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CONTENTS|CONTENU CIM MAGAZINE | MAY 2012 | MAI 2012

TOOLS OF THE TRADE 14

Comminution Compiled by E. Moore

NEWS 20

Cabo, Corona College connect Would-be

Northern exposure Quebec tour offers Latin

diamond drillers learn first-hand by M. Samuel American journalists new perspectives on mining by R. Bergen

Strike it rich Unearthing the secrets of

Raw data revolution Technology standards

discovery at PDAC by B.L. Campbell committee to launch at CIM conference by D. Zlotnikov

Difficult discussions Mining development in

Une foule somme toute modeste à Québec L’avenir minier : consultation citoyenne

Quebec fuels debate by A. Castonguay

de l’INM par A. Castonguay

COLUMNS 38

Supply Side How to get more out of a mining trade show

UPFRONT 52

Stable slopes make better valleys Teck and Golder work to depressurize

Knowledge is power MillMapper offers new mill liner monitoring possibilities

A clean sweep Vale will overhaul smelter to reduce atmospheric emissions by

Pushing potash further Mosaic K1 pioneers planning automation in the sector

Tested and ready Cave-mining methods attractive as open pits disappear

Fresh air Peter Robinson, the CEO of the David Suzuki Foundation on mining,

walls at Highland Valley Copper by A. Lopez-Pacheco

by J. Baird

40 44 46 48 50

HR Outlook Collaborative workforce planning addresses skills shortage by E. Holder and M. Roberts Eye on business ICA not a serious threat to foreign investors by H. A. Do and D. C. New Standards Water and mining – reporting the risks and challenges by C. Waldie and D. Wong Guest column - Mine closure Perpetual maintenance schemes not a viable option by L. Sawatsky Guest column - Bribery and corruption How to deal with rising risk by S. Schulz

by D. Zlotnikov

P. Diekmeyer

by A. Lopez-Pacheco

by K. Lagowski

the environment and sound management by P. Braul

CIM COMMUNITY 84

Bridging the generation gap New CIM chapter

Industrial-strength connections CIM provides

at UBC introduces students to mining by C. Chan networking opportunities, education and more by D. Zeldin

Un réseau de calibre industriel L’ICM fournit 91 93

des occasions de réseautage, des formations, et bien d’autres avantages par D. Zeldin New society needs your input ESRS working on integration and recruiting new members by A. Kent No nonsense man Hard work and patience pay off for Nova Scotia native by C. Baldwin Trailblazer gets recognition Scholarship winner committed to global excellence by A. Lopez-Pacheco

FEATURE | ARTICLE VEDETTE

Minerals for all ages CMMF and Dynamic Earth

CIM gives back Donation to BC College to attract

students to industry by H.B. George Canadian mining hot spot CIM forging strategic partnership with West Africa by D. Zeldin

collaborate on new learning tool by D. Sauvé

The best measures Planning and proportion key to successful environmental

Des mesures à prendre La planification et le sens des proportions pour remédier à

assessments by E. Moore

Une région intéressante pour l’industrie minière canadienne L’ICM fonde un partenariat

la complexité croissante des évaluations environnementales

stratégique avec l’Afrique de l’ouest par D. Zeldin

HISTORIES

PROJECT PROFILE | PROJET EN VEDETTE

105

Historical metallurgy Metallothermic reactions: a short history (Part 1: Introduction) by F. Habashi

Ripe for recovery Curis Resources aims to bring in-situ copper recovery project to

Du cuivre à récupérer Curis Resources veut mettre sur pied un projet in situ de

production by C. Baldwin

TECHNICAL ABSTRACTS 107 109

récupération du cuivre en Arizona

CIM Journal Canadian Metallurgical Quarterly

IN EVERY ISSUE

8 10 12 98 111 112 114

Editor’s message President’s notes / Mot du président Linkedin comments Calendar Innovation showcase Professional directory Mining Lore The Plaster War of 1820: How the locals won by C. Baldwin

editor’s letter

Minerals for all seasons No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn. ~ Hal Borland The theme for this year’s CIM Conference & Exhibition – “Minerals for all Seasons” – was first proposed by CIM past-president Jim Popowich (2007-2008), though he credits the discussion of a similar theme proposed by then incoming CIM president Chuck Edwards with inspiring his subconscious. During a bout of insomnia on a snowy night, Jim found himself appreciating the fact that, thanks to the snowploughs and salt trucks that would come, the roads would be clear by the next morning. He then began to ponder what life would be like without the minerals we need to create the tools we take for granted every day. Jim proposed that we, in the minerals industry, need to continue to educate our leaders, media, teachers and the public in general about what the industry is doing to mine more sustainably, and that the 2012 CIM Conference in Edmonton is a good venue to do so. As such, this year’s technical program has strong environmental and corporate social responsibility tracks. Inspired by the Edmonton 2012 conference theme, we are shining a decidedly green spotlight on the industry throughout the May issue. In our feature “The best measures,” writer Eavan Moore looks at the complex and everexpanding landscape of environmental assessments, and how project planners are attempting to balance requirements for increasingly more sophisticated and rigorous due diligence with the need to keep projects on track and on budget. Learn how good internal communication among study teams and the coordination of efforts between different projects – big and small – can result in more comprehensive and efficient assessments to the benefit of all. For this issue’s Q&A, CIM Magazine section editor Peter Braul speaks with the CEO of the David Suzuki Foundation, Peter Robinson. You will not want to miss his thoughts on sustainable mining, including whether he believes there is such a thing, and why having sustainability departments may not be such a great idea after all. Spring’s air of renewal is reinforced each year at CIM, as the change of the season coincides with a change in our leadership. At the CIM Annual General meeting on May 6, we welcome Terence Bowles, past-president and CEO of the Iron Ore Company of Canada, and now at the helm of the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation, as our new CIM president. We look forward to working with Terry as he steers the CIM ship in what are sure to be exciting new waters. On behalf of the CIM staff, I would also like to thank outgoing president Chuck Edwards. It has been a great pleasure working with you this past year and, in particular, witnessing the further evolution of the CIM Journal, including the realization of the first special themed issue on Uranium. The engine of a peer-reviewed journal is not always easy to manage, as the number of paper submissions from around the globe continues to increase, however, the rewards are many and we are privileged to have such a passionate and dedicated champion taking the lead. Fortunately for us all, as the Technical Committee chair and in your capacity as immediate past-president, we can expect to bring the CIM Journal to new heights for many seasons to come.

Editor-in-chief Angela Hamlyn, editor@cim.org Managing editor Wah Keung Chan, wkchan@cim.org Senior editor Ryan Bergen, rbergen@cim.org Section editors Features: Ryan Bergen, rbergen@cim.org News and Upfront: Peter Braul, pbraul@cim.org Columns, CIM Community, Histories and Technical Section:

Dinah Zeldin, dzeldin@cim.org Copy editor / Communications Coordinator

Zoë Koulouris, zkoulouris@cim.org Web editor Nathan Hall, nhall@cim.org Publisher CIM Contributors Jon Baird, Correy Baldwin, Barbara L. Campbell, Crystal Chan, Alain Castonguay, Peter Diekmeyer, Huy A. Do, Hartley Butler George, Fathi Habashi, Evan Holder, Alistair Kent, Krystyna Lagowski, Alexandra Lopez-Pacheco, Eavan Moore, Douglas C. New, Martha Roberts, Marta Samuel, Deborah Sauvé, Les Sawatsky, Suzanne Schulz, Craig Waldie, James Whyte, Daphne Wong, Dan Zlotnikov Published 8 times a year by CIM 1250 – 3500 de Maisonneuve Blvd. West Westmount, QC, H3Z 3C1 Tel.: 514.939.2710; Fax: 514.939.2714 www.cim.org; Email: magazine@cim.org Subscriptions Included in CIM membership ($170.00); Non-members (Canada), $220.00/yr (PE, MB, SK, AB, NT, NU, YT add $11.00 GST, BC add $26.40 HST, ON, NB, NL add $28.60 HST, QC add $32.95 GST + PST, NS add $33.00 HST) Non-Members USA and International: US$240.00/year 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 National Account Executives 905.886.6641 Janet Jeffery, jjeffery@dvtail.com, ext. 329 Neal Young, nyoung@dvtail.com, ext. 325

This month’s cover A Stantec technician performs hydrometric monitoring at the Sisson project in New Brunswick. Courtesy of Stantec Layout and design by Clò Communications Inc. www.clocommunications.com Copyright©2012. 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.

Angela Hamlyn, Editor-in-chief 8 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 7, No. 3

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president’s notes

A steady pace It has been my honour and pleasure to serve as CIM president for the past year. CIM continues to grow in size and strength, but this progress has not always been easy. For example, you, our members, have suggested many more good ideas than we have the capacity to act on at one time. So, we have had to stay disciplined, selecting and focusing on the four or five best ideas, and cataloguing the others for the future. All of these actions are guided by our strategic plan, which provides the framework for the continued growth, development and improvement of CIM. In the last year, we have repositioned CIM by establishing three new technical societies: the Underground Mining Society; the Surface Mining Society; and the Environmental and Social Responsibility Society. We are also continuing to support current and new CIM student chapters at colleges and universities across Canada, developing the skills and knowledge our industry needs. Another major initiative is the CIM Leadership Development Program. This program, announced in May 2011, became a reality in

February, when our first leadership development group convened. I am confident this program will help ensure our industry is defined by leadership excellence, in addition to technical excellence. Under the capable and inspired guidance of Nathan Stubina and Bob Schafer, CIM’s international presence, contacts and activities are growing quickly. Building the Institute’s international membership, drawing international attendees to our conferences and hosting or cohosting international conferences will enhance CIM members’ already considerable technical expertise, and generate more opportunities for knowledge sharing, fellowship, networking and professional development. Our CIM Journal – in glorious full colour with English and French content – is almost two years old now. In that time, it has proven a successful venture and has become a destination for peer-reviewed papers from around the world. Our plans for CIM Conference & Exhibition Edmonton 2012 are well in hand. We have an engaging M4S show, an excellent technical program, a sold-out trade show, an entertaining social program and enticing field trips. The event will also feature RockEng 2012, the 21st Canadian Rock Mechanics Symposium. I hope to see you all in Edmonton!

Chuck Edwards CIM President

Un rythme constant Ce fut un honneur et un plaisir pour moi de servir en tant que président de l’ICM au cours de la dernière année. L’ICM a gagné en importance et en vigueur, mais ce progrès n’a pas toujours été facile. Par exemple, le temps a manqué pour réaliser toutes les bonnes idées que vous nous avez proposées. Nous avons donc dû agir de façon disciplinée et sélective en nous concentrant sur quatre ou cinq idées principales, en gardant toutefois les autres en tête pour l’avenir. Toutes ces actions sont guidées par notre plan stratégique, lequel encadre la croissance, le développement et l’amélioration continus de l’ICM. Au cours de la dernière année, nous avons repositionné l’ICM en créant trois nouvelles sociétés techniques : la Société d’exploitation minière souterraine, la Société d’exploitation à ciel ouvert et la Société de l’environnement et de la responsabilité sociale. Nous continuons également de soutenir le développement des divisions étudiantes de l’ICM, partout au Canada, afin de développer le savoir-faire et les connaissances dont notre industrie a besoin. Une autre initiative majeure est le Programme de développement du leadership de l’ICM. Ce programme, annoncé en mai 2011, a été concrétisé en février lorsque notre premier groupe de formation en leadership s’est réuni. Je crois fermement que ce programme aidera à assurer la pérennité de notre industrie, marquée par l’excellence de ses leaders et de ses techniques. Sous la direction experte et inspirée de Nathan Stubina et Bob Schafer, la présence internationale, le réseautage et les activités de 10 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 7, No. 3

l’ICM continuent de croître rapidement. En continuant d’augmenter le nombre de membres à l’international et d’attirer des participants internationaux aux conférences que nous organiserons ou coorganiserons partout dans le monde, nous espérons améliorer l’expertise technique déjà considérable des membres de l’ICM et multiplier les occasions de partage des connaissances, d’échanges, de réseautage et de développement professionnel. Le CIM Journal, en couleur et contenant des articles en français et en anglais, a été lancé il y a presque deux ans maintenant. Il a obtenu un vif succès et est rapidement devenu une référence grâce à ses articles évalués par des pairs venant du monde entier. La préparation du Congrès et Salon commercial 2012 de l’ICM à Edmonton est bien entamée. Nous y présenterons une exposition M4S fascinante, un excellent programme technique, un salon commercial qui affiche déjà complet, un important volet d’activités sociales et des excursions captivantes. RockEng 2102, le 21e Symposium canadien sur la mécanique des roches, sera également de la partie. J’espère vous rencontrer tous à Edmonton!

Chuck Edwards Président de l’ICM

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CIM’s LinkedIn group carries the conversation CIM currently boasts almost 5,000 members on LinkedIn. Join us today and get involved in the compelling dialogue. Below are a few of the myriad LinkedIn comments received daily in response to CIM Magazine’s editorial topics.

Making mining engineers for a booming economy – are Canada’s universities preparing students for the workforce? At Queen’s mining engineering, we’ve seen a significant increase in enrolment during the past few years. At Queen’s, students enter their discipline of choice (e.g., mining, mechanical, etc.) in the second year of the program, after a common first year for all new engineering students. Mining had more than 70 new students in the second year last year (fall 2011) and we are forecasting more than 90 for the coming September (fall 2012)! Are we doing a good job? Ask the students! In my view, what we are sorely lacking is new academics in the field to support growth in undergraduate teaching and graduate research in mining. Joshua Marshall, assistant professor at Queen’s University, Ontario, Canada

I think the problem of finding academic professionals/researchers and grad students is due to unprecedented industry demand. Our best graduating engineering students are being offered $110,000 + pa, which is about $35,000 higher than the starting rate for an assistant professor. Why go to graduate school when you can make serious money and learn on the job? By comparison, electrical engineers have an average starting salary upon graduation of about $57,000 pa. Some of us can remember the dreadful 1980s, when mine closures were endemic and Phds were lucky to earn $150/day toting geophysical equipment up mountainsides to do survey work. the problem with mining and petroleum is the cyclical nature of those industries. In BC, eight mines are projected to open in the next five years. Even if only five of them actually open, the economic impact will be huge. Western Australia today is a case in point. I think five years ago, the Australian dollar was about .70 cents Canadian; today it is $1.08. A cup of coffee is $25 in a hotel and it is projected that $30 billion will be spent in mining infrastructure in the next five years. Michael Schoen, instructor, coordinator, acting coordinator at University of British Columbia, British Columbia, Canada

Great point Michael. Professors also tend to teach their own research, which can often be very untransferable to the workforce. Ben Adaszynski, process metallurgist – Canadian Operations at Gekko Systems, Vancouver, Canada

My concern with the training students get in schools of mining is the dearth of exposure to health and safety. I’m not talking about WHMIS or how to wear PPE properly. What I am referring to are: a) the theory of safe operation, and b) how this theory can be translated into practice. Safety’s got to be integrated into operational practices and culture if it is going to be real and to yield results. Good operators know this. Some have a tacit understanding of how to do this (without ever having learned it in school). However, tacit knowledge cannot be transferred to another without first making it explicit. And how prepared are top-notch operators to start becoming teachers? (I know, I know, we’ve got safety guys to do this, but, in my experience, high-performing operators rarely become safety “guys”). So, if we’re going to see mining operations in which there is a widespread understanding of the theory of safety management, wouldn’t it make sense to equip new graduates with this knowledge before they enter the workforce? Wouldn’t it make sense for them to hit the ground with an explicit understanding of how to manage safety, why it must be integrated into operations, how this can be done, and the role of workplace culture (and climate) in making sure safety practices are “real”? Unfortunately, students are not being graduated from mining schools with a sound understanding of things like risk management, safety culture, the Internal Responsibility System, etc. I believe the industry should demand of the schools that a theoretical understanding of what makes for a safe (and healthy) operation, and an explicit understanding of how this theory is manifested in practice, should be part of the curriculum. Richard deMeulles, writer and effectiveness consultant, Ontario, Canada

SCAn the QR Code WItH yOUR SMARt PHOnE tO BE tAkEn dIRECtLy tO CIM’S LInkEdIn PAGE. 12 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 7, No. 3

Join the discussion on

OF TOOLS THE TRADE

comminution

◢ Old made new Westpro reconditions crushers, mills and other processing equipment worldwide. “We do any that anyone is interested in having done,” says Rob Kaplan, manager of mineral processing. Customers can ship in their equipment or invite a crew to do repairs onsite. Along with quality and good service, says Kaplan, the company offers a short turnaround. “Depending on what you’re looking at, we seem to have a relatively quick delivery compared to some of our competitors.” He points out the company’s services are not restricted to rebuilds: Westpro also custom manufactures equipment ranging from individual pieces to entire processing circuits. Its latest jobs were a rod mill for the potash industry and a pair of ball mills used for lime slaking.

◢ Green in, trucks out ◢ Near-pure compressive force The Polycom high-pressure grinding roll uses two counter-rotating rolls, one fixed and one floating, to crush material. According to manufacturer ThyssenKrupp Polysius, it applies near-pure compressive force as opposed to the combination of compressive and less-powerful shear forces in conventional grinding mills. The results contain a higher percentage of fines than crushers produce and coarser particles that have been cracked, easing the job downstream. While high-pressure grinding rolls have historically had trouble with wet and sticky ore, marketing representative Norbert Veit says Polysius has extensive experience with the studded roll bodies suited to these types of material. The hard metal studs also protect the roll body against abrasive material.

14 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 7, No. 3

This mobile slewing sizing station from MMD Mineral Sizing Inc. enables excavating, sizing and conveyor haulage to take place at the mine face. “The main feature is to eliminate haul trucks,” says Jenny Forsan, logistics manager at MMD Canada. Without trucks’ exhaust and tire impact, she says, mines could run greener. A typical setup would see an excavator loading material directly from the mine face into the sizing station. Sized material would be discharged into a hopper car to travel along an overland conveyor. Repositioned from a control cabin, the sizing station can slew 135 degrees from centre to accommodate different sections of the mine face. It can operate almost continuously, with a maintenance break every two weeks.

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OF TOOLS THE TRADE

comminution

◢ Small but mighty PR Engineering has developed a prototype two-tonne crusher for exploration use. The small jaw crusher is designed to be used in the field, crushing small ore samples for analysis. It will be heavier-duty and more affordable to Canadian customers than lab crushers that are currently available, according to Linda Grieco, director of PR Engineering. “These will outperform what’s on the market now, probably 10 to one,” she says. “Plus, it’s Canadian-made. Other lab crushers come from places like Peru and Brazil. You can imagine what the shipping costs are going to be.” Suited for hard rock applications, the crusher will have a double toggle design, which Grieco says produces less wear than single toggle models.

◢ Rockbreaker with reach Made for use in large dump pockets, Tramac’s TR rockbreaker boom systems carry 7,000-pound hammers. The booms are custom-built with varying reach measurements, says Gary Hesseltine, boom specialist at Tramac: “With a careful study of drawings or by a site survey, our engineers can make adjustments of base position and boom arm articulation that will allow horizontal and vertical coverage into all required areas of the client dump pocket.” Hesseltine says an arched main boom design offers both superior strength and the ability to work relatively close to the boom’s pedestal base, while critical connection locations are flared and widened to provide extra support. “This is an important element that adds years to the unit’s working life,” he says.

◢ Self-clearing safety The Telsmith J3858 is a high-capacity jaw crusher, with approximate throughputs of 355 tonnes to 545 tonnes per hour at a 100-millimetre setting. Chad McClaskey, marketing manager at Telsmith, says its popularity is due in large part to a remotely operated chamber clearing system. Hydraulic cylinders retract the toggle beam and pitman, allowing large rock chunks to fall. Any remaining stone is crushed to normal size. “By simply using push button controls, the operator can clear the crusher in less than 30 minutes,” says McClaskey. “Not only does hydraulic chamber clearing save time, it provides for a safer work environment since employees no longer have to manually ‘dig’ out the crusher.” The cylinders briefly give way for uncrushable material as well, eliminating toggle breakage.

16 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 7, No. 3

OF TOOLS THE TRADE

comminution

◢ Reliability boost Reliability is the highlight of this medium-voltage mill drive. A mill powered by the ACS 1000 will enjoy “fast, accurate, stepless control from zero to full speed” via a patented technology called Direct Torque Control, according to Richard Kraska, product group manager - MV Drives at ABB. Rapid torque response means that the drive responds well to power losses and sudden load changes. Other distinguishing features, says Kraska, are the fuseless design, long-lasting capacitors, and the standard inclusion of an output sine filter that eliminates voltage reflections and common mode voltages. The ACS 1000 controls induction motors of 315 kW to 5 MW. Existing installations can be retrofitted with the drive.

◢ Crushing: now in 3D

◢ Holistic relining Russell Mineral Equipment (RME) sells parts of its mill relining equipment individually, but Peter Courtney, key account manager for North America, argues that RME’s entire range is greater than the sum of its parts. “We can offer maximum operator efficiency and safety when the complementary products and services in the RME Mill Relining System are utilised,” he says. “These include Thunderbolt recoilless hammers, T-Mag moil guides, O-Zone liner lifting tools, Russell feed chute technologies, and importantly, spares, service and training throughout the world.” The liner handlers themselves come in models for a variety of mill types; the Russell Twin 8 provides two independent systems for one large SAG/AG mill, operating on eight axes of movement.

18 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 7, No. 3

Gundlach’s roll crushers boast the unique ability to size products in three dimensions. Mike Hamby, vicepresident of sales and service at Gundlach, explains that the tooth configuration of a standard roll crusher can determine that particles emerge (for example) 1 inch by 1 inch but they cannot control the third dimension. This irregularity can pose a downstream problem for such products as fertilizers, salts and coking coal pumped as slurry. Gundlach’s crushers use a timed gearbox to control that final dimension. “As those two rolls turn, they turn in a timed relationship to each other,” says Hamby. “Both rollers turn at exactly the same RPM, even if you open and close the roll to change the sizing.”

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news

Cabo, Corona College connect Would-be diamond drillers learn first-hand

With the mining industry in Newfoundland and Labrador growing steadily, the demand for trained drillers is now high and finding these workers is harder than it used to be. “In the early days, drillers used to go to any place they could find men gathering, even at a bar, and say, ‘Do you need a job?’” said Kader Omar, vice-president of business development at Corona College. “Those days are no longer here.” Which is why Omar and other staff at the college based in Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland have taken initiative and collaborated with a diamond drilling company. In 2007-08, the college partnered with Cabo Drilling (Atlantic) Corp. to train students at its sites. Unfortunately, with a faltering economy that made investors nervous, exploration activity shrunk and the program was shelved. But in 2011, the college decided to reoffer the program and saw much greater success. Of the seven students who graduated in 2012, Cabo hired five. There are other Canadian colleges which offer partnerships with drilling companies, and Corona is looking to

20 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 7, No. 3

Courtesy of Corona College

By Marta Samuel

Corona College students (in blue helmets) learning on site with Cabo Atlantic

expand the opportunities offered to students. Corona’s goal is to provide companies with skilled workers who, after leaving the classroom, are equipped with the necessary training to work as drillers’ assistants. “The industry really took a full swing back and there’s no slowing down,” Omar said. “When the drillers and people who are experienced need to

retire or leave [Newfoundland] for better opportunities, you need new blood to pump into the industry.” “The school is an advantage to us because we can take the students already trained,” said Melvin Butt, human resources and health and safety supervisor at Cabo. “I know in particular for our last contract we picked up, we just called the school. They did their two-week on-the-job training with us, and we just had to ask the driller about work ethic and attitude and from there we knew who we wanted and who we didn’t.” The 20-week program, modelled after Ontario’s “Common Core” industry standard, provides students with eight different safety certifications needed in an industry that is becoming increasingly environmentally and safety-aware. Graduating from this year’s program, Rob Izzard was hired by Cabo in Ontario as a driller’s assistant in Kirkland Lake. The pay and opportunity for future travel are what attracted the 27-year-old to the work, but as a newcomer, he too sees a lack of new, skilled workers. “Most of the miners now have been working for a long time, so they need younger workers to come into the field,” Izzard said. “It’s hard work but if you can handle it, you should jump on it.” With a population of over 500,000 people and approximately six drilling companies operating in Newfoundland, the competition for new and experienced employees is very high. For Cabo, the partnership with Corona is both crucial and unique; it is currently the only drilling company collaborating with the college. And as long as exploration continues, the demand for drillers will persist. “From my first hand point of view, I think it’s a great partnership and I hope it continues,” Butt remarked. “It’s a good idea to let someone else train your drillers’ helpers; you know they have experience and they know how it all works.” CIM

news

Northern exposure Quebec tour offers Latin American journalists new perspectives on mining

Over a third of all Canadian mining assets abroad are located in Latin America, according to recent figures and, inevitably, Canadian firms have endured their share of critical attention from the press and local stakeholders. To help inform the debate, Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) invited journalists from Central and South America to the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region of northwestern Quebec to see for themselves major projects that have succeeded despite enormous challenges. “We wanted to create a venue where the journalists could freely interact and ask questions about the industry as it operates today,” explained Nicole Lunstead, trade commissioner with DFAIT’s Latin America strategic relations division. She was on hand to accompany the group comprised of members of the media from Argentina, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Panama and the Dominican Republic. “It was our hope that this experience would help them report on mining issues in the future, which, in turn, will help foster an

22 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 7, No. 3

Courtesy of Nicole Lunstead/DFAIT

By Ryan Bergen

Panamanian journalist Marianela Palacios (left) discusses the issues facing Canada’s indigenous people with Salomée McKenzie, chief of the Lake Simon Anishnabeg Nation Council, at a supper hosted by the Abitibiwinni First Nations community of Pikogan.

informed exchange amongst stakeholders in their own countries.” The two-day trip featured a tour of Osisko Mining Corporation’s Canadian Malartic mine, the neighbourhood the company relocated to accommodate the mine pit, and the massive earthen wall

created to limit the amount of noise from the operation that reaches the town. The group also spent the evening at the Algonquin community of Pikogan near Amos, followed by a day at Hydro Québec’s Eastmain 1 hydroelectric installation near James Bay. The multi-billion-dollar project was only realized after the public utility company and the local Cree established a development and compensation agreement in 2002. At the Eastmain office, Ted Moses, who as grand chief of the Cree signed the 2002 Paix des Braves agreement with Quebec, explained the broad financial and economic benefits the Cree gained from the accord. Moses, who is now the secretariat to the Cree Nation Abitibi-Témiscamingue Economic Alliance president, noted the accord includes a $70-million minimum annual payment from the province and the sharing of tax revenue created by natural resource projects, such as Goldcorp’s Eleonore mine, which is currently under construction. The tour, however, did not avoid the conflicts that persist in Canada. At the Pikogan Community Centre, Aboriginal

leaders, including Ghislain Picard, chief of the Quebec and Labrador Assembly of First Nations, who has been a vocal critic of Hydro Québec’s handling of its latest project in eastern Quebec, addressed the journalists. Together, they outlined the duty to consult Aboriginals about projects that may impact them, citing both cases from Canada’s Supreme Court and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People. They also underlined their enduring frustration with being “invisible people.” Claude Thibault, director of the Abitibi-Témiscamingue export development agency 48e Nord International, which helped organize the trip for the journalists, explained the event was designed with the forces of development and resistance in mind. “We wanted to show them how mining

companies are working with communities on the ground. Yes, there are unresolved issues, but we wanted to put them in context.” Many of those who made the trip had basic knowledge of mining and had not been to a mine operation. So Osisko’s CFO Bryan Coates and Canadian Malartic’s general manager Denis Cimon gave the group a crash course in mining and mineral processing. Cimon highlighted the sound practices of modern mining operations and asked the journalists to evaluate the industry by current standards, not by those of the distant past. Coates shifted the conversation to Osisko’s Famatina project in La Rioja province of Argentina, where there is strong anti-mining sentiment, and attempts to engage with the community

have been rebuffed. “We just want to talk to them,” he told the Argentine reporters. In January, Osisko announced it would suspend operations in Famatina to focus on establishing a social licence, an asset that has been invaluable at its Quebec operation. Editorial coverage by the journalists made it clear the tour made an impact. Julieta Camandone, an economic journalist with El Cronista Comercial in Argentina, followed up her visit with a story that detailed Osisko’s relocation and community engagement success in Malartic as a counterpoint to the conflict in Argentina. Camandone recently moved from reporting on agribusiness, the country’s leading export industry, to mining. The shift in focus, she said, reflects the

