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By P. M. Y. Waye, R. Yewen

"As mines utilize more automation in mining operations to improve efficiency and safety, a corresponding increasing demand is placed on the transport of information. Some of the recent technological advances in underground telecommunications are described for various data, voice and video applications. In particular, two new innovative underground communication systems are described, one with highspeed data at 30 Mbps and the other for minewide evacuation and safety applications.The high-speed data system incorporates state-of-the-art data networking technologies and the existing leaky-cable, narrow-band radio channels. The new system provides over the same basic infrastructure — the highspeed data network at 30 Mbps TCP/IP Ethernet with 100 Base-T interconnection, plus 32 narrow-band radio channels.The second system is a system for minewide evacuation with “through-the-earth” communication infrastructure. Emergency situations can be communicated to and from all the miners within seconds through a central control location. The technology involved does not require leaky cable or any other similar transmission media installation. Many applications are possible, including warning miners of emergency situations, mine rescue operation to communicate with trapped miners, and regular reporting from miners working alone."

Jan 1, 2002

By W. L. Ennis

Introduction This paper outlines the causes of underground fires at Noranda Mines and the precautionary measures taken to guard against such fi res. Shafts There are six shafts (Figures and lA) on the property, of which N os. 1 and 2 are abandoned. Nos. 3, 4, and 5 are the present working openings from surface and No 6 is an internal shaft. No. 3 is used primarily as a service shaft, while Nos.?1 and 5 are the main hoisting shafts. Orebodies The orebodies are of two distinct types. There are the massive sulphide bodies, and the areas of mineralized rhyolite containing gold values and a silica content high enough for fluxing purposes. The massive sulphide bodies contain chalcopyl'ite, pyrite, pyrrhotite, and minor amounts of sphalerite and magnetite. The concentration of particular sulphides varies even within the same body. It is the areas high in pyrite, and to a lesser degree those, high in pyrrhotite, that are of particular interest.

Jan 1, 1950

By Fred Horne

1N THIS PAPER, the writer proposes to limit his comments to few generalized phases of the subject, based on his personal experience in the midwestern United 'States and in one section .of the Coal Branch in Western Alberta. The following statistics are submitted to show the importance that strip mining has assumed in the coal mining industry of the United States. In 1914, 1,281,000 tons of strip coal were produced, amounting to 0.3 per cent of the total production. In 1948, the total was 13~,505,000 tons, representing 23.3 per cent. In 1949, the percentage figure dropped slightly and this can be partially accounted for by the labour disturbances prevalent throughout the year. In 1914, there were 48 power shovels and draglines being used in the stripping of coal; in 1949 there were 3,712, not to mention other types of coal stripping equipment such as bulldozers, tractors and scrapers, rotary excavators, and stackers. At the bituminous coal mines in Western Canada, strip mining was introduced only a few years ago, two of the major reasons for its development being the need for increased production during the war and post-war years and the need to hold the line on increasing production costs, but even in these few years the percentage of strip production has in-creased to such an extent that some mines that, five or six years ago, were producing all their tonnage from underground operations are today obtaining up to 80 per cent of their total output from strip mines.

Jan 1, 1951

By H. W. Wevers

This paper is the result of an intensive literature search and practical study of the problems experienced by a mining company with the frame cracking of their large-tonnage haulage trucks. It explains the advantages of particular HSLA steels for applications in the welded structures of such equipment. Examples of existing welds in truck frames are analyzed. Modern fatigue models and linear elastic fracture mechanics techniques are explained.

