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By A. Pranowo, G. R. F. Alvear F., N. Aslin, M. S. Moats

"The toxicity of arsenic is well known and documented; however, the presence of arsenic in copper electrorefining anodes and electrolytes is critically necessary to produce high-quality cathode. Arsenic as well as antimony and bismuth concentrations vary relative to their concentration in the anode copper received from the smelter. The behaviour and benefits of arsenic in copper electrorefining and the detrimental effects of antimony and bismuth on cathode quality and tankhouse performance are discussed. This will include the minimization and mitigation of problems associated with arsenic, antimony, and bismuth—including cathode contamination, floating slimes, scaling, and anode passivation.RÉSUMÉ La toxicité de l’arsenic est bien connue et documentée; toutefois, la présence d’arsenic dans les anodes de l’électroaffinage du cuivre et dans les électrolytes est d’une nécessité critique pour produire une cathode de grande qualité. Les concentrations en arsenic, ainsi qu’en antimoine et en bismuth varient selon leur concentration dans l’anode de cuivre reçue de la fonderie. Le comportement et les avantages de l’arsenic dans l’électroaffinage du cuivre et les effets indésirables de l’antimoine et du bismuth sur la qualité de la cathode et le rendement des cuves d’électrolyse sont discutés. On traite aussi de la minimisation et de l’atténuation des problèmes associés à l’arsenic, l’antimoine et le bismuth – incluant la contamination de la cathode, les schlamms flottants, l’entartage et la passivation de l’anode."

Jan 1, 2016

By D. Moffat

Rio Algom Limited has mined uranium at Elliot Lake, Ontario for 20 years. The production of this energy-generating element results in the need to dispose of low-level radioactive solid wastes and liquid effluents. Because of the wet-temperate climate at Elliot Lake, the liquid effluents are of particular importance. Radium-226 is the isotope which requires most attention, and the current practice for its control is by addition of barium chloride and retention of the resultant precipitates in large settling ponds. Analyses of typical effluents and waste streams are discussed and typical levels of radium-226, thorium-230, thorium-232, thorium-228, lead-2iO, polonium-2iO, and uranium isotopes are presented.

Jan 1, 1979

By J. Lee

As the usage of BIM increased in the construction industry, some construction owners started exploring the use of BIM for maintaining their facilities. Construction Operations Building Information Exchange (COBIE), a spreadsheet data format suggested in 2007 to manipulate building information, is considered as one of the solutions that would facilitate the process of transferring information from BIM to applications for facilities management. Several BIM and Computer Aided Facilities Management (CAFM) applications offer functions to export or import the COBIE data. To facilitate the process of generating the COBIE data out of Building Information Model, some add-in applications, such as COBIE Toolkit for Revit, also were developed. However, most of these applications handle a limited amount of COBIE data. Professionals using these add-in applications therefore sometimes end up spending a significant amount of time to add additional data manually to the COBIE data file. To automatically get a data-rich COBIE file, we developed a prototype application that extracts information from Revit, which is one of the BIM authoring tools, stores them in an external database, and then produces the COBIE file using information stored in the database. We applied our application to a pilot project and produced 8 COBIE worksheets automatically, which demonstrated a significant amount of time saving. This paper presents how our prototype application produces 8 COBIE data sets automatically. It also addresses our attempt to handle more COBIE data sets.

Aug 1, 2013

By B. Currie

Maintenance of quality electrowon copper requires an electrolyte which has suitable chemical and physical characteristics. The proper design and operation of the solvent extraction plant is essential to the quality of the electrolyte sent to electrowinning. An aspect that is not well appreciated is that the return electrolyte can have negative effects on the operation of the solvent extraction plant. Poor SX plant operation creates below optimum electrolyte conditions. High Eh in the return spent electrolyte can degrade the SX reagent with large decreases in copper transfer capacity and increases in internal entrainment. The synergistic interaction of the SX and EW plants needs a single-source design approach to address the interactions. The design elements in the SX and EW plants required to manage the electrolyte conditions are discussed.

