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By Carl L. Renzoni

INTRODUCTION This paper defines equity as the issuance of a permanent interest in the business on a broadly distributed basis. As such, it excludes the issuance of equity to either a merchant bank or to another corporation. Nearly twenty years ago the equity markets were very simple: The instruments used were primarily common shares, convertible debentures or convertible preferred shares. Another equity-type option often used, especially by junior companies, was the sale of joint venture interests. Issue sizes were generally in the order of $25 - $100 million and issues were syndicated primarily in North America and Europe by one or two investment dealers. Mining corporations today benefit from a market with much more depth. Issues are syndicated by dealers on a truly international basis, and issue sizes now often range up to $300 million. Moreover, dealers are now willing to take significant risk in buying the issues for redistribution. This discussion of trends in equity markets will encompass: 1) common shares 2) warrants to buy common shares 3) convertible debentures 4) commodity backed instruments A review follows of events that affect the mining industry and investment dealers as they have a bearing on the equity markets for the metal producers. FACTORS AFFECTING THE MINING INDUSTRY The current business cycle, up to October 1987, had been characterised by a buoyant stock market and depressed base metal prices. Mining companies entered this period with weak balance sheets and little prospect of cash flows meeting capital needs. The issuance of equity and the sale of assets were used extensively to reduce debt to manageable levels. During this period, the relative high price for gold, and more important, the very high earnings and cash flow multiples afforded to gold producers, caused companies to target gold as the only game in town. The need for capital to acquire and develop gold properties prompted an unprecedented volume of equity issues. (Burns Fry led or co-managed over $1 billion of mining equity issues per year during this period). This high demand for equity capital by the industry prompted an increase in the use of equity instruments, such as commodity backed instruments. In addition, government tax incentive programs in Canada, such as flow-through shares, allowed smaller companies to raise significantly more equity than would otherwise have been possible. Over $1 billion in flow-through equity was raised in 1987 alone. The abundance of flow-through capital in Canada made it easy to form a new company. One flow-through share fund developed a system of providing the working capital required for a company to be eligible to receive flow-through share capital so that an entrepreneur required only a mining property to get started. Many new companies were formed and several flourished in a buoyant stock market environment to the point that market capitalizations grew to $100 million or more. The current period is in stark contrast to that before October 1987. The equity markets are generally available to the resource industry only on a window basis and only for senior companies and for special situations. The industry is benefitting from buoyant metal prices, and bankers are anxious to provide debt capital. Investment dealers previously processing several equity issues

Jan 1, 1990

Radioisotope x-ray and neutron techniques of analysis can be used for the determination of a wide range of elements in minerals. The most important applications of these techniques to the mineral industry are for onstream analysis of slurries and solids, and for geological assay.The radioisotope x-ray techniques are the more developed ones and two installations for on-stream analysis are in routine use in mineral processing plants in Australia. Neutron techniques are being developed, and should prove valuable for geological assay of large numbers of mineral samples, for borehole logging, and for specific on-stream analysis when the cost of the equipment is warranted.

Jan 1, 1970

By Edwin B. Wilson

Over the past several years, state governments have been vigorously refurbishing old health department agencies and smoke control laws in anticipation of pending federal developments. Many states now possess a mature air pollution control administrative organization and a fairly sophisticated set of regulations on air pollution, This developing network of state control legislation and regulation is the machinery which will be called upon to implement federal standards, In order to prevent the wasted effort and resources which inevitably result from hasty action, industry should be in con- tact with local and state control agencies and be familiar with lines of communication to agency representatives. Thorough knowledge of applicable laws and regulations, both current and pending, is required. Moreover, federal law and future federal air pollution control plans, should be well known. Industrial air pollution control should be geared to a long range plan which utilizes existing technology while at the same the recognizing that today's technology will be improved upon with time, Regulation, too, can be expected to become more stringent. The implications of air pollution control in the Appalachian region of the United States will be felt most strongly by the coal industry of this area. Either directly or indirectly most regulations in these states have a significant bearing on coal mining, processing, utilization or waste disposal. The extent of coal-related activity in the Appalachian States of West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee can be observed from the data provided in Table I. This data indicates that 86 percent of active bituminous coal mines and 69 percent of bituminous coal production were accounted for by these states. The purpose of this paper is to provide information on current and proposed legislation and regulations on air pollution in the Appalachian states, The information should prove valuable not only to the coal industry but also to industry in general as a means of evaluating both pollution control action that has been taken to date and the course of future control measures. Reference information in the forms of addresses of appropriate agencies and citations to specific state laws and regulations is provided. All information is current as of February, 1969.

