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By W. A. Lang

Introduction That the coal industry has entered a new phase in its development is now evident. Coal, besides being the chief source of heat and power, has become a potential raw material for many industries. Rapid progress has been made in the methods used in the mining and preparation of coal, and in the equipment for the burning of coal. Data of a fundamental nature relating to the composition of coal and to its transformations? during combustion and processing have also been revealed. Research, the key which has opened this new era, has already accomplished much, but it has only begun to show what it may and should be able to do. New developments of coal burning equipment, super-power plants, carbonizing and briquetting plants, hydrogenation and synthetic chemical processes, will undoubtedly have a marked influence in the post-war years on the economic welfare of many coal producing countries. Until comparatively recently, however, there has been in many branches of the coal industry a tendency to regard research as something abstruse and something which had little or no value to those managing such branches. But the fact that coal has suffered as a source of heat and energy through inroads of oil, natural gas, and water power, has made it plain to the industry that, if it is to maintain its present markets in this competitive world, much less increase them, the whole industry must be willing to follow the example of other industries and plan for the future.

Jan 1, 1946

By Jochen Petersen, Diane Taggart

"At an average of 90.3% (for the period of 1 January 2009 to 30 September 2011), Zincor’s zinc recovery was well below the industry standard of 96%. The losses through the residues, in particular the iron residue, were the biggest contributors to the overall zinc loss. It was believed that this loss could be decreased with the implementation of seed recycling. A plant trial was run to test the implementation of a seed recycle. The rate of seed addition through recycle was increased over a 4-week period. The presence of seed decreased the insoluble zinc loss by providing additional surface area for iron to precipitate onto, and reducing coating of unleached neutralising agent. The soluble zinc loss was also decreased at low and moderate seed recycle volumes. The improvement was attributed to agglomeration growth of the recycled particles, which improves the dewatering characteristics of the precipitate. In contrast, the soluble zinc loss increased at high seed recycle rates. This result was attributed to particle crowding and a low wash ratio.INTRODUCTION The Zincor refinery, which closed in December 2011, was situated just outside of Springs in the Gauteng Province of South Africa and employed the conventional Roast-Leach-Electrowin process, which accounts for 75 to 80% of the annual primary zinc production in the world. The refinery fed up to 220 000 t/a of zinc sulphide concentrate. The major portion of the raw material was sourced in Southern Africa from the Rosh Pinah and Black Mountain mines. Between 20 000 and 40 000 t/a of material was imported to make up the deficit and to improve the grade of the feed material. The iron contained in the zinc concentrates, at an average of 6.03% (for the period of 1 January 2009 to 30 September 2011), resulted in the formation of zinc ferrite during roasting, which is insoluble under atmospheric leach conditions. At Zincor, most of the zinc ferrite was dissolved in the residue treatment plant at elevated temperature and high acid strength. The leach liquor from this aggressive leach contained between 15 to 30 g/L of iron, mostly in the ferric form, and was known as the hot iron solution (HIS). The presence of iron in the liquor had an adverse effect on the zinc operation, particularly on the current efficiency in the electrowinning circuit. Therefore the iron needed complete removal."

Jan 1, 2016

By G. P. Holmes

"IntroductionThe copper-molybdenum property of Brenda Mines Ltd. is located 18 miles north west of Peachland in the Okanagan Valley of the Southern Central interior of British Columbia. The actual site is 50 miles north of the international boundary and 150 air miles east of Vancouver at an elevation of 5000 feet above sea level. The earliest written mention of the prospect is found in the Geological Survey of Canada, Memoir No. 243, issued in 1947 by Dr. H.M.A. Rice. In 1954 the area was staked by a prospector, Bob Bechtel, who interested Bern Brynelsen of Noranda Exploration in examining the claims. A joint Noranda - Kennecott program resulted but since the grades were so low the property was not taken up until in 1964 a re-examination by Chapman, Wood and Griswold produced recommendations leading to the construction of the Brenda Mine as it is today.The rounded, timber covered mountains of the area are composed of the tuffs, argillites and limestones of the Upper Triassic Nicola Group, which is intruded by a Jurassic quartz diorite, called the Brenda stock0 The actual orebody occurs in a strongly fractured zone within the Brenda stock, approximately 1500 feet from the contact with the Nicola group0 The ore minerals, .chalcopyrite and molybdenite, associated with pyrite and magnetite of lesser importance, occur as fillings within the fractures 0 The grade of the ore decreases outwards from a central higher grade core and in January 1971 total reserves were estimated at 165 million tons assaying 0,182% Copper and 0,049% Mo."

