cim magazine november 2009

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CONTENTSCIM MAGAZINE | NOVEMBER/NOVEMBRE 2009

4 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 4, No. 7

20NEWS11 Inspection blitz Ontario focused on improving

electrical safety in the mining industry by J. Borsato

12 A meeting of mines Investors meet to survey the mining market at the TorontoResources Investment Conference by J. Borsato

15 Building capacity Sudbury technology andinnovation centre NORCAT continues to grow by R. Bergen

16 Grande succès pour la grande seduc-tion Le Nord-du-Québec est parti à la conquêtede 1 000 travailleurs par R. Pillo

16 Resounding success for “la grandeseduction” Hundreds of applicants attracted byQuebec campaign to meet the labour demand inJames Bay

17 Cost containment a rising risk for mining companies A report by Ernst &Young offers new appraisal of mining sector risksto match the new economic reality by P. Diekmeyer

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UPFRONT20 “I Am Responsible” IAMGOLD Corporation

cultivates its own sustainability framework by D. Zlotnikov

24 Turning a liability into an assetVancouver environmental firm BioteQ the sourceof innovative water treatment for waste water andacid mine drainage by R. Bergen

26 Ecology and economics The emergingtechnical, environmental and economic challenges confronting the nickel and base metalindustries by A.D. Dalvi

30 Building on a strong foundation Q & Awith Ontario Mining Association president ChrisHodgson by P. Diekmeyer

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COLUMNS55 Supply Side by J. Baird56 Eye on Business by N. Smitheman and T. Pratt58 MAC Economic Commentary by P. Stothart59 Women in Mining by R. Andrews60 HR Outlook by S. Polowin61 First Nations by J.C. Reyes62 Innovation by A. Blancarte65 Parlons-en par R. Giguère66 Safety by R. Bergen68 Engineering Exchange by H. Ednie70 Standards by D. McCombe and C. Waldie71 Student Life by M. Condra72 Canadians Abroad by R. Bergen73 Mining Lore by R. Bergen98 Voices from Industry by M. Gravelle

CIM NEWS76 Friendly fire in Fort McMurray Paintball tourna-

ment marks the end of students’ summer in Alberta’s oilpatch by C. West

76 Géogolf 2009 un success par L. Blais-LerouxAnother successful Géogolf tournament

77 Keeping spirits high Samantha Espley earns CIMDistinguished Service Medal with leadership and pioneerspirit by R. Pillo

78 From point B to point B Art and Science attractNew Brunswick members to annual convention inBeresford and Bathurst by B. Rose

79 Northern branch back in action The YellowknifeBranch celebrates its renaissance by J. Heimbach

79 Golf anyone? The Northern Gateway Branch membershit the links by R. Slack

80 Developing excellence Maintenance engineers andmine operators converge on Sudbury to share best practices and good times by M. Moore

81 Mentoring the next generation of industryleadersThe Sudbury Branch keeps its eyes on the horizon, supporting today’s students by A. Tonnos

82 Deep-sea voice CIM Distinguished Lecturer StevenScott discusses seafloor massive sulphide deposits by R. Pillo

84 42nd Annual Canadian Mineral ProcessorsOperators’ Conference preliminary program42e Conférence annuelle des minéralurgistes du Canada programme préliminaire

HISTORY88 Porphyry Deposits (Part 2) by R.J. Cathro91 The beginnings of mineral processing

research in Canada (Part 1) by F. Habashi

TECHNICAL SECTION93 This month’s contents

IN EVERY ISSUE6 Editor’s Letter8 President’s Notes | Mot du président10 Letters74 Welcoming new members77 Obituaries83 Calendar97 Professional Directory

November 2009 | 5

MINING IN ONTARIOL’INDUSTRIE MINIÈRE EN ONTARIO

32 The school of hard rocks Operators and insiders discuss lessons learned and futureprospects for Northern Ontario by R. Bergen

38 Looking north for prosperity A century on, the gold fields of Northern Ontario continueto fuel growth by B. O’Hara

40 Taking diamonds from mine to market Ontario Diamond Sector Unit aims to extendthe province’s reach within the industry by M. Eisner

42 Keeping the engine going Fine-tuning the key to the specialized players of Sudbury’sservice and supply sector by M. Eisner

46 L’expérience est la clé de la croissance dans le Nord de l’Ontario

FEATURED MINEMINE EN VEDETTE

48 Cooperation key Pressing on through crests and troughs, Xstrata’s Nickel Rim South project approaches completion by D. Zlotnikov

52 La cooperation constitue la clé Le projet Nickel Rim South de Xstrata presque prêt

The many facets of Ontario mining

“Learn the past, watch the present,and create the future.”

~ anonymous

Ontario has been one of the world’s foremostmineral producers for over a century. And yet, asfar as editorial themes go, “Mining in Ontario” is

a challenging one. The geographical area may be clearlydefined, but the nature of the mining industry in thevast province defies any neat summary. Ontario is the

repository for more than 30 different metal and nonmetal mineral products, includ-ing gold, nickel, copper, zinc, platinum, palladium, cobalt, silver and diamonds. Eachof these commodities represents an industry in its own right, with unique challengesand market sensitivities.

Despite these many different threads, as the stories were filed and the editorialunfolded, it became apparent that there were indeed some common patterns sharedby these industries that help explain mining’s longevity and success in the province.Among these templates is a strong connection to the past and its hard-won lessons.This firm footing is balanced by the imperative to remain sharp-eyed and agile,aware of the opportunities afforded by innovation and ingenuity.

Base metals were hit particularly hard by the recession. However, operators andsuppliers in the Nickel Belt have responded by channelling the resilience born of amining legacy that spans more than 100 years. Shafts are being sunk deeper, mills andrefineries are becoming more efficient and equipment is being adapted and improved,all in an effort to weather the latest in a long history of market fluctuations.

The luster of gold — an industry “old-timer” — is as bright as ever. However, acentury later, Ontario gold miners and developers continue to polish how theyextract it, utilizing revolutionary drilling methods to increase current and futuregold production. Even the relative new kid on the commodity block, the province’sflourishing diamond industry, is drawing upon the experiences of industry counter-parts in the Northwest Territories to find creative new ways to reap more rewardsfrom the global diamond pipeline.

Despite the many and disparate stories in the chronicle of Ontario mining, thebedrock of this stalwart industry endures: show respect for those who came before,learn from one another now for the benefit of all, and always keep that prospector’seye trained on the possibilities of tomorrow.

Angela HamlynEditor-in-chief

Editor-in-chiefAngela Hamlyn [email protected] EditorsNews, Upfront and Features:Ryan Bergen [email protected], CIM News, Histories and Technical Section:Andrea Nichiporuk [email protected] Editor Joan Tomiuk [email protected] CIM

Contributors Richard Andrews, Jon Baird, Louise Blais-Leroux, Alicia Blancarte, Jeff Borsato, R.J. Cathro,Michan Condra, Ashok Dalvi, Peter Diekmeyer, HeatherEdnie, Marlene Eisner, Robert Giguère, Michael Gravelle,Fathi Habashi, Joe Heimbach, Deborah McCombe,Marlene Moore, Brian O'Hara, Robbie Pillo, SheldonPolowin, Tracy Pratt, Juan Carlos Reyes, Barbara Rose,Roy Slack, Neal Smitheman, Paul Stothart, AdamTonnos, Craig Waldie, Christian West, Dan Zlotnikov

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Copyright©2009. All rights reserved. ISSN 1718-4177. Publications Mail No. 09786. Postage paid at CPA Saint-Laurent, QC. Dépôt légal: Bibliothèque nationale du Québec.The Institute, as a body, is not responsible for statements made or opinions advanced either in articles or inany discussion appearing in its publications.

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editor’s letter

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president’s notesThis month, I want to talk about a subject that is near and

dear to me: what CIM is doing — or not doing — for studentsin Canada’s mining industry. You may have heard me before, inthis space or elsewhere, discussing the necessity of bringingnew and younger members into the CIM fraternity.

My own involvement with CIM began in university when oneof my professors showed up with a handful of application formsand said: “Everybody fill one of these out; you’re all joiningCIM.” Although this approach might have lacked some subtlety,I do believe that every geology, mining, mineral processing andmetallurgy student across Canada should be a CIM studentmember as a matter of course. Mining students need to feel apart of the industry in which they will work, and CIM providesthe ideal means for fostering that connection.

Most CIM branches that are in close proximity to a univer-sity or college do their best to involve students in their activitiesby inviting them to branch meetings, hosting student mixersand offering scholarships. In spite of these efforts, I feel that weare still not connecting with them adequately.

To encourage student involvement, about a year agoCouncil changed the fee structure so that CIM membership isfree to students registered in a full-time program in mining,

geology, mineral processing or metal-lurgical studies. In spite of this, amajority of students in these disci-plines have still not signed up. In aneffort to change this, CIM Councilrecently authorized the hiring of a newmembership liaison coordinator,Teresa Barrett. One of Teresa's firstpriorities will be contacting every uni-versity to discuss the benefits of CIMmembership, informing studentsabout how they can become mem-bers, and helping to establish student branches.

I call on all of our members to support and encourage Teresain her endeavours. Students represent the future of CIM and ofour industry. Let’s all do our part to make it happen.

Michael J. AllanCIM President

Ce mois-ci, j’aimerais vous parler d’un sujet qui me tientà cœur : ce que l’ICM fait — ou ne fait pas — pour les étu-diants de l’industrie minière au Canada. Vous m’avez peut-être déjà entendu, ici ou ailleurs, parler de la nécessité d’at-tirer de nouveaux membres, plus jeunes, dans l’associationde l’ICM.

J’ai moi-même commencé à participer à l’ICM alors quej’étais à l’université, lorsque l’un de nos professeurs est arrivéavec une poignée de formulaires de demande d’adhésion etnous a déclaré : « Chacun d’entre vous remplit un formulaire;vous adhérez tous à l’ICM. » Cette approche manquait peut-être de subtilité, mais je crois en fait que chaque étudiant engéologie, en exploitation minière, en traitement du minerai eten métallurgie du Canada devrait être un étudiant membre del’ICM. Les étudiants en exploitation minière ont besoin de sen-tir qu’ils appartiennent à l’industrie dans laquelle ils tra-vailleront. L’ICM leur offre le moyen idéal de renforcer ce lien.

La plupart des bureaux de l’ICM qui se trouvent à proxi -mité d’une université ou d’un collège font de leur mieux pourfaire participer les étudiants à leurs activités en les invitant àleurs réunions, en organisant des rencontres d’étudiants et enproposant des bourses d’études. Malgré ces efforts, je penseque nous n’établissons pas de liens suffisants avec eux.

Il y a un an, dans le but d’encourager la participation desétudiants, le conseil a modifié le barème des cotisationsd’adhésion à l’ICM afin que celle-ci soit gratuite pour lesétudiants inscrits à temps plein dans un programme d’é-tudes en exploitation minière, en géologie, en traitement duminerai ou en métallurgie. Pourtant, la plupart des étudiantsinscrits dans ces disciplines n’ont pas encore adhéré àl’ICM. Dans le cadre des efforts déployés pour changercette situation, le conseil de l’ICM a récemment autorisél’embauche d’une coordonnatrice chargée des relationsavec les nouveaux membres, Teresa Barrett. L’une des pri-orités de Mme Barrett consistera à prendre contact avecchaque université pour discuter des avantages d’adhérer àl’ICM, informer les étudiants sur la façon de devenir mem-bre et les aider à établir de nouveaux bureaux d’étudiants.

Je demande à tous nos membres d’appuyer et d’en-courager Mme Barrett dans cette entreprise. Les étudiantsreprésentent l’avenir de l’ICM et de notre industrie. Faisonstous en sorte de réussir.

Michael J. AllanPrésident de l’ICM

Students – the future of our industry and our Institute

Les étudiants – l’avenir de notre institut et de l’industrie



lettersThe “write” stuff

On behalf of RioTinto, I would like to express ourgratitude for the wonderful job done by Ms. MarleneEisner reporting on the Diavik Aboriginal LeadershipDevelopment Program in the August issue of yourmagazine (CIM Magazine, August 2009, p. 35). Thewriting was very well done, accurately portraying theprogram and, in our view, represents some of the bestwriting we have seen in some time on the topic of theDiavik Leadership Development Program.

This article has been circulated around to all ofour grads and has generated some great discussionfrom other companies and governments which, I amconfident, will help to bring this story and the devel-opment of Aboriginal employees forward.

Regards,John TeesAdvisor, Community AffairsDiavik Diamond Mines Inc.

November 2009 | 11

The “Safe at Work Ontario” strat-egy is a new approach to workplacehealth and safety that builds on theOntario Ministry of Labour’s “tar-geted intervention” strategy which,since 2004, has addressed safetyissues for the province’s employersand workers. Launched in 2008, Safeat Work Ontario seeks to foster astrong health and safety culture inworkplaces through a mix of educa-tion, training and enforcement ofprovincial legislation. It carries outsector and hazard-specific inspectionblitzes throughout the year in thehopes of reducing lost time injuryclaims and occupational hazards.

In September 2009, the OntarioMinistry of Labour dispatched teamsof inspectors to ensure electrical safetywithin the mining industry, targetingemployers known for poor regulatorycompliance or that possess the mostpotentially hazardous equipment andprocessing facilities.

As Canada’s largest mineral pro-ducer, Ontario must remain a model ofefficient and safe mining practice.Ontario Minister of Labour PeterFonseca was on hand at the Sifto SaltMine in Goderich, Ontario, toannounce the safety blitz this pastsummer. Because of its exemplarysafety record, Sifto Salt was chosen bythe Ministry as the location toannounce the new spotlight on electri-cal safety in mining operations.

Last year, Ontario’s 430 full-timeoccupational health and safety inspec-tors focused on other areas during

Inspection blitzElectrical safety in the mining industry

By Jeff Borsato

similar blitzes, including constructionas well new and young workers. Since2004, the Ministry of Labour hasclaimed to have lowered lost timeinjuries in all industries by 20 per cent.

Since 2000, over 70 workplacefatalities were the result of electrocu-tion. During the month of September,inspectors were tasked with examin-ing electrical equipment and safetypractices at underground mines, sur-face plants and mixed-use aggregateoperations across Ontario. TheElectrical Safety Authority, a Sudbury-based mining safety group, notes thatelectrical systems have evolved rapidlyas the backbone of mining operations,but that electrical risk managementhas failed to keep pace. Many prob-lems stem from poor safety awarenessand injury procedures on the part of

personnel. What is required, they say,are qualified engineering and electricalstaff who possess a working under-standing of applicable standards andregulations, equipment, and possibledeficiencies that might exist in miningoperations.

Contraventions found under theOccupational Health and SafetyAct and its regulations could result ina fine of up to $500,000 to corpora-tions and $25,000 or incarceration forup to 12 months for individuals.

Mine safety is a critical part of theindustry, and such safety blitzes are partof ongoing efforts to ensure Ontariomines and mining operators remain atthe forefront in injury prevention.

For more information go to www.news.ontario.ca.

CIM

macfactsAccording to NaturalResources Canada, the valueof mineral production inOntario was approximately$9.6 million in 2008.

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While deflation and inflationassume top billing in the financialmedia, it is easy to overlook thebroader issues that affect preciousand base metal mining; namely thefinancing and labour expertiserequired to fuel an ever-growingdemand for new discoveries. Withmining at the forefront of environ-mental efforts to manage large-scaleprojects while respecting local ecol-ogy, it is increasingly important toevaluate the business of mineralexploration and production as morethan just a reflection of the price ofthe underlying asset.

The 2009 Toronto ResourceInvestment Conference (TRIC) thattook place at the end of September

A meeting of minesThe Toronto Resources Investment Conference

By Jeff Borsato

brought together an extensive lineupof junior mining and exploration out-fits representing the broad spectrumof precious, base and rare earth met-als. Held at the Toronto ConventionCentre, it was hosted by resourcesinvestment conference organizerCambridge House. Over 150 compa-nies were on display alongside anassembly of industry analysts andmining experts of all stripes whogathered to discuss the fundamentalsof mining-related investments overthe course of the weekend.

Paul van Eeden of CranberryCapital imparted his thoughts onsome of the biggest challenges facing junior exploration and min-ing. “Raising capital will be their

biggest hurdle going forward,” saidVan Eeden. “In the event of anotherround of risk aversion in capital mar-kets, mining companies — particu-larly those with smaller market capi-talization — will find themselves in adifficult climate.” According to vanEeden, the role of China in metalsmarkets was balanced against popular media claims of stockpil-ing. “China is interested in purchas-ing resources, but they are not ‘stock-piling’ as has been suggested, norwould they be able to divest over twotrillion in U.S. debt into the relativelysmall metals markets even if theywanted to,” he said. Asked if he feltspeculation was fueling much of therun up in metal prices as of late, van

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Eeden was quick to agree and addedthat while he was bearish on metalsand markets in general, value couldstill be found in specific equities.

Lawrence Roulston, a long-timemining commentator and analyst,attracted a hefty crowd to his Saturdayafternoon presentation. Stressing thebig picture of mining markets and notthe day-to-day gyrations in metalsprices, Roulston pointed to the recov-ery of precious and base metal shares asa demand-driven reality in a globalizedeconomy. Agreeing with van Eedenthat Chinese stockpiling is largely amyth, he acknowledged their domi-nant presence in a host of markets.Citing the rise of domestic demand viaincreased infrastructure spending andautomobile purchases, Roulstonpegged China as the single biggest con-tributor to rising metals prices.

Jay Taylor, the author of J Taylor’sGold, Energy & Tech Stocks news -letter, was available to offer a macro-

economic perspective of gold. Citingthe rise of the yellow metal’s purchas-ing power relative to virtually allother commodities, Taylor pointed togreater prospects of returns in min-ing stocks than the metals them-selves during the current upswing inprices.

While gold and silver miningcompanies took centre stage formuch of the talks at TRIC, therewere some welcome additions of thelesser known metal miners. Withover 90 per cent of laptop batteriesfeaturing lithium ion batteries andan explosion in battery-poweredautomobiles, the exploration andmining of lithium and other rareearth elements (REE) are critical tofuture technological innovation andenvironmental conservation. Thelargest supplies in the central andsouthern United States have givenway to China as the dominant sourcefor REE discoveries.

Rodinia Minerals is one such sup-plier of REE, with lithium and ura-nium projects in Arizona andUtah. With interests in the only activelithium mine in the United States, itsNevada-based Clayton Valley projectis of particular interest to those thatenvision an energy-independentU.S. Energy policy in the UnitedStates has emphasized greater inde-pendence from Middle East oil. WithChina considering limiting REEexports, domestic production is allthe more critical.

There was no shortage of African-based exploration and mining com-panies at this year’s TRIC. Hostingapproximately 30 per cent of theplanet’s mineral reserves of preciousmetals, Africa also continues to be amajor producer of a wide variety ofbase metals. Much of the mineralexploration within Africa hasfocused on gold and diamonds, butthe rise in base-metal prices has

November 2009 | 13

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allowed for an increase in new proj-ects across the continent. A host ofnew mines and exploration projectshave been fueling a mining boom inspite of regional instability and geo-political concerns.

Richard Buzbuzian of Zimbabwe-based New Dawn Mining Corp. wason hand at the conference to high-light the benefits of mining in anation known more for its runawayinflation than for its geo-strategicgold mines. New Dawn’s main proj-ects are its Turk and Angelus mines inthe resource-rich Bulawayo-BubiGreenstone Belt. Providing at timesup to 50 per cent of Zimbabwe’s earn-ings, gold mining languished for overa decade before the Zimbabwe Minesand Minerals Act (MMA) and deregu-lation of exchange control policiesbegan, allowing producers to sell golddirectly to foreign buyers in the cur-rency of their choice. Buzbuzianhighlighted that currency risks wereamong the chief concerns to most

investors and, in spite of domesticinflation, currency risk has beeneffectively removed by sales of gold inU.S. dollars.

While South Africa, Tanzania andthe Democratic Republic of Congodominate the African mining indus-try, other states have begun to attractthe attention and funding needed toexplore new opportunities. One suchmining company was RiverstoneResources. Based in Burkina Faso,Riverstone has exploration projects ina lesser known mining nation on thewestern edge of the African conti-nent. The standout Karma projectconsists of four contiguous permits inthe Birimian Greenstone Belts thatcover large swaths of Burkina Faso’sresource-rich regions.

In the early part of the decade,TRIC was smaller and hosted a vari-ety of small cap tech companiesalongside exploration and miningnames. The run up in metals prices,even in spite of last years credit

crisis, has seen a return to the corecomponents of resource invest-ments: precious and base metals,REE and a host of exploration proj-ects around the globe.

The all too familiar “perma-bull”outlook that once pervaded the floorof many mining conferences wasreplaced by a range of opinionsoffering bull and bear scenarios forthe metals.

Labour, energy costs, environ-mental impacts and displacement oflocal inhabitants require more thanjust picks and shovels to succeed.Canada is a leader in the miningworld and possesses a rich history ofinnovation. As we continue to lever-age our strengths in the field, we arereminded of the complexities of creat-ing wealth from hard assets. TheTRIC was an exciting reminder ofCanada’s pivotal place in the miningworld, but also of the magnitude ofongoing efforts to explore and extractmineral wealth around the globe. CIM


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November 2009 | 15

The Northern Centre forAdvanced Technology (NORCAT)added a little icing to its cake thisfall. Even before the centre had thechance to celebrate the grand open-ing of its new 60,000-square-footInnovation and CommercializationCentre, it had its coffers topped upanother million dollars by theNorthern Ontario Heritage FundCorporation (NOHFC) to expandeven further.

With its modern industrial labsand office space, NORCAT’sInnovation and CommercializationCentre is designed to enable busi-nesses and entrepreneurs to developtechnology and try out new ideas.Also housed under its roof are serv-ices and facilities for environmentaland occupational health and safetytraining and consulting, contractororientation, industrial shops, and amedia production house. Offsite, theorganization has an operating minewhere innovations can be demon-strated and applied.

The $10.6 million cost of theexpansion was covered by the federalregional development organization inOntario (FedNor), Vale Inco,NOHFC, Xstrata, Cambrian College,FNX Mining, Greater SudburyUtilities and the City of GreaterSudbury. The latest funds from theprovince will go towards addingmore space to house companies thatrequire private, secured space inwhich to work on bringing new tech-nologies to market, says the com-pany’s CEO Darryl Lake. He startedNORCAT in 1995 in the basement ofCambrian College where he was theDean of Health Sciences, Trades andTechnology.

“Our prime focus is to create jobsfor young people,” explains Lake,who says he watched too many ofthem leave the area looking foropportunity elsewhere. The label of

“young” is applied generously, heconcedes, but he credits NORCATwith creating over a thousand jobs inthe Sudbury area. “There have been41 companies that we have helpedget started,” Lake says, adding thatthe demand for space has always out-paced supply. “That shows you howvibrant the industry is even in thetoughest of tough times.”

Though the collection of enter-prises that use the resources at NOR-CAT has diversified since its found-ing, the core focus for most residentsrenting space is mining. “Out of the14 occupants here, we have a coupleof startups, the others are companiesthat want to innovate or are chang-ing or improving their product linesto take them global, for example.”The next phase of expansion willprovide another three businesseswith shop space.

NORCAT helps alleviate some ofthe financial risk from new projectdevelopment by providing the launchpad for those who need to rent addi-tional space dedicated to innovation,

but who do not want to get lockedinto long-term leases. One aim,explains Lake, is to ease the entry ofcompanies from outside of Sudburythat want to penetrate the local mar-kets. Early on, Lake says he madesure local real estate brokers andowners understood that the modelcreated a win-win situation. “Weexplained that what we are trying todo is get companies to innovate andremain stable so they can rent morespace. The minute our residents areready to get into manufacturing wehave to part ways.”

That moment can be bittersweet,admits Lake. Of the roughly 100people working at NORCAT, halfare permanent employees and halftemporary residents. “It’s a familyeffort here so when one of our resi-dents ‘grows up’ and wants to leave,we all feel terrible.” The differencenow, though, is that the young tal-ent is simply moving out, not mov-ing away.

www.norcat.org

CIM

Building capacityGrowth spurt for Sudbury tech centre

By Ryan Bergen

Le 7 octobre dernier marquait la fin d’une vaste campagne de recrutementvisant à contrer la pénurie de la main d’œuvre dans le secteur minier de larégion de la Baie James au nord du Québec.

Du 15 septembre, la caravane « La ruée vers le nord », mise sur pied par leComité action mines (CAM), a parcouru une quinzaine de municipalités àtravers le Québec afin d’attirer plus de 1 000 travailleurs d’ici 5 ans dans larégion de la Jamésie.

Au cours de leur voyage, les animateurs de la caravane ont rencontrés plusde 2 000 visiteurs, offrant de l’information sur la région et les possibilités decarrières dans le secteur minier. « Les besoins se situent à tous les niveaux »,précise Alain Poirier, président du CAM.

En plus de la caravane, le CAM a également développé un site internet oùon peut retrouver de l’information sur les attraits de la région, une image del’industrie et les emplois disponibles dans ce secteur. Plus de 15 000 visitesont été recensées sur le site et près de 600 personnes ont déposées leur can-didature dans l’outil Placement en ligne d’Emploi Québec.

L’industrie minière dans cette région est en pleine expansion. « Nouscomptons actuellement six mines en activité, une dizaine de projets de miseen valeur, près de 250 projets d’exploration. Le Nord-du-Québec vit aussi unevraie ruée vers l’or depuis la découverte du gisement Éléonore en 2001développé aujourd’hui par les Mines Opinaca ltée (Goldcorp) », explique M.Poirier.

M. Poirier s’enthousiasme devant le succès de la campagne. « Tous ces effortsont déjà porté fruit car des sociétés minières ont déjà eu la chance de recruterdes employés de grande qualité, pour des postes de technicien minier.»

www.larueeverslenord.com

ICM

A vast recruiting campaign aimed atoffsetting the mining industry’s lack ofmanpower in the James Bay Region innorthern Quebec successfully attractednearly 600 applicants.

The “Lure of the North” campaigncaravan, organized by the Comité actionmines (CAM), travelled to 15 munici-palities throughout Quebec over threeweeks in September and October in aneffort to attract more than 1,000 work-ers to the James Bay region in the nextfive years. “Skilled trade workers andprofessionals are needed in every sphereof activity,” says Alain Poirier, presidentof CAM.

Throughout their journey, CAM rep-resentatives met with more than 2,000visitors and provided information aboutthe region as well as career opportuni-ties available in the industry.

In addition to the campaign caravan,CAM also created a website informingthe public about the region’s attractions,including an overview of the miningindustry and its employment possibili-ties. The website recorded more than15,000 visits. As well, visitors were ableto post their applications throughEmploi Quebec’s online placement tool.

The campaign’s resounding successhas left Poirier feeling confident. “Ourefforts have started to bear fruit,” hesays. “Mining companies were able torecruit high-quality employees for tech-nician positions.”

This is good news because theregion’s mining industry is expanding.“We currently have six active mines,about ten projects in development andalmost 250 exploration projects,” saysPoirier. “Northern Quebec is experienc-ing a real ‘gold rush’ since the discoveryof Éléonore in 2001, which is now beingdeveloped by Goldcorp.”

www.larueeverslenord.com

CIM

Grand succès pour la grande séductionLe Nord-du-Québec est parti à la conquête de 1 000 travailleurs

Par Robbie Pillo

Resounding successfor “la grandeséduction”1,000 workers needed in James Bay

De gauche à droite : Alain Poirier, président du Comité action mines, François Gadbois, comédien et porte-parole et Luc Letendre, coordonnateur de la tournée. From left to right: Alain Poirier, President, ComitéAction Mines, François Gadbois, actor and spokesperson, and Luc Letendre, tour coordinator

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The global financial crisis created or exacerbated risks thatthreatened the near-term survival of a number of mining andmetal companies. However, opportunities have also emergedfor well-capitalized companies to positionthemselves for the upturn. Those are keyconclusions of Ernst & Young’s StrategicBusiness Risk Report 2009 released in August.

The report notes some of the majorchanges that have beset the industry. Italso highlights risks that mining sectorplayers face and assesses how those riskshave evolved during the past 12 months.

Not surprisingly, the 40 per cent dropin the London Metal Exchange Index thatoccurred between July 1, 2008 and July 1,2009, has made things much tougher saysTom Whelan, Ernst & Young’s Canadianleader for the mining and metal industry.“Access to capital has been choked off formost companies, with the rare exceptionof those in the gold sector and maybe afew others,” he says.

Tightening the purse stringsThe upshot is that producers are now

increasingly focused on cost contain-ment, which the Ernst & Young reportlists as the biggest risk that the sectorfaces. “We went through a period duringwhich commodity prices rose rapidly tounprecedented levels,” says Whelan. Thedesire by operators to produce and sell asmuch product as possible while theprices were so good led to bottlenecks inthe supply chain for basic inputs rangingfrom skilled labour to energy and deliv-ery infrastructure. “This ‘produce at allcosts’ mentality led to sloppiness and costoverruns, which are totally unsustainableat current price levels,” says Whelan.

Many mines responded to the drop incommodity prices by shutting down pro-duction. However, others that continueto produce will need to get their costsback into line. The key, says Whelan, isthat cost reduction activities need to beimplemented in a way that does not leadto value erosion.

Cost containment a rising risk for mining companiesA report by Ernst & Young says that the financial crisis and global recession have changed the environment that Canadian players face

By Peter Diekmeyer

The Ernst & Young report recommends several steps thatmining and metals companies can take to respond to costcontainment risks. These include focusing on areas that

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provide maximum value, embedding cost optimization tomake sure that the savings achieved are sustainable, andensuring that company leadership is visibly committed toachieving a single definition of success.

Some risks have decreased… temporarilyOf course not all risks have increased. In fact, slowdowns

or shutdowns at many mines, sparked by shrinking demand,have given companies slack in several areas once judged farmore critical. For example, skills shortages, once a majorthreat due to the rising average age of workers in several keyjob categories, are not as prevalent as they once were.

In a similar vein, reduced or halted production by manyoperators has meant that a lot of those mines will be aroundlonger. That means that pipeline shrinkage is less of a con-cern. Getting access to scarce infrastructure is also easier now.

Reduced demand has also weakened the hand of manycountries and regions that were seeking to attract investorswilling to develop local deposits. As a result, resourcenationalism and the ability of miners to obtain or maintainsocial licenses to operate no longer provide the same “bar-gaining chip” incentives they once did. “The discussion ofrisks as required in the management discussion and analy-sis (MD&A) tends to be generic and typically does not pro-vide a detailed description of the likelihood of the riskoccurring or the magnitude of the impact,” says Whelan.

He counsels clients not to succumb to the pressure to cutspending on initiatives to build bridges with local communi-ties where mines operate.

Much discussed, not always fully reportedReports like the Ernst & Young document provide partic-

ularly useful information for mining sector stakeholders.The long life cycles inherent in almost all mining projectsmeans that correct risk profile assessments of current andplanned initiatives are crucial.

“At the end of the day, the mining industry is full ofrisks,” says Whelan. “[As a result] risk management is onethe top topics of conversation at board levels.” Despite this,Whelan points out that risk reporting is not formally man-dated under current accounting guidelines.

“The MD&A sections of company financial statements doinclude a risk section. But the information there is kept fairlygeneric,” says Whelan. The upshot is that to fully assess therisk that the mining industry operates under, stakeholderswill generally have to do research of their own.

