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By Peter Cunningham

Teck Facts and Figures ? Employ more than 14,000 around the world, includes: ? Over 8,600 in Canada (close to 7,800 in British Columbia) ? Close to 2,000 in Chile ? Over 2,700 in Peru ? Approximately 600 in U.S. ? Hundreds more in exploration around the world ? Total capital expenditures ? $1.8 billion for 2012

Aug 1, 2013

By J. J. Laffin

In the pursuit of comfort and safety, the wonders of science have given us controlled heating and cooling, thus enabling us to enjoy all the aspects of present-day living to an extreme never previously •envisaged. Man's attempt to conquer the elements largely involves con-trolling the temperature around him. Without having conquered this aspect, his body energy would be consumed in trying to maintain physical comfort, rather than being invested in the explorations which have resulted in man's control over the forces of nature. The indirect methods used to obtain the most agreeable temperature environment were developed because of the natural tendency to strive for increased safety, convenience and comfort. Until the twentieth century, when heat generated by atomic fission became a reality, man's only source of heat, except for that of the sun, came from his discovery of fire.

Jan 1, 1962

By L. R. Hougen

The Falconbridge Matte Leach Process yields high-purity nickel chloride by selectively dissolving nickel from copper-nickel converter matte with hydrochloric acid , purifying the solution by solvent extraction and crystallizing NiCl2 4H2O by further acidifying the purified leach liquor. In the Kristiansand Matte Leach Plant, a granular oxide is produced by high-temperature hydrolysis of the nickel chloride for subsequent reduction to a high-purity granular metal product, designated NICKEL 98. This paper describes the investigation of on alternate route to processing nickel chloride in which high-quality cathode nickel is produced by electrowinning from all- chloride electrolyte. The investigation was made in a pilot circuit containing two production-size electrowinning tanks operated in conjunction with the commercial-scale leach plant.

Jan 1, 1977

By G. C. Hambleton

"The author has had wide experience in the reclamation of coal from coal mine waste dumps in the United Kingdom.The paper includes such topics as the processing decision and factors affecting processability; method of testing and appraisal; test data interpretation; historical influences in apppraisal; special contaminants and processing difficulties; methods of treatment; review of systems in use and their comparative economics; over-all system economics including excavation, handling methods, recovery system and shale disposal; effluent treatment; environmental considerations; alternatives to processing for coal recovery; light aggregate and cement usage; burned shale heaps; land reclamation; shale deposition for encouragement of vegetation by natural or artificial means; use of tailings fines; the environmental argument for action."

Jan 1, 1972

By G. H. Charlewood, J. W. McBean

"One hundred years after being developed, the diamond drill is still an essential tool in mineral exploration. The basic principle is unchanged, but the technique has been revolutionized, particularly in the past fifteen years. The cost of core drilling has not kept pace with the rising cost of living. The price of machinery, supplies and labour in drilling has doubled and trebled since 1946. Some of the techniques which have made it possible to hold the price line are described."

Jan 1, 1967

By V. Gregoire

THE DEVELOPMENT by the Iron Ore Company of Canada of the Quebec-Labrador mining project, which eventually led to 'Iron Ore in 1954', involved, from the start, several distinct undertakings. Among them, the most important were: The construction of a 360-mile railway, linking Knob Lake with Seven Islands. The erection of a railway terminal, and harbour facilities, at Seven Islands itself. The building of an entire townsite at Schefferville (formerly Knob Lake) The construction of two hydroelectric plants; and, finally, The development of a sufficient number of orebodies to enable a production of 10 to 15 million tons of ore a year. Since these phases of the project have already been the subject of previous discussions, this paper will not elaborate further on them but will rather concern itself with a brief outline of the Company's current mining practices.

