CIM Magazine February 2017 by CIM-ICM Publications

For what matters most.

Every day on your job, you climb to new heights with two things in mind: getting your work done well and returning home safely to those you love. Our job? With DBI-SALA® and Protecta® Brands, 3M is Canada’s leader at heights - delivering and developing world-class fall protection solutions. That way, you can focus on what matters most — your work, your safety and your family.

Discover how we harness safety through science, to keep you safe at any height. 3M.ca/LeadershipAtHeights 3M Science. Applied to Life.

MINING SOLUTIONS

ON-SITE TECHNICAL SUPPORT AND TRAINING XANTHATES SPECIALTY COLLECTORS FLOTATION OILS MIBC

LAB TESTING AND REAGENT EVALUATION PINE OIL POLYGLYCOL FROTHERS ACTIVATORS DEPRESSANTS

PROCESS OPTIMIZATION AND TROUBLESHOOTING DISPERSANTS DEFOAMERS DRYINGS AIDS ACTIVATED CARBON

CUSTOM BLENDING AND PACKAGING FLOCCULANTS COAGULANTS HEAVY METAL PRECIPITANTS DUST CONTROL

SECURITY OF SUPPLY FREEZE CONTROL SCALE INHIBITORS DILUANTS FLUX

Specialized. Eï¬&#x20AC;ec ve. Trusted. quadrachemicals.com

1-800-665-6553

For Explosives, think BME

With over 30

years of experience,

BME supplies explosives and related technical services to

over 23

countries.

• Full range of bulk and packaged explosives • Initiating Systems • Electronic blasting systems • Surface & underground explosives delivery equipment • Mobile emulsion plants • Blasting Science services We pride ourselves in providing

world class technical services to ensure every blast brings value to our customers.

Tel: +27 11 709 8765 info@bme.co.za www.bme.co.za

Courtesy of Mammoet

FEBRUARY 2017 | FÉVRIER 2017

cover story

All packed and ready to go Proven benefits and outside financial pressure push modular construction into the mining mainstream By Eavan Moore

41 Eyes on the screen

45 Preliminary program

New materials and monitoring technology are shaking out more uptime and better performance from vibrating screens By Alexandra Lopez-Pacheco

February 2017 • Février 2017 | 5

CIM MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2017 | FÉVRIER 2017

in each issue

8 10 12

Editor’s letter President’s notes Chatter

tools of the trade

The best in new technology Compiled by Kate Sheridan

developments

Industry and analysts look ahead to a brighter year for base metals By Kate Sheridan

Project to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and acid rock drainage among semifinalists for Carbon XPRIZE By Sahar Fatima

Government remediation plan slow to come for abandoned Faro mine By Joel Barde

mining lore

columns

Missing the rush By Lawrence Devon Smith

By Douglas Baldwin

2017’s big policy developments will impact Canada’s mining competitiveness

contenu francophone

66 67

By Pierre Gratton

industrial minerals

Hudson Resources finds multiple uses for the unique deposit at its White Mountain project

Hatch research challenges conventional wisdom on crystallization ponds By Ian Ewing

Tesfaye Negeri of NRCan discusses REE research in Canada By Christopher Pollon

Table des matières Lettre de l’éditeur | Mot du président

article de fond

By Kylie Williams

Scheming brokers, including a famous author’s son, deceived many speculators during the Cobalt, Ontario silver rush

Emballés et prêts à l’emploi Les avantages prouvés de la construction modulaire, assortis d’une pression financière extérieure, poussent l’industrie minière à adopter cette pratique. Par Eavan Moore

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

6 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 12, No. 1

editor’s letter

Pep talk e may not be that deep into 2017, but already it seems this year will be a turning point. Here at the CIM National office staff are being added to strengthen the services we provide our membership as we prepare for the coming events this year and the next. While 2016 was a slow year for industry job postings on CIM.org, this year the site is off to a fast start with more offerings and no shortage of interested visitors. And out in the wider world, commodity prices have been perking up. These gains may be fleeting and the optimism premature, as was the argument a Cameco exec made to market analysts in January who were betting that the uranium producer had ended its slump. Those comments, while they succeeded in knocking the company’s surging share price down some, did not have the weight to keep it down. Optimism, by its nature, has a knack for shrugging off bad news. As regular contributor Kate Sheridan reports in “On the rise” (p. 15), her survey of recent commodity price forecasts, the prospects for copper, zinc and nickel are good. And so

eth R. Wilson enn Aw 5K

s ard

20 1

This issue’s cover Modular assembly on site at a Canadian oil sands operation Photo courtesy of Mammoet

Be st

ia ed

Finalist

miners need to prepare their response. In his column “Missing the rush” (p. 28), Lawrence Devon Smith agrees that an upcycle is imminent, but argues that mining companies who will do the best are those who do the least as investor enthusiasm for the mining sector returns. We are at the moment where his call for discipline, informed by a long career of project engineering and evaluation at some of the industry’s largest companies, is as relevant as it will be hard to follow. I am happy to report that 2017 promises to be a good one for CIM Magazine as well. You may notice a few cosmetic changes to the design of our print edition, but the showpiece for this year will be the rollout of our new magazine website, which, beyond a smartphone-friendly design, reimagines how readers can access our latest content and the vast collection in our archives. Keep an eye out for that later this spring.

Editor-in-chief Ryan Bergen, rbergen@cim.org Executive editor Angela Hamlyn, ahamlyn@cim.org Managing editor Andrea Nichiporuk, anichiporuk@cim.org Section editors Tom DiNardo, tdinardo@cim.org; Kelsey Rolfe, krolfe@cim.org Copy editor Marilena Lucci, mlucci@cim.org Web content editor Maria Olaguera, molaguera@cim.org Contributing editor Eavan Moore, emoore@cim.org Digitization technician Marie-Ève Lapierre, melapierre@cim.org Contributors Douglas Baldwin, Joel Barde, Ian Ewing, Sahar Fatima, Pierre Gratton, Cecilia Keating, Alexandra Lopez-Pacheco, David Meffe, Eavan Moore, Christopher Pollon, Kate Sheridan, Laurence Devon Smith, Kylie Williams Editorial advisory board Alicia Ferdinand, Mohammad Babaei Khorzhoughi, Vic Pakalnis, Steve Rusk, Nathan Stubina Translations CNW, Karen Rolland Published 8 times a year by: Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum 1250 – 3500 de Maisonneuve Blvd. West Westmount, QC H3Z 3C1 Tel.: 514.939.2710; Fax: 514.939.2714 www.cim.org; magazine@cim.org

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

Advertising sales Dovetail Communications Inc. Tel.: 905.886.6640; Fax: 905.886.6615; www.dvtail.com Senior Account Executives Janet Jeffery, jjeffery@dvtail.com, 905.707.3529 Neal Young, nyoung@dvtail.com, 905.707.3525 Subscriptions Included in CIM membership ($187); Non-members (Canada): $275/yr (AB, BC, MB, NT, NU, SK add $13.50 GST; NB, ON add $35.10 HST; QC add $40.40 GST + PST; PE add $37.80 HST; NS add $40.50 HST); Non-members (USA & International): US$325/yr; Single copy: $25. Layout and design by Clò Communications Inc. www.clocommunications.com Copyright©2017. 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.

adian Busines sM Can in

Printed in Canada

8 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 12, No. 1

We embrace your vision as our own. Unstable markets. Financial volatility. Excess supply. Social license to operate. Your challenges are transforming the way you do business. We understand that your needs are changing rapidly and that you need a partner who is proactive in identifying the larger, longterm issues affecting your business. A partner who listens carefully and is agile and innovative in their approach. A partner who sees the potential of emerging technologies and can deliver value in ways that are most meaningful and relevant for today. We embrace our clientsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; vision as our own to help them adapt to a dynamic world. We bring our best thinking and teams to solve your toughest challenges. To help you transform the world. Welcome to a new era. Together we can build positive change. Contact us at hatch.com

presidentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s notes

Pay it back

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Some big picture advice for navigating my career in some large companies was really helpful. â&#x20AC;?

In the winter of 1980, I showed up at the Sullivan Mine to start my Engineer-inTraining job for Cominco. I was a cocky, long-haired guy who was most interested in what the Kimberley Ski Resort had to offer. Chulwoo Shin, my initial engineering supervisor, went well beyond the call of duty to mentor me over my time at the mine. He taught me a lot of mining life lessons, which served me well for the rest of my career. Many industry leaders were fortunate to have worked at the Sullivan and had support from Chul. Later in my career, I was lucky to have a number of mentors who provided me with support and advice, including John Willson at Cominco and then at Placer Dome, and Sandy Laird, also at Placer Dome. Some big picture advice for navigating my career in some large companies was really helpful. When I questioned the option of getting an MBA, I remember being counselled that I could not get any better experience and learning than within Placer Dome, working on developing mines and on M&A evaluations. Over the years, I have tried to pay it back. I have mentored quite a number of people, mainly informally, but also within a formal program at Inco. One process that got a good response, and was always a two-way learning event over the years, was to have beer and pizza mentoring sessions with young industry professionals. My shortfall in mentoring, I recently realized, is that I tended to gravitate to mentoring males. Often these guys had a similar background. Sometimes we shared common sporting interests so discussions would take place around a squash outing or golf game. The ideas and discussions I have been a part of at diversity events over the last year have prompted me to change and to reach out more to women and visible minorities to play what part I can in fostering a more inclusive industry. I urge you all as fellow CIM Members to take on several mentoring opportunities in 2017 and beyond, if you are not already active helping young mining professionals. You will find it most rewarding and it will strengthen your business. Try to mentor someone who is quite different from yourself; you might help the most and learn the most!

Michael Winship CIM President @CIMPrez

10 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 12, No. 1

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

chatter RE: A BRILLIANT START (DEC ‘16/JAN ‘17)

Really great article on Gahcho Kué & the logistics of #diamond #mining in Yellowknife – Sean Kingsley, @Canuckoholic Very encouraging news indeed. Congrats to @DeBeersCanada. @BKTtires hopes to trial our OTR tires at this site! – Keshav Das, @keshavuvacha

RYAN BERGEN @Ryan_CIM_Mag

ANGELA HAMLYN @AngelaH_CIM

RE: A BRILLIANT START (DEC ’16/JAN ’17)

Having had the pleasure of conducting some of the Komatsu Equipment training on this project on behalf of SMS Equipment, this is one of the “Success Stories” of the New Century. Great people to work with. Congratulations to all who made this a success. – Art Hine

ANDREA NICHIPORUK @Andrea_CIM_Mag

TOM DiNARDO @Tom_CIM_Mag

KELSEY ROLFE @kelseyarolfe

WATCH: Alun Jones of Cementation Canada details a new approach to development in our latest from the McEwen Mining series on mining innovation.

ERRATUM In our story “An alternative atmosphere” on pg. 24 of our Dec. ‘16/Jan. ‘17 issue, we mistakenly identified Kevin D’Souza, vice president, sustainability and environment at Centerra Gold, as Heymi Bahar, renewable energy markets analyst at the International Energy Agency. We apologize to both D’Souza and Bahar.

MARIA OLAGUERA @Maria_CIM_Mag

FACEBOOK facebook.com/CIMMag/ facebook.com/CIM.ICM/

IN MEMORIAM With every December/January issue we note, at the very least, the names of CIM members whose deaths we have been made aware of over the past year. We failed, however, to include mention of a man whose warmth and engagement was a powerful force in the mining community. George Sigut, a well-respected mining engineer, passed away peacefully at home on March 14, 2016. He was born in Sydney, Nova Scotia in 1920, and graduated from the Colorado School of Mines with a degree in mining engineering. He began his career with the Dominion Steel and Coal Corporation and retired from Atomic Energy of Canada in 1985. He was the Secretary-Treasurer of The Mining Society of Nova Scotia for many years. He was a Life Member of the Mining Society of Nova Scotia, CIM and AIME. George is survived by his wife Florence, son Aaron, Ph.D. (Deannie) and grandchildren, Claudia and Leo. He also leaves behind two sisters, Julia and Lillian, and several nieces and nephews. Please send such notices to membership@cim.org 12 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 12, No. 1

LINKEDIN linkedin.com/groups/40506/

INSTAGRAM instagram.com/cim_mag

YOUTUBE youtube.com/canadianinstituteofmining

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

Revolutionizing maintenance In response to the needs of our customers, FLSmidth has developed a hydraulic rolling frame assembly to reduce screen change-out time in typical roll-in/roll-out screen installations. This design allows a complete screen change-out to be carried out in less than 60 minutes. Replacing a whole screen on site can be complex and labor-intensive. The Hydraulic Screen Rolling Frame revolutionizes this process by eliminating the need for large, expensive cranes, long shutdowns and large crews to do a screen replacement. An entire change-out can be safely completed in less than an hour with a single-man operation.

Visit www.flsmidthminerals.com and subscribe for our eHighlights news

Visit F LSmid th soluti o n s ex p erts at SM E Boo th #1827

Digital refinement One of Lonmin’s platinum mines had a lot of inefficiencies at its smelter. Bottlenecks led to wasted time and some platinum lost in the smelting process, and the process of drying the concentrate was hit-or-miss. To increase throughput and better optimize their processes, the operators asked GE’s Digital Mine team to examine their process sheet. When GE was done, the mine had reduced scrap rates and identified mechanical issues, increasing the smelter throughput by 10 per cent and the overall recovery rates by 1.5 per cent. The Digital Mine can collect data from equipment on-site, either by using a mine’s existing equipment sensors or GE’s own, and send it to remote monitoring centres through the cloud. GE’s subject matter experts can then analyze it and make recommendations as well as predict and detect equipment failures. (Lonmin is monitoring the fans and blowers in their smelter, for example.) “What’s unique is that we offer solutions that can work with any piece of equipment,” said Kevin Shikoluk, GE’s global marketing leader for the Digital Mine. The company unveiled the cloud-based system at MINExpo in September.

Putting wearables to work

Calibrating sensitive gas sensors underground calls for precision. If the gas concentration data skews higher than it is an operation could needlessly shut down, and if it skews too low it could endanger workers’ lives. “We have seen two people try to calibrate the same sensor in less than a one-hour period with results that vary by 30 per cent,” said Michael Gribbons, vice president of marketing and sales at Maestro Mine Ventilation. At the digital Vigilante AQS environmental stations underground, technicians can, in less than 30 seconds, swap out gas sensors needing calibration with sensors that have been calibrated in a controlled environment on surface. With other sensors technicians might only be able to calibrate between one and three per shift, Gribbons said, meaning individual sensors may not be recalibrated as regularly as they should be. Maestro developed the sensors with financial and technical support from the Ultra-Deep Mining Network. (UDMN also helped bring the product to the market.) The Maestro sensors can detect a wide variety of gases, including carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, oxygen, methane and nitrogen dioxide. Because the sensors are internet-enabled, they can also transmit that data to the surface as well as diagnostic data, including the maximum and minimum temperatures to which they have been exposed.

Between data from sensors, scans and plans, mining operators have lots of data available to them. Trimble’s new Visual Intelligence module can help teams get their heads around all that information. The module is based on Microsoft’s mixed-reality HoloLens headset, and creates holograms using actual data and models and projects them onto the physical environment. The module builds on Trimble’s existing Connecting Mine platform, which consolidates several kinds of information, including production-level data, models and business intelligence. “What’s really been lacking that we set out to build was an enterprise-level platform to manage the geospatial data,” said Nathan Pugh, business area director of Trimble’s mining division. “Humans visualize things in 3D anyways, so this should make our data more accessible and easier to ingest for a wider audience.” Several major miners helped test the tech and the Connected Mine platform has generated interest, Pugh said, although existing Trimble clients who are interested may need to upgrade their systems before adding the Visual Intelligence module. Compiled by Kate Sheridan 14 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 12, No. 1

Courtesy of Maestro Mine Ventilation

More sensible sensors

Courtesy of Trimble

Courtesy of GE

tools of the trade

Mining project among semifinalists for Carbon XPrize

Egypt re-opens gold concessions to foreign mining companies

Government remediation plan slow to come for abandoned Faro mine

Gold King spill comparable to four to seven days of ongoing mine drainage: report

Developments On the rise Industry and analysts look ahead to a brighter year for base metals Diving oil and commodities prices and political curveballs made 2016 a challenging year for the mining industry. However, many commodities are starting this year with upward momentum, according to market analysts. The first commodity price forecasts of the new year have been released; Scotiabank published its tables on Jan. 17, featuring higher average yearly prices for zinc, copper and nickel, and the World Bank released its first forecast on Jan. 24. The commodities market as a whole has improved substantially since early last year, when oil had hit a low point. “I think that you definitely saw some very dour investment and market sentiment towards the entire commodity space,” said Scotiabank commodities economist Rory Johnston, “and oil very much drives the commodity sentiment.” But fundamentals specific to each commodity are more likely to drive prices for the next year and allow specific metals to pull away from oil prices, Johnston said. Copper had a surprise run-up in the fall, increasing 20 per cent and leading Goldman Sachs to forecast that the price per tonne will hit $6,200 within six months. (Previous forecasts had the six-month price hovering around $4,800.) “I don’t know if it will be the best-performing commodity of 2017,”

Courtesy of Rio Tinto

By Kate Sheridan

Copper-producing companies are feeling bullish about the metal’s long-term prospects, including Rio Tinto, whose massive Oyu Tolgoi underground copper mine will deliver its first production in 2020.

Johnston said, “but it’s definitely going to outperform our previous expectations.” Companies within the industry are also feeling bullish about copper’s long-term prospects. “Rio Tinto is well placed to benefit from copper’s attractive long-term fundamentals, and global demand for copper remains strong,” Rio Tinto’s chief executive of copper & diamonds, Arnaud Soirat, told CIM Magazine. Three things driving the demand, Soirat said, are urbanization, industrialization and the increased use of cop-

per required to address climate change. “Just imagine when one day we will all be driving electric cars,” he said. Those cars will need copper from somewhere, and although existing mines are aging and grades are degrading, there has not yet been enough investment to head off the supply shortfall. “This is good news for us, as our underground project at Oyu Tolgoi will be delivering first production into this deficit market in 2020,” Soirat said. While Rio Tinto is looking to new copper supply coming online, Glencore’s late-2015 decision to strategically February 2017 • Février 2017 | 15

Goldcorp announced in January it had sold two of its Central American assets, Los Filos in Mexico to Leagold Mining Corporation and the Cerro Blanco project to Bluestone Resources. The company will receive an estimated US$438 million from the Los Filos sale, consisting of US$279 million in cash, US$71 million in Leagold common shares and retaining “certain tax receivables” of US$88 million. Bluestone will pay US$18 million in cash for the Guatemalan gold-silver project and US$15 million at commercial production, and give Goldcorp a one per cent net smelter return royalty on production and a 9.9 per cent stake in the company. HLS Hard-Line Solutions appointed Lyle Hobbs as general manager of the company’s U.S. operations in November, to lead Hard-Line’s expansion to the U.S. market. Hobbs has previously worked for RCT, Strategic Minerals Plc and Atrum Coal. Former Goldcorp CEO Chuck Jeannes was appointed to Tahoe Resources’ board of directors on Jan. 1, 2017. Jeannes joined Goldcorp in 2006 after it merged with Glamis Gold, and has more than 30 years experience in the mining sector. Iamgold acquired junior exploration company Merrex Gold in an all-share transaction, the company announced in late December. Merrex has a 50 per cent interest in the Siribaya gold project in West Mali, an exploration authorization for the Karita property in Guinea, and the zinc-lead Jubilee property in Nova Scotia. 16 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 12, No. 1

Mining sector bounces back on Toronto Stock Exchange in 2016 The mining sector had a strong year on the Toronto Stock Exchange and Toronto Venture Exchange, according to a December report from Market Intelligence Group. In 2016, which saw 40 new mining listings in comparison to 29 in 2015, the sector’s market capitalization on the exchanges increased by 55 per cent, and the amount of equity capital raised increased by 38 per cent year over year. As of December there were 1,206 listed mining issuers on both exchanges, making up 39 per cent of all listed issuers. – Kelsey Rolfe

try produced more than twice as much of the metal as its closest competitor. Johnston notes that the Philippines’ decision to crack down with environmental policy was more likely to impact mines that were not yet in production. One such project, Intex Resources’ US$2.5 billion nickel project, had its environmental permit revoked in January. Alternately, the Indonesian government eased supply pressure with its early 2017 decision to soften its earlier ban on exporting nickel ore. There are plenty of political events on 2017’s horizon that could make the market shift, including any unexpected electoral victories in France and the Netherlands. “They may not have a direct effect on base metals markets in terms of demand, but the way they turn out either on or against expectations will have an effect on investor risk aversion to the market,” Johnston said. “We definitely do see a very uncertain policy outlook globally. There are a lot of moving parts, there are a lot of elections and referenda coming up that could have the potential to derail the growth outlook we have.” Even a small shift in Chinese demand for base metals could impact the fundamentals. Nearly half of the

$279 billion mining’s 2016 market capitalization on the TSX and TSXV

Lundin Gold signed an exploitation agreement with Ecuador for its Fruta del Norte gold project, it announced in mid-December. The agreement gives Lundin the right to develop and produce gold from the project for 25 years, and promises advance royalty payments of US$65 million to the country’s government, deductible against future royalties, with US$25 million paid up front. Ecuador will receive a royalty of five per cent of Fruta del Norte’s net smelter revenues from production.

idle mines is contributed to zinc’s recent price bump, according to Scotiabank. About 500,000 fewer tonnes of zinc concentrate is on the market in 2017 because of Glencore’s call. The company declined to comment, but other companies are confident about zinc’s prospects. “The zinc metal market has been in deficit for a few years already, but prices have been slow to respond due to large inventories which have been drawn down and are now approaching a critical level,” said Teck Resources spokesperson Chris Stannell. Zinc prices did begin to turn around after bottoming out early last year. “Zinc is the one that we had pegged as the best performer for the year,” said Johnston. Nickel is also expected to have an interesting year. “The reason that nickel is one you have to keep a close watch on as well is because most of the supply reduction and supply concern we’re seeing right now stems not from organic mine closures but from direct government policy,” Johnston said. The Philippine government rattled the market when it suspended eight nickel mines and clouded the future of many more in a crackdown on environmental practices. In 2015 the coun-

FROM THE WIRE

from

$180 billion in 2015

$9.4 billion equity capital raised by mining issuers in 2016 from

$6.8 billion in 2015

UP 38%

developments global demand for copper, nickel and zinc came from China last year. A two per cent decrease in Chinese demand would dramatically change the market, he said, while a large North American infrastructure spending plan would likely move markets merely through better investor sentiment.

“I think one of the big surprises of this last year was how aggressive Chinese stimulus policy was,” Johnston said. “I think that’s always a little bit of a black box. “We can speculate on what Beijing is going to do, but at the end of the day they’re the ones that know.” CIM

Union strike ends at Yamana’s Chilean gold mine

tion from other operations in the short term and from El Peñón throughout the year. Union workers at the Minera Florida mine in central Chile entered into a collective bargaining agreement with Yamana in early January despite threats of a strike, and the mine and plant are operating at full capacity. Yamana had also entered a collective bargaining agreement with the union representing supervisors at El Peñón. El Peñón is Yamana’s second-largest mine, producing more than 17 per cent of the company’s total gold output – David Meffe in 2016.

