CIM Magazine March/April 2008

001-001 Cover

3/25/08

4:24 PM

Page 1

The

dynamic world of

Le

nickel

monde dynamique

Publications Mail No. 40062547

March/April • mars/avril 2008

www.cim.org

du

nickel

Editor-in-chief Heather Ednie hednie@cim.org Section Editors Columns, CIM News, Histories, Technical Section: Andrea Nichiporuk anichiporuk@cim.org News and Features: Angie Gordon agordon@cim.org Technical Editor Joan Tomiuk Publisher CIM

The time for new beginnings e’re on the cusp of spring. My favorite time of year, spring brings a fresh new start — it’s an invigorating time to sow the seeds that will be nourished throughout the coming months. It rings true, too, for CIM. With our annual event and the changeover of our council in the spring, it’s a time of new beginnings and launching new programs for the coming year.

And what a coming year! There’s nothing like the challenge of growth, and CIM is headed full speed towards greater times. With membership and industry support notably increasing, we’re laying the groundwork for new programs, exciting projects and increased relationships with other organizations and industry at large.

Now is your last chance to plan a trip to the CIM Conference and Exhibition 2008 in Edmonton at the beginning of May. It’s the event of the year, offering a top technical program and Canada’s premier networking venue. From operations through human resources to all facets of management and professional fields, your interests will be covered.

While at the conference, take time to join the CIM Annual General Meeting on May 4 at 11 a.m. in Room 3. There, you will be updated on CIM’s strategy and you can voice your thoughts and help shape our association of the future. It’s a time for action — there are no excuses. If you can’t make it to the event, then contact your CIM representative, or anyone on staff, to give your input and learn what’s coming down the pipeline.

Happy springtime!

W

Contributors Jon Baird, R.J. Cathro, Alex Doll, Vern Evans, Marie Fortin, Charlie Graham, Fathi Habashi, Carolyn Hersey, André Lavoie, David Lentz, Deborah McCombe, Leonardo Neves, Robertina Pillo, Melissa Render, H. Eve Robinson, Veronica Sanchez, Mark Sills, Roy Slack, Paul Stothart, Haidee Weldon, Gord Winkel, Dan Zlotnikov 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 ($140.00); 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.

Advertising Sales Dovetail Communications Inc. 30 East Beaver Creek Rd., Ste. 202 Richmond Hill, Ontario L4B 1J2 Tel.: 905.886.6640; Fax: 905.886.6615 www.dvtail.com Account Managers 905.886.6641 Joe Crofts jcrofts@dvtail.com ext. 310 Janet Jeffery jjeffery@dvtail.com ext. 329

Heather Ednie Editor-in-chief Editor’s note: I’m quite pleased to share the news of my son, born on February 20. I’ll not be available in the CIM office for the next few months, but please don’t hesitate to contact me by email at hednie@cim.org — I’m not commuting into the office, but I’m still in the loop! I will continue to communicate through my editor’s message and look forward to returning to my work full time in October.

This month’s cover Rock crusher. Photo courtesy of First Nickel.

Layout and design by Clò Communications.

Copyright©2008. 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 4 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 3, No. 2

CONTENTS CIM MAGAZINE | MARCH/APRIL 2008 MARS/AVRIL

NEWS 7

Satisfying

COLUMNS a

supersized

hunger

23

Goodyear Canada to open new retread plant in North Bay by A. Gordon 8

United Nations launches International Year of Planet Earth Raising awareness of

8

Research centre to develop supermaterials for the aerospace industry

earth sciences by D. Lentz

Collaborative initiative between NRC and McGill University by H.E. Robinson 9

Test-driving a career in skilled trades Cooperation key to North Bay co-op by A. Gordon

11

New UBC Earth Systems Science building New earth systems science building at

12

Educational video launched Introducing

UBC by A. Gordon

Hard Creek’s Turnagain project attracts attention British Columbia nickel

54

project by A. Gordon

55

55

THE WORLD OF NICKEL LE MONDE DU NICKEL

56 56

14

The supply-demand game Explaining and

17

predicting the price of nickel by D. Zlotnikov Nickel’s shiny future A conversation with Murilo Ferreira, president and CEO, Vale Inco

HISTORY

New beginnings Sudbury enjoys a new lease on life by C. Hersey

24

61 64

by D.

Zlotnikov

The sky’s the limit NORCAT breaking new

67

ground in Sudbury by A. Gordon 30

Le jeu de l’offre de la demande Expliquer et prévoir le prix du nickel

32

34

Les mines dans le Grand Nord

35

L’agrandissement en cours du projet Raglan De nouveaux débuts Sudbury profite d’un renouveau

36

Prise deux pour le bassin de Sudbury

37

The evolution of shaft sinking systems (Part 5) by C. Graham and V. Evans Migration and movement of scholars (Part 2) by F. Habashi

TECHNICAL SECTION 71

This month’s contents

L’avenir brillant du nickel Une conversation avec Murilo Ferreira, président et chef de la direction de Vale Inco

14

The Comstock Lode, Nevada (Part 1)

by R.J. Cathro

A second pass at the basin Levack prepares to begin mining footwall deposit

27

CIM Conference and Exhibition/Congrès et Salon commercial de l’ICM

Northern exposure Ongoing expansion at Raglan by D. Zlotnikov

22

Vancouver Branch’s Student Night big success by A. Doll Historique de la mine Persévérance/History of the Perseverance mine par M. Fortin Un éminent conférencier rend visite/ CIM Distinguished Lecturer visits Quebec Branch par M. Fortin CIM Distinguished Lecturers — a branch’s perspective by R. Pillo Une rencontre avec Norman O. Lotter/ A meeting with Norman O. Lotter par M. Fortin

60

by A. Gordon

20

The Supply Side by J. Baird Safety by C. Hersey Engineering Exchange by H. Weldon Mining Lore by D. Zlotnikov Innovation Page by G. Winkel HR Outlook by V. Sanchez Parlons-en par A. Lavoie Student Life by M. Render Eye on Business by L. Neves and M. Sills MAC Economic Commentary by P. Stothart Standards by D. McCombe Voices from Industry by R. Slack

CIM NEWS

students to the world of mining by A. Gordon 13

38 39 40 42 43 44 45 46 48 50 52 82

Le complexe Levack se prépare à exploiter l’éponte inférieure NORCAT Ouverture d’un nouveau centre à Sudbury

IN EVERY ISSUE 4 6 58 59 79 81

Editor’s Message President’s Notes/Mot du président Obituaries Calendar Bookshop Professional Directory

March/April 2008 | 5

president’s notes Working together towards our common goals

Jim Popowich CIM President Président de l’ICM

In late February 2008, the CIM Maintenance and Engineering and CIM Metal Mining societies held a wellrun and well-attended MEMO conference in Val-d’Or, Quebec. This was one of a number of conferences over the past year, including the Conference of Metallurgists (and International Copper-Cobre Conference) in Toronto and the Annual Canadian Mineral Processors Operators’ Conference in Ottawa, which had excellent industry turnout. I want to compliment the organizers and sponsors of these events as they have done well in promoting the objectives of the societies and CIM as a whole.

Some of the themes coming out of the conferences related to the current high price ripples, as well as the higher cost environment — how do we manage through these events and sustain our industries in a meaningful way? These conferences provided a forum for good discussion around our issues and potential solutions.

In previous articles I talked about the softer side of our business — safety, education and other elements of corporate social responsibility and how CIM will be involved. I did, however, get another message from our industry support group, which includes our suppliers, consultants and contractors. They are an extension of the producers and, in fact, are sometimes closer to the communities than the major corporations themselves.

A large number of our support organizations have their own governance, environment, and health and safety policies modelled, to a large degree, after the larger producers. We do, however, have a number of smaller entities that simply do not have the same resources at their disposal. So, my request to all producers is to take a moment to talk to your support group — are we on the same page and are we helping each other to get to our sustainability objectives? Contractors are often the first line into new communities and set the stage for the future. This support group of companies is also a large part of the mining community and may in fact have more influence on society’s view of our industry.

Having them with us at the table as we talk to our communities and stakeholders from day one will go a long way to achieving our common objectives.

We are all in this together.

Travaillons ensemble vers un but commun À la fin de février 2008, la Société de l’ingénierie et de l’entretien de même que la Société de l’exploitation des mines et des métaux de l’ICM ont tenu, à Val-d’Or, Québec, le Colloque sur l’ingénierie de maintenance et l’exploitation minière (MEMO) qui a été fort bien organisé et qui a remporté un vif succès. Au cours de la dernière année, ce colloque, celui des Métallurgistes (avec l’International Copper-Cobre Conference) à Toronto et le colloque annuel de la Société canadienne du traitement des minerais à Ottawa ont connu un fort taux de participation. Je tiens à féliciter les organisateurs et les commanditaires de ces événements qui ont permis de promouvoir les objectifs de ces sociétés et de l’ICM en général.

Certains des thèmes abordés lors de ces colloques portaient sur les vagues actuelles de prix haussiers et sur les coûts plus élevés pour la protection de l’environnement. Alors, la question que nous devons nous poser est comment devons-nous gérer en pareille conjoncture et soutenir nos industries d’une manière efficace? Ces colloques nous ont donné la plate-forme voulue pour débattre de ces questions et de solutions potentielles.

Dans des chroniques antérieures, j’ai parlé d’autres questions auxquelles font face nos industries, à savoir la sécurité, l’éducation et les responsabilités sociales des entreprises de même que le rôle joué par l’ICM. Cependant, je dois avouer que j’ai reçu un différent message du groupe de soutien des industries constitué de nos fournisseurs, consultants et entrepreneurs. Tous ces intervenants sont le prolongement de nos producteurs et sont parfois plus près des membres des localités minières que les grandes entreprises elles-mêmes.

Un grand nombre de nos organismes de soutien ont leurs propres politiques de gouvernance, d’environnement et de santé-sécurité qui sont modelées en grande partie sur celles des plus gros producteurs. Par ailleurs, nous avons aussi un certain nombre d’entités plus petites qui, malheureusement, n’ont tout simplement pas les mêmes ressources mis à leur disposition. Voilà pourquoi je demande à tous les producteurs de prendre quelques instants pour parler à leurs groupes de soutien afin de déterminer si nous sommes sur la même longueur d’onde et si nous nous entraidons pour atteindre nos objectifs de développement durable. Les entrepreneurs sont souvent les premiers à arriver dans les nouvelles localités et à poser les jalons pour l’avenir.

Ces groupes de soutien formés d’entreprises jouent un rôle très important dans les localités minières et peuvent, de fait, avoir une plus grande influence sur la perception de nos industries par la société.

Le fait que ces groupes soient à nos côtés, dès le début, quand nous nous adressons aux membres de ces localités et aux divers intéressés peut nous aider grandement à atteindre nos objectifs communs. Nous travaillons tous pour la même cause, celle de l’ICM. 6 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 3, No. 2

news Satisfying a supersized hunger The supersized off-the-road (OTR) tires used on heavy-duty mining equipment are becoming almost as precious as the commodities they help to unearth. A worldwide shortage of OTR tires, which isn’t expected to go away anytime soon, means that the demand for retreads is extremely high.

Goodyear Canada Inc. has announced that it will be building a new 80,000 square foot retread plant in North Bay, Ontario, to satisfy this increasing demand for retreaded OTR tires in mining and other industries. The new larger facility is scheduled to be completed this fall and will replace an existing plant that has operated in North Bay for the past 21 years.

“Moving the retread operation into a larger facility

reinforces our commitment to the northern Ontario community” — G. BENNETT “Moving the retread operation into a larger facility reinforces our commitment to the northern Ontario community,” said Glenn Bennett, Business Centre manager, Goodyear Canada. In the short term, 50 associates will be relocated to the new plant; however

the larger facility will allow room for potential expansion in the future.

According to the Tire Retreading Information Bureau, approximately 18.6 million retreaded tires were sold in North America in 2006, with sales in excess of $3 billion.

Goodyear Canada maintains that retreads provide reliable service equal to and, in some cases, better than new tires. The casing of a tire is a highly engineered structure, designed to carry very high loads, which can readily outlast the original tread moulded onto it. Putting a new tread onto the original casing greatly extends a tire’s lifespan. There is also an environmental upside to retreads, as thousands of scrap tires can be diverted from disposal each year. CIM

March/April 2008 | 7

news United Nations launches International Year of Planet Earth

Research centre to develop supermaterials for the aerospace industry

by H. Eve Robinson

UNESCO flag waves outside World Dome in Paris.

The United Nations International Year of Planet Earth (IYPE) 2008 was officially launched at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France, this past February.

The international program is designed to raise awareness of the importance of earth sciences in achieving this sustainable development of society. The aim is to persuade the public and governments worldwide to make better use of earth science when framing planning decisions.

The International Union of Geological Sciences and UNESCO are the sponsoring partners

by David Lentz of IYPE, with all 191 UN member-countries supporting the resolution proclaiming IYPE for 2008. As of the launch, there were approximately 70 member-nations, including Canada.

Attendees were treated to inspiring lectures and moving poems from young people from around the world.

However, the highlight of the IYPE launch ceremonies was a speech by British science fiction author, inventor and futurist Sir Arthur C. Clark, most famous for his novel 2001:A Space Odyssey.

An example of one initiative that Canada is helping to lead is the OneGeology project, whereby maps from around the globe are being compiled into one database, thereby making the information more accessible.

Within Canada, a key goal of IYPE is to reach out to young people to excite them about potential careers in the earth sciences in the face of the country’s severe shortage of people entering related academic studies. CIM To learn more visit: www.yearofplanetearth.org or www.iypecanada.org About the Author David Lentz is a professor of geology at the University of New Brunswick

8 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 3, No. 2

The McGill Aerospace Materials and Alloy Development Centre was officially opened in Boucherville, Quebec, this past February. The project represents a collaborative initiative between the National Research Council Canada (NRC) and McGill University, intended to nurture technological innovations in the aerospace industry. The $8 million project was made possible by financial contributions from the governments of Canada and Quebec, as well as from various industry partners.

The centre was created to develop a new generation of highly resistant materials, surface treatments and manufacturing processes designed to meet the extreme requirements of the aerospace industry. It brings together four highly specialized laboratories on McGill and Université de Montréal campuses, as well as at the NRC Industrial Materials Institute. Facilities include a cold spray lab, an electron beam physical vapour deposition lab, an electronic speckle pattern interferometry lab, and another that specializes in the production of titanium parts.

The centre aims to be an eminent place for research and education, as well as a training ground from which to generate highly qualified personnel for this vital industry. McGill graduate students will have the opportunity to work along side scientists and industry partners while pursuing their degrees, giving them practical industry experience and skills with which to supplement their academic training.

The Canadian aerospace sector employs 79,000 people across the country and generates sales of over $21 billion dollars. CIM

news Test-driving a career in skilled trades Cooperation key to North Bay co-op initiatives While growing up in North Bay, Laura Bucknell never dreamed that she would one day pursue a career as a machinist. As a student at West Ferris SS, her favourite class had always been shop, however she never suspected that this could lead to a job. Besides, university was usually presented as the only option if one hoped to eventually land a good job. Then one day her shop teacher approached her about participating in a trade apprenticeship co-op program being offered through the Near North School Board.

“I’d never even heard

by Angie Gordon about apprenticeships,” admits 20-year-old Bucknell, “but I knew it was definitely something I wanted to try out.” Around this same

time last year, Bucknell began her co-op assignment as a machinist apprentice at Sandvik (then J N Precise), a high-technology engineering group and manufacturers of mining equipment and tools.

Ken Perrin, Sandvik’s operations manager, said he couldn’t have been more pleased by Bucknell’s performance. So pleased, in fact, that Bucknell is now employed full time as a first-year machinist apprentice at Sandvik.

“I call Laura our ‘poster person’ for co-op programs,” said Perrin. “Not only is she a terrific worker, but here we have a female in a traditionally male occupation who might never have entered the trade if it hadn’t been for the program.”

Perrin also serves on the board of Youth Employment Services (YES)

Laura Bucknell stands in front of a CNC milling machine at Sandvik.

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news through which Sandvik also obtains trade apprentices, and attributes the success of both initiatives to the terrific spirit of cooperation in the North Bay community — from the school boards and various support groups to local employers and the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities.

“Everyone is working towards the same goal — that of getting more skilled trades people and hopefully keeping more young people from leaving to look for jobs,” said Perrin. “We want to get the message out that even though there’s no actual mining here, there are a lot of jobs in industries related to it. People can actually acquire a skilled trade right here in North Bay and start earning money right away doing it.”

One of the architects of the Near North School Board’s co-op program, Ontario Youth Apprenticeship program coordinator Dez Collins, said that in their experience career education has been the best way for students to get a feeling for whether or not a certain job is right for them. “Choosing a career is a big decision,” said Collins. “We want to help them focus, and one of the best ways is actually trying it out.”

Collins said that the co-op is part of the school board’s larger pathways initiative. “We’ve been trying to show students and their parents that university is not the only option,” he explained.

“There are different pathways, and they’re all good. In our experience, 75 per cent of graduates do not enter university and 50 per cent go straight into the workforce.” Collins also pointed out that of the approximately 7,000 careers one theoretically has to choose from, only 500 of those actually require a university degree. “The most important thing is to find your own path,” said Collins, “the one that suits your strengths and desires.”

The first challenge, he admitted, is raising awareness about what a career in skilled trades is actually all about.

“The co-op program really gained momentum from another event we began a couple years ago called MSI — Mine Scene Investigation — that Roy Slack, chairman of the CIM Northern Gateway Branch, brought to us,” explained Collins. “It’s a take-off on the popular CSI television series and was intended to educate students and parents about mining and jobs related

“Just think, Don… nickel is now worth about $12.00 a pound.”

“That’s nothing, really… when we were kids our weekly nickel allowance was worth a fortune.”

10 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 3, No. 2

to the industry and to dispel some of the myths.”

Slack, who is president of Cementation, a contracting and engineering company specializing in the design and construction of mines, said that one of the biggest obstacles to overcome is that parents often perceive a career in trades to be little more than a glorified blacksmith’s job. “People are often very surprised by the level of sophistication involved,” said Slack. “It’s a very highly skilled profession. In some instances, these workers are operating machinery that can cost up to $1 million. Also, after a three-year apprenticeship they can have a redseal trade that they can take anywhere in Canada.”

Slack said that when Collins recently approached him about getting involved with a new co-op initiative, he thought it was a great idea. He began by circulating a mass email to the CIM branch membership informing them of the program. “The North Bay Branch has really been working to integrate the various educational groups,” said Slack.

“In fact, we now have both university and college representation on our board. So we’re very encouraged by the prospect of working with the school board again.’”

Perrin added that it also helps that business owners sit on the boards of some of these programs, as he does. “It’s also important that [the program administrators] understand what the needs of businesses are,” he explained.

“For example, it goes a long way if they do their jobs up front, screening the student candidates to make sure that they are actually interested, and have the right attitude.”

As for Bucknell, she said that it really helped her that her parents were so supportive of her decision to enter a skilled trade, though admitted that many of her friends were rather shocked. “They couldn’t believe that I’d actually be working as a machinist,” she said, “However pretty soon a lot of them were saying, ‘boy, I wish I could do that.’” CIM

news New UBC Earth Systems Science building A number of major minerals companies recently announced that they will collectively invest over $20 million to help create a new Earth Systems Science (ESS) building at the University of British Columbia (UBC). The move, by companies including Breakwater Resources Ltd., Goldcorp Inc., Imperial Metals Corp., Lundin Group and Pan American Silver Corporation, is aimed at supporting the thriving minerals industry and tackling the growing shortage of qualified geosciences professionals.

The new $75 million facility – set to begin construction in 2009 – will house UBC’s earth and ocean sciences department (EOS), renowned for its global leadership in sustainability research and education and its longstanding contribution to Canada’s minerals industry.

Recent EOS discoveries include innovations in locating kimberlite and increasing the absorption of carbon dioxide in mine tailings to reduce greenhouse gases. It will provide a facility for research and innovation in sustainable mining and mineral exploration practices and help address the mineral industry’s growing labour shortage by educating future generations of highly skilled earth science professionals.

“As a UBC geology student, much of my thesis research was conducted offcampus due to a lack of space,” said Liane Boyer, a UBC geology graduate who now works for Kennecott Canada.

“There is an urgent need for increased research facilities to support students and faculty in their

by Angie Gordon research activities on campus. To have everyone under one roof exchanging ideas, sharing expertise and learning would greatly contribute to the overall growth of the program and wider minerals community.”

“The ESS Building represents an investment in the future of the Canadian and international mineral exploration communities,” said Simon Peacock, dean of UBC’s Faculty of Science. “It

UBC ESS building rendering

builds upon the longstanding partner- rooms and shared space, the ESS ship between the minerals industry and Building will provide undergraduate and UBC. Housing high-tech research labs, 10:17 graduate students SCSP_5x5 Ad EN B&W.qxd 2/8/08 AM Page 1 a world-class educalecture halls, teaching and breakout tion in the earth sciences.” CIM

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news Educational video launched

Moving on up Keith G. Larsen, CEO and chairman of the board of U.S. Energy Corp., has been appointed to the board of directors of Sutter Gold. He is a former director of The Brunton Company and former CEO and director of Rocky Mountain Gas, Inc. Lennart Evrell has been appointed president and CEO of Boliden AB. Evrell comes to Boliden from the aluminum company Sapa, where he also served as president and CEO. Areva Resources Canada recently welcomed Vincent Martin as its new president and CEO. Martin joined the COGEMA group (predecessor of the AREVA Group) in 1982 and subsequently held a number of management positions. Most recently he was AREVA’s COO.

Characters in NickelQuest video visit a flotation facility.

The Ontario Mining Association (OMA), in association with the Nickel Institute, has created a 15-minute educational video featuring an animated tour of an underground nickel mine and surface mineral processing plant. Entitled NickelQuest, the amusing and informative video is designed to introduce students aged 13 to 14 to the many high-tech job opportunities available in the mining industry. In Canada alone, the mining industry anticipates having to hire 80,000 skilled individuals in the next 10 years.

“Gone are the days when mining was a labour-intensive

by Angie Gordon industry based on old technology,” said Karen Mayfield, managing director of eSolutions Group, the Waterloo, Ontario-based digital media company that produced the video for the OMA. “In working on this project we discovered how closely the technology used in mining reflects what companies like ours use everyday, and we gained an appreciation for how mining fosters innovations. For example, we 12 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 3, No. 2

learned how mining uses cutting-edge software for 3-D visualization of ore bodies, geographic information systems, mine planning, virtual modelling, exploration, safety, science and management.”

The OMA distributed the video on DVD to grade 8 students throughout the province. In addition, the Nickel Institute is streaming the video from their website.

“This project sprang from the realization that it is logistically impossible to take all Ontario students on a tour of an underground mine,” explained OMA president Chris Hodgson. “We decided the next best thing would be to use technology to create a virtual tour; if you can’t take the students to the mine, why not take the mine to the students?”

“We hope NickelQuest will inform students of the more than 400 career possibilities the industry offers,” said Hodgson, adding that he also hopes it will promote earth sciences and mineral education in the eyes of curriculum coordinators, teachers, school boards and government. CIM

Kim Truter has been appointed president and COO of Diavik Diamond Mines Inc. Truter joined Diavik this past October from Rio Tinto Coal Australia where he was general manager of Mount Thorley Warkworth.

Lundin Mining Corporation is pleased to announce that Phil Wright has been appointed president and CEO. He brings a wealth of mining industry expertise with international experience in operations, large-scale feasibility studies and project management.

Vancouver-based Abacus Mining and Exploration Corp. has invited Thomas A. McKeever to join the company as chairman. McKeever joined AMAX Inc. and in 1977 he served as chairman of Sempra Metals Ltd. until his retirement from there in 2006.

Luc Doyon will add the title of CEO to his existing executive responsibilities of president and COO of Air Liquide Canada, one of the oldest subsidiaries of the Paris-based Air Liquide Group.

news Hard Creek’s Turnagain project attracts attention Hard Creek Nickel Corporation’s Turnagain project is attracting a lot of attention. Located in British Columbia — not exactly a province associated with nickel deposits — it is considered one of the largest undeveloped sulphide nickel deposits in the world.

Recent resource estimates have put the project at over 1 billion tonnes, utilizing a cut-off grade of 0.10 per cent nickel present in sulphide form.

Although the grade is low, what it lacks in grade it certainly appears to make up for in size. Given the current tight global supply and high prices for nickel, the potential that the deposit might produce significant output for decades to come has helped put the project on the radar as one to watch closely.

Recent discoveries of platinum and palladium with the nickel have also helped to raise the profile of Turnagain.

To date, drilling has successfully identified four separate areas with platinum and palladium mineralization. A presence of both high base metals and precious metals is working in the project’s favour.

The Turnagain project is 100 per cent owned by Hard Creek and is located about 1,350 kilometres northwest of Vancouver and 70 kilometres east of Dease Lake. Nickel and copper sulphides were first identified on the property around 1956 and Falconbridge nickel

by Angie Gordon mines completed the initial exploration programs from 1966 to 1973. Exploration to date on the Turnagain property has included geological mapping, geophysical and geochemical surveys and more than 75,620 metres (248,100 feet) of diamond drilling in 304 drill holes.

A positive preliminary assessment was completed for the project in late 2007 by AMEC Americas Limited. This

Turnagain camp

assessment indicates that the deposit is potentially mineable and has identified that further work is justified. Hard Creek is undertaking additional work in all major areas to advance the project to the pre-feasibility level.

Confirmation and availability of the required power for the project has also

been identified by AMEC as critical.

Hard Creek is aggressively pursuing all possible options for providing sufficient power to make the project feasible. A formal project description will be submitted to government agencies before summer, kicking off the environmental assessment process. CIM

Giving back Supporting literacy in Nunavut DeBeers Canada sponsored a gala banquet in which items donated by various mining, exploration and service companies and organizations were auctioned off to support literacy in Nunavut. In total, more than $30,000 was raised for the Nunavut Literacy Council.

Olympic spirit!

The Iron Ore Company of Canada is proud to sponsor Team Gushue as they prepare for the men’s curling event at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.

IOC will donate $15,000 per year for three years, for a total of $45,000.

Looking to the sky Rio Tinto Alcan announced that it will contribute $4 million as the founding sponsor for the construction of the new Montreal Planetarium, to be named the Rio Tinto Alcan Planetarium of Montreal.

To your health!

PotashCorp Rocanville will donate $250,000 to Moosomin, Saskatchewan’s health care facility. In addition, in partnership with the Moosomin & District Health Care Foundation, the company will match every dollar given by individuals and businesses in 2008, to a maximum of $250,000.

March/April 2008 | 13

Photo courtesy of Xstrata

by Dan Zlotnikov here is a high demand for nickel in the world today.

There are few who would disagree with that statement. Beyond that point, however, opinions differ greatly on what this demand means for the future of nickel prices and production.

Dave Constable, vice president of investor relations at Canadian FNX Mining Company, believes that the price will remain high and demand will continue to outstrip the available supply.

nickel is there, however, is because the high temperatures (lateritic deposits mostly occur within 15 degrees of the equator) and moisture failed to extract it, even after millions of years.The miner’s challenge, then, is to accomplish what nature couldn’t, and do so in a cost-effective way.

Much in the same way that heavy oil has a higher cost base, explained Constable, laterites cannot be profitable below a certain price point.

“Up to now, we dealt with sulphide nickel, which was relatively inexpensive to bring to production and involved predictable technology, so we saw prices of $3 to $3.50/lb worldLaterites – nickel’s new frontier wide, and those were used to evaluate the viability of new projWhen it comes to predicting the future supply of nickel, it is ects. Now we have more and more laterite projects coming necessary to take into account the geology of deposits. online. These are increasingly expensive, increasingly over Constable offered his insights, which stem from the finer points budget and late coming online, and there’s a long tail bringing of the production side and his background as a geologist. them up to production.”

