CIM Magazine November 2017

For what matters most.

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NOVEMBER | NOVEMBRE | 2017

feature

40

Figuring out the flowsheet Process plant designers and suppliers are prepared to take on risk in order to improve operations

By Alexandra Lopez-Pacheco

46 Independent minded B2Gold’s Fekola operation is the latest achievement in the company’s hands-on approach to mine construction

50 Settling the tailings pond question Advances in the treatment of fluid fine tailings

By Graham Chandler

54 50th annual Canadian Mineral Processors Conference program

By Cecilia Keating

November • Novembre 2017 | 5

CIM MAGAZINE NOVEMBER | NOVEMBRE 2017

in each issue

8 10 12

Editor’s letter President’s notes Chatter

tools of the trade

14

The best in new technology Compiled by Rob Csernyik

developments

16

Acacia Mining and Helio Minerals met with costly upheavals in Tanzania

By Rob Csernyik

25

Rio Tinto successfully pilots autonomous train journey in Pilbara

26

By Kelsey Rolfe

28

George Salamis talks Integra’s DeLamar mine acquisition

contenu francophone

59 60

Table des matières

The power of planned innovation

61

Les actualités

By Carl Weatherell

article de fond

By Rob Csernyik

column

32

health & safety

34

64

Zero-gravity drill handling system from CMAC-Thyssen reduces health risk for operators

34

By Kylie Williams

36

University of Arizona researchers develop video game for mine safety training

69

Glencore implements suicide prevention program at a number of its Australian mines

By Elle Crosby

mining lore

74

Comprendre le déroulement des processus Les concepteurs d’usines de traitement et les fournisseurs sont prêts à prendre des risques pour améliorer les activités dans le secteur minier Par Alexandra Lopez-Pacheco

By Cecilia Keating

38

Lettre de l’éditeur | Mot du président

46

L’indépendance d’esprit La mine à ciel ouvert, située le long d’une riche ceinture aurifère dans l’ouest du Mali, est destinée à devenir la principale exploitation de B2Gold Par Cecilia Keating

The tiny mining town of Joachimsthal was an inspiration for many famous scientists

By Cecilia Keating

Nous publions progressivement sur notre site Internet les articles du CIM Magazine en version française.

6 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 12, No. 7

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editor’s letter

Mining’s innovation problem ast year at the quadrennial MinExpo in Las Vegas, where the newest in equipment and technology takes centre stage, the big attraction was a purpose-built autonomous hauler. The vehicle had fourwheel steering, no cab and could truck ore either forward or backward. It was big, photogenic and representative of the next step in autonomous haulage.

A year later, in a small conference room in a Toronto hotel, Peter Kondos, senior director of strategic technology solutions for Barrick Gold, had a different take on where mining technology was heading. “Trucks are not the future,” he said.

He was speaking at the Mines and Technology conference held in early October where, over three days, miners shared case studies, suppliers offered solutions and speakers puzzled over exactly what the industry might do to improve its performance in the immediate and distant future.

Despite the abundant evidence that mine performance can be dramatically improved by better using current mining practices – one presentation detailed how, with a little more feedback to the equipment operators, underground haul

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This issue’s cover B2Gold’s Fekola operation

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Courtesy of B2Gold

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Finalist

trucks could carry 50 per cent more material – there was an obvious impatience with how the industry was being held back by the lack of ambition with which new technologies, such as sensors, were being deployed.

Or, as Nathan Stubina, managing director at McEwen Mining put it: “Do we really need people in Perth monitoring the balls in a one per cent-efficient tumbling mill?” Rather than optimize what amounts to a colossal noisemaker, he would prefer to see it scrapped and replaced by a better design.

The size of the crowd made it clear that technology is a reliable attraction. While there were plenty of interesting concepts presented, the most compelling discussions, however, revolved around the question of how mine management can block out the incessant “innovation” noise and evaluate the countless options available to them based on a clear set of goals. “There are lots of shiny things out there,” said Stubina. “Where do you want to get to?”

Editor-in-chief Ryan Bergen, rbergen@cim.org Executive editor Angela Hamlyn, ahamlyn@cim.org Managing editor Andrea Nichiporuk, anichiporuk@cim.org Section editors Tom DiNardo, tdinardo@cim.org; Kelsey Rolfe, krolfe@cim.org Copy editor Marilena Lucci, mlucci@cim.org Web content editor Maria Olaguera, molaguera@cim.org Contributing editor Eavan Moore, emoore@cim.org Associate editor Elle Crosby, ecrosby@cim.org Editorial intern Rob Csernyik, rcsernyik@cim.org Digitization technician Marie-Ève Lapierre, melapierre@cim.org Contributors Graham Chandler, Cecilia Keating, Alexandra LopezPacheco, Carl Weatherell, Kylie Williams Editorial advisory board Alicia Ferdinand, Mohammad Babaei Khorzhoughi, Vic Pakalnis, Steve Rusk, Nathan Stubina Translations Karen Rolland, CNW and Annick Vallée 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

Ryan Bergen, Editor-in-chief editor@cim.org @Ryan_CIM_Mag

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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.

adian Busines sM Can in

Printed in Canada 8 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 12, No. 7

FOR MORE THAN 25 YEARS, MINOVA HAS BEEN PROUDLY SERVING THE CANADIAN MINING INDUSTRY. Minova is known, globally, as an innovator of ground support solutions for the underground mining, construction, tunneling and civil engineering industries.

president’s notes

Mining and social responsibility

“It is a given that mining companies need to engage with local communities to successfully advance projects, otherwise investors suffer undue financial losses.”

Over the last few decades, the mining industry has given significantly more attention to its social responsibility. When I started in the mining industry, more than 40 years ago, the term was virtually unheard of. Today, social license to operate, an even younger concept, is one of the pillars for the success of a mine’s development.

One such success belongs to Teranga Gold for its work around the Sabodala project in Senegal. The company’s contributions to the community earned Teranga PDAC’s Environmental and Social Responsibility Award as well as accolades from the Senegalese government. Continental Gold’s Buriticá project in Colombia has also been recognized for its contribution to the local community, similarly receiving praise from the local and national governments.

As for spectacular failures, Meridian’s Esquel Gold project in Argentina from the 2000s is an excellent case study. One major concern of the community was the transport, use and destruction of cyanide. Eventually the company publicly conceded it had failed to engage with the community about the benefits and risks of the project. Community objection has resulted in the project remaining undeveloped to this day. In 2003, the local Argentinian government in the province of Chubut essentially banned open pit mining and cyanide use in mining as a result of the Esquel events. The Chubut regulations have had far reaching impacts, delaying the development of Pan American Silver’s Navidad open pit and cyanide leaching project, which has been in care and maintenance since 2013.

Of more concern are anti-mining NGOs, such as CALAS, which opposes the operation of Tahoe Resources Escobal mine in Guatemala. CALAS alleges Tahoe violated the local Xinca Indigenous people’s right of consultation despite numerous community meetings with Tahoe and the government and the local San Rafael town having over 80 per cent non-Xinca people. Operations there have been stopped for months.

It is a given that mining companies need to engage with local communities to successfully advance projects, otherwise investors suffer undue financial losses.

Over time, the influence of environmentalists, governments and moderate NGOs has raised the standard for mining operations. But anti-mining NGOs need to understand the communities they attempt to defend may end up paying the price in lost opportunities and undeveloped infrastructure for their efforts to stop mining investment at all costs.

Kenneth (Ken) G. Thomas CIM President

10 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 12, No. 7

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chatter

RYAN BERGEN @Ryan_CIM_Mag

ANGELA HAMLYN @AngelaH_CIM

RE: VALE TO TRIAL BATTERY LHDS AT COLEMAN MINE (ONLINE EXCLUSIVE)

It will be interesting to see how battery-powered machinery works in underground mines.

– Janice Leuschen, @JaniceLeuschen

ANDREA NICHIPORUK @Andrea_CIM_Mag RE: GENOME BC AND TECK PARTNER WITH UBC FOR $400,000 SELENIUM RESEARCH PROJECT (ONLINE EXCLUSIVE)

Great application of #genomics to help protect the #environment @GenomeBC – Catalina LopezCorrea, @clopezcorrea

TOM DiNARDO @Tom_CIM_Mag

RE: DETOUR GOLD TAKES RESPONSIBILITY FOR WORKER’S DEATH (ONLINE EXCLUSIVE)

KELSEY ROLFE @kelseyarolfe

L'importance de jamais prendre la sécurité pour acquis. Même le superviseur fait face a des chefs d'accusation. [The importance of never taking security for granted. Even the supervisor faces charges.]

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Good morning! Yesterday in Tucson, Arizona, @catproducts gave media and investors a demonstration of their automation tech for mining equipment. Three out of the four vehicles in this video don't have a driver in the cab!

26 likes

Editor @kelseyarolfe remotely operates a @catproducts D11T mining dozer from the comfort of the command centre at Tinaja Hills. The dozer can be driven remotely, or fitted with autonomous technology.

CIM Magazine was at Caterpillar’s Tinaja Hills proving grounds in September. Check out the story on pg. 20 and follow us on Instagram @cim_mag for more field adventures and the mining stories you should be watching.

LINKEDIN linkedin.com/groups/40506/

INSTAGRAM instagram.com/cim_mag

YOUTUBE youtube.com/canadianinstituteofmining

ERRATUM In the September/October 2017 issue, CIM Magazine published a Q&A with Marcus Thomson, director of the Innovation and Prosperity Office at CEMI, entitled “Tapping big data” (pg. 38), which implied that CEMI’s new Mining Observatory Data Control Centre (MODCC) was located underground at the SNOLAB facility in Vale’s Creighton mine near Sudbury, Ontario. It is in fact at surface at SNOLAB, beside the Creighton mine. We regret the confusion.

12 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 12, No. 7

LET’S TALK Want to sing our praises or read us the riot act? Email your comments to editor@cim.org and you could be featured on these pages.

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To improve on its 988K large wheel loader, Caterpillar changed up the drive system and, in the process, improved the fuel efficiency. The result is the company’s new 988K XE loader, which has the same look and feel as its predecessor but is the company’s first wheel loader with a “high-efficiency electric drive system,” replacing a power shift transmission. The company increased the fuel efficiency by removing the torque converter and transmission and replacing it with a generator, inverter and motor. The new transmission is also an upgrade, as without mechanical shifting the directional changes for the 988K XE are a lot smoother than the previous model. “The operator can really customize their travel speeds to the job,” said Todd Tuntland, an application specialist at Caterpillar. Better acceleration in the new model translates to a 10 per cent increase in productivity over the 988K in typical load and carry applications. Alternatively, the loader features an economy mode that reduces fuel consumption while minimally impacting productivity. Tuntland added that the engine idle shutdown feature further helps save fuel by avoiding unnecessary idling. “If you’re at 2,500 hours or more your payback on the machine is going to be that much quicker, as well as in regions with higher fuel prices.”

The ability to access hole location information and coordinates has previously been available for Sandvik rock bolters, but now it is incorporated into the company’s new DS422i cable bolter.

Markus Reinikka, vice-president of bolters and ground consolidation at Sandvik, said having actionable data optimizes the bolt installation process. “If the installation equipment and bolts together form a system where all quality and accuracy related information is captured, the customers can use this information to improve their bolting design,” he said. Reinikka added that it also helps when designing a workflow. With the bolting head and the boom fully instrumented, mine managers will know exactly how and where bolts were installed, how much grout was pumped, the mixing ratio of the grout used and other key details of the mechanized bolt install process. The development of the DS422i came after customers requested solutions that gave them documented data from the planning and installing process. Now instead of spray marking the bolt locations, the control system of the DS422i allows owners to perform bolting tasks based on a predefined drill plan. Using Sandvik iSure software, owners can plan and view installed bolt data. Because it is built on the same platform as the Sandvik DD422i, owners also benefit from parts commonality and a globally compliant electrical system that does not require a major mechanical change between sites. The DS422i also features automatic rod handling, a silent, ergonomic cabin and both operator-assisted and automated functions.

Safe and easy sampling Minimizing soluble gold losses in tailings requires accurate, consistent testing. Gekko’s new Carbon Scout technology replaces traditional manual gold extraction techniques with automated measuring technology. Carbon Scout, developed at Australia’s Curtin University, uses slurry samples from carbon-in-leach (CIL) and carbon-in-pulp (CIP) tanks to determine the distribution of the activated carbon in each tank’s pulp. Because Carbon Scout is a single point of measurement for up to 10 CIL and CIP tanks, it can analyze 10 times more slurry than manual sampling, freeing up employees to do other tasks. Additionally, the Carbon Scout’s siphon system delivers samples directly into the device for analysis, removing operator exposure to cyanide and other hazards. Carbon is measured by filtering a slurry sample through a measuring cylinder, screening it to separate pulp and activated carbon particles and then measuring the remaining volume of activated carbon particles. Gekko claims it is accurate to within plus or minus 0.5 grams of carbon per litre of pulp. Because the Carbon Scout does not use a sonic transponder it does not require constant calibration. The company said the device “can be utilized for daily laboratory samples as well as future technology enhancements such as online density and mineral analysis.”

Compiled by Rob Csernyik 14 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 12, No. 7

Courtesy of Gekko

Upgrade to electric

Optimizing bolt installation

Courtesy of Sandvik

Courtesy of Caterpillar

tools of the trade

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS Deadline: November 20, 2017

SUBMIT AN ABSTRACT AND WORK WITH US TO BUILD THE FUTURE OF MINING TOGETHER. The CIM Convention has always been a gathering place for thought leaders and industry innovators; a place where minds come together to combine expertise, vision and dedication to find solutions to some of the industry’s greatest challenges and grasp opportunities.

➔ You can submit an abstract to any of the following technical program streams: ➔ Maintenance Engineering and Reliability Best Practices

➔ A Vision for the Future – Mineral Processing In Canada

➔ Mining Projects Development

➔ Underground Mining

➔ Environment and Sustainability Development

➔ Mining Metamorphosis

➔ Leading In Safety ➔ Practical Operation ➔ Exploration and Mine Geology Note: More details and sub-themes are available on the website.

A selection of papers presented at CIM Convention 2018 will be available online through cim.org Technical Paper Library.

➔ Rock Mechanics ➔ Diversity and Inclusion ➔ Management and Finance Day (By invitation only) Submit an abstract at

CONVENTION.CIM.ORG

#CIMBC18

Canadian mining sector group shortlisted for federal supercluster innovation funding

Ontario First Nations go to court to increase share of resource development funds

Rio Tinto successfully pilots autonomous train journey in Pilbara

George Salamis talks Integra’s DeLamar mine acquisition

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Developments Acacia Mining and Helio Minerals met with costly upheavals in Tanzania As Tanzania tightens rules on foreign investors, Canadian mining companies among those affected

Courtesy of Acacia Mining

By Rob Csernyik

Acacia’s Buzwagi mine, pictured, sold about 35 per cent of its gold production while still incurring full production costs following Tanzania's concentrate export ban.

The rewards of investing in Tanzania are fading as international mining investors feel the effects of several months of regulatory crackdowns.

Cancelled business deals, layoffs and declining stock prices have become the new norm for multinationals drawn to Tanzania’s resource-rich but underdeveloped mining economy.

Among the companies facing the new challenges of the Tanzanian market 16 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 12, No. 7

head-on are Barrick Gold subsidiary Acacia Mining and Vancouver-based junior exploration company Helio Resource Corp. Barrick’s preliminary Q3 results, released Oct. 12, showed a 140,000-ounce decline in gold production over the prior year’s results for the same time, contributed to by Acacia’s struggles.

Acacia confirmed in a statement that it produced 191,203 ounces of

gold but sold only 132,787 ounces during Q3. Sales were below production due to Tanzania’s ban on the export of gold and copper concentrate, which Acacia’s Bulyanhulu and Buzwagi mines produce.

After months of talks to resolve the prolonged spat between Tanzania and its subsidiary, Barrick announced on Oct. 19 the country would receive a 50 per cent share of Acacia’s profits going

developments forward. Barrick’s executive chairman John Thornton and President of Tanzania John Magufuli signed a framework agreement outlining the steps for the partnership, which will include creating a new Tanzanian operating company to manage Acacia’s three mines, in Dar es Salaam.

Magufuli has led the charge to reform how multinational miners do business in the country. Since March his government has enacted a number of new rules, including raising Tanzania’s royalty rate on gold to six per cent, up from four per cent, and hitting mineral exports with a one per cent fee.

Magufuli’s government has also voided and renegotiated mining contracts, banned exports of unprocessed mineral concentrates and ores, and denied mining companies the ability to seek international arbitration in disputes with the government.

Tanzania, Africa’s fourth-largest gold producer, did not see significant

IDLERS

foreign investment until a new mineral policy and tax rules were enacted in the late 1990s. Now firms from Australia, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and Canada are feeling the pinch on their Tanzanian investments. As the country looks to grow its minerals sector from contributing about three per cent of its GDP to 10 per cent, the long-term economic effects of the new regulations remain to be seen.

“We’ve been in Tanzania since 2006 and we weren’t expecting these changes,” said Richard Williams, the CEO and director of Helio. “The speed with which these changes were made and really the lack of consultation with those in the industry has taken all the operators by surprise.”

Helio announced in June a deal to sell its SMP Gold project in southwest Tanzania to Shanta Gold only for it to fall through in August. Shanta terminated the agreement citing changes to Tanzania’s mining laws since the origi-

PULLEYS

nal announcement, though Helio has argued there is “no proper basis” for the termination.

“I think what you’ve seen is the investment community take a step back and try to fully understand the implications of the changes to the laws,” said Williams. “I think that has not only an impact on our ability to access capital and operate, but it affects the development of any mining project in Tanzania.”

He added that one of the biggest concerns to a foreign investor is Tanzania’s removal of the ability for companies to receive international arbitration, meaning mining companies can only seek remedy in the country’s courts.

Tanzania’s biggest gold miner, Acacia, has also run into multiple problems due to the changes.

Acacia’s Buzwagi mine sold about 35 per cent of its gold production while still incurring full production costs following the concentrate export

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ban. Buzwagi focused on gold and copper concentrate that made up almost 30 per cent of Acacia’s revenues. In a June statement, Acacia said the concentrate export ban had resulted in around US$175 million in lost revenue during the first six months of the year despite a production increase in the same time period.

After a processing trial, Acacia announced last month Buzwagi would switch to doré bar production.

The company has also announced an intention to reduce operations by ceasing underground activity at Bulyanhulu, which was losing US$15 million per month due to the concentrate ban.

Acacia’s North Mara mine, however, is largely unaffected as 100 per cent of its production is doré.

Tanzania also announced in July that Acacia owed US$190 billion in taxes, penalties and interest for the period between 2000 and 2017. Barrick said earlier this summer that discus-

18 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 12, No. 7

sions with the Tanzanian government were getting underway. A public relations representative for Acacia had no comment when contacted by CIM Magazine, but the company has repeatedly denied the allegations.

In what Barrick termed a “gesture of good faith” in its Oct. 19 announcement, Acacia will give the Tanzanian government a US$300-million payment. A working group has been created between Barrick and Tanzania to address Acacia’s tax bill, and the country’s government will be part of future decision-making around Acacia’s operations.

Ronak Gopaldas, head of country risk at South Africa’s Rand Merchant Bank, said it is important to remember Magufuli’s focus on resource nationalization resonates with citizens, even if his haphazard approach to regulatory changes alienates the business community. Gopaldas said there is an element of political theatre at play, and it is

working – Magufuli continues to be popular among his constituents.

“The reason [Magufuli has] targeted companies like Acacia,” he said, “is because they’re heavily invested in the country and are unlikely to go anywhere.”

Gopaldas added that the erosion of value and “violent share price declines” already experienced on international exchanges mean that mining companies would be more likely than the government to “blink first and push for a quicker resolution of the dispute.”

He said that the new regulations for the mining industry are so unrealistic and commercially unviable that they could represent the tactic of taking an extreme position to reorient in the middle of current and former regulations.

“I think chances are, in the short term, things will continue to be haphazard and erratic, so I’m not expecting a quick fix.” CIM

developments

Canadian mining sector group shortlisted for federal supercluster innovation funding The Canadian mining sector’s proposed clean resources supercluster in Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia is on a shortlist of nine groups looking to share in $950 million in federal funding.

The CLEER (Clean, Low-energy, Effective, Engaged and Remediated) mining supercluster will focus on reducing energy, environmental footprint and water use in Canada’s mining sector by a target of 50 per cent in each area by 2027.

The CLEER supercluster was announced Oct. 11 as having made the shortlist. The project is led jointly by the Centre for Excellence in Mining Innovation (CEMI) and the

Canada Mining Innovation Council (CMIC).

“The image people have of mining, we want to shift that. We don’t want to be perceived as a dirty industry,” said Charles Nyabeze, CEMI’s director of business development. “We want to make mining cleaner.”

The project is “about creating clean mining technologies that will be adopted by the industry,” Nyabeze said. “We’re covering the whole spectrum of mining, focusing on advancing technologies in the three categories of water and energy use and mining’s environmental footprint.”

The 2017 federal budget allotted funding over five years to support a small number of business-led innovation superclusters. Carl Weatherell, executive director and CEO at CMIC said in an interview with CIM Magazine that superclusters are “a dense grouping of all sorts of things

necessary to get ecosystems to take off,” and are similar to Silicon Valley.

The goal is to fund the projects that offer the greatest potential to accelerate economic growth. Successful applicants are required to match dollar-fordollar the federal funds that they receive. The government received 50 proposals and is looking for up to five groups to share the funding.

CLEER is made up of four existing clusters that combined represent an initial eight resource companies, 12 post-secondary institutions, 42 small and medium enterprises and 25 additional support organizations.