Jan 1, 1978

By M. J. Fairweather

"The nature of minor element values and impurities are important both in the assessment of new properties and in the continuing improvement of operating plants. Impurity elements are frequently present as fixed solid solution impurities in association with the constituent minerals of a deposit or process streams in a concentrator. This paper uses five case studies to illustrate the application of simple regression analysis to the evaluation of minor element distribution in both operating mines and new deposits using analytical information readily available. This information maybe used to determine opportunities for improvements to the performance of an operating mine, to the economic assessment of anew deposit, or to the subsequent planning of an experimental study.IntroductionThe nature of minor element values and impurities are important, both in the assessment of new properties and in the continuing improvement of operating plants. Minor element values often contribute appreciable incremental revenue to a complex base metal deposit. Examples of valuable elements include precious metals, but may also include elements such as indium and bismuth which can be recovered at a profit by smelters provided with the necessary recovery circuits. During preliminary metallurgical studies of a new property there is usually a strong incentive to maximize the recovery of such valuable by-product elements. For example, the extent to which the by-product gold in a porphyry copper deposit is associated with chalcopyrite rather than pyrite may determine theeconomics of developing a new property.The nature of impurity elements in base metal concentrates is correspondingly important in minimizing the penalties which may be imposed by smelters in the treatment of such concentrates. Penalty elements include silica, dolomite (magnesia), arsenic, antimony, mercury, nickel and cobalt. The mineralogical association of these minor elements determines the ability of the mine to remove them in the concentrating process. This paper discusses means of assessing the mineralogical nature of such impurities without the use of sophisticated micro-analytical techniques."

Jan 1, 1997

By T. Patching

"THE FOLLOWING notes on coal mining in the Edmonton city area are based, in the main, on scattered reports and accounts as little coal mining has been done in this area for about 20 years and few people are left who were involved in what was at one time an important industry of northern Alberta. Although coal mining is not likely to be permitted in the city area itself in the future, a record of this work is warranted to indicate the ·conditions and problems that may be encountered if underground mining again is proposed in the district in the same geological formations and in similar strata. Coal mining in the Edmonton area developed with the influx of settlers in the latter part of the nineteenth century and the first part of the present century. Probably local coal was used by the Fort's blacksmith as early as 1841, and the early settlers probably were 'gopherholing' into the outcrops along the river banks by the 1870s. The first report of commercial coal mining was in 1880 when a contract was let by the Hudson's Bay Company for the provision of 300 tons. As the population in the city and northern parts of the province grew, many new mines were opened along the river and in the district, and coal was even shipped by barge to points in Saskatchewan(1 ,2) By 1909 the Department of Public Works reported that 'Edmonton stands as the second largest domestic coal producing centre in the province'. It continued to hold this position until 1942. From about 1912 to 1951 annual production from mines in the city and surrounding district ranged between 0.38 and 0.65 million tons, depending on weather, wars and strikes. Production began to decline in 1951 because of the increasing availability and consumption of natural gas which was piped into the city and then provided to other towns and rural areas in the northern part of the province. Taylor noted that between 1880 and March 1970, when the last mine within the city area closed, the total of mines and prospects within the Edmonton city area rose to 153. Most of them were small; not more than 20 produced more than a quarter of a million tonnes during their entire life, and only three produced a million tonnes or more. As described by Taylor ""within the city district workings extend discontinuously from the apex of a narrow triangle near Groat Bridge to the base of the triangle in the Clover Bar area"". The larger mines were in this latter area. Approximate locations of the old mine workings in the city are shown in Taylor's atlas. A number of other coal mines were worked in the Rabbit Hill, Big Island, St. Albert, Namao, Cardiff and Morinville districts around the city."

Jan 1, 1985

By B. Panton, J. Carvalho, E. T. Brown

"A major consideration in the design of high capacity tiedown anchors for dam, bridge and tower foundations is the tensile resistance of the rock mass to pullout, typically as a result of overturning moments or hydrostatic uplift. Rock mass pullout capacity for installed anchors is developed from the tensile strength and fracture propagation properties of intact rock, the orientation and physical properties of the discontinuities and anchor confinement at depth. The typically assumed, but generally conservative, design approach is to calculate anchor pullout capacity using the dead weight of a uniformly shaped inverted “cone” with an assumed initiation point and breakout angle. In some cases, some tensile or shear strength is considered across the area of the assumed pullout cone, however, these strength estimates are based primarily on based on limited historic testing data, empirical relationships for rock mass strength developed for other applications, and engineering judgement.As an alternative to the current foundation anchor design method, this paper presents a new approach to the rock cone pullout problem using Discrete Fracture Networks (DFN) combined with numerical simulations. The simulations presented in the paper investigate the influence of fractures in a synthetic rock mass on ultimate anchor strength. In addition, the global influence on fracture network statistics on rock mass pullout failure is also discussed and it is contended that some of the aleatory and epistemic uncertainty inherent in the design of rock anchors can be reduced by considering fracture statistics in anchor design."

