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By A. Romero, M. Carvalho, D. L. Millar

"The number of underground mines replacing diesel by battery powered mobile equipment is growing worldwide. The latter produces locally zero emissions and less heat, improving air quality in the working areas, and can potentially reduce energy costs due to lower ventilation requirements and in the face of higher fuel prices. However, there is a lack of systematic approaches to evaluate the potential economic benefit of switching from diesel mobile technologies to electric ones. This paper presents a method to answer the question of whether a mine with known operating conditions should invest in battery-powered electric equipment to reduce its total costs. Furthermore, this method provides the optimal number of electric and diesel equipment in relationship with their impact on the ventilation system and the total costs of running the mine from the energy perspective. A case study of an underground mine in Northern Ontario (Canada) is presented to validate the method proposed. The scenarios studied include the specific climatic conditions of the region, and the possibility to use heat recovery for the ventilation system. Overall, results show that the use of electric mobile plants is cost competitive, especially so when electricity cost can be lowered through load-shedding strategies.INTRODUCTIONOf the multiple advantages of using electrical vehicles (EV) underground in mining, the potential increase in air quality and comfort is the most significant (Paraszczak, Svedlund, Fytas, and Laflamme, 2014). Until recently, fully battery-powered electrical underground heavy duty machinery (i.e., loaders or trucks) were not available, so that tethered and trolley assisted vehicles were the only electric alternatives to diesel powered vehicles (Bétournay et al., 2011). Today, several commercial battery-based alternatives are available (General Electric Fairchild, 2015; RDH Mining Equipment, 2015; Paraszczak et al., 2014). Operational details can be found in Ewing (2015). The main battery technology used (Lithium Iron Phosphate, LiFePO4, or LFP) was already anticipated in Bétournay et al. (2011) as a good candidate for these types of vehicles. More details on these batteries, along with state of the art and future perspectives can be found in Zubi, Dufo-López, Carvalho, and Pasaoglu, (2018)."

Jan 1, 2019

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

By I. C. Brown

Introduction Many tables of nomenclature for igneous rocks have been introduced from time to time, and each has its strong proponents. As a result, any discussion of igneous? rocks is apt to prove confusing unless the names used for these rocks are defined. This ?became so obvious to a discussion group, formed by the members of the Geological Survey of Canada in 1948, that an attempt was made to establish a scheme of nomenclature that could be used by any member mapping anywhere in Canada. The writer was asked to co-ordinate the ideas presented by individuals in the discussion group, to arrange them in tabular form, and, later, to distribute copies of the resultant table to Canadian universities, provincial geological surveys, and some other geological discussion groups. Many useful suggestions and criticisms were received, were studied ?by members? of the original group, and, so far as practicable, were incorporated in the scheme of nomenclature. The result is the table presented here. This nomenclature of igneous rocks is at present being used by most members of the Geological Survey of Canada who are working with igneous rocks, and by some Canadian universities. We hope it will be found useful and be more widely accepted. With this idea in mind, certain principles were adopted in drawing up the nomenclature.

Jan 1, 1952

By M. Kozlowski, I. Candy, S. Kashani-Nejad

The production of ferronickel and matte from nickel laterite ores is dominated by the Rotary Kiln, Electric Furnace (RKEF) process. Over time, major improvements have been made to kiln operation. In particular, kilns are now required to perform substantial amounts of reduction of the metallic oxides, thereby reducing the load on the electric furnace and substituting less expensive fossil fuel for electrical energy. To the basic refractory lined cylinder have been added: internal features such as dams and lifters, aimed at changing residence times in different sections of the kiln and enhancing gas/solids interaction, on-board fans to introduce tertiary air and on-board scoop mechanisms to allow reductant coal additions to be made at advantageous locations along the kiln. Many of these advances in design have been made on a trial and error basis and by 'borrowing' technology from related kiln processes, supplemented by proprietary modeling to various levels of sophistication. This paper presents a conceptual review of modeling components for the development of a computational model for granular material flow, combustion and heat and mass transfer in a nickel laterite kiln. These components include: granular material flow and segregation models for the simulation of bed motion, heat transfer models that simulate heat transfer by turbulent diffusion and radiation and the distribution of this thermal energy within the bed, and fluid flow models for the prediction of combustion aerodynamics.

