cim magazine june/july 2008

Pub

licat

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Mai

lNo.

4006

2547

February/février 2006 www.cim.orgJune/July • juin/juillet 2008 www.cim.org

Editor-in-chiefHeather Ednie [email protected] EditorsColumns, CIM News, Histories, Technical Section:Andrea Nichiporuk [email protected] and Features:Angie Gordon [email protected] Editor Joan TomiukPublisher CIM

Contributors Jon Baird, R.J. Cathro, Marlene Eisner,Vern Evans, Marie Fortin, Charles Graham, FathiHabashi, Chuck Higgins, Carolyn Hersey, Barbara Kirby,Pierre Laroche, Annie Lévesque, Deborah McCombe,John Postle, Tom Rannelli, Juan Carlos Reyes, ÉmilieRoulleau, Michelle Sabourin, Paul Stothart, JamesVerraster, Nicolas Vinet, Haidee Weldon, MikeWesterlund, Gord Winkel, Dan Zlotnikov

Published 8 times a year by CIM855 - 3400 de Maisonneuve Blvd. West Montreal, QC, H3Z 3B8Tel.: 514.939.2710; Fax: 514.939.2714 www.cim.org; Email: [email protected]

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This month’s coverXstrata Nickel’s Boeing 737, which services itsRaglan operation, takes off from the Donaldsonairstrip near Salluit, Quebec. Photo courtesy ofXstrata Nickel.

Layout and design by Clò Communications.

Copyright©2008. All rights reserved.ISSN 1718-4177. Publications Mail No. 09786.Postage paid at CPA Saint-Laurent, QC.Dépôt légal: Bibliothèque nationale du Québec.The Institute, as a body, is not responsible for statements made or opinions advanced either in arti-cles or in any discussion appearing in its publications.

Printed in Canada

Moving costs

Today, gas was selling at $1.53 per litre in Montreal, a price that wasunfathomable only a few months ago. These rocketing fuel costs have cer-tainly led many of us to reevaluate how we travel — our speed, our vehi-

cles and our access to public transportation. I’m glad to have a seat in a car poolwith some of my coworkers, and I know many others are parking their vehiclesand opting for a bus pass. Transportation accounts for a growing portion of ourmonthly household expenses, and we’re seeking ways to keep those costs down.

The same rings true for our operations, where transportation costs can beformidable challenges to a healthy balance sheet. The remote locations of manysites, combined with infrastructure needs, the bulk size of our supplies and com-modities to be moved, and never forgetting the mounting fuel costs, result intransportation amounting to a major part of any business plan. Companies arecontinuously working with suppliers to find ways to ease the transportation oftheir supplies, people and products, while keeping an eye on the bottom line.

This issue of CIM Magazine includes a feature section focused on transporta-tion in our industry. This series of articles highlights the challenges faced andsome of the insightful solutions at operations in Canada and around the globe.It’s an engineering and planning conundrum that will remain a key focus for ourindustry and is sure to drive innovation well into the future.

In the meantime, I think I’ll go shopping for a bicycle, while awaiting the daythat getting from A to B is as easy as saying “Beam me up, Scotty!”

Heather EdnieEditor-in-chief

4 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 3, No. 4

19 Remote Control The logistical challengesof remote mining operations by A. Gordon

23 A walk to remember Genesee mine’sdragline relocation project by D. Zlotnikov

27 Rockin’ and rollin’ on the WestCoast Polaris Minerals Corporation deliveringconstruction aggregates to western seaboardby M. Westerlund

CONTENTSCIM MAGAZINE | JUNE/JULY 2008 JUIN/JUILLET

COLUMNS35 Student Life by N. Vinet and É. Roulleau

37 First Nations by J.C Reyes

38 The Supply Side by J. Baird

39 Parlons-en par A. Lévesque

40 MAC Economic Commentary by P. Stothart

41 Innovation Page by G. Winkel

42 HR Outlook by B. Kirby

43 Engineering Exchange by H. Weldon

44 Eye on Business by C. Higgins and J. Verraster

46 Canadians Abroad by C. Hersey

47 Standards by J. Postle and D. McCombe

48 Mining Lore by M. Sabourin

90 Voices from Industry by T. Rannelli

CIM NEWS59 Une activité pour les étudiants par M. Fortin

It’s all about the students60 L’ICM reçoit le professeur Jean-

François Dorion du Cégep de ThetfordMines par P. Laroche

CIM branch hosts Jean-FrançoisDorion

64 CIM Conference and Exhibition 2008wrap-upCompte-rendu du Congrès et Saloncommercial de l’ICM

67 Conference of Metallurgists 2008 —preliminary program

HISTORY74 The Comstock Lode, Nevada (Part 3)

by R.J. Cathro

77 The evolution of shaft sinking sys-tems (Part 7) by C. Graham and V. Evans

80 Migration and movement of scholars(Part 4) by F. Habashi

TECHNICAL SECTION83 This month’s contents

IN EVERY ISSUE4 Editor’s Message6 President’s Notes/Mot du président8 Letters

57 Welcoming new members63 Calendar89 Professional Directory

9 Superheros for a super cause TeckCominco Limited donates $25 million to BCChildren’s Hospital Foundation

10 Research project to capture valuableminerals from oil sands tailings andreduce emissions intensity TitaniumCorporation Inc. receives a two-year funding grantby M. Eisner

12 Potential new technology for Canadianlake-based mining South African firm exploresadapting existing underwater crawler technology

13 Michelin essay contest winners Twomining engineering students awarded scholarships

14 Canadian Engineering MemorialFoundation scholarship winnersScholarships seek to encourage more Canadianwomen to pursue a career in mining by A. Gordon

14 Paving the way Suncor Energy to constructand maintain $55 million highway interchange

16 Improving haulage performancewhile lowering environmental impactStillwater mine implements fleet of Kiruna electrictrucks

17 Canadian Mining Hall of Fame call fornominations Celebrating outstanding lifetimeachievements

30 Les défi logistiques des exploita-tions éloignées La route d’hiver Tibbitt àContwoy et la mine Rosebel dans laRépublique du Suriname

32 Une traversée historique Réinstallationde la pelle à benne traînante de la mine Genesee

33 Ça bouge sur la Côte Ouest Livraisond’agrégats le long de la Côte Ouest

NEWS

FEATURED MINEMINE EN VEDETTE

49 It takes a village Osisko ExplorationLtée’s Malartic project by M. Eisner

54 Ça prend un village Le projet Malarticd’Osisko Exploration Ltée

29

MOVING IN MINESÇA BOUGE DANS LES MINES

The mining industry is in a phase of unprecedented growth,and nowhere is that more evident than in our own country. Theproducts from Canada’s mining activities are in high demandaround the globe and exploration has reached record levels acrossthe country. Statistics Canada recently reported thatNewfoundland and Labrador had “China-like” economic growth of9.1 per cent based on increases in oil development and mining,thereby unseating Alberta as having the fastest growing provincialeconomy.

Despite these advances, energy remains in great demand. Wealso face challenges as a result of the Canadian dollar’s show ofstrength against its U.S. counterpart, causing costs to increaseand affecting productivity.

It is in this context that CIM held its CIM Conference andExhibition 2008 in Edmonton this past May, the theme of which wasMoving Beyond: Innovation for a Sustainable Future. The conferenceprovided an important venue for members of the Canadian miningindustry to get together to network and learn from one another.

It was widely acknowledged that our industry has to providethe necessary leadership and innovation to secure its place insociety today. Students attending this year’s conference are theinnovators of tomorrow. They carry with them the challenge ofdemonstrating that we have a social license to operate underincreasing pressure to minimize humanity’s collective environmen-tal impact, while still maximizing productivity.

The communities in which we oper-ate are looking to our industry to providegreater returns, and not solely economicones, but also social, cultural and tech-nological. We can create positive socialchange with willing partners. I am gladto see the growing success that theindustry is achieving with First Nationscommunities in Canada. Through collec-tive effort and innovation in training, eco-nomic development and leadershipopportunities, this industry can positivelyimpact a community that has long beenneglected. This is innovation for a sus-tainable future in action.

The Canadian minerals industry has become one of the mosttechnologically advanced in the world.The focus is on minimally inva-sive practices to extract more value out of our resources and to lessenthe impact on our environment. Creating a smaller individual footprintand a more positive social impact are integral to this innovation.

As I begin my tenure as CIM president, I look forward to takingthe steps necessary to move beyond the current challenges facedby our industry, alongside the more than 12,000 CIM memberswho are working to create an innovative and sustainable future.This is the essence of CIM.

L’industrie minière vit actuellement une période de croissancesans précédent et nulle part est-ce plus évident que dans notrepropre pays.

Les produits découlant des activités minières canadiennes sontgrandement en demande autour du globe et l’exploration a atteintdes niveaux inégalés partout à travers le pays. Statistique Canadaa récemment rapporté que la province de Terre-Neuve et Labradoravait eu une croissance économique de type « Chine » de 9,1 %,basée sur les augmentations en développement pétrolier et enexploitation minière, prenant donc la place de l’Alberta en tant queprovince ayant la plus rapide croissance économique.

Malgré ces avancées, l’énergie est toujours en grandedemande. Nous devons aussi faire face à des défis en raison de laforce du dollar canadien par rapport à la devise américaine, entraî-nant des augmentations de coûts et nuisant à la productivité.

C’est dans ce contexte que l’ICM a tenu son Congrès et Saloncommercial 2008 à Edmonton en mai dernier; le thème était :Viser plus haut : l’innovation pour un avenir durable. Le congrès aété un lieu de rencontres importantes; les membres de l’industrieminière canadienne ont pu établir des contacts et apprendre lesuns des autres.

Il est grandement reconnu que notre industrie doit fournirle leadership et l’innovation nécessaires pour fixer solidementsa place dans la société actuelle. Les étudiants qui partici-paient au congrès cette année sont les innovateurs de demain.Ils ont le fardeau de démontrer que nous avons un permissocial d’exploiter sous des pressions de plus en plus grandes

de minimiser l’impact collectif des humains, tout en max-imisant la productivité.

Les communautés dans lesquelles nous avons des exploita-tions se tournent vers notre industrie pour de meilleurs rende-ments, non pas seulement des rendements économiques maisaussi de rendements sociaux, culturels et technologiques. Nouspouvons générer des changements positifs avec des partenairesqui le désirent vraiment. Je me réjouis des réussites croissantesque l’industrie atteint avec les communautés des PremièresNations canadiennes. Par des efforts collectifs et de l’innovationen formation, en développement économique et en possibilitésde leadership, cette industrie pourra avoir un impact positif surune communauté qui a été longuement négligée. C’est vérita-blement de l’innovation en action pour un avenir durable.

L’industrie minérale canadienne est devenue l’une desplus avancées au monde du point de vue technologie.L’accent porte sur les pratiques les moins invasives possiblespour extraire plus de valeur de nos ressources et diminuerl’impact sur notre environnement. Le fait d’avoir une pluspetite empreinte individuelle et un impact social plus positiffait partie intégrante de cette innovation.

Alors que je commence mon mandat de président del’ICM, j’ai hâte d’entreprendre les démarches nécessairespour aller au-delà des défis actuels confrontant notre indus-trie et je serai épaulé par plus de 12 000 membres de l’ICMqui travaillent à établir un avenir innovateur et durable. C’estl’essence même de l’ICM.

Jim Gowans, CIM President Président de l’ICM

president’s notesInnovation for a sustainable future


Innovations pour un avenir durable

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007-018 Letters_News 6/16/08 12:40 PM Page 7

It was with some dismay that Iread the introductory paragraph ofthe article “Migration and theMovement of Scholars” by FathiHabashi in the March/April 2008issue. There are six sentences in thatparagraph, and nearly all contain out-right errors of fact or contradictionswith previous statements.

Habashi claims that Jews andChristians were persecuted because theyworshipped their own gods. This state-ment is contradicted by the fact that bythe First Century Rome was a polyglotcity of hundreds of different peoples rep-resenting essentially all of the ethnicgroups around the Mediterranean. Allbrought their own religions with themand none of them were persecuted. Inancient history, Rome is unprece-dented in this regard. The Jews andChristians were singled out, notbecause of their deity, but becausealone among the various religiousminorities they refused to acknowl-edge the secular authority and reli-gious aspects of the emperor of Rome.

Habashi claims in his fourth sen-tence that religious freedom wasachieved in 313 AD with the Edict of

Milan. This is wrong. It establishedfor the first time a state religionwithin the Roman Empire thatrequired the suppression and destruc-tion of all other forms of religion.Habashi makes no mention of the factthat Constantine authored the edictas a political and military tacticagainst a rival during a civil war. Thisis not religious freedom; it is religiousdictatorship.

Habashi claims that the division ofthe Empire came about as a result ofConstantine’s moving of the capitalfrom Rome to Constantinople. This iswrong. The division of the Empirecame about 20 years previously dur-ing the reign of Diocletian with thereorganization of the Empire intofour military districts, two in the eastand two in the west. Rome itself hadpreviously ceased to be of politicalsignificance given its great distancefrom the armies on the frontiers.

These examples from just the firstparagraph should be sufficient to showthat Habashi’s article is riddled withmisinterpretation or misstatement offact about early religious and mediae-val history. In the future, if CIM is

going to publish articles outside itssphere of specialization, please try tomake at least some effort to get thescholarship right instead of just hopingthe author hasn’t made any egregiouserrors such as those noted above.

Yours truly,Colin HuntOttawa, Ontario

The comments of the specialist readerare highly appreciated. However,although the phrasing may be different,the contents are nearly the same. Pleasebe assured that CIM is not publishingarticles without intensive research.

Fathi Habashi

Hats off to Roy Slack on his article“Getting the word out there” (CIMMagazine, March/April, p. 82) aboutour industry. As Canadians, we owemuch to the contribution of the min-ing industry and its affiliated busi-nesses. Mining in Canada has anexcellent safety record, exceptionalremuneration and opportunities for itsemployees, and provides comprehen-sive benefits to society as a whole.The products of mining are in every-thing we touch from the most basictools of our ancestors, to the mostsophisticated space age equipmentorbiting our planet today.Mining today is a very “high-tech”undertaking and we need to educatethe general public to its benefits andmotivate our promising young stu-dents to consider a career in the manydisciplines required to harvest the ben-efits while minimizing the environ-mental impact of this crucial industry.

Roy Slack and CIM are on theright track.

Tom PalangioPresidentWipWare Inc.


“I said you’ve won that tire draw you entered at the CIM Conference and Exhibition…

but did you realize it was for a pair of off-the-road tires?”

lettersHistory interpreted


newsTeck Cominco Limited recently

announced that it will make a $25 mil-lion donation to BC Children’sHospital Foundation to support theplanned construction of a new chil-dren’s hospital in Vancouver. This isthe largest gift in the history of thehospital and is the first major contri-bution since the $200 millionCampaign for BC Children wasannounced on April 14.

“Giving back to the community hasalways been a priority for TeckCominco,” said the company’s presi-dent and CEO Don Lindsay. “BCChildren’s Hospital has touched thelives of many Teck Cominco employeesover the years as well as those of fami-lies in communities across BC. This giftto the Campaign for BC Children is anatural step in our 21-year history ofsupporting the hospital.”

Since 1986, Teck Cominco and itsemployees have been active fundrais-ers for BC Children’s Hospital.Through popular events such as theTeck Cominco Celebrity Pie Throw,the company has donated over $3.5million. They have also brought manyothers to this worthy cause via theirannual Mining for Miracles campaign,co-founded in 1986, which to date hasdonated over $10 million to BCChildren’s Hospital.

“Teck Cominco is one of our great-est friends,” said Sue Carruthers, pres-ident and CEO of BC Children’sHospital Foundation. “Every year TeckCominco and its employees haveraised the bar in terms of their supportfor BC’s kids.”

Priorities of the Campaign for BCChildren include a new Acute CareCentre (that will be named in honourof Teck Cominco), the relocation ofthe childhood development andrehabilitation services, and supportof Child Health BC, an initiative

that is building pediatric care capacity throughout the province.Construction of the new Children’sHospital will provide urgentlyneeded space for critical care, includ-ing new operating rooms and diag-nostic facilities. CIM

Superheros for a super cause

June/July 2008 | 9

Teck Cominco “superheros” man the phones during Campaign for BC Children’s launch. From left: Mike Agg,Gaynor Downie, Doug Horswill, Don Lindsay (campaign chair) and Kimberly Hoy.

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We have the skills and experience to support every aspect of your operation. Whether you are concerned about reducing risk, managing repair costs, securing financing, coping with environ-mental pressures, improving safety, or any other issue let us work together to develop a solution.

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macfactsIn 2006, shipment of minerals and mineralproducts representedaround 60 per cent oftotal revenue freight ofCanadian railways.


news

Titanium Corporation Inc., a Canadian company devel-oping a commercial process to maximize the value existingin waste material deposited in Alberta’s oil sands tailings, hasreceived a two-year funding grant of $3.5 million fromAlberta’s Energy Innovation Fund. The money will enableTitanium Corporation to continue its research and develop-ment into extracting heavy minerals and lost bitumen fromoil sands tailings streams.

“About three per cent of the bitumen is lost in the tailingsstream and currently it’s going into the tailings ponds,” saidScott Nelson, president and CEO of Titanium Corporation.

“The grant we received, which we’rematching, is really part of a $7 million pro-gram directed mainly at recovering a por-

tion of that lost bitumen. That’s a really good thing becausethere are environmental consequences of the bitumen goinginto the tailings. So in a nutshell, our project is aimed atrecovering two things: the valuable heavy minerals and aportion of that lost bitumen.”


by Marlene Eisner

Research project to capture valuable minerals from oil sands tailings and reduce emissions intensity

Although still in the research stage, the implications ofthe project are far-reaching for Nelson’s company, the min-ing industry as well as for the environment. Titanium andzircon are two harmless, inert heavy minerals that are usedin a variety of industries. Most of the world’s titanium isused to create the pigment in paint, but it is also used inmetals in aviation, golf clubs and can even be found intoothpaste. Zircon, which is another type of sand, is a veryhard substance. Sixty per cent of the world’s zircon is usedto make ceramic tiles and porcelain fixtures, but can also befound used in nuclear plants, TV and computer screens, anddental appliances.

For Nelson, the project is about creating new sources ofvaluable resources from already mined sites and gaining envi-ronmentally as well as economically. “This means there ispotential for a new source of heavy minerals up in northernCanada that you don’t have to mine,” he said. “Developmentof new technology will reprocess an otherwise discountedwaste product, adding value to the bitumen resource and pro-viding a number of environmental benefits such as reducedcarbon dioxide emissions and smaller disposal areas.”

A long-term project, Nelson said the goal is for the pilotingprojects, along with the research and testing, to provide posi-tive results so that eventually, larger facilities can be built. “Weare at an R&D stage and we have been doing this for three orfour years. Step one was building a pilot research facility inRegina to develop technology. Step two was putting a pilotfacility right on the site to hook onto the tailings line to start toprocess tailings and further develop technology, and now stepthree is to do more research into recovering the bitumen. Onceyou’ve done your research and enough testing at lab scale andidentified something you can pilot onsite, you hope you’rethen in a position to say ‘okay we have this all figured out.’Then, you can move ahead to build a larger facility.”

Nelson said government interest and funding into researchand development is integral to the industry discovering newtechnologies to recover resources.

“I am very pleased that the government of Alberta hasagreed to provide such significant support for this project.Development of new technology that will reprocess an oth-erwise discounted waste product will add value to the bitu-men resource and provide a number of environmental ben-efits such as reduced carbon dioxide emissions and smallerdisposal areas.”

The $200 million Energy Innovation Fund is a cross-min-istry initiative that supports Alberta’s Integrated EnergyVision to build on world-class knowledge, expertise andleadership and responsibly develop our vast energy resourcesfor the benefit of current and future generations. CIM


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To apply for the above positions or for additional company information, please visit our website at:

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news

A South African-based firmof marine engineers, Marineand Mineral Projects (MMP),is currently researching thepossibility of adapting theirexisting underwater crawlertechnology — currently beingused by De Beers for marinediamond mining — for lake-based mining applications inCanada.

According to RodneyNorman, the managing direc-tor of MMP, the idea is still verymuch in its infancy and thecompany still needs to researchit in depth, looking at variousaspects such as the environment,geology, climate, position of eachmine, viability and so forth.

“We believe that it may be fairlysimple to develop and enhance ourcurrent marine diamond mining tech-nology to mine the bottom of a lakewithout having to drain the water,”said Norman. “This would mean nolonger having to build huge dykes atvast expense or having to disrupt alake’s ecosystem. Currently, as weunderstand it, the mining of lake-based deposits involves the construc-tion of massive concrete and stonedykes around the site. The area of lakewithin the dykes is then pumped dryto allow access to the lakebed.”

In other instances, entire lakes aredrained to access the mineral-richdeposits hidden beneath their depths.An example of this is Steep Rock Lake

in northwestern Ontario, whichrequired the dewatering of the lake(which had a surface area of over 13square kilometres), the diversion of amajor river system, the lowering ofnearby Finlayson Lake by 12 metres,and the largest dredging project ever tobe undertaken in Canada.

“Understandably,” said Norman,“the process of building these hugedykes and/or draining the lake isvastly expensive and time-consum-ing, plus this method of mining has afairly large environmental impact onthe area while the mine is in opera-tion, with additional expense to reha-bilitate an area once mining activitieshave ceased.”

MMP’s current marine technologyconsists of a 240-tonne, remote-oper-ated underwater crawler that isequipped to cut into the ocean bed

and vacuum up the diamon-diferous material, which isthen pumped to the plantthrough a 650 millimetreinternal diameter rubber hoseusing a 2.4 MW pumping sys-tem. A 500 KW hydraulicpower pack powers the sys-tems on the crawler.

“The crawler is controlledby a pilot and a co-pilot whoscrutinize its progress througha system of 12 computer mon-itors that provide readings onoil and water levels, pressuresand temperatures,” explainedNorman. “Plus, the pilots see a

virtual animation of the movements ofthe crawler, the seabed and the miningprocess.”

According to Norman, one crawlerunit is capable of extracting approxi-mately four million tonnes of producta year. “We asked ourselves if it is pos-sible to mine the bottom of the oceanwith this technology, then why not thebottom of a lake,” said Norman. “Anylake-based deposits can potentially bemined using the crawler technology,so this adaptation possibly applies touranium, zinc, gold, copper, nickeland so on.”

Although Norman reiterated thatthis project is still very much just anidea at this stage and requires moreresearch to take it further, he said thatMMP is very excited by the prospect,as it has the potential to greatly assistand enhance the industry. CIM


MMP launching crawler in Africa

Moving on upPeter Edmunds has been appointed to the post of vice president, global strate-

gic customers for Atlas Copco. “Peter has a background ideally suited to thisrole,” said Bjorn Rosengren, business area president of Atlas Copco CMT inSweden, in the official appointment notice, adding, “He has more than 36 yearsof Atlas Copco experience, having had various marketing and management posi-tions across Canada and around the world.” In 2006 Edmunds was awarded theCIM Distinguished Service Medal, in recognition of his outstanding contributionto the organization and the mining industry as a whole.

Potential new technology for Canadian lake-based mining


news

VanSomeren, director of marketingand sales, surface mining, MichelinEarthmover Tires. “We are veryencouraged by the entries that wereceived. The mining industry cer-

tainly has a bright future because ofstudents like these, and Michelin iscommitted to supporting the educa-tion of the next generation of miningengineers and professionals.” CIM

June/July 2008 | 13

Michelin essay contest winners

North American Construction Group is the premier provider of mining, heavy construction,piling and pipeline services in Western Canada.

WE’RE MORE THAN JUST BIG EQUIPMENT.Our difference is in our unique talent and knowledge, combined with an unmatched history of over 50 years as an industry leader.

Two mining engineering studentswere recently awarded scholarships aspart of Michelin’s 2007 Mining EssayContest. The first-place honours and$5,000 scholarship went to Jon Warner,a junior in the mining engineering pro-gram at the University of Utah. The firstrunner-up was Daniel Marsh, a juniorstudying mining engineering at theUniversity of Arizona, who was awardeda $3,000 scholarship. Both studentsrecently received their honours, whichincluded an engraved plaque, on theirrespective college campuses.

Experts from the mining industryselected the winners from amongdozens of applicants. Judging was basedon how well each essay addressed thetopic: “Discuss the requirements andimportance of reclamation, as well asestablishing and maintaining environ-mentally friendly processes throughoutthe life of a mining operation withoutdiminishing productivity. What stepscan be taken in different geographicregions to return land to usefulness?”

Essays were also judged on creativ-ity, originality and how well the essaycommunicated the student’s thoughts.The contest, which is in its third year,received entries from students at 13colleges and universities throughoutNorth America.

“The Michelin Mining EssayContest is designed to give engineer-ing students throughout the UnitedStates and Canada the opportunity toaddress real-world challenges facingthe modern mining industry,” said Bill

Jon Warner and Clyde Sitterud from Michelin.


news


The Canadian EngineeringMemorial Foundation (CEMF)recently announced the winners of itsnational “Dream to be an Engineer”scholarships honouring the memoryof the 14 women who were killed inthe École Polytechnique massacre in

1989. The scholar-ship, offered in part-nership with AMEC,

seeks to encourage more Canadianwomen to pursue a career in engi-neering.

Joanne Bailey of Arnprior, Ontario,was the winner of the 2008 AMECMasters Scholarship in Engineeringworth $10,000, which also includessummer employment at an AMECoffice in Canada. Bailey is a mechani-cal engineering student at McMasterUniversity, where she is specializingin thermafluid sciences.

“Through Ms. Bailey’s involvementwith the FIRST Robotics program atlocal high schools, she sets an exam-ple for young women,” said MichaelJolliffe, a senior vice president withAMEC.

The winner of the 2008 AMEC Aboriginal UndergraduateScholarship was Deanna Burgart ofThunder Bay, Ontario. Burgart is athird-year engineering student atLakehead University, where she isstudying chemical engineering.

“With her energy and motivation,Ms. Burgart went from being a singlemother with no high school diplomato a university student who helps oth-ers through volunteering,” said Jolliffe.“Her commitment to stressing theimportance engineers have on societybrings forth a change in the way youngwomen perceive engineering.” CIM

Paving the way

Suncor Energy and the province ofAlberta recently signed an agreementfor the construction and maintenanceof a $55 million highway interchange25 kilometres north of Fort McMurray.Under the agreement, ownership willbe transferred to the province afterconstruction has been completed andall quality assurance inspections arepassed. The new Highway 63 infra-structure is expected to benefitemployees and trades people workingat Suncor’s existing and planned oper-ations, as well as other residents andindustry workers in the region.

“The new interchange will improvesafety for motorists and reduce con-gestion on Highway 63,” said KirkBailey, Suncor’s executive vice presi-dent. “But we’re not in the infrastruc-ture business, so it makes sense tohave the province own and maintainthe interchange.”

Suncor initiated plans for the inter-change as a means to improve highwaysafety during the construction andoperation of the company’s newupgrader, which is part of a planned$20.6 billion oil sands expansion.When complete, the interchange willalso link Suncor’s base plant on theeast side of Highway 63 to the newupgrader, as well as other planneddevelopments on the west side thatmay occur in the future.

Construction on the project isunderway and is expected to be com-pleted by December 2008. CIM

Canadian Engineering MemorialFoundation scholarship winners

by Angie Gordon

Joanne Bailey

AchievementsAMEC, an international engineering and project management company, wasawarded a platinum ranking in the “workplace” category and a gold ranking inthe “environment” category of the Business in the Community (BiTC)Corporate Responsibility index. This index provides a benchmark for compa-nies to evaluate their management practices in corporate responsibility withrespect to community, environment, marketplace and workplace, as well astheir performance across a range of other environmental and social impactareas.

macfactsTrucks carried $186 billion worth of exports in 2006,of which $20 billion (or 10.7 per cent) was base metals and articles of base metals.

