization, analytics, location awareness, and gaming simulation are making these enterprises smarter. Now, attention turns to an area we?ve long held as integral to our business: safety. By using the same breakthrough technologies that are changing our business, we can now boldly imagine ? and credibly strive for ? a world of zero incidents.

Aug 1, 2013

By O. D. Maurice

Feldspar mining in Canada came to an end during 1972 after many years of continuous activity. The deposits are not exhausted and the domestic demand for this product is expected to continue at about the same level as in recent years. The size of the industry does not justify the installation of expensive equipment in the mills, but it is believed that a modest profit could be made by a small operation using rudimentary methods of separation. Largescale and accurate mapping of the pegmatite dykes could help in planning mining operations for a better recovery of a uniform product.

Jan 1, 1973

By R. G. Eggert

"A critical element, as the term has come to be used, provides essential properties to a modern engineered material and is subject to supply risk. The rare-earth elements became perhaps the most prominent of the critical elements in recent years because of their important uses in permanent magnets, advanced lighting, and military materials; the geographic concentration of production in China; and the dramatic run-up in prices in 2010-2011 followed by price collapse between 2011 and 2016. Yet criticality extends beyond the rare earths. What is critical depends on your perspective – who and where you are, and when you ask. This paper reviews the many perspectives on, or faces of, critical elements. It compares and contrasts perspectives of industry (General Electric), national or regional manufacturing sectors (Japan, European Union), emerging energy technologies (as seen by U.S. Department of Energy and, separately, Joint Research Centre of the European Commission) and the world as a whole (as evaluated by academics). This comparison reveals a diversity of not only perspectives but also methodologies and time frames of concern.INTRODUCTIONRare-earth elements appeared prominently in the news in 2010 and 2011 because of the dramatic increase in their prices; their important uses in permanent magnets, advanced lighting, and military materials combined with the geographic concentration of production in China, which reduced export quotas significantly. Rare earths became the most prominent of what have become known as critical elements or materials – that is, those that provide essential properties to modern engineered materials and yet are subject to supply risks.Yet criticality, the state of being both essential and subject to supply risks, extends beyond rare earths. What is critical depends on your perspective. This paper begins by reviewing a little history and presenting a general conceptual framework from which to think about critical materials. It then reviews the many perspectives on, or faces of, critical elements – corporate, national, and global, as well several that focus on emerging energy technologies. The paper concludes with thoughts on what to do to mitigate the potentially negative effects of the supply risks associated with criticality."

Jan 1, 2016

By M. Reda

Inorganic oxidizing agents of the type MeOx-z such as Chromate, Vanadate, Tungstate, and Molybdate... etc. are widely used as corrosion inhibitor. In non acidic solution these oxidizing agent are reduced on the surface of the meta, according to OX + m e + p H20 Red + n OH" In which y = (n-m)/m. The purpose of this publication is to show that for many metals the value of y for any oxidizing agent determines the possibility of that oxidizing agent being an inhibitor or activator for the corrosion process. The inhibition efficiency for other ions such as Pertecnetate and Tellurate which have not been extensively studied can be predicted. A mathematical, equation was derived to express the relationship among the concentration of oxidizing agent, degree of retardation of the corrosion process I cord cor ° (ratio of corrosion current in the solution containing inhibitor to the base solution) , ionic strength of the solution and the coefficient y. The validity of y and the mathematical, equation were verified by many experimental, works on various metals such as zinc, aluminum and steel. Al, the above research works are based on the published research works of Prof. Mikhailoviskii (from 1979 til, 1998) from the Russian Academy of Science.

Jan 1, 2010

By The Staff

THE property of McKenzie Red Lake Gold Mines, Limited, consists of eleven claims located on McKenzie island in Red lake. The mine is about 4,Y:l miles by water from the Howey townsite on the same lake, and about 95 miles north of Kenora, Ont. (see Figure 4). Mail and express are flown-in daily, winter and summer, from Sioux Lookout, Hudson, Kenora, and Winnipeg. All heavy supplies are freighted-in during the summer over a water route, using four marine railway portages, from Hudson, Ont., a distance of about 180 miles. During the winter, freighting over the same route is clone by tractor if necessary, but costs are three to four rimes the summer rate. Due to these conditions, large inventories of supplies must be kept on hand, varying from a spring minimum of $45,000 to a peak of $110,000 early in November. The average cost of all freight brought in from steel during 1937 was $0.01 per pound.

