Search Documents

To create a successful growth oriented diamond company that succeeds in the practical business of mining and selling rough diamonds, and which pursues an aggressive exploration strategy to seek and develop worldclass diamond mining opportunities in a market that has become increasingly under-supplied.

May 1, 2008

By C. H. B. Leitch

"The Bralorne-Pioneer deposit produced more gold than any other deposit in British Columbia over its 70 years of operation (130 kg or 4 million oz of Au, from 7 million tonnes of 18 glt ore). Mineralization is related to a suite of late Cretaceous albitite dykes of 85 to 90 Ma age. It thus occurred long after and is genetically unrelated to the Early Permian (275 Ma) Bralorne diorite and soda granite.The major veins strike about 110 degrees and dip north at 70 degrees, with slickensides plunging 45 degrees east that indicate last movement was reverse. Major ore shoots in the veins occupy somewhat less than 20% of the vein and plunge steeply west, roughly perpendicular to the slickensides. The structures that contain the veins probably formed at around 95 to 90 Ma during a strike-slip episode with easterly directed maximum compression.Disseminated pyrite, pyrrhotite, and minor chalcopyrite occur within envelopes up to several metres from the veins. Arsenopyrite is confined to vein selvages. Local sphalerite and galena appear to correlate with gold-rich portions of the veins. Traces of tetrahedrite and stibnite have been observed but tellurides have not. Gold is found principally as thin smeared flakes of the native metal in the black sulphidic septae of the strongly ribboned veins. Hydrothermal alteration envelopes around the veins grade outwards from intensely foliated quartz - ankerite - sercite (±fuchsite) to less sheared calcite - chlorite - albite to unsheared epidote -calcite.Open-space vein filling textures found in the deep (mesothermal) environment at Bralorne can be explained by a fault- valve model. High-angle reverse faults may have acted as fluid-pressure activated valves on geopressured reservoirs, causing large cyclic fluctuations in fluid pressure that promoted mineral deposition in an episodic fashion . The faults that were mineralized were reactivated sub-vertical former strike slip faults, oriented at a high angle to the northeast-directed stress in a compressive regime."

Jan 1, 1990

By Y. Rama Murthy, Amit Ranjan, Pankaj Satija, Sunil K. Tripathy

"Chromite ore is one of the essential raw materials for ferroalloy and steel industry. Boula-Nuasahi belt of Sukinda region, Odisha, is the only resource of chrome ore in India. The Indian deposits are typically characterized as ferruginous and siliceous type ores. Chrome ore is generally mined by open cast mechanized mining method in these areas. The run-off-mine (ROM) ore from the various mines is sent to beneficiation plant via stack yard for further up gradation. The chrome ore beneficiation plant (COB) has two major circuits: comminution (feed preparation) circuit and beneficiation circuit. In the comminution circuit, the ore is reduced to <1 mm size ( for complete liberation of chromite) from -220 mm size in stage wise crushing (primary and secondary crusher) followed by screening and single stage grinding in a ball mill. Fraction having size <1 mm is further upgraded in the beneficiation circuit to produce three different concentrates having specific chemical composition and Cr: Fe ratio. The beneficiation plant is a complex circuit comprising of combination of unit operations (spiral concentrator, Floatex density separator, hydrocyclone, wet shaking tables). In the recent years the overall performance efficiency (grade and recovery) of the beneficiation circuit got affected with numerous changes in the run-off-mine ore quality (physical and chemical), mineralogical composition, etc.In this article, attempts made for improving the performance of chrome ore beneficiation circuit is discussed. The approach adopted and practical problems encountered while the process were also highlighted. The results of the trials has shown an improvement in the performance of the cyclone (d50 : 56 µm – 40 µm) and chromite losses into tailing to <12%.INTRODUCTIONChromite has a wide range of application, from refractories to metallurgical industries, and from chemical to non-ferrous alloy industries. Chromium ore (Fe2+, Mg) [Cr, Al, Fe3+]2O4) occurs exclusively in rocks formed by the intrusion and solidification of molten lava or magma which is very rich in the heavy, iron containing minerals such as pyroxene and olivine. With the richness of silica and iron, the chrome ores are broadly classified as siliceous type and ferruginous type. Pure chromite with composition FeCr2O4 is rare because magnesium usually substitutes for ferrous ion and aluminum and ferrous ion substitutes for chromium. Generally the associated gangue minerals are talc, quartz, hematite, goethite, limonite, gabro, serpentine, anorthosite, dunite, pyroxinite, etc. Around 96% of the chromite ore production is consumed for metallurgical applications of which 94% is converted into different grades of ferrochrome i.e., high carbon ferrochrome and charge chrome as shown in Figure 1. Stainless steel being the leading consumer of ferrochrome, any change in the dynamics of the stainless steel industry impacts overall chrome ore demands significantly."

