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By John I. Sharpe

Masses of pyritic copper and zinc ores are entrapped along the contact zone between two volcanic groups in the Matagami area. The upper limits of the sulphide concentrations tend to form concordant contacts against lava or cherty tuffite units of the younger group; the lower extremities tend to either follow transverse structures or merge with zones of dispersed sulphides. The sulphides are deformed and intruded by folded dykes. Close relations between metallization boundaries and volcanic lithology and stratigraphy, and a preliminary investigation of the fabrics and crystallization temperatures of the sulphide masses, suggest that the copper and zinc (but; not necessarily all the iron sulphides) were emplaced at h1gh temperatures during volcanism in near-surface lithological-stratigraphic traps. Introduction T HE Matagami area is centered 120 miles north of the Val d'Or and Noranda camps in north-western Quebec. For the present purpose, it is considered to comprise a 155-square-mile area in Isle-Dieu, Galinee and Daniel townships which encompasses the main sulphide masses. Airborne geophysical surveys within this area in 1956 led to the discovery of a large sulphide body -the.

Jan 1, 1965

By Hämäläinen M., O. Hyvärinen, E. Jääskeläinen

HydroCopperTM is a new hydrometallurgical process for the treatment of copper sulphide concentrates, which has been developed by Outokumpu. The process includes chloride leaching of copper concentrate, solution purification and precipitation of copper(I) oxide, an intermediate product, which is reduced and cast into copper products. The reduction can be carried out by pyrometallurgical methods or hydrometallurgically in an autoclave. This paper discusses the thermodynamic and kinetic aspects of the hydrogen reduction of copper(I) oxide in an autoclave. The results of the laboratory tests are presented and discussed. Finally, the autoclave method is compared with other options.

Jan 1, 2004

By M Safa

Addressing deficiencies and defects that occur during construction projects is costly and time consuming. The manual quality assurance programs currently used in the industry have certain limitations, including human error and lack of consistency. Hence, there is a need for integrated electronic models that employ new technologies and methods. This research introduces an integrated construction quality control system that has the potential to improve quality management processes in the construction field for piping construction, which is a complex process often requiring rework. The proposed integrated system relies on data collected from construction sites using photogrammetry and laser scanning, which is then used to compare actual work performed to that designed. The proposed system aims to improve the promptness and accuracy of quality assurance processes, in particular dimension measurements, by avoiding human error and integrating defect detection and quality management. The use of this system has highlighted some of the limitations during data fusion and acquisition process, which are highlighted in this paper. These aspects must be considered to increase the reliability of the acquired information.

Aug 1, 2013

By H. Clare Horwood

"In the Little Long Lac-Sturgeon River area of Thunder Bay district, Ontario, most of the known ore deposits occur in fractures, shear zones, and zones of brecciation, in folded sedimentary rocks . In two or three instances, however, deposits occur in Keewatin greenstones and in later granitic rocks of probable Algoman age.The principal regional features in the area are the long narrow bands of Keewatin volcanic rocks and Timiskaming sedimentary formations that extend east from lake Nipigon to Long Lac, a distance of about 65 miles. The belts continue to the east for many miles beyond Long Lac and probably for some distance to the west under the waters of lake Nipigon. They are intruded in places, particularly in the north, by large masses of diorite, granodiorite, and granite. Small intrusive masses of diorite and porphyry also occur in many localities throughout the area.The Little Long Lac-Sturgeon River mining area is the youngest camp in Ontario and has been in production only since 1934.The district is readily accessible from the branch line of the Canadian National railway between Longlac station on the main line and Port Arthur, and from the Trans-Canada highway No. 17. Both these means of communication traverse the area in a general east-west direction parallel with the principal structural trend of the rocks of the region.In the Little Long Lac section discoveries were made by W. W. Smith in 1931 (Hard Rock property) , by T. A. Johnson in 1932 ( Bankfield property) , by T. A. Johnson and T. Oklend in 1932 (Little Long Lac property) , by F. MacLeod and A. Cockshutt in 1933 (MacLeod-Cockshutt property) , and by George and Frank Papineau in 1935 (Hutchison Lake property).In the Sturgeon River section discoveries were made by Powers and Silam in 1925 (Northern Empire property), T. A. Johnson in 1931 (Dik-Dik property) , and by Russell and James Cryderman in 1935 and 1936 (Sand River and Leitch properties)."