Whelan also made interesting observations regarding theeffects that consolidation has had on the industry. “Ourresearch shows that companies that are emerging out of thecrisis fall into three categories. They are either opportunists,innovators or survivors,” says Whelan.

The key, says the mining sector expert, is to stay focusedon the big picture. “Tougher access to financing means thatthe short-term investment picture may indeed look grim,”says Whelan. “The IPO market has essentially been closeddown. As a result, we are telling our clients that if they havea chance to get a hold of capital, they should seize it.”

The tough times, however, are not expected to last for-ever. “The demand for resources will rebound,” saysWhelan. “Lack of available financing has created fabulousopportunities for those who have a longer term horizon suchas the Chinese companies who recently took positions inConsolidated Thompson Iron and Teck Resources.”

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The top10strategic risks that mining sector players face (according to Ernst & Young):

• Cost containment• Industry consolidation• Access to capital • Maintaining a social

license to operate• Climate change

concerns

• Skills shortages• Infrastructure access• Access to secure

energy• Resource nationalism• Pipeline shrinkage

When Ross Gallinger joined IAMGOLD in May of2006, the company was in the midst of a mas-sive transformation. Until that year, it wasinvolved in the gold mining industry exclu-

sively as an investing partner. But in March 2006, the com-pany finalized the acquisition of Gallery Gold, along withthe latter’s producing Mupane gold mine, near Francistownin eastern Botswana.

Moving from investment concern to mine operatorwould necessitate significant strategic and planningchanges, which the IAMGOLD management team recog-nized. One of the major areas in need of attention wasgoing to be the trifecta of health, safety and sustainability.It is with these changes in mind that the company hiredGallinger, who had most recently held the position of vice-president of sustainability with Placer Dome.

But Mupane was only the beginning. In early Novemberof the same year, IAMGOLD acquired a second producer,Cambior. This gave the company control over two moreoperating mines, Doyon and Mouska — both located ingold-rich Val-d’Or in northwestern Quebec.

“I Am Responsible”IAMGOLD Corporation creates a tailor-made sustainability framework

“Suddenly the companybecame a full-on mid-tierproduction company,”explains Gallinger, whowas tasked with developinga comprehensive set ofpolicies and plans coveringsustainability. “We wentfrom being a very smalljoint venture to being thetenth largest gold com-pany.” The organization’srapid growth presented anopportunity to evaluate itsentire setup and develop astructure that would be anoptimal fit for the com-pany’s long-term goals,without being excessivelyconstrained by existing,and potentially insuffi-cient, frameworks.

“What managementhad was desires, especiallyour president and CEO, JoeConway,” Gallinger recalls.“Joe said, ‘we really need tochart a course; I have some

experience around it but we need to get somebody who hasthe expertise to do this, so we’re not reinventing the wheel.Let’s go find someone who could help us on that part.’”

Gallinger is quick to point out, however, that safetyand sustainability practices were certainly not lackingwhen he came on board. “IAMGOLD has always tradi-tionally been heavy on the exploration side,” he explains.“Visiting the sites, I was very pleased to see that positivepractices regarding community and the environmentwere well embedded. The Quimsacocha project was agreat example of that. They had a community team inplace and a great environmental program for reclaimingdrill pads. I’ve never seen an exploration site run so wellfrom an environmental sustainability point of view.”What was needed, Gallinger explains, was a support sys-tem for the practitioners already implementing these ini-tiatives on the ground.

With both practitioners and management receptive tothe need for a coherent policy, Gallinger and his teamwere able to draw extensively on the expertise of bothgroups. To start the process, the team looked at existing


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In Suriname, Rosebel’s mining team is proud of its excellent safety performance record.

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sustainability frameworks, but none fit the bill. “So welooked at developing our own framework that wouldinclude all the things that we see as necessary in sustain-ability,” says Gallinger. It includes six elements: leader-ship and accountability; stakeholder engagement;change management, risk management and emergencypreparedness; environmental stewardship; social stew-ardship; and governance.

The company also incorporated successful practicesfrom its newly acquired assets. For example, Cambior wasISO 14001-certified and so IAMGOLD incorporated it intothe framework; it is now the method used to fulfil the envi-ronmental stewardship component.

How do you eat an elephant?According to an oft-quoted African proverb, you eat an

elephant one bite at a time. This is one of the reasons thatthe IAMGOLD sustainability framework is not a set of fixedrules. Tackling all of the areas that need improvement atonce, says Gallinger, would be far less fruitful than focusingon a single area, bringing it up to the desired level, and thenmaintaining it while shifting focus to the next one.

“To start off with, you can’t do 50 things really well;you have to do the ones that are most important to you,”

he says. “We don’t expect that people go for the low hang-ing fruit. We want them to work on the things that arereally going to manage the risk and provide valuable out-comes at the sites. Everything is equally important, butyou have to really look at what the needs are in the areaand go that route.”

One challenge in developing the framework wasfinding the right metric by which to measure success.The development of this metric, against whichIAMGOLD evaluates all its sustainability efforts, is anachievement in and of itself, and one Gallinger is veryhappy with.

“For example, last year we challenged our executives tocome up with a core vision describing where we want to beon health, safety and sustainability going forward,” heexplains. “You can actually put some numbers on thesafety side, but when you start talking about the environ-ment and community, it gets bogged down in technicalaspects.” To address this, the company turned to the con-cept of “zero harm” — one that Gallinger acknowledges isnot unique to IAMGOLD. “A lot of people utilize zeroharm, including Petro-Canada and BHP Billiton, and I havehad some experience with it in the past as well. I am reallyamazed at how people here are grasping the concept and

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really running with it. It’s something that our employeestake a lot of pride in discussing.”

Taking responsibilityThe slogan centres around the concept of “I Am.” The

one Gallinger highlights in particular is “I AmResponsible.” In fact, this particular slogan has beenaccepted to such a degree that workers at one processingplant painted the slogan on the side of a cyanide leach stor-age tank as a constant reminder to themselves and anyonewho visits the site.

“We’ve just completed a week-long session at theRosebel operation. It was very gratifying to get out in frontof over 1,200 employees and for me to ask them: ‘So whoat Rosebel is responsible for health, safety and sustainabil-ity?’ and to hear them respond ‘I am,’ instead of ‘well, it’sthe safety guy’s responsibility,’ or, ‘it’s the sustainabilityguy’s responsibility.’ Instead, they all bought in that ‘I amthe guy that’s responsible for these aspects.’”

The same concept of personal responsibility is evidentin the community initiatives the company funds and sup-ports. One such project was a series of water wellsIAMGOLD drilled for villages in Tanzania. Before the firstwell was drilled, the villagers had to collect 100,000Tanzanian shillings — roughly $100. Given that Gallingerreveals that the region’s average income is less than a dol-lar a day, this may make the amount appear unreasonablylarge. Why would a wealthy multinational companydemand payment in the first place for what should havebeen part of its corporate social responsibility obligation?The reason is simple, explains Gallinger — to give thecommunity a sense of ownership over the well.

“It’s basically a commitment,” he explains. “And if rais-ing the hundred dollars was going to be a problem, thenwe would definitely have helped them. But generallynobody has had any problems raising funds for what theywanted to do.”

The villagers also have to pay a fee for use of the well.These are collected in a fund used to maintain the wellitself, and the responsibility for maintaining it goes to thevillagers. “It was actually a very cool way of setting it up,because it became the communities’ project, not ours,”Gallinger explains. “We didn’t just go out and drill them awell. Then, when it broke, they would have come to us andsay, ‘fix your well.’”

The personal responsibility approach appears to beworking. To date, IAMGOLD has put in nine wells, all ofwhich are still in operation. What’s more, the maintenancefunds created with the original 100,000 shillings havesince been used to pay for other community initiatives.Gallinger says that the project was very empowering forthe villagers.

But IAMGOLD is not resting on its laurels. The nextstage Gallinger describes involves a long, hard look at theoperations — from the outside. The company is in talks

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with numerous major nongovernmental organi-zations, which would be able to provide thatdifferent point of view.

“I can look in the mirror and say that I am athin guy with a full head of hair, but that’s notexactly what I look like,” says Gallinger. “If youkeep looking at yourself in the mirror longenough you can convince yourself of a lot ofthings. It’s not until somebody looks at you andsays ‘no, you’re fat and bald,’ that you’re going totake a step back and say, ‘yes, I think you’re right’;we need to get over ourselves.”

There is little doubt that with its focus onpersonal responsibility and commitment to sus-tainable principles, IAMGOLD will benefit andgrow from these partnerships, and help the localcommunities grow in turn. And in a few years’time, someone might look at the communityinitiatives, or the environmental stewardshipprojects, and ask “who is responsible for this?”Then Ross Gallinger will be among the over4,000 employees of IAMGOLD to stand up andsay, “I am.”

www.iamgold.com

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The “Zero Harm” logo has a place throughout the Rosebel operation, from the offices to the milltanks, as a visual reminder of the ultimate safety objective.

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Since last November, a water treatment facilitydesigned by BioteQ Environmental Technologies andoperated by the Town of Breckenridge in Coloradohas been treating up to 35 cubic metres of contami-

nated water per hour from the former Wellington Oro mine.During that time, the stockpiles of zinc-cadmium concen-trate — a byproduct of the treatment process (along withclean water) — has been growing at the treatment plant. Farfrom a nuisance to be rid of, however, creation of the con-centrate had been a valuable feature of BioteQ’s design. Infact, it had been instrumental in helping the company beatout international competitors for the EnvironmentalProtection Agency-vetted contract to provide the technologyto treat the drainage from an old mine a few miles upstreamfrom the mountain resort town.

This past summer, the Colorado Department of PublicHealth and Environment confirmed what BioteQ had alwaysmaintained: the contents in the collection of pallets filledwith zinc-cadmium sulphide, collecting in the bay of theplant, was not waste. The high-grade concentrate can,instead, be sold to a metal refiner and trucked away to beturned into anything from batteries to paint. This not onlyeliminates the need for sludge-filled catchment ponds andthe disposal cost when that sludge has to be removed, butmines value from what once was simply waste.

Turning a liability into an assetVancouver environmental firm at the source of water treatment advances

The ChemSulphide™Process

BioteQ applies its propri-etary ChemSulphide™water treatment technologyto recover saleable metalsthat are otherwise lostthrough acid mine drainageor during processing. Toextract the metals, sulphideis mixed into a tank con-taining mine drainage orwaste from metallurgicalprocessing. The chemicalconditions of the sulphidereagent are tuned to target aspecific metal in a contactortank. The soluble metal pre-cipitates, forming solidmetal particles. The metaland water are then sent to aclarifying tank where thesolid is filtered out and con-densed. This process, put

into operation last year at Jiangxi Copper Company’s DexingMine, yielded 120,000 tonnes of copper processed fromwaste and low-grade stockpile drainage. The treatmentplant, owned in a joint venture with Jiangxi Copper andoperated by BioteQ, sells the recovered copper back to thecompany for refining. At a similar operation in Queensland,Australia, a series of contactor tanks — each adjusted for aspecific metal — and clarifying tanks together allows thereclamation of copper, nickel and cobalt.

Traditionally, lime treatment has been the most widelyapplied approach to cleaning up acid mine drainage.Relatively cheap, lime made into slurry, then added to thedrainage raises the pH of the water to the point where met-als in it become insoluble, form particles and sink. Overtime, innovation has made lime treatment more efficient,but the process inevitably generates metal-heavy sludge thatremains an environmental and financial liability. Added isthe problem that, as the standards for effluent rise, lime-treated water may not always meet them. The BioteQprocess smooths out both of these wrinkles.

“Our technology can’t solve all water treatment prob-lems,” explains BioteQ CEO Brad Marchant. “We can’t dodesalination. In some cases a simple lime plant can workjust fine.” Those cases, however, will likely become feweras regulations tighten. For Breckenridge, the mining


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The Wellington Oro treatment plant behind heaps of dredge rock: a reminder of Breckenridge`s mining past

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town-turned-recreational tourism destination, BioteQ’schemical sulphide plant was the right fit. Breckenridge’swater department operates the plant with the help ofBioteQ, whose technical team can monitor all stages of theoperating process from its company headquarters inVancouver. “Putting a lime plant in there would have beena bad idea. It would have created a tremendous amount ofsludge with nowhere for it to go,” says Marchant.

There is, he says, no typical site where BioteQ simply“cuts and pastes” its technology. Each operation is designedto fit the needs of their customers and settings. “We workat both old and operational sites — base metal mines, goldmines, coal mines, and different geographical and geologi-cal settings.”

Poised to reactThis past fall, BioteQ agreed to build a water treatment

plant in the Yukon at Minto Exploration’s copper mine northof Whitehorse. The challenge was to capture the suspendedsolids and subsequent metals swept up by spring run-off andautumn rains, says Anne Labelle, manager of sustainability andlegal affairs for Minto’s parent company, Capstone Mining.

“Metal effluent regulations and our licence require lowtotal suspended solids (TSS) in our discharge,” says ColleenRoche, environment manager for the Minto mine. “Becauseof our topography, those limits are tough to meet.”

BioteQ’s track record, familiarity with the industry— such as its regulations and time constraints — and com-mitment to have the plant installed for next year’s springrunoff were critical in earning the contract, according toRoche. The first step of the process will entail coagulatingthe fine sediment until it becomes heavy enough to sink. “Ifwe can knock down those TSS amounts, we automaticallytake care of the bulk of the metal concentration in thewater,” explains Roche. The “polishing step,” she contin-ues, will be the chemical sulphide treatment of the residualmaterial to reclaim the metals. “Copper is our primarymetal of concern, but because sulphide chemistry goes after

a host of metals, we’re also taking care of zincand other trace metals.”

A smoother flowXstrata Nickel currently hosts a BioteQ plant

at its Raglan Mine in Nunavik to meet the chal-lenge of treating waste water in the Subarctic.Before connecting with BioteQ in 2003, the mineoperator, then Falconbridge, used a low-densitysludge lime treatment plant to extract nickelsolute. The mine now uses both lime treatmentand the chemical sulphide process. “The mainadvantage of the BioteQ process,” says MartinBeausejour, an engineer at the Xstrata mine, “isthat it is a continuous treatment and not by batch.We can treat a lot more volume and a lot later intothe year. With a batch treatment you have to mix

the products in the open pit. Once the recipe is okay, you cantreat again, but as soon as you have ice in the pit, there arecomplications.” With a feeder pipe drawing a constant flow ofwater, he continues, “you can treat longer because ice doesn’treally interfere with the treatment.” According to Beausejour,the BioteQ plant currently treats the bulk of the mine drainage.

The operating agreement between the client and BioteQis also tailored. For example, at Raglan, BioteQ constructedthe plant with its own capital and operates it with its ownpersonnel. On top of a monthly fee for water treatmentbased on volume, Xstrata will also pay a monthly capital feefor five years and guarantees a minimum amount of watervolume to be treated each year. BioteQ sells the recoverednickel back to Xstrata, where it is smelted along with theconventional output of the mine.

Biological solutionFor a relatively small operation like the Wellington Oro

plant, utilizing bags of chemical sulphide serve the BioteQprocess. Large-scale operations that consume enough sul-phide to make cost an issue are designed to include a bioreac-tor, an oxygen-free tank containing sulphur-reducing bacteria,which produces hydrogen sulphide gas. The gas can then beinjected into the contactor tank to get the precipitationprocess underway. Using sulphur in the biological processrather than sulphate to produce sulphide requires signifi-cantly less electron donor, which cuts down on the space andcosts needed to produce the compound. Last year, a miningfirm using BioteQ’s anaerobic bioreactor in Arizona recovered590,000 kilograms of copper from acid mine drainage of alow-grade stockpile at an out-of-service mine — drainagethat, in the past, had only yielded environmental damage.

Compared to blunt tools used in the past, it is an elegantsolution — one that Marchant says more are willing to takea chance on. “Now that we have more operations we arestarting to get cold calls.”

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The demand for nickel and other base metals hasfallen significantly and it will take a number ofyears to recover fully. Meanwhile, the metals indus-try is facing growing challenges due to diminishing

ore grades, inaccessibility and complexity of deposits,mounting capital and operating costs, and external socio -economic and environmental pressures. To cope withthem, in what Thomas Friedman1 calls the “Energy-Climate Era,” we will be forced to take a broader view anddevelop solutions that are not merely technical. In design-ing solutions, metallurgists, engineers and project man-agers will require more holistic strategic approaches.

The challenges of the futureIn the near future, nickel producers must aim to match

demand and reduce costs. Traditionally, project evaluationmethodology has been serial, with process definition, infra-structure definition, engineering, environmental impactassessment, economic evaluation, etc. following one afteranother. The industry needs to follow an integrated and sys-tems approach instead.

This approach is consistent with emerging thought regard-ing energy and climate change. In his book, “Hot, Flat andCrowded,” Thomas Friedman1 argues that societies willdemand that “your company and your country pay the totalcost of ownership for whatever you…produce or consume.The total cost of ownership will include the costs that are nearterm and long term, direct and indirect, seen and hidden,

Ecology and economicsEmerging technical, environmental and economic challenges confronting the nickel and base metal industries

financial, social, geopolitical andenvironmental….”

Figure 1 contains a schematicrepresentation of a project or anoperation from a systems or holis-tic point of view. Input includesall materials, energy, land andlabour, while the output includesall products, emissions, byprod-ucts and external social, ecologi-cal and economic impacts. Theentire system can be optimized bydividing the various factors intothree categories: those affectingeco-efficiency; socio-economicfactors; and markets.

The term “eco-efficiency” hasemerged to capture the idea thateconomic and environmentalefficiencies can be achieved

simultaneously, as confirmed by a number of recent stud-ies. Emphasizing systems analysis, eco-efficiency seeksparallel ecological and economic gains, without sacrific-ing one for the other. It can be achieved by enhancingmaterial and energy efficiency, reducing environmentaland human health-related risks, designing products to fitinto ecological cycles, and making products more recycla-ble or durable.

To optimize any mining system, one needs to know thedesired end product and the project location. Without thisknowledge, most project impacts cannot be determined. Formost greenfield projects, the process plant battery limits rep-resent only about 30 per cent of cost. The remainder is relatedto auxiliary systems and infrastructure, including social infra-structure. Therefore, these merit particular attention.

The objective of the engineer and project manager shouldbe to design a project that has the smallest possible footprintand the lowest cost, consistent with the social, marketing andproduction objectives. These objectives need to be defined atthe outset. A project thus optimized would yield maximalreturns. Porter and van der Linde2 contend that a firm’s sus-tainability performance can also be a measure of operationalefficiency. They argue that, ultimately, the enhanced resourceproductivity makes companies more competitive.

Applying the holistic model to the nickel industryFigure 2 shows the relative global warming potentials for

nickel and other key metals. While its collective contribution


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is relatively low (due to lower overall production), nickel’sper tonne greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity is high.

The GHG intensity of nickel is not uniform by country. Itvaries from 7.5 tonnes of CO2 per tonne of nickel to over100 tonnes, with most operations being below 50. Canadianand Russian levels (~10) are typical for sulphide deposits,while those of Columbia, Japan and New Caledonia (20 to45) are typical for ferronickel (FeNi) production from lat-erites. The GHG intensity of Cuba’shigh-pressure acid leaching (HPAL)and Caron processes is reasonably rep-resentative of hydro and pyro-hydroprocesses. This indicates that hydro -metallurgical processes are not neces-sarily less GHG-intensive than FeNiprocesses. If excess PGM credits areexcluded, GHG intensity approximatesthe nickel cost curve. Low GHG inten-sity is a good indicator of low-costoperation, a relationship confirmed byStrategic Asset Management’s finding ofa strong correlation between sustain-ability and financial returns.3

It is worth noting that GHG inten-sity, generally expressed per unitweight of nickel produced, distorts theresults for ferronickel (FeNi), whichcontains nickel and iron. This distor-tion is even more pronounced fornickel pig iron (NPI) whose iron andchromium contents far exceed itsnickel content. While the average GHGintensity for FeNi is about 32 per tonneof nickel, it is about 10 if both nickeland iron are considered. This is similarto the GHG intensity of sulphide-source nickel.

This is not only a global warming issue forlaterite producers, but also a cost issue(related to high energy consumption).Reducing energy consumption is importantfor FeNi producers. Companies have done agreat deal over the last 50 years to enhanceenergy reuse and recuperation. However, asenergy and global warming issues assume evergreater prominence, much more emphasisneeds to be placed on energy efficiency.

The nature of nickelNickel occurs in two main forms — as a

part of sulphide deposits or as a laterite(oxide) deposit. Large massive sulphidedeposits relatively near the surface, such asthose of Norilsk in Russia and Sudbury inCanada, are now depleted or nearing deple-

tion. The probability of finding more such deposits is low.Future sulphide deposits will likely be found at depths of

over a kilometre and/or will be lower grade disseminateddeposits. Mine development and operations costs, and tech-nical and economic risks will therefore increase significantly.Safe and viable deep-mining technologies that address issuessuch as rock burst, ventilation and heat removal will have tobe developed. Robotics and remote mining technologies will

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Figure 2. Comparison of greenhouse gas emissions

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also become increasingly necessary. In the case of lowergrade, highly disseminated deposits, effective large-scalemining and material handling methods will have to beimplemented.

With sulphide deposits, the major costs are associated withmining. Underground mining costs are about US$50 to $125per tonne of ore, while open pit mining costs are about US$10to $40 per tonne of ore. Unit costs rise as deposit depthsincrease and ore grades decrease. Fortunately, processing costsare substantially reduced by effectively upgrading the ore.Mineral processing will therefore become increasingly criticalin the future. Some of the challenges in mineral processing are:• Increasing concentrate grades while maintaining valuable

metal recoveries at high levels for disseminated low-gradedeposits containing <1%Ni.

• Using gravity separation and sorting to minimize costand maximize recovery. This must be carried out in situwhere possible.

• Dealing with ore impurities.• Effectively separating nickel from other metals.

“Wet” and “dry” laterite deposits occur in tropical and sub-tropical areas, respectively. Laterite ores are rocky saprolites(low iron, high MgO) or fine limonites (high iron, low MgO).Dry laterites tend to be intermediate (medium iron and MgO).Saprolites usually have the highest nickel content (1.5 to 3%).Limonitic ores have relatively low nickel content (1 to 1.5%).Dry laterites are also relatively low in nickel (0.8 to 1.2%).Some upgrading can be carried out, but feed to the processingplant remains in the 1 to 3% Ni range for all laterite process-ing facilities, even after upgrading. Laterite ores are also highin free (10 to 30%) and combined (8 to 12%) water content.

Nickel laterite mining is generally low-cost (~US$10 to$35 per tonne ore) open pit or strip mining. However, due

to low feed grades and high moisture content, its energyrequirements are high. Controlling ecological impacts, con-taining mine runoff and rehabilitating mined-out areas alsopose major challenges to laterite-sourced nickel production.

Environmental considerationsIn Canada, air emissions are controlled by the Canadian

Environmental Protection Act of 1999 (CEPA 99). Releasesfrom base metal smelters and refineries were declared toxicunder the CEPA 99 in September 2002. It required that a riskmanagement strategy and instrument be developed to addressthese toxins and be finalized within two years of the declara-tion of toxicity. The risk management instrument applicableto base metals is pollution prevention (P2) planning. Factorsto consider in preparing P2 plans were to include:• Specific annual emissions limits for 2008 and 2015• Environmental codes of practice

In April 2006, the government issued a notice4 requiringthe preparation and implementation of P2 plans for toxinsreleased from base metal smelters and refineries byDecember 31, 2015.

Bill C-30, currently before Parliament, proposes to amendCEPA 1999, the Energy Efficiency and the Motor Vehicle FuelConsumption Standards Acts and to merge them into what isto be called Canada’s Clean Air Act. Additionally, water-borneemissions are regulated federally under the Fisheries Act.Emissions are also regulated under health acts and by variousprovincial regulations. Similar regulations or guidelines areproduced by the World Bank, the United States, the EuropeanUnion and various other countries.

With increasing NGO and community activism on eco-logical issues, regulations are becoming more specific andstringent, posing significant technical and economic chal-

lenges to the base metals industry.The closure of Noranda’s Gaspé cop-per smelter in April 2002 and theslated closure of the HBMS coppersmelter in Flin Flon as a result oftighter regulations are illustrative ofthese challenges.

CEPA 99 will require new nickelsmelters and refineries to capture over96 per cent of their SO2 emissions.Regulatory requirements alreadynecessitate the provision of facilities atevery project to control emissions. Thescope of such facilities could oftenequal that of the processing facilitiesthemselves. Therefore, in the future,metallurgists and engineers need toconsider processes that inherentlyminimize the need for such facilitiesand incorporate these considerationsinto overall flowsheet developmentand project engineering.



References1 Friedman, T. (2008). Hot, Flat and Crowded. New York: Ferrar, Straus and Giroux.

2 Porter, M. & van der Linde, C. (1999). Green and Competitive - Ending the Stalemate.Harvard Business Review, Reprint 95507 (September 1995) Reprinted in HarvardBusiness Review of Profiting from Green Business, HBS Press (Product No. 2336),pp. 131-168.

3 The Sustainability Yearbook 2009. Strategic Asset Management. Zurich, Switzerland.

4 Canadian Gazette, Vol. 140, No. 17, April 29, 2006.

5 McEwen, C.A. & Schmidt, J.D. Leadership and the Corporate SustainabilityChallenge: Mindsets in Action (December 10, 2007). Available at SSRN:http://ssrn.com/abstract=1118071

The requirements of the marketHistorically, nickel demand growth has outstripped GDP

growth. Averaged from 1950 to 2004, nickel consumptionincreased four per cent annually, driven largely by stainlesssteel. Stainless steel’s share of overall nickel demand rosefrom about 33 per cent in 1960 to around 70 per cent cur-rently and is expected to reach 73 per cent by 2013.Furthermore, because stainless steel can use lower puritynickel, an increasing proportion of nickel demand will be forlower purity forms.

Production data from 2007 show that about 63 per centof nickel produced was Class I nickel, about eight per centwas nickel oxide and the remaining 28 per cent was ferro -nickel and NPI. Thus, the industry continues to producenickel of excessive purity, to great cost and environmentalconsequences.

Additionally, the stainless steel industry has not paid ade-quately for the iron content of ferronickel and the iron andchrome contents of NPI. A market mechanism has not beenfound to address this issue. The traditional market, based onLME deliverable (Class I) nickel, distorts both valuation andoptimum processing, lowers industry efficiency and increasesthe cost to the consumer (the stainless steel industry).

Metallurgists and engineers should start process designwith the known market requirements of nickel purity inmind. The traditional practice is to often design a processand accept its products.

A mindset shiftAs discussed above, resources, markets, and operational

and project impacts (environmental, social, economic)impose external requirements on projects and operations.These externalities demand improved technology, innova-tion and a mindset shift towards a systems approach. Thisincludes novel methods of exploration, mining and process-ing that can maximize resource delineation and utilization,reduce costs, increase productivity, reduce energy consump-tion, maximize asset utilization and reduce environmentaland negative social impacts.

This mindset shift entails the integration, combined evalu-ation and optimization of all elements of a project. Corporateapproaches to sustainability remain piecemeal and discon-nected from business strategy. Sustainability should be builtin, not bolted on. It needs to be embedded in operations, sys-tems and culture. With given environmental and socialrequirements, processes and projects should be reconfiguredto minimize energy use and environmental footprints. Asnoted earlier, this would also lead to greater cost-effectiveness.

In their recent survey of 10 corporations noted for theirsustainability practices, McEwen and Schmidt5 describe five“gears” of sustainability engagement: comply, volunteer,partner, integrate and redesign. The last two entail morecomplex high-level activity. Even the best companies consis-tently achieve only the first three stages. None achieved thefourth level (integrated action across the value chain) con-

sistently or even attempted the fifth level (redesigning forlarge-scale systems change). This indicates that there ismuch room for a mindset shift among scientists, engineers,managers and industry leaders.

ConclusionsSulphide-based nickel producers face challenges in min-

ing to reduce costs and in mineral beneficiation to maximizeprocessing feed value. Processing facilities need to deviseprocesses that remove toxic emissions at reasonable costwhile minimizing energy requirements and producing nickeloptimized for the stainless steel industry. From a capital andoperating cost perspective, the simpler the process the better.

Significant research needs to be done to conclusivelyestablish whether the HPAL process has environmental andcost advantages over traditional smelting processes.Ferronickel and NPI, with clearly defined product quality,are good fits for stainless steel producers. Ferronickelsmelters and NPI producers face the challenge of minimiz-ing their carbon footprints. Laterite smelters must work tocontrol dust and particulate emissions.

The cost of complying with increasingly stringent envi-ronmental regulations and more social demand is mounting.Operations that fail to manage them face losses of profits oreven of social licence.

The challenge for process and project engineers is todesign processes and facilities that meet social, environmentaland energy objectives, minimize capital and operating costs,and meet market requirements. How this challenge is met willdetermine the fate of the nickel and base metals industries.

This article is condensed from the paper “Challenges facing nickeland base metal industries,” published in Green Technologies forMining and Metallurgical Industries, 2009 COM Proceedings ofthe Conference of Metallurgists, pp. 231–248.http://www.metsoc.org/estore/index.asp

CIM

About the author Ashok Dalvi is president of Dalvi AssociatesInc., an independent company based in Ontario, consulting in basemetals strategies. He obtained his B.Tech (Hon) in metallurgicalengineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in Mumbai andPhD in metallurgy and materials science from McMaster University.He has worked internationally in the fields of process R&D, projectmanagement and strategic studies.

November 2009 | 29


The Ontario mining industry wascertainly not immune to theseries of curveballs that hit dur-ing the past year. Wildly fluctuat-

ing raw material demand and prices,labour troubles and the advent of newlegislation are all changing the way theindustry there operates. To get a sense ofhow companies are handling the chal-lenges, CIM Magazine recently spokewith Ontario Mining Association(OMA) president Chris Hodgson.

CIM: The world economy has gone through a fairly turbulenttime. How has this affected your members?Hodgson: The biggest challenge was the freezing up of creditmarkets, which contributed to the huge drop in global com-modity prices. This caused exploration activity to declinedrastically, which in turn led to some downsizing and mineclosures. Lately, things are starting to look up. Some of thoseclosures have come back onstream. Prices have bouncedback too. Over the longer term, continued urbanization anddevelopment around the world means that raw materialsdemand, particularly from emerging economies, willincrease significantly.

CIM: How does the Ontario mining industry fit into all of this?Hodgson: Ontario has an extremely favourable geology, whichmakes it a great place to do mining. Resources are quite abun-dant, ranging from base metals, such as nickel, copper andzinc, to precious metals, such as gold, silver, diamonds, plat-inum and salt. We even have industrial minerals. But geologyalone does not automatically ensure success. Companies needto feel comfortable in the jurisdictions in which they operate.Fortunately, unlike some economies, Canada and Ontariohave strong traditions of respecting the “rule of law.”Certainty of ownership, which is extremely important toinvestors, is well-protected here and tenure rules — the rightto bring a mine into production — are applied fairly.