Jan 1, 2015

By C. E. White

The depletion of higher grade mineral reserves will accelerate the trend toward production from progressively larger and lower grade deposits. The discovery of adequate reserves of leaner ores will require the development of improved exploration techniques with a greater depth range. The principal challenges to the Canadian mining industry are to find the mineral resources required to meet fast growing world demand and to develop mining methods and equipment to ensure production costs which will strengthen our position in export markets in the face of in-creasing world competition. The challenges cannot be met without intensive efforts to attract more technical men to the industry and to improve their training.

Jan 1, 1967

By George Brien, O&apos

The history of the lighting of mine workings dates back to the early part of the 18th century, when small candles known as tallow dips, were used. These were set or held in a lump of wet clay. When looking for gas the flame of. the candle was reduced to a mere glimmer by surrounding the wick below the flame with clay. The candle was then very cautiously raised from the floor toward the roof, the observer screening the brighter portion of the flame with his hand and watching for the first appearance of the pale blue cap above the flame, even at that time, known to indicate the presence of gas. When this appeared the candle was lowered quietly and its flame extinguished before attempting to drive out the gas. A very common and dangerous practice adopted at that time was to get rid of the gas by firing it. This was done by a person selected for his nerve rather than for his caution. Dressed in a? suit of dampened sackcloth or leather, this man well termed a "fireman", would lie prone on the floor of the roadway and light the gas above him by raising his candle fastened to the end of a long stick. If he survived, which was not always the case, he would withdraw promptly to fresh air after the flame had passed over him.

Jan 1, 1924

By E. G. Joe

"This paper summarizes the main conclusions derived from twenty-two technical presentations made at the 1973 meeting of the Canadian Mineral Processors. Results of two surveys with response from over seventy mines were reported on Canadian milling practice for water re-use and on elimination of cyanide from mill effluents. Water and solution recycle in Canadian mills were detailed for copper, copper-zinc, lead-zinc-copper, nickel-copper, iron and gold mines. Cyanide elimination from mill effluents was reported under current practice and under requirements for further treatment by various other processes. Three recent process equipment entries into Canadian mills have been the on-stream particle analyzer, the new gravity concentration tables for recovery of fine tin and other heavy minerals, and solution-jet slurry equipment for reclaiming ground ore from storage. The principles of operation of this equipment were described along with the practical limitations that were found in their application to mineral processing. Capital costs and milling cost reductions were shown in some operations. Computer control of flotation mill processing was a major item on the program. Four major mining companies outlined their mill process control strategy, computer programs and on-stream analysis equipment. Some capital costs and personnel changes were presented, together with gains in concentrate grade and mill recovery. Recent development work has shown the effect of the type of grinding and of aeration on the recovery of sulphide minerals in flotation. One mining company reported a significant depressing effect on copper sulphide flotation while floating ore ground with mild-steel balls; also, pyrite appeared to be activated in the subsequent zinc flotation step. One company with extensive experience in the application of aeration to copper sulphide flotation showed significant improvement to copper recovery by pre-aeration. Both the effects of grinding and aeration were subject to the constraints of the chemical condition of the ore pulp. The metallurgy of silver recovery by combination grinding - gravity treatment and of gold recovery from a complex gold-sulphide ore were reviewed in two papers on precious metals. The latter paper further described the recovery of gold from the Cottrell collectors and the final disposal of arsenic from the dust collectors."