Deanna Burgart


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news

How does an operation simultane-ously address lower limits on under-ground airborne diesel particulateand rising production, withoutincreasing ventilation? This was thechallenge faced by Stillwater MiningCompany — the only U.S. producerof palladium and platinum and thelargest primary producer of platinumgroup metals outside of South Africaand the Russian Federation — at theirStillwater mine located in Nye,Montana.

In their quest for cleaner air,Stillwater evaluated different technol-ogy and ore transport mechanisms,considering factors such as:• new lower MSHA underground

limits on airborne diesel particu-late;

• the difference in cost betweendiesel fuel and electrical power;

• speed of ore transport; • effects on ventilation demand; and• the total cost of shaft deepening.

When all factors were considered,their evaluation led them to select theKiruna electric truck system forunderground ore haulage. Part ofStillwater’s evaluation included a ref-erence site visit to Canada, where thetrucks have been running very suc-cessfully for several years in similarunderground mines. The companysubsequently purchased a fleet of 35-tonne K635ED electric trucks andpower system infrastructure fromABB Inc. (Canada).

The Kiruna truck system wasdeveloped in Sweden in 1958 by theKiruna Truck Company, with theelectrical design and system suppliedby ABB. In 1998, the mechanicaldesign was acquired by GIAIndustries located in Grängesberg,Sweden. Since that time, ABB andGIA have continued research anddevelopment on the Kiruna truckproducts. The original models sup-

Improving haulage performance while lowering environmental impact

plied in Canada were DC (direct cur-rent), many of which are still in oper-ation. However, the current modelsare all AC (alternating current), andare available in 35-tonne or 50-tonneore haulage capacity.

With extensive production anddevelopment areas below the exist-ing production shaft of theStillwater mine, the fleet of 35-tonne AC electric trucks will serveas primary movers to transportmaterial from the deeper mineworkings to the shaft loading facil-ity. Development and constructionis underway on a dedicated ramphaulage system and undergroundmaintenance facilities, designedspecifically for the AC Kiruna elec-

tric truck and its special attributes.For example, these trucks regener-ate power back to the overhead elec-trical power trolley line while travel-ling down the ramp. This dynamicbraking feature provides an addi-tional energy efficiency benefit. Thefirst 5,300 foot ramp segment willbe commissioned for use in mid-2009. Subsequent ramp segmentswill be completed in future years.

Stanford T. Foy, Stillwater’s technical services manager, said,“Implementation of the Kiruna sys-tem at Stillwater will allow us toreach our long-term production goalsand provide a flexible operating sys-tem that is within our current operat-ing and capital constraints.” CIM


Kiruna K635ED electric truck

AchievementsKirkland Lake Gold recently won two safety awards. The first, the Angus D.Campbell Award, is presented annually to the company operating in northeastOntario with the lowest frequency of accidents. The Robert E. Dye trophy isawarded to the company with the lowest medical aid injury frequency. This isthe first year this trophy has been presented.


December 2008, the CMHF will beopening a new multimedia exhibit atthe Royal Ontario Museum inToronto. CIM

news

June/July 2008 | 17

The Canadian Mining Hall of Fame(CMHF) recently issued its annual callfor nomination of inductees. A dinnerand ceremony celebrating theinductees’ outstanding lifetime achieve-ments to the benefit of the Canadianminerals industry will take place onJanuary 15, 2009, in what has becomeone of the most anticipated annualsocial highlights of the mining industry.They will join the 135 remarkableachievers who have been inductedsince the CMHF’s inception in 1989.

Nominations can be made by indi-viduals, firms and organizations,however must be channeled throughsponsors or associate sponsors of theCMHF. Sponsors include: theCanadian Institute of Mining,Metallurgy and Petroleum, theMining Association of Canada, TheNorthern Miner and the Prospectorsand Developers Association ofCanada. Associate sponsors includethe British Columbia, Ontario,Quebec and Saskatchewan miningassociations and the Association for Mineral Exploration BritishColumbia. The deadline for the spon-soring organization to submit a nom-ination is July 18, 2008. Nominationsmust include specific informationdescribed in the CMHF’s criteria andnomination guidelines, available atwww.halloffame.mining.ca.

The CMHF currently features itsinductees at two locations:

Canadian Mining Hall of Fame call for nominations

University of Toronto’s MiningBuilding and the Mining Museum inthe Lester B. Pearson Civic Centre inElliot Lake in northern Ontario. In

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We Know Mining

Moving on upAnglo American plc recentlyannounced a number of seniormanagement appointments. IanCockerill was appointed CEO ofAnglo Coal, Norman Mbazima asCEO of Scaw Metals, and DuncanWanblad has been appointed CEOof copper in the Base Metals divi-sion of Anglo American.


June/July 2008 | 19

moving in mines

Many of the world’s raw material deposits arelocated in remote and very often inhospitablelocations, presenting complex logistical challenges

for mining operations. Devising an economically viableway to get the necessary people and equipment in andthe resulting product out is crucial to achieving opera-tional profitability.

Such was the challenge for the individuals charged withfinding a way to access the diamond deposits in the farthestreaches of Canada’s Northwest Territories and riches in goldburied deep in the jungles of the Republic of Suriname.Although the logistical, engineering and climatic environ-ments couldn’t be more dissimilar, they both called for inge-nuity, forbearance and a very healthy respect for the power ofMother Nature.

Tibbitt to Contwoy Winter RoadDiamonds in the rough

The discovery of diamonds in Canada’s NorthwestTerritories in the early 1990s sparked a modern-day goldrush. However, it quickly became apparent that these dia-monds were certainly no “easy pickings.” It would necessi-tate creating all the facilities and infrastructure required toexcavate and process these valuable deposits from openpit and underground mines — not exactly an easy taskwhen situated more than 100 kilometres north of the tree line.

One of the key factors to the viability of the northern min-ing industry has been the creation of what is reputed to bethe world’s longest heavy haul ice road. Built over frozen lakesconnected by 64 portages, the 600-kilometre Tibbitt toContwoy Winter Road (TCWR) traverses some of the most for-bidding landscape imaginable, to serve as the main supplyroad for four diamond mines and numerous mineral explo-ration projects. A record 11,000 truckloads or 330,002 tonnesof fuel, ammonium nitrate (prill), equipment, cement andother supplies were delivered via the ice road in 2007, whilein this past road season (2008), 7,484 loads or 245,585 tonneswere hauled north.

A joint venture between BHP Billiton Diamonds Inc. andDiavik Diamond Mines Inc. holds the license to build theTCWR each year. Since 1998, the joint venture has contractedNuna Logistics Limited (Nuna) to construct and maintain theroad. The individual mines — including EKATI, Diavik, Jerichoand Snap Lake — then contract various trucking companiesto haul freight up this road.

According to John Zigarlick, chairman of Nuna, using anoutside contractor was essential to the project. Zigarlick, whowas the president of Echo Bay Mines for 16 years, was thevisionary behind the winter road and has been involved withits evolution for the past 26 years. “The joint venture didn’twant hauling companies building the road because theyhave an incentive to haul as much as they can, whereas ourtop priority is safety,” he explained.“We don’t have that inter-

The logistical challenges of remote mining operationsby Angie Gordon

Tibbitt to Contwoy Winter Road

nal pressure to get morevolume across.” Zigarlicksaid that they employthree crews to performthousands of groundpenetration radar tests todetermine ice thickness.

Safety firstThe importance of ice

profiling to ensure roadsafety is key, reiteratedErik Madsen, the directorof winter road operationsfor the joint venture.

Integral to this objec-tive is the use of ex-mili-tary vehicles calledHagglunds, the firstpieces of equipment put on the southern portion of the ice,which is the last to freeze over. “The Hagglunds require 12inches of ice to sustain their weight, but they’re amphibious,so if they happen to break through the ice they will float,allowing the operators to get out,” explained Madsen. Theytravel along the historical route of the road clearing or push-ing the snow down while using ground-penetrating radar tocontinuously measure ice thickness. “That way, we can getflood crews out to the areas where the ice is thinner, drillholes and conduct focused flooding to build up the ice,” heexplained.

Once the profiles indicate that the ice reaches a thicknessof 16 inches, snow cats are able to get out and clear thesnow faster along the route. Surprisingly, Madsen said thatone of the biggest challenges is not actually building theroad, but keeping the snow off of it.“Snow acts as an insula-tor and doesn’t allow the air to get at the ice to build it,” heexplained. As the ice becomes thicker, progressively heavierequipment is allowed on the road. All of this equipmentnecessary to build the road is land-locked year-round atthree camps strategically located along the route. A thick-

ness of 28 inches is gen-erally attained aroundthe beginning ofFebruary, at which pointhauling activity cansafely begin.

“Crews” control Crews at these camps

work 12-hour shifts, 24hours a day, from themiddle of Decemberuntil the end of March.Approximately 160 peo-ple are employed towork on the road, includ-ing security personnel.Another logistical chal-lenge arises from the fact

that these jobs are essentially seasonal. Zigarlick said that oneof the ways they’ve addressed this issue is by targeting work-ers in fields such as farming and construction, which enjoytheir peak season in the summer. “We’ve got lots of guyswho’ve been coming back year after year for 15 or 20 years,”he said.“This significantly cuts down on training costs.”

However, Zigarlick pointed out that something as basicas crew rotations on the winter road can pose operationalchallenges with significant financial implications. “Whenyou have a shift change, typically the outbound crew is get-ting ready in the morning to take the plane that arrives atabout 11:00 a.m.,” he explained. “Then, by the time theinbound crew gets settled and out to the vehicles, it couldbe 2:00 or 3:00 p.m. Meanwhile, you’ve got a massive fleetof equipment that’s just sitting there idling in 30 to 40degree below zero temperatures, burning fuel for up toeight or nine hours.” One way that Nuna addressed thisissue was by alternating schedules of “three weeks in/oneweek out” and “three weeks in/two weeks out,” instead ofthe more typical two in/two out, Zigarlick added. Thismeans fewer shifts and easier schedulling, as well as having


moving in mines

Focused flooding

Hagglunds are integral to profiling the ice. A thickness of 71 centimetres is required for heavy loads.

moving in mines

June/July 2008 | 21

the added bonus of spreading out the inflow of income forthe worker.

The road less travelledAlthough the ice road has been reconstructed for the last

26 years, Madsen explained that every year they must basi-cally build a new road, and even design some new routes. Inaddition to the 600 kilometres of main road, Nuna also con-structs alternate lanes over especially problematic routes andapproximately 250 kilometres of express lanes.These are usedprimarily for south-bound empty truck trips when the loadsare significantly lighter and trucks are allowed to travel60 kilometres per hour. This can be an important time-saverwhen one considers that the maximum speed permitted onthe main road northbound is just 25 kilometres per hour (lessthen a school zone speed) — a limit that is strictly enforcedby security hired by the joint venture.

“When these trucks are hauling they bend the ice andcause waves underneath,” said Madsen. “The faster they go,the larger the waves until you hit a critical point where youcan blow out the ice.”

Zigarlick said that many of the ice road truckers refer toMcKay Lake — a particularly long and desolate expanse — asa “two-movie lake,” because that’s how many films they’reable to watch during the slow drive across it.“It’s certainly notlike the History Channel portrays it,”he continued, making ref-erence to the sensational Ice Road Truckers television seriesthat often portrays these truckers as modern-day daredevilsand frequently features shocking ice breakthroughs. “They’retrying to make something seem sensational that really isn’t;it’s tough, lonely, hard work.”

He also pointed out that it’s expensive.“The cost of movingthings on an ice road is about three times more than on aconventional highway, and this is primarily because of thespeed allowance.”

The creation of the express lanes is just one of the innova-tions introduced over time to make the ice road more effi-cient, without compromising safety.“Every year we learn fromthe road,”said Madsen.“For example, through aerial helicoptersurveys in the summer we’ve identified shallow spots in somelakes where reefs were located, which has resulted in changesto route alignments and created two, and in some instancesthree, alternate routes that can be used when the primaryroute is compromised.

“This road is only as good as its weakest link,” he said.“So, when you’re talking about a 600 kilometre road, if youhave one segment that’s weak, it can shut down thewhole thing.”

Global “warning” Another change in operating procedure came compli-

ments of the winter of 2005-06 — one of the warmest onrecord and one of the shortest operating seasons ever for theTCWR.“While it was an anomaly, it forced us to look at how wecould do things differently in the future to minimize theimpacts,”said Madsen.“We determined that we had to get thesnow off the ice earlier. Prior to that winter, initial crews went

on the ice at the end of December. For the past two yearswe’ve started almost two weeks earlier.”

The ability to get heavier loads on the ice earlier can rep-resent millions of dollars to the mining companies. Still, bothZigarlick and Madsen reiterated that compromising safety isnever an option.“The management group has a saying,” saidZigarlick.“Don’t send anybody to any place that you wouldn’tbe willing to go yourself.”

Rosebel MineGoing to extremes

The Rosebel mine is located in the Republic of Suriname(formerly Dutch Guyana), which is sandwiched betweenBritish Guyana and French Guyana. IAMGOLD owns a 95 percent interest in the mine, with the remaining five per centowned by the Republic of Suriname.Located deep in a jungle,105 kilometres away from the nearest city of Paramaribo, itproduced 276,740 ounces of gold in 2007.

Cutting through the red tapeDespite the rather obvious challenges that this remote

jungle location would pose, the mine’s procurement andlogistics superintendent Ravi Samaroo said that red tape,rather than lack of roadways and infrastructure, posed thegreatest logistical obstacles. “From the very beginning it wasvery complicated,” he said.“The mineral agreement had to bepassed in the National Assembly. Not only did the ruling partyand their experts have to look at it, but the opposition alsohad the right to bring in their experts to scrutinize the agree-ment as well.”

Samaroo observed that such proceedings are typicallymuch easier in developed countries that historically haveexperience with mining. “We were basically the first largegold mining operation in the country,” he recalled. “Therewere absolutely no mining laws in place and people reallyhad no idea of what the mining would involve. Also, becausewe were located close to several villages, they were verynervous about what it would mean to their way of life.”

Rosebel mine’s cyanide convoys are handled by personnel trained in emergencyresponse and accompanied by the Surinamese police.

Samaroo said that community outreach and education were,and remain, key.

Build it and they will comeIn the 105 kilometre stretch between the city of

Paramaribo and the Rosebel mine there are 25 kilometres ofpaved roads. The remainder is comprised of a laterite all-weather roadway. Samaroo admitted that the roadway posesa very big challenge, as the company is solely responsible forits construction and maintenance and yet there are no con-trols in place. “Anybody can use those roads,” he explained.”There are no weight restrictions in place so you regularlyhave overloaded logging trucks traversing the roads anddestroying them.” On top of which, heavy rains and flashfloods might mean that one day you suddenly have to con-tend with a river where a roadway used to be. Samaroo saidthat the company spends approximately US$30,000 permonth just on road maintenance.

Material worldAdditional red tape was encountered as a result of the

nature of some of the materials that were necessary for themining and processing of the gold deposits. “The authori-ties never had to deal with some of the cargo and materialsthat we were bringing in,” recalled Samaroo. Especiallyproblematic were the chemicals. “They had no real under-standing of things like cyanide, quick lime and nitric acid. Ifyou bring a truck or a loading shovel into the country it’sone thing, but it’s quite another to bring in 200 tonnes ofcyanide. They get pretty nervous about that, especially inlight of Guyana’s experience with the Jonestown massacre,”

he said, referring to the 1978 incident in which a cyanide-laced concoction played a role in the deaths of more than900 individuals.

Because there were absolutely no regulations in place, itrequired starting at square one, working with the customsdepartment to develop rules and procedures, including train-ing local authorities in emergency response. “I think that theprocedures we’ve implemented will probably be the basis forany mining company coming into this country,” observedSamaroo. “They’re in place, they’re working and the authori-ties like them.”

Shipping news IAMGOLD creatively addressed the authorities’ concerns

about chemicals being transported through the city byobtaining permission to have one of the local companiesbuild a wharf outside it, about 25 kilometres up the SurinameRiver. “Now we have a facility with our own dock where wecan offload our cargo,” Samaroo explained.

Still, because the Rosebel operation buys its chemicalsfrom the United States, accessing them proved another logis-tical obstacle, as Suriname maintains a strong allegiance toHolland.The company solved the problem by chartering theirown ocean carrier — one of only three that travel betweenthe United States and Suriname.“Every 14 days we have a ves-sel coming in here,” explained Samaroo. “What’s happeningnow is that many local companies are piggybacking on thatvessel because it’s become an established route.” He expectsthat shipping will pose more of a challenge over time, as theChinese continue to take increasingly more shippingresources off the market.

The road aheadWhile Zigarlick, Madsen and

Samaroo acknowledge that theirrespective jobs are not exactlyeasy, they are all clearly rewarding.Modern technology such as cellphones, GPS and computers haveimproved communicationsimmensely and mitigated some ofthe previous “surprises,” but noneforget who is ultimately at thewheel.

“Mother Nature does somepretty funny things to ice, espe-cially in the opening of the sea-son,” said Zigarlick. “The trick isbeing prepared — expecting theunexpected.” Samaroo agreedobserving, “It’s a complicatedprocess, and when you have thewheel well oiled it goes prettysmoothly. But I’ve been in this busi-ness for 15 years and each day stillbrings new challenges.” CIM


moving in mines

Offloading cyanide at Rosebel’s dock.

June/July 2008 | 23

moving in mines

Genesee mine’s dragline relocation project by Dan Zlotnikov

The planningThe original decision to move the dragline was made years

back and was part of the mine’s 10-year plan, explainedMartens. The original excavation site, mined since 1988, wasbeing depleted, which meant moving operations from theeast side of the highway to the west side, to enable excava-tion on the new seams.

“We have lots of experience moving heavy equipment,”said Martens, so the technical challenges of the move werepart of standard operations. But the process was slowed bythe presence of a 13-inch, high-pressure gas pipeline. Buried1.5 metres underground, it parallelled a highway that servedas a major artery for the local community and industry.Walking the dragline across the highway required precau-tionary measures in place to protect the road, the public, andthe power and gas lines.

“We went to ATCO Gas, who owned the pipeline and theright of way, and asked if we could have the gas shut off forthe duration of the move,”recalled Martens. ”But we were toldthat the pipeline was supplying not just our power plant but

The logistics of moving mining equipment can be stag-geringly complicated. No matter how much engineer-ing ingenuity you have at your disposal, some things

just can’t be folded for easy transportation. The colossalworld of mining — where oversized machinery is common-place — is full of such challenges. Nevertheless, the heavymachinery does make it to its destination, and the work con-tinues apace.

But there’s large, and then there’s 8.5 million pounds’worthof large. This happened to be the weight of the draglinePrairie Mines and Royalties, Ltd. needed to move at itsGenesee mine site. A dragline is a machine used for strippingthe overburden from coal.

“People can’t really comprehend what 8.5 million poundsmeans,” said Genesee mine’s engineering manager KenMartens. There’s simply nothing a person encounters in dailylife that’s this massive. For comparison’s sake, Martens offeredthe example of a Boeing 747 jet, which clocks in at a measly380,000 pounds. You’d need about 22 of them (or 607 schoolbusses) to equal the weight of the dragline.

Prairie Mines’ Marion M8200 dragline weighs in at a whopping 8.5 million pounds.


moving in mines

also a number of plants downstream, as well as thelocal residents, and had to stay on.”

With such a tremendous weight travelling over-head, the danger of a pipe rupture was too great, soany proposal for the move had to demonstrate beyondany doubt that the project could be completed safely.

The designGenesee contracted Golder Associates, a geotech-

nical engineering firm out of Calgary, to produce theproject proposal. “Due to the nature of our work, weare very experienced with moving large amounts ofmaterial,” said Martens. “So we asked them initiallyhow much competent overburden material we’dneed to put on top of the existing surface to spreadthe weight safely. They came back with a figure ofbetween five and seven metres, so that was out of thequestion.”

Golder went back to the drawing board, andreturned with a new design. The revised plan entailedcovering the pipeline with 2.4 metres of overburdenin combination with rig mats — common reusablesurfaces used in the oil and gas industry.

“These rig mats are steel I-Beam frames in-filled withlaminated six-inch lumber,” explained Martens. Theyare often used to get heavy machinery over muddy orswampy terrain. Still, the rig mats themselves could notspread the weight sufficiently, so the pipeline had to beexposed and essentially bridged with the mats.

“We used a hydrovaccing technique,” said Martens,“where a high-pressure water jet is used to break upthe soil and a truck-mounted industrial vacuum sucksup the mud.”This technique exposed the pipeline for alength of 90 metres, and the resulting void was filledwith a compressible material to keep the trench sidesfrom collapsing under the dragline’s weight.The mate-rial — essentially packing foam — did not quite reachthe surface of the trench, which meant any weightpressing onto the rig mats would be kept off thepipeline itself.

“The dragline was operating inside a pit that wasroughly 15 metres below ground surface,” explainedMartens.“It had to be brought up from the first pit andthen ramped down into its new operating position.Technically, that was a bigger challenge for us than thecrossing.”

The challengesDespite the logistical obstacles, Martens said that

the biggest challenge wasn’t the technical aspect ofthe move, but rather the legal process. Ensuring that allstakeholders were satisfied with the plan took quite along time.

“The other concern was with our insurer, andwhether we’d need to pay extra for the coverage ofthe move,” added Martens. The worst-case scenario,against which the mine had to be insured, paints a

Hydrovaccing line: A hydrovaccing technique wasused to break up the soil around the pipeline.

June/July 2008 | 25

moving in mines

grim picture to besure. This would entailthe dragline rupturingthe pipe and causingthe gas to ignite dur-ing the crossing. Theresult would be a sev-ered gas supply notonly to the powerplant and a number ofother industrial facili-ties, but also to thelocal residents, whowould have to con-tend with Alberta’s -30°C February tem-peratures. Worse yet,the dragline’s weightwould have meantthat it could not bemoved until any firedamage had beenrepaired. Its sizewould have effectively shut down the highway.

“This would also have created concern about us beingable to meet our coal production commitments due todecreased excavating capacity,” added Martens.

With this highly unlikely, but potentially disastrous, sce-nario in mind, the engineering team was especially careful toensure the crossing was performed safely.

The crossingOnce the plans were laid, double-checked and approved,

the crossing itself was almost speedy — not a phrase nor-mally applied to a machine that moves at eight feet perminute. The dragline had been carefully schedulled over theprevious months so as to position it as close as possible to thecrossing point. It was inspected and shut down at 7 p.m. onFriday, February 22 of this year, at which time the highway wasclosed and the process began. The closure had been adver-tised in local publications and detour signs posted a weekahead of the move.

“Once it started walking, the dragline was over the high-way and out of swing radius within an hour and a half,” saidMartens. The entire process — which included building theprotective layer over the highway, lowering the overheadpower lines and then reversing the process after the draglinehad crossed — only lasted 36 hours. The M8200 was back inoperation by Sunday.

The lessonsIf there’s one lesson to be taken away from this project, it is

how to properly plan a major machinery move. “Peoplealways talk about ‘safety first,’ and this was just such a situa-tion,”said Martens.“We probably had more safety precautionsthan were strictly necessary, but the cost, when compared tothe potential consequences of an accident, was negligible.”

The mine’s 20-year-long record of zerotime-lost accidentsremained unbroken.

The dragline — a“mere” MarionM8200 — is one oftwo that PrairieMines operates atthe site. The biggersibling is an M8750,which sits atroughly 15 millionpounds. It is notschedulled to movein the current ten-year plan, thoughMartens did not dis-miss it as an even-tual possibility.

Whatever thefuture holds for thedraglines, the lessons

learned from the Genesee crossing have shown that addi-tional moves can be flawlessly executed with the properplans in place. CIM

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The Instant Solution

MEP-Pub Solution v2.qxd 02/06/2008 11:30 Page 1

“People can’t really comprehendwhat 8.5 million pounds means.”

— K. Martens

Gas line mats

California is experiencing some growing pains.Various factors such as population growth, large-scale infrastructure projects and earthquake rein-

forcement programs make it the second-largest consumerof construction aggregates in the United States (Texas isthe largest). However, sharp declines in locally availableaggregates and intense opposition to the permitting ofnew quarries near major urban markets have translatedinto increasing shortages of these critical constructionmaterials.

In an effort to satisfy this growing demand, Polaris MineralsCorporation, which owns a majority interest in the OrcaQuarry, a large sand-and-gravel operation near Port McNeillon the northern portion of Vancouver Island, faced a big chal-lenge: how to transport its low-value product to distant cus-tomers in an economically viable manner.

Polaris, a publicly traded Canadian company, solved thisproblem by mastering the efficient production and move-ment of large volumes of sand and gravel. The company’scomplicated but efficient logistical chain combines a modern

quarry operation with self-unloading bulk carriers, to expertlydeliver construction aggregates to a growing roster of cus-tomers in cities on the western seaboard of North America,including Vancouver, San Francisco and Honolulu.

The Orca QuarryThe Orca Quarry is owned 88 per cent by Polaris and 12

per cent by the Namgis First Nation. It hosts a reserve of 134million tons of high-quality sand and gravel — only 12 percent of the deposit is oversized and requires crushing. Thequarry is permitted to produce 6.6 million tons annually andis located 1.6 kilometres from a deep and navigable water-way. Polaris began operations in February 2007 and pro-duced 1.4 million tons that year. The company estimatesthat the quarry will ship increasingly larger amounts in thecoming years as the quarry approaches its permitted pro-duction level.

“These materials are traditionally trucked to customers;however, we are able to compete effectively through the effi-cient utilization of bulk ocean-going carriers,” said Herb

Delivering construction aggregates to eager customers on the western seaboardby Mike Westerlund

June/July 2008 | 27

moving in mines

CSL Acadian carrying Orca Quarry sand and gravel into San Francisco.

Wilson, COO of Polaris Minerals Corporation. “We havebecome a logistics company and a quarrying company.”

Wilson said while the devil is in the details, when it comesto moving aggregate products to customers in coastal NorthAmerican cities, the results speak for themselves. “During my35 years in the quarrying business I have never witnessedsuch a fast and smooth ramp-up as we are achieving at theOrca Quarry,” said Wilson, adding that the team at the quarrydeserves much of the credit.

OperationsOperations at the Orca Quarry begin with the efficient

extraction of raw material. Rather than use a traditional loaderand haul-truck combination, three Caterpillar 637G scrapers areused for both primary loading and hauling. This is a rare appli-cation for these machines, but it’s the most efficient method ofharvesting the loosely consolidated, boulder-free material. Thescrapers add operational benefits by blending the material asthey harvest along the active face of the deposit.

The quarry’s state-of-the-art processing plant wasdesigned on a turnkey basis by Metso Minerals. During theentire plant process, the material travels by conveyor, elimi-nating the need for trucks or loaders to transfer the materialbetween processing stages.

Each of the four finished product stockpiles — two forsand, one each for coarse and fine gravel — have about150,000 tons gross and 50,000 tons live capacity. This ensuressufficient inventory for rapid ship or barge loading. Sand andgravel from the stockpiles is conveyed to bulk carriers by a5,000-ton-per-hour conveyor and shiploader system. Thequadrant-beam shiploader is able to load an 80,000-ton bulkcarrier in less than 24 hours. In fact, the quarry set a record forCSL International, the operator of the world’s largest fleet ofrapid self-unloading freighters, when it loaded one of its shipsin just 17 hours.

TransportationThe long-distance shipment of low-value bulk products

such as aggregates requires cost-effective transportationmethods. Economies of scale are imperative. Polaris elected touse Panamax-class rapid self-unloading bulk carriers, whichare the largest and most efficient delivery option. The shipsoffer numerous benefits, including low transportation costs,less energy per ton of cargo and a reduction in harmfulgreenhouse gases.

“By shipping in bulk carriers, we are removing millions oftruck-miles from the roads in California each year,“ saidWilson. “By doing so, we help alleviate the issues of trafficcongestion and harmful tailpipe emissions in our cus-tomers’ cities.”

CSL International is shipping sand and gravel from theOrca Quarry under multi-year contracts of affreightment thatprovide Polaris with distribution certainty at a time whenworld shipping markets are highly volatile.

