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By Cris Sideco

This paper describes the concentration processes of the Sullivan. Concentrator, including crushing , transportation, sink-float, grinding , flotation and dewatering. Handling of hot muck has had a deleterious effect on most of the processes, resulting in significant operating problems and poorer metallurgy. These problems are described -in detail. THE SULLIVAN CONCENTRATOR is situated in Kimberley, high up in the Purcell Range of the Selkirk Mountains, at an elevation of 3,600 feet, approximately 4 miles from the Sullivan Mine (see Fig. 1). The original plant went on stream on August 23, 1923 at a designed capacity of 2,500 tons per day. This has been increased in stages to its present rated capacity of 11,000 tons per day. The latest stage was in 1949, when several major projects, including the underground crushing plant, the sink-float plant and the installation of a rod mill, were completed. Some 112,800,000 tons of ore have been treated in this concentrator to November 1975. The plant started on a 48-hour/ week schedule, but was reduced to 44 hours/week in October 1946 and down to 40 hours/week by the end of 1949. Except for a 6-month period in 1952 when the mill operated continuously, the 40-hour/week, Monday to Friday schedule was in effect.

Jan 1, 1977

By W. Torres Pino, L. Mariscal Samaniego

The Ilo Smelter has been continuously operating since 1960 with Reverberatory furnaces and Pierce Smith converters producing blister copper. The original installed capacity of 1.134 tons per day of concentrated was expanded in 1976. A process of modernization started in 1995 and 1998 with the installation of an El Teniente Converter, a sulfuric acid plant and an oxygen plant to reduce the gaseous emissions to the atmosphere. With the official approval of the Environmental Compliance and Management Program (Programa de Adecuaci6n y Manejo Ambiental - PAMA) in January 1997, Southern Peru Copper Corporation made a commitment to capture 91. 7% of the S02 generated at the smelter by January 2007. After an evaluation of six different technologies, the ISASMEL T process was selected because it can be easily adapted to the present operation, has a lower capital cost and it is a simple process. The fast learning curve to reach the total capacity will allow to fulfill the PAMA commitment in time. The project construction is in process and SPCC is prepared for a successful start-up and transition of the current operations at the end of year 2006. This paper outlines the factors considered by SPCC in its choice of ISASMEL T technology and describes the construction and the start-up activities of the new facilities.

Jan 1, 2007

By John Gittins

Lots 11 and 12, Range IX, Calumet island, are underlain by a Grenville metamorphic complex into which sills of tourmaline granite pegmatite have been injected. The pegmatite has an average mode-potash feldspar 65 per cent, sodic plagicdase 10 to 20 per cent, quartz 5 to 20 per cent, tourmaline 10 to 15 per cent, accessory minerals < 5 per cent; it is unzoned except for a narrow border zone. Some of the feldspar has been replaced by calcite. Microcline has been ?partially replaced by sodic plagioclase. Three varieties of tourmaline are present (black, blue, and green) and spectrographic analysis suggests progressive compositional changes during its crystallization. The presence of U- and Th-bearing minerals in the pegmatite prompted the Quebec Nickel Cor,porat10n, Ltd., to explore the possibility of developing the pegmatite but it does not appear that this is economically possible at the ? present time. Tt\e Grenville metamorphic complex consists of recrystallized limestones and calcsilicate rocks of the albite-epidoteamphibolite facies and the amphibolite facies, which were derived from sedimentary rocks. Several of these are dis-equilibrium assemblages, and retrograde metamorphism has probably formed biotite and epidote from hornblende. The schistosity of the gneisses dips steeply eastward. Numerous strike faults are roughly parallel to the schistosity and one of the pegmatite sills is bounded by such a fault, dipping at 60 ° with about one foot of fault breccia. The general structure of the map-area seems to be an asymmetrical syncline ?overturned to the west. The emplacement of the pegmatite is associated with a period of folding, metamorphism, and igneous intrusion.