Nyabeze said the project had financial commitments from mining companies including Agnico Eagle, Vale, Glencore and Barrick. “We do have a significant number of big mining companies interested, who would be end users of the technical solutions [that emerge from the supercluster],” he said. “But equally

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November • Novembre 2017 | 19

FROM THE WIRE Teranga Gold released the feasibility study, prepared by RPA Inc., for its Banfora gold project in Burkina Faso in September. Based on Proven and Probable Mineral Reserves of 21.4 million tonnes at 1.69 grams per tonne (g/t) gold, Teranga reported Banfora has a 15 per cent internal rate of return at $1,250 per ounce, for an open-pit mine and a 2.4 million tonne per annum carbon-in-leach processing facility. The project also has Measured and Indicated Resources of 35.3 million tonnes at 1.61 g/t gold. Banfora’s average annual production for the first 5.5 years is expected to be 131,000 ounces with an all-in sustaining cost of $807 per ounce. The company said it will provide a reserve update in 2018.

The Canadian Association of Mining Equipment and Services for Export rebranded itself as the Mining Suppliers Trade Association (MSTA) Canada.

For more than 35 years MSTA Canada has supported global marketing of Canadian mining suppliers and connected foreign buyers with Canadian sources for mining equipment and services.

After consulting with members on what new services it should provide, MSTA Canada will further its advocacy in Ottawa for the needs of Canada’s mining sector, in addition to increased education and networking opportunities.

Gavin Dirom was named Geoscience BC’s president and CEO and took over the role on Oct. 16. The non-profit generates earth science information in collaboration with partners, including academia, First Nations, governments, local communities and the resource sector. Dirom was the president and CEO of the Association for Mineral Exploration British Columbia from November 2008 to May 2017. He has more than 25 years of experience in Canadian mining and mineral exploration, with focuses on environmental management, First Nations and stakeholder relations and government policies, and also worked for the Mining Association of British Columbia and Natural Resources Canada.

20 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 12, No. 7

important is the number of supply service companies and inventors that have come to the table and said, we have some ideas that could help you meet your targets.”

Together with their industry members, CMIC and CEMI will advance the project to the next phase by submitting a detailed proposal by Nov. 24.

Weatherell said he feels confident it is a project whose time has come. “If you take a look at government investments in innovation, [mining is] left out,” he said, adding that Canada lags behind countries like Australia in funding mining innovation.

Weatherell also said the supercluster is designed to reflect how the mining industry operates, by working in locations all across the country. While he said a majority of company headquarters are in Toronto or Vancouver, a lot of mining happens in smaller and more remote regions of Canada.

“Ours is truly national,” he said, adding that it is the only proposal working extensively with Indigenous Canadians and Canada’s northern territories.

According to their website, the government anticipates that contribution agreements will be negotiated and funding allocations will be made to the successful applicants before March 31, 2018.

– Rob Csernyik

Caterpillar announces new proof of concept battery-powered LHD Caterpillar has developed a proof of concept battery electric load-hauldump (LHD) that it shipped to a Canadian mine for testing in September, the company announced at a Sept. 12 press briefing in Tucson, Arizona.

The company modified its R1300G underground LHD loader to include a lithium-based battery, and is developing on-board charging for the machine rather than a battery switch-out, for safety and “inventory management,” Jay Armburger, Caterpillar’s product

manager for underground technology, told journalists.

The Tucson event was the first time Caterpillar has publicly discussed its proof of concept.

Armburger emphasized that the company “does not have a product to offer today on the market … what we have is a test bed.” Caterpillar will launch a product introduction program after more design and validation is done on the test machine.

“We’re focused on becoming a significant player for battery charging in the underground mining space,” Armburger said. “We’re investing in this space and we see a lot of opportunities for our customers.”

Because the R1300G is an older model “not equipped with electrohydraulics,” it is not optimized for the best battery life, Armburger said. A future design of the machine would increase battery life through load-sensing hydraulics driven by piston pumps.

He declined to comment on the current typical charging time for the battery but said the company expects to get it to 30 minutes or less.

The company began modifications on the machine in December 2016 and began testing it in May 2017 at its Peoria, Illinois proving grounds. The modifications included ditching the engine, transmission and torque converter and reconfiguring the engine end frame to fit the battery boxes and electric motors.

The R1300G will move material at the Canadian mine, which Caterpillar declined to name, until early 2018.

Caterpillar joins a crowded field.

Both RDH Mining Equipment and GE began producing battery electric LHDs in 2012, and Atlas Copco released its Scooptram ST7 Battery in May 2016, using Artisan Vehicle Systems’ battery pack. Last September, Sandvik Mining unveiled its LH307B battery-powered loader.

Battery-powered electric vehicles have gained popularity as mining companies move to deeper underground mines in search of higher-grade ore and larger reserves. One of the biggest

Courtesy of Caterpillar

developments

FROM THE WIRE

Caterpillar removed the engine, transmission and torque converter and reconfigured the engine end frame to fit the battery boxes and electric motors in its battery-powered test unit (pictured).

challenges with mining deeper into the earth is ventilating diesel emissions and keeping the tunnels air conditioned for worker safety and comfort.

Kirkland Lake Gold implemented RDH Mining Equipment’s batterypowered electric vehicles at the Macassa and South Mine Complex in 2012, and currently about one third of the site’s equipment fleet is electric. Glencore designed its Onaping Depth site around a planned all-electric mining vehicle fleet to combat ventilation challenges. And last September Goldcorp announced it would work with Sandvik and MacLean Engineering to design its Borden Lake project as an all-electric mine.

– Kelsey Rolfe

MAC says new tailings management guide “raises the bar” for industry The Mining Association of Canada has released an updated version of its tailings management guide.

The new edition of A Guide to the Management of Tailings Facilities, announced on Nov. 7, has updates focusing on key tailings management components throughout a facility’s life cycle. These include change manage-

ment, critical controls for risk management and performance evaluation.

The guide, first published in 1998 and last updated in 2011, forms the basis of the tailings management performance indicators in the association’s Toward Sustainable Mining (TSM) initiative. MAC requires that member companies operating in Canada be compliant with TSM and report on their performance. Currently 22 of 42 member companies report, representing 65 mining facilities and more than 48 tailings facilities.

Charles Dumaresq, MAC’s vicepresident of science and environmental management, said the association wanted to “raise the bar” for the requirements needed for companies to achieve the highest two ratings, AA and AAA. There is also careful attention paid to lessons learned after the tailings facility failures at Imperial Metals’ Mount Polley mine in British Columbia and Vale and BHP’s Samarco mine in Brazil.

He said risk assessment is mentioned in many different places in the current edition of the new guide. “We felt this had to be elevated,” he said.

Another element getting increased focus in the new guide is accountability. It is now recommended that the level of accountability for tailings

McEwen Mining updated the preliminary economic assessment on its Los Azules project in Argentina in midOctober, which reported the open pit project has a 36-year life with a 3.6-year payback at copper prices of US$3.00 per pound. The results, compiled by Hatch, showed Indicated Resources totalling 962 million tonnes at 0.48 per cent copper and Inferred Resources of 2,666 million tonnes at 0.33 per cent copper.

McEwen also reported reaching a new milestone in the permitting process for its Gold Bar project in Nevada on Oct. 6 when the United States Environmental Protection Agency published a Notice of Availability of the project’s Final Environmental Impact Statement. After a monthlong review period, the agency will publish a signed decision, which McEwen expects in early November.

Gold Bar, located in the Battle MountainEureka-Cortez gold trend of central Nevada, will be an oxide gold heap leach operation and McEwen’s first gold mine in the United States.

OceanaGold reached commercial production at its Haile gold mine in South Carolina on Oct. 1, the company reported. Sulfide ore is being mined at both the Mill Zone and Snake pits, and CEO Mick Wilkes reported that after the “disappointment” of the second quarter, the throughput at Haile’s process plant has improved and is “close to design rates.” Oceana said its focus going forward is to increase mine productivity and improve operator training at the site.

New Gold announced the Rainy River mine poured its first gold on Oct. 6, and achieved commercial production on Oct. 19. The mine, which began processing ore on Sept. 14, reached commercial production roughly two weeks ahead of schedule, by exceeding 60 per cent of its nameplate capacity over a 30-day period. In its first 30 days Rainy River processed about 457,000 tonnes of ore, and from Oct. 1 to 18 the mine averaged 19,000 tonnes per day, or 90 per cent of its nameplate capacity.

Compiled by Rob Csernyik

November • Novembre 2017 | 21

management is raised from the COO or CEO to the highest level of the company: the board of directors.

MAC completed external and internal reviews in 2015 and 2016, respectively, of tailings management requirements and guidance. Opportunities for improvement were identified in both.

The independent task force commissioned by MAC offered 29 recommendations, with further areas for

improvement suggested by an internal review group. All of these were incorporated when updating the Tailings Guide and the TSM Tailings Management Protocol. MAC’s board of directors officially approved the updates in June 2017.

Dumaresq said the changes to the guide do not require any capital investment to implement. “For the most part it would be improving the management approach,” he said.

The transition to the new guide will be phased in over a three-year period, with the goal of launching a new edition of the Operation, Maintenance and Surveillance Manual for tailings management in fall 2018. An additional MAC guide on tailings management, the audit and assessment guide, is being discontinued and replaced with a table of conformance in the main – R. Csernyik guide.

Ontario First Nations go to court to increase share of resource development funds Lawsuit argues Ontario and federal governments have not honoured Robinson-Huron Treaty commitments

A lawsuit aimed at increasing a treaty annuity unchanged since 1874 is being heard in Thunder Bay, Ontario, three years after it was initially filed.

The Robinson-Huron Treaty has nearly 30,000 Indigenous beneficiaries in Northern Ontario and the lawsuit on their behalf contends that the federal and provincial governments have not abided by the terms of the treaty, particularly in regard to a clause related to annuity augmentation.

“This is one of the only treaties, if not the only, that has this annuity escalator clause incorporated right in the treaty,” Chief Dean Sayers of the Batchewana First Nation told CIM Magazine.

The annuity increased only once before, in 1874 to the current $4 per person rate. According to the Bank of Canada, $4 in 1914 (the furthest back its inflation calculator goes) is worth $87 today. But the treaty beneficiaries were supposed to see an annuity increase as revenues from mining and other resource development on impacted lands increased.

Sayers said that the lawsuit is not the first attempt to re-discuss the annuity since then. He said that over the years there was “no shortage” of let22 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 12, No. 7

Kelsey Rolfe

By Rob Csernyik

Glencore’s Nickel Rim South mine and Sudbury Integrated Nickel Operations fall within Robinson-Huron Treaty territory, which spans a wide swath of the middle of Ontario.

ters, petitions and meetings between Chiefs and the Crown.

The Robinson-Huron Treaty covers more than 90,000 square kilometres in the middle of Ontario, running along the north shore of Lake Huron and into Lake Superior. It extends from the Quebec border to Sault Ste. Marie in the west, Kirkland Lake in the northeast, and North Bay in the southeast.

It includes the historic Sudbury mining camp, where currently KGHM,

Vale and Glencore have operations.

According to a map from the Ontario Mining Association, there are nine mines in the Sudbury area. Kirkland Lake Gold has two operations within the territory, and the Timmins mining camp is just to the north of the treaty area.

The issue of financial equity for Indigenous groups in Canada and abroad within the mining industry has been hotly discussed in recent years. In

developments British Columbia, for example, at least seven revenue-sharing deals between the province and First Nations have been implemented for new and expanded mines since 2010.

Sayers said he is “pretty optimistic” there will be a positive outcome in the lawsuit. The results could impact future approaches to honouring and implementing treaties in Canada.

Flavia Mussio, spokesperson for Ontario’s Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation said she was unable to comment on specifics about the statement of claim.

“As a general matter, Ontario would prefer to negotiate rather than litigate as negotiated settlements can result in enduring solutions and strengthened relationships, which are an important step toward reconciliation.”

Sayers also said that option was preferable to litigation. “We’re always and still hoping we can find another

table where we can have these discussions,” he said.

In an emailed statement, Canada’s Ministry of Indigenous and Northern Affairs said it also preferred a “negotiated outcome.”

“Honouring the treaty relationship, based on the recognition of rights, respect, co-operation and partnership, is important to this government and is key to achieving lasting reconciliation,” the statement read. “The Government of Canada prefers negotiated outcomes whenever possible, and we are currently engaged in discussions on moving this case out of the Court process.”

The hearings are expected to conclude March 29, 2018. A decision on the matter is anticipated by December 2018 according to Sayers, at which point the compensation itself can be addressed.

While he said there has been some preliminary discussion around the figure, it will require consultation from

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Greece hands Eldorado permits after company threatens to pull investment in country After threatening to suspend its investments in Greece, Vancouver miner Eldorado Gold received multiple permits for its Kassandra assets from the Greek government in September.

The company announced on Sept.

21 that its Greek subsidiary Hellas Gold S.A. had entered into “constructive dialogue” with Greece’s Ministry of Energy and Environment and that in the previous week the ministry had issued “a number of long overdue routine permits” for Eldorado’s Olympias project.

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Courtesy of Eldorado Gold

progressing. “As a result of these developments we have decided to temporarily postpone our decision to place our assets in Halkidiki on care and maintenance.”

But Burns added that if the relationship deteriorates again, “we preserve the right to place our assets on care and maintenance and to take prompt legal action to protect the company and its assets in Greece.”

In the days following Eldorado has a lot riding on its Greek projects: 46 per cent of its 19 million ounces of gold are located in the Olympias, Skouries Eldorado’s ultimatum, the (pictured) and Perama Hills projects in Greece.

Greek government gave the On Sept. 11 the company announced tors. The company also decried the company an operating permit for its it would suspend operations in the government for an unwillingness to Olympias project, a modified electrocountry by Sept. 22, citing delayed have cooperative discussions. mechanical installation permit for the permits and a lack of details on the Eldorado CEO George Burns said in tailings management facility at KokkiGreek government’s arbitration threat a Sept. 21 statement the company is nolakkas, an approval on the technical against Hellas Gold as aggravating fac“very pleased” with how the dialogue is study for the old Olympias mine closure

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24 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 12, No. 7

developments and an installation permit for a paste plant at the re-developed Olympias.

Eldorado also received formal notice of arbitration from the government, regarding a metallurgical plant that would treat concentrates from its Skouries and Olympias projects, on Sept. 14. Greece’s finance and energy and environment ministries alleged the technical study for the company’s Madem Lakkos metallurgical plant was “deficient” because it was in violation of their transfer contract and the environmental terms for the project.

Upon receiving notice, Eldorado countered in a statement that their study was “robust and consistent” with the transfer contract and the approved environmental terms were met. Burns said in a statement that the company was prepared to employ all legal means at its disposal to defend itself.

“Despite the Greek government’s refusal to engage with Eldorado, we believe that this matter could still be

resolved through good faith negotiations,” Burns said in a statement. “We again invite the ministry to engage with us for such purpose.”

Eldorado has a lot riding on its Greek projects: according to the company’s most recent annual report, the majority of its gold reserves – 46 per cent of its 19 million ounces – were in Greece as of the end of 2016. Another 32 per cent were in Turkey, where it has two operating mines.

The company has been one of Greece’s largest foreign investors since 2012 and has more than 2,400 employees at its three projects.

– R. Csernyik

Rio Tinto successfully pilots autonomous train journey in Pilbara Rio Tinto completed its first fully autonomous train trip at its Pilbara

operations in Western Australia, with a driverless train hauling iron ore nearly 100 kilometres.

The pilot journey, announced Oct. 2, is part of Rio Tinto’s US$518-million AutoHaul project to automate its Pilbara railway system. The company said it is on track to fully commission the project in late 2018.

AutoHaul has experienced setbacks, including software issues, and in April 2016 the company cut its annual production guidance for its operations in the region due to delays with the project.

“This successful pilot run puts us firmly on track to meet our goal of operating the world’s first fully autonomous heavy haul, long distance rail network,” said Chris Salisbury, Rio Tinto’s iron ore chief executive in a statement.

The train trip was overseen by Rio Tinto teams and representatives of Australia’s Office of the National Rail

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Courtesy of Rio Tinto

When it is commissioned, AutoHaul will extend across Rio Tinto’s 1,700-kilometre rail network in the Pilbara.

Safety Regulator both on the ground and at the company’s Perth operations centre.

The company began running trains in autonomous mode in the first quarter of this year with drivers on-board to supervise. About half of the entire fleet’s kilometres have been in autonomous mode.

The company said it has already seen improvements from the project, including lower average cycle times due to increased train speed and “reduced variability.”

When it is commissioned, AutoHaul will extend across the company’s 1,700-kilometre rail network in the Pilbara.

The project is part of Rio Tinto’s Mine of the Future program in the region. As part of that project, the company has deployed a fleet of 69 autonomous Komatsu trucks at the Nammuldi, Yandicoogina and Hope Downs 4 mines, which are operated remotely from Perth.

Rio Tinto is among the top three iron ore producers globally. In the Pilbara, it operates 200 trains that transport iron ore from 16 mines to four port terminals.

– K. Rolfe 26 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 12, No. 7

Alamos Gold acquires Richmont Mines for $933 million Alamos Gold is moving forward with an agreement to acquire Richmont Mines, creating a new top 10 North American gold producer. The friendly acquisition was announced Sept. 11 and valued around $933 million.

The acquisition includes Richmont’s Island mine property, located northeast of Wawa, Ontario, but Richmont’s Quebec properties are being sold separately to another owner. When the deal is complete, Alamos shareholders will own 77 per cent of the new company and Richmont shareholders will own the remaining 23 per cent.

“This would be among the highestgrade underground mines in Canada,” John McCluskey, Alamos’s president and CEO, told CIM Magazine. He added that the mine has been getting stronger in recent years from a qualitative standpoint.

“The ore body has been getting thicker and the grade has been getting higher,” he said. McCluskey said he

expects it will increase the overall yearly production of Alamos by 25 per cent.

The exchange ratio of 1.385 Alamos common shares for each Richmont share is valued at $14.20, representing a 22 per cent premium to Richmont’s TSX closing price as of Sept. 8.

The Island mine produced 49,882 ounces of gold in the first half of 2017, with an all-in-sustaining-cost (AISC) of $751 per ounce. That figure improved to $677 in the second quarter of 2017 – a record low for the company.

McCluskey said that although Island is producing just under 900 tonnes per day currently, it could be scaled up to produce up to 1,500.

“The capital costs of that expansion we don’t see as being overly onerous,” he said.

The acquisition of Island will complement Alamos’s current portfolio of three North American mines, including the El Chanate and Mulatos mines in Sonora, Mexico and the YoungDavidson mine near Timmins, Ont. “That operating experience is something that we wanted to build on,” McCluskey said of Young-Davidson. Its location is only about 500 kilometres away from Island.

Along with the Alamos acquisition, Richmont announced the sale of its properties in Quebec to Monarques Gold Corp. The divestiture of the Beaufor mine, Camflo mill and the Wasamac development project were not a condition of the acquisition. Instead it was the result of a strategic review process that Richmont disclosed in the first quarter of 2017.

McCluskey said by the time Alamos was talking about acquiring Richmont, the review process was already underway.

“Our shareholders will maintain exposure to the potential of the Island gold mine, which is now firmly established as one of the lowest cost operations in the Americas,” said Renaud Adams, president and CEO of Richmont in a release.

Pending the approval of shareholders of both companies, the transaction is expected to close in November.

– R. Csernyik

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Q&A: George Salamis talks Integra’s DeLamar mine acquisition On why he likes investing in old mines and what comes next for Integra Resources’ new asset

Courtesy of Integra Resources

By Rob Csernyik

Though some companies enter totally unchartered territory with their investments, the team behind Integra Gold and now Integra Resources prefers properties with a proven track record.

The new company’s acquisition of Kinross Gold’s DeLamar mine in Idaho earlier this month has the team ready to bring the long-dormant project back to life.

On Oct. 10 the company announced inferred resources at the site of 117.9 million tonnes grading at 0.41 grams per tonne (g/t) gold and 24.34 g/t silver. Integra also announced it was entering into an agreement with a syndicate of agents, led by GMP Securities L.P., to sell subscription receipts totalling approximately $25 million to fund the acquisition.

Integra Resources CEO and president George Salamis spoke with CIM 28 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 12, No. 7

Courtesy of Integra Resources

Salamis says Integra Resources looked into "at least 20 opportunities" before it settled on the long-dormant DeLamar mine.

The DeLamar mine, pictured, was put on care and maintenance in 1998 due to low precious metal prices.

Magazine about the new acquisition, the appeal of old mines and the company’s growth strategy.

CIM: What is the appeal of giving new life to old mines?

Salamis: For us that’s kind of the Integra history. Our roots were essentially founded in taking an old and unloved mine in Val d’Or and turning

it into something real. That is what we do best.

When a mine has a history of very high grade production and a history in lower grade production, it lowers a lot of risk. There’s an entire record of mining data in your back pocket.

CIM: Was Integra looking at other projects before choosing the DeLamar mine?

Salamis: We sure were. At least 20 opportunities were looked at over the course of a couple of months. After the Integra Gold sale to Eldorado Gold we had a lot of people approaching us with assets that needed a push.

We’d given marching orders to the banking and mining communities to find us options, but we were working with a tight geographic range. We were also looking primarily for precious

developments metals assets as part of our de-risking criteria.

Two or three other assets were being seriously looked at that we’re still considering for some point in the future.

For now our objective is to bed this acquisition down and get it going.

CIM: You have previously said that there are “striking similarities” between this acquisition and that of SigmaLamaque. What are they?

Salamis: In both cases you’re looking at assets that were mined up until the late 1990s when the gold prices dropped.

Both projects have similarities to the extent that very high grades of precious metals were mined over a very long period of time. They also both had similar access and infrastructure and are both in mining-friendly jurisdictions.

