CIM Magazine March-April 2009

Publications Mail No. 40062547

March/April • mars/avril 2009

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CONTENTS CIM MAGAZINE | MARCH/APRIL 2009 | MARS/AVRIL 2009

NEWS 9

10

12

14

Taking proactive measures Xstrata keeps Nickel Rim South on track despite current economic conditions by A. Gordon Return to Wild Rose Country Alberta companies win award for exemplary reclamation efforts by R. Bergen CMHF plans a road trip Fundraising to take the story of legendary Canadian miners across the country by A. Gordon Takeover terminated Court stays the acquisition of Gold Reserve by Rusoro Mining

by R. Bergen

10 UPFRONT 15

Mentor, innovator, networker A conversation with Professor James Finch by M. Kerawala

18

An 18th century ingredient in a 21st century solution Steam is put to work in the latest in situ oil sands recovery techniques

by B. Sundararajan

20

For the love of terra firma Robust seismic monitoring systems enhance mine safety and productivity by M. Kerawala

22

The balancing act of sustainable mining Research highlights the role of sulphate balances in assessing the impact of mining

by M. Sudbury

24

15 66 Preliminary Program May 9–15, 2009 — Metro Toronto Convention Centre Held in conjunction with CIM Conference and Exhibition 2009

4 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 4, No. 2

Recipe for a successful Canadian Mining Games Rivalry and camaraderie go hand in hand at this mining students’ sporting event

by R. Clarke

COLUMNS 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 51 82

PROCESSING TRAITEMENT DES MINERAIS

26

26

Shake, mill and roll An overview of emerging trends in processing by B. Sundararajan

30

Innovations en traitement des métaux et des minerais Des moyens meilleurs et plus efficaces de séparer les minerais utiles de la gangue

32

Precious metals, pioneering processes Recent developments in South African

36

platinum and rhodium production by B. Davenport and N. Stubina Research under the microscope A trio of Australian scientists assess researchdriven technologies by G. Corder, B. McLellan and S. Green

Supply Side by J. Baird Parlons-en par S. Perreault HR Outlook by J.P. Chabot Student Life by A. Cummings MAC Economic Commentary by P. Stothart Safety by C. Hersey First Nations by J.C. Reyes Standards by D. McCombe Innovation by A. Hickinbotham and G. Fitz Mining Lore by R. Bergen Voices by C. Edwards

CIM NEWS 61

61

62

62

63

Bubbling up for mineral processing An award-winning essay writer shares enthusiastic insights by. R. Pillo Savvy socializing in Toronto CIM Toronto Branch holds its second annual fall networking event by R. Hutson Maintaining excellence CIM Maintenance and Engineering Society introduces its scholarship winners by J. Paraszczak Éléonore en primeur à Québec La Section de Québec de l’ICM recevait la directrice de l’environnement pour Mines Opinaca par M. Fortin

Quebec gets the scoop on Éléonore CIM Quebec Branch hosts the environmental director of Opinaca Mines

64

Appui technologique pour Dumont M. St-Jean a tenu à souligner l’apport technologique du CTMP de Thetford Mines pour le projet Dumont par P. Laroche

64

64

64 65 66

54

Technological support for Dumont Project receives valuable technical assistance from the Centre de technologie minérale et de plasturgie Soirée étudiante à Québec La Section de Québec de l’ICM assistait à la rencontre annuelle dédiée aux étudiants par M. Fortin Quebec student night CIM Quebec Branch holds its annual student gathering It’s who you know CIM Toronto Branch teaches students the art of networking by R. Pillo RockEng09 Preliminary program of the 20th Canadian Rock Mechanics Symposium

HISTORY FEATURED MINE MINE EN VEDETTE 54

69 72

A supersized combo Xstrata Copper’s Kidd Mine undergoes major

Butte, Montana (Part 1) by R.J. Cathro The strategic mineral that became an industrial nuisance (Part 2) by F. Habashi

upgrades and expansion by P. Diekmeyer 58

La mine et le site métallurgique Kidd de Xstrata L’expansion à la mine Kidd est soutenue par des installations de traitement des plus modernes

IN EVERY ISSUE 6 Editor’s Message 7 President’s Notes / Mot du président 8 Letters 60 Welcoming new members 68 Calendar 81 Professional directory

TECHNICAL SECTION 75

This month’s contents

Editor-in-chief Heather Ednie hednie@cim.org Senior Editor Angie Gordon agordon@cim.org Section Editors News and Features: Angie Gordon agordon@cim.org Columns and CIM News: Joan Tomiuk jtomiuk@cim.org Histories and Technical Section: Minaz Kerawala mkerawala@cim.org Technical Editor Joan Tomiuk Publisher CIM

he Canadian Minerals Processors Operators’ Conference was held this past January in Ottawa, as it always is, and was a major success. The conference saw great numbers of delegates get together to share information on the latest developments in mineral processing. This coming August, the Conference of Metallurgists will be held in Sudbury and is expected to be another successful event, with a high-level technical program showcasing a myriad of technological advances in metallurgical processing.

Mineral processing is a key step in the mine cycle — and can include a real complex network of applications and processes to best extract value from ore. As someone without actual academic training in mining-related fields, processing has always seemed to be a highly challenging field. Luckily for CIM Magazine, our team of editors, led by Angie Gordon, partnered up with Nathan Stubina for the feature section on processing in this issue, and together have produced impressive results. Read through the whole section, beginning on page 26, for a crash course on many recent developments driving mineral processing today.

CIM conferences, like the two mentioned above, are important venues for knowledge sharing, which helps sustain our industry. This May, the CIM Conference and Exhibition will be held in Toronto, bringing together management and operators for the event of the year. In conjunction with this year’s conference, RockEng09 will offer a complete technical program, bringing together the international world of rock engineering. This peer-reviewed event promises to offer valuable insights into groundbreaking developments at mine sites.

There is so much going on at CIM — I look forward to seeing many of you to discuss it at our conference this May.

T

Contributors Jon Baird, Ryan Bergen, Louise Blais-Leroux, R.J. Cathro, Jean Pierre Chabot, Ryan Clarke, Glen Corder, Alison Cummings, Bill Davenport, Peter Diekmeyer, Chuck Edwards, Graeme Fitz, Marie Fortin, Stevan Green,Fathi Habashi, Carolyn Hersey, Paula Amy Hewitt, Andrew Hickinbotham, Rick Hutson, Pierre Laroche, Deborah McCombe, Ben McLellan, Jacek Paraszczak, Serge Perreault, Robbie Pillo, Juan Carlos Reyes, Hal Steacy, Paul Stothart, Nathan Stubina, Michael Sudbury, Binod Sundararajan Published 8 times a year by CIM 855 - 3400 de Maisonneuve Blvd. West Montreal, QC, H3Z 3B8 Tel.: 514.939.2710; Fax: 514.939.2714 www.cim.org; Email: magazine@cim.org Subscriptions Included in CIM membership ($150.00); Non-members (Canada), $168.00/yr (GST included; Quebec residents add $12.60 PST; NB, NF and NS residents add $20.80 HST); U.S. and other countries, US$180.00/yr; Single copies, $25.00.

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March/April • mars/avril 2009

www.cim.org

Publications Mail No. 40062547

A crash course in processing

Heather Ednie Editor-in-chief This month’s cover View across the leach thickener at Paladin Energy’s Langer Heinrich uranium mining and milling facility in Namibia.

Photo courtesy of Paladin Energy Inc. Layout and design by Clò Communications.

Copyright©2009. All rights reserved.

ISSN 1718-4177. Publications Mail No. 09786.

Postage paid at CPA Saint-Laurent, QC. Dépôt légal: Bibliothèque nationale du Québec.

The Institute, as a body, is not responsible for statements made or opinions advanced either in articles or in any discussion appearing in its publications.

Printed in Canada 6 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 4, No. 2

president’s notes Investing in a vibrant future discussions and valuable networking opportunities.

Be sure to take in all the action on the trade show floor, jam-packed with the latest and greatest offerings from over 320 exhibitors all under one roof.

Where else in this vast industry can members so easily access the information and contacts needed for a speedy economic recovery?

Company executives — TAKE NOTE! In addition to the management, technical and operations people also ought to attend this event. The investment will be small, but the payoff in ideas, networking and knowledge sharing opportunities will be invaluable. I look forward to seeing you all there!

Photo taken by Gary Mulcahy

Greetings CIM’ers!

Writing this letter, I reflect with amazement on the past year.

Our industry has gone from being at its peak to where it is now, with some of our companies fighting for survival. The next year will be a challenge, but I think our industry — with CIM playing a central role — will successfully survive and thrive in these difficult times.

That brings me to the themes for this issue — innovation and mineral processing. I found this year’s Canadian Mineral Processors (CMP) Conference in Ottawa absolutely inspiring.

The CMP Society is an example of the vibrancy and innovation that our industry needs right now!

Our annual CIM Conference and Exhibition will be held in Toronto from May 10 to 13. Now, more than ever before, it is imperative that our members attend. With a top tier lineup of technical sessions under five information streams, there is truly something for everybody. In fact, the challenge will be in the choosing. This year’s conference sees the addition of the new Mining Finance and Management Day on May 13. The timely theme of the all-day event will be “Dealing with the Downturn.” It will feature prominent keynote speeches, panel

Regards, Jim Gowans CIM President

Investir dans un avenir dynamique Meilleures salutations, chers collègues de l’ICM !

En écrivant cette lettre, je repense, encore étonné, à l’année qui vient de se terminer. Notre industrie est passée d’un sommet au point où elle se situe actuellement, avec quelques compagnies qui luttent pour leur survie. La prochaine année comportera des défis, mais je crois que notre industrie – avec l’ICM comme joueur principal – réussira à survivre et à progresser dans ces temps difficiles.

Cela m’amène aux thèmes de ce numéro du Magazine – l’innovation et le traitement des minerais. J’ai assisté à la Conférence des minéralurgistes du Canada (CMP) à Ottawa et j’ai été grandement inspiré. Cette société est un bon exemple du dynamisme et de l’innovation dont l’industrie a justement besoin maintenant.

Notre Congrès et Salon commercial annuel se tiendra à Toronto du 10 au 13 mai. Maintenant, plus que jamais, il est très important que nos membres y participent. Avec des sessions techniques de haut niveau présentées en cinq grands volets, il y a de quoi pour tous. En fait, le défi sera de choisir. Cette année, le congrès comportera une journée de gestion et de finances minières, le 13 mai. Le thème très

contemporain sera « Dealing with the Downturn » [Faire face à la baisse]; la journée comportera des discours sur le thème central, des discussions en panel et des occasions intéressantes de réseautage.

Soyez certain de ne rien manquer dans l’enceinte du Salon commercial; voyez les plus récentes et les meilleures offres de plus de 320 exposants, tous réunis sous un même toit. Où d’autre pourriez-vous trouver un pareil accès facile à l’information et aux contacts nécessaires pour une reprise économique rapide ?

Directeurs de compagnies – PRENEZ NOTE! En plus de la haute direction, le personnel technique et des opérations devrait aussi participer à cet événement.

L’investissement sera minime mais les gains en idées, en réseautage et en partage des connaissances seront inestimables.

Je me réjouis à l’idée de vous rencontrer au Congrès !

Jim Gowans Président de l’ICM

March/April 2009 | 7

letters A satisfied customer

An appreciative artist

Hi Heather, Just a short note to say that you and your team are doing a great job on the CIM Magazine. The articles are very interesting and topical, and the layout of the magazine is very appealing.

The “News” section provides readers with insight to the wide range of technical, business and social issues that are currently being addressed by Canadians involved with the mining industry.

The “Columns” section is very informative, as it presents articles on a number topics that are highly relevant. The articles in the December 08/January 09 issue relating to National Instrument 43-101, Mergers and Acquisitions, First Nations and Human Resources were particularly interesting. The Coast-to-Coast section gave a very good high-level overview of exploration and development activity across Canada. I could say even more, but you get the idea!

There is a lot going on in our industry, and CIM Magazine is doing an excellent job of keeping our membership informed.

I have always enjoyed the magazine, but now look forward to it more than ever!

Keep up the good work.

Hi Angie, Publicist Marilynne Friedmann at the Royal Ontario Museum very kindly gave me your contact info. I was thrilled to find my “Tip of the Iceberg” ring alongside the “Incomparable Diamond” in the December 2008/January 2009 CIM Magazine article, “An illuminating exhibit” (Vol. 3, No. 8, page 18). Would it be possible to send me some hard copies for my archives? They would be most appreciated.

Sincerely, Sean Waller CIM District 6 Vice President

8 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 4, No. 2

Best, Niki Kavakonis Designer, Tip of the Iceberg ring

“The flotation operator was once a Formula One driver and gets a kick out of revving things up from time to time”

news Taking proactive measures In response to the ongoing economic downturn, Xstrata Nickel recently announced a restructuring of its Sudbury operations that would see some of its older operations suspended or closed in an effort to safeguard the viability of others — most significantly, Nickel Rim South.

“Our leadership team is taking proactive and decisive measures during challenging times,” said Ian Pearce, Xstrata Nickel CEO. “The continued decline of the economic environment and deteriorating commodity markets, coupled with high operating costs, particularly at our older mines, are negatively impacting our Sudbury operations. The actions announced aim to reposition our Sudbury complex into the bottom quartile

by Angie Gordon of the cost curve, ensure our operations remain financially robust even during a potentially long period of depressed commodity prices, and establish a strong foundation for further growth in the region.”

The restructuring will see the Fraser Mine Complex placed on care and maintenance and the reorganization of associated support and administrative functions. Work shifts will be reduced from four to two at the Strathcona Mill as a result of diminished feed. Additionally, the

Giving Back PotashCorp helps Sussex perk up Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. will donate $1 million to help fund a new recreation centre to serve Sussex and the surrounding area. In recognition of the company’s substantial contribution, the Fundy Civic Centre is to be renamed the PotashCorp Civic Centre. The new $6 million facility will house a 25-metre swimming pool, a jogging track and a fitness centre.

Rio Tinto Alcan pedals better health in Quebec Rio Tinto Alcan is to be the lead sponsor of the Grand défi Pierre Lavoie for the next three years via the Rio Tinto Alcan Canada Fund. As lead sponsor, the company will support all upcoming Grand défi activities, including La Tournée le Lait, a contest in May 2009 that aims to promote daily exercise among elementary students and a 1,000-kilometre cycling event in June, in which Pierre Lavoie will lead 100 teams of cyclists from Saguenay-LacSaint-Jean to Montreal in 40 hours. Since 1999, the cyclist, Pierre Lavoie, a Rio Tinto Alcan employee, has raised over $500,000 to help fund medical research and increase awareness about lactic acidosis throughout Quebec.

Photo courtesy of Xstrata

Xstrata Nickel restructuring not to affect Nickel Rim South project

Xstrata Nickel Rim South

Fraser Morgan development project will be deferred, but may be reinstated if ongoing evaluations determine that economic conditions make that feasible.

This most recent news follows an announcement in November 2008 regarding the accelerated closure of the company’s Craig and Thayer-Lindsley end-of-life operations.

“Our Sudbury complex is an important part of Xstrata Nickel and we remain fully committed to continuing to operate at Sudbury for many years to come,” commented Pearce. “Nickel Rim South remains a top priority and development work on the project continues without interruption.”

Located in the Sudbury basin, Nickel Rim South stays on schedule to ramp up to 60 per cent of its ultimate 1.25 million tonne per annum capacity in 2009. It is earmarked to become a low-cost cornerstone operation in the region, generating 18,000 tonnes of recoverable nickel by early 2010. Xstrata Nickel has invested $627 million for the project’s first phase, which came in on time and on budget. It has also approved the remaining project capital expenditure of $300 million for the completion of mine and infrastructure development.

In the coming year, total production from the Sudbury smelter is expected to remain comparable to that of 2008, as shortfalls from the announced operation suspensions will be offset by concentrates from Nickel Rim South and Xstrata Nickel Australasia.

“We are making these tough decisions to sustain our business in the immediate and longer term,” said Marc Boissonneault, vice president of Xstrata Nickel Sudbury Operations. “Ultimately these actions will result in more robust and viable operations at Sudbury that continue to create value and jobs for the local community over the medium and long term.” CIM March/April 2009 | 9

news Return to Wild Rose Country Pair of Alberta companies recognized for reclamation effort

By Alberta standards, there is nothing particularly unique about this patch of prairie 80 kilometres west of Edmonton; there is a farm shed, some aspen and poplar trees, cattle graze on the prairie, and in the summer the wheat heads out as it should. The fact that it appears ordinary is exactly what makes the 600 hectares, once an open pit coal mine, remarkable.

This past February, the Alberta Chamber of Resources (ACR) presented EPCOR Utilities and Sherritt International with the Major Reclamation Award, recognizing them for their innovation, patience and diligence in restoring an area that was once a part of the Genesee Coal Mine.

ACR represents 187 members across Alberta’s resource industry, including mining, the oil and gas sector and forestry. The award was presented to the two organizations by the ACR at its annual banquet

by Ryan Bergen in Edmonton, but it was Alberta Environment officials who determined who should be honoured.

ACR’s executive director, Brad Anderson, explained that with the ministry’s participation, this award represents more than just the industry congratulating itself. “If some-

10 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 4, No. 2

A wheat field stands on land once occupied by an open pit coal mine.

one does something good, Alberta Environment doesn’t have avenues to pat people on the back — they can’t — but we can use them to be good judges so that we can pat ACR members on the back.”

Dan Kuchmak, senior mine engineering technologist at Sherritt Coal, has worked at the mine since 1995. He stood before over 600 of his peers to collect the award, and savoured the moment that was a generation in the making.

The feeling, he said, “was immense gratitude for being recognized province-wide, especially to be amongst the movers and shakers of the industry. More so, getting the message out that good work — very good work — is being done within this location.”

The Genesee mine opened in 1988. The total area of the mine permit covers 6,734 hectares. Currently, 1,577 hectares are being actively mined. The earliest stage of the reclamation process began in the early 1990s. After the coal was extracted from the land, earthmovers levelled and contoured the area. Subsoil preserved from the initial mining process was dumped over the spoil, then decompacted and picked of stones. Topsoil was then added to the prepared subsoil. With the topsoil in place, the reclamation efforts encouraged the re-establishment of agriculture and pasture.

The stewards of the Genesee mine did not stop there.

They had greater ambitions for the reclaimed area. “One of the things we were challenged with was ‘okay, you can make farmland, but what are you doing about wetlands and what are you doing about reforestation,’” said George Greenhough, land manager for EPCOR’s Genesee Generating Station, the coal-fuel power plant adjacent the mine.

The proximity of the mine site to Edmonton allows faculty and students from the University of Alberta to do field

news work at the reclaimed site. Oil sands companies are helping to support the research of various treatments of aspen seed stock. Another research project involves locating and developing viable wetland areas. The structure and foundation of a utility shed are monitored to learn how well the reclaimed land can support construction.

In January, EPCOR and Sherritt began an experiment with live root transplantation. Mining trucks transferred the top layer of soil — rich with seeds, roots and other organic material — from a recently deforested area that will soon be mined to eight hectares of the reclaimed site.

“In the spring, we anticipate that we’ll have aspen [root shoots] and rose bushes and wildflowers typical of a boreal forest,” said Greenhough.

Mike Peck, general manager at Sherritt Coal, explained that the operation, so close to the people it serves in the nearby city, has a broader responsibility: “I think that our industry is under heavy scrutiny, and we need to continually show that we can reasonably satisfy most people with reclamation activities, with safety, with all the things that people like to frown on about our industry.” CIM

Achievements Gagner l’or à Denver Le 25 février, dans le cadre du 2009 SME Annual Meeting & Exhibit, à Denver, Colorado, monsieur Guy Dufresne, président et directeur général à la retraite de la Compagnie minière Québec Cartier, a reçu le prix « Charles F. Rand Gold Medal » décerné par l’American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers (AIME), pour son travail dans la sauvegarde de Québec Cartier en 2003-2004.

M. Dufresne a connu une très grande carrière dans l’industrie minière. Retraité en 2006, il est actuellement un membre du conseil d’administration de deux compagnies publiques, IAMGOLD et RSA Canada.

L’un des rares canadiens à recevoir ce prix de l’AIME, M. Dufresne déclare avec beaucoup d’humilité : « Je voudrais partager ce grand honneur avec tous ceux qui ont contribué à la survie de cette entreprise. » Winning Gold in Denver On February 25, at the 2009 SME Annual Meeting & Exhibit, in Denver, Colorado, Guy Dufresne was awarded the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers’ (AIME) Charles F. Rand Gold Medal for his excellent work in leading the restructuring of the Quebec Cartier Mining Company in 2003-2004.

Dufresne has enjoyed a successful career in the mining industry. Retired since 2006, he is currently a member of two public corporations, IAMGOLD and RSA Canada.

One of the few Canadians to receive this award, Dufresne, humbled by his success, said, “I would like to share this honour with all those who helped this company survive.”

March/April 2009 | 11

news CMHF plans a road trip Gala aims to bring distinguished legacy to rest of Canada It has been said that “remembering the past gives power to the future.”

That philosophy is surely at the heart of the mission of the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame (CMHF), which is dedicated to recognizing legendary individuals who have made impressive contributions to this great Canadian industry. Polished granite plaques honouring inductees line the walls of the Mining Building at the University of Toronto.

However, times have changed since the organization’s inception in 1988.

Recognizing this, the CMHF realized that if they were to reach today’s techsavvy generation, they would have to meet them on common ground. And meet them they have!

Housed in the Teck Suite of Galleries of at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), the CMHF’s permanent exhibit features a new interactive digital

by Angie Gordon presentation displayed quite spectacularly on a colossal monitor standing 2.4 metres high by 4.6 metres wide. In addition to a presentation honouring the inductees, there are 13 short videos about metals and minerals, as well as another that contrasts mining today and in the future.

This exhibit, along with the Vale Inco Ltd. Gallery of Minerals and the Gallery of Gems and Gold, were all made possible by a generous $10 million contribution from Teck to the ROM early in 2007.

“We were aiming to do something that would really capture the attention of the visitors,” said CMHF coordinator, Nean Allman. “With so many Ontario school children going through the ROM, we would like everyone to walk away knowing at the very least one positive fact about minerals and the mining industry.”

Meanwhile, the CMHF also wants to take its message beyond the greater 12 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 4, No. 2

Toronto area. “Our exhibit lends itself to duplication, as it can essentially be boiled down to a DVD,” explained Allman. “We realized that we have the chance to establish satellite exhibits across Canada.”

Acknowledging this, the Teck donation covers the inaugural satellite exhibit, which is to be installed in the BC Museum of Mining at Britannia Beach, on the road between Vancouver and Whistler. “The objective is to have it up and running before the winter Olympics next year,” explained Allman.” However, we would like to have similar exhibits across Canada and will be looking for sponsors for various locations.”

To generate interest and funds for this initiative, the CMHF will be holding a fundraising gala on May 9 at the ROM. Attendees will have an opportu-

nity to tour all three galleries in the Teck Suite, socialize over a delectable dinner served in the splendour of the Great Hall, and enjoy the dynamic sounds of renowned Canadian band, the Cowboy Junkies, who themselves have a mining connection. Three of the band’s four members, Margo, Michael and Peter Timmins, are descendents of CMHF inductees, Noah and Jules Timmins.

Allman acknowledged the extraordinary efforts of CMHF director, Jack McOuat, who she said has been instrumental in all of these efforts. “He’s been wonderfully optimistic that we would accomplish all this, and it is terrific to see his optimism bear fruit,” she said. It is now the hope of Allman, McOuat and others involved in the CMHF that their current efforts bear fruit across Canada. CIM

news Takeover terminated Ontario Superior Court halts the attempted annexation of Gold Reserve Evidence of a conflict of interest and breach of confidence were enough to convince an Ontario Superior Court judge in February that Vancouver-based Rusoro Mining’s attempted hostile takeover of Gold Reserve had to stop.

During the summer and fall of last year, Rusoro’s attempts to purchase and later to become involved in Gold Reserve’s operations in the Venezuelan state of Bolivar were rebuffed by the company.

The takeover bid was launched in December, last year. Gold Reserve shareholders were offered three Rusoro shares for every Gold Reserve share they owned.

Spokane, Washington-based Gold Reserve immediately cried foul and asked for an injunction to stop the process until it could be scrutinized by the court.

Gold Reserve president, Douglas Belanger, said waiting for a formal trial was not an option. If Gold Reserve’s shareholders accepted the offer and only learned after the takeover was completed that the bidder had an unfair advantage in negotiating the deal, the damage could not have been undone, said Belanger.

Gold Reserve’s objection to the deal sprung from the involvement of Endeavour Financial Corporation.

The company, working with Rusoro in its takeover bid, had received $1.2 million over the last four years from Gold Reserve in exchange for financial

by Ryan Bergen advice and help in raising capital for its operation.

Endeavour was bound to act in the best interests of Gold Reserve and notify the company if any apparent conflicts of interest arose.

In his decision, Justice Peter Cumming noted that Endeavour employees were working for both Rusoro and Gold Reserve at the same time. He pointedly criticized an 14 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 4, No. 2

Endeavour employee and lawyer for ignoring the terms of the contract with Gold Reserve that he, himself, had drafted.

Endeavour ended its association with Gold Reserve the same day the takeover bid became public.

Cumming, however, pointed out that the relationship was intact as the financial company helped put Rusoro’s bid together. At the time, Endeavour had access to comprehensive details about Gold Reserve’s concessions, including operational records, as well as geological analyses and data.

The judge was blunt in his response to Endeavour’s claim that, though it did not have “institutionalized ethical walls” to protect confidential information, it had not compromised Gold Reserve. “The defendants’ argument that their officers and employees can compartmentalize their minds so as to segregate and not use the confidential information given to them in the past lacks reality,” he declared.

Justice Cumming did not spare Rusoro. He criticized the company for drilling in neighbouring Gold Reserve’s concession. Rusoro did not share the results until the legal process began.

Cumming said that although this trespass did not relate directly to the case, “the incident is perhaps more generally indicative of the approach of Rusoro in its business dealings.”

Shortly after the judge issued the injunction preventing the takeover without a trial, Rusoro killed its bid. However, Rusoro, along with Endeavour, wants permission from the court to appeal the judge’s decision.

Regardless of the recent court decision, the immediate future for Gold Reserve’s “shovel-ready” concession Las Brisas remains uncertain. Last May, the Venezuelan government cancelled Gold Reserve’s construction permit for the site. Belanger said the country’s mining authorities have not clarified what needs to be addressed before construction can go ahead, and that uncertainty is general in the industry.

“Government officials are saying they have the desire to increase their interest in mining much as they did in the oil business, but they haven’t laid out a program to do so,” said Belanger.

“Everybody is sort of in limbo.” He added that Canadian companies with concessions in the area have firm legal footing and a clear path to follow.

“Crystallex has given notice of a potential arbitration claim under the Canadian Bilateral Investment Treaty and we have indicated that if we can’t get clarification that we would probably seek a similar route.” CIM

upfront Q&A by Minaz Kerawala

Mentor, innovator, networker A conversation with Professor James Finch, an award-winning authority on mineral processing t is often reiterated that Canada’s resources industry retains its position of global leadership through its continuing commitment to innovation.

But how do innovative ideas go from the laboratory to the mine or mill? How is the supply of highly trained people required for technology-intensive mining assured?

Few people are better qualified than Professor James Finch to answer such questions. The Gerald G. Hatch Chair in Mining and Metallurgical Engineering at McGill University, Finch has been instrumental in forging partnerships for cutting-edge collaborative mineral processing research. One fruit of the efforts is the Professor Finch (right) with colleagues in the flotation laboratory. To the left are columns of the type that Finch’s early research helped perfect and popularize. annual revenue gain of $25 million that partnering companies derive from resulting process columns. I think we did put some engineering into the efficiencies. solution.