Jan 1, 2014

By R. S. Jr. Stronach

"IntroductionThe property of Campbell Red Lake Mines, Limited, is in Balmer township, Red Lake area, Patricia portion of Kenora district, Ontario. It consists of a group of twelve claims which had been staked and re-staked a number of times before George W. and Colin A. Campbell staked them in 1944. Messrs. Brewis and White incorporated Campbell Red Lake Mines, Limited, in July, 1944, to acquire these claims from the Campbell brothers, and in November of the same year re-assigned their option on the controlling interest of the treasury shares to the Dome Exploration Company (Quebec), Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Dome Mines, Limited.A long known exposure of sulphides on the northeasterly portion of the property, which returned low gold assays, on sampling, was the only showing of interest at this time. However, Dr. H. C. Horwood's report and map of the district had recently been published and favourable structure W3.S indicated in Balmer township. It was on the strength of this showing and Dr. Horwood's report that Dome Exploration became interested in the property.Between. January, 1945, and April, 1946, a diamond drilling programme was carried out, with completion of sixty-one holes. Five holes proved the surface showing to hold no commercial interest, so routine cross-sectioning of the property from north to south was started. The fourth hole of the series returned excellent ore intersections and from that time on the programme changed to one of extending these values. The final results of the drilling showed that what is now known as the A zone has a continuous length of some 1,200 feet, a width of 4½ feet, and an overall grade of about 0.5 oz. gold per ton. There were many other intersections of ore grade outside this A zone which could not be successfully correlated .at that time, but underground work has opened many of them. It may be said here that practically all the work to date has been confined to the southeast claims of the property."

Jan 1, 1950

By F. H. Wheeler

CONSIDERING the nature of this audience, I perhaps, in addressing you on the subject of air transportation as related to the mining industry, should speak with tongue in check or at least with some reservation. I know full well that many of you, veterans in the great mineral development in Canada, are perhaps more conversant with the overall aviation picture than I, for aviation to you has been the means to an end, and in many instances has been part and ?parcel in the success of your particular projects, in the form of the initial means of transport. I feel, however, that we in this room today have somewhat parallel geographic interests - yours in relation to what is in the ground, mine in the air - and also in the forests and in the streams - aviation, hunting, and fishing - things which have occupied my attention practically all my adult years. In the light of what has gone. before, and in view of present developments, I think you will agree with me when I say that I do not think there could be a more intriguing pursuit than playing a hand in rolling back Canada's tremendous northern frontiers, even if, at this stage, we have made but slight impression on the untold opportunities which lie in our wide-spread, undeveloped areas.

Jan 1, 1956

By D. Raicevic

After more than 93% of the uranium is extracted from Elliot Lake uranium ores by a sulphuric acid leaching process, the leach residue (tailings) contains small amounts of uranium and radioactive isotopes, particularly radium-226, which is the most serious health hazard. Heavy metal components and pyrite are also present, along with the gangue minerals. Currently, over /000 acres of the Elliot Lake area are covered with these tailings, which contain over five million tons of pyrite. Because of constant oxidation of the pyrite by bacteria (thiobacillus) and the presence of moisture, pyrite slowly generates sulphuric acid, which steadily leaches the metal-bearing constituents from the tailings. The seepage-flows of the dissolved contaminants, although often quite low in volume, have an environmental impact on the Elliot Lake area. Although these seepages are treated and most of the contaminants removed and impounded, a small amount of the radioactive contaminants reaches Lake Huron via the Serpent River. This paper describes a flotation approach for treatment of the Elliot Lake uranium tailings to produce new, decontaminated tailings practically free of pyrite, with radium, thorium and uranium contents considerably reduced. The decontaminated tailing produced, which comprises about 75% by weight of the current uranium tailings, appears to be suitable for mine backfill. Because mine backfilling normally uses about 50% of the plant tailings, the surface storage of about half of the uranium tailings, therefore, would be eliminated by this process. Mine backfilling would also increase the mine production and thus enlarge the over-all uranium resources due to recovery of the ore from pillars. The pyrite concentrate produced from the current uranium tailings would be suitable for sulphuric acid production. The possibility of uranium recovery, and disposal of radium and thorium from the concentrates produced, is now being studied at CANMET.

Jan 1, 1979

Agenda ?Introduction ?Geology ?Mining ?Metallurgy ?Process, Layout ?Environmental Background ?Kinross Gold Corporation owns the Lobo-Marte gold property, located in Region III of northern Chile. ?The property is close to two other Kinross mines, Maricunga 50kmto the south and La Coipa 60km to the north, plus a regional office in Copiapo and district level operating synergies are expected. ?Lobo and Marte were discovered in the early 1980s and are intrusion-hosted, porphyry-type precious metal deposits, typical of the Maricunga District. ?The Marte open pit heap leach mine was in commercial production in late 1988, but was suspended in February 1992 as it did not meet forecasted production levels and recoveries. ?Kinross plans to recover ore from the Lobo and Marte deposits through an open-pit, heap leach47,000tonne per day operation.