A strike at Yamana Gold’s El Peñón gold mine in northern Chile ended on Jan. 17, after union leaders reached a wage agreement with the Torontobased company. The strike began on Jan. 7 as workers from one union, representing underground employees, downed tools and suspended operations following the breakdown of collective bargaining negotiations. Union leaders demanded an eight per cent increase in wages and a transportation bonus. A second union, also for underground workers, had been in a “strike position” at the time. It is unclear what compromise was reached by company representatives and workers, but Yamana announced that both unions had reached new agreements in line with the company’s final counter offer of a two per cent wage hike and a transportation bonus, covering 40 and 48 months respectively. Union No.2 President Eduardo Puelles, whose union represents 500 workers, told Reuters that strikers had blocked access to several key roads leading to the site after the strike began. The company reported picketing and blockades in early January, as well as some damaged equipment and an “illegal” sit-in at the employee camp staged by one of the unions. In a statement, Yamana announced that operations had resumed after workers relinquished the camp to allow for a conclusion of negotiations. Operations are reported to have resumed at pre-strike capacity without significant impact on production. The company expects to recover produc-

Mining project among semi-finalists for Carbon XPrize Vancouver-based clean tech company Terra CO2 Technologies may have the answer to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and acid rock drainage in mining, two major environmental problems dogging the industry. Terra is testing a system that takes the massive amount of carbon dioxide produced at power plants, such as diesel generators at mines, and reacts it with pyrite or other metal sulfide minerals at mine sites to produce stable waste in the form of metal carbonates, as well as marketable sulfur byproducts. Not only would this help cut down on greenhouse gases, said CEO Dylan Jones, it would also address the harmful environmental impact of acid rock drainage (ARD) and the high cost associated with treating it for mining companies. “The philosophy behind the company was really to provide better environmental solutions for mining projects,” Jones said, adding this could

FROM THE WIRE Atlas Copco announced in mid-January that it plans to split into two listed companies in 2018, with the second company focusing on mining and civil engineering customers. The new company will include the Mining and Rock Excavation Technique and Construction Tools divisions, and have approximately 12,000 employees. The company also announced that CEO Ronnie Leten was stepping down as of April 27, to be replaced by Mats Rahmström. Rahmström is currently the senior executive vice-president, and president of the Industrial Technique division. Pretium Resources updated its Mineral Reserve estimate for Brucejack’s Valley of the Kings deposit in mid-December, increasing the Proven Mineral Reserves to 3.3 million tonnes grading 14.5 grams per tonne gold, and the Probable Mineral Reserves to 12.3 million tonnes grading at 16.5 grams per tonne gold. The company also announced it appointed Joseph Ovsenek as president and CEO, and Robert Quartermain to executive chair. Centerra Gold received the necessary permits to continue mining at its Kumtor operation in Kyrgyzstan in 2017, the company announced in late December. Centerra and Kyrgyzstan’s feud over ownership agreement of the open-pit gold mine escalated in 2016, with the company filing an international arbitration suit against the country in late May and Kyrgyzstan retaliating a week later by launching a criminal probe against the miner and barring several employees from leaving the country. Eldorado Gold announced in midDecember that CEO Paul Wright will retire in April, to be replaced by George Burns, currently the executive vice-president and COO of Goldcorp. Wright joined the company in 1996 as vice-president, mining, and was promoted to CEO in 1999. Burns has worked in the mining sector for more than 30 years, including terms at Centerra Gold, Asarco and Cyprus Minerals Corporation.

Compiled by Kelsey Rolfe

February 2017 • Février 2017 | 17

cut the cost for a mine to treat ARD by at least 25 per cent. Those ambitions have also earned Terra a spot amongst 26 other teams in the semifinals for the $20-million Carbon XPRIZE, a competition “to develop breakthrough technologies that convert the most carbon dioxide emissions from natural gas and power plant facilities into products with the highest net value.” Teams are organized into two tracts, coal and natural gas, based on the type of power plant their technologies are geared towards. Sponsored by Canada’s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance (COSIA) and U.S. power company NRG, this XPRIZE battle launched in September 2015 and has attracted competitors from around the globe, including startups, non-profits and universities. They are converting carbon dioxide into everything from biofuels to toothpaste and fish food.

“We flip the whole economics of battling climate change on its head and say, ‘Look there’s real value in not just reducing emissions but even creating value out of that,’” said Marcius Extavour, XPRIZE’s director of technical operations, energy and environment. “Any industrial miner that’s looking to reduce their CO2 footprint is going to be interested in what comes out of these competitors.” For Jones, winning the prize could give his company the boost it needs to attract investors and get to the market, but just participating has its advantages. “We saw the XPRIZE as a good opportunity for us not only to get into the carbon community…but also there’s a lot of PR and marketing opportunities,” he said. Terra, which expects to build a pilot plant by July, is currently testing its technology with pyrite, or iron sulfide. The system separates the iron

and sulfur, sending the iron into a reactor column where it is mixed with carbon dioxide to produce siderite, a stable waste rock that can be distributed safely in the environment or stored. The pure sulfur becomes sulfuric acid, which can be sold for countless commercial purposes, or even used by mines to separate gold from waste rock. Jones said Terra is in the demonstration phase now, but if the technology continues to develop as well as it has been, the aim is to commercialize the product in 2019. Up to 10 XPRIZE finalists will be selected by a judges panel of industry experts early next year and will receive a minimum of $500,000 to help them get through the last round. They will test their technology at real power plants through 2018 and 2019, after which the grand prize winner will be chosen, Extavour said. – Sahar Fatima

Smart Mobile Herrenknecht Boxhole Boring Machines (BBM) for the efficient construction of slot holes with small diameters.

Pioneering Underground Technologies www.herrenknecht.com

18 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 12, No. 1

developments

A lukewarm welcome Egypt re-opens gold concessions to foreign mining companies By Kate Sheridan

Courtesy of Aton Resources

Egypt opened its first gold it has made a commercial disexploration tender in eight covery, last 15 years and can be years on Jan. 15, but some who renewed for another 15. Howwork in the region question ever, the second 15-year period whether the terms the country does not come with guaranteed has offered will be attractive tax relief. Egypt charges five per enough to entice foreign investcent royalties. ment. “Combined, the proposed Though the offer extends terms result in an effective tax until April 20, the country may rate that is by far one of the be at risk of having no bidders. highest for mining globally,” ElAll three gold mining compaRaghy wrote. nies already operating or Aton paid to see detailed exploring there have said they data and terms for bids – the do not plan to place bids. price for information is “The current terms on offer, US$6,000 per claim area. Workers lay out fresh core at Aton Resources’ Hamama project in Egypt’s in our view, are far more oner- Eastern Desert. If the company’s plan for its concession works out, it would be “These areas are interesting. ous than the previous two bid one of only two companies operating a gold mine in the country. The geographic size of them is rounds and as such are unathuge,” Campbell said; one area tractive to the investor,” Joseph El- existing projects, according to Blaine is over 1,500 sq. km. “But for other peoRaghy, chairman of Centamin, said in an Monaghan, vice-president of investor ple that might be looking at the potential email to CIM Magazine. Centamin operrelations. In addition, Campbell said the exploration area, it’s hard for me to see ates Sukari, Egypt’s only gold mine, terms of Aton’s existing claims are how this would be attractive.” located just over 20 kilometres inland “much better” than what is offered in the Egypt’s mining history stretches back from the Red Sea and about 300 km country’s tender, “[making] these new thousands of years; however, in the early southeast of Luxor. (The mine, which terms even more bizarre.” 1960s, then-President Gamal Abdel began producing in 2009, has an Despite a new mining law passed in Nasser nationalized the mining sector expected 20-year mine life, and pro2014, the terms are most similar to those along with several other industries. By duced 551,036 ounces of gold last year.) seen in the oil and gas industry, the end of the 1960s, the economy had “We will not be tendering. The terms Campbell said, adding they do not stumbled; the mining sector suffered involve a lot of upfront payments that address the constraints the mining from the slowdown and from the migrawould be better spent in the ground,” industry faces. tion of industry professionals out of the seconded David Hall, CEO of Thani “These production-sharing agreecountry. Stratex Resources Ltd., which has two ments are well known in the [oil and The country has a number of minconcessions in the Eastern Desert. “It is gas] industry and the economics make it eral, gas and petroleum resources, most unlikely that there will be any interest easy to operate in because all of your notably natural gas and crude oil. There given that the three companies currently costs are upfront,” he said. Unlike in are also tin, steel and phosphate producactive have all said they will not tender.” mining, oil and gas operations tend to ers in the country. Egypt held another The concessions are mostly in the begin to make a profit within a few years bid round for lead and zinc, among Eastern Desert between the Nile River and and have lower operating costs once a other minerals, in 2015. “The geology is the Red Sea, and one area is open on the connection to a pipeline is established. certainly here and the infrastructure is Sinai Peninsula, the area that borders According to the terms, Egypt forms a here,” Campbell said. Aton’s two projIsrael. The areas up for bid will likely have 50-50 joint venture between each comects, located 40 km from each other, are some older mines on them, said Mark pany and the country’s mineral resource both accessible from the same four-lane Campbell, president and CEO of Aton authority, EMRA, sharing a company’s highway. Power lines run through the Resources, formerly known as Alexander profits after costs are recovered. There area, and a water pipeline abuts the Nubia, which is exploring two sites on are several fees and bank bonds that highway. one concession in the Eastern Desert. must be paid before a company can “We would love to see 150 compaAton will not be participating in the begin work on a concession. Exploitation nies working here,” he said. “A robust bid round so the team can focus on permits, given after a company declares mining industry is good for us.” CIM February 2017 • Février 2017 | 19

De Beers Canada announced it had placed Snap Lake on extended care and maintenance in December after failing to find a buyer for the Arctic diamond mine. The dewatering infrastructure in the underground mine will be sequentially turned off, allowing Snap Lake to safely flood. The process started in early January and is expected to last eight weeks. The mine failed to make a profit for the company since opening in 2008. It was put on care and maintenance in December 2015 and was put up for sale in July 2016, giving prospective buyers six months to bite before the mine was flooded. De Beers Canada spokesman Tom Ormsby said flooding the mine is “the most economic way to hold the asset for a longer period of time.” The mine

IDLERS

Courtesy of De Beers Canada

De Beers Canada to flood Snap Lake diamond mine

Flooding the underground diamond mine mitigates its environmental impact by preventing mine water from reaching the surface and contaminating Snap Lake itself.

can be resuscitated in the future and its estimated 25 million carats will be preserved, while the company no longer has to foot the bill for dewatering. Flooding the mine safely also mitigates the mine’s environmental impact

PULLEYS

by preventing mine water, high in dissolvable solids, from reaching the surface and contaminating Snap Lake itself. Water management issues have plagued the property since its opening.

IMPACT BEDS

ACCESSORIES

IT TAKES GUTS

to Increase Your Conveying Performance Luff’s Triple Labyrinth Seal & High Moisture Seal are standard on all CEMA E rollers, providing the ultimate sealing protection for longer roller life in the toughest applications

Visit us at SME Annual Conference & Expo in Denver, CO

Booth #1808 February 19-22, 2017

Luff Industries Ltd.

Calgary, AB | Orillia, ON | Rancho Cucamonga, CA | Nashville, TN

20 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 12, No. 1

Toll-free: 1.888.349.LUFF (5833) Email: info@luf ndustries.com www.luf ndustries.com

developments CBC reported that De Beers Canada’s COO Glen Koropchuk explained at a public hearing in March 2015 that large volumes of water high in dissolved solids were being stored underground at the site, which was a safety concern for workers and reduced the minable ore inventory. The water could not be released into Snap Lake as it went over the proscribed limit of the operation’s water licence, even after treatment. Despite the water licence being amended by the Northwest Territories environment minister in Sept. 2015, the mine was put on care and maintenance three months later. Ormsby estimated that Snap Lake has 12 more years of mining and said it has the potential to be resurrected, whether operated by De Beers or another firm. However, this would be subject to “a combination of the right market conditions, plus a new technical approach to mine the kimberlite.” After the flooding process is complete, 35 people will continue to be employed on site. – Cecilia Keating

Mosaic scoops up Vale’s fertilizer assets

operates three other potash mines in Saskatchewan and company spokesperson Sarah Fedorchuk said the Kronau project provides “an option for future expansion.” The transaction is expected to close in late 2017, subject to regulatory approvals. It does not include Vale’s nitrogen and phosphate assets in

Cubatão, Brazil, although Vale has said it also expects to sell those in 2017. The transfer of shares will establish Vale as Mosaic’s top shareholder, with an 11 per cent stake in the U.S. company. Vale will appoint two directors to Mosaic’s board. In a video about the deal on the Vale website, CEO Murilo Ferreira explained

Reliable. Optimized. Productive. At GE, we understand that miners are looking internally for ways to increase pro tability. GE is paving the way for digital transformation. Digital Mine connects the mine from pit to port, providing data, analytics and insights to optimize operations across the value chain, allowing you to get more from your existing assets. That means: - More ore mined from the rock - 3-10% asset utilization improvements - 5-15% operations optimization - 2-10% business-wide optimization

Learn more at Mining Indaba or SME (booth #1051) getransportation.com/mining

Mosaic Co. agreed to purchase Vale’s fertilizer business in a US$2.5-billion deal, the company announced in late December. The sale is the culmination of discussions dating back to at least June 2016, as first reported by Reuters. Mosaic will pay the Brazilian miner US$1.25 billion in cash and US$1.25 billion in newly-issued shares. Mosaic will become the largest fertilizer producer in Brazil and with the deal expects to generate an additional US$80 million in after-tax value by 2019. Alongside five Brazilian phosphate mines, four chemical and fertilizer production facilities, one Brazilian potash mine and a 40 per cent stake in the Bayovar mine in Peru, the deal includes Vale’s Kronau potash project in Saskatchewan, shelved in November 2015 because of unfavourable market conditions. Mosaic currently February 2017 • Février 2017 | 21

Marcelo Coelho / Vale Archive

In the deal Mosaic received five Brazilian phosphate mines, four chemical and fertilizer production facilities, one Brazilian potash mine, Vale's Kronau potash project in Saskatchewan and a 40 per cent stake in the Bayover mine in Peru (pictured).

that the company had chosen to “associate with an international company” with the relevant expertise in potash

and phosphate on account of “factors that made it difficult [for Vale] to open a window into the fertilizer market.”

Connecting People. Powering Communities.

Engineering

EPC+

Procurement

22 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 12, No. 1

Construction

Vale announced last February that it would offload core assets in order to reduce its debt after a record year-onyear loss of US$12.1 billion. Following more favourable results in the third quarter of 2016 amid an iron ore price rally, Fereirra told investors in November 2016 that the board would reconsider this strategy. The sale to Mosaic is in line with a less severe streamlining strategy focused on selling “non-core” assets, which will allow Vale to focus on its profitable nickel and iron ore business. The agreement is the latest development in a fertilizer industry grappling with years of slumping prices due to oversupply and increased competition after the break up of a RussianBelarussian potash trading cartel. The downturn has resulted in a flurry of new mergers and acquisitions, which include the merger of Mosaic’s rivals PotashCorp and Agrium, approved by shareholders on both – C. Keating sides in November.

No matter how large or complex your mine’s power needs are, Valard has the resources to deliver a successful outcome. From engineering and procurement to construction and maintenance - get in touch with us for a simple, cost-e ective solution. www.valard.com

developments

Money pit Government remediation plan slow to come for abandoned Faro mine The federal government has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on Yukon’s giant abandoned Faro Mine since it took control of the site almost 20 years ago – and not an inch of the 2,500 hectare property has been remediated, according to the Treasury Board of Canada’s 2015-2016 report. In an e-mail to CIM Magazine, Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) said the federal government has spent “about $350 million” on the site, with the lion’s share of the money spent on project management and maintenance. Faro sits in an ecologically sensitive valley near the community of Faro in the south-central portion of the territory, in Ross River Dena First Nations territory. The full amount, INAC spokesperson Melissa Madden wrote, breaks down to around $150 million spent on care and maintenance; $75 million on project management; $5 million on “regulatory activities;” $10 million on consultation and training with First Nations; $35 million on developing a forthcoming remediation plan; $15 million on environmental protection; and a further $60 million on advanced remediation projects, including a Grum sulfide cover for some of the most highly contaminated waste rock and a new water treatment plant. The federal government assumed control of the site in 1998 when the mine’s operator, the Anvil Range Mining Corporation, went bankrupt. Despite completing more than 100 studies in that time, INAC still has not completed an official remediation plan. According to Madden, the plan “has been advanced to approximately 20 per cent of the design” and the department is aiming to finish it by 2018, when it will be submitted to the Yukon Water Board and the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board for approval. She said the ministry expects the remedia-

Courtesy of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada

By Joel Barde

The key features of INAC’s remediation plan for the Faro mine will involve upgrading tailings dams, re-sloping waste rock piles and upgrading the site’s contaminated water collection and treatment system.

tion work to commence six years later, in 2024. (And according to a recent Globe and Mail article, administrators said the clean-up will cost around $1 billion – on top of the money that has already been spent.) The project has been a source of frustration to many for years, including Lewis Rifkind, a mining analyst with the Yukon Conservation Society (YCS), a territorial non-profit. Citing heightened levels of zinc and fluoride in affected waterways, he said that government feet-dragging is leading to serious environmental damage and that the problems get worse every year the remediation is delayed. The YCS is calling for a third-party audit of the project. “We’ve spent $350 million just to keep the status quo,” said Rifkind, who claimed that the government has been challenging to work with and until recently did not make water data public. That information is now available on one of the government’s websites, which has “been revamped and reposted,”

according to Patricia Randell, director of the Yukon government’s Department of Assessment and Abandoned Mines, which oversees maintenance of the site with federal government funding. Many of the challenges stem from the site’s massive size, which was once home to one of the world’s largest leadzinc mines. The tailings ponds hold some 70 million tonnes of waste and there are an estimated 320 million tonnes of acid-leaching waste rock. “It’s a unique project, and it’s quite complex,” Randell said. She countered the notion – stated on the Treasury Board’s website – that none of the project has been remediated. Both the waste rock cover (which covers 27 of the site’s 500 hectares of waste rock) and the new water treatment plant, she said, will be “permanent fixtures” of the remediated site. She also underscored the large scale of the project, noting that project managers had to shift priorities to address heightened levels of zinc in a nearby creek. February 2017 • Février 2017 | 23

Asked what she expects the plan to look like, Randell said the end goal is to protect “human health and safety and the environment.” INAC’s Madden said the plan’s key features will involve upgrading dams to ensure tailings stay in place, re-sloping waste rock piles,

installing soil covers over both tailings and remaining waste rock, upgrading stream diversions and upgrading the site’s contaminated water collection and treatment system. For Rifkind, what is most needed is a sense of urgency. He said he believes

the project has dragged on for too long and that administrators have been “spinning their wheels” for years, blaming each other for the inaction. Meanwhile, he said, the site is “casting a long shadow” over the entire mining industry. CIM

Gold King spill comparable to four to seven days of ongoing mine drainage: report

The August 2015 spill, triggered by an equipment operator inadvertently breaching a pile of debris with a backhoe, sent an estimated three million gallons of “acidic, mine-impacted waters” into the Animus River, turning it a vivid mustard colour as the iron and aluminum in the deluge reacted with the river water. The mine tailings crossed three state lines and three tribal lands over the course of nine days and thrust the problem of abandoned mines into the headlines. The EPA’s final report on the spill examined the river conditions prior to the collapse, how the metals and mine

water moved through the river system and the long-term impacts on the river. The agency found that the total amount of metals that entered the river – 490,000 kilograms of mostly iron and aluminum, as well as manganese, lead, copper, arsenic, zinc, cadmium and mercury – during the nine-hour release period was comparable to the amount of metals carried by the river in one to two days of high spring runoff. But, it conceded, the concentrations of some of the metals in the plume were “higher than historical mine drainage.”

The amount of metals in the mine water that ran into Colorado’s Animus River after contractors working for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) accidentally set off a spill at the abandoned Gold King mine was comparable to four to seven days of ongoing acid drainage from the mine, according to a report from the agency released in early January.

24 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 12, No. 1

developments The report noted that mine waste had piled up outside the Gold King mine entrance for many years, and that acid mine waste has historically settled along the banks and sediment beds of the river system, which long captured the leaking mine waste from “hundreds of old and abandoned mines” in the region. When the mine structure collapsed, the “initial load of metals contained in the [Gold King] release increased significantly as the mine water traveled down the hillslope and along Cement Creek, picking up additional metals from the waste pile and streambed along the way.” The agency said there had been no reported fish deaths in the rivers affected by the spill, and surveys released by multiple organizations found that other aquatic life “does not appear to have suffered harmful short-term effects from the GKM plume.” It also said water quality in the affected rivers returned to prespill conditions within two weeks of the plume passing. At least 73 claims were filed against the EPA after the collapse from people in Colorado and New Mexico, seeking a total of $1.2 billion in compensation, but the agency dismissed the claims after a legal analysis concluded it had “sovereign immunity,” according to the Denver Post. The Navajo Nation sought $160 million. The state of New Mexico filed suit against the EPA in May 2016, seeking reimbursement for the cleanup. To date, the agency has dedicated more than $29 million to the incident, including more than $1 million to the Navajo Nation, and $1.75 million to New Mexico. Last September, the EPA designated the Bonita Peak Mining District in southwestern Colorado a Superfund site, making the Gold King mine and 46 other nearby sites including mines, tunnels and tailings impoundments potentially eligible for federal cleanup funding. The area had been mined for over a century before the last mine closed in – K. Rolfe 1991.

Book a CIM Distinguished Lecturer today.

hanI heneIn Professor at the Department of Chemicals & Materials Engineering University of Alberta, AB

DanIeL MarshaLL Professor of Economic Geology and Geochemistry, Earth Sciences Department Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC

LawrenCe Devon sMIth Principal consultant Lawrence, Devon, Smith and Associates

PatrICk stePhenson Director / Principal Geologist AMC Mining Consultants (Canada) Ltd.

