Search Documents

By P. T. Bloomer

Introduction Mining of the orebody of the Sullivan mine, which is owned and operated by the Consolidated Mining & Smelting Company of Canada, Limited, has reached a point where pillar extraction is rapidly becoming a major part of the operation. Very few of the larger pillars have been completely extracted; consequently, this paper contains much that is theory and expectation. Due to early mining methods and the physical characteristics of the Sullivan deposit, similar conditions may not exist in other older mines facing the problems of pillar extraction, but it is thought that the methods employed and those contemplated may be of general interest. History The Sullivan orebody, which is at Kimberley in the Fort Steele mining division of the East Kootenay district of British Columbia, was discovered in May, 1892, by Messrs. Sullivan, Smith, Cleaver, and Burchett. After passing through the hands of several owners the property was optioned in 1909, and purchased in 1910, by The Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company of Canada, Limited. Early mining was highly selective, the objective being a clean, high-grade silver-lead ore. By 1923 the difficulties of milling the very complex ore had been overcome and the first unit of a concentrator was completed with a capacity of 2,500 tons daily. Capacity was increased by stages to the present rate of 8,500 tons per day. Concentrates are shipped over the Canadian Pacific railway ? to the Company smelter at Tadanac, British Columbia, for final treatment. Approximately 45,000,000 tons of ore has been mined to date.

Jan 1, 1948

By A. S. Bayne

THIS paper will present a review of the mining operations of one of Canada's most lately established gold mining districts (1). The history of the Little Long Lac and Sturgeon River areas is interesting in view of the fact that, although they have long been the scene of a certain amount of mining activity, they remained little more than an uninhabited wilderness until 1933, since which time ten producing gold mines and mills have been established in permanent operation, eight of these having entered production since the beginning of 1937. As complete a background as possible will be given concerning the major influences having a bearing upon living and economic conditions in the mining communities. The object, here, is to show the diversity of problems which demand the attention of the operator starting up and operating a new mine in present times, and to indicate the ways in which these problems are successfully met in this district. A description of the power facilities and plant equipment will be followed by a summary of the problems encountered and methods applied in exploration and development. This is to aid in forming a background showing the circumstances which influence the mining methods and costs of the various operations. The paper will conclude with a description of the mining methods used and the costs of the operations, including summarized analyses of the stoping methods and mining conditions. The various phases of operation will be dealt with separately, in so far as this is possible, in order to present clearly the salient features. It is necessary, however, that the reader bear completely and constantly in mind the fact that in actual operations these phases arc, to a large extent, intimately related and greatly affect each other, as well as being, in turn, affected by other circumstances beyond the control of the operator. A few of these circumstances are: capital available during the development period and early stages of productive operation; strength of rock comprising the ore and its boundary walls; grade, size, shape, and location of ore-bodies; and many other natural items which must be carefully weighed in relation to the details of operation.

Jan 1, 1940

By W. H. MacLean, S. Liaghat

Abstract- The Key Tuffite is a thick (0.3 m to 6 m) and laterally extensive (-10 km) cherty, sulfide-bearing tuff unit in Archean greenstones in the Matagami mining district in northwestern Quebec. It lies at the contact of the Watson Lake Group and overlying Wabassee Group volcanic rocks, and is host to major Zn-Cu volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits. The tuff component is highly altered and its volcanic precursors are not identifiable by petrographie means. The tuff is mixed with a volcanic exhalative component comprising chert, carbonate and sulfides (pyrite, pyrrhotite, and minor sphalerite and chalcopyrite). The normative mineral composition of the Key Tuffite is 33% quartz, 28% sulfides, 16% sericite, 8% carbonate, 60Jo chlorite and 9% other minerals. In the vicinity of the Bell Allard and Orchan mines, the precursor tuff components are identified using immobile major and trace elements, as Watson Lake tholeiitic rhyolite (Zr/Y = 1.5 to 3.5, LaN/Ybn. = 1.7 to 2.8, Si02 = 72.5 ± 1.2 wt %, and Wabassee calc-alkaline andesite (Zr/Y =9, LaN/Ybn. = 4 to 8, Si02 = 56% to 65%). Immobile element computation techniques were used to calculate mass additions and losses in the conversion of the tuff to the Key Tuffite. Average net amounts of Fep3 (27% total iron), Si02 (14%), CaO (8%), S and K20 ( + 2%), were added, Na2O was removed (-2.8%), and MgO was over-all unchanged. Total net mass change was +63%, which comprises mainly exhalative additions, but also includes changes owing to hydrothermal alteration of the tuff component.