Jan 1, 2016

By Catharine E. G. Farrow, David H. Watkinson

The Ni-rich Epidote Zone of the Fraser Mine at Sudbury is characterized by alteration assemblages rich in epidote, actinolite and magnetite which are roughly concentrically zoned and up to hundreds of meters in length. These zones form discrete areas within the igneous Footwall Breccia below the Sudbury Igneous Complex. The assemblages grade from epidotized Footwall Breccia matrix,through actinolite-bearing rocks with few vestiges of original Footwall Breccia textures, into the most intensely altered rock, a magnetite-rich facies. Pentlandite, pyrrhotite and pyrite are the dominant sulfdeminerals; chalcopyrite is minor. The strongest geochemical differences compared to original Footwall Breccia occur where epidote and actinolite dominate the alteration assemblage (EPDZact facies). The most intense alteration facies are typifed by low Cu/(Cu+Ni) values of <0.1. Strong positive correlations exist between Ni and Co, Cu and Au, and among Ir, Os, Ru and Rh. Chondrite-normalized Ni - PGE -Au - Cu plots display an overall increase in all elements from the least to the most intensely altered facies except for Au and Cu. As the proportion of actinolite increases in the EPDZact facies, the chondrite-normalized profles fatten considerably due to low Au and Cu contents. Abundances of Ni, Ir, Ru and Rhalmost ubiquitously increase with degree of alteration. In contrast, Cu, Zn, Ag and Au contents are low in almost all facies. It is suggested that saline hydrothermal fluids moved through the Epidote Zone formation and became more oxidized as they reacted with the Footwall Breccia and with footwall units, including ultramafic rocks. As this trend continued, magnetite-rich zones eventually developed. The occurrence of calcite locally in these magnetite-rich zones suggests that the pH of the fluid increased, causing Cu solubility to drop as activity in the hydrothermal system waned. Sudden changes in fluid composition such as this may have been due to an influx of fluid from bounding ultramafic rocks. Hydrothermal activity was focused along the margins of footwall ultramafic units. Individual hydrother-mal cells may have formed in the Footwall Breccia along pre-existing structures or sulfde concentrations. Metals may have been scavenged from sulfide-bearing Footwall Breccia and possibly Sublayer rocks. Nickel and some PGE were deposited in the Epidote Zone, whereas Cu, Au and Ag continued out-ward into the footwall where they were deposited as Cu-rich footwall veins. Copyright © 1996 Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum.