Jan 1, 1938

By A. C. Stevenson

"There are many critical application issues that affect all AC drives, but there are several that are absolutely mandatory for pulse width modulated (PWM) AC drives. If these rules are not followed, the drive system will have insulation, bearing EMI or noise problems. Pulse Width Output VoltageFigure 1 shows the output current of a typical pulse width modulated (PWM) drive. This is, of course, not a clean sine wave thus will have a lot of very significant harmonics. In fact, the harmonic spectrum is directly related to multiples of the carrier switching frequency plus side bands related to the basic output frequency. A typical spectrum for a PWM source bridge switching at 5 kHz is shown in Figure 2. Notice that the spectrum has multiples of the 5 kHz switching frequency and the number of side bands gets larger as the harmonic number increases.IGBT Switching TransientsWhenever we have PWM inverter switching, voltage transients are formed that propagate (usually at about half the speed of light) down the power cables to the motor just like in a radio frequency transmission line. If we do not terminate these transmission lines (motor cables) properly, the voltage pulses will be reflected when they reach the motor end and will be transiently increased up to twice their original amplitude.This transient voltage rise, shown in Figure 3, is important for three reasons:1. Insulation Voltage Stress — Higher voltage stress in the motor connecting cables and motor insulation will lead to a shorter insulation lifetime. If any of the voltage transient peaks exceed the insulation corona discharge level (partial discharge level), the insulation will gradually degrade with each voltage pulse. When it has been sufficiently degraded, it will then fail.Most new “inverter rated” motors have triple layer insulation which has a 1600 to 2000 volt partial discharge level. This will make them suitable to withstand the double voltage peak transient from a 600 volt inverter. It is wise to make sure of this fact, since a “standard” induction motor will only withstand about 1200 volts. Use of a standard motor in this application would shorten its life drastically. This can sometimes be as little as a matter of hours."

Jan 1, 2000

By P. M. Tyroler, W. J. Thoburn, M. R. Alberty

"An initial test of this unique application demonstrated that hot gunned refractory would adhere satisfactorily. Subsequently, it was found that the proportion of material sticking during application increased with increased vessel temperature and when a mix containing pitch was used. About 75 per cent of the latter type adhered when it was applied at 1600°C.TBRC availability increased from an historical average of 62.5 per cent to 64.7 per cent during four campaigns when hot gunning was routinely practiced. Refractory cost was about 20 per cent less than that anticipated without gunning. Average parameters per campaign with gunning ranged as follows: 90 to 108 heats, 10 to 37 applications and 1.4 to 2. 7 hours per application. Prior to gunning, the average number of heats per campaign was 73.IntroductionThe Top Blown Rotary Converter process at Inco's Copper Cliff Nickel Refinery converts copper-nickel-sulphur concentrates to a material suitable for carbonyl refining (1),(2).Operating conditions are particularly hard on refractory. Batch cycles finish at temperatures up to 1650°C, with occasional excursions over 1700°C. New heats are then usually initiated immediately and the refractory is subjected to intense thermal shock from the cold feed. Temperature cycles are also introduced three to four times during a heat when the process is interrupted for scrap charging, temperature measurement or sampling.Abrasion wear results from rotation of the converters at speeds up to 15 RPM and from agitation of the bath with supersonic-velocity oxygen. Mechanical damage also occurs when chunks of scrap or solid matte are processed. Chemical corrosion is also present, as we know from our own laboratory work(2) and reports of operations elsewhere. As a consequence, refractory material and installation form a very large proportion of the converter plant costs. Equally important is the loss of converter availability during rebricking; this significantly reduces plant capacity."

