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By Dorothy Walters

As an increase in the number of producers alters fact ors affecting supply, long-term prospects in traditional markets for many minerals weaken. At the same time, conflicts between national and international objectives undermine existing competitive elements in mineral markets and Canadian costs escalate. Such changes may dramatically alter the environment in which the mining industry operates.

Jan 1, 1979

By Ray E. Harris

New developments have occurred in Wyoming's industrial minerals industry since the 32nd Forum on the Geology of Industrial Minerals in Laramie, Wyoming in 1996. The soda ash trona and bentonite industries have experienced overall growth. Gypsum and limestone production have remained constant, but have the potential for dramatic growth. The mining of zeolite ceased in 1997. The struggling dimension stone industry has increased production, but development has lagged behind the schedule predicted in 1996. The construction of a container glass plant and associated production of glass raw materials, as predicted in 1996 and imminent in 1998, is now on hold due to unforeseen market factors. Increases in railroad and highway construction have, and will, greatly increase the production of construction aggregate for local uses. An iron carbide industry, not foreseen in 1996, is in the planning stages.

Jan 1, 2001

By John Hays, Hammond

IT is both a pleasure and an honor to be a guest of the Institute and I thank you, Mr. President and fellow-members, for giving. me the opportunity of meeting you this evening. My esteemed friend, President Smith, has requested me to do a bit of "reminiscing" as to the earlier years of my career as a mining engineer, which has now covered a period of fifty years. Let me reassure you by promising that my narrative will not include all the experiences I have had over that long period. You will, I trust, pardon what might seem egotistical but I do not see how a personal narrative could well be otherwise.

Jan 1, 1928

By P. H. Oliver

The current theory of how explosives fracture rock offers no explanation for the improvements in fragmentation and the reduction of fly rock and back break which occurs when an adequate inter-row delay time is used. Nor does it explain why fragmentation improves with rectangular drill patterns where the hole spacing may be as much as four times the hole burden. A new theory of rock fragmentation is proposed which builds on the existing theory. It offers rational explanations for the many blast effects which the current theory does not address and the need for adequate timing delays between rows. It improves on the design of inter-row delay timing by defining the length of free-blasted face needed in front of a hole when selecting the delay element which will provide an adequate inter-row delay time.

May 1, 2003

By P. H. Oliver

"The current theory of how explosives fracture rock offers no explanation for the improvements in fragmentation and the reduction of fly rock and back break which occurs when an adequate inter-row delay time is used. Nor does it explain why fragmentation improves with rectangular drill patterns where the hole spacing may be as much as four times the hole burden.A new theory of rock fragmentation is proposed which builds on the existing theory. It offers rational explanations for the many blast effects which the current theory does not address and the need for adequate timing delays between rows. It improves on the design of inter-row delay timing by defining the length of free-blasted face needed in front of a hole *Retired from Inco Ltd., Sudbury, Ontario when selecting the delay element which will provide an adequate inter-row delay time."

Jan 1, 2003

By Norman S. Smith, Richard L. Ash

Many factors affect rock fragmentation from blasting. One variable seldom considered when designing blasts, however, is the borehole length. An example is described of how the length was adjusted to give better breakage when using 4-inch diameter blastholes at a quarry. To explain the basic principles involved test results from experiments conducted by the authors where borehole lengths were altered are presented and evaluated.

Jan 1, 1976

By J. B. Urnfileb

THE function of gas in the development and production of oil has far reaching consequences that should be emphasized. The technical aspects of the subject have recently had a great deal of attention but less thought has been given to fundamental concepts underlying oil and gas law and the many customs and practices that have grown up in the industry. I shall re- view briefly the advance in knowledge of the subject and attempt to relate these concepts to legislative, judicial and operating problems. Early writers on oil and gas in Pennsylvania noted their close association in oil pools and their contemporaneous decline in output; also, that as gas pressure decreases so does production, that new offset wells reduce the output of existing wells, and even that tubing a well lengthens its flowing life. Expanding gas was deduced as the principal expulsive force. These fundamental observations had been made at least as early as 1880.l They were treated, however, as academic considerations and did not greatly influence law or practice for many years except to instil into all operators an urgent desire to hasten offset drilling to obtain as much of the flush as possible.

Jan 1, 1932

By Ilmar J. Martens

The statistical information and cost data used in this report has been made available by NICKDATA INC. Since 1982, NICKDATA INC. of Toronto, Canada, has produced an annual comprehensive nickel industry cost study. Up to date information on 22 mines, 21 smelters, and 16 nickel refineries representing 30 nickel production operations in 17 countries are included in the computerized cost analysis. The report is compiled from information obtained through regular annual visits to major nickel operations and continuous monitoring of information on all nickel producers. The 1984 report which was completed this summer, reveals drastic changes in the nickel industry cost structures.