Jan 1, 1996

By Catharine E. G. Farrow, David H. Watkinson

Abstract-The Ni-rich Epidote Zone of the Fraser Mine at Sudbury is characterized by alteration assemblages rich in epidote, actinolite and magnetite which are roughly concentrically zoned and up to hundreds of meters in length. These zones form discrete areas within the igneous Footwall Breccia below the Sudbury Igneous Complex. The assemblages grade from epidotized Footwall Breccia matrix, through actinolite-bearing rocks with few vestiges of original Footwall Breccia textures, into the most intensely altered rock, a magnetite-rich facies. Pentlandite, pyrrhotite and pyrite are the dominant sulfide minerals; chalcopyrite is minor. The strongest geochemical differences compared to original Footwall Breccia occur where epidote and actinolite dominate the alteration assemblage (EPDZact facies). The most intense alteration facies are typified by low Cu/(Cu+Ni) values of <0.1. Strong positive correlations exist between Ni and Co, Cu and Au, and among Ir, Os, Ru and Rh. Chondrite-normalized Ni - PGE - Au - Cu plots display an overall increase in all elements from the least to the most intensely altered facies except for Au and Cu. As the proportion of actinolite increases in the EPDZact facies, the chondrite-normalized profiles flatten considerably due to low Au and Cu contents. Abundances of Ni, Ir, Ru and Rh almost ubiquitously increase with degree of alteration. In contrast, Cu, Zn, Ag and Au contents are low in almost all facies. It is suggested that saline hydrothermal fluids moved through the Epidote Zone formation and became more oxidized as they reacted with the Footwall Breccia and with footwall units, including ultramafic rocks. As this trend continued, magnetite-rich zones eventually developed. The occurrence of calcite locally in these magnetite-rich zones suggests that the pH of the fluid increased, causing Cu solubility to drop as activity in the hydrothermal system waned. Sudden changes in fluid composition such as this may have been due to an influx of fluid from bounding ultramafic rocks. Hydrothermal activity was focused along the margins of footwall ultramafic units. Individual hydrothermal cells may have formed in the Footwall Breccia along pre-existing structures or sulfide concentrations. Metals may have been scavenged from sulfide-bearing Footwall Breccia and possibly Sublayer rocks. Nickel and some PGE were deposited in the Epidote Zone, whereas Cu, Au and Ag continued outward into the footwall where they were deposited as Cu-rich footwall veins.

Jan 1, 1996

By Kri Inwood

"IntroductionIn 1879, when the Dominion government initiated its controversial program of industrial promotion, iron smelting in Canada was limited to one company producing coke iron on the mainland of Nov a Scotia and three small charcoal blast furnaces in Quebec. There was no steel production. By the eve of the first great war, iron and steel were being produced in very large quantities, the companies active in 1879 had disappeared and new centres of integrated iron and rolled steel production at Hamilton, Sydney and Sault Ste. Marie had come to resemble the industry as we know it today.The most dramatic change was that at Sydney, Nova Scotia, where in the early 1900s, two steelmaking companies established works. The Sydney developments have been explained as the result of resource discovery and technical change. W.J. Donald, in his authoritative account of the Canadian iron and steel industry, observes:""The most rapid growth of the Canadian iron and steel industry has occured since 1897... The remarkable growth has been caused largely by the new conditions of the industry. The discovery and use of Newfoundland ores, together with the availability of Cape Breton coal, has made the Nova Scotia industry not only possible but profitable ... It is a safe conclusion that the Canadian industry would not have been an important one, had it not been for the discovery of the Michipicoten and especially the Wabana (Newfoundland) ores""Donald also argues that metallurgical progress had been necessary to render the ores valuable,""Newfoundland ores ... contain a considerable amount of phosphorus, and were made available for steel-making by recent inventions.""The purpose of this paper is to re-examine Donald&apos;s story. It will be argued that the origin of steel -making at Sydney is somewhat more complicated than Donald has indicated. The difficulty with Newfoundland ore extended beyond its phosphorus content and a resolution required more than the basic open hearth furnace identified by Donald. Moreover metallurgical change was only one of several developments necessary to induce industrial investment at Sydney. Surprisingly, however, the discovery of iron ore in the late nineteenth century does not appear to be part of the explanation."

Jan 1, 1983

By C. Siac

"It is a widely held view that in the 21st century, the mining industry will be dominated by a relatively small number of large companies, truly global in scope and internationally staffed (Gooding, 1997). Interestingly enough, most of the exploration and exploitation activities are being carried out by junior and major mining companies from common law jurisdictions in civil law countries, in particular in Latin America, where in recent years, the region has ranked first as a destination for exploration dollars, thanks to the reforms undertaken by some countries to amend their legal framework to attract foreign investment. From a lawyer’s point of view, this is where the main challenge lies: how to bridge the gap between the two legal systems.In order to avoid pitfalls, common law lawyers should be more diligent and proactive when dealing with civil law jurisdictions, given the different systems of law, standards, traditions and customs. Common law lawyers cannot be expected to be well-versed in civil law but they should not be completely unfamiliar with it either. A balance should be struck to ensure clients’ needs are professionally taken care of and that common law requirements and standards are met."

