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By E. B. Wright

THE property of Falconbridge Nickel Mines, Limited, is in Falconbridge township, approximately thirteen miles northwest of Sudbury. From the mine and townsite, a gravel road leads to Sudbury and a branch line of the Canadian National railway to Sudbury Junction. The ore deposit is at the southeastern corner of the 'Sudbury Basin'. It lies in a sheet-like mass, striking in an east-west direction, between norite to the north and greenstone to the south. The general attitude of the ore-body is vertical, but with frequent variations in dip of as much as 10° to the north or south. The deposit is very irregular in outline, the width varying from a few feet to eighty or ninety feet. In the vertical plane, rolls are frequently encountered. Gouge is very often present at one or both ore contacts. The norite to the north shows much jointing. The chief ore minerals are pyrrhotite, pentlandite, and chalcopyrite. The nickel content of the ore is usually double the copper content, average assays ranging from 2 to 2.5 per cent nickel and 1 to 1.5 per cent copper. The ore is of three main types: massive, breccia, and disseminated. The breccia ore, the most common type, consists of sulphides containing rounded inclusions of highly-altered country rock, which, in places, are so large that sorting is necessary in the stopes. In the norite, the breccia ore may grade into disseminated sulphides, which frequently are sufficiently concentrated for profitable mining. In places in the breccia ore, concentrations of solid sulphide masses occur. Until early in 1935, all mining at Falconbridge was by shrinkage scoping, but this method was found to be less and less suitable as greater depth was attained. When mining had reached the 1,000-foot level, ore drawn from large shrinkage stopes was found to have been diluted as much as fifty per cent by sloughing of the wall-rocks, caused by increased rock pressure and insufficient support. It was apparent that this method of stoping was un-suitable and -Mr. E. J. Martin was engaged to superintend the introduction of a method of cut-and-fill stoping.

Jan 1, 1938

By Stéphane Robert

This document presents estimates of future "total cash cost per ounce" and "minesite cost per tonne" that are not recognized measures under United States generally accepted accounting principles ("US GAAP"). This data may not be comparable to data presented by other gold producers. These future estimates are based upon the total cash costs per ounce and minesite costs per tonne that the Company expects to incur to mine gold at the applicable projects and do not include production costs attributable to accretion expense and other asset retirement costs, which will vary over time as each project is developed and mined. It is therefore not practicable to reconcile these forward-looking non-GAAP financial measures to the most comparable GAAP measure. A reconciliation of the Company's total cash cost per ounce and minesite cost per tonne to the most comparable financial measures calculated and presented in accordance with US GAAP for the Company's historical results of operations is set forth in the notes to the financial statements included in the Company's Annual Information Form and Annual Report on Form 20-F, for the year ended December 31, 2009, as well as the Company's other filings with the Canadian Securities Administrators and the SEC.

May 1, 2011

In some parts of the world explosions in mines are more commonplace events. Even in the more developed nations explosions have occurred in recent times. In some cases these mines have significantly lowered their lost time injury frequency rates and as such considered themselves to be ?safe? operations. The consequence of these explosions has been devastating. It is not just the loss of those underground, but also to the families that have lost people in them and the broader community that has lost friends, income, business opportunities, and in many cases support and sponsorships. It begs so many questions, ?What went wrong??; ?Why were the circumstances not foreseen??; ?What could have been done to prevent it??; ?How is it that no one stopped it, reported it, fixed it etc.??. Being held accountable for negligence, should not be overlooked, however this may not aid the processes required to find all the answers. If the nature of explosions is understood, the circumstances and tools to prevent them are readily available then the occurrence and reoccurrence are due to weaknesses or inadequacies of the systems of work or in the implementation of them. This paper restates the fundamentals of gas explosions, examines the options to control the underground environment through ventilation, gas management and monitoring, education and training. Case studies have been used to examine systematic failures in ventilation management. In some of these cases it is not so much, the system that had been developed, but the interpretation and implementation of the system that resulted in the failure and subsequent loss.