Jan 1, 2005

By T. Adamcewicz

The province's lignite resources lie mainly in the south, extensions of the much larger deposits in Montana and North Dakota. Because of planned additional capacity, conventional steam power generation will probably remain as the dominant resource usage for many decades. Conversion of coal to other energy forms is receiving emphasis and in the future will compete with steam power generation in terms of quantities used.Economic deposits, minable by present-day technology, have been generally defined. Because a large percentage of the total lignite resource is in seams containing multiple partings, future extraction will become much more difficult and capital intensive.Increased public involvement will ensure that the impacts of future coal mining and usage operations are compatible with environmental and social objectives.

Jan 1, 1982

By Humphrey Dean

"Canadian mining companies now operate numerous Koepe-type friction hoists in a variety of different shafts, most of which have a depth in excess of 3,000 feet. Rope performance reliability is an absolutely essential ingredient of most installations and, for this to be provided, a more comprehensive understanding of rope reactions to applied stresses is required.It is the intent of this paper to illustrate for the operators the importance of the critical stresses encountered and to provide a maintenance program designed to circumvent potential difficulties."

Jan 1, 1970

By R. M. BUCHANAN

The segment of Canadian industry based on smelting of alum in um and manufacture of consumer products is based entirely on imported alumina and bauxite. In the absence of Canadian bauxite deposits, consideration of anorthosite, a less desirable aluminous rock, is being undertaken as one alternative in maintaining assurance of supply. Anorthosites in Canada cover many thousands of square kilometres of the Precambrian Shield. Although compositions vary widely among Canadian anorthosites, many appear to exceed the specified minimum of 25% A I 20 3 in bodies containing more than the required JOO million tonnes. A lthough most Canadian anorthosites are of Precambrian age, one located in British Columbia has been identified as being Middle _Cretaceous.

Jan 1, 1984

By John Dasher

The analyses reported on in this paper indicate that there are hydrometallurgical routes from sulphide concentrates to copper that are potentially competitive with smelters which are not permitted to emit sulphur oxides. The various hydrometallurgical processes, and their economics, are discussed.

Jan 1, 1973

By C. H. Tiernon

"This paper was' prepared to emphasize the part that coal washing tables can play in the development of many of the reserves of coking coals in Western Canada_ It covers a brief history of the development of the coal washing table through the present third-generation unit, which suspends from overhead steel beams and is driven by a counter-rotating gear mechanism. The design and operation of this unique table are covered in detail.An analysis of actual operating data is included, with explicit statistical breakdowns of the table products. The data used were actually produced by operating coal companies, and also produced by the United States Bureau of Mines while gathering data for a research investigation. Table feed capacity is discussed, as well as performance criteria and the parameters of relative table performance. Several typical table flowsheets are described, emphasizing the specific reasons for their use. The paper covers the past and present value of the table to the United States coal industry, and makes mention of the newest addition to the family of suspended, multiple-deck, counter-rotating, gear-driven, coal washing tables, the CONCENCO ""88"" Deister table."

