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By L. van Hijfte, A. Piché

"Drilling and blasting are fundamental operations in the mining cycle and constitute an important component of the mining costs. Problems associated with improper drilling and blasting practices can create losses of several millions of dollars per year. For this reason, a Blasting Technology program was initiated in 1984 at the Noranda Technology Centre (NTC). In this paper, advances made at NTC in drill and blast technology are reviewed. Impacts of drilling and basting for Noranda are assessed in terms of dilution and ore losses. Future challenges are addressed. IntroductionUp to 1997, Noranda was a diversified natural resources company that operated in three sectors: mining and metallurgy, forest products, and oil and gas. The company employs more than 33 000 people in operations and sales offices around the world. Today, Noranda has returned to its roots in mining and metallurgy. The new vision of Noranda is to be dedicated to the responsible and profitable development of mineral resources around the world for the benefit of its shareholders. In so doing, Noranda will continue to be deeply committed to the environment, health, workplace safety, cost competitiveness and return on capital. Technology is an integral part of Noranda’s success strategies. For this reason, the Noranda Technology Centre, formerly known as Noranda Research Centre, was founded in 1963. Since then, it has undergone four expansion phases to keep up with the increasing needs of the businesses. Today, NTC employs more than 220 specialists who work in partnership with different Noranda companies to identify, develop, and transfer technology to the operations, as well as to explore new sectors of activity."

Jan 1, 2000

By Leiting Yue, Peng Ren, Yu Shen, Zhihong Liu, Haibao Shao, Longgong Xia, Feng Yu

The Kennecott-Outotec Flash Converting technology has been proven as an advanced and mature process in 5 individual plants during the past 2 decades. High grade copper matte (65–72%) produced in the flash smelting, or other smelting technologies is granulated to 3-5mm granules in a water torrent, and further crushed to fine powder (≈50µm) and dried to contain less than 0.3% H2O. Oxygen enriched air, together with fine copper matte powder and lime flux are injected into the reaction shaft by a matte burner. The copper making and slag making reactions will happen in very short time and distance during the particle falling and settling. However, industrial practice has found negative effects caused by sodium contamination. Na is introduced in the copper matte granulating process, and appears as Na2SO4 on particle surface. When Na content was high, scaling problems in the boiler will be worse, and the processing air will be blocked by the growing accretion around the matte burner, and as-produced blister copper is always high in S and O. In this present study, an industrial matte sample was used in the experimental work. Na was introduced into the matte powder by Na2SO4 solution soaking. The burning behaviour of the doped copper matte powder has been investigated as a function of the impurity concentration and processing temperature. Morphology and composition of these samples explained how Na2SO4 converts and reacts in the oxidizing atmosphere, and how they or their converting species influence the burning behaviour of matte particles. Cross-sections of as-prepared samples were analyzed with SEM-EDS, and the reaction mechanism has been carefully interpreted. Results from the present study can benefit both academic and industrial people. INTRODUCTION "Flash Converting" technology was developed jointly by Kennecott Utah Copper Smelter and Outotec (Finland) OY in 1992. The first industrialization of the technology was in Utah Smelter in 1995. Since 2006, it has been successfully applied in Xiangguang Copper, Tongling Jinguan Copper Branch, Fangchengang Jinchuan Copper, and Ningde Southeast Copper. The technology has also been further developed in those smelters. At present, roughly 2 million tons blister copper is produced annually through the Kennecott-Outotec Flash Converting technology, accounting for more than 10% of global primary copper production. The technology has advantages of high efficiency, high sulfur capture rate, good in environmental issues, mature equipment supporting, high automatic control level, low comprehensive energy consumption and flexible connection with the smelting unit, which make the technology to be one of the best choices in investing a new large-scale copper smelter or updating an old copper project in the world.