CSL’s reliable and cost-effective rapid self-discharge shipsare a vital link in the logistical chain. Once loaded with 80,000tons of sand and gravel for the three-day trip to San


moving in mines

Top row, from left: Loaded barge on the way to Vancouver; Stacker conveyor at night;The self-unloading boom moves aside to enable loading.Bottom left: Tractor scrapers efficiently collect loosely consolidated material.Bottom right: High-speed overhead conveyor in the Richmond terminal.

Francisco, the fully laden ship draws about 14 metres ofwater. However, San Francisco Bay has only shallow-waterports available for bulk cargos and cannot accommodatethese fully laden ships.

To overcome this challenge, Polaris partially offloads theCSL vessels at a deepwater anchorage onto barges using theship’s self-unloading equipment. This lessens the draft of theship so it can move into the shallow-water terminals where itdischarges the remaining cargo at a rate of up to 5,000 tonsper hour.

Storage and distributionThe aggregate receiving, storage and distribution termi-

nals are critical elements in the logistical chain that links theOrca Quarry to customers in Maritime urban areas. “Thesecoastal facilities become virtual quarries in the heart of ourmarkets where the ships meet the trucks that distribute ourconstruction aggregates to the end users,” said Wilson.“Eachtime Polaris secures access to a terminal, it establishes a basefor further business growth.”

Of the four terminals that Polaris currently supplies in SanFrancisco, the company-owned Richmond Terminal standsout as a state-of-the-art facility. Its high-speed overhead con-veyors can receive product from a Panamax freighter at itsmaximum unloading rate of 5,000 tons per hour, thus ensur-ing the ships spend a minimum amount of time unloadingtheir cargo. The enclosed terminal, which has the capacity tostore approximately 70,000 tons of sand and gravel, features arapid truck-loading facility.

Polaris completed construction of the Richmond Terminalin the fourth quarter of 2007, and in 2008 the company plansto add a second truck-loading bay so two trucks can beloaded simultaneously.

In addition to the competitive advantage provided by theCSL ships and Richmond Terminal, Polaris enjoys long-termsupply contracts with firms in the San Francisco Bay areacapable of receiving large quantities of material loaded intotheir barges or delivered directly to their land-based termi-

nals. Its 20-year supply contracts with Cemex and Shamrockwere unheard of several years ago, but are examples of longerterm supply contracts now sought by ready-mix companiesin response to the growing shortage of high-quality con-struction aggregates in the coastal urban centres.

The futureAs shortages of construction aggregates increase on the

West Coast, and concerns over traffic congestion, fuel pricesand greenhouse gas emissions heighten, Polaris is stronglypositioned to efficiently supply vast quantities of high-qualityaggregates to these resource-starved markets. By masteringthe efficient movement of a low-value product, Polaris is wellon the way to becoming a major force in the West Coastaggregates market.

Even though the company and its Orca Quarry haveproven highly effective,Wilson isn’t satisfied.“We will continueto improve operations, productivity and cost effectivenessover the long run as we grow our business,” he said. “Weexpect to bring our second quarry — a large granite resourcenear Port Alberni, also on Vancouver Island — on line in thenot too far distant future.” CIM

June/July 2008 | 29

moving in mines

De nombreux gisements miniers sont situés dans desendroits éloignés, souvent inhospitaliers. La décou-verte d’or dans la jungle ou de diamants dans le Grand

Nord témoigne déjà de la persévérance des chercheurs maisce n’est que le premier pas. Il faut entrer les gens et leséquipements et sortir le produit de manière rentable. Lesresponsables doivent donc faire preuve d’ingéniosité et d’ungrand respect pour Dame Nature.

Les diamants dans le NordLa découverte de diamants dans les Territoires du Nord-

Ouest au début des années 1990 a déclenché une ruéemoderne. Cependant, il est vite devenu apparent que ce neserait pas une cueillette facile. Toutes les infrastructuresdevaient être bâties pour extraire et traiter les minerais dansdes gisements situés à plus de 100 kilomètres au-delà de lalimite des arbres.

L’un des facteurs de viabilité de l’industrie minière dans leNord est la route de glace de Tibbitt à Contwoy; une route de600 kilomètres sur des lacs gelés.En 2007, un record de 11 000voyages de camion, soit 330 002 tonnes de carburant, denitrate d’ammonium, d’équipements et autres fournitures,ont été acheminés par cette route.

Une co-entreprise BHP Billiton Diamonds Inc. et DiavikDiamond Mines Inc. détient le permis de construire la route etNuna Logistics Limited (Nuna) a obtenu le contrat pour con-struire et entretenir cette route. John Zigarlick, président deNuna et ancien président de Echo Bay Mines, est le visionnaire

derrière la route; il la suit depuis 26 ans. « La co-entreprise nevoulait pas qu’une compagnie de transport construise laroute car l’emphase aurait été mise sur le volume transportéalors que notre plus grande priorité est la sécurité. » Troiséquipes effectuent des milliers d’essais géoradar pour déter-miner l’épaisseur de la glace.

« La détermination du profil de la glace est la clé pourassurer la sécurité routière » réitère Erik Madsen, le directeurde l’exploitation de la route d’hiver. Les premiers véhicules àutiliser la portion sud, la dernière à geler, sont des Hägglunds,des véhicules amphibies qui ne demandent que 12 poucesde glace pour soutenir leur poids. Ils voyagent le long de laroute pour la déneiger et constamment mesurer l’épaisseurde la glace. « Là où la glace est mince, des équipes sontenvoyées pour forer des trous et arroser la route pour en aug-menter l’épaisseur. »

Une fois que la glace a atteint une épaisseur de 16 pouces,les « snowcats » peuvent être utilisés pour déneiger plus rapi-dement. Ce déneigement est nécessaire car la neige agit entant qu’isolant et empêche l’air d’atteindre la glace pour l’é-paissir. Il faut généralement une épaisseur de 28 pouces pourcommencer à haler en toute sécurité.

La capacité de passer de lourdes charges le plus tôt possi-ble représente des millions de dollars pour les compagniesminières. Cependant, la sécurité n’est jamais compromise.

Environ 160 personnes travaillent à la route; mais, commeil s’agit d’emplois saisonniers d’hiver, on embauche des tra-vailleurs agricoles ou de la construction. « Nous avons des


ça bouge dans les mines

Camion sur la route d’hiver Tibbitt à Contwoy

gens qui reviennent depuis plus de 15 ans; cela diminue noscoûts de formation », ajoute M. Zigarlick.

Le simple changement d’équipe soulève de grands défis.« L’équipe qui sort se prépare le matin pour l’avion qui arrivevers 11 heures et il peut être 14 ou 15 heures avant quel’équipe qui arrive ne soit prête. Les équipements tournentdonc pour plusieurs heures à des températures de -30 à -40ºC. » Nuna a résolu ce problème en modifiant les horairespour qu’ils se chevauchent.

Bien que la route de glace soit reconstruite à tous les ans,c’est en fait une nouvelle route à chaque fois. Des voies sec-ondaires et environ 250 kilomètres de voies express sont aussiconstruites. Ces dernières sont réservées aux camions vides; lacharge est bien moins lourde et les camions peuvent attein-dre une vitesse de 60 km/h. Il s’agit d’économies importanteslorsque l’on sait que la vitesse maximale permise en directionnord n’est que 25 km/h – moins qu’une zone scolaire – unelimite rigoureusement appliquée par l’équipe de sécurité. Lescamionneurs appèlent le secteur du lac McKay le lac à deuxfilms. Ils ont en effet le temps de visionner deux films durantla longue et lente traversée.

« Lorsque les camions sont chargés, la glace plie et causedes vagues. Plus vous allez vite, plus les vagues sont ampli-fiées jusqu’à l’atteinte d’un point critique qui fait éclater laglace », explique M. Madsen et ajoute : « La route nousenseigne bien des choses. Grâce à des levés aériens au coursde l’été nous pouvons voir les endroits moins creux et plani-fier des options de tracé. Un seul segment faible sur les 600kilomètres peut faire fermer la route. »

L’or dans la jungleLa mine Rosebel est située dans la République du

Suriname; IAMGOLD en possède 95 % et l’autre 5 % est la pro-priété du pays. Elle est située dans la jungle, à 105 kilomètresde la ville la plus proche, Paramaribo; en 2006, cette mine aproduit 301 000 onces d’or.

Selon Ravi Samaroo, le surintendant de l’approvision-nement et de la logistique, les défis évidents de l’éloigne-ment et du manque d’infrastructures étaient moins difficiles

à surmonter que la bureaucratie. « L’entente devait êtreapprouvée par l’Assemblée nationale; le parti au pouvoir et leparti d’opposition avaient chacun leurs experts qui analy-saient l’entente. »

M. Samaroo observe que de telles procédures sont plusfaciles dans les pays développés qui ont l’expérience desmines. « Nous étions la première grande exploitationminière au pays. Il n’existait aucune loi des mines et lesgens ne savaient pas vraiment ce qui était impliqué. » Lasensibilisation et l’éducation étaient, et sont encore, desenjeux clés.

Sur la distance de 105 kilomètres entre la mine et la ville,seuls 25 kilomètres sont pavés; le reste est sur de la rochelatéritique. La compagnie dépense environ 30 000 $US parmois pour l’entretien, que ce soit à la suite de défoncementspar des camions chargés de bois, de pluies torrentielles ou decrues transformant la route en rivière.

D’autres lourdeurs administratives ont été rencontréesen raison de la nature de certains produits chimiques req-uis pour le traitement des minerais aurifères. « Ils ne com-prenaient pas vraiment le cyanure, la chaux vive et l’acidenitrique. Deux cents tonnes de cyanure les rendaient trèsnerveux, surtout après le massacre de Jonestown enGuyane, en 1978. Des réglementations et des procéduresd’intervention en cas d’urgence ont été implantées, inclu-ant la formation requise. »

Les inquiétudes concernant le transport de produits chim-iques à travers la ville ont aussi été réglées par la constructiond’un quai à environ 25 kilomètres en amont de la ville. Unautre obstacle logistique a été l’achat des produits chimiquesaux États-Unis alors que le Suriname maintient de fortesattaches avec la Hollande. La compagnie affrète donc sonpropre transporteur maritime.

Alors que MM. Zigarlick, Madsen et Samaroo reconnaissentque leur tâche n’est pas facile, ils reconnaissent aussi qu’elleest très intéressante. La technologie moderne avec les cellu-laires, les GPS et les ordinateurs ont grandement amélioré lescommunications et atténué des « surprises », mais c’estencore Dame Nature qui mène. CIM

June/July 2008 | 31


Chasse-neige Nuna Route de glace à deux voies



s’agit de poutres en « I » remplies de madriers laminés de 6pouces; elles servent au déplacement de la machinerie lourdesur des terrains boueux ou marécageux. Cependant elles nepouvaient répartir la charge adéquatement. Le pipeline adonc été découvert sur une distance de 90 mètres et lesplates-formes ont servi de pont par-dessus le pipeline.

Malgré tous les obstacles logistiques, le plus gros défi n’étaitpas l’aspect technique mais bien l’aspect légal. « Nos autrespréoccupations étaient les assurances et le besoin potentield’une couverture supplémentaire pour le déplacement », ajouteM.Martens.Selon le pire scénario – et contre lequel nous devionsêtre assurés – la pelle défonçait le pipeline et le gaz prenait feu.En plus de la fermeture de la route cela entraînerait un manquede combustible pour les résidences, alors qu’en Alberta les tem-pératures baissent à -30ºC en février. Il y avait aussi la question denos engagements à produire du charbon. Considérant ce scé-nario, peu probable mais potentiellement désastreux, l’équiped’ingénierie devait assurer une traversée sécuritaire.

Une fois tout vérifié, la traversée a été presque rapide – unterme rarement utilisé pour décrire une vitesse de 8 pieds parminute. La pelle a été inspectée puis fermée à 19 heures, levendredi 22 février, en même temps que la route. La traverséede la route proprement dite a duré une heure et demie. Leprocessus complet, avec la protection de la route, le retrait etla remise des lignes d’électricité n’a demandé que 36 heures.

« Nous avons appris à planifier le déménagementd’équipements énormes. Nous étions probablement plussécuritaires que strictement nécessaire, mais le coût était nég-ligeable par rapport aux conséquences d’un accident », dit M.Martens. « Notre record de 20 ans sans accident avec perte detemps est demeuré intact.» CIM

Déplacer des équipements miniers peut être extrême-ment compliqué en raison de leurs dimensionsdémesurées; ils ne se plient pas pour rangement facile.

La pelle à benne traînante de Prairie Mines and Royalties pèse8,5 millions de livres. Il est difficile de s’imaginer un tel poids.Un Boeing 747 ne pèse que 380 000 livres; il en faudrait 22pour égaler le poids de la pelle.

« La décision de déménager la pelle a été prise il y aquelques années; cela faisait partie de notre plan décennal »,explique Ken Martens, directeur de l’ingénierie pour la mineGenesee.Le site original d’extraction,exploité depuis 1988,étaitépuisé et il fallait déménager l’exploitation de l’autre côté de laroute, une artère principale, pour atteindre de nouveaux filons.

« Nous avons beaucoup d’expérience dans le déplace-ment d’équipements lourds », dit M. Martens. Cependant, leprocessus se trouvait compliqué par la présence d’unpipeline de gaz à haute pression enfoui à une profondeur de1,5 mètre. Traverser la route demandait des mesures de pro-tection extraordinaires.

« Nous avons demandé à ATCO Gas, propriétaire dupipeline, de fermer le gaz durant la traversée », dit M. Martens.« La compagnie nous a signalé que le pipeline desservaitplusieurs usines et résidences et qu’il ne pouvait être fermé. »Toute proposition de déplacement devait donc démontrersans l’ombre d’un doute qu’elle était sécuritaire.

Genesee a demandé à Golder Associés de calculer laquantité de matériel nécessaire pour étaler la charge. Il enaurait fallu de cinq à sept mètres d’épaisseur. Cette idée adonc été rejetée. Une nouvelle conception proposait 2,4mètres de matériel avec des plates-formes modulairesfréquemment utilisées dans l’industrie du gaz et du pétrole. Il

Réinstallation de la pelle à benne traînante de la mine Genesee

June/July 2008 | 33


La Californie vit actuellement une crise de croissance enraison de l’accroissement de la population,des méga-pro-jets d’infrastructures et des programmes de protection

parasismique. Cependant, le peu d’agrégats locaux et la forterésistance à l’ouverture de nouvelles carrières à proximité descentres urbains se traduisent par des pénuries de matériauxde construction.

Pour pallier cette demande, Polaris Minerals Corporation,qui détient les intérêts majoritaires (88 %) de la carrière desable et gravier Orca dans le nord de l’île de Vancouver, avaitun défi majeur : transporter, de manière rentable, un produit àfaible valeur économique à des clients éloignés.

La carrière Orca, située à 1,6 km d’une voie navigable, estaussi la propriété à 12 % de la Première Nation Namgis. Lesréserves sont de 134 millions de tonnes de sable et de gravierde haute qualité – seulement 12 % du gisement a besoin deconcassage. Elle a les permis requis pour extraire 6,6 millionsde tonnes annuellement.

« Ces matériaux sont généralement acheminés aux clientspar camion; pour être compétitifs, nous utilisons des vraquiersocéaniques à auto-déchargement », dit Herb Wilson, directeurde l’exploitation, Polaris Minerals Corporation.

L’exploitation commence par l’extraction efficiente de lamatière brute.Plutôt que d’utiliser les traditionnelles chargeusesfrontales et des camions, trois bennes-racleuses Caterpillar 637Gservent au chargement et au transport. C’est une applicationinhabituelle pour ces machines, mais c’est la méthode la plusefficace pour extraire ce matériau peu consolidé.

L’usine de traitement a été conçue par Metso Minerals.Durant tout le processus, le matériau voyage par convoyeurs;même des quatre aires de stockage aux vraquiers.

Le transport de produits à faible valeur sur de longuesdistances exige des méthodes de transport efficaces en ter-mes de coûts. Polaris utilise des vraquiers à auto-décharge-

ment rapide de classe Panamax. En expédiant en vrac, lacompagnie sauve des millions de kilomètres de transportpar camion par année. Les contrats d’affrètement sontnégociés pour plusieurs années, assurant ainsi à Polaris unecertitude de distribution à un moment où les marchés sontinconstants.

Pour le voyage de trois jours vers San Francisco, le navirepleinement chargé de 80 000 tonnes de sable et de graviertire 14 mètres d’eau, ce qui est trop pour la baie de SanFrancisco. Polaris décharge alors partiellement les agrégats eneau profonde sur des barges; le reste est déchargé au port àdes terminaux d’eau moins profonde. L’auto-déchargementrapide est un facteur important dans la chaîne logistique.

Les terminaux d’entreposage et de distribution con-stituent un élément critique de la chaîne logistique. « Cesinstallations côtières deviennent des carrières virtuelles; lescamions rencontrent les navires et distribuent ensuite lesagrégats aux clients », dit M. Wilson.

Des quatre terminaux de Polaris à San Francisco, le ter-minal Richmond ressort en tant que terminal à la finepointe technologique. Les convoyeurs aériens peuventdécharger un cargo à une vitesse de 5000 tonnes/heure; leterminal comporte aussi une installation de chargementrapide des camions.

En plus de l’avantage compétitif des navires de CSLInternational et du terminal Richmond, Polaris jouit de con-trats à long terme avec des compagnies telles que Cemex etShamrock, des contrats inouïs de 20 ans.

Avec les pénuries d’agrégats et l’augmentation des prob-lèmes de trafic, du prix du pétrole et des émissions de gaz àeffet de serre, et en maîtrisant le transport efficient d’un pro-duit à faible valeur, la compagnie Polaris est bien positionnéepour fournir de vastes quantités d’agrégats de qualité à desmarchés en manque de ressources. CIM

Livraison d’agrégats le long de la Côte Ouest CSL Acadian

student life

The possibility ofexploring the little knownbut still active ElTeide–Pico Viejo stratovol-canoes within the LasCañadas caldera complexon the Canary Islands wasrecently offered to us as anundergraduate or graduatecourse at Université duQuébec à Chicoutimi.What a great opportunity tolearn more about ancientand modern volcanism, andcome face-to-face with suchan amazing natural wonder.

The Spanish CanaryIslands represent a volcanicarchipelago in the AtlanticOcean off the west coast ofAfrica. This around 35 mil-lion-year-old archipelago iscomposed of seven volcanicislands — Fuerteventura,La Gomera, Gran Canaria,El Hierro, La Palma,Lanzarote and the largest, most popu-lar, Tenerife.

The adventureThe two weeks on Tenerife were

intense. To give us a representativeoverview of the volcanic geology,three critical areas were selected.

The first week, we stayed in theonly hotel available within the LasCañadas caldera, at an altitude ofabout 2,100 metres — the El Parador

de Cañadas delTeide. Our staywas great,mostly because

of the tranquility, the abundance ofamazing meals, and the sauna andswimming pool. It took one day toadjust to the elevation and to recoverfrom the fatigue of the journey fromQuebec. We studied, in great detail,the caldera, stratovolcanoes, intra-caldera floor formations (e.g. pahoe-hoe and a’a basaltic flows, phonolitic

dome-flow complexes), lava and clas-togenic flows, pyroclastic deposits(e.g. on the caldera wall during thePico Guajara climb) and the basalticrift-related volcanic rocks during thePico Viejo trek. We were fortunateenough to have two well-known scien-tists in volcanology — Joan Martí ofthe Institute for Earth Sciences, CSICBarcelona, and Joachim Gottsmann ofthe University of Bristol — as fieldguides who explained the evolution ofthe Las Cañadas caldera complex.

The ascent to the summit of ElTeide — the highest volcano inEurope at 3,718 metres in altitude —was not as exhausting as the previousday when we hiked three to fourhours to the top of Pico Viejo. Becauseit would have been too gruelling toclimb the full ascent to the top, wetook the cable-way to the summit sta-tion; only the last 200 metres to ElPiton, the small cone on top of ElTeide, still had to be climbed. Many of

us suffered from lack of oxygen at thisaltitude; however, the view at the topmade up for the discomfort.

Many tourists, decked out for sun-bathing, arrived from the coast wear-ing only shorts, t-shirts and sandals.Although sunny, the temperature wasabout -4°C. Needless to say they did-n’t stay long.

For the next three to four days, westayed in the coastal city of El Médanoand concentrated on the southeasternBandas del Sur formations, i.e. pyro-clastic deposits originating from thevarious episodes of the Las Cañadascaldera complex. This volcaniclasticzone shows pyroclastic outflowsheets, valley-fill deposits, and cinderand scoria cones. At the end of eachday-long trip, we took full advantageof the nearby ocean.

We spent the last three days of ourtrip in the small historic town ofMasca, built on the flanks of the TenoMassif, in the northwest sector of

June/July 2008 | 35

The fieldtrip of a lifetime

by Nicolas Vinet and Émilie Roulleau

The group on the top of Pico Viejo, with the summit of El Teide in the background (Las Cañadas caldera complex, October 24,2007). Notice the channelled a'a flows emanating from El Teide and El Piton.

Phot

oby

Wul

fMue

ller.

student life

Tenerife. The area shows the com-plexity of the Miocene mafic shieldduring ocean island construction,which allows you to view the riftzones. Masca, with its magnificentview and matchless quietness, wasprobably for most, if not all of us, aprime example of paradise on earth.

Thanks for the memories!During these two warm and

sunny weeks, we saw the subaerialevolution of an oceanic island andhow shield volcanoes, stratovolca-noes and calderas formed and devel-oped with time. Our perception haschanged — the shear size of every-

thing we saw was more than any ofus could imagine. Had we beenlucky enough to witness an eruptionof the El Teide–Pico Viejo volca-noes, well, that would’ve been theicing on the cake!

Many students in the group areworking on ancient deformed vol-canic areas in Canada (e.g. the Abitibigreenstone belt). This type of fieldtripis really one of the best ways for stu-dents to better understand the forma-tion of these rocks, as it provides use-ful modern analogies.

We are grateful to Wulf Muellerfor organizing the trip. It is impor-tant to note that without sponsorshipfrom numerous companies, as well asthe Society of Economic Geologists,most of us would not have been ableto participate in this fieldtrip.Financial support is clearly essentialin helping students participate inthese kinds of excursions; they areinstructive and indispensable to astudent’s education. CIM


About the authors Nicolas Vinet, athird-year earth sciences PhD candidate,Sciences de la Terre, Université du Québecà Chicoutimi, has been passionate aboutvolcanoes since the age of 12 or 13. In thefuture, he wants to enter an organization orcreate a company that monitors volcanoesto prevent and reduce risk, especially inless economically developed countriesand/or zones marked by human poverty.

Émilie Roulleau, a third-year earth sciencesPhD candidate, GEOTOP - Université duQuébec à Montréal, has shared Nicolas’passion for volcanoes since the age of 11.Recently, as a scientific guide, she beganparticipating in the popularization ofvolcanology for children.

first nations

In the summer of 2004, a group ofaboriginal leaders began exploringopportunities in the mining andexploration industry that were avail-able to northern Ontario aboriginalcommunities. After months ofresearching the issue, itbecame apparent that thiswas not an easy task.Most existing negotia-tions between industryand aboriginal communi-ties are, for the most part,very secretive documentsbound by confidentialityagreements. Furthermore,one thing was very appar-ent: aboriginal communities werenot participating in mining andexploration activities to their fullpotential, and the potential that thisparticipation could have to eco-nomic and employment develop-ment efforts in the communities wasnot being realized.

At around the same time, theSupreme Court of Canada was deliv-ering its final judgment on the nowfamous court case between the Haidaand Taku Nations and the govern-ment of British Columbia. The casedealt with aboriginal treaty right andtitle of land. The province grantedpermits to industry without consult-ing the communities, who arguedthat the land in question was theirs.The province asked that the commu-nities provide proof of this. The case

was taken to theB.C. ProvincialSupreme Court and

finally appealed by the B.C. govern-ment federaly; in both instances, thecourts agreed with the communities.

The Federal Supreme Court went astep further. It clarified when theneed to “consult and accommodate”arises, and also clarified that theresponsibility to consult lies solelywith the Crown. The Supreme Courtannounced that the need to consult

An aboriginal approach to mining relationships

and accommodate arises wheneverthe Crown has knowledge, real orconstructive, of the potential exis-tence of the aboriginal right or titleand contemplates conduct that mightadversely affect it.

These decisions pinpointed theimportance for industry to increaseawareness and knowledge about abo-riginal communities and the need toengage and collaborate to improverelationships.

In 2005 these aboriginal leadersdecided that something needed to bedone. They wanted to create an infor-mation-sharing mechanism thatwould allow communities interestedin mining to become informed andreceive all the facts about the industryfrom those communities involvedfirst-hand. At the same time, it wasdecided that there was a need toimprove the knowledge that theindustry had about aboriginal com-munities, treaties, rights and methodsfor doing business.

Learning Together was created forthis purpose. The first task carried outwas to organize a conference thatwould bringtogether the com-munities and indus-try to hear fromaboriginal partici-pants in the miningindustry about theirsuccesses, chal-lenges and failuresin order to improveknowledge and

communication between the commu-nities and industry.

The first annual Learning Togetherconference was hosted in Sudbury,Ontario, in 2006 with participationfrom over 30 aboriginal communities

from Ontario and Quebec, as well as asignificant number of industry andgovernment representatives. The con-ference was a great success andproved to be an excellent mechanismto help break myths and increaseknowledge. In 2007 the conferencewas held in Timmins, Ontario. Therecent 2008 conference was hosted inWinnipeg, Manitoba, and saw anincrease in participation from acrossthe country, with over 50 FirstNations represented and close to 200registered delegates.

The next step for LearningTogether is to grow and work closelywith partners like CIM and PDAC,and through mutual collaborationbecome the go-to place for aboriginalcommunities and industry that wishto increase awareness, dialogue andinformation-sharing about mining inaboriginal territories. CIM

June/July 2008 | 37

by Juan Carlos Reyes

About the author Juan CarlosReyes, the organizer of LearningTogether, is passionate abouthuman rights and works tirelesslyhelping improve the lives ofCanadian aboriginal people.

It was decided that there was a need to improve the knowledge

that the industry had about aboriginal communities,treaties, rights and methods for doing business

the supply side


working in Latin America, theCanadian Mines Handbook will give youtheir names and much more informa-tion. Good sources of other lists willdepend upon specifically what you areselling and to whom you want to sell it.

You need get through to the personthat makes decisions for your productor service. If you cannot find out whoit is from the company website, ask thereceptionist. Normally they will tellyou and put you through if you saysomething like, “May I know who inyour firm is involved in drilling opera-tions in Latin America?”

Identify yourself and make a bene-fit statement. “This is Jane Doe fromGizmo Manufacturers. Our environ-mentally safe products are specificallydesigned to enhance the efficiency of

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

Recently I was asked by a CAMESEmember who is starting a new busi-ness for tips on how he could developa client base through telemarketing.The telephone remains one of themost powerful and cost-effective busi-ness tools, if it is used properly. Hereare the suggestions that I passed on tohim, in the hopes that they may be ofuse to others.

You need lists that target the rightpeople. The white pages section of atelephone book, for example, is too

broad based to be ofvalue to a mining sup-plier; however, certain

categories in the yellow pages couldprovide more targeted prospects. If, forexample, you want to create contactswith Canadian mining companies

by Jon Baird

About the author Jon Baird,managing director of CAMESE andpresident of PDAC, is interested incollective approaches to enhancing theCanadian brand in the world of mining.

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exploration and production drilling inLatin America.”

Find out if he/she is really in chargeof decisions concerning your productor service. “My research indicates thatyour company is working in LatinAmerica and that you would be themost likely person to make a decisionfor improving your drilling proceduresthere. Am I correct?”

If they say no, ask who is in chargeand get through to him or her. If theytell you that they are not drilling inLatin America or that they are wellserved, this is the end of the call.However, if they need help, hopefullythey will open up with their need andyou can begin to tell them how youcan fill it.

Have a brochure that you can emailafter the call. Many will say that theymay have a future need and you wantthem to remember you.

Keep records and call those thathave shown interest again after a rea-sonable period.

