CIM Magazine February 2023

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Features and Benefits

■ Improved recovery

■ Higher grade

■ Enhanced flexibility

■ Reduced use of reagents

■ Better control of froth level

■ Better control of surface stability

Real liberation is measured in 3D.

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2D sections 3D body

28 Finding common ground

Agreements with Indigenous communities in Canada are evolving into sophisticated partnerships

By Dinah Zeldin

35 Flotation’s new frontier

New flotation technologies work to bring savings on costs and energy with greater recoveries

By Tijana Mitrovic

72 Market watch

As part of our celebration of 125 years of CIM, we have pulled pages from a 1927 edition of the CIM Bulletin for a temperature-taking of the metal markets at the time

PROGRAMME PRÉLIMINAIRE

in each issue

8 Editor’s letter

9 President’s notes tools of the trade

10 The best in new technology

Compiled by Ashley

Fish-Robertson

developments

11 Mining's tech boom

By Matthew Parizot

14 Gold and copper likely to win big in 2023

By Ashley Fish-Robertson

17 Canada’s plan for critical minerals

By Ashley Fish-Robertson

column

19 The integrated approach of Towards Sustainable Mining enhances community confidence in the way companies mine

By David Clarry and Charles Dumaresq

modern miner

20 Metallurgist Brenna J.Y. Scholey combines knowledge of mining law, arbitration and consulting with technical expertise

By Sarah St-Pierre

lithium

22 Canada is primed to become a supplier of lithium to help fill the looming gap for the energy transition

By Alexandra Lopez-Pacheco

24 E3 Lithium CEO Chris Doornbos said the company plans to break new ground in Alberta with its ion-exchange technology

By

Tijana Mitrovic

26

17

contenu francophone

64 Table des matières

64 Lettre de l’éditeur

65 Mot de la présidente

profil de projet

66 Kiena creuse plus profond Wesdome Gold Mines ouvre un nouvel avenir à un producteur d’or québécois historique

Par Carolyn Gruske

project profile

32 Wesdome Gold Mines sets up historic Quebec gold producer for a new future

By Carolyn Gruske

CIM news

62 The Alex & Gillian Davidson Family Endowment will sustain in perpetuity two important CIM Foundation education grants

By

Michele Beacom

Lithium demand sees companies looking at recovering low grades of the critical mineral from clay

By Sarah Treleaven

62 Mining, materials and earth sciences students gathered at CIM Vancouver Branch’s premier networking event look forward to an exciting future

By Michele Beacom

lithium

69 L’exploration du lithium s’intensifie

Le Canada est en bonne voie de devenir un fournisseur de lithium qui aidera à combler la pénurie prévisible de ce minéral dans le contexte de la transition énergétique

Par Alexandra Lopez-Pacheco

2023

CLIMATE CHANGE AND SUSTAINABILITY

Advanced Manufacturing | Integration for Better Outcomes | Light Metal in Transportation | Pressure Hydrometallurgy | Mineral Processing

Fundamentals | Sustainability in Pyrometallurgy com.metsoc.org

Milestones

This year, which has arrived as though shot from a cannon, will be, is, a big one for the publication and the institute. It marks CIM’s 125th anniversary. For the magazine, we will take advantage of the milestone to dig into CIM’s vast archives for colour and commentary on the industry and its achievements, and for buried treasures and curiosities.

Given that this issue will be at the PDAC convention in early March, where the industry gathers to get a reading on the market and the prospects for metals, we went back to the 1920s for a commodity review from another era. Nickel, it turns out, was the star performer.

As we uncover items from our archives, we want to invite you to do the same. We would love to hear from you about milestones and memories from your own careers.

Over the year we will have a few other new features. In this issue we are launching “Modern Miner,” in which we interview professionals who are under-represented in the industry. Rather than repeat the figures that expose mining’s difficulty in creating a diverse workforce and the long-term risk that follows, the aim of this series of articles is simply to give a profile to leaders and experts who – and this becomes abundantly clear when we leaf through our century-plus of published works – do not look like the typical “miner.”

Beyond the pages of the magazine, we will be partnering with industry experts to create online content including panel discussions and presentations. The first of which, made in collaboration with CIM’s Health and Safety Society, is “The Safety Share” webinar. You will find it on the CIM Magazine website and on CIM Academy. We will host more of such safety-focused webinars throughout the year, along with others devoted to topics critical to the industry. Follow CIM Magazine on LinkedIn to get the latest details.

Editor-in-chief Ryan Bergen, rbergen@cim.org

Finally, we begin 2023 with a change in personnel at the publication. We have added Ailbhe Goodbody as Senior Editor at the magazine. Keen-eyed consumers of mining periodicals may recognize her name from her time at the U.K.-based Mining Magazine. Ailbhe, now a Quebec resident, will be working the mining beat on our behalf. I am excited to have her talent and expertise helping inform our coverage of the industry.

We are also saying farewell to our Section Editor Matthew Parizot, who is taking his career in an exciting new direction. Matt began as an intern and, through his enviable knack for blazing speed and accuracy, established himself as a news writing force. In his four years at the magazine, he grew into a trusted colleague with excellent instincts and vision, and an editor with an appetite for ambitious projects; I welcome readers to point me to a more comprehensive public database of tailings facilities in this country than the one he compiled in “A counting of tailings in Canada,” which is available on the CIM Magazine website.

Finally, in this issue you will find a preview of CIM’s upcoming Convention + Expo, which returns to Montreal for the first time since 2019. It promises to be a great event with an excellent lineup of speakers and a big and buzzing tradeshow. So come celebrate 125 years of CIM with us!

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

Managing editor Michele Beacom, mbeacom@cim.org

Senior editor Ailbhe Goodbody, agoodbody@cim.org

Section editors Carolyn Gruske, cgruske@cim.org; Matthew Parizot, mparizot@cim.org

Editorial intern Ashley Fish-Robertson, afrobertson@cim.org

Contributors David Clarry, Charles Dumaresq, Alexandra LopezPacheco, Tijana Mitrovic, Sarah St-Pierre, Sarah Treleaven, Dinah Zeldin

Editorial advisory board Mohammad Babaei Khorzhoughi, Vic Pakalnis, Steve Rusk, Nathan Stubina

Translations Karen Rolland, karen.g.rolland@gmail.com

Layout and design Clò Communications Inc., communications.clo@gmail.com

Published 8 times a year by: Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum 1040 – 3500 de Maisonneuve Blvd. West Westmount, QC H3Z 3C1 Tel.: 514.939.2710; Fax: 514.939.2714 www.cim.org; magazine@cim.org

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Copyright©2023. 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

This issue’s cover E3 Lithium is working to extract lithium brine from the Leduc Aquifer in Alberta

Courtesy of E3 Lithium

An Institute for the Ages

In March 1896, CIM was founded in Montreal at the second annual meeting of the Federated Canadian Mining Institute and it was quickly thereafter incorporated by an Act of the Parliament of Canada in 1898.

125 years ago, the founding members likely didn’t envision the Canadian landscape currently experienced by the minerals and metals industry. They didn’t imagine surveying by drone technology, moving muck via autonomous scoop trams or webinar participants sharing knowledge simultaneously to global audiences. Heck, I didn’t envision any of this when I started my career in the 1980s. And I’m almost certain they didn’t imagine a future with women in mining as welders, mine managers and investment bankers. It has, however, been documented that the founding members came together seeking a vehicle for lobbying for safety laws and workers’ protection, as well as a method of ensuring the communication of ideas.

125 years later, these founding tenets are as relevant as ever. Promoting healthy, safe, sustainable and productive practices, fostering diversity and inclusion, improving mineral literacy, pre-

paring the next generation of leaders, volunteering within the communities where we operate, and celebrating the achievements of our industry and its members are the focuses of CIM’s many societies, branches and committees across Canada and internationally.

With the recent escalation of geopolitical instability and risk and re-nationalization of items of strategic importance, Canada is increasingly a favoured jurisdiction in the world for the exploration, extraction, refinement and recycling of the minerals and metals needed to address the global challenges that society is facing including having adequate food, clean water and transitioning the world’s energy requirements. By consistently demonstrating our commitment to environmental, social and governance values, partnering with Indigenous and local communities for sustainable prosperity and seeking collaborative alliances with those beyond traditional mining boundaries, we can continue to improve safety, productivity and environmental performance for generations to come.

Just like CIM’s founding members, we will not correctly imagine what the minerals and metals industry in Canada will look like a century from now. I am however confident that our industry will resiliently evolve for the better by being curious, inviting and continuing to collaborate. Together as an institute, we can accomplish so much more than we can achieve individually.

As we prepare to celebrate CIM’s 125th anniversary in Montreal from April 30 to May 3 at the CIM Convention and Expo, it’s the perfect time to pause, reflect and then boldly step forward to shape the role Canada’s national institute of mining will play in the exploration, extraction, refinement and recycling of the minerals and metals needed by the world.

Happy 125th anniversary, CIM!

Anne Marie Toutant CIM President

Courtesy of Anne Marie Toutant

High-tolerance analysis

Agilent ’s new ICP (Inductively Coupled Plasma) mass spectrometer serves mining industry users with reliable metal and mineral sample data collection. The spectrometer offers top matrix tolerance by utilizing ultra-high matrix introduction technology that analyzes samples with 25 per cent total dissolved solids. According to Agilent, the 7900 ICP-MS swiftly processes transient signals used during the analysis process of single nanoparticles, single cells and laser ablation. Additional accessories can easily connect to the spectrometer to offer users advanced features.

Elite crushing

Scott Automation recently released the new Rocklabs BOYD Elite, a crusher that utilizes double-acting jaws that, according to the company, can compress mineral samples by 35 times the original size in less time, carry up to five kilograms of sample and easily adjust its jaw gap while also effectively removing dust particles. The tool also features durable plates manufactured from high chrome iron. A version with a rotating sample divider is also available, which can aid in providing users with a hassle-free sample splitting process.

Reliable mixing

FLSmidth’s latest release, the Essa FMX150 Flux Mixer, seeks to provide users with consistent mixing during the fire assay analysis process. The FMX150 can mix up to 50 samples at a time and efficiently analyze various sample container sizes, while limiting dust contamination during the assay process. FLSmidth’s multipour systems and additional assaying tools can be easily linked to the FMX150 mixer and, according to the company, the FMX150 can withstand the wear and tear of high usage over a long term period.

Compiled by Ashley Fish-Robertson

Courtesy of Scott Automation Courtesy

Developments

Mining’s tech boom

Financing for clean mining technologies is higher and more available than ever

By Matthew Parizot

On Dec. 7, 2022, MineSense Technologies announced that it had closed a US$42 million Series E financing round led by J.P. Morgan Asset Management’s Sustainable Growth Equity Team and Evok Innovations, a clean-tech-focused venture fund, which it said will be used to accelerate the commercial deployment of its ore data visibility technology.

At the time of the announcement, MineSense declared that its revenues had tripled over the past year, and it was recognized as one of the fastest growing companies in North America by Deloitte. It is not alone, however, as the mining and metals sector has seen its largest bump in private technology investment in quite a while.

