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By W. G. Dallas

The social and environmental problems presented by the location of a large zinc/ lead ore body within one mile of a thriving town are described. The development problems are social, involving the education of the in habitants , and environmental, requiring the development of a planning strategy and the evolution of a baseline and post -operational monitoring system. The necessity for an environmental-impact assessment and a thorough baseline study is emphasized. The continuing psycho-social consideration of community reaction is advocated.

Jan 1, 1977

"In response to needs created by intensive exploration and accelerating expansion of coal mining in the Western provinces, Canadian R & D on coal is progressively widening its scope. Principal interests continue to lie in coal geology, preparation and processing, carbonization, combustion and transportation, but much active work is also in progress with respect to mine environments, mined-land reclamation, and environmental consequences of coal mining, processing and use. Long-range 'basic' research, which characterized much of the R & D pattern in the fifties and early sixties and which was often no more than an attempt to prevent total extinction of a dying industry, has been somewhat de-emphasized, except insofar as it relates to 'safe' coal storage and to coal-based carbons (which are beginning to command attention as pollution control media).In this review, recent exploration, mine development and new preparation facilities are noted, and current R & D in transportation, processing, handling, carbonization and combustion is summarized. Reference is also made to investigations bearing on non-fuel uses of coal (notably as source-materials for carbons and agrobiological products)."

Jan 1, 1970

By D. K. Sarkar, J. Perron, J. D. Brassard

"Nearly perfect spherical shaped water drops rolling-off from the surface of lotus leaf is one of the beauties of nature. This kind of surface is called superhydrophobic, since the water does not like it. Physically, a superhydrophobic surface provides a contact angle (CA) of water over 150°. The combinations of both mico-nanostructure topography as well as low surface energy are essential to have such high CA on a surface. Nano-micro structured superhydrophobic surfaces have been developed in different methods. (i) Monodispersed fluorinated silica nanoparticles have been synthetized via Stöber Sol-Gel process and deposited on various surfaces, such as aluminium or glass, to obtain transparent superhydrophobic thin films. (ii) Similarly, zinc stearate nanocomposite coating has been fabricated by spray process on the same substrates. These thin films are found mechanically robust with drag reduction of coefficient 16% lower than as-received surfaces. (iii) By electrodepositing pure zinc on steel surfaces and further coating it with diluted room-temperature vulcanized silicone rubber, the surface become superhydrophobic. This superhydrophobic surface protects the steel against corrosion by increasing the polarization resistance from 1.5 k? on steel to 44.4 k?. This coating also reduced the ice adhesion on the steel surface 6.3 times as compared to bare steel substrates. Globally, these superhydrophobic surfaces have tremendous applications against corrosion reductions, drag reductions and ice adhesion reductions.INTRODUCTIONSuperhydrophobic coatings are increasingly attractive to the industry and academia due to their unique self-cleaning properties as a result of their water repelling characteristics. Fabrication of superhydrophobic coating is an inspiration from nature as water is seen to repel on many natural surfaces such as those of the lotus leaves, butterfly wings, water striders’ legs, and so on (Gao & Jiang, 2004; J. Huang, Wang & Wang, 2006; Neinhuis & Barthlott, 1997; Zheng, Gao & Jiang, 2007). This non-wetting phenomenon is well understood on lotus leaves, shown on the Figure 1 (a), and it is considered as the basis of the studies of superhydrophobicity. The existence of this binary structure on the surface of the lotus leaves allows a large amount of air entrapment and consequently reduces the contact area of water on it and the presence of low surface energy waxy components with reduced affinity to water together leads to the superhydrophobic properties. The phenomenon is shown on Figure 1 (b). Cassie and Baxter (Cassie & Baxter, 1944) as well as Wenzel (Wenzel, 1936) proposed two mathematical models to explain the wetting phenomena on rough surfaces that leads to superhydrophobic properties. By definition, superhydrophobic surfaces are characterized by a water contact angle value = 150° with the rolling off of water drops from the surfaces (Sarkar & Saleema, 2010). Superhydrophobic surfaces find tremendous importance in the technological world where it can applied in domains such as anti-corrosion, anti-biofouling, electrowetting, icephobic and even in drag reductions (Bushnell & Moore, 1991; Cao, Jones, Sikka, Wu & Gao, 2009; Carlborg & van der Wijngaart, 2010; Carré & Mittal, 2009; Y. Huang, Sarkar & Chen, 2010a; R. Karmouch, Coude, Abel & Ross, 2009). However, the most important challenge faced by industries is their feasibility large scale in an effective an economical manner."

