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By D. Magoon

The metals industry has enjoyed a resurgence in prices and demand for its commodities during the global surge in economic activity that began in 2005. This success has brought with it an unprecedented demand for professionals in all sectors of our economy. Nowhere is that more true than in the mining and metallurgy sectors. However, this welcome improvement follows on the heels of almost two decades of challenging markets for the mining and metallurgy. Our sector's protracted economic slump created a paucity of demand for professionals that had several consequences. Our industry came to be viewed as a low ?tech, uninteresting place to work. Low demand for professionals encouraged students to seek other career options. Reduced demand for graduates, coupled with diminished program funding by our sector, resulted in dramatic shrinkage in university mining and metallurgy programs. This paper explores the lessons to be learned from our recent economic history and discusses some strategies for addressing our image issue. Attracting and retaining good employees is also strongly influenced by a company's reputation and record as a good employer. This reality is very well illustrated by the findings of an international survey undertaken by Towers Perrin in 2005 of 86,000 employees of mid-sized and large companies in 16 countries. The key findings related to attracting and retaining employees are presented. These findings are also discussed in the context of their specific applicability to the mining and metallurgy industry.

Jan 1, 2007

By T. Macpherson

Drawing on past research experience with sprayable polymer mine support agents (TSLs), Spray On Plastics Ltd. has developed a TSL ground support system called RockWeb. Using a relatively new polyurea polymer technology, RockWeb has been engineered to solve problems encountered underground with polyurethane liners by incorporating rapid curing, moisture insensitivity and superior physical performance. RockWeb possesses a unique, patented ability to be sprayed in a ?cobweb? like consistency allowing the applicator to span fissures in the rock, ensuring no initial defects in the liner, and maintaining design thickness over highly irregular surfaces. This ability, coupled with the high strength and elasticity of polyurea, allows RockWeb to mitigate rock movement through yielding, while maintaining intimate surface confinement. RockWeb provides reduction in logistics through the transport of 1/25 of the material quantities required for shotcrete, rapid deployment rates of as little as 30 minutes per round, and immediate return to the work area. This paper will discuss the technology and advantages of RockWeb as well as opportunities for overall mining cycle cost reduction. The safety benefits, as well as health and environmental considerations regarding application of isocyanate-based liners will also be discussed.

May 1, 2009

By R. C. Snider

The Roy Lloyd Mine in northern Saskatchewan is a high-grade underground gold mine which is currently supplying ore to Golden Band Resources Inc. (Golden Band)?s Jolu mill. Prior to the operation of the mine, an underground exploration program was conducted intermittently at the site. During both the underground exploration phase and mining, Golden Band has implemented water recycling to reduce freshwater usage within the mine in order to address concerns over the potential for impacts associated with freshwater usage and to reduce the volume of effluent discharged from the site. Golden Band initiated an underground exploration program at the Roy Lloyd Mine site (formerly called the Bingo Project) in October 2007 to better delineate the mineralization of the Bingo gold deposit. The exploration program provided geological information required in order to improve the confidence level of the geological resource model and also provided information to aid in the mining of the deposit, such as the determination of groundwater inflow rates. Underground production mining started in March 2011. This paper provides an overview of the mine water recycling methods implemented at the site during both the exploration and initial mining phases of the project, and the success/drawbacks of these measures to date, including the potential cost savings in the form of reduced treatment and monitoring costs inherent in a reduction of the volume of effluent discharged from the site. The paper will also discuss options that are currently being evaluated in order to further assist Golden Band?s ability to recycle water and reduce the volume of effluent discharged to the environment, while ensuring effluent discharged from the site to the environment meets criteria.

Nov 1, 2011

By R. Harris

The vacuum thermal route for magnesium production today accounts for roughly 80% of the global production of magnesium despite significant investment in the competing electrolytic technologies, This is up from 30% of the global production 10 years ago and is all the more significant because global magnesium production has more than doubled in the same time, A review of the sophisticated anhydrous magnesium chloride production technologies provides some explanation for this sea change in technology usage, However, an examination of the economic factors provides compelling reasons, The present review outlines some of the salient strengths and weaknesses of the competing technologies, It also offers suggestion as to where future R and D and economic effort needs to be vested to improve the sustainability of the world magnesium market in terms of its value and impact.