Last year contained a steady wave of mining and metals technology startups raising large amounts of cash, sometimes with huge names attached. February saw Bill Gates-backed KoBold Metals and its AI exploration technology raise US$192.5 million from investors such as mining giant BHP. Jetti Resources and its copper extraction technology raised US$100 million in October before BMW purchased an undisclosed stake in the company in December. In November, battery recycler Redwood Materials agreed to supply nickel-cathode to Panasonic Energy in a deal that, according to Redwood, is worth billions.

And that is not an exhaustive list. According to data compiled by Cleantech Group, mining and metals technology companies in 2021 saw US$113.7 billion in financing from 2,869 deals. The year after saw US$81.9 billion in investment from 2,341 deals, almost double the amount of investment from just five years prior.

These deals did not appear out of nowhere. Most countries with net-zero targets signed them into law between 2018 and 2020. Countries such as the

United States and Canada have made the development of critical minerals needed for clean energy transition a major priority moving forward. According to Holly Stower, lead associate for resources and environment at Cleantech Group, the high figures in 2021 saw those net-zero commitments “come to fruition,” with several aspects of the mining industry ripe for clean tech disruption.

“Battery metals are a key theme with clear downstream demand and heavy investment. EV battery producers and EV producers in general are trying to secure the battery metal supply chain. Lithium producers and refiners are also seeing lots of activity. Companies that are able to produce lithium from more challenging sources (e.g. brines) as well,” Stower said. “Electrification of heavy-industry vehicles is the ‘low hanging fruit’ of mining operations decarbonization. On the upstream side of things, investment in subsurface imaging and mineral detection [is growing],

making mineral exploration more databased and informed.”

With all this opportunity to invest, funds are starting to take notice. J.P. Morgan’s Sustainable Growth Equity Team was announced at the beginning of 2022 with US$150 million to invest in “resource efficiency and climate adaptation solutions.” Venture capital firm BDC announced its $400 million Climate Tech Fund II in November, the follow up to its $600 million Climate Tech Fund I from 2018.

Mining companies themselves are getting in on the action as well. In addition to BHP Ventures, the miner’s venture capital arm launched in 2020, Vale announced in June 2022 its US$100 million venture capital unit, aptly named Vale Ventures.

While it seems that the money hose has been turned on for these clean tech companies, it likely will not last forever. According to a report published by PwC, a decline in investment following a mas-

Courtesy of MineSense

MineSense’s latest round of financing will help it commercialize its ShovelSense ore analysis technology.

sive spike across all clean technologies is expected given the often-cyclical nature of corporate deal-making. However, according to the International Energy Agency, demand for five key critical minerals (lithium, cobalt, nickel, copper and neodymium) could increase by 1.5 to seven times by 2030 should countries look to stick to their net-zero 2050 goals, meaning there will likely still be opportunity for technologies that can help produce those materials sustainably.

Rio Tinto completes renewable diesel trial

Rio Tinto has successfully completed a renewable diesel trial at its open-pit borax mine in Boron, California.

The objective was to determine the suitability of renewable diesel for haulage at open-pit operations. This is part of Rio Tinto’s plans to move away from using conventional diesel in haul trucks at its U.S. operations and replacing it with renewable fuel, with the aim of reducing the carbon footprint of its fleet.

The trial was conducted in partnership with Neste and Rolls-Royce in 2022. The trial used Neste MY Renewable Diesel in the haul trucks, which is a hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) made from renewable raw materials, for example, used cooking oil or animal fat from food industry waste. Rolls-Royce provided new fuel-system components for the test, along with technical support to inspect the parts after the test was complete.

According to Stower, sustainable minerals production will be key for the world to achieve its goal of decarbonization.

“Overall, the technologies that we will need to decarbonize require massive amounts of minerals. An EV, for example, requires significantly more mineral/metals components than an internal combustion engine vehicle. So, we have a massive demand for critical minerals, battery minerals, but we are

using mining techniques and equipment that were developed 150 years ago,” Stower said. “Aside from that, critical mineral resources are harder to find and general ore quality is lower. Investing in mining sustainability and optimization is not just a question of cleaning up the EV battery value chain, the bigger picture is finding a sustainable way to provide the critical minerals that are essential to global decarbonization.” CIM

A second trial, which is taking place in collaboration with Cummins at Rio Tinto’s Kennecott copper operations in Utah, was launched in October 2022 with a planned duration of seven months. This trial is testing renewable diesel in a different operational environment to the first trial and on different mining equipment; it will look at the acceleration, speed, cycle times, fuel usage and engine inspection reports of two trucks running on renewable diesel, then compare the results to two trucks running on conventional diesel.

According to Rio Tinto, the trial delivered positive results, showing that a truck running on renewable diesel “delivered similar performance and reliability as trucks running on conventional diesel.”

Marc Schlichting, senior manager, mining North and Latin America at RollsRoyce Power Systems, said: “The engine ran over 6,000 hours on HVO. A trial like this is important for us to demonstrate the reliability of our engines in the field, and not just on a test stand under ideal conditions.”

Rio Tinto’s goal is to achieve a full transition of its heavy machinery fleet onsite to renewable diesel by next year, which it anticipates would remove about 12 per cent of the mine’s carbon emissions for the full year 2024, or up to 45,000 tonnes per year of CO2 equivalent.

Rio Tinto U.S. Borax will continue working with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the state of California and engine manufacturers to achieve this goal.

Rio Tinto stated that the two trials support its global decarbonization objectives. This includes the reduction of its scope 1 and 2 emissions by 50 per cent by 2030; the company estimates that 13 per cent of its scope 1 and 2 emissions are carbon emissions from its diesel-run mobile fleet and rail. The company also has a pledge to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. –

Ailbhe Goodbody

Côté Gold receives muchneeded funding from two deals

In August, Iamgold revealed it would need more money than initially expected to complete its Côté Gold project in Ontario. On Dec. 19, Iamgold shared that the project, jointly owned 70/30 with Sumitomo Metal Mining, had secured the needed funding for the project to continue development and meet its revised early-2024 production target.

Sumitomo will contribute approximately US$340 million to the project over the next year. In return, Iamgold will offer the company roughly 10 per cent further interest in Côté Gold.

The agreement will have Sumitomo provide up to US$250 million to fund ongoing construction in exchange for expanded interest in the project. Once

Rio Tinto estimates that a full transition to renewable diesel will reduce its CO2 equivalent emissions by 45,000 tonnes per year.

Courtesy of Rio Tinto

the US$250 million limit has been reached, each party will contribute funds based on their revised ownership stake in the project towards construction costs, which for Sumitomo is estimated at US$90 million.

Iamgold will have the option to repurchase the transferred ownership stake in the future. According to board chairman and interim president and CEO Maryse Bélanger, Iamgold intends to return to its original 70 per cent stake once the company has improved its liquidity.

Sumitomo president and representative director Akira Nozaki said: “the Côté Gold project has the potential to become a world-class, low-cost, long-life gold mine, and is one of the major pillars of Sumitomo Metal Mining’s growth strategy…. We believe that this transaction will further strengthen the friendly relationship between Iamgold and [Sumitomo], while ensuring that the construction of this project will proceed without delay and secure the early start-up of operations.”

Iamgold also announced the sale of its 90 per cent stake in the Senegalbased Boto Gold project, the Diakha-

Siribaya gold project in Mali, the Karita gold project and other associated exploration locations based in Guinea, as well as any other early-stage exploration locations of the aforementioned projects, to Moroccan-based company Managem for roughly US$282 million.

“The proceeds of the sales, coupled with the financing agreement with Sumitomo, meet the remaining funding requirements for completion of construction at the Côté Gold project, which

is approximately 70 per cent complete and on track for production in early 2024,” said Bélanger.

The anticipated capex was US$1.3 billion when construction was approved in 2020, but in August, with the project nearly 60 per cent complete, Iamgold estimated it would need US$1.9 billion to see construction through. Once producing, the mine is expected to average 365,000 ounces of gold per year over 18 years. – Ashley Fish-Robertson

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Iamgold will secure roughly US$282 million from the sale of its African assets to fund the construction of Côté Gold, which the company said is approximately 70 per cent complete.

Courtesy of Iamgold

Gold and copper likely to win big in 2023

Theo Yameogo from Ernst & Young breaks down this year’s forecast for five different metals

By Ashley Fish-Robertson

energy lead partner at EY Latin America North.

Copper

Despite copper’s indisputable importance in the decarbonization shift, the last decade has seen the metal receive less investment from mining companies.

“For copper (and iron as well) the key anchor is China. You can see that during Chinese Lunar New Year, there was a reopening of the border in China, so there are people expecting that China’s economy will get back into full swing,” explained Yameogo. If and when this happens, Yameogo noted that China will require a lot of iron and copper.

Last year saw several base metals perform well, even amidst the ongoing Russian war against Ukraine, the decarbonization shift, China closing its borders and the continued impact of COVID-19. Theo Yameogo, EY Americas, and Canada mining and metals leader, spoke to CIM Magazine about five different metals, looking at how they have performed recently and what we can expect from them during 2023.

Gold

In 2022 the demand for gold continued to grow, with a 67 per cent increase in demand for jewelry and a 31 per cent increase for bars and coins. Due to raised costs of mining operations amidst the last two years, coupled with geopolitical tensions, several expansions of Canadian gold projects suffered delays. EY forecasts 2023 to be the year when these stalled expansions begin to progress.

As mining companies continue to meet their ESG targets, sustainability is expected to be at the forefront of many gold operations. According to EY, Canada witnessed the biggest increase in gold exploration budgets, reaching up to 85 per cent year-over-year to US$1.5 billion. As the shift to decarbonize the economy continues to gain momentum, 2023 will likely see gold producers applying more ecoefficient measures to their operations.

Yameogo sees three possible outcomes for gold in 2023: “If we have a recession, which is what many are predicting, then many will likely turn to gold. Some bank analysts predict it could go up to US$4,000 [an ounce], but more conservative analysts are thinking more like US$2,000.” Yameogo believes it is important to note that when the U.S. currency plummets, the price of gold increases. As of now, the U.S. dollar is strong.

A second scenario for gold would see a milder recession than expected, which would allow gold prices to stabilize. Finally, the third scenario for gold would consist of “not reaching a recession at all,” which could result in lowered prices.

Silver

There was a sharp spike in the demand for silver in 2021 where it reached 1.05 billion ounces, triggering a deficit in the silver market. This remains the highest level since 2015. This increase in demand can be attributed to more eco-friendly initiatives that are powering the economy.

“The impact of the energy crisis, the higher cost of operations and geopolitical uncertainty around operations will likely be offset by high cash at disposal, driving capital allocation strategies,” explained Alfredo Alvarez Laparte,

According to Yameogo, there are not any forecasted new mining projects dedicated to mining copper beginning production in 2023 that can be expected to boost supply. Meanwhile, the demand for copper is increasing due to the electrification of vehicles.

Nickel

Among other base metals, nickel performed notably well this past year, increasing by 29 per cent since the start of 2022. However, some expect the demand for the metal to decrease in 2023 due to the looming recession that certain economies will confront.

Yameogo notes that nickel is up in value yearly, especially with one of its biggest uses going towards stainless steel production.

