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FEBRUARY 2019 | FÉVRIER 2019
feature story
38
Inward and upward Mining companies grapple with how to adapt their workforce to the evolution in digital technologies By Cecilia Keating
cover story
30 Future Prospects Stephen de Jong on being a young entrepreneur in mining
44 All in for electric A first-of-its-kind all-electric surface mine in Quebec is one step closer to reality By Robert Hiltz
51
CIM Convention 2019 Preliminary Program
By Kylie Williams
February 2019 • Février 2019 | 5
CIM MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2019 • FÉVRIER 2019
in each issue
8 10 12
Editor’s letter President’s notes Chatter
tools of the trade
13
The best in new technology Compiled by Kaaria Quash
developments
14
Gold sector ripe for more major M&As after NewmontGoldcorp deal, industry watchers say By Kelsey Rolfe and Kaaria Quash
23
New research project could help identify mineral-rich deposits in Canada’s North
23
By Kaaria Quash
26
Metals set for a rebalance after rough 2018 By Matthew Parizot
26
mining lore
90
columns
32
How to write a better feasibility study By Mauro Chiesa
33
How to create a robust cybersecurity strategy
A gold rush in British Columbia’s Cariboo region spurred on the economic development of the colony that would become Canada’s west coast province By Jen Glanville
By Bill Ross
upfront
34
contenu francophone
Battery applications and changes in Chinese construction standards are increasing demand for vanadium
76 76 77
Table des matières Lettre de l’éditeur Mot de la présidente
By Sarah Treleaven
36
article de fond
Reaching for new solutions at BHP’s Escondida mill
78
By Robert Hiltz
technology
48
Novel technologies to help lower risk and reverse the trend of falling discovery rates By Virginia Heffernan
36
Une formation interne et ascendante Les efforts des sociétés minières pour adapter les qualifications de leur maind’œuvre à l’évolution des technologies numériques Par Cecilia Keating
84
Tous ensemble pour le tout électrique Une nouvelle mine de graphite entièrement électrique au Québec pourrait bientôt voir le jour Par Robert Hiltz
Nous publions progressivement sur notre site Internet les articles du CIM Magazine en version française. 6 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 14, No. 1
VIRTUAL FIBER
TM
LICENSED BACKHAUL
editor’s letter
Prospecting for the future of the industry
W
hat it means to be a miner is changing. As jobs are becoming automated and workers are being removed from the rock face, looking to the career paths of industry veterans may not be that helpful for the next generation of mine workers trying to navigate their own way. “Your grandfather’s miner is going to be very, very different to the miner that is going to be employed in the next five to 10 years,” says Deloitte mining and metals leader for Canada Andrew Swart in this issue’s feature, “Inward and upward” (p. 38). In the feature, Cecilia Keating talks to several mining companies and educational institutions that agree a career in mining will be more nebulous than ever before, and that miners will have to adapt as new technologies become available. In particular, she talks to Goldcorp, Hecla, and North American Palladium about how they are preparing their existing workforce for these changes. We’re also launching a new series focused on young professionals in mining, called Future Prospects. The format will be similar to last year’s successful We Are Mining series that looked at underrepresented voices in the industry. As the editor of the section, my goal for the new series is to explore the changing nature of what it means to work in mining and investigate how young professionals can build a successful career in the new digital industry. This section is geared toward students and young professionals, but I hope there will be nuggets of wisdom for everyone, no matter where you are in your career.
This issue’s cover Stephen de Jong.
To kick the series off, we’re publishing a profile of VRIFY CEO Stephen de Jong. Best known for his time as the CEO of Integra Gold when it launched the Integra Gold Challenge, a crowd-sourced exploration data challenge, de Jong has become successful at a young age by embracing the digital revolution in mining. VRIFY, his latest venture, embraces virtual reality technology to create interactive mine tours. In addition to profiles of successful young professionals, we will be publishing thought-provoking columns by industry experts and Q&As with seasoned veterans on some of the unshakable strategies and values that lead to success in this industry. I hope you enjoy this series and get something useful out of it. If you have a story lead, please feel free to reach out to me, my email is below.
Tom DiNardo, Section editor tdinardo@cim.org
Editor-in-chief Ryan Bergen, rbergen@cim.org Executive editor Angela Hamlyn, ahamlyn@cim.org Managing editor Michele Beacom, mbeacom@cim.org Section editors Tom DiNardo, tdinardo@cim.org; Kelsey Rolfe, krolfe@cim.org Editorial intern Kaaria Quash, kquash@cim.org Contributors Mauro Chiesa, Jen Glanville, Virginia Heffernan, Robert Hiltz, Cecilia Keating, Matthew Parizot, Bill Ross, Sarah Treleaven Editorial advisory board Mohammad Babaei Khorzhoughi, Vic Pakalnis, Steve Rusk, Nathan Stubina Translations Karen Rolland and Cision Layout and design Clò Communications Inc., www.clocommunications.com
Courtesy of VRIFY
Published 8 times a year by: Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum 1250 – 3500 de Maisonneuve Blvd. West Westmount, QC H3Z 3C1 Tel.: 514.939.2710; Fax: 514.939.2714 www.cim.org; magazine@cim.org
Advertising sales Dovetail Communications Inc. Tel.: 905.886.6640; Fax: 905.886.6615; www.dvtail.com Senior Account Executives Janet Jeffery, jjeffery@dvtail.com, 905.707.3529 Christopher Forbes, cforbes@dvtail.com, 905.707.3516 Jacquie Rankin, jrankin@dvtail.com, 905.707.3525 Subscriptions Online version included in CIM Membership ($197/yr). Print version for institutions or agencies – Canada: $275/yr (AB, BC, MB, NT, NU, SK, YT add 5% GST; ON add 13% HST; QC add 5% GST + 9.975% PST; NB, NL, NS, PE add 15% HST). Print version for institutions or agencies – USA/International: US$325/yr. Online access to single copy: $50. Copyright©2019. All rights reserved. ISSN 1718-4177. Publications Mail No. 09786. Postage paid at CPA Saint-Laurent, QC. Dépôt légal: Bibliothèque nationale du Québec. The Institute, as a body, is not responsible for statements made or opinions advanced either in articles or in any discussion appearing in its publications.
Printed in Canada
8 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 14, No. 1
president’s notes
Is there an upside to risk? returns), digitalization and cash optimization. These are followed by moderate risks, which include cybersecurity, permitting, commodities for the “green economy,” reserve replacement, capital and operating expense control and geopolitical risks. However, other risks are emerging, such as the looming skills shortage, water, energy, and climate change, and there may be still other, disruptive forces that we have yet to identify.
By far the “ greatest challenge facing the sector is the licence to operate.”
O
ur industry is inherently risky and managing these risks is critical to all resource development projects. The priority and the changing risk profile only add to the complexity of the management approach. And just like the boom-bust cycles in our sector, we observe similar fluctuation in the risks that we need to manage. During my term as CIM President, I have been honoured to present on a variety of subjects at a range of CIM events. In two such events, Rocks and Stocks [organized by the Management and Economics Society (MES) and the Toronto CIM Branch] and an MES-CIM Montreal Branch talk, I spoke on “transforming risk to opportunity.” In these talks, I highlighted priority, moderate and emerging risks, and how, through management of these risks, our sector can achieve positive outcomes. Currently, the high priority risks facing the sector are social licence to operate, shareholders (expectations and 10 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 14, No. 1
If we consider the risks facing the industry today, it is obvious that many, if not all, are interrelated. By far the greatest challenge facing the sector is the licence to operate. The licence to operate can make or break a project. It is no longer about building schools and roads, but about mutual and shared value. It is critical to move from a reactive and compensatory model to a more collaborative approach, with greater transparency and early and open communication and consultations. As a sector, we need to share successes, best practices and achievements not just with ourselves, but with those outside our industry. We need to replace negative past images with modern-day innovations and approaches. We can shift this paradigm by addressing our image issue, reaching the next generation, strengthening diversity, building partnerships, looking outside our sector, and attracting and retaining shareholders. This will take time, but change is upon us and we must embrace it.
Janice Zinck CIM President
chatter CIM – Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum
@CIMorg
Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum
Canadian Institute of Mining
@cim_mag
Courtesy of Anne Johnson
RE: CREATING COMPETENCE (DEC ‘18/JAN ‘19)
This is also very applicable to young geologists.
Creating competence Anne Johnson of Queen’s University argues that teaching intercultural competence to young engineers will improve communication with local communities
The idea of teaching attitude is an interesting one – over and above teaching knowledge and skills. A very complex undertaking. Sounds like some good research potential here!
By Sarah Treleaven
f Anne Johnson – assistant professor in the Department of Mining at Queen’s University – has a singular passion, it is encouraging attitudes of humility and openness to learning about different cultures, or “intercultural competence,� among the undergraduate and graduate mining engineers she helps prepare for work and life beyond university. Johnson – who has degrees in art history and computing science, a master’s in tertiary education with a specialization in teaching sustainability to mining engineering students, and a PhD in mining engineering – teaches a fourth-year sustainability course at the university, but says “cultural agility� is integrated into the program by talking about the social and environmental implications of mining in engineering courses. She spoke with CIM Magazine about why this particular set of skills is so important and how adding them to the resumes of aspiring engineers can benefit the projects they work on.
students to hold off on judgment until they have heard and understood the perspectives of other people.
CIM: How is intercultural competence relevant to the world of engineering? Johnson: Intercultural competence is a suite of knowledge,
CIM: How do these potential conflicts play out with Indigenous community partners? Johnson: If I’m building a mine and I’ve done all my due
attitudes and skills – the whole package – across the intellectual learning domain. As engineering educators, we’re very good at helping our students develop knowledge and skills, but we’re less familiar with helping students develop attitudes that will serve them throughout their careers. Some might believe that shaping attitudes has to do with one’s political leanings or religious values, but it’s much different than that. The mining engineering department is concerned about recognizing that there is difference among people in how they approach the same problem. We have to encourage
diligence and I know my construction techniques are very good, I know my risk mitigation is very good, and statistically the likelihood of a tragedy occurring is infinitesimally low, I’m happy with that as an engineer. But the community where I’m trying to build this mine looks at the world very differently. They don’t look at the world through a lens of statistics; they look at an individual place. They need to have you understand how they look at that place and the harms you may be bringing. If you’re looking at the world in an intercultural way, you’ll understand that a statistical analysis is key to your work
I
– PDAC Students
– Erin, @waugheh
CIM: Why is this an important skill to develop? Johnson: It’s important now because engineering disciplines function less as silos. Civil engineers do some things that geological engineers do or mining engineers do or chemical engineers do. When we work with disciplines outside engineering, from development studies or geology, we can run into even more problems communicating. And then when we work with communities that are culturally different from our own, we have the potential to misunderstand each other. We sometimes don’t even have the same vocabulary, ascribing different meaning to the same words, and our value systems may not be the same. So we can work with great effort and good intentions but at cross-purposes if we don’t have intercultural competence.
This should be obvious but often isn’t. I have sat in on lectures in MBA programs where they showed a matrix of country vs. business approach as the solution to this. The real solution is to attempt to understand the culture and be flexible in one’s approach. It helps, of course, if a person has been raised in a multicultural, multilingual environment.
50 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 13, No. 8
– Doug Hambley
RE: STANDARD BEARERS (SEPT/OCT ‘18)
RE: ON THE FRONT LINES OF THE PUSH FOR GENDER EQUITY IN MINING (WEB EXCLUSIVE)
As a member of the CIM committee that wrote the best practices guidelines for reporting resources and reserves starting in 2001 and continuing through 2002 (accepted in early 2003), I found it of interest to read the review of the process that derived those guidelines in the CIM Magazine article by Virginia Heffernan. I am still proud of the efforts of that committee and continue to follow the changes in NI 43-101 that try to provide a solid basis to the mining industry reporting. Unfortunately, we still see that errors and fraudulent activities can find their ways through. Thanks for the memories!
What a way to wrap up 2018! WIMBC’s own Barbara Caelles is featured in CIM Magazine. We couldn’t be more proud đ&#x;’— – WIM BC
Yes, thanks to Barbara one of our few predecessors who helped make the trail for future generations of women in the mining sphere. As a path going through thick bush, though, we have to remember to clear and trim constantly. – Brigitte Dejou
– Ralph Bullis FGC, P.Geol.
RE: MINING’S BOHEMIAN BOOMTOWN (NOV ‘17)
Neat article on Joachimsthal where Georgius Agricola, “the father of mineralogy,� discovered and documented bismuth, antimony and zinc, and started research for his enormous treatise on mining and mineralogy, De Re Metallica.
RE: EIGHT-YEAR-OLD BECOMES MINER FOR A DAY AT GOLDCORP’S PORCUPINE MINES (DEC ‘18/JAN ‘19)
This makes me proud to be an Ontario miner! Thank you @Goldcorp_Inc! – Mark Ashcroft, @MarkNJAshcroft
Seriously, who’s cutting onions in here? đ&#x;˜˘ – Elizabeth V, @geolizzy
– David McHutchon, @DavidMcHutchon
RE: IBM CANADA AND GOLDCORP LAUNCH ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TOOL FOR EXPLORATION (DEC ‘18/JAN ‘19)
Great to see the integration of AI in the mining sector.
Glad they helped her wish come true
– Deb Burton
Way to go Goldcorp!!
– Brian LeClair
– Andrew, @chargedstocks
ERRATUM In Dec ‘18/Jan ‘19 news story,“Trend spotting� (p. 34) we incorrectly referred to Tradewind Markets’ in-development provenance application as a “providence application.� CIM Magazine regrets the error. 12 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 14, No. 1
Courtesy of Weir Minerals
tools of the trade
Courtesy of Metso
Digital vigilance Metso has added a new predictive maintenance solution to its Metso Metrics suite, which it says will “maximize the uptime and performance of comminution circuits.” The new Industrial Internet of Things solution uses Rockwell Automation’s FactoryTalk Cloud platform, powered by Microsoft Azure, to collect data from Metso equipment sensors, allowing experts to digitally analyze the performance of their machines and predict component wear and failure. “Optimization of existing assets and processes is now the key to drive productivity at mine sites,” said Jani Puroranta, chief digital officer of Metso, in a press release. “This is where digitalization coupled with expert support really comes into play – connecting the right data with the right people.” The new solution covers Metso’s primary gyratory crushers, cone crushers and vibrating screens, and the company said it plans to add it to other mineral processing equipment in the future.
Courtesy of Sandvik Mining and Rock Technology
Fuel-efficient drilling Sandvik Mining and Rock Technology added to its high-pressure downthe-hole (DTH) drill rig line with the Leopard DI650i, which has been created for larger hole sizes. The automated drill can handle high-capacity production drilling in surface mining and large quarry applications. With intelligent technology for controlling the compressor and hydraulic system’s cooler fan, the Leopard can consume up to 15 per cent less fuel than other DTH rigs, Sandvik said. The rig also sports an ergonomic cab with HEPA dust filters and an integrated touch screen for displaying monitoring, diagnostics and mining automation functions. The drill can be serviced at ground level on both sides of the machine, which the company said contributes to a 20 per cent availability increase compared to other conventional rigs. The Leopard DI650i, which will be available in North America next year, also has the ability to incorporate more automation solutions, and comes equipped with features like drill navigation, wireless data transfer and fleet monitoring.
Why risk your neck to change a throatbush? A slurry pump’s throatbush is one of the components that can wear down the fastest, reducing pump efficiency. Making adjustments to reduce the gap between the throatbush and the impeller often happens while the pump is in operation to avoid impacting production, but this can put the safety of personnel at risk. To combat that, Weir Minerals created a new automated throatbush adjustment technology. “By mechanizing the adjustment procedure, personnel are removed from the line of fire, and the accuracy of axial movement is increased,” said Ron Bourgeois, director of Weir’s slurry pumping technology group. On alloy throatbushes, the technology adjusts all four bolts simultaneously to guarantee accurate positioning. For rubber throatbushes, which require a gap between the throatbush and impeller, Weir has an automated rotating solution that maintains an optimum gap to avoid particles tearing the rubber as they flow through. Weir has also integrated the technology with its IIoT Synertrex platform, which will collect and analyze data from the adjustment system to offer predictive maintenance suggestions based on past adjustments. Compiled by Kaaria Quash February • Février 2019 | 13
Tahoe, Pan American shareholders overwhelmingly approve acquisition plans
New research project could help identify mineral-rich deposits in Canada’s north
Commodities fell short of optimistic 2018 predictions, but met coal came out on top
Market-watchers turn their eyes to China in 2019
17
23
26
28
Courtesy of Goldcorp
Developments
The headframe at Goldcorp’s Cochenour project near Red Lake, Ontario
Newmont buys Goldcorp for US$10 billion Gold sector ripe for more major M&As after Newmont-Goldcorp deal, industry watchers say By Kelsey Rolfe and Kaaria Quash
Newmont Mining is acquiring Goldcorp in a stock-for-stock deal worth $10 billion, creating the world’s largest gold mining company by production output. The new company, called Newmont Goldcorp, will have mining operations 14 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 14, No. 1
in North and South America, Australia and Ghana. “This combination will create the world’s leading gold business with the best assets, people, prospects and value-creation opportunities,” said Newmont CEO Gary Goldberg in a
Jan. 14 statement. “We constantly review opportunities to raise our performance, and this combination represents the most promising path to deliver superior and sustainable value.” Goldcorp president and CEO David Garofalo said the deal will create a
developments company with assets in “the world’s most favourable and prospective mining jurisdictions and gold districts.” The company will aim to divest between US$1 billion and US$1.5 billion in assets in the next two years, and target annual gold production of six to seven million ounces. Christine Marks, Goldcorp’s director of communications, told CIM Magazine in an email that the deal was an “extremely unique opportunity that we seized on when it presented itself.” She said it was too early to speculate on what properties might be divested, or if the company expects to see any job cuts in its head office. Goldberg will stay on as CEO of the new company until he retires at the end of 2019, when Newmont president and COO Tom Palmer will take on the top job. Newmont board chair Noreen Doyle will take the same role at Newmont Goldcorp, and Goldcorp board chair Ian Telfer will be named deputy chair.
Each Goldcorp share will be purchased for 0.3280 of a Newmont share, which Goldcorp said is a 17 per cent premium based on both companies’ 20-day volume-weighted average share prices. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of this year. The acquisition, coming months after Barrick Gold’s US$5.4-billion merger with Randgold in September, has industry watchers speculating the gold mining sector could be kicking off a flurry of M&A activity. Kieron Hodgson, a commodities and mining analyst with Panmure Gordon, noted that multiple gold miners have struggled with disappointing returns and declining stock prices for some time, and the moves could be to help rejuvenate investor interest in the sector. Goldcorp, for example, has seen the value of its stock erode over the last several years from a high of $54 on the
TSX in 2011, when the gold price reached above US$1,900 per ounce, to prices as low as $11.58 in October despite gold settling into the US$1,250 range. The company also faced accusations of over-paying for project acquisitions that have proved uneconomic to develop. Newmont has fared better overall, but, trading at around US$31 on the NYSE in January, lost a little more than half its value since a 2011 high of US$65.46. “There’s an issue with gold, and gold mining companies being relevant for investors,” Hodgson said. “With subscale returns for shareholders, why would anyone need to invest in gold companies?” Multiple CEOs in the sector have made similar assessments. Barrick’s new CEO Mark Bristow told Bloomberg in early January that the gold mining sector has “too few assets with too many management teams, and it needs reorganization.” He said
February 2019 • Février 2019 | 15
As part of a management team restructuring, New Gold laid off five senior staff on Dec. 10. The company eliminated its vice-presidents of treasury and technology, planning and advisory, projects, reporting and tax, and exploration positions, but said it planned to hire a vice-president of technical services. James Powell became Marathon Gold’s director of environmental and stakeholder engagement on Jan 1. Powell, the president and chair of CIM’s Newfoundland and Labrador branch, has more than 20 years’ experience in technical and project management roles in mining, and was previously the director of Mining Industry NL. He will see the company through the environmental assessment process for its Valentine Lake project in Newfoundland.
very disruptive. History doesn’t bode well,” he said, referring to major deals like Barrick’s US$5-billion takeover of Equinox Minerals in 2011 and Newcrest Mining’s US$9-billion acquisition of Lihir Gold in 2010. Both miners had to later sell assets and cut debt as the price of gold plummeted in 2015. Hodgson warned that gold investors should be “wary” of marginal mining projects once declared uneconomic being repackaged and promoted again as buying opportunities. “I see a huge potential for conflicts of interest in the next 12 to 18 months,” he said. CIM Courtesy of Hudbay Minerals
FROM THE WIRE
he expected that the Barrick-Randgold merger was the start of an industry “transformation.” Agnico Eagle CEO Sean Boyd also told Bloomberg that he expected to see more partnerships in the sector, stating that it was “a move to reduce the number of players to better match the number of higher quality opportunities that exist in the space.” Hodgson said only time will tell whether these big moves will generate strong returns. “Some mergers and acquisitions are accretive to shareholders, others certainly in the mining space have been known to be
Ken Embree was named the new president of Knight Piésold, effective Jan 1. Embree has been with the consultancy for 28 years, and former president Ken Brouwer described the appointment as a “natural transition.” Embree previously managed the company’s North Bay and Vancouver offices for 18 years. Nemaska Lithium appointed Robert Beaulieu as vice-president of operations, effective Jan. 3. Beaulieu has 25 years’ experience in the mining industry, and previously led various startups and operations of large-scale projects, including Glencore’s Koniambo nickel mine. Ontario-based Harte Gold appointed Gordon K. Reed as general manager of its newly opened Sugar Zone mine. Reed, a mining engineer who has worked in the industry for more than 35 years, will be responsible for overseeing all mining and processing activities at the site. Reed was previously the general manager of SSR Mining’s Seabee gold mine. Kutcho Copper appointed Michael Rapsch as vice-president of corporate communications. Rapsch previously held the same role at SilverCrest Metals for the last three years.
16 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 14, No. 1
Hudbay’s Constancia copper mine in Peru
Waterton announces plans to nominate former Nevsun CEO to lead Hudbay Minerals The activist shareholder vying for control over Hudbay Minerals’ board put forward a slate of eight director nominees, and has nominated former Nevsun Resources CEO Peter Kukielski to take the top spot at the company. Waterton Global Resource Management, which in December announced its intentions to put forward director and CEO nominees at Hudbay’s annual shareholder meeting in May, said its slate also includes nominating former Global Risk Institute CEO Richard Nesbitt as board chair.
The two would replace Hudbay CEO Alan Hair and chairman Alan Hibben. Waterton has accused the company’s board and management team of “making a mess out of a portfolio of world class assets.” Waterton now owns approximately 11.9 per cent of Hudbay’s shares – an increase from 10 per cent in December, and seven per cent in late October. Waterton chief investment officer Isser Elishis wrote in a letter to Hudbay shareholders on Jan. 16 that during Kukielski’s time at Nevsun, from May 2017 until December 2018, the company had generated 93 per cent total shareholder returns – a metric that demonstrates the capital gain of an investor’s stock plus dividends. In the same time period, Waterton said,
developments Hudbay’s total shareholder return was -12 per cent. During Kukielski’s tenure, Nevsun’s share price on the TSX increased 56 per cent, and he sold the company to Chinese miner Zijin Mining for $1.86 billion or $6 per share, what the company said at the time was a 57 per cent premium on its May 7, 2018 closing share price. Waterton said that its proposed board slate includes SSR Mining chairman Mike Anglin; former Novagold general counsel David Deisley; Hatch global water director Emily Moore; former Grupo Mexico executive vicepresident Daniel Muniz Quintanilla; Ernesto Balarezo, a Peruvian national and former CEO of Gold Fields, Peru; and Pretium Resources director David Smith. The firm said it would support the re-election of incumbent directors Carol Banducci, the executive vice-president and CFO of Iamgold, and Sarah Kavanagh, a former commissioner at the Ontario Securities Commission who has held multiple senior financial positions in the corporate sector. “While we believe the majority of the incumbent board is entrenched, lacks necessary expertise, and is unable to hold management to account, we also view a certain level of continuity at the board level is important,” Elishis wrote in the letter. In an emailed statement, Hudbay spokesperson Scott Brubacher said the company’s board is “comprised of highly qualified, independent directors and has been continually strengthened through an ongoing board renewal process.” Brubacher said Hudbay remains open to “constructive dialogue,” but found it “concerning” that Waterton, which is a mining private equity firm that “competes with Hudbay for mining assets,” has previously attempted to “secure rights and powers not held by any other shareholder.” Waterton requested in November Hudbay let one of its employees attend all the company’s board and committee meetings, and access communication between the board
members and management, Hudbay said. Brubacher said the company would set an annual meeting date and file a proxy circular with a “fulsome response” and voting recommendations “in due course.” – Kelsey Rolfe
Tahoe, Pan American shareholders overwhelmingly approve acquisition plans Shareholders at Pan American Silver and Tahoe Resources approved Pan American’s takeover plans on Jan. 8, days after three activist groups requested the B.C. Securities Commission investigate both companies’ shareholder disclosures. Ninety-five per cent of Tahoe Resources shareholders and nearly 99 per cent of Pan American shareholders approved the acquisition plans. The companies announced the US$1.067-billion deal in November. The acquisition is expected to create the largest publicly traded silver mining company by free float capitalization. The arrangement will need to be approved by the Supreme Court of British Columbia and receive authorization from Mexico’s Federal Economic Competition Commission before it is finalized, but is expected to close by Feb. 26. Days prior to the vote, Earthworks, Maritimes-Guatemala Breaking the Silence Network and MiningWatch Canada asked the provincial securities commission to investigate the companies’ shareholder disclosures related to Tahoe’s shuttered Escobal mine in Guatemala. They contend that Pan American has adopted Tahoe’s “unjustifiably optimistic” position on Escobal’s planned re-opening, and omitted information about serious opposition to Tahoe’s consultation process with the Xinca Indigenous people who live near the mine. “It’s very important for investors, I think, to get a fulsome explanation of what’s happening on the ground, and
Hudson Resources reshuffled its board and management, announcing Jim Cambon as its new president effective Jan. 31. Cambon succeeded James Tuer, who resigned from the company. Kenneth Palko, the former vicepresident of operations for Polaris Materials, was named chief operating officer, effective Feb. 1. David Frattaroli, the executive vice-president of Texas company High Roller Sand, was appointed to Hudson’s board of directors. Stornoway Diamonds appointed Hubert T. Lacroix and Angelina Mehta to its board of directors. Lacroix has 30 years’ experience in business and law, and from 2008 to 2018 was president and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada. Mehta has 20 years’ experience in finance and engineering, and previously served as senior mining advisor with investment dealer Paradigm Capital. IDM Mining’s Red Mountain gold-silver project near Stewart, British Columbia, received a positive decision statement from the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency. As part of the approval, IDM must fulfill more than 120 conditions throughout the life of the project, including measures for protecting migratory birds, species at risk, fish and their habitats, human health and more. Israeli mining company Shefa Yamim discovered a new mineral called carmeltazite, which was added to the International Mineralogical Association’s list of known minerals in January. Named after the company’s Mount Carmel property where it was first located, the mineral is found in carmel sapphires and is mainly composed of titanium, aluminium and zirconium. Carmeltazite was previously thought to only exist in outer space. IBM and Vancouver-based mining technology company MineHub are launching a blockchain-based mining supply chain application. The application will get its first test at Goldcorp’s Peñasquito project in Mexico, and will allow users to track information on the ore concentrate as it moves from the mine to the market. Compiled by Kaaria Quash
February 2019 • Février 2019 | 17
not cheery reports of how everything’s going to be fine when in fact it’s not,” said Shin Imai, a lawyer and director of the Justice and Corporate Accountability Project, who is representing the three groups. Tahoe did not respond to requests for comment. Christopher Lemon, Pan American’s general counsel, said through a spokesperson that the company believes “issues relating to the Escobal mine have been well-documented in the disclosure records of Tahoe Resources over the past several years, and Pan American Silver has further described these risks.” In its management information circular filed in December, Pan American said that the deal “is not without risk,” as operations at Escobal have been halted since July 2017, and the Guatemalan Constitutional Court upheld that suspension in September 2018 until the country’s Ministry of
Energy and Mines had completed consultations with Xinca residents near the mine. The company also noted that resuming operations would require an end to the blockade near the town of Casillas. The company said that the structuring of the deal to give Tahoe shareholders “contingent value rights” of 0.0497 Pan American shares for each Tahoe share they own that are payable upon the first commercial shipment of concentrate after operations restart at Escobal helped to mitigate some risk. In addition to requiring completed consultations in compliance with the International Labour Organization’s Convention 169 concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries, the constitutional court decision quashed the progress Tahoe had made on its last exploration licence. It also upheld a lower court decision that ordered the Guatemalan government to review its laws around
royalties for communities affected by mining. The companies have not made mention of either part of the court decision in their public comments about Escobal. Pan American and Tahoe, the groups say, have also failed to inform shareholders that Tahoe’s court-mandated consultation has already been met with “significant opposition and conflict,” and that two subsequent lawsuits have been filed by the Indigenous group, alleging Tahoe and the Guatemalan government have not properly engaged with them, and have begun the first stage of consultation without their participation. Tahoe said in its third-quarter results in early November that the first of the four consultation stages was “well advanced,” and that the mine’s “area of influence” had been defined and was being sent to the country’s Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources for approval.
