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By J. N. Hilton, D. Moffett, E. Barnes

"A recent pilot-plant program carried out at Rio Algom's Quirke uranium mine at Elliot Lake, Ontario is described. The goal of the research was the production of tailings basin effluents which were low in total radium-226. The process tested involved precipitation of radium with barium chloride and sedimentation in plastic-lined settling ponds. Adjustment of the tailings basin overflow from its normal value of pH 9.5 by addition of sulphuric acid to about pH 7.5 was found to give approximately a five-fold improvement in total radium-226 removal. A five-month demonstration test resulted in an effluent with a mean total radium-226 activity of44 pCi/L after 2.5 days settling time and 29 pCi/L after 5 days. The results from the demonstration program are used to propose a schedule of achievable total radium-226 activities where precipitation and sedimentation are employed. The maximum suggested values for 5 days nominal settling time are: 30 pCi/L in an annual mean, 45 pCi/L in a monthly mean. 60pCiIL in a weekly mean and 80 pCi/L in any single grab sample.IntroductionRadium-226 has been removed from effluents at the Elliot Lake uranium mines since the introduction of the first barium chloride treatment system in 1965. Current practice, which has changed little over the years, consists of radium-barium sulphate precipitation by the addition of a low do se of barium chloride to the clear overflow from the tailings basin(l·2l. Provision is made for the precipitate to settle in large natural or constructed ponds and lagoons. The residence time in these ponds, which depends on the site, ranges from 3 to 35 days, with varying degrees of efficiency being achieved."

Jan 1, 1981

"The standards set out requirements of the Toronto Stock Exchange for company’s providing information to investors, regulators and/or the media regarding their mineral properties. In addition, information contained in new releases, continuous disclosure documents [annual report], or other forms of communication [printed investor relations materials and electronic publications] are also subject to these standards.1.0 INTRODUCTIONThe disclosure of the results of exploration and development activity on mineral properties mustcomply with the requirements of the Toronto Stock Exchange Policy Statement on Timely Disclosure, theOntario Securities Act and all applicable policies and rules of the Ontario Securities Commission and anyother securities regulatory body having jurisdiction over an issuer listed on the Exchange. In particular,the requirements of National Instrument 43-101 must be followed.The purpose of the standards is to set out the requirements of the Toronto Stock Exchange when acompany provides information to investors, regulators and/or the media regarding its properties, whethersuch information is contained in a news release, a continuous disclosure document such as an annualreport, or other form of communication, including, but not limited to, printed investor relations material andelectronic publications such as Internet Web sites. These standards do not apply to prospectuses orlisting applications, the standards for which are contained in the policies and rules of the securitiescommissions and the Exchange. These standards are also not intended to establish requirements for thecontent of technical reports.Any information published by or on behalf of a company must comply with these standards. If acompany becomes aware of information published by others regarding its mineral properties which ismaterially misleading to investors, it should take appropriate action to correct such information orotherwise make it known that it is not responsible for publishing such information and does notnecessarily agree with such statements.Disclosure concerning mineral properties should identify the ""qualified person"" as defined in NI 43-101 who is responsible for the work conducted on the property and such person shall have read andapproved of the technical disclosure."