Jan 1, 2016

By Sunil S. Gandhi

"Uranium occurrences are widely distributed in tuffaceous-argillaceous beds and abundant rhyolitic volcanic rocks of the upper Aillik group, which is more than 3 km thick and over 125 km by 40 km in areal extent. They include partially developed Kitts and Michelin deposits, containing 1560 and 7366 t U respectively.Uranium occurs mainly as disseminated fine pitchblende grains in beds and lenticular stratabound zones, and rarely as coarse pitchblende aggregates and thin veinlets. The Kitts deposit and ten other occurrences are in the argillaceous-tuffaceous beds within a steeply dipping stratigraphic zone, less than 50 m thick and over 20 km long, at the base of the upper Aillik group. The occurrences hosted by the rhyolitic rocks, numbering over fifty and including the Michelin deposit, are in elongate structural-stratigraphic belts or zones, and are characterized by a pronounced enrichment of soda and depletion of potash associated with mineralization. The mineralized zones are affected to a varying degree by Hudsonian deformation, metamorphism and granitic intrusions.The uranium mineralization is interpreted as genetically related to the felsic volcanism, involving syngenetic deposition in argillaceous-tuffaceous beds and epigenetic emplacement in rhyolites. The volcanic activity occurred 1855 ± 5 Ma ago according to a preliminary U-Pb zircon date on porphyritic rhyolite. Pitchblendesfrom the Kitts and Michelin deposits and a few other occurrences in rhyolites have yielded nearly concordant dates in 1810 to 1730 Ma range. They reflect resetting of isotopic equilibrium at the time of Hudsonian deformation. Other isotopic data on pitchblendes and galena from veins and aggregates .in the south near the 'Grenville Front' indicate local redistribution of uranium and radiogenic lead at the time of Grenville Orogeny approximately 1100 Ma ago."

Jan 1, 1986

By J. S. Redpath, W. R. Dengler

"A description of the equipment used and the electrical-mechanical problems encountered in sinking a deep shaft is given. This shaft is currently being sunk to a depth of 7,115 feet. Some of the features of the sinking plant are a 6,500-hp double-drum hoist, a Blair stage hoist, special high-capacity mucking gear, a Galloway stage, high-tensile stage suspension ropes and 12-ton sinking buckets.INTRODUCTIONIN THE EARLY FALL OF 1965, a contract was let, by The International Nickel Company of Canada, Limited, to Shaft Sinkers (Canada) Limited -J. S. Redpath Limited -Joint Venture, • to sink and equip the Creighton No. 9 shaft at their Creighton Mine proper-ty in Ontario. This paper describes the electrical and mechanical equipment used by the contractor on this project, and details various problems that were en-countered.The shaft itself is circular in section and is lined with monolithic concrete. Upon completion, it will feature twin skip compartments, a cage compartment, counterweight compartment, manway and pipe compartment. The finished diameter of this opening will be 21 feet and the shaft will bottom 7,115 feet below the collar. The present depth of the shaft (April, 1968) is 5,400 feet. The opening is concrete lined as excavation takes place and the steel will be placed in the shaft upon completion of sinking. Hoisting is done on rope guides which are part of the stage suspension system."

