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Presentation Overview ?WRDC Purpose and Activities ?Women in Trades, Technology and Operations (TTO) Occupations ?Factors in Successful Recruitment / Retention of women (VBNC) ?Recruitment and Retention Strategies ?Conclusion Women in Resource Development Committee (WRDC) ?Incorporated in 1999 as a Not for Profit Organization ?Based in Newfoundland and Labrador ?Works to Increase the Participation of Women in Natural Resource Industries ?Research (Using Gender-Based Analysis) ?Career Exploration Programs for Women and Girls ?Outreach and Advocacy ?Policy Development ?Public Awareness and Education ?Gender Sensitivity Training ?WRDC Educational Resource Centre

May 1, 2006

By Al Holmes

"In a recent survey of Canadian work values, 89% of the men surveyed and 97% of the women surveyed described the work in a mine as ""not at all auraetive"", Work in a mine, in fact, was rated by both sexes as the least attractive of all of the types of work surveyed. Confronted with this prevailing attitude, Canada's mining industry starts out with two strikes against it in its bid to attract and hold on to its fair share of available work force.Behavioural scientists have, for decades, been seeking answers to the questions:• ""Why do people work?""• ""Why do people choose a particular occupation?""• ""Why do people choose a particular organization?""• ""Why do people leave one organization for another?""• ""Why do some people stay in an organization?""• ""Why do some people work harder than others?""Their answers to these questions, although tentative and often contradictory, are being used by more and more organizations to solve people problems. Few industries can afford to ignore them, least of all, perhaps, the mining industry.Consider the following developments:I. General Motors and the United Auto Workers turn around the car assembly plant in Tarrytown, New York in seven years from the plant with the poorest labour relations and production record to one of the best under a program referred to as ""improving the quality of work life.""2. Shell Canada and the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers have designed a new petro-chemical processing plant in Sarnia using a set of principles that seek to optimize both the social and the technical system."

Jan 1, 1980

By G. H. K. Pearse

Sulphur is derived from both 'voluntary' and 'involuntary' production. The former category includes sulphur obtained from elemental sulphur deposits and from pyrite and gypsumanhydrite deposits. Sulphur in the latter category is produced by pollution abatement at fossil Juel plants and from treatment of metallic sulphides. Canada is the world's largest sulphur exporter and third largest producer. Main resources of Canadian sulphur are sulphurous fossil fuels, metallic sulphides and native sulphur. Only the first two sources have produced sulphur in Canada 10 date; the first source accounts for over 85% of total Canadian production. Future sulphur sources will be derived increasingly through pollution abatement and decreasingly through voluntary production.

Jan 1, 1984

By K. Feindel

The distribution of water in operating fuel cells must be carefully managed to optimize the performance, durability, and functionality of the system. For example, the ionic conductivity of polymer electrolyte membranes decreases as membrane hydration is reduced. Flooding at the cathode inhibits mass transport, and it can lead to failure of materials. Build up of liquid water in the gas flow channels of a fuel cell stack will create a non-uniform distribution of pressure drops across the individual cells. We will discuss the application of 1H NMR microscopy to investigate in situ the production and distribution of water throughout an operating H2/O2 polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell. Polymer electrolyte direct methanol fuel cells posses high theoretical storage capacities as power systems for portable electronic devices. There are, however, two long-standing hurdles to development of practical methanol fuel cell systems. First, the electro oxidation of methanol at the anode of the fuel cell is poisoned by absorbed carbon monoxide, an intermediate in methanol electro oxidation. Second, methanol readily crosses over from the anode to the cathode of the fuel cell. This methanol crossover wastes fuel, and it poisons the electro reduction of oxygen at the cathode. We are investigating use of 2-propanol as an alternative to methanol as a fuel. 2-Propanol is less toxic than methanol, and it is less prone to crossover from the anode to the cathode. More significant, however, is that the electro oxidation of 2-propanol to acetone is faster than the electro oxidation of methanol because it avoids formation of adsorbed carbon monoxide. We will present active catalyst systems for the electro oxidation of 2¬propanol to acetone in fuel cells. We will also present methods to convert the resulting acetone back into 2-propanol, possibly leading towards rechargeable portable fuel cell systems.