“We’re also taking nickel, making it higher purity, and using it for NFC batteries. So, nickel is expected to remain hot in 2023.”

Iron

As previously mentioned, due to China finally reopening is borders, iron will be one of the most sought-out metals by the country. “China will need a lot of iron,” said Yameogo. “Iron is already up anyway, but it is expected to continue to increase because there is now a large consumer of it that is coming into the market.”

Like copper, there seems to be no planned major new disruptive mining projects producing iron in 2023. CIM

With China reopening after Zero-Covid, iron demand is expected to rise in 2023.

Courtesy of Iron Ore Company of Canada

Osisko Mining releases positive Windfall feasibility results

Osisko Mining released the findings of the independent feasibility study for its fully owned Windfall gold project on Nov. 28. The Abitibi-based project, located on the Cree First Nation of Waswanipi’s lands, will feature an underground mine with dual ramp access and a central processing mill on the mine site.

Highlights from the study, conducted by BBA Inc., include the project producing roughly 306,000 ounces of gold annually from ore with an average grade of 8.1 grams per tonne. A peak production rate of 374,000 ounces of gold is to be expected during the second year of production. After-tax net present value for the project is currently estimated at $1.2 billion with a 34 per cent internal rate of return.

“We are very pleased to deliver the Windfall feasibility study, outlining the supporting economics indicating Wind-

fall can become a significant and highly profitable new gold mine in Quebec,” said the company’s chief executive officer John Burzynski.

The Windfall gold project is expected to mill 3,400 tonnes per day at an aver-

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age recovery rate of 93 per cent, and an all-in sustaining cost of $985 per ounce. Bringing in an anticipated $6.2 billion in gross revenue, this project is expected to open over a thousand new job opportunities during its construction phase, and

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Osisko Mining plans to complete an environmental impact assessment study for Windfall in Q1 2023.

Courtesy of Osisko Mining

FROM THE WIRE

Compiled by Ashley Fish-Robertson

Teck Resources has appointed Charlene Ripley as the company’s senior vice-president and general counsel. Ripley brings with her over 30 years of experience from a variety of positions, including vice-president and generalcounsel roles at Goldcorp and Linn Energy.

Grant Moenting will be joining Osisko Gold Royalties as vice-president of capital markets. Moenting has held several positions with Teck Resources, Scotiabank Global Bank, Paradigm Capital and more, bringing with him 16 years of experience to this new position.

Alison Atkinson has been appointed by Anglo American as group director of projects and development. Atkinson is currently AWE’s CEO and has assumed various roles within the company since 2005. She has a bachelor of engineering from the University of Manchester, is a chartered civil engineer and is a fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering.

NorthWest Copper will be welcoming Tyler Caswell to the company as vicepresident of exploration. As a registered professional geologist, Caswell brings with him 18 years of mineral exploration experience with him. Caswell received a bachelor of science with distinction from the University of Victoria.

Bryce Clark will be joining Vital Battery Metals as the company’s chief financial officer. Clark is currently the principal of Bryce A. Clark & Associates and brings over 20 years of board experience to this new position.

J.L. Richards & Associates is welcoming Darren Radley to the company as the new chief environmental engineer. This new role will see Radley lead the development and expansion of staff throughout the company. Radley has almost 25 years of experience working as an engineer.

Wesdome Gold Mines president and CEO Duncan Middlemiss has retired from his positions and resigned from its board of directors. Middlemiss led the company for six and a half years, bringing the Kiena mine to production through the COVID-19 pandemic.

over 670 permanent positions once operations are running.

The project’s probable mineral reserve estimate is 12,183,000 tonnes with 3,159,000 ounces of gold at a grade of 8.06 grams per tonne.

Engineering work for this project has commenced, and as the project advances, the company expects to release its environmental impact assessment study in the first quarter of 2023,

Nickel in demand

The clean energy transition was the topic that was top of mind at the 2023 Annual Canadian Mineral Processors National Conference, and it made its presence known during almost every presentation.

The main portion of the Ottawa-based event (a day of short-courses was held prior to the official start) kicked off with an opening plenary presented by Johnna Muinonen, president of Dumont Nickel, Magneto Investments, and it started the trend of talking about the electrified future and what it means for mining, mineral processing and metallurgy.

The demand for nickel, in particular for the consumer electric vehicle market, is expected to be so strong that it is creating a shift across the entire industry. “It’s a huge opportunity for us to add a brand new market to an existing metal and that so very rarely happens,” Muinonen said. “You know, 70 per cent of all new nickel today goes into stainless steel. Stainless steel is still going to be a massive demand, but its growth is much more moderated. When we talk about

which will allow Osisko to begin the mine permitting process.

“As we move to complete the EIA study in Q1 2023 and begin the permitting process, we expect to advance our underground exploration and continue to grow the scale and quality of the deposit,” said Burzynski.

Plans for the financing of Windfall will come in 2023, with a production decision following in early 2024.

– Ashley Fish-Robertson

opportunities for nickel today, it’s all about the battery supply chain.”

As for the size of that demand, based on the number of gigafactories (supersized battery manufacturing plants) being announced, Muinonen described it in terms that miners can easily visualize: “It’s somewhere around 40 to 60 new projects, all of which would produce an average of 38,000 tonnes of nickel annually. And to put that into perspective, that means every project has to be half of the size of the Glencore smelter… It basically means we need 40 new Raglans or 60 new Raglans. How are we going to get our heads around that? And the reality is, we’re not. We’re going to see some substitution for LFP [lithium iron phosphate battery chemistry] and we’re going to see a lot of nickel coming out of Indonesia, but there is an opportunity for Canada to play a role and advance some of our projects and take advantage of this opportunity.”

She told the audience that all forms of nickel – including both Class 1 (sulfide) and Class 2 (laterite) – can be used to produce batteries, but processing Class 2 just costs a bit more, which, in turn, just creates a new floor price for nickel. She also said that HPAL [high-pressure acid leach] plants are being built by Chinese companies and are meeting nameplate capacity within four quarters.

Muinonen told the crowd of 505 that in order for the industry to survive and break out of mining’s typical boom and bust cycle, nickel producers need to rethink how they finance projects, how they strike deals with customers and how they price their products.

She noted that despite investments being made in battery processing and manufacturing facilities, the same type of investment has not been poured into mining and refining, and that single-source producers are still relying mainly on debt

Johnna Muinonen outlined the importance of nickel in our electric future.

financing to get their projects going. To get around those issues, Muinonen explained that miners need to partner with vehicle manufacturers and not underplay the value they offer as experts in mineral sourcing and refining, making them a vital part of the BEV supply chain.

She also suggested that nickel companies consider a new pricing strategy.

“If we could get away from some of the boom and bust and have fixed prices on our floor and ceiling, we’d be able to spread [the profits] out a little bit and keep people engaged, and keep innovation and R&D continuously happening because we would understand what our profit would be and what we’d be making every year as opposed to [asking] ‘What is the nickel market going to be? What is the price?’ I’m not saying it’s for everybody… I’m just saying that I think that in some places we could really improve the overall health of the industry and really retain and attract more people if we could look at the markets differently. And I think this battery supply chain really gives us the opportunity to do that.”

20 YEARS OF HIGH SPEED SPLIT-FEED JUMBO DEVELOPMENT

– Carolyn Gruske

Canada’s plan for critical minerals

The strategy identifies six metals as priorities for development

By Ashley Fish-Robertson

On Dec. 9, 2022, Jonathan Wilkinson, Canada’s natural resources minister, introduced the federal government’s official Critical Minerals Strategy, outlining the strategy’s objectives, benefits, and allocation of funds. The main objectives of the strategy consist of supporting economic growth and creating jobs, promoting climate action and environmental protection, advancing reconciliation with Indigenous people, fostering diverse and inclusive workplaces and communities, and finally, enhancing global security and partnership with allies.

In his foreword for the strategy, Wilkinson stated that: “Critical minerals are the building blocks for the green and digital economy. There is no energy transition without critical miner-

Development

Shaft Sinking

Mass Excavation

Production Mining

Raiseboring

Raise Mining

5,000 m OF LATERAL DEVELOPMENT IN A MONTH ON A SINGLE PROJECT

Underground Construction

Mechanical Excavation

Engineering & Technical Services

Specialty Services

As part of Canada’s strategy, critical mineral projects such as Sayona Mining’s North American Lithium will be easier to get off the ground.

Courtesy of Sayona Mining

als: no batteries, no electric cars, no wind turbines and no solar panels… It is therefore paramount for countries around the world to establish and maintain resilient critical minerals value chains that adhere to the highest ESG standards. It is also important that we partner with Indigenous peoples –including ensuring that long-term benefits flow to Indigenous communities.”

In the discussion paper, the government outlined six clear steps to achieve these goals: advance research and exploration; speed up project development; develop sustainable infrastructure; advance reconciliation with Indigenous communities; grow a diverse workforce and thriving communities; and strengthen global leadership and security.

The strategy highlights the need for critical minerals in our daily lives, from the copper and aluminum that are used to manufacture electrical wiring to the indium and other rare earth elements that power electronic devices.

In the country, 31 minerals are currently considered “critical.” Although Canada currently produces over 60 different minerals and metals, the strategy outlines the untapped potential of utilizing even more critical minerals located within the country.

Out of those 31, there are six minerals in particular that are being prioritized for their important role in Canada’s economic growth. These minerals include lithium, graphite, nickel, cobalt, copper, and rare earth elements. The discussion

paper noted that while an initial focus will be placed on these six minerals, “many other minerals present notable prospects for the future.”

Of the $3.8 billion in funding from the government’s 2022 budget, several initiatives will be supported to drive innovation and research within the country. These initiatives include supporting public geoscience and exploration with $79.2 million, the deployment of the 30 per cent Critical Mineral Exploration Tax Credit, $47.7 million for targeted upstream critical mineral research and development and the introduction of technologies and materials to support this research for $144.4 million.

To satisfy the strategy’s objective of advancing responsible project development, a portion of the funds will support projects concerned with critical minerals ($1.5 billion), aid northern regulatory processes in permitting critical minerals projects ($40 million), and support the Critical Minerals Centre of Excellence ($21.5 million).

To advance the development of sustainable infrastructure within the country, an allotment of up to $1.5 billion is being supplied. Concerning Indigenous reconciliation, the government will supply $103.4 million, which will go towards supporting Indigenous participation in the strategy. Finally, an allotment from the funding will be used to maintain global partnerships through the promotion of Canadian leadership in the mining industry. CIM

Nouveau Monde assessment shows boosted production

Quebec’s Nouveau Monde Graphite (NMG) shared the positive results from a preliminary economic assessment (PEA), performed by BBA and GoldMinds Geoservices, of its open-pit Uatnan mining project. The project, located on the Lac Guéret graphite deposit in the CôteNord region, is considered to be one of the largest graphite projects in development across the globe.

Overall, the project is expected to produce roughly 500,000 tonnes of graphite concentrate annually over the course of 24 years. The project’s net present value, with an eight per cent discount rate, is $2.17 billion, with an after-tax internal rate of return of 25.9 per cent.

Total Measured and Indicated mineral resources for the project add up to 10.8 million tonnes of in-situ graphite from 62.2 million tonnes grading at 17.3 per cent graphite.

