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By W. J. Adams

It is recognized that within life cycle assessment that the eco-toxicity potentials (TPs) derived for metals require additional research to improve their reliability. Current models used to develop TPs do not include important fate process for metals such as speciation and bioavailability. Toxicity potentials are standard values used in LCA to enable a comparison of potential toxic impacts between substances. Huijbrechts (2001) calculated toxicity potentials for 181 substances utilizing the USES model for six impact categories, i.e. freshwater aquatic ecotoxicity, marine aquatic ecotoxicity, freshwater sediment ecotoxicity, marine sediment ecotoxicity, terrestrial ecotoxicity and human toxicity (not considered here). Marine ecotox potential for metals is typically high using this approach, whereas most open ocean metal concentrations are very low. A sensitivity analysis of the USES-LCA model was undertaken using copper as an example. Results indicate: fate processes on the global scale are driving the marine water and sediment TPs for copper most; the second most important fate parameter is sedimentation from the water and burial in deep sediment layers; inclusion of speciation and bio-availability processes would be very beneficial; more accurate estimates of input parameters should be used, and the PNECwater and PNECsediment and all partition coefficients for metals should be updated in the model.

Jan 1, 2007

By J. W. Craig

CHROME ore, which is used in Canada in the production of ferro-alloys, in a variety of refractories, and indirectly in many chemical industries, is both commercially important and scientifically interesting. The sight of chromium metal is familiar to all of us in the home, the office, the automobile. Chromium is synonymous with armaments: it is understood to be one of several essential metals in tanks, which played an important role in the defeat of France in the spring of 1940. Chromium, in other forms, comes into our daily lives by way of paint and leather, of the familiar green ginger-ale and beer bottles, and more indirectly in every pound of steel produced in the .Dominion. Necessary to our civilization in peace and war, the ores of chromium occur in many corners of the earth. This paper attempts to describe the chemical constitution of chrome ores, their world distribution, and the various chrome products and their industrial applications in Canada.

Jan 1, 1940

By W. A. Lang

Introduction Under our present civilization, industrial developments will be greatest in those areas in which energy .can be most economically produced and efficiently used, where labour is in adequate supply, and where markets for the products of industry are available. A knowledge of fuels- the present major sources of energy- and of their utilization is therefore of vital importance. With that in mind, the aim in this paper will be to outline the known reserves of fuels in Alberta, to give their characteristics, to indicate the markets served by each, and to offer some suggestions for the future development of the coal industry. The paper should be regarded as a compilation of published data rather than as an original treatise. Alberta is richly blessed by having large reserves of mineral fuels. The estimated reserves of coal are 46,562 million tons. Alberta is the oil and gas province of Canada. The world's largest deposit of bituminous sand occurs along the Athabaska river in Alberta. In addition, there are large areas of forested land in the northern and western sections of the Province, and the rivers serve for the development of hydro-power.

Jan 1, 1949

By R. White, C. Doyle, B. Martin, C. Díaz, J. Hrepic, G. Cuthbert

"A program initiated to improve the service life of the magnesite-chrome refractory in the top blown rotary converters at INCO’s Copper Cliff Nickel Refinery identified slag corrosion as a major wear mechanism. Target slag compositions were established to produce a non corrosive slag. A plant program to achieve this target slag by the addition of controlled amounts of do lime and MgO was instituted. Addition to rates of the slag modifiers was optimized based on the slag composition assays achieved and the requirement to address corrosion effects on the high alumina content ladle refractory. A60% gain in TBRC refractory performance was eventually achieved and has been maintained yielding a net annual savings of $700,000. A significant gain in available converter operating time has also been realized.IntroductionINCO’s Copper Cliff Nickel Refinery utilizes two top blown rotary converters (Fig. 1) to smelt a blend of semi-refined nickel concentrates, producing a granulated nickel matte suitable for the adjacent carbonyl based nickel refining operation. The converter, or TBRC, operation is a batch process composed of feed charging and melting, oxidation of the excess sulphur in the matte, and reduction of residual nickel oxide. The final matte, containing about 78% nickel, is tapped at 1600°C from the converter and is granulated in a sluice equipped with high pressure water jets."