In recognition of its contribution to mineral processing, Around that time, there was concern about ensuring that the research group and five of its industrial partners, Vale mineral processing schools survived and thrived. A route that Inco, Teck Cominco, COREM, Xstrata Process Support and was opening to do this was the Industrial Research Chair proSGS Lakefield were presented the 2008 Leo Derikx Synergy gram that NSERC had created in the 1980s. With the help of Award for innovation by the Natural Sciences and my former chairman, Professor Williams, the Inco-NSERC Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). industrial Research chair was established in 1991, starting In a conversation with CIM Magazine, Finch discussed the current model of industry-academic partnership. the scope of his work, his view of the industry and his The chair has been renewed every five years since. The prognostications for the future. last renewal was in 2006 with eight partners. It has provided us with the core funding to spin off other projects CIM: You received the Leo Derikx Award in recognition of your and maintain a team of 15 to 20 researchers. research and the partnerships you have built with industry.

Inco’s motive was the supply of highly qualified mineral Would you tell us more about these partnerships and how you processors. We have been quite successful on that front. went from being “a boffin in a laboratory” to a networker?

Over 80 master’s and PhD students have graduated under Finch: I noticed when I first went to CMP [Canadian my direction over the last 25 or 30 years. Most of them Mineral Processors] meetings, that industry people felt have gone to work in industry. that academics’ motives were different from theirs and that we could not help them solve practical problems.

CIM: Now that it has been established that industry and Doing summer work at Pine Point mines in 1974, 1977 researchers can make contributions to one another, are there and 1981, I came across practical problems that could be any barriers to the relationship? addressed by putting science and engineering behind the Finch: Companies see the virtue of working in consortia, practice of processing. It was then that as “a boffin in a but occasionally want to work one-on-one. If we get large lab,” I began to appreciate what goes on out there. sums of money from a single corporation, things get a bit In the early 1980s, we started work on a scale-up of col- blurred as to whether one is doing research or undertaking umn flotation with support from Noranda, whose Mine contracts. That makes me a little uncomfortable. It is not a Gaspé was the first commercial operation to use the tech- good environment in which students can thrive. nology. One of the graduate students [who worked on the With mergers and takeovers, the number of companies project], Glen Dobby, helped create a business called is decreasing. Without enough companies to go to, we Minnovex, which marketed and designed flotation would have to ask for more money from each one. This

I

March/April 2009 | 15

upfront Q&A

may prove to be a problem in building and keeping these consortia going.

Another potential barrier is the difficulty of finding the next generation of mineral processing professors. We are all getting a bit long in the tooth. This becomes a barrier in the sense that the partnership needs not only the cash coming in, but also the supply of researchers.

among competing technologies, and if you can actually measure the bubble size, you can quickly discriminate between spargers that make narrow-sized bubbles and those that make a wide size range of bubbles.

Several sponsors have used that approach. The sensor technology was recognized in the Xstrata Falconbridge Innovation Award from MetSoc in 2007. So, we have managed to make some improvements and that has been very rewarding.

CIM: Could you tell us about some of the research breakthroughs your team has brought about?

Finch: I am very pleased and proud to have been involved in the column flotation work, for which we won a number of awards. To study that technology, we had to develop methods for measuring how gas is dispersed into bubbles. With insights from my colleague, Dr. Gomez, we devised sensors to measure gas velocity, gas hold-up and bubble size. We used these measurements to define the operating range of a flotation cell by looking at the relationship between gas content and the amount of gas being put in.

At Brunswick mine, they used the gas velocity sensor to identify dart valves that were not working properly and flow meters that were not correctly calibrated.

Suddenly, the operations people could identify and correct problems. They followed this with pioneering work on distributing air to a bank of cells indentifying a “profile� that maximized performance. In column flotation, if, for example, you want to choose a sparger from

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CIM: Canada is a strongly resource-based economy. Yet, we have only seven schools teaching extractive metallurgy. Why might that be the case? Are you concerned about the scarcity of people entering mineral processing programs?

Finch: We have a fairly good distribution of schools from the east coast to the west coast. The problem is that they are small and vulnerable. If it is left up to the universities, the small programs will be phased out. It is an economic fact of life that you can’t run a small department very effectively.

That mining is a key part of the Canadian economy tends to get forgotten, every so often. Right now, it is front and centre in the papers. But 15 years ago, one hardly heard about it.

It seemed as if mining was going to disappear in favour of Silicon Valley equivalents in Canada. We realize now what a vital part of our economy it is. The Leo Derikx Award reflects that the granting agencies are beginning to realize it too.

In Australia, government and industry have come together a little better than in Canada. There seems to be more of a national effort there to maintain these collaborative research 3 ( 7 ( 5 . , ( : , 7 6 2 1 6 & 2 and education programs. We need *UDQGH $OOHH %RXOHYDUG %RLVEULDQG 4XpEHF - + 0 more of that in Canada.

ID[ The University of Melbourne closed their mining program many years ago. Pressured into re-thinking this, they created a master’s program.

They now bring in graduates from different disciplines for one-year master’s degrees in mining and mineral processing. That way, they are not faced with running a department.

So there are different models. I don’t want to suggest that our model is broken, but it is extremely difficult to keep shoring it up. At some point, we might need to do it a little differently.

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CIM: What are some of the emerging technological trends you see on the horizon?

Finch: For our own part, we are going to see more use of gas dispersion sensors and other technologies to bring flotation plants under better control.

I am quite excited about the work we have been doing in resource recovery from waste. We are thinking about 16 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 4, No. 2

upfront Q&A

functionalizing the surface of the bubble. We can put coatings on the surface that will pick up metal ions from the solution. There is no doubt that it works, thermodynamically. If you coat the bubble with solvents like kerosene, it is very effective at removing metal ions. We are close to being able to show that it can be done on a relatively large scale. This will be a focus of mine for the next six to 18 months.

CIM: Have you had any trouble with sustaining your sources of funding, now that the economy is in a bit of a pinch?

Finch: Every year, the partnership arrangement is reviewed and the industry sponsors sign up for the next year. We have just submitted our second annual report and await the outcome. Even if there is some pullback on the industry side, NSERC will maintain funding to see as through these unusual times. problem of self-heating of sulphide concentrates is studied in one of Professor Finch's We also have good funding from AMIRA The laboratories.

International. We are now putting together a proposal to NSERC to match that grant. The need for that has now the long term, it is still exactly as it was before. We are accelerated. What would have been nice to do, has now going to come out of this and are going to need people when that happens. become essential to do.

At places like McGill, students can be groomed and So, in the current situation, I am a little nervous. But I made ready to go back to the industry when times improve. think the companies will keep us going. In the short term, It would be wise to keep the partnership going. CIM the need for human resources may have diminished, but in

Moving on up Oilsands Quest Inc. has named Garth Wong its new CFO. Wong, a chartered accountant whose experience includes important financerelated roles at Union Pacific Resources Inc. and KPMG LLP, will have overall responsibility for all financial matters, including financing, accounting, reporting, treasury, tax and auditing in his new role.

Rainy River Resources Ltd. has appointed Stuart Averill to the position of vice president of exploration and Gerald Shields to the position of vice president administration.

Averill, the founder and owner of Overburden Drilling Management Ltd., has played a critical role in the discoveries of several important ore bodies, including the Rainy River Project in Ontario. Shields, a principal at Providia Investment Group, had spent 27 years as a practicing lawyer in Calgary and Vancouver.

FACULTY POSITIONS IN MINING ENGINEERING AT McGILL UNIVERSITY The Department of Mining and Materials Engineering at McGill University invites applications for several WHQXUH WUDFN SRVLWLRQV LQ 0LQLQJ DW WKH $VVLVWDQW 3URIHVVRU OHYHO RU KLJKHU LI TXDOL¿HG 7KH 'HSDUWPHQW RIIHUV % (QJ 0DVWHU¶V DQG 'RFWRUDWH GHJUHHV 7KHUH DUH IXOO WLPH XQGHUJUDGXDWH VWXGHQWV DQG JUDGXDWH VWXGHQWV LQ WKH 0LQLQJ SURJUDP 7KH 'HSDUWPHQW KDV VWDWH RI WKH DUW UHVHDUFK ODERUDWRULHV )RU PRUH LQIRUPDWLRQ VHH KWWS ZZZ PFJLOO FD PLQPDW Areas of interest cover all aspects of mining, and include: Environmental mining LQFOXGLQJ LQQRYDWLYH VXVWDLQDEOH PLQH GHVLJQ VROXWLRQV PLQH RSWLPL]DWLRQ VXVWDLQDEOH SURFHVVLQJ DQG PLQH FORVXUH UHFODPDWLRQ SODQV Sustainable mineral resource management, interfacing with modeling, simulation, operations UHVHDUFK JHRVFLHQFHV IRU WKH VXVWDLQDEOH GHYHORSPHQW RI WKH HDUWK¶V PLQHUDO DQG HQHUJ\ UHVRXUFHV Open pit mining, including design and production scheduling, equipment selection, mine to mill, HQYLURQPHQWDO LPSDFW ZDVWH PDQDJHPHQW UHKDELOLWDWLRQ Underground mining VWUHVVLQJ LQQRYDWLYH VROXWLRQV WR DQG FKDOOHQJHV UHODWHG WR SODQQLQJ RUH DQG ZDVWH Ã&#x20AC;RZ DXWRPDWLRQ DQG URERWLFV KHDW DQG DLU YHQWLODWLRQ Mineral economics and mineral asset valuation LQFOXGLQJ ¿QDQFLDO PRGHOLQJ DQG VWRFKDVWLF PLQHUDO PDUNHW IRUHFDVWLQJ &DQGLGDWHV VKRXOG KROG D GRFWRUDO GHJUHH DQG D % (QJ SUHIHUDEO\ LQ PLQLQJ HQJLQHHULQJ RU DQ DOOLHG DSSOLHG VFLHQFH RU HQJLQHHULQJ ¿HOG DQG KDYH D FRPPLWPHQW WR WHDFKLQJ DW ERWK XQGHUJUDGXDWH DQG JUDGXDWH OHYHOV 7KH VXFFHVVIXO FDQGLGDWH PXVW GHPRQVWUDWH DQ DELOLW\ WR HVWDEOLVK DQG VXVWDLQ D G\QDPLF UHVHDUFK DFWLYLW\ LQ KLV KHU DUHD RI H[SHUWLVH 4XDOL¿HG DSSOLFDQWV VKRXOG VXEPLW D UHVXPH LQFOXGLQJ VWDWHPHQWV RI WHDFKLQJ DQG UHVHDUFK LQWHUHVWV WRJHWKHU ZLWK QDPHV DQG DGGUHVVHV RI WKUHH UHIHUHQFHV DQG FRSLHV RI UHFHQW SXEOLFDWLRQV WR 3URIHVVRU 6WHSKHQ <XH &KDLU 'HSDUWPHQW RI 0LQLQJ DQG 0DWHULDOV (QJLQHHULQJ 0F*LOO 8QLYHUVLW\ 8QLYHUVLW\ 6WUHHW 6XLWH 0RQWUHDO + $ % &DQDGD RU E\ H PDLO WR SRVLWLRQ PP#PFJLOO FD ,QWHUYLHZV DUH SODQQHG WR VWDUW LQ 0DUFK XQWLO WKH SRVLWLRQV DUH ¿OOHG 0F*LOO 8QLYHUVLW\ LV FRPPLWWHG WR HTXLW\ LQ HPSOR\PHQW DQG GLYHUVLW\ ,W ZHOFRPHV DSSOLFDWLRQV IURP LQGLJHQRXV SHRSOHV YLVLEOH PLQRULWLHV HWKQLF PLQRULWLHV SHUVRQV ZLWK GLVDELOLWLHV ZRPHQ SHUVRQV RI PLQRULW\ VH[XDO RULHQWDWLRQV DQG JHQGHU LGHQWLWLHV DQG RWKHUV ZKR PD\ FRQWULEXWH WR IXUWKHU GLYHUVL¿FDWLRQ $OO DSSOLFDQWV DUH HQFRXUDJHG WR DSSO\ KRZHYHU LQ DFFRUGDQFH ZLWK &DQDGLDQ LPPLJUDWLRQ UHTXLUHPHQWV SULRULW\ ZLOO EH JLYHQ WR &DQDGLDQ FLWL]HQV DQG SHUPDQHQW UHVLGHQWV RI &DQDGD 0HPEHUVKLS RU HOLJLELOLW\ IRU PHPEHUVKLS LQ D &DQDGLDQ SURIHVVLRQDO HQJLQHHULQJ DVVRFLDWLRQ is a requirement.

March/April 2009 | 17

upfront PROCESSING by Binod Sundararajan

An 18th century ingredient in a 21st century solution A steam-based process is helping overcome the challenges of in situ oil sands recovery mong the world’s largest reserves of oil, Canada’s oil sands are also among the most difficult sources of oil to tap. The 20 per cent or so of the oil sands that are relatively easy to mine require the clearing of huge tracts of land and the construction of vast tailings ponds. The remaining 80 per cent of the resource is locked up deep underground and accessible only by drilling. These in situ deposits are so technically challenging to develop that until recently, few considered it worth the cost or effort.

Due to a combination of several factors that include the advance- Horizontal SAGD wells. ment of technology and the favourability of oil prices, expensive but efficient methods like steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) are now being used to extract the oil from in situ deposits. The challenges, however, remain daunting.

Canadian-based Norwest Corporation provides technical consultation services, including for SAGD, to resource industry projects around the world. Integrating competencies in mining, oil and gas, hydrology and environmental processes, Norwest provides comprehensive services aimed at optimizing every stage of project development in four principal areas: geology; engineering; water resources; and environmental and management consulting.

Full steam below SAGD was conceived by Roger Butler, an engineer for Imperial Oil, around 1969 and finally developed in 1975.

As John Campanella, president, oil and gas services at Norwest described it: “SAGD is an enhanced oil recovery technology for producing heavy crude oil and bitumen. It is an advanced form of steam stimulation in which a pair of horizontal wells is drilled into the oil reservoir, one a few metres above the other. Steam is continuously injected into the upper wellbore to heat the oil and reduce its viscosity, causing the heated oil to drain into the lower wellbore, where it is lifted out.”

As seen in the figures, two parallel horizontal oil wells are drilled in the formation, one about four to six metres above the other. The upper well injects steam, possibly mixed with solvents, and the lower one collects the heated crude oil or bitumen that flows out of the formation, along with any water from the condensation of injected steam. “The injected steam forms a steam chamber that grows vertically 18 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 4, No. 2

Image courtesy of Norwest Corporation

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and horizontally in the formation,” Campanella elaborated.

The heat from the steam reduces the viscosity of the heavy crude oil or bitumen and allows it to flow down into the lower wellbore. The steam and gases rise because of their low density compared to the heavy crude oil below, ensuring that steam is not produced at the lower production well.

Campanella went on to explain that the steam and gases released (usually methane, carbon dioxide and some hydrogen sulphide) tend to rise in the steam chamber and fill the empty space left by the oil. Oil and water flow by a counter current with gravity-driven drainage running into the lower well bore. Finally, said Campanella, “the condensed water and bitumen are transported to the surface using a variety of production methods, such as submersible pumps specifically designed to handle the hightemperature fluids.”

Getting gravity to do the work Some of the key challenges in this process start with situating the vertical and horizontal bores. Campanella emphasised the importance of getting the level of the horizontal well just right with absolute precision to maintain the flow of the viscous fluid such that it can allow gravity to assist in the drainage process.

The process is relatively insensitive to thin shale streaks and other vertical barriers to steam and fluid flow because, as the rock is heated, differential thermal expansion causes fractures in it, allowing steam and fluids to flow through. This allows potential recovery rates of 60 to 70 per cent of the oil in the Canadian oil sands.

However, said Campanella, “it is not used in the oil shale formations where the shale barriers are thicker, such

upfront as in Colorado.â&#x20AC;? Thermally, SAGD can be twice as efficient as the older cyclic steam stimulation (CSS) process and results in far fewer wells being damaged by high pressure. This, and the higher oil recovery rates, make SAGD much more economical in certain reservoirs than pressure-driven steam process, especially where the reservoir is reasonably thick and permeable.

Working up the steam Another major challenge encountered at SAGD project sites dates to the cost of steam generation, which can rapidly get out of hand. While natural gas has been used historically as a fuel for Canadian oil sands projects, rising gas prices have prompted The SAGD process of viscous fluid removal the search for other viable and sustainable means of heat generation. These include gasification of produced with other users to reduce the overall footprint of industry. bitumen to make syngas, coal deposits or nuclear reactors. A In situ project designs include a variety of measures to source of large amounts of fresh and brackish water and reduce the impact on wildlife, laying the building blocks for large water recycling facilities are required in order to create to the eventual return of the land to its original condition. the copious amounts of steam required for the SAGD That is a key philosophy at Norwest, stressed Campanella.

It powered the industrial revolution and changed the process. world.

Nearly three hundred years later, in the hands of engiWhether mining or in situ, oil sands developers are comneers like those who work at Norwest, steam may change the mitted to minimizing the impact they have on the land by CIM game yet again. avoiding sensitive habitats, optimizing land use and working

March/April 2009 | 19

Image courtesy of Norwest Corporation

PROCESSING

upfront TECHNOLOGY by Minaz Kerawala

For the love of terra firma A Canadian company delivers hi-tech, integrated solutions to keep mine management on firm ground

Graphic courtesy of ESG Canada Inc.

A one-stop shop

Diagrammatic representation of a typical ESG system installed at a mine

here is a deep, instinctive value accorded to the simple act of standing on firm ground. Perhaps because we derive such comfort from terra firma, human beings have been fascinated and terrified by the prospect of the ground beneath their feet being shaken.

As far back as AD 132, the Chinese scientist, Chang Heng, invented an ingenious device to record and locate earthquakes. Comprised of a pendulum and metallic dragons and frogs, Heng’s contraption was beautiful and somewhat effective, but largely imprecise.

In the ensuing centuries, seismometry has come a long way. What has remained unchanged is our need to know when and where the ground will not be firm. Nowhere is this need more acute than in the mining industry, tied to the ground as its fortunes are.

Addressing this requirement is the core purpose of Engineering Seismology Group (ESG) Canada Inc. a Canadian company established in 1993 that provides passive seismic monitoring systems to the resources and geotechnical industries.

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20 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 4, No. 2

Seismic monitoring systems are not rare. Jamie Alexander, ESG’s director of North American mining, estimates that about 80 per cent of Canada’s deep mines have them, with greater concentrations in Sudbury and Val-d’Or. ESG microseismic instrumentation has been installed at over 300 sites worldwide. The state-of-the-art systems have ISO 9001:2000 and MSHA Intrinsically Safe certification.

ESG was born of a decade of intensive industry-sponsored research into seismic hardware, software and interpretative processes. Employing top-flight seismologists, software professionals, geophysicists and technicians, the company remains true to its roots. ESG’s active research and development department seeks to improve products and develop new functionalities making the detection and recording of seismic-type activity more accurate and useful.

Better with age A typical ESG system is made up of a series of finely tuned sensors distributed across strategic underground and surface locations. These are connected by copper cables to ESG Paladin seismic receivers that record and process the sensor data and transmit them by Ethernet cable to surface stations for archival or analysis. Other surface units generate geographic information system (GIS) and timing data, permitting every recorded event to be located precisely in space and time.

The entire system is set up, as Alexander put it metaphorically, “to make a video recording of seismic activity, instead of just taking a snapshot.” Continuous, real-time recording means that no seismic activity, however minute or fleeting, goes unnoticed. “Ethernet connectivity uploads the data to a web-like system, where you can log in remotely or at the surface,” Alexander added.

“Many mines put the ESG system into new developments, so that they can get background-level data on what they can expect seismologically,” Alexander explained.

upfront TECHNOLOGY

“Every mine will generate some seismic activity. It’s pretty normal. What you need to do is find out what’s not normal.”

It is in distinguishing normal seismic events from concerning ones that the ESG system ages really well.

Continuously recording and archiving seismic activity, the system builds up a fund of high-definition data on the site with the passage of time. Voluminous archival data make it easier for analysts to interpret current data more meaningfully and integrate the information into decision-making processes more usefully.

ESG in action at Kidd Mine At Xstrata’s Kidd Mine, an ESG system was first installed in 1997, where, according to the mine’s ground control specialist, Norm Disley, it helps make informed decisions. “The seismic data is used on a daily basis for re-entry, planning, ground support, sequencing and estimating seismic hazard,” he explained. Because the systems are PC-based, they could be easily integrated into existing equipment and facilities at the Kidd Mine. “We didn’t require any specialized information systems support and we could even use some of our existing sensors that were not manufactured by ESG,” said Disley.

“Our central control supervisors have 24-hour access to the seismic visualizers and database. With the full waveform data combined with triaxial sensors, we have a reliable microseismic magnitude scale and a much better understanding of seismic ground motion and its effect on ground support systems.

Disley also uses data from the ESG system as raw material for other computerized analytical systems to get a more detailed picture of seismic conditions at his mine. “After processing, all data from the ESG microseismic systems is downloaded into the Mine Seismicity Risk Analysis Program.”

Developed by the Australian Centre for Geomechanics, this risk assessment database software processes the ESGgenerated data to produce advanced metrics like energy indices and seismic hazard maps based on peak particle velocity.

Because it gels well with and feeds into existing systems at Kidd, Disley reports: “We are currently expanding our systems below the 8600 level with ESG 24-bit Paladin recorders, as mining continues to expand to depth.”

tures and faults, and pinpoint areas of potential roof collapse and cave-in hazard.

In the harsh mine environment, sensitive instruments can be easily damaged. So that the occasional cut cable or jarred junction box does not throw the whole system out of kilter, there is redundancy built into it. “If a few sensors fail, there’s enough backup for the system to keep running,” Alexander explained. Still, on rare occasions, things do go wrong. This, according to Disley, is where the company’s provenance played an important role.

“ESG is a Canadian company based in Kingston, so they could send someone over to the mine within a day, if required,” said Disley. Precision and reliability also lend the system an important fringe functionality — productivity enhancement. If risk-prone locales are identified and delimited accurately, areas where personnel need to be evacuated or work needs to stop are greatly reduced.

Individually, such reductions in stoppage or loss of productivity may not seem much, but over time, they can add up to substantial savings.

The ripple effect More than 1,800 years after Chang Heng’s proto-seismograph, the repute of its modern-day, made-in-Canada descendant has spread to Heng’s native land where it is used every day at several mines. China is just one of the dozens of countries in which ESG has helped meet humankind’s primordial need to be on terra firma. CIM

For safety and productivity Using the ESG system to map seismic activity, mine safety personnel can set safezone boundaries, especially during events like major blasting. The system can also help assess pillar and ore pass stability, identify potentially dangerous active fracMarch/April 2009 | 21

upfront SUSTAINABILIT Y by Michael Sudbur y

The balancing act of sustainable mining New research into the role of sulphate balances in assessing and mitigating mining’s impact on lakes and rivers

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22 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 4, No. 2

Photo courtesy of NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

cid mine drainage (AMD) has plagued the sulphide mining industry since Roman times.

The German scientist, Georg Agricola, mentioned it as far back as the late medieval era. Concerns about AMD pertain to the generation of acid by sulphide oxidation and the mobilization of iron and base metals by acid reactions.

Nowadays, mine discharge, process effluents, seepage from tailings and contaminated site run-off are channelled through one or two treatment plants. There, the acid is neutralized and soluble iron and base metals are precipitated with lime. Excess alkalinity is then neutralized with carbon dioxide before discharge to a water body. Traditionally, this was considered The vastness and geophysical complexity of the Great Lakes Basin become apparent in this satellite photograph. sufficient protection from adverse ecological impact. Now, however, the significance of sulphate • placing sulphide underground as backfill in a cementions in downstream systems is gradually receiving more bonded paste fill; attention as the supplies of fresh water become constrained. • co-disposal of sulphide-bearing waste rock with desulIn regions with net annual precipitation, stream dilution phurized tailings slimes; usually keeps sulphate concentrations well below the level • covering tailings with composted materials as a comwhere solids precipitation occurs. But where mine disbined oxygen-water barrier and growing medium; and charge is a significant proportion of stream flow, concerns • storing high-sulphur (pyrrhotite and pyrite) concenabout fish spawning and water potability may arise. trates under water and promoting the formation of In arid areas, the evaporation of effluents serves to conbiofilm oxygen barriers over sulphide surfaces in rock by supplying trace nutrients in the form of natural rock centrate the salts and precludes recycling to reduce fresh phosphate. water intake from finite aquifer supplies. Water recycling in such locations may necessitate water treatment to remove sulphate ions. Techniques such as ion exchange, A neglected tool A tool that remains neglected in mine planning and perreverse osmosis, barium precipitation and microbial reduction to hydrogen sulphide can remove sulphate, but formance evaluation is a site-wide or watershed timerelated water balance. There is sufficient background inforinvolve high capital and operating costs. mation in most mining regimes for at least a proximate balPossible solutions ance to be developed. This can provide an estimate of the The alternative, in principle, is to avoid the formation of rate and quantity of sulphate that will be discharged dursulphate by inhibiting sulphide oxidation. Mine decom- ing and after the end of operations for different sulphidemissioning plans often attempt such action retroactively. bearing material storage arrangements and mine plans.

Increasingly, operations also attempt to reduce sulphates This, in turn, could help estimate the impact on receiving made during active operation through various actions waters and recycling potential. under a progressive reclamation plan. However, designing A sulphate balance for a hypothetical mining operation operations to minimize the rate of sulphate formation from was developed to illustrate this approach. Its main assumpthe outset is still rare. tions are summarized in Table 1.

This perspective is gradually changing and there are a Assumptions similar to those in Table 1 were applied in number of approaches being investigated, including: order to estimate effluents from the combined nickel

upfront SUSTAINABILIT Y

operations in the Sudbury Basin since 1900. It was assumed that the total of 730 megatonnes of sulphide ore mined would have contained ten per cent, or 73 megatonnes of sulphur. Of this, 29 megatonnes would be in tailings. At an annual oxidation rate of 0.1 per cent, with all reject iron sulphide going into tailings, estimates suggested that about 87,000 tonnes of sulphate are discharged annually by operations in the Sudbury Basin.

The Sudbury Basin watershed discharges into Lake Huron. The sulphate inventory and flow through Lake Huron were estimated using published Great Lakes data and analytical sampling data from the Ministry of Environment. It was assumed that residence time is sufficiently long and mixing sufficiently rapid that, for a first approximation, it is acceptable to average spot data from numerous locations.

Elliott Lake Uranium operations, while not mining sulphide ore, employed sulphuric acid leaching and discharged effluent to Lake Huron.

The potential sulphate contribution from this source was also estimated (Table 2).

Sources of the sulphur

Table 1. Illustrative total sulphur balance for a hypothetical mining operation Assumed quantities Assumed cconditions Million tonnes Ore body 30 Ore 10% sulphur Pit ore 20 Site area 8 m2 per t/y Underground ore 10 Net precipitation 0.5 m/y Annual production 1 Time required for complete 1,000 years oxidation Rock and tailings 62 Iron sulphides Stored underwater Rock and tailings 1.19% sulphur

Table 2. Estimate of sulphate discharged during active operation of Elliott Lake uranium mines Siliceous ore leached with sulphuric acid Estimates for 1954-1984 (30 years) Ore mined 34 Mt Acid rate 50 kg/t Acid used 1.7 Mt Annual average (sulphate) 56,000 t

Table 3. Potential contribution of smelter stack emissions to Lake Huron sulphate gain Sulphur 106 tonnes/year Concentrate (1901-2000) 44 Stack emission - 80% 35 Annual average 0.35 Sulphate 106 tonnes/year SO equivalent 1.05 Lake Huron gain 1.80

Estimating the sulphate in outflow and deducting the input from Lakes Superior and Michigan, a sulphate balance around Lake Huron indicated an annual pick-up of 1.8 million tonnes of sulphate from other sources. The combined Sudbury Basin and Elliott Lake effluents account for only six per cent of the total. Where might the rest of the sulphur picked up by Lake Huron originate? One possibility is from smelter stack emissions via acid rain fall-out. Table 3 suggests that historical acid rain fallout over land and water may account for up to 62 per cent of the sulphate pick-up in Lake Huron.