Jan 1, 1958

By Sunil S. Gandhi

Magmatic-hydrothermal deposits rich in magnetite and/or hematite form a broad group that includes monometallic Fe deposits and polymetallic (mainly Cu and Au) deposits. They show a considerable variation in deposit characteristics, but share the genetic processes of magmatic differentiation and related hydrothermal activity in intermediate to felsic melts, and in some cases involve brines and/or meteoric waters during mineralization. They include several world-class deposits. They range in age from Proterozoic to Recent, and form important metallogenic districts in Scandinavian, Canadian, Brazilian and Australian Shields, Circum-Pacific regions, and in China, Iran and Turkey. Monometallic deposits have been important sources of iron in the past and still contain significant resources of the metal, e.g., the Kiirunavaara deposit in Sweden. The giant Olympic Dam Cu-Au-Ag-U-REE deposit was discovered in 1975, and since then explorationists have focussed on search for analogues worldwide. This has brought to light a number of economically important new deposits and prospects, including examples in Canada. The discoveries have in turn prompted considerable research on individual deposits and the group as a whole. This short paper is an attempt to summarize the main aspects of the group from the literature cited in Gandhi and Bell (1996), and from the papers published recently in two milestone volumes on these deposits, edited by Porter (2000 and 2002).

May 1, 2003

By D. Lunt

Telfer bulk concentrates typically contain 8% chalcopyrite, 8% chalcocite, 45% pyrite and 80-120 g/t gold. Although very high copper and gold recoveries can be obtained by subjecting the concentrate to a "conventional" high temperature pressure oxidation step followed by copper recovery by solvent extraction and electrowinning, and cyanidation of the leach residue for gold recovery, the cost of lime required for neutralisation and power for oxygen generation was such that the process was uneconomic in terms of operating costs. The challenge therefore was to develop an alternative flowsheet that maximised copper and gold recovery in which the reagent costs were commercially attractive. An additional objective was to reduce the capital cost so that the overall NPV and IRR values would enhance the economic viability of the total project. Following a series of batch and locked cycle testwork programs, supported by Metsim modelling, it was established that the same high levels of overall copper and gold recoveries can be obtained by use of a novel two-stage split leaching circuit in which the chalcocite component is leached in a low temperature (90-110°C) circuit with the chalcopyrite component treated in a high temperature (220-250°C) circuit. This split circuit has a number of advantages, including minimising the required capacity of the high temperature autoclave, as well as reducing the overall lime consumption and simplifying the total process water balance. The paper outlines the basis for the development of the flowsheet and discusses the integration of the leaching stages into the overall circuit.

Jan 1, 2004

By Richard R. Walker, John J. Watkins, Allen C. Amos, Matulich. Angelo

THE KIDD CREEK MINE is located within the Abitibi greenstone belt, near its west end, in an area known as the Porcupine mining camp (Fig. 5). The Abitibi belt, long known for its many major gold and base metal deposits, is the largest Archean (early Precambrian) greenstone belt within the Canadian Shield. In the Porcupine area, the greenstone belt is composed principally of Keewatin (older Archean) basic to intermediate volcanics, with subordinate felsic volcanics developed• locally. Greywacke, mainly of volcanic derivation, occurs associated with and overlying these volcanics. Timiskaming (younger Archean) sediments, principally coarse clastics, unconformably overlie the Keewatin volcanics and sediments. The reader is referred to Goodwin and Ridler (1970) •r. for a more comprehensive description of the Abitibi belt.

Jan 1, 1974

By W. A. Dixon Edwards

Industrial mineral production in Alberta, worth $468 million in 1997, comes from a dozen types of industrial minerals, mined by about 400 producers. Cement and lime from Paleozoic limestone formations exposed along the Rocky Mountains account for the greatest production value. Sand andgravel is the primary source ofmineral aggregate. Almost two-thirds of this aggregate is consumed in the Edmonton and Calgary regions. Sulphur produced at 48 sour gas processing plants and two oil sands plants was valued at $84.8 million in 1997 and accounted for 80% ofCanadian sulphur production. Four companies solution mine the Elk Point salt beds to produce chlor-alkali chemicals, industrial salt and sodium chlorate. Natural brine is also produced as a dust control product. Al $22 million, peat moss is a major industrial mineral product in Alberta. Other minerals with noteworthy production include shale, stone, silica and ammolite. The commodities with the greatest development potential are diamond, silica and oil sands tailings by-product minerals.