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developments Pan American’s Lemon emphasized that the company has not yet participated in the consultation process but would “as and when it is appropriate to do so. “We agree that proper consultation with Indigenous groups and broader engagement with communities of interest are important to gaining the social acceptance for the Escobal mine to re-open,” Lemon said. “We look forward to peacefully engaging with these stakeholders in good faith…We have been clear that this process will take time and we have never set a timeline for the restart of the Escobal mine.” Imai said the groups want to see Tahoe participate in “an actual engagement” with the Xinca people. “The consultation objective is to try to get consent or an agreement with the Xinca people,” Imai said. “You have to build relationships, and if mining companies are announcing the process is going well and [Xinca] leadership is
saying no, it isn’t…you don’t have to be a genius to say it’s not starting off on the right foot.” – Kaaria Quash and Kelsey Rolfe
Guyana Goldfields founder, other shareholders launch battle for control of company’s board The day of Guyana Goldfields’ third-quarter 2018 results was the final straw for its founder and former chairman, Patrick Sheridan. The company revised down its 2018 production guidance for its flagship Aurora mine for the second time that year – to between 150,000 and 155,000 ounces of gold at an all-in sustaining cost (AISC) of US$1,025 to US$1,050 per ounce, down from its original projection in February of between 190,000 to 210,000 ounces at an AISC of
US$830 to US$880 per ounce – and placed the blame on Aurora’s resource model for lower than expected head grades. In response, its share price fell by 47 per cent that day, to finish at $1.62 on the Toronto Stock Exchange. “Obviously the stock’s had its ups and downs over the years, but I really think questioning the resource model was the straw that broke the camel’s back,” Sheridan said in an interview with CIM Magazine. He said the company’s management tried to “cover up” an “inability to execute on a business plan” by questioning the geological model. “That’s the day I resigned from the company as a member of the board of directors.” Sheridan is leading a small group of shareholders who allege Guyana Goldfields’ board has overseen a “period of prolonged value destruction,” and on Jan. 2 called for a special shareholder meeting to replace the board. A week
February 2019 • Février 2019 | 19
later, on Jan. 10, Sheridan’s legal counsel asked the TSX to monitor the company’s transactions in the coming months. Guyana Goldfields has since set the special meeting for May 22, the day of the company’s annual shareholder meeting. Calling themselves the Concerned Shareholders, the small group, which
owns 5.4 per cent of the company’s shares, includes Sheridan, investment company Northfield Capital Corporation and its founder Robert Cudney, and PDAC distinguished service award-winning financier Donald Ross and his wife, Gretchen Ross. “I wish that I was not the one that had to lead this charge, to be frank, but
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I didn’t see anyone else out there,” Sheridan said. “I do think it’s necessary, and I think [the company] needs to get fixed.” Guyana Goldfields hit back against the shareholders’ accusations on Jan. 22, with the company’s non-executive chairman, René Marion, saying it was “unfortunate” they had “provided no prior notice or opportunity for constructive engagement before rushing into what will surely be a costly proxy contest.” The Concerned Shareholders plan to nominate a slate of six directors, including Doug Kirwin, who has held positions at Ivanhoe and Anglo American; Luc Lessard, who has worked at Canadian Malartic, Osisko Mining and Falco Resources; and Carmen Diges, the general counsel at McEwen Mining. Sheridan said they will also push for a change of senior management if their board slate is elected. The group alleges Guyana Goldfields’ board has made misleading statements and “questionable decisions” regarding Aurora, which Sheridan attributed to difficulties executing on the project’s updated life-of-mine plan, which was released in February 2018. He said once he raised concerns about the company’s inability to keep up with the project’s stripping demands and delays in hiring a “competent foreign contractor,” he was let go from his management position in July. In response, Guyana Goldfields said it had instituted “fundamental operational and governance improvements” since Sheridan was fired, including hiring Roscoe Postle Associates to review the geologic controls and grade variability at Aurora, changing the reporting structure of management, and strengthening its focus on exploration. The company said it would respond in more detail to “wildly inaccurate allegations” from Sheridan in a management information circular ahead of the special meeting. The Concerned Shareholders have also said the company’s relationship with the Guyanese government has
developments significantly deteriorated, citing the company’s decision to begin blasting the mine portal in early November despite a request from the Guyanese Environmental Protection Agency in late October to hold off on underground work until it had received a permit. The company suspended its blasting work 10 days later, after receiving a harsh letter from the agency. The company pointed to its recent appointment of career diplomat Perry Holloway, the former United States Ambassador to Guyana and The Caribbean Community, as senior vicepresident of strategic and corporate affairs, as evidence of its commitment to improving government relations. In its 2018 full-year results, Guyana Goldfields said the EPA had since conducted a site visit to inspect the portal blast, and that the company expected to resume construction early in the first quarter of 2019. – Kelsey Rolfe
Teck to partner with Sumitomo on Quebrada Blanca Japanese mining giant Sumitomo will be Teck Resources’ partner on the Quebrada Blanca Phase 2 copper project in northern Chile in a deal worth US$1.2 billion. Sumitomo Metal Mining and Sumitomo Corporation acquired a 30 per cent indirect interest in Teck subsidiary Compañia Minera Teck Quebrada Blanca, which owns Quebrada Blanca. Teck has greenlit the construction of the project, which is slated to begin production in 2021. “[Quebrada Blanca Phase 2] is one of the world’s premier undeveloped copper assets and this transaction further confirms the value of the project,” Teck president and CEO Don Lindsay said in a statement in early December. “This partnership significantly de-risks
Teck’s investment in the project, enhances our project economics and preserves our ability to continue to return capital to shareholders and reduce bonds currently outstanding.” Sumitomo’s interest includes a US$800-million earn-in contribution and a US$400-million matching contribution. If the deal goes through, Teck will own 60 per cent of the mine, Sumitomo 30 per cent, and Chilean state agency Enami will control the remaining 10 per cent. Teck said the deal has reduced its required equity contribution to the US$4.7-billion project to US$693 million, which it needs to deliver by late 2020. Going forward, Teck will front two thirds of the mine’s capex and Sumitomo the other third. Quebrada Blanca Phase 2, with total proven and probable mineral reserves of 1.2 billion tonnes at 0.52 per cent copper, 0.020 per cent molybdenum and 1.38 ppm silver, is one of the
February 2019 • Février 2019 | 21
largest undeveloped copper resources in the world. The project has at least a 28-year mine life, and is expected to produce 316,000 tonnes of copper equivalent per year for the first five years. Teck said engineering for the project is nearly 80 per cent complete. With the new partnership agreement, the project will create an internal rate of return of between 19 and 24 per cent for Teck. “QB2 will be a long life, low-cost operation with major expansion potential, including the option to double production or more, to become a top five global copper producer,” said Lindsay. The company said it has started a scoping study on a potential phase three development, which it said could double the mine’s production capacity. Sumitomo has agreed to pay Teck an additional US$50 million if the project’s mill reaches 154,000 tonnes per day.
The transaction is expected to close by April 2019. – Kaaria Quash
Chidliak could be completely powered by renewables, De Beers Canada CEO says De Beers Canada is looking into making its newly acquired Chidliak project a completely renewable energypowered mine. “The new project we’ve just acquired, our goal is ‘Can we make that 100 per cent renewable?’” CEO Kim Truter said in his keynote speech at the sixth annual Energy and Mines World Congress in Toronto on Dec. 10. Chidliak was the prize for De Beers when it purchased junior miner Peregrine Diamonds in July. Chidliak, a diamond deposit with 74 identified kimberlite pipes so far – including the CH-6 and CH-7 pipes
that have been the focus of Peregrine’s phase one development program – is located 120 kilometres northeast of Iqaluit on Baffin Island. That area of Nunavut is completely diesel-reliant, Truter said. Making the mine run fully on renewable energy will require a complete rethink. “The more we’ve applied our minds to this problem, the more we’ve found you have to change your thinking about how you mine,” Truter said. “You cannot keep thinking conventionally.” He said the company will have to look at “radical solutions” like dramatically reducing the footprint of the mine, including eliminating the need for haul trucks, not building a road from Nunavut’s capital city – a major contributor to overall carbon emissions of the project – and making the site flyin only by helicopters. He also compared the size of a regular process plant to the company’s
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Courtesy of De Beers Canada
developments
De Beers Canada’s Chidliak project, pictured, is located in a remote area of Nunavut that is completely diesel-reliant.
latest thinking about what Chidliak’s could look like; on a presentation, the concept was just a fraction of the size. “Once you [reduce the mine footprint], 100 per cent renewable becomes possible,” he later told CIM Magazine on the sidelines of the event. He said De Beers will work to include complete renewable power in its eventual feasibility study for Chidliak. Chidliak’s potential power mix would be a significant change for the company. Its Gahcho Kué and Snap Lake mines in the Northwest Territories are powered exclusively by diesel. The company’s Victor mine in Ontario, closing in 2019, draws from the province’s grid, a mix of nuclear and hydro power. Truter said in his keynote the company has been optimizing its existing mines to improve their energy footprints. “We have quite strong energy reduction targets,” he said, “but truth be told, that’s tinkering around the edges.” He said a “perfect storm” of new government regulations to fight carbon emissions and increasing investor and consumer demands for more sustainably mined goods – specifically in the diamond sector – had created a “strong case” for major change in the mining sector.
“As we build this new project, we’ll be trying everything in our power to change our footprint, change the way we mine and to dramatically change the dial,” he said. – Kelsey Rolfe
New research project could help identify mineral-rich deposits in Canada’s North Researchers at Vancouver Island University are developing a mapping method that could help improve mineral exploration in Northern Canada. The research aims to teach computers how to find landforms called eskers, which are long ridges of gravel and sand found in previously glaciated regions. Formed in ice tunnels that are created by water flowing under the glaciers, eskers are prime sources of minerals such as diamonds. Identifying them on maps has not always been easy. “Traditional methods of surficial mapping, employing aerial photographs and field verification, are both time-consuming and expensive,” said Brad Maguire, one of the lead researchers on the project and a senior instructor in VIU’s GIS program. Currently, identifying eskers is done by using multispectral images of the
Earth, which allows scientists to detect the type of material on the surface, like bedrock or sand. The problem with this, according VIU earth science professor Jerome Lesemann, the other lead researcher, is that “the imagery does not contain information about the three-dimensional shapes of landforms.” Maps such as digital terrain models, which are three-dimensional representations of the Earth’s surface, allow eskers to be mapped in better detail. The researchers want to develop a way to easily detect these landforms on digital terrain models using machine learning. The goal is for the computer to learn and recognize patterns, in the same way human brains can identify the shape of a dog and distinguish it from a cat, even though the two may share similarities. “The form and structure of eskers are complex and if we can teach a computer to learn what an esker looks like, we may then be able to identify other eskers automatically,” said Lesemann. Natural Resources Canada’s GeoMapping for Energy and Minerals program, which aims to improve geological knowledge of Canada’s North and facilitate responsible February 2019 • Février 2019 | 23
Courtesy of Vancouver Island University and Jerome Lesemann
VIU researchers Brad Maguire and Jerome Lesemann plan to use machine learning to teach computers to find landforms called eskers.
resource development in the area, is putting $35,000 towards the research. Yiqing Luo, a GIS master’s student, will work with the researchers. – Kaaria Quash
Mining executive compensation up in 2017, but still “fairly flat”: report CEOs from Cleveland-Cliffs, Newmont Mining and Freeport McMoRan were the highest paid in the industry in 2017 according to a report from the Bedford Consulting Group. Lourenco Goncalves, the CEO of Cliffs, took home $23.7 million in 2017, making him the highest paid mining CEO. Newmont CEO Gary Goldberg, Richard Adkerson from Freeport, Don Lindsay from Teck Resources and Nutrien CEO Chuck Magro followed closely behind with salary and incentives totalling between $12.6 million and $17.9 million. Despite those blockbuster numbers, the report showed that executive pay has, on the whole, plateaued. According to the report, which surveyed 184 mining companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange or New York Stock Exchange that range from less than $100 million in assets to more than $20 billion for executive and 24 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 14, No. 1
board member compensation trends, in the last five years CEO compensation has remained fairly level in all asset classes. In companies with more than $20 billion in assets, for example, the median CEO salary was $1.4 million in 2017, in comparison to $1.5 million in 2013; for miners with assets between $500 million and $1 billion, the median was $500,000 in 2017, compared to $519,000 in 2013. “We’ve looked at compensation for the ninth year now, and when you compare this to where compensation levels were in 2013, it’s safe to say compensation is fairly flat,” said Frank Galati, Bedford’s managing partner, in an interview. “In the case of mining CEOs, the base compensation is somewhat down, and [other executive officers] are relatively flat or slightly up.” Total compensation, however, did rise an average of six per cent across the full range of companies as compared to 2016. Galati said compensation trends are mirroring the state of the industry. “We’re off the bottom now, that’s for sure, but miners are still struggling,” he said. “Especially the juniors and those under $1 billion in market cap, they’re having trouble raising capital, commodity prices are down and there’s not a lot of investor interest in mining these days.” The report also found that 56 per cent of CEOs received an annual bonus
in 2017, and that every CEO of a company with an asset value of more than $500 million received both an annual bonus and long-term incentive program awards. “Where the real money is made is in performance bonus and equity,” Galati said. “Those executives from organizations that have performed [well] seemed to do quite well.” However, fat executive paycheques have started to prompt investor backlash, particularly when they do not align with company performance. In 2015, Barrick chairman John Thornton committed to revamping the company’s executive compensation system, which at the time increased his pay by 35 per cent, to US$12.9 million, after shareholders voted overwhelmingly against salary increases for company executives. (According to the Bedford report, Thornton is the highest paid executive chairman in the industry, with a 2017 salary of $9.999 million.) More recently, proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. recommended in 2017 that Newmont shareholders vote down an increase in pay to company CEO Goldberg based on Newmont’s “significant stock price decline.” Shareholders went on to approve Goldberg’s increase by a margin of 67 per cent. Bedford, which also examines mining governance trends in its report, said companies and their compensation committees should be prepared to comment on any inconsistencies. “Organizations need to be transparent…in how their executives are being rewarded,” Galati said. “And I think they should allow their shareholders a greater voice in determining whether compensation practices are correct.” The report noted that approximately 22 per cent of the companies surveyed had “Say on Pay” votes in their proxy circulars in 2017, which was a slight increase from 20 per cent in 2016. Those votes allow shareholders to be a part of determining executive and board compensation. Larger companies have generally been the first movers for Say on Pay
votes – 46 per cent of the companies that have them had assets of more than $1 billion. “I view it as two solitudes. Those organizations that are under $1 billion in asset values are more concerned about survival, the future, raising capital and keeping their costs down,” Galati said. “With organizations with more than $1 billion, there’s more emphasis on governance.” The Bedford report found that the mining industry is still a laggard in board and executive diversity. Only 29 per cent of the companies surveyed had one or more women in an executive officer or vice-president role – a slight decrease from 30 per cent in 2016. Notably, however, one area that women are well-represented is in finance: 43 per cent of mining company CFOs are women. As well, three of the industry’s best paid CFOs are women: Kathleen Quirk from Freeport McMoRan, Nancy Buese from Newmont and Catherine Raw from Barrick. Galati said that over almost a decade of producing the report, Bedford hasn’t seen the needle move on diversity, and “that’s a concern for us… [mining] is crawling toward parity, we’re so many years away from it.” He said one way mining companies can start to see more gender diversity is to insist that the pool of candidates for director and executive officer positions contains more women, and to be open to different employment backgrounds. “More organizations, especially the smaller ones, need to take a broader approach,” he said. – Kelsey Rolfe
Imperial Metals suspends Mount Polley due to low copper prices Imperial Metals is temporarily shuttering its Mount Polley mine, the site of an infamous 2014 tailings dam collapse, citing declining copper prices. The company will mill low-grade stockpiles until the end of May, and said the shutdown will have no impact on the environmental monitoring and remediation work at the mine.
Courtesy of Imperial Metals
developments
As part of the suspension plan, Imperial Metals will mill low-grade stockpiles at Mount Polley, pictured, until the end of May.
The price of copper has decreased sharply since the middle of 2018, caused by trade tensions between the United States and China, and the slowed growth of China’s economy. Copper started 2019 at around US$2.60 per pound – down significantly from around US$3 per pound at the beginning of 2018. “Full operations will resume once the economics of mining at Mount Polley improve,” the company said in a statement on Jan. 7. Imperial reported in November that the mine, located near Williams Lake in south-central British Columbia, had generated $17.8 million in revenue during the third quarter, in comparison to $24.1 million in Q3 2017, caused by reduced production and lower copper prices. The company has reported net losses of between $50.25 million and $62.6 million in 2015, 2016 and 2017, and quarterly losses all throughout 2018. Imperial announced in September it would begin a restructuring process, which could involve the sale of some of its assets, a joint venture, a recapitalization or the sale or merger of the company. It also said at the time it had extended the deadline for both its $200-million secured revolving senior credit facility and its second lien credit
facility to Feb. 15, from Oct. 1 and Dec. 1, respectively. Edco Capital, a company connected with Imperial’s major shareholder Murray Edwards, stepped up to the plate to guarantee its senior credit facility at a reduced interest rate of 2.25 per cent. Its $26-million bridge loan was also extended to Feb. 28, from Jan. 5 previously. In the company’s third-quarter results, Imperial said there “can be no assurance” that it could successfully finish its restructuring. “The completion of the restructuring process creates a material uncertainty that could have an adverse impact on the company’s financial condition and results of operations and may cast significant doubt on the company’s ability to continue as a going concern,” it said. Since then, Imperial received a $108-million out-of-court settlement from Knight Piesold and AMEC, the two engineering companies it sued over the Mount Polley dam collapse, which it said “provided liquidity” for the company’s restructuring committee to continue pursuing options. Reuters reported in December the company had selected BMO as its financial advisor for the process. – Kelsey Rolfe February 2019 • Février 2019 | 25
Courtesy of Glencore
Copper cathodes from Glencore’s Mutanda mine in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are shown here. Copper was one of many commodities to see its price drop in 2018.
Metals set for a rebalance after rough 2018 Commodities fell short of optimistic predictions last year, but metallurgical coal came out on top By Matthew Parizot
Across the board minerals and metals defied analysts’ rosy predictions for 2018, as trade tensions and slowed economic growth wreaked havoc on global markets. While most commodity prices dropped, with only a few exceptions, experts say that there isn’t cause to be too worried. Base metals were riding high at the beginning of the year, with copper trading above the US$3 per pound mark and continuing to climb. Nickel and zinc boasted similar performances, steadily rising throughout the year to hit peaks of US$7.14 per pound in June and US$1.64 per pound in February respectively, according to Infomine. “[In] the first half of 2018 metals were actually performing quite well,” said TD Securities commodity strate26 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 14, No. 1
gist Ryan McKay. “Demand was churning along well. Investors were worried about underinvestment in future production that would see these markets fall into deficits.” United States President Donald Trump’s aggressive trade war with China, in June, halted that progress. Trump imposed 25 per cent tariffs on hundreds of Chinese goods, including metals such as copper, iron and nickel, prompting the Chinese government to respond with tariffs of its own. With China being one of the largest metals-purchasing nations, investors anticipated China slowing down buying and selling these metals. As such, prices of these commodities on the market began to drop. “A lot of these metals still performed okay, but you had a lot of the invest-
ment community, the speculators, hedge funds, etc., starting to short these metals and push [them] down,” McKay said. Zinc, which in 2017 saw its price rise enough that speculators believed some companies may re-open shuttered operations to take advantage of the boom, was hit the worst, plummeting 36 per cent from its 2018 high to a price of US$1.04 per pound in September. The speculation of higher inventory levels, as well as the cooling effect of the U.S.-China trade war, caused worry that the market might be flooded with zinc, which caused the price to fall heavily, according to McKay. The price of nickel fell 32 per cent during the second half of the year, to US$4.83 per pound at its lowest, partially buoyed by ongoing fervour over
developments the electric vehicle battery market. Copper’s roughly 21 per cent drop from its peak to a low price of US$2.57 per pound was well-reported. Bulk commodities such as iron ore and metallurgical coal did not suffer as steep a decline as base metals, but still faced headwinds in 2018. Iron ore fell slightly, as China introduced new environmental policies targeting steel mills, including a levy on every tonne of waste produced by the mill. Different grades of iron ore have been pricing on different levels as well, with interest in cleaner, higher-grade iron rising. Metallurgical coal ended the year in the black, according to Scotiabank, due to supply issues caused by a derailed train carrying coal from Yancoal’s Moolarben mine in Australia. But Scotiabank commodity economist Rory Johnston wrote in the bank’s Global Outlook report for 2019 that the rise is not sustainable and will likely fall in 2019 and 2020 once the supply issues are resolved. Towards the end of 2018 it was thought that the world economy might be facing a global recession in the new year, due to slowing economies in the U.S. and potential interest rate increases from the U.S. Federal Reserve and unstable political situations such as the United Kingdom’s upcoming Brexit. This drove down prices even further, McKay said. While these metal commodity losses may seem dramatic, they were not entirely unexpected. According to Johnston, price drops were bound to happen in some form after commodities had risen to such heights in 2017 and early to mid-2018. “What’s happening is global growth is indeed slowing, but it’s important to stress that just because the economy is slowing doesn’t mean that the economy is slow,” Johnston said. “We were just going too far too fast.” The highs earlier in the year were never truly justified, Johnston said, and the lows that we’re currently experiencing are just the flip-side. “What we did was really overshot [the price] and kind of undershot it back on the downside,” Johnston said. “So we think that’s going to kind of unwind itself as we go forward and that is what’s going to help lift copper, as well as a bunch of the other commodity prices, from the lows we currently see them at to our range in 2019 and forward.” According to Johnston and McKay, investors should look forward to gains in commodity prices over the coming year. Johnston said he believes that copper will rebound to around US$3 per pound, zinc to around US$1.20 and nickel to around US$5.50 for 2019. For McKay, a possibility of a U.S.-China trade deal in March and a dovish U.S. Federal Reserve are reason enough to feel optimistic about commodities in 2019. CIM February 2019 • Février 2019 | 27
Courtesy of Fortescue Metals
Fortescue Metals' Solomon iron ore processing facility in Western Australia is seen in this file photo. More high-quality, low-cost iron ore is expected to come onto the market from Australia and Brazil this year.
Market-watchers turn their eyes to China in 2019 China’s economic slowdown, trade tensions and possible stimulus projects will determine the outcome of most commodities this year By Sarah Treleaven
In 2019, the commodities markets will be watching China to a singular degree. “With virtually any of these commodities, China is consuming 50 per cent of both current and the increase in demand,” said Rory Johnston, a commodity economist at Scotiabank. “And they can change on a dime.” Questions linger over whether China will introduce a stimulus in the form of big infrastructure projects (as the country has in years past), but Johnston predicts that China’s 2019 stimulus will be geared more towards consumer and new industry sectors than traditional heavy construction – in other words, better news for oil than for metals. The metal Johnston has his eye on this year is copper, known as the bellwether for the entire industry. While prices are forecast to rise to around US$3 per pound, Johnston said he believes they should be higher in order to incentivize investment in new mines, which take years to come online. “The 28 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 14, No. 1
main thing holding copper back is macroeconomic factors, including concerns about growth, concerns about the Chinese trade war, and concerns about the slowdown in Beijing,” he said. “It’s uniquely vulnerable to sentiment swings because of its role in the modern economy. So markets will be watching over the next year to see if current bearish macro sentiment unwinds.” Aluminum is yet another commodity that depends heavily on China. “It’s a long-term structural story,” said Johnston. That structure is this: A supply deficit outside of China and a supply surplus inside China, with exports from China balancing things out. But as China embarks on efforts to reduce the output of smelters across the country and introduces new “Blue Sky” environmental initiatives, under pressure to improve air quality, expect higher aluminum prices. Willis Thomas, an analyst with CRU Consulting, also pointed out that two of aluminum’s main drivers in 2018 – the saga of Russia-based
Rusal, the world’s second-largest aluminum producer, which recently had U.S. sanctions lifted, and the trade war with its possible armistice – could be history in 2019, but still predicts that pricing will be pinned to macroeconomic factors, such as any changes in the Chinese economy. According to Johnston, gold projections for 2019 are very similar to projections for 2018 – that is, rising interest rates and a falling dollar should push gold, in the longer term, to US$1,300 per ounce. But it will depend on where and when those two factors cross paths, with predictions that gold will hover around US$1,200 if rates fail to normalize before the dollar starts falling. Palladium got off to an excellent start in 2019, hitting another record price early in January. “We think it’s going to stay in these ranges because there truly is a deficit in the market, with some scrambling to secure product,” said Jim Gallagher, the president and CEO of
developments North American Palladium. Close to 80 per cent of palladium consumption is in catalytic converters for internal combustion engines. Despite the fact that auto sales in 2018 were flat, Gallagher said the decline in sales of diesel engines paired with tough new emissions standards in both China and the European Union have intensified demand for palladium. “These countries are very serious about pollution abatement and that’s the simple driver here,” he said. While the biggest driver of nickel prices remains the stainless steel industry, the metal also has a growing application – along with cobalt – in the lithium-ion batteries used to power electric vehicles. Felix Maire, senior renewable and storage analyst for S&P Global Platts, noted that increasing cobalt prices have led manufacturers to replace that metal with nickel, which has been subject to relatively flat pricing – thanks, in part, to an increase in processing facilities in Indonesia. While demand for iron ore is plateauing, high-quality and low-cost supplies are coming onto the market from Australia and Brazil, the world’s two dominant producers, said Johnston. With China producing high-cost and low-quality iron ore mostly for the domestic market, prices will need to remain low enough – around US$65, according to Johnston – to push Chinese producers out. Another factor in the distortion of the iron ore market is that discounts between higher and lower grade ore have been widening. With the Chinese throttling capacity – in part to correct price deflation after years of overproduction – steel prices have risen steeply in China. “In order to chase those high prices, you want to get the most possible steel out of your smelters with the least possible ore thrown into your blast furnaces,” said Johnston. “The best way to do that is throwing in ore with a higher iron content.” But he also predicts that the market will begin to normalize and, with a global push towards more sustainable, less emissions-intensive processes in the steel industry, producers that are able to pump out high-grade ore will be in a very good position in 2019. CIM
Strategic Mine Planning with New Digital Technologies, Risk Management and Mineral Value Chains At the time of a continuing rebound of metal markets, learn how the application of new digital technologies that can add substantial value to strategic mine planning and asset valuation. The new technologies and related tools integrate technical risk management while capitalizing on the synergies amongst the elements of mineral value chains through their simultaneous optimization – from mines to products to markets. INSTRUCTORS Roussos Dimitrakopoulos, McGill University, Canada and Ryan Goodfellow, Newmont Mining Corporation, USA • DATE September 18-20, 2019 • LOCATION Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Geostatistical Mineral Resource Estimation and Meeting the New Regulatory Environment: Step by Step from Sampling to Grade Control This course is designed according to the latest regulations on public reporting of Mineral Resources. It aims at showing how state-of-the-art statistical and geostatistical techniques help answering the requirements of those regulations in an objective and reproducible manner. A particular emphasis is put on understanding sampling and estimation errors and how to assign levels of estimation confidence through the application of resource classification fundamentals. In addition to a solid introduction to mining geostatistics this course provides a comprehensive overview of industry’s best practices in the broader field of Mineral Resource estimation. INSTRUCTORS Georges Verly, Wood, Canada and Roussos Dimitrakopoulos, McGill University, Canada • DATE September 23-27, 2019 • LOCATION Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Cash Flow Evaluations for Mineral Projects The purpose of the course is to familiarize the participant with the form and content of discounted cash flow evaluations as they are used in the mineral industry for studies and projects. The course focuses on several aspects of mineral project evaluations: the data and calculations required for a mineral project cash flow, the assessment of the viability (economics) of a mining project, and risk assessment. INSTRUCTOR Lawrence Devon Smith, Lawrence, Devon, Smith & Associates, Canada • DATE October 2019 • LOCATION Montreal, Quebec, Canada
February 2019 • Février 2019 | 29
Courtesy of VRIFY
FUTURE PROSPECTS
THE POWER OF PREPARATION, THE PITCH AND A STRONG NETWORK Stephen de Jong on being a young entrepreneur in mining By Kylie Williams
Stephen de Jong
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tephen de Jong became CEO of his first exploration company at the age of 26 after making a bold pitch to the management team. Two years later, he sidestepped into the role of CEO at Integra Gold and, over the next five years, he built and led a team that raised over $150 million in equity and launched the Integra Gold Challenge, a crowd-sourced exploration data challenge that culminated in a Dragon’s Den-style finale. He sold Integra to Eldorado Gold in 2017 for $590 million and launched his newest venture, VRIFY, a company he co-founded to develop immersive mine site tours using the latest virtual reality technology. De Jong has followed a few simple rules as he navigated this path, including mastering the art of the pitch, valuing his reputation and network, and being guided by his entrepreneurial spirit.
