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By Pierre Laliberté

L?utilisation de plusieurs nouvelles technologies et systèmes de contrôle visant des économies d?énergie dans une exploitation minière pourrait laisser croire qu?il suffit d?additionner les économies potentielles de chacune de ces technologies pour en évaluer l?économie totale. Une addition simpliste des pourcentages d?économie pourrait, dans certains cas, dépasser 100%, ce qui est évidemment totalement incohérent. Les LMSM-CANMET sont à réaliser une étude dont les résultats serviront à estimer l?influence de certaines technologies et systèmes de contrôle visant des économies d?énergie et à évaluer l?impact des unes sur les autres. En outre, un modèle de simulation est en cours de création afin d?évaluer les gains incrémentaux liés à l?application d?une série d?innovations dans une exploitation minière. La présentation fera le point sur l'état d'avancement du projet en plus de soumettre quelques exemples.

May 1, 2007

By J. W. Meier, J. O. Edwards, R. C. Bell

"IntroductionTHE DIE CASTING industry .as we know it today is the direct result of the invention and development of die casting machines during the nineteenth century and of reliable alloys in the twentieth. The early machines were designed to cast low melting point metals such as lead .and tin, and their alloys.It was inevitable that, as these die castings were put into service, the demand should arise for stronger materials. Zinc alloys, often containing lead, tin, copper, and aluminum as major constituents, were relatively easy to cast and stronger than the lead and tin alloys. However, it became apparent after a number of years that these zinc alloys tended to become brittle, distort, and corrode, particularly if kept in warm, humid atmospheres. Thus, considerable quantities of zinc-base .alloys were in use before the trouble was realized and effective measures could .be taken to determine the cause of the instability.The deleterious effect of certain metallic impurities on the properties of zinc •die casting .alloys has now been known for about thirty years. Brauer .and Peirce, and, later, other research workers of the New Jersey Zinc Company such as Anderson and Werley, discovered the pronouned effect of lead, cadmium, and tin on the stability of zinc-alloys."

Jan 1, 1952

By Frederic Benard

THE Ontario Refining Company, Limited, wholly-owned subsidiary of The International Nickel Company of Canada, refines the entire blister copper output of the latter's Copper Cliff smelter. Prior to 1936, the blister was cast in 460-lb. cakes at the smelter, loaded on open cars, and transported by rail to the refinery, a distance of approximately 1 1/4 miles. Here the cakes were transferred to the plant narrow-gauge system, charged to furnaces, and re-melted. This procedure necessitated the operation of holding furnaces and casting machines at the smelter -extensive re-handling-and melting down of a cold charge at the refinery. Transfer of the copper in molten form direct from converters to anode furnaces promised a considerable reduction in costs, and this possibility was investigated. As a result, a portable holding furnace, or hot-metal car, was designed and constructed. It was placed in operation in July, 1936, to be followed a year later by three additional units of slightly modified design. Figure 1 shows the original car, and Figure 2 the lacer type. With four cars in service, operations were placed on an all 'hot-metal' basis.

Jan 1, 1938

By G. Goodall, R. Jabbar, S. Muinonen, A. Cummings

"Glencore’s Sudbury Integrated Nickel Operations in Falconbridge, Ontario, has been in operation since 1930. Many new technologies and practices, now common in the industry, have been implemented at the site and contribute significantly to the industry’s understanding. Since the last update on the Smelter operation published at the NiCo 2005 conference, the Converter Aisle has undergone significant changes in the operation of vessels. The Aisle continues to consist of 4 Peirce-Smith converters, but the Slag-Make Converter, and the Slag Cleaning Vessel have been re-tooled or re-built as Hybrid Vessels (HV), each generating matte for the two Finishing Converters and clean slag for disposal. The complicated scheduling and the overall benefits to the Smelter are reviewed here as part of the on-going tradition of industry support.INTRODUCTION The Glencore Nickel Sudbury Smelter operates a Roast Reduction Smelting (RRS) flow sheet with a specialized Converter Aisle operation that maximizes metal recovery to Bessemer matte. The main process equipment consists of a pair of Fluid Bed Roasters, a submerged-arc Electric Furnace and four Peirce-Smith converting type vessels (Figure 1). In the RRS flow sheet, concentrate is roasted with air to remove sulphur as SO2. Calcine from the Roasters is mixed with petroleum coke upon addition to the six-in-line rectangular Electric Furnace. The coke back reduces the metallic oxides, producing a matte and a discard slag.Gases from the Roasters are sent to a single pass absorption Acid Plant where the SO2 is converted to acid. Under the previous operating targets, approximately 70–75% of the sulphur in the incoming concentrate was fixed as acid with the balance going to the Electric Furnace in calcine for Bessemer matte production. Off-gases from the Electric Furnace and Converters are combined in a balloon flue, treated for particulates in electrostatic precipitators and discharged to the Smelter stack without any SO2 fixation."