Be patient. Your success rate couldbe only a few per cent of the compa-nies that you contact. However, onegood order could pay for hours or daysof phoning. CIM

La Côte Nord est une région mag-nifique et immense, qui s’étend deTadoussac à Blanc-Sablon et comprendles villes nordiques de Schefferville etFermont, ainsi que l’île d’Anticosti.Région canadienne du fer par excel-lence, elle est depuis le milieu duvingtième siècle le siège de quatregrandes compagnies minières quiexploitent des mines de fer et de titane,des concentrateurs et usines de boule-tage ainsi que des installations portu-aires et ferroviaires de premier plan.Favorisés par la demande et la fortemontée des prix du minerai de fer, denouveaux projets d’exploitationminière sont en train de voir le jourprès d’anciennes mines dont l’exploita-tion avait été abandonnée. La CôteNord est en voie de revivre son âged’or, ou plutôt devrait-on dire son âgede fer. Mais, tel qu’on l’a vu à la fin desannées 1970 lors de la crise du fer, l’é-conomie d’une région ainsi dépendantede l’exploitation de ses ressourcesnaturelles peut plonger en mêmetemps que le prix des ressources dontelle regorge. Il devient alors primordialde diversifier l’économie régionale.

C’est dans une telle optique, afin defavoriser le développement des régionset en particulier celles dont l’économieest fortement tributaire de l’exploita-tion des ressources naturelles, que legouvernement québécois a lancé en2002 le projet ACCORD (Action con-

certée de coopéra-tion régionale dedéveloppement).

Celui-ci visait à construire des sys-tèmes productifs régionaux, danslesquels évoluent des entreprises auxactivités connexes et interdépendantes,

RéférencesProjet ACCORD. Site du Ministère du Développement économique, Innovation et Exportation (MDEIE).Disponible à http://www.mdeie.gouv.qc.ca.

Stratégie de développement du créneau d’excellence : Créneau Ingénierie des procédés industriels,miniers et métallurgiques. Comité régional ACCORD, 2005, 35 pages.

IPIMM : moteur du développement technologique de la Côte Nord

qui collaborent entre elles malgré lefait qu’elles sont d’abord concur-rentes.

Ces entreprises sont regroupéessur un territoire défini, elles entreti-ennent des relations fréquentes avecles universités, les cégeps et commis-sions scolaires et collaborent avec desréseaux d’information et d’appui.

Un créneau d’excellence est un sys-tème productif dont une région arésolu de favoriser le développement,qui lui donnera une image de marquesur la scène nationale et internationale.La Côte Nord est la région du Québecdésignée pour le développement ducréneau d’excellence Ingénierie desprocédés industriels, miniers et métal-lurgiques (IPIMM), pour lequel lemilieu désire jouer un rôle de leadernord-américain et mondial.

Le choix de ce créneau leaderdécoule tout naturellement des prin-cipales caractéristiques historiques etéconomiques de la région :• La production d’aluminium de

première fusion, par l’implantationde deux entreprises majeures, con-férant à la Côte Nord le premierrang canadien dans ce domaine.Des PME servant les alumineriesou d’autres perçant le marché de latransformation de l’aluminiumviennent se rajouter à la filière alu-minium régionale.

• Un tissu industriel en amont desentreprises majeures, constituéd’une dizaine de PME spécialiséesen usinage, soudage et procédésindustriels.

• Un Centre d’aide tech-nologiques aux entre-prises, en appui aux

parlons-en

June/July 2008 | 39

par Annie Lévesque

L’auteur Annie Lévesque,coordonnatrice et chargée de projet

Créneau d’excellence IPIMM, CATECôte Nord, ingénieure en matériaux,est native de Sept-Îles où elle estretournée vivre car elle y a trouvé

un bon emploi dans sondomaine d’études.

entreprises régionales qui veulentinnover et se développer tech-nologiquement.

• Une offre de formation profession-nelle et technique provenant descommissions scolaires et cégeps dela région.La consolidation des liens exis-

tants entre les grands donneurs d’or-dres et les PME de la région constituela base de développement du créneauIPIMM. De même, des actions en vuede développer l’exploration et l’ex-ploitation minière et de diversifier l’é-conomie régionale en favorisant latransformation des ressourcesmétalliques (aluminium et fer),seront entreprises dans le cadre de lastratégie de développement ducréneau, dont le Centre d’aide tech-nologique aux entreprises (CATE)Côte Nord est le maître d’œuvre.

L’octroi récent d’un centre collégialde transfert de technologie (CCTT) auCégep de Sept-Iles, représente unatout majeur pour le développementdu créneau IPIMM. Ainsi, le gou-vernement du Québec reconnaît l’ex-cellence de l’offre d’expertise en main-tenance industrielle dans la région. LeCentre d’excellence en maintenanceindustrielle (CEMI), qui sera géré etopéré par le CATE Côte Nord, offrirades services de recherche appliquée,de soutien technique, de développe-ment technologique, de formation etd’information en maintenance indus-trielle aux entreprises de la région etdu Québec tout entier. CIM

Celebrating a significant investment in geoscience

MAC economic commentary


policy priorities over recent years, theMining Association of Canada and the Prospectors and DevelopersAssociation of Canada were both verypleased with this announcement.

MAC was doubly pleased with thedetails obtained in subsequent discus-sions with senior federal officials. Inparticular, while not formallyannounced, the actual investmentextends a further three years, so the totalfederal injection of new money into thisgeo-mapping for energy and minerals(GEM) initiative will be $100 millionover five years. (While details are beingfinalized, approximately three-quarterswill be directed towards investment inthe territories and one-quarter in thenorthern areas of the provinces). Aswell, the federal geoscience spending inthe provinces will be increased furtherthrough cost-shared investment byprovincial governments. The specificspending priorities and targeted projectswill be developed in a coordinated man-ner through the National GeologicalSurvey Committee, comprising federal,provincial and territorial governmentrepresentatives.

The Geological Survey of Canada isCanada’s premier agency for geoscien-tific information and research and willhave lead responsibility for imple-menting the GEM initiative. As notedwithin its mandate,GSC supplies thef u n d a m e n t a lnational geoscienceknowledge baserequired to supporteffective mineraland hydrocarbonexploration anddevelopment acrossCanada, to providethe geological basisnecessary to under-stand and addresshealth, safety and

During the past five years of stronggrowth in mineral prices, the mineralexploration community in Canada hasbeen facing an increasingly difficultchallenge — namely, how to findresources in promising northernregions where underlying mineral datais either weak or non-existent.

The federal government has beenunder-investing in its geological map-ping responsibilities for some 20 years,with annual spending declining from$98 million in 1988 to $50 million in2007. This decline has been equallydramatic at the provincial and territo-rial government levels. One interestingconsequence of this neglect is thatsome 73 per cent of Nunavut, forexample, is unmapped or poorlymapped and, at present investment lev-els, the first full mapping of the terri-tory would not be finished for 80 years.

Given such a weak foundation ofdata, private companies are less able toundertake effective exploration pro-grams. While exploring for mineralsis, to some extent, akin to “searchingfor a needle in a haystack,” it is thepublic policy investment in basic geo-logical survey work that allows thoseaccessing the data to at least findwhere the haystacks are. In view of thehigh level of interest in diamonds, ura-nium, base metals and other northernresources, one must question the pub-lic good served by this pattern.

Questions of nationalsovereignty in theNorth are also raised by

this under-investment. The federal budget tabled in

February 2008 reverses this pattern. Inwhat may stand as the best public pol-icy news of the year for the Canadianmining industry, the federal govern-ment announced a re-investment ingeological mapping of $34 millionover the next two years. Given thatthis issue was one of their main public

environmental issues, and to advocatethe interests of Canadian geoscience atthe international level.

GSC has a fascinating history thatdates to its formation a quarter-centurybefore Confederation — a historywhich is closely linked to Canada’s tra-ditional presence as a global leader innatural resources development. Byinvesting $100 million in new fundsover the next five years, the presentfederal government has made its ownpositive contribution to the long anddistinguished history of GSC. This willlead to a revitalization of the geoscien-tific community in Canada, the hiringof new graduates, the attraction ofinternational technical experts and,over time, the development of newmineral resource projects and value-added capital investment.

Past studies have shown that eachdollar invested by governments ingeoscience leverages five dollarsworth of private-sector explorationexpenditures. The improved geologi-cal database also enhances the effec-tiveness of the exploration spending.Given the buoyant long-termdemand outlook for the commoditiesthat Canada produces, this renewedfederal geoscience commitment rep-resents a solid investment inCanada’s future. CIM

by Paul StothartAbout the author PaulStothart is vice president,economic affairs of the MiningAssociation of Canada, where heis responsible for advancing theindustry’s interests regardingfederal tax, trade, investment,transport and energy issues.Previously, he was a seniorpolicy advisor to several federalCabinet ministers and was also ahockey player in Europe and withthe Canadian national team.

innovation

Innovation, workplace creativity,new technology application, andresearch and development are allexpressions we have come to associ-ate with leading-edge firms that setthe next platform or benchmark forperformance excellence. And it’s pow-erful! Leveraging that next break-through capability and putting it towork in your company can producemeasurably better results that con-tribute significantly to a firm’s viabil-ity and success.

It’s not surprising that many com-panies then invest sizably in new tech-nology development and applicationsthat brand them as innovators in theirindustry. The mining and mineral pro-cessing areas are no exception, withinnovations ranging from 3-D minevisualizations, automation and robot-ics, advanced equipment monitoring,new wear materials, sensor develop-ment, process control algorithms andmuch more. All of these combine tomake the mining industry more com-petitive and effective as a whole.

Amidst these higher profile devel-opments there is another form ofinnovation at work every day in ouroperations. It’s an area where peopleknowledgeable in their work are val-ued for their creativity in addressingchallenges and coming up withimprovements to the business. Whensupported at every level in an organ-ization, it promotes a culture of inno-vation that is embraced as a core

business strategy.For a creative cul-

ture to happen in acompany, leadership that understandsand supports this dynamic is required— leadership that genuinely believesthat when given positive choices,people want to contribute to that nextimprovement and be connected to aunit or team that continually gets bet-ter at what it does.

This is also principled leadershipin action. Principled leaders under-

Setting the stage for workplace innovation

stand that there is a moral imperativeto support people so that, as much aspossible, work is a positive life expe-rience as opposed to something thatis endured. It’s a healthy workplacewith reduced negative stress and pos-itive performance. Opening up theopportunity to innovate is one part ofthe equation. The interesting andchallenging work that goes alongwith an innovation culture promotescommitment that unleashes peoples’discretionary effort to go beyond thenorm to produce great results.

Making innovation happen is alsohard work. It requires a set of leader-ship skills that promotes engagementof people rather than continuallydirecting their efforts. Leadership ofthis caliber is quick to implement themore immediate improvements andhas developed mechanisms for engag-ing management in approval processesto progress the larger scope ideas.

There are many examples wherethe ability to innovate led to per-formance improvement. Consider amineral processing plant thatemployed large sloped rotating cylin-drical vessels to mix ore and waterinto a slurry, as required for a down-stream extraction process. High ratesof wear in this vessel required fre-quent maintenance outages to recon-stitute wear surfaces and structureswith heavy weld overlays and repairs.The confines of the vessel madeworking within itat multiple sitesdifficult, leadingto injury incidentsand schedule pres-sure to performthe necessarywork. This wasclearly not anacceptable situa-tion. However,repeated attemptsto alter work plansand execution

strategies were frustrated with littleor no improvement.

The need to innovate was clear.People closest to this hard work weresupported to take on the challengeand knew what could be done. Thesuggestions for improvement cameimmediately and were implementedby management. Electricians weregiven the time upfront to deviseimproved lighting in the vessel, airmovers were used from other areas inthe plant to improve ventilation, scaf-folders were left to design morerobust working platforms thatimproved accessibility and limitedexposure by others to heavy welding,the workers set personal protectiveequipment requirements andenforced them, heavy lifts weresequenced with work breaks to limitexposure, and more. People’s creativeideas for improvement transformedthe work. As a result of their innova-tive efforts, this work is now rou-tinely completed within cost andschedule and, most importantly, withzero injuries. And it’s a work envi-ronment where people feel goodabout their achievements and feel val-ued for their ideas.

Everyday innovation in mining is agreat partner to the technologicalinnovations we are progressing, andwe will rely heavily on both toimprove the mining and mineral pro-cessing industry. CIM

June/July 2008 | 41

by Gord WinkelAbout the author GordWinkel, oil sands technologymanager, Kearl Oil SandsProject, Imperial Oil Resources,is a strong supporter ofworkplace safety and theadvancement of miningtechnology as a means toimprove both mining industryeffectiveness and the quality oflife for mining people.

The Canadian mining industry isfacing significant labour challengesover the next decade and beyond.Recent research conducted by theMining Industry Human ResourcesCouncil points to as many as 92,000new jobs that will need to be filledbetween now and 2017. In the face ofred-hot growth in our sector, manynew mine projects are gearing up toopen, skilled workers are beingrecruited for existing operations,while around 40 per cent of the cur-rent workforce is set to retire in thecoming decade.

The labour shortage will be exacer-bated by the stiff competition fromother sectors for skilled personnel —professionals, tradespersons and gen-eral labour. The fact that many of thejob opportunities in other burgeoningsectors of the Canadian economy, suchas construction, electricity generation,and oil and gas are located in larger,more urbanized areas makes recruit-ment and retention an even biggerchallenge for mining sector employers.

In 2003, Statistics Canada predictedthat by 2011, Canada would be almostentirely dependent upon immigrantsfor growth in the labour force. Thisprediction points to the need for theCanadian mining industry to put inplace strategies for engaging and inte-grating internationally trained andexperienced workers in all areas of our

workforce. MiHR iscurrently undertaking anumber of initiatives

that will facilitate the developmentand implementation of these targetedapproaches, ranging from documenta-tion and sharing of successful immi-grant engagement models to develop-ing national occupational standardsthat can be used to evaluate interna-tional credentials and experience.

A newly published StatisticsCanada report offers encouraging

Immigrants – a key resource for the mining sector

information that may contribute to thedevelopment of effective strategies forincreasing participation of immigrantsin the mining sector labour market.The January 2008 edition of

Perspectives contains an article entitled“Immigrants in the Hinterland,”which concludes that “Immigrants liv-ing outside the largest urban centrescan translate their credentials acquiredabroad into a relative income advan-tage more easily. They are more likelyto overcome their lack of ability in anofficial language, quickly learningEnglish or French, enabling them toincrease their ability to generateincome faster.”

The analysis in the “Immigrants inthe Hinterland” report shows that themore rapid economic integration ofimmigrants in rural areas holds truefor workers with lower levels of educa-tion, as well as those with universitydegrees. The data suggests that everyimmigrant with a university degreeachieved income parity in small urbanand rural commu-nities within fouryears and, in somecases, within lessthan a year,whereas someuniversity edu-cated immigrantsin large urbancentres did notachieve incomeparity even 13years after theirarrival. In mostcases, the same

pattern emerges for those with nodegree who live in small urban or ruralareas.

This is particularly good news, asrecent labour market research examin-

ing occupations inhigh demand for themining sector showedthat employers are fac-ing recruitment chal-lenges not only forskilled trades such aselectricians and mill-

wrights, but also for degree-bearinggeologists, engineers and accountants.

To capitalize on this comparativeadvantage in the race to find the rightpeople with the right skills at the righttime, Canadian mining companiesmay wish to promote mining commu-nities as destinations of choice fornewly arriving immigrants whochoose to live and work there. Miningcommunities can work together withlocal mining sector employers toattract immigrants by citing not onlyenhanced living conditions such asproximity to the great outdoors,friendly neighbours, affordable hous-ing, but also emphasizing fasterachievement of income parity withother Canadians and official languageacquisition as benefits to working inthe sector. CIM

HR outlook


by Barbara Kirby

About the author BarbaraKirby is the director of LabourMarket Intelligence andWorkforce Development at theMining Industry HumanResources Council. She has over20 years experience workingwithin Canada andinternationally, with an emphasison linking industry witheducation and technical trainingprograms.

In 2003, Statistics Canada predicted that by 2011, Canada would be almost entirelydependent upon immigrantsfor growth in the labour force.

engineering exchange

The Sensors Engineering BusinessUnit (SENG), part of the EngineeredProducts and Services team at theAlberta Research Council, focuses onthe development of sensors for meas-urement and analysis, a small buthighly specialized field of engineering.

In 2000 SENG, headed by RodneyRidley, its manager, teamed up withSyncrude, with the aim of improvingbitumen recovery. Syncrude was con-cerned that the bitumen extractionprocess was not as efficient or effec-tive as it could be. Significant lossesof bitumen ended up in the tailingspond even under the best circum-stances, and Syncrude was deter-mined to find a way to ensure thatthe most bitumen possible wasextracted during processing — lessin the pond and more in the barrel,so to speak.

Working closely with Syncruderesearchers, the ARC team looked atall stages of the processing opera-tion, to see where improvementscould be made.

Step 1: Conveyor beltA Near InfraRed oil sands analyzer

was developed and adapted to give abitumen percentage measurementprior to processing. This full scanninginstrument utilizes short wave infraredreflectance to “read” the bitumen con-tent in the mined material, enablingdownstream process inputs such aschemicals and water to be adjusted

according to the qualityof raw material detectedupstream.

Step 2: Hydrotransport pipelineClay is a sticky material that is

endemic in the oil sands. Sometimesthere’s more, sometimes less, but itcan really disrupt efficient bitumenextraction. Fortunately, clay containspotassium and emits minisculeamounts of gamma radiation. Thisparticular radioactive isotope (K40)

Improving bitumen recovery

is readily detected by ARC’s K40gamma spectrometer analyzer. Thisinstrument provides timely informa-tion on clay fines and allows processoperations to quickly make adjust-ments to compensate for changes inthe clay fines content.

Step 3: Froth/middlings interfacevision system

This system gives the operatorreal-time measurement of the inter-face between the middlings and frothin the primary separation vessels.Previously, the level measurementwas corrected manually by observingthe fluids through a glass window.The new real-time vision systemautomatically determines the inter-face level and digitizes a video signal,which is then processed using algo-rithms to produce the level measure-ment, thus removing human error.

Step 4: Online tailings analyzer

This system measures the bitumenlevels in the tailings prior to beingreleased to the ponds. The data cap-tured allows for process improve-ments and modifications at the pri-mary separation vessels and frothtreatment plants to further reducebitumen loss. Basically, it measures

the end result so that tweaking can bedone at an earlier stage to counter theloss of bitumen.

Other oil sands companies haveshown interest in this technology:CNRL is installing both the infraredand K40 systems at their site; Albianis looking to retrofit; and Suncor isassessing their processing plant forthe possibility of utilizing some, orall, of the ARC/Syncrude-developedsensor systems.

One of the challenges of designingdelicate sensors and precise measur-ing instrumentation for use in the oilsands is the environment itself. “Theoil sands are abrasive and sticky,”Ridley pointed out, “and the temper-atures can range from minus 40degrees to up to 50 degrees. The trickis building something that will sur-vive those conditions.”

SENG works primarily with the oilsands and pulp and paper industriesbut has recently branched out to hardrock mining. Through ARC this teamis able to focus entirely on its area ofexpertise: something that would notbe feasible on their own because of thelimited market. All members of ARC’sEngineered Products and Servicesteam enjoy diverse work experienceswhere every day brings new projectsand unique challenges. CIM

June/July 2008 | 43

Figure 1 - K40 Analyz P c d o H T sp t B m S L

A K40 nuclear online analyzer measures potassium levels in an oil sands hydro-transport slurry line.

by Haidee Weldon

eye on business

Generally speaking, a “hedge” or a “hedge contract” is alegally binding obligation to deliver or purchase specifiedquantity of a product at a specified price at a future date.There are a number of factors that could influence a com-pany in its decision to hedge future output. First, wherethere is a “contango” (future price is higher than currentspot price) as opposed to a “backwardation” (future priceis lower than current spot price) in the market, hedgingmay be attractive.

Primary copper producers may want to hedge a portionof future production to ensure at least break-even revenuesand to avoid the risk of having to place a mine on care andmaintenance if and when prices decline again. In addition,hedging of byproducts (e.g. the copper byproduct outputof a gold-copper mine) may reduce the copper price risk

and improve equity valuations, as thecompany would be considered more of apure “gold play.”

Perhaps one of the more frequent usesof hedging is where price protection is required in debt

Copper hedging

financing. It would be common in some forms of bankfinancing (i.e. non-recourse project finance) for the bor-rower to be required to enter into a hedging program suffi-cient to secure cash flows to cover operating costs and debtservice during the repayment period of the loan.

Types of hedging arrangementsThere are two main types of hedging transactions —

public and private. Public transactions take the form offutures contracts traded on certain commoditiesexchanges. The main exchanges are the London MetalExchange for base metals and the New York MercantileExchange for precious metals. Contracts between privateparties are usually governed by a standard form agreementprepared by the International Swaps and DerivativesAssociation, Inc. The agreement, which is updated fromtime to time (the current version is the ISDA MasterAgreement, 2002), has a checklist of alternatives and addi-tional provisions that may be incorporated.

What are the risks?Obviously, there are price and production risks. The

price risk involves the forgone revenue if the future priceof copper turns out to be higher than the price at which theforward contract was set. For example, some primary cop-per producers sold forward portions of 2006 and 2007 pro-duction, after which copper prices rose substantially,resulting in a substantial forgone profit and a significantunrealized “mark-to-market” accounting charge.

Gold producers Ashanti and Cambior were unable tocover substantial long-term forward gold sales (and othergold derivative sales) with current production when theprice of gold increased significantly following the highlypublicized Central Bank Gold Agreement in 1999. Thecompanies could not meet the sudden and significant cashmargin calls, and they were also unable to afford going intothe spot market to purchase sufficient quantities of gold tosatisfy their future delivery obligations. This resulted in thesubstantial restructuring of both companies.

There are also less obvious risks such as credit wor-thiness of the contract parties. Each hedging programwill have credit risks, both of the producer and thehedge counterparty. Further, as hedge contracts in somecases can be complex and expose a producer to hiddenrisks, an adequate evaluation of internal controls isrequired to ensure that the hedging program and con-tractual arrangements are clearly documented and therisks and rewards are fully understood, before thearrangements become binding. It is worth noting thatthere are products readily available in the market that aproducer can purchase/employ that will limit the risks


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eye on business

of non-delivery and eliminate or limit the risk of expo-sure to cash margin calls (see reference to Yamana’s pro-gram below).

Accounting issuesAlthough it is beyond the scope of this article, there are

substantial accounting issues with hedge programs, cen-tring on the question of whether a hedge program is eligi-ble for “hedge accounting” treatment. For example, if theprogram is eligible for hedge accounting, then anyincrease or decrease in the market price of copper follow-ing execution of the program (when compared to theactual hedge program price) will be reflected in the finan-cial statements as a balance sheet entry. If the program isnot eligible for hedge accounting, then any increase ordecrease will be reflected as unrealized gains or losses onthe income statement. The test is whether the hedge willbe highly effective over its duration. InternationalFinancial Reporting Standards 39 and FinancialAccounting Standards 133 in the United States addressthis issue in great detail.

Copper marketOver the course of the last 10 years, the copper market

bottomed out at US$.58 per pound in November of 2001— a level that rendered many copper mines uneconomic.The copper world changed dramatically towards the endof 2003 when copper started its rather meteoric rise,eventually reaching US$4.00 per pound in May of 2006.While copper was traditionally in a contango in thenearby (six to twelve) months, hedging of medium orlonger term (12 to 36 months) copper was extremely dif-ficult, due to the presence of the steep forward backwar-dation caused by a lack of liquidity to hedge longer datedcontracts. After 2003, the copper market got a real boostfrom two main factors: 1) a significant increase in globaldemand for physical copper for infrastructure, and 2) thegrowth of hedge funds, which are keen to invest in phys-ical and forward copper, providing new liquidity forhedgers. Therefore, despite the presence of the steepbackwardation, producers have started to hedge given thehugely attractive current prices (in other words, theywould be willing to suffer some forward discountsbecause for the first time in history they could start witha current copper price in the US$3 to $4 range).

ExamplesRecent public company examples of copper hedging

programs that were mentioned in press releases includeBaja Mining Corporation, Fronterra Copper Corporationand Equinox Minerals Limited. Alternately, MercatorMinerals Limited, a copper-molybdenum producer, com-pleted a public debt financing without a hedge program.An example of a gold company that hedged a portion of itscopper byproduct is Yamana Gold Corporation. CIM

June/July 2008 | 45

About the authors

Chuck Higgins works for the GlobalMining Group at Fasken MartineauDuMoulin LLP. His interest in miningcomes from his grandfather, LarrattHiggins, Sr., who was a miningengineer at the El Teniente coppermine in Chile, which is still the biggestunderground mine in the world.

James Verraster and his partnersopened the doors at Auramet in 2004right around the time that metal andother commodity prices started torecover, helping clients in the miningsector achieve their financial goals.Those who know Jim well canconfirm how busy Auramet has kepthim because they know he hasn'tbeen spending enough time trying toimprove his golf game!

canadians abroad

Wherever in the world there’s min-ing, chances are a Canadian is, or hasbeen, there. For Peter Edmunds,newly appointed vice president forglobal strategic customers with AtlasCopco CMT, the list of countries vis-ited is chock full of check marks.From fishing in Namibia to getting alittle too close to hungry lions in theNamib, Edmunds has experienced alot of what the world has to offer.Here, he kindly shares his story onthe ups and downs of one Canadiantravelling abroad.

Born and raised in South Africa,Edmunds got into mining straight outof school in northern Rhodesia (nowZambia). Two and a half years later,he left for England and studied min-ing engineering at the CamborneSchool of Mines. It was during a sum-mer job at Rio Tinto’s New Quirkemine in Elliot Lake, Ontario, thatEdmunds first fell in love withCanada. He was offered a permanentposition by Rio Tinto, after which hemoved around for a bit before finallysettling down with Atlas Copco inMontreal in September 1971 as a sales

promotion engineerfor mechanized min-ing equipment. He

became a Canadian citizen inDecember 1975.

Edmunds travels, on average, oneweek out of three. During the last 15

The ups and downs of travelling abroad

months alone, he has been to the BatuHijau mine in Indonesia, theBoddington mine in WesternAustralia, the Waterval and Palaboramines in South Africa, the Kemi minein Finland, a marble open pit mine inSpain and various head offices inlarger cities. “When not travelling, Iam handling all the work generatedby my visits,” said Edmunds.

When asked about some of theperks that come with travellingabroad, he responded very enthusias-tically: “Living in another countrycan be a wonderful experience forone’s family, especially with youngerchildren. One experiences differentcultures, cuisine, countrysides andways of life. For instance inWindhoek, Namibia, we were livingbetween two deserts — the Kalahariand the Namib. Going on safari oftenmeant camping in dry river beds. Onememorable night in the Namib, wehad to keep the fire going all nightbecause a hungry male lion wasprowling around and showing far toomuch interest in us. Catching fish offthe beach on the Skeleton Coast ofNamibia with nobody around formiles was also pretty exciting.”

Travelling the world with his wifeand two young sons also posed a fewinteresting challenges. “We learnedvery soon to equip each boy with hisown backpack for the plane,” said

Edmunds. “Itwas amazinghow quicklythey wouldsettle downfor a 14-hourflight withtheir owntoys, pyjamasand so on,and stay con-tent for thed u r a t i o n . ”The familyalso chose

flights with interesting stopovers,which included mini holidays inLondon, Durban, Cape Town,Johannesburg, Amsterdam, Austria,Sweden, the Seychelles and DisneyWorld. “They still talk about landingat JFK airport in New York and hav-ing to transfer to La Guardia airportby helicopter, which meant flying inbetween rows of high-rise buildings,”he recalled. “It was a great thrill.”

The experiences, he noted, greatlyimpacted his boys. His older son isnow a lawyer with a strong interest inhuman rights and has spent time atThe Hague and seven months inBangladesh dealing with humanrights issues. His younger son com-pleted a degree in international affairsand then worked for 13 months innorthwestern Tanzania with 250,000refugees from Rwanda, Burundi andthe Democratic Republic of theCongo.

