CIM Magazine September/October 2016

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After decades of research and severe testing, we ended up with a synthetic diesel engine oil that helps you get more out of your mining equipment – and your business. Mobil Delvac 1™ extends oil drain intervals and helps with fuel economy, which means more work time and less downtime. Learn more at mobildelvac.ca

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Copyright © 2016 Exxon Mobil Corporation. All rights reserved. All trademarks used herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of Exxon Mobil Corporation or one of its subsidiaries unless otherwise noted.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER | 2016 | SEPTEMBRE/OCTOBRE

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cover story

Systems in sync The interoperability of processes, equipment and systems has the potential to spark innovation unlike ever before By Alexandra Lopez-Pacheco

60 The means to an end

67 The evolution of automation

At Goldcorp’s El Sauzal mine, timing, logistics and oversight bring the mine to a satisfying close

Intent on mining the benefits of driverless vehicles, operators and tech suppliers are mapping multiple paths to the autonomous mine

By Eavan Moore

By Kate Sheridan

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CIM MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER | 2016 | SEPTEMBRE/OCTOBRE

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Editor’s letter President’s notes Chatter tools of the trade 14 The best in new technology

Compiled by Vince Morello,

Kelsey Rolfe and Kate Sheridan

developments 20 Government and industry code changes mark two-year anniversary of Mount Polley, but public not ready to forgive

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By Eavan Moore

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By Alexandra Lopez-Pacheco

Briefs Second quarter results detail an incomplete recovery for metals By Vivian Danielson 32 United Nations report highlights the roles mining companies play in sustainable development efforts By Kate Sheridan columns 38 In praise of paper By Heather White 40 Don’t discount geotechnical due diligence By Will Pitman open-pit mining 42 Handheld fragmentation analysis improves throughput at Pinto Valley By Eavan Moore 46 The design details behind Metso’s installation of the world’s largest HPGR at Freeport’s Morenci mine

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Stochastic mine planning trial at Newmont mine shows value generation potential By Ian Ewing UBC PhD candidate develops diggability assessment index By Tom DiNardo

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mining lore 82 In the first five years of the Cobalt mining boom, an estimated $1 million in high-grade silver was stolen by so-called high-graders By Douglas Baldwin

contenu francophone 71 72 74

Table des matières Lettre de l’éditeur | Mot du président article de fond Systèmes en phase L’interopérabilité des processus, de l’équipement et des systèmes a plus que jamais le potentiel de promouvoir l’innovation Par Alexandra Lopez-Pacheco

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

September/October • Septembre/Octobre 2016 | 6

Published 8 times a year by: Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum 1250 – 3500 de Maisonneuve Blvd. West Westmount, QC H3Z 3C1 Tel.: 514.939.2710; Fax: 514.939.2714 www.cim.org; magazine@cim.org Advertising sales Dovetail Communications Inc. Tel.: 905.886.6640; Fax: 905.886.6615; www.dvtail.com Senior Account Executives Janet Jeffery, jjeffery@dvtail.com, 905.707.3529 Neal Young, nyoung@dvtail.com, 905.707.3525 Subscriptions Included in CIM membership ($187); Non-members (Canada): $275/yr (AB, BC, MB, NT, NU, SK add $13.50 GST; NB, ON add $35.10 HST; QC add $40.40 GST + PST; PE add $37.80 HST; NS add $40.50 HST); Non-members (USA & International): US$325/yr; Single copy: $25.

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Illustration by Sébastien Thibault Layout and design by Clò Communications Inc. www.clocommunications.com Copyright©2016. All rights reserved.

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

ISSN 1718-4177. Publications Mail No. 09786. Postage paid at CPA Saint-Laurent, QC. Dépôt légal: Bibliothèque nationale du Québec. The Institute, as a body, is not responsible for statements made or opinions advanced either in articles or in any discussion appearing in its publications.

Printed in Canada

8 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 11, No. 6

Be st

ith fall approaching, you can feel the mining supply sector shifting on its axis as all the big “iron” rolls into Las Vegas for Minexpo. The buzz of product previews and launches has reached an uncommonly high pitch and it is hard not to get swept up in the excitement surrounding the trade show. At the previous Minexpo in 2012, the industry had only just crested its peak and the preoccupation at the time was with “moving tons.” Equipment was scaling up and designs were on the table for bigger blasts, bigger haulers and bigger plants. Notably, the world’s largest high pressure grinding roll (HPGR) that Alexandra Lopez-Pacheco details in our section on open pit mining (p. 46) was initially ordered from Metso in 2011. While Metso’s competitors now offer similarly sized units, today the demand is just not there, and the installation’s “world’s largest” status remains unchallenged. Over the last few years the focus has shifted to flexibility and agility. Modular designs are attracting attention, and comminution equipment such as stirred mills, and modest-sized HPGRs continue to work their way into processing flowsheets. The innovation which has recently made itself most visible on the trade show floors has been the unmanned aerial vehicle, as miners quickly discovered the many uses these remarkably small flying machines have around an operation or an exploration camp. With this issue, we step back from the trends to explore a more fundamental advance in mining technology – the gathering effort to create the necessary space for innovation through common standards and open platforms – in our cover story, “Systems in sync,” also penned by the industrious Ms. Lopez-Pacheco. Four years ago, the Global Mining Standards and Guidelines Group, whose raison d’etre is to allow such collaboration to happen took advantage of the pull Minexpo has to hold its first general meeting in Las Vegas. Since then, the group has drawn many of the biggest names in mining and equipment manufacturing to the project. While we have not yet felt the effects of these efforts, the Las Vegas odds are that they too have the power to upset the orbit of the mining industry.

ia ed

Gravitational forces

Editor-in-chief Ryan Bergen, rbergen@cim.org Executive editor Angela Hamlyn, ahamlyn@cim.org Managing editor Andrea Nichiporuk, anichiporuk@cim.org Section editor Tom DiNardo, tdinardo@cim.org Junior section editor Kelsey Rolfe, krolfe@cim.org Copy editor Marilena Lucci, mlucci@cim.org Web content editor Maria Olaguera, molaguera@cim.org Contributing editors Peter Braul, pbraul@cim.org; Eavan Moore, emoore@cim.org Editorial intern Vince Morello Digitization technician Marie-Ève Lapierre, melapierre@cim.org Contributors Douglas Baldwin, Joel Barde, Vivian Danielson, Ian Ewing, Sahar Fatima, Sara King-Abadi, Alexandra LopezPacheco, Eavan Moore, Will Pitman, Kate Sheridan, Heather White, Kylie Williams Editorial advisory board Alicia Ferdinand, Garth Kirkham, Vic Pakalnis, Steve Rusk, Nathan Stubina Translations CNW, Karen Rolland

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editor’s letter

president’s notes

Eating our young

“Mining companies need to be creative and use hiring strategies that are responsible in the longterm while controlling short-terms costs.”

In the mining industry boom times of the early 2000’s, the so called “super cycle,” we could not find enough young professionals such as geologists, mining engineers, metallurgists or technicians for the work that needed to be done. Similarly we were hurt by a dearth of young mining executives due to the “lost generation” of the eighties when many mining graduates abandoned the industry in that downturn. At the time, we called for universities and colleges to open up their mining programs and get active in recruiting young folk. And the students and schools responded. Now here we are in 2016 in what seems to be the bottom of another harsh downturn in metal prices. Mining companies, focused on driving down their costs, have hiring freezes and layoffs are common. At the same time there has been an upswing of mining graduates to levels not seen since the early 1980s. From meeting some of the young grads, and all I have heard and read, they are having a very hard time finding work. As advanced as the professions that comprise this sector are, we seem to take our cues from the animal kingdom: when times are hard, we eat our young. As an industry, we need to find ways to employ these young mining professionals. Mining companies need to be creative and use hiring strategies that are responsible in the long-term while controlling short-terms costs. One methodology promoted at the Toronto CIM Branch is for the mining companies to hire graduates into front line operation jobs – underground mining, surface equipment operation, maintenance and process plant roles – which inevitably open up as site attrition occurs. The young professionals gain hands on knowledge of operations and the ability to work positively as a member of the labour force. When technical roles do eventually open up, there will be skilled people available at the mine sites. On the flip side of the coin, young graduates have to be prepared to apply for and take on labour roles. They have to be willing to go to work in remote sites in the north, where turnover is often highest. I urge our CIM members to show leadership in getting our young graduates and students jobs. Let’s not kill off another generation of mining young!

Michael Winship CIM President @CIMPrez

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YOU’VE GOT TONS TO MOVE.

WE VE GOT WE’VE T TONS TO SH HARE.

The countdown to MINExpo 2016 is underway—and CatMiningExperience.com is the only place to get an inside look at our plans. Sign up for exclusive email updates. Hear from Caterpillar Group President and MINExpo 2016 Chair Denise Johnson. Meet the experts who’ll be sharing ideas and expertise to help you control costs, boost production and squeeze more life out of every investment, every day. And check back often for new content, including more videos, event schedules and a one-of-a-kind mining experience giveaway. Visit CatMiningExperience.com to see it first.

© 2016 Caterpillar All Rights Reserved. CAT AT, CATERPILLAR, ATERPILLAR, BUIL BUILT FOR IT, their respective logos, “Caterpillar Yellow,” the “Power Edge” trade dress and Product Link, as well as corporate and product identity used herein, are trademarks of Caterpillar and may not be used without permission.

chatter RE: ADDRESSING WATER RISKS WITH CLOSURE IN MIND (AUGUST ’16)

FOLLOW US

RE: SEPARATING SCIENCES (JUNE/JULY ’16)

Great CSR editorial from my previous boss and leader in sustainability #derekchubb @erminsight #mining – Nicole McLaren, @naswain

A Must-Read Interview!! – deniz, @adenizbas

Very good (short!) article, @Ryan_CIM_Mag; don't u think that this should be legally regulated? #mining #environment – Elisabeth Kosters, @EC_Kosters

RE: CANADA’S FORGOTTEN SILVER BOOMTOWN (JUNE/JULY ’16)

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RE: MINIATURE MINERS (JUNE/JULY ’16)

RYAN BERGEN @Ryan_CIM_Mag

While it is gratifying to see articles highlighting the use of biotechnology, and in particular bioremediation, we feel, after 30 years of experience in the leaching of ores and ecological remediation of mining wastes, that several statements oversell both approaches. Bioleaching is not perfect for arsenical ores as claimed. Yes, bioleaching does not release arsenic gases into the atmosphere, but neither does pressure oxidation (POX). POX fixes the arsenic in a stable form, which is not the case in bio-oxidation. It is also not true that biohydrometallurgy is more energy efficient than smelting. Smelting is a very energy-efficient process, being entirely autogenous, and with much of the waste heat being recuperated in waste-heat boilers. Biohydrometallurgy recovers none of this intrinsic energy, thus much less energy-efficient than smelting. A sophisticated workforce is indeed very necessary for heap leaching, because it has to maintain the kind of heap conditions which promote microbial activity. Additionally, passive water treatments have not failed in the past due to uncertainty about which microbes were at work. They failed for other reasons. One significant cause was the failure to recognize the differences between organic and inorganic contaminants at work in wetland water treatment processes. Claiming that genomics will result in a successful remediation technology is false if we ignore the fact that remediation requires a multidisciplinary approach. The physical, biogeochemical and ecological conditions of the wastes must be considered if we expect to succeed, with or without genomics. As Corale Brierley states, to support leaching, the conditions that support the multiplication of the organisms must be created. To achieve success in remediation, exactly those kinds of conditions have to be reverted within tailings or waste rock piles to alter mineral surface from the dominantly oxidative or leaching condition to a reducing or very low oxygen conditions. The ecological engineering approach has been to experiment in the field to change the conditions from oxidative to reducing along with some ecological settings. Generally the pilot tests which followed worked better than anticipated. Sincerely, Bryn Harris, Margarete Kalin

HIT US WITH YOUR BEST SHOT The CIM Magazine photo contest is on and we’re looking for the best mining photos around! All you have to do is submit your one-of-a-kind photos to newsletter@cim.org or tag us on any of our social media platforms. The winning submission will be featured in the magazine.

12 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 11, No. 6

ANGELA HAMLYN @AngelaH_CIM

ANDREA NICHIPORUK @Andrea_CIM_Mag

TOM DiNARDO @Tom_CIM_Mag

KELSEY ROLFE @kelseyarolfe

MARIA OLAGUERA @Maria_CIM_Mag

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tools of the trade

Cold comfort

Floating a smaller footprint

Scaling down In the tight spaces found in underground operations, miners need flexible and reliable tools to properly remove loose rocks from the walls and ceiling of mine drifts. The new ScaleBOSS 3D from Breaker Technology has a boom with the ability to move across five axes, allowing it to reach further and higher while also being small enough to easily maneuver underground. “Scaling is a tough job – and it’s important to scale effectively for proper ground control,” said Don Sissons, the president of Breaker Technology. A poorly-scaled passageway can lead to unstable ground conditions, putting workers at risk. “We are confident that this machine is a game-changer for that three-to-five metre drift size, and are continuing to develop the full ScaleBOSS family,” Sissons said. The ScaleBOSS 3D runs on a Deutz diesel engine and is easy to maintain due to its open-centre hydraulic circuit, which eliminates the chances of debris or contaminants entering the hydraulic breaker tool and damaging the components. – Vince Morello 14 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 11, No. 6

Can a flotation system dramatically reduce the environmental impact of a processing plant? Eriez believes its HydroFloat Separator system can, by handling coarse ore particles up to 850 microns with a combination of fluidized bed and gravity concentration technologies. Three papers about the system were presented to launch it into the wider market in September at the International Mineral Processing Congress (IMPC) in Quebec City. The system increases the rate of bubble-particle collisions and allows for better buoyancy to promote a high recovery rate with coarse ore – even if only two per cent of the mineral’s surface area is exposed. Keeping ore coarse reduces the grinding and milling required prior to flotation, reducing the amount of energy needed to run the processing circuit and the amount of water eventually trapped in tailings ponds by fine particles, according to the company. “This will change the way flowsheets are designed,” said Ken Roberts, the director of global sales at Eriez’s flotation division, adding that the system can scale up directly, without a scale-up factor used for conventional flotation systems. Eriez is promoting the system for use at projects with sulphide-based ore and 100,000 to 200,000 tonnes-per-day requirements. Previously, the system was tested at projects with lower tonnages. The technology was developed over 15 years, with pilot projects completed in South America, the U.S., and Canada. – Kate Sheridan

Courtesy of Eriez

Courtesy of Breaker Technology

Courtesy of Fortress Clothing

Working in cold temperatures can be challenging for both companies and employees. Workers are not very productive when they layer up in clothes that add weight without holding much heat, and have to keep jumping into the work truck to warm up. To make these conditions more manageable, Fortress Clothing has designed its base layer jacket and pants with a half inch of insulation to keep workers warm and limber. Fortress CEO and president Dale Lewis claims the clothes allow workers to feel comfortable in -35 C weather. The company also offers a liner for extreme temperatures down to -55 C, which comes with an inch of insulation, and can also serve as a base layer for additional clothing. Fortress uses a patent-pending technology that features engineered polymer about 13 millimetres thick that retains heat while being breathable enough to offer moisture evacuation, according to Lewis. “With our clothing you are actually comfortable and warm even when sweating,” he said. – Vince Morello

GO ALL IN FOR MINING

Let’s unite to voice the positive impact mining delivers throughout the world. Join us in Las Vegas to say you’re ALL IN for mining. Learn more at miningallin.com

Courtesy of Boart Longyear

tools of the trade

In the past core orientation had been a long and laborious process, with operators forced to disassemble their drill to insert an electronic controller before finding the core sample’s lowest point. Boart Longyear expects to make the process easier with its new core orientation system, TruCore. “TruCore was developed to provide consistent, accurate core orientation to geologists on site,” said Adam Tomaszewski, product manager for Boart Longyear’s instrumentation product line. With TruCore, drill operators simply press a button on the handheld controller to begin orienting the core sample, without needing to disassemble the drill. The TruCore comes with flashing LEDs to make it easier to align the tool with the core sample by pointing the controller at an LED light port and rotating the core barrel until the LEDs flash red. From there, the controller will tell the driller the core sample can be marked at the bottom. “You have a significant reduction in manual handling over the market leader right now,” said Tomaszewski. “The main feature is TruCore has wireless communication so there’s no need to disassemble a tool to take a mark.” The system is also able to alert users when the sample has been oriented or if the orientation has failed. – Vince Morello 16 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 11, No. 6

Easier maintenance With most screens, maintenance on the main bearings requires a work shift to complete and work on the rubber mounts takes another one. But because of the complexity of its mounting system and the number of components in it, Haver and Boecker’s used to take almost two days. To save clients time, the company released a new Tyler F Class Split Bucket Mounting System. The split bucket has a two-piece body, which allows operators to easily remove the side arm and bucket at once, and reduces maintenance downtime to one 12hour shift. “We found a solution where the outside bearing and the surrounding components don’t have to be dismantled,” said Dieter Takev, Haver and Boecker’s vice-president of engineering and technology. “The entire unit can be pulled off in one piece painlessly and quickly.” The split bucket and split body bracket “can be lifted off the supporting frame like the truck bed off a truck,” added Takev. – Vince Morello Courtesy of Haver and Boecker

Simplified orientation

With so many parts of an operation generating data, mining companies now have a glut of information that could help improve productivity at their sites, but may not have the time or resources to analyze it. AMC Consultants plans to help mine operators with this problem through its new On-line Benchmarking service. The company will collect equipment-use data from a client’s operation either onsite or remotely to understand the project and build a working relationship with operators at the mine. “We’re providing analysis around the productivity, the operating hours, availability utilisation and breaking down the time components [of when equipment is or is not being used],” said Kate Sommerville, business improvement manager at AMC. The analysis will consist of building a capacity model – the maximum throughput a mine site can achieve with what Sommerville calls a “good level of productivity” – and comparing it to the site’s current position, its budget and the company’s forecast target. If the site’s maximum capacity is lower than the company’s goals, AMC will look at the site data it has collected and help its client resolve any productivity issues. AMC can also benchmark a mine site and compare it to other operations, either within the company or that produce the same commodity. – Vince Morello

Courtesy of AMC Consultants

Analytical assist

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Courtesy of Liebherr

tools of the trade

Reduced hosing

Courtesy of BKT Tires

Courtesy of Sandvik

Lengthy hydraulic hoses on drill rigs often chafe on rock faces and wear out quickly, taking them out of production. Sandvik designed its DD422iE battery-trammed mining jumbo to solve this problem. The drill rig’s boom has a 110metre hydraulic hose, down from 240-metre hose on the rig’s predecessor, the DD421. “The typical reason for [drilling] unit downtime underground is because of hose breakages,” said Johannes Välivaara, Sandvik’s product manager of underground development drills. “So by reducing the length of the hose, we are reducing the downtime related to those breakages.” The DD422iE also incorporates a 3D scanning unit, which, by scanning the surroundings, can calculate the rig’s position and orientation and automatically navigate it. The scanning unit also identifies the volume of the rock in the tunnel, and lets the operator know if there has been overbreak or underbreak on the previous round blasted. The rig has active power compensation, which allows the operator to set a maximum power volume and, if it is exceeded, have the drill rig begin to pull power from its battery rather than the site’s infrastructure. The rig’s battery can be recharged during the drilling cycle using the site’s existing electric infrastructure, and while the machine is tramming downhill, using energy generated by the rig’s braking system. – Kelsey Rolfe