Jan 1, 2005

By A. L. Karyakin

The report focuses on the process measurements of the mass of rock in the bucket power shovels and dragline excavators. The mathematical models are suggested of AC and DC electric drives of excavators. These models are a basis for calculation methods of the electric drive electromagnetic torque. The design schemes of mechanical equipment of excavators considered to account the situation of bucket in the plane of the boom. The methods of static moment allocation and identification of the excavator technological operations are developed. The results of the work are experimentally tested on power shovels with bucket capacity of 12 and 18 m3.

Aug 1, 2013

Concentrator Improvements -1990-1995Back to Basics ?pilot plant versus plant opportunities identified ?understand process fundamentals & baseline -1996-2000Point ?C?Projects ?strategy to improve global competitiveness ?structure implemented to generate & drive ideas ?capital investment for life of mine asset renewal - 2001-200?Six Sigma Methodologies ?emphasis on data, measurements & analyses ?dedicated, highly trained personnel on projects 1990-1995 Improvement Phase??Philosophy??back to basics?approach?understand what each piece equipment needed to do?understand reagents, control variables?confirm operating strategies ??probe, stabilize, institutionalize??test theories, confirm with lab and plant trials?process stability (equipment reliability, controls)?enhanced operator guidelines, operator training?focus on continuous improvement?optimize existing equipment capability?stop looking for ?magic?solutions 1990-1995 Improvement Phase??Technical?finer grind, same equipment?optimize media size/shape to grinding application?balanced available ball mill power to applications?lowered cyclone feed densities where possible?improved selectivity, same equipment?balanced available cells to applications?streamlined process (eliminate process steps)?added cleaning stages where required?understanding pulp/mineral surface chemistry?lowered flotation pulp densities 1990-1995 Improvement Phase??Effort?numerous studies to understand process?liberation and mineralogical characterization?pulp and mineral surface chemistry?flotation kinetics and entrainment?extensive internal and external manpower?Brunswick, Noranda Technology Centre?CanMet, AMTEL, MinnovEx, Lakefield Research, McGill University?small capital expenditure

May 1, 2002

By R. C. Wallace

Since the time when Canada's East and West were joined by the railway, and communication was established into the interior, settlements grew on the southern fringe of the great Precambrian area that formed the northern protaxis of the continent during its vicissitudes of growth. They clung precariously to the fringe of that ancient land, for the Precambrian is not generous to those who wish to live by the fruits of the soil, except in those limited areas where the Pleistocene ice-sheet has been profuse in its gifts of clay to cover the hard surface of the Precambrian rock. Later settlements spread westwards over the expanse of Cretacean plains that now form the wheatfields of the Canadian West; but there still remained in northern and western Ontario, in eastern and northern Manitoba, a pioneer race, to whom agriculture had attractions only in so far that it provided the wherewithal to lay siege to the riches of the Precambrian. And they had a vision beyond their time. More than they knew, they had seized the fact that for the complete rounding out of Canadian national life, a8 well as for the establishing of the necessary contributions towards the economic stability of Canada and its provinces, an industry in mining sh01.dd be well and truly built in the hinterland of the central provinces. Failing the winning of mineral from the rocks, and timber from the forests, there would remain between the East and the West an enormous barrier of unproductive country which would not only be an incubus to the agricultural people in their struggle for economic liberty, but would effectively, and for all time, remain an un-populated void across which the aspirations of East and West would be unable to unite.

Jan 1, 1924

By Carol E. Jones

?Reclaiming the land? in the Athabasca Oil Sands is becoming a household phrase in Canada. Advances in soil salvage and placement, increasing biodiversity of forest ecosystems and improved design of the landforms are beginning to change the trajectory of the ?reclaimed land? towards a boreal forest. The boreal forest is much more than just a forest; in the area of Fort McMurray AB, roughly one half of the boreal forest is composed of organic wetlands, often called muskeg. How important is muskeg to the boreal forest ecosystem and to the local aboriginal people? Should muskeg be reclaimed? Can muskeg be reclaimed? Ten years ago it was broadly accepted that organic wetlands could not be re-established; in fact this was so well accepted that reclamation of organic wetlands had not been attempted. Over the past decade this conclusion has been re-evaluated and research projects have been undertaken to examine the potential to create organic wetlands in a reclaimed oil sands landscape. This paper examines these questions and the research initiatives necessary to reclaim the other half of the Athabasca Oil Sands.

