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By Troy Boisjoli, Sean Hillacre, Matt Batty

Discovered in 2014, the Arrow Uranium Deposit has undergone rapid development through successive drilling programs informed by geostatistical drill hole spacing studies. An independent third-party geostatistical drill hole spacing study was completed by Clayton V. Deutsch Consultants Inc. in 2017, evaluating the uncertainty of thickness, grade, density, and areal limit of the Arrow Deposit to determine a drill hole spacing suitable for Indicated Mineral Resources. Indicated spacing was defined to be 24 to 32 metres (“m”) to be within 15% of predicted for a nominal quarterly production volume with a probabilistic tolerance between 75 and 90%. The study not only defined the Indicated Mineral Resource resultant from the 2016 drill program, but also provided drill hole targeting criteria for subsequent drill programs aiming to convert Inferred to Indicated Mineral Resources. A subsequent geostatistical drill hole spacing study on the Arrow Deposit was completed by Clayton V. Deutsch with Resource Modeling Solutions in December 2018 to define Measured Mineral Resource spacing in support of the 2019 drill campaign. The study resulted in a drill hole spacing of 9 to 17 m to be within 15% of predicted for monthly and quarterly production volumes using an accepted industry probabilistic tolerance of 90%.

Jan 1, 2020

By N. Staroselsky

"Significant energy savings are often possible for centrifugal compressors operating in parallel by improved control strategy and improved instrumentation. Blow-off can usually be reduced by improved surge control combined with a better control strategy for loading and unloading the group of machines. More precise and stable pressure control then becomes possible. This improved control strategy will also decrease the frequency of operation near the dangerous limits of surge or overload or overspeed. A sample station of mixed centrifugal and reciprocating compressors is examined and a substantial energy saving with the recommended control strategy is projected from operating data. Present Operating Conditions of the Compressed Air StationThe Compressor StationThe compressor station described here has three centrifugal compressors and three reciprocating. It supplies a mine in New Brunswick.Compressed Air and Power ConsumptionFigure I and Figure 2 provide graphs of air consumption and pressure changes based on the owner's data.During the typical two-shift operating day (Fig . I) in the non-productive shift (midnight to 8:00 a.m.), the consumption stays at a level of 9,000 SCFM. This corresponds to a pressure of 110 PSIG. Then, after 8:00 a.m ., the air consumption starts to increase and th e pressure decreases. Around 10:00 a.m., the consumption reaches its maximum level at 97 PSIG. Around II :30 a.m., the air consumption starts to decrease because of the production drop during the lunch break of the first shift. Pressure increases again up to 109 PSIG. After the break, consumption rises to its maximum level over 16,000 SCFM andpressure drops to 97 PSIG.Around 2:30 p.m., the air consumption drops sharply to 9,000 SCFM because of the production decrease to zero level. This drop results from changing of shifts. The pressure at this time increases again up to 110 PSIG. The second shift (2:30 to II :30 p.m.) is an alogous to the first.During the three-shift operating day, the break around 4:00 . a.m . and the shift change around 6:30 a.m. cause sharp drops in air consumption. The pressure for almost the entire night shift stays near 110 PSIG because the station is working with blowing-off even under the maximum consumption. The analysis of Figures I and 2 shows that the pressure varies with the air consumption changes. During non -productive time (non-production shifts , shift changes and breaks) or during the night shift, the total station capacity is proportional to the discharge pressure. By decreasing the level of this pressure up to 97 PSIG, the flow of the station may be decreased during the non-production time as follow s:"

Jan 1, 1980

The Autogenous milling of ores holds an increasing attraction as the focus moves towards reducing energy usage, both direct and embodied in grinding media. However, most of the early AG mills were converted to SAG for improved stability and increased throughput. This imposes a huge penalty in steel grinding media consumption. The LKAB iron ore operations in Sweden process highgrade magnetite through fully-autogenous milling lines to a final product P80 of about 45µm. The outcomes of P9O AMIRA research surveys, covering a wide range of mill fillings and throughputs and with different feed blends, are presented. Insights are provided on operational strategies, opportunities, the influence of feed size control and balancing the blend of competent gangue and softer magnetite. Areas of importance in the successful operation and control of energy-efficient autogenous circuits are highlighted.