After re-examining Mason Graphite’s 2018 feasibility study for the Lac Guéret deposit, the new PEA looked to take the original plan for the project while multiplying annual production ten-fold from its original target of 51,900 tonnes. To accomplish this, NMG made two significant changes to the mine plan. First, the location of the project’s concentrator, initially located 285 kilometres from the site, has now been relocated to only 70 kilometres away. Second, the intended end-use of the material was changed to be used for the battery market only, which removed the need to preserve graphite flake size during processing. This resulted in a simplified processing circuit with the number of polishing and cleaner flotation stages reduced from four to two.

The assessment highlighted “favourable conditions” for the commercialization of the Uatnan project’s production based on an anticipated structural deficit of natural flake graphite this year.

“NMG’s vision is to become North America’s most important producer of battery-grade graphite,” said Eric Desaulniers, founder, president and CEO of NMG. “The Uatnan mining project aligns with our vision of progressive, integrated growth that caters to the market’s requirements for high-quality graphite materials, local supplies, ESG-driven development, and large volumes to meet EV production levels.” – Ashley Fish-Robertson

Community engagement and tailings management must go hand in hand

By David Clarry and Charles Dumaresq

In 1908, the silver mining town of Cobalt, Ontario, took the Coniagas Mine to court. The problem? Tailings from the mine regularly flooded nearby homes and businesses and the company refused to fix it. A few years later, Coniagas demanded that the owner of a butcher shop pay to divert a waste rock pile away from the shop. The butcher moved instead, and the former shop was buried.

Such stories were once common in mining camps across Canada, as companies frequently operated with little regard for communities or the environment. Fortunately, the mining industry has changed immeasurably, including how tailings are managed, and how communities are engaged.

By engaging constructively and proactively building relationships and exchanging information, community engagement can help to build trust and reduce the potential for conflicts. It can also help ensure that communities have an understanding of the risks associated with tailings, and how the company is managing them.

Community engagement is a two-way street, and local communities have knowledge that can be valuable to mining companies, including by helping to inform better decisions throughout the life of tailings facilities in areas such as: setting performance objectives; assessing and managing risk; planning and designing tailings facilities; and closure and emergency planning.

The Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management, released in 2020, has a strong focus on community engagement. Internationally, this is new to many companies that have not previously engaged with communities on tailings management, or engaged only as part of project approvals.

However, both tailings management and community engagement have been cornerstones of the Towards Sustainable Mining (TSM) program since it was first launched by the Mining Association of Canada (MAC) in 2004. TSM is an international standard for responsible mining that provides performance measurement protocols that address a range of environmental and social topics, and focuses on effective tailings management and community engagement in addition to numerous other topics such as biodiversity conservation, climate change and water stewardship.

Since the introduction of TSM, there have been requirements to engage communities regarding tailings management, and initially, these requirements were in the TSM Tailings Management Protocol, with more comprehensive requirements for community engagement in a separate protocol. TSM has continued to evolve and improve to reflect best practice and for tailings this evolution has been informed by an independent review that was conducted after the 2014 tailings failure at the Mount Polley Mine in British Columbia. This review concluded that the existing protocol did not “adequately prior-

itize tailings-related topics that are of high importance to communities of interest.”

TSM now takes a more integrated approach, with the Indigenous and Community Relationships Protocol updated in 2019 and designed to address the need for community engagement on all aspects at the site-level, including tailings management. This allows flexibility, recognizing that each situation is unique, with different communities having different priorities.

It also recognizes that engaging communities on one specific topic, such as tailings management, in absence of a broader whole-of-mine approach may potentially be problematic and counterproductive.

This commitment to sustainable practices and community engagement via TSM is illustrated well through the work of companies like Hudbay Minerals, which recently invested over $60 million into upgrading its tailings facilities in Manitoba. These enhancements came about in large part due to recognition of needed improvements identified through the company’s use of the TSM Tailings Management Protocol.

Community engagement was integral to Hudbay’s planning process, with the company holding meetings regarding tailings construction plans and the relationship of those plans to protecting the community from inundation in the event of a failure, with the goal of ensuring local concerns were heard and addressed. This collaborative process, with input received informing Hudbay’s plans, enhanced understanding of the company’s tailings management responsibilities, increased community engagement and resulted in substantial tailings upgrades. A win-win.

Around the world, mining companies, investors and regulators are rightly putting a strong emphasis on the need for safe, responsible management of tailings, and ensuring community engagement is at the forefront of this process is essential. With 11 national mining chambers around the world, including heavyweights like Australia and Brazil, now participating in TSM and with over 200 mining companies currently in the process of implementation, the program is undoubtedly enhancing confidence in the way companies mine. CIM

David Clarry is vice-president, Corporate Social Responsibility at Hudbay Minerals Inc., as well as chair of the board of directors of Mining Association of Canada.

Charles Dumaresq is vice-president, Science and Environmental Management at Mining Association of Canada.

The integrated approach of Towards Sustainable Mining enhances community confidence in the way companies mine

modern miner

Expert witness

Metallurgist combines knowledge of mining law, arbitration and consulting with technical expertise

By Sarah St-Pierre

Brenna J.Y. Scholey

Principal metallurgist and global disputes coordinator

SLR Consulting (Canada) Ltd.

B.A.Sc. in metals & materials engineering

University of British Columbia

P.Eng.

Ontario and British Columbia

What is the biggest challenge the industry is facing this year?

Increased geopolitical risk in the critical minerals sector and its future impact on international mining disputes.

What is the one thing you would like to see this year?

I would like to see in-country, downstream metals processing experience a renaissance in Canada, as observed in other places like Europe.

What is your most recent accomplishment?

Ranked by Who’s Who Legal (WWL) as a Global Elite Thought Leader –Mining Experts 2023

Over the course of a 34-year career, Brenna J.Y. Scholey has moved from the lab to the processing plant, to the corporate office, and to the courtroom, and her journey into new territory continues. Right now, she is a principal metallurgist who is recognized as a consulting expert and global thought leader by Who’s Who Legal: Mining (and has been recognized every year since 2019). As a global disputes coordinator for SLR Consulting’s Mining Advisory group, she can be advising on a dozen international mining disputes and arbitration cases at any given time, performing due diligence and consulting on mining projects, all while keeping up her metallurgical engineering practice.

Scholey’s keenness to touch on a broad range of industry facets has been manifest since the earliest days of her career. As an undergraduate student at the University of British Columbia (UBC), she chose metals and materials engineering over mining engineering to get a taste of chemical engineering, metallurgy, mechanical engineering, and mining all at once. The degree naturally led her down the extractive metallurgy and process engineering path. The choice she made back then is still paying off: “I’ve been very, very fortunate. All of the arbitration and litigation cases I’ve been involved with, there’s always some element of metallurgical processing related to the case,” she said.

Courtesy of Brenna J. Y. Scholey

After graduation, Scholey worked for Placer Dome as a development engineer at Equity Silver Mines focusing on tailings reprocessing and providing support to the mill operation. “Having operating and technical experiences in industry are invaluable for career development as an engineer,” she said.

Scholey returned to UBC as a senior research engineer, conducting research in the bioleaching of ores and experimenting on solvent extraction and the ion exchange removal of impurities from copper electrolytes. “Working on experiments that were 24 hours or longer, that required me to actually go into the lab at three in the morning and start an experiment,” she said. Her research led to her being a co-holder of a patent for an impurity removal process that was implemented by Noranda Inc. The experience taught her about the value of dedication and hard work and the application of theory to practice. Yet it wasn’t until she was actively working in the field that Scholey thought she had advanced in her career.

For her, that turning point came while working in Illinois for Eichrom Industries as a research hydrometallurgist and accruing more field experience in project management, operation, and design of ion exchange pilot plants for impurities removal in copper processing. In 1996, she returned to Canada and worked at INCO (Vale) for more than 17 years, adding experience with commodities beyond copper, as she moved from plant operations into the custom feed business. By 2008, she had been in charge of coordinating the company’s entire precious metals production throughout Canada and the U.K.

Scholey had also served as manager of project evaluations and senior business analyst in the Vale Base Metals Technical Excellence Centre in Mississauga, Ontario, where she conducted business evaluations of strategic projects in Vale’s global base metals units. Through the role, she got to travel and to work on Vale’s base metal projects in Brazil, Indonesia, New Caledonia and more. “It gave me a tremendous opportunity, at the time, to see and to learn about other operations,” Scholey said.

Those experiences were key in creating the possibility for her to move into consulting, where she has been since 2014. “I had a background in hydrometallurgy and pyrometallurgy of nickel, copper, cobalt, and precious metals. I was able to apply that knowledge to the processing of other metals. If I didn’t have the operations and technical experience, I don’t think that I could have pursued certain consulting assignments,” she said.

The types of legal disputes Scholey provides expert witness services for are often international in nature, typically involving governments expropriating mining projects or operating mines to nationalize them or to put a different company in charge. Sometimes, the government’s actions are motivated by interest in a project’s financial potential or for nationalistic reasons, but other times governments rescind licences because companies have failed to hold up their ends, as in instances where investment promises are not kept.

Both the global nature of her work and her point of view as a metallurgical engineer make Scholey sensitive to the growing push for sustainability reforms in mining. “I think we, as members of the industry, need to promote responsible and sustainable practices. Through the code of ethics, professional engineers have a clearly defined duty to the public and to society,” she stressed. “I hold that very strongly in terms of what I do as a consulting engineer, in terms of the projects I am involved with, and I see a big shift happening. I think it’s going

to be very important for the mining industry to be responsive in that regard.”

As for her own future prospects, Scholey wants to expand her areas of expertise even further still. Already, arbitration work has allowed her to familiarize herself with iron ore processing, something she had not worked on much beforehand. “I would like to continue building my experience in lithium processing and working with other critical minerals,” she said. “To work on different metals processing and to continue to learn, I think, is important and broadens what I can offer in terms of technical capability and expertise to clients.”

Mining is a varied, multi-faceted industry and the people who work in the sector are equally diverse. Modern Miner will run through 2023 and showcase mining professionals from a range of backgrounds and highlight the ways they are leading, innovating and pushing the industry forward. If you know somebody who should be profiled, email editor@cim.org.

CIM

Lithium exploration ramp up

Canada is primed to become a supplier of lithium to help fill the looming gap for the energy transition

By Alexandra Lopez-Pacheco

In 1950, the authors of a federal government document entitled “The Miscellaneous Non-Metal Mining Industry” noted that Canada had little to no known use for lithium. “Thus, an outside market would have to be found for any production,” the authors concluded. Such uses for lithium as lubricants, glass, ceramics and pharmaceuticals would subsequently open up niche markets for the white mineral, but over the decades lithium exploration and mining in Canada have remained sporadic, with mines being few and far between. Today, a market has been found for Canada’s lithium – a booming one – and dozens of Canadian junior mining exploration companies have joined the global lithium rush by looking for the mineral here at home. According to Natural Resources Canada, spending on exploration and deposit appraisal activities for “other minerals,” which includes cobalt, lithium and rare earths, rose by 167 per cent in 2021 to $95 million, and is anticipated to have increased by another 77 per cent in 2022 to $169 million. Collectively, these juniors are part of something much bigger than just building a business, they are helping to pioneer a new batterygrade lithium mining industry in Canada.