DIrk van ZyL Professor, Chair of Mining and the Environment University of British Columbia

www.cim.org/en/Services/Distinguished-Lecturers | Dist_lecturer@cim.org | 514.939.2710 ext: 1332

February 2017 • Février 2017 | 25

ICMM members adopt new measures to prevent future tailings dam failures The International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) updated its principles on tailings management in December, and committed its 23 member companies, among them Rio Tinto, Barrick Gold and Goldcorp, to implement them in full and report on their progress each year. The review’s key recommendation was to increase the emphasis on governance to ensure that existing technical and management guidelines are effectively applied. Rigorous independent reviews, in particular, should be submitted directly to the company’s CEO and board of directors with minimum alteration. Timely inspections and audits need to be carried out by qualified professionals and the recommendations and corrective actions carefully managed to ensure they are completed. One month after the November 2015 tailings dam failure at Vale and BHP Billiton’s Samarco mine in Brazil, which killed 19 people, destroyed the village of Bento Rodrigues and polluted the basin of the Rio Doce, ICMM announced it would conduct a global review of tailings storage and management standards. Golder Associates was appointed to conduct the review, supported by a panel of technical experts from ICMM member companies and associations, including several Canadian geoscientists and engineers. Terry Eldridge, the report’s senior project reviewer and a principal at Golder, said the findings of the review “reinforced the need for direct communication between the engineers who design and construct tailing facilities, and the executives who make decisions at the board level.” The review examined member companies’ surface tailings management documents and national guidelines – including standards, guidelines and risk controls, and governance and emergency response plans related to sudden catastrophic failure. Recog26 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 12, No. 1

nized Canadian tailings specialists, drawing on lessons learned from the Mount Polley dam failure in 2014, shared advances made by the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia and the provincial government. Tailings management guidelines and standards in the province were reviewed and overhauled after the failure. Teck Resources, an ICMM member since 2006, participated in the development of ICMM’s tailings governance framework by providing internal procedures and guidelines, and technical expertise, said Teck spokesman Chris Stannell. The review summarized the known causes of tailings failures in the past 20 years as lack of control of the water balance, leading to overtopping; lack of construction quality control; a general lack of understanding of the geotechnical features that control safe operations; and lack of operator responsibility and ownership. – Kylie Williams

Increase in procurement from indigenous suppliers in Canadian mining sector: report Indigenous involvement in the Canadian mining sector is growing. In 2015, an estimated 230 indigenous suppliers provided goods and services to mining operations, according to a Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB) report, and 40 per cent of all indigenous businesses were working in mining or extraction, up from 13 per cent in 2010. The report, produced by the CCAB and Engineers Without Borders Canada’s (EWB) Mining Shared Value initiative and released in late November, made several recommendations to increase these numbers further. The report documents the range of working relationships between mining companies, indigenous entrepreneurs and aboriginal economic development corporations (AEDCs) across Canada, from joint-venture partnerships and impact and benefit agreements, to maintaining and promoting indige-

nous supplier directories in key mining districts. “One of the best practices we’ve seen is outlining key performance indicators between mining company procurement staff and aboriginal businesses,” said Anthea Darychuk, report co-author and project manager at Mining Shared Value. “Both parties can lay out their expectations and agree what success looks like, which prevents unreasonable expectations and promotes trust.” There are still barriers to overcome, explained Darychuk, including indigenous people having difficulty accessing financing, historical legacies with governments, and a complex patchwork of federal and provincial training programs that do not fully benefit the growing indigenous workforce. The report found that clearer guidelines with respect to consultation would benefit both mining companies and indigenous communities. Despite these limitations, indigenous business capacity has steadily increased in recent years. One case study in the report profiled the Tahltan Nation Development Corporation (TNDC), which has partnered with private companies on projects in the resource-rich Tahltan territory – which includes British Columbia’s booming Golden Triangle mining district – for almost 30 years. One week before the report was released the TNDC and B.C.-based Geotech Drilling announced the formation of a new company, Tahltech Drilling Services Ltd., a strategic partnership and the fifth of its kind that Geotech has signed with First Nations in the province since 2013. Geotech will provide subcontracting, employment and training opportunities to Tahltan members through the new company. “The partnership significantly strengthens TNDC’s capability and competitiveness in resource and industrial development as the economic recovery unfolds,” said TNDC CEO Garry Merkel in a release. Tahltech Drilling has already put in its first competitive bid for drilling work for a major Golden Triangle mining com– K. Williams pany.

TELESCOPING BOLTER CONSTRUCTION BOLTER BASKET BOLTER TELEHANDLER FORKLIFT TOW VEHICLE CUSTOM ATTACHMENTS

DEEPLY INVESTED.

Maximize your returns with the all-new MTC from Brandt; the most productive and versatile carrier on (or under) the earth. The durable, multi-tool MTC Series is the latest addition to Brandt’s growing line of mining products and support services. Now you can perform a wide variety of critical tasks from one purpose-built platform, simplifying maintenance and minimizing parts inventory while improving operator efficiency; proof-positive that Brandt knows what it takes to succeed in mining. With our 24/7 Customer Support Centre, we’re always nearby to support you, when and where you need us. That’s Powerful Value. Delivered.

brandt.ca 1-866-427-2638 Email us at mining@brandt.ca

column

Missing the rush By Lawrence Devon Smith

etal prices are going to go up. We know this because we are five-plus years into one of the longest downturns in a hundred years, and history has taught us that downturns are followed by upswings. We expect this because demand in China, although down from its peak, is still growing. We hope for it because we need it. Yet the mining industry does not appear to be preparing for it. Mining companies have dispersed their engineering and capital projects groups, EPCM companies have cut their staffs to the point of eliminating teams, and centuries of experience have disappeared as baby boomers have retired. In the executive suites, finance and accounting qualifications have dominated as senior management has had to focus on cutting costs, paying down debt and making their balance sheets look strong. Furthermore, we have continued to deplete our reserves throughout the downturn but have failed to find new projects through exploration, and we have not been developing the major new projects which have been detailed in studies that are now gathering dust on our shelves. So when metal prices inevitably jump up, I predict there will be a mad rush to develop projects. And when we do so, we are almost certain to miss the opportunity. Using “Dr. Copper” as a proxy, since 1970 there have been seven down cycles, each averaging 3.9 years in length. There have been five up cycles, each averaging just over 2.2 years in length, plus the eight-year up cycle ending in 2007 that brings the average up to 3.2 years. This indicates a number of things. Up cycles are shorter than down cycles, and they are not long enough to

develop a feasibility study, obtain board and financing approval, and complete design, construction and ramp-up of a project to a producing operation with a positive cash flow. Even if a full feasibility study had already been completed in the past, it would take many months to assemble a team and update the estimates and assumptions to have the study ready to submit to the board. It is also likely that permits and other approvals would have stale-dated during the long down cycle so these would have to be submitted again, with potentially years of delay. Plus regulations and CSR issues have only increased over time. Even if it were possible to ramp up a project in a short amount of time, how many of our current senior executives have experience developing, guiding and constructing a major new project? Many of those with that sort of experience went on “to pursue other interests” (the HR euphemism for CEO termination) when the focus in the industry became finance and accounting. How many of our current executives want a major new project on their watch? Given the average life expectancy of a CEO, most would not be around long enough to be credited for taking the risk. So why risk it? When the metal prices begin to rise, we can expect several responses. In the first scenario, some in our industry will be gripped by an enthusiasm that will press them to move quickly into project mode, dusting off existing studies and rushing to approval and construction in the expectation of having more and larger operations to take advantage of the up cycle. And willing financiers will join the rush. After all, one has to be an optimist to be in the mining business. Send comments to editor@cim.org

28 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 12, No. 1

This route likely leads to disaster. Rushed projects with inexperienced people will overrun and they are almost certain to be timed to start up in the next down cycle. It is also possible that some in our industry will weigh the factors and decide it is time to do nothing but rather hold the course and really make some money from their streamlined operations through the up cycle. But if that is all management does, in the long term their companies will be diminished with depleted reserve bases and no projects on the horizon. But maybe some in the industry will take a long-term view. They will see that an up cycle is not likely long enough to give them time to bring a major project onstream and benefit from higher prices by the time they start up. They will realize that they can accumulate money during this up cycle to fund project development during the next down cycle. And that project will catch the full benefit of ramped up production in the next up cycle. But are there companies with management that will do this? Long experience in the industry suggests that we will go down the path of the first scenario, experiencing the rush and missing the larger opportunity. However, I remain hopeful that some in our industry will use the next up cycle to stock up on cash, plan and take the long-term view, even if that means missing the thrill of the short-term rush. CIM

Lawrence Devon Smith is the principal consultant at Lawrence, Devon, Smith & Associates.

column

2017’s big policy developments will impact Canada’s mining competitiveness By Pierre Gratton

ast year, we saw glimmers of hope in the commodity markets, with prices for many commodities rebounding after a lengthy downturn. But commodity prices are far from the only factor that will determine how companies will perform in 2017 and beyond. A region’s regulatory and fiscal environments are major considerations when companies decide where to invest their exploration and development dollars. They also directly impact that region’s ability to attract highly mobile global mineral investment. In the year ahead, the Government of Canada is shaking up the policy environment in two key areas: exploring reforms to the federal regulatory process for mining projects and implementing its new panCanadian climate change plan. As an association whose focus is on ensuring that good public policy fosters sustainable mining growth in Canada, the year ahead will be a busy one. The review of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (CEAA 2012) is in full swing. In January, the expert panel tasked with reviewing the environmental assessment (EA) process under the Act tabled its report. Their findings could inform sweeping changes to the federal EA process for mining projects. In many respects, this is an opportunity to fix a broken system. The current regime, which was reformed in 2012, has introduced new and significant challenges. We have seen a deterioration of coordination between federal and provincial processes and between federal departments, causing delays and uncertainty. Moreover, CEAA 2012 is structured to assess only large, clearly defined projects like mines, rather than the cumulative effects of other industries’ activities

on ecosystems, species or indigenous rights. In doing so, it is placing a disproportionate burden of addressing cumulative effects onto one project and one sector. This is why the Mining Association of Canada (MAC) welcomes the review, albeit with some trepidation, as constant reviews and amendments to key environmental legislation are major sources of uncertainty. However, the current situation is unsustainable. Another major government priority is climate change. Last April, MAC and its members surprised a lot of people when we came out in support of a broad-based price on carbon. This was part of a suite of policy recommendations we published to help government as it developed its pan-Canadian climate change plan. Our focus throughout 2017 will be to continue pointing to what will make a carbon price regime successful. This includes protecting emissions intensive and tradeexposed (EITE) sectors, like the mining industry. If not addressed, “carbon leakage” will result – the shifting of production and the associated economic benefits from countries that are taking action on climate change to those that are not. Moreover, any climate change policy or plan must also address the unique challenge of climate change in the territories, where there are exceptionally limited opportunities for companies – and communities – to displace diesel. MAC members are committed to doing their part to improve energy use and reduce emissions. The industry is also doubling down on its innovation efforts both individually and collaboratively through the Canada Mining Innovation Council’s Towards Zero Waste Mining Strategy, which is seeking

$50 million of federal government support over five years, starting in 2017. There is a lot at stake for getting these pieces right as they directly impact Canada’s ability to attract new mineral investment. This is especially important today because Canada has lost ground in this regard recently. Consider that Canada is no longer the top destination for mineral exploration according to the Fraser Institute’s Investment Attractiveness Index, having conceded first place to Western Australia in 2015. Also, spending on off-mine-site exploration work in Canada is expected, once tallied up, to have reached the lowest point in a decade in 2016 to $680 million, compared to a high of $2.8 billion in 2011. Also troubling is the fact that no new mining projects entered federal EA in 2016. Mineral exploration and investment dollars are still being spent, but Canada’s share of that spend is getting smaller and is being shifted to other countries. There is little doubt that the regulatory environment is contributing to this trend. Fortunately, we see a bright future for the mining industry if the right policies are in place. A thriving mining industry will mean even greater contributions to Canadians. It will also make us effective partners to government as it works to grow the economy, transition to a low-carbon future and close the gap between indigenous and nonindigenous Canadians. CIM

Pierre Gratton is the president and CEO of MAC.

Send comments to editor@cim.org February 2017 • Février 2017 | 29

Courtesy of Hudson Resources

Drilling results to date at Hudson Resources’ White Mountain anorthosite project show 27 million tonnes of Indicated Resources and 32 million tonnes of Inferred Resources. The only known larger anorthosite deposit is on the moon.

From white rocks to green products Hudson Resources sees multiple uses for the unique deposit at its White Mountain project By Kylie Williams

arge deposits of pure, highly calcic anorthosite have only been discovered in two places in the known universe: Hudson Resources’ White Mountain project in Greenland and the moon. The Vancouver-based miner’s project contains high calcium, low-sodium anorthosite, an igneous rock that predominantly contains plagioclase feldspar. It began constructing an industrial mineral mine on the site in 2016, with firm plans to send the first shipment of ‘GreenSpar’ – calcium feldspar ore – to fibreglass producers around the world in early 2018. The deposit will be mined as a quarry to exploit the calcium feldspar ore to produce E-glass fibre, a key structural element found in wind turbine blades. Other uses of the ore include replacing bauxite in alumina production, as a filler in paints or even to produce zero-CO2-emission cement. Fortunately for Hudson Resources, it does not have to exclusively focus on just one market or application because the deposit is so large; results from drilling to date show 27 million tonnes of Indicated Resources and 32 million tonnes of Inferred Resources. The only known larger anorthosite deposit is on the moon.

Third time’s the charm Hudson Resources was not targeting anorthosite when it landed in Greenland in 2002. The company staked a 96-square 30 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 12, No. 1

kilometre exploration licence in the hopes of finding diamonds after reviewing publicly available reports prepared by the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS). “There’s good diamond potential in Greenland,” said James Tuer, president of Hudson Resources since 2000. “We found highly diamondiferous kimberlite and multiple two-carat stones between 2002 and 2008.” But in the wake of the global financial crisis of 2008, Hudson Resources shelved its plans for a diamond project and revisited the GEUS reports. A large carbonatite occurrence on the licence caught the company’s attention and it switched gears to explore for rare earth elements (REE). The carbonatite was high in neodymium and praseodymium, the REEs used to make powerful magnets. The REE market had high potential for growth at the time but developing an REE mine would have involved a major capital investment of several hundred million dollars. “We looked out over the fjord and realized there was a large white mountain that is basically 95 per cent plagioclase: calcium feldspar,” said Tuer. “There was real, undeveloped potential, and it could be mined for a fraction of the capital cost of any other deposit in the area.” Hudson Resources is now in the process of building a mining operation for between $30 and $40 million to crush and

new frontiers

The three known calcium-rich anorthosite deposits with a similar chemical composition to White Mountain are smaller, irregular and contain too many impurities for large commercial applications. The Shawmere Anorthosite Complex in northern Ontario and the Lapinlahti Deposit in Finland are much smaller deposits. The Gudvangen deposit in Norway is also quite large, but it is an underground mining operation located within a UNESCO World Heritage site with only portions of the deposit suitable for E-glass production. “White Mountain really is a massive deposit compared to anything else in the world,” explained Jim Cambon, vice-president of project development at Hudson Resources. “We’ve looked at a lot of different deposits over the last three to four years and staked a few of them. Nothing comes close as far as size and purity goes.” Except for the moon. According to NASA, the white lunar highlands visible from earth on the surface of the moon are anorthosite. The White Mountain deposit is so similar in composition to the moon that Hudson Resources has provided samples to NASA for lunar research.

portion of our initial planned production of 200,000 tonnes per year,” said Tuer in a press release. “When fibreglass producers use the anorthosite instead of kaolin, we expect them to reduce their CO2 output by 10 to 15 per cent,” explained Cambon. In addition, the pure White Mountain anorthosite has the potential to replace nepheline syenite as a filler and extender for paints and plastics to make them last longer. The anorthosite can also be used to produce alumina particles by leaching the calcium feldspar with acid and heating it to high temperatures, replacing bauxite in aluminum production. Bauxite, by comparison, produces two tonnes of red mud for every tonne of alumina produced. “Hudson Resources’ anorthosite mine would essentially create no waste,” said Don Hains, a professional geoscientist who prepared an independent technical report and confidential feasibility study for the White Mountain E-glass project in 2014. “In the alumina application, the valuable co-products of amorphous silica and calcium silicate (synthetic wollastonite) have a number of uses.” “It would be a game changer for the cement industry too,” said Cambon. Cement factories burn fossil fuels to heat limestone up to 1,450 C to make Portland cement, the most common type of cement, which creates 0.9 tonnes of CO2 for every tonne of cement produced. By simply mixing the anorthosite with phosphoric acid, a zero-CO2 cement can be produced.

One ore, many uses

Back home in Greenland

White Mountain is 95 per cent plagioclase, which contains silica (50 per cent), aluminum (31 per cent), calcium (15 per cent) and a little sodium (two per cent). In late 2012, Hudson Resources began approaching fibreglass companies around the world to consider White Mountain’s ore and its products. The anorthosite, Tuer explained, contains low sodium and no detrimental elements, such as metals, that would interfere with the production of the glass fibers. Mineral processing consists of three stages of crushing and magnetic separation on site. Initial planned production is for 200,000 tonnes per year and the project has a mine life of 107 years. Hudson Resources will produce the raw material for making E-Glass, or electrical-grade glass, now used as the structural glass fibre in high-end fibreglass for wind turbine blades, for lighter parts in cars and boats, or as a replacement for metal in storage tanks. “The material has never been available in this quality and quantity, so we’re getting calls from people who just want to look at it, study it and see what they can do with it,” said Tuer. “We’re only limited by the possibilities, not by the resource itself.” With further micronization, it can also be added as a functional filler to paints and polymers to make them last longer. Hudson Resources sees the E-glass industry as a growth opportunity, and, in mid-2015, signed a 10-year contract with a fibreglass producer. “This supply agreement will cover a major

In 2016, Hudson Resources completed about 75 per cent of the blasting to prepare the site for a storage warehouse, process plant, fuel farm and truck shop. A 300-foot barge will be arriving from Nova Scotia in April 2017 to act as a floating dock. “The fact that we’re on tidewater makes a huge difference for shipping product around the world,” said Cambon. Hudson Resources plans to ship to Asia, Europe, and North America. Year-round access and proximity to shipping routes and markets are just some of the attractions of having a project located on Greenland’s west coast. The country also has a politically stable government that is supportive of mineral exploration and development, said Tuer. Mining and exploration companies deal with a single government department that represents all of the Greenlandic people, so there are no conflicting regulations or land claim challenges. Hudson Resources has signed Impact and Benefit Agreements with the communities near the project and developed a relationship with the local mining school in Sisimiut. The company has committed to 80 per cent local employment by the end of the third year of operation, and is aiming to start full construction this spring. If all goes to plan, the mine will be commissioned this autumn and the first shipment of sand-sized material bound for fibreglass customers will leave the site by early 2018. The mine is fully permitted for 50 years. CIM

grind the calcium feldspar, still under the same exploration license it had originally obtained in 2002. The company is arranging a low-interest loan from a European financial institution for construction and it is in the process of raising $8-10 million in equity themselves.

Exploring the calcium feldspar market

February 2017 • Février 2017 | 31

Courtesy of Hatch

A potash producer approached Hatch in 2009 to help the company figure out why it was not seeing the production it expected from its crystallization ponds.

Old ponds, new tricks Hatch research challenges conventional wisdom on crystallization ponds By Ian Ewing

umans have been harvesting table salt from natural evaporation ponds for millennia. So simple is the basic mechanism, it is comprehensible to a middle school science class: as an aqueous solution or brine cools down or the water evaporates, dissolved ions precipitate out of solution and crystallize. Whether caused by a change in concentration due to solar evaporation or by a change in solubility due to cooling, salts that have crystallized out of their brine settle to the bottom of the pond to await harvesting. Even today, lithium, potash and other solution-mined minerals are frequently recovered using crystallization ponds. Also known as cooling ponds or evaporation ponds, depending on the primary mechanism, these ponds can be found around the world, from the Great Salt Lake in North America to the Dead Sea in the Middle East, and from western China to the Atacama Desert of Chile. In areas with

32 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 12, No. 1

ample land and favourable climatic conditions (low ambient temperature and/or low precipitation), crystallization ponds offer an attractive alternative or supplement to energy-intensive mechanical evaporators and crystallizers. But most crystallization ponds in use around the world are still rudimentary in design, built before the advent of modern computer-based analytical tools. So when a potash producer approached Hatch in 2009 about why it was not seeing the production it expected from its pond, it provided an opportunity to test some decades-long assumptions about crystallization ponds.

Field research Understanding the complex dynamics at work in the ponds was no easy task. Angelo Stamatiou, a senior project engineer at Hatch with expertise in computational fluid dynamics (CFD), worked with the client to develop the best

new frontiers approach. “It was quite challenging because there are changes in bathymetry, concentrations, temperatures, climatic effects and transient effects,” he said. “We spent a lot of time looking at the energy balance and understanding what the key parameters that influence it are,” said Mark Machado, a process engineer with Hatch’s minerals group. “It started with the main, obvious ones: the evaporative losses, the convection, conduction losses to the ground or to the walls of the pond. Then we advanced it further to include solar and radiative effects, and the heat that is generated through salt precipitating – the heat of crystallization.” The multidisciplinary team built up CFD and dynamic simulation models from the individual terms of the energy balance. The latter were necessary because of the many parameters in a crystallization pond that change as a function of time. “The climatic conditions are changing, and as salts precipitate in the pond, the geometry changes, as does the bathymetry of the pond. That in turn influences how much it precipitates, and how it cools. So there are all these interactions,” Machado explained. “It took a while, but we had a very systematic approach incorporating all the major phenomena.” “It was not something that happened overnight,” Stamatiou emphasized. “It was not easy to collect the data, either. It was a real field environment.” But the effort was worth it. “We were able to nail it down by systematically analyzing the data, using statistical analysis to identify the critical variables, so we could gain confidence in our models,” he said. “We were able to get a really well-defined model, with all the good information that we had available,” added Machado. “The model compared and predicted well to what was actually happening in the field.”

Geometry lessons With confidence in the validity of its model, the Hatch team turned its attention to optimizing the pond design by trying to maximize evaporation and heat transfer to the environment. Experimenting with various parameters – the length, width and depth of the pond, brine flow rates, and so on – the team began to see in its models where current crystallization ponds fall short. “When we see old-style crystallization ponds, they often have some common characteristics,” Machado said. “They are usually deep, wide and relatively short. The ponds have a length-to-width ratio of less than four-to-one, probably even closer to two-to-one. They also have characteristics of ineffective flow configuration, where they experience shortcircuiting and dead zones, where there is a lack of sufficient mixing in certain areas of the pond. This leads to a loss of uniformity in the pond, and in some cases a loss of effective area, which is like lost productivity.” An optimized pond, Machado said, would look quite different. “Ours are the complete opposite. We’re looking at at least five units in the length direction by one in the width,

and even bigger ratios than that – that’s kind of the lowest we’ll go. So they’re very long, narrow channels.” Another big factor was the gap-to-length ratio, defined as the size of the opening between one pond and the next that the brine flows into, compared to the characteristic length of the pond. According to our models, that ratio is usually too small in older ponds – frequently as small as four or five per cent. During modelling, it became clear to Hatch that larger gap ratios promoted better flow characteristics, allowing better mixing and heat transfer by decreasing the size of the dead zones.

“Until now, they haven’t had the ability to see what could be possible.” – M. Machado “We’ve also investigated the use of pond internals,” said Machado. “Investigating ways to induce stronger mixing and improve heat dissipation in the ponds.” Particular inlet feed configurations can also improve flow characteristics, as can different pond geometries nearer to and further from the inlet. With full optimization, Hatch estimates it can design a pond with up to 20 per cent more production than an oldstyle pond with the same footprint.

A repeatable solution Hatch completed its work in 2013. The newly patented capabilities it has developed may next be used to design an optimized greenfield pond, or help existing operations predict future production or identify bottlenecks in their pond systems. Hatch is in talks with a number of potential clients to apply this technology to its ponds or future ponds. “The good thing is that we have all of the models, and the logic behind the models is very sound and already in place,” said Machado. “What we will have to do is tailor the parameters in the model to the particular application – so the climatic conditions in that area, the chemistry that governs that system, the kinetics of that system. From there, we can run our models and get a very robust and optimized design, and do the engineering on that.” With dry summers and cold winters – not to mention lots of flat land to work with – potash producers in Saskatchewan and other similarly favourable locations have optimal conditions for crystallization ponds using cooling. Plants there, as everywhere else, have had to use historical performance and strict rules to maintain crude consistency in their operations. Using the tools Hatch has developed, operators can instead take greater control of their production. “A lot of those operators won’t even be aware of the production potential of their ponds,” said Machado. “Until now, they haven’t had the ability to see what could be possible.” CIM February 2017 • Février 2017 | 33

Courtesy of Tesfaye Negeri

more important with each passing year.