Jan 1, 2003

By R. Holmestad, M. Gazizov, S. Wenner, R. Kaibyshev, J. K. Sunde

"Mechanical properties and microstructure of an Al-4.7Cu-0.74Mg-0.51Si-0.48Mn-0.10Cr-0.09Ti-0.02Fe (wt. %) alloy subjected to various thermomechanical processing (TMP) have been investigated and compared to conventional ageing at 170°C (designated T6). Three TMP routes involving cold deformation of solution treated samples were tested. These were (i) 3%-stretching (T8-3%), (ii) equal-channel angular pressing (ECAP) to true strain (e) of ~1 (T8-1) and (iii) ECAP to e~2 (T8-2), all with subsequent ageing at 170°C for 0-96 h. At peak age conditions, both yield stress, ultimate tensile strength and elongation-to-fracture decreased for the T8-3% state as compared to the T6 condition. Intermediate ECAP (T8-1 and T8-2) lead to significant increase in maximum yield stress, ultimate tensile strength and elongation-to-fracture. The changes in mechanical properties were related to microstructure evolution, encompassing changes in grain sizes, dislocation densities, precipitate morphology and phase fractions, which were characterised using transmission electron microscopy. Relations between TMP, precipitation behavior and contributions to different strengthening mechanisms are evaluated.INTRODUCTION Al-Cu-Mg-Si alloys are widely used as structural materials in aerospace industry due to their attractive combination of high specific strength, good fracture toughness and enhanced creep resistance. These properties are largely due to the formation of a large number of nano-sized metastable precipitates during artificial ageing (Polmear, 2006; Eskin, 2003; Gazizov, Dubina, Zhemchuzhnikova, & Kaibyshev, 2015). The precipitation behaviour in these alloys is complicated and depends among other things on Cu concentration and the Mg:Si ratio (Wolverton, 2001; Chakrabarti, & Laughlin, 2004). In general, the precipitation sequence has been presented in a prior study (Eskin, 2003) as follows:"

Jan 1, 2018

By A. J. Keen

"Cominco's Polaris Mine is an underground lead/zinc operation located on Little Cornwallis Island in the Canadian High Arctic. Polaris is the world's most northerly base metal mine, situated at about latitude 75°N and longitude 97°W (Fig. 1). The closest community is Resolute Bay about 100 km to the southeast.During the construction and development phase Cominco adopted a unique scheme to save time and money. Many facilities including concentrator, powerhouse, shops and warehouse were built on a barge in southern Canada. The barge was towed 4800 km to the site in August 1981. Production at Polaris began in November 1981. The current mining rate is 1 million tonnes per year. The mine employs 250 people with about 190 on site at any time.GeologyThe deposit is a Mississippi Valley type orebody and lies near the top of the Ordovician Thumb Mountain Formation. Ore minerals consist of sphalerite and galena with the gangue being predominantly dolomite with calcite and marcasite. The orebody is situated completely within permafrost, consequently the voids frequently found in the ore are filled with ice. The orebody strikes north-south, dips approximately twenty degrees to the east and takes up an area about 400 m wide by 700 m long. The upper portion of the orebody (60 m to 150 m below surface) lies in an area called the Panhandle Zone. The deeper portion of the orebody known as the Keel Zone extends to 300 m below surface (Fig. 2). The deposit is strongly zoned with a high grade zinc/lead and iron-rich tabular core overlain and underlain by vein, stringer and breccia mineralization. The ore reserves at January 1991 were 14.6 million tonnes at 3.6% Pb, 13.7% Zn, 3.2% Fe, after producing 8 million tonnes at 3.9% Pb and 14.2% Zn since November 1981"

Jan 1, 1992

By W. A. Plachner, Schiller E. A., S. P. Santiago

"The Monkman Coal Property is located in the Northeast Coal Block of British Columbia. It is divided into the Duke Mountain Block on the north east and the Dip Slope on the west. Together, these areas cover 39,503 ha of coal licences.The property is underlain by Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous marine and continental sedimentary rocks. Economic coal measures are contained within the Gates Formation. Exploration of the property began in the early I970s, with drilling commencing in 1975. To date, 255 holes have been drilled and nine adits have been driven to recover unoxidized coal samples.The property has a geological resource potential of 2.8 billion tonnes of medium and high-volatile bituminous coal. Medium-volatile bituminous reserves, totalling 68.9 million ROM tonnes at an over-all strip ratio of 6.3:1, have been identified in three pit areas in the Duke Mountain Block.Construction start-up will commence when sales contracts are arranged. The clean coal will be exported via the Ridley Island Terminal at Prince Rupert.IntroductionThe Monkman Coal Property is located in the Northeast Coal Block of British Columbia in the southern port ion of the Peace River Coalfield. The coal field encompasses a strike length of 250 km of Lower Cretaceous coal-bearing strata in which 13 companies have identified several billion tonnes of resources and several hundred million tonnes of reserves. Currently, two companies with contracts are in the construction phase, and are scheduled to produce coal by early 1984. Quintette Coal Ltd. has a contract with Japanese steel mills to supply annually 5.0 million tonnes of metallurgical and 1.5 million tonnes of thermal coal. Teck Corporation (Bullmoose property) has a contract to supply 1.7 million tonnes of metallurgical coal annually."

