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By J. Lee, R. G. Rosehart

"The basic problem of arsenic contamination from mine water is discussed. Effective methods of removal involving chemical precipitation, activated carbon adsorption, ion exchange and reverse osmosis are discussed. As well as an economic analysis, detail is also paid to other ions in solution which are removed simultaneously.INTRODUCTIONThe object of this paper is to review arsenic and its removal from gold extraction plant effluents. The first method considered is chemical precipitation. A second method is sorption processes, such as ion exchange resins and activated carbon adsorption. A third method is the possible application of reverse osmosis for the treatment of mine waste waters containing arsenic.Arsenic pollution in the gold mining communities of Canada and Ghana have been extensively studies (l, 2). Lynch(3) Shabunin, Gutman and Kogan( 4), Hollo, Troth, Vennes and Illinigi (5) and Hau(6) have reported their removal methods of arsenic by chemical precipitation, ion exchange and biological methods. Their conclusions were that the precipitation with Fe2+ and Fe3+ ions was most effective.Scope of the ProblemInitial aspects of this research program involved a detailed analysis of the operation of a gold extraction plant located in Canada. The name and location of the mine is proprietary information. Figure 1 gives a basic process schematic with the main tailing streams identified.Table 1 gives information as to the various mine streams and their physical and chemical composition. In this study, primary attention is paid to the removal of dissolved arsenic from waste waters. Solids from this type of operation can always be back-filled. As could be anticipated, the dissolved As content of the primary flotation tailing stream is very low. The dissolved As level in the secondary processing stream and the roasting quench water is quite high. The reason being that at this stage of the process, the arsenic has been freed from the arsenopyrite forms."

Jan 1, 1972

By R. S. Fukuhara, M. J. Allan

"Highmont, a wholly owned subsidiary of Teck Corporation, operates a 25,000 ton/day mine and concentrator located in the Highland Valley of British Columbia. Construction of the plant commenced in the spring of 1979, and production from one grinding line began in late December 1980. The second grinding line began production in March 1980.The ore body consists of two main zones, the east and west pits, containing 134 million tons of ore, averaging 0.26% Cu and 0.27% Mo. Mineralization consists mainly of chalcopyrite (2/3), bornite (1/3), and molybdenite.The concentrator design incorporates an A-B-C grinding circuit (auto mill ball mill - crusher), followed by bulk flotation, copper-moly separation and leaching for moly concentrates. The two grinding and bulk flotation circuits are parallel and independent. Concentrate storage is provided between bulk flotation and copper¬moly separation and also ahead of molybdenite leaching. The plant design has been previously described in some detail. (""THE HIGHMONT CONCENTRATOR"" by C. V. Sibbald, CIMM Bulletin, March 1981).This paper will outline some of the problems associated with the construction, startup and early operation phases of the concentrator. The objective is to help others avoid some of the potential pitfalls by outlining those areas where problems occurred, or where things went well. Criticism of design or equipment is not intended."

Jan 1, 1982

By William D. Macdonald

The Upper Devonian Kettle Point black shale of southern Ontario is poorly exposed. Structural maps pre-pared from the data of numerous wells show that the upper surface of the formation has low regular relief, and that the lower surface reflects domes in the Middle Devonian and also local subsidence of the Devonian rocks due to solution of salt in the Silurian Salina Formation. The appearance of minor amounts. of marcasite, pyrite, and calcite, m that order, as interpreted from the evidence of concretions from the type locality at Kettle Point is thought to have been influenced by a rise m the pH within anaerobic sediments preceding compaction.

