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By Brendan Parker, Tyron Rees, Steven Hart, Abba Manesh, Ian Mcgaffin

"In September 2009, Newmont began the commissioning of a 3 stage crushing and milling circuit at its Boddington Gold Operation in Western Australia. The Boddington ore has been recognized as one of the hardest and most abrasive ores treated to date and this played a pivotal role in the selection of crushing and HPGR technology for this operation as opposed to the more conventional SABC circuit.This paper will examine the scale up from laboratory to pilot plant and full scale operation of the crushing circuit. There have been many challenges to overcome in the first 18 months of operation; however, the HPGRs have in general met design expectations and performance is expected to improve further with ongoing design changes"

Jan 1, 2012

By G. D. Ruttan

"LYNN LAKE, in northern Manitoba, has become Canada's second nickel-producing area. The discovery by Sherritt Gordon Mines of nickel ore in an entirely new district was the result of systematic prospecting of a belt of volcanics and sediments situated 100 to 150 miles north of the Company's former copper-zinc mine at Sherridon, Manitoba.Prospecting in this area was begun in 1937 and continued each year until 1941, when Austin McVeigh, a company prospector, found a patch of sulphides on a gabbro outcrop near a small lake named Lynn Lake. Samples from this sulphide indicated nickel and copper in significant amount. In 1943, magnetometer work disclosed a number of weak anomalies in low ground near the discovery. In 1945, staking was followed by geophysical surveys and diamond drilling, which continued through 1947. During this period the A, B, E, EL, and Corebodies were located and partly outlined. The discovery of the high-grade ""EL"" orebody in January 1947 was the turning point in the estabishment of the mine. Subsequent development, including additional exploration on surface and under-ground, evolution of a new metallurgical process, financing, erection of a mining and milling plant, hydro-electric power development, building of a rail line from Sherridon (by Canadian National Railways) and a refinery at Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, culminated in August 1954, when the first shipment of nickel left the refinery. This paper, presented at the 1955 Annual General Meeting of the C.l.M. in Toronto, was one of a symposium covering the whole operation."

Jan 1, 1949

By Eric J. Grimsey, Don C. Ibana, David E. Grimsey

The segregation process as applied to nickel laterite ores involves the formation of gaseous nickel and iron chlorides which are subsequently reduced to form ferronickel on the surface of a solid carbon reductant. A fundamental study of the process has been carried out using limonite, nontronite and garnierite ores. The study highlighted the significant impacts that ore mineralogy and carbon addition have on the amount of nickel which is segregated rather than retained within the ore due to in-situ reduction. These important aspects affecting nickel recovery and the success of the process are discussed in this paper.

Jan 1, 2017

By E. G. Joe

The continuing increase in costs for power and fuel are affecting significantly the cost of milling Canadian ores. In order to ascertain the scope and source of energy consumption in Canadian mills for further energy conservation opportunities, CANMET, in cooperation with the Canadian Mineral Processors, carried out a detailed survey on the metallic mineral processing plants. Sixty-seven mills representing almost 300 million tons of annual capacity participated in the survey. The results indicated that, in general, copper and iron ore mills, representing the bulk of the tonnage, consumed relatively low levels of energy per ton. Nickel-copper, zinc-copper and lead-zinc .ore mills were moderate in energy consumption, and uranium and some copper-lead-zinc mills reported much higher energy consumptions due primarily to the increased heat requirements of the ore pulp. Although plant heating costs varied somewhat with location, it was apparent that the lowest heating costs were achieved by those plants built with proper insulation and energy conservation design. If the cost per million British thermal units is taken as $2.00, the mill energy costs generally ranged from 40ft to $1.20 per ton.