Jan 1, 1973

By J. F. Henderson

THE National Advisory Committee on Research in the Geological Sciences was established seven years ago - in 1949. In 1952, shortly after the Committee had really begun to function and had issued its first report, a paper ( l) was presented describing the objectives and organization of the Committee and the progress to that time. Another four years have gone by and the Committee feels a further progress report may be of interest. HISTORY Ten years ago, in 1946, the Geology Division of the Institute set up a Committee on Geological Research. This Committee, under the Chairmanship of Dr. J. E. Hawley, recommended that "a National Advisory Committ.ee on Research in the Geological Sciences be formed" (2). With the backing of the President and Council of the C.I.M. this recommendation went forward to the then Minister .of Mines and Resources and, with his approval, to the Committee on Scientific and Industrial Research of the Privy ?Council. As a result, the National Advisory Committee was set up in 1949.

Jan 1, 1956

By H. Feldheiser

Acid resistant brick linings are state of the art for anti-corrosion linings in tanks for high pressure acid leaching (HPAL) treatment. The design of these brick linings has to take into account the almost non-elastic behaviour of the brick lining inside a relatively highly elastic steel vessel. There must be tools and data available to determine for the steel vessels the thermal growth plus the pressure expansion and for the brick lining the linear thermal expansion and the chemical swell. Thermal shocks and pressure drops are not regular operating events but their negative influence on the lifetime of a brick lining has to be a part of the engineering study. Finite Element (FE) models as well as a lot of research and development on brick lining materials is the only way to find a path through the complex engineering work for pressure vessels.

Jan 1, 2004

Inco Limited has been evaluating options for streamlining the overall flowsheet at its Sudbury, Ontario operations to improve productivity and to minimize the cost of at¬mospheric emissions reduction. Some of the flowsheets being considered include vari¬ous levels of copper/nickel separation at the Clarabelle Mill where all Inco's Sudbury Basin ores are processed. This paper reports on the laboratory and miniplant studies car¬ried out during the flowsheet development for a commercial Cu/Ni separation plant. There are two potential feed streams for Cu/Ni separation. It was determined that Cu/Ni separation from the rougher concentrate requires no regrind, and a very clean copper concentrate is produced, but the recovery of copper is limited to about 70% from ore. Cu/Ni separation is more difficult from the bulk concentrate because of the presence of excess flotation reagents in the slurry and due to locked particles. By replacing the slurry water with clean process water, and by addition of some hydrogen peroxide, entrainment is minimized and excess reagents are removed from the surface, providing a satisfactory separation of copper from nickel. Fine regrinding is required to increase liberation of the locked particles and to obtain 85% copper recovery with minimal nickel contamination of the concentrate.

Jan 1, 2005

Research, whether applied or fundamental, is a human endeavour which increases our understanding of nature. It is insufficient to simply observe, explore, record and classify. It i necessary, as well, to fit the observations into a satisfying theoretical scheme; that is, to synthesize. Two examples of successful research programs in physical metallurgy are di cussed from this point of view. A pessimistic view is taken of the prospects for rapid growth of research activities in the Canadian metallurgical industry. THE term "research" is used indiscriminately to describe any intellectual or experimental activity which leads to a change in society. Proponents of various activities, ex-tending all the way from alloy development to subliminal advertising, use the status of the term for special advantage. With the Canadian Government entering upon a project of support to industrial research, it might be well to determine what definition is most in the public interest. As an academic, I have a rather jealous attachment to the definition that research, whether applied or fundamental, is a human endeavour which increases our understanding of nature.

Jan 1, 1963

By A. Bauer

This paper describes the trends in recent years in explosives formulated to produce larger blast-hole spacings and over-all lower drilling and blasting costs in hard formations. A consideration of current rotary drilling costs per ft of hole and per ton of muck versus hole diameter indicates that it is now possible that we shall see much further use of lower-energy-content, lower-cost slurries and dry mixes, and larger-diameter and, in many instances, cheaper blast holes. These will be drilled on current or slightly larger blast patterns to yield the same energy input per ton of rock and similar fragmentation at lower costs.