Jan 1, 2003

By D. A. Bordin, C. J. Newman, R. J. St. Eloi

"The requirements for a metallurgical acid plant treating smelter gases are both unique and demanding in terms of sulphur dioxide treatment and emission control. Since start up in 1981, the copper smelter at the Kidd Creek Division of Falconbridge Limited has undergone several major expansions. The expansion and modification of the acid plant has been an integral part of this process. Both production demands and government regulations dictate that this metallurgical acid plant be unique in terms of operating flexibility. The variable capacity to treat a wide range of sulphur dioxide concentrations, and the operating flexibility to control emissions are the topics of this paper.INTRODUCTIONThe Kidd Creek Division of Falconbridge Limitied is a base metal mining and metallurgical complex located in Timmins, Ontario. The discovery of the original copper-zinc-silver orebody was announced in April, 1964. Mining operations began in 1966 with a 9000 tonne per day concentrator coming on stream in November of that year. In April 1972, a 108 000 tonne per year zinc plant was commissioned. Over the years the facilities have been expanded, such that the concentrator now has the capacity to process 13 000 tonnes of ore per day . To expand zinc production, the world&apos;s second installation of the Cominco/Sherritt pressure leaching facility was completed in 1983 to bring total zinc production capacity to 125 000 tonnes per year. In 1973, serious planning for a smelter operation began. In early 1975, after studying both continuous smelting and flash smelting processes, a decision was made to proceed with the technology offered by Mitsubishi Metal Corporation of Japan. The Mitsubishi Continuous Smelting Process was to be used for the smelter and the Onahama No.3 tankhouse technology for the copper refinery.The smelter, which uses the Mitsubishi Continuous Smelting Process for the continuous production of blister copper from concentrate, went on line in June 1981. It has been expanded from its original capacity of 60 000 tonnes to 100 000 tonnes per year of copper.From the very early design stages for the metallurgical complex, the company had adopted a policy of constructing and operating modern plants which would meet existing and anticipated environmental standards. With this in mind, the decision was made to utilize the proven technology of fixing sulphur dioxide emissions, in the form of sulphuric acid. A 636 tonne per day single absorption contact acid plant was built to serve the zinc plant in 1972. In 1981, an 883 tonne per day double absorption contact plant was built to serve the needs of the copper smelter. The copper smelter acid plant has since been expanded to a design capacity of 1692 tonnes per day and it is the main focus of this paper."

Jan 1, 1989

By Karl J. C. Harries

"1.1. WHAT ARE AGREEMENTS AND HOW ARE THEY FORMED?In order to have an agreement, at common law, there must be an offer, acceptance of that offer, and consideration passing between the parties. In addition, the material terms (i.e. the basics or substance) of the agreement must be discernible, preferably by means of documentation. Although these concepts may appear simple and straightforward, the law relating to them is voluminous and complex. Some brief comments are worthwhile.• Offer/acceptance: Both offer and acceptance should be in writing, but they need not be. The actions, conversations, and/or correspondence of the parties may constitute either or both of them. Notwithstanding, the local law or practice of a jurisdiction will impose some specific requirements for certain types of agreements. If these requirements are not met, the agreement may be unenforceable. For example, Ontario’s Mining Act requires transfers of unpatented mining claims to be evidenced in writing and recorded.1• Consideration: Consideration is usually thought of as being money, but it can be virtually anything, even “the premises” (i.e. the mutual covenants or promises contained in the agreement itself). In addition, if one party, relying upon the offer of another, does something to his detriment, then the doing of the act can be considered to be an acceptance of the offer and, under the legal concept of “detrimental reliance”, can also be consideration. Whether or not detrimental reliance exists will depend upon the circumstances of each case.2• Material terms: The requirement that the material terms of an agreement must be discernible does not mean that all of the terms of an agreement must be documented or even have been considered, just the basic or material ones. In addition, it will be up to a judge to decide what is material – not necessarily the parties. In order to establish the material terms, a Court may look at all relevant documentation and may hear oral evidence. It will resist “writing the agreement”"