May 1, 2011

By T. L. Lee, D. Y. Tan, J. Mi

Considerable progress has been made in studying the mechanism and effectiveness of using ultrasound waves to manipulate alloy solidification microstructure, However, uncertainties remain in both the underlying physics of how microstructure evolve under ultrasonic waves, and the best technological approach to control the final microstructure and properties. We used the ultrafast synchrotron X-ray phase contrast imaging facility housed at the Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, USA to study in-situ the highly transient and dynamic interactions between the liquid metal and ultrasonic waves/bubbles. The dynamics of ultrasonic bubbles in liquid metal and their interactions with the solidifying phases were captured in-situ for the first time. The experiments were complemented by the simulations of the acoustic pressure field, the pulsing of the bubbles and the associated forces acting onto the solidifying phases, providing more quantitative understanding for using ultrasound to control the growth of dendritic grains and to enhance grain multiplication effects for grain refinement.

Jan 1, 2014

By M. E. Austin

Many numerical models for the tubular solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) exist, with various degrees of sophistication. However, the question of what physics must be modelled, and what can be neglected has not been resolved. A parametric model is proposed and analyzed to quantify the influence of thermal phenomena such as reaction heat generation, cathode channel convective cooling, and thermal radiation with participating media. Currently, a three-dimensional model is used to simulate the conditions of an anode supported cell in the centre of a tube bundle. The interconnect and nickel foam spacers that bridge adjacent cells in series and parallel, respectively, are neglected thus enabling a domain consisting of a 45o azimuthal section of the tube. The conservation equations for mass, energy, and species transport are solved using commercial computational fluid dynamics software, and radiation heat transfer is also modelled using a Discrete Ordinates method. Finally, temperature-dependent material properties and reaction rates are used. The model predicts lower overall temperatures than models that do not include radiative heat exchange and more moderate temperature gradients than those that ignore participating media radiation. Further, different regimes are identified, from convection dominated heat transfer to radiation dominated heat transfer. The results can be used to aid in the selection of appropriate models for a given fuel cell operating regime.

Jan 1, 2005

By Guy Chevalier

QCM?s pellet plant, located in Port-Cartier, Quebec, produces up to 8.6 million tons of iron ore pellets annually. Four different types are produced: three for blast furnace operations and one for direct reduction furnaces. The paper presents the scientific approach that led to the installation of new process equipment to improve the reducibility of direct reduction pellets (DR pellet). The findings, the equipment selection and some post start-up modifications are presented. This low silica DR pellet is used in Midrex and HyL shaft furnaces. A good DR pellet has to meet strict chemical, physical and metallurgical specifications. An important metallurgical property is its ability to release oxygen when exposed to reducing gases. Considering that the market for DR pellets is expanding and being aware that reducibility is critical for our clients, a program to improve the latter was undertaken. Test work showed that one factor which has a negative effect on reducibility is the proportion of particles larger than 75 microns. Knowing that the best way to reduce the amount of coarse particles was to close our open grinding circuits, we began evaluating the most suitable classification equipment applicable to our process operations. We settled on hydro-classifiers based on their very sharp cut and their low operating costs. In light of the hydro-classifiers performance it was also decided to replace the hydro-cyclones of an already closed circuit.

May 1, 2003

By H. W. McGerrigle

The St. Lawrence Valley of Quebec lies in an earthquake danger zone, the main centers of which appear to be Murray Bay, Montreal and Quebec City. This paper compares conditions in this "earthquake zone" with those of other, currently more active, earthquake zones of the Earth, deals briefly with the mechanics of earth movements and outlines the means by which earthquakes are re-corded. An account is then given of the earthquakes which have occurred in the Province of Quebec -from that of 1534-35 to the earthquake of 1925. A 50-year frequency cycle is implied. The general conclusion is that the 11robability of future earthquakes should be given more consideration in the construction of buildings in the St. Lawrence Valley region.