Jan 1, 1979

By D. Neely, D. Milne, L. R. Feldman

"Resin-anchored rebar is commonly used for rock support in mining. The rock properties and environment determine the average bond strength, allowing mine engineers to select the appropriate length and installation pattern for the support. In weak material such as potash, the average bond strength tends to be lower than for a typical hard-rock installation. Determining the failure mechanism by which the support fails in soft-rock applications could lead to improved bond strength and better calculated installed support capacity. This paper reports on research conducted at a potash mine in Saskatchewan and analyzes the failure mechanism of the support.RÉSUMÉ Dans les mines, les barres d’armature enduites de résine sont fréquemment utilisées pour soutenir le roc. L’environnement et les propriétés du roc déterminent la résistance moyenne d’adhésion, permettant ainsi aux ingénieurs miniers de choisir la longueur de barre appropriée et le diagramme d’installation du soutien. Dans des matériaux faibles, tels que la potasse, la résistance moyenne d’adhésion tend à être plus faible que pour une installation typique dans de la roche dure. La détermination du mécanisme de rupture selon lequel le soutien fait défaillance dans des roches tendres pourrait conduire à une meilleure force d’adhésion et à un meilleur calcul du soutien installé. Le présent article fait état de la recherche effectuée dans une mine de potasse en Saskatchewan et analyse le mécanisme de défaillance du soutien. ,"

Jan 1, 2016

By A. B. Parsons, P. G. Howes

"This article discusses how recent changes in the federal and Quebec .income tax laws have contributed to an improved investment climate for mineral exploration in the Province of Quebec. Individual investors who are resident in Quebec and who are in the highest tax bracket (1984-60.4% marginal rate) may obtain tax benefits that result in only nine cents of each invested dollar being at risk.IntroductionIn a recent submission by the Mining Association of Canada to the Royal Commission on the Economic Union, it was stated that the mining industry ""is no longer discovering and opening new mines at rates sufficient to offset the depletion of existing orebodies and to maintain pre sent output"". With world metal prices still in a depressed state following the prolonged 1981-82 recession, moreover, the continuing success of Canadian mining in world markets will depend on this country's ability to compete in a new environment characterized by subsidized Third World production . For the most part, this new competitive environment will encourage the development of cost-efficient mines that are better equipped to withstand the troughs and valleys of international metals prices."

Jan 1, 1984

By D. B. Dreisinger, M. R. Tavakoli

Vanadium has been produced from a variety of sources. This metal is known to make aqueous solutions of complex speciation as a function of vanadium concentration and pH. Considering the method of leaching, the impurities in the PLS and the planned vanadium product, different extractants and flowsheets can be applied for solution purification. In this paper, purification of vanadium leaching solution using organophosphorus, solvating and amine extractants will be reviewed. This review will be focused on vanadium separation from iron, molybdenum and uranium which are often present in vanadium resources including primary ores, fly ashes and spent catalysts.

Jan 1, 2014

By S. Koppalkar

ABSTRACT: The development and evolution of the gravity recoverable gold (GrG) test procedure at McGill university is reviewed in this paper. Since the late 1980s, the research group led by the late Professor André Robert Laplante at McGill university has undertaken fundamental studies and applied research of the Knelson concentrator to develop a sustainable method of estimating GrG. Historically, a concept of “free gold” was used, and it was de?ned as the gold that could be separated and recovered from gold ore by amalgamation. Due to health and safety hazards, the practical use of amalgamation has declined. around 1994, a methodology using a 3-in Knelson concentrator to measure gravity recoverable gold was established at McGill university. as a result of more than 10 years of improvement and optimization, this technique has become a standard method of evaluating GrG for gold ores, gold plant streams and platinum group metals. By 2006, about 200 GrG tests were carried out at McGill universityon ores from all over the world. recently, a modi?ed version of the GrG test (a simpli?ed test) was developed to provide a quick and rough estimate of the GrG in a sample; this simpli?ed test has theadvantage of reduced mass, processing time and cost. to recognize and honour the contributions madeby the late Professor Laplante towards the establishment of a standard test procedure for assessing gravity recovery potential, the authors propose that the GrG test be named after Laplante.

Jan 1, 2010

By William D. Swank, Prabhat K. Tripathy, Tedd E. Lister, Eric S. Peterson, Delon C. Haggerd

More than half of the primary neodymium, produced directly from ores, is being used to manufacture neo magnets. Neodymium, being a critical element in supply, has attracted considerable interest worldwide to recover this metal from a variety of waste streams. From among different recycling processes, hydriding-dehydriding can prove to be highly effective in recycling discarded neo magnets present in consumer electronics. In the present study, manually removed magnets from discarded Hard Disk Drives (HDDs) were subjected to the hydriding-dehydriding process in order to evaluate the resultant products for the re-fabrication of the magnets. The paper describes the effect of experimental parameters on both the hydriding and dehydriding processes as applied to different magnet chemistries.