Tire spotter Numerous factors can impact tire performance, from road conditions to a truck’s average speed as it travels through the mine site. With its new SPOTech system (short for Satellite Performance Optimization Technology), BKT Tires hopes to help customers reduce maintenance and extend tire life at their operations. SPOTech maps the site’s haul roads using satellites to provide speeds and distances, and observes the trucks and tires with a three-axis accelerometer, which provides data on g-forces the truck is experiencing, and four GoPro cameras attached to different parts of the truck body, viewing the tires. “This will allow us to gain a deeper insight and provide [that] to the end user,” said Chris Rhoades, BKT’s senior product manager of technology. He cited the accelerometer as an “integral” part of the system, as it allows BKT to see where there are particularly strong g-forces along the haul roads, like harsh bumps or severe corners. Once the system is installed at the site, SPOTech monitors cycle times and average and maximum speeds, among other factors. “The truck will operate as it normally would for one or more shifts and then we remove the system and begin the analysis phase,” Rhoades said. The test shifts should help identify issues like tire-heat, irregular wear and road construction that are negatively impacting tire life. – Kelsey Rolfe 18 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 11, No. 6

Powering through Reducing fuel consumption offers miners the one-two punch of cutting operational costs and shrinking their environmental footprint. Liebherr kept this in mind when it designed its new crawler tractor, the PR 776. The tractor runs on a 12-cylinder diesel engine and operators can adjust engine modes depending on the power needs of a job, including switching the machine into eco-mode to save fuel. “Functions such as the automatic reduction of engine speed or automatic engine shutdown further contribute to fuel efficiency,” Alexander Katrycz, Liebherr’s head of marketing, explained. Operators can adjust the length of time before the engine automatically switches to idle mode and a complete shut-down. The PR 776 is also powered by a hydrostatic transmission – the first of its kind in the 70-tonne crawler tractor category – which gives the tractor a continuous flow of energy, allowing the PR 776 to move quicker and easier, adjust speeds, pivot on the spot and change gears without any interruption in movement. “This allows exact and powerful steering. Track slip is minimized and operators can concentrate completely on their work,” noted Katrycz. – Vince Morello

British Columbia updates mining code

Q2 results mark an incomplete recovery for metals

Potash producers react to low prices with closures and layoff

UN report highlights roles miners play in sustainable development efforts

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Developments Two years and change Government and industry code changes mark two-year anniversary of Mount Polley, but public not ready to forgive

Two years after the August 2014 tailings dam failure at Imperial Metals’ Mount Polley mine, both the flawed impoundment and the rules governing such structures have undergone structural tweaks. Industry professionals say those changes go a long way toward answering calls for reform and preventing another similar incident, although many members of the public remain unsatisfied. Production is back to normal at the Mount Polley mine site, where British Columbia’s Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM) gave the go-ahead to resume full operation in June. Imperial Metals has brought soil erosion under control and rebuilt its tailings impoundment with the guidance of an independent tailings review board (ITRB). “We’ve not only repaired the breach area and tied that into the existing facility, but we’ve also completed buttressing around the entire perimeter and main embankments of the tailings facility,” said Steve Robertson, Imperial Metals’ vice-president of corporate affairs. “This has given us a much higher factor of safety, and we have a great deal of confidence in our tailings facility as we move forward.” To receive its permits and create a long-term environmental monitoring plan, the company needed to engage 20 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 11, No. 6

Courtesy of Imperial Metals

By Eavan Moore

The current focus for the two First Nations most affected by Mount Polley is ensuring the restoration process of Hazeltine Creek, pictured, is carried out, and following the long-term outcomes of environmental monitoring.

intensively with the local First Nations. Brian Olding, environmental consultant to the Xats’ull (Soda Creek) First Nation and Williams Lake Indian Band, said two years of studying permit changes and ecology has significantly boosted both communities’ capacity to respond to the complex situations involved in the permit changes. “[Mount Polley has] some of the best consultants any-

where working on this,” he said. “So for us to match up to them, we had to develop our own expertise and learn how to manage that.” First Nation Resource Managers, as well as both communities, have gone through a crash course in environmental assessment expertise associated with mining. Now, said Olding, the major focus is ensuring the restoration process on

developments Hazeltine Creek is carried out and following the long-term outcomes of environmental monitoring. Despite strong progress, he suggested, further results would be critical to easing communities’ anxiety and frustration. “There are members of both communities that are very skeptical of everything, just because of the magnitude of the event that took place,” he said.

Coherent code revisions Urgent calls for action from investigators have taken root in provincial and professional guidelines. By July a provincial code review committee had amended the Health, Safety and Reclamation Code for Mines to address 20 out of 43 recommendations made by the independent engineering review panel, the Chief Inspector of Mines, and the Auditor General of B.C. (See story on pg. 23) The new requirements include a review of best available tailings tech-

nologies and a company-funded ITRB to give expert, non-binding advice. Peter Williams, senior vice-president for technical services at Seabridge Gold, said he welcomed these steps. The ITRB for Seabridge’s proposed KSM gold-copper project provided more than 90 action points in its first report in April, with recommendations like enhancing the dam’s underdrain system and calculating the balance between needed and available construction materials. “Where a lot of dams get in trouble is early on,” said Williams. “You want to build a dam so fast that you don’t have the construction materials to do it, and then the dam starts to fill too fast.” The Fair Mining Collaborative, an educational organization that builds B.C. communities’ and First Nations’ capacity for informed engagement with the mining industry, had published its own set of policy recommendations, some of which the B.C. code revisions

met or exceeded. “We have to give credit where credit’s due,” said senior researcher Glenn Grande. But unmet requests made to the review committee included a provincial ITRB (“they were interested, but felt that they couldn’t fund it”), permitting based on a miner’s past performance, whistleblower protection for mine employees and a requirement that exploration and mining work be contingent on any agreement required by affected First Nations.

Professional response Interlocking committees have been updating tailings management guidelines published by MAC, the Canadian Dam Association, and the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of BC (APEGBC). Ben Chalmers, vice-president of sustainable development at MAC, said multiple professional associations were cooperating to come up with a coherent

e

September/October • Septembre/Octobre 2016 | 21

response and maintain a single global standard. MAC’s board approved a first batch of amendments to its Towards Sustainable Mining (TSM) tailings protocol in June. “One of the most important changes, in our view, was in moving the audit requirements,” said Chalmers. MAC members are currently required to perform internal audits to attain the second-highest practice level, AA. This change moves the internal audit requirement down to the third-highest, A. MAC will also require that all members develop plans for reaching level A and implement their plans within three years. Peter Mitchell, director of professional practice, standards and development at APEGBC said his committee had defined the roles and responsibilities of the “Design Engineer” and “Engineer of Record” in new professional practice guidelines for site characterization of dam foundations and

amended guidelines for legislated dam safety reviews. Despite frequent use of the term after the spill, until now the “Engineer of Record” has not actually existed in dam construction. Nor were there clear guidelines as to how a new engineer should assume responsibilities from the previous one. Mount Polley’s original design engineer was replaced in 2011, and in the aftermath of the spill there were disagreements as to each firm’s degree of responsibility in identifying and addressing problems. The amendments – along with the new B.C. code – also give instructions for reporting hazards, said Mitchell. “There wasn’t real clarity on, ‘Okay, I have a contractual obligation with the mining company, I’ve seen this issue, what’s my responsibility to the mining company that I have a contract with, and what’s my responsibility to the regulatory authority?’”

Public perception Calvin Sandborn, legal director of the Environmental Law Centre at the University of Victoria, argued that industry-driven responses would not satisfy a public newly aware of mining hazards. “I think the most important change is that the public has lost confidence in government’s ability to regulate the mining industry,” he said. “We recommended massive change to mining regulation back in 2011. Government’s response was, ‘We have the best regulatory system in the world, go away.’ And that whole line of argument has collapsed.” Protests and lawsuits around the second anniversary of the spill suggest the public is not ready to forgive and forget. Two protests, just days apart, targeted the mine site and the company’s Vancouver headquarters. The Tsilhqot’in First Nation filed a civil suit in August against the government of

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New Concept Mining Canada Ltd. 2900 – 550 Burrard Street, Vancouver, BC, V6C 0A3, Canada Tel +1 905 320 3464 www.ncm.co.za

developments B.C., Imperial Metals, and Mount Polley’s former engineering consultancies, Knight Piésold and Amec Foster Wheeler (both of which Imperial itself sued for negligence in July). Two Quesnel Lake tourist businesses sued the same defendants in July. Like many critics of the current state of progress, David Chambers, president of the Center for Science in Public Participation, is particularly concerned by the lack of emphasis on ending watercapped impoundments.“From a practical [perspective], we can already see that things haven’t changed with regard to that,” he said, citing the tailings management plans at Seabridge’s KSM and Imperial’s Red Chris mine. Seabridge commissioned Dirk van Zyl of UBC, who led the call for phasing out water storage, to review alternatives to KSM’s planned watercovered impoundment. His review in August 2016 affirmed the original design. CIM

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British Columbia updates mining code Sweeping changes to British Columbia’s mining code were announced in June in what experts say is a momentous step toward preventing another disastrous tailings dam collapse like Mount Polley. The Ministry of Energy and Mines accepted 20 of the 26 combined recommendations from an independent expert panel and the chief inspector of mines’ report. The changes include new design standards for tailings storage facilities tailored to conditions within the province, and require mines to establish an independent tailings review board (ITRB) and conduct alternative assessments. The auditor general also made 17 recommendations, which will be addressed by the ministry by the end of 2017. “The Mount Polley disaster was unprecedented for British Columbia,

but it did happen. We have now taken steps to ensure that such a disaster can never happen again,” Energy and Mines Minister Bill Bennett said through a spokesperson. In August 2014, a massive breach at the Mount Polley mine tailings storage facility in south-central B.C. sent 24 million cubic metres of waste and water into nearby rivers and lakes. An expert panel established to investigate the cause blamed in part a layer of clay under the dam that was not considered in the original design. Dirk van Zyl, a mining engineering professor at the University of British Columbia who served on the panel, said the mining code changes, including site characterization and downstream slope regulations and guidelines, would have made a difference in mitigating the risk of such a disaster. “The extra set of eyes, the extra responsibility of the independent tail-

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ings review board would go a long way towards reviewing very actively and critically the design that’s proposed,” van Zyl said. Karina Briño, president and CEO of the Mining Association of British Columbia, said the industry welcomes the changes and has been involved in consultations all along. “When it comes to safety, there is no compromise,” she said. But the ITRBs could pose a potential challenge, she said. “We’ve been talking about a shortage of skilled people and talent in the industry,” she said. “These boards are going to require specific expertise, they’re going to be independent, so the availability of those independent experts is something we have yet to see.” But Chief Inspector of Mines Al Hoffman said in an email members may sit on multiple boards as long as they are not involved in the engineer-

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ing of the mine site. And they can be from anywhere in the world. Existing B.C. mines have until the end of the year to establish independent tailings review boards and to prepare water management plans and ensure all staff dealing with tailings are trained. Most other requirements under the new code took effect immediately, and going forward all new permit applications must comply with the – Sahar Fatima updated standards.

Metallurgical trailblazer, first female University of Toronto professor Ursula Franklin dead at 94 Ursula Martius Franklin, the first female professor in the department of metallurgy and material sciences at the University of Toronto, died in Toronto on July 22 at the age of 94, surrounded by loved ones. Franklin

pioneered the field of archaeometry and helped to better understand the metallurgical processes used by ancient civilizations. A feminist, pacifist and professor emerita, Franklin was a woman of high moral standards who devoted her life to others. “She was very brave,” said Dr. Vanda Vitali, Franklin’s final PhD student and a colleague, mentee and friend. “She was courageous in every aspect of that word. She led by doing things. It was not words, it was actions.” The only child of a Jewish art historian and German Lutheran ethnographer, Franklin was born on Sept. 16, 1921 in Munich, Germany. She began her undergraduate education in Berlin in 1940, but her studies were interrupted when she was imprisoned in a Nazi work camp for 18 months. She was reunited with her parents, who were held in a separate camp, after the war, though her mother’s family perished.

Mark Neil Balson/ University of Toronto Engineering

Franklin “went against the current in many ways,” her grandson Alejandro Mejia recalled, “and I think that was something that she enjoyed.”

It was during the turmoil of the Nazi era that Franklin chose to pursue science after witnessing a cathode ray tube interact with a magnet. “I suddenly had this feeling of great joy that even they, those people in government

who were after us, couldn’t make an electron beam bend in any other direction,” Franklin said in an interview for the book Women of Impact. After the war she enrolled in the Technical University of Berlin, where

she obtained a doctorate in experimental physics in 1948, then received the Lady Davis Fellowship, which brought her to the University of Toronto in 1949 to do post-doctoral research. Franklin played an instrumental role in developing the field of archaeometry, a practice that uses modern methods to examine archaeological artifacts in order to better understand prehistoric technologies, material synthesis and conservation. And in the 1960s her research on strontium-90, a radioactive isotope, in Canadian children’s teeth helped put an end to atmospheric nuclear weapons testing. Franklin paved the way for future generations of women scientists and became the first female professor at the University of Toronto in 1984. Mentoring became a duty to Franklin, who wanted to “change the world of engineers so that women, while being

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26 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 11, No. 6

developments practicing engineers, can also safely and cheerfully be themselves.” “Her being such a big part of my life but relatively late in her career, I got her reflections of her career rather than being a witness to the milestones themselves,” said her grandson, Alejandro Mejia, a material sciences professional. “I think, most of all, the takeaway that I got was that she had a hard time…

She went against the current in many ways and I think that was something that she enjoyed.” Franklin was awarded the United Nations Association’s Pearson Peace Medal in 2002 in part for her work at the Ursula Franklin Academy, an inner city Toronto high school. In addition to over 40 honourary doctorates, Franklin became an Officer of the

Order of Canada in 1982 and was named a CIM Distinguished Lecturer that same year. “She had that gift of being able to see that whole picture and a phenomenal way of making you think twice,” said Professor Doug Perovic, a former student and colleague of Franklin’s. “She really opened our eyes.” – Sara King-Abadi

Mid-year review Q2 results mark an incomplete recovery for metals

Quarterly results provide a snapshotin-time of the state of mining markets, and as of mid-2016, the picture was brighter for gold and some base metals than was the case a year earlier. The World Bank’s Commodity Markets Outlook reported an eight per cent rise in gold prices in the quarter that ended June 30, and predicts sustained price strength this year based on increased demand for safe-haven assets and concerns about global growth. The report also cited a five per cent increase in base metal prices in the same quarter, but forecasts an 11 per cent decline for the full year. With slowing Chinese demand, most commodity experts also expect subdued market conditions through 2016 and beyond. PwC’s Mine 2016 report said the industry is still in “uncharted territory” after a disastrous 2015, which saw a 25 per cent drop in commodity prices. The market capitalization of the top 40 companies fell 37 per cent last year, and PwC notes that these companies racked up an estimated $53 billion of impairments, “the equivalent of 32 per cent of capex spent since 2010.”

Gold producers look to trim the fat Restoring operational and financial strength are priorities for most companies, including Barrick Gold. By end of Q2, the company had reduced its debt

Courtesy of Goldcorp

By Vivian Danielson

In its second quarter report Goldcorp announced it will spend US$90 million at its Musselwhite mine in northern Ontario (pictured) and US$420 million at its Penasquito mine in Mexico.

by nearly half of its US$2 billion debtreduction target for the year, while allin sustaining costs (AISC) for the 1.34 million ounces it produced fell to US$782 per ounce from US$895 per ounce. Goldcorp reported it was on schedule to achieve its target of US$250 million in sustainable annual efficiencies by 2018, and had reached the 50 per cent mark. The cuts will include a onethird workforce reduction and decentralization of its business model. The company reported Q2 gold production of 613,400 ounces at AISC of US$1,067 per ounce, down from

908,000 ounces at AISC of US$853 per ounce in the prior year period. Goldcorp plans to spend US$420 million and US$90 million to boost production at its Penasquito and Musselwhite mines, respectively. Agnico Eagle Mines has reduced its net debt by roughly US$181 million, bringing it down to US$742 million by June 30, a reflection of ongoing efforts to bolster its balance sheet. Gold production in Q2 was 408,932 ounces compared to 403,678 ounces a year earlier, while total cash costs fell to US$592 per ounce from US$601 per ounce (on a by-product basis). September/October • Septembre/Octobre 2016 | 27

FROM THE WIRE Rio Tinto suspended its Simandou project in Guinea in early July. CEO Jean-Sebastien Jacques told The Times of London the low price of iron ore made the US$20 billion project not feasible. The project has more than two billion tonnes of iron ore. Centerra Gold purchased Thompson Creek Metals for US$1.1 billion, the company announced in early July. Centerra will acquire Thompson Creek’s Mount Milligan mine in central British Columbia, which has 2.2 billion pounds of Proven and Probable Reserves of copper and 5.7 million ounces of Proven and Probable Reserves of gold; the Endako and Thompson Creek molybdenum mines currently under care and maintenance; as well as a toll processing facility in Pennsylvania. Centerra also took on the company’s $889-million debt. Duncan Middlemiss took over as president and CEO of Wesdome Gold Mines on August 15. Middlemiss replaced Rolly Uloth, who held the role for three years and will continue on as a director of the company in a planned succession before his retirement. Uloth has worked at Wesdome for more than 20 years in director and management roles. Nemaska Lithium hired François Godin as vice-president of operations in mid-July to supervise operations at the Whabouchi mine and Shawinigan plant. Godin previously worked for Rio Tinto’s iron and titanium division for 28 years. He assumed his new role on August 9. Silver Bear Resources announced in early August it had secured a US$55.2-million loan from three major shareholders, completing the last of its financing package for its Mangazeisky silver project in Russia. Mangazeisky has an Indicated Mineral Resource of 1.1 million tonnes, averaging 831 grams per tonne (g/t) for a total of 29.5 million ounces of silver, and an Inferred Mineral Resource of 1.9 million tonnes at an average of 466 g/t, totalling 27.8 million ounces.

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CPM Group’s 2016 Precious Metals Market Outlook is bullish on gold’s ability to sustain recent price gains. The report cited various factors that should support prices and continued “strong positive investor sentiment” this year: skepticism regarding the strength of stock markets, concerns regarding the U.S. election, fallout from the British vote to exit the European Union and the inability of the U.S. Federal Reserve to raise interest rates amid these problems.

Copper facing “headwinds” while zinc, nickel have more positive outlooks Canada’s largest diversified producer, Teck Resources, is cutting costs, conserving cash and maintaining production volumes as part of its strategy to weather this challenging commodity cycle. The company reported a Q2 profit attributable to shareholders of US$15 million, compared to $63 million a year earlier. Teck also announced increased production guidances for the second half of the year on zinc, copper and coal. “While the commodity cycle continues to be challenging, we are starting to see some positive changes in the direction of zinc and steelmaking coal prices,” CEO Don Lindsay said in a statement. Lundin Mining reported a Q2 net loss of US$792.1 million, which reflects a US$772-million impairment of its 24 per cent stake in the Tenke Fungurume copper-cobalt project in Africa, compared with net earnings of US$46.4 million a year earlier. Lundin’s net debt was US$341.9 million on June 30, down from US$441.3 million at year-end 2015. Lundin initiated a feasibility study for a satellite deposit near its Eagle nickel-copper mine in Wisconsin. Scotiabank commodity economist Rory Johnston said zinc remains the “bullish story” in base metals, driven mainly by supply contraction, while nickel is receiving support from concerns about political risk in the Philippines, now the world’s largest source of mined nickel. “But copper still faces

considerable headwinds from oversupply, sluggish demand and a sluggish global economy,” he said. Robert Edwards of London-based CRU Group noted that copper mine supply has “exceeded all expectations” so far this year, due to an extremely low level of mine disruptions and the ramp-up of new projects. Consequently, CRU expects the copper market to be in a 300,000-tonne-plus surplus in 2016.