Jan 1, 1954

By G. Goodall, M. Muinonen, R. Pandher, R. Jabbar, S. J. Muinonen

"The implementation of a new and highly efficient converting practice at the Glencore Sudbury Integrated Nickel Operations Smelter has opened the possibility to further capacity increases by using larger ladles. To quantify the impact of increasing ladle sizes from 200 to 300 ft3, XPS constructed a detailed discrete event simulation using the commercial software package Rockwell Arena®. The challenges associated with implementing a model on an intricate and tightly scheduled process, and the solutions needed to derive meaningful results will be presented. The aisle capacity is predicted to increase by approximately 17 %, with a reduction in furnace tapping demand of 8 %. Arena modeling capabilities and the key factors contributing to the overall capacity increase at the Sudbury INO Smelter will be reviewed and presented.INTRODUCTION The Glencore Sudbury Integrated Nickel Operations (INO) comprises two Ni-Cu-PGM mines, Strathcona Mill, and the Sudbury Smelter. The Smelter has operated continuously since 1929 using different processes to produce nickel-copper Bessemer matte. Feeds to the Sudbury INO Smelter are a blend of concentrate from Strathcona Mill, Raglan concentrate produced at the mine-mill complex in Raglan, Quebec, as well as third party concentrate feeds shipped to Sudbury from around the world. In 2016, the Sudbury INO Smelter produced 75,900 tonnes of nickel and 20,000 tonnes of copper in Bessemer matte. The product matte is shipped to Glencore’s Nikkelverk refinery in Kristiansand, Norway where it is refined to produce nickel and copper cathode. A schematic of the Sudbury INO Smelter’s flowsheet is shown in Figure 1."

Jan 1, 2017

By G. J. McTeer, D. L. Verhelst, D. J. Rioux

Teck Metals Ltd. operates an integrated zinc-lead complex at Trail, British Columbia, Canada. Since 1997, KIVCETTM flash smelting technology has been utilized for the treatment of zinc plant residues and lead concentrates. Trail Operations’ furnace uses four water-cooled jackets for bullion tapping. This paper provides an overview of KIVCET bullion tapping for the past 16 years, and discusses successes and challenges encountered with respect to operations, training and monitoring.

Jan 1, 2015

By Mitchell P. Rothman

This paper concentrates on profits and other measures of return in the Canadian mining industry, especially in the non-mineral-fuels sector. The paper examines the historical patterns of mining profits, both before and after taxes, as compared with profits in other sectors of the Canadian economy, as well as some of the more important influences on mining profits. These include the prices of mineral products, provincial and federal tax policies with respect to mining , and the effect of inflation on mining profits and the financial position of mining firms - in each case, comparing mining with the other sectors of the economy. Finally, the paper provides an analysis of current and prospective rates of mining profits in relation to the capital required to ensure the future viability of the Canadian mining industry.

Jan 1, 1977

By E. Ghali, A. D. Bas

There is a lack of electrochemical studies of oxidized gold ores since the majority of previous studies were conducted with sulphidic gold ores. In this study, the influence of agitation and iron oxide minerals, i.e. magnetite, hematite, and maghemite on gold leaching was investigated by means of galvanic and passivation phenomena. Cyclic voltammetry studies of Roasted Gold Ore (RGO) in de-aerated electrolyte have shown one oxidation and one reduction reaction while three oxidation and one reduction peaks were observed with gold electrode. Galvanic coupling results by Zero Resistance Ammeter (ZRA) mode indicated that magnetite showed a negative effect on gold dissolution while maghemite and hematite showed a positive effect, relatively, as a result of higher galvanic corrosion rates. Generally, gold dissolution was found to increase in the initial 15 minutes. Increasing agitation speed from 100 to 400 rpm resulted in higher galvanic corrosion rates for RGO, magnetite, and maghemite electrodes, while 250 rpm was found to be optimum for hematite electrode. Passive products such as silver and iron-oxide were identified by XPS and SEM-EDS analysis, respectively.

