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By Arthur Notman

Since addressing the Institute a year ago on The Future of the Copper Industry (l), many things have happened, most of them bad. It has been a hard year for profits and prophets. It was, therefore, with consider-able perturbation that I accepted the gracious invitation of your Committee to reappear. On reviewing my remarks of a year ago, I. have wondered whether, under pressure of more important matters, the Committee had neglected to make a note of them, or whether they felt that further explanations from me were in order. In either event, I am glad that I am here and welcome the opportunity to make any contribution I can to a clearer understanding of the problems of copper to those concerned. The English-speaking nations own 80 per cent of the present world-production of the metal. Col. P. E. Barbour, Secretary of the Mining and Metallurgical Society of America, and I recently completed an estimate of the known world resources of copper. We placed the figure, in round numbers, at 100,000,000 tons of metal. Of this amount, about one-third lies in the United States, one-third in the British Empire, and one-third in South America; and all but 4 per cent of this is owned by British Empire and United States capital. Our figures do not include any estimates for Russia, Japan, or Europe, on which there are no available data. It is true, consequently, that the British Empire and the United States are the ones concerned. It seems to me to be a matter of great importance to the world at large, and of even greater importance to those nations themselves, that the known sources of supply of this metal, so essential both in peace and war, rest so strongly in their hands. I cannot believe that in the long run they will neglect their responsibilities in the wise administration of these resources.

Jan 1, 1932

By G. Belzil, F. Robichaud, M. Fullam

ABSTRACT The Goldex mining and milling complex is operated by Agnico-Eagle and is located in the Abitibi greenstone region of northwestern Quebec, Canada. Commercial production started in 2008. Average gold recovery is 93.5% with approximately 68% of gold recovery coming from the gravity circuit. During the first three years of production, three gravity audits were carried out to optimize performance of the gravity circuit. This paper presents results of the audits and the development of a model linking gravity and overall gold recovery, and outlines improvements made to increase gravity performance and reduce operating costs.

Jan 1, 2013

By Steven D. Botts

The Antamina project, owned by BHP Billiton Plc, Mitsubishi Corporation, Noranda Inc., and Teck Cominco Ltd. , is a $2.3 billion copper/zinc project, located in the Ancash Department in Perú. The project consists of an open pit mine, a 70,000 ton per day concentrator, a 302 Km. long concentrate pipeline, port facilities, a new access road, power line, and town site. The project is designed to produce up to 1.5 million tonnes per year of copper and zinc concentrates over a 23-year project life, and will be the third largest producer of zinc and the seventh largest producer of copper in the world. This mega project is the largest mining investment in the country and, during its construction stage, was the most important construction project worldwide. On May 28th, 2001, Antamina commenced testing operations and four months later, it reached commercial production. Antamina was officially inaugurated on November 14th, 2001 by Peruvian president Alejandro Toledo. The construction stage of the project generated 8,000 direct jobs, with a peak of 10,000 employees, and 30,000 indirect jobs. The permanent workforce consists of approximately 1650 employees, the vast majority of which are Peruvian Nationals; around 30% of whom came from the department of Ancash where the deposit is located. Approximately 5,800 indirect jobs will be generated from the project. Independent sources state that Antamina will increase the Peruvian mining exports by 30% and Peruvian GDP by 1.4% within its first year of full operation in 2002. Since winning the privatization bid for the project in 1996, the company has implemented a successful approach to community development and environmental protection based on sustainable development principals. Throughout the development of the project, a number of initiatives have been undertaken to ensure full involvement of the local populations in community development activities and the company?s environmental program. Due to its size, difficult logistics, cultural considerations and financial aspects, the project has faced a number of unique challenges in the area of environmental protection and management of community interaction. Antamina has been innovative in its approach to these issues, and as a result, has set new standards in Perú for environmental and community management, and sustainable development.