Mining? Why not? De Jong joined the mining industry in 2008, taking an entry-level position in a stable of nine junior exploration companies in Vancouver. As a young entrepreneur-at-heart completing business studies at the University of Victoria, his goal was not to join the mining sector specifically, but to find a role where he could build his business skills. “It was an entry level position,” said de Jong, “but the advantage I had for the first two years of my career was getting 30 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 14, No. 1
a feel for just about everything. With nine different companies under one roof, I saw and experienced a lot of different things.” His first task was photocopying brochures for the investor relations team. De Jong recalled that the team was just beginning to insert hyperlinks into press releases. He and a colleague developed an algorithm to track the number of hits on certain links, an experience that would play a formative role in a future business venture.
The pitch Between 2008 and 2010, de Jong observed that management focus and company resources were spread thinly across the nine companies. He developed an idea to isolate one asset and build an investment team to focus on it entirely. He worked on the pitch with his father, who was a director at several of the companies, and walked into a meeting that would change the course of his career. “It was an intimidating pitch, but if it didn’t work out, it didn’t work out,” said de Jong. “I was 26 years old and had decided I no longer wanted to work for this group. Once I made that decision, I felt very powerful because I had nothing to lose.” Armed with the support of several shareholders, absolute belief in the viability and bankability of his idea, and empowered by his “nothing to lose” attitude, de Jong
future prospects successfully pitched his idea and became interim CEO of Rogue Iron Ore.
Building a business toolkit Pitching ideas is a skill de Jong considers an essential business tool. It takes practice to master and the most important aspect is to believe what you are saying. The other component of the pitch, said de Jong, is to be aware of how the person or people you are speaking to are receiving your message. Without being manipulative, it may be necessary to modify your pitch and present the information in a way your audience will be most receptive to. “Every conversation is a “I’ve always loved pitch in its own way,” said de the concept of Jong, “whether you’re pitching someone to invest in playing the long your company, or you’re game; never pitching your own team on why they should buy into make decisions your strategy.” based on a De Jong describes his two years as CEO at Rogue as a quick buck and “trial by fire.” He worked keep long-term closely with an experienced colleague and raised $5 milgoals in mind.” lion to advance the project before transitioning into the role of CEO at Integra Gold. At the time, he had four-and-ahalf-years’ experience in the industry.
“A million-dollar crowd-sourcing challenge is not game changing,” said de Jong. “One of the most powerful things we did was add the [Dragon’s Den]-style finale with 600 industry participants that resulted in $250,000 being raised for local charities. When we added that flair to it, it took on a life of its own.” De Jong said he believes there is no shortage of innovation and technology available, but collaboration is key to realizing the full potential. The Gold Rush Challenge created that momentum and has since evolved into the annual #DisruptMining event.
Virtual mine tours In 2017, de Jong’s career completed a neat circle when he launched his latest business venture, VRIFY. He is now at the helm of a brand-new tech start-up that uses the latest virtual reality technology to create interactive 3D tours of mine sites that can be updated in real time. De Jong said he believes press releases, corporate presentations, websites and analysts’ notes explain only part of the story and are not the right tools to present to investors and stakeholders the work that exploration or mining companies do in a way that is both accurate and compelling. A new format is needed to help investors make educated investment decisions and for communities to make informed decisions about supporting a project. “Our objective is to become a standard for the industry,” said de Jong. “We started 2018 with four companies signed up on the VRIFY platform and by the end of 2018 we had 50.”
Growing Integra Gold
Entrepreneur-at-heart
Over the next five years at Integra, de Jong built and led a team that successfully raised over $150 million in equity. The value of the business rocketed from $10 million in 2012 to $590 million when Eldorado Gold bought Integra in 2017. Over that time, de Jong became familiar with the inevitable bias against young people. Time and again, he said, he has seen the shade of skepticism fall on board rooms as people realized the oldest member of his team was not, in fact, the CEO. “Whether it’s fair or not, it’s a fact of life,” said de Jong. “It’s not just in the mining industry. People often default to the older person in the room. As an entire industry we need to work on changing, but I also think that the responsibility lies in how you present yourself. The best way to get around this bias is to reference your experience and be confident in what you’re talking about.” A highlight of de Jong’s time as CEO of Integra was the finale of the inaugural Gold Rush Challenge at PDAC in Toronto in March 2016. The initial concept – to release a trove of data from Integra’s Lamaque gold mine property in Val-d’Or, Quebec, and offer $1 million in prize money to the teams who applied the most innovative approach to identify targets – was suggested by Integra executive chairman George Salamis and developed by the entire Integra team.
De Jong finds building a new business immensely satisfying but warns fellow entrepreneurs not to rush the process. “You want your business to be successful, which ultimately means profitable,” said de Jong. “I’ve always loved the concept of playing the long game; never make decisions based on a quick buck and keep long-term goals in mind.” His final advice is to always consider your reputation and develop a reliable network of peers and mentors. “That’s all that really matters,” said de Jong. “If you have that network, every opportunity that you ever wanted in the mining sector will present itself at one time or another.” CIM
FUTURE PROSPECTS
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Throughout 2019 CIM Magazine will feature articles on how the mining workplace is changing and the strategies young professionals will need to build themselves a career in the digital mining industry. Do you have an idea for a story in this section? Reach out to tdinardo@cim.org. February 2019 • Février 2019 | 31
How to write a better feasibility study By Mauro Chiesa
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ver the last few years, the notion of the “bankable” feasibility study has evolved from what anxious bankers would ask for prior to granting a loan to something that shareholders now demand before fully committing to a project. What’s more, it has gone from one study to several, as the mining project goes from design through to construction and commissioning. What factors have led to mining company shareholders making such demands? First, there is the mining sector’s credibility: After more than US$120 billion was written off between 2010 and 2015, the capital markets are cautious. In addition, the mineral resources sector has been marginalized by the tech sector, making capital harder to find and forcing companies to conduct their studies in phases to continually lure investment into a project. Secondly, it has become more difficult to find major geological deposits, despite record-high mineral exploration expenditure. Shareholders and the mining companies are more cautious about assuming 100 per cent of the risk of investing in exploration given the scarcity of new finds; therefore, many CEOs are now talking consolidation or simply downsizing, as Capstone, New Gold and Barrick Gold have done. Thirdly, there are huge cost overruns, especially as new mining projects are increasingly in remote locations and many yield thinner grades. McKinsey noted in a 2017 report that four out of five mining projects experience a 43 per cent average cost overrun. The result of this is that today’s phased approach to feasibility studies have now become a series of hurdles to clear at the equity-entry level, then at the debt-entry level, and then possibly at the project-commissioning level. A smart mining company, however, can adopt some pre-emptive strategies in the feasibility study process to allow it to locate hard-to-find equity and publish a study that will deliver value for a longer period of time: Phasing: A phased development may require more capital in the long run, say $400 million per phase vs. $700 million for the whole project. However, $400 million may be easier to raise. Once operational, the project can then start generating capital for subsequent phases, offering lower risk. Infill drilling: Using infill drilling while your project is being built can offer many advantages, including adding: (a) Proven and Probable Reserves during construction, (b) a cost cushion in case cost overruns occur, and (c) a revenue cushion in case metal prices go soft before commis32 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 14, No. 1
sioning. Infill drilling allows a mining company to also present a “growth” investment to a capital market looking for growth. Share: Mining companies can share their infrastructure more. Whether it is power, roads, water or telephony, often feasibility studies show infrastructure usage rates of 5-10 per cent, while the project is situated next door to a town or other mines where all could benefit from sharing these utilities. Sharing could not only reduce the costs, but it may also reduce the mine’s political and permitting risks. Solar: The cost of setting up a solar power utility has dropped dramatically. So if your mine is situated between latitudes 35 North and 35 South, and far from a reliable power grid, definitely look at solar options. Not only can this energy be cost-competitive, but it reduces involvement with the various authorities. Setting up solar power can also allow you to sell surplus electricity to a nearby town, reducing political risk. Once your mine is exhausted, you can transfer the power asset to the local utility to further reduce restitution costs. Realistic: The world has databases and can pre-screen your studies. Do not suggest that certain costs could vary +/- 10 or 20 per cent when they in fact vary 40 or 50 per cent, or that the permitting will take six months when in fact it will take four or more years. The same goes for cut-off grades and metal prices. Your feasibility study should reflect reality. Least-risk: Feasibility studies focus mostly on reducing costs to maximize net present value, but say little about risk. Often risk can be substantially reduced for a fraction of the operating cost increase. For example, by providing power to a nearby town, a project may marginally increase its operating costs, but substantially reduce the political risk. Update: Yes, de-risking a project takes time. While an update may be validated by an internal Qualified Person, ultimately you will need an external author to review your remaining project from the ground up. So choose your authors carefully and make sure that they are subsequently available to update the report. Finding capital is getting more and more difficult for mining companies, so the required feasibility study has to work a lot harder. These strategies can make the feasibility study a better and longer-lived investment for mining companies to attract capital. CIM Mauro Chiesa has over 35 years of experience in financing and advising extractive and infrastructure projects. He has worked with multinational banks in New York City, at the World Bank Group and EDC.
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How to create a robust cybersecurity strategy By Bill Ross
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hreats to cybersecurity should be considered one of the top five business risks in any resource organization. The embarrassment, damage and financial loss caused by recent attacks to large organizations has highlighted both the sophistication and ingenuity of malicious hackers. This has made cybersecurity a key agenda item in many boardrooms. Good security practices limit the risks of intrusion significantly. In larger organizations, the annual spending on information technology will average between four and five per cent of revenue. A good benchmark for the annual cost of a cybersecurity program is between four and eight per cent of the IT budget. This includes the cost of software, personnel, and capital spending on equipment. However resource organizations are often inclined to spend a smaller percentage on cybersecurity because of a perception that they are less exposed to risk because there is less customer data to protect. Indeed, in the resource sector, malicious intrusion impacting plant and equipment is the critical threat and can be particularly damaging. Stuxnet, a computer worm that targets the types of industrial control systems used in infrastructure that supports facilities (i.e., oil installations and gas lines), was particularly effective in compromising a power generating plant in Iran in 2010. A key differentiator between the resource sector and other industries is that resource organizations need to spend comparatively more on protecting their operating assets, and less on the fallout from an intrusion (in terms of legal and customer compensation). For example, Marriott Hotels recently had 500 million customer accounts compromised. That incident in itself probably will not impact the operations of the hotel, but customer loyalty may be affected as a result of the intrusion on personal data, and the fallout could be significant. So, the question for any resource organization is how much to spend and what to defend. There are three areas to protect: the company’s network, equipment and data. An organization’s network offers intruders an initial target. The actions of an attacker usually start with a period of reconnaissance to determine the best course of attack, leading to the installation of malicious software on the target’s systems, and the eventual exploitation of valuable data. Early detection of a malicious intruder limits the costs of an attack, so spending on upfront defence systems is a good idea. Defence equipment tools include firewalls and intrusion detection systems (IDS), which vary in sophistication depending on price. A first line of defence is a firewall, which
is a system that monitors what enters and exits the network and stops intrusions. Firewalls have become more complex to counteract the shrewdness of attackers, however, there are many on the market that meet the perceived vulnerabilities of most organizations. An IDS actively searches for attempted intrusions and deflects attack by repelling malicious data. Sometimes hackers employ networks of controlled computers (called bots) to perpetrate an intrusion. Purchasing a botnet filter is an effective measure against this. With the proliferation of personal devices, many current systems of defence look for anomalies in communications between a remote user and local systems. Sophisticated organizations use traps to lure an attacker to a contained part of the system where the attack is neutralized. All major network gear manufacturers provide capable defence equipment and software. In making a selection, resource organizations should consider those with expertise in infrastructure-operating assets. Management personnel at any resource organization should be educated on the risks of cybersecurity threats and how to adopt a culture of safety. This is well understood in other parts of the operation, so why not information systems? Here are five key security measures to follow: • Value what you are trying to protect. This will dictate how much to spend. Any data, whether operations assets or customer data, that gives you a competitive advantage should be a priority. • Each employee has a part to play to safeguard systems and data. Policies and continuous training should reinforce a culture of cyber safety. • Restrict access to equipment and data to those who truly need it. • Maintain high-quality equipment and up-to-date software. Hackers are more likely to exploit older systems. • Have a trained response team ready in the event of an attack. In summary, investment in systems to counter cyberattacks are essential, but cybersecurity should not be confined to the IT department. As with any business asset, all employees should be responsible for securing data, using it safely, and protecting it against damage or theft. In turn, management has a responsibility to evaluate risk and deploy resources to defend against attack effectively and efficiently. CIM
Bill Ross is a former energy industry executive who leads Vercerta, a consulting practice that specializes in risk-management advice.
February 2019 • Février 2019 | 33
Vanadium’s day Battery applications and changes in Chinese construction standards are increasing demand for vanadium By Sarah Treleaven
34 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 14, No. 1
Chinese influence Many of those supply and demand factors can be traced to China. Cowley said that over 60 per cent of vanadium on the market is supplied by China, which could bring on more from stone coal plants as soon as prices increase. Normally, that would ultimately force down prices, but China recently shut down several large plants due to environmental concerns, particularly because of eroding air quality, and has introduced tough new regulations. China also previously had a practice of extracting vanadium from scrap metal, but there is now a ban on much of the industrial metal waste coming into the country – also part of the country’s ongoing efforts to curb pollution – so that is yet another supply line that has been taken out of the equation. But Cowley said that prices are rising because of another Chinese initiative: making an effort to improve the quality of steel being used for large-scale infrastructure projects. A source of persistent scandal across the country has been the devastating performance of Chinese construction in powerful earthquakes, particularly during events such as the 2008 earthquake in Szechuan province, which killed an estimated 90,000 people. In February 2018, in order to address concerns about inferior and unsafe building practices, the Chinese government announced a new high-strength rebar standard
Source: http://images-of-elements.com/vanadium.php
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n the 1960s, Union Carbide was looking for vanadium across the United States when it discovered a large highgrade near-surface deposit in north central Nevada. Although the location was desirable for many reasons – it was close to highways and rail lines, for example – the company could not find an economically feasible way to extract the metal in those days, which is primarily used in steel production to increase strength and corrosion resistance. For decades, the deposit sat undeveloped. But then Vancouver-based First Vanadium acquired it in November 2017 just as vanadium prices were on the upswing, and the company now hopes to advance the project to production. “Vanadium wasn’t on anyone’s radar screen,” said Paul Cowley, president and CEO of First Vanadium. “It had been a low-price metal for decades.” That has changed suddenly and dramatically. According to a recent mining.com article, the price of vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) is up 550 per cent since September 2016. In October, vanadium hit a 13-year high at US$118 per tonne in Europe. There are a number of converging factors that explain the story of vanadium’s rising star. “Supply and demand factors have completely changed,” said Cowley. “Since 2013, there’s been a 3.5 per cent increase in demand annually. But the supply deficit has widened over the past five years, and over the past three years the metal price has responded.”
surface mining for steel that became law in November 2018. The law requires that rebar manufacturers use more vanadium to reinforce the steel being used. “That was the last push to drive metal prices higher in September and October 2018,” said Cowley. “Now Chinese rebar manufacturers need new contracts to secure more vanadium than was needed before.” The demand for steel, and therefore vanadium, has also been linked to a large number of infrastructure projects that were kicked off in 2018, particularly in China and Russia.
The potential of battery storage While the use of vanadium in steel is by far the biggest application, there is another use for the metal that is currently a small corner of the demand but points to potential growth in the future: batteries. Vanadium is used in redox flow batteries, which are sometimes billed as a better alternative to the increasingly ubiquitous lithium-ion battery. “It has a longer shelf life, doesn’t deteriorate, can store and discharge at the same time and is less flammable and more stable,” said Cowley. These redox flow batteries have found specific application in power company grids, where they help modulate energy peak loads and perform a backup function. They enable companies to buy and store power when it is cheap, and discharge it when it is expensive. “The batteries can help them be more profitable,” said Cowley. Willis Thomas, an analyst with CRU Consulting, said that the potential for redox batteries in a stationary storage application is quite high. “If we look out to 2030 or so, we can see vanadium redox flow batteries becoming not only a material part of the energy storage landscape but a material part of the vanadium demand,” he said. Thomas said he expects peak prices to recede, giving vanadium a better economic profile. “They could begin to really take up material demand, taking up thousands of tonnes per annum,” he said. First Vanadium is understandably keen to get its Carlin Vanadium project going, and its product to market. The company has not yet reported any Measured or Indicated Resources, but a mineral estimate made by SRK for the previous project proponent Energy Metal Corp. in 2010 reported Inferred Resources of 289 million pounds of V2O5 at a grade of 0.515 per cent within the Carlin deposit. Cowley said he expects to announce a mineral resource estimate in early February and he hopes to get the vanadium to market in five years, barring any complications with financing or permitting. Cowley said he is optimistic the process of approvals will be relatively streamlined, thanks to vanadium’s addition to a U.S. Geological Survey list of critical and strategic metals. Of course, First Vanadium is not the only project looking to take advantage of vanadium’s newly shining status. Canadian Mining Journal recently reported that Canada’s VanadiumCorp-Electrochem processing technology was acquired for use by Ultra Pure Systems in the world’s first dedicated vanadium processing facility in Australia.
Outside of China, there are plants in Russia, South Africa, and Brazil, with a smattering of small projects in Southeast Asia and elsewhere. Thomas said a number of mining projects around the globe are presently weighing the costs of extraction, especially while the market for the metal remains relatively small. “You’re talking less than 100,000 tonnes of end product total per year,” he said. “Most projects come online at 2,000 to 5,000 tonnes per annum, so it becomes a very big part of the market fairly quickly.” In addition to assessing grade, companies will have to determine what end product they want to bring to market, whether that is ferro-vanadium, which is tied to the steel market, or vanadium pentoxide, which is used to produce ferro-vanadium and is a compound present in the electrolyte in redox flow batteries. “It really depends on a project-by-project basis,” he said. Cowley is betting that even increased production from various projects, which will take some time to come to fruition, will not drive down prices significantly in the face of growing demand. The biggest question is where vanadium prices will settle once they begin to stabilize. “They’ve been on the rise for three years but no one knows where they’re going to land,” said Cowley. “But one would hope that they would stay quite perky.” CIM
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February 2019 • Février 2019 | 35
Courtesy of MIRS
Heavy equipment helping hand Reaching for new solutions at BHP’s Escondida mill By Robert Hiltz
MIRS adapted the design of a robotic arm, common in industrial manufacturing, to the mining industry to replace individual trommel panels.
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trommel is one of the key components of a SAG mill, but it is a difficult and dangerous piece of equipment to repair. Made up of a series of heavy duty rubber screens, the trommel sorts and sieves the milled ore before it exits the mill. If the panels are damaged and not replaced, the holes risk becoming too big and allowing oversize ore to make its way into later stages of processing and damage the plant. So whenever there was a maintenance shutdown at BHP’s Escondida mine in northern Chile to replace SAG mill liners, the mill’s trommel panels would also have to be replaced. It was difficult to get those panels changed out in the scheduled shutdown time and the work was unsafe. The process required two workers to enter the trommel with prybars and sledgehammers to whack, pry and jostle the individual panels out. Then the new panels needed to be whacked, pried and jostled back in place. The work was so dangerous a fatality occurred in October 2016, according to BHP. The major miner needed to find a solution but it was not sure if it would be able to develop a solution in-house, according to the company’s head of commercial innovation for the Americas, Susan Lasecki. “In mining, we’ve been doing pretty much the same thing for the last hundred years. But as we look around us, industries are being disrupted,” Lasecki said. “We believe that we have a choice, we can continue to do what we’re doing and 36 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 14, No. 1
wait for somebody to disrupt us or we can disrupt ourselves and create our own future at BHP…We’d rather be in control of our own destiny.” BHP decided to turn to its supply innovation program, which began as a way to farm out some of the challenges the company was facing to outside firms, instead of having someone on staff to solve each and every problem. “We put our business challenges out to the market and they become a fuel to create an ecosystem of entrepreneurial innovation in the community and the countries where we operate,” Lasecki said. “What that delivers is innovation back into our company, but also the creation of entrepreneurial innovation that creates companies and jobs beyond us.”
Faster and safer In 2013 BHP awarded the project to MIRS, a Chilean company that engineers and constructs industrial robotic solutions for various applications. To solve the problem and get workers out of harm’s way, MIRS took the idea of a robotic arm, common in industrial manufacturing, and developed a series of tools and sensors for the head that could identify, extract, clean, and replace individual trommel panels. “It’s a system that is a bit unique to us…it wasn’t as though we had a solution on the shelf and just sort of had to adapt it,” said MIRS vice-president Tom Gabardi. “Like so many of our solutions, this was another one where we had to do the basic
engineering and conceptual design and think this thing through from the get-go.” Once an operator orients the arm within the trommel, the robot is able to run fully automated for most of the operation. (For one section of the trommel, it requires the assistance of an operator). Using its cameras and sensors, it is able to identify which of the four different types of panel it is pulling out and work its way through them as a series. Once it has identified the panel to remove, it first cleans the area with a high-pressure water attachment, then removes the panel and cleans the newly exposed area. The robotic arm then picks up the new panel, lubricates it, and puts it into place. Not only does the arm keep workers out of the dangerous environment inside the trommel, but it is also much faster, Lasecki said. “Manually the process took 24 hours as a baseline, and the robot is able to do it in eight hours,” she said. “So that’s 16 hours of downtime saved.” Because of the complexity of the project, testing a prototype in the lab was not going to be good enough. For this trommel arm project, MIRS was able to go to the company that produced the mill, FLSmidth, and test the robot on a trommel that had seen actual use. Gabardi said being able to test the robot that way made a huge difference to developing the solution. “Our system that we’ll build in our laboratory performs extraction and replacement tasks with relative ease, but the challenges increase when working on a trommel that has actual mud. Those panels are really hardened,” Gabardi said. “It’s very different than use in a kind of a simulated lab environment. Now you’re actually MIRS developed a series of tools and sensors for the head of the robotic arm that removing panels, and you’re dealing with a sys- could identify, extract, clean and replace trommel panels. tem as it really is in the plant. “[It] really helped us with the development both in terms of success, and therefore ready for the bigger changes we know giving us as much time and access as we needed to do it, and are to come.” also not to provide any disruption to their regular operation,” The trommel arm is one of the early fruits of the program, he said. Lasecki said. “We’ve actually really improved our methodology of doing this to deliver more successes going forward in the Creating room for the future last year and a half, and now we have a portfolio of various Lasecki said the mining industry is not always on the different stages of about 40 projects.” bleeding edge of innovation, and through BHP’s supply In one light, the addition of robotics to an industrial site is innovation, the company wants to keep itself from being not the most future-forward application, but in a large and disrupted. sometimes lethargic industry, it makes for a big leap. “[The mining industry knows] that innovation would help “If you look at it in a pure way, this is a robotic arm that was us to be productive, but we’re not willing to take the risk to used in the automotive industry,” Lasecki said. “And so the bring the innovation in,” she said. “So, what supply innovation robotic arm itself is not that innovative. It existed and does, through putting the challenge now to the market and automotive was using it, but from a mining industry bringing them back in, is we start in small, incremental bites perspective, it’s something that we’ve never done before. We to get the operations used to accepting risk, able to see the never had a robot like that on site.” CIM February 2019 • Février 2019 | 37
Courtesy of MIRS
surface mining
Courtesy of North American Palladium
INWARD &
UPWARD
North American Palladium’s Lac des Iles mine
How the mining industry is developing existing workers to meet the human resources challenge of the digital revolution
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As data rich, network-connected, cleaner and safer technologies change how minerals are mined, they are also redefining what a miner is
utomated equipment and cutting-edge data collection and analysis are fundamentally changing the way the mining industry chooses, trains and retains its employees. Experts foresee big shifts on the horizon in both the number and type of people employed in the sector, and mining training programs are being updated to reflect that future. For operators, the transition is already underway; managers at Goldcorp’s Musselwhite, Hecla Mining’s Casa Berardi and North American Palladium’s Lac des Iles say that automation and digitalization have already changed roles on site. Aaron Cosbey, a senior associate at the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development (IGF) and author of a report on the future of automation in mining, foresees a spike in demand for highly skilled labour to meet the need to build and maintain increasingly sophisticated software and IT systems. At the same time, overall employment figures are set to drop dramatically, he said, as low-skilled workers’ tasks are made redundant. He estimated that a new mine built today with brand new technologies “in a country like Canada” could be operated “with 70 to 80 per cent fewer employees.” Andrew Swart, Deloitte mining and metals leader for Canada, said roles are likely to “combine and merge” over the coming years, requiring versatile employees with a broad set of skills. “Your grandfather’s miner is going to be very, very different to the miner that is going to be employed in the next five to 10 years,” he said. “[There will be a] greater focus on innovation, greater focus on analytics, greater focus on crossfunctional skills. We are moving into a world where you don’t just have to have pure technical skills.” Swart also said the type of worker employed in mining will change, pointing to the growing trend in the U.S., where independent contractors are projected to make up more than 40 per cent of the workforce by 2020. (That number rested between five and 33 per cent in 2010, depending on your definition of contingent work.) Mining will head in that direction, in particular as the industry relies more and more on data analytics, which can be done remotely, he said. Mining companies will have to adapt their traditional bonus structures and incentive schemes – traditionally the domain of permanent employees – to remain competitive and attractive to new talent. The upside to a more diversified type of worker is that more opportunities for remote working tempers the mining
By Cecilia Keating
industry’s age-old struggle to draw qualified individuals to farflung mine sites. Mining, however, is now in competition for data scientists with well-paid industries like banking, technology, manufacturing and consultancy. Developing the existing workforce is one way the industry is hoping to sidestep that competition and shore up for the digital mines of the future. Educational institutions on a secondary and tertiary level are crafting programs that will upskill experienced miners, and in-house training is also evolving as mines revamp apprenticeship programs to include analytics and data modelling.
