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By Jehan Rondot, Raymond Marleau

"Des quartzites trés pars ont été découverts au cours de la cartographie de la region du lac des Martres, étape de l'étude géologique de la region de Charlevoix.On distingue quatre groupes métasédimentaires, tons con tenant des niveaux de quartzite dans an mains deux domaines géologique différents, c'est à l'ouest, clans le do¬maine gneisso-charnockitique que se situent les quartzites du groupe des Martres. Quartzite et gneiss à, grenat et sillimanite, en banes épais, constituent la formation de La Galette. A Pest, dans un environnement gneisso-granitique, les deux groupes métasédimentaires de Saint-Siméon, et de La Malbaie comprennent, par contraste, des bancs pen épais et de compositions variées. Les niveaux de quartzite dépassent rarement 50 m d'épaisseur. L'autre groupe métasédimentaires, celui de Saint-Tite des Caps, recoupé de nombreuses intrusions charnockitiques et granitiques, ne possède que de minces niveaux de quartzite.La pureté et la grande épaisseur des quartzites de La Galette suppose une histoire complexe qui se termine par des depots continentaux de climat aride, par opposition aux depots marins des autres groupes. D'autre part, la presence de ces quartzites an sein de roches Presque anhy¬dres et de haute temperature que sont les charnockites leur confére des caractéristiques de fusion sans decrepitation.Parmi la multitude de depots de quartzite qui existe clans le monde, peu sont de qualité supérieure. Or, de par sa composition chimique, le quartzite de La Galette se compare avantageusement à ceux des meilleurs gisements des Etats-Unis, de l'Europe de l'Ouest et de l'Afrique du Sud. D'accès facile pour l'exploitation, les gisements ne sont qu'à une trentaine de milles de Baie Saint-Paul ou de La Malbaie, sur le Saint-Laurent.L'utilisation en metallurgic prévue pour le quartzite de La Galette comprend la production de silicium, de ferro¬silicium et d'autres alliages de silicium. La composition du quartzite est en outre appropriée pour la production de carbure de silicium et de silicate de sodium. Les fines peuvent être utilisées pour la fabrication du verre et comme matiere de charge"

Jan 1, 1977

By S. Nagamatsu

Alumina supported gold catalyst prepared by spray reaction method (spr) provides gold particle with about 20 nm of diameter. The gold particle size is larger than conventional gold catalysts. However, the spr catalyst shows higher catalytic activity for NO-CO reaction. In the present paper, we have discussed the local structures of spr-Au/Al2O3 catalyst by using Au L3-edge XANES spectra. In order to investigate the local structures of Au-sites, multiple scattering approach to XANES analysis was applied. Calculated Au L3-edge XANES spectra for fcc-Au and Au2O3 were in good agreement with the observed spectra. XANES spectra for spr-Au/Al2O3 were characterized by 4 types of Au sites (bulk, interface, surface and peripheral). In this case, almost all gold sites (> 90 %) are bulk site. The other sites are less than 10 % of gold particle. However, the experimental and the calculated results of Au L3-edge XANES spectra for spr-Au/Al2O3 require about 30 % of gold oxide or hydroxide. Bulk of Al2O3 contains a certain number of gold nano-particles, which was incorporated in the bulk Al2O3 support. In the interface area, gold oxide forms a few layers. This result was also supported by DV-Xa electronic structure calculations. The comparison of the catalytic activities of the spray catalysts and the impregnation catalyst for the NO-CO reactions imply synergy effects between gold nano-particles and alumina support.

Oct 1, 2003

By N. Morrison, I. Holl, R. Welyhorsky, A. Hempstock

ABSTRACT: The Victor diamond mine is located in the James Bay lowlands, 90 km west of the First Nations village of Attawapiskat. The project was the first of its kind in northern Ontario. The process plant was designed to produce a 95 to 98% by weight diamond concentrate through three stages of comminution, dense medium separation, and proprietary X-ray technology for final recovery. The plant was commissioned over a period of six months, commencing prior to substantial completion of construction. Through effective planning of the commissioning phase, the Victor mine start-up was safely completed nine months ahead of schedule.