Jan 1, 1968

By B. G. Cousins, B. O’Rourke, C. Spence

"Some non-flotation chemicals are added to flotation circuits directly and indirectly to control issues such as scaling and dust in other areas of the operations. Since dosage levels are generally not high, a standard laboratory float test may not be able to determine the effect of a specific chemical on the productivity of the flotation circuit. This paper presents a laboratory testing protocol that uses kinetic float studies to test the effect of normal to extreme doses of antiscalant and dust chemistries (5–100 g/t). Results indicate that this protocol helps to predict potential interference by a particular chemistry on the flotation circuit.RÉSUMÉ Certains produits chimiques ne servant pas à la flottation sont ajoutés directement et indirectement aux circuits de flottation afin de contrôler des problèmes tels que l’entartage et la poussière dans d’autres secteurs des opérations. Étant donné que les niveaux de dosage sont généralement faibles, un essai standard de flottation en laboratoire pourrait ne pas être en mesure de déterminer l’effet d’un produit chimique spécifique sur la productivité du circuit de flottation. Le présent article définit une procédure d’essai en laboratoire qui utilise des études cinétiques de flottation pour vérifier l’effet de doses normales à extrêmes de produits chimiques antitartre et anti-poussière (5 à 100 g/t). Les résultats indiquent que ce protocole aide à prédire l’interférence potentielle d’un produit chimique particulier sur le circuit de flottation."

Jan 1, 2016

By Jeffrey T. McGinty, Frank M. Wheeler

Plant layout is the arrangement of equipment, process areas, departments, infrastructure, and support facilities. Plant logistics is the flow of parts, people, resources, and information throughout the production process. This chapter: outlines key factors and provides checklists to facilitate layout development; presents risk management approaches to test the logistics and functionality of alternative layouts; and uses real-world examples to illustrate effective simulation modelling to assess plant layouts.

Jan 1, 2015

By T. A. Wedge

This paper suggests a crude correction for the impact of raw material quality on factor productivity in the Canadian mining industry. Such a correction would give a figure more dependent on the changing efficiency of the use of labour and capital, and less dependent on the effects of unquantified changes in inputs.

Jan 1, 1973

By P. O. Sandvik, George Erdosh

"AbstractThe Cargill phosphate deposit, located 32 kilometers southwest of Kapuskasing, Ontario, was discovered by the Resource Development Group of International Minerals & Chemical Corporation in 1975 and has been evaluated through an extensive program of 190 drill holes, numerous chemical analyses, metallurgical tests, and engineering and economic studies.The Cargill alkalic complex, comprising principally car-bonatite and pyroxenite-amphibolite rocks, was intruded in to the rift system of the Kapuskasing High during late Precambrian time about 1,800 million year s ago, near the intersection of northeast- and northwest- trending faults. The Cargill complex is one of at least ten known alkalic complexes in or close to the Kapuskasing magnetic-gravity-high system and is expressed by an elongated, northeast- oriented, three-part magnetic anomaly 7.2 kilometers long by 2.8 kilometers wide . Weathering and leaching under assumed temperate to cool, moist climatic conditions , and controlled by faulting, shearing and/or initial petrographic variations within the carbonatite , developed a small, locally confined karst system in the car bonatite rocks and resulted in a thick enriched leached carbonatite zone, capped by troughs and sinks, filled with a residuum of apatite, goethite, clay and other minerals stable in the near -surface, oxidizing environment. Overburden is 5 to 165 meters thick."

Jan 1, 1977

The writer presents a concise summary of eleven recent discoveries made in the Maritime Appalachian area, with suggestions for fur the research. This information may prove helpful to geologists working in other fields and to students contemplating further avenues of research in mining geology and exploration. INTRODUCTION THIS paper is not intended as a research study on the subject, but i. merely a brief review of eleven discoveries that have been made in the Canadian Appalachian area. Furthermore, this is not a critical analysis of the merits of any one geophysical method, but it is an un-prejudiced observation of how these discoveries were actually made and what techniques were apparently most fruitful. Some generalizations are attempted whicl1 may suggest further avenues of research in the field of mining exploration. The writer wishes to thank his colleagues in the field for their comments, which he was able to in-corporate into this paper. In particular, he is grateful to Dr. Paul Bevan and

Jan 1, 1963