Jan 1, 1972

By Trevor R. Ellis

"The valuation of mineral properties in the U.S. is only partially regulated. The regulations which have jurisdiction or impact appear to have such mainly as a consequence of unintended fallout, since the regulations were designed for other purposes. Court case history can also be important. The combined results are a mixture of bad and good, with important lessons to be learned.Since 1981, the Securities and Exchange Commission has prohibited U.S. listed companies from reporting quantitative estimates of mineralization and the value of mineralization, other than proven and probable reserves. This results in the minerals appraiser (valuator) working with a shortage of data in his everyday work, both on the subject property and in sales analysis.Between 1989 and 1995, all 50 states and essentially all Federal agencies adopted the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) for real property appraisals (valuations). The major national appraisal societies also require their members to abide by USPAP. A significant portion of minerals appraisals must now follow these standards. This paper will discuss the content of USPAP. It provides a very good framework for the valuation of a minerals property or a mine, both as real property and as a business. However, the credentialing standards for real property appraisers are now prohibitive for minerals appraisers."

Jan 1, 2003

By Frank B. Amon

Highland Valley Copper had to make some significant changes in the way it was working in order to counter the effects of ever-increasing costs and decreasing metal prices. A mine/mill optimization plan started in 1997 introduced new technologies and management approaches that resulted in a dramatic drop in cash breakeven costs. The changes involved employee training, added authority and responsibility for staff, better communications, and a consistent approach to setting and achieving property-wide goals. The net effect was to change the culture of the organization from one that was fragmented and focussed on local objectives to one that is cohesive and has common goals. These changes have allowed the mine to remain in business during a protracted period of low metal prices, and have positioned the mine favourably to benefit even more from any future increase in prices.

May 1, 2004

By Ralph W. Edie

"IntroductionTHE GOLDFIELDS AREA in northern Saskatchewan has be-come important in recent years because of numerous discoveries of pitchblende. The area is underlain by rocks of Precambrian age and, because of metamorphism and hydrothermal alteration, the geology in the vicinity of the pitchblende deposits is exceedingly complex and presents a challenge to all geologists •working in the district. This paper is a contribution to the geological literature of the area and presents a description of rock types, supplemented with petrographic, chemical, and spectrochemical data.Field work in connection with this paper was carried out during the summers of 1948, 1949, and 1950 while the writer was employed as assistant geologist for the Crown Corporation, Eldorado Mining and Refining ( 1944), Limited, Gold-fields area. Laboratory work was undertaken at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology during the winter months of 1949-50 and 1950-51 and extended through the summer of 1951.With the exception of SiO2and FeO, all of the new analyses ( 1) presented were carried out by quantitative spectrographic techniques under the supervision of Dr. L. H. Ahrens at M.I.T. Many of the techniques have only recently been developed at that Institute and detailed laboratory procedures have not yet been published."