Jan 1, 2011

By M. R. Campbell

"IntroductionON THE LAST DAY of December, 1951, a half-century of steel production was completed in the open hearth department of Dominion Iron & Steel, Limited, in Sydney, Nova Scotia.During that period, almost every known variation of basic steel making practice was used in working out a steel making process which would overcome the difficult metallurgical problems imposed by the use of Cape Breton coal and Wabana ore.This paper is presented as a brief review of these steel making practices, setting forth the fundamental metallurgical factors involved in their success or failure.Establishing the IndustryThe story of steel production at Sydney is closely interwoven with that of coal. The steel industry owes its inception to a desire on the part of the Dominion Coal Company, which was incorporated in 1893, to improve its marketing position by increasing sales of slack coal and providing a year-round demand for its product. Accordingly, the Dominion Iron and Steel Company, Limited, was incorporated on March 30th, 1899, with Mr. H. M. Whitney -who was President of the Dominion Coal Company -as its first President. The new Company was given powers to manufacture and process iron and steel, and to mine all minerals, including coal.A strong inducement to the industry was the bounty offered by the Dominion Government for the production of both iron and steel."

Jan 1, 1952

By Joseph N. Bakambu

It is currently recognized by mining society that autonomously guided underground mining vehicles may greatly increase the efficiency of mining production and improve human safety. Recent results in mobile robotics, data fusion and sensor development provide a solid basis for solving the problems related to autonomous underground navigation. Recently developed commercial systems mostly rely on the infrastructure that is expensive and difficult to maintain. Guideless navigation in unstructured and harsh environment of underground mines is still a challenging task. In this paper, we describe an autonomous navigation system for an underground mining vehicle equipped with on-board dead reckoning, inertial and optical sensors. This system does not require any artificial infrastructure and is capable to guide the vehicle along the complex environment of interconnected underground drifts; it also ensures the detection of obstacles on the vehicle path. The user interface for monitoring and control is described and the results of laboratory tests and on-site experiments are presented. Work in progress addresses the system integration for real equipment, and the system upgrade, adding map-building and selflocalization capabilities .

May 1, 2002

By Mike Dry, Rod Dry

If humanity is truly serious about reducing emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, today’s power plants burning fossil fuels will have to be replaced by power plants that do not emit CO₂. Unless carbon capture/sequestration becomes practical, the new power plants will be hydroelectric, wind, solar or nuclear installations. Hydroelectricity requires the appropriate geography. Solar installations can only deliver power as and when sunshine is available, and wind installations when the wind blows. Therefore, power from these sources will be intermittent, but the demand for electricity does not follow the patterns of sun and wind. That will require large-scale electricity storage and/or load following by the remaining power suppliers, increasingly so as the use of fossil fuelled power generation declines. Modern nuclear power plants are designed for demand following. However, operating at lower than design output has a negative impact on the economics of nuclear power plants because the overall cost of the electricity they generate is dominated by capital cost. Primary (blast furnace) iron smelting is responsible for a significant part of global CO₂ emissions because the reagent used is carbon. Were it available in sufficient quantity (and at a low enough cost), hydrogen could replace carbon in the manufacture of raw direct reduced iron (DRI), using technology such as modified HYL (Tenova Hyl, 2018) or Midrex (Ravenscroft, 2017). This paper examines a scenario in which, instead of demand following, nuclear power stations are operated at their design capacities and surplus power is used to generate hydrogen in off-peak periods. This hydrogen is then used to replace carbon in the manufacture of raw steel.