“Nickel deposits mainly come in two forms,” explained Constable. “There are the sulphides, which accounted for most of the worldwide production until now, and the lat- Location, location, location! erites, which contain about 70 per cent of the world’s Constable acknowledges that the challenges are reserves of nickel, but only account for about 40 per cent of immense. The first obstacle is one of location. The deposits’ today’s production.” proximity to the equator means that they are largely located Nickel laterites, according to Constable, are a much more in fairly undeveloped countries, which generally lack the challenging type of ore from which to extract the metal. necessary infrastructure. Australia, Brazil and, to a lesser “Laterites formed when sulphide deposits were weathered extent, Indonesia are the only exceptions to this, but a more by nature over millions of years,” explained Constable.“This left typical location for a laterite project is New Caledonia. The iron, magnesium, silicon and, of course, nickel.” The reason the lack of local infrastructure means higher capital costs and

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nickel longer construction time, all before the first tonne of ore is extracted.

To make matters even more challenging, the process of actually extracting the metal from the mix is far from simple.

“There are two parts to lateritic deposits,” explained Constable. “The top layer is limonite; then there is a transition layer of varying thickness, and underneath that is saprolite.”

With saprolite,the primary demand is for raw power.“The main approach is pyrometallurgical, and is fairly straightforward,” said Constable. “It’s a brute force high-heat, high-pressure approach.

You take the saprolite and you crack it to get at the nickel.”

Limonite, on the other hand, comes with a whole range of technological challenges.

“The limonite has a number of different extraction methods you can use,”said Constable, “and if you choose the wrong one, or the composition isn’t quite right, you can’t crack it.” Too much magnesium in the ore, for example, can consume all your acid and stall the process. Even if all the variables are predicted correctly, Constable said, it can easily take two years before the plant reaches full production; such is the challenge of fine-tuning the process to the limonite.

Falconbridge-North Province of New Caledonia project, the 49 per cent Falconbridge stake has now been taken over by Xstrata. The $3.8 billion project — the largest in the world to date, according to Xstrata vice president of corporate affairs Dominique Dionne — is expected to begin producing ore in 2011, with an initial production goal of 60,000 tonnes per year.

However, in the more immediate future, Constable feels that there has been a shortage of exploration in nickel. On top of this, he observes that very few known deposits are being held in reserve or brought back online to meet the production shortages.

Still, according to Markus Moll, senior market analyst at Steel & Metals Market Research — an Austrian market intelligence firm focusing on the specialty steel industry — this supply shortage is not going to be a concern beyond the short term.

“The LME (London Metal Exchange) stockpile increased last year, up to 50 thousand tonnes, depending on the source,” observed Moll. “Most of that stockpiling happened in the second half of the year. But, more significantly, the non-LME stockpiles have also grown.”

The sharp drop in nickel prices last year led to a wave of destocking among stainless steel users and distributors, Moll explained. While normally such a destocking would be folSupply side economics lowed by a restocking, that was not the case. Stainless steel Despite the continued challenges on the supply side, a few buyers are naturally concerned about the future price of nickel, new projects are expected to come online in the near future. and have accordingly set their stock targets lower, content to One of these is the Koniambo project. Previously a maintain lower stockpiles for the time being.

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nickel Searching for substitutes The other major factor affecting nickel demand is the move towards low and no-nickel stainless steels as an alternative to nickel-based austenitic grades (300-series).

“Many applications in which 300-series stainless steel was used were due to over-engineering,” Moll explained. “Such a high grade of steel was not required. But when the supply of nickel was plenty and it was cheap, people didn’t care.”Now, the first shock of a nickel shortage (and the associated peak prices, which hit $22.68/lb) has passed, but it has caused producers and users of stainless steel to consider alternatives.This process is only just beginning and could continue to depress the nickel demand for the next few years, even if prices retreat from recent highs.

“As long as nickel is at that price or higher, it’s worth it.”

— D. Constable

The importance of substitutions is probably going to be even greater than the potential impact of a U.S. recession.“We have prepared two scenarios,” said Moll.“The normal scenario, in which the U.S. does not experience a severe recession, predicts the worldwide stainless steel industry growth to be 5.4 per cent this year. If the U.S. economy goes deeper into recession, we predict the industry will grow at a rate of 3.6 per cent, or close to that.” But even with solid single-digit growth in stainless production, that may not mean a much-increased demand for nickel.

“Despite the worldwide stainless steel production’s continued growth, we expect the nickel demand to remain relatively

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flat through 2009-2010,” Moll said.“The demand from the aerospace industry and super-alloy manufacturing will remain strong, but won’t be enough to compensate for the trends in stainless steel production.”

Stainless steel, Moll added, accounted for 75 per cent of the world nickel consumption when one includes the nickel coming from recycling scrap steel. According to SMR’s analysis, the stagnating demand will mean continued growth of the stockpile.“I believe it is unlikely the stockpile size will swing into equilibrium or decline in the next couple of years. If you predict the long-term growth of nickel use at four per cent, it will be below that for the next four to five years.”

To market to market But even with less nickel being bought on the open market, both Moll and Constable suggest that other factors may cause the price to remain high.

“In a free market, we would see the price decreasing,” said Moll. “But this is a highly consolidated market and there are other factors that can keep the price from falling. Most significantly there is the LME, which is an especially good tool for price manipulation.”

Constable, on the other hand, points to a “trick” the Chinese manufacturers have employed as the source of continued high prices.

“What they have done is find producers with limonitic projects near tidewater and have them ship the ore to China by cargo hauler. There, they put the ore into old blast furnaces, heat it, and end up with ore that had three to four per cent nickel in it.

This is called ‘pig iron,’ because it’s really just iron with some nickel already in it, and they could feed that into steel production.”

The pig iron doesn’t have the seven to eight per cent nickel needed for 300-series stainless steel but is good enough for the lower grades, such as 200-series stainless, which can be used in some applications.

This ploy netted roughly 80,000 tonnes of nickel annually — a sizable cut of the 1.4 million tonnes of primary nickel produced in 2007. But while this allowed China to bypass the open market, it did not come cheaply.

“The trouble with pig iron is that it is an environmental nightmare, and costs so much money for transportation and energy that you’re probably paying $11 to $12/lb for it,” said Constable. “As long as nickel is at that price or higher, it’s worth it.” The moment the price drops, however, China will have every reason to come back to the open market, taking an 80,000 tonne chunk out of the stockpiles.

As always, it remains to be seen what actually happens and whether any new factors influence the nickel scene. But one thing is sure: $1.60 nickel won’t be seen again anytime soon. CIM

nickel

Nickel’s shiny future A conversation with Vale Inco’s visionary president and CEO Murilo Ferreira

by Angie Gordon t has been a little more than a year now since Murilo Ferreira assumed his post as president and CEO of Vale Inco Ltd., the wholly owned Canadian subsidiary of Brazilian-based Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (Vale). During that time, Ferreira traded the tropical temperatures of Brazil for those of Toronto, where he helped navigate the 106-year-old company through a name and branding change, and oversaw one of the most profitable years the company has ever experienced.

After all of that, even a spirited executive would have every right to be a little tired, no? Well, not Ferreira. Slightly jet-lagged maybe — from visiting Vale Inco’s operations and projects in 20 countries around the globe, and a marketing network that extends to 40 countries — but the enthusiasm and energy emanating from this dynamic leader is undeniable.

Of course, it certainly helps that Vale recently announced that in 2007 it enjoyed gross revenues of US$33.1 billion — the highest in the company’s history and 28.8 per cent more than that recorded in 2006.The same report also indicated that nickel was second only to iron ore in terms of revenue generation.

We asked Ferreira to share his thoughts on the nickel industry and where he perceives it is headed. The future, we discover, looks pretty bright.

I

CIM: 2007 was quite a year for the nickel market.

Ferreira: Yes, it was a very exciting and challenging year. We reached new records in nickel prices and there were huge increases in Chinese steel production. There was also robust growth in the demand for high nickel alloys, mainly due to the energy and aerospace sectors.

On the supply side, many of the traditional suppliers struggled. Most suffered with the supply interruptions, so in this regard, the large increase in nickel pig iron from China, instead of being a problem, was actually good news for the whole industry, as it brought more balance to the market.

Murilo Ferreira

CIM: Is this demand from China expected to continue?

Ferreira: Yes, we are very positive that in the next few years Chinese steel production will continue to drive growth in nickel demand. Chinese demand has grown 29 per cent on average between 2000 and 2007. It’s pretty unbelievable, but we still forecast that demand will grow strongly over the next few years.

CIM: How does Vale Inco hope to meet this demand?

Ferreira: We are, and will continue to be, extremely focused on our customers. In this regard, it’s important for us to have a high-quality product to supply to our customers.We have by far the largest nickel reserves — 27 per cent of the world’s reserves — which will serve as a strong foundation for the future. From that we can expect a good pipeline from which to bring new projects that will continue to drive this growth.

We have a lot of promise in our Totten mine project — the first new Vale Inco mine in Sudbury in more than 35 years. We March/April 2008 | 17

nickel are going ahead with the Goro project in New Caledonia, where we plan to ramp up in the last quarter of 2008. We also have the Onça Puma project underway in Brazil, which we’re forecasting to start in the first quarter of 2009. There’s also PT Inco in Indonesia. In addition, we have a commitment to build a new refinery in Voisey’s Bay. CIM: What about future projects?

Ferreira: It looks very promising as we have a nice portfolio of upcoming projects.

I’ll mention some, though Voisey's Bay mine and concentrator site. these are subject to approval by the board of Vale.We have Bahadopi and Pomalaa in Indonesia as well as the Vermelho project in Brazil.We are not just content with sustaining but aim to expand in Sudbury and eventually in Goro as well.We are also planning a huge investment in terms of underground exploration in Voisey’s Bay. Experts in Mixing Technology For Minerals Processing

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18 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 3, No. 2

CIM: That’s a lot of investment.

Ferreira: Yes. When we acquired Inco Ltd., their maximum amount in terms of investment was $1 billion. Our investment in 2007 was $2 billion and we are very committed with this year’s budget to invest $2.9 billion, which is part of the company’s overall investment of $58 billion over five years. Our strategy is definitely one of growth in order to supply this huge demand for nickel arising mainly from the energy sector.

CIM: What about your Canadian operations?

Ferreira: Vale Inco’s team is extremely devoted to bringing good results for our Canadian operations as well. It is essential for us to offer a new future and vision and restore the enthusiasm and positive approach to our operations in Manitoba, Ontario, and Newfoundland and Labrador.

We’ve been working in Manitoba for the past 50 years. We have an integrated processing facility and are producing roughly 60,000 tons. We now have a big program in terms of exploration in Manitoba, so that we hope to remain working there until 2017 or 2019. We feel that it represents one of the strongest deposits in the world in terms of our portfolio and we believe that there are more reserves to be discovered in Thompson.

CIM: You think there’s more to discover there?

Ferreira: Yes, we are very confident. We did a big jump in terms of exploration in Thompson — six times more as compared to 2005 — given the high quality of the product found there.With this investment, we are confident we will bring good results as we did in Creighton mine in Sudbury. In our view, Creighton is one of the best projects on the nickel market, second only maybe to Voisey’s Bay. CIM: And outside of Canada?

Ferreira: Our largest project is Goro. It’s a great resource with an excellent grade. The initial capacity will be 60,000 tonnes of

nickel nickel per year. We also have a top-class team there in order to deliver these projects on time — hopefully by the end of the year.

In Indonesia, we are looking closely to see what we can do to improve our performance. The board at PT Inco has authorized its approval for a new dam and hydromet plant in order to reduce power costs.

CIM: What about sustainability?

Ferreira: We are extremely aligned in the whole Vale organization in terms of our beliefs about sustainability. It’s extremely important for us. One of the milestones in 2007 was at PT Inco in Indonesia. For the first time in the last 30 years, we were in compliance with the government limits in terms of air emissions. We’re pleased, but it’s not enough. We intend to go ahead in At the Pomalaa development in Indonesia, Block 5 drilling has been completed with an average nickel grade of 2.3% confirmed. the next two years with new reduction plans in order to be the that I’m not having a chance to get to enjoy Toronto as best company in the world in terms of limiting emissions. We much as I’d like to. CIM know that sometimes the mining industry can be a bit aggressive, but we’re trying to increase our knowledge in terms of susWith over 40 years of engineering experience, tainability so that we can apply it to our operations everywhere.

CIM: There’s tremendous consolidation going on in the industry right now — sometimes it’s hard to keep up.

Ferreira: I think that we must understand that we have a consolidation on the demand side as well. China represents roughly 80 per cent of the new demand annually. Also, each day new projects become more and more expensive and, in this regard, only big companies with enough financial reserves will be able to go ahead with these new projects to answer the supply side.

CIM: How do you manage to integrate these diverse operations all over the world?

Ferreira: In terms of the integration, we know that regardless of the cultural differences we had to work hard to bring a new vision and focus. We introduced the Vale project methodology, which is extremely focused.We are very happy to have just one company, which is aligned in terms of technical, commercial and social processes. Vale Inco is focused on having safe operations and establishing long-term and beneficial relationships with the communities where we operate.

CIM: What about your own integration? How are you and your family enjoying living in Canada?

Ferreira: Oh, it’s been very easy. The Canadian people are very kind; so warm and always ready to help you. This past weekend my wife told me that she’s 100 per cent good with living here in Toronto and my daughter is doing very well in high school — she’s very positive and getting good grades. My only complaint is that I’m travelling so much

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March/April 2008 | 19

nickel

Trucks at sunrise, Raglan mine

Northern exposure Raglan project’s ongoing expansion

by Dan Zlotnikov ince beginning its existence in 1995, the Raglan mine has proven to be both a challenge and a boon to Xstrata. Situated on the Katinniq plateau in the Far North of Quebec, the mine is only accessible by air or sea. The mine’s location in the very sparsely populated Nunavik region also means that the workers have to be housed on-site and flown out for their time off, either to their homes in the nearby Inuit communities or to the city of Rouyn-Noranda, about 1,500 kilometres to the south.

The extracted ore goes on an extended journey of its own, first being milled on-site, then trucked to the Xstrata-owned wharf on the shores of Deception Bay, where it is loaded onto an icebreaker and shipped to Quebec City. The concentrate is then moved by rail to the smelter in Sudbury. The resulting nickel matte is returned to Quebec once more from where it is shipped off to the final destination, the Nikkelverk refining facility in Kristiansand, Norway. To complicate matters further, with the mine located well north of the 60th parallel, even an icebreaker can reach the bay only eight months of the year.

Despite these challenges, Raglan continues to account for almost a quarter of Xstrata’s nickel production – more than

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26,000 tonnes in 2007, according to the mine’s manager of sustainable development, Joël Pagé.

“We signed the original Impact and Benefits Agreement (IBA), called ‘Raglan Agreement (1995),’ with our Inuit partners in February 1995,” Pagé said. “At that time, we had estimated the mine to have 20 years of resources. We have been in production since 1997, and after 13 years, we still have 20-plus years of resources.”

Every year, Pagé explained, Raglan’s exploration program uncovers more than is mined in that year. There is also a strong expectation that this trend will continue. “The Katinniq plateau is virginal in terms of mining and exploration,” said Pagé. “Two-thirds of our property has not yet been well-explored.”

With such promising results, it is no surprise that Xstrata is looking to expand the mine to almost double its current production levels. Currently extracting 1.1 million tonnes of ore annually from its three underground mines and one open pit operation, Raglan has already received approval to increase production up to 1.3 million tonnes per year and is expected to reach that rate of production by the end of the year. But

nickel the final goal, according Katinniq workers to a December press release, is to be producing a full two million tonnes as early as 2013.

To make such growth possible, explained Pagé, the government permit and the IBA – both currently capped at 1.3 million tonnes per year – would have to be renegotiated to allow for the increased production. The local communities are receptive to the idea and will benefit both in the form of profit sharing agreements and in direct employment.

“We are working in close partnership with the Makivik Corporation as well as the Kativik Regional Government and the Kativik School Board to create a new synergy in Nunavik,” said Pagé. “ These stakeholder groups are working intensively and in cooperation with us to support the implementation of the second phase of our aboriginal employment strategy.”

The second phase, in the works for two years, has set the goal of employing 20 per cent or more Inuit workers

“Three suns” at Raglan

These stakeholder groups are working intensively and in cooperation with us to support the implementation of the second phase of our aboriginal employment strategy.

from the local communities. At the moment, Pagé said, that number is closer to 17 per cent. It is not yet known how many additional workers will have to be hired for the expansion, but Pagé made a conservative estimate of 100 to be added to the current workforce of 620 workers and 250 contractors over the next five years.

To accommodate the increase in workforce, construction has begun on an additional 210 private rooms to house the workers. To match the growth, a new sewage treatment plant and power generating facility will have to be built, and the existing cafeteria space will need to be expanded.

“We are in the gap analysis stage,” said Pagé. Over the next three years, he added, the task will be in continuing to define the reserve and growing the operations based on that.

The continued success of the exploration program is vital to the expansion, Pagé added.“It creates a lot of optimism in the company. Every time we look we keep finding more, and we don’t know when it’s going to stop.” CIM

Raglan mine March/April 2008 | 21

nickel

Photo courtesy of Sudbury tourism

New beginnings Sudbury enjoys a new lease on life

by Carolyn Hersey ike the first glimpse of green grass after what seems like an endless winter, new beginnings are always welcomed with a smile, and a touch of hope and anticipation for what the future might hold. The same applies to the renowned mining community of Sudbury. It seems as though a breath of fresh air has been pumped deep down into its core and their new beginning has only just begun.

You’d be hard pressed to tell it now – given that Sudbury boasts one of the hottest real estate markets in the country – but there was a time, not so long ago, when the town wasn’t doing so well. When the price of nickel hit an all time low of $2.25 a pound in the late 1990s, many companies and people in the community thought the mining industry would eventually die out. Mines kept getting deeper and more expensive to operate, and there was a major lack of funding; the last substantial investments having taken place in the early 1970s.

Jim Gallagher, director of mining and mineral processing with Hatch, a global engineering and construction management company with an office in downtown Sudbury, was among the many concerned. Just a few years ago the company had 45 employees in Sudbury working on small operational support projects. Now, Hatch boasts a Sudbury staff of

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over 140 and is drawing upon its resource base of another 8,000 employees in offices around the globe to help support several major capital projects for its Sudbury-based clients.

Gallagher acknowledges that much of their current success – like that of Sudbury itself – is due to the current high price of nickel and the unprecedented demand for the metal, primarily driven by the Chinese and Indian markets. Despite a worldwide competition for resources, Hatch has been able to respond to the current market demand by attracting labour from around the globe, bringing international resources into Sudbury.

Paul Davis, vice president of exploration at First Nickel, is certainly enjoying the current good times as well. The nickel mining and exploration company located in the southwest part of the Sudbury Basin is just four years old, so they didn’t live through the area’s less-optimistic past. However, they definitely saw the advantages of starting up operations in Sudbury when they took over the Lockerby mine from Falconbridge in 2005. Like Gallagher, Davis also said there are great benefits to having access to Sudbury’s existing infrastructure and resources, making it a lot cheaper to dig a little deeper there than to start from scratch elsewhere. He said the company’s expectations of the Lockerby

nickel mine have already been exceeded and added that they are Northern Ontario’s future growth and development,” said already exploring several other properties scattered OMA chairman Jeremy Wyeth, vice president for De Beers throughout the Sudbury area and expect to continue to Canada Victor diamond project. The OMA acknowledges the positive contribution that mining makes to employment opportunities, entrepreneurial activity, investment, infrastructure, community development and increased taxation revenues. One report illustrates how 480 direct mining jobs can actually generate 2,280 additional positions. “The output of a single mine contributes $278 million to Ontario’s — J. Wyeth economy and $84 million to government revenues annually,” the report stated. flourish there in the mining community. “An emphasis on If there is anything to be gleaned from Sudbury’s experiautomation has also contributed to companies being able ence, perhaps it’s that when it feels like you’ve hit rock botto stay in Sudbury,” claimed Davis. “Fewer people can do tom, sometimes you just have to hang in there and dig deepmore work, meaning there is an increase in productivity er. Maybe you’ll be lucky and hit nickel! CIM with less man hours.”

The optimism for Sudbury’s future is also shared by the Ontario Mining Association. “At this time, the mining sector holds the most promise and the best opportunities for

“At this time, the mining sector holds

the most promise and the best opportunities for Northern Ontario’s future growth and development.”

Did you know?

Ore loading (photo courtesy of First Nickel)

The Sudbury Basin was formed by a fallen meteor. It provides about 16 per cent of the world’s nickel, as well as significant amounts of copper and platinum metals.

March/April 2008 | 23

nickel

Levack mine

A second pass at the basin Levack complex prepares to mine footwall deposit

by Dan Zlotnikov ickel mining is hardly news in the Sudbury Basin — easy-to-find contact deposits have been known and exploited for a century or more in what is one of Earth’s richest nickel areas. But few have done this as successfully as the relatively small FNX Mining Company, especially in its McCreedy West-Levack complex.

FNX, in existence since 1984, came into its current incarnation in 2002, when it won the bid to develop and operate the Inco (now Vale Inco) properties, none of which were operating at that time.

“The properties all had some infrastructure, both above ground and underground, with the exception of Podolsky,

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which was just an open pit,”said mining geologist and FNX vice president of investor relations Dave Constable. “They were all shut down, but not out of ore.”

The reason they were shut down was simple: the nickel price had dropped to below three dollars a pound and continuing to run the mines was a losing proposition for Inco. What they proposed, and FNX was happy to take on, was a deal under which FNX would handle all exploration, development and operations of the mines themselves, and Inco would take the product over at that point, as part of an offtake agreement.

“FNX’s product is a ton of ore,”Constable said of the arrangement,“not concentrate, or metal.”

nickel As part of the agreement, “20,000 tons per month in the FNX began exploratory drilling second quarter, and ended the in April 2002, and by summer year close to 30,000 tons per had made its first discovery at month.”The current levels of prothe McCreedy West property. duction will be maintained for Using the existing infrastructure, the first half of 2008, with full FNX brought the mine into procapacity of 1,500 tons per day duction in November 2003 and, being reached by the mine in despite the nickel price being the second half of the year. around the six dollars a pound Levack chief mine geologist mark at that time, paid off the Heather Miree pointed out that capital costs 10 months later. these production levels do not FNX’s first producing mine was include the Levack footwall in place, and has been producdeposit. That deposit is currently ing 1,500+ tons per day since. in the final stages of bulk sam“Half of that production is pling and has so far shown very nickel ore, and half of it is from high grades of copper, nickel and footwall deposits, producing platinum group metals (platcopper, platinum, palladium and inum, palladium and gold). The gold ore,” said Constable. full impact of the footwall deposit — D. Constable FNX then turned its attenremains to be determined, but tion to the adjacent Levack Miree said the Levack footwall is property. The Levack mine was brought into production at the of a type similar to other known footwall deposits on the northbeginning of 2007, becoming the company’s second produc- ern range of the Sudbury Basin. ing mine.

The significance of footwall deposits cannot be empha“We were producing 10,000 tons per month during the first sised enough. “Inco discovered the 153 Deposit in 1994 and CIM Nickel Project Specialists:Layout 1 2008/02/26 13:42 Page 1 production in 1998,” said Constable. “It’s quarter of 2007,” said Levack mine manager Claude Bouchard, brought it into

The significance of footwall deposits cannot be emphasised enough...

“At one point, it produced four per cent of their [Inco’s] tonnage in the Sudbury Basin, and 25 per cent of their profit.”

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March/April 2008 | 25

nickel extremely high grade. At one point, it produced four per cent of their [Inco’s] tonnage in the Sudbury Basin, and 25 per cent of their profit.”

Without the footwall deposit, the mine’s lifespan, said Levack chief mine engineer Henry Heidrich, was set at eight years in 2006. But the footwall deposit, added Miree, while very similar to others in the vicinity, is particularly promising.

Considering that Vale Inco is still mining a footwall deposit less than four kilometres away from the Levack property — one that has been in production since 1998 — “particularly promising” can mean a major lifespan boost for the Levack project.

Of course, some challenges cannot be avoided, and the Levack mine has seen its share, especially in terms of qualified labour.

“We went from 60 workers while doing shaft rehabilitation to 220 per- Ventilation system manent FNX staff at Levack,” said general mine superintendent Terry Chenier. “Of these employees, 50 per cent — maybe as many as 60 per cent — have less than two years of mining experience.”

The challenge is in part addressed through training and in part through FNX’s purchase of the mining services division of mining contractor Dynatec.While the division is operated as an independent business entity, this close relationship allows FNX to draw on the division’s 900+ experienced workers when the need arises.

“When we need, say, 50 shaftsmen for a twoyear project, we can get them, and then they can Production hoist 26 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 3, No. 2

be reassigned to other projects at the end of the job,”explained Constable.

In today’s world of labour shortage, this arrangement, coupled with FNX’s history of careful exploration, promises an excellent future for the Levack complex. CIM

nickel

The sky’s the limit Sudbury-based NORCAT breaking new ground

by Angie Gordon or the past 13 years, the Northern Centre for Advanced Technology (NORCAT) has been dedicated to helping northern Ontario companies in the mining, minerals and other sectors compete in the global marketplace.

During that time, their Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) training programs have become widely coveted throughout the mining industry.

Furthermore, the centre’s product development division has been responsible for numerous groundbreaking inventions — both literally and figuratively. It has helped small- and medium-sized companies bring innovative NORCAT CEO Darryl Lake ideas from concept to reality that otherwise might never have been developed. If all this was not impressive enough, NORCAT has managed to achieve this while remaining self-sustaining — no easy feat for a not-for-profit corporation.

As the centre begins construction on a new 60,000 square foot commercialized innovation park, scheduled to open in the fall of 2008, the future is certainly looking brighter than ever for both the centre and its hometown of Sudbury.

However, as the centre’s CEO Darryl Lake explained, that was not always the case.

“In the early 1990s, mining was at a pretty low point,”recalled Lake. “I was working at Cambrian College at the time and my colleague Glenn Toikka and I were watching most of the graduating students leave to work elsewhere.”Wanting to find a way to bring some of this talent back — and to keep fewer people from leaving in the first place — Lake and several of his colleagues travelled to the United States and Finland to see if anything could be gleaned about helping the smaller companies in mining and other sectors to compete.

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Incubating innovation Lake and his colleagues discovered that having a technological edge was more important than ever for small- and medium-sized companies, especially given the impact of increased consolidation in the mining industry.“With companies like Vale Inco and Xstrata, the playing field has really become global,” said Lake.“In order to serve this wider national and even international market, smaller northern Ontario companies had to offer more if they were to remain competitive.”

However, most of these fledgling companies generally lack the funds and infrastructure necessary for R&D activities. In response to this need, NORCAT established a residency program that would provide access for chosen enterprises and entrepreneurs to prototype expertise, technology advice and reasonably priced space in which to work on new product development. Lake emphasizes that not just anybody makes the cut; prospective companies are carefully screened.

Most of NORCAT’s expertise is derived by engaging outside enterprises on a contractual basis. “We are very fortunate to have access to so much talent within the Sudbury mining community,”he said.“That way, expertise and specialized equipment can be accessed on an as-needed basis.”

Lake said that so far, NORCAT has partnered with more than 83 companies on more than 153 new technologies, of which approximately 80 per cent have been commercialized through small- and medium-sized companies.