Jan 1, 2006

By Kimberly M. Curran

The path by which hydrogen supply is provided to any end use application will have a strong effect on the specific economics and price stability for the product supply and the flexibility with which it can be used. The objective of this paper is to present those variables which play a significant role in the selection of the hydrogen production technology, with a particular focus on several typical mining applications. The variables examined include gas requirements in terms of flow-rate and demand profile, overall volumetric consumption, level of interruption tolerable, gas pressure and quality needs. Also examined are the effects of geography in terms of primary energy supply available as well as existing hydrogen sources, developed or not. The role of these factors in the selection of an appropriate supply chain capable of supporting mining applications that use hydrogen as an energy carrier will be illustrated with a typical mining application scenario drawn upon in the form of a case study.

May 1, 2007

By Mike Power

Geophysical techniques have played a pivotal role in northern kimberlite exploration since the initial discovery at Point Lake in 1991. In the Slave Craton and surrounding regions, there are definite contrasts in physical properties between kimberlite intrusions and surrounding bedrock. Kimberlite commonly displays higher magnetic susceptibility, distinctive remnant magnetism, low electrical resistivity and lower density than surrounding rocks. In addition, the distinctive geometry of kimberlite pipes is reflected in geophysical responses which further facilitates target discrimination. There has been an evolution in geophysical exploration strategies over the past 12 years. Helicopter total magnetic field and electromagnetic (HEM) surveys have proven to the most cost-effective means of conducting first pass investigations in prospective areas. During the early 1990's, total magnetic field and frequency domain electromagnetic surveys were virtually the sole techniques employed during follow-up surveys. Inevitably, the initially high rates of kimberlite discovery declined in the areas surrounding the original finds. Marginal magnetic and EM anomalies were all that remained to be tested and this spurred interest in the improvement of existing interpretation algorithms and in the application of additional complementary techniques to reduce the exploration risk. Gravity has become a popular third survey following the deployment of the Falcon (TM) airborne gravity gradiometer system by BHP Billiton in 1999 and improvements in ground techniques. Ground penetrating radar (GPR) has proven to be particularly useful in delineating kimberlite pipes following drill discovery and in exploring for kimberlite dykes in settings where indicator mineral trains indicate such targets are likely. Seismic methods have been tested for both reconnaissance and delineation but remain underemployed. Given the high cost of drilling in the North and the proven success of geophysical techniques in reducing exploration risk, it is likely that an increasingly diverse range of geophysical techniques and innovative interpretation techniques will continue to be applied in kimberlite exploration.

May 1, 2003

By S. Sagar

In September 1996, Dofasco commissioned a 165 Mt twin shell EAF furnace and an associated ladle fleet. During and after this startup, refractory performance in the ladles was optimized on a holistic approach through several initiatives that increased ladle refractory retention times from 7000 to over 16000 mins (160 heats). This dropped the overall refractory costs by 40% while ensuring a consistent and predictable ladle performance. One initiative that drove enhancements was the proper brick selection for each particular refractory area and it's process conditions. The work concentrated on the selection of a resin bonded alumina magnesia carbon (AMC) brick in the barrel area of the ladle, upgrades to the 2 piece monolithic alumina cast ladle bottom and increasing the slagline refractory brick quality with the appropriate zoning/paneling. The adoption of a magnesia alumina carbon (MAC) brick in the transition area of the barrel/slagline has also improved performance and predictability. The design developments have lowered the overall wear rates and balanced the service life of the entire ladle. Safety was improved and breakout potential reduced by changing the safety lining from a high alumina brick to a state of art technology - monolithic shotcrete lining. This initiative decreased the overall manpower required to brick a ladle and increased shop ladle availability. The ladle bricking area environment was also improved by adopting a post combustion device to burn phenol fumes from ladle preheating practices. This has improved the overall health & safety of the reline teams. The consistent and predictable performance of the ladle on a whole has allowed the shop to decrease the number of working ladles in operation from 5 to 4. This further decreased wear rates from over-oxidation and excessive thermal cycling, saving approximately $500,000 in natural gas from pre-heater operations.

