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By David Thomas, Charles Harper, Brian Watters

The Star-Waddy Lakes area lies withjn the northeasterly-trending early- to mjd-Proterozoic volcanoseilimentary-pl utoruc belt referred to as the La Range Domllin. In the area investigated the domajn is composed of the Central Metavolcaruc Belt which is bordered by metasedimentary belts of the Crew Lake and MacLean Lake Belts to the northwest and southeast respectively. The boundaries between the Central Metavolcanic Belt and the flanking belts are generally marked by prominent zones of shearing. The volcanosed imentary succession is intruded by a variety of ultramafic to felsic plutons which, on the basis of lithology, field relations and geochronology, can be broadly subdivided into three groups or episodes. These are: a) an 'early' (ea. 1866 Ma), possibly subvolcanic, episode marked by composite intrusions ranging from gabbro-diorite to granite, b) an 'intermediate' (ea. 1854 Ma) plutonic event distinguished by more homogeneous felsic intru ions ; and c) a 'later' (ea. 1835 Ma) event characterized by leucocratic quartz-rich grani te intrusions. The La Range Domain has undergone polyphase deformation with a strongly developed northeast-trending structural grain. Large scale folding is manjfested by large regional sy nforms, arcuate and triangular patterns associated with many of the plutons and by tight to isoclinal folds within the adjacent metasedimentary belts. Inhomogeneous strain characterizes much of the Star-Waddy Lakes area. With strain gradients being typically very steep, zones of high strain consisting of zones of extreme extensional fabrics, discrete shearing, as well as broader zones of cataclasis and structural slicing, are often juxtaposed with areas of relatively minimal deformation . Dilation structures tend to favour these zones of highly contrasting strain. Late, brittle fractures, faults and shear zones are widespread and appear to be particularly important as loci for gold mineralization. Metan1orphic mineral assemblages indicate that upper greenschist to middle amphibolite facies conditions were attained. Geological and geochenucal evidence indicates that the Central Metavolcanic Belt evolved in an island arc environment. Metavolcanic rocks from both the Waddy and Star Lakes areas display similar characteristics on variation diagrams (e.g. AFM and the Jensen cation plot) in that the dominant trend is calc-alkaline with some basic to intermediate types having a mildly tholeiitic character. A few samples from the southern end of Lower Waddy lake display komatiitic to basaltic-komatiitic afl'injties. The relatively immobile minor and trace elements (e.g. Ti , Zr, Nb, Y, Cr) provide reliable characterization of the metavolcanics, particularly of the basalts, which have highly distinctive trace element properties. Geochemical patterns for the basalts are similar to those for modem volcanic arc basalts. Low initial 87Sr/86Sr ratios (0.7017 - 0.7019) are consistent with a subduction-related origin for the volcanics. The major plutons have chemical properties typical of volcanic arc granites and are largely calc-alkaline in character, showing little chemical variation from the volcanics.

Jan 1, 1986

By William M. Luff

This paper outlines the regional geology and history of the area, and summarizes the stratigraphy, structure and geology of the Brunswick No. 12 mine area. The Brunswick No. 12 deposit is a stratiform massive sulphide body. It occurs in rocks of the Tetagouche Group, which is believed to range in age from Lower to Middle Ordovician. The stratigraphic sequence, including the stratiform orebody, in ascending order consists of older metasedimentary rocks, augen schist, metasediments, augen. schist, footwall metasediments, the -massive sulphide body, iron formation, hanging-wall metasediments, siliceous tuff, basic volcanic rocks , basic iron formation and a porphyry dyke. This sequence is similar to that at some other deposits in the area. Four phases of structural deformation are known to be present in the Brunswick No. 12 mine area. The first deformation folds (F1 ) and associated faulting are the most important factors in determining the distribution of the massive sulphides. This deformation has resulted in the massive sulphides being separated into four zones: the Main Zone, the West Zone, the East Zone and the V-2 Zone. Brunswick Mining and Smelting Corporation Limited is actively mining, developing and exploring the deposit.

