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By H. D. B. Wilson, W C. Brisbin

The Thompson-Moak Lake nickel belt lies along the root of a Precambrian mountain range of the island-arc or alpine type. This range coin-. cides with the boundary between the Superior and Churchill blocks of the Canadian Precambrian shield. The nickeliferous peridotites and nickel ores occur along a negative gravity strip, which also coincides with strong thrust faulting and the axis of greatest deformation of the mountain range. Similar structures and highly nickeliferous peridotites occur in present-day island arcs. Much of the belt is covered by Paleozoic rocks, but a length of 270 miles may be explored by present-day methods. Nickel deposits have been located along 60 miles of the belt. The length of the favorable structure and the size of the known deposits suggest that this will be one of the world's major nickel regions. The regional gravity anomalies, which consist of a branching negative strip bordered by two positive strips, are best explained by major warps of a crust consisting of a granitic and basaltic layer. The ore deposit

Jan 1, 1961

By W. J. Bennett

WHEN Dr. Horace Fraser, your President, invited me to speak to you today I advised him in confidence that I was leaving my present positions on April 30th. In the circumstances it seemed to me that this audience might prefer to have as its speaker one who wo.uld J1ave a continuing association with the atomic energy programme. Dr. Fraser was kind enough to suggest that my re-marks might he of special interest to you, since I would be able to sum up my views on the atomic energy programme. I hope that I will not disappoint him or you on that score. I am particularly pleased that my last public appearance in my present positions should be at the Annual Convention of the C.I.M. since, as all of you know, a very important part of my work has been in the mining field. As it happens, my first public address on the subject of atomic energy and its raw material -uranium -was made at your Annual Convention in Montreal in April, 1949. It seems fitting that my final address should also be made at this convention -nine years later.

Jan 1, 1958

By Dayle Denton, Lloyd Buckingham, Kenneth G. Thomas, Jacques McMullen

"The dry grinding and leaching circuits of Barrick Gold’s new Roasting Facility at Goldstrike Mine in Nevada, USA incorporate well proven technologies in a unique combination. During the design of the plant, every effort was made to utilize the best available technologies from the perspective of capital, environment and operating costs.Crushing is a two stage process using gyratory and cone crusher. Ore is stockpiled and then reclaimed to two parallel dry grinding mills. The double rotator dry grinding mills include a drying chamber, coarse and fine compartments and utilize a gearless motor drive (GMD) or “wrap-around”. In-circuit product transfer is accomplished with air slides and bucket elevators. Finished product separation is performed by both static and dynamic classifiers with the final product captured in baghouses. Recycle of unfinished product utilizes cascade chutes.The final ground product reports to two 2000 ton roaster feed silos. The two-stage oxygen flu-solids roasters with their associated gas train are the subject of a separate paper.The cyanide leach circuit is a standard carbon in leach system with circular swept screens for interstage carbon retention. The loaded carbon is sent to the existing Goldstrike autoclave plant for stripping and regeneration. Tails, after cyanide destruction, are deposited in the existing tailings dam with tails from the autoclave facility.Throughout the circuit, Clean Plant Design criteria were used to assure environmental compliance, ambiental acceptability and ensure worker health and safety. The commissioning and operation of the double rotator grinding technology has been very successful at Barrick Goldstrike."