Jan 1, 1969

By T F. Guerin

Explorationn and mining have shown to cause significant impacts to the terrestrial and marine environment. Current mining and exploration techniques are outlined in the light of their potential to impact upon the environment, ie negligibly, negatively or positively. A profile of five Australian-based gold producers is presented. The development of protocols to specifically deal with the highly regulated and ever changing, mining and environmental legislation. demonstrates mining companies can successfully opcrationalise the concept of sustainable development.

Jan 1, 1992

Is your company paying taxation on profits which are partly illusory?ò Are unions making wage demands based on erroneous notions of the real level of value added to your companyÆs production?ò Do you receive historic data on profit contributions by different products, or for different market areas, which you feel may be misstated?ò Do you find that cash is not always readily available to pay dividends out of reported earnings because, it is required to finance additional working capital without a real increase in the level of activity?ò Are your planning and budgeting routines hampered by the need to rely on historic financial data which bear little resemblance to what the future may hold for your company?ò Are you able to maintain your business at its optimum operating capability or do you feel each year that it becomes more and more difficult to achieve the same volumes of prdduction at the same level of return on assets employed without having to raise more capital?If your answer to any of these questions is "yes", then it is very likely that Current Cost Accounting (CCA) has something to offer you!characteristics of the mining industry and for single venture mining operations.

Jan 1, 1984

By D M. Menne

This paper is intended to give a general review of current gold extraction technology for free-milling or non-refractory auriferous ores. Fundamental process concepts and some of the differences between the current technologies is referred to. Typical flowsheets and layouts are provided and it is demonstrated that technology for extracting free-milling gold is relatively simple. For environmentally sensitive areas such as encountered in New Zealand relevant cyanide decay and destruction technology is also discussed. Brief mention is made of some likely future innovations. Finally reference is made of New Zealand's previous significant contribution to gold extraction technology. These contributions were pioneering ranging from the cyanide leaching of gold to adsorption by carbon and precipitation by zinc. New Zealand has not allowed its potential gold projects to develop at a rate commensurate with the rest of the world thereby stifling its renowned innovative approach in this technology. It is time for New Zealand mining to recognise its unique opportunities in developing gold extraction technology and again take a rightful place in leading the way.

Jan 1, 1986

By J. D. Bliss

The discovery that triggered the current gold rush in southeastern Peru was made in about 1975 along the Rio Madre de Dios in Madre de Dios Department (Fig. 1). About 5000 to 10,000 miners (called chichiqueros) were working in the area as of 1990. Placer mining is the principal source of revenue for people living along the Rio Inambari and west of Puerto Maldonado. As in past gold rushes, working and living condition are harsh. Supplies are expensive, and the area has poor access compared with other areas in Peru. Food, fuel and all mining supplies are trucked over dirt roads from Cuzco, a three-to-five-day trip (Fig. 1). Some material also comes from Brazil. Many placers have a similar life cycle, beginning with small-volume mining (surface or underground). At the end of this small-scale mining, the placer is exhausted or it has a sufficient volume of gravel high enough in gold grade to be worked by large-volume methods, which lead to exhaustion of the resource. The level of maturity of a placer can be determined from its gold grade. The amount of gold production from large-volume mining can be predicted, given detailed, cumulative gold-production data on placer deposits during small-scale mining (Bliss et al., 1987). Using this general model, the authors analyzed the placers in the Rio Madre de Dios area. Small-volume mining Most placer mining in the Rio Madre de Dios area is in alluvial deposits either in or bordering the major rivers. Locally, some placer mining is in terrace deposits above the rivers. All minerals (including the subsoil) in Peru belong to the state. However, a mining claim (denuncia) is easily obtained for mineral exploitation. It is separate from property ownership.

