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By Dallas W. Davis

Twin - Kennecott Deal Announced April 15, 2004 ! Kennecott earns 56% interest, if in 4 years, spends C$10 million and recovers at least 200 cts of +1 mm diamonds in all dimensions from any contiguous body ! Earn-in can take up to 6 years, but incurs stepped reduction of interest from 56% to 46% or 0% if $C10 and 200 carats not achieved ! By funding all costs through feasibility study, Kennecott earns 71% in 7 years, or, stepped reduction to 62% if completed after 8 years ! By achieving production within 10 years and funding Twin?s share of development and construction costs, Kennecott earns further 4% ! If no election to develop a mine within 2 years of feasibility study completion, Twin may present development proposal which Kennecott has 60 days to elect to follow or transfer management to Twin and dilute to 49% ! Each party has one time right to elect to market its diamond share ! On signing and annually, Kennecott will purchase $C250,000 of Twin shares at 130% of then prevailing market price until achieved earn-in

May 1, 2004

By E. E. N. Smith

"Uranium exploration by Eldorado prospectors north of Lake Athabasca began in late 1944 and resulted in initial discoveries in 1946 in the Beaverlodge region with mill production starting in early 1953. The operation was closed in mid-1982 having produced 21,457,947 kilograms U30 8 from the Eldorado FayVerna mine, Eldorado satellite operations and from other district producers on a custom basis.The Fay- Verna mine consists of pitchblende-brannerite orebodies spatially associated with both sides of a regional eastwest structure, the St. Louis Fault. The orebodies in the footwall (Fay) are elongate deposits of two types raking steeply to the southwest along the 50 degree south dip of the fault.One type consists of networks of fractures and veins filled with pitchblende, calcite and quartz in chlorite, epidote-altered mylonitized mica schists and amphibolites of the Middle Aphebian Tazin Group. The other type is comprised of fragments of mylonitized metasomatic quartz-feldspar granite of Late Middle Aphebian age cemented with a matrix of pitchblende, brannerite, calcite and some quartz. The vein networks lie en echelon in the footwall of the breccia ore bodies which, in part, are capped by the mud gouge of the St. Louis Fault; in other places, the breccia orebodies are overlain by basal conglomerates, grits and arkoses of the late Aphebian Martin Formation which itself immediately underlies the plane of the fault.Orebodies in the hanging wall (Verna) are a series of irregular, tabular deposits lying within a tightly overturned syncline of Tazin mica schists, amphibolites and siliceous mylonites. They consist of pitchblende, calcite-filled fractures grouped into zones and deposits displaying stratabound habits within individual rock types.Also described are several Eldorado satellite properties which were significant producers of uranium and which display complementary geology to that in the Fay- Verna mine.In general, uranium deposits in the Eldorado Beaverlodge region are closely related to minor structures associated with major faults. Uranium appears to be best concentrated where the rocks are well mylonitized and brecciated. Pitchblende fills networks of veins and fractures in metasediments and metavolcanics as well as matrix material cementing brecciated, mylonitized granite. All deposits in the Beaverlodge region lie in close proximity to the unconformity between the Martin Formation and the underlying Tazin Group."

Jan 1, 1986

By P. C. Sui

Numerical investigation and parametric simulations of the coupled electrical conduction and mass diffusion in the GDL of a PEMFC are reported. The coupled transport is solved using a 2D, "under-the-rib" computational domain for the cathode GDL. The current density on the GDL/catalyst layer interface, which constitutes one of the boundary conditions for the GDL domain and reflects the activation overpotential in the catalyst layer and the ohmic loss in the membrane, is solved iteratively using a novel numerical algorithm. A parametric study is performed to investigate the effects on current density distribution of various operating conditions such as oxygen concentration and membrane resistance, and of design factors such as GDL geometry, anisotropic transport properties, and deformation under the land area. The results show that the current density distribution under the land area can be dominated by either electron transport or mass transport, depending on the operating regime.

Jan 1, 2005

By E. Mohammadi Zahrani

In this study, Mg-doped fluorapatite (Mg-FA) nanopowders were prepared through a sol-gel, technique and characterized. Designated degree of Mg2+ ions incorporation into the apatite structure was indicated by the x value in the general formula of (Ca10-xMgx (PO4)6F2), where x=0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, and 1. XRD, AAS, FTIR and TEM techniques were utilized to characterize the synthesized nanopowders. In vitro bioactivity of the powders was evaluated in simulated body fluid. Powders had a crystallite size less than 100 nm. It was concluded that Mg-substitution could alter bioactivity and dissolution behaviour of Mg-FA. These two parameters were proportional to magnesium content of the powders.