May 2012 | 23

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national government’s growing interest in the industry. She explained to CIM Magazine that building support for the

industry will require work. There is strong opposition to any form of resource development, whether it is

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24 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 7, No. 3

exploration or extraction, and doubt that the public will actually benefit from mining revenue. “The other problem,” she said, “is the odour of corruption that every Argentine smells whenever a huge amount of money is involved.” That was a theme echoed by her peers. “Generally, Central American people don’t believe mining companies can bring benefits to communities,” said Salvadoran journalist Pablo Balcaceres of El Economista magazine. “There are many doubts about the respect for legal frameworks, concern for environment and corruption.” But, he added, “I think the experience of the Crees with Hydro Québec may mark the beginning of a new era in which companies share profits with the people. My question is whether mining can reach that level.” Guatemalan print and television journalist Juan Luis Font drafted a pair of opinion pieces to spark a public discussion of mining policy that he argued is long overdue. He questioned the wisdom of developing a mining industry before the state has the means to administer it. “The country has not yet defined reasonable mechanisms for consulting with communities located near mineral deposits, nor has it established methods to handle conflicts.” Foreign investment, much of it Canadian, is pushing Guatemala to “run before it walks,” he wrote. Yet Font held up the example set by Canadian operations as a model for mining development in his country. “In the civilized world, it is unthinkable to extract resources without consulting communities.” From the Canadian perspective, DFAIT’s Lunstead said she is pleased with the outcome. “If the journalists take their experience in Canada and the perspectives they have heard, and apply those in their future reporting, of which we’ve seen significant evidence already, the program was a great success.” CIM

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Strike it rich Unearthing the secrets of discovery at PDAC

Although exploration for metals and minerals attracts more funding every year, discoveries are hardly keeping pace with worldwide demand. For discoverers, the statistical odds of success are not encouraging. Indeed, Robert Schafer, executive vice-president of business development at Hunter Dickinson, likens their tasks to tackling “a jigsaw puzzle with 60 per cent of the pieces missing.” During PDAC’s 2012 convention in Toronto, Schafer and John Morganti, president of Morganti Advisors, cochaired a panel discussion called “The discoverers,” featuring five top members of the exploration field to try to “extract some of their secrets,” Schafer said. Key personality traits described by geosciences consultant Vic Wall of Vic Wall and Associates suggest that today’s successful discoverers do not differ markedly from those who went before them. Wall painted a picture of “hungry, obsessive, driven optimists.” They are risk-takers, he said, who possess confidence and persuasiveness. Nobody argued with his description, but what must would-be discoverers do in order to reach their prized targets? “Stick your neck out and make a decision,” urged Mark Rebagliati, vicepresident of exploration at Hunter Dickinson, in a call to take action based on knowledge and intuition, rather than stalling over the growing lists of risks. Rebagliati’s own decisions have prompted discoveries including the Hollister gold deposit in Nevada and porphyry coppergold deposits at Mt. Milligan and Kemess, BC, at Xietongmen in Tibet and on Alaska’s Pebble East property – the world’s third largest gold resource. “Do what you have a passion for,” said Ron Parratt, a director and executive chairman of Renaissance Gold, in Reno, Nevada. “This is no typical eight-to-five job. Look at the assays, not the clock,” he quipped. David Lowell, who heads Lowell Mineral Exploration of Rio Rico, was 26 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 7, No. 3

Courtesy of ATAC Resources

By Barbara L. Campbell

Rob Carne, president and director of ATAC Resources, receiving core from drills at the company’s Rackla gold project in the Yukon

not alone in his belief that discoverers need to “think outside the box.” Lowell’s unconventional view of the slant of a fault line in Arizona resulted in the 1965 discovery of the Kalamazoo porphyry copper deposit. He also found the porphyry deposit at Vekol Hills, where he says he lived in an abandoned mine tunnel. Lowell is more than a bit of a maverick; his presentation took a lighthearted dig at convention, pondering whether good students, who follow the rules and embrace dogmatic thought, actually make poor explorers. Nevertheless, Lowell and his fellow panelists form a highly educated group, whose names leave a trail of degrees and certifications in their wakes. And while the characters and actions of today’s discoverers echo those of their predecessors, the technological skills they need are solidly rooted in the present. Technology has revolutionized the terrain. Geological skills are increasingly important, said Wall, whose expertise brought him top prize in the 2001 Goldcorp Challenge, when the company provided data about its Red Lake mine and invited entrants to identify

where the next six million ounces of gold were mostly likely to be found. “The evolution of software has really helped the exploration business,” added Rob Carne, president and director of ATAC Resources. Since 2007, ATAC’s exploration activities have uncovered precious metal mineralization in Yukon’s Rackla river area, where previous explorers had recorded no findings. “I don’t think we could work without models,” Wall told the audience. Most of the panelists, however, agreed that current models leave ample room for improvement. And, although Parratt applauded the use of genetic models as well as the variety of new tools available to discoverers, he pointed out that more choice also means more ways to make mistakes. “Using all the tools in your box simply doesn’t make sense. Boot leather on the ground is still really important,” he said. Parratt also suggested that real discoverers create their own good luck. “You have to get out there and drill, and keep drilling. That’s where you make the discoveries. And, sample, sample, sample; you really can’t take enough samples.” CIM

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Raw data revolution Technology standards committee to launch at CIM Conference By Dan Zlotnikov It has taken two years of hard work to prepare for the official launch of the CIM Technology Standards Committee. What started as a casual conversation about shared frustrations took time to gel into an ambitious project: bringing the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), original technology manufacturers (OTMs) and operators together in an effort to develop a global data exchange standard. “Most of us buy equipment in various years and we don’t buy it all from one vendor,” explained Mark Bartlett, director of Open Pit Mining Innovation at Newmont Mining Corp. and a member of the committee. “Most sites today are a mixed-machine environment, and that’s what’s causing problems.” The challenge of integrating tools and systems from multiple vendors is

28 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 7, No. 3

difficult, sometimes even impossible. A frequent, less than ideal solution involves running multiple systems in parallel with dedicated displays in the cab of each machine, but this runs the risk of slowing down or distracting the operator. Similar issues plague those who try to implement fleet-wide solutions, such as machine health monitoring. “Trying to get vital statistics from engines and other operating systems onboard to a central place has been difficult because different makes of equipment output in different and usually proprietary formats,” Bartlett said. These issues also impact OEMs, said Bob Hicks, manager of technology products for the “P&H”-brand surface mining solutions being marketed by Joy Global Inc., and fellow committee

member. Clients often ask if they could interface P&H machines with thirdparty equipment. “Extracting information from our systems and integrating it into third-party systems becomes a very ad-hoc, per-customer event, and requires much more engineering and development resources than if there were a standard,” he explained. However, Bartlett said some OEMs have reservations about a common standard. “The concern is that providing all of that information in an open-source format would allow competitors to understand what the machine is calculating in a proprietary algorithm,” he pointed out. Hicks acknowledged that algorithms are highly valued by the OEMs. “We may take the raw data and write a sophisticated algorithm around it that calculates dipper position in 3D space,” he noted. “That is in essence what we’d consider intellectual property and is something we wouldn’t want to share with other vendors of technologies and products.” But Hicks said this need not prevent the raw sensor output from being shared, which is the data the committee is hoping to get. Bartlett said the committee has spent the last two years putting together a wish list of sensor outputs, “so that the OEMs know we don’t want the proprietary algorithms, just outputs from sensors that are already onboard.” P&H and other OEMs, in turn, have responded with a list of outputs they are able to provide, explained Hicks. “The next step is to put a data model together defining the type of data, how it’s stored and accessed – in essence develop this standard.” Hicks said there are examples of smaller-scale “standards” in the industry. With its Centurion supervisory control and data acquisition system, for example, P&H developed a universal shovel interface for dispatch systems.

news “It’s a standard we’d developed based on Modular, Jigsaw and Wenco – the various dispatch providers,” he explained. “We met with a dispatch provider and collectively agreed what types of data would enhance both our onboard tools. The types of data we’d like to see help enhance our tool from a fleet optimization and dispatch perspective.” One of these interoperability efforts may serve as the core of a future global standard, eliminating the need to reinvent the wheel. The other challenge is to make this initiative truly global to ensure the standard is accepted by the industry as a whole. Bartlett has been speaking to operators in an effort to get more people behind the idea. “It’s not a matter of getting everybody to participate, but we’re trying to be as inclusive as we can in the effort,” he said. For his part, Hicks feels that if enough operators – especially the multinational giants – started asking for standardized outputs, the OEMs would have to deliver.

“If the users globally request a common standard for data, it will happen much

faster than if individual OEMs and OTMs were to drive for the same thing.” CIM

ACHIEVEMENTS Schrader appointed Komatsu CEO Rod Schrader was appointed CEO and vice-chairman of Komatsu America Corp., taking the reins from Dave Grzelak, who stepped down as CEO, but remains chairman until June 2013. “Rod has been an invaluable member of the Komatsu team for the past 25 years and has consistently delivered excellent results both in sales and in customer satisfaction,” said Grzelak. Schrader will implement the company’s strategy and help secure market opportunities. *** Lock leads Milestone Potash project Western Potash Corp. appointed Richard Lock as project director of the Milestone Potash project in Saskatchewan. He has more than 24 years of experience under his belt, especially in pre-feasibility studies and associated on-site activities. “We are delighted to have Richard join our project development team,” said Patricio Varas, president & CEO, Western Potash Corp. “Richard’s depth of experience and proven track record in all phases of engineering and construction are key ingredients that will help Western effectively execute on all our project processes.”

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30 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 7, No. 3

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Difficult discussions Mining development in Quebec fuels debate A public consultation tour on the future of mining in Quebec stirred up debate in March as it made its way through the province. Questions about mining’s economic benefits, its public image, economic impact and even the motives behind those who hosted the forum were all fodder for discussion. The tour was organized by the Institut du Nouveau Monde (INM), which has a mandate to encourage citizen participation in important public debates, according to its director Michel Venne. And though this consultation was ostensibly independent, some environmental groups have criticized the institute for accepting funding from Minalliance to organize the tour (see sidebar on p. 34: “Independence questioned”). INM consulted a diverse set of stakeholders in the preparation of reference and background material, which was

Courtesy of INM

By Alain Castonguay

Participants in the INM's discussion on the future of mining in Quebec express their ideas in Quebec City.

organized into six booklets: 1) Actors, participants, and viewpoints; 2) Existing documents and websites; 3) Quebec and mining; 4) Economic and regional development issues; 5) Social and governance issues; and 6) Environmental and

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32 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 7, No. 3

land issues. “We conducted a review of the literature on the Quebec mining sector,” Venne explained. Among the 50 or so people present at the Quebec city installment, many of whom had evidently not read the booklets, were government officials and industry representatives. Those who could not attend the consultation in person were able to share their views on INM’s web platform. When Venne asked participants what the word “mine” meant to them, responses included “masters of our own house,” “mine shafts and drilling,” “rocks of unknown value,” and “pride in Quebec engineering,” as well as destruction of the landscape, wealth, dispossession, job creation, mountains of waste, founding industry and resources worth promoting. The first issue discussed was the fair and balanced redistribution to Quebecers of the economic benefits associated with mining development. One participant noted “the stagnation of investments” in this sector between 1987 and 2005 helps explain why companies are struggling to recruit workers, despite the current boom. At the plenary session, it was proposed that half of the recent increase in mining royalties be allocated to the regional county municipalities or local governments for maintenance of the

roads used by the industry. Some suggested that profits in excess of the eight per cent annual return on invested capital be divided equally with the state. It was said that the province “would be best to wait for the most favourable conditions before extracting mineral resources.” Others added that governments should use the fiscal returns drawn from mining activity to plan the economic diversification of the regions in question, so as to reduce the impact when mining ceases. It was also mentioned that if Quebec society prefers to have minerals processed in Quebec, then it must be prepared to tolerate the environmental impact of those facilities. Participants advised against pursuing an ad hoc approach to the construction of infrastructure providing access to northern regions. There were also recommendations for improved documentation of the consequences of the fly-in/fly-out mining model, as well as the consequences of developing the necessary infrastructure when the host community is located close to a mining deposit. The second key issue concerned citizens’ and communities’ acceptance of mining development on their land. If communities must accept mining projects before mining begins, what are a company’s responsibilities? What is a good corporate citizen? No consensus was reached on these issues. One participant observed that elected officials are poorly equipped to negotiate with mine developers. Because mineral extraction results in increased housing costs in the surrounding area, they said, inflation is problematic for residents who have jobs that are essential but less well paid, such as retail or restaurant work. The demands of Aboriginal communities were also on the agenda. The Cree are actively involved in the Plan Nord because they were consulted before the process began, in accordance with their agreement with both levels of government. Because of this and other reasons, it seems advantageous for mining companies looking to train and hire workers

to give priority to people living near the deposits. One participant cited the example of the Niobec mine, owned by Iamgold, in Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean. The community of Saint-Honoré has been closely

associated with the project at every stage of development since mining began in 1976. “Companies’ consultation efforts are real, but unrecognized,” one participant claimed. And amidst all that effort, the cost of obtaining community accept-

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ance is difficult to tally in a financial plan. Venne apologized for not having found the time to tackle the environmental component. Many participants nonetheless expressed their concerns about the impact of mining on the environment. According to Venne, the tour has been an overall success. “In addition to organized lobby groups and occasional citizen groups, we have included a third participant in this consultation: the average citizen,” he said. Venne claimed that more than 400 people participated in the regional consultations, and 100 more participated via the web. Venne noted that in another session in Montreal on March 24, two focal points emerged from the series of consultations. Firstly, Quebec ought to “create mining development plans that take into account what will happen after mining projects end and that aim to reduce the backlash effect following closure.” Secondly, Venne continued, the province needs to establish an analytical framework for mining projects. “The BAPE consultation process is well-defined, demanding, and restrictive, but it is limited to environmental impacts. It is clear from the projects in which the Cree are involved; the best way to obtain people’s support is to involve them beforehand. But it is difficult to measure social acceptability and to determine who is entitled to express an opinion on a project.” Venne added that industrialists are prepared to live with even the most severe constraints, provided that these are clearly defined before any investment is made. The last stage of the INM tour was in Sherbrooke, before returning to Abitibi for the concluding session in Val-d’Or. The INM report on the future of the mining sector will be made public by the end of June, and will be presented to the relevant ministerial, municipal, industrial and union authorities. The INM will then release a book summarizing the consultation process and the ideas submitted by participants. CIM

Independence questioned The Action boréale de l’Abitibi-Témiscamingue (ABAT) has been especially harsh in its criticism of the “biased” nature of the INM approach. In a letter addressed to Michel Venne and published in the weekly La Frontière in Rouyn-Noranda, Henri Jacob, president of ABAT, decried the “paternalism” shown by the Montreal-based institute. “We have been trying for years to hold a true debate here in Abitibi, one that is frank and honest. (…) Instead, you have adopted a top-down approach where you decide what is for the good, ignorant people from the remote regions.” According to Jacob, “The regional elected representatives and mining executives who enthusiastically endorse the status quo,” will seize upon this “INM conversation” to say that a public debate has taken place. Ugo Lapointe, from the Coalition pour que le Québec ait meilleure mine, an organization devoted to deeply reforming exploration and mining in Quebec, and Christian Simard, from Nature Québec, took part in the preparatory work but withdrew their support for the INM process just before the regional tour began. Venne had to respond to this retraction in interviews with regional media during the tour. Translated by Kate Forrest

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Une foule somme toute modeste à Québec L’avenir minier : consultation citoyenne de l’INM

En mars, l’Institut du Nouveau Monde (INM) a organisé au Québec une tournée de consultation sur l’avenir du développement minier. La conversation publique tenue à Québec le 13 mars dernier a attiré une foule modeste. L’INM, dirigé par Michel Venne, souhaite encourager la participation citoyenne aux grands débats sociaux. Cette consultation se veut indépendante, mais des groupes écologistes ont critiqué l’INM pour avoir fait appel à un financement de Minalliance pour son organisation (voir encadré « Indépendance questionnée »). Des porte-parole des mouvements écologistes ont participé à la préparation des documents de référence et de la synthèse, qui se déclinent en six fascicules : 1) Des acteurs, des intervenants et des points de vue, 2) Des documents et des sites Web existants, 3) Le Québec et les mines, 4) Les sujets économiques et de développement régional, 5) Les sujets sociaux et de gouvernance, et 6) Les sujets environnementaux et de territoire. Parmi la cinquantaine de personnes présentes, dont beaucoup n’avaient visiblement pas lu les fascicules, figuraient des fonctionnaires et des représentants de l’industrie. « Nous avons fait la revue de littérature des connaissances sur le secteur minier québécois », explique Michel Venne. Les gens ne pouvant se déplacer pour la consultation peuvent s’exprimer sur la plateforme web de l’INM. Quand Michel Venne a demandé aux participants ce que leur évoquait le mot « mine », ils ont répondu : destruction du paysage, « maîtres chez nous », « galeries souterraines et perforations », richesse, dépossession, création d’emplois, montagne de résidus, industrie structurante, ressource à valoriser, « roches de valeur inconnue », « fierté du génie québécois », etc. La première question portait sur la redistribution équitable et équilibrée aux Québécois des bénéfices économiques 36 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 7, No. 3

Courtoisie de INM

Par Alain Castonguay

Dans la ville de Québec, un participant (à gauche) dans aales discussions de l’INM sur l’avenir de l’exploitation minière dans la province parle avec Michel Venne, directeur de l’institut (à droite).

associés au développement minier. Un participant déclarait qu’étant donné « la stagnation des investissements » dans ce secteur de 1987 à 2005, on comprend mieux pourquoi les entreprises peinent à recruter du personnel, malgré le boom actuel. Lors de la plénière, on a proposé d’attribuer la moitié de la hausse récente des redevances minières aux municipalités régionales de comté (MRC) ou aux collectivités locales afin qu’elles entretiennent les routes utilisées par l’industrie. On a aussi suggéré qu’au-delà d’un rendement annuel sur le capital investi de 8 pour cent les profits excédentaires devraient être partagés en parts égales avec l’État. « Il vaut mieux attendre les conditions les plus favorables pour exploiter la richesse du sous-sol ». Les gouvernements doivent utiliser les retombées fiscales tirées de l’activité minière pour planifier la diversification économique de la collectivité concernée, afin d’amoindrir le choc quand l’exploitation minière s’interrompra, ajoute-t-on. S’il est préférable de transformer les minerais au Québec, poursuit-on, il faudrait que la société soit prête à tolérer l’impact environnemental des usines.

Toute improvisation a été déconseillée lors de la construction des infrastructures donnant accès au territoire nordique. On préconise aussi de mieux documenter les conséquences du modèle d’exploitation fly in, fly out et celles du développement des infrastructures requises lorsqu’une communauté d’accueil se trouve à proximité du gisement minier. La seconde question concernait l’acceptabilité des citoyens et communautés quant au développement minier sur leur territoire. Si le projet minier doit être accepté par la communauté avant que commence l’exploitation du gisement, quelles sont les responsabilités de l’entreprise ? Qu’est-ce qu’un bon citoyen corporatif ? Aucun consensus n’a encore été atteint. Un participant a fait observer que les élus municipaux sont peu outillés pour négocier avec les exploitants miniers. La soudaine augmentation de la valeur des terrains provoquée par l’extraction a pour effet d’augmenter le coût du logement dans la région immédiate. Selon lui, cette inflation est problématique pour les résidants qui occupent des emplois moins bien rémunérés, mais essentiels comme dans le commerce de détail ou la restauration.

Les revendications des nations autochtones étaient également à l’ordre du jour. Les Cris collaborent activement au Plan Nord parce qu’ils ont été consultés en amont du processus, en vertu de l’accord qui les lie aux gouvernements. Il semble plus avantageux pour les sociétés minières de former et d’embaucher en priorité la maind’œuvre requise parmi les gens vivant à proximité des gisements. Un participant citait l’exemple de la mine Niobec - propriété d’Iamgold - au Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean. La communauté de Saint-Honoré a été étroitement associée au projet à toutes les étapes de son développement depuis le début de l’exploitation en 1976. « Les efforts de concertation des entreprises sont réels, mais méconnus », affirme un participant. Le coût exigé pour obtenir l’acceptabilité sociale de la communauté est difficile à comptabiliser dans un montage financier. Michel Venne s’est excusé de n’avoir trouvé le temps d’aborder le volet environnemental. Bon nombre de participants ont cependant exprimé leur inquiétude quant à l’impact de l’exploitation sur l’environnement. Il ajoutait : « Outre les lobbys organisés et parfois des groupes de citoyens, nous ajoutons à cette consultation un troisième participant : le citoyen moyen. » Selon lui, plus de 400 personnes ont participé aux consultations régionales, et une centaine par l’entremise du web. La dernière étape de l’INM était Sherbrooke, en Estrie, avant son retour en Abitibi pour la conclusion, à Val-d’Or. À Montréal le 24 mars, deux constats principaux ont émergé du premier bilan sommaire des consultations : tout d’abord, « planifier le développement minier pour prévoir ce qui suivra après l’exploitation de la mine et pour diminuer l’effet de ressac suivant une fermeture »; ensuite, établir le cadre d’analyse des projets miniers. « Le processus de consultation du BAPE est bien balisé, lourd et contraignant, mais il se limite

aux impacts environnementaux. On le constate pour les projets auxquels sont associés les Cris; la meilleure manière d’obtenir la collaboration des gens est de les impliquer en amont. Mais il est difficile de mesurer l’acceptabilité sociale et de déterminer qui a le droit de se prononcer sur un projet », dit-il, ajoutant que les industriels sont prêts à vivre avec les contraintes, même les plus

sévères, pourvu qu’elles soient balisées et connues avant d’investir. Le rapport de l’INM sur l’avenir du secteur minier sera rendu public d’ici la fin juin. Il sera présenté aux autorités concernées, tant ministérielles que municipales, industrielles et syndicales. Suivra un livre sur la synthèse de la démarche de consultation et la liste des bonnes idées soumises. CIM

Indépendance questionnée L’Action boréale de l’Abitibi-Témiscamingue (ABAT) a été particulièrement dure dans sa dénonciation du caractère « orienté » de la démarche de l’INM. Dans une lettre adressée à Michel Venne et publiée dans l’hebdomadaire La Frontière de Rouyn-Noranda, Henri Jacob, président de l’ABAT, s’est montré particulièrement virulent. Selon lui, ce « paternalisme » montré par l’intelligentsia montréalaise est un bel exemple de condescendance. « Nous essayons depuis des années de tenir ce vrai débat, franc et honnête, ici en Abitibi. (…) Vous avez plutôt adopté l’approche top down où vous décidez de ce qui est bien pour le bon peuple ignorant des régions éloignées. » Selon lui, « les adeptes du statu quo que sont les élus régionaux et les exploitants miniers » vont s’emparer de cette « conversation de l’INM » pour dire que le débat public a eu lieu. Ugo Lapointe, de la Coalition pour que le Québec ait meilleure mine, et Christian Simard, de Nature Québec, ont participé aux travaux préparatoires, mais ont retiré leur appui à la démarche de l’INM juste avant que la tournée régionale ne commence. Michel Venne a eu à répondre à ce désaveu lors de ces interventions auprès des médias régionaux durant la tournée de consultation.

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How to get more out of a mining trade show BY JON BAIRD

mining trade show offers exhibitors a unique advertising and selling situation – one that not only attracts a targeted customer group better than any other publicity medium can, but also one that provides the opportunity for face-to-face encounters with customers. In 2012, mining supply companies can choose from a variety of excellent exhibitions, including the CIM Conference & Exhibition in Edmonton, Expomin in Santiago, Chile, and MINExpo in Las Vegas. Trade shows can be one of the most cost-effective tools in a mining supplier’s marketing arsenal. However, too many companies approach a trade show without proper planning and training. They are also less successful in maximizing the numerous rich and unique selling opportunities when they become available. Trade show success depends on how well you prepare, execute and follow-up. Here are a few tips:

Plan well in advance: Today’s mining trade shows are sold out well in advance. In some cities, hotels are in short supply. Select the best exhibitions for your purposes: Often the reason for selecting a mining trade show is simple, it is the only event of its kind. Most of the world’s significant mining events are national and are repeated at two-year intervals. If available, use demographic information from previous events to learn more about the exhibition. Set specific, measureable and attainable goals: Prepare a budget. Make sure that you are ready for opening day. Forecast the number of demonstrations, sales, prospects and follow-ups you expect to make. If you do not have a local representative and believe that one is necessary, make this a major goal for your first show in a target country. Arrange pre- and post-show meetings with potential business partners or clients.

ACHIEVEMENTS Why sustainable mining works Syncrude, a member of MAC, received the Towards Sustainable Mining Award for having demonstrated excellence in tailings management, in crisis management planning and in corporate social responsibility. The company also got top marks in external outreach. Syncrude president and CEO Scott Sullivan said winning the award shows how serious the company is about its “responsibility to produce the oil society needs, while managing the environmental impacts of its development.” In 2007, Syncrude was the first company to receive a TSM award.

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Plan your booth design, signage and literature: Your booth should be a microcosm of your company. It should promote your brand and differentiate you from the competition. Project a clear message; avoid a cluttered booth with confusing messages. Enhance your traffic flow: Location is important. Be either at the entrance or on a major aisle, rather than lost in a corner. At international events, Canada Pavilions are better than random locations because Canada’s reputation in mining is strong and these pavilions are well-located. Prepare your staff for success: Decide on dress and deportment at the booth. Trade shows are different from sales calls. They require special techniques. Good will, common sense and sales experience simply are not enough on their own. Providing staff with training may be helpful. Focus your efforts: The purpose of exhibiting is to: 1) make sales; 2) make appointments; 3) log inquiries; or 4) reinforce longer term relationships. While you should welcome existing clients, you can always meet with them at a later time. The key value of an exhibition stand is its use as a launching pad to project your company and its products and services towards new contacts, new customers and new markets. Follow up: A mine of opportunities can be found at a trade show and many of the resulting business payoffs occur not at the event, but afterwards. Remember that the momentum, enthusiasm and interest generated during the show will be dulled with time, and the client may even forget having met you. Thus, response time may be critical. • After each interview with a prospective client, make note of any required follow-up action. • Today, many trade show visitors prefer electronic delivery of literature. Investigate ways to send emails from the show floor. • In your planning, allow room in the schedule for postexhibition follow-ups. Too often, trade show staff continue travelling or become involved in other post-show duties and it is weeks, if ever, before follow-ups are performed. • Write a report on the show and try to quantify the success in terms of number of contacts, quality of contacts and cost per contact. Getting the most out of a trade show is not difficult if best practices are followed: plan ahead, work the A page for and about the supply side show diligently and follow up. CIM of the Canadian mining industry Jon Baird, managing director of CAMESE and past-president of PDAC, is interested in collective approaches to enhancing the Canadian brand in the world of mining.