Jan 1, 2001

By C. Allen, V. Hensel, J. S. Stachulak

"Vale has been actively evaluating new technologies to curtail diesel emissions. This paper discusses the selection, installation, operation, and evaluation of the MANN+HUMMEL SMF®-AR diesel particulate filter system to reduce diesel particulate matter emissions in underground mines. The system uses a sintered metal filter element, an iron fuel-borne catalyst with an onboard dosing system, an electric heater that uses onboard power, and a sensor-based control unit. More than 6,000 h of testing demonstrated that the system represents a breakthrough in the successful control of soot emission from light-duty vehicles with differing soot emission levels, exhaust temperatures, and duty cycles.RÉSUMÉ La compagnie Vale évalue activement de nouvelles technologies pour réduire les émissions de diesel. Le présent article discute du choix, de l’installation, du fonctionnement et de l’évaluation du système MANN+HUMMEL SMFMD-AR de filtrage des particules de diesel pour réduire les émissions de particules de diesel dans les mines souterraines. Le système utilise un élément filtrant en métal fritté, un catalyseur à base de fer dans le carburant avec un système de dosage intégré, un élément de chauffage électrique qui utilise l’alimentation incorporée et une unité de contrôle avec un capteur. Plus de 6 000 heures d’essais ont démontré que le système représente une avancée pour réussir à contrôler les émissions de suie des véhicules légers avec différents niveaux d’émission de suie, différentes températures d’échappement et différents cycles opératoires."

Jan 1, 2015

Overview n Why we audited the IRS n How we did it n What we discovered n What we learned n Where we are going next The unbroken chain of safety The Internal Responsibility System (IRS) The network of roles and relationships in a workplace, through which everyone works with mutual commitment to reduce or eliminate hazards.

May 1, 2003

By J. K. Gowans

The Research and Design group of the Project Development Division (PDD) of Placer Dome Inc. includes metallurgical, electrical, civil and mechanical engineers. They provide metallurgical research and conceptual flowsheet development, feasibility concepts for the processing and ancillary facilities, and manage the detailed design of the facilities once approval has been given to a mining project. This paper describes how this group works, within the Project Development Division, to help develop feasibility studies with the Evaluations Group, manage detailed design, and provide support for the Construction Group. The paper briefly reviews the history and growth of the group and describes how it is evolving. The role of outside engineering firms and how they are incorporated into the division’s objectives are also discussed. The paper highlights the differences between Placer Dome’s Project Development Division and other mining groups, and why this approach fits the way Placer Dome does business.

Jan 1, 1998

By K. C. Corin, Z. G. Song, J. G. Wiese

In the present study the effect of using different grinding media, viz, ceramic balls, forged steel balls, 15% Cr steel balls, stainless steel and mixture of stainless steel and 15% Cr steel balls (50:50) on the flotation performance of a Platinum Group Mineral (PGM) UG2 ore was investigated. Test work was conducted using a laboratory scale horizontal tumbling mill and a batch flotation cell. Power draw to achieve a specific P80 was determined for each media type. Changes in flotation behaviour were evaluated in terms of particle size distribution, water recovery, solid recovery and valuable mineral recovery. pH, Eh and DO levels were also measured. Grinding products of five different media produced similar solids and water recovery, which is indicative of the froth characteristics, but the grades and recoveries of PGE and chromite were different. The product obtained when using ceramic media showed the best flotation performance, producing the highest PGE recovery and the lowest Cr2O3 recovery. The products obtained when using stainless steel balls (SS) produced the lowest PGE recovery and highest Cr2O3 grade and recovery. The paper proposes possible reasons to explain these observations which may have significant importance for the operation of a PGM concentrator.

Jan 1, 2015

By Erwin L. Zodrow

THE AUTHORS welcome this timely opportunity to comment o n a paper by MacLean and Merner (" Room-and- Pillar Mining at the Prince Mine of the Cape Breton Development Corporation " , ClM Bulletin , June 1978, pp. 59-62) concerning the rock falls and their relation to "a change in the strata". First, however, it is proper to express our gratitude to the Cape Breton Development Corporation, and in particular to A. R. MacLean, for making it possible for us at the College of Cape Breton to start two new collections. The first of these is a fossil plant reference collection from the Sydney Coalfield, Cape Breton (Upper Carboniferous period) , and the second is a documentation of the role o f pyrite in the formation of hydrated sulphates (samples from No. 26 Colliery, 1-B Mine, and the Prince Mine at Point Aconi). Conditions of sedimentation in the deltaic-type basin of the Upper Carboniferous time in the Point Aconi area were such that on the (coal) swamp, now represented by the Stubbart (or Hub) seam , (a) clays of varying thickness and extent were deposited , (b) biogenetic sulphur was introduced and (c) flora were buried. These are essentially the culprit s that make rock falls possible and at the same time predictable over large areas (in the present mine). The clays lithified to become shale, and biogenetic sulphur combined with iron to become pyrite (marcasite?), which exists as nodules and in fine-grained layers.