Jan 1, 1956

By G. Gabra, M. Nagamori, J. J. Panneton

"RESUMELa calcination contrôlée de 10 serpentine permet de produire de 10 magnésie active. Le degré de I&apos;activation est mesure par 10 solubilité du magnésium dans les acides faibles tel que I&apos;acide acétique, La serpentine contenue dans les résidus d&apos;amiante du Québec peut donc être activée par calcination. Le teneur en magnésie active des rejets d&apos;amiante calcinés est fonction de divers paramètres: température, temps de calcination, granulométrie, etc. Les rejets d&apos;amiante de différentes provenances démontrent des comportements thermochimiques différents qui sont étudiés dans Ie présent travail au moyen d&apos;ATD, de TG, de la diffraction des rayons X et de la lixivation par l&apos;acide acétique. On constate qu&apos;un maximum d&apos;environ 80% de la magnésie totale peut être activé dans certains rejets d&apos;amiante du Québec et Ie degré d&apos;activation dépend de la provenance.vIntroductionOn sait depuis longtemps que la serpentine, Mg3Si2O5(OH)4, un silicate hydroxylé de magnésium, devient amorphe lorsqu&apos;elle perd de I&apos;eau d&apos;hydratation entre 600 et 700 °C. La serpentine ainsi calcinée est alors dissociée en magnésie et en silice. Cette magnésie, dite active, est soluble dans un acide faible ou même dans les solutions de sels d&apos;ammonium.Plusieurs precédés chimiques ont été proposés afin d&apos;extraire sous forme de composés magnésiens la magnésie de la serpentine. La plupart de ces procédés comportent une activation par calcination de la serpentine préalablement à une Iixiviation par un acide ou par une solution d&apos;un sel d&apos;ammonium.Malgré la contamination par Ie fer et par d&apos;autres éléments, les compositions chimiques des rejets de différentes mines d &apos;amiante du Québec, présentées au tableau 1, sont très proches de la serpentine typique. Puisque Ie degré d&apos;activation de la magnésie varie grandement d&apos;une serpentine à I&apos;autre lors de la calcination, la première étape de la recherche sur la transformation chimique des rejets d&apos;amiante du Québec se résume à une étude de leurs comportements thermochimiques."

Jan 1, 1982

By A. Desbiens, R. del Villar

"This two-part paper summarizes the design and implementation of a distributed PIbased control strategy installed at the B grinding circuit, at the Kidd Creek Division of Falconbridge Ltd. Part I details the design of the control strategy using a grinding circuit dynamic simulator (DYNAFRAG). The first step consisted of sampling campaigns and data processing to calibrate DYNAFRAG. Then, several control alternatives were designed and tested with the simulator. The main feature of these strategies is their ability to regulate or keep within an upper and lower limit five output variables (circulating load, rod mill density, cyclone feed and overflow densities and pump box level) with only three manipulated variables (rod mill water, pump box water and rod mill tonnage). By simulation on DYNAFRAG, it was possible to discriminate among several control structures. The preferred control strategy uses a saturation algorithm, which allows the adequate regulation of two measured variables with only one actuator. Controllers located in interacting loops are appropriately tuned, taking into account the existing process coupling. Part II will present the implementation of the selected control strategy.IntroductionSteady state simulators are used to predict the stationary state of a given process under specific operating conditions. Tradi - tionally, steady state simulation has been applied for process flowsheet design, for evaluating process modification benefits or for determining key operating parameters in process operation optimization. Dynamic simulators add a new dimension to process simulation since they allow the prediction of the process transient behaviour, resulting from the application of a different set of operating conditions and/or from natural disturbances or equipment failure. Dynamic simulators can also be used for the training of new operators or for the design of control strategies."

Jan 1, 1997

By P. Reyes

The start up and operational optimization of the No. 3 Oxygen Plant at the Caletones Copper Smelter of the Codelco - Chile El Teniente Division is summarized. In addition, the economic impact of such optimization on the production cost of oxygen and others aspects associated to the operational robustness as well is detailed.

Jan 1, 2007

By W. F. Giuvlore, E. Mcroberts, T. S. Golosinski

"The rising demand for Canadian coal and depletion of shallow deposits, most suitable for surface mining, result in rapidly increasing volume of waste materials which have to be moved by the coal mining industry. While at present this challenge is being successfully met using conventional mining methods, in the future, innovative methods must be considered if Canadian coal is to remain competitive.The need for more efficient mining methods is also faced by the oil sands industry to assure competitiveness of the synthetic oil price.A look at the world mining practice indicates that large volumes of material can be economically mined and moved by the continuous mining systems comprising bucket-wheel excavators, belt conveyors and stackers. To assess the state of art and applicability of this mining method to Canadian conditions, the field trip was organized by the Department of Mining Engineering o f the University of Alberta, to several typical mining operations in Europe. It is in Europe where the continuous mining methods were developed and are almost exclusively used in large-scale surface mining."