Jan 1, 2019

By G. M. Proudfoot

IN June, 1940, a .Longyear 3420 blast-hole drill rig was purchased by the Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting Company for the purpose of experimental blast-hole drilling. The early work showed that the diamond drill could compete successfully with the Leyners then in use and by January 1st, 1941, the diamond drills were placed on contract. They may be considered to have gone into production at that date. Prior to the introduction of the diamond drill, our bench drilling was clone with Ingersoll-Rand S-70 and S-83 Leyner drills. Holes up to 40 feet were drilled, using coupled 1 1/4-inch round steel. Bits with a gauge of 3 inches were used in starting these holes, with a drop of 1/8-inch gauge for each 2-foot run. The holes normally ended with 1 1/2 or 1 5/8-inch gauge, though bits down to 1 1/8 inches were available for holes longer than normal or for holes drilled in abnormally abrasive ground. This method of drilling was very satisfactory and was a distinct improvement on the three-bench method of drilling used previously (1). During 1937 and 1938, when experienced miners were available, Leyner long-hole drilling was carried on with great efficiency. However, in 1939 and 1940, labour turnover in-creased and experienced long-hole drillers became scarcer. This resulted in a marked decline in the efficiency of the drilling operations, with increased costs and less tonnage drilled per shift. EXPERIMENTAL WORK The initial diamond drilling test work was carried on with a Longyear 3420 air-driven blast-hole drill rig, drilling a 1 3/16-inch hole. Tests indicated that diamond drilling could be successfully adapted to local conditions and that overall costs compared favourably with costs obtained with the Leyner long-hole method. Leyner long holes on stope benches usually bottomed at a larger diameter than the 1 3/16 -inch diamond-drill holes. More powder could therefore be introduced into the Leyner holes than could be placed in the diamond-drill holes. To achieve the same fragmentation, additional footage was required when diamond drilling. Diamond-drill holes of larger diameter were indicated.

Jan 1, 1943

By Y. Sasseville

"Niobec has been using vibrating screens and screw classifiers as a double stage classification in its grinding circuit since the very beginning of its operation in St-Honoré. Most of the other mineral processing plants around the world uses cyclones as the classification device in their grinding circuit. The difference between these two methods are well known in terms of capital cost and grinding efficiency but the differences in terms of the impact on the downstream processing stages are a lot harder to predict and are case specific. In the interest of lowering the capital cost of a future expansion project, Niobec decided to test the cyclones in its actual grinding circuit and evaluate their impact on the recovery of the downstream processing stages as well as the operating cost of the mill. We switched between cyclones and screens for 8 month in 2013 and early 2014 and we are now operating only with cyclones since march 2014.INTRODUCTIONThe Niobec mine and concentrator were built in the mid 70’s and at that time, the mill was processing 1 500 tons per day. Over the years, many expansion projects have brought the plant to 7 000 tons per day. Throughout the initial concentrator design and commissioning, screens have been chosen over cyclones because of their higher classification efficiency which is known to reduce variability and limit the fine generation especially due to a high undersize classification efficiency. Just like many other plants, fine particle generation is a major problem at Niobec because of its negative effect on downstream processing stages. In the interest of lowering the capital cost of a future expansion project, Niobec’s engineering team decided, 35 years later, to test the cyclones in its actual grinding circuit and evaluate their actual impact on the final recovery and the operating cost of the mill.The grinding circuit is separated in two lines which will be called Circuit #1 and Circuit #2 along this paper. Circuit #1 is, as you can see in Figure 1, composed of a rod mill and two parallel ball mills in closed circuit with screens and screw classifiers. The screens oversize are sent to the screw classifiers while the undersize are sent to the next processing stage. The screw classifiers overflow are both sent back to the pump box while their oversize streams return in their corresponding ball mills for further grinding. Circuit #2 is, as you can see in Figure 1, quite the same as Circuit #1 except it has only one set of screw classifier and ball mill. Figure 1 also shows the modification in arrangement each circuits went through to integrate the new cyclones. One of the ball mills in Circuit #1 now appears dotted because it can still be used but is not now"

Jan 1, 2015

By Andrew R. Marchbank

The application of biologically assisted methods for metal extraction in the mining industry has a long history, but development of modern techniques has been relatively slow. There is, however, a resurgence of interest in the industry with the recent development of methods to successfully treat base metals concentrates. Two major pilot plant programs for treatment of chalcopyrite concentrates have been initiated in the past year and results from one are beginning to be released. This paper provides an overview of methods that have been applied in the past; from the earliest deliberate applications of the technology, through the copper and uranium heap and dump leach applications, the more highly engineered agitated tank leach gold applications and the developments currently taking place in the industry.