Jan 1, 1983

By L. H. Thorleifson

Demand for both gem and industrial diamonds is very strong. Synthetic production supplies industrial uses, but synthetic gems remain inferior and expensive, so the large gem market is supplied by mining. Several major mines have been depleted, and the market is receptive to new sources of high quality gems. Canada's Precambrian terrane, extending across the Canadian Shield and under the Phanerozoic cover of the Plains and Hudson Bay, has excellent potential for diamonds, but exploration conditions are difficult due to recent glaciation. Early world exploration relying on recognition of diamond in alluvial sediments was adequate to launch pre-1900 production from India, Brazil, and Africa. Exploration success in Canada, as was the case in Russia and other more recently discovered sources, however, had to await large investments in effort supported by advanced science and technology. Canadian exploration in many ways is similar to that in other regions, relying on analysis of tectonics, indicator minerals, geophysical surveys, and multiple stages of drilling and sampling. Very different from other regions, however, is Canada's surficial environment, in which recent glaciation has caused fresh indicator minerals to be transported hundreds of km. Exploration accelerated in Canada after 1960, first in Ontario and the Arctic Islands, then in Saskatchewan in 1988, and most importantly after the Chuck Fipke - Stew Blusson discovery at Lac de Gras, Northwest Territories, in 1991 that led to the billion-dollar BHP - Dia Met Ekati Mine that opened in 1998. In 2003, production from Ekati is expected to be supplemented by that from the similar and nearby Diavik Mine of Rio Tinto and Aber, currently under construction. These mines will bring Canadian output to over 10% of world supply, and will position Canada with Botswana and Russia as world leaders in production of high quality gem diamonds. There could be other mines as well, as sites across the Arctic and in the south from Alberta to Québec are being explored by an array of companies, including De Beers, other majors, and several juniors.

May 1, 2001

By T. G. Joseph, R. K. Soni, M. Curley

"Rapid dampening suspension is a proposed suspension design for ultra-class haulers that is intended to avoid metal-to-metal contact inside a strut and under shock loading, thus improving ride quality and ameliorating fatigue loading issues on a hauler structure. Laboratory testing has shown the ability of the proposed design to reduce the opportunity for bottoming out, that is, metal-to-metal contact between the colliding ends of oleo-pneumatic, two-piece suspension struts during the compression cycle. This paper predicts the performance of a full-size rapid dampening suspension strut by applying scaling rules to test the proposed design based on a set of field data from a Caterpillar 797B ultra-class haul truck operating in the oil sands region of the province of Alberta, Canada. The predicted performance of the suspension strut is compared to that of the original equipment manufacturer model, which was monitored on board the truck during field data collection. ¦ KEYWORDS Haul truck, Original equipment manufacturer (OEM), Rapid dampening, Strut, Suspension RÉSUMÉ La suspension à amortissement rapide est une conception de suspension proposée pour des camions de transport de catégorie ultra-class (des engins dont la charge utile dépasse les 320 tonnes métriques), visant à empêcher un contact métal sur métal à l’intérieur d’une jambe de suspension et dans des conditions de choc au chargement. Elle améliore la qualité du roulement et les problèmes de charge de fatigue sur la structure d’un camion de transport. Les essais en laboratoire ont confirmé que la concep¬tion proposée évitera au cylindre interne de heurter le cylindre externe, autrement dit empêchera le contact métal sur métal des jambes de suspension oléopneumatique en deux parties pendant le cycle de compres¬sion. Cet article prévoit la performance d’une jambe de suspension à amortissement rapide à taille réelle en appliquant les lois d’échelle afin de mettre à l’essai la conception proposée, sur la base d’une série de données de terrain relatives à un camion de transport 797B de catégorie ultra-class de Caterpillar (aujourd’hui remplacé par le nouveau modèle 797F) utilisé dans la région des sables bitumineux de la pro¬vince de l’Alberta, Canada. On compare la performance prévue de la jambe de suspension à celle du modèle du fabricant d’équipement d’origine (FEO), qui a été contrôlée à bord du tombereau pendant la collecte des données de terrain. ¦ MOTS CLÉS amortissement rapide, camion de transport, fabricant d’équipement d’origine (FEO), jambe de suspension, suspensionINTRODUCTION Research basis for the paper This paper is based on the unpublished MSc thesis work of El-Sayed (2003), Santos (2007), and Soni (2009) under the direction of Dr. Tim Joseph within the oil sands–equipment interactions program (OsEIP). OsEIP is part of the Alberta equipment–ground interactions syndicate (AEGIS) surface mining research group, School of Mining and Petroleum Engineering, University of Alberta. The aforementioned work spanned a decade of progressive studies into rapid dampening suspension systems, leading to the scale performance indications highlighted here. Although this paper uses a specific Caterpillar 797B suspension strut for field monitoring and as a basis for scale prediction of a modified rapid dampening suspension strut design, the design scaling principles used here could be applicable to any such design change consideration for an oleo-pneumatic suspension system."