Reduced demand plagues uranium, diamonds The uranium sector has been under siege since the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan, with prices under continued pressure from both reduced demand and oversupply. Cameco reported a Q2 net loss of US$137 million compared with net earnings of US$88 million a year earlier. In France, state-controlled Areva is being restructured after years of heavy losses. The government plans to inject US$4.4 billion to rescue Areva, assuming European Union anti-trust regulators are satisfied the plan will not unduly distort competition in the single market. Diamonds may be forever but sales vary as a barometer of luxury markets. De Beers based its 2016 outlook on expectations of “positive but subdued” economic growth, with downside risks expected to prevail. The company reported a 19 per cent drop in diamond production in Q2 2016, reflecting a decision to reduce supply in response to weak market conditions in 2015. However, De Beers also announced in August that production had begun at its 51 per cent-owned Gahcho Kué diamond mine in the Northwest Territories, which will produce an average of 4.5 million karats per year over an expected 13-year life. Dominion Diamond Corporation recovered 1.58 million carats of diamonds in the second quarter, 26 per cent lower than Q2 2015. The company operates the Ekati mine and owns 40 per cent of the Diavik mine, both in the Northwest Territories. CIM

Courtesy of BHP Billiton

developments

BHP Billiton CEO Andrew Mackenzie told analysts and investors in August the company may “mothball” its Jansen project in Saskatchewan, “if the market is not going to be ready for potash in the subsequent three years.”

Potash producers react to low prices with closures and layoffs BHP Billiton announced in midAugust it may put a hold on its US$2.6 billion Jansen potash project, located 140 kilometres east of Saskatoon, due to the low demand for and weak price of potash. Speaking to analysts and investors in London, CEO Andrew Mackenzie said a firm decision was around two years away, but that “if the market is not going to be ready for potash in, say, the subsequent three years, it’s perfectly possible we could mothball the shafts once we’ve completed them and properly lined them.” Jansen, already 60 per cent complete, is expected to produce eight million tonnes of potash per year when it moves into production, which would make it one of the world’s largest potash mines. The announcement came just a month after Mosaic laid off 330 workers and suspended production at its Colonsay operation, 60 km east of Saskatoon. Company spokesperson Sarah Fedorchuk called the layoffs temporary and said the company has set a “firm call back date” of January 3. In June, Canpotex, a consortium that markets and exports Canadian

potash internationally, backed out of building a $775-million export facility in Prince Rupert, citing “economic and commercial considerations.” The slump also prompted the world’s largest producer of potash, PotashCorp, to shut down two New Brunswick operations in November and January, affecting more than 500 workers. According to company spokesperson Randy Burton, while the decision to shut the Penobsquis operation is permanent, PotashCorp may reopen its Picadilly operation if things pick up. “It’s not economical at today’s prices,” said Burton. PotashCorp also slashed its earning guidance for the fifth time in six quarters at the end of July. The price of potash has dropped dramatically since it hit record highs in 2008, when it traded at around $900 per tonne. Since 2014, the mineral has hovered at around the $300 mark, and this year it sunk further, sitting at $269 per tonne in April. According to Scotiabank analyst Ben Isaacson, the potash market is in the process of balancing itself out from the unsustainable boom it experienced in the 2000s. The boom, he said, prompted established producers to expand and attracted new entrants into the industry, some of whom have been building

FROM THE WIRE Orezone Gold announced in midAugust it had received its mining permit for its Bomboré gold project in Burkina Faso. The company expects to spend US$250 million on the project and to begin construction in the second quarter of 2017. Bomboré is expected to produce 135,000 ounces per year for the first eight years at a grade of 0.88 g/t. Dundee Precious Metals received the final construction permit for its Krumovgrad gold project in southeastern Bulgaria, the company announced in early August. Dundee expects construction to begin in the third quarter of 2016, and to commence production in the second half of 2018. After completing financial and technical analyses, Yamana Gold announced in late July it will re-commission its C1 Santa Luz gold project in Bahia, Brazil. The project, expected to be in production in 2018, has Proven and Probable Mineral Reserves of 1.2 million ounces of gold (26.7 million tonnes at 1.42 g/t). Yamana predicts the project will have a 10-year mine life and produce an average of 114,000 ounces per year in the first seven years, with the first full year producing more than 130,000 ounces of gold. K+S Windsor Salt Ltd. is undertaking a $60-million expansion of its Ojibway salt mine over the next five years, the company announced in late July. The 400-foot deep expansion project and technology updates are expected to extend the life of the mine by nearly 50 years, until 2063. Infrastructure changes are set for 2017, with production expected to ramp up in 2018. Stornoway Diamonds began producing ore at its Renard diamond mine in northern Quebec in mid-July. The company plans to ramp up production over nine months to a throughput of 2.16 million tonnes per year at 78 per cent processing plant utilization.

Compiled by Sara King-Abadi, Vince Morello and Kelsey Rolfe

September/October • Septembre/Octobre 2016 | 29

their mines for years and are now coming on-line with product. Among them is K+S Potash Canada’s Legacy mine, the first new potash development in Saskatchewan in more than 40 years, which is expected to reach its two million tonne per year capacity by the end of 2017. Isaacson said that the big players are now “self-sacrificing” in order to improve market conditions. He said he expects demand for potash to improve over the next six to eight months and that there will be a “small rebound” in terms of price. “The recovery in potash prices should be a function of production cuts by the Canadian and [former Soviet Union] producers, as well as demand strength on the back of a potash pricing floor having been established,” said Isaacson. Mosaic also expects to see a bump in the price of potash. “We believe we’ve hit the bottom of the pricing

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cycle and expect prices to go up throughout this year and into next year,” Fedorchuk said. But, Isaacson said, the industry is likely to see net job losses, regardless. “It’s going to be ugly for a few years.” – Joel Barde

Komatsu moves underground with Joy Global acquisition Komatsu, the world’s second largest manufacturer and supplier of earthmoving equipment, announced on July 21 it would buy Joy Global, a leading manufacturer of surface and underground mining equipment, for US$3.7 billion cash. The deal is expected to close in mid-2017 and will add underground mining equipment and super largesized loading equipment to Komatsu’s manufacturing range. Joy Global, a Wisconsin-based company with

12,000 workers in 20 countries, will become a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Komatsu and retain the Joy Global brand. “We believe this is the right partnership to meet the evolving needs of our customers while furthering our ability to lead the mining industry with gamechanging technologies and best-inclass products,” said Joy Global’s president and CEO, Ted Doheny, in a press release. Joy Global currently has more than 10 operations across Canada, manufacturing surface mining equipment in Calgary, and underground mining equipment near Sudbury, Ontario. The company also has sales and service locations at major mining centres across the country, from Sparwood, British Columbia to Labrador City. Komatsu president and CEO Tetsuji Ohashi predicted demand for mining equipment will grow in the mid- to long-term as commodity prices recover

developments and consumption of major commodities increases to meet global needs. In a presentation to investors when announcing the acquisition, he outlined how the addition of Joy Global’s larger surface machinery and underground mining equipment will meet the demand for larger, more productive haul trucks, and prepare the company for the shift from surface to underground mining expected over the next 25 years. The Joy Global acquisition is Komatsu’s largest-ever deal. The agreement still needs to be approved by regulators in the relevant countries and Joy Global shareholders, who are set to receive $28.30 per share.

jobs available in the metal and nonmetal mining sectors is expected to grow by 1.3 per cent annually, to 67,400 jobs in 2026 from 58,600 currently. Transport truck drivers, heavy equipment operators and managers will be especially in demand, the report stated. Most of the people hired for these jobs will be replacing older

workers who retire and leave the workforce. These job openings may be perfect for young indigenous people, the report stated. “Their population is growing faster than the Canadian population [as a whole], so they’re in a good position to take advantage of these job opportunities,� report author

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Conference Board report projects growth in mining sector jobs over the next decade There will be thousands of new jobs in the mining sector in the next decade, fuelled by millions of investment dollars and a wave of retirements, according to a Conference Board of Canada study released in July. “The retirement of workers – more so than the expansion of the sector – will create the majority of the job openings in the resource sector,� the report stated. The report studied 90 mining and oil and gas projects across the country, selected based on the likelihood that a project will move forward in the next decade, a company’s economic situation and a commodity’s projected price. Among the projects the report looked at were Noront Resources’ Eagle’s Nest mine, Goldcorp’s Coffee Gold project and the Jay Project at Dominion Diamond’s Ekati mine. The report projected companies will invest about $342 billion in the projects studied, with 20 per cent of that investment expected to go towards mining projects. The report also built in demographic data from Canadian surveys and the national census. As the industry continues to recover from the downturn, the number of

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Marie-Christine Bernard told CIM Magazine. Around 30,000 indigenous people currently work in resource extraction. The report noted many of the jobs expected to be available will require education and training, which will be crucial to ensure indigenous people can seize employment opportunities. The federal government made a commitment in its 2016 budget to invest

$4.2 billion over five years for education and training in indigenous communities. Kelly Lendsay, president and CEO of the Aboriginal Human Resources Council said he thinks “it will be the most important investment made in this decade. “I think [mining companies] are going to have the opportunities to go further and deeper in terms of partnerships and relationships [with indigenous communities],” Lendsay noted.

The Conference Board’s labour force projections could change. “When we do a forecast like this, we consider the technology as it is today, but we also consider that there could be productivity improvements,” Bernard said. However, major technological changes, like more widespread adoption of autonomous vehicles, were not considered in the report. – Kate Sheridan

Miners score development goals United Nations report highlights the roles mining companies play in sustainable development efforts

Sustainability in the mining sector can mean much more than “going green” during development, according to the final version of a multi-agency report from the United Nations, released on July 15. It can also mean helping women in Burkina Faso start a commercial-scale soap business, supporting efforts to combat an Ebola outbreak in Liberia or simply disclosing payments made to governments around the world. The UN document, called “Mapping Mining to the Sustainable Development Goals: An Atlas,” is based on a series of milestones established by the United Nations as global development targets for 2030. A previous version was released in January and then underwent months of public consultation. The report suggested ways to integrate the 17 overarching sustainable development goals (SDGs) – among them, ensuring access to clean water, eliminating world hunger and creating a more peaceful society – into miners’ work, and included case studies highlighting existing efforts. Among them were Goldcorp’s aid in establishing a professorship for Women in Engineering at the University of British Columbia to encourage more women to enroll in the engineering programs; ArcelorMittal’s leadership during the Ebola outbreak in Liberia; and Vale’s water 32 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 11, No. 6

Courtesy of Barrick Gold

By Kate Sheridan

Barrick’s Pueblo Viejo mine partnered with non-governmental organization ENDA Dominicana to help re-vegetate the Colinas Bajas-Los Haitises mountain range in the Dominican Republic. The company paid $213 million in taxes to the country’s government in 2015.

recycling circuit at a Brazilian metallurgical plant. “Meeting the SDGs by 2030 will require unprecedented cooperation and collaboration among governments, non-governmental organizations, development partners, the private sector and communities,” the report stated. Because many miners work in areas that are ecologically-sensitive and may be claimed by indigenous people, the industry has the potential to change their surroundings for the better through investment and innovation, or for the worse, through negative impacts on the environment and local populations, the report noted.

“[This work] has really generated a lot of interest in terms of how an industry or sector can really help identify itself in the sustainable development goals and the potential for collaboration going forward,” said Gillian Davidson, head of mining and metals for the World Economic Forum, and one of the report’s authors. “It really has been a pioneering piece of work,” Davidson said. Companies should examine their current efforts and identify how the SDGs described in the report overlap, Davidson suggested. Peter Sinclair, chief sustainability officer at Barrick Gold, said that mining

developments companies are already contributing to the SDGs. “I think we have, as mining companies, the opportunity to make a massive contribution,� he said. “Almost everything covered in the SDGs, we touch in one way or another.� Four of Barrick’s initiatives were featured in the atlas, including a model farm in Peru built to teach community members near their Pierina mine animal husbandry and modern farming techniques, and a new child vulnerability matrix to identify possible risks to children around their Lagunas Norte project. Davidson and her colleagues conducted dozens of interviews before compiling the report – Barrick was one of the contributors – and she noted one of the industry’s key concerns was adding to reporting burdens companies already face through their own sustainability programs and other initiatives, like the Mining Association of Canada’s Towards Sustain-

able Mining initiative and the international Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI). BHP Billiton, an early supporter of EITI, has disclosed information about the company’s tax and royalty payments to governments since 2000, and has expanded that disclosure to every jurisdiction in which it operates – even for those that, like Canada, are not considered EITI-compliant countries. BHP disclosed $7.3 billion paid out throughout the year in the company’s first annual global economic contributions and payments report, released in September 2015. The report cited BHP’s decision to disclose all payments to all governments as one way mining companies can have a positive influence. “The tax payments in 2015 represent substantial resources at governments’ disposal that can then be used for spending on social priorities, including better health and education services,

and infrastructure – crucial in poverty reduction,� the report stated. Tax payments alone can make a huge impact on a country, Sinclair said. Barrick paid CAD$213 million in taxes to the government of the Dominican Republic; Canadian foreign aid to the country totalled $2 million in 2015, according to Canadian International Development Platform. Providing these numbers for verification is key to ensuring transparency, Davidson said. Many companies have already included elements from the atlas into their own reporting. “Teck [Resources] has taken the wheel that we developed [a visual diagram of the SDGs] and inserted their current efforts into it,� Davidson said. Some of Teck’s initiatives were also highlighted in the atlas, including its battery-recycling program with UNICEF and its work to restore bighorn sheep habitats and populations in Nebraska.

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But it is not just major miners who were held up for good sustainability citizenship. A case study from mid-tier miner New Gold was also included in the report. New Gold’s New Afton mine near Kamloops, British Columbia became the first mine in North America to receive ISO 50001 energy management certifi-

cation in 2014. Since implementing energy-saving initiatives and auditing the site’s energy use for the ISO certification, the mine has saved over $1 million in energy costs, according to data the company provided to CIM Magazine. Fulfilling the SDGs will be the responsibility of countries, but Davidson said she and her colleagues hope compa-

nies and governments of countries with resource-dominated economies can collaborate and make a significant impact. “When we started it, we thought it would be a three-month exercise, that it would be a 20-page document. As we really got into it, we realized that there was just so much going on and so much potential,” Davidson said. The complete report can be found on the United Nations Development Programme website. “We can’t underestimate the role that the [mining] sector could have.” CIM

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It is possible that without Robert Gannicott, Canada’s diamond mining industry – now the third largest in the world – may have had no major Canadian players. A geologist and former CEO of Dominion Diamond, Gannicott passed away in the United Kingdom on August 4 at age 69 after a two-year battle with leukemia, with his partner, Geraldine Peacock, at his side. His influence was instrumental in keeping Dominion – a junior company known as Aber Resources at the time of the ground-breaking Diavik mine discovery in 1994 – a Canadian-owned company. “[He was] savvy enough to make sure that Aber didn’t get swallowed up,” said Eira Thomas, a geologist and daughter of Grenville Thomas, Aber’s founder and Gannicott’s long-time business partner. Born in England in 1947, Gannicott moved to Canada in 1967, settling in Yellowknife where he worked in a gold mine. He completed a degree in geology at the University of Ottawa in 1975. An out-of-the-box thinker, some of Gannicott’s decisions in the 16 years he helmed Dominion, from 1999 to 2015, could be seen as controversial, like the acquisition of American jeweller Harry Winston in 2004. “He reinvented the business several times,” said Gannicott’s successor at Dominion, CEO Brendan Bell.

Courtesy of Dominion Diamond Corp.

developments

Having a diamond industry with Canadian influence “may not have happened if it hadn’t been for Bob,” Gannicott’s former business partner, Grenville Thomas, reflected.

The eventual sale of Harry Winston enabled Dominion to buy out BHP Billiton’s stake in the Ekati diamond mine in 2013 for half a billion dollars. It was the first time a Canadian company

owned a majority share of a Canadian diamond mine. “The price was right, and then we were able to sell it on for a lot more than he paid for it,” said Grenville. “Now, maybe that was fortuitous, but that’s what happened. And Bob was the one to do it.” “We want to build something with lifetime and strength to actually be able to be a serious player, not just in the Northwest Territories but in the world diamond industry,” Gannicott told CBC in 2013. Dominion’s influence has been felt strongly in the Northwest Territories’ economy and by northern peoples. “Poorer regions were completely transformed,” said Eira. “[Gannicott and Grenville] made lots of money themselves but there was always an aspiration to do something good with that success.” Much of Gannicott’s wealth will be left to charities benefitting people in the Northwest Territories, Bell confirmed.

Gannicott was devoted to the mines and the Northwest Territories until the very end, when he would hide his BlackBerry from hospital staff, Bell recalled. “He always had time for family, but certainly also for those he knew from work and his friends. He was very committed to this cause.” “We created Canada’s own diamond industry which may not have happened if it hadn’t been for Bob,” Grenville reflected. “So we have Bob to thank for that. He was a great man.” – S. King-Abadi

De Beers puts Snap Lake diamond mine up for sale De Beers is giving potential buyers a chance to snap up Snap Lake, its unprofitable diamond mine, before it is flooded in the last quarter of 2016, the company announced in July. Located about 220 kilometres northeast of Yellowknife, Snap Lake is Canada’s first completely underground

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diamond mine and has been a Lake mine under the curtechnically challenging and rent market conditions. expensive operation since it “It’s a relatively comopened in 2008. plex endeavour, there’s a De Beers halted produclot of things that can go tion at the mine in December. wrong,” he said, adding It will continue into extended Snap Lake has multiple care and maintenance if there challenges, including are no suitable offers to buy costly water issues, comit, so the company can still plex engineering and a hold it for possible producremote and geologically tion in the future, De Beers tricky location. By the Canada spokesperson Tom end of 2014, De Beers Ormsby said. The flooding had spent $2.2 billion on will cut costs and reduce the constructing and operatenvironmental risk from con- Snap Lake, Canada’s first completely underground diamond mine, was a technically ing the mine. tinuing to pump out water challenging and expensive operation since it opened in 2008. “The reason somewhile the facility is out of body would buy it is commission. Ormsby did not say if any buyers maybe they anticipate that sometime in have come forward or how much De “The mine still has in that ore body the future the price of the diamond will Beers expects for the mine, citing confiapproximately 20 to 30 million karats,” exceed the cost of producing,” Zimnisky or 12 years of mining, Ormsby said. dentiality rules. said. “But I just don’t think at the Paul Zimnisky, a diamond and min“Unfortunately, the gains we were makmoment the profit for diamonds is good ing were overtaken by the drop of the ing industry analyst, said he doubts any enough to justify all of those risks.” – S. Fatima market late last year.” company will step in to buy the Snap

36 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 11, No. 6

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In praise of paper By Heather White

will confess to a bias right from the start: my first computer was a Commodore 64, I predate the World Wide Web and I remember when ‘Google’ was a typo instead of a verb. The Internet Revolution happened in my teens, and like many of my generation, I consider e-everything useful, but non-essential. I am neither a technophobe nor a technophile, but technoskeptic, especially in the workplace.