Jan 1, 1997

By V. H. Valenzuela

Materials in process or in stocks are quite relevant items in almost every plant, particularly in mining operations, where efficiency in rate of recovering material of interest becomes a key issue when production costs are evaluated. A manager requires information to do an effective use of the resources, especially when raw materials are involved. Losses associated to leaking, efficiency in the transformation process, performance of equipment, and operating conditions are a short list of items which must be properly identified and evaluated. Operations supervisors require information in order to keep key process variables under control. Because of these information needs, it is absolutely necessary to carry on a series of activities related with installation and maintenance of measuring equipment, sampling equipment, sample preparation, chemical analysis, statistical analysis, data handling and reports generation. These pieces of data must be managed on a wise manner in order to get the most of it, keeping always on mind data reliability. Normally, information related with metallurgical balance and even more, the metallurgical balance concept, is handled under an accounting criteria which does not allow dealing with the real world. This situation happens because the criteria utilized do not consider aspects such as bias and uncertainty associated with every measurement that affect the quality of the information and therefore conclusions drawn from it. The purpose of this paper is to give a few rules, necessary to follow, in order to develop an adequate Metallurgical Balance System for an operational point of view. The Gaussian approach for error propagation is used as a basis, allowing one to know the actual uncertainty of the balance and the way how it can be improved. A few real applications of this concept are listed, detailing experiences obtained from practice.

Jan 1, 2007

By Stephen G. Mlot

The evaluation of mineral projects involves the identification, mitigation and management of significant uncertainty. Benchmarking is an essential and effective way of increasing confidence and reducing uncertainty associated with input parameters and assumptions. Comprehensive and detailed benchmarking will ensure ?best practice? technologies, methods and systems have been considered and that the appropriate practices can be identified and incorporated into the project. In conjunction with the involvement of experienced industry practitioners, benchmarking is best employed throughout project evaluation to enable early identification of ?errors?, producing more accurate and predictable outcomes. Considerable time and effort is required to gather data and information, which should be benchmarked by the project evaluation team. There is a history of mining projects underperforming, on production, on costs and on return to the investors. The quality of mine plans and feasibility studies, and the quality of the input data is being questioned in many ways. Benchmarking assists sound project evaluation practices, by providing a database of actual results, to validate project inputs and outcomes, ensuring they are realistic and achievable. Benchmarking also provides unbiased, statistical support as the basis for sound investment decision making and ensures well considered decisions are made resulting in a more efficient study process. The evaluation of the quality of projects which are the subject of transactions also benefits from the use of real data obtained from a benchmarking database. Vendors are quick to highlight the benefits of their projects, and conceal the flaws, inflating the value. Buyers will want to quantify the potential of a project through the due diligence process relying on actual results from benchmarking. For the reasons broadly outlined above, benchmarking should be considered as an essential component of effective Project Evaluation.

Aug 1, 2013

By Garnet T. Page

"ABSTRACTThese societies •can help in such aspects of a vocation.al guidance program in secondary schools as: provide vocational and technical information, and assist with vocational exploration, such .as plant visits, films, etc. -as .an aid to the student in making a self-inventory. Evidence is increasing that employers' needs for engineers and scientists will not be adequately met in the future. Therefore, the E.I.C., C.I.M., .and C.I:C. recently revised and extended the activities of the Canadian Counselling Committee on Engineering and Science. This co-•operative .action is to be integrated with the educational system, nationally .and locally, and with provincial associations •of engineers and other groups interested in the provision of vocational information in engineering and science.DEFINITIONTHE scientific treatment of any subject requires consistent use of carefully defined terms. The National Vocational Guidance Association of the United States studied the problem of the definition of vocational guidance for .about 16 years, and in 1937 finally arrived at:""Vocational guidance is the pro-cess of assisting the individual to choose an occupation, prepare for it, enter upon and progress in it. It is concerned primarily with helping individuals make decisions and choices involved in planning a future and building a career -decisions and choices necessary in effecting satisfactory vocational adjustment.""RANGEAs a school enterprise, vocational guidance begins at that point in the individual's life when he finds it necessary to make choices that have a definite significance for his future vocation."

Jan 1, 1952

By Tony Breuer

Can international development NGOs and the mining industry find common ground and work together in the Third World? The Canadian Hunger Foundation/PARTNERS in Rural Development (CHF-PARTNERS) has, over the past forty years, implemented more than 800 rural community development projects in some 38 countries of Africa, Asia, and the Americas. Working with or for the Canadian mining industry offers both opportunities and risks. We can help a mining company ensure that the workers, their families and communities share adequately in the economic and social rewards from a mining operation in their area. We can contribute to the provision of sustainable livelihoods when an operation winds down. The company?s reputation as a good corporate citizen can be enhanced. On the other hand, mining companies and NGOs have generally very different values and missions. The risk of misunderstandings from conflicting motives and work practices is correspondingly high. Both partners must state their values and expectations clearly at the start of collaboration. The NGO must ensure that the company abides by acceptable ethical standards. It must not directly or indirectly subsidize a private company from its charitable donations. The mining company must satisfy itself that the NGO has the capacity, resources and experience to produce the results expected.