Jan 1, 1977

By Erik Spiller

"Water and cyanide are highly contentious and conflict issues that many gold mining companies encounter worldwide when dealing with local farming communities, industries and cities competing for water as well as non-government and government organizations. Historically, the gold industry has used processes that required minimum amounts of water to treat and recover gold at locations around the world. Examples are dry grinding for refractory gold treatment in the late 1800s and early 1900s and dry blowing in arid/desert regions to recover alluvial gold. In recent times, new dry processing equipment has been developed and include equipment such as air tables and jigs. Researchers have also modified a Knelson concentrator to concentrate gold from dry solids. High pressure grinding rolls (HPGR) with air classifiers are used to treat industrial minerals and pilot trials have shown that the technology can be applied to comminute refractory gold ores ahead of roasting. Dry stacked tailings is being applied on gold mines to reduce overall water consumption This paper will review the available technologies that in combination may be able to substantially reduce the quantity of water used in the processing of gold ores.INTRODUCTION Water makes up most of the world: the planet is 75% water. Some 97.5% is saline water largely in the oceans, so that only 2.5% is fresh water and useful for human needs. The demand for water is driven primarily by population and concomitant economic growth. Overall, some 70% of the water withdrawn from the environment is used in agriculture, 20% by industry, 7% by households and 3% for mining (Brown, 2003: Maupin et al., 2010). Whilst the water needs of the mining industry are minor compared to those of agriculture, an operating mine requires a relatively large quantity of water on a daily basis to carry out operations. Mining activities are often located in remote, arid environments, with limited access to water. There are a multitude of water resources available to the mining industry for its needs. However, much of this water is saline and over the last two decades there has been a continual decline in water quality (i.e. salinity has increased). In today‘s world, there are enormous internal and external pressures to reduce water consumption at a mine, and/or alternatively use water not considered a resource by the local community. Strategies to meet these objectives can be achieved by implementing good water management practices, by recycling process water, reducing water losses by evaporation and seepage (i.e. by increasing and improving dewatering practices) and employing new technologies such as dry stacking and dry processing (Dunne, 2010)."

Jan 1, 2017

By G. C. Mackenzie

At the last Annual Meeting of the Institute, Dr. C. V. Corless sketched the potential mineral wealth of Canada so clearly, graphically and with-all so entertainingly that one's imagination was fired with the promise held out to future generations for the tremendous expansion of the mining industry in the Dominion. Posterity will undoubtedly witness the fruit of much of the geographical search and survey that is now carried on by our government mining departments. Year after year the work advances, slowly but surely, new areas are . explored, older areas are surveyed in detail, the information being compiled in maps and reports of incalculable value to the prospector, the engineer and the general public. The immensity of the task of exploring, geologically, the outlying portions of the country, with the ultimate view of making valuable mineral discoveries, may be visualized from a study of Dr. Corless' paper and the subsequent discussion which took place and one becomes impressed with the fact that three-quarters or more of the problem can be included under the word "transportation". For instance Dr. Corless said, "The few geological explorers who have penetrated to these remoter regions . . . . . . have as a rule been compelled to stick closely to canoe routes,"; Dr. Goodwin remarked, "This barren Laurentian granite, which is put down on the maps as covering the greater part of this area, is the best guess the geologist could make from travelling along watercourses Within the next few years . . . . . . the Timiskaming and Northern Ontario railway will undoubtedly be extended to James Bay . . . . . . In order that we may be prepared for the probable influx of prospectors when transportation facilities to tidewater are provided, I think all available information on this district should be gathered together in handy form." All three-Corless, Goodwin and Cole-emphasize the well-known fact that explorers, geologists and prospectors working in new country must stick to the watercourses and that transportation by rail, road or water has always been the all-important deciding factor in facilitating the exploration and development of remote districts. Dr. Corless did, however, suggest other means of transportation in stating, "The aeroplane will be of assistance in future study of some parts of these remote areas."