If Table 3 is valid, a gradual fall in sulphate pickup in Lake Huron should occur as sulphate is leached out of the ground while conversion of smelter sulphur to sulphuric acid prevents the replenishment of the supply of sulphate.

Sulphate loadings for Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario were estimated at 0.2, 0.5, 1.8, 2.0 and 2.9 megatonnes of sulphate added per year, respectively.

This reveals that Sudbury mines’ annual sulphate contribution of 0.087 megatonnes is relatively insignificant and suggests that non-mine sulphate sources (automobiles, municipal effluents, power plant stacks and agriculture) are a much larger factor.

A global perspective A further estimate was made of the combined sulphate in effluent from all world sulphate-mining operations.

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The annual seven megatonnes of sulphate estimated in the combined effluent of all world mines is small compared to the other sources of sulphate. Sulphuric acid production alone accounts for 180 megatonnes of sulphate, much of which is dispersed as gypsum following industrial use. The sulphate in all the world’s rivers has been estimated at 600 million tonnes. This shows that, serious as they are, concerns with mine sulphate are restricted to small areas and are only a small part of a larger problem. CIM This article is based on the paper “Sulphate and Mining — an Appraisal,” presented at the August 2008 Conference of Metallurgists meeting in Winnipeg. The complete paper can be found in WALSIM, available from MetSoc/www.metsoc.org

About the author Michael P. Sudbury has long been an active member of several technical societies including CIM, TMS, IMM, and AWMA. Having acquired decades of broad-spectrum mining experience, he is now an independent consultant interested in evaluating emerging technologies.

March/April 2009 | 23

upfront OUTREAC H by Ryan Clarke

Recipe for a successful Canadian Mining Games Generosity of sponsors key to annual event

rather than having to travel to the ten individual universities represented.

I was fortunate enough to compete in the 17th annual Canadian Mining Games held in Montreal in February 2007. I had attended innumerable educational and sporting conferences, but never before had I experienced such an overwhelming sense of camaraderie and purpose. It was at this event — aided by a few beverages — that I first voiced interest in becoming involved if the event was ever held at the University of Toronto. Fulfilling the prophesy, I became the co-chair for the 19th annual Canadian Mining Games held at the University of Toronto from February 1921, 2009.

Participants from University of Alberta survey as part of a challenge.

Ingredients: 10 120 23 21 3 1

Teams Competitors Generous sponsoring companies Events Banquets Dedicated team of volunteers

Directions: Mix all ingredients together, stir vigorously, step back and enjoy. n annual competition between ten Canadian universities, the Canadian Mining Games, showcase student talent in a series of 21 mining-related events. The games are held over three days during Reading Week and see 120 competitors vying for the title of Mining Games Champions.

The Canadian Mining Games began at McGill University in 1991 and take place annually as universities across Canada take turns hosting the event. This event is mining’s version of the NHL Top Prospects Game and is used by sponsors to network with future graduates and observe them interacting and competing with their peers.

They offer a unique opportunity for sponsoring companies to meet 120 of the country’s most ambitious and intelligent mining engineering students at one venue,

A

24 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 4, No. 2

One part perseverance, two parts pride The Canadian Mining Games are the highlight of every future mining engineer’s calendar. They serve as a welcome opportunity to relax after midterm exams and reconnect with old acquaintances from previous work terms or mining games. They also reignite the long-standing rivalry between east and west for Mining Games superiority. The eastern schools — Dalhousie University, Université Laval, École Polytechnique, McGill University, Queen’s University, University of Toronto and Laurentian University — have traditionally won the majority of the competitions based on strong, historical education systems. However, this dominance ended in 2007 when the University of Alberta won its first of two consecutive Canadian Mining Games. The other two western teams — University of British Columbia and University of Saskatchewan — are also emerging as serious championship contenders.

Preparations for the Canadian Mining Games take months, with organization typically beginning in summer and universities picking their teams in September or early October. Long before the scheduled dates of the games, teams begin competing in the Stock Market Challenge, which usually runs for two months prior to the opening banquet.

For the Games’ opening banquet, held in Hart House on the University of Toronto’s St. George Campus, teams arrived decked out in their university colours, eager to begin the competition. The banquet was sponsored exclusively by BHP Billiton Iron Ore and included a presentation by Simon Fleury, superintendent Area C, regarding the company’s Australian operations. BHP Billiton Iron Ore also provided the topic for, and judged, the oral pres-

upfront OUTREACH

entation event. This year’s topic addressed how companies persevere through economic cycles.

options and provided reassurance about the long-term viability of the mining industry.

Let the games begin

And the winner is…

Friday saw teams compete in nine events that included: Jack-leg Drilling, Rock Mechanics, Mineral Processing, Surveying, Equipment Selection, Mineral Identification, Mystery Event — GPS Challenge, Problem Set and the competition’s largest event, Mine Design. Strong showings in the first day’s competition saw the University of Toronto, perennial powerhouse Laurentian University, and returning champions University of Alberta jump out to early leads over the remaining seven schools.

On Friday night, the teams ascended the CN Tower to get a bird’s-eye view of Canada’s largest city and partake of the Mining in the Sky Dinner, exclusively hosted by Barrick Gold Corporation. Gordon Fife, executive vice president of organizational effectiveness, gave an overview of the charitable work that Barrick is associated with worldwide. After a cocktail reception at Horizons Café, dinner was served in the 360 Restaurant, where students dined with 50 industry representatives and reflected on the day’s events. After dessert and coffee, the action shifted to a popular nightclub in Toronto’s entertainment district.

Events began with a bang on Saturday, as all team members were utilized, simultaneously competing in five morning events: the Environmental event, Equipment Handling, Drilling and Blasting, AutoCAD and Mine Rescue Simulation. A career fair, open to competitors and sponsors, was also held during lunchtime. The fast pace of the morning eased off in the afternoon. Competitors could choose between events on Ventilation, Mechanical Design, Remote Control Equipment Handling and the second Mystery Event — Gladiator Jousting. At the close of events, there were no clear-cut frontrunners and the games were abuzz with speculation about who would be crowned this year’s champions.

Saturday night saw the completion of the 19th Annual Canadian Mining Games with the Awards Banquet at Arcadian Court in the Simpson Tower, hosted by Syncrude Canada Ltd. Mark Wyllie, long-range planning leader at Syncrude, introduced his company’s oil sands operations, familiarized students with available career

When the dust settled on this year’s event, Laurentian University was crowned the 2009 Canadian Mining Games Champions. Strong showings by the University of British Columbia and the University of Alberta bagged them the second and third places, respectively. Queen’s University and the University of Toronto rounded out the top five.

This bodes well for competition at the 20th Annual Canadian Mining Games, as neither east nor west can claim complete dominance. Next year’s host school will be Dalhousie University, where the mineral engineering student body is eager to showcase their department and the city of Halifax to the rest of Canada.

On a personal note, I would like to thank each and every one of the sponsors of this year’s event. The Canadian Mining Games are only possible because of their generosity. Each of the events was exclusively sponsored by a mining company, consultant or service provider who believes in the purpose and spirit of the games. Despite industry-wide hiring freezes due to the current economic slowdown, our sponsors supported us this year. They have secured a place in the minds of future graduates as “go to” companies, an image that will come to the fore as they set out to seek employment. CIM Further information on the Canadian Mining Games can be found at www.canadianmininggames.com

About the author Ryan Clarke is a third-year student in the Lassonde Mineral Engineering program at the University of Toronto and co-chair of the 2009 Canadian Mining Games.

His work on engineering projects has taken him across Canada as well as to the United States, Mongolia, Portugal and Ecuador.

*Additional sponsorship provided by Teck and J.S. Redpath Ltd.

March/April 2009 | 25

by Binod Sundararajan Photo courtesy of Johnson Matthey

processing

Crushing, sorting, grinding, leaching.

As long as man has been extracting ores from the ground, he has been searching for better, more efficient ways to separate the valuable minerals from the gangue (sand, rock and other impurities). As in other fields, the technology of mineral processing has evolved over time. However, in the face of escalating costs and ever-increasing environmental constraints, the thrust for innovation and technological advances in mineral processing is gaining ever greater momentum and significance.

A new wave of sorting It has been in industrial minerals and uranium processing that sorting has been most widely adopted. “Since very early on, radiometric ore sorters have been applied in the pre-concentration of uranium ores,” said Van Weert. He went on to explain that for industrial minerals, liberation occurs on a different scale. “Most industrial minerals are mined from massive deposits, which, in the past, required no upgrading. Many of these operations have stockpiles of earlier discarded below-quality rocks, which are now being reprocessed with the help of sorting based on ore colour.”

Van Weert said that the economics of this are very favourable, from zero or negative value — as stockpiles often cannot remain after mine closure — to full product value for at least a portion of the stockpile. Similarly, in the future, the economics of overburden and cutoff grade ore sorting could be very attractive under the right circumstances, and such treatment could well become an integral part of open pit mine development.

With the support of Barrick Gold Corporation, Van Weert has developed and tested a method by which microwave heating and infrared sensors are used to sort sulphidic ores.

Utilizing an infrared camera to gauge the rise in rock temperG ature, Van Weert subjected a number of ore samples to microwave radiation, measured the rise in temperature and analyzed the results obtained. He found that rocks bearing sulphides respond preferentially to microwave radiation, allowing for identification by an infrared (IR) sensor. Where there are sulphides and carbonaceous material present, the hotter fraction contains both, and could be used as roaster feed. Where there is no carbonaceous material, sorting of rocks by sulphide content appears quite straightforward.

Based on these initial results and subsequent testing, all of which appear promising, Process Research ORTECH (PRO) is building a prototype “sulphide spotter” for use on drill core. This technology builds on earlier work on the recognition of sulphide veins, clusters or stockwork through brief exposure of the drill core to microwaves, followed by infrared (IR) sensing.

The hot spots in the image represent sulphides, and these images can be computer processed to build a mine model of the actual sulphide emplacement. Barrick has allowed all of this work to enter the public domain to encourage innovation in the mining industry, and Van Weert is working with CommoDas, a German sorting machine manufacturer, to apply this technology to their hardware. As a sign of interest, parallel development in this area has begun at the Technical University of Aachen.

102 °C

80

60

40

25

Result of core made available by Barrick Gold drill core. This technology is a step-out from earlier work by Barrick

Heavy metals When it comes to uranium mining and milling, the specific processes differ from those used in base or precious metals.

Chuck Edwards, director, metallurgy at AMEC Americas Limited, explained that uranium differs from most metals, which generally face the problem of decreasing ore grades.

“In Canada, the mined uranium grades have actually gone up,” said Edwards. “About 25 years ago, Key Lake Mine started out with ore grades of about 2.5 to three per cent, March/April 2009 | 27

Image courtesy of Process Research ORTECH Inc.

I

n the base metals industry, mineral processing most often involves upgrading of the ore and concentrating the valuable mineral fraction via flotation. According to Gus Van Weert, mining consultant and president of ORETOME Ltd., ore sorting has not secured a proper foothold in the base or precious metals industry due to the reliance of most sensors on rock surface characteristics. “It has not been very useful in the case of sulphides, and nonexistent in the case of gold,” he said.

Photo courtesy of Paladin Energy Inc.

processing

View across leach thickener at Paladin Energy’s Langer Heinrich uranium mining and milling facility in Namibia.

Photo courtesy FEI Company

which at the time was considered really high. But today, at main reagents in our alkaline leaching process are caustic the MacArthur River mine, the newest uranium mine in soda (lye), soda ash (washing soda) and sodium bicarbonCanada, the average grade is 20 per cent, and in the next ate (baking soda). In acid leaching, operators do a good job mine scheduled to be opened, Cigar Lake, it is also expected of neutralizing acidic solutions, but they need lime to do to be 20 per cent.” that. Our tailings are already at a pH of 8 or 9, so neutralAccording to Edwards, these high grades bring on new ization is not necessary. In contrast to acid leaching, alkachallenges, most markedly the necessity for higher levels of line leaching is very selective as to what is dissolved into radiation protection, improved operational procedures and the solution. Generally, only uranium and vanadium dispractices, and the use of remote mining methods. solves into the solution, while other heavy metals stay in Edwards also pointed out that the move away from the the waste solids, thus preventing them from becoming use of ammonia towards the use of a strong acid strip transportable into ground water. There is less risk involved.” process, which utilizes sulphuric acid, has been one of the While many processing plants have used alkaline leachmajor recent changes in uranium processing. “The water ing in the past, Buck observed another more recent advance that is left over from the use of ammonia contains ammo- that involves heating slurry. “We have much more efficient nium sulphate, which gets trapped and converted to methods to heat slurry that require less maintenance,” he ammonium sulphate crystals, which is actually a very good said. “Also, plant efficiencies in general are higher, at least for fertilizer,” said Edwards. “However, the generation of a use- the amount of capital we invest. There have not only been ful by-product such as ammonium sulphate processing and safety enhancements made to equipdoes not justify the problems involved in proment, there have also been changes to the mining cessing with ammonia; managing ammonia is culture. The safety culture in mining in Africa has difficult, thus hastening the move away from its seen a tremendous improvement over the years.” use.” The Rabbit Lake mill in northern Saskatchewan is a strong acid strip mill, and Innovations in mineral processing equipment Edwards predicted that no future mills are likely to utilize the ammonia process.

Alain Dorval, manager, process and According to Langer Heinrich, genmetallurgy at Met-Chem, higheral manager, Wyatt Buck, Paladin`s lighted the fact that innovations newest uranium mining and milling by manufacturers of mineral facility in Namibia uses the alkaline processing equipment are also leach process, with uranium extractions going far to make processing of over 95 per cent from the carnotite more energy efficient and ore. “We are a very benign type of effective. In particular, Dorval mine,” claimed Buck. “The three Quanta 600F Mineral Liberation Analyzer from FEI Company mentioned FEI Company’s 28 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 4, No. 2

processing QEMSCAN® process mineralogical instrument, the requires marginal cooling, and then provides a product newest and most powerful of its kind currently available in that is still at elevated temperatures, thus reducing the the minerals industry. Its automated system can acquire amount of re-heating required. and process vast amounts of chemical, textural and liberation data and provide significant input into strategic deci- Automation A new wave of technologically advanced tracking syssions at the acquisition, exploration, feasibility and operational levels, said Dorval. With its 3D imaging software, tems, control equipment and telemetry has led to the this system can also perform automated trace mineral automation of many processes. Computer-assisted modsearches to identify precious or rare metals such as gold. elling and strategic planning systems like Vulcan® by It also provides liberation and grain size data to geometal- Maptech assist in interpolating the grades of the ore body, lurgy databases through routine auditing, establishing a sequencing mine feed types and qualities, and controlling performance baseline to monitor plant efficiency and day-to-day operations by helping to determine what is in the ground and how it will perform. enhance life-of-mine economics.

There has also been innovative advancement in ore Another interesting innovation that Dorval pointed to is the use of high-pressure grinding rolls (HPGRs), such as sorting from the traditional gravity separation tables to the Roller Press from KHD Humboldt Wedag. “HPGRs the use of the modern Mineral Liberation Analyzer (MLA) are the new trend in comminution technologies and are and mineral probes to image and study particle composiprimarily justified by the potential energy savings due to a tion. These can indentify the degree of mineral separabetter use of the applied energy,” said Dorval. “This tech- tion – iron from the ore and the mineral tailings. nology does not apply to sticky ores and is justified more QEMSCAN® software can then be used to quantify the easily for hard ores and/or where energy cost is relatively mineral content.

We are witnessing the use of research, innovation and high. In terms of capital cost, various studies indicate that the intelligent use of technologies to efficiently process the global cost for the installation of HPGRs and associminerals.

Experts in the field are constantly revisiting older ated equipment is pretty close to a comminution circuit technologies to help them understand and plan for the that includes SAG milling.” future.

Spurred by market realities, increasingly stringent When it comes to mineral processing simulation, environmental expectations and a passion for innovation, Dorval acknowledged that “while it is the way to go, we all signs point to continued state-of-the-art improvements need to be careful with simulations on large equipment CIM in mineral processing. and should consult with experts in the field before acting on the results. Also, the technical challenges associated with using large equipment, such as big agitators, primarily concern the high energy requirements and costs of the wraparound motors that are often at the limit of what is technically feasible.”

He said that some of the new equipment, like screens and feeders, does combine high energy output with low energy consumption. Others, like large flotation cells, allow cheaper processing and capital costs for largetonnage, low-grade ore bodies, while new thickener feedwell designs perModSpace has the right solution for mit higher solid loading rates. your space requirements.

Dorval also pointed to a couple of • Site trailers – single, double or larger advances in magnetic separators, such as the new Pyromag high-temperature • 'HVLJQHU VDOHV RI¿FHV DQG PXOWL XQLW FRPSOH[HV magnetic separator from Outotec.

• ,Q SODQW RI¿FHV DQG PH]]DQLQHV These can operate at up to 600 • Steps, ramps and decks degrees Celsius. The Pyromag • Furniture packages enables customers to conserve energy, as feed material does not have to be cooled down to low temperatures for magnetic separation and Call for a FREE quote: 800-451-3951 (Canada) • 800-523-7918 (U.S.) then reheated for further metallurgical www.ModSpace.ca processing. It can accept the hot feed,

The Right Tools for Your Job Site.

March/April 2009 | 29

traitement des minerais

Vue aérienne de la mine et de l’installation de traitement de l’uranium Langer Heinrich de Paladin Energy, en Namibie.

Depuis que l’homme extrait des minerais du sol, il recherche des moyens, meilleurs et plus efficaces, de séparer les minerais utiles de la gangue. La technologie du traitement des minerais a bien évolué dans le temps; toutefois, devant la hausse des coûts et des contraintes environnementales, cette poussée vers l’innovation gagne de la vitesse et de l’importance.

D

ans l’industrie des métaux de base, le traitement des minerais implique une valorisation et une concentration par un processus de flottation. Selon le Gus Van Weert, consultant minier et président d’ORETOME Ltd., le triage des minerais n’est pas bien implanté pour les métaux de base ou les métaux précieux en raison de la dépendance des capteurs sur les caractéristiques de la surface des roches. « Cela ne sert pas beaucoup pour les sulfures et pas du tout pour l’or », explique-t-il.

C’est pour les minéraux industriels que ce triage a surtout été adopté. « Durant des décennies, le triage du minerai par voie radiométrique a été utilisé avec succès pour la pré-concentration des minerais d’uranium », dit M. Van Weert, qui explique que la libération se fait alors à une autre échelle que dans l’industrie des minerais de base. « La plupart des minéraux industriels proviennent de gisements massifs qui ne demandent pas de valorisation. Cependant, des haldes de minerais de qualité moindre sont maintenant triés et traités à nouveau. » L’économie de cette pratique est très positive puisque les haldes ne peuvent demeurer après la fermeture de la mine.

30 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 4, No. 2

Avec le support de la Société aurifère Barrick, M. Van Weert a développé et breveté une méthode dans laquelle un minerai sulfureux est chauffé par micro-ondes et ensuite trié et séparé par des capteurs. Avec quatre moyens de jauger la montée de la température, il a soumis de nombreux échantillons de minerai à une radiation micro-ondes, puis il a analysé les fractions obtenues. Il a trouvé que les roches comportant de la matière sulfureuse et carbonée répondait bien à la radiation aux micro-ondes, permettant une séparation par un capteur infrarouge (IR). Il a aussi trouvé que la radiation micro-ondes ne permettait pas de séparer les sulfures de la matière carbonée totale (MCT). Lorsqu’il n’y a pas de matière carbonée, les roches pourraient être triées d’après leur teneur en sulfures.

Après des premiers résultats prometteurs, Process Research ORTECH (PRO) est à construire un « détecteur de sulfures » qui sera utilisé sur des carottes entreposées. La Société aurifère Barrick avait déjà entrepris des travaux sur la reconnaissance des veines de sulfures, des champs de filons ou des stockwerks par une brève exposition aux microondes, suivie d’une détection infrarouge.

Lorsqu’il s’agit de traiter des minerais de métaux lourds, surtout l’extraction et le broyage de l’uranium, le processus

traitement des minerais est différent de celui des métaux de base ou des métaux précieux. Chuck Edwards, directeur de la métallurgie chez AMEC Americas Limited, explique que, contrairement aux minerais plus communs, les teneurs d’uranium croissent. « Il y a environ 25 ans, la mine Key Lake avait des teneurs de l’ordre de 2,5 à 3 %; la teneur moyenne de la mine MacArthur River, la plus récente mine d’uranium au Canada, est de 20 % tout comme la future mine Cigar Lake. » Ces teneurs élevées demandent plus de protection contre la radiation, de meilleures procédures opérationnelles et des méthodes d’exploitation à distance.

M. Edwards souligne aussi que le retrait de l’ammoniac en faveur d’un procédé à l’acide sulfurique constitue l’un des plus Vue au-dessus de l’épaississeur de lixiviat à la mine et l’installation de traitement de l’uranium Langer Heinrich gros changements dans le traitement de de Paladin Energy. l’uranium. « L’eau résiduelle du procédé à l’ammoniac était convertie en cristaux de sulfate d’ammonium, l’exploration, la faisabilité et l’exploitation. Avec son logiciel un excellent fertilisant. Cependant, la production de ce sous- d’imagerie 3D, le système peut effectuer des recherches produit ne justifiait pas les problèmes associés au traitement automatisées sur les minéraux traces afin d’identifier des métaux rares ou précieux. de l’ammoniac. » M. Dorval signale une autre innovation intéressante, l’uWyatt Buck, le directeur général de la mine Langer Heinrich en Namibie, explique que la nouvelle installation tilisation de broyeurs à rouleau à haute pression (BRHP). d’extraction et de traitement d’uranium utilise un procédé de « Cette technologie ne s’applique pas pour les minerais lixiviation alcaline. « Nous utilisons de l’hydroxyde de sodium visqueux, elle s’applique surtout pour des minerais durs (soude caustique), du carbonate de sodium et du bicarbon- et là où l’énergie coûte cher. Diverses études révèlent ate de sodium. Nos résidus ont déjà un pH de 8 ou 9. que les coûts d’installation des BRHP sont semblables à Contrairement à la lixiviation acide, il faut faire attention à ce ceux d’un circuit de comminution qui comprend des qui est ajouté à la solution; nous n’ajoutons que de l’uranium broyeurs semi-autogènes », dit M. Dorval. Selon lui, la et du vanadium. Les métaux lourds demeurent stables dans simulation du traitement des minerais est la voie de une forme solide et ne s’infiltrent donc pas dans l’eau, impli- l’avenir, mais qu’il faut être prudent avec les simulations sur les gros équipements. Les défis techniques de traquant moins de risques. » Bien que plusieurs usines de traitement utilisent la lixivia- vailler avec des gros équipements concernent surtout tion alcaline, M. Buck souligne un changement récent qui les besoins énergétiques et le coût des moteurs consiste à chauffer les schlamms. « Nous avons des mé- carénés. Les nouveaux équipements allient souvent thodes efficaces de chauffer qui demandent moins d’entre- haute efficacité énergétique et faible consommation tien. De plus, la culture de la sécurité s’est grandement énergétique. D’autres équipements, tels que les grandes cellules de flottation, permettent un traitement à moinaméliorée en Afrique. » Alain Dorval, directeur, procédé et métallurgie, Met- dre coût pour des gisements à faible teneur alors que Chem, souligne le fait que les innovations dans les les nouveaux épaississeurs peuvent accepter des aliéquipements de traitement des minerais mentations de plus haute densité.

M. Dorval souligne aussi des avancées dans les séparaciblent l’efficacité énergétique. teurs magnétiques, par exemple le séparateur à haute temIl cite spécifiquement le pérature Pyromag de la compagnie Outotec, qui peut opérer système automatisé M D à 600 degrés Celsius. Il permet des économies car le QE M S CAN de la compag- matériel n’a pas besoin d’être refroidi pour la séparation magnie FEI qui peut nétique puis réchauffé de nouveau pour un traitement métalacquérir et traiter lurgique ultérieur. de grandes quanNous sommes actuellement dans une ère de recherche, tités de données d’innovation et d’utilisation intelligente des technologies pour sur la chimie, la tex- traiter efficacement les minerais. Les réalités des marchés, QUEMSCAN, FEI ture et la libération, les attentes environnementales strictes et la passion de l’inpermettant la prise de décisions novation encouragent les améliorations en traitement des stratégiques concernant l’acquisition, minerais. ICM March/April 2009 | 31

Photo courtesy of Johnson Matthey

processing

Precious metals, pioneering processes An overview of recent developments in South African platinum and rhodium production

by Bill Davenport and Nathan Stubina

Platinum bars and grains

S

outh Africa is far and away the world’s largest primary (from ore) producer of platinum and rhodium.

It produces 75 per cent of the world’s platinum and over 80 per cent of the world’s rhodium, the global primary output of that stood at about six million and 0.75 million troy ounces, respectively. It is also a large producer of palladium, ruthenium and iridium, the other industrial platinum group metals.

Dearer than gold Two-thirds of the world’s platinum production and four-fifths of the world’s rhodium are used in automobile and truck engine emission reduction catalysts. These metals are therefore critical to the efficient functioning of our world as we know it.

Rhodium is one the most valuable platinum group metals. Its price reached a record high of US$10,000 per troy ounce in June 2008 and stood at about $1,200 in early 2009. This makes rhodium more expensive than gold, the price of which stood at around $825 in January 2009. The high price of rhodium is due to its rarity (especially outside South Africa), its low concentration in ores and, on the demand side, its utility in reducing vehicle emissions.

Platinum, too, is among the most valuable platinum group metals. Its price was about $930 in early 2009.

This high price can be ascribed to the extreme utility of 32 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 4, No. 2

platinum for reducing emissions and to its rarity, especially outside of South Africa.

Getting at the treasure Platinum and rhodium occur mainly in the feldspathic pyroxinite Merensky Reef, the chromitite Upper Group 2 (UG2) Reef and, to a lesser extent, the mixed-rock Platreef — all near Rustenburg, South Africa. Platinum occurs in small platinum mineral grains, e.g. isoferroplatinum (Pt3Fe) and cooperite (PtS) in association with base metal sulphide minerals such as pentlandite (Ni,Fe) 9 S 8 , chalcopyrite (CuFeS 2 ) and pyrrhotite (Fe8S9). Rhodium, on the other hand, is found, like palladium, mainly dissolved in pentlandite.

Mineral processing must therefore aim to maximize the recovery of platinum group element minerals and base metal minerals, especially pentlandite. Furthermore, the ore must be ground very fine to liberate platinum group mineral grains as small as 10 micrometres across.

Figure 1 shows the steps by which platinum group metals are produced from South African ores. The platinum (Pt) concentration in each step’s product is shown in table 1. Rhodium concentrations are typically about one-tenth those of platinum concentrations. The major steps are: • concentrate production (crushing, grinding, froth flotation); • matte production (smelting, converting); • platinum group element residue production; and

processing Figure 1. Flowsheet for producing platinum group metals from ore.

Mining

Ore

Crushing and Grinding

Flotation

CONCENTRATE MATTE

SO2 offgas

EF Smelting, ten Converting

Ni, Cu, CO solution to base metal recovery

Leaching

Platinum Group Metal Refinery

Pt group element leach residue 99.9% Pt 99.9% Rh

Market

• platinum group metal production.

The process yields 99.9 per cent platinum and rhodium from 0.00025 per cent platinum and 0.00003 per cent rhodium ore.

Table 1 shows the platinum enrichments, losses and costs for each of the steps shown in Figure 1. It is clear from this table that mining operations should do everything possible to reduce costs. Mineral processing should receive the most attention to improve platinum recovery. It is painful to lose metal after so much effort has gone into mining it. Not shown in the table is the need for efficient sulphur dioxide capture during smelting/converting. This is discussed later.

How it’s done in South Africa South African platinum producers are beginning to install: • high-pressure grinding rolls for final ore crushing; • stirred ceramic grinding mills (mostly IsaMills) for ultrafine grinding; and • ball mill optimizing sensors (specifically Magotteaux Sensomag®).