May 1, 2001

By H. Marquis

The present paper consists of a survey of the literature on the problems of abrasion and wear of metals and materials by suspended matter. This problem is a very general one in industry, and is especially notice-able in the operation of cyclones and other types of dust collectors. The problem of abrasive dust in corrosive gas environments, such as commonly encountered in metallurgical industries, is particularly severe. Very little work has been done in the study of this type of abrasive wear, especially at high temperatures. However, a general review is presented here of all the work published on related subjects, such as that involving sand erosion in turbines and water wheels and the effect of temperature on friction wear. Topics in this paper include: blasting wear by sand, quartz, limestone, silicon carbide and other refractory particles; methods of investigation; effects of velocity, temperature and *Canadian Armament Research and Development Establishment, Valcarter, P.Q. angle of attack; correlation between indentation hardness, scratch hard-ness and resistance to abrasion; the effect of protective coatings; resistance of various metals; etc.

Jan 1, 1962

By G. E. Norman, J. F. Jackson, A. L. Mckague

"The treatment of nickel-copper concentrate in the new smelter at Falconbridge Nickel Mines Limited, Falconbridge, Ontario, is described. The concentrate in a slurry form is partially roasted in a fluid-bed roaster and the calcine is smelted in an electric furnace. The roaster gases are treated in an acid plant. IntroductionSmelting began at Falconbridge in 1930 with the first blast furnace treating high-grade ore containing 2-3% nickel. In 1933, the Falconbridge concentrator was built and started producing a bulk sulphide concentrate containing 4% nickel. A sinter plant was built to agglomerate and partially roast this concentrate. The sinter was smelted in blast furnaces along with high. grade magnetic ore. Matte from the furnaces was treated in Pierce-Smith converters to produce shipping matte which was refined at the company's plant in Norway."

Jan 1, 1980

By A. Musschoot

"The paper will review general types and designs of vibratory feeders, describing briefly the design features and characteristics that apply to the application of specific types. Control considerations for selecting types will be dis• cussed, such as fixed or adjustable, manual or automatic, individual or multiple bank, and process requirements. Design parameters for hopper openings and installation geometry will be discussed, including consideration of material size distribution, segregation, moisture content and other characteristics, based on practical applications and experience as well as theory. Pan designs and the selection of pan materials will also be discussed with reference to wear, corrosion, impact and practical economic factors."

Jan 1, 1972

By F. H. Edmunds

LLOYDMINSTER is the centre of a well developed agricultural area, lying on the Alberta-Saskatchewan interprovincial boundary in Township Fifty. The surrounding country is gently undulating, without any notable topographic features, but twenty-two miles to the north the North Saskatchewan river, and thirty miles to the south the Battle river, have cut deep valleys. In the spring of 1934, a wild-cat well (Lloydminster Gas Company's No. 1 well) was successful in striking a large flow of gas at a depth o 1,974 ? feet. The gas was piped into the town, a short distance south, and Lloyd-minster became the first Saskatchewan town to be served with natural gas. Following this discovery, other wells were sunk and, up to the present, thirteen wells have been drilled m what is here designated the Lloydminster area. Ten of these wells are in Saskatchewan and three in Alberta. Seven were successful in obtaining gas, three oil, and three have been unsuccessful. The area tested by this drilling is about eight thousand acres, six thousand of which can be considered as proved gas or oil land. To the south and west of Lloydminster, in the Province of Alberta, there are several areas in which oil and gas have been discovered. The Wainwright field lies nearly fifty miles to the southwest; Battleview, where recently gas has been discovered, is thirty miles west-southwest; and the Ribstone area is about thirty miles south and a little west. At Ribstone, a number of wells were drilled some years ago and there is a small production of oil. The data relating to the wells in the Lloydminster area that are recorded in this paper are taken from the records of the several companies operating in the field. The names of these companies are given on the map and on the type stratigraphic section (Figures 1 and 2). The author wishes to record his appreciation to Mr. R. H. Shaw and Mr. 0. C. Yates, both of Lloyd-minster, for much valuable information; also to Mr. E. Swain, of the Department of Natural Resources, Regina, with whom the writer has visited the field on several occasions, and who, by his enthusiasm and encouragement, has done much to forward the development of the area. The well samples were examined at Ottawa by officers of the Borings Division of the Geological Survey of Canada, who also made the interpretations of the logs. Frequent references will be made to the work of Dr. G. S. Hume, of the Geological Survey, and the writer would like to pay tribute here to his work.