Jan 1, 1924

By P. Moreno

ABSTRACT: The Maras salt terraces, located between Cuzco and Urubamba in the Andes (southern Peru), are living examples of traditional Incan salt production, where present-day artisanal miners produce salt from shallow pans by solar evaporation. In these terraces, natural spring water, eight to nine times saltier than seawater, is used to produce the salt. The field observations and chemical analyses show that the poorly crystalline traditional salt is finer in particle size and contains impurities such as dolomite and gypsum. These differences are the result of shallow pond depth, contamination from wall erosion, and the nonsequential mode of salt crystallization.

Jan 1, 2011

By Staff

This paper contains an outline of the history of the Sullivan mine, now owned and operated by the Consolidated Mining & Smelting Company of Canada, Ltd.; some account of the various methods by which the ore has been treated in efforts to solve the metallurgical problems which its complex character presents, and, finally, to give, as concisely as possible, an outline of the present mining and metallurgical practice along with a description of the mining and milling plant at Kimberley and the smelter and refineries at Trail, in British Columbia. EARLY HISTORY In May, 1892, Pat Sullivan, John Cleaver and Mike Holland left the Coeur d'Alene country, in the State of Idaho, to seek their fortunes in the Kootenay lake district in British Columbia. They were aided in their venture by James Cronin, afterwards locator and owner of the St. Eugene mine at Moyie. Two months later the party broke up, Sullivan and Cleaver crossing the mountains from Crawford bay on Kootenay lake to the head waters of the St. Mary's river, the course of which they followed down to Fort Steele. Here they found a good deal of excitement about the North Star mine, and, joined by "Ed." Smith, who was familiar with this part of the country, they determined to return and prospect in its vicinity.

Jan 1, 1924

By M. J. deBastiani

The uranium producing division of Denison Mines Limited operates a 6,000-ton-per-day integrated mining unit in the Algoma area of Ontario. The property is located approximately one and one-half miles from Highway I 08, eight miles north of the town of Elliot Lake. The property was staked in 1953, diamond-drilled in ?late 1954 and 1955, and put into production in 1957. Since that date, the operation has produced $250,000,000 worth of uranium oxide from approximately 11,000,000 tons of ore milled, and paid $18,000,000 in dividends to its shareholders. The operation employs about I000 people, and monthly operating costs are approximately one million dollars. From these figures alone, it is obvious that it was necessary to develop and institute an adequate set ?of controls for effective management at all levels of supervision over a period of four years, a system of production and cost control was developed that enables us to effectively measure the pulse of the various phases of the operation at any given time.

Jan 1, 1963

By M. Dupuis

In the present study, the heat balance of the Hirakud smelter aluminium reduction cell has been accurately assessed using only a surface thermocouple and a pyrometer, As it is well known that using a single linear or quadratic relationship to estimate the heat flux from the measured surface temperature does not provide the accuracy required to close the cell heat balance, this approach was not used in this study, Instead, the fundamental natural convection and radiation heat flux equations were used systematically for each measurement point, Practically, this means that the ambient air temperature and at least one ambient radiative temperature must also be known in addition to the surface temperature for each measurement point. Sometimes, the radiative heat flux could not be accurately estimated using a single ambient radiative temperature, In those cases, a more accurate estimation based on two ambient radiative temperatures and corresponding view factors has been used instead, It turns out that although at least three temperature measurements are required to estimate a single heat flux, it takes a lot less time to make those temperature measurements using a pyrometer than directly measuring the heat flux using an expensive heat flux meter, Furthermore, no loss in accuracy was detected when using this approach as the cell heat balance could be closed within 5%, the level of accuracy typical of cell heat balance assessment using heat flux meter.

Jan 1, 2004

By E. C. Payne

"IntroductionTHE SMALLER industrial and commercial steam generating plants in the United States are suffering from an ‘engineering deficiency' which, if allowed to continue, will probably result in the extinction of the species• that now burn •approximately 75 million tons of coal. We will classify as 'small' those plants which should require not more than one operating man per shift, including those in which as little .as thirty minutes per day should be adequate for .all service attention. These are the small steam plants that need the most, and get the least, expert attention for fuel :planning, equipment selection, design layout, .and proper operating technique. Dissatisfaction with bituminous coal is usually caused by one or more preventable weaknesses such as excessive or burdensome labour •for firing, .coal or ash handling and manual operation, smoke and fly ash emission above nuisance levels:, high maintenance and premium coal application for acceptable operation, and .finally, overall steam costs which are not .competitive. These 'deficiencies', so .common in the small coal-fired steam plants, can be readily eliminated by competent engineering and modern equipment with automatic controls."