Aug 1, 2013

By Tom Gabardi, Peter Clarke

"MillMapperTM is a new 3D laser scanning technology that has only recently been introduced into the North American mining industry. It enables mill operators to gain a much more complete understanding of the condition of their mill internals and to more accurately predict how liners will perform in the future. This paper describes the technology and techniques used to obtain data on internal mill conditions, how this data is processed into meaningful information which enables better prediction of liner life and gives examples of the reports provided by the software. Examples are given, using client sites data, on how this information is being used to reduce the costs and improve the revenue from SAG and ball mills.INTRODUCTION Scanalyse Pty Ltd developed the MillMapperTM technology in Australia over a number of years and has recently introduced it into North America with a significant take-up in Canada. The technology was commercially released in Australia in late 2006 and there has been significant technical development in the features provided since that time. MillMapperTM has been accepted as a useful technology in the Australasian region and more recently has been introduced to sites in Chile, Peru, Brazil, USA, Canada, Laos and South Africa. Over 100 different mills have been scanned and the technology has been thoroughly tested and validated. It has become an integral tool in condition monitoring and improvement programs for SAG and Ball mills across many sites and is now providing significant and measurable benefits to the mining industry. Some of these benefits will be described in this paper using actual examples."

Jan 1, 2012

By Deon van Tonder, Chuck Edwards

"Solvent extraction is used in many acid leach uranium circuits to upgrade and purify the uranium bearing solution prior to final product precipitation. A number of strip options are available to recover the uranium from the loaded organic. This paper compares some of these options on the basis of typical capital and operating costs for both the solvent extraction circuit and downstream uranium processing, and also considers other related issues. The aim is to provide an objective comparative assessment of these options that could be used as a qualitative guide in process selection or improvement.INTRODUCTIONIn the 1950s the uranium industry was the first industry to adopt solvent extraction (SX). Since then, the flow sheets have advanced. Notable was the introduction of tertiary amine extractants by General Mills during the late 1950s and 1960s (Mackenzie, 1997; Mackenzie, 2005), which is still today considered ‘state of the art’ technology. Initially solvent extraction was done in combination with ion-exchange, such as in the Eluex flow sheet, followed later by the adoption of direct solvent extraction from pregnant leach solution (PLS). From a strip-precipitation perspective ammonia strip followed by ammonium diuranate precipitation was widely adopted as the norm in the uranium industry. More recently alternative strip systems have been receiving increasing attention due to the environmental, health and safety issues associated with ammonia and the resulting calcined uranium oxide product. This paper explores some of these alternative options in comparison with the ammonia route.It is important to acknowledge that each operation is unique, and therefore the information and philosophy outlined in this paper serve to provide a general guide that can be potentially applied and adapted to any site or project."

Jan 1, 2013

By Michael Cooper, Eric Konigsmann, A. Moerman

"A paste backfill plant and underground piping distribution system was commissioned at the Brunswick Mine in June, 1998. Concentrator tailings, composed mainly of pyrite and lesser amounts of silicate minerals with a P80 of 37um (45 YO-20 pm), are pumped to the backfill plant. The backfill plant uses conventional thickening and disc filtering to dewater the solids, which are then mixed with binder in twin screw mixers. The paste is discharged through a gob hopper and one of three boreholes by gravity. Approximately 65% of the concentrator tailings will be placed underground at full production. The remaining thickened tailings will be pumped to an existing impoundment area. Application of paste technology will completely replace the use of cemented rock fill in the mine by the end of 1998.The design capacity of the paste backfill plant is a total of 360 dmtph of cemented paste through two parallel production lines. The plant is highly instrumented and controlled via a hybrid Programmable Logic Controller (PLC-5) and Fisher ProVox Distributed Control System that is in communication with the property information highway. Video and audio signals from the underground system are carried to the surface plant via a leaky feeder communications/fiber optic system.The underground distribution system consists of a network of 200mm diameter boreholes and piping. There are approximately 3.5km of boreholes and 5.5km of piping in the system. To minimize pressures, the greatest piping length from any borehole is approximately 400m with all piping being open-ended. There are no valves in the entire paste distribution system.Construction of the plant, including installation of piping to and from the plant and preparation of the underground distribution system, was completed in less than one year from the time of management approval for the $M 22.3 project."