Jan 1, 2004

By Steven Dempsey

Overview What is Tubbing? A look at Cigar Lake Tubbing Design The Tubbing Installation Backwall Grouting

May 1, 2013

By N. A. P. Kiran Kumar

The Zr-Nb alloys are reported to be showing superior resistance to corrosion and substantially lower hydrogen pickup when compared with zircaloys. In the present study zircaloy-4 and Zr-1Nb (E110) alloys were hydride using high pressure hydrogen gas furnace at a pressure of 20 MPa. Thermal cycling was done on the samples at a temperature of 3500C for 10 cycles with 5h soaking time at 3500C per each cycle. The Microstructural observations on zircaloy-4 samples show long and interlinked hydride like chain, oriented along the circumferential direction. Whereas in Zr-1Nb, short hydrides were observed with hydride platelets not showing interlinked chain like structure. The hydrides in Zr-1Nb were observed to be not showing particularly orientation along the circumferential directions. Electron backscatter diffraction was use to understand the hydride precipitation and their orientation in Zircaloy-4 and E110 alloy.

Aug 1, 2010

By D. McConchie

The use of Bauxsol? (physically and chemically modified alumina refinery residues) to treat acid rock drainage (ARD), and sulphidic waste rock and tailings, provides new options for managing some intractable environmental problems at both derelict and active mine sites. Treatment of ARD waters using the Bauxsol technology shows that the effectiveness of raw Bauxsol material can be enhanced by including modest amounts of selected industrial minerals or common chemical additives. The type and amount of additive required and the amount of the blend needed to treat the water depends on the initial composition of the water and the target water quality; for some ARD waters, optimum treatment may require one or more changes in the type or amount of additive used. Maximum treatment efficiency can be achieved only when a balance is maintained between the rate of trace metal binding and the rate of change in water pH; adding treatment reagents faster than can be accommodated by the reaction kinetics will not result in more rapid water treatment. This paper presents the results for treating several ARD waters to illustrate the importance of blend selection and treatment procedure. Although treating ARD water is often necessary, this strategy treats the symptoms rather than the cause. The best permanent solution is to treat the sulphidic waste rock or tailings such that they do not continue to oxidise and produce acidic metal-rich leachates; sulphide oxidation needs to be stopped or slowed to a rate that can be accommodated by normal environmental processes. Capping lined impoundments is not a solution because all caps and linings will inevitably fail some time in the future creating a nasty surprise for some future generation. Adding lime is also less than ideal because the lime leaches from the treated material; treatment often appears to be effective for a few years and then fails. Bauxsol technology offers effective alternatives to conventional liming and capping procedures and Bauxsol blend application rates and procedures can be planned to ensure that no acidic or metal-rich water can ever escape from the site. Bauxsol can be physically mixed with the sulphidic mine wastes or it can used to form subsurface permeable reactive barriers, or both. Bauxsol treated waste rock and tailings can be immediately and effectively revegetated. In this paper we present leachate quality and plant growth rate data for several sulphidic waste rock and tailings deposits treated using the new technology.

May 1, 2003

By Chris D. Veldhoen

If you ask most diamond drillers if they have ever encountered methane gas, the answer would probably be yes. This paper explores a serious methane gas explosion that the author experienced while diamond drilling at a northerly Ontario mine. It is hoped that by documenting this event, people may be alerted to the hidden danger posed by confined methane in underground workings. Methane gas tends to be a problem the deeper you get in any Canadian gold mine. Common procedure when encountering methane is to take readings at the collar of the hole and at different lengths from the source. Monitoring continues until the readings drop below 0.25 ppm. Methane is a tasteless odorless gas that is usually locked up in the seams of the rock or is a product of decaying organic material. Occasionally, the gas is released abruptly over a short period of time. Sometimes the gas can continue to vent for months or even years. In small concentrations, methane is relatively safe. In concentrations under 0.25 ppm methane gas is considered safe to work around. Concentrations over 0.25 ppm can become dangerous. During the summer of 2001, Chris Veldhoen was drilling at a gold mine in Ontario. There were three electric hydraulic diamond drills on the 39 meter level, approximately 5200 feet deep. Two Longyear LM 55 drills were about 40 feet apart and another LM 75 was about 2000 feet away. The two LM 55?s were set up to drill holes no deeper than 350 meters. All three drills had been set up on the same spot for more than a month. None of the three drills had ever encountered methane gas in the entire time they had been drilling on the level. On the day shift of July 13 2001, the driller on Chris? cross shift hit a small pocket of gas. He tested the hole and got a reading above 0.25 ppm. He proceeded to rope off the area with a ?DO NOT ENTER - METHANE GAS? sign and a rope denying access beyond the sign. On Saturday, July 14, Chris was instructed to install a Margo plug in the hole that was emitting methane gas. Methane is usually odorless, but occasionally when encountered underground, is accompanied by a rotten egg smell. As he walked to the drill, he could not smell methane gas. He proceeded to test the hole and got a reading of 0.22 ppm methane. This number was in the acceptable range for drilling, but he plugged the hole anyway.