Jan 1, 2003

By Greg Yuriy

This paper discusses research carried out by the Laurentian University Mining Automation Laboratory (LUMAL) in the field of discrete-event simulation of mine equipment systems and reliability assessment of these machinery using genetic algorithms. The AutoMod simulation package, from Brooks-PRI Automation Inc., is used in this research. It is a 3-D discrete-event simulation/animation software tool for creating realistic depictions of manufacturing and materials handling systems. Discrete-event simulation involves modeling of real-life systems based on variables and events which occur or change at distinct points in time. In our case, a two level, multi-drift sublevel stoping model was created in AutoMod for the simulation of the equipment fleet employed in the development cycle (drilling, explosives loading, blasting, materials hauling, ground support) of a typical underground mine in the nickel mining region of Sudbury in Ontario, Canada. The equipment primarily considered in the simulation is Load-Haul-Dump (LHD) vehicles (scooptrams), drills, explosives-loaders and roof bolters. The purpose of the simulation study is to assess the impact of equipment failures to mine?s production throughput. In more detail, using Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF) data of scooptrams derived from a reliability assessment model based on genetic algorithms, LHD failures are incorporated into the simulation model. These failures cause production interruptions to the development cycle and consequently loss of hauling capacity. This paper will indicate the significance of equipment failures to a mine?s production and suggest a methodology based on the combination of discrete-event simulation and a predictive reliability assessment model using genetic algorithms for the study and analysis of mine equipment systems.

May 1, 2003

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 E. Laatio, W. McKay

"History of Tara Mines Ltd.Tara Exploration and Development Company Ltd. was formed in Canada by Irishmen in 1953. The discovery of an orebody approximately six miles from the historically famous Hill of Tara in County Meath was a wild dream . Nevertheless this dream became a reality. Tara Mines Ltd. was formed, and the mine developed some 35 miles northwest of the City of Dublin in the Irish Republic.Tara&apos;s original drilling program indicated a zinc-lead orebody of approximately 60 million tonnes grading at 10.1% Zn and 2.6% Pb. The terms of the mining lease stipulated that the Irish government would acquire 25% equity interest in the operation. The mine was thus owned 75% by Tara Exploration and Development Company Ltd. of which the principal shareholders were Noranda and Northgate, together with 25% being held by the Irish government. The mine was purchased in March 1986 by Outokumpu Oy, a Finnish mining and metallurgical company, and together with the 25% government stake are the current owners. Outokumpu Analysis on Tara Mines Ltd.Upon ownership Outokumpu carried out a comprehensive analysis on the operation and came to the following conclusions :1. Tara had a good orebody;2. Tara had a skilled, capable, stable workforce;3. Tara&apos;s concentrator and processing equipment was adequate to meet requirements;4. Tara&apos;s mobile equipment fleet was too old and too numerousin numbers; and5. Tara had too many employees, both staff and hourly paid .With ore reserves of approximately 50 million tonnes and at a planned extraction rate of 2.6 million tonnes it meant that the mine had a lifespan of approximately 20 years. To be a viable operation into the future, the mine had to become more efficient. Operating costs and manpower levels had to be dramatically reduced."

Jan 1, 1989

By Georgia J. Lysay

Kemess South Mine ended operations in March 2011. Final reclamation works began during operations in 2008 in anticipation of closure. The focus of reclamation during mine operations was on the inactive areas of the tailings dam, waste rock dumps, and expended borrow areas. The general reclamation strategy for the Kemess Mine site marries long-term erosion control with successional reclamation principles. For disturbed areas, this requires application of growth media, proper preparation of surfaces, and introduction of native pioneer plant species to initiate successional processes of recovery. Tailings are retained behind an earthfill dam of approximately 140 m in height, with a crest length in excess of 1 km. Reclamation activities at the dam have included placement of growth media, specialized surface preparation and construction of diversion ditches. The final closure spillway is currently being constructed, with completion scheduled for summer 2011. The two main waste rock dumps contain segregated non-acid generating (NAG) waste rock and potentially acid generating (PAG) waste rock. Resloping of the NAG dump for long-term stability commenced in 2009, followed by placement of growth media and ground preparation. The PAG waste rock will be fully relocated into the expended open pit for final, permanent subaqueous disposal.

