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By Richard Jundis

At the Vale Inco Ontario Operations, the working environment is rapidly evolving with organizational changes, new business systems and software tools. These changes are required in order to meet today?s challenging business environment. Mining professionals are focusing on the development of safe and achievable mine plans to maximize mining value while reducing the potential of project delays and production shortfalls. This paper explores how new design tools, techniques and system designs in mine planning are being developed to optimize the value of every ton of ore mined and processed. To differentiate from other papers on long-term planning, this paper focuses on the concept of business planning at the mines. Business planning is the understanding and optimization of the relationship between mine plans and the value it adds in the overall process. The management and key stakeholders of Vale Inco have recognized that the development of a robust mine planning system and programs are essential for the long-term sustainability of the operations.

May 1, 2009

By Pravin Kumar

Goldcorp Inc.?s Red Lake Mine (RLM) is situated in the Red Lake Mining District, a history rich North Western Ontario mining community. Red Lake Mine formerly known as the Dickenson Mine has experienced various degree and type of bursting since the 1960?s. During the 1960?s burst were common in shrinkage stope box hole pillars. After discovering the High Grade Zone (HGZ) between its 30th and 39th levels, the mine has changed its mining method to mechanized cut and fill with cemented paste fill. The rock mass at RLM is mainly massive basalt-ultramafic and behaves in a manner consistent with massive brittle rock. This paper presents the use of empirical and numerical design techniques. The use of the Span versus RMR graph to determine critical stope spans at RLM and the use of numerical design techniques to determine the stability of the sills and post pillars. Selecting of a sill pillar dimension is illustrated using four different failure criteria?s. The four failure criteria are m & s failure criteria, the Pillar Stability Graph, deviatoric stress ???-?3), and induced stress level criteria ?1 /UCS, which are calibrated to RLM?s ground conditions. A wide range of case histories has been studied ranging from stable to highly burst prone ground conditions in order to calibrate the failure criteria to observed conditions and quantified to local micro seismic system.

May 1, 2002

By Chuck Edwards

"The development of two large, high-grade uranium projects has been proposed for northern Saskatchewan. The projects are now under review by a joint federal/provincial panel. The McArthur River project is owned by the McArthur River joint venture (Cameco Corporation 53.991 %, Uranerz Exploration and Mining Limited 29.775%, Cogema Resources Inc. 16.234%) and operated by Cameco. Cameco proposes to mill the McArthur River ore at the existing Key Lake mill. The Cigar Lake project is owned by the Cigar Lake joint venture (Cameco Corporation 48.75%, Cogema Resources Inc. 36.375%, Idemitsu Uranium Exploration Canada Ltd. 12.875%, Korea Electric Power Corporation 2.000%). The Cigar Lake joint venture proposes that Cameco operate the Cigar Lake mine for the owners, and that Cogema mill the ore at their McClean Lake mill, now under construction. Proposed systems provide safe mining and ore handling, and allow the milling of McArthur River ore at Key Lake and Cigar Lake ore at McClean Lake. This avoids the disturbance of new sites for milling and tailings disposal.The McArthur River and Cigar Lake deposits are the largest known high-grade uranium deposits in the world. The ore grades at McArthur River and Cigar Lake are at least 100 times those that are mined elsewhere. It is proposed to mine these deposits using remote underground mining methods, to crush and grind the ore underground, to pump a thickened ore slurry to surface, and to transport it in special containers by truck to the mills.During all mining and processing stages the ore is fully contained. Radon emission is controlled by positive ventilation of all process vessels, with the process ventilation backed up by the primary mine ventilation system. Radiation is controlled by heavy steel pipe and vessel walls, concrete walls and sometimes lead sheeting."