May 1, 2002

By A. Warczok, C. M. Diaz, A. Bergman, T. Utigard, M. Barati

The world wide consumption of energy is steadily increasing and by 2030 it is forecasted to grow by another 50%, leading to mounting political and economic pressures. For any pyrometallurgical operation, it is therefore paramount to investigate and implement methods to decrease the use of energy. In the pyrometallurgical processing of steel, copper, nickel and other high temperature metals, a large amount of energy is lost in hot off-gases, molten slags, mattes and molten metals. Most of this energy is generally lost during the cooling and solidification steps with very little focus on energy recovery or reuse. In this paper we will quantify how much energy is contained in the various slag streams, then review previous attempts and methods employed to recover some of this energy, and finally evaluate some novel technologies that could potentially be employed.

Jan 1, 2011

By M Safa

Addressing deficiencies and defects that occur during construction projects is costly and time consuming. The manual quality assurance programs currently used in the industry have certain limitations, including human error and lack of consistency. Hence, there is a need for integrated electronic models that employ new technologies and methods. This research introduces an integrated construction quality control system that has the potential to improve quality management processes in the construction field for piping construction, which is a complex process often requiring rework. The proposed integrated system relies on data collected from construction sites using photogrammetry and laser scanning, which is then used to compare actual work performed to that designed. The proposed system aims to improve the promptness and accuracy of quality assurance processes, in particular dimension measurements, by avoiding human error and integrating defect detection and quality management. The use of this system has highlighted some of the limitations during data fusion and acquisition process, which are highlighted in this paper. These aspects must be considered to increase the reliability of the acquired information.

Aug 1, 2013

By Tom Dettweiler

Who We Are A global pioneer in discovery, development and recovery of deep-ocean assets Shipwrecks Deep-sea Minerals Company Overview Founded 1994 HQ ?Tampa, Florida USA Employees 45 Tampa + 150 Abroad Publicly Traded: NASDAQ:OMEX Requires Specific Financial Controls and Reporting

May 1, 2013

By H. Ishimoto

It always has been a serious issue to improve safety in mine sites, demolition work sites, and civil engineering work sites. Especially, collision accidents caused by construction equipment damage not only the productivity of operations but also the health and life of workers in those work sites. To solve this problem, a variety of worker auto-detection means are developed so far, but they have not still become widely used in actual worksites. There have been two controversial points in the prior methods. One is that they were not enough in respect of the detection accuracy and certainty, and the other one is that the information of the detection results was not comprehensible to the operator of equipment. In this paper, the functional requirements of the obstacle detection system in earth moving work site is redefined at first, and then, it is proposed to apply a stereo vision to the obstacle detection system for an excavator. The system consists of horizontally arrayed two digital cameras with low distortion lens, an image processing controller, and a monitor for an operator in the cab. Stereo vision calculates the depth image from images of two cameras and detects the presence of obstacles, its distance, direction, and dimensions. Sensed obstacles are informed to the operator in the monitor image. Preliminary experiments are conducted with a stereo vision system mounted on a real equipment in a demonstration site. The result shows that two controversial points of the conventional technologies are improved, and that the applicability of this system is validated.