Jan 1, 2001

By John H. Low

Introduction Despite the fact that the .association of magnetite with chrysotile asbestos in the parent producing area of the world, the Thetford Mines - Black Lake area, has been recognized since the ores of that region were first known, magnetic methods were not extensively employed in exploration for asbestos until about the beginning of 1949. Since then, large areas of Ontario, Quebec, and the eastern United States have been prospected both by aeromagnetic and conventional ground magnetic methods. Prior to 1949, a limited amount of magnetic work had been done, notably that of A.H. Miller (1, pp. 184-186), which was carried out in conjunction with the geological survey of the Thetford area by H. C. Cooke (2) in the years of 1930 to 1932. At that time, Miller pointed out that the occurrence of asbestos is associated with very large magnetic 'anomalies' and that, within the Pennington dyke, an area of asbestos- bearing peridotite could be distinguished, by the anomalies, from adjacent areas of non-asbestos ?-bearing peridotite. Since he .also observed large anomalies in what were believed to be ?barren areas, Miller concluded, however, that the magnetometer could hardly be of much or any value in the direct location of asbestos War .and post-war demands on known reserves of asbestos ore, however, stimulated the search for new deposits, and an economical and rapid method of directing speculative drilling was most desirable.

Jan 1, 1951

Building off the enthusiasm generated by Credit Suisse First Boston on the potential benefits of an industry-wide effort to market gold jewellery, a group of gold producers, led by Randall Oliphant, CEO of Barrick Gold, decides to investigate the long -term impact of launching a significant marketing initiative to stimulate demand for gold jewellery. The group establishes an international Steering Committee representing producers of differing sizes, members and non-members of the World Gold Council. This Committee comprises representatives from AngloGold, Barrick, Gympie Gold, Kinross, Randgold, and Sons of Gwalia and is supported by the Australian Gold Council, the Gold and Silver Institute, and CSFB. The Steering Committee hires McKinsey to assist it by conducting an independent review of whether investment in a large-scale marketing initiative for gold jewellery would be effective in increasing demand for gold, and ultimately of significant economic benefit of the gold industry. Based on McKinsey?s review* and its own discussions with key stakeholders across the industry, the Steering Committee strongly believes the case for marketing is compelling and sufficiently proven to persuade the industry to undertake a major initiative over the next few years. The Steering Committee, supported by McKinsey, conducts briefings with a range of gold producers to share its findings and to understand producers? perspectives on an industry-funded marketing campaign. The Steering Committee is asking for your support to bring this industry-funded marketing campaign to life.

May 1, 2002

By A. G. Roach

IT IS generally stated that the gold ores of Nova Scotia are free-milling, and for the most part this is true. However, there is a certain proportion of the gold finely disseminated throughout the sulphides, notably arsenopyrite, and this gold is definitely not recoverable as 'free-milling' gold by amalgamation. The proportion of free-milling gold to total gold seems to vary widely in different localities in the Province and is lowest in deposits of the fissure-vein type. The problem of recovery of these relatively recalcitrant values is usually one of economics, in some plac.es a simple gravity concentrate being of such low tenor that its extraction and subsequent disposal will not bear the costs involved. In other cases, such a high percentage of values escapes from the mortars and plates that concentration is definitely indicated. The size of the mining operation is also an important factor. In the large majority of cases, however, some concentrating step is warranted, even if the resulting concentrate is stock-piled until sufficient has accumulated to justify further treatment.