Jan 1, 1960

By G. E. Cole

"Amongst the mineral products of Canada gold holds the second place in value of yearly output. . . . . .The production of gold has increased steadily during the past six years and has somewhat more than doubled in that time. For the past four years Canada has been third among the gold producing countries of the world, surpassed only by the Union of South Africa, and the United States of America," and now yields somewhat more than 9 per cent of the annual output of the world."-"The Gold Situation in Canada". Bulletin of Development Branch, Canadian Pacific Railway. The history of gold mining in Canada is comparatively modern and does not take one further back than the late 'fifties of the 19th century. If the efforts of the early explorers in Canada were expended in "seeking with equal ardour, proselytes and gold", history fails of any record of their success in the search for the precious metal. As early as 1849 not a few Canadians travelled from the east by land and water to the Californian goldfields. In the then settled part of Canadathe east-people were alive to the value of any mineral discovery; but the west, owing to its remoteness and to there being no ready means of communication, was virtually isolated from the east.

Jan 1, 1927

By David Evans, David Barnes, Robert Raponi

"The Williams Mine processes, on average, 6,450 t/d of gold bearing ore using two parallel grinding circuits, leaching and C.1.P., carbon stripping, electrowinning and refining. At present, each grinding circuit consists of a SAG mill in closed circuit with a spiral classifier and a ball mill in closed circuit with two stages of cyclones.Since grinding has always constituted the largest portion of milling costs, the Williams Mine has been proactive in trying to reduce such costs through innovative changes. One project under consideration is the replacement of one spiral classifier by a vibrating screen.This paper discusses the testwork performed to evaluate the replacement of one spiral classifier by a vibrating screen, and the preliminary engineering performed to date.IntroductionThe Williams Mine, located in northwestern Ontario, approximately 40 kilometres east of Marathon, is part of the Hernia gold camp. The mine is operated by the Williams Operating Corporation and is owned by the Teck Corporation and Homestake Canada Incorporated. Operation of the mine started in October 1985 at a rate of 3,000 t/d. After a mill expansion in August 1988, throughput increased to 6,000 t/d. Production has increased steadily since the mill expansion and in 1995, an average of 6,450 t/d of ore was processed at a recovery of 95.1 %."

Jan 1, 1997

By Mike Sapiro

"Heath Steele Mines is a base metal producer situated near Newcastle, N.B. presently treating 3500 TPD of complex Cu-Pb-Zn ore. The ore consists of massive fine grained sulfides averaging I. 1% Cu, 1.6% Pb and 4.5% Zn.The original mill started in 1956 at 750 TPD and was successively expanded through 1500 to 3000 TPD in 1969. In 1972 an expansion to 4000 TPD was initiated. It was planned to obtain the maximum benefit from equipment and manpower by adding some process equipment, instrumentation, an on stream analyser, and a process control system. The benefits from this approach could be greater than normally expected, because of the complex metallurgy of this ore.IntroductionThe crushing plant is of conventional design with two 5 ½ ft, Symons cone crushers with the crushed ore screened to -7/8 inch on a 61 x 16 1 Al I is Chalmers vibrating screen and stored in four 1000 Ion bins. There are two para I lei grinding circuits, each one consisting of the following: one Rod Mill in open circuit, one Ball Mill in closed circuit with two 20"" Krebs cyclones, and one Ball Mill in closed circuit with three 15"" Krebs cyclones, Al I the Mills are 9' x 121 Al I is Chalmers Mills. The secondary cyclone overflow from each grinding circuit is thickened and combined to form flotation feed. The final product is 65% - 400 Mesh. Two regrind mills have been installed as part of the expansion."

Jan 1, 1977

By Daniel D. M. Adams

Over the last 100 years industry in general has been trying to advance the ability to maintain systems through management processes. Mining has looked to utilize onboard data systems in our mobile mining fleets to compliment these processes. Combining the two concepts build the concept that Rio Tinto refers to as asset health. These programs can generate a cost shift between $20,000 and $100,000 per piece of equipment annually. Even with the documented savings many operations struggle to justify the systems, why?