Jan 1, 1992

By Alice H. Zhu

Belt conveyors are widely used in materials handling industries. The bulk materials which can be transported include ores, coal, earth, grain, limestone, wood chips, fertilizer components such as potash and many others. Along with the new technology development and enhanced industrial automation requirements, belt conveyor instrumentation has also been modernized to improve conveyor availability and performance. Traditionally, belt conveyors are equipped with emergency pull cord switches to shut the conveyor down, misalignment switches to signal the belt offline condition, speed sensors to detect the belt slippage, and level switches to prevent material plugging in the discharge chute. Belt rip detectors are also normally provided for long belt conveyors. As a rule, equipment condition monitoring is not automated at most operating facilities, but is performed manually by maintenance staff via time-based surveillance. The new generation of condition monitoring instrumentation and control equipment can be successfully utilized to design a reliable, cost-effective, and centralized monitoring system, capable of monitoring a wide variety of mechanical equipment. The implementation of the condition monitoring automated system can provide continual monitoring of the plant equipment to ensure safe operation of the equipment to its required capacity. Any abnormal behavior of the motors, gear reducers and pulleys can be analyzed, alarmed, and recorded immediately, so problems can be detected and resolved before critical components failure. Therefore, the current trend is to provide the belt conveyors with condition monitoring system in addition to the traditional instrumentation, where temperature probes and vibration sensors can be installed on motors, gear reducers and all pulleys. Another innovative development is a three-in-one type belt rip detector which combines laser, tray and cord type detection together to ensure a prompt belt tear indication. The purpose of this paper is to present the latest development of belt conveyor instrumentation and introduce the application of newly developed instruments.

Nov 1, 2011

By J. L. Huisman, G. Schouten

After pyrometallurgy and hydrometallurgy, bio(hydro)metallurgy is the latest development in the ongoing search for efficient and economic metal winning processes. In addition to bioleaching, other biotechnology-based applications are getting more and more accepted. In this paper a number of proven and commercial processes will be presented that can be applied for nickel and cobalt recovery and refining. These processes are based on the ability of biomass to convert the redox state of sulphur compounds under ambient conditions. They can be applied to recover sulphate from effluents or SOx from off gases and convert it to H2S or dissolved sulphide that can be reused in production or effluent treatment. Not only does this minimize the costs on resources but it also reduces waste production and improves the quality of discharges even to the point where reuse becomes feasible.

Jan 1, 2005

By S. G. Hardcastle, C. K. Kocsis

"Worldwide, metal mines are going deeper. For example, in Canada there are six such mechanized mines planning production at 3000 m (10 000 ft). Working at such depths challenges all aspects of mining including the provision of ventilation to supply an equitable working climate for personnel and machinery.This paper explores the overall challenges of supplying ventilation in Canada’s deepest mines and how the volumes required could be minimized. This is essential because it must be remembered that ventilation and refrigeration are not only costly items to supply, but the magnitude of their cost is also very sensitive to the volume supplied. For the primary ventilation system this is obvious because of the cubic relationship between volume and cost.In deep mines, the main function of ventilation is the removal of heat transferred from the strata and generated by the mining machinery, and the air volumes supplied are designed accordingly. The second consideration is the removal of other pollutants that could be harmful to humans such as diesel and explosive fumes. However, the need for ventilation at its present design levels could be reduced. This paper discusses the implications of such technologies as: tele-remote mining and alternatives to diesel equipment on the magnitude of the volume supplied; ventilationon- demand which recognizes ventilation as a costly and limited resource; plus other aspects, such as the benefits of controlled recirculation, local cooling, and possibly heat rejection back to the strata to gain further advantage from new developments.Furthermore, this paper advances the need to be able to design ventilation systems more cost effectively and how such new advances as process simulators can be used in conjunction with ventilation simulators to explore the diverse options that could affect the air volumes required and provide more realistic economic data upon which to base design decisions."

