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By Edward P. Barrett

Iron ore, when subjected to reducing gases at a temperature suitable for reduction of the oxide but not high enough to melt the ore or metal formed, is converted into metallic iron. The product, being the original piece of iron oxide minus its oxygen, is sponge-like in appearance when viewed under a magnifying glass, and hence is called 'sponge iron. Sponge iron was probably the form in which some of the first iron was recovered from the ores. As early as the eighth century the Catlan forge developed into a low shaft furnace known as the high bloomary, in which iron was produced in the form of a pasty mass. These furnaces were increased in height, and with increased temperatures came the production of liquid cast-iron, at first undesirable because of lack of knowledge of methods for working it. In 1340 the first true blast-furnace was built iri Belgium. Some castings were made, but the greater part of the iron was converted into wroughtiron blooms by a crude puddling process. Charcoal was the universal fuel until the latter part of the seventeenth century, when coke was first used in England. Larger scale developments of methods of refining pig-iron followed. In I 885 Bessemer built his first converter in England, and within a few years the Siemen' s regenerative open-hearth furnace was developed, also in England, to produce steel. Then followed the enormous expansion in the metallurgy of iron. The idea of a direct process for the production of iron and steel has persisted during all of this time.

Jan 1, 1925

By K. Nagai

The Asian projects are now in their second terms after the five-year first terms. Ultrafined-grained steels were developed in lab-scale and/or in practical process. Basic approach has been performed to explore the evolution mechanisms of ultrafine-grained microstructures. There have been investigated two approaches to make the ultrafine grains: the "recrystallization route" and the transformation route. In the "recrystallization" route, heavy deformation at low temperature is necessary for the ultra-refinement. In the transformation route, making the high density of ferrite initiation sites in the deformed austenite, especially of the heavily compressed austenite structures, is essential for the ultra-refinement, and further hindering the ferrite growth is also inevitable to utilize the high initiation rate. Strength and toughness are dramatically improved by the ultra-refinement. Fatigue property is also excellent. The poor uniform elongation can be enhanced by the design of the second phase dispersion. At the same time the application has been also pursued from various viewpoints of engineering to take advantages of the ultrafine-grained steels. Bridge, ship, construction, automobile and other high strength parts are being attempted for the application.

Jan 1, 2004

By John B. Hodgeson

AMMONIA is an essential constituent in the production of the ammonium-sulphate and ammonium-phosohate soil fertilizers manufactured by the Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company of Canada, Limited. The fertilizer plant, built in 1930 at Warfield, near Trail, provides a means of utilizing the large amount of sulphuric acid produced from the sulphur dioxide which is removed from the smelter smoke. The plant has an avail-able source of cheap power which makes the production of fertilizer economically possible. The fundamental operations involved in the production of ammonia at the Warfield plant are, first, the manufacture of hydrogen by the electrolytic dissociation of water; next, the recovery of nitrogen by the fractional distillation of liquid air; and finally, the combination of hydrogen and nitrogen in proper proportions and under suitable conditions to form ammonia.

Jan 1, 1938

By Iain G. Bruce

The need to improve supply reliability while improving our environmental record during the past half decade of low metal prices has required the mining industry to prioritise expenditures. Quantitative Risk Assessments using third party reviewers and specialist risk management teams have assisted in identifying hazards that can both disrupt supply and impact the receiving environment. Graphical displays using risk ellipses can simplify the presentation of the results in a Probability-Consequence (PC) graph. Development of risk acceptability envelopes using readily available financial data superimposed onto the same PC space assists management to prioritise their risks and focus on risk reduction measures. Development of this system and examples of the successful implementation of the system from several recent projects are described.