Putting the “D” back in R&D NORCAT’s first prototyping development customer was Electric Vehicle Controllers Ltd., manufacturers of electronic controllers for underground battery locomotives. “We began working with NORCAT back when they were still operating out of classrooms at Cambrian College,” said EVC president Jim Richard, who co-owns the company with his brother Don. “At that time I needed engineering expertise and technical support for a product we were designing for a very specific piece of hardware. Back then we were a five-person operation — three of the principals being family — so we certainly didn’t have the level of expertise required in-house and there wasn’t sufficient work to justify hiring someone. Meanwhile, this was March/April 2008 | 27

A rendering of the new NORCAT building.

preventing us from completing a product and bringing it to market.”

To say that Richard was pleased with his association with NORCAT would certainly be an understatement.“This concept has really been a godsend,” he said. “I like the way Darryl Lake has put it. There’s research and then there’s development.

Research is, by definition, academic, whereas development is a hands-on thing — an engineering exercise. But the majority of the so-called R&D money that is available bogs down in the big ‘R’ and never gets to the ‘D.’ NORCAT is very strongly big on ‘D.’”

Star power

In the years since, EVC has gone on to work with NORCAT on a number of endeavors. The most high-profile exploits have definitely been those underway with the Canadian Space Agency and NASA to adapt terrestrial mining technology for use in future space exploration missions to the moon and Mars. One such project involves the development of electric-powered drilling and processing equipment to be used for exploring hydrogen and water content in the subsurface of the moon’s South Pole.

“When NORCAT’s manager (now director) of prototype development, Dale Boucher, approached us about becoming involved in the project, I must admit that I was skeptical,” recalled Lake. “What in the heck did we know about space exploration? Meanwhile, as he explained it, we have 150 years of experience in mining — digging holes in the ground — and whereas the applications are not exactly the same in space, there have to be some commonalities that can help leapfrog their research.”

“These projects are not just potential money-makers,” said Lake. “They’re also ModSpace has the right solution for reputation-makers. We think Canada can your space requirements. be at the forefront of this kind of activity • Site trailers – single, double or larger — can be the place to come for all types of terrestrial exploration.This is an opportuni• 'HVLJQHU VDOHV RI¿FHV DQG PXOWL XQLW FRPSOH[HV ty to show Canada at its best.”

• ,Q SODQW RI¿FHV DQG PH]]DQLQHV Meanwhile, Lake admits that the major• Steps, ramps and decks ity of NORCAT’s prototyping activity is not • Furniture packages exactly lucrative.“It’s very costly,” he admitted. “However, our other activities enable us to offset these costs.” Much of NORCAT’s revenues come from their Occupational Call for a FREE quote: 800-451-3951 (Canada) • 800-523-7918 (U.S.) Health and Safety and Contractor www.ModSpace.ca Orientation programs, which offer a wide

The Right Tools for Your Job Site.

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nickel variety of Internet-based, instructor-led and customized training programs.

Safety is in the cards The zero-incident standard has become the Occupational Health and Safety “holy grail” of the mining industry. Nevertheless, as major mining companies increasingly concentrate on NORCAT drill mounted on a lunar rover. their core business and rely more heavily on contractors, ensuring the health and safety of outside workers has become problematic and potentially dangerous.

Enter the NORCAT card — a photo identification security pass signifying that the holder has successfully completed the centre’s Contractor Orientation Program — a computerbased orientation program that focuses on safety rules and proper working practices as well as the general rules of conduct and work etiquette required for working on company property. The card’s unique personal number allows employers to verify that the holder has the proper safety qualifications.

“We began the program at the local level with the support of Xstrata and what is now Vale Inco,” explained Lake. “Then, with help from the Minsitry of Labour, the NORCAT card has pretty much become mandatory for anybody working in the northern hard-rock mining sector.”

To ensure that the training is kept up-to-date, the card has to be renewed every two years. The program offers more than 100 courses and is used by over 2,000 Canadian mining contractors. It includes provincially legislated standards, as dictated by the Ontario Health and Safety Act, as well as industry-wide best practices and company-specific rules.

“By ensuring the due diligence of the program, it helps to institutionalize a lifestyle change when it comes to OHS,” explained Lake.

you’re late for training you have to suffer the consequences. Just like in real life, if you miss the cage down to the mine, you’re out of luck — you have no way of getting down.” Lake said that more than 2,500 people have graduated from the core training program so far.

The mine is also ideal for product trials. “It allows companies to test the products, for example, a new inhole drill bit, without having to interrupt their own operations,” explained Lake. One of the projects in the works involves testing a membrane liner for Xstrata.

Eye on the future As NORCAT sets its sites on increasing its presence worldwide (and beyond), Lake acknowledges that it’s a pretty amazing place to be these days. The new centre promises not only more space, but also improved synergy as it unites its downtown Sudbury offices and Cambrian College locations under the same roof (he joked that unfortunately the mine could not be moved). Originally conceived as a 30,000-square-foot facility, Lake said that the support of industry partners such as Vale Inco, Xstrata and FNX, as well as all levels of government — from federal and provincial through to the City of Sudbury — has helped to double the projected space, enabling them to accommodate more resident companies.“We now have 66 employees and enjoy a $6 million revenue stream,” Lake pointed out.“It’s very gratifying to be getting the recognition for the work that we’re doing. The profile has certainly been raised globally for northern Ontario mining and Canadian mining in general.” CIM

Hands-on please NORCAT is also renowned for its provincially designated Ontario Centre for Ground Control Training that offers practical hands-on ground control and specialty training programs and product-testing capabilities.The facility’s piece de resistance is its Onaping underground test mine, which enables trainees the opportunity to put their newly acquired skills to the test.

Lake said that these training programs are designed to reflect real-life situations.“We run it like a boot camp,” he explained. “If March/April 2008 | 29

nickel

Le jeu de l’offre de la demande

Carottage, First Nickel

Expliquer et prévoir le prix du nickel ous sont d’accord que la demande mondiale pour le nickel est élevée actuellement. Cela dit, les opinions diffèrent sur la signification de cette demande pour l’avenir des prix et de la production. Dave Constable, vice-président des relations avec les investisseurs à la Canadian FNX Mining Company, croit que le prix demeurera élevé et que la demande dépassera l’offre. Il se base sur sa formation de géologue pour expliquer : « Les gisements de nickel sont sous forme de sulfures et de latérites; ces dernières contiennent environ 70 % des réserves mondiales mais seulement 40 % de la production actuelle. »

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Les latérites – la nouvelle frontière pour le nickel Les latérites proviennent de l’altération des sulfures mais elles sont beaucoup plus difficiles à exploiter que les sulfures. Les prix de 3 $ à 3,50 $ par livre étaient alors basés sur des gisements de sulfures; cependant ces prix ont servi de base pour évaluer les nouveaux gisements de latérites, entraînant des retards et des dépassements de budget.

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L’emplacement est la clé!

M. Constable reconnaît l’ampleur des défis. Les gisements de latérites se retrouvent surtout au niveau de l’équateur, dans des pays relativement sous-développés avec peu d’infrastructures.

Cela signifie des coûts d’investissement plus élevés et des délais plus longs, avant même l’extraction de la première tonne.

Les gisements latéritiques comportent une couche supérieure de limonite pour laquelle différents procédés d’extraction compliquent la situation. Le choix du bon procédé peut être très long. La couche sous-jacente est la saprolithe; pour en extraire le nickel, le procédé pyrométallurgique demande de la chaleur intense et de hautes pressions.

L’économie de l’offre Malgré les problèmes d’offre, quelques projets, dont celui de Koniambo, devraient voir le jour sous peu. Antérieurement un projet Falconbridge-Province du Nord de la Nouvelle-Calédonie,la part de 49 % de Falconbridge appartient maintenant à Xstrata. Selon Dominique Dionne,vice-président des affaires corporatives,Xstrata,

nickel ce projet de 3,8 milliards de dollars devrait commencer à produire en 2011, avec une production initiale de 60 000 tonnes/année. À plus court terme toutefois, M. Constable estime qu’il y a un manque d’exploration et que peu de gisements sont gardés en réserve pour palier les manques. Selon Markus Moll, analyste principal, Steel & Metals Market Research – une firme autrichienne ciblant les industries d’acier spécialisé – ce manque d’offre ne sera pas un problème au-delà du court terme. « Selon les sources, les stocks de la Bourse des métaux de Londres (LME - London Metal Exchange) ont atteint 50 000 tonnes;cependant,les stocks non LME ont aussi crû. »

Extérieur de la mine, First Nickel

La recherche de substituts La demande pour le nickel est aussi touchée par la tendance vers des aciers inoxydables sans nickel ou à faible teneur en nickel en remplacement des aciers austénitiques à base de nickel (série 300). M. Moll explique : « De nombreuses applications utilisant de l’acier inoxydable, série 300, étaient des excès de design. Une telle qualité d’acier n’était pas requise; mais lorsque l’offre de nickel était abondante et que le prix était faible, on n’en tenait pas compte. Une fois que les prix ont atteint un sommet de 22,68 $/lb, les utilisateurs d’acier inoxydable ont cherché d’autres options. Ce processus ne fait que commencer et il pourrait abaisser la demande pour les quelques prochaines années, même si les prix diminuent par rapport aux sommets récents. » « Nous avons deux scénarios », dit M. Moll. « Le premier, selon lequel les États-Unis ne subissent pas une importante récession, prévoit une croissance de l’industrie de l’acier inoxydable de 5,4 % cette année. Avec une récession, nous prévoyons un taux de croissance d’environ 3,6 %. Cela ne signifie cependant pas une demande grandement accrue pour le nickel. »

Allons au marché Même si moins de nickel est acheté sur les marchés libres, MM. Moll et Constable proposent d’autres facteurs pour expliquer les prix élevés. « Dans un marché libre, nous verrions une diminution des prix, mais d’autres facteurs, surtout le LME, empêchent les prix de chuter », dit M. Moll. M. Constable, signale par ailleurs un « truc » utilisé par les manufacturiers chinois comme cause des prix élevés. « Ils ont trouvé des producteurs ayant des projets de limonite; ces producteurs envoient le minerai en Chine par cargo. Là il est chauffé dans de vieux hauts-fourneaux et devient un minerai à 3 à 4 % de nickel. Cette fonte de première fusion ne possède pas les 7 à 8 % de nickel requis pour l’acier inoxydable série 300 mais c’est suffisant pour les qualités inférieures qui peuvent servir dans certaines applications.

Cette façon de faire consomme environ 80 000 tonnes de nickel annuellement, mais contourne les marchés libres et représente une bonne portion des 1,4 Mt de nickel primaire pro-

« Couronnes » de nickel très pur

duites en 2007. « Cette fonte de première fusion est un cauchemar environnemental et coûte tellement cher en transport que vous la payez probablement 11 à 12 $/lb », dit M. Constable. « Tant que le prix du nickel est à ce prix ou plus haut, cela vaut la peine.Si le prix chute, la Chine pourra revenir sur les marchés libres et prendre 80 000 tonnes des stocks. » Quoi qu’il arrive, le nickel à 1,60 $ est chose du passé. CIM March/April 2008 | 31

nickel

L’avenir brillant du nickel Une conversation avec le président et chef de la direction visionnaire de Vale Inco, Murilo Ferreira ela fait un peu plus d’un an que Murilo Ferreira est devenu le président et chef de la direction de Vale Inco Ltd. – la filiale canadienne à part entière de Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (Vale), une compagnie basée au Brésil.

Durant ce temps, M. Ferreira a échangé les températures tropicales du Brésil pour celles de Toronto où il a aidé la compagnie plus que centenaire à piloter un changement de nom et de marquage; il Murilo Ferreira a de plus encadré l’une des années les plus profitables de la compagnie.

Après cela, même un dirigeant dynamique aurait le droit d’être un peu fatigué, non? Certainement pas M. Ferreira! Il souffrirait peut-être un peu du décalage horaire — d’avoir visité les exploitations et les projets de Vale Inco dans 20 pays autour du globe et les réseaux de marketing qui s’étendent dans 40 pays — mais l’énergie et l’enthousiasme de ce leader dynamique sont indéniables.

Le fait que Vale ait annoncé récemment qu’en 2007 la compagnie avait des revenus bruts de 33,1 milliards de dollars (US) — les plus élevés de son histoire — et 28,8 % de plus qu’enregistré en 2006, doit sûrement aider. Le même rapport indique aussi que le nickel était deuxième (derrière le fer) en termes de génération de revenus.

Nous avons demandé à M. Ferreira de partager avec nous ses idées sur l’industrie du nickel et vers où il la voit cheminer.

Nous découvrirons que l’avenir semble très prometteur.

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ICM : 2007 a été toute une année pour les marchés du nickel.

M. Ferreira : Oui, ce fut une année dynamique et excitante.

Nous avons atteint de nouveaux sommets pour le prix du nickel et la Chine a augmenté sa production d’acier de manière pharamineuse. Il y a aussi une forte demande pour des alliages à haute teneur en nickel, principalement en raison des secteurs de l’énergie et de l’aérospatiale.

Pour ce qui est de l’offre, plusieurs fournisseurs traditionnels avaient des difficultés, souffrant d’interruptions dans les approvisionnements. Vu de ce côté, la grande augmentation de gueuses de nickel en provenance de la Chine n’était pas un problème; au contraire, c’était de bonnes nouvelles pour l’ensemble de l’industrie car cela a permis d’équilibrer les marchés.

ICM : Cette demande de la Chine devrait-elle continuer?

M. Ferreira : Oui, nous somme convaincus qu’au cours des prochaines années, la production d’acier de la Chine poussera la croissance de la demande pour le nickel. La demande de la Chine a crû en moyenne de 29 % par année entre 2000 et 2007.

C’est assez incroyable, mais nous prévoyons que la demande croîtra de manière significative au cours des prochaines années.

ICM : Comment Vale Inco espère-t-elle satisfaire cette demande?

M. Ferreira : Nous ciblons et nous continuerons de cibler nos clients. Il est donc important que nous puissions leur fournir un produit de haute qualité. Nous possédons, et de loin, les plus grandes réserves de nickel — 27 % des réserves mondiales — qui serviront de base solide pour l’avenir. À partir de cela, nous pouvons nous attendre à un bon pipeline d’où nous obtiendrons de nouveaux projets pour continuer cette croissance.

Notre projet minier Totten est très prometteur — il s’agit de la première mine Vale Inco à Sudbury depuis plus de 35 ans. Nous allons de l’avant avec le projet Goro en NouvelleCalédonie; nous planifions le démarrer au cours du dernier

nickel trimestre de 2008. Nous avons aussi le projet Onça Puma au Brésil; il devrait démarrer au premier trimestre de 2009. Il y a aussi PT Inco en Indonésie. De plus nous nous sommes engagés à construire une nouvelle affinerie à Voisey’s Bay. ICM : Parlez-nous des projets futurs.

M. Ferreira : Cela semble très prometteur; nous avons un bon portfolio de projets nouveaux. J’en mentionnerai quelques-uns, bien qu’ils doivent d’abord être approuvés par le Conseil d’administration de Vale. Nous avons Bahadopi et Pomalaa en Indonésie et le projet Vermelho au Brésil.

Nous ne nous contentons pas du statu quo; nous voulons agrandir à Sudbury ainsi qu’éventuellement à Goro. Nous planifions aussi un très gros investissement en exploration souterraine à Voisey’s Bay.

première classe qui livrera ces projets à temps — espérons d’ici la fin de l’année.

En Indonésie, nous étudions attentivement ce que nous pouvons faire pour améliorer notre rendement. Le Conseil d’administration de PTI a autorisé son approbation pour un nouveau barrage et une usine hydrométallurgique pour réduire les coûts d’électricité.

ICM : Que faites-vous pour la durabilité?

M. Ferreira : Toute l’organisation Vale est très unie en termes de croyance à la durabilité. C’est extrêmement important pour nous. L’un des jalons de 2007 était à PT Inco, en Indonésie. Pour la première fois en 30 ans, nous respections les limites gouvernementales pour les émissions dans l’atmosphère. Nous sommes contents, mais ce n’est pas assez. Au cours des deux prochaines années, nous entendons procéder avec de nouveaux plans de réduction afin d’être la meilleure compagnie au monde en termes de limitation des émissions.

Nous savons que l’industrie minière peut parfois être agressive, mais nous essayons d’augmenter nos connaissances en ce qui concerne la durabilité afin de l’appliquer à toutes nos exploitations.

ICM : C’est beaucoup d’investissements!

M. Ferreira : Oui, lorsque nous avons acquis Inco Ltd., le montant maximum d’investissement était de 1 milliard de dollars. En 2007, nos investissements étaient de 2 milliards de dollars et, avec le budget de cette année, nous nous sommes engagés à investir 2,9 milliards de dollars, ce qui est une portion de nos investissements globaux de 58 milliards de dollars. Notre stratégie est définitivement une stratégie de croissance afin de ICM : Il se fait actuellement beaucoup de fusions dans l’industrie — satisfaire cette grande demande pour du nickel, provenant il est même parfois difficile d’en garder le fil.

M. Ferreira : Je crois que nous devons comprendre qu’il y a principalement du secteur de l’énergie. aussi des regroupements du côté de la demande. La Chine ICM : Parlez-nous de vos activités au Canada. représente environ 80 % de la nouvelle demande annuelle. De M. Ferreira : L’équipe de Vale Inco est aussi tout à fait dédiée à plus, à chaque jour les nouveaux projets deviennent de plus obtenir de bons résultats pour les exploitations canadiennes. Il en plus onéreux et, à cet égard, seules les grosses compagnies est essentiel pour nous d’offrir un nouvel avenir et une nouvelle possédant suffisamment de réserves financières pourront vision, et de rebâtir l’enthousiasme et l’approche positive à nos aller de l’avant avec ces nouveaux projets afin de fournir l’ofexploitations au Manitoba, en Ontario ainsi qu’à Terre-Neuve et fre requise.

Labrador.

Nous travaillons au Manitoba depuis 50 ans. Nous y avons ICM : Comment arrivez-vous à intégrer toutes ces diverses exploitaune usine intégrée de traitement et nous y produisons environ tions à travers le monde?

60 000 tonnes de nickel par année. Nous avons un ambitieux M. Ferreira : En termes d’intégration, nous savons que, peu programme d’exploration au Manitoba; nous espérons y tra- importe les différences culturelles, nous devons travailler fort vailler jusqu’en 2017 ou 2019. Selon nous, il représente pour pour inspirer une nouvelle vision et un nouveau but. Nous notre portfolio l’un des plus impressionnants gisements au avons présenté la méthodologie du projet Vale, laquelle est très monde et nous croyons qu’il reste des réserves à découvrir à ciblée. Nous sommes très heureux de n’avoir qu’une seule compagnie et qu’elle soit alignée en termes de processus techThompson. niques, commerciaux et sociaux. Vale Inco vise avoir des ICM : Vous croyez qu’il y reste des gisements? exploitations sécuritaires et établir de relations bénéfiques et à M. Ferreira : Oui, nous en sommes très confiants. Nous avons long terme avec les communautés dans lesquelles nous avons beaucoup accru notre exploration à Thompson — six fois plus des exploitations. qu’en 2005 — étant donné la grande qualité du produit que nous y avons trouvé. Avec cet investissement, nous sommes ICM : À propos de votre propre intégration, comment vous et votre confiants que nous aurons de bons résultats comme nous famille aimez vivre au Canada? avons eu pour la mine Creighton à Sudbury. Selon nous, M. Ferreira : Vous savez, cela a été très facile. Les Canadiens Creighton est l’un des meilleurs projets pour le nickel; seule- sont très gentils, chaleureux et toujours prêts à vous aider. La ment Voisey’s Bay pourrait le surpasser. fin de semaine dernière, mon épouse m’a dit qu’elle est totalement prête à vivre ici à Toronto et ma fille réussit très bien à ICM : Et à l’extérieur du Canada? l’école secondaire — elle est très positive et obtient de M. Ferreira : Notre plus gros projet est Goro, une excellente bonnes notes. Mon seul regret et que je voyage tellement que ressource avec une teneur fantastique. La capacité initiale sera je n’ai pas la chance de profiter de Toronto autant que de 60 000 tonnes de nickel par an. Nous y avons une équipe de je voudrais. CIM March/April 2008 | 33

nickel

Les mines dans le Grand Nord L’agrandissement en cours du projet Raglan epuis sa mise en production en 1995, la mine Raglan s’est avérée être à la fois un défi et un succès pour Xstrata. Située sur le plateau de Katinniq dans le Grand Nord québécois, l’accès à la mine est possible uniquement par air ou par mer. L’emplacement de la mine dans cette région très faiblement peuplée du Nunavik signifie que les travailleurs doivent loger sur le site et, pour les périodes non travaillées, retourner par avion à leur demeure dans les communautés inuites avoisinantes ou à la ville de Rouyn-Noranda, à environ 1500 kilomètres au sud.

Le minerai extrait suit aussi son propre long chemin; il est tout d’abord traité sur le site, puis acheminé par camion au quai de Xstrata à la baie Déception, d’où il est chargé sur un briseglace pour expédition à la ville de Québec. Le concentré est ensuite acheminé par train à la fonderie de Sudbury. La matte de nickel résultante est retournée à Québec d’où elle est expédiée à la raffinerie Nikkelverk, à Kristiansand, en Norvège. Pour compliquer la situation encore plus, étant donné que la mine est située bien au nord du 60e parallèle, la baie n’est accessible qu’environ huit mois par année, même avec un brise-glace.

Selon le directeur du développement durable, M. Joël Pagé, malgré ces défis, Raglan produit environ le quart de la production de nickel de Xstrata – soit plus de 26 000 tonnes en 2007. « Nous avons signé ‘l’Entente sur les répercussions et les avantages’originale, appelée ‘l’Entente Raglan (1995)’ » avec nos partenaires inuits en février 1995 », dit M. Pagé. « À ce moment, nous avions estimé avoir des ressources pour une vingtaine d’années. Nous exploitons depuis 1997 et, après 13 ans, nous avons encore des ressources pour plus de 20 ans. » M. Pagé explique que le programme d’exploration découvre plus que ce qui a été extrait durant l’année. Il y aussi de fortes probabilités que cette tendance se poursuivra. « Le plateau de Katinniq est vierge en terme d’exploration et d’exploitation minières », dit M. Pagé. « Les deux tiers de notre propriété ne sont pas encore bien explorés. » Avec de tels résultats prometteurs, il n’est pas surprenant que Xstrata cherche à agrandir la mine et à presque doubler la production actuelle. Le taux d’extraction actuel est de 1,1 million de tonnes de minerai annuellement à partir des trois mines souterraines et de l’exploitation à ciel ouvert. Raglan a déjà reçu l’approbation pour accroître sa production à 1,3 million de

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tonnes par année et la mine devrait atteindre ce taux de production d’ici la fin de l’année. Cependant, selon un communiqué de presse émis en décembre, le but final est de produire deux millions de tonne dès 2013.

Selon M. Pagé, pour qu’une telle croissance soit possible, les ententes sur les impacts et les avantages et le permis gouvernemental – tous deux limités à une production de 1,3 million de tonnes par année – devront être renégociés pour permettre l’augmentation de la production. Les communautés locales sont réceptives à cette idée et elles en profiteront sous forme d’ententes de partage des bénéfices et d’emplois directs. « Nous travaillons en étroite collaboration avec la Corporation Makivik, le gouvernement régional Kativik et la commission scolaire Kativik dans le but de créer une nouvelle synergie au Nunavik », dit M. Pagé. « Ces groupes d’intervenants travaillent fort et collaborent avec nous afin de soutenir l’implantation de la seconde phase d’embauche d’Autochtones. » Cette seconde phase, en élaboration depuis deux ans, a comme objectif d’embaucher 20 % ou plus de travailleurs inuits provenant des communautés locales. Ce nombre est actuellement d’environ 17 %. Le nombre de travailleurs additionnels qui seront requis pour l’expansion n’est pas encore connu mais M. Pagé estime qu’au cours des cinq prochaines années, il faudra ajouter au moins une centaine de travailleurs aux 620 travailleurs et aux 250 entrepreneurs déjà en place.

La construction de 210 chambres privées est déjà commencée pour loger cette main d’œuvre supplémentaire. Pour faire face à toute cette croissance, une nouvelle station de traitement des eaux usées devra être construite et la cafétéria existante devra être agrandie. « Nous analysons les manques », dit M. Pagé. « Au cours des trois prochaines années, la tâche sera de continuer à définir les réserves et d’ajuster les opérations en conséquence. Sans aucun doute, le projet Raglan aura besoin d’une nouvelle grosse mine pour prendre la place de la mine Katinniq qui doit fermer d’ici cinq ans. » « Le succès continuel du programme d’exploration est essentiel à l’expansion », ajoute M. Pagé « Cela crée beaucoup d’optimisme dans la compagnie. À chaque fois que nous cherchons, nous trouvons, et nous ne savons pas quand tout cela va arrêter. » CIM

nickel

De nouveaux débuts Sudbury profite d’un renouveau out comme les premiers brins de verdure après un long hiver, les renouveaux signifient espoir et anticipation de l’avenir. Cela s’applique également à la communauté minière de Sudbury. Il semble qu’un vent de fraîcheur souffle jusqu’au cœur même de la ville.

Le marché immobilier de Sudbury est actuellement l’un des plus actifs au pays. Mais il n’y a pas si longtemps, les choses allaient moins bien. Lorsque le prix du nickel a frappé un creux de 2,25 $/lb à la fin des années 1990, plusieurs croyaient que l’industrie minière locale s’éteindrait. Les mines devaient s’approfondir et devenaient donc plus onéreuses à exploiter; de plus, les derniers investissements d’importance remontaient au début des années 1970.

Jim Gallagher, directeur de l’exploitation minière et du traitement chez Hatch, était alors aussi inquiet. Cependant, la compagnie est passée de 45 employés à Sudbury à plus de 140 et elle peut compter sur les 8000 autres employés dans les bureaux de Hatch autour du globe pour soutenir les grands projets des clients basés à Sudbury.

M. Gallagher reconnaît que le succès de la compagnie – tout comme celui de Sudbury – est dû au prix actuel élevé du nickel et à la demande sans précédent, surtout des marchés de la Chine et de l’Inde. Malgré une compétition internationale pour les ressources humaines, Hatch peut répondre à la demande en attirant une main-d’œuvre internationale à Sudbury.

T

Propriété Première Ridge, First Nickel

Paul Davis, vice-président, exploration pour First Nickel, profite aussi des bons temps actuels. Cette compagnie d’exploration et d’exploitation du nickel n’a que quatre ans; elle n’a donc pas connu le passé difficile. Elle a cependant vu l’avantage de se baser à Sudbury lorsqu’elle a acquis la mine Lockerby de Falconbridge en 2005. Tout comme M. Gallagher, M. Davis dit qu’il est plus avantageux de profiter des infrastructures existantes que de commencer à pied d’œuvre ailleurs. Il signale aussi que les attentes concernant la mine Lockerby sont déjà dépassées et qu’ils explorent d’autres propriétés dans la région avoisinante. « L’emphase sur l’automatisation aide à rester », dit M. Davis. « Le travail peut être effectué par moins de personnes, signifiant un accroissement de production avec moins d’heures travaillées. » L’Association minière de l’Ontario (OMA) est aussi optimiste quant à l’avenir de Sudbury. « Le secteur minier est le plus prometteur pour le développement du Nord de l’Ontario », dit Jeremy Wyeth, président de l’OMA et vice-président du projet diamantifère Victor de De Beers Canada. Un rapport stipule que 480 emplois directs dans le secteur minier peuvent générer 2280 emplois indirects. Le rapport signale aussi que la production d’une seule mine contribue 278 M$ à l’économie de l’Ontario et 84 M$ en revenus pour le gouvernement.

On peut retenir de l’expérience de Sudbury que même si l’on croit avoir atteint le fond, il faut parfois creuser un peu (ou beaucoup) plus; on trouvera peut-être du nickel! CIM March/April 2008 | 35

nickel

Prise deux pour le bassin du Sudbury Le complexe Levack se prépare à exploiter l’éponte inférieure ne mine de nickel ne représente rien de nouveau pour le bassin de Sudbury — des gisements sont connus et exploités depuis plus d’un siècle dans l’une des régions les plus riches en nickel au monde. Le succès de la compagnie minière FNX, surtout au complexe minier McCreedy WestLevack, est cependant remarquable.

