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By D. W. I. Griffiths, J. C. Bélanger

"La Division Matagami de Minéraux Noranda inc. a profité de la construction de sa nouvelle mine (Isle-Dieu) pour continuer sa modernisation.L'utilisation d'automates programmables (PLC) s'est intensifiée pour contrôler et automatiser de plus en plus d'équipement dans ses minessouterraines, au concentrateur, dans les atelierset bureaux.Tous les PLC comrnuniquent entre eux et les IBM PC sont utilisespour exterioriser l'information et faire Ie lien entre Ie personnel et les automates. Le système Central IBM 36 emmagasine les donnees traitees par lesPLC (a travers les PC). Ces donnees sont transmisesau programme d'entretien de chaque equipement et compile les heures, cycles, tonnes, etc., fait imprimer automatiquement les feuilles d'entretien préventif ', etc.Les principales realisations adate et en progrès pour la mine Isle-Dieu sont:• automation complète du système de remblayage du concentrateur ala mine Isle-Dieu situee a2 km de la mine principale;• automation du fonctionnnement des ventilateurs qui comprendra la position des portes de ventilation, Ie chauffage, Ie débit, etc.;• automation des pompes, surveillance des sous stat ions électriques, concentration des gas (CO, SO2) à chaque niveau en tout temps et du propane à l'entree d'air frais;• tonnage et cycles par Ie treuil; et• contrôle d'autres équipernents à differénts niveaux. D'autres travaux furent egalement effectues par les employes, tels que:• la conversion d'un Scooptram ST5A de diesel à électrique;• I'installation complete de systèmes de depoussierage a I'eau (scrubber) pour le concassage secondaire;• I'installation d'un marteau hydraulique avant les concasseurs coniques;• la rénovation des cellules de flottation ; et• l'installation d'un système de gardiennage par caméra. D'autres projets seront effectués ou étudiés:• automation d'un Scooptram"";• automation d'un marteau hydraulique;• récupération de Scooptrarn; téléguidé:• gestion de l'énergie, contrôle de la demande, surveillance et contrôle de l'équipernent de machines fixes(compresseurs, boulloires, pompes à vide, génératrices, débits et pression d'air, eau pour diagnostiquer les problémes, analyser les coûts;• concasseur portatif pour fabriquer de la pierre concassée pour utiliser dans les chemins sous-terre, et• utilisation de micro-ondes pour transmettre les images captées par camera."

Jan 1, 1990

By P. Favreau

This paper describes the progress accomplished at the Noranda Technology Centre in the field of three-dimensional computer-aided underground blast design. Traditional methods of laying out underground blasts are reviewed, and the new computer-aided approach is described. Time savings achieved through the use of BLASTCAD can be advantageously used to better engineer blasts, using models and blast vibration analysis. Future work involving the attachment of blast models directly to the system is also addressed.

Feb 1, 1993

By Franz Xaver Spachtholz

K+S Potash Canada GP (KSPC) is part of the K+S Group, one of the world's leading suppliers of standard and speciality fertilizers and the world?s leading salt producer. Globally, the K+S Group employs more than 14,000 people. The K+S share ? the only commodities stock on the German DAX index ? is listed on all German stock exchanges. Legacy, K+S Group?s most recent project, is a greenfield solution potash mine and production plant in the south of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. Therefore K+S will invest 4.1 billion CAD. With the expected commissioning in summer 2016 the company projects to reach the two-million-tonnesmark of production capacity at the new location at the end of 2017. The gradual extension of the annual capacity to 2.86 million tonnes of potash products will occur afterwards. The Legacy Project will be Saskatchewan?s first new potash mine in nearly 40 years. It is one of the world?s most economically attractive potash projects. The project will contribute to Saskatchewan?s growth through employment, tax revenues, utilities, and local partnerships. Located in the southern part of Saskatchewan?s potash belt, the deposit is too deep to be mined conventionally due to rock mechanics and high temperatures. Legacy will therefore be a solution mine. Proximity to the urban centers of Regina and Moose Jaw is imperative, with their workforces and economy, as well as access to highways, railway carriers and, most importantly in the prairies, water. With this unique project setting and mining technique, we are convinced that Legacy will be one of the most efficient, economic, sustainable and safe potash facilities in the world.