Jan 1, 1940

By William W. Shilts

"In carrying out a geotechnical survey of a proposed gas pipeline route from the Arctic Islands south to Longlac, Ontario, the Polar Gas Consortium contracted the drilling of several hundred 2- to 2D-m-deep boreholes in drift and bedrock. Samples from these holes were made available to the Geological Survey of Canada, where they were subjected to stratigraphic and trace-element geochemical analyses. The geochemical characteristics of the clay and sand-sized heavy mineral fractions of till samples from these boreholes have been summarized in a series of geochemical profiles.From the proposed pipeline terminus at Longlac northward to the vicinity of God's River in Manitoba, tills contain significant amounts of Paleozoic carbonate rocks and Proterozoic sedimentary rocks derived from the Hudson Bay basin and lowlands. Within this section, two sites were enriched in base metals, indicating the possibility of local mineralization of possible economic interest.From God's River northward to Seal River, Manitoba, no evidence of local mineralization was noted. The heavy mineral fractions of the tills are universally enriched in Mn-rich siderite thought to originate on or in the Paleozoic section of the Hudson Bay lowlands.From Seal River northward to Thelon River, near Baker Lake, tills contain only components originating west of the Hudson Bay sedimentary basin. Near the Keewatin-Manitoba border, all till is enriched in uranium, which probably originates in the ""young"" porphyritic granites underlying much of the region, and produces a distinctive airborne radiometric anomaly.At the Thelon River, multiple till sections are variously enriched in Cr, Ni, U, Cu and Mo in the vicinity of a distinctive aeromagnetic anomaly.From Thelon River northward, several coincident zones of chromium and uranium enrichment are found where the line of boreholes crosses east-west-striking belts of volcanic, ultramafic and sedimentary rocks of the Prince Albert Group.The results of this study indicate that till tends to have characteristic element associations or concentrations over each of several broad regions along the pipeline route. These are related both to large-scale bedrock associations and to largescale effects of glacial dispersal. In addition, the samples, collected more or less at random with respect to local bedrock geology, have intersected several small-scale geochemical anomalies that appear to be related to zones of mineralization of possible economic interest."

Jan 1, 1980

"Liberation is a key requirement for efficient separation in mineral processing. As a consequence of this an understanding of the inherent textural features of an ore is no longer possible since during the process of liberation, texture is destroyed. Knowledge of key textural features, such as mineral grain size and distribution, prior to breakage processes provides the opportunity to understand the textural drivers for ore hardness. Modern characterisation methods, including automated SEM-based techniques, provide the possibility of measuring mineral characteristics at a range of scales. This paper discusses how textural features of two different ore types in a porphyry copper deposit can be measured and interpreted at a number of scales. Standard breakage tests conducted on the ores indicate that one of the ores can be characterised as hard and the other as soft. The impact of mineral grain size and the presence and scale of vein type structures in the two ores have been used to determine the extent to which these features influence ore hardness.INTRODUCTIONIn order to effectively convert ore into metal, knowledge of both the processing stages and the characteristics of the ore are essential. Prior to the advent of technologies that enabled the fundamental understanding of the sub-process at each stage of processing and the measurement of appropriate ore properties the most effective way to understand how an ore would respond to a process was to put it through that process, for example the way to determine how an ore would break was to first break it. Existing comminution models seek to predict the size distribution of rock fragments as the result of applied energy based on knowledge of the rock strength. It is common for these models to consider the rock as homogeneous and despite providing important data for the design and optimisation of industrial comminution circuits these models are only applicable within a narrow range of operation. In order for reliable predictive models to be developed that account for the inherent ore characteristics, a step change is required in the type of measurements that are carried out to characterise an ore and the type of data that is extracted and used as model inputs."