Jan 1, 1978

By Stephen Williams

This paper examines manning best practice in the Australian mining industry. In particular, the paper considers a range of mining operations and their manning levels as measured by operational benchmarking. The benchmarking results presented cover 15 open pit and 37 underground studies in Australia. The data was collected as part of AMC?s benchmarking and operational improvement studies conducted between 1999 and 2008. The results examine overall manning levels in mining, processing and administration functions. Manning levels for a range of mining methods, including open pit and underground methods, are segmented. Productivity measures such as ore tonnes per man day and metres developed per man day are presented and where direct relationships can be established, the relationships are described. Finally, the paper considers perspectives on best practice with regard to manning in the Australian mining industry and the limitations in application of this type of analysis in a global context.

May 1, 2009

By A. Luszczkiewicz

This paper presents the beneficial effects of non-oxidative leaching of final and intermediate copper sulfide concentrates with sulfuric acid prior to the final cleaning stage of flotation. This unique process, combining leaching and flotation, appears to be advantageous for difficult-to-treat carbonate-bearing Polish copper ores, such as those processed in copper concentrators at KGHM Polish Copper. It was shown that after the chemical decomposition of about 70 % of the total carbonates naturally present in the flotation feed, a considerable enhancement of subsequent flotation results (both grade and recovery). The resulting products of non-oxidative leaching are solid hydrated calcium sulfate (gypsum), soluble magnesium sulfate and gaseous carbon dioxide. The beneficial effect established by the laboratory leaching tests was subsequently confirmed during a pilot plant operation treating final copper concentrate and a problematic intermediate concentrate at the Lubin concentrator.

Jan 1, 2007

By J. A. Hansuld

"THIS SESSION marks something of a milestone in that it is, as far as I know, the first session at a CIM Annual Meeting devoted entirely to exploration geochemistry. This is an indication of the general acceptance and widespread recognition by industry of geochemistry in mineral exploration. As a first, I hope it proves sufficiently successful and interesting that geochemical exploration sessions will become a routine part of future CIM annual meetings. The greater use and acceptance of geochemistry has resulted in many investigations and advances, especially in areas such as the Canadian Shield. For a first session on geochemistry, the meeting in Quebec suggested an ideal opportunity to assess these advances and report on the current application of geochemistry in the Shield. The theme of the session is ""Geochemical Exploration in the Canadian Shield - The State of the Art."" A series of six papers will be presented dealing with the various dispersion media - rocks, heavy minerals, ""soils"", lake sediments, waters and vegetation. As a background to the individual presentations, I would like to take a few minutes to briefly trace the history of the use of geochemistry in the Canadian Shield."

Jan 1, 1971

By R. R. Tatiya

"The ultimate aim of a mine design is to determine the development work involved and resources required by adopting one or more specific alternatives. A part of the process is the production of mining plans/designs, an outline of the amount of work and costs involved as well as a prediction of the revenues expected. The paper aims to examine these aspects of mine design using the computer models developed. These models are capable of designing and performing economic analysis for one or more stopes for a continuous orebody. IntroductionTatiya and Allen (1987) have described ’defining stope boundaries using a computer.’ Using the stope boundaries defined or even hypothetical ones, algorithms have been prepared to design the layouts of the following stoping methods: 1. sublevel stoping (longitudinal as well as transverse);2. DTH (Down-the-hole) stoping; and3. flat back cut and fill stoping with posts and pillars.Tatiya (1989) presented this work at the 21st symposium on the application of computers and operations research in the mineral industry (APCOM). Economic analysis of a stope is the additional feature incorporated with these algorithms.The system has been tested by an economic analysis of the three stoping methods modeled for a small portion of a deposit of a copper mining complex. The deposits at this mining complex form lenses of varying shapes and sizes, having low copper content. These chalcopyrite lenses are steeply inclined with a thickness in the range of 5 m to 60 m. The strata are competent and suitable for underground mining.In different sections of the mines different sets of equipment are used to perform the basic unit operations. Some of the ore handling levels in the mines are trackless, the rest are tracked."