Jan 1, 2010

By Lorne Sivertson, Peter Kitrredge

"World metallurgical coal imports totalled 110million tonnes in 1978. Of this amount, Japan imported 50 million tonnes, making it by far the largest and most important coking coal market . British Columbia and Alberta exported 12.0 million tonnes of coking coal in 1978, or 11% of the world total. Virtually all of these exports were directed to Japan, making up 22% of total imports.Some observers have suggested that because Japan is almost the exclusive buyer of British Columbia and Alberta metallurgical coal, the benefits of the coal trade may be primarily on the side of the powerful Japanese buyers. Buttressing this suspicion is the fact that Japanese trading companies have taken substantial equity positions in B.C. coal mines, thus presenting the possibility of non-arms-Iength transfer arrangements. There is then at least some evidence to support the hypothesis that Canada's western coal producers receive prices that are less than would prevail in a more competitive market; that is, that they are exploited.This paper produces evidence that Canada's coals are not underpriced in respect to U.S. and world markets. The conclusion is drawn that British Columbia and Alberta metallurgical coals receive prices that are equal to prices known to be competitively determined. This conclusion follows an in-depth analysis of prices, coal qualities and the economic characteristics of all major coals traded in the Japanese market. A by-product of the analysis is an equation capable of predicting the value of any metallurgical coal sold to Japanese buyers, or, for that matter, any buyer. Hopefully, this can be of some use to coal producers in developing their marketing strategies."

Jan 1, 1980

By Fathi Habashi

Poland has a unique copper industry. Copper sulphide concentrates are smelted in six shaft furnaces to produce matte and in a flash furnace directly to blister copper. Anodic slimes from electrorefining are treated by a modern technology to recover the precious metals. INTRODUCTION Poland's copper industry began in 1950 when the old and relatively small mines Lena and Konrad, located in Lower Silesia, were drained and recommenced production. In 1957 the industry entered a period of rapid development with the discovery of a rich ore body in the vicinity of Lubin and Polkowice which was the basis for the establishment, in 1961, of the Copper Mining and Smelting Combine (KGHM). In 1991 the Combine was restructured into a state-owned, joint-stock company under the new name of KGHM ?Polska Miedz? (KGHM ?Polish Copper?). It consists of three mines, three smelting and refining plants, and one rolling mill, and produces about 4% of the world?s copper and about 7% of the world?s silver.

May 1, 2001

By Olivia Gamache

When working in remote and extreme environments, projects are faced with new challenges for engineering and project execution. This is heightened when also working in countries with a developing environmental regulatory framework, small skilled workforce available for recruitment, and minimal infrastructure such as power, roads, and water. There is an increasing realization that social and environmental aspects need to be built into project execution. Giving proper attention to these issues during project development and execution, and maximizing opportunities is an ongoing challenge.

May 1, 2013

By J. Petit

"In July 2004 workers at the ABI Smelter in Bécancour (Quebec, Canada) went on strike. Contingency plan were ready to face the situation and plan was done to operate one potline out of three. Two lines were stopped; keeping in mind the restart on cold metal after the strike was over. The subject to be presented and shared includes a summary of work organization including training, schedule of restart, pot cleaning, pot preparation, crash start method, follow up after crash start, safety and environment. This major project has been a very big challenge. It shows that people involvement is a must and the key success. It is then true to say : ""People who believe in success will work and act in order to get there"" and ""People who don't believe in success will act in such a way to fail"" Then both will prove they were right to think their own way ! Sharing such experience can be interesting because it's a true story and people like true stories."

Jan 1, 2006

By L. Yacher

Most metallurgical plants already have sophisticated control systems as well as a process-historian that manage thousands of real-time and historical variables. There exists a huge potential for operational improvement through the inference of patterns, correlations and cause-effect relationships within these records. The ability to run online and offline advanced multivariate statistical analyses represents a great potential for the mining industry, in various areas such as cathode quality improvement in an SX/EX plant, the analysis of the correlation between the ore characteristics and the mill throughput, the determination of early failure alerts for major equipment, etc. The background theory is described, as well as some practical experiences of operations in Chile and Peru. Cu2007

Jan 1, 2007

By R. D. Brown

In the spring of 1977, Revenue Canada announced its intention to proceed in 1978 with a plan to impute a taxable benefit on interest-free and low-interest loans provided to employees. Such loan arrangements are often an important aspect of the compensation packages provided by many companies to their employees. Since the original announcement, there have been many submissions to Revenue Canada opposing this change, and the Finance Minister has now brought down a compromise solution with the introduction of a proposed amendment to the Income Tax Act. The amendment, which would not take effect until the 1979 taxation year, would require an employee, a shareholder or a related person to include a benefit in income measured as the difference between the interest on any such loan computed at bank prime rate and any interest actually paid. Only the amount of such a benefit in excess of $500 in a particular year would be required to be included in income. Of particular interest is the exclusion from these benefit rules of loans up to $50,000 in respect of the purchase of a house on the relocation of an employee and loans provided for the purchase of shares of an employer corporation.