Jan 1, 2012

By Owen Owens, W. P. Armstrong

Abstract- The process of arriving at the size and grade of: (a) a newly-discovered body of mineralization, (b) a potential ore resource, (c) an orebody proposed for mining, or (d) the ore reserves in a mine, requires fundamental geological, and geometrical determinations as well as physical and chemical analyses. This paper outlines geological and geometrical features considered critical, in the authors' experience, in realistic reserve determination. These are discussed under the headings "The Four Cs". They include the Character, type or nature of the mineralization; the Continuity of various types of mineralization in the deposit; various key concerns in the Calculation besides the mathematics; and the Classification section which refers to basic considerations in classifying a mineral estimate. It is suggested that the responsibility for the calculation of a Resource or Reserve should be that of a geologist experienced in the ore type under review. Further, it should be the responsibility of the board of directors of the company owning the deposit to ensure that a sufficiently experienced person is chosen to carry out the process.

Jan 1, 1993

By Bahaa Hussein

Considerable number of methods and procedures has been introduced for trending and progress reporting of engineering, procurement and construction projects. This paper introduces a novel method, designed to augment the set of indices for measuring schedule performance. The concept behind the developed method is to provide early warning by dynamically evaluating the schedule cumulative impact of construction projects. The proposed method is designed to highlight the gradual deterioration in schedule status resulting in a cumulative impact due to the aggregation of small delays encountered during the execution of non-critical activities, and can be used as an add-on utility to existing software systems that perform CPM scheduling. The proposed method is based on a developed formulation for quantification of the Schedule Compression Index, which takes into consideration the remaining project activities durations. The index is developed based on periodic comparisons of ?Current Schedules? and the project ?Baseline Schedule? using the summation of the remaining activities durations. A numerical example is presented to demonstrate the application and capabilities of the developed method. It is expected that the developed index together with other schedule performance indices would be of value to decision makers and members of project teams.

Aug 1, 2013

By Kevin B. Doyle

"Canada now supplies 23 per cent of the world demand for potash. Although potash is produced by many countries, Russia and Canada have the greatest reserves and capability to supply the future substantial demand over the next decade. It is estimated that demand will grow from 38,000,000 mt KCl in 1975-76 to 60,000,000 mt KCl in 1985-86. Current firm expansion plans and development underway in the world will move Russia to the forefront in supplying this demand growth. Russia will move from supplying 40 per cent of world demand in 1975 to supplying as much as 52 per cent in 1981. Canadian deposits suffer from natural disadvantages, such as high costs and risks of mine development and operation, and high-cost transportation to international markets, but experience has shown that these natural barriers can be surmounted to effectively compete in these international markets. However, Canadian potash is losing out in the race to supply the growth in the world potash demand over the next ten years because of artificial barriers raised through the unhealthy environment created by the current battle between different levels of government and the industry over resource taxation and legislation."

Jan 1, 1976

By R. Poulin, M. R. Samis

Real options valuation is an alternative net present value framework that is able to incorporate both management flexibility and dynamic project risks. In this paper, management is considering the development of a satellite low-grade zone while operations in a developed high-grade zone continue. If the lowgrade zone is developed prior to high-grade zone exhaustion, mine capacity must be expanded before additional production from the low-grade zone can be processed. This expansion can be avoided only if low-grade zone development is delayed until the high-grade zone is exhausted. The real option model presented here allows the development and capacity expansion decisions to be reconsidered on a discrete half-year basis. It delineates price regions, for given levels of high-grade zone reserves, in which it is optimal to develop the low-grade zone, defer low-grade zone development and abandon the mine irrevocably.

Jan 1, 2006

By Richard D. Moffett

The MineSight® Implicit Modeler arms geologists, engineers and surveyors with a better approach to 3D modeling. Use the tool to quickly retrieve a 3D wireframe from drillhole data and onscreen interpretation. Generate faster and more informed decisions to guide future work and improve reproducibility of results. Implicit Modeling is a mathematical surface fitting method that interpolates points to give a smooth and realistic fit. Control results by mixing planar, sectional and non-orthogonal polygons or polylines, as well as drillhole information to create solids or surfaces. The outcomes are particularly valuable to identify ore body trends, generate 3D contours of drillhole intercepts, or produce cut-off 3D maps. MineSight Implicit Modeler (MSIM) is fully integrated in MineSight?s robust and versatile suite of products, allowing you to interpret, interpolate and calculate while moving between applications. It connects seamlessly with the MineSight Torque SQL database, offering access to extensive filtering options. MSIM makes modeling much faster, allowing geologists more time to analyze data and test theories. The presentation will reveal how MSIM complements MineSight?s geomodeling workflow.