Jan 1, 2020

By Manuel Sanchez, Marcial Medina, Matt Hurley, Hugo Granados, Pramod Kumar, Raj Rajamani, Jose A. Delgadillo

"Large-diameter ball mills have traditionally used steel liners—steel being a highly durable material that can be shaped into any desired geometry, among which the double-wave has been the preferred design. Such a design produces a purely cascading charge motion, which is ideal for the shearing action needed to produce a finer product. Today, however, rubber liners, which have been in existence for over forty years, are now preferred over traditional steel, largely because they weigh less and are easier to maintain. In this paper, we show the operating data from the Hudbay Minerals’ Constancia Mine, wherein the liners on a 26-by-40-foot mill were changed from conventional steel liners to PolyStl™ liners. It is then shown that this change reduced the amount of energy consumed whilst being able to maintain previous grind and throughput levels. The design is verified via discrete element simulations.IntroductionThe Constancia Mine (“Our Business: Peru,” 2016) is located in the southeastern Andes of Peru, at an elevation of approximately 4,200 m. It can be accessed via the CU-126 road, about 95 km from the town of Espinar in Espinar Province. The mine also contains both the Constancia and Pampacancha deposits in the Province of Chumbivilcas. Hudbay Minerals, Inc. acquired the mine in 2011, through the purchase of Norsemont Mining, Inc. and currently retains sole ownership of the property. Production of the Constancia Mine began in 2014, with commercial production levels being achieved in April 2015.The Constancia and Pampacancha deposits primarily include hypogene, supergene, and skarn ores. The Mine’s main products, however, are copper concentrate, with silver contents, and molybdenum concentrate. These mineral reserves are expected to last approximately 22 years. Constancia’s open-pit mine supplies a processing plant that is designed for 81,900 metric tons per day of throughput. Average annual copper production is estimated to be 82,000 mT (contained metal in concentrate). Actual plant production can be found in Table 1."

Jan 1, 2017

"The Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration (SME) Inc. developed a guide of minimum standards for reporting exploration results, mineral resources, and mineral reserves for the purpose of informing the general public. The SME Guide has been adopted by the Society.History1. In 1988, at the request of members of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration (SME), Inc., the President of SME formed Working Party #79, Ore Reserve Definition, with the mission to develop guidelines for the public reporting of exploration results, resources, and reserves. A Subcommittee was appointed by the Working Party to draft these guidelines and submit recommendations to SME. The Subcommittee's recommendations were published by SME in the April 1991 issue of ""Mining Engineering"", and as a document entitled ""A Guide for Reporting Exploration Information, Resources, and Reserves"" (the SME Guide) in January 1992. Work continued on an ad-hoc basis until 1996, when Working Party #79 was renamed the SME Resources and Reserves Committee and became a standing committee.In 1994, the Council of Mining and Metallurgical Institutions (CMMI) started a concerted international effort to create a set of international definitions for reporting mineral resources and mineral reserves. An ad-hoc International Definitions Group was formed, with representatives from mining and metallurgical institutions from the United States (SME), Australia (AusIMM), Canada (CIM), the United Kingdom (IMM) and South Africa (SAIMM). A major breakthrough came on October 18, 1997 when the CMMI International Definitions Group met in Denver, Colorado and reached a provisional agreement (the Denver Accord) on definitions of mineral resources and mineral reserves. Concurrently, and since 1992, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN-ECE) was developing an international framework classification for mineral resources and mineral reserves. Starting in October 1998, joint meetings were held in Geneva between the CMMI International Definitions Group and the UN-ECE Task Force, resulting in agreement to incorporate the CMMI definitions into the UN framework classification."

Jan 1, 2003

By L. R. Hougen

The Falconbridge Matte Leach Process yields high-purity nickel chloride by selectively dissolving nickel from copper-nickel converter matte with hydrochloric acid , purifying the solution by solvent extraction and crystallizing NiCl2 4H2O by further acidifying the purified leach liquor. In the Kristiansand Matte Leach Plant, a granular oxide is produced by high-temperature hydrolysis of the nickel chloride for subsequent reduction to a high-purity granular metal product, designated NICKEL 98. This paper describes the investigation of on alternate route to processing nickel chloride in which high-quality cathode nickel is produced by electrowinning from all- chloride electrolyte. The investigation was made in a pilot circuit containing two production-size electrowinning tanks operated in conjunction with the commercial-scale leach plant.