Jan 1, 1966

By A. F. Beck

Abstract Canada has opened up a geological province in ?Western Canada which offers a new .stimulus to oil exploration geophysics. The problems of instrumental technique, interpretation, and logistics involved in the exploration of this new territory are presented in this paper and some of the efforts being undertaken to overcome them are discussed. The scope of this programme, its possible trend and extent, especially when viewed .against the background of the exploration effort in the United States, is touched upon. Introduction The science of earth physics was first applied to the search for oil on this continent some twenty-five years ago when torsion balance and refraction seismic methods were initiated in the Gulf Coast area of the United States. Since that time advances in the various branches of the science have been sporadic as new fields for their use opened up in the search for deep salt domes as well as less well-defined geological structures; in the application to well logging as part of the exploitation of petroleum; and in underwater surveys, aerial surveys, etc. In the present paper, attention has been concentrated only on the Western Canada plains area because of the recent remarkable growth of geophysics as an oil finding technique in this region. The other prospective oil areas of the West Coast and the Eastern Provinces of Canada are at present of minor importance, although they will undoubtedly receive increasing consideration in the future as accessibility to markets becomes a major factor and more improved geophysical and geological techniques are developed. A vast province in Canada, covering some 655,000 square miles of prospective oil territory (approximately one-half of the prospective oil area in the United States), has provided the new sphere of activity for geophysics (see Figures 1 and 2). Included in this area are immense inaccessible, uninhabited frozen regions which pose a new problem in logistics and operational techniques.

Jan 1, 1950

By E. C. De Matos

The Uranium Province of Lagoa Real is located in the mid-south region of Bahia State, Brazil. Uranium is the only mineral wealth, occurring mainly in the form of uraninite. The region has been searched for uranium since 1971 and 35 anomalies were detected, distributed over 1200 km2. Seven are now taken as deposits, accounting for reasonably assured resources of 100.000 tons of U3O8. This paper describes the geological aspects of the area, the exploration and mining activities done so far by the state company INB and the perspectives for the near future, when a raise in the country?s uranium demand is expected.

Aug 1, 2010

By Z. S. Abisheva

The Zhezkazgan copper sulfide ore deposit in Kazakhstan contains both rhenium and the rare osmium isotope "osmium-187" (187Os) in the high isotopic purity of 99.4 ± 0.2%. This isotope is believed to have originated as a result of the disintegration of one of the rhenium isotopes, according to the reaction: 187Re75 ?> 1870576 + B- + v~ (where B is a 13-particle, v~ is a 3-disintegration antineutrino). The distribution of osmium and rhenium in metallurgical byproducts produced during the recovery of copper from these ores has been studied and process flowsheets for the processing of rhenium and osmium-containing byproducts have been developed.

Jan 1, 2007

In semi-enclosed coastal areas in Japan, phosphorus is often observed in the level of limiting phytoplankton growth, causing alteration of species composition from useful diatoms to nuisance dinoflagellates. On the other hand, the sediment quality is still degraded with organically rich reduced conditions. The latter is the major cause of oxygen-depleted bottom water formed in summer, and it makes benthic organisms difficult to live. Steel-making slag can be a source of phosphate and silicate that induce growth of diatoms, and further may remediate the reduced condition of the sediment through the formation of iron hydroxide that works as a kind of oxygen pool.

Jan 1, 2004

By Al Gagnon

Since start-up in 1972, many circuit problems have been encountered, most of which were related to the abundance of fines (-28 mesh), which the circuit had not been designed to treat. The major problems associated with the original circuit included excessive loss of magnetite, reduced throughput during periods of a high proportion of fine coal in the plant feed and low yield in the fine coal circuit. This paper outlines the coal processing circuit at Fording Coal Limited as it exists today, with emphasis on the changes to the original fine coal treatment circuit.

Jan 1, 1978

By Don Peel, Jeremy Richards

Abstract - Aggregates (sand, gravel, and crushed stone) are low unit-cost products extracted in very large volumes for the construction of buildings, roads, and other infrastructure essential to modern society. Because of their low unit value, transportation costs are a key factor in resource economics, and deposits are commonly developed close to market (i.e., close to towns and cities, or along low-cost transportation corridors). This proximity results in potential conflict with residents over land use, disturbance, and pollution. Management of aggregate resources in Alberta is examined in the light of resource geology and distribution, and governance. A case history of development of the Calahoo-Villeneuve deposit is described, and the conflicts between residents and developers that led to establishment of an Area Structure Plan (ASP) are explored. The plan sets limits to, but at the same time safeguards, resource extraction, and defines terms for compensation to residents through a voluntary levy on production (Community Enhancement Fund). This fund is used to support community activities and to pay for a groundwater monitoring program. The ASP is examined within the context of the "Seven Questions to Sustainability" as set out by Mining,Minerals and Sustainable Development-North America (2002). It is concluded that the ASP, for the most part, provides a good model for conflict resolution and sustainable resource development, which could usefully be applied in other jurisdictions. The ASP was developed at a municipal level, and adoption at a provincial level would aid sustainable development of aggregate resources across the province.