Lithium is listed by the Canadian government, and others including the U.S. and the European Union, among the minerals critical for the decarbonization of the world’s energy supply required to help thwart climate change. According to a 2022 International Energy Agency report, the demand for lithium is projected to increase sixfold to 500 kilotonnes by 2030. The equivalent of 50 new average-sized mines not currently in the pipeline will be needed to fill the gap. Although most of the world’s supply comes from Australia, Chile, Argentina and China, in 2022 the Canadian government said

Canada was primed to become a supplier of lithium to help fill the looming gap.

Currently, however, the country has only 2.5 per cent of the world’s known lithium deposits, only one lithium mine – Sayona/ Piedmont’s North American Lithium operation in Quebec – slated to open in 2023 and no lithium refining facilities necessary to turn the raw material into a battery-grade product. Nevertheless, prospectors and exploration companies are undeterred because, until recently, few have put much effort into looking for the mineral. Some argue there is a lot more lithium in this country than the 2.5 per cent of known lithium deposits.

“We have not been exploring for lithium in Canada for a very long time,” said Killian Charles, president and CEO of Montrealbased Brunswick Exploration, a greenfield exploration company. “Australia, which contains a lot of the known lithium deposits, has been more aggressive and has built a larger repertoire of the known lithium deposits.”

According to the Australian government, active exploration between 2007 and 2017 grew the country’s economic demonstrated resources of lithium by 1,600 per cent. Canadian junior exploration companies are rolling up their sleeves to help build Canada’s repertoire as well.

“Canada has the right geology for there to be many major new discoveries across all of the country,” said Charles. “We’re just getting warmed up.”

Hard rock lithium

Most current lithium resources are found in hard rock pegmatite deposits. Some Canadian juniors such as Grid Metals are exploring for this in Manitoba. Its Donner Lake project is in the

With the clean-energy revolution spurring demand for lithium, mining companies are exploring Canada for new sources, including E3 Lithium, which established its Clearwater lithium brine project in between Calgary and Edmonton.

Bird River Greenstone Belt in the southeastern part of the province. But the majority of hard rock lithium exploration activity by Canadian juniors today is found in Ontario and Quebec. Sudbury-based Frontier Lithium, for example, is exploring for lithium at Pakeagama Lake in the province’s Kenora area and stirring up a lot of excitement in the region. The company actually launched its project back in 2013. Up to 2022, it only drilled some 14,000 metres at its project, called PAK, one of the largest land packages hosting premium lithium-bearing pegmatites in the province. In 2022 alone, Frontier Lithium completed an additional 16,000 metres of drilling.

In Ontario, some juniors are reinventing themselves as mining/ chemical manufacturing companies. Frontier’s plan, for example, includes building a battery-grade lithium refining facility as well as a mine.

German-Canadian Rock Tech, based in Vancouver, plans to build an open-pit mine at its Georgia Lake lithium project 160 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay, as well as a battery-grade lithium-processing facility in Guben, Germany. Last year, the company signed a supply agreement with Mercedes-Benz.

Some Canadian juniors are proving themselves to be very agile. Avalon Advanced Materials, which originally intended its Separation Rapids lithium project near Kenora to focus on the lithium market for glass and ceramics, has switched gears. In 2022, it signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding with LG Energy Solutions to supply it with battery-grade lithium beginning 2025. Avalon is also planning to build a lithium processing facility in Thunder Bay to supply the EV battery industry.

Quebec, which hosts some of the world’s largest known hard rock lithium deposits, is also luring a growing number of Canadian junior lithium exploration companies. In 2021, one of these companies, Vancouver-based Patriot Battery Metals, discovered a previously unknown lithium pegmatite district at its Corvette property in the province’s James Bay region.

Brunswick Exploration was founded in 2020 with the goal of testing as many lithium-containing pegmatites as quickly as possible across Canada – starting with its current projects in Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba and Atlantic Canada – to identify the approximately two per cent of the pegmatites that could potentially contain lithium. On the ground, the company’s team uses handheld XRF analyzers to identify the presence of pathfinder elements, which can indicate the presence of lithium mineralization. “Unlike in gold or base-metal exploration, we’re actually immediately able to ascertain in the field as to whether or not a pegmatite has the potential of containing lithium. It allows us to be incredibly efficient in terms of exploration,” said Charles. “With better efficiency, we decided to go a bit outside the box and focus on rapidly acquiring as many targets as possible.”

Western innovation

In 2014, Chris Doornbos, CEO of E3 Lithium, saw a potential lithium shortage building. For two years, he looked for lithium exploration opportunities around the world. Then he came across an Alberta Geological Survey report. “They had sampled oil and gas formation water and completed a full-suite analysis,” he said. “What we realized from this report is that there were samples with lithium that had been collected in the southern half of the province where we are now. We started to dig into that and the whole Leduc Aquifer had lithium. I am not sure if the people who understood that lithium was in the aquifer understood how big this aquifer is.”

It turns out that for decades, western Canada’s subsurface saltwater bodies had been drilled for oil but the lithiumenriched brines had been injected back into the ground. The Leduc Aquifer is massive, running some 2,500 metres below the surface and spanning hundreds of square kilometres between Calgary and Edmonton. In 2016, the private company that became E3 was incorporated and quickly began acquiring land for its Clearwater lithium brine project. “I think now we own most, if not all, of the Leduc south of Edmonton,” said Doornbos.

At first, exploring in this new burgeoning lithium brine sector was a little different than traditional mining exploration. It involved E3 working with oil companies to let it sample at the back of their operations “so we didn’t have to drill to get the data needed to build a resource,” said Doornbos. Since then, E3 has conducted some drilling to delineate its resource, which now stands at an inferred resource of 24.3 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent. The resource has been long understood, though overlooked until E3. The company has mostly been focused on the development of an extraction technology and the engineering for a commercial facility for the project by combining western Canada’s gas and oil and with mining.

E3 is not the only junior Canadian company that is exploring for brine. LithiumBank is doing the same for its Boardwalk lithium project at Sturgeon Lake, first discovered in the 1950s by the oil and gas industry, which hosts some 1,100 wells. Its second exploration project, Park Place, is located in the oil- and gas-rich Fox Creek area.

In Saskatchewan, Canadian juniors such as Prairie Lithium, which is exploring in the province’s Williston Basin, and Grounded Lithium, whose Kindersley lithium project is in the southwest of the province, are paving the way for a new lithium sector that leverages the infrastructure of the oil and gas sector to expedite the path to development. (Australia-based Arizona Lithium entered into an acquisition agreement with Prairie Lithium at the end of 2022.)

“I think people need to understand it takes a long time to build a mine,” said Matthew Dreis, a research and development senior analyst with Prairie Lithium. “With the lithium industry, to build a mine and develop the minerals, it’s an average time of about 10 years. But we’re talking about a demand for lithium that will increase around 500 per cent by 2030. So we have to provide a lot of production in the next decade extremely fast.”

Extracting lithium from brine in western Canada could come in just a couple of years. Alex Wylie, founder of Volt Lithium and now president of Allied Copper, which acquired Volt in December 2022, believes that lithium-brine mining can be modelled after the conventional oil industry. His company is exploring in the Rainbow Lake oil fields in Alberta and developing a lithium extraction technology that can be added as a second step to current oil extraction.

“As an oil and gas person, the way I look at it is I need a single well… If I can get a single well that produces oil and I know there’s a reservoir below, I can expand with more wells, but I have to have the oil first. I want to get the oil to the surface, process it and show it works. Well, we’re doing the same thing with lithium," he said.

“Canada will be at the forefront of the energy transition in terms of supplying minerals and metals necessary for it,” Brunswick Exploration’s Charles said. “Honestly, it’s not even a question of political will or dollars; it’s a question of time.” CIM

As CEO and director of E3 Lithium, Chris Doornbos believes the company’s ion-exchange technology will help it lead the way for the lithium industry in Canada.

The company’s Clearwater lithium project sits on the Leduc aquifer, an oil field that helped start Alberta’s oil and gas industry in the 1940s and which is rich in lithium brine. E3 Lithium took the first-mover advantage, recognizing the potential value located in the brine found deep underground. The low lithium concentrations have meant the area has needed an extraction technology, but with global interest in lithium batteries on the rise, redeveloping this area into a lithium producer is more worthwhile than ever.

The key, Doornbos said, is in E3 Lithium’s technology, which would allow the company to bring brine liquid to the surface and directly extract lithium from it before refining it into battery-quality product. And with a $27 million investment from the federal government’s Strategic Innovation Fund and a plan to pilot its technology, the company is setting its sights on commercialization.

CIM: Can you tell me what E3 Lithium has been working on since its founding?

Doornbos: It seemed to us at the beginning that the real key was the ability to take the lithium out of the brine and do it economically. We spent a lot of time looking at how we might do that and realized that the market did not have something that would work, so we started to develop our own technology. From the end of 2017 onwards, we really worked on the development of our technology. It was the main focus until 2021, when we got to a point where the technology development started to shift towards commercialization. Now, we are aiming to pilot the technology sometime in 2023, likely Q3.

The benefit now is that direct lithium extraction (DLE), the extraction method like E3’s to remove lithium from brines, has matured dramatically in the last couple of years. There are other DLE technology companies that have processes that could work for lithium brines. From our standpoint, that’s really good news because it de-risks all low-concentration brine projects like ours. There is huge inherent value in E3’s resource, which totals

The direct approach

E3 Lithium CEO Chris Doornbos said the company plans to break new ground in Alberta with its ion-exchange technology

By Tijana Mitrovic

24.3 million tonnes of inferred lithium carbonate equivalent. It is one of the largest single lithium deposits on the planet. The big risk for us has always been around the technology to get the lithium out of the brine once it’s out of the ground, and now that has been de-risked significantly by ourselves and others. It really sets us up to move firmly into commercial development.

CIM: How do you think the company’s technology will make your Clearwater lithium project effective and viable?

Doornbos: Where our technology stands out is in its kinetics, which refers to how rapidly the lithium is extracted from the brine. While the system we use is fairly typical ion-exchange, like we see in water-treatment processes and water softeners in homes, the material we use – called sorbent – is highly selective for lithium. Our proprietary sorbent achieves high lithium recovery in a very short amount of time. The concentration of lithium in our brine is about 75 milligrams per litre. We have this significant deposit and when you have a streamlined process that enables you to extract lithium very effectively, you start to move towards commercialization. At that point, it fundamentally doesn’t matter what the lithium grade is.

Using DLE technology on our resource not only supports the viability and economics of the project, it also results in a much reduced environmental footprint compared to conventional lithium mining and evaporation processes.

CIM: Can you speak more to E3 Lithium’s economics?

Doornbos: The economics are pretty good. The preliminary economic assessment (PEA) outlined an estimated net present value of US$1.1 billion for the project using a price metric –US$14,000 per tonne – far below what we are likely to sell our product for. The spot price right now is more than US$80,000 per tonne. There’s a really good margin for this company and good value to create for this project.

