CIM Magazine August 2008

Publications Mail No. 40062547

August โ ข aoรปt 2008 www.cim.org

Editor-in-chief Heather Ednie hednie@cim.org Section Editors Columns, CIM News, Histories, Technical Section: Andrea Nichiporuk anichiporuk@cim.org News and Features: Angie Gordon agordon@cim.org Technical Editor Joan Tomiuk Publisher CIM

ustainability. It’s a word that encompasses virtually everything we do.

However, it’s a word some people feel is over-used. I remember attending the Global Mining Initiative conference in Toronto back in 2002, my first mining conference where the focus was on the three tiers of sustainability: social, environmental and economic responsibility.

Today, I can’t imagine a mining conference where sustainability isn’t on the roster. The CIM Conference and Exhibition in Edmonton this past spring exemplified that, themed Moving Beyond: Innovation for a Sustainable Future. I’m signed up to attend Caterpillar Global Mining’s Health, Safety, Environment and Community Forum in September. CIM is hosting the Mines and Environment conference in November. The list is endless.

Whether you call it sustainability, stewardship or responsibility, the minerals industry has proven itself a leader in the field. Forever under close scrutiny due to the nature of our operations, mining companies, suppliers, consultants and all our professionals have gone well beyond the suggested guidelines and pioneered best practices in community engagement and inclusion, environmental management and energy conservation.

This issue of CIM Magazine focuses on sustainability, though it merely brushes the surface of all the exemplary developments and efforts throughout industry. If you’re going to be active in our industries, you’re maintaining a focus on sustainable practices. As you read the many articles throughout this issue, you can think of ways to apply some of these tools, processes and approaches at your workplace.

We need to get the message out, beyond the boundaries of our peers, to educate the public about the great strides we’re taking. Both the Voices from Industry column (page 82) by Don Lindsay, president and CEO of Teck Cominco, and the MAC Economic Commentary column (page 46) provide terrific gems of information to help you develop a message to share with your kids, your community — with society.

S

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August • août 2008

Publications P ublications M ail N o . 440062547 0062547 Mail No.

Sustainability on the roster

Contributors Jon Baird, Philip Bousquet, R.J. Cathro, Shannon Clark, Florence Dagicour, Marlene Eisner, Jean Fortin, Michael Fuller, Andrew Gillam, Fathi Habashi, Minaz Kerawala, Aymerie Lefebvre, Don Lindsay, Diane Mountain, Glenn Nolan, Gordon Peeling, Paul Pigeon, Robbie Pillo, Sunita Prasad, Jean-Michel Rendu, Juan Carlos Reyes, Michelle Sabourin, Verónica Sánchez, Pat Stephenson, Peter Stoker, Paul Stothart, Haidee Weldon, Melissa Whellams, Dan Zlotnikov

This month’s cover EMS coordinator, Sol Sato, and local volunteer, Nelsa Dapat, monitor water quality at Taal Falls, Philippines.

Reproduced by kind permission of Xstrata Layout and design by Clò Communications.

Enjoy the issue, Heather Ednie Editor-in-chief

Copyright©2008. All rights reserved.

ISSN 1718-4177. Publications Mail No. 09786.

Postage paid at CPA Saint-Laurent, QC. Dépôt légal: Bibliothèque nationale du Québec.

The Institute, as a body, is not responsible for statements made or opinions advanced either in articles or in any discussion appearing in its publications.

Printed in Canada 4 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 3, No. 5

CONTENTS CIM MAGAZINE | AUGUST 2008 AOÛT

NEWS 8

Suncor Energy Foundation invests in Boreal wetland conservation Foundation

COLUMNS 15

invests $1.5 million in Ducks Unlimited

by S. Prasad

9

10

Your green magazine New variety of grass makes reclamation easier by M. Kerawala e3: environmental excellence in exploration Information resource continues to

16 17

expand and evolve by P. Bousquet 12

Towards Sustainable Mining MAC

18

initiative an important vehicle for managing risks and challenges by G. Peeling and P. Stothart Recycling the pots Alcan’s new pilot plant first to offer a way to recycle spent pot linings

19

Humanity | Diavik partners with Yellowknife for a clean city | Elk Valley Coal contributes to state-ofthe-art playground New addition to CIM executive Nouveau Président élu 2008-2009 by M. Eisner

One part yellowcake, three parts cheese? Addition of cheese whey cuts down the time and cost of environmental remediation process by D. Zlotnikov Liquid engineering Using a fuel catalyst to improve efficiency and decrease emissions

by D. Zlotnikov

by D. Zlotnikov

14

Giving back Sandvik supports Habitat for

Mining out of this world Planetary and Terrestrial Mining Science Symposium held at Canadian Space Agency by A. Gordon

Sustainability reporting — why bother? Effectively managing risk and

40 42 43 44 46 48 49 50

Engineering Exchange by H. Weldon The Supply Side by J. Baird Eye on Business by F. Dagicour Student Life by M. Fuller MAC Economic Commentary by P. Stothart HR Outlook by V. Sánchez Parlons-en par A. Lefebvre Standards by P.R. Stephenson, J.-M. Rendu

52 53 54 82

First Nations by J.C. Reyes Innovation Page by J. Fortin Mining Lore by M. Sabourin Voices from Industry by D. Lindsay

and P.T. Stoker

CIM NEWS 61 63

protecting reputations and brand value by A. Gillam and D. Mountain

A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

A passion for science by S. Clark Going green at EPCOR by R. Pillo

HISTORY 69

Homestake, South Dakota (Part 1)

by R.J. Cathro

72

L’AVENIR DURABLE

Migration and movement of scholars (Part 5) by F. Habashi

TECHNICAL SECTION 75

This month’s contents

IN EVERY ISSUE

36 21

Steering a course to sustainability

30

Mining industry addressing issues of social and environmental responsibility

by D. Zlotnikov

25 26 28

59

The green cycle Supplying environmentally friendly options throughout the mining cycle

water management practices by P. Pigeon Turning water into gold New water treatment technologies by D. Kratochvil Risky business The what, why, when and how of social risk assessment by M. Whellams

by M. Sabourin

No harm done Teck Cominco’s Duck Pond operation by M. Eisner Sans aucun mal L’exploitation Duck Pond de Teck Cominco

Editor’s Message President’s Notes/Mot du président Welcoming new members Calendar Professional Directory

by G. Nolan

32

Water works The growing importance of

FEATURED MINE MINE EN VEDETTE 55

Moving beyond The inclusion of aboriginal people in the mining industry

4 6 61 65 81

36 38

Notre façon de faire Les practique durable : joindre les gestes aux paroles Aller au-delà L’inclusion des Autochtones dans l’industrie minière

55

president’s notes Greetings fellow CIM’ers!

The world is changing and the mining industry, particularly in Canada, is at the forefront of this change. Integral to this evolution, of course, is the concept of sustainability.

More than ever, our industry must take into consideration the environment and the communities in and around where we operate. Not that we did this poorly before. Many of us grew up in communities founded by the mining activity in our area.

However, the issues are more complex now, and our industry is certainly working hard to meet those challenges.

Through its Toward Sustainable Mining initiative, the Mining Association of Canada has helped guide the way by setting accountable standards of performance for its membership. Our industry is the single largest employer of aboriginal people in Canada, and has signed more Impact and Benefit Agreements than all other industries combined.

So, where does CIM fit in all of this? Well, for starters, we are the vanguards of our industry. Our membership must continue to exhibit this leadership as we demonstrate our values for knowledge sharing and networking.

One of the ways in which CIM has accomplished this is through its dynamic and interactive Mining in Society program, which was initiated four years ago. Aimed at educating the public — and school-aged children, in particular — about the vital role that mining plays in our everyday lives, it helps to demonstrate the positive ways in which mining impacts the world around us.

Going forward, CIM — through Jim Gowans, CIM President its various initiatives, conferences, Président de l’ICM publications and copious members’ activities — is at the heart of communicating this message of sustainability, which will represent an important mandate for the organization and the industry as a whole.

Regards, Jim Gowans

Que de changements par les temps qui courent!

Chers (chères) collègues de l’ICM! Le monde change et l’industrie minière, surtout au Canada, est à l’avant-garde de ces changements. Une partie intégrante de cette évolution est, bien entendu, le concept de durabilité.

De plus en plus, nous devons tenir compte de l’environnement et des communautés dans lesquelles et à proximité desquelles nous exploitons. Non pas que nous n’en tenions pas compte avant! Plusieurs parmi ont grandi dans des communautés basées sur l’activité minière régionale. Toutefois, les enjeux sont maintenant plus complexes et notre industrie travaille certes très fort pour faire face à ces défis.

Grâce à son initiative Vers le développement minier durable, l’Association minière du Canada a aidé à tracer la voie en établissant des normes de responsabilité de rendement pour ses membres. Notre industrie est le plus important employeur d’Autochtones au Canada et a signé le plus grand nombre d’Ententes sur les répercussions et les avantages que toutes les autres industries combinées.

Quel est le rôle de l’ICM dans tout cela? Tout d’abord, nous sommes la tête d’avant-garde de notre industrie. Nos membres doivent continuer à démontrer ce leadership alors que nous affirmons l’importance que nous accordons au partage des connaissances et au réseautage.

L’ICM a accompli ce rôle entre autres par Les mines dans la société, le programme dynamique et interactif initié il y a maintenant quatre ans. Son but est d’éduquer le public – plus spécifiquement les enfants d’âge scolaire – sur le rôle vital des mines dans notre vécu quotidien; aidant ainsi à démontrer l’impact positif de l’exploitation minière sur ce monde dans lequel nous vivons.

En allant de l’avant, l’ICM – par ses diverses initiatives, congrès, publications et nombreuses activités pour ses membres – est au cœur de la diffusion de ce message de durabilité qui formera un important mandat pour l’organisme et l’industrie en général.

Meilleures salutations, Jim Gowans

6 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 3, No. 5

Photo taken by Gary Mulcahy

The times they are a-changing

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news Suncor Energy Foundation, a private non-profit charitable foundation established by Suncor Energy Inc., invested $1.5 million in Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) as part of their efforts towards conserving Canada’s wetlands. DUC is a national, private, non-profit organization that has been involved in wetland conservation for 70 years.

The new commitment will establish a five-year partnership through DUC’s Western Boreal Program (WBP) to enhance best management practices for oil and gas operations that protect and maintain wetland and watershed health. The group’s work will include gathering and sharing examples of best practices in the oil and gas industry, coordinating research into watershed function and helping to raise awareness of the importance of wetlands to all Canadians.

“Suncor recognizes

by Sunita Prasad water is a precious resource that must be managed wisely,” said Gord Lambert, Suncor’s vice president, sustainable develop-

Image courtesy of Ducks Unlimited Canada

Suncor Energy Foundation invests in Boreal wetland conservation

Boreal wetlands provide a critical habitat for waterfowl.

ment. “We want to be part of the solution to help ensure the health of our wetlands and the surrounding boreal landscape.”

Wetland loss is continuing at an alarming rate, and much of DUC’s

“With global warming upon us, John has started a fur-thinning salon… and may even sell Arctic franchises.”

8 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 3, No. 5

work involves finding unique ways of engaging landowners, industry, government and the public to conserve wetlands. Wetlands act as natural water filters, reduce the effects of floods and droughts, offer recreational opportunities and provide homes for waterfowl and other wildlife. They are also integral to the removal of carbon, thereby mitigating greenhouse gases.

Eric Butterworth, manager, territorial and boreal operations for the WBP, emphasized the importance of sustaining the wetlands. “There is a strong connectivity within the boreal forest system, which mainly consists of fens, bogs, swamps, marshes and ponds,” he explained. “We have invested in hydrology research at the University of Alberta to better understand the issues of construction in order to protect the disruption to the wetlands. Collaboration with industry is a mutually beneficial situation, and the minerals industry is very much interested in reducing their footprint on the landscape.” CIM

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Your green magazine Informative, up-to-date and eco-friendly Since February 2008, CIM Magazine has been printed on eco-friendly paper certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). The FSC is an independent, international non-governmental agency that applies stringent standards to certify products that come from forests judiciously managed to meet the social, economic and ecological needs of present and future generations. FSC certification is therefore a hallmark of environmentally responsible production. In addition, the magazine is printed using eco-friendly, vegetablebased inks and our printer ensures that all printed waste paper is recycled. CIM

New variety of grass makes reclamation easier Scientists at the Alberta Research Council (ARC) have developed a new grass that promises better and easier land reclamation. Grouse Green Needlegrass, a native perennial prairie variety, will be commercially available from the BrettYoung seed company within two years.

A number of characteristics make this grass desirable for land reclamation. “Our variety has far greater germination rates than needlegrass in the wild,” explained Jay Woosaree, who leads ARC’s native plant development project. It also forms a well-developed deep root system, which makes it a good soil stabilizer. When full-grown, it stands one to two metres tall and creates good habitat for wildlife.”

Gloria Weir, BrettYoung’s reclamation regional account manager, adds that because it is a native variety, “companies reclaiming land in Canada can have confidence

by Minaz Kerawala in its performance as it is well-suited to conditions on the Canadian prairies.” Moreover, its decomposing leaves help build the soil’s organic composition.

Here, then, is a humble grass that can not only help restore degraded lands but also encourage biodiversity. Its development and that of other native varieties at ARC is supported by the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, the Small Explorers and Producers Association of Canada, Husky Energy, Talisman Energy, Alberta Sustainable Resources Development and BrettYoung. CIM August 2008 | 9

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news

In the minerals sector, it is an exploration crew that often introduces our industry to a community, and it is their activity that begins the relationship. From its very earliest communications and field work, a company is working to build trust and credibility as it conducts exploration to assess the potential of a site. Both the technical and the social aspects of its work contribute to determining the risk and value of investing more time and effort in a project.

Environmental excellence in exploration (e3) is an information resource that is intended to raise awareness of these

by Philip Bousquet issues and to enhance the mineral industry’s sustainability through improved company performance.

Developed through the contributions

Ray Baldry, photographer; e3 photo contest

e3: environmental excellence in exploration

Low impact drilling in Indonesia.

of industry leaders and managed by the Prospectors and Developers

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Association of Canada (PDAC), it is a comprehensive, Internet-based toolkit that offers leading examples of environmental and social responsibility in the minerals industry. e3 provides users with practical guidelines on exploration activities, community engagement and environmental management. Registration is free and PDAC is working to ensure that it continues to be an accessible resource that reaches the broadest possible audience.

New users and new content Now in its fifth year, e3 is continuing to expand and evolve. With over 2,500 registered users operating in over 40 countries, it is increasingly being recognized as an essential tool for mineral exploration and community engagement. Users come from a wide variety of sectors. While many (roughly 42 per cent) have a mineral exploration or mining company background, there are a growing number of users from universities and colleges, aboriginal communities and organizations, environmental consulting fields, and government and non-governmental organizations.

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news

Eva von Klier, photographer; e3 photo contest

Conclusion Whether operating in Canada or internationally, mineral exploration crews are now viewed as ambassadors for the global mining community, and their success in managing the environmental and social aspects of their work plays a critical role in determining the future of a project. e3 is one of several industry initiatives that demonstrate a concern for good environmental performance and good community relations, thereby contributing to the sector’s sustainability.

Canadians are world leaders in mineral exploration and mining and we are leading the way in developing tools that promote excellence in environmental stewardship and community engagement, both in Canada and internationally. CIM

Low impact drilling in a remote area.

Sustainable development framework for exploration e3 continues to evolve to meet the needs of the minerals industry. Commencing in October 2007, PDAC embarked on the development of a Sustainable Development Framework for Exploration that will include high-level principles, performance guidelines, performance criteria and indicators, reporting guidelines and a consideration of an assurance mechanism.

The principles and performance guidelines strive to answer the “why” and “what” of applying good practice in mineral exploration. The “how to” of applying good practice will be supported by e3, which will be integrated into the Sustainable Development Framework for Exploration.

About the author Philip Bousquet is the director, sustainability, and e3 project manager, Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada.

I

n mining, environmental protection and business success should not be mutually exclusive.

We understand both.

balance

Government regulators and affected communities are turning to e3 as a source of information on mineral exploration practices. They expect high standards of performance, and the industry must deliver on these expectations in order to maintain its social licence to operate. Therefore, it is important to ensure that e3 continues to be relevant, current and easily accessible.

In the past two years, PDAC has implemented several enhancements to the e3 database that improved the technical structure (e.g. registration, search engine) and accessibility of the site (e.g. translation into French, Spanish, Portuguese and Russian). New content is being developed to respond to user requests for guidelines on uranium exploration, as well as practical information and case studies that address community engagement, cultural heritage and archaeological issues. In September 2007, a new registration interface was launched to determine whether a direct “corporate link” will encourage greater awareness and usage among company employees.

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news Towards Sustainable Mining An important, effective and evolving tool for the Canadian mining industry Mining firms in Canada and internationally face a range of challenges in the social-environmental sphere.

Activities associated with exploring for and extracting minerals, and processing them into useable products, all impact upon the environment by disturbing land and generating waste.

They also require significant consultation with governments, aboriginal groups and other affected parties.

The Towards Sustainable Mining (TSM) initiative of the Mining Association of Canada (MAC) is an important vehicle through which companies can respond to these

by Gordon Peeling risks and challenges. and Paul Stothart TSM, when formally launched in 2004, represented the culmination of several years of research and consultation. This research led MAC to construct an initiative that was highly dependent on partnership with stakeholders for its success and that draws, in its governance, upon the formal participation of environmental and social groups,

The TSM initiative is an important vehicle through which companies can respond to socialenvironmental risks and challenges.

aboriginal organizations and businesses. Adherence to TSM’s principles and disciplines is a condition of membership in MAC. From the outset, MAC’s members identified the need for performance

indicators to provide a consistent framework for evaluating and reporting on industry performance against the TSM guiding principles.

Indicators and protocols were therefore developed to guide performance

“Aluminium is smelted in what are called pot lines,” explained Stefano Bertolli, Rio Tinto Alcan’s director of communications. “These lines are usually composed of around 300 pots.” Each of the pots is lined with a thick layer of graphite or carbon, which serves as the cathode in the electrical smelting process. “These linings have a useful lifespan of five to seven years,” continued Bertolli.

At the end of that period, the linings must be discarded and replaced with new ones. The environmental problem has always been the disposal of the spent linings, which can release sulphur dioxide and fluoride when exposed to the elements.

Alcan’s new pilot plant in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec, is set to change that. It is the first plant to offer a way of recycling the spent pot linings.

“We are prepared to process 80,000 tonnes of linings at the pilot plant,” said Bertolli. The process is expected to recover a portion of the original lining for reuse and render the remaining byproduct inert, ready for safe (and much less costly) disposal.

The primary goal of the $180 million facility is to take care of Alcan’s own pot linings, but if the plant proves to be a success, there is the potential to offer the recycling option to other aluminium smelters as well. CIM

Recycling the pots Aluminium is a modern-day staple. Despite being in use for just over 150 years, total annual production of aluminium (approximately 50 million tonnes) is second only to steel.

Even though aluminium is very abunby Dan Zlotnikov dant, it is found in nature in very stable forms, which require great expenditures of energy to break down. This is the reason the final metal is sometimes referred to as “stored energy” — energy costs account for a full third of the total cost of production.

Beyond energy, there is also an issue surrounding byproducts — spent pot linings, in particular.

12 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 3, No. 5

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news in four critically important areas — tailings management, energy use and greenhouse gas emissions management, external outreach and crisis management planning.

Companies are judged and ranked from one (beginner) to five (best in class) on a broad range of measures in these areas.

In addition to annual reporting on these indicators, external verification of performance results by outside professional verifiers began in 2007.

This step affirms our members’ commitment to transparency, accountability and continuous improvement.

It also makes MAC the first mining association in the world to respond to the expectations of its communities of interest, by implementing external verification in a consistent way across its membership.

Beyond the four performance areas, TSM has more recently sought the input of its “community of interest” advisory panel, to help set new priorities and to develop two new performance areas relating to aboriginal relations and biodiversity. Multistakeholder workshops and other sources of input have helped MAC develop draft policy frameworks for each area — these will progress over the coming months.

In 2005, MAC and the TSM initiative won the Globe Foundation’s Award for Environmental Excellence. TSM has been broadened and strengthened during the ensuing years — such as through the verification system and the development of new protocols and indicators. As well, the existing indicators continue to be refined and updated. For example, we are presently developing an improved guidance document and workshops on energy and greenhouse gas management to help companies improve their TSM reporting and progress in this important and very topical area.

Towards Sustainable Mining will evolve in the coming years. It will continue to exchange information

with organizations, such as the International Council on Mining and Metals and others, as they develop processes to advance their member performance in environ-

mental and social areas. TSM has been a world-leading initiative since its formation and will continue to aim for this leadership position in the years to come. CIM

About the authors Gordon Peeling is president and CEO and Paul Stothart is vice president, economic affairs of MAC.

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news Sustainability reporting — why bother?

It is undeniable; our world is small and getting smaller. Globalization is bringing convergence in many industries, while simultaneously creating the need for greater stakeholder intimacy. Empowered stakeholders are demanding that businesses provide practical demonstrations of their commitment to the principles of sustainability. This is especially true for mining companies, which often operate at the interface of the developed and the developing worlds.

So, how can mining companies build a more cohesive image and protect their reputations and brand value?

One essential element is through effective stakeholder engagement. By attracting and retaining a diverse group of stakeholders, global mining companies can forge strong relationships and build brand value.

How does sustainability reporting fit in? One part of the answer is effective stakeholder engagement — and sustainability reporting is a valuable tool for conveying information and inviting dialogue. Over the past decade, in particular, the growth of this practice has been accelerated by the dramatic increase in socially responsible investment (SRI) and the role of rating agencies such as the global Dow Jones Sustainability Index, FTSE 4Good in the UK and the Jantzi Index in Canada.

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines have emerged as a widely used platform to help organizations get the

by Andrew Gillam most out of and Diane Mountain their nonfinancial reporting efforts. The guidelines represent a multi-stakeholder perspective on what should be included in a corporate sustainability report. The guidelines, now in their third edition, are known as the G3 Guidelines. In addition to the guidance on management discussion and performance indicators — which can be used as a 14 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 3, No. 5

checklist when considering what to include in a report — the G3 Guidelines also articulate the underlying principles of transparency, materiality, accuracy, etc., which are critical to producing a report that meets stakeholder needs and is a truly useful communication tool.

The International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) has partnered with GRI to develop supplementary guidance for mining companies to use in addressing topics that are specific to this industry, similar to other sector-specific supplements for electric utilities, for example. ICMM member companies must commit to reporting in accordance with the GRI guidelines and the mining and metals sector supplement.

GRI recently commissioned a survey of individuals who read non-financial reports (Count Me In: The readers’ take on sustainability, KPMG and SustainAbility, 2008). With more than 1,800 responses from report readers, 90 per cent of them said their view of a reporting organization had been influenced by reading its sustainability report, with 85 per cent of those indicating a more positive perception.

Leading companies, such as BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, use the process of

developing a report as a tool for improving stakeholder engagement. One valuable process these companies employ is to reach out to stakeholders across all aspects of a company’s geographic and operational footprint and identify what issues stakeholders are raising that are important to them and have the biggest impact on the reporting company.

Even the most successful mining companies can benefit from keeping an eye on the broad social trends in their country or region, as well as the local issues that affect workers and fenceline communities. This doesn’t mean that a company has to constantly change to accommodate the latest management fad or PR fashion. Rather, leaders in the global mining industry can take advantage of feedback from a diverse set of stakeholders to more effectively manage risk and protect their hard-earned reputations. CIM

About the authors Andrew Gillam is vice president, Strategic Advisory for Environmental Resources Management Ltd. (ERM), based in Vancouver, British Columbia, and Diane Mountain is a senior consultant with ERM’s Strategic Advisory practice, based in Washington, DC.

Achievements Barrick Gold Corporation recently marked its 25th anniversary. Barrick has 27 operating mines and 10 projects in progress located on five continents. It employs more than 20,000 people.

Anglo American won three awards at the inaugural Commonwealth Business Council - African Business Awards in London on July 3, 2008: the Best International Business in Africa award for its contribution to business growth and development; the Biggest Contribution to the Millennium Development Goals award for commitment to poverty alleviation and social and community investment; and the Gender Sensitivity award for its Women in Mining program and its focus on the feminisation of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in its community programs. Chief Executive Cynthia Carroll commented, “These prestigious awards are a tribute to the excellent work that colleagues do throughout our operations.”

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news Giving back Home is where the heart is

The play’s the thing

andvik Mining and Construction recently sent 10 employee volunteers from the United States and Canada to help support Habitat for Humanity’s 25th annual “Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project” in the Gulf Coast.

This five-day event was attended by the former U.S. President and his wife as well as thousands of volunteers from around the world. The purpose was to construct and rehabilitate 60 houses and frame up 48 more in the host cities of Biloxi, Gulfport and Pascagoula, Mississippi. In addition, the event hoped to raise awareness of the ongoing recovery efforts taking place along the Gulf Coast in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. As part of the event, houses were also built and repaired by volunteers in several communities in Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and Alabama. In total, more than 250 houses will be built or rehabilitated by the end of the year as part of Habitat for Humanity’s 2008 Carter Work Project.

“Sandvik is happy to have participated in this very worthy cause,” said John Remakis, the company’s marketing manager. “People all over have been moved by the determination of this region to rebuild homes and communities in the wake of the hurricanes. Sandvik’s involvement in the construction industry made it a natural fit for us to participate, and we were especially fortunate in being able to send a highly motivated group of employee volunteers.”