Jan 1, 2003

By N. Schmitt, E. Blond, F. Hild

Working linings of steel ladles progressively damage during the steel manufacturing process due to both severe thermomechanical and chemical stresses. In the framework of the coupling scheme proposed by Blond et al. (1), this study examines the effects of the thermomechanical loading on the onset of microcracking by considering that the complex microstructure of the slag-impregnated brick is fixed during the steelmaking process. The behaviour of the refractory is identified by using thermoelastic-(asymmetric)viscoplastic constitutive equations. Numerical simulations of a simplified geometry of the lining subjected to cyclic thermal loadings at the inner side are shown. Two cases are analysed, namely, i) the material is a homogeneous continuum with a thermoelastic-(asymmetric)viscoplastic behaviour, ii) the material is porous and saturated by liquid slag, and the skeleton has the previous non-linear behaviour. The stress and strain fields are shown, and for the porous medium the interstitial pressure of slag as well. Comparisons between these assumptions are made to assess the role of slag on the degradation of the working lining.

Jan 1, 2004

By A. Majumdar, B. Servière, H. Persson

The CCR refinery, which was built in 1931, treats both internal and third party copper anodes to produce 325,000 mt of copper as cathodes. These anodes contain high levels of impurities, such as Ni, As, Sb and Bi, that reports to the electrolyte during the refining step and need to be removed in order to maintain cathode quality and operating efficiencies. In the purification plant, the electrolyte is de-copperized via electrowinning in three stages. In the last stage, the copper content of the electrolyte is reduced to below 1 gpl in order to maximize the co-deposition of As, Sb and Bi with the Cu. This is accomplished with minimum arsine gas generation by using periodic reversal of the current and by controlling the final copper content of the electrolyte. Nevertheless, the possibility of exposure to arsine is treated as a major risk and controls have been implemented to reduce this risk. This paper describes the controls in place at the purification plant, which are being continuously improved through periodic risk assessments and audits. INTRODUCTION The CCR Refinery, which is a part of Glencore Canada Corporation and located in Montreal-East, Quebec, is a custom copper and precious metal refinery, with a capacity to refine 325,000 tonnes of copper anodes per year. Copper anodes are received from the Horne smelter in Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec, Altonorte smelter in Chile and other 3rd party smelters. CCR anodes are produced using the spent anodes from the tankhouse along with purchased spent anodes and copper scrap. The precious metal plant treats the tankhouse anode slime, purchased anode slime, precious metal ingots and Doré anodes from Glencore’s Brunswick lead smelter in Belledune, New Brunswick. CCR products include copper cathodes, silver and gold bullion, a platinum-palladium concentrate, selenium, tellurium dioxide and nickel sulfate. In 1975 an accident occurred at CCR where two employees were exposed to fatal levels of arsine emitted from the then existing purification cells. This process was therefore shut down immediately. Research and development work was then initiated to determine the optimum electrowinning conditions whereby arsine gas generation would be minimized while maintaining high copper and impurity removal efficiencies. It was found that the application of periodic reversal of current (PRC) during the last stage of electrowinning retarded the onset of arsine formation while at the same time allowing the copper concentration to be reduced to less than 1 gpl (Houlachi & Claessens, 1978). A new purification plant was designed based on the PRC technology and was started up in 1976. In addition to the use of PRC electrowinning, the new plant is located in a fully enclosed section of the tankhouse. A special effort was made to design a ventilation system to evacuate the acid mist in addition to any arsine gas. Arsine monitors were installed to measure the emissions from the stack along with arsine levels in the workroom. The arsine monitors and the ventilation system were interlocked with the rectifiers (Thiriar et al., 1983).

Jan 1, 2019