Jan 1, 1973

By Michel L. Bilodeau, Brian W. Mackenzie, Dallas W. Davis

"The paper formulates an evaluation procedure for examining the effects of location on the economics of developing mineral deposits. This methodology is applied to assess locational aspects of Nova Scotia's competitive position f or mine development relative to other Canadian regions and provinces. The appraisal concerns two representative mine development opportunities, a medium-size open-pit tungsten deposit, and a small underground gold deposit. The influence of regional economic conditions is initially assessed. Then, the consequences of taxation are isolated. Finally, the combined impact of regional and taxation conditions is examined. SettingThe economic potential of mining may be assessed in a number of ways. One approach, increasingly used for both corporate planning and government policy purposes, is to evaluate the competitive position of an actual or potential mineral producer in the international marketplace relative to other suppliers.Such examinations of competitive position vary from cost league comparisons of breakeven costs for operating mines, through the assessment of medium-term costs associated with developing new mine capacity, to long-term evaluations of the economics of mineral supply from the start of exploration. The complexity of the analysis increase s with the scope and timeframe of interest. Many factors are involved. One component of competitive position is the quality of the mineral resources available. Other key factors include existing technology, wage and salary rates, labour productivity, the cost of capital, infra structure requirements, distances from sources of materials supply an d to mineral markets, management attributes, organizational efficiency, government mineral policies (particularly taxation), and inflation and exchange rates. The paper fits within this competitive position framework.The variable economic conditions which exist within Canada have a direct bearing on the viability of mine development and, thereby, on mineral exploration potential. The paper examines locational aspects of Nova Scotia 's competitive position."

Jan 1, 1986

By B. W. Clyburn

"Coals from the Corporation's Lingan and No. 26 mines are classified as high-volatile A bituminous, with a very low inherent ash and containing all essential properties to provide metallurgical coal, with the exception of a high sulphur content. Only through proper cleaning at low specific gravity can the pyritic sulphur fraction of the coal be liberated to an extent where final sulphur meets coking standards. This first section of the paper deals with the operation of a Dutch State Mines heavy-media cyclone circuit to achieve an actual separation in the region of 1.30 specific gravity. A discussion of the parameter of control which must be applied along with an appraisal of the results obtained is included in the paper.Introduction Very high fluidity and unusually low ash are the outstanding characteristics of coal from Devco's mines in the Harbour seam of the Sydney coal field. However, sulphur content, mainly pyritic, ranges from 1 to 2.50Jo. To obtain the low and consistent sulphur level required in metallurgical coking coals, preparation at low specific gravity is required. Metallurgical coke is used as the fuel in an iron blast furnace. Its sulphur content largely determines the quantity of slag required to remove it and therefore influences furnace productivity and unit costs. Typical data on the various coal properties of importance in the production of coke are included in Table 1."

Jan 1, 1985

By A. G. Doll

"This paper expands the SAG mill survey database published by the Author at Procemin 2013. The new database includes 49 published SAG/AG mill surveys and includes mills from all over the world. The paper will compare the survey database to SAG mill models by Austin, Morrell and Hogg & Fuerstenau with the purpose of demonstrating the degree of fit of the models to surveys and validating any empirical “fitting factors” used in the models.SAG mill power draw models are used in mill design and grinding circuit modelling to predict how much power will be consumed by a particular mill geometry and operating configuration. The importance of conducting surveys suited to model calibration will be highlighted because the review of literature shows that survey information important to modelling is often missing or omitted. A recommendation for the collection of data during a mill survey is presented, along with some assumptions used by the Author in the absence of certain data. The benefit to mining companies of publishing their survey data, and thereby allowing modellers to improve their model calibration, is discussed.The comparison of models requires a discussion of the measurement of power in a mill drive system as the models use slightly different position in the electrical network for ""where power is measured"". The benchmarking of models against plant operations requires a similar discussion of power measurement."

Jan 1, 2016

By W. G. Miller

An overall study was conducted to evaluate the properties and processes influencing the rate and magnitude of consolidation for oil sands fine tailings produced using different extraction processes. As part of this overall study, consolidation tests using slurry consolidometers were carried out for caustic and non-caustic fine tailings. The influence of a change in bitumen extraction process (caustic versus non-caustic) on consolidation properties, namely compressibility and hydraulic conductivity, was determined, as was the effect of adding a coagulant (calcium sulphate [CaSO4]) to caustic fine tailings. For fine tailings originating from two different oil sands ores (Ore A and Ore B), results were presented in terms of variation in average void ratio with time (settlement), void ratio with effective stress (compressibility), hydraulic conductivity with void ratio and coefficient of compressibility and hydraulic conductivity with sodium adsorption ratio. Findings indicated that chemical characteristics of fine tailings (water chemistry, degree of dispersion) do not have a significant impact on their compressibility behaviour and have only a small influence at high void ratio (low effective stress). The biggest advantage of non-caustic fine tailings and treating caustic fine tailings with coagulant is an increased initial settlement rate and slightly increased hydraulic conductivity at higher void ratios. Thereafter, compressibility and hydraulic conductivity is governed by effective stress.