Jan 1, 1977

By Binbin Luo, Northeastern University, Chuanyao Sun, Jie Liu, Yimin Zhu, Yanjun Li

"A series of new type collectors a-bromo-saturated fatty acids, CH3(CH2)5CHBrCOOH (a-BHA), CH3(CH2)7CHBrCOOH (a-BDA), CH3(CH2)9CHBrCOOH (a-BLA), CH3(CH2)11CHBrCOOH (a-BMA) were synthesized from saturated fatty acids and bromine by solvent-free method (Hell-Volhard-Zelinski reaction) in laboratory. The micro-flotation tests of quartz mineral were conducted at a relatively low temperature of 15 °C. The adsorption mechanism of such collectors on quartz mineral surface were established by zeta potential measurements, in conjunction with the results of quartz micro-flotation tests. The flotation results showed that the collecting ability is in the order of a-BMA > a-BLA > a-BDA > a-BHA for the flotation of quartz mineral, which also demonstrating that the a-bromo-saturated fatty acids (a-BFAs) are new selective collectors for reverse flotation to remove quartz mineral from iron ores at a relatively low temperature.INTRODUCTIONThe requirement of higher pulp temperature to maintain the activity of fatty acid anionic collectors which have been widely applied in technological process of iron ores reverse flotation lead to a great deal of energy consumption.The purpose of this paper is to synthesize a new modified collector with carbon chains from eight to fourteen atoms, with strong electronegativity bromine atom introduced into a-carbon position to improve the activity and solubility of the reagent so that it can be adopted at a comparatively low pulp temperature. The collecting performances of these new collectors on quartz surface were studied, and the structure - properties were discussed in light of zeta potential measurements and quantum chemistry calculations."

Jan 1, 2016

By S. N. Kalyakin, D. S. Flett, M. A. Mulagaleeva, N. V. Gudkova, S. S. Serdyuk, V. I. Kuzmin, Institute of Chemistry and Chemical Technology SB RAS, O. A. Logutenko, V. N. Kuzmina, V. G. Lomayev

"The Chuktukon niobium-rare earth elements ore deposit is located in Siberia (Russia). Weathered carbonatite crusts are the basis of the ore deposit. The deposit itself is 3.5 km in length, about 800 to 1400 m in width and up to 200–300 m in thickness. The ores are composed of iron-manganese oxides (hydrogoethite, hematite, psilomelane, pyrolusite) and contain 3–7% of rare-earth phosphates (florencite, monazite) and 0.5–1% of niobium oxide (pyrochlore). The ore is completely finely dispersed and consists of oxide particles formed of compact, dense aggregates which makes ore dressing as well as leaching of the rare and radioactive elements very difficult. Several options for processing of these ores have been considered: 1) reduction of the iron oxides to magnetite followed by beneficiation with magnetic separation to produce a rare metal concentrate; 2) processing of the rare earth elements (REE) containing minerals by direct alkaline-acid treatment; 3) processing of the ores using nitric acid leaching in an autoclave.INTRODUCTIONThe Chuktukon niobium-rare earth metal ore deposit is located in Siberia, in the Krasnoyarsk region, 110 km from the Boguchan hydroelectric power station which has recently been commissioned. This mineral raw materials is capable of providing impetus for the modernization of the Russian rare metal industry because of its qualitative and quantitative characteristics. The deposit is located in a region of promising industrial development and is a part of the territoriy where the Russian Federation’s Program “Complex Development of the Lower Angara Region” is currenly being realized. The main program directions are creation and development of industrial activities in sectors such as power, metallurgy, oil and gas, gold, rare-metals, and timber. The program will aid the development of the niobium and rare-metal resources of the Lower Angara and neighbouring regions as well as increase the national production of REE and therefore import substitution (Lapin, 1997; Lomaev & Kuzmin, 2003; Lomaev & Serdyuk, 2011; Serdyuk, Lomaev, & Kontorovich, 2000)."