Jan 1, 2015

By G. Forté, R. Girard

The Alcan Bayer Process Experimental Centre (BEC) is an essential development tool for the Bauxite & Alumina researchers at the Alcan Arvida Research and Development Centre in Jonquiere, Quebec. Between the laboratory tests and the industrial prototypes or the industrial applications, the BEC is a key element for technology transfers. The Bayer process is the extraction of aluminium oxide (or alumina) from the bauxite ore. The Bayer Experimental Centre's history and flowsheet are presented. The major pieces of equipment are described. Safety and design considerations are presented. Finally, examples of applications, double digestion and pressure decantation, are briefly described.

Jan 1, 2004

By D. M. Rippley

THE St. Lawrence Seaway Project ranks with the greatest engineering undertakings of all time. A summary of major materials going into the construction of this project, shown in Table I, will assist in an appreciation -of this fact. These data relate to Seaway construction only, and it should be remembered that two large-scale power projects are in the construction stage on the St. Lawrence river concurrently with construction of the Seaway. A project of such magnitude as the Seaway would attract widespread interest even if it were being constructed in a remote area. The fact that it is located in a heavily populated and developed section of both Canada and the United States has done much to enhance this interest, and in many ways complicates the problems confronting the engineer in the design and construction phases. Many consider the St. Lawrence Seaway to be a new idea that has developed within the past decade - such is far from the fact, because the St. Lawrence River canal systems have existed for more than a century, and the Seaway Project is but a new, larger, and more efficient version of a continually expanding facility.

Jan 1, 1957

By R. Guimarães, L. Silva, J. Milboume

The São Bento concentrator was built by Gencor in 1985 to treat refractory gold-bearing flotation concentrate. The plant was the first commercial application of pressure oxidation for refractory gold ore following about a year after the first use of pressure oxidation on a whole ore at Homestake's McLaughlin operation in California. Ore from the Sao Bento mine is remarkably consistent in gold grade and arsenic and sulphide concentration as is typical in banded iron formations (BIF) (l). Gold content is approximately 9 g/t with approximately 30 - 40% free milling. The balance is associated with arsenopyrite and pyrrhotite. An expansion of both process facility and mine was undertaken between 1996 and 1998, raising the treatment capacity from 32,000 t/mo to 45,000 t/mo.

Jan 1, 2004

By M. Gauthier, A. C. Brown

"Monometallic zinc mineralization associated with marbles of the Grenville Supergroup in the Mont-Laurier Basin of Quebec is found to be stratiform and to occur (1) within limited zones of dolomitic marble and (2) more precisely along contacts between these marbles and adjacent metaclastic units. Massive sphalerite with accompanying pyrrhotite and pyrite is the prime exploration target, and commonly gives rise to good geochemical anomalies, but generally weak and ambiguous geophysical responses. Disseminated sphalerite in dolomitic marbles may signal proximity to interesting massive mineralization, although, due to weathering, this broadly disseminated mineralization may not be detected easily on outcrops. It is concluded that the western and possibly the eastern margin of the Mont-Laurier Basin constitute favourable areas for continued exploration.IntroductionThe Grenville Supergroup marbles of Ontario, Quebec and New York State host numerous occurrences of zinc mineralization (Fig. I) , several of which have been periodically mined since the beginning of this century (Fig. 2). The Balmat Edwards district of New York is the giant of this depo sit-type, with the production since 1915 of some 20 million tons of ore grading 10% zinc, and acknowledged current reserves of approximately equal tonnage and grade. At present, there is renewed interest in the potential for similar mineralization throughout the Grenville Supergroup, and this paper outlines some of the geological, geochemical and geophysical guidelines that may be employed in the search for new ore. The geologic guidelines are derived especially from lithologic and stratigraphic features which survived intense, multiphase deformation and metamorphism.Although major portions of the extensive Grenville Supergroup hold potential for zinc mineralization, the present study is confined to a known zone of mineralization in the Mont-Laurier Basin of Quebec. Concurrently, we are compiling information on the regional metallogeny of the basin so that our conclusions can be applied to areas of similar Grenville Supergroup host-rocks elsewhere."