Aug 1, 2013

By Orlando C. Gaspar

Abstract - The presence of fine-grained mineral intergrowths, the complex distribution of deleterious minor elements, and the variable base-metal contents in some assemblages commonly pose technical problems for the processing of volcanogenic massive sulfide ores. The beneficiation of most massive sulfide ores from the Iberian Pyrite Belt requires extremely fine grinding to liberation sizes of K80 = 15 µm to 25 µm. For several deposits, mapping of the ore types and metal zoning patterns has shown that the different ore types are distributed as ore lenses within the massive sulfides. Mineralogical, textural, and metallogenetic studies have provided an understanding of the distribution of both the vertical and the horizontal metal zonation in the orebodies. Because the efficiency of ore processing is affected by ore textures, and because the same mineral commonly has different textures and varies in chemical composition, a relationship between textures of the feed and the middlings must be established for all ore types defined at the deposit scale. Quantitative mineralogical methods have been developed to provide, on a timely basis, the information needed to optimize the concentration processes for the massive sulfide ores at the Aljustrel and Neves-Corvo deposits, Iberian Pyrite Belt, Portugal.

Jan 1, 1997

By W. G. Millar

Until a fire occurs, insurance and prevention work are often looked on as unavoidable necessities, but as insurance is back of all business credit, it is essential to know that in case of damage money will be available to cover the loss; while the interruption of production, often caused by a fire, brings home the realization that if prevention work avoids such an interruption, it is well worth while. Fire insurance is a legal contract guaranteeing the payment of large amounts to an owner, but it is possible there is no other important contract that receives so little consideration. Although previously carried on elsewhere, it is only of recent years that insurance engineering has been actively followed up in Canada, with inspections of an owner's property carried out for his benefit. Now inspections of this kind are made, advice on fire prevention and protection work ?is available, reports with recommendations with regard to the above are furnished periodically, and with this method applied the owner receives the broadest possible cover and security at the lowest cost. Rates are set by the underwriters by rating schedules which charge for defects in a building and allow credits for protection and other favourable features . These schedules are based on the past record of loss of mining properties as a class, so that a fire in another mining property indirectly affects you, but the amount paid is reduced in proportion as your property is improved. The writer feels, from personal experience, that there is no industry where fire prevention receives more attention than the mining industry, and it is a pleasure to advise that, due to this co-operation, some reduction in the basis rates for mining risks is now being made by the underwriters.

Jan 1, 1928

By Pierre Rocque

The Red Lake Mine is located approximately 600 km northwest of Thunder Bay. This 545 tpd (600 tons/day) underground narrow vein gold operation is set to produce in excess of 14.8 tonnes (475,000 ounces) in 2001 at a cash operating cost below 75 U$/oz. The high-grade nature of this deposit (>55 g/t or >1.6 opt) coupled with its complex geological environment and relatively deep location dictated the choice of a very selective primary mining method, Mechanized Overhand Cut and Fill. In addition to geological challenges, mine design issues such as material handling, ground stability and requirements for yieldable ground support are also discussed in this paper.

Oct 1, 2001

By R. J. Traill

Introduction Following the discovery of high-grade deposits of pitchblende in the Great Bear Lake area of the Northwest Territories by Mr. Gilbert LaBine in May, 1930, samples were submitted to the Mines Branch for examination and investigation as to suitable methods of treatment (1). The purpose of this paper is to present, briefly, the results of the investigative work conducted on the ores and an outline of the methods developed for the extraction of the radium content and recovery of the by-products. The paper is presented in two parts. Part I gives a review of the history of radium production and of the principal processes used in other countries. Part II describes the work and gives the results of the Mines Branch investigation. Part 1-Radium Production In Other Countries Historical Outline Uranium was discovered in 1789, and more than a century later Madame Curie, while studying the physical properties of this element, observed that the ore of uranium exhibited greater activity than the pure uranium com-pounds she had prepared and traced the cause to the presence of a new element which she named radium. Eventually, research proved radium to be a disintegration product of uranium, and always present in uranium ores.

Jan 1, 1933

By A. Galip Ulsoy

This review paper is intended to provide, the mineral process engineer with an introduction to the concepts, terminology and practice of mineral process control. It also provides an extensive sampling of the vast body of literature relevant to this topic. The topics discussed include the principles of automatic control, instrumentation, mineral processing unit operations, process modeling and simulation, and process and plant control.