FNX existe sous sa forme actuelle depuis 2002, lorsque la compagnie a obtenu le développement et l’exploitation des propriétés Inco (maintenant Vale Inco), alors inexploitées. « Les propriétés étaient fermées mais contenaient encore du minerai », dit Dave Constable, géologue minier et vice-président des relations avec les investisseurs chez FNX. Le prix du nickel avait alors chuté à moins de 3 $ la livre. Inco perdait donc de l’argent à exploiter. FNX a accepté une proposition de faire l’exploration, le développement et l’exploitation; Inco reprendrait le minerai à cette étape.

FNX a entrepris les forages d’exploration en avril 2002 et a fait sa première découverte sur la propriété McCreedy West à l’été.

Utilisant les infrastructures existantes,FNX a amené la mine en production dès novembre 2003 et, à un prix du nickel de 6 $, a payé ses immobilisations 10 mois plus tard.La compagnie produit à plus de 1500 t/j depuis. « La moitié de cette production est du minerai de nickel et l’autre moitié, de l’éponte inférieure, est du minerai de cuivre, de platine, de palladium et d’or », dit M. Constable.

FNX s’est ensuite tournée vers la propriété Levack, adjacente. « Nous produisions 10 000 t/mois au premier trimestre de 2007,

U

36 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 3, No. 2

20 000 t/mois au deuxième trimestre et nous avons terminé l’année à près de 30 000 t/mois. La pleine capacité de 1500 t/j devrait être atteinte vers la fin de 2008. La géologue en chef Heather Miree signale que ce niveau de production n’inclut pas le gisement de l’éponte inférieure, présentement au stade d’échantillonnage en vrac.

L’importance du gisement de l’éponte inférieure ne peut être assez soulignée. « Le gisement 153 d’Inco a une teneur extrêmement élevée; à un moment donné, il produisait 4 % du tonnage d’Inco et 25 % des profits », ajoute M. Constable.

Selon l’ingénieur en chef de la mine, Henry Heidrich, la durée de vie de la mine devrait être d’un peu plus de huit ans sans le gisement de l’éponte inférieure. Mme Miree ajoute que Vale Inco exploite un gisement d’éponte inférieure à moins de quatre kilomètres depuis 1998; cela peut être très prometteur pour le projet Levack.

Certains défis ne peuvent être évités et la mine Levack a les siens, surtout en termes de main-d’œuvre qualifiée. « Nous sommes partis de 60 travailleurs lors de la restauration du puits à 220 employés permanents », dit le surintendant général de la mine,Terry Chenier. « De ces employés, 50 à 60 % avaient moins de deux ans d’expérience. » Ce défi peut être en partie résolu par l’achat de services miniers de Dynatec. Cet arrangement, et l’exploration ciblée de FNX, est gage d’un avenir prometteur pour le complexe McCreedy West-Levack. CIM

nickel

NORCAT ouvre un nouveau centre à Sudbury

epuis 13 ans, le Northern Centre for Advanced Technology (NORCAT) aide les compagnies du Nord de l’Ontario œuvrant en exploitation minière et dans d’autres secteurs à être compétitives sur les marchés mondiaux. Ses programmes de formation en Santé - Sécurité ont été très en demande à travers toute l’industrie minière. NORCAT est aussi autosuffisant, tout un exploit pour une corporation sans but lucratif.

M. Darryl Lake, le président et directeur général, explique : « Au début des années 1990, l’industrie minière allait plutôt mal, je travaillais alors au Cambrian College et je voyais la plupart des étudiants gradués partir travailler ailleurs », dit M. Lake. Avec des collègues, il cherche un moyen de ramener ces talents et surtout de les dissuader de partir.

Avec les nombreuses fusions dans l’industrie minière, il faut absolument que les PME minières soient à la fine pointe technologique. « Pour desservir les marchés mondiaux, les PME doivent offrir plus », dit M. Lake.

Cependant, ces compagnies manquent de fonds et d’infrastructures pour des activités de R. et D. Pour palier ce manque, NORCAT a établi un programme fournissant de l’expertise en prototypage, des conseils technologiques et des locaux à prix raisonnable pour travailler au développement de nouveaux produits. À ce jour, NORCAT a travaillé en partenariat avec plus de 83 compagnies à développer plus de 153 nouvelles technologies, dont environ 80 % ont été commercialisées par des PME. Le premier client pour le développement d’un prototype a été Electric Vehicle Controllers Ltd. (EVC), manufacturier de régulateurs électroniques. « J’avais besoin d’expertise technique et de soutien pour la conception d’un produit très spécifique. Notre organisation comportait cinq personnes, dont trois étaient de la famille. Nous n’avions pas les connaissances requises ni les moyens d’embaucher quelqu’un uniquement pour cette tâche », dit Jim Richard, président de EVC. « J’aime l’idée de Darryl Lake. La recherche est académique par définition; le développement est plus pratique. La plupart des projets de R. et D. travaillent beaucoup le volet « R. » et n’atteignent jamais le volet « D. » La force de NORCAT est justement le « D. » Les plus prestigieux projets sont définitivement ceux avec l’Agence spatiale canadienne (ASC) et la NASA pour adapter

D

la technologie minière terrestre à des missions d’exploration sur la lune ou sur Mars, par exemple pour trouver de l’hydrogène ou de l’eau. « J’étais septique, que savons-nous de l’exploration dans l’espace? Nous avons cependant 150 ans d’expérience dans l’exploitation minière, c’est à dire le creusage de trous. Bien que les applications soient différentes, certains points communs permettent de faire avancer la recherche », dit M. Lake. « Ces projets sont rentables et ils font notre réputation. » M. Lake admet cependant que le prototypage n’est pas lucratif. « C’est très cher. D’autres activités telles que la Santé et la Sécurité au travail et les programmes d’orientation pour les entrepreneurs permettent de rencontrer les coûts. » La norme de zéro accident est devenue le but premier de l’industrie minière. Les compagnies embauchent cependant de plus en plus d’entrepreneurs et il peut être problématique d’assurer la santé et la sécurité des travailleurs externes. C’est alors qu’entre en jeu la carte NORCAT, un laissez-passer de sécurité avec photo qui indique que le détenteur a réussi le programme d’orientation pour les entrepreneurs. « Nous avons commencé avec Xstrata et ce qui est maintenant Vale Inco », explique M. Lake. « Ensuite, avec le ministère du Travail, la carte NORCAT est devenue obligatoire pour quiconque veut travailler dans les mines de roches dures du Nord ontarien. » Afin d’assurer que la formation est à jour, la carte doit être renouvelée à tous les deux ans. Le programme offre plus de 100 cours; plus de 2000 entrepreneurs miniers canadiens s’en prévalent.

NORCAT est aussi reconnu pour son Centre ontarien de formation en contrôle de terrain, qui offre des travaux pratiques et des programmes de formation spécialisée. La pièce de résistance, la mine souterraine Onaping, donne à des stagiaires la possibilité de mettre leurs nouvelles compétences à l’épreuve. À ce jour, plus de 2500 personnes ont réussi le programme de formation de base. « La mine est aussi l’endroit idéal pour des essais de produits, par exemple, un nouveau trépan », explique M. Lake.

Le nouveau centre aura 60 000 pi2, donc plus d’espace et plus de synergie avec les bureaux de Sudbury et les installations du Cambrian College sous un même toit. « Nous avons maintenant 66 employés et des entrées de fonds de 6 millions de dollars », dit M. Lake. « La barre est haute pour les mines de l’Ontario et celles du Canada en général. » CIM March/April 2008 | 37

the supply side

New OMA study sheds light on the economic impact of mining supply

The economic impact of the supply side of the mining industry is difficult to quantify because the manner in which governments collect statistics does not capture the mining-specific activities of companies engaged in supplying industry. However, a study sponsored by the Ontario Mining Association (OMA) released in December 2007 opens a new window on the subject.

Authored by Peter Dungan and Steve Murphy of the University of Toronto’s Institute for Policy

by Jon Baird Analysis, the document is entitled “The Economic Impacts of a ‘Representative Mine’ in Ontario.” The report shows how 480 jobs in the production phase of a mine (direct employment) create 1,103 jobs in the upstream supply chain (indirect employment) and another 697 positions in the economic activity that is generated when the employees of the mine and their suppliers spend what remains of their wages after tax and savings (induced 38 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 3, No. 2

employment). Thus, the representative producing mine “employs” 2,280 people.

But that is not where the story ends, because there is a wide range of additional economic activities that are also stimulated locally, regionally and some even internationally.

The study’s representative mine is a nonferrous metal mine producing nickel, copper and some precious metals. It is located in northern Ontario in an area that is already serviced, such as Sudbury, and includes the initial milling of the ore. The annual revenue of the operation is $270 million.

In addition to the production phase, the authors have calculated the economic impact of the construction of the mine, estimated to cost $150 million per year over three years. Annually, this is estimated to create 957 direct jobs, 441 supplier jobs plus 561 induced positions, for a total employment of 1,959 person years.

Looking at dollars, the $270 million annual revenues of the producing mine fund its direct payroll of $69.5 million. Another $52.3 million goes to pay the workers of the firms supplying the mine. Because 2.3 employees work in supply companies for every one mine worker, the labour compensation per employee is much higher for the latter ($144,700 per annum compared to $47,500). This comparison shows how mine productivity is kept high (around $500,000 per employee per year) with support from the efficient supply sector.

In the construction phase, of the $150 million annual expenditure, $54.5

A page for and about the supply side of the Canadian mining industry

million go to pay 957 direct employees ($56,900 per employee) and $21.3 million pay 441 supplier employees ($48,300 per employee).

Contributions to GDP are another measure. During a year of production, the mine contributes $155 million to Ontario’s GDP directly. The closely connected upstream supply sector (construction, manufacturing, wholesale trade, retail trade, as well as professional, scientific and technical services sub-sectors) contributes another $57 million. The more remote supply subsectors of utilities — finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing, waste management, remediation services, administration and support — add another $41 million to the province’s GDP. The modelled mine is in Ontario largely because the supply sector is strong in that province; 92 per cent of the GDP created in Canada is retained in the province and much of this is local to the mine. Quebec receives 2.8 per cent of the GDP created in Canada, Alberta two per cent and British Columbia one per cent. In an open economy like Ontario’s, many indirect inputs are imported from other countries and generate no further impact on the Ontario economy. It would be interesting to know what these effects are, and further, to know how a mine in another province affects Ontario’s welldeveloped mining supply sector.

Anyone who would like to know more about how mining affects the economy and the community should read this report. It can be obtained on the Ontario Mining Association website at http://www.oma.on.ca/eNews/ repmineproject.htm. CIM

About the Author Jon Baird is managing director for CAMESE

safety Getting to “zero” was the vision — Staying at “zero” is the goal Vale Inco’s North mine’s journey for an injury-free workplace How do we measure Copper Cliff North mine success? Our aspirations are most often associated with wanting more — a bigger salary, better car or a longer vacation. However, what if our achievements were measured by having less of something and the score we coveted was a big fat zero? Well, when it comes to accidents and injuries, that is exactly what mining companies aspire to achieve; in fact, it is imperative to their very survival and success.

Vale Inco’s North mine, an underground copper/nickel operation this journey to improve and move located in Sudbury, has been working towards zero injuries.”

Since that time, a number of prodiligently to solidify their place at the top of the safety ranks of mining companies grams and initiatives have been impleacross the country, and their persistence mented to ensure that safety practices has definitely paid off. They were hon- are being adhered to and remain up to oured with the 2006 John T. Ryan trophy date. Vale Inco kicked off their new for best safety performance throughout focus on safety at a workshop entitled Canada in the “Metal Mines” category. “North Mine’s Safety Journey.” This was They also won the “All Mines” award, followed up with the “Stop and Correct” program. Essentially, the program Vale Inco’s internal honour.

Throughout 2007, there were no dis- encourages mine employees to stop and abling injuries among North mine’s 260 fix something that they know is wrong employees, nor have there been any for as soon as they see it. Problems left the past three years, the last having untended not only won’t go away, but occurred in 2004. As of January 31, could be potentially dangerous.

The Hazard Identification and Risk 2007, that added up to 1,138 days — the equivalent of 1.6 million man hours Assessment program was initiated in 2004. The first phase focused primarily — without a disabling injury.

There was a time on providing employees with the tools

by Carolyn Hersey when things weren’t to identify potential hazards. The secrunning quite as smoothly at North ond phase of the program concentrated mine. However, what makes a company on understanding the danger the hazsucceed in the world of safety — or in ards pose, and the third (which is still in general — is not dwelling on its errors, progress) will elaborate on creating but rather to learn from them and work plans to address the hazards.

Meetings with the Occupational towards making the necessary changes Safety, Health and Environmental to be the best they can be.

Robert Assabgui, North mine’s super- Committee, which is made up of both intendent, said that back in 2003 “our management and workers, are held safety records weren’t nearly as good, monthly and are an integral part of which is why we decided to embark on safety systems. “I’ve worked on quite a

few committees now, and this is by far the best one,” said James Niemi, United Steel Worker’s representative and co-chair of health and safety at North mine.

The difference is attributed at least in part to the fact that the committee members work together with the staff towards the same goal. All of North mine’s safety programs began with a commitment by the OSHE team and then worked their way throughout frontline supervisors and workers so that alignment was achieved at all levels of the organization.

Both Assabgui and Niemi stress that although programs and meetings definitely help with keeping injuries to a minimum, it is the people who put the practices into action that make the difference. Workers at North mine are encouraged to approach their supervisors (or even Assabgui and Niemi) with any observations, ideas or suggestions. When it comes to safety, there is no distinction between ranks and everybody is encouraged to speak their mind. People are now taking time to stop and correct, or at least mitigate, any potential hazards. Even close calls are subject to extensive investigations to determine the basic cause and identify how a similar incident can be avoided in the future.

Of course, change doesn’t occur overnight; it is usually a journey.

However, it helps that everybody at Vale Inco’s North mine has their eye on the same destination — a safe work place.

As for the future, North mine believes they’ve positioned themselves well to win the John T. Ryan trophy yet again for 2007. However, the biggest reward remains everyone returning home safely at the end of the day. CIM March/April 2008 | 39

engineering exchange Gartner Lee — easing the environmental assessment process In 1996, Gartner Lee, an already well-established engineering and environmental consulting group, took the plunge and branched out into the mining industry. The company’s experience in environmental engineering proved to be an invaluable asset as they quickly made a name for themselves in the mining industry. Today, with 28 per cent of its total revenues attributed to mining, Gartner Lee continues to flourish, with a strong reputation as a key facilitator of the environmental assessment and permitting process.

Gartner Lee was recently involved in the remediation of the old Gowganda mine in the Milner township of Ontario.

Through various acquisitions, the property had come into the hands of EFNI, which had no previous involvement in the mining industry and had decided to give the land back to the Crown. Prior to the transfer, EFNI took full responsibility for the abandoned mine and hired Gartner Lee to assist them with the remediation.

Engineers from Gartner Lee first contacted the Ontario Ministry of Northern Development and Mines and began a dialogue with government agents to assess what was required in order to clean up the property. The agents toured the property with Gartner Lee engineers, and together they were able to plan out what was needed to return the land to a safe, benign environment.

A total of 81 hazby Haidee Weldon ards were identified, including waste dumps, old shafts and trenches. Nine of the hazards required capping with an engineered cover, and some of the shafts had collapsed, resulting in the need to excavate down to bedrock before capping them off. The remaining hazards were amenable to backfilling and recontouring with readily available clean waste rock.

An important partnership was formed with a forestry company with 40 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 3, No. 2

Caribou High Lake

cutting rights to the surrounding area.

“It was a win-win situation: the forestry company used some of the waste rock to build roads, decreasing some of their costs, while at the same time giving us road access to the mine, allowing us to bring in the necessary equipment,” explained Neil Westoll, Gartner Lee’s global mining practice leader.

Once the work was completed, the land was turned over to the Crown.

Because remediation was straightforward due to the purely physical nature of the hazards remediated and the benign nature of the waste rock and local water quality, EFNI was able to relinquish the property without the requirement of a bond posted (exit ticket) to cover future remediation costs. “Early engagement of the ministry was vital to meeting all requirements and easing the transfer of the property back to the Crown,” Westoll pointed out. “[They] became part of the solution rather than part of the problem.”

In 2003, Gartner Lee was retained by Wolfden Resources Inc. to prepare an

environmental impact statement and obtain the necessary permits to develop the High Lake project, a proposed highgrade copper/zinc mine located 60 kilometres south of tidewater on Coronation Gulf in Nunavut. In addition to soil, water and vegetation surveys, several types of wildlife surveys were conducted, including caribou, muskox, moose and raptor surveys. Wolf, grizzly bear and fox dens near the proposed developments were also studied. Whale and seal surveys were conducted near the potential shipping routes.

Gartner Lee took a proactive approach to preparing the environmental assessment process. As a first stepping stone to engaging with communities and regulators, Gartner Lee assisted Wolfden in developing a strategic plan to communicate Wolfden’s vision for the project and how it intended to approach the environmental assessment and permitting processes. Wolfden’s approach to the project was shaped by extensive consultation with stakeholders, particularly local and regional residents and

engineering exchange

Kennarctic River mouth Grays Bay

“… the community communities who would be most affected by the project.

“This required a bit more time and work at the front end, but was the first step in building trust with stakeholders over the long term,” Westoll explained, “and the result was that the client was well regarded and the community was properly consulted.” Furthermore, Westoll went on to say that “the regulators were very pleased with the strategic plan. They knew what they were getting into and there were no surprises.

Just as importantly, the community felt listened to, as Gartner Lee strongly believes that it is not enough to meet environmental needs, but also to meet the needs of the community.” Westoll suggested that this concept of transparency and putting all your cards on the table is a logical approach for any company, but can be extremely valuable to a relatively unknown junior company like Wolfden.

Wolfden has since been acquired by Zinifex Limited, which operates out of Australia, and is now Zinifex Canada.

felt listened to,

This allows the Gartner Lee team to see both sides of the issue. “Working with both sides has given us the experience and all-important contacts that can help all of our clients,” Westoll confirmed.

Gartner Lee recently accepted an offer to be acquired by AECOM, a large international professional services organization. Under the agreement, Gartner Lee keeps its name and identity, — N. Westoll something it has earned through hard work and Not much has changed for Gartner Lee important accomplishments, but benefits though; they have spent the last year from the additional skills and geographic preparing for public hearings on High exposure that being a member of the Lake and are expecting approval to pro- AECOM family brings. AECOM can ease ceed to the regulatory phase of the proj- the transition for Gartner Lee to expand internationally, as well as giving it the ect later this year.

What separates Gartner Lee from opportunity to take advantage of interestsome of the other environmental and ing synergies within the organization. In engineering consultants? It has taken the next few years, Gartner Lee expects the opportunity to work extensively for to be a well known name in North both government and private industry. America – and beyond. CIM

as Gartner Lee strongly believes that it is not enough to meet environmental needs, but also to meet the needs of the community.”

March/April 2008 | 41

Canada’s first gold fraud

by

Gold has been a precious, soughtafter element for as long as humans were interested in decorating themselves. Colourful, comparatively rare, malleable and easily shaped, gold was an excellent candidate for jewelry and, as monetary systems replaced barter, for Left: Native cultures used gold in decoration long before the arrival of Europeans. Pictured is a Peruvian gold ceremonial knife with a turquoise inlay. Photo credit: Flickr user lindenbaum. Right: After being discarded as worthless, Frobisher’s “black ore” was used in boundary wall money. constructions by Dartford residents. Some of these walls still stand today. Photo credit: Jonathan Dore.

It is hardly surprising that with an almost limitless ers, including Queen Elizabeth herself, numerous mines and set sail for demand for the precious metal, gold and the Company of Cathay was formed. England. prospectors were eager to explore the Under Frobisher’s command, the Almost the entire 1,100 tonnes made new world. Canada, long before being second expedition set sail on May 31, it to safety. The largest portion of the ore given that name, was home to a number 1577. The first landing site was aban- went to the new smelting facility at of gold rushes and remains a gold-pro- doned after a series of run-ins with the Dartford, not far from London. The ducing country to this day.

Inuit tribes, but the expedition soon Dartford smelter was the largest refining The first such gold rush, however, relocated to the northern shore of facility constructed in England to date, fell far short of the expectations of all Frobisher Bay, where they found a purpose-built to process Frobisher’s those involved. To this day, no one small island with an abundance of the “black ore.” Jonas Schutz, one of the knows the entire truth behind what very same black ore. assayers who evaluated the first expediwas the New World’s first gold fraud.

By late August the expedition had tion’s finds, was responsible for the The tale began in the summer of collected 200 tonnes of ore and, tri- design and construction and thus was 1576, when Martin Frobisher returned umphant, returned to England. There, blamed when the Dartford furnaces from an expedition to Arctic Canada. another series of assays were per- failed to extract the expected quantity of The expedition’s original goal was to formed on the ore samples, but the precious metal. Despite continued find a northern passage to China. results differed wildly between the var- attempts to both identify the flaw in the Instead, Frobisher ious estimates. The Cathay Company design and to extract the gold, it was rapDan Zlotnikov came across the Inuit chose to accept the most optimistic of idly becoming clear that the fabled black of Baffin Island and, after some trading, results and began preparations for the ore was, in fact, worthless. returned to London with little to show largest Arctic expedition yet.

By 1586, the Dartford works had for his expedition beyond a piece of The third expedition sailed exactly a been sold by the Queen and Cathay black ore. But when two separate year later and numbered 15 ships and Company investors, in an attempt to assayers examined the sample and over 400 men. The party landed on the recoup some of their losses. Frobisher declared it to contain significant same island the previous expedition was in disgrace and the black ore was amounts of gold, the gold rush was on. mined — now named The Countess of dumped as worthless, wherever it hapOnce word of the potential riches got Warwick’s Island — and began quarry- pened to be at the time. The last of the out, investors flocked to Frobisher’s ing and loading the “black ore.” black ore can still be found in the enterprise. The backers of Frobisher’s During August 1578, the mining remains of boundary walls surroundoriginal expedition were joined by oth- crews loaded 1,100 tonnes of rock from ing the Dartford manor house site. CIM 42 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 3, No. 2

innovation page Increased efficiency for lubrication of mining equipment Innovation in mining takes on many forms. In past issues we have explored technological developments on many fronts, from advanced wear materials to equipment/ground interactions and shovel bucket tooth detection.

Innovation is also found in the efforts of mining operators looking to resolve issues or taking that next step to improve the business.

Our latest innovation met the operating challenge of delivering an effective lubrication capability for contract mobile mining equipment that moves between mining sites and often operates in more remote locations. Good lubrication practices and servicing of associated onboard lubricant delivery systems are critical to the reliability and performance of mobile mining equipment.

However, temporary lubrication facilities often experience quality and reliability issues, while more robust facilities are usually located in fixed locations, with less than opportune access as the mine develops and expands.

The mining folks in the Ledcor CMI (civil, mining and infrastructure) arm of the firm faced this lubrication challenge in their contract mining efforts.

The firm sees engaging employees as an effective method in finding workable solutions and instilling pride and ownership in the end result of a particular work project. To address this area of opportunity, experienced maintenance personnel were

by Gord Winkel teamed up with fabrication experts to deliver a lubrication facility that would meet all the requirements of a quality servicing program, while having the added advantage of being mobile.

The result is a self-powered heated lube building module that can be delivered as one truckload to any location that optimizes mining equipment access to the facility. The lube unit is built with inherent safety designs and environ-

Modular lubrication facility set up in a mine operation.

mentally responsible equipment. The interior has raised non-slip grated flooring, with a collection and wash system underneath that directs oils to a central sump that can, in turn, be drained through external fittings into a vacuum truck to eliminate spills from the facility.

The unit also provides for waste oil and coolant storage as mine equipment is serviced. Effective lighting is installed to illuminate outside working areas and it is all powered by an environmentally sound Tier 3 diesel engine.

Lubricant supply is accomplished with removable tote containers, eliminating the need for product transfer by pumping. In addition to providing the oils, grease and coolant for servicing and an effective dispensing system incorporating built-in lube reels, there is an onboard workstation for minor repairs and a compressor to run various tooling.

Brian Drofyshyn, general manager, equipment maintenance, Ledcor, believes that innovation is just good

business. He cites this creatively designed lube facility as a cooperative effort to develop the next generation of remote lubrication capability. Brian also believes that good ideas are for the benefit of all, and that the mining industry will be well served by this type of innovation. CIM

About the Author Gord Winkel is technology manager, Kearl Oil Sands Project, Imperial Oil Resources March/April 2008 | 43

HR outlook Free movement of human capital Labour mobility in the context of the Canadian mining industry

Recent Canadian trends show a movement of human capital from east to west. Alberta is one of three provinces/territories showing a positive net migration in 2006; British Columbia is a distant second.

There are two major categories of labour mobility: • Geographical mobility — workers moving across physical space1 • Occupational mobility — workers moving across sets of jobs1 Geographical mobility is not as great an issue across provincial borders as it is across international borders.

This can be seen in the case of Alberta, where many of its workers come from outside the province. Of the 3,500 people that Suncor Energy employs in Fort McMurray, approximately two-thirds are from outside the province.2 Occupational mobility has become a subject of increasing discussion in the face of a labour crunch

by Veronica Sanchez currently experienced by various sectors in Canada. The ability to move labour from industries in decline to those that are growing may be one of the solutions to the labour crisis.

Occupational labour mobility is needed in a free-market economy.

Workers may experience barriers to movement because of various factors such as experience and skill requirements, professional and occupational regulations, as well as policy barriers. Several attempts have been made to lower these obstacles such as those made by the Red Seal Trades Apprenticeship Program, the Agreement on Internal Trade, and the Trade, Investment, and Labour Mobility Agreement between Alberta and British Columbia. 2,3 Still, labour mobility barriers remain.

There are no designated Red Seal Trades that are mining-specific.4 Workers transferring from operations in one province to another possess no nationally recognized credential certifying that they have the necessary skills, knowledge and experience to enter the new workplace. The lack of a national credential has two compounding effects: 1) workers at closing operations become unemployed or underemployed; and 2) new operations or existing operations in other regions face challenges in filling all their vacancies in spite of existing labour pools at mine closures.

Removing barriers to occupational labour mobility through a national credential for miners would shorten the period of displacement for workers. For industries in decline, workers may find themselves unemployed or underemployed even though many of their skills may transfer to other

industries. The forestry industry is in a period of steady decline, and many of its workers have transferable skills that may be effectively utilized in other industries, and in the mining sector in particular, but the proper systems are not in place to facilitate their movement.

The removal of barriers to labour mobility will not solve the HR crisis in mining but is part of the solution.

Industry has recognized the need for geographical mobility. It is estimated that 12,000 people are either temporary workers or commuters to Fort McMurray.2 Employers are providing workers the ability to commute or work temporarily in remote areas.

Industry stakeholders have also begun to work together to address the issue of occupational labour mobility through an integrated strategy. Two initiatives managed by MiHR and led by industry seek to address workforce development, including mobility. The first is the development of National Occupational Standards for the Mining Industry that will serve as the basis for the development of a national credentialing system. The other is building a labour market information system that can provide stakeholders with up-to-date information on workforce patterns, labour supply and labour demand. Labour pools are available, so let’s figure out how to access them. The time to bring down barriers to the free movement of labour is now. CIM

1

Ferrie, J. L. (n.d.). Labour Mobility . Retrieved January 16, 2008, from Oxford Encyclopedia of Economic History: http://faculty.wcas.northwestern.edu/~fe2r/papers/Labour%20Mobility.pdf.