May 1, 2004

By Lawrence Devon Smith, Keith Spence, William Roscoe

"In March 2003 the CIM Council adopted and approved the document “Standards and Guidelines for Valuation of Mineral Properties” as developed by the Special Committee of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum on Valuation of Mineral Properties (CIMVal). The document is referred to as the CIMVal Standards and Guidelines. The document evolved from a specific recommendation by The Mining Standards Task Force (MSTF) of the Toronto Stock Exchange and the Ontario Securities Commission in its Final Report (January 1999) that the CIM form a committee of valuation practitioners to review and advise on approaches to valuation of Mineral Properties. The CIMVal Standards and Guidelines are organized into two parts: •,Standards which are general rules in the Valuation of Mineral Properties. The use of the Standards is mandatory if the Valuation Report is stated to follow CIMVal (although not mandatory in the sense of having regulatory authority). Definitions are given at the beginning of the Standards. •,Guidelines which elaborate on the Standards and, while not mandatory, provide guidance and best practices which are highly recommended to be followed in the Valuation of Mineral Properties.CIMVal specifies requirements for the Qualified Valuator who has the responsibility for choosing the appropriate approaches and methods for the valuation of mineral properties. With regard to the specifics of the application and practice of valuation approaches and methods, CIMVal directs the Qualified Valuator to the large body of published papers, published valuations, presentations and court judgments to guide his or her choice. This is also the approach taken by VALMIN (Australia) and SAMVAL (South Africa). To facilitate the dissemination of industry practice, the CIMVal Committee organized a “Valuation Day” at the CIM Annual General Meeting in Toronto (Mining Millennium 2000), on March 8, 2000. Industry experts presented papers on valuation of Mineral Properties which were subsequently published in a proceedings volume and individually ad technical papers in the CIM Bulletin. The Management and Economics Society of CIM has continued to identify and publish papers on valuation in the CIM Bulletin and Magazine. The present document gathers in one place the CIMVal Standards and Guidelines, the papers from the 2000 Valuation Day, and a number of subsequent papers that illustrate industry practice for the valuation of mineral properties."

Jan 1, 2003

By G. Vibert Douglas

IN a previous paper by Douglas and Gillies (1), a simple field test was given for gold. Later work by the present writers, and by others who have kindly written to us, shows that the test is not as satisfactory as it was hoped. In many cases, the gold mirror is completely obscured by a dense precipitate which, up to the present, it has been found impossible to remove. After many attempts, we have temporarily given up the iodine test and have been working on a simple pyridine reaction based on the work of Putnam, Roberts, and Selchow (2): The ore to be tested is ground to a fine flour. Place half a gram of this powdered ore (an amount that will cover a Canadian ten-cent piece, not heaped) in a six-inch test-tube and add 5 c.c. of aqua regia. The aqua regia. should be made up on each occasion, using four parts of hydrochloric acid and one part of nitric acid, both concentrated. Shake the solution in the test-tube for about one minute and allow to settle until dear. The rime to settle may be 30 to 60 minutes. When dear, a drop of the solution is with-drawn with a fine, dean eye-dropper or capillary tube and placed on à small glass plate. A slide such as is used for mounting rock sections is suitable. Now place an equal sized drop of pyridine solution on the plate beside that of the aqua regia solution to be tested. The pyridine solution, containing nine volumes of hydrogen bromide to one volume of pyridine, can be made up in advance and carried in a glass-stoppered bottle. Join the two drops with a glass thread or fine, dean stick, and allow the merged drops to stand undisturbed. I t is well to place the slide on a piece of white paper so that the presence of the crystals which may form can be easily seen. The time for their formation will vary with the amount of gold present, but the slide should be allowed to stand for at least 30 minutes before negative results are reported. A hand lens of at !east ten magnifications is essential. If gold is present, minute red crystals will form around the margin of the drops as these drops slowly evaporate.