The operating costs estimated in our PEA are US$3,656 per tonne of battery-quality lithium hydroxide, which means we’re well under the required cost threshold for an economic project. With an estimated capital expenditure of US$600 million

required for our first commercial facility, we’re at about US$30,000 per tonne of installed capacity, which is right in line with industry average.

CIM: The company recently released the results from its inaugural 2022 drilling program. What do those results mean for the project’s future viability?

Doornbos: The results of our drilling and sampling program are extremely positive, and it’s important to note, this is a historic program for Alberta. Starting in summer last year, we drilled Alberta’s first ever brine production wells for the purposes of evaluating lithium. We drilled two new wells and acquired one existing well from the oil and gas industry.

The program demonstrated consistency across our aquifer, not only in lithium concentrations, but in aquifer properties and brine chemistry as well. When the feedstock going into the plant, in this case the brine, is consistent, you can build the plant with very narrow tolerances, which means the complexity of the plant is reduced. Consistent product in the plant is fundamental to its efficient operations. The fact that the grade and the chemistry of the brine are fairly consistent across the whole aquifer is very important.

The consistent results we received propels our development and helps de-risk the project. We now have the data we need to complete an upgrade to our resource from inferred to measured and indicated.

CIM: One of the things often discussed with lithium mining is the environmental impact of its extraction. How does E3 Lithium’s way of extracting that lithium address those concerns?

Doornbos: Direct extraction methods like DLE have several environmental advantages. It’s part of a closed-loop system, meaning once you pull the brine out of the ground and extract the lithium from it, the brine is then returned back to the aquifer. The biggest concerns with conventional mining processes have been land disturbance and freshwater interference, both of which are addressed by DLE as it uses less than three per cent of the land of traditional lithium mining projects and there is no freshwater aquifer interaction.

Our project in Alberta is being developed using the sophisticated tools and processes created by the province’s oil and gas industry. We’re using conventional oil and gas equipment to drill the brine production wells, and after each well is drilled, we’ll immediately reclaim most of it. That’s the industry standard: immediate reclamation. That well can operate for 20 or 30 years with a minimal footprint and just road access for maintenance.

CIM: What are the next steps for E3 Lithium?

Doornbos: The two big things we’re working on right now are the pilot plant, which we hope to start operating in Q3 of this year, and the pre-feasibility study, which we want to complete in the next 12 months. There’s a lot of other work happening, but those are the two big milestones that we believe will solidify that, yes, we’re going to build this, that a pilot is operating, and it’s successful.

CIM: What are some strategies the company will take to achieve those next steps?

Doornbos: Most important to all the strategies we will employ is the solid foundation we have built over the last several years.

We’ve made steady progress on the development of our resource at the same time as advancing our technology. We have a very strong team that has decades of experience developing best-inclass resources. The market demand for lithium is growing steadily, built on the battery-electric revolution. Every jurisdiction sees electric vehicles, and the lithium required in their batteries, as a core component of a net-zero economy.

Last year was a big year for us. We announced a strategic agreement with Imperial Oil, a global energy industry leader, and a $27 million investment from the Government of Canada. We foresee this year to be even bigger, and the year in which we move from exploration and development into commercialization. We are going to take the foundation we’ve built, the team we’ve put together, and our ambitious yet achievable plans and execute to meet our goal of delivering high quality, sustainable lithium products to market as quickly as possible.

CIM: What do you want people to keep in mind about the future of lithium?

Doornbos: The lithium market is here, and it’s only getting stronger. The adoption of electric vehicles, all based on the lithium-ion battery, is growing and will continue to grow. There are billions and billions of dollars pouring into the electrification space. And it’s all built on the foundation of lithium. There’s a lot of demand for what we have and companies like us are seeing ample support to get our projects running because they’re critical. CIM

A third option

Lithium demand sees companies looking at recovering low grades of the critical mineral from clay

By Sarah Treleaven

The electric vehicle (EV) revolution has driven an intensification in the demand for the lithium required to power EV batteries. As a result, in addition to traditional methods of mining lithium – extraction through either brine or mined ore – a third method is gaining attention: lithium extracted from clay.

Glen Merfeld, chief technology officer, energy storage at lithium producer Albemarle, explained that lithium mineral occurs naturally in three sources: hard rock, brines and sedimentary resources (clays).

While each source has potential for extraction, they vary in how the lithium is bound in each source, the concentration of lithium and the impurities that might have a downstream impact on extraction and processing. Dan Alessi, a professor in the University of Alberta’s department of earth and atmospheric sciences, said that currently, there are two major conventional sources of lithium: one, the fluids located beneath salt flats in locations such as South America, where miners drill “a modest distance” into the subsurface, and where the lithium concentrations are quite high; and two, igneous rocks in locations like Western Australia. After being dug out of the ground and crushed, acid is used to leach out the lithium from the ore, and that lithium solution is sent off to places such as China for further processing to make the lithium salts used by battery manufacturers.

Lithium extraction from clay

A different type of lithium deposit can be found in the sedimentary basins where one also finds oil and gas (including in western Canada). Alongside the hydrocarbons being produced, a highly salty brine – many times the salinity of the ocean – also contains relatively low concentrations of lithium, under 0.01 per cent or 50-150 parts per million. According to Alessi, some of this water returns up the wellbore along with the hydrocarbons. “This water contains relatively low concentrations of lithium, and high concentrations of other ions such as sodium and chloride,” he said. “A highly selective extraction process –one that targets lithium and leaves everything else behind in the brine – is required to economically target the lithium. These processes are generally called ‘direct lithium extraction’ or DLE processes. Developing a DLE process that can be economically scaled to a commercial process is among the greatest current challenges in building an industry around lithium-bearing brines in sedimentary rocks.”

In comparison, the lithium contained in the inter-layers of clays, deposits of which are found in volcanic terrains mostly in the western United States and Mexico, is typically also low concentration – about 0.7 per cent, but often less (higher than in brines, but lower than in many hard-rock mine sources) – and can

Albemarle’s Silver Peak lithium mine in Nevada is the only producing lithium mine in North America; the company is evaluating technology to produce lithium from clay resources in the region.

be more challenging to separate from the source. With a more dilute concentration, Merfeld said that the technology needs to advance to ensure that lithium can be extracted from clay in an economically viable fashion. “Process viability must consider not only cost but also the energy and freshwater requirements as well as associated greenhouse gas emissions,” he explained.

Albemarle is investing US$180 million in a new technology park in North Carolina, which will focus on materials research, advanced process development, and bringing next-generation lithium products to market as part of the company’s electric vehicle supply chain “mine-to-market” innovation strategy.

Lisa Stillings, who works with the Geology, Minerals, Energy, Geophysics Science Center at the U.S. Geological Survey, said that current methods of extracting lithium from clay are variations on a well-established technique: calcining the clay at high temperature and then leaching it with acid. Stillings added that the heating step is now commonly avoided because it can be costly. Merfeld pointed out that the production of a lithium solution is only the first step. Next, one must address any impurities that make their way into the mixture, but removing those impurities can impact the lithium concentration and purity.

Alessi likened this heating and leaching method to hitting something with a hammer. “You’ll recover half or more of the lithium, but when you expose the clay to an acid, you get a bunch of other stuff, including aluminum, magnesium, sodium and maybe even a bit of silica,” he said. “What it means is that the downstream processing of it, you have to do more purification and it’s more costly.”

But Tesla, highly invested in EV battery production, has suggested another method that might work: the use of simple table salt, sodium chloride (NaCl), to extract lithium from clay minerals. Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk, has explained that the more traditional extraction method of heating and leaching also leads to a high concentration of impurities, and that the subsequent removal of those impurities leads to lithium loss. Tesla’s new method involves, in Musk’s words, “providing a clay mineral comprising lithium, mixing a cation [positively charged ion] source [NaCl] with the clay mineral, performing a high-energy mill of the clay mineral, and performing a liquid leach to obtain a lithium-rich solution.”

Alessi described this process as a cation exchange; when lithium is contained in weakly bound interlayers of clay in a salty solution, both with cations, it essentially kicks the lithium out of the clay’s layers and into the solution – while leaving most of the impurities behind. “The idea is that if we can do this, we’ll get a much purer lithium-concentrate solution that will be easier to process downstream for making the salt we need for the batteries,” he said. The process is even more complicated and requires a more complex extraction, however, when lithium is not bound in these weak layers but rather contained in the crystal structure of the clay itself. “Right now, there’s a lot of technological development around how to best get the lithium out of these clays with minimal energy input and with a minimal environmental impact,” he explained. The environmental impact of these processes needs to take multiple factors into account, including the energy input and the nature of the chemical agents required for extraction.

Tesla has also touted the potential cost effectiveness of this method of extraction, claiming a possible 33 per cent reduction in lithium costs. And while this may still be theoretical, Tesla has acquired 10,000 acres in Nevada with the intention to mine

lithium using this new technique. In this process, the clay would be physically removed and put into an extraction process to selectively recover the lithium.

Canadian-led initiatives

Not far from that parcel of land in Nevada, Canadian miner Spearmint Resources is also hoping to do its own part to help revolutionize extraction of lithium at its Clayton Valley projects. The company has three separate claim blocks in Nevada, including two lithium-clay projects (McGee and Green Clay) covering almost 3,000 acres, plus a 280-acre lithium-brine project (Elon). According to the June 2022 NI 43-101 report, the McGee lithium clay deposit has 1,369,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (Li2CO3) at 300 parts per million (ppm) out of 320 million tonnes and 723,000 inferred tonnes of Li2CO3 at 300 ppm out of 157 million tonnes. Mining costs are expected to be US$2.50 per tonne and with an 80 per cent recovery rate, the site is expected to generate US$14,000 in revenue per tonne of Li2CO3.

Next door to Spearmint’s property, Cypress Development, another Canadian company, is developing its own Clayton Valley lithium project, which includes both lithium-bearing claystone and a brine field.

James Nelson, president of Spearmint Resources, has pointed to the U.S. emphasis on securing a domestic supply of critical minerals, including lithium. “Our goal is to develop this deposit with the hope to secure a domestic source of lithium right in the heart of the Clayton Valley, Nevada, one of the top lithium districts in the world.” He noted that lithium prices were up 900 per cent since the start of 2021. And he referenced the Defense Production Act signed by U.S. President Joe Biden, which is intended to increase the domestic production of strategic and critical minerals, including lithium.

It is that eye-popping price increase (though prices have recently dipped) that has so many miners looking for alternate sources of lithium. Alessi said that resource assessments have shown for decades that there is lithium in clay deposits. But the idea of targeting them as a resource is relatively new, and the rising cost of lithium has people thinking about all kinds of formerly cost-prohibitive extractions. “[Lithium] has been over US$60,000 dollars for a while now per metric tonne of lithium carbonate equivalent,” said Alessi. “You go back just a few years, and it was US$10,000 a tonne. It’s this price that’s driving the eyes to start to wander to resources that aren’t as rich, that aren’t as obvious or might be a little bit more cost intensive. Because there’s a supply gap coming on the horizon that needs to be filled by something.”