Soft skills for hard rocks Both Swart and Cosbey iterated the need for industry, government and academia to be forward thinking in order to prepare and adapt for technological advances in mining. One company leading that push is NORCAT, a non-profit training centre in Greater Sudbury. “Gone are the days where mining companies can hire a new worker, provide some training, and assume that their training curriculum only needs to be updated every five years,” said Don Duval, NORCAT’s CEO. In his opinion, an unprecedented “technology renaissance” in mining means that industry players have to be nimbler and innovative in their approach to training and development. Training program curricula need to be refreshed on a frequent basis to reflect the changing workplace and be responsive to technology updates. An operating test mine at NORCAT doubles as a training ground for students and a space where big and small mining technology companies from around the globe test and showcase their latest products. As a result of a close relationship with these companies, NORCAT sees emerging technologies ahead of time and moulds its training programs appropriately, he said. Workers will need to be more versatile to keep up with new hardware and software, according to Duval. “Mining companies are looking for multifaceted skillsets within a worker and the ability to integrate multiple skillsets. Historically that worker might have had one specific job.” In his opinion, it is more critical now than ever before that hands-on technical training is integrated with soft skills like communication, leadership, problem solving, conflict resolution and project management, among others. February 2019 • Février 2019 | 39
Courtesy of Ilija Miskovic
open-pit mines in Canada and abroad and its flagship product, the Asset Health Analyzer, is a cloud-based software that uses artificial intelligence to monitor equipment in real time for wear and tear. Kris Isfeld, co-CEO, said products like theirs do not eliminate the need for any positions on site, but make the jobs of reliability engineers easier by saving them time while attempting to discover the root cause of a system failure. Meanwhile, on-site mechanics spend less time on irregular shutdowns, which will happen less frequently, and can dedicate themselves to regular plant maintenance. “So [mechanics’ jobs] Undergraduate students Nathan Skubovius, Nabil Khan, Jacob Yeung, and Veronica Knott (left to will, I suppose, shift a little – right) present their final project on data-driven road maintenance in Professor Miskovic’s Mine Automation and Control course at UBC. sometimes there’s a little less manpower there – in exchange for “The notion of becoming very competent in a very specific more reliability engineers, more data analysts, and more comtechnical activity needs to be tempered with the fact that tech- puter-related jobs on the other end because you are dealing nology will evolve. Workers need the skills, confidence and with all this data,” Isfeld explained. know-how [so that] if there’s a software upgrade, [they know] His colleague and co-CEO Kevin Urbanski said that the how to procedurally work through to understand what it technological boom in mining is ultimately a good thing for means for the job,” he added. the sector, given that “personnel from other industries will be A 2017 study on the future of work from the McKinsey attracted; industries that have been on the leading edge of Global Institute also emphasized the need for workers of the technologies are making their way into the mines. This will future to acquire these (so far) un-automatable “soft” skills: be great for cross-pollination.” “All workers will need to adapt, as their occupations evolve Meanwhile, at a post-secondary level, the University of alongside increasingly capable machines. Some of that adap- British Columbia has been developing a range of new courses tation will require higher educational attainment, or spending for both undergraduate- and graduate-level mining engineermore time on activities that require social and emotional skills, ing students that will cover the basic applications of artificial creativity, high-level cognitive capabilities and other skills rel- intelligence, robotics, automation and machine learning for atively hard to automate.” the industry. Propelled by conversations with equipment manufacturers Professor Ilija Miskovic teaches geostatistics and applicaand mining companies, NORCAT is developing three new tions of big data and artificial intelligence to students in the professional training programs – underground communica- Norman B. Keevil Institute of Mining Engineering at UBC. He tion, tele-remote autonomous vehicle systems, and electrifi- is hopeful the new courses will launch in late 2019, subject cation – that will launch in 2019 and combine cutting-edge to the necessary approvals. “It’s up to us in academia to pretechnological know-how with these soft skills. Aimed at green pare new mining engineers to understand how to operate and and mid-career miners, each course will run for three to five to understand the digital mine concept,” he said. “When I talk days at the NORCAT Underground Centre. to people from the industry,” he added, “they are looking for While Duval acknowledged that automation and digital- a new breed of mining engineer now. They are looking for ization will result in some job losses for “traditional skilled someone who understands IBM Watson, who can work in labour jobs,” he said he believes that new jobs being created Python, who knows how to code in Java. It was very different in the growing mining supply technology sector will “far out- to what people learned three, four or 10 years ago.” weigh the employment losses in the mining industry.” He He said that digitalization’s impact on the workforce is the noted that in-house R&D departments have been increasingly “elephant in the room,” and that he believes there is a general outsourced to a “vibrant” mining technology services and sup- – and not unfounded – nervousness about what it means for ply industry over the past 30 to 40 years. NORCAT’s regional both white- and blue-collar jobs. He said mining companies innovation centre in Sudbury nourishes that industry by help- share a responsibility with academia and government to ing early-stage start-ups grow and scale. “retrain and repurpose” workers. He added that he has seen Rithmik Solutions is part of that growing mining technol- positive steps in this direction in the mines he visits across ogy ecosystem. The British Columbia-based firm works with Canada and the United States. 40 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 14, No. 1
His mining engineering department is also hoping to launch a one-year professional program aimed at professionals already in mining. It will consist mostly of online learning in order to fit around a working schedule.
make the move, largely because they were not based in Thunder Bay. Those people were offered alternate employment. Several opted for severance packages instead – although Pajunen said it was only a “couple” and that they were “very well taken care of.”
Voices from active mines in North American Palladium’s manager of operation excellence at its Lac des Iles underground mine Canada say that the transition David Galea says the mine’s technological transition has changed the breakdown, not the number, of staff on site. to increased automation and digitalization has been smooth from a human resources perspective. Moreover, they are confident that cutting-edge technologies on site will mitigate mining’s aging workforce problem and entice young people to the industry. Mining equipment operators working in Goldcorp’s Thunder Bay office in northwestern Ontario now use joysticks to remotely operate haul trucks, scoops and a crusher at the Musselwhite underground gold mine site 500 kilometres north of the city. Until 2018, those operators commuted to Musselwhite on a two-week fly-in-fly-out basis. They would spend more than two hours each day on a personnel carrier getting to and from their piece of subterranean equipment at the beginning and end of their shift. Despite this change, human resources manager Aileen Pajunen said that the breakdown of roles in Musselwhite’s workforce remains the same. The only difference is that two new roles were created, automation specialist and control room coordinator. While instrumentation specialists – C. Toussaint from elsewhere on the mine site were assigned to the project during installation, those employees have returned to their old jobs. The skillset required to remotely manage the equipment Over 40 members of staff have now migrated to Thunder from Thunder Bay is the same as an operator underground, Bay, and overall Pajunen sees digitalization and automation as Pajunen explained. “It’s the same job,” she said, despite the a balm for the industry’s workforce problem. “If youth could fact that the new set-up is “like playing a video game.” Heavy actually see that mining is sitting in an office in Thunder Bay equipment operation is one of four skilled trades in Mussel- playing a video game, I think it will open up our pool of canwhite’s on-site training program. The qualifications to enter didates,” she said. “It just takes away some of the preconceived that 18-month pre-trade program remain the same: a grade ideas of what mining is.” 12 high school certification. Pajunen said that shifting older mines to a more automated Casa Berardi environment has to be handled delicately from a human Another mine that has embraced automated heavy equipresources perspective, because “with change comes fear, and ment is Hecla’s Casa Berardi, an underground gold mine in with automation comes fear. There is that [assumption] that northwestern Quebec. A team of five operates automated ‘if you automate it, I’ll lose my job.’” However, the transition haul trucks, rock breakers and loading chutes from a control was smooth, she said. room on the site surface. One member of that team was preA number of maintenance planning roles were also moved viously an underground haul truck operator. The remainder to Thunder Bay. Many of the team members preferred not to were candidates unlikely to have taken the reins underground
“If we don’t keep the pace, all those nice curious people will go elsewhere”
February 2019 • Février 2019 | 41
Courtesy of North American Palladium
Musselwhite
– two were working in Hecla’s administration department; one was a geological technician and one was an external hire who ran a garage at a local automotive service shop from a local town. Three of the five are women, and this is one of the new technology’s key attractions, said Chantal Toussaint, Hecla’s human resources manager. Making jobs safer and easier, “brings new opportunities to those who weren’t thinking about mining. Or those in mining who didn’t want to work underground.” Toussaint said there are now more instrumentation technicians and electromechanics on site to deal with the automated machinery and the data. Both roles require a college degree. There are also more project managers. Toussaint, who has worked in mining for several years, said she believes the most significant impact of technological innovation on site is the type of people working in the mine. “Back in the day, a lot of people didn’t have a bachelors’ degree, and some didn’t even have a secondary education. But now we have people who have a college or university degree who still go into mining operations.” She attributes this to the draw of exciting new technology – and training programs with cutting-edge tools that include virtual and augmented reality. It is therefore critical, Toussaint said, that mines attempt to keep up with advances in technology. “If we don’t keep the pace, all those nice curious people will go elsewhere,” she said.
Lac des Iles Meanwhile David Galea, manager of operational excellence at North American Palladium’s Lac des Iles underground mine in northern Ontario, said the mine’s technological transition has changed the breakdown, but not the number, of staff on site. Lac des Iles has an automated load-haul-dump machine and a system where ventilation and dewatering systems can be controlled from the surface. A four-year mining engineer training program was launched at Lac des Iles in 2018. Alongside the more traditional rotations in engineering, underground operations and mill and maintenance, each trainee spends a year with Galea’s operational excellence and technology projects team. Tasks and skills developed include data modelling, process definition, emerging technology evaluation, business intelligence and analytics. “Feedback has been positive in terms of learning opportunities outside of traditional mine engineering and increased exposure across the business,” Galea said. “What we’ve learned about automation is that it requires a lot of technical support to keep it going,” said Galea. “You still need people underground to inspect, refuel, and lubricate automated equipment, as well as make sure the workplace is clean, neat and has good housekeeping.” There are also now more instrumentation technicians and electricians required to support the network and technology and maintain the underground infrastructure. The company has just hired a new electrical engineer-intraining who is freshly graduated from a local university and also attended a technical college. Galea said he imagines that mining companies will have to develop relationships
42 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 14, No. 1
with technology schools in the future to match increased demand. “Automation or not, the demand for skills in technology fields around control systems and battery electric equipment is just going to increase. And that’s with everything, not just mining. It’s no different than how a modern automotive technician has to have a stronger electronics skill set than a mechanic had 30 years ago,” he explained. Galea admitted that he foresees a challenge for remote mine sites like Lac des Iles to meet that demand. “Individuals with a technology background are often employable within many different industries – therefore they have their pick of sector and location of work. Given these options, mining operations, and more specifically remote mining operations, will need to find unique and creative ways to entice and retain that type of talent.”
A new social contract IGF’s Cosbey said the impact of automation and digitalization on employment will be felt most harshly in Canada in remote northern mines that rely on local Indigenous communities for labour. “You will have much less local employment, because the jobs that will be eliminated are midlevel semiskilled jobs that you can train up locals to handle,” he explained. “And you are replacing them with highly-skilled jobs that require specialized education. It’s much more challenging to train up locals for those jobs.” Cosbey predicts that, like miners operating in low-income jurisdictions with a dearth of skilled workers in foreign countries, miners operating in northern parts of Canada will face a “social-licence-to-operate problem.” Mining companies’ ability to operate legitimately in a particular place has long hinged on providing jobs for local suppliers and workers (and the ensuing income tax for governments), but with fewer jobs in the offering, companies are going to have to devise a “new deal” with local communities. “You are causing some environmental damage, you may be changing their way of life by rolling hundreds of trucks in and changing the migration patterns of the wildlife they rely on – and what are you giving back?” Cosbey said. Potential reinventions of the social contract include sharing infrastructure, like providing local villages and towns with clean water or fast internet. Deloitte’s Swart also acknowledged this problem and flagged other possible shared wealth scenarios to provide new value to communities beyond just jobs. These included partnering with a hospital or educational institution to provide world-leading “tele-remote” health care or teaching. “This is no longer the domain of human resources. You need to bring in the other functions of the organization,” he explained. “Just last week, we spoke to a mining company wrestling with this exact problem. What was really interesting was that while the topic was around the future of work, they brought in the chief technology officer, their chief human resources officer and the chief sustainability officer. All three domains were in the room together wrestling with this.” CIM
Call for Abstracts
Toronto, Canada This global shaft conference is being held for only the fourth time since its inception in 1959, and for the ďŹ rst time in North America. It is a conference for shaft designers, constructors, equipment suppliers, and mine owners carrying out or contemplating shaft projects. The SDC2019 provides a unique opportunity for delegates and presenters to share knowledge, best practices, lessons learned, and to exchange ideas and network. This conference will showcase the latest technology in shaft design and construction techniques and give a window into the future of the mine development industry.
Suggested topics: Sinking Equipment and Methodology of the Future Shaft Support and Liner Design & Construction Mechanical Cutting of Shafts and Raise Boring Safety in Design & Construction Innovative Approaches Shaft Sinking Case Studies Shaft Design Case Studies
Submit an abstract at: shaft2019.cim.org Important deadlines Abstract submission deadline:
March 8th, 2019
NotiďŹ cation to authors:
April 8th, 2019
Full paper submission deadline:
May 15th, 2019
Paper review deadline:
June 28th, 2019
Final revised paper submission deadline:
July 29th, 2019
Presenters' registration deadline:
July 29th, 2019
Hosted and organized by the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum The CIM would like to recognize and thank IOM3 for their support in bringing this conference to North America.
R O F N I L L A
c i r t elec e in Quebec in m e it h p ra g c ri any, A novel all-elect ty, as the comp li a re to r se o cl is one step a phite, released ra G e d n o M u a e ject Nouv Matawinie pro s it n o y d u st y feasibilit By Robert Hiltz
44 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 14, No. 1
project profile
L
ocated 150 kilometres north of Montreal, in SaintMichel-des-Saints, Nouveau Monde Graphite’s proposed open-pit graphite mine is planned to extract as much as 100,000 tonnes per year of high-grade graphite. But what really sets it apart are the plans to do away with diesel equipment. Nouveau Monde CEO Eric Desaulniers said this innovation is an attempt to go where the future of mining technology will be. “The main reason is we’ll be building that mine in 2020 and we’ll be operating for over 25 years, so we believe in the future everything will become slowly but surely all-electric,” Desaulniers said. The Matawinie project is proposed as an open-pit batteryelectric truck and cable-electric shovel operation, with a semimobile in-pit crushing and conveying system, according to a feasibility study released in December 2018. There will be an onsite concentrator as well, with an output capacity of 100,000 tonnes per year, which will operate all day, year round. The life of the mine is expected to be 25 years and will employ between 60 and 70 people. The initial cost to build the project is estimated at $283 million. The mine has a Probable Mineral Reserve of 59.8 Mt containing 4.35 per cent graphitic carbon, which would provide 2.52 Mt of graphite concentrate over 26 years. The pit will be 2.6 kilometres long and 380 metres wide at surface with a maximum depth of 235 metres, according to the study prepared by Met Chem/DRA. The mine will need a 120-kilovolt powerline, but its proximity to the town of Saint-Michel-des-Saints and its power grid means that massive and costly grid extensions are not necessary to make the project feasible. There are some challenges of having an electric fleet that go beyond the relative newness of the technology. The range of the haulage vehicles is limited compared to traditional diesel equipment. This in itself is not a huge obstacle to overcome, the distances in a mine are not vast, but charging the vehicles without overloading the system does add a layer of logistical complexity that you will not find filling up a diesel tank. Clockwise from top: Host rock of the Matawinie deposit; members of the local community tour the facility; earthworks at the Matawinie project; the road to the nearby town of Saint-Michel-des-Saints; the finished product – natural flake graphite Courtesy of Nouveau Monde Graphite
“We need to charge for at least 30 minutes to be to be functional, so it’s important to manage the charging time versus operational ability to minimize downtime,” he said. “You have to make sure that one truck is charging while other trucks are loading, so time management becomes crucial.” This will mean staggering lunch and other breaks to make sure there is a rotation of equipment charging, rather than everyone all at once, he said. Support vehicles such as graders, however, will rely on battery technology that requires less frequent, but longer charging sessions. Desaulniers said the plan is to operate for 16 hours a day. For the remaining eight hours at night, the vehicles can slow charge which draws less current, so the fleet can be fully charged by morning.
The electric mindset
It likely will not be the first all-electric mine in the country – Goldcorp has a head start with its Borden Lake underground mine – but it would be the first open-pit operation, he said. David Lyon is the business development manager at the engineering firm MEDATECH, and has worked on both the Borden Lake and the Matawinie projects, getting the companies set up for all-electric operation. He said one of the primary challenges for mining companies making the transition is about changing their mindset. “It is more of a philosophy, and it takes big thinkers like Eric and the team at NMG to realize, ‘Oh, look at this. Is this possible?’” Lyon said. “And with the right cost of energy, it’s not only possible, but it’s going to be cheaper to operate than the diesel fleet. So there’s really no boundary.” He said once Goldcorp had shown what was possible with an electric fleet in its Borden Lake mine, other companies were able to see the benefits. Lyon said he thinks a similar pattern will follow for surface operations if Nouveau Monde is able to provide a similar proof of concept. Much of that different philosophy comes from treating electric equipment differently than you would a traditional diesel fleet. This is where the logistical changes regarding battery charge that Desaulniers spoke of come in. Once that is sorted out, Lyon said there are many advantages to electric vehicles, in addition to the positive effects on the environment. February 2019 • Février 2019 | 45
Courtesy of Medatech
Electric fleet requirements 11 Haul trucks (36.3 t payload) 2 Hydraulic excavators (4.2 m3 bucket) 2 Production/Pre-shear drills (140 mm/114 mm holes) 2 Wheel loaders 2 Track dozers 1 Road grader 2 Mechanics trucks 1 Service/Boom truck 4 Pickup trucks 1 Dewatering pump Source: Nouveau Monde Graphite
Support equipment can also be retrofitted to run on battery power.
46 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 14, No. 1
The business case
Desaulniers said the company decided to increase the maximum production to 100,000 tonnes per year – almost double what was expected in the pre-feasibility study – after looking at projections for global demand over the next several years. This was coupled with an improved outlook on geological surveys and drilling, which show the graphite deposits to about triple the size of what was initially thought. The mine could therefore handle the increased production, without having an effect on overall mine life. Until the mine is fully operational, the company is running a demonstration plant producing about 1,000 tonnes of graphite concentrate per year from its deposit to prove the quality of the product to the market. Desaulniers said the
“We believe in the future everything will become slowly but surely all-electric.” – Eric Desaulniers Courtesy of Nouveau Monde Graphite
“Because the diesel engine is quite inefficient, if we’re going to place a similar-sized powertrain in kilowatts, then we’re actually able to use more of it based on the efficiency of the system,” he said. “And so you can either reduce the power train – so put a smaller electric motor to match the performance of the diesel engine – or, if you’re going to put the same one on, you’d have more usable kilowatts, which can translate to speed and torque.” As for the environmental benefits, according to a thirdparty study done by Globepro International, the results of which were shared with CIM Magazine, the company expects the mine to release 8,545 fewer tonnes of CO2 per year, when compared to a conventional mine of this size running under diesel power. Desaulniers said he does not expect this to weigh in on whether the environmental permits for the mine are approved, as the company submitted its proposals as if it were to operate using diesel equipment. “In our environmental studies, we’re using diesel trucks [as the benchmark] just for noise and gas emissions purposes,” he said. “We’re making the worst-case scenarios.” Besides, Desaulniers said, the environmental studies are primarily concerned with how tailings and operations affect the immediate environment. The benefits of being one of the first electric open-pit mines is not just the reduced carbon footprint, but also the ability for industrial electric expertise to be built up around the operation. “There’s a lot to be gained by the government because it’s not only our mine that is saving on greenhouse gases, but it is about developing the expertise of converting diesel engine to all-electric equipment. So there’s an expertise to be created in Quebec that could be exported out of Quebec,” he said. Nouveau Monde plans to apply for grants at the federal and provincial level once it gets a demonstration truck and charging station up and running. They are also hoping to be able to negotiate better electricity rates with Hydro Quebec.
Nouveau Monde CEO Eric Desaulniers (right)
graphite deposit has given them a concentrate purity of 97-98 per cent, with a jumbo flake size, after flotation. This puts it among the highest grades of natural graphite. Graphite is broken down into multiple categories: crystalline flake, amorphous, and lump. Nouveau Monde produces crystalline. Graphite is used in all sorts of manufacturing from pencil lead to lubricants to lithium-ion batteries. According to a paper published by the United States Geological Survey, natural graphite is currently the preferred form of the mineral, as it is cheaper than synthetic graphite and can be purified to 99.9 per cent after further refining. The value of the graphite depends on its purity and the size of the flakes, with the largest flakes fetching the best price, as these are the raw material for fuel cells as well as spherical graphite, which is used in anode manufacturing for batteries. The Matawinie project is expected to yield a range of sizes from large to fine. The feasibility study lays out average prices over the first five years of the project based on flake size and purity ranging from US$1,065/tonne for the fines to US$2,548/t for the largest flakes. As of midJanuary Nouveau Monde did not have any offtake agreements in place. When putting together its feasibility study, Nouveau Monde decided to increase its maximum production so it would be able to meet an increase in forecasted global demand, fueled in part by a number of planned battery factories across North America in the coming years. “It makes sense for us to put in all the hard work of doing the permitting and to design at a larger scale, and, worst case, in the mid-2020s, if we realize the market might not be where we think it will be, we can always go back to 50,000 tonnes a year, but we really believe the market will be there to justify a larger mine.” In the early 2020s, North America’s biggest graphite mine, run by Imerys Graphite & Carbon in Lac-des-Îles, Quebec, is expected to reach the end of its life. At that point, there will be no major producers of graphite on the continent. This gives Nouveau Monde one of its advantages for the proposed mine: its proximity to many American battery producers, both online and planned, scattered through Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. All of these are within trucking distance, which makes supplying them directly logistically straightforward. Plus, those are areas with major steel production, in which graphite is an important, though smaller, ingredient. Desaulniers said steelmakers are not as concerned with getting the absolute lowest price on graphite because it makes up a smaller part of their requirements for steel production. “They want something reliable in a safe jurisdiction close to their plants so they buy from Imerys here, even though their cost is a bit higher.” And as that go-to option for graphite is expected to reach the end of its life in the next few years, Nouveau Monde is aiming to pick up that slack. CIM
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February 2019 • Février 2019 | 47
Vincent Lock/Flickr
Nature hides its mineral resources well, compelling those who seek them to combine technology with creative thinking.
Innovation to improve the exploration odds Novel technologies to help lower risk and reverse the trend of falling discovery rates By Virginia Heffernan
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M
ineral discovery rates are in decline worldwide. Consider gold: over the past decade, there have been just 41 new discoveries (containing 215 million ounces) compared with 222 discoveries (containing 1.7 billion ounces) in the preceding 18 years, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. Meanwhile, the cost of discovery has soared. It required an average of less than US$20 to find an ounce of gold two decades ago, but that figure has more than doubled in recent years, according to research by Richard Schodde of MinEx Consulting. The crisis spares few commodities. But rather than abandon the hunt, several industry players are challenging a future of diminishing returns by developing innovative ways to uncover hidden mineralization. #DisruptMining, an annual event now in its third year, has been a catalyst in this regard, encouraging entrepreneurs to tackle mining’s biggest headaches by offering monetary rewards and prestige. Here we look at three technologies that are not necessarily “new,� but rather novel applications of
technology techniques that have been proven in other fields. They represent the kind of fresh, forward thinking that is required to find the ore bodies that will sustain the mining industry into the future.
Elemission’s Coriosity
“We recognized the work we were doing with fissures in shales could be relevant for mining.” – J. Y. Guigné
Acoustic Zoom This ultra-high frequency 3D imaging technique uses seismic waves to help map complex geological formations at depth. The technology is adapted from oil and gas exploration, where traditional methods required tweaking to find the subtle discontinuities that characterize the new generation of shale gas deposits. “All of a sudden, we recognized the work we were doing with fissures in shales could be relevant for mining, where what you are trying to do is characterize mineralized veins or faults that potentially hold great value,” said Jacques Yves Guigné, chief geophysicist and CEO of Acoustic Zoom. The breakthrough allows companies to fill in the geology and find new targets between widely spaced drill holes, and netted Acoustic Zoom first place at the #DisruptMining 2018
Courtesy of Elemission
The use of laser spectrometry on NASA’s rover Curiosity to provide information about soil and rock compositions on Mars has spurred a new wave of interest in laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) for real-time exploration here on earth. The main advantage LIBS has over portable X-ray fluorescence (XRF) is that it can detect lighter elements of the periodic table such as lithium, carbon and sodium that XRF is blind to. Boston-based SciApps introduced the first handheld LIBS analyzer in 2014, followed by Elemission’s Coriosity, a fully-automated core scanner for multi-elemental imaging, in 2016. “Since then we’ve increased the speed to 1,000 measurements per second, about 100 times faster than our competitors,” said François Doucet, who founded Elemission with co-CEO Lütfü Özcan in Montreal, Quebec. “We produce a high resolution elemental map with a special resolution of 50 micrometres.” Coriosity is designed to be rugged and easily operated at exploration and mine sites, eliminating the cost and time required to send core samples to the lab. Because the signal acquisition is automated, field geoscientists do not have to worry about keeping still to acquire an accurate reading. Working at its highest resolution of 50 micrometres the scanner can analyse one cm2 in less than 40 seconds, can accommodate a sample as large as 16 cm2 and stitch together a series of scans along a given sample. A bench-top unit can manage a
sample of up to 25 centimetres long and consumes about 1.2 kW of electricity while operating, about the equivalent of a microwave oven. Elemission continues to improve the technology and expects to unveil a new tomography tool this year. The refinement will allow geoscientists to take small slices of rock, analyze them and reconstruct the rock in 3D without destroying the original sample.
Elemission’s automated core scanner is based on laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy. February • Février 2019 | 49
competition co-hosted by Goldcorp Phase one of Goldcorp’s cognitive and KPMG. The prize gave the fledgling journey began in late 2017 and involved Newfoundland company $1 million educating Watson about what to look for and a chance to pilot the technology at and inputting and checking the integrity Goldcorp’s Red Lake mine. of 80 years’ worth of data – including Guigné explained that acoustic unstructured analysis and maps – to proenergy is either reflected, diffused or vide insights into Red Lake’s geology and attenuated. While the reflected portion successful exploration techniques and is important in traditional oil and gas narrow down areas of interest. What exploration because it can indicate would have taken geologists an estichanges in strata, the diffused or scatmated 165 hours to stitch together took tered portion is more valuable in minWatson less than a day. eral exploration because it identifies During phase two the following changes in density and/or speed of spring, the Goldcorp-IBM team asked sound that can indicate a mineralized Watson to identify correlations within body or conduit for mineralization. the data, interpret other datasets, and Acoustic Zoom’s algorithms process the work with geologists to improve infill acoustic data in a way that provides geology and make predictions about detailed spatial imagery around the areas with limited data. The predictive drillhole, saving drilling costs and modelling relies on convolutional identifying new targets. neural networks, explained Howarth, The technology uses a hydrophone which have traditionally been used for array mounted along the borehole to image recognition in two dimensions. map geology in a 200-metre diameter “Creating a custom model architecture around the hole to a depth of 500 that can work in three dimensions was a metres. Using the Goldcorp prize significant area of research – particuCourtesy of Elemission money, Acoustic Zoom has adapted the larly since the geological data being conarray for use not only in surface explo- The speed and resolution of the technology sumed is very unique when compared ration, but in underground exploration continues to improve. The LIBS technology to data from other industries like bankto pinpoint the direction of mineralized generates a colour-coded map of elements in ing or retail.” To prepare the geological zones or identify geohazards before fur- the sample. data for the predictive model, IBM borther development. rowed from an AI technique used in nat“We’re now moving into Australia, Argentina, Peru, and ural language processing – “word embedding” – where similar Colorado,” said Guigné, who declined to name the projects words are grouped together. “We use both data driven investifor confidentiality reasons. “For example, we’re looking at the gation and input from geologists to create geological embedconditions that lead to uranium mineralization in an area that dings,” he said. “These embeddings capture conventional and has been investigated with traditional seismics. We can pro- tribal geological knowledge and dramatically reduce dimenvide the resolution and sensitivity they need to decide where sionality of data, while preserving the detail.” to drill with much less risk and cost.” The latest iteration, dubbed IBM Exploration with Watson, extends farther afield, exploring areas near the mine that have Goldcorp’s cognitive journey even less information. So far, Watson has used the powerful IBM’s Watson has been finding answers in unstructured algorithms and predictive modelling developed in phase one data for years, but it is only recently that the artificial intelli- and two to identify nine new targets at Red Lake. gence has been tasked with finding new gold mineralization. Goldcorp drilled three of them in 2018 with “very Teaming up with Goldcorp at the Red Lake mine in north- positive results,” according to IBM’s Mark Fawcett, and was western Ontario, IBM Canada is coaching Watson to predict investigating the rest in late December. Fawcett said IBM is where new pockets of gold might lie by churning through, also testing Exploration with Watson on two less advanced and learning from drill-hole data, chip data, maps and geolog- “non-gold” projects in Canada and South America but could ical models around locations of interest. not name them due to confidentiality agreements. “The clustering of geovariables is in line with what geoloThe vein that runs through all of these approaches is the gists are already doing, but Watson can just consume a whole adaptation of existing technology and computing power to lot more data,” said Max Howarth, a geological engineer and the specific demands of geoscience to make mineral explomanaging consultant for IBM Canada. “Every few days, we ration more productive and economical. If events such as run a set of predictions on a well-defined area and the geol- #DisruptMining can keep the momentum going, they may ogists examine it in 3D and say how good – or bad – the just be able to reverse the trend toward diminishing returns model is.” on exploration investment. CIM 50 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 14, No. 1
TH E C HANG I N G FAC E O F M I NI N G
PRELIMINARY PROGRAM PROGRAMME PRÉLIMINAIRE
L E V I SAG E C HAN G EAN T DE L’I N DUST R I E MI N I ÈRE
RATION • IMPACT • INFORMATION • INNOVATION • INTELLIGENCE • INFLUENCE •
APRIL 28–MAY 1, 2019 | 28 AVRIL AU 1ER MAI 2019 PALAIS DES CONGRÈS DE MONTRÉAL | MONTRÉAL, QUÉBEC | CONVENTION.CIM.ORG
ON VOUS ATTEND À
MONTRÉAL! AWAITS YOU! The theme of CIM Convention 2019 starts with the letter “I”: Innovation, Intelligence, Information, Impact, Influence are but a few. Diversity and inclusion in 2019, change management, and visions for the future of our evolving industry will enrich the presentations and case studies. Join the entire delegation for the thrilling Monday opening Plenary and Tuesday Keynotes in the main room for morning general sessions. Driven by a rigorous technical program, this conference will study mining from the perspective of automation, people and communities, rocks and other resources, sustainable mining, health and safety, and much more. The Expo is Canada’s Mining Marketplace. The show will host nearly 450 companies. New this year: Presentations on the Innovation Stage will add a technical and surprising aspect to the Expo. More than 5,000 mining industry professionals are expected at the Palais des Congrès de Montréal for knowledge exchange, business and networking at social events. We look forward to seeing you in Montreal!