Jan 1, 2004

"4.1. IntroductionThis chapter reviews the geochemistry of the platinum-group elements (POE) in sulphur-poor silicate rocks, and the limited data on POE in silicate, oxide, sulphide, arsenide and sulpharsenide minerals. The earliest geochemical studies of POE in silicate rocks, minerals and meteorites were carried out mainly by Goldschmidt, the Noddacks and their co-workers, and are reviewed in Crocket (1969). These researchers established the siderophile character of the POE, emphasized the common association of the group with sulphides in ultramafic-mafic rocks and suggested that very low concentrations of POE are typical of sulphur-poor silicate rocks and minerals. Much of these data were for Pt and Pd only and are more than 50 years old. Because of the poor sensitivity typical of the available analytical methods, few reliable data were obtained on silicate rocks in these early studies. Surveys of POE geochemistry demonstrate that the data base for sulphur-poor silicate rocks is very restricted, although considerable highquality data for Pd and Ir have been accumulated (Wright and Fleischer 1965, Yushko-Zakharova eta/., 1967, Mertie 1969, Crocket 1969, 1979, Keays 1981).Two recent publications, Vol. 71, No. 7 (1976), of Economic Geology (An Issue Devoted to Platinum-Group Elements) and Vol. 17, Part 2 (1979), of The Canadian Mineralogist (Nickel-Sulphide and Platinum-Group-Element Deposits), are of special interest. These volumes are clear testimony to the impressive progress made in the last decade toward describing the mineralogical and geochemical aspects of POE ore deposits, but at the same time demonstrate the constraints in modelling POE ore genesis due to our meager knowledge of the. POE content and distribution among minerals in the source rocks of ultramafic and mafic magmas. It is clear that the phases hosting POE in mantle source rocks are poorly understood. Nevertheless, Naldrett and Duke (1980) have shown that the absolute and relative concentrations of POE in magmatic sulphide ores are related to the degree of partial melting of mantle peridotites, and subsequent processes of batch equilibration and fractional segregation of sulphides."

Jan 1, 1979

By F. Stober, D. Wanblad, J. Ndlovu, L. R. Nelson, L. P. S. de Villiers

The single six-in-line furnace of the Polokwane Smelter is the largest installed high-intensity furnace for platinum group metals (PGM) base metals sulphide smelting in the world. The furnace employs state-of-the art technology to deliver a planned throughput of 650 000 t/a dry concentrate at a design 68 MW power input. This furnace, at double the capacity of previously existing PGM furnaces, offers low unit operating and capital cost through the resulting economies of scale. Key features of the design include:

Jan 1, 2005

By J. A. H. Church

The report is too voluminous to be considered in detail within the scope of a single paper, so I will confine my consideration of it to the broader aspects, leaving other members to deal with points of particular interest. The method of presentation leaves one with an uneasy sense of prolixity and confusion of thought; the foreword by the Chairman may well be accepted as a true index of the whole. His argument amounts to this: Recognizing at the outset the futility of divided counsels, it was deemed advisable to arrive at unanimity. To this end, some members subscribed to views to which they do not whole-heartedly assent, thus giving weight to conclusions with which they were at variance. Unanimity cannot be qualified-either it exists or is absent-and, moreover, in the text of the Com-mission I can find no word that unanimity is required. Surely it would have been preferable to have a unanimous report covering such aspects as were acceptable to all members, with minority reports by individual members on such other aspects as were controversial, leaving it to the Government to give such weight to the divergent views as the personality of their sponsors might warrant. In the final analysis the value of an opinion varies directly as the personality of its exponent.