There are differences though – namely that the deposit styles and settings are completely different.

CIM: Could you elaborate on the differences?

Salamis: The main difference we’re looking at is age. While Sigma-Lamaque is about 2.6 billion years old, DeLamar is only about 15 million years old.

The deposit style at Sigma-Lamaque is an orogenic gold deposit that is found a lot in Ontario and Quebec. At DeLamar it is a low-sulphidation epithermal gold-silver deposit. The placement within the earth’s crust is very different – orogenic deposits can be formed kilometres below the earth’s surface while epithermal deposits are much closer to the surface.

CIM: Are you looking at doing something similar to the Gold Rush Challenge with your new mine?

Salamis: We are going to employ new technology, but there’s nothing firmly planned yet. Artificial intelligence and machine learning have advanced since the “old days” of the Gold Rush Challenge. Why wouldn’t we use them?

They are great tools.

CIM: Should we expect any more news on DeLamar or other projects in the near future?

Salamis: We are going to try to get a drill program started at DeLamar in the first quarter of 2018 depending on the weather. That project hasn’t seen a

Smart is better than shiny at MEMO 2017 Innovation is a hot topic at many a mining conference these days, but the message at the 2017 Maintenance, Engineering and Reliability/Mine Operators (MEMO) conference in Saskatoon in September had a subtle nuance.

While the conference included some sessions on cutting-edge projects like autonomous trucks and battery electric vehicles, many of them presented practical solutions to problems that required innovative thinking without necessarily relying on new technology.

Lawrence Devon Smith, a consultant with extensive experience in project evaluation for major miners, set the tone at the regionally focused conference with his presentation, “Being smarter next time – what will smarter look like?” The industry does not necessarily need to reinvent the wheel to solve many of the problems that have been plaguing it for years, such as astronomical cost overruns and a focus on counterproductive performance metrics, said Smith. “The trouble with thinking outside the box is that you tend to not think about what’s in the box,” he said. “You tend to focus on what’s outside the box, and that’s not where the answer’s going to be.” As an example of successful innovative thinking, Smith pointed to Teck Resources and Goldcorp’s announcement of the Project Corridor joint venture in 2015 to develop common infrastructure at the neighbouring El Morro and Relincho mines in Chile.

That theme persisted throughout the conference, with many companies presenting their own smart solutions to the challenges they faced. Sandy Kent, consulting engineering manager at Allnorth Consultants, presented the bene-

modern drill program since the early 1990s. After that we have about 20,000 metres of drilling to do over the next 18 months – more than DeLamar has had in years.

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

fits and challenges of relocating the mill at the Sa Dena Hes mine in Yukon to JDS Silver’s Silvertip mine in northern British Columbia. “The ability to buy and relocate the Sa Dena Hes mill was really the reason this was a viable project,” said Kent.

Ryan Jansen, research engineer at the Saskatchewan Research Council, presented two renewable energy case studies in the province: the Cowessess wind-battery project near Regina and a hybrid energy container at the former Gunnar uranium mine and mill southwest of Uranium City. Both designs were tailored to the unique needs and constraints of each project. “There are times when you feel like you’re being sold snake oil,” said Jansen. “But when it’s used right, [renewable projects] can really increase your efficiency, decrease your fuel costs, provide reliability and redundancy in your systems, and ultimately storage will allow you to push renewables deeper than the regular penetration.”

The next MEMO conference will be held in 2019.

– Tom DiNardo

Presenters at COM advocate more creativity, flexibility and diversity to spur innovation Metallurgy needs to innovate to meet its current and future challenges. That was the message to attendees at the 56th Annual Conference of Metallurgists (COM) in Vancouver in late August.

The conference, which brought out more than 800 attendees from 36 countries, focused on the creativity, flexibility and diversity necessary to make metallurgical innovation a reality.

Nathan Stubina, managing director at McEwen Mining, set the tone at the November • Novembre 2017 | 29

opening plenary by asking “where are the innovators?� and challenging scientists, engineers, operators, suppliers and managers to seek out and integrate more “emotional, creative types� into the industry. “Creative people are rarely found working as engineers and metallurgists in the mine processing space, and we need to invite them in and make them feel more welcome,� he said, citing a 2011 study in The Journal of The Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy that found most mining engineering practitioners are rational, sequential thinkers, but too few thought about problems imaginatively or holistically.

Jeanette Southwood, vice-president of strategy and partnerships at Engineers Canada, echoed this message during her presentation at the Women of Innovation one-day special sympo-

sium, stating that, “innovation is a team sport.� Her fellow panellist, Denise Pothier, vice-president of aboriginal relations at Stantec, also suggested the sector correct the dominance of quantitative, conservative thinkers by seeking out people who “look beyond the math and science� and have a passion for collaboration and problem-solving.

Several creative solutions were presented during the three days of concurrent technical sessions to address age-old challenges faced by the industry, such as real-time material characterization and new ways to increase energy, processing and water-use efficiency. The Reducing Water Usage session was a full-house, as attendees gathered to hear about efforts to use less and recycle more water during gold processing, and to transition mines to dry tailings.

It is clear that innovation through competition is gaining momentum in the sector, in the form of hackathons, crowd-sourcing and “Dragon’s Denâ€?style competitions, to encourage diverse, tech-savvy teams to come up with creative, imaginative workflows to solve specific processing challenges. According to Simon Hille, vice-president of metallurgy and process at Goldcorp, vendors bidding “hackathon-styleâ€? on a recent project to make processes more energy efficient at NuevaUniĂłn, the company’s 50/50 joint venture with Teck Resources in Chile, described the creative, competitive bidding process as “liberating.â€?

COM 2017 was a joint venture between CIM, AusIMM and SAIMM and hosted the seventh World Gold Conference and the fourth NickelCobalt Conference. – Kylie Williams

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Show your appreciation with the

2018

Awards EXCELLENCE DESERVES RECOGNITION.

CIM DELIVERS.

THE CELEBRATION AND RECOGNITION OF EXCELLENCE WITHIN THE MINING AND MINERALS INDUSTRY IS A TRADITION OF WHICH CIM IS VERY PROUD.

WHO CAN NOMINATE A CANDIDATE? CIM house awards (National, Branch and Society awards) are nominated by and/or awarded to CIM members only, while sponsored awards are open for general nomination.

Members of the Awards Judging Committee shall not be party to the nomination process.

Every year CIM is privileged to award more than 20 awards to highlight an individual’s or a company’s accomplishments and outstanding contributions.

HOW TO NOMINATE A CANDIDATE?

Their achievements are a tribute to our community and their legacy as industry icons inspires tomorrow’s leaders.

The deadline for nominations is January 26, 2018

1 Visit www.cim.org/awards to find out about each award and its criteria.

2 Ensure that a nominee meets the criteria for the award you plan to nominate them for.

3 Nominate your candidate online.

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column

Plotting the path to the future

By Carl Weatherell

nnovation and technology adoption are imperative for a successful and sustainable mining sector, but our approaches to date to deliver development of both have lagged behind that of other industries. So what can we learn from those sectors? One common tool that has yielded results is the creation of a technology roadmap.

A technology roadmap is a plan that matches short- and long-term goals with specific technology gaps that need to be bridged. Roadmaps can be developed for a specific product, portfolio of products, company or an entire industry. For example, NASA released 21 technology roadmaps in 2015 covering a variety of systems relevant to long-term technological needs for space.

The development of a roadmap helps reach a consensus about long-term goals in a 10- to 20-year time frame, a set of needs and the technologies required to satisfy those needs. Roadmaps provide a framework to help plan and coordinate technology developments across a business ecosystem and can provide a glimpse into the future of technology development. In the case of NASA, one such roadmap identifies current applied research and development activities that could help meet the goal of cutting spacecraft launch costs in half by 2035.

At an industry level, technology roadmaps accelerate solution development and deployment as they help to focus efforts across the ecosystem from academia to start-ups to small and medium enterprises (SMEs), both inside and outside of mining.

To the best of our knowledge there has never been a consistent effort to create industry-wide technology roadmaps for mining, until now.

The mining industry has relied heavily on step-change innovation to address challenges and drive innovation in individual companies. Unfortunately, many

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of these initiatives have failed for two reasons. First, step-change innovation by its nature attempts to solve a large challenge in a single “step” versus actually plotting out the incremental pathway. Second, most of these initiatives have been implemented by individual companies without real collaboration with others attempting to solve similar challenges.

That is why we at the Canada Mining Innovation Council (CMIC) have rallied over 125 individuals across the mining sector to generate technology roadmaps in exploration, underground mining, processing and environment.

We have also created an additional roadmap that consolidates each of these themes into a unifying and holistic roadmap for an industry-wide innovation strategy we have dubbed Towards Zero Waste Mining.

Development of a technology roadmap is an intensive process much of which occurs through workshops comprising 20-35 thought leaders. These workshops employ methodology designed to move from “anything goes” ideas to a focused consensus on longterm goals, specific themes, technology gaps, performance targets and specific projects.

The CMIC technology roadmap for exploration, for example, has identified six key areas split into two themes that need to be addressed to solve the many challenges related to exploration. In the theme of “Deep Mature Camps,” the three areas are multi-parameter footprints and 3D vectoring, techniques to unravel deep 3D geology and real-time down-hole data collection. The second theme of “Remote and Covered Areas” comprises characteristics of fertile terranes and districts, techniques to map sub-surface geology and secondary dispersion.

Having this roadmap allows others, including those outside of mining, to understand the industry’s research and

technology needs in order to more effectively focus their own efforts to service those needs. To publicize these needs and recruit participants, CMIC has conducted conference presentations and workshops, as well as led discussions with organizations and teams at universities, research and innovation organizations and government labs. And these efforts are paying off. The area of multi-parameter footprints and 3D vectoring is being tackled directly through the CMIC Exploration Innovation Consortium, while the area of characteristics of fertile terranes and districts is being taken on by the team that created Metal Earth, a $110-million government-funded research initiative led by Laurentian University. The team at Laurentian used this roadmap as a guide to create Metal Earth. Participants in the CMIC exploration group are actively involved in Metal Earth to ensure sharing of information and progress towards the greater needs of the community at large.

The technology roadmap for underground mining was completed in 2016 and CMIC has progressed to a number of projects related to continuous mining, mechanical cutting and battery electric vehicles. One project completed in collaboration with the Global Mining Standards and Guidelines Group (GMSG), involving more than 100 people from across the globe, was the creation of guidelines for battery electric vehicles published in March 2017. These guidelines, available online, are already being used by a number of organizations.

In just the last two years, technology roadmaps have led to tremendous progress toward plotting a transformation for the mining industry and an incredible buy-in to the technology roadmap as a tool to drive innovation across the industry. CIM Carl Weatherell is the executive director and CEO of CMIC.

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Courtesy of Stillwater Mining Company

A drill operator using CMAC-Thyssen’s hydraulic drill handling system at Stillwater Mining Company’s East Boulder mine.

A better handle on drilling Zero-gravity drill handling system from CMAC-Thyssen reduces health risk for operators

By Kylie Williams

ackleg drills have been used without any significant changes to their design to drill blast holes and place supports in underground mines since the modern industrial revolution began almost a century ago.

These cumbersome handheld rotary percussion drills are involved in more ground fall accidents in underground metal mines than any other drill in the United States, but are difficult to replace; few tools function so well on uneven ground in narrow-vein mining.

Quebec-based mining contractor and manufacturer CMAC-Thyssen Mining Group began designing a hydraulic drill handling system (DHS) to breathe new life into the jackleg drill about four years ago to make it safer to use and easier on operators. As both a mining contractor and equipment manufacturer, CMAC-Thyssen understood the problems with the traditional jackleg drill from both a user and designer perspective. The solution the company developed borrowed an idea from the construction sector, which makes use of a hydraulic positioning arm to chip concrete.

In early 2013, CMAC-Thyssen joined forces with RNP, the construction company that designed and built the concretechipping drill, to redesign the jackleg drill for modern mining operations where safety is a top priority.

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“It went relatively smoothly: everything was in place to get the product right,” explained Guillaume Julien, CMACThyssen’s technical director, who is responsible for research and development. “It took about a year from the early meetings with RNP to the final tests.”

Prototype testing underground CMAC-Thyssen quickly installed the initial prototype underground at Agnico Eagle’s LaRonde mine – which was already one of its customers – for a series of tests in October 2014, making improvements to the product before presenting the DHS to new customers. After a conversation with CMACThyssen president Rene Scheepers about the new technology, Stillwater Mining Company’s David Swisher agreed to test the improved DHS prototype at the East Boulder mine he has managed since January 2016. The East Boulder operation is a large underground operation, one of two mines in Montana to exploit the narrow veins of platinum and palladium in the J-M Reef.

Swisher was looking for a solution to make jackleg drills safer for workers at the East Boulder and nearby Stillwater mines, where the cut and fill method is employed to chase the narrow, irregular orebody. Like all cut and fill operations, after

health & safety drilling, blasting and removing material, workers move in to bolt the walls.

“Bolting requires the use of jackleg drills,” said Swisher.

“Individual drills are used by individual people and it can be very labour-intensive. Over a lengthy period, they can wear a person out.”

A recent analysis of jackleg drill-related injuries published in the Mining Engineering Journal found that around 20 per cent of injuries are due to overexertion. The heavy weight of the drill and base, awkward positioning in tight spaces, working on uneven surfaces and vibration of the equipment can lead to musculoskeletal disorders.

Redesigned for fewer injuries CMAC-Thyssen’s approach was to dramatically reduce the manual handling of the drill. Rather than muscling the drill into place, CMAC-Thyssen designed the new DHS with a hydraulic boom to control the movement and position the pneumatic drill arm. Operators still have control but the drill is much easier to position using a double-axel “zero-gravity” pivot to fine-tune the position of the drill, rather than strength.

“We call it ‘zero-gravity’ because the feet and the drill are balanced in a way that reduces the physical effort to a minimum,” Julien said, “The pivots are positioned so you can turn the whole base and drill to any position without struggling.”

Furthermore, operators work from a level platform, rather than unconsolidated, rocky ground, and are out of the direct path of loose rock during bolting.

It is important to note that the new DHS is not a fully automated system, said Julien. There are other bolt drills that are fully automatic and operate remotely via screens and joysticks, but CMAC-Thyssen purposely created a tool that was easy to operate and required only a brief period of training to learn how to operate it. “Basically, if a miner knows how to drill with a jackleg, he or she will get this machine in about an hour,” said Julien.

When CMAC-Thyssen provided the first DHS prototype unit to Stillwater Mining in 2016, Swisher was quick to pass it directly to the operators underground at East Boulder. “The best way to truly understand how a piece of equipment is going to work at any operation is to put it into the hands of the people who are going to use it day-in and day-out,” said Swisher.

“Our safety department went through a job hazard analysis and identified any potential hazards associated with operating the new piece of equipment and what they found is that the DHS posed a lot less risk to our employees than the jackleg drills,” said Swisher, “The number one reason we made the switch to the DHS system was to enhance the safety and reduce the risk to our people.”

Over the following months, the operators suggested several modifications, which were communicated to CMAC-Thyssen for future iterations, such as increasing the reach of the boom and the range of movement of the drill without having to move the base. “The platform stays stationary but the boom slides forward three feet and that allows enough room to finish bolting a round,” Swisher said.

Together, the teams made further modifications to the base due to the small size of the drift. Julien and the CMACThyssen engineering team designed another, smaller platform on skids, and added a rail around the base. After spending several months modifying the DHS, Stillwater Mining has now purchased ten DHS units for use underground at the Stillwater and East Boulder mines and hope to replace all the jacklegs on each site with newer models by the end of 2017. A basic unit on a platform costs $70,000.

“Our employees were very good at operating jacklegs safely but what the new DHS does is reduce potential risks while being innovative and intuitive,” said Swisher.

Another seven DHS units are in use at TMAC Resources’ Hope Bay high-grade gold project in Nunavut and CMACThyssen has sent prototype units to sites in Mexico and Morocco. As of August, CMAC-Thyssen was in the process of developing new features and making modifications to the current prototype, such as increasing the arm rotation and inclination to allow operators to drill the full range of angles around the face of the drift, and to be able to put explosives in it.

“We’ve solved a lot of the health and safety problems associated with jackleg drilling because the operator doesn’t handle the drill anymore,” said Julien. “That’s the best way to get rid of all these problems.” CIM

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November • Novembre 2017 | 35

Courtesy of Desert Saber

A screenshot from Harry’s Hard Choices

Safety training levels up University of Arizona researchers develop video game for mine safety training

By Cecilia Keating

magine the scenario: A crew in an underground coal mine is trying to escape a fire that is slowly spreading. As they make their way out in an underground vehicle, it breaks down. The crew debates whether to fix the broken-down pickup truck or continue on foot. Time is precious; the mine is slowly filling up with smoke. Once the crew opts to walk, an ankle injury causes a team member to collapse. Another discussion ensues as to what to do: leave the injured miner, help him hobble out of the mine, or turn back to the refuge chamber?

Each decision could mean life or death for the miners.

This is just one chain of scenarios built into Tucson-based startup Desert Saber’s new video game, Harry’s Hard Choices.

The company hopes its game technology will revolutionize and improve mine health and safety training. Their game is now being used by accredited mining health and safety trainers across the United States.

Harry’s Hard Choices was initially a paper-and-pencil exercise produced by the United States National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) for mine refuge chamber training. Those completing the exercise had to simulate being Harry, an unlucky coal miner who discovers a fire in his mine. Guided by a mine health and safety trainer, students had to make a series of decisions that would save the fictional Harry and his crew from a grisly underground death.

Thanks to Desert Saber, miners can now live Harry’s ordeal with more realism and detail. Leonard Brown, Desert

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Saber founder and CEO, said the game resolves “a number of critical issues” his team identified in previous classroom approaches.

Brown’s computer science dissertation at the University of Arizona (UA) looked at how “serious games” – video games designed for a purpose other than pure entertainment – could be used to benefit miners. His PhD grew into a broader research project at UA when he teamed up with Michael Peltier, lead programmer at the university’s Lowell Institute for Mineral Resources, and Mary Poulton, the institute’s director.

Poulton is now COO at Desert Saber, which was founded to license the technology from UA for commercialization, and Peltier is director of engineering.

Safety training doesn’t have to be dull Inexperienced surface miners in the U.S. are required to take a 24-hour training course and underground miners must complete 40 hours of training. All miners have to take an annual eight-hour refresher course. Training is done in-house at larger mining companies, or run by third-party training companies. Traditionally, sessions tend to be “PowerPointbased and content driven,” Poulton explained. “[Trainees] are really at the end of a firehose, with content shooting at them.

There’s no real measure of what they are comprehending, what they are doing with the material, or how they are progressing over the time. There’s no real critical thinking.”

health & safety That approach is “based on seat times,” according to Brown.

“There’s a lack of context, there’s a lack of ability to show consequences […] There’s a lack of engagement with the end user.”

The game immerses miners into an interactive environment where they can see and experience the direct results of their mistakes or actions. There are countless “traps” laced throughout the game, like a defective gas meter or uneven ground, which can lead to asphyxiation, being crushed by a collapsed roof, electrocution, disorientation, leg injury, burns, abandonment and death. Many of the scenarios are inspired by the original Harry’s Hard Choices paper exercise, although there are also new hazards and alternate story lines.

Players have to identify the traps and communicate efficiently with their mine crew – who inevitably chime in with different solutions – to come up with a plan of action. “We emphasize leadership and communication skills,” explained Peltier. “When you make bad choices the entire crew’s morale goes down. It can get to the point where they are disruptive, or even abandon you.”

The game is unpredictable and the storyline nonlinear, with players facing different situations and scenarios in a jumbled order each time. The overall premise remains the same: trainees must use their disaster response knowledge to evacuate the crew to safety before the fire spreads.

Miners, NIOSH engineers and researchers, emergency response training experts, and disaster drill and simulation experts pitched in to keep the game as close to reality as possible. Health and safety experts advised on characters’ health metrics, and behavioural psychologists were consulted on how best to convey different personality types and differing stress levels.

Make it fun and they will come A recent showcase of the game at a U.S. mine rescue competition confirmed its appeal. According to Desert Saber, several players asked if they could have the game afterwards for entertainment purposes. “It’s not often that you get training material that people want to take home and use for fun,” Peltier said.

Poulton added that the game appeals to miners’ inherently “competitive nature.” At the same competition, mining crews jostled to replay, wanting to climb the leader boards and trounce rival teams. The game can be played in either singleor multi-player mode.

Glenna Davenport-Smith is a mine safety trainer at McCraren Compliance, one of the first third-party training companies to get on board with Desert Saber. She described Harry’s Hard Choices as “the most exciting training tool” she has seen in decades, in particular because it suits the largely millennial incoming workforce. “This is the kind of world they now live in.” She said she has seen significantly higher levels of participation in classes since she started using the tool.

On the programming side, a key challenge was that the game needed a “number of pieces of infrastructure that simply didn’t exist for video games,” said Peltier. These included

adding elements that would control the environment, such as the rate of the spread of the fire or gas. All the physics in the game are accurate; Desert Saber collaborated with NIOSH to run airflow pattern simulations on a supercomputer and then input them into the game.

Harry’s Hard Choices can be played on devices ranging from a small Android device to PCs, game consoles and virtual reality (VR) headsets. This was a calculated move to make the technology accessible to all types of mine training operations.

Trainers working in a small sand-and-gravel operation with a handful of employees can invest in a smaller platform, while the system can be scaled up for trainers with more resources.

“We wanted to open it up to everyone,” Peltier said.

Taking it to the next level Desert Saber has international ambitions and three prospective mine clients with significant operations in Canada, all mid to large multinationals that run the gamut of metals, non-metals and construction aggregates. Given that the regulatory environment in Canada is different, Brown said the games can take on a “different flavour” for Canadian companies, although the tenets of mining health and safety are the same.