Aug 1, 2013

By A. R. Turner

AERIAL survey methods have made enormous technical advances and gained new recognition since World War II. Before enlarging on this statement and reviewing some of the uses of aerial survey in industrial development it is important to de-fine what is meant by "aerial survey". The subject will be discussed in the broadest sense and references will be made to the four sections that compose the overall field of surveying operations from the air. These are: 1. Aerial photography and photo-graphic mapping. 2. The use of airborne electronic instruments for geodetic distance measurement and the determination of ground elevations. 3. Airborne geophysical surveying. 4. The extraction of qualitative and quantitative information from aerial photographs through the processes of "reading", analysis and interpretation. Many sciences and techniques are combined in aerial survey operations. The tools of the business include aircraft, finely engineered cameras, elaborate film processing and printing equipment, ground survey instruments, precision stereo-plotting instruments, map -

Jan 1, 1961

By P. H. Tolcher

Canada, as the Free World's largest mine producer of zinc and the third largest mine producer of lead, has a vital interest in the future growth in demand for these metals. This paper traces the development of lead and zinc consumption in the last two decades, both on a total-Free-World basis and by major market areas. How Canada, as a major mine producer, has shared in this growth is also indicated. In addition, future consumption for both metals in the current decade of the 1970's is fore-cast. The demand these projections will make on Free World mines, particularly on Canadian mines, is examined. Some of the opportunities and challenges the Canadian mining industry will likely face during this period are also dealt with.

Jan 1, 1971

By D. W. Boydell

The response of reclaimed gold tailings to acid leaching was investigated in the laboratory, followed by a pilot-plant program in which the operations of CCD, CIX and SX were tested with plant feed material. These results formed the basis for the design of the extension to the existing uranium plant at Blyvooruitzicht Gold Mine, commissioned in July 1977. This circuit consists of slimes-dam reclamation by bucket-wheel excavator at a rate of 100,000 t solids per month, acid leaching in pachucas, a five-stage CCD washing section, two parallel C1X absorption columns and two elution columns, SX and an ADU precipitation section. Barren solution is recycled to the CCD section as wash and to the repulper at the slimes dam. The performance of the plant during the first year of operation is compared with the predictions on which the plant design was based. Rated capacity was achieved within three weeks of start-up at a nominal dissolved uranium recovery in the ion-exchange section of around 98%. Owing to recycle, the over-all recovery in the ion-exchange and solvent extraction sections is somewhat higher than this figure.

Jan 1, 1979

By Darrell McClarty, Roger Payne, Matt Haggis, Michael Courtin, Deborah Berthelot

"Over forty years of uranium mining in the Elliot Lake region of Ontario (I 956-1996) has resulted in the production of over 300 million pounds of uranium. With the completion of mining activity, Rio Algom Limited and Denison Mines Limited are utilizing progressive environmental technologies and management systems to reduce and manage the environmental risks associated with the 150 million tonnes of potentially acid-generating tailings in nine regional waste management areas. Water covers designed to reduce oxygen entry and thereby significantly inhibit acid generation have been applied at six of the sites with the Quirke site serving as a demonstration site for the Mine Environmental Neutral Drainage program. All five of Rio Algom Limited' s effluent treatment plants are monitored and controlled from a central control station utilizing a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system based on ""Fix Dmacs"" technology. Scheduling, auditing and reporting of plant operating and environmental monitoring programs for the entire watershed are controlled utilizing the Regional Environmental Information Management System (REIMS). Proper application of these technologies and management systems facilitates delivery of cost-effective environmental monitoring, care and maintenance programs at these sites and provides tools to demonstrate compliance with all environmental performance criteria.IntroductionCost-effective management of multiple tailings management areas distributed throughout a 35 km watershed requires the application of leading-edge environmental technologies. Long-term monitoring, care and maintenance costs must first be minimized through the application of decommissioning technologies that inhibit acid generation and minimize the release of contaminants from the sites. On-going operating costs must then be controlled through the application of environmental management strategies that optimize the allocation of resources while ensuring compliance with regulatory and Company environmental requirements.Using sites in the Serpent River Watershed as an example, this paper demonstrates the effectiveness of water covers as a decommissioning strategy to inhibit acid generation. In addition, the Telemetered Environmental Operating Control System and Regional Environmental Information Management System are reviewed as examples of the application of environmental technologies to the management of environmental programs."