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HR OUTLOOK

Collaborative workforce planning addresses skills shortage BY ELDON HOLDER AND MARTHA ROBERTS

he mining industry traditionally adopts an operational outlook on workforce planning: the motivating incentive for developing a plan is usually to maximize profit and minimize costs. Through this lens, HR functions are often among the first to feel the pinch when an organization tightens its belt. As the national HR council for the Canadian mining and exploration sector, the Mining Industry Human Resources Council (MiHR) develops HR solutions that help employers take a strategic approach to workforce planning in order to mitigate the impact of the impending labour shortage. Last October, MiHR facilitated its first Strategic Workforce Planning Round Table in Toronto to help develop a more sustainable approach to workforce planning. Attendees included HR leaders, workforce planners and HR superintendents from across the country. The event, which focused on building a collaborative approach to workforce planning, highlighted the value of

aligning HR metrics and workforce analytics with operational needs and business strategy goals. Discussion included a case study of a strategic workforce planning initiative at Cameco, where HR and operations partnered to analyze and optimize the human capital factors that drive productivity and lead to better business outcomes. Cameco’s aim is to develop workforce capability for the future of the organization, with HR serving as a strategic partner and aligning with the various business units in their organization. Round table participants discussed workforce optimization as a means to soften the impact of the economic cycle and of fluctuating commodity prices on the industry’s workforce. Workforce optimization allows for more effective and efficient use of workers, and for organizations to prepare for contingencies, while also building and protecting the existing workforce. A sound plan capitalizes on both immediate and long-term opportunities. Furthermore, it is proactive and

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Strategic workforce planning at Cameco Cameco Corporation, based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, is one of the world’s leading producers of uranium. The company has a strong commitment to developing and supporting a stable and skilled workforce. In 2011, Cameco engaged in an initiative to better understand how human capital decisions affect outputs at selected operating sites. At Cameco, workforce optimization was an exercise in comprehending the role of human capital in company operations to achieve proactive workforce planning. It was a coordinated and cooperative effort between HR and operations that stimulated a key discussion and that identified how human capital data can provide valuable insight on how to change work schedules, shift structures and identify other measures that could boost productivity and efficiency, and potentially reduce costs. To meet their objectives, the operations and HR departments worked collaboratively to extract, analyze and interpret workforce and production data for select job families. The company isolated areas in data collection where standardization and new data collection efforts would foster collaboration and communication flow across sites and functional units. The data was then analyzed to identify how human capital drives production. Trends were identified, and operations and

HR interpreted findings via interviews and discussions. At present, Cameco is examining the strategies used to identify successes and areas in need of improvement. The company aims to develop strategic initiatives where HR and operations collaborate in creating policy adjustments and in making staffing decisions aimed at reaching its objectives. Outcomes from this initiative will assist Cameco in planning efforts to have the right person in the right job at the right time. It will streamline talent acquisition efforts and address gaps in staffing, recruiting and retention strategies to ensure future success. MiHR anticipates building on the success of the industrywide venture to integrate HR and operations departments in the process of workforce planning. Ongoing research initiatives include the development of a network of peers, as well as a suite of tools and resources for strategic workforce planning, in addition to the creation of a report, Managing the Cycle: Counter-Cyclical Workforce Planning in Mining, which will be available to HR leaders in the coming year. CIM As research assistant, Eldon Holder develops research products that contribute to the strategic direction of the Council and support the director of research in the coordination of research activities under MiHR’s Research for Industry Sustainability priority. As director of research, Martha Roberts is responsible for enhancing the labour market information available to mining and mineral exploration stakeholders and investigating the short- and long-term human resources issues facing the industry. Martha holds her PhD in psychology from the University of Waterloo and has won several awards for her research.

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42 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 7, No. 3

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PDAC awarded the Environmental & Social Responsibility Award to the Mining Association of Canada for its Towards Sustainable Mining program, which is driving the environmental and social performance of the local mining industry. “This award honours an individual or organization demonstrating outstanding initiative, leadership and accomplishment in protecting and preserving the natural environment, and/or in establishing good community relations during an exploration program or the operation of a mine,” said PDAC executive director Ross Gallinger. MAC president and CEO Pierre Gratton said the TSM, created in 2004, will bolster the industry’s performance by aligning its actions with priorities and values of Canadians.

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EYE ON BUSINESS

ICA not a serious threat to foreign investors BY HUY A. DO AND DOUGLAS C. NEW

he Investment Canada Act has been a hot topic since BHP Billiton’s failed bid for Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc., but foreign interest in Canadian public mining companies has not declined. Experience with the ICA to date indicates that, except in very rare circumstances, the ICA is not a significant hurdle to the acquisition of TSXlisted mining companies, especially those with operations mainly outside of Canada – a category that applies to many TSX-listed companies today. That said, it is important for foreign investors to be aware of the legislation. Investors should recognize that acquisitions by non-Canadians of TSX- or TSX-V-listed companies, whose operations are outside Canada, may in some circumstances trigger the application of the provisions of the ICA, and should factor this knowledge into planning the execution of transactions. Under the ICA, most direct acquisitions of control of “Canadian businesses” by non-Canadians are subject to either

a simple notification requirement or a “net benefit to Canada” approval process. Whether a notification or a net benefit to Canada approval is required depends, in most cases, on whether specified monetary thresholds are exceeded. For direct acquisitions of control of Canadian-incorporated and listed mining companies by “WTO investors,” 2012’s review threshold is $330 million, measured in terms of the book value of assets of the target entity. Where that threshold is exceeded, triggering the “net benefit to Canada” approval process, the parties are generally prohibited from closing the transaction until ministerial approval is obtained. An acquisition of control of a Canadian business does not exceed the application threshold other than a “cultural business” by a non-Canadian company which does not exceed the applicable threshold is merely notifiable. A notification is not burdensome to complete and can be filed either prior to, or within 30 days following closing.

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Because the ICA’s definition of “Canadian business” includes a business “that it is carried on partly in Canada and partly in some other place,” a Canadian mining company without mining operations in Canada, but with an office, assets and employees in Canada, may come within the ambit of this definition. Thus, some acquisitions of Canadian-listed mining companies may attract a “net benefit to Canada review.” If an acquisition is subject to the approval process, the minister of industry must be satisfied that such transaction is of “net benefit to Canada,” based on a number of factors, including the effect of the investment on employment, on resource processing in Canada, on the degree and significance of participation by Canadians in the Canadian business, on productivity in Canada, and on Canada’s ability to compete in world markets. In the context of an acquisition of a Canadian-listed mining company with its mining operations outside of Canada, there is a persuasive argument, given the very substantive economic benefits that Canada and Canadians derive from being a global centre for the listing of mining companies. That is,the ICA should be administered in a manner that removes any obstacles or disincentives for international mining companies to list and raise capital in Canada. The benefits to Canada of

being a world-leading centre for mining finance are obvious and include, in addition to the importance to Canada of being a global mining powerhouse, all of the economic benefits generated by the finance, legal, accounting and mining expertise that exists in Canada because of these companies. As a result of amendments to the ICA in 2009, the Governor in Council (i.e. federal cabinet) may now review a broad range of foreign investments where the minister has reasonable grounds to believe that such investments could be injurious to national security. The review of an investment on the grounds of national security may occur whether or not an investment is subject to review on the basis of “net benefit to Canada,” or notification under the ICA. While acquisition of a TSX- or TSX-V-listed mining company without projects or mining operations in Canada by a non-Canadian may be subjected to a national security review, the limited history of the national security provisions of the ICA suggests that such reviews would be rare in the context of acquisitions of mining companies. CIM Huy Do and Douglas New are partners working in the Toronto office of Fasken Martineau. Both have extensive experience advising clients, both domestic and foreign, with respect to pre-merger regulatory approvals under Canadian legislation including the Competition Act and the Investment Canada Act.

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S TA N D A R D S

Water and mining â&#x20AC;&#x201C; reporting the risks and challenges BY CRAIG WALDIE AND DAPHNE WONG

ining companies often face a wide range of environmental risks and challenges throughout the mining cycle, especially in relation to water. Investors need to be provided with meaningful information about these types of risks, if they are material to a mining company. Two publications by the Canadian Securities Administrators address what information regarding environmental matters, including water-related issues, must be reported to meet requirements. In October 2010, CSA Staff Notice 51-333 Environmental Reporting Guidance (the Notice) was published to assist companies in identifying what environmental matters need to be disclosed under existing securities legislation. In addition, a revised version of Form 43-101F1 Technical Report (the Form) was published in June 2011. Generally, the Form prescribes the contents of technical reports, which must be filed by mining companies at specified times, to support scientific or technical information that relates to a material mineral project.

Notice provides guidance on disclosure of environmental matters Environmental matters can cover a broad range of issues, including the use, disposal and contamination of water during the mining process. The Notice mentions that, under existing securities law (Item 5.2 of Form 51-102F2 Annual Information Form), companies are required to disclose risk factors related to their business. Water-related issues can pose risks to a mining company and its business in a number of ways. For example: Physical Risks: In many arid and semi-arid regions, such as parts of South America, Africa, Australia, China and India, the main risk relates to water availability issues. In some regions, seawater desalination plants are required to supply enough water for mining operations. Regulatory and Legal Risks: These risks can arise from water availability or water quality concerns. Reduced water rights can have a serious impact on mining operations. Water quality problems can increase capital and operating costs due to the need to prevent or to treat contaminated water. Litigation from pollution or contamination of local community water sources can be severe. Reputational Risks: Reputational damage for mining companies is likely to stem from water quality problems. Once a company has a poor reputation, it can lead to loss of investment and value destruction. In many cases, the reputational risk can extend beyond a single company and affect the entire industry.

Technical Report requirements for environmental disclosure The updated Form contains additional requirements for information relating to environmental matters companies must disclose in their technical reports. In many cases, this information concerns water resource issues. The following are some examples: Item 4: Property Description and Location Environmental liabilities to which the property is subject 46 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 7, No. 3

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Item 5: Accessibility, Climate, Local Resources, Infrastructure and Physiography Availability and sources of power, water, potential tailings storage areas, potential waste disposal areas, etc. Item 14: Mineral Resource Estimates Extent to which the mineral resource estimates could be materially affected by any known environmental factors Item 17: Recovery Methods Current or projected requirements for energy, water, etc. Item 18: Project Infrastructure Infrastructure and logistic requirements, such as roads, rail, port facilities, dams, dumps, stockpiles, leach pads, tailings disposal, power, pipelines, etc. Item 20: Environmental Studies, Permitting, and Social or Community Impact Information on environmental, permitting, and social or community factors related to the project Item 25: Interpretation and Conclusions Significant risks and uncertainties and the foreseeable impacts of these risks on the project's potential economic viability or continued viability

The current demand for metals and minerals will continue to impact the natural resources that are required by the mining industry to meet production needs. Most notably, water will continue to play a vital role in mining operations due to a variety of factors. The scarcity of water resources in arid regions where new mines are being developed, the exploitation of lower-grade deposits that require more water for each tonne of refined product, and the long-term liability issues associated with mine closure and rehabilitation can all have a significant impact on a mining companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s business. Mining companies should be aware that these types of water-related issues may have to be disclosed under existing securities law requirements. CIM The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Ontario Securities Commission. Craig Waldie is a senior geologist with the Ontario Securities Commission, and is responsible for NI 43-101 compliance reviews of prospectuses, technical reports and other regulatory filings of Ontario-based mining companies. Daphne Wong is a senior analyst in the Office of Domestic and International Affairs of the Ontario Securities Commission, and was involved in the development of CSA Staff Notice 51-333.

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GUEST COLUMN | MINE CLOSURE

Perpetual maintenance schemes not a viable option BY LES SAWATSKY

he mining industry has made significant progress at improving mine closure technologies. In Canada, as in most jurisdictions, a closure plan is now required as part of a mine development application, and progressive reclamation and closure must now be achieved at rates acceptable to regulators. Closure landforms and drainage systems should be designed to handle extreme events. Acid Rock Drainage (ARD) must be controlled and mitigated. But there is still more work to do before mine closure practices can truly be called sustainable. Many miners still gravitate toward an optimal â&#x20AC;&#x153;benefit/costâ&#x20AC;? solution that involves dams containing water impoundments in the closure landscape. These structures require perpetual monitoring, so that any deterioration can be remedied, and the impact of extreme events corrected â&#x20AC;&#x201C;

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and this presents an enormous problem. The problem with perpetual maintenance schemes, particularly those with dams, is that perpetual maintenance means forever. The idea of perpetual maintenance is based on the assumption that the security for funding maintenance is safe for hundreds and thousands of years, irrespective of political upheaval, economic collapse and human error. How likely is that? To me, it is inconceivable that perpetual maintenance, supported by some sort of security in a bank, has any hope of preventing a dam from failing in the far future. What gives us the right to expect future generations to maintain thousands of closed mines that are vulnerable to failure with catastrophic consequences? Will any provision to protect vulnerable closed mines be heeded or remembered after a thousand, or even a hundred years?

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I believe the mining industry should adopt solutions that provide alternatives to permanent water impoundments contained by dams. However, I realize that this is a controversial point, and I need to stress that this is my own opinion, not that of the company I work for. In some jurisdictions, the mining industry has already progressed a long way towards maintenance-free closure. The government of Alberta requires all mine closure plans to target maintenance-free performance, after transitional monitoring. Dams containing fluid impoundments are not allowed in the mine closure landscape. This regulation has forced the decommissioning of several coal mines in Alberta; others are in the process of being closed. We see similar compliance in Alberta’s oil sands mines, where a dry landscape, now hosting diverse wildlife, has already replaced Suncor’s Pond 1. More improvements are resulting from technology advances, stakeholder participation and information-sharing among mine operators: Treatment of acid producing waste rock: Technologies are improving for separating out the most acid-generating waste rock to enable relocation back into the pit after mining. With this approach, the pit lake will provide a cover without a dam for containment. Paste tailings can be used to control ARD, as demonstrated at Osisko’s Canadian Malartic Mine. Paste/rock is another technology that reduces the impact of ARD without creating permanent tailings ponds. It involves mixing coarse rock with fine tailings to create a saturated deposit that minimizes ARD. A decade-long research project at the Copper Cliff mine in Sudbury demonstrates the successful application of this new technology. Geomorphic landscapes: Historically, many post-closure landscapes were designed with straight lines and uniform slopes. This makes them vulnerable to erosion and gullying, which releases sediment and contaminants into natural watercourses. Such features require ongoing maintenance. Fortunately, there is a growing interest in designing geomorphic landscapes with variable topography that mimics nearby natural landforms and watercourses with configurations that match nearby natural streams. Good examples of this technology are illustrated at TransAlta’s Whitewood Mine in Alberta and at the Centralia Mine in Washington State. Walk-away closure may be an elusive goal, and one that is not yet fully tested by the vagaries of nature. But we must not yield to the “optimal solution” of benefit/cost modelling if we are to avoid unfairly burdening future generations with closed mines that cannot endure the tests of time. CIM Les Sawatsky is principal, director engineering division, Golder Associates, Calgary, AB. Contact: 1.403.299.5600;les_sawatsky@golder.com.

May 2012 | 49

columns GUEST COLUMN | BRIBERY AND CORRUPTION

How to deal with rising risk BY SUZANNE SCHULZ

nstable political climates, government corruption, and developing government policy and legislation are just a few of the challenges faced by Canadian mining companies operating in foreign jurisdictions. Many of the world’s mineral-rich areas are located in developing countries, where business practices are varied. As a result, such companies face increased risks related to violation of anti-bribery and corruption (AB&C) legislation, such as the Canadian Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act (CFPOA) and the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practice Act (FCPA). The FCPA has been actively enforced in recent years. It is now common for FCPA enforcement actions to result in multimillion dollar fines and penalties. Any company operating in foreign jurisdictions is exposed to AB&C risks. However, AB&C risks are particularly relevant for mining companies. For example: • Mining companies face a high level of government regulation, which generally means more interaction with government officials. • The extractive sector as a whole, and mining companies in particular, have been the target of AB&C enforcement action. Mining companies have been investigated and paid significant fines and penalties. • Significant M&A activity in the mining sector presents challenges regarding AB&C compliance. There is often limited time to complete due diligence, and AB&C risks can easily be overlooked. • Local agents are often used in high-risk jurisdictions, which exposes companies to AB&C risks related to the actions of those individuals. Respondents to KPMG’s 2011 Global Anti-Bribery and Corruption Survey identified due diligence regarding foreign agents as one of their greatest challenges. Mining companies with foreign operations need to develop and implement robust AB&C compliance programs. An effective program should set expectations, educate employees and provide deterrence in order to prevent violations. It should also incorporate periodic monitoring and reporting mechanisms to allow for quick identification and response to potential issues. Such programs are founded on risk assessments, which must consider the AB&C risks associated with the industry, the geographies in which the company does business, the interaction with government officials and the company’s business model. An anti-bribery policy on its own is not sufficient to meet a regulator’s expectations. Instead, companies are expected to incorporate many factors and to have active, demonstrated support from senior management.

50 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 7, No. 3

Some of the key factors of an effective compliance program include: • ownership and responsibility for AB&C compliance. Responsibility should be clearly delegated and sufficient resources should be committed to fulfill the mandate. • visible commitment from senior management is important in establishing a compliance corporate culture. Time and resources dedicated to periodic communication of policies and expectations is one way to demonstrate management’s commitment. • training employees on the company’s AB&C compliance program. The compliance program will only be effective if people have a clear understanding of the policies and expectations, and their role in relation to the program. • periodic monitoring such as compliance audits, whether conducted internally or by a third party service provider. This provides senior management with feedback as to the effectiveness of the program and also demonstrates senior management’s commitment. Consideration should not only be given to the actions of employees, but also to those of third parties acting on the company’s behalf, such as agents, contractors and consultants. Processes should be established to evaluate, select and contract with third parties. Such processes should include due diligence to understand the third party’s background, to assess their ethics and integrity and to identify any relationships that may present a risk. Third parties should also be made aware of the company’s policies and expectations, and consideration should be given to obtaining representations and warranties from such parties. AB&C considerations should also be built into M&A activity. It is important that an organization understand the target company’s AB&C risks. Experience shows that AB&C is an area that does not always receive attention when acquisitionrelated due diligence is carried out, sometimes with negative consequences. The potential for violations warrants consideration. Mechanisms that allow for the reporting of suspected violations or improper activity on a confidential basis and that ensure an appropriate response to potential violations should be established. For an AB&C compliance program to be effective, employees must believe that violations will be taken seriously by management and will have repercussions. CIM Suzanna Schulz is responsible for KPMG’s forensic practice in British Columbia. Her diverse practice includes conducting major financial investigations, quantifying economic losses and providing dispute advisory services. She also provides fraud-risk management and anti-bribery and corruption services, including investigations and proactive compliance related work.

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upfront ENGINEERING EXCHANGE by Alexandra Lopez-Pacheco

Stable slopes make better valleys Courtesy of Teck

Golder and Teck work to depressurize walls at Highland Valley Copper

Teck’s Highland Valley Copper mine in south central British Columbia

ack in January 2004, monitoring data at Teck’s Highland Valley Copper mine (HVC) in British Columbia, one of the largest open pit copper mines in the world, showed signs of instability in the mine’s east wall. Until that point, the east wall had been considered generally stable, so the data was worrisome. After some consideration, Teck decided to postpone expansion plans to investigate ways to depressurize the east wall so that eventually the expansion could go ahead safely.

Pressure from all sides “Part of the expansion involved a pushback on the east wall, which is filled with overburdened glacial sediments,” says Sebastien Fortin, chief geotechnical engineer at Highland Valley Copper. In order to stabilize the slope, Teck’s team had to determine how to flatten it out enough to be stable yet remain steep enough to be within the range of the economics of the project. “To achieve that ‘sweet spot’ in the wall angle, we had to decrease the groundwater pressure within the clay sediment,” explains Fortin. The work began by conducting an extensive geotechnical and hydrogeological field investigation program on the east wall. This included characterizing the slope’s glacial sediments, as well as conducting confirmatory drilling, window mapping and photogrammetry of the exposed bedrock slopes, and determining the groundwater distribution and flow for the various areas of the east wall. The mining company brought in experts from Golder Associates and Piteau Associates, who developed a strategy to depressurize the clay layer in the east wall using a system that consisted of more than 80 wells, all strategically placed to address practicable depressurization targets. Timing was key because the mine’s expansion depended on the depressurization project’s success and completion by May 1, 2011. 52 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 7, No. 3

Due to its texture, the east wall clay sediment was resistant to releasing the water, so vacuum-assisted wells had to be used. That was not the biggest challenge the project faced, however. “The technology is pretty nuts and bolts for the most part,” says Fortin. “But because we were doing the work while mining was being done, we would have had to wait for the ground to be released. The problem was that if we had waited for the ground to be released, we would not have been able to complete the project on time.” Rather than waiting, the team predrilled some of the wells prior to excavation from an elevation that was higher than the well’s final operational level. “We had to precut the well casing just below its final grade and sometimes let it sit for several months before the wellhead was physically exposed after the mining had gone through,” Fortin points out. The depressurization wells, however, were only one component of the plan. The other critical component involved building a stabilization buttress at the base of the wall to hold it steady. “We couldn’t really get any conventional wells in this area,” says Fortin. “It was the last piece to be constructed, so we needed the depressurization to occur ahead of the construction phase of that buttress.” The solution was to create large diameter rock columns by drilling straight through the clay layer. The rock columns would then act as passive wells, draining into an underlying gravel bed. “The idea was to drill a one-metre diameter hole up to 115 metres deep and then backfill the holes with clean gravel to act as a drain. Some would have submersible pumps but the majority of these 27 wells would be gravity draining.” As planned, the 27 passive wells were installed almost a year before mining activity reached them. “They’re simply rock columns, so the shovel could mine straight through them whenever it was necessary and because they are gravity draining, they started draining on the same day the clay was punctured and continue to drain to this day,” says Fortin.

upfront ENGINEERING EXCHANGE

The importance of getting along

The dynamic aspect of the multi-year project was what to continually assess the performance of the slope throughout made it so demanding, says John Scholte, the contracts man- the construction in order to ensure safe mining operations. ager at Golder Construction who worked on the project. “The “The solution and the technology have been used in many overriding challenge was how to integrate this into an active places,” says Scholte. “But for us this was definitely a unique mine site. We were stabilizing a pit wall but the geometry of project because of how dynamic it was, and it’s a great example that pit wall was changing because of the mine plan. As you of what can be achieved when you have a real collaborative mine a slope, certain areas of the slope become available to effort between the owner and the contractor.” CIM install the wells. So it’s trying to tie in your construction schedule and work packages into the mine sequence.” According to Scholte: “Partway through the project, they went through a major geometry change on the slope so we had to go back and deactivate wells, cut them down, so that when they mined through, the wells would be protected, and then reinstall the pumps and system. It was a fluid construction system, constantly working with mine ops and mine planners. We’re lucky we have a great working relationship with the operations crew and engineers at HVC. Being involved in collaboration as opposed to a conventional sort of contractor/owner relationship really helped the project go ahead.” As soon as one section of wells was installed, the team would run the wells, evaluate the data to ensure the depressurization system was responding as anticipated and then use that data for optimization of upcoming installations. “I think the best thing about this project is we didn’t stop looking at ideas, we were SMS Equipment provides dedicated focus on the needs of the always looking for better solutions, and I Construction, Forestry, Mining industries and Utility product users. With can’t underscore enough how important it over 40 locations to serve you across Canada, SMS Equipment is your was to have a good collaborative relationlocal equipment and integrated solutions provider. ship with the mine’s engineering group,” If you want to move more material more cost-effectively, says Scholte. you want Komatsu machines. Komatsu’s complete line of rugged, All in all, the system designed to depresreliable mining equipment—including trucks, shovels, dozers and wheel loaders—is engineered to: surize HVC’s east wall is complex and comprehensive. The groundwater control t -PXFS DPTUT QFS UPO system consists of 77 wells targeting sedit 3FEVDF DZDMF UJNFT t 1SPWJEF UIF MPOHFTU MJGF ments in specific areas, deep perimeter interception wells, and 27 passive vertical drains drilled near the toe of the wall that provide continuous dewatering in the area where mining activity precludes maintenance of operating wells, as well as the stabilization buttress. The team developed a rigorous protocol and monitoring system Western Region: 1 866 458-0101 Eastern Region: 1 800 881-9828 that included slope monitoring prisms, wireline extensometers, portable GPS antennas, TDR cables, nested vibratingsmsequip.com wire piezometers and a slope stability radar May 2012 | 53

upfront PROCESSING by Dan Zlotnikov

Mind the grind MillMapper opens new liner monitoring possibilities

Courtesy of Cliffs Natural Resources

requiring a number of safety steps and extending the downtime. “You have to get a confined space permit issued, lock out the mill, pull the feed cart, do a visual inspection to make sure no suspended material is going to fall on anyone, and test the atmosphere inside to prepare for human entry into the mill,” he says. These preparatory stages can add up to an hour or more of expensive downtime during a mill inspection, in addition to the mill inspection itself which can be 15 minutes to 30 minutes, according to Gabardi. By contrast, the total time to detach the feed cart from the mill, use a special beam to insert the scanner and complete the scan remotely can be as short as 15 minutes. Valérye Desbiens, a process engineer at Cliffs Natural Resources’ Bloom Lake iron mine, highlights another disadvanValérye Desbiens used to use wooden forms to measure spacing between grates at Cliffs Natural Resources’ mill at the Bloom Lake mine. The measurements are now taken using MillMapper. tage to conventional techniques: the size of the mill means you simply canespite, and sometimes because of their enormous size, not reach most of the liner panels. autogenous mills can become bottlenecks in mineral “Maybe we’d check two to six shell liner plates, and I was processing. Monitoring mill lining wear requires shut- able to reach only two to four grate liner plates. So we checked ting down and, until now, for an engineer to step less than 10 per cent of the total mill surface,” she says. These inside. These workers have had to physically measure the are limitations MillMapper does not have. Rather than requirchanges inside these three-storey-tall cylinders – a process that ing direct contact with the liner surface, the scanner uses a is time-consuming, dangerous and inaccurate. laser beam to measure its distance from points of the mill’s Now, an Australian company called Scanalyse is offering a interior and uses these measurements to calculate liner thickbetter way inside. Scanalyse provides cost- and performance- ness. Depending on the charge inside the mill, this is about 60 related information about mills using a 3D laser scanner capa- per cent to 80 per cent of the surface. ble of gathering as many as ten million point measurements Desbiens offers an on-site example of the benefits: in within a three-minute period. According to Tom Gabardi, the July 2011, while still using Bloom Lake’s old inspection company’s North American regional manager, their MillMap- method – wood models of the liner plates – she found one per service was developed six years ago at Australia’s Curtin crack but did not find the second, which a subsequent University. Up to now, operators have relied on a range of MillMapper scan detected. “So the scanner was very helpful methods for checking liner thickness – everything from using for us,” she says. throughput-based projections to wooden liner models to ultraBloom Lake has also recently begun using a related sonic gauges – but measuring the wear on mill liners both Scanalyse offering, CrusherMapper, says Desbiens. Based on accurately and comprehensively has been a challenge with the same concept, CrusherMapper rapidly measures concave them all. This has led to difficulty in knowing exactly when and mantle liner thicknesses in gyratory crushers – something costly liner replacements must occur. Gabardi says was not really feasible before. “You’d need to clean out the dump pocket, issue a confined Quicker, safer and more thorough space permit, take the mantle out, put a pan down into the Time is a major consideration when a mill shutdown can bowl, get the man onto that pan, and take those point meascost a mine well over $50,000 an hour. Gabardi adds that you urements,” he says. Because of the time involved, Gabardi would normally send a human inside to take measurements, explains, most sites rely on throughput figures to calculate the

54 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 7, No. 3

upfront PROCESSING

time when crusher liners had to be changed; greater-thanexpected wear of the liners could catch operators unaware. This is especially significant for Bloom Lake, notes Desbiens. Located in eastern Quebec, the mine experiences extreme temperatures in the winter – as low as -40 C. Bloom Lake strives to schedule concave liner replacements for spring and fall; an unscheduled replacement in mid-winter could pose a serious challenge because the crusher is located outdoors, Desbiens explains. “With the backing that is put between the bowl and concaves, we couldn’t glue it in place. The glue would not harden at such low temperatures,” she says. In fact, Desbiens continues, CrusherMapper already caught one potential issue, when a scan in mid-February detected greater than anticipated wear in the liners. Bloom Lake moved up the replacement schedule, and Desbiens says they are “really satisfied because it told us we made the right decision; we really have to change the liner right now or we might break the liner or have a major problem with the crusher. And with the crusher, it would have been impossible to know; we had no measurements of liner thickness.” Desbiens also points to the remote capabilities of the scanner, invaluable when it comes to inspecting the crusher. “It is -40 C without wind chill, and with wind chill it can get to 60 C. You can’t work outside for more than 10 minutes.”

Now, she says, the inspection team can place the scanner in the crusher and operate it from inside the heated truck cab.