Automated electron microscope mineralogical analyses (e.g. MLA or QEMSCAN) are also being applied to all existing and potential mining projects.

Platinum’s Mogalakwena North mine and Northam’s Upper Group 2 mine (see Table 2). These follow many high-pressure grinding roll installations at South African diamond mines. Both platinum installations were discussed at the Platinum in Transformation conference and a post-conference tour even visited Mogalakwena, where the high-pressure grinding rolls are used for tertiary crushing, just before ball milling. The main motivations for installing high-pressure grinding rolls were: • a potential 10 to 30 per cent reduction in energy consumption as compared to semi-autogenous grinding mills — an important consideration, especially in countries where electricity supplies are being constrained; • rapid (and stable) crushing rate with a small footprint — an important factor for plant retrofits, as well as for CAPEX for new plants; • low pebble recycle, thus leading to a reduced recycle load in the circuit; • low wear because most ore breaking is done by orepiece to ore-piece “squeezing,” leading to lower plant maintenance costs; • smaller product with many fines; and • improved platinum mineral liberation due to grain boundary breaking by “squeezing, ultimately leading to an increased flotation recovery.

At Mogalakwena, semi-autogenous grinding had produced an excessive recycle of very hard pebbles.

This problem was eliminated by installing the high pressure grinding rolls, thus making the whole mining project feasible.

Table 1. Platinum concentrations, losses and costs at various stages in the Figure 1 flowsheet.

Pt concentration (mass %)

Pt loss (% of feed)

Mining

Operating Cost (%) 77

Concentrator feed

0.00025

Concentrate

0.01

13

11

Smelter converting matte

0.15

3

5

{1}

{7}

Pt group element leach residue Platinum

30

99.9

High-pressure grinding rolls The year 2008 saw the installation of high-pressure grinding rolls at two South African platinum mines: Anglo

About 90 per cent of concentrate feed is from underground mines, about 10 per cent from open pit mines. The values are from 2008 platinum company reports.

March/April 2009 | 33

processing should be focused on improving grinding media performance and on quantifying and lowering maintenance costs.

Table 2. South African high-pressure grinding roll data

Northam UG2

Model number

Polycom 22/16-8

Polycom 09/06-0

Rolls diameter, mm

2200

950

Rolls length, mm

1600

650

Installed power, kW

2 x 2800

2 x 200

Ore throughput rate (including recycle), t/hr

2160

160-200

Feed size, mm

<55

<32

<8 (~50% passing 1 mm)

75% passing 1 mm

345

32

Product size, mm Machine mass, t

Stirred ceramic bead grinding Stirred ceramic bead grinding mills rapidly stir a mixture of ore particles, ceramic beads and water to liberate very small (about 10 micrometre) platinum group minerals (e.g. cooperite) in preparation for flotation. Five IsaMills and one Stirred Media Detritor have been installed, with fifteen more IsaMills being planned. The advantages of the installations have been: • an up to 2.5 per cent increase in platinum recovery; • improved concentrate grades, leading to lower downstream processing costs; and • lower chromite concentrations in the concentrate, especially if column flotation cells are included in the final flotation circuit, helping meet the stringent chromite requirements imposed by some smelters.

As grinding media, previous IsaMill installations used silica sand, granulated slag or alumina beads, typically in the one to four-millimetre diameter range. Unfortunately, these media rapidly break during milling, decreasing milling efficiency and complicating control. At Anglo Platinum’s request, Xstrata and Magotteaux International have developed long-lasting, uniform-hardness, pearl-like beads for IsaMill grinding. These comprise 79 per cent aluminum oxide, 6.5 per cent silica and 14 per cent zirconium dioxide. This material has greatly encouraged the adoption of IsaMill grinding in platinum ore concentrators.

The adoption of IsaMills at Anglo Platinum’s Mogalakwena Platreef and Waterval Upper Group 2 concentrators has increased milling costs by 10 to 20 per cent. This may restrict their adoption to ores that benefit greatly from ultrafine grinding. As of early 2008, 59 per cent of operating costs were incurred for media, 31 per cent for maintenance and 10 per cent for electricity in the IsaMill using the new media. This indicates that efforts 34 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 4, No. 2

A new smelting process The smelting portion of the flowsheet in Figure 1 has had to face two challenges — high-temperature slags caused by excessive chromite in the concentrate that lead to higher operating expenses and pose a significant safety concern; and the inefficient capture of sulphur dioxide gas, a serious environmental issue.

The high-temperature slag problem has largely been solved by removing chromite from concentrate by column flotation, by gravity separation, or by limiting the percentage of chromium oxide in the feed blend. The elimination of the converter slag recycle to the smelting furnace has also helped. The capture of sulphur dioxide has been improved by the adoption of continuous converting at Anglo Platinum’s Waterval smelter. However, complete capture still remains a challenge.

ConRoast smelting South Africa’s Mintek group has been working on a new platinum concentrate smelting process since 1994.

This process entails oxidizing all the concentrate’s sulphur to sulphur dioxide in a fluid bed roaster, reducing the product oxide to molten metal alloy in an electric furnace, and refining the product alloy to produce high-purity platinum group metals plus nickel, copper and cobalt.

The overwhelming advantage of the process is that because its sulphur dioxide is collected from only one continuous, high-strength source, it easily meets international sulphur dioxide capture standards.

Experiments and thermodynamic analyses have shown that roasting can remove almost all of a concentrate’s sulphur as sulphur dioxide, but only by roasting at 1,000 degrees Celsius, with an offgas containing about two per cent oxygen. Tests in a 1.5-megawatt direct current electric furnace have shown that up to 99 per cent of the sulphur-free calcine’s platinum can be recovered to alloy by smelting. A three-megawatt furnace has been

Photo courtesy of Xstrata

Mogalakwena North

IsaMill

Photo courtesy of Mintek ConRoast smelting tests

in operation at Mintek since October 2008. This unit is capable of processing 2,000 tonnes of concentrate per month. The product from the furnace is an alloy containing mostly iron (about 75 per cent). It also contains one per cent cobalt, nine per cent nickel, three per cent copper and 0.06 to 0.07 per cent platinum group metals. The exact composition of the alloy depends on the grade of the feed composition.

Techniques for producing platinum group metals from this alloy are currently being evaluated. The challenge is to remove the alloyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s iron with minimal platinum group metal losses. CIM This article is based on the proceedings of the Platinum in Transformation international conference held in Sun City, South Africa, from October 6 to 9, 2008. The conference was sponsored by the Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. The article includes information gathered on industrial field trips after the conference.

About the authors Nathan M. Stubina (left) is manager, R&D, process development for Barrick Gold in Toronto. Before joining Barrick in 2005 he worked for 18 years at various locations within Falconbridge and Noranda.

A vice president of the Metallurgical Society, Stubina will chair the forthcoming 2009 Conference of Metallurgists in Sudbury, Ontario.

William Davenport (right) is a professor of extractive metallurgy at the University of Arizona. His principal interests are smelting, refining and sulphuric acid manufacture. He is currently Visiting Professor of metallurgy at the University of Cambridge, England.

March/April 2009 | 35

photo courtesy of CSRP

processing

Fly ash

Evaluating the sustainability benefits of new technologies

by Glen Corder, Ben McLellan and Stevan Green

D

espite the economic downturn, worldwide demand for mineral-based products is poised for continued growth, due in particular to ongoing modernization in developing countries. Meeting this demand could strengthen economies and improve social equity by making material goods more widely available. However, there are some serious constraints. Even if production and utilization efficiencies improve amid growing demand and declining ore grades, mineral-based production will be limited by access to energy, water, allowable greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and land for waste disposal. Given current paradigms, business growth will not be sustainable.

Changing the status quo In a business-as-usual scenario, the Australian minerals and energy sector will emit up to 400 megatonnes of GHG by 2050, one-third more than the government’s current countrywide target of 300 megatonnes. In the sustainable scenario, the minerals industry would target 50 per cent aggregate emission reductions by 2050, in line with overall targets. A pure innovation approach (i.e. with 36 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 4, No. 2

no offsets) would require 90 per cent improvement in GHG efficiency by 2050. Achieving this with forestrybased offsets would require planting 1.6 million hectares annually — approximately three per cent of Australia’s arable land. Clearly, offsets cannot be the whole solution.

Although no analysis has been done, it is reasonable, given similarities, to expect comparable limitations in Canada. Such scrutiny provides compelling evidence that the industry urgently needs to develop more sustainable technologies (particularly given the lead time from research outcomes to commercialization).

Sustainability benefits are a critical indicator of the “value” of research outcomes. Traditional cost benefit analysis does not recognize the need for estimating environmental and community effects. Sustainable development benefits can be quantified so that factors like carbon pricing, capital costs, legacy costs, alternative land uses, etc. are accounted for.

Because these factors can strongly influence a project’s viability, it is imperative to better ascertain their magnitude and impact and understand the contribution that innovative technologies or methodologies can make in improving project

processing sustainability. Furthermore, it is desirable to examine the replicability of project outcomes, to valuate this in absolute and comparative terms. Without understanding its potential sustainability implications, one cannot determine how any new technology compares with existing or other emerging technologies that perform the same function.

Promising research

Photo courtesy of CSIRO

Australia’s Centre for Sustainable Resource Processing (CSRP) undertakes cooperative research aimed at developing resource production methods that benefit the community, the environment and industry. Based on novelty and potential sustainable development impacts and benefits, five CSRP research projects were selected for sustainable development (SD) assessment, using methodologies developed in-house after extensive review of extant research concluded that no available methodology was suitable. The projects and their main sustainability benefits are described below.

Biomass in the iron and steel industry This project identifies, evaluates and demonstrates opportunities for the Australian steel industry to introduce biomass-derived products into iron and steel production to reduce the industry’s carbon footprint. It complements the contribution of the Australian steel industry to the International Iron and Steel Institute’s CO2 Breakthrough Program. By consolidating information on biomass use in iron and steelmaking from literature with previous research and plant reviews, the project will identify and prioritize specific opportunities for the Australian steel industry. Parallel experimental investigations aim to demonstrate the technical feasibility of using biomass in high-priority applications. Although heavily dependent on the cost of biomass (estimated to be from A$60 to A$435 per tonne), the outcomes offer potential GHG emission reductions of 27 per cent in the Australian iron and steel industry. Moreover, approximately 10 per cent of Australia’s salinified agricultural land (285,000 hectares) could be rehabilitated.

Banana screen modelling demonstration This project seeks to optimize banana screen performance by applying sophisticated discrete element modelling.

Banana screens (large double-layered curved screens) are widely preferred in the iron ore industry to perform separation because of their capacity advantage over older flat-deck screens. However, their efficiency is poorly understood and optimizing screen performance is difficult, given the many operating parameters. Sophisticated modelling allows the separation efficiency, capacity and wear of screens, resulting in large improvements in industry capacity to optimize iron ore screening for increased throughput, higher value lump ore production and reduced energy use. However, the estimated sustainability benefits of banana screen performance improvements are modest. There can be no more than 0.12 kilotonnes of CO2 reduction in GHG annually, even if there is 100 per cent uptake across Australia.

High-speed video camera

Geopolymers in mine fill This project seeks to substitute geopolymer-based backfill products for ordinary Portland cement (OPC) in underground mine backfill. Geopolymers are formed by the reaction between an alkali and an alumino-silicate source. Their amorphous three-dimensional structure lends them fire and acid resistance, making them ideal OPC substitutes in numerous applications. Many industry by-products, including fly ash, mine tailings and bauxite residues, can serve as geopolymer feedstock. The project investigates the suitability of using mine tailings and smelter slag as feedstock for geopolymers. A suite of potential binder feedstock for use in tailings-based fills at an Australian mine site were characterized, tested and able to meet the specified mechanical properties, illustrating the technical feasibility of waste-based binders in mine backfilling. While the viability of geopolymers depends on the highly variable cost of caustic soda, geopolymers could deliver significant GHG reductions (270 kilotonnes of CO2 per annum) if used instead of OPC at the main Australian mining operations near smelters.

Heat recovery from molten slag through dry granulation This project substitutes dry granulation for water granulation. Historically, iron-making slag is either air cooled in large pits or water granulated. Water granulation has the advantage of producing a slag suitable as low GHG cement clinker substitute. However, its significant environmental disadvantages include high water consumption, the formation of acid mist and the need to dry the granulated slag. Dry granulation, an emerging alternative process, overcomes these disadvantages while still producing high-value slag.

March/April 2009 | 37

processing

Resource Usage

Table 1. Potential Australia-wide benefits, barriers and enablers

Benefits

Multiple pass HPGR circuit

Modelling of banana screens

Energy (GWhpa)

620

0.65

Biomass in the iron and steel industry

19,000

Ore (ktpa) Materials (ktpa)

Dry granulation of steel slag 640

Water (MLpa) 18,000 47 Steel grinding media

Land (ha) Atmospheric (ktpa)

Emissions

Geopolymers in mine fill

0.15 screen media

640 reduction in OPC 59 increase in NaOH

990 Coal

Unquantified

Unquantified

285,000 1,900

Greenhouse (kt CO2-eq pa) Aquatic (ktpa) Land (ktpa) Biodiversity By-product Economic savings (A$M p.a.)*

450

0.12

270

0.15

1,100

2,700

1,700 Unquantified 1,900

Unquantified 120

320

40 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 110

Social Barriers

HPGR capital cost

High NaOH cost

Enablers

Greenhouse incentives

High OPC cost Greenhouse incentives

39 ** New market for farmers Biomass & infrastructure cost & availability New product for farmers Possibility of salinified land rehabilitation Greenhouse

1,900 340

Greenhouse incentives

* No carbon taxes or carbon credits were included. All amounts are in Australian dollars. ** Estimate based on the availability of low-cost biomass.

Previous research has demonstrated that dry granulation produces a slag suitable as cement substitute, and that the heat released from the slag can be contained in a small air volume, making the process suitable for heat recovery.

This project is further developing the technology, with emphasis on capturing the waste heat from slag cooling.

It could result in GHG emissions reductions of 1.4 megatonnes of CO2 per year in Australian concrete production, as well as a further 0.27 megatonnes of CO2 per annum from energy savings in steel slag treatment, and a water usage reduction of 19,000 megalitres per annum.

lessen the load on the ball milling circuit. Historically, the minerals industry has not widely used HPGRs, compared with the cement industry, where more than 400 industrial units are in operation for grinding clinker. The new flowsheet could potentially reduce milling electricity usage and GHG emissions for mines using SAG mills by 30 per cent, resulting in annual reductions in electricity consumption of 620 gigawatt hours and in GHG emissions of 0.45 megatonnes of CO2 across Australian industry. However, the capital cost for switching over to this technology would be very high.

Multiple-pass high-pressure grinding roller mill (HPGR) circuit

The litmus test of sustainability

The objective of this project is to dry process ore to near-ball mill product to demonstrate a new HPGR flowsheet that has significant direct (through increased energy efficiency) and indirect (through reduced grinding media consumption) energy savings and reduced water usage compared with conventional semi-autogenous (SAG) milling. The concept is built on earlier work that demonstrated that while a substantial reduction in energy could be achieved by treating particles below 3.35 mm, it is also necessary to treat larger sized particles during primary comminution. Utilizing HPGR units in earlier stages should generate more fines grinding and

In the SD assessment of the above projects, no capital costs were included and financial benefits were based on operational impacts excluding maintenance.1 A summary of results is presented in Table 1.

CSRP continues to apply this SD assessment to other research outcomes, and to refine and enhance this methodology in collaboration with industry partners. This methodology feeds into a collection of management tools to assist

38 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 4, No. 2

1 Capital and maintenance costs were excluded due to the difficulty in acquiring average indicative values; these costs can be highly dependent on site location and are difficult to estimate for new or emerging technologies.

processing with identifying and implementing sustainable development Acknowledgments practices in industrial operations. CSRP’s system, named This research was conducted at and with financial supSUSOP® (Sustainable Operations), is analogous to HAZOP port from the Centre for Sustainable Resource in the safety field. SUSOP® incorporates sustainability prin- Processing (www.csrp.com.au), itself supported under ciples into the design and operation of minerals processing the Australian government’s Cooperative Research plants. It facilitates a structured, methodical process to iden- Centres Program. The authors acknowledge the input tify and implement ways to use less water and energy, gen- of Roy Lovell (CSIRO); Phillip Bangerter (HATCH); erate lower GHG emissions and minimize waste volume and David Brereton, Chris Moran and Robin Evans toxicity, allowing operations to link performance imperatives (Sustainable Minerals Institute); Mike Daniel and to sustainability objectives.

Marko Hilden (JKMRC); Daniel Southam (Curtin SUSOP® helps generate ideas and assess options University of Technology); and Sharif Jahanshahi to produce an SD balance sheet. While SUSOP® can (CSIRO Minerals). be incorporated into any stage of the project/production cycles, maximum benefit can be derived at the earliest stages. The concept is gaining significant traction, and several case studies are underway to further develop SUSOP® before its full deployment. This is an important North American Construction Group is the contribution to industry’s efforts to premier provider of mining, heavy construction, prepare for global constraints and to industrial, piling and pipeline services in Canada. utilize opportunities presented by the WE’RE MORE THAN JUST BIG EQUIPMENT. sustainability agenda. CIM

About the authors

The difference is in our unique talent and knowledge, combined with an unmatched history of over 50 years as an industry leader.

Glen Corder is a researcher at the University of Queensland’s Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining (CSRM). His focus is on sustainable development methodologies and toolkits for the minerals industry, and investigating practical approaches to realizing regional synergies in heavy industrial regions.

Ben McLellan works at the Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining (CSRM) on assessing the potential sustainability benefits for Australia of the emerging minerals industry research outcomes, and on the integration of sustainability into the design and operation of minerals operations.

Stevan Green, CEO of the Centre for Sustainable Resource Processing, has a wealth of Australian and international experience and knowledge of the engineering, minerals and energy industry.

He has worked for a number of major organizations, including Shell, BHP Billiton and the North West Shelf Venture.

MINING & HEAVY CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRIAL – PILING – PIPELINE

March/April 2009 | 39

supply side Technologically strong, strategically weak?

Mining suppliers cite lack of national export strategy The Conference Board of Canada has formed the Centre for the Commercialization of Mining Technologies and Services (CCMTS). Their study of the mining supply sector is expected to result A page for and about the supply side in recommendations as to how we can take better advantage of global markets through of the Canadian mining industry improved commercialization practices and market strategies. CCMTS is supported by mining companies, governments, mining supply firms and CAMESE. The first meeting of the group was held in Markham, Ontario, on November 13, 2008.

At the meeting, Gary Svoboda, CCMTS network manager, presented the results of a survey of CAMESE members carried out in September 2008. The purpose of the survey was to assess our sectorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) as seen by mining suppliers. Fifty-seven organizations participated in the survey and the typical respondent was an Ontario-based, smaller company. Of the 57 responses, 10 were from government, association and mining companies (GAM).

Suppliers feel that their greatest single strength is technological innovation. This is followed by qualified personnel. Lack of government support, lack of an industrial strategy and strong international competition stood out as the perceived weaknesses.

The major opportunity identified was the opening up of global opportunities. Foreign competition was the biggest threat, followed by lack of government support/strategy. When asked where our greatest

by Jon Baird international competitors were located, members mentioned Australia as our greatest international competitor, followed by the United States, China, Scandinavia and Germany.

While there were some differences in responses by location across Canada, these are seen to be minor, as were the differences in responses by company size. The small sample from the GAM group revealed a view similar to that of the supply companies regarding strengths, but there were differences as to how they viewed weaknesses. The GAM group felt that lack of industrial strategy, lack of qualified personnel and lack of technological innovation were more important weaknesses than did the supply company group.

The CCMTS is continuing the project. The next phase of the work will be two-pronged. They will study the best practices in the national export marketing efforts of selected countries. A study of the commercialization practices of Canadian mining suppliers will also be undertaken to reveal what they do well and where there are improvements to be made. The next meeting of the CCMTS will be in Ottawa in March 2009. CIM The complete results of the survey are available on the CAMESE web site at www.camese.org/CCMTSSurveyResultsforCAMESEDec308.ppt

About the author Jon Baird, managing director of CAMESE and president of PDAC, is interested in collective approaches to enhancing the Canadian brand in the world of mining.

March/April 2009 | 41

parlons-en Une année de contraste dans l’industrie minière canadienne du fer L’année 2008 aura été une année de rebondissement tant sur le plan économique, avec la crise financière actuelle et la chute vertigineuse des prix pour les produits minéraux et métalliques, que sur le plan de la production record de minerais de fer par les trois géants miniers du fer (Vale Inco, Rio Tinto et BHP Billiton). Au Québec, l’année 2008 aura été marquée par la mise en chantier d’une nouvelle Fosse du Mont Wright mine de fer dans la région de Fermont par Consolidated Thompson Iron Mines (Lac Bloom). Il s’agit de la première mine de fer à voir le jour au Québec depuis 1976. Cet article présente les faits saillants majeurs qui ont marqués l’industrie minière du fer du Québec et du Labrador et sur la scène mondiale en 2008.

La Compagnie minière IOC a connu une excellente année avec des ventes de concentrés et de boulettes de fer totalisant 15 millions de tonnes (rapport annuel de Rio Tinto pour 2008). Ces ventes représentent une augmentation de 12 % par rapport à 2007. Après avoir annoncé des investissements de 800 M$ à ces installations de Labrador City et Sept-Îles en mars, Rio Tinto a annoncé en novembre qu’elle réduisait sa production et qu’elle procédera avec une fermeture temporaire de ces activités pendant quatre semaines en juillet 2009. Elle révise également l’investissement de 800 M$ qui aurait augmenté la capacité totale de production de 50 % en 2011.

En 2008, la Compagnie minière Québec Cartier a changé de nom pour celui d’ArcelorMittal Mines Canada qui, en 2007, avait acquis par Serge Perreault Dofasco, alors unique actionnaire de la Compagnie minière Québec Cartier. La production de minerai de fer concentré à la mine du Mont-Wright et de boulettes de fer à Port-Cartier a atteint 15 millions de tonnes et neuf millions de tonnes respectivement (Cyberpresse.ca le 27 janvier 2009). Frappé par la chute de la demande en acier sur la scène mondiale, ArcelorMittal a annoncé en décembre 2008 qu’elle mettait en place un programme de réduction de coût et la fermeture d’une ligne de production de boulettes de fer plutôt que deux à ces installations de Port-Cartier.

42 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 4, No. 2

Mines Wabush est la plus petite des minières de fer au Québec et au Labrador. Elle prévoit réduire sa production de 4,3 millions de tonnes à 2,3 millions de tonnes pour 2009 (Cyberpresse.ca le 27 janvier 2009) et a récemment mis à pied le tiers de ces 600 employés à ces installations de Wabush et de Sept-Îles.

Les trois géants miniers du fer, Vale Inco (Brésil), Rio Tinto (Australie-UK) et BHPBilliton (Australie-UK) vont entreprendre au cours des prochaines semaines une ronde de négociations sur les prix du minerai de fer avec les principaux aciéristes, dont les chinois. À eux trois, ils sont responsables de plus de 70 % de la production et des ventes de minerais de fer à l’échelle mondiale. Ainsi après avoir connu sept années de croissance consécutives, dont une augmentation de 85 % pour 2008 avec un prix record de près de 200 US$ la tonne sur le marché «spot», le prix du minerai de fer est retombé à 55 US$ en novembre 2008. Au début de 2009, ce prix est remonté à 72 US$ (Financial Times, 12 janvier 2009).

Les producteurs de minerai de fer des Amériques ont connu une croissance de 65 % pour le minerai de fer concentré (morceau et fins) et de 87 % pour les boulettes de fer en 2008 (U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries, January 2009).

Pour 2009, les analystes du marché du minerai de fer s’attendent à une baisse de 20 à 30 % des prix du minerai de fer (concentré et boulettes) pour les contrats d’approvisionnement avec les aciéristes. Avec la crise financière actuelle et les baisses de production anticipées, les aciéristes chinois espèrent quant à eux obtenir une baisse de 40 à 50 % du prix.

La plupart des analystes estiment que les prix devraient être stables en 2010 et une remontée du prix du minerai de fer serait attendue pour 2011. ICM

L’auteur Serge Perreault est géologue senior à la SOQUEM depuis octobre 2008. Auparavant, il a travaillé comme géologue pendant 16 années au Ministère des Ressources naturelles et de la Faune du Québec.

HR outlook Keeping the edge with people and processes Canada is home to 38 nonferrous metal smelters and refineries, which are operational in six out of 13 provinces and territories. In 2007, 86 per cent of mining-related jobs were employed in activities related to mineral processing, an overall increase of five per cent since 1991. Over the same period of time, environmental considerations have gained prevalence as a major priority for the Canadian mining industry. The Mining Association of Canada’s Towards Sustainable Mining (TSM) initiative includes a number of guiding principles that will have an increasing impact on the industry’s skills development needs, leading to a requirement for an increasingly more diverse and highly skilled workforce.

Practicing continuous improvement through the application of new technology, innovation and best practices in all facets of our operations.

— MAC-TSM Guiding Principle Current economic circumstances provide industry with an opportunity to restructure operations and to develop and apply new technologies, innovations and best practices that will position the Canadian mining industry as a global leader in sustainable practices in mining. A key factor in developing this leadership will be the attention given to the development of highly qualified people.

By their very nature,

by Jean Pierre Chabot mineral processing and the treatment and management of waste products involve an intrusion upon the landscape.

Minimizing the environmental impact of mineral processing will depend, to a large extent, upon the skills and sensitivity of the workforce towards the mandatory and voluntary sustainability standards.

The Canadian Mining Innovation Council (CMIC) is currently working

on a counter-cyclical strategy to address the continued need to engage current and future mining employees who might be evaluating the prospect of building an existing or potential career in mining. Addressing the need for further implementation of environmentally sustainable practices in mineral processing should not be isolated from the need to create sustainable careers for the highly qualified people that the industry

It is crucial that

environmental sustainability go hand-in-hand with human resources development depends upon for its research and development capabilities. Collaboration between industry groups and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) would be an ideal focal point for the development of the resources needed to develop these capabilities.

The Mining Association of Canada points out in Facts & Figures 2008 that the competitiveness of the Canadian mineral processing industry also depends upon process optimization and the justin-time management of mineral ore shipments and processed materials. Ore reserves are on the decline in Canada. Local ore reserves and base metal concentrates are

gradually being replaced by supplies from other jurisdictions. This is fuelling the need for new and innovative ways of optimizing processes and building up local ore reserves so that the future of the Canadian mineral processing industry does not become dependent upon global supply chains for both its inputs and outputs.

The stability of supplies of ore to Canadian smelters and refineries will have an increasingly important impact on the ability to provide the stable careers needed to attract the highly qualified people that the mineral processing industry needs to stay competitive in a globalized economy.

Competing with lower cost jurisdictions can be done by developing our human resources and improving productivity.

Canada’s universities are well suited to develop these human resources; however, these institutions have been hampered in their role by the boom and bust nature of the mining industry.

A counter-cyclical strategy designed to prop up the mining-related faculties at Canadian universities will go a long way in supporting a viable mineral processing industry and moving it towards sustainable mining practices. It is crucial that environmental sustainability go hand-in-hand with human resources development so that the Canadian mining industry can become a socially conscious and innovative leader in mineral processing. CIM

About the author Jean Pierre Chabot is manager of research and policy analysis at MiHR, responsible for the analysis of HR policy options and constraints that impact the mining industry in Canada. Formerly the project coordinator for a number of Latin American projects, he brings an international perspective to issues facing the Canadian mining industry.

March/April 2009 | 43

student life Like a kid in the cookie aisle A mineral processing student is excited by her prospects in the industry

Ali is happy at Queen’s in mineral processing.

The decision of what post-secondary school to attend is a big one. I thought long and hard, sought advice, and created many, many procon lists. Finally, I decided on Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, for its beautiful campus, its proud tradition and its strong reputation in the applied sciences. At the time, I had no idea of how exciting the general first year would be and how much it would impact my life.