Jan 1, 1953

By Pierre St-Julien, Réjean Hebert, M. Racine, Roch Gaudreau, Pierre Lacoste, Michel Rocheleau

"Les unités volcano-sédimentaires de la ceinture de l'Abitibi à l’est de Val-d' Or ont été regroupées en quatre domaines litho tectoniques. Du nord vers le sud, nous reconnaissons les domaines d'Assup, de Garden lsland de Val-d' Or, de Trivio et de Villebon. Deux de ces domaines (Garden Island et Trivio) correspondent à des couloirs de déformation, d’envergure régionale et d’orientation approximative E-W. Les trois autres domaines sont caractérises par des volcanites defond océanique de type MORB (tholéiites et komatiites) qui sont en position inferieure; ces volcanites sont surmontées par des sédiments marins de type turbidite (domaine de Ville bon) ou évoluent dans le temps, soit vers un volcanisme bimodal d'affinités tholéiitique et calco-alcaline ( domaine d'Assup), soit vers un volcanisme d'arc insulaire (domaine de Val-d'Or). Il n'existe aucune certitude de corrélation litho stratigraphique entre les différents domaines et l'on doit considérer la possibilité que ceux-ci représentent l'accolage tectonique de terranes de nature et d'origine différente.Les principales caractéristiques structurales de la région sont regroupées en quatre étapes de déformation dont trois sont archéennes et la quatrième attribuée à l'orogenèse grenvillienne. Au moins cinq facies métamorphiques ont été reconnus: I) un facies régional faible propre à la province du Supérieur, 2) un facies de cornéennes a amphibole en périphérie du pluton de Pershing, 3) un facies hydrothermal dans la zone tectonique de Cadillac, 4) un facies régional moyen dans la zone de bordure de la province de Grenville, et 5) un facies régional élevé a l'intérieur de la zone structurale du front de Grenville.Le front de Grenville est défini dans la région par l’apparition subite des ortho gneiss au faciès métamorphique élevé et par la disparition du grain tectonique E-W. Le contact brusque entre les deux provinces pourrait correspondre à une zone de chevauchement de la province de Grenville sur la province du Supérieur. La région étudiée est l’hôte d’un gite majeur de sulfures massifs et de plusieurs gites et indices aurifères; elle présente des cibles favorables pour l’exploration minière dans le contexte tectonométa-morphique de l'influence grenvillienne. L'intérêt de la Formation de Val-d' Or pour les métaux de base et le potentiel aurifère des couloirs de déformation d'orientation approximative E-W, sont bien connus. Les structures grenvilliennes NE-SW, qui se développent vers l'est, représentent aussi des cibles intéressantes, en particulier dans les secteurs ou elles intersectent des cisaillements E-W kénoriens."