2

Pereira, A., Shinewald, B., Wise, B., Yates, S., & Young, R. (2007, June 14). Moving in the Right Direction? Labour Mobility, Labour Shortage and Canada’s Human Potential. Retrieved January 16, 2007, from Canadian Policy Research Networks: http://www.cprn.org/documents/48073_en.pdf.

3 TILMA

About the Author Veronica Sanchez is project manager, Mining Industry Human Resources Council 44 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 3, No. 2

may also be expanding to include other provinces to further address trade barriers between provinces.

4 The

Interprovincial Red Seal Program (2004, Septempber 29). Designated Red Seal Trades.

Retrieved January 16, 2008, from The Interprovincial Red Seal Program: http://www.ellischart.ca/english/ReSeTra.html

parlons-en SOREDEM : Concerter la recherche pour développer de nouvelles technologies dans les mines souterraines La Société de recherche et de développement minier, SOREDEM, a été mise sur pied par l’Association minière du Québec en 1992. Sa mission est de concerter les travaux de recherche afin de développer de nouvelles technologies pour l’exploitation minière souterraine. SOREDEM rassemble aussi les fonds nécessaires à la réalisation de ses projets de recherche. Les membres de SOREDEM sont des producteurs miniers, des centres de recherche, des manufacturiers d’équipements et des organismes gouvernementaux; M. Alain Grenier, de Gestion IAMGOLD — Mine Mouska, en est le président. Les projets de recherche sous sa responsabilité représentent depuis cinq ans des investissements annuels de plus de 1,5 million de dollars.

Projets En collaboration avec ses partenaires (Agnico-Eagle, Développement Économique Canada, Hydro-Québec, LMSM-CANMET), SOREDEM a développé un système intégré pour mesurer la qualité des câbles de treuils.

Le système permet de suivre en continu et à pleine vitesse l’évolution de l’état du câble. Ce suivi permet d’optimiser l’utilisation du système de hissage et il répond aux exigences élevées en matière de sécurité. Une platepar André Lavoie forme de forage adaptée à une méthode de minage par longue tranche dans des chantiers inclinés entre 20 et 50 degrés a aussi été développée. Ce système permet de mécaniser le minage et il réduit les efforts physiques requis.

Instrumentation GDD, un membre actif de SOREDEM, a développé, avec les LMSM-CANMET, une sonde photonique qui permet la reconnaissance des minéraux dans les trous de forage.

Photo : Ressources naturelles Canada, LMSM-CANMET, Mine-laboratoire

Cet instrument innovateur permet de mieux définir les limites du minerai et de réduire la dilution.

SOREDEM et ses partenaires (LMSM-CANMET, Université de Sherbrooke – GAUS, Partsheadquarters, IRSST, Développement Économique Canada, MDEIE), ont développé une poignée antivibratile pour foreuse pneumatique à béquille, réduisant d’environ 60 % les fréquences dommageables pour le système main-bras des opérateurs.

Projets en développement SOREDEM pilote également plusieurs autres projets avec ses partenaires. L’un des projets, « Initiative sur la rupture du roc sans explosif », regroupe 10 partenaires (AgnicoEagle, Areva, Barrick, Cameco, Gestion IAMGOLD, Rio Tinto, Vale Inco, LMSM-CANMET, HydroQuébec et SOREDEM); il vise à augmenter la productivité et à améliorer la qualité du milieu de travail en implantant des technologies permettant de fracturer la roche sans l’utilisation d’explosifs.

Un autre projet en préparation, qui fait suite au projet de poignée antivibratile, consiste à évaluer les niveaux de vibration de divers équipements miniers et leur impact sur les individus. Les partenaires principaux de ce projet sont les LMSM-CANMET et l’IRSST.

Bourse d’études supérieures SOREDEM administre la Bourse d’études supérieures pour la recherche de la Fondation Claude-Drouin. Cette bourse annuelle de 4000 dollars est réservée aux étudiants et aux étudiantes des 2e et 3e cycles inscrits à temps complet dans un établissement d’enseignement universitaire canadien. Le projet de recherche doit s’inscrire dans un domaine de recherche visé par SOREDEM et doit être réalisé en collaboration avec une compagnie minière ayant des intérêts et/ou des activités dans la province de Québec. CIM

L’auteur André Lavoie est directeur – communications et relations publiques, Association minière du Québec March/April 2008 | 45

student life All in a day’s work It is 6:00 a.m. and I am doing one last check to make sure I have everything I need for my day out in the field.

I’ve got my compass, digital camera, GPS, sledge hammer, chisel, scriber, magnet, IPAQ (handheld computer), bear mace, ruler, pens, pencils, markers, sample bags, radio, batteries and my vest. I hope this is everything. Not to lose anything is the next step.

Now it is 6:30 a.m. and my boss should be pulling up to the motel any second with the truck to head out to breakfast. I wonder which of the three truck stops we’ll eat at today in Nipigon, this small, isolated town of 2,000 people in northern Ontario, whether I should order my regular oatmeal or splurge and have bacon and eggs.

I pile into the truck along with four other students and our boss, the geologist who is leading our crew. At breakfast, I throw caution to the wind and have the bacon and eggs and consume three cups of coffee, we load up our gear and set off for the one-hour drive to our property. Three students sleep in the back while the one riding shotgun gets to choose the music.

The dirt road into the property is a long and winding logging road. After a downpour, the road has massive bogs that our Yukon four-wheel drive can plow through with ease; you can’t help but feel cool when you drive back to town in a mud-covered truck. Typically, we see some type of wildlife every morning — black bears, moose and on the rare occasion, • by Melissa Render wolves. Having our radios turned on is pivotal for our safety because it allows us to alert passing truckers of our location on the road.

It’s about 8:30 a.m. and we are just arriving at the property to prospect a new area. We have been divvied into groups of two; everyday we are paired up with someone different. Each day we learn something new about the people we work with and I always look forward to the random and often hilarious 46 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 3, No. 2

Each day we

learn something new

about the people we work with conversations that are had when one becomes starved for conversation. Five hours with one other individual in the field and you never know what might come up! We grab our gear out of the trucks, get suited up, take out our maps and head for the bush.

In a perfect world, we’d find ourselves walking through a lush, old growth forest with tall trees, little underbrush and nicely exposed outcrops with lots of fractures that allow for the easy collection of samples. Instead, every day we pray that the traverse does not intersect with a swamp, massive flowing river, thick bush or bush filled

with deadfall. Alas, in northern Ontario this is almost inevitable. Still, even after completing the most challenging of traverses, there is no better feeling.

Much of the time you find yourself in the most beautiful of places, where it feels more like you are on a nice relaxing hike than putting in a day’s work.

Prior to starting the field season, we were specially trained in the commodity at hand, as well as in geology of the area, to be able to identify terrain that may hold the most promise. This is when the job feels more like detective work, while in the field we use our training to identify rock samples that appear to host

student life

Clockwise from left: Worksite at Nipigon • Melissa at work • Break time for Nipigon crew

what we are looking for. In regions where there is little bedrock exposure we set soil lines and sample the soil every so often in hopes of identifying mineralization indicative of the bedrock below.

At the end of the day, we radio and coordinate our plans — hoping that everyone is at the same stage — and arrange to meet back at the trucks. We haul our promising rock samples out and load everything back into the trucks and head for our motel.

Once back at our motel, the place we now call home, we organize our samples, get them ready to send off to the labs, upload our data and decide

which of the restaurants we want to eat at that night. In a small town, there is no hiding that we are not from there and it’s always fun to answer questions from locals. I cannot recall the number of times we’ve been asked whether we are tree planters, what we are looking for (whether it be gold or diamonds), or if we could come to their property and take a look at rocks they’d collected in hopes that they were valuable.

At the end of a day like this, we’re beat. Sometimes we hang out for a

while but, more often then not, we pass out before the sun sets. I’d like to say that we’re roughing it, but honestly, one of my favourite parts of the day is crawling into my queen size bed and falling asleep to whatever trashy TV show my roommate and I can find.

I’m sure going to miss this place. It’s been a great summer job doing exploration work for Vale Inco. As I fall off to sleep, I wonder what part of the world I might find myself in next. CIM

About the Author Melissa Render is a fourth year earth science student at Dalhousie University March/April 2008 | 47

eye on business Investing in Portuguese Mining Jurisdictions

Leonardo Neves

This article provides a brief overview and an update on certain legal issues affecting foreign investments in the three main Portugueselanguage mining jurisdictions — Brazil, Angola and Mozambique, all of which are civil law-based countries.

Brazil Brazil is the world’s top producer of niobium, the second largest producer of iron ore and a major producer of bauxite, manganese and tantalite.

Copper and nickel production have also significantly increased in the past few years.

From a purely mineral endowment perspective, the country is ranked the second most

by Leonardo Neves and appealing jurisMark Sills diction after Canada’s Northwest Territories, according to the 2006-2007 Fraser Institute Report.

Brazil is also a main destination for foreign investments in Latin America.

It has tax treaties with various countries and has also entered into bilateral investment treaties with 14 countries that have not yet been ratified by the Brazilian Congress.

48 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 3, No. 2

There are no distinctions between the mineral rights that may be acquired in Brazil by domestic parties and those that may be acquired by foreign parties through a Brazilian subsidiary. There is, however, a lively debate on Mark Sills whether a 1979 statute restricting foreign ownership of mineral rights to 49 per cent in the border zones is in full force and effect.

The government has yet to acknowledge that a 1995 amendment to the Constitution has overruled the 49 per cent restriction and that there should be no remaining restrictions in the border zones (a 150-kilometre strip from Brazil’s international borders towards the interior of the country). The matter has not yet reached the courts for a final and binding decision.

Another important issue in Brazil is the uranium business. Under the current regime, both mining and trade in uranium are subject to a state monopoly and exports are generally not allowed.

Brazil has the world’s sixth-biggest uranium reserves, but production is not significant. There have been recent reports that the state-owned nuclear mining company Indústrias Nucleares do Brasil is lobbying for governmental authorization to start exporting uranium. However, private investment is also required to increase exploration and production. Such investment can only be promoted following governmental action to modify Brazil’s existing laws in this area.

Angola Angola has, until recently, been involved in a 27-year civil conflict that devastated the country. Since the ceasefire in 2002, the country’s economy has grown on average more than 10 per cent a year (with forecasts of 19.8 per cent growth for 2007), mainly due to its oil revenues.

The country’s mineral resources are the property of the Angolan State.

Mining takes place under a system involving exploration licences and mining titles granted to private entities. Public tenders can also take place.

An important feature of the Angolan mining legislation is the mining agreements entered into between the state (or parastatal organizations, such as Empresa Nacional de Diamantes de Angola – “Endiama”) and investors, which set forth the terms and conditions for exploration and mining activities in the country. Such agreements cover minimum investment commitments, work plans, tax, customs and foreign exchange regimes applicable to mining projects together with dispute resolution mechanisms (with arbitral proceedings often available).

A peculiarity in Angola is that, although it is not legally required, the involvement of a local business partner is encouraged by the government.

Agreements with Endiama often include provisions for the investor to contract employees of the parastatal entity or to bring in a local investor as a joint-venture participant.

Endiama is reportedly seeking investors interested in diamond exploration, as it is believed that only about 40 per cent of Angola’s territory has been explored. This has stimulated not only the return of investments from companies that have previously worked in the country such as De Beers (South Africa) and Odebrecht (Brazil), but also the

eye on business arrival of new investors, such as Vale (Brazil).

Angola is not a party to many (if any) international treaties or conventions applicable to the mining industry or foreign investments in the sector.

Nevertheless, a number of statutes have been published in recent years in an attempt to promote the recovery and development of the country’s mining industry and expand it beyond its known oil reserves and diamond deposits.

From a purely mineral endowment perspective, the country [Brazil] is ranked

the second most appealing jurisdiction after Canada’s Northwest Territories…

Mozambique

Conclusion

Mozambique has also suffered from civil war, which ended in 1992. With peace, the country has developed its security of tenure provisions, reduced official discretionary powers over the award or revocation of mining titles and has implemented a first-come, first-served policy for the granting of exploration permits. It also offers the possibility of entering into mineral licensing agreements, which can include provisions to protect investors.

Foreign investors may take advantage of the fact that Mozambique is a member of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, whose primary purpose is to provide facilities for conciliation and arbitration of international investment disputes. This makes Mozambique a relatively attractive jurisdiction for mining investment in the African context.

The longer period of peace in Mozambique has prompted an increase in the flow of foreign investment and the development of world-class mines, such as the Moatize coal project currently being developed by Vale. Forecasts indicate that economic growth is expected to reach 7.3 per cent in 2007 and 6.8 per cent in 2008. The commissioning of the Moma Titanium Project by Irish company Kenmare Resources and the Mozal aluminium smelter constructed with Australian and South African investment have also contributed to Mozambique’s growth.

The Portuguese-speaking mining jurisdictions are worth watching in countries are focusing on the issue of 2008. CIM further ensuring certainty for mining investors. Brazil is considered by many About the Authors Leonardo Neves, commentators to be more stable than associate (London), and Mark Sills, its neighbours Bolivia, Venezuela and international trade and investment (Toronto), Argentina in this regard. of Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP Angola and Mozambique appear to be moving towards offering greater stability as well.

Although they maintain the concept of state ownership of minerals in the ground, the authorizaPETROLEUM tion/concession Servicing your fuel needs across Canada MANAGEMENT is demonregime SOLUTIONS strating consistency in its treat• Supply, install & manage on-site cardlock ment of investors. fueling facilities By contrast, some • On-site equipment fueling other African • Satellite monitored fuel jurisdictions have PORTABLE CARDLOCK FUELING FACILITY inventory recently adopted The above cardlock facility consists of two diesel tanks, a • On-site lubricant proceedings for 68,000L, a 30,000L and one 20,000L tank for gasoline. warehousing These facilities vary in size from one tank up to ten or the review of • Risk management more tanks depending on the size of your project. AFD their mineral title offers sales, rentals and leasing to suit any mine. fuel price hedging system, such as Tanzania, www.albertafuel.com the Democratic 1-800-926-3835 Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone.

For these reasons, further developments in the main Portuguese-language mining March/April 2008 | 49

MAC economic commentary The key drivers of economic competitiveness The Canadian business tax regime is reasonably competitive internationally — indeed, significant revenue flows from the petroleum and mining industries have contributed to the government’s recent announcement that it would lower corporate income tax rates from 21 to 15 per cent by 2012. While this is a positive move, there are additional tax improvements relating to accelerated capital cost allowance, exploration in proximity of existing mine workings, applicability of flow-through share revenues towards environmental improvements, and simplification of royalty regulations, among others, that should be considered in the future.

Modern infrastructure

In mid-July, the Canadian government created a Competition Policy Review Panel, chaired by long-time business executive Red Wilson and tasked with the mandate of “reviewing Canada’s competition and investment policies to ensure that they are working effectively and that Canada is positioned for continued economic competitiveness.” The panel’s ultimate objective is to provide recommendations to the federal government with the aim of enhancing Canada’s ability to

by Paul Stothart attract talent, capital and innovation. To this end, the Mining Association of Canada recently prepared a submission on behalf of the Canadian mining industry that outlined four main priorities for the consideration of the panel.

Competitive tax regime First, it is important that government tax policy support a competitive and internationally active industry.

50 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 3, No. 2

The mining industry accounts for 17 per cent of Canadian goods exports. Annual exports of aluminum, gold, nickel, copper, zinc, iron ore, uranium, potash and diamonds are each measured in the multiple billions of dollars. In this sense, the industry relies heavily upon Canadian infrastructure — such as ports, railroads, highways and international bridges — in order to reach global markets with competitively priced products.

In rail services, for example, the industry contributes a significant percentage of the freight revenues of CN and CP. Because these two railroads enjoy a monopoly position in many regions, it is important that rail services be efficient and fairly priced. The changes in progress to the Canadian Transportation Act will help in this regard, although more improvements through other processes, such as the government’s promised Level-ofService Review, are also needed.

Canadian ports also draw considerable revenue from the mining industry and investment in port

infrastructure and road/rail linkages is required. In northern Canada, there is also a need for increased investment in transportation infrastructure as the interest of investors is influenced by the efficiency with which materials can be moved in and products moved out of prospective remote mine sites.

A less visible type of infrastructure, the mapping and e-database of geological information, is also critical to a mining nation such as Canada. In this regard, federal spending on geological mapping has declined by 50 per cent since 1988, a decline which is even steeper at the provincial and territorial level. The result is that some Canadian regions, particularly the North, are poorly mapped, thus diminishing the likelihood that prospectors will find commercial-scale mineral resources. We need an increased and sustained level of government investment in geoscience.

Efficient regulatory system In proposing projects, Canadian mining companies and domestic and foreign investors depend on governments for a clear understanding of information requirements, approval processes, timetables and responsibilities. Recent reports by the Auditor General and the Conference Board highlight regulatory and authorization processes as being costly, cumbersome, inconsistent and unfair.

These obstacles are relevant to major and minor projects as they exist at multiple levels of government, are problematic in many regions (especially the North) and intersect with questions of aboriginal consultation, land use planning and government sharing of resource revenues. The recently created Major Project Review Office represents a good first step,

MAC economic commentary although the overall efficiency, costeffectiveness and clarity of these processes must be significantly improved.

Openness to inward and outward investment

along with a host of juniors, are actively investing and acquiring assets in foreign countries. Even in screening prospective investments from statecontrolled entities, the government should proceed on a case-by-case basis and be careful not to move down the

slippery slope of discriminatory restrictions that could invite retaliatory measures from other countries. CIM About the Author Paul Stothart is vice president, economic affairs, for the Mining Association of Canada

There are few industry sectors as internationally active as Canada’s mining industry. An estimated 1,000 Canadian companies explore for minerals in other countries. In financing, the Toronto Stock Exchange provided 38 per cent of the world’s mining equity in 2006, and TSX-listed firms have 4,200 mineral projects in different stages of development outside Canada.

As a “home grown” sector with a long history, the Canadian mining industry has traditionally invested more abroad than it has received in Canada. As of year-end 2006, Canadian mining companies had $62 billion in direct investment abroad, while foreign firms had invested $38 billion in Canada. Of note, though, is that inward investment levels represented almost nine per cent of total foreign direct investment stocks in Canada in 2006 — up from a six per cent share the previous year. This increase reflects the foreign acquisitions that occurred in the sector in 2006, in particular, the international fight for control of the century-old Canadian mining icons Inco and Falconbridge.

As a general principle, the Canadian mining industry supports a free and open flow of direct investment. Foreign investment flows — inward and outward — enhance the access of Canadian businesses to new technologies, to fresh ideas and concepts, and to larger markets and production chains.

Given this approach, the government’s main role is to ensure the fairness and openness of two-way flows and to negotiate investment protection agreements. It would be delicate, if not hypocritical, to call for restrictions limiting foreign investment in Canada — particularly when our own leading companies such as Barrick, Goldcorp, Teck Cominco, Cameco and Kinross, March/April 2008 | 51

standards International resource and reserve reporting

By now, most geologists and engineers in the Canadian mining industry are familiar with National Instrument 43101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (NI 43-101) and the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM) Definition Standards for Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves, which are incorporated by reference in NI 43-101.

In recent years, significant progress has also been made in establishing standard reporting practices internationally that recognize the globalization of the industry and enable investors to compare projects anywhere in the world and make informed investment decisions.

This article is

by Deborah McCombe part of a series that will summarize the background and development of international resource and reserve reporting standards by the Committee for Mineral Reserves International Reporting Standards (CRIRSCO), highlight its current activities and provide insight into international mineral reserve and resource reporting issues.

CRIRSCO was formerly the Mineral Definitions Working Group 52 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 3, No. 2

of the Council of Mining and Metallurgical Institutions (CMMI), an organization representing professional bodies in all of the major mining and mining investment countries.

In 2002, CMMI disbanded and CRIRSCO continued as a volunteer committee with limited funding from those professional bodies and increasingly from other sources, such as mining companies and regulatory bodies.

CRIRSCO was adopted as a Task Force of the International Council of Mining and Metals (ICMM) in 2007. The ICMM is an influential industry body representing all of the major mining companies and many junior companies through its associated members, such as the Minerals Council of Australia, the Chamber of Mines of South Africa and the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada.

CRIRSCO now has funding to pursue its objectives.

National Reporting Organizations (NROs), such as CIM in Canada, now provide the members of CRIRSCO, normally two per NRO, who work in a voluntary capacity on a wide range of issues affecting international mineral resource and reserve reporting. Niall Weatherstone, a representative of the Pan-European Reserves Reporting Committee (PERC), is the chairman. The current members of the committee include: • Ferdi Camisani and Roger Dixon, South Africa Mineral Resource Committee (SAMREC), South Africa • Peters Stoker and Ian Goddard, Joint Ore Reserves Committee (JORC), Australia

• John Clifford, PERC, Ireland and Western Europe • Edmundo Tulcanaza, Institute of Mining Engineers of Chile (IMEC), Chile • Jean-Michel Rendu and Harry Parker, Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration (SME) in the United States • Deborah McCombe and John Postle, CIM, Canada

The aim of CRIRSCO is to promote high standards in the international public reporting of exploration results and estimates of mineral resources and mineral reserves.

The aim of CRIRSCO is to promote high standards in the international public reporting of exploration results and estimates of mineral resources and mineral reserves. It aims to achieve its stated objectives by: • Promoting uniformity, excellence and continuous improvement in national and international reporting standards for mineral exploration results and mineral resources and reserves.

• Representing the international minerals industry on mineral resources and mineral reserve reporting issues, including discussions with international organizations.

standards • Encouraging the continued development of international reciprocity of qualified/competent persons through nationally based recognized overseas professional organizations or equivalents.

• Promoting the use of uniform and clear best practice reporting standards for mineral exploration results and mineral resources and reserves, including the provision and maintenance of the CRIRSCO International Reporting Template.

• Facilitating the exchange of information and dialogue among CRIRSCO members and other stakeholders through an actively managed website that promotes discussion on current issues (www.crirsco.com).

Considerable strides have taken place in international reporting standards in the last eight years. Prior to 1999, only the Australian JORC Code was recognized as an “international standard in mineral resource and ore reserve reporting.”

As noted by Niall Weatherstone, since 1999, many new national reporting standards have been released: the United States (1999, 2005 draft), South Africa (2000 and 2007), UK/Ireland and Western Europe (2001, 2007 in preparation), Peru (2003), Canada (2000 and 2005), Australasia (JORC updated 2004) and Chile 2004. On December 31, 2007, the Chilean Code for Reporting Mineral Prospects, Resources, and Reserves was approved and published as a law in Chile. All of these standards are similar as CRIRSCO members from the various countries participated in their development.

It is essential that each national reporting standard has to respond to the regulatory requirements of its host country if it is to have any legal force.

Thus, in Canada for example, the

CIM reporting standards are incorporated by reference in the Canadian Securities Administrators’ NI 43-101.

Similar linkages occur in Australia, South Africa (JSE Listing Rules), Chile and Peru.

In July 2006, CRIRSCO released the International Reporting Template, intended as a form of generic “code.” The template serves as a guide to national reporting bodies that do not have a reporting standard or who want to revise their his-

torical standard to an internationally acceptable form. The goal is to have clear, uniform rules and guidelines so the public can make informed investment decisions on projects anywhere in the world. CIM For additional information on the background of CRIRSCO, see P.R. Stephenson and N. Weatherstone, Developments in International Mineral Resource and Reserve Reporting (www.shop.ausimm.com.au).

mac facts

Did you know that three MAC members — Diavik, Syncrude and Cameco — have all achieved gold standing by the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business through the Progressive Aboriginal Relations [PAR] program?

There are 1,200 aboriginal communities located within 200 kilometres of producing mines and 2,100 exploration properties across Canada.

About the Author Deborah McCombe is executive vice president, Scott Wilson Mining Group March/April 2008 | 53

cim news Student night big success The Vancouver Branch held its annual Student Night on November 15 at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Vancouver. Students and faculty were in attendance from Simon Fraser University, the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) and the University of British Columbia’s (UBC) mining engineering, materials engineering and earth and ocean science departments.

Jim Popowich, CIM president, spoke to the assembled students and branch members and assisted with the distribution of the Book Prize awards to Mathieu Berger (BCIT), Sarah Davis (BCIT), Linda Zhang (UBC Mining), Jeffrey Duck (UBC Mining), Michael Lindgren (UBC Materials), Hanna Han Hsin Chang (UBC Materials), Heather Stewart (UBC EOS) and Corey Wall (UBC EOS). Berny Rivera-Vasquez of UBC Materials Engineering received the graduate scholarship.

UBC professor Marcello Veiga spoke briefly of innovative teaching methods, then, with his band, serenaded the gathering with songs of the virtue of reclamation and sustainability. Sheila Stenzel of the Mineral Resource Education Program of BC discussed the MREP program that provides educational materials and teacher training for elementary schools across British Columbia. The Vancouver Branch has contributed funds to the MREP program, and its predecessors, for several years.

The keynote speaker was Northgate Minerals’ Terry Lyons,

by Alex Doll the 2007 winner of the Inco Medal. He spoke about his career in the mining industry and outlined some of the challenges faced by mine developers in Canada.

Student Night is the biggest event on the Vancouver Branch calendar, thanks to organizers, corporate sponsors and branch members.

The annual Turnbull Cup photo contest generated a number of stunning photos from mines and explo54 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 3, No. 2

Undergraduate student Book Prize winners (from left to right): Michael Lindgren (UBC Materials Engineering), Hanna Han Hsin Chang (UBC Materials Engineering), Alex Doll (Branch Chair), Corey Wall (UBC Earth and Ocean Science), Heather Stewart (UBC Earth and Ocean Science) and Linda Zhang (UBC Mining).

ration sites around the world. The contest is open to undergraduate and BCIT students, with the winning photographer collecting a $500 prize and the photographer’s school or department claiming the Turnbull Cup for a year. This year’s winner was a photo by Michael Oxciano, mining engineering,

UBC. The runners-up included a new photo from last year’s winner, Michael Fuller, also of UBC’s mining engineering department. CIM

About the Author Alex Doll is chair of the CIM Vancouver Branch

A look back in time 20 YEARS AGO… • The Annual General Meeting was held in Edmonton.

• The Canadian Mineral Processors Division reported on a successful 20th Annual Operators Conference.

• A technical paper discussed the measurement and prediction of coin wear in circulation.

• Final preparations were underway for the International Conference on Hoisting of Men, Materials and Minerals being held in June.

• The ore concentrating complex at Britannia Mines was deemed of national historic and architectural significance, the first time a mining heritage resource of this magnitude was so designated in Canada.

The above was taken from the March and April 1988 issues of CIM Bulletin.

cim news Historique de la mine Persévérance

Un éminent conférencier rend visite Le 19 novembre 2007, la Section de Québec de l’ICM recevait Monsieur Glenn Mullan, président du conseil d’administration de Canadian Royalties Inc. Monsieur Mullan travaille sur le projet Fonds Restor-Action Nunavik (FRAN). Il nous a donné un aperçu du projet Nunavik Nickel, abordant les premières années de rencontres avec par Marie Fortin les communautés inuites et les premières initiatives de nettoyage. Il nous a ensuite parlé des sites miniers abandonnés, du FRAN et des perspectives pour l’avenir. Cette présentation a été commanditée par AgnicoEagle, l’Association minière du Québec, Carrières Polycor, COREM, Gestion SODEMEX inc., Instrumentation GDD inc. et Mines Virginia.

CIM Distinguished Lecturer visits Quebec Branch De gauche à droite : Monsieur Rock Gagnon, président de la Section de Québec, et Monsieur Luc Joncas de Mine Persévérance.