May 1, 2010

By L. A. Forsyth

"SINCE I received and accepted your invitation to present to this meeting a paper on A Canadian Integrated Coal and Steel Industry, I have given the subject a great deal of intensive study.Two conclusions have emerged from my considerations: first, that the subject should be dealt with by a person having a firm grasp of its technical aspects; and second, that it is a subject which requires expert analysis of the complicated problems it presents in pure economics.A third conclusion inevitably results from the two just mentioned -namely, that the mantle of the prophet which has been draped up-on my shoulders is too large for me to wear, because I am neither a practical nor a theoretical coal and steel man; and I am not an economist.With the warning that I have discovered, and am keenly conscious of, the inadequacy of my background for the task, I shall attempt to place before you those aspects of my subject which appear to high-light it from a layman's point of view.In the first place, in .order to avoid confusion as between my audience and myself, some definition of terms may be required.As I interpret it I am discussing -a coal and steel industry, using the last word in the generic and not the unit sense, self-sufficient in the provision of all its needs from within the geographical limits of Canada.Now, I start with the proposition that, in the very broadest aspects of such a concept, the Corporation of which I happen to be the executive head meets my definition as a combination of operations resulting in one fully integrated unit of a coal and steel industry."

Jan 1, 1952

By F. Parada Luna, F. Parada Torres, J. Salvo, A. Reghezza

In the pyrometallurgical processes of copper concentrates, arsenic is preferentially concentrated in the dusts carried by the gases as a result of their volatility and subsequent condensation in the gas cleaning train. In this work results obtained by alkaline leaching of the dusts from Ministro Hales roasting plant, belonging to Codelco, are presented. For the Ministro Hales plant the alkaline leaching would be an alternative to the recirculation of dusts to the roasting furnace. The experimental study considered NaOH and NaOH plus NaHS leaching of two samples of dusts, with 4.24 and 2.55% arsenic respectively. The results show that it is feasible to extract 90% of the arsenic and 50% of the antimony at room temperature using only NaOH, and when the temperature increases to 95ºC, the extractions of As and Sb increase. Copper remains in the solid residue with less than 1% dissolution, and the NaOH net consumption was approximately 140 kg/t of dust. In leaching tests with NaOH + NaHS, two types of methods were tested, baking plus leaching with water and direct leaching with a NaOH+NaHS solution. With the second method arsenic extraction increased to 95% and copper dissolution was less than 0.01% at 85ºC, NaOH 100 g/L, NaHS 90 g/L, 1.5 h and L/S ratio of 5/1 (L/kg). The bismuth remains stable in the solid in all cases. INTRODUCTION The presence of arsenic in copper concentrates has increased with time and the environmental regulations are becoming increasingly more stringent. In concentrate treatment pyrometallurgical plants, most of the arsenic is volatilized condensing in the gas train and is collected along with the entrained solids to form the flue dusts. Under these conditions, in smelters of copper concentrates with high arsenic content, the dusts are being treated in hydrometallurgical plants to extract and stabilize the arsenic, which also means that most of the copper contained in the dust is co-extracted with the arsenic. This affects the recovery of copper in the smelter and an alternative such as the selective alkaline leaching of arsenic, would allow the copper from flue dust to be recovered.

Jan 1, 2019

By W. J. Kuit

Since closure in 1968, the Wedge Mine, situated adjacent to the Nepisiguit River in New Brunswick, has been flooding with acidic water containing toxic levels of heavy metals. Cominco Ltd. has undertaken a series of pollution control measures to mitigate the threat posed to the river quality. Included has been a successful treatment campaign in 1976 which discharged in excess of 30 million gallons of high-quality effluent from the accumulated volume of mine water. The sources of contamination have been identified as actively leaching waste dumps. A comprehensive program of permanent corrective measures has been prepared which will culminate in mine backfilling. Once completed, the unacceptable burden of water treatment in perpetuity at a non-producing property will be removed.