Jan 1, 1984

By H. R. Manouchehri

"In all electrical beneficiation methods, the difference in electro-physical properties of the contributed mineral particles, essentially frictional charge, electrical conductivity and dielectric constant properties are exploited to achieve separation. The composition of the raw material determines what kind of either corona charging, conductive induction, or triboelectric separation method should be employed. The process is versatile and is influenced by different parameters related to mineral characteristics, surrounding ambient conditions and electrical and mechanical attributions of the separating device. Electrical separation is surface based beneficiation method which is mainly affected by the surface and surface changes of the minerals. Therefore, it is essential to understand how the electrophysical properties of the minerals can be changed/modified. During electrical/electrostatic separation process, both charge magnitude and its polarity that developed on the particles and therefore, their electrical beneficiation potential is essentially defined by surface phenomena. Therefore, it is essential to understand how the main electro-physical parameters can be changed/modified with applied surface treatment/pretreatment methods to promote separation. Surface treatment of minerals is carried out by different means, including chemical conditioning, irradiation, thermal treatment, etc. This paper discusses and analyze the electrical separation process, electrophysical properties of the minerals with special focus on the effect of surface pretreatment/treatment methods to affect electrical beneficiation potential of the minerals. The surface treatment methods vary in a wide range from simple surface cleaning to more complicated chemical conditioning and doping. The knowledge of the solid-state physics and chemistry leads to improve the beneficiation potential of different mineral systems by choosing suitable treatment method(s). Despite the complexity and multiplicity of the charging mechanisms, difficulties in separating fines it seems to be beneficial make our attempts to further investigate and develop the process as dry, low cost beneficiation process, especially nowadays when environmental concerns, as well as energy and water consumptions are main concerns for mining industry."

Jan 1, 2018

By T. P. McNulty

During the last decade, many exhaustive studies have been made of process energy requirements for the production of various metals and materials. Some excellent technical papers and text books have resulted, and some of these are included in the bibliography of this paper. These studies were, of course, prompted by the economic pressures which resulted from the beginning of the "Energy Crisis" in 1973. Our intensified consciousness of the cost of energy led, then, to a greatly improved understanding of the energy consumption attributable to individual mining, processing, and refining steps. It is worth noting, however, that an awareness of the cost of energy is not new and that efforts to minimize this cost were an important part of sound mine and plant management practice throughout the earlier days of our industry. One only has to read a few accounts of mining operations around the beginning of this century to develop an appreciation for the cost of supplying wood, coal, fuel oil, or electric power to remote locations.

Jan 1, 1983

By DAVID F. McFARLAND

THE making of courses of study and curricula has long held first place as the favorite pastime of educators. As a game, this activity is as fascinating to some as golf or bridge, 'and the golfer's hope of a low score is matched by the teacher's ambition to some day evolve a sequence of studies that shall prove the ideal preparation for a life of maximum service and, profit. There are few in, this gathering who have not tried their skill at this game and still fewer are those who have been long satisfied by the product of their efforts. A curriculum is hardly printed in the college catalog before conditions arise which seem to make changes desirable, and strong will power is needed to maintain the program long enough to give it a fair trial. Metallurgical curricula are not less subject to change than others, 'and; indeed they have seemed, at times, to change more rapidly than other curricula because of the changing 'needs of the industries and the demand that the graduate be trained to meet the new conditions. Metallurgical practice is constantly proving that "time makes ancient good uncouth," and the graduate metallurgist is required to adapt himself to newer and

Jan 1, 1930

FOR some time it has been recognised by the Metallurgical Staff that the presence of pyrite in the ore was adversely affecting the grades of the flotation concentrates.Following experimental work, it was decided to change over from the acid circuit in the mill to an alkaline circuit. The following description sets out the procedure adopted, -and the results obtained when such change-over was made.The Zinc Corporation ore consists mainly of galena, marmatite, calcite, and quartz, with smaller quantities of pyrite, fluorspar, and rhodonite.A clean specimen of marmatite picked from the ore assayed 53.4% zinc, and 10% iron, with no lead or insoluble. However, as zinc concentrates have been, at times, produced in the plant assaying over 53% zinc, and with only 8.7% iron, apparently the picked specimen of marmatite did not represent an average composition.The average would probltbly be between 8 and 9% of iron, and from 53.5 to 54.5% of zinc. It is obvious, therefore, that from this ore it is not possible to produce zinc concentrate of a higher grade than this average figure.In the Colorado School of Mines Quarterly for April, 1928, Vol. 23, No. 2, on page 47, we find the following statement:As the zinc in the ore exists as marmatite, which contains approximately 54.5% zinc and 10% iron, 49% zinc in the concentrate may be considered high.This statement refers to the ore treated in the Sullivan concentrator, owned by the Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company of Canada Limited.