Jan 1, 2017

By P. West-Sells, B. Wassink, N. Fisher

Gold leaching from a commercial cyanide-amenable gold ore was studied at 25°C using sodium bisulfide-hydrogen sulfide solutions containing elemental sulfur. Gold extraction from the ore using 0.55 M NaSH, 4.1 atm (60 PSI) H2S, 1 g/L S8 and 26% solids by weight was about as good as the best extraction obtained by cyanidation. Maximum extraction was achieved in roughly 48 hours. Sulfur dissolves in the bisulfide solutions to form a mixture of polysulfides. Simple speciation calculations indicate that gold solubility as bisulfide complexes should be roughly ten times higher than in the absence of added zerovalent sulfur. The principal bisulfide complex is believed to be [Au(HS)2]-. Gold dissolution is favoured by increasing HS- concentration and by increasing H25 pressure. Polysulfide complexes of gold are also likely to be formed, and may contribute substantially to gold leaching. Two experiments using pure gold were also performed. Up to 100 mg/L gold was dissolved in 140 hours using 0.55 M NaSH, 1 g/L added elemental sulfur and 6.2 atm H2S.

Jan 1, 2005

By C. Blais, G. L’Espérance

Characterization of second phase particles is important with regard to their influence on mechanical properties of materials. Analytical electron microscopy offers the possibility to achieve complete characterization of inclusions. Complete characterization of inclusions means quantitative evaluation of their chemistry and the stereological parameters. A characterization technique based on integrated microscopy and involving scanning electron microscopy, image analysis and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry is presented. A discussion of the use of transmission electron microscopy and electron energy loss spectroscopy is also presented for the characterization of very small particles and compounds (>100 nm).

Jan 1, 1998

By R. Lovat, J. A. Hunter

"The design, development, and verification of the Lovat 7.6metre diameter full-face tunnel-boring machine is reviewed. Programmatic and technical challenges are outlined with a review of the specifications and the design to meet these requirements. Subsystem designs are presented for the waste material removal, ventilation, cutter head, structural support, advance technique, water removal, and interfaces with the Donkin-Morien Mine. The techniques used to verify that the design meets the requirements is by testing in the Lovat factory and in the field. Certification of the machine for use in a methane environment is discussed.IntroductionStudies have concluded that the average annual worldwide tunnel construction is 500 kilometres at an estimated average co st of $3,400 U.S . per linear metre. The total market value of the tunnelling industry is estimated as approximately $1.7 billion U.S. per annum. Of this, the current market for tunnelboring machine excavation is approximately $270 million U.S. per annum worldwide with a further potential of $250 million if more contractors are convinced that Tunnel-Boring Machines (TBM) are more suitable than conventional techniques. The worldwide civil tunnelling market has the potential to double each year in the next 5 to 15 years. Growth has been identified in the energy and mineral resources sectors of the economies of many nations and a significant volume of machine tunnelling studies and trials are presently underway for the extraction of coal, uranium , heavy oil or oil sand fuels, metallic and non-metallic industrial minerals and base metal or rare earth ores. Further tunnel projects for regional transportation, waterpower, irrigation , high density urban transportation, storm water sewers and water supply purposes are continually being implemented with new concepts like military security facilities and underground storage schemes being considered.Lo vat Tunnel Equipment of Rexdale, Ontario, the only Canadian manufacturer of TBMs was incorporated in 1973 to manufacture so ft ground tunnel-boring machines to satisfy this growing market demand. Lovat has produced an average of 5 machines per annum during the period 1972 - 1982 and has established an international reputation for competitive costs, quality of construction, after-sales service, and reliability. As of June 1982 Lovat TBM's have been used to tunnel over 240 km in projects throughout the world."