Jan 1, 1980

By R. L. Bruening, R. M. Izatt, N. E. Izatt, K. E. Krakowiak, S. R. Izatt

The need for selective metal separations has increased as the mining industry encounters more complex ore bodies and the demand for higher performance end products expands. Molecular Recognition Technology (MRT) is a green chemistry process that involves use of SuperLig® resins to selectively remove desired metals from a variety of solutions in mining and metals processing industries. Recoverable metal concentrations can range from multiple g/L to mg/L or less. The MRT separation process is based on green chemistry principles and can efficiently produce high purity metal products with minimal waste generation and energy usage. In this paper, applications of MRT to metal recovery and purification in the minor and specialty metals industry will be presented and discussed. Examples will be described involving cobalt, nickel, zinc, rhenium, iridium, indium, germanium, bismuth, and cadmium, as well as removal of lead and iron from process streams.

Jan 1, 2015

By G. M. Scamans

In the past ten years there has been considerable penetration of aluminum automotive body sheet (ABS) into automotive structures. The exponential increase in demand is resulting in major investments in heat treatment and finishing capacity across the globe. Line speed and tonnage throughput is limited by the continuous heat treatment (CHT) floater furnace rather than the cleaning and pretreatment section where electrolytic treatments that offer higher line speeds should come into favour and roll coating of pretreatment should predominate. The capacity limiting surface texturing pass will either be eliminated or moved to the finishing line or a dedicated mill. The key to making aluminum both embedded carbon and cost competitive with steel for more and more affordable classes of vehicles lies in recycling of both prompt scrap and, in the longer term, end of life vehicle scrap. For the first time scrap separation technology is available that can compete effectively with hand sorting and can sort aluminum shredded vehicle scrap into wrought and cast alloys and then into individual alloy groups. The challenge is to use more end of life scrap in alloy formulation whilst at the same time extending the property range in terms of both strength and formability.

Jan 1, 2015

By G. M. Scamans

In the past ten years there has been considerable penetration of aluminum automotive body sheet (ABS) into automotive structures. The exponential increase in demand is resulting in major investments in heat treatment and finishing capacity across the globe. Line speed and tonnage throughput is limited by the continuous heat treatment (CHT) floater furnace rather than the cleaning and pretreatment section where electrolytic treatments that offer higher line speeds should come into favour and roll coating of pretreatment should predominate. The capacity limiting surface texturing pass will either be eliminated or moved to the finishing line or a dedicated mill. The key to making aluminum both embedded carbon and cost competitive with steel for more and more affordable classes of vehicles lies in recycling of both prompt scrap and, in the longer term, end of life vehicle scrap. For the first time scrap separation technology is available that can compete effectively with hand sorting and can sort aluminum shredded vehicle scrap into wrought and cast alloys and then into individual alloy groups. The challenge is to use more end of life scrap in alloy formulation whilst at the same time extending the property range in terms of both strength and formability.

Jan 1, 2015

By C. Edwards

ABSTRACT: Milling operations in northern Saskatchewan’s Athabasca Basin have produced uranium continuously since 1975. During that period, the Athabasca Basin has been one of the world’s premier uranium camps, yielding more than 660 million lb (299,370,964 kg) of U3O8. In this paper, the author describes former and current milling operations and discusses why and how the milling process has changed and developed over the past 35 years. The author’s considerations for the future of uranium extraction in the Athabasca Basin conclude the paper.

Jan 1, 2012

By Robert J. Shank

This paper describes the Federal Government assistance available for northern mining development. The paper commences with a discussion of why the Federal Government should give assistance to northern mining development. It then uses a hypothetical case of a company which has a property it wants to develop to list the sectors within the . Federal Government that would have to be consulted in order to obtain federal financial assistance. The paper also outlines the type of information a company must be willing to provide the government in order to qualify for such assistance.