May 1, 2003

By J. W. Meier, J. O. Edwards, R. C. Bell

"IntroductionTHE DIE CASTING industry .as we know it today is the direct result of the invention and development of die casting machines during the nineteenth century and of reliable alloys in the twentieth. The early machines were designed to cast low melting point metals such as lead .and tin, and their alloys.It was inevitable that, as these die castings were put into service, the demand should arise for stronger materials. Zinc alloys, often containing lead, tin, copper, and aluminum as major constituents, were relatively easy to cast and stronger than the lead and tin alloys. However, it became apparent after a number of years that these zinc alloys tended to become brittle, distort, and corrode, particularly if kept in warm, humid atmospheres. Thus, considerable quantities of zinc-base .alloys were in use before the trouble was realized and effective measures could .be taken to determine the cause of the instability.The deleterious effect of certain metallic impurities on the properties of zinc •die casting .alloys has now been known for about thirty years. Brauer .and Peirce, and, later, other research workers of the New Jersey Zinc Company such as Anderson and Werley, discovered the pronouned effect of lead, cadmium, and tin on the stability of zinc-alloys."

Jan 1, 1952

By Knud Sinding

Many industries have established their own systems for self-regulation. They often do so when companies operate in countries where financial, technical, environmental and social regulation is weak and when the industry is challenged by legitimacy issues related to behaviour in one of these areas. Mining is one industry that has progressed unevenly down the road of self-regulation in these areas. This paper examines how the development of self-regulation for mines and mining companies involves difficult questions of scope, rules, membership, assessment criteria and performance evaluation. Using a range of theoretical and empirical results from research on self-regulation, performance rating and corporate strategy, this paper analyses the strategic and operational issues related to the idea of self-regulation in the mining industry. The analysis indicates that while self-regulation may bring benefits to members, they are likely to take a long time coming; but when they do arrive they may be substantial. Using the fact that in relation to technical and financial issues the industry is quite experienced in self-regulation ? not least as it is more reluctant in areas such as environmental and social performance ? the case is made for a comprehensive and innovative approach, that draws on the areas where the industry is experienced and develops new institutional solutions in the areas where the industry is more reluctant.

Aug 1, 2013

By T. Rahimzadeh, C. W. Trueman, S. Farzaneh, S. V. Hoa, I. Abdalla

This paper presents the shielding effectiveness (SE) of woven continuous carbon/epoxy composite materials. The theoretical and physical concepts behind the experimental results are demonstrated in details. The influence of frequency, the overlapping angle between overlapped layers and the number of overlapped layers upon the EMI shielding of composite sheets are discussed. In this work, in particular, the epoxy layers are considered as dielectric apertures of the conducting carbon fiber slab for the interpretation of the experimental results. The experimental results, using ASTM standard D4935-89, indicate that the SE can reach values greater than 90 dB above 500 MHz.

Jan 1, 2006

By C. R. Whittemore

PROGRESSIVE industrial organizations have recognized the importance of maintaining an adequate reference library of volumes covering all phases of their particular branch of industry, but it has been the experience of the writer that few engineers know how to use to the best advantage this store of extremely -valuable information which has been accumulated for their service. Nor does the average engineer appreciate the fact that it is only through the current technical literature that he can keep abreast of the rapidly developing fields of engineering. The present-day ramifications of the engineering field are of such wide scope that the human mind is not capable of storing away more than a small fraction of the information available on any particular topie; yet, from time ? to time, such information would prove invaluable. An engineer can know intimately only a small part of his own branch of engineering; but he cannot afford to neglect to take the fullest possible advantage of all that is already known in his own particular field. Technical information may be obtained by one or more of the following methods: (1) by enquiring of the individual who knows; (2) by performing the experimental investigations necessary to ascertain the facts; (3) by consulting the technical literature, where a record may be found of the work of others. This last method is the one we wish to examine. Our main consideration is the question of how to use the library, but first it is necessary to give some attention to the kind of enquiries one takes to the library, and to the nature of the sources of information available.