Jan 1, 1926

By J. Lazareck

"XPotential Products Inc. has developed technologies to convert auto shredder residues and other forms of plastic waste into useful products such as posts suitable for retaining walls and parking curbs. The technology is competitive provided low-cost plastic waste is available, and could have applications throughout the world. The paper describes the technology used and illustrates the various processing steps. Development of the TechnologyPresently, state-of-the-art auto shredding yields approximately 75% ferrous and non-ferrous metals and approximately 25% by weight of auto shredder residue (ASR). Advances in metal shredding and non-ferrous metal separation technologies turned XPotential Products Inc.’s attention to ASR as a potential revenue source, or at least a means to markedly reduce the cost of disposal. This abundance of nuisance ASR was, in the company’s view, a potential resource as derelict autos and white goods were similarly perceived 40 years ago. As owners of General Scrap & Car Shredder Ltd. in western Canada, XPotential faced significant disposal costs for four shredders. This journey began over 10 years ago and took many twists and turns until a final course of action was chosen. The recovery of the metallic portion of vehicles and white goods has reached technological maturity and attempts to add value are now achievable only in very small increments."

Jan 1, 2004

By D. Prince, G. Nollet

"Since 1994, Aur Ressources has operated Louvicourt mine, a zinc and copper mine close to Val d’Or, at a rate of 4300 t/d. Ever since the start-up of the plant, management has encouraged innovative approaches in reliability.The first of three papers will discuss the vibration monitoring program in place. The program will be described and two examples will be given: detection of a rolling bearing defect on a pinion driving the ball mill and identification of wear on the bearings of the flotation cells. Figures on the return on investment and the costs of a monitoring program will also be given.The second article will discuss the lubrication aspect. Since the establishment of a good monitoring and oil analyses, Louvicourt mine decreased its oil consumption by more than 38 000 L/yr. In addition, the company set up an oil regeneration system that restores the original properties of oil.The third article will cover the management aspect. Work organization as well as the management philosophy enabling the employees to push predictive technology to higher levels will be examined in detail. The key elements which made it possible for Louvicourt mine to position itself among world-class companies in the organization of maintenance will be discussed. IntroductionThis article is the second of three on predictive maintenance at the Louvicourt mine operated by Aur Resources Inc. The first article, published in the October 2002 issue, was about vibration analysis for rotating machines. This article describes how lubrication and oil analysis for stationary machines permitted Louvicourt to save more than $150,000 within two years and presents the evolution of the oil analysis program.Louvicourt mine, located near Val-d’Or, Quebec, is a copper and zinc mining and milling operation that processes 4300 t/d of ore and employs 289 people. Production began in 1994. Louvicourt mine is a partnership between Aur Ressources (30%), Teck Corp. (25%), and Novicourt (45%)."

Jan 1, 2003

By A. Azad

SAGD (Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage) is an in-situ oil recovery technique for heavy oil reservoirs. The technique has been successfully applied to many projects in the past 25 years and the process has been, now, well understood. It is now believed that geomechanics plays an important role in SAGD and should be considered in numerical or analytical modeling. Currently, geomechanics is numerically modeled through combining a multi-phase flow and a geomechanical simulator. Numerical modeling is, however, time consuming, need lots of input data, and could not be used for quick decision-making purposes. To decrease the modeling time, this study based on a new version of the Reis drainage model, proposes coupled mathematical model and reserves the effect of geomechanics in the process. Results showed a perfect match with the past experimental and numerical data.