May 1, 2002

By J. Ouellet

The design of hydrostatic liner for a deep potash mine shaft in Saskatchewan poses tremendous technological challenges. Technology has evolved to a point where one could consider a new innovative approach to hydrostatic liner design. But there is still a place for conventional technologies such as cast iron tubbings. As will be discussed in this paper, improvement to manufacturing process, installation procedures and even new materials can bring this technology to an excellent level of performance. With the spur of new projects in the potash industry of Saskatchewan, the authors worked in various shaft liner designs from the conceptual stage through to the construction phase. They were either directly leading the design work on some of these projects or acting as an external reviewer on others. Most of these shaft liner designs involved cast iron tubbing technology and ground freezing. The major challenge in sinking potash shafts in Saskatchewan is to go through a water-bearing ground formation under high pressure, known as the Blairmore or Manville fm. The only proven stabilizing technology for these formations is ground freezing. For a potash shaft, dry shaft conditions are highly desired, so a fully waterproof hydrostatic liner is required. All the existing potash mine shafts in Saskatchewan, except for two with composite steelconcrete lining, used the cast iron tubbing technology. Two new shaft tubbing liners have been constructed recently, one in the Athabasca Basin and one for a potash mine in Saskatchewan. When the authors began working on these new projects, what became quickly evident is that the technological knowhow for designing and constructing tubbing liners was no longer available within Canada and that the past construction methods used to sink tubbing lined shafts was obsolete. The tubbing liner for the shafts sunk in the sixties were designed either by German or British companies. In both of these countries only few tubbing lined shafts were sunk in last 40 years and the technology used in the sixties was not improved. There are only few countries where tubbing is routinely produced and installed: China, Russia, Ukraine and Poland. Out of these countries Poland is the one where this technology is the most advanced. The authors, working in close collaboration with engineers from Poland, attempted to rebuild this knowledge for the mining industry in Canada. This process involved thorough analysis of old technical reports, literature review and study of current polish design and construction practices as well as site visits of existing shafts. Through actual construction experience, some lessons were learned as well as ideas for improvements. In this paper, the authors will present a succinct review of design and procurement process. But, the practical aspects of the construction and installation methodology will be treated with more emphasis, more specifically the practice leading to good liner performance. Some of the poorly understood technical aspects of tubbing installation will be discussed more thoroughly and some currently accepted myths dispelled.

Aug 1, 2013

By D. M. Maijer, S. L. Cockcroft, S. Modak, A. B. Phillion

"A comparison between hydrogen-diffusion-based micro-porosity formation and growth behaviour of two important aluminium foundry alloys, B206 (Al-Cu) and A356 (Al-Si-Mg) is presented in this paper. Specifically, the predicted pore size and pore fraction distribution of these two alloys resulting from directional solidification and identical hydrogen concentration are investigated numerically based on a model proposed by Yao et al. (2011. Met. & Mat. Tran. A. 42A, 4137–4148). This model takes into consideration the initial hydrogen content in the melt, the cooling rate, the partitioning of hydrogen between the solid and liquid phases, and the evolution in solid fraction with temperature. Due to different alloy chemistries, the activity of hydrogen in B206 and A356 are quite different, as are the solidification range and the resulting solidification microstructure. Being a primary alloy, B206 has dendritic microstructure and solidifies over nearly 135°C (505–641°C), whereas A356 contains fifty percent eutectic microstructure, and solidifies over 80°C (533–613°C). This allows a very different behaviour of micropores i.e. the effective pore radius in B206 is quite a bit lower as compared to A356, as is the pore number density. The evolution of local hydrogen concentration in liquid metal is analysed and compared for both the alloys.INTRODUCTION Over the past decades, the demand for materials with enhanced strength-to-weight ratios has significantly increased in the aerospace and automobile industries in order to improved fuel efficiency. For many automotive components, particularly shape castings, the trend is towards replacing ferrous alloys with aluminium alloys. The increase in the use of Al is primarily due to its low density, about one-third that of steel, and its relatively good strength that allows for weight reduction without reducing performance. Presently, Al-Si based alloys (e.g. A356) are the most prevalent due to their good mechanical performance in strength-to-weight ratio and excellent castability (Atwood et.al., 2000). However, superior mechanical properties can be achieved using Al-Cu alloys. For example, the alloy B206 offers a higher strength while retaining excellent ductility (Poirier et.al., 1987)."

Jan 1, 2017

By A. Rodriguez-Prado, P. Kuschk, R. L. Legge, W. C. Lennox

Using constructed wetlands to chemically reduce hexavalent chromium Cr(VI) to Cr(III) from industrial and mining wastewater has proven to be feasible and efficient. Applying first-order kinetics to describe the process is simple, but in some cases a more accurate model is required to reflect the process. This paper studies the feasibility of using non–first-order kinetics to describe the reduction process. Results indicate that half- and second-order kinetics adequately described Cr(VI) reduction in laboratory wetland mesocosms. The organic carbon content played a relevant role, whether it was built up by plant growth or spiked into the feed water.

Jan 1, 2014

By L. Chunpongtong

ABSTRACT The mining limit in oil sands is regulated by the ratio of total mining volume (ore, interburden, and overburden) one has to mine per volume of bitumen in place (TV/BIP). This paper presents a mathematical solution for creating the most economical pit outline where the TV/BIP ratio upper limit is 12, by combining mining economic theory and the Lerchs-Grossmann (LG) algorithm.