Jan 1, 1999

By Jan E. Nesset, James A. Finch, Wei Zhang

"Bubbles are unquestionably the heart of the flotation process. Their size and combined surface area are largely what drive the recovery process. This suggests that plant engineers should be aware of where their plants are operating with respect to what is achievable for these key parameters. The paper presents a model of how the key operating variables of frother type and concentration, gas rate, altitude (above sea level) and viscosity affect the Sauter mean bubble size (D32) and bubble surface area flux (Sb). The results are compared to a set of plant measurements that demonstrate the benchmarking capability of the approach. A case study is used to link hydrodynamic change to improved metallurgical performance.INTRODUCTION At the beginning of the 20th Century the early practitioners of flotation were aware of the importance of understanding bubble behaviour (Rickard, 1916) but measurement of individual bubble and gas behaviour in the industrial environment was not possible due to a lack of adequate sensors. This situation was not rectified until three quarters of a century later with the advent of industrially-robust sensors developed, notably, at the University of Queensland’s Julius Kruttschnitt Mineral Research Centre (JKMRC) (Schwarz & Alexander, 2006) and McGill University (Gomez & Finch, 2002). What emerged was not the chaotic environment perhaps expected, but defined relationships between gas rate, gas holdup, bubble size and the total surface area of bubbles. These relationships could be defined by mathematical expressions and predicted from an understanding of the key process variables (Gorain, Franzidis & Manlapig, 1997; 1999) (Hernandez-Aguilar, Gomez & Finch, 2002) (Gomez, Cortes-Lopez & Finch, 2003) (Nesset, Gomez & Finch, 2007). The early JKMRC work focused on a large pilot cell (3 m3) installed in plant environments, while the McGill work was initiated on flotation columns (Finch & Dobby, 1990) (Xu, Finch & Uribe-Sales, 1991) and later adapted to industrial mechanical cells (Cooper, Scott, Dahlke, Finch & Gomez, 2004) (Dahlke, Gomez & Finch, 2005) (Nesset, Gomez, Finch, Hernandez-Aguilar & Difeo, 2005). Yianatos of Santa Maria University (Chile), a graduate of the McGill research team, carried the work to industrial settings in South and Central America (Yianatos, Bergh, Condori & Aguilera, 2001). The methods of gas dispersion measurement are now well accepted and most major research centres and flotation cell manufacturers have adopted the technology (Pyecha, Sim, Lacouture, Hope & Stradling, 2006) (Yañez et al., 2009) (Collins, Schwarz & Alexander, 2009)."

Jan 1, 2012

By B. Tanda

A process has been developed at Curtin University whereby glycine is used in an alkaline environment to leach gold, silver and copper from their ores, concentrates, process intermediates and wastes. Copper mineralisation investigated includes various oxides, sulfides and native copper. The leach process utilises an oxidising environment such as oxygen. Glycine is a non-toxic, non-volatile, edible, low cost reagent which is produced in large industrial quantities for use in several industries. Glycine and its copper and precious metals complexes are stable over wide pH, Eh and temperature ranges. Other than losses in leach residues, the glycine is recovered and recycled for leaching. Iron dissolution is insignificant in the pregnant leach solution. Iron in pyrite remains unaffected, whereas iron associated with base metal sulfides (e.g. chalcopyrite and bornite) is converted to a readily filterable iron hydroxide. Efficient separation of copper by solvent extraction and conventional electrowinning has been shown to be feasible for a number of organic extractants, whereas gold and silver glycinates adsorb very well onto carbon allowing CIP/CIL/CIC (carbon-in-column) based processes. The process is ideal for ores containing acid-consuming gangue, concentrates with high arsenic or halide contents and for copper-gold ores with significant sulfide mineralisation. The process eliminates many of the problems associated with the processing of copper-gold-silver ores, such as elemental sulfur formation, silica gels, unwanted metal co-dissolution, and jarosite precipitation. The reagents used and process residues are much safer and environmentally benign than conventional process options. The processing technology can be applied to in-situ, heap and vat, or agitated tank leaching at temperatures ranging from ambient to below 100?C at atmospheric pressure and is currently being commercialised. This paper will focus on copper leaching and recovery and iron rejection from a chalcopyrite flotation concentrate.