May 1, 2011

By W. B. Boggs

Part 1 Originally, the copper produced at the Noranda ?smelter was shipped in the form of blister bars to the Laurel Hill refinery of the Nichols Copper Co., New York. In 1930 a refinery was built at Montreal East for the purpose of refining Noranda copper and copper from the Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting Co., at Flin Flon. After investigation of the probable costs of making anodes at Noranda and at Montreal, it was decided to make them at Noranda rather than to continue to make blister bars there. Fuel is a major item of expense in making anodes: and since less fuel would be required in making anodes from molten copper than in making them from blister bars, a lower anode furnace cost could be expected at Noranda than at Montreal. Further, the expense connected with making blister bars at Noranda would be eliminated. The cost of treating anode and wire bar furnace slags is a serious item in a refinery, and it was found that the cheapest method would be to ship such slags back to Noranda. With the anode furnace at Noranda, much less anode furnace slag would be made at the refinery. Against these savings which would be effected by making anodes at Noranda must be set the high operating cost of an anode furnace at Montreal, using only tank-room scrap and the Flin Flon copper. This furnace would be handling a comparatively small tonnage and would have a high cost per ton. The usual equipment for making anodes from. liquid copper consists of either a stationary reverberatory furnace or a tilting Tacoma-type furnace together with an anode wheel of the Clark or Walker type. The reverberatory type of furnace has been developed from the furnace used in the old Welsh process of smelting and refining copper, while the tilting furnace is a development of the holding furnace, which is essentially a Peirce Smith converter without tuyeres and provided with burners.

Jan 1, 1932

By Marcel Vallée

Abstract -Traditionally, samples collected for mineral deposit evaluation have been viewed without explicit reference to reliability, with the illusion that a true value is attainable from a few samples and verifications. For exploration, mineral deposit estimation and production quality control the following definition is proposed: "a sample is a small quantity of material relative to the geological mass it represents, collected according to a systematic procedure, of measurable reliability, from which the grade/quality of the mass which it represents may be estimated, based upon appropriate protocols. This paper will concentrate on the actual rock sampling process. Too often, sample size has been, and is still viewed as a matter of convenience, leaving out representivity considerations, despite the importance of samples on project estimation. Linear samples (chips, channels, drill), panel samples, broken rock or mining samples and very large samples are considered. Collection procedures and quality control protocols to improve the representivity of non-mechanical samples are proposed.

Jan 1, 1998

By F. Qi, T. Frišcic, C. Mottillo

"One of the principal goals of modern industry is to minimize the environmental impact and increase the materials- and energy-efficiency of transforming raw materials into valuable products. This paper will highlight our latest laboratory-scale research in low-energy, low-solvent reactivity of metal oxides and their conversion into popular metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (e.g. Basolite® Z1200 component ZIF-8), and metallodrugs (e.g. bismuth subsalicylate, active component of Pepto-Bismol®). Mechanochemical ion- and liquid-assisted grinding (ILAG) and ""accelerated aging"" techniques will be presented, along with novel low-energy and solvent-free approaches, inspired by geological weathering processes, for converting metal oxides into metal-organic materials. INTRODUCTIONThe development of environmentally-friendly processes, which would in the same time be more materials- and energy-efficient than the existing ones, is one of the central concerns of modern chemical research. In that sense, the focus of the chemist has been mainly on the preparation of carbon-based organic molecules and adaptation of traditional organic synthesis to the recently delineated ideals of Green Chemistry. However, there is a growing realization within the chemistry community that significant energy, materials, and ecology-related benefits can be achieved and, indeed, targeted in the transformations of materials that are typically associated with inorganic chemistry and minerals processing. The principal aim of this highlight contribution is to illustrate how, through the use of approaches associated with solventfree chemistry and mechanochemistry (James et al., 2012), one can develop a clean and efficient system of chemical and materials transformations involving oxide precursors that normally belong to the realm of inorganic chemistry and mineral processing. In particular, this contribution will provide an overview of the recently developed mechanochemical and solvent-free reactivity of metal oxides towards small organic molecules. These mechanochemical reactions, including the methods of liquid-assisted grinding (LAG, Frišcic & Jones, 2009) and ion- and liquid-assisted grinding (ILAG, Frišcic, 2010), have so far provided a radically different means to construct advanced metal-organic materials (e.g. porous metal-organic frameworks, [MOFs] or metallodrugs) by rehabilitating metal oxides as precursors, eliminating the use of bulk organic solvents, and avoiding the use of high temperatures."