Jan 1, 2014

By L. Chunpongtong

The mining limit in oil sands is regulated by the ratio of total mining volume (ore, interburden, and overburden) one has to mine per volume of bitumen in place (TV/BIP). This paper presents a mathematical solution for creating the most economical pit outline where the TV/BIP ratio upper limit is 12, by combining mining economic theory and the Lerchs-Grossmann (LG) algorithm.

Jan 1, 2014

By P. V. Golde, R. A. Poole, G. R. Baiden

"INCO is committed to proceed into the next century using automation and robotics to achieve safety and productivity goals necessary to enhance its competitive position. Stobie Mine, decades old, is the first of its mines to change from labour-intensive to automationassisted techniques. This paper is a synopsis of the progress made during the transition period including overviews of some of the projects as well as some of the difficulties in the assimilation of the technology. BackgroundThe ObjectiveThis paper is an update on remote control and LHD automation installation at Stobie mine. The communications system installed at the mine and the ability to remotely control underground equipment from surface is reviewed (Poole et al., 1996, 1997). It discusses some of the experiences and processes required to further the concept to consolidate the operation of multiple machines under a single operator. It considers the communications systems requirements and their focuses, particularly on the development of systems for the tele-operation of LHDs and drilling machines from surface."

Jan 1, 1998

By N. Bahrani

Photogrammetry surveys were used to document a footwall slab failure that occurred at a surface coal mine located on the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains. Photographs taken before and after the failure provided the pre- and post-failure geometry of the slope and the failed slab. A 2D finite element model was constructed using slope profiles. The model contained joint elements that represented the bedding surface upon which the slab slid and the model was used to analyze the footwall slope. The in situ stresses, rock properties and the bedding surface shear strength and stiffness properties are discussed. The process of mining out a valley and exposing a highwall was modelled. As expected, elastic valley rebound occurred in the model, but shear stress and shear displacement reversals along the slip surface were also observed. The modelling results provided new insight into shear strength degradation that occurs when the pit floor approaches and then passes a specific point in the highwall.

Jan 1, 2009

By G. Mihaylov

The basic principles of systems analysis are presented. A model has been designed to determine the location of the Main opening in the presence of three or more stock orebodies. The necessary condition is to find a location for the Collection point which is an essential element in opening up each orebody (stock). The model takes into account the total transportation costs from each orebody to the collection point. Three variants are considered provided that the orefield is divided into two levels at least: - a collection point is designed at every level; - a collection point is designed at the lowest level, i.e. where the so-called concentration level is formed; - the collection point is located at a point between the planes of the two levels; The effect of the depth of mining and mine output on determining the method of opening up the orefield has been analyzed by considering a vertical and/or an inclined shaft. A function has been constructed which allows for investigating in both a static and dynamic regime the capital costs for constructing the whole complex including the shaft. The character of the function does not allow finding the global limits. Therefore, it is of particular importance to specify the limiting conditions. In this case these are the flow capacity of development openings and the shaft. The basic groups of cost and natural indicators for assessing and selecting an optimal technological solution have been systematized. The combined analysis of the two approaches to finding the location of the Main opening and determining the mining method enables us to determine when an inclined shaft is best, and the depth at which opening by a vertical shaft has no alternative. Thus, a transition area is formed for which the selection of an optimal technological solution requires an analysis similar to that proposed in this paper. Conclusions are finally drawn which serve as a basis for determining the areas of application of each opening, including the use of a combined scheme of mine opening. The approach presented can be used in both investigating the possibilities for opening up new orefields and reconstructing existing ones in cases when the mining operations go deeper.