After the successful commercialization of Harry’s Hard Choices, the team is now building on the existing technology to develop a second game, Harry’s Hazardous Day. It focuses on jobsite inspections, hazard recognition and situational awareness. It will also be a more customized experience; trainers will have the option of using their worksite as the game environment, or prioritizing storylines that address a particular safety issue at their operation. Desert Saber is already working with several industry partners on customizations and is hopeful that the game will be complete in early 2018.

The team is also working on augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) for future games, building on current VR display capabilities. In VR and MR, gamers’ hand and body motions would interact with virtual equipment and their motions and body posture would be tracked through sensors.

Thus, users would be penalized for postures and physical actions that would result in real-world injuries, like lifting a piece of equipment incorrectly. “Strains, sprains, slips and falls are among the most common classes of injuries in the mining industry, accounting for huge losses in productivity each year,” Brown explained.

In AR, MR and VR, health effects would be displayed through sensory feedback. For example, if a user forgets to wear protective eye gear and debris blinds them in the game, half of their screen would be permanently blacked out or obscured. Tinnitus could be re-enacted as a persistent ringing that the user hears following noise exposure.

Desert Saber is also looking into the option of streaming real data into the game from a mine site. “Every client has different needs,” Brown explained, “so we try to accommodate them in part by supporting a variety of different technologies and use cases.” CIM November • Novembre 2017 | 37

Courtesy of Glencore Coal Assets Australia

The MATES in Mining suicide prevention program implemented by Glencore and other operators at their Australian mines asks miners to be their brothers' keeper.

Tough questions Glencore implements suicide prevention program at a number of its Australian mines

By Elle Crosby

re you thinking about killing yourself?”

It is a simple, powerful question that is remarkable in its directness. It is shocking to hear, difficult to ask and can be nerve wracking to answer, but it is the key to a suicide prevention program seeing results in the mining industry in Australia.

In 2015, Glencore Coal Assets Australia’s general manager Kylie Ah Wong noticed there had been an increase in stressrelated claims through workers’ compensation since 2005.

That same year, two Glencore employees in New South Wales took their own lives within a few months of each other.

And her sites were not the only ones experiencing this.

“I remember being at an industry forum, and I was talking to one of my colleagues and I said, ‘It’s really sad, one of our employees suicided.’ And he said, ‘Oh yeah, we had that last week,’ and I realized this is a lot more prevalent than we believe, we just don’t talk about it,” said Ah Wong.

Glencore offers employment assistance programs (EAP), but usage of this service had stagnated. To Ah Wong, it was clear this was because of a central flaw in its approach: they

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rely on employees themselves – the large majority of them men – asking for help. “Throughout my whole journey, one of the things that’s become profoundly clear to me is that men don’t ask for help,” said Ah Wong. “We had to do something different.”

Then Ah Wong learned about MATES in Construction (MIC), a charity focused on reducing the disproportionately high suicide rates in the Australian construction industry by asking coworkers to look out for one another rather than asking people who are struggling to seek help for themselves.

Given that mining has similar demographics to the construction industry, Ah Wong felt that MIC could easily translate. With funding from Glencore, Ah Wong helped implement MATES in Mining (MIM) at two of Glencore’s mines, with the first training session at Clermont in February 2016 and at Glendell the following May. As word spread, more miners became interested in the program and MIM received funding from Coal Services Trust, which allowed it to hire a project manager, Andrew McMahon, to work on the program full time.

health & safety “Our program significantly shifts the landscape by saying, let’s not focus on those that are doing it tough as our target, let’s focus it on everybody, because while blokes might be terrible at asking for help, they are absolutely brilliant at offering help to a mate,” explained McMahon.

How the program works One of MIM’s first steps is to deliver a general awareness training session for everyone at a work site to give them the facts: according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, in 2015 in Australia there were 12.6 suicides per 100,000 people, deaths by suicide occurred among males at a rate three times higher than that for females, suicide was the leading cause of death for males aged 15 to 44, and for every death by suicide, it is estimated that as many as 30 people attempted suicide.

Many of these statistics track closely to those in the Canadian population.

Blue-collar workers, such as operators and labourers, are more likely to die by suicide than their white-collar counterparts and according to a Western Australian state parliamentary report, fly-in fly-out workers are more likely to have alcohol-related problems, feelings of isolation, financial pressure and high levels of stress, anxiety, depression and fatigue than other workers, all of which increase risk of suicide.

“We know that only seven out of 100 blokes who died by suicide in the construction industry in Australia put up their hand and asked for any kind of help before doing so, so if we continue to run programs that are focused on asking blokes to put up their hands, then we might save seven, but 93 will die,” said McMahon.

In the general awareness training, employees are told what warning signs to look for in their coworkers. Some employees volunteer to undergo additional training to become “connectors,” where miners are taught first how to listen. “For blokes in particular, we’re brilliant at solving problems and so we jump to solutions, but what most people need is to actually come up with it themselves,” explained McMahon.

Connectors are also taught how to ask that question – “are you thinking about killing yourself?” – to a friend on site they suspect may be having suicidal thoughts. “A direct question gets a direct answer,” said McMahon. Skirting around the question often allows people to avoid it.

The last part of the connector training is teaching the volunteers how to connect their mate to help, and MIM ensures they get the support they need. “The health system can be a fairly big world that’s a bit scary to navigate, so our case managers will support people going through that,” said McMahon.

MIM also offers training based on Canada’s Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST), which is akin to suicide first aid. The primary goal of employees who complete the two-day training is to keep people in crisis safe.

With these various levels of training, the aim is to have a site where all employees are able to recognize the signs that suggest a coworker may be struggling, about 30 per cent of employees have undergone connector training and around 15 per cent have completed suicide first aid training. “Now that

bloke who was alone and screaming for help but didn’t know how to ask for it, he’s actually surrounded by a whole heap of blokes who can offer help,” said McMahon.

Anthony Barry, a maintenance step up supervisor and member of the Health, Safety, Environment and Community committee at Glencore’s Glendell mine, said the culture on site has shifted since MIM’s implementation. “That stigma, ‘Oh yeah, I'm a big tough coal miner, I don't want to talk about my feelings,’ that's what we've tried to break, and I think we're doing it,” he said.

“People are talking about their issues, and I guess that's the first step,” said Barry. The result has been that workers are now talking more in general. “At the end of the shift when we're all sitting around waiting to go home, once upon a time it was just talking about sports, but now it's, ‘How is your wife doing? Is she still working there? How was your son’s game?’"

What happens next?

The University of Newcastle has been conducting and analyzing employee surveys throughout the MIM program at each mine – before it begins, once at the six-month mark and again after 18 months – to assess mental health literacy and progress. The 18-month results are still pending, but the sixmonth results from Clermont show a decrease in those who reported moderate to high psychological distress and an increase in help seeking from EAP, general practitioners and counsellors.

After the 18-month mark, MIM will continue to check in occasionally – helping with fundraising, acting as case managers, giving refreshers if needed – but the goal is that the individual sites will make the program their own and have the foundation and tools they need to foster it.

So far, MIM has been implemented at five mines in Australia. McMahon said he hopes to expand the program across the rest of the country.

Canada has several suicide prevention programs, and in recent years some have begun targeting those working in the mining industry. In Alberta, the Tough Enough to Talk About It program offers workplace presentations and leadership seminars to address mental health in industry, trades and agriculture workplaces.

Vale Ontario launched a research program, Mining Mental Health, to develop effective mental health strategies for miners in 2015 in part because one in four of its disability claims was attributed to mental health. Vale has also started training employees in the Mental Health Commission of Canada’s mental health first aid course as well as developing its own program, MINES for Minds, which will educate employees on signs of mental health issues in themselves and others and how to provide and seek support.

At one of Glencore’s Australia mines, an employee took his own life the week prior to MIM being implemented there. “You think to yourself, potentially if we had been a week earlier that wouldn’t have occurred, but it did occur,” said Ah Wong. “I think [MIM’s] going to make a fundamental difference across the industry.” CIM November • Novembre 2017 | 39

Courtesy of Outotec

Mineral processing equipment suppliers are beginning to offer equipment life-cycle service agreements based on performance outcome.

Figuring out the flowsheet

By Alexandra Lopez-Pacheco

Process plant

designers and

suppliers are

prepared to

of Met Courtesy

so

take on risk

in order to improve

operations

Courtesy of Metso

Metso says it is seeing more of its customers becoming interested in life-cycle service agreements in recent years.

One of Metso’s clients in Sweden purchases mill lining on a cost-per-tonne basis under a life-cycle service agreement, which incentivizes both sides to optimize performance.

Courtesy of Metso

One of the main challenges of processing plant design is that decisions are made in silos, each of which has its own competing interests and responsibilities.

I

t has been tough out there for the mining industry over the last decade with volatility in commodity prices and rising costs. “High capital costs have been a huge hindrance to the industry,” said Adam Miller, technology and innovation lead for Teck Resources.

Miners have understandably clamped down on capital expenditures and worked on getting the biggest bang for their capital buck through improved efficiencies.

But that is a short-term strategy with short-term savings and higher long-term costs, say some original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). They believe they can prove that the capital investment in equipment will save miners money and make them more profitable in the long run. Yes, the capital cost of such mineral processing equipment is high, but factor in the operational expenditure for a total cost of ownership (TCO) and it is a very different picture, they say.

And they have the numbers to prove it. OEMs like Metso, FLSmidth and Outotec are willing to back it up by sharing some of the risk through new types of payment options and equipment life-cycle service (LCS) agreements based on performance outcome. They want to revamp the kinds of relationships they have with operators through those agreements to be far more hands-on in helping them reach their goals.

Miller has heard about this new TCO-focused approach and likely speaks for many of his peers when he said, “We don’t have many examples of these types of relationships yet, in part because we haven’t developed a new mine in a number of years. We are seeing several vendors with this business model and are reviewing different partnerships where they make sense. However, we need to take each opportunity case by case as specific project and regional influences play a role in the overall benefits.”

Given the prominent financial woes of many mining companies, OEMs believe the time to dive deeper is now.

The ABCs of TCO

Ultimately, TCO is about preventive maintenance and keeping equipment utilization and availability high, said Michael Woloschuk, global industry director of gold at FLSmidth. “The big bang for your buck here is really in potential revenue generation, higher recoveries, higher throughput, higher equipment availability,” he said.

It is not a new concept. To some degree, mining companies have always done this, said Clark Whiting, vice-president of Cementation AG, which designs and builds processing plants.

“Some have had trouble articulating their TCO objectives to

consulting organizations or contractors like us but that’s always what they are focused on,” he said. “When you get a request for a proposal, they are always looking for what the capital cost is going to be and what the operating cost is going to be. If there has been a change, it’s that they are getting a little better at articulating it. You hear it more and more in faceto-face meetings with them.”

In recent years, the rise in equipment monitoring and performance measurement technologies has led to more sophisticated calculations of operational costs for a better understanding of TCO, said Woloschuk. “I think what is new is that we are designing tools around our machines to be able to help in this analysis,” he said. “We can help our customers analyze TCO, along with capturing data and the analytics that go behind the data. We can use information from them, as well as our internal information, to put these models together and show that there are TCO benefits.”

However, miners typically put the weight of their purchasing decision on the capital cost, when really it is the operational cost in mineral processing that has the most gravity, argue the OEMs. “Especially when considering major equipment-level cost in a plant, the operational cost over the lifetime of the equipment is pretty much everything,” said Antti Rinne, Outotec’s vice-president of sales and beneficiation.

“Even if there’s a small difference in the operational cost, in many cases, over the lifetime of the equipment, it’s enough to justify a higher capital cost. With many technologies in a concentrator plant, for example, 90 per cent of the TCO is the operational cost. So you can justify significantly bigger original equipment investment if you can get a 10 to 15 per cent operational cost reduction, or just a small increase in process performance.”

Core factors for TCO are obviously energy and maintenance costs, including wear part life, especially in the case of such equipment as grinding mills and flotation cells with their auxiliaries that handle big tonnages of material, and require frequent wear part replacement. “The lifetime of the spare parts is a major area that can add up to a huge annual cost,” said Rinne.

November • Novembre 2017 | 43

There are big differences in the quality of maintenance across the sector, and that too can have a significant impact on equipment TCO. “We see a trend where the impact of down markets results in cost cutting, and that can compromise maintenance program intentions,” said Whiting. “The owner says, ‘Keep that plant running, I need to fill agreements.’ That pressure for revenue, to sell the product, sometimes trumps sound maintenance and operating practices. They run equipment outside the specified operation levels, letting it run a lot longer between maintenance and just hope for the best.”

It is potentially a hopelessly expensive strategy that can lead to more unscheduled shutdowns, equipment damage, shorter life span and lost revenues, all resulting in a much higher TCO. “Good quality maintenance practices keep the equipment in good conditions so that prolongs the life of the equipment,” said Rinne.

Virtual startup

Another factor that can affect the quality of maintenance is the time it takes mining operations to learn the new equipment, which is why Cementation developed its own virtual reality TCO tool that gathers all project controls, estimate tools, manufacturer operational specifications and maintenance information in one virtual reality database.

“Commissioning and startup are really a time for the owner to be involved with the constructor and engineer checking out a system, and it’s usually used as a time for the operators and maintainers to really understand the guts of what’s there. The manufacturer, engineer and constructor are there so it’s the perfect time to transfer knowledge,” said Whiting. “However, what can often end up happening after the month-long phase is people walk away with maybe a 20 to 30 per cent retention of what they learned. The best intentions of the commissioning and startup phase can wane. Too often, you hear stories about a piece of equipment really vibrating but it’s still working, so it can run a little longer. However, the reason it is vibrating is because there’s a part that’s not aligned or something has worn down and it’s likely going to have a catastrophic breakdown at some point when you can’t afford it.”

In fact, the learning curve, said Rinne, is often a long one for new operations. “It’s difficult to have a generic maintenance schedule for all concentrator plants because there are so many variables,” said Rinne. “When the operation starts to run, it takes some years to learn which areas will need more maintenance effort.”

Life-cycle and optimization services

Outotec, said Rinne, has a head start when it comes to preventive maintenance and optimization because no one knows its equipment and wear parts as well as it does – and no one has the in-depth knowledge and data the company has gathered over the years of working with its global customers in diverse environments and conditions. Other OEMs 44 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 12, No. 7

such as FLSmidth and Metso say the same thing, which they believe makes them natural maintenance and service providers for mineral processing plants. They know how to help miners reduce their TCO and improve throughput, reduce shutdowns and get the revenues flowing faster. To do this, they offer service packages that can range from regular inspections to providing full-time staff working year-round maintaining and optimizing the entire plant, not just their own equipment.

“Today we have roughly 300 life-cycle services contracts globally,” said Giuseppe Campanelli, vice-president of solutions at Metso. “Those range from regular inspections contracts to having more than 100 people on site.

“Over the last several years we are seeing our customers becoming more open to these types of agreements,” he added.

In fact, Metso has some 700 people dedicated to these contracts working full-time on its customers’ sites around the world.

It is a model that makes sense both for the OEM and the mining plant, said Woloschuk. The OEMs’ preventive maintenance expertise can help increase the number of hours the plant operates at capacity every year. For a gold plant producing about 280,000 ounces per year, simply increasing plant availability by three and a half days annually results in some $3.5 million in added revenues at the current gold price, he said. “We help [operators] understand what the critical spare parts are and help them understand preventive maintenance tasks.”

Will that be cash or risk-sharing?

From a miner’s perspective, “we increasingly see vendors selling services on top of the capital expense,” said Teck’s Miller. “They could add another level of expertise, but understanding the trade-offs in project economics and risks are key.”

The answer to that varies, of course, depending on the package but OEMs such as Metso, FLSmidth and Outotec have added outcome-based payment options to their offerings based on key performance indicator (KPI) measurements.

“We are willing to sell you the equipment at a specified lower cost. However, we believe we can get more out of the equipment when it is paired with an LCS contract, so allow us to make that extra money should we achieve more than what you are expecting. That would be risk sharing,” said Campanelli.

A complete LCS package allows the OEM to have greater control over the equipment’s performance, so that comes with a full guarantee. The higher the throughput or KPIs agreed upon – which can be anything from safety to energy or equipment availability – the higher the reward for the OEM if the KPI targets are met or exceeded. Conversely, if the equipment does not meet the agreed-upon outcomes, the OEM makes less money.

“In Chile we have contracts where we need to guarantee the availability of a crushing plant. To do so, we need to have the people on the ground to maintain the equipment,” said Campanelli. “Some clients want us to guarantee availability but use only their employees and all we have are supervisors

Courtesy of Metso

Due to their extensive expertise with their own equipment, OEMs believe they are the natural option to maintain the reliability of the equipment they supply to processing plant operators.

there. In this case we can give you a guarantee if the equipment is maintained per our recommendations.”

Metso has been using this model globally for years. One of its customers in Sweden, for example, purchases mill lining under a cost-per-tonne LCS agreement. “In my opinion, that’s one of the best commercial solutions for the supplier and the customer to have aligned incentives,” said Campanelli.

FLSmidth also uses a KPI model. “We have maintenance teams down in South America that are maintaining full copper concentrators. It’s not only our equipment, it’s also competitor’s equipment,” said Woloschuk.

The challenge of competing interests

One of the biggest challenges to achieving the best possible TCO is the fact that the industry often works and makes decisions in silos, said Whiting. The problem is that each silo has its own priorities and perspectives.

Cementation uses the virtual reality tool it developed to adjust designs based on feedback from operators and maintenance people. TCO, he said, begins with a plant design that facilitates such things as maintenance. In fact, Cementation believes everyone from the owner to the operations and maintenance people and OEMs need to be involved in the design throughout the project.

Success with a TCO model also requires a high degree of critical thinking, he said. “I define that by your ability to appreciate different perspectives,” said Whiting. “It’s fundamental. What are the owner’s objectives? Is the basis of where I’m coming from accurate? Is the basis of where the owner is coming from accurate? You are trying to get past your bias, help them get past their bias and home in on the reality and truth of things.”

“A major miner that we’ve been involved with for quite some time about TCO said, as a business, it’s very important,” said Woloschuk. But in the end, the client opted for a lower initial cost product over the life-cycle value proposition. “Basically, the feedback was, ‘Yes, we are interested in TCO, but our capital projects group, they’re responsible for the budget and the initial cost of this plant, and they bought the lower [capital] cost one.’”

A greater awareness and discussion of TCO across the mining industry needs to take place, according to suppliers. In the meantime, they are trying to come up with innovative solutions to bridge the gap between their own need to generate revenue while supporting the mining industry’s need to manage capital costs.

Miller agreed that the long-term service agreement model is being introduced to help reduce the barrier to capital investment and get miners buying again. “It wasn’t as common before,” he said, “but equipment suppliers are taking it a step further now so you can imagine the creativity going forward.” CIM November • Novembre 2017 | 45

The Fekola mine, located in southwestern Mali, was constructed in just over two years. B2Gold is aiming to achieve commercial production before the end of the year.

B2Gold’s Fekola operation is the latest achievement in the company’s hands-on approach to mine construction

By Cecilia Keating

I

n early October 2017, Vancouver miner B2Gold celebrated the first gold pour at its flagship Fekola mine, which is set to increase the company’s total annual gold production by more than 70 per cent next year. While initially not expected to go online until December, Fekola has been constructed in just over two years and is expected to produce between 50,000 to 55,000 ounces this year alone, and between 400,000 to 410,000 ounces in 2018.

The first doré bars at Fekola round off a decade of rapid growth for B2Gold, a mid-tier miner that has a strong background of constructing the mines it operates. In ten years it has evolved from a junior exploration company with zero output to the owner of five mines with an estimated production of up to 975,000 ounces in 2018.

Clive Johnson, B2Gold’s president and CEO, said the acquisition of the Fekola project is in line with B2Gold’s history of “accretive acquisitions of developed projects that are ready to build,” supported by the company’s historic “willingness to be contrarian.”

When B2Gold bought the property from Australian junior Papillon Resources in October 2014 for US$570 million, it faced zero competition. Johnson said he found this “very surprising,” given the “impressive” results of Papillon’s feasibility study and the property’s location on a well-known gold belt home to mines run by AngloGold Ashanti, IAMGOLD and Randgold.

De-risked through due diligence Johnson said that the lack of competition for Fekola was a reflection of an industry marred by bad deals, shoddy business decisions and uneasy shareholders and investors. “It’s remarkable how many people, even in a conservative industry like mining, are risk-adverse.” He said B2Gold’s investors and shareholders backed the company’s decision to acquire Fekola because B2Gold “hadn’t made mistakes.”

46 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 12, No. 7

The investment has paid off. B2Gold’s optimized feasibility study in 2015 demonstrated probable reserves of 49.2 million tonnes at 2.35 grams per tonne of gold, and a $15.4 million exploration drill program is ongoing in the area north of the current pit boundary. Johnson believes the potential for new discoveries is one of Fekola’s “biggest upsides,” with drill results to be released in the fourth quarter of 2017.

Moreover, the mining forecast for Mali is good; BMI Research reported in October that it expects the country’s mining industry to witness a value growth of 10 per cent from 2017 to 2021. “Now that growth is more in favour, most analysts say the bidding [for Fekola] would have probably started at a billion,” Johnson said.

Global Affairs Canada currently advises against all travel to Mali due to the threat of terrorism and banditry, and despite Fekola being far from the conflict in the north of the country, the company has not been completely immune to it. In 2015, two B2Gold executives were trapped in their hotel rooms as armed extremists stormed a hotel in the Malian capital of Bamako, taking 170 hostages and killing 19 people.

B2Gold, however, has distinguished itself operating in jurisdictions that at first blush may seem not worth the risk.