May 1, 2011

By D. G. Sinclair

In any discussion on the subject of mine-safety, it is well to honestly face the fact at the outset that mining is a hazardous occupation and that certain inherent dangers attach to the work, which, in spite of the greatest vigilance on the part of everyone concerned, will from time to time exact their toll of in jury or death from the underground worker. Great progress has been made of late years in narrowing down the range of these necessary risks, and, illustrative of what can be done along these lines by concerted effort, it is pleasing to read from time to time of large operating mines running for weeks, months, a year or more, without a single lost-time accident. To achieve any results in the work of accident prevention it is necessary, first, to have a definite goal, such as a no-accident period, be it a week, a month, or a year, to aim at; and, second, to set up definite standards to work by. The legal code of regulations should form the basis of all standards of work at every mine and should, for this reason, cover as far as possible all conceivable phases of operation. This represents the ideal, but in practice it is unattainable, largely because of the many variables that must be considered, due to the divergence in the scale of operations and to differing geological conditions at the different mines. Hence it becomes necessary for the operator who wishes to attain the maximum in the establishment of high standards of safe operation to so amplify the code as to meet the peculiar requirements of his operation.

Jan 1, 1930

By D. R. Jolley

"The selection of equipment for open-pit mining is an important decision which results in a considerable capital expenditure by the operator. The decision is complicated by the wide product range on the market. Certainly, equipment performance is an important criterion to consider in making the decision. Equally important, however, is the operating inter-relationship among the equipment. A poor balance increases production costs and waiting time as queues form at the bottlenecks. This inter-relationship is dependent on equipment performance, but it is also affected by management decisions (i.e. scheduling techniques).The purpose of this paper is to show how the computer is used to decide which equipment and operating decisions achieve the required production objectives at least cost. Actual mining of the pit is simulated over a period of time using different equipment and scheduling decisions. Production, waiting time and costs are evaluated for each alternative until the operator is satisfied that he has achieved the best result."

Jan 1, 1970

By E. R. Packer

"The mill of Anaconda Britannia Mines is located on the eastern shore of Howe Sound, approximately 32 miles north of Vancouver, British Columbia. The mill has a daily capacity of 3400 to 3500 tons and at the present is treating chalcopyrite-pyrite ore from which only the copper mineral is concentrated. For a clear conception of concentrate filtering and shipping practice at Britannia perhaps a bit of past history should be related.For many years the mill concentrated copper and zinc minerals and intermittently a pyrite concentrate was produced. It was general practice to ship copper concentrate by towed barge down Howe Sound, across Juan de Fuca Strait and thence down Puget Sound to Asarco's smelter at Tacoma, Washington. Zinc concentrate was loaded in hopper bottom rail gondolas spotted on rail barges and towed to rail heads in Vancouver, thence by rail to Anaconda Reduction Works in Great Falls, Montana. Most of the pyrite produced was shipped by ocean freighters to Japan and Taiwan with an occasional barge load of 2000 to 4000 tons to nearby customers in Vancouver and the state of Washington.In recent years, because of smelter shut-downs for one reason or another, mostly strikes, a considerable amount of copper concentrates has been shipped by ocean freight to Japan and in 1971 several lots were loaded in gondola cars and shipped by rail to the Anaconda smelter in Anaconda, Montana, because Asarco's smelter was forced by municipal and state anti-pollution laws to limit the amount of S02 emission from the smelter stacks. Zinc concentrate production was halted in the early part of 1Y70 because of zinc depletion in the ores and pyrite production was stopped in May, 1971, because of a lack of markets.Filter equipment in the Britannia mill consists of conventional disc vacuum filters and reciprocating vacuum pumps. The copper concentrate filter was installed in 1923 as a 6 x 8'6"" American disc type manufactured by United Filter Corporation, The zinc concentrate filter, now converted as a spare for copper concentrates, is also a 6 x 8'611 American disc manufactured by Traylor Engineering and Manufacturing Company and was installed the same year. Formerly, there were, in addition, two 4 x 6' disc filters for pyrite and two 6 x 6' disc filters to de-water bulk flotation concentrates ahead of the regrind mills. Installed vacuum pumps were two Ingersoll Rand 22"" x 811 and one 22"" x 9"". One of the smaller machines has since been scrapped.At the time of the writer's transfer to Britannia in 1965, the entire filter system was operating as a unit using two vacuum pumps and a common filtrate tank with a 2"" SRL filtrate pump for five operating filters. The regrind and pyrite filters were in continuous operation and the co11p('r concentrate filter alternated with the zinc concentrate filter because both copper and zinc concentrates were transp0rted to storage by the same conveyor belt."