Jan 1, 1952

By Charles Kingsley

THE PRESIDENT (DR. C. B. KINGSTON, member C.l.M.M.) expressed regret that neither of the authors of the paper was able to be present to submit the paper in person. In their absence, it would be introduced formally from the Chair. It was a clear, straightforward account of a fine piece of shaft sinking, cleverly conceived and boldly executed. He referred briefly to the distribution and nature of the Dome ore-bodies and stated that, for both the miner and the metallurgist, the mine had provided a wide range of problems of unusual interest. Discussion on the paper was then invited. MR. THOMAS PRYOR said the paper was most opportune, because the subject of internal shafts did not appear to be fully treated in current mining literature. Many members were not familiar with Canadian gold deposits and it would be of interest if the authors could give a brief description of the location of the ere deposits of the Dome mine. This information would doubtless explain why a new internal shaft was needed in a position which required such an exceptionally long cross-cut to connect it to the main hoisting shaft to surface. It would also add to the value of the paper if the authors would give some idea of the duty expected of the new shaft in terms of tons of rock hoisted and of trips engaged in the transport of men and materials, and it would be helpful if figures could be given of the total capital cost of the hoists and subsidiary excavations at the shaft top, and of the cost per foot for sinking and lining the shaft below the collar. Turning to details of the paper, one was favourably impressed by the care given to the provision of a good travelling way for men in the main cross-cut, as shown in Figure 1. It was by no means always that one could walk in comfort and safety in a working where there was a 20-in. ventilating pipe in the roof.

Jan 1, 1939

By P. Leo

The hot deformation behavior of a Mg-9A1-1Zn alloy produced by high pressure die casting has been investigated by means of compression tests in the temperature and strain rate ranges of 125-300°C and 10-5-10-1 s-1 and torsion tests over 150-450°C and 5, 0.5, 0.05 5-1 . The compression samples were deformed in the die-cast state or after homogenization at 415°C for 2 h to evaluate improvements. A premature fracture at 45° with respect to the compression axis was observed in samples strained at low temperatures and high strain rates. The torsion specimens were tested as received or after a predeformation-homogenization treatment. In addition to constitutive analyses suitable for modeling previously published, the results are fitted to a relationship between strain rate normalized by diffusion coefficient and flow stress normalized by modulus. The results fit well with a set of published creep experiments that were conducted in the range of 70-150°C.

Jan 1, 2006

By E. M. Stiles

THE Wellington Lake power plant of the Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company of Canada, Limited, about 25 miles from Goldfields, Saskatchewan, is the second hydro-electric project operating in that Province, the first being the Island Falls plant of the Churchill River Power Company which serves the operations of the Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting Company at Flin Flon, Manitoba. The Churchill River project develops 90,000 h.p. at 56-ft. head; the Wellington Lake plant 3,300 h.p. at 75-ft. with pro-vision for an additional 3,300 h.p. unit. Churchill River power is trans-mitted at 110,000 volts over a 58-mile line of steel towers to Flin Flon and an additional 45 miles over a wooden pole-line to Sherritt-Gordon. Our steel tower-line is 22 miles long, and the voltage is 60,000; this choice be-cause certain such equipment was available from Trail. The diversion of 15,000? second-feet at 56-ft. head for 90,000 h. p. at Churchill river dwarfs our 500 second-feet flow at 75-ft. head for 3,300 h.p. In both cases, the main obstacles to be overcome during plant construction were the lack of transport facilities and the short open season. Let it be noted here that this paper deals mainly with those phases of plant construction which were particularly interesting to the writer. With-out these variations from the ordinary routine, this is just another power project whose story is better told by the accompanying charts and pictures. To many members of the Institute it is still just that; but I am writing for those who, like myself, have been too seldom responsible for major under-rakings at an appreciable distance from a railway siding. When it was planned in early 1937 to erect a 1,000-ton mill at our Box mine, both hydro and Diesel power were discussed. With ten years' ore in sight, even an expensive hydro project, such as ours turned out to be, produces kilowatts materially below the 2-cent operating cost of a Diesel plant using fuel-oil at 14 cents a gallon.

Jan 1, 1940

By Jean Cayouette

"In 1995, Louvicourt Mine started one of the first paste backfill operations in Canada. From 500,000 tonnes in 1995, the annual paste backfill tonnage produced reached 800,000 tonnes in 1999. The maximum throughput of the surface plant (including binders) is 3,50Ot/d with a final density of 75 to 76% solids which gives a slump of 15 to 17cm. Following the start-up of the paste backfill plant, the backfill strength performance levels were well below the pilot plant’s predictions. The introduction of ferrous slag, laboratory tests on various binder ratios with or without additives, and the desliming of the tailings enabled us to optimize the mix and operation costs. Primary and secondary stopes are filled respectively with a paste containing 4.5% and 2% binders consisting of a mixture of 20% cement and 80% ferrous slag. In certain stopes, the binder ratio may vary from 2 to 7%, but always in a ratio of 80/20. Six years after start-up, or 4.5mt of paste backfill later, this paper discusses the present operation and the major changes that have occurred over the years to optimize both the operation and the paste fill quality.INTRODUCTIONLouvicourt Mine is operated by Aur Resources Inc. which owns 30% of the shares. Its partners are Novicourt Inc. (45%, subsidiary of Noranda Inc.) and Teck Corporation (25%). The mine is located in the north-west part of Quebec, about 600 km north of Montreal and about 25 km east of Val d’Or. The mine commenced commercial production in July 1994."