Jan 1, 1992

By L. Lacerda

Spray-on ground support membranes (GSM) or thin support liners hold today perhaps as much potential to impact underground (u/g) ground support operations as dry and later wet-mix shotcrete when introduced to mining in the latter part of the 20th century. This emerging technology has come a long way from the time the first single component experimental coatings were tested in the mid-1980s. Due to a number of factors, including occupational health risk and mine safety regulations, it has taken quite some time for the development of non-hazardous membrane products. However, at this junction most existing u/g mines that employ more conventional forms of ground support could benefit from evaluating GSM technology as a means of improving safety and the bottom line. The same is especially true for future mine developments. This paper describes Master Builders Inc.’s CS1251 GSM product and its implementation. It discusses the situations in which GSM may replace other forms of ground support. Furthermore, it evaluates GSM costs & safety issues and looks at present applications and the potentially bright future of this technology.

Jan 1, 2002

By D. Buranek, J. G. Wulff, F. W. Gifford

I. INTRODUCTION During the past few years, the state of the art of disposal of solid and liquid waste products from uranium mining and milling operations has experienced some rather interesting and significant changes. Some of these changes have resulted from technological advances in the milling operations and in the engineering aspects of the actual design and construction of the disposal facilities. However, the most significant changes, at least those which have had the greatest impact on the comparative cost and economics of modern disposal systems, have been environmental requirements and regulatory controls, which have become increasingly stringent in recent years. Without delving into the details of the myriad of new laws and regulations which now control the uranium industry, it can be stated with reasonable confidence that one of the principal purposes of more rigid state and federal controls over this industry is the basic desire to promote safer, more reliable and longer term means of effectively controlling and disposing of the potentially objectionable waste products resulting from uranium mining and milling operations. It is difficult to take issue with these basic goals because their need was spawned by past lack of awareness and inattention on the parts of both government and industry to the long term environmental problems and potentially hazardous conditions which can be created by limited planning and ill-conceived or poorly controlled and executed disposal practices. On the other hand, despite the good intentions of those who developed and those who are administering the regulatory controls now in effect, the basic danger exists that overgeneralization of the approach to disposal problems and overrestriction of the potentially acceptable solutions for uranium mine and mill waste disposal could have a significant, adverse economic impact on the mining industry and the ultimate consumers of their products. The regulatory pendulum, which perhaps swung too far toward lack of controls over uranium mill waste disposal in the 1940's, could now well be headed too far in the opposite direction, that is toward over-regulation in the form of restrictions based on technically unrealistic or weakly supportable

Jan 1, 1980

By Harry C. Wiess

PETROLEUM has come to be one of the most important and essential of the mineral re- sources of the nation. It is the most advantageous source of mineral fuels and of lubricants, and as such it has provided in large measure for the phenomenal development in our modern means of travel and in the facilities for transportation by land, sea, and air. Without it the remark- ably rapid industrial and social progress in our country during the past thirty years could not have occurred. In view of its important place and the fact that petroleum is irreplaceable and existent in limited quantities in nature, its conservation is essential.

Jan 1, 1939

By Michael Hood

An overview is given of some of the major mining research activities in Australia. Automation of mining equipment is not an objective in its own right. The objective is to improve the safety and the economic performance of mining operations. Automation can be a useful method for achieving this objective. There is a strong focus on mining equipment automation and related issues and specific examples of ongoing and recently completed automation projects are described.

May 1, 2002

The purpose of this paper is to outline current research on the Paparoa and, at the request of conference organisers, to present a general introduction to the geology of the Greymouth Coalfield as background to more specialised papers. Few results of my present work will be given; these can be presented at the next conference. Briefly, the research aims for an understanding of the controls which depositional environment has exerted on coal character, to be reached by a study of coal type and thickness, shape and extent of seams, integrated with a basinal analysis of the coal measures. An accurate description of the coalfield in these terms should facilitate prediction of subsurface trends, with possible application to the planning of drilling programs, and to mine development. Although study of Paparoa coal types is included here as only part of the research, coal type should be recognised as an important concept which has until revently been almost entirely neglected in New Zealand.