Aug 1, 2013

By C. E. Lancelle, J. T. Volk, H. F. Wang, D. Fratta

"The Main Injector Neutrino Oscillation Search (MINOS) Near Detector Hall at Fermilab and the Lafarge – Conco Mine are located approximately 100 meters underground in the Galena-Platteville dolomite just below its contact with the overlying Maquoketa shale in Northeastern Illinois, USA. A new cavern was excavated adjacent to the MINOS Near Detector Hall at Fermilab to house the near detector for the Off-axis Neutrino Appearance Experiment (NOvA) program. During this excavation approximately 1150 cubic meters of shale rock were removed. Tiltmeter arrays consisting of a series of hydrostatic leveling sensors (HLS), which are spaced regularly over a total distance of 50-to-100 meters, were used to monitor subsurface deformations. The tiltmeter response in the MINOS Near Detector Hall due to the NOvA cavern excavation is approximately thirteen times the estimated response based on using laboratorydetermined properties. The discrepancy between modeled and measured tilt is likely due to differences in Young’s Modulus in the rock mass versus in a small laboratory sample. Amplitudes of measured solid earth tides differ from the amplitudes of theoretical solid earth tides by up to 40 percent for both arrays. This is likely due to a local heterogeneity or discontinuity.INTRODUCTIONLong baseline tiltmeters have been used to record small earth movements since the early 1900s. One of the first studies using long baseline tiltmeters to measure earth tides was published by Michelson (1914). He used a leveled 152-meter long, 0.15-meter diameter tube half-filled with water connecting two concrete-lined pits. The pipe was trenched 1.75 meters underground in Williams Bay, Wisconsin in a sandy-clay soil. Initially only an east-west line was used, though a north-south line was added after it was seen that viable results were obtained. Measurements were made by hand either hourly or once every two hours depending on the time of day. When compared to 0.7 times the calculated earth tides, the tiltmeter signal matched almost exactly. This excellent result began the use of long baseline tiltmeters to measure small earth movements."

Jan 1, 2015

By M. L. Joy

The heat pipe is a self-contained, passive structure that uses a liquid-vapour fluid cycle to provide high thermal conductance . Through the proper selection of working fluids and container materials, heat pipes have been operated at temperatures ranging from less than -300°F to more than 3,000 °F. The passive nature, high efficiency and configuration flexibility of the heat pipe are presented. The application of McDonnell Douglas Astronautics Company Cryo-Anchor® heat pipes for foundation and support stabilization in permafrost regions is discussed. Using the proven Cryo-Anchor technology base. a proposed application of heat pipes in a cold -region mine ventilation system heat recovery heat exchanger is presented. Information obtained from the development of an air-cooled heat pipe steam condenser provides the technical basis for large -scale heat pipe applications.

Jan 1, 1978

By J M. Anderson

The cable belt conveyor installation at Craigmont Mines Limited, Merritt, B.C., has the greatest one-stage vertical fall of any conveyor installed overland in Canada. Since the late summer of 1961, this conveyor has carried more than 5,000,000 tons of copper ore from open pit to concentrator site. When the conveyor is loaded, the drive motor acts as an induction generator, delivering power to an external circuit. This paper covers the selection, the operation, the performance statistics, and the installation and operating costs of this conveyor system. Introduction T HE Craigmont mine is located in the south-western interior region of the Province of British Columbia, approximately 240 miles northeast of Vancouver. A moderate climate, good roads, service by the Canadian Pacific Railroad, power from the British Columbia Hydro Authority, gas from the nearby main line of the Inland Natural Gas Company and close proximity to the village of Merritt provide a favourable location for this mining operation. The ore occurrences at Craigmont have a vertical extent of 1,500 feet,

Jan 1, 1965

By W. A. Gow, G. M. Ritcey, M. C. Campbell

"Uranium is a unique commodity. It is both a metal and a fuel, It has both commercial and military uses. It yields ""clean energy "" but presents environmental concerns. All of these factors have an impact on the commerce of uranium.Being a metal, uranium is extracted from ore like many other metallic minerals. As a fuel, it is subject to the vagaries of energy commodity market forces. The history of uranium in the first nuclear weapons has led to nation al governments carefully controlling production and sale of uranium. The spectre of radioactive contamination of the environment adds further to the public concern over the disposal of low-level radioactive wastes from uranium processing and use.There have been a number of excellent reviews on the commercial aspects of the uranium industry. In this discussion, these aspects will be briefly summarized to provide a general picture of the strengths of the Canadian uranium industry and the pressures to which it is being subjected currently. The principal thrust of this paper will be to outline Canada's resource strength and to identify some factors which will affect Canada's ability to continue holding a sizeable share of the world uranium market."

Jan 1, 1985

By J. S. Redpath

There appears to a definite trend toward the hoisting of greater tonnages from greater depths. There is every indication that this trend will continue and we feel that improvements in the design, fabrication and installation of mine guides will be of significant importance in the future. The present state of the art in mine-shaft guide systems is reviewed and the parameters required for improvement are derived in this paper. Finally, a proposal is made for a new steel guide system which meets the parameters and is economical to fabricate and install.