Jan 1, 2002

By W. A. Toohey

Introduction From the earliest times it has been an inherent trait of man to build or create something for his own use or convenience. The need of some form of shelter other than that of the caves led him to bind together stones and other materials to form walls for his abode. Moistened clay which hardened upon drying was no doubt first employed. The Assyrians and Babylonians appear to have employed it or the bitumen found in their country. The early Egyptians and Greeks used some form of lime in their construction work. In addition to these shelters, other structures received attention, and, long before the Roman Empire was established, the Carthaginians made use of a natural cement as binding material. Portions of an aqueduct, seventy miles long, in Northern Africa, built in those early days, are still in use. The Etruscans were the first people in Italy to employ a mortar in their buildings. The Romans, learning the art from the Etruscans, improved the mortar by using a mixture of lime and volcanic ash, called 'puzzolan', and built not only roads but those famous structures, the ruins of many of which exist to this day. The Pantheon at Rome, built by Hadrian about 120 A.D., is perhaps the finest example of the early use of cement in building construction. With the decline of the Roman Empire, the art of making cement seems to have been lost, and for centuries the builders of Europe used only lime mortar. Pure limestones were selected for making the lime and great care was taken in the preparation of the mortar, the supply for one year being made the previous season and left to thoroughly slake or 'ripen' in pits covered with earth. The mortar thus produced gave excellent service above ground or where it was exposed to the hardening action of the air, but would not harden under water.

Jan 1, 1927

By B. MohammadSadeghi, S. Bakhshivash, M. Haghshenas, F. Rahimi

"Constrained groove pressing (CGP), as a severe plastic deformation (SPD) technique, is one of the applicable methods for sheet metal forming capable of producing ultra-fine grained materials (UFGMs). In CGP, processing and die design parameters can significantly affect the deformation response of sheet metal specimen. Having said this, in the present research the effects of die design variables and processing parameters (i.e. shear angle and friction) on the deformation behaviour of an Al-Mg-Si Alloy are studied thoroughly. Finite element analysis (FEA), was used to evaluate the effectiveness of mentioned parameters on the deformation homogeneity, strain distribution and pressing load variations. Also, mechanical properties of the deformed sample in term of micro-hardness was analyzed. It is observed that with increasing the shear angle, effective stress, strain and pressing load are enhanced. Moreover, by increasing the coefficient of friction, pressing load enhances. The color coded micro-hardness measurement showed a good agreement with the strain distribution obtained from FEA (higher hardness for the zones associated with higher shear plastic strain values).INTRODUCTIONWork hardening results in enhanced mechanical properties upon cycles of deformation (Hosford & Caddell, 2007). However, the formability of the processed products are affected by work hardening reducing the possibility of processing in subsequent deformation cycles. Therefore, many industrial processes cannot be performed on sheet metals to produce products with desired mechanical and physical properties (Valiev, Islamgaliev, & Alexandrov, 2000). Severe plastic deformation (SPD) is an effective grain refining technique which can impose large plastic strains through cold working on a metallic specimen (Bisadi, Rastgou, Payganeh, Zeynali, & Ghahremani, 2010). SPD techniques are mainly categorized into three types; sheet, bulk and tube forming. Among SPD sheet forming methods, Constrained Groove Pressing (CGP) (Shin, Park, Kim, & Park, 2002), Accumulative Roll Bonding (ARB) (Saito, Tsuji, Utsunomiya, Sakai, & Hong, 1998) and Repetitive Corrugation and Straightening (RCS) (Zhu, Lowe, Jiang, & Huang, 2001) possess potential applications in manufacturing industries."