T

S

A real gem s part of the Polish the Gem cleanup campaign, the city of Yellowknife and Rio Tinto’s Diavik Diamond Mines Inc. unveiled the Madvac S300 Sidewalk Sweeper on June 27, 2008. According to Mayor Gordon Van Tighem, this is “more than just a piece of machinery. The Madvac should become a symbol of Yellowknife’s ongoing commitment and pride in a clean capital city. Let's keep our gem polished!”

Diavik President Kim Truter reports: “For our part, Diavik employees recently participated in the spring cleanup and helped celebrate with a barbecue on Main Street. As with our other community projects, we are once again pleased to partner with the city to purchase the sidewalk sweeper, which will help polish our city.” Diavik’s other community support endeavours have included the SideDoor Youth Centre, the Shorty Brown Arena, the Bailey House Transition Home and, most recently, the Territorial Dementia Facility.

A

he children of the Crowsnest Pass community of Blairmore, Alberta, will soon have a playground to boast of to visiting friends and cousins. Their state-of-the-art space will feature a crumb-rubber safety surfacing made from recycled-tires, making it completely wheelchair accessible. Elk Valley Coal is contributing $60,000 to its construction. The company will also help fund similar facilities in the three British Columbia communities of Elkford, Sparwood and Fernie. Lori Groat, project coordinator, teacher and member of the Isabelle Sellon Parent Council said: “The children have been without a playground here for many years and we are excited to move toward a new facility that will encourage healthy activity for children in a safe, fun environment.”

“We are proud to contribute to legacy playground projects in the communities where so many of Elk Valley Coal's employees live,” said Doug Stokes, vice president of operations, adding, “Safe and environmentally friendly playgrounds reflect values that we embrace both on and off the job.”

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news New additon to CIM executive According to Michael J. Allan, knowledge-sharing and fellowship have always been important mandates for CIM. As CIM’s presidentelect for 20082009, Allan will have an opportunity to share his time, passion and the expertise gained so far in his illustrious career.

Allan was born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, graduating in 1973 from the University of British Columbia with a B.A.Sc. in mineral engineering.

by Marlene Eisner After graduation, he worked for four years as a metallurgist and shift foreman at Gibraltar mine. In 1977, he joined Teck Corporation, working for three years as chief metallurgist at Afton

mines in Kamloops, followed by four years as chief metallurgist and mill superintendent at the Highmont operation in the Highland Valley.

In 1984, he joined Wright Engineers in Vancouver as an engineering consultant, working on a variety projects in Chile, Spain and Canada.

Ten years later, he moved to H.A. Simons and helped to establish the Simons Mining Group (now AMEC).

He worked there as a manager of mineral processing and ultimately, as head of business development.

In 1998, Allan rejoined Teck Corporation to work on the detailed design of the Antamina project in Peru.

He was then promoted, in September 1999, to the position of vice president, engineering and continues to lead the engineering and evaluations functions within Teck Cominco.

Allan has been involved in CIM activities throughout his career since first joining as a student member while

in university. He has been actively involved in several branches, is a past chairman of the South Central and Vancouver branches, served a term as District 6 vice president in 1997-98 and headed the Membership Committee for four years. In January 2008, he was awarded the Mineral Processor of the Year award by the CIM Canadian Mineral Processors Society.

Allan said that after having not been very active in CIM activities for the past several years, he’s looking forward to getting more involved again.

“CIM has always been an important organization for my career,” he said.

“It provides a good way to learn about the industry and to connect, both from a networking aspect as well as technically. It’s interesting — not many industries have that sense of fellowship. Mining has always been a tough business, so I guess we figure ‘I’ve learned to do this and I should share that knowledge.’” CIM

Nouveau Président élu 2008-2009 Michael J. Allan, président élu de l’ICM pour 2008-2009, est né et a été élevé à Vancouver, en ColombieBritannique; il a obtenu un baccalauréat (B.A.Sc.) en génie minéral de l’Université de la ColombieBritannique en 1973.

Après avoir obtenu son diplôme, M. Allan a travaillé durant quatre ans comme métallurgiste et contremaître de quart à la mine Gibraltar. En 1977, il s’est joint à la Corporation Teck, travaillant durant trois ans aux mines Afton à Kamloops; il a ensuite été chef de l’usine de traitement Highmont, dans la vallée Highland, pour une période de quatre ans.

En 1984, il s’est joint à la firme Wright Engineers à Vancouver en tant que consultant en ingénierie, travaillant sur des projets au Chili, en 16 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 3, No. 5

Espagne et au Canada. Dix ans plus tard, il rejoignait H.A. Simons et aidait à fonder le Simons Mining Group (maintenant AMEC).

En 1998, M. Allan est retourné à la Corporation Teck pour travailler à la conception détaillée du projet Antamina au Pérou. Il a par la suite été promu vice-président de l’ingénierie en septembre 1999 et il continue à être responsable de l’ingénierie et des évaluations chez Teck Cominco.

M. Allan a été impliqué dans des activités de l’ICM depuis qu’il a adhéré à l’Institut alors qu’il était étudiant universitaire. Il s’est impliqué activement dans de nombreuses sections, dont président des sections South Central et Vancouver; il a aussi été vice-président du District no 6 en 1997-1998 et responsable du Comité de recrutement durant

quatre années. En janvier 2008, M. Allen a reçu le prix de Minéralurgiste de l’année accordé par la Société canadienne du traitement des minéraux.

M. Allan dit que malgré son inactivité auprès de l’ICM ces dernières années, il se réjouit à l’idée d’y être plus actif. « L’ICM a toujours été une organisation importante », ditil. « L’Institut fournit un bon moyen de connaître l’industrie et de ‘se brancher’, du point de vue réseautage et technique. C’est très intéressant – peu d’industries possèdent ce genre de compagnonnage. L’exploitation minière a toujours été une industrie dure et exigeante et nous partageons l’opinion suivante : ‘J’ai appris comment faire; je devrais donc partager mes connaissances’. » CIM

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news One part yellowcake, three parts cheese?

When it comes to uranium and the environment, public opinion has been divided for years. Some environmental groups view nuclear power as the solution to the carbon emission problem, but others point to the damage caused by the extraction process and the risks inherent in storing the spent fuel.

Cameco, a major producer of uranium yellowcake, has been improving the extraction side of the equation for years. But a recent process improvement comes from a most unusual source — cheese whey.

Cameco’s operations include the insitu Smith Ranch mine in the United States. To extract the uranium, the groundwater is pumped out, mixed with sodium bicarbonate and pumped back into the mine. There, the mixture dissolves the uranium and is then pumped back to the surface where the uranium is extracted.

The final step in the process, as part of the environmental remediation program, is to return the groundwater to its original composition.

Until recently, that final step was costly and time-consuming, requiring the use of significant amounts of chemicals. However, a Cameco research team

by Dan Zlotnikov has found a new approach that has drastically cut down the time and cost involved: adding cheese whey to the mix. The whey, a nutrient-rich byproduct of cheesemaking, serves to encourage growth of the bacteria historically found in the local rock formations. In turn, the bacteria cause a dramatic reduction in the contaminants, uranium and selenium remaining in the water.

A recent process improvement comes from a most unusual source — cheese whey

This bioremediation approach has proven to be cheaper, safer and more environmentally friendly than previous methods, and Cameco intends to

implement the technique, which is currently in the process of being patented, at the Crow Butte in-situ operation as well. CIM

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news Liquid engineering Using a fuel catalyst to improve efficiency and decrease emissions The job of a site manager has always presented its share of challenges, but current circumstances certainly aren’t making things any easier. Financial pressure is continuing to mount as oil prices maintain their upward trend.

Environmental regulations are growing more stringent by the day, placing tighter limits on maintenance schedules, and sometimes even requiring the replacement of units that fail to meet the new emissions guidelines.

Rudy Pollino, a site manager at Veolia Environmental Services, was confronted by just such a challenge with one of his company’s units — a Hitachi 330L excavator. “From the time I bought that excavator, it was smoking,” said Pollino. “I called the manufacturer and was told that it was normal and that this machine would keep running just fine.”

Meanwhile, Pollino was told that the machine wouldn’t pass the emissions test when the new guidelines came into effect. At that point, he realized that he would have to replace the machine itself.

However, around this same time Pollino was approached by a representative from American Clean Energy Systems (ACES) who was promoting a diesel fuel additive that was purported to boost fuel efficiency by 15 per cent, lower particulate emissions by 50 per cent, and decrease carbon monoxide and dioxide emissions as well as engine part wear. Pollino decided that the fastest way to make the rep disappear was to prove the product for the

by Dan Zlotnikov “snake oil” he figured it had to be, given its lofty claims.

So he put it to the ultimate test — the smoking excavator. “I dedicated a tank to the fuel with the additive, and fuelled only the excavator from that tank,” said Pollino, “and three days later you couldn’t tell the machine was running and it had stopped smoking.”

Pollino’s data also showed an 18 per cent decrease in the excavator’s fuel 18 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 3, No. 5

use. The two factors together were period with every new client. “When enough to convince Pollino to start we enter into an evaluation, we work using the product in his entire fleet. with the client to select a representative Over the last five years, Pollino’s 30sample of their equipment — at least machine fleet — which ranges from 10 per cent of their fleet,” he explained.

6-inch diesel-powered water pumps to “Then we bring in a third-party com50-ton 836G and H compactors to D8 pany and run each of the selected units bulldozers — showed consistent fuel for a full hour to get a baseline.” With savings of 18 to 21 per cent. that baseline in hand, the units go ACES isn’t new to the fuel additive through a cleanout cycle (at double the game. Brian Schubert, the company’s normal additive ratio), ranging vice president of chemical technologies between 30 and 45 days, depending on and special projects, said that the orighow heavily each machine is used. It’s inal idea emerged out of a U.S. military not uncommon to see an increase in remote-controlled drone project. emissions at that stage, as the carbon Schubert explained that the drones’ residue accumulated in the engine is stealthy nature meant that regular fuel dislodged. could not be used for fear that a spark Following the cleanout cycle, the from the spark plugs could be detected. machines are used at the regular additive But the alternative, castor oil-based concentration of 1:2000 for three to six fuel had a tendency to gum up the months, to allow the adaptive strategy engine to the extent that after every system to adjust to the new fuel mix, and flight, the drone had to be disassemthe lubricity-increasing component to bled and cleaned. ACES’ solution was permeate the metal and take full effect. to improve the combustion cycle effiBut at the end of this period, when the ciency and increase the lubricity inside third-party evaluator is brought back to the engine. With that first success, compare the results, Schubert said that ACES realized they could alter the forthe improvements are dramatic. With mulation slightly and get the same benindependent tests conducted by groups efits from ordinary diesel and gasoline like the U.S. Department of Energy and engines. Forty years and $10 million of the NASA Goddard Space Center, he independent testing later, the product said that ACES has a large amount of is now available for commercial use. data to back up its claims.

The ACES product, Schubert clariUsing a fuel catalyst probably won’t fied, isn’t an additive in the com- solve the current climate crisis, and monly used sense of the word, but the job of a site manager will definitely rather a catalyst. Whereas the major- continue to be a challenging one; howity of fuel additives alter the chemical ever, it does represent a step in the composition of the fuel, a catalyst right direction — at a time when every alters the physical properties of the step counts. CIM mix, but does not directly participate in the combustion.

However Schubert cauGeorge Flumerfelt has been appointed the new tioned that the advantages Chairman of the Ontario Mining Association of the additive don’t always (OMA). Flumerfelt started at J.S. Redpath Ltd. in show themselves in three 2003 and became president and CEO in 2005. He days. In fact, he said the has served in various capacities at the OMA. His company now insists on present appointment will be for a two-year term. an extensive evaluation

Moving on up

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news Mining out of this world What in the world — or beyond it — does mining have to do with space exploration? Dale Boucher, chairman of the recent Planetary and Terrestrial Mining Sciences Symposium (PTMSS), is used to hearing this question. Boucher, who is the director of innovation at the Northern Centre for Research and Technology (NORCAT) located in Sudbury, admits that at first glance the connection is non-intuitive. However, the possibility of forging this link and fostering collaboration between the two sectors is exactly what brought experts from the worlds of mining and space exploration together UNAMEEP 1 (UTIAS/NORCAT Autonomous Mobile Excavation and Exploration Platform) commencing an autonomous excavation task at the symposium. during the 2008 PTMSS conference.

CIM was a platinum sponsor for the three-day conference, and said: ‘Wait a minute. It doesn’t ing and space exploration came while now in its fifth year. For the first time, make any sense that a bunch of peoattending a NASA conference about ple who are very capable at flying the PTMSS, which in previous years eight years ago. “I learned that the space shuttles and rockets figure out was held at NORCAT headquarters, space agencies view the moon as a how to re-do mining. Why don’t we took a road trip down the 401 to the stepping stone to Mars,” explained Canadian Space Agency, in St. Hubert, Boucher. Basically, in an effort to get the two industries together and see if we can create some synergies Quebec. Delegates included represenreduce the astronomical costs of and get a jump on this learning transporting fuel, materials and suptatives from the National Aeronautics plies from earth into space, agencies curve?’” and Space Agency (NASA), the Meanwhile, Boucher is quick to had begun exploring the potential of Canadian Space Agency (CSA), point out that the benefits from this creating a station on the moon from Canadian and U.S. academia and pricollaboration are certainly reciprocal which they could extract and provate corporations. duce materials that could support and that this collaboration has led to The conference feamany advances in mining technolomissions to Mars. tured a mix of presenby Angie Gordon gies as well, including the develop“When I began talking to people tations, technical sesment of drill bits that are being used around NASA and CSA, it became sions, workshops and technology specifically for sidewall drilling in the demonstrations focusing on solid readily apparent that what they were oil and gas industry. “Both industries talking about was a mining activity,” planet science — that is, the science stand to gain a lot of ground by stepsaid Boucher. It occurred to him that and technologies of exploring the ping up to the plate,” said Boucher. In the knowledge, expertise and techearth, its moon and other planetary the mean time, they will have another nologies that they postulated would bodies for the purpose of study or opportunity to explore these synergisfor assessing resource extraction make the dreams of a lunar space tic connections at next year’s conferstation possible were basically those potential. ence, which will be held in Toronto in Boucher said that his realization of of in situ mining resource utilizaJune 2009. CIM the synergy that exists between min- tion. “That’s where I stepped back August 2008 | 19

by Dan Zlotnikov n today’s environmentally sensitive world, you’re unlikely to find a mining company that hasn’t had to field questions about its environmental record. Still, as legislation and public awareness continue to set new goals for environmental and social responsibility, the race towards more sustainable operations is one in which all industry members must participate.

While sustainability is certainly not a new concept for mining companies, the importance of its pursuit cannot be overstated.“Mining companies have been aware of sustainability issues and managed them, but have been doing so implicitly,” said Henry Stoch, senior manager for corporate responsibility and sustainability at Deloitte. “But today’s legal and social environment is one that requires this to be explicitly included in a company’s strategy.”

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Managing risk The need for a global strategy, Stoch explained, comes down to managing one’s risk. One illustration of this practice offered by Stoch was the work of Anglo American in some of its African operations. “Anglo realized that in order to have viable, long-term operations, it needed to ensure viability of the local community and workforce. To that end, they figured out the cost of treating their employees who were HIV positive, and the cost of lost labour and how that would affect their production and stock value. The latter far outweighed the costs of setting up a large-scale, anti-retroviral drug project, which is what they did.”

Suncor’s Crane Lake reclamation

August 2008 | 21

a sustainable future

Elk Valley Coal employee taking water samples as part of environmental testing.

Such initiatives are more than demonstrations of good corporate citizenship and ensuring that the company maintains its social license; there are also clear financial benefits for doing so.

“It’s important to realize how these externalities impact your business viability in the long term,” said Stoch. In his opinion, today’s mining companies must extend their focus beyond the immediate future and consider the factors potentially affecting operations in the next three, five, or even seven or more years.

Taking care of business Not all sustainability initiatives require the implementation of large-scale programs. Sometimes it entails that companies rethink the way they conduct business on a daily basis.

Derek Teevan, manager of government and corporate affairs at De Beers Canada, explained the steps the company took to minimize the footprint of its Victor and Snap Lake operations in northern Canada. Both sites receive their equipment and supply shipments primarily in winter, when they can be accessed by the winter roads. De Beers has opted to limit airborne shipments to personnel and perishables, to minimize both its transportation costs and carbon footprint.

But the implication of this access restriction means a lot more must be stored onsite — and a lot of planning.

“For everything you take in, you have to consider how you’re going to store it, consume it and dispose of it,” Teevan said. De Beers has worked to minimize this cost, and related environmental impacts, by cutting down wherever possible 22 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 3, No. 5

a sustainable future

Planting trees as part of Elk Valley Coal’s reclamation activities.

on packaging materials. Additionally, De Beers has endeavoured to minimize the number of people onsite at any given time.“This limits the strain on the local environment and the mine facilities,” explained Teevan.

Similarly, in the spirit of incremental improvement, the Ontario Mining Association (OMA) undertook an air leak management project in 2006. Pilot studies were done at three mines (McCreedy West, Copper Cliff South and the Williams mine). Initiatives focusing on only the major and medium leaks resulted in annual savings of $100,000 in energy costs per mine and, in some cases, allowed the operators to avoid the added costs and environmental impact of purchasing and transporting additional compressors.

Not all external forces present challenges — sometimes there are unexpected benefits that mining companies can take advantage of. Teevan mentioned one such synergy that helped decrease both the costs and the carbon impact of the Victor mine.“When we were working on the environmental impact assessment for the mine, it looked like the only viable option was for us to undertake onsite

Elk Valley Coal employees examine trees destined for reclamation.

power generation with diesel generators,” he explained.

But before the assessment was completed, legislative changes in Ontario made it more cost-effective to extend power lines to the remote site. De Beers went back to the original evaluation and determined that connecting Victor to the grid was more preferable in terms of cost and environmental impacts.“This was a factor beyond our control,” said Teevan, “but we took advantage of the opportunity when it presented itself.”

A whole new world As the business of mining continues to push geographical boundaries, the challenge for mining companies will be to find the correct initiatives, both locally and globally.“The local stakeholder needs must direct the global strategy, in a bottom-up approach,” Stoch explained.“There is no point in having a global focus that doesn’t exist in regions where you operate.”

Stakeholder engagement programs must also begin earlier, according to Karen Clarke-Whistler, global sustain-

An HIV and AIDS awareness day at Anglo American’s Bafokeng Rasimone platinum mine in South Africa.

August 2008 | 23

a sustainable future

Environmental testing at De Beers’ Snap Lake project.

ability leader at Golder Associates. In particular, ClarkeWhistler is concerned with the exploration stages of the mining cycle.

“Firms like ours are often brought in to do an environmental impact assessment when the company is working on its pre-feasibility study,” she explained, “but by that point they may have been working at the exploration site for any number of years.” She went on to say that the potential impact of the exploration activity may also extend beyond environmental concerns into social implications. “The impressions and impacts made by the exploration camp can have a significant impact even before production ever begins,” ClarkeWhistler said.“After all, the exploration guys are the first ones the locals meet.”

In Clarke-Whistler’s opinion, it is crucial that exploration companies are aware of the need to manage community relations and minimize their environmental impact. Once again, there are clear financial incentives for doing so.

“The majors are getting less into exploration and more into development of known deposits, but a major firm is less likely to be interested in the property if there is already environmental or social damage,” she explained. Similarly, there may be problems if the junior operations approach a lending institution for funding. Over the past two years, most of Canada’s major banks have become signatories to the Equator Principles, a benchmark for assessing environmental and social risk in project financing. Under these principles, a company would have to demonstrate it had a management plan in place to minimize such risks before it could receive funding.

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Talking the walk A final challenge faced by today’s mining companies is not just developing and following sustainability principles, but also making the public aware of them doing so. Stefano Bertolli, director of communications at Rio Tinto Alcan, pointed out that sustainability and efficiency initiatives were not new to the company, but have recently become much more of a focus for public inquiry. “We’ve made our sustainability operations as transparent as possible,” Bertolli said.

“There is a sustainability report that we’ve been publishing for the last few years, as well.”

Alcan is just completing a pilot plant that will pioneer a more energy-efficient AP50 smelting technology — a welcome improvement in an extremely energy-hungry process.

However, Bertolli said the motivation for these initiatives is not new. The challenge for Alcan and many other mining firms is getting the word out to the increasingly environmentally sensitive public.

This communication is yet another reason to formalize sustainable practices and include them in the company’s overall strategy — a process Stoch strongly advocates.

“The important thing is to understand both the risks and the opportunities that climate change poses and to develop some possible scenarios,” he said.“The pursuit of sustainability is just that — a pursuit.”

But by looking beyond the short term, accounting for previously ignored externalities and continuously reassessing stakeholder concerns, today’s mining companies will stand a far better chance of ensuring successful operations for years to come. CIM

a sustainable future

Ontario’s French River

The next big showdown in mining?

by Paul Pigeon s with the old-style Western movies in which cattle barons and townsfolk face off over the rights to a valuable stream, water might just be responsible for a modern-day showdown in the mining industry.

Mining operations can potentially have a significant impact on water supplies and their environments including: draw-downs of water tables due to dewatering, overall water use for processing needs and tailings disposal, denial of water for downstream uses such as irrigation and aquatic habitat, and the risk of water contamination through dissolved salts and metals.

Current factors are putting more pressure on mining companies to prioritize the requirement to focus on resolving their growing water concerns. Factors driving this trend include: • Global population growth, which has resulted in greater overall water consumption and use, including the demands of cropland irrigation and manufacturing.

• Erratic weather and climate change that have led to water shortages in many parts of the world, leading to increased competition for each litre of water in a stream or watershed.

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• Escalating awareness of the need to protect dwindling natural environments, including the necessity to provide adequate watercourse volumes to serve aquatic species (an important food source for many people, particularly in the developing world).

• Rising concern about the effects of mine-originated water contaminants on natural environments and on humans.

As a result of these factors, increasingly stringent environmental legislation in many parts of the world is placing a greater emphasis on the corresponding responsibility of mining companies.

Water is actually becoming a key competitive factor in the industry — those with judicious water practices are more likely to succeed, in part because they avoid the longer term problems that the poor management of this resource can bring.

The horse leading the cart If there is a “horse”leading the cart towards improved water practices, it would be stricter governmental regulations. Both in Canada and worldwide, these are placing more constraints on company water management practices. Expectations are August 2008 | 25

a sustainable future increasingly being codified, as seen in the new environmental, ple, mining operations might be able to store water on site for health and safety guidelines from International Finance release during low-flow times of year so as to help maintain Corporation, the arm of the World Bank responsible for project stream flows sufficient to support aquatic life. One coal-bed financing in developing countries. IFC’s Guidelines have also methane extraction operation in Australia that produces tended to be adopted by other financial institutions and serve near-potable water as part of normal practices provides this as a good guide to expectations for corporate behaviour. water to stakeholders to ease the local water shortage.

Similarly, the Equator Principles — whose signatory financial institutions now control over 85 per cent of project lending worldwide — also illustrate a rising priority for environmental stewardship, including water policy.

There are practical concerns as well. For example, it is difficult for mines in arid parts of the world such as the southwestern United States to receive financing unless they have demonstrated that they have access to sufficient water in order to operate.

Non-governmental organizations are

by David Kratochvil also helping navigate this cart to sustainable water management practices by With the increasing focus on water management practices, the industry is means of their ability to focus worldwide quickly realizing the need for treatment options that will improve water qualattention on activities they consider to be ity to levels not attainable by technologies commonly in use today. A viable examples of irresponsible development. alternative being deployed recently is a new ion-exchange process that incurs Additionally, there is an increased scrutiny comparatively lower capital and operating costs and does not produce a by financial backers who do not want to residual product that necessitates special disposal. be associated with a project that is attractJiangxi Copper Company, China’s largest copper producer, has deployed ing unfavourable headlines on the enviadvanced processing technologies to treat metal-contaminated water at six of ronmental front. its mines. A BioteQ ChemSulphide™ treatment plant was recently commissioned at Jiangxi Copper’s Dexing mine in southeastern China, which proGoing with the flow duces 120,000 tonnes of copper concentrate annually.The new plant removes Historically, some mining companies copper from mine wastewater, producing a high-grade copper product and have focused on staying just ahead of the leaving behind clean water that can be safely discharged to the environment water management demands placed on or recycled into the mining process. them. This, of course, becomes more diffiChemSulphide™ treatment plant at Jiangix Copper Dexing mine. cult as the number of interested parties grows, and their influence increases.

Conversely, consider the improvements that certainly make the destination worth the trip down the bumpy road to more sustainable mining practices. By helping to improve stream flow volumes with goodquality water, for example, a mining company may find greater acceptance of its plans among regulators, members of the local community, financial sources and others.

Therefore, mining companies are increasingly looking for opportunities to improve their water management practices to the advantage not only of their own project, but also to the benefit of the local and regional stakeholders. Clearly, this provides them the opportunity to build credibility and acceptance by stakeholders if they go the extra mile. For exam-

Turning water Upping the ante for environmental sustainability

26 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 3, No. 5

a sustainable future What is developing is a cascading understanding of the importance of water, ranging from uses that demand high purity to those that can tolerate more impurities. While water for drinking must meet high levels of purity, water used for other purposes, such as steam generation, cooling, utilities and other processes, need not meet such high standards.

into gold This process not only generates revenues from what has traditionally been considered waste product, but also eliminates the environmental liability associated with alternative processes. The technology has also been successfully deployed at five other plants in Canada, the United States and Australia, with more on the drawing board. BioteQ expects to produce more than 450,000 kilograms of copper annually from wastewater — a number that they expect to grow to approximately two million kilograms over time.

The first commercial-scale plant was built in 2001at the closed Caribou mine site in New Brunswick. Although small compared to today’s deployments, it showcased the commercial application of the technology and led to projects with Falconbridge (now Xstrata) at the active Raglan nickel operation in northern Quebec.