I

the ventilation database and correlated against time, workplace and activity. Seismic data was uploaded to a database and plotted in real-time. Cable bolt layouts and drill designs were all drafted using software and could be changed with the click of a mouse. Everything was much more efficient. Only the geologists and surveyors routinely used the vault which housed the archival documents.

I miss the conversations we used to have around the long sections, two to 12 of us all looking at the big picture from different perspectives. When I graduated from university as a mineral engineer, my first job was at a mine where AutoCAD was the layout software of choice. Thousands of manhours had been expended digitizing linens, coding Microsoft Access databases and building spreadsheets to modernize the recordkeeping. As an engineering intern who had been educated at a time when computer use was prevalent, it did not occur to me that this was a new phenomenon. I simply delighted in the fact that I had two work surfaces – a computer desk and a drafting table – and spread out accordingly. I used the fine-tipped felt pens to doodle and take notes. A set square was put to use propping open a window. It was three months before anyone told me that the coaster I routinely used for my coffee cup was actually a paperweight intended to anchor drawings on A0-sized paper. Computers had arrived and the industry had embraced them. Air quality sampling results were entered into

At that time, there was talk of “paperless” offices in some far-flung fantastical future, an almost incomprehensible concept given our love of prints. Blank walls were a rarity; large-scale drawings and humourless motivational cartoons vied for display space. Hallways would be partially blocked by small groups brainstorming by the long section. Bulletin boards housed up-to-date progress data. Door plaques were unnecessary; it was possible to navigate the workspaces by scanning the contents of the walls. Fast forward 15 years and the software has become more sophisticated and more entrenched. There may be a drafting table or two around, and someone in surveying probably knows where the vault is if you ask. While the offices are not yet paperless, the proliferation of A0 drawings largely gone. We no longer track progress on the walls. While I laud the accessibility of the recordkeeping, and the efficiency of the electronic design and scheduling packages, I miss the paper. I miss the conver-

sations we used to have around the long sections, two to 12 of us all looking at the big picture from different perspectives. All of the bits and pieces being discussed in the context of the whole. Now that absolutely everything is on the computer, it seems that we only ever look at it in discrete packages (production drill layout, a raise design, a section of drift development), by invitation, and with a narrower range of experience. Only two or three heads fit around a 21inch monitor. I miss the ever-changing prints that provided a focal point – an eye-level exclamation that highlighted what was important at the time. Both literally and figuratively, we knew where we were, knew where we were going and we talked about how we were going to get there. We have lost some of that. The computer, in addition to being the repository for our data, has become the gatekeeper. With IT protocols, login requirements and the infallible fallibility of plotters, the big picture has become splintered. Like a jigsaw puzzle, experience or long familiarity is necessary to pull the 1,000 pieces into a coherent whole. Expecting an entire workforce to be able to contribute effectively to a plan they cannot picture is unrealistic. We are visual creatures and we need to see to believe. If the first step to getting tonnes to the mill is getting planned tonnes on paper, then surely the second step is getting that paper back on the wall, where everyone can see it. CIM

Heather White is a professional underground mining engineer with experience in Australian and Canadian base metal and gold mines at companies including Barrick Gold, Cameco and INCO.

Got an opinion on one of our columns? Send your comments to editor@cim.org. 38 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 11, No. 6

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Don’t discount geotechnical due diligence By Will Pitman

oday the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) market is hot and an essential component of scooping up the best assets is the complete due diligence of mining properties. However, because geotechnical due diligence is considered by many to be a component of the mine engineering design process and therefore implicit in it, the geotechnical aspect of M&A, and indeed other due diligence exercises, is often overlooked or undervalued. Too often geotechnical practitioners are

T

gets locked into the mine design early on in the study process, at a time when the geotechnical knowledge of the deposit is not well understood. The answer may raise a red flag, or alternatively provide a basis for improvement and optimization. For underground mining operations, is the life of mine plan based on sound geotechnical input and are there any ramifications of geotechnical recommendations on the ore reserve? This is a key question, as the inclusion of some

If geotechnical due diligence is inadequate, a company exposes itself to operational risk, cost overruns and reputational damage. engaged to complete mere desktop studies or last-minute reviews following the findings of others without a site visit that would allow a full appraisal of the state of the property. This is simply bad practice. Geotechnical input into due diligence work is a key aspect of decision making when evaluating open pit and underground mining operations. If geotechnical due diligence is inadequate, a company exposes itself to operational risk, cost overruns and reputational damage. By answering the following key questions during the due diligence process, you can turn the elephant in the room into your invisible friend. For underground mining operations, is the adopted mining method compatible with the prevailing geological and geotechnical parameters in terms of rock strength, stresses, geological structure, mining geometry and sequencing? It is important to ask this question because the mining method generally

of the reserves in geotechnical risk mitigation measures such as regional, sill, rib or shaft pillars can mean that mineralized material is sometimes accounted for in the reserve, when in fact it is unlikely that they will ever be mined. Alternatively, for open pit operations, a key question to ask is what steps have been taken to validate the geotechnical assumptions used in the feasibility study? It is surprising how many open pit operations continue to operate well into the mine life accepting that the feasibility study design assumptions are optimal. As the study assumptions are invariably based on information obtained from drilled core, most feasibility study recommendations include a caveat that they should be re-visited once the rock mass has been exposed through stripping and mining. This aspect is critical to the open pit operation. Again, the answer may raise a red flag or alternatively provide a basis for optimization. Send comments to editor@cim.org

40 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 11, No. 6

Another aspect to question is corporate engagement in the identification and mitigation of geotechnical risk. By investigating the extent of engagement of executives with their mining operations, one can provide a useful indicator of the corporate recognition of geotechnical risk. I have seen examples where geotechnical matters are handled onsite by geological personnel without the perceived need for dedicated geotechnical personnel. This is a red flag and demonstrates a number of issues: • At a corporate level, geotechnical risk is not being identified or addressed adequately. It raises the point that the executives do not know what they do not know. • At an operational level, geotechnical hazards are most likely not being identified or communicated adequately with the associated health and safety ramifications. • It is likely that a cost will have to be built into the potential acquisition to address such issues. • This has a clear and fundamental impact on any acquisition, as the purchasing company will have to address the culture of the target company in terms of risk recognition and mitigation. The above examples are only a few of a number of key issues that should be addressed during due diligence work. Although it would be difficult to put precise monetary value on the outcome to the questions tabled, it is clear that the answers can have a significant economic impact, either positive or negative, on the transaction and should be recognised as a priority in the due diligence process. CIM Will Pitman M.Sc., is a director and principal geotechnical engineer at Adiuvare Geology and Engineering Ltd., Toronto.

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A solution with vision Handheld fragmentation analysis improves throughput at Pinto Valley By Eavan Moore

Capstone Mining’s Pinto Valley copper mine in Arizona improved its crusher throughput after buying a handheld fragmentation analysis tablet designed by Motion Metrics International Corp. The device provides quick post-blast reports that help optimize the next round of drill patterns. The PortaMetrics system is a rugged tablet outfitted with three cameras and software for interpreting photographs. “We’re using stereo imaging, which is a pretty well-established technology in robotics research,” said Nicholas Himmelman, technical sales manager at Motion Metrics. Two of the cameras photograph the same rock to provide depth perception, using the slight difference in apparent position between objects seen from slightly different angles. That yields a precise distance from the camera to each rock, which the software can then use to calculate the size of the rock based on the number of pixels it takes up in the photo. The tablet’s three cameras provide flexibility. At a very short range, it is necessary to use two cameras that are close together. More than five metres away, it is better if the cameras are farther apart. PortaMetrics was the first fragmentation analysis solution Pinto Valley invested in after restarting in 2012. In the first few years of operation, the mine had other priorities. But Nathalie Légaré, drill and blast specialist at Pinto Valley, had begun to hear critiques from the milling department. “It started to become a focus for us,” she said, “because our crusher [superintendent] was saying, ‘Hey, you are sending some large rocks,’ and ‘Maybe we can increase our throughput if the fragmentation is a little bit finer.’” Motion Metrics already provided monitoring solutions for Pinto Valley’s shovels and loaders. “We were looking into a little machine like this and Motion Metrics came and made a presentation, and we fell in love with it,” said Légaré. Légaré had previously used a different solution on other mine sites, one that has a couple of significant downsides. First, it presents safety hazards. To estimate fragment size, it requires a reference object to be placed amid the rubble. That means someone needs to take an object of a known diameter like a basketball, ask the excavator operator to stop, and climb up to the bench face to position the ball. This inherently risky practice is mitigated by bringing along a spotter. With PortaMetrics, Légaré or one of the surveyors she has trained can go on a solo 42 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 11, No. 6

Courtesy of Capstone Mining

C

Motion Metrics’ PortaMetrics fragmentation analysis tablet uses multiple cameras and stereo imaging to analyze post-blast rubble.

drive and snap photos when the working shovel offers a clear line of vision, from metres away. The second disadvantage of the preceding technology is that it requires the user to extensively mark up each image manually. PortaMetrics, on the other hand, can provide preliminary results on the spot. “We really like using their product because it’s easy to use and it gives you quick answers,” said Légaré. “You don’t have to spend hours in front of the computer doing image treatment.” For precise accuracy, she still has to do some treatment of the snapshot data; for example, shadows might fall on a few rocks so that they look like one boulder, in which case someone would then have to manipulate the image to define them as separate. But that is a relatively minor time commitment. According to Himmelman and Légaré, PortaMetrics provides about the same level of accuracy as other fragment analysers, just faster and more safely. However, in certain situations, with a large angle between the camera and the face or if the surface being photographed is irregular, the PortaMetrics can offer better accuracy, said Himmelman. At a distance of 10 metres, the smallest rock it can measure is three centimetres wide.

Better blasting Légaré primarily uses PortaMetrics to verify that her drill patterns are meeting the crushing superintendent’s request for p80 six inches (80 per cent of the fragments six inches or less). She gets at least one picture per blast, aiming for the middle of the heap after the first few rows have been cleared. When trying out a new drill pattern, she takes two or three images in the same blast to see if the fragmentation is consistent. “[PortaMetrics] gives you a neat little report that shows you the size fragmentation distribution graph,” said Légaré. “It will show you your p80, or your p10, and it will tell you your maximum oversize and your minimum oversize. So you give those

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to your crushing people, who are just totally loving it.” Having the data also provides an objective way to agree on the quality of mill feed. Users define the parameters they want to see in their reports. In addition to size distribution, the analyser can calculate the slope of the ore heap, which can be useful in ensuring it is neither too steep for stability nor too shallow for shoveling efficiency. Légaré said the $35,000 device has paid for itself. “More material can pass freely through the primary crusher and go straight to the secondary, where they can do their jobs and have less material to crush, so to speak,” she said. “So we can increase our throughput. It’s also a lot of electricity for the metal to chew on a boulder that is five feet. So it helps to save on energy – and wear and tear as well, because a boulder that stays in your metal forever is going to wear more than if the material is like sand and just passes through.” After purchasing the analyser in May 2015, Pinto Valley increased throughput to about 56,000 tonnes per day (tpd) in the second quarter of this year up from about 48,000 tpd the same time the year before. Légaré added that the finer material also improved productivity prior to milling. “Our loading times improved,” she said. “The loading units have fewer big chunks to take in their buckets, so our fill factor is improved as well. And it’s probably smoother for the haul truck driver as well to be loaded with sand.”

Advanced features Pinto Valley is one of more than 50 sites that have taken up PortaMetrics in the two years since its introduction to the market, according to Himmelman. Unlike Motion Metrics’ other solutions, this device has attracted blasting service providers and consultants as well as mine operators. Some of them use multiple devices on multiple sites, but push the data to one server for comparison’s sake. The interface includes userdefined tagging and GPS location so that users can sort and search their data quickly. Himmelman said his company would like to see its solutions tied together at the large mines that use more than one product; for example, if the material that PortaMetrics photographs is too coarse, that would explain why ShovelMetrics is showing the excavator digging slowly. MetricsManager, the server-based desktop application that comes with the solutions, would be the nexus for this kind of activity. “The things we’re really working on now are trying to make the MetricsManager a better environment,” he said. At the moment, editing and analysis must be done directly on the tablet, and the results are mirrored on the server. The updated version scheduled for release at Minexpo in September will allow someone working from the server to see the photographs and edit them there. “So essentially, if you took a picture in a pit, right away you’d be able to do all of the same modifications, editing and analysis on the server.” CIM

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Highpressure grinding on a whole new level Metso installs the world’s largest HPGR at Freeport-McMoRan’s Morenci mine Metcalf concentrator By Alexandra Lopez-Pacheco

Metso developed its HRC 3000 high pressure grinding roll (HPGR) in partnership with Freeport-McMoRan to meet the needs of the miner’s 63,500-tonne-per-day expansion of the Morenci mine’s Metcalf concentrator.

ajor design breakthroughs by Metso Minerals in high pressure grinding roll (HPGR) technology at Freeport-McMoRan Inc’s (FMI) Morenci open-pit mine in Arizona have resulted not only in the world’s largest HPGR in operation – the HRC 3000 – but also in significant progress overcoming some of the technology’s greatest challenges. The HRC 3000 is the centerpiece of FMI’s 63,500-tonne-per-day (tpd) expansion of the Morenci mine’s concentrator capacity. The old Metcalf concentrator building, decommissioned in 1996, was repurposed and began operating in May 2014, increasing metal production by an average of 265 million pounds of copper annually. FMI chose an HPGR over a SAG mill for its expansion because the technology, which crushes ore between two cylinders – or rolls – is about 30 to 50 per cent more efficient than SAG mills. As well, “the HPGR has the ability to vary the operating speed to match tonnage demands,” said Victoria Herman, product manager of mining HRC High Pressure Grinding Rolls for Metso. “The operating pressure can also be adjusted to handle changing ore conditions.” There is a catch, though. HPGR technology usually comes with its own set of problems that can result in unscheduled downtime and decreased crushing efficiency, which can eat away at the energy savings. In large-size operations such as Metcalf, traditional HPGR technology poses an additional problem. The equipment for conventional designs is simply too small to handle such tonnage. The only solution prior to Metso’s HRC 3000 design for the Metcalf concentrator would have been multiple lines. “This increases the amount of ancillary equipment needed,” said Herman.

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46 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 11, No. 6

So Metso and FMI set out to design an HPGR that met the capacity needs for Metcalf. The first step Metso took was to identify the inherent design problems in the existing technology.

Skewing One design issue was tire skewing, a condition where the axes of the tires that turn the cylinders do not stay parallel due to uneven feed distribution. Rather than adjusting existing designs to prevent skewing, Metso went back to the drawing board and came up with an entirely new HPGR frame, which the company called the Arch-frame. “Traditional HPGRs try to avoid tire skewing by using the hydraulic cylinders,” said Herman. “However, this is often ineffective and the machine trips if the misalignment is too great.” The idea for the Arch-frame came from the age-old nutcracker, which uses mechanical leverage to increase the crushing force. “Metso’s Arch-frame absorbs unbalanced loads by connecting both bearings with a tube,” said Herman. “This assembly then pivots in the base frame. By preventing skewing, downtime caused by skewing is eliminated.”

The edge effect One of the most significant challenges for Metso was to combat what is known as the edge effect. “We know edge effect, or the reduction of comminution at the edges of the tires, in traditional HPGRs limits the energy savings,” said Herman. Because the Arch-frame minimizes skewing, it is possible to use bolt-on flanges rather than traditional cheek plates. Using a lab scale HPGR, Metso performed tests with tires fitted with pressure sensors. The pressure profile of traditional cheek

open-pit mining plates and flanges was compared. The results were significant. Unlike traditional cheek plates, the pressure profile of the flanges were nearly flat. Subsequently, comprehensive testing at a 50-tph pilot plant showed that flanges reduce the edge effect to less than five per cent, compared to 15 per cent for cheek plates. “On pilot plant trials, we performed side by side comparisons and saw an increase in specific throughput up to 30 per cent and a decrease in the circulating load by an average of 24 per cent,” said Herman. “This indicates that the flanges are helping to both pull in material and more effectively crush it.” But that was not the only area where the new design outdid the traditional stationary cheek plate: “The flanges, by providing a more even pressure distribution across the width of the tires, provide a longer wear life,” said Herman. “Currently the tires in service at the Metcalf concentrator are projected to exceed 16,000 hours.”

Pilot project Satisfied with their results in the lab, Metso then built a prototype unit for its new design, and did further tests at a quarry in Brazil. By 2012, the company was confident enough with the results to move the unit to the Morenci site. There, Metso and FMI conducted 114 process surveys under various circuit conditions, and validated the design. Among the challenges they tested were tramp metal and oversized ore because these are especially hard on HPGRs as they increase tire wear and stud breakage. In fact, the first tire used at the pilot plant was populated with four different stud types to identify which were more wear resistant. To protect the tire edges from wear, they bolted carbide-edge blocks on the tires, which can be replaced as needed with minimal downtime.

From pilot to full plant It took Metso and FMI some four years to complete the massive undertaking from design concept to building the full HRC 3000 at Metcalf. The system has tires that are three metres in diameter by two metres wide. It weighs more than 900 tonnes fully assembled and is 15.2 metres tall. Each Archframe alone weighs over 75 tonnes, or 270 tonnes when complete with tire, shaft and bearings. Its large components were manufactured across the world, including in South Korea, China, Germany, Holland, Finland, the United States, and Canada. With 11,400 kilowatts of installed power and a maximum capacity of 5,900 tonnes per hour, it has twice the capacity of other HPGRs currently in operation. Three years ago FLSmidth added a similarly sized design to its lineup of HPGRs, with advanced roll skew controls and design features to make removal of the three-metre by twometre rolls easier for the maintenance of large parts. However, the turn in the market has made the super-sized rolls a tough sell, said Joe Dziedzina, FLSmidth’s global product manager for HPGR technology. “We can all assume that mining will bounce back one day, and when it does we fully expect HPGRs, and especially large HPGRs, to be a key product in large concentrators just as the industry trends indicated before

the downturn.” Likewise, ThyssenKrupp offers an HPGR with three-metre by two-metre rolls, and, according to Torben Beckman, the company’s industrial solutions media relations head, “for special ongoing projects we have bigger [HPGRs] ready on the drawing board.” The HRC 3000 includes an integrated tramp bypass system, which rapidly opens the gap between the tires to allow an uncrushable object to pass through when detected in the feed. The HRC 3000 also features a hydraulic system that controls everything from the hydraulics to the main cylinders, rod lubrication, stabilizing cylinders and the oil cooling/conditioning circuit. FMI and Metso continue to develop the HRC 3000, particularly in terms of maximizing the life of the edge blocks and flanges. The implications of this project for HPGR technology are significant. “Reducing edge effect has major implications for the design and operation of comminution circuits,” said Herman. “In closed circuit applications the increased breakage rates provide higher energy efficiency by reducing circulating loads and potentially decreasing the size of ancillary equipment. Alternately, the increased breakage rates could allow for a finer product on the HPGR circuit which decreases the size of downstream equipment.” CIM

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Newmont’s Twin Creeks mining complex

Simulated deposits, real profits Stochastic mine planning trial at Newmont’s Twin Creeks mine shows value generation potential By Ian Ewing

think it’s the vision for the future. And I think we’re almost there,” said Larry Allen, Newmont Mining’s senior director of resource estimation. “Within the next three to five years, that’s going to become the way we do business.” Allen was explaining stochastic mine planning from his office in Denver, Colorado. One of a handful of companies driving research in stochastic planning, Newmont recently tested the state-of-the-art scheduling method at its Twin Creeks gold mining complex in Nevada. The payoff for a stochastically optimized mine plan – that is, one which uses the full set of simulated orebody data generated at a given project for optimization and scheduling, rather than just the average values – could be enormous. Researchers at McGill University estimated the potential for a four to nine per cent increase in the net present value of the Twin Creeks mining complex by using a stochastic optimization process that integrates the mine to product value chain, rather than a conventional deterministic one. Newmont is part of an industry consortium (which also includes Barrick, BHP Billiton, Vale, AngloGold Ashanti, De Beers and Kinross) supporting the COSMO Stochastic Mine Planning Laboratory at McGill University since its inception in 2006. The COSMO lab, headed by professor Roussos Dimitrakopoulos, is at the forefront of efforts to develop and

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implement stochastic mine planning processes at different mines around the globe. “The optimizers we have now use mining blocks with a single value,” explained Dimitrakopoulos. “They cannot use more values, they cannot use [all] the information that is generated when you simulate from grades and material types to geometallurgical properties. If you want to progress things, you have to figure out how to rewrite the existing optimizers to be able to capitalize on multiple inputs quantifying risk, as well as implement the simultaneous optimization of all components of mining complexes from mines to products.” By looking at all of the possible orebodies produced during the simulation phase holistically, stochastic optimization examines all the different scenarios and finds a mine plan that will be successful no matter which single orebody simulation ends up being closest to reality. Accounting for the uncertainty in each mining block, Dimitrakopoulos said, allows stochastic schedulers to much more closely meet expected production targets, minimize project risk and increase economic value through better sequencing.