CIM: What got you interested in the mining field? Negeri: I’m from Ethiopia and did my bachelor’s degree in mining, and my master’s and PhD in mineral processing, all in Slovenia, which was still Yugoslavia at the time. I went back to Ethiopia to work for the government in mines and energy, but the country was led at that time by a communist military government, which was at war with neighbouring countries, so I left. I immigrated to Canada in December 1988 and was hired as a research scientist at CanmetMINING – a branch of NRCan – and have worked there for close to 28 years; 18 years as a scientist, then as a manager for five years and back to research for the last five years.

Untangling REE research

CIM: How did you get interested in REEs? Negeri: When I left management

to go back to science about five years ago I thought about what might be potentially important for Canada and sufficiently interesting for me as a researcher. At the time, Tesfaye Negeri of NRCan discusses REE research in Canada China [by far the biggest REE global producer and processor] was By Christopher Pollon blocking exports of REEs; it was around 2010. Canada should be producing its own REEs in the future orn in Ethiopia and trained in mining, mineral pro- and in fact there were many junior exploration companies who cessing and extractive metallurgical engineering in had already discovered several low-grade deposits with Europe, senior mineral processing research engineer significant amounts of REEs. The problem was that there was Tesfaye Negeri is today leading the physical process- no significant processing know-how outside of China on how ing component of a Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) flag- to extract and separate the rare earth minerals from the host ship program to expedite the development of Canada’s rocks. So I proposed a project, which was approved. This promising but nascent rare earth elements (REEs) industry. project laid the groundwork for a larger national project, which REEs are a critical input into many electronics, clean energy now involves multiple companies, and a larger research group and aerospace products. Currently China supplies the vast at CanmetMINING that now also includes work on majority of REEs to the market, and before a home-grown characterization, leaching, separation and environment, in industry can expand its share of output, a handful of Canadian addition to physical processing. REE mining companies have to figure out how to economically separate these increasingly strategic resources from the many CIM: There are about 17 known REEs. Which mineral ores in which they occur. And that is where Negeri and specific ones are found in Canada? his research group come into the picture – by finding new ways Negeri: All of them. REEs are generally categorized as “heavy” of using existing reagents and processes to process and separate or “light.” The heavies are more valuable [dysprosium, for a class of globally strategic minerals which will only become example], but the lights [neodymium, for example] are also very

34 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 12, No. 1

new frontiers important. Canada is rich in both. There is probably no other country that has as many REE deposits as Canada does. It has great potential.

CIM: Do REEs usually occur in isolation, or do they typically appear with other more common metal minerals? Negeri: They don’t exist very much with other metals; they are pretty much isolated. All the deposits we are talking about contain several different minerals, and different minerals contain different amounts of REEs. There is a negligible amount produced as a byproduct of processing aluminum, uranium, copper, gold and other metals, although in China much of their production comes as a byproduct of iron ore processing. There are also other deposits, commonly known as heavy or mineral sands, that contain the rare earth mineral monazite [in Australia, for example].

CIM: There are 19 advanced REE projects in Canada today, but none in production yet. What are the challenges of bringing these resources to production? Negeri: The challenge is the China factor. The Chinese have different types of deposits. The balance comes from what is known as clay-type deposits where the REEs are not locked up in minerals but are rather free and adsorbed onto the clay surface. Such deposits are only known to be found in South China and Kazakhstan. All that is needed is to leach the clays with some simple chemicals and process the REEs. But in our case, the REEs must be either mined on the surface or underground, and then the rocks have to be transported, crushed, and go through several unit operations. We have to produce concentrate as clean as possible, which goes into leaching to release the elements. When you leach “dirty” concentrate, you get a lot of other elements that are very difficult to separate from the REE. So that makes the whole process complicated and expensive. It is important to note that the grade of concentrates we are going to produce from Canadian REE ores will be poorer than the grade of unprocessed Chinese ore which contains 12 to 14 per cent rare earth oxides (TREO), compared to the average grade of Canadian ores at 0.3 to 1.2 per cent TREO.

CIM: Are there any promising new processes or technologies to process REEs? Negeri: REE mineral processing is a relatively new field – no one has done it before for all the different and significant REEbearing minerals that are found in Canadian rare earth deposits. That’s because up to now, the world has depended on Chinese production. So it’s only been in the last four or five years that people have started looking at ways of processing REE minerals. Because of that, few specialty reagents have been synthesized for physical processing of these minerals. We have to be very creative in using existing reagents and processes to make the processing and mineral separation feasible. So that is one of the areas that I’m working on.

CIM: What approaches have been promising to this point? Negeri: In some cases we can use gravity separation. There are some minerals containing REEs that are heavier than others, so by using dense media separation, we classify the mineral particles according to their relative heaviness and separate the heavy from the light. The minerals of interest may be in the light or heavy range depending on the nature of the host rock. For some ore deposits this is possible, but not across the board, not all the time. Then there is ore sorting. This allows you to process less material, which therefore means you consume finer reagents in flotation or leaching. These two processes can reduce the amount of ore that has to be finely ground to further concentrate using magnetic separation, if either the minerals of interest or the host rock, not both, is magnetic. If that fails we have flotation, which requires fine grinding [requiring huge energy input]. The mineral concentrate has to be as clean and as concentrated as technologically possible to reduce the amount of chemicals consumed to leach or crack open the minerals to release the REEs into solution. That would also lead to a significant reduction in the plant size, because the bigger the mass you process, the bigger the physical installation of equipment. My drive is to reduce the capital and operating cost of processing REE minerals.

CIM: How is NRCan working with REE companies in Canada? Negeri: The program is guided by an industry-led and NRCan co-chaired steering committee with senior-level representatives from industry, governments and academia. In addition, technical sub-committees have been established to help define technical work plans and to ensure the research is well-focused and deployment opportunities are maximized. Major REE exploration companies are part of these committees. Right now I’m working with five companies, for whom we are trying to develop the most efficient processing flowsheet. The government has allocated about $16 million to this project over a six-year timeframe. The government is investing in these research projects because there is an opportunity for Canada to be a sustainable supplier of these strategic resources.

CIM: As a strategic global resource, to what degree do REEs defy the market? Negeri: It’s a pretty complicated kind of economics. REEs are not traded on the stock market so the purchase of these elements is always through contracts or take-off agreements between companies, so you don’t know who is selling for how much.

CIM: How long will it be before there are operating REE mines in production in Canada? Negeri: I don’t expect any mines to be in production for at least five years, probably more like ten years, which is not a long time for developing a mine. The determining factor is always the growth in demand for more of these elements. CIM February 2017 • Février 2017 | 35

All packed & ready to go

Courtesy of Mammoet

Proven benefits and outside financial pressure push modular construction into the mining mainstream By Eavan Moore

Logistics companies, like Mammoet, play a vital role in getting pre-assembled modules to site.

Such a short timeline is possible only because the project is extensively modularized: pre-assembled off site and transported whole or in partially completed modules to reduce time spent on construction at site. There are any number of reasons this approach might make sense for a given project – so many that engineering companies now routinely evaluate it during early planning. The practice of modularization is continually expanding to include new types of equipment, more strategic planning and higher degrees of pre-assembly.

Hilscher, principal engineer at Sacré-Davey. “You can have a skid-mounted ball mill or skid-mounted crushers. It can cut your capital in half. And everything really is plug and play. So you plug in your ball mill, and you plug in the piping to it, and your ball mill is done.” Sacré-Davey has done a few such installations. According to Hilscher, there are hundreds of others around the world. A typical site would be a high-grade underground gold operation running at 50 to 100 tonnes per hour. Structures that are small enough do not require foundations or heavy-duty cranes; for milling and leaching, for example, that would allow a throughput of less than 100 tonnes per hour. A pre-crushing system could go up to 1,000 tonnes per hour. The range and availability of different types of plug and play equipment is growing. In 2016, Outotec introduced a modular water treatment plant with an advertised per-unit throughput of between five and 40 cubic metres per hour. These small systems can be scaled up by running them in parallel. Hilscher said that while many mine operators are comfortable running a couple of small ball mills in parallel, the concept of a three-mill circuit consistently hits a psychological barrier, even though it could still save on capital cost. “In that case we just design them a traditional circuit with a single ball mill.” One final benefit to plug and play systems emerges at the end of their use: The resale value of modular equipment vastly exceeds the value of fixed equipment. Hilscher said he recommends that his own clients buy new, but they can look forward to a thriving secondhand market.

Mobility

Designing modular facilities

For Barkerville’s 500-tonne-per-day mine plan, the modular approach sped up a construction process that would otherwise have taken four months at twice the cost. Steinert Global pre-assembled the ore sorter, which is fitted wheels for easy movement, in Germany and then shipped it in three parts to the site, where German technicians reassembled it inside a prefabricated structure and over a minimalist concrete and gravel foundation. The ability to move is key for what Obradovich has in mind for the ore sorter, which is destined to separate potentially acid-generating piles of waste into gold-bearing sulfides. “We have historic mines across a six-kilometre area, with waste piles spread out over that whole length of property,” said Obradovich. “There are several hundred thousand tonnes of material that may be amenable to ore sorting. If we are successful in developing the technology, or we find other areas that are amenable to ore sorting, we can simply move it to a new project.”

Although high-volume ball mills might not be ready for plug-and-play design, large operations can still benefit from the trend toward packing more components into a single module. In the last several years, EPCM giant Fluor updated its execution method to address its clients’ need for greater capital efficiency. The result is what Fluor calls 3rd Gen Modular Execution. “It’s an approach to modularization that challenges traditional design methods by having the module strategy drive the layout of facilities, rather than vice versa,” said Tony Morgan, vice-president of global business development and sales for the mining and metals division at Fluor. The approach groups together items of equipment involved in the same process. “For example, if you needed to pump hot liquid from a vessel and cool it, a logical process block would be the vessel, pump, heat exchanger and all associated instrumentation,” said Morgan. “This approach increases the portion of a facility that can be modularized by consolidating equipment and components into the modules.” Because so much of the facility is modularized – including piping and electrical systems – Morgan said that these siteassembled modules were essentially plug and play, similar to the pre-assembled equipment. All the cabling, wiring and testing is completed in one of Fluor’s four module assembly yards, in the same way that pre-assembled crushers or ore sorters are given a test run before shipping out.

s 2016 came to a close, Barkerville Gold Mines was partway through the installation of a 200-tonne-per-hour ore sorting plant at its Bonanza Ledge mine in British Columbia. Tom Obradovich, director and consultant at Barkerville, estimated that the on-site construction process – from delivery to commissioning – would take about five weeks total.

Plug and play Barkerville worked with engineering firm Sacré-Davey, whose consultants encourage clients to consider this kind of “plug and play” modularization. “If you have a small plant, you don’t have to go with a traditional design,” said Brent

February 2017 • Février 2017 | 37

Courtesy of Fluor

At Shell’s Quest Carbon Capture and Storage project in transport a module from Edmonton up to Fort McMurray is Alberta, Fluor’s 3rd Gen approach reduced the plot space in the range of $15,000 to $20,000,” said Genereux. “If you requirements by 20 per cent from initial estimates and deliv- can save yourself a hundred man-hours, you’d probably pay ered the project at 30 per cent below the initial estimated cost. for it.” “These results are typical,” said Morgan. “When we examined using this approach on the grinding and flotation areas of a copper concentrator, we saw a 10 per cent reduction in the Site-specific solutions Modularization by itself does not always cut the estimated project footprint and over 10 per cent reduction in the capital cost of a project. It does, however, significantly lower the cost cost.” The Alberta oil sands operations were early and committed of working in places like Alberta and Australia, where labour is very expensive and adopters of modularizamodular approaches are tion. In Alberta, high Fluor’s 3rd Gen modular approach at Shell’s Quest Carbon typical on mining prolabour costs are the main Capture and Storage project in Alberta helped the company save plot space and reduce costs. jects. Fluor also used driver – although there extensive modularization are other considerations on a BHP Billiton iron ore as well. expansion project in “We have some very Western Australia, for vertical plants at Fort example. Hills,” said Ron In some cases, though, Genereux, vice-president transportation demands of productivity and conpose too large a chalstruction at Suncor lenge. “Obviously copper Energy. Assembling modprojects 4,000 metres up ules on the ground in the side of a mountain in yards in the Edmonton the Andes have different area and then using a logistical challenges to crane to stack them on projects with coastal site is safer than having access,” said Morgan. construction workers up Hilscher judged that on tall scaffolding during introducing modularizathe entire construction tion might be a breakperiod. Ironworkers do even proposition at need to go up to bolt the Mexico’ s comparatively modules together, but a low-wage rates. The reacrew of eight to 10 peoson an operation might ple can set three to five choose to do it anyway: modules in a day. Tradimodularization lowers tional construction risk. would take weeks or “A lot of the risk in a months to make the same project is on-site labour progress. risk,” said Hilscher. “How “We’ve been pleaslong is it going to take to antly surprised by the ingenuity of what engineers can put onto the modules,” said build? And how many unforeseen problems are there going Genereux. “They’ve been able to come up with some unique to be? If you send the whole thing up in 10 or 20 modules and innovative designs on making heat tracing more efficient and bolt them together, it cuts that risk dramatically.” The appeal of that concept is evident in the bid requests and effective, such that we can do essentially all of the work in the module yard, test it out, verify that it operates and it companies are putting out. René Bernaert, co-founder and controls properly before we even ship the module, which director of engineering at the modular structure company takes a lot of man-hours out of the field for quality assurance Corner Cast, said that he has seen an increasing number of engineering firms tailor their specifications to the unique and testing.” Assembling at ground level cuts down on the cost of scaf- requirements of modular buildings. “More and more, we are folding and the travel time to get up high; it improves the asked in the early stages to modularize the client’s design, to quality of construction; and, of course, it substantially reduces create a cost-effective, prefabricated solution for their project,” he said. That is a very welcome contrast to more typical the cost of transporting and housing workers. In light of these benefits, the price of shipping larger and requests, in which Corner Cast is given a recycled convenmore complicated loads fades in importance. “The cost to tional design and asked to come up with a modular solution 38 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 12, No. 1

Courtesy of Sacré-Davey

A pre-assembled ore sorter is key to Barkerville Gold Mines’ project to separate potentially acid-generating piles of waste into gold-bearing sulfides at its Bonanza Ledge mine in British Columbia.

Public consultation using the same parameters. “It is difficult to redesign and optimize a building in the final stages of the procurement process.” “Mining changes Moreover, prefabrication itself is becoming more customized, according to Bernaert. “Client when it has requests traditionally were more focused on trailers, camps and simto change. ple layouts,” he said. “Now we see clients requesting more customized And over the last buildings like water filtration facilities, garages and a variety of differcouple years, ent modular complexes.”

can also play a key role. Imperial Oil learned that lesson the hard way when modules assembled in South Korea and destined for its Kearl oil sands mine were held up on the intended transport route through Idaho and Montana. Stakeholders along the route successfully blocked those planned megaloads from using a local highway, and ultimately each of the modules had to be divided in half and shipped via an alternate route at an additional cost of $100 million. it had to change.” Given that the modular design Planning and logistics and construction approach was born – B. Hilscher in the offshore oil and gas sector and Since modularization hinges on took its first steps not far from the creative uses of space and transtideline, its application at remote, portation, logistics companies have seasonally challenging or labour-competitive inland operaa particularly important role to play in making it work. Gavin tions is demanding a further evolution. Kerr, account manager and a leader in sustainability and innoMammoet has found a number of ways to lift, ship and set vation at Mammoet Canada Western Ltd., pointed out that ever heavier and more complex modules. For example, Kerr logistics extends well beyond delivery. How flexible the delivis participating in an oil sands industry proposal to permit ery sequence can be, for example, will depend on whether the denser modules in Alberta. There are strict guidelines on modmodules are set using a crane or a specialized transporter, and ule dimensions and permitted axle loadings on public roads. that in turn depends on how much space is available, what The proposal would increase the number of tires per axle line ground preparation costs it can assume, and so on. on a trailer so that modules of the same size, by maintaining Early planning determines whether the delivery will come the same pavement loading per tire, could nonetheless be off successfully at all. Although lots of mining operations are heavier. able to benefit from approaches originally developed in off“The only thing that changes is the density of the module,” shore oil and gas, Kerr cautioned against thinking that will said Kerr. “So it allows the designers and the constructers to always work. “I can’t stress enough how important it is to put more man-hours and more equipment into the module engage really early with as many stakeholders as possible durbefore it arrives on site. By allowing a denser module, you proing those early-stage concept and preliminary designs of the vide owners with a huge opportunity to reduce their total plant to make sure that what you’re putting on paper can install cost.” indeed be achieved.” February 2017 • Février 2017 | 39

Courtesy of Mammoet

On-site “super-module” transport, where smaller pieces of pre-assembled equipment are put together on site, allows companies to modularize while mitigating the headaches of long and cumbersome logistics chains, according to Mammoet’s Gavin Kerr.

Beyond new construction

Financial pressure

In recent years, Mammoet has applied modularization to the problem of relocating existing facilities including at Syncrude’s Aurora mine and Teck’s Highland Valley Copper mine. At Aurora, the crusher, surge bin and slurry prep building ranged from 2,500 tonnes to 4,000 tonnes. “They were each moved in one complete building,” said Kerr. “It saves a huge amount of capital cost and it’s also in the interest of sustainability that you have much less waste.” He said he thinks there could be much more of this in the future, particularly if mine operators design their facilities for relocation right from the start.

In the present rough financial climate, however, some companies are finding that a modular strategy can save projects that would otherwise have to be scrapped due to the high cost of construction. “Mining changes when it has to change,” said Sacré-Davey’s Hilscher. “And over the last couple years, it had to change.” The situation has made 2016 an interesting year for Corner Cast. “We are experiencing increased demand and we’re delivering more projects than ever before,” said co-founder Magnus Consiglio. “You’re seeing bids come out that are specifically asking for these types of modular buildings. […] But at the same time, we found that because of the underlying commodity prices, a lot of projects are on hold and waiting to see light in 2017.” Still, he added, “The overall trend is extremely positive. All of the things that we’ve been promoting – the relocatable nature of the product, the low upfront cost, the lower operational cost and the fact that we can integrate so many functions into one structure – are being accepted by the industry. We’re extremely excited for commodity prices to rebound and for this concept to really take off over the next five years.” CIM

When not to modularize Despite the success stories, Kerr said he thinks there can be a temptation to overapply the practice. Trying to transport rotating equipment or very light preassembled equipment may be more trouble than it is worth. “A steel shell with some pipe on it for example,” Kerr said. “Because it’s so light, it doesn’t have any rigidity, so in order to make it feasible for it to be transported and then lifted into place on the foundations at site, you have to add in a whole bunch of temporary steel to make it stiffer.” 40 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 12, No. 1

FURTHER READING For more on modular construction, read these articles on magazine.cim.org.

Controlled build Labour competition has miners looking at modular construction By Herb Mathisen

Building blocks Reusable hybrid structures help miners stay flexible By Eavan Moore

Piece by enormous piece Éléonore on the frontline of modular construction By Antoine Dion-Ortega and Pierrick Blin

SHAKERS & SCREENS

| technology

Eyes on the screen New materials and monitoring technology are shaking out more uptime and better performance from vibrating screens

Courtesy of Haver & Boecker

By Alexandra Lopez-Pacheco

Haver & Boecker’s new portable F-Class vibrating screen is designed to make changing screen media a much quicker process.

hough critical in the extraction process, screening is often taken for granted when it comes to optimization. “Screening doesn’t get much attention from management because it is a low-cost item,” said Les Naday, director of business strategy at Polydeck Screen. That could be a costly mistake. Screening, in fact, can rack up hefty costs in inefficiencies, servicing and downtime, especially when that downtime is unscheduled. “In a large operation everything needs to be scheduled, so they like to have the screen media last for at least the time of the maintenance cycles of surrounding equipment,” said Naday. “It can be $500,000 an hour to stop a SAG mill. When you have something inexpensive like a screen panel failing and it results in stopping machinery that costs that much an hour to stop, that is a lot of money being wasted.”

The same challenges on a larger scale One of the top causes for vibrating screen failures is blinding — when fines stick to the screening surface. “Blinding can make it virtually impossible to operate,” said Claes Larsson from Metso Minerals. And then there is pegging – when rocks clog up the surface. “This is the biggest challenge,” said Larsson. “It is a huge problem everywhere you go.” Screening inefficiencies can also lead to such problems as excessive fines being sent to the crusher. “The fines that aren’t removed by screening end up being very hard on the crusher, because a crusher can’t crush a solid mass of material. It needs spaces between the rocks it is fed. The result can be hundreds of thousands of dollars in maintenance costs, but the source of the problem won’t always be immediately obvious to the operator,” said Larsson. While screens are heavy duty, they can also be very sensitive. “When you service screens, the machine can become very slightly off balance,” said Peter Kilmurray, VP of sales for Haver & Boecker February 2017 • Février 2017 | 41

Geostatistical Mineral Resource Estimation and Meeting the New Regulatory Environment: Step by Step from Sampling to Grade Control This course is designed according to the latest regulations on public reporting of Mineral Resources. It aims at showing how state-of-the-art statistical and geostatistical techniques help answer the requirements of those regulations in an objective and reproducible manner. A particular emphasis is put on understanding sampling and estimation errors and how to assign levels estimation confidence through the application of resource classification fundamentals. In addition to a solid introduction to mining geostatistics this course provides a comprehensive overview of industry’s best practices in the broader field of Mineral Resource estimation.