Jan 1, 1940

By J. A. Brusset

Introduction The West Canadian Collieries, Limited, operate three bituminous coal mines in the Crowsnest Pass district of Alberta. Two seams are worked; their thickness varies from 10 to 20 feet and their pitch from 10 to 45 degrees. The Bellevue mine was opened in 1903, the Greenhill in 1914; both are gassy and dusty, and at both the haulage is a problem, as the workings are spread over distances of several miles. Compressed-air locomotives are used at Bellevue, rope-haulage at Greenhill, both of which solutions of the haulage problem are costly in installation an operation, and lack flexibility. In 1943, the Adanac mine was opened; and the question soon arose as to which system of haulage should be selected. Compressed-air locomotives and ropes were rejected on the ground of high cost. Since, under the Alberta Mines Act, the use of trolley locomotives underground in coal-seams is not permitted, the choice lay between storage battery locomotives and Diesel locomotives. The preference of the author, who had had experience with both in French gassy coal mines prior to 1930, was for Diesel locomotives, due to lower cost of installation and greater flexibility and reliability. However, Regulation No. 13 of the Mines Act of Alberta reads: 'No gasoline-driven engines shall be used underground in any mine, and no internal combustion engine shall be used underground in any coal mine, except only when authorized by the Chief Inspector in writing, and on such terms as he may prescribe"

Jan 1, 1948

By Mark Hollingworth

"There is general consensus that as the world continues to change at an ever-increasing pace, companies must continually adapt their operations in order to remain competitive. Those that change fast enough, survive; those that don’t, perish quickly. Today, we hear that it is not worth the time preparing corporate business plans as they are out-of-date before the ink is dry. Within the corporate environment of the 1990s, we must “think” strategically, be a “learning organization”, keep our costs low, focus on our core competencies, stay as flexible as possible and create value. So-called “sustainable competitive advantages” can be obsolete before a patent is issued — if its even worthwhile patenting the advancement. This is industry in the 1990s.Now, while all this radical change has been underway in the global industrial environment, what have Canada’s universities been doing to keep pace with the change affecting one of their major stakeholders? Have they adapted their products and services to suit the new market conditions? Have they built closer links to industry to try to understand how better to serve this important client? Do they welcome industry input as to how to redefine their mission, objectives, strategies or their course contents? Do their students graduate with skills ideally tailored for the global mining industry? In the era of communication, can they write high quality reports in English, never mind speak French or Spanish?In an effort to provide Canada’s engineering faculties with a “blueprint” for the future, the Canadian Academy of Engineering pre-pared a report entitled “Engineering Education in Canadian Universities”, published in August1993, which concluded with the following recommendations:"

Jan 1, 1996

By G. Bonin, A. Jamal, G. Preciado, S. Gillis

"Accurate, easy to obtain, and reliable methods of measurement are the cornerstone of shaft and tunnel developments - during their sinking, operation and maintenance, or in some cases, remediation. This paper presents a new methodology to capture existing shaft conditions in such a manner that they can be transferred from the field to a digital copy, where they can be stored and used for engineering design purposes in a space not directly affected by the costs associated with schedule and equipment performance. The methodology utilizes basic principles of excavation alignment (plumb lines and survey instruments) while adding modern LiDAR, geolocation and survey control tools that can more completely capture the surrounding environment. The complete cycle of collection, processing, and delivery of pertinent information underground can take under an hour. During sinking, capturing data as a live stream measurement and being able to assess the alignment of the shaft liner can be critical to meeting rigid design tolerances. As sinking progresses, small changes in alignment or liner deviations can be captured and immediately corrected. Likewise, post-construction as-built conditions can be recorded and digitized, which will allow the mine personnel to compare the proper working condition to the actual condition years later. Observed changes can be identified and planned as future shaft repair works. This methodology has been developed and successfully deployed during the on-going sinking works of the two shafts at the Jansen Potash Project in south-central Saskatchewan and is described in greater detail in this paper.INTRODUCTION Light Detection and Ranging (or LiDAR) scans of the BHP Jansen Production and Service shafts during construction identified sections of both shafts where the internal radius of the temporary primary liner was insufficient to accommodate the tolerances of the permanent liner that was to be installed inside the temporary liner. These locations are referred to as “tights”. The “Tights Removal Program” was designed to collect high resolution point clouds of the shaft, using stringent survey control, that could be compared to the design profile to generate a heat map of locations for removal of up to 75 mm of steel-fiber-reinforced, 70 MPa concrete liner. This work was all on critical path, which made it valuable to save time on the schedule. Because concrete removal was a time-intensive task, it was essential to locate and remove only the concrete that would encroach on the planned permanent liner, while attempting to maximize the amount of cutting time. Removal was carried by a road header attached to a Brokk(R) 160, a small multi-attachment demolition machine."