Aug 1, 2010

By W. G. Miller, J. D. Scott, D. C. Sego

An overall study was conducted to evaluate the properties and processes influencing the rate and magnitude of consolidation for oil sands fine tailings produced using different extraction processes. As part of this overall study, consolidation tests using slurry consolidometers were carried out for caustic and non-caustic fine tailings. The influence of a change in bitumen extraction process (caustic versus non-caustic) on consolidation properties, namely compressibility and hydraulic conductivity, was determined, as was the effect of adding a coagulant (calcium sulphate [CaSO4]) to caustic fine tailings. For fine tailings originating from two different oil sands ores (Ore A and Ore B), results were presented in terms of variation in average void ratio with time (settlement), void ratio with effective stress (compressibility), hydraulic conductivity with void ratio and coefficient of compressibility and hydraulic conductivity with sodium adsorption ratio. Findings indicated that chemical characteristics of fine tailings (water chemistry, degree of dispersion) do not have a significant impact on their compressibility behaviour and have only a small influence at high void ratio (low effective stress). The biggest advantage of non-caustic fine tailings and treating caustic fine tailings with coagulant is an increased initial settlement rate and slightly increased hydraulic conductivity at higher void ratios. Thereafter, compressibility and hydraulic conductivity is governed by effective stress.

Jan 1, 2010

By S. J. Cook

The subject of capital and the Canadian mining industry is so broad as to be impossible of comprehensive treatment in brief form. The purpose of the present paper therefore will be only to outline in a meagre and somewhat sketchy way the nature and extent of the mineral industry in Canada and to point out those features which are likely to be of general public interest. Canada's mineral industry has a long and creditable production record. The? value of the output per capita rose from $2.23 in 1886 to a maximum of $26.40 in 1920 and the value of the products from ten million dollars in the former year to almost two hundred and twenty-eight million dollars in 1920. Compared with other primary industries and on the basis of the value of production, mining held third place in Canada in 1920, the premier position going to agriculture and the value of forestry production placing that industry second in the list. In the mineral industry, between six and seven thousand properties are operated annually giving employment to up- wards of sixty thousand employees to whom about seventy-five million dollars is paid in salaries and wages. During 1923, seventeen mineral products reached a production value of one million dollars or over in Canada and in order of the values assigned these were: coal, gold, nickel, cement, cop-per, silver, clay products, lead, asbestos, natural gas, stone, zinc, lime, cobalt, sand and gravel, gypsum and salt.

Jan 1, 1924

By J. W. Kramers, R. A. S. Brown

"Samples from seven test wells distributed throughout the surface-mineable area of the Athabasca Oil Sands have been evaluated to determine the amounts of heavy minerals present and the titanium and zirconium contents. The samples were treated to yield the size distribution of the titanium and zirconium minerals as well as their spatial distribution. The study has shown that heavy minerals are found throughout the surface-mineable area; concentrations range from 0.24 to 2.29 per cent (by weight), with a mean of 1.02 per cent. Titanium and zirconium contents vary throughout the area, and are found preferentially in the finer size fractions. •on the basis of preliminary calculations, the tailings streams from an oil sands plant would provide sufficient feed for a large-scale titanium pigment plant, and the tailings from one plant would provide sufficient zircon feed to satisfy Canadian demand for. metallic zirconium. Variability of the heavy mineral content and composition is such that the heavy mineral potential must be evaluated in detail for each mine site."