CIM: October marks the fifth anniversary of your becomingpresident of the OMA. What are some of the organization’s mainaccomplishments since you took office?Hodgson: I was a bit lucky because I took over the helm of astrong association that my predecessor, Patrick Reid, had led formore than 20 years. Much of my efforts have been devotedtowards pursuing the OMA’s primary goal, which is to improvethe competitiveness of Ontario’s mining industry. For example,we have continued to represent the industry at Queen’s Park.On federal issues, we make our positions heard though the

Building on a strong foundationInterview with OMA president, Chris Hodgson


upfrontQ & A b y P e t e r D i e k m e y e r

Mining Association of Canada. We have also worked to buildon the industry’s social license to operate, improved our out-reach to First Nations, promoted employment opportunities inthe industry and helped foster education about the industry. Wealso worked to improve our internal and external communica-tions, including the development of a new logo and upgradingour website with a “members only” section, the distribution oftimely e-news items and the posting of relevant economic, envi-ronmental and educational information.

CIM: Before joining the OMA, your career included stints asOntario’s Minister of Northern Development and Minister ofNatural Resources. What are some of the key government rela-tions initiatives that the industry is now working on and howhas your background helped you to lead in these areas?Hodgson: Before entering politics, I had also worked as a realestate developer. That meant that by the time I joined theOMA, I had already worked both sides of the table. So Iknow how important effective cooperation is. The otherthing I learned is that to influence the decision-makingprocess, you first need to be at the table and to understandwhat your counterpart is thinking. That said, this may sur-prise you, but there are lots of similarities between govern-ment officials and business people. Both groups have a realdesire to do what is right.

Right now, on the Ontario legislative front, there are twokey pieces that affect our industry. The first is Bill 173, theMining Amendment Act, which deals with mining explorersmore than it does with operators, though we are pleasedwith its scope.

Bill 191, the Far North Act, which is before the Houseright now, is more challenging. We agree with the goal andcertainly want to protect the environment; however, the actis vague and we would like clarification in some areas. If not,the act will not be helpful in making mining here competi-tive in a global sense. Not all we do involves contributing tothe legislative process though. We also provide input into alot of less visible initiatives, in areas such as humanresources, energy, safety and training, and the environment.

CIM: Environmental concerns are on the rise around the world.How do you see the industry’s role in all of this?Hodgson:Ontario has a strategy for toxic reduction and we haveinformed legislators that we want to be part of the solution, notpart of the problem. That said, we also want balance so that theindustry can stay competitive. We need to make sure that com-pliance is practical and cost-effective. For example, Regulation419 is expected to set emissions standards based on health cri-teria, while other jurisdictions use a “best available technology”approach. Speaking more broadly though, maintaining our

industry is the envy of the world. However, we need tomake sure that the insurance rates that our members arecharged reflect that fact.

Also, keeping the public informed about what we aredoing and how society benefits from this is crucial. We con-duct regular macro-economic analyses about the contribu-tions that the industry provides, and we make availablemany of the key findings online. We continue to fine-tunethose efforts. We also recently did a micro-economic studyas well and were quite surprised by the extent of the down-stream economic activity the industry generates.

Education is another big issue. The association has pro-duced videos to inform the public about the industry, includ-ing the virtual mine tour animation, NickelQuest. We alsostarted a competition among high school students called “SoYou Think You Know Mining,” to see who could produce thebest video about the benefits that mining provides.

We have also undertaken initiatives to increase the inter-est among students in mining as a career. This is importantbecause the supply of skilled labour to the industry couldcome under pressure in coming years. We have to make surethat we have enough people coming into the industry toreplace those who are retiring.

www.oma.on.ca

CIM

November 2009 | 31

upfrontQ & A

social license to operate is a major challenge. Remember thatany new ecological initiative, such as the widespread manufac-ture of solar panels, is going to require the use of minerals toproduce. For example, one of the key ingredients in catalyticconverters is platinum, and wind turbines and solar panels can-not be produced without nickel.

CIM: One of the industry’s key challenges has been its ability topartner with First Nations. How is that going?Hodgson: Our members have always worked well with theprovince’s First Nations and we want to continue to build onthose successes. For example, there have already been well over40 Impact Benefit Agreements (IBAs) negotiated in Ontariowith First Nations, including ones with De Beers Canadaregarding the Victor diamond mine and Goldcorp regarding theMusselwhite Mine. But we want to do more. Everybody has aninterest in it. Ontario needs more mines, and mining is alreadythe number one employer of First Nations peoples.

CIM: Are there any other key challenges facing the industrygoing forward and if so, what is your association doing to helpdeal with them? Hodgson: Our work with Ontario’s Worker Safety andInsurance Board (WSIB) is also very important. As I men-tioned before, the safety record of Ontario’s mining

The school of hard rocksDepth of experience key to future growth in Northern Ontarioby Ryan Bergen

In daily life it is ubiquitous. It jingles in our pock-ets and powers our toys; it has a place at ourdinner tables and then helps with the clean-up.

For industry it is indispensable. It makes steelmore durable, flexible and stronger against theelements.It is fortunate that nickel weathers well, because

the value of the ore, as well as those dedicated toits extraction, are being tested by what some havecalled the “perfect storm.” After a spike in 2007 toover $20 per pound, the price of the metal tumbled

along with other commodities. Since then, tightcredit markets, labour conflict, high productioncosts, slack demand and an abundance of supplyhave fueled the tempest further. When nickel prices bottomed out late last year

at four dollars per pound, operations in NorthernOntario were forced to drastically cut costs to con-serve money. Spotting a break in the clouds maytake time. It might also require a dramatic changein perspective and what we mean when we talkabout the “Nickel Belt.”

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032-045 Mining in Ontario_Layout 1 02/11/09 1:14 PM

Silicon Valley of miningOre bodies in the hard rock were the foundation for the communities in Northern

Ontario. The challenge, however, of driving deeper shafts, building better equipmentand making mills and refineries more efficient has erected on that bedrock an infra-structure of expertise that reaches around the world. And it ought to, says DickDeStefano.

As executive director of the Sudbury Area Mining Supply and Service Association,he is convinced that the Nickel Belt has the capacity to challenge others for the title ofthe “Silicon Valley of mining” because of its capacity to apply local knowledge acrossindustries and markets. The movement is already underway, he insists. “We are begin-ning to see a lot of mining software applications emanate out of here because of theresearch base and the partnerships that exist between universities and colleges and theprivate sector.”

DeStefano admits that the effort is still a work-in-progress, though. Keepingservice and supply shops in a century-old mining camp like Sudbury can be amixed blessing; complacency, he says, can turn a niche into a rut. He estimatesthat there are 500 firms in Northern Ontario serving the mining industry and sug-gests that they should start throwing their weight around. “The Australians haveconvinced the world that they are better than us at deep mining, but if you reallygo and analyze it, they aren’t,” he asserts. “They have just created the impressionthat they are.”

He thinks that the time has come for the local supply and service industry totake a look in the mirror and appraise its own impression. “We are trying to makepeople understand that these 500 companies are a critical mass,” explainsDeStefano. “And then if you add 11 research institutes at the university level, andthe fact that together our companies have a presence in 48 countries with theirsoftware, this is huge.”

A glimpse at exactly how huge will come next year when the Ontario NorthEconomic Development Corporation completes its study of the supply and servicessector. Once finished, it should provide a snapshot of the prospects for the sector,the extent of its global reach and the potential for it to extend further.

In the meantime, DeStefano is bent on broadening the horizons of the suppliersin the region. He invites speakers to share news of projects in the wider world. Theevents, he says, have born fruit. “We brought PotashCorp in a year and a half agoand since that time, 17 of our companies are working for them that weren’t before.”

Holding firmThose anchored to their operations have braced themselves to ride out the

storm. “Our company remains solid and that is key,” says Gerry Bilodeau, vice-president of operations at First Nickel Inc. “We made a decision to suspend oper-ations at our Lockerby Mine in October of 2008 due to the poor economic envi-ronment and extremely low metal prices. Engineering work continues on theLockerby Depth Project and we feel very strongly that the mine expansion projectcan take place, providing the right elements fall in line — reasonable metal pricessustained over time and adequate financing. With that, we can begin developinga plan to operate.”

November 2009 | 33


Once funding is in place, the company willbegin development of its Lockerby Depth Project,which will include a year of pre-production andyield in the neighborhood of 280,000 tonnes ofore per year for more than five years. “The com-pany believes that metal prices will settle at levelswhich will permit Lockerby Mine to operate suc-cessfully,” Bilodeau says. “We have a strong man-agement team and the experience required toweather the storm and get back on track.”

“The number one strategy until this summerhas been survival,” says David Constable, FNXMining’s vice-president of investor relations.“Basically what mining companies have beentrying to do is survive and not burn up theircash, because they couldn’t get access to moreof it. We made the very tough decision lastDecember to preserve cash.” That meant layingoff nearly half of the workforce.

The unique aspect of the local geology has let the com-pany maintain some momentum. “In Sudbury, we have theadvantage that we have separate nickel, copper and cobalt,as well as separate footwall copper and precious metals,


with some nickel by-products deposits in the same area,”explains Constable. “This means we can go into one of ourunderground mines and, in the same infrastructure, turnright and mine nickel or go left and mine copper and pre-cious metals instead. So we elected to go left.”

This past summer, after weathering the storm, the com-pany “began to look at its future growth strategy, rather thansimply survival,” says Constable. “While FNX had a strongbalance sheet and zero debt going into the downturn, wedecided the time was right to raise an additional $144 mil-lion in September 2009 to take advantage of potentialopportunities, which always occur in challenging times.”

For the near future, Constable expects its nickelresources will stay in the ground. “When we shut down pro-duction of primary nickel last year, we said we would notrestart until we saw very clear signs of a sustained nickelmarket recovery,” he says. “And we don’t see that right now.We don’t see increased stainless steel production and wedon’t see the Chinese demand increasing. There is proba-bly some movement in their internal and working invento-ries of nickel, copper and some other commodities, but notlong-term demand. The London Metals Exchange invento-ries have ramped up to 120,000 metric tons of nickel.” Therecent pricing of nickel at around eight dollars per pounddoes not inspire confidence. “We don’t see any sustainedsigns that this is anything more than an unsupported spikein the price — probably influenced somewhat by the strikeat Vale Inco,” claims Constable.

Undeterred, Liberty Mines, with operations near Timmins,is heading into the wind. The company’s president, GaryNash, argues there is cause for optimism and attributessome of the high inventory of nickel with influencing largestainless steelmakers to leave their stock in metal exchangewarehouses, keeping prices low. “Once that inventorycomes out of the warehouses, where is that nickel going tocome from?” he asks. Some will come from the company’s

Aerial view of FNX Mining’s Levack operation

Photo courtesy of FNX Mining


Timmins nickel mines, which went back into production thispast August after nine months of care and maintenance.The adjacent concentrator began work shortly thereafterwith shipments of nickel in concentrate to Xstrata Nickel inSudbury. “It’s good to see it run again,” says Nash.

The renaissance springs from the relationship LibertyMines has developed with China-based Jilin Jien NickelIndustry Co., Ltd. “We are the first guys in the mining busi-ness in Canada to do an off-take agreement with aChinese company,” explains Nash. “We put that together in2005 and started to deliver concentrate to them in 2006.They did four financings for us since then, one of which wehave paid back; the other three we plan to have substan-tially paid by the end of 2010. They saw what we could dovery efficiently and that’s why they did the financings withus.” This included a recent credit facility for $4.5 million tocontinue development at Liberty’s McWatters Mine.

The outlook for future nickel consumption is good, Nashcontends, because its applications span from home essen-tials to cutting-edge technology. “With the growingeconomies in the world, just think of the simple kitchensinks that everyone will want to have the use of.” At theother end of the spectrum, he says, “nickel is going to bevery widely used in the hybrid car industry,” pointing to the

recent decision by Toyota to limit the use of lithium-ion bat-teries in favour of the proven nickel metal hydride type.

Then, there are the opportunities presented by thenuclear industry. “There are many dozens of nuclear powerplants starting up,” Nash adds. “These facilities contain veryhigh alloys of nickel in the containment vessels, some ofthem pure nickel. There are a lot of — let’s call them ‘futur-istic’ — uses for nickel that most people don’t even realize.”

Tighter operationsProduction may not be roaring along at the frenzied

pace of a couple of years ago, but that is not to say thatexperienced miners are idling as the new year approaches.Investment has freshened, and so has a good measure ofwork, despite the lingering gloom of the recession.

“We are slowly coming out of it,” says Pat Rocca, gen-eral manager of North America Drilling Services for BoartLongyear. “The industry has been slow to realize it, butthe business level is where it was before the super cyclecame through. Demand for exploration rigs and crewswent crazy and the industry couldn’t keep up, but now weare back to a normal and sustainable level. We’re lookingforward to where we can find growth opportunities tostart growing the business at a manageable pace.”

November 2009 | 35

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Strong gold prices and a steady demand for copperhave bolstered companies with a long history and solidpresence in the region. Dumas Contracting has been ableto maintain its 1,000-strong workforce. Many of those arehard at work in the gold mining camps of Ontario andQuebec. The Timmins-based engineering and contractingfirm has also been on the job deep inside Xstrata Copper’sKidd Mine, extending the ramp from 9,100 to 9,500 feet.

Antoine Vézina, a member of Dumas’s corporate devel-opment team, feels that the opportunity to get out in frontof a hiring wave allows Dumas to skim from the top of theskilled labour pool. When working at a producing mine atdepths where the heat and humidity test miners and equip-ment, securing experienced and conscientious miners isinvaluable. “We have to maintain a very precise schedule,”says Vézina. “We can’t afford any downtime.”

Rocca said Boart Longyear has enjoyed a similar advan-tage. “In the last few years, many drilling contractors strug-gled to keep experienced people and were forced to bringin less experienced ones, which created inefficiencies anddrove costs up. That has been brought under control.”Though equipment costs are still relatively high, Roccasays the overall economics are sound. “As business hasslowed down, there has been an opportunity to work witha more experienced group of people, so some of thosecosts can be made up through increased productivity.”

Less perspiration, more innovationToday’s tight finances are helping to usher in changes.

First Nickel’s Gerry Bilodeau says they are anxious toapply the lessons learned at their Lockerby Mine oncethe operation resumes extraction. “By having a betterunderstanding of manpower and equipment perform-ances, training requirements, and by setting realistic andreasonable expectations and exercising the required fol-low-up to ensure expectations were met, we were ableto substantially lower operating costs,” he claims. Theadded scrutiny, he says, will fire up change in the market.“It helps mining operations track performance and costs,but it also helps the supplier recognize what directions totake in the long term to deliver better equipment andservices for the mining operations.”

Nickel alloys are essential in energy technology such as this concentrating solar power facility.

Dumas Contracting miners Denis Carrière (left) and Patrick Hurtubise using a stoper forrehabilitation work at depths in the Kidd Creek Mine.

Photo courtesy of N

ickel Institute


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John Pike, Canadian sales director for Boart Longyear,has been watching the drive to cut costs add momentumto the adoption of new technology. He points to the com-pany’s new Stage™3, a diamond drill bit with a 25 mmcrown. “It allows you to drill longer,” he explains, “enablingyou to put more core in the box faster because you don’thave to pull your rods as frequently to change your bit.” Thetime and cost savings, he adds, are further amplified whendrilling deep. Boart Longyear’s in-house drilling servicesorganization helped refine the technology and inspire con-fidence in many who were wary of trading the well-provenstandard 12 mm bit for the promise of something more.

Looking aheadWhether the recovery of nickel is imminent or still

beyond the horizon, those who have made their notches inthe Nickel Belt remain convinced the skies will clear. “Ithink when demand turns, nickel is going to be well posi-tioned simply because the supply side is so restricted,” saysFNX’s David Constable. “And the incremental supply isgoing to come from nickel laterites, which are very, veryexpensive. People talk about nickel pig iron in China, but ithas limited applications. It’s an environmental nightmare,and if energy prices go up, it will become very costlybecause it is so energy-intensive to produce.”

After a century of mining, the region’s identity as a min-ing giant remains unchallenged, but its character is stillbeing built. “I’m watching these guys survive,” saysDeStefano, of the area’s suppliers. “They are very agile, andsome of them have been around for 40 or 50 years;they’ve been through five or six major strikes, seven oreight major downturns and they are still here.” He adds thatas he talks to more and more people, he is finding manyhave quietly headed out into new frontiers. He has a

November 2009 | 37

A two-boom jumbo drilling rig works a rock face. First Nickel’s Lockerby Mine near Sudbury

Photo courtesy of First N

ickel Inc.

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According to the town’s mayor, Bill Enouy, “KirklandLake is back on the map.” Families are moving to thearea and he estimates that the town population has

increased from 8,300 to about 9,000. He adds that in thepast year, housing prices have increased from the $80,000range to around $110,000 for a standard three bedroomdwelling. Enouy’s optimism is certainly warranted.Northgate Minerals recently raised $100 million in equityto help finance the development of its Young-DavidsonProject. They began ramp development and shaft dewater-ing in October and plan to commission the mine in 2010.

Meanwhile, Timmins is celebrating a series of 100-yearmilestones over the next four years, beginning this yearwith the anniversary of the discovery of the Hollinger,McIntyre and Dome mines. In a sign of the times, theregion faces mine closures as it welcomes newprojects. The area’s miners and suppliers are busy with thedevelopment of the Apollo Gold-owned Timmins West andBlack Fox operations, the St. Andrew Goldfields’ (SAS)Holloway, Hislop and Holt projects, as well as numerousjunior exploration ventures in the region.

The Midas touchOntario is the number one

provincial gold producer inCanada, mining over half of the country’s gold in 2008.According to Natural ResourcesCanada (NRCan), Ontario pro-duced 27.6 million grams of thetotal Canadian production of52.6 million grams. In addition,Ontario is the leading provincialgold explorer, accounting for$260 million of the $579 millionin precious metals (primarilygold) exploration and depositappraisal expenditures inCanada for 2008, according tostatistics released in March2009.

“Ontario ranks among the top10 jurisdictions for explorationspending in the world becauseof the quality of its infrastruc-ture, the diverse and unexploredgeology, accessible and reliable

geoscience information, stable regulatory environment andfavourable tax policies, including a permanent flow-throughshare program for exploration,” says Ontario Minister ofNorthern Development and Mines Michael Gravelle. “Weare looking forward to continued growth in the mining sec-tor, particularly in Northern Ontario, where numerous newand exciting mineral development projects are beingadvanced.”

Ontario gold miners and developers are utilizing innovativeideas and methods to increase current and future gold pro-duction. Goldcorp is going deeper at its Red Lake complex inorder to develop the High Grade Zone below the 57 level anddeveloping the deep DC ore at the Campbell complex.

Aggressive drilling campaigns by Kirkland Lake Goldare exploring new targets quite a distance away from well-known historic gold production zones. Detour Gold isdeveloping a low-grade, high-tonnage open pit operationnear the workings of a closed underground mine. Closedmines are also being redeveloped, as is the case withSAS’s Holloway, Hislop and Holt gold projects andGoldcorp’s Cochenor project.


Looking north for prosperityby Brian O’Hara

Exploration drillling at Northgate’s Young Davidson project

Gold exploration and mining in Northern Ontario

Photo courtesy of N

orthgate Minerals Corporation


production from the Hislop Project for grossproceeds of US$4 million. “Junior gold min-ers such as SAS must be flexible and useinnovative financing techniques,” advises Au.

“Project financing for development-stage mining companies is actually domi-nated by foreign banks that have a greaterappetite for this type of credit risk,” saysPaul Martin, CFO of Detour Gold. “It issomewhat disappointing that the majorCanadian banks do not take a more promi-nent role in this area.”

According to Jon A. Douglas, seniorvice-president and CFO of NorthgateMinerals, the conventional bank projectfinance market, which last year waseffectively closed, is now showing signsof life. However, he does say that fewerplayers are interested in financingresource companies, and banks arebeing much more selective regarding thetype of project, the corporate sponsorand the size of facility they will consider.Certain Canadian banks, as well as other

smaller international banks, who have traditionally beeninvolved in financing small- to medium-size resource com-panies, have already expressed interest in Northgate’sYoung-Davidson Project.

“Fortunately, we are in a robust gold market at thistime, which certainly helps,” states Martin. “As well, todate, we have not seen any vendor financing thatrequires hedging. Given the size of our project ($844million capital as per recent pre-feasibility study) weplan to evaluate a full scope of financing alternativesand conclude on the best alternative.”

Neither the Ontario Mining Association nor mining com-panies are calling for government support such as loanguarantees for mining projects. Rather, the general expec-tation seems to be for the government to supply infrastruc-ture for mining projects that will, in turn, benefit the wholeprovince.

“We have not asked for anything from the government,nor have we been offered anything, and that is the way itshould be,” says Kirkland Lake Gold chairman HarryDobson. “However, not every company is blessed with theexisting municipal services and infrastructure that we arefortunate to have.”

Weighing in on the topic, Martins adds that, “governmen-tal support should follow in the area of infrastructure grantsto support the development of projects and the related ben-efits of employment and taxation. A specific case for DetourGold is that we need to connect to the hydro power station,which is over 100 kilometres from the site.”

The ongoing challenge in financing large mining proj-ects will not stop viable mine projects, however it will makeit more difficult for junior companies with advanced explo-ration projects to bring them into production. CIM

November 2009 | 39

Flexibility on the financing frontAfter a difficult year in the markets, Canadian mine equity

financing has returned, rising 33 per cent to $11 billion in thefirst seven months of 2009, compared to the $8.3 billionraised in all of 2008. These impressive capital numbers didnot include the recent US$4 billion blockbuster equity raisedby Barrick Gold Corporation this past September. Two daysearlier, the company had announced they would bebuying back three million ounces of fixed-price hedges and6.5 million ounces of gold in floating gold contracts. This deci-sion will provide Barrick with full leverage to the gold price.

“Mine development capital is currently being financedby a large component of equity augmented by debt,”according to Catherine Gignac, managing director, miningresearch of Sandfire Securities. “Canada has the highestdiversity of mining companies, the largest variety of invest-ment opportunities and is the primary location for miningindustry financing.”

It is “very difficult” for a junior gold miner to obtain con-ventional bank project financing this year, according to BenAu, CFO and vice-president, finance and administration ofSt. Andrew Goldfields Ltd., which is developing theHolloway Mine and the Hislop Project. SAS closed a mez-zanine financing of senior gold notes in April 2009 forUS$16.2 million, of which $1 million was purchased by adirector and family members.

Au explains this deal was structured for sale to high networth private investors and private fund managers by agree-ing to deliver 32,400 ounces of physical gold (about 10 percent of production for the first three years). SAS also guaran-tees investors a minimum gold price of US$750 per ounceand pays no interest. In addition, SAS has granted Franco-Nevada a four per cent NSR royalty interest on future gold

Tractor entering portal at Northgate's Young-Davidson project in Matachewan, northern Ontario.

Photo courtesy of N

orthgate Minerals Corporation



The Ontario Diamond Sector Unit was established todevelop key policies as well as a legislative andregulatory framework for the province’s burgeoning

diamond industry. The unit operates the valuation processfor the province’s rough diamonds, including administrativeprocesses for verifying and collecting royalties. It is alsothere to pursue any value-added opportunities, newexploration and investment in Ontario.

“We slowly started developing the sector in the summerof 2006,” says Ron Gashinski, director and chief gemmol-ogist at the Diamond Unit Sector. “We knew the De BeersCanada’s Victor diamond mine was opening in 2007-2008and, as a new commodity for the government, we knew we had to do something similar to what was done in theNorthwest Territories [BHP and Rio Tinto mines] and finda framework to value the production of diamonds.”

The Diamond Sector Unit borrowed that framework andused it as a template, enhancing it for Ontario’s needs. Thatincluded finding ways to put forward the goals and aspira-tions of Ontario with regards to capturing a piece of the

annual US$73 billion global retail jewelrymarket using the high-quality rough dia-monds coming out of the Victor Mine. “Wewanted to see if there were any value-added opportunities that we could realize,such as jobs and investment with localbenefits and empowerments,” explainsGashinski. “We also wanted the Ontariodiamonds to be on Ontario jewelry.”

With the Victor Mine already producingtop-quality diamonds and a process inplace to collect royalties, the province thenwanted to find a way to take the concept of diamond mining all the way to retail —from mine to market. This included mining(production), sorting, valuation, cutting andpolishing, jewelry manufacturing and retail.

The first step was to guarantee a mini-mum yearly supply of rough diamonds thatcould be cut and polished in Ontario. To dothat, the provincial government negotiatedwith De Beers Canada and the DiamondTrading Company (DTC) to make availableup to 10 per cent by value of the rough dia-

mond production mined from Victor. With the Victor Mineforecasting a yearly average production of approximately$250million in diamonds, it would provide approved cut-ters and polishers in Ontario an opportunity to purchase upto $25million worth of rough diamonds each year.

For De Beers Canada, the request was not unusual. “Thismodel already exists in Canada at our Snap Lake Mine,”says De Beers Canada president Jim Gowans. “When thegovernment of Ontario wanted to have a similar opportunity,we certainly expected it. And we’re happy to sit down andhelp, providing the burdens are realistic to all involved.”

Once the agreement was inked, the next step was tofind an experienced and committed cutting and polishingcompany that would set up shop in Ontario. TheDiamond Sector Unit put out a request for proposals fora global competition looking for such a company.Interested parties needed to meet specific performancerequirements in terms of jobs and investments, as wellas a plan for how they would help promote Ontario dia-monds. “They also had to pass a requirement that the

Ontario Diamond Sector Unit seeks to bringthe province value-added opportunities

Taking diamonds from mine to market by Marlene Eisner

Polishers at Crossworks Manufacturing in Sudbury

Photo courtesy of Crossworks Manufacturin

g


DTC had for their sightholders,” says Gashinski.“Whomever we selected had to have the financial where-withal to cut diamonds in Ontario.”

In the final analysis, it was a Canadian company thatwas chosen; Vancouver-based Crossworks Manufacturing,a subsidiary of HRA-SunDiamond Group, whose historygoes back to 1950 in Antwerp, Belgium. Crossworksopened as a sales branch in Vancouver in 1982 and,according to global marketing manager Dylan Dix, hasdeveloped as the largest manufacturer of brandedCanadian diamonds in the word. They have three factories:one in Vancouver, one in Yellowknife, and now, one inSudbury. In mid-August, the companybegan cutting and polishing in its Ontariolocation. It employs 30 polishers and hadits grand opening on October 14.

“I think one of our main features is thatwe have an extensive Canadian diamondbrand campaign where we guarantee thepedigree of each diamond and the minethat it comes from,” says Dix. He saysCrossworks was a good choice for theOntario government because even in aglobal downturn, the company has beensuccessful and profitable in their Vancouverand Yellowknife locations. “Therefore wewould be a company that would be feasiblein a long-term process,” adds Dix.

With all these variables now in place,the diamond industry in Ontario is start-ing to sparkle. Gashinski says his unit isworking on a certification of origin pro-gram so that customers can be assuredof where the diamonds they purchase aremined, cut and polished. “Ontario hasbeen blessed in a big way,” saysGashinski. “The diamonds are probablythe best in the world for quality. Peoplewho are looking for a high-quality, origincertified, conflict-free product areassured that these diamonds areCanadian.” De Beers Canada estimatesthe Victor Mine has a production life ofapproximately 10 years with its currentknown resources. Into its second year,the company hopes further explorationwill result in new mineable sources.

“We have about 16 other kimberlitepipes in the Victor IBA area,” saysGowans. “We’re working on two quiteactively to see if we can prove a resourceto add onto Victor. It would be a shame tosee the level of activity go for naught.”

As for the Diamond Sector Unit, it’s fullspeed ahead in what seems to be a veryenriching future. “It is moving at an excel-lent pace and in another three to five years,

there will hopefully be another cutting and polishing factory,”says Gashinski. With the official launch in March 2009 of theDiamond Bourse of Canada in Toronto — where diamonddealers can trade, sell and buy polished and rough diamondsin a safe and secure environment — Ontario is well on its wayto becoming a key player in the global diamond pipeline.

Other ideas are in the works that include collabora-tions with colleges and aboriginal artisans. “We alsowant to further our goals and aspirations for the Northby including the First Nations Peoples in this kind ofparticipation, so that everybody derives benefits fromthis terrific opportunity.” CIM

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November 2009 | 41



Greater Sudbury is a city redefined. With a population ofjust under 160,000 and a successful reclamation programunderway, this “mining town” is an example of a workablesymbiotic relationship between mining operators, their sup-pliers and the community in which they live.

Paul Reid, a business development officer with the cityof Greater Sudbury, has lived in the area his whole life. Inthe last 30 years, he has witnessed a series of changes,from the greening of the city, to the growth and expansionof a globally placed supply industry. “Sudbury is a greatplace to live,” says Reid. “It’s a modern city with all theamenities in a great setting. There are about 300 lakeswithin the boundaries of the city and you would be hard-pressed to find land that hasn’t been reclaimed.”

During the last three decades, large miningcompanies began closing down some of theirinternal operations, creating a major shift inbusiness practices. This led to the growth anddevelopment of a strong supply and servicesector. “The supply sector was created inSudbury when the mine companies started toconcentrate on their core competencies,”explains Reid. “They started farming things outand that gave birth to a lot of firms, creatingopportunities for other people.”

Today, there are more than 300 businessesfrom the supply and service sectors in theregion, making them the city’s largest employer,hiring approximately 8,000 people. Even thoughthat number is down 4,000 from a year ago dueto the global economic situation, one of the city’smain business strategies is to continue develop-ing this sector.

“We have a very large, diversified supply andservice sector here,” says Reid. “We support thelocal association that promotes the suppliers intown, SAMSSA, and we work with various levelsof government on trade and buying missions.The number one economic engine is the miningand supply sector. We work with them to attractthem here.”

Making it workWith a 90-year history in the area, Terex sup-

plies underground and surface drilling equip-ment and shaft jumbos, and manufacturesjumbo drills. They service mining companies aswell as the contracting, engineering and con-

struction companies that support them.Regional sales manager, Jim Laroche, says being

located in Sudbury brings his company into the heart of theindustry. “We have worked with everyone from Vale Inco toXstrata, as well as companies such as Castonguay,Cementation and J.S. Redpath,” says Laroche. In an indus-try that is constantly shifting and changing, Laroche saysone of the challenges he faces as a supplier is answeringthe specific needs of his clients and providing up-to-datemachinery equipped with the latest technology. “We findthat over the years we have increasingly been customizingequipment for our clients.”

As companies expand their exploration opportunities,their equipment needs change. Whether it’s going deeper

Synergy key to Sudbury suppliers’ success

Keeping the engine goingby Marlene Eisner

In 2002, DMC Mining Services successfully sank an 18-foot diameter, concrete-lined ventilation shaft3,370 feet deep at Vale Inco’s Garson Mine in Sudbury.

Photo courtesy of D

MC Mining Services


into a mine where the ore zones are smaller, or the desireto expand cooling systems, take larger bulk samples orincrease rod carousels, Laroche says the industry isbecoming more sophisticated. Mine operators are requiring“extreme” data collection. Suppliers are answering thatneed by offering computerized equipment and developingmachinery that takes into account the safety of the opera-tor. “We developed a new product, the MK7 jumbo, basedon the participation of 173 mines in North America,” saysLaroche. “Some of that development came out of two keyareas; maintenance and the health and safety of the oper-ator.” That means a design that allows the maintenanceperson to service the equipment from ground-level withouthaving to climb on the machine. It also means designingthe cab ergonomics to put the operator into a climate-con-trolled environment with sound reduction, on a machinewith an anti-vibration suspension.

Laroche states that there have also been accommoda-tions in relation to cash flow. “We’re doing more leasingbusiness,” he says. “Instead of companies having to put upthe cash out front, they are able to lease. We’re also beingasked to support equipment more, whereas in the past,mining companies were having their staff to support it.”