Jan 1, 1984

By R. C. A. Thurston

AT A FATIGUE SESSION organised by the A.S.T.M. in 1949, R. E. Peterson presented a brief introductory paper ( 1) in which lie referred to a discussion on the fatigue of metals which took place in England in 1849, and then proceeded to review some of the subsequent researches concerning the mechanism of fatigue. In the course of the review, he discussed metallograpl1ic studies with single crystals and polycrystalline materials, studies with X-ray methods, and the application of the electron microscope. During that hundred-year period considerable progress was made toward a better under-standing of the nature of fatigue, although it is probable that even greater attention was directed to the more practical aspects of the problem, such as the effects of notches, temperature, corrosion, surface treatment, residual stresses, and so on. Since then there has been an appreciable acceleration in the tempo of the fundamental work, partly influenced by the rapid development of the theory of dislocations, with the result that our knowledge of the mechanism of slip, the initiation of fatigue cracks, and their subsequent propagation, has still further advanced, although it is by no means complete as yet. The present paper is an attempt to out-line the more recent developments in these basic studies, to correlate them when possible, and to draw attention to those directions in which research might profitably be pursued.

Jan 1, 1957

Presentation Overview Corporate Overview Kutcho Project History Exploration Development Permitting Capstone -Pursuit of Value Building a mid-tier copper producer focused in the Americas Two operating copper mines; Cozamin& Mintomines High grade and low cost 2010 forecast: 80-85 million pounds of copper in concentrates Total Cash Costs* of ~US$1.10/lb to US$1.20/lb of payable copper produced Significant by-products of gold, silver, lead & zinc Growth potential Further expansions at existing Cozamin& Mintomines High grade copper development: Kutcho project, BC Investments in Nevada Copper & Silver Wheaton 100% North American assets Low risk ?Canada & Mexico ?Conventional operations

Oct 1, 2010

By B. C. Jago, H. Derbuch

"The Freightrain kimberlite is located on the Brodeur Peninsula, Baffin Island, Nunavut. Twin Mining is exploring the pipe and adjacent land (79 claims/655 km2) using a combination of airborne geophysics, soil sampling, diamond drilling, trenching and bulk sample processing. The pipe originally was discovered by Cominco Limited in 1975, re-evaluated in 1993 by Lumina Investment Corporation, when it was staked as the Zulu pipe, and subsequently covered by three claims in 1998 by Helix Resources who called it Freightrain.The Freightrain pipe coincides with a strong, ovoid-shaped aeromagnetic anomaly. It is the only surface exposure of kimberlite within a 30 km long linear trend of fourteen aeromagnetic anomalies that are up to 600 m in diameter.The pipe is exposed in the crater facies, near the transition into diatreme facies as indicated by the occurrence of pyroclastic kimberlite characterized by abundant olivine macrocrysts, juvenile lapilli and kimberlite autoliths set in a serpentine-calcite matrix. Olivine, Cr-pyrope garnet and chromite are the most abundant macrocrysts; clinopyroxene, ilmenite and phlogopite mica occur in minor to trace amounts. Garnet and chromite harzburgite, garnet lherzolite, garnet-spinel lherzolite and rare eclogite dominate the xenolith population.Garnet and chromite mineral chemistry indicate encouraging diamond prospectivity and that potentially diamondiferous garnet and chromite harzburgite were the principal sources of diamond in the mantle at the time of kimberlite eruption.Single clinopyroxene grains define an ~42 mW/m2 sub-continental geotherm that is rooted in the diamond stability field. This compares to a slightly hotter geotherm (~48 mW/m2) for adjacent Somerset Island kimberlites with an origin in the graphite stability field. This data accords with the general lack of sub-calcic Cr-pyrope garnet, diamond inclusion chromite and diamond in Somerset Island kimberlites."