The company has a proven history of success in regions such as Colombia and the Philippines. Prior to that, B2Gold’s predecessor company, Bema Gold, made a name for itself in the

1990s and 2000s running successful operations in Augusto Pinochet’s Chile and remote northeastern Russia. “Some of the best opportunities in the world are in areas where others are scared to tread, either because of a perception of lack of safety, or because of other [economic or political] reasons,” said Johnson, who formed B2Gold in 2007 with executives from Bema Gold.

He said B2Gold carefully gauges decisions to enter risky jurisdictions by being “very disciplined in due diligence.”

Inevitably, safety at the Fekola site is a top priority. “The company has implemented a series of policies and procedures that fit the current political situation in Mali,” said Lytle. Johnson stressed that the majority of conflict in recent years has November • Novembre 2017 | 47

Courtesy of B2Gold

INDEPENDENT MINDED

Courtesy of B2Gold

The engineering design for the processing plant at Fekola called for a throughput of four million tonnes per year, but the company opted to add 25 per cent capacity prior to construction in anticipation of an expanded reserve.

taken place at the opposite end of the country, nearly 2,000 kilometres away. Meanwhile, Randgold has operated its Gounkoto mine 50 kilometres north of Fekola without incident since it opened in 2011.

The have-it-all method The Fekola mine was built from scratch at breakneck speed by an in-house team that worked together on four other B2Gold and Bema Gold projects, the most recent being the Otjikoto mine in Namibia, which went into production in 2014.

In a rare approach for the industry, B2Gold does all its own mine construction. After being disappointed by contractors on a project in the mid-90s, Johnson decided to do away with outsourcing. “The model was, ‘why can’t we have it all?’ Be very good at exploration and also be good at bricks-and-mortar running mines and building mines,” he said.

Bill Lytle, senior vice-president of operations, said Fekola owes its early completion and precise budget to B2Gold’s inhouse construction model. Because the commissioning group, construction group and design team were already assembled and working together in Namibia, front-end design and scheduling for Mali started early, on site at Otjikoto. All parties “took ownership” of the schedule, said Lytle, and the budget was developed very closely with the outside engineering firm, Brisbane-based Lycopodium and the seasoned construction team at the company.

“These guys have known each other for so long, in excess of 20 years,” Lytle said of the B2Gold team. “There’s a culture of accountability and responsibility.”

48 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 12, No. 7

Lytle was dispatched to the Fekola property early on and served as a key link between head office and on-site operations. As a result, quick decisions were made with the full support of the company.

Early site earthworks started in the first months of 2015, as did the construction of the 50-kilometre gravel access road connecting the site to the main road. The capital, Bamako, is about a seven-hour drive from the site and the port in Dakar, Senegal, a 36-hour trip. An airstrip built on site connects Fekola to Bamako in one hour. “It’s really not that remote,” said Johnson.

Nevertheless, procurement and logistics were a key consideration early on, given that all supplies coming from the port in Dakar have to cross two borders. The key to success here, according to Lytle “was using our own logistic team, with integrated hubs in Vancouver, Dakar, Bamako, and Fekola.”

Mali’s torrential rainy season between May and October meant special attention was given to giving roads the correct grading. To date, Lytle said operations have not suffered or seen a lot of downtime from rain, but acknowledged that he was only “speaking from one year of operations experience.”

The feasibility study estimated the mine will see a 15 per cent decrease of production during the wet months.

The Fekola deposit will be mined using a conventional open-pit method, and the mill on a conventional gold cyanidation process and a traditional crusher, SAG mill and ball mill circuit with pebble crusher. No new or novel technology is being trialled – it is all “tried and true” said Lytle.

The project’s impressive economics – an estimated pre-tax 35 per cent internal rate of return assuming a US$1300 per ounce gold price – rely on the deposit’s rich gold grade and

project profile scale. In September 2017, B2Gold announced that the annual production estimate at the mine had grown from four million to five million tonnes per year. The mill had already been expanded to accommodate this increase, and the mine’s heavy fuel oil/diesel power plant upped to 60MW, from 54. The increased tonnage cuts the all-in-sustaining-cost from US$752 to US$664 per ounce over the life of the mine, which was trimmed from 12.5 to 10 years. By late September the company had spent US$521 million bringing Fekola to production. Over the next decade the mine will average an estimated 345,000 ounces annually.

Getting established The Fekola mill is fully automated and is currently in the process of being commissioned. National employees are being trained on how to operate its distributed control system (DCS), whose hardware, software and control strategies were developed in-house by the B2Gold technical group and Metso.

“This part of the world has probably rarely seen an automated, industry best practice system that we’ve got implemented here,” said Lytle, adding that training with mill operators started over six months ago.

During the construction phase, 200 employees out of a total 1,200 were expatriates, but B2Gold anticipates that this number will shrink and Malians will ultimately make up 95 per cent of the 950-strong operations workforce. This is a model applied successfully elsewhere, explained Lytle: “in Otjikoto, the number [of national employees] turned out to be more than 98 per cent.” In Nicaragua, it is also over 98 per cent.

More than 50 members of the expatriate workforce supervising construction in Mali are Namibians trained at Otjikoto

– evidence, according to Lytle, of the “world-class training” and long-term investment B2Gold makes in its local contingency.

The company committed to hiring approximately 50 per cent of Fekola’s local unskilled labour force from within 50 kilometres of the mine site. To ensure hires remain local and no economic migrants flocking from other parts of the country – of which there were many – slip into that quota, B2Gold has registrars operating in local communities.

B2Gold is collaborating with Global Affairs Canada to run training programs both on site and in local villages to improve the technical and professional skills needed for both Fekola and other mines in the area with a special emphasis on health and safety. The company has also committed to boosting local enterprises unrelated to mining, like farming, gardening and sewing.

B2Gold has earmarked US$20 million for the relocation of a village currently adjacent to the mine pit. While Lytle conceded that though there was initial scepticism about the initiative taken voluntarily by the company, the compensation package, developed with outside Canadian consultancy firm rePlan, was accepted more than six months ago. Residents will be compensated for livelihood loss and any land lost will be matched on the new village site. Properties being built in “New Fadougou” will be equipped with solar panels, running water and spare bedrooms to rent out to inward migrants seeking employment at the mine. The relocation is expected to be completed over two years.

“Clive, as a CEO, has driven home this sense of social responsibility to make sure its win-win-win,” explained Lytle.

“The government wins, the company wins, the local community wins.” CIM

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Settling the tailings pond question How can companies speed up fluid fine tailings treatment in Alberta’s oil sands?

Courtesy of Syncrude

By Graham Chandler

The first lab-scale test of centrifuge technology for tailings dewatering began in 2005. Today Syncrude has 16 in operation.

50 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 12, No. 7

hat to do with tailings ponds from oil sands mining operations has long been the industry’s leading environmental challenge. These vast ponds have grown to 220 square kilometres and now hold about 1.2 trillion litres of murky, contaminated water that will take many decades to settle out. About ten years ago, operators and researchers began seriously looking at ways to speed up the separation of fluid fine tailings (FFT) – mostly clays – from the water.

Progress has come gradually; some approaches made operational recently, like centrifugation and CO2 application, have become best practices. Others, electrokinetic remediation, for example,

W

Courtesy of Syncrude

oil sands tailings treatment

are advancing experimentally. And another, ionic liquids technology, holds some promise for the Holy Grail – eliminating the ponds altogether.

At the industrial scale Centrifuges use centrifugal force to separate water out of FFT. Spinning it in a large cylindrical vessel at high speeds assisted by a coagulating agent forces the water out. Released water is returned to the tailings pond and ultimately recycled.

The solids are transported to a dedicated area for land reclamation.

Syncrude began developing the technology with a lab-scale proof of concept study in 2005, then a pilot scale two years later. The full scale started in 2015.

According to Ken Bell, production manager of tailings and lease development at Syncrude, centrifuges produced 3.5 million cubic metres of the solid ‘cake’ material from a total of 4.1 million cubic metres of FFT put into the plant in its first year of operation. “The difference is the water that’s recycled into our tailings operation.” The solid material goes to a deposit where it is left to gain strength and become part of landscape reclamation.”

Bell said that because Syncrude’s 16 centrifuges are a new application of the technology, there is still a lot being learned.

“We’re a little over two years into it and we are just working out some of the reliability issues to make sure we hit our required [throughput] rates.”

Another application of new technology to tailings separation management is CO2 injection. Canadian Natural Resources started applying CO2 directly to tailings flow in 2009 to accelerate separation of fine tailings.

“CO2 changes the tailings water The tailings beneath Syncrude Research tailings pH to the same as river water, allowtechnology team leader Jim ing the solids – fine clays, silts and Lorentz’s feet were sand – to settle more quickly,” dewatered using centrifuges.

The full-scale plant began explained Joy Romero, vice-president operating in 2015. of technology and innovation at Canadian Natural Resources. From 2009 the company continued research to improve the technology, and in 2015 implemented their current non-segregated tailings (NST) program.

NST adds two steps to the original process: cyclones and thickeners. “The tailings are pumped to the cyclones that remove the water from the coarse sand, along with thickeners that are used to remove the water from the clay fines,” Romero said. The streams from the cyclones and thickeners are combined in a pump-box and pumped to the tailings ponds where they are deposited as NST. “CO2 is added to the NST mixture just past the pump-box where it changes the charge on the clay surfaces, allowing the rock, sand and clay fines to bind together and further dewater.” The water is recycled and the solids used for reclamation.

The process is vastly more efficient than the old way. “The tailings footprint is 50 per cent that of traditional ponds,” said Romero. “Fifty per cent less water is required from the river and because warm water is immediately recycled back to the extraction plant, greenhouse gases (GHGs) are reduced.”

Experimenting with electrodes Electrokinetic remediation (EKR), long used by industry to stabilize soil for reclamation, is now undergoing tests for tailings application.

November • Novembre 2017 | 51

Ionic liquids: a transformational technology?

What if you could take oil sands tailings ponds and separate out the FFT in hours instead of decades? Or, eliminate tailings ponds altogether by separating bitumen, water and the clay fraction at the processing stage? Such a revolution may well be in the cards if Steven Bryant, his team at the University of Calgary, Innovate Calgary, and their oil sands industry partners can successfully demonstrate how the use of ionic liquids can pull it off on a large scale. His team has already shown the process works – at the laboratory level – and a patent is pending.

The idea of using ionic liquids in the field is not novel.

There have been several attempts to use this type of fluid, usually in combination with other materials or additives, for this and similar applications, though none have been commercialized so far. Bryant partnered with Robin Rogers, formerly the Canada Excellence Research Chair in green chemistry and green chemicals at McGill University, who has significant experience in developing ionic liquid technologies for various applications, including clean separations. The combination of their expertise is what makes this approach unique, designing, selecting and tuning ionic liquids specifically for this particular purpose, without requiring other additives or compromising the environmental and economical sustainability of the process.

52 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 12, No. 7

Courtesy of the University of Calgary

EKR involves inserting electrodes into an FFT deposit. As most of the fine particles are clays, which hold an electric charge, the resulting electric field causes the solids to collect and consolidate. The released water can be reused in the plant and the concentrated fine solids for reclamation.

Tests on oil sands tailings are underway in tanks at Western University in London, Ontario. “We’re running a process optimization program, refining our treatment techniques,” said Clare Armstrong, manager of research and development at ElectroKinetic Solutions (EKS), a company exploring the use of EKR for oil sands tailings treatment. “We have a number of test cells to address questions industry has communicated to us about how our technology is able to work in a scaled-up environment.” She said they are ready to begin engineering for a field demonstration with an industry partner, but, despite serious federal and provincial government commitments, the biggest barrier is getting industry to commit.

Ed Hanna, vice-president of technology development at EKS, said he anticipates that following a successful demonstration, all hardware could be deployed in situ for a 2 km-by-2 km pond. “The ideal application of this technology avoids the large costs associated with centrifugation or flocculation and their associated materials handling costs,” he said.

The company already has a clear business plan, according to Hanna, including a field demo completed by early 2019 and commercialization in mid2019.

Mature fine tailings prior to “The liquids we have developed treatment with ionic liquids work in a fundamentally different (left) and after (right) way than the additives the industry is currently using,” explained Bryant, Canada Excellence Research Chair in materials engineering for unconventional oil reservoirs at the University of Calgary. “Currently they add a polymer to flocculate the small clay particles. The particular ionic liquids we are using [a type of organic salt, but proprietary at this stage] react with what is known as the ionic exchange capacity of the clay minerals themselves.

All clays typically have some partly negatively charged anions, and positively charged cations will be attracted to them and catch electrostatically to the clay surfaces.” Tuning the other component of the ionic liquid enables it to pull clay particles out of the aqueous phase, so they can be removed rapidly. Clean water would be returned to the environment, solids back into the reclaimed mines, and ionic liquids recovered and reused.

The process he envisions would be to pump the liquid into a facility near the pond and add the ionic liquids to get separation of the solids, then possibly even recycle the ionic liquid.

“So instead of dumping it into the ponds we envision a more proactive, sustainable approach.”

oil sands tailings treatment He admits the volumes are vast. “I imagine you’d have multiple combinations of pumps and lines, depending on if you want it done in 10 years or 20 years,” he said. “A key step is speeding it up by orders of magnitude; I think [cleaning existing tailings ponds] can be done in a decade.”

The team has held meetings with various stakeholders, including three applicants for remediation of existing ponds.

Oil sands operator interest is keen. “We’ve got interest from a handful of oil sands mining operators,” said Bryant. “There will soon be an opportunity for funding to start scaling up our discovery.” At this early stage, particular companies have not yet committed.

From beaker to pilot field demonstration will be a significant leap. “What needs to be done is the iteration between the basics and what a large-scale operation might look like,” explained Bryant. “The experiments we’ve done in the lab are things like the effect of different liquids. We want to speed up that screening. So we get to ‘here is how the mechanism works.’ And in scaling up, the liquid that works best in the lab is not necessarily the one you’d want to use in a scaled-up process because the ability to recover may be different.”

That ability to recover and reuse it is still a leading question for the team. How easy will it be? “There are a lot of tricks you can play,” said Bryant. “One of the interesting features of ionic liquids is that there are so many different separation tech-

niques, one being reverse separation. How we will do it? We are working on this aspect, but I have no doubt we can.”

The team is aiming to ensure water freed from the tailings will be pure enough for any of the environments anticipated by current reclamation plans. “We are working on that in the lab right now,” said Bryant. We know that we get the metal out and also the residual bitumen. Using simple measurements like infrared we see the high quality of the recovered water.”

In planning the process engineering part of the project, preliminary discussions have been held with engineering firms in Calgary, but Bryant said it would be premature to name them at this stage. “There is strong interest in putting together some kind of vehicle – a joint venture perhaps – to collaborate on developing both process and material to meet the large-scale challenges.”

Ionic liquids technology would not necessarily be restricted to cleaning up existing ponds. With advanced development, Bryant said he reckons it could be applied to achieve separation right in the processing plant, obviating the need for settling ponds. Or, further down the road, even eliminate water-based processing plants as we know them today. “We have shown in a beaker that you can, in one step, mix the ionic liquid with the ore,” said Bryant. The result?

Separation into its three main constituents: sand, fine clay and bitumen. CIM

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 answer 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 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 Marcelo Godoy, Newmont Mining Corp., Denver; Roussos Dimitrakopoulos, McGill University, Canada; and Guy Desharnais, SGS Canada Inc., Canada • DATE February 12-16, 2018 • LOCATION Montreal, Quebec, Canada

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, McGill University, Canada • DATE September 2018 • LOCATION Montreal, Quebec, Canada

November • Novembre 2017 | 53

Ottawa Tourism

JANUARY 23

TO AU

25 JANVIER 2018 | WESTIN HOTEL | OTTAWA, CANADA

50th ANNUAL

50e CONFÉRENCE ANNUELLE DES

We are pleased to invite you and your colleagues to attend the 50th Annual Conference of the Canadian Mineral Processors (CMP).

Nous sommes heureux de vous inviter à participer à la 50e Conférence annuelle des Minérallurgistes du Canada.

CANADIAN MINERAL MINÉRALURGISTES PROCESSORS DU CANADA CONFERENCE For 50 years, the CMP conference has provided a forum for discussing best practices and the latest improvements in mineral processing technology. More than 500 delegates attended last year’s conference and profited from the outstanding opportunities in networking, knowledge sharing and personal development the CMP conference consistently offers.

The technical program is the heart and soul of the conference with close to 40 technical papers presented by fellow mill operators and mineral processing professionals. To celebrate our 50th anniversary we have added an additional social event on the Monday evening as well as two panel discussions during the conference. In addition to discussions on Canadian milling practices, international speakers will weigh in on the mineral processing challenges they encounter abroad.

We look forward to you joining us in the capital this January for this very special 50th anniversary of the conference.

Johnna Muinonen, Chair

54 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 12, No. 7

Depuis près de 50 ans, la conférence a mis en place un forum pour discuter des meilleures pratiques ainsi que des dernières avancées en matière de technologie de traitement des minéraux.

Le programme technique est au cœur de l’événement avec près de 40 articles techniques présentés par des collègues opérateurs d’usines et des professionnels en traitement de minéraux. Afin de célébrer notre 50e anniversaire, nous avons ajouté un événement social supplémentaire le lundi soir, de même que deux tables rondes au cours de la conférence. En plus des discussions portant sur les pratiques d’usinage canadiennes, les conférenciers internationaux donneront leurs avis sur les défis relatifs au traitement des minéraux auxquels ils ont fait face à l’étranger.

En espérant vous voir en grand nombre dans la capitale canadienne en janvier prochain afin de célébrer avec nous cet événement très spécial.

– Johnna Muinonen, présidente

Robin Spencer

Al Kuiper

Al Kuiper

GENERAL INFORMATION | RENSEIGNEMENTS GÉNÉRAUX

ACCOMMODATIONS | HÉBERGEMENT

Held in Ottawa at the Westin Hotel on January 23-25, 2017, the conference will feature presentations on various aspects of mineral processing including comminution, flotation, gold and iron ore processing, mineralogy, mill optimization, process control and projects relating to the theme of Past, Present and Future.

A special rate of $214 (standard/premium) and $263 (deluxe) which includes complementary internet has been negotiated at the Westin Hotel (reference the Canadian Mineral Processors Conference). The Westin Hotel will only guarantee these rooms until January 8, 2017, so book early to avoid disappointment.

La conférence se tiendra à Ottawa, à l'Hôtel Westin. Elle comprendra des présentations traitant de divers aspects minéralurgiques tels que la comminution, la flottation, le traitement de l’or et du fer, la minéralogie, l’optimisation des usines de traitement, le contrôle de procédés et aussi de projets portant sur le passé, le présent et l’avenir.

Un nombre limité de chambres incluant l’accès internet a été négocié avec l’Hôtel Westin à un tarif spécial de 214$ (traditionnelle/premium) et 263$ (de luxe). Veuillez noter que les chambres sont retenues à notre intention jusqu'au 8 janvier 2018. Veuillez réserver votre chambre le plus tôt possible afin d’éviter tout inconvénient.

SHORT COURSES | COURS ABRÉGÉS COURSE / COURS

PRESENTERS / PRÉSENTATEURS

COST / COÛT

Attendance is limited, please register early!

La participation est limitée, s’il vous plaît, inscrivez-vous tôt!

JANUARY 21 JANVIER Workshop on National Instrument 43-101 Bulk Solids Handling: How to Avoid Being a Statistic Advances in Sensor Based Sorting

Tony Lipiec, Fluor and Greg Gosson, Amec

$400

Tracy Holmes, Jenike & Johanson Ltd.

$400

Bern Klein, UBC Norman B. Keevil Institute of Mining Engineering; Brent Hilscher, Sacre Davey, Andrew Bamber, MICESS; Doriz Hiam-Galvez, Hatch

$400

JANUARY 22 JANVIER Thickener Operation – Use of Instruments to Optimize Thickener Performance

Peter Latta and Mark Taylor, Tenova Delkor

(half day/demi-journée)

Mineral Processing Plant Debottlenecking: Tools and Methodology

Alexandre Noiseux, Jean-François Boulet and Nicolas Paulin, Hatch

(half day/demi-journée)

$200

$200

Screening Theory & Practical Considerations in Operating Screening Equipment Efficiently

Anthony Yell, Tema

$400

Reverse Osmosis and Membrane Technology – Proper Uses, Maintenance, Monitoring and Cleaning for the Mineral Processor

Russel Johnson, Edward Sylvester and Brian Danyliw, ChemTreat

$400

Michael Fullam, FLSmidth

$400

Knelson Gravity Concentration

All costs include lunch, coffee breaks and course materials.

Tous les coûts comprennent le dîner, les pauses-café et le matériel de cours.

November • Novembre 2017 | 55

Al Kuiper

TECHNICAL PROGRAM | PROGRAMME TECHNIQUE WEDNESDAY JANUARY 24 | MERCREDI 24 JANVIER

TUESDAY JANUARY 23 | MARDI 23 JANVIER 8:30

OPENING REMARKS | JOHNNA MUINONEN, CMP 2018 CHAIR PLENARY PRESENTATION

8:45

MINERAL PROCESSING IN CANADA – 50 YEARS OF INNOVATION | JAN NESSET, NESSETECH CONSULTING SERVICES INC.