In the mineral processing stream, I am now a part of the largest mining engineering class in North America.

How did I get here? I don’t

by Ali Cummings have family in the industry, I thought a hard hat would mess up my hair, and I had automatically written it off. However, I gave it a chance, and am glad I did.

I feel right at home in the mining department. I am still warming to the hard hat, but I am extremely excited about the future.

When I jumped into mineral processing, I saw it as the perfect combination of chemistry and geology.

44 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 4, No. 2

While that is true, it is so minerals extracted are essential to life much more. The challenges of and I think that it is important to find the profession were quite the- new ways to access them with a atrically illustrated by one of reduced impact on the earth. my professors, who brought Additionally, mining is just one part bags of cookies to class and of our endeavours in the world that asked, “How are you going to has an ecological footprint and a get the chocolate chips out of profit motive. If we eliminated all this cookie?” As we crunched profit-making industries that damon our cookies, we related the aged the environment …. well, it is cookie to a piece of ore. With difficult to even imagine, isn’t it?

Similarly, I can’t imagine being this simple example, I realized that the problem at hand was anywhere else. I am happy where I quite challenging. I came to am, at Queen’s, in mineral processing. understand that a complicated When asked about my program, I sample of ore may cause me to used to resent the surprised reaction struggle, but that the satisfac- from people because it made me tion of solving the problem doubt my choice. Whether it was and obtaining the minerals because I was a girl, grew up in an would be completely worth urban setting, favoured the colour pink, or simply because of the comthe struggle.

Mining and mineral process- paratively small size of the mineral ing clearly go hand in hand. Mining processing program, surprise was extracts the ore from the earth and people’s usual reaction. They mineral processing extracts from it expected me to reply with chemistry the substances we use every day. Most or geology as these are often discipeople do not realize just how impor- plines females flock to — I had contant mining and mineral processing sidered these options.

Within a few months of being a are to the world. When I consider everything I do on a day-to-day basis part of the mining department, with — studying, cooking, driving, curl- its stimulating courses, tight-knit ing, turning on lights — it is shock- student body and dedicated profesing how little I think about the sors, I came to the conclusion that I objects I use and where they came had made the right decision. The from. Everything I do has a mining world of mining and mineral proand processing connection. Without cessing has grabbed my attention and pots and pans, vehicles, computers, I love the fact that I have so much stationery, light bulbs, etc., I would more to learn. Walking into class have a much harder time doing these every day, I feel a bit like a little kid things. Mining increases our quality would in the cookie aisle — only my thoughts dwell less on the cookies of life dramatically.

The environmental controversy and more on how to get at the chocowith mining is another aspect that late chips! CIM makes it even more appealing. It is an ongoing chal- About the author Alison Cummings is a secondlenge. The common percep- year mineral processing and economics student at tion that mining simply Queen’s University. She is also on the Queen’s destroys the environment to women’s varsity curling team. In her free time, Ali make a profit is something enjoys reading, running, water skiing and spending that needs to change. The time with family and friends.

MAC economic commentary A guide to greening Canadian mining MAC issues a guidance document to help companies improve energy and greenhouse gas management Few industry sectors face the degree of scrutiny from environmental and social groups that is accorded to the mining industry. The actions associated with mineral extraction and processing raise a number of social and environmental issues, including managing open pit or underground mining, building access roads and power lines, treating and managing tailings, consuming energy to operate smelters and refineries, and engaging with aboriginal groups and others affected by the economic development. These actions generate encounters between humans and the surrounding environment — and the attendant need to manage and minimize the risk that accompanies these encounters.

The Towards Sustainable Mining (TSM) initiative of the Mining Association of Canada is an important vehicle through which companies can respond to these risks and challenges. When it was formally launched in 2004, TSM represented the culmination of several years of research and consultation. Adherence to TSM’s principles and disciplines is a condition of membership of MAC, and companies must report each year regarding their progress in the four protocol areas: tailings management, energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions management, external outreach and crisis management

by Paul Stothart planning. New TSM policies on biodiversity and aboriginal relations have recently been put in place.

The Mining Association of Canada has finalized a new guidance document to provide companies with support in the second of these TSM protocol areas, namely, energy and greenhouse gas management. The document updates and broadens an earlier

guide that was prepared in 2000. It is MAC’s hope that the new document will become a handy reference tool for companies seeking success stories, guidelines, checklists, TSM support, management advice and other information to help improve the efficiency of their use of energy and their GHG emissions performance.

The guidance document has been finalized at an interesting moment in the evolution of Canadian mining.

The significant fluctuation in energy prices over the past year — with oil prices moving from $140 to $40 per barrel — has reminded companies of the significant amounts that they spend on energy on an ongoing basis and of the potential for energy prices to again climb significantly in the future. It has been a very active year for those working in the energy management field. Furthermore, the economic and mineral price turbulence and global uncertainty of recent months have caused companies to “batten down the hatches” and seek out opportunities for cost savings.

Again, energy consumption, representing one of the three largest cost components for mining companies, ranks high on this list.

In terms of climate change regulation, while there remains uncertainty at the federal government level with respect to future regulation, there does appear to be some movement towards the concept of pricing carbon.

Previous Liberal and Conservative governments have introduced an array of climate change plans and proposals over the past decade, the net effect of which has been minimal.

Following from the most recent election, it now seems likely that the present gov-

ernment’s “Turning the Corner” plan is being reconsidered, in favour of a federal emissions cap and trade regime.

The past statements of U.S. President Obama also convey a sense of momentum towards the concept of attaching a price to carbon. One of the five main components of his energy plan is to implement an economy-wide cap and trade program to reduce GHG emissions 80 per cent by 2050. It seems likely that companies will someday operate within a Canada-U.S. GHG emissions trading scheme, with associated targets, regulations and costs.

For these and other reasons, MAC’s TSM guidance document is a timely addition to the energy and GHG management toolbox of Canadian mining companies. The document discusses the TSM energy/GHG protocol and the associated need for management systems, target setting, planning, metering and measuring, reporting and verification. It also discusses the concept of a carbon footprint and GHG emissions inventory, and includes information on incentive programs, energy management websites and regional GHG programs. The document is available free of charge and can be downloaded from the MAC website (www.mining.ca). CIM

About the author Paul Stothart is vice president, economic affairs of the Mining Association of Canada.

He is responsible for advancing the industry’s interests regarding federal tax, trade, investment, transport and energy issues.

March/April 2009 | 45

safety A culture of safety Vale Inco shares its secret of success If the John T. Ryan Safety Award was not such a significant honour, learning the identity of a recent winner might cause one to yawn. News of Vale Inco winning laurels for safety has become somewhat routine. Not content with a regional award, the company also the national trophy for its Copper Cliff North Mine in the Metal Mine category. This is the mine’s second year running as the safest in its category and the fourth consecutive year that Vale Inco has claimed a prize.

What keeps these awards rolling in? Copper Cliff North’s superintendent Jason Simpson shared Vale Inco’s safety secrets.

Long history, deep roots Toronto-based Vale Inco Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Brazilbased Companhia Vale do Rio Doce, is one of the world's largest mining companies. The company has operated continuously since 1902. Its roots in Ontario’s Sudbury area go deep. Of Sudbury’s nearly 158,000 residents, 5,200 are Vale Inco employees and over 10,000 are Vale Inco pensioners.

Copper Cliff North Mine, which opened in 1967, is, according to Simpson, “really no different from other mines in terms of operaby Carolyn Hersey tions, techniques or machinery. The difference is in the people, the culture and the behaviour it drives.”

High achievements, higher standards In December 2008, Copper Cliff North achieved four years, or 2,000,000 hours, worked without a disabling injury. This is well over the former Canadian metal mining record of 1,700,000 hours.

Significantly, Vale Inco’s criterion is 46 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 4, No. 2

From left to right: Shawn Scott, Vanessa Brosseau, Charlie Sullivan, Ryan Valin and Phil McGrory – Division 2 tram crew.

more stringent than the conventional “lost time injury” measure. A disabling injury is said to occur when an employee cannot return to the next scheduled shift and cannot complete 80 per cent of his/her regular work.

Anyone who knows underground mining would appreciate the significance of this modification.

Simpson characterized the mine’s approach as a “safety journey,” adding that, staggering though they are, “the records are merely signposts on our path to ‘zero harm.’” These signposts, he said, “change the world’s view of what was thought possible in an underground metal mine.”

Inclusive dialogue, participative action Throughout the safety journey, safety programs have been kept up-todate and relevant to changing challenges. Vale Inco uses Stop and Correct, Hazard Identification Risk Assessment, along with other evolving tools. Simpson commented that “listening, understanding and responding to safety ideas from the team are vital.

Our success is generated through respectful dialogue. North Mine has one of the most proactive, respectful and effective occupational safety, health and environmental committees I have ever worked on.”

This inclusive safety-conscious environment was built by former superintendent Bill Danyluk and worker safety representative James Niemi.

Changing conditions, constant culture While much has changed over the years at Copper Cliff North Mine, Simpson noted that “what remains constant is the culture of North Mine.

The management team and safety programs have changed and yet the record continues. It belongs to the unit employees of North Mine who work every minute of every day to meet the challenges of safe production. I would like to specifically acknowledge James Niemi, who holds us all to a higher standard of safety. I thank everyone who has contributed.”

So what is Vale Inco’s secret?

Simpson summed it up thus: “What we do differently is expect more from ourselves and each other with respect to safety. Many ask how our safety statistics at North Mine are feasible. I think our culture makes it possible.

This is what we are.”

With more than 12,000 employees and sales exceeding US$10 billion last year alone, Vale Inco has not lost sight of its most important objective — sending people home safely every day. CIM

first nations Cultural awareness and Aboriginal mining relationships I have a group of friends, also consultants and business owners, and we often talk about our international experiences. A topic that usually comes up is how my ability to speak Spanish has been such a great asset in doing business in South America, and about how many contracts my friends have missed out on because they didn’t know a language well enough. But I’ve been thinking about this a bit more lately and I’ve begun to wonder if the reason they haven’t sealed the deal on these contracts is because they don’t speak the language, or because they lack the needed cultural awareness?

This question poses a bit of a conundrum. If you’re not aware of the subtle cultural differences that exist within a certain community, how can you possibly know whether or not you’ve lost a contract because of this lack of understanding? It would be easier to blame a lost contract on market conditions, price issues or not meeting the specification — when in fact the underlying cause may have been a cultural blunder. I have first-hand experience in these matters because, although I am from El Salvador and speak Spanish, doing business in other Spanishspeaking countries has been difficult because of my lack of specific cultural understandings. I bring this up because it is important for you to understand that perhaps the reason your negotiations with a community

by Juan Carlos Reyes didn’t go well is because you lacked the requisite cultural awareness.

It is important to understand that the umbrella term “Canadian Aboriginal Peoples” is bandied about often and can be very misleading — not to mention that the term itself can be further broken down into First Nations, Inuit and Métis. And within these separate entities a

… perhaps the reason your negotiations with a community didn’t go well is because you lacked the requisite cultural awareness. world of complex, independent, semi-autonomous government bodies exists. As you can imagine, it can all get very confusing.

I did a quick search through my favourite encyclopedia (Wikipedia) for the term First Nations and found this definition: “First Nations is a term of ethnicity that refers to the Aboriginal Peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis people.”

The term is actually legally undefined. It came into common usage in the 1980s to replace the term “Indian Band,” the legally recognized term defined as “a body of Indians for whose collective use and benefit lands have been set apart or money is held by the Canadian Crown, or declared to be a band for the purposes of the Indian Act.” In Canada there are 65 Indian tribes.

Tribes are groups of people that have common practices, language and beliefs. They are then further divided into Indian Bands or First Nations.

Currently, over 600 recognized First Nations governments or bands exist in Canada, roughly half

of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia.

So as you can see, it’s not as simple as “Aboriginal People” any more.

Although some tribes have left very small footprints in Canada, they nonetheless have tremendous histories and unique distinctions. Often these differences lead to social incompatibilities. In addition, many tribes also have very distinct ways of dealing with other tribes, with other communities, and even how they choose leaders. One of the more inspiring traditions for choosing leadership can be found within the Mohawks, a matriarchal society.

They rely on their clan mothers to choose the leader for the community — a very effective method that is certainly ahead of its time. It undoubtedly beats the politicsdriven methodology most places in Canada use today.

In the next few articles, I hope to paint a small picture that will illustrate and introduce the sheer complexity that exists among Canadian Aboriginal Peoples, how it defines the decision-making and negotiation process. This is why no two agreements are ever exactly the same, and why it is sometimes easier to negotiate with one community over another. Understanding that each community, tribe and individual is unique will go a long way in bringing the industry closer to that critical cultural awareness. CIM

About the author Juan Carlos Reyes is an aboriginal consultant with efficiency.ca and the organizer of Learning Together.

He is passionate about human rights and works tirelessly to help improve the lives of Canadian Aboriginal people.

March/April 2009 | 47

standards Proposed amendments to NI 43-101 In January 2009, the Canadian Securities Authorities’ (CSA) policy coordination committee approved a project for the revision of National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (NI 43-101). The British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) will be the lead jurisdiction drafting the amendments.

Six jurisdictions will participate in the project: British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick. Industry consultations will occur between February and May 2009. The BCSC plans to hold small focus groups with selected industry stakeholders (geologists, lawyers, brokers/analysts, listed companies, consulting firms, etc.) and all groups or individuals will be able to email comments to the BCSC. Information about the process is posted on the BCSC’s website (www.bcsc.bc.ca). Interested parties may also send comments directly to the BCSC. Another way to register your comments is to contact a member of the CSA Mining Technical Advisory and Monitoring Committee (MTAMC). MTAMC was established in 2001 as the CSA recognized that exploration, development and mining are highly technical, constantly changing and international in scope.

Accordingly, the CSA required input from industry representatives to assist in the fair and reasonable implementation of

by Deborah McCombe NI 43-101.

The CSA’s objective was to select an advisory committee small enough to facilitate efficiency yet large enough to permit broad, professional, industry-sector and regional representation. The mandate of MTAMC is to: 1. Serve as a forum for continuing communication between the minerals industry and the CSA, including reporting on industry concerns 48 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 4, No. 2

with NI 43-101 and recommending possible solutions.

2. Assist in the evaluation of foreign professional associations and reporting systems.

3. Advise the CSA on issues arising from the implementation of NI 43101, including disclosure issues that arise and matters that are appropriate for relief from NI 43-101.

4. Advise the CSA on industry and professional developments related to securities regulatory issues; in particular, assist the CSA in keeping up with developments in mineral reserve and mineral resource definitions and accounting standards relevant to the minerals industry.

5. Consult with the CSA on other matters relating to securities regulation of the mining industry.

Currently, the MTAMC is cochaired by Robert Holland, chief mining advisor of the BCSC, and Craig Waldie of the OSC. Committee members are: Brian Abraham, Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP, Vancouver; Lynda Bloom, Halo Resources, Toronto; Michel Champagne, Sidex, Montreal; Catherine Gignac, Toronto; Greg Gosson, AMEC Americas Limited, Vancouver; Bernie Haystead, Toronto; Alf Hills, Vancouver; Keith McCandlish, Associated Geosciences Ltd., Calgary; Duncan McIvor, Delta; Chester Moore, Scott Wilson Roscoe Postle Associates, Toronto; John Morganti, Vancouver; John Postle, Toronto; Gerald Riverin, Ressources Cognitore Inc., RouynNoranda; Ken Shannon, Corriente Resources Inc, Vancouver; and Val Spring, Watts Griffis and McOuat, Toronto. Francis Manns, TSX, and Leon Lyszkiewicz, TSX Venture Exchange, are observers on the MTAMC. Another committee that was established in 2001 was the CSA-Canadian

Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM) Reserve/Resource Committee. CIM has developed the definitions of Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves (CIM Definition Standards) and Industry Best Practice Standards. These CIM Definition Standards are incorporated by reference in NI 43-101 and the Best Practices are included in the Companion Policy, NI 43-101CP, as guidance. Best Practice Guidelines for the Estimation of Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves, Best Practices Guidelines for Mineral Exploration, and CIM Guidelines for Reporting of Diamond Exploration Results have been developed by CIM and posted on its website.

The CSA-CIM Committee meets annually at the CIM Conference and Exhibition, which is usually held in May. It is comprised of the executive director and president of CIM and representatives of the BCSC and OSC. The mandate of this committee is to update the CSA on any proposed changes to the CIM mineral resource and mineral reserve definitions and best practices, and to report on the international activities of CRIRSCO. CIM also advises the CSA if any technical issues arise in the application of NI 43-101.

If you have been working with NI 43-101 and would like to suggest some modifications or areas that require some clarification, now is your opportunity to advise the CSA. CIM

About the author Deborah McCombe, executive vice president of Scott Wilson Roscoe Postle Associates, is a consulting geologist who is strongly involved in Canadian disclosure standards for the mining industry.

innovation Shushing the giants A unique, first-in-Canada noise mitigation project ensures TransAlta’s neighbours sleep soundly

Fan hood on the Marion 8750 dragline helps suppress noise.

TransAlta’s Highvale mine is the largest surface strip coal mine in Canada and uses some of the biggest available earth-moving equipment to feed the Sundance and Keephills generating stations. Located south of Lake Wabamun, about 70 kilometres west of Edmonton, mining operations at Highvale sometimes operate in close proximity to homeowners and cottagers.

Noise levels have increased as new, ultra-class shovels and trucks have been added to

by Andrew Hickinbotham the mining fleet.

Operated by and Graeme Fitz Prairie Mines & Royalty Ltd. (PMRL), over the past few years the mining fleet has been changing from a pure dragline to a dragline/pre-strip operation, in response to an increase in the amount of overburden as the mine progresses south and eastward.

As challenging noise limits exist related to mining operations at

Highvale, TransAlta engaged the expert advice of noise specialist Faszer Farquharson & Associates (FFA). The specialists in acoustics and noise control employed a detailed

A noise plan was developed, which included

a few residences could exceed the sound limits established by the provincial regulator. To address this issue, TransAlta contracted Noise Solutions Inc., leading-edge sound suppression technology engineers and installers, to design noise reduction equipment for some of TransAlta’s mining fleet.

Noise levels from the existing mining equipment were simulated using the sound level information gathered by FFA consultants. Information for future mining equipment that had not yet entered into service was measured in other mining locations. Each noise source was measured while at high engine speeds and from “pass-bys.”

As a result, a noise plan was developed, which included retrofitting sound suppression equipment on 32 pieces of mining equipment, including draglines, shovels and trucks.

Noise Solutions Inc. designed, fabricated and installed custom sound suppression devices for the mining fleet. Advice from the equipment manufacturers regarding operational safety and efficiency were incorporated into the design.

TransAlta’s dragline fleet was the first to be retrofitted — each dragline had custom fan shrouds installed to help suppress noise.

The ongoing noise mitigation program that includes a Terex RH200 hydraulic shovel, Letourneau L1400 and L1850 loaders, six Cat 789 haul trucks, six

retrofitting sound suppression equipment on 32 pieces of mining equipment. noise model to accurately predict sound levels in different locations as mining operations would move across the landscape.

The results of the modelling indicated that noise levels measured near

March/April 2009 | 49

innovation Liebherr T282B haul trucks, four Komatsu 930 haul trucks and ten Cat 776 coal haulers focuses on the highest sources of noise — radiator fans, ventilation fans, engine casings, wheel openings and engine exhausts.

Solutions being deployed include apron curtains, engine enclosures, radiator silencers, wheel enclosures and upgraded exhaust mufflers.

For example, the Terex RH200 shovel arrived on site with no exhaust silencers. Noise Solutions Inc. designed, fabricated and installed a custom “muffler” for each of the engines. As a result of the scale of the mufflers (each muffler was 3.5 metres long, 1.5 metres in diameter and weighed nearly three tonnes), an extensive structural analysis was conducted and bulkheads were reinforced so the shovel could swing and withstand the momentum of the extra weight. Similarly, in another application there was concern for the considerable weight on the front haul truck tires as a result of the additional noise suppression equipment, in addition to an obstruction of sight lines, which posed a safety concern.

50 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 4, No. 2

The project team is still working to design a solution with the manufacturers to determine how to decrease the back pressure on a truck engine that already exhausts through a heated truck box. This would allow the elimination of pressure relief ports, a significant source of noise.

The unique noise mitigation project is expected to be complete in June 2009. The cost and effort applied to suppressing noise on TransAlta’s mining fleet is a first in the mining industry and is the largest effort ever to reduce noise from a mining fleet in Canada and likely North America. CIM

About the authors Andrew Hickinbotham (left) is a senior technical specialist with TransAlta Utilities Corporation. His fields of expertise include coal blending, beneficiation and coal quality impacts on power plant performance.

Graeme Fitz is the lead engineer at TransAlta Utilities – AB Mining Group.

Fernie’s deadliest night The Fernie & District Historical Society

B

y 1902, the West was expanding at the pace of a locomotive, and was just as hungry for coal.

It was the moment for Fernie, British Columbia, a young town of 3,500, to make good on its promise to become one of the major producers of coal for the industrializing frontier. The five year-old Crow’s Nest Coal Company expected its largest yield of coal yet from the flat, thick seams at its Coal Creek mines just outside of town.

Another Crow’s Nest mine, 40 kilometres north of Fernie, was set to go into full production that year.

In January 1902, the Globe and Mail printed a glowing cover story that featured the people, amenities and life in Fernie, and its mines. Later that spring, the company’s managing director boasted to the paper: “When we have the coal and the conditions as we find them in the Crow’s Nest Pass, it is only a question of time, money and men to develop mines to any capacity that may be required.” On May 22, 1902, just after 7:30 in the evening, an explosion deep in the Number Two mine at Coal Creek eclipsed that sunny optimism.

By the turn of the century, the coal mining industry knew very well the danger of firedamp, a combination of mostly methane and other flammable and

by Ryan Bergen inflammable gases.

Good ventilation was understood to be essential in safeguarding against explosive levels of methane and suffocating levels of carbon dioxide. A steampowered fan at Coal Creek generated a steady draft that exchanged the deadly gases in the mine with fresh air from outside. The draft, however, created a separate hazard by drying out the mine and raising volatile coal dust.

Fernie residents receive the remains of a mine worker. Among those killed was George Burney of Nova Scotia, whose father and two brothers each had died in separate coal mining accidents.

It is impossible to know the levels of methane and coal dust in the mine that Thursday evening, but the force of the blast shot the fan house roof 200 metres into the sky. Some of the dead were later found nearly naked, their clothes torn off in the explosion.

Only 17 of those working were able to save themselves. Another four were dragged from the mine. Many who were not killed in the fiery explosion quickly died of asphyxiation due to afterdamp, an extremely high concentration of carbon dioxide that firedamp explosions leave in their wake.

Although the fan at the mouth of the ventilation shaft remained intact and running, the shaft was choked with debris. Rescuers could only spend a short time in the suffocating mine before they were forced to return to the surface to be replaced by another search team. They were not able to recover the first body until late that night. At around 11:00 p.m. they

pulled the remains of 13-year-old Will Robertson from the mine.

The timekeeper responsible for recording the names of the men and boys working that Thursday evening was killed in the blast, his notebook incomplete. The Fernie Board of Trade declared 150 dead in its appeal to the public for aid to the widows and children of the deceased. A director of the company, alarmed by this number when informed by a reporter, placed the fatalities “with some definiteness at 109.” Long before the last remains were recovered, the town exhausted its supply of caskets. Neighbouring towns scrambled to provide more for the company.

“In the miners’ section there were few of the cottages which did not display the badge of mourning,” the Globe and Mail reported the following Monday. “On some doors it was a large piece of black crepe to signify that the head of the family had gone, and on March/April 2009 | 51

others, and far too many, the crepe was set upon a ribbon of white, to indicate that the victim was but a youth.”

Raw nerves inside the community were exposed. Provincial authorities worried of riots. A Fernie police constable, perhaps all too familiar with miners at less sober times, was lucky to escape alive after he was overheard saying that he had wished twice as many labourers had been in the mines when the explosion happened. Livid miners laid siege to the town’s jail. They were only satisfied when the offending officer, brought to face the angry townspeople, removed his star and uniform.

He then walked through the parted crowd to the train station. A second officer, also fearing similar humiliation, quietly slipped out of town soon after.

Immediate explanations for the cause of the blast varied. Only a day

52 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 4, No. 2

before, a government inspector had certified that the mine was safe. Miners suggested the explosion was a result of poorly discharged blasting material.

Others suspected reckless miners were to blame. Despite the obvious danger and strict rules against it, workers did risk smoking in the shafts. Earlier in the year, several had been fined for bringing matches into the mines.

After provincial authorities investigated the site of the disaster, they recommended a more thorough system of watering to keep the circulation of coal dust to a minimum. The annual report for the year also lamented that the demand for labour drew to the mines men who had very little experience.

The report’s most alarming information comes at the end from an investigator’s comparison of the frequency of fatalities in British

Columbia to those in Great Britain and Pennsylvania over the previous decade. The American centre of the coal mining industry averaged .41 explosion fatalities and 4.63 deaths from other accidents for every million tons of coal produced. The statistics from Great Britain were not much different: .62 died from explosions, and other workplace accidents took 3.3 lives. The cost of coal in human lives was far greater in British Columbia. Each million tons exacted 6.6 lives in explosions and 10.6 from accidents that covered the spectrum between irresponsibility and terrible luck.

Despite early optimistic reports from the Crow’s Nest Company soon after the blast, the damage at Coal Creek was too extensive for it to produce any more coal that year. CIM

Photo courtesy of Xstrata Copper

featured mine

Aerial view of Xstrata Copper Kidd Mine north of Timmins, Ontario

A supersized combo Xstrata’s Kidd Mine and Kidd Metallurgical Site The expansion at Xstrata Copper’s Kidd Mine — one of the world’s largest VMS deposits and deepest base metal mines — is buttressed by an alliance with one of the world’s most up-to-date processing facilities. by | Peter Diekmeyer

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What a difference just six months make. Late last year, Xstrata Copper announced a $121 million upgrade of its Kidd Mine operations in northern Ontario. The move, which would add 3.4 million tonnes of ore to its mine plan, has increased the planned production rate over the next eight years and extended projected mine life by one year. World economic growth and copper demand has been slowing, but no one foresaw that copper prices would plunge from 54 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 4, No. 2

their mid-year high of $4.08 per pound to $1.32 per pound by year end.

Yet Tom Semadeni, Kidd Mine’s general manager, puts a positive face on things. “Don’t forget that this mine has been in operation for more than 40 years,” said Semadeni. “During that time we have been though many ups and downs and we will almost certainly see more. We have a committed and knowledgeable group of people here who have demonstrated

featured mine that the challenges associated with mining large tonnages at depth can be met. The improved production profile that has been enabled by the mine deepening helps to improve the financial situation in the long-term. You don’t schedule these sorts of moves based on short-term market fluctuations.”

Semadeni’s coolness under pressure is understandable, he has been around the track more than once, having spent more than 20 years as a mining engineer at various Falconbridge and Noranda operations. Semadeni took charge of the Kidd Mining operation in 2007, shortly after Xstrata acquired Falconbridge in November 2006.

Kidd Mine: a long and prestigious history The Kidd metallurgical facilities are located in the Hoyle Township, about 22 kilometres northeast of Timmins, Ontario, while the mine site is located 27 kilometres north of Timmins in Kidd Township. The operations “You don’t form a key part of the Canadian schedule division of Brisbane-based these sorts Xstrata Copper, which is curof moves rently the world’s fourth largest based on copper producer, boasting an short-term market annual capacity of more than fluctuations.” one million tonnes.

— Tom Semadeni The Kidd Mine ore body, which ranks as one of the largest base metals deposits, was first identified in 1964.

Mining at the site, which contains copper, zinc and several other metals, began as an open pit format and over time evolved into a traditional underground mine. Once the new investments in the Kidd operations (which have already begun) are completed, the copper/zinc mine, already the world’s deepest, will be deepened from its current 9,100 foot depth to 9,500 feet.