Jan 1, 1968

By V. Bruned, K. Mohamed, A. Michaut

Orano Mining Somaïr uranium treatment plant (Niger) uses a pugging-curing process to leach uranium. Sulfuric acid, nitrates and water are added to the finely grinded ore in a rotary drum to leach uranium bearing minerals and solubilize uranyl sulfate ions. Reagents, sulfuric acid and nitrates, are the main OpEx of this process step. The economical optimization of their addition requires a thorough knowledge of the ore behavior in solution with these reagents. Orano Mining technical direction and Somaïr laboratories developed a model to predict the curing process uranium recovery surface with a limited number of parameters. Experimental laboratory work to fit the model needs to be done for each type of ore which can require a lot of metallurgical tests and would be time consuming. In order to optimize the required number of tests, an innovative experience plan was designed in parallel to the development of this model reducing the required number of tests to only eight. Once the parameters of the models are correctly fit, the comparison between the estimated values and the actual values for the uranium recovery is excellent (less than 0.5% error in average). Associated with an updated cost model of the curing process, this new recovery model helps the plant operator find the best set of reagents to maximize curing process profitability in the Somaïr plant day after day.

Jan 1, 2020

By Steven Chung

Decision Network Modelling in a mining operation represents a complex process environment that is inherently more variable than a processing plant or factory. The uncertain availability of loading locations, haulage paths, loading and hauling equipment, along with inconsistent operator behaviour, cause a relatively large number of upset events that must be recognized, communicated and dealt with by the appropriate management authority. Traditional process maps that represent a deterministic model of the mining process can quickly break down in the face of such a volatile environment. An alternate modelling strategy, composed of decision networks, focuses on the interactions between goal-oriented entities and their environment, allowing system integrators to explicitly determine the information to be exchanged while providing feedback mechanisms that improve system flexibility and decision quality. This ensures a consistent framework for incrementally increasing system automation.

May 1, 2010

By W. A. Lang

COAL of sub-bituminous rank underlies much of the plains area of Alberta. This coal is geo-logically young, and occurs in Belly River and Edmonton strata of Up-per Cretaceous age. Generally, the seams are flat-lying, but in some areas they may dip as much as 5 degrees. The overburden, composed mainly of glacial clays and sand-stones, may vary in depth from a few feet to several thousand feet. Recovery of the coal has 'been by drift, slope, and shaft underground mines, and by open-pit stripping operations. Production has been obtained from a large number of mines, most of which have been relatively small and with preparation equipment limited to a loading tipple with screening facilities, and a picking belt where high-ash materials can be removed from the larger sizes. The coal has been sold for domestic and industrial space-heating, for production of process steam, and for power generation. In re-cent years competition from natural gas, propane, and oil has seriously interfered with the production and marketing of sub-bituminous coal, especially with the disposal of the smaller sizes at a realistic price.

Jan 1, 1958

By D. Ouellet, G. Gagnon, B. Simser, V. Falmagne

The mining sequence at Noranda’s Bell- Allard mine calls for two mining fronts retreating toward a central pillar known as the Retreat Zone between pyramids A and C. It is clear from numerical modelling and rock mass characterization that the induced stress level in the pillar will exceed the rock mass capacity. A mining plan was developed including the redimensioning of stopes in the Retreat Zone, additional ground support and instrumentation in order to ensure the safety of the workforce and to maximize ore recovery while minimizing production delays. The mining strategy consists in allowing the rock mass to fracture and fail progressively while maintaining control of the existing openings with the appropriate support. A systematic analysis of rockbursting and caving hazards was conducted for all accesses and stopes in order to plan ground support and instrumentation needs.