Establishing long-term relationships

Cementation, an underground mine contracting and engi-neering company, started their Canadian operations in 1998,with their first contract for Falconbridge’s Fraser Mine.“Sudbury has been very key to our growth,” says Roy Slack,president of Cementation Canada Inc. “Our head office is inNorth Bay but we have our field office in Sudbury.” Slacksays the way for businesses to stay healthy is to establishlong-term relationships with clients. The industry under-stands this and works together to develop best practices inall sectors. He says the focus on safety has never changed,regardless of the economy, and has always been a number-one priority. Where he does see a change is that differentclients have different requirements.

“Some of it is capital, some of it is operating,” Slack says.“We sit down with our clients and we help out wherever wecan. Our suppliers do the same with us. When times are a lit-tle tight we work it out. The whole supply chain is comingtogether to do what they can in this economy.”

Slack says it is hard to say what future projects will be,although Xstrata’s Nickel Rim project is set to go into produc-tion soon, and Vale Inco’s Totten project is also moving ahead.“Even though the mine operators have trimmed down theiroperations, they are still looking to produce in the area,” he says.

Recently, Cementation has been expanding their horizonsand for the last two years has been laying the groundworkfor operations in South America and Chile. Slack says thatworking with sister companies in these countries aids them“in terms of trading ideas and ideologies. We work with thegroup to review mining and international operations. We cer-tainly look for global best practices.”

Working together in a competitive market

The market price of nickel has slowed business some-what, but James Clark, area manager for DMC MiningServices, is taking it all in stride. The key, he says, is working

November 2009 | 43

Photo courtesy of Cem

entatio

n Canada Inc.

Nickel Rim conveyor

Photo courtesy of Terex Mining

Terex MK7 Jumbo


together closely with the clients. “There’s enough doom andgloom,” he says. “Only together are we going to get throughthis. Ultimately, this is a buyer’s market. When work comes up,the clients are going to want the individual company to havea safe, cost-efficient method. With the amount of competitionout there, especially in the Sudbury area, you have to be inno-vative and keep your cost down to a minimum to be success-ful on the project. We rely on outside suppliers as well. We’regoing to remain competitive and they are going to remaincompetitive.” Perhaps the greatest challenge, he says, is beingable to identify key individuals for upcoming projects. Unlikea few years ago, Clark says the market is now flooded withwell-trained individuals. “How do you capture the individualbest suited for the job?” he asks. “How do you get throughthat and how do you get the right person for that job?”

It’s all about the peopleLevert Personnel Resources Inc. has been providing tem-

porary and full-time personnel to the mining industry for 27years, identifying appropriate candidates to suit mining jobsthat range from a payroll clerks and administrative assistantsto engineers and mine managers. “We deal with large andjunior mining companies,” says general manager, Terry Zuk.


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“We know what being a millwright entails as well as therequirements for different positions underground; we canfind those people.”

Safety is a big factor in mining, and Zuk says it is vital tomake sure workers are properly trained for the job. Miningcompanies are taking extraordinary measures to ensure thesafety of their employees, and as a human resources agency,Zuk makes sure the candidates he recommends know whatthey are doing. “We have to ensure that when we send some-one to a work site, they have the right training, the right cer-tification and the right credentials. Hiring has become compli-cated; there’s a huge check list to go through. It’s not justabout hiring a warm body.” The job market has always been adynamic one, he says, moving up and down with the local andglobal mineral markets. “It’s a fluid market. Some of the sup-pliers are a little quieter, but there’s always maintenance to doat a facility. You always have to look down the road and real-ize that nothing is permanent. A soft market is not forever.”

Finding the right niche Tega Industries, a multinational company operating out of

India for more than 35 years, set up its Canadian office inSudbury in 2003 after previously establishing themselves inAustralia, Sweden and Africa. “We chose to come to Canadaafter building an international customer base because most ofthe mining companies in Canada are operating in variousother countries,” explains Vinay Grover, general manager forCanadian and South American operations. “A global referencebase was very important before we could start selling here.”

A chance meeting in 2001 with Sudbury representativesat a mining show in the Middle East was the impetus forTega’s decision that Northern Ontario was a good place toopen up shop. “From there, we have access to the main min-ing markets of Northern Ontario and northwestern Quebec,”says Grover.

The company manufactures a host of engineered rubberproducts in India that include grinding mill liners, rubber andpolyurethane screening media and various conveyer compo-nents. Orders are sent to India and, once manufactured, theproducts are shipped and distributed to various mining com-panies across Canada. “Despite being a global company, ourphilosophy is to act locally,” explains Grover. “The product isvery service-oriented, so we have to be close to the customer.”

Grover acknowledges that there have been some set-backs because of the economy but he is optimistic. “In everychallenge we saw an opportunity. We are one of the few com-panies who are hiring. We are going out to find more of thebusiness that is there. We are very excited about the future.”

This optimism appears to be a common characteristic ofSudbury-area suppliers. This, of course, is not surprisinggiven the sector’s long history of resilience. If there is a les-son to be learned from the longevity, it is that cooperationand dialogue remain key to facing both the challenges andopportunities in an ever-changing global landscape. CIM



Le nickel : nous en avons tous dans nos poches, il faitmarcher les jouets et siège à notre table. Il est indis-pensable dans l’industrie car il durcit l’acier et le pro-

tège contre les éléments. Il est heureux que le nickel résistebien aux difficultés, météoriques et financières, car la valeurdu minerai est « en pleine tempête. » Après une hausse à plusde 20 $/lb en 2007, le prix du métal a chuté pour atteindreun creux de 4 $/lb. Les marchés serrés du crédit, les conflitsde travail, les coûts accrus de production, la faible demandeet l’abondance de l’offre ont contribué à la tempête. Les gisements ont permis l’établissement de nom-

breuses communautés dans le Nord de l’Ontario. Les défisde creuser des puits toujours plus profonds et de rendreles usines plus efficaces ont conduit à une infrastructured’expertise reconnue à travers le monde.Dick DeStefano, directeur exécutif de la Sudbury Area

Mining Supply and Service Association, est convaincu que la Ceinture de Nickel pourrait devenir la « SiliconValley » de l’exploitation minière. Ce mouvement est déjà enclenché. « Nous voyons beaucoup d’applications

L’expérience est la clé de la croissance dans le Nord de l’Ontario

diversifiées de logiciels miniers en raison de la rechercheet des partenariats entre les universités et les collèges etle secteur privé. »M. DeStefano estime que le Nord de l’Ontario a environ

500 entreprises desservant l’industrie minière et il croitqu’elles pourraient être plus agressives. « Nous essayonsde faire comprendre aux gens que ces 500 compagniesconstituent une masse critique. Ajoutez 11 instituts derecherche de niveau universitaire et la présence de noscompagnies dans 48 pays, vous conclurez que c’esténorme. »Un aperçu de l’ampleur sera dévoilé lorsque la

Ontario North Economic Development Corporation ter-minera son étude des biens et services disponibles. Enattendant, M. DeStefano veut élargir la portée des four-nisseurs de biens et de services dans la région en invi-tant des conférenciers à partager les nouvelles de projets à travers le monde. « Nous avons invitéPotashCorp il y a un an et demi et, depuis ce temps, 17de nos compagnies travaillent pour eux. »

Un ouvrier sécurise le toit avec un grillage.

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Tenir bonGerry Bilodeau, vice-président aux opérations, First

Nickel Inc. : « Nous avons décidé d’arrêter l’exploitation à lamine Lockerby en octobre 2008 en raison du mauvais cli-mat économique et des prix extrêmement bas des métaux.Les travaux d’ingénierie continuent à la mine et, avec unfinancement et des bons prix, nous la développerons enprofondeur pour produire environ 280 000 tonnes parannée durant plus de cinq ans. »« Jusqu’à cet été, la stratégie était de survivre », dit

David Constable, vice-président aux relations avec lesinvestisseurs, FNX Mining. « Les compagnies devaientépargner le comptant; pour nous cela a signifié la mise àpied de près de la moitié des travailleurs. » L’aspect uniquede la géologie a cependant permis à lacompagnie de garder un certainmomentum. « À Sudbury, nous avons l’avantage d’avoir des gisements dis-tincts de cuivre, de nickel, de cobalt etde métaux précieux », explique M. Constable. « Dans une de nos minessouterraines, nous pouvions aller àdroite extraire du nickel ou aller àgauche extraire du cuivre et des métauxprécieux, nous avons choisi la gauche. »« Au cours de l’été dernier, la com-

pagnie a examiné sa stratégie de crois-sance », poursuit M. Constable. « Nousavons levé 144 M$ en septembre pourprofiter des occasions qui surviennentsouvent en temps difficiles. Cependant,à court terme, nous avions décidé de nepas repartir la production de nickel pri-maire avant de voir des signes trèsclairs d’une reprise des marchés. Nousne percevons pas cette reprise, nous nevoyons pas une production accrued’acier inoxydable ni une augmentation de la demande dela Chine. La Bourse des métaux de Londres a des inven-taires de 120 000 tonnes métriques de nickel. » Les prixrécents d’environ huit dollars la livre de nickel n’inspirentpas confiance.La compagnie Liberty Mines a décidé de foncer; son

président Gary Nash soutient qu’il y a de la place pour del’optimisme. « Une fois que l’inventaire sera sorti des entre-pôts, d’où proviendra le nickel? » demande-t-il, espérantqu’il viendra de la mine de la compagnie à Timmins. Cettemine a redémarré après un arrêt de dix mois. Cette renais-sance découle des relations entre Liberty Mines et la JilinJien Nickel Industry Corporation basée en Chine. « Noussommes les premiers au Canada à avoir une entente d’ex-ploitation avec une compagnie chinoise », explique M. Nash. L’entente de 4,5 M$ vise à poursuivre ledéveloppement de la mine McWatters.Selon M. Nash, l’avenir du nickel est bon; en effet, il se

retrouve autant dans des outils domestiques essentiels que

dans les technologies de pointe. « Pensons juste à lademande pour des éviers de cuisine dans des économies endéveloppement et, à l’autre bout de la gamme d’applications,pensons à la décision récente de Toyota de limiter l’utilis ationdes piles lithium-ion en faveur des piles à hydrure métalliquede nickel », dit-il. D’autres utilisations « futuristes » du nickelconcernent les enveloppes de confinement dans les cen-trales nucléaires; ces enveloppes sont fabriquées en alliagesà haute teneur en nickel, voire en nickel pur.De forts prix pour l’or et une demande constante pour

le cuivre aident les compagnies solidement ancrées dans la région. L’entrepreneur Dumas Contracting Ltd. a pu conserver sa main-d’œuvre de 1 000 travailleurs. Selon

Antoine Vézina, un membre de l’équipeDumas, la possibilité de recruter lesmeilleurs travailleurs spécialisés joue enfaveur de la compagnie. Lors de travaux engrande profondeur, où règnent humidité etchaleur, il est indispensable d’avoir desmineurs consciencieux et expérimentés.Selon M. Rocca, directeur général des

services de forage chez Boart Longyear,la compagnie jouit d’avantages sem-blables. « Nous avons déjà embauchédes gens sans expérience, cela a causédes mauvais rendements et a augmentéles coûts. En travaillant avec des gensd’expérience, vous pouvez récupérer unepartie des coûts élevés des équipementspar une productivité accrue. »Des finances serrées aident parfois à

effectuer des changements. SelonM. Bilodeau, la compagnie a hâte demettre en application les leçonsapprises à la mine Lockerby. « En com-prenant mieux le rendement des

équipements et les exigences de formation et en établis-sant des buts réalistes, nous avons pu abaisser nos coûtsd’exploitation. » D’autres tels que John Pike, directeur desventes chez Boart Longyear, perçoit les coupures de coûtscomme une occasion d’adopter de nouvelles technologies.

L’avenir« Je crois que le nickel sera bien positionné lors du

retour de la demande », dit M. Constable. « L’offre addition-nelle proviendra des gisements latéritiques de nickel quisont très chers à exploiter. La fonte brute de la Chine con-stitue un cauchemar environnemental et demande beau-coup d’énergie à produire. »Après un siècle d’exploitation minière, l’identité de la

région en tant que géant minier demeure incontestée. « Jeregarde survivre les gens; certains sont en place depuis 40ou 50 ans. Ils ont connu des grèves majeures et plusieursbaisses économiques. Plusieurs se sont tournés versd’autres horizons; c’est la solution. » ICM

November 2009 | 47

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Minerai à haute teneur en nickel - mine Redstonede Liberty

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featured mine

WWith more than 80 active mines and processing facilities acrossfive continents, Xstrata does not lack experience at starting upnew mines. But no matter how experienced the company, eachnew mine is an enormous undertaking, with unique challengesand demands. Now, with Xstrata’s Nickel Rim South Mine inSudbury approaching completion, it’s an excellent time to takea closer look at the newcomer’s progress and promise.

According to the International Nickel Study Group, Northand South America together produced 312,900 tonnes of nickel

Cooperation key Xstrata’s Nickel Rim South project

approaches completionby | Dan Zlotnikov

A decision to employ an approach utilizing engineering, procurementand construction management (EPCM) was deemed vital to the successof the Nickel Rim South project, which is expected to be completed onschedule, within budget and, most importantly, safely.

in 2008. Nickel Rim South has already changed the picture for2009, contributing 8,640 tonnes, or just under three per centof that amount. The mine’s impact will increase significantlywhen it begins commercial production. In 2011, once outputreaches the target of 1.25 million tonnes per year, Nickel RimSouth will account for an impressive 20,800 tonnes of nickel,approximately 6.5 per cent of the Americas’ total.

Once the deposit, located north of Sudbury, was discov-ered in 2001, at depths between 1,100 and 1,800 metres,

Ventilation surface fans at Nickel Rim South. Nine kilometres north of Sudbury, the mine is expected to provide high value ore to Xstrata Nickel’s nearby smelter for at least 15 years.

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price fluctuations, the mine is due to be completed on scheduleand within the original budget. This is especially due to Xstrata’sdecision to use an EPCM company to handle the project.

“The approach we took — of EPCM control of the project— was critical,” says Collins of the relationship. “It allows youto bring in one organization that specializes in project deliv-ery and one group that applies the same standards, systemsand level of control across all your engineering, procurement,construction management, commissioning and delivery. Thisway, all of the contractors assimilate the project standards,expectations and annual objectives. Project KPIs are plannedvery carefully so individuals and corporations have the samedefinition of success and strive for the same targets andobjectives, which are measurable and fine-tuned annually.”

This harmonization of expectations was especially impor-tant in light of the commodity boom. With demand for skilledcontract labour far outstripping supply around the world, theproject team had to take steps to ensure construction contin-ued apace, and without excessive cost increases.

“To achieve this,” says Collins, “prior to engineering com-pletion of certain elements, we locked in contractors for theinitial portions of those elements. With construction con-tracts, your normal procedure is to develop 100 per cent engi-neering, then place a tender for the whole scope of work, and

November 2009 | 49

featured mine

Xstrata Nickel spent the next couple of years on additionalsurface drilling in an effort to further delineate and define theresource. The company went ahead with the prefeasibilitystudy in early 2003, followed shortly after by a full-scale fea-sibility study. Based on the promising results from this work,Xstrata made the decision to begin construction, with execu-tion commencing in early March 2004.

Rick Collins, the new mine project manager, joined theproject in May 2003. He has been there to witness and guidethe project through its construction and development to date.

“A new greenfields underground mine project goesthrough some fairly distinct phases,” says Collins. “You haveabout a year of shaft sinking setup, during which time youestablish the site and shaft sinking infrastructure, (including thehoists, headframes and hoisting plant) the shaft sinking stages,the shaft collars, electrical supply services, and so forth.” Thisphase lasts approximately one year, according to Collins. Oncethe setup is complete, the shaft sinking itself is ready to begin.At Nickel Rim South, the sinking phase began in early 2005,some 11 months after the go-ahead.

Going vertical“We sank two shafts – a 7.6-metre diameter production

shaft and a ventilation/secondary egress shaft at 6.1-metrediameter,” Collins continues, “both of which were com-pleted safely and on schedule. This stage lasted approxi-mately two and a half years, and was completed in the thirdquarter of 2007.”

The main shaft descended to a depth of 1,735 metres, withthe secondary shaft not far behind, at 1,685 metres, typicaldepths for the Sudbury Basin, according to Collins. But withthe completion of the shafts, Nickel Rim South also hitanother significant milestone.

“Health and safety in heavy construction and shaft sinkingis always a challenge,” explains Collins. “If you ask me whichfactor the team would point at as being most proud of, I’d sayit’s that we’ve completed two deep shafts, for a total of3,400 metres of shaft sinking, without sustaining a lost-timeincident. I don’t believe that’s been done in the industrybefore.” In fact, he adds, development and construction con-tinued for five years, totalling over 5.6 million work hours,without a single lost-time incident.

TeamworkCollins places the credit for the success of the shaft sink-

ing stage with the team of what he terms “best-for-project”people: a combination of employees of Xstrata Nickel itself,EPCM provider Hatch-McIntosh, and underground construc-tion and shaft sinking contractor Cementation Canada.

In fact, Collins believes that the contractors used by Xstratafor the Nickel Rim South execution were vital to the project’soverall success. Despite sharp commodity, equipment and labour

select the best bid based on your adjudication criteria. As themarket heated up, we decided to tender and lock in somecontractors on early portions of the scope, with advice thatfurther portions would be tendered subsequently as engineer-ing was completed. In this way, we avoided getting into aposition of insufficient responses to competitive bids."

This innovative approach allowed the project to remain onschedule, but there was also a more direct monetary benefit.“If we would have given a large chunk of the work to a gen-eral contractor, we would have paid delay costs, mark-ups andadministration fees to cover their selection of subcontractorsand we wouldn’t have achieved the lower costs that we did,”Collins explains.

Collins highlights the case of the mine backfill plant. “Wewere able to separate out discrete portions of the work forfoundations and early pieces of the structure, in order toattract interest from the marketplace,” he explains. “This way,we would advise the contractors in the bidding pool thatlarger portions were still under engineering and would becoming out onto the street in a few months’ time.”

Overall, Collins says, EPCM contracting and engineeringservices amounted to roughly 12 per cent of the total instal-lation costs. “But EPCM gives you vastly improved certaintyon safe work, timely delivery and cost control,” he adds of thebenefits provided by Hatch-McIntosh.

The joint venture handled everything from engineeringdesign, logistics, procurement, construction management andcommissioning duties, to safe execution procedures and envi-ronmental monitoring. Even equipment – from Howden ven-tilation systems to Brutus mucking jaws used in the shaft sink-ing – was procured by the contractors. However, Xstrata, as theproject owner, signed off on major purchases and equipment.

The Hatch-McIntosh partnership itself is another advantagethat Collins says sprung from choosing to go with an EPCMprovider. Hatch is a full-scale EPCM contractor but, as heexplains, there were some skills the company felt were bestprovided by the owner and by specialists. “At the time Hatchcommenced on Nickel Rim South in 2003, it was decided we’dgo into a joint venture with McIntosh, which had some areasof expertise in terms of underground design and a specificunderstanding of the Sudbury Basin mining conditions,”Collins explains. “Combined with Hatch’s project managementskills and systems, there seemed like a good fit of skill sets. Andindeed, Hatch-McIntosh proved to be a great support for us.”

The final stage of the project is expected to be completed inMarch 2010, and entails two and a half years of lateral and ver-tical development, underground and surface infrastructure, suchas mine support and ore/waste handling systems, backfill plant,administration and dry facilities. Systems commissioning andproduction ramp-up are also included in the final 10 months ofthe project, which culminates in the hand-off of an operationalmine, fully transitioned to the mine operations team.

On schedule and budgetIt’s worth noting that the mine is already producing ore,

and has been doing so for five months. The original schedule,drafted during the prefeasibility study stage, expected thefirst stope to be brought in January 2010.

“When we went to feasibility, we realized we could tightenthat up and deliver the first stope in the second quarter of2009, and six years later we did just that,” says Collins. Eightmonths ahead of the original schedule, the first stope wasbrought in during May of 2009. The mine has been rampingup production ever since, reaching 70,000 tonnes inSeptember. The production goal for the 2009 calendar year is540,000 tonnes, after only eight months of operation.

Projections for 2010 have the operation producing some1.1 million tonnes of ore, at 90 per cent capacity. The follow-ing year will see final interconnection of ramps completedand the third stage of the underground ore waste handlingfacility come online, bringing the operation to optimal oper-ational capacity and annual production of 1.25 milliontonnes of ore.

The future is here“When the mine goes into full-scale production, it will be

one of the most automated mines in the world,” says Collins.Virtually all aspects of the operation will be monitored andcontrolled from the mine operating centre, with automatedequipment keeping tabs on rock breakers, hoisting, ventilationon demand, ore/waste handling, dewatering, communications,backfill, fuel, energy, water, shotcrete, substations, remote pro-duction scoops, truck loading and weigh-scale systems.

The mine-wide fibre network will enable ventilation ondemand, asset tracking, condition monitoring, voice-over-Internet protocol (VoIP) and automated hoisting.

Access to real-time data from underground mobile equip-ment is one of the benefits of Nickel Rim South’s fibre net-work. Instead of manually logging information about equip-ment performance, data will be transmitted wirelesslythrough the network to surface.

Collins does not dismiss the possibility of greater automa-tion being introduced in the future. “It gives you greater effi-ciency and more ability to track your operation in detail,” hesays. “Safety is a factor as well – we’re taking people out ofthe more hazardous situations.”

With 18.2 million tonnes of ore resource containing anaverage of 1.5 per cent nickel, 2.7 per cent copper, and 4.1grams per tonne of platinum group metals, the mine life isprojected at 15 years, says Collins. There are no existingplans to extend that for the moment, but if the opportunityarises, Xstrata will no doubt be happy to keep the mine inprofitable operation.

www.xstrata.com

CIM


featured mine


mine en vedette

D

La coopération constitue la clé

Le projet Nickel Rim South de Xstrata presque prêt

La décision d’utiliser une approche EPCM a grandement contribué ausuccès du projet Nickel Rim South; ce projet devancera l’échéancier,coûtera moins que prévu au budget et, encore plus important, sera construit de manière sécuritaire.

Détenant plus de 80 mines et usines de transformation activesdans cinq continents, Xstrata ne manque pas d’expérience pourdémarrer de nouvelles mines. Cependant, chaque nouvellemine comporte ses propres défis uniques. Maintenant qu’elleest presque prête, jetons un coup d’œil sur la mine Nickel RimSouth à Sudbury.

Selon le International Nickel Study Group, l’Amérique duNord et l’Amérique du Sud ont ensemble produit plus de312 900 tonnes de nickel en 2008. En 2009, Nickel Rim South adéjà contribué 8 640 tonnes. L’impact de la mine augmentera demanière significative lorsqu’elle commencera sa productioncommerciale. En 2011, une fois que l’extraction aura atteint lacible de 1,39 Mt/a, Nickel Rim South produira 20 800 tonnes denickel, soit environ 6,5 % de la production totale des Amériques.

Le gisement, situé au nord de Sudbury, a été découvert en2001 à des profondeurs entre 1 100 et 1 800 mètres. Il contient18,2 Mt de réserves prouvées et probables à une teneur de1,5 % Ni, 2,7 % Cu et 4,1 g/t de métaux du groupe du platine.

Au cours de 2002, Xstrata Nickel a effectué une campagnede forage au diamant pour délimiter la ressource. L’étude depré-faisabilité et une étude complète de faisabilité ont suivi. Ens’appuyant sur les résultats de ces travaux, la compagnie adécidé de commencer à construire en mars 2004.

Rick Collins, le directeur du projet minier, s’est joint à Xstrataen mai 2003. « Une nouvelle mine souterraine doit franchir desphases passablement distinctes », dit-il. « La préparation aufonçage du puits et toute l’infrastructure reliée, treuils, chevalet,services électriques et autres, prend environ un an. »

La mine Nickel Rim South, située à neuf kilomètres au nordde Sudbury devrait fournir Xstrata en minerai de fer de

haute teneur pour une période d’au moins 15 ans.

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« Nous avons deux puits : un puits de production dont le diamètre est de 7,6 met qui descend à 1 735 m et un autre de ventilation/sortie de secours dont lediamètre est de 6,1 m; ce dernier descend à 1 665 m », poursuit M. Collins. « Cetteétape est maintenant terminée après deux ans et demi. »

« La santé et la sécurité dans le domaine de la construction lourde et du fonçagede puits pose toujours des défis. Si vous me demandiez le facteur dont je suis le plusfier, je vous dirais que c’est d’avoir foncé deux puits sans incident avec perte detemps. Je crois que c’est une première dans l’industrie », explique M. Collins. Il ajouteque le développement et la construction se poursuivent depuis cinq ans, avec plus de5,6 millions d’heures travaillées sans un seul incident avec perte de temps.

M. Collins crédite la réussite du fonçage du puits à l’équipe formée d’employés deXstrata Nickel, de Hatch-McIntosh, le fournisseur ingénierie, approvisionnement con-struction et gestion (EPCM), et de Cementation Canada. Il dit que la mine sera prêteà temps et les coûts sont trois pour cent inférieurs au budget original. « L’approcheque nous avons prise, basée sur le contrôle EPCM du projet, a été critique », dit-il.« Cela permet d’embaucher une organisation spécialisée, de n’avoir qu’un seul groupequi applique des normes et niveaux de contrôle identiques à tous les aspects du pro-jet. Tous ont les mêmes attentes et objectifs. »

Pour s’assurer d’avoir de la main-d’œuvre malgré la pénurie mondiale, nous avonsretenu certains entrepreneurs travaillant sur des parties du projet en leur expliquantqu’ils seraient invités à soumissionner sur des travaux ultérieurs. Cette approche apermis de respecter l’échéancier et comportait un avantage monétaire direct. « Endonnant une grande partie du travail à un entrepreneur général, nous aurions défrayéles majorations de coûts et des frais d’administration pour les sous-traitants; nousn’aurions pas eu un prix aussi avantageux », explique M. Collins.

« Par exemple, pour l’usine de remblai souterrain, nous avons accordé des contratsséparés pour les fondations et les premières structures afin d’intéresser les entrepre-neurs », explique-t-il. « Nous avisions ensuite les entrepreneurs que d’autres travauxferaient bientôt l’objet de soumissions. » De manière générale, les services d’entre-preneurs et d’ingénierie obtenus selon la formule EPCM comptent pour environ 12 %des coûts d’installation. Cette formule améliore cependant grandement la sécurité, lalivraison des biens en temps opportun et le contrôle des coûts.

Le partenariat Hatch-McIntosh constitue un autre avantage découlant de la décisiond’engager un fournisseur EPCM. Hatch est un entrepreneur EPCM à grande échelle maiscette compagnie jugeait qu’il serait mieux de confier certains services à un spécialiste.Lorsqu’elle a commencé à Nickel Rim South en 2003, cette compagnie a décidé de for-mer une co-entreprise avec McIntosh, laquelle avait une certaine expertise de concep-tion de mines souterraines et comprenait bien les mines du Bassin de Sudbury.

Il faut noter que la mine produit déjà du minerai. À l’étape de l’étude de pré-fais-abilité, l’échéancier prévoyait l’ouverture du premier chantier d’abattage au début de2010. « C’est au moment de l’étude de faisabilité que nous avons réalisé que nouspouvions resserrer l’échéancier et ouvrir le premier chantier au deuxième trimestre de2009 », dit M. Collins. La production avait atteint 90 000 tonnes en septembre. Lesprévisions pour 2010 sont de produire 1,25 Mt de minerai à une capacité d’usine de90 %. Par la suite, les rampes d’interconnexion seront terminées et l’installationsouterraine de traitement du minerai/stérile sera prête; la production annuelle seraitalors de 1,39 Mt de minerai. La durée de vie prévue est de 15 ans.

« Lorsque la mine produira à pleine capacité, ce sera l’une des mines les plus automa-tisées au monde », dit M. Collins. Presque toutes les opérations seront contrôlées à dis-tance : les brise-roches, les treuils, la ventilation, les communications, le remblayage, lesbalances, et de nombreuses autres activités d’exploitation. M. Collins cite aussi l’aspectsécurité : « Nous sortons ainsi les gens des situations dangereuses. » ICM

Mining is a cost-sensitive industry.This stems from the fact that our sec-tor is a “price-taker” and not a “price-maker.” That is to say that the value ofthe industry’s output of commoditiesis set by international markets and notby the producers.

The only way in which producerscan improve their bottom lineis to reduce costs. Thus, thereis always price pressure onsuppliers, regardless of wherewe are in the commodityprice cycle. Now that we arein the low part of the cycle,the pressure is high. Suppliershave to ensure that they havepractices in place to protecttheir margins.

All mining suppliers havebeen in the position of deal-ing with a potential customer demand-ing a discount. Even though you knowthat your product or service is worthevery cent you are asking for, there isalways a competitor who is prepared tocut their prices, just to get the sale. Youalso know that if you play the pricegame, you will reduce your marginsand risk commoditizing your productor service, and you may never be ableto regain a reasonable price level with aclient to whom you have discounted.Your best defence is to have a totalsolution approach so that the perceivedvalue of your offering is undeniable.Here are some suggestions.

First, you have to understand thefull value of your offering, with spe-cific reference to the customer’srequirement. This is the job of yoursales force — to know the customer’ssituation thoroughly.

Before making a proposal, it is crit-ical to understand the business driversof all levels of influence and decision.In your analysis phase, ask all of thein-depth questions that your customer

and your competitors may not evenhave thought of raising. Do not beafraid to expose the risks of your solu-tion. If you do not, someone else willdo it for you. Mining companies areinterested in working with supplierswho truly understand their business.

Second, your sales people have tomake the customer understand what itwill cost them not to adopt your solu-tion. Often, resistance to change is amajor hurdle and sales people have tobe able to prove to clients that it maybe costly not to change.

You have to then prove to the cus-tomer that your approach will have aspecific financial result, such as cut-ting costs or raising revenues. Such aquantitative analysis goes far beyondthe simple costof purchase. Itrequires knowl-edge of how thecustomer willuse the productso that the totalcost of use canbe established.

In today’scomplex busi-ness world, andat this time inthe miningcycle when

profits and capital are slim, seniormanagers are more actively involvedin assessing issues and their options.It is therefore important to under-stand how your solution affects eachlevel of responsibility within your cus-tomer’s organization and to ensurethat you effectively communicate it to

them. For example, finan-cial executives are playingcentral roles in settingcorporate strategies. Donot leave it to your con-tacts in operations totranslate the technicaladvantages of your prod-uct or service into whatthey mean in terms offinancial impacts. Do ityourself.

Lastly, to avoid marginerosion, it is important that sales com-missions be linked to profit, not grossrevenue. If discounting pays off for asalesperson who is simply interestedin landing orders, your margins willsuffer.

Perhaps now is the time to sit downwith your marketing and sales peopleand ensure that you have a strategy inplace to preserve your margins.

www.camese.org

CIM

November 2009 | 55

supply side

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

Do you have the strategy to maintainyour sales margins?❚ Jon Baird

First, you have to understand

the full valueof your offering,

with specific reference to the customer’s requirement.

About the author

Jon Baird, managingdirector of CAMESE andpresident of PDAC, isinterested in collectiveapproaches to enhancingthe Canadian brand in theworld of mining.