Jan 1, 1997

By Glenn Kosick, Roger Amelunxen, Glenn Dobby

"The variability in flotation response within an orebody is often a significant problem to address during the design phase of a flotation circuit. In addition, for existing operating plants, the reasons for such a variability need to be clearly understood and accounted for if plant performance is to be optimized. MinnovEX Technologies, in collaboration with major mining companies, is developing methodologies and tools to address the issue of variability in ore characteristics (such as ore hardness and flotation response). The tool is used for design and scale-up of flotation circuits from lab flotation data, and for prediction of recovery and final concentrate grades throughout the mine block model for any given circuit design.INTRODUCTIOTNH: EI SSUEB EINGA DDRESSEDThis paper describes the current development of a methodology and software tool for improved flotation plant design and enhanced prediction of froth flotation performance in an operating plant. The need for this tool is attributed to two primary factors: variability of flotation response properties throughout an orebody and related difficulties with scaleup from laboratory tests. Consider these in more detail.It is well recognized that separation performance via froth flotation will vary significantly within a single mineral deposit. This has been enhanced through the wide application of SAG milling. Throughput with SAG mills is more susceptible to ore hardness changes than is the case with crushing-rod-ball circuits; it is not uncommon to see SAG mill throughput to vary by up to 100% on a regular basis, e.g. 1000 tph to 2000 tph.The implication of this on laboratory testing for prediction of metallurgical performance is as follows: it is unlikely that either the plant grind (size distribution) feeding froth flotation or the flotation residence time will be known at the time of laboratory testing for a given block of ore. Hence, the grind used for the laboratory test is not likely to be that which actually occurs once the ore is processed, and the laboratory retention time may not represent the plant conditions."

Jan 1, 2002

By A. M. Childs, R. F. Mather, K. R. Rawling

"The challenges encountered in the design and construction of mines and their process facilities today are becoming more intense and the engineering more competitive. The need to incorporate new techno1ogy to compensate for ever rising costs is always present, but its application in the harsh environment of Northern Canada increasingly requires the inclusion of new proven methods and innovative approaches to arrive at economically attractive projects.This paper deals with the development of the process design for the Cullaton Lake Gold Mine in the Northwest Territories. Particular emphasis is given to the interaction of the imposed construction and testwork schedules, and their effect on certain process decisions.The challenge that faced the project team may be defined by the following factors:1. A schedule which required that metallurgical testing, engineering, and procurement and delivery of all equipment and construction supplies should be complete within a period of ten months.2. Transportation of all personnel, equipment and supplies to the site by airlift, as no road was available or affordable.3. A six week period when transportation to the site was impossible.4. The extremes of temperature beyond the tree line in the Northwest Territories.5. A complete lack of infrastructure in the area."

Jan 1, 1983

By W. M. Scheding

"There has recently been a resurgence of interest in unit flotation of mill discharges. At the Kidd Creek concentrator, this technique has been successfully applied to silver flotation in a 3050 mtpd silver-copper-lead-zinc division. The major incentive has been improved silver payment through increased overall recovery and better distribution between the sequential copper, lead and zinc concentrates. A large, but variable fraction of the silver in the ore is present as native silver and, being dense and malleable, is susceptible to overgrinding. Grinding circuit surveys showed high concentrations of silver in both primary and secondary circulating loads. Laboratory testwork confirmed that this was selectively flotable, identified the secondary ball mill discharge as the best feed stream and optimized flotation conditions. A 10 t/h pilot plant campaign confirmed that the rate of accumulation of silver was sufficient to sustain continuous production of a silver concentrate and that flotation of the whole stream was not necessary.The present 30 t/h production circuit recovers from 5 to 50% of the silver in the ore at a concentration ratio between 25 and 250. The circuit also contributes to a better understanding of ore mineralogy, as an 'on-line' indicator of elemental silver content."

Jan 1, 1985

By Pierre Boileau

Outline ? Who are We? ? Canada?s GHG Emissions 1990 - 2000 ? Emissions from the Petroleum Sector ? Emissions from Petroleum Exports ? Emissions from Manufacturing Industries ? Emissions from Mining and Metallurgy ? Conclusions Greenhouse Gas Division Key Functions: ? National GHG Inventory Report, Emission & Removal Trends Analysis, and Indicator Fact Sheets ? Scientific and Engineering Guidance, Technical Advice, Data Quality Assurance & Quality Control and Methodological/Data Development ? International Negotiations (FCCC) & scientific/technical guidelines (IPCC & ISO) ? Expert Review Teams (ERTs) ? Outreach ? GHG Verification Centre ? Clearinghouse ? Protocol Development