Jan 1, 1984

By S. Mathieu, R. Mennillod-Blondin, P. Cousin, N. Valle, H. Bouzahzah, P. Marion

The gold deposit of the Lapa mine has a complex mineralogical gold state with coarse and fine native gold, aurostibite and submicroscopic gold within arsenopyrite. A specific mineralogical characterization of the refractory fraction was conducted combining various techniques such as optical microscopy, electron microscopy, electron microprobe and secondary ion mass spectrometry. In parallel, the mineral processing behaviour and the recovery of the refractory gold were studied by pressure oxidation and cyanide leaching. This paper presents the mineralogical methodology developed to characterize the refractory gold distribution within arsenopyrite. These results are presented and interpreted in order to plot gold recovery versus sulphide oxidation. The comparison of the metallurgical behaviour yields predicted from the mineralogical data and the one calculated from leaching tests shows a good agreement and allows mineralogical explanations of the gold metallurgical behaviour.

Jan 1, 2011

By G. G. Hatch

FOLLOWING World War II there was an urgent need for the development of domestic sources of ilmenite to take care of the expanding needs of the titanium dioxide pigment industry. In addition, there was the interest by the pigment manufucturers and others in titanium metal. Prior to the war the pigment industry in the United States had obtained its major tonnage of ilmenite, analyzing 55- ?60 per cent Ti02, from India. However, as a result of the shipping situation which developed during the war, the pigment manufacturers had to consider the use of lower grades of ilmenite located on this continent .and several companies undertook extensive exploration programmes to locate and develop such orebodies. Probably the most significant deposit that was found as a result of these ?programmes was the orebody .at Allard Lake, Quebec, owned by the Quebec Iron and Titanium Corporation. This ?Company was formed in 1948 by the Kennecott Copper Corporation and the New Jersey Zinc Company to mine this ilmenite ore and treat it in electric furnaces to produce titanium dioxide slag for the pigment industry and iron for the steel industry.

Jan 1, 1956

By M. H. Govett, G. J. S. Govett

"The current American ""energy crisis"", occurring in the midst of a global debate on the adequacy of mineral supplies to support present and projected levels of world consumption, has focused attention on Canada as a major world producer of minerals. Exports of minerals account for approximately one-third of Canadian foreign earnings; more than half of these exports are to the United States. Although the United States is a net importer of most industrially important metals, with the exception of nickel and zinc, only a small part of American mineral imports are from Canada; these imports are minerals for which geographical proximity and strategic considerations are important. In the short-term, Canada is more dependent on her exports to the U.S. than America is on imports from Canada. It is argued that Canada, far from indulging in economic nationalism to preserve her resources, should expand her exports while the markets are available."

Jan 1, 1973

By Alan Galley, Tom Hynes, Michel Plouffe

"Mining in Canada’s economy• Employs 320,000+ workers; Wages 30-60% above other sectors• Operates 220 producing mines, 33 smelters and refineries• Paid $8.4B in taxes and royalties to governments in 2010• Invests about $30B in capital projects annually • Largest private employer of Aboriginal Canadians 2• Core supplier to clean-technology sectors• Attracted 18% of world exploration spending in 2010• Efficient TSX processes - 1400 mining companies listed, ~50% of mineral projects are outside Canada• Estimated 1000 Canadian companies in 100 countries• Minerals account for 21% by value of Canada’s goods exports• Top 5 World Producer in uranium, potash, nickel, platinum, aluminum, diamonds, zinc, met coal"

Jan 1, 2012

By M. B. McClenaghan

"Abstract- The Ontario Geological Survey completed a regional till sampling project between 1984 and 1988 in the Black River Matheson (BRiM) area of northeastern Ontario. The project was designed to aid mineral exploration in the area by documenting the Quatemary stratigraphy and by providing a database of till geochemistry. This paper summarizes the results from the sonic overburden drilling component of the BRiM project carried out in areas of thick drift (> 5 m). Results from till sampling in areas of thinner drift (<5 m) have been presented in a separate paper. Approximately 1100 till samples were collected from 225 sonic drill holes. For each sample, the non-magnetic heavy mineral (> 3.3 S.G.) and fine (-250 mesh) till fractions were analyzed geochemically and visible gold grains were recovered by panning.Gold and other multielement geochemical data were plotted using proportional symbols to high­ light anomalous areas and to demonstrate how to evaluate and interpret a very large geochemical dataset. Thresholds for identifying anomalous concentrations of Au in till samples, defined using the 95th percentile, are 1500 ppb and 12 ppb for the heavy mineral and fine fractions, respectively. The heavy mineral fraction of older tills and to a lesser extent, Matheson Till, display a number of significant gold anomalies in the study area, which in a few cases, are associated with base metal anomalies. The vertical position of gold anomalies in Matheson and older tills varies from directly on bedrock to several meters above the bedrock surface and can provide information of relative ice transport distances."

