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By Tyson C. Birkett

Initial indicator mineral sampling covering 425,000 square km of northern Quebec and subsequent follow-up of positive results convinced the Ashton ? SOQUEM joint venture to acquire mineral rights to 380,000 hectares prospective for diamond in late summer, 2000. Drilling in 2001 and 2002 identified eight kimberlitic bodies, all significantly diamondiferous. Commercial size stones (retained on a square mesh sieve with openings 0.85 mm) and encouraging grades have been returned by several bodies tested to date: The Renard bodies are formed by steep-sided breccia pipes with kimberlitic matrix surrounded by irregular outboard breccia zones within country rock. These bodies were emplaced in high-grade metamorphic rocks of the Superior Province of Archean age. Orthogneiss with lesser tonalite hosts the breccias, although regionally paragneiss is also present. Diatreme facies portions and nearby country rock are intruded by minor to major (Renard 1) amounts of hypabyssal-facies kimberlitic rock. Renard bodies are macrocrystic, with large olivine crystals set in a groundmass of olivine, phlogopite, monticellite, spinel, carbonate, apatite and serpentine. Proximity of various Renard bodies, with most in a core area of 0.5 square km will allow planning of an efficient mining operation. Geophysics, especially magnetic surveying, has contributed to identifying bodies of kimberlitic rock.

May 1, 2003

By Michael Samis

NOFLEX valuation results ? CF deviations and net CF risk discount factors ??Cash flow deviations indicate average cash flow variability. ??Net cash flow riskdiscount factors (NCFRDFs) indicate the size of the risk adjustment applied to a cash flow. NCFRDFs profile should change with variations in cash flow uncertainty since the risk adjustments applied to the project cash flow reflect investor sensitivity to uncertainty.?DCF and RO will often produce different NCFRDFs for the same project since they use different methods of risk-adjustment.

May 1, 2006

By Yasser Mohamed

Daily field management of earthmoving operations requires quick and regular decisions for allocating available equipment to different jobs on a project. A general foreman?s day starts with matching several activities with a suitable set of available equipment to achieve the highest productivity and lowest unit cost. Usually, this decision-making process needs to be quick, and depends to a great extent on the foreman?s experience, which varies from one individual to another. Many analytical solutions with various degrees of sophistication and optimization exist to address such decisions. However, adopting any of these solutions is contingent on how accessible and easy-to-use the solution is. This paper discusses the development process of a webaccessible solution for evaluating earthmoving fleet composition and allocation scenarios. The solution relies on discrete event simulation and an optimization backend engine, but introduces the user with a simplified and easy-to-use interface that is accessible from any mobile device, and is customized to specific user?s needs. The developed system gathers most equipment and site-related input data from a company?s information systems to minimize user input. The user mainly needs to formulate equipment and job combinations and allocation scenarios (e.g. soil type, quantity, and hauling distance), according to equipment availability each day. Then the system will evaluate the productivity and unit cost estimates for each scenario, allowing the user to choose the most suitable one. It may also be used to automatically recommend the optimum solution given an available list of equipment. The paper presents the process followed in prototyping the proposed system in collaboration with a major Canadian earthmoving contractor, and customizing it to the user needs within the company. It also describes the overall structure of the developed system and its core simulation model.

Aug 1, 2013

By E. G. Langille

"The Premier mine; owned by Silbak Premier Mines; Limited; is 14 miles from Stewart at the head of Portland canal. Development of the property began in 1918; and since chat time a very large amount of gold and silver as well as some lead and copper have been produced from the mine.The area in the vicinity of the mine is underlain by greenstones tuffs, and sediments of Mesozoic age, belonging to the Bear River formation of the Hazelton group. These rocks are intruded by a stock 2 miles in diameter, composed of orthoclase porphyry and called the Premier porphyry. It sends numerous sill-like and dyke-like tongues into the Bear River formation, and is intruded in turn by a granodiorite outlier of the Coast Range batholith. The orebodies occupy fractures and fracture or shear zones. Primary ore consists chiefly of pyrite, galena, and sphalerite, with some chalcopyrite. The upper 300 feet, or locally 600 feet, contained presumably secondary silver minerals."