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 9:30

GRINDING MEDIA SIZING STUDIES: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE |

9:55

MOUNT ISA MINES NECESSITY DRIVING INNOVATION |

10:50

USING OPERATIONAL READINESS AND PLANT TRIALS TO SUCCESSFULLY IMPLEMENT A PROCESS FLOWSHEET CHANGE |

ROBERT MCIVOR, METCOM

VIRGINIA LAWSON, GLENCORE TECHNOLOGY

ANDREW TAYLOR, VALE

11:15

GOLD PROCESSING 8:30

THE OTJIKOTO GRAVITY CIRCUIT, TEST WORK, DESIGN, COMMISSIONING, AND OPERATION | MICHAEL FULLAM, FLSMIDTH

8:55

GOLDCORP’S COFFEE GOLD PROJECT – UNLOCKING VALUE THROUGH INNOVATION | JEET BASI, GOLDCORP

9:20

SART IMPLEMENTATION AT HEAP LEACH OPERATION IN MEXICO |

10:15

CARBON SCOUT -AUTOMATING CARBON MEASUREMENT AND CONTROL IN CIP/CIL CIRCUITS | GREG RASMUSSEN, GEKKO

10:40

ORGANIC CARBON MITIGATION AT PEÑASQUITO |

11:05

OPTIMIZING THE CARBON CIRCUIT AT THE YOUNG-DAVIDSON MINE USING CIP/CIL MODELLING | TYLER CRARY, SGS

TWO GENERATIONS LATER: INDUSTRIAL MODELLING AND OPTIMIZATION OF GOLD CYANIDATION | SIMULATION FOR BALL MILL SIZING: THE PATH TO A SUCCESSFUL PLANT START-UP | ANTOINE BERTON, SOUTEX [ NETWORKING LUNCHEON ] GEOMETALLURGY AND FLOWSHEET DESIGN

13:35

THE DEVELOPMENT OF MODERN FLOWSHEETING TOOLS FOR MINERAL PROCESSING – INTEGRATED PROCESS MINERALOGY: DECADES IN THE MAKING | NORMAN O. LOTTER, FLOWSHEETS

13:00

APC AT LARONDE : THE PROGRESSIVE CONTROL APPROACH |

13:25

BEST-PRACTICE CONSIDERATIONS FOR BULLION HANDLING |

13:50

MULTI STAGE HPGR CIRCUITS – INCREASING THE BENEFIT ACROSS THE COMMINUTION FLOWSHEET | TIM LUNDQUIST, WEIR VENLO

14:15

METALLURGICAL CONSULTING

14:00

FLOWSHEET DEVELOPMENT FOR BENEFICIATION OF LITHIUM MINERALS FROM HARD ROCK DEPOSITS |

15:10

M. OLIAZADEHB, LYCOPODIUM

14:25

CANADA FLUORSPAR INC. ST. LAWRENCE FLUORSPAR PROJECT – FLOWSHEET DEVELOPMENT | ERIN LEGAULT-SEGUIN, SGS,

15:35

MELISSA STOGRAN-BAKER, CANADA FLUORSPAR

14:50

USING MINERAL EXPOSURE FOR ROUGHER RECOVERY PREDICTION | SARAH PROUT, SGS

15:15

PRE-PANEL RECEPTION

15:45

PANEL: GEOMETALLURGY – PROGRAM DESIGN CRITERIA AND SAMPLING STRATEGY

56 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 12, No. 7

PETER LIND, GOLDCORP

[ CMP ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING AND LUNCHEON ]

PAUL FOURNIER, DETOUR GOLD

11:40

DAVID KRATOCHVIL AND DAVID SALARI, BQE WATER

16:00

16:25

TUHIN BANERJEE, WOODGROVE TECHNOLOGIES

ZIAD YAMAK, GOLDCORP

FLOTATION PROCESS OPTIMIZATION AND EFFICIENCIES AT THE TASEKO GIBRALTAR COPPER – MOLYBDENUM MILL | DAVID C. MILLER, CHEVRON PHILLIPS CHEMICAL COMPANY FRANCIS CHACHULA, GIBRALTAR MINE

RESOLVING DETRIMENTAL SEASONAL EFFECT ON THE FLOTATION PROCESSES OF NIOBEC MINE | JEAN-SÉBASTIEN MAROIS, NIOBEC PYRRHOTITE REJECTION AT THE STRATHCONA MILL | RAVINDER MULTANI, XPS CONSULITNG AND TESTWORK SERVICES

IMPROVED PROCESS CONTROL DURING NI/CU MATTE CONVERTING: A TECHNO-ECONOMIC ANALYSIS STUDY | CHRISTOPHER P. BAXTER AND ANDRIY PLUGATYR, NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL CANADA

BENCHMARKING PERFORMANCE OF THE TWO-STAGE STACKCELL™ WITH CONVENTIONAL FLOTATION FOR COPPER SULFIDE APPLICATIONS | LANCE CHRISTODOULOU, ERIEZ FLOTATION

AUTHORS | AUTEURS Authors, session chairs and regional representatives must register as conference delegates. A speaker's breakfast will be provided the day of their presentation at 7:00 a.m. Authors, please contact John Chaulk (john.chaulk@canada.ca) for presentation information.

Tous les auteurs, les présidents de sessions et les représentants régionaux doivent s'inscrire à titre de délégués à la conférence. Un déjeuner sera servi le jour de leur présentation à 7 h. Auteurs, veuillez contacter John Chaulk (john.chaulk@canada.ca) pour obtenir de l’information au sujet des présentations.

THURSDAY JANUARY 25 | JEUDI 25 JANVIER START UP, OPTIMIZATION AND PROCESS IMPROVEMENT 8:30

YAMANA CHAPADA’S MINE STORY |

8:55

EVALUATION OF CAVE-TO-MILL OPPORTUNITIES AT THE NEW AFTON MINE | STEFAN NADOLSKI, UBC

9:20

CANADA FLUORSPAR INC. ST. LAWRENCE FLUORSPAR PROJECT – PROJECT DESCRIPTION | MELISSA BAKER, CANADA FLUORSPAR

10:15

SILICA REMOVAL FROM URANIUM PROCESS SOLUTIONS WITH PEG – FINDING NEW SUCCESS FROM OLD IDEAS | BRYAN DYCK, CAMECO

10:40 11:05

EVALUATION OF ON-LINE PARTICLE SIZE DISTRIBUTION MEASUREMENT FOR OIL SANDS TAILINGS TREATMENT |

Al Kuiper

MICHAEL SCHAFFER, WOODGROVE TECHNOLOGIES

SOCIAL EVENTS | ACTIVITÉS SOCIALES

ERFAN SHARIFI, OUTOTEC

MONDAY | LUNDI 7:00 – 11:00 pm | 7h00 à 23h00

Welcoming Reception | Réception d’accueil

REVIEW OF AN EMPIRICAL METHODOLOGY FOR THE SIMULATION OF THE FLOTATION CIRCUIT OF THE NUNAVIK NICKEL PROJECT |

TUESDAY | MARDI noon | midi

Networking Luncheon | Dîner de réseautage

LÉA EBACHER, UNIVERSITÉ LAVAL

[ LUNCH BREAK ]

afternoon | après-midi 9:00 pm – midnight | 21h00 à minuit

13:00

HOW THE INDUSTRIAL INTERNET WILL DRIVE AN INCREASINGLY EFFICIENT MINING OPERATION | KEVIN J SHIKOLU, GE MINING

WEDNESDAY | MERCREDI noon | midi evening | soirée

13:25

EVALUATING THE EFFECTS OF SENSOR-BASED SORTING ON LITHIUM PROCESSING AND MINE ECONOMICS USING ADVANCED PROCESS SIMULATION SOFTWARE | JÖRN ROHLEDER, OUTOTEC

13:50

ORE PRE-CONCENTRATION BY BULK SORTING USING REAL-TIME ELEMENTAL ANALYSIS | HENRY KURTH, SCANTECH

14:15

WASTE TO ORE: A GOLDCORP STORY | KEVIN MURRAY, GOLDCORP

14:40

OPERATIONS RESULTS OF ORE SORTING |

15:05

PRE-PANEL RECEPTION

15:35

PANEL: ENERGY EFFICIENCY/GRINDING – IS SORTING REALLY THE HOLY GRAIL OF ENERGY EFFICIENCY FOR HIGH TONNAGE OPERATIONS

BRENT HILSCHER, SACRE-DAVEY ENGINEERING

[ CLOSING RECEPTION – 16:35 ]

THURSDAY | JEUDI afternoon | après-midi late afternoon | fin d’après-midi

Pre-panel Reception | Réception pré-panel Chairman’s Reception | Réception du président

Annual Business Meeting Luncheon | Dîner annuel de la réunion des affaires

Awards Gala, Pre-, Post and VIP Receptions | Gala de remise de prix, Réceptions de Pré-, Post et VIP Pre-panel Reception | Réception pré-panel Closing Reception | Réception de clôture

Participate in these extra activities.

Prenez part à ces activités supplémentaires.

Ray MacDonald Memorial Hockey Challenge (Tuesday) Défie de hockey Ray MacDonald Memorial (mardi) Contact | Contactez : Mark Griffiths Mark_Griffiths@quadra.ca CMP Squash Club (TBD) Club de squash CMP (à confirmer) Contact | Contactez : berge.simonian@gmail.com Rideau Canal Run (Wednesday AM) Course du Canal Rideau (mercredi matin) Contact | Contactez : stefanie.vo@hatch.com

[ CONFERENCE CONCLUDES – 18:00 ] November • Novembre 2017 | 57

REGISTRATION | INSCRIPTION (includes one-year membership to CIM/ comprend un abonnement d’un an à l’ICM) EARLY REGISTRATION FEES | TARIFS PRÉFÉRENTIELS DE PRÉINSCRIPTION Taxes not included. Les taxes ne sont pas incluses.

CIM/AIME/TMS MEMBERS | MEMBRES DE L’ICM, TMS ET AIME $725 • NON-MEMBERS OF CIM/AIME/TMS | NON-MEMBRES DE L’ICM, TMS ET AIME $930 Registration includes the three-day meeting, coffee breaks, the Tuesday and Wednesday luncheons and evening social receptions, the Wednesday reception and awards banquet, as well as a copy of the proceedings. Conference registration and attendance at social events should be indicated when registering.

All pre-registered delegates will be able to pick up their registration kits at the Conference Registration Desk between 9:30 and 21:00 on Monday and between 7:00 and 15:00 on Tuesday to Thursday.

Note: To pre-register, the form must be received by December 18, 2017.

Any requests for refunds must be made, in writing, prior to December 18, 2017. After this date an administration fee of $100 will be charged for new and/or cancelled registrations. No cancellations will be accepted after January 12, 2018.

L’inscription donne droit aux trois jours de réunions, à une copie des comptes rendus, aux pauses-café, au dîner du mardi et du mercredi, et à la réception sociale en soirée ainsi qu’à la réception/souper le mercredi soir. Veuillez vous inscrire aux activités sociales pendant que vous vous inscrivez à la conférence.

Tous les délégués inscrits à l'avance pourront recevoir leur trousse d’inscription en se présentant au bureau d'inscription le lundi entre 9h30 et 21h00 et mardi à jeudi de 7h00 à 15h00.

“I feel I can do anything because I’m an engineer” – Jill Green CEO of Green Imaging Technologies

Meet JILL and the other inspiring women of innovation…

WOMEN OF

INNOVATION The Impact of Leading Engineers in Canada

Anne millar | Mary Wells

Published by

N.B.: Les formulaires de pré-inscription doivent être reçus avant le 18 décembre 2017 et les demandes de remboursement doivent être faites, par écrit, avant le 18 décembre 2017. Après cette date, des frais de 100$ s’appliqueront à toute nouvelle inscription ainsi qu’aux annulations.

Aucune annulation ne sera acceptée après le 12 janvier 2018.

Conference registration now open.

L’inscription à la conférence est maintenant disponible en ligne.

58 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 12, No. 7

NEW BOOK AVAILABLE at cim.org

SECTION francophone 60 Lettre de l’éditeur | Mot du président 61 Les actualités 64 Les concepteurs d’usines de traitement et les fournisseurs sont prêts à prendre des risques pour améliorer les activités dans le secteur minier

69 La mine à ciel ouvert, située le long d’une riche ceinture aurifère dans l’ouest du Mali, est destinée Par Alexandra Lopez-Pacheco

à devenir la principale exploitation de B2Gold Par Cecilia Keating

La version française intégrale du CIM Magazine est disponible en ligne : magazine.CIM.org/fr

lettre de l’éditeur

mot du président

Le problème de l’innovation dans le secteur minier

Industrie minière et responsabilité sociale

L’année dernière, le salon commercial quadriennal MinExpo, qui s’est tenu à Las Vegas, présentait des équipements et technologies dernier cri ; la grande attraction de l’événement était un camion de transport autonome construit spécialement pour l’occasion. Ce véhicule à quatre roues directrices n’avait pas de cabine et pouvait transporter le minerai par mouvement avant ou arrière. Cet engin imposant et photogénique représentait la prochaine étape en matière de transport autonome.

Une année plus tard, lors d’une conférence de moindre ampleur qui s’est tenue dans un hôtel à Toronto, Peter Kondos, directeur principal des solutions technologiques stratégiques chez Barrick Gold, adoptait une attitude différente quant à la voie que prenait cette technologie. « L’avenir ne repose pas sur les camions », déclarait-il. Il s’est exprimé sur le sujet à l’occasion de la conférence Mines and Technology, qui s’est tenue début octobre ; trois jours durant, des sociétés minières ont partagé des études de cas, des fournisseurs ont proposé des solutions et les conférenciers présents ont essayé de comprendre ce que l’industrie pouvait faire pour améliorer ses performances dans un avenir proche et lointain.

Malgré les nombreux témoignages montrant que l’on peut considérablement améliorer la performance des mines en exploitant mieux les pratiques minières actuelles (une présentation expliquait clairement qu’en recueillant davantage d’informations auprès des conducteurs d’équipement, les camions de transport souterrains pourraient transporter 50 % de matériaux en plus), une impatience évidente se faisait sentir quant au manque d’ambition dont l’industrie fait preuve concernant le déploiement de nouvelles technologies telles que des capteurs, mettant un frein à son évolution.

En d’autres termes, expliquait Nathan Stubina, directeur exécutif de McEwen Mining, « prenons Perth comme exemple ; est-il vraiment nécessaire d’affecter des personnes à la surveillance des boulets dans un broyeur culbuteur affichant une efficacité de 1 % ? ». Plutôt que d’optimiser un engin obsolète qui constitue une nuisance sonore colossale, lui est plutôt d’avis de l’éliminer et de le remplacer par une conception plus innovante.

L’ampleur du public présent à cet événement vient confirmer que la technologie est une attraction fiable. De nombreux concepts intéressants ont été présentés lors de la conférence, mais les discussions les plus fascinantes concernaient la capacité de l’équipe de direction des mines à bloquer l’incessante rumeur entourant « l’innovation » afin d’évaluer les innombrables options se présentant à elle sur la base d’un ensemble clairement défini d’objectifs. « De nombreuses options s’offrent à nous, et la plupart sont brillantes », déclarait M. Stubina. « La question est de déterminer quelle est celle qui correspond le mieux à votre objectif final. »

Ces dernières décennies, l’industrie minière accorde une attention bien plus marquée à la responsabilité sociale. Au début de ma carrière il y a plus de 40 ans, on n’avait pratiquement jamais entendu ce terme. Aujourd’hui, le permis social d’exploitation, un concept encore plus récent, constitue l’un des piliers de la mise en valeur réussie d’une mine.

Les travaux de Teranga Gold sur le projet Sabodala au Sénégal illustrent parfaitement cette réussite. Les contributions de cette société à la communauté lui ont valu le prix de la responsabilité sociale et environnementale de la Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC, l’association canadienne des prospecteurs et entrepreneurs) ainsi que les félicitations du gouvernement sénégalais. Le projet Buriticá de Continental Gold en Colombie a lui aussi été applaudi pour sa contribution à la communauté locale et félicité par les gouvernements local et national.

Le projet de mine d’or Esquel de Meridian Gold en Argentine dans les années 2000 constitue quant à lui un échec monumental, et une excellente étude de cas. Le transport, l’utilisation et la destruction du cyanure inquiétaient tout particulièrement la communauté. La société a fini par admettre qu’elle n’était pas parvenue à coopérer avec la communauté pour lui exposer les avantages et les risques du projet. L’opposition de la communauté s’est traduit par le gel du développement du projet depuis lors. En 2003, au vu de la tournure des événements à Esquel, le gouvernement de la province de Chubut a, de fait, interdit l’exploitation à ciel ouvert et l’utilisation de cyanure. Les réglementations imposées par Chubut ont eu de profondes répercussions et ont notamment entraîné des retards dans le développement du projet de mine à ciel ouvert et de lixiviation par cyanuration Navidad de Pan American Silver, en mode de soins et maintenance depuis 2013.

Ce sont toutefois les ONG opposées à l’exploitation minière, telles que le CALAS (le centre d’action juridique, environnementale et sociale du Guatemala), qui restent le plus préoccupantes. Malgré plusieurs rencontres de la communauté avec Tahoe Resources et le gouvernement, et bien que la ville de San Rafael abrite 80 % de non-Autochtones, le CALAS se dresse contre l’exploitation de la mine Escobal de Tahoe au Guatemala en prétendant que la société a transgressé l’obligation de consultation des Xincas, un peuple autochtone de la région. Les activités sont suspendues depuis des mois.

Les sociétés minières doivent évidemment collaborer avec les communautés locales pour mener leurs projets dans les meilleures conditions et éviter aux investisseurs des pertes financières excessives. Au fil des ans, l’influence des défenseurs de l’environnement, des gouvernements et des ONG modérées ont renforcé les normes auxquelles doivent se plier les exploitations minières. Toutefois, les ONG s’insurgeant contre l’exploitation minière doivent comprendre que leurs efforts pour arrêter à tout prix les investissements dans ce secteur pourraient bien avoir un effet délétère sur les communautés qu’elles tentent de défendre, en les faisant passer à côté de possibilités intéressantes et en leur laissant porter le poids d’infrastructures non développées.

Ryan Bergen, Rédacteur en chef editor@cim.org @Ryan_CIM_Mag 60 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 12, No. 7

Kenneth (Ken) G. Thomas Président de l’ICM

Les actualités Les Premières Nations du nord de l’Ontario vont en justice Un recours judiciaire pour dénoncer le non-respect par les gouvernements fédéral et de l’Ontario des obligations établies par le traité Robinson-Huron

Trois ans après que la démarche judiciaire ait été lancée, un procès est en cours à Thunder Bay, en Ontario, dont l’objet est d’augmenter la rente annuelle découlant d’un traité non revue à la hausse depuis 1874.

Le traité Robinson-Huron compte près de 30 000 bénéficiaires parmi les peuples autochtones du nord de l’Ontario ; le procès intenté en leur nom prétend que les gouvernements provincial et fédéral n’ont pas respecté les termes du traité, particulièrement en ce qui concerne la clause relative à l’augmentation de la rente annuelle. « Il s’agit de l’un des seuls traités, sinon le seul, qui inclut directement une clause d’indexation de la rente annuelle », déclarait à l’équipe du CIM Magazine le chef Dean Sayers de la Première Nation des Batchewanas.

La rente annuelle n’a augmenté qu’une seule fois en 1874, pour atteindre la somme actuelle de 4 $ par personne. D’après la banque du Canada, 4 $ en 1914 (date la plus ancienne à laquelle remonte sa feuille de calcul de l’inflation) équivalent aujourd’hui à 87 $. Les bénéficiaires du traité sont cependant supposés observer une augmentation de la rente annuelle, eu égard à la hausse des revenus découlant de l’exploitation minière et aux autres développements des ressources sur les terres concernées.

D’après M. Sayers, ce procès n’est pas la première tentative de réévaluer la rente annuelle depuis cette époque.

Il indiquait qu’au fil des ans, les lettres et les pétitions « avaient abondé », et

Kelsey Rolfe

Par Rob Csernyik

La mine Nickel Rim South de Glencore et le complexe Sudbury Integrated Nickel Operations relèvent du territoire concerné par le traité Robinson-Huron, lequel couvre une vaste partie du centre de la province de l'Ontario.

les chefs rencontraient régulièrement les membres de la Couronne.

Le traité Robinson-Huron couvre un territoire de plus de 90 000 kilomètres carrés (km²) au centre de la province de l’Ontario, et borde le littoral nord des lacs Huron et Supérieur. Il s’étend de la frontière du Québec à Sault Ste Marie à l’ouest, à Kirkland Lake au nord-est et à la baie North au sud-est.

Il comprend le camp minier historique de Sudbury, où les sociétés KGHM, Vale et Glencore ont actuelle-

ment des exploitations. D’après une carte de l’Ontario Mining Association (OMA, l’association minière de l’Ontario), la région de Sudbury renferme neuf mines. Kirkland Lake Gold possède deux exploitations sur ce territoire, et le camp minier de Timmins se trouve juste au nord de la zone délimitée par le traité.

La question de l’équité financière pour les groupes autochtones au Canada et à l’étranger au sein de l’industrie minière a fait l’objet de discussions houleuses ces dernières années.

November • Novembre 2017 | 61

62 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 12, No. 7

due en décembre 2018, date à laquelle le montant de la compensation pourra être abordé.

Il indiquait qu’une discussion préliminaire avait déjà eu lieu concernant le montant, mais les gouvernements fédé-

ral et de l’Ontario ainsi que les autorités autochtones devront également être consultés. ICM

Avec l'aimable autorisation de Caterpillar

En Colombie-Britannique par exemple, au moins sept accords de partage de recettes entre la province et les Premières Nations ont été mises en œuvre pour les nouvelles mines ainsi que celles ayant fait l’objet d’une expansion depuis 2010.

M. Sayers se dit « relativement confiant » quant à l’issue positive du procès. Les délibérés pourraient avoir des répercussions sur les futures approches adoptées pour le respect et la mise en œuvre des traités au Canada.