Jan 1, 1930

By John S. Burton

Mineral policy in Canada has been in a state of transition and change over the past several years. 1976 has witnessed some settling of troubled waters and the pattern of the currents of change is becoming more clear. The provinces play a key role in this process and have provided much of the thrust for new initiatives. On the other hand, the federal government in Canada in recent years has taken a much more active interest in mineral affairs than previously and has asserted its powers on a number of key policy questions. Some of the initiatives from the two levels of government in Canada have come into conflict with each other and, thus, contributed materially to a state of affairs that includes change, uncertainty and conflict.

Jan 1, 1976

By W. B. Hayes

The origin of the titanium pigment and metal? industries began with the discovery of the element titanium in 1791 by an Anglican clergyman named William Gregor. The titanium was discovered in magnetic black sands found in the beaches near Cornwall. England. The name titanium was established by the German chemist who discovered the mineral rutile in Hungary. Rutile is the oxide of the element titanium, which he called titan alluding to the mythological titans, giants of ancient Greece. The commercialization of titanium minerals began probably in 1916 with the production of titanium tetrachloride which was to be used in tracer bullets, flares and smoke screens during World War 1. In the 1920's composite pigments based on TiO2 barium sulfate and calcium sulfate were produced, followed by the introduction of the sulfate process anatase TiO2 crystal in the 1930s. The U.S. Bureau of Mines in 1938 began investigating titanium metal technology and promoted the development of the Kroll process. which is the magnesium metal reduction of titanium tetrachloride to produce titanium metal sponge.

Jan 1, 1989

By H. R. Manouchehri

The responses of calcite, feldspar, and quartz minerals In a laboratory free fall electrostatic separator, before and after tribocharging with stainless steel, PVC, and copper plates, have been investigated. The effect of H3BO3 and BaCl2 chemicals pre-treatment on the electrical properties of the minerals is examined. The changes in the electrical properties are discussed with the determined charge, dielectric constant, and electrical conductivity of the mineral samples. Electrical properties of the minerals and their responses to the electrical field during separation, after tribocharging and chemical pre-treatment, are explored for the need to characterize the electrical behaviour of the minerals.

Jan 1, 1998

By Yi Ran Zhang, Nawoong Yoon, Brent Hilscher, Maria Holuszko

"Ore sorting technology has been rapidly advancing in recent years. Improving expected mill feed grade has a significant benefit to project returns, and can no longer be ignored. When there is an increase in the mill feed grade while maintaining the same throughput, the mine will be able to process much more metal and improve the floatation recovery. There are many more factors that contribute toward the economics of the project by implementing sensor-based sorting technologies covered in this paper. This paper reviews the economic impact on an underground copper-silver deposit with references to the concept of ""profit recovery,"" which is the measurement of recovery based on rock profitability rather than just metal content. The economic impact of sensor-based sorting is discussed in detail throughout the paper. The preliminary economic evaluation of the project compares the mine's base case design versus a design incorporating sensor-based sorting. The paper's primary focus is on economic impacts rather than the explanation of the sensor based sorting results. The sorting data is presented on a scoping level and using a sensor-based sorting study where the best possible results are used for obtaining the grade recovery curves. Also, the breakdown and analysis of the project economics are based on the operating cost available from the particular operation. Any assumptions taken into consideration are also outlined and discussed. INTRODUCTION The mining industry has been adopting Sensor-based ore sorting technology fairly rapidly in the recent years. The ability to increase mill feed grade by rejecting waste grade rocks early in the processing stage is proving to be revolutionary for some operations. These potential outcomes should not be overlooked by both producing operations and prospective projects, thus leading to a wide range of studies on ore sorting. The answer to this is the creation of a new term and concept - Profit Recovery™."

Jan 1, 2018

By Hamid-Reza Manouchehri

"Sustainability calls for maintenance, rational use and enhancement of natural resources as well as balance consideration of ecology, economy, and social justice. The challenges in mining industry call for a sustained global effort using the leverage of available technologies and emerging new technologies. The industry uses significant amount of energy with the highest portion in comminution. To conserve energy, attempts have been made to improve the efficiency of the conventional crushing and grinding equipment. Nevertheless, the new and energy efficient comminution technologies are favorable through a longer term strategy. Since crushers are more energy efficient than mills, it is logic to conduct part of milling, in the crushing stage. After years of research and development, Sandvik introduces a new crushing technology, VibroconeTM, to change traditional crushing concepts. The new crushing device is able to crush and grind particles with a higher reduction ratio, more than two fold, than that of conventional crushers. By implementation of the new technology, a suitable feed size for milling can be provided to conserve energy as well as media and liner consumption, to reduce milling circulating load or increase mill capacity. There are other benefits associated with this machine, one of them being providing a higher surface area. This paper discusses the performance of the machine and its applications for comminuting different ores."