Jan 1, 1998

By Joanne G. Petrini

ISO 26000 Unique Process Unique Personality ?Almost 10 years in the making ?What type of standard is this? Different type of ISO Standard ISO 26000 Structure and Substance ?Principles ?Core Subjects ?Implementation Guidance ISO 26000 Impact ?Same old, same old? ?So Is there really anything NEW? ?Should I care??

May 1, 2011

By Norman A. Parlee

Introduction The principal primary iron and steel producing capacity of the Dominion Steel and Coal Corporation is at the Dominion Iron and Steel, Limited, plant at Sydney, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. The main raw materials are Cape Breton coal, Wabana (Newfoundland) iron ore, and Port-au-Port (Newfoundland) limestone. This plant, which was established at the turn of the century has gradually expanded its production facilities so that today its ingot producing capacity is over 720,000 tons annually. Principal operating units of the plant at present are three batteries of 173 Koppers by-product coke ovens with conventional by-product recovery equipment, three blast furnaces .of 15 ft. 6 in., 18 ft. 3 in., and 19 ft. 3 in. hearth diameter (inside the brick), one 700-ton hot metal mixer, ten open hearth furnaces (two of 175-ton capacity, three 12 5-ton, five 60-ton), one 10-ton electric furnace, a 40-inch blooming mill, a billet mill, a rail mill, a tie plate mill, rod and bar mills, and a wire and nail mill. Extensive machine shops and an iron and brass foundry are also available for plant maintenance and repairs. This paper will describe developments during the past five years and those now in process. It will also briefly discuss research being done and indicate the direction of future development.

Jan 1, 1951

By A. H. Lang

"IntroductionMUCH PROSPECTING, exploration, and development work was done for uranium in Canada in 1952, chiefly in northern Saskatchewan and in the Great Bear Lake region of the northwest Territories. The outstanding feature of the year was the great amount of work done in preparing for production at the Ace mine of Eldorado Mining and Refining, Limited, in the Goldfields region . of Saskatchewan. Many private companies and prospectors were also active in this region. Most of the other parts of Canada where uranium has been found received less attention than during the last few years, partly because so much interest was taken in the Goldfields region.In presenting this short summary of the year's activities now, the writer is handicapped because the season is not yet over; some discoveries have probably not yet been announced, and there has not yet been time to digest the numerous reports that have been sent in by companies and prospectors. In any case it would be impossible to give details for most of the discoveries and properties, because that would require a long report, and because that information is classed as confidential until released by the discoverers and companies concerned. It is only possible, therefore, to give a few generalizations, a brief out-line of the activities in northern Saskatchewan, even briefer ,accounts of the work in other parts of the country, and a few details that property owners have informed the writer he may publish or that have already been published by the owners."

Jan 1, 1953

By Gary M. Poxleitner

Skip/Hoist ?Vertical Advantage of Hoist ?High capital ?High operating cost Trucks Trucks ?Flexibility of ramp ?Low capital ?High operating cost Conveyor Inclined High capital ?Low Cost to run ?Continuous Production ?High Capacity ?Transfer pointsMax Grade: +32%

Feb 1, 2008

By Shahé Shnorhokian

Numerical modeling is increasingly being used as a tool to examine complex geomechanical issues related to rockmass behaviour and stability of underground openings. The in-situ stress regime and the evolution of mining-induced stresses during the life of an operation, taking into account the planned stope sequence, are topics that can only be handled through the use of a realistic and calibrated numerical model. This paper presents a case study of a deep underground Canadian mine in northern Ontario. A FLAC3D model was constructed and calibrated based on in-situ stress measurements. In the first stage, the evolution of stress regime was studied and compared with the occurrence of rockburst events during a period of three years. The locations of clusters were examined and compared to the mining sequence during that period. In the second stage, stresses within a diminishing ore pillar were examined based on the planned stope sequence and compared to levels deemed acceptable to the mine. Based on the results, an alternative sequence was arrived at to reduce stress accumulation in the pillar, or induce it to occur at a further distance from a brittle dyke in the vicinity of the orebody.