Imperfect information As with deterministic methods, stochastic optimization is done in two steps. First the orebody must be modelled. Data from core samples (taken perhaps every 30 metres) is fed

into stochastic orebody modelling software, which interpolates between the drill holes to produce individual grade histograms (distributions of possible ore grade values) for each mining block of perhaps 10 metres cubed representing the orebody. Good models will make spatial and structural connections between mining blocks, creating conditional grade distributions – the grades that are found in one block are conditional on the grades found in the block next to it. The grade histogram of each mining block is then sampled once randomly and the collection of the samplings from all mining blocks in the deposit generates one simulated scenario. Different scenarios are generated by repeating this process. Generating 15 or 20 simulations creates a wide range of possible orebody scenarios that quantify the uncertainty in all attributes of interest of a deposit (grades, material types, geo-metallurgical attributes, other). Despite simulating those 15 to 20 possible geological scenarios, miners – including Newmont, until now – have then had to choose a single “average-type” (or estimated) scenario on which to base their mine planning and production forecasting. This is the model of the mineral deposit, the core input to the conventional or deterministic mine planning optimization process. Miners can use the range of scenarios to place bounds and confidence levels on the production forecasts of any mine plan and life-of-mine production schedule. Integrating the full set of simulated scenarios to the optimization and scheduling stage has not been possible until recently. Using all the grade values from all the simulations, Dimitrakopoulos explained, “allows us, with the new formulations that we have developed, to figure out how to combine mining blocks together so that production targets are met with the highest chances of materializing.” The stochastic optimizer generates schedules that manage uncertainty by “blending” the economic values of each block with the probability that those values will materialize. To simplify, blocks with higher certainty are mined during the same time period as blocks with lower certainty, so that the average grade being mined and processed during each period remains close to targets.

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If it works here… The Twin Creeks test case aimed to prove the value and feasibility of this method in a challenging real-world scenario. The mining complex comprises two deposits with different geologies (sulphide ore and oxide ore), stockpiles with 22 different sulphide blends, and input to the plant from three other external sources. Sulphide ore is processed in an autoclave with strict blending requirements for three compounds found in the ore (sulphide sulphur, carbonate and organic carbon), while the oxide ore is stockpiled or sent to either a mill or an oxide leach. The company can also add reagents to help meet blending requirements in the autoclave, but has legally imposed operational limitations as to how much acid can be used. And both pits share the same equipment, so every block mined in one pit comes at the

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expense of a block in the other. With this level of complexity, small differences in the actual inputs to the process can have a considerable impact on the output. “The way we have done things over the years has become more and more complicated because of the required blending of different geochemistries,” said Allen. “Looking for ways to optimize becomes more and more important.” Supported by a $2.5-million grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and funding from the seven industry partners, Dimitrakopoulos and his team of graduate students and researchers at McGill’s COSMO Lab took 2013 drill hole data along with simulated ore body models of Twin Creeks from Newmont. Over one million mining blocks in the models represented 200 million cubic yards of material in the mineralized domains of the two pits. “Newmont simulated all four of the elements of interest [the three compounds relevant to the autoclave, and gold], and these 20 simulations” – totalling over a gigabyte of orebody data – “are what we used as input to the optimization of the mining complex,” said Dimitrakopoulos. “Given the differences in the heterogeneity of the materials that flow through the mining sequence in the complex, we were able to optimize the blend and destinations so that what is sent to the autoclave has the right proportion of each compound, maximizing the gold production.”

…it can work anywhere Twin Creeks has been in operation since the 1980s, so it is constrained by the existing shape of its pits and the materials currently stockpiled. New mines would see even greater benefits from stochastic optimization. But this test case proves there are still opportunities for Twin Creeks. “We certainly expect to make use of the research outputs,” said Allen. “The results of the test case would indicate the potential to generate additional value from the deposit, so that’s certainly a possibility worth pursuing. It also identified opportunities in stockpiling that might provide us with a better blend.” The next step, he added, is to bring the approach in-house to begin developing and using for Newmont’s internal purposes. “It’s really just getting the tools,” Allen said, noting that this is easier said than done. “The stochastic optimizer is the very hard part to develop,” he explained, “from conception and derivation of the math and methods, to the solution algorithms and the computing methods and digitization.” Ultimately, the goal is to get this capability into the hands of current mine planners, so the people already doing the mine plans would just use a different methodology. “I think stochastic modelling and planning has [already] been shown to always provide better benefits and to provide better and more information,” said Allen. “Now it’s up to us to do our detailed analysis of these results versus the way we used to do them, and to make the case for it. I think these results will demonstrate that there is a definite economic benefit to going to stochastic mine planning.” CIM 50 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 11, No. 6

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Can you dig it? UBC PhD candidate develops diggability assessment index By Tom DiNardo

he quality of a blast at an open-pit mining operation has huge implications for the mining process that follows. A poor quality blast that is difficult to dig will result in higher power consumption, more wear and tear on loading machines, and lower loading and hauling productivity. Mohammad Babaei Khorzoughi, a senior technical analyst at Teck, is trying to improve drilling and blasting practices in open-pit mines by instrumenting rope shovels to estimate the diggability – or the resistance of material to digging – of muck piles. Babaei’s diggability index, which he developed at Teck’s Elkview steelmaking coal operation as part of his PhD program in mining engineering at the University of British Columbia, has the potential to improve drilling and blasting practices while bringing down costs.

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CIM: It seems like diggability assessment and fragmentation analysis aim at a similar goal; they help operators understand the characteristics of a 52 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 11, No. 6

muck pile to optimize throughput. So what’s the difference? Babaei: Fragmentation just looks at the size distribution, but diggability looks at all the properties [of a muck pile]: the looseness, the fragmentation, the uniformity of the materials, the type of materials, the moisture content, and the hardness of materials. Diggability is simpler and easier to measure [than fragmentation] and is less prone to measurement errors. CIM: How would you define a diggability assessment, and what does it tell mining operations? Babaei: It’s a shovel key performance indicator which is influenced by muck pile digging conditions. You can use diggability to compare the performance of different shovel operators, you can monitor the performance of equipment under different digging conditions, and at the same time it provides feedback on the drilling and blasting practices. It even allows the mine maintenance engineers to understand what sort of digging causes the most damage to the machine. A focus on diggability is especially

open-pit mining relevant these days as the mining industry is under pressure to control costs. Diggability is a measure that helps us decrease mining costs at steelmaking coal mines as well as metal mines. CIM: How has diggability previously been calculated? Babaei: Many operations still use dig time loading rate or the tonnes of material moved. However, all those indexes are significantly affected not only by digging conditions, but other variables like an operator’s skill level or machine size. For example, payload monitoring technologies can provide realtime feedback to an operator about the payload, and the operator can then adjust his or her digging technique to achieve the optimal payload. CIM: But you want to understand how the equipment, not the operator, is influenced by the digging conditions? Babaei: We were looking for an approach that is independent of the operator. At the same time, we need to have an operational perspective and provide information on a real-time or near real-time basis. We also want to combine it with other indicators, like load time and the location of the buckets for every scoop that we take from the bank. With this approach, we can have all of that together. CIM: So the diggability index you created is effectively an algorithm that takes all these measurements into account. And they come from sensors that are attached to the shovel? Babaei: To give you a bit of history about the project, in 2013 we started the project at Elkview. Initially we were using P&H shovels and we started collecting onboard shovel signals from the PLC [programmable logic controller]. We were trying to analyze those onboard shovel signals to come up with the diggability and to understand digging conditions and the behaviours of machines for the kind of conditions that trip up operators. In 2014, we started working with a company called BMT WBM Canada. They provide a shovel health and payload monitoring system called PulseTerraMetrix. We started collaborating with them to use their sensors, which are independent of the PLC, to come up with the index. In the course of this project, we developed two different algorithms: one is based on the sensors that BMT WBM Canada has and the other based on the onboard shovel technology on the P&H equipment. At the end of the day, the two algorithms are expected to come up with the same results. The reason to have two algorithms was to accommodate different shovel installations. The algorithm based on the PulseTerraMetrix has already been implemented on five shovels at Elkview and we are collecting diggability data on a real-time basis. CIM: How long have you been using the diggability index at Elkview? Babaei: Since March 2016. It was initially implemented on two shovels. We did a bit of testing to make sure the index

works, and then we moved to five shovels at Elkview. The project is still in progress. We are trying to get results to see how much money we can save from the project, how accurate the index is and if we really need to have other indicators in place or not. So that’s been really promising. CIM: Once you get these results from the diggability index, what can you do to modify the operation and to what end? Babaei: Diggability has several advantages. We can optimize our drilling and blasting to see how far we can change our blasting practice to reduce costs without damaging our shovels, or without changes in the performance of our machines. Second, it decreases the waste of explosives. Lots of mines are spending millions of dollars on explosives so as soon as you can save five per cent on your explosives, it helps a lot. The third benefit is related to higher productivity. It helps to have high productivity in your shovels and get better value from a shovel perspective. In terms of reliability and maintenance, “better” means that you do less damage to a machine in the long run and then you improve the availability of your machine. The other interesting aspect is because you’re optimizing this whole process and optimizing your blast, you can improve pit slope stability and wall control by creating less vibration damage from the blast. CIM

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sySTEmS In Sync By Alexandra Lopez-Pacheco Illustrations by Sébastien Thibault

Mining may be innovating, but in an outdated, piecemeal way. The industry has yet to pick up the 21st century tools possible of creating the disruptive and transformative breakthroughs that have catapulted other industries forward – until now.

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nformation, communications and control systems technology are spreading across every corner of a mining operation. Mineral processing plants are using automation to optimize better and faster than ever before. Digital, GPS, Wi-Fi and sensor technologies are being used on mobile mine equipment to improve safety, productivity and efficiency, as well as reduce collisions and optimize performance and maintenance. One of the most highly touted advancements in the industry has been in the realm of autonomous equipment, as heavyweight mining companies such as Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton and Fortescue Metals Group have demonstrated on a large scale. At Rio Tinto’s operations centre in Perth, Australia, 400 employees remotely control all of the company’s 15 iron ore mines in Pilbara from more than 1,000 kilometres away as well as its heavy haulage railway system. Fortescue’s Solomon Hub mines in Western Australia have 47 Caterpillar autonomous trucks working 24 hours, seven days a week. BHP Billiton is also conducting trials with a fleet of 15 Caterpillar autonomous trucks at one of its Pilbara mine sites. The company is also implementing 20 autonomous blasthole drills made by Atlas Copco across five of its Pilbara mine sites that, by the end of this year, will start to be operated remotely from the company’s Integrated Remote Operations Centre in Perth. This is just the beginning. “As sensor technology improves, automated loading tools will become the norm [and will continue to evolve], as will automated mining trucks, drills and tractors,” said Michael Murphy, chief engineer of mining technology at Caterpillar. “The autonomous mine is a lot further along than most mining organizations acknowledge.” All this innovation is taking place in silos. Each manufacturer is independently developing its own equipment with its own software and systems. Processing plants have their own systems. Mining excavation has its own controls and operators. “We have several automation initiatives underway across our organization that aim to deliver improvements in safety, increase productivity and reduce our overall operating costs,” said Graeme Mitchell, manager of mine automation at BHP Billiton. For example, a trial drill program of the fleet of

autonomous drills at BHP Billiton’s Pilbara mines have cut operating costs by more than a quarter. But autonomous mining alone is not BHP Billiton’s ultimate goal. “All these initiatives are key enablers on the journey to an integrated mining ecosystem.”

Incomplete information

A fully integrated operation that can optimize safety, throughput and production, and greatly reduce costs by integrating and sharing processes, systems and information across operating functions is the next big step for mining companies. Such an advance could help convert mining from a batch process to a continuous one that would dramatically minimize the need for stockpiles, said Colin Farrelly of Indago Partners, a management consulting firm that specializes in innovation in the mining industry. But to do that, mining companies need to be able to access the data on all the sensors, GPS and software systems across their operations, from mine planning to blasting, excavation to haulage, and processing to delivery. The problem is that each OEMs’ proprietary operating system puts a tight limit on how much data can be accessed by another manufacturer’s systems and equipment. Caterpillar’s autonomous equipment works best with the Cat MineStar System. An Atlas Copco drill works best on Atlas Copco’s operating system. Mining operations today remain largely a Tower of Babel in terms of data communication across systems. The reality is, “there is a lot of information stored in intelligent machines and in mine planning systems,” said Mitchell. “But typically the information sits isolated in proprietary systems that don’t easily communicate with one another, making it challenging to share and move the information between the systems.” Mining engineer Peter Carter, who worked with Komatsu in implementing the first driverless haul trucks, agrees. Today, he is industry principal for metals and mining at OSIsoft, a technology company whose PI System breaks down some of the barriers by connecting sensor-based data and systems to help companies optimize their operations. September/October • Septembre/Octobre 2016 | 55

He said he believes the potential for mining optimization from data used across equipment and systems is enormous and gives an example: “When drilling machines drill blastholes, there is a lot of data that can be collected that characterizes the rock being drilled. That data, based on the hardness of the rock and the amount of torque the drill consumes, can be correlated against the original geological model and better map where the ore is and how to preferentially blast and fragment the materials,” said Carter. “All the other parts of the process then follow that drill. As the material passes through the value chain from drill to load to haul, the information can flow with it.” Similarly, sensors on haul trucks used for autonomous machine guidance collect data that could also be useful for geological mapping as well as for such things as road maintenance. “If you have excessive vibration in one truck during haulage, your problem is likely in the engine, but if you have multiple trucks vibrating then maybe your problem is the road and the challenge is figuring it out,” “If I have open said Farrelly.

Plug and play

unfettered connectivity and data, then I have an innovative environment that is boundless.”

The explosive that can blow open the walls and blockages impeding integration, agree most today, is interoperability. Farrelly of Indago defines it as, “The ability of information and – T. Skinner communication technology systems, operational technology systems and the business processes they support to exchange data and to enable both the sharing of information and the transfer of control. This, in turn, provides the ability of systems and organizations to seamlessly work together (inter-operate).” While there are different definitions for interoperability, the one above was developed by Indago through consultations and research with 88 individuals from 66 organizations across the mining industry, including mining companies, OEMs and vendors as well as consultants, engineers and operational technology manufacturers. His research findings 56 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 11, No. 6

– which he conducted for AMIRA International, a global member-based organization of mining and suppliers – were published in April 2016. Simply put, interoperability is when all equipment and systems in a mining operation can seamlessly connect and communicate with one another and operate together, regardless of manufacturer. “This is where things can fit together and talk to each other and various systems can be linked and operate as a whole rather than silos of single solutions,” said Tim Skinner, president of SMART Systems Group and a consultant who has worked on the evolving challenge of interoperability in mining for decades. You can plug and play all pieces together. That is what we’re after.” It is certainly what mining companies such as Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton are after. But when it comes to interoperability, said Farrelly, mining is 20 years behind other sectors, including manufacturing, agriculture, and oil and gas. There is, however, one exception: mineral processing. “Mineral processing plants have a far higher level of automation and interoperability, but the reason for that is not because the mining industry did anything about it,” said Farrelly. “It’s because building a mineral processing plant is essentially no different than building a factory or an oil platform. They’re all versions of a processing plant so all of the technology that you put into a mineral processing plant is designed by the same vendors who have done it in other industries that are at a higher level of technology development underpinned by industry standards.” John Mulcahy, manager of mining systems at Rio Tinto Growth and Innovation, would like to see that level of interoperability reach the rest of mining. “In a well-designed processing plant control room, an operator uses one set of screens that allows them to do everything they need to do, so it’s a very integrated operating environment, there’s no jumping from one system to another and you have a very structured human-machine interface that is aligned with all their processes,” he said. “When you look at things such as surface mining and fleet management, you have different systems and platforms that a person has to jump between. If you have a piece of equipment that can’t talk to anything else, even if it can move tonnes, drillholes or do whatever, it’s not as valuable as another piece of equipment that can perform those tasks as well as interoperate.”

Unbounded opportunity

Interoperability is what turned the World Wide Web from a technology fraught with limitations and competing networks in the 1990s to the world-changing technology that is today an endless universe of innovation that has transformed our world with once unimaginable possibilities. It is what makes it possible to transfer data from any PC by any manufacturer onto any USB device or to download a plethora of apps onto Android smart phones from any manufacturer. “Plug and play” interoperability would allow mining operations to phase in additional automation with new machines that can communicate with the existing system, said Carter. “That is breaking down the barriers to innovation and accelerating the rate of innovation,” he said. “Interoperability is a key part of innovation because very few brand new large-scale investments are going to go flick a switch [and reach] 100 per cent automation. That compounds the risk, so typically mining operations will pick certain parts of the processes such as haulage and slowly build up the lines of automation over the life of the mine.” But that is not the only reason why interoperability can generate a transformative and fast-tracked innovative environment. “If I have open unfettered connectivity and data, then I have an innovative environment that is boundless,” said Skinner. One reason is that open shared protocols, guidelines and platforms invite participation from smaller players and startups, which leads to the kind of innovation that shakes up a sector with game-changing technologies, transformative nextgeneration thinking, revolutionary new business and operational models, as well as partnerships and players. “At the end of the day, you most often get innovation – at least genuine step-changing innovation – from small companies and startups,” said Farrelly. “If you had an open interoperable technology environment, it means that someone can write software and it can more easily slot in to that environment. It used to be very difficult to write and deploy a mobile application 10 years ago. Now high school kids can develop an app for a smartphone. And it works in the operating system and works with other data.” Because interoperability is based on sharing, it also breaks down the barriers of the siloed and proprietary competitive

mindset of the 20th century, replacing it with collaborative thinking. It can even bring together competitors for shared success. A micro-example of this is Western Star’s 40 ton 6900XD MBT-40 (short for multi-body transformer), which can switch truck bodies to transform from a water truck to a side dump trailer or a dump truck using hydraulic connections. The truck has a generic control panel in the cab that is overlaid with a new customized template whenever the truck switches to a new body, fully integrating it into the overall system. Three years ago, when Western Star’s John Tomlinson came up with the idea, he knew the way to realize it was through collaboration with competitors. His company lacked the resources to go it alone. For a major manufacturer whose business model is selling different classes of trucks, a truck that can transform into three or more different classes is counterintuitive but that is not the case for a smaller company that is trying to get its competitive edge through cutting-edge innovation. “We’re new to the off-road construction market so for us it’s a good angle,” said Tomlinson. The first response he received was “a lot of sideways glances,” said Tomlinson. But eventually he convinced Carco Industries and Palfinger to work on the project. “They all signed a non-disclosure agreement. They agreed not to steal each other’s ideas,” he said. “This lets everybody who has a speciality put their specialty product on the truck. There are a lot of good ideas at everyone’s place but when you bring them all together, you get something better. The trick is getting a platform that is neutral.” In information and communications technology, the neutral platform is interoperability.