Jan 1, 1972

By A. P. Schissler

Mining has several characteristics, uncommon in other business sectors, which pose additional challenges to the implementation or design of IT and management systems that use the information. Understanding these characteristics would improve the chances of successfully importing new information technology and management techniques to mineral producers. The most important characteristics that should be understood are workplace issues, the industry’s dual nature of being a continuous construction project using cyclical factory processes, labour challenges, workplace culture, information availability, integrative data elements, and the current technical education of mining engineers. These characteristics were taken into account in two applications of information technology and systems design at operating companies. The research and consulting projects focused on the development of an IT-enabled performance management system at several underground metal mines in Canada and an integrated data warehouse for surface mines spread throughout the United States and Latin America.

Jan 1, 2006

By J. R. Goode

"Canada developed pioneering rare earth solvent extraction methods to recover the rare earths and thorium as by-products of uranium recovery operations in Elliot Lake, Ontario, and was a major supplier of these key elements from about 1960 until 1990. At one stage, Elliot Lake was supplying perhaps one third of the world’s yttrium as well as much of its thorium. This paper reviews the development of Canada’s early rare earth and thorium production facilities. INTRODUCTIONThe rare earths and thorium were first identified in the early 19th century but were little more than curiosities for the next century. However, in the mid-1960s the invention of rare earth-based phosphors for the cathode ray picture tube used in colour television sets launched a major demand for certain rare earths.The use of thorium as an alloying agent in aircraft and missiles grew rapidly in the late 1950s. In the same period, demand for uranium for both weapons and power production soared. Also in the late 1950s, the Elliot Lake uranium-thorium-rare earth deposits (also known as the Blind River deposits) were discovered. This conjugation of events led to uranium production in the Elliot Lake camp, quickly followed by the co-production of thorium and, later, the rare earths.Uranium production in the Elliot Lake camp continued from 1955 to 1996. Thorium was produced continuously from 1959 to 1969. Rare earths were produced, intermittently, from 1965 to 1990. Complete production records are not readily available but unquestionably Elliot Lake made a significant contribution to world thorium and the rare earth production. This paper, presented earlier in an abbreviated form (Goode, 2012), is intended to present as much of the information that is available."

Jan 1, 2012

By Jim Excell, Jim Rothwell, Mike Rylati

"LocationThe Ekati Diamond mine is located at Lac de Gras, Northwest Territories.Brief Description of OperationBHP Diamonds Inc. has developed Canada's first diamond mine in the Northwest Territories (NWT), Canada. BHP Diamonds Inc. is part of the BHP World Minerals Division ofBHP Minerals. The project is a joint venture between manager and operator BHP (51%) and the Blackwater Group (49%). The Blackwater Group comprises Dia Met Minerals Limited, Charles Fipke and Stewart Blusson.Production at the NWT diamonds project began in October with the mine officially opened October 14, 1998. The project is situated on an 853 000 acre claim block located in the Lac de Gras region of the NWT. It is about 300 km northeast of Yellowknife and 100 km south of the Arctic Circle. The seasonal winter ice road to the Echo Bay Lupin mine passes along the eastern margin of the project area. This allows road access each year from mid-January to mid-April. For the remainder of the year, the project is accessible only by air.HistoryIn 1980, Charles Fipke traced indicator minerals east from the Mackenzie River area. He discovered indicator minerals in the Lac de Gras area and staked mineral claims in 1989. A joint venture was formed between BHP and Dia Met in 1990, and in 1991, the first diamonds in the NWT were discovered at Point Lake by BHP and Dia Met. This initiated the largest staking rush in Canadian history. The joint venture launched an aggressive exploration program.Koala, Fox, and Leslie were identified in 1992 as potentially economic pipes.As soon as the project's potential was established, it was recognized that an enormous amount of work had to be completed in several areas before a mine could be developed, namely: technical evaluation of the resources; environmental and socio-economic evaluation to procure the necessary permits for the development; and engineering design to optimize mining and processing of the resource and to comply with specific environmental requirements."