Jan 1, 1981

By Unkown

The Province-wide road ban on movement of heavy loads has had the effect of curtailing or stopping development in several areas. In the Leduc area, the discovery well has been restricted in flow to only a fraction of normal due to limited storage space, but drilling at Imperial Leduc Nos. 2, 3, and 4 has been continued for the past few weeks. The No. 2 well is within 100 feet of the producing horizon and should be completed within the next few days. According to reports, it has been logging slightly lower, structurally, than the discovery well, but, regardless of the outcome, it has been an important test to determine westerly cross-section of the Leduc structure. No official reports have been made available of any tests made during the drilling of the well, but it is understood that promising oil and gas shows have been indicated in higher formations. Actual drilling operations have not been commenced by any of the other companies holding leases in the immediate area but it is expected that, when road bans are removed and equipment is assured, several wells will be commenced. Announcement has been made that Imperial Oil, Limited, will drill a well near Battle lake, about thirty-five miles southwest of the Leduc field. Location of the well has been made following an extensive seismograph survey of the area, with total depth of the test well expected to be in the 8,000- to 8,500-foot range. Drilling will be done with the heavy-duty rig last used at the De Winton test. Imperial Oil have abandoned hope of oil production in the Provost area after drilling nine wells, but will retain their interest in the gas field that has been developed. Of the wells drilled, four indicated gas flows ranging from 1,060 to 13,200 M.c.f. per day.

Jan 1, 1947

By Neil Campbell

"The Pine Point area is on the south shore of Great Slave Lake, 510 air miles north of Edmonton and J JO miles south of Yellowknife, N.W.T. The occurrence there of lead and zinc was reported in J 899 by R. Bell (5) of the Geological Survey of Canada, and in the following years several claims were staked and some prospecting was done. In 1928 Atlas Exploration Co. took over the property containing the discovery occurrences. In 1929 The Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company of Canada Ltd. (""Cominco"") and Ventures Ltd. participated with Atlas in forming the Northern Lead-Zinc Co., which, under the direction of J. M. Bell, carried out 24,499 feet of drilling in the discovery and surrounding areas. Two shafts and many surface pits were also sunk. This work showed that the discovery deposits contain about 500,000 tons of lead-zinc ore, but no new orebody was found.In 1936 D. F. Kidd (11) drew attention to the highly significant space relations between the base-metal discoveries at Pine Point and the projections of certain major Precambrian faults mapped earlier by C. H. Stockwell. Geological work by Cominco in 1940 and subsequent years suggested the presence of mineable deposits within a belt of land including part of the area of earlier field work and extending far beyond it. Between 1946 and 1954 exploration financed by Cominco and Ventures Ltd. included 182,950 feet of diamond drilling, 383 feet of sinking, and 240 feet of drifting, raising, and crosscutting. This work was successful in finding substantial quantities of new ore in places where bedrock is completely concealed.The topography is one of low relief, characterized in many places by swampy muskeg and shallow, marl-bottomed ponds. The area where ore has been found is generally higher ground which, though not well drained, is comparatively dry. It is also marked by raised beaches and a few sand dunes overgrown by small spruce and pine. Bedrock is generally overlain by a variable thickness of hard, glacial boulder clay. This in turn is covered by silt, sand, and gravel, probably deposited from the waters of Great Slave Lake, which formerly extended many miles beyond its present southern shore."

Jan 1, 1949

By L. Janku, G. Hancox, M. Villenueve, C. Massey

Wellington lies in a seismically active area 150 km from a subduction zone and in the vicinity of several active faults, which poses a risk to its infrastructure and inhabitants. One of these major faults, the Wellington Fault, runs through the centre of the city and across several lifelines, including the natural gas pipeline and the freshwater pipeline. The first settlement in the area was severely damaged in 1848, soon after its establishment, by an earthquake of approximate magnitude Mw 7.4 - 7.5 (Grapes, Little, & Downes, 1998). In 1855, another earthquake of magnitude Mw 8.2 generated by a nearby fault uplifted the eastern part of the current Wellington area and caused several landslides in the surrounding hills (Grapes & Downes, 1997). The Central Business District lies in the area of a sedimentary basin and partly on reclaimed land. Many residential areas, as well as some vital infrastructure, however, lie on or along the slopes in the surrounding hills. The bedrock in the area comprises predominantly the Torlesse greywacke of Permian – Late Triassic age. The greywacke is tilted to a steep angle, intensively faulted and fractured (Cook, 2001). Even though several studies in the past assessed the seismic risk in the area (e.g. Brabhaharan, Hancox, Perrin, & Dellow, 1994), the studies either focussed solely on the area of the sedimentary basin or based their assessment of the hilly terrain purely on slope morphology (slope angle). Previous studies have shown that slope shape and contrasting materials in the slope can amplify earthquake ground motions, such factors are typically called site effects (e.g. Geli, Bard, & Jullien, 1988). Any attempt to systematically quantify the site effects and consequent seismic response of the slopes and use it to predict the consequences of the next large-magnitude earthquake, has not yet been carried out. In this extended abstract we outline the methodology of a PhD research project, focussed on investigating the site effects on the slopes around Wellington and on creating representative numerical models of ‘characteristic’ Wellington slopes and materials. This extended abstract presents the methodology adopted for the assessment using the Te Ahumairangi Hill site as an example.