INSTRUCTORS Marcelo Godoy, Newmont Mining Corp., Denver; Roussos Dimitrakopoulos, McGill University, Canada; and Guy Desharnais, SGS Canada Inc., Canada • DATE October 2017 • LOCATION Montreal, Quebec, Canada

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

INSTRUCTORS Roussos Dimitrakopoulos and Ryan Goodfellow, McGill University, Canada; and Joe Kraft, Minemax, USA • DATE September 13-15, 2017 • LOCATION Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Quantitative Mineral Resource Assessments: An Integrated Approach to Planning for Exploration Risk Reduction Learn about exploration risk analysis for strategic planning. Understand how to demonstrate how operational mineral deposit models can reduce uncertainties; make estimates of the number of undiscovered deposits; and integrate the information and examine the economic possibilities. INSTRUCTOR Don Singer, USA • DATE September 11-13, 2017 • LOCATION Montreal, Quebec, Canada

SHAKERS & SCREENS

Courtesy of Polydeck

Canada. “That’s enough to result in the rock being unevenly distributed across the bed, making it inefficient and creating uneven wear.” As the clock ticks in dollar signs, replacing screen media panels even as part of scheduled maintenance every few weeks is neither quick nor easy. “Typically there are about 18 parts that have to be removed just to replace the media on a screen,” said Kilmurray. “It’s time-consuming and awkward.” And these days, as mining operations opt for higher capacity SAG mills and cone crushers, screens are only getting larger in order to feed them to capacity. “Twenty years ago, an eightfoot-wide screen was the largest on the market. Then it went up to ten feet. Now, 14-foot screens are relatively common and they’re getting even larger,” said Larsson. All of this means that innovation in screening design is increasingly turning into making servicing easier, lighter and faster, while improving wear life, performance and reliability.

| technology

Better materials

in soft rubber will vibrate, so The self-cleaning zig-zag design of Polydeck’s VR screens, shown that increases the cleaning effect here next to conventional squareof the screen media and holed panels decreases the blinding quite a lot,” said Kilmurray. No screen panel is a one-size-fits-all screening application, however. That is why there are a multitude of different screen media on the market today, not to mention expert opinions on the best option, which is not always the most aggressive one. “There is always a compromise, so we have a variety of ways to attack any one of these issues depending on the application because if you make it too flexible you sacrifice on life,” said Naday. “You want to make it just flexible enough.” Courtesy of Metso

“Over the last decade, Polydeck has come up with materials that have different hardness, so we address plugging and blinding by providing different panel designs that provide a self-cleaning feature,” said Naday. Unlike traditional wire screen media, self-cleaning screens are made of flexible material, whether it is coated wires that vibrate independently or Polydeck’s rubber screen panels made with injection molding, to release blinding fines or pegging oversized rocks. Polydeck uses injection molding rather than compression or open cast molding to ensure consistency and reliability. “With injection molding you don’t end up with variations in the material so every panel will perform for the same amount of time,” said Naday. Traditional polyurethane plastics are also increasingly being replaced with synthetic and natural rubbers. “Rubber helps with blinding issues because screen panel membranes coated

The Screen Planner application from Metso tracks screen media performance and wear life. February 2017 • Février 2017 | 43

Faster and easier servicing Screening companies have been working on designs to reduce the time and effort needed to service their equipment. Polydeck, for example, has replaced metal inserts with synthetic ones that reduce the panel weight by two pounds per square foot. “When you have 240 panels on one deck, the weight reduction is considerable,” said Naday. “It can positively affect the bearing life and other components on the screen.” Two years ago, Haver & Boecker launched its Tyler F-class split-bucket mounting system, which can cut service downtime in half by providing easy access to critical components. “It used to take two days and three or four guys just to remove the shaft if there was a problem with it because it had the large arms on the sides of the machine,” said Kilmurray. “What we’ve done now is a split bucket design. Basically, you can now split the arms into two, so you only have to remove one half.” Then last year, the company went one step further when it introduced Ty-Rail, which eliminates traditional bolts and nuts and replaces it with a rail tensioning system that keeps the media in place and cuts servicing time by half. “It has nonremovable parts and just slides in or out,” said Kilmurray. “One person can do the job rather than the usual two.”

Going high tech High tech has also arrived to screening. FLSmidth has a mobile screen motion analyzer that records the screen’s vibra-

tions and provides an analysis immediately after the data is collected. Haver & Boecker’s Pulse vibration analysis service provides hardware and software to the mine operator to record the screen’s vibration. The data is sent to the company’s engineers, who analyze it and make recommendations. Then there is real-time monitoring. Metso’s ScreenWatch system uses self-powered wireless sensors to continuously monitor a vibrating screen’s performance and condition, and alert the operator in real time when there is a problem in anything from uneven feed, to loose bolts, broken springs or worn bearings. “You can make sure everything is sitting as it should be,” said Larsson. ScreenPlanner, Metso’s recent software release, makes it possible to track wear life and analyze performance for optimization. “When you put the screen in operation, you enter all the performance parameters you want monitored into the software and you can then digitally monitor the wear online,” said Larsson. “All the monitoring data is collected so you can analyze the history. After a while, you can see trends. For example, you can identify where you have the shortest lifetime and what you need to do to change that.” Many experts believe that monitoring technology for screening will become a leading trend in the next few years. And where data is collected and analyzed, optimization becomes far more feasible and verifiable, opening the door to further innovation. CIM

Optimize the run of your screen Reduce your maintenance costs ROSTA-Oscillating Mountings Type AB offer: • Continuous run without downtime • Controlled start up and run out • Highest isolation of substructure • Overload proof in case of impact • Maintenance-free for years

ROSTA-Motorbase Type MB offer: • Continuous slip compensation • Energy-saving and slippage-free • Belt protecting

ROSTA

ROSTA Inc. 394 Highway 47, Unit #7 Goodwood, ON L0C 1A0 T: 905.642.6996 F: 905.642.6006 info@rosta.ca www.rosta.ca

44 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 12, No. 1

NEW STATE OF MINE | UN RENOUVEAU MINIER

Photos: Jon Benjamin

PRELIMINARY PROGRAM PROGRAMME PRÉLIMINAIRE

April 30 to May 3, 2017 | 30 avril au 3 mai 2017 Palais des congrès de Montréal

Montréal, QC

CONVENTION.CIM.ORG

Destination BC/Alex Strohl

WELCOME TO BIENVENUE À

New State of Mine

is the theme that will drive topics of discussion at the upcoming CIM 2017 Convention taking place in Montréal from April 30 to May 3, 2017. Mining will be examined through the lens of safety, innovation, employment, leadership and much more, as well as a strong technical program. More than 5,000 mining industry professionals are expected to take in the events at the Palais des Congrès de Montréal. CIM’s commitment to engage and give a voice to the full range of technical, business and corporate social responsibility stakeholders in this industry makes CIM 2017 a catalyst in a mining landscape where innovation is the fruit of cross-disciplinary collaboration. The Technical Program will feature wide-ranging topics including an examination of the operational excellence culture, innovations present and future, a corporate safety showcase, diversity and gender equality, the environment and sustainable development, geology and exploration, rock mechanics, business cases and engineering challenges of global mining. With the CIM international portfolio growing strategically, the West Africa stream will be of interest to all in attendance as well. The Expo, Canada’s mining marketplace, will be celebrating its 34th anniversary. It will host nearly 450 exhibiting companies, featuring the latest in mining equipment, tools, technologies and services. Peppered throughout the three days will be a cornucopia of receptions, events and social activities, providing valuable networking opportunities and the chance to experience what makes Montréal one of North America’s most intriguing cities. We look forward to seeing you in Montréal!

Michael Winship CIM President 2016-2017

46 | CONVENTION.CIM.ORG

Renaud Adams CIM 2017 Convention General Chair

ORGANIZING COMMITTEE COMITÉ ORGANISATEUR CIM PResIdent | PRésIdent de l’ICM Michael Winship CIM exeCutIve dIReCtoR | dIReCteuR exéCutIf de l’ICM Jean Vavrek

Un renouveau minier

C’est sur le thème que s’orienteront les discussions lors du congrès de l’ICM 2017, qui se tiendra du 30 avril au 3 mai 2017 à Montréal, au Québec.

ConventIon GeneRAl ChAIR | PRésIdent GénéRAl du ConGRès Renaud Adams

Grâce à son programme technique rigoureux, le congrès étudiera l’exploitation minière du point de vue de la sécurité, de l’innovation, de l’emploi, du leadership et bien plus encore. Plus de 5 000 professionnels de l’industrie minière sont attendus à ces événements qui auront lieu au palais des congrès de Montréal.

Carol Plummer

L’engagement de l’ICM à impliquer et donner la parole à tout un éventail de parties prenantes des sphères technique, économique et de la responsabilité sociale des entreprises (RSE) dans cette industrie fait du congrès de l’ICM 2017 un catalyseur dans un contexte d’exploitation minière où l’innovation est le fruit de la collaboration interdisciplinaire. Le programme technique comprendra des thèmes très variés, dont une étude de la culture de l’excellence opérationnelle, l’innovation d’aujourd’hui et demain, une vitrine institutionnelle de la sécurité, la diversité et l’égalité entre les hommes et les femmes, l’environnement et la durabilité, la géologie et l’exploration, la mécanique des roches, les analyses de rentabilité ainsi que les difficultés techniques entourant l’exploitation minière à l’échelle mondiale. Le volet international de l’ICM se développe de manière stratégique, le thème consacré à l’Afrique de l’Ouest présentera également un grand intérêt pour tous les participants. L’Expo célèbre son 34e anniversaire. Cet événement accueillera près de 450 sociétés qui exposeront les tout derniers équipements, outils, technologies et services du secteur minier. L’Expo est le marché canadien de l’exploitation minière, le carrefour des affaires de l’industrie. Tout au long de ces trois jours se tiendra une série de réceptions, d’événements et d’activités sociaux qui donneront aux participants la possibilité d’établir des contacts précieux et de comprendre ce qui fait de Montréal l’une des villes les plus fascinantes d’Amérique du Nord. Nous avons hâte de vous voir à Montréal !

PlenARy ChAIR | PRésIdent de lA séAnCe PlénIèRe sPonsoRshIP | CoMMAndItAIRes Jean Vavrek & Dany Bélanger teChnICAl PRoGRAM ChAIR | PRésIdent du PRoGRAMMe teChnIque Denis Isabel teChnICAl PRoGRAM tRACk ChAIRs | PRésIdents des thèMes teChnIques oPeRAtIonAl exCellenCe And develoPMent | exCellenCe et déveloPPeMent oPéRAtIonnels Marty Dregischan

MAIntenAnCe, enGIneeRInG And RelIAbIlIty best PRACtICes | MeIlleuRes PRAtIques en MAtIèRe d’InGénIeRIe de l’entRetIen et de lA fIAbIlIté Dominique Privé leAdInG foR sAfety | leAdeRshIP Axé suR lA séCuRIté Glenn Lyle & Steven Bowles RoCk MeChAnICs & undeRGRound MInInG | MéCAnIque des RoChes & exPloItAtIon MInIèRe souteRRAIne Martin Grenon & Ferri Hassani GeoloGy & exPloRAtIon | GéoloGIe et exPloRAtIon Jason Dunning & Serge Perreault

envIRonMent And sustAInAbIlIty develoPMent | envIRonneMent et déveloPPeMent duRAble Karola Toth dIveRsIty And InClusIon | dIveRsIté et InClusIon Edith Garneau & Angelina Mehta

InnovAtIon: PResent And futuRe | InnovAtIon : AujouRd’huI et deMAIn Heather Ednie fRAnCo-MIne Martin Poirier & Daniel Gagnon PlAnetARy And teRRestRIAl MInInG sCIenCes syMPosIuM (PtMss) | syMPosIuM suR les sCIenCes MInIèRes PlAnétAIRes et teRRestRes Sherry Schmidt MAnAGeMent & fInAnCe dAy | jouRnée GestIon et fInAnCes Jessie Liu-Ernsting & Benjamin Burkholder CIM stAff | l’équIPe de l’ICM dIReCtoR of ConventIons And tRAde shoWs | dIReCtRICe des ConGRès et des sAlons CoMMeRCIAux Lise Bujold

Michael Winship Président de l’ICM 2016-2017

Renaud Adams Président du congrès de l’ICM 2017

ConventIon CooRdInAtoR | CooRdonnAtRICe du ConGRès Chantal Murphy CIM exPo | l’exPo de l’ICM Martin Bell (Sales and Trade Show Manager/Directeur des ventes et salons commerciaux), Nadia Bakka (Trade Show Coordinator/ Coordonnatrice de l’Expo) events PRoGRAM CooRdInAtoR | CooRdonnAtRICe des PRoGRAMMes événeMentIels Guylaine Richard ReGIstRAtIon And Web CooRdInAtoR | CooRdonnAtRICe, InsCRIPtIons et Web Anais Rodriguez

CONVENTION.CIM.ORG | 47

Riccardo Cellere

WoRkshoPs | ATELIERS Full workshop descriptions are available on the convention website.

Vous trouverez une description complète des ateliers sur le site Internet du congrès. Les ateliers sont dispensés en anglais.

SATURDAY, APRIL 29 AND SUNDAY, APRIL 30

SAMEDI 29 AvRIL ET DIMANChE 30 AvRIL

full day workshop

Atelier d’une journée

$100 $350 half day workshop $75 $150

Price includes two coffee breaks, lunch and course notes. for conference participants for non-conference participants Price includes one coffee break and course notes. for conference participants for non-conference participants

SATURDAY, APRIL 29 | SAMEDI 29 AVRIL UNITED STATES SEC PROPOSED MODERNIZATION OF PROPERTY DISCLOSURES FOR MINING REGISTRANTS

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission recognized their disclosure requirements and policies for mining properties were out of date and they propose to take a significant step towards aligning them with current industry

48 | CONVENTION.CIM.ORG

100$ 350$

Les notes de cours, le lunch et les pauses-café sont inclus dans le prix. pour les délégués à la conférence pour les autres catégories d’inscription

Atelier d’une demi-journée 75$ 150$

Les notes de cours et la pause-café sont incluses dans le prix. pour les délégués à la conférence pour les autres catégories d’inscription

and global regulatory practices and standards. To accomplish this, the SEC will rescind Industry Guide 7 and include a new mining disclosure standard and requirements in a new subpart of Regulation S-K and amend other regulations and forms requiring mineral property disclosure. The SEC recently closed the public comment period on the proposed mining disclosure standard and requirements. facilitators | Animateurs Greg Gosson, technical director of Geology and Compliance, AMeC foster Wheeler; stella searston, Principal Geologist, AMeC foster wheeler time | heure 8:00-17:00

SUNDAY, APRIL 30 | DIMANCHE 30 AVRIL COMMON COMPLIANCE ISSUES UNDER NI 43-101

With the recent upturn in activity in the mining industry, there has been an increase in the amount of disclosure by Canadian reporting mineral exploration and mining companies on their mineral projects. Common NI 43-101 compliance issues that are occurring will be presented and how they could have been avoided will be discussed. Canadian Securities Regulators have identified a high frequency of non-compliant NI 43-101 technical reports being prepared and filed by the mining industry. The course will review the items of Form 43-101F1 that commonly cause compliance issues and will identify the type of required content that is frequently missing from technical reports. In particular, securities regulators are seeing insufficient information explaining how a Qualified Person established reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction for their mineral resource estimates and how they justified the cut-off applied. Examples, both good and bad, will be presented and discussed. facilitators | Animateurs Greg Gosson, technical director of Geology and Compliance, AMeC foster Wheeler; stella searston, Principal Geologist, AMeC foster wheeler time | heure 8:00-17:00

MINERAL RESOURCE ESTIMATION AND SIMULATION

A significant risk to proper valuation of a mining project is associated with data collection, geological interpretation and mineral resource modelling methodology. This workshop is an overview of resource estimation from data collection to mineral resource estimation and simulation, and validation. Different estimation and conditional simulation methodologies will be presented. Challenges of geometallurgical modelling will be discussed. facilitator | Animateur Georges verly, Chief Geostatistician, Amec foster Wheeler time | heure 8:00-16:30

STATE OF PRACTICE IN WATER, TAILINGS AND MINERAL WASTE MANAGEMENT

This workshop is designed to explore environmental, social and related governance (ESG) disclosure practices in the management of systems, engineering and approvals for tailings and mineral waste. The workshop will address risk and uncertainty of ESG information while maintaining credibility and transparency to investors and communities of interest. Improving disclosure practices in the mining, metallurgy and petroleum industries will improve water and mineral waste management as a core activity in management of water, tailings and mineral waste management. facilitator | Animateur Rick siwik, President, siwik Consulting Inc. time | heure 8:00-17:00

ThE ELECTRIC MINE: BATTERY ELECTRIC vEhICLES UNDERGROUND

This workshop is designed to help Underground Miners develop a strategy and tools for the implementation of Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) Underground. The workshop is built on the industry-wide collaboration throughout 2016 to develop the GMSG-CMIC guideline on the topic, to be published prior to the CIM Conference. Workshop participants will learn directly from the experts about the rationale and value of BEVs underground, and the major body of work to assist implementation, focused on four key areas: Mine Design, Batteries, Chargers and Components, and Performance Requirements. facilitator | Animateur david sanguinetti, President, sanguinetti engineering ltd. time | heure 9:00 – 16:00

BEST PRACTICES IN PASSIvE AND SEMI-PASSIvE WATER TREATMENT FOR MINING OPERATIONS AND CLOSURE

This course is an introduction to the best practices for the design, implementation, operation and troubleshooting of passive and semi-passive treatment systems, with a focus on biological and biogeochemical methods (although other methods will also be discussed). Frequently encountered challenges and considerations will be addressed. Technologies of focus include: underground mine pool workings, pit lakes, bioreactors, and constructed treatment wetlands. Material will be covered in one day through classroom learning and case studies. facilitator | Animateur Monique haakensen, President and Principal scientist, Contango strategies time | heure 8:30 – 16:00

LEARNING TO SPEAK ThE SAME LANGUAGE: hOW TO IMPROvE PROJECT SUCCESS BY MAKING TEChNICAL INFORMATION EASIER FOR INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES TO UNDERSTAND

There often seems to be an inherent conflict when western science meets indigenous traditional values. Encampments along pipeline routes, protests at hydroelectric developments and social media campaigns against mine projects are symptoms of this. The real root cause, however, is a lack of proper communication skills which would allow scientists and engineers to present technical information to indigenous communities, in a way that is informed by their culture, history and traditional values. For today’s projects to be successful, it is imperative that companies develop these communication skills. By learning to speak a common language, clearly understood by both sides, project proponents can build key partnerships with indigenous communities. facilitator | Animateur Robert simpson, President and Ceo, PR Associates time | heure 8:30 – 16:30

CONVENTION.CIM.ORG | 49

MINING 101 — AN INTRODUCTION TO MINING AND MINERAL PROCESSING

Mining 101 is an introduction to mining and mineral processing using basic concepts and many relevant and current examples. It consists of five parts: • • • • •

The activities of a mining company Geological concepts Mineral resources estimation and reporting Open pit and underground mining Mineral processing

facilitator | Animateur George McIsaac, Geology & Mining evaluation Consulting, G-MeC time | heure 8:30-12:30

ENGINEERING ENGAGEMENT FOR AN INCLUSIvE AND SAFE WORK ENvIRONMENT

The responsibility of creating value for everyone and supporting the people we work with can be a dynamic and powerful resource that can generate outcomes demonstrated by strong relationships and inclusive partnerships. This is accomplished through commitment and meaningful collaboration. With respect to Indigenous people, engineering an inclusive and safe work environment entails respectful engagement of Indigenous people to better understand each other’s goals, respect traditions, and worldviews.

50 | CONVENTION.CIM.ORG

In this workshop we will explore a reconciliation framework and competency development for a new performance standard to ultimately create an inclusive and safe work environment for everyone. facilitators | Animateurs Mafalda Arias, founder, Mafalda Arias and Associates; lana eagle, founder, lana eagle & Associates time | heure 13:30-16:30

MENTORShIP PROGRAM

PROGRAMME DE MENTORAT Delegates attending the CIM Convention for the first time have the option to be paired with a mentor – an experienced person who will greet them and guide them in optimizing the use of their time, their learning and networking. A reception for mentees and mentors will take place on Sunday afternoon. Request a mentor through registration. Les délégué(e)s dont ce sera la première participation au congrès de l’ICM pourront être jumelé(e)s avec un mentor – soit une personne d’expérience qui les accueillera, les orientera quant à l’optimisation de leur temps, leur apprentissage et de leurs échanges. Une réception pour mentorés et mentors aura lieu le dimanche après-midi. Demandez un mentor lors de votre inscription.

Awards Gala

Excellence

Your Emcee

BEN MULRONEY

Host, Your Morning Anchor, CTV's Etalk

MONDAY, MAY 1 LUNDI 1ER MAI

2017 Join CIM and Caterpillar in celebration of your industry peers' exceptional achievements. Experience a sumptuous meal, great company and one of Canada’s most highly-acclaimed media personalities!

Joignez-vous à l'ICM et Caterpillar pour célébrer les réalisations exceptionnelles de pairs de l'industrie. Venez déguster un somptueux repas en excellente compagnie, lors de cette soirée animée par l’une des personnalités médiatiques préférées au Canada!

PALAIS DES CONGRÈS DE MONTRÉAL CONVENTION.CIM.ORG

student PRoGRAM | PROGRAMME ÉTUDIANT Le congrès de l’ICM 2017 est l’occasion idéale de tisser des liens avec des professionnels de l’industrie minière. En vous inscrivant en tant qu’étudiant, vous aurez accès aux mêmes activités offertes aux délégués, à savoir le programme technique complet ; la séance plénière de l’ICM ; l’accès complet et gratuit à tous les articles et à toutes les présentations après le congrès ; l’EXPO de l’ICM ; la réception inaugurale de l’ICM ; le lunch du lundi à l’EXPO de l’ICM ; le lunch étudiants-industrie le mardi ; et le gala de Joy Global.

STUDENT POSTER COMPETITION | CONCOURS D’AFFICHES DES ÉTUDIANTS

STUDENT-INDUSTRY LUNChEON | LUNCH ÉTUDIANTS-INDUSTRIE

Showcase your talents to leading mining industry professionals. Put your best foot forward and submit an abstract online before March 1, 2017, on topics ranging from geology and mining to processing and sustainability.

The Student-Industry Luncheon seats students next to mining professionals, affording you the opportunity to make that allimportant contact that can propel your career. Practice your networking skills by engaging with future employers and potential mentors in this select and professional networking environment. Prizes will be awarded to poster competition winners.

Jon Benjamin

The CIM 2017 Convention is the ultimate professional networking opportunity. Student registration gives you the same access as a full delegate package: complete technical program; CIM Plenary; free online access to the papers and presentations after the conference; the CIM EXPO; CIM Opening Reception; Monday lunch at the CIM EXPO; StudentIndustry Luncheon; and Joy Global Gala.

Envoyez votre résumé en ligne au plus tard le 1er mars 2017 et profitez de cette occasion parfaite pour présenter vos talents aux professionnels les plus renommés de l’industrie minière sur un large éventail de thèmes, de la géologie et des mines au traitement et à la durabilité. date sunday | dimanche time | heure 17:00-20:00 date Monday and tuesday | lundi et mardi time | heure 10:00-17:00 Place | lieu At the CIM exPo foyer | Au foyer de l’exPo de l’ICM

Le lunch étudiants-industrie est l’occasion idéale pour les étudiants de rencontrer des professionnels de l’industrie minière et d’établir des contacts importants qui pourraient donner à votre carrière un coup de pouce indispensable. Élargissez votre réseau de connaissances et engagez la conversation avec de futurs employeurs et des conseillers potentiels dans cet environnement professionnel et privilégié de mise en réseau. Les prix du concours d’affiches seront remis aux candidats retenus. date tuesday, May 2 | Mardi 2 mai time | heure 12:00-14:00

52 | CONVENTION.CIM.ORG

soCIAl PRoGRAM | PROGRAMME SOCIAL Une myriade d’activités sociales a été prévue afin d’optimiser vos chances d’établir des contacts et de rendre ce congrès inoubliable. Réservez vos billets dès que possible ! Jon Benjamin

A myriad of social activities have been planned to maximize your networking opportunities and make your convention memorable. Reserve your tickets early!