Jan 1, 2000

By B. Simser

Noranda?s Brunswick mine is a 10 000 t/d producer of lead-zinc-copper-silver ore that has been in operation since 1964. Mining of this multiple lens deposit is primarily by blasthole stoping techniques between 400 m and 1200 m below surface. The combination of a high overall extraction ratio, an overall steeply dipping tabular shape, and high horizontal stresses (twice the vertical) have elevated the induced stress regime to levels comparable to much deeper operations. Improved mine design, and a better understanding of how the rock mass responds to mining in high-stress environments is essential to improve overall recoveries and maintain safety. Seismic monitoring has proven to be an essential tool at Brunswick, for both short-term safety of workers, and long-term strategic planning. Practical case studies illustrate how seismic data, particularly source parameter information, can be used to measure the rockmass response to mining and improve mining layouts in difficult regions. As the global trend continues toward mining in deeper, higher stress environments (e.g., South African Witswatersrand Basin, Sudbury Basin) and as local extraction and thus ground stresses continue to increase in existing deposits, seismic monitoring will play a critical role in mining safely and economically.

May 1, 2004

By B. Simser, V. Falmagne

"Noranda’s Brunswick mine is a 10 000 t/d producer of lead-zinc-copper-silver ore that has been in operation since 1964. Mining of this multiple lens deposit is primarily by blasthole stoping techniques between 400 m and 1200 m below surface. The combination of a high overall extraction ratio, an overall steeply dipping tabular shape, and high horizontal stresses (twice the vertical) have elevated the induced stress regime to levels comparable to much deeper operations. Improved mine design, and a better understanding of how the rock mass responds to mining in high-stress environments is essential to improve overall recoveries and maintain safety. Seismic monitoring has proven to be an essential tool at Brunswick, for both short-term safety of workers, and long-term strategic planning.Practical case studies illustrate how seismic data, particularly source parameter information, can be used to measure the rockmass response to mining and improve mining layouts in difficult regions. As the global trend continues toward mining in deeper, higher stress environments (e.g., South African Witswatersrand Basin, Sudbury Basin) and as local extraction and thus ground stresses continue to increase in existing deposits, seismic monitoring will play a critical role in mining safely and economically."

Jan 1, 2004

By Scott G. Honan, Wayne F. Luinstra

"Since 1992, the concentration of gold using gravity methods has progressed to become an important part of production at Hemlo Gold's Golden Giant Mine. Currently, the gravity circuit accounts for approximately 25% of the Golden Giant Mine's Gold production. This circuit consists of a 30 inch Center-Drain Knelson Concentrator and a Shaking Table. The evolution of gravity concentration will be discussed with an emphasis on the economic justification for a gravity circuit as well as the practical aspects and metallurgical impact of operating such a circuit. It will be demonstrated that the operation of a gravity circuit has definite benefits to the operation of the Golden Giant Mill and will continue to play an important role in future gold production.1.0 IntroductionHemlo Gold Mines Inc. Golden Giant Mine is a 3000 TPD underground gold mine and milling facility located 40 km east of Marathon, Ontario. Mining is accomplished by means of sublevel longhole open stoping. The ore is processed using conventional crushing, 3-stage ball milling, conventional cyanidation and CIP processes. The mill and concentrator are described in more detail in other publications1,2.Since July of 1992, the Golden Giant Mine has been using a gravity circuit for gold recovery in the mill's grinding circuit. Despite the fact that gold recovery averages over 96% using conventional cyanidation and carbon-in-pulp processes, the gravity circuit has become an integral part of milling operations. This paper will discuss the economic justification for a gravity circuit as well as the practical and metallurgical aspects of its operation."