Getting there

Interoperability opens up a new realm of possibilities that will not become the standard without industry-wide collaboration to establish it. Such changes do not happen on their own. The Internet opened up thanks to the World Wide Web Consortium, which brought a diverse group of international players together to agree on common standards and open platforms. The Android mobile smart phone platform was the result of 84 organizations and manufacturers uniting in 2007 under the Open Handset Alliance consortium. The mining industry has yet to take that leap. But that is changing. The industry is coming together through dozens of September/October • Septembre/Octobre 2016 | 57

organizations and initiatives. AMIRA recently launched a second project called the Interoperability Round Table, which is open to mining companies, contract mine operators and government. “It is a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor on what could be a major initiative around interoperability,” said Farrelly. Last fall, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) technical committee for mining initiated the creation of a new subcommittee dedicated to autonomous mining and invited Skinner, Canada’s representative in the organization, to chair it. Another organization involved in interoperability, the Earth Moving Equipment Safety Round Table, is a global initiative that brings together major mining companies and OEMs to improve operability and maintainability designs, is developing criteria and protocols for proximity awareness and detection systems that would make it possible for all mobile equipment with sensor technology to communicate freely with each other. A key player in the space since 2012 has been the Global Mining Standards and Guidelines Group (GMSG). Based in Canada and working under CIM’s umbrella, the group was formed in 2012 to facilitate global mining collaboration on industry solutions and technologies. It has launched several working groups with interoperability-related focuses, including one that has reached a consensus between operators and OEMs defining mobile equipment onboard datasets that should be openly available to equipment owners in a realtime, read-only format. This has been a legacy issue and to

reach the final consensus, GMSG held a series of five workshops that brought together large groups from both mining companies and OEMs with a neutral, third-party facilitator. “We were able to bring people together in a safe, neutral environment with a shared focus of solving a long-standing issue,” said Heather Ednie, GMSG’s managing director, which has members from across the mining sector, including all the major mining companies and most OEMs. “The industry faces a lot of challenges that have been created by the fact that technology development has been so proprietary, which is addressed by our guiding principle of openness,” said Ednie. “The proprietary mindset has to be broken down and that’s happening. At GMSG we see it just with the fact that we have everybody at the table now. Once all the guidelines, protocols or standards are in place, it will enable the business development and innovation required to springboard the industry forward.” Yes, innovation is happening across the mining industry. It is just that it has all been largely disconnected and made the industry’s reputation of being slow to adopt new technologies hard to shake. It takes the zap of interconnectedness to energize innovation while reducing risk. Interoperability is coming, say all the experts. It is just a matter of time, work and collaboration. But once it does, mining and its innovators will have a powerful force behind them. “In the past two years, the ball has started rolling,” said Ednie. CIM

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The means to an end

In December 2015, Goldcorp’s El Sauzal gold mine in Mexico became the first mine decommissioned under the International Cyanide Management Code (ICMC). Among signatories to the code, that was a milestone; to Goldcorp, it was one of the many essential ingredients in a well-planned closure. BY EAVAN MOORE

Back in 2008, El Sauzal was the first mine in Mexico to be certified in full compliance with the ICMC, which mandates triennial audits to ensure the mine is following protocols for safe transport, use and disposal of cyanide. A certified mine undergoing closure can simply withdraw from the code, as the ICMC does not in fact apply to decommissioned mines. But Chris Cormier, general manager of reclamation operations at 60 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 11, No. 6

Goldcorp, said the company chose to have its decommissioning process audited to support the code’s intention. “We think it’s the right bookend to have if you’re going to manage the cyanide life cycle,” he said. “When it comes to cyanide, closure is just as important as startup in ensuring you’ve treated the environment and process correctly, so I think it’s just a natural fit.”

project profile

Left: El Sauzal mine in 2011 viewed from above with the processing plant top centre and the tailings stack descending on the left. Above: The same site is pictured, viewed from the opposite direction, with the tailings stack in the centre, the mill site lower right and a diversion ditch running through the middle.

In operation, El Sauzal was an open-pit mine with a milling circuit followed by cyanide leaching; carbon-in-pulp processing; adsorption, desorption and recovery; and refinement into doré bars. Tailings went through a cyanide destruction circuit which included Caro’s acid and the INCO sulphur dioxide process and were then pressure filtered, leaving only negligible cyanide in the pore water, before being transported to a dry-stack facility. The 2015 audit verified that El Sauzal had disposed of its remaining cyanide so thoroughly that the code requirements had become irrelevant. That work took place between December 2014 and July 2015. Cormier added: “There was minimal reagent cyanide supplies in the plant when we actually shut it off because you reduce your inventory as you near decommissioning. The cyanide remains in the containers it was delivered in and can be sent back to its manufacturer.” Goldcorp reported all planned shipments to Mexican regulators and tracked its progress back to its supplier, The Chemours Company. However, residual cyanide needed to be rinsed out. The emptied cyanide mixing and storage tanks were washed using caustic soda and sodium hypochlorite, and the rinse water was pumped out to the leach tanks. The leach tanks continued to

feed the tailings filtration plant until all solid tailings had been filtered and water and neutralizing compounds were then pumped in a closed circuit through most of the process equipment over a several week period. Goldcorp did not consider the filters in need of rinsing as these followed the cyanide destruction circuit, with the auditor in agreement. The wash water was directed to a lined containment pond, where sunlight further broke down any remaining cyanide. This water was then monitored until it met safe discharge limits, before being discharged to the dry stack and allowed to evaporate. This work was all done entirely by Goldcorp employees familiar with the practices and requirements of the ICMC. Colorado-based Visus Consulting Group visited the site and, before reviewing Goldcorp’s sampling data, interviewed staff about their process and ultimately concluded that, by the ICMC definition, El Sauzal had successfully been decommissioned.

Back to nature Of course, disposing of cyanide was only a small part of the process to remediate an entire open-pit mine. Goldcorp chose to return the site to a natural state similar to its surroundings, the Sierra Madre of Chihuahua above the Urique River, with the biggest concern being its ability to withstand heavy rain, which averages 250 millimetres in July. “Really, it’s about the ultimate movement of water on the site and what kind of vegetation the particular landform can support,” said Cormier. “You’re dealing with the side of a mountain where there are landslides, and there are ravines from water running through from hundreds and thousands of years of wear and tear. So you look at the overall landscape you have and you design that structure to best withstand the conditions you can expect over the next 50, 100, 500 years.” Goldcorp hired regional contractor ICSA (Ingeniería de ciudades S.A.) to construct over six kilometres of diversion channels around the site. Engineers studied the existing underfoot September/October • Septembre/Octobre 2016 | 61

Top: The mill and shop facility Bottom left: The ore stockpile. Bottom right: The primary crusher and ore conveyor. Materials from the operation were either recycled, sold to another mine operation or donated through local community groups. 62 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 11, No. 6

project profile

Project specs EL SAUZAL Mining method Open pit, truck and shovel First gold produced November 2004 Final ounce poured January 2015 Throughput capacity 6,000 tonnes per day Total production 1.75 million ounces conditions, water velocities, turns and intersections in different areas to identify the least erosive paths possible. About half of these channels are reinforced with a lean mix concrete. Quite a lot of water can build up from one mountain collection area to another and some channels are more than four metres wide and built to handle water from up to three kilometres away. “Obviously it’s not going to handle water like that all the time,” added Cormier, “but we did design it for sporadic peaks, and hence some of our ditches are quite wide.” The tailings facility was recontoured, creating a hillside that leads into a flatter area with topographical diversity to support different vegetation and fauna. Waste rock or alluvial materials were used to cap the tailings to prevent oxygen and water infiltration; the capping ranged from half a metre in some places to 10 metres or more in others. Most of the reclaimed area was either seeded or planted over with native plants. Over the last few years of the mine’s life, Goldcorp employees collected specimens and propagated these in nurseries. The native plants included guinolo, an abundant shrub that often repopulates disturbed habitats; amapa trees with bright yellow or pink trumpet-shaped flowers; and Mexican logwood, a tropical hardwood with medicinal uses.

Dismantling the mine The newly recontoured, revegetated site bears little trace of the process plant, waste dumps, offices, shops, airstrip and employee camp that used to populate it. All of that had to go. “The equipment you can sell,” said Cormier. “Our key partner in site decommissioning was Timmins Gold, as it purchased the mill site and other facilities for use at another property.” Another contractor, Inpromine, also participated in removing equipment and buildings. Goldcorp sold most material used to construct the site, either for reuse or as scrap. Some items, including building materials, office equipment and a trailer, were donated through local community groups. All hazardous waste was removed and sent to a storage facility elsewhere in Mexico and waste dumps were resloped and revegetated as safety allowed. The ground where any other infrastructure had stood was also reseeded, or replanted.

Location and logistics El Sauzal’s remote location made logistics a challenge. “You can’t run down to the corner store to get something, and similarly you can’t expect a truck to leave site and return in an hour,” said Cormier. “Kudos to the groups that were out there working at the end,” said Cormier. “As people had to start to live in tents and campers for the last little period, it made conditions more challenging than it would have been during operations, but I’d say lots of teams worked extremely well together in communicating different aspects of the work.” In order to access the main highways, freight needed to travel through a number of small communities not familiar with traffic. Goldcorp and its contractors alerted local stakeholders to let them know what, how much, and when material would be passing through the different areas. The roads were

September/October • Septembre/Octobre 2016 | 63

also kept well maintained, with much of that work undertaken by Timmins Gold through contractors. Cormier said there were no cost-related tradeoffs required; El Sauzal’s management designed the project plan, requested a budget to meet this plan, and received its requested budget in full with a sizable portion of the company’s $57 million spent on closure and reclamation last year going to El Sauzal. “Smart investment up front is always going to minimize your cost and maintenance in the long term,” Cormier pointed out.

Monitoring El Sauzal is now in its “long-term” phase of existence. Reclamation work was completed in summer 2016, but Goldcorp will spend at least another few years monitoring water quality on the Urique River, assessing the stability of the new landforms, and monitoring revegetation. “We’ll continue that until we’re comfortable that the site has performed as we’ve designed and expect it to,” said Cormier. Prior mine planners’ decision not to store tailings with a water cover “certainly made that facility much more simplified to close on a permanent basis,” he said, before adding that tailings need to be stable no matter what kind of tailings it is. “It’s how you design the entire closure to work as a single unit. When you leave, the entire landform has to work together. We looked at the entire El Sauzal site as a system and a landform that’s going to be there for many hundreds of thousands of years and our design focused on the best way we could close the site in a responsible manner – which I think we did.” CIM

64 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 11, No. 6

Mining by the code The International Cyanide Management Code is a program formed in 2005 to encourage safe cyanide use among gold mining companies. Alarmed by a disastrous cyanide spill at a Romanian gold mine, stakeholders from industry, environmental and financial spheres created an industry-funded nonprofit, the International Cyanide Management Institute (ICMI). The ICMI drafted the original Code and continues to provide oversight, code revisions and training. When a mining company applies to be a signatory to the Code, it agrees to abide by guidelines for cyanide storage, accident prevention, health and safety, public reporting and more. An independent audit is required within the first three years at every mine site that uses cyanide, and every three years thereafter. The results are published online. A mine certified under the Code must only use cyanide suppliers and transporters that have also signed on to the Code. Participation in the program is completely voluntary. Its current roster of signatories includes 45 mining companies, 22 cyanide producers, and 118 transporters.

An Introduction to Cutoff Grade: Theory and Practice in Open Pit and Underground Mines (with a new section on blending optimization strategy) Cut-off grades are essential in determining the economic feasibility and mine life of a project. The fundamentals of cut-off grade calculation, first established by Ken Lane forty years ago, are revisited. In this course it is shown how direct and indirect costs, opportunity costs imposed by operational constraints, and other factors, such as political risk, legal, environmental and regulatory requirements, must be taken into account. Mathematical equations are developed and graphical analytical methods are displayed, which can be used to solve most cut-off grade estimation problems. It is shown how minimum cut-off grades are estimated and how they must be modified to take into account constraints imposed by mine or mill capacity, or by limits on sales volumes. Multiple practical examples are given, illustrating the role of cut-off grades in mine planning, in allocating material to different processes, in optimizing mill operating conditions, and in poly-metallic deposits.

INSTRUCTOR Jean-Michel Rendu, JMR Consultants, USA • DATE September 21-23, 2016 • LOCATION Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Geostatistical Mineral Resource Estimation and Meeting the New Regulatory Environment: Step by Step from Sampling to Grade Control This course is designed according to the latest regulations on public reporting of Mineral Resources. It aims at showing how state-of-the-art statistical and geostatistical techniques help 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; Jean-Michel Rendu, JMR Consultants, USA; Roussos Dimitrakopoulos, McGill University, Canada; and Guy Desharnais, SGS Canada Inc., Canada • DATE September 26-30, 2016 • LOCATION Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Optimization and Risk Management in Strategic Mine Planning: Unearthing Material Value in Mining Complexes Growing volatility and uncertainty in global metal markets highlight the need to focus on new technologies that can unveil significant value and reliability to the performance of mining operations. This three-day course explores the foundations of strategic mine planning and stresses the new generation of applied technologies related to: (a) simultaneous optimization of integrated mining and processing operations, and (b) orebody risk management with new stochastic mine planning optimization developments.

INSTRUCTORS Roussos Dimitrakopoulos and Ryan Goodfellow, McGill University, Canada; and Joe Kraft, Minemax, USA • DATE September 14-16, 2016 • LOCATION Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Quantitative Mineral Resource Assessments: An Integrated Approach to Planning for Exploration Risk Reduction Learn about exploration risk analysis for strategic planning. Understand how to demonstrate how operational mineral deposit models can reduce uncertainties; make estimates of the number of undiscovered deposits; and integrate the information and examine the economic possibilities. INSTRUCTOR Don Singer, USA • DATE September 12-14, 2016 • LOCATION Montreal, Quebec, Canada

NEW STATE OF MINE

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS CONFERENCE THEMES HEALTH AND SAFETY SHOWCASE OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE NEW AND RECENT PROJECTS GEOLOGY AND EXPLORATION ROCK MECHANICS EMERGING LEADERS GENOMICS EXPLOSIVES AND BLASTING INNOVATIONS IN ENERGY DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION FRANCO-MINE INNOVATION: PRESENT AND FUTURE MINING STANDARDS AND BEST PRACTICES ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY DEVELOPMENT PLANETARY AND TERRESTRIAL MINING SCIENCES SYMPOSIUM (PTMSS) MANAGEMENT AND FINANCE (INVITED SPEAKERS) IMPORTANT INFORMATION BEFORE SUBMITTING AN ABSTRACT • • • •

The format of the conference allows for 20-minute presentations and 5-minute Q&A periods. Abstracts should not exceed 200 words. Authors will be notified of acceptance by December 22, 2016. Paper manuscripts or PowerPoint presentations must be submitted online before April 28, 2017. Presenters must register and pay the author registration fee on or before March 24, 2017, in order to guarantee their place in the program schedule. Conferences rely on registration fees from all categories of attendees for financial sustainability. A preferential registration fee is set for presenters in recognition of their special contribution to the conference.

A selection of papers presented at the CIM 2017 Convention will be available online through CIM’s Technical Paper Library.

SUBMIT YOUR ABSTRACT BY OCTOBER 31, 2016

CONVENTION.CIM.ORG The CIM Convention is owned and operated by the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum

A U T O M AT I O N

| technology

The evolution of autonomy Intent on mining the benefits of driverless vehicles, operators and tech suppliers are mapping multiple paths to the autonomous mine

Copyright © 2016 Rio Tinto

By Kate Sheridan

Rio Tinto’s growing fleet of fully autonomous haulers in the Pilbara iron ore district of Australia is now just one example in the spectrum of options for operators looking to automate.

ndustry observers would be hard-pressed to ignore Rio Tinto’s success with the Mine of the Future project in Australia’s Pilbara iron belt. With 71 driverless haulers moving ore, Rio Tinto reported it cut operating costs there by 13 per cent and upped utilization rates 14 per cent in 2015. This is a winning proposition, but in a difficult economy, not all companies can afford to outfit their operations with brand-new autonomous haulers, nor are the sites necessarily well-suited to accommodate fully-autonomous vehicles. Nevertheless, some have made the leap, electing to retrofit their equipment to allow for driverless operation, while others are taking a more measured approach, phasing in autonomous features to assist operators or take them away from the working face. Some of the interest may have been driven by the economic downturn, but Joshua Marshall, a Queen’s University professor and consultant whose research focuses on automation and field robotics, said there are other forces at work. “There is a desire on the part of this up-and-coming generation of workers and managers to use technology to improve mining activities, whether it be to increase productivity, improve safety, or simply make things more efficient and convenient,” he said.

I

The argument for autonomy There are several reasons why autonomous vehicles have caught the industry’s attention. “Autonomous vehicles in general have a higher utilization of availability rate,” meaning the machines can skip breaks and run through shift changes, said Drew Larsen, the director of business development for mining at Autonomous Solutions Inc. (ASI). September/October • Septembre/Octobre 2016 | 67

Courtesy of Joshua Marshall

Underground operations pose a particular challenge to automated haulage because of the frequently changing underground environment.

many older models do not. The make and model of the machine itself determines exactly what needs to be done during a retrofit. “It really runs a whole gamut from a fairly electronic interface to lots of mechanical interfaces,” Larsen said. Those interfaces present the biggest challenges for a retrofitter, said Mehran Motamed, CEO of Rigid Robotics. “Think about it. In a sense, you’re trying to build a human (surrogate) to control the truck, which is not efficient,” Motamed said. Rigid Robotics will be at MINExpo, showing off their DriveAssist autonomous solution, which can be rolled out in stages beginning with assisted braking and cruise control for haul truck drivers to comprehensive vehicle autonomy. ASI began a partnership with Anglo American to retrofit several vehicles in 2014. Both Anglo American and ASI declined to share specific data about the impact of ASI’s work, but Anglo spokesperson James Wyatt-Tilby confirmed that the company had seen a “a very significant productivity uplift and major safety improvements where we have been testing it in our operations.” The company has tested the technology at open-cut coal sites.