Jan 1, 2014

By Alan Rice

Abstract-The mechanism by which stratiform ore deposits of PGE (platinum-group elements) are laid down in ultramafic igneous complexes is not completely clear. Early studies by the author and coworkers on numerical analyses of the convective cooling of low-Rayleigh-number magma chambers examined the effect of suspended crystal load on fluid density, and raised the possibility that the growth of the suspended crystal load during cooling could split a magma chamber into several convecting layers. The lower layers would have a higher content of refractory phases than the upper layers, which would consist of more evolved melt. This paper considers numerical modelling, as well as theoretical and experimental work in other fields dealing with suspended loads in fluids. The calculations, which are based on the physics of convecting magmas, yield quantitative relationships consistent with the observation that economically interesting stratiform PGE deposits are restricted to large magma bodies, and also yield estimation of the depth in a magma chamber at which certain grades of mineralization may occur.

Jan 1, 1997

By Alan Rice

The mechanism by which stratiform ore deposits of PGE (platinum-group elements) are laid down in ultrama?c igneous complexes is not completely clear. Early studies by the author and coworkers on numerical analyses of the convective cooling of low-Rayleigh-number magma chambers examined the effect of suspended crystal load on ?uid density, and raised the possibility that the growth of the suspended crystal load during cooling could split a magma chamber into several convecting layers. The lower layers would have a higher content of refractory phases than the upper layers, which would consist of more evolved melt. This paper considers numerical modelling, as well as theoretical and experimental work in other ?elds dealing with suspended loads in ?uids. The calculations, which are based on the physics of convecting magmas, yield quantitative relationships consistent with the observation that economically interesting stratiform PGE deposits are restricted to large magma bodies, and also yield estimation of the depth in a magma chamber at which certain grades of mineralization may occur.

Jan 1, 1997

By Todd Kennedy, Kurt Tischler

"This paper presents the field experience of Siemens with regard to Gearless Drives in the mining industry … We consider the elapsed production hours of Siemens Gearless Drives to be extensive enough to provide a reliable estimation of availability calculated on the basis of data representing repair time, downtime, and operating time. The users of Siemens Gearless Drives confirm an availability of more than 98% after exclusion of some major issues. The paper addresses all of these major issues of Siemens Gearless Drives, describes successfully applied corrective measures, explains the influences on the design of the drives, and lists the downtimes associated with each of these issues. INTRODUCTIONThe first Siemens Gearless Drive in mining began operation in 1980 and was installed on an iron ore grinding mill. As of September 2011, 40 Siemens Gearless Drives will have accumulated 136,000 machine days of operating time. According to pure rules of statistical analysis, this accumulated operating time may be too low to be used for a sample of field data to provide precise statistical values of availability, however we consider it large enough to provide indicative values of worthwhile consideration. This paper deduces the availability statistics of Siemens Gearless Drives in the mining industry from information received from end users and factors in all major issues that Siemens has experienced with our Gearless Mill drives. This paper does not consider Gearless Drives in other industries such as the cement industry. The cement plants, especially in the northern hemisphere, interrupt production for several months in the winter. This lengthy downtime is used to maintain the complete plant including the mills, their motors and their drives. The mining industry has more stringent and higher production requirements. In the mining industry, production must run 24 hours per day, 365 days a year."

Jan 1, 2012

By Chas. L. Emery

"The laws of rock mechanics apply equally well to all rock structures, and open pits are not exceptions. The concepts and some arguments about the emphasis to be placed on various aspects of open-pit design are discussed in this article.RocksROCK can be described as a granular material consisting of grains and glue. The grains may be fragments of other rocks or polycrystalline aggregates. The glue may be ferruginous, calcareous, argillaceous, siliceous or other material connecting the grains. In a crystal intergrowth, the outer layers of the crystals in contact with each other may be considered to act as a glue. Water may be a glue in clay or a grain in a crystal structure. Air and other fluids or gases are grains if they occupy spaces in a granular mass. Such grains are functional either chemically or mechanically or both."