Capitalized work includes the development of three additional production levels and related infrastructure; deepening of the decline from the 9100 to the 9600 level loading pocket; a ramp to a shaft bottom cleanout; the addition of an ore handling system between the 9200 and the 9600 level loading pocket; and the extension of the ventilation and backfill systems to service the new portion of the mine.

for purchased feeds. According to Thompson Hickey, general manager at the Kidd Metallurgical Site, the site employs 875 people, about 125 of whom work directly at the concentrator, 205 in the copper operations, 275 in the zinc facilities, with the balance comprised of support personnel.

Because of the muskeg-like terrain surrounding the mine site, the processing facilities were built up 30 kilometres away.

Ore from the mine is delivered to the Kidd concentrator via a company-run rail service. The concentrator produces copper and zinc concentrates from the Kidd ore in two of the four grinding and flotation circuits located at the facility.

The economically viable minerals in the ore are separated from the waste and from each other through a multi-step process. Steps include dry-crushing and grinding the ore into finely sized slurry, which is then fed into flotation cells. After that, the minerals are separated and the tailings are pumped into a 1,200-hectare containment area, where the water is treated prior to release into the environment, with strict adherence to government regulations.

Processing operations The Kidd Metallurgical Site includes three principal integrated operations: the Kidd Concentrator, the Kidd Copper Smelter and Refinery and the Kidd Zinc Plant. The processing operation’s primary goal is to become a competitive mineral and metals processor, not only for company-sourced, but also

This mine model puts into perspective just how deep 9,000+ feet really is.

March/April 2009 | 55

featured mine 1.

2.

7.

3.

6.

4.

5.

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featured mine The concentrator facilities, set up in the 1960s, continue to perform surprisingly well even today. As recently as 2006, the facility, which includes a crushing plant, multiple rod and ball mills, grinding lines, flotation cells and an abundance of other equipment, set numerous production records. After it leaves the Kidd Concentrator, the copper concentrate is sent to the Kidd Copper Smelter and refinery facilities, which Xstrata officials regard as among the most technologically advanced anywhere.

There the copper concentrate, along with concentrates brought over from other mines in North and South America, is fed into the smelter, which boasts annual capacity to produce 150,000 tonnes of blister copper. That blister is then refined and Inspecting minnow population as part of sustainable development initiatives cast into copper anodes, where it is further purified into cop- invested time and energy in improving communications with per cathode for sale. The highly automated and efficient refin- all of our stakeholders.”

According to Semadeni, the mining industry in general is ery employs the Kidd Process and also produces significant quantities of slimes that have silver, gold and platinum com- working hard to improve health and safety performance, and Kidd Mine has made substantial improvements over the years. ponents.

“Despite the fact that our name makes it appear that we “It is totally unacceptable in this day and age that people are strictly a copper facility, our second highest dollar value should get hurt at work,” said Semadeni. “The Kidd operations output originates from zinc,” explained Hickey. The Kidd Zinc have always been regarded as relatively safe. We have won operations have a similar work flow as the copper production more than 50 awards over the years for safety, including 27 in facilities. Zinc concentrate produced at the Kidd Concentrator the last 35 years. But that has not stopped us from doing more. is roasted to burn off the sulphur, which is converted into sul- During the 2006 to 2008 period alone, we managed to reduce phuric acid. The remaining zinc is converted into an oxide disabling injuries at our facilities by close to 80 per cent. We powder called calcine, which is then further refined and promote and expect a work environment of ‘Zero Harm.’”

Recent safety measures at Kidd Mine include implementaprocessed into sheets of high-grade zinc cathode. The cathode is then melted and cast into saleable ingots weighing tion of a new safety program that provides for a high degree of employee involvement, ensuring procedures are followed, as between 25 kilograms and one tonne. well as making sure that risks are identified and managed Mine safety and sustainable development before work occurs. “Furthermore, our concept of safety Both Semadeni and Hickey underscore their strong focus extends to all mine stakeholders, including our contractors,” on attaining the highest sustainable development standards explained Semadeni. “To us, it does not matter what colour in health and safety, environment and community perform- your coveralls are. We spend a lot of time working with our conance. “In the last three years, we have reduced our injury fre- tractors to ensure they have the required management systems quency by more than 50 per cent,” said Hickey. “During recent in place so that they too can deliver excellent safety results. So years, Xstrata has invested tens of millions of dollars in envi- those statistics include employees as well as contractors.” ronmental projects, including the construction of a bag house Xstrata’s focus on safety has paid off. Mine officials cite to trap air emissions at the facility, as well as the installation the company’s safety record in deep mining, coupled with the of additional tailings treatment technology. We have also confidence that it has inspired in both employees and the surrounding community, as key factors in obtaining approval for Photos on facing page (clockwise from top left):1. Air from the atmosphere the new expansion. is drawn through the bottom of the open pit in the winter through a number of The other good news is that despite the timing challenges old stoping areas in the upper mine. This creates ice and cools the broken rock in these old stopes. 2. Due to the increased depth of mining, the surface exhaust fans posed by the planned expansion announcement at the Kidd are unable to create enough pressure to exhaust from the bottom of Mine D. For facilities, recent weakness in copper prices should prove to be that reason, two very large booster fans of 4,000 horse power each were placed a surmountable obstacle. That’s because while copper in the exhaust route at the 6000 level to ensure the mine is able to be ventilated through to the bottom of Stage 2. 3. This rock breaker is located 8,000 feet underdemand is weaker right now, the new upgrades to the mine ground and is operated remotely by an operator on surface. 4. View of grinding will be only be complete by 2010, by which time metal mills at the Kidd Concentrator. 5. Paste plant in winter. 6. Copper floation.

7. North vent fans. All photos courtesy of Xstrata demand is expected to have picked up again. CIM March/April 2009 | 57

mine en vedette

Les broyeurs de l’usine de concentration Kidd

La mine et le site métallurgique Kidd de Xstrata L’expansion à la mine Kidd de Xstrata Copper – l’un des plus gros gisements au monde de sulfures massifs volcanogènes et l’une des mines les plus profondes – est soutenue par des installations de traitement des plus modernes.

Q

Que de différences en six mois! L’an dernier, Xstrata annonçait une modernisation de 121 M$ à la mine Kidd dans le nord de l’Ontario; cet agrandissement aurait ajouté 3,4 Mt de minerai et accru le taux de production pour les huit prochaines années en plus de prolonger la vie de la mine d’un an. La croissance économique mondiale et la demande pour le cuivre avaient déjà ralenti, mais personne ne pouvait prévoir que les prix du cuivre chuteraient de 4,08 $/lb à 1,32 $/lb.

Tom Semadeni, le directeur général de la mine Kidd, est cependant positif. « N’oubliez pas que cette mine est exploitée depuis plus de 40 ans. Durant cette époque, nous avons eu bien des hauts et des bas et nous en verrons d’autres. Nous avons une équipe de gens compétents qui savent rencontrer les défis de travailler à de grandes profondeurs », dit-il. M. Semadeni en a effectivement vu d’autres, ayant travaillé plus de 20 ans comme ingénieur minier à Falconbridge et à Noranda.

58 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 4, No. 2

La mine Kidd : une longue et prestigieuse histoire Les installations métallurgiques de Kidd en Ontario, à 22 km au nord-est de Timmins, font partie de la division canadienne de Xstrata Copper, basée à Brisbane, en Australie, actuellement le quatrième plus grand producteur mondial de cuivre, avec une capacité annuelle de plus d’un million de tonnes.

Le gisement des mines Kidd a été identifié en 1964.

L’exploitation du site a débuté à ciel ouvert et a évolué en mine souterraine; on y extrait du cuivre, du zinc et plusieurs autres métaux. Une fois que les investissements seront terminés, la mine – déjà la plus profonde au monde – aura une profondeur de 9500 pieds. Les travaux comprendront l’ajout de trois niveaux de production et les infrastructures connexes nécessaires : une rampe, des trémies jaugeuses, de la ventilation et des systèmes de remblais.

mine en vedette

1.

2.

(De gauche à droite) 1. Deux très gros ventilateurs de renfort assurent la ventilation de la mine au plus profond de l’étape. 2. Ventilateurs des évents nord.

Les installations de traitement de Kidd comprennent deux installations principales : le concentrateur et la fonderie et raffinerie. Selon Thompson Hickey, directeur général du site métallurgique, ces installations emploient environ 875 personnes dont 125 au concentrateur, 250 dans les installations de cuivre et 350 dans les installations de zinc.

En raison du terrain marécageux autour de la mine, les installations de traitement ont été construites à une trentaine de kilomètres. Le minerai est acheminé au concentrateur par le service ferroviaire de la compagnie. Le concentrateur produit des concentrés de cuivre et de zinc.

Les minéraux rentables sont séparés de la gangue en plusieurs étapes dont le concassage et le broyage en une boue fine qui est envoyée au circuit de flottation. Les minéraux se trouvent alors séparés et les résidus sont acheminés vers un bassin de retenue. L’eau du bassin est traitée avant d’être rejetée dans l’environnement.

Les installations de concentration, qui datent des années 1960, comprennent, entre autres, une usine de broyage, des broyeurs à boulets et à barres et des cellules de flottation.

Malgré leurs 40 ans, elles fonctionnent encore très bien, établissant même en 2006 plusieurs records de production.

Le concentré de cuivre et d’autres concentrés provenant de mines en Amérique du Nord et en Amérique du Sud se retrouvent à la fonderie, dont la capacité annuelle atteint 150 000 tonnes de cuivre blister. Ce cuivre est ensuite raffiné; la raffinerie produit aussi des quantités importantes de schlamms contenant de l’argent, de l’or et du platine. « Notre deuxième plus grosse production en valeur est le zinc », dit M. Hickey. Le cheminement est sensiblement le même que pour le cuivre : le concentré de zinc provenant de l’usine de concentration est grillé pour brûler le soufre, lequel est converti en acide sulfurique. Le zinc qui reste est converti en poudre d’oxyde de zinc, laquelle est encore raffinée et

transformée en feuillets de zinc de haute pureté. Ces derniers sont ensuite fondus et moulés en lingots de poids divers.

Les questions environnementales et de développement durable préoccupent beaucoup. « Au cours des dernières années, Xstrata a dépensé des dizaines de millions de dollars sur l’environnement », dit M. Hickey. « Cela comprend des dépoussiéreurs à sacs filtrants et des technologies additionnelles pour traiter les résidus. » Selon M. Semadeni, l’industrie minière travaille fort pour améliorer la santé et la sécurité et la mine Kidd a fait d’importantes améliorations au cours des années.

Sécurité minière et développement durable « Il est tout à fait inacceptable que les gens se blessent au travail », dit M. Semadeni. « Les opérations Kidd ont toujours été considérées comme sécuritaires. Nous avons obtenu plus de 50 prix de sécurité. Mais cela ne nous a pas empêchés d’en faire plus. Durant la période 2006 à 2008, nous avons réduit les blessures invalidantes par environ 80 %. Nous encouragerons et nous nous attendons à un environnement de travail de zéro blessure », poursuit-il. Les récentes mesures de sécurité comprennent la mise en œuvre d’un nouveau programme de sécurité avec une grande implication des employés, assurant ainsi que toutes les procédures sont suivies et que tous les risques ont été identifiés. Ces concepts s’appliquent aussi à tous nos entrepreneurs.

Les efforts de Xstrata en sécurité et les autres mesures de responsabilité sociale et corporative ont porté fruit. Les officiels de la mine citent le dossier sécurité de la compagnie et la confiance que cela a inspirée chez les employés et dans la communauté, aidant ainsi à obtenir les approbations pour l’expansion.

Malgré la faible demande actuelle pour le cuivre, l’expansion va de l’avant mais ne sera complétée qu’en 2010; l’économie mondiale aura presque certainement récupéré et la demande pour les métaux devrait être forte. ICM March/April 2009 | 59

cim news CIM welcomes new members Alvarado, Sergio, Chile Anijdan, Hashem Mousavi, Quebec Anwar, Nadeem, Pakistan Arinaitwe, Esau, British Columbia Balachander, Mettupalayam, Manitoba Bell, Benjamin, Australia Bernier, Sébastien B., Ontario Bjornstad, Ole Landmark, British Columbia Brum, Paul, British Columbia Carrière, Danielle-France, Quebec Czehura, Steve, USA Dalgard, Elvi, Quebec de Jager, Neil, Ontario Del Bosco, Riccardo, Quebec Deutsch, Jared, Alberta Furlotte, Steve, New Brunswick Gagnon, Andre, British Columbia Gallant, Marc, Ontario Garant, Jean, Ontario Gomez, Mario, Quebec Guler, Mert, Ontario Hoeg, Scott, Nova Scotia Jackson, Moira, Ontario Jerrett, Bryan, Newfoundland and Labrador Laamanen, Risto, Ontario Langner, Jeremy, Manitoba Lee, Nathan, Manitoba Li, Xiujun, Alberta Li-jie, Guo, China Machuca-Mory, David Francisco, Alberta Mehdi, Akbar, Ontario

Mirza, Abbas, USA Moreau, Anne M., Quebec Munroe, Michael, Nova Scotia Nayar, Priya, Manitoba Nekoovaght, Pejman, Quebec Odeshi, Akindele, Saskatchewan Omary, Juma, Alberta Pandya, Ketan, Ontario Petitjean, Jules, Ontario Phelan, Jim, Australia Pooler, Andrew, British Columbia Poonawala, Nooruddin, Ontario Quon, Steve, British Columbia Russell, Colin, British Columbia Sanchez, Veronica, Ontario Scinto, Paul, Ontario September, Norris, Australia Silva, Sergio, Brazil Stebbe, Wayne, Manitoba Swindell, Edward, South Africa Tremblay, Christian, Quebec Wilson, Donald K., Ontario Yameogo, Theophile S., Saskatchewan Yao, Lu, British Columbia Zhang, Can, Nova Scotia

Corporate ASCO Numatics Copper Development Association Inc. LS Nikko Copper Inc. Scorpion Plastics & Environment

A look back in time 20 YEARS AGO… • CIM president René Dufour lauded the inauguration of the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame in Toronto and the induction of its first 12 members.

In our last issue, we had reported on new inductions that brought the count up to 140.

• The guest program for CIM’s 91st Annual General Meeting in Quebec City included a Discover the World of Yesteryear tour of the Beaurpré shore heritage areas. Twenty years later, you can take a historical and culinary tour of Toronto at the forthcoming CIM Conference and Exhibition 2009.

• A technical paper by G.P. Demopoulos examined the refining of platinumgroup metals. Some of the latest developments in the very same field are reported in this issue.

• An article on the checkered history of the Tredegar iron works of Richmond, Virginia, described its important role in the American Civil War. The above were taken from the March 1989 issue of CIM Bulletin.

60 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 4, No. 2

cim news Bubbling up for mineral processing The writer of an award-winning essay shares enthusiastic insights Alison Cummings, from Queen’s University, was awarded the CIM Canadian Mineral Processors Society Toronto Branch scholarship for her short essay, “Role of a Mineral Processor,” which tackles the environmental and social challenges a mineral processor faces today.

When Cummings heard about mineral processing through her orientation leader, she was hooked. “I saw it as the perfect combination of chemistry and geology. So far, I like everything about it and I am excited to learn more about the field,” she said enthusiastically.

Her passion doesn’t stop there. Now in her second year of a dual degree in mineral processing and economics, Cummings’s heavy course load does not deter her from aiming to graduate with Dean’s Honours. Nor will this bubbly and energetic student relax during her summer breaks. She will be spending her days “applying what I have learned at Queen’s by getting practical work experience.”

But it’s not all work and no play for Cummings.

When she is not “reading and hanging out with friends and family,” she may be found zipping through the summer weekends on waterby Robbie Pillo skis, or in the winter, with the help of her teammates, making a clean sweep of varsity curling tournaments.

Winning the CIM Canadian Minerals Processors Society Toronto Branch scholarship has lifted her already naturally high spirits. “I'm excited and I'm proud of myself! It feels great to know that I am actually soaking in all that I am learning at Queen's and that people in the industry think so too.”

Alison Cummings receives her scholarship prize from Stuart McTavish, chair of the Canadian Minerals Processors Society Toronto Branch.

Now in its second year, the $2,500 scholarship prize is granted to students from the Greater Toronto Area entering their second year of mineral processing engineering.

The funds were raised through the Canadian Mineral Processors Society Toronto Branch annual meeting held on September 9, 2008. CIM

Savvy socializing in Toronto On October 16, 2008, the CIM Toronto Branch held its second annual fall networking event — Grubstake Night — at the Toronto Board of Trade. Over 90 students from across southern Ontario rubbed shoulders and minds with 120 industry participants. CIM executive director Jean Vavrek joined this engaging and vibrant group over scrumptious cocktails and hors d’oeuvres.

by Rick Hutson In the afternoon, students attended a networking seminar where Larry Smith from Vale Inco and Rick Hutson from C.J. Stafford & Associates offered insights into the art of effective networking.

Grubstake Night was very well received by the eager students. “Because this was a new experience, I found it very difficult to approach the first industry representative,”

recalled Christopher Avery, a fourth-year mining engineering student at Queen’s University. “But the friendly and relaxed atmosphere made meeting new people easier and more enjoyable.”

The branch would like to thank the sponsors. Because of their generosity, students were able to participate free of charge; those from outside the Greater Toronto Area were compensated for their travel costs.

•, Platinum — SNC-Lavalin, De Beers Canada, Barrick Gold Corporation and Xstrata Canada •, Gold — AMEC, Hatch, IBK Capital Corp., Wardrop, Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC), Vale Inco, Cormark Securities Inc., Orica Canada Inc. and Golder Associates •, Silver — Royal Nickel Corp. CIM March/April 2009 | 61

cim news Maintaining excellence CIM Maintenance and Engineering Society announces its 2008 award winners

Cameron Mazurek

Denis Gagnon

Curtis Taylor

The raison d’être of the CIM Maintenance and Engineering Society is to promote advancement in the theory and the practice of electrical and mechanical arts and sciences in the minby Jacek Paraszczak ing industry. In addition to facilitating the generation and dissemination of knowledge in the field, the society recognizes and promotes excellence through the awards it administers.

Erica Cain

Daniel Janusauskas

The Centennial Scholarship This $1,998 non-renewable scholarship is open to CIM national members, or their children or spouses who are currently enrolled in a post-secondary program in the maintenance and engineering disciplines (mechanical, civil, electrical, electronics, instrumentation, chemical, computer sciences, material sciences, manufacturing and related disciplines), with the intent of pursuing a career in

Éléonore en primeur à Québec Le 10 novembre, la Section de Québec de l’ICM recevait Madame Jacqueline Leroux, directrice de l'environnement pour Mines Opinaca. Madame Leroux travaille sur le projet Éléonore et elle a pris l’opportunité de décrire l'avancement du projet. Le gisement par Marie Fortin de la propriété Éléonore a été découvert en 2004, puis acquis en 2006 par Goldcorp. Depuis ce temps, après plusieurs forages très prometteurs, la mise en place d’un camp d’exploration élaboré et le lancement des études techniques et environnementales, Éléonore a subi son lot de défis et profité aussi d’opportunités. Premier développement minier aurifère dans le Nord-du-Québec depuis la signature de la Paix de Braves, tout ce que fait Mines Opinaca est un précédent : depuis la géologie à comprendre, en passant par une mine et un concentrateur à « designer », jusqu’aux considérations environnementales et sociales; il a été constaté à quel point le développement de ce futur camp minier est passionnant. La conférence de Madame Leroux qui a eu lieu à l'Université Laval a été suivie avec intérêt par 66 personnes.

De gauche à droite : M. René del Villar, président de la section de Québec de l’ICM et Mme Jacqueline Leroux. From left to right: René del Villar, CIM Quebec Branch chair, and Jacqueline Leroux.

La conférence était suivie d'un buffet léger, une commandite de Mines Agnico-Eagle Limitée, l'Association minière du Québec, COREM, Fasken Martineau, Gestion SODEMEX inc., Instrumentation GDD inc., Mines Virginia et Soutex inc. ICM

L’auteur Marie Fortin est la secrétaire de la Section de Québec de l’ICM/ Author Marie Fortin is the CIM Quebec Branch secretary.

62 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 4, No. 2

cim news

the mining industry. This year’s scholarship recipients are Cameron Mazurek and Denis Gagnon.

Cameron Mazurek is a third-year mechanical engineering student at the University of Manitoba. He was drawn to a mining career by the current and expected employment boom in the sector. Over the past summer, Mazurek completed a student engineering work term at IMRIS, Inc., a placement that proved to be an excellent complement to his education. He looks forward to gaining more experience with another placement this coming summer. To broaden his industry exposure, Mazurek aims to work for a mining company and an aerospace company over the two summers remaining in his program.

Denis Gagnon has a family history in mining. Born in the mining community of Elliot Lake, Ontario, he has lived in a number of mining communities where his father was employed. Gagnon has worked for Rio Algom mines in both underground and surface operations in the capacity of a journeyman welder. He then took a detour, to study the fine arts. Currently enrolled in a mechanical engineering program at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg,

Gagnon believes that the integration of his art and engineering talents can add value to both. He hopes, with his unique combination of skills, to make significant contributions to the social, economic and cultural aspects of life in mining communities.

Quebec gets the scoop on Éléonore

Ken Hildebrant Memorial Scholarship

On November 10, 2008, the CIM Quebec Branch hosted Jacqueline Leroux, environmental director for Opinaca Mines, who discussed the latest developments on the Éléonore project. The Éléonore deposit, discovered in 2004, was acquired by Goldcorp in 2006. Over the course of numerous diamond drillings, the development of an advanced mining camp, and several technical and environmental studies, Éléonore has faced its share of challenges and benefited from various opportunities. This gold mine project is the first in northern Quebec since the signing of the Paix des Braves agreement. In developing the project, Opinaca Mines has set many standards in complex geology, mine and mill design, and environmental and social issues. Leroux’s insightful presentation, which reflected all the excitement and enthusiasm around the project, was well received by an audience of 66 at Laval University.

The presentation was followed by a light buffet sponsored by Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited, the Quebec Mining Association, COREM, Fasken Martineau, Gestion SODEMEX inc., Instrumentation GDD inc., Virginia Mines and Soutex inc. CIM

J.D. “Pat” Patterson Memorial Scholarship Created in 1991 in memory of CIM Maintenance/ Engineering Division (now Society) past chairman Pat Patterson, this non-renewable scholarship of $1,500 is open to any CIM national member or his/her child or spouse who, with the intent of pursuing a career in the mining industry, is currently studying maintenance engineering or a related discipline at the post-secondary level.

This year, the scholarship was awarded to Curtis Taylor.

A certified arborist, Curtis Taylor is now in his first year of engineering at the University of Saskatchewan. Taylor, who has lived in Saskatchewan for 21 years, counts the few months he spent overseas as an important part of his education. He looks forward to being a professional in the mining industry, with special interests in uranium and its potential within Saskatchewan and the rest of Canada.

Created in 2006 in memory of CIM Maintenance and Engineering Society past chairman Ken Hildebrant, this $2,000 scholarship is open to any child of a CIM national member or a CIM member entering or attending a post secondary educational institution to study in any discipline.

This year’s recipients of the scholarship are Erica Cain and David Janusauskas.

Erica Cain graduated from the French Immersion Program at Uxbridge Secondary School. She is currently in her final year of practical nursing at Sir Sanford Fleming College in Peterborough, Ontario.

Daniel Janusauskas is a first-year mining engineering student at McGill University. He graduated with honours from Marianopolis College with a DEC in pure and applied science and has been actively involved in numerous robotics competitions. Over the summer he will be working for Suncor in Fort McMurray as a heavy equipment operator.

The CIM Maintenance and Engineering Society congratulates all award winners and wishes them the best in their educational and professional endeavours.

Information about the society’s scholarships can be found at http://www.cim.org/med/med.aw3.cfm.

Author Jacek (Jack) Paraszczak is the director of education, student papers and scholarships, CIM Maintenance and Engineering Society.

March/April 2009 | 63

cim news Appui technologique pour Dumont C’est le 7 octobre dernier devant une cinquantaine de participants pour la plupart membres de la section Thetford Mines de l’ICM que M. Alger St-Jean, vice-président exploration de la firme Royal Nickel, par Pierre Laroche est venu décrire les grandes lignes du projet Dumont. Il s’agit d’un important projet d’extraction de minerai de nickel situé à une vingtaine de kilomètres à l’ouest d’Amos en Abitibi-Témiscaminque.

M. St-Jean a tenu à souligner l’apport technologique important du CTMP de Thetford Mines (Centre de technologie minérale et de plasturgie) pour établir un procédé de traitement du minerai à la fois réaliste et rentable. Ce partenariat entre le CTMP et Royal Nickel a débuté tôt en 2008 et devrait se poursuivre en 2009.

Une fois les études métallurgiques, environnementales et de faisabilités complétées, et les permis gouvernementaux obtenus, la production pourrait débuter en 2014. ICM

Soirée étudiante à Québec Le premier décembre quarante-six personnes de la Section de Québec de l’ICM assistaient à la rencontre annuelle dédiée aux étudiants. Plusieurs représentants de l’industrie étaient présents. Cet événement se voulait une soirée de réseautage et se tenait suivant cette formule pour la première fois.

Les membres de la Section ont eu le plaisir de recevoir quatre conférenciers étudiants qui ont partagé leur expérience de stage ou de projet de fin d’études. Leurs par Marie Fortin performances étaient évaluées par un jury composé de professionnels du milieu; la Section de Québec décernait 1 000 $ en prix pour les présentations.

Les conférences furent suivies d’une courte présentation d’entreprise faite par chacun des commanditaires.

Cette rencontre était commanditée par Mines AgnicoEagle Limitée, l’Association minière du Québec, COREM, Fasken Martineau, Gestion SODEMEX inc., Instrumentation GDD inc., Mines Virginia inc. et Soutex inc. ICM

L’auteur Marie Fortin est la secrétaire de la Section de Québec de l’ICM/Author Marie Fortin is the CIM Quebec Branch secretary.

De gauche à droite : Les conférenciers récipiendaires des prix : M. Dany Audet, M. Alexandre Morasse, Mme Jennifer Blain, Mme Maud Lévesque Michaud. À droite : Richard Laplante, vice-président de la section de Québec.

From left to right: The presenters awarded with prizes: Dany Audet, Alexandre Morasse, Jennifer Blain, Maud Lévesque Michaud.

Far-right: Richard Laplante, CIM Quebec Branch vice-chair 64 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 4, No. 2

Technological support for Dumont On October 7, 2008, the CIM Thetford Mines Branch was pleased to host Alger St-Jean, vice president, exploration at Royal Nickel. His presentation on the Dumont project, a major nickel mine project located 20 kilometres west of Amos in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region, drew over 50 participants.

In 2008, the project received great technological support from the Centre de technologie minérale et de plasturgie (CTMP) in Thetford Mines for establishing a realistic and cost-effective ore processing method. CTMP looks forward to extending its partnership throughout 2009.

Once the metallurgical, environmental and feasibility studies have been completed and all governmental permits obtained, production could begin as early as 2014. CIM

L’auteur Pierre Laroche est l’ancient président de la section de Thetford Mines de l’ICM/Author Pierre Laroche is the CIM Thetford Mines Branch past chair.

Quebec student night On December 1, 2008, 46 participants attended the Annual Student Night of the CIM Quebec Branch. This year, the program took the form of a networking event, where local students mingled with several industry representatives.

Four students presented their end-of-studies projects and shared their internship experiences. Their presentations were evaluated by a panel of local professionals; $1,000 in prizes was awarded by the branch.

Taking their turn on the podium, the evening’s sponsors each gave a short presentation.

The CIM Quebec Branch would like to thank the sponsors who made the evening possible: Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited, the Quebec Mining Association, COREM, Fasken Martineau, Gestion SODEMEX inc., Instrumentation GDD inc., Virginia Mines Inc. and Soutex inc. CIM

cim news It’s who you know Teaching the fine art of networking

Students mix and mingle with industry representatives.