Jan 1, 2012

By G. Armand, G. Arnold, A. Giraud, C. Auvray

The knowledge and understanding of the mechanical behavior of claystone is of critical importance in the aim of nuclear wastes storage. In this study, specimens of Callovo-Oxfordian claystone (COx) have been obtained from the ANDRA underground research laboratory in Meuse/Haute-Marne (France). This claystone is composed of carbonate inclusions (10-50µm) embedded in an argillaceous matrix (representing expanding clay minerals, such as smectites). The matrix itself is also multiphase and composed of clay aggregates of 1µm-size carbonate and quartz inclusions. This multiphase microstructure leads to a high heterogeneity witch was analysed through nanoindentation test grids. Moreover, the mechanical behavior of the claystone matrix is highly sensitive to humidity and temperature. The nanoindentation tests were performed in a climatic (i.e. temperature and humidity controlled) chamber at relative humidity levels from 50% to 98% and at two temperatures: 20°C and 60°C. In a first step, the curves of indentation were analysed using the commonly used Oliver and Pharr’s approach. Other wellknown parameters as the creep factor were also extracted. In a second step, Fisher-Cripps model (Fischer- Cripps, 2004) and Vandamme and Ulm model (Vandamme & Ulm, 2006) were used to identify viscoelastic properties. A statistical analysis is used in order to extract mechanical characteristics of the different phases. Hardness and elastic modulus decrease drastically with saturation (above 80% humidity) and to a lesser extend with temperature.

Jan 1, 2015

By S. D. Botts, F. Cantuarias

"The Antamina project, owned by BHP Billiton Plc, Mitsubishi Corporation, Noranda Inc., and Teck Cominco Ltd., is a $2.3 billion copper/ zinc project, located in the Ancash Department of Peru. The project consists of an open pit mine, a 70 000 ton per day concentrator, a 302 km long concentrate pipeline, port facilities, a new access road, power line, and town site. The project is designed to produce up to 1.5 Mtpy of copper and zinc concentrates over a 23 year project life, and will be the third largest producer of zinc and the seventh largest producer of copper in the world.This mega project is the largest mining investment in the country and, during its construction stage, was the most important construction project worldwide. On May 28, 2001, Antamina commenced testing operations and four months later, it reached commercial production. Antamina was officially inaugurated on November 14, 2001 by Peruvian president Alejandro Toledo.The construction stage of the project generated 8000 direct jobs, with a peak of 10 000 employees, and 30 000 indirect jobs. The permanent workforce consists of approximately 1650 employees, the vast majority of which are Peruvian Nationals, around 30% of whom came from the region where the deposit is located. Approximately 5600 indirect jobs were generated from the project. Independent sources state that Antamina increased the Peruvian mining exports by 30% (mining exports constitute 50% of Peru’s total exports) and Peruvian GDP by 1% in its first year of full operation in 2002.Since winning the privatization bid for the project in 1996, the company has implemented an approach to community development and environmental protection based on sustainable development principals. Throughout the development of the project, a number of initiatives have been undertaken to ensure full involvement of the local populations in community development activities and the company’s environmental program.Due to its size, difficult logistics, cultural considerations and financial aspects, the project has faced a number of unique challenges in the area of environmental protection and management of community interaction. Antamina has been innovative in its approach to these issues and, as a result, has set new standards in Peru for environmental and community management and sustainable development."

Jan 1, 2003

By David Eichenberg

A154S A154N After 3 Years of Mining ?Current mining Level A154S 280RL ?110 Vertical metres of A154S ?Current mining Level A154N 300RL ?100 Vertical metres of A154N ?Variations in Kimberlite Volume ?Ore Types and Plant Production

May 1, 2006

By Brad Ross

? Value in number of children ? Polygamy common ? Support of extended family and friends ? HIV/AIDS ? Not a culture of savings ? Minimal mechanical experience ? Supportive ? Unintended hindrance ? Mining claims ? Export Permits Lack of funding

May 1, 2011