Dec 1, 1981

By C. Schlumberger

INTRODUCTION The object of the present paper is to discuss, from a geological point of view, the practical results obtained by the authors with the method of the 'resistivity map of the subsoil' in the study of various mining problems. Some of the studies described date from 1920, 1922, and 1923. They are, therefore, quite old, at least as far as geophysical research is concerned (1). Others, on the contrary, are very recent (2). We shall deal only very briefly with the theoretical and technical sides of the processes employed. This paper has, essentially, a practical purpose, and it has seemed unnecessary to enter into a detailed discussion of the methods. Such a discussion cannot be presented without introducing ,quite. Complex considerations both of mathematics and experimental physics, which interest only the geophysicist: whose work is highly specialized.

Jan 1, 1931

By Franc R. Joubin, Donald H. James

"The Property of Rix Athabasca Uranium Mines Limited is in the Beaverlodge area of northwestern Saskatchewan. The mine is 7 miles by road north from the Lake Athabasca port of Bushell which is 250 miles north by aircraft or boat from railhead at Waterways, Alberta.The Rix property is a portion of the former DD 1 concession, obtained in 1949 from the government of Saskatchewan when private prospecting for uranium became permissible. The concession was prospected in detail during the 1950 and 1951 field seasons and a great many radioactive show-ings were discovered. Development and drilling were concentrated in two and later three of these areas, and by late 1952 enough ore had been indicated in the Leonard series and ""Smitty"" zone to justify underground development by adit-drift and shaft respectively.Four hundred feet of drift development on the Leonard No. 1 vein and the sinking of a two-level vertical shaft with related lateral development on the Smitty zone were completed in 1953. In April 1954 the Smitty section was placed in production at a rate averaging 100 tons per day, thereupon becoming the first privately owned post-war uranium producer in Canada. The ore is shipped for processing 12 miles by truck to the mill of Eldorado Mining and Refining Limited.Until recently all of the Company's production was drawn from the Smitty orebody. In April, 1955, ore production commenced from the faulted west extension of the Smitty structure, known as the Rix 62 zone, and from the Leonard No. 1 vein.The Smitty orebody (see Figure 2) is an intensely brecciated lenticular zone bordering both sides of the Smitty fault. The breccia areas are irregularly mineralized with pitchblende, very sparse galena, and pyrite in a gangue of feldspar, chlorite, calcite, and silica, all thoroughly soaked with fine-grained hematite to produce the locally-called ""red alteration"".Tenor of the ore currently being mined is classified information. The average grade estimated, prior to production, was 0.20 per cent (4.0 lbs.) U308 per ton."

Jan 1, 1949

By D. Fleury

"This paper describes the challenges of mining a sill pillar under various types of paste backfill quality. From 1994 to 2002, Louvicourt mine produced approximately 12,600,000 t grading 3.5% Cu, 1.5% Zn, 27 g/mt Ag, and 0.85 g/mt Au. The mining method is transverse blasthole stoping, mining primary and secondary stopes. The production of this 4,300 t/d operation was accomplished using two mining horizons; from the 655 m level to the 415 m level and from the 860 m level to the 680 m level. The main sill pillar is between the 680 m level and the 655 m level. The second sill pillar is between the 885 m level and the 860 m level representing a quarter of the main sill pillar in size. Since 2002, production has gradually decreased and mining activities are expected to end in mid-2005. The sill pillar production will represent almost 25% of the total mine production. The overall recovery of the sill pillars stopes will be discussed in this paper. To recover the sill pillars, more than 1,500 m of development was planned in or under paste backfill. The first sill pillar stopes under paste backfill were mined out in 2002 with excellent results."

Jan 1, 2005

By Bernhard Schwab

A popular rule in the mining industry is that a property should only be developed if average unit production cost is less than a given proportion of the estimated long-run price of the mineral. This paper provides a comparative analysis of the average cost approach (ACA) with the use of net present value (NPV) as an investment criterion. It is concluded that the ACA is an easily understood and easily applied rule of thumb which may serve as a rough first screening device, for example in the early stages of deposit exploration. Its operational convenience is at the expense of accuracy and validity, and the NPV provides a sounder method of making decisions, especially in the case of marginal deposits.