Jan 1, 2004

By Ellie Condolios

Hydraulic hoisting offers a number ~f attractive features over conventional hoisting methods: small shaft space requirements; great flexibility of layout, including pick-up or delivery of the material at points distant from the mine shaft; low investment and operating costs. However, limited practical experience with this type of hoisting dictates that careful design and, frequently, extensive testing be done by competent engineers before large-scale installations are built. This paper covers the following: basic laws and design criteria for hydraulic hoisting installations; a description of a coal hoisting installation which has been in industrial operation since 1960, with a vertical lift of 600 feet and an annual capacity of 500,000 tons of -3 ~-in. coal; and a tentative appraisal of the process, including cost estimates. THE transportation of solids in water flowing through a pipe-line has, for a number of years, been common practice in dredging, public

Jan 1, 1963

By W. Haibei, Lei. Z., Z. Bangsheng, W. Yufang, J. Kaixi

In 2007 output of zinc was more than 3.71 million tons in China. Some new projects have finished FS and several new zinc plants are building now. In recent ten years it happened great changes in zinc industry. For zinc concentrates one pressure leaching plant was built with capacity 10,000t/a and at least four companies are carrying out FS or engineering design now. Direct atmospheric leaching will put into used in China in 2008 with capacity 100,000t/a. It is estimated that until 2010 the output of direct leaching will be 400,000t/a.

Jan 1, 2008

By I. R. Jonasson, R. W. Boyle

"Current interest in the distribution of mercury in the natural environment comes from quite different, though not unrelated, sources. Mercury has long been an important metal in many industries and has, therefore, been much sought after by mining interests. The presence of mercury traces in the various media of the natural environment, namely soil, rock, air, water and vegetation, is exploited by geochemists not only to find mercury and polymetallic ore deposits, but also to find most other types of economic metal mineralization. More recently, however, mercury has caught the attention of health authorities and environmental scientists who are becoming increasingly concerned over the hazards of mercury wastes and the danger these present to the environment and to man. It is now apparent that the trace quantities of mercury, considered so important and helpful to exploration geologists, can be concentrated in the biosphere to such levels as to present considerable problems for ecologists. This article summarizes most of the available data on mercury contents in materials of geological interest and presents average normal values for rocks, ores, minerals, soils, sediments, waters and plants. The geoch.emical cycle for mercury in nature is presented and the mechanisms of mercury migration around the cycle are discussed."

Jan 1, 1972

By Herbert D. Drechsler

"THE FOLLOWING are some comments on the article, ""International Trade in Minerals and Economic Development"", by M. Sengupta, published in the October 1976 issue of the CIM Bulletin.Sengupta says in the introduction that ""The mechanism through which this growth (economic development) has occurred is basic ally straight forward"". His statement is quite misleading and perhaps it is better to quote Gerald Meier:""Development economists must operate in an imperfect second-best world, away from the simplified premises of neoclassical economics. Their subject matter is therefore not yet a coherent or self-contained discipline. Denied recourse to a set of general principles, perhaps the student's most sensible introduction to economic development is through a study of 'leading issues' that are at the time a major preoccupation of the development economist and development practitioner"" .Sengupta quotes an authority who wrote 18 years ago. Academic and operating development economists today know full well that existing theory is quite deficient. Sociologists, political scientists and engineers in this field also know that economic, social, political and technical development involves all academic disciplines.Sengupta indicates that tariffs in developed countries prevent less developed countries from supplying refined metal, or manufactured and semi-manufactured products. He lists Zambia, Chile and Zaire as examples of copper concentrate exporters, as inadequately shown in Table 1. He is wrong."