In 2007, the Raglan plant processed 920,000 cubic metres of water and prevented 12,500 kilograms of nickel from entering the pristine Arctic environment. Nickel was removed to less than 0.2 parts per million, well below the 0.5 parts per million required by regulators. Recovered nickel is sold to offset water treatment costs.

The groundswell to new water treatment technologies continues. Last year, for example, BioteQ plants treated 4.46 billion litres of contaminated water — averaging 12.2 million litres daily — enough to fill more than 1,700 Olympicsized swimming pools. Two plants extracted more than 635,000 kilograms of metals (including copper and nickel) from wastewater within one year.

The move to more sustainable water treatment practices is no short-term experiment. The fact that large-scale operations worldwide are overhauling their treatment systems is a testament to the viability of these new processes. CIM

About the author David Kratochvil is the president and COO of BioteQ Environmental Technologies. He holds a doctorate in chemical engineering and is a specialist in wastewater treatment and chemical processing, with 15 years experience in plant design and operations around the world.

Understanding and applying the cascade principle helps mining companies concentrate their purification efforts on water that needs to meet a high standard. One reason this has become more appealing is that even as standards and expectations regarding water management have risen, so too have technologies able to help make this possible.

New frontiers A significant aspect of the water issue for mines involves quality. Dissolved salts, metals and other contaminants can now be removed more easily, thanks to improvements in technologies such as reverse osmosis that can remove more impurities with lower pressures, exacting fewer demands on the mine’s power supply.

Passive water treatment, often involving organic and bacterial technologies, is also becoming more reliable and practical. Containers of organic materials — sometimes including hay and cow manure — have proven surprisingly effective in treating mine water to remove a wide range of contaminants, including heavy metals. These systems can often operate without electrical power and virtually no service or maintenance for 10 or 15 years. One of their common applications is for treatment of mine water issuing from a mine after closure, for long-term management of post-closure liabilities.

Another technology assisting mining companies in the management of their water issues relates to thickened tailings. Water used for slurry to transport the tailings can be removed and pipelined back to the mill for re-use. As a result, there is less water bleed from a surface deposition of paste or other thickened tailings, meaning less need to treat water that may be contaminated with metals and salts. Because these deposits can be vegetated quickly, there is also reduced requirement for the management of precipitation runoff.

Underground deposition of the thickened tails also means less volume on the surface to be managed. As well, backfilled stopes will generate less mine water requiring treatment.

With reduced necessity — or even none at all — for a conventional water-covered tailings disposal facility, there is less risk of leaks or dam failure releasing water into downstream watersheds.

By concentrating and focusing upon the ebb and flow of water management requirements and emerging technologies, there don’t have to be winners and losers in the faceoff for this valuable resource. A happy ending can result for the mining companies, the communities in which they operate and the interested stakeholders, and all participants can ride comfortably into the sunset. CIM

About the author Paul Pigeon holds a M.Sc. in environmental engineering from the University of Colorado.

He is senior environmental engineer/ consultant in the Denver, Colorado, office of Golder Associates Inc.

August 2008 | 27

a sustainable future Tournigan representatives took a group of its stakeholders on a hike to the drilling sites to explain their plans.

The what, why, when and how of social risk assessment

by Melissa Whellams here’s no question that mining can be a risky business — for the miners themselves, the people living in close proximity to the operations and those investing in mining activities. Operational risks can cause injuries to workers; spills and tailings dam breaks can wreak havoc on the local environment and the lives of those who inhabit it, and delays in production can increase operating costs.

Fortunately, mining companies have made significant strides over the years to better identify and manage health, safety, environmental and financial risks.However, until recently, the industry has not paid as close attention to some of the less obvious social risks to mining companies and their operations.

Conducting a thorough social risk assessment (SRA) prior to and during exploration can assist companies to identify key issues associated with operating in a particular area. Furthermore, SRA can also allow company stakeholders to develop a strategy to mitigate such risks or avoid them altogether.

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What is a social risk assessment?

Most Canadian mining companies conduct what is known as a social impact assessment (SIA) as part of the formal planning and approval processes for their mining operations. The purpose of the SIA is to identify how the company’s project 28 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 3, No. 5

could affect the social, economic and cultural conditions in the area of operation.

In contrast to an SIA, the purpose of an SRA is to identify and analyze how the local social, economic and cultural conditions in the area of operation may affect the project — in particular, the company’s risk profile. Depending on the region of operation, an SRI may include a review of the country’s human rights record and any legacy issues associated with mining, an evaluation of the political climate and conflict situation, and, most importantly, an analysis of the project’s stakeholders and their interests and concerns.

Why now?

As Canadian mining companies seek access to new jurisdictions around the world, they are gradually encroaching on environmentally and socially sensitive areas, such as critical wildlife habitats, biodiversity hotspots and indigenous communities. Many of these areas also have other existing challenges including poverty, conflict, political instability and a history of human rights violations.

Consequently, mining companies are increasingly being confronted with serious social challenges, including strong opposition from local and international NGOs, conflicting world views and complex cultural divides.

a sustainable future While companies often perform adequate due diligence to identify financial and operating risks, many social threats are often overlooked.These can lead to significant roadblocks,such as permit delays and even the rejection of mining licenses.

Conducting an SRA is a proactive way of engaging stakeholders upfront to gain a better understanding of their concerns and to identify how the socio-economic and political context might affect the company’s operations. Information gathered in the SRA can then be used by the company to inform the development of its operational, environmental, community investment, stakeholder engagement and communications plans.

Joe Ringwald, vice president of sustainable development at Tournigan Energy, described the benefits of conducting an SRA at its exploration site in Slovakia: “At first the company paid little attention to in-country social risk, largely out of a lack of knowledge of corporate social risk and social license.

The SRA helped identify the importance of social risk and community engagement. This led to assigning budget and personnel to deal with the issues.”

Conducting an SRA can also help the company gain access to additional capital as savvy investors are becoming increasingly concerned with the risks associated with operating in different political and cultural contexts.

According to Stephen Kibsey, senior portfolio manager for Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec:“When evaluating a company we look at both the qualitative and quantitative aspects of the business. On the qualitative side, we look to see if the company can demonstrate that they have a good understanding of the environment they are operating in, and that they have acquired a social license to operate.”

Finally, conducting an SRA can help a company avoid conflict and costly business disruptions. The stakeholder mapping and engagement process that is integral to an SRA allows a company to establish early open dialogue with its stakeholder groups.

The return on proactive stakeholder engagement can be significant, as demonstrated by Shell Phillipines Exploration B.V. (SPEX) at the onset of its Malampaya Project. SPEX began engaging with community stakeholders two years before it began construction. Engagement involved community outreach and interviews with key opinion leaders, information dissemination, perception surveys, participatory workshops to validate survey results and community participation in the development of the company’s environmental management plans. The result: an estimated US$50 to US$70 million in avoided contractual penalties and construction delays.

If that doesn’t convince managers of the importance of conducting an SRA, the cost of not doing one ultimately will.

In 2002 Meridian Gold Inc. acquired the development rights of the Esquel Gold Project in Esquel, Argentina. Community members in the area had little experience with mining projects and were initially open to seeing how mining could be incorporated into the community’s development plan. At the same time, they did have some reservations about the potential impacts of a mining operation on their commu-

nity. However, Meridian largely ignored community concerns and failed to communicate its plans to community stakeholders. In late 2002, public demonstrations were organized against the company and by early 2003, 81 per cent of eligible voters in Esquel voted against the project at a public referendum. Meridian had planned on starting production by 2005, but instead recorded a loss of US$346.4 million for that year (Note: In 2007, Meridian Gold was acquired by Yamana Gold Inc.).

A proactive SRA would have highlighted the social challenges, better positioned them to address the communities’ concerns and helped them to decide whether or not to buy the development rights to the mine.

When do you get started?

It is most beneficial to conduct an SRA before and during exploration. Entering into a project blind of all social risk can be incredibly damaging to the company and its shareholders.

However, it is equally important to reassess social risk throughout the life of the project, as the social and political environment can change over time.

How to proceed?

A thorough SRA requires both desktop research and some work in the field. Background or secondary research can include academic sources, government reports (e.g. Export Development Canada or the U.S. Department of State), NGO publications (e.g. Business and Human Rights Resource Centre), local newspapers, or even talking to other companies that have operated in the region.

Once the background research is complete, the field work begins. To ensure that you are speaking to the “right” people, it is helpful to conduct a mapping exercise to identify the company’s primary stakeholders — that is, those groups or individuals who would have a significant influence on the company’s operations. Companies need to identify legitimate voices and concerns and also to understand how each of the stakeholders influence one another and how they work together to influence the company.

Subsequently, it is important to engage with them and discuss their interests and concerns about your activities. These conversations will serve to help identify areas of potential risk.

Once the relevant information is compiled and analyzed, it can be used to develop a much more strategic response to their concerns.

It can seem like a lot of work upfront, but think of it like insurance — pay a little now to avoid paying a whole lot later.

In the end, your shareholders will thank you for it. CIM

About the Author Melissa Whellams is a corporate social responsibility (CSR) advisor for Canadian Business for Social Responsibility (CBSR). She works closely with CBSR’s oil and gas and mining companies around the world in the areas of social risk, stakeholder engagement, community investment, human rights and reporting.

August 2008 | 29

a sustainable future

Boris Lum and Glenn Nolan take a break from performing a geophysical EM survey in the NWT.

The inclusion of aboriginal people in the mining industry

by Chief Glenn Nolan ining has always been about challenges, change and innovation. Challenges confront the industry from the earliest stages of mineral exploration, through development, production and closure. Change comes in many forms and is essential to meet the growing demands of the industry, to remain competitive and to deliver the best product in a burgeoning market. Innovation is necessary to take advantage of the latest technologies, make the industry more efficient and environmentally sustainable, and to optimize the use of local human resources.

Moving towards a sustainable future, the industry must tackle all these challenges in a proactive manner. This includes the development of cost-effective processes, enhanced protection of the natural environment and demonstrating social responsibility in the inclusion of local aboriginal communities in all aspects of the mining cycle.

Of these, including meaningful engagement for local aboriginal communities can be the most difficult initia-

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tive to undertake, as a wide range of issues might come into play. Many communities are still dealing with a workforce that is underemployed, lacks specific skills for the mining industry and has had limited experience in a wage economy. While daunting, these challenges are not insurmountable barriers to aboriginal inclusion in the industry; they are simply challenges that require creative solutions.

Historically, the aboriginal people of North America — Wendat, Lakota, Yakima, Blood, Omushkego, Anishinabek, Iroquois, Inuit and Dene, to name a few — were self-governing and practiced varied and elaborate forms of spirituality.

These people thrived largely because they utilized natural resources. They hunted, fished, trapped, farmed, and mined the minerals and rock. They extracted silver, copper, jade and turquoise for use in jewelry and tools. They quarried siltstone, obsidian, chert and flint for axes, knives, arrowheads and scrapers.

a sustainable future Where we are Today the situation is very different. Life for many of our people in Canada is dictated by government policies that keep our people from prospering from the resources that surround our communities. Most aboriginal people in Canada have been excluded from benefiting from resource development, including those of the minerals industry. “Outsiders� have come into the traditional territory of a community, conducted and completed their work and then moved on. To add insult to this exclusion, many of the exploration and mining projects have had considerable negative impacts on the land and waters of these communities.

The methods used in mining today are of course significantly different from those of the past. So too are the attitudes. Many communities are willing to participate in every aspect of the mining industry; however, many of their members feel excluded from mainstream Canadian society.

Aboriginal communities continue to be largely overlooked when companies are seeking both skilled and unskilled workers. And many companies are even recruiting from outside Canada. Government programs actually encourage the use of immigrant workers. How can aboriginal communities and industry work together to increase the participation of aboriginal people in the mining industry?

The education system in our communities seems to be failing our youth, as 50 to 70 per cent of aboriginal students do not complete high school. Communities and companies need to work together to create opportunities and incentives for our young people to complete their high school education. Aboriginal youth need to believe in dreams and be aware of opportunities, just like everyone else.

There is a fear that the mining industry will destroy our aboriginal way of life, our culture and our identity. Often, the fear comes from not fully understanding the industry or the opportunities that arise through active participation.

support for cross-cultural sensitivity awareness training for all staff.

In addition, companies should develop a procurement policy for community participation in the supply and service chain of the industry, enhance recruitment, training, retention and advancement of aboriginal partners, and regularly share information and project updates with community representatives.

Success is about developing a formula that works. Each company must look closely at how they want to work with the community. Community engagement is the key and will lead to greater willingness for participation in the industry, stronger support from grassroots community members, fewer project disruptions and, ultimately, greater capacity and growth within the community.

Change is inevitable. By working together, industry and aboriginal communities can affect positive outcomes. CIM

About the author Glenn Nolan is the Chief of the Missanabie Cree First Nation, president of Learning Togther and the second vice president of PDAC.

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Finding solutions With every challenge, there are solutions. The solutions must be proactive, creative, inclusive and innovative if they are to succeed. They must be addressed by industry, but also from the aboriginal perspective. Creating positive working relationships early in the process will foster a stronger commitment and understanding between industry and aboriginal people, for the benefit of both parties in the future.

Companies have an important role to play to initiate changes towards a greater inclusion of aboriginal people in the mining industry. This will require a dedicated effort, and the following ideas can assist companies to increase aboriginal participation in their projects.

Operations that intend to work with aboriginal individuals should develop internal policies for community engagement. This policy development is similar to those original environmental policies of the 70s and 80s. Also, senior management needs to be committed to building positive working relationships with community partners. There must be

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August 2008 | 31

a sustainable future O’Kane Consultants Inc.’s cover system over the backfilled open pit at Vale Inco’s decommissioned Whistle mine near Sudbury, Ontario.

Supplying environmentally friendly options throughout the mining cycle

by Michelle Sabourin uppliers in the mining industry contribute a great deal to the environmental improvement of the sector. In order to secure new business with mining companies, vendors now need to be not only cost-effective and safe, but also provide environmental solutions that will help a mine meet strict regulatory guidelines. As a result, a broad range of companies have stepped up to the challenge, each specializing in a different area of the mining process, and each one doing its part in making the industry, as a whole, more environmentally sustainable.

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The early years — exploration Storage: Initially, when operations consist largely of exploration camps, or are within the first stages of construction, 32 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 3, No. 5

onsite fuel storage can pose a considerable challenge.

Historically, the options in these usually remote locations included the use of drums, steel tanks or the freezing of fuel-filled barges in winter ice. However, these methods cause an abundance of environmental problems including possible ruptures and fuel spills, the hazards posed by abandoned drums and tanks, and the exorbitant price — carbon cost included — that is necessary to transport these fuel recipients.

SEI Industries Ltd.’s collapsible tanks offer an alternative solution. Made from a high-durability fabric, these tanks have a volume capacity that is equivalent to 545 drums of fuel and can fold into the size of a sofa, making them highly efficient for shipping. Tank removal is also cost-effective and easy,

a sustainable future Up and running — production Waste treatment: Once mining operations are well under-

Collapsible fuel tank

which encourages their proper disposal after use.“We’re offering a long-term and environmentally friendly solution rather than a temporary and disposable one,” said divisional sales manager Paul Reichard. As an added “green” perk, SEI is currently working with Environment Canada to develop national standards for these types of tanks.

Waste management: Another environmental issue associated with exploration camps is waste. Landfills are simply not an option in these remote and environmentally sensitive areas, nor is the open-pit burning of waste.

One company, Eco Waste Solutions, is focusing on building clean-burning camp waste incinerators, which are distinguished for their capability to meet regulatory guidelines for emissions such as dioxins and mercury.“It’s a dual-stage system that has a primary burning chamber and an afterburner,” explained Steve Meldrum, the company’s CEO. “We maintain a two-second retention time of all the gases that are produced at 1,000ºC, to ensure that it is clean-burning when run properly.”

The use of clean-burning incinerators in mining camps has not been restricted to solid waste. During the Polaris mine closure in the High Arctic, Eco Waste Solutions helped process vast amounts of glycol, which had been used in cooling and heating systems within the camp. “We processed all of the glycol onsite so that they didn’t have to deal with the risks associated with shipping it over thousands of miles and, at the end, still having to dispose of it,” said Meldrum.

Other liquid wastes that are generated in camps, such as sewage or grey water from showers and laundry, also need to be dealt with. Seprotech Systems Inc. specializes in wastewater treatment plants designed for mining camps.

These are compact, portable, energy-efficient and simple to operate, making them suitable for remote sites.

According to Wilf Stefan, the company’s resource sector manager: “We work with our clients to understand their water board or permit requirements and we make sure the equipment meets those criteria.” Once water quality guidelines are met, water from the treatment plants can be released into local streams or, depending on the permit, into the subsurface.

way, other environmental issues subsequently arise. These include the generation of tailings and waste rock, the ensuing production of acid mine drainage, and heavy metals contamination.

Using high-density sludge (HDS) technology in the water treatment plants they design for mines, SGS-CEMI Inc. is able to neutralize acidic water as well as precipitate heavy metals from industrial wastewater. Their area of expertise lies in the removal of heavy metals, including selenium and molybdenum, even when present at very low concentrations. “There are a limited number of companies who know how to remove them successfully,” claimed Sohan Basra, president and CEO. Emissions: Mining equipment can also negatively impact the environment and expose underground miners to harmful emissions. This is particularly the case with diesel-powered machines, which are heavy polluters with regards to particulate matters and nitrogen dioxide. Environmental Solutions Worldwide Inc. is tackling this problem head-on by providing leading-edge emissions control technologies such as its latest product innovation, a fully automated diesel particulate filter system. As Juergen Jennewein, vice president of sales for the company explained: “The ThermaCat™ system was specifically engineered to com-

Eco Waste Solutions’ ThermaCat features a fully automated diesel particulate filter system.

August 2008 | 33

a sustainable future bine automatic regeneration and automated diesel postinjection into a single system targeted towards mining equipment operating in stop-and-go or low-speed duty cycles. It features filtration efficiency of 99.8 per cent for fine and ultra-fine particles, while maintaining NO2 levels within MSHA standards.”

Similarly, companies such as Control Chemical Corporation, are focusing on the manufacture of environmentally safe drilling fluids and lubricants, to reduce the harmful impacts caused when drilling with petroleum-based products. These drilling fluids are vegetable oil-based, can biodegrade and, most importantly, are non-toxic.“I think that’s the greatest concern, especially in the case of spills,” said product manager Bob Coak.“The key thing with our products is that they’re not harmful to marine life or anything else that they may be exposed to.”

Last call — closure

Arctic Alpine Seed provided vegetation cover for the Faro mine reclamation project.

Closure plans and reclamation: Suppliers play a vital

ing environment are extremely multi-disciplinary, and there’s not one person or one group that will have all of the answers,” explained Mike O’Kane, president of O’Kane Consultants Inc., a company that specializes in the design, construction and performance monitoring of engineered soil cover systems for mine waste rock dumps. These cover systems aid in controlling the generation of metals and poor water quality seepage from mine waste storage facilities and are often used in mine closure.

According to O’Kane:“Cover systems are generally a part of the solution at a mine site; they’re not a ‘silver bullet’ — or a ‘green bullet,’ if you will — they’re part of the solution, and they need to be in place for as long as you need them to, so that the receiving environment is protected.” In order for these cover systems to perform and last, their design must be carefully tailored to the available construction materials, climatic conditions and sustainable vegetation at the mine site.

“In my opinion the most important function for a cover system is being able to establish a sustainable vegetation cover,” said O’Kane.“Because over the long term, it’s the vegetation cover that is going to control the water balance and help to control erosion.”

Arctic Alpine Seed Ltd. specializes in precisely that — vegetation cover. The company has spent 30 years developing indigenous seed for land reclamation purposes and assists mines in rehabilitating their site once mining activities have ceased. Naturally, the work is very site-specific and it is crucial that no foreign species are introduced. The company’s president,Randy Lewis,summed the work up nicely:“Once you come to closure, then you are basically trying to back your way out the door and return the mine site to a sustainable ecosystem that is as close as possible to the ecosystem that surrounds it.”

Clearly, suppliers to the mining industry serve an important role in mitigating the potentially detrimental effects of the industry’s operations, and do so at every stage of the mining cycle. They provide the services and innovative technologies needed for the environmentally sustainable approach that is essential to present-day mining. CIM

role in assisting mines with their closure and land reclamation plans long before the end of production is even in sight. A project of this magnitude not only requires that suppliers work closely with the mining team, but also that they know when to bring in others with different areas of expertise.

“Understanding the most appropriate course of action for a mine closure and controlling adverse impacts in the receivTM

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l’avenir durable Cueillette d’échantillons d’eau à l’exploitation Key Lake de Cameco dans le cadre de la gestion environnementale.

Les pratiques durables : joindre les gestes aux paroles ans le monde actuel, sensibilisé à l’environnement, vous auriez de la difficulté à trouver une compagnie minière qui n’a pas été questionnée sur son dossier environnemental. Cependant, alors que les législations et la sensibilisation du public continuent à établir de nouvelles normes pour l’environnement et la responsabilité sociale, la course a commencé pour atteindre des exploitations plus durables et tous les membres de l’industrie doivent y participer. « Les compagnies ont toujours été au courant des préoccupations de durabilité et elles les ont gérées, mais souvent de manière implicite », dit Henry Stoch, directeur principal, responsabilité corporative et durabilité chez Deloitte. « L’environnement social et légal actuel demande que cela soit implicitement inclus dans la stratégie des compagnies. » Le besoin d’une stratégie globale revient à gérer son propre risque. M. Stoch explique par un exemple en Afrique. « La compagnie Anglo American a réalisé que, pour avoir des

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exploitations viables à long terme, elle devait assurer la viabilité de la communauté locale et de la main-d’œuvre. La compagnie a calculé le coût de traiter les employés séropositifs pour le VIH par rapport au coût de main-d’œuvre perdue et l’effet sur la production et la valeur des actions. Les pertes dépassaient de loin les coûts d’implanter un projet de distribution de médicaments antirétroviraux à grande échelle. » De telles initiatives sont plus que des démonstrations de bonne conscience sociale d’une entreprise, elles représentent aussi des bénéfices financiers. Selon M. Stoch, les compagnies minières doivent penser plus loin que l’avenir immédiat et considérer les facteurs qui affectent leurs exploitations pour les prochaines années.

Derek Teevan, directeur des affaires corporatives et gouvernementales pour De Beers Canada, explique comment la compagnie a réduit son empreinte pour les exploitations Victor et Snap Lake. Les deux sites reçoivent leurs équipements et leurs approvisionnements surtout en hiver

l’avenir durable

Restauration du terrain à Elk Valley Coal.

Gateway Hill — Syncrude Canada Ltée a restauré 104 ha de terrains.

par la route de glace. De Beers a décidé de limiter les envois par avion au personnel et aux denrées périssables afin de minimiser les coûts de transport et la génération de carbone.

Cela demande cependant beaucoup de planification et de grandes capacités d’entreposage sur le site même.

L’Association minière de l’Ontario a entrepris un projet de gestion des fuites d’air en 2006. Des études pilotes ont été effectuées à trois mines : McCreedy West, Copper Cliff South et Williams. Ne ciblant que les grosses et moyennes fuites, des économies d’énergie d’une valeur de 100 000 $ par mine ont été atteintes. Cela permettait aussi d’éviter l’achat et le transport de compresseurs supplémentaires.

Des bénéfices hors de notre contrôle surviennent aussi parfois. « Lorsque nous analysions l’impact environnemental de la mine Victor, la seule option semblait la production d’énergie par des génératrices au diesel », dit M. Teevan. « Cependant, avant d’avoir terminé l’analyse, des changements législatifs en Ontario rendaient plus rentable l’amenée de lignes de transport d’énergie. De Beers a repris ses évaluations et a déterminé qu’il était préférable de se raccorder au réseau électrique. »

impressions et les impacts du camp d’exploration peuvent avoir des répercussions avant même le début de la production. » « Les grandes compagnies font moins d’exploration et plus de développement mais elles seront moins intéressées par une propriété où il y a des dommages environnementaux », explique-t-elle. Au cours des deux dernières années, la plupart des banques canadiennes ont signé les Principes d’Équateur, un ensemble de lignes directrices pour évaluer les risques environnementaux et sociaux des projets qu’elles financent.

Un tout nouveau monde Alors que les limites géographiques sont de plus en plus repoussées, le défi des compagnies minières est de trouver les bonnes initiatives à l’échelle locale et à l’échelle mondiale. « L’intervenant doit diriger la stratégie en partant du bas. Cela ne sert à rien d’avoir une cible globale qui n’existe pas dans les régions où vous exploitez », explique M. Stoch.

Selon Karen Clarke-Whistler, responsable de la durabilité globale chez Golder et Associés, les engagements devraient débuter plus tôt. Elle se préoccupe surtout des stages d’exploration. « On demande à des entreprises comme la nôtre de faire une étude d’impact alors que la compagnie minière travaille son étude de pré-faisabilité. Cela peut faire déjà quelques années que des gens travaillent sur le site. Les

Joindre les gestes aux paroles Un des derniers défis des compagnies minières est de sensibiliser le public au fait qu’elles développent et suivent des principes de durabilité. Stefano Bertolli, directeur des communications chez Rio Tinto Alcan, stipule que les initiatives de durabilité et d’efficacité ne sont pas nouvelles mais elles sont de plus en plus scrutées par le public. « Nous rendons nos activités aussi transparentes que possible », dit-il.

Alcan termine le montage d’une usine pilote qui utilisera une technologie de fonte à meilleur rendement énergétique – une amélioration bienvenue dans un procédé extrêmement énergivore.