May 1, 2009

By D. Prince, G. Nollet

"Since 1994, Aur Ressources has operated Louvicourt mine, a zinc and copper mine close to Val d’Or, at a rate of 4300 t/d. Ever since the start-up of the plant, management has encouraged innovative approaches in reliability. The first of three papers will discuss the vibration monitoring program in place. The program will be described and two examples will be given: detection of a rolling bearing defect on a pinion driving the ball mill and identification of wear on the bearings of the flotation cells. Figures on the return on investment and the costs of a monitoring program will also be given.The second article will discuss the lubrication aspect. Since the establishment of a good monitoring and oil analyses, Louvicourt mine decreased its oil consumption by more than 38 000 L/yr. In addition, the company set up an oil regeneration system that restores the original properties of oil.The third article will cover the management aspect. Work organization as well as the management philosophy enabling the employes to push predictive technology to higher levels will be examined in detail. The key elements which made it possible for Louvicourt mine to position itself among world-class companies in the organization of maintenance will be discussed."

Jan 1, 2002

By I. E. Wahn, E. A. Boutin

"The Manibridge Mill is unique in its treatment of relatively high grade nickel-copper ore because in the mill design are included one 10' diam. x 10' Maxwell cell, and three 12' diam. x 12' tank cells. These large cells are used as rougher-scavenger cells. Three 8' diam. x 8' tank cells as well are used for cleaning and recleaning of the tank cell concentrate.Flexibility of flow is the main criterion in the tank cell circuit. Targets from these cells are a high grade nickel-copper product with a minimum of talcose gangue.The operation of the tank cells has been encouraging and they have performed well with both low and high grade heads, yielding a high grade concentrate product.Manibridge Tank CellsDescription:The tank cells at Manibridge consist of one 10' x 10' Maxwell cell, three 12' x 12' tank cells, and three 8' x 8' tank cells. The four large cells are currently being used as rougher scavenger cells. The three small cells are used as cleaner cells.Both sets of tank cells consist of Denver steel tank and Super Agitator Mechanisms with steel beam super-structures. The agitator mechanism has a totally enclosed ball bearing spindle housing with a cold rolled steel shaft, and a stanclard standpipe with adjustable collar.The air rings for the tanks were fabricated by Nelson Machinery. Both large and small cells have injection rings with equally spaced air holes in the bottom centre line of the ring.Air is supplied to the tank cells by a Dresser Clark low pressure air blower.The following is a table of pertinent data on the tank cells:"

Jan 1, 1974

By J. A. C. Ross

Introduction To enlighten those who may be wondering where anyone could find sufficient data to write a paper on underground concrete work, the author would like to explain that, at Copper Mountain, we have found it necessary to line numerous headings with a layer of concrete in order to keep them in a safe and serviceable condition. The majority of these headings are scram drifts and ore-pass raises. This paper will therefore deal, in the main, with the methods of and reasons for placing concrete in these headings. During recent years, radical changes have been made in the methods of mining ore at the Copper Mountain mine. After considerable experimenting, a mining system has been developed making use of diamond drills for primary breaking and transfering such broken ore through scram drifts with slusher hoists. With the advent of scram drifts, it soon became apparent that some substantial means of reinforcement and protection for the scram drifts themselves would be necessary. Since the orebodies in this mine are cut by numerous dykes or faults, and often both, it was anticipated that some means of support would be required where headings necessarily passed through these incompetent zones. Further, as experience was gained, scram drifts were driven into pillars and in close proximity to old workings so as to recover the maximum amount of ore. In such places, the ground is often severely fractured, either as a result of previous mining or from the effect of excessive rock pressures.