Jan 1, 1978

By J. D. Corbett

The spatial coincidence of the seven anomalies is obvious, even though the self-potential is offset northward. Because the ratio, as an indicator of conductivity, is a relative estimate at best, concise interpretation is limited in almost every instance to the location of a conductor or conductor axis. When related to the initial phase of an exploration program, magnitudes and ratios similar to those obtained from any one of the methods described, would be sufficiently attractive to warrant further investigation. The compilation shown is an empirical comparison of actual field results and no emphasis has intentionally been placed on the relative merits of one method in respect to another. Too many additional factors, i.e., size, depth and conductivity of overburden, etc., that cannot unequivocally be answered, enter into such a comparison before a relative evaluation can be made.

Jan 1, 1961

By A. Proulx

Durant les années 1955 à 1961, plusieurs campagnes d?exploration ont été menées sur la zone Bond dans la partie sud-ouest de l?anneau nord de la carbonatite d?Oka (propriété de Niocan, figure 1). Les zones minéralisées HWM1 et HWM2 sont découvertes à l?ouest de la propriété. Un des forages, le S-60, avait intercepté 80 mètres de minéralisation à 0.71% Nb2O5 à l?est des zones HWM1 et HWM2 mais aucun autres travaux d?exploration n?avaient été réalisés sur cette interception minéralisée. En 1995, Niocan réalise une campagne de forage pour mieux définir la zone minéralisée recoupée par le forage S-60. En 1997, une seconde campagne de forage détermine un tonnage de 14.37 Mt avec une teneur de 0.66 % Nb2O5 pour la zone S-60 (Marcotte et Gagnon, 1997). Le complexe carbonatitique d'Oka se situe à environ 35 km à l?ouest de Montréal sur la rive nord du lac des Deux-Montagnes. Sa formation remonte au Crétacé précoce (entre 117 à 123 Ma). La carbonatite d?Oka fait partie de la suite d'intrusions alcalines que constituent les collines Montérégiennes. Le complexe a une forme allongée (7.2 km par 2.4 km) orientée NO-SE (figure 1). Il est intrusif dans des roches précambriennes constituées d?anorthosites au nord et de gneiss charnokitique au sud (Gold, 1963) appartenant à la Formation de la colline d?Oka. Les gneiss au contact du complexe sont fénitisés sur une épaisseur qui peut atteindre jusqu?à 60 mètres. Les roches carbonatitiques forment la série dominante du complexe et elles sont composées principalement de calcite (> 50 %) à gros grain et parfois rubanées. Les minéraux accessoires les plus communs sont la biotite, le pyroxène, la monticellite, la magnétite, l?apatite, la forstérite, la mélilite, le pyrochlore, la pérovskite, la niocalite, la pyrite et la pyrrhotite (Gold, 1963).

May 1, 2003

By M. D. Gerst

The degree to which copper will continue to be in an integral part of the world economy in the future will depend largely on the dynamics of global economic development, the primary and secondary copper resource stock, technological change, and potential environmental constraints. We have characterized the copper cycle of 1994 for all of Earth's regions and for the planet itself (T. Graedel et al., Environmental Science & Technology, 38, 1242-1252, 2004) and recently updated that cycle to year 2000. In this paper, we compare various features of the 1994 and 2000 cycles. The three largest-using regions, Asia, Europe, and North America, all increased their absolute rate of copper use between 1994 and 2000, and all increased the per-capita rate of copper use as well. Globally, the use of copper increased by about 32%, from 11.7 to 15.3 million metric tons, while population increased by only 8%. Various changes are seen in scrap trade, finished products trade, and other parameters of the cycle. We conclude by considering how the rates of technological change and growth in demand, especially in Asia, may influence the copper cycle in the years ahead.