Le défi est de communiquer avec un public de plus en plus sensibilisé à l’environnement. Cette communication constitue une autre raison de formaliser les pratiques durables et de les inclure dans la stratégie globale de la compagnie. « L’important est de comprendre les risques et les occasions que présentent les changements climatiques et de développer des scénarios possibles », dit M. Stoch.

En regardant vers l’avenir, en tenant compte des effets externes, ignorés jusqu’à maintenant, et en réévaluant continuellement les préoccupations des intervenants, les compagnies minières auront une bien meilleure chance d’exploiter avec succès pour de nombreuses années à venir. CIM August 2008 | 37

l’avenir durable Site de forages à Bear Valley dans les T.N.-O.

L’inclusion des Autochtones dans l’industrie minière Les exploitations minières ont toujours représenté des défis, des changements et des innovations. L’industrie est confrontée aux défis dès les premiers stages d’exploration, en passant par le développement, la production et la fermeture.

Les changements se présentent sous plusieurs formes et ils sont essentiels pour satisfaire les besoins croissants de l’industrie, demeurer compétitifs et livrer le meilleur produit possible. L’innovation est nécessaire pour tirer avantage des plus récentes technologies, rendre l’industrie plus efficiente et durable du point de vue de l’environnement et optimiser l’utilisation des ressources humaines locales.

L’industrie doit donc gérer tous ces défis de manière proactive, incluant le développement de procédés rentables, la protection accrue de l’environnement naturel et la démonstration d’une responsabilité sociale en incluant des membres des communautés autochtones locales dans tous les aspects du cycle minier.

De nombreuses communautés ont une main-d’oeuvre sous-employée, qui manque d’habiletés spécifiques aux mines et qui a peu d’expérience dans une économie basée sur les salaires. Bien qu’ils soient de taille, ces défis ne constituent pas des barrières à l’inclusion des Autochtones.

Historiquement, les peuples autochtones d’Amérique du Nord : Wendat, Lakota, Iroquois, Inuit et Déné, pour n’en nommer que quelques-uns — étaient des collectivités autonomes qui pratiquaient diverses formes élaborées de spiritualité. Ils pêchaient, piégeaient, cultivaient et extrayaient des minéraux et des roches. Ils extrayaient de l’argent, du cuivre et du jade pour des bijoux et des outils. Ils taillaient la siltite, l’obsidienne, le chert et le silex pour faire des haches, des couteaux et des pointes de flèches.

La situation est maintenant différente. La vie de beaucoup d’entre nous est dictée par des politiques gouvernementales qui empêchent notre peuple de tirer profit des ressources qui entourent nos communautés. Les gens « de l’extérieur » travaillent sur les territoires traditionnels puis s’en vont. En plus de nous exclure, de nombreux projets ont des impacts 38 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 3, No. 5

négatifs considérables sur le sol et l’eau de nos communautés.

Les méthodes d’exploitation minière sont certes différentes de nos jours. Les attitudes aussi ont changé; de nombreuses communautés veulent participer à tous les aspects de l’industrie minière. Cependant, les communautés autochtones continuent à être ignorées lorsque les compagnies recherchent des travailleurs avec ou sans qualifications.

Pourtant, de nombreuses compagnies font du recrutement à l’extérieur du Canada, souvent aidées par des programmes gouvernementaux.

Le système d’éducation répond mal aux besoins de nos jeunes; de 50 à 70 % ne terminent pas leurs études secondaires. Les compagnies et les communautés doivent travailler ensemble à créer des occasions et des incitatifs pour nos jeunes.

Chaque défi comporte des solutions; pour réussir, elles doivent être proactives, inclusives et innovatrices.

L’établissement de relations de travail positives tôt dans les processus encouragera une bonne compréhension entre l’industrie et les peuples autochtones et ce, au bénéfice des deux parties.

Les exploitations qui ont l’intention de travailler avec des Autochtones devraient développer des politiques internes d’embauche communautaire. De plus, les compagnies devraient développer des politiques d’achat pour que les communautés autochtones puissent participer à la chaîne d’approvisionnement et de services. Elles devraient encourager l’embauche, la formation et l’avancement de ses partenaires autochtones, partageant régulièrement l’information et le progrès des projets avec les représentants communautaires.

Le succès, c’est développer une formule qui fonctionne.

L’engagement communautaire est la clé; cela conduira à une plus grande volonté de participation, un meilleur support de la communauté, moins d’interruptions des projets et, finalement, une communauté en pleine croissance avec plus de capacités. CIM

du 2 au 5 novembre 2008 • Rouyn-Noranda, Québec L’Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT) et l’ICM vous invitent à RouynNoranda, Québec, du 2 au 5 novembre 2008 à l’occasion du Symposium 2008 sur l’environnement et les mines.

Programme technique Jour

Sessions

Présidents de session

Lundi avant-midi 1

Rejets de concentrateur

Michel Aubertin, professeur et titulaire de la Chaire industrielle CRSNG Polytechnique-UQAT, École Polytechnique de Montréal

Lundi avant-midi 2

Remblayage souterrain

Mostafa Benzaazoua, professeur et titulaire de la Chaire de recherche du Canada en Gestion des rejets miniers sulfureux par remblayage, Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue, et Bruno Bussière, professeur, titulaire adjoint de la Chaire Industrielle CRSNG-Polytechnique-UQAT et titulaire de la Chaire de recherche du Canada sur la restauration des sites miniers abandonnés, Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue

Lundi après-midi 1

Roches stériles

Michel Aubertin, professeur et titulaire de la Chaire industrielle CRSNG Polytechnique-UQAT, École Polytechnique de Montréal, et Bruno Bussière, professeur, titulaire adjoint de la Chaire Industrielle CRSNGPolytechnique-UQAT et titulaire de la Chaire de recherche du Canada sur la restauration des sites miniers abandonnés, Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue

Lundi après-midi 2

Politique et réglementation et Mines et société

Jean-Claude Belles-Isles, directeur environnement, Association minière du Québec, Johanne Cyr, chargée de projets, Direction du développement et du milieu miniers, Ministère des Ressources naturelles et de la Faune du Québec, et Sylvain Boily, surintendant de l’environnement et du laboratoire, division Laronde, AgnicoEagle

Mardi avant-midi 1

Qualité des eaux

Johanne Cyr, chargée de projets, Direction du développement et du milieu miniers, Ministère des Ressources naturelles et de la Faune du Québec, et Jean-Claude Belles-Isles, directeur environnement, Association minière du Québec

Mardi avant-midi 2

Restauration des sites

Gilles Tremblay, gestionnaire de programme, projets spéciaux, MEND/NOAMI Secretariats, Ressources naturelles Canada, et Bruno Bussière, professeur, titulaire adjoint de la Chaire Industrielle CRSNGPolytechnique-UQAT et titulaire de la Chaire de recherche du Canada sur la restauration des sites miniers abandonnés, Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue

Mardi après-midi 1

Nouvelles tendances

Michel Aubertin, professeur et titulaire de la Chaire industrielle CRSNG Polytechnique-UQAT, École Polytechnique de Montréal, et Michel Julien, associé principal, administrateur régional, Golder Associés ltée

Durant la séance plénière des questions seront débattues par un panel composé de leaders d’opinions de divers horizons sur la manière de concilier mines et développement durable au Canada; comment satisfaire la demande mondiale en minéraux, tout en tenant compte de l'impact des activités minières sur la société et l'environnement; et comment intégrer le développement durable dans l’exploration, l'extraction et la production des ressources minérales.

Le programme inclut aussi : • Un salon commercial • Des excursions • Un cours intensif sur la Restauration des sites d’entreposage de rejets miniers générateurs de DMA • Des activités sociales incluant un cocktail de bienvenue, un souper spectacle et les déjeuner dans le Salon commercial

Contactez Chantal Murphy, cmurphy@cim.org, 1.800.667.1246

www.cim.org/rouyn-noranda2008

Chaire CRSNG Polytechnique - UQAT en environnement et gestion des rejets miniers

engineering exchange Engineering a greater environment In 2000, the Ministry of the Environment (MOE) conducted an extensive soil sampling exercise in the city of Port Colborne, Ontario.

Findings showed nickel levels that exceeded MOE generic guidelines in a 29 square kilometre area fanning out from Vale Inco’s nearby refinery. Soon, the city was up in arms against the mining company. Vale Inco turned to Jacques Whitford to assist them in better understanding the extent of the alleged contamination and to find viable solutions as needed.

Jacques Whitford scien- Protecting the marine environment with a silt curtain during civil works. tists, engineers and risk assessors, led by project manager lected throughout the area for chemiEric Veska, embarked on a compre- cal analyses. Questionnaires were hensive eight-year community-based filled out by residents to plot everyrisk assessment in the city and sur- thing from how much water they rounding area. Challenges were met drank and where the water came and overcome on a daily basis. Veska from, to what they ate and how much recalls facing accusations and anger time they spent indoors and outat the frequent city meetings. The doors. Water from private wells and town hired (at Vale Inco’s expense) a the city’s supply was tested. third-party consultant to follow the Vegetables growing in gardens were Jacques Whitford team every step of tested. Local produce from grocery the way to assure the public that a stores was tested. Crops, earthworms, transparent process was being fol- frogs, insects, voles, poultry, eggs, trees and natural vegetation were all lowed. “They were always there,” sampled and tested.

Veska exclaimed, “questioning and Meanwhile, long-term studies in challenging our methods, and then laboratories and at universities examperforming the exact same tests we were doing.” Veska often found him- ined phytotoxicity, earthworm doseresponse toxicity and the ingested self swamped with all the extra paperwork nickel uptake among rats in vivo.

by Haidee Weldon Jacques Whitford’s work in gathering generated by the thirdsite-specific input values on the toxiparty consultants, slowing the entire city of soil nickel to humans and the process down.

Sampling from homes was time- ecology was used to develop riskconsuming and often difficult. Several based soil criteria for the community people were uncooperative and of Port Colborne.

In the end, it was found that the would not allow scientists access to nickel present in the Port Colborne their property.

Soil samples were taken at hun- soil was predominantly insoluble dreds of homes, and dust and indoor nickel oxide. This was good news and outdoor air samples were col- because nickel oxide, when ingested, 40 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 3, No. 5

enters the bloodstream only at very low concentrations and is quite safe at the levels found in environmental media around Port Colborne.

Phytotoxicity tests showed that only a two square kilometre area of farm land required remediation.

Farmers were encouraged to distribute limestone and manganese in the affected soil to effectively reduce nickel uptake by crops.

Only in one small company-owned woodlot was nickel concentration found to be higher than levels considered safe for earthworms. No immediate remediation is planned for this woodlot, unless its zoning changes to agricultural.

In 2004, Xstrata Nickel hired Jacques Whitford’s Montreal office for assistance in completing the environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) for the proposed wharf reconstruction in Deception Bay. In accordance with the environmental protection regime of the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement, its own views and those of Xstrata, the Jacques Whitford team worked closely with the local Inuit people to make sure the project

engineering exchange would generate as little impact as possible. Meetings were held so that local villagers could express their concerns and ask questions. Taking into account what the local people wanted to protect was a big part of project planning. At the wharf site itself, some old asbestos contamination from a prior operation was discovered in the seabed, which Xstrata was quick to clean up. Dredged sediments were moved to land and the material was securely stored. Water collected from dredging was treated before being returned to the environment. Water quality, fish habitat, plant species and the local bird population were extensively surveyed in and around the project area. Certain areas near the wharf were demarcated and declared off limits for construction activity.

Fish protection in Deception Bay was one of the key factors considered.

The adopted objective was to ensure no net loss of habitat, in accordance with the Fisheries Act. Also, any justifiable loss of fish habitat needed to be compensated for. An old collapsed culvert is scheduled to be repaired this year and upgraded to facilitate Arctic char passage and spawning, thus allowing better than 1:1 compensation for lost habitat. A section of the new wharf was designed to be crossed more easily and safely for Lake Duquet area villagers travelling by snowmobile.

During the construction of the wharf, a local whale watcher was hired to keep an eye on whale movement in the bay. All work was stopped when a whale approached to within one kilometre of the construction site. Because nothing could be done to encourage whales to leave the area, work could only continue when they left of their own volition.

Blasting was limited on land because of reverberation, and no underwater blasting occurred. During wharf construction, a $500,000 silt curtain was installed in the water around the wharf site to contain and limit suspended solids in the bay.

This was the Montreal office’s first project with Xstrata. Project manager Raymond Goulet found the experience rewarding. “There were interesting challenges on this project and Xstrata did everything by the book and often exceeded environmental requirements as a means of being

good custodians of the land,” Goulet stated. “There is a lot of competition in Quebec for engineering consulting.

Most of them cover environmental engineering as a sideline. I believe that Xstrata chose us because environmental work is our main business and we do it best.” CIM

Engineering Sustainable Solutions At Jacques Whitford, we offer solutions to the challenges faced as we progress towards sustainable mining.

We understand the environmental and social issues facing the mining industry and work with you to realize the opportunities.

We know that being sustainable includes engaging the community and respecting cultures while bringing local economic value and protecting human health and the environment – from development to closure, and beyond.

At Jacques Whitford, we have embraced sustainability in our business practices too. That’s why we’re the first major environmental engineering firm to become fully carbon neutral.

We are leaders in sustainable business practices.

We understand mining and sustainability. From coast to coast, Jacques Whitford is there, working with the mining industry, facilitating community consultation, mitigating potential environmental impacts, and designing mines with reclamation and the environment in mind.

Development without compromising the future.

Visit www.jacqueswhitford.com/mining to discover how we can help you work towards sustainable mining or e-mail us at mining@jacqueswhitford.com

www.jacqueswhitford.com/mining

August 2008 | 41

the supply side

Suppliers should plan for cyclicity In 2008, we find ourselves at a time of high prices for mined commodities, active mineral exploration, expansion of mining operations and new mine construction. It is a time for mining suppliers to diversify their client base.

This will help them grow and, by selecting from among a larger range of opportunities, increase their margins.

Further, diversifying now will better protect suppliers when the industry moves into its next slow period.

The traditional mining cycle is driven by the mining companies responding to higher prices to bring on too much production, which tips the balance of supply and demand to oversupply, in turn leading to lower prices. At low prices, the high-cost mining companies start to lose money and shut down capacity, and this leads to supply shortage and price increases.

This industry-controlled cycle has a period of about 10 years.

Superimposed on this are major events affecting supply and demand, which are not controlled by the industry, such as the Industrial Revolution, the rise of the U.S. economy at the turn of the last century, the Cold War, the collapse of communism in the Soviet Union (with the release of stocks of commodities mined at any cost during the Cold War) and now, the industrialization of China and India. It is difficult to combine

by Jon Baird these cycles and predict when mining may turn down again.

The Raw Materials Group (RMG) of Stockholm, Sweden, maintains a most comprehensive registry of mining projects. As of December 2007, this database contained information on more than 3,000 projects including all major metals (except bauxite and magnesium) and diamonds in 70 countries.

42 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 3, No. 5

A page for and about the supply side of the Canadian mining industry The total value of all projects in the pipeline at the end of 2007 was US$308 billion, an increase of 50 per cent over the figure at the end of 2006.

During 2007, 175 new mining invest-

total value of all non-fuel minerals production. Of the US$58 billion in new projects for 2007, iron ore investments took a 47 per cent share; copper, 27 per cent; gold, 7 per cent; and

Diversifying now will better protect suppliers when the industry moves into its next slow period. ment projects, valued at US$58 billion, were added to the database, up from US$38 billion added in 2006.

However, the number of new projects decreased from 200 in 2006, leading RMG to conclude that the growth in the number of new projects has slowed. In comparison, in the trough of the last downturn in the industry in 2002, only 65 projects, valued at US$11 billion, were logged in.

Escalating costs are the main reason that the average cost per project has increased. RMG cites increased cost of equipment, more complex orebodies, deeper, lower grade deposits, increasingly remote locations, and the lack and cost of staff as supporting a longterm rising cost level.

Mine constructors are busy. RMG’s construction category has expanded in 2007 for the fifth consecutive year to a total value of US$31 billion, up from US$23 billion last year. RMG anticipates growth in this category to continue in 2008, but at a slower rate.

Four metals — copper, iron ore, gold and nickel — account for 82 per cent of the total project pipeline. This high percentage is to be expected, since these commodities account for US$235 billion, or 63 per cent of the

nickel, 8 per cent. The average iron ore project is valued above US$500 million; copper projects, US$345 million; and gold projects, US$130 million.

By region, Latin America leads with slightly less than a third of new projects listed in 2007. Oceania, including Australia and Papua New Guinea, is second with 20 per cent, and Africa and North America, third with 15 per cent. The leading project investments by country in 2007 were Australia, 15 per cent; Canada, 11 per cent; and Brazil, 10 per cent. CIM

About the author Jon Baird is managing director of CAMESE and president of PDAC.

eye on business The opportunities and threats of climate change The development of Canadian and international carbon-related regulation deeply concerns the mining industry, an important consumer of energy that employs some highly energy-intensive processes. While climate-related risks are significant, the mining industry can benefit from opportunities arising from the new and emerging carbon markets.

Climate-related risks In April 2007, the Canadian federal government announced its intention to regulate greenhouse gases (GHG) and air pollutant emissions in specified industrial sectors, including mining. An initial 18 per cent reduction target from 2006 emission intensity levels would be required in 2010 for existing facilities, followed by a compulsory annual two per cent continuous improvement. The reduction target will be applied at the sector-wide, corporate or facility levels. The latter level will govern most of the mining industry, with individual facilities within a sector being assigned an 18 per cent target applicable to their respective 2006 emission intensity level.

Proposed GHG regulations are expected to be published by the end of 2008 and finalized in 2009, so as to come into force, as planned, on January 1, 2010.

The main task for the mining industry is, therefore, to prepare for the 2010 GHG reduction targets, starting by assessing current GHG emissions

by Florence Dagicour and determining the most suitable options for achieving compliance with the federally proposed GHG regulations, which include: • Investing in new technologies reducing the GHG emissions (i.e. in-house reduction).

• Contributing to a technology fund, for $15 per ton between 2010 and 2012, with price increases there-

after corresponding to GDP. Such contributions are limited to 70 per cent of the total regulatory target in 2010, decreasing and falling to 0 per cent in 2018.

• Using the trading system, under which facilities can receive “emissions credits” — tradable title representing ownership of the GHG emissions reductions — in order to bank or sell such emissions credits.

As of June 19, 2008, the Canadian carbon price traded at $10.75 at the Montreal Climate Exchange. It is expected that the price of one ton of CO2 will remain below $15 in Canada.

• Obtaining offset credits through the “offset system,” under which offset credits are granted for emission reduction projects in Canada, outside of regulated activities and under certain conditions.

• Purchasing certified emission reductions (CERs), issued under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) under the Kyoto Protocol limited to only 10 per cent of each regulated company’s target.

Other climate-related risks include: 1. Legal proceedings targeting heavy emitters, as demonstrated by the action in 2007 against a mining company on account of its GHG emissions in Queensland, Australia, or against several oil, gas, electricity and coal companies in California (case filed February 26, 2008) seeking over US$400 million to relocate a village.

2. Securities legislation, given the stringency of emerging transparency standards for corporate disclosure and carbon claims, as previewed in the February 2008 e n v i ro n m e n t a l report of key find-

ings of the Ontario Securities Commission.

3. Various business losses and property damage resulting from storms, decreased rainfall, variation in water availability, etc.

Opportunities for Canadian mining industries Canada’s early-action program makes emissions credits available to mining companies that have reduced their GHG emissions between 1992 and 2006. Conditions apply, including registration with the federal government no later than June 27, 2008, and specifics on reductions achieved between 1992 and 2006.

Companies — regulated or otherwise — can develop carbon capture and storage projects eligible for the offset system and obtain offset credits applicable to compliance with the 2010 reduction target.

Canadian companies operating in certain developing countries may receive CERs for each GHG emission reduction for projects approved and registered by the CDM Executive Board, such as coal methane capture, energy efficiency and bio-mass fuel switch projects.

Canadian companies may be suspended from participating in CDM projects and denied CERs pending a United Nations investigation of the Canadian obligations under the Kyoto Protocol. CIM

About the author Florence Dagicour is a lawyer with the Energy, Environmental, Climate Change and Regulatory Practice Group of Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP. Florence was born and raised in a rural setting and has preserved her love of nature. For this reason, she remains deeply committed to protecting the environment and developing a consciousness and sensitivity to the preservation of nature in others.

August 2008 | 43

student life Partnership: it’s what students want At the recent CIM Conference and Exhibition in Edmonton, I presented a focus on student perspectives in the Student-Industry Partnership session.

This presentation covered a number of examples from the University of British Columbia of engaging partnerships that can be created between the mining industry and universities, and presented the results of a nationwide survey of mining engineering students about factors they look for when choosing employment.

Examples of partnerships The importance of reaching out to universities cannot be overstated. By becoming involved with future engineers while they are still students, a company can create a positive and longlasting imprint on them. The partnership is simultaneously altruistic and self-serving, because in addition to benefiting students, it improves the quality of students entering the industry and the future health of the Canadian mining sector. Partnerships come in various shapes and depths, and I have categorized them into events, recruitment and connections, and opportunities.

Events: Each February, about 150 of Canada’s keenest senior mining engineering students gather to compete in the annual Mining Games, which pits students from each of the country’s ten mining universities against one another in academic and hands-on events.

Sponsoring a team, or the

by Michael Fuller games themselves, is an excellent way to gain exposure to a significant portion of the best and brightest students — many of whom will graduate shortly.

Another way to partner for events is to invite a university class to tour your mine. Seeing a real mine in operation is vital in augmenting the classroom education.

Recruitment and connections: Come to career fairs and host information sessions to raise awareness about your 44 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 3, No. 5

company and its summer/full-time opportunities.

However, please, do not send HR staff alone; technical personnel are appreciated, especially those who supervise young engineers. Of course, as many of us are on

student life very tight budgets, free food will entice many to attend.

Though, if I may add, even students can have their fill of pizza.

The most useful partnerships are “connections” such as participating in an industry advisory committee (IAC) at the university. This gives your company input into the curriculum and decisions reached by a school, resulting in a more relevant education for students and, consequently, more employable students and graduates. At UBC, we couple one of these IAC meetings with an alumni dinner, providing an extended networking opportunity between students and alumni.

Opportunities: This category consists of work terms and scholarships. Work terms provide an opportunity for ‘extended interviews’ with multiple students who will return to university and speak about the great experiences they had. Scholarships help encourage students to enter and continue within the mining disciplines. Holistically administered, along with guaranteed work terms, scholarships can go a long way in encouraging capable young students. This “sponsorship” approach is a successful model for finding, attracting and developing young talent for your organization.

Recruitment survey This survey was inspired by UBC’s hosting of the Mining Games this past February and encouraged by industry after hearing qualitative feedback about what students look for when selecting work terms and full-time positions. The results of this survey are unique and significant, because it is the first survey of its kind ever conducted, reaching about 20 per cent of Canada’s mining engineering students.

Following are some highlights, based on a combination of the quantitative data and my own perceptions. Many of the students’ inclinations are aligned with what industry is providing, but some definite gaps exist.

Who was surveyed: Students from ten universities were surveyed. There were 185 respondents and 22 per cent of them were female. Equal responses from all years were received and 26 per cent were in their graduating year. The most responsive schools were McGill University, UBC, Laurentian University and Queen’s University.

Work sought: Students and new graduates are interested in a variety of roles, but there are many seeking production and hands-on experience or supervisory managerial roles.

More opportunities along these lines should be provided for work terms and within engineer-in-training programs.

Accommodation: Help finding accommodation or providing accommodations for temporary students on work terms is especially appealing.

Location and schedule: There is a strong preference for flyin/fly-out work or jobs based out of major communities.

Mines in remote, small communities may consider offering rotation-based positions to attract younger engineers. For residentially based schedules, students and new graduates strongly prefer the “four tens” schedule (four ten-hour days on/three days off) versus the traditional five-day work week.

Compensation: All respondents gave input about a number of factors. The booming industry and skills shortage is leading to consistent, excessive working hours, and young engineers are demanding fair compensation for overtime worked, whether in pay or with flexible days off. Rotationbased schedules are also attractive as they allow a better work-life balance.

Graduating students also gave input on numerous compensation factors. Assistance for continuing education was valued higher than a signing bonus or stock options and was seen as an indication of a company’s willingness to invest in their employees.

Salary: The majority of graduating students expect starting salaries to be in the range of $60,000 to $70,000 per year; however, internationally competitive salaries are important, because many young graduates are easily able and willing to relocate (to Australia, for example).

Corporate culture: All respondents gave input about the importance of various corporate culture factors. The three top factors were: safety, engineer-in-training programs and responsible employer (environmental and social).

The results of this survey were truly revealing. They lend credence to the qualitative statements I have been hearing from co-workers and peers throughout my academic and industry experience. I hope that this article will strengthen connections between universities and the mining industry, mutually benefiting both. The full presentation can be downloaded from http://mining.ubc.ca/files/ Student_Perspectives.ppt.

About the author Michael is a recently graduated mining engineer from UBC. He has worked at Highland Valley Copper, De Beers’ Snap Lake and First Quantum’s Kansanshi mine in Zambia. During his final year at UBC, he served as the student representative to the Industry Advisory Committee. In September, he’ll begin work for Xstrata Nickel Australasia.

August 2008 | 45

MAC economic commentary iPods, environmental groups and you Few industry sectors are subject to as much scrutiny from environmental and social groups as the mining industry. Mineral extraction and processing, virtually by definition, involve intrusion upon the landscape — whether to conduct open pit or underground mining, to build access roads and power lines, to remove exploration samples, or to treat and manage waste products.

These actions represent encounters between humans and the surrounding environment — and

by Paul Stothart the attendant need to manage and minimize the risk that accompanies these encounters.