Although the benefits are numer-ous, travelling does come with itsdownsides, some more serious thanothers. “You have to deal with tele-phones that don’t work, currenciesthat fluctuate, strict foreign exchangecontrols, work visas, local customs,frequent exposure to hepatitis, AIDS,malaria, poisonous snakes, spiders,scorpions and freedom fighters,” saidEdmunds, adding, “One time, a bombexploded in a butcher shop about akilometre from our home inWindhoek, killing three people.”

Despite the sometimes scaryaspects of working abroad, Edmundswas adamant that “If you get a chanceto work abroad, go for it. It normallymeans more money, certainly differ-ent holidays and a whole plethora ofunique experiences.” But perhaps oneof the greatest upshots of his travels isthat of the national pride he feels forhis adopted homeland. “Be thankfulthat you are Canadian,” he saidenthusiastically. “And guard thatnationality very carefully.” CIM

by Carolyn Hersey


Peter Edmunds

CRIRSCO 2007 — current activities

standards

This is the third in a series of arti-cles about the Committee for MineralReserves International ReportingStandards (CRIRSCO). The first arti-cle was an interview with NiallWeatherstone, Chairman of CRIRSCO(CIM Magazine, February 2008) thesecond described the background andgoals of CRIRSCO (CIM Magazine,March/April 2008).

In 2007, CRIRSCO was adopted asthe Reserves and Resources Task Forceof the International Council onMining and Metals. This decision byICMM has resulted in an increasedlevel of funding for CRIRSCO and theability to advance its objectives. Inmid-October 2007, CRIRSCO mem-bers met in London England to discussthe status of each of the member coun-tries’ reporting codes and the progressof various CRIRSCO projects.

Update on national reporting codesAustralia: The last update of theAustralian JORC Code was in 2004.While there are ongoing discussionsabout issues that arise from the appli-cation of the latest version of theCode, there are no plans to updateJORC in the near future.Canada: The Canadian SecuritiesAdministrators revised NationalInstrument 43-101 in December 2005.At the same time, the CanadianInstitute of Mining, Metallurgy andPetroleum published updated Resourceand Reserve Definitions that are incor-

porated by referencein NI 43-101. CIMis continuing workon developing Best

Practice Guidelines to assist practition-ers in the estimation of MineralResources and Reserves.South Africa: The South AfricanMineral Reserve Committee is cur-rently awaiting an update of theJohannesburg Stock ExchangeLimited Listing Rules, which willincorporate both SAMREC and

SAMVAL (South African valuationguidelines). The official launch ofboth codes is expected in 2008.Europe: The Pan-European ReservesReporting Committee expects torelease a consultation draft in 2008.Emphasis is being placed on industrialminerals and aggregates, which consti-tute a very large industry in Europe.Chile: The Chilean Certification Codewas approved in early 2008. As part ofthe Code, a National Commission isbeing established to screen and reviewreports on a random or specific basis.United States: The Society of MiningEngineers updated the SME ReportingGuidelines in 2007. The Securitiesand Exchange Commission has notaccepted these more up-to-date defi-nitions and guidelines. The SME com-mittee will continue to discuss theincorporation of these ReportingGuidelines with SEC. SME has alsoestablished a class of membership, aRegistered Member, which includesdisciplinary measures for non-compli-ance with the SME guidelines.

CRIRSCO projectsCRIRSCO and the Society of

Petroleum Engineers have compared(mapped) the CRIRSCO Template, asdiscussed in the article published in theFebruary 2008 issue of CIMMagazine, to the SPE’sPetroleum ResourceManagement System hydro-carbon classification sys-tem. CRIRSCO and SPEreported the results of thisexercise to the InternationalAccounting StandardsBoard’s Extractive ActivitiesResearch Project team,which is developingaccountancy standards forthe reporting of mineralresource assets. It is expectedthat the results of this exer-cise will appear as an IASBdiscussion paper in 2008.

by John Postle and Deborah McCombe

CRIRSCO has also taken a lead rolewithin the United Nations EconomicCommission for Europe Ad Hoc Groupof Experts, in mapping the CRIRSCOtemplate to the United NationsFramework Classification system.CRIRSCO and SPE have jointly pre-sented proposals for certain modifica-tions to the UNFC which, if adopted,would mean that the CRIRSCOTemplate and SPE Petroleum ResourceManagement System become guidelinesfor the UNFC. These two mappingprocesses now mean that, for the firsttime, there is the potential for a globallyunified resource classification systemwith conformity at a high level betweenindustry reporting practice for mineralsand hydrocarbons and the UNFC.

In 2008, CRIRSCO faces a numberof challenges. It will need to continueto remain proactive in its dealingswith international bodies, such as the United Nations EconomicCommission and the InternationalAccounting Standards Board, to buildon the progress made during 2007. Inaddition, CRIRSCO will continue todevelop relationships with the finan-cial regulatory authorities and pro-vide educational materials to high-light and complement the ReportingCodes. CIM

About the authors

John Postle is a mining engineerwho has worked in the industry formany years. When taking time off,he likes nothing better than arainbow trout on the end of a flyline.

Deborah McCombe, executive vicepresident of Scott Wilson RoscoePostle Associates, is a consultinggeologist who is strongly involvedin Canadian disclosure standardsfor the mining industry.

June/July 2008 | 47


They are the “Men of theDeeps”— men from coal minesacross Cape Breton who,

together, formed a choir back in 1966.At this time, the mines were strugglingand so was the local economy. Therewere many mine closures and as themen lost their livelihoods, theyresponded by staving off despair: theyundertook a mission to preserve CapeBreton’s rich culture and folklorethrough song.

The history of Cape Breton is deeplyrooted within the mining industry. It isoften said that the coal mines formedthe nuclei for the island’s many commu-nities. In fact, the region has had a longand troubled history with coal since theearly 1700s. Throughout the years, min-ing operations fluctuated with the riseand fall of coal prices, resulting in aseries of successes and failures. At itspeak production, the mining industry inCape Breton produced as much as 6.6million tons of ore and employed12,000 workers. However, it alsoclaimed over 1,400 lives along the way.

Among the group’s vast repertoire ofsongs are the ones that tell of these liveslost in the coals mines — songs abouthistorical mining disasters and tragediessuch as the New Waterford explosion of1917, the No. 26 Colliery tragedy that

occurred in GlaceBay in 1979, oragain, the three

major disasters of Springhill, NovaScotia in 1891, 1956 and 1958.

The songs were collected by thegroup’s director, John C. O’Donnell,who has been with the choir since itsinception in 1966. In addition to thesongs that depict the great tragedies inthe mines are songs that simply talkabout the daily work life deep under-ground — songs that the miners would

sing during their long, dark walk intothe coal seams, 10 kilometres outbeneath the Atlantic Ocean, and songsinstilled with the coal miner’s tenacioussense of humour, able to make light ofsome very serious situations.

Even still, some of the songs per-formed by the Men of the Deeps arenot related to the mines. Some are sim-ply folklore from the region or songsthat were passed down from Celticancestors. Some are songs authored byCape Breton songwriters such as RitaMacNeil and Allister MacGillivray.

To be part of the choir one mustpresently work, or have once worked,in the coal mines. The ages of the mem-bers range from the late 30s to the late70s, reflecting appropriately the ages ofmen who worked side-by-side under-ground — sons who toiled alongsidetheir fathers and their brothers.

In fact, some of the members havebeen with the choir since the verybeginning and can clearly remembertragedies such as the Springhill miningdisasters, adding a feeling of authentic-ity to the choir’s performance. Toamplify this sense of authenticity, the

members also perform wearing theirmining garb. Dressed in coveralls,work boots and hard hats, the men areknown for making an impressiveentrance to their shows within com-plete darkness, illuminated only bytheir own headlamps.

Countless numbers of thesepoignant entrances have been made inconcert halls throughout Canada andthe United States since 1967. The Menof the Deeps have also performedinternationally. Notably, in 1976, thegroup became the very first Canadianmusical ensemble to tour the PeoplesRepublic of China once diplomaticrelations had been restored with thecountry in 1972. In 1999, the groupalso travelled to Kosovo in order toperform on behalf of the UnitedNations Children’s Fund.

The Men of the Deeps have beenfeatured in four short films producedby the National Film Board of Canadaand have also released several albumson the Atlantica, Apex and Waterloorecord labels. Incidentally, they are alsothe only all-male chorus in NorthAmerica. CIM

Over 40 years of “underground” music

by Michelle Sabourin

The Men of the Deeps

June/July 2008 | 49

featured mine

F “We’ve always prided ourselves on being progressive interms of integrating mining and community, and beingproactive at the beginning of a project, making sure notonly to have a sustainable policy, but also to do what wesay we’re going to do,” said Roosen. “We took this projectto heart right from the beginning, going back to the waymining used to be: taking care of employees and not beingdependant on government assistance. The days of sittingback and hoping that the government will take care ofinfrastructure problems is a thing of the past. To attract agood workforce and shareholders, you have to have a goodbalance, a spectrum.”

From the beginning, Osisko Exploration Ltée’s president andCEO, Sean Roosen, decided the Canadian Malartic gold proj-ect was going to be different — and that it was going to bedone right. With a gold deposit of 8.4 million ounces and aprojected mine life of 14.3 years, the potential for a majorwin-win situation for the company and the community wasevident. However, continued exploration and eventual devel-opment might eventually mean moving homes and re-locat-ing people. Nevertheless, the prospect of defining a large,world-class gold mine that could lead to the creation ofnumerous jobs was enough to convince Roosen that doing itright on the first go-round was the only way to proceed.

It takes a villageby | Marlene Eisner

Setting out to “do something different” Osisko Exploration Ltéetakes a community-minded approach to their Malartic project anduses a new geological model to resurrect an old mining operation.

View towards the west of the town of Malartic.

Roosen’s community-minded philosophy dates back tohis 13 years working in project development in Africa.During that time, Roosen’s expertise lay in explaining theprojects to communities that really had no idea about min-ing. “It was up to us to get them to understand the good andbad of mining,” he said. He added that they drew on thatexperience in West Africa when establishing their NorthAmerican operations. “We went on the premise that we haveto be proactive so that the community of Malartic under-stands why we are doing what we are doing, how it willimpact them, and the long-term implications of living with amine this big in their backyard.”

The mine and its potentialThe 100 per cent owned Canadian Malartic gold property

is located approximately 20 kilometres west of Val-d’Or in theheart of Quebec’s Abitibi Gold Belt, immediately south of thetown of Malartic. The overall property covers 230 square kilo-metres and includes four previous underground producers,including the former underground Canadian Malartic mine.Between 1935 and 1983, production in the Malartic camp

totalled over five million ounces for the Canadian Malartic,Barnat, Sladen and East Malartic mines.

The Canadian Malartic deposit was discovered in 1926,with production starting in 1935 and closing in 1965 afterchurning out 1,080,000 ounces of gold from 9.93 milliontonnes of ore. The property remained idle after it closed,until 1979 when it was purchased by Lac Minerals. From1980 to 1988, Lac Minerals explored the property with theobjective of defining a near-surface economic depositamenable to open pit mining. The exploration led to the def-inition of five near-surface gold zones forming an aggregatehistorical resource of approximately 8,160,000 tonnes at1.98 grams per tonne.

The project was shelved when Barrick Gold Corp acquiredLac Minerals in the early 1990s. Barrick Gold subsequentlysold the property to McWatters Mining in 2003, and a yearlater, McWatters went bankrupt. In late 2004, Osisko pur-chased a 100 per cent interest in the property from theMcWatters bankruptcy trustee.

The main Canadian Malartic deposit is part of a three kilo-metre-long contiguous, east-west striking mineralized sys-tem that was historically mined by four independent under-

featured mine


Above, from left: Lot assignment in the new neighbourhood; Core logging; Supplier’s day at MalarticBottom row, from left: New neighbourhood development; Drilling Canadian Malartic Project; PDAC award presentation, Urban drilling in the town of Malartic; Public meeting

June/July 2008 | 51

featured mine

ground operations. The Canadian Malartic deposit wasmined primarily by underground long-hole stoping methodsfrom 1935 to1965, the only underground bulk tonnage goldmine in Quebec.

The communityThere are currently 1,000 households in the town of

Malartic. About 30 per cent of these homes are located overthe old mine workings, with the stopes protruding into acrown pillar which, in places, is only eight to nine metresthick, thereby creating a safety issue. Fences with warningsigns were erected in these areas of town in the 1970s. IfOsisko goes ahead with mining, the 205 homes must bemoved because they lie within the area over the old stopesand a planned buffer zone of 150 metres between the final pitwall and the rest of the town of Malartic.

To accommodate the residents in the relocation zone,Osisko purchased land in the north end of the town. It startedconstruction work on the new ground in November 2007 andto date, 23 lots have been completed and 157 more areunder construction in the northern location referred to as

Sector 7. So far, Osisko has purchased 62 houses in thesouthern sector and 124 of the households have agreed torelocate to Sector 7. The company is in the process of work-ing out the final details with the remaining homeowners andexpects to begin the process of moving the first homes ontotheir new lots this summer.

Right from the beginning, the community was involved inthe relocation project. “We’ve been working on the relocationformula with an urban planner since 2005,” explainedRoosen. “We created a community advisory committee andthey interacted with the urban planner, who did a survey ofthe areas that surround Malartic to identify where the peoplewould like to live.”

The residents had the opportunity to provide input intowhat they wanted to see in the new northern sector, which islocated near a golf course and the local high school. The advi-sory committee brought the information to the citizens andthere were many meetings before a consensus was reached.Osisko also recently opened a community relations office inthe centre of town, with three full-time employees.

“It’s completely walk-in,” explained Roosen. “The plansare available for anyone who wants to see them. Our com-


featured mine

munication director is from Malartic and our PR person isfrom Val-d’Or.”

The road ahead“This project will create 400 long-term jobs and about 800

jobs during the construction period, with another 700 to1,000 service and secondary jobs over the estimated life ofthe project,” said Roosen of the economic impact of the proj-ect. To date, Osisko has purchased more than $180 milliondollars worth of mining equipment (suppliers include HewittEquipment/Caterpillar, Metso Minerals, FLSmidth, ABB, GECanada). “Sourcing locally is part of our strategy to maximizethe benefits for the local community,” he said. “At the end ofApril, we held three ‘Supplier Days’ in the Abitibi region (inMalartic, Val-d’Or and Rouyn-Noranda). We met with localfirms and gave them the opportunity to learn about ourrequirements and fully participate in the project. These eventswere a smash success — more than 180 companies attendedand exchanged information with our construction and opera-tions managers.”

For Osisko, the Malartic development represents a brandnew geological model in an old mining camp. “We feel thereare more possibilities for additional deposits to be found,” hesaid. “Considering this was a mine that was shut down andnow we have defined an additional 8.4 million ounces in thefirst 1,000 days of new exploration, it demonstrates the pos-sible long-term sustainability of this mining camp.”

Roosen stressed the importance of investing in explo-ration and scientific research to be able to discover newways and means of tapping into the area’s resources. “It’s

largely because of advances in technology and rising goldprices that we are able to economically mine one-gramdeposits that wouldn’t have been mineable 10 years ago. Weneed to look at new models and to continue to invest inexploration and good scientists that have good ideas. In ourcase, the application of advancements in mining technology,combined with a new geological model, are the keys behindour success at Canadian Malartic. We feel strongly that theseideas will lead to more success stories in this camp and theregion in the future.”

And it seems those “good ideas” are being recognized.Osisko was the recipient of the 2007 PDAC Prospector of theYear Award, and was the 2006 winner of the QuebecProspector of the Year Award.

“Aside from discovering and defining a world-class golddeposit, a good portion of the reason we got the PDAC awardthis year was based on our community relations work as weadvanced the project,” said Roosen. “We looked at what hadpreviously been done in the industry when companies builtmines near existing communities and we set about to dosomething completely different. I believe for a project at thisstage of the game, this is the first one where the communityand the project have been interlinked so closely and workedtogether from the outset in such detail, with a mutual desireto achieve success.”

Osisko has also recently set up a sustainability fund for thetown of Malartic, which ties the future success of the com-pany and the town together even more closely. “After themining comes to an end, we hope this endowment programgoes on into perpetuity, leaving a legacy that sustains thetown of Malartic.” CIM

Osisko’s Malartic team

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DDès le début, Sean Roosen, le président et chef de l’exploita-tion d’Osisko Exploration Ltée, a décidé que le projet aurifèreCanadian Malartic serait différent – et qu’il serait effectué cor-rectement. Avec un gisement de 8,4 millions d’onces d’or etune durée de vie de mine projetée de 14,3 ans, le potentield’avoir une situation gagnant-gagnant entre la compagnie etla communauté était évident. Bien que l’exploration contin-uelle et l’éventuel développement signifient des incon-vénients pour la ville à brève échéance et puissent mêmeconduire au déménagement et à la réinstallation de maisonset de personnes, la perspective de définir une mine de classemondiale qui pourrait créer 400 emplois à long terme et 800emplois à court terme en construction était suffisante pourconvaincre M. Roosen que des travaux bien effectués du pre-mier coup étaient la seule façon de procéder.

« Nous avons pris ce projet à cœur dès le début, enrevenant, aux anciennes valeurs d’exploitation : prendre soindes employés et ne pas dépendre de l’aide gouvernementale.Les jours de simplement espérer que le gouvernement pren-dra soin des problèmes d’infrastructures sont révolus. Pourattirer une bonne main-d’œuvre et des actionnaires, vousdevez avoir un bon équilibre, une bonne gamme », dit M.Roosen, lors d’une récente entrevue.

La philosophie axée sur la communauté de M. Roosenremonte aux 13 années durant lesquelles il a travaillé audéveloppement de projets en Afrique. L’expertise de M. Roosenconsistait alors à expliquer les projets aux communautés quin’avaient vraiment aucune idée de l’exploitation minière. « Il étaitde notre responsabilité de leur faire comprendre les bons et lesmauvais côtés des exploitations », dit-il. La compagnie s’estbasée sur cette expérience acquise en Afrique de l’Ouest lors del’établissement des exploitations en Amérique du Nord. « Nous

partions avec la prémisse que nous devions être proactifs afinque la communauté de Malartic comprenne ce que nousfaisons, pourquoi nous le faisons, et quels seront les impacts etles implications à long terme de vivre avec une mine d’une telledimension dans leur cour arrière. »

La mine et son potentielLa propriété aurifère détenue à 100 % par Canadian

Malartic est située à environ 20 kilomètres à l’ouest de Val-d’Or, au cœur de la ceinture aurifère du Québec, tout juste ausud de la ville de Malartic. L’ensemble de la propriété couvre230 km2 et comprend quatre anciens producteurs souter-rains, les mines Canadian Malartic, Barnat, Sladen et EastMalartic. Entre 1935 et 1983, la production dans ce campminier a été de cinq millions d’onces d’or.

Le gisement Canadian Malartic a été découvert en 1926;la production a débuté en 1935 et la mine a fermé en 1965après en avoir extrait 1 080 000 onces d’or à partir de 9,93millions de tonnes de minerai. Après sa fermeture, la pro-priété est demeurée inactive jusqu’en 1979, l’année de sonachat par Lac Minerals. De 1980 à 1988, Lac Minerals aexploré la propriété dans le but de définir un gisementéconomique pouvant être exploité à ciel ouvert. L’explorationa mené à la définition de cinq zones aurifères à proximité dela surface formant un ensemble historique ayant desressources d’environ 8 160 000 tonnes métriques de mineraià une teneur de 1,98 grammes Au/tonne.

Le projet était en veilleuse lorsque la compagnie minièreBarrick Gold a acquis Lac Minerals au début des années 1990.Barrick Gold a par la suite vendu la propriété à McWattersMining en 2003 cependant, un an plus tard, McWatters a fait


mines en vedette

Ça prend un village

faillite. À la fin de 2004, Osisko a acheté 100 % des intérêtsde la propriété de l’administration de la faillite.

La communautéLa ville de Malartic comporte 1000 ménages (3500 per-

sonnes). Les 8,4 millions d’onces de réserves aurifèresd’Osisko sont situées au sud de la ville; il y a actuellement205 maisons à cet emplacement. Environ 30 % de cesmaisons sont situées au-dessus d’anciennes mines. À cer-tains endroits, le pilier de couronne au-dessus des chantiersa une épaisseur de seulement huit à neuf mètres, ce qui con-stitue un problème de sécurité. Des clôtures avec panneauxde mise en garde avaient été érigées dans ces secteurs de laville durant les années 1970. Si Osisko décide d’aller de l’a-vant et d’exploiter le gisement, les 205 demeures devrontêtre déplacées puisqu’elles sont dans le secteur à risque; unezone tampon de 150 mètres est aussi planifiée entre le murfinal de la fosse et le reste de la ville de Malartic.

Pour répondre aux besoins des résidents de la zone de réin-stallation, Osisko a acheté des terrains à l’extrémité nord de laville. La construction sur les nouveaux terrains a débuté ennovembre 2007 et, à ce jour, 23 lots sont prêts et 157 autressont en construction dans ce secteur, connu sous l’appellationSecteur 7. Osisko a déjà acheté 62 maisons dans le secteur sudet 124 ménages ont accepté la réinstallation au Secteur 7. Lacompagnie est à définir les derniers détails de déplacementdes premières maisons sur leurs nouveaux sites cet été.

La communauté a cependant été impliquée dès le début duprojet de réinstallation. « Nous travaillons à la formulation de laréinstallation depuis 2005 avec un planificateur urbain », expliqueM. Roosen. « Nous avons créé un comité consultatif communau-taire et les membres ont travaillé avec le planificateur urbain; cedernier a effectué un relevé des secteurs autour de Malartic afind’identifier les endroits où les gens aimeraient vivre. »

Les résidents pouvaient signaler ce qu’ils aimeraient dans lenouveau secteur Nord, lequel est situé à proximité d’un terrainde golf et de l’école secondaire; de nombreuses rencontresont été tenues avant d’arriver à un consensus. Osisko a aussirécemment ouvert un bureau des relations avec la commu-nauté au cœur de la ville, avec trois employés à temps plein.

« C’est ouvert à tous en tout temps », explique M. Roosen.« Les plans sont disponibles pour quiconque veut les voir.Notre directeur des communications est de Malartic et notreagent des relations publiques vient de Val-d’Or. »

La route à parcourirÀ ce jour, Osisko a acheté pour plus de 180 millions de dol-

lars d’équipements miniers (les fournisseurs comprennentHewitt Equipment/Caterpillar, Metso, Fl Smidth, ABB, GECanada) et les études de délimitation indiquent une durée de vie

de 14,3 ans avec une production moyenne de 460 000 oncesd’or; le coût au comptant des activités de production s’élèveraità 369 $ en tenant compte de la durée de vie de la mine.

« Ce projet créera 400 emplois à long terme et environ 800emplois durant la période de construction en plus de 700 à 1000autres emplois dans les services et les emplois secondaires aucours de la durée de vie estimée du projet », dit M. Roosen à pro-pos de l’impact économique du projet. « La sélection de four-nisseurs locaux fait partie de notre stratégie de maximisation desbénéfices pour la communauté locale. À la fin d’avril, nous avonstenu trois ‘journées fournisseurs’ dans la région de l’Abitibi (àMalartic, à Val-d’Or et à Rouyn-Noranda). Nous avons rencontrédes compagnies locales, nous avons expliqué nos exigences etnous leur avons donné la possibilité de participer au projet. Cesévénements ont connu un franc succès – plus de 180 compag-nies ont participé et ont échangé des informations avec nosdirecteurs de la construction et de l’exploitation. »

Pour Osisko, le développement Malartic représente un toutnouveau modèle géologique dans un ancien camp minier. « Étantdonné qu’il s’agit d’une mine qui a été fermée et que nous avonsdéfini 8,4 millions d’onces additionnelles dans les 1000 premiersjours d’une nouvelle exploration, cela démontre le potentiel dedurabilité à long terme de ce camp minier », dit M. Roosen.

Il souligne l’importance d’investir en exploration et enrecherche scientifique. « C’est principalement en raison desavances technologiques et de la montée des prix de l’or quenous pouvons exploiter des gisements d’un gramme par tonne,des gisements qui n’auraient pas été exploitables il y a dix ans.« Nous devons considérer de nouveaux modèles et continuer àinvestir en exploration et dans des chercheurs qui ont de bonnesidées. L’application des nouvelles technologies minièree et unnouveau modèle géologique sont les clés de notre succès àCanadian Malartic. Nous sommes confiants que ces idées con-duiront à encore plus de succès dans ce camp et dans la région.

Il semble que ces « bonnes idées » sont reconnues. Osiskoa gagné le prix de prospecteur de l’année 2007 de l’Associationcanadienne des prospecteurs et des développeurs (PDAC); lacompagnie a aussi mérité le prix de « Prospecteur de l’année »de l’Association de l’exploration minière du Québec.

« En plus d’avoir découvert et défini un gisement aurifère declasse mondiale, une bonne partie de la raison derrière l’attri-bution du prix PDAC était basée sur notre travail en relationscommunautaires à mesure que nous avancions le projet », ditM. Roosen. « Nous avons regardé ce qui avait déjà été fait dansl’industrie lorsque les compagnies bâtissaient des mines àproximité de communautés existantes; nous nous sommesengagés à faire quelque chose de tout à fait différent. Osisko aaussi récemment ouvert un fonds de durabilité pour la ville deMalartic, fusionnant encore plus la ville et le futur succès de lacompagnie. « À la fin de l’exploitation minière, nous espéronsque ce programme de dotation se poursuivra à perpétuité, lais-sant un héritage qui soutiendra la ville de Malartic. » CIM

June/July 2008 | 55

mines en vedette

On Any Level, You Can’t Afford To Miss It.

THE WORLD’S PREMIER MINING EXPOSITION

September 22–24, 2008

The mining industry’sThe mining industry’sbiggest event.biggest event.The mining industry’sbiggest event.biggest event.The largest expo ever with 1200 companies in nine exhibit halls.

Only once every 4 years.Only once every 4 years.The best opportunity to see the latest technology & newest products.

Everyone will be there.Everyone will be there.Join over 30,000 of the top mining professionals in the industry.

www.minexpo.comwww.minexpo.com

information

www.minexpo.com

SPONSORED BYSPONSORED BYNATIONAL MINING ASSOCIATION

MINExpo_CanadianInstitute.indd 1 5/30/08 12:25:57 PM

June/July 2008 | 57

CIM welcomes new members A look back in time20 YEARS AGO…• The First Canadian Conference on Computer

Applications in the Mineral Industry was held atUniversité Laval on March 7-9, 1988.

• PetSoc held its 39th Annual Technical Meeting.• Catchy title! An article published in CIM Bulletin was

titled: “Old mines never die… they just close down, andrest a while!”

• The CIM Algoma Branch set up a $36,000 trust fund toaward bursaries to mining students over the following15 years.

• Funded by ten companies, an industrial research chair inhydrometallurgy was set up at UBC. The first chairholder was Ernest Peters, a 30-year faculty member inUBC’s Department of Metals and Materials Engineering.

• Future president of CIM (for 1997-1998) A.M. “Sandy”Laird was appointed vice president, project develop-ments, at Placer Dome, for whom he had worked for 28years.

The above was taken from the June and July 1988 issues ofCIM Bulletin.