Jan 1, 1938

By W. D. Haley

The report of the Forestry Committee, presented to the recent Imperial Conference at London, is discouraging in its view of the future of timber resources and supplies. From a review of the forestry situation throughout the world, there is every likelihood that, thirty years from this, a shortage of the soft-woods will be severely felt. In the United States, only about one-third of the present forest area contains virgin timber. This will be cleared at the rate of five and a half million acres a year, so that in twenty-five years it will be about all gone. Canada has only about 27 per cent of her original forests left, and her virgin soft-wood will last but another half century. At the present time, the value of her lumber products is over $300,000,000 annually. During the summers of 1909 and 1910, the Government of Nova Scotia caused an examination to be made of the forest conditions in this Province. The reconnaissance, which was under the direction of Professor B. E. Fernow, of Toronto, involved an examination of the various soils, the rate of growth of the wood, and a general survey of the forest area. The importance to the Province of conserving its forest resources was clearly shown, and a number of recommendations were made, which; however, were never acted upon.

Jan 1, 1927

By S. Leong

This paper reports on research examining disclosures from mining companies regarding their water usage in the Macquarie and Lachlan catchment areas, both parts of the Murray-Darling Basin in New South Wales, Australia. The objective of the research was to assess whether this disclosure is sufficient to allow communities to determine whether mining companies are complying with mining conditions of consent and abiding by the requirements of their water licencing agreements. These requirements are then compared to the water reporting requirements of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and the Water Accounting Framework for the Minerals Industry (WAFMI). Communities are concerned about whether the mining industry?s use of water will have impacts on their livelihoods and lifestyle and thus require information concerning the quantity of water that will be extracted, how much water will be left for other stakeholders and whether the mining will affect water quality. This is an archival study. It has involved examining relevant publically available information released by mining companies and government regulators and determining if this is sufficient to meet the needs of the local communities. Additionally, it has involved looking at information indirectly provided by mining companies, via the use of intermediaries. Further, information availability concerning basic water accounting and regulatory breeches and whether such information is available at the mine site level has been considered. It is found that while NSW legislation places very little reporting requirements on mining companies, the development consent conditions for new projects and extensions to existing projects are quite significant and should be sufficient to meet the needs of local catchment residents though such information is not always easily accessible for the layperson.

Aug 1, 2013

"4.1. IntroductionThis chapter reviews the geochemistry of the platinum-group elements (POE) in sulphur-poor silicate rocks, and the limited data on POE in silicate, oxide, sulphide, arsenide and sulpharsenide minerals. The earliest geochemical studies of POE in silicate rocks, minerals and meteorites were carried out mainly by Goldschmidt, the Noddacks and their co-workers, and are reviewed in Crocket (1969). These researchers established the siderophile character of the POE, emphasized the common association of the group with sulphides in ultramafic-mafic rocks and suggested that very low concentrations of POE are typical of sulphur-poor silicate rocks and minerals. Much of these data were for Pt and Pd only and are more than 50 years old. Because of the poor sensitivity typical of the available analytical methods, few reliable data were obtained on silicate rocks in these early studies. Surveys of POE geochemistry demonstrate that the data base for sulphur-poor silicate rocks is very restricted, although considerable highquality data for Pd and Ir have been accumulated (Wright and Fleischer 1965, Yushko-Zakharova eta/., 1967, Mertie 1969, Crocket 1969, 1979, Keays 1981).Two recent publications, Vol. 71, No. 7 (1976), of Economic Geology (An Issue Devoted to Platinum-Group Elements) and Vol. 17, Part 2 (1979), of The Canadian Mineralogist (Nickel-Sulphide and Platinum-Group-Element Deposits), are of special interest. These volumes are clear testimony to the impressive progress made in the last decade toward describing the mineralogical and geochemical aspects of POE ore deposits, but at the same time demonstrate the constraints in modelling POE ore genesis due to our meager knowledge of the. POE content and distribution among minerals in the source rocks of ultramafic and mafic magmas. It is clear that the phases hosting POE in mantle source rocks are poorly understood. Nevertheless, Naldrett and Duke (1980) have shown that the absolute and relative concentrations of POE in magmatic sulphide ores are related to the degree of partial melting of mantle peridotites, and subsequent processes of batch equilibration and fractional segregation of sulphides."