Career experts estimate that 65 to 75 per cent of jobs are never advertised. Instead, successful applicants are found via word-of-mouth. In an “it’s who you know” world, being a skilled networker can make all the difference between landing a dream job and career stagnation. However, most of us are not born hob-nobbers and mastering the fine art of networking can seem quite daunting, especially for graduating students as they step into the opening act of their careers.

With the increasing popularity of student-industry events, upcoming and recent graduates have more opportunities than ever to hone their networking skills. Although practice does make perfect, preparation remains key. That is the message that Rick

by Robbie Pillo Hutson and Larry Smith, executive members of the CIM Toronto branch, want to spread.

Through their networking seminars, their aim is to arm students with the tips and tools that will help them mingle successfully as they cross the threshold to the industry mixer that awaits them in the next room.

Preparation is key In the classroom, students learn all of the technical material they will need to embark on their chosen career paths. However, as Smith observed:

“networking, a very real part of the industry, has somehow fallen between the cracks. We realized that this is something that can actually be taught.”

However, don’t show up at Hutson and Smith’s seminars expecting a typical lecture. This dynamic duo packs a powerful punch with their insightful and engaging presentation, which not only delivers essential networking techniques, but also tips on resume writing, interview advice, and other career-building how-tos.

Once the question and answer period is over, students have a few moments before putting this new knowledge into practice. “The information they receive is immediately put to the test as students proceed to a reception in an adjacent room, where industry representatives await, giving them an opportunity to use the tools they have just been provided with,” explained Smith.

Mix and mingle Hutson’s and Smith’s involvement doesn’t stop there. With the help of their branch colleagues, they continue to dish out their social savvy. “When we see students huddled together during the mixers, we charge in and connect them with the right people,” said Hutson. He went on to explain that at CIM luncheons, when allowed to seat themselves, students will often sit

together. To help them break outside their comfort zone, the branch assigns alternating “student” and “industry” seating cards at the tables. With an industry representative seated on either side, students have twice the networking opportunities. “They now have access to a person that would normally be protected by layers of assistants,” observed Smith.

Thanks to the generosity of local sponsors, the CIM branch empowers students with vital knowledge and contacts that are free of charge. These donations also grant students living outside the greater Toronto area financial support for transportation.

The students are not the only ones who benefit. The branch gets an inside look at the next generation of the mining industry. “We are eager to have all these bright young people join our workforce,” said Hutson. “They represent great hope for this industry.”

These events also encourage students to get more involved in CIM events. By setting roots early on, their connection to the branch and CIM will be firmly grounded for many years to come.

Hutson, a consultant at C.J. Stafford and Associates, has spent most of his career working in the petroleum industry on international grounds, from Houston to as far as the jungles in Burma. Smith, on the other hand, stayed local, working in the ever changing world of mining economics: from mergers and acquisitions to project evaluations. They both attribute much of their success to networking. “You can be the best engineer or geologist on the planet, but if no one knows you exist, what good is it?” said Hutson.

Even though their backgrounds are different, their goal is the same.

“Hopefully students come away with an understanding that networking works, no matter who you are, what you do, or where you go,” said Hutson. CIM March/April 2009 | 65

Rock Engineering in Difficult Conditions May 9–15, 2009

Registration Registration for RockEng09 includes full access to the technical presentations, admission to the CIM Exhibition, Mining in Society show and Career Fair.

Delegates will receive two drink tickets for the Sunday night opening reception, drink tickets for Monday and Tuesday cocktails in the CIM Exhibition, and lunch on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday in the Exhibition. Tickets to the P&H Reception and Dance on Tuesday night and the Rock Engineering Banquet on Wednesday night are also included with registration. Delegates will receive proceedings of the symposium on CD-ROM.

Social Program

Metro Toronto Convention Centre Held in conjunction with CIM Conference and Exhibition 2009 The 20th Canadian (3rd Joint Canada–US) Rock Mechanics Symposium will be held from May 9 to 15 in Toronto, in conjunction with CIM Conference and Exhibition 2009. Under the theme of Rock Engineering in Difficult Conditions, RockEng09 will bring together leading rock engineers to discuss advances in rock mechanics applied to engineering rock masses for civil, mining and petroleum applications. The symposium is organized as a unique and immersive learning experience.

Participants will gain knowledge that can be disseminated among their peers and colleagues, to the great benefit of employers.

The RockEng09 technical program will run over two and a half days, opening with a plenary session on Monday afternoon, followed by technical sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday. It will be complemented by workshops, offered both prior to and after the conference. All participants will have access to the CIM plenary session on Monday morning, moderated by CBC television pundit Rex Murphy.

Workshops

Saturday, May 9, 18:00 Reception for workshop attendees Sunday, May 10, 18:00 Opening Reception Monday, May 11, 18:00 Poster Reception

One- and two-day workshops will be held prior to the technical program, on Saturday and Sunday, May 9 and 10, and after the conference, on Thursday and Friday, May 14 and 15. The workshops are tailored for a broad and diverse audience and will target specific rock engineering problems to provide more focused learning.

Tuesday, May 12, 20:00 P&H Reception and Dance

May 9

Wednesday, May 13, 19:00 Closing Gala Dinner

May 9–10

Dynamic rock testing Kaiwen Xia, University of Toronto

Instrumentation Will F. Bawden, University of Toronto

Rock fracture characterization and networking modelling in 3D Pinnaduwa Kulatilake, University of Arizona

May 10

Use of geomechanical software for mining and civil applications TBA

May 14

Use of laser scanning and photogrammetry in rock engineering Mark Diederichs, Queen’s University, Giovanni Grasselli, University of Toronto

May 14-15

Applications of block theory for surficial and underground rock excavations Pinnaduwa Kulatilake, University of Arizona

Use of geomechanical software for mining and civil applications TBA 66 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 4, No. 2

Provisional Technical Program Monday PM

Wednesday AM

Plenary Session — 14:00

Welcome — 8:30

The RockEng09 Symposium will begin with a plenary session on Monday afternoon. Four keynote speakers will set the tone of the conference by providing an overview of today’s challenges and solutions for difficult rock engineering projects, with particular emphasis on the Canadian mining industry.

Parallel Sessions — 8:45

Tuesday AM

- Geophysics in rock engineering I - Risk approach to rock engineering design - Role of uncertainties in rock engineering design Parallel Sessions — 10:15 - Deep mining III - Numerical modelling of continuum-discountinuum behaviour of geomaterials II - Rockmass investigation for the mitigation of unexpected underground conditions

Welcome — 8:30

Wednesday PM

Parallel Sessions — 8:45 - Conventional and TBM tunneling - Joint / fault strength and deformation - The role of geological models in rock engineering

Parallel Sessions — 13:30 - Geophysics in rock engineering II - Innovation in ground support and instrumentation - Deep underground nuclear waste repositories I

Parallel Sessions — 10:15 - Deep mining I - Rock engineering in presence of high water pressure or flow - Reservoir geomechanics

Tuesday PM Parallel Sessions — 13:30 - Deep mining II - Material behaviour and testing - Numerical modelling of continuum-discountinuum behaviour of geomaterials I

Parallel Sessions — 15:00 - Thermomechanical testing and modeling - High slopes: Deep open pits and natural slope instabilities II - Deep underground nuclear waste repositories II RockEng09 Plenary Workshops — 16:15 - Deep Mining - Nuclear geomech - Rock testing RockEng09 Plenary Workshops — 17:15 - Numerical modelling - Field characterization - Tunnelling

Parallel Sessions — 15:45 - Innovation in ground support and instrumentation - Squeezing and swelling conditions in tunneling - Use of LIDAR and digital photogrammetry in rock engineering Parallel Sessions — 17:15 - Use of LIDAR and digital photogrammetry in rock engineering - High slopes: Deep open pits and natural slope instabilities I - Hydro power engineering

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calendar CIM EVENTS

AROUND THE WORLD

Sudbury Branch Meeting CIM Distinguished Lecturer Robin Sheremeta April 16 Sudbury, Ontario Contact: George Darling Tel.: 705.691.1812 Email: george.darling@Stantec.com

Sustainability through Resource Conservation and Recycling 09 April 4-5 Cape Town, South Africa Contact: Barry Wills Email: bwills@min-eng.com

Red Lake Branch Technical Meeting CIM Distinguished Lecturer Clifford Stanley April 21 Red Lake, Ontario Contact: Carmen Storey Tel.: 807.727.3272 Email: carmen.storey@ontario.ca Conférence technique de la section de RouynNoranda Éminent conférencier de l’ICM, Carlos Díaz 22 avril Rouyn-Noranda, Québec Personne-ressource : Claude Gagnier Tél. : 819.762.9738 Courriel : claudegagnier@hotmail.com Conférence technique de la section d’Harricana 29 avril Val-d’Or, Québec Personne-ressource : Gérald Lefrançois Tél. : 819.825.3702 Courriel : gerald@corriveaujl.com CIM Conference and Exhibition Congrès et salon commercial de l’ICM May 10-13 Toronto, Ontario Contact: Chantal Murphy Tel.: 514.939.2710, ext. 1309 Email: cmurphy@cim.org Red Lake Meeting Guest Lecturer: Phil Vinet, Mayor of Red Lake May 20 Red Lake, Ontario Contact: Carmen Storey Tel.: 807.727.3272 Email: carmen.storey@ontario.ca Tournoi de golf annuel de la section de Thetford Mines 29 mai Adstock, Québec Personne-ressource : François Jacques Tél. : 418.338.7500 Courriel : francois.jacques@globetrotter.net 68 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 4, No. 2

Bio- & Hydrometallurgy 09 April 6-7 Cape Town, South Africa Contact: Barry Wills Email: bwills@min-eng.com MiningWorld Russia 2009 April 15-17 Moscow, Russia Contact: Anna Aleinikova Tel.: +44.0.20.7596.5186 Email: anna.aleinikova@ite-exhibitions.com Paste 2009 – XII International Seminar on Paste and Thickened Tailings April 21-24 Vina del Mar, Chile Contact: Olga Cherepanova Tel.: +56.2.652.1519 Email: info@paste2009.com First International Seminar on Safe and Rapid Development Mining May 5-7 Perth, Western Australia Contact: Jill Hollinshead Tel.: +61.8.6488.3300 Email: acginfo@acg.uwa.edu.au HydroCopper 2009 — V International Copper Hydrometallurgy Workshop May 13-15 Antofagasta, Chile Contact: Fabiola Bustamante Tel.: +56.2.652.1555 Email: info@hydrocopper.cl Alta 2009 — Nickel-Cobalt, Copper and Uranium Conference May 25-30 Perth, Western Australia Contact: Alan Taylor 3450 Australia Tel.: +61.3.5472.4688 Email: alantaylor@altamet.com.au

history Butte, Montana (Part 1)

by R.J. “Bob” Cathro

“The miners of Idaho were like quicksilver. A mass of them dropped in any locality, broke up into individual globules, and ran off after any atom of gold in their vicinity. They stayed nowhere longer than the gold attracted them” (Bancroft, 1890). Although Bancroft was describing the Boise camp in Idaho, 400 km southwest of Butte, in 1862, it applied equally well to every gold rush between California and Alaska.

At each new point of promising discovery, camps of tents and ‘wikiups’ (brush shelters) were quickly replaced by towns of log cabins, frame buildings, and the few brick structures of which each community boasted so inordinately. At first logs and whip-sawed lumber served all purposes, for rockers, sluices, and houses, but soon sawmills were brought in and were run literally all day and night. Men waited in line to buy the green lumber as fast as it was cut. ~Paul, 1963

Except where noted, the history contained herein has been derived from Greever (1963), Malone (1981), Marcossin (1957) and Watkins (1971).

Although the colourful history of Butte has resulted in an extensive bibliography, this chapter is restricted to the people and events that led to the discovery and investigation of the copper deposits, and what Butte taught geologists about the origin of metals and ore deposit models.

The copper market was quite small until the 1870s, which marked the transition between the period when it was used primarily for roofing, alloys, and pots and pans, and the emerging age of electricity. The potential of electricity for general usage, including Alexander Graham Bell’s telephone, was demonstrated at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876. The first electrical generating plant for street lighting was built in New York in 1882, coincident with the invention of hard-drawn copper wire and installation of interior electric lights in Wanamakers’s store in Philadelphia. By 1880, Thomas Edison and others had received patents for incandescent lighting and began to experiment with the trolley car. The invention of transformers and the development of electrical transmission also created an enormous demand for copper wire.

Beginning in 1844, copper mines on the Keewenaw Peninsula of Michigan, on the shore of Lake Superior, produced most of the modest U.S. copper requirements. Even after the discovery of the huge Calumet & Hecla ore body in 1864, this copper district was unable to satisfy the growing market and the price of copper steadily increased from 50 to 75 cents per pound by 1875. Impressive as the Michigan copper district was, its geology was relatively simple and it didn’t make a major contribution to the study of economic geology.

Rapid industrialization in the 1880s and 1890s required a reliable supply of low-cost copper that was far beyond what could be supplied by mines in Europe and elsewhere. Much of that supply was destined to come from the ‘The Richest Hill on Earth’ at Butte, Montana, which was situated at the northwestern frontier, far from the nearest railhead or seaport. In addition to its national and international economic contribution, Butte was also a unique and complex mineral deposit that would expand the boundaries of the science as geologists studied its origin. An aerial view of the city of Butte, taken from the International Space At the same time, it would Station by NASA in August 2006, beside the inactive Anaconda mine. demonstrate to the world The Berkeley Pit, which is partially filled with water (black), is on the west side of the mine site; the tailings pond (light blue and silver) lies how a mining camp and a at the north end (top) of the photo; and the smaller Continental Pit is frontier society should not located at the southeast end, beside Interstate 15.

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70 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 4, No. 2

The first lode claims on what became the Anaconda copper mine were staked in 1864 and explored with a 25-metre shaft that intersected a two metre-thick vein of copper ore, but the results were considered disappointing because the gold values were low.

Joseph Ramsdell and Dennis Leary discovered the first body of commercial copper ore on the nearby Parrot claims in William Clark (1839-1925); (from Malone, 1866 and made a ship- 1981) ment to Swansea, Wales.

Because it proved uneconomic to ship the raw ore so far, an unsuccessful attempt was made to treat it in a crude smelter on the site.

Butte enjoyed another brief silver boom after W.L. Farlin discovered some rich silver ore on the Travona claim.

Although it was not amenable to treatment with an arrastra or crude smelter, five mills with 290 stamps were in operation by 1887 treating about 400 tonnes per day. Although silver and copper remained unattractive targets because Butte was over 650 kilometres from the nearest railway in Utah, the exploration of the copper potential by men of vision continued.

To quote Rickard, “Butte produced three chromatic characters, Clark, Daly, and Heinze.” Clarke and Daly, who can be considered the fathers of Butte, couldn't have been more different. Their mutual dislike threatened to disrupt the economic and political life of the state, and historians agree that their feud debauched the political life of Montana from 1890 to 1900. Heinze will not be discussed until later because his role did not begin until copper production had been established for over a decade.

William Andrews Clark (1839-1925) was the more successful and influential of the two because he was more ruthless than Daly and outlived him by a quarter century. He was born in 1839 to Irish immigrants in Pennsylvania, moved with his family to Iowa, attended private academies, worked for a time as a schoolmaster, and studied law at Iowa Marcus Daly (1841-1900); (from Weslayan College. After Malone, 1981)

Photo courtesy of the Montana Historical Society, Helena

be governed. In spite of technical and human obstacles, Butte would eventually live up to its bold slogan and become the foundation of one of the first international mining companies, The Anaconda Company.

Anaconda is generally considered to be the first mining company that created an effective mining geology department. As we will see later, that did not happen just because mine managers developed an interest in the origin and geochemistry of ore fluids. It was partly a response to the very costly legal challenges that were spawned by the Apex Law, which were argued in court by well-paid experts who were familiar (or not) with the geology of the ore bodies. The complex vein systems at Butte were not what the German mining engineers had in mind when they developed the Apex rules back in the 16th century.

In common with many mining camps, the discovery of the Butte copper deposits began with the discovery of gold.

As the army of newly trained prospectors dispersed from the California and Comstock rushes, several placer discoveries were made in Montana: at Bannack, about 50 kilometres south of Butte, in 1862; Virginia City in 1863; and Butte and Helena in 1864. More prospectors flocked in from the gold camps of Coeur d’Alene and Boise, Idaho, to the west, came up the Missouri River Valley from the east, or made their way northward from California and Nevada. Among the early arrivals were men from Cornwall, Ireland, and England and a good many Canadians. The Butte district was difficult to reach because it was situated in an isolated mountainous region between the western flanks of the Rocky Mountains and the Continental Divide.

The Bannack discovery, made on Grasshopper Creek by a party led by John White, soon resulted in a settlement of 500 people. Lode mining commenced the same year when two miners named Allen and Arnold began to treat quartz ore with a six-stamp mill built with iron salvaged from old wagons. A steam-powered, 12-stamp mill was brought from St. Louis in 1864.

The Butte discovery occurred on Silver Bow Creek, in the valley below the copper deposits, and sparked the usual stampede. Following experience gained in California and at Comstock, prospectors worked their way upstream to the future site of the city and the copper mines but only about 75,000 ounces of gold were recovered by 1867.

Some prospectors noticed that native silver was mixed with the gold and Butte soon entered a new phase of lode silver mining. The silver-rich area, situated at an elevation of about 1,500 metres, was variously described as “a long yellowish granite hogback… a wind-swept ridge” (Joralemon, 1934), and as “a conical peak… bare of vegetation, for chemical reasons”… with a “network of big veins,” some of which “contained rich silver ore right at the surface… and a little copper carbonate” (Rickard (1932). Today, exploration geologists would describe this as a ‘kill zone’ or ‘vegetation anomaly’ caused by the oxidation of sulphide minerals.

Photo courtesy of the Montana Historical Society, Helena

economic geology

economic geology gaining his first mining experience at Gilpin County, Colorado, he began to display entrepreneurial talent soon after gold was discovered at Bannack. After opening stores and banks at Virginia City, Helena and Butte, he was well on his way to becoming a wealthy businessman when he made a major career change. Deciding that the future lay in mining and that he needed to know much more about it, he attended the Columbia University School of Mines in New York for a year before returning to Butte to build the Old Dexter silver mill and organize the Colorado & Montana Smelting Co. Unlike most Western mining barons, Clark was fastidious, always neatly dressed and refined. He appeared to be mild-mannered, reserved and ingratiating, and prided himself on his sophistication, his appreciation of fine wines and his excellent art collection. Physically diminutive in size, he was also vain and liked flattery. Although he was acknowledged to be an astute businessman, he was generally considered to be vindictive, jealous, arrogant, obsessive, uncompromising and ruthless, with a reputation for treachery and selfishness — a man who considered any means justified to achieve success in business or politics.

Marcus Daly (1841-1900) shared only two characteristics with Clark: his Irish heritage and his vision and belief in the potential of Butte. Born of poor and illiterate parents in Ireland, he immigrated to New York at the age of 15, worked on the docks until he could arrange passage to Panama, and then made his way to California. He proceeded to learn mining the hard way in the Grass Valley gold mines and the Comstock silver mines, where he stood out for his natural talent as a foreman and his ability to follow and find ore. Daly was described as short and ruddy, affable and gregarious, profane, generous, modest and courageous — a born leader with simple habits and a large circle of friends, a man who inspired loyalty.

Daly first met George Hearst either at the Comstock camp or at Mineral Hill, Nevada, a mine that was controlled by Hearst and his partners in the Hearst Syndicate, James Haggin and Lloyd Tevis (see CIM Magazine, Vol. 3, No. 5, August 2008, p. 71). From there, he moved to Utah to manage a mine for the Walker Brothers, based in Salt Lake City, until he was sent to Butte in 1876 to find them a silver project. Daly had earned a reputation as a shrewd judge of mineral potential at a time when practical miners with a nose for ore like Hearst and Daly were held in higher esteem than graduates of the new mining schools in the United States or Europe. Daly proceeded to acquire the Alice mine, a small silver producer, and managed it for the Walkers in return for a small interest.

After examining the neighbouring prospect, Daly became convinced that Butte held great copper potential so he sold his interest in the Alice for $30,000 in 1881 and used it to acquire the Anaconda claim from the owners, Charles Larabie and Michael Hickey. A Civil War veteran, Hickey had staked it and named it after a Horace Greeley editorial in the New York Tribune that described how the Union army would encircle the Confederate forces ‘like a giant anaconda.’ He

Location of Butte and other mining centres of western Montana and Idaho (from Spence, 1970)

had staked his claim on a wide frost-shattered structure in 1875 or 1876 after earlier miners looking for gold and silver had abandoned their claims.

The year of the purchase, 1881, was an important milestone for Butte because it marked the arrival of the Union Pacific Railway from Omaha, Nebraska. After 1884, another shorter connection became available to the Pacific Coast via the Northern Pacific Railway. Daly invited the Walkers to participate when he realized that he couldn’t afford to sink a shaft and develop the Anaconda by himself. When they declined, he turned to the Hearst Syndicate, which was fresh from its success at the Homestake mine in South Dakota. Hearst had held Daly in very high regard ever since he had acted on a Daly tip and purchased the Ontario gold and silver mine in Utah for $30,000 on behalf the syndicate. Between 1872 and 1883, the Ontario mine had yielded a profit of $17 million. CIM

References Bancroft, H.H. (1890). History of Washington, Idaho and Montana. The Works, Vol. 31. San Francisco: The History Company, Publishers.

Greever, W.S. (1963). Bonanza West: the story of the western mining rushes 1848-1900.

Moscow: University of Idaho Press.

Joralemon, I.B. (1934). Romantic copper: its lure and lore. New York: D. Appleton-Century Company Incorporated.

Malone, M.P. (1981). Battle for Butte: mining and politics on the northern frontier, 18641906. Helena: Montana Historical Society Press.

Marcossin, I.F. (1957). Anaconda. New York: Dodd, Mead & Company.

Paul, R.W. (1963). Mining frontiers of the far west 1848-1880. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

Rickard, T.A. (1932). A history of American mining. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc. Spence, C.C. (1970). Mining engineers & the American West: the lace-boot brigade, 18491933. New Haven: Yale University Press Watkins, T.H. (1971). Gold and silver in the West: the illustrated history of an American dream. Palo Alto: American West Publishing Company.

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metallurgy The strategic mineral that became an industrial nuisance A history of the changing fortunes of pyrite: Part 2

by Fathi Habashi, Department of Mining, Metallurgical, and Materials Engineering, Laval University

The recovery of elemental sulphur from pyrite It was realized long ago that a method to get elemental sulphur from pyrite would be ideal for acid manufacturers because it would yield great savings in transportation costs.

In the period between the two World Wars, the introduction of flotation technology to concentrate pyrite contributed to the necessity to devise such a method.

Elemental sulphur can be obtained from pyrite by heating in a controlled amount of oxygen such that the heat required by the endothermic reaction FeS2 → FeS + S is compensated by the heat generated from the reaction: 3 FeS + 5 O2 → Fe3O4 + 3 SO2 Ferrous sulphide was obtained as a molten phase. A plant based on this idea was designed by Noranda in 1954 and another similar one operated in Finland for some years.

Heating in a sulphur dioxide atmosphere leads to elemental sulphur formation as follows: 3 FeS2 + 2 SO2 → Fe3O4 + 8 S The reaction is ideal since required sulphur dioxide can be generated from part of the sulphur recovered. The reaction was studied extensively by Duisburger Kupferhütte in Germany, who found that the reaction kinetics were very slow.

Heating in a chlorine-oxygen atmosphere also leads to the formation of elemental sulphur as follows: 2 FeS2 + 2 Cl2 → 2 FeCl2 + 4 S 2 FeCl2 + 3⁄2 O2 → Fe2O3 + 2 Cl2 Based on this process, a plant was operated in Niagara Falls, Canada in 1936 using two rotary kilns. Named after its inventors, this was called the Comstock-Wescott process.

Pyrite and the steel industry Noting the success of Duisburger Kupferhütte, European, Japanese and American producers of sulphuric acid who used pyrite as a source of sulphur dioxide became interested in marketing the iron oxide they generated to the steel industry. But, the presence small amounts of sulphur and some nonferrous metals made it unsuitable for steel industry use. Although the iron oxide pelletization process had been invented in Sweden in 1912, it was not used in the iron ore industry until 30 years later, when the need for pel72 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 4, No. 2

letized feed arose with the introduction of the electric arc furnace. This gave an incentive to sulphuric acid manufacturers to upgrade their pyrite cinder for the steel industry. As a result, more processes were developed to deal with this problem.

Kowa-Seiko Process: In this process developed at Kitakyushu, Japan, cinder was Principle of the Frasch process mixed with calcium chloride, pelletized and heated in a rotary kiln at 1,100 degrees Celsius to volatilize nonferrous metal chlorides.

These were scrubbed in water from the exit gases and the solution treated for metal recovery. The process was also used in Portugal, among other countries.

Bethlehem Steel Process: At the Sparrows Point plant in Maryland, cobalt from the cinder was recovered by this process, based on careful temperature control during the roasting of pyrite. If the temperature was kept at 550 degrees Celsius, cobalt in the pyrite was converted to sulphate, which was leached directly from the cinder with water. The hot pyrite cinder was quenched with water to obtain a slurry containing six to eight per cent solids.

When the solids were filtered off, the solution containing 20 to 25 g/L Co was processed further for metal recovery.

In the cinder, the iron:cobalt ratio was 50:1; in solution it was 1:1. This plant supplied the only domestic source of cobalt in the United States.

Outokumpu Process: Developed at the Outokumpu plant in Pori, Finland, in 1979, in this process the sulphated pyrite cinder contained 0.8 to 0.9 per cent cobalt and other nonferrous metals. It was leached with water to get a solution with a pH of 1.5 analyzing 20 g/L cobalt, 6 to 8 g/L nickel, 7 to 8 g/L copper, 10 to 12 g/L zinc, and trace amounts of iron, which was treated for metal recovery.

The decline of the pyrite industry During the Napoleonic wars, Spanish pyrite competed with Sicilian sulphur in many markets. The production

metallurgy of pyrite, however, declined gradually towards the end of the 19th century after the discovery of an economic method for the recovery of sulphur from the sulphur domes in the Gulf of Mexico. The great rise in petroleum refining activities after World War II resulted in the emission of large amounts of sulphur-containing refinery gases. The sulphur from these had to be recovered to avoid environmental pollution. Also, the availability of large volumes of natural gas containing hydrogen sulphide at Lacq in southern France in 1950s and in Alberta, Canada, in 1970s contributed to the Claus plant for transforming hydrogen sulphide to elemental sulphur decline of pyrite demand.

As a sulphur dioxide source for sulphuric acid manufac- storage and transportation. Degasification is carried out in a turing, elemental sulphur came to be preferred over pyrite pressurized vertical vessel that counter-currently contacts because of the purity of the gas generated and the elimina- liquid sulphur with pressurized air at a controlled temperation of the need for dust recovery equipment in the plant. ture to accelerate the oxidation of the residual hydrogen sulphide and polysulphides (H2Sx) to sulphur.

Sulphur became available using the following processes: As soon as these new sources of elemental sulphur • Sulphur deposits discovered in the Gulf of Mexico were being exploited economically since 1895 by Herman became available, pyrite roasters for sulphuric acid manufacFrasch (1851-1914), who used superheated water to melt ture were dismantled and replaced by sulphur burners and the sulphur and floated it to the surface by compressed the decline in pyrite production was accelerated. Acid plants air. The Farsch process is useful only when sulphur is based on pyrite roasting were expensive because they stratified in impervious rock formation, which was not included bulky equipment for dust separation. the case in Sicily. The success of Frasch’s process ruined Pyrite and the gold industry the Sicilian sulphur industry.