Jan 1, 1996

By D. DeGagne, E. De Souza, J. F. Archibald

This paper describes the potential use of anew agent material for backfill consolidation, ground waste glass, to be used as partial replacement of Portland cement fractions within backfill. Significant fractions of commercial and residential silica glass production is currently utilized as waste landfill and must be disposed of at high cost and with no foreseeable environ-mental benefit. This paper also demonstrates that waste glass materials could be effectively recycled as backfill additives, and that a significant, large and stable source of additive supply, currently land filled, can be developed. This new application will generate added value for such materials, serve to promote positive environ-mental stewardship and satisfy engineering sup-port requirements in mines.

Jan 1, 1997

By J. S. Vanderploeg

I WILL begin this presentation by citing the annual per capita use of copper in Canada. This is best calculated by taking refinery domestic sales, plus imports of the products of foreign fabricating mills (very little refinery copper is imported), and deducting the exports of Canadian mills. No attempt has been made to estimate the copper content of imports or exports of machinery, motors, etc., but the trade balance here is probably against Canada. In any event, we find that, though varying somewhat since the war, the estimated yearly per capita figure has reached a high of 18 pounds. This is practically on a par with the United States. The rest of the world uses an average of about 2 pounds per capita, yearly, though this includes some countries, such as Sweden, Germany and England, which consume much better than average quantities. It looks, therefore, as if the Canadian copper industry has not (as has been generally charged) been asleep after all.

Jan 1, 1962

By A. J. Vivyurka

"This is a talk about the experiences that Rio Algom Mines Ltd. has had in the Elliot Lake uranium area trying to make the tailings more compatible with the surrounding environment. To get a better idea of the problem that we are associated with we have to go back to the location. The Elliot Lake uranium area is situated about half way between Sault Ste Marie and Sudbury and is about 20 miles north of Lake Huron. In 1950, uranium was discovered along the north shore of Lake Huron and by 1961 we had up to 9 mines operating in the area. Then the United States Atomic Energy Connnission withdrew their contracts so that at present there are only 2 mines operating. From all the mines that we had operating, we ended up with 7 tailings areas. From these 7 tailings areas we have 5 sites where we have active treatment or rehabilitation. There is the Pronto site where we are treating uranium tailings and copper tailings. There is the Lacnor-Nordic site which is located just out of Ellio Lake. The Milliken-Stanleigh site is in the Crotch Lake area. The Panel tailings is off the north end of Quirke Lake and finally there is the operating property of Rio Algom Mines at Quirke Lake.To understand fully the problem with this rehabilitation we have to look at the constituents of the ore. The ore body is a quartz conglomerate with uraninite and brannerite as the uranium bearing minerals in a fine ground mass of quartz, sericite and pyrite which separates the larger quartz pebbles. The approximate composition of the ore is: 80% quartz, 13% chlorite, 7% pyrite and 0.2% uranium minerals. The processing method also adds a few constituents to the final tailings."

Jan 1, 1975

By M. C. Bétournay, J. E. Udd

"The Mining Laboratories of CANMET are the principal federal government vehicle for the delivery of mining research in Canada. With research being performed at five locations, which are mostly mining communities, the laboratories are in close proximity to the industry which they serve.The Mining Laboratories have three principal roles: (1) to support government in its development of policy; (2) to aid industry in the enhancement of productivity; and (3) to improve the health and safety of Canadians,both in the workplace in mines and around abandoned mine sites.From 1994 to 1996, CANMET’s mining research was re-focused into four programs. These are: (1) Underground Mine Environments; (2) Mine Mechanization and Automation; (3) Ground Control, and; (4) Coal Mining Health and Safety.In this paper, the authors outline the work of the Mining Laboratories and also identify the areas considered to be primary targets for future mining health and safety research in Canada."

Jan 1, 1997