More than raw data Liner thickness measurements are valuable on their own, but Gabardi hastens to add that Scanalyse can offer much more: historical scan data can be combined to produce detailed analyses of liner wear profiles, mill efficiency and a number of other key indicators. Many Scanalyse clients seek to maximize the mill throughput, he says, which peaks when the liner is partly worn down. These mines may opt for a thinner, or a “seasoned” liner, accepting shorter liner life in exchange for higher mill efficiency. Others, who may be located in remote areas where an extra liner replacement would be difficult, use Scanalyse data to push their liners to the limit. “We have had cases where we could reduce the number of shutdowns by closely monitoring liner thickness and accurately forecasting when they’d need to be changed,” says Gabardi. It becomes a case of balancing the mine’s economics, he adds, but Scanalyse offers operators a wealth of additional information with which to make the decision. At Bloom Lake, Desbiens says, Phase II has another crusher and mill scheduled to come online in January 2013. The plan is to use the Scanalyse solutions on both of these, as well: safety and efficiency can be addictive. CIM

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May 2012 | 55

upfront ENVIRONMENT by Peter Diekmeyer

A clean sweep

Courtesy of Vale

Vale will overhaul smelter to reduce atmospheric emissions

Vale’s Copper Cliff smelter complex in Sudbury, Ontario

ale is pumping $2 billion into sulphur dioxide and dust emission reduction initiatives at its Copper Cliff smelter in Sudbury, Ontario. The move has copper-nickel operations, procurement and project personnel rolling up their sleeves and sharpening their pencils. “It’s one of the largest environmental investments in Ontario’s history,” says Dave Marshall, an engineering manager at Vale who has been involved in development of the project over the past five years. “The new sulphuric acid plant will cut projected sulphur discharges by some 120,000 tonnes. Greenhouse gas emissions will also go down, as we will be using 3.5 million cubic feet of natural gas less each year. So naturally we are all very excited.” Vale’s new initiative, dubbed the “Clean AER (Atmospheric Emissions Reductions) project,” is impressive in many ways. In all, it will create close to 1,300 new jobs at peak construction and, in addition to the building of the new acid plant, a secondary baghouse and a wet gas cleaning plant will involve a complete overhaul of the Copper Cliff smelter’s converter aisle.

Saleable gains According to Marshall, about 60 per cent of the project’s efforts will be channelled into the smelter modifications and the 56 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 7, No. 3

new sulphuric acid plant that will process gasses captured in the Sudbury smelter. The plant will transform sulphur dioxide gas to liquid sulphuric acid through a chemical process that involves its exposure to a catalyst at high temperature, which will convert the sulphur dioxide to sulphur trioxide. The sulphur trioxide will then be absorbed into water, creating sulphuric acid. The sulphur dioxide gas goes through two separate stages of conversion and absorption to increase the efficiency of the process, and the end product, one of the world’s largest commodity chemicals, can be easily sold on the open market. The project’s converter wet gas cleaning plant will play an important role as well. The facility removes dust and cools process gasses from the sulphur dioxide gas stream, which is collected from the pyrometallurgical process of the converters prior to being transported to the acid plant. In the gas cleaning plant, the hot gasses from the converters will first be cooled with water to remove large dust particles and condense gaseous metals to a solid form. The metals will then be collected in wet electrostatic precipitators, and the clean gas will then be transferred to the acid plant. The dust and metals must be removed from the gas to ensure the acid produced is of a quality that can be sold to other industries. The project’s secondary baghouse will be crucial for reducing dust. This facility will treat minor dust emissions that escape the primary capture hoods on the process vessels. A vacuum provided by the secondary capture hoods surrounding the process vessel will pick up the emissions that escape these hoods. The secondary collection system, a series of ducts and fans, will convey the emissions to the baghouse for capture and removal. Marshall likens the baghouse to a big industrial vacuum cleaner. “It can best be described as a collection of very large fabric filters that capture the dust before the cleaned air is discharged to the environment,” says Marshall. “The dust is periodically cleaned from the filters and recycled to our process for recovery.” Since the 1970s, the facility has cut sulphur dioxide emissions by 90 per cent; however, company officials say the entire operation will reduce overall sulphur dioxide emissions at the facility by an additional 70 per cent from existing levels. By 2015, final levels will fall to about 45 kilotonnes per year, well below the new 66-kilotonne regulatory limit. Dust and metal discharges will also be cut by 35 per cent to 40 per cent. The whole project will also involve changes to company workflows. “We are taking a new look at our entire operating procedure,” says Marshall. “Mining and processing involve numerous activities that generate dust, such as handling and reprocessing of production materials, scrap and third-party metals. Workflows will be adjusted with many of those activities moved indoors.”

upfront TECHNOLOGY

Chemetics: leading international technology suppliers The design and supply of Vale’s atmospheric emissions reduction site’s acid plant contract section will be handled by Chemetics, a Vancouver-based process technology engineering company, which was acquired by the U.S.-based Jacobs Group last year. “[They] are providing the engineering for the entire plant including the buildings and systems required for operations,” says Marshall. “Chemetics will also be fabricating or supplying the process equipment, including vessels, towers, piping, ducting, pumps, blowers, support steel, platforms and the stack.” The sulphur dioxide conversion technology to be used in the Sudbury operation has been well tested over the years, according to Andrew Berryman, a divisional vice-president at Chemetics. His company, which entered the market in 1982 and is one of the world’s leading international acid technology suppliers, has already designed a number of similar plants. Yet while technology used in the acid plant may be standard, Vale is being particularly innovative in the way it will be setting up and using the facility. The plant will process inputs from seven different process sources, which will be quite a challenge on its own. In addition, construction must be handled so that it generates minimal impact on production. “While completing the engineering studies in preparation for this project, we benchmarked the operations of several

other facilities around the world that faced similar challenges,” points out Marshall. “The information we gathered, combined with input from third party specialists and our own operations and technical personnel provided a basis for an operating strategy that will be finalized in the design stage.”

SNC-Lavalin adds contracting know-how How well construction workflows are managed depends in large part on SNC-Lavalin, another key player that has a long background at the Vale Sudbury site. According to Ian Pritchard, SNC-Lavalin’s senior vicepresident of global mining and metallurgy, the company will provide engineering, equipment, and material procurement and construction management services on the upgrade project. “SNC-Lavalin has a mandate to complete all the facilities on a staged basis,” says Pritchard. Work by SNC-Lavalin’s Fenco subsidiary in 1989 on a previous Vale plant positions the company well for the current initiative due to the company’s experience in integrating the latest technologies provided by various vendors into operations, he adds. Preparation work at the construction site began in April of this year, with overall project completion expected by the end of 2015. CIM

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May 2012 | 57

upfront MINE DESIGN by Alexandra Lopez-Pacheco

Pushing potash further Mosaic K1 pioneers automation in the sector territory in potash. “In my experience, when it comes to automation, the potash sector could benefit immensely by observing and implementing what has already been learned elsewhere,” says Runge Mining’s Sebastian Van Der Hoek, whose company provides consulting, training and software for the mining and related services industries globally. But, there is a good reason for that lag: automation in planning has not been perceived as necessary for potash. “Basically, in potash mining, the grades usually don’t vary greatly in any direction,” says Erik Rasmussen, mine engineer at the Mosaic K1 underground potash mine in Esterhazy, Saskatchewan. “Most of the development is productive, so basically no matter which direction you mine in, you’re going to hit product.”

Courtesy of Mosaic Esterhazy

Why change something if it is not broken? Until 2010, K1 relied on a twodimensional AutoCAD system for its scheduling and planning. It worked, but in contrast to automated systems, theirs required more human hours and was not without its limitations. “It was more of a Gantt chart and paper map approach,” explains Rasmussen. “There wasn’t extensive calculation of variables A two-rotor miner makes its final pass at an ore face at Mosaic’s K1 mine in Esterhazy, Saskatchewan. behind it, such as taking into account equipment availability or utilization, nor were we reconciling the planning with n the past, necessity was typically the mother of invention, what the equipment was capable of historically.” but in this 21st century of rapid and perpetual change, In 2010, Mosaic’s K1 staff decided to do something differwaiting for necessity before innovating can mean a missed ent: look into automating its mine scheduling and planning opportunity. system. They recognized that without effective planning tools, Take Saskatchewan’s potash sector, for example. A vast decisions made in the present have the potential for long-term deposit lies some 1,000 metres to 1,600 metres beneath the negative consequences. ground of the province’s southern plains, and Saskatchewan is the world’s second largest producer of the commodity. With Get efficient the increasing prices and high global demand potash has been The company brought in Runge, which began installing a enjoying in recent years – as well as favourable predictions for complete suite of mine planning software that includes such the long haul – the sector is in a very good place indeed. When features as detailed mine design capabilities, the ability to proit comes to innovation, though, the sector has lagged seriously duce and schedule mineable reserves and capture operations behind. While automation in mine design and scheduling are scheduling complexities, as well as any variations to the plan, the norm in other mining sectors, they are unchartered which can be fed back into the scheduling process.

58 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 7, No. 3

upfront MINE DESIGN

“For long-term planning, with the new system, we get the numerical results panel by panel – how much ore there is, what the expected grade is supposed to be based on our modelling, and then based on what equipment we’ve decided to make available, and how long it’s going to take to both develop and mine,” says Rasmussen. “We also get an animation of all this, month by month, year by year – what the mine is going to look like in all the development and production phases. It does the same for the short term, but on a day-by-day basis, and it also allows us to outline both routine and planned tasks, so we can get a visual representation of what we’re doing for the next three months in a variety of different forms, as well as expected production tonnages.” As the user creates the mine design in the new system, he or she can choose to have the program add dependencies that can be automatically applied to the schedule. “What this means is that the mine can’t be scheduled out of sequence,” points out Van Der Hoek. “For example, an extraction panel can’t be mined until the mains are developed or the conveyor belts can’t be installed until the development has occurred. These rules are created automatically and so it speeds up the scheduling process as they eliminate user errors to ensure the mine schedule remains feasible. This is the type of thing Excel can’t produce.” The new system also allows K1 to quickly produce various scenarios, which allows for much more informed long-term planning decisions. The switchover was relatively straightforward as there was no need for hardware upgrades; any engineering PC used at mining operations can comfortably run the programs. Training and ongoing support for the software is being provided post-implementation by Runge consultants. However, the software transition was phased over a period of time to ensure the potash industry’s specific needs were incorporated into the software.

The team at Mosaic K1 has taken no chances with the switch to the new system for short-term planning. In fact, they’re still running both their conventional system and the new one in parallel – without interruptions to the mining. “It’s really only a couple of hours to go through and make the changes every week, if that,” says Rasmussen. “It allows us to compare both systems side by side.” The new system, says Rasmussen, offers the potential for greater efficiency, productivity, and improved long-term mining and planning. “In the long term, the benefits will be there. You reduce the time needed to hammer out the design and put your time into laying out your options and really making better-informed decisions, including impacts on other areas of the operation, such as capital planning,” he says, adding that the only real remaining hurdle is getting the people who turn plans into reality used to seeing modernized outputs. Runge is now following a similar journey with BHP Billiton’s Jansen potash project in Saskatchewan, and has also begun working with Agrium. “I think this definitely has the potential to spread across the industry,” says Rasmussen. “Being able to integrate long-term and short-term planning seamlessly is a very valuable tool. The value is there if they’re willing to accept change and try out new ideas.” CIM

Cautious pioneering Runge’s software developers added a completely new set of potash design tools to the K1 mine’s system that reflect the conditions in an underground potash environment as well as the mining method, which can be described as a hybrid between longwall and room and pillar – all in a very large scale, with some rooms typically stretching between 1,500 metres and 2,100 metres. “These new design tools were developed with direct input from our potash clients and reflected some of the differences between potash mining methods and other underground tabular mining methods, such as coal,” notes Van Der Hoek. “These differences included design naming conventions, mining directions used within production panels, treatment of overlapping roadways and intra-panel sequencing rules, to name a few.” The switchover began with the software for long-term planning. “That function was addressed first in this project as that was where the business need was greatest at the time,” says Van Der Hoek. “Once the long-term planning system was in place, it made sense that the short-range planning should be set up to meet the targets outlined in the long-range plan.” May 2012 | 59

upfront MASS MINING by Krystyna Lagowski

Tested and ready Cave mining methods attractive as open pits disappear Also, the production rates from caves are ever increasing. Jakubec points to Codelco’s El Teniente project in Chile as a prime example. “This is a supercave, an assembly of several cave mines, which produce over 120,000 tonnes of ore a day,” he says. Also, the Oyu Tolgoi project in Mongolia is one of the largest advanced caving projects outside North America. Both are copper porphyry mines, which are large ore bodies wellsuited for this type of mining. Jakubec says ore bodies with relatively small horizontal footprints can be also mined economically if they have sufficient height. A good example would be the North Parks mine in Australia.

Courtesy of Sandvik

The economics

An automated dump truck in the Finsch diamond mine in South Africa. The mine started as an open pit, moved underground in 1991 and began block caving in 2007.

ith some 35 cave mining projects in various stages of study and development around the world, it is only relatively recently that this mass mining method has begun proving its potential. Jarek Jakubec, head of mining and geology at SRK Consulting, is among the champions for cave mining, and he believes the technique’s time has come. According to him, attention has been increasing since the end of 1990s when Rio Tinto’s Palabora copper mine in South Africa began using cave mining for hard rock. “Since then, there has been continuous interest and growing use of cave mining techniques,” he says. That interest is being spurred by the depletion of ore bodies suitable for open pit operations. According to Jakubec, many companies are turning to cave mining when they need to transition their operations underground to mine deep, large lowgrade resources.

The technique Jakubec defines cave mining as a method based on the principle of undercutting rock, and then naturally letting it collapse. This method can be used with any type of commodity, since it is the geological context that is important. Jakubec says there are many parameters to consider, but generally the ore body needs to be at least 100 or so metres thick for cave mining to be economical. “Most of the designs which are on the drawing board today have single lifts of 300, 400, 500 or more metres,” he says. 60 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 7, No. 3

As economical open pit mines become scarcer, cave mining becomes more and more attractive. Jakubec estimates that if the cost of open pit mining were $2.50 to $3.50 per tonne, the cost of underground cave mining could be about $5.00 per tonne. For comparison, sublevel caving would cost about $15.00 per tonne, and cemented backfill mining would cost $50.00 per tonne or more. “Often, larger ore bodies are low grade – for example, the copper porphyry ore bodies mined today by caving are typically around .7 to 1.2 per cent copper,” Jakubec explains. “So with the current price of copper hovering below $4 a pound, you could get about a $60.00 to $100.00 value in one tonne of ore.” The disadvantage of cave mining is that large upfront capital investment is required. “You have to do all the preparation, with the access hoisting and ventilation shafts, undercutting and extraction development, before you start making any money,” he notes. The huge Oyu Tolgoi mine, set to produce more than 1.2 billion pounds of copper and 650,000 ounces of gold each year, is only 73-per cent built. Over eight years, $5 billion have been invested in it. Jakubec says the other disadvantage of cave mining is a long lead time; it typically takes seven to 10 years from studies to production.

The rise of mass mining With the development of advanced technology in mining, planners are increasingly likely to favour the technique. The rapid pace of innovation in automation, for example, makes cave mining more attractive every year. “Block and panel caves are very suitable for highly automated equipment like remote control loaders, trucks and crushers,” Jakubec says. “In the future, one of those supercaves could potentially have less than 50 to 60 people underground.” Jakubec notes that cave mining is also much more environmentally friendly when compared to open pits, since there is almost no waste rock mined. “In simple terms, you undercut

upfront MASS MINING

and extract only the ore bodies,” he explains. “With open pit, you have to mine large quantities of waste as stripping ratios increase with depth.” Jakubec will be presenting several papers on the subject at the MassMin 2012 conference in Sudbury. The mass mining conference, held every four years since 1984, has been growing exponentially, according to Greg Baiden, conference chair and CEO of Penguin ASI. This year, the conference is expected to welcome more than 700 participants from 30 countries. “Getting this conference into Canada was very important,” remarks Baiden. “Canadian miners don’t understand the world is headed for mass mining. They’ve had the luxury of having very rich ore bodies – but the reality is that a lot of those ore bodies are getting depleted.” Baiden says it is a sustainability issue. “There are some Canadian mines, like the Stobie mine in Sudbury, which fall under the category of mass mines. Some of the new diamond properties are mass mines.” However, Baiden notes, “in general, Canada has yet to try to put in these mines because of the high-quality grades they’ve had. But that’s not always going to be the case.” The MassMin conference began in the United States in 1984 because some in the mining industry realized that open pit mines were disappearing. “The reason for the conference is to address the issue and have people discuss it, and understand the latest in technology and where it’s going,” says Baiden. Baiden agrees that cave mining offers an attractive alternative since it is on the low end of the cost curve. “One of the issues we’re addressing is how to do faster mine development, with computerized jumbo drills, better explosives technology and faster cycle times to speed your way through the development process,” he says. “Those developments are being driven by the large companies.” Baiden notes that the many of the most profitable mining companies today – Rio Tinto, Codelco, Freeport McMoran, Anglo American – have extensive portfolios of mass mining operations. He mentions Codelco’s Andina mine, which has a production rate of nearly 100,000 tonnes a day. According to Baiden, the 10 mines in the Sudbury basin produce 32,000 tonnes a day. He says much of Andina’s enormous output is due to mass mining and the use of automation. “Canadian companies are disappearing and being taken over by companies that are

mass mining companies,” he points out. “Like INCO being taken over by Vale, which has mass mining operations in Brazil, producing iron ore on a huge scale.” “That’s part of why I wanted to bring the MassMin conference to Canada,” Baiden says. “We really need to have Canadians understand the mining industry on a larger scale. We’re looking forward to having a good conference and it being a great success.” CIM For more information on the MassMin conference, visit www.cim.org/massmin2012.

May 2012 | 61

upfront Q&A by Peter Braul

Fresh air Peter Robinson, the CEO of the David Suzuki Foundation, on mining, the environment and sound management ancouver has been cooler and wetter than usual, according to Peter Robinson. He blames El Niño. It’s a common enough topic of conversation, but with Robinson, the CEO of the David Suzuki Foundation (DSF), matters like climate are a business and a passion. As well as the head of Canada’s most prominent environmental organization, he is also a scholar of the environmental movement and the culture that shapes it. Robinson, who is currently completing research for a PhD on the sociology of environmentalism, spoke to CIM Magazine about the changing dynamic of mining and environmentalism.

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CIM: How would you rate the sustainability efforts of the mining industry? ROBINSON: The first step is to admit you have a problem. And the Mining Association of Canada’s Towards Sustainable Mining program, amongst others, has acknowledged that the challenge is there. Once you’ve acknowledged the challenges, then you begin to measure them, and put in place programs to address them. There’s a long way to go, but there is progress. Some of it is not on the environmental file – the impact of a mine and its roads and infrastructure is still a big impact.

upfront Q&A

We know this is going on, and that would seem to argue saries and critics. And what that does is create a strong against the progress I mentioned, but the mining industry is voice back that is always oppositional in nature, and that now paying much greater attention to the social dimensions seeks to push companies to make the most radical changes of its activities. We see greater outreach to First Nations com- they can, and if not they’ll be held up in the court of public munities, and to me the social dimension and the environ- opinion as having done wrong. mental dimension are inseparable. Yes we can do that, and that’s the However, not all resource extractraditional way, but on the other hand we can maintain a stance of disagreetion is the same. I compare MAC’s To make a real ment and try to push each other and activities against some of the other difference in try to educate and try to advocate for sectors with which we’ve had ongoing sustainability, people change – and have a professional reladiscussions, and I don’t see that same who have a passion tionship with the individuals acknowledgement. The Canadian involved, and I prefer that. At the end Association of Petroleum Producers, for the environment of the day, we still require a cooperafor example, appears to spend more need to be in the areas tive means of solving these problems. to defend an image than it does to that have the biggest I’d much rather find where the points look at what’s underneath that we can impacts in the first place. of tension are and see which ones we actually work on resolving. I see this can deal with collaboratively. You have as a distinguishing element of MAC. – P. Robinson to be able to do that from the position CIM: Both the Mining Association of of at least respecting what the other Canada and the David Suzuki party is trying to do. Foundation work to lobby our government – how do you see the relationship between these very different organizations? CIM: Is there such a thing as sustainable mining? ROBINSON: I have had the pleasure of dealing with Pierre ROBINSON: Mining has an impact on natural landscapes. Gratton when he was with the Mining Association of British Could it be considered sustainable in the longer term? The Columbia. Mining in BC has quite a history, but as a result answer would have to be ‘yes it could.’ We all need resources there’s a lot of interaction between the mining association, extracted from the ground. The perfect world would be that mining companies, environmental groups, local constituen- all of the negative impacts were dealt with. Can we do that? cies and in that tension there was room for Pierre and I to I’m sure hoping we can. One of the ways to make the sector work together. He is very good at trying to find solutions that more sustainable, though, is to only extract resources as they all parties can work with. I like that because when you’re are needed. dealing with these very intractable issues, the answer isn’t always ‘yes or no’ on some projects. Sometimes you need to CIM: Is there a model for this? look at how you can best accommodate the various interests. ROBINSON: I look at Norway’s oil reserves in the North Sea, and how they’ve developed them. What they essentially did CIM: So these relationships can be friendly, but is that a is set aside royalties from oil extraction to build up a large benefit to the DSF and your message? fund for the future. They’re not going to put those funds into ROBINSON: I would say that you only have two basic ways their government operations. There’s a lesson here for we can work: one is that we can set the DSF up as adver- Canada: you can end up becoming dependent on these types

May 2012 | 63

upfront Q&A

of resources, and then you end up with an insidious relationship where you depend on these resources for revenues. I think Norway is a good example to follow. CIM: What is your opinion of the regulatory environment in Canada? ROBINSON: I think there is sufficient regulation in place for the industry right now. But governments are actively trying to reduce the amount of resources they are putting onto monitoring and compliance, and in some cases looking at processes, environmental assessments, differently than they have in the past. In that vacuum that the government has created, there will be more roles for environmental organizations and industry organizations like MABC or MAC to say: “How can we be sure that we’re doing what needs to be done?” CIM: Mining companies are facing the significant challenge of recruiting young talent. What do you think they need to do to attract the next generation of qualified people? ROBINSON: Listen, I think you can make a difference with respect to the environment in any job you do. Yes, it takes courage and belief, and there is pressure in many industries to norm back to unsustainable practices.

sustainable

mining solutions

www. k n i g h t p i e s o l d .co m environmental baseline studies social & environmental impact assessments rock mechanics & pit slope design water management tailings & waste management heap leach pad design renewable energy integration closure and reclamation

engineering and environmental consultants

64 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 7, No. 3

If you want to have a business that’s going to be around for a decade plus, you have to encourage the culture to accept different perspectives – particularly as it relates to sustainability. If you encourage that kind of culture in your company, you’ll find that there’s more ownership of ideas and more connection to the company itself. If that’s the case, you can end up in those wonderful situations where not only do you save money, but you increase your ability to deal with the social licence that comes from addressing environmental and community issues. Generation Y looks at the environment as indistinguishable from social justice. This is different than, say, boomers who view environmentalism as more of a conservation activity for preservation of wild areas. So university graduates coming into the sector now will not necessarily share the definition of environmental challenge with heads of business. CIM: How do you see young people making the biggest difference, then? ROBINSON: When I was the CEO of Mountain Equipment Co-op, we were trying to make our business as sustainable as possible. In that discussion, we ended up with a debate as to whether we would have a large sustainability department – which is the same challenge that a number of mining companies face. Do you hire really bright people who are trained in this area? Do you try to create a centre of excellence for sustainability in the business? In my view that’s a big mistake. A lot of my friends are in the sustainability departments of various organizations, but I’d rather that people who have an interest in sustainability not go into those areas. Instead, they should take that knowledge into operations. To make a real difference in sustainability, people who have a passion for the environment need to be in the areas that have the biggest impacts in the first place. CIM: Can you give any concrete examples of how this worked? ROBINSON: At MEC, one of the best efforts we made to minimize greenhouse gas emissions was through our logistics vice-president, looking at really simple ways to reduce the exhaust from trucks used to transport our products around the country. We worked with shippers in arranging how containers came into port, and made a significant reduction there. CIM: Is there one message you would want to get across to the readers of CIM Magazine? ROBINSON: Over the longer term, we simply must get through the bottleneck of viewing business and the environment as somehow being opposites. In effect, you need strong environmental policies and practices in order to have a long-term, viable economy. The challenge is, therefore, “how quickly can we make this the norm?” CIM

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The Best Measures As environmental assessments grow more complex, project planners suggest improvements by Eavan Moore

o you want to build a mine. You’ve done exploratory drilling, released a resource estimate, and you are prepared to move ahead at this site. The next critical phase will last several years. It will go a long way in determining whether your project, economics aside, is allowed to proceed. And it probably will cost a few million dollars. It is time to think about the environmental assessment (EA). Beginning with the preparation of an environmental impact statement and concluding with the granting of approval, the EA is a company’s best attempt at predicting and planning for the effects its project will have on water, air, soil, plant life, wildlife, and human inhabitants, for the next ten, hundred, or thousand years to come. From its beginnings in the 1970s, the Canadian process has become more voluminous, more expensive, and more extensive in scope.

things remain frozen, and if you’re faced with the possibility that permafrost is melting, then what would be the consequences?” But another reason EAs are more complex is that their scope has expanded, says Jeff Barnes, senior principal, environmental management at Stantec. In scoping a project assessment, regulators decide what laws apply, how the project is defined, what needs to be studied, and what level of detail is required. Scoping naturally changes and expands to accommodate new concepts and concerns. Where an earlier EA would have taken a creek as the unit of study, for example, a complete assessment now looks at the creek’s watershed. But the task of determining a project’s scope falls to the individuals

While changes to environmental regulation have been made to help accelerate the process in Canada, there are strategies a company can use to keep things moving – and to hold its costs in line.

Expanding scope

“The bottom line is that environmental assessments have become more and more complex over time,” says Rick Hoos, principal consultant at EBA Engineering Consultants Ltd. “And they continue to become more complex.” Advances in science have added to the standard inclusions in an EA. More sophisticated statistical models are now available, enabling researchers to make more confident and detailed predictions about possible impacts their projects may have on air, water quality or other aspects of the environment. A growing awareness of climate change has forced project proponents to consider their greenhouse gas emissions and how their environmental management plans will hold up under unpredictable conditions. “Environmental impact statements continually raise this question: What is being proposed now – is that going to be good years from now in the face of climate change as predicted?” says Paul Wilkinson, vice-president, environmental and social affairs at New Millennium Iron Corp., which is developing a series of iron ore deposits along the Quebec-Labrador border. “If you’re relying on the fact that

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May 2012 | 67

Courtesy of Stantec

Today’s EAs are integrating environmental field data with information gleaned from locals who have broad knowledge of the ecosystems likely impacted by a project.

who oversee environmental assessments. Workforce demographics and turnover in regulatory agencies and consultancies, explains Barnes, has positioned young personnel in decision making roles they may not be prepared for. They respond to growing environmental concerns by broadening

Size Does

the scope of EAs. “We came very early, both in the literature and in guidance, to the conclusion that you need to focus an environmental assessment on the things that are important,” he says, referring to the EA veterans who helped refine practices in the late 1970s and the early 1980s. “You

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68 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 7, No. 3

just can’t study everything. It’s just not feasible, it’s not practical, and we can’t afford it.” The cumulative effects of development have taken a frontand-centre role in the gradual expansion of scope. Project proponents are asked to evaluate the impact of past projects, as well those that might be built in their area in future. Under the rubric of cumulative effects study, the global impacts of mining as an industry can and do take over the approval process for an individual project. “I often go to a mining EA hearing or public meeting, and people ask, ‘Why aren’t we recycling more?’” Barnes says. "It’s quite rational for the public to want to ask that question. But I think that regulatory authorities, when they’re scoping, shouldn’t be adding things like ‘Comment on the worldwide recycling of this metal’ to the EA process.”