Janice Zinck CIM President Présidente de l’ICM 2018-2019
52 | CONVENTION.CIM.ORG
Pierre Lapointe Convention General Chair Président du congrès 2019
ORGANIZING COMMITTEE | COMITÉ ORGANISATEUR CIM President | Présidente de l’ICM Janice Zinck Convention General Chair | Président du congrès Pierre Lapointe CIM Chief Executive Officer | Directrice générale de l’ICM Angela Hamlyn CIM Director of Events | Directrice des événements de l’ICM Lise Bujold ACTIVITY CHAIRS | PRÉSIDENT(E)S D’ACTIVITÉS
Plenary and Keynotes | Plénière et Conférenciers d’honneur Nathan Stubina Technical Program | Programme technique Scott Martin Students and Careers | Étudiants et carrières Laura Foley & Guylaine Richard, CIM staff Sponsorship | Commandites Michael Winship & Vic Pakalnis TECHNICAL PROGRAM STREAM CHAIRS | PRÉSIDENT(E)S DES THÈMES TECHNIQUES
La lettre « I » inspire les grands thèmes de ce congrès : Innovation, Intelligence, Information, Impact, Influence. La diversité et l’inclusion en 2019, la gestion du changement et les visions d’avenir marqueront les échanges au cours de 4 jours chargés de contenu et d’études de cas. Joignezvous à la délégation complète pour débuter les journées de lundi et mardi avec la séance plénière et les conférenciers d’honneur du mardi.
Industrie 4.0: Automation, Data and Beyond | automatisation, données et au-delà Mark Richards Operations: Case Studies and Best Practices | études de cas et pratiques exemplaires Johnna Muinonen From Rocks to Resources | Entre roches et ressources Jessie Liu-Ernsting People and Communities | Population et communautés Lana Eagle & Holly Gardner Sustainable Development Practices | Exploitation minière durable Karen Chovan Health and Safety | Santé et sécurité Glenn Lyle & Guillaume Lachapelle
Inspirés par son programme technique rigoureux, les intervenants au congrès étudieront l’exploitation minière du point de vue de l’automatisation, de la population et des communautés, des roches et autres ressources, de l’exploitation minière durable, de la santé et la sécurité et plus encore.
7th North American Iron Ore Symposium | 7e symposium sur le minerai de fer Guy Saucier & Serge Perreault
L’Expo est le carrefour canadien des affaires minières. Cet événement accueillera près de 450 sociétés. Nouveau! Des présentations sur la scène Innovation ajouteront un volet technique et surprenant à l’Expo.
Sales and Expo Manager | Directeur des ventes et de l’Expo Martin Bell
Plus de 5 000 professionnels de l’industrie minière sont attendus au palais des congrès de Montréal pour partager leur savoir, faire des affaires et participer aux activités de réseautage. Nous avons hâte de vous voir à Montréal. C’est un rendez-vous !
#CIMTL19
CIM STAFF | L’ÉQUIPE DE L’ICM
Convention Planner | Planificatrice du congrès Chantal Murphy
Expo Coordinator | Coordonnatrice de l’Expo Nadia Bakka Awards Program and Digital Marketing Coordinator | Coordonnatrice, Prix d’excellence et marketing digital Carol Lee Registration and Customer Support | Inscriptions et soutien à la clientèle Carol Lee & Nadia Bakka
CONVENTION.CIM.ORG | 53
TECHNICAL PROGRAM
PROGRAMME TECHNIQUE This year even the format of CIM2019 Technical Program is innovative. All seven streams include sessions given by the various CIM Societies. Each room bears an over-arching theme and the line-up of sessions apply to wide audiences.
Le modèle du programme technique 2019 est novateur. Les 7 volets sont conçus pour inclure des sessions de plusieurs sociétés de l’ICM, attirant un auditoire diversifié par salle.
THEMES
OPERATIONS: CASE STUDIES AND BEST PRACTICES | EXPLOITATION : ÉTUDES DE CAS ET PRATIQUES EXEMPLAIRES
INDUSTRY 4.0: AUTOMATION, DATA AND BEYOND | INDUSTRIE 4.0 : AUTOMATISATION, DONNÉES ET AU-DELÀ Optimizing Value Autonomous mining Underground Innovation Interoperability and Integration Mineral Processing Managing Innovation Artificial Intelligence Geology and Technology Smart Mineral Value Chains Drilling Water, Tailings and Technology PEOPLE AND COMMUNITIES | POPULATION ET COMMUNAUTÉS Innovation in Social Responsibility Embedding Sustainability in Education Programs Stakeholder Dialogue The Future of the Workforce Consultation Diversity Reconciliation The Circular Economy SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PRACTICES | EXPLOITATION MINIÈRE DURABLE Nature’s Resilience & Footprint Reductions Maximizing Development Value Best Practices and Standards in Closure Tailings Management Climate Change / Risk Planning Alternate / Clean Energy Holistic Water Management 54 | CONVENTION.CIM.ORG
Management Systems and Tools Operations and Projects Updates Waste Stabilization & Safety Equipment and Maintenance Mine Electrification Mineral Processing Ground Support – Rock Mechanics Comminution Underground communications Automation Optimization HEALTH AND SAFETY | SANTÉ ET SÉCURITÉ J. T. Ryan Award Winners from Previous Year Occupational Health and Safety Mental Health in the Workplace Safety Management with Innovation/Automation/New Technology Global Trends in Health and Safety Best Practices in Risk Assessment/Risk Management Management of Priority Unwanted events (potential fatality producing) Application of Critical Control Thinking Sharing of Industry Learning in Safety Risk Management FROM ROCKS TO RESOURCES | ENTRE ROCHES ET RESSOURCES Mineral Property Valuation Methods Risk Management for Practitioners Designing Sustainable Prosperity Mineral Exploration Best Practices New NI43-101 ESG Guidance Sustainable Innovations in Energy Metals
CONVENTION DAILY SCHEDULE SATURDAY, APRIL 27 08:00-10:00 10:00-16:00 13:00-17:00
CIM Executive Committee Meeting CIM Council Meeting Registration
SUNDAY, APRIL 28 07:30-20:00 08:00-17:00 08:00-12:00 09:30-11:00 11:00-12:00 12:00-14:00 15:00-20:00 15:00-20:00 15:00-16:00 16:30-17:00 17:00-20:00 17:00-20:00
Registration Short Courses Gearing Up Workshop by CIM & MiHR CIM Officers’ Meeting and Orientation Session CIM Annual General Meeting Lunch for Short Course Participants Business Class Lounge & Press Room Presenters’ Preparation Room 1st time Attendee Reception Convention Opening Ceremony EXPO Opening and Welcome Reception Student Poster Session
TUESDAY, APRIL 30 07:30-17:00 07:30-17:00 07:30-17:00 08:00-10:00 08:30-10:30 10:00-17:00 10:00-17:00 10:00-17:00 10:00-17:00 10:15-10:45 10:50-16:05 12:30-14:00 12:30-14:00 13:15-13:45
MONDAY, APRIL 29 07:00-08:00 07:30-17:00 07:30-17:00 07:30-17:00 08:30-10:30 10:00-17:00 10:00-17:00 10:00-17:00 10:00-17:00 10:15-10:45 10:50-16:05 12:30-14:00 13:15-13:45 15:30-17:00 18:00-19:00 18:00-19:00 19:00-23:00
Plenary Speakers’ Breakfast Registration Presenters’ Preparation Room Business Class Lounge & Press Room Plenary Session: The Changing Face of Mining CIM EXPO Innovation Stage Presentations at the Expo Meeting Pods for CIM partners Student Poster Session Meeting for Today’s AM Presenters and Session Chairs Technical Program Delegate Lunch at the CIM EXPO Meeting for Today’s PM Presenters and Session Chairs Networking Cocktail Reception Past Presidents’ Reception Reception CIM-Caterpillar Celebration of Excellence CIM Caterpillar Celebration of Excellence Banquet
15:30-17:00 17:00-19:00 17:00-19:00 20:00-00:00
Registration Presenters’ Preparation Room Business Class Lounge & Press Room Young Mining Professionals (YMP) Keynote Breakfast General Keynote Session: Resources Matter! CIM EXPO Innovation Stage Presentations at the Expo Meeting Pods for CIM partners Student Poster Session Meeting for Today’s AM Presenters and Session Chairs Technical Program Delegate Lunch at the CIM EXPO Student-Industry Networking Luncheon Meeting for Today’s PM Presenters and Session Chairs Networking Cocktail Reception Iron Ore Symposium Reception Women in Mining Reception Komatsu Gala
WEDNESDAY, MAY 1 07:30-14:00 07:30-14:00 07:30-14:00 08:00-08:30 08:30-17:00 08:30-16:05 12:10-14:00 12:00-13:45 13:15-13:45 16:00-17:00
Registration Presenters’ Preparation Room Business Class Lounge & Press Room Meeting for Today’s AM Presenters and Session Chairs AIM 2019 – Artificial Intelligence in Mining Forum Technical Program Lunch on own CIM Corporate Members & Sponsors’ Luncheon (by invitation) Meeting for Today’s PM Presenters and Session Chairs Convention Closing Ceremony & Reception
#CIMTL19
CONVENTION.CIM.ORG | 55 CONVENTION.CIM.ORG | 55
HORAIRE QUOTIDIEN DES ACTIVITÉS SAMEDI 27 AVRIL 8h-10h 10h-16h 13h-17h
MARDI 30 AVRIL
Réunion du Comité exécutif de l’ICM Réunion du Conseil d’administration de l’ICM Inscription
DIMANCHE 28 AVRIL 7h30-20h 8h-17h 8h-12h 9h30-11h 11h-12h 12h-14h 15h-20h 15h-20h 15h-16h 16h30-17h 17h-20h 17h-20h
Inscription Cours intensifs Atelier Équiper la relève! par ICM/RHiM Assemblée d’orientation des dirigeants de l’ICM Assemblée générale annuelle de l’ICM Lunch pour les participants des cours intensifs Salon pour les délégués affaires Salle de préparation des présentateurs Réception des nouveaux délégués Cérémonie inaugurale du congrès Ouverture de l’Expo et réception de réseautage Concours d’affiches des étudiants
7h30-17h 7h30-17h 7h30-17h 8h-10h 8h30-10h30 10h-17h 10h-17h 10h-17h 10h-17h 10h15-10h45 10h50-16h05 12h30-14h 12h30-14h 13h15-13h45
LUNDI 29 AVRIL 7h-8h 7h30-17h 7h30-17h 7h30-17h 8h30-10h30 10h-17h 10h-17h 10h-17h 10h-17h 10h15-10h45 10h50-16h05 12h30-14h 13h15-13h45
15h30-17h 18h-19h 18h-19h 19h-23h
Petit-déjeuner des panélistes de la plénière Inscription Salle de préparation des présentateurs Salon privé pour les délégués affaires Plénière : Le visage changeant de l’industrie L’EXPO : Carrefour des affaires minières Scène de l’innovation - présentations Espaces privés privés pour partenaires de l’ICM Concours d’affiches des étudiants Réunion des présentateurs et présidents de la séance du matin Programme technique Lunch des délégués à l’Expo Réunion des présentateurs et présidents de la séance de l’aprèsmidi Réception-réseautage à l’Expo Réception des anciens présidents de l’ICM Réception pré-célébration d’excellence Soirée Célébration de l’excellence ICM-Caterpillar
56 | CONVENTION.CIM.ORG
15h30-17h 17h-19h 17h-19h 20h-minuit
Inscription Salle de préparation des présentateurs Salon privé pour les délégués affaires Petit-déjeuner causerie YMP (Young Mining professionals) Conférenciers d’honneur : Les ressources avant tout! L’EXPO : Carrefour des affaires minières Scène de l’innovation – présentations à l’Expo Espaces privés pour partenaires de l’ICM Concours d’affiches des étudiants Réunion des présentateurs et présidents de la séance du matin Programme technique Lunch des délégués à l’Expo Lunch de réseautage étudiantsindustrie Réunion des présentateurs et présidents de la séance de l’aprèsmidi Réception-réseautage à l’Expo Réception du Symposium sur le minerai de fer Réception Femmes en exploitation minière Gala Komatsu
MERCREDI 1ER MAI 7h30-14h 7h30-14h 7h30-14h 8h-8h30 8h30-17h 8h30-16h05 12h10-14h 12h00-13h45 13h15-13h45
16h-17h
Inscription Salle de préparation des présentateurs Salon privé pour les délégués affaires Réunion des présentateurs et présidents des séances du matin Forum Intelligence artificielle ICM/GMG Programme technique Lunch libre Lunch des membres corporatifs et commanditaires (sur invitation) Réunion des présentateurs et présidents de la séance du mercredi après-midi Réception et cérémonie de clôture du congrès
Sponsored by:
OPENING PLENARY SÉANCE PLÉNIÈRE
MONDAY, APRIL 29
THE CHANGING FACE OF MINING
LE VISAGE CHANGEANT DE L’INDUSTRIE MINIÈRE
A fresh new plenary model will keep the audience engaged from start to finish. CIM is hosting a shorter interactive opening plenary - two hours long, rather than the usual three. Nathan Stubina, VP Technology, Sherritt International Corporation, will moderate and challenge a panel of four influential and inspirational mining industry leaders, all change agents! Together, they will focus on today’s most relevant issues in mining: • New skillsets for the workplace • Diversity • Youth • Emerging Leadership • New Era of Automation & Digitalization • Innovation in all its forms • And all that the future is telling us! Hosted by Hecla Mining, this high profile gathering of 600+ mining professionals - including hundreds logging in remotely, will open with Phillips Baker, President & CEO of Hecla, who had the CIM2018 Vancouver audience hanging off his every word. How will the session be interactive? Real-time polling will allow panelists to engage with the audience while a graphic journalist illustrates the content in real time. Don’t miss this dynamic session! MODERATOR MODÉRATEUR
NATHAN
OPENING REMARKS DISCOURS D’OUVERTURE
PHILLIPS
Un nouveau modèle très dynamique de séance plénière tiendra le public engagé du début à la fin. Nous vous proposons une séance plénière d’ouverture de 2 heures plutôt que 3. Nathan Stubina, vice-président des technologies, Sherritt International Corporation, animera et mettra au défi un panel de quatre leaders influents et inspirants de l’industrie minière. Ensemble, ils discuteront des axes les plus pertinents d’aujourd’hui: nouvelles compétences pour le lieu de travail, diversité, leadership jeunesse et émergent, nouvelle ère de l’automatisation et de la numérisation, l’innovation sous toutes ses formes et… ce que l’avenir nous dit! Animée par Hecla Mining, cette plénière de haut calibre rassemblant plus de 600 professionnels de l’industrie minière y compris des centaines de personnes se connectant à distance - s’ouvrira avec Phillips Baker, président et chef de la direction de Hecla, qui a captivé l’auditoire de 2018 à Vancouver. Soyez prêt à interagir avec le panel via une application mobile et soyez témoin du journaliste graphique qui documentera visuellement le contenu du programme.
CONFIRMED PANELISTS TO DATE PANÉLISTES CONFIRMÉS À DATE
MARYSE
FRED
ALEXANDRE
THERESA
STUBINA
BAKER
BELANGER
STANFORD
CERVINKA
NYABEZE
VP Technology Sherritt International Corporation
President & CEO Hecla
President and Chief Operating Officer Atlantic Gold Corporation
President and Chief Executive Officer Torex Gold Resources Inc.
President & CEO Newtrax Technologies
Frontline supervisor Tottem mine Vale Base Metals
CONVENTION.CIM.ORG | 57
Sponsored by:
KEYNOTE TUESDAY
CONFÉRENCIERS D'HONNEUR DU MARDI RESOURCES MATTER!
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS | CONFÉRENCIERS D’HONNEUR
Resource management, whether natural, human or financial, is at the heart of sustainability and top-of-mind in the changing mining world. Tuesday’s general keynote speakers are striking chords at every level. Diversity, inclusion, innovation, technology and sustainability are top triggers in planning for the next generation and the future of mining. Two industry leaders will have the audience “digging deeper” to marry social and environmental values with industry practices. Kick off your morning with fresh and thought-provoking solutions to today’s resource industry challenges and opportunities. LES RESSOURCES AVANT TOUT !
La saine gestion des ressources naturelles, humaines et financières est au cœur des pratiques durables et de la priorité dans notre monde minier en mutation. Le leadership des conférenciers d’honneur du mardi coche chaque case à tous points de vue. La diversité, l’inclusion, l’innovation, la technologie et la fiabilité sont des éléments clés dans la planification du futur de l’industrie et formeront l’essence des discussions. Ces orateurs invités vous captiveront par leurs réponses aux questions et défis de l’évolution du monde minier.
58 | CONVENTION.CIM.ORG
JANICE
ZINCK Crushing the Consumption Conundrum Director, Green Mining Innovation, base/precious metals, rare earths, chromite CANMET, Natural Resources Canada CIM President 2018-2019
CATHY
GALLAGHERLOUISY Change Management for Diversity and Inclusion Senior Director, Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion (CCDI)
Sponsored by:
INDIGENOUS SEGMENT VOLET AUTOCHTONE
CIM promotes diversity and inclusion as we discuss the future of mining and thinking differently. The Environmental and Social Responsibility Society of CIM (ESRS), the Maintenance, Engineering and Reliability Society of CIM (MER) and the Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Committee (DIAC) of CIM are excited to deliver this very important and relevant program segment to delegates. Indigenous Peoples are instrumental in educating those who wish to conduct mining activities in their regions, pointing out opportunities to partner, and sharing sustainable practice requirements and outcome expectations. Key sessions of the CIM Technical Program place Indigenous Peoples at the heart of the discussion. CIM promeut la diversité et l’inclusion alors que nous planifions l’avenir de l’industrie minière. Les Sociétés de responsabilité environnementale et sociale (ESRS), de maintenance, d’ingénierie et de fiabilité (MER) et le comité consultatif sur la diversité et l’inclusion (DIAC) de l’ICM sont fiers de présenter ce segment de programme des plus pertinents. Les peuples autochtones jouent un rôle déterminant dans l’éducation des entreprises minières dans leurs régions. Les séances dédiées à ce volet du programme technique placeront les dirigeants autochtones au cœur de la discussion.
PLAN TO ATTEND Kamloops, BC October 20-23, 2019 Coast Kamloops Hotel & Conference Centre
memo2019.cim.org
CONVENTION.CIM.ORG | 59
SHORT COURSES COURS INTENSIFS
SUNDAY, APRIL 28 | DIMANCHE 28 AVRIL
FULL DAY SHORT COURSE
ATELIER D’UNE JOURNÉE
Includes two coffee breaks, lunch and course notes. $375 for regular registrants / $100 for student registrants
Les notes de cours, le lunch et les 2 pauses-café sont inclus). 375$ - tarif régulier / 100$ - tarif étudiant
HALF DAY SHORT COURSE
ATELIER D’UNE DEMI-JOURNÉE
Includes one coffee break and course notes. $175 for regular registrants / $50 for student registrants
Les notes de cours et la pause-café sont incluses. 175$ tarif régulier / 50$ - tarif étudiant Ces séances sont dispensées en anglais.
COURSES | COURS
FACILITATOR(S) | ANIMATEUR(S)
Attendance is limited, please register early! La participation est limitée, s’il vous plaît, inscrivez-vous tôt !
FULL DAY JOURNÉE COMPLÈTE Implementing Management Control and Reporting Best Practices
Bill Tubbs, B. Tubbs & Associates Consulting
Change and Risk Management for Waste Management Systems
Chad LePoudre, Principal and VP, Geoscience & Materials SNC-Lavalin; Michel Julien, Vice-President Environment, Agnico Eagle Mines Limited; Klohn Crippen Berger, Senior Engineering Professionals; Diana Sollner, GEM Services; Michael Davies, Senior Advisor – Tailings & Mine Waste, Teck Resources Limited; Alistair Kent, Senior Project Manager, Merit Consultants International
Automation in Mining – One Element of the Digital Mine of the Future
Andrew Scott, Principal Innovator at Symbiotic Innovations; Jason Bond, Canadian Geodetic Survey; Michelle Levesque, Engineering Technical Lead, CanmetMINING
Implementation of Battery Electric Vehicles in the Underground
David Sanguinetti, GMG Program Manager
Getting There: Shaft Sinking Developments
Robert Bradley, National Diploma - Engineering, Vaal University of Technology, South Africa; Grant Bonin, Mining Engineering, Geological Engineering, University of British Columbia; Joe Anderson, Civil Engineering, University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK; Jack Nolan, Mining Engineering, Camborne School of Mines
For full course descriptions, visit convention.cim.org Consultez les descriptions des cours intensifs sur le site Internet du congrès. 60 | CONVENTION.CIM.ORG
COURSES | COURS
FACILITATOR(S) | ANIMATEUR(S)
Attendance is limited, please register early! La participation est limitée, s’il vous plaît, inscrivez-vous tôt !
HALF DAY AM DEMI-JOURNÉE EN MATINÉE Understand the Value and the Power of IIoT in Mining
Dave Shook, President & CEO, Matrikon
Gestion des risques sociaux
Marie Rousseau, Présidente, Écoprocessus; Catherine Duhamel, Présidente, Social Impact Firm
From Early to Advanced Exploration: Practical Principals to Enhance your Indigenous Consultation and Engagement Program
Shena Shaw and Deanna Higginson, Socio-Community Specialists, Hemmera, an Ausenco Company
Mining 101 – An introduction to mining and mineral processing
George McIsaac, Mine Strategic Planning & Economic Evaluation, Geology & Mining Evaluation Consulting (G-MEC)
Investing in Battery Minerals
Damian Connelly, Principal Engineer, METS Engineering Group Pty Ltd.
HALF DAY PM DEMI-JOURNÉE EN APRÈS MIDI Navigate the Mine Life Cycle with Environmental Intelligence
Sarah J. Barabash, Director of Mining Services, EcoMetrix; Elizabeth Haack, Director of Assessment, EcoMetrix; Brent Murphy, Vice President, Environmental Affairs, Seabridge Gold; Lesley A. Warren, Director, Lassonde Institute of Mining, University of Toronto
Me Too Mining: Stand Up, Step Up and Stomp out Sexual Harassment in the Workplace
Susan Lomas, Founder, Me Too Mining Association
Incident Cause Analysis Method (ICAM) Awareness
Marie-Jane Vince, Trainer, Safety Wise – ICAM Program
Drone Based Aerial CMS Scanning
Matt MacKinnon, Founder, President, Unmanned Aerial Services Inc.; Laurie McBean, Unmanned Aerial Services Inc.
Dealing with and Reducing Risk and Uncertainty in Geotechnical Mining
Lucy Philip and Rick Guthrie, Principals, Stantec; Greg Gillian, Mining Sector Lead, Stantec
WEDNESDAY, MAY 1 | MERCREDI 1ER MAI
AIM 2019 – Artificial Intelligence in Mining Forum
GLOBAL MINING GUIDELINES GROUP
Innovation through Collaboration
AI has fast become recognized as an opportunity to harness new technology for operational efficiency, but there remains a lot of questions around it. How can mining companies use AI to improve their operations? Are they ready? Do they have the data as required? What are the use cases – how can AI be used across mine operations? This forum will bring together mining industry leaders and the expertise of Montreal’s AI ecosystem to make fast progress on these questions. The impact of AI on mining is happening now. Through collaboration we can speed up our adoption and drive real value. Speakers include: Mohammad Babaei, Lead, Digital Mining Innovation, Teck; Louis-Pierre Campeau, Research Engineer, Newtrax; Julien Crowe, Information Technology Leader, Artificial Intelligence, Banque Nationale; Roussos Dimitrakopoulos, Canada Research Chair (Tier I) in Sustainable Mineral Resource Development and Optimization Under Uncertainty, McGill University; Charles Fleurent, Senior Director, Optimization Algorithm, GIRO; Michel Gamache, Professeur titulaire, Département de mathématiques et de génie industriel, École Polytechnique; Jean-Marc Rousseau, Director of Technology Transfer, IVADO 8:30 – 17:00 | off site
CIM or GMG member/membre: $175 Non-member/non-membre: $225 Student/étudiant: $100
CONVENTION.CIM.ORG | 61
Sponsored by | Commandité par :
STUDENTS AND CAREERS ÉTUDIANTS ET CARRIÈRES
The CIM Convention 2019 is the ultimate professional networking opportunity. Student registration provides access to the full delegate package: Monday Plenary, Tuesday Keynote Sessions, Technical Program, CIM Opening Ceremony and Reception, CIM Expo and Innovation Stage Presentations, Monday lunch at the Expo, Tuesday CIM Student-Industry Luncheon, Wednesday Komatsu Gala and Closing Ceremony & Reception. First time at the CIM Convention? Look out for an invitation for the Sunday reception with VIP industry leaders—exclusive to 1st time attendees!
SUNDAY, APRIL 28 | DIMANCHE 28 AVRIL
WORKSHOP | ATELIER GEARING UP: DEVELOPING MINING TALENT THROUGH WORK-INTEGRATED LEARNING
With cumulative hiring requirements for the Canadian mining industry ranging from an estimated 97,000 to upwards of 135,000 workers over the next decade, the need to establish a more robust and sustainable pipeline of talent is becoming increasingly important. The Mining Industry Human Resources Council (MiHR) established the Gearing Up program to deliver 850 new work-integrated learning (WIL) positions in mining over four years. Through Gearing Up, MiHR financially supports employers who create new WIL opportunities such as co-ops, internships, field placements, 62 | CONVENTION.CIM.ORG
Le congrès de l’ICM 2019 est l’occasion idéale de tisser des liens durables. En vous inscrivant en tant qu’étudiant, vous aurez accès aux mêmes activités offertes aux délégués, à savoir : la séance plénière du lundi, les allocutions des conférenciers d’honneur du mardi, le programme technique, l’Expo et les présentations sur la Scène de l’innovation, la réception inaugurale, le lunch du lundi à l’Expo, le lunch étudiants-industrie le mardi, le gala Komatsu et une réception de clôture le mercredi. Gardez l’œil ouvert pour invitation à la réception pour nouveaux délégués si vous en êtes à votre première expérience-congrès avec nous !
applied projects, capstone projects or case competitions. This workshop provides an opportunity for students, educators and industry HR recruiters to network and discuss: • The value of WIL • How our industry is currently supporting students in mining-related post-secondary programs through Gearing Up • What steps can be taken to ensure opportunities are available for the next generation of Canada’s mining workforce. Les besoins d’embauche grandissants, allant de 97 000 à 135 000 au cours de la prochaine décennie, il devient crucial d’établir un bassin de talents robuste et fiable. Le Conseil des ressources humaines de l’industrie minière (RHiM) a
créé le programme Équiper la relève afin de créer 850 nouveaux postes d’apprentissage intégré au travail dans le secteur minier sur une période de quatre ans et offre des subventions salariales aux employeurs qui créent de nouvelles opportunités d’AIT (apprentissage intégré au travail) telles que des coopératives, des stages, des projets appliqués, des projets de synthèse ou des concours de cas. Ce cours condensé est l’occasion de réunir des étudiants, des éducateurs et des recruteurs de ressources humaines. Time | Heure 8:00 to 12:00 | 8h à 12h Facilitators | Animateurs MiHR as facilitator with BHER, post-
secondary institution, industry and government representatives Industry registration fee $100 Students FREE
SUNDAY, APRIL 28 TO TUESDAY, APRIL 30 | DIMANCHE 28 AVRIL AU MARDI 30 AVRIL
STUDENT POSTER COMPETITION | CONCOURS D’AFFICHES DES ÉTUDIANTS
Showcase your talents to leading mining industry professionals. Put your best foot forward and submit an abstract online before March 1, 2019, on topics ranging from geology and mining to processing and sustainability. Cash prizes will be presented to 3 winners on site. Envoyez votre résumé en ligne au plus tard le 1er mars 2019 et profitez de cette occasion parfaite pour présenter vos talents aux professionnels les plus renommés de l’industrie minière sur un large éventail de thèmes, de la géologie et des mines au traitement et à la durabilité. 3 gagnants recevront un prix en argent sur place.