Jan 1, 2015

By Dwayne D. Tannant

Digital photogrammetry allows rapid, remote measurement of millions of points, thus providing an unprecedented amount of spatial information. Research is being conducted to explore practical applications of digital photogrammetry for monitoring, surveying and mapping in surface mines. The performance, accuracy and operational ease of digital photogrammetry are discussed and practical aspects of conducting digital photogrammetry surveys are reviewed. Case histories from coal, diamond and limestone mines are presented.

May 1, 2006

By D. C. Downing

"I THANK YOU for the invitation which The Mining Society of Nova Scotia extended, originally to Gordon Berry, manager 'of our Point Tupper Refinery, to join you at this meeting and discuss refining and petrochemicals in their relation to this region. There are natural advantages in Nova Scotia which have made possible, and will continue to make possible, sizeable developments both in petroleum refining and in chemicals. Equally, however, as is the case everywhere, there are certain constraints. For clarity in this presentation, I will state some of these constraints right at the beginning. First, of any future developments from now on, only a small proportion of the products can be expected to go into local markets. I can make the point best with a few figures. Petroleum companies all have market forecasts. None ever work out to be perfect, but the trends are relatively predictable and the orders of magnitude are certainly correct. Estimates for the use of all refined petroleum products in the four Atlantic provinces are:"

Jan 1, 1973

By I. G. L. Sinclair

"ABSTRACTTill geochemistry was the principal exploration tool employed by Selco in the investigation of a zinc prospect in Lanark Township, Ontario. The geochemical studies were undertaken after the discovery at surface of marble boulders containing bands of sphalerite and lesser amounts of galena.The source of these mineralized boulders was sought by means of B-horizon soil geochemistry, followed, where appropriate, by back-hoe trenching and till sampling. The thickness of the tiff in this part of Ontario seldom exceeds 3 m or 4 m and it was generally possible to sample complete profiles of the till and thus to obtain detailed information concerning the dispersion of zinc. Drilling and trenching at the up-ice extremity of the zinc dispersion trains showed the source of the float to be sub-economic bands of sphalerite in the Grenville marble. IntroductionTill geochemistry was used extensively by Selco during the period 1975 through 1980. It was the principal exploration technique employed in a program seeking carbonate-hosted lead-zinc deposits of the Balmat-Edwards type in the Grenville rocks of southeastern Ontario. This paper describes the use of the method to locate the bedrock source of a group of sphalerite boulders found at the surface near the village of Hopetown in Lanark Township (Fig. I) . Geochemical investigations at this locality were the subject of a previous publication by the author (Sinclair, 1979).All of the analytical work related to this project was done by Bondar-Clegg & Co. Ltd. in their Ottawa laboratory. In all cases the -80 mesh fraction of the till was analyzed. The total zinc content was determined by atomic ab sorption spectrometry after hot aqua regia digestion; readily extractable zinc was determined by atomic absorption after samples had been cold-leached for 18 hours in an ammonium citrate hydroxylamine hydrochloride solution, the pH of which was adjusted to 8.5"

Jan 1, 1986

By Rocky (Yaokun) Wu

Rock burst is one of the biggest challenges to ground control in the mining industry. With increasing mining depth and mining scale, there are more and more industry requirements on yielding rock support. Since 2008, Jennmar has been conducting large scale research and development works to develop a technically reliable and cost effective yielding rock bolt. This paper introduces a new yielding rock support - Yield-Lok bolt. The bolt is characterized by the designed yielding ability to produce 150 ~ 250 mm of deflection at 8 ~ 10 metric tons (Mt) loads for every 16.4kJ energy input. Its performance characteristics are consistent through multiple and varying amplitude of impacts. In this paper, the design criteria of the bolt and the principle of performance are described, the dynamic testing results are discussed; and the features and application of the bolt are presented.