Jan 1, 2019

By G. D. Mcdowell, L. B. Cochrane, B. D. Thompson

"Abstract - Exploration for deep underground copper and nickel sulfide deposits in the Sudbury mining camp is carried out with surface drilling. More detailed drilling, with an advanced underground exploration program, may be necessary to establish an accurate interpretation of the deposit geology and upgrade the resource estimate to the measured category for reserve estimation and feasibility assessment. Resource evaluation is a lengthy and costly process that could result in a decision not to proceed with the project. For projects that proceed to production, significant reductions in the operating and capital costs could be achieved with a more accurate interpretative model of the deposit geology and mineralization. Quality control procedures to ensure the integrity of the drilling data and interpretation guidelines are essential steps in the development of a deposit model. The use of block modeling techniques and the application of geostatistics for resource estimation further improve the quality of the resource model.Significant improvements to the interpretive models can also be achieved by incorporating additional information from geophysical measurements to validate and constrain the geological interpretation. The geophysical models must be consistent with known geological environments and oreforming processes, which has required the concurrent development of comparative models from exploited deposits. These geophysical techniques can also provide key geotechnical information required for the optimum design of the mining method and mining sequence. The objective of this program is to improve the accuracy of the deposit model and the quality of the resource and reserve estimates in order to optimize capital investments and reduce the development and operating costs of underground mining projects. Several of these techniques are currently being tested at INCO Limited’s Sudbury operations. The results from those tests are presented and their applications are discussed within the framework of resource/reserve classification systems and project evaluation objectives."

Jan 1, 1998

By Roger M. Nendick

"IntroductionThe stages of development for bringing a mill into production demand that a flowsheet for the process be developed at an early stage. Detailed engineering of the mill may then proceed without duplication of engineering effort on alternative processes. In the case of gold and silver mills, several process alternatives exist which must be evaluated before the flowsheet is finally fixed. The recently developed Carbon-in-Pulp process has added to this choice.Clearly, the major factor in determining the most suitable process is the amenability of the particular ore to a given treatment. Other factors that will also influence the choice are location, climate, power and water supplies, and available capital.Gold and silver milling processes can be divided into three main types:Gravity Concentration;Flotation;Cyanidation.Combinations of the three are frequently used; i.e. flotation followed by cyanidation of the concentrate, or gravity concentration in the grinding circuit with cyanidation of the classifier overflow. The following are the salient advantages and disadvantages of the three main alternatives.Gravity ConcentrationGravity concentration is suitable for free-milling gold ores, i.e. ores in which the gold is relatively coarse and free from sulphides. It should be noted that just because an ore is high grade, it is not necessarily free milling.Gravity concentration methods include jigs, shaking tables, spirals and more recently Reichert cone concentrators. All methods exploit the density difference between gold, which has a specific gravity greater than 15, depending on how it is alloyed, and the gangue, which usually has a specific gravity range of 2.7 to 3.5.A concentrate grade of several hundred ounces per ton might be produced, but recoveries by gravity alone are generally low in comparison to other methods. For this reason, gravity circuits are usually used in combination with flotation or cyanidation circuits."