Jan 1, 1978

By Y. Serres

In the past, conventional reflection seismic techniques were not very successful when applied to typical mining exploration: they lacked resolution in the shallow range or were not cost effective. By combining a light earth tamper source, special geophones and field procedures, a stacking process of the returning seismic events using a microprocessor system, and a sophisticated sequence of adapted digital data processing, Mini-Sosie achieves high resolution in the 100-ft to 4000-ft range. Additional advantages result from the very quiet nature of the source and flexibility of the system. Although Mini-Sosie might be used in the refraction mode, or for well velocity logging, it has found its main applications with the reflection technique.

Jan 1, 1978

By N. Djilali

Many of the transport phenomena encountered in proton exchange membrane fuel cells occur intrinsically at the microscale level. Physically representative models that fully account for the salient physico-chemical and transport processes in PEM fuel cells are necessary to achieve truly predictive models that can be used with confidence to: (i) gain a better understanding of in-situ processes and couplings, (ii) explore new concepts, and (iii) support design and optimization. The development of more general, rationally based macroscale models requires use of knowledge on the microscale level to provide guidance, and to determine the required parameters and coefficients (model "constants"). In this paper we present a new membrane transport model, the binary friction membrane model (BFM2), recently developed to account for coupled protonic and water transport in polymer membranes. This general model is based on rational and physical consideration, removes several of the limitations of the empirical models used to date, and is formulated for all purfluoro-sulfonic acid membranes. The use of the BFM2 in a fuel cell model is illustrated highlighting significant performance predictions compared to existing empirical model. The second part of the paper addresses the fundamentals of two-phase transport in hydrophobic gad diffusion media. Computational and experimental visualizations resolving the microscale dynamics of water transport between the fibres of a GDL are presented, revealing transport mechanisms that are, contrary to assumptions used to date, dominated by fingering and channeling.

Jan 1, 2005

By Y. Prevost, D. Verhelst

"A computer-assisted process control system for the Noranda Process Reactor Wa5 installed at the Home smelter in 1991. Operating as an advisory tool for the furnace operators, and using a flexible oxygen balance as the basic building block of the computer program, the new control system has helped to reduce the variability in the grade of the matte produced by 50% . The smelter is currently operating at a 72% copper matte, with a standard deviation of between 1.0 and 1.3, while treating a wide range of concentrates, secondary materials and scrap. Enhanced process control has allowed for longer reactor campaigns, and improved stability of the converting operation.This paper reviews the feed classification and blending practice used at the smelter, outlines the strategy of the new computer control system, and summarizes the benefits realized since the implementation of the system in early 1990.IntroductionUntil 1989 the Noranda Home smelter operated as a multi furnace smelter, at one time having three hot-charge reverberatory furnaces, and finally operating with one wet-charge reverberatory furnace and one Noranda Process Reactor. In 1989 the final reverberatory furnace was closed and the Reactor became the sole smelting vessel, treating around 750 000 tonnes of concentrate, secondary materials, and scrap per year. At the time of the start-up of theNoranda Reactor in 1973, the vessel was capable of treating 750tonnes per day of a heterogeneous mixture of copper concentrates, fluxes and secondary materials to produce copper in one operation. Through process improvements, and the introduction of additional oxygen in 1982(pannell and Mackey, 1988), the daily tonnage increased to 1800 tonnes by 1988. The operation had also been changed to produce a high-grade matte instead of copper. Figure1 illustrates the main features of the reactor, a cylindrical vessel which is charged at one end and tapped at the other. The matteis subsequently processed through Peirce-Smith converters and anode furnaces before being cast into copper anodes. Figure 2 outlines the progressive increase in the furnace smelting capacity. Over this period the percentage of secondary materials, and scrap feeds also increased to approximately 110 000 tonnes per year, or 15% of the total new feed input (Bedard et al., 1991). Now operating wholly as a custom feed operation, the Home smelter can treat over 2200tonnes per day of new metal-bearing material."

Jan 1, 1993