In the Canadian context, mining can invlove accessing lands situated within the Boreal Forest. Accessing

46 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 3, No. 5

land and resources in northern Canada can frequently raise issues of aboriginal rights and relationships.

Comparable issues, though on a greater scale, face the mining industry in its international operations, which often occur in countries with less developed infrastructure and with thinner environmental protection and community consultation capacities.

In response to these challenges, one notable mining NGO actively examines the industry’s mining practices in all Canadian regions and in some 40 countries, ranging from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania to Guyana and Ecuador. A host of other social-environmental groups provides a level of scrutiny and oversight, ranging from aggressive and

confrontational to cooperative and constructive, covering everything from human and indigenous rights to community benefits and environmental performance.

It is also evident that the industry is improving its performance in the social and environmental sphere through commitments to programs such as TSM, the ICMM Guiding Principles and GRI Reporting. Access to financing is being increasingly tied to a range of evolving CSR standards.

In the face of this NGO scrutiny, and in light of the numerous socialenvironmental challenges that will always face the industry, it is sometimes also worth highlighting the positive attributes of the mining industry.

In this regard, it is important to not

MAC economic commentary lose sight of the fact that modern society is integrally dependent upon metals and minerals.

Today’s iPod generation could not make do without the gold, copper, lithium, aluminum, titanium, silver, cobalt and zinc that comprise the circuitry and components of modern communications and entertainment products. Our plasma televisions and personal computers are dependent upon a range of metals and rare earth elements. Our medical instruments are made of copper, silver, nickel, cobalt and brass, among other metals and minerals.

The cleaner society that we all desire is also not possible without metals and minerals. Hybrid vehicles, for example, draw upon nickel hydride batteries. Catalytic converters require cerium. Water purification systems rely on nickel and a host of rare earth elements. Cleaner energy sources, whether nuclear, solar, wind or hydrogen-based, draw upon a range of minerals and metals. And this list goes on, encompassing virtually all facets of our residential, municipal, communications and transportation infrastructure.

Beyond the everyday applicability of its products, the industry also makes a significant contribution to the Canadian and global economy. It employs some 370,000 workers in all Canadian regions and, beyond this, provides benefit to an estimated 2,400 companies that supply goods and services such as environmental and engineering expertise.

While mines and processing facilities can be located in remote or rural regions, there are also urban benefits.

Much of the world’s mining finance expertise is centred in Toronto, while Vancouver is a world hub in mineral exploration, Edmonton in oil sands knowledge, Saskatoon in uranium and Montreal in aluminum and iron ore.

The industry spent some $2.6 billion on mineral exploration in Canada in 2007 and, including the oil sands, invested $21 billion in capital spending. Exports of metals and minerals

amounted to $83 billion in 2007 — fully 19 per cent of Canadian merchandise exports — with the related benefit accruing to our railroads, ports and shippers.

Significantly, the industry also paid an estimated $10 billion to Canadian governments in 2006, the most recent year for which data is available. It must be noted that these very substantial taxes and royalties, paid by oil sands companies and base metal smelters among other segments, and their tens of thousands of employees, are used to fund the education, health and social priorities of our federal and provincial/territorial governments.

The environmental and social groups that keep a vigilant eye on the industry, for the most part, play a constructive and useful role — and there will never be a shortage of

challenges for the mining industry to confront in these areas. However, we should not lose sight of the broader context that surrounds these issues. Nor should we forget that to the extent that all segments of our society — from left to right on the political spectrum — draw benefit from the industry’s products, services and tax payments, we are similarly all implicated in finding responsible ways to mitigate the environmental and social issues that arise. CIM

About the author Paul Stothart is vice president, economic affairs of the Mining Association of Canada. He is responsible for advancing the industry’s interests regarding federal tax, trade, investment, transport and energy issues.

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HR outlook From Forestry to Mining A new labour market transition initiative The Mining Labour Market Transition Study (2007), coordinated

by MiHR, pointed out that in order for the mining sector to address the skills shortage it would have to turn to nontraditional labour pools, which includes recently released workers from industries in decline. One such industry is forestry.

Forestry has long been an integral part of the Canadian economy. In 2005, its share of the GDP was three per cent; direct sector employment was 339,900 in 2005, or 2.1 per cent of total employment in Canada (Natural Resources Canada, 2007). However, this sector has entered a sustained period of decline. The various factors causing this decline include the high value of the Canadian dollar and energy prices, the ongoing U.S.Canada softwood lumber dispute and the pine beetle infestation in western Canada. The compounding effects of these factors are the cause of layoffs in key forestry areas across the country.

Many of these laid-off workers possess skills that are highly transferable to mining occupations.

From Forestry to Mining (FF2M) is a new initiative under the coordination of MiHR, funded by the Government of Canada’s Sector Council Program. The main objective of the FF2M initiative is to work collaboratively with mining and forestry employers, organized labour, training instiby Verónica Sánchez tutions and government on skills assessment and gap training tools to help forestry workers transition to new careers in mining.

This project began in spring 2008.

Over the next two years, the main activities of the FF2M project will be to conduct at least two pilot research projects to facilitate the transition of workers from forestry to mining.

These pilots will focus on forestry 48 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 3, No. 5

operations that are downsizing or planning to downsize and are operating in proximity (or have an affinity) to mining operations that are recruiting a significant number of new workers. Each pilot project will: • Form a regional advisory committee to provide guidance during the project.

• Recruit former forestry workers interested in a new career in mining.

• Conduct skills assessments with pilot participants to determine transferable skills and areas requiring skills upgrading.

• Develop gap training programs based on a skills assessment process.

• Conduct gap training sessions with new mining workers.

• Record best practices and lessons learned through the process.

Based on these activities, a labour market transition resource kit will be developed and made available to mining and forestry employers as well as related unions across Canada.

This resource kit will document best practices in the transition process, skills assessment tools developed, support resources and services available, potential pitfalls and recommendations for increasing success in the transition of workers from forestry to mining.

The FF2M initiative relates closely to the newly developed National Occupational Standards (NOS) being developed under the umbrella of the Canadian Mining Credentials Program. The NOS will serve as the resource that determines the skills required for competent performance in a selection of mining occupations in the areas of underground miner, surface miner and minerals processing operations technician. This information will help in the identification and development of targeted skills upgrading programs required to facil-

itate the rapid deployment of skilled workers from forestry into mining occupations.

MiHR is also developing a labour market information system that will support labour market transition efforts. The Mining Industry Workforce Intelligence Network (MIWIN) will provide the Canadian mining sector with up-to-date labour market information. MIWIN will capture and analyze data related to labour supply and demand, which inform employers about occupations that will be in high demand in the medium and long terms, and where the potential labour pools may be available. Once potential labour pools are identified, resources such as the labour market transition resource kits may be used to assess and upgrade the skills of new workers. CIM

About the author As project manager at MiHR, Verónica Sánchez is responsible for the development of occupational standards, the Canadian Mining Credentials Program and other projects related to labour market information and transition.

Verónica holds a magna cum laude honours degree in international business with a minor in economics from the University of Houston-Downtown.

parlons-en Représentant technique – Profession méconnue Déjà vingt ans! Vingt ans depuis Polytechnique et un diplôme de 1er cycle en génie chimique. Si on m’avait dit, à ce moment, que je deviendrais un professionnel dans la vente d’équipements pour les mines j’aurais sûrement ri. Après tout, moi-même, à cette époque, j’affichais le plus profond mépris pour tout emploi en représentation technique ou autre titre similaire. Pourtant, au centre d’emploi, les conseillers me suggérait cette branche à cause de mon profil : entregent, dynamisme, goût de bouger, toutes des qualités recherchées dans ce type d’emploi.

Ce n’est qu’après huit mois et près de 30 entrevues sans succès que j’ai finalement posé ma candidature. Deux tentatives, deux fois classé parmi les deux candidats finalistes, un premier emploi. Et quelle découverte!

Formation technique, visites de mines, voyages à l’étranger pour conférences et formation, défis techniques, défis d’affaires… Personne ne m’avait jamais présenté tous les côtés fascinants de cette profession que je défends maintenant ardemment.

Vendeur? Oui! Bien oui, la vente fait marcher le monde. Pas seulement la vente au détail de chaussures chez Wal-Mart ou la tondeuse chez Home-Dépôt! Mais aussi la vente industrielle, celle qui requiert des professionnels qualifiés. Équipements lourds, produits chimiques, équipements spécialisés requérant par Aymerie Lefebvre de l’ingénierie; en fait, une multitude de produits et de services demandent une solide formation technique à ceux qui en font la vente.

Ce type de vendeur doit présenter au client non seulement son produit et sa compagnie mais surtout bien expliquer comment le design, la sélection de matériaux ou le dimensionnement du produit peuvent contribuer aux succès de l’exploitation du client en

question. Le représentant technique est au milieu d’un échange technicocommercial qui permet à une organisation de développer ses produits tout en contribuant au succès des clients. Il conjugue technique et économique en ayant toujours en tête les réalités du fournisseur et celles de l’opérateur.

Des avantages, du plaisir…

Bien supporté par une équipe technique compétente, le représentant technique peut non seulement vendre son produit ou son service mais aussi contribuer à l’installation, au suivi et au développement pour le bénéfice du client et celui de la compagnie qu’il représente. Le représentant côtoie, dans son organisation, chez les compétiteurs et sur les sites, des opérateurs, des ingénieurs, des techniciens et des opérateurs d’expérience qui contribuent à la connaissance du produit qu’il vend tout comme de l’industrie dans laquelle il le vend. De plus, le représentant a la possibilité de faire de nombreux voyages pour recevoir une formation ou assister à des conférences qui ouvrent des horizons autant sur le plan personnel que professionnel.

Et de la pression…

Pression de vendre, de performer.

Bien entendu, pour le représentant, le succès est fonction des chiffres de ventes. Ses efforts de travail, de préparation, sa capacité d’organisation tout en comptant sur son équipe, son produit, la force de ses compétiteurs et son souci de succès font du représentant un émotif naturel.

Il subit la pres-

sion d’obtenir les commandes mais aussi de voir à ce que le produit vendu donne le rendement attendu. En effet, le travail du représentant ne se termine pas à l’obtention de la commande. Il n’est réellement satisfait que lorsque le produit ou le service accomplit les performances promises ou garanties…

Test de crédibilité en continu, une commande ne remplissant pas les performances prévues coûte souvent plus au représentant qu’une commande non obtenue; les clients se souviennent en effet des échecs plus que des succès…

Curieusement, il y a donc peut-être moins de risque à manquer des ventes qu’à en obtenir… Quel paradoxe! C’est une joute commerciale et technique qu’il faut aimer et assumer avant de s’y engager. La vie de représentant demande aussi une famille compréhensible étant donné les nombreux voyages et absences. Mais c’est une vie fascinante si nous aimons contribuer autant au progrès technique qu’au succès économique de notre communauté!

Au fil des années, j’ai découvert et approfondi le métier de représentant technique tout en rencontrant des hommes et des femmes de tous horizons. Avec eux j’ai la chance de travailler à de nombreux projets qui contribuent au succès d’opérations industrielles et d’exploitations minières au Canada. C’est un métier excitant qui mérite absolument d’être considéré. CIM

L’auteur Gradué en génie chimique de l’École Polytechnique de Montréal en 1988, Aymerie Lefebvre œuvre dans la vente industrielle depuis près de vingt ans, surtout dans le secteur minier. Il représente maintenant Pompaction. Il parle du rôle de représentant technique pour en faire la promotion et susciter de nouvelles vocations.

August 2008 | 49

standards Comparison of reporting environments Public reporting of exploration results, mineral resources and mineral (ore) reserves now benefits from considerable international conformity, thanks to the efforts of national reserves committees in Australia, Canada, South Africa, the United Kingdom/Western Europe, the United States and Chile, and of the international umbrella organization CRIRSCO (Committee for Mineral Reserves International Reporting Standards). This article compares, on a high level, the reporting environments for three countries that are of considerable influence in the mining industry.

National Instrument 43-101, Standards of

by P.R. Stephenson, Disclosure for J.-M. Rendu and P.T. Stoker M i n e r a l Projects, together with Companion Policy 43101CP and Form 43-101F1, was developed and released by the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) in 2001. National Instruments

50 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 3, No. 5

have legal status, an important point for companies also listed in the United States. Each of Canada’s 13 provincial/territorial securities regulators has adopted NI 43-101 and enforces compliance. Stock exchange listing rules require listed companies to comply with both listing rules and National Instruments.

Market Regulation Services is a separate regulator in Canada, created when TSX became listed on its own stock exchange.

NI 43-101 incorporates, by reference, the 2005 CIM Definition Standards for Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves, developed by CIM’s Standing Committee on Reserve Definitions. The definition standards set out definitions and guidelines for reporting of mineral resources and mineral reserves, including those applying to Qualified Persons. NI 43101 also specifies requirements and guidelines for Qualified Persons, who must belong to one of the provincial/territorial geological, geo-

scientific or engineering organizations or to a Recognised Foreign Association listed in Appendix A to NI 43-101.

CIM has also published best practice guidelines, referenced by NI 43-101, for general exploration, diamond exploration and resource/ reserve estimation.

In Australia, there is one securities regulator — the Australian Securities and Investment Commission — and one national stock exchange — the Australian Securities Exchange. The JORC Code has been incorporated as an appendix to the listing rules of the Australian Securities Exchange since 1989 and of the New Zealand Stock Exchange since 1992, making compliance with the JORC Code compulsory for listed companies in Australia and New Zealand.

The JORC Code is the responsibility of the Joint Ore Reserves Committee (JORC), established in 1971, and a joint committee of the Australasian Institute of Mining and

standards Metallurgy (AusIMM), the Australian Institute of Geoscientists and Minerals Council of Australia, with representation from the Australian Securities Exchange and the Financial Services Institute of Australasia.

The Australian Securities and Investment Commission oversees the operation of the Australian Securities Exchange and administers the Federal Corporations Act. While stock exchange listing rules are not part of law in Australia, the Australian Securities and Investment Commission can require compliance, thus giving them a degree of legal status. The Australian Securities Exchange Markets Supervision is a subsidiary of the Australian Securities Exchange, created when the Australian Securities Exchange listed on its own stock exchange in 2006.

A Competent Person must be a member or Fellow of AusIMM, the Australian Institute of Geoscientists or a Recognised Overseas Professional Organisation included in a list promulgated by the Australian Securities Exchange from time to time on advice from JORC. Both Recognised Overseas Professional Organisations and Recognised Foreign Associations may be self-regulatory professional organizations or statutory/semi-government organizations.

In the United States, the equivalent to the JORC Code and CIM Standards Definitions is the SME Guide for Reporting Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves, 2007 edition (SME Guide). However, public disclosure of exploration results, mineral resources and mineral reserves in the United States is regulated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. SEC does not recognize the SME Guide or similar CRIRSCOstyle reporting standards, instead requiring mining companies to comply with its Industry Guide 7 (Description of Property by Issuers Engaged or to Be Engaged in Significant Mining Operations) and the SEC staff interpretations of this guide.

Industry Guide 7, published more than 20 years ago and not since updated, differs significantly from CRIRSCO-style reporting standards in that it, or staff interpretation of it: • Does not permit the reporting of mineral resources except when a company is required to do so by foreign or state law (hence the importance of the distinction between NI 43-101 being part of law and the JORC Code/Australian Securities Exchange listing rules not being part of law).

• Requires the use of commodity prices based on the average of the last three years subject to a reasonableness test, or on a contract price if the commodity is sold under contract. In other jurisdictions, management’s forward-looking prices may be used.

• Requires a feasibility study to allow publication of mineral reserve estimates for new projects.

Canada requires at least a pre-feasibility study, while Australia requires an appropriate assessment and study that will have determined a technically achievable and economically viable mine plan.

• Does not recognize the Competent/ Qualified Person concept.

Industry Guide 7 is a short document and therefore requires considerable interpretation to cover the wide variety of situations found in the mining industry. SEC staff have significantly changed their interpretations of the guide over time.

Unfortunately, these interpretations are usually not made public.

In April 2005, SME submitted a comprehensive document entitled, Recommendations Concerning Estimation and Reporting of Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves, to SEC. The document aimed to bridge the gap between the SEC and industry positions, making major recommendations in the main areas of difference between Industry Guide 7 and CRIRSCO-style standards. SEC has yet to respond.

In 2005, SME established the Registered Member category, with qualification/experience requirements and an ethical control framework to allow recognition as Competent/Qualified Persons. CIM Greg Gosson of AMEC Americas Ltd. reviewed the Canadian portion of the article and Deborah McCombe provided editorial comment on behalf of CIM. It is important to note that laws, policies and regulations other than those summarized in this article also apply to public reporting.

About the authors Pat Stephenson is director/regional manager and principal geologist for AMC Mining Consultants (Canada) Ltd. He served for 18 years on JORC and was co-chairman of CRIRSCO in 2005-2006.

Jean-Michel Rendu is an associate consultant for AMC Consultants Pty Ltd. He has represented the United States on CRIRSCO since 1994. He is also chairman of the SME Committee on Resources and Reserves, which he has headed since 1988.

Peter Stoker is a principal geologist for AMC Consultants Pty Ltd. in Brisbane, Australia. He is chairman of JORC and has been a member since 1992. He is also an Australian representative on CRIRSCO. August 2008 | 51

first nations Learning Together — an aboriginal approach to building mining relationships Learning Together is an aboriginal organization whose mission is to share knowledge and experience through dialogue that will enable First Nations, industry, government and other stakeholders to make informed decisions.

This year’s Learning Together conference was held in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on April 9 and 10. The two-day event attracted nearly 200 participants from over 50 aboriginal communities located across the country and drew over 100 industry and government stakeholders.

The primary purpose of the conference was to share knowledge, create an interactive medium for participants to get first-hand accounts from real-life case studies and experienced professionals, and to share best practices. Aboriginal participants often describe this conference as unique. As one of our delegates, Vice Chief Paul Gaul of the Waswanapi First Nation, put it: “It is the first time I have attended a mining conference where 90 per cent of the speakers are aboriginal.” Industry representatives have also found it to be an extremely useful way to learn how to improve relationships and negotiations with aboriginal communities.

Interactivity is the key that makes our conferences so successful year after year. Every workshop and

by Juan Carlos Reyes case study has a maximum of 35 participants, in order to ensure that everyone feels comfortable asking questions.

Our opening keynote speaker was Vice Chief Don Deranger of the Prince Albert Grand Council in Saskatchewan. His presentation, entitled “Athabasca Regional Perspective on Exploration,” touched on a current hot topic in aboriginal communi52 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 3, No. 5

Chief Glenn Nolan presents Vice Chief Don Deranger from the Prince Albert Grand Council with a gift for speaking at Learning Together.

ties: the mining of uranium. The region he represents is one of the largest uranium-producing regions in the world, and one of the best case studies of aboriginal communities working together and collaborating to achieve regional success.

Vice Chief Deranger emphasized the key priorities put forward by the Prince Albert Grand Council (PAGC) communities to carry out successful First Nations partnerships: • Economic development for resident.

• The region is not against positive economic developments.

• Preserving the land is essential.

• Our participation in the development is mandatory.

• The community leadership has generally not been pleased with exploration companies.

He went on to note significant regional success, which included: • First Nations having large and growing development corporations that own businesses in aviation, catering, truck-

ing and many other mining related companies.

• The presence of over 1,200 working residents.

• The fact that regional economic development has focused on transportation, with $28 million being secured for new roads.

• The Athabasca Basin Development Limited Partnership, formed five years ago, now ranks among the top 100 companies in Saskatchewan in terms of revenue.

• The fact that land use planning continues to be a priority and is constantly taking place.

The Prince Albert Grand Council region is a success story of collective work between First Nations that should be shared with more aboriginal communities and, most importantly, with industry. Understanding that not only the community in which development will take place will be affected, but also the region as a whole, will expedite the negotiation process and increase the chances of achieving successful and long lasting support in the region. This can go a long way if the company ever has to negotiate with another community. In addition, as it was the case in PAGC, the communities that are less affected often assist in negotiating on behalf of the industry. CIM To find out more about last year’s conference and upcoming events from Learning Together visit www.learningtogether.ca. Our next conference will be held in April 2009 in Montreal, Quebec.

About the author Juan Carlos Reyes, the organizer of Learning Together, is passionate about human rights and works tirelessly to help improve the lives of Canadian aboriginal people.

innovation A success story in energy savings Our innovation focus Aerial view of Fermont, constructed by this month takes us to Quebec Cartier, to house its employees. the northern mining community of Fermont, Quebec, situated 800 kilometres northeast of Montreal and 24 kilometres west of Labrador City. Located at latitude 52°48’ north, the town experiences long winters with an average annual temperature of -4°C. Fermont was also the first community in Canada to be 1. A complete replacement, over a sixpowered entirely by hydro-electricity. year period, of all windows with units To buffer the citizens of Fermont that take advantage of new technology from the elements, town designers to reduce heat loss. Roofing upgrades used the most advanced concepts in were similarly carried out over a northern town planning by incorpoperiod of 10 years to improve energy rating a structure they call the “windefficiency. screen” as protection from prevailing 2. With the advent of improved conwinds for the rest of the town. The trol system technology, a fiber optic windscreen consists of a long threesystem was installed to connect every and five-storey apartment complex mechanical and control room in the with some 440 units, overlooking 654 facility to a new energy management townhouses, detached and semisystem, in addition to providing detached houses and bungalows improved fire protection and video accommodating 3,000 people in total. monitoring of critical areas.

The windscreen complex is fully 3. Thermographic inspection technology was used identify areas of 1.2 kilometres long and comprises five major segments, varying from 15 to 20 increased heat loss, and over a twometres in height. The entire building is year period, these areas were effectively insulated to increase thermal well cared for by staff reporting to the resistance by 50 to 100 per cent over human resources department of previous values.

ArcelorMittal Mines Canada (formally 4. For two of the five major facility Quebec Cartier Mining Co.). This talsegments, siding was upgraded and ented and dedicated maintenance stairwell corridors fully enclosed to team has kept the facility in excellent condition, reduce heat loss.

by Jean Fortin and is to be credited 5. Another new techwith developing an innovative strategy nology that was leverfor implementing energy saving proj- aged included the installation of solar ects throughout the complex. heat absorption walls Reducing energy consumption in on two facility segthe windscreen facility required a comments, wherein outprehensive plan. The maintenance side intake air could be team devised key elements of the plan heated with solar over time and enjoyed the support of power by as much as company management in carrying it 20°C as it entered the out. Key initiatives included:

heating systems. This initiative alone provided savings with a full return on investment in less than two years.

6. New advanced control system architecture took advantage of an in-depth analysis of energy systems and occupant needs to optimize heat/exhaust control towards achieving reduced energy requirements.

7. A comprehensive program was executed that took advantage of all the latest technologies. Certification was carried out with Natural Resources Canada and supported by HydroQuebec.

8. All company employees were engaged and took on the challenge of saving energy, resulting in hundreds of minor improvements in lighting effectiveness, service motor efficiency and insulation upgrades.

The results are exciting — the combined efforts of the windscreen facility maintenance team and all supporting employees have reduced total energy usage by 22 per cent. The employees are to be credited and commended for leveraging new innovative technologies and techniques, to increase energy efficiency and reduce environmental impact. It’s another way that the mining industry has improved environmental performance while synergistically improving business results. CIM

About the author Jean Fortin is vice president, mining operations for ArcelorMittal Mines Canada in Mont-Wright, Québec.

Employees, passion, communication, presence on the floor and performance are attitudes and values he has always promoted in managing mining operations.

August 2008 | 53

The changing fortunes of Chibougamau Puit Copper Rand 1958

54 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 3, No. 5

Crédit: Société d'histoire régionale de Chibougamau

T

hroughout its recent history, Chibougamau wavered between obscurity and prominence as a centre of industrial booms for well over a half-century, before becoming the wellestablished mining city it is today.

Located 500 kilometres north of Montreal and 230 kilometres northwest of Lac St-Jean, Chibougamau, with a population of approximately 8,000, is the largest town in northern Quebec.

The name Chibougamau, said to signify “meeting place” in Cree, first entered Canadian history in 1671 via a Jesuit missionary, Father Charles Albanel. Father Albanel had been mandated, in the name of the King of France, to explore the territory linking Lac St-Jean to James Bay and establish the fur trade with aboriginal groups.

Though many other explorers, hunters, merchants and fur traders followed in his intrepid footsteps, the Chibougamau area was virtually forgotten by non-indigenous settlers from about 1760 to 1870.

Interest in the region was renewed in 1870, this time over minerals. The first official mineral exploration was carried out by James Richardson, who was sent by the director of geological research in Canada. Richardson’s 1870 report indicated

by Michelle Sabourin the probable presence of asbestos and copper in Chibougamau. This inspired many prospectors and adventurers to endure arduous canoe voyages deep into the northern wilderness, tempting fate in the quest for copper. Success eluded most in the following decade.

In 1881, on a voyage to Hudson Bay, Professor John Galbraith from the University of Toronto’s School of

Construction of the first mine shaft at the CopperRand mine in 1958, prior to production.

Practical Science noted that his compass needle deviated strongly between Lake Wakonichi and Lake Chibougamau. This mysterious observation set prospectors astir once again.

In 1903, Peter McKenzie had the honour of discovering high-quality copper in Chibougamau. In addition to copper, he brought samples of magnetite, ferrous pyrite, asbestos and quartz to Montreal for analysis.

Impressed by the quality of these specimens, Joseph Obalski, inspector for Quebec Mines, decided to investigate the area. During his 1904 expedition, a sizeable gold vein was discovered on Portage Island, later to become the site of Portage mine in 1959.