Jan 1, 1983

By Christian Brits, Bob Blain, Lloyd Buckingham, Juliu Stieger, Jean-Francoi Dupont

Barrick Gold Corporation (Barrick) has undertaken innovative methods of evaluating and improving the performance of grinding mills in several of its operations around the world. The results have been positive with some of the mines showing more than 20% net energy improvement leading to more than 43,000 tonnes per year reduction in CO2 emissions in four of the operations reviewed.

Jan 1, 2012

By Julian V. Simela

Conventional methods of underground surveying use theodolites/total stations and 3D laser scanners to obtain information about the underground environment. Current methods of geo-referencing these instruments to a mine reference system include triangulation, trilateration and resection. However, despite technological advancements, surveying procedures have remained slow, laborious and relatively unchanged during the last half-century. Recent innovations in the robotics community have shown that automated mapping of underground mining tunnels can be undertaken using 2D/3D laser scanners. These techniques have the potential to, in turn, improve upon current underground surveying and mapping methods. Automating surveying and mapping using current surveying tools without changing the setting up procedures or removing current constraints, or even changing the type of equipment used, does not change the status quo. The problem of moving from a static, tripod based surveying and mapping system to an unconstrained mobile surveying and mapping system is the subject of this paper. A current challenge for automated mapping is the ability to automatically geo-reference a mobile mapping system to a mine reference system. For a mobile mapping system that uses a horizontally mounted 2D laser scanner to gather data of the underground environment, the challenge of determining its position and orientation within the mine environment is magnified even more. This paper introduces Mobile Automated Scanner Triangulateration (MAST), a technique under development at Queen?s that is designed to geo-reference a mobile mapping system to a mine reference system for the purposes of underground mine surveying. MAST quickly and automatically determines scanner 2D position and orientation (azimuth) in a mine reference frame by using minimal human input.

Aug 1, 2013

By Doug Milne

Linking Classification Systems with each other Similar Parameters between systems Different Rock Mass Properties Rock Mass Classification parameters and geology Different sources of data Commonly Used Rock Mass Classification Systems Q? = Q with SRF = 1.0 RMR? = RMR with no joint orientation correction RMR76 = 9lnQ + 44 RMR?76 = 9lnQ? + 44 RMR76 = RMR89-5 RMR?76 = GSI = RMR89-5 MRMR = ??MRMR

May 1, 2013

By R. Lasmanis, W. C. Utterback

"The Mount Tolman porphyry Mo-Cu deposit is 64 km south of Republic, Ferry County, Washington. It occurs in the composite Keller Butte pluton, which consists of the Keller Butte porphyritic biotite granite and granodiorite, the Mount Tolman quartz porphyry granite, and the Meadow Creek biotite granite phases. The three phases range in age from 61.3 Ma ± 2.3 Ma to 55.7 Ma ±2.0 Ma. The stockwork deposit occurs in the Keller Butte phase above the contact with the Mount Tolman quartz porphyry granite.Mount Tolman is a hybrid calc-alkaline deposit that has features of both a Climax-type and a plutonic type. Prior to post-ore faulting, the deposit had a flattened hood like shape. In plan it is elongated- 1.6 km wide, 3.2 km long, and up to 609 m thick. The orebody has a 292 o strike. It contains a geologic reserve exceeding 2.18 billion tonnes of ore averaging 0.093% MoS2 and 0.09o/o Cu using a 0.048% MoS2 cutoff. Of this total, 816 million tonnes of measured and indicated ore averaging 0.097% MoS2 and 0.09o/o Cu could be mined by open pit with an overall waste-to-ore ratio of 0.91 to 1.The deposit is a stockwork of quartz and quartz-sericite-pyrite veins and fracture fillings that contain molybdenite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite, and magnetite. Five separate episodes of fracturing and mineralization produced the orebody and were followed by four additional episodes of fracturing with sulrgrade mineralization. The Mount Tolman deposit contains propylitic, argillic, phyllic, topaz greisen, and potassic alteration zones. Extensive silicification overlaps the K-feldspathized, quartz-topaz, and phyllic alteration zones."