Jan 1, 1977

By Andrew Bamber

Between the early 20th Century and the present, the production of mined copper ore has increased from tens of millions of tonnes per annum to several billion tonnes per annum, an unprecedented increase. Contemporaneously, the average grade of mined copper ore has declined from over 2% to approximately 0.5%. Again, in parallel, the price of copper has increased dramatically to reflect the increasing cost of extracting and beneficiating such large amounts of low-grade ore. Within the period the copper price however exhibited several periods of intense volatility, driven by interrelationships between demand and supply, themselves strongly driven by periodic industry developments in the fields of exploration, ore extraction, mineral processing and extractive metallurgy. It is notable that these periods of intense innovation exhibit a strong correlation to preceding periods of price, demand or production volatility. This paper examines key trends in each theme between 1900 and 2018 and draws strong conclusions as to the interrelationship between them. INTRODUCTION The production of copper metal has increased from around half a million tonnes per annum to over fifteen million tonnes per annum over the course of the 20th Century. Contemporaneously, the average grade of copper ore mined has declined from over 2% to approximately 0.5% copper by weight. As a result, the volume of Run-of-Mine (ROM) copper ore required has increased from around ten million tonnes per annum to over a five billion tonnes per annum over the period, an unprecedented increase. The adage is that demand drives supply, that prices rise in times of high demand and/or short supply, and that prices fall when supply catches up with demand. The market sellers in biblical times knew this well; mediaeval market sellers equally. Dutch tulip sellers in the 1600’s experienced both in extremis — much to their dismay — and the great industrialists and early capitalists of the industrial revolution knew this also. Mining recently went through a cycle where investors and producers both believed that the “old” rules did not apply any more and that the industry was in a “supercycle” where prices would continue to rise on the back of increasing demand. However, as the GFC of 2008–2011 showed, this was not to be. Another adage says that we constantly innovate to lower costs of production. Is this true? Do we only innovate to lower cost? Has the true cost of producing copper actually gone down over the century? Or are there other balancing forces at play? Herb Kellogg, in his Centenary address to the American Institute of Mining Engineers (now SME), categorized two types of innovation: ‘Bigger and Better’, and ‘New Process’ (Kellogg, 1970). ‘Bigger and Better’ allows increased production at presumably lower cost; ‘New Process’ supports the same result at presumably the same scale, but at significantly enhanced efficiencies and (therefore) lower cost. It is suggested that both types of innovation are constantly and interchangeably required to achieve the kind of scale-up, at achievable operating and capital cost that the industry has achieved over the period. What can be shown, over this last Century and a bit, is that supply and demand are indeed inextricably linked, price and demand are linked, but so are price and cost of production. And the innovation required to sustain that weaves in between them all, cost-effectively increasing production capacity or lowering the cost of production at the same throughput, and sometimes both.

Jan 1, 2019

By M. Kreuh

An investigation of the pressure pulse spectrum generated by the gas dispersion processes in a Peirce Smith copper converter was undertaken via the simultaneous measurement of four tuyeres using high frequency pressure transducers. The data was captured, stored, and analyzed using digital data processing techniques; including power spectral density plots, band-pass filtering, and a principal component analysis (PCA). The process was characterized throughout by a dominant 3 Hz pulse signature attributed to the formation of lateral gas envelopes. In particular, test tuyeres in the tuyere line tended to operate synchronously at the dominant frequency, regardless of operating conditions tested and despite being distributed along the converter. Synchronous behavior is thought to arise from the acoustic coupling and possible resonance behavior of the gas delivery system on the converter.

Jan 1, 2007

By K. V. Lindell

Introduction This paper describes a recent innovation in the design and construction of mine headframes. A reinforced concrete headframe was built by using sliding forms. A concrete headframe of conventional design was originally considered, but investigation of this project showed that it was doubtful if the bearing strength of the soil was sufficient to support the great weight of a structure of this type. In addition, the slope and the fractured condition of the serpentine bed-rock did not permit satisfactory piling. A conventional steel headframe with storage bins was then designed, but, due to the steel situation, delivery promises were set back many months. The concrete headframe was again investigated, and a design was adopted incorporating a circular headframe lower in height than that first considered, with skips discharging into a smaller surge bin. The upper section of the shaft collar was strengthened to result in a stable structure which would be supported by bed-rock, as well as by the concrete and steel lining of the shaft itself.