Jan 1, 1954

By R. D. Hossack

"The selection of a site for plant facilities is a function of several factors and has as its objective the maximization of profits, given fixed markets and sources of raw material locations. In practice there are several sites, any one of which or a combination of two or more would be suitable to meet the basic requirements of source of supply of raw material and labour and still fulfill market demands. The model used to select the optimum profit combination utilizes both computer programs and traditional financial analysis techniques. Of the three computer programs used in the mode), one is a linear program and another is a transportation simulator. Basic cost and price data are required. In examining costs, three levels are used: (a) distribution costs of raw material to the plant and finished goods to the market; (b) direct production costs at the plant, such as labour and locally supplied material; and (c) capital and overhead costs at the plant, such as construction costs, taxes, insurance, and federal and provincial cost allowances. The direct costs generally depend on the scale of operations, so that a large plant in one location may have a lower unit cost than two smaller plants. This, of course, must be balanced against distribution costs. In examining profit, it is necessary to think in terms of the price and volume of sales at each of the market locations. Given basic data and relationships, the model can be used to optimally locate production facilities or, alter-natively, optimally structure a transportation network given existing locations of plants and markets. It is dynamic to the extent that it can react to changes in volume, price and cost to optimally locate an additional plant, the expansion of existing plants, the shutting down or cutting back of plants, or the restructuring of distribution networks."

Jan 1, 1970

By Bernhard Schwab

A popular rule in the mining industry is that a property should only be developed if average unit production cost is less than a given proportion of the estimated long-run price of the mineral. This paper provides a comparative analysis of the average cost approach (ACA) with the use of net present value (NPV) as an investment criterion. It is concluded that the ACA is an easily understood and easily applied rule of thumb which may serve as a rough first screening device, for example in the early stages of deposit exploration. Its operational convenience is at the expense of accuracy and validity, and the NPV provides a sounder method of making decisions, especially in the case of marginal deposits.

Jan 1, 1978

By G. Vibert Douglas

It has long been recognized that there are considerable difficulties connected with the physical and chemical explanation of shoots of ore. The literature of Mining Geology has frequent references to this subject; but the reasons given for the actual location of primary ore-shoots have been very tentative. In practice, the geologist or miner depends to a great extent on sampling and assaying to determine the boundaries of profitable ore within the mineralized zone. An ore-shoot is a portion of a mineralized zone which has a sufficient concentration of valuable minerals to make it ore. Ore deposits have been classified according to many schemes. There are classifications based on morphology and on genesis. However, it is also possible to classify hypo-gene hydrothermal ore-bodies in terms of ore-shoots or vice versa. A.-Ore-deposits in which the whole of the mineralized zone is ore, which is the same as saying that the ore-shoot extends throughout the mineralized zone. An example of this type of deposit would be the pyritic mineralization of Rio Tinto. B.-The second type would comprise those deposits in which the ore-shoots bear some relation to the geological structure of the area: all deposits in which 'bonanzas' occur in folds in the zone, at the intersection of veins along certain fault (or joint) features and other such controls. There are a great many examples of this type: (a) The Rhodesian copper lodes, where Bancroft and Gray have pointed out the association of the shoots of ore with drag folds. (b) A similar association has been pointed out by Faribault for some of the gold veins of Nova Scotia, e.g., Mount Uniacke. (c) The great bonanza of the Comstock lode in Nevada. C.-Deposits in which the localization of ore has been effected by the chemical character of the wall-rock. Examples of this type are the Fahlbands of Scandinavia, and the 'indicator' deposits of Ballarat, Australia. D.-Lastly, deposits in which there is apparently no structural and no chemical control.