Le 22 octobre 2007, la Section de Québec de l’ICM recevait Monsieur Luc Joncas, surintendant à la mine Persévérance de Xstrata Zinc. Il a présenté l’historique de la découverte et des différentes étapes de construction, notamment les nouveaux types d’unités portables ou modulables utilisées sur ce site. Quarante personnes assistaient à cette présentation commanditée par Agnicopar Marie Fortin Eagle, l’Association minière du Québec, Carrières Polycor, COREM, Gestion SODEMEX inc., Instrumentation GDD inc. et Mines Virginia.

On November 19, 2007, the Quebec Branch welcomed Glenn Mullan, chairman of the board, Canadian Royalties Inc., who works on the Fonds Restor-Action Nunavik (FRAN). He presented an overview of the Nunavik Nickel project, including the meetings with the Inuit and the first clean-up initiatives. He went on to talk about abandoned mine sites, FRAN and future perspectives. The presentation was sponsored by Agnico-Eagle, the Quebec Mining Association, Polycor Quarry Division, COREM, Gestion SODEMEX inc., Instrumentation GDD inc. and Virginia Mines. CIM

History of the Perseverance mine On October 22, the CIM Québec Branch had the pleasure of receiving Luc Joncas, superintendent of Xstrata Zinc’s Perseverance mine. He spoke about the discovery and the various construction stages, especially the new types of portable or modular units that will be used onsite. Forty people attended the presentation sponsored by Agnico-Eagle, the Quebec Mining Association, Polycor Quarry Division, COREM, Gestion SODEMEX inc., Instrumentation GDD inc. and Virginia Mines. CIM

L’auteur Marie Fortin est la secrétaire de la Section de Québec de l’ICM

De gauche à droite : Monsieur Rock Gagnon, président de la Section de Québec, Monsieur Glenn Mullan de Canadian Royalties Inc. et Monsieur René Del Villar, viceprésident de la Section de Québec.

March/April 2008 | 55

cim news A branch’s perspective For the past few years, the CIM Red Lake Branch has been very active in their participation in the Distinguished Lecturer Program. With an average of four out of five possible presentations a year, they are one of the branches that hosts the most lecturers. With this many presentations under their belt, they surely must be onto something.

CIM caught up with Inge Robinson, chair of the branch, to give us an inside look into this distinguished program.

Une rencontre avec Norman O. Lotter

Sponsored by:

CIM: How does the branch go about selecting a lecturer?

I.R.: The selection of a distinguished lecturer is based on the local interests — the mining folks tend to come out and support anything related to mining, whereas the geology group does not come out for geology lectures — as well as present-day issues such as shortage of manpower, aboriginal issues, etc.

CIM: How does the Distinguished Lecturer Program benefit the branch?

I.R.: The program helps to get people out and participate in ongoing and present-day topics, as well as getting the newer folks in town to meet the older ones. It also brings suppliers into the mix.

La Section de Québec de l’ICM recevait Monsieur Monsieur Norman O. Lotter, gérant, minéralogie chez Xstrata Process Support le 21 janvier dernier. Il a vivement intéressé les personnes en assistance avec sa conférence intitulé Process mineralogy — adding value and reducing risk. Monsieur Lotter par Marie Fortin a renforcé sa démonstration avec un exemple qui avait été appliqué à la mine Raglan, où ils ont augmenté le taux de récupération du nickel et du cuivre. Cette présentation a été commanditée par Agnico-Eagle, l’Association minière du Québec, COREM, Gestion SODEMEX inc, Instrumentation GDD inc et Mines Virginia. CIM

A meeting with Norman O. Lotter The CIM Quebec Branch welcomed Normon O. Lotter, manager, process mineralogy, Xstrata Process Support, on January 21.

His presentation, entitled “Process mineralogy — adding value and reducing risk,” was a big hit with those in attendance. Lotter also discussed the increased recovery of nickel and copper at Raglan mine. The evening was sponsored by Agnico-Eagle, the Quebec Mining Association, COREM, Gestion SODEMEX inc., Instrumentation GDD inc., Virginia Mines and Fasken Martineau. CIM

CIM: How is student participation at the presentations?

I.R.: Student participation is good. The talks make it worthwhile for students to come out and make new acquaintances and meet with their peers and future employers.

CIM: Are there any challenges to attracting members to presentations?

I.R.: The challenge here is getting peoby Robertina Pillo ple out when temperatures are really cold. The challenge in attracting non-members is finding topics that would be of interest to them; topics provided by the lecturer program revolve around the mining and minerals industry.

CIM: Why should CIM branches bring in Distinguished Lecturers?

I.R.: The program offers opportunities that might not always be readily available. It also keeps us informed on what is happening with the rest of industry and allows for good discussions. CIM 56 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 3, No. 2

De gauche à droite : Monsieur René del Villar, vice-président de la Section de Québec, Monsieur Norman O. Lotter, Xstrata Process Support et Monsieur Rock Gagnon, président de la Section de Québec.

cim news CIM welcomes new members Abbas, Ahmed, Egypt Adell, Pedro, Chile Adji, Djoko S., Indonesia Ahlawat, Aman, Alberta Alcantara, Erlander, Brazil Ali, Mohammed, Ontario Alvarez, Flavio, Chile Amey, Donald, USA Andrade, Patricio, Chile Anjala, Jyrki, Chile Apte, Prasad, USA Arnold, Stuart, Australia Arnold, Ray, USA Aroca, Freddy, Chile Arruda, Kevin, Alberta Ashton, Jeff, Australia Babu, Rajan, India Backit, Abraham, Chile Bagtarkhov, Jamsranjav, Mongolia Bajahmoun, Waleed, USA Banda, Mukwenya, Zambia Baraona, Katiuska, Chile Barker, Michael, Finland Barnes, Benjamin G., Ontario Bartram, Robert, Ontario Bastin, David, Belgium Basurto, Teresita Aguiar, Belgium Baughman, David, USA Beale, David, Québec Beckwith, Paul, Ontario Bedell, Paul, British Columbia Bekmemetyeva, Galina, Russia Bender, Jack, USA Bengoa, Jose, Peru Bensebaa, Farid, Ontario Bergquist, Arne, Sweden Berni, Tiago, Ontario Bittnerr, Taryn L., Alberta Bobadilla, Juan, Chile Bosscher, John, Ontario Bouget, Cyril, Ontario Bowal, Michael A., Alberta Brady, Steve, USA Brewer, Amanda M., Alberta Brouwer, Sybolt, Belgium Brown, Francis, Australia Buchholz, Tuisko, Ontario Burton, Ronald, USA Busque, Mireille, Québec Cahuana, Juan Jose, Peru Calverley, Kolbie D., British Columbia Capanna, Tony, USA Carracedo, Antonio, Chile Carrasco, Ximena, Chile Chaitanya, Arekar, Québec Chamer, Ryszard, Poland Cho, Han-Young, Korea Clovic, Navia, Chile Contreras, Jorge, Chile Cooke, Joan, British Columbia Corbeil, Brigitte, Chile Cruells, Montserrat, Spain Culon, Christopher, Alberta Daigle, Serge, Québec

Demil, Marnix, Belgium Devries, David, Zambia Diaz, Paul, Chile Dixson, Kiera, Alberta Donaldson, Philip, Ontario Dons, Kevin, Alberta Doucet, Maryse, Québec Driggs, Ken, Australia Drummond, Hugh, Manitoba Duriseti, Vishal, USA Eady, Steve, USA Eggleston, Michele, USA Ek, Magnus, Sweden Eklund, Kaj, Finland Eklund, Anders, Sweden Elnezamy, Mohammed, Egypt Errington, Bill, Australia Esdaile, Lucy, Australia Espinoza, Javier, Chile Fallas, David, Australia Firestein, Mark, Israel Fischer, Travis, Alberta Forzatti, Ross, Australia Fox, John, USA Foxley, Carlos, Chile Francis, Fiona, Alberta Francisco, Eduardo, Ontario Frayce, Denis, Québec Freudigmann, Stacy, British Columbia Fung, Lauren, Australia Gaby, Ellen, USA Ganapathy, Senthil Nathan, India Gantumer, Natsagdori, Mongolia Garycki, Leszek, Poland Gaspar, Abilio, Brazil Gavin, Gregg, Ontario German, Cameron, Alberta Geuvens, Boris, Belgium Gevaert, Quint, Belgium Gignac, Louis-Pierre, Québec Glashoerster, Robert G., Alberta Glasner, Rodrigo, Chile Goda, Tomonari, Japan Goker, Halil, Turkey Gomes, Aurea, Brazil Gonzalez, Alberto, British Columbia Goyal, Narain, Zambia Grasl, Thomas, Austria Green, Geoff, USA Groff, Gerald, USA Grohn, Antti, Finland Gundala, Venkataraman, Zambia Haddad, Fadi G., Québec Hair, Alan, Manitoba Harms, Rury, Chile Hausler, Timothy, Australia Henao, Hector M., Australia Hildebrant, Harold, Ontario Hines, Keith, South Africa Hokazono, Takashi, Japan Hooper, Russell, Australia Houseley, Karl, United Kingdom Huda, Zainul, Malaysia

Hunt, Simon, Australia Hutchings, Bret, USA Ibanez, Luis, Chile Ilienko, Evgeny, Russia Ip, Kwong Sum, Alberta Jakovljevic, Boban, Ontario Jeyapandian, Sasikumar, India Jinan, Chen, China Jones, Matthew, Ontario Joubert, Jean, USA Kaasinen, Kirsi, Finland Kalashnikova, Maria, Russia Kari, Natalie, Ontario Kawada, Masatoshi, Japan Kawakita, Kohei, Japan Keevers, Richard, Australia Khalzkhuu, Narankahuu, Mongolia Kim, Jae-Sob, Korea Kivinen, Visa, Australia Klich, Zbigniew, Poland Koehlhofer, Joerg, Germany Kotze, Marthie Kotze, South Africa Krishnaswamy, Narayanaswamy, USA Kushimo, Akeem Afolabi, Niger Laforce, Craig, USA Lambert, Andrew J.M., Alberta Lapierre, Isabelle, Québec LeGrand, Dan, Ontario Li, Junjie, Alberta Liang, Min, China

Liang, Jianxing, USA Longley, Justin, United Kingdom Lopez, Cesar, Mexico Lopez, Javier, Mexico Lotz, Jason, USA Lunney, Scott, British Columbia Mahoney, William, USA Malazarte, Mirardo C., Philippines McIntyre, Michael R., Alberta Medinski, Tarn A., Alberta Molloy, David A., Alberta Ng, Amy, Ontario Ottewell, Bryan, Alberta Paquette, Fraser, Alberta Paquin, Michael R., Alberta Perks, Ray, Ontario Peters, Samuel, Ontario Pluin, Thomas D.M., Alberta Qian, Wei, Alberta Rasmussen, Erik R., Alberta Sine, Daniel M., Alberta Sissons, Javin JDLS, Alberta Stanford, Ben, British Columbia Sumka, Chais A., Alberta Thiel, Shelden, Alberta Thomas, Eira, British Columbia Walford, Charles, Manitoba Wang, Shiyang C. Jaclyn, Alberta Xu, Su, Ontario

CIM Annual General Meeting All members are invited to attend the Annual General Meeting to be held at 11 a.m. in Room 3 of the Shaw Conference Centre on May 4.

Be a part of the decision-making process and help shape the future of CIM. See you there

Réunion générale annuelle de l’ICM Tous les membres sont invités à la réunion générale annuelle qui aura lieu le 4 mai à 11h dans la Salle 3 du Shaw Conference Centre.

Prenez part au processus de prise de décision et aidez à façonner le futur de l’ICM. C’est un rendez-vous March/April 2008 | 57

cim news Obituaries CIM expresses its sincere condolences to the families and friends of the following members: Ralph Leslie Cheesman became a member of CIM in 1957 and a life member in 1991. He died on June 27, 2007.

James C. Daley had been a member of CIM since 1958 and a life member since 1997.

Leo D. Kirwan became a member of CIM in 1954 and a life member in 1994.

Gerald William Tyler joined CIM in 1959 and became a life member in 1997. He passed away on August 25, 2007.

John Jambor first joined CIM in 1975. He was the recipient of numerous awards from CIM. From 1991 to 1999, he was a consulting editor for the Exploration and Mining Geology Journal (EMG). He was honoured by having a nickel hydroxide mineral — jamborite — named after him. He died on January 18, 2008.

41st Annual Canadian Mineral Processors Operators’ Conference • 41e Conférence des minéralurgistes du Canada www.c-m-p.on.ca www.c-m-p.on.ca www.c-m-p.on.ca www.c-m-p.on.ca www.c-m-p.on.ca

Call for Papers Notices of acceptance will be granted on or before June 30, 2008. Full papers in Microsoft Word format are required by September 30, 2008, for publication in the conference proceedings.

The 41st Annual Canadian Mineral Processors Operators’ Conference will be held in Ottawa, Ontario, on January 20-22, 2009. Papers covering the full spectrum of subjects in mineral processing are being called for, specifically those dealing with improvements in operating plants, and their design and operation. Papers on other aspects of interest will also be considered.

Abstracts (~200 words) must be sent before June 20, 2008, to: Robert Henderson 1st vice chairman, CMP Tel.: 416.365.5601 • Fax: 416.365.5670 Email: rob.henderson@kinross.com

Appel de communications Des avis d’acceptation seront envoyés jusqu’au 30 juin 2008. Les présentations techniques en format Microsoft Word doivent être reçues avant le 30 septembre 2008 pour publication dans le compte-rendu du symposium.

La 41e Conférence des minéralurgistes du Canada aura lieu du 20 au 22 janvier 2009 à Ottawa, Ontario. Nous vous invitons à soumettre des présentations sur tous les sujets liés au traitement des minerais, et particulièrement en ce qui a trait à l’amélioration des activités d’exploitation, leur conception et leur fonctionnement. D’autres présentations seront aussi au programme.

Les résumés doivent être envoyés avant le 20 juin 2008 à l’attention de : Robert Henderson 1er vice-président Tél. : 416.365.5601 • Téléc. : 416.365.5670 Courriel : rob.henderson@kinross.com

58 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 3, No. 2

AROUND THE WORLD CIM EVENTS CIM Conference and Exhibition — Edmonton 2008 May 4-7 Edmonton, Alberta Contact: Chantal Murphy, CIM Meetings Coordinator Tel.: 514.939.2710, ext. 1309 Fax: 514.939.2714 Email: cmurphy@cim.org Website: www.cim.org/edmonton2008 Winnipeg Branch Meeting (Guest speaker to be announced) May 8 Winnipeg, Manitoba Contact: Mark Francis, Chair Tel.: 204.942.8992 Email: winnipeg@cim.org Présentation organisée par la section Harricana Paul Bonneville, Scorpio Mining (présentateur) 14 mai Val-d’Or, Québec Contact: Francine Fontaine Tél. : 819.825.4711 Courriel : francine.fontaine@genivar.com Annual General Meeting of the Mining Society of Nova Scotia June 12-13 Baddeck, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia Contact: Florence Sigut Tel./Fax: 902.567.2147 Email: florence@ns.sympatico.ca Sudbury Branch 10th Annual Lobster Dinner and Dance June 13 Sudbury, Ontario Contact: Shawn Curtis, Social Chair Email: shawnc@astmining.com Canadian International Petroleum Conference (CIPC)/SPE Gas Technology Symposium 59th Annual Technical Meeting June 16-19 Calgary, Alberta Contact: Dave Cuthiell, Conference Chairman Tel.: 403.205.6876 Fax: 403.262.4792 Email: dcuthiell@suncor.com Website: www.petsoc.org North Central BC Branch Annual General Meeting June 25-27 Prince George, British Columbia Contact: Greg Rasmussen, Chair Tel.: 250.962.6235 Fax: 250.962.6332 Email: greglrasmussen@gmail.com

II International Workshop on Process Hydrometallurgy–Hydroprocess 2008 May 14-16, 2008 Santiago, Chile Contact: Fabiola Bustamante Tel.: +56.2.652.1555 Fax: +56.2.652.1570 Email: info@hydroprocess.cl SCANMET III — 3rd International Conference on Process Development in Iron and Steelmaking June 8-11 Lulea, Sweden Contact: Lotti Jarlebro Tel.: +46.920.20.1904 Fax: +46.920.25.5832 Email: lotti.jarlebro@mefos.se Website: www.scanmet.info 12th US/North American Mine Ventilation Symposium June 8-11 Reno, Nevada Contact: Pierre Mousset-Jones Tel.: 775.784.6959 Fax: 775.784.1833 Email: mousset@mines.unr.edu Website: www.unr.edu/ventsymp2008 MASSMIN 2008 June 9-11 Lulea, Sweden Contact: Erling Nordlund Email: info@massmin2008.com Website: www.massmin2008.com Central Asia Mining Congress 2008 June 30-July 1 Almaty, Kazakhstan Contact: Winnie Koh Email: winnie.koh@terrapinn.com Website: www.terrapinn.com/2008/camining III International Conference on Mining Innovation — MININ 2008 August 6-8 Santiago, Chile Contact: Olga Cherepanova Tel.: +56.2.652.1519 Fax: +56.2.652.1570 Email: info@minin2008.com Website: www.minin2008.com 2nd International Conference on Wireless Communications in Underground and Confined Areas August 25-27 Val-d’Or, Quebec Contact: Hasnaâ Aniss Tel.: 819.874.7400, ext. 221 Fax: 819.874.7166 Email: hasnaa.aniss@uqat.ca Website: www.icwcuca.ca

March/April 2008 | 59

CIM Conference and Exhibition May 4 to 7, 2008 | Edmonton, Alberta Moving Beyond: Innovation for a sustainable future

Time is running out for pre-registration!

Avoid the onsite hassle of registration by registering online before April 21 for the year’s premier mining event. Lollygagging around and waiting until the final moment to register can have dire consequences: hotels are filling up, social and guest events will max out their attendance limits, workshops and field trips will no longer be available.

The CIM Conference and Exhibition will be an important event for everyone in the industry; from operators through managers, scientists and suppliers, CIM has it all. Book your spot in the technical session rooms and ensure you’ll be making the best contacts on the Exhibition floor.

Don’t delay – register today and start planning your conference experience.

www.cim.org/edmonton2008

Congrès et Salon commercial de l’ICM 4 au 7 mai 2008 | Edmonton, Alberta Viser plus haut : l’innovation pour un avenir durable

Il ne reste plus beaucoup de temps pour la pré-inscription! Évitez les contrariétés de dernière minute en vous inscrivant en ligne avant le 21 avril pour l’événement minier par excellence. Tergiverser et attendre à la dernière minute pour s’inscrire peut avoir des conséquences sérieuses : les hôtels se remplissent et les événements pour les invités auront atteint leur nombre maximum d’inscriptions; les ateliers et les excursions sur le terrain ne seront plus disponibles.

Le Congrès et Salon commercial de l’ICM est un événement important pour tous ceux dans l’industrie minière, des exploitants aux gestionnaires, aux chercheurs et aux fournisseurs. L’ICM a de tout pour tous. Regardez à quelles sessions techniques vous voulez assister et assurez-vous de faire les meilleurs contacts dans l’enceinte du Salon commercial.

Ne tardez pas – inscrivez-vous dès maintenant et commencez à planifier votre congrès.

www.cim.org/edmonton2008

history The Comstock Lode, Nevada (Part 1)*

by R.J. “Bob” Cathro Chemainus, British Columbia

There was now (after the Cariboo Gold Rush) an end to all mining excitement.

It would never again happen … all morbid appetite for sudden wealth was now gone forever.

But softly, good friends! What rumor is this?

Whence come these silvery strains that are wafted to our ears from the passes of the Sierra Nevada? … As I live, it is a cry of Silver! Silver in Washoe!

Not gold now, you silly men of Gold Bluff. You Kern-Riverites, you daring explorers of British Columbia! But Silver - solid, pure Silver! Beds of it ten thousand feet deep! Acres of it! - miles of it!

- hundreds of millions of dollars poking their backs up out of the earth waiting to be pocketed!

“Sir,” said my informant to me, in strict confidence, no later than this morning, “you may rely upon it, for I am personally acquainted with the brother of a gentleman whose most intimate friend saw the man whose partner has just come over the mountains, and he says there never was the like on the face of the earth! … Let us be off! Now is the time! … Hurrah for Washoe!”

(BROWNE, 1860)

* This information on the history of the Comstock Lode is mostly derived from Lord (1883), Rickard (1932), Smith (1943), Paul (1963) and Watkins (1971).

Following the initial excitement, activity in the California Goldfield declined significantly as many of the newcomers returned home or dispersed in the search for the next Mother Lode. New gold placers were discovered near Spokane and Yakima, Washington, in 1850, and the Rogue River valley and Coos Bay, Oregon, in 1851. In 1856, old Spanish silver mines were reopened at Tubac, Arizona, and there were small rushes to the South Platte River, Colorado, and the Gila River, Arizona, in 1858. However, the most important rush, which occurred later that year to the Cariboo Goldfield (in what is now British Columbia), attracted 23,000 prospectors from the United States as well as many more from elsewhere.

The next discovery that had a major impact on the history of economic geology and the development of new mining methods and machinery was the 1859 discovery of an unusually large and rich silver-gold deposit located about 280 kilometres east of San Francisco and 30 kilometres south of Reno. It was situated within western Utah Territory at the time, but became part of Nevada when the new state was created in 1864. The new mining district became known as Washoe, named after the local native people.

The first Europeans to pass through the Comstock were appar- Square-set timbering (from Lord, 1883). ently a party of Mormons enroute to California in 1849. The first recorded prospecting was conducted the following year by a group of Mexicans, who found small quantities of placer gold in two tributaries of the Carson River, Gold Canyon and Six Mile Canyon, which both had their headwaters on Gold Hill. Results weren’t sufficiently encouraging to attract a permanent population until 1852-1853. The Grosch brothers, Ethan and Hosea, who had obtained mining experience in California, performed the first professional prospecting between 1854 and 1857 and appeared to make good progress until they were both killed in separate accidents.

A placer paystreak was discovered in Gold Canyon in 1858-1859 by four prospectors led by James (Old Virginia) Fennimore. They were soon persuaded to share their claims with a local scoundrel named Henry Comstock, whose main contribution was to bequeath his name to the lode. The paystreak was produced by the weathering of small gold-quartz veins at the south end of the Comstock Lode, situated about five kilometres farther upstream. Over the height of land, at the head of Six Mile Canyon, Patrick McLaughlin and Peter O’Riley found a similar weak placer gold concentration in Spanish Ravine that was derived from the Ophir mine, at the north end of the lode. Progress in mining the gold-bearing gravel in both creeks was slow because the sluice boxes kept plugging up with a heavy mud the miners called “the damned blue stuff.” This would become a classic example of poor prospecting.

March/April 2008 | 61

economic geology

Location map of the Comstock Lode at Virginia City, Nevada (from Rickard, 1932).

Map of the region between San Francisco and Virginia City, Nevada (from Rickard, 1932).

Having become intrigued by the stories of the strange blue material, rancher B.A. Harrison and trader B.F. Stone sent samples to Nevada City and Grass Valley for assay in June 1859. The results were spectacular — $875 in gold but an unexpected $3,000 in silver per ton. It turned out that the ‘blue stuff’ was mainly a mixture of argentite, other silver minerals, and fine free gold in clay. Together with Judge James Walsh and Joseph Woodward, they rushed to the Comstock and bought the claims from the placer miners for far more than they were thought to be worth, precipitating a wild staking rush and speculative flurry. All the early claim owners sold too early and died in poverty. George Hearst, who had been tipped off about the new discovery, arrived early and bought a one-sixth interest in the Ophir claim with borrowed money.

Over 17,000 claims were eventually recorded but only the first ones staked over the Comstock Lode, which is about five kilometres long, proved valuable. Virginia City, derived from James Fennimore’s nickname, sprang up on top of the lode almost immediately. Access was provided by the 185 kilometre Carson toll road, completed in 1858 from Placerville, in the Mother Lode, over the Sierra Nevada Mountains and around the south end of Lake Tahoe.

Enormous amounts of water and timber would be needed, which was obtained from the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada. For example, 80 million boardfeet of lumber and 250,000 cords of firewood were consumed annually during the boom years.

Silver mining was unknown in the western states and most of the Comstock pioneers had little knowledge of the metallurgical art required to extract silver from the ore, or even about lode mining. The potential of the new deposit soon attracted experts with experience in the silver districts of Mexico and Europe. The first attempts to treat the 62 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 2, 3, No. 72

Comstock ore used the patio process, invented by Bartolomene Medina in Mexico in 1557. It consisted initially of a Mexican grinding mill (arrastra), in which mules or horses were used to drag flat boulders over a paved patio to stir a mixture of ore, water, mercury, and a bit of salt and copper filings or sulphate into a mud-like slurry. Tobacco juice and sagebrush tea were also added to the mix with negligible results. The moistened pulp was worked until the sulphides were reduced to chlorides and then to the metallic state, when the silver and gold united with the mercury to form amalgam. Later, a heated copper kettle (cazo) was used to speed up the process. The mercury used at Comstock was obtained from the New Almaden mine, about 20 kilometres southeast of San Jose, which was discovered in 1824.

At the Ophir mine, the first to begin production, George Hearst and his partners managed to grind and concentrate about 35 tonnes of ore in one of the first arrastras and haul it to San Francisco late in 1860, before snow closed the trail. It was smelted there by Joseph Mosheim and yielded a net return of $114,000, an average of $3,400 per tonne.

Costs per tonne after mining were $450 for smelting and $155 for freighting. The bars of bullion were displayed in a bank window to demonstrate the potential of the Washoe district and guarantee a huge influx of miners, promoters and investors in 1861.