Jan 1, 1948

"This contribution is concerned with adaptive processing decisions, where the process parameters are optimally adapted to the varying properties of the material input stream. Our starting point is the geometallurgical paradigm that the varying properties of the input stream are considered known e.g. from a geometallurgical model of the mined ore body, and optimal processing parameters are computed from them, by finding the parameter seaming optimal in a computer simulation.This approach however has to work with a lot of uncertainties: The prediction of the geometallurgical ore parameters can only be done with some geostatistical uncertainty. The parameters themselves are only proxies for true ore properties. Model prediction can differ relevantly from actual process results, due to model simplifications. Due to these uncertainties the computed processing choices can turn out to be inferior to simple non-adaptive processing. In this contribution we focus on the uncertainty of the ore properties and analyse this effect systematically, by modelling this uncertainty effect mathematically and in computer simulations. The most important findings are:(a) Processing choices not taking into account the uncertainty sometimes even perform worse than simple non-adaptive processing, for the sole reason of ignoring the uncertainty effect.(b) Ore properties, not adequately reflected in the ore description, might require different approaches, in which the observed processing behaviour feeds back into process control.(c) Bayesian decision theory allows computing optimal processing choices combining the information from the mine (geostatistical predictions) and from the process feedback. These choices give much more robust choices and do not suffer from the drawbacks described for the simple approach we started from.These new approaches can substantially improve the performance of adaptive processing in existing plants."

Jan 1, 2016

By G. R. Morin, A. R. Leggett

"In 2010, closure of the Kidd metallurgical plants along with structural changes to the historical ratios of payable metals led to a review of the operating targets at the Kidd concentrator. Previous operating data indicated that there was potential for significant revenue improvements by lowering the copper concentrate grade. An extended plant trial was carried out in 2011 to quantify the revenue impact of lowering the copper concentrate grade from 27% to 25% Cu, as well as identifying the lower practical grade limit. Analysis of plant trial results indicated that the process change increased net concentrate revenue by $2 M to $3 M per year at current metal prices. Increased revenue was primarily associated with higher silver recovery to the copper concentrate while the marginally improved copper recovery was essentially offset by increased zinc losses and concentrate treatment and freight charges.Details of the plant test work results are discussed in this paper along with the financial analysis of the revenue improvements. Key areas covered are major revenue components of the concentrate contracts, validation of revenue improvements through plant testing and sensitivity of the improvements to market and plant variables.INTRODUCTIONThe Xstrata Copper Kidd concentrator commenced operations in 1966 treating ore from the nearby Kidd volcanogenic massive sulphide deposit in Timmins, Ontario (Thompson, Amsden, & Chapman, 1978). Over the years, up to four separate grinding-flotation divisions were in operation with throughput rates peaking at 4.5 million tonnes per year of ore in the mid 1980’s (Kelebek & Francis, 1998). As the mine production decreased and grinding throughput increased operations were gradually cut back and since 1998 two grinding-flotation divisions have been in operation treating Kidd mine ore. One of the idled divisions has been intermittently used for custom milling operations, most recently the Ni/Cu Montcalm deposit, which was milled from 2004 to 2009. Current budget throughput rates, limited by mine production, are 2.4 million tonnes per year of ore grading 1.7% Cu, 4.3% Zn and 55 g/mt Ag. Concentrate production rates are 150,000 tonnes per year of copper concentrate and 155,000 tonnes per year of zinc concentrate. The Kidd mine is the deepest base metal mine in the world with mining operations down to 9600 ft.In 2010 the copper and zinc plants at the Kidd metallurgical site, which previously treated the concentrate production from the Kidd concentrator, ceased operation due to a variety of economic and market factors. Following the metallurgical plant closures the Kidd concentrator products were shipped off site for treatment. The majority of the copper concentrate is now processed at the Xstrata Copper Horne smelter in Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec with the majority of the zinc concentrate processed at Canadian Electrolytic Zinc Ltd. in Valleyfield, Quebec."