Jan 1, 2016

By G. Warren

"In the past, smelting and refining of the precious metals recovered from ore has been generally looked upon as a small and relatively minor component of the business of gold mining. This is not surprising when one considers that the manpower, space and capital components of a gold refinery at an operating mine can be several orders of magnitude smaller than other unit operations at the same location. This philosophy is changing however, as economic and environmental pressure are forcing a re-evaluation of all aspects of gold mining and milling.This paper describes and evaluates three furnace technologies available and used by precious metal operators. The operation of arc, induction, and reverberatory furnaces are discussed and their strengths and weaknesses with respect to capital cost, impurity removal, slag quality, and environmental concerns highlighted.INTRODUCTIONIn the past, smelting and refining of precious metals recovered from ore has been generally looked upon as a small and relatively minor component of the business of gold mining. This is not surprising when one considers that the manpower, space, and capital components of a gold refinery at an operating mine can be several orders of magnitude smaller than other unit operations at the same location. Generally, gold producers will spend a great deal of effort to squeeze the last drop of efficiency out of a leach or grinding circuit via simulation or testwork but will design and build the refinery based upon past practices or industry standards. That past practices or industry standards will provide a functional refinery is undisputed; that this philosophy achieves the efficiencies that are possible or demanded in other plant operations is debatable.Environmental and worker hygiene requirements are considerations as well. Pollution control equipment can become a substantial contributor to both the capital and operating costs of a refinery and furnace selection has a marked influence upon the type and cost of this equipment. Slag characteristics and subsequent processing options available also play a role in furnace selection as precious metal slag losses and the recovery effort can greatly influence the cost / benefit analysis of a particular technology."

Jan 1, 2001

By Marc Legault

The Duparquet mining camp situated along the Quebec segment of the Porcupine-Destor Fault was the site of gold exploitation from 1933 to 1956 and 1988 to 1991. Numerous gold showings and deposits straddle the fault. An ongoing regional metallogenic study by the Quebec Geological Survey has identified five main types of gold mineralization, each showing a distinct style, alteration, control, metal content, and timing. In order to maximise the impact of this study, a 3D regional common-earth-model was constructed along a critical segment of the Porcupine-Destor Fault with the gOcad® technology. The realisation of this model required the maximum use of the public SIGEOM numerical database, as well as the recovery of significant private data from exploration company partners. The 3D model is also a powerful new dynamic exploration tool, which can be queried using geological criteria characteristic of the different gold deposit types. This 3D model can be modified and improved continuously by adding data from new drilling, mapping or geophysical surveys. The case of the Porcupine-Destor Fault illustrates the importance of 3D common-earth-modelling in delivering refined technological geological syntheses likely to attract significant investments from the mining exploration industry, especially for deep exploration programs within mature mining camps.

May 1, 2004

By A. Mitura

The paper presents the initial investigation of possible energetic applications of chosen wastes from groups: 06, 03, 05 and 01, including coal slimes being secondary product of hard coal processing. These categories of wastes are catalogued according to the polish law, where 06 ? wastes from production, preparation, purchasing and application of products of non-organic chemistry; 03 ? wastes from wood processing and from plates and furniture, celluloid mass, paper and card board production; 13 ? oil wastes and wastes from liquid fuels; 01 ? wastes produced by searching, extracting, physical and chemical processing of ores and other mineral raw materials. The change of combustion heat value was evaluated in produced energetic mixtures containing these types of wastes together with the change of their individual components. All combinations of ingredients were taken into consideration giving 256 various mixtures, from which 36 were selected to investigation. This allowed the performance of statistical factor analysis. For such prepared materials the application of regressive method was proposed in purpose of calculating combustion heat value and then the comparison of empirically determined and theoretically calculated heat values was performed. The change of regressive coefficients can be determined by the nature of Hess law (eq. 1) what was investigated and the attempt of its explication and validation was done.