The Comstock camp is noteworthy for its pioneering adaptation or invention of new milling and mining methods that influenced industry practice worldwide. Although the sulphide content of the ore presented recovery challenges for the silver and gold, nearly 50 arrastras were built to treat the highest grade surface ore. A recovery of about 50 per cent was only possible because most of the sulphide minerals had been oxidized, the silver occurred as argentite

economic geology and silver-rich sulphosalt minerals, and the gold was presthe mine was becoming too dangerous to work in. George ent as fine free grains. The first milling improvement was Hearst invited a German mining engineer educated at the the replacement of the arrastras with jaw crushers and the Freiberg Mining Academy, Philip Deidesheimer, to come use of the Freiberg process, which involved dry crushing from California, where he was managing a mine, and with California stamps, roasting (chloridization) in ovens attempt to solve the problem. According to legend, he and amalgamation in revolving barrels. When that proved designed a new timbering method within six weeks, called too slow, intricate and costly, a great deal of testing and square-setting, that was based on the structure of a beeresearch was performed. Much of it was based on the work hive. Rigid cubes were created by sawing mortise-andof Almarin B. Paul, a friend of Hearst’s, tenon joints on the ends of heavy timbers, who experimented for over two years to which allowed adjoining timbers to increase efficiency. snugly interlock. Each set consisted of a The resulting flow sheet, named the vertical post about two metres high and Washoe milling process, accomplished in two horizontal members (called caps and six hours what had previously required girts) about 1.5 metres long. This resulted four to six weeks. It remained the statein a strong honeycomb structure with of-the-art until cyaniding was introduced adequate internal working space that in the mid-1890s. In 1862, 20 mills were could be expanded to fit any irregular operating at Comstock and there were 66 opening. If waste rock was available, it by 1866, with 1,226 stamps and 919 was used to fill the cubes (squares). This pans, representing an investment of over timbering technique became popular $6 million. Mark Twain (1872) described around the world for supporting wide the milling process in the early 1860s as stopes in weak ground. follows: Other notable advances in mining “This mill was a six-stamp affair, driven Philip Deidesheimer (1832-1916), inventor of the were adopted quickly at Comstock, by steam. Six tall, upright rods of iron, as square-set timbering method at the Comstock including the Burleigh mechanical rock large as a man’s ankle, and heavily shod Lode, Nevada, in 1861. drill, powered by compressed air. with a mass of iron and steel at their lower Developed between 1866 and 1870 by ends, were framed together like a gate, and these rose and fell, Charles Burleigh for the Hoosac railway tunnel in one after the other, in a ponderous dance, in an iron box called Massachusetts, it was the first successful rock drill built a battery. Each of these rods or stamps weighed 600 pounds. … in the United States. The first model weighed 170 kiloThe ceaseless dance of the stamps pulverized the rock to powgrams. It was introduced at Comstock in 1872 to drive der, and a stream of water that trickled into the battery turned the six kilometres long Sutro drainage tunnel. Even after it into a creamy paste. The minutest particles were driven Ingersoll and Rand drills replaced the Burleigh model through a fine wire screen … and were washed into great tubs later, older miners still referred to piston-style rock drills warmed by superheated steam - amalgamating pans, they are as ‘burleys’ (Hoffman, 1999). Another noteworthy milecalled. The mass of pulp in the pans was kept constantly stirred stone was the use of flat, woven-wire shaft cable (rope), by revolving ‘mullers’. A quantity of quicksilver was kept invented by A.C. Hallidie of California about 1867. CIM always in the battery, and this seized some of the liberated gold and silver particles and held on to them. … Quantities of coarse salt and sulfate of copper were added from time to time References to assist the amalgamation by destroying the base metals Browne, J.R. (1860). Peep at the Washoe. Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, 22, 127. New York: which coated the gold and silver and would not let it unite with Harper & Bros. Available at http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/moa/moacgi?notisid=ABK4014-0022-3. Accessed on October 11, 2007. the quicksilver. …”

Hoffman, L.C. (1999). The rock drill and civilization. Available at http: There is nothing so aggravating as silver mining. There www.americanheritage.com. Accessed on November 1, 2007. never was any idle time in that mill. There was always someLord, E. (1883). Comstock Mining and Miners. Washington: United States Geological Survey. thing to do. It is a pity that Adam could not have gone straight Reprinted in 1959 by Howell-North Books Publishers, San Diego. out of Eden into a quartz mill, in order to understand the full Paul, R.W. (1963). Mining Frontiers of the Far West, 1848-1880. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. force of his doom to ‘earn his bread by the sweat of his brow’.”

Even more challenging problems had to be overcome Rickard, T.A. (1932). A History of American Mining. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc. underground because the oreshoots became very wide, the Smith, G.H. (1943). The History of the Comstock Lode: 1850-1920. Reno: University of Nevada Bulletin, Geology and Mining Series No. 37. Reprinted in 1966 by the Nevada State Bureau of ore was quite soft and friable, and the mines were Mines and the Mackay School of Mines, Reno. extremely wet and unbearably hot at depth. By late 1860, Twain, M. (1872). Roughing It. Hartford: American Publishing Company. [Mark Twain was the when the Ophir mine reached a depth of almost 60 metres pen name of Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835-1910).] and had exposed an ore zone about 15 metres wide, conWatkins, T.H. (1971). Gold and Silver in the West: the Illustrated History of an American Dream.

Palo Alto: America West Publishing Company. ventional timbering was unable to support the walls and March/April 2008 | 63

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The evolution of shaft sinking systems in the western world and the improvement in sinking rates oj Part 5 — Shaft sinking from 1940 to 1970: The Golden Age

by Charles Graham, managing director, CAMIRO Mining Division, and Vern Evans, general manager, Mining Technologies International

The period between 1940 and 1970 can really be called the golden age of shaft sinking. It was during this period of time that the shaft sinking records, which still stand today, were in a number of countries around the world. Listed below are the shafts which were sunk at record-breaking speeds: • January 1960: President Steyn #3 shaft (South Africa) — 1,020 feet (311 metres) • March 1962: Buffelsfontein shaft (South Africa) — 1,251 feet (381 metres) • September 1964: Staric main shaft (Czechoslovakia) — 1,053 feet (321 metres) • April 1964: Proletarskaya (USSR) — 1,280 feet (390 metres) Record-breaking Ukrainian shaft sinking crew.

• May 1969: 17–17 Bis mine (Ukraine) — 1,316 than those currently being achieved. Some of the more feet (401 metres) notable sinking rates achieved by North American shaft Shaft sinkers from the Republic of South Africa generally sinkers in the 1950s and 1960s are as follows: claim to hold the shaft sinking record for their sinking proj• November 1958: Shattuck Denn, Bardon Shaft — 392 feet ect at the Buffelsfontein mine in 1962; however, as can be (120 metres) seen from the list above, both the Russians and the • January 1965: Alwinsal Potash (A.M.C. Harrison) — 570 Ukrainians were faster. feet (174 metres) The South Africans used much larger sinking crews than • September 1966: Noranda Potash (A.M.C. Harrison) — Europe or North America. Table 1 compares statistics on 620 feet (189 metres) some of the shafts sunk during this period. Note the number • November 1966: PCS Cory (Cementation) — 640 feet of persons employed on the Buffelsfontein project.

(195 metres) Details on the Proletarskaya and the 17–17 Biz shafts are There were a number of inventions during this period that not available; however, the equipment and manpower uticontributed to the increase in sinking advance rates — the lized are probably similar to those of the New Boutoff shaft mechanical mucking machine contributed the most to faster sinking a few years earlier. rates.

Although the sinking rates of North American shaft Perhaps the first mechanical mucking machine for the sinkers do not compare with those achieved in South Africa underground mining industry was the EIMCO rocker shovel and Eastern Europe, they are worth noting as they are faster loader, introduced in the United States in Table 1. Statistics of shaft sinking between 1940 and 1970 1938. This particular New Boutoff, Buffelsfontein, Staric, F.S. Saaiplaas, USSR Republic of South Africa Czechoslovakia Republic of South Africa model was not suit24.6 in. (7.5 m) 28 in. (8.5 m) 21.7 in. (6.6 m) 30 in. (9.1 m) Shaft size able for shaft sinking Cycle time 6 hr 20 min.

6 hr 28 min.

4 hr 5 min.

9 hr because it ran in rail.

Equipping After After After After EIMCO, however, 137 675 66 350 Labour force soon followed up the 3 3 3 3 Mucking Grab & 185 ft buckets Grab & 106 ft buckets Grab & 175 ft buckets Grab & 135 ft buckets 12B model with the 1964 1962 1959 1957 Time frame 630 model, which Best advance 834 ft (254 m) 868 ft (264 m) 1,251 ft (381 m) 1,053 ft (321 m) was crawler-mounted 64 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 3, No. 2

2

mining and therefore suitable for shaft and the United States, as well as sinking. The EIMCO 630 was a number of countries in not favoured by Canadian shaft Western Europe. This system sinkers, probably because it was was first used in Canada in the not particularly suited to the latter part of the 1950s. benching method of blasting. In In Canada, perhaps the first other countries, where the full use of a cactus grab mucking face shaft sinking round was machine was in the Potash used, it has been utilized effecCompany of America’s No. 1 tively up until the present day. It shaft near Saskatoon, has been particularly popular in Saskatchewan. The shaft was both the United States and the first frozen and then excavated Republic of South Africa. using conventional drill-andIn 1943, the Riddell muckblast techniques. Mucking was ing machine was introduced in done with a cactus grab type Canada and was immediately loader mounted on the bottom used with good success in the of a four-deck work stage. The rectangular timbered shafts that The pilot bit for the Beatrix No. 1 shaft is shown on the right with the reamer shaft was started in February shown on the left. were popular in Canada at that 1956 and bottomed out at 3,450 time. The Riddell worked much better than the EIMCO 630 feet (1,052 metres) in June 1958. This was a rather remarkfor timber shafts, where the benching system of blasting was able shaft in a number of ways — the depth of freezing, the invariably used. use of a cactus grab and the use of a multiple deck Gallaway The Cryderman mucker was introduced in the late 1940s work stage suspended from surface. to Canadian shaft sinkers but did not find any real popularRectangular timber shafts were much more popular in ity until the early 1950s. Since that time, however, the North America than in either Europe or Africa. In North Cryderman has been the mucking machine of choice for America, because of good rock conditions and rather modest most Canadian shaft sinkers. depths, rectangular timber shafts continued to be sunk in Certainly the clamshell or cactus grab type of shaft loader Canada until the 1980s. Both Europe and South Africa has been the most popular and commonly used shaft muckchanged over to circular shafts much earlier. ing machine, although not in North America. It was develIn Canada, the benching round was popular for the sinkoped and used in both Eastern and Western Europe as well ing of rectangular shafts. A good sump was always available as South Africa, all at about the same time. and cleaning the bottom prior to drilling was quick and easy.

In South Africa in 1949, a clamshell type of grab was sucAlso in Canada, the Cryderman mucking machine replaced cessfully used for sinking a shaft at the Western Holdings the Riddell mucker in most cases. Satisfactory advance rates mine. In 1952, the No. 2 shaft at the Vlakfontein mine was were in the range of 8 to 10 feet a day (2.4 to 3 metres) also successfully sunk using a one-ton capacity, pneumatiPatrick Harrison and Co. advanced the 10 by 21 foot rectancally operated cactus grab. gular shaft at the Millikkan Lake mine near Elliot Lake, In Europe, the development of a pneumatically operated Ontario, 440 feet (134 metres) in June 1957, for a daily grab for shaft mucking was also being developed at about the advance rate of 15 feet or 4.5 metres. This may very well be same time. The European grab unit is very similar to units the North American record for a rectangular shaft sinking. utilized in South Africa.

It was during this period as well that the first shafts were Although not an invention, this period saw the movement sunk in North America using the Poetsch freezing method. away from brickwork shaft linings and their substitution Two shafts were sunk in the early 1950s — the South shaft at with cast in place concrete linings. the Potash Company of America’s mine near Carlsbad, New It was also during this period that the South Africans Mexico, and the Ojibway shaft at the Canadian Rock Salt developed their sinking system that incorporated a susCompany’s mine in southern Ontario. The South shaft was pended curb ring, a multi-deck Galloway work stage and a frozen only to a depth of 107 metres but the Ojibway shaft concrete slick line that would allow installation of the conwas frozen to a depth of 329 metres. Both of these shafts were crete shaft lining concurrent with excavation being carried lined with concrete and neither utilized tubbing in the waterout on the shaft bottom below. bearing sections.

Concurrent sinking and lining had been carried out before The first use of cast iron tubbing in North America, to seal but the multi-deck stage and the concrete slick line conoff water-bearing sections of the shaft, was at the tributed to a more efficient system than had been used previInternational Minerals and Chemicals’ K–1 shaft near ously. This system was first used in the Republic of South Esterhazy, Saskatchewan. A 380 foot section of tubbing was Africa in the late 1940s and later adopted by both Canada installed between the 1,241 and 1,621 foot levels. The shaft March/April 2008 | 65

1,500

mining was completed to a depth of 3,378 feet in 1961. Subsequently, 11 more tubbed shafts were sunk in the Saskatchewan potash basin along with two shafts with welded steel linings in the water-bearing sections.

The use of the rockbolt for temporary support was another major step forward in shaft sinking that was initiated during this period. A number of different types of mechanical anchorages were developed for rockbolts in the 1940s. However, the time and expense in drilling holes for rockbolts negated their advantages. Up until 1945 the drilling of rock was still time-consuming in spite of almost a century of development work. In that year, a historic conversion from alloy steel to tungsten carbide-tipped Patrick Harrison drill steel took place in Sweden.

Originating in Germany in the 1920s, the development of tungsten carbide bits culminated in Sweden in the early 1940s. Secoroc started production on a small scale in 1940, and the first cemented carbide bit was produced in 1943.

During the 1950s and 1960s development continued for extension drill rods. In the 1960s, drill steel manufacturing in Sweden was restructured, giving rise to two companies — Secoroc and Sandvik. 1961 In 1948, the Alimak raise climber was introduced to the mining industry and in 1962, the first commercial raisebore machine was introduced. Using either one of these machines, if shaft bottom access was available,Uit wasNnow possible to raise and slash a shaft handling the broken muck on the shaft bottom. Using this method of shaft sinking, advance rates 72 could be increased if bottom access to the shaft was available.

During this entire period, shaft sinking in Canada was dominated by one mining contractor — Patrick Harrison & Co. Ltd. The company was actually first established in 1934 in Val-d’Or, Quebec, and sank a number of shafts in that area. It was, however, the work carried out in the unstable ground conditions of the Quebec asbestos mines that established the company as a major force in North American shaft sinking. The majority of the shafts sunk in the Elliot Lake uranium boom were sunk by PH & Co. Seven frozen shafts were sunk in the Saskatchewan potash basin in a joint venture with a German consortium, and a huge contract was carried out to develop the Thompson nickel properties for Inco. At the time of the Thompson contract it was the largest underground development project ever let to a mining contractor. A total of 1,500 persons were employed. These are but a few of a total of 600 shafts sunk by PH & Co. in its relatively brief history.

It was during this period, as well, that the technology for the drilling of mine shafts using rotary drilling techniques took some giant leaps forward. Between 1961 and 1969, there was huge progress made in the drilling of shafts using modified oil field rotary drilling equipment. The biggest 66 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 3, No. 2

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effort during this period was at the U.S. Nevada test site of the Atomic Energy Commission. Holes with diameters of 72 inches were drilled to depths of 4,200 feet.

Some of these holes were completed in as little as seven months.

Besides the drilling at the Nevada test site, a number of other shafts were completed. In 1966, a 60-inch diameter shaft was completed for the Bunker Hill Company at their Higden mine in Missouri.

In the same year, Kermac Potash Company completed an 8.5 foot diameter shaft to a depth of 1,650 feet. One of the deepest shafts drilled during this period was in 1969 when a 6,150 foot (1,875 metres) deep shaft 90 inches (2.28 metres) in diameter was drilled in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska.

Perhaps more important to shaft sinking were two shafts drilled in Holland at the Beatrix mine between 1955 and 1959. These shafts were 7.65 metres in diameter and just over 500 metres deep, drilled using the pilot hole and ream method whereby an initial pilot hole 2 metres que B in diameter is initially drilled and then enlarged in stages to its final diameter. The shafts were kept completely full of drilling mud at all times during drilling and a combination wall of steel and concrete was installed after the shaft drilling had been completed. The drilling of Beatrix II was started in August 1955 and completed in January 1959 — a total of 1,130 days, for an advance rate of approximately 0.45 metres per day. The installation of the lining required an additional 44 days.

During this period, shaft sinking rates again increased 4 threefold from 30 to 40 metres per month to 90 to 110 metres per month. CIM

Bibliography Brown, E.O.F. (1927). Vertical Shaft Sinking. London: Ernest Benn Ltd.

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Dellinger, T. B. (1966). Current status of big hole drilling. The Annual Meeting of the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers. New York: American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers.

Hynd, J.G.S. (1960). Shaft sinking through water bearing dolomite. Canadian Mining Journal, August, 74–76.

Jamieson, D.M., Pearse, M.P., & Plumstead, E.R.A. (1961). The evolution of shaft design and sinking technique in South Africa. Transactions of the Seventh Commonwealth Mining and Metallurgical Congress (Vol. 2, pp. 589-625). Johannesburg: South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy.

Jansen, F., & Glebe, E. (1960). Shaft sinking in the West German coal mining industry.

Proceedings of the I.M.E. Symposium on Shaft Sinking and Tunneling. London: The Institution of Mining Engineers.

Jaros, A. (1967). Shaft sinking methods in Czechoslovakia. In G.L. Colborne ( Ed.), Index ’67 — Saskatchewan Industrial Exposition and Mineral Symposium 1967 (pp. 121-127).

McIntyre, J.T. (1949). Shafts of the New Consolidated Gold Fields Group. Symposium on Shafts and Shaft Sinking. Johannesburg: The Chemical Metallurgical and Mining Society of South Africa.

Smit, G.L. (1964). Sinking and commissioning of the Eastern Twin Shaft System at Buffelsfontein Gold Mining Company Limited. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers. New York: Society of Mining Engineers of AIME.

metallurgy Migration and movement of scholars A study in the history of diffusion of knowledge: Part 2

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

Religious Schism and the Persecution of Reformers In ancient times, all persons within the state might be required to pay formal homage to the god of the state. Those who protested and refused to perform these religious rites were considered disorderly elements. In Roman times, Jews, and later Christians, were persecuted because they worshipped their own god. It was Emperor Constantine who granted religious freedom in 313 AD by signing the Edict of Milan. The division of the Roman Empire became permanent when Constantine moved his capital to what became known as Constantinople.

Gradually, Christianity became the state religion and all those who did not follow the teachings of the Church were considered heretics and were persecuted.

The first schism started with the different concepts about the nature of Christ, which resulted in the split of the Oriental churches. Then came the antagonism between Latin-speaking Catholics in the West and Greek-speaking Catholics in the East. It grew steadily more acute, reaching a peak when Byzantine Emperor Leo III (680-740) ordered the removal of images of the saints from churches.

Riots against this policy ensued throughout Italy, but the policies of the emperors’ successors were even more harsh. The hatred between the two camps continually widened the breach. The sack of Byzantine Constantinople by Roman Catholic Crusaders followed in 1204.

The popes in Rome interfered in world politics by supporting the kings of France against the English kings and the Holy Roman emperors of the German Nation. In 1309, King Philip IV of France engineered the election of a Frenchman to the papacy who took the name Clement V (1264-1314), set his residence in Avignon and was completely under control of the king. After his death, the new pope, Gregory XI, another Frenchman, decided to return to Rome in 1376 to escape an English attack on Avignon. After his death there was another split in the Catholic Church, which became known as the Great Schism.

There was pressure from the Italian population on the cardinals to choose an Italian pope. The newly elected pope, Urban VI, an Italian, refused to return to Avignon. As a result a new set of cardinals chose Clement VII (1478-1534), a Frenchman, as pope who took up residence in Avignon. For 40 years there were two popes, each taxing all of Christendom, each excommunicating the other and each commanding the allegiance of separate kings.

In the meantime the church in Rome accumulated great wealth and became authoritarian. Any reformers who criticized the Church were considered heretics. The Oxford scholar and reformer John Wyclif (1328-1384) was condemned in 1380 as a heretic. Jan Huss (1369-1415), rector of the University of Prague and a follower of Wyclif, attacked abuses of clergy and wanted religious reform. He also was considered a heretic, was excommunicated by the Pope and was burned at the stake in 1415. His followers in Bohemia and Moravia demanded freedom of preaching. Between 1419 and 1436, the armed conflict that became known as the Hussite War between the Hussite Czechs and the Catholic Germans was both religious and national in nature.

In 1453, Constantinople was captured by the Turks and renamed Istanbul, and the Eastern Roman Empire came to an end. Byzantine scholars who fled the March/April 2008 | 67

metallurgy city were dispersed all over Italy and were responsible for the beginning of the Renaissance there. Less than 40 years later, Queen Isabelle of Castile, known as Isabelle the Catolica, conquered the Moors at Granada in 1492 and expelled the Moslems and the Jews from her kingdom.

Displaced scholars settled in North Africa, others were welcomed by the Ottoman sultan in Istanbul, while others migrated to South America.

Byzantine scholars

In France, however, the dispute between the Huguenots and Catholics exploded in 1562 into a civil war that raged for 36 years. The war ended in 1598 when Henri IV came to the throne and granted liberty of conscience by the Edict of Nantes. However, his grandson, Louis XIV, revoked the edict in 1685 and, as a result, thousands fled to escape persecution. In the Spanish Netherlands, the Wars of Religion dragged on for 80 years between 1568 and 1648. The new governor, Duke of Alva, executed 18,000 people including Count Egmont, who protested against the massacre of the Protestants.

Incidentally, during this period, the Bernoulli family, that produced nine distinguished mathematicians, escaped Holland to settle in Basel, Switzerland.

During the rule of the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolph II (1552-1612), Protestants were persecuted. The conflict continued with the involvement of the Protestant kings Christian IV of Denmark and Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden. This ended with the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. But, later on, the hostilities between Protestant Prussia and Catholic Austria was manifested in the wars of 1740-1748 and 1756-1763. In the meantime, the conflict between the papacy and the absolute monarchs of Catholic Europe forced Pope Clement XIV to dissolve the Society of Jesus in 1773.

In the Moslem world the situation was not much different. After the death of the Prophet Mohammed in 632, Abu Bakr became his successor, followed by Omar and Othman. During this time, Syria, Palestine, Egypt and the Persian Empire were conquered; however, abuses by officials under Othman caused an uprising of the people and the assassination of the caliph. Ali, the Prophet’s cousin and son-in-law, was elected as fourth caliph, but Mu’awiya, the governor of Syria, with several of his companions, opposed him. Civil wars led to the assassination of Ali in 661 and Mu’awiya became the sole ruler of the Islamic world. He was able to ensure that his son Yazid would become his successor as a hereditary king. Since that time, the Moslem world became divided into two camps: the followers of Ali became known as “Shia” and the followers of Mu’awiya as “Sunni.”

After Yazid died, the members of Mu’awiya’s clan, known as Umayyads, ruled until 750. During the Umayyad Dynasty, the capital of the Islamic state was Damascus, which for many centuries was an important centre of Greco-Roman culture. But corruption crept in and discontent became widespread. The Abbasids rose to power and massacred the Umayyads. They established their capital in Baghdad and the centre of the empire shifted from Damascus to Baghdad. CIM

who fled the city [Istanbul] were dispersed all over Italy and were responsible for the beginning of the Renaissance there In Wittenberg, Saxony, Martin Luther (1483-1546) challenged the authority of the Pope and in 1521 was found guilty of heresy at the Diet of Worms. However, he managed to escape persecution. His followers later became known as Protestants. In 1540, with the permission of the Pope, Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556) founded the Society of Jesus, which became known as the Jesuits, to counteract the Protestants. In 1542, a Roman Inquisition, a church court that could call to trial any Catholic in Christendom, was founded.

In 1533, the reformer Jean Cauvin, known by the Latinized name Calvin (1509-1564), fled France to Basel, Switzerland, to escape persecution. Calvinism characterized the covenanters in Scotland, the Puritans in England and the Protestants in France, known as Huguenots.

Students in universities fiercely debated the new religious ideas. Books banned by the Pope were burned in many European cities. A few months after Luther’s death, Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor, turned his might against the Lutherans of Germany. For nine years his soldiers tried to bring them into submission and into the old Church of the Pope, but without success. In the Peace of Augsburg (1555) it was agreed that henceforth two churches would be allowed; the division became permanent in Europe.

In England, the conflict between Henry VIII and the Pope resulted in bloody massacres between Catholics and Protestants until Elizabeth I came to the throne in 1558 and established the Anglican Church, which was a mixture of Lutheran, Calvinism and Catholic. However, during the rule of her successor, James I, the religious conflict continued, forcing many to leave for Holland. In 1620, the Mayflower brought the Pilgrims, who were seeking religious freedom, to New England in America. In 1688, William Henry, Prince of Orange, invaded England to restore Protestantism.

68 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 3, No. 2

AN ONLINE MEMOIRE

MINING

IN

CANADA

a personal history

c

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Excerpt

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t that time there were four shifts and three captains. I was by myself on shift, acting as the only shift boss. The other three shifts had two shift bosses and a captain. There was equal manpower on each shift, with 30 men each. I had asked Ernie Izek why I was on my own and why I was only getting shift boss pay. My co-workers were asking me the same question. My productivity and safety had been higher than other people’s. When Mike Waterfield came and Don Irvan became general foreman (senior mine captain), I had asked them as well, but I wasn’t given an answer to my question. One day Mike came and informed me, “You have the captain’s job.” I looked at him and said, in tears, “Thanks Mike!”

Online series The metallurgical history of Montreal bridges

by H.J. McQueen, Concordia University

The Victoria Truss Bridge (1898) — Steel, Hot Riveted or four decades after 1859, the Victoria Tubular Bridge had been according to the advantages it conferred and was completed by 1890 a great success, both in terms of carrying rising rail traffic and for ships with lighter hulls and for rails with much longer life. The first fostering industrial activity in Montreal. The new double-track all-steel bridges were constructed in 1878 and in 1884 for Canada. In bridge was built with a Britain, from 1850 to steel truss that provided 1900, puddled wrought carriageways — a novelty iron production fell from for Montreal. Truss design three to 0.5 million tons had been greatly per year, while steel rose improved and made more from 0.06 to 4.9 million economical by the availtons per year. In Canada, ability of large, thick the first mills in Sydney, plates and angles.

Nova Scotia, and Sault Ste. Furthermore, after 1865, Marie, Ontario, were inausteel production by gurated in 1901, thus a litBessemer converters protle late for the truss vided ductile and 50 per bridge. cent stronger metal at The steel Pratt trusses much lower cost. on the Victoria Truss A view of the Victoria Truss Bridge from the southwest.

For truss technology, Bridge were 40 metres as for the sheet and rib box girder, rivets were essential features in an high by eight metres wide and were able to accommodate continuCaption: A v ew f h or V ct ri Trus Bridg Mo Royal age without heavy rolled I-beams, welding high-strength bolts. mous rail traffic in, both directions, as well as roadways on each side. back (t ).

Rivets were installed by hot-heading the straight end in the joint. The Relative to the old tube, the trusses had four times the carrying iron (or, in later years, the steel) was heated to between 900 and capacity and weighed only 2.5 times more, at a cost of $2 million on 1,000ºC, primarily to facilitate hammering the rivets tightly into the the same piers (compared to $7 million for the tubular bridge, includholes. In subsequent cooling, the contraction of the rivets developed ing piers). To reduce any traffic interruptions to less than two hours, sufficient clinching force to create water-tight joints. When building the old tube was not dismantled until the new bridge was built trusses, each joint was designed with a sufficient number of rivets to around it; a framework was advanced span by span, rolling on the old become as rigid as the plates and angles. Hot riveting, which required bridge. Under chief engineer J. Hobson, the north half of the new teams of four men to install 270 rivets per shift, was eventually ren- bridge was built by Dominion Bridge and the south half by Detroit dered obsolete by welding or by uniformly tightened bolts.

Bridge, with completion in 1898.

Although steel had been made for cutting tools, its production Because of its significance to trans-Canada rail freight, the volume increased rapidly after 1865 with Bessemer converters and bridge underwent another significant change to accommodate the after 1895, by means of open hearths. The cast steel ingots were St. Lawrence Seaway at its south end. One lift bridge replaced the much larger than big bundles of wrought iron muck bars and much first span and a second one was located at the opposite end of the less homogeneous. Nevertheless, most steels, such as austenite, could lock. A spur was built in the bridge by replacing two spans with be hot worked as easily as wrought iron; hot working was conducted under-track girders without stopping traffic; the spur had six spans in the range 1,100 to 800ºC, below which pearlite formation caused welded from rolled sections. The road traffic, accommodated at the hardening. The hot rolling technology for wrought iron was trans- spur by a fly-over, continues to be heavy despite the building of ferred easily to steel. Transition to steel in any application progressed three road bridges.

F

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TO INDUSTRY KNOWLEDGE Peer reviewed by leaders in their fields CIM Bulletin Abstracts 72

Followup of production equipment availability and its contributing factors in selected Canadian underground mines J. Paraszczak, E. Lafontaine and D. Komljenovic

73

A 21st century advancement for mine hoisting systems: frictionless — non-powered emergency arrestors E. Pribonic and M. Thompson

74

Selection of optimum ferronickel grade for smelting nickel laterites M.Y. Solar, I. Candy and B. Wasmund

75

Exploration and Mining Geology Journal Volume 16, Numbers 3 and 4

76

Canadian Metallurgical Quarterly Volume 46, Number 4

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

www.cim.org March/April 2008 | 71

executive summaries

M A I N T E N A N C E

A N D

E N G I N E E R I N G

Followup of production equipment availability and its contributing factors in selected Canadian underground mines Profitability of operations depends on, among other factors, the capacity of the production equipment employed to perform revenue-generating jobs for as much time as possible. In this context, achieving higher equipment availability is crucial.