Jan 1, 2016

By D. Paul Bishop, Kevin P. Plucknett, Hung-wei Liu

"Spark plasma sintering (SPS) process has been evaluated for producing the commercially pure (CP) Ti, TiAl and a TiAl-B4C composite. Comparisons were made between the materials in terms of the sintered density, resultant hardness and microstructures. In the present work, the titanium aluminide powders (Ti-48Al, producing a mixture of y-TiAl/a2-Ti3Al) were synthesised „in-house? using a simple reaction-sintering and mechanical attrition approach. This allowed various size distributions to be generated. The powders were then blended with a fine boron carbide (B4C) powder (up to 6 wt.%), and the resulting mixtures were consolidated using spark plasma sintering (SPS) under vacuum in graphite dies. An applied stress of 50 MPa was used for all SPS runs. The SPS parameters were varied in terms of the ultimate sintering temperature (up to 1300°C) and hold time (up to 10 minutes) for each material. It is demonstrated that high densities can be achieved this approach (exceeding 95% of theoretical, with optimised samples close to full density). Microstructural characterisation was conducted using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction. The B4C additions were seen to partially react with the TiAl to form reinforcements, such as TiCx and TiBx. Preliminary mechanical property assessment will also be briefly discussed.INTRODUCTION Titanium- and titanium aluminide-based alloys possess many unique properties, such as excellent corrosion resistance and high temperature strength, respectively (Cardarelli, 2001; Leyens & Peters, 2003). Compared to many other competing materials (e.g. stainless steel or Ni-based alloys), Ti- and TiAl-based alloys also have relatively low densities (~4.5 and ~3.9-4.1 g/cm3, respectively), which is critical for performance in aviation and automobile applications. However, the manufacturing cost is high, due to the expensive raw Ti material and difficulties in machining. TiAl-based alloys are particularly difficult to produce because of their limited ductility (Lütjering & Williams, 2007). To overcome those problems, powder metallurgy (PM) technologies have shown great potential as near-net shape processes for Ti- and TiAl-based alloys. The general PM process largely avoids laborious post-machining and minimises material use. In industrial production, the PM approach has been successfully utilised to manufacture aluminium- and iron-based alloys (Huo & Heath, 2008)."

Jan 1, 2017

By Jean-Paul Drolet

"This paper charts, briefly, the :salient facts of international trade in minerals and their products and Canada's place in it. It also reviews inter-national agreements, economic groupings and national measures to channel and regulate production and trade in minerals. Canada's mineral industry now produces raw materials worth $3.7 billion per year, making this country a giant among mineral producers. Two-thirds of this production is exported, chiefly to the United States, accounting for about 30 per cent of Canada's merchandise exports and topping all other classes.However, several other nations are also pressing the development of their mineral resources and markets. The Soviet Bloc, China and principally Australia and Africa are becoming important suppliers of basic raw materials to some traditional markets of Canada in Europe and Japan.The outlook for Canadian mineral exports to the countries of the Common Market, Great Britain and Japan is good, although some tariff barriers remain troublesome.Concerning the United States, our most important market, Canada is seeking to have that country lift import quotas on lead and zinc, and re-cent statements by U.S. authorities give hope that this may be achieved soon. Moreover, Canada wishes to obtain easier access to the American market for several of its metals and minerals.Canada is now participating in the Kennedy Round of tariff talks under the auspices of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), and is seeking to open wider doors for its exports of products.In summary, Canada has done reasonably well in some mineral commodities on world markets, but has lost ground in others. Any slackening of Canada's efforts in the development and marketing of mineral resources would soon lead to the decline of its role in the world miueral economy."