Flavia Mussio, porte-parole du ministère des relations avec les Autochtones et de la réconciliation de l’Ontario, déclarait ne pas pouvoir donner plus de détails quant à l’exposé de la demande. « De manière générale, l’Ontario préférerait négocier plutôt que de s’en remettre aux tribunaux, étant donné que les règlements négociés peuvent se traduire par des solutions durables et de meilleures relations, ce qui constitue une étape importante en vue d’une réconciliation. » M. Sayers était également d’avis que cette option était préférable au contentieux. « Nous espérons encore et toujours trouver un terrain d’entente pour soumettre cette question à une discussion », indiquait-il.

Dans une déclaration envoyée par courriel, le ministère des affaires autochtones et du Nord du Canada (AANC, Affaires autochtones et du Nord Canada) indiquait également préférer « une issue négociée ». « Le gouvernement met un point d’honneur à respecter les rapports établis dans les traités, fondés sur la reconnaissance des droits, le respect, la coopération et le partenariat, lesquels sont essentiels pour parvenir à une réconciliation durable », lisait-on dans la déclaration. « Dans la mesure du possible, le gouvernement du Canada préfère des issues négociées, et nous sommes actuellement en discussion pour retirer cette affaire du processus judiciaire. » Les audiences devraient prendre fin le 29 mars 2018. D’après M. Sayers, une décision sur la question est atten-

Caterpillar a éliminé le moteur, la transmission et le convertisseur de couple et a reconfiguré le cadre d'extrémité de l'ensemble moteur afin qu'il s'adapte aux boîtiers de batterie et aux moteurs électriques de son engin expérimental alimenté par batterie (en photo ci-dessus).

Caterpillar révèle son nouveau chargeurtransporteur expérimental alimenté par batterie Lors d’une rencontre avec la presse le 12 septembre dernier à Tucson, en Arizona, Caterpillar annonçait que la société avait développé un chargeurtransporteur (LHD, de l’anglais loadhaul-dump) expérimental alimenté par batterie qu’elle enverra dans le courant du mois dans une mine canadienne afin qu’il soit testé.

La société a modifié sa chargeuse R1300G pour exploitation minière souterraine et l’a équipée d’une batterie au lithium ; en outre, plutôt que d’opter pour la commutation des batteries, elle développe un système de charge embarqué pour la machine pour des raisons de sécurité et pour la « gestion des stocks », indiquait Jay Armburger, directeur des produits pour la technologie souterraine chez Caterpillar, aux journalistes.

C’est à l’occasion de cet événement, qui s’est tenu à Tucson, que Caterpillar a pour la première fois évoqué son prototype de chargeur-transporteur.

M. Armburger insistait sur le fait que la société « ne dispose pas encore d’un produit commercialisable, mais bien d’un prototype. » Caterpillar lancera un programme de précommercialisation du produit après une étude et une validation plus approfondies de l’engin expérimental. « Notre objectif est de nous imposer en tant qu’acteur important en matière de charge des batteries dans l’exploitation minière souterraine », indiquait M. Armburger. « Nous investissons dans ce domaine et découvrons un grand nombre de possibilités pour nos clients. » La chargeuse R1300G est un ancien modèle « qui n’est pas équipé de systèmes électro-hydrauliques », aussi elle n’est pas optimisée pour assurer la meilleure durée de vie de la batterie, expliquait M. Armburger. La conception future de la machine prévoit une

les actualités augmentation de la durée de vie de la batterie grâce à des systèmes hydrauliques sensibles à la charge entraînés par des pompes à piston.

Si M. Armburger n’a pas souhaité faire de commentaires quant au temps classique de charge de la batterie à l’heure actuelle, il indiquait que la société espérait le réduire à 30 minutes, voire moins.

La société a commencé les modifications sur la chargeuse en décembre 2016, puis a mené des tests en mai 2017 sur son terrain d’essai de Peoria, en Illinois. Les modifications consistaient notamment à éliminer le moteur, la transmission et le convertisseur de couple, et à reconfigurer le cadre d’extrémité de l’ensemble moteur afin qu’il s’adapte aux boîtiers de batterie et aux moteurs électriques.

La chargeuse R1300G transportera des matériaux vers une mine canadienne jusqu’au début de l’année 2018 ; Caterpillar n’a pas souhaité

donner le nom de la société propriétaire de la mine.

Caterpillar vient rejoindre un terrain déjà très prisé. En effet, RDH Mining Equipment et GE avaient tous deux commencé la production de chargeurs-transporteurs alimentés par batterie électrique en 2012, et Atlas Copco a commercialisé en mai 2016 son modèle Scooptram ST7 Battery, une chargeuse entièrement électrique alimentée par le bloc-pile d’Artisan Vehicle Systems. En septembre dernier, Sandvik Mining a présenté sa chargeuse LH307B alimentée par batterie.

Les véhicules électriques alimentés par batterie sont devenus très populaires auprès des sociétés minières, étant donné qu’elles s’orientent de plus en plus vers l’exploitation minière souterraine très profonde à la recherche de minerais à plus haute teneur et de réserves plus importantes. L’une des plus grandes difficultés liées à l’exploi-

tation minière à des profondeurs considérables est d’assurer l’aérage des émissions générées par les machines fonctionnant au diesel et de maintenir la climatisation dans les tunnels pour garantir la sécurité et le confort des travailleurs.

Kirkland Lake Gold a adopté les véhicules électriques alimentés par batterie de RDH Mining Equipment à sa mine Macassa et son South Mine Complex (SMC, le complexe minier Sud) en 2012 ; actuellement, environ un tiers du parc de matériel est électrique.

Glencore a organisé la conception de son site Onaping Depth autour d’un parc planifié d’engins miniers tout électrique afin de faire face aux difficultés liées à l’aérage. Enfin, en septembre dernier, Goldcorp annonçait sa collaboration prochaine avec Sandvik et MacLean Engineering pour la concrétisation de son projet Borden Lake en une mine tout électrique.

– Kelsey Rolfe

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November • Novembre 2017 | 63

d’Outotec Avec l’aimable autorisation

Comprendre le deroulement des processus Les fournisseurs d’équipements de traitement des minéraux commencent à offrir des accords de service à long terme en matière d’équipement qui sont fondés sur les résultats relatifs au rendement.

Les concepteurs d'usines de traitement et les fournisseurs sont prets a` prendre des risques pour ameliorer les activites dans le secteur minier Par Alexandra Lopez-Pacheco

D

epuis une dizaine d’années, l’industrie minière connaît de grandes difficultés, dues en partie aux prix volatils des matières premières et à la hausse des coûts. « La hausse des coûts en capital a constitué un enjeu majeur au sein de l’industrie au cours des dernières années », affirme Adam Miller, directeur de la technologie et de l’innovation à Teck Resources. Les sociétés minières s’en sont prises avec raison aux dépenses en capital et ont cherché à rationaliser leurs activités pour tirer le meilleur rendement de leur investissement en misant sur des gains d’efficience.

Il s’agit toutefois d’une stratégie à court terme, soulignent certains fabricants d’équipement d’origine (FEO), vu qu’on réalise ainsi des économies à court terme, mais qu’on augmente aussi les coûts à long terme. Les fabricants d’équipement d’origine sont convaincus qu’un investissement dans l’équipement peut entraîner des économies et devenir plus rentable à long terme. Certes, disent-ils, le coût en capital du matériel de traitement du minerai est élevé, mais il entre dans le calcul des dépenses opérationnelles comme coût total de possession (CTP), ce qui change beaucoup les choses. Les chiffres leur donnent raison, ajoutent-ils. Des FEO comme Metso, FLSmidth ou Outotec sont prêts à partager une partie des risques en proposant de nouvelles options de paiement et des ententes de services portant sur le cycle de vie qui seraient reliées au rendement de l’équipement. Ils veulent réinventer les relations qu’ils ont avec les exploitants en offrant des outils beaucoup plus pratiques pour aider ceux-ci à atteindre leurs objectifs.

Adam Miller a entendu parler de cette nouvelle approche axée sur le coût total de possession et affirme que nombre de ses pairs pensent comme lui quand il dit : « Nous n’avons pas encore vu beaucoup d’exemples de ce type de relations, la raison étant en partie du fait qu’il y a un certain nombre d’années que nous n’avons pas lancé l’exploitation d’une nouvelle mine.

Nous avons tous remarqué que plusieurs fournisseurs ont adopté ce modèle commercial et nous passons en revue les ententes de partenariat quand les circonstances s’y prêtent.

Cependant, nous devons examiner chaque occasion au cas par cas, car la teneur spécifique d’un projet et les influences régionales sont des facteurs importants dont il faut tenir compte dans l’évaluation des avantages globaux. » À la lumière des déboires financiers que connaissent de nombreuses sociétés minières, les fabricants d’équipement d’origine jugent qu’il est nécessaire d’entreprendre sans tarder une telle analyse.

Les rudiments du cout total de possession

« En fin de compte, le CTP est une affaire d’entretien préventif et d’utilisation et de disponibilité du matériel », déclare Michael Woloschuk, directeur international pour le secteur aurifère de FLSmidth. La clé du profit, c’est la production potentielle de revenus, de meilleurs taux de récupération, une plus grande capacité de rendement et une plus grande disponibilité du matériel », dit-il.

Ce concept n’a rien de nouveau. À certains égards, les sociétés minières ont toujours suivi ce principe, explique Clark Whiting, vice-président de Cementation AG, société de conception et de construction d’usines de traitement. « Certains exploitants ont de la difficulté à énoncer leurs objectifs en matière de coût total de possession quand ils s’adressent aux sociétés-conseils et aux entrepreneurs comme nous, mais ça demeure l’une de leurs principales préoccupations, dit-il. « Dans les demandes de proposition que nous recevons, ils veulent toujours savoir quels seront leurs coûts d’investissements et leurs coûts d’exploitation. Ce qui a changé, c’est qu’ils énoncent de plus en plus clairement leurs besoins. Nous en entendons de plus en plus parler dans les rencontres individuelles que nous avons avec eux. » Depuis quelques années, les technologies de surveillance du matériel et de mesure du rendement permettent de calculer avec plus de précision les coûts d’exploitation et ainsi de mieux comprendre le coût total de possession, explique M. Woloschuk. « Ce qui est nouveau, à mon avis, c’est que nous concevons des outils qui facilitent cette analyse de nos machines dit-il. Nous pouvons aider nos clients à analyser le CTP, à compiler leurs données et à se doter d’outils d’analyse de ces données. Nous combinons l’information qu’ils nous transmettent et celle que nous possédons en interne pour faire valoir les avantages du CTP. » Cependant, les sociétés minières ont généralement tendance à prendre leurs décisions d’achat en fonction du coût en capital alors que, dans le secteur du traitement du minerai, c’est le coût d’exploitation qui importe le plus selon les FEO. « Dans le cas particulier des coûts reliés aux gros équipements d’usine, le coût d’exploitation sur la durée de vie de l’équipement est à peu près tout ce qui importe », explique Antti Rinne, vice-président des ventes et de l’enrichissement du minerai à Outotec. « Même s’il y a une petite différence de coût d’exploitation sur la durée de vie d’un équipement, cela suffit pour justifier un coût en capital plus élevé. Dans le cas des nombreuses technologies intervenant dans les concentrateurs, par exemple, le coût d’exploitation représente 90 % du CTP. Il serait totalement justifié d’augmenter considérablement le montant de l’investissement original, si vous parvenez à réduire le coût d’exploitation de 10 à 15 %, ou si vous obtenez même qu’une petite augmentation du rendement des processus. » Les facteurs de base qui entrent en jeu dans l’analyse du CTP sont bien sûr les coûts d’énergie et d’entretien, y compris le cycle de vie des pièces d’usure, notamment dans le cas d’équipements comme les broyeurs et les cellules de flottaison ainsi que les dispositifs auxiliaires, qui peuvent traiter des tonnages élevés de minerai et nécessitent le remplacement fréquent des pièces d’usure. La durée de vie des pièces de rechange peut faire grimper considérablement les coûts annuels », ajoute Antti Rinne.

La qualité des activités d’entretien varie considérablement au sein du secteur, ce qui peut avoir des répercussions importantes dans le coût total de possession d’un équipement. « Nous avons tous observé que les baisses générales sur le marché ont entraîné des réductions de coûts, ce qui peut cerNovember • Novembre 2017 | 65

Avec l’aimable autorisation de Metso

En raison de leur vaste expertise envers leur propre équipement, les fabricants d’équipements d’origine croient qu’ils ont la solution la plus naturelle afin d’assurer la fiabilité de l’équipement qu’ils fournissent aux exploitants d’usine de traitement.

tainement compromettre les objectifs d’un bon programme d’entretien, dit Clark Whiting. L’exploitant nous dit qu’il faut que son usine tourne à temps plein, qu’il a des contrats à respecter. La pression qu’il subit pour accroître ses revenus et vendre ses produits peut compromettre la qualité de ses pratiques d’entretien et d’exploitation. Les exploitants font tourner les équipements au-delà des niveaux spécifiés, allongent de plus en plus les intervalles entre les périodes réservées à l’entretien et espèrent que tout se passera pour le mieux. » C’est une stratégie potentiellement risquée et coûteuse, car elle peut entraîner des fermetures d’usine imprévues, des dommages à l’équipement, la réduction du cycle de vie du matériel et une perte de revenus, ce qui augmente considérablement le CTP. « Les bonnes pratiques d’entretien permettent de conserver l’équipement en bon état et de prolonger par là même sa durée de vie », affirme Antti Rinne.

Demarrage virtuel

Autre facteur susceptible de compromettre la qualité de l’entretien : le temps nécessaire aux employés des exploitations minières pour se familiariser avec le nouvel équipement. Cette considération a incité Cementation à développer son propre outil de CTP en réalité virtuelle qui regroupe dans une même base de données l’information sur les mesures de contrôle reliées aux projets, les outils d’estimation, les spécifications opérationnelles du fabricant et les activités d’entretien.

66 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 12, No. 7

« L’étape de la mise en service et du démarrage est en fait le temps idéal pour l’exploitant de participer à la vérification de l’équipement en collaboration avec l’entrepreneur et l’ingénieur, explique M. Whiting, et cette étape permet aux responsables de l’exploitation et de l’entretien de bien comprendre les bases des systèmes qu’ils utilisent. Le fabricant, l’ingénieur et l’entrepreneur sont tous présents, c’est une période idéale pour effectuer le transfert de connaissances, poursuit M. Whiting. Toutefois, ce qui se passe assez souvent, c’est qu’à la fin de cette étape d’un mois pendant lequel a lieu l’apprentissage, les participants retournent au travail en ne retenant peut-être que 20 à 30 % de ce qu’ils ont appris. Les meilleures intentions énoncées au stade de la mise en service et du démarrage peuvent s’effacer. On entend trop souvent des histoires à propos d’une pièce de machinerie qui vibre très fort, mais, comme le tout fonctionne encore, on laisse tourner la pièce un peu plus longtemps. Or, la raison de la vibration est peut-être un mauvais alignement ou l’usure d’une partie quelconque, il est fort possible que tout cela dégénère en un arrêt catastrophique à un moment où vous ne pouvez vous le permettre. » Selon Antti Rinne, la courbe d’apprentissage est souvent longue dans le cas des nouvelles exploitations. Il est difficile d’établir un plan d’entretien global pour tous les concentrateurs en raison du grand nombre de variables en présence, dit-il. « Quand l’exploitation entre en service, il faut attendre plusieurs années pour déterminer les secteurs qui nécessiteront les plus grands efforts d’entretien. »

Cycle de vie et services d'optimisation

Avec l’aimable autorisation de Metso

raient aussi ajouter un degré plus élevé d’expertise, mais il est particulièrement important d’établir l’équilibre entre les facteurs économiques et les facteurs de risque. » Pour Antti Rinne, Outotec a une longueur d’avance pour La réponse variera selon le forfait offert ; cependant, les ce qui a trait à l’entretien préventif et à l’optimisation. Aucune FEO comme Metso, FLSmidth et Outotec ont ajouté à leurs entreprise ne connaît aussi bien son équipement et ses pièces offres des options de paiement fondées sur les résultats et sur d’usure. Personne d’autre ne possède les données et les les indicateurs de rendement clé (IRC). connaissances approfondies qu’elle a recueillies pendant des « Nous sommes prêts à vous vendre l’équipement à un prix années auprès de clients internationaux et dans une grande inférieur établi. Cependant, nous sommes convaincus que diversité de milieux et de conditions. D’autres FEO comme nous pouvons accomplir davantage dans le cadre d’un contrat FLSmidth et Metso disent à peu près la même chose, leur de service portant sur le cycle de vie, donc, donnez-nous la expertise faisant d’eux des fournisseurs naturels de contrats possibilité de récolter ces revenus supplémentaires, si nous d’entretien et de services pour les usines de traitement du réussissions à surpasser vos attentes. C’est, à mon avis, ce qu’on minerai. Ils savent comment aider les exploitants miniers à appelle le partage des risques, explique Giuseppe Campanelli. réduire leur CTP, à accroître la capacité de rendement, à éviter Une offre de forfait de service portant sur le cycle de vie les arrêts d’équipement et à produire plus rapidement des complet permet aux FEO d’avoir un plus grand contrôle revenus. Et ils offrent à cette sur le rendement de l’équifin des forfaits de services pement, donc un tel forfait allant des inspections norest assorti d’une garantie males à la mise en place de complète. Plus la producpersonnel permanent chargé tion ou les indicateurs de de l’entretien et de l’optimisarendement clés convenus tion de l’usine tout entière, sont élevés, ce qui peut aller qu’il s’agisse ou non d’équide la sécurité en passant par pements qu’ils fabriquent. la consommation d’énergie « Nous gérons aujourd’hui et la production, et plus la quelque 300 contrats de serrétribution du FEO sera élevice internationaux, souligne vée, si les IRC sont atteints Giuseppe Campanelli, viceou dépassés. Inversement, si président, Solutions, à Metso. l’équipement ne donne pas Nos services vont des inspecles résultats escomptés (et tions de routine à l’affectation convenus), le FEO fait de plus de 100 employés tra- Metso affirme qu’elle a vu de plus en plus de clients s’intéresser aux accords de moins d’argent. service à long terme au cours des dernières années. vaillant sur place. « Nous avons des contrats Au cours des dernières au Chili, où nous devons années, nous avons constaté que nos clients s’ouvrent progres- garantir la disponibilité d’une usine de broyage. Pour ce faire, sivement à ce type d’entente », ajoute-t-il. nous devons avoir notre propre personnel sur place qui va Dans le cadre de ces contrats, Metso a déployé quelque s’occuper de l’entretien, poursuit M. Campanelli. Certains 700 employés à temps plein dans des usines de clients partout clients veulent obtenir la garantie de la disponibilité, mais dans le monde. n’utiliser que leurs propres employés et alors seulement nos Michael Woloschuk estime que ce modèle bénéficie autant superviseurs sont sur place. Nous pouvons, dans ce cas, vous aux FEO qu’aux responsables d’usine. L’expertise en matière offrir une garantie, si l’entretien de l’équipement se fait selon d’entretien préventif des FEO contribue à accroître les heures nos recommandations. » de fonctionnement d’une usine à plein rendement, et ce, Metso utilise ce modèle dans ses relations d’affaires depuis chaque année. Selon lui, pour une usine d’extraction d’or pro- plusieurs années. Un de ses clients en Suède a acheté du blinduisant environ 280 000 onces par année, au cours actuel de dage de broyeur selon une entente fondée sur le coût à la l’or, il suffit d’accroître la disponibilité de l’usine de trois jours tonne, en vertu d’un contrat de service portant sur le cycle de et demi par année pour générer des revenus supplémentaires vie. « À mon avis, c’est l’une des meilleures solutions comd’environ 3,5 millions de dollars. « Nous les aidons [les merciales pour le fournisseur et le client où les motivations exploitants] à reconnaître quelles sont les pièces de rechange qui existent de part et d’autre se rejoignent, poursuit M. Camessentielles et à comprendre les tâches d’entretien préventif. » panelli.

FLSmidth utilise aussi un modèle fondé sur les IRC. Paiement en especes ou partage du « Nous avons des équipes d’entretien en Amérique du Sud qui assurent l’entretien de toutes les usines de concentration risque? de cuivre. Ils ne s’occupent pas seulement de notre équipeDu point de vue de la société minière, « nous constatons ment, mais aussi de celui des concurrents », précise que de plus en plus de fournisseurs vendent l’équipement et Michael Woloschuk. les services connexes, affirme Adam Miller de Teck. Ils pourNovember • Novembre 2017 | 67

Avec l’aimable autorisation de Metso

L’un des clients de Metso en Suède a acheté un revêtement de broyeur en fonction du coût à la tonne, dans le cadre d’un accord de service à long terme qui encourage les deux parties afin d’optimiser le rendement.

Le defi des interets divergents Selon Clark Whiting, l’un des plus grands défis qui attendent ceux qui souhaitent maximiser leur CTP, est le fait que souvent les acteurs de l’industrie travaillent et prennent des décisions en vase clos. Le problème est que chaque vase clos a ses propres priorités et perspectives.

Cementation utilise un outil de réalité virtuelle développé en interne pour ajuster la conception en fonction de la rétroaction des opérateurs et du personnel d’entretien. Le CTP, poursuit-il, commence par une conception d’usine qui facilite les activités comme l’entretien. En fait, chez Cementation on est d’avis que tous les intervenants, allant du propriétaire de l’exploitation aux employés responsables de l’entretien, en passant par le fabricant d’équipement d’origine devraient collaborer avec l’équipe de conception pour la durée d’un projet donné.

Pour qu’un modèle de CTP soit couronné de succès, il faut au préalable le concevoir en faisant preuve d’un raisonnement critique utilisé à très fortes doses, dit-il. « C’est ce que je définis par la capacité de bien évaluer une situation de différentes perspectives, explique M. Whiting. Et c’est essentiel. Quels sont les objectifs du propriétaire ? La base que j’ai établie pour lancer ma réflexion est-elle pertinente ? La base que le propriétaire a établie pour lancer sa réflexion est-elle pertinente ?