Building a work-around Automated vehicles may also avoid human errors that can decrease the lifespan of a vehicle, and could be particularly useful in an area that is a risk to a human operator’s safety – in a worst-case event like a pit slope failure, only the vehicle may be lost. Several major equipment manufacturers, including Komatsu, Sandvik and Caterpillar, now offer autonomous vehicles to companies. Marshall noted that some original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are willing to retrofit their equipment to operate autonomously or remotely, but OEMs are not the only companies getting in the business of making autonomous haulage accessible. Third-party companies have developed OEMagnostic methods to automate mixed-brand haulage fleets, which means operations that want to go autonomous could do so without making a major capital expenditure to replace a fleet before its time.

How it works Trucks driven by software need the same thing a human driver needs – information about the surrounding environment. Autonomous haulers rely on sensors to send information to a computer unit. Software processes that information and signals the machine about how to act. GPS and inertial sensors must be able to cope with the potentially challenging environmental conditions of a mine site and are supplemented with specialized radar systems and cameras to monitor the surroundings and stay on course. In some cases, the software cannot control the machine directly; the machine must have a drive-by-wire system installed, allowing a computer to control the hauler through electrical or mechanical signals. Most machines built in the last eight to 10 years have builtin electronic controls – basically, drive-by-wire capability – but 68 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 11, No. 6

Autonomous operation has been OEM driven up to this point with each of them developing the software and user interface. Underlying each piece of software is a set of application program interfaces (APIs). For third party technology, that has complicated the task of integrating a drive-by-wire system. For now, retrofitters have found a way around not having access to the APIs, installing equipment with their own software and allowing machines from several brands to work together well. For example, ASI’s command and control system, Mobius, will work with any make or model. “It is that agnostic piece,” Larsen said, which can translate to more flexibility for mine operators. Retrofitting haulers to operate without a driver in the cab does not necessarily have to take a lot of time. Ryan Siggelkow, senior vice-president of Hard-Line, which specializes in remote control and automation for open-pit and underground equipment, estimated that they could retrofit a hauler, end-toend, in about two weeks. “If you go into other machines, say a drill or one of the more complicated ones, we could be looking at upwards of a few weeks,” he noted. The company can also retrofit any type of machine, make or model for tele-operation. The best layout for an autonomous hauler is an environment that is stable. “Ideally, for automation to be the most successful, a machine has to do something repetitive for a long period of time. That’s the basics of automation,” said Siggelkow. An underground mine site with a drift that is changing every day is not the ideal place for an autonomous hauler. “A lot of sites we talked to, they love the technology, they want to try it, but they’re not set up for it,” Siggelkow added. While not fully autonomous, tele-operation and driver assist systems still fall on the automation spectrum. “A mine

A U T O M AT I O N

which has a plan to go to full automation could actually start with some technologies that would benefit a manned fleet, and then can progress towards an autonomous fleet,” Larsen said. That is the strategy for Rigid Robotics, said Motamed because the human aspects of the shift to autonomous operation are every bit as challenging and important as the technical ones.

Obstacles ahead?

| technology

specific and unique characterization and development that has to be done,” he explained. “The more standardized a fleet is, the simpler and less costly it can be [to retrofit].” Ultimately, each company and each operation must evaluate if an autonomous haulage solution is right. “Everyone wants to increase the efficiency of their operation,” Siggelkow said. “If we can be more efficient and get more productivity, there’s not a site that wouldn’t need that.” CIM

Third-party retrofitters still face several challenges. For example, there are some efforts to try to bring APIs into the light, either through publication or standardization. “I don’t know that the vehicle manufacturers will ever all agree on a common standard set of APIs, but the industry is certainly pushing for that,” Larsen said. “And we would certainly welcome it.” (Read more on this in “Systems in Sync,” page 54.) As with any software, cybersecurity could be a concern. Publishing an API could also expose security vulnerabilities in the software. Car companies have already seen the need to ensure applications around cars are well-secured; in February, Nissan had to disable an application for their electric car, the Leaf, after a security issue allowed hackers to turn on and off the fans, download information about trips and drain the battery remotely. “With proper software development provisions, you can minimize security risks,” Motamed said. “Additionally, autonomous systems by definition have to be very safe. If they fail, they have to fail in a safe mode.” Finally, Marshall noted, automating an existing fleet will likely not make GIW Industries, Inc., the leader in the design, manufacture, and application of heavy-duty, centrifugal slurry pumps, commemorates its 125th year economic sense. “I would argue that of serving the minerals and mining industries. Over time, we have grown retrofitting may not be advisable for in both size and expertise to ensure that KSB’s GIW® Minerals products some types of equipment and some are always at the forefront of slurry technology. By delivering cuttingtypes of automation. Retrofitting for edge solutions to your industry every day, GIW strives to be the expert teleoperation may work well, but retroof choice in slurry transport. We value our customers and are proud fitting to automate a heterogeneous fleet that you choose us to provide your pumps, hydrocyclones and services. of LHD machines may require a lot of customization work that, in the end, Visit us at the MINExpo Show, booth #4009. may not work as well as a fleet designed and ‘ready’ for automation,” he said. Caterpillar spokesperson Mark Sprouls GIW Industries, Inc. (A KSB Company) · www.giwindustries.com agreed, noting that a fleet that is older than ten years and would require conversion to electronic controls may not be an economical option. Larsen acknowledged that complexity does drive costs for retrofitting. “For each vehicle type, there is some

Your Success Is Our Priority

September/October • Septembre/Octobre 2016 | 69

SECTION francophone 72 Lettre de l’éditeur 72 Mot du président 74 L’interopérabilité des processus, de l’équipement

et des systèmes a plus que jamais le potentiel de promouvoir l’innovation Par Alexandra Lopez-Pacheco

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

lettre de l’éditeur

mot du président

Forces gravitationnelles Sacrifier sa progéniture À l’approche de l’automne, on assiste à un changement d’orientation au sein du secteur de l’approvisionnement minier alors que les plus grands noms de l’industrie du fer se préparent à la conférence MINExpo, qui se tiendra à Las Vegas le mois prochain. L’euphorie que génèrent la présentation des produits et leur lancement a pris une ampleur sans précédent, et il est difficile de ne pas se laisser emporter par la fièvre qui entoure le salon commercial imminent. Lors de la précédente conférence MINExpo en 2012, l’industrie venait d’atteindre son point culminant et sa préoccupation première à l’époque était de « déplacer des tonnes de minerai ». L’équipement devenait plus performant et les conceptions visaient à intensifier les coups de mine, à développer des camions de transport plus volumineux et à construire de plus grandes usines. Alexandra Lopez-Pacheco décrit notamment dans notre section dédiée à l’exploitation à ciel ouvert (p. 46) le plus gros cylindre de broyage à haute pression (HPGR, de l’anglais high pressure grinding roll) au monde, commandé initialement par Metso en 2011. Les concurrents de Metso disposent désormais d’engins de taille identique, mais la demande fait actuellement défaut et l’installation de Metso préserve aujourd’hui son statut de « plus gros cylindre au monde ». Ces dernières années, on s’est davantage orienté sur la flexibilité et l’agilité. Les conceptions modulaires attirent l’attention, et l’équipement dédié à la comminution tel que les broyeurs agitateurs ainsi que les HPGR de taille moyenne sont progressivement intégrés aux schémas de traitement. Parmi les innovations très en vogue dans les salons commerciaux ces derniers temps figure le véhicule aérien sans pilote ; en effet, les sociétés minières ont rapidement découvert les multiples usages que ces engins volants remarquablement petits pouvaient avoir dans une exploitation ou un camp d’exploration. Dans ce numéro, nous prenons du recul par rapport aux tendances afin d’explorer une avancée plus fondamentale en matière de technologie minière, à savoir l’effort collectif visant à créer l’espace nécessaire pour l’innovation par l’intermédiaire de normes communes et de plateformes ouvertes. C’est le thème au cœur de notre article principal, intitulé Systèmes en phase, également rédigé par notre collaboratrice très assidue Melle Lopez-Pacheco. Il y a quatre ans, le Global Mining Standards and Guidelines Group (GMSG, le groupe sur les normes et les directives mondiales en matière d’exploitation minière), dont la raison d’être est de donner vie à ce genre de collaboration, a profité de la popularité de la conférence MINExpo pour organiser sa première assemblée générale à Las Vegas. Depuis, le groupe a attiré certaines des plus grandes personnalités du secteur des mines et des équipementiers dans ce projet. Bien que l’on n’ait pas encore totalement ressenti les répercussions de ces efforts, il est fort probable que la conférence de Las Vegas parvienne à bouleverser la manière de fonctionner de l’industrie minière.

Ryan Bergen, Rédacteur en chef editor@cim.org @Ryan_CIM_Mag 72 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 11, No. 6

Durant le boom du secteur minier du début des années 2000, soit le « super cycle », nous avons été incapables de trouver suffisamment de jeunes géologues, ingénieurs miniers, métallurgistes ou techniciens pour accomplir le travail qu’il y avait à faire. Nous avons également été touchés par le manque de jeunes dirigeants découlant de la « génération perdue » des années 1980, lorsque plusieurs diplômés du secteur minier ont abandonné l’industrie en raison d’un ralentissement. Nous avons alors lancé un appel aux universités et aux collèges pour que les responsables à ces endroits ouvrent grandes les portes de leurs programmes miniers et s’activent à recruter des jeunes. Et les établissements d’enseignement et les étudiants y ont répondu. Nous voici maintenant en 2016, dans ce qui semble être le creux d’un autre repli marqué du prix des métaux. Les sociétés minières, concentrées à réduire leurs coûts, procèdent fréquemment à des licenciements et au gel des embauches. Au même moment, jamais depuis le début des années 1980 nous n’avons vu autant de diplômés de programmes miniers. J’ai rencontré certains de ces jeunes, et ce que j’entends et lis, c’est qu’il est extrêmement difficile de trouver un travail. Aussi avancées soient les professions qui forment notre secteur, lorsque les temps sont durs, il semble que nous régressions au royaume animal et sacrifions notre progéniture. Comme industrie, nous devons trouver des façons d’employer ces jeunes professionnels. Les sociétés minières doivent faire preuve d’imagination et utiliser des stratégies d’embauche qui sont responsables à long terme et qui leur permettent de contrôler leurs dépenses à court terme. L’une des méthodes proposées par la section de Toronto de l’ICM est d’offrir aux diplômés des postes de première ligne – exploitation minière souterraine, opération de machinerie de surface, maintenance et usine de traitement – qui se libèrent inévitablement par les départs. Les jeunes professionnels ont ainsi l’occasion d’acquérir une connaissance pratique des activités ainsi que de travailler positivement comme membres du personnel de main-d’œuvre. Lorsque des postes techniques se libèrent, les sociétés peuvent se tourner vers leurs sites miniers pour embaucher des travailleurs compétents. L’envers de la médaille, c’est que les jeunes diplômés doivent être prêts à postuler à ces postes de main-d’œuvre et à les accepter. Ils doivent également être disposés à aller travailler sur des sites éloignés dans le nord, où les taux de roulement sont souvent les plus élevés. Je recommande avec insistance aux membres de l’ICM de faire preuve de leadership en offrant des emplois à nos jeunes diplômés et étudiants. Essayons de ne pas sacrifier une autre génération de jeunes travailleurs miniers !

Michael Winship Président de l’ICM @CIMPrez

RENOUVEAU MINIER

APPEL À CONTRIBUTIONS

2017

THÈMES DU CONGRÈS VITRINE SUR LA SANTÉ ET LA SÉCURITÉ EXCELLENCE DANS LES OPÉRATIONS NOUVEAUX ET RÉCENTS PROJETS GÉOLOGIE ET EXPLORATION MÉCANIQUE DES ROCHES NOUVEAUX ET ÉMERGENTS LEADERS GÉNOMIQUE EXPLOSIFS ET MÉTHODES DE DYNAMITAGE INNOVATIONS DANS LE SECTEUR DE L’ÉNERGIE DIVERSITÉ ET INCLUSION FRANCO-MINE NORMES MINIÈRES ET PRATIQUES EXEMPLAIRES ENVIRONNEMENT ET DÉVELOPPEMENT DURABLE INNOVATION : PRÉSENT ET AVENIR SCIENCE MINIÈRE PLANÉTAIRE ET TERRESTRE (PTMSS) GESTION ET FINANCES (PRÉSENTATIONS SUR INVITATION) INFORMATIONS IMPORTANTES À CONSULTER AVANT DE SOUMETTRE VOTRE RÉSUMÉ • La conférence permet une présentation de 20 minutes et une période de 5 minutes pour répondre aux questions du public. • Les résumés ne doivent pas dépasser 200 mots. Les auteur(e)s seront informé(e)s de l’acceptation de leur candidature au plus tard le 22 décembre 2016. • Envoyez vos papiers ou vos présentations PowerPoint au plus tard le 28 avril 2017. • Les intervenant(e)s doivent s’inscrire et s’acquitter des frais d’inscription inhérents aux auteur(e)s au plus tard le 24 mars 2017 afin de réserver leur place dans le programme. La viabilité financière des conférences dépend des frais d’inscription de toutes les catégories de participants. Un tarif préférentiel d’inscription sera proposé aux intervenant(e)s en reconnaissance de leur contribution spéciale à la conférence. Une sélection d’articles présentés lors du congrès de l’ICM 2017 sera disponible en ligne par le biais des archives virtuelles de documents techniques de l’ICM (cim.org).

ENVOYEZ VOTRE RÉSUMÉ AVANT LE 31 OCTOBRE 2016

CONVENTION.CIM.ORG L’institut canadien des mines, de la métallurgie et du pétrole (ICM) détient et gère le congrès de l’ICM.

I

sySTemES En PHaSE

Par Alexandra Lopez-Pacheco Illustrations par Sébastien Thibault

Le secteur minier innove peut-être, mais de façon archaïque et fragmentée. Il lui reste encore à se doter des outils du XXIe siècle capables de donner naissance aux innovations de ruptures et aux percées technologiques qui ont catapulté d’autres secteurs vers l’avenir – jusqu’à aujourd’hui. 74 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 11, No. 6

L

es technologies des systèmes d’information, de communication et de contrôle s’étendent aux moindres aspects d’une exploitation minière. Plus que jamais, les usines de traitement du minerai ont recours à l’automatisation pour repousser les limites de l’optimisation à un rythme accéléré. Les technologies numériques, parmi lesquelles le GPS, le sans-fil et les capteurs, sont utilisées sur l’équipement minier mobile pour améliorer la sécurité, la productivité et l’efficacité, de même que pour réduire les collisions et optimiser le fonctionnement et l’entretien. Une des percées les plus fameuses dans le secteur a eu lieu dans le domaine de l’équipement autonome, comme l’ont démontré à grande échelle des sociétés minières importantes telles Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton et Fortescue Metals Group. Au centre des opérations de Rio Tinto, à Perth (Australie), 400 employés contrôlent à distance, à quelque 1 000 kilomètres en amont, l’ensemble des 15 mines de minerai de fer de Pilbara ainsi que son imposant système de roulage ferroviaire. Sur le site du projet minier Solomon Hub de Fortescue, en

Australie-Occidentale, 47 camions autonomes Caterpillar sont à l’œuvre 24 heures sur 24, 7 jours sur 7. BHP Billiton mène aussi des essais avec un parc de 15 camions autonomes Caterpillar sur l’un de ses sites miniers, à Pilbara. En outre, l’entreprise est en train de mettre en place 20 foreuses de trous de mine autonomes, fabriquées par Atlas Copco, dans cinq de ses sites miniers de Pilbara ; elles seront mises en service d’ici à la fin de l’année, commandées à distance depuis le centre des opérations de l’entreprise, à Perth. Et ce n’est que le début. « À mesure que la technologie des capteurs évoluera, les outils de chargement automatisés deviendront la norme (et continueront d’évoluer), tout comme les camions, les foreuses et les tracteurs miniers automatisés, a souligné Michael Murphy, ingénieur en chef des techniques minières à Caterpillar. La mine autonome a beaucoup plus progressé que ne le reconnaissent la plupart des entreprises minières. » Tous ces progrès prennent place isolément. Chaque fabricant met au point son propre équipement et utilise ses propres logiciels et systèmes. Les usines de traitement ont leurs propres systèmes. Les sites d’excavation minière ont leurs propres commandes et opérateurs. « Notre entreprise mène actuellement plusieurs projets d’automatisation qui visent à améliorer la sécurité, à accroître la productivité et à réduire nos coûts d’exploitation globaux », a indiqué Graeme Mitchell, directeur du service d’automatisation minière à BHP Billiton. Par exemple, un programme d’essais menés sur le parc de foreuses autonomes de BHP Billiton, à Pilbara, a entraîné une réduction de plus d’un quart des coûts d’exploitation. Cela dit, la mine autonome seule n’est pas le but ultime de BHP Billiton. « Toutes ces initiatives sont des outils clés dans la quête d’un écosystème minier intégré. »

Informations incomplètes Une exploitation entièrement intégrée qui permet d’optimiser la sécurité, le rendement et la production et de réduire substantiellement les coûts par l’intégration et le partage des processus, des systèmes et de l’information à l’échelle des fonctions d’exploitation et qui se traduit par une prise de décision en temps réel améliorée. Cette optimisation « de bout en bout » constitue la prochaine étape importante pour les sociétés minières. Selon Colin Farrelly d’Indago Partners, une société de conseil en gestion spécialisée dans l’innovation dans le secteur minier, de tels progrès pourraient aider le secteur minier à passer d’un processus de traitement par lot à un processus continu qui réduirait considérablement la nécessité d’accumuler des piles de stockage. Pour y parvenir toutefois, les sociétés minières doivent avoir accès aux données de tous les capteurs, GPS et systèmes logiciels de chacune de leurs activités, autrement dit, du plan d’exploitation minier aux activités de dynamitage, de l’excavation au transport et du traitement à la livraison. Le problème, c’est que chacun des systèmes exclusifs des fabricants d’origine limite de façon très stricte la quantité de données auxquelles les systèmes et l’équipement d’un autre fabricant peuvent avoir accès. L’équipement autonome de Caterpillar fonctionne mieux avec le système

Cat MineStar. De même, une foreuse Atlas Copco fonctionne mieux si l’on utilise le système d’exploitation d’Atlas Copco. Aujourd’hui encore, sur le plan de l’échange de données entre les systèmes, une exploitation minière est dans une large mesure une tour de Babel. En réalité, « une mine de renseignements se trouve stockée dans des machines intelligentes et dans des systèmes de planification minière, a expliqué Graeme Mitchell. Mais en règle générale, ces données sont isolées dans des systèmes exclusifs qui communiquent difficilement entre eux, ce qui rend tout aussi difficile le partage et la circulation de l’information entre les systèmes. » C’est aussi l’avis de Peter Carter, un ingénieur minier qui a collaboré avec Komatsu à la conception des premiers camions de roulage sans conducteur. Il est aujourd’hui responsable du secteur des métaux et des mines pour OSIsoft, entreprise technologique dont le dispositif PI System élimine les obstacles en établissant un lien entre les données de capteurs et des systèmes pour aider les entreprises à optimiser leurs opérations. À son avis, le potentiel d’optimisation des mines à partir des données utilisées dans l’équipement et les systèmes est énorme. Il donne l’exemple suivant : « Lorsque les foreuses creusent des trous de mine, un grand nombre de données peuvent être recueillies sur les caractéristiques de la roche rencontrée. Ces données, fondées sur la dureté de la roche et le couple utilisé par la foreuse, peuvent être corrélées avec le modèle géologique d’origine et permettre ainsi de cartographier plus précisément l’emplacement du minerai et de déterminer les techniques d’abattage et de fragmentation à privilégier, a expliqué Peter Carter. Toutes les autres étapes du processus suivent ensuite ce forage. L’information est transmise avec le matériau alors que celui-ci circule le long de la chaîne de valeur, du forage au roulage en passant par le chargement. » De la même façon, les capteurs placés sur les camions de roulage pour le guidage des machines autonomes recueillent des données pouvant être utiles pour établir une cartographie géologique ou d’autres fins, comme l’entretien des chemins. « Si on constate des vibrations excessives sur un camion pendant le transport, le problème vient probablement du moteur, mais si les vibrations sont présentes sur plusieurs camions, il September/October • Septembre/Octobre 2016 | 75

se peut que la route en soit la cause, et la difficulté consiste à le comprendre », a expliqué Colin Farrelly.