Jan 1, 1979

By Karl J. C. Harries

"11.1. INTRODUCTIONA royalty is the most common form of interest retained by an owner who is disposing of his property or by a joint venturer who ceases, voluntarily or otherwise, to participate in the joint venture.1 Rarely does a non-participating party have a direct interest in the property and/or assets of a project, except during the period when a non-participating joint venturer may be having his interest diluted.2 In fact, it is most unwise to permit a non-participating party to have such an interest. It may give rise to significant problems that could prevent or substantially delay the development of an orebody and require a considerable amount of time, effort, and money to correct.3In negotiating a royalty, it is important to be aware that there is no law or convention that says, “You just don’t do that in a royalty agreement.” As with any agreement, inventiveness and flexibility on the part of the negotiator are not just assets, but virtual necessities. It is also for this reason that it is essential to read the royalty provisions, particularly the definitions, fully and carefully, especially if you are the recipient. On the other hand, if your inventiveness and flexibility cause your accountant to question the advisability of one of your ideas, pay close attention to him.4 He will, no doubt, have had experience with many royalties, and no competent professional adviser disparages a client’s ideas without good reason. Besides, he will probably be the person who will be determining the royalty or certifying the determination of it. At the very least, he will be auditing your general financial statements, which must, of course, reflect the royalty determination. Heeding his advice not only may make the determination easier but also will probably save you money in professional fees later on. Nevertheless, do not simply accept his comments or recommendations without understanding what they mean, why they have been made with respect to your royalty agreement (sometimes professionals have comments that they make as a matter of course and, even though they may be valid, you should require them to be justified to you), and how they will affect your royalty determination.It is surprising how many corporate payors insist that their standard royalty provisions5 be used as a matter of policy, thereby effectively tying the negotiator’s hands. It is even more surprising, and to professional advisers frightening, how many of the senior employees who insist that such a policy be adhered to, virtually without variation, do not know what is in the standard provisions and would be hard-pressed to explain them to a property owner. If standard provisions are appropriate, by all means use them, but do allow experienced and sensible negotiators some flexibility and make sure that everyone within the corporation who may have to use such provisions – negotiator and supervisor alike – knows what they contain and why they are as they are. For example, there are often good and convincing reasons to describe a deduction in a certain way or to include a certain specific type of deduction. On the other hand, quite often the answer to the question “why?” is that “it has always been there”; this is, or should be, an unacceptable answer. In any event, if you, as the negotiator, appear to know what you are talking about, are familiar and comfortable with your royalty provisions, and are backed up by your boss with the same words or reasoning, a property owner cannot help but be satisfied that you are knowledgeable, even if he still does not agree with your provisions. Finally, if you do use standard provisions, make sure that they are reviewed and updated regularly."

Jan 1, 2003

By David Berberick

"Hecla Limited’s No. 4 Shaft at the Lucky Friday Mine is the largest capital expenditure in the corporation’s 128-year history and is considered the deepest shaft in the United States. This paper will discuss the project’s history and lessons learned from the initial conceptual design work in 2007 through project commissioning in 2017. Change management was key for the owner, contractors, and vendors in delivering the operational and organizational success on the project. The No. 4 Shaft has extended the life of the Lucky Friday Mine by 21 years to 2039. INTRODUCTION The Lucky Friday Mine of Hecla Mining Company (Figure 1) is the oldest active (77 years) and deepest mine in the Coeur d’Alene mining district, producing approximately 725 tonnes (800 tons) per day from narrow, vertical, silver, lead, and zinc veins. Primary access into the mine is via the Silver Shaft, a 5.5-m (18-ft) diameter, concrete lined shaft sunk to an original depth of 1,890-m (6,200-ft). Current production is from the Gold Hunter vein system, approximately 1,525-m (5,000-ft) northwest of the Silver Shaft.Cut and fill stoping is currently employed at depths to 2.3 km (7,500 ft) below ground surface, making it one of the deepest mines in the western hemisphere. No. 4 Shaft is a 5.5-metre (18-foot) diameter, concrete lined circular shaft, constructed as a 1.2 km (3,860 feet) deep winze in the Lucky Friday Mine. The 2.4 m (8 ft.) diameter, double drum, double clutch, Siemag hoist and associated headworks are situated at the 4760 level, top station at 4940 and shaft stations at 5900, 6500, 6580, 7500, 7580, 8300, 8380, 8500, and 8620. Shaft stations reference depth below Silver Shaft top station. The 4 Shaft was designed, constructed and commissioned over ten years, between 2007 and 2017. Basic design work was completed by Nordmin Engineering, followed by detailed design completed by Cementation Canada. Shaft construction was awarded to Cementation USA and lateral development was initiated in early 2008. Over the course of the next nine years, the project was suspended and restarted twice, dealt with the loss of a miner, added scope including shaft depth and mine infrastructure facilities, experienced squeezing ground that required liner replacement, changed excavation section, and dealt with a final alignment that was not within design requirement for verticality. Hecla and Cementation were successful in delivering a facility that provides fully functional access from collar at 4940 level to shaft bottom at the 8620 level. Two active mining levels below the collar, 5900 and 6500 are accessed. In addition, the shaft provides access to the future mining level at 7500, skip loading facility at 7580 level, station and loading pocket cutouts at 8300 and 8380 levels, spill pocket at 8500 level, and shaft bottom pumping facility at 8620 level (Figure 2)."