Jan 1, 1994

By M. Mezbahul-Islam

Thermodynamic modeling of the Mg-Cu-Ni system is carried out as a part of multi component thermodynamic database for Mg alloys. This system is being modeled for the first time using the modified quasichemical model, which considers the presence of short range ordering in the liquid. The thermodynamic descriptions of the binaries Mg-Cu, Cu-Ni and Mg-Ni have been extrapolated to the ternary Mg-Cu-Ni system using Toop geometric model. The constructed database has been used to calculate and predict thermodynamic properties, isothermal sections and liquidus projections of the Mg¬Cu-Ni system, which showed very good consistency with the experimental data.

Jan 1, 2011

By S. L. Chen

The Kumera Technology Center developed a unique type of steam dryer for drying copper concentrate in the mid 1990s. The dryer has been chosen in several copper smelter projects since 1999. To expand production capacities, the Norddeutsche Affinerie smelter, the Pirdop smelter of Cumerio, the Toyo smelter of Sumitomo Metal Mining and the Tamano smelter of Hibi Kyodo Smelting have carried out projects in which Kumera Steam Dryers were installed. The capacity of a single steam dryer varies from 70 t/h to 160 t/h. This article summarizes the latest operation results of the Kumera Steam Dryers in these smelters and introduces the progress of the ongoing projects in Yanggu Xiangguang Copper, Guixi smelter of Jiangxi Copper, Jinlong Copper, Boliden Harjavalta, and Onsan smelter of LS-Nikko Copper.

Jan 1, 2007

By G. A. Davidson, P. G. Williams

"New developments in centrifugal slurry pump technology are discussed in relation to their importance for improving pump operation and reliability.Experimental data obtained by measuring the velocity of liquid flows in a slurry pump casing using Laser Doppler Velocimetry are presented. This demonstrates the importance of selecting pumps with the proper hydraulic design to provide optimum efficiency, maximum part life and minimum operating cost.The paper also discusses the use of new wear resistant materials, such as ceramic/metal composites, which can significantly improve the life of parts exposed to abrasive media. The results of laboratory attrition tests are presented. IntroductionCentrifugal slurry pumps are of primary importance for the hydro transport of abrasive and corrosive media in the mineral processing industry. As for all process equipment, slurry pumps must be carefully selected and operated to provide optimal performance. To achieve this, it is necessary to select equipment which will provide efficient and reliable operation for the specific service conditions and incorporates the best materials available to obtain maximum parts life.Abrasive wear of liquid end components is the most important aspect that distinguishes the design and application of slurry pumps from other types of pumps. It is therefore necessary to have a fundamental understanding of the mechanical interaction between pump components and the media being handled, as this will impact significantly on hydraulic design, mechanical reliability and selection of wear resistant materials. Recent advances in computational approaches&apos;» have greatly improved the prediction of wear rates in pump casings by facilitating the solution of complex equations which describe the wear mechanisms mathematically. In conjunction with this, new experimental techniques allow researchers to measure flow fields in pump casings using non-invasive devices such as Laser Doppler velocimeters."

Jan 1, 1992

By John D. Smith, Robert J. Mitchell

"There is a world-wide trend toward underground bulk mining methods employing hydraulically placed backfill. This trend is recent and therefore there is little in the literature to assist an operator in the design of backfill properties, the design of drainage facilities, the calculation of the operating forces on a bulkhead, and the control procedures considered necessary before, during and after pouring. This paper presents recommended procedures that are based on over to years of experience in the various aspects of backfilling large openings. Free-draining timber or concrete block bulkheads are shown to be a viable alternative to massive reinforced concrete bulkheads for the containment of backfill pours. Hydrostatic pressures cannot develop in backfills provided adquate drainage facilities are installed.IntroductionThe increasingly adverse relationship between mining costs and mineral values has led mining companies to develop more productive, lower-cost, bulk mining methods. This has led to the increasing use of large, more or less continuous, hydraulically placed backfill pours to enable the recovery of a higher proportion of pillar ore. The success of any bulk mining method depends on the degree of stability maintained during the stoping operations with reference to the mining rate, the performance of the backfill with respect to the per cent extraction of pillar ore, and the control of the mine structure with respect to safety and productivity. One such method has been previously described(I) where a steeply dipping orebody is being mined with a sub-level method that employs large, hydraulically placed tailings pours for delayed pillar recovery. The paper describes the rock mechanics analysis undertaken to establish the stope and pillar geometry and the approach taken to establish backfill strength requirements to prevent dilution during pillar recovery. Production with this method started in 1970 and because few, if any, large bulk pours had previously been used in- this way (judging by the lack of information in the literature), design data and criteria were needed for several aspects of the work. Methods to establish backfill quantities and pertinent ""in-place"" fill properties are described in 2, 3 and 4 in the list of references. Results of field measurements taken to establish fill pressures for bulkhead design purposes are described in 5 and 6. Laboratory large-scale model tests undertaken to confirm a fill strength design equation, which takes into account fill arching, have recently been completed. A paper describing these tests and the results will be forthcoming in the near future."