Jan 1, 1990

By K. Parameswaran

This paper builds on presentations made at the Conference of Metallurgists (COM) 2015, COM 2017 and Extraction 2018 and associated papers published in the respective conference proceedings. Based on the classic Brundtland Commission definition of sustainable development as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs,” the paper describes how metal mining can be compatible with sustainable development and how sustainability considerations have been applied in the primary copper industry, using several examples of sustainable mining practices from ASARCO LLC operations. Finally, the paper discusses how these considerations might be used in the future by discussing the need for developing a sustainable development strategy and how this strategy can be aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. INTRODUCTION The primary copper industry comprises: mining (also referred to as “extraction”); mineral processing (also referred to as “beneficiation, “milling” or “concentration,”) which includes leaching, solvent extraction (SX), crushing, grinding, froth and flotation operations; and metallurgical processing which includes smelting and converting; refining, which includes fire-refining or anode refining and electro-refining; and electrowinning (EW). There are two routes for producing refined copper: hydrometallurgical and pyrometallurgical. The hydrometallurgical route comprises mining (open-pit and underground), mineral processing (crushing and grinding — for heap leaching only; leaching and SX) and metallurgical processing (EW). The pyrometallurgical route involves mining, mineral processing (crushing, grinding and froth flotation) and metallurgical processing (smelting, fire refining and electro- refining). The primary copper industry is capital, water, resource and energy intensive with the potential for significant environmental impacts, if the environmental aspects are not properly managed. ASARCO LLC (Asarco) was organized in 1899 as the American Smelting And Refining Company. Originally a consolidation of several lead-silver smelting companies, it evolved over the years into an integrated producer of primary non-ferrous metals, including copper, lead and zinc and associated co-products. Grupo México, S.A.B. de C.V (Grupo México) acquired Asarco in 1999. Today, Asarco is a vertically integrated producer of primary refined copper and associated co-products such as gold, silver, selenium and tellurium. Asarco operates three open-pit mines and mills, two leach, SX-EW plants, a copper smelter in Arizona and a copper electrolytic refinery in Texas.

Jan 1, 2019

By E. Herrera Alarcón, L. Mariscal Samaniego

The Teniente Converter (wet charge type) was commissioned in august 1995 and was designed to smelt 744 tpd (metric tons per day) of dry copper concentrates. Its products are white metal (73% Cu) that is sent to the Peirce Smith converters, slag that is cleaned in Reverberatory Furnaces and the process gases that are sent to the Sulfuric Acid Plant. Since its start up, the Teniente Converter smelting capacity was increased 1.6 times, from 800 tpd to 1,280 tpd using 33% oxygen-enriched air, and reaching an operative availability of 97%. By the other hand its campaigns have reached a record duration of 530 days without hot patching tuyeres and a partial refractory lining repair in the last four campaigns. This paper describes the most relevant improvements, as well as the strategies that had been used to reach these achievements.

Jan 1, 2007

By L. M. Dwarkin

Strip mining in Western Canada, though of considerable importance, is a fairly recent development for many of the operators in the district. Adding to the difficulty of unfamiliarity is the fact that a great deal of the stripping is done on pitching seams, for which the engineering and economic principles of setting the most advantageous strip ratio are not readily apparent. The novelty of the operation combined with the complexity of the principles involved can easily lead to misconceptions as to the determination of the economic ratio. Definition of Strip Ration There are two commonly accepted meanings of the term strip ratio: (1) The ratio of feet of overburden to be stripped per foot of coal recoverable. (2) The ratio of cubic yards of overburden per cubic yard or ton of coal. The first definition is inapplicable to pitching seams so, throughout this paper, strip ratio will be taken as the ratio of cubic yards of overburden to be removed per cubic yard of coal recoverable. Economic Ratio In the case of flat seams, the strip ratio is fixed by existing natural conditions, and the magnitude of this ratio determines whether stripping is economically feasible. With pitching seams, however, the strip ratio is a variable. On the outcrop, there is usually some coal which can be obtained with little or no stripping. As the work is carried down the pitch of the coal seam, the proportion of overburden continually increases until a point is reached where it is no longer economical to continue the operation. The question immediately arises as to the location of this point, and this resolves into the problem of determining the most favourable strip ratio, or, to use the accepted term, the economic ratio.

Jan 1, 1949

By A. J. Reed, W. R. Bergey, Carr. J. M.