SUNDAY, APRIL 30 | DIMANCHE 30 AVRIL vIP & MENTOR-MENTEE RECEPTION | RÉCEPTION POUR VIP ET MENTORS-MENTORÉS

Delegates experiencing the CIM Convention for the first time and who will have been matched with a mentor, will come together for refreshments, new connections and to discuss how to best maximize their first involvement at the event. Mixed in with CIM top contributors, they will also have an opportunity to tap into CIM intelligence at its best! Les délégués dont c’est la première expérience congrès et qui seront jumelés à un mentor, seront rassemblés pour prendre un verre, faire connaissance et discuter de comment optimiser leur présence au congrès. Entourés de contributeurs clés de l’ICM, ils pourront se prévaloir de l’éminence grise de la communauté ! by Invitation only | sur invitation seulement time | heure 15:30-16:30

OPENING CEREMONY AND WELCOME RECEPTION | CÉRÉMONIE D’OUVERTURE ET RÉCEPTION DE BIENVENUE

Year after year, participants gather at the opening reception of the CIM Convention for an evening of guest speakers and live entertainment. You will be treated to a drink and finger foods on the EXPO floor as you meet old colleagues and friends while discovering exhibitor innovations. The EXPO: the ideal meeting place for networking, knowledge exchange and business.

Chaque année, les participants au congrès de l’ICM se réunissent à l’occasion de la cérémonie d’ouverture animée par des conférenciers invités pour une soirée mémorable comprenant une série de divertissements. Venez prendre un verre et déguster des bouchées variées sur les buffets situés à l’étage de l’EXPO. Vous reverrez vos vieux amis et collègues durant cette soirée de découvertes auprès des exposants. L’EXPO : le lieu de rencontre idéal pour le réseautage, le partage du savoir et les affaires. time | heure 16:30-20:00 Place | lieu Ceremony in hall viger prior to reception in the exPo | Cérémonie au hall viger avant la réception à l’expo | Included in the registration fee | Inclus dans les frais d’inscription

MONDAY, MAY 1 | LUNDI 1er MAI CIM AWARDS GALA | GALA EXCELLENCE DE L’ICM

The CIM Awards Gala celebrates the leaders of the Canadian mining industry. This evening, hosted by CIM and Caterpillar and its Canadian dealers, features a sumptuous dinner, a silent auction held by the CIM Foundation, great company and entertainment that you would usually buy tickets for! Ben Mulroney, best known as the host of the entertainment news program etalk, and his coverage of major events in entertainment, including the Oscars, the Golden Globes, and the Juno Awards, will be your host

CONVENTION.CIM.ORG | 53

for the evening. And, with a reduction in the price of the ticket, you won’t want to pass this up! Le gala de remise des prix d’excellence de l’ICM met à l’honneur les chefs de file de l’industrie minière canadienne. Cette prestigieuse soirée, commanditée par l’ICM et Caterpillar et ses dépositaires canadiens, comprend un dîner somptueux, un encan silencieux

organisé par la Fondation de l’ICM et du divertissement digne de salles de spectacles. Ben Mulroney, connu comme l’hôte de l’émission de divertissement etalk, couvre des événements majeurs y compris les Oscars, les Golden Globes et les Juno Awards, sera votre maître de cérémonie pour la soirée. Et, avec une réduction du prix du billet, vous ne voudrez pas passer cela ! time | heure 18:00 (reception | réception) ; 19:00 (gala) Cost | Coût $150 Sponsored by | Commandité par

GMSG Forum GMSG FUTURE MINING FORUM:

BUILDING A GLOBAL STRATEGIC VISION OF FUTURE MINING

Date: Saturday, April 29, 2017 Location: Palais des congrès, Montréal, Canada Cost: $100 + tx CIM Convention-goers are invited to attend the GMSG Future Mining Forum, focusing on a global strategic vision of future mining at this collaborative event. Participants will hear from industry thought leaders about case studies and have the opportunity to take part in break-out sessions designed to facilitate open discussion on industry roadblocks and innovations. Learn about and give input on GMSG’s latest collaborative efforts. The forum will focus on four primary building blocks for creating a strategic vision for the mining industry in 2017:

» The Future of Mining: Autonomous Mining, Battery Electric Vehicles Underground

A full program will be available a month prior to the event. Current confirmed speakers include: Helius Guimaraes, GSMG Chair and General Manager, Enterprise Architecture and Emerging Technologies, Rio Tinto Andrew Scott, GMSG Past Chair and Senior Director, Digital Mining, Barrick Gold Laura Mottola, GMSG Integrated Operations Leader and President, Flow Partners Heather Ednie, GMSG Managing Director

» Revolutionizing the Mine Cycle: Integrated Operations » Realizing the True Value of Data: KPIs and Big Data » Total Systems Approach: Connectivity, Interoperability and the Digital Mine

Info and Registration WWW.GLOBALMININGSTANDARDS.ORG/EVENTS

54 | CONVENTION.CIM.ORG

MONDAY, MAY 1 & TUESDAY, MAY 2 | LUNDI 1er et MARDI 2 MAI NETWORKING LUNChES AND RECEPTIONS AT ThE EXPO | LUNCHS ET RÉCEPTIONS RÉSEAUTAGE À L’EXPO DE L’ICM

Lunch and cocktail receptions at the CIM EXPO will take place from 12:00 to 14:00 and 15:30 to 17:00. Lunch and one drink ticket per day are included with each delegate registration. Individual lunch tickets can be purchased at registration. Les lunchs et réceptions auront lieu à l’EXPO de l’ICM de 12 h à 14 h et de 15 h 30 à 17 h. Une inscription de délégué(e) au congrès donne droit au lunch et à une consommation par jour. Des billets individuels pour le lunch peuvent être achetés à l’inscription.

TUESDAY, MAY 2 | MARDI 2 MAI WOMEN IN MINING RECEPTION | RÉCEPTION DES FEMMES EN EXPLOITATION MINIÈRE

Join us for a drink and appetizers at the Women in Mining Reception. This year, Women in Mining Montréal is partnering with the CIM 2017 Convention to host its annual event. Come meet and network with a rich and diverse group of industry professionals. The reception will take place off-site. Joignez-vous à nous pour un verre avec canapés à la Réception des femmes en exploitation minière. Cette année, Women in Mining Montréal s’associe au congrès de l’ICM 2017 pour la tenue de son événement annuel. Venez rencontrer et échanger avec un groupe riche et diversifié de professionnels de l’industrie. Cette activité aura lieu à l’extérieur du Palais des congrès. time | heure 17:00-19:00 Cost | Coût $40

JOY GLOBAL GALA | GALA DE JOY GLOBAL

Get ready for an evening of non-stop entertainment and dancing! The Joy Global Gala features live music, delectable finger foods and refreshments. This event allows acquaintances and peers to bid each other farewell until next year in a great party atmosphere, and closes the social program with a bang! Préparez-vous à une soirée de divertissement ininterrompu. Le gala de Joy Global sera animé par des musiciens, un savoureux buffet et une ambiance de fête jusqu’au petit matin. Vous danserez à n’en plus sentir vos pieds ! C’est là qu’on se dit « À l’an prochain. » À ne manquer sous aucun prétexte !

WEDNESDAY, MAY 3 | MERCREDI 3 MAI CLOSING LUNCh | LUNCH DE CLÔTURE

The Closing Lunch is your last networking opportunity of the convention. CIM and its Management and Economics Society are pleased to present the most up-to-date views on strategic issues around cost and financing in the mining industry. In addition, attendees will have the pleasure of hearing keynote speaker Jon Hykawy, President of Stormcrow Capital Ltd., whose message will lead straight into “The Electric Future – The Energy Metals”. Le lunch de clôture est votre dernière occasion de réseautage du congrès. L’ICM et la Société de la gestion et de l’économie sont heureux de vous présenter les points de vue les plus récents sur les enjeux stratégiques concernant les coûts et le financement au sein de l’industrie minière. En outre, les participants auront le plaisir d’assister à la présentation du conférencier d’honneur Jon Hykawy, président de Stormcrow Capital Ltd. dont le message portera sur « L’avenir électrique – les métaux de l’énergie ». time | heure 12:00-13:45 Cost | Coût day program and lunch $425, lunch only for registered convention delegates: $75 | Programme de la journée et lunch : 425 $, lunch seulement pour les délégués inscrits au congrès : 75 $

Jon Hykawy began working in the financial services industry in Toronto in 2001, and has reluctantly been involved in it ever since. He was trained as a nuclear physicist and worked at Atomic Energy of Canada’s Chalk River Laboratories and the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory. His original equity coverage area after joining Canaccord in 2000 was technology, but this transitioned to clean technology and then to the materials that are critical to the deployment of clean technology. His current focus centers on the markets for, and the business surrounding, critical materials such as lithium, rare earths, borates, cobalt, fertilizers and other generally non-quoted metals and minerals. Jon holds BSc and PhD degrees in physics along with an MBA, and is a 2016 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics recipient along with the other members of the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory Collaboration.

time | heure 20:00-24:00 | Included in the delegate and exhibitor registrations | Inclus dans les frais d’inscription des délégués et des exposants Sponsored by | Commandité par

CONVENTION.CIM.ORG | 55

fRee foR ConventIon deleGAtes |

GRATUIT POUR LES DÉLÉGUÉS DU CONGRÈS Full-paying delegates to the CIM Convention benefit from all of the following: Reduced fee for all convention workshops Access to the technical presentations, including Management & Finance Day (lunch is extra) Access to all technical program proceedings postconvention Access to the CIM EXPO Access to WiFi in all public spaces of the convention Internet access stations in the CIM EXPO Mobile device charging station Finger foods and refreshments at the CIM EXPO during the opening reception Refreshments at the CIM EXPO during Monday and Tuesday cocktail receptions Lunch at the CIM EXPO on Monday and Tuesday Ticket to the Joy Global Gala

Les délégués ayant payé le plein tarif pour participer au congrès de l’ICM bénéficient des avantages suivants : Tarif réduit pour tous les ateliers pendant le congrès Accès aux présentations techniques, dont la Journée gestion et finances (lunch non compris) Accès à tous les comptes rendus des présentations techniques après le congrès Accès à l’EXPO de l’ICM Connexion WiFi dans les aires publiques du congrès Accès à deux stations Internet dans la salle de l’EXPO de l’ICM Station de charge pour vos appareils portables Hors-d’œuvre et consommations à l’EXPO de l’ICM lors de la réception de bienvenue Consommations à l’EXPO de l’ICM lors des cocktails de lundi et mardi Lunchs à l’EXPO de l’ICM de lundi et mardi Billet pour le gala de Joy Global

FORUM DU GMSG DÉDIÉ À L’AVENIR DE L’EXPLOITATION MINIÈRE : DÉVELOPPER UNE VISION MONDIALE STRATÉGIQUE DE L’AVENIR DE L’EXPLOITATION MINIÈRE Date : samedi 29 avril 2017 Lieu : Palais des congrès, Montréal, Canada Coût : 100 $ + tx Nous invitons tous les participants au congrès de l’ICM 2017 à prendre part au Future Mining Forum (le forum dédié à l’avenir de l’exploitation minière) du Global Mining Standards and Guidelines Group (GMSG, le groupe sur les normes et les directives mondiales en matière d’exploitation minière), qui orientera le thème de cet événement coopératif sur une vision mondiale stratégique de l’avenir de l’exploitation minière. Les participants assisteront aux présentations de chefs de file visionnaires de l’industrie ainsi qu’à des études de cas, et pourront prendre part à des ateliers en petits groupes visant à faciliter le débat ouvert sur les innovations dans l’industrie et les difficultés qu’elle rencontre. Découvrez les tous derniers efforts de collaboration du GMSG et donnez-nous votre avis. Le forum se concentrera sur quatre modules principaux dédiés à la création d’une vision stratégique pour l’industrie minière en 2017, à savoir :

» L’avenir de l’exploitation minière : l’exploitation minière autonome, l’utilisation sous terre de véhicules électriques alimentés par batterie

» Révolutionnons le cycle minier : les activités intégrées » Comprenons la vraie valeur des données : les IRC et les données massives » Une approche systémique globale : la connectivité, l’interopérabilité et les technologies numériques dans l’industrie minière

Le programme complet sera disponible un mois avant le forum. Parmi les conférenciers confirmés à ce jour figurent : Helius Guimaraes, président du GMSG et directeur général de la section Architecture d’entreprise et technologies émergentes de Rio Tinto Andrew Scott, ancien président du GMSG et directeur principal de la section Technologies numériques dans l’industrie minière de Barrick Gold Laura Mottola, dirigeante du groupe de travail sur les activités intégrées du GMSG et présidente et directrice générale de Flow Partners Heather Ednie, directrice générale du GMSG Le forum est dispensé en anglais

Informations et inscriptions : WWW.GLOBALMININGSTANDARDS.ORG/EVENTS

56 | CONVENTION.CIM.ORG

Jon Benjamin

SUNDAY, APRIL 30 TO TUESDAY, MAY 2 DIMANCHE 30 AVRIL AU MARDI 2 MAI The CIM EXPO, Canada’s premier mining trade show, features nearly 450 companies showcasing the latest in mining equipment, tools, technology, services and products. Do you have an interesting story to share, or an innovative product or service that you want the industry to know about? Stop by the CIM Magazine Lounge to chat with one of our editors or a member of our advertising sales team. Lunch and cocktail receptions will be held in the CIM EXPO on Monday and Tuesday, May 1 and 2, from 12:00 to 14:00 and 15:30 to 17:00. Lunch and one drink ticket are included with delegate registration. Check out our exhibitors’ list and profiles online and in the preliminary CIM EXPO Guide in the next issue of CIM Magazine. L’EXPO de l’ICM, le plus grand salon commercial de l’industrie minière au Canada, permet à près de 450 entreprises de présenter leurs produits, équipements, outils, technologies et services les plus récents destinés au secteur minier. Vous avez une histoire intéressante à partager, un produit ou un service innovant que vous souhaitez faire connaître à l’industrie ? C’est l’endroit. Venez également rencontrer nos rédacteurs ou les représentants de notre équipe commerciale au salon du CIM Magazine. Les lunchs et réceptions auront lieu à l’EXPO de l’ICM lundi 1 et mardi 2 mai, de 12h à 14h et de

15h30 à 17h. L’inscription au congrès d’un(e) délégué(e) donne droit au lunch et à une consommation par jour. Vous trouverez la liste et les profils de nos exposants en ligne ainsi que dans le guide préliminaire de l’EXPO de l’ICM qui sera publié dans la prochaine édition du CIM Magazine.

MONDAY, MAY 1 & TUESDAY, MAY 2 | LUNDI 1er et MARDI 2 MAI

CIM EXPO RECRUITERS | RECRUTEMENT À L’EXPO Whether you are just starting your career or looking to make a change, representatives from national and international companies looking to hire will be available for discussions. Come prepared with your résumés and make sure you stand out in the crowd. Vous commencez à peine votre carrière ou souhaitez vous réorienter ? Distribuez votre curriculum vitae aux représentants de sociétés nationales et internationales qui ont l’intention d’embaucher. Préparez-vous à les rencontrer et démarquezvous des autres candidats présents.

CONVENTION.CIM.ORG | 57

Jon Benjamin

teChnICAl PRoGRAM | PROGRAMME TECHNIQUE

CAROL PLUMMER TO MODERATE ThE “NEW STATE OF MINE” PLENARY

PlenARy | PLÉNIÈRE

New State of Mine / Le renouveau minier The plenary session of the CIM 2017 Convention is intended to bring focus and start dialogue around the conference theme of “New State of Mine.” Leaders from all aspects of mining and some from unexpected tangential sectors are brought together for a thought-provoking discussion. La séance plénière du congrès annuel de l’ICM vise à polariser l’attention et à orienter le dialogue sur le thème spécifique de la conférence « Renouveau minier ». Il est impératif pour le congrès de l’ICM 2017 de mobiliser des leaders d’opinion pour former un panel d’experts en vue d’atteindre et de partager les dimensions émergentes de l’exploitation minière.

Carol Plummer is the Vice-President Project Development, Southern Business for Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. Prior to this, she held several positions since joining the company in 2004 including Mine Superintendent LaRonde Mine, General Manager Lapa mine, General Manager Kittila mine, General Manager LaRonde mine, Corporate Director Mining, Senior Corporate Director Engineering and Project Development. Plummer previously worked for 16 years with Noranda at three of its mining operations in Quebec and New Brunswick. She has a B.Sc. in Mining Engineering from Queens University in Kingston, Ontario, and is a licensed Professional Engineer in Quebec.

date Monday, May 1 | lundi 1 mai time | heure 9:00–11:30

CAROL PLUMMER MODÉRERA LA PLÉNIèRE « RENOUvEAU MINIER »

#CIMTL17

58 | CONVENTION.CIM.ORG

Carol Plummer est vice-présidente, Développement de projet - États-Unis et Amérique latine chez Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. Mme Plummer est entrée au service d’Agnico Eagle en 2004 et a occupé depuis plusieurs postes supérieurs, comme directrice générale pour Kittilä, LaRonde et Lapa, ainsi que directrice corporative, Exploitation minière. Tout récemment, elle était directrice principale, Ingénierie et Développement de projet - États-Unis et Amérique latine. Les 16 années précédentes, elle travailla à trois sites miniers de Noranda situés au Québec et au Nouveau-Brunswick. Mme Plummer a un BAC en ingénierie minière de l’université Queen’s de Kingston, Ontario et fait partie de l’Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 3 | MERCREDI 3 MAI

Jon Benjamin

MultI-stAkeholdeR dIAloGue | DIALOGUE MULTIPARTITE The Extractive Sector Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue Series aims at creating a constructive and safe space to hold conversations in a collaborative spirit, so as to increase the extractive industry stakeholders’ understanding of one another, and their understanding of key challenges facing the extractive sector. The series also provides for the development of an expanded network for sharing, learning, capturing the diversity of thoughts and perspectives on the extractive sector. La série de dialogues multipartites du secteur extractif vise à créer un espace constructif tout en entretenant des conversations dans un esprit de collaboration. De cette façon, les parties prenantes du secteur extractif peuvent mieux se comprendre et mieux connaître les principaux défis auxquels est confronté le secteur. La série de dialogues permet également le développement d’un réseau élargi d’échanges pour partager, apprendre, et saisir la diversité des points de vue du secteur extractif. time | heure 8:30–12:00 Registration | Inscription visit the convention website for registration details | visitez le site web du congrès pour les détails de l’inscription

Jon Benjamin

MAnAGeMent And fInAnCe dAy | JOURNÉE GESTION ET FINANCES PLANNING FOR LONG TERM 8:20

Opening Remarks by Jessie Liu-Ernsting and Benjamin Burkholder 8:30-12:00

The Need for Long-Term Stability with an Open Discussion 12:00

CIM Closing Lunch The ninth annual Management & Finance Day, organized by the CIM Management and Economics Society, will feature expert speakers sharing their experiences and insights around key topics driving the industry. La neuvième édition de la Journée gestion et finances est organisée par la Société de la gestion et de l’économie de l’ICM. Y participeront des experts et des conférenciers dynamiques qui partageront leurs expériences et perceptions quant à des sujets clés qui font évoluer l’industrie. Cost | Coût Included for convention delegates oR one-day program including lunch, $425 | Inclus dans les frais d’inscription des délégués au congrès ou programme d’une journée, lunch compris, à 425 $

Guest speaker: Jon Hykawy, President of Stormcrow Capital Ltd. “The Electric Future – The Energy Metals” 13:45-15:15

Operations & Project Issues 15:30-16:30

Open Discussion Speakers and audience participation 16:45

Meet & Greet Networking Reception

CONVENTION.CIM.ORG | 59

teChnICAl PRoGRAM shell | GRILLE DU PROGRAMME TECHNIQUE Plan your attendance at the various presentations of the technical program with this technical program shell of streams and sessions. Program details are continuously updated at convention.cim.org.

Planifiez votre participation aux diverses présentations du programme technique dès aujourd’hui en consultant la grille des thèmes et sessions ci-dessous. Les détails du programme sont mis à jour régulièrement au convention.cim.org.

PLENARY SESSION (MONDAY, MAY 1 FROM 9:00 TO 11:30)

MONDAY, MAY 1 LUNDI 1er MAI

14:00 – 16:05

MAINTENANCE, ENGINEERING AND RELIABILITY BEST PRACTICES MEILLEURES PRATIQUES EN MATIÈRE D’INGÉNIERIE DE L’ENTRETIEN ET DE LA FIABILITÉ Excellence in Maintenance Management L’excellence dans la gestion de l’entretien

OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE & DEVELOPMENT EXCELLENCE ET DÉVELOPPEMENT OPÉRATIONNELS

Does Operational Excellence Hinder or Enable Innovation and Collaboration? L’excellence opérationnelle est-elle une entrave ou une opportunité pour l’innovation et la collaboration?