May 1, 2013

By R. A. L. Drew, G. Mendoza-Suarez, J. Filipi, R. Vintila, J. A. Kozinski

Economics and environmental considerations along with the increasing demand of hydrogen encourage development of novel technologies such as plasma processing of hydrocarbons and thermal cracking of natural gas. Plasma discharges, either in thermal or non-thermal regimes are expected to allow low temperature and fuel flexible on-site hydrogen generation. The main drawback of thermal plasma reformers is the high-energy consumption resulting from high-temperature operation. On the other hand, non-thermal plasma, generated by dielectric barrier discharge (DBD), is able to simulate the chemical reactions employing much lower energies than those required by thermal treatment processes. The non-thermal plasma process allows for instance, a direct conversion of methane into hydrogen and carbon black with no CO2 release. The focus of this research was on the GHG-free method of H2 generation in compact non-thermal plasma reactors using low, medium and high permittivity dielectric ceramics. A stable, non-thermal plasma was generated by placing a dielectric ceramic between two electrodes with a 25 thou gap and applying an alternating current of 1-5kHz and voltages of 4-8kV. In order to ensure energetic efficient plasmas, experiments were conducted to analyze the behaviour of different permittivity ceramics. It was found that the dielectric properties of a ceramic, when used in a DBD reactor, have a strong influence on the discharge characteristics, which in turn influence the power consumption. Higher dielectric constant resulted in higher conversion rates of methane (higher yield of hydrogen and carbon). At the same time, the mechanical properties of the dielectric material, which are closely associated with its processability, influenced its resistance to electron bombardment, as well as thermal and mechanical damage. Therefore a reliable ceramic should have good dielectric properties, in addition to good thermo-mechanical stability.

Jan 1, 2004

By E. Y. Carlson

"IN A SHORT PAPER it is impossible to do much more than to list the industrial minerals found in Saskatchewan and to give a brief description of the activity associated with each. I will not attempt to discuss the geology. It is sufficient to say that the settled part of the Province is covered by glacial drift which varies in thickness from a few feet to several hundreds of feet, and that this has hindered the search over much of the Province.CLAYA notable exception to this is the Cypress Hills area in the southwest corner which did not suffer any glacial action and where we find some of the large exposures of Cretaceous clays. In this area, the majority of the deposits are of stone-ware clays which are •an excellent raw material for such products as face brick and sewer pipe. Although the clay cannot be transported over any great distance it is used extensively in Alberta and Saskatchewan in the production of these products."

Jan 1, 1959

By E. W. O'Brien

Personnel protection involves effective grounding and positive clearance of faults. This paper deals, in a general sense, with various schemes to achieve fool-proof personnel protection and reduce, to a minimum, the effects of human error and equipment failure.

Jan 1, 1966

By T. Möller

Grinding mills are the heart of the mineral processing plant, and are production-critical machines which are required to achieve high availability. Liner wear life and a liner design that promotes ease of installation are important variables to achieve a high level of mill availability. Increased mill size results in more mill internal surface to protect, and more liner components to install and remove. This drives designers toward an increase in liner size to minimize the number of components to be installed by the liner handler. The liner attachment method can also have a large impact on mill availability as well as safety during installation. This paper outlines the experience from the development, installation and follow-up of liners installed in two 38' x 45' AG Mills at Boliden Aitik in Sweden. A new Poly-Met shell liner concept has been developed to minimize the number of liner components. The new Poly-Met shell liner components are made much larger than conventional Poly-Met or steel liners. This reduces the number of components to be installed/removed by the liner handler and helps to minimize installation time and consequently down- time. A new attachment system has also been developed to eliminate the need for the installation crew to be in the ?drop-zone? of the shell liners while installing the liner bolts. One interesting aspect of this project was the requirement to predict liner life for these new large format AG mills. The existing 22' diameter mills at Aitik provided a base-line reference for this purpose, and DEM studies were used in the project development stage to predict the wear life of shell liners for the new 38' diameter AG mills. The results from this study are included.