Jan 1, 1979

By B. J. Madden

Over 206 million tons of hard coal were mined in South African collieries in 1996. Some 132.5 millions tons came from underground operations and approximately 120 million tons came from bord-and-pillar workings resulting in between 100 000 and 150 000pillars being formed. Coal pillar design remains a significant feature of South African mining. This paper reviews South African coal pillar design procedures in the light of 90 pillar collapses that have occurred since 1904. It shows that, while the current pillar strength formula is still valid within the original empirical range of Salamon1,cognisance must be taken of local conditions. Current South African coal pillar research is attempting to account for the variations in local conditions with the emphasis on the effect of discontinuities and pillar deterioration. It is suggested that a more holistic approach to pillar design be adopted to include a design methodology that examines the stability of the roof, pillar and floor of the underground workings. Using this approach, deviations from the empirical database used by Salamon and Munro will be incorporated into the design methodology resulting in more stable underground workings.

Jan 1, 1998

By Joe Roby

Rolling disc cutters are the business end of hard-rock and mixed-face tunnel boring machines (TBMs). Since their first successful employment on a TBM more than 50 years ago, disc cutter technology has constantly evolved, allowing modern TBMs to excavate very hard and abrasive rock efficiently. Disc cutters have also been employed successfully on earth pressure balance (EPB) and slurry machines, cutting rock under water and ground pressure. The range of materials excavated by machines today is broader, excavation rates are higher and cutter costs are lower than ever before, proving the value of investment in cutter development. Disc cutters are used on a range of tunneling equipment, from pipe jacked slurry micro-TBMs less than 1 m (3.3 ft) in diameter to 15 m (49 ft) in diameter, hard-rock boring TBMs. The geological conditions under which they are employed range from sands and gravels, with several bar of water pressure, to extremely hard, massive rock with UCS up to 420 MPa. Regardless of the type of machine or geology, one thing remains constant: changing worn out cutters is costly. When cutters must be changed in the middle of a tunnel, the contractor incurs the cost of downtime as well as the cost of refurbishing or replacing the cutters. In the case of catastrophic cutter failures, the project can be stopped completely for long periods, and the costs mount up rapidly while tunnel production is at a stand still. Catastrophic cutter failures include the occasion when hard-rock disc cutters are failed in groups (called a ?wipeout? phenomenon) and the operator fails to stop the machine, which results in severe damage to the cutterhead. The cause of this can be either an undetected failed cutter propagating damage to surrounding cutters or operator error in steering. Regardless of the cause, the resulting damage can take days or even weeks to repair. When cutters fail prematurely on EPB or slurry machines in certain geological conditions, it is impossible to evacuate the chamber and, therefore, impossible to get [ ] into the chamber to change the cutters. The solution is frequently an unplanned intervention shaft that must be sunk at great cost. The importance of being able to predict cutter life accurately, and in all geological conditions, cannot be overemphasized. For these reasons, cutters have been developed for specific machine types and sizes, as well as for specific geological operating conditions. Different size cutters are required for different size machines. For example, while 483- and 508-mm (19- and 20-in.) cutters are used on large diameter TBMs, it is impossible to employ cutters so large on a small micro-TBM. Also, the cutter must be designed for the specific geological conditions under which it will be operating. The disc cutter rings required to bore extremely hard rock are the most expensive of cutter rings. However, they provide little advantage in weaker rock formations where less expensive rings will do the job as well. It is important to choose the correct cutter for the machine and the geological conditions in order to get the best balance of cost and risk.

Jan 1, 2009

By Thomas A. Printz

The wide use of carbon steel in construction and engineering projects makes this engineering material accountable for approximately 85% of the total annual steel production worldwide. Despite the lack of corrosion resistance of carbon steel, it is incorporated into the permanent work for marine applications, power plants, transportation projects, chemical processing, mining, petroleum production and refining, pipelines, mining and construction equipment. Corrosion is an electro-chemical process that occurs in the presence of water and air. When an electric current is introduced to water or soil, the rate of carbon steel corrosion increases rapidly. Gaseous atmospheric constituents that are capable of electrolytic activity can also increase the rate of corrosion. Corrosion tends to be more rapid in environments in which the steel is exposed to water, and then air, rather than being constantly submerged. The exposure to seawater increases steel pitting because the electrical conductivity is improved in salt water.