Jan 1, 1976

By S. Makni, S. Koppalkar, A. Bouajila

This paper reviews briefly the gravity recovery involving conventional gravity separators and centrifugal gravity separators. The advantages of semi-continuous gravity separators will be discussed. Techniques for upgrading the gravity concentrates will be addressed briefly. The research efforts in optimizing semi-continuous gravity separators will be recalled. Innovative gravity circuit for eliminating or minimizing the use of complex processing schemes will be reviewed. On-going gold gravity research at COREM has revealed that gold particle shape transformation is the main factor explaining the lower recoveries of the plant units. Efforts to devise possible remedies for improving gravity recovery at plant will be discussed.

Jan 1, 2011

By Mike Dry, Rod Dry

If humanity is truly serious about reducing emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, today’s power plants burning fossil fuels will have to be replaced by power plants that do not emit CO₂. Unless carbon capture/sequestration becomes practical, the new power plants will be hydroelectric, wind, solar or nuclear installations. Hydroelectricity requires the appropriate geography. Solar installations can only deliver power as and when sunshine is available, and wind installations when the wind blows. Therefore, power from these sources will be intermittent, but the demand for electricity does not follow the patterns of sun and wind. That will require large-scale electricity storage and/or load following by the remaining power suppliers, increasingly so as the use of fossil fuelled power generation declines. Modern nuclear power plants are designed for demand following. However, operating at lower than design output has a negative impact on the economics of nuclear power plants because the overall cost of the electricity they generate is dominated by capital cost. Primary (blast furnace) iron smelting is responsible for a significant part of global CO₂ emissions because the reagent used is carbon. Were it available in sufficient quantity (and at a low enough cost), hydrogen could replace carbon in the manufacture of raw direct reduced iron (DRI), using technology such as modified HYL (Tenova Hyl, 2018) or Midrex (Ravenscroft, 2017). This paper examines a scenario in which, instead of demand following, nuclear power stations are operated at their design capacities and surplus power is used to generate hydrogen in off-peak periods. This hydrogen is then used to replace carbon in the manufacture of raw steel.

Jan 1, 2020

By N. S. Spence

INTRODUCTION WHILE TITANIUM, the element, has been known for over 150 years, titanium, the metal, is a relative newcomer to the metallurgical and industrial scene. The reasons for this chiefly lie in the refract1Hy nature of titanium compounds; the high melting point of the metal; the great activity of elemental titanium, particularly at temperatures close to .and above the melting point; and the pronounced deleterious influence of certain impurities on its mechanical proper-ties. Early efforts at production of the metal were, consequently, either unsuccessful or resulted in products having sub-metallic properties. With the considerable improvement in equipment, materials, and skills that have developed within the past twenty-five years, later investigators have had a better opportunity to overcome some of the inherent practical obstacles and to come to grips with the essential technical problems. NATURAL ABUNDANCE OF TITANIUM Titanium is one of the most abundant metallic elements. It has been estimated (1) that titanium comp-rises about 0.65 per cent of the earth's crust, and therefore ranks fourth among the structurally useful metals in the order: aluminum, iron, magnesium, titanium. It must be appreciated that the relative abundance of the element is only a crude indication of its potential availability, since a very substantial proportion is present as a minor constituent in practically all igneous rocks. By comparison, present-day ores of titanium are relatively few and are but a minor fraction of the estimated total titanium contained in the earth' s crust.

Jan 1, 1951

By Guojun Wang, Zejun Chen, Wenchang Liu

Al/Mg/Ti laminated metal composite sheet (LMCS) can combine the merits of each of metal components, and obtain excellent performances. It incorporates the advantages of high strength, light weight, easy melt and atomization, and good space adaptability to substitute for the bumper Al sheet of Whipple shield structure for space debris shield. The Al/Mg/Ti LMCS was fabricated by hot roll bonding technology in a certain sequence. The manufacturing process and parameters were analyzed and studied, including the first rolling reduction, roll boding temperature and stacking structure of each metal. The microstructure of dissimilar metals and bonding interface were characterized and analyzed. The optimized manufacturing procedures and parameters were presented based on the microstructure and mechanical properties of LMCS. The research results offer some guides and references for controlling the shape of bonding interface, optimizing the annealing process, improving the mechanical properties of Al/Mg/Ti LMCS.

Jan 1, 2015