Jan 1, 1982

By J. T. Sims, C. E. Karayannopoulos

Today&apos;s rare earth industry is undergoing significant and rapid evolutionary change toward greater reliability and diversity of supply, increased security of supply chains, and better price forecasting. Technology innovation is reducing rare earth production costs while decreasing the impact of producers on the environment. Advances in rare earth material science are reducing the need for relatively scarce heavy rare earths (HREEs) in high-performance neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) permanent rare earth magnets and opening the NdFeB magnetic market space for a broader range of downstream applications. Rare earth producers such as Molycorp are increasingly able to offer long-term supply agreements with forward price predictability, something that has not been the case for many years. All of these trends are helping to restore the confidence of customers and other stakeholders in the rare earth space. That increased confidence is likely to bolster global demand for rare earth materials and expand innovative utilization of these remarkable materials.

Jan 1, 2014

By Dave Ecobichon, Éric Côté, Simon Nickson, Michel Leclerc

The feasibility assessment of a mineral deposit requires the construction of a geo mechanical model of rock mass properties, for the purpose of preliminary mine design. The Noranda Technology Centre has been involved in the development of geomechanical models for several mineral deposits at the feasibility stage. Each model is constructed through intact rock testing, geotechnical core logging, geotechnical mapping and rock mass classification. Rock mechanics principles are used to develop conceptual stope designs and propose possible mining sequences. This methodology is applicable to both new mining projects and to the development of new areas within anoperating mine. This paper explains how the geomechanical model is developed and reviews its application to several case studies.

Jan 1, 1996

By W. R. Hargrave

"Mining OperationsOre will be mined by open pit techniques. Because of the high grade of the deposit and the low strip ratio, mining rates are small relative to most other open pit operations.The ore deposit is located in the valley of the main fork of Red Dog Creek. The bulk of the deposit is located on the southwestern flank of the creek, but mineralization does traverse the creek in both the north and east directions.Erosion has exposed the orebody in a number of locations, and has resulted in oxidation of the mineralization closer to the surface. Although much of this oxide material is very high grade, it leaches readily and, at least in the initial phases of the operation, will be stockpiled and not treated in the concentrator.During construction, 2.3 million mt. (2.5 million st.) of overburden and waste will be stripped from the orebody to expose ore for initial operations. Competent non-mineralized waste will be used to build roads and waste dumps, but the bulk of material removed consists of oxide or ice-rich soils and weathered rock which is not suitable for construction.The annual ore mining rate will be 1.9 million mt. (21. million st.). The strip ratio will start off at 1.2 to 1, falling to 1.0 to 1 by year 5 and ultimately to 0.8 to 1.Bench heights are set at 7.6 m (25 ft). Pit slopes will vary depending on the material present in the wall. The slope, through competent waste and the sulphide package, was set at 45 degrees. This is flattened to 26 degrees (i.e. 2: 1) through overburden and Upper Kivalina shales. The Kivalina Shales are an ice-rich shale whose carbonate matrix has been leached out and which exhibits little or no strength as it thaws. In addition, a 100 ft containment berm will be left in the wall below overburden and Kivalina."

Jan 1, 1989

By C. H. Attwood

Introduction In presenting this paper on the water-power resources of the Province of Manitoba, it was considered that a brief resume of the power resources of Canada, of the power already developed, and its utilization in the industries 9f the country, would be of particular interest in showing the rapid progress that has already been made. Amongst Canada&apos;s national assets, water power occupies a foremost place because of the facilities it provides for the development of her other great natural resources. The rapid development of the mining, pulp and paper, and general manufacturing industries, and the concomitant growth in urbanization, with its numerous demands for domestic, commercial, and municipal service power, have combined to stimulate hydraulic development to a point surpassing even the most sanguine predictions of a few years ago. With the bringing into operation during 1928 of hydraulic turbines aggregating over 550,300 h.p., and of a further 378,400 h.p. in 1929, Canada&apos;s total hydraulic development at the end of 1929 amounted to over 5,700,000 h.p., and in this year, 1930, the active construction in hydro-electric plants throughout the country totals in excess of 1,600,000 h .p.

Jan 1, 1930