Nov 1, 2002

By H. P. Jacobi

"The last 25 years have seen tremendous economic pressure placed upon the base metal processor. Industry has responded with technological innovations that have contributed to significant reductions in capital and operating costs. Major changes in processing machinery and philosophy are highlighted for the main unit operations of a base metal mill. Changes in our attitudes on what is environmentally acceptable are also discussed.INTRODUCTIONNewton's law of motion paraphrased states that nothing will change unless there is a pressure to do so.Aase metal processing as a primary commodity related industry has been under severe economic pressure over the last 25 years. This has been brought on by over capacity from new operations in the L.D.C. 's, through material substitution in a host of traditional base metal applications and generally reduced world-wide economic activity. In addition to shrinking markets our collective environmental consciousness has raised effluent standards and workplace hygiene and the employee's as well as government's economic expectations of how much ought to be derived from ''nature's riches''.Industry has responded with technological changes which, it was hoped, would counteract the cost squeeze in which it found itself.I would like to briefly enumerate the major changes, as I see them, that have taken place in the main unit operations that form the normal processing chain for base metals.While the following paper will mention several brands of products, I would like to emphasize that these are the ones that I am most familiar with and is not to say that they are the only manufacturers which have contributed to changes. In fact it ls fair to say that all makers of mining and processing equipment have made improvements to their products, to a greater or lesser degree; they have had to, to still he in business in 1986."

Jan 1, 1987

By R. E. de Barrio, M. E. Lanfranchini, R. O. Etcheverry

"The El Abuelo Ca-Fe-magnetite skarn and related hydrothermal quartz veins are located at Cerro Pepita Hill, in southwestern Chubut province of southern Argentina, 1700 km southwest of Buenos Aires. These deposits are developed in a continental magmatic arc environment linked to the Andean orogeny. Iron skarn mineralization is mainly hosted by an Upper Jurassic to Early Cretaceous sedimentary sequence interbedded with Upper Jurassic basaltic andesite, and is spatially associated with Early Cretaceous calc-alkaline dikes. Ore grades vary between 40 and 63 wt.% Fe. In addition, anomalous metal contents (>10 000 ppm Cu and up to 81 g/t Ag) are present in the hydrothermal quartz veins.At least three paragenetic mineral assemblages have been identified in the El Abuelo exoskarn: (1) amphibole > epidote ± chlorite ± quartz, formed by isochemical contact metamorphism; (2) Fe-clinopyroxene ± Ca-garnet, formed during prograde metasomatic anhydrous exoskarn formation; and (3) actinolite ± epidote ± chlorite ± quartz ± magnetite > titanite, resulting from hydrous retrograde alteration of exoskarn. Endoskarn alteration involved an early Mg-Fe-clinopyroxene ± Fe-garnet assemblage followed by retrograde actinolite replacement of pyroxene. Lower temperature hydrothermal alteration related to quartz veins was superimposed on the skarn assemblages, showing an innermost sericite ± adularia ± pyrite ± chalcopyrite assemblage and an external propylitic halo.Some metallogenic characteristics of the mineralization and the geological setting resemble those in several iron oxide copper-gold deposits elsewhere in the world."