Aug 1, 2013

By P. Favreau

"This paper describes the progress accomplished at the Noranda Technology Centre in the field of three-dimensional computer-aided underground blast design. Traditional methods of laying out underground blasts are reviewed, and the new computer-aided approach is described. Time savings achieved through the use of BLASTCAD can be advantageously used to better engineer blasts, using models and blast vibration analysis. Future work involving the attachment of blast models directly to the system is also addressed.IntroductionThe Noranda Technology Centre's (NTC) Environment and Mining Laboratory, in cooperation with the mining operations of the Noranda Group, is committed to the development and implementation of new technologies in the field of mineral extraction . Within the frame of its research program, the Blasting Technology Program is developing computer "" tools"" designed to assist the blasting engineer or technician. These computer "" tools"" are regrouped under a global software system called BLASTCAD.The BLASTCAD project started in 1990 at NTC. At that time computer programs designed to calculate and model various blasting parameters had been accumulated. These programs cam e from different sources and were mutually incompatible. Furthermore, they were developed as research programs with tittle effort spent on user interface. These programs are very useful, but are highly specialized, need large input files and can be quite tedious to use as ""standalone"" packages .Therefore, the situation being faced was one where all these programs were available at the Noranda Technology Centre, but not a t the operations. The two following options were then considered: 1. continue to run all the models and programs at the Noranda Technology Centre, and present results through reports to the mines, or2. regroup all the different programs under a single one that would make them share the same data base and be transported to the user. This second option is the one that was adopted; the result is BLASTCAD."

Jan 1, 1993

By C. W. Jr. Waterman

INTRODUCTION MY SUBJECT is one which would require several speakers and many hours of time for adequate presentation in all its many facets. Because of the widely varying market requirements and coal seams mined, the coal industry of the United States bas of necessity employed many types of preparation facilities to satisfy its needs. Predominance of Baum-type jigs, however, bas marked the mechanical cleaning installations since the early thirties, and these machines continue to hold the lead. CLEANING As a matter of record we find that, at the end of 1948, we had 480 mechanical cleaning plants in operation. Of these, 19 used air cleaners only,?400 used water washers only, . and 61 used dry and wet washers in combination . Due to the increased use of spray water underground on cutting and mechanical mining equipment, there has in recent years been a marked downward trend in dry cleaning installations. In fact, the moisture in dry-cleaned fines has been increased to such an extent by spraying that recent dry cleaning installations have incorporated thermal drying ahead of the dry cleaning units in an effort to overcome the varying and increasingly higher moisture percentages in their raw coal feeds. While on the subject of dry cleaning, it might be well to bring to your attention one of our most recent developments in this art. I refer to the McNally-Brusset vacuum jig.

Jan 1, 1951

By Linlin Tong, Xiangling Song, Guobao Chen, Zhenan Jin, Hongying Yang

Biooxidation of a high arsenic-bearing refractory gold ore was investigated to determine the arsenic removal efficiency by the cultured bacteria and to examine the effect of biological pretreatment on subsequent gold cyanidation. The biooxidation pretreatment process utilizes the ability of adapted acidophilic bacteria to oxidize pyrite and arsenopyrite and release the encapsulated gold. The released gold can be efficiently extracted by the subsequent cyanidation process. The biooxidation experiments were conducted with cultured bacteria using various sizes of agitation tanks. Leaching results showed that over 96.26 % arsenic extraction could be obtained from this ore after 6 days of bioleaching with continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR). Gold extraction during the cyanidation process was increased from 29.35% to 96.71% after biological pretreatment. The content of arsenic in the biooxidation residue was reduced to below 0.3%. The transformation process of As was considered as [AsS]2- ? As (?) ? As (?) during the biological pretreatment.

Jan 1, 2014

By G. R. Tostengard

"The paper identifies functional areas which frequently can yield significant productivity improvement. Emphasis is placed on the repair and maintenance, material supply and training functions. Successful approaches are discussed in some detail, and typical results which have been achieved are reviewed.IntroductionA challenge which at all times confronts the manager o f any mineral operation is the potential to improve his operation no matter how effective it might be a t the present time. The challenge has been present through my entire lifetime and I suspect a good many years prior to that and, I expect, will continue many year s and decades in the future. The competitive and economic situation in which we in the minerals industry find ourselves today makes the challenge eve n more important during the 1980s. In many cases it’s a question of survival, not simply pr of it improvement.There are, of course, many avenues to improving profitability; technological changes, new equipment and facilities, improved products, improved mine plans, etc. All of these are important and must be addressed by each manager. This paper focusses on just one avenue to improvement and that is ""improved management"", not so much of management at the boardroom level but of improved management o f the facilities and workforce as the y currently exist. Management implies control. There are three areas where control is often found lacking:1, Repair and maintenance of equipment and facilities;2. Material supply including procurement, inventory control and warehousing; and3. Training.These three areas are all complex and difficult to manage and they are all but ignored in the formal education which our industry's manager s normally receive. They are areas which can be improved with relatively small investments and therefore, they represent especially attractive improvement targets during the 80s when, for most of us, investment dollars are very difficult to come by."