Arika, Sreenivasulu, AlbertaBach, Leora, British ColumbiaBernales, Jesus Sonny, British

ColumbiaBowles, Steven, QuébecBunton, John, AlbertaCadien, Kenneth, AlbertaCampbell, Galen, AlbertaCarson, Wes, British ColumbiaDickson, Peter, OntarioEkstein, Mendel I., USAEsford, Fiona, British ColumbiaFarthing, Greg, QuébecFayram, Todd, USAFjordell, Kjell, OntarioFroc, Neil, British ColumbiaHamilton, Tim, SaskatchewanHartard, Mario, OntarioHudon, Michel G., QuébecIsidoro, Allison, British ColumbiaJarjoura, George, Nova ScotiaKhalesi, Nasser M., British

ColumbiaKumar, Sunil, OntarioLeseigneur, Juan Carlos, OntarioLloyd, Geraint, QuébecMarcantonio, George, USAMcMinn, Neil, Alberta

Moreau, Eric, Nova ScotiaMroczek, Marek, British ColumbiaNassrov, Dmitri, QuébecNunes, Denise, British ColumbiaO’Grady, Frank, British ColumbiaOlscamp, David, New BrunswickOrdonez, Juan Carlos, OntarioO’Reilly, Andrew, OntarioPlante, Martin, QuébecPlante, Alexandra, QuébecRobson, David M., SaskatchewanRojas, Rodrigo, OntarioRossouw, Ralph, AustraliaRoy, Louis, USASanchez, Carlos Oré, QuébecSanford, Tim, OntarioSingh, Nalini, QuébecSmith, Herbert, OntarioSoch, Steven, Nova ScotiaSolodkin, Vladimir, British

ColumbiaStanley, Clifford, Nova ScotiaStevens, Edward, AustraliaTanas, Kevin, AlbertaVaillant, Denis, QuébecWatson, David, ManitobaWong, Edward, OntarioYoung, Barry, Australia

cim news

COSMO LabMining Engineering

For registration and information

please contact:

Deborah FranklandDept. of Mining and Materials

EngineeringMcGill University

Montreal, Quebec

Email:[email protected]

Phone: (514) 398-4755,ext. 089638

Fax: (514) 398-7099

Website:www.cim.org

http://cosmo.mcgill.ca

Applied risk assessment for ore reserves and mine planning: Conditional simulation for the mining industryTo be determined, MontrealRoussos Dimitrakopoulos, McGill University, Canada

Learn about the latest regulations on public reporting of resources/reserves through state-of-the-art statistical and geostatistical techniques. Learn how to:

• Quantify and deal with grade/tonnage/metal uncertainty and variability.• Learn new e�cient simulation methods for modelling orebodies and how to use the results.• Understand how to use quanti�ed orebody risk in ore reserve estimation, mine planning, and mineral project.

Strategic risk management and applied optimization in mine designSeptember 23-26, MontrealCindy Campbell, Gemcom, Australia; and Roussos Dimitrakopoulos, McGill University, Canada

mine planning methodologies and software. Learn how to: • Improve your understanding of strategic mine planning and life-of-mine optimization concepts.• Learn how geostatistics can help you categorize your resources in an objective manner.• Understand principles of NI43-101 and SME Guide.

Mineral project evaluation techniques and applications: From conventional methods to real options November 10-13, MontrealMichel Bilodeau, McGill University, Canada

techniques to mineral project assessments. Learn how to:• How to gain a practical understanding of economic/�nancial evaluation principles.• How to develop the skills necessary to apply these to support mineral project decisions.• About the real options approach to valuing mining projects.

Geostatistical mineral resource/ore reserve estimation and meeting the new regulatory environment: Step by step from sampling to grade controlSeptember 15-19, MontrealMichel Dagbert, Geostat Systems Int, Canada; Jean-Michel Rendu, Consultant, USA; and Roussos Dimitrakopoulos, McGill University, Canada

Learn about the latest regulations on public reporting of resources/reserves through state-of-the-art statistical and geostatistical techniques. Learn how to:

• Apply geostatistics to predict dilution and adapt reserve estimates to that predicted dilution.• Learn how geostatistics can help you categorize your resources in an objective manner.• Understand principles of NI43-101 and SME Guide.

Quantitative mineral resource assessment an integrated approach: Exploration risk analysis for strategic planningOctober 20-21, MontrealDon Singer, US Geological Survey, USA; David Menzie, US Geological Servey, USA

Learn how to provide decision-makers with unbiased information about the expected value and probabilities of other values of undiscovered mineral resources. Learn how to:

• Identify the sources and magnitudes of risk and uncertainty in assessments of undiscovered mineral resources.• Demonstrate how operational mineral deposit models can reduce uncertainties.• Construct internally consistent models.

Theory and practice of sampling particulate materials October 27-29, Part 1, MontrealOctober 30-31, Part 2 (QA-QC, mine, and project audits), Montreal

AGORATEK, USA

and appropriate applications. Learn how to:• Eye-opening facts you may have overlooked or ignored until now about the consequences of bad sampling and the di�culties of good sampling.• The unsuspected amplitude of economic rami�cations of poor sampling.

2008 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

SEMINAR SERIESSTRATEGIC RISK QUANTIFICATION AND MANAGEMENT

FOR ORE RESERVES AND MINE PLANNING

cim news

June/July 2008 | 59

Le 17 mars dernier, 34 personnesde la Section de Québec assistaient à larencontre annuelle dédiée aux étudi-ants. Les membres de la section ont eule plaisir de recevoir quatre con-férenciers étudiants qui ont partagéleur expérience de stage ou de projetde fin d’études.

Les quatre conférenciers étudiantsont présenté leurs sujets :• Compte-rendu d’une visite de qua-

tre gisements au Maroc (GuillaumeLesage, étudiant en géologie)

• Les staurotides zincifères de laMine LaRonde (Pascal Delisle, étu-diant en géologie)

• Résidus miniers épaissis et en pâte :une approche durable pour l’indus-trie minière (Simon Rouleau, étu-diant en génie mines etminéralurgie)

• Analyse du CCM, appareil demesure du niveau de la charge con-tenue dans un broyeur autogène

(GeoffreyB a r d e n ,é t u d i a n ten génie

des matériaux et de la métallurgie)Leurs performances étaient éval-

uées par un jury composé de profes-

sionnels du milieu; la Section deQuébec décernait 1000 $ en prix pourles présentations. La remise des prix aété faite sous l’égide du président sor-tant de la Section de Québec,Monsieur Rock Gagnon.

Cette rencontre était comman-ditée par Agnico-Eagle, l’Associationminière du Québec, COREM, FaskenMartineau, Gestion SODEMEX inc.,Instrumentation GDD inc et MinesVirginia. CIM

Une activité pour les étudiants

De gauche à droite : Guillaume Lesage, Pascal Delisle, Simon Rouleau, Geoffrey Barden et Rock Gagnon.

par Marie Fortin, secrétaire de laSection de Québec de l’ICM

It’s all about thestudents

On March 17, 34 members of theCIM Quebec Branch participated inan evening dedicated to students.The four student speakers discussedtheir work-terms or end-of-termprojects:• Guillaume Lesage, a geology stu-

dent, on a visit to four deposits inMorocco

• Pascal Delisle, a geology student,on LaRonde mine

• Simon Rouleau, a mining andmineralogy engineering student,on thickened and paste miningtailings: a sustainable approachfor the mining industry

• Geoffrey Barden, a materials andmetallurgy engineering student,on ACL analysis: a measuringdevice of the circulating load inan autogenous grinder.The students’ performances were

evaluated by a jury; $1,000 in prizeswas awarded. The evening was spon-sored by Agnico-Eagle Mines, theQuebec Mining Association,COREM, Fasken Martineau, GestionSODEMEX inc., InstrumentationGDD inc. and Virginia Mines. CIM

cim news

après seulement quelques moisaprès avoir été installés!

Compte tenu des impactséconomiques énormes de la corrosiondes supports, des risques pour lasécurité des travailleurs, les études deM. Dorion seront des plus utiles pouraméliorer la rentabilité économique

et la sécurité de nos mines souter-raines au Québec.

Rappelons que M. Dorion a étéboursier de la Section de ThetfordMines de l’ICM comme étudiant à lamaîtrise et comme étudiant au doc-torat en génie minier à l’UniversitéLaval de Québec. CIM


Le 13 mars dernier au Club LeRelais de Thetford Mines, unetrentaine de membres de la sectionde Thetford Mines de l’ICM accueil-laient M. Jean-François Dorion àtitre de conférencier. MonsieurDorion est professeur au départe-ment de technologie minérale duCégep de Thetford Mines et étudiantau doctorat à l’Université Laval. Saprésentation s’intitulait «La corro-sion des systèmes de soutènementsouterrain».

Monsieur Dorion a étudié surplace l’impact de différents facteurssur la corrosion des boulons d’an-crage et autres dispositifs d’acier ser-vant à soutenir les massifs rocheuxdans cinq mines souterraines auQuébec. Il s’agit des mines Niobec,Mouska, Géant Dormant, Doyon etLaronde, toutes situées en Abititi et

au Saguenay. Ila observé destaux de corro-sion très élevésdans ces deuxdernières mines

de sulfures contenant des métaux debase (cuivre, zinc, etc.) et précieux(or, argent, etc.).

Les premières observations et con-clusions de ses études se résumentcomme suit :• Les conditions (eau et air) sont très

variables d’une mine à une autre età l’intérieur de chaque mine;

• L’humidité de l’air est en généraltrès élevée dans les galeries, c’est-à-dire de 70 % à 100 %;

• Les eaux souterraines peuvent êtreagressives en raison de la présenced’ions dissous;

• Les eaux souterraines de certainesmines peuvent être acides (à causede la présence des sulfures).M. Dorion avait apporté des

échantillons de grillage et deplaques très corrodés et certains

CIM branch hosts Jean-François DorionOn March 13, 2008, about 30 members of the CIM Thetford Mines Branch

greeted Jean-François Dorion, a professor in the Department of Mineral Technologyat the Cégep de Thetford Mines and a doctoral student at Laval University. His pres-entation covered corrosion of underground support systems. He received scholar-ships from the CIM Thetford Mines Branch, first for his master’s studies and thenfor his doctoral studies in mining engineering at Laval University in Quebec City.

Dorion studied the impact of various factors on the corrosion of anchor bolts andother steel devices used to support rock masses, on site, at the Niobec, Mouska,Géant Dormant, Doyon and Laronde mines, all located in the Abititi and theSaguenay regions. Very high corrosion rates were observed in the latter two sulphidemines; they contain base and precious metals.

Dorion brought several samples of very corroded grids and plaques; somehad only been installed a few months. Given the huge economic impacts ofsupport corrosion and the risks for worker safety, Dorion’s work will prove tobe most useful in improving the economic viability and the safety of under-ground mines in Quebec. CIM

L’ICM reçoit le professeur Jean-François Doriondu Cégep de Thetford Mines

par Pierre Laroche,président de la SectionThetford Mines de l’ICM

De gauche à droite : Thomas Coleman, président ex-officio, Section Thetford Mines, Pierre Laroche, président,Section Thetford Mines, Jean-François Dorion, enseignant au Cégep de Thetford et conférencier, FrançoisJacques, vice-président, Section Thetford Mines, Richard Rodrigue, secrétaire-trésorier, Section Thetford Mines.

Call for PapersCIM is committed to enabling knowledgesharing to help our operations maintain theirproductivity. Presenters from around the globewill line up in Toronto to share their tools andexperiences — arming you with new ideas toimplement and enhance your business.

The technical program will feature the follow-ing themes:

geosciencesmining and softwareenvironment and processesinnovations and operationsmanagement, ethics and law

It will cater to both underground and open pit operations, in hard and soft rock environments.

Interested in submitting an abstract? Submission deadline is September 30.www.cim.org/toronto2009

Demande de communicationsL’ICM est engagé à faciliter le partage desconnaissances dans le but d’aider nosexploitations à maintenir leur productivité. Desconférenciers de partout au monde seront àToronto pour partager leurs outils et leursexpériences – vous donnant de nouvelles idées à implanter et visant à promouvoir votre entreprise.

Le programme technique soulignera lesthèmes suivants :

les sciences de la Terreles logiciels d’exploitation minièrel’environnement et les procédésles innovations et les exploitationsles aspects d’éthiques et légaux

Il portera sur les exploitations souterraines et àciel ouvert, sur les roches dures et tendres.

2009CIM Conference and Exhibition Congrès et Salon commercial de l’ICM

May 10 to 13 | Toronto, Ontario | 10 au 13 mai

Êtes-vous intéressé à soumettre un résumé? La date limite est le 30 septembre.www.cim.org/toronto2009

cim news


CIM Annual Reportavailable

For the first time ever, CIM has pub-lished an annual report includingdetails on branch and society activities,messages from the president and execu-tive director, details on publicationsand events, and so much more. Go towww.cim.org to read up on what hap-pened within CIM in 2007.

The amassing of information andwriting of the report was carried out byDeborah Sarik. Our thanks go out to herfor this massive undertaking.

Rapport annuel del’ICM disponible

Pour la première fois de son histoire,l’ICM publie un rapport annuel qui com-prend les messages du président et dudirecteur exécutif, détaille les activitésdes sections et des sociétés, traite despublications et des événements, et bienplus encore. Visitez le www.cim.org poursavoir ce qui s’est passé à l’ICM en 2007.

Deborah Sarik a colligé toute l’infor-mation et écrit ce rapport. Nous laremercions sincèrement pour cettegrande réalisation.

cim news

CIM EVENTSCIM Saskatoon Branch Golf Tournament and DinnerJuly 11Saskatoon, SaskatchewanContact: Robert CareyEmail: [email protected]

12th Annual Rudolph Kneer Memorial GolfTournamentAugust 9Lively, OntarioContact: Roxanne KneerEmail: [email protected]

Hydrometallurgy 2008 — 6th InternationalSymposium honouring Robert ShoemakerAugust 17-20Phoenix, ArizonaContact: Courtney YoungTel.: 303.973.9550Fax: 303.973.3845Email: [email protected]: www.smenet.org/meetings

The Conference of Metallurgists (COM)August 24-27Winnipeg, ManitobaContact: Brigitte Farah, MetSoc of CIMTel.: 514.939.2710, ext. 1329Fax: 514.939.9160Email: [email protected]: www.metsoc.org

CIM New Brunswick Branch 33rd ConventionSeptember 4-6Bathurst, New BrunswickContact: Paul RennickEmail: [email protected]

Frank Grieco Golf TournamentSeptember 17Toronto, OntarioContact: CIM Toronto Branch AdministratorTel.: 416.352.1989Fax: 416.352.1989Email: [email protected]

Cobalt Branch Seafood NightSeptember 25Haileybury, OntarioContact: Todd SteisEmail: [email protected]

Symposium 2008 on Mines and the Environment/Symposium 2008 sur l’environnement et les minesNovember 2-5Rouyn-Noranda, QuébecContact: Chantal Murphy, CIM Meetings CoordinatorTel.: 514.939.2710, ext. 1309Fax: 514.939.2714Email: [email protected]: www.cim.org

AROUND THE WORLD

III International Conference on Mining Innovation(MININ 2008)August 6-8Santiago, ChileContact: Olga CherepanovaTel.: +56.2.652.1519Fax: +56.2.652.1570Email: [email protected]: www.minin2008.com

2nd International Conference on WirelessCommunications in Underground and Confined AreasAugust 25-27Val-d’Or, QuebecContact: Hasnaâ AnissTel.: 819.874.7400, ext. 221Fax: 819.874.7166Email: [email protected]: www.icwcuca.ca

21st World Mining Congress and Expo 2008September 7-11Krakow-Katowice, PolandContact: Katarzyna WitekTel.: +48.12.617.4604Fax: +48.12.617.4605Email: [email protected]: www.wmc-expo2008.org

1st Southern Hemisphere International RockMechanics SymposiumSeptember 15-19Perth, Western AustraliaContact: Josephine RuddleTel.: +61.8.6488.3300Fax: +61.8.6488.1130Email: [email protected]

V International Mineral Processing Seminar(PROCEMIN 2008)October 22-24Santiago, ChileFabiola BustamanteTel.: +56.2.652.1555Fax: +56.2.658.1570Email: [email protected]: www.procemin.cl

World Scrap Metal Congress 2008November 3-5Shanghai, ChinaContact: Juliana TyanTel.: +65.6322.2726Fax: +65.6271.8057Email: [email protected] Website: www.terrapinn.com/2008/scrap

CA

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June/July 2008 | 63

Thanks to our sponsors!Without your contributions, the CIM Conference and Exhibition would not have been the huge success it was.

Merci à nos commanditairesVos contributions sont essentielles au succes de Congrès et Salon commercial de l’ICM

Gold • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

2 Colour:Logo = Pantone 3025Text = Black

Diamond • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Silver • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Bronze • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Friends • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Mining in Society • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Premier • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

June/July 2008 | 65

Southern African Institute of Mining & Metallurgy

Australasian Institute of Mining & Metallurgy

2200009914 – 18 April 2009

Canadian Institute of Mining & Metallurgy & Petroleum

Grand Westin Hotel Cape Town, South Africa

CALL FOR PAPERS The Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy(SAIMM), the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgyand Petroleum (CIM) and the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM) have agreed to jointly convene a World Gold Conference every two years. Theconference will be held on a rotational basis betweenthe three organizations – in 2009 it will be held in CapeTown, South Africa and hosted by the Western Cape Branch of the SAIMM. Some important aspects of the current mining environment will provide opportunities and threats for the industry in the foreseeable future,which include:

x All-time high gold metal pricesx All-time high non-gold metal prices present

opportunities for By- and Co-products from gold operations

x Minimal exploration success for the last 10years and little immediate prospect for revolutionary success is leading to revisitingknown “old” (sub-marginal) deposits

x Lower precious metal content x Increasing refractoriness x More energy efficient mining and processing

World Gold 2009 will reflect these key issues as greater focus will be required on improved efficiencyand latest technology in – (a) geological mapping, (b) gold mining, (c) mineral processing, and (d) extractionand refining. Thus, we are focusing on more environmentally friendly,resource efficient and energy efficient mining and recovery methods.

Papers are therefore called for under the followingMAIN THEMES: EEnnvvii rroonnmmeennttaall EEffff iicc iieennccyyRReessoouurrccee aanndd EEnneerrggyy EEffff iicc iieennccyyMMiinniinngg EEffff iicc iieennccyyTTeecchhnniiccaall EEffff iicc iieennccyyAccepted papers will be subject to peer review. All accepted papers will be published and presented at the conference. Authors are required to register for theconference to present their papers.The language of the conference will be English.

PRE-CONFERENCEWORKSHOPS

Three pre-conference workshops will be organised in conjunction with World Gold 2009:

x Gold Processing Workshop

Technological developments and their applications in gold processing

Convener: Guy Deschênes

x Flotation Technology in the Mining Industry Workshop

Looking at the newest technologies in flotation used by the mining industry

Conveners: Cyril O’Connor and JP Franzidis

x Environmental Aspects of Water UsageWorkshop

Environmental aspects such as mine water treatment, sustainability, etc. in gold miningoperations

Convener: Dave Deglon

The Final Date for Submission of Abstracts is 31 July 2008.

We invite you to email an abstract, indicating your possible participation in either the Conference or the Workshops (or both), not exceeding 300 wordsin English, to:

Enid Thom Technical Coordinator Tel : +27 (0)21 808-4423 Fax : +27 (0)21 808-2059 Email : [email protected]

www.worldgold2009.org.za

in conjunction with 3 Pre-Conference Workshops

The Canadian Institute of Mining,Metallurgy and Petroleum

RegistrationDelegate registration fees include admission to the technical sessions and

a copy of the conference program guide. Banquet tickets must be reserved

and are on a first-come, first-served basis. Additional fees may apply

depending on your registration category (see website or form for more

details). Prices are listed on website. Discounted registration pricing until

June 30.

www.metsoc.org/com2008June/July 2008 | 67

COM2008WINNEPEGCONFERENCE OF METALLURGISTS

Friendly Winnipeg welcomes you!The Conference of Metallurgists, the premier annualevent of the Metallurgical Society of CIM, is returningto Winnipeg on August 24–27, 2008, after an absenceof 21 years. The organizing committee, with theadvice of its industry and academic representatives,has selected the theme Sustainable Practices inMetallurgy and Materials: Embracing the Future. Thechair of the technical program committee, Bill Caley,Dalhousie University, and the chairs and co-chairs ofthe nine international symposia have structured thetechnical program of the conference to reflect the

latest advances and main concerns and issues affecting the future of the met-allurgical and materials industry. Lectures will be given by internationally rec-ognized leaders in industry and academia, and will address the major topicsrelating to the future of the metals and materials sector and its impact on theenvironment. Presentations will include topics on research and development(on new as well as established materials), processes and products, and therelated technological advances. The technical program will also addressissues relating to economic drivers, impacts of industry consolidation, man-power development, sustainability, trends in operations and productivity, andhuman health issues.

In addition, participants will also enjoy the hospitality, sunshine and beautifulbeaches of “Friendly Manitoba” for which it is famous. I invite you all to cometo Winnipeg this August and encourage you to make the conference part of anexciting summer family vacation.

Mahesh ChaturvediCOM2008 Conference Chair

Deadline is August 1

Poster sessionPapers from various fields of minerals, metals and materials research andtechnologies will be presented at the general poster session held onMonday, August 25. Poster paper presentations provide an excellentopportunity for learning about current research projects, encourageinteractive discussion and showcase the work of students. Send posters orabstracts to [email protected].

ProceedingsProceedings for the major symposia will be available for sale at the con-ference bookstore during the meeting. Orders can be pre-paid throughthe online conference registration.


Keep up to date! www.metsoc.org/com2008

Technical programZinc and Lead Metallurgy

Chairs: J. Liu, Vale Inco, J. Harlamovs, Teck Cominco, L. Centomo, Xstrata

Zinc, and M.J. Collins, Sherritt Technologies

Sponsored by: The Non-Ferrous Pyrometallurgy Section, The

Hydrometallurgy Section of the Metallurgical Society of CIM

Aerospace Materials and Manufacturing Symposium IV:

Advances in Processing and Repair of Aerospace Materials

(in honour of Dr. Mahesh Chaturvedi)

Chairs: M. Jahazi, P.C. Patnaik, National Research Council of Canada, and

M. Elboudjaini, National Resources Canada

Sponsored by: The Materials Performance and Integrity Section and the

Materials Science and Engineering Section of the Metallurgical Society of CIM

Water, Air and Land: Sustainability Issues in Mineral

and Metal Extraction (WALSIM)

Chairs: C. Jia, University of Toronto, and R. Rao, McGill University

Sponsored by: The Environment Section of the Metallurgical Society of CIM,

Consortium on Sustainable Materials (COSM)

Corrosion and Wear of Materials

Chairs: Z. Farhat, Dalhousie, A. Alfantazi, University of British Columbia, and

M. Elboujdaini, CANMET

Sponsored by: The Materials Performance and Integrity Section of the

Metallurgical Society of CIM

See the complete technical program with abstractsinserted with this issue of CIM Magazine.

www.metsoc.org/com2008

SponsorsWe would like to thank our sponsors for their support.

June/July 2008 | 69

Organizing committeeCOM2008 Conference ChairMahesh ChaturvediUniversity of Manitoba

Technical Program ChairWilliam CaleyDalhousie University

Publicity ChairMathieu BrochuMcGill University

Industrial Tour ChairJack CahoonUniversity of Manitoba

Short Courses ChairGeorge KipourosDalhousie University

Sponsorship ChairMichael King (retired)Falconbridge Technology Centre

Poster Session and VolunteersLanre OjoUniversity of Manitoba

SecretaryElenor FriesenUniversity of Manitoba

Structural Alloys for Lightweight Vehicles

Chairs: S. Esmaeili, M. Worswick, N. Zhou, University of Waterloo, M. Jain,

D.S Wilkinson, J. McDermid, S. Shankar and C. Barry, McMaster University

Sponsored by: The Materials Science and Engineering Section (MSES)

of the Metallurgical Society of CIM

Management in Metallurgy

Chairs: D. Ashman, Teck Cominco Metals Ltd., and D. Brosig, Hatch

Sponsored by: The Management in Metallurgy Section of the Metallurgical

Society of CIM

Advanced Characterization Techniques Applied to Minerals,

Metals and Materials

Chairs: R. Gauvin, McGill University, and D. Paktunc, CANMET

Sponsored by: The Metallurgical Society of CIM

Functional Nanomaterials: Current Status and Future Trends

Chair: M. Brochu, McGill University

Sponsored by: Material Science and Engineering Section of the Metallurgical

Society of CIM

Recent Developments in Advanced High-Strength Steels Processing

Chairs: A.M. Elwazri, McGill University, and P. Wanjara, National Research

Council of Canada, Institute for Aerospace Research

Sponsored by: The Iron and Steel Section of the Metallurgical Society of CIM

PREMIUM CORPORATE EVENT

Industrial toursThe conference is offeringthree excellent field trips inand around the Manitoba andBritish Columbia region ofCanada. Spaces are limited soact fast!

Industrial tours will take placeon Thursday and Friday fol-lowing the technical sessionsof the conference and includetransportation, flights,accommodations and mealswhere indicated (see exactschedule and inclusions onthe website). For additional

information contact Jack Cahoon at Tel.: 204.474.6401 orby email at [email protected].


Jack Cahoon

Short coursesAll COM2008 courses will beheld at the Winnipeg ConventionCentre. This year, we have organ-ized three excellent shortcourses that will take place priorto the conference technical ses-sions. For more details go towww.metsoc.org/com2008.

Zinc and Lead MetallurgyHeld on August 23-24, this two-day course will cover the followingtopics:

• Introduction to zinc and lead processes• Lead smelting• Roasting and smelting of zinc and Pb/Zn concentrates• Ausmelt• Zinc calcine leaching• Zinc pressure leaching• Zinc atmospheric leaching• Solvent extraction of zinc• Purification and impurity control• Electrolysis of lead and zinc• Recycling• Environmental aspects

Near Net Shape Production of AluminumComponents Via “Press-and-Sinter” PowderMetallurgy Processing TechnologiesThis one-day course held on August 24 will review:

• Characterization • Secondary operationsof metallic powders • Commercial alloy systems

• Powder production techniques • Case studies of select• Uni-axial die compaction industrial products• Sintering theory and practice • Emerging developments

Wear of Engineering Materials and Protection and CorrosionThis course, held on August 24, will be broken into two parts — wear(a.m.) and corrosion (p.m.)Wear:

• Wear modes, mechanisms, testing and characterization (abra-sion, adhesion, erosion, corrosive/oxidative wear, fretting)

• Wear behaviour of engineering materials (metallic materials,ceramics, composites, others)

• Surface engineering for wear protection (surface modifica-tion, protective coatings, others)

Corrosion:• Economic, social, political and environmental impacts of corrosion• Thermodynamics of corrosion • Kinetics of corrosion • Corrosion rate measurement techniques • Passivity/localized corrosion • Corrosion inhibitors• Industrial corrosion cases

Georges Kipouros

Companions programDiscover friendly Manitoba witha series of tours set to discoverthe city, culture and fun duringyour stay in Winnipeg.

Monday, August 25Winnipeg CitySightseeing Tour withManitoba Museum

This tour includes the Forks

National Historic site, Winnipeg’s

historical “meeting place,” with

its unique outdoor historic site and indoor market of

shops, cafes and restaurants. Next, you will see Winnipeg’s

French Quarter (St. Boniface) and the beautiful St.

Elenor Friesen

June/July 2008 | 71

Boniface Cathedral. The cathedral’s cemetery features the

grave of Louis Riel, the famous Métis leader and founder

of Manitoba. Also included are the Exchange District for its

architecture and art galleries.

Tuesday, August 26Winnipeg Arts Scene We will start with a fascinating peek into the studios of the

Famous Royal Winnipeg Ballet School, where the students

of the RWB learn the precise art of dance. We will get an

inside look at the wardrobe and shoe departments and get

a glimpse of the students of the world-renowned company

rehearsing.

After the ballet school, you will continue to Ted Motyka’s

Dance Studio, the same studio used in the filming of ShallWe Dance with Jennifer Lopez and Richard Gere. Learn to

“shake it up” with our own private dance lesson. Lunch will

be held at Brio’s on the upper level of the Winnipeg Art

Gallery, of which a guided tour is included.

Wednesday, August 27Fashion Museum and Nygard ShoppingExperience

Visit the Costume Museum of Canada, home to a collection

of 35,000 artifacts spanning 400 years. Afterwards, we will

venture to the nearby Nygard Fashion World, located in a

beautifully restored historic building. More than just a trip

to a store, we’ll have our own corporate wardrobe specialist

addressing different body shapes, how to coordinate the

wardrobe and providing information about investment

shopping. In addition, a mini fashion show will be included

that showcases some of the most current fashion trends

and popular looks. Of course, time for shopping is included.