Jan 1, 1934

By W. Andrew Falls

Although we have yet to reach the midway point in the decade, the copper concentrate market has already witnessed some of the most volatile swings in history, moving from record high treatment and refining charges in 1991-92 to historic lows, in real terms, during the past year. What has been the cause for such volatility? By and large the swings can be attributed to factors of supply and demand in the "custom" copper concentrate market. For example, two relatively recent events which had a major impact on the supply-demand balance were the shutdown of the Bougainville copper mine in Papua New Guinea in 1989 due to rebel insurgency and the startup of the La Escondida mine in Chile in 1992. The first event, threw a balanced to slightly surplus concentrate market into a substantial deficit, forcing treatment terms down as smelters, caught short by the loss of concentrate supplies scrambled to cover their positions. The second event, brought over 300,000 mt per year of new copper in concentrate to the market, more than reversing the losses from the Bougainville shutdown. In combination with other additions to mine capacity via new mines or expansions, the custom concentrate market moved into a huge oversupply in 1991-92 and many mines found themselves unable to place uncommitted tonnage. But even this event was quickly overcome by the use of underutilized capacity at non-traditional buyers, such as those in the C.I.S., Zambia, or those which were not traditionally buyers of custom materials. All of this has happened in the space of five short years, a mere snapshot in the history of the market. I'll return to these points a little further on, but first I would like to review the fundamentals which govern the copper concentrate market.

Jan 1, 1995

By Parsons. Robert B.

"Starting this year, corporations that conduct business in Ontario face a new tax a corporate minimum tax. This tax is in addition to the myriad of other taxes that make up a corporation's total tax burden including federal and provincial capital 1oXJ!S, payroll tax and sales taxes. Mining companies with gross revenues in excess of $10 million or total assets exceeding $5 million may be liable for this new tax. IntroductionOn December 8, 1993, the Ontario government introduced legislation to implement the corporate minimum tax (CMT promised in its May, 1993 budget. There are very few differences between the final legislation and the budget proposals.The CMT is effective for taxation years commencing after 1993. Subject to certain specific exemptions (detailed below), the tax applies to all corporations liable for Ontario Corporate Income Tax that have either gross revenues in excess of $10 million or total assets in excess of $5 million. These measurements apply to the aggregate gross revenues and total assets for all corporations in an associated group and a corporate partner's share of partnership assets and revenues must be included in the determination.In essence, the CMT is an income tax that is based on financial statement profit instead of an income amount that is determined separately under a statute. Accordingly mining companies (including so called ""junior"" exploration companies), which traditionally sheltered their taxable income by claiming generous exploration and development deductions, could find that they have a CMT liability."

Jan 1, 1994

By B. Vorobyov

A Canadian company, Sight Power Inc., has developed a revolutionary, fully automated shaft monitoring and inspection system for deep-level mining based on a 3D mobile laser scanning technology. It consists of a special hardware unit and proprietary software with Artificial Intelligence elements for object recognition, features identification and change detection. The main purpose of this system is to significantly improve the safety of underground mining as well as to increase the available hoisting time thus generating substantial additional revenue for the mine.