Quantification of the factors influencing equipment availability and a thorough analysis of adequate performance measures allow identifying competitive opportunities, prioritizing resources and assessing the progress of improvement initiatives. Even though mining has lagged behind other industries such as manufacturing in this respect, the growing use of computerized maintenance management systems and condition-based monitoring gives mine operators new opportunities to quantify more precisely different aspects of equipment availability.

Because little information on how Canadian underground mines assess their equipment performance can be found in the technical literature, it was decided to examine and analyze the means and measures used by mines to assess availability and its contributing factors. The questionnaires developed specially for this purpose were sent to over 20 Canadian underground mines whose production is based on a wide-spread use of mobile trackless drilling, loading and haulage equipment. Information deemed adequate with regard to the objectives was received from 12 mines. This sample includes mostly base and precious metals mines situated in eastern Canada. Their daily production is between 2,700 and 10,000 metric tonnes, and the predominant mining method is long-hole stoping (10 mines).

The 12 mines considered in the study operate mobile production equipment fleets numbering from 16 to 64 units (drill jumbos, drill rigs, LHD, trucks and mechanized bolters).

Based on the information received, the paper reviews and analyzes the sources, quality and quantity of data and information collected, and the methods and procedures in use. It examines performance measures and related definitions that are used by the mines under study. Survey results are pre-

J. Paraszczak, Department of Mining, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, UniversitĂŠ Laval, Quebec, E. Lafontaine, Agnico-Eagle, LaRonde mine, Cadillac, Quebec, and D. Komljenovic, Hydro Quebec, BĂŠcancour, Quebec, and Department of Mining, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, UniversitĂŠ Laval, Quebec 72 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 3, No. 2

sented according to determination of downtime and its components, calculation of availability, measurement of reliability and assessment of maintainability. The survey proves that almost all the mechanized mines have already recognized the crucial role of equipment availability in the quest to reduce production costs. They collect and process substantial quantities of pertinent data in order to calculate different performance measures.

The study has also revealed some deficiencies, inconsistencies and/or problems adversly affecting the relevance of data and of some performance measures. They include the use of site-specific definitions and interpretations of even the most basic notions and measures that sometimes do not conform to widely recognized standards. It has also been discovered that the mines use, on average, only five measures of availability, maintainability and reliability. The most commonly used are the following: availability (mostly operational), ratio between planned/scheduled and total maintenance manlabour, maintenance ratio (maintenance person-hours to operating hours), mean time to repair (in terms of man-labour hours and hours elapsed on the clock), and mean time between failures.

This paper gives some suggestions and recommendations aimed to improve the quality and quantity of relevant data and information, as well as data analysis. Among the key recommendations is the unification of terminology and definitions through adoption and use of standards such as CAN/CSA Q631-97 (1997). Also, more performance measures should be employed. For example, given the distinct difference between time to restore/repair and downtime, it is suggested to implement two separate measures: mean repair time that may be expressed in maintenance person-hours and mean downtime in clock hours. It is also recommended to focus more on identification of downtime components. Classification and followup of delays will help identify the true nature of problems. It is believed that the suggestions and recommendations given in this paper will assist mine operators to ameliorate assessment of their equipment availability, reliability and maintainability, to become a more useful tool to improve equipment performance and, consequently, to reduce costs.

executive summaries A 21st century advancement for mine hoisting systems: frictionless — non-powered emergency arrestors

The use of a magnetic arresting system can be a huge improvement in mine hoisting safety and, in addition, provide major cost savings on installation and maintenance of arrestor systems.

E N G I N E E R I N G

ECBs generate a resisting force in proportion to the linear velocity of the moving object. Faster motion creates a higher braking force. Therefore, as the arrestor reduces the speed of a skip, the resisting force reduces, thus providing a nearly linear deceleration. Amusement rides and mine hoists use rails or wire rope guides to support and/or guide them.

The mine conveyance is guided at either end of its travel, and thus has reasonably constrained lateral motion. ECBs can be manufactured in the appropriate scale to arrest even the largest ore skip at very high speeds. Permanent magnet linear eddy current braking devices are currently utilized in vehicles, elevators and moving machinery of all sorts.

Limitations of ECAs As with any device, permanent magnetic emergency arrestors cannot do everything. They operate with 100% reliability within a range of performance. The important criteria to understand are: • As speed increases, braking force increases, up to the maximum power capability of the arrestor.

• A heavy conveyance will penetrate the arrestor set further than a lighter conveyance travelling at the same speed. Thus for operations, there will be a variation in deceleration depending upon vehicle weight.

• An ECA cannot grasp and hold a conveyance since there are no moving parts and no contact between conductor fin and magnetic emergency arrestors. A vertically descending conveyance, or one at an incline, will force itself out of the ECA at a very slow rate if the conveyance is unrestrained at that point.

• A shock absorber located at the exit end of the ECA will stop the conveyance and is a feasible addition to the system.

A N D

Magnetic arresting systems offer numerous benefits over all other existing systems. They are widely used in amusement park rides, such as roller coasters, and in vertical drop towers where riders free-fall from a height of 100 m to a safe landing. In addition, this is a technology that is infinitely re-usable, non-destructive, and requires no power or control system. Furthermore, the devices are essentially maintenance-free. Permanent magnet eddy current brake (ECB) technology traces its roots to Heinrich Lenz. In 1834, Russian physicist Heinrich Lenz discovered the directional relationships between induced magnetic fields, voltage, and current when a conductor is passed within the lines of force of a magnetic field. Lenz’s law states: “An induced electromotive force generates a current that induces a counter magnetic field that opposes the magnetic field generating the current.”

brake equipment will be presented to demonstrate the ability of the equipment to: • Provide a fail-proof controlled deceleration of skips at both the bottom of mine shafts and at the head frame.

• Work without friction, and without contact parts.

• Work without any power requirements or control systems.

• Work safely in hazardous environments.

• Be designed for any deceleration.

• Work in any position from vertical, angled or horizontal.

• Be adjusted quickly in the field during installation to provide perfect performance.

• Require no maintenance.

• Be utilized repeatedly without wear or damage.

• Be configured to provide not only emergency stops, but to control descent and ascent throughout the lift.

• Be accepted by safety agencies in the United States and Europe for years.

• Have been certified for passenger operations in Europe and by TUV of Germany.

M A I N T E N A N C E

There are no statistics on the number of persons transported on hoisting equipment, or the number of mine hoists in use worldwide. Permanent magnet (PM) linear eddy current brakes represent an exciting new technology for this very mature industry. Magnetic brakes are a simple and reliable alternative to destructive arresting systems — mechanical, pneumatic or electromagnetic — in mine hoists.

The scaling of magnetic brake capabilities for controlling high-weight and high-speed ore skips will be demonstrated, and various applications and configurations of magnetic E. Pribonic, Magnetar Technologies Corp., Seal Beach, California, USA, and M. Thompson, Thompson Consulting, Inc., Harvard, Massachusetts, USA March/April 2008 | 73

executive summaries

Because the ores processed vary widely in terms of iron to nickel ratios, it is probably more accurate to classify these plants according to their iron recovery: Falcondo and Cerro Matoso recover only 15 to 30% of the iron in their ores, while SLN and the Japanese recover 45 to 65%.

150 Fe credits

100

Million US$

The nickel laterite industry is divided into two camps when it comes to the grade of the ferronickels produced. One group, led by Falcondo and Cerro Matoso, markets high-grade products in the range of 35 to 40% Ni, while another, led by SLN and the Japanese smelters, favours lower grades in the range of 20 to 25%.

∆ NPV,

M E T A L L U R G Y

Selection of optimum ferronickel grade for smelting nickel laterites

500 400 300 200 100 0

50

0

-50

-100

-150 15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

% Ni in crude FeNi

Lower reductions generally imply higher Ni slag losses and lower Ni and Fe recoveries. But the advantages are lower power and reductant requirements (and thus higher throughputs in equally sized furnaces), smaller furnace off-gas volumes, and lower refining and product transportation costs. It also eliminates the high metal superheats and the carbon boil and silicon reversion problems experienced at high reductions.

Can both camps be right or is there an economically optimum ferronickel grade for a given ore? This paper proposes a methodology for determining this optimum. Complete smelter balances are developed for a range of ferronickel grades, using appropriate correlations for the variations in slag losses, ferronickel impurity levels and reductant usage. Differential capital and operating costs are calculated for each case. Finally, differential net present values (∆NPV) are calculated, taking into account the expected ramp-up schedule and major shut-downs during the first 20 years of operation.

The conclusion is that iron credits are the major factor directing the selection of the ferronickel grade. For a mediumsize plant smelting a conventional saprolite at 2.4% Ni and a Fe/Ni ratio of ~5 in a 45 MW furnace, the economically optimum ferronickel grade is around 35% for iron credits of <$300 per tonne of iron. It is only for credits of >$400 that the economic optimum shifts to lower grades below 25% (see figure). Because iron credits (if any) are typically significantly less than $200 per tonne, it is clear that the higher

M.Y. Solar, Independent Consultant, Oakville, Ontario, I. Candy and B. Wasmund, Hatch Ltd., Mississauga, Ontario 74 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 3, No. 2

Impact of iron credits on economically optimum ferronickel grade.

ferronickel grades should be favoured. None of the other factors investigated (LME price, ore costs, transportation costs, reductant prices, discount rate) change this conclusion. Only if the smelter is limited in the amount of calcine it can supply to its furnace is the inflection point moved to lower iron credits of $100 per tonne.

Neither do metallurgical considerations override the economic conclusions. For example, for the ore quoted above, production of a 35% ferronickel requires reduction of 35% of the iron. The C, Cr and Si concentrations estimated at this reduction potential are about 0.2% each. At these low levels, carbon boils and silicon reversions cannot occur, thus avoiding a problem that often plagues smelters that target higher reductions.

Of course, every ore and every location is different. But the authors have yet to see a project for which the conclusions are substantially different. Producers and customers should thus recognize the extra cost of producing lower ferronickel grades.

emg abstracts

Exploration and Mining Geology Journal Volume 16—Numbers 3 and 4 Iron Oxide Copper-Gold-type Polymetallic Mineralization in the Contact Lake Belt, Great Bear Magmatic Zone, Northwest Territories, Canada A.H. Mumin, Brandon University, Brandon, Manitoba; L. Corriveau, Natural Resources Canada, Geological Survey of Canada; A.K. Somarin, Brandon University, Brandon, Manitoba; and L. Ootes, Northwest Territories Geoscience Office The Contact Lake Belt forms the NW-trending flank of a collapsed andesite stratovolcano complex adjacent to a subvolcanic intrusion within the northern Great Bear magmatic zone. A re-examination of the belt has revealed widespread IOCG-type polymetallic mineralization exposed in numerous veins, stockworks, breccias and replacement zones within extensive areas of polyphase hydrothermal alteration. The style, size, overprinting relationship, mineralogy, and chemical composition of alteration zones and mineralization support the current IOCG exploration model for polymetallic mineralization in the Contact Lake belt.

A Review of Iron Oxide Copper-Gold Deposits, with Focus on the Wernecke Breccias, Yukon, Canada, as an Example of a Non-Magmatic End Member and Implications for IOCG Genesis and Classification J.A. Hunt, Yukon Geological Survey, Whitehorse, Yukon; T. Baker, James Cook University, Queensland, Australia; and D.J. Thorkelson, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia New data indicate Wernecke Breccia-associated IOCG deposits likely formed from moderate-temperature, highsalinity, non-magmatic brines. Modifications to the definition of IOCG systems are proposed that reflect the degree of involvement of magmatic and/or non-magmatic fluids and the nature of the mineralizing environment. The Wernecke Breccia and Redbank deposits are suggested as possible representatives of non-magmatic IOCG end members.

Fe Skarn, Iron Oxide Cu-Au, and Manto Cu-(Ag) Deposits in the Andes Cordillera of Southwest Mendoza Province (34°–36°S), Argentina M.B. Franchini, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Neuquén, Argentina; R.E. de Barrio, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, La Plata, Argentina; M.J. Pons, I.B. Schalamuk, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Neuquén, Argentina; F.J. Rios, Centro da Desenvolvimento de Tecnologia Nuclear, Belo Horizonte, Brazil; and L. Meinert, Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts,United States Several Fe, Fe-Cu, and Cu-Ag prospects hosted by Mesozoic carbonate-rich sedimentary rocks that were intruded by diorite stocks define an approximately 20 x 200 km belt along the Andes Cordillera of southwest Mendoza province, Argentina. Alteration at Las Choicas includes early widespread chlorite + calcite ± albite ± scapolite ± ilmenite or titanite ± apatite, and local actinolite ± hematite ± biotite alteration of diorite and sedimentary rocks along contacts. Later Cu mineralization is associated with calcite ± albite ± quartz alteration in fractures, vein networks, and crackle breccias.

Average Relative Error in Geochemical Determinations: Clarification, Calculation, and a Plea for Consistency C.R. Stanley, Acadia University, Wolfville, Nova Scotia; and D. Lawie, ioGlobal, West Perth, Western Australia, Australia The measurement of error in assays collected as part of a mineral exploration program or mining operation historically has been undertaken in a variety of ways. Thompson and Howarth’s error analysis approach has been used to describe measurement error.Because this approach utilizes a regression line to describe error, it provides a substantially different measure of error than the root mean square coefficient of variation. Furthermore, because regression is used, Thompson and Howarth’s results should only be used for estimating error in individual samples, and not for describing the average error in a data set. As a result, Thompson and Howarth’s results should not be used to determine the magnitudes of component errors introduced during geochemical sampling, preparation and analysis. Geoscientists seeking to Excerpts taken from abstracts in EMG, determine the average relative error in a data set should use a very large Vol. 16, Numbers 3 and 4. number of duplicate samples to make this estimate, particularly if the Subscribe—www.cim.org/geosoc/indexEMG.cfm average relative error is large.

March/April 2008 | 75

cmq abstracts

Canadian Metallurgical Quarterly Volume 46—Number 4

Investigation of Dissolution Kinetics of Natural Marble in Citric Acid Solutions F. Sevim, Atatürk University, Erzurum, Turkey The dissolution kinetics of marble in citric acid solutions was investigated. The effects of reaction temperature, particle size, acid concentration and stirring speed are examined. It is determined that the dissolution rate for process is controlled by chemical surface reaction. The activation energy and pre-exponential factor of the process are calculated to be 26.40 kJ.mol1 and 1634 min1, respectively. In addition, a mathematical model which can describe the process well has been developed.

Kinetics of Reduction of Manganese Oxide by Methane B. Khoshandam, Semnan University, Semnan, Iran; R.V. Kumar, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom; and E. Jamshidi, Amir-Kabir University (Tehran Polytechnic), Tehran, Iran Reduction of manganese (III) oxide to manganese (II) oxide using methane was studied in the present work.

A thermogravimetric method was used to obtain the kinetic parameters of the reaction in the temperature range of 580 to 675°C and under atmospheric pressure. The grain model was applied to analyze the experimental data.

The reduction reaction of manganese oxide (Mn2O3) with methane was carried out in two steps. The kinetic parameters of the overall reaction were obtained for the condition when reaction kinetics controls the overall rate of reaction.

High Temperature Behaviour of Directly Reduced Iron Fines D. Anghelina, Montanuniversität Leoben, Leoben, Austria; G. Brooks, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; and G.A. Irons, Steel Research Centre, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario The objective of this work was to characterize the high temperature behaviour of direct reduced iron (DRI) fines. Physical and chemical analysis of samples of DRI fines were conducted including size analysis, chemical analysis, X-Ray Diffraction and simultaneous thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis. The chemical changes during heating were also simulated using FACT thermodynamic analysis. It was found that the carbon and oxygen in the iron oxides reacted above 500°C and were generally completed by 700°C if the carbon-tooxygen ratio was balanced. Samples with lower oxygen contents continued to react above this temperature due to the reduction of gangue oxides in the DRI. Kinetics of Liquid Copper Reduction With Graphite T. Marin, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile; A. Warczok, G. Riveros, Universidad de Chile; Santiago, Chile, T. Utigard and G. Plascencia, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario The rate of copper reduction using graphite rods vertically has been studied using a continuous infrared gas analyzer technique to determine the content of oxygen removed from the liquid copper. The initial content of oxygen in the molten copper was about 0.5 wt% and the final content was about 30 ppm. As expected, the rate of reduction of liquid copper containing such oxygen contents follows a first order kinetic law, but depending on the oxygen content, there are two controlling stages with different kinetic constants. A series of experiments was carried out at different temperatures (1423 K, 1473 K, 1523 K and 1573 K) in order to determine the activation energy, which was found to be 54 kJ/mol. At the same temperature (1473 K), graphite disks floating on the liquid surface were used to compare with graphite rods. It was found that the rate of reduction per unit area was 1.6 times higher with rods than with floating disks, due to the stirring of liquid copper produced by gas evolution which in the case of graphite disks was much lower than in the case of rods.

76 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 3, No. 2

cmq abstracts Production of Al-Si Master Alloy by Aluminothermic Reduction of Silica in Molten Cryolite Y.M. Gorji, Semnan University, Semnan, Iran; M. Soltanieh, Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran, Iran; and A. Habibolahzadeh, Semnan University, Semnan, Iran The influence of the production parameters on the production of an Al-Si master alloy has been investigated by aluminothermic reduction of silica in molten cryolite. Kaolin was employed in molten cryolite as primary sources of silica and alumina. The effect of parameters such as reduction time, kaolin, silica and alumina contents on the silicon reduction coefficient in molten cryolite has been studied. The results indicate that the silicon content of the alloy increases by increasing the reaction time and silica content (up to 8 wt% in molten cryolite) and decreases by increasing the alumina and undissolved silica content of the bath. Kaolin appears to have no effect on the silicon reduction coefficient KSi but increases the reaction rate.

Desulphurization Characteristics of Ladle Furnace Slags of a Low Sulphur Steel E. Keskinkilic, A. Geveci and Y.A. Topkaya, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey In steelmaking, one of the most important parameters for desulphurization is the oxygen potential of the system which can be expressed either by oxygen activity of the steel or by FetO activity of the slag. Removal of sulphur from the steel is enhanced when FetO activity of the slag and thus oxygen activity of the steel decreases.

In this paper, ladle furnace slags of a low S steel quality currently produced in Eregli Iron and Steel Works Company (ERDEMIR), Turkey, were studied. The relation between %Decrease αFetO and %DeS (measured) was studied. The percentage of sulphur removal was also investigated using the data of the oxygen activity of liquid steel.

Ladle Eye Area Measurement Using Multivariate Image Analysis K.J. Graham, K. Krishnapisharody, G.A. Irons, Steel Research Centre, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario; and J.F. Macgregor, McMaster Advanced Control Consortium, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario Despite the importance of ladle metallurgy to the overall steel making process, very little has been achieved in the way of advanced ladle control. Limited sensors are available to monitor progress during refining and current control methods involve manual procedures. This paper details a vision-based sensor for analyzing ladle eye dynamics in real time using a multivariate image analysis (MIA) technique based on principal component analysis (PCA). Predictive capabilities of the developed model are demonstrated using previously published cold model data over a wide range of operating variables. Further, preliminary work has confirmed the ability of the sensor for potential use in an industrial setting.

Effect of Nozzle Location and Nozzle Capacity on Spray Cooling of Hot Gas in a Horizontal Duct J. L. Xia, J. Järvi, Pori Research Center, Outotec Oyj, Pori, Finland; E. Nurminen, Helsinki University of Technology, HUT, Espoo, Finland; E. Peuraniemi, Outotec Oyj, Espoo, Finland; and M. Gasik, Helsinki University of Technology, HUT, Espoo, Finland The modelling of the spray cooling of hot gas in a horizontal duct is carried out. Three nozzle arrangements are considered: the nozzle is located at the duct wall with the injection in favour of and against gravity (cross flows) and at the central axis (parallel flow). The predicted flow and heat transfer performance between different nozzle arrangements are compared for various nozzle capacities and numerical predictions are verified with simplified analytical solutions of outlet temperature. Results show that some non-vapourized droplets flow out of the duct exit. As far as the cooling effect is concerned, the cross flow with the injection against gravity is the best and the parallel flow appears to be the worst. For a given nozzle capacity, the operation may be more stable (with less flow and thermal fields fluctuation in quasi-steady state) and fewer droplets hit the duct wall for the nozzle arrangement with the injection against gravity. For safe operation, the nozzle should be located about 9 to 10 m ahead of the equipment.

Excerpts taken from abstracts in CMQ, Vol. 46, No. 4.

Subscribe—www.cmq-online.ca

March/April 2008 | 77

bookshop

New

NOTICE

Exploration and Mining Geology—Volume 16, Numbers 3 and 4

to all CIM National members

A special issue on iron oxide copper-gold deposits.

INCREASE OF ANNUAL FEES FOR 2009

Contact abrosseau@cim.org to purchase a copy today.

CIM Books available CIM Bulletin Technical Papers 2007 A compilation of peerreviewed technical papers published in the CIM Bulletin from February to November 2007.

At the CIM Council meeting held on March 1, 2008, it was moved by the Council that annual membership fees be increased, effective January 1, 2009, as follows: • The fee for Regular and Associate Members be increased to $150 per annum.

• The fees for Student, Retired and Unemployed Members stay the same.

• No change recommended to the fees for Corporate Members.

In accordance with By-Law 15 (see below) CIM Council will vote at its meeting on August 30, 2008, to raise fees as motioned.

By-Law 15 Annual membership fees for all classes of membership shall be determined by Council from time to time after the financial needs of the Institute have been evaluated, projected and presented to Council by the Finance Chairman. The determination of the fees shall be fully publicized to the membership in the CIM Magazine.

Not less than two (2) months after publication of the determination by Council, Council shall vote on the recommended annual fee schedule which must be supported by three-quarters (3/4) majority of all voting members of Council to become effective.

The vote may be taken by letter ballot.

AVIS The Geology, Geochemistry, Mineralogy and Mineral Beneficiation of Platinum-Group Elements Special Volume 54 provides new information and insights on platinum-group element deposits worldwide in terms of their geological setting, ore controls, mineralogy, geochemistry, mineral processing, and beneficiation.

Mineral Agreements and Royalties

by Karl Harries Special Volume 55, a twovolume set, is a generic guide intended to assist anyone involved directly or indirectly in the mineral exploration industry.

www.cim.org/publications/specialvols.cfm.

à tous les membres nationaux de l’ICM AUGMENTATION DE COTISATIONS ANNUELLE – 2009 A sa réunion du Conseil de l’ICM du 1 mars 2008, le Conseil a proposé une motion selon laquelle les cotisations annuelles seront majorées comme il est indiqué ci-dessous à compter du 1er janvier 2009 : • La cotisation des membres ordinaires et membres associés passera à 150 $ par année.

• La cotisations des membres étudiants, retraités ou sans emploi demeurera la même.

• De plus, le Conseil a recommandé qu’il n’y ait aucune majoration des cotisations pour les membres corporatifs.

Conformément au règlement no. 15 (voir ci-dessous), le Conseil de l’ICM votera à sa réunion du 30 août 2008, sur cette motion d’augmentation des cotisations comme il est expliqué aux présentes.

Règlement 15 : Le Conseil détermine en temps et lieu les cotisations annuelles des membres, pour toutes les catégories, une fois que le président des finances lui a présenté son évaluation des besoins financiers de l’Institut et ses prévisions. Les membres sont informés du montant des cotisations dans le CIM Magazine.

Au moins deux mois après avoir publié le montant des cotisations, le Conseil doit procéder à un vote sur l’échéancier recommandé pour les cotisations annuelles. Pour être adopté, l’échéancier doit remporter une majorité des trois quarts (3/4) des voix de tous les membres votants du Conseil. Le Conseil peut avoir recours au scrutin postal.

March/April 2008 | 79

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March/April 2008 | 80

ad index

In the next issue People in mining The May 2008 issue shines the people who shape our industry.

spotlight on the

We invite readers to explore the vital issues facing the mining industry including: Important human resources and community relations Best practices in attracting, recruiting and retaining employees Facilitating diversity in the workplace Also, be sure to check out our featured mines: PotashCorp’s potash mine in Sussex, New Brunswick, and War Eagle’s Tres Marias germanium mine in Mexico CIM Magazine brings you the tools to help optimize your most important resource — your people!

Fill your HR toolkit at the CIM Conference and Exhibition ✔ Take part in the

“HR: Managing the greatest resource of all” stream of the technical program ✔ Want to know your career options?

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www.cim.org/edmonton2008 March/April 2008 | 81

voices from industry

Getting the word out there

by Roy Slack, president, Cementation Canada Inc., and chairman, CIM Northern Gateway Branch ining is a great industry — and one that is greatly misunderstood. The end product of mining significantly enhances the quality of life for all of us. At the same time, the industry recognizes the social and environmental impact that mining has on our communities and, in response, companies have become concerned corporate citizens.

One thing that frustrates me is the media’s emphasis on the negative aspects of mining. The public often sees the worst of the industry in the reporting of sensationalized and isolated events. They certainly deserve to know the positive impact mining has on our society.

Local branches of CIM can play a vital role in painting a more accurate picture of mining; informing the public of its importance as well as the opportunities it offers for young people. The Northern Gateway Branch (based in North Bay, Ontario) has focused on promoting a positive image of the industry to the public and, in particular, to the region’s youth. Although there is no active mining in North Bay proper, the city is well known as a mining services hub and is home to over 60 companies that directly service the Canadian and international mining industry.

In the Northern Gateway Branch, we have carried out a number of initiatives to better inform the public of the positive impact of mining on society. Our focus has been on providing a bit of information, a little fun and, ultimately, a positive impression. Our intention is not to actively recruit young people into the industry, but rather to let them know that there are options in mining.

In particular, we want to let them know that mining is a responsible high-tech industry that makes an important contribution to society. We like to think of it as passive recruitment.

By working closely with the North Bay Mining Association, Nipissing University, Canadore College and the school boards, we have been involved in some great programs with local youth.

They have included guest speakers and panel discussions for the post-secondary students, Mine Scene Investigation (MSI) at the secondary level, and mining week fun days for the younger stu-

M

82 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 3, No. 2

dents. The technical presentations are first class, but we also mix it up a little with dinner theatre, beer tastings and other social events that focus on attracting a wide range of participants. We are now establishing a lecture program aimed at high school and post-secondary students, in which local industry leaders will speak on a wide variety of topics that are important to our businesses and our communities. We have also begun working with the school board on their co-op and employment initiatives.

Student participation has been great and each year these programs expand. However, an interesting thing has happened along the way. The school board, college and university staff and faculty have learned more about our industry. In fact, they have become so interested that both Nippissing University and Canadore College have representatives on the local CIM branch executive, as does the city of North Bay. Our local elected officials have also shown strong support for what we are doing.

The local chamber of commerce and service providers, such as banks, insurance groups and facility and service suppliers, have all become involved.

At the same time, the people in our industry have learned something about our local history and about other companies in the area that are also working hard to support the mining industry.

Everyone comes away from these events knowing a little more and maybe feeling proud, and even honoured, to be part of the whole thing. Did I mention we also have fun doing it?

So, if we can reach as many as 1,000 students each year who, in turn, spread the information along to their friends and parents about the special activities they participated in, then we are helping to get the message out to the public that this is an industry that makes a difference in the quality of our lives.

The programs that the Northern Gateway Branch (and all of the local CIM branches) carry out are the result of hard work from volunteers who believe that the public deserves to know the positive aspects of mining. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the CIM volunteers who donate their time — which we all know is at a premium — to promote this industry. Special thanks to the Northern Gateway executive and all the companies that support and participate in everything our branch does. You are making a difference. CIM