Jan 1, 1938

By A. W. Davis

"The Red Rose mine is in the Rocher Deboule mountains about 8 miles east of Skeena Crossing and a like distance south of the town of Hazelton; the most northerly settlement on the Prince Rupert line of the Canadian National railway and 177 miles northeast by rail from Prince Rupert. The mine workings are on the north side of Balsam or Red Rose creek; a tributary of Juniper creek that drains via Kitseguecla river into the Skeena near Skeena Crossing. A truck road 11 miles long extends from Skeen a Crossing (elevation 650 feet) to the Red Rose mill (elevation 4; 100 feet). The mine workings lie between 5; 600 and 6; 300 feet above sea-level. Mine and mill are connected by a 1-mile aerial tramway and a tractor trail.The Red Rose claims were staked about 1910 by prospectors attracted to the district by the construction and near completion of the railway between Prince Rupert and Jasper. For a number of years interest centred in prospecting a sheared zone exposed in a ravine between elevations of 5,425 and 5,825 feet. Several adits were driven and some high gold assays were obtained in vein quartz in the sheared zone, but this work did not develop sufficient ore and the property finally closed down. In the early twenties of this century tungsten minerals were discovered in the northern extension of the vein, but nothing was done to test this deposit. Finally, in 1940, spurred by the wartime demand for tungsten, the Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company of Canada drilled the tungsten-bearing vein, and although results were none too encouraging, underground work was begun in June 1941. The latter work disclosed substantial amounts of ore. A small mill, subsequently enlarged, began operation early in January 1942 and by the autumn of 1943 some 1,194,000 pounds of tungsten concentrate had been recovered. Mining ceased in November 1943 because of orders from the Metals Controller that no more shipments would be permitted."

Jan 1, 1954

By G. W. Brooks

This short article is quite different to the general run of papers that are presented to the Institute, but no apology is offered because I consider that first-aid and mine-rescue work are of equal importance to many other subjects that are dealt with in our Transactions. Members of the Institute should be as much interested in the safety of persons engaged in the mining industry as they are in the practical methods of modern mining. We must not only do our best to conserve life and property by adopting every known device to that end, but we must also prepare ourselves so that we may take prompt and effective action when life is in danger, or when property is subject to loss. The need for such preparation in Alberta is perhaps greater than in most places where mining is carried on, and we must spare no effort to assemble at every mine men who are well trained in first-aid and mine-rescue work. The large area over which the mines are distributed renders central training stations out of the question, hence the need for local rescue-teams. Hospitals with skilled staffs, close enough to the mines to be convenient, also seem to be out of the question; therefore the greater need of a high standard of first-aid training for the people in our mining camps. The Government mine-rescue cars are supplied with the equipment necessary for training persons in this essential work and also for dealing with disasters should they occur. The question then arises: are there a sufficient number of men who are trained ? If so we can rest assured that what is possible to be done will be done. But if a sufficient number of trained men are not available much loss of life and damage to property is likely to result.

Jan 1, 1925

By W. J. Gibson

"This paper will provide a general assessment of the differences in construction and industrial labour relations. From this outline will come a detailed examination of labour relations in the construction industry and then specifically as related to the construction of mining projects, with emphasis on projects in isolated areas. Development of manpower forecasts, manpower availability, wage escalation formats, working rules, training and recruitment programs, and safety - as related to construction labour relations in the mining industry - are topics which will be dealt with."

Jan 1, 1972

By Loris S. Pascoli

The increased pace of globalization in the mining industry has presented more opportunities for Canadian service companies to participate in ventures abroad. However, varying cultures, laws, competitive environments and contracting philosophies in other countries make it impossible to take for granted what is normal in the Canadian context. The author discusses some of his experiences and situations encountered in over 30 years in the diamond drilling industry, the last third of which were primarily focused on projects outside of this country.