Obalski attested that Chibougamau’s important mineral reserves would surely be vital to the industrial future of Quebec. Yet, Chibougamau remained distant, isolated and inaccessible. Obalski, along with others,

championed the building of a northern railroad to develop the mineral discoveries profitably.

The railroad proposal was rejected in 1910, because the climate was deemed unfavourable to agriculture and the known orebodies were not judged to be sufficiently lucrative.

General interest in Chibougamau petered off and World War I further hindered exploration and development in the area.

Following the War, a new wave of prospectors and engineers discovered additional lodes of copper, gold, iron and asbestos and new lodes of silver, zinc and lead in the Chibougamau area. New companies were founded, encouraged by the soaring copper price. Unfortunately, hopes were shattered with the Great Depression of 1929. Chibougamau was quickly abandoned and went virtually unmentioned until 1934.

From 1934 to the late 1940s, business was off and on. The town’s population climbed anew and mines were built, but money was scarce. Then, in 1950 a road was built linking Chibougamau with Lac St-Jean. This, along with the rising price of copper, finally set Chibougamau’s fortunes in motion.

Within a decade from 1953, several new mines began production — Opemiska in 1953, Cedar Bay in 1957, Copper-Rand in 1960 and Obalski in 1963. By 1960, seven millions tonnes of minerals were extracted. From 1960 to 1970, the total reached a whopping 28 million tonnes. Finally, in 1971, an annual record of over three million tonnes was reached. Mining activities continue to expand in Chibougamau today, despite the cyclic nature of the economy and market demands. CIM

featured mine

Duck Pond operations: administration building, mill complex, portal to mine, and camp complex.

No harm done by | Marlene Eisner

The Duck Pond operation is a productive and safe workplace due to the combined effects of a “zero-harm” objective, environmental action and a proactive approach to human resource management.

I

It’s been just over a year since production began at Teck Cominco’s Duck Pond operations, an underground copperzinc mine and processing mill located in central Newfoundland. The operation was acquired as part of the friendly takeover of Aur Resources in August 2007. Annual production is approximately 657,000 tonnes of high-quality ore, a yearly output that is expected to continue for the next five to six years.

The Duck Pond operation transports uncrushed ore to the surface through a ramp in the footwall of the deposit. It is then fed through a jaw crusher and sent to a 1,500-tonne coarse ore bin. It is processed using a SAG mill, ball mill and flotation process to produce separate copper and zinc concentrates, which are transported to a storage and shipping facility at the port of St. George’s on the island’s west coast.

Zero-harm approach From the beginning, core areas of focus for the company have been workplace safety, environmental management and human resources. The efforts certainly appear to be worth it, with a reduction in work-related incidents, a full complement of employees (despite industry hiring woes) and the implementation of proactive solutions to environmental concerns.

Duck Pond general manager Bob Kelly explained that the standard they are striving for is a “zero-harm” work environment, and said that doing so is just good business practice.

“We want people to come to work and leave it in at least as good a shape as when they came,” he said. “When employees feel safe and secure in their workplace, they are more likely to enjoy coming to work, which affects their productivity level in a positive way. From day one, the standard was zero incident.”

August 2008 | 55

featured mine

Personnel carrier entering portal to Duck Pond mine; Mine rescue training; Duck Pond operations.

Safety first Staying safe on the job requires awareness on all levels, beginning long before an incident even occurs. Although the company has strong surface and underground emergency response teams, as well as the appropriate protective equipment, Kelly asserted that employee involvement is a key part of the process. If an accident does occur, it is investigated not from a perspective of assigning blame, but rather from one of education and prevention. “We put a lot of focus on incident awareness and investigation,” added Kelly. “We investigate, look for root causes and perform a followup.”

As a matter of fact, the company takes advantage of “nearhits” — an unplanned event that did not result in a loss, but could have. Every near-hit is reported and investigated, so that the problem can be avoided in the future. Add to that job safety analysis, regular risk assessments and having the right protective equipment on hand, and the result is an impressive safety record at Duck Pond. As of February 2008, the underground mine had operated without a “lost time incident” for the previous two years, which is a significant milestone for an industrial environment.

“In addition to doing regular ‘walk-arounds’ to inspect different areas, we also conduct health and safety audits,” said Kelly. “We go back to the last quarter and review all of the incidents that occurred, what the findings were and see if they were put in place. Followup is critical.”

Environmental TLC Duck Pond’s “zero-harm” philosophy is extended to the mine’s surroundings as well. When it comes to environmental 56 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 3, No. 5

harm reduction, there are a number of measures in place, including dust suppression, spill containment and efforts to minimize the amount of solids deposited into tailings ponds.

“The first thing we do to reduce the impact on the environment is take preventative measures,” said Kelly. “The objective is not to have any spills. In addition, we make sure the equipment is kept in good condition and our operators are properly trained, so that if there does happen to be a spill, we have the proper means to contain it.”

Kelly also explained that, where possible, the mine practices progressive rehabilitation. “Rather than waiting until the end of the mine to address rehabilitation, we try to tackle it in the present,” he said. The Duck Pond mine recycles close to 90 per cent of the mill process water, utilizing water recycled from the tailings pond. “We also have a number of brooks, rivers and streams surrounding the mine site, and we have undertaken quite a bit of clean-up to try to create a new fish habitat,” he continued. “Within the property, we have erosion controls as well as waste management, wood recycling and dust suppression programs in place.”

Kelly said they are also exploring innovative ways to handle the lead that ends up in the tailings pond. “As a copperzinc mine, we do have a small amount of lead that goes to our tailings pond. We are looking at recovering it and thereby maximizing the resource extracted from the ground. The environmental results have long-term benefits, as lead reclamation expenses are greatly reduced when it comes time to close the mine.”

Kelly said this process is still in the developmental stage, with the company working on feasibility studies to see how

featured mine

and if the lead can be reclaimed. “We have to do the design work first to make sure we can control the various reagents that must be added to ensure water quality remains below discharge limits. We expect to know in the next three or four months if it is feasible to do so. If so, we could probably make a 30 to 35 per cent lead concentrate. Certainly, anytime you can minimize what goes into your tailings pond, it’s good for the environment.”

it’s about the creation of a safe and healthy environment for people as well. CIM

Investing in the future As with most sectors in the mining industry, initially there were not enough adequately trained workers to fill the many mining positions available. Duck Pond found an innovative solution by initiating and running a hard rock mining course at a local college located in nearby Grand FallsWindsor.

“We decided to be proactive and partnered with Corona College,” explained Kelly. While the hard rock course supplied workers for the Duck Pond mine, it also qualified students to work at mines anywhere in the country.

The operation also offered its facility as a training site for another recent collaborative effort between Corona College and the Cabo Drilling company. “We provide the site for the practical component of the on-the-job training,” explained Kelly. As a result of these proactive approaches, by the end of 2007, the operation had all the employees it required, with a workforce of 227.

With its “zero-harm” focus, the Duck Pond mine serves as a good design model of sound business practice, where the outcome is not just about the production of copper and zinc; August 2008 | 57

November 2 to 5, 2008 • Rouyn-Noranda, Québec The Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT) and CIM invite you to RouynNoranda, Québec, to attend the Symposium 2008 on Mines and the Environment.

Technical Program Day

Sessions

Chairs

Monday AM 1

Tailings

Michel Aubertin, professor, Department of Civil, Geological and Mining Engineering, and holder of the Industrial NSERC Polytechnique-UQAT Chair in Environment and Mine Wastes Management, École Polytechnique de Montréal

Backfill

Mostafa Benzaazoua, full professor and Canada Research Chair holder in Mine tailings management using fill technology, Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue, and Bruno Bussière, professor, NSERC-École Polytechnique-UQAT Associate Industrial Research Chair (in Environment and Mine Waste Management) and Canada Research Chair in the restoration of abandoned mine sites, Université du Québec en AbitibiTémiscamingue

Waste Rocks

Michel Aubertin, professor, Department of Civil, Geological and Mining Engineering, and holder of the Industrial NSERC Polytechnique-UQAT Chair in Environment and Mine Wastes Management, École Polytechnique de Montréal, and Bruno Bussière, professor, NSERC-École Polytechnique-UQAT Associate Industrial Research Chair (in Environment and Mine Waste Management) and Canada Research Chair in the restoration of abandoned mine sites, Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue

Monday AM 2

Monday PM 1

Monday PM 2

Policies and Jean-Claude Belles-Isles, director – environment, Association minière du Québec, Johanne Cyr, project leader, Direction du développement et du milieu miniers, Ministère des Ressources naturelles et de la Faune du Regulations in Mining in Society Québec, and Sylvain Boily, environmental and laboratory superintendant, LaRonde Division, Agnico-Eagle

Tuesday AM 1

Contaminated Water

Johanne Cyr, project leader, Direction du développement et du milieu miniers, Ministère des Ressources naturelles et de la Faune du Québec, and Jean-Claude Belles-Isles, director – environment, Association minière du Québec

Tuesday AM 2

Site Restoration

Gilles Tremblay, program manager, special projects, MEND/NOAMI Secretariat, Natural Resources Canada, and Bruno Bussière, professor, NSERC-École Polytechnique-UQAT Associate Industrial Research Chair (in Environment and Mine Waste Management) and Canada Research Chair in the restoration of abandoned mine sites, Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue

Tuesday PM 1

New Trends

Michel Aubertin, professor, Department of Civil, Geological and Mining Engineering, and holder of the Industrial NSERC Polytechnique-UQAT Chair in Environment and Mine Wastes Management, École Polytechnique de Montréal, and Michel Julien, principal, regional director, Golder Associés Ltée

A Plenary will feature a panel of opinion leaders from various sectors debating how to strike a balance between mining and sustainable development in Canada; how to satisfy the world demand for minerals, while taking into account the impact of mining activities on societies and the environment; and how sustainable development can be integrated in exploration, extraction and production of mineral resources.

The program will also include: • a trade show • field trips • a short course on Rehabilitation of AMD-generating tailings sites • a social program comprising a Welcoming Reception, a banquet and lunch in the trade show

Contact Chantal Murphy at cmurphy@cim.org or 1.800.667.1246

www.cim.org/rouyn-noranda2008

Chaire CRSNG Polytechnique - UQAT en environnement et gestion des rejets miniers

mine en vedette

L’exploitation Duck Pond de Teck Cominco.

Sans aucun mal L’exploitation Duck Pond, au centre de Terre-Neuve, est un environnement de travail productif et sécuritaire en raison de l’objectif « sans aucun mal », l’action environnementale et une approche pro-active envers les ressources humaines.

L

La production a débuté à la mine souterraine Duck Pond de Teck Cominco (Cu-Zn) il y a tout juste un an; cette mine a été acquise en août 2007 de Ressources Aur. La production annuelle est d’environ 657 000 tonnes de minerai de grande qualité; ce taux de production devrait continuer pour les cinq à six prochaines années.

Le minerai non concassé est remonté à la surface puis envoyé au concasseur à mâchoires; le minerai est traité dans un broyeur semi-autogène, un broyeur à boulets et ensuite flotté pour produire des concentrés séparés de cuivre et de zinc. Ces concentrés sont transportés aux installations portuaires de St. George sur la côte ouest.

Dès le début, la compagnie a ciblé la sécurité au travail, la gestion de l’environnement et les ressources humaines. Les efforts portent fruit : une réduction des incidents, aucun manque d’employés et la mise en place de solutions proactives pour les enjeux environnementaux.

Le directeur général de Duck Pond, Bob Kelly, explique que la norme « sans aucun mal » est une bonne pratique commerciale. « Nous voulons que les employés repartent au moins aussi en forme qu’ils sont arrivés. Lorsque les employés se sentent en sécurité au travail, ils y viennent plus volontiers, ce qui influence leur productivité de manière positive. Dès le premier jour, la norme a été zéro incident. » August 2008 | 59

mine en vedette

Les mineurs Kim Rowsell et Greg West de Duck Pond.

La sécurité d’abord Bien que la compagnie ait des équipes d’urgence en surface et sous terre et les équipements appropriés, M. Kelly stipule que l’engagement des employés est une partie essentielle du processus. S’il survient un accident, il est analysé non pas pour assigner un tort mais pour en tirer des leçons et de la prévention. « Nous en cherchons les causes fondamentales et effectuons un suivi », poursuit-il.

La compagnie tire aussi profit des « quasi-accidents »; chacun est signalé et analysé afin qu’il puisse être évité à l’avenir.

Ajoutez les analyses de sécurité, les évaluations régulières des risques et les bons équipements et vous avez un dossier sécurité impressionnant. En date de février 2008, la mine souterraine n’avait eu aucun accident avec perte de temps pour les deux années antérieures. « En plus des ‘tournées’ régulières pour inspecter les divers secteurs, nous effectuons des audits de santé et sécurité », dit M. Kelly. « Nous révisons le dernier trimestre et analysons tous les incidents; nous vérifions que les recommandations ont été implantées. Le suivi est critique. » Ce principe de « sans aucun mal » s’étend aussi aux environs de la mine par l’élimination des poussières, la contamination des déversements et les efforts pour minimiser la quantité de solides acheminés aux bassins de résidus. « L’objectif est d’avoir aucun déversement. Nous entretenons les équipements et nos employés sont adéquatement formés. S’il survient un déversement, nous pouvons le contenir », dit M. Kelly. Il poursuit en expliquant que la mine fait de la restoration progressive. « Plutôt que d’attendre à la fin de la vie de la mine, nous commençons dès maintenant. La mine recycle près de 90 % de l’eau de traitement. Nous avons aussi des ruisseaux autour de la propriété; nous les avons nettoyés pour créer de nouveaux habitats pour les poissons.

Nous contrôlons l’érosion sur la propriété et nous avons des programmes de gestion des déchets, de recyclage du bois et de suppression des poussières. » 60 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 3, No. 5

Échantillonnage de l’eau par un employé de Duck Pond.

La compagnie cherche aussi à faire quelque chose avec le plomb qui se retrouve dans les résidus. « Nous cherchons à récupérer le plomb, maximisant ainsi la ressource que nous exploitons et diminuant nos coûts de restauration quand il sera temps de fermer la mine », dit M. Kelly. Il explique que le procédé est encore au stade de développement; la compagnie effectue des études de faisabilité pour voir si, et comment, le plomb peut être récupéré. « Les réactifs ajoutés ne doivent pas nuire à la qualité de l’eau de l’effluent. Nous devrions savoir au cours des prochains mois si cela est faisable. Nous pourrions alors avoir un concentré à 30-35 % de plomb.

Lorsque vous pouvez minimiser ce qui se retrouve dans les résidus, c’est bon pour l’environnement. »

Investir dans l’avenir Comme c’est le cas pour la plupart des secteurs de l’industrie minière, il manquait initialement de travailleurs qualifiés pour remplir les nombreux postes disponibles. Duck Pond a trouvé une solution innovatrice en démarrant et en donnant un cours sur le minage de roches dures au Corona College, une institution locale située à proximité, à Grand Falls-Windsor.

Alors que le cours fournit des travailleurs pour la mine Duck Pond, il forme aussi des étudiants pour travailler dans des mines n’importe où au pays. « L’exploitation a aussi offert ses installations comme site de formation pratique pour une autre compagnie, la Cabo Drilling Company », poursuit M. Kelly. Grâce à ces approches proactives, l’exploitation avait, à la fin de 2007, tout le personnel dont elle avait besoin, soit 227 employés.

La mine Duck Pond est un excellent exemple de conception de bonnes pratiques commerciales, où le résultat ne concerne pas uniquement la production de cuivre et de zinc mais aussi la création d’un environnement sécuritaire et sain pour tous. CIM

cim news A passion for science The CIM Hamilton Branch held its final evening for the 2007-2008 program year on May 22, with featured guest speaker Juergen G. Schachler, president and CEO, ArcelorMittal Dofasco Inc. The evening’s meeting was dedicated to one of the branch’s founding members, F. John McMulkin, who passed away earlier

by Shannon Clark this year.

The three CIM Hamilton Branch award winners — Scott Cameron, Alan Stagg and Michelle Reid — from the local Bay Area Science and Engineering Fair were on hand to show their displays and answer questions. The branch has been an active sponsor of BASEF for over 15 years and provides two prizes for projects in the Materials Science category.

The fourth winner, Erica Szymkiewicz, was the recipient of a Nelson Steel Award. Nelson Steel is a valued corporate sponsor that celebrates the accomplishments of their winners by inviting them to this annual event. CIM

Erica Szymkiewicz

Scott Cameron

Alan Stagg

Michelle Reid

CIM welcomes new members Ataturay, Gokhan, Turkey Abreu, Rene, Alberta Afolabi, Ayo, South Africa Al-Darbi, Muhannad, British Columbia Andrews, Daniel, USA Armatage, Neil, British Columbia Armstrong, Drew, Ontario Awuah-Offei, Kwame, USA Bada, Samson Oluwaseyi, South Africa Bhambhani, Tarun, USA Bond, Les, British Columbia Brodzik, Paul, USA Burkholder, Jamison, Ontario Burns, Alexander, Ontario Butlin, Greg, Alberta Camball, Mark, Ontario Cameron, Robert, USA Carefoot, Darren, Alberta Chambers, Brandon, British Columbia Churcher, Adrian, Ontario Cook, Adam, British Columbia Craig, Richard, Alberta Daniel, Adrian, British Columbia De Luca, Michael , Alberta Delboni, Homero, Brazil Devries, Phillip, British Columbia Elias, Andrew, British Columbia Fahey, Peter, Nova Scotia Fahr, Chris, British Columbia Faulkner, Audrey, British Columbia Gartley, Julia, Alberta Gauthier, Jean-Guy, New Brunswick Georgescu, Petre Dan, Romania Giguere, Edwin, Ontario Gillis, Andrew, British Columbia

Glazier, Elvis, British Columbia Gong, Jihua, Alberta Hartley, Rob, Ontario Hay, Peter, Australia Hennerbichler, Nicole, Alberta Hewer, Dave Raymond, British Columbia Hill, Ken E., British Columbia Jackson, Aaron, British Columbia Karesvuori, Jarkko, Ontario Keating, Douglas, Nova Scotia Kebaeditse, Lesedi, Ontario Kelly, Cecile, Manitoba Keogh, Colm, Ireland Koziura, Yarek, British Columbia La, Quoc, Alberta Le May, Ailsa, British Columbia Lee, Justin, British Columbia Mabsout, Mohamed, Morocco MacKenzie, Richard D., Nova Scotia MacLeod-Thurston, Erick, Ontario Malkhuuz, Ganbold, British Columbia Malm, Jordan, Alberta Maries, Victor, Alberta Marquina, Eduardo, Argentina Mena-Patri, Ricardo, British Columbia Mendenhall, Michael, British Columbia Monredon, Thierry, France Morrisson, Laura, USA Naicker , Sodhiesiven B., South Africa O’Brien, Sean, Newfoundland Olurin, Olujide, Newfoundland Pashaei, Koorosh, Iran Pathak, Ajay, British Columbia Raytcho, Anguelov, British Columbia Reeves, Spencer, Ontario

Reiano, Manny, British Columbia Reid, Sarah, Alberta Roworth, Megan, British Columbia Secord, Doug, Alberta Semeniuk, Stephen, British Columbia Shandro, Trevor, Ontario Shields, Yvon, Ontario Silva, Daniel, Chile Smith, Mike, British Columbia Snider, Standen, Ontario Sollner, Diana, British Columbia Soto, Heriban, Chile Stamova, Rahilda, Ontario Stewart, Robert, British Columbia Strome, Brian, British Columbia Sullivan, Andrew, Ontario Svorcan, Rade, Alberta Swanson, Robert, Ontario Vaillancourt, Dylan, British Columbia Vien, Andre, British Columbia Wolf, Cameron, USA Wolf, Karl, USA Wonders, Glen, British Columbia Wood, Paul, USA Yong, Zhong Qi, China Yuhasz, Chad, British Columbia Zambrano, Adolfo, USA Zaradic, Andrea, British Columbia Zwar, Kevin, British Columbia

Corporate ABS Canada Firesteel Resources Inc. Axxent Engineering Ltd. Cullen Diesel Power Ltd. August 2008 | 61

2008 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SEMINAR SERIES

STRATEGIC RISK QUANTIFICATION AND MANAGEMENT FOR ORE RESERVES AND MINE PLANNING Geostatistical mineral resource/ore reserve estimation and meeting the new regulatory environment: Step by step from sampling to grade control

September 15-19, Montreal Michel Dagbert, Geostat Systems Int, Canada; Jean-Michel Rendu, Consultant, USA; and Roussos Dimitrakopoulos, McGill University, Canada Learn about the latest regulations on public reporting of resources/reserves through state-of-the-art statistical and geostatistical techniques. Learn how to: • Apply geostatistics to predict dilution and adapt reserve estimates to that predicted dilution. • Learn how geostatistics can help you categorize your resources in an objective manner. • Understand principles of NI43-101 and SME Guide.

Strategic risk management and applied optimization in mine design September 23-26, Montreal Cindy Campbell, Gemcom, Australia; and Roussos Dimitrakopoulos, McGill University, Canada

.GCTP JQY [QW ECP JCXG C UKIPKĹżECPV RQUKVKXG KORCEV QP [QWT EQORCP[Ĺ?U DQVVQO NKPG D[ WVKNK\KPI UVTCVGIKE mine planning methodologies and software. Learn how to: • Improve your understanding of strategic mine planning and life-of-mine optimization concepts. • Learn how to improve your understanding of the relationship of uncertainty and risk, and how to exploit uncertainty in order to maximize profitability. • Get hands-on experience with strategic mine planning software Whittle. Optional 1/2 day Whittle refresher skills workshop available.

COSMO Lab Mining Engineering

For registration and information please contact: Deborah Frankland Dept. of Mining and Materials Engineering McGill University Montreal, Quebec Email: admcrc.mining@mcgill.ca Phone: (514) 398-4755, ext. 089638 Fax: (514) 398-7099

Website: www.cim.org http://cosmo.mcgill.ca

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

Learn how to provide decision-makers with unbiased information about the expected value and probabilities of other values of undiscovered mineral resources. Learn how to: • Identify the sources and magnitudes of risk and uncertainty in assessments of undiscovered mineral resources. • Demonstrate how operational mineral deposit models can reduce uncertainties. • Construct internally consistent models.

Theory and practice of sampling particulate materials October 27-29, Part 1, Montreal October 30-31, Part 2 (QA-QC, mine, and project audits), Montreal &QOKPKSWG (TCPĂ QKU $QPICTĂ QP AGORATEK, USA

&GXGNQR CP WPFGTUVCPFKPI QH VJG VJGQT[ QH UCORNKPI RCTVKEWNCVG OCVGTKCNU KVU RTCEVKEG UEQRG NKOKVCVKQPU and appropriate applications. Learn how to: • Eye-opening facts you may have overlooked or ignored until now about the consequences of bad sampling and the difficulties of good sampling. • The unsuspected amplitude of economic ramifications of poor sampling.

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

.GCTP VJG DCUKEU QH GEQPQOKE ſPCPEKCN GXCNWCVKQP VGEJPKSWGU CU YGNN CU VJG RTCEVKECN KORNGOGPVCVKQP QH VJGUG techniques to mineral project assessments. Learn how to: • How to gain a practical understanding of economic/financial evaluation principles. • How to develop the skills necessary to apply these to support mineral project decisions. • About the real options approach to valuing mining projects.

Upcoming 2009 Seminar • Applied risk assessment for ore reserves and mine planning: Conditional simulation for the mining industry May, Montreal Roussos Dimitrakopoulos, McGill University, Canada

cim news Going green at EPCOR The Syncrude Award for Excellence in Sustainable Development promotes the Canadian minerals industry as an active seeker of sustainability solutions that engage and affect the Canadian public. This year’s winner — EPCOR Utilities’ Genesee 3 station — has achieved just that, setting new standards for Canadian power production.

Built and operated by EPCOR, and owned jointly with TransAlta Corporation, the 495-megawatt unit is Canada’s first generation facility to use supercritical combustion technology for greater fuel efficiency and significantly lower emissions. David Lewin, senior advisor, corporate relations, EPCOR Utilities Inc., discussed the G3’s sustainability effects on our industry.

CIM: What is the G3 initiative?

Lewin: EPCOR’s Genesee Generating Station includes three units. The latest, Genesee 3 (G3), is the cleanestburning coal-fired power plant in Canada. It went into commercial operation on March 1, 2005, and is the most advanced coal-fired plant ever built in Canada. The three units at Genesee have each raised the bar for environmental performance and

by Robbie Pillo reliability. G3 is equipped with $90 million in clean air technologies and will provide enough power for a city of 350,000.

CIM: How does the technology benefit the environment?

Lewin: G3’s environmental performance is enhanced by the use of supercritical combustion and clean air technologies. In a supercritical boiler, higher temperatures and steam pressures, together with a high-efficiency steam turbine, create a more efficient process for converting thermal energy into electricity.

The process reduces emissions by

for Excellence in Sustainable Development. This type of recognition from industry validates what we are trying to achieve in clean-coal and CCS technology.

David Lewin

using less coal per megawatt hour of electrical energy than conventional processes.

In addition, G3 was further supplemented with another $90-million in scrubbing equipment. Thus, G3’s clean air technology goes beyond current provincial and national environmental standards.

CIM: What has winning the Syncrude Award for Excellence in Sustainable Development done for EPCOR? Lewin: We are proud and honoured to receive the Syncrude Award

CIM: What other upcoming initiatives and projects is EPCOR involved in?

Lewin: EPCOR is partnering with TransAlta on a supercritical 450MW coal-fired plant at Keephills.

We’re also the only company in Alberta involved with all four carbon capture and storage research and development initiatives in Alberta today — the Alberta Saline Aquifer Project, the Integrated CO2 Network plan, the Heartland Area Redwater Project and the Wabamun Area Storage Project.