"The Highmont copper-molybdenum deposits are at Gnawed Mountain in the Highland Valley porphyry copper district, 125 miles northeast of Vancouver. This district is near the center of the lower Jurassic Guichon Batholith, where a north-trending swarm of porphyry dikes is crossed by west-northwesterly structural belts in which fracturing, intrusion of porphyry and breccia, and mineralization areconcentrated.The Highmont deposits are 2 miles southeast of, and in the same southernmost structural belt as, the Lornex deposit. The main deposits occur on either side of a composite dike of granodiorite, porphyry and breccia which strikes west-northwestward in fractured quartz diorite. North of the dike, the adjacent Nos. 1 (East) and 2 (West) zones together contain 150 million tons of open-pit ore mineable in two separate pits. These two zones will support a 25,000-tpd mill with a grade in the first five years of approximately 0.46 per cent copper equivalent. South of the dike, the Nos. 3 and 4 zones are partly explored and will provide large additional reserves. In these various zones, chalcopyrite, bornite and molybdenite form disseminations and fracture-fillings accompanied by quartz, K-feldspar, tourmaline, sericite, specular hematite and other minerals. Bornite extends for varying distances north of the dike, beyond which chalcopyrite is locally accompanied by pyrite. Higher-grade mineralization tends to coincide with fracture swarms, or with shear zones and faults which largely parallel these swarms. The ore zones are reflected by geochemical soil anomalies which show some glacial dispersion. LP. surveys gave weak but significant responses, expressed as per cent frequency effect. The ore zones occur within a strong magnetic gradient, but do not show a significant magnetic response."

Jan 1, 1971

By Chris Twigge-Molecey

Demand for metals will continue to grow as global population numbers and prosperity levels steadily increase. Consequently, there will continue to be a need to design and construct new metallurgical plants. Business success in general requires projects to be financially successful and return appropriate value to their owners. However, in the metals industry, private and public sector financing sources have become very sensitive to the perceived inability of projects to contain costs and meet other business objectives. Thus, the capital for projects has become more difficult and expensive to obtain. It is instructive to note that Ernst and Young (2011) identified that: “Delivery of predictable project results bestows competitive advantage and market confidence to those corporations who successfully instill this discipline”. The implication for future projects is that they must be systematically developed to minimize perceived risks—and more importantly—to demonstrate that the risks are managed to achieve the business case. Then, provided that the project has been developed in a well-structured way, project success can again be defined as a project with: a final cost within 10% of the budget approved at the end of FEL3, when the project is properly defined and the permit conditions are agreed upon; a start-up date within three months of the definitive, scheduled startup date; production levels at 85% of design capacity within a year of starting commercial operation; production meeting the target environmental restrictions; and with zero lost time accidents during construction and startup. The plant design is one of many integrated activities required to achieve these objectives. This book represents a valuable link between the existing engineering literature that encompasses a wide range of engineering fundamental textbooks and design manuals and the project management literature such as the Project Management Body of Knowledge, or PMBOK® (Project Management Institute, 2014). It is evident throughout this book, that the design team is a small but essential part of a much larger project team comprising the project management, construction management, and construction contractor staff. Design activities must be regarded and managed as part of the integrated whole, with two fundamental links throughout the design process:

Jan 1, 2015

By E. Bonsall, J. J. Brummer, A. R. Graham

"A method and device are described for sampling diamond-drill core by cutting a continuous fillet of constant cross section from the cylindrical surface of the core throughout appropriate sample lengths. The apparatus employs a tapered, abrasive-set, cutting wheel, the conical cutting surface of which projects slightly into a rectangular core-guiding trough set parallel to the axis of rotation. The depth of fillet and thus the amount of sample per unit length can be regulated by adjusting the core guides. The freshly cut fillet itself, by engaging in a guide beyond the cutting wheel, acts to prevent rotation of the core during operation of the device.The cuttings which form the sample are normally collected in a tray below the cutting-wheel and appear at about 80 per cent -100 mesh. They require little or no further treatment or comminution before analysis. Speed, economy and convenience of sampling are thus greatly increased as compared with conventional sampling by im-1>act breaking or sawing, followed by crushing, grinding and sub division for assayAssays from fillets (about 1/20 the cross-sectional area of the core) and from 180-degree segments, from the same ninety-three core-samples, representing 431 feet of nickel-copper mineralization, gave the following results:"