What not to do

Project proponents have only limited discretion as to the types and amount of data they will collect; these are determined by the prevailing environmental conditions and by regulators. A company may choose to collect data over the span of two seasons, but then be asked for a third once its project description is reviewed. Companies usually attempt to fulfill any anticipated requests in advance, meaning that the environmental impact statement includes a wealth of information. Hoos notes this strategy can backfire. Providing more information furnishes more opportunities for regulators to request elaboration. “If you start the process with a grand parade, it’s going to get bigger,” he points out. “If you begin the process with a very professionally produced document that addresses everything in the most reasonable and appropriate way possible without getting too carried away, that may help a company move through the process more efficiently and quickly. It may elicit fewer questions rather than more questions.” Moreover, he observes, each new environmental assessment seems to raise the bar. “Any time a company, big or small, makes a commitment that hasn’t been made before, it becomes part of the commitment list for the next project,” he says. “The question often posed is: ‘So, if a caribou comes walking into your mine site, are you prepared to shut down your mine?’ Some companies say, ‘Uhhh... sure.’ Most companies that I advise just say, ‘No.’” A well-executed wildlife protection plan, says Hoos, should balance the environmental and operational interests without handcuffing the company with ill-considered promises. As long as studies are funded adequately, cost does not necessarily determine quality, the consultants say. But it does determine the scale of a study, and major companies with deep pockets have, in Hoos’s view, sometimes set an unreasonable standard for juniors and midtiers to follow. On the other hand, a single, thorough EA can serve as a resource for others. Hoos has advised two other proposed mines in the

Opening up the regulatory channel Industry’s calls for a more efficient and effective approval process have reached the ears of a Conservative federal government. In 2010, amendments to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (CEAA) assigned assessment of large projects to one central agency and enabled federal EAs to begin concurrently with provincial EAs. Approval timelines have improved since then, says Justyna Laurie-Lean, vice-president, environment and health, Mining Association of Canada. “It often took 18 months after the provincial assessment had commenced before the federal government decided that a federal assessment was needed,” she recalls. The federal budget proposed in March 2012 promised further improvements, including fixed timelines, imposing start-to-finish limits of 24 months for panel reviews, 18 months for National Energy Board hearings, and 12 months for lower-level assessments. It also included a key industry goal: empowering CEAA to recognize provincial EAs as a substitute for federal EAs. The government’s declared principle of “one project, one review, completed in a clearly defined time period” met applause from MAC. Angela Waterman, vice-president, environment and technical affairs at the Mining Association of British Columbia, argues that there is ample opportunity for more regulatory improvement. “It is important to recognize that the Environmental Assessment review is only the first of several major regulatory steps that a project must undergo prior to being built. After receiving an EA certificate, a project must still apply for permitting under the Mines Act and secure permits under the provincial Environmental Management Act. At each phase of regulatory review, additional project and engineering details are required, as well as public and First Nations consultation. A national EA process, which recognizes the equivalency and robustness of the provincial process, would greatly facilitate efficient and effective project review.” E. MOORE May 2012 | 69

You just can,t study everything. It,s just not feasible , it,s not practical , and we can,t afford it. – Jeff Barnes

vicinity of a larger project operated by mining large diamond mining company. The comprehensive cumulative effects assessment conducted by the major, included the other two proposed mines. When those mines submitted their own cumulative effect assessments, the results of the more comprehensive assessment were incorporated into the assessments for these smaller projects, rather than repeating much of the same work.

Communication is key

While the government sets an EA’s timeline and information requirements, the mining company’s choices determine whether the process actually yields a producing mine that balances its financial, social and environmental obligations. Key to this, practitioners say, are both internal coordination and external engagement.

We have your mining solution.

70 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 7, No. 3

“A wise mining company is one that works really hard to move its project in pace with the assessment process so that its decisions to commit additional funds to the detailed work don’t become a scheduling or financial problem for it,” says Barnes. “If you were to not really know whether you had a project and then register into an environmental assessment process and have all these information requirements, you might have to spend $10 million doing field work to support an environmental assessment, and yet you’re really only prepared to spend $1 million on the overall engineering.” Alistair Kent, manager of technical services at Selwyn Chihong Mining Ltd., believes the industry needs better internal communication to ensure its outward impact is beneficial. “You need to manage your study teams and provide plenty of opportunity for interaction with planning and engineering

If there is any element of communication most closely bound with environmental assessment laws in Canada, it is the expectation that project proponents will consult with First Nations. Nalaine Morin, principal, ArrowBlade Consulting Services, and member of the Tahltan Nation in British Columbia, reports progress in First Nations participation over the years. “A few years ago, a socio-economic impact assessment may not necessarily have been built around even local communities,” says Morin. “It may have been built on regional databases. And now that’s even been developed further, to get away from the economics in a traditional sense towards including things that are maybe more significant to the local people, which is culture.” But Morin sees much more room for improvement. “I think how a project team considers Aboriginal interests and how those interests are assessed need to have a lot more First Nations involvement,” she says. Morin believes, for example, that the endangered species list carries more weight in allocating study resources than species of interest to local communities. A toad on the federal endangered species list merits detailed study in every EA, even though it is common in northern British Columbia and locals might prefer to allocate limited research dollars elsewhere. The standards for First Nations participation in assessments, she says, are not on a par with the standards for scientific research. In some senses, Aboriginal understanding of the landscape on a mine site surpasses what science led from outside can uncover. Morin points out local land users know more about the ecosystem than outside research can unearth. “People who live and work on the land don’t go out and collect data over a finite period of time during certain times of year,” she says. “They understand a little bit

Courtesy of Cameco

teams,” he explains. “You need to plan very deliberately for lateral flow of understanding in order to walk the sustainability and social responsibility talk. I don’t yet see the detailed realization or management commitment to this complex process.”

To limit the disturbance of the lake bottom during the installation of a water outlet pipe, the project team at Cameco’s Cigar Lake operation surrounded the construction area with a boom.

A project built on consensus After Cameco’s Cigar Lake underground project in northern Saskatchewan flooded while under development in 2006, the company changed its water management strategy, which included adding increased capacity, to assure it could handle the largest potential inflow. According to Cameco, the smooth environmental assessment process that followed can be attributed in part to regular contact with stakeholders. Meetings with Aboriginal and other community groups established two-way feedback from the start of the project, says Grant Goddard, vice-president of mining, Saskatchewan Mining North. Regular briefings kept people up-to-date through the post-flood recovery process. As the mine operators reviewed solutions to potential future flooding, conversation turned to how the risks could best be managed. The chosen solution emerged in 2009: build pipelines to nearby Seru Bay that would channel the routine inflow regularly pumped to the surface, as well as potential non-routine inflow. Cigar Lake had been releasing its groundwater into a small creek system that passed through muskeg on its way to the bay. Concerned that potential inflow volumes could create erosion problems if allowed to flow through existing channels, Cameco opted to build a different route to the same receiving environment. Presented with this proposal, the community-based North Saskatchewan Environmental Quality Committee raised a question: Why couldn’t Cigar Lake continue to release regular small amounts of water into the creek, and use the separate release into Seru Bay only in the rare event of non-routine inflows? “It was a good question,” says Goddard. “It essentially caused us to stop processing our EA work for a couple of months to go back and make sure that we had a high-quality conclusion to our assessment. We confirmed that it was better from an operational and environmental perspective to move both of them directly, after treatment, to the bay. Ultimately, they did recognize that we had the better solution.” “That general consultation model is what we do across all of our EAs,” adds Liam Mooney, Cameco’s vice-president of safety, health, environmental quality and regulatory relations. “That’s why the comments we often receive are ‘Hang on, we have a better idea of how you might do this,’ not that they take issue with the project itself. The success of that at Cigar Lake was ultimately seen in that there was an EA that then went forward with no public opposition or concerns being expressed in the public review period.” The project was completed last winter when the construction team built the pipeline connecting the water treatment plant to the bay. The summer before, a diffuser for discharging the treated mine water was set in the lake, elevated so that it would not disturb the lake bottom. E. MOORE May 2012 | 71

better where the animals go, where they die. They understand, perhaps, where salt licks are.â&#x20AC;?

A test of trust

Courtesy of New Millennium Iron Corp.

Listening to traditional knowledge, building on other projects and keeping the information dump reasonable all help to make an EA process successful. But Kent suggests projects will not maximize their potential until they are designed in a genuine spirit of interconnectedness. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no easy task, as it requires a balancing act in which Western science is balanced with traditional knowledge: the costs of a mitigation plan are balanced with its benefits for all, the need for economy is balanced with the need for understanding, and present needs are balanced with those of the future. To advance the New Millennium Iron Corp.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s DSO project, management had to address the impacts of past mining ventures with local First Nations.

The ultimate balancing act will involve a matter of trust and confidence in the end. â&#x20AC;&#x153;People often think if it werenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t for the way environmental assessments are currently being conducted, companies would not be operating at the standards of today,â&#x20AC;? says Rick Hoos. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I understand where that comes from because there was a time in the past when there were not many regulatory requirements, and we have a legacy to show for it. But these days, companies are generally

very good and responsible corporate citizens. They, and their shareholders, want to make sure their projects do not have any significant negative environmental or socio-economic implications. The problem is that many people involved with the project review and approvals processes have a difficult time believing thatâ&#x20AC;?. CIM

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72 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 7, No. 3

Des mesures à prendre Courtoisie de Stantec

Devant la complexité croissante des évaluations environnementales, des chargés de projet proposent des améliorations par Eavan Moore Les analyses environnementales prennent en compte les données collectées sur le terrain par habitants locaux qui ont une compréhension extensive des écosystèmes affectées par un projet

Certes, les règlements sur la protection de l’environnement ont été remaniés afin d’alléger le processus, mais il existe également des stratégies que les entreprises peuvent utiliser pour faire avancer les choses tout en contrôlant leurs coûts.

Une complexité croissante

« De fait, les évaluations environnementales se sont compliquées au fil du temps », souligne Rick Hoos, conseiller principal à EBA Engineering Consultants Ltd. Il estime d’ailleurs qu’elles ne feront que devenir encore plus complexes. Les progrès de la science ont amené l’inclusion d’un nombre croissant d’éléments dans les évaluations environnementales. Les chercheurs disposent de modèles statistiques plus poussés qui leur permettent d’avancer des prévisions plus sûres et détaillées au sujet des impacts possibles de certains projets sur la qualité de l’eau ou de l’air, ou d’autres aspects de l’environnement. Compte tenu de la sensibilisation aux changements climatiques, les promoteurs de projets doivent désormais réfléchir à leurs émissions de gaz à effet de serre et se demander si leurs plans de gestion environnementale tiendraient le coup en cas de désastre. « Les énoncés des incidences environnementales soulèvent constamment cette question : les mesures proposées de nos 74 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 7, No. 3

jours seront-elles encore valables dans quelques années, si les changements climatiques annoncés se produisent? » se demande Paul Wilkinson, vice-président, Affaires environnementales et sociales à New Millennium Iron Corp., entreprise qui met en valeur une série de gisements de minerai de fer le long de la frontière Québec-Labrador. Autre interrogation : « Si vous comptez sur le gel pour mener vos activités, mais que le pergélisol se met à fondre, qu’est-ce qui se passera? » Courtesy of Stantec

epuis l’énoncé des incidences environnementales jusqu’à l’obtention du feu vert, l’évaluation environnementale (EE) permet à une entreprise de montrer sa volonté de prévoir les effets de son projet sur la qualité de l’eau, de l’air et de sol, sur la faune et la flore, et sur les habitants humains, pour les dix, cent ou mille prochaines années. Or, le système canadien d’EE, créé dans les années 1970, est de plus en plus lourd, coûteux et accaparant.

Une autre raison pour laquelle les EE sont plus complexes, c’est que leur portée s’est élargie, comme l’explique Jeff Barnes, directeur principal, gestion de l’environnement à Stantec. Lorsqu’ils déterminent le champ d’application de l’évaluation dans le cadre d’un projet, les organismes de réglementation décident quelles lois s’appliquent, comment le projet est défini, ce qui doit être étudié et à quel niveau de détail. Le champ d’application évolue et s’élargit tout naturellement, s’adaptant aux nouveaux concepts et aux préoccupations de l’heure. Alors qu’autrefois, un ruisseau aurait pu servir d’unité d’étude, de nos jours, ce sont les bassins versants qu’on examine. D’autre part, le champ d’application d’un projet est déterminé par les responsables des évaluations environnementales. Selon M. Barnes, avec l’arrivée de la relève au sein des organismes de réglementation et des cabinets d’experts-conseils, les nouveaux responsables réagissent à des préoccupations environnementales croissantes en élargissant leur champ d’action, et ils prennent parfois des décisions sans tenir compte de l’évolution qui s’est déjà produite sur le terrain. « En examinant la documentation et les lignes directrices, nous sommes vite arrivés à la conclusion qu’il faut concentrer une évaluation environnementale sur les éléments les plus importants », affirme M. Barnes, se souvenant des pionniers de l’é-

valuation environnementale qui ont aidé à affiner les pratiques dans les années 1970 et au début des années 1980. Les effets cumulatifs du développement ont stimulé l’expansion progressive du champ d’application des EE. Les promoteurs de projets sont invités à évaluer les impacts de projets antérieurs et ceux de futurs projets pouvant être mis en chantier dans la région. Compte tenu de l’étude des effets cumulatifs, les impacts globaux de l’exploitation minière en général risquent, comme on le voit, de dominer tout le processus d’approbation relatif à un projet individuel.

Ce qu il faut éviter

Les promoteurs de projets n’ont qu’un droit de regard limité quant au type et au nombre de données qu’ils recueilleront; tout dépend des conditions environnementales et des organismes de réglementation. Une entreprise qui a recueilli des données concernant deux saisons peut se faire dire, après examen de la description de projet, qu’il en fallait pour trois. Les entreprises tâchent généralement d’anticiper toutes les questions imaginables, ce qui fait que l’énoncé des incidences environnementales comprend une foule de renseignements. M. Hoos estime que cette stratégie risque d’être contreproductive. En effet, le surcroît d’informations donne aux autorités un prétexte de plus pour demander des précisions. « Si vous présentez, dès le départ, un document digne des meilleurs professionnels, qui aborde tous les sujets de manière raisonnable et pertinente, mais sans en faire trop, vous aiderez l’entreprise à passer au travers du processus plus rapidement. On lui posera moins de questions. » D’après les consultants interrogés, la qualité de l’évaluation ne dépend pas forcément du montant d’argent qu’on y consacre, pourvu que l’étude soit correctement financée. En revanche, les fonds disponibles peuvent déterminer l’ampleur d’une étude, et de grandes entreprises qui disposent de ressources illimitées ont, d’après M. Hoos, mis la barre hors d’atteinte pour les petites et moyennes sociétés minières. En revanche, une EE de grande envergure peut servir de ressource pour d’autres projets. M. Hoos a conseillé deux entreprises qui envisageaient d’ouvrir des mines tout près d’un vaste projet minier déjà exploité par un grand producteur de diamants. Une évaluation complète des impacts cumulatifs avait déjà été menée par la grande entreprise, et elle englobait les deux autres mines proposées. Lorsque ces mines ont présenté leurs propres évaluations des effets cumulatifs, les résultats de l’évaluation plus globale y ont été intégrés, ce qui leur a évité d’avoir à reprendre du travail déjà effectué.

Les communications : Voilà la clé

C’est le gouvernement qui fixe les dates butoirs à respecter pour l’évaluation environnementale, ainsi que l’information qu’elle doit contenir, mais la compagnie minière a également des choix à faire pour que le processus débouche sur l’ouverture d’une mine productrice avec un bon équilibre entre ses

obligations financières, sociales et environnementales. La clé, disent les professionnels, c’est la coordination à l’interne doublée d’un engagement à l’externe. Alistair Kent, directeur des services techniques à Selwyn Chihong Mining Ltd., est d’avis que l’industrie a besoin de meilleures communications à l’interne si elle veut produire un bon impact à l’extérieur. « Il faut gérer les équipes de chercheurs, dit-il, et leur donner une foule d’occasions d’interagir avec les équipes d’ingénierie et de planification. On doit planifier volontairement la diffusion latérale des idées afin de concrétiser les promesses de durabilité et de responsabilité sociale. Je n’ai pas encore vu de signes d’un engagement précis envers la réalisation ou la gestion de ce processus complexe. » Le besoin de communication qui se dégage le plus clairement des lois sur l’évaluation environnementale au Canada, ce sont les consultations exigées des promoteurs de projets auprès des Premières nations. Nalaine Morin, directrice, ArrowBlade Consulting Services, et membre de la nation Tahltan en Colombie-Britannique, fait état de progrès dans la participation des Premières nations. « Il y a quelques années, les évaluations d’impact socioéconomique ne concernaient pas particulièrement les collectivités, même locales. Elles étaient plutôt fondées sur des bases de données régionales. À présent, on va encore plus loin, puisqu’on se préoccupe moins des facteurs économiques en tant que tels et un peu plus d’aspects plus importants pour les populations locales, comme la culture. » Mme Morin constate toutefois qu’il reste bien du chemin à faire. « À mon avis, dit-elle, les Premières nations devraient avoir voix au chapitre bien plus qu’elles ne l’ont maintenant chaque fois qu’une équipe de projet se penche sur les intérêts des Autochtones. » Et d’ajouter : « Les gens qui vivent et travaillent sur place ne se contentent pas de recueillir des données ponctuelles à certaines périodes de l’année. Eux, ils connaissent la faune : où vont les animaux, où ils meurent, où ils trouvent leurs pierres à lécher. »

L épreuve de la confiance

La prise en compte du savoir traditionnel et des projets d’autres entreprises, ainsi que la limitation du nombre de données, sont autant de facteurs de réussite pour un processus d’évaluation environnementale. Toutefois, M. Kent est d’avis que pour maximiser leur potentiel, les projets doivent être conçus dans un véritable esprit d’interdépendance. Ce n’est pas une tâche facile; il faudra pour cela faire l’équilibre entre la science occidentale et les savoirs traditionnels, en contrebalançant les coûts du plan d’atténuation par rapport à ses avantages pour la collectivité, la nécessité de faire des économies par rapport à celle de comprendre, et les besoins actuels par rapport à ceux du futur. ICM Traduit par Anne Stevens May 2012 | 75

project profile | F L O R E N C E C O P P E R

All images courtesy of Curis Resources

Curis Resources acquired the Florence Copper project and its existing infrastructure in 2009.

Ripe for recovery Those familiar with the area have known the potential of the deposit that Curis Resources is developing in central Arizona for some time. Now the Canadian company aims to make good on that promise by developing an in-situ copper recovery operation that CEO Michael McPhie proudly calls “the best in-situ extraction opportunity globally.” BY CORREY BALDWIN

he Florence Copper project is situated on a copper belt that crosses Arizona and hosts several mines. Many of these employ or have employed in-situ copper recovery (ISCR) as an auxiliary operation to their open pits, recovering additional copper from their pit walls – most notably BHP Billiton’s Miami East and San Manuel mines, and FreeportMcMoRan’s Cyprus Tohono. “The difference with these other projects,” says McPhie, “is that Florence is a stand-alone in-situ leaching (ISL) project, as opposed to a combination of conventional mining and ISL extraction.” “Florence is an exciting opportunity because this deposit is a lot more fractured,” says Dan Johnson, vice-president, environment and technical services. “Mother nature’s been very

76 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 7, No. 2

kind to us in that there’s intense geological faulting in this area, and intense geological fracturing of these faults.” The copper occurs as fine-grained mineralization on the fractures of the rock, and the high amount of fracturing makes it ideal for an ISCR operation.

Well-covered ground The first company to show interest in the site was Conoco in the 1970s, who looked at developing an open-pit operation. Company officials found there was too much water in the ground, however. Says Johnson: “With the oxide bedrock being so fractured, and being right next to a major river system in Arizona, there’s a lot of water coming

FLORENCE COPPER

in to the deposit – 30,000 gallons [113,000 litres] per minute or more.” At the time, Magma Copper was operating a large ISCR project at its nearby San Manuel mine, which produced 15 million to 20 million pounds (6,800 tonnes to 9,000 tonnes) of copper from in-situ operations annually before shutting down in the late 1990s. “San Manuel was an open pit operation,” says McPhie, “but the operators had also targeted a lot of the buried oxide material with well-to-well leaching like we’re proposing to do. They identified the advantage that the operating costs of the ISL project were a fraction of the open-pit costs. At the time they could get copper out of the ground for 40 cents/pound to 45 cents/pound [$.90/kg to $1.00/kg], and the costs for conventional mining were double or triple that.” Magma acquired the Florence property in 1992; it later completed a feasibility study and began detailed engineering on the development of an in-situ copper recovery/solvent extraction electrowinning (SX/EW) copper mining operation at the site. When BHP took over Magma in 1996, the company continued developing the site, obtaining full commercial operating permits and initiating an ISCR pilot test between 1997 and 1998 with a well field of 24 wells. But then the market dipped, and copper fell to $1.30/kg. BHP pulled the plug on the operation. “It was really a tough time in the marketplace,” says McPhie, “particularly for base metals, when copper was a fraction of what it is today.” Curis formed in 2008, intent on acquiring the Florence property, which it did in December 2009. Curis is now a publicly traded company, with close ties to Hunter-Dickinson (HDI). HDI initially sponsored Curis when it was a private company and remains the largest shareholder at 24 per cent. “We are pretty tightly linked,” says McPhie. “We are an independent company, but we do draw on a lot of the HDI resources and professionals – engineering, environmental, accounting, marketing and investor relations.” Now that Curis has taken over the Florence property, it is reaping the benefits of BHP’s earlier development. There is a lot of infrastructure already in place including roads, water and power systems, a water pond, a well field, an office building and laboratory, and a garage and mechanics facility. “BHP invested upwards of $60 million looking at this project over a four- or fiveyear period,” says McPhie. “So, our starting point on this is a tremendous intellectual catalogue of information and tests. What we acquired here is a project with a pre-feasibility study done on it, with permits in place, and with a pilot test already run on it, showing that it’s effective.”

| project profile

The permits were kept up, and Curis is now amending and updating these, an 18-month process that they expect will be completed by mid-2012, along with a feasibility study. As well, because BHP’s leaching of the ore only ran for 100 days, Curis is running its own pilot test to conclude data gathering required by regulatory agencies. It will consist of another 24 wells, this time targeting a deeper section of the deposit. “We’re going to get tremendous information from this new test because we’re testing the most challenging part of our ore body,” says Johnson. According to Curis’ studies, the Florence property contains 429 million tonnes measured and indicated copper oxide resource, grading 0.331 per cent copper and containing 1.28 million tonnes of copper. Johnson says, “The deposit begins at about 400 feet [120 metres] and extends down to about 600 feet [180 metres] in the eastern portion and 1,200 feet [365 metres] in the western portion. But the average thickness is about 500 feet [150 metres].” Full commercial production of this copper is expected by mid-2014.

The process The copper occurs in a form that is easily dissolvable in a sulphuric acid solution – in this case roughly 99.7 per cent water, with a pH of around 2. The solution is pumped into the deposit through a well system that consists of a centre injection well surrounded by four extraction (or recovery) wells, which together create a hydraulic flow of fluids across the copper fractures. Curis will be using water that already exists in the deposit bedrock, extracting it through the new wells. After adding the sulphuric acid, the solution will be re-injected back into the deposit under pressure, where it will rinse the copper off the fractures of the rock. The solution will then be brought up to

March/April 2012 | 77

project profile | F L O R E N C E C O P P E R A different set of tools

An ISCR operation may not require the type of heavy machinery seen in open-pit operations, but Curis’ technique has required it to bring in a whole other set of expertise. This includes Schlumberger Water Services, a leader in innovative groundwater technology, and M3 Engineering, for mining services, as well as several consulting companies, such as Brown & Caldwell and Knight Piesold, for engineering and environmental services, and SRK for mineral industry services. Another asset to the project is Dr. Terry McNulty, a metallurgist with over 40 years of experience with mineral processing technology. The majority of the copper will come out of each well in the first three years, although it will take a The first three years will be the most productive for each extraction well. couple of more years before the wells are exhausted. Recovery rates will remain fairly constant upwards of 90 per cent, falling to 85 per cent efficiency at the end of the surface through recovery wells and pumped to a solventthe well life. extraction/electrowinning (SX/EW) facility for processing. “The injection well can later be used as an extraction The process has changed little since BHP originally looked well, or vice versa,” says Johnson, “so we have all of this at developing the system at Florence. “It’s relatively straightforflexibility to move the wells where we need them, or pump ward,” says McPhie. “There are a number of innovations for the control systems and monitoring systems and the well con- as much water or as little water as possible.” At Florence, struction that are pretty advanced, but the actual concept of this comprehensive hydraulic control system will consist of injecting and recovering is something that’s been done for 400 to 500 wells operating at one time, all closely spaced at around 22 metres apart, and sitting just less than a metre decades.” above ground. Curis will have the capacity to extract 25,000 gallons/minute WET & DRY SHOTCRETE & CONCRETE PLACEMENT EQUIPMENT (95,000 litres/minute) from its well field, GROUTING EQUIPMENT GROUT PACKERS SHOTCRETE GROUT though the SX/EW plant will only CEMENT ADDITIVES RHEOLOGY MODIFIERS CUSTOM BLENDS require 11,000 gallons/minute (41,000 litres/minute). “Water from the ISCR process will be recycled back into the oxide deposit once We have what you need it’s stripped of its copper content, though to STOP the water and HOLD the ground! some excess water will be evaporated in ® four pond impoundments,” says McPhie. ULTRAFINE CEMENT While both federal and state permits The one that works. have been granted in the past and are being updated, municipal permits will involve a lengthier process. Nearly half of Curis’ 543SuperFine Ultrafine Cement hectare property lies within the municipal A blastͲfurnace slag ultrafine cement with a maximum particle size of 10 microns and a median particle size of three microns. boundaries of the town of Florence; the town annexed much of the property into its limits in 2007. This requires that Curis go 155 NE 100th Street, Suite 300 • Seattle, WA 98125, USA through a rezoning and entitlement process PH 206.523.1233 • FX 206.524.6972 • info@surecrete.com • www.surecrete.com before developing that land.

SURECRETE INC.

78 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 7, No. 2

FLORENCE COPPER

| project profile

Infrastructure already in place includes roads, water and power systems, a water pond, a well field, an office building and laboratory, and a garage and mechanics facility.

The Florence project area itself only covers 242 hectares and sits on state land. “Our current plans are for the project to operate entirely on state land for the first five to eight years before we would need to move on to the private land,” says McPhie. “We recognize, however, that the dialogue around near and longer term land use planning will take some time, so we have allowed a number of years to engage in this dialogue with local town officials and citizens.” Curis is also looking at complementary land uses as part of the rezoning process, both during and following operations. “Importantly,” says Rustyn Sherer, senior public affairs advisor, “Curis does not intend to utilize all 543 hectares of property for copper recovery and processing. In fact, we have approximately 171 hectares currently under agricultural development with plans to continue this use.” Other uses of the property

during mining operations could include recreation areas and sports fields, tree planting, and developing the site for future municipal development. Curis has set up a large community affairs team to inform and work with local residents and respond to their concerns. “We reach out to the community,” says McPhie, “and for the most part we’ve received a very warm welcome.” Curis provides free site tours of the property twice a month, lasting for two hours and comprising a full presentation and tour of the site’s infrastructure. “Site tours remain an important opportunity for residents to become informed on proposed operations, ISCR technology, and the project’s benefits and investments,” points out Sherer. “We see a high response rate from the public, with individuals voluntarily signing support cards March/April 2012 | 79

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following these tours.” Since late October 2010, Curis has given more than 50 site tours and accommodated more than 600 visitors. However, site tours are just one of several outreach initiatives. “We routinely give presentations to various groups in Florence and in the region,” explains Sherer. “We sponsor local events and donate to charities, advertise in local press, participate as members of numerous local and business organizations, and maintain a community office downtown for general public inquiries and requests.” Two sets of public opinion polls conducted by Curis and a survey conducted by the town of Florence, all in 2011, have shown a majority of support for the project. Curis anticipates the project will generate 170 direct jobs, including workers to run the drills and the plant – mechanics and warehousemen, electricians and technicians, as well as administrative and technical positions. There will also be large amount of spin-off economic benefit and employment from the project, expected to have a 19-year life. “We have the capacity to fill nearly two thirds of all employment types from workers within Pinal County,” says Sherer, “and the capacity to fill all job types at the site with Arizona workers.” A socio-economic study done with Arizona State University suggests total employment will be 800 to 900 jobs a year. “And in Arizona,” says McPhie, “that’s a pretty big deal.” CIM

Calming the water worries The primary concern of residents is the protection of their ground water – a concern that McPhie understands well. “It’s Arizona,” he says, referring to the state’s arid desert. “Water is very sacred here. “You need to be able to demonstrate that you can fully protect water in the region. BHP was able to show that it’s fully within our ability to protect it, and we have as well. There’s been almost 14 years of water-quality monitoring data out of the ground and it’s never shown any impact whatsoever. There’s a tremendous amount of confidence around the science.”