Jan 1, 1978

By F. M. Makarinsky

"SynopsisThe Kanichee open pit mine and milling complex is situated approximately four air miles north-west of Ternagami, Northern Ontario, in Strathy Township. Mining and milling production commenced in January 1974.Milling throughput currently is at a rated capacity of 500 tons per day, seven days per week. A bulk nickel-copper sulphide concentrate is produced, and is trucked daily to the smelter at Falconbridge Nickel Mines Limited, Falconbridge, Ontario, some 120 road miles from Kanichee. Concentrate grades produced are in the order of 4.0% Ni and 8.0% Cu, with corresponding recoveries of 68-70% nickel and 86-90% copper. Stage additions of 100% guar-gurn solution reagent to the flotation cells for depression of talcose minerals, proved to be the major break-through for optimizing metallurgical performance.2. HistoryThe present Kanichee Mining property is known to old-timers in the Temagami area as the former Cuniptau Mine. Several attempts were made in the mid '30's and 40's to extract the ore at a profit, but each effort resulted in failure.In 1933-36, Cuniptau Mines Development Co. Limited, later called Cuniptau Mines Limited, sank a 245-foot vertical shaft and completed 2,200 feet of lateral work on the 100-140 and the 225 foot levels. Fifteen tons of ore were sent for testwork to the Mines Branch, Ottawa, Ontario.Cuniptau Mines Limited, in 1936, milled some 3,000 tons, and the resulting concentrate was put through a pilot smelter situated on the present mine site. Metallurgically, the smelting results were not encouraging, primarily due to the high melting point of the talcose minerals in the concentrate. From the period 1937-48, minor exploration work was done by Ontario Mining Corporation, Ontario Nickel Mines Limited, and Trebor Mines Limited. During the period 1948-49, 128 diamond drill holes, totalling 40,900 feet were evaluated by Trebor Mines Limited. In 1961, the name was changed to Ajax Minerals Limited, during 1968, five diamond drill holes were sunk, totalling 1,700 feet. Since that period the property has remained idle."

Jan 1, 1975

By Bin Tang, Suping Yao

In the last decade, the copper industry in China has developed rapidly and attracted the world’s attention. The production capacity of refined copper has grown remarkably from 4.578 million tons in 2010 up to 9.029 million tons in 2018, accounting for about 40% of the global refined copper production. And now, China has become the biggest refined copper producer in the world. This paper summarizes the application of modern copper metallurgical technologies such as Outotec flash smelting/converting technology, Cyclone smelting technology, TSL (ISA/Ausmelt) smelting/converting technology, Jinfeng side blown smelting and Baiyin side blown smelting technology, Chifeng side blown smelting and continuous top blown converting technology, SKS bottom blowing technology, Dongying two-step smelting technology, copper electrorefining with high current density, etc. in China’s copper industry, analyzes and compares the characteristics of those technologies and presents the great efforts of China’s copper smelters in adapting to the increasingly strict emission standards and improving economic benefits of copper smelters. INTRODUCTION China has been the biggest refined copper producer in the world for many years. China produced million tons of refined copper in 2018, accounting for 40% of the copper smelting production in the world, and of which, roughly, 70% of the copper concentrate was imported, mainly from Chile, Peru and Australia. ICSG (International Copper Study Group, 2017) shows clearly the position of top 20 countries of copper production and copper mine production (Figures 1 and 2). Blast Furnaces, Reverb Furnaces and Electric Furnaces dominated China Copper Smelting for quite long time till 1980s. The first modern copper smelting technology (flash copper smelting) was introduced into China in 1980s, then followed by Noranda, Ausmelt and ISA. Since then, China copper smelting technology stepped into modern time. Since 2000, old processes (Blast Furnace, Reverb Furnaces and Electric Furnaces) were phased out and replaced by modern smelting technologies. China Copper Production has been increasing dramatically (Figure 3).

Jan 1, 2019