TUESDAY, APRIL 30 | MARDI 30 AVRIL
YOUNG MINING PROFESSIONALS BREAKFAST | PETIT-DÉJEUNER
CIM is excited to collaborate again this year with the Young Mining Professionals Association (YMP) for this event, which will feature a keynote presentation by a distinguished young leader in the mining industry. L’ICM est fier encore une fois de collaborer avec le Young Mining Professionals Association (YMP). Ce petit-déjeuner sous forme de table ronde présentera un conférencier invité provenant de la communauté de jeunes leaders accomplis de l’industrie. Time | Heure 8:00-10:00 | 511F | $55
TUESDAY, APRIL 30 | MARDI 30 AVRIL
STUDENT-INDUSTRY LUNCHEON | LUNCH ÉTUDIANTS-INDUSTRIE
Make that all-important contact with the mining professionals who can help propel your career at the Student-Industry Luncheon. Practice networking skills by engaging with potential employers and mentors in this select and professional networking environment. Cash prizes will be presented to the poster competition winners. Ce lunch étudiants-industrie est l’occasion idéale de rencontrer des professionnels expérimentés de l’industrie. Élargissez votre réseau et identifiez des employeurs et conseillers potentiels. Les prix en argent seront remis aux gagnants du concours d’affiches. Time | Heure 12:30-14:00 | 511F
Location Expo Foyer | Foyer de l’Expo Time | Heure Sunday | Dimanche : 17:00 – 20:00, Monday and
Tuesday | Lundi et mardi : 10:00 – 17:00
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SOCIAL PROGRAM
PROGRAMME SOCIAL
A myriad of social activities has been planned to maximize your networking opportunities and make your convention memorable. Reserve your tickets early and mark your calendar! Un éventail d’activités sociales a été prévu afin d’optimiser vos chances d’établir des contacts et de rendre ce congrès mémorable. Réservez vos billets dès que possible!
SUNDAY, APRIL 28 | DIMANCHE 28 AVRIL
SUNDAY, APRIL 28 | DIMANCHE 28 AVRIL
1ST TIME DELEGATE RECEPTION | RÉCEPTION POUR NOUVEAUX DÉLÉGUÉS
First-time CIM Convention delegates and seasoned CIM mentors will come together for refreshments, new connections and tips on how to best maximize the convention experience. Mingling with seasoned CIM contributors, new delegates can tap into CIM intelligence at its best!
OPENING CEREMONY AND WELCOME RECEPTION | CÉRÉMONIE INAUGURALE ET RÉCEPTION DE BIENVENUE
Participants gather at the opening ceremony of the CIM Convention for welcome speeches and live entertainment. Meet old colleagues and friends over a drink and finger foods at the reception on the EXPO floor while discovering exhibitor innovations. The EXPO is the ideal meeting place for networking, knowledge exchange and business. Les participants au congrès se joindront aux dirigeants de l’ICM dans l’aire d’inscription à l’occasion de la cérémonie inaugurale. Nous irons ensuite prendre un verre et des bouchées dans la salle d’exposition, réservée au réseautage et aux affaires. 16:30 | Ceremony in the registration foyer prior to the 17:00 reception at the Expo | Cérémonie dans l’aire d’inscription précédant la réception de 17:00 à l’Expo | Included in the registration fee | Inclus dans les frais d’inscription
Les délégués qui vivront leur première expérience-congrès rencontreront des mentors de l’ICM et pourront optimiser leur expérience dès le premier jour. Entourés de leaders familiers avec l’ICM, les nouveaux délégués auront le premier accès à l’éminence grise de la communauté! 15:00-16:00 | 511B | By Invitation | Sur invitation
MONDAY, APRIL 29 | LUNDI 29 AVRIL CIM CATERPILLAR CELEBRATION OF EXCELLENCE | CÉLÉBRATION DE L’EXCELLENCE ICM-CATERPILLAR
Back by popular demand, Ben Mulroney will host this sumptuous banquet evening sponsored by Caterpillar and its Canadian dealers. This gala celebrates the year’s shining stars of the Canadian mining industry. Enjoy a gourmet dinner, great company and entertainment that will keep you on the edge of your seat from Montreal’s renowned cirque acts! Get your finest evening wear ready! Ben Mulroney animera ce prestigieux gala commandité par Caterpillar et ses dépositaires canadiens. L’ICM mettra à l’honneur les étoiles de l’industrie minière canadienne de l’année alors que des numéros de cirque vous divertiront tout au long de cette magnifique soirée. Un dîner gourmet vous sera servi. Revêtez vos plus beaux atours. 18:00 (Reception | réception) ; 19:00 (gala) | 710 | $150
MONDAY, APRIL 29 & TUESDAY, APRIL 30 | LUNDI 29 ET MARDI 30 AVRIL
TUESDAY, APRIL 30 | MARDI 30 AVRIL
NETWORKING AT THE EXPO | RÉSEAUTAGE À L’EXPO
Lunch and cocktail receptions at the Expo will take place from 12:30 to 14:00 and 15:30 to 17:00. Lunch and one drink ticket per day are included with each delegate registration. Les lunchs et consommations seront offerts dans la salle de l’Expo de 12 h 30 à 14 h et de 15h30 à 17h. Votre inscription au congrès vous donne droit au lunch et à une consommation par jour. TUESDAY, APRIL 30 | MARDI 30 AVRIL KOMATSU GALA | GALA KOMATSU
Get ready for an evening of non-stop entertainment. The Komatsu Gala features live music and delectable finger foods and refreshments. This exciting event allows acquaintances and peers to dance the night away, before bidding one another farewell until next year. Préparez-vous à une soirée de divertissement ininterrompu. Le gala de Komatsu sera animé par des musiciens qui vous feront danser sans arrêt, un savoureux buffet et une ambiance de fête inégalée.
WOMEN IN MINING RECEPTION | RÉCEPTION FEMMES EN EXPLOITATION MINIÈRE
Join CIM and Women in Mining Montréal for drinks and appetizers as we celebrate diversity and inclusion. Come meet and network with a rich and diverse group of industry professionals and raise a glass to the women from all walks of mining who make a difference daily. A must to attend! Joignez-vous à nous pour un verre avec canapés à la Réception des femmes en exploitation minière. Cette année, Women in Mining Montréal s’associe au congrès de l’ICM 2019 pour célébrer la diversité et l’inclusion dans l’industrie minière. Venez rendre hommage aux rôles clé que jouent les femmes dans le domaine. 17:00-19:00 | $50
WEDNESDAY, MAY 1 | MERCREDI 1ER MAI
20:00-00:00 | 710 | Included with registration | Inclus dans l’inscription
WEDNESDAY, MAY 1 | MERCREDI 1ER MAI CIM CORPORATE MEMBERS & SPONSORS RECOGNITION LUNCH | LUNCH POUR LES MEMBRES CORPORATIFS ET COMMANDITAIRES DE L’ICM
CIM hosts this closing lunch to thank its corporate members and sponsors-an opportunity for recognition and networking. Closing remarks will be delivered by CIM’s 2018-2019 President, Roy Slack. By invitation. L’ICM saisit l’occasion de remercier ses membres corporatifs et commanditaires lors d’un lunch de clôture leur permettant d’être reconnus et de réseauter. Des mots de clôture seront prononcés par le nouveau président de l’ICM, Roy Slack. Sur invitation. 12:30-14:00 | 511F | By invitation | Sur invitation
CLOSING RECEPTION | RÉCEPTION DE CLÔTURE
Let’s raise our glasses to a week filled with learning, knowledge exchange, networking, business – and mostly, SUCCESS! Satisfy your sweet tooth with fine and be inspired by the 2019 Convention organizing committee members. Levons notre verre à une semaine remplie d’apprentissage, d’échanges, de réseautage, d’affaires et surtout, de SUCCÈS! Mettez-vous quelques chocolats fins sous la dent et laissez-vous inspirer par les membres du comité organisateur du congrès 2019. 16:00-17:00 | Foyer 500 | Included in the registration fee | Inclus dans les frais d’inscription
7TH NORTH AMERICAN IRON ORE SYMPOSIUM
7E SYMPOSIUM NORD-AMÉRICAIN SUR LE MINERAI DE FER Hosted in conjunction with the CIM Convention 2019 and included in CIM Convention Delegate Registration En parallèle avec le Congrès de l’ICM 2019. Inclus dans l’inscription des délégués au congrès de l’ICM.
TOWARDS A NEW UPSWING? | VERS UN NOUVEL ESSOR? The North American Iron Ore Industry once again seems to be at a crossroads. After enjoying record iron ore prices between 2010 and 2013, followed by a severe downturn with the dramatic slump in iron ore prices, the industry appears to be slowly recovering. Signs of a potential upswing are looming on the horizon. Far from the huge production of the three major iron ore players — BHP-Billiton, Rio Tinto and Vale — the industry is trying to recover through quality, innovation and productivity. Even though there are some bright spots, challenges are significant and the 7th North American Iron Ore Symposium is the forum to discuss solutions. Après avoir connu des prix records entre 2010 et 2013, suivi d’une grave récession marquée par la chute spectaculaire des prix du minerai de fer à la fin de l’année 2013, l’industrie semble se redresser lentement. Loin de l’énorme production soutenue par les trois principaux acteurs du minerai de fer: BHP-Billiton, Rio Tinto et Vale, notre industrie tente de se différencier grâce à la qualité, l’innovation et la productivité. Malgré le positif, les défis restent considérables et le 7e symposium nord-américain sur le minerai de fer se veut un forum de discussion sur les solutions d’avenir. Jointly organized with SME-Minnesota Section Organisé conjointement par le SME-Minnesota Section
MONDAY TO WEDNESDAY SESSIONS | SESSIONS DU LUNDI AU MERCREDI Iron Ore Resources | Ressources en minerais de fer
Co-chairs: Serge Perrault & Boyd Eisenbraun New Project Development | Développement de nouveaux projets Co-chairs: Guy Saucier & George Hudak III Mining Operations | Opérations minières Co-chairs: Daniel Gagnon & Dennis Murr Concentration Co-chairs: Maxime Couillard & Nick Sosalla Pelletizing | Bouletage du minerai de fer Co-chairs: Michel Garant & Shashi Rao Environment | Environnement Co-chairs: François Séguin & Ryan D. Siats Plenary Session | Séance plénière Guest Speaker | Conférencier invité
TUESDAY, APRIL 30 | MARDI 30 AVRIL
Iron Ore Symposium Reception | Réception du Symposium sur le minerai de fer
Sponsored by | Commandité par :
Participants, students and young leaders are invited to gather for happy hour and a chance to meet company recruiters in the industry. This event will provide exciting opportunities for your career development. Participants, étudiants et jeunes leaders, rejoignez-nous pour une consommation et rencontrez des recruteurs de l’industrie. Cet événement fournira des opportunités intéressantes pour le développement de votre carrière. 17:00-19:00 | 511B
66 | CONVENTION.CIM.ORG
CIM EXPO: CANADA’S MINING MARKETPLACE | EXPO DE L’ICM : LE CARREFOUR DES AFFAIRES MINIÈRES AU CANADA THE TRADE SHOW | LE SALON COMMERCIAL The CIM Expo, Canada’s premier mining trade show, features approximately 450 companies showcasing the latest in mining equipment, tools, technology and products. Plan to visit everyone whose offering will help you elevate your operational and business practices. Be sure to consult the Innovation Stage Presentation schedule! And don’t forget to stop by the CIM Magazine Lounge to chat with our editors or advertising sales team and share ideas for future stories. Lunch and cocktail receptions will be held in the Expo on Monday and Tuesday, April 29 and 30, at 12:30 to 14:00 and 15:30 to 17:00. Lunch and one drink ticket per day are included with delegate registration. L’Expo de l’ICM, le salon commercial de choix de l’industrie, permet à près de 450 entreprises de présenter leurs produits, équipements, outils, technologies et services les plus récents destinés au secteur minier. Planifiez votre visite afin de rencontrer les leaders pouvant vous aider à perfectionner vos pratiques opérationnelles et d’affaires. Assistez aux présentations de la Scène de l’innovation et visitez l’équipe du CIM Magazine.
EXPO HOURS | HEURES DE L’EXPO SUNDAY | DIMANCHE MONDAY | LUNDI TUESDAY | MARDI
17:00 – 20:00 10:00 – 17:00 10:00 – 17:00
Les délégués inscrits au congrès ont droit au lunch et à une consommation par jour lors des réceptions de lundi 29 avril et mardi 30 avril, de 12h30 à 14h et de 15h30 à 17h.
Photo by Ben Konfrst on Unsplash
INNOVATION STAGE PRESENTATIONS | PRÉSENTATIONS SUR LA SCÈNE DE L’INNOVATION
MEETING PODS | ESPACES PRIVÉS
The Innovation Stage will captivate all CIM Convention participants at the EXPO for two days. CIM Corporate Members, Convention Sponsors and Exhibitors will make 15-minute presentations of innovative products, business solutions, processes or concepts. The full schedule of Innovation Presentations will be published on all CIM Convention platforms 30 days prior to the event and on-site in the morning e-mail Daily Highlights. La Scène de l’innovation captivera les participants au Congrès deux jours durant. Des membres corporatifs de l’ICM, commanditaires du congrès et exposants sélectionnés présenteront en 15 minutes des produits, solutions, processus ou concepts novateurs. L’horaire des présentations sera publié sur les plateformes du Congrès de l’ICM 30 jours avant l’événement et pendant le congrès par le biais du courriel quotidien Faits Saillants. PRESENTATIONS | PRÉSENTATIONS : Monday / lundi, April 29 / avril – 10:00-17:00 Tuesday / mardi, April 30 / avril – 10:00-17:00
Sponsored by | Commandité par :
Whether to conclude an agreement or interview a potential employee, 5 closed meeting spaces will be available to CIM corporate members, sponsors and convention exhibitors. Reserve the private meeting pods, located in aisle 2700, for 30-minute time slots. An attendant will ensure access to as many partners as possible. First come, first served. Open during the hours of Expo. Que ce soit pour conclure un accord ou interviewer un employé potentiel, 5 espaces de réunions fermés seront disponibles aux membres corporatifs de l’ICM, ses commanditaires et exposants. Un préposé rendra ces espaces de l’allée 2 700 disponibles pour des périodes de 30 minutes. Premier arrivé, premier servi. Ouvert durant les heures du salon. CONVENTION.CIM.ORG | 67
EXHIBITOR LISTING
LISTE DES EXPOSANTS Check out our full exhibitors’ listings online. Vous trouverez la liste complète de nos Exposants en ligne.
#CIMTL19 Company / Organisation
Booth / Kiosque
3D-P ..............................................................................................2025 48e Nord International ..........................................................1404 A ABC Canada Technology Group Ltd.......................................409 ABC Industries, Inc. ....................................................................303 ABEL Pumps ..............................................................................1122 Abi-Quip inc ................................................................................1503 Absorbent Products................................................................2801 ACCES / ARAMINE ....................................................................1602 Accutron Instruments Inc. ......................................................518 ACR Fuller....................................................................................2202 Action Equipment Company, Inc. ........................................2021 Activation Laboratories Ltd.....................................................416 Adria Power Systems..............................................................1608 AFM Industries ............................................................................920 AGAT Laboratories ..................................................................2522 Agence SST................................................................................2321 Agnico Eagle ................................................................................804 Agudio Ropeways ....................................................................2409 Airex Industries Inc. ................................................................2126 AIRMP Inc. ..................................................................................1407 Albarrie Environmental Services ..........................................527 Altra Industrial Motion ............................................................1722 68 | CONVENTION.CIM.ORG
Company / Organisation
Booth / Kiosque
Am Cast, Inc. ..............................................................................1526 Ambra Solutions ......................................................................2706 American Biltrite ......................................................................1301 ANDRITZ ........................................................................................719 ANMOPYC ..................................................................................2610 Anton Paar Canada ..................................................................2622 Aqseptence Group ..................................................................1024 Aquatech Dewatering Ltd. ....................................................2017 ArcelorMittal ................................................................................P17 ARES PRISM..................................................................................315 Arrow Speed Controls ............................................................1922 ASDR Canada Inc. ....................................................................1309 ASGCO ........................................................................................1525 Atlantic Industries Limited ..................................................1101 ATS Electro-Lube International Inc. ......................................605 Attakroc Inc. ....................................................................................P6 Autonomous Solutions, Inc. ................................................1821 Avjet Holding inc. ......................................................................2105 B Bagwell Supply Ltd...................................................................1925 Balland Messe-Service GmbH ............................................2215 BASF Corporation........................................................................800 BBA................................................................................................1905
Company / Organisation
Booth / Kiosque
BBE Consulting Canada ............................................................407 Becker Varis ..............................................................................1123 Benshaw Canada ........................................................................928 BESTECH........................................................................................401 BKT Tires Canada INC. ............................................................1915 Black Cat Wear Parts ................................................................927 Blair Rubber Company ............................................................1704 BME ..............................................................................................1603 BMT Canada Ltd ..........................................................................505 Boréalis ..........................................................................................523 Brandt ..........................................................................................1415 Breaker Technology Ltd. ........................................................1025 BREATHE-SAFE ............................................................................525 Bridon Bekaert The Ropes Group ........................................1001 Brigade Electronics (Canada) Ltd ......................................1126 Buhler Inc. ..................................................................................2124 C CAB Products ............................................................................1601 Canada North Environmental Limited ..............................1814 Partnership Canadian Mining Journal (CMJ) ..........................................2103 Canadian Wear Technologies Ltd. ......................................3009 CANAMIX Processing Systems Ltd. ....................................918 Carbon Activated Corporation................................................820 Carlson Commercial & Industrial Services Ltd. ................925 Carlson Software ........................................................................700 Cementation Canada Inc. ........................................................P15 Center Rock Inc.........................................................................2116 Centre d'excellence télécom souterrain ........................1402 Certified Labs............................................................................2606 CG Industrial Specialties Ltd. ..............................................2505 ChemTreat, Inc. ........................................................................2125 CIM EXPO Sales Office ..........................................................2515 CIM Magazine ............................................................................1609 CK Logistics ..............................................................................1010 COGEP inc. ..................................................................................2115 Concept Controls........................................................................418 Consortium Machinerie + services industriels ................626 Continental Conveyor Ltd. ......................................................921 COREM ........................................................................................2518 Corner Cast Inc. ..............................................................................P3 Corriveau J.L./3D Surveying ................................................1505 Cummins Inc. ............................................................................1804 CurvePRO by Partition Enterprises ....................................2523 CWA Engineers Inc...................................................................1715 D Dana SAC Canada Limited........................................................720 De Beers Group Services ......................................................2010 Derrick Corporation....................................................................507
Company / Organisation
Booth / Kiosque
Deswik ........................................................................................1028 DMC Mining Services ................................................................701 Doppelmayr ................................................................................1021 Dos Santos International ........................................................625 DRA Americas............................................................................1916 Driver Industrial ........................................................................2329 DSI UNDERGROUND CANADA LTD. ....................................1717 Duratray International Pty Ltd ............................................1808 DUX Machinery Corporation ................................................1504 DYNASET OY ..............................................................................1824 Dyno Nobel Canada ................................................................1115 E E2Metrix Inc. ................................................................................524 Earth Lounge..............................................................................1629 EBC inc. ........................................................................................1510 ECO Technologies ......................................................................429 Enduride Canada USA ............................................................1921 Engineered Pipe Group..............................................................724 EPC Canada ................................................................................2206 Epiroc ..........................................................................................1515 Euclid Canada ............................................................................1507 Everest Automation Inc. ..........................................................415 Evergreen Solutions ..................................................................606 F F.F.P. Systems Inc.......................................................................608 FC Liners......................................................................................1020 Fenner Dunlop Americas........................................................1027 Filterfab/NFM ............................................................................2514 Fireball Equipment Ltd. ................................................................P9 Flottweg Separation Technology, Inc. ..............................2415 FLSmidth ....................................................................................1009 FMDC Watermist Canada Ltd ................................................922 Fonderie BSL Casting inc.......................................................1022 Fournier Industries ..................................................................1000 FWS Group of Companies ........................................................705 G G.L. Tiley & Associates Ltd. ..................................................1118 G+ Plastics ................................................................................1409 GeoSonics/Vibra-Tech............................................................1920 GF Urecon Ltd............................................................................1707 GKM Consultants Inc. ............................................................2510 Gladiator Equipment Inc.........................................................1807 GMS Canada Corp ......................................................................723 Grindex Pumps ..........................................................................2511 GroundProbe North America ................................................2216 Groupe Castech-Plessitech ................................................1600 Groupe Gilbert ..........................................................................1826 CONVENTION.CIM.ORG | 69
Company / Organisation
Booth / Kiosque
H H2Flow Equipment Inc. ..........................................................1828 Haynes Group of Companies................................................2626 Hebei Aojin Machinery Co., Ltd. ..........................................2323 Hella Mining Canada ................................................................1200 Hepburn Engineering Inc. ......................................................1100 Hexagon Mining ........................................................................2303 HKD BLUE ......................................................................................503 Honeywell Footwear ..................................................................609 Howden ................................................................................308; 314 Hurley Ventilation Technologies Inc. ....................................403 Hydraflor Inc..................................................................................421 Hydrau Flo (Weir Minerals) ......................................................624 HydroTech Mining inc.................................................................621 I ICM - Section Amos ................................................................1502 ILEC Industries ..........................................................................1500 IMAFS Inc. ..................................................................................1410 Imperial Oil ................................................................................2810 Industrial Fabrication Inc. ......................................................1428 Industrial Info Resources ........................................................916 InnovExplo Inc. ..........................................................................1411 Insitu, Inc. ........................................................................................P7 Integral Process Equipment Inc. ............................................509 Integrity Fusion Products, Inc. ............................................1424 Intersystems Samplers..........................................................2004 Iraeta Grinding Media..............................................................1825 ISCO ..............................................................................................1321 J Jetco Heavy Duty Lighting ......................................................P16 Joest Inc. ....................................................................................1023 John Brooks Company Limited ............................................2029 John Crane Canada Inc. ............................................................521 Johnson Industries Ltd. ........................................................1621 K K.N. Equipements ....................................................................1303 K4 Integration (TopVu) ..............................................................520 Kal Tire..........................................................................................1209 Kalenborn Abresist Corporation..........................................1619 Key Maintenance Technologies ..........................................2109 KGO Group Ltd. ............................................................................704 King Shotcrete Solutions ......................................................2020 Kobelt Manufacturing Co. Ltd. ............................................1524 Komatsu Mining ..........................................................................807 KSB-GIW Industries Inc. ........................................................2416 70 | CONVENTION.CIM.ORG
Company / Organisation
Booth / Kiosque
L L. Fournier & Fils inc. ................................................................1511 Lafarge Canada, Inc. ................................................................1615 Laurentide Controls ................................................................2027 Layfield Group Ltd. ..................................................................2911 LEBLEU ........................................................................................1307 Ledcor Group of Companies ................................................1006 Les Aciers J.P. inc.....................................................................2800 Les Forages L.B.M. Inc. ..........................................................1408 Levitt-Safety................................................................................822 Liebherr-Canada Ltd. ..............................................................1201 Line Power Mfg. Corp. ............................................................1721 LoadScan Ltd. ..............................................................................311 Luff Industries Ltd. ..................................................................1420 Lycopodium Minerals Canada Ltd.......................................2123 M Mabarex ......................................................................................2222 Maccaferri Canada Ltd. ............................................................607 MacLean Engineering & Marketing Co. Limited ............1005 Maestro Digital Mine..................................................................408 Magnor inc. ................................................................................2121 Mailhot Industrie ......................................................................1509 Mammoet Canada ......................................................................506 Mansour Mining Technologies Inc.......................................3011 Maptek ........................................................................................1800 Matrix Design Group ..................................................................514 Maxam North America............................................................1927 McLanahan Corporation ..........................................................815 McLellan Industries Inc. ............................................................501 Mecanicad ..................................................................................1400 Meglab ............................................................................................709 Metso ..........................................................................................2203 MI Petro Construction & Supply Inc. ..................................1827 MiHR COUNCIL - CONSEIL RHiM ............................................923 Mincon Group ............................................................................1626 Mine Cable Services Corp. ......................................................914 Mine Hoists International Ltd. ............................................1118 Mineral Technologies ..............................................................2023 Mining Equipment Company....................................................519 MINOVA (Americas) ................................................................2209 MIRARCO ....................................................................................2220 Mitsubishi Materials U.S.A. Corporation ............................823 MMD Mineral Sizing (Canada) Inc. ......................................1002 Mobile Parts Inc. ......................................................................2118 Modern Pumps & Metals ..........................................................526 Modular Mining Systems ......................................................2119 Motion Metrics Int'l Corp. ........................................................614 MSC Software Corporation......................................................402
Company / Organisation
Booth / Kiosque
MSTA Canada ............................................................................1711 Mullen Trucking Corp. ................................................................901 Multotec Canada Ltd. ............................................................2000 N NATIONAL ENERGY EQUIPMENT INC. ................................2700 National Research Council Canada ....................................2317 NL Technologies Inc. ..................................................................825 NLMK Clabecq ..........................................................................3001 Normet Canada Ltd. ................................................................1120 Norseman Structures ............................................................1815 North Fringe Industrial Technologies Inc. ........................1716 Northern Survey Supply ........................................................2407 NPK Construction Equipment, Inc. ........................................618 O OCP Construction Supplies ..................................................1718 Optimum Crush, Inc. ..................................................................926 Outotec (Canada) Ltd. ............................................................1909 P Pacific Bit of Canada Inc. ............................................................P5 Pacific Blasting ........................................................................2520 Paul's Fan Company ..................................................................304 PBE ................................................................................................1625 Petro-Canada Lubricants ......................................................1820 Pex Industrial Piping Solutions ..............................................600 Phoenix Contact Canada ......................................................1926 Phoenix Conveyor Belt Solutions........................................1700 Pinssar............................................................................................522 Polycorp Ltd. ................................................................................601 Polyplast......................................................................................1501 Pompaction Inc. ........................................................................1701 Praetorian Construction Management ............................1901 Precision Pulley & Idler ..............................................................500 PRIMERO ........................................................................................529 ProcessBarron ..........................................................................1019 Procon Mining & Tunnelling ......................................................602 Progesys......................................................................................2516 Promine ..........................................................................................419 Protective Coatings, Inc. ......................................................1004 Provix............................................................................................2210 Q Queen's University ..................................................................1705 R R.D.H. Mining Equipment - SMT Scharf ............................1300 Rail-Veyor Technologies Global Inc.....................................1325 Rapid Gear ..................................................................................2120 Redline Communications ........................................................727 RESPEC........................................................................................1817
Company / Organisation
Booth / Kiosque
RIGID ROBOTICS........................................................................1116 Rimex Supply Ltd. ....................................................................1425 Ritchie Bros. ..............................................................................1202 RM Recrutement International............................................2604 RNE PUMPS NORTH AMERICA..............................................2504 ROCK SAFETY SYSTEMS-CONSPEC INTL ........................1624 Rockmore International, Inc..................................................1527 Rock-Tech ..................................................................................1215 Rocvent..........................................................................................400 ROSTA Inc....................................................................................2411 RPMGlobal ........................................................................................P2 RST Instruments Ltd. ................................................................604 RubberSource Inc.....................................................................2006 Rulmeca Canada..........................................................................909 S S.Huot ..........................................................................................1907 SafeSight Exploration Inc. ....................................................1529 Safety Wise Solutions ..............................................................424 Sandale Utility Products ..........................................................517 Sandvik Mining & Rock Technology....................................1225 Saskatchewan Trade & Export Partnership ....................1816 Scantech International Pty Ltd. ..........................................2107 SCHAUENBURG Industries Ltd...............................................404 Schneider-Electric ..................................................................1914 Sempertrans USA ....................................................................1426 SEW-Eurodrive Co. of Canada Ltd. ........................................708 SGE................................................................................................2909 Shaft Drillers International....................................................1617 Shandong Shengrun Rubber Co.,Ltd..................................2417 Shanghai LanHao Electric Co. Ltd. ........................................425 Shell Canada ................................................................................818 Sigfusson Northern Ltd. ..........................................................907 Simark Controls Ltd.................................................................2508 SimWell........................................................................................1026 SM Cyclo of Canada, Ltd. ......................................................1620 SmartRiver Industrial Ltd.......................................................2122 SME - Society for Mining Metallurgy & Exploration ......1205 SmithCo Side-Dump Trailers ................................................1427 SMS Equipment Inc. ................................................................1801 SNC-Lavalin ..................................................................................715 SNF Canada Ltd. ..........................................................................706 SOPPEC INC ..............................................................................2608 Spendrup Fan Co. ........................................................................307 Sprung Instant Structures Ltd. ..........................................1725 SRK Consulting ............................................................................406 SSAB ............................................................................................1421 Stantec........................................................................................1124 CONVENTION.CIM.ORG | 71
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STEINERTUS Inc. ................................................................................2009 STM Sviluppo Tecnologie Meccaniche s.r.l. ..................................616 Superior Industries ..............................................................................508 Sympatec Inc.......................................................................................2224 Syntron Material Handling LLC ......................................................2900 T Tech/Pro Heavy Industrial Inc. ..........................................................P14 Technosub ............................................................................................1401 Teck Resources Ltd. ............................................................................300 Tecomind ..............................................................................................1723 TECO-Westinghouse Motors (Canada) Inc. ..............................1802 Tega Industries Limited ....................................................................1102 TEMA ISENMANN / HEIN LEHMANN US /TEMA SYSTEMS ....2001 Temisco (1983) Inc...............................................................................426 Thermo Fisher Scientific ....................................................................611 Thurston Machine Inc. ........................................................................317 Thyssen Mining ..................................................................................1206 ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions Canada Inc........................1520 Timberland Equipment Limited ........................................................301 Tioga Air Heaters ................................................................................1015 TLT-Turbo Inc...........................................................................................305 Tramac Equipment Ltd. ....................................................................1017 Transmin Pty Ltd. ..................................................................................821 TS Manufacturing..................................................................................819 Twin City Clarage, LLC ..........................................................................302 U Unmanned Aerial Services Inc. ......................................................2414 V V.J. Pamensky Canada Inc...............................................................2405 Van der Graaf ......................................................................................2309 Veolia Water Technologies ..............................................................1903 Victaulic ................................................................................................2114 VISION Process Solutions ..............................................................2509 Voith Turbo Inc. ....................................................................................1521 Voyage Globallia inc ..........................................................................1406 W
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Wabi Iron & Steel Corp.........................................................................504 Wajax ........................................................................................................915 WEGU Manufacturing Inc. ..............................................................2024 Weir Minerals - North America ..........................................................615 Westech ..................................................................................................801 WesTech Engineering Inc. ..................................................................903 Western Star Trucks..........................................................................1720 Westpro Machinery Inc. ..................................................................1105 Whitmore / Jet-Lube ............................................................................827 WipWare Inc. ..........................................................................................P11 WireCo WorldGroup ..........................................................................1727 WSP Canada Inc. ................................................................................1623 X Xylem......................................................................................................1109 Z
72 | CONVENTION.CIM.ORG
ZITRON-VDDO ........................................................................................405
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Since the first Symposium in 1982, the Underground Ventilation Committee (UVC) has sought to provide mine ventilation engineers and technicians in the underground coal, metal, and industrial mineral mining industry with the latest information and operating practices from the field. The Committee always promoted the exchange of ideas and research in a variety of related areas to include the monitoring of air contaminants, determining fresh-air requirements, producing power-efficient ventilation and cooling systems,and energyrelated topics. Be in Montreal for three parallel technical streams, up to eight short courses, 20 exhibit booths, networking activities, a banquet and more. NAMVS2019 will attract a total of approximately 300 delegates whose networking will extend to the CIM community.