Each of these initiatives could complement the most important project underway within EPCOR today: the Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle study, which will determine which gasification technology best suits Genesee sub-bituminous coal. Should a project proceed, it would cost in the billions of dollars. The earliest possible date for commercial operation is 2015. CIM

A look back in time 20 YEARS AGO… • Two years before becoming president of CIM, Peter Tarassoff was elected 1988 chairman of the Canadian Research Management Association and chairman of the Minister’s National Advisory Council to CANMET. • George Weatherly of the University of Toronto was awarded the 1988 Canadian Metal Physics Medal for his outstanding contribution in physical metallurgy.

• Inco Limited and NSERC co-funded the Inco/NSERC Industrial Research Chair in Chemical Process Metallurgy. Research programs were conducted under the auspices of the Centre for Chemical Process Metallurgy.

• The first recipient of the Canadian Metal Chemistry Award was given to L.M. Pidgeon for his outstanding contributions to Canadian metal chemistry.

The above was taken from the August 1988 issue of CIM Bulletin.

August 2008 | 63

Application of Computers and Operations Research in the Mineral Industry

Three-part Program Schedule

1 DAY

October 6 to 9, 2009 Vancouver, British Columbia

Call for Papers APCOM is a major meeting place and discussion forum for mining professionals, researchers and suppliers worldwide.

The 34th edition of APCOM will be held in Vancouver, British Columbia, home to more than 700 junior mining companies and industry leaders. Organized by CIM, APCOM 2009 will offer paper presentations on systems of knowledge management, computer modelling in different areas of mining process, operations research, automation, robotics and virtual reality.

The peer-reviewed program will showcase leading work in the fields of automation, robotics, remote sensing and a myriad of technology focuses.

Resource Identification Estimation and Planning Geostatistics I Geostatistics II Investment Planning Mine Planning and Equipment Selection

2 DAY

Automation in Mining and Processing Mine to Mill Optimization Process Control Developments in Mobile Equipment Automation Total Systems Thinking and Integration Operational Management and Optimization

3 DAY

Don’t delay – submit your abstract online by September 30, 2008.

Mine Life Cycle Current and Future Challenges Sensing and Monitoring Greenhouse Gases Water Usage and Reclamation Energy

www.cim.org/apcom2009

AROUND THE WORLD CIM EVENTS CIM New Brunswick Branch 33rd Convention September 4-6 Bathurst, New Brunswick Contact: Paul Rennick Email: paul.rennick@gnb.ca CIM Northern Gateway Branch Annual Golf Tournament September 12 North Bay, Ontario Contact: Roy Slack Tel.: 705.472.3381 Email: roy.slack@cementation.ca Frank Grieco Golf Tournament September 17 Toronto, Ontario Contact: CIM Toronto Branch Administrator Tel.: 416.352.1989 Fax: 416.352.1989 Email: cim_toronto@rogers.om CIM Winnipeg Branch Lunch Guest speaker (TBA) September 18 Winnipeg, Manitoba Contact: Mark Francis Email: sfrancis@mts.net Cobalt Branch Seafood Night September 25 Haileybury, Ontario Contact: Todd Steis Email: todd.steis@mti.ca Conférence technique de la section Thetford Mines 1er octobre Thetford Mines, Québec Contact: Pierre Laroche Tel.: 418.338.7500 Fax: 418.338.7664 Email: lab.plar.cq@bellnet.ca

21st World Mining Congress and Expo 2008 September 7-11 Krakow-Katowice, Poland Contact: Katarzyna Witek Tel.: +48.12.617.4604 Fax: +48.12.617.4605 Email: office@wmc-expo2008.org Website: www.wmc-expo2008.org 1st Southern Hemisphere International Rock Mechanics Symposium September 15-19 Perth, Western Australia Contact: Josephine Ruddle Tel.: +61.8.6488.3300 Fax: +61.8.6488.1130 Email: acg@acg.uwa.edu.au Mining & Metallurgical Innovation Forum September 17 Almaty, Kazakhstan Contact: Boris Danilenko Tel.: +7.727.2583430 Fax: +7.727.2583444 Email: boris.danilenko@iteca.kz Website: www.iteca.kz 2008 MINExpo International September 22-24 Las Vegas, Nevada, USA Contact: Hall-Erickson Tel.: 630.434.7779 Toll-free: 800.752.6312 Email: minexpo@heiexpo.com Website: www.minexpo.com V International Mineral Processing Seminar (PROCEMIN 2008) October 22-24 Santiago, Chile Contact: Fabiola Bustamante Tel.: +56.2.652.1555 Fax: +56.2.658.1570 Email: info@procemin.cl Website: www.procemin.cl

Symposium 2008 on Mines and the Environment/ Symposium 2008 sur l’environnement et les mines November 2-5 Rouyn-Noranda, Québec Contact: Chantal Murphy, CIM Meetings Coordinator Tel.: 514.939.2710, ext. 1309 Fax: 514.939.2714 Email: cmurphy@cim.org Website: www.cim.org

World Scrap Metal Congress 2008 November 3-5 Shanghai, China Contact: Juliana Tyan Tel.: +65.6322.2726 Fax: +65.6271.8057 Email: Juliana.tyan@terrapinn.com Website: www.terrapinn.com/2008/scrap

41st Annual Canadian Mineral Processors Operators Conference January 20-22 Ottawa, Ontario Contact: Janice Zinck Tel.: 613.995.4221 Fax: 613.996.9041 Email: jzinck@nrcan.gc.ca Website: www.c-m-p.on.ca

Northern Area Eastern Conference on Minimizing Infrastructure Corrosion and International Symposium on Fundamental Corrosion Research in Progress November 9-11 Toronto, Ontario Contact: Sergei Shipilov Tel.: 416.861.1607 Fax: 416.363.2588 Email: shipilovs@metallurgicalconsulting.net

August 2008 | 65

history Homestake, South Dakota (Part 1)*

by R.J. “Bob” Cathro Chemainus, British Columbia

“Hostilities there have grown out of the avarice of the white man, who had violated our treaty stipulations in his search for gold… Gold had actually been found in paying quantities, and our efforts to remove the miners would only result in the desertion of the troops that might be sent in there to remove them.” U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant, in a message to Congress in 1876-77 (CASH, 1973)

* Unless otherwise indicated, the history in this chapter is derived from Cash (1973), Fielder (1970) and Rickard (1932).

The excitement and success of the California Gold Rush and the Comstock Lode led to an unprecedented surge of prospecting and mining development throughout the U.S. Southwest after 1860. Among the thousands of lode and placer showings, occurrences, deposits and mines that were discovered in the following decades, a special few stand out for the information they provided on the origin of mineral deposits and their contribution to the new field of economic geology. One of the most important was the Homestake deposit in the Black Hills of South Dakota, which became the largest gold mine in North America. It produced 39.61 million ounces of gold and about nine million ounces of silver between 1877 and 2002 from workings that extended to a depth of over 2,440 metres (8,000 feet).

This impressive history was tarnished, unfortunately, by the circumstances surrounding the birth of the camp. The Black Hills will always be associated with a tragic period in the history of the United States government and the mining industry, when stampeding prospectors triumphed over attempts by the government to defend the rights of the native population.

The search for gold in the Black Hills probably began before 1811, when natives reportedly brought small nuggets to a trading post at the forks of the Cheyenne River. When a wave of prospectors were drawn to the Hills in the early 1830s by persistent rumours of gold and by government surveys and military expeditions that described the geology as favourable, they found old adits, shafts and mining tools. Although minute flecks of gold were present throughout a large region, the amount had been insufficient to warrant a sustained effort.

Moreover, exploration was violently discouraged by the dominant native tribe in the region, the Lakota (Sioux), which considered the Black Hills (called ‘Pahá Sápa’) to be the holy centre of their world. Although early governors of Dakota Territory lobbied for intensive exploration of the hills, the U.S. government signed the Treaty of Fort Laramie with the Lakota people in 1868. The treaty created the Great Sioux Reservation, including the Black Hills and all of South Dakota west of the Missouri River, for the exclusive and perpetual use of the Lakota people, ensuring that white men could not enter or alienate the reserve.

Within the next few years, various groups, some with political rather than economic objectives, advocated entering the treaty area by force. When these efforts gained momentum due to a serious U.S. economic depression, the U.S. Army dispatched an armed force in 1874 under the command of the infamous Brevet General George A. Custer, to defend and survey the economic potential of the hills. That by itself ignored the terms of the treaty and Custer, who had led expeditions against the Plains Indian for several years, was a poor choice to lead it. Custer assembled an impressive force consisting of 10 cavalry companies, two infantry companies, 100 native scouts, 110 wagons, 1,000 cavalry horses, 300 beef cattle, and three machine guns, accompanied by an engineer, a naturalist, a botanist, two practical gold miners and newspaper correspondents.

By July 1, expedition miners found a trace of placer gold on the site of the present city of Custer, and when Custer moved to the site of the Gordon Stockade on August 1, they found a more significant placer paystreak. “Around the campfire that night, the first mining company organized in the Hills, the Custer Peak Mining Company, was formed. …The excited soldiers, at Custer’s August 2008 | 69

economic geology suggestion, called the valley of French Creek ‘Golden Valley’” (Cash, 1973).

By the end of the year, the first sizable party of miners had slipped through the army defences and reached French Creek and, by February 23, 1875, they had drafted mining laws and formed a mining district. The army tried to expel the miners from the Hills on April 7 but more continued to enter. After more negotiations, the government called off the army, which marked the beginning of a stampede to the new goldfield and the last attempt to enforce the treaty and protect the legal rights of the Indians. Is it any wonder that the Lakota killed Custer and all 210 of his troops at Little Big Horn, Montana, in June 1876? In 1877, the U.S. Congress passed another act that abrogated the Fort Laramie Treaty and provided the Lakota with subsistence rations and grazing rights instead.

This wasn’t the first instance when gold had triumphed over the rights of native people in the United States. A placer gold discovery in 1829 on Dukes Creek in White County, Georgia, resulted in a staking rush that occupied land that was under the control of the Cherokee Indians.

Between 1830 and 1839, the federal government defused the tension by seizing the land, arresting 17,000 Indians and forcing them to migrate to Oklahoma along what became known as the Trail of Tears. Four thousand are estimated to have died. Their land was then sold off in a lottery.

An example of the racism of the period was contained in an 1867 prospectus for an Arizona company called Specie Basis Mining Company, which was organized by promoters in Philadelphia, New York and Boston. It stated that “the wheels of progress cannot be stopped by the wild, murderous treacherous savages; they must go down as the grass before the scythe” (Sears, 1973).

The Lakota continued to insist that their rights had been expropriated without just compensation but it was not until 1942 that the U.S. Court of Claims ruled that they were owed at least $17.5 million, without interest.

The court also remarked upon President Grant’s duplicity in breaching the government’s obligation to keep trespassers out of the Black Hills, and the pattern of duress practiced by the government on the starving Sioux to get them to agree to the sale of the Black Hills. It concluded: “A more ripe and rank case of dishonorable dealings will never, in all probability, be found in our history, which is not, taken as a whole, the disgrace it now pleases some persons to believe.” In 1978, the same court ruled that interest should be added since 1878. In 1980, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the decision (Findlaw). The Lakota, who want the return of the Black Hills instead, have refused the settlement and in spite of their poverty, they still refuse to take the money. It remains in an interest-bearing account and is now estimated to total over $750 million. By comparison, the value of the gold pro70 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 3, No. 5

duced from the Homestake mine was at least $20 billion, using an arbitrary gold price of $500 per ounce.

George Hearst (18201891), who has appeared in this series twice before, played an important role in the development of Homestake. He was first mentioned in connection with the California Mother Lode, where he mined with limited success in a dozen places over nine years and opened two general stores. That was followed by the very profitable acquisition of a part ownership of the George Hearst (1820-1891) Ophir mine at Comstock, where he played an important role in its success by hiring the experts who invented square-set mining and the Washoe milling process (CIM Magazine, March/April, 2008, p. 61-63).

Hearst’s success was due to his intuitive understanding of mineral economics and his ability to recognize the geological potential of a mining prospect. In the words of Swanberg (1961), “he had the three requisites of the pioneer — strength, courage and ingenuity — and on top of that he had a rudimentary knowledge of mining”. Hearst received little formal education, only two and a half years in school. However, he “quickly learned to read business contracts … had a genuine thirst for knowledge and an ability to grasp and understand the importance of things” and had “a keen nose for ore” (Rickard, 1932). According to legend, local Indians referred him to as “the boy the earth talks to.”

In his unpublished memoir, quoted extensively by Robinson (1991), George Hearst recounted how he was first exposed to mining beside the family farm at St. Clair in Franklin County, Missouri, and while delivering pork to lead mines and crude smelters operated by French miners within the Southeast Missouri Lead Belt. “When I was 15 years old, they found [the Virginia] mine only a mile from our house. … For a long time the miners would not wash anything out but would let us little fellows pick away into the big banks of dirt and we would often thus make from four to six bits a day. … The ore was galena and limestone and a sort of clay. There were a great deal of little nuggets and these would pan out about 70 to 80 per cent galena; in fact there was not a better mine in the world. … The men there were not very scientific, and I soon saw how things were done.” Later, he tried his own hand at mining: “I probably made about four or five thousand dollars from 1842 to 1849, more or less after I was 21 years old.”

economic geology

Topographic map of South Dakota showing the location of the Black Hills at the headwaters of the Cheyenne River, a tributary of the Missouri River. The Black Hills extend westward into Wyoming. The Homestake mine is situated at the town of Lead. Map prepared by Mike Cathro.

Although he was raised on a fairly successful farm where his family owned 19 of the 41 slaves in the area, he remembered being impressed with how well the French miners lived compared to the farmers in his community.

When “the gold fever broke out,” he sold his late father’s ‘copper mines’ and seven other mineral tracts for $1,900 to help finance the trip to California and arrived there with “just a five-franc piece left.”

After becoming financially secure due to his Comstock holdings, Hearst began to scour new mining camps for investment opportunities, working with two San Francisco lawyers as partners, James Ben Ali Haggin and Lloyd Tevis.

Their arrangement was that Haggin and Tevis would provide the money and Hearst would supply the nose. Tevis was president of Wells-Fargo Express Company and a partner in the Central Pacific Railroad, while Haggin, his brother-in-law, was a businessman involved in Wells-Fargo and other California ventures (Cash, 1973). The syndicate eventually acquired interests in over 100 mining properties.

Their first success was at Park City, Utah, where they bought the Ontario property for $27,000 in 1872. It produced over $50 million of silver in the next couple of decades. Today, Park City is a historic ski resort that hosts the Sundance film festival, was the site of ski races during the 2002 Winter Olympics, and is almost a suburb of Salt Lake City. Their next successful venture was at Pinos Altos, near Silver City, New Mexico, where they paid $20,000 for an option on a silver prospect in 1876 that later became quite profitable.

George and his partners finally hit the jackpot in June 1877, when their agent L.D. Kellogg, a practical miner, acquired a 30-day option to buy the Homestake claim in the Black Hills. The Homestake vein had been discovered in April 1876 by a team of four prospectors that included two French-Canadian brothers, Fred and Moses Manuel, Hank Harney and Alex Engh. ‘Homestake’ was a word in

common use that meant ‘a strike (discovery) good enough to enable a man to return home and retire.’ It resembles the word ‘grubstake,’ another prospectors term that described a loan advanced to a prospector for food and supplies.

Moses recalled the discovery of the Homestake lode as follows: “Toward spring … the four of us found some rich quartz. We looked for the lode but the snow was deep. …

I kept looking every day for nearly a week, and finally the snow got melted on the hill and the water ran down the draw that crossed the lead, and I saw some quartz in the bottom. … I took a pick and … took some to camp and pounded it up and panned it and found it very rich. Next day Hank Harney consented to come and locate what we called the Homestake Mine, the 9th day of April, 1876.”

The claim was 1,350 feet long and 75 feet on each side of the vein, covering a little less than 2 hectares (five acres) (Rickard, 1932).

The Homestake vein wasn’t the first discovery in the vicinity; in fact it wasn’t even the first one staked by these partners. However, whether because of good luck or skill, it was richer and better exposed at surface than the others and turned out to be part of a much larger system of wide veins.

The prospectors raised enough money by selling their other claims to drive a short adit and install an arrastra, but they soon realized that the cost of developing the Homestake was beyond their means. Hearst rushed to South Dakota to complete the purchase negotiated by Kellogg, $60,000 (plus $10,000 for a small interest owned by a merchant who had provided a grubstake). He then purchased the adjacent Golden Star claim to increase the size of the property to 5.7 hectares (14 acres), the start of a long process of consolidation of the key claims held by different owners. The Hearst syndicate incorporated the Homestake Mining Company in November and shipped an 80-stamp mill by rail to Sidney, Nebraska. From there, it was hauled about 425 kilometres to the mine with ox teams. Ore crushing began on July 12, 1878, a little over two years after the discovery, which was a remarkable feat under such difficult conditions.

The geology and development and production history of the mine will be described in the next chapter. CIM

References Cash, J.H. (1973). Working the Homestake. Ames: The Iowa State University Press.

Fielder, M. (1970). The treasure of Homestake gold. Aberdeen, South Dakota: North Plains Press.

Findlaw for Legal Professionals. Available online at caselaw.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=448&invol=371, accessed April 1, 2008.

Rickard, T.A. (1932). A history of American mining. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc. Robinson, J. (1991). The Hearsts: an American dynasty. New York: Avon Books.

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

Swanberg, W.A. (1961). Citizen Hearst: a biography of William Randolph Hearst. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons.

August 2008 | 71

metallurgy Migration and movement of scholars A study in the history of diffusion of knowledge: Part 5

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

Movement of specialists For centuries, scientists and engineers with specialized knowledge have been in great demand around the world.

Ottoman Empire Sultan Mustafa III (1717-1774) hired Claude Alexandre, Comte de Bonneval (1675-1747), a French soldier and adventurer who converted to Islam and took the name Ahmed, to organize and command the artillery. In 1734, Alexandre established the first technical school in the Empire that later became known as Istanbul Technical University.

Mohammed Ali (1769-1849), founder of modern Egypt, hired many French professionals to establish engineering and medical schools as well as to organize an army. In modern Turkey, Fritz Arndt (1885-1969) of Germany spent over two decades of his professional life as a professor of chemistry at Istanbul University.

Prussia Joseph Louis Lagrange (1736-1813), the great French mathematician, was a professor at the Artillery School in Turin when he was invited to Berlin by Friedrich the Great to succeed Euler, who left for Saint Petersburg. Lagrange spent 20 years there as director of the Prussian Academy of Sciences. His great work, La Mécanique Analytique, was written there. After the death of Friedrich the Great, he returned to France, at Mirabeau`s invitation, and in 1794 was appointed professor at the newly established École Supérieure Normale.

China Prior to the revolution, China was flooded with westerners seeking to exploit its natural resources. Among them was Herbert C. Hoover (1874-1964), a mining engineer from Stanford University in the United States, who was hired by a major London-based consulting firm in 1897 to examine and manage mines in China. After demonstrating excellent abilities, he was offered the position of chief engineer of the Imperial Bureau of Mines in China in 1898. He assembled an American technical staff to work with him; however, the Boxer Rebellion of 1900 put an end to his position. In 1901, he became the general manager of the Chinese Engineering and Mining Company that operated the Kaiping mines north of Tientsin, one of the richest coal mines in the world.

In the fall of 1901, the Belgian company, Union Minière du Haut Katanga, purchased the majority of the businesses 72 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 3, No. 5

from other European and Chinese investors and sent its director, Émile Franqui (1863-1935), with a Belgian technical staff to replace the Americans. Edgar Sengier (18791963), another Belgian engineer from the University of Louvain who joined a consulting firm in Birmingham, was sent to Shanghai in 1907 to direct the Compagnie internationale d’Orient. He later became one of the directors of Union minière du Haut Katanga. He moved to New York when Belgium was occupied by Nazi troups during World War II. Christian missions were active in Shandong, where in 1882 steps were taken to upgrade a high school to college status. The missions also concentrated on providing a basic western education for converts. St. John’s College in Shanghai, which was to become one of the most celebrated academic institutions in China, graduated its first class in the 1890s. By 1903, the Jesuits had established Aurora University in Shanghai, with faculties of Arts, Law, Science, Civil Engineering and Medicine. Classes were predominantly taught in French. Imperial Pei Yang University was founded in 1895 in Tientsin. It changed its name to Tianjin University in 1951 after it merged with the Hebei Institute of Technology. In 1907, Thomas T. Read (1880-?), a professor at Colorado School of Mines at Golden, Colorado, was sent there to teach mining and metallurgy for three years. He was the first to introduce microscopic examination of metals in China.

Japan Before the mid-19th century, Japan was not interested in having commercial or cultural relations with the rest of the world. Other than contact with some Dutch merchants who were allowed, under strict regulations, to have a trading post on an island in Nagasaki Bay, it was cut off from the outside world. There were some Japanese scholars, however, who read books imported by the Dutch and understood that knowledge was increasing among the Europeans. They argued that it was time for Japan to open its gates and admit new ideas. But such voices were ignored or suppressed by the government. For example, German physician Philipp Franz von Siebold (1796-1866), who lived on the island, was expelled from Japan in 1828, and his Japanese interpreter was put to death when it was learned that he was collecting information about Japan.

Between 1832 and 1853, Von Siebold wrote numerous books about Japan’s culture, its fauna and flora.

metallurgy A few years later, however, the situation changed. In 1861, the Japanese government invited the American mineralogist William Phipps Blake (1826-1910) to organize a school of mines. The Imperial College of Engineering was founded in Tokyo in 1875 and it was there that the first courses on geology, mining and metallurgy were taught in Japan. In 1886, the college became Tokyo Imperial University and, after World War II, was renamed University of Tokyo. Benjamin Smith Lyman (1835-1920), a Harvard graduate from the United States who also studied in France and Germany, was a pioneer geologist and mining engineer in Hokkaido. In 1872, he was invited to Japan to search for coal and oil deposits. During this time, he created excellent geological maps for Japan.

Many German medical doctors were hired to teach medicine at the University of Tokyo. Two of these became well known: Ervin Bälz (1849-1912) and Paul Mayer who was in Japan from 1877 to 1894. A number of professors were also hired for the newly established Imperial College of Engineering.

Francisque Coignet (1835-1902), a French mining engineer, was hired by the Japanese government in 1867.

He spent 10 years in Japan developing mining machines.

Coignet engaged 24 French technicians to work with him.

In 1875, Joseph Hardy Neesima (1843-1890), a Japanese convert to Christianity and the first Japanese to study in the United States, founded the Doshisha College in Kyoto, a Christian establishment that literally means “one-purpose institution.” It later became Doshisha University, one of the most prestigious schools in Japan today. In 1877, the Academy of Foreign Languages was converted to a division of the University of Tokyo.

William Gowland (1842-1922) was educated at the Royal College of Chemistry and the Royal School of Mines and worked for the Imperial Japanese Mint from 1872 to 1888. After returning to England, he became a professor of metallurgy at the Royal School of Mines. He authored Metallurgy of the Non-ferrous Metals in 1914.

Frank Fanning Jewett (1844-1926) received his undergraduate and graduate education in chemistry and mineralogy at Yale University. From 1873 to 1875, he continued his studies at the University of Göttingen in Germany.

Jewett returned home to the United States to work at Harvard University. Shortly after, he was nominated to teach at the newly founded Imperial College of Engineering in Tokyo, where he worked from 1876 to 1880. In 1880, he became a professor of chemistry and mineralogy at Oberlin College and mentor to Charles Martin Hall, the inventor of the electrolytic aluminium process.

Curt Adolf Netto (1847-1909) of Saxony graduated from the Freiberg Mining Academy in 1869; he then volunteered in the German Army. In 1873, he went to Japan to work at Akita Prefecture, a silver refinery in Kosaka. In 1877, he joined the Imperial College of Engineering to

teach mining and metallurgy. In 1877, his lectures on metallurgy were translated to Japanese by his students and served as a useful tool for many years.

John Milne (1850-1913), a British geologist from Liverpool, studied at King’s College, Royal School of Mines and Freiberg Mining Academy. He obtained a doctorate degree from Oxford University, and then worked in Cornwall, Central Europe, Newfoundland and Labrador.

From 1875 to 1895, Milne taught geology and mining at the Tokyo Imperial College of Engineering. In 1880, he invented the seismograph and was cofounder of the Japanese Earthquake Society. He returned to England with his Japanese wife in 1895. Milne has authored Earthquakes (1883), Seismology (1888) and Miner’s Handbook (1894).

Brazil Wilhelm Ludwig von Eschwege (1777-1855) was born in Eschwege, Germany, where he studied engineering. He then left for Portugal where, at the age of 25, he was appointed director of mines in Lisbon. When Napoleon invaded Portugal, von Eschwege joined Prince Regent João, who escaped to Brazil. He became a high official in the Royal Corps of Engineers and was appointed director of the Royal Mineralogical Council. In 1811, he was sent to Minas Gerais and settled in Ouro Preto where he made extensive mineralogical surveys. In 1812, he produced the first Brazilian pig iron. von Eschwege returned to Germany in 1821 and in 1833 published Pluto Brazilienis (Brazilian Richness) a two-volume book about his Brazilian experiences. These volumes prepared the ground for establishing a School of Mines in Ouro Preto in 1876.

The French geologist, Claude-Henri Gorceix (18421919), was recommended to Emperor Pedro by the director of the School of Mines in Paris to establish a similar school in Brazil. Gorceix took the job at the age of 31; he married a Brazilian girl at 43 and made Brazil his second home.