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www.runge.com 80 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 7, No. 2

Maintaining hydraulic control is key, underlines McPhie: “A huge part of our control systems and our engineering goes into maintaining control of the fluids 100 per cent of the time, to make it essentially a closed-loop system, where you’re injecting and recovering simultaneously so that the water doesn’t go beyond the area that you’re working in.” Curis is able to create a closed-loop system by extracting more solution than it is injecting. “This forms a continuous inward hydraulic gradient,” says Johnson, “which ensures you always have hydraulic control, you can always control your solutions.” The geology of the site also ensures the safety of the ground water. Above the oxide deposit lie several well-defined hydro-geological layers that together prevent the ISCR solution from reaching the ground water used by agricultural wells and municipal drinking wells. Water moves quite slowly through the oxide bedrock, which has a relatively low porosity/water storage capacity of six to eight per cent, while the layer above is far more porous and produces much more water. Because of continuous downward pressure, this higher layer always drains down into the oxide bedrock. Above this, and between these lower layers and the more productive and desirable ground water zone near the surface, is an extremely impermeable clay aquitard layer. D. ZLOTNIKOV

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projet en vedette | F L O R E N C E C O P P E R

Courtoisie de Curis Resources

L’infrastructure en place comprend le réseau routier, les réseaux d’alimentation en eau et en énergie, un étang, un champ de captage, un immeuble de bureaux, un laboratoire, un garage et des installations de mécanique.

Un projet cuprifère prometteur PAR CORREY BALDWIN

eux qui connaissent la région sont au courant du potentiel du gisement que Curis Resources s’emploie à mettre en valeur depuis quelque temps dans le centre de l’Arizona. La société canadienne a pour objectif de tenir sa promesse en mettant sur pied un projet de récupération du cuivre in situ (ou ISCR pour « in-situ copper recovery ») que le chef de la direction, Michael McPhie, qualifie fièrement de « meilleure occasion d’extraction in situ au monde. » Le projet cuprifère Florence est situé sur la ceinture cuprifère qui traverse l’Arizona et où se trouvent plusieurs mines. Nombre d’entre elles emploient ou ont employé le procédé ISCR comme méthode auxiliaire d’exploitation, en plus de l’exploitation à ciel ouvert, récupérant du cuivre additionnel provenant des parois de la fosse, comme c’est notamment le cas aux mines San Manuel et Miami Est de BHP Billiton et Cyprus Tohono de Freeport-McMoRan. « La différence par rapport à ces autres projets », explique M. McPhie, « est que Florence est un projet autonome de lixiviation in situ (ou ISL pour « in-situ leaching ») et non pas un projet qui combine

82 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 7, No. 3

la méthode classique d’extraction minière et la méthode d’extraction ISL. » « Florence offre de formidables perspectives, car ce gisement est beaucoup plus fracturé », souligne Dan Johnson, vice-président, Environnement et services techniques. « Dame nature a été très bonne pour nous en ce sens qu’il y a une intense formation de failles géologiques dans cette zone et une intense fracturation géologique de ces failles. » Le cuivre apparaît sous la forme d’une minéralisation à grain fin sur les fractures de la roche, et les nombreuses fracturations créent un fond rocheux poreux, idéal pour l’exploitation ISCR. La première société qui s’est intéressée au site dans les années 1970, Conoco, voulait faire une exploitation à ciel ouvert. Cependant, les cadres de la société ont estimé qu’il y avait trop d’eau dans le sol. À l’époque, Magma Copper exploitait un grand projet ISCR dans sa mine voisine, San Manuel. « San Manuel était une exploitation à ciel ouvert », raconte M. McPhie, « mais les exploitants avaient aussi ciblé un lot de minerai oxydé incrusté

FLORENCE COPPER

pour le traiter par lixiviation de puits à puits comme nous proposons de le faire. À l’époque, ils pouvaient extraire du cuivre du sol au coût de 0,40 $ à 0,45 $ la livre [0,90 $ à 1,00 $/kg], alors que le coût était double ou triple avec la méthode classique d’extraction. » Magma a fait l’acquisition de la propriété Florence en 1992. Quand BHP a pris le contrôle de Magma en 1996, la société a poursuivi les travaux préparatoires sur le site, obtenant des permis d’exploitation commerciale complets et commençant un essai pilote ISCR. Puis le marché a plongé et BHP a mis fin au projet. Curis a été créée en 2008 avec pour objectif de faire l’acquisition de la propriété Florence, ce qu’elle a fait en décembre 2009, et elle récolte les fruits des travaux préparatoires antérieurs de BHP. Une infrastructure importante est déjà en place. « BHP a investi plus de 60 M$ dans ce projet sur une période de quatre à cinq ans », mentionne M. McPhie. « Ce que nous avons acheté ici, c’est un projet pour lequel une étude de préfaisabilité a déjà été faite, des permis ont été obtenus et un essai pilote a été effectué, indiquant que la méthode est efficace. » Les permis ont été conservés. Curis les modifie et les met à jour, un processus de 18 mois que la société prévoit mener à bien d’ici la mi-2012, en même temps qu’une étude de faisabilité. Par ailleurs, comme l’essai de lixiviation effectué par BHP sur le minerai n’a duré que 100 jours, Curis mène son propre essai pilote afin de compléter la collecte de données exigées par les organismes de réglementation. Selon les études de Curis, la propriété Florence renferme 429 millions de tonnes de ressources mesurées et indiquées d’oxyde de cuivre, titrant 0,331 pour cent de cuivre et contenant 1,28 million de tonnes de cuivre. Selon Dan Johnson, « Le gisement commence à environ 400 pieds [120 mètres] et se prolonge à une profondeur d’environ 600 pieds [180 mètres] dans sa partie est, et de 1 200 pieds [365 mètres] dans sa partie ouest. Il a une épaisseur moyenne d’environ 500 pieds [150 mètres]. » La pleine production commerciale est prévue à la mi-2014. Le cuivre se présente sous une forme qui est facilement soluble dans une solution d’acide sulfurique – dans ce cas plus ou moins 99,7 pour cent d’eau, et un pH de 2 environ. La solution est pompée dans le gisement par un système de puits, composé d’un puits d’injection central entouré de quatre puits d’extraction (ou de récupération), qui ensemble créent un flux hydraulique de fluides dans les fractures du gisement cuprifère. Curis utilisera l’eau déjà présente dans le soubassement rocheux du gisement, en l’extrayant par les nouveaux puits. Après l’ajout d’acide sulfurique, la solution sera réinjectée sous pression dans le gisement, où elle rincera le cuivre des fractures de la roche. La solution sera ensuite ramenée à la surface par les puits de récupération et pompée vers une installation d’extraction électrolytique/extraction au solvant (SX/EW) pour être traitée. La plus grande partie du cuivre sera extraite de chaque puits au cours des trois premières années, mais les puits ne seront épuisés qu’au bout de plusieurs années encore. Les taux

| projet en vedette

de récupération resteront assez constants à plus de 90 pour cent, puis tomberont à 85 pour cent d’efficience à la fin de la vie du puits. « Le puits d’injection pourra ensuite être utilisé comme puits d’extraction, ou inversement », explique M. Johnson. À Florence, ce dispositif complet de commande hydraulique sera constitué de 400 à 500 puits fonctionnant en même temps, tous faiblement espacés de 22 mètres de part et d’autre et se dressant à moins d’un mètre au-dessus du sol. Curis aura une capacité d’extraction de 25 000 gallons/minute (95 000 litres/minute) de son champ de captage, alors que l’usine d’extraction SX/EW ne traitera que 11 000 gallons/minute (41 000 litres/minute). « L’eau provenant du procédé ISCR sera recyclée dans le gisement d’oxyde une fois que le contenu en cuivre en aura été extrait; l’eau excédentaire sera envoyée dans quatre bassins d’évaporation », explique M. McPhie. Bien que les permis des gouvernements fédéral et de l’État aient été accordés dans le passé et soient mis à jour, les permis municipaux demanderont plus de temps. Près de la moitié de la propriété Curis, qui couvre une superficie de 543 hectares, se trouve à l’intérieur des limites municipales de la ville de Florence, celle-ci ayant annexé la majeure partie de la propriété en 2007. C’est pourquoi, Curis doit passer par un processus de rezonage et d’autorisations avant de mettre en valeur cette propriété. La zone du projet Florence proprement dit couvre une superficie de 242 hectares et se trouve sur une terre domaniale. « Les plans actuels du projet prévoient que les activités auront lieu entièrement sur le terrain domanial pendant les cinq à huit premières années avant que nous ayons besoin de les déplacer sur le terrain privé », déclare M. McPhie. Curis se penche également sur des utilisations complémentaires du terrain dans le cadre du processus de rezonage, à la fois pendant et après l’exploitation. Curis a constitué une grande équipe chargée des affaires communautaires pour informer la population locale, travailler avec elle et répondre à ses préoccupations. Depuis la fin du mois d’octobre 2010, Curis a organisé plus de 50 visites du site et accueilli plus de 600 visiteurs. Cependant, les visites du site ne représentent qu’une initiative d’information parmi plusieurs autres. « Nous faisons régulièrement des présentations pour divers groupes à Florence et dans la région », explique M. Sherer. « Nous commanditons des événements locaux et contribuons financièrement à des organismes de bienfaisance; nous publions de l’information dans la presse locale, nous participons à titre de membres à plusieurs organisations locales et économiques et nous avons un bureau en ville pour répondre aux questions générales de la population. » Le projet, qui devrait avoir une durée de vie de 19 ans, aura d’importantes retombées économiques et générera de nombreux emplois. « Nous avons la capacité d’employer des travailleurs du Comté de Pinal pour combler près des deux tiers des types d’emplois nécessaires », affirme M. Sherer. Une étude socio-économique menée avec l’Arizona State University parle de 800 à 900 emplois par an. « En Arizona, c’est vraiment quelque chose », souligne M. McPhie. ICM Traduit par CNW Group May 2012 | 83

JUNE 10-14, 2012

SUDBURY, ONTARIO, CANADA

PLENARY SESSIONS THE GLOBAL STATE OF MASS MINING

Monday, June 11 | 10:30 – 12:00

Get updates on mass mining from around the world in the various operations, such as: mining methods, mining technology, rock mechanics and mining economics. Allan Moss

Fidel Báez

Steven Scott

General Manager, Underground Technology Centre Technology and Innovation, Rio Tinto

Executive Vice President Underground Mining, Codelco

Emeritus Professor of Geology University of Toronto

MASS MINING IN NEW FRONTIERS

Wednesday, June 13 | 8:30 – 10:00

Learn more about the technologies and technical systems that could be implemented in mass mining operations in the future with the view of mining in terrestrial and extraterrestrial applications. Wes Hanson

Dale Tietz

President and CEO, Noront Resources

CEO, Shackleton Energy Company

SHORT COURSES SUNDAY JUNE 10, 2012

Automation in Mining Greg Baiden, Yassiah Bissiri The workshop will offer more insight into the infrastructure requirements for the application and automation of mass mining.

Ground Support Practices from around the World Yves Potvin, Phil Dight The primary objective of the workshop is to expose attendees to ground support practices and techniques from around the world.

Advanced Seismic Analysis and Interpretation for Mass Mining Cezar Trifu, Dave Collins, Yuzo Toya, and Zara Hosseini The aim of this workshop is to discuss and demonstrate a few advanced seismic analysis developments and the applications of these approaches in geotechnical studies.

TECHNICAL PROGRAM CAVABILITY MANAGEMENT & CONTROL

MINING METHODS, MINE DESIGN AND CASE STUDIES

MASSMIN2012.COM

MASS MINING OF THE FUTURE: INNOVATION, TECHNOLOGIES AND NOVEL IDEAS AND TECHNIQUES

MINE PLANNING, OPERATION & PRODUCTION OPTIMIZATION

APPLIED GEOMECHANICS, SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES IN MASS MINING

MONDAY, JUNE 11 08:30 - 10:00

Opening Ceremony

10:00 - 10:30

Refreshment Break

10:30 - 12:00

PLENARY SESSION: THE GLOBAL STATE OF MASS MINING

12:00 - 13:30 13:30 - 15:00

Lunch Caving Process, Monitoring and Sensing

Mine Method Selection and Mine Design

15:00 - 15:30 15:30 - 17:00

Novel ideas and Techniques

Mine Planning, Mine Operations and Production Estimate

Applied Geomechanics in Mining

Mine Planning, Mine Operations and Production Estimate

Applied Geomechanics in Mining

Mine Planning, Mine Operations and Production Estimate

Applied Geomechanics in Mining

Mine Planning, Mine Operations and Production Estimate

Applied Geomechanics in Mining

Mine Planning, Mine Operations and Production Estimate

Applied Geomechanics in Mining

Mine Planning, Mine Operations and Production Estimate

Rock Mass Characterisation and Testing

Refreshment Break Caving Process, Monitoring and Sensing

Mine Method Selection and Mine Design

Novel ideas and Techniques

TUESDAY, JUNE 12 08:30 - 10:00

Caving Process, Mine Method Selection Monitoring and Sensing and Mine Design

10:00 - 10:30 10:30 - 12:00

Refreshment Break Caving Process, Mine Method Selection Monitoring and Sensing and Mine Design

12:00 - 13:30 13:30 - 15:00

Novel ideas and Techniques Lunch

Caving Process, Mine Method Selection Monitoring and Sensing and Mine Design

Novel ideas and Techniques

Caving Process, Transition of Mining Monitoring and Sensing Methods

Rapid Development / Mining Profit Organization

15:00 - 15:30 15:30 - 17:00

Novel ideas and Techniques

Refreshment Break

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13 08:30 - 10:00

PLENARY SESSION: MASS MINING IN NEW FRONTIERS

10:00 - 10:30 10:30 - 12:00

Refreshment Break Caving Process, Mass Mining Methods Monitoring and Sensing and Case Studies

12:00 - 13:30 13:30 - 15:00

PARTNERS

Mine Planning, Mine Operations and Production Estimate

Rock Mass Characterisation and Testing

New Mass Mining Project

Safety and Environmental Issues

New Mass Mining Project

Safety and Environmental Issues

Lunch Caving Process, Mass Mining Methods Monitoring and Sensing and Case Studies

15:00 - 15:30 15:30 - 17:00

Caving Process, Monitoring and Sensing Caving Process, Monitoring and Sensing Refreshment Break

Caving Process, Mass Mining Methods Monitoring and Sensing and Case Studies

Caving Process, Monitoring and Sensing

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CIM community

Bridging the generation gap New CIM chapter at UBC introduces students to mining

University students are no strangers to mined resources. “Your laptop, cell phone, tablet – their materials probably come from a mining operation,” says Mark Tang, a third-year Bachelor’s student at the University of British Columbia’s Norman B. Keevil Institute of Mining Engineering. Yet most of them know little about the industry, engineering students included. “When I tell them I’m studying mining, they think I hold a pickaxe and go into a cave,” he explains with a laugh. “I want to change that stereotype.” So, Tang joined forces with fellow student Malcolm Brodie, who founded UBC’s CIM student chapter in November 2010, to foster interest and knowledge about mining studies and the mining industry. Tang took over as president in 2011-12 and led the chapter in organizing its first event: a panel discussion on March 13 with CIM Vancouver chairman Tom Broddy, Davide Elmo, rock mechanics specialist at Golder Associates, and Malcolm Scoble, UBC’s Robert E. Hallbauer chair in mining engineering. Over 50 people attended the event, including many non-mining students. “The chapter is helping change the appearance of the mining industry from the viewpoint of other students,” says Cameron Edwards, a third-year student who will become co-president of the chapter in September. “We hope to expand our representatives and student members by involving all the engineering disciplines, as well as commerce, geology, economics and law, and any student wishing to be involved in the industry.” To do this, they will invite speakers and organize workshops targeted towards students completing different degrees. “The mining industry doesn’t just consist of mining engineers,” says Tang. “We want

Courtesy of Mark Tang

By Crystal Chan

Student chapter members. Top row, from left: Patrick Tsai, Cameron Edwards, Andrew Crook and Mark Tang. Bottom row, from left: Nicole Kosloski, Megan Epp and Mandy Chen.

to let students know how a banker could relate to this industry.” Right now, the branch’s eight executives include students from four different engineering streams. Although the Vancouver CIM branch offers student prizes and runs an annual student night, Tang feels this student chapter may have more success in reaching out to non-mining students if they place more emphasis on education rather than on networking. CIM student chapter executives hope their young membership will also facilitate communication between the industry and other university students, including those enrolled at Simon Fraser University and the British Columbia Institute of Technology. They even hope to connect with elementary and high school students. Andrew Crook, a second-year student who will co-head the student chapter in 2013, is already organizing outreach education programs for high school students. “While working with the student chapter in its infancy does present its own set of challenges, I see

starting the chapter as an amazing opportunity,” he says. Tang underlines the problem is not that there are no CIM events in Vancouver but that many students do not believe they would be interesting or applicable. He knows from experience that it sometimes takes an outside push to fall in love with mining studies. Originally planning to become a veterinarian, he accidently enrolled in the faculty of applied science instead of the faculty of science. When he realized the error, it was too late to switch. “It is the greatest mistake I’ve made,” Tang says. And this is the perfect time to groom a new generation of mining sector employees to replace retiring baby boomers. According to the Mining Industry Hiring Resources Council’s 2011 report, 112,020 recruits will need to join the industry by 2021 in order to maintain the baseline. “There are a lot of new opportunities for the younger generation that’s coming out of school right now,” Tang agrees. “We should look at focusing on improving communication between these two generations.” CIM May 2012 | 87

CIM community Membership

Industrial-strength connections

Photo: Normand Huberdeau, N.H. Photographes Ltée

CIM provides networking opportunities, education and more

CIM events provide an opportunity for students to make valuable connections. / Pour les étudiants, les évènements d l’ICM constituent d’excellentes occasions pour développer leur réseau professionel.

Un réseau de calibre industriel L’ICM fournit des occasions de réseautage, des formations, et bien d’autres avantages By / par Dinah Zeldin The Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum unites a group of industry almost-stakeholders as varied as the more than 3,800 minerals found on earth. Despite the spectrum of needs and interests of its members, the Institute caters to all by providing leading-edge education and organizing world-class events. “CIM is essential in career development for any mining professional, regardless of their job type or level of experience, because it provides members with access to a diverse network of companies, investors, government agencies, and individual thought leaders both in Canada and around the world,” says Kris DeGiacomo, regional manager for Eastern Canada, Immersive Technologies. DeGiacomo, whose background has primarily been in the IT sector, joined Immersive Technologies, a supplier of heavy equipment simulation solutions, less than a year ago, and joined CIM as an individual member in July 2011. “Being relatively new to exclusively working in the mining industry, I wanted to make sure that not only could I accelerate my learning curve with the industry as a whole, but also that I could find an opportunity to work with world-class professionals on an ongoing basis,” he explains. “CIM is a recognized leader globally and 88 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 7, No. 2

L’Institut canadien des mines, de la métallurgie et du pétrole regroupe des intervenants d’origines aussi diverses que les quelque 3 800 minéraux découverts à ce jour sur la planète. Malgré la multiplicité des besoins et des préoccupations de ses membres, l’Institut les prend tous en compte en fournissant des formations à la fine pointe de la technologie et en organisant des événements d’intérêt mondial. « C’est principalement grâce à l’ICM que j’ai pu comprendre l’industrie minière, commencer à réseauter et établir des contacts », fait valoir Kris DeGiacomo, directeur général pour la région est du Canada à Immersive Technologies. M. DeGiacomo, fort de son expérience dans le domaine des technologies de l’information, a intégré Immersive Technologies, fournisseur de solutions de simulation de machinerie lourde, il y a moins d’un an. Par la suite, en juillet 2011, il s’est inscrit à l’ICM en tant que membre individuel. « Comme cela fait relativement peu de temps que je me consacre exclusivement à l’industrie minière, je voulais m’assurer non seulement de pouvoir accélérer ma courbe d’apprentissage dans l’industrie de manière générale, mais aussi de pouvoir trouver l’occasion de travailler avec des professionnels de classe mondiale, et ce, de façon continue », explique-t-il. « L’ICM est un leader mondialement reconnu et fournit donc une abondance qu’on ne trouve nulle part ailleurs pour ce qui est des occasions de réseautage, de partage des savoirs, de collaboration parmi ses

CIM community Membership

provides an unmatched level of networking opportunities, knowledge-sharing, collaboration amongst its membership, and commitment to seeing the mining culture flourish in Canada through its many societies, events, and programs. CIM, and my participation in its various initiatives, has without a doubt been the single greatest contributor to my early success in the business.” One of CIM’s initiatives is to provide a meeting space for members, where they can share knowledge and build business connections. Roger Marchand, president of Bay6 Solutions Inc., values CIM events because of the relationships he has forged through attending. “Bay6 has been a corporate member for almost two years,” he says. “As a new company we were looking for ways to connect and network, and we found the CIM Conference & Exhibition to be a great venue for that. The calibre of the show is very high, which brings very high-level people. We have participated in a lot of other shows, but this is the one that brings out the decision-makers.” Knowledge-sharing is also an essential component of CIM’s offering to its members. The Institute organizes leading-edge technical programs, short courses and presentations, and publishes a range of academic

membres et d’engagement à faire foisonner la culture minière au Canada à travers ses nombreux événements, associations et programmes. C’est d’abord et avant tout l’ICM, par la voie des initiatives diverses auxquelles j’ai participé, qui a été à la source de mes succès rapides dans le milieu. » L’une des initiatives de l’ICM a été de fournir à ses membres un espace de rencontre où ils peuvent partager leurs savoirs et établir des liens dans le milieu. Roger Marchand, président de Bay6 Solutions inc., est conscient des retombées positives que peuvent avoir les événements de l’ICM, car c’est en y assistant qu’il a établi des liens qui ont donné lieu à des relations d’affaires durables. « Cela fera bientôt deux ans que Bay6 est membre en tant qu’entreprise », dit-il. « En tant que jeune entreprise, nous cherchions le moyen d’établir des contacts et de réseauter, et l’exposition de l’ICM s’y prêtait à merveille. Le niveau des présentations est très élevé, ce qui attire des participants d’un niveau également très élevé. Nous avons participé à de nombreuses expositions de ce genre, mais les vrais décideurs ne se déplacent que pour celle-ci. » La mutualisation des savoirs constitue également une composante essentielle de l’offre que l’ICM propose à ses membres. L’Institut organise des programmes techniques à la fine pointe de la technologie, des formations et des présentations courtes, et publie toute une gamme de revues spécialisées, dont le plus important magazine minier du Canada, CIM Magazine.

cIm memBershIP BenefIts les AVAntAges d’une AdhésIOn à l’Icm + Access the largest network of industry professionals in the country

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May 2012 | 89

CIM community Membership

Photo: Normand Huberdeau, N.H. Photographes Ltée

journals, as well as Canada’s premier mining magazine, « En tant que membre de l’ICM, je reçois des écrits et des revues CIM Magazine. qui me tiennent informé des dernières nouvelles de l’industrie », “As a member of CIM, I receive literature and jour- explique Hamid Mumin, professeur de géologie économique à nals that keep me up-to-date on the industry,” says l’Université de Brandon, au Manitoba. « Les publications de l’ICM Hamid Mumin, economic geology professor at Brandon me permettent de me maintenir au courant des actualités de mon University in Manitoba. métier. En plus, j’ai assisté à plusieurs “CIM’s publications help formations courtes qui ont contribué à keep me current on what is mon perfectionnement professionnel. » happening in my profession. Le professeur Mumin, membre de I have also attended several l’ICM depuis plus de 20 ans, a été short courses, which have sélectionné pour participer à une tourhelped my professional née à travers le Canada dans le cadre development.” du programme Éminents ConférenMumin, who has been a ciers de l’ICM en 2011-2012. « En tant member for more than 20 qu’Éminent Conférencier, j’ai eu l’occayears, was selected to tour sion de présenter des communications the country as a participant d’un bout à l’autre du pays. L’expéin CIM’s 2011-12 Distinrience a été formidable, car j’ai pu renguished Lecturer program. contrer des gens merveilleux un peu “As a Distinguished Lecturer, partout, et ces nouveaux contacts ont I had the opportunity to give déjà donné lieu à de nouveaux projets talks coast to coast,” he says. de recherche et de nouvelles collabora“It was a great experience tions », confie-t-il. Selon le professeur because I met a lot of wonMumin, le programme Éminents derful people, and the new Conférenciers chapeauté par l’ICM est The CIM Conference & Exhibition draws decision-makers from connections have already une contribution importante pour l’inacross the industry. / La Conférence et Salon commercial de l’ICM ressemble les têtes dirigeantes de tous les niveaux de resulted in new research and dustrie puisqu’il permet à de petits l’industrie. new collaboration.” Accordgroupes, comme des sections éloignées ing to Mumin, the Distinde l’ICM ou des groupes d’étudiants, de guished Lecturer program put on by CIM makes an faire venir des conférenciers experts qu’ils n’auraient pas eu les important contribution to the industry because it allows moyens de s’offrir sans cet appui. small groups like remote CIM branches and student Les membres étudiants de l’ICM sont également convaincus groups to bring in expert speakers they could not oth- que les programmes de formation de l’Institut sont bien dirigés et erwise afford. très utiles. « Il y a des conférenciers et des colloques qui viennent CIM’s student members agree the Institute’s educa- à McGill grâce à l’ICM, et j’ai le privilège de pouvoir en profiter », tional programs are well-executed and valuable. “There nous dit Stephen Coates, étudiant de troisième année en exploitaare great seminars and speakers that come to McGill tion minière et génie des matériaux à l’Université McGill. « J’ai through CIM,” says Stephen Coates, a third-year student également assisté à l’exposition de l’ICM, qui a été une excellente in mining and engineering at McGill University. “I’ve also occasion d’apprendre. Le programme étudiant était très intéresbeen to the CIM Exhibition which was a great learning sant, parce que j’ai pu apprendre des choses sur l’exploitation opportunity. I got to learn about sustainability and the durable et sur l’industrie minière. » mining industry.” M. Coates, un membre de l’ICM depuis plus de deux ans qui, Coates, who has been a member of CIM for more par ailleurs, s’est impliqué dans la section étudiante de l’ICM à than two years and has been involved with the CIM stu- McGill établie l’année dernière, explique que son implication dent chapter at McGill since it was started last year, says dans les activités de l’Institut l’a aidé à établir des contacts et à being involved with the Institute has helped him gain acquérir les compétences dont il aura besoin pour exercer son contacts and skills he will need in his career, and urges métier. Aussi encourage-t-il les autres étudiants à en profiter : others to take advantage. “Being involved with CIM is a « S’impliquer à l’ICM, dit-il, est un excellent moyen de dévelopgreat opportunity to learn project management skills, per ses compétences en gestion de projet, et le magazine et les and the magazine and the publications members receive autres publications que les membres reçoivent sont un moyen are a fun way to stay up-to-date on what’s going on in the plaisant de se tenir au courant des actualités de l’industrie mining industry.” CIM minière. » ICM Traduit par Mark Stout

90 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 7, No. 3

CIM community

New society needs your input ESRS working on integration and recruiting new members By Alistair Kent

The world is changing and so is mining. As society demands more environmentally and socially responsible business practices, the mining industry must rise to the occasion. CIM’s Environmental and Social Responsibility Society is stepping up to help guide the industry in creating, sharing and enacting environmentally and socially responsible practices at all stages of the mining cycle. CIM’s efforts to provide a forum for environmental professionals in the industry began in 1998, with the formation of the Environmental Society. The Environmental Society became dormant in 2009, and is being revitalized as the ESRS — a new and more comprehensive society established in August 2011. The ESRS is working to improve the global relevance and the presence of CIM in the environmental management and social responsibility aspects of mining, to inspire, encourage and coordinate environmentally and socially responsible activities within CIM and its societies, and to promote and disseminate best practices across the entire industry. To achieve these objectives, we need your participation. The ESRS’ revitalization involves re-building, re-motivating and expanding the current membership, which arguably currently comprises a small fraction of the potential membership. There are many CIM members who would be interested in ESRS, but have not heard of the society. There are also non-CIM members scattered across the industry, working at mining companies, as consultants, at law offices, in the public sector, etc., who may be interested in participating in the ESRS. To recruit new members, the ESRS will be present at the CIM Conference & Exhibition 2012 in Edmonton. Rightly or wrongly, the ESRS will run two separate streams of education at the conference: one focused on environmental responsibility and the other on social responsibility. There will however be one common venue, the Environmental Plenary, at which there will be an opportunity to question the traditional, twostream approach, and explore the value of integrating our specialties. The ESRS is also exploring how modern communications can be utilized to complement CIM’s various conferences. We need to take full advantage of these tools to maximize our connectedness. At present, we are actively pursuing developing a strategy to make better use of CIM’s website, and are investigating the possibility of creating new venues to link ESRS members online. I have taken great satisfaction in the last decade when there has been the opportunity to build bridges between disciplines and departments in mining companies and consultants. It makes the projects go much better

and promotes team thinking. This is “connectedness” at work, and to me offers the best definition of what sustainability and social responsibility is all about in practice. Through such interaction and collaboration we can provide a meaningful and responsible interpretation for the fuzzy, yet popular, term “sustainable.” We need to treat environmental and social responsibility like safety, and build it into everything we do. We must approach both strategically, placing emphasis on connectedness, capitalizing on technology, and ultimately finding balance and wisdom through experience and collaboration. To do this we need more CIM members to get involved. And we need to inject fresh blood from non-traditional professions and practices into our CIM veins. If we wish to improve the mining communities’ planning and risk management, there is value in connecting effectively with this large constituency. Do you want to be part of this change? Do you want to help ESRS to make a difference? If so, ESRS would love to hear from you. Contact: Janice Zinck at jzinck@nrcan.gc.ca. CIM MOVING ON UP CEMI names new COO The Centre for Excellence in Mining Innovation’s Board of Directors named Damien Duff as chief operating officer of the corporation. Duff will oversee the group’s daily operations and ensure targets are met for various programs, including development of capacity and network, contract, policy and compliance. Positive results will fuel CEMI’s growth strategy. He has more than 30 years of experience in mining and exploration geology, with a particular focus on deep mining geotechnical risk, mineral exploration and environmental sustainability. “Damien is the ideal person to take over the direction of these programs and personally I am delighted that he has agreed to take on this important responsibility,” said Douglas Morrison, president and CEO of CEMI.