Aug 1, 2013

By Simon C. Dominy, Ian M. Platten

"Abstract - Gold-bearing quartz reefs commonly show extremely erratic and unpredictable grade variation, although gross geological continuity may be good. This type of variation is often described as being nuggety or having a high nugget effect and can be measured quantitatively using the semivariogram. Understanding of geological features such as reef texture and structure will provide improved models for the interpretation of assay data, drill core descriptions, etc. In this paper, a case study from the quartz-hosted gold occurrences in the Gwynfynydd mine, United Kingdom, is described. The work provides a starting point for models of lateral variation and demonstrates the types of structural and textural features that may be sought to give clues to the prediction of gold distribution in similar deposits. Gold deposition at Gwynfynydd is primarily associated with the reef footwall. The host veins form a discrete group of structures that may have been emplaced early in the sequence of quartz veins forming the reef. This potentially exposes them to a maximum number of dissection events during repeat dilations of the lode. Gold was deposited in the local porosity at extreme concentrations, equivalent to kg/t grades, when the host fissure had become filled with a porous framework of crystalline quartz and sulfides. Distribution of porosity varied laterally along the vein as the result of the formation of clump-like growths of minerals from the vein walls. The growth style is relevant to the distribution of gold although it may not be relevant to the occurrence of gold in a particular vein. The preservation of pores with some connectivity late in the vein fill sequence may be important in permitting continued but slow fluid flows. This facilitates effective fluid reaction with wall rock-derived methane, thus changing the relative rates of gold and quartz deposition in favor of gold. The textural studies explain the first-order control of nugget distribution at Gwynfynydd but do not allow for prediction and optimization of the resource estimation process. This is principally because of the very low geological continuity and poor predictability of the high-grade pockets. Nonetheless, the work does provide a clear geological explanation for the erratic nature of the gold. It indicates textures and structures that can be used to determine geological continuity of the goldbearing elements within the gross reef envelope."

Jan 1, 2001

By John Stoten

"The 1980s have proven extremely difficult years for many resource-based organizations. Mining companies have learned how to weather the negative effects of inevitable economic cycles. However, with some notable exceptions, such as gold mining companies, the mining industry has faced a broader and deeper round of cutbacks than any experienced since the 1930s. Downsizing has been a major issue for many mining companies as they have faced the need for dramatic staffing cost reductions in the recent past.The continuing current rapid rate of change in technology and the marketplace, coupled with increasing merger and acquisition activity, will provide an on-going need for some companies to face major reorganization. This inevitably will involve down-sizing activity in some instances.Given this scenario, it is worth reviewing the industry's past experiences to identify approaches and techniques that could prove of value in handling a future staff downsizing challenge. This paper is based upon a downsizing consultant's experiences with the mining industry and other sectors, and highlights what appear to be key staff reduction planning and process issues.Planning for DownsizingA review of companies' downsizing activities of the last few years reveals four key activity stages which need to be addressed to ensure a successful transition. These stages are:1. organization planning;2. developing cost reduction strategies;3. implementing downsizing; and4. building for the future.A business situation that is severe enough to require drastic staff cuts typically affects all aspects of a company's operations. Most mining companies have reviewed cost efficiencies in many operational areas. However, these reviews often have been short term in focus . As a result, some companies have experienced multiple downsizing; each event a response to an immediate economic threat. This has sometimes resulted in an unstable organizational environment, with severe stresses on staff morale and productivity.In the long term it is more efficient and less stressful to the organization to adopt a more comprehensive and longer-term strategy. Especially in capital intensive mining operations, it makes sense to review all areas of business activity, not just staffing."

Jan 1, 1989

By C. W. MacLeod

LOCATION The Goudreau gold area in Ontario extends from a point a short distance south of the main line of the Canadian Pacific railway, at Lochalsh, in a south-westerly direction to the Magpie river. It crosses the Algoma Central & Hudson's Bay railway at Goudreau station, 177 miles north of Sault Ste. Marie. The area is roughly 25 miles in length by 6 miles in width. The potential gold formation is much more extensive but little prospecting has been done outside of the limits mentioned. The actual continuous area of Keewatin formation, in which gold has been found, is one of the largest in Ontario. ACCESSIBILITY Probably no mining area in a similar stage of development has had the excellent transportation facilities which Goudreau enjoys. This field is traversed in part by the main lines of the Canadian Pacific and Algoma Central railways. The Provincial Government has constructed 22 miles of road through the heart of the camp. Sixteen miles of this road is suitable for motor car traffic and several cars and trucks are in constant service.