Jan 1, 2002

By N. A. Jabit

The dissolution behaviour of ilmenite in acid solutions has been studied by many researchers to improve the leaching efficiency. Most studies which utilized natural ilmenite from different origins resulted in different reactivity due to the alteration caused by the weathering process. Previous researchers have suggested that the greater reactivity shown by some ilmenite samples towards sulphuric acid may be a result of the mineral being relatively unaltered. In the present study a rotating synthetic ilmenite disc of 2.2 cm diameter was subjected to leaching studies in hydrochloric acid. The dissolution rates of iron and titanium from synthetic ilmenite were determined in hydrochloric acid solutions (4 M to 9 M) over a temperature range of 50 to 80°C. Results show that the rate of dissolution of both iron and titanium increased with the increase in acid concentration. However, the rates decreased with time and obeyed a parabolic rate law indicating the blockage of the surface by an insoluble product. The rates of dissolution of both iron and titanium were higher in the presence of SnCl2 and remained unaffected with time indicating the reductive role of SnCl2 which inhibits the formation of surface blocking solids. Application to natural ilmenite is also discussed.

Jan 1, 2014

By Robert B. Parsons

"Investors in flow-through shares are going to need an expanded road map to find their way through a growing maze of tax rules affecting such shares. At the end of 1985, no fewer than three new sets of important tax amendments were tabled which could have a significant effect on flow-through share issues. This proposed legislation is discussed this month in Tax Notes.IntroductionIn a flurry of legislative activity at the end of 1985, the federal government tabled legislation which includes the introduction of new rules which will have a notable effect on investors in flow-through shares and on companies that issue such shares.First, on November 26, 1985, Bill C-84, the legislation to implement most of the changes announced in the May budget, was introduced in Parliament. This legislation includes the rules for the $500,000 capital gains exemption, a matter of considerable interest to flow through share investors.Next, on December 2, 1985, the government tabled a Notice of Ways and Means Motion which would extend the time horizon for spending flow-through share funds to include the 60-day period following the calendar year. But all news was not good news. On December 4 the government released its proposals for a minimum personal income tax, which would include rules that would catch an investor's CEE expenses and capital gains."

Jan 1, 1986

By W. N. Hamilton

"Evaporites abound in the Western Canada sedimentary basin, recurring throughout the stratigraphic column and widely scattered over the basin region. Alberta, situated centrally over the basin, includes many of the evaporites within its borders, but only a few have the right geological conditions to form potential economic deposits of salt or gypsum. These include the Middle Devonian Elk Point Group and related evaporites, Upper Devonian Wabamun Group-Palliser Formation evaporites, and evaporites of the 'Triassic Charlie Lake and Whitehorse formations.Salt deposits underlie almost half of Alberta. The major deposits belong to the Elk Point Group, which includes thick salt units in the Lotsberg, Cold Lake and Prairie Evaporite formations. Another, younger salt deposit in the Wabamun Group has only local distribution. Elk Point salts have a maximum aggregate thickness of 430 m in east-central Alberta. The deposits deepen southwestward across the province, from minimum depths of210 m at Fort McMurray to 1820 m at Edmonton.The thickest, most extensive salt deposits are the upper Lotsberg and Prairie Evaporite salts. Both have excellent development potential. The upper Lotsberg is up to 150 m thick, consists of clear, very coarse crystalline halite with only minor impurities, and has a notable lack of non-salt strata in its succession. Analytical data for the Lotsberg Salt show extraordinary chemical purity. Prairie Evaporite Salt differs lithologically from the Lotsberg in having a significant non-salt component. The deposit is up to 200 m thick and consists of medium crystalline halite, brownish coloured and cloudy as a result of finely dispersed impurities. The main impurities-shale, anhydrite and dolomite-are most prevalent as interbeds in the salt succession, ranging from very thin laminae to beds several metres thick. Although of lesser purity, the Prairie Evaporite Salt is shallower, thicker and more extensive than the Lotsberg and the salt quality is quite acceptable for most industrial uses."