1 Additional layers of regulation usually resultin increased administrative costs and greaterexploration expenses. The proposed legisla-tion also lacks protective appeal mecha-nisms for claim holders should they facedelays as a result of the new requirements.

eye on business


The Government of Ontariorecently embarked on a strategy to“modernize” the mining legislation inOntario. Proposed amendments to theOntario Mining Act arise, in part, fromcriticism that the Act does not appro-priately balance industry interests withthose of private land owners andAboriginal communities.

Bill 173, or the Mining AmendmentAct, 2009, was introduced toParliament by The HonourableMichael Gravelle, Minister ofNorthern Development, Mines andForestry, on April 30, 2009. Althoughthe amendments are directed at pro-moting mineral exploration, MinisterGravelle has stated that mining activi-ties are “encouraged” in a manner con-sistent with the recognition and affir-mation of existing Aboriginal andtreaty rights.

Bill 191, or the Far North Act, 2009,was introduced to Parliament by TheHonourable Donna H. Cansfield,Minister of Natural Resources, on June2, 2009. The stated purpose of this Actis to provide for community-basedland use plans (CBLUPs) in the FarNorth that directly involve FirstNations in decision-making. The bill isdesigned around the concept ofCBLUPs and the province’s goal ofhaving 225,000 square kilometres ofprotected areas in the Far North.

Together, Bill 173 and Bill 191 radi-cally change the landscape for miningexploration and investment inOntario. Industry participants havetaken particular note of the amend-ments respecting Aboriginal rights andinterests.

The duty to consultBill 173 appears to be an attempt

to transfer or delegate a component ofthe Crown’s duty to consult withAboriginal communities to third-partyresource development companies.Aboriginal rights are inherent rights

Modernizing legislationProposed changes to the Ontario Mining Act and a new land use regime in the Far North❚ Neal Smitheman and Tracy Pratt

that certain Aboriginal Peoples ofCanada hold as a result of their ances-tors’ long-standing use and occupancyof the land, including, for example, theright to hunt, trap and fish on ancestrallands. Treaty rights refer to Aboriginalrights set out in a treaty entered intobetween a First Nation and theGovernment of Canada. Both of theserights are recognized and affirmed bys. 35 of Canada’s Constitution.

The Supreme Court of Canada, in anumber of landmark decisions, hasestablished that the federal andprovincial Crown have a duty to con-sult with, and accommodate whereappropriate, First Nations where thereis knowledge of the potential existenceof an Aboriginal or treaty right andwhere the Crown contemplates con-duct that may affect it.

Canada’s highest court hasattempted to define the principles gov-erning the duty to consult with FirstNations. First, the extent of the duty isproportionate to the strength of theclaim and the potential impact on it.Although the content of the duty willvary based on the facts of each situa-tion, the duty to consult requires theFirst Nation also to engage in goodfaith consultations. The duty does notamount to an Aboriginal “veto” powerover development projects. Althoughthe Supreme Court has articulated thatthird parties, including mining indus-try participants, are under no duty toconsult with First Nations, certainrecent clashes in Ontario betweenFirst Nation communities and juniorresource development companies maybe interpreted as eroding this privatethird-party interest boundary. Therecent proposed amendments to theAct appear to take a similar approach.

Proposed legislationMany of the proposed amendments

to the Mining Act, and the introductionof the Far North Act, 2009, appear to

be an attempt by the province to legis-late a framework for the consultationwith First Nations that the SupremeCourt of Canada says must occur. Forexample, the proposed amendments tothe Mining Act require that an explo-ration plan be submitted in accordancewith prescribed requirements, includ-ing prescribed Aboriginal consulta-tion. The amendments also stipulatethat an application must be made tothe Director of Exploration (a newlyappointed officer that does not cur-rently exist), who will be tasked withdeciding whether to issue an explo-ration permit and upon what termsand conditions.

In deciding whether to issue anexploration permit, the Director ofExploration shall consider, amongother things, whether Aboriginalconsultation has occurred.1 To theextent that the amendments “down-load” or delegate to industry what isproperly the Crown’s duty, the newlegislation could be deemed uncon-stitutional. The proposed structuremay be problematic insofar asresource companies with miningclaims/leases are mandated to engagein time-consuming and expensivediscussions, which could later berendered moot by Aboriginal com-munities if the Crown does not fulfillits constitutional obligations.

Bill 191 effectively imposes a morato-rium on any new mines in the FarNorth (the northernmost third ofOntario’s landmass and representing anarea one and a half times the size of theCanadian Maritimes) and a develop-ment moratorium on at least 50 per centof the Far North’s boreal forests (such

protected areas are not yet defined). Bill191 also creates an additional regulatoryhurdle in the form of a CBLUP. Until aCBLUP is in place, no new mines can beopened in the Far North.

The proposed legislation hasreceived negative commentary fromindustry as being vague or ill defined.The regulations, once drafted and cir-culated, may provide the necessaryclarity, including assurances that theCrown is an equal and committedpartner to the consultation process.There also is real concern aboutinvesting in a new prospect, or anexpansion of an existing project, giventhe Bill 191 moratorium.

Aboriginal groups also have voicedcriticism of the bills. First, the processfor CBLUP designation requires FirstNations to follow the legislativeprocess set out by the Ontario govern-ment, a process that, ironically, wascreated without significant FirstNations input.

Second, there is concern about theresidual power left to the Minister inthe form of regulation-making power.Several First Nations see this ministe-rial discretion as an “entrenchment of

the powers of Ministry of NaturalResources and contrary to the partner-ship model suggested. In particular, anumber of First Nations condemn thearbitrary imposition of a 225,000square kilometre protected area, whichmay run contrary to Impact BenefitAgreements (IBAs) these First Nationshave negotiated or are in the process ofnegotiating with industry.

The proposed legislation, however,does require industry participants to beproactive in their contact and consulta-tion with Aboriginal communities. Thisis a positive step for building betterrelationships between industry andFirst Nations. Indeed, this type of pri-vate consultation, often by way of nego-tiated memoranda of understanding,

eye on business

November 2009 | 57

exploration agreements and IBAs, hasbecome a recent voluntary componentof many mining project developmentsin Ontario.

Contributions to this article also weremade by Michael Bourassa, the coordi-nator of Fasken’s Global Mining Group,and Richard Butler, an associate in theDispute Resolution Group. This article istaken, in part, from a paper titled “AnAttempt to Legislate the Duty to Consultwith Canada’s First Nations? ProposedAmendments to Ontario’s Mining Act” byNeal Smitheman and Tracy Pratt, to bepublished in a newsletter of theInternational Bar Association.

www.fasken.com

CIM

About the authors

Neal Smitheman and Tracy Pratt arepartners at Fasken Martineau DuMoulinLLP’s Litigation and Dispute ResolutionGroup, specializing in Aboriginal andmining issues.

MAC economic commentary

Late summer and fall are alwaysbusy times for the mining industry onthe economic policy front. Typically,the Mining Association of Canadareleases its annual “Facts & Figures”report in August and also prepares aformal industry submission in advanceof the meeting of federal, provincialand territorial energy and mines min-isters held each fall. The federal gov-ernment’s pre-budget process alsostarts in late summer, launched with asubmission deadline set by theFinance Committee. The key messagesreflected in MAC’s ministerial com-ments, pre-budget views and “Facts &Figures 2009” follow.

The mining industry is importantto the economy

The industry, as defined by NaturalResources Canada, contributes $40billion to Canada’s GDP, employs350,000 people, pays approximately$13.5 billion in taxes and royalties,contributes 19 per cent of Canadianexports and generates business for3,140 supplier companies. It createsvalue in urban, rural and remoteregions and its products are funda-mental to modern life and to the emer-gence of clean energy technologies.

Aboriginal relations are importantThe mining industry is the largest

private sector employer of AboriginalCanadians. Strong mutually beneficialrelationships exist between Aboriginalpeoples and mining companies in thediamond, uranium, oil sands andother segments, and there is potentialto further broaden these relationships.For their part, governments mustinvest in skills and education andmust be cognizant of the AboriginalPeoples’ desires for economic develop-ment. Government proposals to elimi-nate large tracts of northern land fromresource development work againstthis desire.

Times are turbulentThe World Bank forecasts global

growth of minus three per cent in2009 and, like most sectors, the min-ing industry is experiencing turbulenttimes. Over the past year, theCanadian mining industry has closedor reduced operations in some 40mines and reduced operations in 11smelters in response to a supply-demand imbalance associated with theglobal economic recession. Industryspending on mineral exploration hasbeen slashed in half — from $3 billionin 2008 to around $1.5 billion in 2009.While positive signals are being seenin the industry, most mineral pricesremain well below 2007 levels.

There is a need for some taximprovements

On balance, the Canadian miningindustry receives fair tax treatment. Theflow-through share provisions, ability todeduct capital expenditures and declin-ing corporate income tax rates are attrac-tive features. Beyond these measures,there is a need to encourage greaterexploration to increase levels of mineralreserves in Canada. Measures such as aninvestment tax credit would contributeto the modernization of processing facil-ities in Canada and help them competewith subsidized and state-owned com-panies in other countries.

Governments must support eco-nomic development in many ways

There is a need to streamline theprocesses and regulations thatguide project development. Inareas such as greenhouse gasemissions, there should not befederal-provincial duplication ofregulatory or reporting require-ments. Infra structure must bemodern and efficient and able to serve promising resource areas in northern Canada.Government investment in

geological mapping is of fundamentalimportance — this spending should be significant and sustained.Underpinning each of these actions isthe need for Canada’s natural resourceministers and departments to activelyadvocate for the industry as part oftheir core mandate.

The future looks promising forCanadian mining companies

Despite impressive growth over thepast decade, many indicators suggestthat China and India remain relativelyundeveloped and offer staggering mar-ket opportunities for decades to come.Canada will benefit from the mineraland metal prices associated with thisstrong global demand. As an invest-ment destination, Canada features lowpolitical risk, stable energy supply anda skilled mining workforce. TheCanadian mining industry is diversi-fied with strengths in oil sands,potash, uranium, gold, diamonds,nickel and iron ore, among others.This helps provide stability to cyclicalcommodity-specific movements.

For the above reasons, Canada islikely to remain a strong and competi-tive producer of minerals and metals.The Canadian economy will benefitfrom this production and from thehigh prices associated with the grow-ing demand in developing countriesand resumed demand in the UnitedStates and Europe.

www.mining.ca

CIM


The results are inThe key economic messages of the mining industry❚ Paul Stothart

About the author

Paul Stothart is vice president,economic affairs of the MiningAssociation of Canada. He isresponsible for advancing theindustry’s interests regardingfederal tax, trade, investment,transport and energy issues.

women in mining

As one of Canada’s fewwomen employed in miningexplosives, Sophie Bergeron, amining engineer at XstrataNickel, is a booming success.“Blasting is fun,” saysBergeron, “especially whenyou get good results. I wasreally happy with our last testat Raglan where we blasted a really big stope with 25,000 kilograms of emulsion explosive.”

The correct use, placementand choice of explosives is aspecialized skill, and during astudent internship, Bergeronfound she had the right stufffor the job. “We didn’t learn alot about explosives at univer-sity, but I was encouraged by areally good boss at Dyno Nobeland found I was really inter-ested in this aspect of mining.”

It’s tempting to speculateon the early origins of such aninterest, but Bergeron deniessimulating mining explosionsin the sand pit. “My childhoodgames were the usual ones. Iplayed with Barbie dolls as wellas Lego, Transformers and GIJoe. I liked many differentsports and activities. At school,I was good in math and itbecame clear that engineering was theway for me.”

After graduating from the ÉcolePolytechnique de Montréal in 2000,Bergeron joined Xstrata Nickel’s RaglanMine, in northern Quebec’s Nunavikregion, where her skills were put togood use. “There were some issueswith production in one open pit andwe worked a lot on improving blastingtechniques. After a few projects, I became the ‘go-to’ person for explosives.”

Bergeron spent seven years on rota-tion at Raglan, including two years as

Blowing a hole in the glass ceilingA mining engineer looking for new ways of doing things❚ Richard Andrews

an undergroundsupervisor. Duringthat time, she alsotrained as a minerescue officer. “I wanted to be able toact if something happened while I wason site. I don’t like to sit around help-lessly. There were not many engineersin the mine rescue team and I felt itwould be useful to have a member withtechnical knowledge of the mine. Atfirst, I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to carryheavy equipment such as the BG4 MineRescue Rebreather. However, I could,and I got my certificate.”

There’s no doubt Bergeronestablished her credentials atRaglan, but what was it like at thebeginning for a young woman tobe flown into a remote, male-dom-inated mining site? “The people atRaglan were really fair withwomen. The gender issue came up,but not a lot,” she says. “I hadworked a previous summer as anunderground scooper and truckoperator. Knowing the job fromthe ground up helps when you’renew. I also knew how to work wellwith the guys. You don’t have to befriends. So long as you respecteach other, it all goes well.However, I’m also aware that if youwant to advance your career in aman’s world, you probably have toshine a bit more — not just in

mining, but in manyindustries where thereare few women.”

Bergeron believesthe mining industryis changing, andXstrata is one of theprogressive leaders,having hired manyprofessional womenin the past few years.Acknowledging herskills and broad expe-rience, the companyhas promoted theengineer to beRaglan’s first superin-tendent of continu-

ous improvement. “It’s a big chal-lenge,” she says. “To keep Raglancompetitive in tough economictimes, my mission is to find ways todecrease the cost of production bytaking greater advantage of opportu-nities and getting people moreinvolved in the big picture. Youcould say my job now is to blowapart the cost structures and findnew ways of doing things.” CIM

November 2009 | 59

employment by offering co-op place-ments at mine sites. They help thoseentering the workforce to refine theirbasic skills and acquire moreadvanced technical capabilities. Thispractical, skills-based exposure pro-vides the foundation for long-termcareer success by giving individualshands-on experience and providingnetworking opportunities. Manyemployers prefer workers who haveacquired some experience throughinternship or work-study programswhile in training.

Recently, the Canadian AboriginalMinerals Association (CAMA) hosted its17th annual conference in Toronto. Theparticipants reflected upon the academicachievements of Aboriginal youth, andquestioned whether they will be able tofully participate in the economic recov-ery expected in 2010. The ASEP andother similar programs are designed tohelp them achieve this objective.

Developing the skills necessary tohave a successful career in any indus-try is a challenging and multi-facetedprocess. This is particularly true inthe mining industry, which requires adiverse set of skills. The ASEP pro-gram exemplifies one approach thathas assisted members of theAboriginal community by increasingtheir marketability and skills inpreparation for a career in mining.

www.mihr.ca

CIM

HR outlook

An insightful 2007 report by theStanding Senate Committee onAboriginal peoples entitled “SharingCanada’s Prosperity: a Hand Up, Nota Handout” has attracted much atten-tion from governments, advocacygroups and the general public. Itreveals that perhaps more than anyother group in society, AboriginalCanadians require appropriate aca-demic training in order to sustaintheir economic livelihood.

For various cultural, socio-eco-nomic, political and other reasons,Aboriginal Canadians have generallyfound it difficult to take full advantageof the educational opportunities thatwould enable them to find steadyemployment. The Senate Committeenoted that a deficiency of human capi-tal, particularly in basic skills, hasimpeded the development of a moreadept Aboriginal workforce. Perhapsfor this reason, technical and on-the-job training specifically targeted at theAboriginal population has been thefocus of attention in recent years.

The Canadian government hasrecently sponsored new projects inessential skills training through theAboriginal Skills and TrainingStrategic Investment Fund (ASTSIF).The initiative finances short-termprojects to help Aboriginal workersdevelop the skills necessary toimprove their marketability andpotential utility in the workforce. Themost important of these at the federallevel is the Aboriginal Skills andEmployment Partnership (ASEP)program, which uses a holisticapproach to provide technical train-ing to those employed in the naturalresources sector. The multi-stake-holder partnership includes federaland provincial governments, the pri-vate sector and Aboriginal commu-nity organizations.

A notable feature of the AboriginalSkills and Employment Partnership

(ASEP) program is its requirement that,in return for the training it provides, recipient organizations mustguarantee at least 50 long-term, full-time jobs. Thus far, mining-relatedASEP projects have primarily involvedthe development and production stagesof the mining cycle. The explorationsector, which offers many part-time,seasonal employment opportunities,has received less attention.

However, ASEP projects mayinclude Aboriginal Human ResourcesDevelopment Agreement (AHRDA)participants. AHRDAs provide socialassistance and other services toAboriginal trainees through variousfunding agreements with HumanResources and Skills DevelopmentCanada (HRSDC). At present, thereare two ASEP projects in northernOntario — the Whitefeather ForestASEP (Pikangikum) and theMatachawan Aboriginal Access to JobsStrategy project (Matachawan).

The role that essential skills play inone’s intellectual development andability to contribute to society cannotbe overstated. HRSDC has identifiedthe following nine essential workplaceskills: reading, document use, numer-acy, writing, oral communication,working with others, thinking, com-puter use and continuous learning.Although the importance of theseskills is indisputable, they are insuffi-cient to enable one to perform well onthe job; they must besupplemented withappropriate technicaltraining and on-the-job experience.

The mining indus-try affords Aboriginalyouth the opportunityto acquire academictraining while work-ing in the field. Theindustry can encour-age greater Aboriginal


Training is keySkills development and the Aboriginal community❚ Sheldon Polowin

About the author

Sheldon Polowin is programmanager, research and labour marketinformation. at MiHR. He isresponsible for supporting thedevelopment of the national MiningIndustry Workforce IntelligenceNetwork system by conductingeconomic research and analysis anddeveloping labour market forecastmodels. [email protected]

first nations

With 127 Indian andNorthern Affairs Canada(INAC) recognized FirstNations in Ontario, it is almostcertain that the need to consultand accommodate will be animportant topic to most miningdevelopments or acquisitions.The goal of this month’s columnis twofold — I want to sharesome information and tools thatcould be useful when you arelooking at your property, and Iwant to emphasize some of theresources that are available toFirst Nations communities tohelp them find out who’s dig-ging in their back yard.

Keep in mind that therecould also be some level ofMetis interest in your territory,even though I have only seen strongMetis involvement in the Manitobaregion. In most cases in Ontario,industry deals with First Nations,since it is these communities that haveland treaties.

Companies with property inOntario need to quickly identifywhether or not there are anyAboriginal interests in the territory. Donot rely on the provincial governmentto determine these interests and initi-ate discussions, because history showsus that process happens very slowly. Ifyou have property and are seriousabout its development, then youshould be equally interested in com-municating openly with the surround-ing communities.

In some cases, the land in questionmight be shared by more than onecommunity, and you might at timeshave to deal with two or three FirstNations, all of whom hold portions astheir own traditional territory. It isimportant not to take sides by choos-ing to deal with one community overanother. There are indeed cases inwhich companies are still trying to

Online resources for industryand First Nations in Ontario❚ Juan Carlos Reyes

mend fences years later because theyneglected to engage one of the com-munities in their discussions. Oftenthere is no easy way to identify whichcommunity you should be talking to.Nevertheless, it is still critical to atleast attempt to bridge this gap.

A useful tool for companies to helpidentify First Nations communities inOntario can be found at http://commu-nities.knet.ca. This website allows youto determine which communities arenear your property and to obtain rele-vant contact information. It might be agood idea after you have identifiedthese communities to arrange a visitwith the Chief. From my experience,most Chiefs appreciate this and see itas a welcoming opportunity.

For exploration or mining to takeplace, a company (orindividual) must file aformal “claim” with theprovincial government.To aid First Nationscommunities to keeptrack of the activitygoing on in their terri-tory, the Ontario

Ministry of NorthernDevelopment, Mines andForestry has created a mapthat tracks claims(www.claimaps.mndm.gov.on.ca). Although not as user-friendly as Google maps, itdoes offer a tutorial for newusers and has the capability toshow any claim in yourregion. The ministry also triesto provide quarterly claimmaps to all First Nation com-munities with mineral sectoractivity in their area.

The Cree region of Quebechas mapped out its territoryusing their traditional systemof trap lines. If you want tocarry out development intheir territory, they have a

website (www.cmeb.org/geoeco) thatnot only indicates which communitiesyou need to talk to, but also the ownerof the trap lines and their contactinformation. This site should proba-bly serve as a model for how othergrand councils should map out theirterritory.

In a perfect world, all the treaty landentitlement claims would be resolved,and carrying out exploration activitiesin partnership with First Nations com-munities throughout Canada would beas easy as it is to work in the Creeregion of Quebec. In the meantime,using the above information andresources will get you started on thepath to a successful partnership.

www.learning-together.ca

CIM

About the authorJuan Carlos Reyes is an Aboriginalconsultant with efficiency.ca and theorganizer of Learning Together. He ispassionate about human rights andworks tirelessly to help improve thelives of Canadian Aboriginal people.

Ontario First Nations map

November 2009 | 61

Improving long-term sustainabilityResearch in mining and the Canada Mining Innovation Council❚ Alicia Blancarte

Finding mineral resources, miningthem and extracting the values withinare all technology-intensive endeav-ours. Innovation supports our industryby developing new technologies thatproduce efficiency and safety improve-ments; address current and emergingchallenges, including environmentalissues; and produce the step changesneeded for continuous evolution.

As mineral resources are found atincreasing depths and at lower grades,as water and energy become limiting insome regions, and as energy costs riseand public demands for environmentalprotection increase, mining companiesneed to continuously innovate toremain competitive and to improvetheir long-term sustainability.

The mining industry in Canada hasa long tradition of innovation in geol-ogy, mining and processing. New andredesigned processes as well as newtechniques and equipment have beendeveloped in-house using both publicand private research capabilities.Three things are changing that requirea new approach — capacity, cost andcomplexity.

Research capabilities in Canada,both in the public and private sectors,have decreased — large industrialresearch centres have closed, experi-enced university researchers are retir-ing, and mining and metallurgy pro-grams are competing with other fieldsto attract talent. Additionally, the costof research continues to increase asmore extensive installations, equip-ment and experimental setups are

required. This is directly linked withthe increasing complexity of the prob-lems and topics under investigationthat require a multi-disciplinaryapproach. As well, because of cost andcomplexity, companies’ in-house orself-funded research tends to be morenarrowly focused on those areas thatare proprietary, or have a direct impacton the companies’ functional expertiseand operations. Supporting andenhancing research efforts is needed toensure Canada continues to innovate,and to develop highly qualified peoplefor the exploration and mining sectors.

Pre-competitive research is an areawhere there is opportunity for collabora-tion. Some of the most exciting researchis taking place in this space. However,collaboration is not a self-starting propo-sition; rather it requires facilitation, com-munication and incentives.

The Canada Mining InnovationCouncil (CMIC) has been establishedas a network of industry, governmentand academic leaders working collec-tively to enhance the competitivenessof a responsible mining industrythrough excellence in research, innova-tion, commercialization and education.

The Pan-Canadian initiative devel-oped by CMIC represents an opportu-nity to gather support in expandingresearch and innovation, engagingindustry to ensure that research is rel-evant and applicable, and meetingindustry’s needs now and in the future.Incremental improvements and break-through innovations require long-terminvestments, and collaborative efforts

About the author

Alicia Blancarte is the executive director of CMIC. As aprofessional engineer, she has practiced engineering inCanada and overseas in the mining, chemicals, oil andtransportation sectors. Her areas of expertise include mining,environment and sustainability, and her interests includeintelligent design, change and organization management,knowledge integration and technology transfer.

innovation

November 2009 | 63

can ensure resources are applied moreeffectively to both areas.

Moving forward, the goal is tocreate a Canada-wide system that canserve the interests of industry, acade-mia and government. One wouldargue that the benefits of innovationare expansive and benefit the countryas a whole by creating a more com-petitive and responsible industry sec-tor and a stronger tax base. Throughinnovation, the benefits derived fromour natural resources are maximized,creating opportunities for exports intechnology and innovation, attract-ing and retaining talent, andstrengthening our institutions, toname a few.

Clearly, shared and overlappinginterests create an opportunity forCMIC to facilitate and catalyze thedevelopment of industry-supportedprojects that advance deservingresearch ideas and maximize the effec-tiveness of government funding. Thiscan create a cascading effect of collab-oration, talent development and reten-tion, innovation and improved publicperception, all leading to a more sus-tainable mining industry.

As an impetus to this potentially pos-itive research effort, CMIC is working ona three-pronged strategy comprised of:• Improved access to funding• Generation of new ideas• Cultivating new research capacity

Supporting tactical actions include:• Directing existing resources to

needs and priorities by streamliningaccess to existing funding, andworking on developing newsources of leveraged funding forindustry-supported projects.

• Creating opportunities for needsand priorities analyses by engagingindustry and academia throughworkshops and other interactionsthat generate new research ideas.

• Working to catalyze researchers’partnerships, to create cross-disci-plinary think tanks and interactionsthat can lead to the creation of newproject teams, and eventually to thedevelopment of virtual or real cen-tres of excellence in processing,mining and exploration.

The next few months will providean opportunity to meet with key high-level executives from industry andacademic institutions, to inform themon the initiative, elicit their ideas, pri-orities and support, and invite them tobecome active members of the net-work. From discussions and work-shops with the academic sector,industry and industry associations,CMIC will work on advancing our

strategy around three priority areas:tailings, energy and deep exploration.

Stakeholders will be able to stayup-to-date on CMIC’s activitiesthrough a website currently beingdeveloped and hosted by CIM andthrough regular contributions to publications and conferences.

For more information, [email protected]

CIM

parlons-en

De nombreux défis attendent l’in-dustrie minière : défis environ-nementaux, défis de productivité,défi du renouvellement de la main-d’œuvre, défis de découverte denouveaux gisements. Mais le plusimportant d’entre tous est sansdoute celui du développementdurable, dans son sens premier, caril englobe l’ensemble des préoccupa-tions de l’industrie, des gouverne-ments et de la population.

On confond trop souventdéveloppement durable et environ-nement. Certes l’environnement estune composante très importante dudéveloppement durable, mais deuxautres piliers du développementdurable doivent aussi être pris enconsidération : le volet économiqueet le volet social.

Les sociétés minières et lesinstances gouvernementales com-prennent ce qu’est le voletéconomique. Depuis des décennies,en effet, les paramètres économiquessont utilisés pour mesurer le progrèshumain, le progrès des compagnies,la rentabilité des investissements.

Le volet environnemental répondaux énoncés et aux règles scien-tifiques de la chimie et de laphysique. Au fil des ans, des exper-tises plus pointues se sont dévelop-pées et des innovations importantessont venues modifier notre relation àl’environnement.

La prise en compte du volet social,par contre, est relativement nouvelle.Le volet social est un concept quifluctue : limites floues et impératifsen continuels évolution.

Les travaux récents du groupe detravail sur l’acceptabilité sociale desprojets, pilotés par la Conférencecanadienne des ministres de l’Én-ergie et des Mines, amènent unéclairage intéressant sur ces ques-tions. Le groupe de travail a identi-fié trois facteurs qui conditionnent

L’acceptabilité sociale des projets : une responsabilité partagée❚ Robert Giguère

November 2009 | 65

L’auteur

Robert Giguère travaille au Ministère des ressources naturelles et de la Faune depuis2004. Il a y a occupé, pour le Secteur énergie, la direction des politiques et de lacoordination, réalisant entre autres la Stratégie énergétique du Québec. Depuis 2008 ilagit comme Directeur des politiques de la coordination et des affaires inter -gouvernementales au bureau du sous-ministre associé au Secteur des mines ou il acoordonné la réalisation de la Stratégie minérale du Québec.

l’obtention de l’approbation dupublic.

Premièrement, les gouvernementset l’industrie doivent être capables dedémontrer les améliorationsapportées tant au niveau réglemen-taire que sur le plan des mesuresvolontaires. Les gouvernementsdoivent donc instaurer un régime demesures efficaces et crédibles dansleurs champs d’interventions. Un telrégime inclut nécessairement unrégime où il y a un partage équitabledes avantages économiques. Les asso-ciations industrielles peuvent con-cevoir et consolider des programmesvolontaires. Par exemple en intro-duisant des procédures de diffusionpublique de renseignements sur lesprogrès réalisés par les sociétés quipourraient être vérifiées par des tiers.

Deuxièmement, l’établissement decommunications crédibles et vérifi-ables. Le public exige des gouverne-ments et de l’industrie qu’ils diffusenten temps opportun des renseigne-ments complets et crédibles. Il s’agitdonc pour nous, acteurs dudéveloppement minier, de mettre surpied de tels procédés. De plus, nousévoluons dans un contexte où le pub-lic accorde de moins en moins sa con-fiance aux acteurs de la société. Lesgouvernements et l’industrie ne peu-vent plus présumer que les inter-venants accepteront une informationproduite unilatéralement. Le publicsera nettement plus enclin à soutenirles démarches de production de ren-seignements qui font appel à de mul-tiples intervenants, particulièrement

là où l’information est vérifiée par destiers indépendants.

En dernier lieu, établir de solidesrelations axées sur la recherche d’a-vantages mutuels. Afin d’améliorerl’image publique d’une industrie etd’aider cette dernière à obtenir l’ap-probation publique pour exercer sesactivités, les gouvernements et l’in-dustrie doivent tenir compte d’unelarge gamme d’intérêts, et non sim-plement de ceux de l’industrie. Lessecteurs qui réussissent à contrer lesperceptions négatives des citoyensétablissent des plateformes à inter-venants multiples qui contribuent àpromouvoir à la fois le dialogue et larésolution concertée de problèmes.Comme le souligne une grande leçontirée de l’expérience du secteurforestier, il est capital d’établir en touttemps des relations à la fois avec lespartisans et les détracteurs des pro-jets. En effet que la conjoncture soitfavorable ou non, le maintien d’undialogue permanent constitue unimpératif de progrès.

Le défi demeure donc de savoirconjuguer les trois volets dudéveloppement durable dans nos dis-cours, bien sûr, mais d’abord et avanttout dans nos réflexions, nos planifi-cations afin que ces trois volets setraduisent en actions concrètes.L’exercice est toujours périlleux,plein d’embûches et pose des défisimportants à relever, mais il estnécessaire afin que tous y trouventleur compte.

www.mrnf.gouv.qc.ca/mines/index.jsp

ICM

safety

Earlier this year, Xstrata Copper’sKidd Mine near Timmins, Ontario,celebrated 3.3 million work hourswithout a lost-time incident. In 2008,the mine had already won a John T.Ryan award for the best safety recordat an eligible Ontario metal mine, witha modified work injury frequency of0.54 per 200,000 work hours. This lat-est achievement brings it closer to itstarget of becoming one of the safest inits class across the country.

“Last year was a big story for us,”says mine manager Tom Semadeni.“We had an incredible improvement insafety at a mine that was already prettysafe.” Those charged with safety atKidd regard their progress as the conse-quence of steady, conscientious effort.

“In 2004, we introduced the zeroacceptance program,” explains RickFarrell, the elected safety representa-tive who advocates for roughly 600permanent non-unionized workers atthe mine. “We all agreed — workersand management — that no onewould continue working if a substan-dard condition or action existed.”Over the next couple of years, workerengagement was encouraged with a“stop-and-correct” initiative. Later,emphasis was placed on which safetyissues could be addressed by individ-ual workers and which must beaddressed by larger groups.

Each of the 39 frontline crews at themine has a health and safety represen-tative. Twice a year, worker and con-tractor representatives, supervisorsand superintendents meet off-site tospend a day discussing workplacesafety. One step up, Farrell is one ofthree divisional worker representativeswho meet each month with a manage-ment counterpart to review perform-ance and steward new programs.