Aug 1, 2013

By R. Kwiatkowski

Agenda ? Health Canada Protocol _ Screening Level Risk Assessments (SLRAs) Contaminants Foods Exposure Pathways COPCs _ Site Specific Risk Assessments (SSRAs) In-depth, quantitative Monitoring Exposure estimates Food Issues in Environmental Impact Assessments ?Country Foods? ? Foods gathered from the project area and consumed by local residents.

Apr 1, 2005

The construction, commissioning and operation of a continuous pilot-scale selective agglomeration (oil agglomeration) unit are described. This plant has been used to recover fine coal from an effluent stream that is produced by a jig plant which scalps the coal from a New South Wales (Australia) colliery. The reject slurry is extremely fine (66.5% minus 53 um) and has an ash content of approximately 40%. The pilot plant can treat up to 0.3 tonne/h of this slurry, producing average product ashes as low as 9.1% and tailings ashes greater than 80%. The average yield observed was62%, which corresponded to a recovery of coal material of 88%. The operation of this pilot plant yielded data that enabled an economic assessment of this type of processing to be carried out. This study showed that selective agglomeration is an economically viable process for eliminating the substantial losses of coal to tailings ponds and minimizing consequent disposal and environmental problems. A commercial plant has been constructed and commissioned on the basis of the data obtained from this pilot-scale operation.

Jan 1, 1979

By C P. Gravenor

In 1953, a deposit of sedimentary oolitic iron ore was discovered in the Clear Hills area of northwestern Alberta. Since that time, detailed drilling has outlined reserves in excess of 200 million tons of ore grading 30 to 35 per cent iron. Attempts to physically beneficiate the ore to meet blast furnace or direct reduction feed specifications have been, in general, unsuccessful. In 1960, Premier Steel Mills Limited and the Research Council of Alberta jointly sponsored a pilot-plant test at the R-N Corporation at Birmingham, Alabama. About 5,000 tons of ore were treated, and briquettes containing 90 per cent Fe were produced, with 83 per cent recovery. At the same time that the R-N tests were being made, the Research Council initiated a program to produce high-purity powders by chemical methods. Several purification techniques were investigated; hydrochloric acid dissolution of reduced ore was finally adopted. Briefly, the steps involved in this acid process are as follow

Jan 1, 1964

By K. L. Murphy, G. Multamaki, P. M. Huck

"A preliminary evaluation, based on existing data, has been made of the implications of placing radium-barium sludge in tailings areas. The study was restricted to a consideration of possible increases in the quantities of radionuclides escaping to the environment through either groundwater or surf ace water, considering the types of tailings treated and the effluent treatment systems currently operating in Canada.IntroductionIn the recovery of uranium from ore deposits, the tailings produced by mine/mill complexes are conveyed to impoundment areas in slurry form. After settling, the supernatant is discharged to the environment together with runoff from precipitation on the tailings bas in. Currently, all operating uranium mines in Canada employ barium chloride treatment to control the release of dissolved radium to the aquatic environment. The dissolved radium in the tailings decant is precipitated with barium chloride, forming (Ra,Ba)SO4, and allowed to settle in ponds or lakes. In some instances, settling tanks have replaced ponds and flocculants have been added to aid settling. Because the Atomic Energy Control Board does not consider the precipitation ponds to be suitable for final disposal of these sludges, acceptable sites must be found. Options which have been suggested for sludge management include underground placement either in worked-out mine areas or in special chambers, or placement in the tailings areas. Conceptually, the latter alternative is attractive and probably would minimize sludge handling. This alternative would be subject to the AECB policy which requires that upon abandonment, radioactive releases from a tailings area must be within present regulatory limits and that treatment to meet these limits should not be required in perpetuity.No quantitative data exist concerning either the effect of physical and chemical conditions in the tailings on resolubilization of radium from precipitated sludges or the fraction of this additional radium which would be released."