Jan 1, 2007

By J. B. De Hart

In the September issue of the Bulletin, 1923, there is a paper by J. A. H. Church on "The Spontaneous Combustion of Coal in Mines", which is more or less a general discussion of the subject. Mr. Church gives a list of mine fires which have occurred in Alberta. Of the total of thirteen fires, six are attributed to spontaneous combustion. Of these six fires, it will be noted that five are in thick pitching seams. These fires occurred in the following mines during the years shown, at Frank in 1909; at Lovett in 1916; at Cadomin in 1920; at Yellowhead in 1922, and at Cadomin in 1923. Every one of these fires has occurred, as Mr. Church points out, in a seam of over 12 feet in thickness, and furthermore not one of these fires has been extinguished, although in every case large sums of money were expended and considerable risks . taken in fire fighting. Now it is quite evident from these facts that mines working seams of this nature are faced with a very grave danger and it behooves us to study the matter and endeavor to arrive at some practical method of preventing the loss of our coal mines from this cause.

Jan 1, 1924

By Dennis E. Bell

"This paper describes exploration and development to 1982 in the southern half of the northeastern British Columbia (Peace River or Northeast Block) inner foothills metallurgical coal belt. Gates Formation, Fort St. John Group, is the primary target; Gething Formation, Bullhead Group, is secondary. This part of the belt remains wilderness when compared to its other parts. Practical formational and structural mapping is described. A local problem known as the Secus Mountain or Mount Belcourt conglomerates is discussed. The three major explorers have been Denison Mines, PetroCanada, and Crows Nest Resources, all with partners. Initial mine construction and rail spur construction are continuing. The new town of Tumbler Ridge is being built. Introduction This paper describes exploration and development to 1982 in the southern half of the northeast British Columbia metallurgical coal belt. The area (Fig. 1) trends 120 km northwest from the Alberta border to the Wolverine River and Bullmoose Creek. The belt averages 15 km in width, and is 20 km at its widest. Physiographically, the area is dominated by rugged inner foothills, with relief to 1,500 m. The trend of the structures is transected by a dozen rivers flowing southwest to northeast away from the Continental Divide. The Rockies, lying immediately to the west, control the climate. One fact continues to colour all coal work in the area. When compared to the other parts of the western Canadian foothills and Rockies coking belt, it remains the least accessible and least mapped portion. Lack of access also makes all work expensive. Current activity centres about two mines in construction at the northwestern end of the area. Denison Mines and partners are developing their Quintette project, and Teck Corporation and partners are developing their Bullmoose project. PetroCanada and partners have intensively explored their Monkman-Duke Mounta,in project, but mine construction awaits better economic times. The rest of the area remains lightly explored, with the exception of some intensive work on particular structures by Denison and Petro-Canada. The focus of coal work has been metallurgical bituminous coal seams contained primarily in the Gates Formation (Fig. 2) and secondarily in the Gething Formation. These formations are found in generally en-echelon structures ranging to several kilometres in width."

Jan 1, 1985

By Donald Brisebois

The mining of high-grade, narrow vein deposits is an important field of activity in the precious metal mining sector. The principle factor that has undermined the profitability and effectiveness of mining such ore zones is the substantial dilution that occurs when blasting with explosives during extraction. In order to minimise dilution, the Thermal Fragmentation Mining Method enables the operator to extract a narrow mineralised corridor, 50 cm to 1 metre wide (according to the width of the vein), between two sub-level drifts. By inserting a strong burner powered by diesel fuel and compressed air into a pilot hole previously drilled directly into the vein, a thermal reaction is created, spalling the rock and enlarging the hole to 80 cm in diameter. The remaining ore between the thermal holes is broken loose using low powered explosives, leaving the waste walls intact. This patented method produces highly concentrated ore, resulting in 400% - 500% less dilution when compared to conventional mining methods. The mining method reduces the environmental affects of mining operations since much smaller quantities of rock are displaced, stockpiled, and treated using chemical agents. The fully mechanised equipment operated by a 2-person team (1 thermal fragmentation operator, 1 drilling operator) maximises the effectiveness of skilled personnel, and increases productivity and safety. The Thermal Fragmentation is currently employed in 3 mining operations in North America.