Jan 1, 2014

CSA mine, which is a deep level copper operation, located 12 km north of Cobar, NSW, currently uses a top down stoping method, utilising cemented hydraulic backfill (CHF) to fill and stabilise the stoping void thus assisting the extraction sequence. The stope sequence then requires development back through the CHF stope so that the necessary infrastructure for the subsequent stoping, such as raise bore pads can be sited. The primary and secondary support installed in the CHF consisted of 100 mm thick fibrecrete from floor to floor with 7 + 2.4 m long resin support tendons installed at 1.5 m ring spacing. This support system relied on the resin achieving a quality bond with the CHF, and also the fibrecrete developing early structural strength due to the use of an accelerator. In addition to the delays in the excavation turn around time, it was felt that a superior support system could be designed. Such a system was designed; risk assessed, tested underground, and trialled in selective CHF digouts, and eventually signed off as the chosen support method in CHF digouts. This paper discusses the change from a passive support system used in CHF digouts to an active support system using Swellex bolts and weld mesh, which has provided an active support system, that is superior, faster to install, reduced the excavation turn around time and is overall a cheaper support system.

Nov 25, 2010

By Ryan W. Siggelkow

Mines today use various methods of mining to extract ore. Because of the dangerous nature of many of these processes, remotely controlled LHD machines are being used to extract the ore from the draw point. The remote control system, although being made safer all the time, has remained virtually unchanged for many years. The basic functionality is an operator switching the machine to remote control, getting out of the cab, walking up a stand, operating remotely, returning to the cab, switching to manual, driving manually, switching to remote, and switching to manual. It seems repetitive, and time consuming, does it not? Networking, convergence, video, voice, and data infrastructures, and other technologies are growing by leaps and bounds in virtually every industry and region, except for mining. From the comfort of the living room couch, a Canadian can play hockey online with full voice conversations over the Internet with someone in Russia in real time. Yet, a mine superintendent must jump through hoops to have a private conversation with the front line supervisor underground. "Is Joe around anywhere?" If Joe hears the message, he will respond. If not, who knows? Maybe he's hurt. Maybe he's not. Where is Joe? Nobody really knows, and that is scary. Today, surface knows that the workers disappeared into the cage at 7:00 a.m. They also know that the workers will probably and hopefully return at 3:00 p.m. Is there not a better way to handle this? With such a complex industry, it seems as if, for the most part, the introduction of new technology into mining has either been overlooked or has been met with some resistance. It is time to step back, look at the process, and see how it can be improved. Key areas of focus will be safety, productivity, dependability, and cost-effectiveness.

May 1, 2010

By F. Osmond, R. Kelly

"Malcolm Knowles, the famous adult educator once wrote: ""What a challenge we in human resources development face if we are to avoid the obsolescence of our workforce. I can foresee this challenge requiring that we reconceptualize (...) and redefine the role of HRD, away from that of managing the logistics of conducting training activities to that of managing a system of learning resources"".The context in which this was written surrounds the subject of adult education and the need for business and industry to change its approach to the treatment of adults as learners. In explaining what 'managing a system of learning resources' means, Knowles refers to line supervisors and managers as the most ubiquitous resources for day-in and day-out employee development. In many organizations training has been largely a staff rather than line responsibility. Even where trainers reported to line management, it was still seen as a staff function performed by a few specialists.This change referred to by Knowles places a much heavier responsibility on line supervisors and managers for the development of their personnel than has traditionally been the case. Managing that change - handing over the responsibility to the line organization - is the supreme challenge for the HRD function.Just why is this change necessary? Because too often, the learner does not effectively use on the job what he or she learned in the classroom. In fact, learners often discard new methods and revert to the older ways. The reason training does not stick is that the systems for training and work management are most often separate entities and while one may support the other, they need to be a single integrated system in order to ensure the transfer to the job effectiveness of training and some real value for the training dollars.Because much training can be wasted, steps have to be taken to ensure that it fulfills its intended purpose. The effective and continuing application of knowledge and skills that learners acquire can only be realized when line supervisors and managers are at the centre of the training system.This paper describes how such a systemis being developed at the Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC) as a functional training program is introduced. The following text provides background information on the IOC - who they are and where they are located, a definition of functional training, an evaluation of the suitability of this approach for adults in industry, a description of how the program is being implemented at IOC and some observations that have been made as this change is experienced."

Jan 1, 1995