Jan 1, 2007

By Karl Hoover, Cassandra Spence, Brent Bachewich, Jaakko Levanaho

"Since year 2000 the gold recovery into copper concentrate at Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting has reduced considerably during the summer months. This initiated a testwork program in the fall 2003 to find reasons and solutions for such change. During the testwork mineralogical factors, water quality effects and different reagents were evaluated. The reason for the lower recovery appeared to be the sensitivity of some collectors to pulp temperature. As a result of the work different collectors are being used in the mill in the summer than in the winter. A modification to the water system was also made to provide cooler water to the mill in the summer months.INTRODUCTIONHudson Bay Mining and Smelting (HBMS) is located in Northern Manitoba, just on the border of Manitoba and Saskatchewan. The complex consist of four different mines, Callinan, Trout Lake, Konuto Lake and 777 mine including copper smelter and zinc hydrometallurgical plants producing metallic copper and zinc. Gold is a very important byproduct providing about 30% of the mine revenue. In early 1990s when the company was facing declining ore reserves and was starting to gradually close down the operations, the 777’th exploration drill hole discovered a new orebody, which initiated a $0.5 billion expansion program. The main projects were a new 777 hoist with underground development and a new zinc cell house. About $30 million was used to increase the mill throughput to the present 2.27 million tonnes or 2.5 million short tons per year. The expansion programs were finished by the end of the year 2003.Historically the gold recovery at HBMS has varied between 60 and 70%. The recovery has been somewhat lower during the summer months. Gold recovery improvement projects were conducted throughout the 1990s, but were not focused on the seasonal gold recovery variance. However, since 2000, when the water system modifications to meet the increased water demand were completed, the gold recovery during the summer has been much lower than in the past. In August 2003 gold recovery fell below 30%, which initiated a metallurgical research program to discover the reasons behind the low gold recovery in the summer."

Jan 1, 2005

By R. W. Lawrence

"Biological leaching can be used to enhance the recovery of gold and silver from refractory ores, concentrates and tailings. The method liberates precious metals associated with sulphide minerals such as pyrite and arsenopyrite making them amenable to cyanidation. The chemistry and features of biological preoxidation leaching is discussed. A summary of the results obtained on various ores, concentrates and tailings is presented.INTRODUCTIONRefractory precious metal ores in which gold and silver are finely disseminated in sulphide minerals such as pyrite and arsenopyrite are becoming more important to the mining industry. This is due both to a depletion of simpler, free-milling ores and to a significant increase in the price of gold in recent years. Whereas many ores can be directly cyanided with gold solubilizations over 90% obtained, the refractory ores respond poorly to direct cyanidation and require decomposition of the precious metal-bearing sulphide minerals to increase recoveries.Decomposition of sulphides by oxidation prior to cyanidation can be carried out by several means. The oldest method is roasting which removes unwanted ore constituents by high temperature oxidation and volatilization. In Canada, for example, roasting is used at Giant Yellowknife (Connell and Cross, 1981). Another method gaining increasing acceptance is pressure hydrometallurgy which uses aqueous oxidation conducted at high temperature and pressure. Homestake Mining Company have recently completed construction of a plant incorporating pressure oxidation at their Mclaughlin property in California (Guinivire, 1984)."

Jan 1, 1985

By M. Pourkani, M. Karga, Samid Banis, Andre Laplante, G. Langari-Zadeh

"The Sarcheshmeh mine processes 40,000 t/d of ore grading 0.9% Cu and 0.035% Mo. Grinding is effected in single stage ball mills using 80 mm forged steel balls, with an average consumption of 850 g/t. One of its 5 m diameter, 8 m length ball mills was emptied to measure the ball size distribution. The broken balls were first separated from the total charge, and the remaining balls classified into five size intervals of +7O mm, -70 +60 mm, -60+50 mm, -50+40 mm, -40 mm.The charge was composed of 280,534 balls (excluding broken balls) with a total mass of 305,180 kg. It was found that 4.0 % of the balls were broken; the size distribution of the charge was also markedly different from the desired one, in particular for the small-sized balls. For instance, 9% of the balls were expected to measure 2.54 to 3.18 cm in diameter, but none was found. On the other hand, the amount of top size balls was 30% higher than expected. The radial hardness of balls, which was determined by cutting the balls in halves, showed that the hardness sharply drops when the balls become smaller than 65 mm. The unexpected ball size distribution was attributed to the rapid change in the balls radial hardness. Based on the measured ball size distribution, a new ball make-up charge which uses 80% of 80 mm and 20% of 60 mm balls instead of 100% of 80 mm was proposed and implemented. The effect of the new ball make-up procedure in terms of ball consumption and grinding efficiency is being investigated."