Jan 1, 1995

By W. W. Beaton

The Coxheath copper mine is situated on the north side of the Coxheath hills and opposite the French Vale, at a distance of about 10 miles southwest of Sydney, Cape Breton county. The deposit was discovered in 1880, and the first work on the property was carried out with local capital. Lacer some Boston men became interested and formed a Company to finance the undertaking. This group operated the mine intermittently for approximately 20 years, spending close to one million dollars on the undertaking. Three shafts were sunk to depths of 110, 190, and 340 feet, and further underground workings to the extent of approximately one-half mile were driven. Also, an extensive surface programme was carried out. in which many test pits and hundreds of feet of trenches were dug, Early in the summer of 1928 the Arno Mines, Limited, optioned the property and immediately started an exploration campaign. A series of trenches were dug along the parallel vein system, and over 4,000 feet of diamond-drilling was done. The results obtained were so encouraging that a mining plant was erected in the fall of chat year and No. 2 shaft was drained. A complete new plant was installed, consisting of one 120 h.p. Fairbanks-Morse Diesel engine, direct connected to a Sullivan angle compound, air compressor; an 80 h .p. Leonard boiler, which supplies power for the 7 by 11 Ingersoll-Rand hoist; and a Sullivan class C steel sharpener and oil furnace. Two 250-gallon Cameron pumps, one operated by steam and the other by air, were placed in the mine so that, in case of a break-down, the mine would not be flooded.

Jan 1, 1930

By Marko Lampi, Ross Andrews, Jouni Pihlasalo, Robert Matusewicz

With widespread discussion on reducing carbon, sulphur and other emissions, use of sustainable energy sources and the pivotal circular economy theme, consideration needs to be given to pyrometallurgical operations broadly and more specifically, non-ferrous metallurgy. These themes present a number of challenges in terms of current operations and the view of processing the metals which are largely taken for granted in day to day living. This paper considers how these themes will impact pyrometallurgical flowsheets using the non-ferrous base metals as an example. It will examine the flowsheet chain to offer views on the boundaries of flowsheet optimization and the application of available tools to meet these future goals and challenges. INTRODUCTION The themes of reducing footprint through lowered CO2, S and other emissions, together with process sustainability (e.g. lowered energy) and links to the circular economy are well known to everyone in the metals industries. Whether it is reducing greenhouse gas emissions or analysing the importance of metals recycling in the circular economy, all these themes carry with them the fundamental premise of any change being considered; how can you best optimize a system to meet your aims? Of course, this depends on the available tools and the approach used for optimisation.

Jan 1, 2019

By Piotr Litwa

The paper focuses on actions aiming at improvement of work safety in mines, particularly in those extracting hard coal, taking into account the characteristics of natural hazards in Polish underground mining and the reasons of mining disasters connected with those hazards. It refers to conclusions addressed to scientific and research centres, drawn during last decade by Commissions appointed by the President of the State Mining Authority in order to investigate reasons and circumstances of incidents, which till now, could not have been accomplished because of financial reasons. Furthermore, the paper presents basic assumptions of the Strategic Research Project Improvement of work safety in mines, announced by the National Centre for Research and Development at State Mining Authority?s President request.

Aug 1, 2013

By Binbin Luo, Northeastern University, Chuanyao Sun, Jie Liu, Yimin Zhu, Yanjun Li