Oct 1, 2010

By J. P. Nowlan

"This paper is an attempt to outline the structural problems at the Cochenour Willans mine, in so far as their details have been tentatively worked out. It must be emphasized that there are considerable data that can be interpreted in more than one way, and that further work may modify or completely change some of the hypotheses presented herein. Certain features, however, are sufficiently constant to warrant reliance on them when searching for extensions of orebodies.As the individual ore shoots usually have relatively small dimensions, but are often very high grade, structural details are of more than usual significance in laying out a mining programme. An illustration of this is a small shoot recently located and mined as a result of studying a minor slip cutting off a part of high grade gold ore in No. 319 stope. The shoot, which is bounded on three sides by slips, and on the fourth by the original stoping, was roughly triangular in plan, 20 feet on the base, and 40 feet in length. The average width mined was 4.5 feet, but the gold obtained totalled over 1,800 oz.The property lies in Dome township, east of McKenzie island, and consists of an original group of thirteen claims acquired from the Cochenour Willans syndicate, plus one additional group of five claims obtained by purchase from the Kelson Red Lake Gold Mines, Limited, and one other claim that rounds out the southeast corner of the block.The claims of the original group were staked by W. M. Cochenour, Dan Willans, and Horace Young, during 1926 and 1927. The Cochenour Willans Syndicate was formed in 1928, and until incorporation of the present Company work was carried on at varying intervals by several different interests, including Ventures Limited, Hollinger Consolidated, who sank a shaft to open up the 150-foot level, and by the Syndicate itself. The first ore from the property was shipped to the Gold Eagle mill by the present Company in 1939, and amounted to 4,959 tons, from which 2,360 oz. gold was recovered. The first brick was poured in December, 1939, and production has been continuous since that date. To the end of June, 1946, gold having a value of $5,982,000 has been produced from 345,033 tons of ore treated."

Jan 1, 1954

By Hevina S. Dashwood

This paper proposes to build on my previous research (Dashwood 2012), which analyzed how and why the norm of sustainable development became institutionalized in the global collaborative corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives of major mining companies. Since the late 1990s, the majority of major global mining companies have employed the norm of sustainable development to frame their individual CSR policies and to inform industry collaboration at the global level through the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM). This paper proposal seeks to address lingering questions from that research, by developing an explanation for how the normative frame of sustainable development has translated into specific CSR standards adopted by the mining industry. Preliminary findings suggest that, although the global mining industry has reached broad consensus on the meaning of sustainable development in the context of mining, there remains considerable variation between mining companies in terms of which specific global standards they adopt. As members of the ICMM, major mining companies are required to report according to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) indicators relevant to mining, and there has been wide-spread up-take of the ISO 14,001 environmental management system standard. However, other global standards, such as the International Finance Corporation (IFC) Performance Standards and the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative, have not been uniformly adopted by the mining industry. What explains this variation? The paper employs a three-level institutional framework (rational choice institutionalism, historical institutionalism and the ?new? institutionalism in organization theory) to explain the influences on the adoption of CSR standards in the global mining sector. Existing research confirms that institutional context is an important factor in explaining CSR adoption in the mining sector (Dashwood 2012). Are similar forces at work in explaining the variation in adoption of specific CSR standards? A three-level institutional analysis lends itself to uncovering influences both external to mining companies (such as pressures from stakeholders), as well as internal company dynamics (such as managerial discretion). Furthermore, the framework can incorporate dynamics operating at the global level (such as isomorphism), the national level (such as the regulatory regime) and the local level (such as community needs and environmental challenges). The theoretical significance of this framework is that the influences on CSR adoption are more complex than can be explained in a single approach (such as narrow rational choice/cost benefit explanations). On a practical level, insights into how global standards get interpreted and acted upon by individual companies could lead to the development of more appropriate and effective global standards.

Aug 1, 2013