Jan 1, 1999

By Júlio C. Lúcio

Consider the case of a mining company with N investment opportunities in projects of different commodities. The problem is: since the company has limitation of capital, equipments, technical staffs, etc, what is the best portfolio of production projects in order to maximize expectations from shareholders? In the no-longer past, the traditional method for the selection of portfolio of projects was the rank-an-cut method. But, this does not properly account for the risk to which the company is exposed. The Markowitz?s Mean-Variance is an advance because the risk of the NPV can be estimated at the level of the company or even division of the corporation. The final product of the Markowitz?s model is the efficient frontier, in which, the manager can clearly understand the maximum return from existing assets and the associated risk level - but this model does not recommend which one is the best portfolio. In this paper we present a model to select the best portfolio considering not only economic indicators, but also requirements of production, constraint in investments, etc. We show that if investors are diversified, managers should select projects with highest return, regardless of risk. However, in practice, if bonuses of managers are tied to their performance, the choice for portfolio with lower return and risk can happen. Numerical application considering typical portfolio of large mining company is used as example.

May 1, 2009

By Jim Dodd, Jim Paynter

"We would like to acknowledge the efforts of the following key people who helped to make this project a success.Ron Jung, instrumentation supervisor for the Golden Giant Mine, spent many hours reviewing process and instrument drawings, selecting instruments and providing hands on support during commissioning.Andy Keough, underground production supervisor for the Golden Giant Mine, was responsible for readying the underground distribution network for paste backfill.H.A. Simons Ltd. personnel who did an excellent job providing sound conceptual and detailed engineering.Fred Brackebusch, of Mine System Design who designed the paste backfill delivery systemPierre Lacombe, mill superintendent of the Louvicourt Mine, generously shared information and operating experience of their paste backfill plant.AbstractThroughout the 11 year history of the Golden Giant Mine, the primary backfilling method made use of consolidated rock fill. New backfill technologies have developed over recent years which now make it possible to use large quantities of fine mill tailings as backfill.In January of 1996, construction began on a new paste backfill plant at the Golden Giant Mine. Six months following, the plant was commissioned. This paper describes the design, commissioning and operational experience to date of the paste backfill plant."

Jan 1, 1997

By J. A. Finch, T. Weber

"Bubble size in flotation is strongly influenced by frother concentration in the pulp liquor. There is no accepted method of judging the dosage and thus how effectively frother is being distributed to control bubble size is not known. This will hamper certain plant test work where constant bubble size (e.g., when comparing reagents) is implicit. Bubble size is not easy to measure in plant and gas holdup is suggested as a surrogate in the development of a proposed “meter” to estimate frother concentration. The meter is calibrated to enable frother concentration to be estimated on samples drawn from any location in the flotation circuit. The meter and its calibration are described.As general background the action of frothers in reducing bubble size by retarding coalescence is discussed and the bubble generation systems for which the effect will be important are considered.INTRODUCTIONBubble size is an important variable in flotation. The flotation rate constant k has been related to mean bubble size Db by k % Db -n with n ranging up to 2 (Ahmed and Jameson, 1989) and even 3 (Yoon, 1993). Recent work has introduced k % Sb, the bubble surface area flux, given by Sb = 6 Jg / Db (where Jg is the superficial gas velocity or volumetric gas rate per unit cell cross-sectional area), i.e., n = 1 (Gorain et al., 1998). Regardless of the exact value of n, the significance of bubble size in flotation remains. In many plant trials it will be implicit that bubble size has not changed and attention will focus on other process variables. The measurement of bubble size, or a surrogate, would be useful addition to any test work.The size of the bubbles is influenced by several variables, gas rate, gas injection system (e.g., impeller design and rotation speed in a mechanical cell) and pulp composition (chemicals added, percent solids), but the most important is frother concentration (Harris, 1976). The frother functions by retarding coalescence (see appendix), which acts to preserve the small bubbles generated in the pulp (and permits a stable froth to form on top of the pulp). The measurement of bubble size is thus related to measuring frother concentration. The distribution of frother and whether sufficient (to control bubble size) is reaching the intended parts of the circuit then become important considerations. At present there is no simple way to judge frother concentration in a plant. In this communication we introduce a possible methodology, a “frother concentration meter”."