May 2012 | 91

CIM community Award Winner

No nonsense man Hard work and patience pay off for Nova Scotia native by Correy Baldwin

Courtesy of Nova Construction

John Chisholm – the 2011 Selwyn G. Blaylock Medal winner – spent his career in Nova Scotia, a province he has always called home. In 1964, when Chisholm was just 18, he and his father started Nova Construction. Today, the business is a major Nova Scotia construction and resource development company. It also proudly remains a family business, with John’s son Donald as its new president. Both Chisholm’s dedication to his province and his direct business approach have gained the respect of his colleagues. In 1998, he was awarded the Mining Society Medal, and in 2007 he was named Outstanding Individual Philanthropist by the Maritime Philanthropy Awards for his involvement in community development. But Chisholm is quiet about all this. “I hate to get into that side of it,” he says. “We quietly do a lot of stuff for people. That was quite an honour for me at that time, because I certainly wasn’t expecting anything like that.” In 2011, he was awarded an honourary degree from St. Francis Xavier University. With one foot in the business and another in the community, Chisholm is wearing what he jokingly calls his “right-wing socialist cap.” Chisholm has used his no-nonsense work ethic and direct business approach to build Nova Construction into an active, successful business that has contributed to the industry in a myriad of ways. Once, frustrated by a seemingly impossible-to-reach highwall in the steep coal seam of a Pictou County coal mine, Chisholm simply designed and built his own highwall auger, an innovation he called the NovaMiner 2000. He had originally approached another businessman for assistance but took matters into his own hands after being told it could not be done. Nova Construction began in highway construction, but when a contract working on the new Trans-Canada Highway began winding down, they began looking at other ventures. “Everything that we had, we had wheels on it,” chuckles Chisholm. “We were running up and down the road every day. I wanted to get into something more permanent.” In 1978, they opened up the Porcupine Mountain Quarry – idle since 1955 after providing the stone for the Canso Causeway.

And then came coal. Their first mine was Point Aconi in Cape Breton, in 1980, which they managed for five years. In 1984, they purchased an old mine site in Pictou County. “Back then, the properties weren’t worth very much and coal had gone out of favour,” he recalls. “There was all kinds of infrastructure there, but it was something you’d see in Charles Dickens’ times. Luckily, I was young enough. If it was today, I wouldn’t be buying it. Too many liabilities. But we went in and took the top off, and we reclaimed all the fillers that were left behind and started selling coal to a local power utility.” Chisholm was hooked on coal. “Every opportunity I saw, I’d buy it or lease it.” Soon, they had several mines going concurrently, small operations that they’d build up into sizeable projects. “I like to walk on to a project today and within months be selling a product,” says Chisholm. CIM

May 2012 | 93

International Mine Management 2012 20-21 November 2012 Grand Hyatt, Melbourne Australia Gold Sponsor

Conference Supporters

International Mine Management 2012 is the second conference in a developing series of conferences on this theme that commenced in 2006. The broad objectives are to bring together mining professionals and to provide a forum for the discussion of the key management issues facing the industry today, and with sharing experiences and lessons learnt.

In maintaining consistency with the Handbook the program and themes will be as follows;

The AusIMM will be working in conjunction with its international peers, such as the CIM, in order to develop and present a truly global perspective of the issues. The present resources boom has served both to emphasise and to exacerbate the shortage of trained and broadly experienced managers in the mining industry. The mining industry has been notoriously volatile in its demand for both managers and technical specialists, and places heavy demands on those who choose a career in the industry, including the need to work in remote locations and a lack of employment security during periods of cyclic recession. Minerals industry managers working in remote locations assume diverse responsibilities unfamiliar to their urban management peers, and must be sensitive to the expectations of a broader range of stakeholders.

• Operations Management • Capital Investment and Project Development • Finance and Administration • Macroeconomics and the Market

• • • • •

Occupational Health and Safety Environmental Management Stakeholder Relationships Human Resources Strategic Planning

Please visit the conference website for the preliminary papers list. IMM 2012 will continue this direction and provide the platform to share new technologies, management processes and lessons learnt.

Event Management: The AusIMM For all enquiries including sponsorship, please contact: Jennifer Maninin, Senior Coordinator, Events Telephone: +61 3 9658 6105 | Email: jmaninin@ausimm.com.au

IMM 2006 was held in Melbourne and drew an international audience of over 200 delegates. One of the outcomes was the decision that the AusIMM would produce and publish a reference volume, The Mine Management Handbook. This is underway and it is intended to launch this valuable document at IMM 2012.

www.ausimm.com.au/imm2012

CIM community Scholarship Winner

Trailblazer gets recognition Scholarship winner committed to global excellence By Alexandra Lopez-Pacheco

Courtesy of Gary Yang

Growing up, Gary Yang, winner of the 2012 André Laplante Memorial Scholarship, would listen to his father – an environmental engineer – talk about the mining industry’s impact on societies and the environment, both the positive and the negative. Those stories were still fresh in his mind when he enrolled at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, four years ago, to pursue a Gary Yang, winner of the 2012 André career as an engineer. Laplante Memorial Scholarship There, the Calgary native learned a great deal more, both in the classroom and from his participation in Queen’s University’s chapter of Engineers Without Borders, about the mining industry’s ongoing efforts to improve its role as a positive corporate player worldwide. “I was lucky enough to interact with engineers who had experience with corporate responsibility, working with people who’d volunteered overseas and who have seen the positive impact engineers can have on communities,” says Yang. “I learned that problem-solving can take many forms, and with the right approach, outsiders can play a valuable role in creating benefits for the communities they work in. That resonated deeply with me.” All that got him so excited about the industry that he decided to study mining engineering instead of pursuing his previous dream of being a chemical engineer. “It’s such a dynamic industry right now, with so much potential to do good things. I really wanted to be part of the change in the mentality behind how mining companies are looking at how they impact the communities they work in,” says Yang. “I’m interested in improvement in such areas as community relationship initiatives, more robust impact/benefit agreements, better social and infrastructure programs, more comprehensive contract negotiations, as well as in the improvements on the technical side. I’d like to be somewhere within the system, reinforcing the positive change I see in the industry today.” Yang says he is deeply honoured by the award and plans to use the $5,000 he received to travel to Asia this summer. In part, he wants to see the world. But also, he wants to witness the reality he has studied and read about. “I want to go

to Southeast Asia, to the less-developed areas, and have more of a grassroots exposure to less-urbanized societies and see what life is like there,” says Yang, who is completing his undergraduate mining engineering degree this spring and has a full-time job lined up with Monitor, an international consulting firm that works with the world’s leading corporations, and government and social sector organizations. “The job I’m going into isn’t necessarily the most traditional path for mining engineering students, but it’s true to the aspect of mining I am interested in working in,” says Yang. “A lot of Monitor’s clients are mining companies and NGOs, so I’m hoping my intimate knowledge of the mining system will help me deliver more tailored and relevant client services and enable me to help companies of all kinds improve their economic, political interaction models, plans and strategies.” CIM

PONTIFICIA UNIVERSIDAD CATÓLICA DE CHILE TENURE-TRACK PROFESSOR IN MINING ENGINEERING The School of Engineering at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile is calling for applications to fill several tenure-track faculty positions in its Mining Engineering Department located in Santiago, Chile. Candidates should have a Ph.D. degree (or be currently pursuing studies to obtain such a degree) and proven ability to pursue high impact research in one of the following fields of expertise: s Ore resource evaluation and mine planning s Mine design and ground control of mining excavations s Engineering and management of mining operations s Mineral processing Candidates should demonstrate commitment to teaching at the undergraduate and graduate level, to working in teams, to conducting research and to publishing in mainstream journals. Previous working experience in the minerals industry will be valued but it is not a requirement. Fluency in English or Spanish is required. Knowledge of both languages will be valued. For application instructions consult: http://www.ing.puc.cl/miningengineering or contact by e-mail Dr. José Botín (jbotin@ing.puc.cl) The application documents should be e-mailed to vacantes-academicas@ing.puc.cl (subject: “Mining Engineering”) by June 15th, 2012 (late applications may be considered until the position is filled).

May 2012 | 95

CIM community

Minerals for all ages CMMF and Dynamic Earth collaborate on new learning tool By Deborah Smith-Sauvé

The Canadian Mining and Metallurgical Foundation has partnered with Science North’s science centre, Dynamic Earth, to create a collection of mineral photo-cards – an innovative learning tool for primary and high school students. The mineral photo-cards are designed to be informative, attractive, collectible, and just the right size for small hands. They are available at the educational M4S show, held during the 2012 CIM Conference & Exhibition in Edmonton, Alberta, May 3-5. Individual cards will be distributed free of charge to attendees. Each card will have a QR code and URLs printed on the back, so attendees can download the remaining cards. The cards will also be offered to other educational outreach programs and exhibitions across Canada. The set of cards, each featuring a photograph of a mineral, a short description of the mineral’s appearance and use, as well as other essential facts, will be printed in English, French and Inuktitut. CMMF chose to collaborate with Dynamic Earth due to the centre’s demonstrated leadership and innovative approach to earth science and mining education. When CMMF identified the need for a learning tool that would document minerals in a suitable format for students and the general public, they discovered that comprehensive products were not widely available. The mineral photo-cards project was created as a vehicle to interest students in earth sciences while promoting the mining industry. The partnership was a natural fit, as both CMMF and Dynamic Earth’s missions include the support and promotion of education. Each organization is contributing its strengths to the project. Dynamic Earth was delighted to work with CMMF because the centre owns an extensive collection of minerals that has been sorted and documented by a dedicated group of volunteers, and it has access to an in-house design team to create the appropriate card templates. 96 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 7, No. 3

“This is an opportunity for us to showcase to Canadians the beauty and marvel of minerals and to highlight how they are important to our every day lives,” says Mia Boiridy, director of Dynamic Earth. CMMF contributed to the research phase through its connections with McGill University students and the Club de Minéralogie de Montréal, which played an important role in the project’s success, contributing research prowess, translation and more. “The Club de Minéralogie de Montréal was delighted to participate in the project, especially given that the study of minerals is included in the school curriculum. These cards will greatly benefit primary and high school children, as well as our educators,” says Roger Guay, vicepresident, Club de Minéralogie de Montréal. The set of cards is being produced thanks to funds received by generous benefactors, as well as companies that are sponsoring the cards on a one-year or a three-year basis. The cards will be distributed as widely as possible through networks, such as the CMMF and Dynamic Earth websites, CIM conferences, M4S and other events. CIM The cost of sponsoring a mineral card is $1,000 per year or $2,500 for three years. For sponsorship information, please contact Deborah Smith-Sauvé at dsauve@cim.org or (514) 939-2710 ext. 1334.

We are looking for other ways to distribute these cards to even broader audiences. The complete set of cards will be accessible through the CMMF (www.CMMF72.org) and Dynamic Earth (http://sciencenorth.ca/dynamic-earth/index.aspx) websites.

CIM gives back Donation to BC College to attract students to industry By H.B. George

THE MINING SOCIETY OF NOVA SCOTIA 125TH AGM Courtesy of College of New Caledonia

NOVA SCOTIAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S BIGGEST MINING EVENT OF THE YEAR

From left, Christy Smith, director of scholarships and bursaries at the NCBC Branch, Jamie Hull, general manager of Wolftek Industries and vice-chair of the North Central BC Branch of the CIM; Jerome LaMarre, outside sales, West Fraser Electro/Mechanical; Randall Heidt, CNC director of communications and development; and Trent Bilodeau, senior territory manager, United Petroleum Products and treasurer of the NCBC Branch of the CIM.

The looming skilled labour shortage may be old news, but the fact is, action needs to be taken to draw new talent to the industry. That is exactly what CIM North Central British Columbia Branchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s donation of $30,000 to the College of New Caledonia aims to accomplish. In December 2011, the NCBC Branch invested in the future of the mining industry with a sizeable donation to the CNC in British Columbia. An endowment fund was set up with $28,000 of the donated money. The remaining $2,000 will be split into four entrance awards: two scholarships and two bursaries. The money will be granted to students entering the 2012 Mine Certificate Program, a â&#x20AC;&#x153;crash courseâ&#x20AC;? in mining, covering the basic foundations of the industry for those looking to break into the field. The CNC Mining Certificate program is offered on a rotational basis at the collegeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s regional campuses, and is currently underway in Quesnel and Vanderhoof. It has already been successfully delivered at the Fort St. James and Burns Lake campuses, with more than 80 per cent of graduates entering the workforce. â&#x20AC;&#x153;These types of donations are important for our industry because we have more jobs than we can fill,â&#x20AC;? says Christy Smith, the director of scholarships and bursaries at the NCBC Branch. â&#x20AC;&#x153;New mines are popping up all the time â&#x20AC;&#x201C; particularly in British Columbia â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and we need people to fill the skilled labour positions.â&#x20AC;? Students with the highest grade point average will receive the entrance awards; those with proven Aboriginal ancestry will gain an extra point. This initiative hopes to reach First Nations communities in the area and encourage the pursuit of education that will lead to future employment close to the community. CIM

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May 2012 | 97

CALENDAR www.cim.org/calendar

CIM EVENTS The 125th Anniversary of the Mining Society of Nova Scotia June 6-8 | Ingonish, NS www.miningsocietyns.ca MASSMIN 2012 6th International Conference & Exhibition on Mass Mining June 11-14 | Sudbury, ON www.cim.org/massmin2012 15th Annual Lobster D&D June 15 | Sudbury, ON sudbury@cim.org COM2012: 51st Conference of Metallurgists Sept. 30-Oct. 3 | Niagara Falls, ON www.metsoc.org Process Mineralogy ’12 Nov. 7-9 | Cape Town, South Africa www.min-eng.com/processmineralogy12 Precious Metals ‘12 Nov. 12-13 | Cape Town, South Africa www.min-eng.com/preciousmetals12

INTERNATIONAL EVENTS Economic Evaluation & Investment Decision Methods May 14-18 | Golden, Colorado www.csmspace.com/events/econeval Iraq International Building and Construction Exhibition May 21-24 | Baghdad, Iraq www.iraqbuildex.com 21st International Conference on Metallurgy and Materials Metal 2012 May 23-25 | Brno, Czech Republic www.metal2012.com ALTA 2012 Nickel-Cobalt-Copper, Uranium & Gold Conference May 26-June 2 | Perth, Australia www.altamet.com.au 3rd International Congress on Water Management in the Mining Industry June 6-8 | Santiago, Chile www.waterinmining.com/evento2012 SCANMET IV - 4th International Conference on Process Development in Iron and Steelmaking June 10-13 | Luleå, Sweden www.scanmet.info

98 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 7, No. 3

CIM community CIM Initiative

Canadian mining hot spot CIM forging strategic partnership with West Africa

Courtesy of Semafo / Courtoisie de Semafo

Semafo’s Mana mine, Burkina Faso / La mine Mana de Semafo au Burkina Faso

Une région intéressante pour l’industrie minière canadienne L’ICM fonde un partenariat stratégique avec l’Afrique de l’Ouest By / par Dinah Zeldin The landscape of the mining industry has changed. More Canadian companies are joining forces with international majors, and even smaller operations are shifting their focus to developing projects abroad. With Iamgold, Kinross, Teranga Gold and Semafo operating in West Africa, the following countries are becoming hot spots for gold, iron ore and bauxite: Senegal, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Cote d`Ivoire, Mauritania and Mali. And as Canadian mining companies set their sights from the mountains of northern Quebec to the mountains of West Africa as prime locations for new developments, the time is increasingly ripe for CIM to expand into these new frontiers. “Mining is international in scope,” says Jean Vavrek, executive director at CIM. “If we want CIM to stay relevant, we have to be global.” Vavrek, who is one of the people at the helm of the development of CIM’s international strategy, says West Africa is one of CIM’s high-priority regions. On his first visit, to speak at the 3ème Forum de Dakar sur la RSE, a CSR forum held in March 2011, Vavrek identified a wealth of opportunities for collaboration between local entities and the Canadian mining industry. “It makes a lot of sense for us to be in West Africa because of the existing presence of Canadian mining, a strong Trade Commissioner Service office, and the francophone connection,” he explains.

Le paysage de l’industrie minière a évolué; de plus en plus souvent, les entreprises canadiennes forment des alliances a l’international, et même les exploitants de plus petite envergure recentrent leurs efforts sur le développement de projets à l’étranger. Grâce aux opérations de Iamgold, Kinross, Teranga Gold et Semafo en Afrique de l’Ouest, les pays comme le Sénégal, la Guinée, le Burkina Faso, la Côte d’Ivoire, la Mauritanie et le Mali sont actuellement des secteurs en pleine croissance pour l’extraction de l’or, du minerai de fer et de la bauxite. Alors que les entreprises minières canadiennes concentrent leurs activités de prospection et de développement sur des sites prometteurs dans les régions montagneuses du nord du Québec et en Afrique de l’Ouest, il est grand temps pour l’ICM d’étendre ses activités vers ces nouveaux territoires. « Les activités minières ont désormais une portée internationale », explique Jean Vavrek, directeur général de l’ICM. « Si nous voulons que l’ICM continue de répondre aux besoins de nos membres, nous devons nous mondialiser, nous aussi. » M. Vavrek, un des responsables du développement des stratégies de mondialisation de l’ICM, révèle que l’Afrique de l’Ouest est l’une des régions priorisées par l’Institut. Sa première visite au continent africain remonte à mars 2011, alors qu’il avait été invité à faire une présentation au 3e Forum de Dakar sur la RSE au cours de laquelle il a mentionné les nombreuses possibilités de collaboration entre les entités locales et l’industrie minière canadienne. « Avec la présence d’activités minières canadiennes dans la région, un Service des délégués commerciaux fermement établi, et les liens de parenté qui

May 2012 | 99

CIM community

Courtesy of Embassy of Canada to Senegal / Courtoisie de l’ambassade du Canada au Sénégal

CIM Initiative

Prof. Alfred Gbaka, general manager of CESAG, and Jean Vavrek sign memorandum of understanding on January 20, 2012 at the CESAG centre in Dakar, Senegal. / Jean Vavrek et le professeur, Alfred Gbaka, directeur général du CESAG, signant un protocole d’entente à Dakar, Sénégal le 20 janvier 2012.

CIM’s presence in West Africa brings not only opportunities for our members, by providing a new market for Canadian suppliers and educational institutions, but also helps elevate the industry by communicating best practices to an emerging mining region. “There is significant appetite for CIM’s expertise and experience,” says Carlos Rojas-Arbulú, head of the commercial & investment program for West Africa at the Embassy of Canada to Senegal. According to RojasArbulú, Canada is uniquely positioned to meet the needs of West Africa’s rapidly growing extractive sector: “We do not have a colonial past, so we are well-received. We have the expertise and the know-how in the extractive sector, and we can communicate in French. This combination of factors means a partnership can really move forward.”

Hungry for knowledge While mining initiatives in West Africa are plentiful, skilled workers are in short supply. “Canadian mining investors tell us they often cannot find enough qualified labour to meet the demands of their own projects,” RojasArbulú points out. “Companies want to hire more locally as part of their corporate social responsibility considerations, and local governments want it, but unfortunately, in many rural areas where mining projects take place, skilled labour is scarce.” As a result, mining companies must bring in people from the capital city, neighboring country or another continent – an approach that is not sustainable because it is expensive for Canadian investors, it does not meet the targets of local governments, and it creates malaise with 100 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 7, No. 3

unissent les pays de la Francophonie, notre présence en Afrique de l’Ouest coule de source», explique-t-il. La présence de l’ICM en Afrique occidentale, en plus d’offrir des occasions à nos membres en ouvrant de nouveaux marchés aux fournisseurs et aux établissements éducatifs canadiens, contribuera à rehausser le niveau de l’industrie en transmettant la bonne pratique à une région émergente. « Il y a une demande importante de l’expertise de l’ICM », affirme Carlos Rojas-Arbulú, directeur du programme commercial et de l’investissement pour l’Afrique de l’Ouest à l’ambassade du Canada au Sénégal. Selon lui, le Canada profite d’un positionnement idéal pour répondre aux besoins d’un secteur extractif en pleine croissance : « Comme nous n’avons pas de passé colonial, nous sommes bien accueillis. Nous avons l’expertise et le savoir-faire nécessaire dans le secteur de l’extraction et sommes à même de communiquer en français. Lors que l’on combine tous ces facteurs il en résulte un partenariat fin prêt à aller de l’avant. »

Une soif de connaissance Malgré une abondance d’initiatives minières en Afrique de l’Ouest, il reste néanmoins vrai qu’il y a une pénurie de travailleurs qualifiés. « Les investisseurs miniers canadiens nous racontent souvent qu’ils n’arrivent pas à trouver assez d’effectifs qualifiés pour mener à bien leurs propres projets », précise M. Rojas-Arbulú. « Les entreprises souhaitent recruter davantage au niveau local par souci d’agir en tant qu’entreprise socialement responsable, et les instances gouvernementales locales désirent la même chose. Mais malheureusement, les projets miniers ont très souvent lieu en zone rurale, où il y a très peu de maind’œuvre qualifiée. » Par conséquent, les entreprises minières n’ont d’autre choix que de faire venir des travailleurs de la capitale du pays ou d’un pays voisin, ou même d’un autre continent. Cette approche ne peut pas être maintenue à long terme, tout d’abord parce qu’elle engendre des coûts élevés pour les investisseurs canadiens, ensuite parce qu’elle ne correspond pas aux objectifs des instances gouvernementales locales, et enfin parce qu’elle donne lieu à des sentiments de malaise parmi les habitants locaux qui s’attendent à ce que leur communauté bénéficie directement d’une part importante de la création d’emploi due à la présence du projet. « Aujourd’hui, le grand défi auquel nous sommes confrontés, c’est de trouver des travailleurs qualifiés », affirme Mamoudou Diallo, directeur général de Semafo Guinée. « Avec tous les projets miniers qui sont lancés, nous avons besoin de formation au niveau local pour avoir une réserve de travailleurs dans laquelle puiser lorsque les projets arriveront à maturité. Si nous ne trouvons pas le moyen de faire participer la population locale, il peut y avoir un risque de conflits. »

CIM community

local populations that expect a significant portion of jobs will benefit their communities. “The big challenge today is to find skilled labourers,” says Mamoudou Diallo, general manager of Semafo Guinea. “With all of the mining projects being launched, there is a need for local training so when these projects reach maturity there will be local manpower available. If we do not find a way to involve the local population there may be a risk of conflict.” CIM has already begun to play an active role in capacity-building for West Africa’s mining sector. In January 2012, the Institute signed a memorandum of understanding with the Centre Africain d’Études Supérieures en Gestion, a regional management school that operates under the umbrella of the Union A delegation from Mali and DFAIT trade commissioners gather at the 2012 PDAC Conference. / Une délégation du Économique et Monétaire Ouest Afri- Mali et représentants du MAECI à la conference 2012 de PDAC. caine. Among other things, CIM and CESAG will collaborate to develop minL’ICM a déjà commencé à jouer un rôle actif dans le déveloping modules and a study curriculum that would better pement des capacités du secteur minier de l’Afrique de l’Ouest. align with what the mining sector requires in terms of En janvier 2012, l’Institut a signé un protocole d’entente avec le skilled labourers. Centre Aricain d’Études Supérieures en Gestion, une école de “This initiative could be very strong for CIM because gestion locale chapeautée par l’Union Économique et Monétaire it is a French speaking part of the world,” says Nathan Ouest-Africaine. L’ICM et le CESAG collaboreront notamment Stubina, vice-president international at CIM and manager au développement de modules miniers et d’un programme of the Barrick Technology Centre at Barrick Gold. d’études qui répondraient plus précisément aux besoins du secteur minier en matière de travailleurs qualifiés. Learning beyond the classroom « Cette initiative pourrait s’avérer bénéfique pour l’ICM, puisque Mining companies already operating in the region also c’est une région du monde où l’on parle français », affirme Nathan need professional development opportunities for their Stubina, vice-président international à l’ICM et directeur du Barrick staff. “They are looking for continuing education on topTechnology Centre de Barrick Gold. ics including CSR, gold, bauxite, iron ore, safety, maintenance, reliability, leadership development, etc., and Canada has a lot of knowledge and experience in those Apprendre après les études areas,” explains Stubina. Les entreprises minières déjà actives dans la région ont égaleAccording to Rojas-Arbulú, CIM is strongly positioned ment besoin d’occasions de perfectionnement professionnel pour to make a positive impact in the region while it builds leur personnel. « Elles sont à la recherche de programmes de formasolid relationships with local governments that will pro- tion continue sur des sujets comme la RSE, l’or, la bauxite, le minevide an entry-point for Canadian suppliers. “We are rai de fer, la sécurité, l’entretien, la fiabilité, le développement du working with CIM and local partners to position Canada leadership, etc., et le Canada est riche en savoir et en expérience within various regional mining conference and exhibi- dans ces domaines », explique M. Stubina. tion shows,” he says. CIM’s participation in West African D’après M. Rojas-Arbulú, l’ICM aura un effet positif dans la events will help establish the Institute as a technical part- région puisqu’il travaille à construire des relations durables avec ner and will help connect the region’s mining operations les instances gouvernementales locales, ce qui contribuera à créer with Canadian suppliers. une porte d’entrée pour les fournisseurs canadiens. « Nous traA West African delegation is also attending the 2012 vaillons avec l’ICM, ainsi que les partenaires locaux, à positionner CIM Conference & Exhibition in Edmonton, Alberta to le Canada dans les salons commerciaux et les expositions du secmeet with local suppliers and attend education sessions. teur minier de la région , dit-il, la participation de l’ICM aux évéThis is the third time a delegation from West Africa is nements de l’Afrique de l’Ouest contribuera à consacrer l’Institut present at a Canadian show. “Last May, CIM, and the en tant que partenaire technique et à créer des liens entre les May 2012 | 101

Courtesy of Embassy of Canada to Senegal / Courtoisie de l’ambassade du Canada au Sénégal

CIM Initiative

CIM community CIM Initiative

Courtesy of Semafo / Courtoisie de Semafo

activités minières de la région et les fournisseurs canadiens. » Une délégation de l’Afrique de l’Ouest assistera également à la Conférence et Salon commercial de l’ICM à Edmonton en Alberta, qui aura lieu en mai 2012, afin de rencontrer des fournisseurs locaux et d’assister à des séances de formation. Ce sera la troisième fois qu’une délégation africaine sera présente à la Conférence canadienne. « L’année dernière, l’ICM ainsi que le Service des délégués commerciaux et ses partenaires, ont mis sur pied une délégation de plus de 30 membres composée de professionnels du secteur minier venus du Burkina Faso, du Sénégal et de Guinée, pour représenter l’Afrique de l’Ouest au salon de l’ICM à Montréal », raconte M. Rojas-Arbulú. « Cette année, nous espérons accueillir à Edmonton des gens qui proviennent des autres pays de la région, comme le Mali, la Mauritanie et la Côte d’Ivoire. Il est important de recruter des représentants de chaque pays pour créer un partenariat afin que les secteurs privés des deux régions puissent travailler en étroite collaboration, en plus de permettre à l’ICM de jouer un rôle stratégique dans la région. »

Truck at Mana mine, Burkina Faso / Un camion à la mine Mana au Burkina Faso

Trade Commissioner Service and its partners, facilitated a 30-plus member delegation composed of professionals from Burkina Faso, Senegal and Guinea to come to the CIM show in Montreal,” says Rojas-Arbulú. “It is important to recruit representatives from each country because it creates a partnership that allows the private sectors of both regions to really work together, and it allows CIM to have a strategic role in the region.”