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74 | CONVENTION.CIM.ORG
KNOWLEDGE IS POWER.
CIM EMPOWERS YOU.
DISTINGUISHED LECTURERS
ARNFINN PRUGGER
MARILYN D. SPINK
Ph.D., Geophysicist
P.Eng., Manager, Engineering, DMC Mining Services
2018-2019 THE PROGRAM The CIM Distinguished Lecturers program started in 1968 and has continuously provided a line up of individuals who have shared their knowledge with the mining community for almost five decades.
D. CHAD LEPOUDRE
MARY A. WELLS
P.Eng., Vice President, Geoenvironmental Services, SNC-Lavalin
Ph.D., FEC, FCAE, P.Eng., Dean College of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Guelph
DOMINIC FRAGOMENI
PETER M. D. BRADSHAW
P.Eng., Vice President, Expert Process Solutions (a Glencore Company)
Ph.D., P.Eng., Chairman, FPX Nickel Corp Founder of Bradshaw Research Initiative for Mineral and Mining (BRIMM), University of British Columbia (UBC)
GLENN LYLE
SIRI C. GENIK
P.Eng., Director, Health, Safety and Risk Management, MIRARCO
Founder and Principal, Bridge
Every year, the lecturers are elected by their peers through the CIM Awards program and hold the title for a complete season (September to June). CIM is privileged to count more than 260 of the industry’s finest as its lecturers. Because the motto “once a lecturer, always a lecturer” defines our pride and dedication in ensuring that the learning curve is endless, a complete list of past lecturers is available at www.cim.org where you can benefit from the ever-growing pool of expertise that the program has to offer.
HOW IT WORKS The Distinguished Lecturers program is offered to 41 CIM Branches, 10 Technical Societies and 12 Student Chapters. Universities can also request a lecture. CIM National defrays the cost of air travel while the requesting body covers local expenses (accommodation, transportation, etc.) For more information, contact: Dist_lecturer@cim.org | 514.939.2710 ext: 1344 To book a Distinguished Lecturer visit: www.cim.org/en/Services/Distinguished-Lecturers
Proudly sponsored since 1972 by
Thank you to our sponsor, the CIM Foundation, whose continuous support and generosity allows the CIM Distinguished Lecturers Program to connect CIM members with leading industry expertise.
The CIM Distinguished Lecturers program is owned and operated by the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum, who celebrates its 120th anniversary in 2018
lettre de l’éditeur
SECTION
FRANCOPHONE FÉVRIER 2019
76 Lettre de l’éditeur 77 Mot de la présidente article de fond
78 Une formation interne et ascendante Les efforts des sociétés minières pour adapter les qualifications de leur main-d’œuvre à l’évolution des technologies numériques Par Cecilia Keating
84 Tous ensemble pour le tout électrique Une nouvelle mine de graphite entièrement électrique au Québec pourrait bientôt voir le jour Par Robert Hiltz
Nous publions progressivement sur notre site Internet les articles du CIM Magazine en version française.
Prospecter l’avenir de l’industrie
L
e métier de mineur est en train de se transformer. Alors que les emplois s’automatisent de plus en plus et que les travailleurs s’éloignent progressivement des parois rocheuses, suivre le cheminement de carrière des vétérans de l’industrie pourrait se révéler impossible pour la prochaine génération de travailleurs de l’industrie minière. « Au cours des cinq à dix années à venir, le travail dans les mines prendra une forme totalement différente de celui qu’accomplissait nos grands-pères mineurs », affirme Andrew Swart, leader canadien, Métaux et mines, chez Deloitte, dans l’article intitulé « Une formation interne et ascendante » qui figure dans le présent numéro (p. 78). Dans cet article, nous nous entretenons avec plusieurs sociétés minières et établissements d’enseignement, qui conviennent que les carrières dans le secteur minier sont appelées à connaître de grands bouleversements, et que les mineurs devront s’adapter à mesure que de nouvelles technologies feront leur apparition. Nous avons notamment demandé aux sociétés Goldcorp, Hecla, et North American Palladium comment elles préparent leur main-d’œuvre en prévision de ces changements. Par ailleurs, nous lançons une nouvelle série axée sur les jeunes professionnels du secteur minier intitulée Perspectives futures. Son format sera semblable à celui de la série de l’an dernier, intitulée L’industrie minière : un monde diversifié, qui exposait des points de vue sous-représentés dans l’industrie. À titre de rédacteur en chef de la section, mon objectif pour la nouvelle série consiste à explorer la nature changeante du travail dans le secteur minier et à regarder comment les jeunes professionnels peuvent bâtir une carrière couronnée de succès dans le nouvel univers numérique qui nous entoure. Cette section s’adresse plus particulièrement aux étudiants et aux jeunes professionnels, mais j’espère que tous et toutes pourront y trouver des pépites de sagesse, peu importe où vous en êtes dans votre carrière. Pour donner le coup d’envoi de la série, nous publions un profil de Stephen de Jong, chef de la direction de VRIFY. Surtout connu pour son passage à la tête d’Integra Gold, alors qu’il a lancé le défi Integra Gold, un défi de données d’exploration participatif, M. de Jong a connu beaucoup de succès à un jeune âge en participant à la révolution numérique dans le secteur minier. VRIFY, sa nouvelle entreprise, intègre la technologie de la réalité virtuelle pour créer des visites de mine interactives. En plus de présenter de jeunes professionnels qui connaissent du succès, nous publierons des chroniques inspirantes rédigées par des spécialistes de l’industrie et des FAQ animées par des vétérans et portant sur certaines stratégies et valeurs immuables qui mènent à la réussite dans notre secteur. J’espère que cette série saura vous plaire et que vous en tirerez de l’information utile. Si vous avez des idées d’article, n’hésitez pas à communiquer avec moi.
Tom DiNardo,
tdinardo@cim.org 76 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 14, No. 1
mot de la présidente
Les risques ont-ils un aspect positif?
D
e par sa nature, notre industrie présente des risques, et la gestion de ces risques est un facteur essentiel pour tous les projets de développement des ressources. Les priorités et les profils de risque changeants ne font que renforcer la complexité de l’approche de gestion. Et tout comme le cycle d’expansion et de ralentissement de notre secteur, nous observons une fluctuation similaire des risques que nous devons gérer. Durant mon mandat à titre de présidente de l’Institut canadien des mines, de la métallurgie et du pétrole (ICM), j’ai eu l’honneur de présenter divers sujets au cours de multiples événements de l’ICM. Lors de deux de ces événements, Rocks and Stocks [organisé par la société de la gestion et de l’économie (SGE) et par la section de Toronto de l’ICM] et une conversation entre SGE et la section de Montréal de l’ICM, j’ai parlé de la « transformation des risques en occasion. » J’ai souligné dans ces présentations les risques prioritaires, modé-
rés et émergents, et la manière dont notre secteur, par la gestion de ces risques, peut en retirer des bénéfices. Actuellement, les risques hautement prioritaires auxquels notre secteur est confronté se situent au niveau des permis sociaux d’exploitation, des actionnaires (attentes et retombées), de la numérisation et de l’optimisation de la trésorerie. Ils sont suivis de risques modérés, qui comprennent la cybersécurité, le processus d’obtention des permis, les produits de base pour une « économie verte », le remplacement des réserves, le contrôle des capitaux et des dépenses d’exploitation et les risques géopolitiques. Toutefois, d’autres risques font surface, comme la pénurie de maind’œuvre qualifiée, l’eau, l’énergie et les changements climatiques qui pointent à l’horizon, et il y a sans doute d’autres forces perturbatrices qu’il nous reste encore à identifier. En examinant les risques auxquels notre industrie doit faire face aujourd’hui, il apparaît clairement qu’un grand nombre d’entre eux, voire tous, sont interreliés. Le plus grand défi de notre industrie, et de loin, réside dans les permis d’exploitation. Les permis d’exploitation sont décisifs quant au succès ou à l’échec d’un projet. Il ne s’agit plus de construire des écoles ou des routes, il s’agit de valeurs mutuelles, partagées. Il est essentiel de passer d’un modèle réactif et compensatoire à une approche plus collaborative, avec une plus grande transparence, et des communications et des consultations ouvertes, initiées dès l’amorce du projet. Nous devons, en tant que secteur, partager les réussites, les meilleures pratiques et les réalisations non seulement entre nous, mais aussi avec la collectivité en dehors du secteur. Nous devons remplacer les images négatives du passé par des innovations et des approches modernes. Nous pouvons renverser la tendance en corrigeant notre problème d’image, en faisant appel à la nouvelle génération, en renforçant la diversité, en établissant des partenariats, en regardant au-delà de notre secteur, ainsi qu’en attirant et en retenant des actionnaires. Cela prendra du temps, mais le changement est là et nous devons le saisir.
Janice Zinck Présidente de l’ICM February 2019 • Février 2019 | 77
Avec l’aimable autorisation de North American Palladium
La mine Lac des Îles de North American Palladium
UNE FORMATION
INTERNE ASCENDANTE
Ou comment l’industrie minière forme la main-d’œuvre existante afin de faire face aux difficultés qui se profilent en termes de ressources humaines dans le contexte de la révolution numérique
L’
Si les technologies plus propres et plus sûres connectées au réseau et renfermant des multitudes de données révolutionnent l’extraction des minéraux, elles changent aussi la définition des employés de mines
équipement automatisé associé à la collecte et l’analyse de données de pointe révolutionnent la façon dont l’industrie minière choisit, forme et maintient en poste ses employés. Les experts prévoient de grands changements à l’horizon en termes du nombre et du type de personnes employées dans le secteur, et les programmes de formation à l’exploitation minière sont remaniés de manière à refléter cette réalité future. Pour les opérateurs, la transition a déjà commencé ; les directeurs des mines Musselwhite de Goldcorp, Casa Berardi de Hecla Mining et Lac des Îles de North American Palladium expliquent que l’automatisation et la numérisation ont déjà modifié les rôles de leurs employés sur le terrain. Aaron Cosbey, associé principal à l’Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development (IGF, le forum intergouvernemental sur l’exploitation minière, les minéraux, les métaux et le développement durable) et auteur d’un rapport sur l’avenir de l’automatisation dans l’industrie minière, prévoit une hausse de la demande de travailleurs qualifiés afin de faire face aux besoins en termes de développement et de maintien de systèmes logiciels et de TI sophistiqués. Dans le même temps, les chiffres relatifs à l’emploi devraient chuter de façon spectaculaire, indiquait-il, car les tâches effectuées par des employés peu qualifiés deviennent superflues. Il estimait qu’une mine construite aujourd’hui avec les toutes dernières technologies « dans un pays comme le Canada » pourrait fonctionner « avec 70 à 80 % d’employés en moins ». Andrew Swart, dirigeant en mines et métaux pour le Canada chez Deloitte, déclarait que les fonctions sont susceptibles de « s’associer et de fusionner » dans les années à venir, requérant des employés polyvalents possédant des compétences diverses. « Si votre grand-père était mineur, il aura sans aucun doute vécu une expérience bien différente de celle d’un mineur ou d’une mineuse qui sera employé(e) dans les cinq à dix années à venir », indiquait-il. « [Nous] nous concentrerons bien davantage sur l’innovation, l’analytique et les compétences interfonctionnelles. Nous nous dirigeons vers un monde où les pures compétences techniques ne suffiront plus. » M. Swart ajoutait que le type d’employé(e) de l’industrie minière était voué à changer, mentionnant la tendance croissante aux États-Unis où les entrepreneurs indépendants
Par Cecilia Keating
devraient représenter plus de 40 % de la main-d’œuvre d’ici 2020 (ce chiffre se situait entre 5 et 33 % en 2010, variant en fonction de la définition du travail non conventionnel). L’exploitation minière, expliquait-il, ira dans cette direction, en particulier à mesure que l’industrie se tourne de plus en plus vers l’analytique des données, qui peut être effectuée à distance. Les sociétés minières devront adapter leurs structures de primes et mécanismes d’incitation traditionnels (généralement à l’intention des employés titulaires) afin de rester compétitifs et attractifs pour les nouveaux talents. Les avantages d’une catégorie plus diversifiée de travailleurs sont que les possibilités de travailler à distance viennent tempérer la sempiternelle lutte de l’industrie minière pour attirer des personnes qualifiées sur des sites miniers éloignés. L’industrie minière entre cependant désormais en lice avec des industries bien rémunérées comme les secteurs bancaire, technologique, manufacturier et du conseil pour embaucher des spécialistes en sciences des données. En développant la main-d’œuvre existante, l’industrie espère pouvoir éluder cette compétition et consolider les mines numériques du futur. Les établissements d’enseignement supérieur aux niveaux secondaire et tertiaire mettent au point des programmes qui contribueront à accroître les qualifications des mineurs chevronnés ; la formation en interne évolue également grâce à une réorganisation des programmes d’apprentissage afin d’y inclure l’analytique et la modélisation des données.
Des compétences non techniques pour l’extraction de roches dures MM. Swart et Cosbey ont réitéré le besoin pour l’industrie, le gouvernement et le monde universitaire d’être visionnaires afin de se préparer et de s’adapter aux progrès technologiques qui affecteront l’industrie minière. NORCAT, un centre de formation à but non lucratif du Grand Sudbury, est l’un des acteurs à l’avant-garde de ces avancées. « L’époque où les sociétés minières pouvaient embaucher un(e) nouvel(le) employé(e), le ou la former sur le tas puis assumer que le programme de leur formation allait rester identique et n’aurait besoin d’être revu que tous les cinq ans est bel et bien révolue », déclarait Don Duval, chef de la direction de NORCAT. February 2019 • Février 2019 | 79
Avec l’aimable autorisation d’Ilija Miskovic
Les étudiants de premier cycle Nathan Skubovius, Nabil Khan, Jacob Yeung et Veronica Knott (de gauche à droite) présentent leur projet final sur l’entretien des routes orienté données pendant le cours du professeur Miskovic dédié au contrôle et à l’automatisation des mines à l’UBC.
Pour lui, une « renaissance de la technologie » sans précédent dans l’industrie minière signifie que les acteurs de l’industrie doivent être plus vifs et innovants dans leur approche à la formation et au perfectionnement. Le contenu des programmes de formation doit être mis à jour régulièrement afin de refléter l’évolution de l’environnement de travail et d’être sensible aux nouveautés technologiques. Une mine pilote en exploitation à NORCAT fait également office de terrain de formation pour les étudiants et d’espace où les petites et grandes sociétés minières des quatre coins du monde spécialisées dans la technologie mettent à l’essai et présentent leurs tout derniers produits. Du fait de sa relation étroite avec ces sociétés, NORCAT découvre les technologies émergentes à l’avance et façonne ses programmes de formation en fonction, indiquait-il. D’après M. Duval, les travailleurs devront être plus polyvalents pour rester au fait de l’évolution du matériel et des logiciels. « Les sociétés minières cherchent dans l’employé(e) un ensemble de compétences diversifiées et la capacité à intégrer ces dernières. Dans le passé, cet(te) employé(e) pouvait n’avoir à effectuer qu’une tâche spécifique. » Selon lui, il est aujourd’hui plus important que jamais que la formation technique pratique soit enrichie de compétences non techniques telles que la communication, le leadership, la résolution de problèmes et de conflits ainsi que la gestion de projet, entre autres. « La notion de compétences approfondies dans une activité technique spécifique doit être tempérée par le fait que la technologie est vouée à évoluer. Les travailleurs doivent posséder les compétences, la confiance ainsi que le savoir-faire nécessaires [de manière à ce qu’ils sachent], si un logiciel est mis à 80 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 14, No. 1
jour, comment assumer ce changement du point de vue procédural afin de comprendre ce que cela implique pour la tâche », ajoutait-il. Une étude de 2017 sur l’avenir de l’emploi publiée par le McKinsey Global Institute insistait également sur l’importance pour les futurs travailleurs d’acquérir ces compétences « non techniques » (jusqu’ici) non automatisables. « Tous les travailleurs devront s’adapter, car leur profession évolue en parallèle à des machines dotées de capacités croissantes. Une partie de cette adaptation impliquera d’avoir un niveau d’études supérieures ou de passer plus de temps sur des activités qui requièrent des compétences sociales et affectives, de la créativité, des capacités cognitives de haut niveau et d’autres compétences relativement difficiles à automatiser. » Motivé par ses conversations avec les fabricants d’équipement et les sociétés minières, NORCAT développe trois nouveaux programmes de formation professionnelle (communication souterraine, systèmes télécommandés pour véhicules autonomes et électrification) qui débuteront en 2019 et associeront le savoir-faire technologique de pointe à ces compétences non techniques. Destinés aux mineurs en début et en milieu de carrière, chacun de ces cours durera entre trois et cinq jours et se tiendra au NORCAT Underground Centre (le centre souterrain de NORCAT). Si M. Duval admettait que l’automatisation et la numérisation entraîneront indéniablement certaines pertes au niveau « des emplois traditionnels de la main-d’œuvre qualifiée », il est d’avis que les nouveaux emplois créés dans le secteur technologique en plein essor de l’approvisionnement minier viendront « largement compenser les pertes d’emploi dans
l’industrie minière ». Il faisait remarquer qu’au cours des 30 à 40 dernières années, les départements internes de recherche et développement (R & D) sont de plus en plus sous-traités à un secteur « dynamique » des approvisionnements et des services de technologies minières. Le centre régional d’innovation de NORCAT à Sudbury nourrit cette industrie en aidant les entreprises en démarrage à croître. Rithmik Solutions fait partie de cet écosystème de technologies minières en plein essor. Cette société basée en Colombie-Britannique (C.-B.) travaille sur des mines à ciel ouvert au Canada et à l’étranger ; son produit phare, l’Asset Health Analyzer (l’analyseur de la santé des actifs), est un logiciel dans le nuage qui repose sur l’intelligence artificielle pour contrôler en temps réel l’usure de l’équipement. Kris Isfeld, directeur général adjoint, expliquait que les produits tels que les leurs n’éliminent pas le besoin d’emplois spécifiques sur le site, mais facilitent le travail des ingénieurs de fiabilité en leur permettant de gagner du temps lors de leurs recherches sur la cause première d’une défaillance du système. Dans le même temps, les mécaniciens sur le terrain passent moins de temps sur des immobilisations irrégulières, qui se produiront moins souvent, et peuvent se consacrer entièrement à l’entretien régulier de l’usine. « Ainsi, [le travail des mécaniciens] changera sans doute légèrement (les effectifs sont parfois réduits), et sera compensé par davantage d’ingénieurs de fiabilité, d’analystes de données et d’emplois informatiques car il faudra gérer cette grande quantité de données », expliquait M. Isfeld. Son collègue et directeur général adjoint Kevin Urbanski indiquait que l’élan technologique que connaît l’industrie minière est une bonne chose pour le secteur, étant donné que « cela attirera le personnel d’autres industries ; des industries qui se trouvent à la pointe des technologies se tournent désormais vers le secteur minier. On assistera à une pollinisation croisée ». Parallèlement, au niveau postsecondaire, l’université de la Colombie-Britannique (UBC) met en œuvre une série de cours destinés aux étudiants en génie minier de premier et second cycles, lesquels couvriront les applications fondamentales de l’intelligence artificielle, la robotique, l’automatisation et l’apprentissage automatique pour l’industrie. Le professeur Ilija Miskovic enseigne la géostatistique et les applications des données massives aux étudiants du Norman B. Keevil Institute of Mining Engineering (l’institut Norman B. Keevil de génie minier) de l’UBC. Il espère que les nouveaux cours débuteront d’ici la fin de l’année 2019, en fonction des approbations nécessaires. « Il est de notre responsabilité dans le monde universitaire de préparer nos nouveaux ingénieurs des mines afin qu’ils comprennent comment exploiter et appréhender le concept de mine numérique », indiquait-il. « Lorsque je m’entretiens avec des personnes du secteur », ajoutait-il, « elles sont à la recherche d’une nouvelle espèce d’ingénieurs des mines. Elles cherchent des personnes qui comprennent IBM Watson, qui peuvent travailler sur Python, qui savent coder dans Java. C’est très différent de ce que l’on apprenait il y a 3, 4 ou 10 ans. » Il expliquait que l’impact de la numérisation sur la maind’œuvre est un problème dont personne n’ose parler ; on
constate une nervosité générale (justifiée) quant à ce que cela implique pour les employés de bureau et les ouvriers. Les sociétés minières partagent avec le monde universitaire et le gouvernement la responsabilité de « reformer et reconvertir » les travailleurs. Il ajoutait qu’il a constaté des démarches positives dans cette direction dans les mines qu’il visite au Canada et aux États-Unis. Son département de génie minier espère également lancer un cours d’une année destiné aux professionnels évoluant déjà dans le secteur des mines. Ce cours consistera principalement en un apprentissage en ligne afin que les personnes en activité puissent l’intégrer à leur calendrier de travail.