Spanish South American Colonies For 300 years, the Spanish colonies were off limits to foreigners. In 1788, however, Spanish King Carlos III hired Fürchtgott Leberecht von Nordenflycht (17481815), a graduate of the Freiberg Mining Academy, to organize the Mines in Alto Peru (present-day Peru and Bolivia). He stayed in South America for 20 years. French engineer Carlos Santiago Lambert (1793-1876) went to Chile in 1824 as director of the South America Mining Wilhelm Ludwig von Eschwege August 2008 | 73

metallurgy Company of La Serena (Compañía Minera Sudamericana).

During this period, only copper oxide ores were treated.

Carlos Lambert decided to apply the Welsh process used in Swansea to treat copper sulphides.

Moritz Hochschild (1881-1965), born in Biblis near Frankfurt, was a student at the Mining Academy in Freiberg from 1900 to 1905 and became one of the major tin mine owners in Bolivia. He founded a mining company that became the second largest tin producer in Bolivia. His mines, however, were expropriated in 1952 when the mining industry in Bolivia was nationalized.

United States The Swiss geologist Louis Agassiz (1807-1873) from Fribourg, Switzerland, occupied the chair of geology and mineralogy at Harvard University from 1848 to 1873. He is famous for his studies of glaciers and co-founder of the National Academy of Sciences in the United States.

Friedrich Anton Eilers (1839-1917) was born in Nassau, studied at Göttingen and Clausthal. In 1859, he went to the United States, where he joined the consulting firm Adelberg and Raymond in New York, which at that time was an important centre for constructing mining and metallurgical plants. In 1883, he founded Colorado Smelting Company and in 1890, the Montana Smelting Company.

Ottokar Hofmann (1843-1909) was born in Hungary, studied at the Polytechnic School in Vienna, and from 1864 to 1866, at the Mining Academy in Freiberg in Saxony. In 1867, he emigrated to the United States, where he worked at the Assay Office in San Francisco. In 1868, he went to Sonora, Mexico, to install a leaching plant.

From 1899 to 1907, he was director of the United Zinc and Chemical Company in Argentine, Kansas. He returned to Mexico to build another leaching plant. He authored Hydrometallurgy of Silver in 1907 and Notes on Hydrometallurgy of Copper in 1908.

Edward Dyer Peters (1849-1917) was student at the Freiberg Mining Academy from 1865 to 1968. He occupied the chair of metallurgy at Harvard University.

Bernhard Moebius (1852-1898) was born in Saxony, studied at the Mining Academy in Freiberg, and then worked in different smelters in Germany, Austria, Spain and Mexico before he emigrated to the United States.

There, in 1884, he invented the process that bears his name for the electrolytic refining of gold, which was applied for the first time in Mexico. In 1886, he constructed the Pennsylvania Lead Company and later the Guggenheim Works in Perth Amboy, New Jersey.

Heinrich Oscar Hofman (1852-1924) was born in Germany and graduated as a mining and metallurgical engineer from the Technische Hochschule in Clausthal in 1877. He was engaged in metallurgical practice in the United States from 1881 to 1887 when he went to teach process metallurgy at South Dakota School of Mines. In 1889, he began teaching at the Massachusetts Institute of 74 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 3, No. 5

Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He is considered to be the first teacher of process metallurgy in the United States. He authored Metallurgy of Lead and the Desilverization of Base Bullion (1892), General Metallurgy (1918), Metallurgy of Copper (1918) and Metallurgy of Lead (1918).

Albert Sauveur (1863-1939) was born in Louvain, Belgium, studied in Brussels, at the School of Mines in Liège (1881-1886), and then the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1889). He worked at various steel companies in the United States from 1889 to 1897 before taking a teaching position at Harvard. He received many medals and awards. He authored Metallography of Iron and Steel and Metallurgical Dialogues.

Martin E. Straumanis (1898-?) was born in Lithuania, obtained doctorate in chemistry in 1927, and was awarded a fellowship from the Rockefeller Foundation at the Institute of Physical Chemistry in Göttingen in 1927-1928.

Straumanis was a professor of chemistry in Latvia from 1928 to 1944, taught at the Marburg Institute of Metallurgical Chemistry from 1944 to 1947, and then at Missouri School of Mines at Rolla, Missouri.

Antoine Marc Gaudin (1900-1974) was born in Smyrna, Turkey, to French parents. His father was the engineer and manager of a French-owned railroad in Turkey. Later, the Gaudin family moved to Haifa when the father was commissioned to construct and operate the Hijaz railroad. Following the “Young Turk” revolution in 1908, the family returned to France, where the young Gaudin studied at the University of Paris. During World War I, Gaudin senior was sent to the United States as a member of the French War Mission, in charge of purchasing railroad materials. The young Gaudin joined him in 1917 and studied at the Columbia University School of Mines. He taught there from 1924 to 1926, then at University of Utah, at Montana School of Mines, and finally settled at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He authored books on flotation and mineral dressing.

Carl Wagner (1901-1977) was born in Leipzig and studied at Munich, Leipzig and Darmstadt. After occupying various positions in Germany, he joined the teaching staff of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1950 to 1958. Wagner returned to Germany to head the Max Planck Institute of Physical Chemistry in Göttingen. He authored Thermodynamics of Alloys in 1952.

Cyril Stanley Smith (1903-1992) was born in Birmingham, England. During World War II (from 19431946), he joined the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos, New Mexico, to work on metallurgical aspects of the atomic bomb. From 1946 to 1961, he was at the University of Chicago where he founded and was the first director of the Institute for the Study of Metals. In 1961, he returned to MIT as a professor of metallurgy and humanities. CIM

YOUR

GUIDE

TO INDUSTRY KNOWLEDGE Peer reviewed by leaders in their fields CIM Bulletin abstracts 76

Observation of ore pass system performance at Brunswick mine J. Hadjigeorgiou, K. Esmaieli and R. Harrisson

77

Critical hydraulic pressure forecasting of water inrush in coal seam floors based on a genetic algorithm-neural network M. Zhong, T. Fu, C. Shi and T. Liu

78

Exploration and Mining Geology Journal Volume 17, Number 1 and 2

79

Canadian Metallurgy Quarterly Volume 46, Number 4

Complete CIM Bulletin papers are posted in the online Technical Paper Library

www.cim.org August 2008 | 75

executive summaries

R O C K

E N G I N E E R I N G

Observation of ore pass system performance at Brunswick mine The Brunswick mine, operated by Xstrata Zinc, is an underground lead-zinc-copper-silver mine that has been in operation since 1964 and produces almost 10,000 t/d. The orebody consists of close to 10 sub-parallel massive sulphide lenses striking north-south and dipping 75º west; the overall strike length is 1,200 m with a width of up to 200 m. The orebody extends from surface to a depth of close to 1,200 m.

Brunswick mine covers a wide area resulting in the development and operation of multiple ore pass systems. Historically, the mine has constructed close to 25 ore pass systems, with a total length of 7,200 m. Currently, only nine systems are still in operation, with the remaining abandoned either due to depletion of material to be transferred or due to operational failures (critical expansion of the ore pass section).

This paper reports on work carried out to develop a sitespecific database of ore pass systems and their performance.

Information is provided on the ore pass systems including excavation methods, configuration, etc. At Brunswick, the length of ore pass sections varies from under 25 m to over 300 m. It was also noted that 41 sections of ore passes were rectangular, 44 were square and 13 were circular. Ore pass inclination is critical as it controls material flow. Shallow sections may restrict flow, especially if a high proportion of fine material is present, while steeper excavations result in higher material velocities and compaction. At Brunswick, ore pass inclination varied between 45o and 90o, with the mean inclination being 66.2o. Material flow is hindered at inclinations less than 70o. Chutes with doors or fingers are the most popular flow control infrastructures at Brunswick mine, although the majority of ore pass sections at the mine are not equipped with flow control infrastructures.

J. Hadjigeorgiou, K. Esmaieli, Université Laval, Québec City, Québec, and R. Harrisson, Xstrata Zinc, Brunswick Mine, New Brunswick

76 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 3, No. 5

The paper also presents two case studies of ore pass degradation. The first case study refers to the 1000 South Fill Raise (1000SFR ore pass) commissioned in the early 1990s. It was developed as a 3 m diameter, unsupported raise bored ore pass comprised of two long sections. The ore pass had displayed significant degradation in the upper section along the hanging and foot wall. Although the induced stresses around the ore pass were comparatively higher than the strength of the rock mass, there was no significant degradation in the lower ore pass section. The upper section of the 1000SFR was developed sub-parallel to the host rock foliation and bedding. This unfavourable orientation was made worse by the high induced stresses and resulted in wear and abrasion of the ore pass. The lower part of the ore pass was developed in a favourable orientation and has maintained its integrity.

Another explanation was that it was easier to maintain the lower part of the ore pass full, thus favourable ore pass geometry and good practice mitigated ore pass wear.

The second case study relates to the 18-21 ore pass system serving mining zones 20 and 21. This is a high-stress area displaying considerable seismic activity. Ore passes 19 and 21 were abandoned in 2004 due to considerable enlargement of their cross-sections. Ore passes 19 and 19A merged, thus necessitating the backfilling of ore pass 19 in order to inhibit further expansion. Damage to ore pass 18 was, however, considerably smaller than other ore passes. This was explained by the presence of an adequate distance between the ore pass and other infrastructure and because the expansion of nearby ore passes resulted in a stress shadow region for ore pass 18. This ore pass complex was constructed to a large degree in a competent rock mass in massive sulphide rocks. The north and south walls of ore passes 19, 19A and 21 were further damaged by the combination of high-stress conditions and the impact of material transferred through ore passes 19 and 21.

executive summaries Critical hydraulic pressure forecasting of water inrush in coal seam floors based on a genetic algorithm-neural network

O I L S A N D S

This paper will investigate a method for conducting theoretical forecasting of the critical hydraulic pressure of water inrush in a coal seam floor using a combination method of a genetic algorithm-neural network. A neural network is adapted to treat the non-linear variables and may be chosen to analyze the relationship between the critical pressure of water inrush and different conditions in coal seam floors.

However, restricted by the local search capacity and the slow convergence rate, general analysis results adopting a neural network are prone to reach the local extremum of a neural network and, therefore, are not ideal. Hence, in this paper, genetic algorithms will be adopted to train neural networks and optimize the topology structure of a neural network. The utilization of genetic algorithms makes the training of neural networks more effective. There is no requirement of continuance or differentiability for the objective function. Its search is always throughout the entire solution space and, therefore, it is easy to gain the global optimum solution. The critical hydraulic pressure of water inrush in coal seam floors

The actual measurement data are chosen from 74 working faces of the Shuangshan, Xiazhuan, Xihe, Longquan, Shigu, Pucun and Hongshan coal mines. Initially, the topology structure of the neural network is optimized using genetic algorithms. The actual measurement data of 60 working faces act as the learning sample of the neural network. The search space of the genetic algorithm has one to ten hidden layers and each one has one to 30 nodes. According to the characteristics of the sample, the number of nodes of the neural network’s input layer is set as eight, and that of the output layer is set as one. The training and learning are conducted for the samples. When the training error is 0.000315, the optimum topology structure of the neural network is achieved through the calculations of the genetic algorithm, that is, the number of hidden layers is one and the number of nodes of the hidden layer is 20. The verification for these samples is conducted using neural networks with the same structure.

Comparisons between the predicted results and actual measured results proved that the proposed method in this paper is feasible to forecast the critical hydraulic pressure of water inrush in coal seam floors.

A N D

Experiments show that water inrush in coal seam floors only occurs when the hydraulic pressure is higher than the minimum principal stress of the floor. Therefore, to prevent water inrush, it is important to predict the critical hydraulic pressure of water inrush in coal seam floors. The forecasting process is used to establish the expression of the critical hydraulic pressure in certain conditions, based on the known actual measurement data of some China coal mines, and then to predict the critical hydraulic pressure of water inrush in other conditions or for other coal mines. Due to the nonlinear relationship of multiple factors, it is difficult to find the suitable function or equation to describe this forecasting.

will be effectively predicted using the optimum structure of a neural network.

C O A L

In recent years, the risk of water inrush in coal seam floors has increased due to an increase of the depth that coal is mined in China. Water inrush in coal mines is brought on by an unbalance in the groundwater flow and engineering geomechanics fields. This occurrence is influenced by factors such as rock characteristics of the base plate, destructiveness range of the fracture zone, relative magnitude of ground stress, hydraulic pressure of the confined aquifer, etc. However, it is difficult to quantitatively describe the relationships between these factors and water inrush.

As a result, the issue has not yet been resolved either in theory or in practice.

In addition, during the selection of the topology structure of the neural network, there are some factors to consider that influence the performance of the genetic algorithm, including the population size, mutation rate, crossing rate, optimum strategy, etc. Therefore, the system performance based on these factors is also discussed.

M. Zhong, China Academy of Safety Science and Technology, State Administration of Work Safety, Chaoyang District, Beijing, China, T. Fu, Key Laboratory for Thermal Science and Power Engineering of Ministry of Education, Department of Thermal Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China, C. Shi and T. Liu, China Academy of Safety Science and Technology, State Administration of Work Safety, Chaoyang District, Beijing, China August 2008 | 77

emg abstracts

Exploration and Mining Geology Journal Volume 17—Numbers 1 and 2 History, Tectonic Setting, and Models for Instrusion-Related Gold Deposits in Southwestern New Brunswick, Canada: Examples from the Clarence Stream Area M.J. McLeod, New Brunswick Department of Natural Resources, Minerals, Policy and Planning Division, Sussex, New Brunswick, D. Hoy, Freewest Resources Canada Incorporated, Thunder Bay, Ontario, and K.G. Thorne, New Brunswick Department of Natural Resources; Minerals, Policy and Planning Division, Fredericton, New Brunswick Throughout the Paleozoic, a variety of gold depositional environments were created in the New Brunswick segment of the northern Appalachians because of the complexity of arc and continental plate collisions and subsequent erosion of the orogen. In southwestern New Brunswick, recent exploration and research has focused on deposits and occurrences that can be broadly classified as intrusion-related, generated by late- to post-orogenic felsic to intermediate plutonic rocks emplaced during the Early to Middle Devonian. This work has led to the establishment of models for gold mineralization and guidelines for exploration in this area, which might also be applicable elsewhere in the southern part of the province and, perhaps, throughout the northern Appalachians. The deposits in the vicinity of Clarence Stream in southwestern New Brunswick exemplify this deposit type, and highlight the emergence of a possible major gold district in the region.

Characteristics of Mineralization at the Main Zone of the Clarence Stream Gold Deposit, Southwestern New Brunswick, Canada: Evidence for an Intrusion-Related Gold System in the Northern Appalachian Orogen K.G. Thorne, New Brunswick Department of Natural Resources, Fredericton, New Brunswick, D.R. Lentz, Department of Geology, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, New Brunswick, D. Hoy, Freewest Resources Canada Inc., Thunder Bay, Ontario, L. Fyffe, New Brunswick Department of Natural Resources, Fredericton, New Brunswick, and L.J. Cabri, Cabri Consulting Inc., Ottawa, Ontario Mineralization at the Main zone of the Clarence Stream gold deposit in southwestern New Brunswick occurs within a parallel series of quartz veins that occupy a NE-trending, steeply northdipping, brittle–ductile shear zone related to the nearby terrane-bounding Sawyer Brook fault. This deformation zone cuts volcaniclastic sedimentary and volcanic rocks of the Silurian Waweig Formation, and is intruded by mantle-derived East Branch Brook gabbroic dikes and a number of felsic dikes. Intermittent shear-zone reactivation during local magmatic activity induced heterogeneous deformation and alteration of the country rocks and dikes. The terminal phase of shearing is associated with narrow pegmatite-aplite dikes that grade laterally into granophyric granite, and into an auriferous quartz vein. Gold, aurostibite, and gold-antimony intergrowths, predominantly with vein quartz, are associated with a low ƒO2 sulfide mineral assemblage (pyrrhotite, arsenopyrite, and berthierite) that has a sulfur isotopic signature consistent with a magmatic source. Gold saturation and deposition occurred episodically between 300° and 360°C at low activity of sulfur, predominantly in response to pressure reduction during brittle failure combined with the effects of decreasing temperature and sulfidation reactions during fluid–wall-rock interaction. Geochronological studies demonstrate that the timing of the emplacement of the pegmatite-aplite dikes and associated Excerpts taken from abstracts in EMG, auriferous veins overlap with that of the Early Vol. 17, Numbers 1 and 2.

Devonian Magaguadavic granite. Moreover, the Subscribe—www.cim.org/geosoc/indexEMG.cfm composition of the dikes is consistent with their derivation from this granite as late fractionates. The Main zone of the Clarence Stream deposit is therefore interpreted to be intrusion-related, with the Magaguadavic granite being the ultimate source of the gold-bearing fluids.

78 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 3, No. 5

cmq abstracts

Canadian Metallurgical Quarterly Volume 47—Number 1

Impact of Preconcentration on the Efficiency of Magnesite Reverse Flotation E.T. Stamboliadis, Technical University of Crete, Greece Magnesite (MgCO3) is used to produce magnesia (MgO) either active or dead burned. Beneficiation products with commercial quality are directly calcined in rotary kilns. Products that do not fulfill the quality requirements are ground to -300 µm and treated by a reverse flotation process. Magnesite concentrate is calcined at 1,000°C to active magnesia, briquetted and finally dead burned at over 2,000ºC in a shaft kiln. The present work examined the effect that the feed quality had on the reagent consumption and the product yield. It proposed a stage of magnetic separation prior to flotation in order to remove any excess of magnetic serpentine present in the flotation plant feed. The combined process reduced the reagent consumption, increased the product yield and improved the physical separation as indicated by the calculation of the degree of separation.

Behaviour of Antimony and Bismuth in Copper Electrorefining Circuits S. Beauchemin, T.T. Chen and J.E. Dutrizac, CANMET-MMSL, Ottawa, Ontario Antimony- and bismuth-rich copper anodes, anode slimes and decopperized anode slimes from industrial copper electrorefineries were studied mineralogically. Antimony in the anodes occurs mainly as Cu-Pb-As-Sb-Bi oxide inclusions along the copper grain boundaries; bismuth is mainly present as Cu-Pb-As-Sb-Bi oxide, Cu-BiAs oxide, Cu-Pb-As-Bi oxide and Cu-Bi oxide inclusions. The decopperizing process dissolves much of the Sb and Bi, although the majority of the BiAsO4 phase remains unaffected. Subsequently, some of the dissolved Sb and Bi reprecipitates as various oxide, sulphate and arsenate species. X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) analyses suggest about 70% of the antimony in the anode slimes is present in the pentavalent oxidation state.

The XANES analyses indicate that most of the Bi in all the slimes samples is present in the trivalent oxidation state.

Separation of Silver by Ozone Oxidation of Silver Nitrate Solution T. Nishimura, Institute of Multidisciplinary Research for Advanced Materials (IMRAM), Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan, and S. Hoshoda, School of Engineering, Tohoku University, Currently Sumitomo Osaka Cement Corporation, Tokyo, Japan The oxidative precipitation of silver(I) species with ozone has been studied for the separation of silver ion from aqueous nitrate solutions in the range of pH 2 to 12 at temperatures up to 80°C. The X-ray diffraction analysis showed that silver oxysalt, Ag7O8NO3, from acidic solutions and silver oxide, AgO, from neutral or alkaline solutions were produced as the final solids, respectively. Their particles were assessed by a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The progress of the reaction was continuously monitored by measuring the oxidation reduction potential (ORP) and the amount of NaOH added to maintain solution pH. A rise in pH of solution and ozone partial pressure promotes the reaction. A rising reaction temperature, however, results in a considerably suppressed reaction.

Excerpts taken from abstracts in CMQ, Vol. 47, No. 1.

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August 2008 | 79

cmq abstracts

Silver Recovery from Silver-Rich Photographic Processing Solutions by Copper S. Aktas, Istanbul Technical University, Faculty of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, Maslak, Istanbul, Turkey The present work investigates silver recovery from silver-rich photographic processing solutions by copper.

The effects of different reaction parameters on silver recovery efficiency were studied in detail. Parameter optimization was also carried out. The possibility of recovering silver with more than 99% efficiency was demonstrated under both air and argon atmospheres. In the latter case, more than 99% recovery efficiency was achieved at an agitation rate of 875 rpm for 8 minutes. When cementation was carried out under air, the silver recovery efficiency decreased with increasing time and agitation rate. This decrease can be attributed to the redissolution of cemented silver into the solution. The solution pH was also shown to influence the efficiency of silver recovery by copper.

Uptake of Cd2+ from Aqueous Solutions Using Protonated Dry Alginate Beads J.P. Ibáñez, Department of Metallurgical Engineering, Arturo Prat University, Iquique, Chile, and Y. Umetsu, Institute of Multidisciplinary Research for Advanced Materials, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan The use of protonated dry alginate beads for the uptake of cadmium ions from aqueous solutions was studied at 25ºC. The uptake of Cd2+ produced a release of protons, for which a molar ratio d[H+]/d[Cd2+] of 2.0 was established. This ion exchange was the mechanism of cadmium uptake which followed a pseudo-second order kinetic model. The maximum Cd-uptake was computed in 285.7 mg per gram of alginate beads (dry wt.) at pH 4.5 by the Langmuir adsorption model. A residual concentration of around 0.09 mg/L of Cd2+ which allowed safety discharge of some types of effluents having this heavy metal ion, was reached with a solution initially having 25 mg/L of Cd2+. EPMA-EDX of Cd-loaded beads showed a uniform distribution of the metal ions throughout the structure of the alginate bead, regardless the solution pH. Dispersed Matte Droplets in Industrial Slag Melts from Flash Smelting Furnace K. Genevski and V. Stefanova, Department of Metallurgy of Non-Ferrous and Semiconductors Materials, University of Chemical Technology and Metallurgy, Sofia, Bulgaria Investigations were carried out on slag melts during flash smelting furnace operations producing matte containing 60 to 63% Cu (Mode A) and 72 to 75% Cu (Mode B). Copper losses were determined by using electron probe microanalysis of nitrogen and air quenched samples as well as material balance calculations of the process of crystallization of the slag melts. This work identified distinctive features of the matte droplets dispersed in slag melts and the portion of copper loss. A hypothesis was proposed regarding the nature and behaviour of these droplets at the time they were in the flash smelting furnace settler.

80 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 3, No. 5

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voices from industry

Mining and sustainability

by Don Lindsay, president and CEO, Teck Cominco Limited

ry to imagine a world without metals and you may find yourself thinking about what it must have been like to live in the Stone Age. Today, we are surrounded by technologies and innovations that touch every facet of our lives and yet we don’t often link mining and the resources it makes available with the food and nutrition, shelter, energy, and transportation we enjoy every day.

In our industry we like to say, “if you can’t grow it, you have to mine it,” and that statement should make one pause to think about the tremendous role that metals play in advancing our quality of life. And in caring for our planet, the more our society embraces sustainability, the more we need the products of mining.

As provocative as that may sound, consider the following. The 2008 Copenhagen Consensus, a two-year study by more than 50 eminent economists to find the 10 best solutions to the world’s biggest problems, identified micro-nutrient dietary supplementation, particularly zinc and vitamin A, as the top global priority for fighting malnutrition in the 140 million children around the world who are malnourished.

Not only is zinc an essential trace element for humans, zinc is critical for the normal healthy growth and reproduction of plants. When the supply of zinc to plants is inadequate, crop yields are reduced and the quality of crop products is often impaired. Zinc is the third most important nutritional factor affecting grain yield after nitrogen and phosphorous.

In healthcare, the United States Environmental Protection Agency recently approved the registration of antimicrobial copper alloys for coatings on surfaces in hospitals because studies have shown that 99.9 per cent of “super-bugs” exposed to these surfaces are killed within two hours at room temperature. Currently, it is estimated that in the U.S. alone infections acquired in hospitals affect two million individuals every year and result in nearly 100,000 deaths.

In our pursuit of innovations in cleaner energy and transportation solutions, consider that 90 per cent of solar panels require silver and they all use silicon. A wind turbine requires 170 tonnes of coking coal to produce a 70-metre tower. A hybrid automobile needs about 15 more kilograms

T

82 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 3, No. 5

of copper and 20 more kilograms of nickel than a conventional car, while an electric bus requires almost 1,700 metres of copper wiring.

Indeed, as we move forward to address climate change, innovation will play an important part in shifting to technologies that reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and in reducing the carbon intensity of resource extraction and utilization.

However, it is also clear that society will continue to benefit from and rely on the use of carbonbased energy for generations to come.

Accordingly, our industry will need to play a leading role in developing improvements in energyefficient production and in contributing to advances in carbon sequestration solutions and off-set measures.

And what about how we deal with products at the end of their life? Metals can be recycled indefinitely without loosing any of their properties. At our Trail smelting and refining facility, we are uniquely positioned to provide recycling solutions for metal-bearing manufacturing scraps and residues and post-consumer scrap materials.

Our pioneering efforts in recycling spent lead acid batteries led to collaboration with the B.C. Government and other stakeholders in the development of Canada’s first provincial Lead Acid Battery Collection Program. The Trail facility continues to annually recycle thousands of tonnes of lead acid battery products from customers and collectors.

A more recent initiative has been recycling of end-of-life-electronic (EOLE) equipment, also known as electronic waste or e-waste. Our electronics recycling process, in collaboration with the B.C. Ministry of the Environment, has been tested and proven to meet the exacting environmental standards needed for the responsible processing of e-waste. We are proud to be part of the solution to managing the growing volumes of end-of-life electronic equipment generated by our modern society.

As we look to the future, achieving sustainability will ultimately depend on the collective outcomes of our individual choices and actions.

Sustainability depends on each of us participating in its pursuit by being aware of the resources that we use daily to make life better, and choosing how we can use and recycle them most wisely. CIM