Jan 1, 1966

By John R. Sullivan, Real Daigneault, Mathieu Piché, Jayanta Guha, Gilles Bouchard

"RESUMELa stratigraphie du camp minier de Matagami se résume a la présence de deux groupes volcaniques: le Groupe du Lac Watson et le Groupe de Wabassee qui le surmonte. Les gisements de sulfures massifs volcanogènes sont situés au sommet du Groupe du Lac Watson. Ces roches sont déformées par l'anticlinal de Galinée dont l'axe, orienté E-W, plonge vers l'ouest. Le cœur de cette structure est occupé par le Complexe de la Rivière Bell.Les roches volcaniques du flanc sud de l'anticlinal sont peu déformées et pendent à 45° vers le sud. Les gites qui s'y trouvent présentent la morphologie typique des gisements de sulfures massifs volcanogènes. Ceux-ci se situent le long d'un horizon repère cherteux et sulfure, appelé ""Tuffite Clef', et leurs cheminées d'altération rejoignent, en profondeur, une zone d'altération stratiforme d'étendue régionale.Les roches du flanc nord ont été transposées tectoniquement en écailles chevauchantes, de dimension kilométrique, a l'intérieur d'un couloir de failles anastomosées d'orientation est-ouest. A l'intérieur: le ce couloir, les gites de sulfures sont déformes et sépares de leur héminée d'altération sous-jacente par des failles.Les gites de sulfures situes sur les deux flancs de l'anticlinal de 'Galinée se seraient mis en place dans un mime environnement volcanique. Leur position stratigraphique est identique puisqu' ils se 'rouvent au sommet de la rhyolite porphyrique du Groupe du Lac Watson. lis se seraient constitués au cours d'une pose volcanique recédant 1'éruption du basalte du Groupe de Wabassee. Le Complexe de la Rivière Bell est perçu comme la source de chaleur responsable de la circulation des fluides hydrothermaux qui sont à ""origine des gisements de sulfures massifs volcanogènes."

Jan 1, 1990

By S. Dessureault, M. Yildirim

More mining companies are now investing in IT, including updating one of the traditional IT process control tools used in the mining industry: real time in-pit truck allocation control and monitoring systems, or fleet management systems (FMS). These systems have been used to maximize the overall mine production by improving equipment utilization and reducing production costs. Most modern operations monitor the in-pit operations using GPS and wireless communications to produce data. Improvements in bandwidth, sensors, and computing power are causing modern systems to become more complex and generate more data. However, human analysis by simple regression or table generation in spreadsheets of the data is becoming impossible. Data mining solves this data management problem. Data mining finds patterns and relationships in very large data sets. This paper describes the application of modern data mining techniques on truck dispatching systems in a real open pit hard-rock copper mine. The analyses conducted included determining how the trucks performed under particular conditions and allocation systems. The long-term benefits of this work are to identify strengths and improvement opportunities in truck assignment systems and establish the skill sets and IT infrastructure needed in undertaking more complex datadriven technology such as a truck dispatcher trainer.

Jan 1, 2007

By R. Prioul, J. Kear, D. Chuprakov, A. P. Bunger

"Hydraulic fracture (HF) growth through naturally fractured rocks challenges the development of accurate predictive HF models. The authors present laboratory experiments differentiating behaviours associated with orthogonal and oblique intersections between HFs and natural fractures (NFs). HFs were created in sandstone and crystalline (gabbro) rock specimens, impinging orthogonally or obliquely on an unbonded machined frictional interface. Ultrasound monitoring was used to observe the rate of propagation through the interface. A contrast was observed between direct and offset crossing for orthogonal and oblique intersection, respectively. The stresses required to promote crossing depended on the intersection angle between HFs and NFs.RÉSUMÉ La propagation des fractures hydrauliques (FH) dans les roches naturellement fracturées pose un défi pour le développement de modèles prédictifs. Nous présentons des essais en laboratoire qui différencient les comportements associés aux intersections orthogonales et obliques entre les FH et les fractures naturelles. Des FH ont été créées dans des spécimens de grès et de roches cristallines (gabbro), heurtés de manière orthogonale ou oblique sur une interface machinée, non liée, de frottement. Un suivi par ultrasons a servi à observer le taux de propagation à travers l’interface. Un contraste a été observé entre un croisement direct et un croisement indirect des intersections respectivement orthogonales et obliques. Les contraintes requises pour promouvoir le croisement variaient selon l’angle d’intersection entre les FH et les fractures naturelles."