Jan 1, 1977

By E. M. De Souza

"The mining industry has developed a strong need for monitoring underground openings since bulk mining, used for increased productivity, has become the dominant mining method industry wide. The large stopes associated with bulk mining methods generally have to remain open and stable for several months, and monitoring is essential to provide an indication of ground response to mining and stope stability. The instrumentation data is also important during design optimization, which is used to maximize recovery, to minimize the dilution of ore and to minimize costs. Monitoring is essential to implement safety and is also critical in stope and mining sequence designs. The safety related aspects of monitoring include the protection of underground workers and the prevention of accidents by providing early warnings of the onset of any ground instability. The design related aspects of monitoring involve the development of data bases used for stope dimensioning and mine sequencing and timing and the monitoring of ground behaviour as a result of mining to verify the validity of the design thus allowing for remedial action during operation.Manual instrumentation data collection is, in a number of cases, economically unfeasible and, in many situations, dangerous as instrumented areas become inaccessible or extremely unstable. Also, because more and more complex instrumentation is being installed in underground operations, in several cases it becomes practically impossible to collect readings manually. The design and development of low-cost acquisition systems for mine wide monitoring would thus constitute an important step toward automation in excavation instrumentation. A unique menu-driven automatic 32-channel analog data acquisition and analysis system with a built-in rock failure warning mechanism has been designed and developed. This low cost acquisition system is capable of receiving, processing, displaying and storing the transmitted instrument data remotely and automatically. Computer software has been designed to provide data reduction and analysis immediately in the field and to automatically display results in graphical form for quick interpretation. Automatic data interpretation is used to show trends in rock mass behaviour and the system can be used to provide early warning of rock failure to the mine personnel working in there so that immediate remedial action can be safely taken."

Jan 1, 1992

By L. Hacini, N. Van L ê, P. Bacher, D. Thibault

Manufacturer welded components may suffer from high level of residual stresses which can cause premature cracking and decrease the life of the components if they reach values close to the yield strength of the material. In the present work, a robotized hammer peening technique is simulated by an impact machine and the residual stresses generated by the indentation are measured. To better understand phenomena behind residual stresses relaxation by hammer peening, the impact energy level was changed. 304L steel plates were hammer peened with 10 impacts. The contact between the hammer and sample surface was always at the same location. The strains on the surface close to the impact location were recorded during the test using strain gauges to follow residual stresses variations. At the end of the test residual stresses were measured indepth using hole drilling technique at 8mm from the impact center. The micro-hardness was monitored to evaluate the affected zone by the hammer peening. This approach gave a good estimation of the energy and number of blows to be used for efficient relaxation of the manufactured parts.

Jan 1, 2006

By G. Forté, R. Girard

The Alcan Bayer Process Experimental Centre (BEC) is an essential development tool for the Bauxite & Alumina researchers at the Alcan Arvida Research and Development Centre in Jonquiere, Quebec. Between the laboratory tests and the industrial prototypes or the industrial applications, the BEC is a key element for technology transfers. The Bayer process is the extraction of aluminium oxide (or alumina) from the bauxite ore. The Bayer Experimental Centre's history and flowsheet are presented. The major pieces of equipment are described. Safety and design considerations are presented. Finally, examples of applications, double digestion and pressure decantation, are briefly described.

Jan 1, 2004

By F. Doxey

Introduction Numerous papers have been written dealing with the construction and functions of, and the environmental conditions created by, Diesel locomotives. Therefore, it is not my intention to attempt to deal with these phases of Diesel transportation other than to make reference to them in ?relation to and in connection with actual operation. The rapid expansion of industry during recent years and the necessity of products being made available at competitive prices in home and world markets has made the demand for cheaper coal a very serious factor for the coal industry. This condition has meant each coal producing country looking into ways and means whereby greater productivity and reduction in cost could he achieved. Surveys made show that, in addition to face mechanization, savings, in some cases substantial, can be made in transportation. Ventilation The most efficient mines are in-variably the well ventilated ones, for it is true that, where there is good ventilation, there are usually good roads. These combined factors are very essential where Diesel locomotives are used. Good roadways and track allow speed, and good ventilation dilutes rapidly any disagreeable exhaust gases. Locomotive Development In the older types of auxiliary rope haulage, coal hauled per haul-age hand is usually very low.