HudBay Minerals Inc., Flin Flon, Manitoba

Hudbay Minerals Inc. is an integrated mining company pro-ducing zinc, copper, gold and silver metals. Hudson BayMining and Smelting Co. is a wholly-owned subsidiary oper-ating in northern Manitoba. The zinc plant produces115,000 tonnes per year with the world’s first two-stage zincpressure leach plant using Sherritt technology. In 2001,HudBay commissioned a modern fully automated cellhousedesigned by Asturiana de Zinc, S.A. The 777 mine, locatedimmediately adjacent to HudBay’s metallurgical complex, isthe company’s flagship mine that produced 1.37 milliontonnes of ore in 2006.

Boeing and Standard Aero

Boeing Canada Technology Ltd.’s Winnipeg Division is thelargest aerospace composite manufacturer in Canada. Theydesign, develop and fabricate complex glass and graphitefiber composite structures and sub-assemblies for Boeing737, 747, 767 and 777 aircraft. They specialize in wing-to-body fairings, engine strut fairings, thrust reverser blockerdoors as well as additional complex composites includingNacelle Chines and Ducts.

Standard Aero, a leading aerospace company, is one of theworld’s largest independent providers of gas turbine main-tenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO). Standard Aero serv-ices General Electric, Rolls-Royce, Honeywell and Pratt &Whitney Canada engines used by regional airline, businessaviation, helicopter and military operators.

Teck Cominco ZnPb Tour, Trail, BritishColumbia (two-day tour)

At Trail, located in British Columbia’s beautiful Kootenayregion, participants will see and learn about one of theworld’s largest integrated zinc/lead smelting and refiningcomplexes. The technical tour of Teck Cominco’s Trail oper-ations includes the return flight to/from Winnipeg.

Register online at www.metsoc.org/com2008

Social programTo complement the full days of events, join us and your col-leagues in the evening for some excellent opportunity to net-work in a fun and relaxing atmosphere.

Opening ReceptionAll delegates are invited to attend the Opening Reception,sponsored by SNC-Lavalin on Sunday evening, August 24. Yourregistration includes one complimentary cocktail and hors-d’oeuvres.

MetSoc Annual General Meeting and LuncheonOn Monday, August 25, the society will hold its Annual GeneralMeeting and will feature the inauguration of the newMetallurgical Society president. The luncheon ticket includeslunch and a glass of wine. Tickets for members, authors/ses-sion chairs, non-members, sister societies are complimentarybut must be reserved as seating is limited. Life and retiredmembers, students and guests may purchase tickets with registration.

Industry-Student MixerOn Monday evening, August 25, representatives from industryand students are invited to meet informally at the mixer, spon-sored by SGS Minerals. This event is by invitation only, exceptfor students.

MetSoc Section MeetingsThe various sections of MetSoc will hold their annual meetingson Tuesday during lunch (a box lunch will be served). Thesemeetings are an invitation to all who are interested in joiningthese groups and Society.

MetSoc Awards BanquetOn Tuesday, August 26, the society will honour its outstandingmembers by presentation of the Society Awards. Tickets formembers, authors/session chairs, non-members and sistersocieties are complimentary but must be reserved as seatingis limited. Life and retired members, students and guests maypurchase tickets with registration.

The Historical Metallurgy committee will host a complementary box lunch on Tuesday, August 26,

featuring invited speaker William Culver.

Technical Innovation & Business Strategies: CopperMetallurgy 1860-1920 with William W. Culver,

Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science at State University of New York

SPECIAL EVENT for all Delegates

The Historical Metallurgy Committee celebrates

30 years!

Student travelFinancial assistance is available to support student travel tothe conference for the authors of posters or papers. Only CIMstudent members qualify for this assistance. Please use theonline student travel request form at www.metsoc.org andsend your request for funding, including an abstract of youraccepted paper/poster to Brigitte Farah at [email protected].

MetSoc head officeBrigitte FarahManager, Administration and Meeting Planning

Ronona SaundersPublications and Publicity Coordinator

Anne BrunetAdministrative Assistant

Anne Brunet, Brigitte Farah and Ronona Saunders


Project2 6/2/08 1:46 PM Page 1


The unusually hot water encountered in the Comstock mines played animportant role in pointing geologists and miners to the link between hotsprings, hydrothermal fluids and mineralization. Similar hot water occurred ina large geyser field at Steamboat Springs, 11 kilometres northwest of Comstockand 16 kilometres south of Reno, Nevada. A period of intense fumarolic activ-ity between 1984 and 1987, before the installation of a geothermal powerplant, showed that up to 21 springs are present, making it either the fourth orfifth largest geyser field in the world. Whereas the geysers had reached heightsof up to 15 metres previously, the power plant lowered the water table to about10 metres below surface (GOSA, 1989).

The Steamboat Springs geyser field lies within a small northeast-trendingbelt of rhyolite domes and flows about eight kilometres long. Two of the domesare up to one kilometre in diameter, three others are smaller and a question-able dome underlies the hot springs. Hot spring activity may have started aslong as 3 million years ago but two of the domes have been dated at only 1.21and 1.14 Ma. The active sinter deposits include small quantities of gold, silver,mercury, antimony, arsenic, thallium, sulphur and boron (Stone, 1990). It wasnatural that early workers in the district would notice the similarities betweenthe hot water in the Comstock Lode and Steamboat Springs.

The mines at Comstock and in the California gold districts made vital con-tributions to the emerging science of economic geology and to mining technol-ogy. Future advances in economic geology would be dependent on the discov-ery and development of new mines that would provide the field laboratories forstudying the origin and occurrence of metals. In addition to systematicprospecting, future discoveries were also dependent on risk capital and bettermining techniques to explore the new prospects at depth. Comstock andCalifornia gold created the excitement that ensured that the tools would beprovided to achieve those aims. Those tools were mining stock exchanges forraising the risk capital and a modern mining equipment manufacturing indus-try, neither of which existed before. Both of these became centred in SanFrancisco, turning it into a world mining capital for about three decades.

The first U.S. paper currency (the ‘greenback’) was issued in 1862, near thestart of the Civil War and just as the Comstock boom was starting. The paperdollar tended to trade at a substantial discount to gold because it was notdirectly exchangeable. Speculation in gold was transacted through an exchangein New York, where the value of the greenback fluctuated widely according tothe war news and traded as low as 40 cents. The federal government had astrong incentive to support new mining developments in the West, since itneeded to acquire substantial reserves of gold and silver to finance the war.Thus, the Civil War had a far-reaching influence on gold and silver mining inCalifornia and Nevada.

Public stock companies focused on mining had already appeared at the timeof the California gold rush. Between 1850 and 1859, 432 companies wereincorporated in California, three-quarters of which were mining or water com-panies (see CIM Magazine, Vol. 2, No. 7, p. 102). The number of incorpora-tions skyrocketed during the Comstock rush; 2,933 were formed in 1863alone, 84 per cent of them gold and silver mines (Jung, 1999). That was partlybecause these mines required relatively more capital for milling equipmentthan the California gold mines, but also because the public became far more

historyThe number of men on the payrolls of

the Comstock mines increased from perhaps 1,500

in the 1860s to more than twice that in the 1870s,

with possibly two-thirds of the men classified as

“miners,” the rest occupying nearly 40 categories

of skilled and unskilled labour. One of the bigger

mines might have 500 to 700 employees… The

census of 1880 showed that while native

Americans formed more than half of the total

population, in the mining labour force they were

greatly outnumbered, only 770 of 2,770 being

American-born. Of the 1966 listed in the special

category of “miners,” 691 were Irish, 543 English

(including Cornishmen but excluding Welshmen),

394 Americans, 132 Canadians and the rest

scattered among very small national groups. By

contrast, Americans had pre-empted jobs that

required operating or maintaining machinery. … A

“Miners Protective Association” was formed at

Virginia City in 1863 … to maintain the existing

standard wage of $4 per day, in coin, for all work

done underground.(PAUL, 1963)

All the information in this chapter on stock marketshas been derived from Sears (1973) unless otherwisenoted.

The Comstock Lode, Nevada (Part 3)*by R.J. “Bob” CathroChemainus, British Columbia

economic geology

June/July 2008 | 75

involved in stock speculation. Eastern U.S. and Europeaninvestors showed scant interest in California or Nevadauntil the rise of lode mining, which they recognized as acomplex, capital-intensive activity that required sophisti-cated machinery and scientific processes. Promotersworked hard to convince the public that mining was nolonger a reckless adventure but rather a modern industryconducted by sober businessmen with practical experi-ence. They skilfully used the press to attract investors bycontributing newspaper articles, writing letters to editorsand serving as sources. The press responded with opti-mism. Some promoters began to produce elaborate stockprospectuses for investors to examine (Jung, 1999).

In contrast to stock exchanges in distant capital mar-kets that focused on financing banks, insurance compa-nies, railways, utilities and other major corporations, alarge number of mining stock exchanges (also called stockboards or brokers boards) were formed in or near westerngold and silver “boom towns,” beginning in 1861. Onefeature that distinguished the western mining markets wasthe close connection, some said far too close, betweenmining companies and banks. Ten exchanges opened inCalifornia between 1861 and 1864, eight of which were inSan Francisco. In Nevada, seven opened in 1863 and fourin 1864, five of which were in Virginia City and three atGold Hill. Two more were opened in Portland in 1864 and1865. Most of them (including the first one, called the SanFrancisco Board of Brokers) were short-lived, even“ephemeral,” partly because several were wiped out by alocal depression in the Nevada market in 1864–1865. By1870, San Francisco was established as a major financialcentre.

Much has been written about the early California stockexchanges, which were characterized by gambling, manip-ulation and fraud long before the era of regulatory over-

sight. The motivation of the early organizers was largelyself-interest. According to one 1861 anecdote, “it becamecustomary for large stock owners to meet in the morning,pretend to make sales to one another and report theirtransactions to brokers, who then used these prices inmaking deals with their customers.” This gave legitimatebrokers a strong incentive to start the San Francisco Stockand Exchange Board in 1862. It operated until 1967.

One particularly important function of specialized(mining) exchanges was their assistance in the growth ofan industry of vital importance in the economic progressof the country and the direction and speed of settlement(Sears, 1973).

In spite of the improprieties and abuses, the better min-ing exchanges gradually became reputable and served avaluable, even crucial, role in generating the risk capitalneeded for exploration. At a time when the industrializa-tion of the United States was in its early stages, the min-ing industry took the lead in the organization of limitedliability companies and specialized stock exchanges tofacilitate the flow of capital. The mining exchanges alsoplayed an important role in making the mining industry aleader in the widespread use of the corporate form of busi-ness organization and in the distribution of securities tothe public.

San Francisco was also strategically positioned, withits large harbour and river access to the gold fields, todevelop into an important manufacturing centre to servethe mining industry. The West Coast was relatively iso-lated from the great eastern industrial centres until thetranscontinental railways were built across the mountains

Above: Pacific Iron Works single-drum hoist, which was made in two sizes — one forwork to a depth of 130 m, and another for work to 200 m. Reproduced in the Miningand Scientific Press, February 19, 1881 (from Bailey, 1996).

Right: Hendy ore crusher, the cheapest on the market. Only the outer jaw moved andthe shoes and dies were easy to replace. Reproduced in the Mining and ScientificPress, November 20, 1880 (from Bailey, 1996).

to the Pacific Coast, starting in 1869. Local entrepreneurstook advantage of this opportunity to develop a thrivingindustry producing custom-made and locally designedequipment. By 1864, 47 foundries and machine shopshad been established, including names such as UnionIron Works, Pacific Iron Works, Risdon Iron andLocomotive Works, Fulton Foundry and Iron Works,Pelton Water-Wheel Company, Parke and Lacy, VulcanFoundry and Iron Works, Joshua Hendy Iron Works,Aetna Iron Works, California Wire Rope Company andothers. Their crushers, stamp mills, hoists, headframes,pumps, steam engines, dredges, aerial tramways andsmelter equipment could soon be found at every mine sitein western North America, as well as in Central and SouthAmerica and throughout the Eastern Hemisphere. In1876, 2,000 workers were employed in the San Franciscomining machinery industry, earning between $3 and $5per day.

After the railroads reached the coast, the San Franciscofirms began to face steadily increasing competition and, by1892, much of the mining equipment used in the West

was being supplied from Chicago and Milwaukee by com-panies like Allis-Chalmers and Ingersoll. By 1919, thetransition was complete and the strongest of the SanFrancisco companies were only able to survive by switch-ing to shipbuilding and other new fields. CIM

economic geology


ReferencesBailey, L.R. (1996). Supplying the mining world: the mining equipment manufacturers of SanFrancisco 1850 - 1900. Tucson, Arizona: Westernlore Press.

GOSA (1989). The annual journal of the Geyser Observation and Study Association,Transactions, Volume 1. Retrieved on October 30, 2007, at http://www.uweb.ucsb.edu/~glen-non/geysers/world.htm.

Jung, M.A. (1999). Capitalism comes to the diggings: from gold-rush adventure to corporateenterprise. In J.J. Rawls and R. Orsi (Eds.), A Golden State: mining and economic developmentin gold rush California. Berkeley: University of California Press in association with theCalifornia Historical Society.

Paul, R.W. (1963). Mining frontiers of the far west, 1848 - 1880. New York: Holt, Rinehart andWinston.

Sears, M.V. (1973). Mining stock exchanges 1860 -1930: an historical survey. Missoula:University of Montana Press.

Stone, D. (1990). In C.A. Wood and J. Kienle (Eds.), Volcanoes of North America: United Statesand Canada (pp. 252-262). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Above: Severance & Holt No.1 prospecting drill. An early model, portable diamond drillwith a 15 HP steam engine. Reproduced in the Mining and Scientific Press, May 7,1870 (from Bailey, 1996).

Right: Ingersoll rock drill powered by compressed air, which was represented in SanFrancisco by Parke and Lacy. Reproduced in the Mining and Scientific Press, August19, 1882 (from Bailey, 1996).

Primitive shaft sinkers used their hands and implementsof bone, wood and, later, metal to dig the shafts that werenecessary to remove the minerals required in their society.With the arrival of a social system, under the Egyptians andthe Phoenicians, shaft sinking and mining became moreorganized, with slaves, criminals and prisoners of war beingutilized. In these early days, fire quenching was utilizedalong with wedges and hammers to break up the rock, whichwas then removed in baskets.

With the coming of the Middle Ages, mining and shaftsinking alike became a respected profession; however, min-ing techniques remained much the same as those used underthe Romans. The first major change in shaft sinking practicewas the use of black powder rather than fire quenching tobreak the rock, which occurred in the 17th century. TheIndustrial Revolution brought about the next major changes— steam-powered hoists and pumps. In the 19th century, thepneumatic rock drill replaceddrilling by hand and in the mid-20thcentury, mechanical muckingmachines replaced hand mucking.All these changes, although slow incoming, drastically increased thespeed of shaft sinking.

Summarizing the average sinkingspeeds from the various periodsclearly illustrates the changes intechnology over time and the result-ing increase in sinking rates.• Prior to 1600 AD — 1 to 1.2

metres per month• 1600 to 1800 AD — 3 to 4 metres

per month (three-fold increase)• 1800 to 1900 AD — 10 to 12

metres per month (three-foldincrease)

• 1900 to 1940 AD — 30 to 40metres per month (three-foldincrease)

• 1940 to 1970 AD — 90 to 110metres per month (three-foldincrease)

• 1970 to 2007 AD — 90 to 110metres per month (0 increase)

Prior to 1600 ADThe sinking of shafts had been going on for thousands

of years prior to 1600. The Egyptians mined gold exten-sively in eastern Egypt and Sudan as far back as 2000 BCand sank shallow shafts to access the majority of this gold.It is thought that it was from the Egyptians that thePersians, Greeks and Romans learned their mining andshaft sinking techniques. Besides iron tools, the Romansused fire to fracture the rock. Pliny mentions breaking upthe rock by means of fire and vinegar. Other Romanauthors, such as Livy and Vitruvius, mention fire settingand vinegar as well.

A summary of the sinking system of 1600:• Excavation using fire setting and primitive tools• Hand mucking to small wooden buckets• Hoisting material with man-powered windlass• Rectangular or square shafts with wooden shaft linings

• Temporary ground support con-sisting of platforms in the shaftevery few metres

• Crude ventilation or none at all• Water handling with buckets or

other inefficient devicesThe big change that occurred in

this period was the status of the min-ers and shaft sinkers. In Egyptianand Roman times, miners and shaftsinkers were generally slaves, crimi-nals or prisoners of war. By the earlypart of the 12th century, the shaftsinker and the miner were consid-ered to be tradesmen and were muchin demand. Personnel involved inthe mining trade were freed frompaying certain taxes, were allowed tocarry arms and did not have to serveas soldiers. They were also free tochoose the mine where they pre-ferred to work. Although the statusof the shaft sinker and miner alikechanged drastically during thisperiod, the techniques used for sink-ing shafts had changed very littlefrom Roman times.

history of mining

June/July 2008 | 77

The evolution of shaft sinking systems in the western world and the improvement in sinking ratesPart 7: 1600 A.D. to the present — a summary

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

5

In Cornwal , i the 1700s c de bl dva m

ng que pe ki of

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1800.

S xony

P

• H

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Shaft sinkers in Saxony

history of mining


1600 to 1800In Cornwall in the late 1700s, there was considerable

advancement in mining techniques as deeper workings led tothe greater use of steam power for hoisting and pumping.The use of steam power in shaft sinking, however, was muchmore pronounced after 1800.

It would also appear that it was during the 1700s thatshaft sinking came to be considered a separate occupationfrom mining.

Improvements to the sinking system during the period were:• Hand drilling of drill holes• Blasting with black powder• Larger muck buckets• Hoisting utilizing horse whims• Faster water handling with buckets using horse whims

1800 to 1900The invention of the steam engine in the late 18th century

was very important to both miners and shaft sinkers. Thisinvention translated into two very important pieces of equip-ment for the shaft sinking fraternity: steam-powered minehoists and steam-powered mine pumps. Both of these inven-tions were pioneered in Cornwall. The Cornish steam-pow-ered pumps and hoists were exported all over the world.

During the reign of the Tudors in England, Saxon techni-cians taught Cornishmen shaft sinking techniques employedin their native Saxony. These techniques were utilized toaccess Cornwall’s extensive tin and copper deposits and forthe next two centuries, England had a virtual monopoly onthese two essential minerals.

Beginning about 1840, and repeated in 1865, Cornishmining prosperity slumped drastically for a number of tech-nical and financial reasons. The discovery of rich overseascopper deposits was the main problem, worsened by adegree of mismanagement in the Cornish mines. This situ-ation caused many of the mines to close, throwing thou-

sands of shaft sinkers and miners out of work. Cornishworkers moved to North America, Australia and SouthAfrica to ply their trade. Many of the shafts sunk during thisperiod were sunk by Cornish men or “Cousin Jacks” as theywere called.

Improvements to the sinking system during the period:• Mechanical drilling with large drills powered by com-

pressed air• Blasting with dynamite and safety fuse• Hand mucking to buckets or skips• Circular shafts with brick lining utilized in poor ground• Hoisting men and material with steam-powered hoists• Wire hoist rope replaced the hemp hoist ropes• Ventilation using steam-powered centrifugal fans• Water handling with steam-powered pumps• Kind-Chaudron system of shaft drilling for sinking in

high water-bearing ground• Poetsch system for the use of the freezing technique in

sinking through high water-bearing ground

1900 to 1940During this period in North America, shafts were almost

all rectangular and timber-lined, while in Europe, nearly allwere circular and lined with brickwork.

The introduction of electrical power to mines at the begin-ning of the 20th century had a great impact on shaft sinkingpractice. By the start of the Great Depression, miners andshaft sinkers alike celebrated the industry’s embrace of theelectrical mine hoist for most types of shaft work.

Improvements to the sinking system during the period:• The use of light, handheld “plugger” drills rather than

heavy drills mounted on some type of support• Blasting with electrical detonators rather than fuses• Temporary wall support with rock bolts• Ventilation using axial fans• Water handling with electric pumps

Changes in shaft sinking systems

Prior to 1600 1600 -1800 1800 - 1900 1900 - 1940 1940-1970 1970-2007Drilling No Double jacking Large pneumatic Light, hand-held Pneumatic drill Hydraulic drill

drills drills jumbo jumboBlasting Fire quenching Black powder Dynamite and Dynamite and Dynamite and Bulk

safety fuse safety fuse electrical caps explosivesMucking Hand Hand Hand Hand Mechanical Mechanical

muckers muckersPermanent lining Wood Wood Brick Brick or cast in Cast in place Cast in place

place concrete concrete concreteProtection from Platforms in Platforms in Permanent Permanent Rock bolts Rock bolts

ground falls shaft in shaft brick lining liningHoisting Man-powered Horse-powered Steam-powered Electrical-powered Electrical-powered Electrical-powered

windlass windlass hoists hoists hoists hoistsHoist rope Hemp Hemp Wire rope Wire rope Wire rope Wire ropeVentilation Bellows Bellows Centrifugal fans Centrifugal fans Axial fans Axial fansWater Buckets Buckets Steam-powered Electrical pumps Electrical pumps Electrical pumpshandling pumps

Water control None None Freezing Freezing or Freezing or Freezing or method grouting grouting grouting

Average advance rate 3–4 ft/month 3–4 m/month 10–12 m/month 30–40 m/month 90–110 m/month 120–130 m/month

• Shaft equipping concurrent with excavation• Development of the Wirth V-mole• Development of large-diameter drilling techniques for

relatively small shafts

SummaryAt the present time, average sinking rates around the

world do not vary a great deal. If an average of 3 metres ofcompletely equipped shaft can be attained, this is probablyconsidered to be an excellent sinking rate in any country inthe world.

The excavation of tunnels has seen a huge change in tech-nology in recent years with the invention of the tunnel bor-ing machine. Whether a similar change will be seen in shaftsinking techniques in years to come is difficult toforecast. CIM

BibliographyAgricola, G. (1556) De Re Metallica. New York: Dover Publications Inc.

Donaldson, F. (1912) Practical Shaft Sinking. New York: McGraw Hill Book Company.

Duncan, L.C.D. (2006). Roman Deep Vein Mining. Retrieved on July 15, 2006, at www.unc.edu.

history of mining

June/July 2008 | 79

1940 to 1970It was during this period that the South Africans devel-

oped their sinking system that incorporated the suspendedcurb ring and a multi-deck Gallaway work stage. Thisallowed for the installation of a concrete lining at the sametime as excavation was being carried out on the shaft bottombelow. This type of equipment was also adopted by bothCanada and the United States, as well as some westernEuropean shaft sinkers, although concurrent concreting wasnot always carried out.

The mechanized loading of broken muck from the shaftbottom was also introduced during this period. In SouthAfrica and Europe, the Cactus Grab mucking machine wasadopted for shaft mucking. In the United States, the Eimco630 loader was the most popular, while in Canada theCryderman mucker became the most popular muckingmachine.

Improvements to the sinking system during the period:• Introduction of pneumatic drill jumbos for drilling• Mechanical mucking machines• Suspended concrete forms and multi-deck work platforms

for concreting• Concrete slick lines for lowering of concrete in the shaft

1970 to 2007Although hydraulically powered drills had been used in

the tunnelling industry since the 1970s, it took most shaftsinkers until the late 1980s to start using hydraulically pow-ered drills mounted on drill jumbos.

In Canada, the “Long Round” system of shaft drilling wasadopted in the late 1980s and early 1990s. This system uti-lizes a drill jumbo that is suspended from the sinking stagerather than sitting on the shaft bottom. This type of jumbodrills a “burn cut” rather than the “V-cut” that is usual inshaft sinking.

Very recently in Canada, a project was carried out wherethe shaft sinker was successfully able to equip the shaft con-current with sinking operations being carried out on theshaft bottom below. This is certainly a major achievementand should bring about an increase in shaft sinking advancerates in the order of 25 per cent.

It was during this period that a number of attempts weremade to speed up shaft sinking by mechanizing it, as with the case of the tunnel boring machine in the tunnellingindustry. Perhaps the most successful example of this is theWirth V-mole. Although bottom access to the shaft isrequired and the machine is really a shaft enlarger rather thana shaft sinker, it has functioned relatively well on a numberof projects.

In addition to the Wirth V-mole, large-hole drilling, basedon petroleum technology, is used to drill relatively small ven-tilation shafts in moderately hard ground.

Improvements to the sinking system during the period:• Drilling with hydraulically powered drill jumbos• Blasting with electronic detonators and bulk explosives

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Canadian shaft sinkers in a rectangular shaft

Migration and movement of scholarsA study in the history of diffusion of knowledge: Part 4

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

Political turmoil and forced emigrationPolitical unrest in a country may force distinguished thinkers to leave their

homes for another country. Voltaire lived in England from 1726 to 1729 when hewas exiled from France, due to his political writings that set the groundwork forthe Great Revolution. In 1850, Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx followed him toLondon after publishing their Manifesto of the Communist Party in 1848. Englandwas also the destination for deposed rulers and overthrown politicians; KingCharles X of France found refuge in England after the 1830 Revolution. Althoughpolitical unrest in Europe in 1848 led to massive emigration to the United States,King Louis Philippe of France and the Austrian statesman Metternich found refugein England.

When the distinguished French chemist Lavoisier (1743-1794) was exe-cuted during the turmoil of the French Revolution, his associate at his GunPowder Laboratory in the Arsenal, Eleuthière Irénée du Pont de Nemours(1771-1834), emigrated with his family to America in 1800. His father, PierreSamuel du Pont de Nemours, was a friend of Lavoisier’s who owned a largeestate at Bois-des-Fossés, near Nemours. He was arrested in August 1794, threemonths after Lavoisier’s execution, but released a month later after Robespierrehad been guillotined. Feeling insecure in his home country, he and his familyleft for America. Irénée started the first gunpowder factory in America (inDelaware) and was the founder of the great chemical enterprise now known asDu Pont.

At the same time, Joseph Priestley (1733-1804), the famous British chemistwho had discovered oxygen in 1774, was forced to flee to America. BecausePriestly was sympathetic to the independence of the American colonies and theFrench Revolution, he was attacked in his home country because of his politi-cal views.

metallurgy


Eleuthière Irénée du Pont de Nemours Joseph Priestley Benjamin Thompson

metallurgy

In 1891, Marja Sklodowska(1867-1934) left her home countryof Poland, which was underRussian occupation, for Paris,where she entered the Sorbonneand married physics professorPierre Curie in 1895; she wasawarded two Nobel prizes for herwork on radioactivity in 1905(physics) and in 1911 (chemistry).

After the Russian Revolution in1917, there was an exodus of tensof thousands of Russians to France,England and North America. Thesame situation took place in the1930s when the National SocialistParty took power in Germany.

British immigrants in SwedenFrom its very founding in 1621,

Göteborg, now Sweden’s secondlargest city, had been a cosmopolitancity. Dutchmen had been brought into lay out the town centre.Germans, Englishmen and Scotshad established themselves at anearly date, mostly as traders andcraftsmen. From the mid-18th cen-tury onwards, even more immi-grants came from Scotland. In 1731,they founded the Swedish East IndiaCompany for the export of iron andtimber and the import of cereals andcoal. Fully loaded, the shipsreturned more than a year later to

Göteborg, where the cargo was stored in the company’shuge warehouse on Norra Hamngatan (now Göteborg CityMuseum). The enterprise was highly successful.

William Chalmers was one of the early Scottish immi-grants who married a Swedish girl and settled in Göteborg.His son, William Chalmers Jr. (1748-1811), was born inGöteborg.

In 1783, William Chalmers Jr. set off for China. He hadbeen appointed representative of the Swedish East IndiaCompany in Canton and Macao, where many Europeannations set up trading stations. He remained in this post for10 years before returning to Göteborg a very wealthy man.On visits to England, he saw industrialization in full swingand he foresaw a similar development in Sweden. Decliningin health in the spring of 1811 and having no family of hisown, he proposed creating an “industrial school for poorchildren who have learned to read and write.” Three weeksafter signing his will, William Chalmers Jr. died.