May 1, 2001

By Joseph Sawicz

By now, the concept of remotely controlling heavy equipment in underground mines has become commonplace. Personnel safety is the biggest justifier for remote control, followed by an inherent cost saving (in certain cases) when wireless video is added to the mix. There are a handful of vendors targeting this need, and for years the mines have remained loyal to their brand. But as the number of remote-control related accidents and maintenance costs increase it forces our industry to take another look at this commonplace concept. And as the blinders are taken off, the mines are getting the revelation that not all remote control systems were created equally. This paper highlights the differences between various remote control systems, and then moves into an in-depth look at HARD-LINE?s package which drastically cuts maintenance costs, and also provides a solid investment toward full Tele-operation.

Apr 1, 2005

By J. F. Wright

Introduction Previous to 1924 the mining fields of Manitoba and adjoining territory had not been prospected in detail, and the reports of the exploration of the mineral discoveries to that date had been discouraging. As a result of the apparent failure of all the mining operations, some considered that geological conditions in the country westward from lake Superior extending across western Ontario, eastern and northern Manitoba, and northern Saskatchewan, were different from those in the northeastern part of Ontario, where large gold mines had been developed. Discoveries of importance thus were necessary to renew interest in the mining possibilities of this part of the Canadian Shield, and the successful operations at Flin Flon and Howey in large part were responsible for the beginning of the present activity in what may be described as the part of the pre-Cambrian Shield within central Canada. In Manitoba, the more important developments at present are in the Central Manitoba, Gods Lake, and Knee Lake fields. The large area from west of Flin Flon east to Herb Lake, also, is being explored carefully for gold deposits of merit. A number of properties in Red Lake, Woman Lake, and Pickle Crow areas are being drilled and explored underground. Many of the mines of the Lake of the Woods area, that were producing gold 30 years ago, are re-opened, and new prospects in this field and in the country to the east are being explored. The recent development of Little Long Lac mine in an area near the railway, and considered by some to have been thoroughly prospected years ago, has stimulated interest in the areas formerly prospected. In the autumn of 1934, the belts of greenstone and sediments in the country east of lake Nipigon were staked, and deposits in these fields will be explored in detail this year. This paper is presented to discuss the general features of the geology and gold deposits of the various prospecting fields in Manitoba and adjoining territory. Details of a number of the areas and mines will be presented at this meeting in papers by Barton on Little Long Lac, Tanton on Sturgeon River, Baker on Gods Lake, and Brownell and Kinkel on Flin Flon. Although mining was not active in most of this territory previous to 1930, geologists of the various government departments continued field studies and interesting reports were issued.

Jan 1, 1935

By Karl J. C. Harries

This paper looks briefly at some of the agreements and types of royalties that may be met during exploration activities, but does not go into details relating to them. Agreements can either make or break a deal or relationship. A well drafted, comprehensive and fair agreement can create good relations and trust among the parties and will go a long way towards making a deal work. In the best of all worlds the agreement will be put away and not need to be referred to after it has been signed (but it will be there if needed to sort out potential problems). On the other hand, a poorly drafted agreement or one that is inappropriate to the circumstances or unfair to one of the parties can break a deal and end up with the parties facing each other in that expensive, unproductive and time-consuming occupation ? a lawsuit. Accordingly, it is advisable to involve professional advisers with any agreement. The straightforward one may involve no more that a read through whereas the more complex agreement will require considerable involvement. There is, however, one rule for every explorationist to remember: a professional adviser is only an adviser. His responsibility is to make sure that you have the necessary information to make a reasoned decision but the decision is yours, not the adviser?s. It is your deal, you are going to have to live with it, and it is inappropriate for an adviser to introduce new concepts or amend negotiated ones without your specific instructions. Mineral exploration agreements, although basically option, acquisition and joint participation agreements, come in all the shapes and forms, appropriate to give effect to the endless variety of deals negotiated by the ever-active minds of explorationists. You will note the reference to "joint participation agreements" rather than "joint venture agreements". The latter term was purposely avoided because, with the current activity of explorationists from common law jurisdictions in civil law jurisdictions, it has become necessary for the explorationist to become familiar with corporations and shareholders agreements. As most of you are no doubt aware, under the civil law system a joint venture is normally not recognized as a legal entity and, therefore, joint participation in projects is usually by way of corporations.

May 1, 2003