LEADING FOR SAFETY LEADERSHIP AXÉ SUR LA SÉCURITÉ

The Impact on Safety of New Technology Les répercussions des nouvelles technologies sur la sécurité

The Road to Autonomy En route vers l’autonomie

8:30 – 10:10

Operations: from Vision to Best Practice Exploitation : de la vision aux meilleures pratiques

JT Ryan Winners: Part I Lauréats des trophées John T. Ryan : 1re partie

Creating a Reliability Culture Créer une culture de la fiabilité

Continuous Improvement of Mining Operations Améliorations continues de l’exploitation minière

JT Ryan Winners: Part II Lauréats des trophées John T. Ryan : 2e partie

Revolutionizing the Mine Cycle: Integrated Operations Révolutionnons le cycle minier : activités intégrées

The All Electric Mine La mine tout électrique

Proven and Implemented Leading Edge Solutions Step Changes in Mining Solutions de pointe éprouvées et mises en œuvre - les changements progressifs dans le domaine de l’exploitation minière

Global Trends in Safety Risk Management Tendances mondiales en matière de gestion des risques pour la sécurité

The Digital Transformation of Mining La transformation numérique de l’exploitation minière

Hoisting Innovations Innovations en matière d’extraction

Surface Mining Projects Projets d'exploitation à ciel ouvert

Simulation and Optimization Simulation et optimisation

From Capital Planning to Evaluating Automation Success De la planification des immobilisations à l’évaluation du succès de l’automatisation

MANAGEMENT & FINANCE DAY | JOURNÉE GESTION & FINANCES The Need for Long-Term Stability Le besoin d’une stabilité à long terme The Need for Long-Term Stability Followed by an Open Discussion Le besoin d’une stabilité à long terme suivi d’un débat ouvert

Operations & Project Issues Followed by an Open Discussion Questions relatives aux activités et aux projets suivi d’un débat ouvert

13:45 – 16:30

10:30 – 12:10

8:30 – 10:10

14:00 – 16:05

The Future of Maintenance Management L’avenir de la gestion de l’entretien

Advances in Underground Mining: Re-shaping how we Move Ore Through New Technology, Real-time Communications and Digitization Les progrès dans l'exploitation minière souterraine : repenser la façon dont nous déplaçons le minerai grâce aux nouvelles technologies, aux communications en temps réel et à la numérisation

10:30 – 12:10

TUESDAY, MAY 2 MARDI 2 MAI

WEDNESDAY, MAY 3 MERCREDI 3 MAI

INNOVATION: PRESENT AND FUTURE INNOVATION : AUJOURD’HUI ET DEMAIN

VISIT CONVENTION.cim.org REGULARLY FOR TECHNICAL PROGRAM UPDATES

60 | CONVENTION.CIM.ORG

Canadian Mineral Processing Industry: Past, Present and Future… Answering Challenge with Innovation L’industrie canadienne de la minéralurgie : hier, aujourd’hui et demain... innover pour faire face aux enjeux

The Zero Waste Mine: Innovating for a Sustainable Future La mine sans déchets : l’innovation pour un avenir durable

SESSION PLÉNIÈRE (LUNDI 1er MAI DE 9 H À 11 H 30) ROCK MECHANICS AND UNDERGROUND MINING MÉCANIQUE DES ROCHES ET EXPLOITATION MINIÈRE SOUTERRAINE

GEOLOGY & EXPLORATION GÉOLOGIE ET EXPLORATION

ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY DEVELOPMENT ENVIRONNEMENT ET DÉVELOPPEMENT DURABLE

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION DIVERSITÉ ET INCLUSION

PLANETARY & TERRESTRIAL MINING SCIENCES SYMPOSIUM (PTMSS) SYMPOSIUM SUR LES SCIENCES MINIÈRES PLANÉTAIRES ET TERRESTRES (PTMSS)

From the Core Barrel to Database: Data Collection Du tube carottier à la base de données : la collecte de données

Updates in Tailings and Mineral Waste Management Dernières nouvelles en matière de gestion des résidus et des déchets miniers

Gender Equity in Mining Panel: Championing the Vision La parité entre les sexes : défendons cette vision

Mine and Energy Les mines et l’énergie

Advances in Lithogeochemistry & QA/QC Progrès dans le domaine de la lithogéochimie et des AQ/CQ

Towards Improving Environmental and Social Disclosure in NI-43-101 reporting (I) Vers une amélioration de la transparence en matière d’informations environnementales et sociales dans la communication des normes NI 43-101 (I)

Taking Action: Experiences with Increasing Diversity in the Workplace Prenons des mesures : les expériences d’une diversité accrue sur le lieu de travail

Space Commerce Affaires spatiales

Technology and Innovation in Underground Mining Technologie et innovation dans le domaine de l’exploitation minière souterraine

3D Data Integration for Exploration and Mines Geological Understanding Intégration de données en 3D pour mieux comprendre l’exploration et la géologie des mines

Towards Improving Environmental and Social Disclosure in NI-43-101 reporting (II) Vers une amélioration de la transparence en matière d’informations environnementales et sociales dans la communication des normes NI 43-101 (II)

Benefits of Indigenous Organizations with Mining Industry Les avantages de la présence d’organisations autochtones au sein de l’industrie minière

Space Mission Concepts Notions de missions spatiales

Rock Mechanics 2 Mécanique des roches 2

3D Geology & Structure Modeling for Mineral Resources & Reserves Modélisation géologique et des structures 3D pour les ressources et les réserves minérales

Diverse Strategies for Improved Environmental Performance Stratégies diverses pour améliorer la performance environnementale

Harmonious Cohabitation: a Realistic Approach Cohabitation harmonieuse : une approche réaliste

Resource Prospecting for Space Prospection des ressources pour l’espace

Mine Safety Sécurité dans les mines

The Real World of Innovation: Implementing new Technologies and Techniques in Geoscience La réalité de l’innovation : mise en œuvre de nouvelles technologies et techniques dans le domaine des sciences de la Terre

Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue Session de dialogue mulitpartite

Lunar Mining (Technologies, Strategies, Processes Associated with Lunar Resources and Exploration) L’exploitation minière sur la Lune (technologies, stratégies et processus relatifs aux ressources sur la Lune et à son exploration)

Rock Mechanics 3 Mécanique des roches 3

Geophysics: Advance in Technologies and Modeling Applied to the Surface and Mine Geology La géophysique : progrès en matière de technologies et de modélisation appliqués à la géologie de surface et des mines

Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue Session de dialogue mulitpartite

Mars Mining (Technologies, Strategies, Processes Associated with Martian Resources and Exploration) Exploitation minière sur Mars (technologies, stratégies et processus relatifs aux ressources sur Mars et à son exploration)

Benchmarking with Other Industries: Inclusion & Diversity as Integrated Approach to CSR Analyse comparative avec d’autres industries : l’inclusion et la diversité comme approche intégrée à la RSE

Asteroid Mining (Technologies, Strategies, Processes Associated with Asteroid Resources and Exploration) Exploitation minière des astéroïdes (technologies, stratégies et processus relatifs aux ressources issues des astéroïdes et à leur exploration)

Rock Mechanics 1 Mécanique des roches 1

Rock Mechanics 4 Mécanique des roches 4

Rock Fragmentation Fragmentation des roches

Biological Tools for Mining Outils biologiques pour l’exploitation minière

Environmental Effects Monitoring and Mitigation Contrôle des impacts sur l’environnement et atténuation

Space Policy Politique de l’espace

VISITEZ CONVENTION.cim.org pour des mises à jour régulières du programme technique

CONVENTION.CIM.ORG | 61 CONVENTION.CIM.ORG

ReGIstRAtIon | INSCRIPTION Registration to the CIM Convention includes access to the Management & Finance Day. L’inscription au congrès de l’ICM comprend l’accès à la Journée gestion et finances. CIM nAtIonAl MeMbeRs MEMBRES NATIONAUX DE L’ICM

AIR tRAnsPoRt |

TRANSPORT AÉRIEN We have appointed Air Canada as the official airline for the CIM 2017 Convention. For online reservations, go to www.aircanada.com and enter the convention code fqkM7h41 in the search engine. Air Canada est le transporteur aérien officiel du congrès de l’ICM 2017. Pour vos réservations en ligne, rendez-vous sur le site Internet d’Air Canada et saisissez le code promotionnel du congrès fqkM7h41 dans le moteur de recherche.

$900

$1000

Delegate | Délégué(e)

$750

$900

Presenter and session chair Conférencier/-ière et président(e) de séance

$700

$800

$90

$110

Student, unemployed, retired and Life member Étudiant(e), personne sans emploi, retraitée et Member à vie non-CIM MeMbeRs

NON-MEMBRES DE L’ICM

(Les frais incluent une année d’adhésion à l’ICM)

Business class Delegate (access to VIP lounge) Délégué(e) en classe affaires (accès au salon VIP)

HÉBERGEMENT

Conference Direct is the only housing bureau for the CIM Convention. The online one-stop reservation tool makes it seamless for you to reserve your room at the group rate. Space is limited so reserve early! Visit convention.cim.org, click on the Register drop down menu, then on Hotel Reservations and proceed. Details on piracy housing agencies, group reservations and wait lists are available on that web page. Conference Direct est le seul service officiel de réservation de chambres d’hôtel pour le congrès. Ce service centralisé vous permettra de réserver votre chambre au tarif de groupe. Le nombre de chambres est limité, pensez à réserver dès que possible ! Rendez-vous sur notre page Hébergement et réservations dans la rubrique S’inscrire. Vous y trouverez des informations relatives aux agences de réservations, aux réservations de groupes et aux listes d’attente.

62 | CONVENTION.CIM.ORG

AS OF MARCH 24 DÈS LE 24 MARS

Business class Delegate (access to VIP lounge) Délégué(e) Classe affaires (accès au salon VIP)

(fee includes one-year membership to CIM)

hotel ACCoModAtIon |

BEFORE MARCH 24 AVANT LE 24 MARS

AS OF MARCH 24 DÈS LE 24 MARS

$1100

$1200

Delegate | Délégué(e)

$950

$1100

Presenter and session chair Conférencier/-ière et président(e) de séance

$850

$950

Student | Étudiant(e)

$160

$210

Unemployed, retired Personne sans emploi et retraitée

$160

$210

PTMSS Delegate | PTMSS Délégué(e)

$800

$900

PTMSS Presenter and session chair $700 PTMSS Conférencier/-ière et président(e) de séance

$800

otheR CAteGoRIes AUTRES CATÉGORIES Management & Finance Day only Journée gestion et finances seulement

$425

$40

Free Gratuit

Exhibitor staff, first six registrants by 100 sq. ft. Free Personnel exposant, six premiers inscrits Gratuit par 100 pieds carrés

Free Gratuit

Visitor to the CIM Expo only Visiteur à l’Expo de l’ICM seulement VIP visitor to the CIM Expo only Visiteur VIP à l’Expo de l’ICM seulement

One-day pass, guest registration and more information available online. Les informations concernant les laissez-passer d’une journée, l’inscription des invités et d’autres renseignements sont disponibles en ligne.

ConventIon dAIly sChedule SATURDAY | APRIL 29 8:00-10:00 8:00-17:00 9:00-17:00 10:00-16:00 13:00-17:00

CIM Executive Committee Meeting Workshops GMSG Forum CIM Council Meeting Registration

TUESDAY | MAY 2 7:30-08:30 7:30-17:00 7:30-17:00 7:30-17:00 8:30-16:05

8:00-20:00 9:00-11:00 11:00-12:00 12:00-14:00 15:00-20:00 15:00-20:00 15:30-16:30 16:30-20:00 17:00-20:00 17:00-20:00

Workshops Registration CIM Officers Meeting & Orientation Session CIM Annual General Meeting Lunch for Workshop Participants Business Class Lounge/Press Room Presenters’ Preparation Room VIP & Mentor-Mentee Reception* Opening Ceremony and Welcome Reception Student Poster Competition CIM EXPO Opening

MONDAY | MAY 1

7:30-17:00

CEO and Plenary Speakers’ Breakfast* Monday’s Presenters and Session Chairs Meeting Registration Presenters’ Preparation Room Business Class Lounge/Press Room

9:00-11:30

PLENARY SESSION: NEW STATE OF MIND

7:30-09:00 8:00-09:00 7:30-17:00 7:30-17:00

10:00-17:00 10:00-17:00 12:00-14:00 14:00-16:05

CIM EXPO Student Poster Competition Lunch at the CIM EXPO

• • • • • 15:30-17:00 18:00-19:00 18:00-19:00 19:00-23:00

• • • • • 10:00-17:00 10:00-17:00 12:00-14:00 12:00-14:00 15:30-17:00 17:00-19:00 20:00-00:00

Leading for Safety Operational Excellence & Development Geology and Exploration Rock Mechanics & Underground Mining Maintenance, Engineering and Reliability Best Practices Environment & Sustainability Development Innovation: Present & Future Diversity and Inclusion Franco-Mine Planetary and Terrestrial Mining Sciences Symposium (PTMSS)

Networking Cocktail Reception Past Presidents’ Reception* CIM Awards Gala Reception CIM Awards Gala

CIM EXPO Student Poster Competition Lunch at the CIM EXPO Student-Industry Luncheon Networking Cocktail Reception Women in Mining Reception Joy Global Gala

WEDNESDAY | MAY 3 7:30-08:30 7:30-14:00 7:30-14:00 7:30-14:00

Wednesday’s Presenters and Session Chairs Meeting Registration Presenters’ Preparation Room Business Class Lounge/Press Room

8:20-16:45

MANAGEMENT AND FINANCE DAY

8:30-12:10

TEChNICAL PROGRAM (8 STREAMS) • • • •

TEChNICAL PROGRAM (10 STREAMS) • • • • •

SUNDAY | APRIL 30 8:00-16:30

Tuesday’s Presenters and Session Chairs Meeting Registration Presenters’ Preparation Room Business Class Lounge/Press Room

• • • • 12:00-13:45 14:00-16:05

Closing Lunch TEChNICAL PROGRAM (4 STREAMS) • • • •

16:45-18:00

Operational Excellence & Development Geology and Exploration Rock Mechanics & Underground Mining Maintenance, Engineering and Reliability Best Practices Environment & Sustainability Development Innovation: Present & Future Diversity and Inclusion Planetary and Terrestrial Mining Sciences Symposium (PTMSS)

Geology and Exploration Rock Mechanics & Underground Mining Environment & Sustainability Development Planetary and Terrestrial Mining Sciences Symposium (PTMSS)

Management & Finance Day “Meet & Greet” Reception * By invitation only CONVENTION.CIM.ORG | 63

hoRAIRe du ConGRès SAMEDI 29 AvRIL 8h-10h 8h-17h 9h-17h 10h-16h 13h-17h

MARDI 2 MAI

Réunion du comité exécutif de l’ICM Ateliers Forum GMSG Réunion du conseil d’administration de l’ICM Inscription

DIMANCHE 30 AvRIL 8h-16h30 8h-20h 9h-11h 11h-12h 12h-14h 15h-20h 15h-20h 15h30-16h30 16h30-20h 17h-20h 17h-20h

Ateliers Inscription Réunion des membres de la direction, séance d’orientation Assemblée générale annuelle de l’ICM Lunch pour les participants des ateliers Salon VIP pour les délégués en classe affaires et médias Salle de préparation des présentateurs Réception VIP & Mentors-Mentorés* Cérémonie d’ouverture et réception de bienvenue Concours d’affiches des étudiants Ouverture de l’EXPO de l’ICM

8h-9h 7h30-17h 7h30-17h 7h30-17h 9h-11h30 10h-17h 10h-17h 12h-14h 14h-16h05

Petit-déjeuner des chefs de direction et des conférenciers de la séance plénière* Rencontre des présentateurs et des présidents des séances du lundi Inscription Salle de préparation des présentateurs Salon VIP pour les délégués en classe affaires et médias SÉANCE PLÉNIèRE : UN RENOUVEAU MINIER L’EXPO de l’ICM Concours d’affiches des étudiants Lunch à l’EXPO de l’ICM PROGRAMME TEChNIQUE (10 THÈMES) • • • • • • • • • •

15h30-17h 18h-19h 18h-19h 19h-23h

7h30-17h 7h30-17h 7h30-17h 8h30-16h05

Leadership axé sur la sécurité Excellence et développement opérationnels Géologie et Exploration Mécanique des roches et exploitation minière souterraine Meilleures pratiques en matière d’ingénierie de l’entretien et de la fiabilité Environnement et développement durable Innovation: aujourd’hui et demain Diversité et inclusion Franco-Mine Symposium sur les sciences minières planétaires et terrestres (PTMSS)

Cocktail-réseautage à l’EXPO de l’ICM Réception des anciens présidents de l’ICM* Réception précédant le gala Excellence de l’ICM Gala Excellence de l’ICM

Rencontre des présentateurs et des présidents des séances du mardi Inscription Salle de préparation des présentateurs Salon VIP pour les délégués en classe affaires et médias PROGRAMME TEChNIQUE (10 THÈMES) • • • • • • • • • •

10h-17h 10h-17h 12h-14h 12h-14h

LUNDI 1er MAI 7h30-9h

7h30-8h30

15h30-17h 17h-19h 20h-minuit

L’EXPO de l’ICM Concours d’affiches des étudiants Lunch à l’EXPO de l’ICM Lunch étudiants-industrie Cocktail-réseautage à l’EXPO de l’ICM Réception des femmes en exploitation minière Gala de Joy Global

MERCREDI 3 MAI 7h30-8h30 7h30-14h 7h30-14h 7h30-14h 8h20-16h45 8h30-12h10

Rencontre des présentateurs et des présidents des séances du mercredi Inscription Salle de préparation des présentateurs Salon VIP pour les délégués en classe affaires et médias JOURNÉE GESTION ET FINANCES PROGRAMME TEChNIQUE (8 THÈMES) • Excellence et développement opérationnels • Géologie et Exploration • Mécanique des roches et exploitation minière souterraine • Meilleures pratiques en matière d’ingénierie de l’entretien et de la fiabilité • Environnement et développement durable • Innovation: aujourd’hui et demain • Diversité et inclusion • Symposium sur les sciences minières planétaires et terrestres (PTMSS)

12h-13h30 14h-16h05

Lunch de clôture PROGRAMME TEChNIQUE (4 THÈMES) • Géologie et Exploration • Mécanique des roches et exploitation minière souterraine • Diversité et inclusion • Symposium sur les sciences minières planétaires et terrestres (PTMSS)

16h45–18

Réception pour les participants à la journée gestion et finances * Sur invitation seulement

64 | CONVENTION.CIM.ORG

PRoud ConventIon sPonsoRs |

FIERS COMMANDITAIRES DU CONGRÈS PLATINUM | PLATINE

GOLD | OR

SILVER | ARGENT

COPPER | CUIVRE

FRIEND | AMI

Join us for the Joy Global Gala

A fun evening of live music, hors d’oeuvres and refreshments When: 8 p.m. to midnight, May 2, 2017 Where: Palais des congrès de Montréal Tickets included in CIM delegate and exhibitor registration

CONVENTION.CIM.ORG | 65

SECTION francophone 67 Lettre de l’éditeur Mot du président

68 Emballés et prêts à l’emploi

Les avantages prouvés de la construction modulaire, assortis d’une pression financière extérieure, poussent l’industrie minière à adopter cette pratique. Par Eavan Moore

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

lettre de l’éditeur

mot du président

Paroles d’encouragement

N’oubliez pas de rembourser

L’année 2017 vient à peine de commencer, pourtant il semble déjà qu’elle sera décisive. Au bureau national de l’ICM, nous augmentons notre effectif dans le but d’améliorer les services que nous offrons à nos membres en préparation des événements à venir cette année et l’année prochaine. Si 2016 a été relativement stagnante en termes d’offres d’emploi sur CIM.org, notre site connaît cette année un départ fulgurant avec davantage d’offres, et nombre d’intéressés sont au rendezvous. Par ailleurs, les prix des matières premières remontent aux quatre coins du monde. Ces points positifs pourraient se révéler fugaces et notre optimisme prématuré, tout comme l’a été le débat véhément d’un dirigeant de Cameco avec des analystes du marché en janvier, qui mettaient leur main à couper que les dernières heures du producteur d’uranium avaient sonné. S’ils sont parvenus à faire légèrement baisser le prix de l’action en hausse de la société, leur défaitisme n’aura pas eu suffisamment de poids pour maintenir l’action à un niveau bas. L’optimisme, de par sa nature, a le don d’inhiber les mauvaises nouvelles. Dans son article On the rise (p. 15, en anglais uniquement), une étude sur les prévisions récentes en matière de prix des matières premières, notre collaboratrice régulière Kate Sheridan annonçait des perspectives positives pour le cuivre, le zinc et le nickel. Aussi, les sociétés minières doivent se préparer à rebondir. Quant à Lawrence Devon Smith, il reconnaît dans sa rubrique Missing the rush (p. 28, en anglais uniquement) qu’un cycle haussier est imminent, mais soutient que les sociétés minières qui afficheront les meilleurs résultats seront celles qui en feront le moins, en raison de l’enthousiasme dont font de nouveau preuve les investisseurs envers le secteur minier. Nous nous trouvons à un stade auquel son appel à la discipline, éclairé par une longue carrière d’ingénierie et d’évaluation au sein de certaines des sociétés les plus importantes de l’industrie, est tout aussi pertinent qu’il sera difficile à suivre. Je suis heureux de vous annoncer que 2017 sera également une année positive pour le CIM Magazine. Vous observerez quelques modifications au niveau de la présentation de notre édition imprimée, mais le joyau de la couronne sera indéniablement le lancement de notre nouveau site Internet dédié au magazine. Outre sa conception adaptée aux téléphones intelligents, ce nouveau concept réinvente la façon dont les lecteurs accèdent à nos tous derniers articles et au vaste recueil de documents dans nos archives. Guettez ces modifications d’ici le printemps.

Au cours de l’hiver 1980, je suis arrivé à la Mine Sullivan pour commencer mon stage d’ingénieur pour Cominco. J’étais un jeune insolent aux cheveux longs, et ce qui m’intéressait le plus, c’était ce que la station de ski de Kimberley avait à offrir. Chulwoo Shin, l’ingénieur qui était chargé de me superviser, est allé bien au-delà de ses responsabilités pour me servir de mentor tout le temps que j’ai passé à la mine. Il m’a enseigné d’innombrables leçons sur la vie minière, qui allaient me servir le reste de ma carrière. De nombreux chefs de file de l’industrie ont eu la chance de travailler à la Mine Sullivan et de pouvoir profiter de l’appui de Chul. Plus tard au cours de ma carrière, j’ai pu bénéficier du soutien et des conseils d’un certain nombre de mentors, comme John Willson à Cominco et ensuite à Placer Dome, ou Sandy Laird également à Placer Dome. Le fait de bénéficier de conseils qui me donnaient une vue d’ensemble sur la manière de mener ma carrière dans certaines grandes entreprises s’est avéré très utile. Quand je me demandais si je devais faire un MBA, je me souviens m’être fait dire qu’aucun autre apprentissage ou expérience ne vaudrait jamais ce que je faisais au sein de Placer Dome en travaillant sur l’exploitation minière et sur des évaluations dans le cadre de fusions et acquisitions. Au fil des années, j’ai essayé de « rembourser cette dette ». J’ai servi de mentor à pas mal de gens, souvent à titre officieux, mais également dans le cadre d’un programme officiel à Inco. Auprès des jeunes professionnels de l’industrie, les séances de mentorat devant une bière et une pizza se sont avérées un des procédés qui fonctionnait le mieux, et qui, de plus, n’était jamais à sens unique. J’ai récemment compris que mon point faible en matière de mentorat est que j’ai tendance à vouloir conseiller seulement des collègues masculins. Souvent, ces gars avaient le même parcours que moi. Parfois, nous partagions un certain intérêt pour le sport, de sorte que nos discussions se faisaient une raquette de squash à la main ou sur un terrain de golf. Les idées et les discussions auxquelles j’ai pris part au cours de la dernière année m’ont incité à changer et à aller davantage vers les femmes et les minorités visibles pour participer comme je peux à rendre notre industrie plus inclusive. Je vous demande à tous, chers confrères membres de l’ICM, de saisir des occasions de mentorat en 2017 et au-delà, si vous n’êtes pas déjà en train d’aider de jeunes professionnels de l’industrie minière. Vous trouverez cela particulièrement gratifiant, et cela renforcera vos activités. Essayez de devenir le mentor de quelqu’un qui ne vous ressemble pas; c’est là que vous pourriez aider et apprendre le plus!

Ryan Bergen, Rédacteur en chef editor@cim.org @Ryan_CIM_Mag

Michael Winship, Président de l’ICM @CIMPrez

February 2017 • Février 2017 | 67

Avec l'aimable autorisation de Mammoet

Emballés et prêts à l’emploi

Les avantages prouvés de la construction modulaire, assortis d’une pression financière extérieure, poussent l’industrie minière à adopter cette pratique. PAR Eavan Moore

Les sociétés de logistique telles que Mammoet jouent un rôle essentiel dans la livraison au site minier des modules préassemblés.

la fin de l’année 2016, Barkerville Gold Mines était à michemin de l’installation de l’usine de triage de 200 tonnes par heure de minerai sur son site minier Bonanza Ledge en Colombie-Britannique. D’après Tom Obradovich, directeur et conseiller à Barkerville, le processus de construction sur le site (de la livraison à la mise en service) devrait prendre environ cinq semaines au total.

Un délai si court est uniquement envisageable car la construction dans ce projet est extrêmement modularisée. Les modules sont préassemblés hors du site puis transportés entiers ou partiellement montés afin de réduire le temps passé à la construction sur le site minier. Adopter cette approche dans un projet donné pourrait se révéler très logique pour plusieurs raisons ; tant de raisons en réalité que les sociétés d’ingénierie évaluent maintenant de manière routinière cette possibilité dès le début de la planification. La pratique de la modularisation ne cesse de se développer et inclut de nouveaux types d’équipement, une planification plus stratégique et des degrés plus complexes de préassemblage.