Jan 1, 1982

By A. -M. Lafront

The corrosion resistance of die-cast and freely-solidified and electromagnetically-stirred thixocast AZ91D alloy has been studied using electrochemical noise technique in a 0.05M NaCI solution at pH 6.1 and 25°C. Specimens polished at different depths were immersed for a period of 75 min in order to assess the influence of the microstructure on corrosion kinetics and morphology. At depths between 10 and 50 µm (skin), all specimens showed general non-uniform corrosion with the lowest corrosion resistance. Between 100 and 200 µmn (interior skin), the observed corrosion was accompanied by superficial undefined pits due to metastable pitting. The corrosion form for 100-200 µm gave the best corrosion resistance. Stable pitting corrosion was observed beyond 400 µm deep on the bulk specimens. The skin of all thixocast specimens prepared billets showed a more corroded surface than that of die-cast. The interior skin as well as the bulk specimens showed better performance than that of the die-cast specimens.

Jan 1, 2007

By Xing Jin, Dan Graffi, Glenn MacPherson, Dan Rioux

"The complexity of a modern flotation circuit makes it susceptible to disturbances such as changes in feed, ore mineralogy, equipment degradation, poor measurements and faulty instruments. Good measurements and a robust control system are critical to create and maintain a stable and optimum flotation process.This paper focuses on the development and implementation of process control applications in the flotation circuits at Xstrata Nickel’s Strathcona Mill ( referred to as the mill hereafter ) in Sudbury, Ontario. Following the path of ‘stabilize-improve-optimize’, basic controls to stabilize process variables such as flotation cell pulp level, air and reagent addition rates, cleaning-column feed and wash-water rates have been established. Factors such as best practice in pulp level and valve position measurement, feedforward control and the application of an appropriate control philosophy, have contributed to the significant reduction in process variability. For instance, standard deviation reduction of 79% for the Ni impurity in the column Cu concentrate grade was experienced and is shown. The variability reduction of the flotation circuits’ key process-variables paves the way to further improve and optimize flotation performance. A grams-per-metal unit reagent addition control scheme has been improved upon, particularly for different operating scenarios and better robustness. In addition, following significant stabilization of the primary controls and columns feedrates, Cu/Ni separation cleaning-column bias-control (cascaded to the wash-water rate) and hold-up control (cascaded to air flowrate) have been developed and tested. This strategy – from stabilization to optimization - is expected to achieve a more consistent control of final concentrate grades and improve recoveries.INTRODUCTIONFlotation is considered the most important and value-added process in the milling metallurgical plant and is still undergoing continuous evolution to treat greater tonnage and different ores (Wills, 2006). Starting over three decades ago, with the advent of on-line slurry content analysis devices, flotation automatic control has received persistent interest and a large number of applications have been reported (Thwaites, 1983, 1986 ; Mckee, 1991). Bergh and Yianatos (2011) reviewed different aspects of process control in flotation circuits and have evaluated the applicability of model predictive control to the process. Mckee (1991) analyzed the difficulty in developing lasting/robust process control applications for flotation circuits and stated that the path of stabilization-refinement-optimization would more likely lead to successful flotation circuit process control. Best practice on column process control was discussed by Bouchard, etc. where a multi-layered approach was proposed, provided that the measurement of column process variables ( i.e. bias, froth depth, hold-up, etc. ) are measured reliably (Bouchard & Thwaites, 2008). Wills (2006) stated that the best practice for flotation automatic control starts with fulfilling basic control objectives, such as stabilized flotation cell level, air flow, pH, reagent flow etc., before considering more advanced, or even optimal, control of metallurgical targets, which are more closely linked to economic performance."