Jan 1, 1951

By K. J. R. Ford, Botz. M. M.

Porphyry copper ores are frequently a source of low-grade gold ore, but gold in these ores is often associated with significant levels of cyanide-soluble copper. Cyanide leaching of such ores increases flowsheet complexity and operating costs, and requires thorough planning to satisfy environmental requirements for tailings disposal and mine closure. This paper presents a review of the chemistry of cyanide leaching of gold-copper porphyry ores, carbon adsorption phenomena and means of removing base metals from leach solution. The primary economic drivers behind the processing of such complex ores are also analyzed.

Jan 1, 2011

By R. H. Chambers, L. Alderman

"The paper is introduced by an examination of the factors which have led to the present world-wide interest in charging preheated coal to coke ovens. Various possible methods of preheating and charging the coal are considered and reasons are given for the adoption of the methods chosen. The design of the pilot preheating plant for the British Coke Research Association is discussed and its influence on the design of the commercial units for the South African Iron and Steel Corporation's plant at Pretoria and the British Steel Corporation's plant at Beighton are explained. Operating procedures on the pilot plant are described, particularly with regard to the charging of the preheated coal. Design features of the commercial installations, engineered by Simon-Carves Ltd., are explained with emphasis on the built-in safety of the control system of the preheating plant, and the particular problems associated with the erection of such plants on working coke oven batteries. Commissioning and operating procedures are described and the problems associated with the integration of the preheating plant into the normal pushing schedule of the plant are discussed. Preliminary operating results with regard to the effect of preheating on coal throughput on the commercial plants and on the properties of the coke produced are given."

Jan 1, 1972

By R. M. Lauer

OVER THE YEARS concentration of the Sullivan ore has become progressively more difficult as the ore has become increasingly refractory. The introduction of new reagents and changes in the flow of the concentrator have been and continue to be necessary in order to maintain and improve the efficiency of metal extraction. Prior to the completion of the pilot mill in 1957 ail new ideas were developed in laboratory equipment. If these were found to be promising, there was no alternative but to introduce them directly to the main mill flow in one step. When a major change was involved there was always the possibility of serious losses while the mill was being adjusted to the changed conditions. It proved difficult to determine whether these losses were the result of the changed procedure or of failure to adjust the flow to a change in the condition of the ore during the test. The pilot mill has provided a valuable intermediate step between the laboratory and the mill. It avoids the losses which occurred when unsuccessful full-scale tests were attempted, and conversely it provides assurance that full-scale flow changes can be made without serious hazard.

Jan 1, 1960

By K. B. Culver

"This paper provides background information on the expansion programs of Rio Algom Limited at Elliot Lake. Included are details on the Quirke expansion program, the Panel mine rehabilitation program, including the selection procedure for the tailings containment area, the Stanleigh mine rehabilitation program, housing, government regulations and the Environmental Assessment Board hearings. Introduction After 2Y2 years of public hearings, 4 years of arbritrating differences of opinion between our engineers and government licencing authorities, interspersed with research into radium removal and development of the LAMIX process and carrying out the work associated with some 24 control orders issued to us by the MOE, it is very difficult to compress all of the experiences and frustrations into a single paper. The highlights, as they relate to the expansion programs of Rio Algorn Limited and its affiliate, Preston Mines Limited, will be covered. Denison Mines Limited, of course, is the other uranium producer in Elliot Lake. They are currently in the process of expanding from 7,000 to 11,000 TPD by the second half of 1980 and then to 15,000 TPD by the mid 1980's. In giving this overview, the following seven items will be discussed: • The basis for Rio Algom's and Preston's expansion plans. • The Quirke Expansion. • The Panel Rehabilitation. • The Stanleigh Rehabilitation. • Housing Programs. • Government Licencing Requirements. • Environmental Assessment Board Hearings."

Jan 1, 1980

By Barry J. Morash

The over-all slope angle of between 55 and 60 degrees at the Adams Mine necessitates control blasting on the final pit walls. The control blasting techniques used are pre-shearing and buffer blasting. Pre-shearing with 2'I2-inch holes on 5-foot centers is used in areas where jointing and rock type are not conducive to smooth stable walls. Buffer blasting with 12'/4-inch holes is used in areas where the rock is competent. Control blasting adds to the operating costs, but can result in substantial savings in increased slope angle and reduced stripping.

Jan 1, 1978