Jan 1, 1998

By M. Kawata, T. Amano, T. Miyamoto, K. Shibayama

"The High Pressure Acid Leach (HPAL) plant of Taganito HPAL Nickel Corporation (THPAL), located in Taganito, Philippines, with a nameplate capacity of 30,000 Ni-t/year started commercial operation on October 2013. The plant load was smoothly ramped up and it achieved monthly production equivalent to 33,000 Ni-t/year in 2016. Partial improvement of the plant capacity for the achievement of 36,000 Ni-t/year, as evaluated from the current operation progress of each system is planned for 2017. In this paper, aside from presenting the progress of the plant ramp-up, research and development activities such as the reduction of nickel loss and the improvement of filtration capacity which was achieved by particle size control of ZnS precipitates in the Zinc Removal system are also discussed.INTRODUCTION Taganito HPAL Plant Project History of THPAL Taganito HPAL Nickel Corporation (THPAL) was incorporated in August 2008, as a joint venture of three (3) companies, namely Mitsui Corporation with 15% share, Nickel Asia Corporation (NAC) with 10% share and Sumitomo Metal Mining Corporation (SMM) with a controlling stake of 75%. Aside from its capital share, NAC’s Taganito Mining Corporation (TMC) supplies the ore for the HPAL plant located in Taganito, Claver, Mindanao, Philippines. The objective of THPAL is to produce 30,000 MT of nickel and 2,600 MT of cobalt as mixed (Ni/Co) sulfide by treating nickel laterite ore in the Philippines and exporting to Japan as raw material for SMM’s Niihama Nickel Refinery (NNR) for the next 30 years. In other words, 1.15 wt% of nickel in ore is refined to 99.99 wt% nickel in electrolytic nickel. The mixed (Ni/Co) sulfide is shipped to NNR and SMM provides the technology and management personnel to THPAL plant as well as sulfuric acid which is the main reagent for HPAL process. Figure 1 shows the location of THPAL and current relationship between the stake holders.The Characteristics of THPAL Plant In terms of plant design, a 2-train system is applied for the HPAL circuit considering the reliability of the process, facility and avoidance of whole plant shutdown due to HPAL troubles. The technical data, operation know-how and improvements gained from the successful operation of Coral Bay Nickel Corporation (CBNC) which was established in April 2002 were reflected in THPAL’s plant design. As for the H2S plant, a more economical design was considered which is different from CBNC."

Jan 1, 2017

By D. O. DeGagné, J. F. Archibald

Spray-on polymer linings, as partial or full replacement for traditional forms of area rock support, have seen rapid growth in interest within Canada. A wide variety of lining types, ranging from polymer chemical to water-based cementitious materials, have been developed and commercially introduced to the underground mining market. Following approximately one decade of development work, several general conclusions have been reached regarding the performance of this class of area support media, these being that: health and safety assessment of the broad range of materials has shown the majority of them to be acceptable and safe for underground use; significant ground support potential can be offered by them, being equivalent to or better than capabilities offered by traditional support forms such as bolt-and-screen or shotcrete, and; their abilities to be rapidly deployed and provide near instantaneous support restraint offer considerable operational and cost benefits to underground operators. A review of currently available liner materials, their historic development within the Canadian mining industry, and overviews of support, health and safety, operational considerations and cost benefits are provided in this paper.