Jan 1, 2016

By B. K. Gorain

"The Air-Metabisulfite (AMBS) process has been developed to treat complex copper, molybdenum and precious metals (gold, silver) bearing ores using brackish and sea water. This process was able to produce significantly better copper concentrate grades and higher recovery than possible using conventional lime and/or cyanide based processes for certain complex ores with high sulphide gangue minerals. The AMBS technology in now used commercially following a rigorous evaluation process emanating from laboratory curiosity to plant applications. In addition, many projects have embraced this technology at a feasibility level involving various complex ore bodies.This paper presents a summary of the findings from testing the AMBS technology on various ores types. Experiences gained from this successful development from bench to piloting and then to plant applications are also presented in this paper.INTRODUCTIONProcessing of sulphide copper, molybdenum and precious metal ores typically involves flotation of copper bearing minerals while depressing non-sulphide and other non-copper sulphide minerals such as pyrite, pyrrhotite and sometimes arsenopyrite. Though in many precious metal ores, the values are in these sulphide minerals as well. The conventional method employed in the industry to produce a saleable copper concentrate requires depression of these non-copper sulphide minerals using an alkaline pH above 9.5, though 10.5 to 11.5 is more common. Alkalinity is controlled by the addition of a pH modifier. Lime is normally employed as a pH modifier due to its relatively low cost; however, the costs associated with adding lime can be significant and the effectiveness of lime as a depressant could be drastically reduced when the process water supplied to the flotation circuit contains high level of dissolved salts. In some cases, a small amount of cyanide is used along with lime to depress non-copper sulphide minerals especially when its proportion to copper sulphide minerals in the ore is higher than three."

Jan 1, 2016

By J. B. Hadaway

The operation at Phu Kham commenced design and construction in early 2006 and was commissioned in May 2008. This paper will examine and discuss the project from the inception of flow sheet development and equipment selection, equipment design and manufacture, construction, commissioning and ramp up to full production. The paper will touch on the strategies employed to achieve a short schedule and the efficient use of capital, but with the main emphasis on the grinding circuit. Various challenges during the early years of operation will be discussed including the effect of ore characteristics, including competency, on the performance of the grinding circuit. Actions to overcome these challenges and to enhance performance will also be discussed. Finally, current and future plans to improve the performance of the grinding circuit and the overall plant will be summarised.

Jan 1, 2012

By C. Fortin

ABSTRACT The subject of gold flotation has been reviewed extensively. Most of these reviews focus on the theories of gold flotation and the physical and chemical effects that may impact the efficacy of the gold flotation process. The current status of gold flotation chemistry as it is being applied in industry has not been widely addressed. This paper reviews current gold flotation practice and research advancements and discusses how these applications tie in with the current understanding of gold flotation chemistry. Survey results from worldwide gold flotation operations are analyzed. Potential future areas of gold flotation research are highlighted.

Jan 1, 2013

By H. D. B. Wilson

"IntroductionRECENT ADVANCES in geo-chemistry and in •our knowledge •of crystal structure provide a key which enables us to create a systematic picture of the genesis of many ore deposits. This genetic scheme may be used with confidence in assessing certain types of orebodies and may be of some aid in actual exploration, since it affords a rational explanation of the dependence of the composition •of the ore minerals on that of the rock type in which they occur with which they -are •associated. For purposes of the present paper, .the elements chosen are •chromium, vanadium, iron, and titanium. The oxides of all these metals occur in deposits of similar or related type, and it is proposed to show that, for each, the composition of the •ore mineral is related to •the composition of the enclosing :rock, and that one of the principal factors controlling the composition of the ore is the ionic size of its constituent elements.Geochemical PrinciplesThe crystals of the rock-forming silicates and of the magmatic oxide minerals are essentially ionic types. This means that they are composed •of oppositely charged ions such as Mg²+ and 0²-, which are held together by electrostatic attraction. The ions of each element are spherical, with characteristic size known as the ionic radius. Crystals are built up by the packing of these spheres in the most stable arrangement compatible with the size and the size and valence of the ions• involved.Many of the principles governing the formation of ionic crystals are •simple ,and logical."

Jan 1, 1953

By W. Tse, D. Wong

Dense medium separation (DMS) is one of several preconcentration methods used for early waste rejection from run of mine ores at relatively coarse particle sizes prior to additional milling and beneficiation. DMS has been used extensively in the coal, diamond and iron ore industries but lab scale and pilot test work has demonstrated successful separation and upgrading of other minerals such as lead, zinc, copper and lithium based ores using DMS. This paper reviews historical dense media systems, results from the pilot scale Condor DMS system as well as associated laboratory heavy liquid separation (HLS) test work.

Jan 1, 2014