Jan 1, 2013

By L. J. Cabri

Although no complete mineralogical balances have been published, the background knowledge and proven, highly sensitive analytical techniques to produce them already exist. For PGE-Cu-Ni sulphide ores a combination of ore microscopy, image analysis and electron microprobe analysis with proton microprobe analysis of sulphides for Pd, Rh and Ru and ion microprobe analysis for Pt, Ir and Rh (in some minerals) should provide the necessary data when combined with reliable assays. Other sulphide ores, such as the Cu-Ni-(PGE) ores of Sudbury, Ontario, require a similar approach except that the ion microprobe would be more suitable for the analysis of Pd, Pt and Rh because of its greater sensitivity. Oxide-silicate ores may be harder to deal with quantitatively, although the potential to confirm the presence of trace PGE within silicates and oxides may be greater than in PGE sulphide and Cu-Ni-(PGE) sulphide ores. However, solid solution of PGE in oxides and silicates still requires thorough documentation and evaluation in terms of their significance for the overall metallurgical balance

Apr 1, 1994

By Dermot Winters

The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA, or the Act) was enacted on August 3, 1977. The Act was written, in part, to put an end to uneven environmental standards and to establish minimum national standards. Certainly, one of the motivating factors for passage of the Act was the success of the Federal Coal Mining Health and Safety Act of 1969 in reducing deaths and injuries in the coal industry nationwide. Section 516 (b) (1) of the Act requires *that subsidence be prevented from causing material damage to the extent technologically and economically feasible except in those instances where the mining technology requires planned subsidence in a predictable and controlled manner. Section 516 (c) of the Act authorizes the regulatory authority to suspend underground mining if there is imminent danger to inhabitants of urbanized areas, cities, towns, and communities. On December 13, 1977, the interim program, which applies a portion of the performance standards of the Act, was promulgated. Then on September 18, 1978, the proposed permanent program was published for public comment. Finally, on March 13, 1979, the final permanent program was promulgated and the States were given a period of time to submit their programs for approval.

Jan 1, 1986

Ground falls (roof and rib) have historically been responsible for nearly 50% of all fatalities in bituminous underground coal mines. In recent years, the number of some annual ground fall fatalities has approached zero, indicating that significant progress has been made. On the other hand, the twin disasters at Crandall Canyon in 2007, in which nine miners perished in violent coal bumps, provided a stark reminder that complacency is premature. One important success has been a great reduction in the number of miners killed inby roof supports. Throughout the 1990s, these accounted for nearly half of all roof fall fatalities, but there have just been two inby incidents since 2005. Progress has also been made in pillar recovery, where there has been just one fatal incident since 2005. On the other hand, more than 300 miners continue to be injured each year by rock falling from between supports and 100 more are injured by rib falls. Together, these two categories also account for a large percentage of recent ground fall fatalities available technologies such as roof screen, rib bolting and inside control roof bolters could reduce injury and fatality rates if they were used more widely. Further advances in these areas will likely be the next big advance in ground control safety.

Jan 1, 2011

By V. H. Forsythe

Mr. Chairman, members of SME, and guests It is indeed a pleasure to have the opportunity to appear before this group. The topic of this paper is, "Current Trends in Related Industries and Their Influence on Electric Shovel Design and Size". Before getting into the major items, it is well to point out that this text will deal with loading shovels primarily, since their application is almost universal in major open pit mining operations throughout the world. Related industries influence our design in many ways. For the sake of simplicity, these industries will be broken down into two major categories. The first category to be discussed will include industries that will indirectly influence design and size, while the second category will include industries whose products can directly be incorporated by the engineer in the design of shovels.

Jan 1, 1964

By G. Karahalios

Industrial minerals have always enjoyed an important share in the technological growth of any country in the world. Today, extraction and trading of industrial minerals has expanded, but is also subject to stricter environmental guidelines. This paper presents the current status as well as the growth potential in the exploitation of industrial minerals in the countries of the south eastern European region, i.e. Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, F.Y.R.O.M., Greece, Italy, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovenia and Turkey. More specifically, annual production figures per country are presented for1992-1998. These figures are compared to each other and, where applicable, to world production figures. Trading of industrial minerals from these countries to Europe and the world and its effect to the local economies is also evaluated were such data is available.

Jan 1, 2000