Rob Bowell, a geochemist who works with SRK Consulting in Cardiff, U.K., cautioned against excessive hype, suggesting that while appetites are healthy, we do not live in the future quite yet. “I think the demand is real but I think that infrastructure is not ready globally for so many electric cars,” he said. But exploration of environmentally less-damaging, more cost-effective lithium extraction seems like a key part of laying the groundwork for that eventual revolution.

But as interest in all sources of lithium intensifies, Alessi sees the potential. “There’s a lot of lithium in clays, although the concentration is usually low relative to other conventional sources," he explained. "Lithium in clay could supply a significant amount of the total lithium demand if a low-cost and environmentally sound extraction technology that can be commercialized at scale is developed.” CIM

Finding common ground

Agreements with Indigenous communities in Canada are evolving into sophisticated partnerships

By Dinah Zeldin

The Tahltan Nation’s involvement in mining began several thousand years ago with the extraction of obsidian from Mount Edziza, a 2,787 metre peak in a remote region of northwestern British Columbia. Since a small gold rush to the Stikine River in 1861 brought in both “modern” mining and smallpox devastation, resource extraction activity on Tahltan traditional territory ebbed and flowed, its costs to the land and its people often outweighing the benefits. Today, the Tahltan Central Government (TCG) plays a growing role in selecting and developing partnerships with mining companies on its territory, which spans 9,593,300 hectares, occupying 11 per cent of British Columbia and extending into the Yukon.

Although the Tahltan are among the most experienced at negotiating with mining companies on their land, Indigenous communities across the country are gaining experience in this space, often turning to consultants for additional support.

“We have worked with 129 communities this year,” said Ginger Gibson, a director, and impact benefits agreement (IBA) team lead at The Firelight Group, a 65 per cent Indigenous-owned research and technical services company. “Nations [governments] are very organized and are sophisticated in knowing what they want with respect to mineral-resource tenure and mineral-resource issues.”

In more than a decade of experience supporting the negotiation of IBAs, Gibson has seen a shift towards more complex, detailed and individually tailored arrangements.

“What should be included is whatever the parties agree on and think is important. No two agreements look alike, unless they have been cookie-cuttered, in which case they usually don’t work for people,” she said.

According to Gibson, Canada’s Impact Assessment, which came into force in August 2019, replacing the 2012 Canadian Environmental Assessment, “actually requires that people are better off because of a project.”

In order for projects to meet this requirement, Gibson said companies need to allow Indigenous communities time to define their needs and objectives. “It takes years of back and forth,” she explained. “I was involved in one negotiation that took four years, where we had 16 negotiators come to our meeting.”

Across the country, mining companies with projects at all stages of development, and Indigenous communities with various levels of expertise in the space, are working together and investing the time to negotiate mutually beneficial arrangements.

A partnership in progress

One partnership in progress is the evolving relationship between the TCG and Skeena Resources, whose Eskay Creek project, an open-pit gold and silver mine in the Golden Triangle of northwestern B.C., plans to produce over 8,000 tonnes per day for nine years. The project, which consists of revitalizing what was once the world’s highest-grade producing underground gold mine, released a positive feasibility study in 2022. It is situated

The groundbreaking ceremony at Greenstone Gold Mines only came after years of engagement with the Animbiigoo Zaagi’igan Anishinaabek (AZA) First Nation, the Aroland First Nation, the Ginoogaming First Nation, the Long Lake #58 First Nation, and members of the Métis Nation of Ontario.

within the traditional territory of the Tahltan Nation and the asserted traditional territory of the Skii km Lax Ha Nation.

In March 2021, the TCG invested $5 million in Skeena, purchasing 1,597,138 “Tahltan investment rights.” The rights will automatically convert into common shares over the next three years.

“In partnering with Skeena, the Tahltan Nation is evolving and taking significant steps forward by becoming meaningful equity partners in these projects,” said Chad Norman Day, TCG president. “Ownership provides the Tahltan Nation with a strong seat at the table as we continue our pursuit towards capacity building and economic independence for the Tahltan people.”

Deepening the relationship, Skeena Resources signed a Process Charter in January 2023, which outlines how the company will collaborate with the TCG and the Government of British Columbia on a TCG-led environmental assessment (EA) process. The agreement marks a significant step in implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), which the province codified in 2019. It also makes Eskay Creek the first mining project in Canada to have permits authorized by an Indigenous government.

Laying the foundations for successful collaboration

Although the negotiation of formal agreements with local First Nations is still in progress, Skeena has made an effort to integrate Tahltan members into its leadership team. In fall 2022, the company recruited Nalaine Morin, a nationally recognized environmental consultant and 2021 Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) Skookum Jim Award recipient, who previously served as the TCG lands director, as its vice-president of sustainability.

“Efforts are being made to move towards what I would define as a sustainable mining project,” she said. “[These include] building in opportunities to see Tahltan [members] develop and mature throughout the project’s life cycle through things like the mentorship program, and the collaborative efforts between the company and the Tahltan government to establish a land conservancy.”

The mentorship program was developed in 2020 with the goal of building “Eskay Creek and Skeena’s future management team from within the Tahltan Nation,” according to the company’s inaugural environmental, social and governance (ESG) report. There are currently several Tahltan [members] participating, including junior chemical, computer and electrical engineers, as well as others in various trades.

For Morin, the program is innovative because of its Tahltan heritage component. “It includes opportunities to be in the community, to be with the youth, to learn about the Tahltan traditions,” she explained. “The individuals in this mentorship program are getting a very unique and well-rounded experience.”

The land conservancy Morin mentioned was created as a result of a Tahltan-led project to protect sacred land known as Ice Mountain Lands. It is a 3,500 hectare stretch on the eastern slope of Mount Edziza that was left out of Mount Edziza Provincial Park to allow for mineral exploration. Now known as the Tenh Dẕetle Conservancy, the Indigenous-protected area was established after Skeena returned the mineral tenures for its Spectrum mineral claim as part of an agreement between the Tahltan, the province and conservation groups.

According to Morin, the leadership roles that the Tahltan are taking at Skeena are part of the nation’s long-term strategy. “The

Tahltan Nation certainly saw themselves moving into decisionmaking roles in all aspects of projects on their territory,” she said. “They are building up their capacity to support this.”

When asked what motivated her move from the TCG to a mining company, Morin said, “It was an opportunity to work with a company to further develop a number of the principles that we understand under reconciliation for Canadians. We are doing the work required to build relationships with nations. And that is a large part of what is happening on projects across the country, at various stages of their lifecycle.”

Building up internal resources

For Jason Rasevych, partner in financial services and national Indigenous client services lead at Deloitte, while there remains a lot to be done in terms of sensitizing companies to the importance of building meaningful relationships with Indigenous communities, increased focus on social licence from both government and investors is pushing many to step up programs to support Indigenous communities.

Part of Rasevych’s mandate is working with mining companies on the development of their Indigenous relations strategies.

“More and more companies are now looking for strategic advice on Indigenous relations,” he said. “They say, ‘I want to build a relationship with this community, how do I do it?’ And there really isn’t a textbook for this, there are some guidelines for sure, but every community is autonomous and has its own political relations and objectives.”

According to a Moody’s ESG report, companies have boosted programs to support Indigenous communities, with Teck Resources reporting the most activity followed by Cameco Corporation. Teck was the only mining company identified as having a specific structure for Indigenous relations, stated alignment with UNDRIP, respectful relationships with affected communities, education on working with Indigenous people for management and staff, and efforts towards equity and joint venture opportunities.

Rasevych commented that this data may not tell the full story, but he has seen a shift in approaches. “It is based on existing standards for ESG reporting,” he explained. “It does not take into account the impact or the depth of the program.”

However, he has worked with the Vancouver-based mining giant on developing internal education programs to help its leadership and staff better understand the context of working with Indigenous peoples. “Teck is attempting to do more cultural awareness and education, which has an effect on making a more diversified and safe workplace for all peoples,” he said.

When working with companies to structure their Indigenous relations programming, Rasevych advises they reach out to community leadership as early as possible in their exploration programs and be flexible with timelines to allow resource-strapped governments time to respond.

“There really isn’t a textbook for this… every community is autonomous and has its own political relations and objectives.”

– J. Rasevych, Deloitte

“Communities in Ontario that have treaties have to deal with the Indian Act, which limits how they are able to deal with emergencies and infrastructure issues. A lot of remote First Nations are on expensive, polluting, diesel generators. There are high costs of living in terms of food in local stores, they have multiple health issues, some of them have the highest suicide rates in Canada,” he explained. “A company cannot just come in and say: ‘You have to respond in 30 or 60 or 90 days. Here is the project description. You have to read it all, understand all the technical aspects of it. We would like to get your feedback and we would like your cultural values with that.’ That is a transaction that doesn’t speak to relationships.”

Taking time to craft a tailored approach

Rasevych pointed to the Greenstone gold mine, a project in the traditional territory of his First Nation, the Ginoogaming, as an example of a successful agreement that started with early engagement. The 60/40 partnership between Equinox Gold and Orion Mine Finance Group is an open-pit operation expected to produce an average of 366,000 ounces of gold annually over its 14-year mine life making it one of Canada’s largest gold mines. The 60/40 partnership between Equinox Gold and Orion Mine Finance Group is an open-pit operation expected to produce an average of 366,000 ounces of gold annually over its 14-year mine life, making it one of Canada’s largest gold mines. It is located in the municipality of Greenstone, about 250 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay. It is located in the municipality of Greenstone, about 250 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay, Ontario.

It has taken nearly 20 years and multiple owners for the Greenstone project to advance from exploration to construction, and the Ginoogaming First Nation has been involved from the outset.

The project is also situated on the traditional territories of three other First Nations – Animbiigoo Zaagi’igan Anishinaabek (AZA), Aroland First Nation, and Long Lake #58 First Nation –and impacts the Métis Nation of Ontario. Construction began in

the fall of 2021 and Greenstone reports it is on track to pour gold in the first half of 2024.

“Before the project even began, our elders were brought together, and we took out maps and went out to the area to identify where they did their traditional ceremonies, hunting and gathering,” recalled Animbiigoo Zaagi’igan Anishinaabek Chief Theresa Nelson. “We pinpointed areas in which we utilized the land, and if there was anything they could do to avoid it, they did.”

From 2013 to 2018, Greenstone was involved in negotiating agreements with each of the communities impacted by the project. The company provided funding for communities to hire outside experts for support.

“All of the agreements are a little bit different, as they are based on what each nation wanted,” said Greenstone general manager Eric Lamontagne.

According to Lamontagne, the most challenging aspects of the negotiation were the financial-compensation structure and the procurement opportunities. Greenstone’s team wanted to compensate based on earnings instead of offering a royalty, while community leaders preferred more certainty. When it came to procurement, the First Nations wanted more business, especially earthworks and concrete contracts.

“We gave more set-asides and more preferred business opportunities,” explained Lamontagne. “Because both sides compromised, we were able to build a package together.”

Hiring and procurement

Greenstone made it a priority to make opportunities accessible to local Indigenous communities. Today, 30 per cent of the mine’s staff are Indigenous community members, working in various positions throughout the mine.

“We work together on a day-to-day basis, so they know our hiring needs on a monthly basis,” Lamontagne explained.