Jan 1, 2012

By R. Noorani, M. Cai

"Excavation of deep underground openings in highly stressed grounds can generate new fractures near the openings. As a result, rock mass bulking may occur, leading to large wall deformation. A better understanding of brittle rock failure and the associated fracturing process at the laboratory scale is an essential step towards evaluating dilation behavior of rocks. A grain-based model that can capture dilation behavior of rocks under various loading conditions at the laboratory scale can be a useful approach to study rock mass bulking at the field scale. The aim of the paper is to study the dilation behavior of rocks at the laboratory scale employing numerical simulation. A modified grain-based model is used to simulate the macroscopic response of crystalline rocks by considering micro-fractures at the grain scale. Grains generated with the Voronoi tessellation are allowed to fail in tension or in shear using a strain-softening model. Damage is represented by either grain boundary fracture or grain failure, or the combination of the two. As stress increases, the process of damage, fracture initiation and coalescence in rocks can be captured.The grain-based model was calibrated using test data of the Lac du Bonnet granite and a parametric study was conducted. Numerical simulation results showed that the proposed modeling approach is able to capture most of the mechanical properties, fracture pattern, and dilation behavior in both unconfined and confined loading conditions. In an unconfined compression test, interactions of microscopic fractures may lead to macroscopic shear or axial splitting failure depending on the chosen micromechanical parameters. Numerical experimental results show that the dilation behavior of the model is strongly related to the failure mechanism of rocks. Tensile-failure-dominated failure mode generates large dilation due to the formation of new cracks that are sub-parallel to the loading direction. On the other hand, shear-failure-dominated failure mode produces small volume increase. One significant finding from this study is that in order to capture large dilation using grain-based UDEC models, intragranular grain failure should be considered."

Jan 1, 2015

By T. Majcherczyk

Shaft lining reinforcing analysis of two shafts under construction has been presented in this study. The first shaft was driven from the surface, while the second was deepened. Mining and geological conditions have been studied with respect to the lining capacity. The improvement of shaft stability comprised two elements, i.e. reinforcement of the shaft lining capacity and improvement of the strength properties of the rock mass. In both tested cases, the particular hazard was connected with non uniform loadings of the lining, which could generate shearing stresses within lining structure. Thus such elements as armored concrete with high strength properties, bolting and injection sealing of the rock mass, and the use of special ring reinforcing the shaft lining have been used in order to reinforce the shaft-rock mass system. Practical conclusions related with new technological solutions, allowing the rock mass and shaft lining reinforcement, have been included for the present study. Practical conclusions related with new technological solutions, allowing for rock mass and shaft lining reinforcement, have been also included to the present study.

Aug 1, 2013

By Lizelle Glaner

An investigation was carried out by Mintek to investigate the influence of additions of gold to ?Fecraloy?, alloys based on Fe-Cr-Al. The aim was to try and improve the oxidation resistance of the ?Fecraloy? alloys at elevated temperatures over extended periods of time. The ?Fecraloy? alloys are very oxidation resistant alloys already employed in industry as substrates for metallic catalysts in auto-catalyst systems for high performance cars. Since their life and durability is limited by the slow, but steady, oxidation of the substrates, any change in the growth or stability of the oxides could be an improvement.

Oct 1, 2003

By Andrukaitis. E.

The increasing use of electronic equipment by the Canadian Forces has increased the importance of electric power. A power source that is packed with energy and yet light, small and durable is the common request of military users. However, this needs to be achieved while also addressing the requirements of safety, reliability and low temperature performance. The potential use of fuel cells in a military environment has become a possibility in several areas in the 21st century. Some examples of power source requirements and the materials related R&D required to give better, higher energy power systems in the future will be discussed.

Jan 1, 2005

By F. A. McLean

The past decade has witnessed a rapid increase in the number and variety of uses found for internal combustion engines in mining operations. Gasoline engines are now widely used for operating core drills, pumps, compressors, small hoists, switching locomotives, tractors, boats, and other equipment. The heavy-oil engine is employed for operating compressors, generators, shovels, ore-milling machinery, and- in the iron, copper, and coal districts- in connection with that' latest newcomer in modern railroading, the oil-electric locomotive. Each of these applications could well form a subject for a lengthy treatise in itself. This paper, however, will be confined to a discussion of some of the features of internal combustion engines as applied to mine compressing plants and mill drive. Perhaps at no time in the history of mining in Canada has the search for new mines been more vigorously carried on, more old properties rejuvenated, or more remote districts exploited than during the past three years. The mine operator of today has a far wider range of equipment and facilities at his disposal than had the pioneers of Rossland, Cobalt, or Porcupine. Each year now witnesses the hinterland driven farther and farther back as improved forms of transportation, machinery, and methods make possible the exploration of properties once considered too inaccessible to warrant serious attention. Howey, Sherritt-Gordon, Callinan-Flin Flon, Jackson-Manion, Picard Gold Mines, and a number of properties in British Columbia, afford excellent examples of work carried out on an extensive scale miles from a railway, or in comparatively inaccessible mountain regions.