Jan 1, 1950

By J. R. Yates, R. J. Young, G. E. Forward, J. B. Farrell, R. J. Milbourne

"Sustainable development in the mining and metallurgical industrial sectors can be implemented by two distinct groups: the managers and operators of existing facilities, working with industrial processes and systems that have been operating for many years, in some cases, several decades; and those who are engineering and building new facilities or upgrades of existing plants.The focus of this paper is to look at approaches and tools available to bring sustainable development thinking and action to these two distinct areas. The paper will discuss the concept of working with existing facilities and processes to minimize waste and maximize product from a regional raw material/resource consumption perspective using by-product synergy. The BPS concept has been carried out in Texas (e.g., TXI-Chaparral’s STAR), in Calgary, Alberta, with Suncor assistance, in Montreal, Quebec, with Noranda as project leader, and currently in Ontario with Dofasco as industry champion. Successful outcomes are presented. The paper will also discuss a new approach to designing greenfield facilities or upgrades to existing plants using a sustainable development review process. Undertaking the review early in every project can institutionalize the concept of discussing and implementing waste elimination, design for environment, ecoefficiency, risk minimization and community awareness and involvement in the future capital stock. The review process has been developed as an excellent tool for measuring and reporting on a corporation’s sustainable development progress. Examples of how this approach has been adopted in the mining and metallurgical industry, and the resultant outcomes are given."

Jan 1, 2003

By J. Ouellet

The design of hydrostatic liner for a deep potash mine shaft in Saskatchewan poses tremendous technological challenges. Technology has evolved to a point where one could consider a new innovative approach to hydrostatic liner design. But there is still a place for conventional technologies such as cast iron tubbings. As will be discussed in this paper, improvement to manufacturing process, installation procedures and even new materials can bring this technology to an excellent level of performance. With the spur of new projects in the potash industry of Saskatchewan, the authors worked in various shaft liner designs from the conceptual stage through to the construction phase. They were either directly leading the design work on some of these projects or acting as an external reviewer on others. Most of these shaft liner designs involved cast iron tubbing technology and ground freezing. The major challenge in sinking potash shafts in Saskatchewan is to go through a water-bearing ground formation under high pressure, known as the Blairmore or Manville fm. The only proven stabilizing technology for these formations is ground freezing. For a potash shaft, dry shaft conditions are highly desired, so a fully waterproof hydrostatic liner is required. All the existing potash mine shafts in Saskatchewan, except for two with composite steelconcrete lining, used the cast iron tubbing technology. Two new shaft tubbing liners have been constructed recently, one in the Athabasca Basin and one for a potash mine in Saskatchewan. When the authors began working on these new projects, what became quickly evident is that the technological knowhow for designing and constructing tubbing liners was no longer available within Canada and that the past construction methods used to sink tubbing lined shafts was obsolete. The tubbing liner for the shafts sunk in the sixties were designed either by German or British companies. In both of these countries only few tubbing lined shafts were sunk in last 40 years and the technology used in the sixties was not improved. There are only few countries where tubbing is routinely produced and installed: China, Russia, Ukraine and Poland. Out of these countries Poland is the one where this technology is the most advanced. The authors, working in close collaboration with engineers from Poland, attempted to rebuild this knowledge for the mining industry in Canada. This process involved thorough analysis of old technical reports, literature review and study of current polish design and construction practices as well as site visits of existing shafts. Through actual construction experience, some lessons were learned as well as ideas for improvements. In this paper, the authors will present a succinct review of design and procurement process. But, the practical aspects of the construction and installation methodology will be treated with more emphasis, more specifically the practice leading to good liner performance. Some of the poorly understood technical aspects of tubbing installation will be discussed more thoroughly and some currently accepted myths dispelled.

Aug 1, 2013

By I. S. Thompson

"Exploration properties form a continuum from grass roots to those with favourable geology, geochemical and/or geophysical anomalies, mineralization, showings (prospects), and finally to those with defined mineral deposits. Often, properties exhibit a composite of these categories.The most problematic to value are properties or deposits that are not economically exploitable at the time of the valuation due to a lack of exploration, insufficient grade or tonnage, poor mining conditions, or the imposition of socio-economic, environmental, or legal constraints.Various acceptable methods of valuing the range of all such mineral properties or deposits are reviewed. Some less appropriate methods are also discussed."