Une solution prête à l’emploi L’explosif qui peut faire sauter les verrous faisant obstacle à l’intégration, selon un avis largement partagé de nos jours, est l’interopérabilité. Colin Farrelly, d’Indago, définit ce terme comme étant « la possibilité pour les systèmes des technologies de l’information et des communications, les systèmes techniques d’exploitation et les processus d’affaires qu’ils hébergent d’échanger des données et de permettre le partage d’informations et le transfert de commandes. Cela permet alors aux systèmes et aux entreprises de collaborer harmonieusement (l’interopérabilité). » Bien qu’il existe différentes définitions de l’interopérabilité, celle qui est proposée ici a été élaborée par Indago à l’issue de consultations et d’études menées auprès 88 personnes représentant 66 organisations de l’ensemble du secteur minier, dont principalement des sociétés minières et des fournisseurs, notamment d’équipement, ainsi que des consultants, des ingénieurs et des fabricants de technologies d’exploitation. Les conclusions de son étude – réalisée pour le compte d’AMIRA International, organisation mutuelle mondiale de sociétés minières et de fournisseurs – ont été publiées en avril 2016. Schématiquement, l’interopérabilité consiste à connecter harmonieusement entre eux l’ensemble des équipements et systèmes d’une exploitation minière de sorte qu’ils communiquent et fonctionnent ensemble, sans égard à leurs fabricants. « C’est lorsque les choses peuvent s’accorder et échanger entre elles et que des systèmes variés peuvent être mis en contact et fonctionner comme un tout plutôt que comme des solutions isolées, a résumé Tim Skinner, président de SMART Systems Group et consultant travaillant depuis des décennies sur le défi sans cesse renouvelé que représente l’interopérabilité dans les mines. Vous connectez tous ces éléments, et ça fonctionne. Voilà ce que nous cherchons à réaliser. » C’est assurément ce que des sociétés minières comme Rio Tinto et BHP Billiton cherchent à faire. Mais, en ce qui concerne l’interopérabilité, a fait remarquer Colin Farrelly, le secteur minier a 20 ans de retard sur les autres secteurs, notamment ceux de la fabrication, de l’agriculture et du pétrole et du gaz. Il existe cependant une exception : le traitement du minerai. « Les usines de traitement du minerai ont un degré d’automatisation et d’interopérabilité nettement plus élevé, mais ce n’est pas parce que le secteur minier a œuvré en ce sens, a expliqué Colin Farrelly. Cela tient au fait que la construction d’une usine de traitement du minerai n’est pas fondamentalement différente de la construction d’une usine de fabrication ou d’une plateforme pétrolière. Toutes sont des variantes d’une usine de traitement; toutes les technologies qui sont mises en œuvre dans une usine de traitement du minerai sont 76 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 11, No. 6

conçues par des fournisseurs qui les ont déjà créées pour d’autres industries, qui se situent à un niveau plus élevé de développement technologique sous-tendu par les normes de l’industrie. » John Mulcahy, directeur de la division des systèmes miniers du groupe Croissance et Innovation de Rio Tinto, aimerait voir ce degré d’interopérabilité s’étendre au reste des activités minières. « Dans la salle de commande d’une usine de traitement bien conçue, un opérateur se sert d’un seul ensemble d’écrans qui lui permet de faire tout ce qu’il a à faire ; l’environnement d’exploitation est extrêmement intégré, et il n’est pas nécessaire de sauter d’un système à un autre : l’interface hommemachine, très structurée, est en phase avec tous les processus, a-t-il expliqué. Si l’on pense à des choses comme la gestion d’une mine à ciel ouvert et la gestion d’un parc, on a affaire à des systèmes et plateformes différents, et une personne doit constamment passer de l’un à l’autre. Une machine qui ne peut pas échanger avec d’autres, même si elle peut déplacer des montagnes, forer des puits ou faire quoi que ce soit d’autre, ne vaudra jamais une machine capable de faire la même chose tout en interagissant. »

Possibilités illimitées Dans les années 1990, le World Wide Web souffrait de nombreuses limites et comprenait plusieurs réseaux concurrents. Aujourd’hui, grâce à l’interopérabilité, il change le monde et constitue une source infinie d’innovation qui a transformé notre quotidien en nous donnant des possibilités autrefois inimaginables. C’est grâce à l’interopérabilité que nous pouvons transférer des données de n’importe quel ordinateur personnel, peu importe son fabricant, à n’importe quel dispositif USB, ou encore télécharger d’innombrables applications sur des téléphones intelligents Android, peu importe, encore une fois, leur fabricant. Selon Peter Carter, l’interopérabilité de type « prêt à l’emploi » permettrait aux sociétés minières d’automatiser davantage leurs processus en installant de nouvelles machines qui peuvent communiquer avec les systèmes déjà en place. « Cet outil élimine les obstacles à l’innovation et accélère le rythme de cette dernière, a-t-il expliqué. L’interopérabilité est un élément clé de l’innovation, car très peu de nouveaux investissements à grande échelle vont basculer d’un seul coup vers l’automatisation à 100 % (ou l’atteindre). Une telle démarche accroît les risques présents. Ainsi, les sociétés minières n’automatisent habituellement, au départ, que certaines parties des processus, par exemple le roulage, et ils automatisent progressivement les autres processus tout au long de la durée de vie de la mine. » Toutefois, il ne s’agit pas là de la seule raison pour laquelle l’interopérabilité peut permettre la création d’un environnement novateur qui présente un fort potentiel de transformation et dans lequel les opérations sont accélérées.

« Si on dispose d’une connectivité et de données ouvertes et illimitées, on a entre les mains un environnement novateur qui ne présente pas de frontières », a déclaré Tim Skinner. Cela s’explique entre autres par le fait que les plateformes, les directives et les protocoles ouverts et partagés attirent les petits acteurs et les entreprises en démarrage. On assiste alors à l’émergence d’un genre d’innovation propre à secouer tout un secteur, c’est à dire à la naissance de technologies révolutionnaires, à la formulation d’idées de nouvelle génération axées sur la transformation ainsi qu’à l’arrivée de nouveaux acteurs, partenariats et modèles commerciaux et opérationnels. « La plupart du temps, l’innovation (ou, à tout le moins, l’innovation authentique et transformatrice) finit par venir des petites entreprises et des entreprises en démarrage, a déclaré Colin Farrelly. Lorsque l’on dispose d’un environnement technologique interopérable ouvert, il est plus facile d’y intégrer un nouveau logiciel. Il y a 10 ans, l’écriture et le déploiement d’une application mobile étaient très difficiles. De nos jours, des jeunes du secondaire peuvent développer une application pour téléphone intelligent. Et l’application sera compatible avec le système d’exploitation en place et elle fonctionnera avec les autres données. » Comme l’interopérabilité est fondée sur le partage, elle élimine également les barrières reliées à la mentalité du XXe siècle axée sur la compétition, le cloisonnement et l’exclusivité, pour plutôt favoriser l’esprit de collaboration. Dans le cadre de la démarche d’interopérabilité, une entreprise peut même faire équipe avec des entreprises concurrentes afin d’assurer le succès d’un projet donné, au bénéfice de chacune. Un micro exemple d’un tel projet est le camion 6900XD MBT-40 (« MBT » signifiant « Multi Body Transformer », et « 40 », « 40 tonnes ») de Western Star. Par exemple, ce camion peut se présenter initialement sous forme de camion citerne et être transformé rapidement en camion à remorque à benne à déchargement latéral ou en camion à benne basculante avec branchements hydrauliques, entre autres options. À l’intérieur de la cabine du camion se trouve un boîtier de commande générique sur lequel est déposée une matrice amovible qui indique toutes les fonctions de l’équipement en cours d’utilisation sur le camion. Cette matrice change donc d’une option à l’autre. Il y a trois ans, lorsque John Tomlinson de Western Star a imaginé ce concept, il savait que la meilleure manière de le concrétiser était de collaborer avec des concurrents. Son entreprise ne disposait pas de toutes les ressources nécessaires pour pouvoir y arriver seule. La commercialisation d’un véhicule qui peut se transformer en trois types ou plus de camions ne cadre pas avec la démarche d’un grand fabricant dont le modèle d’affaires consiste à vendre différents types de camions. Toutefois, elle peut être avantageuse pour une petite entreprise qui cherche à se démarquer de la concurrence grâce à une offre novatrice de pointe. « Notre arrivée dans le marché de la construction hors route

est récente ; nous jouissons donc d’une bonne perspective », a affirmé John Tomlinson. Au début, lorsqu’il présentait son projet, il avait souvent droit à des regards sceptiques. Toutefois, il a fini par convaincre Carco Industries et Palfinger de travailler au projet. « Tout le monde a signé une entente de non divulgation. Chacun a convenu de ne pas voler les idées des autres, a poursuivi John Tomlinson. Chaque partie avait sa spécialité et a donc intégré son produit au concept du camion. Chacune des entreprises a de nombreuses bonnes idées, mais quand vous rassemblez toutes ces idées, le résultat final est encore meilleur. L’enjeu consiste à employer une plateforme neutre. » Dans la technologie de l’information et des communications, cette plateforme neutre est l’interopérabilité.

Pour y arriver L’interopérabilité ouvre un champ de possibilités inédit ; toutefois, pour qu’elle devienne la norme, une collaboration doit avoir lieu à l’échelle de l’industrie. De tels changements ne se font pas par magie. Internet est devenu plus ouvert grâce au World Wide Web Consortium, lequel avait pour objectif de réunir un groupe d’acteurs internationaux provenant de divers horizons qui allaient convenir de plateformes ouvertes et de normes communes. La plateforme de téléphonie intelligente mobile Android est le résultat des travaux de 84 organisations et fabricants qui se sont réunis en 2007 pour créer le consortium Open Handset Alliance. Le secteur minier n’a pas encore fait de pas de ce genre. Mais la situation est en train de changer. Pour le moment, ce sont des dizaines d’organisations et d’initiatives qui rassemblent les acteurs de cette industrie. AMIRA a récemment lancé un second projet appelé Interoperability Round Table, qui s’adresse aux sociétés minières, aux exploitants miniers contractuels et au gouvernement. « Voilà pour nous une excellente occasion, soit celle de participer aux balbutiements d’une initiative en matière d’interopérabilité qui pourrait prendre une grande ampleur dans le secteur », a déclaré Colin Farrelly. Au cours de l’automne dernier, le comité technique sur les mines de l’Organisation internationale de normalisation (ISO) a créé un nouveau sous comité ayant pour mission de se consacrer aux activités minières autonomes et il a invité Tim Skinner, le représentant canadien de l’organisation, à présider ce nouveau sous comité. Une autre organisation dont les travaux portent sur l’interopérabilité, soit The Earth Moving Equipment Safety Round Table, est une initiative mondiale qui réunit de grandes sociétés minières et des fabricants d’équipement d’origine (FEO) et dont l’objectif consiste à améliorer les concepts d’exploitabilité et de maintenabilité. Elle élabore notamment des critères et des protocoles destinés à la mise au point de systèmes de détection et d’avertissement de proximité grâce auxquels tous les éléments matériels September/October • Septembre/Octobre 2016 | 77

mobiles dotés d’une technologie de détection particulière pourraient communiquer librement les uns avec les autres. Un des acteurs clés de ce secteur depuis 2012 est le Global Mining Standards and Guidelines Group (GMSG). Ce groupe, qui est établi au Canada et relève de l’Institut canadien des mines, de la métallurgie et du pétrole (ICM), a été fondé cette année là pour faciliter la mise en œuvre de solutions et de technologies sectorielles dans le cadre de collaborations entre les acteurs du secteur minier à l’échelle mondiale. Il a lancé plusieurs groupes de travail dont le rôle est d’étudier différents aspects de l’interopérabilité. Il y a d’ailleurs eu, au sein de l’un de ces groupes, consensus entre exploitants et FEO concernant la définition d’ensembles de données embarqués à bord du matériel mobile qui devaient être librement accessibles aux propriétaires dudit matériel, en lecture seule et en temps réel. Cet accord visait à résoudre un problème persistant. Pour arriver au consensus final, le GMSG a tenu une série de cinq ateliers auxquels participaient de grands groupes provenant de sociétés minières et de FEO, et qui étaient dirigés par un facilitateur indépendant impartial. « Nous avons réussi à réunir, dans un climat de sécurité et de neutralité, des gens ayant tous comme volonté de résoudre un problème de longue date », a souligné Heather Ednie, directrice générale du GMSG, dont les membres proviennent de l’ensemble du secteur minier, y compris toutes les grandes sociétés minières et la plupart des FEO.

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« L’industrie fait face à de nombreux défis qui sont apparus en raison de la très grande importance accordée au principe de l’exclusivité dans le cadre des activités de développement de technologies. Notre principe directeur d’ouverture consiste à changer cette situation, a expliqué Heather Ednie. Il faut délaisser la mentalité de l’exclusivité ; c’est ce qui est d’ailleurs en train de se passer. Au GMSG, nous le constatons par le simple fait de voir tout le monde maintenant réuni autour de la même table. Une fois en place l’ensemble des directives, des protocoles ou des normes, il sera possible de mettre en œuvre les activités de développement et l’innovation nécessaires pour propulser l’industrie vers l’avant. » Certes, l’innovation se manifeste déjà à l’échelle du secteur minier. Toutefois, jusqu’à maintenant, il n’existe pas beaucoup de liens entre les différents efforts déployés en ce sens. Pour cette raison, l’industrie a maintenant de la difficulté à se défaire de la réputation qu’elle a d’être lente à adopter les nouvelles technologies. Il faut se servir du pouvoir de l’interconnectivité pour donner à l’innovation la vigueur voulue tout en réduisant les risques. Tous les experts s’entendent pour dire que l’interopérabilité s’en vient. Ce n’est qu’une question de temps, de travail et de collaboration. Une fois que l’interopérabilité sera une réalité répandue, le secteur minier et ses innovateurs pourront s’appuyer sur une force d’une grande puissance. « C’est vraiment au cours des deux dernières années que tout a commencé », a déclaré Heather Ednie. ICM

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Mining Lore Dipping into the silver stream By Douglas Baldwin

uring the first few years of the silver mining rush in where a bill to make prosecuting high-grading easier and Cobalt, Ontario, mine owners had a laid-back strengthen punishments, created in response to the heist, had approach to loss prevention. With claim to so much been held up in committee. high-grade ore, they freely gave samples of silver to visitors. The Senate subsequently made several amendments to the Mine workers were also not searched Criminal Code, requiring all buyers at the end of the day and it was easy for and sellers of silver ore to have written the men to slip pieces of silver into permission from a mine manager for their pockets. each transaction. This put the onus of The local newspaper, the Nugget, proof on the defendant, who could be estimated that $1 million worth of punished with a maximum penalty of high-grade silver had been stolen in two years imprisonment. the first five years of the Cobalt mining The Temiskaming Mine Managers camp. Although several arrests were Association (TMMA) decided to take made at the time, it was almost imposmatters into its own hands and hired Ontario Provincial Police officers pose with silver sible to obtain a conviction. A mine Three private detective agencies to infiltrate ingots recovered from high-grading operations. Most highmanager had to swear the stolen ore graders were either acquitted or given light sentences. the town’s lower strata. In July 1912, came from his mine, but since highfor example, George Williams of the grade silver was consistently pure at each project it was impos- Pinkerton International Detective Agency, helped the police sible to identify what ore came from which mine. The thieves seize 110 kg of silver and arrest three high-graders. had to be caught red-handed to be successfully prosecuted. Since liquor consumption was illegal within five miles of an Most “high-graders,” as they were called, were either acquitted operating mine, numerous illegal establishments sprung up in or given light sentences. Cobalt to supply alcohol to thirsty miners and citizens. Termed Prior to the discovery of silver in Cobalt in 1903, Ontario “blind pigs” for what the drinks did to their customers, these had not been a precious metal-producing province and there speakeasies (often pool rooms or soft drink parlors) sometimes were few specific laws to protect a mining company’s private worked closely with high-graders, shipping stolen silver ore to property, i.e. its ore. As the number of high-grade ore thefts Toronto and returning north with alcohol. In some cases, the mounted, authorities sought a solution to the problem. In April high-graders did their planning and recruiting in the blind pigs. 1908, John Cartwright, the attorney general of Ontario, wrote Business was very lucrative and allowed the blind pigs to meet to federal justice minister Allen Aylesworth regarding the situa- the increasingly heavy liquor fines. tion, and in June Cartwright suggested amending the Criminal As the amount of available high-grade ore diminished, Code to require those in possession of silver to have proof of thieves erected small smelters in the area to purify the silver ownership, but the federal government took no action. before shipping it elsewhere. As Canadian authorities quickly Then in December 1909, there was a high-profile robbery learned, high-grading operations were no longer limited to at the Nova Scotia Mining Company’s mine in the Cobalt Toronto. Two men, arrested months apart in 1911 and 1912, camp. One man, a go-between for the robbers, admitted to were caught shipping stolen ore across the border, to cities having taken 17 trips in the previous few months to a small including New York, Philadelphia, and Denver. Subsequently, private smelter in Toronto, each time carrying 45 kilograms the TMMA asked the Ontario attorney general to talk with his (kg) of ore. The thieves received only a small fine because the American counterpart in New York about providing better mine owner could not swear the ore found in the thieves’ pos- supervision of the border and acquainting American custom session was his. The general practice, it was revealed after the officials with the crime of high-grading. In exchange, the infamous heist, was for mine site drillers to leave small Ontario police promised the American customs officials $1 per amounts of high-grade ore in the tunnels for the muckers, who pound of silver ore “in every case where we get our man.” stored it in a prearranged place. Fences would take the ore to Although this reward system achieved some results, highToronto in 100- and 150-pound lots. grading continued until the ore petered out. CIM A year after the robbery, a delegation including town Mayor H.H. Lang, Coleman Township Reeve Arthur Ferland, PresbyBaldwin is a retired history professor from Acadia University, Nova terian minister J.D. Byrnes, and Catholic priest Father James Douglas Scotia. This piece has been adapted from his new book, Cobalt: Canada’s Forget travelled to Ottawa early in 1910 to lobby the Senate, Forgotten Silver Boom Town (Indigo Press, 2016). Courtesy of the Cobalt Mining Museum

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82 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 11, No. 6

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