A problem in gold metallurgy was the treatment of • Hydrogen sulphide-containing natural gas or petroleum refining gases became an important source of elemental gold that, being locked up in pyrite or arsenopyrite cryssulphur. Recovering sulphur from them also solved an tals, was unresponsive to cyanidation. Roasting followed environmental problem — the large amounts of sulphur by leaching is an expensive and polluting proposition dioxide generated by the burning of these gases. but is used under certain circumstances. In 1971, Hydrogen sulphide must first be separated from the gases researchers at the erstwhile U.S. Bureau of Mines develby an absorption-desorption process. It is then oxidized oped an aqueous chlorination process in which the oxiby a controlled amount of oxygen at 400 degrees Celsius dizing conditions in situ can be achieved by passing an on an aluminum oxide or bauxite bed, using the Claus electric current in a pulp prepared from a solution of reaction, which was discovered in 1883 by German finely ground ore and sodium chloride. The sodium hypochlorite generated oxidizes the pyrite (as well as chemist Carl Friedrich Claus: organic matter) to sulphate.

1 H2S + ⁄2 O2 → S + H2O Liquid sulphur produced by this process contains some dissolved hydrogen sulphide, which presents odour problems and potential toxic and/or explosive hazards during

Pressure leaching A hydrometallurgical approach was developed in 1985 and proved to be a successful solution for this type of ore.

Table 1. Status of treatment of refractory gold ores by pressure hydrometallurgy Startup

Plant Location

Owner

1985 1986 1988 1989 1990 1991 1991 1991 1992 1993 1994 1997

McLaughlin, California, USA San Bento, Brazil Mercur, Utah, USA Getchell, Nevada, USA Goldstrike, Nevada, USA Goldstrike, Nevada, USA Porgera, Papua New Guinea Campbell, Ontario, Canada Con, Yellowknife; Lihir, Papua New Guinea Goldstrike, Nevada, USA Porgera, Papua New Guinea Lihir, Papua New Guinea

Homestake, USA Genmin, South Africa American Barrick, Canada First Miss Gold American Barrick, Canada American Barrick, Canada Placer Dome, Canada Placer Dome, Canada Nerco Minerals American Barrick, Canada Placer Dome, Canada Rio Tinto

Feed

Medium

Capacity t/d

Numer of Autoclaves

ore concentrate ore ore ore ore concentrate concentrate concentrate ore concentrate —-

acid acid alkaline acid acid acid acid acid —acid acid —-

2,700 240 680 2,730 1,360 5,450 1,350 70 90 11,580 2,700 —-

3 2 1 3 1 3 3 1 1 6 6 3

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metallurgy bacteria, an appreciable amount of coal lost its calorific value.

Two more technologies — gasification and liquefaction — can help solve the problem. In coal gasification, pyrite forms sulphur-containing gases which can be scrubbed to yield a clean gaseous fuel. In coal liquefaction using hydrogen under pressure, coal is transformed into a liquid fuel while pyrite forms hydrogen sulphide, which can be separated and recovered in form of elemental sulphur.

The current problems posed by pyrite Tailings from beneficiation processes represent a large disposal problem because the aqueous oxidation on exposure to weathering conditions of the present pyrite generates sulphuric acid: FeS2 + H2O + 7⁄2 O2 → FeSO4 + H2SO4

Pilot plant of the Bureau of Mines process

Barrick Goldstrike now treats a pyrite ore-water slurry in autoclaves at high temperature and oxygen pressure.

Horizontal autoclaves are used, each 30 metres long and five metres in diameter, operating at 160 to 180 degrees Celsius and 2,000 kilopascals, with a retention time of 20 minutes. The autoclaves, made of eight centimetre-thick carbon steel, are lined with a six-millimetre lead membrane and two layers of acid-resisting brick of 22.5 centimetres total thickness. After this treatment, the ore is suitable for cyanidation. Table 1 gives data on some aqueous oxidation operations for refractory gold ores.

Bacterial leaching Bacterial leaching has been successfully applied for heap leaching of copper ores. It was extended in 1986 to treat auriferous pyrite concentrates to liberate gold and render it amenable to cyanidation by a process known as BIOX.

Pyrite and the coal industry One of the problems of using coal as a fuel is the presence of small amounts of pyrite in the coal, which on combustion results in sulphur dioxide in the stack gases. One way to solve this problem is by scrubbing the gases to remove sulphur dioxide in a variety of forms, e.g. as gypsum (CaSO4.2H2O), which may be marketed to the construction industry. Another option is to upgrade the coal by removing the pyrite prior to marketing it. Standard mineral beneficiation methods were applied with some success. Bacterial leaching of pyrite was also tried by many researchers but it was a slow process. Also, because of the need to supply air to the

74 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 4, No. 2

The formation of acid is accelerated by the presence of microorganisms such as thiobacillus ferrooxidans.

The acid generated will solubilize other minerals thus releasing metal ions in solution. As a result, terrains measuring hundreds of hectares must be prepared to stockpile the tailings, either dry or under water. Precautions must be taken to avoid the breakage of the dams, leaks, seepage to underground water, etc. Thus, large costs have to be incurred to monitor, maintain and re-vegetate the ponds. A research group known as “Mine Drainage” was founded in 1975 at the Canada Centre for Mineral Technology in Ottawa to research solutions to this problem.

In most cases, pyrite is associated with arsenopyrite (FeAsS). In the roasting process, volatile arsenic oxide is formed and collected in the dust-collecting chambers.

This creates significant disposal-related problems. When pyrite is treated by a hydrometallurgical process, arsenic is precipitated as ferric arsenate for disposal. CIM Table 2. BIOX plants currently in operation • Ashanti Goldfields Company, Ghana. Designed with an initial capacity of treating 720 tonnes of concentrate per day, the Sansu plant has since been expanded and currently has four modules processing 960 tonnes per day in all. It is by far the largest biooxidation plant in the world. The capital cost of the plant totalled US$25 million (1994 terms) and the operating cost is currently US$17 per tonne milled.

• Fairview, South Africa. The plant at the Fairview mine in Barberton, which was the initial pilot plant, has been fully operational since 1986. It was originally designed to treat 10 tonnes per day of concentrate, but with the success of the project this has been increased to 55 tonnes per day. With the purchase of Fairview by Avgold’s Eastern Transvaal Consolidated, Avgold concluded a licensing agreement with Gold Fields, formerly known as Gencor, entitling it to use the BIOX technology to treat its concentrate.

• Saõ Bento, Brazil. A BIOX plant is in operation in Brazil at the Sao Bento Mine where a pressure oxidation circuit is used to treat the refractory flotation concentrate. This plant has confirmed the viability of combining bio-oxidation with pressure oxidation as a cost-effective method of increasing capacity at an existing oxidation plant.

• Wiluna, Australia. The plant at Wiluna Gold mine, Western Australia, was commissioned in 1993. Although originally designed to treat 115 tonnes per day of concentrate, this has subsequently been increased to 158 tonnes per day.

• Other plants at Tamboraque in Peru, Harbour Lights and at Youanami in Australia have been commissioned recently.

executive summaries

YOUR

GUIDE

TO INDUSTRY KNOWLEDGE

Peer reviewed by leaders in their fields 76

CIM Bulletin abstracts Achieving the benefits of information technology in surface and underground mining processes S. Dessureault, M.G. Lipsett and M. Scoble

77

Copper concentrate quality improvements at Myra Falls T. Yeomans

78

Optimization of the Xstrata Copper-Horne smelter operation using discrete event simulation P. Coursel, P.J. Mackey, S. Morisete and J.-M. Simard

79

Canadian Metallurgy Quarterly Volume 47, Number 4

Complete CIM Bulletin papers are posted in the online Technical Paper Library

www.cim.org March/April 2009 | 75

executive summaries

In the last 20 years, information technology (IT) has been cited as an economic stimulus that can induce structural change in corporations, creating new businesses and providing competitive advantage to companies that successfully integrate IT. However, several empirical studies and considerable anecdotal evidence indicate that simply investing in IT does not necessarily result in clearly measurable benefits, such as increased productivity. This effect has been dubbed the “productivity paradox.” The difficulty in measuring the effect of IT and predicting its influence on productivity is due to its complex implementation. Experience and studies of other business sectors reveals that some consider the productivity paradox to be induced by implementation issues. The key to generating benefits from IT is not in how much is spent, but in how IT is used. Studies have shown that companies considered to be the “best users” of IT, based on peer-driven evaluation and other measures, were able to not only recuperate the capital spent on IT, but also profit from its application. The primary element that those companies had in common was the modification of their businesses processes to take advantage of the options that IT enables.

I N N O V A T I V E

M I N I N G

T E C H N O L O G Y

Achieving the benefits of information technology in surface and underground mining processes

Various business sectors have developed management tools to facilitate the re-engineering of business processes.

These techniques were developed over the last two decades in a number of business sectors and focus on the work-level that is to be changed, which also depends on the technology that is

S. Dessureault, Department of Mining and Geological Engineering, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona M.G. Lipsett, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta M. Scoble, Norman B. Keevil Institute of Mining Engineering, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia 76 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 4, No. 2

to be implemented. This paper discusses various types of information technology options available to the mining industry. An analysis of the type of process change for each category of technology is also discussed, taking into account the experiences of other industries and the authors.

The discussion of process changes required to benefit from technology and tools to facilitate change necessitates a framework. Hence, a hierarchy of work, technology and change management tools is suggested (see accompanying figure).

This hierarchy takes into account the complexity of various levels of work. As the level of work and complexity increase, so does the complexity of the technology and process change required to benefit from the technology.

IT solutions vary in scope and complexity, from simple word processing or visualization tools to company-wide Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. The degree of change that an investment in IT can impress is related to the levels of work it affects and the receptivity of the organization to the change. For example, the implementation of a corporate information system (IS) would be significantly different from the implementation of a global positioning system (GPS) tool for surveyors. The management tools that are best suited for particular levels of work can also be related to the level at which an IT investment is being made. These management tools can help in the implementation or, more importantly, the utilization of IT. This paper reviews examples of different IT solutions and their associated work-hierarchy and change management approaches, namely enterprise systems, real-time monitoring/operator assist and contemporary automation. The efficiency of most business processes has been substantially improved in virtually all industrial and service sectors. These improvements have been developed from the synergistic effect of management change and information technology. The flexibility of new managerial techniques has allowed other business sectors to weather strong competition and remain profitable. Most managers recognize the need to change management practices when undertaking business process improvement. Mines are particularly poised for substantial gains in flexibility and potential profit due to emerging information technology that is gaining acceptance. Understanding how and to what extent managerial change is required to take full advantage of these technologies will allow businesses to maintain the essential balance between economic and sustainable development.

executive summaries Copper concentrate quality improvements at Myra Falls

On-site plant and laboratory testwork confirmed that if the proportion of the Battle-Gap ore exceeded 10 per cent, then plant performance deteriorated. This greatly restricted the mining plan.

To confirm success, the new copper chemistry was introduced to the operation first; it immediately improved copper concentrate marketability. Following a series of staged mechanical flotation and flowsheet changes, the full sequential flowsheet was implemented. As part of this new flowsheet, all the cleaning circuits were changed to three stages of mechanical cleaning. Post commissioning, plant results improved to their predicated values, especially copper concentrate quality. A second TOF-LIMS study targeting the sphalerite contained within the copper concentrate demonstrated that little sphalerite showed lead-ion activation.

•

•

• The objective became to develop a new flotation chemistry/flowsheet solution for Battle Gap ore types. On site, plant circuit surveys were completed that, combined with ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) metal ion extractions, gave good insight into why the sphalerite was being recovered into the copper products. This insight was confirmed by a TOF-LIMS study, which showed lead ions activating the sphalerite.

In conclusion; The use of a lead-specific depressant within the grinding stages, combined with a more typical copper collector combination, has resulted in the reduction of both lead and zinc contents of copper concentrate by some 40 per cent.

The use of the improved flotation reagent schemes and additional conditioning time improved flotation rates, allowing about a 50 per cent reduction in required plant residence times.

The novel plant lead depressant, dextrin:sodium monophosphate (80:20), is effective in copper flotation by two mechanisms: – Dextrin is used as the galena depressant, and – The sodium phosphate complexes the lead ions, preventing sphalerite activation.

P R O C E S S I N G

By 1997, the mining of a new ore body, known as Battle-Gap, had commenced. Mineralogically complex, Battle-Gap contains about 15 per cent pyrite and copper minerals, including primary chalcopyrite, secondary bornite and chalcocite and tennantite, combined with increased galena and sphalerite. Flotation performance generally decreased with increasing amounts of Battle-Gap ore types.

The varying amount of secondary copper minerals resulted in inconsistent copper recoveries and variable copper grades in concentrate. A significant secondary effect was dilution of the copper concentrate with both galena and sphalerite. The combined lead and sphalerite grades became a concentrate marketing challenge, incurring large smelter penalty charges.

The new sequential chemistry included the addition of a novel lead-ion depressant within grinding, new copper collectors, a new lead activation stage followed by flotation with lead collector and, finally, zinc activation-flotation. The use of these new collectors increased flotation kinetics, allowing the plant flotation residence times to be roughly halved.

M I N E R A L

NVI Mining’s Myra Falls operation is a 40 year-old underground mining operation feeding a 4,000 metric tonne per day concentrator. The current mill, built in 1985, was designed to process a large massive sulphide ore body. This ore body, known as the “HW,” contains about 50 per cent pyrite. Minerals of value are chalcopyrite and sphalerite, with precious metals occurring in all mineral types. The flotation process used is sequential, first for copper and then zinc, and employs roughing, scavenging, concentrate regrinding and then cleaning of mechanical and column cells.

Off site, a composite of Battle-Gap ore was used to test varying flotation chemistries and flowsheets. The flotation chemistry and flowsheets of copper-lead bulk, followed by copper and lead split and sequential zinc flotation, versus a full sequential flowsheet of copper, then lead, then zinc flotation, were developed and tested. The overall evaluation was in favour of the fully sequential chemistry and flowsheet.

T. Yeomans, Breakwater Resources, NVI Mining Ltd., Campbell River, British Columbia March/April 2009 | 77

executive summaries

M E T A L L U R G Y

Optimization of the Xstrata Copper-Horne smelter operation using discrete event simulation This paper presents a new model that focuses on the plant logistics and scheduling aspects of the smelting, converting, fire refining and casting operations at the Horne smelter. As part of a program to further optimize plant operations at Horne, both in terms of copper production and overall plant performance, a number of new plant models were recently developed and implemented. This paper describes the development and initial applications of a new tool developed using the ARENA software to model the plant logistics and scheduling, referred to here as “discrete event simulation.”

A schematic illustration of the main units at the Horne smelter considered in the logistic model is shown in the figure below, taken from the main screen of the ARENA model. The diagram includes the Noranda Process reactor and the Noranda

Illustration of units of the Horne smelter as presented in the ARENA model.

Converter shown in the upper part of the diagram, with the PRV units and anode furnaces shown along the middle-lower part of the diagram; the two converter cranes, which can traverse the length of the converter aisle, are shown in the lower part of the diagram. A number of data boxes presenting numerical data related to matte, metal and slag parameters are also shown.

These include, for example, the actual quantity and melt levels in the Noranda reactor and the NCV. The display also includes data pertaining to plant conditions when throughput may be lowered on account of local ambient air conditions (the “SCI” label in the upper middle part of the figure).

P. Coursol and P.J. Mackey, Xstrata Process Support-Extractive Metallurgy, Falconbridge, Ontario S. Morisette, Xstrata Copper-Fonderie Horne, Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec J.-M. Simard, Exaprom, Blainville, Quebec 78 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 4, No. 2

The model is set up to handle a variety of complex strategies with the objective of the optimum utilization of available resources. For example, the crane logic coded in ARENA includes operation with one crane, two cranes and tandem movements, the objective being to minimize congestion and provide for rapid transfer from a PRV unit to an anode furnace.

The model was used to examine the impact of a number of plant parameters. For example, a feed high in copper content may potentially pose a processing constraint downstream of the NCV, while treating higher quantities of lower grade feed and recyclables may potentially pose a smelting bottleneck in order to maintain a given copper throughput rate. Particular attention was given in the model development to the cycles between the PRVs, the anode furnaces, the anode casting operation and the crane logic. For anode casting, it was confirmed that increasing the actual anode casting rate alone could potentially be counterproductive since a given amount of wheel maintenance and preparation time is required between extended casts of several anode furnace charges. Hence, it was found beneficial to slow down the casting rate to “catch” the next charge of anode-ready copper that is ready for casting rather than continue at full casting rate. This approach has been practiced for several years at the Horne smelter, but the value of the model is that the productivity gain of this practice can now be quantified.

Alternatively, the gain of other potential strategies intended to improve plant productivity can also be quantified. In another simulation scenario and for a given feed mix, the feed rate to the Noranda Reactor was gradually increased and the processing capability of the downstream units was observed, with a view to identifying potential bottlenecks in different sections of the converter aisle and casting wheel.

The model was developed and put into service in early 2008 and already has proven valuable in evaluating potential operating scenarios.

cmq abstracts

Canadian Metallurgical Quarterly Volume 47—Number 4

Decentralized Control of a Pilot Flotation Column: A 3x3 System M. Maldonado, A. Desbiens, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Université Laval, Quebec, Quebec; and R. Del Villar, Department of Mining, Materials and Metallurgical Engineering, Laboratoire d’observation et d’optimisation des procédés, Université Laval, Quebec, Quebec This paper details the application of a decentralized control strategy to a pilot flotation column working with a water-air system. The process is represented by a multi variable system composed of three inputs and three outputs. The selected control variables are the froth depth, air hold-up and bias-rate whereas the corresponding manipulated variables are the set-points of the local flow controllers of tailings, air and wash-water. All controlled variables are estimated using electrical-conductivity based techniques. Results of a new method for estimating bias-rate, based on the volumetric fraction of wash water under the interface, are presented. This method reduces the coupling problem associated to the bias estimation as a difference between feed and tailing water rates.

Moreover, the nominal system transfer matrix can be represented by an upper triangular matrix, in such a way that the closed-loop system stability reduces to the stability of the independent control loops. A two degree of freedom control structure was implemented for the froth depth so that in the absence of disturbances the controller acts as a proportional controller whereas in the presence of a disturbance it becomes a PI controller. For gas hold-up and bias-rate, PI controllers were implemented considering the closed-loop time constants being equal to those in the open-loop case. The experimental results show expected closed-loop performances for froth depth and gas hold-up, however, the bias rate control loop was observed to be strongly dependent on the air flow rate, in some cases reaching the saturation point of the controller.

Behaviour of the Alkaline Earth Elements (Beryllium to Radium) During the Precipitation of Jarosite-Type Compounds J.E. Dutrizac and T.T. Chen, Mining and Mineral Sciences Laboratories, CANMET, Ottawa, Ontario The behaviour of the alkaline earth elements (beryllium, magnesium, calcium, strontium, barium and radium) during the precipitation of jarosite-type compounds was investigated over the range of conditions likely to be encountered in hydrometallurgical processes. Negligible amounts (< 0.05 wt%) of beryllium were incorporated in the structure of either potassium jarosite or sodium jarosite; this was a consequence of the small size of the divalent beryllium ion. In contrast, limited magnesium incorporation seemed to occur in the jarosite structure. Up to 0.20 wt% Mg was incorporated in sodium jarosite and up to 0.38 wt% Mg was detected in potassium jarosite; in both species, the amount increased as the magnesium concentration of the synthesis solution increased.

Increasing temperatures, ferric ion concentrations and solution pH had only a minor effect on the extent of magnesium incorporation in the jarosite precipitates. In contrast, increasing concentrations of CuSO4 or ZnSO4 significantly reduced the level of Mg incorporation. Regardless of the calcium concentration of the solution, the calcium contents of the well-washed hydronium jarosite, sodium jarosite, potassium jarosite and lead jarosite precipitates were consistently less than 0.05 wt% Ca. The addition of soluble salts of strontium and barium to sulphate processing solutions resulted in the extensive precipitation of SrSO4 and BaSO4. However, electron microprobe analyses detected trace amounts of these elements in the potassium jarosite precipitates, suggesting a modest degree of Sr and Ba solid solubility. Picogram quantities of radium are soluble in sulphate media and 60-90% of the dissolved Ra precipitated with the jarosite-type compounds. However, it is not clear whether the radium was incorporated in the structure of the jarosite or whether it was adsorbed on the jarosite particles.

March/April 2009 | 79

cmq abstracts Henrian Activity Coefficient of Pb in Cu-Ni Mattes D.C. Lynch, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona A transpiration method was used to evaluate the Henrian activity coefficient of Pb (YºPb) in Cu-Ni mattes.

Values for the activity coefficient of Pb were evaluated at 1473 K as a function of the Cu/Ni molar ratio from 0 to 1 and as a function of the sulphur deficiency (defined as SD = XS – 1/2XCu – 2/3XNi, where Xi is the mole fraction of the ith species) from – 0.1 to 0. The dependence of YºPb on both the Cu/Ni molar ratio and SD is represented by the equations YºPb (at SD = –0.04) = 0.610 – 1.16 (Cu/Ni) + 5.08 (Cu/Ni)2 and YoPb (at Cu/Ni = 0.5) = 1.97 + 42.2·SD + 636·SD2 Analysis of the activity coefficient (YPb) as a function of the trace element concentration reveals that the activity coefficient is independent of Pb content at weight percents less than 0.8. Nickel in a sulphur deficient matte decreases the volatility of lead, whereas substitution of Cu for Ni significantly increases its volatility. In a matte containing both Cu and Ni, decreasing the free metal content (i.e. raising the sulphur content of the matte) first decreases the volatility of the lead and then raises it modestly. Although increasing SD decreases YPb, the increase in sulphur content of the matte leads to higher values for the vapour pressure of S2 that promotes PbS(g) formation and thus increased volatility of that species.

Characterization of Electron Beam Welded 17-4 Ph Stainless Steel P. Wanjara and M. Jahazi, National Research Council of Canada, Aerospace Manufacturing Technology Centre, Montreal, Quebec The Canadian Department of National Defence (DND) currently has a requirement for a fully automated captive trajectory system (CTS) with six degrees of freedom, all of which are to be motorized, to study the movement of stores (such as missiles) during carriage/release testing of F-18 and other military aircraft in the National Research Council (NRC) trisonic blow down wind tunnel. In the CTS, one of the joints providing linear motion is designed and fabricated with a linkage (telescoping inner strut (TIS)) in two halves, split along its neutral plane, to allow machining of the internal geometry. To support the dynamic, kinematic and aerodynamic loads induced, the two halves must be welded together while maintaining high tolerances on the inner geometry. The designed weld areas on the neutral plane require a penetration of 17.1 mm from each face in 17-4 precipitation hardening (PH) martensitic stainless steel (SS). Using conventional joining techniques, such as tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding, the fabrication of a thick section requires a V groove joint design and multiple passes to achieve the required penetration. However, exposure to a substantial heat input through this process renders large weld and heat affected zones on either face of the strut as well as distortion of the component, which poses considerable difficulties for assembly and motion. The application of a high energy density technique, namely electron beam (EB) welding, was utilized to penetrate the thick section with a single pass, while minimizing the weld region, heat affected zone (HAZ) and distortion of the strut (low heat input).

Microstructure, Texture and Mechanical Properties of Az31 Mg Alloy Produced by Equal Channel Angular Extrusion L. Vuong, L. Jiang, J.J. Jonas, Department of Materials Engineering, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec; S. Godet, Materials Science Group, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium; B. Verlinden and P. Van Houtte, Department of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, University of Leuven, Heverlee, Belgium Equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) was carried out on samples machined from extruded AZ31 Mg alloy bars at 200, 250 and 300 °C using routes A and C for up to 8 passes. After one ECAP pass, a preferred orientation with the basal planes inclined at 45° to the ECAP axis is observed. For route A, as more passes are employed, the original fibre texture tends towards a rolling texture. By contrast, for route C, repeating the ECAP steps does not Excerpts taken from abstracts in CMQ, Vol. 47, No. 4. change the texture, which retains the 45° preferential orientation. Using a Subscribe—www.cmq-online.ca path with shearing in more directions, such as route C, resulted in the flow curve peak being less sharp (i.e. broader) in subsequent testing than when route A was employed. The strength of the extruded product increases with the ECAP temperature. This appears to be due to the coarser grain size of the 300°C product and indicates that the effect of grain coarsening is greater than that of texture.

80 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 4, No. 2

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PROFESSIONAL DIRECTORY

In the next issue

Canada’s Global Impact • A panel of experts discusses

global opportunities for the Canadian mining industry, as well as the legal, procedural, operational and logistical challenges.

• We examine

best practices in

social responsibility and sustainability efforts overseas as well as international construction management techniques.

Be sure to watch for our featured mine: Alexis Minerals Corporation’s Lac Herbine gold operation.

Corriveau J.L. / 3D Survey & Scan

March/April 2009 | 81

voices from industry

Shedding the bad-guy image

by Chuck Edwards, director of metallurgy, AMEC Americas Limited

ur industry hiring practices are being affected by the current downturn (“recession” is too depressing a word). This is understandable. When you are up to your derriere among alligators you may not have time or the incentive to consider who you want to get in the boat with you.

Nevertheless, I think we all believe the world will recover, and indications are that our mining/processing industry will recover relatively early. Some prices remain reasonably healthy; gold, potash and uranium come to mind. Some mining/processing firms are now raising capital even in this crippled market.

Looking past the present difficulties, our chronic lack of experienced people will not cure itself. Some firms are looking to the “over 65s,” encouraging them to delay retirement with programs and arrangements that make this an attractive option. This is a big improvement over the previously common, “Oh all right, if you must…” attitude. All to the good, but it will be far from sufficient. I suggest we need to move on two fronts: make our industry more attractive to a wide public, and pursue aggressive student support and recruiting strategies.

On the attractive industry front, there is a lot of work to do. We insiders tend to forget the negative image mining has for the general public.

Consider that persuasive opinion maker — movies.

In “The Citadel,” the saintly doctor, alone, devotes himself to treating the residents of a povertystricken, tuberculosis-riddled mining community.

“How Green Was My Valley” portrays generations of a mining family struggling with poverty and accidental death in the mines. “The Molly Maguires” die fighting the murderous cruelty of the mining company. “Outland” is set at a titanium mine on Jupiter’s moon Io. The beleaguered marshal is a brave, honest family man while, even in this imagined future, the miners are either strong-backed brutes or thieving, malignant, homicidal managers.

“October Sky” has the genius-level, NASA-bound science student escaping a boring, dirty, dangerous, no-future job in a coal mine. On the bright side, it could be worse — millions of people think Homer Simpson is a typical nuclear power plant operator!

O

82 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 4, No. 2

To recruit more young people into our industry, we need to encourage and support them as students and nurture them as new hires. Let’s offer more university and college scholarships. Let’s engage, as firms and individuals, in our universities and colleges. For example, we should enthusiastically provide real projects to engineering and technical design classes, with site visits and informed support from industry contacts.

The industry needs to offer more summer jobs.

Students thereby earn part of their school costs for the next year (which minimizes student loans — always a sore point), learn about our industry, take stories back to school of how wonderful mining and processing are and what great companies and people we are. Our evaluation of their performance should inform our consideration of permanent job offers into our engineer-in-training programs and the equivalent programs for all technical and skilled trades jobs. If we don’t have such programs, we need to create them now.

Attracting, nurturing and retaining young people does more than simply fill in organization chart boxes. It brings fresh thinking, new ideas and improved ways of doing things. For example, the “old” way, my way, of beginning a plant design is to imagine the process, draw a flowsheet, calculate the mass balance (dreading recycle flows) and size equipment. Current process engineering graduates do it better. They imagine the process, then immediately model it, with the mass balance inherent in the model, and the flowsheet and equipment sizing dropping out of the model. As much as I admire this modelling capability, I can’t do it. My limit is email and basic word processing. I can program and use a TV remote, but I was totally mystified as my daughters loaded music for me into my new IPod Nano™.

The most successful enterprises strive to control their own destiny. They imagine the future they need in order to be successful and then do everything in their power to make that future happen. I am convinced that attracting, nurturing and retaining young people with their new ideas and fresh thinking must be an integral facet of such a future for our mining/processing industry. CIM

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