May 1, 2010

By C. R. van Staal, L. R. Fyffe, J. A. Winchester

"The geochemical characteristics of Early Paleozoic volcanic rocks are used to establish the following tectono-volcanic regimes in the northeastern mainland Appalachians: foreland continental rift volcanics; fore-arc ophiolites; island-arc volcanics; back-arc ophiolites; and back-arc ensialic volcanics. A Late Precambrian calc-alkaline magmatic arc bounds the Early Paleozoic volcanics to the southeast.The Precambrian calc-alkaline volcanics of the Caledonian Highlands, primitive Cambro-Ordovician oceanic-arc volcanics of the Eastern Townships, and within-plate Ordovician volcanics of the Miramichi Highlands can be related to a progressive change in mode of subduction from compressional Andean-type in the Late Proterozoic to extensional Western Pacific-type in the Early Paleozoic. The development of marginal oceanic basins in the Paleozoic created a more favourable environment for volcanogenic sulphide deposition, particularly in back-arc areas.The influence of tectonic setting is reflected in the distribution, size and metal ratios of the massive sulphide deposits associated with the volcanic rocks; deposits within intra-oceanic arcs in the Eastern Townships of Quebec average two million tonnes grading 2.2% Cu, 4.0% Zn, and 0.6% Pb, whereas those within a back-arc, ensialic rift near Bathurst, New Brunswick, average nine million tonnes grading 0.6% Cu, 5.4% Zn, and 2.2% Pb."

Jan 1, 1990

By E. A. Cleveland

A glance at the map discloses the fact that the Pacific Great Eastern railway either traverses or crosses some of the most important rivers of the province: the Squamish with its branches the Stawamus, Mamquam and Cheakamus; and the Green, Lillooet, Birkenhead, Fraser and Quesnel rivers. Each of these and some of their tributary streams, having their ?sources and upper reaches in the higher altitudes in regions of abundant snowfall, is capable in greater or less degree of furnishing water under suitable heads for the economic production of power. Beginning at its present terminus at Squamish the railway has the only hydro-electric development within its territory among the whole list of streams mentioned. A 225 horsepower installation at the edge of the East branch of the Squamish river, using water from Stawamus river, a branch of the former, under a head of 418 feet, is a modest beginning. Two or three additional sites, where water may be used under somewhat similar heads, may be found on this little stream. Next above Squamish, along the route of the railway, is the Mamquam, a long tributary of the Squamish from the eastern slopes. It has a drainage area of something like 130 square miles with widely varying discharges of from less than 50 to about 14,000 cubic feet per second. The preliminary investigations so far have disclosed no suitable storage sites, so the Mamquam may be regarded as a small continuous power stream - probably less than 1000 horsepower.

Jan 1, 1925

By Yi-Chun Lin

Mechanical/Electrical/Piping (MEP) systems, due to their complexity and diversity, are the most intricate part of building construction. This being the case, Combined Services Drawings (CSD) and Structure, Electric and Mechanic(SEM) drawings can ensure that all coordination issues are resolved prior to construction. Construction companies attempt to apply Building Information Modeling (BIM) to manage and integrate engineering information and solutions efficiently into the CSD and SEM processes to enhance the accuracy of design and the efficiency of review. There are several powerful commercial tools, such as Bentley Navigator, Autodesk Navisworks, and Tekla BIMsight, that can review the integrated BIM model and detect conflicts in systems, and allow planners to correct the conflict issues one at a time. However, for increasing numbers of conflicts, this may be inefficient, and requires them to be arranged in a list according to impact and seriousness before solving them. For this reason, this research implements a module for conflict impact assessment based on rule-based reasoning to classify and weigh conflict impact and seriousness, and highlight the conflicted objects in the BIM system in different colors depending on their conflict type and seriousness during the analysis. This system not only detects and lists possible conflicts and errors, but also sorts them according to the severity of impact and conflict type. Planners can effectively modify the BIM models according to these conflicts as they are listed and visualized in the BIM system. If these conflicts, such as pipeline interference and problems of insufficient space, can be avoided in the early stages of planning, it facilitates the achievement of project objectives in quality, scheduling, and cost.

Aug 1, 2013

By F. E. Lathe

The method of feeding blast-furnaces to be described below is simply the application of well-known principles, and an attempt to carry that application to its logical conclusion. It does not involve radical changes in equipment, nor does it require unusual skill on the part of the furnaceman. In fact, much of its value lies in its very simplicity. Before giving details of the method it will be well to consider briefly the conditions under which it was used at the Nickelton plant of the British America Nickel Corporation, in the Sudbury district, before that plant closed down. The Sudbury nickel ore consists chiefly of pentlandite, chalcopyrite and pyrrhotite in a gangue of norite or greenstone. The proportions of sulphide and gangue vary widely in different mines, the former constituting about 45 per cent of the total in the British America sorted ore. The gangue is fairly uniform in analysis, carrying about 55 per cent Si02, 18 per cent A120 3, 13 per cent FeO and smaller quantities of CaO, MgO, Na20 and K20. The ore has been frequently described as refractory, a word which seems suitable when one considers the many unsuccessful attempts to smelt it pyritically, as well as the high percentage of coke normally used at all the plants in the district.

Jan 1, 1925