Two years ago, reinforcing the zeroacceptance program, Kidd Mine repa-triated the Positive Attitude SafetySystem. The PASS process, created in

One steel-toed step at a timeXstrata Copper’s Kidd Mine steadily improves its safety performance ❚ Ryan Bergen

British Columbia and integrated inXstrata’s Australian operations, isorganized around workforce engage-ment. With PASS, says Semadeni,“you are constantly trying to promotethe positive side of what people doeveryday to make their workplace

safer. Workers meet before every shiftto talk about what went well the daybefore and what could be done bet-ter.” The same assessment moves upthe chain to supervisors, who alsomeet for similar discussions. “Itforces a healthy discussion and self-


A supervisor reviews a Neil George Safety Card with one of his employees.

Xstrata Copper Kidd Mine Site StatsTotal Recordable Injury and Frequency Rate per Million Man Hours

(to Sept. 09)

3 30

24

14

5

13

13

12

02

8

27.7

19.4

9.1

7.6

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

2006 2007 2008 2009

Nu

mb

er

of

Even

ts

0

10

20

30

TRIFR

LTI RWI MTI TRIFR

Lost T

ime I

njury

Res

tric

ted W

ork

Inju

ry

Med

ical T

reatm

ent

Inju

ry

Frequen

cy R

ate

PerM

illio

n Man H

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rata

Cop

per

November 2009 | 67

safety

evaluation of safety preparedness,”says Semadeni.

The success of such programs islargely determined by the entire oper-ation’s commitment to them. Farrellstresses that everyone at the mine hasheld fast to the principles of PASS. Lastfall and this spring, the entire minetook safety pauses, says Semadeni.“We stopped production for fourhours and the crews participated insafety workshops. This was a cleardemonstration of commitment.”

Grassroots engagement is comple-mented by top-down, corporate-levelprograms, explains Semadeni. “Xstratahas a strong sustainable developmentphilosophy and that is backed up witha very high level of governance.”Safety, he explains, is one of a broadrange of standards meant to groundthe philosophy in day-to-day opera-tions. “We get audited on those stan-dards each year with strict criteria andhigh expectations.”

Those expectations carry over tothe many contractors whose work-force can at times nearly matchXstrata’s. No contractors begin workat the mine without first presentingtheir safety systems to the health andsafety department to demonstrate

that they have adequate measures inplace. Those with large work crewsmust be prepared twice a year toensure that they are meeting expecta-tions and to present their safetyimprovements.

This year, says Barry Federchuk, themine’s safety superintendent, they havefocused on training the workforce torecognize risks and hazards and onputting controls in place to addressthem. The Kidd Mine has long used theNeil George, Five-Point Safety Systemand recently modified the cards used inthe system to include risk assessment.The revamped safety card asks workersto identify hazards associated withtheir tasks, to list safety controls and torank the risks they have identified. Toensure the card was well-adapted to theworkers’ needs, hundreds of question-naires were circulated to gather feed-back. As a complement to the revisedNeil George system, the mine alsorecently added a full-time risk coordi-nator to its safety department.

With so much going right, it is notsurprising that Farrell doesn’t hesitateto go out on a limb. “This year we’regoing to win the national trophy.”

www.xstrata.com

CIM

Moving on upAlberta-based oil junior Action Energy Inc. appointed Maria Elliott to theposition of CFO and vice-president, finance. Elliott, who previously heldthe position of controller at the company, is a certified general accountantwith over 10 years of finance, management, and public company report-ing in the oil and gas industry.

PricewaterhouseCoopers announced that Normand Champigny joined itsMining Centre of Excellence in Canada. Champigny, a geological engineerwith 30 years of international mining industry experience, has workedwith leading international consulting organizations on a wide range ofmining projects. He is a director of the Prospectors and DevelopersAssociation of Canada, vice-president of Fonds Restor-Action Nunavikand a member of several provincial professional orders.

Graham Dickson has been appointed a director at Monument Mining Ltd.Dickson, who has over 25 years of experience in the gold mining indus-try, has built numerous gold treatment plants in remote areas of the world.In the past, he served in various senior management capacities with BYGNatural Resources Ltd. and oversaw the development of milling and min-ing facilities for Cominco Ltd., Bond Gold, Claude Resources and BemaGold. Dickson currently serves as COO of Yukon-Nevada Gold Corp.

engineering exchange

To complete any major construction project on sched-ule and within budget demands broad expertise andextensive coordination. Hatch, the engineering, procure-ment and construction manager (EPCM), met that stan-dard when it finished the full ramp up of BHP Billiton’sEscondida Norte and E3 Project east of Antofagasta,Chile, in October 2005 — and along the way, it raisedthe bar.

“The unique challenge was constructing a new projectwithin an existing operation,” says Gerardo Reveco,Escondida Norte project manager for Hatch. The initialproject involved the design, construction, and ramp up ofa new primary crusher station, seven-kilometre overlandconveyor, distribution conveyors, and surge and distribu-tion silos. The new materials handling system wasdesigned to deliver up to 8,800 tonnes per hour to theexisting Escondida process facilities from the new pit,located seven kilometres north of the existing one. Thescope of the project later grew — added to it was the cre-ation of the E3 conveyor pushback, consisting of the

Building inside the beehiveCommunications and training drive Hatch’s success at Escondida Norte❚ Heather Ednie

construction of two paral-lel 1.2-kilometre convey-ors, the extension of sev-eral existing conveyors andtwo 10-day tie-ins.

Even before ground wasbroken, Cesare Celle,regional managing direc-tor, Latin America, recalls,“Coordination was a realchallenge. To start excava-tion and construction, a lotof permits were required,and a lot of safety require-ments had to be addressed.BHP Billiton has very strictsafety protocols, so we hadto be very diligent workingwithin the operation.”

With all the pre-con-struction preparatorywork done, executing theproject then dependedon attention to the cas-cade of details and thethorough training of theworkforce in everythingfrom traffic control tosafety. At the peak ofconstruction, Reveco

says the project staff nearly doubled the staff fromongoing operations. And traffic control on site becamea major task. “We had a group of people designing andredesigning the traffic flow on a weekly basis.”

The key to success, he says, was communication, andthe Hatch team became experts at it. “We had to coordinatewith two groups: the operators in the concentrator andthose in the mine — and they often had different priorities.The logistics to coordinate shutdowns and have all man-agers in agreement were challenging.” From emailing todoor knocking and wielding whistles, they applied what-ever tool matched the task to ensure everyone knew whatwas going to happen. They also learned the value of repe-tition, especially when it came to the principles of safety.“The messages must be repeated so they remain a priority,”says Celle.

The Hatch team got innovative when it came to train-ing. An 11-day shutdown was planned for the relocationand reconnection of the conveyor systems between themines and distribution centre. In preparation, Hatch


Intermediate ore bin between the primary crusher and overland conveyor

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engineering exchange

developed training videos for every contractor onsite.By incorporating 3D models, photos and videos, theysimulated the situation that a specific contractor wouldbe dealing with during the move. Driving courses taughtworkers the special signals that would be used on theroad during the project, explains Celle. “The contrac-tors were able to sit down and learn their task, thesequence of events and what to expect. This way, theywere much more prepared when it came to the actualshutdown.”

The training efforts paid off. In the end, the planned11-day shutdown was completed within less than half ofthat time, allowing an extra six days of production —that’s money in the bank.

As the EPCM manager, Hatch was committed to creat-ing benefits for their clients. Through value engineering,they enabled the client to save money. The development ofa materials distribution centre — including moving theconveyors farther from the pit — accommodated feedfrom both the original and new Escondida pits. Two siloswere erected onsite, and product was brought in by con-veyors from the new pit to be redistributed between twoconcentrator sites. “Through the relocation of the convey-ors and creation of the distribution centre, we created aflexibility that allows for better interaction between thetwo pits and the two concentrator facilities,” Celle says.“That project alone saves the client several millions inoperating costs.”

Celle highlights that Hatch has enjoyed a long-termrelationship with BHP Billiton, which has led to the twogroups really understanding each other today. “We enjoy asynergy from repeat business,” he says. “We have a goodunderstanding of their definitions of scope, capital budgetand scheduling — we know how to work with the BHPgroup. And this leads to strong safety, design, budget and

November 2009 | 69

Primary crusher station Mine shovel at construction site

Postdoctoral Fellowship in Mining EngineeringThe Mine Design & Numerical Modelling

Laboratory at McGill University invites applications from prospective and recent PhD graduates for an

NSERC University-Industry Postdoctoral Fellowship. Applicants should hold a degree in mining or closely related field and must have outstanding academic record. Underground mining experience would be considered an asset. The research project offers industrial training in rock mechanics, numerical

modeling, underground mining, and risk analysis. Excellent written and oral communication

skills are required. The Fellowship is available effective immediately for a period of

one year, renewable once.

Interested candidates should submit their CV and transcripts to:

Professor Hani Mitri ([email protected])McGill University, 3450 University Street

Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3A 2A7

scheduling performance — the cornerstones of successfulproject management.”

www.hatch.ca

CIM

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standards


National Instrument 43-101Standards of Disclosure for MineralProjects was implemented onFebruary 1, 2001, and amended onDecember 30, 2005. It is meant to be aliving document that is revisited andrevised from time to time to reflectchanges in the industry. Since its con-ception, a number of issues and con-cerns have arisen. In response to these,in January 2009, the CanadianSecurities Administrators (CSA)launched a project to revise NI 43-101.

The CSA initiated a consultationprocess in the spring of 2009.Approximately 150 professionals —including issuers, consultants,lawyers, analysts, self regulatoryorganizations and stock exchanges —participated in focus group sessions inBritish Columbia, Ontario andQuebec. Feedback from the partici-pants was reasonably consistent onmany issues.

At the CIM Toronto Branch lunch-eon last June, Craig Waldie and JimWhyte of the Ontario SecuritiesCommission summarized the initialresults. It was noted that these are onlyconceptual changes at this time. Therevisions to NI 43-101 are expected tobe submitted for a 90-day public com-ment period in the summer of 2010,with a proposed effective date of sum-mer 2011. Areas identified for poten-tial revisions include the following:

Updated consent of QPs. Does therule currently place too much respon-sibility on the Qualified Person (QP)and not enough on the issuer? Shouldupdated QP consents be required if theexisting technical report is still valid,or could this requirement be eliminated?

The rule should reflect the fact thatthe issuer’s management has a respon-sibility to determine if a technicalreport is still current, or if a new one isneeded.

A progress reportRecent amendments to NI 43-101❚ Deborah McCombe and Craig Waldie

Technical report triggers. Should aproduction decision trigger a technicalreport or should there only be a require-ment to disclose that the issuer wentinto production without a study to sup-port the project’s economic viability?

Technical report triggers need to bereassessed to make sure they are theright ones.

Should the trigger revert back tothe original wording of “any writtendisclosure”?

A news release containing initialdisclosure of a mineral resource,reserve or preliminary assessment cur-rently triggers a technical report.

Historical/previous estimates. Arebroader and more flexible rulesrequired for disclosing previous min-eral resource and reserve estimates?How is it best to handle previous CIM-compliant estimates or an estimate thatconforms to UN, Russian or Chinesesystems that may not be “historical”?

Preliminary assessments. Should therule be more flexible and allow the dis-closure of a preliminary assessment onadvanced stage projects?

NI 43-101 does not allow an issuerto disclose a preliminary assessment ona project after a pre-feasibility study.

Reliance on other experts. Could theQP rely on and disclaim responsibilityfor information by a non-QP expert ifthe QP explained what was done toverify the information and why theexpert should be relied upon?

A clarification of the differencebetween “reliance” and “disclaimer” isrequired.

Producing issuers. Should producingissuers be allowed to file in-housetechnical reports when they become areporting issuer?

If foreign issuers already trade on adesignated exchange and report

About the authors

Deborah McCombe, executive vice-president of Scott Wilson Roscoe PostleAssociates, is a consulting geologiststrongly involved in Canadian disclosurestandards for the mining industry.

Craig Waldie, senior geologist with theOntario Securities Commission, isresponsible for technical reviews ofmining and exploration companies’ publicdisclosure and technical reports forcompliance with NI 43-101.

mineral estimates using a CIM-stylereporting standard, is this a good basisfor allowing in-house reports? Also,should technical reports on producingproperties be exempt from includingan economic analysis section?

Technical report form. Should it bepossible to incorporate more informa-tion in the technical report by refer-encing previous reports?

The technical report form needs tobe amended for development and pro-duction properties. Should there be aseparate form for technical reports ondevelopment or production properties?

Foreign associates. The list of acceptedforeign professional associations anddesignations should be updated and amechanism provided to allow forfuture revisions of the list.

http://www.cim.org/committees/CSA-CIMQuestions_April_14_2008.pdf

CIM

student life

November 2009 | 71

Many people find ithard to understand why Ichose to study miningengineering at McGillUniversity — myselfincluded. An Irishmanfrom Germany, I originallycame to Quebec on a highschool exchange programand stayed on to completemy CEGEP in Arts andSciences at MarianopolisCollege. I cannot honestlyclaim to have knownmuch about mining at all.On reflection, I think Ichose this domain to sat-isfy my innate sense ofadventure and curiositywhile opening up a worldof opportunities for myself. Being 6’4”in height, I have often been told thatI’m too tall to be a miner. I can guess atwhy this may be the case, but I can’tsay I was sure I knew why heightcould be a disadvantage.

Fortunately, the representativesfrom Goldcorp’s Musselwhite Minewho came to interview me in the sec-ond week of classes were not outragedto hear that I knew next to nothingabout the industry of my future career.I like to think that my honesty andapparent will to learn is what con-vinced them to offer me a summerposition as an underground helper attheir fly-in/fly-out, 4,000 tonne-per-day gold mine in northwesternOntario.

I had thought that I would not betrusted to do more than observe andstay out of the way. However, after aweek of intense training, with astrong focus on safety, I was put towork with the boom truck operator.As my two-week rotations and 12-hour shifts progressed, I got theopportunity to work with the long-hole explosives loader, the servicecrew and the crusher operator. Also,

New to thisAn Irishman from Germany who is studying in Quebec learns the ropes in Ontario❚ Michan Condra

like all the other miners, I had toattend daily safety meetings, complywith the five-point safety system forunderground work, and be responsi-ble for my tasks being executed safely.It would take too long to describe allthat I saw and learned, but if I had tochoose some of the most importantknowledge gained, I would highlightthe following.

First of all, I now have a betteridea of the scale of operations in amine. It is no easy feat to move somuch material. I also learned aboutthe complexity of working under-ground at a remote camp. There areso many ways inwhich any task canhit a snag, even if itis only because thecross-shift did notreturn somethingto the right place.Even the smallestjobs require plan-ning and dialoguewith colleagues.One has to secureaccess to the rightsupplies in the

right place while notaffecting anybody else’sjob.

Somebody once told methat “the miner is the soft-est thing underground.”Now, I realize that this is areminder of the importanceof safety — the mostimportant consideration ofany mining-related activity.Goldcorp’s take on safety isthat they would like to make the workplace “safeenough for our families.”

I have a feeling thatsome miners have a lowopinion of engineersbecause they think thatthey sit in cozy offices and

lack insight into the actual work thatis done underground. As far as I amconcerned, I believe that this work-term has been an essential part of myeducation and I am very thankful forthe opportunity to experience hands-on reality at Musselwhite Mine. Icould not even imagine how to con-tinue studies as a mining engineerwith my previous level of obliviontowards the job and the huge empha-sis the mining industry places onsafety. I would like to encourage stu-dents to search for a practical job as awork term because without it youmay just remain “new to this.” CIM

Geared up for a day of work

About the author

Michan Condra is a second-yearmining engineering student at McGillUniversity. He is a recipient of theR.P.D. Graham Scholarship and theMining Engineering EntranceScholarship. His first work term was atthe Musselwhite Mine in Ontario andhe hopes that his subsequent ones willtake him all over the world. He wishesto eventually focus on the environmentand giving back to the planet.

canadians abroad

As members of a team of engineers from Teck’ssubsidiary, CESL Ltd., Jennifer Defreyne andKevin Murray, were drafted by Vale (formerlyCVRD) to go to Brazil because they knew thetechnical process of refining copper from sulphideconcentrates well. Their job was to explain theprocess to their Brazilian hosts, who would runVale’s hydrometallurgical facility in Canaã dosCarajás once the plant was operational. However,on the outskirts of the Amazon Basin, hours fromany major centre and a couple days from anyEnglish-speaking city, they discovered that theyhad much to learn before their knowledge couldbear fruit.

In addition to intensive Portuguese classes,recalls project leader Defreyne, “we had a con-sultant talk to us about some of the differences inculture. To just listen to those differences is onething; to fully understand what those differencesmean in a working environment is totally differ-ent.” She made numerous month-long trips toCanaã dos Carajás in Brazil’s Pará state during thecommissioning and start-up stages of the project.

“You don’t get anything done if you don’t have a goodrelationship with the people you are working with,”explains Murray. It may sound like a management consul-tant’s pep talk, but he means it literally. Defreyne offers anexample. “I can think of vendors from other countries,who came in and were just expecting to get right to workwithout going out the first couple of nights to have a drinkand get to know everyone. It can take them a long time tolisten to you technically if you are not their friend first.”

Defreyne accepted the social challenge happily. Now, shecounts Brazilians among her closest friends. As well, with-out cable TV, movies or other passive entertainment, she hasrediscovered the pleasure of conversation with her Canadianhousemates. “There were times when we would stay up allnight just talking. You don’t do that in Canada anymore.”

As a small group of consultants, the CESL team refusedto remake their hosts — who seemed to be time-insensitive— in their own image. They learned to follow the chain ofcommand to avoid stepping on anyone’s toes, and to negoti-ate what Murray describes as a more “fluid” appreciation oftime. “It seems that three in the afternoon can mean any-thing between three and five.” In time, Murray adapted tothe local style of meetings. “You have to socialize a bit, try tofind out what the person you want to talk to is doing, andhave somebody come and get you when they eventuallyshow up for the meeting.”

The social chemistry of mineral processingTwo Canadian engineers learn that in the Amazon Basin, there’s more to getting it right than just technical know-how❚ Ryan Bergen

It was one of the many lessons that Murray and his wife,who accompanied him with their two-and-a-half-year-oldson, learned after they went to Brazil on short notice.

They felt like pioneers in Canaã, a town of about 15,000people. Opening a bank account took months. Power outages,particularly during the rainy season, happened frequently. Aday-long blackout after a big grocery shopping trip quicklytaught them — with servings of melting ice cream and ham-burgers for breakfast — a different approach to home eco-nomics. At the plant, outages were less of a problem but roadswere often washed out, choking off the supply of oxygenneeded to sustain the processing of copper concentrates.

As CESL’s role in the project is wrapping up, Murray sayshe has enjoyed his 10 months in Canaã and has come awayfrom the experience wiser. Defreyne expects to make a finaltrip to Canaã this month and is already trying to line up aplacement at Teck’s Andacollo copper operation in Chile.The move from relatively progressive Brazil to Chile, whereshe expects she might confront workplace machismo, willbe a challenge, but she’s up to it. “You have to show yourtechnical knowledge and your experience a little bit more.Sometimes, they are a little surprised that you are actually anengineer and not an administrator, but once they find thatout, they are very respectful.”

www.teck.com www.cesl.com

CIM


Back, left to right: Kevin Murray, Anthony Molinaro, Grant Moenting, Al LaRocque, BrianMelo, Robert Bruce, Jacob Russell, John MacIntosh, Paola Zucolli; kneeling: JenniferDefreyne and Norman Hayton

“I hope my comments won’t seempicayune, but Inco’s history is an integral and important part of our heritage in the Sudbury Basin. As withany locale, I suppose, some local legends have been embellished a littleover time.”

— Marty McAllister, in a 1989 letter advising acorrection in the Inco Triangle

Twenty years after his first dispas-sionate contribution to theOntario division of Inco’s now-

defunct community news magazine,Marty McAllister no longer bothers tomince words. “If a magazine could be alegend, that one was,” he declaresunabashedly, referring to the IncoTriangle from his Barrie, Ontario, home.His attention to the historic recordearned him a regular heritage column.As a Greater Sudbury native, lifetimereader and career Inco employee,McAllister understands better than mostthe unique role of the publication in thehundreds of Sudbury area householdsthat received the Triangle each month.

Of course, the operations were oftenfeatured in its pages and trumpeted fortheir forward thinking, but the Trianglewas far more than a company mouth-piece. From the 1930s to the 1990s, thepaternal influence of the Trianglehelped tie together the communitiesthat Inco had built to support its mines.Workers named Salfi, Kanga, Levesqueand Rainville, whose birthplaces werescattered across Europe and NorthAmerica, featured as a fraternity in theTriangle. Marriages, births, deaths, bon-spiel winners and expert gardenerswere fixtures in the magazine. Sportsalways featured prominently.

“There’s a lot of foul play going on atthe Copper Cliff Club these nights as 36teams battle it out in the annual bowlingtournament for Christmas chickens andturkeys,” a story began in December1948. Inco built the facilities andwanted them well-used and theirworkforce athletes celebrated. “Anemployee wasn’t going to be in the beerparlour then coming to work the nextday with a hangover if he was playingsports,” says Jim Fortin, a curator forGreater Sudbury Heritage Museums.

“The Triangle was always donewith an eye for quality,” saysMcAllister. “It seemed to be on themark all the time. It was able to createa rapport between the workforce andthe company. Other publications dis-tributed outside the gate would endup in the nearest trash bin. You neversaw that with the Triangle. It was readand reread and taken home.”McAllister began at Inco in 1957 as anelectrician and over the next 34 yearswended his way through variousdepartments of the company.

Every month, Inco employeeswould see their families and theirneighbours showcased in the “FamilyAlbum.” A generation later, photogra-phers would revisit the families for the“Then and Now” photos, a series thatFortin and McAllister agree was one ofthe Triangle’s finest. Those featuredwere invariably dressed in theirSunday best, and the treatment theyreceived matched the occasion.McAllister’s free-ranging column“Heritage Threads” melded personalmemories with company history. “Theodd time, Jerry Rogers [Inco publicaffairs manager] would grumble that I

was more interested in personalitiesthan the company history, but I’d say‘people are the history too, you know.’He’d grumble a bit more, but he neverchanged anything I wrote.”

Last year, the entire catalogue ofTriangle issues was made availableonline through the cooperation of ValeInco, the City of Sudbury, its libraryand museums, and Cambrian College.Fortin was involved in the project andhas seen how tightly bound theTriangle is to people in the area. As afeature of the centennial celebrationfor Garson Mine, the museum had acomputer terminal available to accessthe archives. Family histories layburied in the Triangle. “All I did forseven hours was type in the names ofInco employees,” he says.

The value of the Triangle, Fortincontinues, extends beyond the missingroots of the family tree. “If we aredoing research on the evolution of firstaid and mining safety or on the evolu-tion of re-greening in the area, theTriangle is a great resource.”

Between every line of the June 1998issue of the Triangle — a litany of arti-cles on cost reduction and restructur-ing — the story of the magazine’sdemise was written. It was, after sixdecades, the last issue published. Theunceremonious end is still a raw spotfor McAllister who had continued tocontribute for a few years after heretired in 1991. That the Trianglethrived long after the era of the com-pany town had ended, however, seemsan unembellished testament to its leg-endary status.

www.sudburymuseums.ca

CIM

Private company, public resourceThe Inco Triangle archives are home to a rich collection of historically important documents❚ Ryan Bergen

November 2009 | 73

Allard, Anthony, Québec

Allen, Jonathan, USAAnes, Juan, OntarioAustman, Christine, SaskatchewanBartolacci, Gianni, QuébecBeaulieu, Benoit, QuébecBégin, Jean-Philippe, QuébecBéland, Alain, QuébecBensaid, Yahya, QuébecBloin, Michael, QuébecBom, Alice, OntarioBongiovanni, Mark, QuébecBouchard, Sarah, QuébecBouchard, Marc-Olivier, QuébecBoulay, Pierre-André, QuébecBravo, David, OntarioBrown, Ryan, OntarioBuckingham, Tyler, OntarioCameron, Stephanie, OntarioCampsall, David, OntarioCarfagnini, Nicholas, OntarioChung, Tseuk Sun J.C., OntarioComeau, Richard, QuébecCrofton, Anthony, QuébecDéraspe, Valérie, QuébecDhawan, Nikhil, USADick Chakela, Norman Taolana,OntarioDong, Jie, OntarioDrolet, Marie-Michèle, QuébecDuguay Blanchette, Jessie, QuébecDumas, Rene, QuébecElliott, Russell, OntarioEsteban, Ricardo, QuébecFaggioni, Peter, OntarioFaucher, Samuel, QuébecFiset, Gilles, QuébecFitzpatrick, Terry, OntarioFortier, Simon, QuébecFrazier, Eric, OntarioGagné, Julie, QuébecGagnon, Marc-Antoine, QuébecGao, Xiaoxiang, OntarioGaudet, Michael, British ColumbiaGélinas, Simon, QuébecGhasdi Marghostaee, Mohammed,QuébecGingras, Vincent, Québec

Goldreich, Steven, OntarioGroleau, Philippe, QuébecHadi, Moosa, OntarioHeidari, Hamed, OntarioHundrieser, Michelle, OntarioInfilise, Philipe, QuébecJessop, Casey, QuébecKemane, Rodric Jackson, OntarioKermani, Mehrdad, QuébecKerr, Andy, OntarioKolundzija, Dijana, OntarioKotersi, Oualid, QuébecLaflamme, Maxime, QuébecLaframboise, François, QuébecLafrenière, Charles, QuébecLamontagne, Vincent, QuébecLang, Jake, OntarioLarivière, Randy, Yukon TerritoryLau, Tony, USALavoie, François, QuébecLawrence, Stuart, OntarioLégaré-Laganière, Jacinthe, QuébecLennox, Robert, QuébecLessard, Vincent, QuébecLeung, David, OntarioLévesque-Michaud, Maude, QuébecLévesque-Tremblay, Charles, QuébecLister, Jonathan, OntarioLiu, Danruo D.L., OntarioMaihot-Larouche, Vincent, QuébecMcHugh, Graham, OntarioMeghezi, Sébastien, QuébecMoilwa Kenewang, Karen, Ontario

Morin-Bouliann, Alex, QuébecMosweu, Gabotswane, OntarioNadeau, Patrice, QuébecNguyen, Kim-Quyen, QuébecParry, Matthew, USAPerras, Matthew, OntarioPerron-Drolet, François, QuébecPortelance, Michel, QuébecRaymond, Gilles, QuébecReix, Isreal, QuébecRichard, Katy, OntarioRivard, Stephane, QuébecRodrogue, Richard, QuébecRoy, Matthew, OntarioRoy, Benjamin, OntarioRoy, Nicolas, QuébecSaint-Jean, Richard, QuébecSavard, Mathieu, QuébecShrestha, Bibek, SaskatchewanSmith, Garry K., OntarioSmith, Pierre-Olivier, QuébecSomot, Stéphanie, QuébecSpurr, Mackenzie, OntarioTanguay, Marc-André, QuébecTendijowski, Lisa, OntarioThivierge, Steve, QuébecThorne, Sierra Devon, OntarioTimmis, Bret, OntarioTougas, Bernard, QuébecTurner, Oliver, OntarioWythiahlowsky, Alex, OntarioZwaan, Derek, Ontario

CIM welcomes new members

November 2009 | 75

cim news

CIM introduces Teresa Barrett as its new membership liaison

We are happy to announce that Teresa Barrett has joined CIM as its mem-bership liaison agent. Many industry representatives may know her from theProspectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) and SandvikMining and Construction. She is also an active volunteer with the PDAC’sHuman Resources Development Committee. At CIM, Teresa will be headingthe drive to recruit and retain students, young leaders, and national and inter-national members. She’ll also be actively supporting branch programs and volunteer activities.

For more information on CIM’s membership initiatives, you can contactTeresa by phone at 514.939.2710 or at [email protected].

cim news

Friendly fire in Fort McMurray CIM and APEGGA join forces in student draw

By Christian West

The CIM Oils Sands Branch, in conjunction with the Association ofProfessional Engineers, Geologists andGeophysicists of Alberta (APEGGA),hosted their first student paintball andbarbeque last August. Twenty-two stu-dents braved threatening clouds — andperhaps the after-effects of their finalFriday night in Fort McMurray — tocome out for an afternoon of paintball.

Students met for the event atThunder Ridge Paintball, north ofboomtown, where they were geared upwith the appropriate personal protec-tive equipment, a paintball gun and aninitial supply of paintballs. They weredivided into two teams by theThunder Ridge staff who then ledthem through the woods for a series ofthrilling games.

Within the hour, smiling studentswere streaming back for additionalpaintballs with which to settle a score

or two on the field. By the end of thethree-hour game, they poured out ofthe woods covered from head to toe inmud, laughing and regaling each otherwith “war” stories.

With rain clouds threatening to washout the afternoon barbeque, plans werereplaced with a quick order of pizza.Between mouthfuls, energetic studentsreflected on the thrills of their battles.

In an effort to ensure student par-ticipation, the branch and APEGGAboth subsidized student participationcosts. Special thanks are extended toSuncor, who sponsored the registra-tion fee of students within their com-pany. These joint efforts generatedsubstantial student participation fromthe production sites surrounding FortMcMurray.

About the author Christian West ischairman of the CIM Oil Sands Branch.

CIM


Herman Huang gears up for a day of fun

De gauche à droite / from left to right : Pierre Verpaelst, Steve Larouche, Sylvie Vachon, YvonTrudeau et Jacques Bonneau

Géogolf 2009 un succèsPar Louise Blais-Leroux

Le tournoi Géogolf de la Section de Québec de l’ICMs’est tenu le 28 août dernier. Les 52 golfeurs ont profitéd’une magnifique journée ensoleillée au Club de Golf LacSt-Joseph. Le quatuor gagnant était composé demessieurs Paul Archer, Jacques Bonneau, Steve Laroucheet Yvon Trudeau. Le Prix du District no 2 a été remis àMarie Fortin pour son bénévolat de 10 ans en tant quesecrétaire à la section. Le tournoi a clôturé en soirée parun excellent repas et la distribution de nombreux prix. ICM

Another successful Géogolf tournamentThe Quebec Branch Géogolf tournament was held at the Club de Golf

Lac St-Joseph on August 28. Of the 52 golfers who participated, thewinning foursome was comprised of Paul Archer, Jacques Bonneau,Steve Larouche and Yvon Trudeau. The branch also awarded MarieFortin the District 2 prize in recognition of her ten years as branch secretary. The day was capped off with an excellent meal, and manyprizes were given out. CIM

Pierre Verpaelst, vice-résident desection, remettant le Prix du DisctrictNo. 2 à Mme Marie Fortin.

cim news

One of our industry’s most presti-gious awards, the CIM DistinguishedService Medal, was awarded this yearto Samantha Espley for her tirelessdedication to CIM and her strongefforts in promoting the industrythrough Science North and Women inScience and Engineering (WISE).

Achieving success through supportWISE Sudbury, a volunteer-based

organization, encourages youngwomen to consider careers in scienceand engineering and provides a sup-port network for women in thesefields. Created in 1998, WISE broughttogether 10 pioneering female profes-sionals from various technical disci-plines. Initially, they simply comparednotes on one another’s experiences.“This was a perfect opportunity tobounce different ideas off people deal-ing with the same issues,” recallsEspley.

WISE has now grown to includemore than 100 women. “With such adiverse group, we get to see many dif-ferent sides of a particular topic,” saysEspley. “The more you know, the bet-ter you will be at making decisions.”