Jan 1, 2001

By A. W. Davis

Sapping and mining have constituted an important part of siege operations ever since powder came into general use in Europe. Before this period, famine was the main weapon in the hands of the besiegers, and the history of the middle ages is replete with accounts of sieges lasting two and three years. With the advent of explosives, a position impregnable to assault might be readily won by mining under, and blowing up, its defences. The natural offensive against this method of attack is to countermine and stop the attackers underground before their objective is reached. Thus developed the art of military mining. The French and British, in the Peninsular war, were adepts at this method of warfare, and the explosion of a mine and the formation of a breach were the usual preludes to the general assault of a position. In the Crimea, at Sebastopol, the British and Russians did a lot of underground fighting, as the old maps of their galleries, now in the museum at Chatham, will testify. In the siege of Port Arthur, in still later times, the Japanese and Russians were hard at it as well.

Jan 1, 1926

By G. T. Lapidus, J. Trejo-Gallardo

A phenomenological model is presented for leaching silver from silver sulfide contained in mineral particles with ammoniacal thiosulfate solutions of copper in stirred reactors. Experimental results were used to adjust the kinetic parameters of the model, such as the reaction order and velocity. The incorporation of the cuprous sulfide-silver sulfide equilibrium at the reaction interface allowed the prediction of the conversion limits for different reagent concentrations. The information obtained from the reactor model was later integrated into a heap leaching simulation, whose results adequately describe tendencies observed in column tests, with respect to variations in copper and thiosulfate concentrations. Comp

Jan 1, 2005

By F. K. McKean

Abstract A discussion of the difficulties involved in the production of a clean molybdenite concentrate introduces the paper. There is a brief description of the various methods for producing molybdenite that will fit marketing specifications, and it is shown how these methods are nor suited to the milling of ores containing small quantities of bismuth and copper. A process that was developed in the ore testing laboratories of the Bureau of Mines at Ottawa for the La Corne mill of the Molybdenite Corporation of Canada is described in derail and some results from pilot plant operation of this milling scheme are tabulated. A description of the La Corne mill, where the writer supervised the introduction of the process on a commercial scale, adds to the interest of the paper. In conclusion, there is a review of the conditions necessary for proper operation of the flowsheet. An attempt is made to show how the process might be satisfactory in other problems similar to that at the La Corne mill. Introduction The production of a molybdenite concentrate, free from impurities and high in grade, has been a difficult task when milling some types of ore. Whereas ordinary flotation techniques will produce acceptable concentrates of the baser sulphides, in many cases they will not serve in the treatment of molybdenite, for this mineral must be of optimum grade and purity to bring the best prices, or to find a market at all . Faced with the necessity of meeting stringent specifications, the mill operator has been forced to employ expensive processing methods, and to be satisfied with low recoveries, in order to make grade with his product. The most objectionable and common impurities found with molybdenite are: (a) gangue minerals and iron sulphides, which lower the grade; and (b) copper, bismuth, or antimony, which are deleterious in the final uses of the molybdenite products. It is difficult, and sometimes impossible, to market a concentrate with over 0.5 per cent of any of the latter impurities, or with a grade much below 90 per cent MoS2. Various methods, which have been highly successful in specific applications, have been developed to meet the problem of producing a suitable concentrate. All of them, however, have certain defects precluding their use when treating ores of a nature different from the one for which they ? were designed. The writer has developed a process for molybdenite ores having an objectionable impurity content. A description of the procedure involved, and of the La Corne mill of the Molybdenite Corporation of Canada, where the process has been adopted, should be of interest to flotation operators.