Jan 1, 2016

By T. Gerritsen, R. MacRosty, R. Pula

For several years Hatch has been installing fibre optic temperature sensors on the copper cooling elements of smelting furnaces to improve monitoring capabilities in critical locations. The metal/matte tapblock is a key area to monitor in the furnace as it undergoes severe wear from the molten material repeatedly drained through it. The high wear rate around the tapblock means downtime is necessary to perform refractory repairs. A good understanding of the tapblock condition allows the operation to maximize safety and production; consequently the metal/matte tapblocks have been the focus of this study. Fibre optic technology allows the installation of numerous sensors in locations that are very sensitive to refractory thickness, thereby providing information previously unavailable with traditional measurements. The transient nature of the thermal response to tapping and the three-dimensional geometry of the tapblock confound the interpretation of refractory thickness from temperature measurements. This paper focuses on the analysis of both plant data and thermal modelling simulations and details the progress made in relating the temperature measurements to the refractory thickness in front of the copper tapblock.

Jan 1, 2014

By C. A. Born

This paper describes the rejuvenation of a molybdenum mine mill complex at the head of Alice Arm, 500 miles north of Vancouver and 85 miles north of Prince Rupert, British Columbia. It includes a description of the property history of the deposits and of the previous operations, together with details of the project for re-opening the mine.

Jan 1, 1979

By T. I. Urbancic, C-I. Trifu

"ABSTRACTSeveral case studies are presented on the use of seismic techniques to map active structures, evaluate changes in stress levels, and identify the conditions leading to large magnitude seismic events and the generation of rock-bursts in Canadian mines. The results suggest that microseismicity can be used to identify the orientation of active fractures; define regions of relatively high and low stress, and those most likely to host a rockburst; determine the role of local stress on observed shear failures; and identify the path of stress transfer associated with the remote triggering of rockbursts. Additionally, the conditions leading to rock-bursts can be characterized by a significant increase in the clustering of microseismic events along the fault plane orientation of an impending event, and an increase in the effective stress levels. It is concluded that the analysis of microseismicity provides the means for remotely monitoring rock mass behaviour as a result of mining."

Jan 1, 1997

By Marc C. Bétournay

Replacing diesel power in underground metal mining vehicles with available clean energy (e.g. hydrogen, lithium-ion batteries) is now a priority due to worker health issues, the increasing price of diesel, ventilation costs and air quality. Hydrogen fuel cells are a known and broadly applied power technology. They have been the focus of a dedicated research program to carry our proof of concept projects as well as regulatory developments for mining application. However, hydrogen remains a demanding energy vector to use in confined, underground applications. Standardization and safety considerations are being addressed in the industrial consortium Hydrogen Mine Introduction Initiative (HMII). Research projects are being carried out to resolve the gaps for regulated use. This article focuses on HMII objectives and Project results. The first has reviewed the relevant codes and standards and mine regulations, indicating that hydrogen and fuel cells could be allowed underground and that current codes, especially the Canadian Hydrogen Installation Code would be sufficient for hydrogen use. The second project established the standard hydrogen storage and distribution architecture along with related risks and safety requirements for its use in the third project, using an underground test chamber to delineate the behaviour of hydrogen leaks in confined conditions with various ventilation regimes and ignition studies. This project will end in 2013. It will be followed by the last project, which will establish best practices in support of regulations development, and develop the ISO standard for mine hydrogen infrastructure and underground application.

Aug 1, 2013