Jan 1, 2003

By Jamie King

This paper describes the use of dynamic scheduling and discrete event control to provide coordinated control of multiple automated vehicles. In the past decade there have been significant advances in the field of robotics for underground mining. As this trend progresses toward a realization of a completely automated underground mine the need for a central control system, capable of providing coordination for multiple vehicles in a semistructured environment, becomes more evident. In the past year general research into multi-robot coordination has been applied to the underground mining scenario and demonstrated in a scaled model underground mine in a laboratory setting. This system shows significant potential to be adopted into a full-scale implementation for mine wide automation.

May 1, 2001

By Emilie S. Williams

The Doyon Mine?s Zone 1 (Altered Zone), found along the southern boundary of the mine, encompasses approximately 20% of the mining reserves. The mineralisation is found in a series of steeply dipping narrow veinlets, which are contained in an extremely weak host rock: a sericitic schist with RQD values ranging from 0 to 20. Longhole mining methods are used, with either longitudinal or transverse approaches, depending on the width of the ore zone. Dilution is of critical importance in the mining of this zone, particularly in longitudinal stopes, where dilution levels have averaged 55% since 2000. Major factors influencing dilution in this zone include the stope geometry and standup time. A two-phase approach has been developed to mine and backfill longitudinal stopes: the top of the stope is pastefilled after approximately half of the broken ore has been extracted; the remainder of the ore is extracted once the plug has cured; and the remaining void is filled. This method has been used in six stopes to date, resulting in an average dilution of 17%. This paper details the application of this technique and its effect on dilution.

Oct 1, 2004

By K. Adham, C. Lee

Over the last forty years, a number of specific fluidized bed applications in nickel extraction have been developed for commercial use. Five important processes have gained particular acceptance, namely, sulphide ore roasting, nickel sulphide (matte) roasting, nickel oxide reduction, laterite ore pre-reduction, and nickel chloride pyrohydrolysis. These applications involve different feed materials and process conditions, however, all benefit from fast reaction kinetics and high heat and mass transfer rates in the fluidized bed reactors. They have been studied, tested, and implemented by various nickel producers, who have published their results in many papers and patents. This paper examines the design issues surrounding the application of fluidized bed technology to the above nickel processes. Based on the available data in the open literature, computerized process modelling is used to provide generic flowsheets that illustrate the key features of each process.

Jan 1, 2004

By A. J. Magerowski

Energy consumption is a main component of operational costs for the comminution of mineral bearing ores. Reduction of energy consumption has continually been addressed by mill operators and equipment manufacturers. Our testing over the last few years strongly indicates that the overall energy needed to comminute a mineral bearing ore can be brought down significantly, if more work is done in the crushing stages of the comminution circuit.This calls for uprating of the conventional crushing equipment into a new generation of crushing equipment to produce finer products. This will result in the emergence of new ideas in the design and application of equipment and corrnninution circuits.

Jan 1, 1986

By M. Gaumont, F. Robichaud

"Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (AEM) is a Canadian-based gold producer with operations in Canada, Finland and Mexico. In 2010, AEM produced its first gold bar in Nunavut, Canada as it started its Meadowbank operation. It is also in 2010 that AEM acquired the Meliadine property, which is located 25 Km North of Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, Canada. The Meliadine gold project is an advanced exploration and development project, comprising of workers camp, underground and open mines, a processing plant and all the services facilities and infrastructures required to sustain operation in a remote arctic environment.Pending formal board approval, production start-up is planned for Q3 2019 and the process flowsheet is based on an ore processing rate of 1.1 million dry tonnes per year (3,000 dry tonnes per day from underground mining) for the first three years, and 1.98 million dry tonnes per year (5,000 dry tonnes per day from both underground and open pit mining) for the remaining years at 92% process plant availability.To the end of 2015, more than 45 metallurgical test programs have been conducted on the Meliadine deposits. Based on the results of these programs, an optimal gold circuit was designed, comprising of crushing, grinding, gravity separation and cyanide leaching with a carbon-in-leach circuit (CIL), followed by cyanide destruction and filtration of the tails for dry stacking. The assumed gold recovery for the reserves averages 96.0% at a 7.44-g/t gold average mill feed grade."

Jan 1, 2016