Jan 1, 1926

By M. H. Allan

"This paper presents the geographic and geological setting of Saskatchewan Power Corporation's Poplar River Mine in south-central Saskatchewan, about 8 miles from the U.S. border. Generally the mine, which is being expanded to four million tons per year, is in an extremely disturbed geological area with severe dewatering problems. The lignite coal, which is strip mined, is supplied directly to an electric power generating station by means of a 7-mile unit-train private railroad.A number of unique reclamation and socio-economic problems were encountered because of the proximity to the U.S. border and because of the lack of experience of the regulatory authorities in projects of this kind. These are described in some detail, as well as the performance of one of the largest draglines in Canada. IntroductionThe Saskatchewan Power Corporation is a publicly owned utility which has the franchise to supply electricity and natural gas to all customers within the boundaries of Saskatchewan.Saskatchewan is a province which can almost be divided in two: the populated southern portion, principally devoted to farming, and the northern portion which is mostly on the Precambrian Shield and consists of lakes, rocks and muskeg. This portion is largely uninhabited except for a number of small villages. However, in the last few years there has been considerable mineral exploration and development, notably for uranium. This has helped considerably in the diversification of the basic agricultural economy of the province.Saskatchewan consists of 251,700 square miles, 761 miles north to south and an average of 335 miles east to west. It has a population of approximately 960,000, giving a population density of four persons per square mile. The Saskatchewan Power Corporation supplies 357,249 electrical arid 221,378 natural gas customers."

Jan 1, 1982

By Frederick J. Browne

Water, water everywhere, but not a drop (fit) to drink! Trite, but how often only too true? What is there met with in mining which, under various circumstances, may be said to be the most sought-for and highly-prized and also the most objectionable and most feared? Water! What visions that combination of five letters brings to all thoughtful minds? Up to near the end of the eighteenth century water was thought lo be an element but was then discovered to be the result of the combustion of two volumes of hydrogen with one volume of oxygen, and water so produced is chemically pure. Pure water is a clear and colourless liquid when seen under ordinary conditions, but appears bluish when seen through a long tube, and this same bluish tint may be observed in many lakes, especially those of glacial origin. A story often told describes a prospector in the desert who, failing to find water to replenish his canteen, suffers torture and death under fearful circumstances. Then again we may recall the flooding of mines, where water poured in so quickly that there was no opportunity of saving the unfortunate workmen. Instances might be multiplied without number showing that either the lack or excess of this essential fluid has taken heavy toll of human life. In all branches of mining and associated industries water must be dealt with to a larger extent, from an economic point of view, than any other substance, and very often the purity of the water is a matter of considerable importance.

Jan 1, 1925

By G. C. Bateman

Canada is a very large country with a small population which is growing very slowly. We have great natural resources, but with our limited population we are continually looking afield for new capital to develop these resources. Our mining areas are among the most important fields offering opportunities for new capital and because of the wide-spread appeal which mining makes this industry commands a great deal of attention. While we are glad to see new capital from any source, we welcome it particularly from Great Britain, for, although we offer equal opportunities to the nationals of any country we would be glad to see the development of our natural resources financed as far as possible within the Empire. However, when we invite ne capital we must accept certain responsibilities, and while we have opportunities to offer, we should ask ourselves how these opportunities are taken advantage of and what sort of treatment the foreign investor receives.

Jan 1, 1925

By Sean Junor

Cameco Corporation ?One of the world?s largest producers of uranium ?Operations in Saskatchewan, Ontario, the United States and Kazakhstan ?Development projects in Australia ?One of the best employers for Aboriginal Canadians Geographic location ?Remote or northern operations ?Northern Saskatchewan ?Residents of Saskatchewan?s north (RSN) ?Wyoming ?Nebraska