Jan 1, 2013

By L. M. Amaratunga, G. G. Hein, D. N. Yaschyshyn

Fine tailings produced in the milling process have traditionally been disposed of in tailings ponds. Attempts have been made to use these fine tailings in backfill, however, to date the majority of backfill operations have utilized only a small percentage of fines. The remaining fines are, therefore, being sent to tailings ponds creating a waste disposal and environmental problem. This disposal practice is even more acute in the gold milling industry where fine grinding, required for value liberation, results in the production of large quantities of fine tailings, of which a large percentage cannot be used in backfill. Through Cold-Bond Tailings Agglomeration (CBTA), these fine tailings can be agglomerated into pellets which can then be used as a coarse aggregate in back-fill. This paper presents the results of using these pellets to create an Agglomerated Tailings Paste Fill (ATPF) made entirely of fine gold mill tailings and cementing binders. Through this process, supplementary imported aggregates such as sand, gravel, rock-chips are not required while still maintaining adequate back fill strength. By using this CBTA technology, fine tailings are diverted from tailings ponds and becomes utilized as a value added resource in the form of aggregates for use in paste fill.

Jan 1, 1997

By A. S. Dawson

Introduction The purpose of this paper is to discuss, in a general way, the application of geological principles in the exploration for, and development of, deposits of industrial minerals. Mention of geological factors pertaining co specific minerals will be by way of illustration only. Since many prospectors are little acquainted with the geological setting and mode of occurrence of deposits of these minerals, some prospecting possibilities in the field will be pointed out. Geology is a tried and proven tool in the search for and exploitation of metalliferous deposits and of oil and gas fields, but, so far at least as Canada is concerned, only very rarely has a directed, intensive search been made for deposits of industrial minerals. Examples might be cited, however, where, in other countries, such investigations have yielded rich rewards. Thus, development of the vitally important potash deposits of New Mexico was the result of a deliberately planned programme of geological investigation, first by United States Government agencies, and later by private interests. War or the threat of war, or peace-time industrial expansion, can render concentrated exploration for specific minerals desirable or even essential. Such exploration is, primarily, a geological problem. Admittedly, there is in general less scope for the application of geology in the search for, and development of, deposits of industrial minerals than of metalliferous minerals, oil, etc. Where the latter are concerned; the objective of exploration is to find a material that is valuable, within broad limits, no matter where it is located or how it occurs. The unit value of the material is limited only by the amount of the valuable constituent in the formation- its possible upper limit is tremendously high. On the other hand, many industrial minerals constitute in themselves 90 per cent or more of the formation- their amount cannot increase and their unit value is commonly low. Moreover, for commercial exploitation, the deposit must, in general, be reasonably close to markets or to plant or other facilities for processing the raw material, since, owing to its low value, this cannot be transported any great distance. As a consequence, intensive geological search for and investigation of such deposits has been restricted to industrialized areas. Obviously, however, it is good insurance for any operator to understand the geological background of his deposit, particularly in the case of new developments.

Jan 1, 1949

By Tom C. Palangio

The mining industry has come to rely on imaging devices to monitor and record all kinds of activities. We use them to measure, improve the process, ensure security, increase production and automate machinery. Cameras can be installed in locations most people wouldn?t want to live and be our ?eyes? to record the events at that location. This paper discusses digital imaging, the equipment, methods, techniques and information that can be learned from digital devices used in mining operations. The guy who said ?a picture is worth a thousand words? probably understated it. Images are the perfect way to document conditions before, after and even during mining activities. Today?s wide choice of cameras, camcorders and other digital devices allow us to record most activities and events. The technology is advancing at a high rate. Digital cameras and camcorders are marvels of technology with high resolution optics, compact size, automatic time and date stamp, great battery life, shutters to freeze motion and computers to auto focus and eliminate jitter (image stabilization). Add to this the economical price and ease of use and everyone in this industry should be aware of the possibilities.

Oct 1, 2010