WISE meetings cover topics fromnetworking in a male-dominatedindustry to fine-tuning the juggling actbetween family and career. Espley, amother of four, is especially gifted atthe latter. She encourages all youngwomen to enter such groups. “Myfamily has always been there toencourage me throughout my career,but having this kind of additional sup-port would have been worthwhile,”she says.

Building success through teamwork

WISE has also been instrumental ineducating young girls on science andengineering. Their highly successfulannual Science and EngineeringOlympics draws over 120 female stu-

Keeping spirits highCIM Distinguished Service Medal winner builds up enthusiam

By Robbie Pillo

dents from grades 4 to 7 from theSudbury region. “They keep comingback each year until they get too old;then they volunteer,” says Espley.

Espley attributes WISE’s successto a simple formula. Besides scienceand engineering, WISE events alsoteach young girls leadership andteamwork — vital skills needed inboth fields.

Seeking to tap into WISE’s success,Science North approached Espley tobecome part of its team. She nowchairs its science committee and ispart of its board of trustees. “It’s ahuge part of the Sudbury community— an icon,” says Espley. “I feel it’svery important and helps keepSudbury sustainable.”

It’s all in the family Mining was a frequent subject at

the dinner table when Espley wasgrowing up. Her father, GeorgeEspley, held management positionsin mining and finance, while heruncle, Les Dunks, was a mining engi-neer for Falconbridge in Sudbury.“My uncle would talk of the mines sopassionately that I got hooked as a

teenager and flowed right into it,”Espley reminisces.

After graduating with a bachelor’sdegree in geological engineering fromthe University of Toronto, Espley wentto work for Falconbridge Ltd. beforemoving on to Inco Ltd., where herwork led to a part-time master’s degreein mining engineering fromLaurentian University. While complet-ing her master’s, she worked full timeand had two children. “I used mymaternity leave to write my thesis,”recalls Espley. “It was tiring. I watchedmy husband carry on with life with mychildren, while I waved from the win-dow.” It was a sacrifice she does notregret having made. As a manager ofmining technical services at Vale Incoin Copper Cliff, Espley leads the teamthat is providing engineering servicesfor the mining operations and helpingto build business strategies for thefuture.

Reaching success by reaching outWell-known within the CIM com-

munity, Espley’s father encouraged herto follow in his footsteps. “He was a rolemodel for me, ever since I was a youngchild. Right off the bat, he told me toget involved with CIM, and so I did.”She has been a member of the SudburyBranch Executive Committee for sev-eral years and served as chair in 2007.She is now looking forward to collabo-rating with her colleagues on the tech-nical committee of MEMO 2010.

Espley was elated to receive theCIM Distinguished Service Medal. “I was on cloud nine to be celebratedthat way. I could not believe that Iwas the one who was receiving theaward. I just wanted to give back toan industry that helped me with somany of my achievements. I am pas-sionate about the mining industry.When you are doing something youlove, you just want to put everythingyou have into it.” CIM

November 2009 | 77

CIM Past President Jim Gowans presents the CIMDistinguished Service Medal to Samantha Espley.

cim news

The CIM New Brunswick Branchhosted its 34th Annual Convention atDanny’s Inn and Conference Centre inBeresford, New Brunswick, fromSeptember 10 to 12. The increasedattendance this year was a testament tothe hard work by the organizing com-mittee.

For the first time ever, a silent auc-tion was held during the traditionalmeet-and-greet on Thursday evening.Several items generated friendly com-petition, including a watercolour byNewfoundland artist John Furey of theNo. 3 Head Frame at Brunswick Mine.

In his opening address, Greg Ashe,general manager of Xstrata Zinc’sBrunswick Mine, spoke of the relation-ships he had developed over the yearswith many of the slated speakers. Heemphasized the importance of CIM inhelping to create and maintain suchprofessional and personal relation-ships within the industry.

Friday’s technical sessions, organ-ized under the theme of “EconomicChallenges/Mining in UncertainTimes,” were opened by AssistantDeputy Minister Cecil Freeman of theDepartment of Natural Resources. Ahighlight of the session, CIMDistinguished Lecturer Jan Nessetdelivered his presentation “100 Yearsof Blowing Bubbles for Profit.” Hisspirited enthusiasm was reminiscentof his presentation at the convention24 years ago, for which he received theBest Presentation Award. A total of 16papers were presented on topics suchas exploration, petroleum, potash,hard rock mining, milling, smeltingand safety. Concurrent sessions ongeology and mining/metallurgy wereheld in the afternoon.

Guests were treated to an unforget-table spa experience at the Auberge dela Vallée in Bathurst. They enjoyedback massages and synchronized exer-cises in the pool, and each guest leftwith a personalized gift.

From point B to point BThe New Brunswick Branch holds its annual convention

By Barbara Rose

On Friday evening, delegates andguests savoured the region’s famedseafood and were entertained by localblues band J.P. LeBlanc, whichreunited for this one special event.

Bright and early on Saturday morn-ing, participants headed to the GowanBrae Golf and Country Club in


The organizing committee: (front row, from left to right) Jodi Roberts, Barbara Rose, Marie-Claude Dumont, TracyWhite; (back row, from left to right) Robert White, Dustin Ceretti, Tyler Roberts, Sean McClenaghan, Ron Toivanenand Ron Phillips

The CIM New Brunswick Branch would like to thank the following sponsors:

Atlas Copco Construction and Mining • Captain’s Cabin •Cementation • Hatheway Limited • Keating Landscaping • Mansour Mining • Mining Technologies International •

Spantech Technical Services Ltd. • Xstrata Zinc

Obituaries | Avis de décèsWilliam (Bill) Belovay joined CIM in 1994. He passed away in June 2009.

Sylvie Brassard est devenue membre de l’ICM en 2002.

Rod Samuels joined CIM in 1997. He died on July 14, 2009.

Jim Welch joined CIM in 1978 and became a life member in 2001. He died onMay 22, 2009.

Bathurst for a friendly competition.Prizes were presented over lunch atthe Bathurst Marina, where the excel-lent view helped to inspire plans fornext year’s convention.

About the author Barbara Rose ischairman of the CIM New Brunswick Branch.

CIM

cim news

November 2009 | 79

Golf anyone?By Roy Slack

Beautiful weather awaited players of the fourth annual CIM NorthernGateway Branch golf tournament, held at the Highview Golf Course inPowassan on September 18. The 134 CIM members and supporters who hitthe links enjoyed a few laughs and cocktails, and the winning team — PeggyStewart, Brad Stewart, Lorna O’Brien and Rheal Tremblay (pictured left toright) — shot a 10 under par score of 60. In addition to the “Longest Drive”and “Closest to the Pin” prizes that were awarded, a $10,000 “Hole-in-One”prize was up for grabs — unfortunately, the hole just could not be sunk.

Players were later treated to a BBQ steak dinner and a number of doorprizes, and a 50/50 draw was held to raise money for local charities. Otherproceeds raised support the Northern Gateway Branch bursaries andscholarship program. Many thanks go to the sponsors and attendees —see you all at next year’s tournament on September 17, 2010! CIM

The CIM Yellowknife Branch hasemerged anew after a long hiberna-tion, with a new executive and a fungolf tournament. The winds and thespirits were high at the branch’s firstannual golf tournament held lastAugust. About 40 golfers braved coldblustery weather and just a few bugson nine holes of the all-sand-and-rock course. Fittingly, the winninground was scored by the tourna-ment’s principal sponsor, MilesSafranovich, COO of Nuna Logistics,who arrived from Edmonton just intime to tee off.

The golf was followed by a familybarbeque in the clubhouse and acharity putting tournament, spon-sored by Atlas Copco. The puttingtourney funds were donated to theYellowknife Women’s Shelter. Theevent proved to be a great kick-off forthe reborn branch, with good repre-sentation from industry, governmentand suppliers.

The short-term goal for theYellowknife Branch is to host two pre-sentations from the DistinguishedLecturer series and to collaborate

Northern branch back in actionThe Yellowknife Branch reinvigorates itself with a barbeque and a golf tournament

By Joe Heimbach

with the Northwest Territories andNunavut Association of ProfessionalEngineers and Geoscientist (NAPEG),the Geological Association of Canada(GAC) and the Mining Association ofCanada (MAC).

The last event sponsored by thebranch was a short course on gold,led by David Lentz and held in con-junction with last November’sGeoscience Forum. “That will be ahard act to follow,” says ShannonCampbell, the branch’s new chair-man. “Running an organization likethis in a smaller community can bechallenging because of the limitedmembership base. The events haveto be high quality and of high inter-est to be successful. In Yellowknife,we’re up to the challenge with ournew executive and new approach —partnerships with like-mindedgroups who have similar purposesand goals. We need to help eachother to be successful.”

About the authorJoe Heimbach is the social chair of theYellowknife Branch.

CIM

Geologist Hendrik Falck, NAPEG vice-president andlong-time Yellowknife resident, on the course

• Case studies• Economic and technical feasibility

studies• Mine maintenance and production• Mining health and safety and the

environment• Human resources and partnership

development• Energy conservation

Abstracts of up to 300 words arebeing accepted until April 21, 2010.For further information about thetechnical program, contact SamanthaEspley ([email protected]) or John Sagman ([email protected]).

More details about MEMO 2010,including sponsorship and trade showopportunities, will be regularly addedto the conference website. To knowmore about MEMO 2010 and how youcan contribute to or gain from it, contact the conference co-chairs [email protected] [email protected].

www.cim.org/memo2010

About the author Marlene Moore is amember of the CIM Sudbury BranchExecutive Committee.

CIM

cim news

CIM’s next major internationalgathering of maintenance engineersand mine operators will be held atLaurentian University in Sudbury,Ontario, from October 24 to 27, 2010.The third Maintenance Engineering/Mine Operators (MEMO) Conferencewill be hosted by CIM’s SudburyBranch, Mining and Metals Society andMaintenance and Engineering Society.

The conference theme, “Mining inthe New Economy,” was selected tohighlight strategies that Canadianmining companies are using to remaincompetitive, and to emphasize thatmore than ever before, cooperation isrequired between operations andmaintenance personnel to achievegoals in challenging times.

MEMO 2010 is expected to attractseveral hundred delegates representingmining companies, the supplies andservices sector, and research and educa-tional facilities from Canada and aroundthe world. It will be a prime opportunityto network with colleagues, learn aboutstate-of-the-art products and processes,and foster camaraderie.

The inaugural joint MEMO confer-ence was held in Sudbury back in2005. “Our branch is very pleased tohost MEMO once again,” says CIMSudbury Branch chair Adam Tonnos.“Several of our branch members are onthe organizing committee, and theexecutive team is also involved onmany levels.”

Conference co-chairs Al Akerman(of CIM’s Sudbury Branch) and RoySlack (of CIM’s Northern GatewayBranch) are quick to point out that itwasn’t at all difficult to find branchmembers who wanted to join theorganizing committee or help outbehind the scenes. “The NorthernGateway and Sudbury branches hadbeen discussing ways to work togetheron various projects,” says Slack. “Oursupport of the Sudbury branch and

Developing excellenceThe MEMO 2010 Conference will bring exceptional learning and networking opportunities to Sudbury

By Marlene Moore

involvement in MEMO is an example ofthe collaborative effort that we see moreand more of in the mining industry.”

Slack is particularly keen ondeveloping events that build aware-ness among the region’s youth. “It isimportant to convey to the public,and especially to students, a positiveimage of the mining industry. Wehave found that students are veryinterested in learning about miningand the large variety of exciting jobsin a leading-edge industry.”Akerman agrees, adding, “We’rementoring the leaders of tomorrow.MEMO 2010 will reach a broadrange of industry professionals aswell as students just embarking ontheir mining careers.”

Industry professionals and studentshave much to look forward to. Theconference’s comprehensive technicalprogram will cover the following keytopics: • Management strategies for cost-

effective operations• New technologies and equipment • Innovative mining methods• Rapid mine development• Risks in cost and safety management• International mining experiences


The MEMO 2010 organizing committee at one of their monthly meetings

cim news

Mining has a strong pres-ence in Northern Ontario —especially in the Sudburyregion. Without a doubt, thefuture of the industry in ourcommunity will remain viablefor many generations to come.

While no one can disputethe challenges resulting from aweak global economy, CIM’sSudbury Branch is optimisticthat the mining sector willrebound and revitalize. Thecurrent downswing shouldcertainly not discourage youngpeople from considering a career in theindustry, because mining will always bea key economic driver of the North. Infact, as the market improves, there willbe a shortage of skilled workers overthe next decade.

Educational supportWith a mandate of fostering growth

in the mining industry, the CIMSudbury Branch is keen on mentoringmining’s future leaders by financiallysupporting local educational initia-tives. For example, the branch con-tributes to the annual regional sciencefair, which enables the winning stu-dents to participate in national compe-titions. It is also a longstanding spon-sor of the Sudbury Mining Weekannual mining skills competitions forelementary and secondary school stu-dents. These activities all help toenlighten youth at an early age aboutexciting careers in the industry.

The branch also awards bursariesfor higher learning to students atLaurentian University, CambrianCollege and Collège Boréal, and sup-ports Laurentian University’s nationalMining Games team. Congratulationsagain to LU for earning top prize at the2009 competition!

The Rainbow District SchoolBoard’s Specialist High Skills Majorprograms have received financial

Mentoring the next generation of industry leadersThe Sudbury Branch has a long tradition of supporting youth

By Adam Tonnos

assistance for their mining programsat area high schools. The CIMSudbury Branch also regularly sup-plies mining books and activity kitsfor school libraries, and purchasesalternative fuel combustion enginesfor the primary school pre-appren-ticeship training program.

Local membership activitiesGeneral membership meetings are

held monthly from September toApril. These events are highlighted bykeynote speakers, including CIMDistinguished Lecturers. Local collegeand university students look forwardto October’s Student Oyster Night,where they have the opportunity torub shoulders with representativesfrom area mines, suppliers and relatedbusinesses and organizations.

Every June, the branch hosts theever-popular lobster dinner and dance,and the annual Rudolph KneerMemorial Golf Tournament is alwayssold out long before the August tour-ney. Social events like these are theperfect opportunity for CIM membersto build community awareness, net-work with colleagues and clients, andenjoy some serious camaraderie.

MEMO 2010 The CIM Sudbury Branch is partic-

ularly proud to host the next

Maintenance Engineering/Mine Operators (MEMO)Conference on October 24-27,2010. The organizing commit-tee is well into planning, andlooks forward to a successfulconference and trade show.

Social networking toolsAs CIM National continues

to revitalize its web presenceto better serve the needs ofmembers and create a sense ofunity within the branch struc-ture, part of this proactive

endeavour is the introduction of asocial network platform. TheSudbury Branch is particularly inter-ested in the benefits of this phenome-non to CIM as a whole.

Raised as a possibility during theCIM Conference and Exhibition 2009in Toronto, the idea led to the estab-lishment of a working group to inves-tigate a suitable approach. Social net-working is an opportunity to leverageonline sites such as LinkedIn, Twitterand Facebook to attract new membersand retain the spirit of networking,knowledge sharing and professionaldevelopment between the CIM annualgeneral meetings. Mining profession-als, industry and academia, suppliersand buyers, students and employerscan all connect regularly in this way,creating a means to further strengthenour industry. As plans unfold,branches can look forward to beinginvited to participate in CIM socialnetworking groups in the future.

CIM’s Sudbury Branch is proud tomake a difference in the community, aswell as at the CIM National level,through the commitment of the branchexecutive and the dedicated participa-tion of its active membership.

About the author Adam Tonnos is chairof the CIM Sudbury Branch.

CIM

November 2009 | 81

Adam Tonnos (left) alongside Lauren Flett (Laurentian University) and JohnSagman (MEMO 2010 Technical Committee) during Student Oyster night

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cim news


In 1984, CIM DistinguishedLecturer Steven Scott, a pioneerand expert in seafloor massivesulphide (SMS) deposits,boldly predicted that in thefuture we would be mining sul-phide ores on the ocean floor.More than two decades later, ina move that could revolutionizethe mining industry, Toronto-headquartered NautilusMinerals is the first company tocommercially explore theseabed for gold and copper oredeposits. Positioning itself to

become an ore producer by 2012, Nautilus’ main focus is onSolwara 1, a deposit site Scott co-discovered with AustralianRay Binns in 1996 offshore of Papua New Guinea.

Rich seafloor sulphide deposits are produced worldwidein underwater volcanic regions by hydrothermal vents,chimney-like edifices and mounds of precipitated mineralsulphides. Dubbed as “black smokers,” Scott was the firstore geologist and the first Canadian to explore these high-temperature vents. His lecture, “Seafloor massive sulphides– the dawning of a new industry,” takes an in-depth look atthe ore deposits this deep sea prospector plans on mining.

CIM: How did you come to study SMS? Scott: An article published in National Geographic in 1979on the discovery of seafloor hydrothermal vents led me to it.I was initially drawn to them as a way of understanding theprocesses that produced volcanic-hosted massive sulphidedeposits that we mine on land. I met Ray Binns during a lec-ture at Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and IndustrialResearch Organisation [CSIRO] in Sydney in 1984. He com-mented that although they had some ideas on subsea explo-ration, they didn’t know how to go about it. That sameevening, my wife stumbled on an announcement in theSydney Morning Herald about CSIRO just acquiring a newoceanographic ship. I was on the phone with Binns thatsame night and we went to sea the next year.

CIM: Your first discovery was in 1983 followed by Solwara 1 in 1996.Did you even fathom such fruitful endeavours? Scott: There certainly were some “Eureka!” moments. Priorto the first discovery, our hope was to understand how oresthat formed on the deep seabed would help in the search formineable deposits on land. We towed cameras above theseafloor and dredged rock samples from promising locales.With Solwara 1, we were just trying to find a place to do our

research and ended up doing much better than we thoughtwe would — we found a large, rich and potential mineabledeposit. All our hard work was paying off. When NautilusMinerals begins to mine the Solwara 1 deposit, expected in2012, Binns and I can say that “we found a mine.” Not manyresearch scientists can claim that.

CIM: What are the advantages and pitfalls of deep sea mining? Scott: Because of its totally reusable infrastructure, miningSMS deposits has an advantage over mining on land, wherethe costs of extensive excavations, roads, power lines,accommodations, etc. have to be amortized over the life of amine. Land deposits have to be large enough to cover thecosts of both discovery and development, whereas, much ofthe discovery of subsea deposits such as Solwara 1 hasalready been done by scientific researchers like me. Seafloormining leaves no shaft or other infrastructures behind andlittle waste rock because the deposits are sitting on the oceanbed and are not covered with rock. There are financial andtechnological challenges for recovering SMS deposits butthese are surmountable. After all, the oil industry has beenworking in the deep offshore for decades.

CIM: There are growing concerns from many environmentalists andmarine biologists over the destruction of the ecosystems around thesites. How can they be addressed?Scott: There is interest in mining only dead vents wheredeposits have been left behind and there are few animals.The water temperature in active vents can reach as high as400°C, which would severely damage the mining equip-ment. We do know that the biological communities aroundthese sites are very resilient and they adapt quickly to chang-ing environments. One way to prevent over-exploitation ofhydrothermal vents is to designate some sites or some partsof a minesite as marine protected areas. Nautilus Mineralshas completed a very detailed environmental impact state-ment for their Solwara 1 site that addresses the environmen-tal concerns to the satisfaction of the PNG government andtheir independent advisors.

CIM: Why have you become part of 2009-2010 DistinguishedLecturer season? Scott: I was born and raised in northwestern Ontario. Afterworking at sea for 27 years, the program gives me a chanceto return to the mining communities where I long ago didmy research. A new industry of seafloor sulphide mining, inwhich I played a significant role as a research scientist, isabout to take off thanks to forward-thinking people inindustry. It is an exciting time and I want to bring thatexcitement to our CIM colleagues and to students. CIM

Deep-sea voiceCIM Distinguished Lecturer discusses the tipping point of a new era

By Robbie Pillo

calendarCIM EVENTS

Conférence technique de la section de QuébecÉminent conférencier de l’ICM : Engin Özberk23 novembreQuébec, QuébecResponsable : Jean-Marc Charbonneau

Red Lake Branch Technical Meeting CIM Distinguished Lecturer Don Thompson November 26Red Lake, OntarioContact: Carmen StoreyEmail: [email protected]

Canadian Mineral Processor’s Society – Yukon and BCBranch MeetingCIM Distinguished Lecturer Jan NessetDecember 4Vancouver, British ColumbiaContact: Tad CrowieEmail: [email protected]

Edmonton Branch Technical MeetingCIM Distinguished Lecturer Kelly Lendsay December 14Edmonton, AlbertaContact; Clair MannEmail: [email protected]

Ottawa Branch Technical MeetingCIM Distinguished Lecturer Steve ScottJanuary 14Ottawa, OntarioContact; Jean-François FisetEmail: [email protected]

42nd Annual Canadian Minerals Processors Operators’ ConferenceJanuary 19-21Westin Hotel, Ottawa, OntarioContact: Janice ZinckEmail: [email protected]

Saskatoon Branch Environmental NightJanuary 21Sheraton Hotel, Saskatoon, SKContact: Stephanie OleniukEmail: [email protected]

Sudbury General Membership MeetingDynamic Earth, Sudbury, OntarioJanuary 21Contact: Gary PoxleitnerTel.: 705-682-5627Email: [email protected]

AROUND THE WORLD

NewGenGold 2009November 23-24Sheraton Perth Hotel, Western AustraliaContact: Marie KrsticevichTel.: +61.8.932.1.0355 Email: [email protected]: www.newgengold.com

Procemin 2009-VI International Processing SeminarSantiago, ChileDecember 2-4Contact: Fabiola BustamanteEmail: [email protected] : www.procemin2009.com

American Mining Hall of Fame Banquet December 5Tucson Marriott University Park, Tucson, ArizonaContact: Jean AustinTel.: 520.577.7519Email: [email protected]: www.miningfoundationsw.org

The Canadian Institute’s Aboriginal – Industry BusinessPartnerships ConferenceDecember 7-8Four Seasons Hotel, Vancouver, British ColumbiaContact: Cheryl RobertsonTel.: 1.877.927.7936Email: [email protected]: www.canadianinstitute.com/Partnerships.htm

Mineral Exploration Roundup 2010January 18-21The Westin Bayshore, Vancouver, British ColumbiaContact: Morgen AndoffEmail: [email protected]: www.amebc.ca/roundup/roundupregis-tration.aspx

Processing of Industrial Minerals’10February 4-5The President Hotel, Istanbul, TurkeyContact: Barry WillisEmail: [email protected]: www.min-eng.com/pim10

PDAC 2010March 7-10Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Toronto, OntarioContact: Maya KwasnyciaTel.: 416.362.1969 Email: [email protected]: www.pdac.ca

November 2009 | 83

On behalf of the executive committee, I am delighted to invite you to the42nd Annual Canadian Mineral Processors Operators’ Conference.

Since 1968, the CMP has facilitated the development of the people and tech-nologies involved in mineral processing by providing a platform for network-ing and the sharing of best practices. At today’s metal prices and high inputcosts, metallurgists are more focused than ever on enhancing recovery. At theconference, delegates can learn how their colleagues are achieving evergreater efficiencies to remain competitive.

Attracting a growing number of international delegates, the CMP conferenceis an excellent opportunity to network with suppliers and researchers. Today,with low metal prices, high costs and scarce deposits, networking and inno-vation are pressing needs.

Our student program allows future mineral processors to interact with andlearn from established professionals. Our sponsors help two students fromeach Canadian mineral processing education program to attend the confer-ence; the winners of the André Laplante Scholarship and CMP essay contestattend as well. Do take the time to meet and encourage these 28 promisingstudents.

Ottawa boasts many sporting, cultural and gastronomic attractions. Be sureto discover and enjoy some of them during your stay. Don’t miss the hotly con-tested hockey match that has become a favourite feature of the conference.

The CMP has greatly furthered my own professional and technical develop-ment. I am sure that you too will benefit from attending. I look forward to see-ing you there.

Robert HendersonChairman

November 2009 | 85

De la part du comité exécutif, j’ai le plaisir de vous inviter à la 42e Conférenceannuelle des minéralurgistes du Canada.

Depuis 1968, les minéralurgistes du Canada ont facilité le perfectionnement des per-sonnes et des technologies dans le domaine de la minéralurgie en offrant un moyende faire du réseautage et de diffuser les pratiques exemplaires. En raison du coûtactuel du métal et des facteurs de production, les métallurgistes s’intéressent plusque jamais à l’amélioration du recouvrement. Au cours de la conférence, lesdélégués auront la possibilité d’apprendre comment leurs collègues réussissent àaccroître leur efficacité de plus en plus afin d’être à la hauteur de la concurrence.

Vu le nombre croissant de délégués internationaux qui y viennent, la Conférence desminéralurgistes du Canada est une excellente occasion de faire du réseautageauprès des fournisseurs et des chercheurs. Comme les prix des métaux sontactuellement bas, les coûts élevés et les gisements peu abondants, le réseautage etl’innovation représentent une nécessité des plus impérieuses.

Notre programme pour les étudiants permet aux minéralurgistes de l’avenir de fairela connaissance de professionnels expérimentés et de tirer profit de leur savoir.Parmi les participants à la conférence, on peut compter deux étudiants de chaqueprogramme de formation en minéralurgie au Canada, qui y assistent grâce à l’aidede nos commanditaires, ainsi que les lauréats de la bourse commémorative AndréLaplante et du concours de rédaction des minéralurgistes du Canada. Je vous inviteà prendre un moment pour faire la rencontre de ces 28 étudiants prometteurs et àleur offrir un mot d’encouragement.

Ottawa jouit de nombreux points d’intérêt sportifs, culturels et gastronomiques. Jevous conseille de ne pas manquer d’en découvrir quelques-uns pendant votre séjouret de profiter de ce qu’ils ont à offrir. Je vous conseille également de ne pas rater lematch de hockey, où la lutte acharnée que se livrent les joueurs fait de lui une desactivités préférées de la conférence.

Les minéralurgistes du Canada ont contribué de manière importante à mon perfec-tionnement professionnel et technique. Je suis certaine que la conférence s’avéreraprofitable pour vous aussi et il me tarde de vous y voir.

Robert HendersonPrésident de la conférence

Short Course A one-day short course on NationalInstrument 43-101 standards ofdisclosure for mineral projects will beheld on January 18.

This course will go through each ofthe disclosure requirements under NI 43-101 that are pertinent tometallurgists and other QualifiedPersons that prepare technicaldisclosure on the metallurgy of amineral project. The requirements to beconsidered a Qualified Person formetallurgy and process engineering willbe reviewed, as well as the obligationsof those individuals under NI 43-101 andother securities law. We will brieflyoutline new civil liabilities legislation inCanada that increase the possibleconsequences for not complying withthe disclosure standards.

Cours abrégé Le CMP tiendra un cours abrégé d’unejournée le 18 janvier sur la Normecanadienne 43-101 – Informationconcernant les projets miniers.

Le cours permettra de se pencher surchaque obligation d’information envertu de la norme canadienne (NC) 43-101 qui concerne les métallurgistes etd’autres personnes qualifiées préparantdes documents d’information techniquesur la métallurgie d’une entrepriseminière. Il s’agit d’examiner les critèresauxquels il faut répondre pour avoirdroit au titre de personne qualifiée enmétallurgie et en génie des procédésopérationnels et d’examiner les obligations des personnes susmention-nées en vertu de la NC 43-101 et d’autreslois sur les valeurs mobilières. Oneffectuera un bref survol de la nouvellelégislation en matière de responsabilitécivile au Canada, qui resserre les sanctions pour le non- respect desnormes sur la diffusion des documentsd’information.

November 2009 | 87

Plenary SessionChairman’s opening remarks and announcementsR. Henderson

Setting the record straight CIM Distinguished Lecturer Don Thompson

OperationsThe development and commissioning ofOntario’s first diamond mine — the VictorDiamond MineA. Hempstock, N. Morrison and R. Welyhorsky

Mohawk GarnetB. McCurdy, S. Stewart, J. Sadowski and M. Neven

Copper nickel separation — controlling totarget in all weatherM. Cook, C. Loen, G. Showers and R. Triglavcanin

Operational characteristics of theTankCell® 300 at Codelco’s ChuquicamataconcentratorA.B. Yanez, S. Gronstad, E. Elgueta and C. Perez

Development of a thiosalt treatmentsystem at Xstrata Copper’s Kiddmetallurgical siteA. Lagace

Process MineralogyProcess diagnosis at Xstrata ProcessSupportL. Kormos, D. Fragomeni, J. Oliveria and L. Whiteman

ToF-SIMS surface analyses as a diagnosticand predicative tool for mineral processing:new developments and applicationsB. Hart and S. Dimov

Process mineralogy of silver ores andapplications in flowsheet design and plantoptimizationJ. Zhou

Stratified sampling of drill coreN. Lotter

Advances in precious metal trace elementanalyses for deportmentL. Cabris, Y. Choi and M. Nelson

A novel geometallurgy frameworkG. Turner-Saad and C. Dragusanu

New Ideas and TechnologyThe right technology in the right place:how Xstrata Nickel Australasia increasedthroughput at its Cosmos Plant withstrategic implementation of technologysolutionsM. Cooper, D. Curry, T. Shouldice, M. Youngand J. Rubenstein

Innovative mineral processing technologies— a first decade of R&D at COREMD. Leroux, A. Bouajila and J.F. Wilhelmy

Selection of mixed xanthates for RaglanT. Deng and N. Lotter

Use of the latest technology to overcomethe demands of mill operationT.R. von Ow

National Instrument 43-101 standards ofdisclosure for mineral projects — whatmetallurgists should knowT. Lipiec, G. Gosson and I. Orford

Improving mine/mill water network designA.J. Gunson, B. Klein and M. Veiga

HydrometallurgyThe re-emergence of resin in pulp withstrong base resins as a low cost,technically viable process for the recoveryof uraniumJ.A. Brown, C.A. Fleming and J.R. Goode

Leaching of gold and silver from Kupolcomposite sample: part II — assessment of the CELPG. Deschênes, J. Rajala, H. Guo and M. Fulton

UPP “Python” Operation at the CentralRand Gold Mine in South AfricaT. Crowie

An economic and environmental case forre-processing gold tailings in South AfricaC. Fleming, J.A Brown and M. Botha

Engineered Membrane Separation®(EMS®) systems for hydro metallurgicalapplicationsL. Lien

Biooxidation reactor design considerationsA. Carter

Dynamic logistics simulation combinedwith a process modeling to supportcapacity expansion studiesA. Noiseux and J.-P. Côté

Asset optimization through process controlat Xstrata Alloys’ Eland Platinum —“optimal doesn’t always rhyme withcapital”J. Bouchard, B. Moloto and R. Monapula

Kairos Mining — a comprehensive approachto develop copper processing plantsautomation and sustain its benefits in thelong termC. Zamora, L. Castelli and A. Bonomelli

Design and implementation of advancedautomatic control strategy based ondynamic models for high capacity SAG millI. Yutronic and R. Toro

The importance of efficient mass flowbalance in crushing and screening plantsF. Romero

Experiences with multivariable predictivecontrol strategies on a SAG grinding circuitH. Slater, M.A. Suarez and R. Fuenzalida

ComminutionSAG or HPGR — the current dilemmaP. Staples and C. Morley

Successful design of the Ni-Co grindingcircuit for unusually hard oreJ. Starkey and M. Samuels

The South American experience inadopting twin machine grinding millrelining technologiesJ. Russell

A comparison of energy requirementsbetween HPGR – stirred mill grinding andconventional crushing – ball mill grindingJ. Drozdiak, S. Nadolski, B. Klein, A. Bamber and S. Wilson

Detection of hydrocyclone malfunctionC. Bazin, M. Renaud, A. Faucher, M.M. Manga and S. Caron

The benefits and challenges of “splitmilling” at the Williams MillT. Buckingham

Wednesday | Mercredi

7:00–8:15 Authors’ breakfast | Petit déjeuner des auteurs7:30–15:15 Registration | Inscription11:30 Annual business meeting (all welcome) |

Séance administrative annuelle (ouverte à tous)18:00 Executive reception | Réception de la haute direction18:30 Reception | Réception19:30 Annual banquet | Banquet annuel

Thursday | Jeudi

7:00–8:15 Authors’ breakfast | Petit déjeuner des auteurs8:00–15:15 Registration | Inscription

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Ira Gershwin wrote the lyrics of the song They All Laughed for the 1937movie “Shall We Dance,” and the music was composed by his brother George.The Gershwins were sophisticated New Yorkers who probably knew next tonothing about mining. If they had, Ira would probably have added a couple ofclever lines about the Bingham Canyon porphyry copper mine into the song.The mine’s history would certainly fit with the theme of the song — the tenac-ity of those who succeed while faced with intense skepticism. The song goes:

In many ways, BinghamCanyon, located 50 kilo-metres south of Salt LakeCity, was a typical miningcamp in the westernUnited States between the1850s and 1890s, a periodwhen new discoveries weremade almost daily andfinancing was readily avail-able. Bingham was discov-ered and initially devel-oped by adventurers flock-ing to, or returning from,the California Gold Rushor the silver discovery atComstock, Nevada. Theearly focus was on placergold and on silver and goldveins. Base metals weren’texploited until the railwaysarrived in the 1870s.Commercial production ofcopper did not begin foralmost 40 years after thecamp was discovered, even though as early as 1870 it was recognized that cop-per was the predominant metal in the camp; the name Bingham is now syn-onymous with the metal.