Jan 1, 1983

By M. L. Connolly

Zinc production by Cominco Ltd. began in Trail in 1916 at a rate of 55 metric tonnes per day (t/d) and was increased ,in several increments until now electrowinning capacity approaches 750 t/d. The last increment, 40-t/d high-productivity electrowinning plant, was commissioned in 1974. In this paper, the design and operating experience with both the existing electrowinning plant and the new high-productivity plant are described.

Jan 1, 1977

By C. H. Hopper

THE gold orebodies of the Matachewan Consolidated mine are of particular interest geologically because of their odd shapes, their apparent lack of connection one with another, and the fact that they occur in a number of different formations. All of the orebodies exhibit a similar fracture pattern and the areas of fracturing appear related to the local folding. However, the lack of either horizontal or vertical continuity suggests additional controls not yet discovered. The question of origin, so ably discussed by H. C. Cooke in 1919, will be reviewed in the light of the additional evidence uncovered since his examination of surface trenches twenty-four years ago. The Matachewan Consolidated mine, with its neighbour, the Young-Davidson mine, is in Powell township, 25 miles by road northwest from Elk Lake, 30 miles west of Kirkland Lake, and 45 miles southeast of Porcupine. It may be considered as being on the westerly extension of the Kirk-land Lake sedimentary belt, where the rock column is markedly similar. There is no similarity in structure, however, for great ore-bearing shears and faults simply do not occur at Matachewan. Rather may it be said that the region, under stress, failed in isolated brecciated patches, some of which make up today's orebodies. The mine currently treats 1,000 tons a day of porphyry ore averaging 0.10 oz. gold per ton. It started operations in 1934 on greenstone ore, and the mill then treated 150 tons a day of ore averaging 0.23 oz. gold per ton. Total production to the end of 1941 has been 929,484 .tons averaging 0.160 oz. gold per ton.

Jan 1, 1942

By M. Pearson, L. Zunti

Pressure vessels in hydrometallurgy and many chemical process industries throughout the world require the use of specific lining systems to protect the parent vessel materials from corrosion and/or abrasion. Typically, these lining systems are required for processes that are corrosive and operate at elevated temperatures. Two basic lining system types arc: 1) refractory linings in conjunction with an impervious corrosion resistant membrane, and 2) metal-clad vessels consisting of titanium or other corrosion resistant metal bonded to a carbon steel shell. Operating conditions play a key role in selecting the type of lining system to be utilized for a specific application. Lining systems in turn have an impact on the process vessel size, which ultimately affects the capital cost of the vessel. The capital costs for each type of lining system must be considered for each application, as well as maintenance concerns, quality control, and delivery. It is clear that operating conditions play a key role in the final selection of lining systems utilized for specific projects based on initial capital cost, life-cycle maintenance costs, and overall service life. This paper will examine the fundamentals of each lining system, their inherent technical strengths and weaknesses, and present relative cost comparisons for each lining system as they apply to specific operating conditions and vessel sizes.

Jan 1, 2004

In April, 1961, a large pillar was removed by blasthole mining methods at Inco's Murray mine. More than half a million pounds of explosives were used to break 2,120,000 tons of ore in a single underground blast. The 5, 10 2-inch boreholes, involving 435,815 feet of drilling, were loaded over a three-week period, using conventional explosives and short-period electric caps. From this blast, more than half a million tons of ore have been removed to date (April, 1962) through slusher trenches situated in the footwall of the ore body. T HE Ontario Division of The International Nickel Company of Canada, Limited, operates six underground mines and two open pits in the Sudbury district in the north-central part of the Province. This paper describes the removal of a large pillar at the Murray mine (Figure 1), where 2,120,000 tons of ore were broken in a single underground blast by the blasthole mining method. This is the largest underground blast achieved to date (April, 1962) at Inco mines.

Jan 1, 1963