The Swedish East India Company began to run into dif-ficulties towards the end of the 18th century, and in 1813,

His home in Northumberland,Pennsylvania, where he establishedhis laboratory and discovered car-bon monoxide, is now a museum.It was there, in 1874, whereAmerican chemists gathered tocommemorate the hundredthanniversary of his discovery of oxy-gen. During this event, a proposalwas made to form a chemical soci-ety; however, the proposal was shotdown by a past president of theAmerican Association for theAdvancement of Science, whichwas formed earlier in the year. Twoyears later, however, in 1876, theAmerican Chemical Society wasfounded.

During the same troubledperiod, Benjamin Thompson(1753-1814), later known as CountRumford, had to leave his home inAmerica in 1775 for England. Aftera brief stay in London, he accepteda top position in the Kingdom ofBavaria where he spent 11 yearsbefore returning to England.During his stay in Bavaria, the titleof Count of the Holy RomanEmpire was bestowed on him; hechose the name Rumford, the nameby which his birth place ofConcord, New Hampshire, hadbeen known. He became anextremely wealthy man and in1799, founded the Royal Institution of Great Britain onAlbermarle Street using his own funds. In 1802, heemployed Humphry Davy (1778-1829) as a researcher,who, in turn, later employed Michael Faraday (1791-1867) as his assistant. Many great discoveries in electro-chemistry, inorganic chemistry and metallurgy were madeat the Royal Institution during the 19th century.

Ignacy Domeyko (1802-1889), a distinguished min-eralogist, was born at Niezd-Wiadka in Poland, edu-cated at Vilna and forced to leave Poland after partici-pating in the insurrection of 1830 against Russian occu-pation. He went to Paris to study at the École desMines. After graduating in 1839, he went to Chile as aprofessor of chemistry at Coquimbo College. In 1840,he discovered silver deposits in the Andes Mountainsand helped develop Chilean resources. When his schoolburned down, he moved to Santiago to become a profes-sor of mineralogy at the newly founded University ofSantiago, which he had helped create; he was its rectorfrom 1867 to 1887.

June/July 2008 | 81

Ignacy Domeyko

Marja Sklodowska, later known as Madame Curie

Saint Petersburg Mint and became its director in 1754.From 1760 to 1768, he served as president of theBergkollegium. His work Detailed Course of Instruction forthe Mining Industry, published in 1760, discussed theproblems of geology, mineralogy, prospecting, the sinkingof shafts for extracting ores and the state of contemporarymining machines. It contained chapters on the exploita-tion of coal deposits and the use of stream engines forpumping water. The book was later used for teaching atthe School of Mines.

Peter’s successors continued this enlightened traditionuntil the 1917 Revolution. In 1781, Benedikt FranzJohann Hermann (1755-1815) was hired from Styria inthe Austrian Empire, to build a steel plant inEkaterinburg. In 1737, Christlieb Ehregott Gellert (1713-1795) was hired from Saxony to teach in Saint Petersburg,where he stayed until 1765. He wrote Anfangsgründe zurmetallurgischen Chemie (1751) and Anfangsgründe derProbierkunst (1775). Germain Henri Hess (1802-1850)was hired from Switzerland to teach chemistry at theSaint Petersburg Mining Institute in 1832 and stayedthere until his death. He also taught at the PolytechnicInstitute and the Military College in Saint Petersburg. In 1831, he published his Fundamentals of GeneralChemistry, which was the standard textbook untilMendeleev wrote his in 1869. Hess is the founder of thermochemistry and in 1840 formulated the law namedafter him.

The Russian heavy metallurgical industry was launchedwith the discovery of iron ore at Krivoy Rog in the south,the development of coal mining in the Donetz Basin 320kilometres to the east and the connection of these two cen-tres by railway in 1884. The main industrial centre in theDonetz was the New Russia Metallurgical Company,founded in 1869 by a Welshman named John Hughes. Theplant was called Yuzovka for Hughesovka, but was renamedStalino in 1924. Since Stalin’s death it was changed to themore neutral Donetzk.

Alfred Bernhard Nobel (1833-1896) was born inStockholm, and at the age of nine, he moved with hisparents to Saint Petersburg. From 1850 to 1854, he stud-ied engineering in the United States and then returnedto Saint Petersburg to help his father in the explosivebusiness. He invented dynamite and became verywealthy. He was also engaged in the exploitation of theoil fields in Baku. He left a large fund for prizes to beawarded annually to persons who have made significantcontributions in chemistry, physics, medicine or physi-ology, literature and peace.

The Austrian chemist Karl Josef Bayer (1847-1904)spent 1885 to 1894 in Russia; he was a student ofBunsen from 1869 to 1871. It was at the Tentelev plantin Saint Petersburg that he invented his process for themanufacture of alumina from bauxite. CIM

it went bankrupt after 132 voyages in 70 years. Eleven yearslater, when disputes with the estate in bankruptcy had beensettled, the proposed school was founded from Chalmers’bequest. Eduard von Schoultz (1815-1881) studied at theschool and graduated in 1841; he became its director in1852. He introduced a one-year preparatory course toincrease the number of potential students, by offeringpreparatory studies to pupils without sufficient priorknowledge. In 1878, this “lower” course became a two-yearone and the school was divided into “Chalmers Lower” and“Chalmers Higher.” This division survived until 1937 whenChalmers Lower was reconstituted as Göteborg TechnicalSecondary School and Chalmers Higher acquired the statusof a university of technology.

Peter the Great andthe New Russia

In his attempt todestroy Russia’s isola-tion and make his coun-try a commandingpower, Peter the Great(1672-1725) foundedSaint Petersburg in 1703on the Neva River andmade it the capital ofRussia in 1713. He hiredmany foreign artists andengineers to build luxu-rious palaces and spa-cious churches. In 1724,he created an Academyof Sciences, which hestaffed with foreign scientists. For example, the Swiss math-ematician Euler (1707-1783) was a member of the academyfrom 1727 to 1741. His son, Johann Albert Euler (1734-1800), was born in Saint Petersburg and was also a memberof the academy.

Peter the Great paid special attention to the mining andmetallurgical industry. In Moscow in 1700, he created anorganization charged with directing the prospecting fordeposits. In 1711, he travelled to Freiberg twice to visit themines and metallurgical installations. In 1719, he foundedthe Bergkollegium (Mining Council), which had theauthority to develop the mining industry. He hired a largenumber of foreign specialists to help him develop all areasof mining and metallurgy. For example, V.I. Guenin (1676-1750) of Holland was hired to direct the industry in theOlonetski region and later in the Urals. He introducedmajor improvements in the production of cast iron andcannons.

Johann Schlatter (1708-1768) was hired in Berlin in1722 to work in the assay laboratory of theBergkollegium. In 1724, he accepted a position at the

metallurgy


Peter the Great

June/July 2008 | 83

INDUSTRY KNOWLEDGE

CIM Bulletin abstracts

84 Development of a spontaneous heating liability index of coal from kinetic parametersD.C. Panigrahi, H.B. Sahu and N.M. Mishra

85 An experimental investigation into the trapping model core pillarswith reinforced fly ash compositesM.K. Mishra and U.M. Rao Karanam

86 Use of gravity drainage and quasi-homogeneous dykes for containment of oil sands tailingsL. Nichols, K. Czajewski and H. Keele

87 Canadian Metallurgy QuarterlyVolume 46, Number 4

Peer reviewed by leaders in their fields

YOUR

GUIDETO

Complete CIM Bulletin papers are posted in theonline Technical Paper Library

www.cim.org

Development of a spontaneousheating liability index of coal from kinetic parameters

Spontaneous heating of coal leading to fires is a seriousproblem in the coal mining industry. These fires create severalproblems, such as accidents, loss of coal reserves, sterilizationof resources, diminution of the heating value and cokingproperties of coal, environmental pollution, etc.

In India, the crossing point temperature (CPT) method isused for estimating the susceptibility of coal to spontaneousheating; a low susceptibility is always predicted for coals witha high moisture content. However, in reality, these coals arehighly susceptible. Some researchers have used other experi-mental techniques for assessing the proneness of coal tospontaneous heating. Most of the research findings on thisaspect are empirical in nature.With this in mind, an effort wasmade for this paper to develop a spontaneous heating liabil-ity index (SHLI) of coal, based on a mathematical approachusing kinetics of low-temperature oxidation. The rate of thisoxidation is a function of the temperature-dependent rateconstant and the reaction model. The effect of temperature onthe rate constant is introduced through the use of an Arrhe-nius equation. Finally, the energy transferred through coalduring reaction is predicted by applying the Frank-Kamenet-skii model for conductive heat flow. After incorporating all theconcepts of coal oxidation and using a mathematicalapproach, SHLI was developed and is presented in this paper.The parameters required for computation of the SHLI are theenthalpy change or heat of reaction, specific heat of coal, rateconstant and time required to reach a certain temperature. Allof these parameters were obtained by differential scanningcalorimetric (DSC) studies.

In order to test the validity of this index, 31 coal sam-ples representing both fiery and non-fiery coal seams of dif-ferent ranks were collected from different Indian coalfields.DSC studies were conducted on all the samples using aPerkin-Elmers DSC-7 calorimeter. The kinetic parameters andspecific heat values obtained from DSC experiments are usedto compute the SHLI values. In addition, the susceptibility ofthese samples to spontaneous combustion was ascertainedby standard crossing-point temperature measurement, andthe moisture percentage of all the samples was obtained byproximate analysis. A comparative study was carried outbetween the SHLI and crossing-point temperature, alongwith moisture percentage. There are cases in which the SHLIand crossing-point temperature do not predict similar results.In these cases, the spontaneous heating tendency of thesecoal seams have been noted in the field conditions and com-pared with the spontaneous heating tendency predicted byboth the SHLI and crossing-point temperature. Finally, it wasconcluded that the SHLI developed and reported in thispaper predicts the susceptibility of coal to spontaneous heat-ing more accurately than crossing-point temperature. Thisindex has a sound theoretical base and the results are repro-ducible. The SHLI values obtained in the present study vary inwider range, i.e. between 2.40 to 150.93, thus providing abroad range for classifying coals with respect to their prone-ness to spontaneous heating. The findings of this study willbe very useful to mine planners and engineers in taking pre-ventive measures in avoiding a high occurrence of fires dueto spontaneous heating.

D.C. Panigrahi, Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad, India,H.B. Sahu, National Institute of Technology, Rourkela, India, andN.M. Mishra, Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad, India

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An experimental investigation intothe trapping model core pillars withreinforced fly ash composites

In the room-and-pillar mining methods, pillars form animportant load-bearing element of the system, controllingthe stability of the near field domain. The effective perform-ance of a pillar support system is related to the depth ofworking, dimensions of the opening and the pillars, as wellas the extraction percentage of coal/ore. One of the historicmethods of containing the ground failures over mine voids isthrough backfilling of the mine voids by river bed sand ormill tailings. However, fly ash applications as an alternatematerial for backfilling mine voids is fast proving its poten-tial. This paper presents investigations relating to the devel-opment of fly ash composite materials, as well as that of theload-deformation characteristics of model core pillars whenconfined by the wire mesh reinforced fly ash compositematerials.

Pure anhydrous chemical grade lime and gypsum wereadded in various proportions to the class F fly ash. Lime con-tents were 15% and 20% and gypsum was 5% by weight ofthe fly ash. Reinforcement was provided using commerciallyavailable galvanized iron wire 2 square mesh per centimetreand 0.9 mm thick. Model core pillars 57 mm in diameterand 200 mm in length were made of various ratios ofcement and sand. The engineering properties of the modelcore pillars, as well as that of the fly ash composite materi-als, were determined as per the recommendations of ISRMand ASTM.

The length to diameter ratios of the final trapped mod-els were between 1.33 and 2.0. Unconfined compressivestrength and Brazilian indirect tensile strength tests wereperformed on a large number of samples for 28 and 56 daysof curing periods, as well as for different annular thicknessof the confining materials. The strength of fly ash compositechanged with the addition of lime and gypsum, as well asthe curing period.

M.K. Mishra, National Institute of Technology, Rourkela, India, andU.M. Rao Karanam, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur,India

Experimental investigations have revealed that the per-centage increase in the strength of the trapped model corepillar varied with the type of composite material, curingperiod and ratio of the annular thickness of fill area to themodel core pillar radius. The seven-day strength of fly ashcomposites substantially improved with additives. The slakedurability indices for the first and second cycles were morethan 90% and 80%, respectively. The 28-day curing periodincreased the strength dramatically. An addition of 15% limeimproved the strength of the composite to 5.45 MPa for a 28-day curing period, about 185% more than that for a seven-day curing period; however, the strength gain dropped to56% beyond 28 days. Similarly, a gain of 205% compared tothe strength values for a seven-day curing period was noticedafter 28 days, while the strength gain dropped to 46% for a56-day curing period with 5% more lime. Although an addi-tion of 5% gypsum increased the strength value, it sufferedreduced gain percentages for both curing periods.

These observations confirm that the addition of excesslime to fly ash composites is not beneficial. A maximumstrength gain of 14% was achieved with model cores of acement-sand ratio of 1:2.5 for fly ash composite containing15% lime and 5% gypsum, as well as for fly ash compositematerial with 20% lime only. Shear failure pattern was pre-dominant in almost all the trapped model pillars, indicatingthat the reinforced fly ash composite materials offered signif-icant radial confinement to the core pillars and induced thecore pillars to fail in a ductile form. The experimental investi-gations reveal that the brittle failure of the model cores couldbe changed to ductile failure through a suitable confiningmaterial, which has some strength of its own. The trapping ofpillars could improve the post-peak strength characteristics ofthe structure. It is also concluded that suitable fly ash com-posite materials, reinforced with wire ropes, can substantiallyenhance the strength of the load-bearing element and alsosignificantly change the post peak characteristics of trappedcores.

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June/July 2008 | 85

Use of gravity drainage and quasi-homogeneousdykes for containment of oil sands tailings

The oil sands industry in northern Alberta disposes of theby-products of bitumen extraction into tailings ponds. The mixof tailings sand and mature fines, with gypsum added as aflocculent, constitutes a waste stream called consolidatedtailings or composite tails (CT). The two main challenges ofthe tailings disposal process are a chronic shortage of eco-nomical containment and the potential mobility of CTdeposits in the event of breaching by, for example, long-termerosion, which makes abandonment of tailings ponds morecomplicated. Thick deposits of CT do not consolidate in ade-quate time to provide reassurance for abandonment of the CTcontainment facilities and that is why the containment mustbe adequately robust or the properties of CT improved forlong-term stability.

This paper addresses potential solutions to these prob-lems by applying the gravity drainage of CT and quasi-homo-geneous construction for containment facilities.

Gravity drainage is suggested as a mechanism to facili-tate the consolidation of CT in critical areas of the ponds byinserting internal sand layers within the body of the deposit.Critical CT areas are defined as areas around the perimeter ofcontainment. The advantages of this solution are long-termstability of the disposal area by creation of stiff depositsaround its perimeter and facilitation of reclamation efforts onits surface.

The present solution for containment of CT deposits isnot favourable from a materials balance point of view. Ingeneral, sand has become a valuable resource as it bothforms the primary component of the CT matrix and becomesthe containment building material. If sand is required for CT,less is available for dyke construction. This puts additionalpressure on the industry as a whole to maximize the use ofoverburden and interburden for construction of tailings con-tainment structures. Typically, only 50% of dry mine waste(overburden + interburden) is incorporated into dyke con-

struction. The remainder of dry waste is stored either in wastedumps or in tailings ponds, consuming valuable in-pondspace originally allocated to CT material. Quasi-homoge-neous dykes are proposed to contain CT deposits rather thantraditional minimum crosssection dykes built of overburdenand/or cell sand. The quasi-homogeneous dyke may changethe unfavourable material balance and lessen the construc-tion constraints that are presently imposed on the mine/wastedisposal process.

To date, approximately only 5% of surface mineablereserves have been exploited. In the process, over one billioncubic metres of mature fine tailings are in storage behindmassive earth and sand structures. Some forecasts estimatethat over 5 million barrels per day of bitumen will be pro-duced from the surface mining industry by 2020. The growthforecasts are staggering.

In an industry that is under more and more scrutiny byall stakeholders to meet approved plans on schedule as theyhave committed to and been approved by regulators, newinnovative methods need to be developed and implementedin the field to assist in maximizing consolidated tailingsimplementation. Sand has become a valuable resource, withdemands ranging from dyke building, beach construction,road development and, currently, the most important, consol-idated tailings.

Although consolidated tailings is a challenge to imple-ment with at least five unit operations, currently it is the onlycommercially proven method of reducing the fine tailingsinventory in the oil sands. The success of consolidated tailingsis of paramount importance to the industry as a whole untilalternates have been developed. Proper drainage of the CTdeposit is a key component in the success of the consolidatedtailings deposit. The use of gravity drainage and quasi- homo-geneous dykes for oil sands containment structures may assistthe industry in achieving its goals.

L. Nichols, K. Czajewski, Terracon Geotechnique Ltd., Calgary,Alberta H. Keele, Marston Canada, Inc., Calgary,Alberta

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June/July 2008 | 87

Weld Cracking in Directionally Solidified Inconel 738 SuperalloyR.K. Sidhu, O.A. Ojo and M.C. Chaturvedi, Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering,University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba

The microstructure of a laser beam welded directionally solidified Inconel 738 (DS IN738) superalloy wasstudied. The alloy was welded along the longitudinal (the solidification direction) and the transverse (perpendi-cular to solidification) direction in two pre-weld heat treated conditions. The material suffered intergranularmicrofissuring in the heat affected zone (HAZ); however, the centerline fusion zone cracking observed in mostother directionally solidified or single crystal alloys, was not observed in any of the welded samples. Cracking inthe present directionally solidified (DS) IN738 was further reduced by the use of a recently developed overage-ing pre-weld heat treatment.

Microstructural Evaluation of Friction Stir Processed AZ31B-H24 Magnesium AlloyM. Fairman, N. Afrin, D.L. Chen, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Ryerson University,Toronto, Ontario; X. Cao and M. Jahazi, Aerospace Manufacturing Technology Centre, Institute for AerospaceResearch, National Research Council Canada, Montreal, Quebec

The microstructural characteristics in an AZ31B-H24 magnesium alloy after friction stir processing (FSP)were examined. The effects of FSP parameters including forge force and traverse speed on the microstructurewere evaluated. It was observed that the grain size increased from about 4 µm in the base metal to about 8 µmat the centre of the stir zone after FSP. The aspect ratio of the grains decreased towards the centre of the stirzone. The changes in the grain size and shape resulted in a drop in micro-indentation hardness from 75 HV inthe base metal to about 55 HV at the centre of the stir zone. Increasing the forge force or decreasing the tra-verse speed increased the grain size due to a greater heat input.

Processing and Evaluation of Cu/Carbon Fibre Composites by Vortex and Powder MetallurgyTechniquesO.A. Elkady, Central Metallurgical Research & Development Institute, Cairo, Egypt; M.A. Abou Tabl, Faculty ofScience Chemistry Department, Cairo, Egypt; and Z. Abdel Hamid and S.F. Moustafa, Central MetallurgicalResearch & Development Institute, Cairo, Egypt

Carbon fibres have high reactivity and poor wetting characteristics with most molten metals. These draw-backs cause difficulties in fabricating metal matrix composites reinforced with carbon fibres. One solution toovercome these drawbacks is to apply a compatible metal or metal carbide layer on carbon fibres. In this inves-tigation, a very thin coating of either chromium or chromium carbide was applied on carbon fibres of the PANtype. Results indicated that the composite reinforced with Cr carbide-coated carbon fibres showed the highestTRS, electrical conductivities and densities, while the composites made from uncoated carbon fibres exhibited thelowest properties.

Canadian Metallurgical QuarterlyVolume 46—Number 4


cmq abstracts

Diffusion Induced Grain Boundary Migration in the Ni-Zn SystemU. Sridevi Nadiminti and S.P. Gupta, Department of Materials and Metallurgical EngineeringIndian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, India

Diffusion induced grain boundary migration (DIGM) has been studied in the Ni-Zn system by exposing poly-crystalline Ni to Zn vapour with the Ni-30 wt% Zn alloy acting as a source. The time and temperature depend-ence of the migration distance and hence the rate of migration was studied in the temperature range 773 to 933K. A parabolic growth behaviour was observed. The microstructural features during DIGM have been studied indetail and analyzed. These will also be presented. The diffusion induced growth of fine grains and growth of thefine grained layer were also studied. From the rate of growth of fine grains and the value of Dbδ calculated forthe growth of fine grained layer, it has been observed that these two processes also occur by solute transportthrough the grain boundaries.

Room Temperature Deformation Properties of High Purity AZ31 Magnesium AlloyY. Tamura, T. Yanagisawa, T. Haitani, H. Tamehiro, N. Kono, Department of Mechanical Science, Chiba Instituteof Technology, Narashino-shi, Japan; H. Soda and A. Mclean, Department of Materials Science and Engineer-ing, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario

A high purity ternary alloy corresponding to the composition of AZ31 alloy was prepared using distilledmagnesium (> 99.99%) and high purity aluminum and zinc. The tensile and cold rolling properties were thenexamined and compared with a commercial purity AZ31 alloy. It was found that during tensile testing of the highpurity alloy, the number of twinned grains increased linearly with strain, indicative of uniform deformation, whilewith the commercial alloy, active twinning occurred in the early stages of plastic deformation and twinning activ-ity decreased in the latter half of the deformation regime. In association with the high degree of cold reductionand the uniform deformation characteristics of the high purity alloy, the material after annealing exhibited arecrystallized structure consisting of fine grains each about 2 µm in size.

Effect of Redundant Strain on No Recrystallization Temperature in Nb Microalloyed SteelJ. Vikram, A.M. Becerra, F. Zarandi, A.M. Elwazri and S. Yue, Department of Metals and Materials Engineering,McGill University, Montréal, Quebec

This work concerns the effect of applied redundant retained strain on the flow behaviour and no recrystal-lization temperature (Tnr) in Nb microalloyed steel. Unlike conventional torsion testing where multiple unidirec-tional twisting is applied, in this work, cylindrical specimens were deformed by multiple cycles of alternatinguniaxial tension/compression during cooling from a high temperature. Various cyclic-strains of 0.05, 0.1 and 0.2were applied at a constant strain rate of 0.1 s-1 during cooling from 1200 to 600ºC at a constant cooling rateof 1ºC.s-1. The flow properties and softening capacity were monitored during deformation in order to specify thetemperature of no recrystallization. The technique and results will be discussed in this paper.

Pitting Characterization of 90/10 Cupro-Nickel Chiller TubesG.P. Gu, J. Li, Y. Lafrenière, M. Elboujdaini, R.W. Revie, CANMET-MTL, Natural Resources Canada, Ottawa,Ontario; and A. Day, Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC), Ottawa, Ontario

Severe corrosion damage has caused unexpected down time of 90/10 cupro-nickel refrigerant tubes in awater chiller system. In addition to down time, the environmental risk associated with losing refrigerant was a con-cern that led to this investigation. Microstructural investigation using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) andelectron microprobe indicated that pitting corrosion resulted in local nickel depletion. During the corrosion process,copper and cuprous oxide (Cu2O) redeposited near corrosion pits which might accelerate pitting corrosion.

Excerpts taken from abstracts in CMQ, Vol. 46, No. 4.Subscribe—www.cmq-online.ca

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GYRO & GPS SERVICES • SALES • RENTALSUNDERGROUND and SURFACE CONTROL • BOUNDARY and LEGAL

SURVEYS • TOPOGRAPHIC SURVEYS • PHOTOGRAMMETRIC MAPPING3D SCANNING and MODELLING • BOREHOLE DEVIATION • BATHYMETRIC SURVEYS

In the next issueThe August issue addresses one of the hottest topics facing the mining industry today: Innovation for a sustainable future.We’ll take a look at how the industry and its suppliers are addressing issues of sustainability and environmental stewardship in the face of raising expectations and more rigorous standards.

Also, be sure to check out our featured mine:

Teck Cominco’s Duck Pond mine.

ADVE

RTIS

ERS

7 3M Canada Company

IBC ABB

10 Alberta Fuel Distributors

53 Alco Industrial Equipment

18 Breaker Technology

26 Bridgestone

17 Endress+Hauser

11 Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold

45 Geosynthetic Systems

9 Hewitt Equipment

44 Industrial Equipment Manufacturing Ltd

15 Matrikon Inc.

36 MiHR

38 ModSpace

25 Murox

13 North American Construction Group

OBC RCAI Inc.

3 Sandvik Mining & Construction

IFC SEW-Eurodrive

34 SMS Equipment

89 Professional DirectoryMinePros Personnel

Corriveau J.L. / 3D Survey & Scan

Jenike & Johanson89 Product File

QINGDAO ODYKING TYRE CO. LTD.

voices from industry


Gearing up for TorontoPlanning already underway for 2009 CIM Conference and Exhibitionby Tom Rannelli, senior mining engineer, Loans Products Group, BMO Capital Markets, and conference chair, CIM Conference and Exhibition 2009

On the heels of a very successful CIMConference and Exhibition in Edmonton,the attention of many now returns to mat-

ters more specific to daily routines, including thecontinued monitoring of what everyone agrees isour industry’s commodity super cycle. However,for a group of committed CIM members, shapingnext year’s conference has already kicked intohigh gear.

Before we know it, energy will resonatethrough the halls of the Metro TorontoConvention Centre as delegates, dignitaries andindustry representatives experience the CIMConference and Exhibition 2009 in Toronto nextyear. The driving force of the 2009 conference willbe the energy created by all of the participants todeliver what will become a major milestone forthe Canadian mining industry, positioningCanadian mining at the forefront of the interna-tional scene.

Whether it is within Canada or abroad,Canadians have become infamous for their inexpli-cable passion and commitment for the miningindustry, its people, its reputation and its ultimatepreservation. Canadians are leaders in the globalindustry, not by declaration, but because our peersare listening, watching and relying on us for ourexperience, insight and direction. The CIMConference and Exhibition empowers all individualsin the Canadian mining industry to stand up andacknowledge their role as global mining leaders.

In these strong times, our industry is strivingto set higher standards and develop new bestpractices to maintain our global leadership at theforefront of technological, organizational andcultural models. However, a rapid expansion of theindustry has created shortages of resources and ademand for even better process standards. We arefacing a lack of people and a need for increasedexploration to yield the world-class properties to

sustain global production. Rarely has our industrybeen so affected by globalization, and the realityof meeting the needs of our clients requires thatwe realize unprecedented efficiencies.

The CIM Conference and Exhibition 2009 willbe the setting to generate and communicate solu-tions to today’s challenges. It will bring togetherrepresentatives from industry, government andvarious institutions to explore how their invest-ment in the Canadian mining industry can con-tinue to develop the knowledge base of our pro-fessionals as they move into the rapidly expandingglobal mining community. In addition to the tra-ditional representation, next year’s conferencewill be drawing on groups that have long been thesilent stakeholders in our industry — those fromthe areas of business and finance. These stake-holders will discuss their interests and furtherexpound on how collaboration and awareness canmerge our common issues.

Collaboration is undoubtedly the key to suc-cess. To strengthen the scope and effectiveness ofnext year’s conference, a number of industry part-ners have teamed up to create a truly global eventthat will bring the world of mining to Torontowith events such as the Second InternationalMine Managers’ Conference, hosted by CIM inpartnership with AusIMM, and the 20th CanadianRock Mechanics Symposium, which always drawsa large crowd. As well, during the conference, theCanadian Mining Hall of Fame, Teck Cominco andthe Royal Ontario Museum will be unveiling theCanadian Mining Hall of Fame Gallery, one of thethree galleries that will make up the Teck ComincoSuite of Earth Sciences Galleries.

The conference promises to be an event likeno other; it will be a true alignment of numerouspartnerships and opportunities to learn and share,and promises to be the “must attend” miningevent of the year. CIM

cim magazine june/july 2008

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