Jan 1, 1966

By G. Deschênes

The Eleonore property (James Bay district of Northern Québec), owned by Goldcorp, hosts gold within stockworks of quartz-tourmaline-arsenopyrite veins and veinlets contained within microcline (potassic alteration) and brown tourmaline replacement zones. The preliminary investigation to recover gold from drill core samples showed that flotation followed ultrafine grinding and cyanidation is the preferred option. Ultrafine grinding is used to liberate gold finely disseminated in sulphides. The flotation concentrate used in the investigation had a P80 of 11 microns and contained 75.5 g/t Au, 5.0 g/t Ag, 10.3% S, 0.07% Cu and traces of antimony (0.03%). The mineralogical characterization showed the presence of 65% gangue minerals, 23% pyrrhotite (hexagonal), 9.6% arsenopyrite, 2.2% pyrite and 0.08% chalcopyrite with trace amounts of galena (0.05%) and sphalerite (0.03%). Gold was in the form of native gold and electrum. A straight cyanidation conducted at pH 11.0, DO of 3-5 ppm, 2000 ppm NaCN, 20 C 72 hours extracted 97.0% Au and consumed 31.5 kg/t NaCN. The equilibrium was reached within 24 hours. Increasing the dissolved oxygen to 16 ppm reduced the consumption of cyanide to 22.0 kg/t with 96.7% Au extraction. A 16-h pretreatment with 2.0 kg/t lead nitrate, followed by a 24-h cyanidation reduced the cyanide consumption to 6.0 kg/t with a gold extraction of 97.5%. Increasing the lead nitrate addition to 6.0 kg/t reduced the cyanide consumption to 1.2 kg/t by passivating the surface of pyrrhotite. The gold extraction remained at 97.0%. It was possible to decrease the concentration of cyanide to 800 ppm NaCN without compromising gold extraction. The associated cyanide consumption was 1.2 kg/t NaCN. The passivation of gold grains was an issue when the cyanide concentration was decreased to 550 ppm NaCN. The gold extraction decreased to 92.2%. The average lime addition for all the tests was 7.4 kg/t and the average silver extraction was 80%. Efficient cyanidation of an ultrafine sulphide concentrate with only 800 ppm NaCN represents an advance in leaching of ultrafine sulphide concentrates.

Jan 1, 2013

By N. Vayenas, G. Yuriy

"The combination of a predictive reliability assessment model and discrete-event simulation can be an effective methodology to study the impact of equipment failures on the capacity of production systems in mines. In our case, a predictive reliability assessment model using genetic algorithms is combined with a discrete-event simulation model to analyze mine equipment systems.Discrete-event simulation involves modelling of real-life systems based on variables and events that occur or change at distinct points in time. The Simul8 simulation software, by Visual Thinking, is used in this research. It is a two-dimensional (2D), discrete-event simulation/ animation software tool for creating realistic depictions of manufacturing and materials handling systems.The simulation model developed for the purpose of this research represents a typical two-level, sub-level stoping section of an underground mine in the Sudbury region in Ontario, Canada. This 2D model was created to assess the impact of equipment failures to a mine’s production throughput. In more detail, using mean time between failures (MTBF) data of scooptrams derived from a reliability assessment model based on genetic algorithms, LHD failures are incorporated into the simulation model. These failures cause production interruptions to the development cycle and consequently loss of hauling capacity.Another purpose of this research work is to demonstrate how low-cost simulation tools such as Simul8 can be successfully applied to model underground hard rock mining operations. The research discussed in this paper is carried out by the Laurentian University Mining Automation Laboratory (LUMAL)."

Jan 1, 2005

By D. S. Speakman

The copper-zinc orebody at Sherritt Gordon's Ruttan Mine occurs in a structurally complex area of the Rusty Lake greenstone belt in northern Manitoba. Problems in interpreting drill results indicated a large deviation, and the structural complexity an erratic deviation, of drill holes. This was confirmed when a surface hole was intersected 420 feet to the left of line on the 800 level. This problem acted as a catalyst in promoting a search for a suitable down-hole survey method. The instruments investigated included magnetic multishot and gyroscopic units as well as the ABEM Reflex-Fotobor. Only the Fotobor came close to meeting the company's needs of simplicity, reliability, accuracy and ownership. In this paper, the methods of operating this instrument, as well as the data extraction and reduction techniques, are described. Data on the accuracy and repeatability of the instrument are presented, and a tabular presentation of the results of surveying on 86 holes totalling 64,000 feet of drilling is made. Preliminary statements of the results of ongoing research on causes of hole deviation are presented and recommendations for minimizing deviation are given. The use of the survey device is recommended in areas of structural complexity, for very steep or backsight holes and where expected ore intersections are missing.