Jan 1, 2019

By Arthur R. Rattew

In conjunction with the research study of the Coronation Mine recommended by the National Advisory Committee on Research in the Geo-logical Sciences and coordinated by the Geological Survey of Canada, Canadian Aero Service Limited per-formed a detailed, low-altitude air-borne survey over a block of ground encompassing the .Coronation Mine. The in-phase/out-of-phase air-borne electromagnetic data are com-pared with "horizontal-loop" ground data with reference to: size and nature of conductors detected; criteria in selection of targets for drilling. In-formation provided by Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting Company on their drilling of the numerous conductors in the area is employed in this comparison. The merits of combining a sensitive airborne magnetometer with an air-borne electromagnetic unit are discussed. The magnetic data are considered very important in assessing conductors as prospects for commercial sulphida deposits in this area of numerous electromagnetic anomalies. The "Coronation" survey illustrates

Jan 1, 1962

By Raju S. Sagi

This paper deals primarily with the different types of drilling methods used by the Iron. Ore Company of Canada for sampling the soft and friable hematite-limonite (secondary) iron ore deposits found in the Scheferville area. The problems associated with drilling, sampling, sample handling and sample preparation. for chemical analysis of these ores are discussed. Systematic evaluation of the various drilling methods led to the selection of an integrated drilling system. This system consists of a rotary dual- tube - reverse-circulation drill, with tricone bit, polymer mud and mechanical sample splitter, The historic al development of this drilling system is described in detail, as are the equipment , sample flow and quality control checks carried out to obtain representative samples. This integrated drilling and sampling system has been used satisfactorily on a routine basis for determining the grade and tonnage of ore for the various deposits for the last five years (1972-76) in the Schefferville area.

Jan 1, 1977

By A. C. Elliott, A. J. Lafreniere

THE Hamilton Works of The Steel Company of Canada is a fully integrated steel plant with an annual capacity of three million tons. Located on the south shore of -Hamilton bay, it is in the centre of Hamilton's industrial belt. The heavy concentration of industrial activities found in this area, accompanied metallurgical well-known sources of pollution which are normal to urban areas is creating a pollution problem which concerns both industry and the general public. The Steel Company of Canada has recognized this problem and, accordingly, has adopted the policy of integrating suitable pollution control devices into its new installations. Much effort is also being expended to control the emissions of air contaminants from the existing equipment. At the Hamilton Works, there are two main sources of metallurgical dust emissions to the atmosphere -the Open Hearth furnaces and the Sinter Plant. Of these two, the Open Hearth furnaces are, undoubtedly, the largest single source of