May 1, 2010

By Judith S. Chan

With the increasing awareness of the need for the reduction of carbon emissions globally, geothermal energy, which offers a potential for cleaner energy generation, is one potential new source. In Alberta, these geothermal resources are likely to be found in the sedimentary basin, or in the deeper crystalline basement rocks. Alberta exhibits a very low geothermal gradient compared to other existing geothermal fields located in areas of volcanic and tectonic activity. To mitigate this effect, the focus in Alberta will involve the development of engineered geothermal systems (EGS) in the target resource. The first goal for EGS research and development is to develop a detailed geological-geophysical characterization of selected sites to delineate potential geothermal reservoirs in Northern Alberta. One of the selected sites is in the Fort McMurray area. The deepest well drilled in the oilsands areas of Northern Alberta is located just west of Fort McMurray. It has a depth of 2363 m and as such can provide details on the physical properties of the rocks, the state of stress, and the existence of fracture porosity toward geothermal investigations. To date, we have acquired temperature logs to study the change in geothermal gradient with depth, and a series of petrophysical logs to study the finer scale structure of the rock formations with vertical resolutions in the range of 0.05 cm to 80 cm. Our aim is to identify geological features such as zones of fractures in the basin and/or basement that could provide an indication of enhanced fluid flow potential ? a necessary component for any geothermal systems to be viable. Zero offset and walkaway vertical seismic profiles (VSP) were also conducted to measure the seismic responses at the borehole. VSP data can be used to delineate the structural and stratigraphic features surrounding the borehole that could not be resolved from surface seismic reflection data that are also available near the borehole. The full integration of well logs, VSP data and surface seismic reflection data are expected to provide a detailed characterization of the sedimentary basin and crystalline basement rocks of the Canadian Shield in Northeastern Alberta and will assist in future planning for drilling.

Jun 1, 2012

By M. Hawker, M. Kreuh

The mining and metallurgy industry is known to be of cyclical nature associated with price volatility. As such, some years are quite lucrative and other years require mining companies to tighten their belts. The field is a mix of junior, mid-tier, and major mining companies. One thing that is common to all of them is the time required and the cost to develop a flowsheet in accordance with best practices. Although a long list of factors can impact flowsheet development, this paper will include the impacts of: experienced metallurgical engineers and laboratories, representative samples for high quality and valuable testwork results, and following engineering development stages. The paper also provides typical time frames to complete selected engineering flowsheet development steps.

Jan 1, 2014

By Peter Hayes, Evgueni Jak, Taufiq Hidayat, David Grimsey, Denis Shishin

"An integrated nickel flash smelter is operated with Peirce-Smith converters at the Kalgoorlie Nickel Smelter. To improve the partitioning of arsenic between slag waste and matte product, an option to modify the slag–matte chemistry by addition of CaO was analysed. A combination of plant sample analysis, high-temperature laboratory experiments and thermodynamic modeling was carried out to evaluate the process options. The high-temperature experiments involved the re-equilibration of industrial matte-slag samples at 1225 °C and P(SO2) = 0.12 atm, rapid quenching in water, and direct measurement of phase compositions using electron probe X-ray microanalysis (EPMA) and Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LAICPMS). A private thermodynamic database for nickel sulfide smelting and converting was used together with the FactSage thermochemical software package to assist in the analysis of the distribution of elements between slag and matte as a function of CaO addition. The thermodynamic predictions combined with experimental data obtained in this study can be used to characterise the effect of CaO fluxing on the slag–matte thermochemistry during the nickel sulfide converting.INTRODUCTION At the Kalgoorlie Nickel Smelter (KNS), nickel sulfide concentrate is processed in an Outotec-type flash furnace to produce nickel matte containing +47 wt% Ni. Separation of nickel matte and waste slag from the flash smelting is enhanced through settling in the electric arc -heated zone attached to the flash furnace. The flash furnace matte is further processed in a Peirce-Smith converter to produce Ni-rich matte containing +66 wt% Ni (Crundwell, Moats, Ramachandran, Robinson, & Davenport, 2011). Iron silicate-based slag is used in the converting process at KNS. Most of the arsenic is contained in the final matte and very little of the arsenic partitions into the slag. Previous work by Font et al (Font, Hino, & Itagaki, 2003) shows that the distribution ratio of arsenic between calcium ferrite slag and nickel-matte (LAsslag/matte) is significantly higher than that between iron silicate slag and nickel-matte, where LAsslag/matte = (wt pct As in slag)/{wt pct As in matte} (1)"

Jan 1, 2017