Jan 1, 1982

By Lawrence D. Hoy, Armand Savoie, Pierre Trudel, Ghislaln Tourigny, Robert Crépeau, Lao Kheang

"Recent fluid inclusion and stable isotopic studies in the Bousquet mining district have identified spatial and temporal trends in mineralization temperatures and isotopic compositions of vein forming fluids. These studies indicate that mineralizing temperatures were lower during sterile vein formation (T=200-300°C) than during auriferous vein formation (T = 300-400°C), and that 8 80 values of minerals in sterile veins are lower by 1-3 %o than in associated auriferous veins. In addition to these small differences in 8 80 within individual mineralized zones, a trend of increasing 8 80 values of vein minerals is identified from west to east across the district, with 8 80 of vein minerals increasing by4-6%o. Quantitative evaluation of potential causes of the observed oxygen isotopic shifts suggests that the best explanation for these trends is the derivation of the mineralizing fluids from an isotopically inhomogeneous terrain in which the fluid isotopic compositions are controlled by the isotopic compositions of the host lithologies due to high rock/water ratios in these source terrains. This inhomogeneous source terrain is interpreted as consisting of the Blake River Group volcanics (low 8 80 component) and the adjoining Kewagama and Cadillac Group sediments (high 8 80 component).The genesis of the hydrothermal fluids is attributed to crustal heating during metamorphism, with the fluids representing metamorphic dewatering products and/or fluids incorporated during deposition and burial of the host lithologies. Ductile deformation of the fluid source regions impeded fluid migration during metamorphism; the ultimate release of the mineralizing fluids is attributed to the penetration to depth of vertical structures (fault and shear zones) during brittle deformation of the crust under waning metamorphic conditions. Release of fluids caused by this puncturing of the closed hydrologic source regime produced a localized zone of lowered pressure, drawing fluids from adjacent lithologies toward the fault zones, feeding further hydrothermal fluid upwelling. Au mineralization resulted from chemical processes related to cooling of the hydrothermal fluids and/or interaction with lithologies encountered during fluid migration; the level of crust at which Au deposition occurred likely migrated upward with the thermal anomaly caused by hydrothermal fluid upwelling, eventually reaching the level of current exploitation. Cessation of fluid flow along the vertical structures is attributed to inadequate recharge of the hydrothermal systems as fluid contents were depleted in the lithologies proximal to the vertical structures and/or sealing of the structures by mineral deposition."

Jan 1, 1990

By Tom Setterfield

Conclusions ?Canada is a prospective place to explore for IOCG deposits ?Time distribution of IOCG mineralization in Canada mimics that in the rest of the world ?Canada may have been the first country to start mining IOCG deposits ?Production from newly discovered IOCG deposits in Canada may start soon

May 1, 2006

By M. Lindgren, M. Latva-Kokko

Process performance can be significantly influenced by proper design of hydrometallurgical reactors. Optimal reactor configuration is case specific and depends on process requirements such as reaction rate limiting factor and particle size distribution. Choice of materials and manufacturing methods also play important roles in highly corrosive and abrasive environment often involved in hydrometallurgical industry. In this paper performance of different reactor designs has been compared in some typical hydrometallurgical applications. Results show that significant improvement in energy consumption, gas utilization efficiency and equipment lifetime can be achieved with process specific reactor design.

Jan 1, 2014

By G. M. Behrend

A group of mining men attending a recent workshop on "Analysis and Control in the Canadian Minerals Industry" issued, among others, the following statement: "Slurry flow measurement is considered to be one of the most inaccurate in the industry. A special program should be launched to encourage development." In response, this paper starts off the program with an investigation of the principles and the conventional practice of slurry flow measurement and identifies weaknesses which cause inaccuracies. Then it follows with descriptions of nonconventional systems in use at various locations and comments on their degree of success. The paper concludes that relatively simple methods, which it describes, can be applied to obtain an accurate slurry flow measurement.