Jan 1, 2016

By C. Díaz, M. Barati

Prof. Torstein Utigard's untimely death, in the spring of 2012, put an abrupt end to a meritorious career in the field of high temperature chemical process metallurgy. As an academic in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering of the University of Toronto, Torstein made solid contributions to the advancement of knowledge pertaining to production and refining of both nonferrous and light metals, and to the development of inquisitive and innovative young people in extractive metallurgy. In this profile, the authors highlight aspects of Torstein's rich personality and of his contributions to his field of expertise.

Jan 1, 2015

By J. M. Bowen, P. Wemyss

"Gold losses to natural carbonaceous matter during cyanide leaching have been investigated for over a century. The variation in the severity of the problem from one ore to another has led to a range of different processes being implemented at different mine sites. Most commercial options utilise one or more of the following processes: roasting, carbon pre-flotation, organic blinding, CIL, chlorine passivation, pressure oxidation, biological passivation, elevated temperature CIL, RIL and thiosulfate. This paper provides a background to identify the most appropriate process or combination of processes for a particular ore. It also presents information on how these processes may be implemented, drawing on information in the literature and from current or recent applications at operations such as the following: Stawell, Kumtor, Penjom, Twin Creeks, Macraes Flat, Kittilä, Fosterville, Inata, Carlin, Goldstrike, and Jerritt Canyon. Various process options have been dismissed, or deemed unsuccessful due to limited knowledge available on the strengths and weaknesses of the different options and their implementation. The authors have collectively been involved in flowsheet development and project implementation in four commercial plants that have treated preg-robbing ores.INTRODUCTION Cyanide processing has been the mainstay of gold recovery for well over a century. It is generally a very effective process with over 90% recovery on free milling ores, but complex and refractory ores may only give 0–50% recovery with conventional processing (La Brooy et al., 1994). People have written about gold losses to natural carbonaceous matter during cyanidation for over a century e.g. Feldtmann, (1915). The earliest reports related to African operations, but the issue has since been reported in Canada, North and South America, Australia, Russia and China. The phenomenon is usually referred to as ‘preg-robbing’ dating from the times before the use of granular activated carbon for gold recovery, when gold was lost from the pregnant solution before it could be separated from the leach solids and recovered by cementation. Many excellent reviews have been published e.g. Dunn et al. (2013), summarising the options considered and where they have been applied commercially."

Jan 1, 2017

By M. A. Stogran-Baker, S. Cole

"Fluorspar mining occurred in the St. Lawrence area from the 1930s until the mid 1980s. In 2013, CFI discovered a new ore body, the AGS vein, which proved amenable to more economic open pit mining methods. A new mill was designed to produce 200,000 tonnes per year of high quality, acid-grade fluorspar concentrate. The simple mill flowsheet includes crushing, dense medium separation (DMS), grinding, sulphide flotation, pulp thickening, fluorite flotation, thickening, and concentrate filtration. The type of flotation cell used is being installed for the first time in North America. Site clearing commenced in the spring of 2016, followed by mill building erection completed by the fall of the same year. Civil and mechanical installation as well as site-wide construction was completed by the end of September 2017. Commissioning commenced, and at the time of paper submission mill production is on track to ramp up to full capacity by the beginning of 2018. This paper will focus on the use of fluorine NMR analysis applied to fluorite and the development of on-stream analysis, flotation cell selection and the decision to install the new cells, and the water control program designed to maintain process control with the least possible environmental impact.HISTORY St. Lawrence is located on the south-eastern coast of the Burin Peninsula in Newfoundland and Labrador. The first occurrence of fluorspar in the St. Lawrence area was recorded in 1843 by British geologist J.B. Jukes (DNR 2010). Fluorspar was likely extracted in small quantities prior, however commercial fluorspar mining did not commence until 1933 at the Black Duck Mine. The Black Duck Mine operation processed ore by washing and screening – acid-grade was hand-picked from the oversize, the undersize was sold as a lower grade product. The Black Duck Mine was closed in 1941 (Wilson 2010). The American Fluorspar Limited (New Fluor) commenced operations on the Director vein in 1936, and was bought by Alcan in 1942 (Cooper 2012). Alcan also developed the Iron Springs as well as the Tarefare deposits. The Black Duck Mine mill had closed, and a new mill was built. This new mill crushed the ore prior to dense medium separation, the sinks of which were sent to Quebec for use in Alcan’s aluminum smelter (CFI 2016). Alcan shut down it’s mining operations in 1977 due to the dropping price of fluorspar as well as labour disputes. In 1986, the British-based Minworth Limited began producing ore from underground at Blue Beach North and Blue Beach South, as well as from open pits at Tarefare and Director veins (Cooper 2012). A new mill was built by Minworth in order to process the ore using flotation to produce an acid-grade concentrate. The low price of fluorspar caused Minworth to shut down operations in 1990. Whilst exploration has been ongoing, no mining had occurred in the area since 1990."