Musselwhite Des porte-parole de mines en activité au Canada indiquent que la transition vers une automatisation et une numérisation accrues s’est faite relativement en douceur du point de vue des ressources humaines. En outre, beaucoup sont persuadés que les technologies de pointe sur le site atténueront le problème de la main-d’œuvre vieillissante et inciteront les jeunes à embrasser ce secteur. Les opérateurs d’équipement minier travaillant aux bureaux de Thunder Bay de Goldcorp dans le nord-ouest de l’Ontario utilisent désormais des manettes pour commander à distance les camions de transport, les pelles et un concasseur de l’exploitation aurifère souterraine Musselwhite, située à 500 kilomètres (km) au nord de la ville. Jusqu’en 2018, ces opérateurs faisaient la navette entre leur lieu de vie et Musselwhite tous les quinze jours. Ils passaient plus de deux heures chaque jour dans un engin de transport pour aller jusqu’à l’équipement sous terre et en revenir, au début et à la fin de leur poste. Malgré ces changements, la directrice des ressources humaines Aileen Pajunen indiquait que la composition des fonctions au sein de la main-d’œuvre de Musselwhite reste la même. La seule différence est que deux nouvelles fonctions ont été créées : spécialiste en automatisation, et coordinateur ou coordinatrice de la salle de commande. Les spécialistes de l’instrumentation du reste du site minier ont été affectés au projet pendant l’installation, mais ces employés ont repris leurs anciennes fonctions. Les compétences requises pour gérer à distance l’équipement de Thunder Bay sont les mêmes que celles d’un opérateur ou d’une opératrice en souterrain, expliquait Mme Pajunen. « Il s’agit du même travail », déclarait-elle, malgré que le nouveau contexte « ressemble à un environnement de jeu vidéo ». L’exploitation de l’équipement lourd est l’un des quatre métiers spécialisés que propose le programme de formation sur le terrain de Musselwhite. Les qualifications nécessaires pour s’inscrire à ce programme de formation préparatoire à l’exercice d’un métier d’une durée de 18 mois restent identiques, à savoir un diplôme sanctionnant la fin des études secondaires. Mme Pajunen expliquait que la transformation de mines anciennes en un environnement plus automatisé doit être traitée avec doigté du point de vue des ressources humaines ; en effet, « le changement, tout comme l’automatisation, s’accompagne de craintes. On [suppose] généralement que l’automaFebruary 2019 • Février 2019 | 81
« Si nous ne suivons pas le rythme, tous ces curieux se tourneront vers d’autres secteurs »
Casa Berardi La mine Casa Berardi de Hecla, une exploitation aurifère souterraine située dans le nord-ouest du Québec, a également embrassé l’automatisation de son équipement lourd. Une équipe de cinq personnes commande des camions de transport, des concasseurs de roches et des rampes de chargement automatisés à partir d’une salle de commande à la surface du site. L’un des membres de cette équipe était auparavant opérateur de camion de transport souterrain. Les autres étaient des candidats peu susceptibles d’avoir pris les rênes sous terre ; deux travaillaient dans le service Administration de Hecla, le troisième était technicien en géologie et le quatrième un garagiste recruté en externe qui dirigeait un atelier local d’entretien d’automobiles d’une ville de la région. Trois des cinq personnes de l’équipe étaient des femmes ; c’est l’un des atouts principaux de cette nouvelle technologie, expliquait Chantal Toussaint, directrice des ressources humaines chez Hecla. C’est en rendant les emplois plus simples et plus sûrs « que l’on ouvre de nouveaux horizons professionnels aux personnes qui n’auraient jamais envisagé 82 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 14, No. 1
– C. Toussaint
une carrière dans le secteur minier, ou à celles qui travaillaient dans ce secteur mais refusaient de travailler en souterrain ». D’après Mme Toussaint, le site compte désormais plus de techniciens en instrumentation et d’électromécaniciens qui gèrent les machines automatisées et les données ; pour ces deux fonctions, un diplôme universitaire est nécessaire. Le nombre de directeurs de projet a également augmenté. D’après Mme Toussaint, qui travaille dans le secteur minier depuis plusieurs années, l’incidence la plus marquée de l’innovation technologique sur le terrain concerne la catégorie de personnes travaillant dans la mine. « Il y a quelques décennies, beaucoup de personnes n’avaient pas de diplôme de premier cycle, d’autres n’avaient pas même terminé leur éducation secondaire. Aujourd’hui, la plupart des personnes qui travaillent dans des exploitations minières ont un diplôme de premier cycle ou universitaire. » Elle attribue cela à l’attrait de la nouvelle technologie, ainsi qu’aux programmes de formation
Avec l’aimable autorisation de North American Palladium
tisation entraînera une David Galea, le directeur de l’excellence opérationnelle à la mine souterraine Lac des Îles de North perte d’emploi ». CepenAmerican Palladium, indiquait que la transition technologique de la mine a modifié la composition, et non le nombre d’employés sur le site. dant, la transition s’est faite en douceur, expliquait-elle. Un certain nombre de postes de planification de l’entretien ont été transférés à Thunder Bay. Une grande partie des membres de l’équipe ont préféré ne pas accepter le transfert car ils n’étaient pas basés à Thunder Bay. On leur a alors proposé un autre emploi. D’autres ont opté pour une indemnité de licenciement, même si Mme Pajunen précisait que seules « quelques personnes » ont choisi cette option, et « qu’elles ont été bien rémunérées ». Plus de 40 employés ont maintenant migré à Thunder Bay, et globalement, Mme Pajunen considère la numérisation et l’automatisation comme un remède aux maux de la maind’œuvre de l’industrie. « Si les jeunes pouvaient voir que travailler dans le secteur des mines consiste à être assis dans un bureau à Thunder Bay et à jouer à des jeux vidéo, je pense que le nombre de candidats augmenterait considérablement », déclarait-elle. « L’automatisation élimine certaines des idées préconçues concernant l’exploitation minière. »
proposant des outils de pointe qui incluent la réalité virtuelle et augmentée. Il est donc essentiel, indiquait Mme Toussaint, que les mines tentent de rester au fait des progrès réalisés dans le domaine de la technologie. « Si nous ne suivons pas le rythme, tous ces curieux se tourneront vers d’autres secteurs », ajoutait-elle.
breux secteurs, et elles n’ont donc que l’embarras du choix quant au secteur et au lieu de travail qu’elles choisiront. Avec de telles options, les exploitations minières, et notamment les sites miniers reculés, devront trouver des manières uniques et créatives d’attirer et de maintenir en poste ce type de personnes talentueuses. »
Lac des Îles
Un nouveau contrat social
Entre-temps, David Galea, directeur de l’excellence opérationnelle à la mine souterraine Lac des Îles de North American Palladium dans le nord de l’Ontario, indiquait que la transition technologique de la mine a modifié la composition, et non le nombre d’employés sur le site. L’exploitation Lac des Îles est équipée d’une chargeuse-transporteuse (LHD, de l’anglais load-haul-dump machine) automatisée et d’un système permettant de contrôler l’aérage et les systèmes de dénoyage de la surface. Un programme de formation en génie minier de quatre ans a été lancé à Lac des Îles en 2018. En plus des rotations plus traditionnelles en génie, en exploitation souterraine ainsi qu’en usine de concentration et en entretien, chaque stagiaire passe une année avec l’équipe des projets d’excellence opérationnelle et de technologie de M. Galea. Parmi les tâches et les compétences développées figurent la modélisation des données, la définition des procédés, l’évaluation des technologies émergentes, la veille économique et l’analytique. « Les retours ont été positifs en termes d’accès à la formation en dehors du domaine traditionnel du génie minier et d’une exposition accrue dans tout le secteur », déclarait M. Galea. « Nous avons appris que pour maintenir l’automatisation, un soutien technique solide est nécessaire », expliquait M. Galea. « On aura toujours besoin d’employés sous terre pour inspecter, refaire le plein de carburant et lubrifier les machines automatisées, ainsi que pour s’assurer que l’environnement de travail est propre et que l’on a une bonne gestion des effectifs. » On a aussi désormais besoin de plus de techniciens de l’instrumentation et d’électriciens pour soutenir le réseau et la technologie, ainsi que pour entretenir l’infrastructure souterraine. La société a récemment embauché un nouvel ingénieur électrique en formation qui vient d’obtenir son diplôme d’une université de la région et était également inscrit dans un institut technique. D’après M. Galea, les sociétés minières devront établir des liens avec les écoles techniques à l’avenir afin de pouvoir répondre à la demande croissante. « Automatisation ou pas, la demande de compétences dans les domaines technologiques entourant les systèmes de commande et l’équipement électrique à batterie ne fera qu’augmenter dans tous les domaines, pas uniquement dans le secteur minier. Ce n’est guère différent d’un technicien ou d’une technicienne en automobile moderne, qui doit désormais posséder des connaissances électroniques plus approfondies qu’un mécanicien ou une mécanicienne formé(e) il y a 30 ans », expliquait-il. M. Galea reconnaissait que les sites miniers isolés tels que Lac des Îles vont indéniablement rencontrer des difficultés pour satisfaire cette demande. « Les personnes ayant une formation en technologie sont souvent un atout pour de nom-
M. Cosbey de l’IGF indiquait que l’incidence de l’automatisation et de la numérisation sur l’emploi se fera ressentir très durement dans les mines reculées du nord du Canada, qui trouvent leur principale source de main-d’œuvre au sein des communautés autochtones. « On aura bien moins d’emplois au niveau local, car les emplois éliminés concerneront des fonctions semi-qualifiées de niveau moyen auxquels on forme généralement les locaux », expliquait-il. « On les remplace par des emplois hautement qualifiés qui requièrent une éducation spécialisée. Il est plus difficile de former des locaux à ce genre d’emplois. » Tout comme celles établies dans des provinces à faibles revenus confrontées à une pénurie de travailleurs qualifiés dans des pays étrangers, les sociétés minières opérant dans les régions du nord du Canada rencontreront un « problème au niveau de leur permis social d’exploitation », prévoyait M. Cosbey. La capacité des sociétés minières à exploiter en toute légitimité dans un lieu spécifique dépend depuis longtemps des emplois qu’elles offrent aux fournisseurs et employés locaux (et des impôts sur le revenu qui suivront pour les gouvernements). Avec moins d’emplois offerts, les sociétés vont devoir imaginer un « nouvel accord » avec les communautés locales. « On entraîne une dégradation certaine de l’environnement, on modifie leur façon de vivre en amenant sur leurs lieux de vie des centaines de camions et en bouleversant les habitudes migratoires des animaux sauvages dont ils dépendent ; en échange, que leur donne-t-on ? », indiquait M. Cosbey. Les réinventions potentielles du contrat social comprennent le partage des infrastructures, par exemple en offrant aux villages et aux villes l’accès à l’eau potable ou l’Internet haut débit. M. Swart de Deloitte reconnaissait aussi ce problème et signalait d’autres scénarios possibles de partage des richesses pour offrir de nouvelles valeurs aux communautés au-delà de simples emplois. Il pensait notamment à un partenariat avec un hôpital ou un établissement scolaire pour offrir des soins de santé ou un enseignement « télécommandé » de classe mondiale. « Les ressources humaines ne sont plus le seul domaine concerné. Il convient d’introduire les autres fonctions de l’organisation », expliquait-il. « La semaine dernière, nous nous sommes entretenus avec une société minière confrontée à ce problème précis. Si le thème au cœur de notre discussion concernait l’avenir de l’emploi, le plus intéressant est que la société minière a fait venir son directeur des techniques informatiques, son dirigeant principal des ressources humaines (DPRH) et son dirigeant principal de la durabilité. Ces trois domaines différents étaient réunis dans la pièce, tous confrontés au même problème. » ICM February 2019 • Février 2019 | 83
OUT T E L R U O P LE TOUS ENSEMB
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ébec pourrait u Q u a e u q ri ct t éle r hite entièremen p ra g e d ilité publiée pa e b a in is m fa e e ll d e v e u d o tu n l’é Une est ce que révèle inie c’ ; r u jo le ir o v n projet Mataw so r su bientôt e it h p ra eau Monde G la société Nouv z
Par Robert Hilt
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ituée à 150 kilomètres (km) au nord de Montréal à Saint-Michel-des-Saints, la mine de graphite à ciel ouvert proposée par Nouveau Monde Graphite prévoit d’extraire quelque 100 000 tonnes par an de graphite à haute teneur. Ce qui marque véritablement la différence cependant, ce sont ses projets de se séparer de son équipement fonctionnant au diesel. Eric Desaulniers, chef de la direction de Nouveau Monde, déclarait que cette approche innovante est une tentative de suivre la voie future que prend la technologie minière. « La principale raison de cette décision est que nous allons construire cette mine en 2020 et que nous l’exploiterons pendant plus de 25 ans ; nous sommes convaincus qu’à l’avenir, tout deviendra, doucement mais sûrement, entièrement électrique », indiquait M. Desaulniers. D’après l’étude de faisabilité publiée en décembre 2018, le projet Matawinie est proposé en tant qu’exploitation à ciel ouvert équipée de camions électriques à batterie et de pelles à câbles électriques, avec un système semi-mobile de concassage et de transport dans la fosse minière. Le site comprendra également un concentrateur dont la capacité de production sera de 100 000 tonnes par an, et qui fonctionnera 24 heures sur 24, 365 jours sur 365. La durée de vie de la mine devrait être de 25 ans, et elle emploiera entre 60 et 70 personnes. Le coût initial de construction de ce projet est estimé à 283 millions de dollars. La mine affiche des ressources minérales probables de 59,8 millions de tonnes (Mt) contenant 4,35 % de carbone graphitique, qui fourniront 2,52 Mt de concentré de graphite sur 26 ans. D’après l’étude préparée par Met-Chem/DRA, la fosse mesurera 2,6 km de long et 380 mètres (m) de large à la surface, avec une profondeur maximale de 235 m. La mine devra être raccordée à une ligne électrique de 120 kilovolts ; cependant, sa proximité avec la ville de Saint84 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 14, No. 1
profil de projet Michel-des-Saints et son réseau électrique signifie qu’il ne sera pas nécessaire de procéder à des extensions massives et coûteuses pour rendre le projet réalisable. Le désir de s’équiper d’un parc de véhicules électriques s’accompagne de certaines difficultés qui dépassent la relative nouveauté de cette technologie. La gamme de véhicules de transport est limitée par rapport à un équipement traditionnel alimenté au diesel. Ce n’est pas un obstacle insurmontable en soi ; les distances dans une mine ne sont pas démesurées, mais la charge des véhicules sans encombrer le système ajoute une couche de complexité logistique que l’on ne rencontre pas avec des véhicules diesel. « Nous devons charger le véhicule pendant au moins 30 minutes pour qu’il soit fonctionnel, aussi il est important de gérer le temps de charge par rapport à la capacité opérationnelle afin de réduire le temps d’immobilisation », indiquait-il. « Il faut s’assurer qu’un camion est mis en charge pendant que l’on remplit les autres camions, aussi la gestion du temps devient cruciale. » Ceci signifie qu’il faudra échelonner les déjeuners et autres pauses pour assurer la rotation de l’équipement en charge, et éviter que tous les employés ne s’absentent en même temps. Les véhicules de soutien tels que les niveleuses, cependant, dépendront de la technologie de batterie qui requiert des sessions de charge moins fréquentes, mais plus longues. D’après M. Desaulniers, il est prévu que l’exploitation s’étale sur 16 heures par jour. Pour les huit heures restantes, les véhicules peuvent charger plus lentement, ce qui requiert moins de courant, de manière à ce que le parc soit totalement chargé le lendemain matin.
LE TOUT ÉLECTRIQUE : UN ÉTAT D’ESPRIT S’il ne s’agit pas de la première mine à 100 % électrique du pays, Matawinie sera la première à ciel ouvert, indiquait-il. La mine Borden Lake de Goldcorp est déjà en voie de devenir une mine souterraine entièrement électrique. David Lyon est responsable du développement à MEDATECH, et a travaillé sur les projets Borden Lake et Matawinie, préparant les sociétés à une électrification complète des activités. Il indiquait que l’une des principales difficultés pour les sociétés minières procédant à la transition concerne le changement d’état d’esprit. « Il s’agit davantage d’une philosophie, et il faut de grands visionnaires comme M. Desaulniers et son équipe à NMG pour se rendre compte si oui ou non, l’électrification totale est possible », indiquait M. Lyon. « Avec un coût bien calculé de l’énergie, cette option est non seulement possible, mais elle s’avère également être moins onéreuse que d’exploiter une mine avec un parc de véhicules fonctionnant au diesel. Ainsi, il n’y a pas de limites. » Dès lors que Goldcorp a montré ce qui était réalisable avec un parc électrique à sa mine Borden Lake, expliquait-il, De haut en bas : Roche hôte du gisement Matawinie ; Le produit fini : du graphite naturel en paillettes ; La route menant à la ville voisine de Saint-Michel-des-Saints Avec l’aimable autorisation de Nouveau Monde Graphite
d’autres sociétés ont pu en voir les avantages. Il pense qu’une tendance comparable suivra si Nouveau Monde parvient à fournir une validation de principe similaire. Cette philosophie différente vient en partie du fait que l’on considère l’équipement électrique d’un autre point de vue qu’un parc traditionnel fonctionnant au diesel. C’est là qu’interviennent les changements logistiques concernant la charge de la batterie dont parlait M. Desaulniers. Une fois ce problème réglé, indiquait M. Lyon, les véhicules électriques présentent de nombreux avantages, en plus de leurs retombées positives sur l’environnement. « Le moteur diesel est relativement peu performant, aussi si l’on doit placer un groupe motopropulseur de taille similaire en kilowatts, on pourra en faire un usage accru sur la base de l’efficacité du système », indiquait-il. « Ainsi, on peut réduire la taille du groupe motopropulseur (en le remplaçant par un moteur électrique qui égalera les performances du moteur diesel) ou, si l’on utilise le même moteur, on obtiendra des kilowatts davantage exploitables qui se répercuteront sur le régime et le couple mécanique. » Quant aux avantages pour l’environnement, comme on peut le lire dans une étude tierce réalisée par Globepro International dont les résultats ont été partagés avec l’équipe du CIM Magazine, la société prévoit une réduction des émissions de la mine de l’ordre de 8 545 tonnes de CO2 par an, par rapport à une mine traditionnelle de cette taille dont tout l’équipement fonctionne au diesel. D’après M. Desaulniers, ceci ne devrait pas intervenir dans l’approbation des permis environnementaux pour la mine, car la société a envoyé ses propositions comme si elle allait mener ses activités avec un équipement fonctionnant au diesel. « Dans nos études environnementales, nous utilisons des camions au diesel [comme référence] uniquement à des fins de calculs du bruit et de dégagement de gaz », indiquait-il. « Nous présentons les cas de figure les plus négatifs. » En outre, indiquait M. Desaulniers, les études environnementales portent principalement sur la façon dont les résidus et les activités affectent l’environnement immédiat. Le fait d’être l’une des premières mines à ciel ouvert à 100 % électrique présentera des avantages au niveau de la réduction de l’empreinte carbone, mais également de la capacité à développer une expertise industrielle relative à une exploitation entièrement électrique. « Le gouvernement a beaucoup à gagner ; en effet, les enjeux ne se limitent pas uniquement à notre mine qui réduira les émissions de gaz à effet de serre. Il est question de développer l’expertise nécessaire pour convertir le moteur diesel en un équipement totalement électrique. Il s’agit donc d’une expertise qui émanera du Québec et qui pourrait être exportée en dehors de la province », ajoutait-il. Nouveau Monde prévoit de demander des subventions aux niveaux provincial et fédéral une fois que le camion de démonstration et la station de charge seront prêts. La société espère aussi pouvoir négocier des tarifs de l’électricité plus intéressants avec Hydro Québec. February 2019 • Février 2019 | 85
Avec l’aimable autorisation de Medatech
Équipement 11 Camions de transport (16,3 t charge utile) 2 Excavatrice hydraulique (4,2 m3 Godet) 2 Forage de production de préclivage (Trous de 140 mm/114 mm) 2 Chargeuses sur pneus 2 Bouteurs 1 Niveleuse 2 Camions-atelier 1 Camion-atelier/camion flèche 4 Camionnettes 1 Pompe d’assèchement L’équipement de soutien peut également être rectifié de manière à être alimenté par batterie.
L’ANALYSE DE RENTABILITÉ M. Desaulniers précisait que la société a décidé d’augmenter la production maximale à 100 000 tonnes par an, soit près du double de ce que prévoyait l’étude de préfaisabilité, après avoir étudié la demande mondiale au cours des années à venir. Était également projetée une amélioration des perspectives en matière de levés géologiques et de forage, qui montrent des gisements de graphite environ trois fois la taille prévue initialement. La mine pourrait donc gérer la hausse de la production, sans que cela n’ait de répercussions sur sa durée de vie globale. Jusqu’à ce que la mine soit totalement opérationnelle, la société exploite une usine de démonstration qui produit environ 1 000 tonnes de concentré de graphite par an à partir de son gisement, pour prouver la qualité du produit sur le marché. Comme l’expliquait M. Desaulniers, le gisement de graphite sur lequel travaille la mine a donné une pureté du concentré de 97 à 98 %, avec des paillettes de taille géante après la flottation, ce qui en fait l’une des plus hautes teneurs de graphite naturel. Le graphite est réparti en plusieurs catégories, à savoir le graphite en paillettes, le graphite amorphe et le graphite de veine. Nouveau Monde produit du graphite en paillettes. On l’utilise dans toutes sortes de fabrications, notamment pour des mines de crayons à papier, des lubrifiants ou des batteries lithium-ion. D’après une étude publiée par l’United States Geological Survey (USGS, l’institut d’études géologiques des États-Unis), le graphite naturel est actuellement la forme préférée de ce minéral, car on peut le purifier à 99,9 % après affinage ultérieur. La valeur du graphite dépend de sa pureté et de la taille des paillettes ; les grosses paillettes rapportent le prix le plus élevé car il s’agit de la matière première utilisée pour les piles à combustible, de même que le graphite sphérique que l’on utilise dans la fabrication d’anode pour les batteries. Le projet Matawinie devrait produire une gamme de paillettes qui varient entre paillettes fines et grosses paillettes. L’étude de faisabilité propose des prix moyens sur les cinq premières années du projet en fonction de la taille des paillettes et de leur pureté, allant de 1 065 dollars/tonne pour les paillettes fines à 2 548 dollars/tonnes pour les paillettes les plus 86 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 14, No. 1
Nouveau Monde Graphite
grosses. À la mi-janvier, Nouveau Monde n’avait aucun accord d’écoulement en place. Lors de l’élaboration de son étude de faisabilité, Nouveau Monde a décidé d’augmenter la production maximale de manière à répondre à une hausse de la demande prévue au niveau mondial, en partie motivée par plusieurs projets d’usines de fabrication de batteries en Amérique du Nord dans les années à venir. « Il est logique pour nous de travailler d’arrache-pied afin d’obtenir les permis et de concevoir à plus grande échelle. Dans le pire des cas, si nous constatons vers le milieu des années 2020 que le marché ne répond pas à nos attentes, nous serons toujours à temps de réduire notre production à 50 000 tonnes par an. Cependant, nous sommes convaincus que le marché justifiera l’exploitation d’une plus grande mine. » Au début des années 2020, la plus grande mine de graphite d’Amérique du Nord exploitée par Imerys Graphite & Carbon à Lac-des-Îles, au Québec, devrait atteindre la fin de son cycle de vie. À ce moment-là, le continent ne comptera plus aucun producteur majeur de graphite. C’est ce qui confère à Nouveau Monde l’un de ses avantages pour la mine proposée, à savoir sa proximité avec de nombreux producteurs de batteries américains, existants ou en projet, répartis entre le Michigan, l’Ohio et la Pennsylvanie. Ces trois États se trouvent à des distances réalisables par camion, ce qui rend leur approvisionnement direct très simple du point de vue logistique. En outre, ces régions sont de grands producteurs de fer, dont le graphite est un ingrédient important, même si plus modeste. Pour les aciéristes, obtenir le prix le plus bas du graphite n’est pas une priorité car ce minéral ne constitue qu’une petite part de leurs besoins pour la production d’acier. « Ils veulent avant tout un produit fiable dans une province sûre proche de leurs usines ; ainsi, ils achètent auprès d’Imerys, même si le coût est légèrement plus élevé. » Cette option de prédilection pour l’approvisionnement en graphite arrivant en fin de vie dans quelques années, Nouveau Monde espère récupérer cette part de marché. ICM
technical abstracts
CIM Journal Abstracts from CIM Journal, Vol. 9, No. 3
Fifty years of seeding P. Evans Phil Evans Inc., Toronto, Ontario, Canada and D. Purdie Advisian–WorleyParsons, Markham, Ontario, Canada
This paper aims to remind researchers, designers, operators, and managers about the benefits of seeding in the design of precipitation stages in their flowsheet. Including a high density solids (HDS™) process encourages the precipitating solids to form on the surface of existing precipitated particles. This paper discusses the application of the HDS technology at Kennecott Smelter, where the authors have witnessed significant improvements in settling and filtration rates. The authors have also applied this technology at various smelter bleed treatment plants worldwide with similar improvements in precipitation and filtration rates. HDS is a registered trademark of De Nora Water Technologies.
Life-of-mine ventilation planning at Diavik R. D. Clarke Diavik Diamond Mines Inc., Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada E. De Souza Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
A framework for ventilation planning, with a focus on planning to the end-of-mine life, was developed for the Diavik Diamond Mine, Northwest Territories. This framework was successfully used by Diavik’s mine engineers to select a costeffective ventilation plan that met the life-of-mine requirements. The framework achieved this result by reconciling the production plan with the ventilation plan. A set of design acceptability criteria was created and a PICK (possible, implement, challenge, kill) chart was used to quickly narrow down the generated ideas for detailed assessment and economic analysis.
Reliability and application of instrumented rock bolts in underground coal mines T. R. Kostecki Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois, USA A. J. S. Spearing Curtin University, Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, Australia
Instrumented rock bolts are effective tools for assessing the reinforcement and condition of immediate roofs; however, instrumentation can have relatively high costs, which can be justified by high reliability and repeatable and representative data measurements. The instrument’s durability and operational life are of great importance, along with accuracy, applicability, and usefulness. This paper develops reliability models for three instrumentation technologies used in slotted rebar, drawing data from studies at five underground coal mines. Three case studies demonstrate instrument applicability and usefulness. Finally, two types of instrumented rock bolts are used to determine the direction of bend and maximum bending strain.
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technical abstracts
CIM Journal Abstracts from CIM Journal, Vol. 9, No. 3
Hydraulic conductivity and residence time in fractured rock: Florence Copper in situ leaching case study L. K. Sinclair, J. D. Smith, D. L. Koch, J. W. Tester, and J. F. H. Thompson Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
In this study, hydraulic conductivity (K) geostatistics were used to predict residence time distribution of well-to-well flow. Flow profiles, fracture density measurements, and pumping tests were available from the highly fractured Florence Copper in situ leaching site. The flow profiles were used to establish the statistical distribution and spatial autocorrelation of K. Two tests were used for validation. The first test confirmed that fracture density and K are autocorrelated over similar length scales. In the second test, Monte Carlo flow simulations successfully recreated the results of pumping tests. Flow simulations were used to stochastically model well-to-well residence time distribution.
Development of autoclave technology M. J. Collins Sherritt Technologies, Sherritt International Corporation Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, Canada
Autoclaves were first used in the metallurgical industry in 1893 to recover alumina from bauxite. In the 1940s and 1950s, several high temperature and pressure processes were invented in the laboratory of Professor Frank Forward at The University of British Columbia, in parallel with advances in equipment and processes by the Chemical Construction Corporation. Sherritt Gordon Mines Limited enlisted these groups to help develop the nickel sulfide ammonia leach process that was commercialized in 1954. Autoclave processes that have since been commercialized include high-pressure acid leaching of laterites, zinc pressure leaching, and pressure oxidation of refractory gold feedstocks.
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February 2019 • Février 2019 | 89
MINING LORE Roughing it in search of Cariboo gold By Jen Glanville
W
90 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 14, No. 1
Frederick Dally/Library and Archives Canada, accession C-037864
hen the To recover the gold, Fraser River miners had to build Gold Rush makeshift equipment concluded in 1859, on the spot. Those gold seekers pushed who staked claims that farther into British required complex Columbia’s interior to machinery often spent seek their fortune. With more money trying to so much wealth discovestablish operations ered on the banks of than they earned. the Fraser River, The first of two prospectors who venmajor discoveries in tured north stuck to the 1862 came when the rivers and creeks that Billy Barker Company, flowed into it, discoverled by an English seaing minor but promisman and saved from ing surface deposits A portion of the Cariboo Road near the Fraser Canyon in British Columbia. impending ruin by a along the way. Then in last minute loan, sunk 1860, a major deposit was found at the junction between the a shaft 52 feet below a well-explored canyon in Williams Fraser and Quesnel rivers, fuelling the frenzy of the Cariboo Creek and struck gold. The mine was worked for $600,000 Gold Rush. overall and led to the establishment of Barkerville, the largest Led by an American lawyer named William Ross “Doc” town developed from the gold rush. The second major find Keithley, a party of four went up to Quesnel River and found came from Canadian John “Cariboo” Cameron, who staked a a deposit that was substantial enough to fund the development claim with business partners one mile down the creek from of a town called Keithley Creek. They continued north into Barker’s and struck a deposit called the Cameron Claim, which Antler Creek, a remote location at the centre of the Cariboo earned him a share of $350,000 (well over $5 million in region, where they found what they were looking for: the rich- today’s dollars) within a year. est deposit discovered in the province up to that point. Their With seemingly endless riches to be found, the government findings included placer gold deposits worth up to $100 per wanted to improve access to the area to support further dispan, which would be the equivalent of just over $3,000 today. coveries. In 1861, Governor James Douglas concluded that Despite trying to remain vague when asked about their investment in a wagon-bearing road to the Cariboo was find, the group was followed back to the site, and by the spring needed. The project was ambitious for the time and is still conof 1861, 1,200 miners had staked claims at Antler Creek. sidered a feat of engineering to this day. Extensive cribbing, Newspapers back east published reports of the wealth men heavy blasting and bridge-building were required to navigate were pulling from the earth and the luxurious lifestyles they steep canyons and rushing rivers. The road was completed in were able to afford. What newspapers failed to mention was 1864, but by this time mining activity in the area was slowing. the tremendous challenge that operating in the Cariboo region The majority of mining was done in the first five years of the presented. rush, but some activity continued until 1900. In Williams The colony was, at the time, the epitome of frontier living, Creek, Stout’s Gulch and Conklin, an estimated $30 million with very little development beyond Victoria and New West- worth of gold was mined between 1861 and 1898 (more than minster, and just getting to the Cariboo was incredibly danger- $500 million in today’s dollars). ous. Provisions were nearly impossible to obtain en route, and The road came in too late for the colony’s mining efforts, the lack of proper roads meant prospectors had to fight their but it was not all for nothing. Instead of returning home, many way through snow drifts in the winter and thick brush during miners chose to settle in British Columbia. The completion of the summer. One Welsh immigrant who made the trek in the new road made it possible for businesses to grow, and 1862 with a group of fellow prospectors noted that half of his development in cattle ranching, forestry, real estate and fishgroup had to turn back because they ran out of money. Simply eries followed. The road may not have served its primary funcarriving at the mining camp, however, was not enough to guar- tion of supporting the gold rush, but it built the foundation for antee the gold seekers their fortune. future economic success in British Columbia. CIM
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