Il faut abandonner toutes idées préconçues et les aider à faire de même et se concentrer sur la réalité et la vérité ultime des choses. » 68 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 12, No. 7

« Une grande société minière avec laquelle nous travaillions depuis assez longtemps à l’implantation du principe de CTP a déclaré qu’en tant qu’entreprise, c’est très important, raconte M. Woloschuk. Mais au bout du compte, le client a opté pour un produit dont le coût initial était moins élevé plutôt que la proposition de valeur sur tout le cycle de vie du produit. « Essentiellement, ils nous ont dit que ‘Oui nous sommes intéressés par le principe du CTP, mais malheureusement c’est le groupe responsable des projets d’immobilisations, qui est aussi responsable du budget et des coûts initiaux de cette usine’, et ils ont préféré le produit le moins cher sur le plan des coûts [en capital]. » Selon divers fournisseurs, il faut sensibiliser davantage les acteurs du secteur minier et lancer une discussion à propos du CTP dans l’ensemble de l’industrie. Entre-temps, ils s’efforcent de proposer des solutions novatrices pour combler l’écart entre leurs propres besoins en production de revenus et le besoin des intervenants du secteur minier de gérer leurs coûts d’immobilisations.

Adam Miller convient que le modèle d’entente de service à long terme est mis en place pour aider à diminuer les craintes qui font obstacle aux investissements en capital et convaincre les sociétés minières de recommencer à acheter du matériel. « Ce n’était pas aussi courant auparavant, dit-il, mais actuellement, les fournisseurs d’équipement majorent leur offre de services, on ne peut qu’imaginer les grandes innovations que nous réserve l’avenir. » ICM

Avec l’aimable autorisation de B2Gold

profil de projet

L’INDÉPENDANCE D’ESPRIT La mine de Fekola, située dans le sud-ouest du Mali, a été construite en un peu plus de deux ans.

La mine à ciel ouvert, située le long d’une riche ceinture aurifère dans l’ouest du Mali, est destinée à devenir la principale exploitation de B2Gold Par Cecilia Keating

A

u début du mois d’octobre 2017, la société minière B2Gold de Vancouver a célébré sa première coulée d’or à la principale mine de Fekola, qui devrait augmenter la production annuelle totale d’or de l’entreprise à un taux de plus de 70 pour cent au cours de l’année prochaine.

Bien qu’au départ il n’était pas prévu qu’elle soit mise en activité avant le mois de décembre, Fekola a été construite en un peu plus de deux ans et elle devrait produire entre 50 000 et 55 000 onces cette année seulement, et entre 400 000 et 410 000 onces en 2018.

Les premiers lingots d’or à Fekola ont conclu une décennie de croissance rapide pour B2Gold, une société minière de niveau intermédiaire qui possède une solide expérience dans la construction des mines qu’elle exploite. En dix ans, elle est passée d’une petite société d’exploration avec une production nulle à une société propriétaire de cinq mines avec une production évaluée à près de 975 000 onces en 2018.

Clive Johnson, président et chef de la direction de B2Gold, a dit que l’acquisition du projet Fekola est conforme avec l’historique « d’acquisitions rentables de projets élaborés qui sont

prêts à être réalisés » de B2Gold, appuyée par la marquante « volonté d’être anticonformiste » de l’entreprise.

Lorsque B2Gold a acheté la propriété de la petite société minière Papillon Resources, située en Australie, au mois d’octobre 2014 pour la somme de 570 millions de dollars américains, elle n’a été confrontée à aucune concurrence. Johnson a dit qu’il avait trouvé cela « très surprenant », étant donné les résultats « impressionnants » de l’étude de faisabilité de Papillon Resources et l’emplacement de la propriété située sur une ceinture aurifère renommée où sont établies les mines gérées par AngloGold Ashanti, IAMGOLD et Randgold.

Risques éliminés grâce aux efforts déployés Johnson a dit que le manque de concurrence pour Fekola était le reflet d’une industrie entachée de mauvaises ententes, de décisions d’affaires déplorables ainsi que d’actionnaires et d’investisseurs désagréables. « C’est étonnant de voir à quel point de nombreuses personnes, et ce, même dans une indusNovember • Novembre 2017 | 69

Avec l’aimable autorisation de B2Gold

B2Gold a coulé ses premiers lingots d’or le 11 octobre dernier à la mine.

trie conservatrice comme l’industrie minière, sont réticentes à prendre des risques. » Il a dit que les investisseurs et les actionnaires de B2Gold ont appuyé la décision de l’entreprise qui était d’acquérir Fekola puisque B2Gold « n’avait pas commis d’erreurs ».

L’investissement a été rentable. L’étude de faisabilité optimisée de B2Gold en 2015 a démontré des réserves probables de 49,1 millions de tonnes à 2,35 g par tonne d’or, et un programme de forage exploratoire de 15,4 millions de dollars américains en cours dans la zone située au nord des limites du puits actuelles. Johnson croit que le potentiel pour les nouvelles découvertes est l’un des « plus grands avantages » de Fekola. Ses données de forage seront publiées lors du quatrième trimestre de l’année 2017.

De plus, la prévision des activités minières au Mali est bonne; BMI Research a déclaré au mois d’octobre dernier qu’elle espère que l’industrie minière du pays connaisse une valeur de croissance de 10 pour cent de 2017 à 2021. « Maintenant que la croissance est plus favorisée, la plupart des analystes disent que l’offre [pour Fekola] pourrait probablement avoir démarré à un milliard de dollars », a dit Johnson.

Affaires mondiales Canada recommande actuellement d’éviter tout voyage au Mali en raison de la menace de terrorisme et de banditisme, et malgré le fait que Fekola soit loin du conflit qui a eu lieu au nord du pays, l’entreprise n’a pas été épargnée par ce dernier. En 2015, deux dirigeants de B2Gold ont été pris au piège dans leurs chambres d’hôtel au moment où des extrémistes armés prenaient d’assaut un hôtel à Bamako, la capitale du Mali, prenant en otage 170 personnes et tuant 19 personnes.

B2Gold, toutefois, s’est distinguée en dirigeant des juridictions qui, à première vue, n’en valent peut-être pas la peine.

70 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 12, No. 7

L’entreprise a fait ses preuves dans des régions telles que la Colombie et les Philippines. Auparavant, Bema Gold, la société devancière de B2Gold, s’est fait une réputation dans les années 1990 et 2000 en dirigeant des exploitations minières réussies au Chili d’Augusto Pinochet et dans une zone éloignée du nord-est de la Russie. « Plusieurs des meilleures possibilités à travers le monde sont dans les zones où d’autres personnes ont peur de s’aventurer, soit à cause de la perception d’un manque de sécurité, soit à cause d’autres raisons [économiques ou politiques] », a dit Johnson, qui a créé B2Gold en 2007 avec les dirigeants de Bema Gold.

Il a dit que B2Gold a évalué attentivement les décisions avant de se lancer dans les juridictions à risque en étant « très discipliné en vue d’assurer une diligence raisonnable ».

Inévitablement, la sécurité sur le site de Fekola est la principale priorité. « L’entreprise a mis en œuvre une série de politiques et de procédures qui s’adaptent à la situation politique actuelle au Mali », a dit Lytle. Johnson a souligné que la majorité des conflits qui ont eu lieu au cours des dernières années se sont déroulés à l’autre bout du pays, à près de 2 000 kilomètres. Entre-temps, Randgold a dirigé sa mine de Gounkoto, située à 50 kilomètres au nord de Fekola, sans qu’il y ait d’incident, et ce, depuis son ouverture en 2011.

La méthode tout avoir La mine de Fekola a été construite à partir de rien à une vitesse fulgurante par une équipe interne qui a travaillé sur quatre autres projets de B2Gold et Bema Gold, le plus récent étant la mine d’Otjikoto en Namibie, qui est entrée en production en 2014.

Dans une approche inhabituelle de l’industrie, B2Gold fait entièrement sa propre construction de mines. Après avoir été déçu par des entrepreneurs sur un projet qui a eu lieu au milieu des années 1990, Johnson a décidé d’éliminer la soustraitance. « Le modèle était ˝ pourquoi ne pouvons-nous pas tout avoir? ˝ Soyez très bons en exploration et soyez également bons à diriger des mines de briques et mortier et à construire des mines », a-t-il dit.

Bill Lytle, le vice-président principal de l’exploitation, a dit que Fekola doit sa réalisation rapide et son budget précis au modèle de construction de gestion interne (« in-house ») de B2Gold. Étant donné que l’équipe de mise en service, le groupe de construction et l’équipe de conception étaient déjà réunis et travaillaient ensemble en Namibie, la conception préliminaire et la planification pour le Mali ont commencé plus tôt, sur place à Otjikoto. Toutes les parties « se sont appropriées » l’horaire, a dit Lytle, et le budget a été préparé en étroite collaboration avec la société d’ingénierie externe, Lycopodium de Brisbane, et l’équipe de construction chevronnée de l’entreprise. « Ces gens se connaissent depuis tellement longtemps, depuis plus de 20 ans », a dit Lytle à propos de l’équipe B2Gold. « Il existe une culture de responsabilité. » Lytle a été envoyé à la propriété de Fekola très tôt et a servi de lien clé entre le siège social et les activités menées sur les

profil de projet lieux. Par conséquent, des décisions rapides ont été prises avec le plein appui de l’entreprise.

Le début du terrassement du site a commencé au cours des premiers mois de l’année 2015, tout comme la construction de la voie d’accès de 50 kilomètres en gravier qui relie le site à la route principale. La capitale Bamako se situe à environ sept heures de route du site et à 36 heures de route du port de Dakar, au Sénégal. Une piste d’atterrissage construite sur place relie Fekola à Bamako en une heure. « Ce n’est vraiment pas si éloigné », a dit Johnson.

Toutefois, l’approvisionnement et la logistique ont été des considérations clés très tôt, étant donné que tout l’approvisionnement provenant du port de Dakar doit traverser deux frontières. La clé du succès ici, selon Lytle « était d’utiliser notre propre équipe de logistique, avec des plateformes intégrées à Vancouver, Dakar, Bamako et Fekola ».

La saison des pluies torrentielles au Mali, qui a lieu de mai à octobre, signifiait qu’une attention particulière était demandée afin d’attribuer la classification appropriée aux routes. À ce jour, Lytle a dit que les activités n’ont pas subi ou connu beaucoup de temps d’arrêt en raison de la pluie, mais il reconnait qu’il « parlait d’une expérience d’exploitation d’une année seulement ». L’étude de faisabilité a évalué que la mine connaîtra une baisse de production de 15 pour cent au cours des mois pluvieux.

Le gisement de Fekola sera exploité au moyen d’une technique classique à ciel ouvert, et l’usine au moyen d’un procédé de cyanuration classique et d’un broyeur traditionnel, le broyeur SAG, un circuit de broyage à boulets muni d’un broyeur de galets. Aucune nouvelle technologie n’est actuellement mise à l’essai – les technologies ont toutes été « éprouvées », a dit Lytle.

L’économie considérable du projet – un taux de rendement interne évalué à 33 pour cent avant impôts en supposant un montant de 1 300 dollars américains par once d’or – s’appuie sur l’échelle de classification diversifiée du gisement. Au mois de septembre 2017, B2Gold a annoncé que l’évaluation de la production annuelle à la mine est passée de quatre millions à cinq millions de tonnes par année. L’usine a déjà été agrandie afin de faire face à l’accroissement, et la centrale électrique de la mine fonctionnant au mazout/diesel lourd est passée de 54 à 60 MW. La hausse de tonnage a réduit le coût global relatif au soutien de 752 dollars américains à 664 dollars américains par once au cours de la durée de vie de la mine, qui a été coupée de 12,5 à 10 années. À la fin du mois de septembre, l’entreprise avait dépensé 521 millions de dollars américains afin de mettre en activité la production de Fekola. Au cours de la prochaine décennie, la mine aura une valeur moyenne estimée à 345 000 onces par année.

S’établir L’usine de Fekola est entièrement automatisée et est actuellement en voie d’être autorisée. Les employés nationaux suivent une formation pour savoir comment faire fonctionner le système numérique de contrôle-commande (SNCC), dont le

matériel informatique, le logiciel et les stratégies de contrôle ont été conçus à l’interne par l’équipe technique de B2Gold et Metso. « Cette partie du monde a probablement rarement vu un tel système automatisé des meilleures pratiques industrielles que nous avons mis en œuvre ici », a dit Lytle, en ajoutant que la formation des opérateurs a commencé il y a plus de six mois.

Au cours de la phase de construction, 200 employés sur un total de 1 200 ont été expatriés, mais B2Gold prévoit que ce nombre diminuera et les Maliens constitueront enfin 95 pour cent des 950 personnes faisant partie de la solide main-d’œuvre d’exploitation. C’est un modèle qui a été appliqué avec succès ailleurs, a expliqué Lytle : « à Otjikoto, le nombre [d’employés nationaux] atteint plus de 98 pour cent ». Au Nicaragua, ce nombre atteint également plus de 98 pour cent.

Plus de 50 membres de la main-d’œuvre expatriée supervisant la construction au Mali sont des Namibiens formés à Otjikoto – une évidence, selon Lytle, de « formation de premier ordre » et d’investissement à long terme que B2Gold fait dans son plan d’intervention local.

L’entreprise s’engage à embaucher environ 50 pour cent de la main-d’œuvre locale non qualifiée de Fekola qui demeure dans un rayon de 50 kilomètres du site de la mine. Afin de s’assurer que les embauches demeurent locales et qu’aucun migrant économique provenant d’autres régions du pays – desquelles ils étaient nombreux – ne se glisse dans ce quota, B2Gold possède des officiers de l’état civil opérant dans les communautés locales.

B2Gold collabore avec Affaires mondiales Canada pour diriger des programmes de formation sur place et dans les villages locaux afin d’améliorer les compétences techniques et professionnelles nécessaires pour Fekola et d’autres mines dans la région, avec une attention particulière pour la santé et la sécurité. L’entreprise s’est également engagée à favoriser les entreprises locales non liées au secteur minier, comme l’agriculture, le jardinage et la couture.

B2Gold a affecté 20 millions de dollars américains pour la relocalisation d’un village avoisinant le puits de mine. Bien que Lytle ait admis que même s’il y avait un scepticisme initial à propos de l’initiative prise de plein gré par l’entreprise, le régime de rémunération, élaboré avec le cabinet de conseil canadien externe rePlan, a été accepté il y a plus de six mois.

Les résidents seront indemnisés pour les pertes en moyens de subsistance et toute terre perdue sera compensée sur le nouveau site du village. Les propriétés qui seront construites dans le « nouveau village de Fadougou » seront équipées de panneaux solaires, d’eau courante et de chambres supplémentaires à louer pour les migrants entrants qui cherchent un emploi à la mine. La relocalisation devrait être effectuée sur une période de deux ans. « Clive, en tant que chef de la direction, a mis en évidence ce sentiment de responsabilité sociale afin d’être certain que c’est gagnant-gagnant-gagnant », a expliqué Lytle. « Le gouvernement gagne, l’entreprise gagne, la communauté locale gagne. » ICM November • Novembre 2017 | 71

technical abstracts

CIM Journal Abstracts from CIM Journal, Vol. 8, No. 4

Simultaneous optimization of ultimate pit and production scheduling using a heuristic approach B. Samanta, Department of Mining Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India, and A. K. Mahto, Coal India Limited, Kolkata, India

A heuristic model was developed to simultaneously generate the ultimate pit and production scheduling at a mining project. The method consists of a preprocessing step to select a starter pit, the implementation of a genetic algorithm to optimize the pit and schedule of the starter pit, and a network-flow algorithm–based postprocessing operation to finalize the ultimate pit and production scheduling. Applied to an iron ore mine, the model pit and schedule produced a net present value 21% higher than the reference pit and schedule prepared by experienced field engineers.

Behaviour of iron at the Ambatovy nickel operation in Madagascar M. Collins, B. Haugrud, and E. McConaghy, Technologies, Sherritt International Corporation, Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, Canada; G. Smith, Ambatovy, Fokontany d’Amboarikarivo, Commune d’Amboditandraho, Toamasina II–Region Atsinanana, Madagascar

Laterite ore processed by the Ambatovy joint venture in Madagascar is primarily limonitic in nature, containing approximately 40–45 wt.% Fe and 1.1 wt.% Ni. The process selected for treatment of this ore considered the behaviour and deportment of iron in each step of the commercial flowsheet. Such considerations included nickel and cobalt recoveries, reagent consumptions, liquid-solid separation characteristics, and intermediate and final product purities. In this paper, the results for the first three years of commercial operation at Ambatovy are compared with the design parameters, with emphasis on the behaviour of iron.

The iron elephant: A brief history of hydrometallurgists’ struggles with element no. 26 A. J. Monhemius, Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Royal School of Mines, Imperial College London, London, England

This paper reviews the history of modern iron-control processes in hydrometallurgy. Attention is paid to processes developed in the electrolytic zinc industry for removal of iron from zinc sulfate leach liquors and the problems faced by the industry in the safe disposal of the iron residues produced by these processes. Past lessons learned are projected onto current efforts to develop hydrometallurgical processes for treatment of copper sulfide concentrates. It is argued that any attempt to create a “hydrometallurgical copper smelter” will fail, unless methods are developed that can recover iron in a form that can be directly used by the steel or pigment industries.

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MINING LORE Mining’s Bohemian boomtown

By Cecilia Keating

D

Wikimedia/Petr Mentlík

espite its low profile today, Jáchymov, a small spa town colour factory. Curie later developed the radium chloride proin the mountains of Bohemia in northwest Czech duction process and a section of the colour factory was dediRepublic, has an illustrious history. For more than four cated to radium extraction. centuries, its mines were central to scientific discoveries made, For nearly two decades following Curie’s discovery, and research done, by Georgius Agricola, Marie Curie and J. Joachimsthal’s mines were the world’s most important source of Robert Oppenheimer, including the uranium for dyes and radium for (now discoveries of several minerals and highly contested) health applications, elements. including radioactive soaps, salts and Rich silver deposits were discovspa therapies, but new mines in the ered in the town in 1512 and over the United States and the Belgian Congo ensuing decades thousands arrived to eventually sundered Joachimsthal’s exploit them, with the town’s populamonopoly; operations were only proftion jumping to 18,200 in 1534, up itable for six years between 1918 and from 5,000 in 1520. It was christened 1937.

Joachimsthal (meaning “St. Joachim’s Joachimsthal was annexed in 1938 Valley”) in 1520 by its rich owners, when Nazi Germany invaded the SudeAn abandoned building in Jáchymov, the small spa town in the Counts of Schlick. tenland because primarily Germanthe northwest Czech Republic that was formerly known as the The Schlicks quickly became one mining town of Joachimsthal. In its heyday, between 10,000 speakers lived there. A German of Europe’s richest families, and and 15,000 miners worked at more than 900 mines in the radium company was formed and the started minting coins out of the area’s Joachimsthal camp. colour factory was demolished. silver called thaler – the origin of the One Nazi general suggested in a word dollar. Coins were shipped to Leipzig, an important trad- letter to Heinrich Himmler, head of the SS, that concentration ing hub, and were accepted across Europe. camp prisoners should be made to mine in Joachimsthal, At its height, between 10,000 and 15,000 miners worked at observing that the work killed “many decent German workers” more than 900 mines in the camp. Extremely rich ore contain- in their early forties. There is no evidence showing whether ing up to 60 per cent silver was processed by hand, and pieces these plans went ahead. of pure silver were also common; the largest was 280 kilograms.

The German-run Joachimsthal mines were a major cause of Renowned artists and scientists flocked to the town as min- concern for Allied scientists during the war, given uranium’s ing operations boomed. Among them was Georgius Agricola, application as a nuclear material; Robert J. Oppenheimer, “the “the father of mineralogy.” It was here that he discovered and father of the atomic bomb,” had written his thesis on the mines documented bismuth, antimony and zinc, and started research at Joachimsthal. Albert Einstein famously wrote a letter warnfor his enormous treatise on mining and mineralogy, De Re ing President Roosevelt of the threat.

Metallica.

After the war the town became part of the new CzechosloThe first decline of Joachimsthal happened quickly as a vak Republic and its historic German-speaking population result of political and economic strife, religious upheaval and was ousted across the border into Germany. The town was the emergence of gold and silver plundered from the Americas. renamed Jáchymov.

While the total silver production at Joachimsthal in the 16th In 1945, Joseph Stalin signed a treaty with the Czechoslovak century was 200 to 300 tonnes, only 838 kg was produced government to give the USSR the right to exploit the mine. Jáchybetween 1631 and 1655. Coin minting ended in 1671. mov thus became strategically crucial to the USSR during the The area was mined successfully for cobalt and bismuth in nuclear arms race as a supplier of the radioactive materials for its the centuries that followed, and became world-famous again atomic arsenal. Tens of thousands of political prisoners were put when pitchblende, the uranium-rich by-product of silver min- to work digging, crushing and loading uranium up until 1960. ing, became popular for use in yellow and orange dyes.

In 1952, despite protests by the local spa industry, which Joachimsthal’s silver processing factory was transformed into a promoted radon therapy, the government launched an investiuranium colour factory. gation into “Jáchymov miners’ disease.” It was discovered that Demand for uranium shot even higher in 1898 when Marie the disease was a vicious form of lung cancer caused by expoSkłodowska Curie and her husband discovered polonium and sure to radioactive materials, which had killed thousands of radium, an element a million times more radioactive than ura- miners over the years. Despite these findings, uranium mining nium, in pitchblende they ordered from the Joachimsthal continued in the area until 1964. CIM 74 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 12, No. 7

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