"A series of new type collectors a-bromo-saturated fatty acids, CH3(CH2)5CHBrCOOH (a-BHA), CH3(CH2)7CHBrCOOH (a-BDA), CH3(CH2)9CHBrCOOH (a-BLA), CH3(CH2)11CHBrCOOH (a-BMA) were synthesized from saturated fatty acids and bromine by solvent-free method (Hell-Volhard-Zelinski reaction) in laboratory. The micro-flotation tests of quartz mineral were conducted at a relatively low temperature of 15 °C. The adsorption mechanism of such collectors on quartz mineral surface were established by zeta potential measurements, in conjunction with the results of quartz micro-flotation tests. The flotation results showed that the collecting ability is in the order of a-BMA > a-BLA > a-BDA > a-BHA for the flotation of quartz mineral, which also demonstrating that the a-bromo-saturated fatty acids (a-BFAs) are new selective collectors for reverse flotation to remove quartz mineral from iron ores at a relatively low temperature.INTRODUCTIONThe requirement of higher pulp temperature to maintain the activity of fatty acid anionic collectors which have been widely applied in technological process of iron ores reverse flotation lead to a great deal of energy consumption.The purpose of this paper is to synthesize a new modified collector with carbon chains from eight to fourteen atoms, with strong electronegativity bromine atom introduced into a-carbon position to improve the activity and solubility of the reagent so that it can be adopted at a comparatively low pulp temperature. The collecting performances of these new collectors on quartz surface were studied, and the structure - properties were discussed in light of zeta potential measurements and quantum chemistry calculations."

Jan 1, 2016

By R. B. Paine, B. M. Wright

"Syncrude has entered a new era involving the use of pipeline slurries to convey oil sand to the extraction plant. Hydrotransport operations and base plant operations encounter vast performance differences when processing different types of oil sand. This paper describes the hydrotransport process, its history at Syncrude, methods of describing the source ore characteristic and plant performance. The use of this information within Syncrude and how it will be managed on an ongoing basis will also be described. IntroductionThe Syncrude Canada Ltd. site is located 43 km north of Fort McMurray, Alberta, on the Athabasca oil sand deposit. The Syncrude operation consists of mining, extraction, upgrading, utilities and other support facilities. The mined ore is sent to the extraction plant where water and solids are removed from the bitumen. The bitumen is then sent to the upgrading plants to be further processed into Syncrude Sweet Blend (a light sweet crude oil). Syncrude produced 73.5 Mbbls of Syncrude Sweet Blend in 1996 and produced 75.7 Mbbls in 1997. Prior to 1993, Syncrude moved ore from the pit to the extraction plant via four dragline / bucketwheel/ conveyor systems. These systems, supplemented by auxiliary ore crushers, satisfied the feed requirements of the extraction plant. Ore was conveyed to the control tower area and placed in the dump pocket via four radial stackers. Various blending scenarios occurred at this point, using feed from the four mining quadrants and from auxiliary feed crushers. Upon entering the extraction plant from the base mine, the oil sand passed through a series of tumblers where it was mixed with hot water and caustic. It then proceeded to one of four primary separation vessels where bitumen froth was floated off and the middlings and coarse fractions were recombined and sent to the tail oil recovery vessels, or TORs, for further processing."

Jan 1, 1999

By S. Caron

From the early 70?s, ?Centre de Recherche Minérale? (CRM) has conducted and co-ordinated Research and Development activities for the mineralurgical and metallurgical industries. Since 1999, CRM has continued its mandate through COREM which is a consortium of 13 members that uses the benefits and advantages of collaborative pre-competitive industry / university research. In particular, COREM?s ?In-Situ Optimization Group? is involved in the implementation of modern optimization and control tools. The POP Project was launched in order to increase and consolidate the use of modern optimization and control tools and methods for mineralurgical and metallurgical processes. To ensure a successful transfer in the industry, there are a number of essential activities that have to be undertaken. These activities have been identified by COREM?s members and are grouped into three main modules: - R&D Module: Research and Development in universities, research centres and other partners; - Technology Transfer Module: integration of new tools and methods into the POP Software, industrial applications and technical support; - Training Module: education of new engineers in universities, continuing education of plant personnel through on-site workshops and resource networking by specific information exchange tools. This paper outlines the opportunities that led to the definition of the POP Project and describes its main modules. The main features of the POP Software are presented, the first application is described and finally, future developments are discussed.

May 1, 2001

By Akihiko Nishiyama

Unmanned construction technology used for remote control operation of construction machines has some problems to solve compared with manned operation of construction machines, such as fatigue due to long-term operation or decreases in operational efficiency. To solve these problems, we recorded the viewpoints of operators in both manned and remote control operation and analyzed the differences. This paper reports on our discussion of improving the operability of remote control operation based on the analysis results.

Aug 1, 2013