Jan 1, 2013

By R. C. Beard

"The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources has recently initiated several incentive programs to encourage and facilitate the development of new mines in northwestern Ontario. Some are privatized out to consultants and contractors. The status of three of these programs will be reviewed in this paper.IntroductionOne of the main objectives of the Mineral Resources Group of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources is to encourage and assist mineral exploration and the development of new mines in the Province. Programs to accomplish this objective are largely carried out through two Branches in the main office (in Toronto), the Mineral Resources Branch and the Ontario Geological Survey, and also a number of regional field offices scattered across Ontario.The function of the Mineral Resources Branch is to identify and administer effective policies that will ensure maximum benefits to the Province from mineral resource extraction.One of the most important factors in ensuring effective exploration in the Province is the availability of a good geosciences data base from which to work. It is the responsibility of the Ontario Geological Survey to develop and continually update this data base, providing, to both the public and private sector, an inventory and analysis of the geology and mineral deposits of the Province.The main functions of the regional field offices are to provide technical data and advice to exploration companies and prospectors, to encourage and assist exploration, and to provide information and general assistance to producing and developing properties to facilitate resource development and extraction. This is accomplished through the offices of the mineral resource coordinators and resident geologists. In northwestern Ontario, these field offices are located at Thunder Bay, Kenora, Red Lake and Sioux Lookout.To accomplish their objectives, the Ontario Geological Survey and the regional field offices carry out regular, ongoing geoscience and other mineral resource programs, under their base funding."

Jan 1, 1982

By S. Bellec, P. Champagne, J. Châteauneuf, A. Berton, S. Fortier

"The start-up of new plants, extending from the commissioning of equipment to the production ramp-up, is a critical period where the processing circuit operation must be done in a structured and well controlled way to enable the gradual, safe and rapid achievement of production targets. The magnitude of the many risks associated with this pivotal period is accentuated in the actual context of low commodity prices. However, the implementation of a method that analyzes risks associated with a start-up, their probability of occurrence and their impacts leads to the identification of a series of preventive actions that can be applied in order to reduce potential negative impacts.Soutex has been involved in numerous start-ups over the last few years and has developed a structured methodology to assess this crucial period, maximize the pre-start-up preparation, ensure a smoother and safer ramp-up period and minimize the time needed before reaching commercial production.This paper describes a method to identify preventive actions to apply in order to reduce risks related to a plant start-up. Then, the various steps of the method are demonstrated using the industrial case study of the Canadian Malartic gold plant situated in Abitibi, Québec. The specific preventive actions, during start-up, the organisational measures and the ramp-up plan are detailed as they were effectively achieved. Finally, the post start-up actions are presented as well as some key results illustrating the achievement of their prior defined objectives.IntroductionPlanning a new plant or new circuit start-up in a mine installation involves various risks, both at the economical and safety levels. Unprepared staff and equipment can lead to safety issues that could threaten plant staff as well as the environment. Moreover, a poorly prepared start-up could often lead to equipment break-down, production stoppages and delays, leading to important economic impacts, delaying commercial production and therefore affecting directly the profitability of mining projects.It is common in the industry to have structured commissioning procedures for major equipment taken separately. Technical personnel from the equipment manufacturing company would usually come on site in order to perform the pre-operation verification, dry runs and the first hours of operations. This kind of assistance is usually focussed on one piece of equipment and neglects the interactions between the various equipment of the production chain. The commissioning phase is usually maintenance oriented and the information given by the manufacturing representative seldomly flows through the operation staff (in the case of this paper, the denomination “staff” refers to both managing and operating employees). The global process is usually not taken into consideration by the technical personnel sent on-site by the manufacturer during the commissioning phase. Many papers can be found describing the commissioning of new equipment focussing on the technology (Côté and Adante (2009), Wells et al (2007)) but without dealing with its integration process in the complete production chain."

Jan 1, 2016