Jan 1, 1962

By P. J. Bourassa

Incorporated in 1957 under the laws of the Province of Quebec, Quebec Cartier Mining Co. undertook the development of its low-grade iron ore reserves located at Lac Jeannine in the southwest extremity of the Quebec-Labrador trough. This challenge comprised the construction of a 200-mile access road, two towns, a 191-mile-long railroad from Port Cartier to Lac Jeannine, a hydro-electric generating plant on the Hart Jaune River, and mining, crushing, concentrating and ancillary facilities to support a yearly production of 8.0 million tons of iron ore concentrates at 66% Fe. In order to meet increasing market demands for iron ore concentrates concurrently with the depletion of its Lac Jeannine reserves , Quebec Cartier announced, late in 1969, the first step toward bringing into production a new iron ore deposit, known as Mount Wright, located 70 air miles northeast of Lac Jeannine and 25 miles southwest of Labrador City, Newfoundland. In September 1970, the company announced its decision to develop and bring into production its Mount Wright reserves at an annual rate of 1 8.4 million dry long tons. The scope of this project included the construction of an access road linking the mine, the new town and Labrador City, Newfoundland, the extension of the railroad by some 86 miles, the construction of an ore concentrating plant with all the ancillary facilities, the development: of the mine, the construction of a pourer transmission line and a new town adjacent to Lake Daviault. The Mount Wright story is divided into five individual papers covering: (a) the history and development of the project; (b) the mine; (c) plant control by a process computer; (d) crushing, grinding and concentrating; and (e) the townsite of Fermont.

Jan 1, 1977

By T. Holmes, S. Davison

"The Special Standard Surge bin at Agrium’s Vanscoy Potash Operations (VPO) has been plagued with flow problems and wear, and corrosion issues for it’s entire working life. Investigation showed that the carbon steel construction, bin geometry, and resultant funnel-flow pattern were directly responsible for production losses and disproportionate maintenance and capital costs. Potash enters this bin at between 140°C and 165°C, but the stagnant potash outside the active flow channel was much cooler, allowing moisture to migrate toward the outer regions, which caused corrosion of the walls and reduced live capacity as the potash in this area hardened and built up on the walls over time.A 2013 inspection revealed holes and paper-thin areas in the lower cylinder wall sections and in the conical hopper. The only thing preventing major leaks and even a potentially catastrophic failure was the buildup of stagnant hardened product on the cone walls. It was concluded that the cone had reached the end of its life and required replacement. VPO’s original plan was to replace the cone in kind and repair the cylinder as necessary; however, a failure-mode and bin-performance investigation combined with a lifecycle- cost analysis indicated it would be better to redesign the hopper.For success in retrofit projects, it is essential at the design stage to consider the bulk solid flow properties and the operating environment involved. Because education in this area is not offered at a university level, engineers often do not fully appreciate the effects of the flow properties of bulk solids on bulk material handling equipment.Jenike & Johanson conducted flow properties tests on samples of potash and using the data, redesigned the bin and the feeder. After the modifications, VPO’s surge bin provides safer, more reliable operation with a much longer predicted working life. Using this retrofit as an example, we aim to provide a general understanding of bulk solids flow theory and highlight the importance of customizing the design to the appropriate flow properties in the cost effectiveness, reliability, and safety of a bulk material handling system."

Jan 1, 2016

By Lyle F. Smith

With the demand for larger diameter raises under all ground conditions and the increasing price of drill rods and operating costs, it was evident that there was a need for a raise borer with a variable-speed drive and fast-response torque limiting control. The raise boring machine described in this paper was developed after several years of market research and discussions with mine operators and construction contractors. This paper discusses the Ingersoll-Rand raise borers with the solid-state controlled DC motor drives. These machines have gained wide acceptance in the five-year period since being placed in operation and are designed to accommodate the range of raise diameters and lengths most required today.

Jan 1, 1978

By W. N. Wallinger

The mine and concentrator of Cyprus Anvil Mining Corporation are situated in south-central Yukon, some 120 miles north of Whitehorse. The large lead-zinc concentrator employs conventional crushing and grinding , followed by differential flotation, to produce selective lead and zinc concentrates, as well as a mixed lead-zinc (bulk) concentrate. Since the commencement of operations in 1969, the concentrator has undergone expansions and modifications which have increased the capacity to 10,000 tons per day, and afforded some metallurgical improvements.

Jan 1, 1978