Jan 1, 1947

By Lewis Finch

Oil and .gas reservoirs exist under pressure within the pore spaces of rock structures or traps. Wells are drilled to produce these reservoirs. Under primary operation, the natural energy of expanding fluids in and adjacent to the reservoir forces or drives oil and gas to the wells. There are three basic sources of energy: dissolved gas, water, and gas cap. Typical recovery by primary methods is only 10 to 25 per cent of the oil in place for the dissolved gas drive but is generally higher for the others. Secondary recovery involves the injection of water or gas to supplement natural energy, thereby increasing recovery over that obtainable by primary operation alone. In many cases ultimate recovery with secondary methods is 1.2 to 2.0 times the expected primary recovery. The type programme adaptable in a field depends on its 'primary performance and on certain reservoir characteristics. In the United States, application of secondary recovery methods is becoming increasingly important. About 22 per cent of United States oil production now comes from fields in which injection projects are operating. In 1953, nearly 1.4 million barrels of oil daily came from such fields, more than double the amount in the early 40's. Ultimate primary recovery from known pools is estimated at roughly 73 billion barrels. Secondary recovery projects already in operation will increase this to almost 80 billion, an increase of almost 10 per cent. Unitized secondary recovery projects have been very successful. From unitized projects alone, industry reserves of oil in the United States have been increased by 3 1/2 billion barrels. In Canada, secondary recovery has not been so wide spread mainly because D-3 reef reservoirs which have held the major reserves are under water drive. However, appreciable amounts of water are being injected in the Redwater D-3, Leduc D-2 and Joarcum Viking reservoirs, and gas in the Golden Spike D-3. In both countries, possible achievements in increased recovery through secondary recovery methods now in use and by new ones which may be developed through research and field trial are a challenge to the scientist and the industry.

Jan 1, 1956

The original JKMRC AG/SAG mill model was developed over 30 years ago and has been upgraded a number of times since then, with the current published version being the Variable Rates model that is now over 15 years old. Since this model was developed further enhancements have been derived, some of which are applied in-house and some which have yet to be incorporated. The published and the commercially available model in JKSimMet is currently undergoing a comprehensive overhaul with a vastly extended data base for model evolution and validation. Improvements developed within the AMIRA P9 project, in-house development and a number of collaborative projects, are being incorporated into the upgraded model structure. Enhanced capabilities will include: power-based breakage rates scaling; a far wider mill filling range (from 10% to 40%) that exhibits peak in throughput as mill filling increases; higher ball loads; improved pebble discharge function; improved slurry discharge function incorporating important mill design and operational influences; and the new size dependent breakage function. The model will also be able to accommodate some influence of liner design and multi-component ores (blends of hard and soft components). This upgrade is still a work in progress but substantial changes have been made to date. This paper presents some of the new improvements and their influence on the predictive capability of the model.

Jan 1, 2012

By M. Somppi, D. Weirmeir, Z. Yamak

"Milling operations commonly employ activated carbon to capture complexed gold from lixiviants in leaching processes. As the carbon moves through pipes, pumps, vessels, kilns and other processes in the gold leaching circuit, this consumable may experience losses by various mechanisms like attrition, breakage, and rupturing. Whenever possible, capturing the fine gold-bearing carbon portion of this stream could provide value to milling operations at low capital cost and manageable financial risk. Identifying, testing, and validating the successful payback of a low-tech flocculant system is described. However, the work more closely explores a Monte Carlo risk-based methodology for understanding the potential payback of this project at various confidence levels – an approach that many improvement projects can follow where some level of uncertainty exists.INTRODUCTION Gold milling operations commonly employ activated carbon to adsorb gold from solutions. Normal handling causes the carbon particles from this material to abrade, break, rupture to a size that becomes too small for further use in the process. Operations often concentrate on capturing the fine particles because gold is associated with the carbon and this metal content can be a valuable revenue stream for toll processing. However, the small particle sizes become difficult to separate from the process and can ultimately leave the facility in the waste stream. Hence, operations often place a great deal of care in capturing as much fine carbon as possible by a variety of methods including using screens, settling tanks, and chemical methods. Retrofitting a circuit to capture more carbon fines is common but can expose the operation to financial risk. Approaching this potential improvement by leveraging a Monte Carlo methodology can be effective in understanding the risk and the associated payback of a project at various confidence levels. This method provides a strong framework for capital go-no-go decisions and the structure to validate the potential project success before implementation."

Jan 1, 2019