Jan 1, 1977

By Mansoor Barati, Xue Yin, Yanhui Sun, Alex McLean, Yindong Yang

The formation and evolution of inclusions in Ti-Stabilized, 17Cr Austenitic Stainless Steel produced by the ingot casting process were investigated through systematic sampling of liquid steel and rolled products. Analysis methods included total oxygen and nitrogen contents, optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The results indicate that the composition of inclusions was strongly dependent on the types of added alloying agents. During the AOD refining process, after the addition of ferrosilicon alloy and electrolytic manganese, followed by aluminum, the composition of inclusions changed from manganese silicate-rich inclusions to Al2O3-rich inclusions. After tapping and titanium wire feeding, pure TiN particles and complex inclusions with Al2O3-MgO-TiOx cores coated with TiN were found to be the dominant inclusions when [%Ti] was 0.307 in the molten steel. These findings were confirmed by thermodynamic calculations which indicated that TiN inclusions could be formed in the liquid phase due to the high contents of [Ti] and [N] in the molten steel. From the start of casting to the rolled bar, there was no obvious change in the composition of inclusions compared to the titanium addition stage. Stringer-shaped TiN inclusions elongated along the rolling direction with lengths varying from 17 to 84µm were observed in the rolled bar, which could detrimentally impact the mechanical properties of the stainless steels.

Jan 1, 2015

By L. Cifuentes, J. M. Casas

The treatment of aqueous CuSO4-H2SO4- As-Sb solutions by electrodialysis in order to separate and concentrate species of interest has recently been studied. Results show that it is possible to separate copper from arsenic in electrodialysis cells. The separation of copper from antimony is also possible. Transport rate ranges that could be achieved, depending on experimental conditions, are 0.2 to 0.6 mol per hour per square metre of membrane for copper, 0.65 to 2.8 for sulphate, and 0.016 to 0.03 for arsenic. Transport rates for antimony were inconclusive due to its very low solubility in the studied systems. Solution agitation and increasing temperature markedly increased the process rates. Advancements in this area require further work in both the thermodynamics (speciation) and kinetics of complex CuSO4- H2SO4-H2O systems, where impurities, other than As and Sb, and additives should be taken into account to gain a deeper understanding of the application of ED to copper electrorefining electrolytes

Jan 1, 2004

By The Staff

THE gold mining industry in Canada is today the most important stabilizing influence in the country. This factor was brought out particularly during the 'depression' years, when steady employment was given to men in that industry and the monies spent in supplies and power in turn benefited the country to a great extent. At the same time, a commodity was produced which was saleable in any market of the world, thus maintaining Canada's credit in foreign markets and keeping her trade balances equalized. We have a vast area known as the Precambrian Shield. The agricultural possibilities of this area are practically negligible and it will depend entirely upon the mineral and forest resources to make this district an economic factor in the life of Canada. To date, from the mineral point of view, we have been highly successful. There are, however, still vast areas to be explored. It is tedious and laborious work, entailing great individual hard-ships and the expenditure of much energy and money. During my thirty years' experience in the search for, and operating of, gold mines, I have come to the conclusion that although individuals may give all their time, energy, and money, Governmental assistance is absolutely necessary in the development of hydro-electric power sites and roads. The Governments, to date, have given splendid co-operation along these lines, but in order that this great industry may go ahead they should continue their good work and, if possible, give greater relief from taxation to mines situated at a considerable distance from the railway.

Jan 1, 1938

By J. O. Pitts

"Background The preponderance of Canada's coal resources is located in areas remote from high demand domestic users and at some significant distances from deepsea ports. This places great demands on the transportation system and has forced the coal and the transportation industries to adopt highly efficient methods of handling the product and hauling it to market position. Most of the coal not consumed in minemouth thermal power stations is carried by rail over lines operated by the two transcontinental railway systems, Canadian National and Canadian Pacific. These rail networks are extensive and have the advantage (as compared to most other North American railways) of being able to handle coal movements from origin through to destination without interchange to other rail carriers. Coal SourcesWith exception of the coal produced in Cape Breton, Nova iScotia, all the significant shipping volumes in Canada emanate ifrom mines located in the three most westerly provinces. Figure I ishows the geographic distribution of the major mining operaitions shipping coal to domestic and export markets. The prinicipal routes and the tonnages carried (1980 calendar year) are ialso indicated. iThe 1980 shipping data are summarized in Table I. Saskatchewan lignite began moving from Bienfait to Thunder Bay by CP Rail unit trains in mid-1981 at the rate of one million tonnes per year. The product is handled through Thunder Bay Terminals and delivered directly to a nearby Ontario Hydro electrical generating station."

Jan 1, 1985