Jan 1, 2002

By Francis Chartrand

The Kwyjibo deposit is an iron oxide Cu-REE-F-Mo-Au mineralization of Mesoproterozoic age located in the Grenville Province approximately 120 km NE of Sept-Îles, Quebec (Figure 1). Occurring along the SE margin of the Canatiche granitic complex, the deposit is composed of several polymetallic showings that are related to different textural facies of magnetite. The mineralization process at Kwyjibo is complex, and is divided into Early Granitophile, Magnetite, Main Polymetallic and Specular Hematite stages (Cayer et al., submitted for publication). The Main Polymetallic stage, comprising chalcopyrite, pyrite, fluorite, molybdenite and REE-bearing minerals, is superimposed on pre-existing magnetiterich rocks. Discovered by SOQUEM Inc. in 1993, the Kwyjibo deposit shares many characteristics with other hydrothermal polymetallic iron oxide deposits around the world. Foose and McLelland (1995) suggested that this class of mineralization could occur in the Grenville Province. However, only a few polymetallic occurrences are known to be associated with low-Ti iron oxide deposits in the Grenville. Kwyjibo is one of the most significant examples of a polymetallic iron oxide deposit to have been found in the Grenville Province to-date.

May 1, 2003

By Arnfinn Prugger

"The construction of the new Scissors Creek shaft at the Rocanville mine, the first potash shaft successfully completed in Saskatchewan Canada since 1979, is summarized here. Located 15km from the existing Rocanville surface plant, this new 6 m inside-diameter, 1121 m deep service shaft was built for fresh-air ventilation and access. Shaft construction in the Saskatchewan sedimentary basin involves sinking through five different rock-types: glacial tills, shales, sandstones, carbonates and salts. The first four rock- types are all water-bearing, and the salts will dissolve in water. This results in five different sinking challenges and requires five different shaft lining designs. The upper 580 m of rock (the till – shale – sands sequence) was frozen before sinking, and grouting methods were used for water control through deeper carbonate levels. Challenges that were faced and overcome during shaft sinking are reviewed, and ideas that future operators working in sedimentary basin environments might consider in order to avoid these difficulties are discussed.INTRODUCTIONThe Nutrien Inc. (formerly Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. / PotashCorp) Rocanville potash mine in southeast Saskatchewan, Canada has been in continuous production since 1971. Devonian potash, formed approximately 380 Mybp, is mined in a sedimentary basin environment at approximately 1000 m depth below surface in this area of Saskatchewan. The predominant use for finished potash products is fertilizer: potash fertilizer is concentrated and nearly pure KCl (i.e. greater than 95% pure KCl). Currently 10 potash mines are in operation in Canada, all in Saskatchewan. In 2018 Saskatchewan mines produced ˜ 23 million tonnes of finished potash products, which is approximately 35% of World demand of ˜ 66 million tonnes for the year (e.g. Nutrien Inc., 2019).In November, 2007 it was announced that the Rocanville potash mine would be expanded to increase production from 3.0 Million tonnes per year (Mtpy) to approximately 6.0 Mtpy of finished potash products, requiring an increase in hoisting capability from approximately 9.0 Mtpy to over 18.0 Mtpy. The Rocanville potash mine has historically been accessed through two shafts: a production and ventilation exhaust shaft, and a service and ventilation fresh-air shaft located approximately 200 m from each other. All surface offices, processing facilities, etc. are situated near these original shafts.A very important part of the recent Rocanville expansion involved the construction of a new service shaft (6 m diameter, 1121 m deep) for fresh-air ventilation and access, approximately 15km west of the existing surface plant. Once this third shaft was completed in 2015, the historical service shaft was converted to a second exhaust and production shaft. Three shafts are now available for mine access, ventilation and ore hoisting at Rocanville. As of December 31, 2017, annual nameplate capacity for Rocanville was 6.5 million"

Jan 1, 2019