Jan 1, 1978

By M. D. Lawton, P. Steen

"Drilling results from the established levels at AngloRouyn Mines Limited had indicated inadequate tonnages to meet the planning schedule. It was decided to develop the main zone of the orebody below the bottom working level of the mine. The orebody dips north at an average of 50 degrees and plunges to the west at about 10 degrees. Due to the need for rapid development of this area, a decision was made to use trackless equipment.This paper describes the method used and highlights the use of small 5-ton diesel trucks as carriers for the 2-cu.yd LHD machine. The method achieved advances of about 1,000 feet per month, at a dip of 12 degrees over a length of close to 2,000 feet, using as few as 20 men per day."

Jan 1, 1971

By John D. Campbell

"IS YOUR MANAGEMENT CONTROLLOOP FUNCTIONINGMineral processors make use of hundreds of control circuits in their mills, process plants, smelters and refineries, to optimize throughput and recovery and minimize cost. This afternoon, I would like to discuss what is probably the weakest circuit in any mineral processing operation - the management control loop.In their recent book ""The Winning Streak"", Goldsmith and Clutter describe extensive research on unsuccessful companies. They conclude that ineffective control, which does not immediately identify the problems, is one of the main failings of unsuccessful companies.We will look at the three key components of control which, from the manager's point of view, ensure that the loop is complete. These three are:• measuring what's happening,• assessing its significance, Rnd• altering performance.If we compare management control to process control as shown in this first figure, ""We see that parameter sensing by the analyzer in a process circuit is analogous to performance monitoring by management in a responsibility centre. The analyzer senses temperature, pressure, flow, weight or some surrogate indicator such as colour to indicate ion concentration. For manage1nent, the performance to rnonitor is dependent upon the objectives of the responsibility centre, and the key factors which affect these objectives."

Jan 1, 1985

By The Staff

Development of the Eldorado Mine THE pitchblende-silver deposits of Great Bear lake, Northwest Territories, were discovered by Gilbert LaBine in 1930. The property owned by Eldorado Gold Mines, Limited, consists of 53 claims situated, for the most part, on LaBine point, on the northeast shore of the lake. The Company also holds a group of 10 claims on Dowdell point, 7 miles to the southeast of the main group and across Echo bay. The fractures traversing the ridge on LaBine point can be readily seen from the air. Lack of overburden and the scantiness of vegetation leave rock exposures which are visible for miles. The years 1931 and 1932 were spent largely in staking, prospecting, and examination of the outcrops. A small Diesel plant was shipped to the property in 1932 and underground operations were started. Entry was made into the ore-body by means of an adit. A 20-ton mill was completed in the winter of 1933-34, and since then operations have been continuous, except for temporary shut-downs for additions to the mill. TRANSPORTATION The mine is situated 28 miles south of the Arctic Circle and is reached by an air route of 1,140 miles from Edmonton. The water route follows the course of the Mackenzie River system from Waterways, Alberta, the end of steel, and is approximately 1,450 miles in length. Two portages, at Fort Smith and on the Bear river, respectively, are necessitated by the occurrence of fast water. Transportation was one of the major problems to be solved, and Eldorado Gold Mines, Limited, found it necessary to embark upon both water and air freighting on its own account. The Company now operates a Bellanca 'plane with a payload of 4,400 pounds, and a complete water transportation system. The latter was established some years ago by the Northern Transportation Company and it is still operated under that name, but the Company is now a subsidiary of Eldorado. Modern steel boats, oil tankers, and barges were added to the fleet this season. The greater part of the ore shipments are made by water, aircraft being used for this purpose only when occasion demands. Freight rates have been greatly reduced by direct ownership of carriers. For example, water-borne freight is now quoted 'to the mine at $ll0 per ton, as compared with $240 per tan four years ago.

Jan 1, 1938