La mobilité Concernant le plan de mine de Barkerville, qui prévoit de traiter 500 tonnes de minerai par jour, l’approche modulaire a accéléré le processus de construction qui aurait sinon coûté le double et duré quatre mois. Steinert Global a préassemblé en Allemagne l’usine de triage de minerai, l’a équipée de roues pour faciliter le déplacement, puis l’a expédiée en trois parties vers le site, où des techniciens allemands l’ont réassemblée au sein d’une structure préfabriquée, sur une fondation minimaliste en béton et en gravier. Concernant ce qu’entrevoit M. Obradovich pour le triage du minerai, lequel est destiné à séparer les amas de déchets potentiellement acidogènes dans les sulfures aurifères, la capacité à se déplacer est essentielle. « Des sites historiques d’exploitation minière s’étendent sur six kilomètres, et des amas de déchets s’accumulent sur toute la superficie de la propriété », déclarait M. Obradovich. « Plusieurs centaines de tonnes de matériaux pourraient faire l’objet d’un triage. Si l’on parvient à développer cette technologie, ou si l’on trouve d’autres domaines qui se prêtent au triage de minerai, on pourra tout simplement la transférer à un nouveau projet. »

Des modules prêts-à-l’emploi Barkerville a collaboré avec la société d’ingénierie SacréDavey, dont les conseillers encouragent les clients à envisager ce genre de modularisation « prête-à-l’emploi ». « Dans une petite usine, il n’est pas nécessaire de suivre une conception traditionnelle », déclarait Brent Hilscher, ingénieur principal chez Sacré-Davey. « Les broyeurs à boulets ou les concasseurs peuvent être montés sur châssis mobiles ; ceci permettra de réduire vos capitaux de moitié. Tout est véritablement prêt-àl’emploi. On branche le broyeur à boulets, puis on connecte l’abattage hydraulique au broyeur ; le broyeur est prêt. » Sacré-Davey a déjà procédé à des installations de ce genre. D’après M. Hilscher, on en compte des centaines d’autres de par le monde, qui se trouvent généralement dans des exploitations souterraines à haute teneur en or dont la capacité est de 50 à 100 tonnes par heure. Les structures relativement petites ne requièrent pas de fondations ou de grues pour grand levage, par exemple pour le broyage et la lixiviation dont le débit ne peut dépasser 100 tonnes par heure. Un système de préconcassage pourrait permettre d’atteindre jusqu’à 1 000 tonnes par heure. La gamme et la disponibilité de différents types de matériel prêt-à-l’emploi prennent de l’ampleur. En 2016, Outotec a présenté son usine modulaire de traitement de l’eau, qui affichait une capacité à l’unité de 5 à 40 mètres cubes (m3) par heure. La capacité de ces petits systèmes peut être développée en les faisant fonctionner en parallèle. D’après M. Hilscher, si de nombreux exploitants miniers n’ont aucun problème à faire fonctionner deux petits broyeurs à boulets en parallèle, le concept d’un circuit composé de trois broyeurs à boulets se heurte invariablement à un seuil psychologique, malgré les économies que cela permettrait de réaliser en termes de coûts d’investissement. « Dans ce cas, on leur élabore un circuit classique avec un seul broyeur à boulets. » Un dernier avantage des systèmes prêts-à-l’emploi émerge en fin d’utilisation ; il s’agit de la valeur de revente d’un équipement modulaire, qui dépasse largement celle d’un équipement fixe. Si M. Hilscher recommande à ses clients d’acheter du matériel neuf, il les informe qu’ils peuvent s’attendre à un marché de l’occasion florissant.

Concevoir des installations modulaires Les broyeurs à boulets pour gros volumes pourraient ne pas être adaptés à une conception prête-à-l’emploi, mais les grandes exploitations peuvent cependant bénéficier de la tendance qui vise à incorporer davantage de pièces dans un seul module. Ces dernières années, le géant des services d’ingénierie, d’approvisionnement et de gestion de la construction (IAGC) Fluor a modifié sa méthode d’exécution pour satisfaire aux besoins de plus forte rentabilité des capitaux de ses clients. Ceci s’est traduit par ce que Fluor a baptisé la 3rd Gen Modular Execution (l’exécution modulaire de 3e génération). « Il s’agit d’une approche à la modularisation qui remet en February 2017 • Février 2017 | 69

Avec l'aimable autorisation de Fluor

question les méthodes traditionnelles de conception en déci- dages élevés pendant toute la période de construction. Les dant de la disposition des installations en fonction de la stra- monteurs de charpentes métalliques doivent escalader pour tégie modulaire, et non pas le contraire », expliquait Tony visser les modules les uns avec les autres, mais une équipe Morgan, vice-président de la prospection de clientèle et des de 8 à 10 personnes peut monter entre trois et six modules ventes au niveau mondial de la section Mines et métaux chez par jour. Les mêmes avancements prendraient des semaines, Fluor. voire des mois avec des méthodes de construction traditionCette approche regroupe des éléments de l’équipement nelles. utilisés dans le même procédé. « Par exemple, si l’on doit « Nous avons été agréablement surpris de l’ingéniosité dont pomper du liquide chaud d’une cuve et le refroidir, un bloc ont fait preuve les ingénieurs pour assembler les modules », de traitement logique regrouperait la cuve, la pompe, l’échan- indiquait M. Genereux. « Ils ont développé des conceptions geur de chaleur et toute l’instrumentation connexe », expli- uniques et innovantes pour améliorer la performance et l’effiquait M. Morgan. « Cette cacité du réchauffage des approche augmente la part conduites, ce qui essentielleL’approche de modularisation de 3e génération d’une installation pouvant ment nous permet d’effectuer adoptée par Fluor dans le cadre du projet Quest être modularisée en consolitous les travaux dans la base de captage et stockage du dioxyde de carbone dant l’équipement et les comdu module, de le tester, de (CSC) de Shell, en Alberta, a permis à la société d’économiser de l’espace et de réduire le coût posantes dans les modules. vérifier qu’il fonctionne et total du projet. Comme une grande partie qu’il contrôle bien avant de l’installation est modularimême que le module ne soit sée (notamment les systèmes expédié. Ceci permet d’élimide canalisation et électriques), ner de nombreuses heuresM. Morgan indiquait que ces personnes sur le site modules assemblés sur le site nécessaires à l’assurance quaétaient essentiellement prêtslité et aux essais. » à-l’emploi et identiques à L’assemblage au niveau du l’équipement préassemblé. sol réduit le coût lié aux échaTous les câbles, les installafaudages et le temps nécestions électriques et les essais saire pour prendre de la sont menés dans l’une des hauteur ; il améliore la qualité quatre bases d’assemblage des de la construction ; et bien modules de Fluor, de la même entendu, il réduit considérafaçon que les broyeurs et blement le coût lié au transtrieurs de minerai préassemport et au logement des blés sont soumis à un essai de travailleurs. fonctionnement avant d’être Au vu de ces avantages, le expédiés. prix de l’expédition de pièces Dans le projet Quest de encombrantes et de charges captage et stockage du plus complexes diminue. « Le dioxyde de carbone (CSC) de coût de transport d’un Shell en Alberta, l’approche de module d’Edmonton jusqu’à 3e génération de Fluor a permis de réduire de 20 % les Fort McMurray s’élève à 15 000 ou 20 000 $ », indiquait besoins en surface par rapport aux estimations initiales, et le M. Genereux. « Si cela nous permet d’économiser quelques coût total du projet de 30 % par rapport aux prévisions bud- centaines d’heures-personnes, nous n’hésiterons pas à gétaires. « Ce sont des résultats classiques », déclarait M. Mor- payer. » gan. « Lorsque nous avons envisagé d’adopter cette approche dans les parties broyage et flottation d’un concentrateur de cuivre, nous avons constaté une réduction de l’empreinte du Des solutions spécifiques à chaque site projet et une baisse de 10 % du coût d’investissement. » La modularisation en elle-même ne réduit pas toujours le Les exploitations de sables bitumineux d’Alberta ont été les premiers partisans engagés de la modularisation. En Alberta, coût estimé d’un projet. Cependant, elle réduit considérablele coût élevé de la main-d’œuvre est un facteur prédominant, ment le coût du travail dans des régions telles que l’Alberta ou l’Australie, où la main-d’œuvre est extrêmement coûteuse bien que d’autres considérations entrent en jeu. « Certaines de nos usines à Fort Hills sont très verticales », et les approches modulaires sont couramment utilisées dans déclarait Ron Genereux, vice-président à la productivité et la les projets miniers. Fluor s’est également beaucoup appuyé construction chez Suncor Energy. Assembler les modules sur sur la modularisation dans un projet de développement de place dans les bases de la région d’Edmonton, puis utiliser minerai de fer en Australie-Occidentale, par exemple. Dans certains cas, cependant, les exigences en matière de une grue pour les empiler sur le site est bien plus sûr que de demander aux ouvriers en bâtiment d’escalader des échafau- transport posent de trop grandes difficultés. « Bien évidem70 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 12, No. 1

Avec l'aimable autorisation de Sacré-Davey

L’usine de triage de minerai préassemblée est indispensable au projet de Barkerville Gold Mines destiné à séparer les amas de déchets potentiellement acidogènes dans les sulfures aurifères à sa mine Bonanza Ledge, en Colombie-Britannique.

ment, des projets d’extraction du cuivre situés à 4 000 mètres à flanc de montagne dans les Andes présenteront des enjeux totalement différents de ceux de projets accessibles par le littoral », expliquait M. Morgan. D’après M. Hilscher, l’introduction de la modularisation pourrait bien constituer un seuil de rentabilité aux taux de rémunération relativement bas du Mexique. La raison pour laquelle une exploitation pourrait opter pour cette approche est que la modularisation réduit les risques. « Dans un projet, les plus gros risques sont de nature professionnelle sur le site minier », indiquait M. Hilscher. « Combien de temps faudra-t-il pour le construire ? Combien de problèmes imprévus vont se produire ? Si l’on envoie ces pièces en 10 ou 20 modules pour les assembler, les risques sont considérablement réduits. » L’intérêt de ce concept est évident dans les appels d’offres publiés par les sociétés. D’après René Bernaert, cofondateur et directeur de l’ingénierie au sein de la société de structures modulaires Corner Cast, un nombre croissant de sociétés d’ingénierie adaptent leurs spécifications aux exigences uniques des bâtiments modulaires. « De plus en plus, on nous demande dès les premières étapes de modulariser la conception des clients, de développer une solution préfabriquée rentable pour leur projet », indiquait-il. Ce contraste est le bienvenu par rapport à des demandes plus classiques, où l’on donne à Corner Cast une conception traditionnelle recyclée et on lui demande de proposer une solution modulaire à l’aide des mêmes paramètres. « Ce n’est pas évident de reconcevoir et d’optimiser un bâtiment durant les dernières étapes du processus d’acquisition. » En outre, expliquait M. Bernaert, la préfabrication devient de plus en plus personnalisée. « Jusqu’ici, les demandes des clients portaient davantage sur des remorques, des campements et autres structures simples », indiquait-il. « Aujourd’hui, ils demandent des bâtiments plus personnalisés, par exemple des installations de filtration d’eau, des garages et toute une gamme de divers complexes modulaires. »

La planification et la logistique Étant donné que la modularisation dépend d’une utilisation créative de l’espace et du transport, les sociétés de logistique ont un rôle particulièrement important à jouer pour assurer son succès. Gavin Kerr, chargé de compte et chef de file en matière de durabilité et d’innovation chez Mammoet Canada Western Ltd., précisait que la logistique s’étend bien au-delà de la livraison. La flexibilité de la séquence de livraison dépendra par exemple de l’utilisation ou non d’une grue ou d’un portique de déchargement de matériaux spécifique pour installer les modules ; ceci dépendra par ailleurs de l’espace disponible, des coûts de préparation au sol qu’un site peut endosser, etc. Une planification anticipée détermine si la livraison sera réussie ou non. Si de nombreuses exploitations minières peuvent bénéficier d’approches initialement développées dans l’industrie du pétrole et du gaz extraterritoriaux, M. Kerr prévient bien qu’il ne faut pas croire que le résultat sera toujours positif. « Je ne peux insister suffisamment sur l’importance de collaborer dès que possible avec un éventail très vaste de parties prenantes pendant les premières étapes de conception et les études préliminaires relatives à l’usine pour s’assurer que ce que l’on prévoit sera réellement réalisable. » La consultation publique peut également se révéler essentielle. Imperial Oil l’a appris à ses dépens ; des modules assemblés en Corée du Sud pour son exploitation de sables bitumineux Kearl ont été bloqués sur l’itinéraire prévu traversant l’Idaho et le Montana. Des parties prenantes postées le long de cette route sont parvenues à empêcher ces charges énormes d’utiliser la route locale, et il a finalement fallu diviser chaque module en deux puis les expédier via un itinéraire différent, entraînant un coût supplémentaire de 100 millions $. Cette approche de conception et de construction modulaire a vu le jour dans le secteur du pétrole et du gaz extraterritoriaux et a fait ses premiers pas à proximité des côtes, aussi son application à des exploitations situées dans des zones reculées, February 2017 • Février 2017 | 71

Avec l'aimable autorisation de Mammoet

D’après Gavin Kerr de Mammoet, le transport de « super-modules » sur le site, où de plus petits modules sont assemblés sur place, permet aux sociétés de modulariser tout en s'épargnant les maux de tête inhérents aux longues et douloureuses chaînes logistiques.

dre à l’avenir, particulièrement si les exploitants miniers conçoivent des installations adaptées à la relocalisation dès le départ.

Quand la modularisation n’est pas la solution Malgré toutes ces réussites, M. Kerr précise que l’on pourrait avoir tendance à trop appliquer cette pratique. Essayer de transporter du matériel tournant ou un équipement très léger préassemblé pourrait entraîner plus de problèmes que d’avantages. « Prenons par exemple une coquille d’acier entourée d’un tuyau », déclarait M. Kerr. « Cet équipement est si léger qu’il n’a aucune rigidité ; ainsi, afin de pouvoir le transporter puis le soulever pour le placer sur les fondations du site, il faudra ajouter provisoirement une grande quantité d’acier pour le rendre plus rigide. »

Les pressions financières

difficiles d’accès en fonction des saisons ou encore où la maind’œuvre est onéreuse exige une évolution plus poussée. Mammoet a trouvé plusieurs manières de soulever, expédier et installer des modules toujours plus lourds et plus complexes. Par exemple, M. Kerr participe à une proposition de l’industrie des sables bitumineux visant à autoriser les modules plus denses en Alberta. Les directives relatives à la dimension des modules et la charge autorisée par essieu sont très strictes pour les routes à usage public. La proposition augmenterait le nombre de pneus par ligne d’essieux sur une remorque de manière à ce que les modules de la même taille, en maintenant la même résistance de chaussée par pneu, puissent néanmoins être plus lourds. « La seule chose qui change est la densité du module », expliquait M. Kerr. « Ceci permet aux concepteurs et aux constructeurs d’augmenter le nombre d’heures-personnes et l’équipement dans le module avant qu’il n’arrive sur le site. En augmentant la densité du module, on donne aux propriétaires la possibilité de réduire leur coût total d’installation. »

Au-delà de la nouvelle construction Ces dernières années, Mammoet a appliqué la modularisation au problème de relocalisation des installations existantes, dont les mines Aurora de Syncrude et Highland Valley Copper de Teck. À la mine Aurora, le broyeur, le réservoir amortisseur et le bâtiment de préparation mécanique des boues traitaient entre 2 500 et 4 000 tonnes. « Chacun d’eux a été placé dans un bâtiment complet », indiquait M. Kerr. « Cette approche nous permet de réaliser de grandes économies en termes de coût d’investissement, et est également avantageuse du point de vue de la durabilité en ce que la quantité de déchets est réduite. » Selon lui, on pourrait voir cette approche se répan72 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 12, No. 1

Dans le contexte financier difficile que nous traversons actuellement, certaines sociétés sont d’avis que la construction modulaire peut sauver des projets autrement voués à l’échec. « L’exploitation minière ne change que lorsque cela devient nécessaire », déclarait M. Hilscher de Sacré-Davey. « Ces dernières années, le secteur n’a pas eu d’autre choix. » Cette situation a fait de 2016 une année intéressante pour Corner Cast. « Nous assistons véritablement à une hausse de la demande, et nous n’avons jamais participé à autant de proAUTRES ARTICLES Pour en savoir plus jets », indiquait Magnus Consisur la construction glio, cofondateur de la société. modulaire, consultez « Nous recevons des appels ces articles sur d’offres demandant spécifiquemagazine.cim.org. ment ce type de bâtiments Une construction modulaires. […] Dans le même bien gérée temps, on constate que de nomLa concurrence au breux projets sont en suspens niveau de la maind’oeuvre incite les en raison des prix des matières sociétés minières à premières, en attendant de voir envisager la comment 2017 va évoluer. » construction Cependant, ajoutait-il, « la modulaire tendance globale est extrêmePar Herb Mathisen ment positive. Tout ce que nous Structures promouvons, à savoir la nature modulaires favorable à la relocalisation du Des structures hybrids produit, des coûts initiaux très réutilisables, gage de polyvalence pour les bas, des coûts opérationnels compagnies minières plus faibles et le fait que l’on Par Eavan Moore puisse intégrer autant de fonctions au sein d’une seule strucMorceau par (gigantesque) ture, est peu à peu accepté par morceau l’industrie. Nous attendons avec Éléonore, le impatience le retour du marché précurseur de la haussier des matières premières, construction modulaire et de voir cette pratique prendre Par Pierrick Blin and son envol dans les cinq années Antoine Dion-Ortega ICM à venir. »

marketplace

OPERATING IN QUÉBEC?

Or in another French jurisdiction?

We do English Translation Mining • Processing • Shipping HR • HSE • Legal • Financial

Reliable, fast, con dential services

Victor Loewen, Senior Translator 12+ years in mining and metallurgy

819-661-2225 victor@v translation.com

Courtesy of Rio Tinto

IN THE NEXT ISSUE

ADVERTISERS IFC 7 4 27 13 21 9 18 20 11 3 24 44 OBC IBC 22 73

3M BKT BME Brandt Tractor FLSmidth GE Mining Hatch Herrenknecht Luff Industries Minova Quadra Chemicals Richwood Rosta Inc Sandvik Mining & Construction SSAB Valard Marketplace VFL Translations

Break through the noise Speak to the people who are listening

The latest technologies and techniques in underground mining and mine development • Getting smart about energy management • Is the exploration scene heating up? We take the temperature at AME BC’s latest Roundup

BOOK YOUR 2017 ADS TODAY Neal Young Senior Account Manager 905-707-3525 nyoung@dvtail.com

Janet Jeffery Senior Account Manager 905-707-3529 jjeffery@dvtail.com

•

TECHNOLOGY Milling & Grinding

February 2017 • Février 2017 | 73

MINING LORE Hawthorne’s Cobalt letters By Douglas Baldwin

74 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 12, No. 1

Courtesy of the Cobalt Mining Museum

wo years after the 1903 trial began in New York in discovery of rich silver November 1912 and lasted 70 deposits in northern days. A long list of witnesses Ontario, a Toronto brokerage testified that they were firm asserted that “when you induced to invest by take into consideration that Hawthorne’s “personal letCobalt’s mines have produced ters.” These letters, the court more in value than the Klondike was shown, were in fact is producing per annum, or has mimeographed by the thouever produced, you will have sands and signed by women some idea of the great results trained to forge his signature. that will come out of this camp Several witnesses informed when fully developed.” Mining Cobalt, Ontario experienced such a boom that multiple prospectors would the jury that when they viscompanies licensed to work in make claims on the same land, and whoever was first to prove mineral value ited the mines they found Ontario grew from 43 in 1903 to could keep the claim. “nothing but a hole in the 683 four years later. For three ground.” In his closing stateconsecutive days, mounted police in New York City cleared ment, the prosecutor urged maximum sentences to stop the Broad Street of would-be investors who were obstructing “crime of bamboozling the gullible public by attaching well traffic in their efforts to buy Cobalt shares from the curb bro- known and respected names to the literature of company kers. promotions.” Stories of millions of dollars changing hands overnight Hawthorne and Morton were found guilty and sentenced were legion. The Canadian Annual Review recounted the tale to one year in the United States Penitentiary, Atlanta, a fedof a North Bay resident who made $15,000 by merely pick- eral prison in Atlanta, Georgia. The jury found Quincy not ing up silver nuggets lying on the ground. Some stories were guilty. Freeman was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment, true, but many more were fabrications dreamed up by but was set free on appeal. Prior to the trial, the grand jury scheming brokers to deceive unwary speculators. Excited by warned the public against false prospectuses and lamented exaggerated tales of sudden wealth, the public readily bought the fact that such frauds depended upon advertising in newsshares in every Cobalt “mine.” Water-filled holes were papers, which failed to warn the public about the possible described in advertisements as “the greatest, the richest, the pitfalls. most wonderful proposition.” Although thousands of shareOntario had also been lax with its laws when it came to holders made huge profits and about a dozen owners became mining stocks. The provincial government was so eager for millionaires, they were, in fact, the exception. American and British capital investments that it allowed the In the most notorious stock fraud, Julian Hawthorne was mines to offer shares for a discount without any personal convicted in a United States federal court of mail fraud for liability on the directors’ behalf, unlike in other industries selling worthless shares of imaginary mines near Cobalt. where directors were held personally responsible for the Hawthorne, the son of The Scarlet Letter novelist Nathaniel accuracy of their companies’ advertisements. However, Hawthorne, was a well-known American writer and journal- when it became evident that companies on the Mining ist who wrote for Cosmopolitan and the New York Journal. In Exchange were flagrantly disregarding the clauses of the 1908, Dr. William J. Morton, son of pioneer anesthesiologist Ontario Companies Act requiring prospectus accuracy, the William Morton, invited Hawthorne to join him in promot- provincial government changed the law to attach more ing several Cobalt mining companies. Also involved in the responsibility to company directors, and in 1907 required fraud was Josiah Quincy, assistant secretary of state under all advertisements to state the qualifications and remuneraPresident Grover Cleveland, and the notorious professional tion of the directors and the interest of each director in the stock promoter Albert Freeman. Despite warnings published promotion. in the Canadian Mining Journal, the fraudsters sold between Unfortunately, the public could not be dissuaded from $3 and $4 million in empty stocks. buying Cobalt stocks sight unseen. Their cupidity and the The United States Attorney General indicted the four machinations of unethical brokers were only quelled when men, who he termed “the most notorious gang of swindlers the high-grade silver ore petered out during the First World that had ever infested New York,” of mail fraud in 1912. The War. CIM

THE BEAST EXTREME WEAR FIGHTER

THE BEAUTY SUPERIOR WEIGHT SAVER

MEET THEM AT CONEXPO-CON/AGG SSAB BOOTH #622239, SOUTH HALL ssab.com

TRUST THE NUMBERS SANDVIK 365. EXPERTS YOU CAN COUNT ON. People tell you stories about quality, commitment and innovation. But for the real story, take a close look at the numbers. With Sandvik 365, you can rely on our highly trained expert engineers to get you the right parts and services to ensure safe operation, low operating costs and service intervals that can be extended by as much as 50%. Want to know what you can count on saving with Sandvik 365? Find out more at mining.sandvik.com/sandvik365.

Test results are to be considered as results reached under certain and controlled test conditions. or represent the outcome of test results in any or all circumstances.

MINING.SANDVIK.COM