Jan 1, 1968

This paper presents a case study where Cenozoic age detritals and an ancient buried landslide have been modelled in the final walls of an iron ore pit. Orebody 25 is located in Western Australia’s Pilbara region and is an operating pit where a redesign of the final wall cutback was required. The existing slope design utilised a simplistic geological model of mixed conglomeratic, calcretic and clay –dominated detritals overlying deformed bedrock sequences. This simplicity resulted in a conservative design that was not reflective of the slopes performance to that point. Further field investigation was carried out with the results assessed in conjunction with historic drilling, mapping and laboratory testing. A detailed geotechnical model was developed including three conglomerate and two clay dominated units and laterstage calcrete overprinting. The clay units were of significant importance to the stability assessment and resulting slope design due to the thickness and poor strength conditions indicated by the laboratory and field testing. However, the drilling investigation shed only limited understanding as to the origin of the clays and thereby how they should be treated as a component in the stability analysis. A comparison of the ratio of various geochemical elements measured by assay was made between the clays and 1) shale bedrock and 2) clays of known detrital origin from other nearby sites. This indicated the clays had a strong affinity with weathered bedrock. This and other textural features resulted in the interpretation that the clay units were relic debris preserved following ancient landslides in bedrock shale. Using laboratory testing data and calibration of results for a landslide origin, stability analyses were run, resulting in a steeper slope design being implemented. Excavation of the final cutback is now in progress with the model confirmed as appropriate.

Jan 1, 2015

By S. Constantinides

"A major use for many of the rare earths is in permanent magnets. While alternate technologies are in research or already exist, rare earth magnets are unlikely to be supplanted as a major input to clean technologies and high efficiency consumer and industrial devices. We’ll examine where and how the magnet rare earths are utilized and the size of the market. Market growth forecasts based on global markets will be presented. A brief explanation of materials research in the US completes the material.INTRODUCTIONRare earth magnets, first commercialized c.1969, have become essential for a wide range of consumer, industrial and military devices. They are used in the speakers and vibrator motors of cell phones. Rare earth magnets spin the hard discs within the drives and rare earth magnet voice coil motors position the read/write head over the spinning platter. Rare earth magnets are the heart of motors and generators used on airplanes – they are smaller and lighter weight than alternative materials/devices. Now rare earth permanent magnets are being introduced into electric vehicles and wind power generation.Rare earth minerals are difficult to extract from the ores and to separate from one another. The increase in use of rare earth magnets has placed a severe strain on established sources of supply. The establishment of new mines and processing facilities is costly and requires upwards of 15 years to become productive. The combination of rapid rise in use of rare earth minerals coupled with supply shortages has caused rapid price increases and threat of non-delivery of product. The result of this disruptive situation has been a profound response at several levels: corporate, industry-wide and governmental. Let’s learn more about why rare earth magnets are so important to modern society."

Jan 1, 2012

By G. M. Card, K. D. Card, B. V. Sanford

The Canadian Shield and its extensions are traversed by an orthogonal system of north-west and northeast trending arch-style uplifts. These basement arches were formed by repeated vertical movements along pre-existing structures during compressional and extensional tectonism connected with events in surrounding Proterozoic and Phanerozoic orogens and ocean basins. The arches in?uenced patterns of sedimentation and tectonism in the intervening epicratonic basins andmarginal platforms throughout the Proterozoic and Phanerozoic. Movements on the arch structuresalso triggered minor magmatism and controlled the location and timing of alkalic rock-carbonatite, kimberlite, and related intrusions in the Canadian Shield, the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin, and West Greenland.

Jan 1, 1997

By H. Link

"The extremely low permeability of the water-carrying beds in the nevonian formation of the potash district of Saskatchewan does not permit the injection of cement or chemicals to seal off sufficient water from the shafts to guarantee the safety of the mine. Based on many years of experience with wet shafts in the German and French potash mining industry, Alwinsal Potash of Canada Ltd. decided to have their potash mine shaft near Lanigan, Sask., which was completed in September of 1967, lined by means of an absolutely watertight lining of combined concrete and steel-plate construction.This shaft lining, consisting of two steel shells of welded construction with concrete filled in between, has proved itself before in the German coal mining industry. It guarantees a permanently dry shaft. With this type of lining, time-robbing and very often abortive injections are superfluous and the regular repair and adjusting work as well as the corrosion of conveyances and ropes can be avoided. Above all, however, the danger of a water inrush into the shaft is abolished completely."

Jan 1, 1971