Jan 1, 2018

By W. W. Cummings

Canada's only current tungsten producer started up in 1962 with a small open-pit mine on the Flat River , 180 air miles north of Watson Lake, Yukon Territory. The orebody was in a contact-metamorphic skarn zone and contained about 1.5 million tons of ore grading an estimated 2.47% W03 and 0.5% copper. Near the end of the open pit , a new zone was discovered on the lower limb of the same structure, and the decision to go underground was made in 1972. The new "E Zone" contains over 4 million tons of ore grading an estimated 1.6% W03 and 0.28% Cu , and has been supplying the concentrator at about 175,0 00 tons/ year since late 1974. A continuing program of change and up-grading is necessary in the conversion from a seasonal open-pit mine with limited life to an underground operation with twenty years of reserves. Changes are necessary in plant and services as well as the mine. Also, environmental protection requirements have changed from rudimentary to rigorous over the life of the operation. This paper sums up the changes in the operation since 1971 and outlines the changes yet to come.

Jan 1, 1977

By R. K. Collings

"This paper summarizes research that was done at the Mines Branch, Ottawa, to evaluate samples of phosphogypsum for gypsum products manufacture. The samples were from phosphate fertilizer facilities at: Port Maitland, Ontario ; Valleyfield, Quebec; and Fort Saskatchewan and Redwater, Alberta. All samples were wet-screened, washed, filtered and calcined in a laboratory kettle at atmospheric pressure. Tests were also made at higher pressures in a small autoclave. The gypsum and resulting hemi-hydrate, being acidic, were treated before, during and after calcining with various bases. The hemi-hydrate products were checked for time of set, compressive strength and bond to gypsum wallboard paper. The results of this study indicate that phosphogypsum from each of the sources investigated has potential as a substitute for mined gypsum in gypsum products manufacture. Pilot-scale testing is recommended to confirm that the product would be satisfactory for the manufacture of plaster products on a commercial basis."

Jan 1, 1972

By W. N. Wallinger

The mine and concentrator of Cyprus Anvil Mining Corporation are situated in south-central Yukon, some 120 miles north of Whitehorse. The large lead-zinc concentrator employs conventional crushing and grinding , followed by differential flotation, to produce selective lead and zinc concentrates, as well as a mixed lead-zinc (bulk) concentrate. Since the commencement of operations in 1969, the concentrator has undergone expansions and modifications which have increased the capacity to 10,000 tons per day, and afforded some metallurgical improvements.