Jan 1, 1928

By C. W. Jr. Waterman

INTRODUCTION MY SUBJECT is one which would require several speakers and many hours of time for adequate presentation in all its many facets. Because of the widely varying market requirements and coal seams mined, the coal industry of the United States bas of necessity employed many types of preparation facilities to satisfy its needs. Predominance of Baum-type jigs, however, bas marked the mechanical cleaning installations since the early thirties, and these machines continue to hold the lead. CLEANING As a matter of record we find that, at the end of 1948, we had 480 mechanical cleaning plants in operation. Of these, 19 used air cleaners only,?400 used water washers only, . and 61 used dry and wet washers in combination . Due to the increased use of spray water underground on cutting and mechanical mining equipment, there has in recent years been a marked downward trend in dry cleaning installations. In fact, the moisture in dry-cleaned fines has been increased to such an extent by spraying that recent dry cleaning installations have incorporated thermal drying ahead of the dry cleaning units in an effort to overcome the varying and increasingly higher moisture percentages in their raw coal feeds. While on the subject of dry cleaning, it might be well to bring to your attention one of our most recent developments in this art. I refer to the McNally-Brusset vacuum jig.

Jan 1, 1951

By G. E. Veins

This paper summarizes an investigation in which beneficiated ilmenite ore was smelted in a continuous, three-phase, 250 kv.a., open-top electric furnace. Minus %. inch ore was smelted, using the standard method. Fine ore, in the order of minus 14 mesh, was smelted in the briquetted form by the open bath method, and in the unagglomerated form by the cold dry-top method. The latter was shown to be superior. The data obtained .are discussed at some length. During the investigation, slag aver-aging 82.5 per cent Ti02 was produced over a period of 87 hours, the maximum being 85 per cent. Such slag should .be particularly attractive for the production of titanium tetrachloride, from which titaniurn metal is produced. The advantages of using paper-mill bark for producing a furnace charge of low bulk density, as required in cold dry-top smelting, were emphasized.

Jan 1, 1957

By D. R. Lentz, S. H. Mcclenaghan, J. A. Walker

"Abstract - The Orvan Brook deposit is one of several (Zn+Pb>>Cu)-rich sulfide deposits hosted by the Spruce Lake Formation (California Lake Group) in the northwestern part of the Bathurst Mining Camp. This parautochthonous deposit is hosted by a narrow band of highly deformed, locally graphitic shale that appears to conformably overlie felsic volcanic rocks of the Spruce Lake Formation, and is in tectonic contact with overlying mafic volcanic and related sedimentary rocks of the Canoe Landing Lake Formation. The Spruce Lake Formation is dominated by felsic volcanic rocks and subordinate fine-grained sedimentary rocks, and mafic volcanic rocks (Canoe Landing Lake member). The felsic volcanic rocks can be divided into aphyric and feldspar-phyric rock types. The feldspar-phyric rocks and a few of the aphyric varieties have a Zr/TiO2 ratio of 0.06, and fall into the California Lake Group field on a Y/TiO2 versus Zr/TiO2 diagram. In contrast, the aphyric felsic volcanic rocks have Zr/TiO2 ˜ 0.09 and are marked by high Zr and Th, which is consistent with highly fractionated felsic magma of Spruce Lake affinity. Major and trace element analyses of host rocks suggest that weak to moderate hydrothermal alteration developed on the south side (stratigraphic footwall) of the deposit, which is consistent with a north-younging succession. The sulfide lens strikes east-west for approximately 2.3 km, extends down-dip for at least 500 m locally, and has an average thickness of between 0.75 and 1 m, but is locally up to 5.5 m thick. The contacts of the massive sulfide lens with its host rocks are invariably sharp. Host rocks show evidence of intense ductile deformation as well as later brittle deformation. Compositional layering and sulfide breccia textures in the sulfide body are interpreted to result from deformation or tectonic enhancement of original primary layering. The deposit contains an estimated resource of 2.69 Mt grading 1.73% Pb, 5.95% Zn, 0.37% Cu, 72 g/t Ag, and 0.9 g/t Au. Similarities in bulk d34S between the Orvan Brook (+8.6‰) and the nearby Cu-rich McMaster deposit (+8.2‰) suggest a common depositional setting."

Jan 1, 2006