Bingham Creek flows northeasterly and drains an area of rugged terrainnear the northern end of the Oquirrh Mountains, where peaks reach elevationsof almost 3,250 metres. Argentiferous galena was found by loggers in 1857 butthe first claims weren’t staked until 1863 when Civil War soldiers, many ofwhom had learned something of gold mining in California, were stationednearby. The camp passed through several early development phases, startingwith an estimated 100,000 ounces of placer gold that were recovered near themouth of the canyon, and then expanding into stamp milling of gold-quartzveins farther upstream, starting in 1882.

After unsuccessful attempts to treat lead sulphides, silver was successfullysmelted from lead carbonate ores from the interval between the mouth of thecanyon and Carr Fork, a distance of about eight kilometres. Carr Fork entersBingham Creek from the west and is the principal tributary. The best veinsaveraged over 1,500 g/t (50 oz/ton) Ag and nearly 35% Pb, but the oxidized

historyThe Utah mine is … the biggest thing that

men have made. By the end of 1931 there had

been moved at Utah 222,000,000 cu. yd. of

material, including ore and the waste rock that

overlay it. This figure will be increased at an

average rate of nearly 20,000,000 yd. per

year. Excavations for the Panama Canal are

estimated at 232,000,000 cu. yd., but the

Canal is 50 miles long ….

~ Parsons, 1933, p. 45

This chapter is derived mainly from a 1997

paper by Ken Krahulec of the Utah Geological

Survey. In addition to being the most compre-

hensive and thorough compilation of the his-

tory of the Bingham Canyon camp, it provides

invaluable information about the people who

played key roles in the discovery and early

development of the porphyry deposit.

Krahulec also provided photographs, other

references and editing help. Some additional

background information was also obtained

from Parsons (1933) and Rickard (1932).

Porphyry deposits (Part 2)By R.J. “Bob” Cathro, Chemainus, British Columbia


They all laughed at Christopher ColumbusWhen he said the world was round

They all laughed when Edison recorded soundThey all laughed at Wilbur and his brother

When they said that man could flyThey told Marconi

Wireless was a phonyIt’s the same old cry

They all laughed at Rockefeller CenterNow they’re fighting to get in

They all laughed at Whitney and his cotton ginThey all laughed at Fulton and his steamboat

Hershey and his chocolate barFord and his misery

Kept the laughers busyThat’s how people are …

Now they’re eating humble pie …Who’s got the last laugh now?

(Gershwin, 1936)

ores, which only extended down to the water table at adepth of 10 to 15 metres, were soon exhausted. Theunderlying sulphides proved untreatable because thegalena-sphalerite-chalcopyrite mixture was refractive andproduced dirty concentrates.

By 1874, Bingham Canyon had 53mines and a population of 800 that wascrammed into a one-street town centredat the wider junction of Bingham Creekand Carr Fork and extended down thetorturously narrow canyon. TheEngineering and Mining Journal referred toBingham in 1912 as “a sewer five mileslong.” Fortunately, copper sulphate in thecreek water not only killed the bacteriabut eliminated offensive odours. In 1885,D.B. Huntley noted that the water inBingham Creek between Carr Fork andCopper Centre Gulch, the next tributaryabove Carr Fork, contained copper insolution, and that native copper had beendeposited in the organic-rich parts of the creek bed and iniron-cemented gravels (ferricrete). Although mostprospectors failed to notice its significance, this was aclear indication that a large copper sulphide system wasbeing oxidized and leached upstream.

Enos A. Wall may have been the first person to recog-nize that the disseminated ”low-grade” copper mineraliza-tion in Bingham Canyon might have economic potential.A successful inventor (of a roll crusher for grinding mills),businessman and entrepreneur from Indiana whose min-ing career had taken him to Colorado, Montana andIdaho, he arrived in Utah in 1887 and became involved inthe Mercur gold camp, about 30 kilometres southwest ofBingham. When he visited Bingham, he was impressed atonce by a zone of disseminated chalcocite and bornite thatwas exposed in monzonite for a distance of 100 metres inthe wall of Bingham Creek just above Carr Fork. It wasalso exposed for a length of 30 metres in the abandonedSoldier Tunnel. Sampling revealed that the average gradewas at least 2.4% Cu. Wall was able to re-stake two claimsthat covered the showing because the original claims cov-ering this area had lapsed due to disinterest.

While Wall couldn’t afford to develop the property onhis own, he did manage to enlarge the property to 72hectares (179 acres) by 1887 and to explore it with 1,065metres of drifts and crosscuts in several adits by 1896.That work was partly financed by the 1894 sale of theBrickyard gold mine at Mercur to Captain Joseph R. DeLamar, a Dutch-born mine operator and a genuine seacaptain, who owned the Golden Gate Mine at Mercur, oneof the largest and most successful cyanide mills in theUnited States. At this time, selective mining of the bettercopper veins in Bingham Canyon had proven unprofitableand interest in that metal was very low. In fact, the ”low-

grade” mineralized monzonite was derisively referred to as“wall-rock.” Wall had submitted his property to many ofthe important people involved in copper mining in theWest, including Benjamin Guggenheim of American

Smelting and Refining, Marcus Daly ofAnaconda and William Clark of UnitedVerde, but they all turned him down.

Wall was finally able to interest DeLamar in his copper property in 1895,when the copper price was low, and againin 1898 when it was higher. De Lamarsent his general manager Hartwig A.Cohen, his mining engineer, Robert C.Gemmell, and his metallurgical and con-struction superintendent, Daniel C.Jackling to make a careful evaluation. Itinvolved the collection of 566 channelsamples underground and a 69-tonne milltest in a small stamp mill. They calculatedan indicated reserve of 13.6 milliontonnes averaging 2.22% Cu and 0.6 g/t

(0.018 oz/ton) Au, which Cohen concluded would beunprofitable because it was covered by a 15 metre-thickleached cap.

In May 1899, Gemmell and Jackling were able to con-vince Victor M. Clement, Cohen’s successor, to takeanother look; he was enthused enough to arrange anotheroption with Wall. Another $46,000 was spent on addi-tional drifting and sampling and a larger milling test of520 tonnes. Jackling concluded that a recovery of 71.7per cent was achievable to produce a concentrate contain-ing 21.75% Cu, 0.05 g/t (0.016 oz/ton) Au and 4.7 g/t(0.15 oz/ton) Ag. Clement calculated a proven reserve of10.9 million tonnes averaging 2.25% Cu and reportedthat an operating profit of $2.56 per tonne was achiev-able, assuming open pit mining with steam shovels and a24-kilometre railway to transport the ore to an 1,800tonne-per-day mill.

Either because an agreement could not be reached with“the irascible” Wall or because he was too timid to takesuch a big gamble, De Lamar declined to proceed and wasleft with a 25 per cent interest in the property. Clementand Gemmell left for another project in Mexico andJackling moved on to the Republic Mine in Washington.Wall made repeated but unsuccessful efforts to interestBenjamin Guggenheim, Marcus Daly, John HaysHammond, William Clark, General Electric and TharsisSulphur in his property between 1900 and 1903.

Meanwhile, Samuel Newhouse (1853-1930) had arrivedin Bingham in 1896 with mining engineer Thomas Weir.Newhouse had studied law in Pennsylvania before movingto Colorado, where he became a wealthy mine developerand promoter in Leadville and Ouray. With financial back-ing from England, they formed Utah Consolidated GoldMines, Ltd. and acquired the Highland Boy gold mine near

economic geology

November 2009 | 89

Enos A. Wall (1838-1920) (from Parsons,1933)

the headwaters of Carr Fork. However, their attempt atunderground mining of oxide ore grading approximately15 g/t (0.5 oz/ton) was unsuccessful because the high cop-per content of the ore resulted in a gold recovery of only50% in their cyanide mill. The same problem had beenencountered elsewhere in the camp but was always care-fully concealed from investors.

While Newhouse attempted to raise more funds, Weircontinued underground exploration and unexpectedlyintersected a zone of high-grade copper ore about 60 metresthick and 115 metres long that averaged 12% Cu, and over6 g/t (0.2 oz/ton) Au and 85 g/t (2.8 oz/ton) Ag. It wasdescribed by J.M. Boutwell of the United States GeologicalSurvey as “one of the largest single bodies of copper-iron inthe world that are known to have been deposited by replace-ment.” When the first copper sulphide ore was shipped fromthe Highland Boy mine in May 1897, it marked the begin-ning of commercial copper production from the camp.

By 1901, Utah Consolidated had built a 450-tonnestamp mill at the mine, a 4,160-metre aerial tramway anda 250-tonne reverberatory smelter, a testament to the man-agement and engineering skills of Newhouse and Weir.The mine became one of the leading innovators in thecamp for its use of machine drills, electric fuses and mule-drawn ore cars. In around 1902, the property was sold for$12 million to the Standard Oil Syndicate’ composed ofH.H. Rogers, William Rockefeller and associates, withNewhouse reportedly receiving $3 million.

As late as the mid-1890s, Bingham’s largest mines werestill dominantly silver-lead producers. However, the suc-cess of Highland Boy resulted in copper becoming thedominant metal in the camp. In order to avoid the prob-lems caused by the Apex Law, and create bigger claimblocks needed for large-scale and low-cost mining, a newphase of exploration and claim consolidation ensued.

In 1899, several of the silver-lead mines around GalenaGulch were acquired by the United States MiningCompany. The Utah-Apex Mining Company consolidatedthe New York and Copperfield claims in upper Carr Forkbelow the Highland Boy Mine, added the Dana and Petrogroups of the Phoenix Mining Company, and developed a225,000-tonne reserve of 2.5% Cu with fair gold and silvercredits.

The Commercial and adjoining claims to the north ofthe Jordan and Galena silver-lead mines were combinedinto a property owned by the Bingham Gold and CopperMining Company (Bingham Mines) in 1901. It containeda sizable mineralized zone grading 2.5 to 3.0% Cu andbetween 3.1 and 4.6 g/t (0.1 to 0.15 oz/ton) Au. After theproperty was further enlarged to 120 hectares (300acres), the name was changed to Bingham ConsolidatedMining Company and block-caving mining was intro-duced. While all this work was underway, a railroad wasbuilt from lower Bingham Canyon to the upper part ofCarr Fork.

After his initial success with a former gold mine, SamuelNewhouse decided to try his luck again. As his next target,he chose the Stewart and Stewart No. 2 claims, whichadjoined the south side of the Highland Boy property. Hethen expanded his land eastward into a 125 hectare (300acre) property by acquiring all the available adjacentground uphill from the Wall property. The bedrock in thisarea was generally regarded as barren monzonite, but theoutcrops turned out to be leached cap that was underlainby the extension of the “low-grade” mineralization on theWall property.

The Boston Consolidated Copper and Gold MiningCompany, Ltd. was formed in Boston in 1898 to obtainfinancing in England for the development of this prop-erty, and it was that effort which was denigrated so badlyby the editor of The Engineering and Mining Journal in1899 (see the previous article in this series, CIMMagazine, September/October 2009, p. 102). Severalyears would elapse before it became clear that the miner-alized monzonite intrusion was essentially containedwithin the boundaries of the Newhouse and Wall proper-ties. Samuel Newhouse was either a genius or the lucki-est man in Utah. CIM

economic geology


ReferencesGershwin, I. (1936). They all laughed. (from the movie ‘Shall We Dance’ by RKO RadioPictures). New York: Gershwin Publishing Corp.

Krahulec, K.A. (1997). History and production of the West Mountain (Bingham) miningdistrict, Utah. In D.A. John & G.H. Ballantyne (Eds.) Geology and ore deposits of theOquirrh and central Wasatch Mountains, Utah. Society of Economic GeologistsGuidebook, v. 29, pp. 189-218.

Parsons, A.B. (1933). The porphyry coppers. New York: The American Institute of Miningand Metallurgical Engineers.

Rickard, T.A. (1932). A history of American mining. New York: McGraw-Hill BookCompany, Inc.

Bingham Canyon, circa 1900, showing the future site of the porphyry mine at thejunction of Bingham Creek (to the left) and Carr Fork (to the right). The Wall propertyis on the lower slopes of the hill in the centre of the picture. The Highland Boy Mine isout of sight up Carr Fork. (from Parsons, 1933 without attribution; believed to be aUSGS photo)

metallurgy

November 2009 | 91

IntroductionThe exploration and mining of mineral deposits and

physical metallurgy are intimately related to the domains ofmineral processing — beneficiation and extractive metal-lurgy. The metallurgical industry is also similarly closely tiedto the chemical industry, for example, the processing of oresin electric furnaces to produce calcium carbide or the pro-duction of fertilizers as a co-product of metal production.Today, the mining industry in Canada is worth over $40 bil-lion, and Canada is a world leader in metallurgical research.

The Frobisher expeditionsIn 1560, Martin Frobisher (c.1535-1594), one of the first

English explorers to sail the North American coast lookingfor the elusive Northwest Passage to the Orient, reachedLabrador and Baffin Island. Among the prizes he broughtback home to England was a sample of some “black earth,”a substance rumoured to be gold ore. The story of his fableddiscovery spread quickly and the next year, Queen ElizabethI lent Frobisher’s ship aid from the Royal Navy and funds todefray his expenses. A Company of Cathay was establishedand Frobisher was appointed admiral. On his second voyagein 1577, Frobisher carried 1,500 tons of “black earth” homeonly to be informed that it was worthless iron pyrite.

Undaunted, Frobisher returned to Canada in 1578 andfound what he thought was another source of gold. Hecarted 1,300 tons of material from this new site back andwas informed that it, too, was the same worthless substanceas his first sample. This second consecutive failure madeFrobisher the target of much dissatisfaction among theinvestors who financed his voyages. He was temporarilydiscredited and found little employment for several yearsuntil 1586, when growing naval hostilities between

England and Spain created the need for a bold sea-captain.His standing restored, Frobisher remained in royal servicefor the rest of his life.

New FranceDuring the French Regime (1534-1763), many scientific

observers noted and catalogued the natural resources ofNew France. In 1635, Jesuit missionaries, the first organizedgroup with both a scientific education and an interest innature, founded the Collège des Jésuites in Quebec City. Asthe first teaching institution in what later became Canada,the Collège educated young French immigrants during therule of Louis XIV. From the mid-17th century, the Collègealso began to teach general science. The Jesuit fathers sentback to Europe reports known as Jesuit Relations in whichthey provided detailed descriptions of the new land.

The Collège remained New France’s only institution forclassical education until 1759, when it was closed down fol-lowing the British conquest. A few years later, in 1764, theJesuit Order was banned in France, and then dissolved bythe Pope in 1773. Earlier, the impressive Collège library hadbeen donated to the Séminaire de Québec. This seminary,founded in 1663 by François de Montmorency Laval (1623-1708), the first bishop of New France, later became knownas Séminaire des Missions Étrangères de Paris.

Interest in mining and metallurgy in Canada can betraced to the Collège and its library, which contained a copyof the original Latin edition of Agricola’s De Re Metallica(published in 1555) and several other related works. Thefirst true metallurgical operation in Canada was theexploitation of sedimentary iron ore at Saint-Maurice inQuebec. The Saint-Maurice Forges, which were established

The beginnings of mineral processing research in Canada (Part 1)By Fathi Habashi, Department of Mining, Metallurgical, and Materials Engineering, Laval University

A 1759 painting depicting the Collège des Jésuites in Quebec CityMartin Frobisher (c.1535-1594)

in 1736, ran until 1883. Formal engineering schools thattaught mining and metallurgy, however, were to come muchlater, with proper scientific research beginning even later.

Following the arrival of the Jesuits in Quebec came the Anglicans,Presbyterians, Methodists and Baptists,each of whom established colleges in thedifferent parts of Canada, mainly to for-mally educate and ordain priests. It wasthe founding of the Geological Survey inMontreal in 1842, and the discovery ofgold in British Columbia in 1858 and ofother mineral resources in differentregions that provided the impetus forestablishing the Mining Section of theMinistry of Interior in 1901. The sectionwas mandated to help promote the min-ing and metallurgical industry throughresearch.

Mining and metallurgical education

It was only after several decades ofthe country’s early development thatthe need for educating engineers wasrealized. Engineers were needed notonly to exploit natural resources butalso to plan and supervise the construc-tion of railways and bridges acrossCanada. Sir Edmund W. Head, whofrom 1854 to 1861 was the GovernorGeneral of British North America,played an instrumental role in estab-lishing engineering education. In theearly Canadian engineering faculties,the teaching of mining and metallurgywas conducted by professors from England or Canadianswho had studied in Europe, mainly at the Royal School ofMines in London or the Mining Academy in Freiberg.Gradually, as universities were formed by the amalgama-tion of small colleges and came under state control, theseengineering faculties expanded.

The Geological SurveyIn 1842, the Province of Canada took the lead by creating

the Geological Survey of Canada, under the direction of theMontreal-born William E. Logan (1798-1875). Modelled on its British andAmerican counterparts, the GeologicalSurvey was at first limited to Upper andLower Canada. After 1867, it was facedwith the exploration of virtually all theterritories now comprising Canada. Thismarked the beginning of the use of scien-tific principles to determine the extent ofCanada’s mineral wealth. Within the nextfew years, numerous important discover-ies of mineral deposits were made. Thecollections of the Survey, first housed atLogan’s home, evolved into the NationalMuseum of Natural Science by the 1890s.

Before the Confederation in 1867, eachprovince had its own office for managingits mines. For example, in Quebec theDepartment of Land of the Crown admin-istered the issuing of permits for mineralexploration and the operation of mines.In 1881, the Quebec government engagedJoseph Obalski (1852-1915), a Franco-Polish graduate of the School of Mines inParis, as the mining engineer of theprovince of Quebec. In 1891, Obalskibecame the chief of Quebec’s newlyfounded Bureau of Mines. He is creditedas being the first person to systematicallyanalyze and evaluate exploration samples.

Nova Scotia had also instituted aCommissioner of Mines beforeConfederation, while Ontario set up its

Bureau of Mines in 1891. By the dawn of the 20th century,most provinces maintained government bureaus devoted tomining. In 1898, the Canadian Institute of Mining andMetallurgy was founded in Montreal by an Act of Parliamentto serve as an umbrella organization for workers in thesefields. Later, it incorporated petroleum engineers as well. CIM

metallurgy


William E. Logan (1798-1875)

Joseph Obalski (1856-1915)

INDUSTRY KNOWLEDGE

CIM Bulletin abstracts94 Study of the kinetics of leaching gold

from a soft sulphide ore at the Sadiola Mineby G. Deschênes, T. Mulpeter, H. Guo and M. Fulton

95 Exploration and Mining Geology JournalVolume 18, Numbers 1 to 4

96 Canadian Metallurgy QuarterlyVolume 48, Number 2

Peer reviewed by leaders in their fields

YOUR

GUIDETO

Complete CIM Bulletin papers are posted in theonline Technical Paper Library

www.cim.orgNovember 2009 | 93

Study of the kinetics of leaching gold from a soft sulphide ore at the Sadiola Mine

Sadiola Gold Mine is an open pit operation located inMali and owned by Anglogold Ashanti Ltd., IAMGOLDCorporation and the State of Mali. A conventional cyanida-tion/carbon-in-pulp (CIP) circuit treats a 15,000 t/d mixtureof oxide and sulphide ores at a grade of 3 g/t Au. In 2002,the increasing tonnage of sulphides caused an increase inproduction costs and a decrease in gold extraction (from95% to 70-76%). Because of the short retention time of theleach circuit (18 hours) and the refractory nature of the sul-phides, gold leaching kinetics are critical. A laboratory inves-tigation was initiated to evaluate actual plant practice andidentify a means of improving the gold leaching rate. Thestudy was conducted on a “soft” sulphide gold sample con-taining 4.96 g/t Au, 0.4 g/t Ag, 2.5% pyrite, 1.2% arsenopy-rite and 0.2% pyrrhotite with a P80 of 74 microns.Experiments were conducted under controlled conditions(temperature, dissolved oxygen, cyanide concentration andpH) on a slurry at 30% weight. Straight cyanidation pro-duced a gold extraction of 71.6%. Increasing the dissolvedoxygen (DO) to 16 parts per million (ppm) increased the goldextraction to 77.8%. However, the use of oxygen on site isnot an option because of prohibitive costs in remote

locations. Using a preleach with 100 g/t lead nitrate prior tocyanidation (plant conditions) produced 76.2% gold extrac-tion. Injection of oxygen into the preleach, in the absence oflead nitrate, proved to be detrimental on gold extraction.Preleaching for more than two hours was detrimental to goldextraction. A two-hour preleach (performed at pH 8, a DO of8 ppm and with 300 g/t lead nitrate) added at either thestart or end, and 450 ppm NaCN produced the preferredconditions, with 79.4% in 20 hours. A decrease of cyanideconcentration from 450 to 330 ppm NaCN produced a 2%decrease in gold extraction. A maximum extraction of81.3% Au was obtained in 20 hours (leach residue at0.97 g/t Au), using a DO of 16 ppm. Extension of gold leach-ing beyond 20 hours indicated that all leachable gold hadbeen extracted by that time. Plant modifications were madeto allow leaching of oxides and sulphides in separate circuits.Treatment of oxide ores is now performed at a higher rate.Sulphides are processed at a lower throughput, with 300 g/tlead nitrate, to allow a retention time of 22 hours. Combinedthroughput remains the same and total gold recovery hasincreased from 76 to 80% for an additional gold productionof 454 kg/year.

G. Deschênes, Natural Resources Canada, CANMET, T. Mulpeter, SEMOS,H. Guo, Wardrop Engineering Inc.,M. Fulton, Natural Resources Canada, CANMET

ME

TA

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GY

executive summaries


Exploration and Mining Geology JournalVolume 18, Numbers 1 to 4

emg abstracts

November 2009 | 95

Geology of the Ore Fault Ni-Cu Deposit, Bird River Sill Complex, ManitobaD. Good, Marathon PGM Corp., Toronto, Ontario, C. Mealin, Laurentian University, Department of Earth Sciences,Sudbury, Ontario, and P. Walford, Marathon PGM Corp., Toronto, Ontario

The geology of the Ore Fault Ni-Cu deposit has been reinterpreted in light of recent studies of the geology ofthe Neoarchean Bird River Sill Complex and the occurrence of economic Ni-Cu and Zn-Cu-Ag mineralization. TheNi-Cu sulfides are hosted by the lower of two parallel NNW-trending and moderately W-dipping mafic–ultramaficintrusions related to the Bird River Sill Complex. The bodies intruded a bimodal volcanic suite consisting of weaklydeformed mafic flows and felsic pyroclastic rocks. The mafic volcanic rocks are geochemically related to the MORB-type rocks of the Lamprey Falls Formation, and the felsic volcanic rocks are related to arc-type rocks of the Peter-son Creek Formation. The original pyroxene- and olivine-dominated mineralogy of the sills has been replaced byvariable serpentine-amphibole-talc-carbonate assemblages.

The Ni-Cu sulfide assemblage exhibits textures and geochemical signatures typical of orthomagmatic sulfidemineralization. The sulfide minerals are associated with cumulate layers of magnetic ferrochromite that range inthickness from a few to tens of centimeters. A later event of Zn-Cu-Ag sulfide mineralization associated withquartz veining and garnet-chlorite alteration along a fault that strikes north, dips vertically, and cuts all rock types.The mineralized fault is cut by the NE-trending Peterson Creek Shear Zone. Where the Ni-Cu and Zn-Cu-Ag min-eralized zones intersect, remnant magmatic features such as amphibolite or cumulate ferrochromite bands occurwithin quartz veins or local chlorite alteration. The mixed zones contain a very unusual polymetallic assemblage ofNi, Cu, Zn, Ag, and platinum group elements (PGE).

Résumé — La géologie du gîte de Ni-Cu Ore Fault a été réinterprété à la lumière d’études géologiques récentesdu Complexe de Sills de Bird River d’âge Néoarchéen et de ses minéralisations en Ni-Cu et en Zn-Cu-Agéconomiques. Les sulfures de Ni-Cu sont encaissés par la plus basse de deux intrusions mafiques-ultramafiquesparallèles de direction NNW à pendage modéré vers l’ouest associées au Complexe de Sills de Bird River. Cesintrusions sont mises en place dans une suite volcanique bimodale qui consiste principalement en couléesmafiques et en roches pyroclastiques felsiques faiblement déformées. Les roches volcaniques mafiques sontgéochimiquement apparentées aux roches de type MORB de la Formation de Lamprey Falls, et les roches vol-caniques felsiques s’apparentent aux roches de type arc insulaire de la Formation de Peterson Creek. Laminéralogie originale des sills, dominée par l’olivine et le pyroxène, a été remplacée par divers assemblages àserpentine-amphibole-talc-carbonate.

L’assemblage de sulfures de Ni-Cu présente des textures et des signatures géochimiques typiques d’uneminéralisation en sulfures orthomagmatiques. Les minéraux sulfurés sont associés à des niveaux de cumulat deferrochromite magnétique qui varient en épaisseur de quelques centimètres à plusieurs dizaines de centimètres.La minéralisation en Zn-Cu-Ag est liée à un événement plus tardif associé à des veines de quartz et à une altéra-tion en chlorite-grenat le long d’une faille de direction nord à pendage vertical qui recoupe tous les types de roche.Cette faille minéralisée est recoupée par la Zone de Cisaillement de Peterson Creek de direction NE. Là ou leszones minéralisée en Ni-Cu et en Zn-Cu-Ag se recoupent, on note des textures magmatiques à l’état reliqual ausein des veines de quartz ou localement de l’altération en chlorite. Les zones mixtes contiennent un assemblagepolymétallique inhabituel de Ni, Cu, Zn, Ag et d’éléments du groupe du platine (EGP).

Excerpt taken from abstracts in EMG, Vol. 18, Nos. 1 to 4.Subscribe—www.cim.org/geosoc/indexEMG.cfm


Excerpts taken from abstracts in CMQ, Vol. 48, No. 2.Subscribe — www.cmq-online.ca

cmq abstracts

Canadian Metallurgical QuarterlyVolume 48—Number 2, April 2009

Sintering Fundamentals of Magnesium PowdersP. Burke, G.J. Kipouros, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia; D. Fancelli, and V. Laverdiere, InstitutSupérieur de Technologies Midi-Pyrénées, Toulouse, France

Magnesium and its alloys are attractive materials for use in automotive and aerospace applications becauseof the low density and good mechanical properties. However, difficulty in forming magnesium and the limitednumber of available commercial alloys limit their use. This work reviews the efforts to improve the attractivenessof magnesium through non-traditional processing and presents results of current efforts to produce magnesiumalloys via powder metallurgy (P/M). P/M can be used to alleviate the formability problem through near-net-shapeprocessing and also allows unique chemical compositions that can lead to new alloys with novel properties. Thefeasibility of producing magnesium powder metallurgy products utilizing the industrially dominant process ofmixed powder blending and controlled atmosphere sintering was investigated using uniaxial die compaction andcold isostatic pressing to form the compacts. Two types of pure magnesium powder were used: one produced bymechanical grinding and the other by centrifugal atomization. The optimal processing conditions (powder size,compaction pressure, sintering time and temperature) were found to maximize sintered density and mechanicalproperties.

On the Contact of Liquid Nickel with Tungsten Carbide or Boron CarbideK.A. Sandy, H. Henein, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta; and K.M. Jaansalu, Montana Tech of the University of Montana, Butte, Montana

Metal matrix composites (MMCs), consisting of a ceramic reinforcing phase combined with a tough metalmatrix can be applied to steel substrates as wear coatings. The processing behaviour of two nickel matrix MMC’sis investigated: Ni-WC and Ni-B4C. Experiments were designed and carried out where WC or B4C was added tomolten nickel. The temperature range was from 1773 to 1973 K, with times of contact between ceramic andnickel ranging from less than one minute to over 30 minutes. The nominal addition of WC ranged from a molarratio (Ni:ceramic) of 4.2 to 167.0 while B4C additions varied from about 1 to 94. The melt was sampled follow-ing the addition of the ceramic. Analysis techniques included chemical analysis, optical microscopy, electronmicroprobe microanalysis and X-ray diffraction. In the Ni-WC system, a portion of WC reacted resulting in tung-sten dissolution into the nickel. Reactions in the Ni-B4C system produced nickel borides, principally Ni3B in theform of a eutectic with nickel and primary nickel dendrites. No B4C was detected in any of the samples utilizingthe aforementioned test methods.

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November 2009 | 97

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97 Professional Directory

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Bridgestone

®

Bridgestone Canada Inc. Eastern Canada 705-266-4323 Western Canada 604-787-3294, 780-982-0656

1085 - 3rd Avenue Val d’Or, Quebec, J9P 1T5 | E-mail: [email protected]

Tel: (819) 825-3702 | Fax: (819) 825-2863 | Web: www.corriveaujl.com

Multiurethane

ADVERTISERS

www.multiurethanes.com | 800-663-6633

139 Mulock Avenue, Toronto, ON M6N 1G9 Tel: (416) 236-8880 Fax: (416) 236-9160

E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.walterdow.com

SERVING THE MINING INDUSTRY WORLD WIDE

10:02 AM

Atlas Copco Construction and Mining CanadaPhone: 1-800-465-6719 24-hour on-call service, 7 days a [email protected]

We know that you can

No matter if you’re the world’s largest or smallest mining company, a veteran or a newcomer; we have the tools to help you develop your business. To make it easy for you we’ve gathered it all in one place.

Start your development right away at atlascopco.com/rock

Committed to your superior productivity.

1949

2009

3:21:52 PM

cim magazine november 2009

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