Jan 1, 2019

By A. Brown

The swift decline of coal during the period of unprecedented expansion in the Canadian economy is a phenomenon deserving careful examination, because the underlying forces contributing to this decline may have broader implications in our national economy. At the present level of technology, coal is more difficult to process, transport and utilize than liquid and gaseous fuels. Fundamentally, it is a matter of limitation in technique. Because coal is a vast store-house of energy in Canada, the reduction of these limitations is in the long-term national interest.

Jan 1, 1967

By K. Heid

"Although concentrated efforts have been made to deplete PCB transformers from the Canadian environment, numerous transformers (as well as ballasts, capacitors and magnets) continue to exist throughout the Canadian mining industry. The existing installed base is slowly being phased out as environmental issues come under increasingly high profile. The following article identifies the potential problems of owning PCB transformers and offers some solutions for their removal, disposal and replacement. IntroductionPolychlorinated Biphenyls (PCB) are synthetic chemical compounds consisting of chlorine, carbon and hydrogen. PCB was widely used in transformers due to its physical properties, including stability, low flammability and non-conductivity. Use of PCB in electrical equipment has been banned since 1977 when the extent of environmental contamination was discovered.Although PCB’s have been outlawed for use in electrical equipment since the late 1970s, safe storage regulations were not addressed until 1988 when a major spill prompted the federal government eventually to issue the storage of PCB Material Regulations in 1992. These regulations replaced the Interim order of 1988 under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act.PCB transformers are usually referred to as askarel filled transformers or as PCB contaminated mineral oil transformers. Askeral transformers were designed to contain high concentration PCB fluids, referred to as askarel. Mineral oil transformers were not designed to have PCB concentrations but were inadvertently contaminated during manufacture or maintenance activities."

Jan 1, 1998

By W. S. Dyer

The Minto coal basin lies in the central part of the province of New Brunswick, near the head of Grand Lake. The village of Minto which is the centre of mining activity of the district, lies about 35 miles east of Fredericton and somewhat greater distances to the north and west of the cities of St. John and Moncton respectively. Although coal has been mined in the basin for a number of years, it was not until recently that the production became sufficient to warrant a thorough geological investigation. The summer of 1922 was spent, in accordance with in structions from the Director of the Geological Survey, in making a detailed study of the geology and coal resources of the Minto coal basin, which is covered by the Minto and Chipman map sheets, each embracing an area of 200 square miles. The present paper is a short outline of the principal results obtained in the field. The writer wishes to acknowledge the assistance cheerfully given him by the managers and officials of the various companies operating in Minto. He wishes especially to thank Mr. W. B. Evans, Manager of the Rothwell Coal Company, for assistance in the collection of fossils and for the generous supply of information relative to the early history of the coal field.

Jan 1, 1924

By K. Lascelles

ABSTRACT Nickel compounds vary significantly in their toxicological properties, so it is critical that continuing studies to accurately quantify worker exposures consider the processing that accompanies refining nickel-containing materials. The Clydach nickel refinery, which has operated for more than 100 years, was the first nickel-producing facility to show a high risk for lung and nasal-sinus cancers among workers employed since it opened in 1902. Process chemistry and equipment have changed dramatically over Clydach’s history. This paper describes the processing evolution at Clydach with a focus on the propensity for aerosol formation and the forms of nickel in airborne dusts.

Jan 1, 2013

By Terry Gerritsen, Sylvain Picard, Bruce MacKay

Virtually all new technologies require a control system. Any intense process has many process variables that react quickly making manual control difficult. Control system design has a significant impact on the success of a plant especially during ramp-up. New technology projects are particularly sensitive to control system design as the process response is unknown. This paper discusses the important factors encountered in the design of a control system for a new technology. Examples are given of successful new technology plant start-ups where tight coordination of the process control system implementation, process design and selection major equipment led to rapid ramp-ups.

Jan 1, 2011