Jan 1, 1973

By Niels Verbaan, Ernesto Bourricaudy, Ronald Molnar, James Brown, Sunil Jayasekera

"SGS Minerals commissioned an internal R&D program to develop in-house expertise to design, set up and operate REE separation pilot campaigns at its Lakefield, Canada site. A team approach was used that included expert consultants in the field of REE separation as well as in-house expertise supported by the on-site Analytical Laboratories.A mini pilot scale SX circuit was designed and constructed consisting of several modular banks of 30 stages each. About 80 stages of mixer-settlers were used to separate Pr and Nd from La and Ce contained in a synthetic REE chloride stream simulating the raffinate from an initial La-Nd|Sm-Lu+Y separation.Two pilot campaigns were operated totalling 25 days of 24/7 operation with 99.4% plant availability in the final 20 day campaign. Purities of > 99.9% in the Pr-Nd strip liquor and > 99% in the La- Ce raffinate were achieved and simultaneously sustained in the second campaign for prolonged operating periods. Key to controlling and adjusting the circuit was the rapid assay turnaround (as low as 2 hours) provided by the on-site SGS analytical lab. This permitted the operating team to modify conditions and observe the effect of changes relatively quickly considering the large number of stages. A portable XRF analyser was also used to track evolving assay trends in the circuit. The small physical size of the circuit enabled longer operation with a limited amount of sample.This paper discusses the design of the circuit, operating conditions, some of the key operating factors and controls and results obtained.INTRODUCTIONSGS Minerals commissioned the design of and built a solvent extraction (SX) pilot plant for the separation of rare earth elements (REE). The plant consists of a battery of 120 mixer-settlers set up in a dedicated piloting facility.The purpose of the programme was to develop capabilities and in-house expertise in REE SX separation technology. The program aimed to establish operating procedures, sampling regimes, and analytical methodologies and protocols for this type of process/plant. A team comprised of SGS personnel and several external consultants with prior industrial and REE separation piloting experience was assembled to achieve these objectives."

Jan 1, 2016

By A. G. Storey, J. B. W. Bailey

"The Noranda Process at the Horne Division ofNoranda Mines Limited now smelts approximately 350,000 short dry tons of concentrate a year, which is 40% of the total smelter throughput. Campaigns are averaging 200 days and refractory consumption is much lower than in the conventional smelter.In this paper, details ofrecent operation are given, together with updated projections for operation with higher levels of oxygen enrichment.IntroductionThe Noranda continuous smelting process has been in operation at Noranda, Quebec, for six years and in that time it has smelted a million and a half tons of concentrate. It is currently smelting 1,200 to 1,250 tons per day of concentrate on an instantaneous basis"" and it is handling approximately 40% of the Horne smelter throughput.This paper will describe the current operation of the process and the improvements that have been made since 1976, when the process was described by L.A. Mills et al.lSince early in 1975, a high-grade matte averaging 73% copper has been produced, which is then sent to the converter aisle for final treatment. All the information in this paper refers to the operation of the process in the matte mode .Early in 1978, Kennecott Copper Corporation started up their new smelter near Salt Lake City, Utah , which has three Noranda Process reactors operating with high oxygen enrichment of the tuyere air (2). These furnace s incorporate some design improvements, which will be described briefly."

Jan 1, 1980

By Dennis Hoffmann

"Abstract - Banded iron formation rocks associated with massive sulfide lenses in the Broken Hill Pb-Zn-Cu-Ag deposit in the Namaqualand Metamorphic Complex, South Africa , were investigated with respect to the geochemistry of manganiferous silicate-rich bands. Two common varieties of these are: amphibole- and garnet-rich iron formation bands. The results reveal that the former are enriched in Fe, Mg, Cu, Co and S. The garnet-rich bands are enriched in Mn, Ca, P, Pb and Ba with significant detrital contamination of Ti, Al, Zr, Cr, Y, V, Ni and Nd.The silicate-rich bands have compositions, in terms of, Si/Al, Si/Fe, Fe/Mn, La/Ce and Co/Zn, comparable to submarine chemical sediments which precipitated from hydrothermal fluids. The garnet­ and amphibole-rich bands are interpreted as ""evolved"" and ""immature"" hydrothermal sediments, respectively. The latter resulted from rapid precipitation after exhalation, whereas the former had a longer residence within sea water. The silicate-rich bands both exhibit increasing Mn/(Mn+ Fe) fractions, which are consistent with a variation expected from proximal to distal depositional settings. The prevalence of garnet-rich bands over amphibole-rich bands is interpreted as the result of injection of hydrothermal fluids from a single vent situated along the northwest margin of the Broken Hill deposit."

Jan 1, 1994