Jan 1, 1978

By W. G. Deeks

CANADIANS are world leaders in marketing metal and mineral products. Noranda Sales Corporation Ltd. is an international metal and mineral product marketing company operating from Toronto and London, England, where it operates a wholly owned sales subsidiary and is a 50% partner in Rudolf Wolff and Company Ltd., a charter member and the largest metal broker on the London Metal Exchange. Noranda Sales employs 97 people, of whom 52 are university trained and professionally competent in international resource product marketing. We market for 19 companies or divisions in the Noranda Group and 39 companies for whom we act as agent, consultant and purchaser of resource production. Our business in 1976 was 1.5 billion dollars carried out in 45 countries and covering 24 products and materials. Today, ownership of most of the mining industry in Canada has transferred back to Canadians, and this is said with the knowledge that a significant part of the Canadian industry has been Canadian owned and managed from its very early days. Noranda Mines Limited is such an example. It was born in 1922 as the result of a copper-gold showing at Noranda, Quebec, discovered by Ed Horne, a prospector, financed with a grubstake by a syndicate mainly composed of New York businessmen. Shortly after the discovery, when the shares of the company had risen, the syndicate was sold to Canadian interests and, since that time, Noranda has been dominantly Canadian owned and certainly Canadian managed. Today, over 90% of Noranda's shareholders are Canadian, who hold an equivalent percentage of the stock.

Jan 1, 1977

By Peter Broad

"Extracting any metal, especially specialty metals and rare earth elements, requires an in-depth analysis of the costs and potential revenue as well as a due diligence study of other stakeholder interests. Rare earth projects are generally in the billion dollar US range or above, and thus failure to accurately predict any loss of revenue caused by impurities within the product or additional effluent treatment costs can destroy an otherwise viable study. Two prime sources of input impurity are considered: impurities in the material feed and from reagents. The effect of these impurities factor on both the product (in reduced revenue) and on residual “tailings” that may incur additional unforeseen costs.INTRODUCTION“Truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident” – Arthur SchopenhauerThe era of unscoped, unbudgeted construction ended about 150 years ago. Today’s engineer must design with confidence; but do so amidst proprietary secrets and unfamiliar pollutants, which present a myriad of interesting challenges. Is it possible to build a viable rare earth plant to a realistic budget, without destroying that which we cherish? Some see this as contradictory but in reality it is the only viable option.WHEN GOOD PROJECTS FAILWithout rare earths the Copenhagen agreement might be null and void. Running a wind turbine with a 30 tonne conventional magnet requires some hefty engineering and prohibitive investment. Despite their ‘Green metal’ applications, production of rare earths have created environmental nightmares, as Folger stated in 2011 when visiting Baotou, or has Jaing Mainheng who has been quoted by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard 6 Jan 2013. This comment is not a criticism of China; the details are from a 2012 white paper published by the Chinese Government that initiated a $6 billion environmental clean-up. Nor is China unique; other plants have had problems as well. There were toxic leaks in the 1990s from Mountain Pass, and the Mitsubishi Bukit Merah Plant (built in Malaysia in 1958) required a $100 million clean-up."

Jan 1, 2016

By Kretschmar. U. H.

Fieldwork in the Meguma of Nova Scotia and Archean equivalents shows that bedding-parallel quartz lode gold veins (LVs) commonly occur at the top of graded elastic sequences. We define a "gold cycle" (GC) by analogy with Bouma turbidites and show that most "shear zones" and "lamprophyres" correspond to the upper pelagic-pelitic (E) division. We describe GCs from Archean Chester Twp, ON; Elmhirst, ON; Bourlamaque, QC; "intrusions" and interpret them as crystal tuffs and tuff-breccias. Extensive early Archean pyroclastic volcanism is implied: the genesis of trondjhemite-tonalite-granodiorite (TTG) rocks must be re-examined. The geopetal nature and asymmetric alteration of LVs indicates genesis from sea-floor hydrothermal vents. Textures suggest that often quartz was deposited as a gel. Vent geometry (fracture, point source or diffuse seep), bottom topography and vent spacing is reflected in wade-thickness plots. GC facing directions survive metamorphism. The Bourlamaque batholith was a flat-lying sheet of quartz-feldspar-hornblende crystal tuff, and isoclinal folding has repeated one or more gold-bearing horizons. Syngenesis clarifies and simplifies LV formation with major implications for models. Exploration becomes more cost-effective. Basin analysis, whole rock geochemistry, ore lens geometry and vent spacing can be used.

Jan 1, 2011