Supply chain synergies Other obstacles to smooth operations in West Africa include limited access to equipment and poor infrastructure – all challenges that once posed an impediment to development in northern Quebec. Vavrek proposes applying a strategy similar to Plan Nord: a long-term, multi-sectoral, development project to bolster industry and economic growth in the region. “The initial stages of Plan Nord are working well in northern Quebec, so Benoit La Salle, president of Semafo Inc., suggested we do the same thing in Africa and call it ‘Plan Ouest,’” says Vavrek. “It’s a great long-term approach that we can transport with us and transform into a best practice. A project that forecasts mining development will allow us to bring together mining companies, local institutions, governments and suppliers, and present a cohesive plan that will justify larger investments.” In the short term, CIM has a similar plan, executable on a smaller scale. Dubbed “Twinning Cities,” the Institute’s plan is to match emerging mining cities in West Africa with cities in northern Quebec that once faced similar challenges but have become established mining communities. One example of a perfect match is Val d’Or, Quebec and Kedougou, Senegal. “They are both 102 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 7, No. 3

Une chaîne d’approvisionnement intégrée D’autres obstacles que les entreprises minières doivent surmonter en Afrique de l’Ouest – notamment l’accès limité aux équipements et des infrastructures insuffisantes – ont déjà été rencontrés lors des développements dans le nord du Québec. M. Vavrek propose de mettre en œuvre une stratégie semblable à celle dans le cadre du Plan Nord – un projet multisectoriel de développement à long terme dans le but de soutenir l’industrie et le développement économique de la région. « Le Plan Nord a très bien fonctionné dans le nord du Québec; alors Benoît La Salle, président de Semafo Inc., a suggéré que nous adoptions la même approche en Afrique et que nous l’appelions le “Plan Ouest” », dit M. Vavrek. « C’est une excellente approche à long terme, que nous pouvons adapter en plus de promouvoir la bonne pratique. Par ailleurs, un projet qui prévoit des développements miniers réunira les entreprises, les établissements locaux, les instances gouvernementales et les fournisseurs pour présenter un plan cohérent qui pourra justifier des investissements plus importants. » Dans un premier temps, l’ICM a élaboré un tel plan, baptisé « Twinning Cities » (« Jumelage »), qui peut être exécuté à une échelle plus modeste. L’objectif de l’Institut est de jumeler des communautés émergentes d’Afrique de l’Ouest avec des communautés du nord du Québec qui ont déjà été confrontées à des défis semblables et qui les ont surmontés pour devenir des communautés minières établies. Un exemple d’un mariage parfait de deux communautés est le jumelage de Val-d’Or, au Québec, avec Kedougou, au Sénégal. « Ce sont deux régions où l’on extrait l’or et l’on parle français », explique M. Vavrek. « Kedougou pouvait se tourner vers les fournisseurs de Val-d’Or pour obtenir à la fois des équipements et des conseils techniques concernant la bonne pratique. »

CIM community CIM Initiative

French-speaking gold regions,” explains Vavrek. “Kedougou could use the suppliers in Val d’Or as both supply chain contacts to get equipment and technical contacts to learn best practices.” There is also talk of twinning Sept-Iles with a still-tobe-selected town in Guinea to build a supply chain for iron ore mines and help Guinea establish best practices for the industry. “There will be a lot of iron ore development in that region, so we need the expertise when it comes to mine planning and community building, especially when it comes to establishing a supply chain,” says Semafo’s Diallo.

Looking ahead Although Stubina admits there are challenges ahead, he believes CIM’s involvement in West Africa will benefit both the Institute and the local community in the near future. “West Africa is not a single block; there are many individual countries, and each one has its own national interests, so there will be some obstacles,” he says. “But, I think we are on the right track.” According to Diallo, immediate focus is on building local programs in each country, but over time it is essential to develop synergies with countries in the region. “Today, we are focused on creating something local to provide Guineans with technical training, but at the macro level we are working with CIM to see how we can harmonize the local strategies with other countries in the region,” he says. In the future, Diallo hopes countries in the region will join forces to establish the infrastructure required to attract investors from the mining sector. “Our countries are too small and financially weak to build the infrastructure, and to attract investors the infrastructure must already be in place,” he explains. “The expertise of CIM can help us work together and strategize how to best put our efforts and resources together to make sure that we create a proper environment for investment in the mining sector.” The first step in building these synergies is for CIM to establish a local presence on the ground. “We want a local chapter of CIM in West Africa to be established,” says Diallo. “We hope CIM will help us establish a structure that we can follow, and for that we need someone here who will follow up on initiatives on a regular basis.” According to Rojas-Arbulú, several initiatives are in the plans for mid-2013 in close collaboration with CIM and West African partners: a Francophone mining institute, with CIM as the founding member, and a CanadaWest Africa extractive sector working group which we hope will lead to a West African chapter of CIM in the same spirit of those already in place in Chile and under development in Peru. “Within one year we have already established concrete partnerships through matchmaking,” concludes Vavrek. “The opportunity to create local employment and business is huge.” CIM

On songe également à jumeler Sept-Îles avec un village en Guinée (qui reste encore à déterminer) afin de construire une chaîne d’approvisionnement pour les exploitations de minerai de fer et pour aider la Guinée à mettre en œuvre la bonne pratique de l’industrie. « Il y aura beaucoup de développement autour de l’exploitation du minerai de fer dans cette région et nous aurons donc besoin d’expertise lorsqu’une chaîne d’approvisionnement sera mise en oeuvre», affirme M. Diallo de Semafo.

Un regard tourné vers l’avenir M. Stubina est conscient qu’il y aura encore des défis à relever. Il croit néanmoins que l’implication de l’ICM en Afrique de l’Ouest aura des retombées positives autant pour l’Institut que pour la communauté locale dans un avenir proche. « L’Afrique de l’Ouest ne constitue pas un seul bloc; elle est composée de plusieurs pays individuels, et chaque pays a ses propres intérêts nationaux. Il y aura donc très certainement des obstacles », affirme-t-il. « Mais je crois que nous sommes sur la bonne voie. » Selon M. Diallo, la priorité immédiate est de construire des programmes à l’échelle locale dans chaque pays. Mais à plus long terme, il sera essentiel de développer la synergie avec les pays de la région. « Aujourd’hui, nous nous concentrons sur la création de programmes locaux pour pouvoir offrir des formations techniques aux Guinéens, mais nous réfléchissons en même temps, en tandem avec l’ICM, aux moyens de les amalgamer aux stratégies des autres pays du secteur », explique-t-il. À l’avenir, M. Diallo espère que les pays de la région travailleront ensemble à mettre en place les infrastructures nécessaires pour attirer des investisseurs du secteur minier. « Nos pays sont trop petits et économiquement faibles pour construire les infrastructures. Mais pour attirer les investisseurs, les installations doivent déjà être en place », explique-t-il. « L’expertise de l’ICM peut nous aider à travailler ensemble et à développer des stratégies pour articuler nos efforts et utiliser nos ressources afin de créer un environnement propice aux investissements dans le secteur minier. » Le premier pas vers la construction de ces rapports de synergie est d’établir la présence de l’ICM sur le terrain. « Nous souhaitons voir la mise sur pied d’une section locale de l’ICM en Afrique de l’Ouest », déclare M. Diallo. « Nous espérons que l’ICM nous aidera à mettre en place une structure à laquelle nous pourrons adhérer, et pour cela, nous aurons besoin de quelqu’un qui pourra s’occuper régulièrement du suivi des initiatives. » D’après M. Rojas-Arbulú, plusieurs projets prévus pour le milieu de l’année 2013sont déjà en cours de développement avec l’appui de l’ICM et des partenaires en Afrique de l’Ouest, notamment : un Institut minier francophone, avec l’ICM comme membre fondateur, et un groupe de travail d’exploitation minière CanadaAfrique de l’Ouest qui, nous l’espérons, aboutira à la mise sur pied d’une section de l’ICM, à l’instar de celles déjà en place au Chili et au Pérou. « En l’espace d’un an, nous avons déjà établi des partenariats concrets grâce au plan de jumelage », conclut M. Vavrek. « Les possibilités de créer des emplois et des entreprises à l’échelle locale sont énormes. » ICM May 2012 | 103

HISTORICAL

metallurgy

Metallothermic reactions A short history By Fathi Habashi, Laval University, Quebec City

Part 1 The displacement of a metal from its solid compounds by another metal through thermal methods was possible only after the discovery and isolation of the alkali metals by Humphry Davy in 1808. The technique was further developed after the discovery and isolation of aluminum by Hans Christian Ørsted in 1826 and Friedrich Wöhler from 1827-45. The fact that it was difficult to liberate the alkali metals and aluminum from their “earths” suggested these metals could themselves be used to liberate other difficult-to-isolate metals. A similar reaction takes place in aqueous solutions and is known as cementation – an ancient process used by alchemists. The first industrial application of metallothermic reactions was in 1854 by Henri Sainte-Claire Deville, who produced metallic aluminum by reduction of the molten double chloride, AlCl3·NaCl, with sodium. The endothermic reaction: AlCl3·NaCl + 3Na → Al + 4NaCl was conducted in a reverberatory furnace. When Charles Martin Hall in the U.S. and Paul Louis Toussaint Héroult in France simultaneously and independently invented the electrolytic process for the production of aluminum in 1888, their process immediately displaced SainteClaire Deville’s process.

Historical background The idea of displacement of a metal from its solid compounds by another metal with thermal methods was first

Large-scale bomb for conducting modern metallothermic reactions

applied by French chemists Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac and Louis Jacques Thénard in 1808, and independently by Davy who was the first to isolate boron by reacting boric acid with

Founding fathers of metallothermic reactions Hans Christian Ørsted (1777-1851) was a Danish medical doctor who became professor of physics at the University of Copenhagen in 1806. He laid the foundation for electromagnetism and was the first to isolate aluminum in 1825.

Henri Sainte-Claire Deville (1818–1881) became a professor of chemistry at the École normale supérieure in Paris in 1851 where he started his work on the production of aluminum. In 1853, he moved to the Sorbonne, and in 1859, wrote De l’aluminum, ses propriétés, sa fabrication etses applications; Production of aluminum by reacting metallic sodium with the double chloride AlCl3·NaCl in a reverberatory furnace. The charge was introduced from the opening E and molten aluminum collected in bucket J. Gases exited from H to the chimney at I.

Humphry Davy (1778–1829) was the director of the Royal Institution in London and discoverer of magnesium.

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Friedrich Wöhler (1800-1882) was a student of Berzelius in Stockholm. On his way home, he stopped in Copenhagen to visit Ørsted and learn about the discovery of aluminum. Wöhler accidentally synthesized urea in 1828, the first organic synthesis which shattered the vitalism theory.

HISTORICAL

metallurgy

potassium. In 1811, Gay-Lussac and Thénard passed gaseous silicon tetrafluoride over heated potassium; although they did not identify the brown mass they obtained, it was believed to be impure, amorphous silicon. Silicon tetrafluoride had already been prepared by Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele (1742-1786), who heated a mixture of sand and fluorspar with concentrated sulphuric acid in 1771. It was another Swedish chemist, Jöns Jakob Berzelius, however, who further developed the technique and was the first to prepare other metals using the method. He prepared zirconium in 1824, titanium in 1825, thorium in 1828, and vanadium in 1831. Other chemists followed suit. Metallothermic reactions are concerned with the preparation of metals and alloys by reduction of their oxides or halides with a metal. These reactions can be expressed in general by the equation: AX + B → A + BX, where X is oxygen, chlorine, or fluorine, and A and B are two metals. It is characterized by the fact that the reducing metal is converted to either a solid or a liquid product, and not to a gas as in other reduction processes, e.g., by carbon or hydrogen where CO + CO2 and H2O are formed, respectively. In fact, this method is used when reduction by carbon and hydrogen or by electrowinning from aqueous solutions is not possible. The most commonly used reducing metals are aluminum, calcium, ferrosilicon, magnesium, and sodium. The choice of a reducing metal is based on many factors. In general, the metal must have a strong affinity for the compound

Solidified regulus obtained from the reactor

to be reduced, it should be cheap, have a high boiling point, low vapour pressure, produce a slag that can be easily melted or leached away, not form intermetallic compounds with the metal produced, and be easy to handle. Metallothermic reactions may be exothermic or endothermic. In the exothermic system, the reaction takes place in such a way that when the mixture is ignited at one place, the reaction continues spontaneously, usually with the formation of a fluid slag, and the reduced metal is obtained as a compact uniform regulus. CIM

Louis Jacques Thénard (1777–1857) was a professor at the Collège de France (1804) then chancellor of the University of Paris (1845). He discovered hydrogen peroxide in 1799 and wrote Traité de chimie élémentaire in four volumes (1813–1816).

Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac (1778–1850), was a

Jöns Jakob Berzelius (1779–1848) was a

professor of chemistry at the École Polytechnique (1809) and professor of physics in the Sorbonne (1809), then professor of chemistry in the Jardin des Plantes (1832). In 1802, he showed that different gases expanded by equal amounts with a rise in temperature. He isolated boron in 1808.

professor at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm. He discovered cerium, selenium and thorium. Students working in his laboratory discovered lithium, vanadium, and several rare earths. He determined the atomic weights of nearly all the elements then known and created the system of symbols of elements used today.

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TECHNICAL ABSTRACTS

CIM

Effect of oxidation-reduction potential and ferric iron concentration on leaching of uranium ores M. Maley, S. Burling, and R. Ring, ANSTO Minerals, Lucas Heights, Australia

journal

ABSTRACT The numerous global uranium deposits vary significantly in mineralogy, grade, and textural characteristics; therefore, information from traditional (or conventional) sources on the fundamentals of leaching uranium and gangue minerals is not always applicable when studying particular ores. Empirical studies can be effective in understanding leach systems and can lead to improvements in process design, but there remains a lack of fundamental understanding necessary for ongoing process optimization as ore bodies continue to vary. ANSTO Minerals has undertaken a work program to address several fundamental questions about uranium leaching, including the unexpected impact for some ore types of leaching at high oxidation potential. RÉSUMÉ Les nombreux gisements d’uranium à travers le monde présentent d’importantes différences de caractéristiques minéralogiques, de teneur et de texture; l’information provenant de sources traditionnelles (ou conventionnelles) sur les bases fondamentales de la lixiviation de l’uranium et des minéraux de la gangue ne s’applique donc pas toujours à l’étude de certains minerais. Des études empiriques peuvent être efficaces pour comprendre les systèmes de lixiviation et peuvent conduire à des améliorations dans la conception des procédés mais une compréhension de base manque toujours pour optimiser les procédés en cours alors que les gisements diffèrent. ANSTO Minerals a entrepris un programme de travail afin de traiter plusieurs questions fondamentales concernant la lixiviation de l’uranium, incluant l’impact inattendu, pour certains minerais, d’une lixiviation à un potentiel d’oxydation élevé.

Uranium milling in northern Saskatchewan’s Athabasca Basin: Past, present and future C. Edwards, AMEC Americas Ltd., Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

ABSTRACT Milling operations in northern Saskatchewan’s Athabasca Basin have produced uranium continuously since 1975. During that period, the Athabasca Basin has been one of the world’s premier uranium camps, yielding more than 299,370,964 kg of U3O8. In this paper, the author describes former and current milling operations and discusses why and how the milling process has changed and developed over the past 35 years. The author’s considerations for the future of uranium extraction in the Athabasca Basin conclude the paper. RÉSUMÉ Des opérations de traitement dans le nord du bassin de l’Athabasca, Saskatchewan, ont continuellement produit de l’uranium depuis 1975. Au cours de cette période, le bassin de l’Athabasca était l’un des premiers camps miniers au monde, produisant plus de 299 370 964 kg de U3O8. Dans cet article, l’auteur décrit les anciennes opérations de traitement ainsi que celles en cours; il discute pourquoi et comment le processus de traitement a été développé et a changé au cours des 35 dernières années. L’auteur conclut en donnant son point de vue quant à l’avenir de l’extraction de l’uranium dans le bassin de l’Athabasca.

Evaluation of a new milling process for the Caetité-Brazil uranium ore C. A. de Morais, Brazilian Nuclear Energy Commission, Caetité, Brazil, H. M. Lima and L. A. Gomiero Caetité Facility, Caetité, Brazil

ABSTRACT The Caetité-Brazil uranium facility produces approximately 400 tonnes U3O8 per year from an ore averaging 0.29% U3O8. The process steps are ore crushing, heap leaching with sulphuric acid, uranium separation and purification by solvent extraction (SX) with a tertiary amine, followed by stripping with a sodium chloride solution, precipitation as ammonium diuranate (ADU), and product drying. A change in the milling process is being evaluated to increase production and uranium recovery. Heap leaching will be replaced by conventional agitated tank leaching of the –590 µm ground ore slurry in a sulphuric acid medium. Replacement of the stripping reagent is also being considered.

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CIM

journal

RÉSUMÉ L’usine d’uranium Caetité au Brésil produit environ 400 tonnes de U3O8 par année à partir d’un minerai à une teneur de 0,29 % U3O8. Les étapes du procédé sont : le broyage du minerai, la lixiviation en tas avec de l’acide sulfurique, la séparation de l’uranium et la purification par extraction au solvant (SX) avec une amine tertiaire, suivi d’une redissolution au moyen d’une solution de chlorure de sodium, une précipitation sous forme de diuranate d’ammonium, puis l’asséchement du produit. Un changement dans le procédé de traitement est en cours d’évaluation afin d’accroître la production et la récupération de l’uranium. La lixiviation en tas sera remplacée par une lixiviation conventionnelle, dans une cuve agitée, du minerai en pulpe broyé –590 µm dans un médium d’acide sulfurique. Le remplacement de l’agent de redissolution est aussi à l’étude.

Comparison of resin-in-pulp and direct precipitation for recovery of uranium in alkaline leach circuits D. Van Tonder, AMEC Minproc, Perth, Western Australia

ABSTRACT The comparative economics of ion exchange and direct precipitation have been analyzed by developing indicative CAPEX/OPEX models for typical alkaline leach uranium circuits. An agitated tank ore leach application is considered, comparing resinin-pulp and direct precipitation as recovery options. Capital and operating cost estimates are derived from rates and factors used in recent studies and projects. The analysis showed the main economic drivers to be the ore grade and resin loading. The resin loading is impacted by the prevalence of competing ions, especially chloride. At resin-in-pulp solution chloride concentrations below 3 g/L and uranium grade below 640 g/t U3O8, resin-in-pulp is more economical, whereas at chloride concentrations above 3 g/L, direct precipitation is more economical. RÉSUMÉ L’économie comparative des échanges d’ion et de la précipitation directe a été analysée en développant des modèles indicateurs des coûts en capitaux / coûts d’exploitation pour les circuits typiques de lixiviation alcaline des minerais d’uranium. Une application de lixiviation du minerai en cuve agitée a été considérée, comparant la récupération par résine en pulpe et par précipitation directe. Les estimations des coûts en capitaux et d’exploitation proviennent des taux et des facteurs utilisés dans des études et des projets récents. L’analyse a montré que les principaux facteurs économiques sont la teneur du minerai et la charge en résine. La charge en résine est affectée par la prévalence d’ions en compétition, surtout de chlorure. Pour des concentrations de chlorure dans la résine en pulpe inférieures à 3 g/L et avec une teneur en uranium inférieure à 640 g/t U3O8, la résine en pulpe est plus économique alors qu’à une concentration en chlorure supérieure à 3 g/L, la précipitation directe est plus économique.

Excerpts taken from abstracts in CIM Journal, Vol. 3, No. 2. To subscribe and to submit a paper—www.cim.org

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TECHNICAL ABSTRACTS

canadian metallurgical quarterly

Use of waste anode dust for the sorption of Ni (II) from aqueous solution A. Štrkalj*, A. Raðenovi´ c and J. Malina, University of Zagreb, Faculty of Metallurgy, 44 000 Sisak Croatia

ABSTRACT This study was aimed at investigating the sorption of Ni (II) ions on anode dust, which is an industrial waste material of aluminium production. The effect of various parameters such as the initial pH, contact time, temperature, and initial concentration were studied. The thermodynamic parameters were determined. The positive values of enthalpy change (ΔH ) suggested the endothermic nature of the sorption process. The sorption kinetic data could be described well using a pseudo-second-order model and the equilibrium data could be fitted well to the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm. It can be concluded that the obtained sorption capacity for Ni (II) ions is a good indicator of the anode dust potential for use in an aqueous sorption system. RÉSUMÉ Cette étude avait pour but l’investigation de la sorption des ions de Ni (II) sur la poussière d’anode, un matériau de rejet industriel de la production de l’aluminium. On a étudié l’effet de divers paramètres comme le pH initial, la durée de contact, la température, et la concentration initiale. On a déterminé les paramètres thermodynamiques. Les valeurs positives du changement d’enthalpie (ΔH ) suggéraient la nature endothermique du procédé de sorption. On pourrait bien décrire les données cinétiques de la sorption en utilisant un modèle de pseudo deuxième ordre et l’on pourrait bien ajuster les données d’équilibre à l’isotherme de Langmuir et Freundlich. On peut conclure que la capacité de sorption obtenue pour les ions de Ni (II) est un bon indicateur du potentiel de la poussière d’anode pour utilisation dans un système aqueux de sorption.

The mineralogy of pyrrhotite from the Sudbury CCN and phoenix nickel ores and its effect on flotation performance Megan Becker (i), Dee Bradshaw (ii) and Johan de Villiers (iii), (i) Centre for Minerals Research, University of Cape Town, South Africa, (ii) Julius Krutschnitt Mineral Research Centre, University of Queensland, Australia, (iii) Department of Materials Science & Metallurgical Engineering, University of Pretoria, South Africa

ABSTRACT The non-stoichiometric sulfide pyrrhotite (Fe(1-x)S), common to many nickel ores, occurs in a variety of crystallographic forms and compositions. In order to manipulate its performance in nickel processing operations either to target the recovery or rejection or pyrrhotite, one needs an understanding of pyrrhotite mineralogy, reactivity and the effect this may have on its flotation performance. In this study, a non-magnetic Fe9S10 pyrrhotite from Sudbury CCN in Canada and a magnetic Fe7S8 pyrrhotite from Phoenix in Botswana were selected to explore the relationship between mineralogy, reactivity and microflotation. Non-magnetic Sudbury pyrrhotite was less reactive in terms of its oxygen uptake and showed the best collectorless flotation recovery. Magnetic Phoenix pyrrhotite was more reactive and showed poor collectorless flotation, which was significantly improved with the addition of xanthate and copper activation. These differences in reactivity and flotation performance are interpreted to be a result of the pyrrhotite mineralogy, the implications of which may aid in the manipulation of flotation performance. RÉSUMÉ La pyrrhotine sulfureuse non stoechiométrique (Fe(1-x)S), commune à plusieurs minerais de nickel, se retrouve sous une variété de formes cristallographiques et de compositions. Afin de manipuler son rendement lors des opérations de traitement du nickel, soit afin de viser la récupération ou bien la rejection de la pyrrhotine, on a besoin de comprendre la minéralogie de la pyrrhotine, sa réactivité et leur effet sur le rendement de sa flottation. Dans cette étude, on a choisi une pyrrhotine non magnétique, Fe9S10, de Sudbury CCN au Canada et une pyrrhotine magnétique, Fe7S8, de Phoenix au Botswana, pour explorer la relation entre la minéralogie, la réactivité et la microflottation. La pyrrhotine non magnétique de Sudbury était moins réactive par rapport à son absorption d’oxygène et a montré la meilleure récupération par flottation sans collecteur. La pyrrhotine magnétique de Phoenix était plus réactive et a montré une mauvaise flottation sans collecteur, que l’on a améliorée significativement avec l’addition de xanthate et l’activation au cuivre. Ces différences de réactivité et de rendement de la flottation sont interprétées comme étant un résultat de la minéralogie de la pyrrhotine, dont les implications peuvent aider à manipuler le rendement de la flottation.

Excerpts taken from abstracts in CMQ, Vol. 49, No. 4. Subscribe—www.cmq-online.ca

May 2012 | 109

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The Plaster War of 1820: how the locals won By Correy Baldwin

Image courtesy of Nova Scotia Archives and Records Management, Halifax, NS.

ll through the summer of 1820, smugglers on the Smugglers worked by night and by fog, with threats, and Bay of Fundy openly defied government officials bribes and local support. brought in to quash the illegal trade of gypsum – or Finally, the British appointed Stephen Humbert, who had plaster. The smugglers fiercely defended their trade, in what once been involved in smuggling himself, as a “Preventative became known as the Plaster War. Officer” to put an end to the smuggling business. Settlers first discovered gypsum in the late 1770s near Humbert began on a triumphant note, seizing a plasterWindsor – at the head of the Bay of Fundy – and began mining smuggling vessel in the Saint John Harbour before sailing for it in small operations. Much of the mineral lay close to the sur- Passamaquoddy, and leaving the seized ship with his deputy face in shallow deposits that could be easily mined, attracting (his son John). But that night the smugglers kidnapped John local farmers with no mining experience, who mined small and abandoned him on a distant shore, humiliated. quarries known as “kettle Things did not go any holes” using gunpowder. better for Humbert. The Local small producers moment he arrived in Pastraded it as raw product, samaquoddy, a plaster loading it onto smaller ship shot at his vessel. It vessels owned by the was the kind of greeting area’s fishermen and he would get used to. merchants. Humbert eventually Gypsum mining reseized the ship, but over mained in the hands of the next few days the small producers for deship’s owner twice atcades. It was not until the tempted to retake his ship Albert Manufacturing by force. Local law Company set up its mill enforcement was on the in 1854 after further smuggler’s side. deposits were discovered Humbert realized what in New Brunswick that he was up against. Dumping gypsum into 4-masted schooner at Hantsport, Nova Scotia, 1895. the industry shifted toThroughout the summer wards big producers. he faced increased resistBefore becoming a building material, gypsum was used as ance, with smuggling crews brandishing muskets whenever he a calcium-rich fertilizer, sold to wheat farmers in the neigh- approached. Vessels armed themselves with cannons. Some bouring British colonies lying southwest of Nova Scotia. openly pursued him, while others roamed the waters in gangs, Everything changed when those colonies gained inde- looking for him. pendence in 1783, becoming the United States. The local In one harbour, a mob hurled stones and threatened his trade became an international trade, complete with tariffs crew with axes and pitchforks. He retreated, and the next day and customs duties – far too costly for the local small pro- he watched as 10 plaster-smuggling vessels sailed past him, ducers. With their livelihoods threatened, but still wanting to tied together into one enormous raft. trade with their old neighbours, local producers turned to A final confrontation came in late September, when Humsmuggling. bert seized two smuggling vessels along the American border. The American border was drawn right through Pas- The smugglers regrouped into a 20-vessel show of force and samaquoddy Bay, which became a thriving smuggling centre. brought along an American magistrate to arrest him. That As the gypsum trade grew (from 91 tonnes in 1794 to 45,360 night, they took back their seized ships and forced Humbert to tonnes in 1818), U.S. and British governments became retreat. increasingly concerned about the loss of revenue due to smugHumbert gave up. The following year, the government gling. Local customs officials often supported the smugglers, officially abandoned its efforts to control the gypsum trade. and those brought in to impose order were easily thwarted. The smugglers, and the small producers they worked with, Passamaquoddy has an abundance of coves and islands. had won. CIM 114 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 7, No. 3