To keep things running smoothly, Greenstone created implementation committees, composed of its Indigenous relations team and representatives from each community, for whom the company funds a full-time position in their governments’ administration. The committees meet monthly to discuss employment, training and procurement opportunities, and to address any concerns the communities or the company might have.

The company is also leading the development of a cultural awareness training program for all employees.

“There were a couple of people that were struggling with some of our cultural values, and myself and Eric Lamontagne were discussing that maybe we should have some kind of cultural sensitivity training,” Chief Nelson recalled.

Greenstone approached Lakehead University to develop a general piece on cross-cultural awareness, which was provided to the First Nations for review. Each nation was also asked to provide its own content.

“If someone comes in from another country, it gives them a bit of insight into who we are, how to approach First Nations, what is appropriate and what is not, and the reasons we have such a good agreement. It is really well done,” said Chief Nelson.

The communities are still completing their portions, but once the program is put together all Greenstone employees will participate in a day of cultural-awareness training, according to Daniel Gagné, Greenstone’s senior manager of Indigenous relations.

For Gagné, the biggest lesson learned during the mine’s construction phase was the importance of procurement in establishing good business relations. “I think this was a very important

An Indigenous Tahltan Nation Development Corporation employee operating equipment at a TNDC worksite. The TNDC, with 319 employees in 2022 – 71 per cent of those identifying as Indigenous – provides key services to Skeena Resources as well as other mines and projects in the Tahltan territory.

Courtesy of Tahltan Nation Development Corporation

aspect for Indigenous communities. ” he said. “We had to make sure to provide notice well in advance so the communities would have time to prepare and find partners.”

According to Chief Nelson, her nation’s agreement with Greenstone specified that the company would work collaboratively to identify opportunities for joint ventures with suppliers, and would give the First Nations preferential treatment on openbid contracts.

“Eventually we did manage to get almost everything we asked for,” she said. “It was tricky. Since there were other communities, we had to think about who would do what, and really go back and forth.”

Environmental protection and monitoring

Greenstone’s site was occupied by historic underground gold mines from the late 1930s until about 1970. Although reclamation work was done in the 1990s, the lake around the mine is still contaminated with arsenic.

“It was one of the commitments of our environmental assessment to improve the quality of the water in Lake Kenogamisis with the project,” said Gagné. “The first thing we did at the beginning of construction was build a temporary water-treatment facility.” Today, the permanent facility is in operation, treating all contact water from the new mine and also water from the tailings from historic mines.

Greenstone also made accommodations to its project plan to protect another lake in the area. During its EA, the company learned that the project’s tailings location would impact a creek that flowed into a small lake. To avoid that, the company designed a series of dams to divert the flow of water.

As per the agreements, the company provides the surrounding communities with regular and transparent updates about environmental monitoring. Greenstone has a team of eight technicians, five of whom are from each of the affected communities. The First Nations and Métis technicians spend four days of each week at the site and one day reporting back to their communities. The technicians are community employees working as technicians for and funded by Greenstone mine.

“In past projects, when I saw people from communities involved in environmental surveying, they were coming as witnesses, but in this model, we are building capacity by having community members do the work,” said Gagné. “It’s really exciting to see how well this works.”

Growing together

“We are now building an even stronger partnership,” said Lamontagne. “We approach the Indigenous communities with other business opportunities not in the original agreements.”

The four First Nations joined forces to create Kenogamisis Investment Corporation (KIC), an economic development corporation to pool resources and invest in larger projects. Greenstone works closely with communities to identify and support initiatives, at times providing land, taking an active role in negotiations with other parties, and even making the initial investment in a project and offering the communities a chance to progressively advance towards full ownership.

Some of the projects include relocating a police station and giving its ownership to the four KIC First Nations partners so the communities could earn a rental income and develop more positive relationships with local law enforcement; acquiring an assay lab, which will do all Greenstone’s analysis; and develop-

ing a 10-megawatt solar farm that will supply some of the mine’s power.

The communities are also leading their own projects with funds acquired from procurement contracts they completed.

“There have been so many spinoffs from the mine,” said Chief Nelson. “We are working towards biofuel and biochar with the forestry boards I sit on. There is going to be a need for a fuel depot, and a transloading station. We are working on partnering with CP Rail or CN to build a railway to take out product.”

Lamontagne is also preparing to ramp up hiring at Greenstone, increasing the workforce from 150 to 350 in 2023.

Chief Nelson is satisfied with how things are progressing. AZA was included in the Robinson-Superior Treaty in 1850 without its consent or knowledge, and has never ceded its lands to the Crown. The nation engaged in negotiations from 1991 to 2008 to obtain a reserve. “We always had our land base… We now have our land code, we have our financial management completed, and we are just starting to build houses,” she said. “All these things that we are building, we are going to have to pay for ourselves, so the money coming in is important for what we are doing now.”

AZA is currently involved in negotiations with Landore Resources related to a proposed lithium mine. “We will be taking the lead in most of the negotiations as there is a lot of experience,” she explained. “There are always going to be challenges because it is a new mine, and new people. It is just about finding the right way forward.” CIM

A Tahltan member with Tahltan ERM Environmental Management samples groundwater on a project in Tahltan Territory.

Kiena digs deeper

Wesdome Gold Mines sets up historic Quebec gold producer for a new future

By Carolyn Gruske

Just before CIM Magazine went to press, Wesdome Gold Mines announced that its company president and CEO, and our primary source for this article, Duncan Middlemiss, had resigned.

Middlemiss’s resignation follows on the release of the company’s fourth-quarter and full-year 2022 production results and 2023 guidance, which was issued on January 17, 2023. The report was a difficult one for the company. Beyond the delays at Kiena that Middlemiss notes in our profile, Wesdome’s main producer, Eagle River in Ontario, underperformed due to “the variability of the Falcon Zone, which negatively impacted our ability to accurately forecast near-term production” and production in Q4 fell short of expectations, partially because of “severe snowstorms hindering [Wesdome’s] ability to truck the high-grade ore to the mill.”

The company’s total gold production fell just over 10 per cent in 2022, from 123,843 ounces in 2021 to 110,850 ounces last year.

Wesdome’s board chair, Warwick Morley-Jepson, will serve as interim president and CEO. He previously held senior management positions with Ivanhoe Mines and Kinross Gold. Middlemiss will act in an advisory role for a short-term basis. The company has begun its search for a permanent successor.

Every mine has its own threshold for declaring itself ready for commercial production. The milestone that Wesdome Gold Mines used to say that the Kiena gold mine – a historic producer located near Val d’Or, Quebec – was ready was when the mine was able to return material removed from the ground back below the surface.

“We did not have a paste fill system before. Historically, they had hydraulic fill, but we knew that wasn’t going to cut the mustard for us, so we went ahead and built the paste fill plant. We commissioned the paste fill plant, and that was a trigger for commercial production for us, because we recognized that was going to be a key component for Kiena to be successful,” explained Wesdome president and CEO Duncan Middlemiss.

The official date marking the start of commercial production, Dec. 1, 2022, came roughly six months later than Wesdome had originally planned, but pandemic-related delays pushed the timeframe back. Specifically, Middlemiss cited shortages in labour, in mobile-fleet equipment and, most notably, electrical drives within the motor control centre that were due to be installed in the paste fill system as the cause for the delay.

But now that commercial production has begun, Middlemiss said Kiena’s development plan is starting to get back on track. Ramp development will reach the 129 level by the end of this

The Kiena gold mine has been in and out of production since the 1930s. Wesdome Gold Mines has begun commercial production once again. Plans for 2023 include driving the ramp deeper at the mine.

year. The complete five-sublevel mining front from the 123 sublevel will allow for bottom-up mining, which allows for optimal ground and ore control.

The company still expects to meet its prefeasibility study targets of 80,000 to 100,000 ounces of gold per year in 2024.

A history of changing hands

Kiena is situated right next to Lac de Montigny – so close, in fact, that the mine’s shaft is located across the shallow lake on Parker Island, which is connected to the mainland via an artificial causeway. Kiena’s first incarnation as a working mine was a brief one, which began in 1936 and lasted until 1940. Following that, no mining occurred on the site until October 1981. That was when Falconbridge, which had taken over Kiena’s original owner, Ventures Ltd., in 1962, reopened the mine. Then, in 1986, Falconbridge sold the majority of its interest in Kiena to Campbell Red Lake Gold Mines, a year before the new owner joined with two other companies and formed Placer Dome Mines.

“I believe Placer Dome had a pretty good run, even though it wasn’t very high grade. The head grade at the mine was four-and-a-half grams, which, at that point in time in the gold market was fairly low grade, especially for underground,” said Middlemiss. Placer Dome ran the operation from 1988 to 1997 when it sold the mine to McWatters Mining, which kept the mine open until 2002 when the company declared bankruptcy, in large part due to the low price of gold. According to the 2015 Kiena Technical Report, between October 1981 and September 2002, the Kiena mine produced a total of 1.56 million ounces of gold from 10.7 million tonnes of ore grading at an average of 4.54 grams per tonne (g/t).

Wesdome acquired the property in December 2003 and began commercial production in 2006. Prior to going into care and maintenance in 2013, Kiena produced 198,708 ounces of gold from 1,826,500 tonnes of ore at an average grade of 3.38 g/t.

In 2017, shortly after Middlemiss took the lead at Wesdome, the company extended the Kiena ramp deeper. The former bottom working level of the mine was 1,000 metres, and the new ramp extension is now 200 metres lower, he explained. “What

Kiena gold mine

we could see was that we were getting successive intercepts all the way down to 1,600 to 1,700 metres below the surface. We knew there was something there, but it wasn’t until we really got the ramp in place that we were able to piece it together.”

That understanding allowed the company to begin the reporting needed to prove redevelopment of the mine was worthwhile. It filed a mineral resource estimate in 2019, then followed up with a preliminary economic assessment in 2020, and in January 2021, signed off on an updated resource estimate. Then, finally, in June 2021, Wesdome issued a prefeasibility study for the Kiena mine complex. Among the highlights of the report were a life-of-mine plan for a seven-year operation recovering 83,574 ounces per year at a cost of $187.71 per tonne of ore and an expected capital cost of $231.8 million. Kiena’s Indicated resource estimate came in showing a total tonnage of 1,790,600 tonnes resulting in 796,000 ounces of gold at an average grade of 13.83 g/t. The Inferred totals were 657,600 ounces of gold at an average grade of 5.98 g/t out of 3,420,500 total tonnes.

Geology

The double-digit grade is a departure from the much lower historic grades that were previously associated with Kiena, but, according to Middlemiss, that makes perfect sense. The lower depths being explored in what Kiena calls its A Zone are allowing Wesdome to tap into a different mineral source.

“The mineralized structure went between two major faults on the property, the Norbenite and the Marbenite faults, which are parallel to the Cadillac break. Most of the mining had been done on those two faults, so to have mineralization in the corridor between the faults is something new. The historic mineralization at Kiena was a brecciated sulfidated ore zone [with a] low grade of four-and-a-half grams and not much visible gold at all. Then all of a sudden, we started pulling out this core with this gold in a quartz vein and really spectacular visible gold –very nuggety. And it was really exciting. It resonated with the market and that was certainly good news for us, and gave us more confidence.”

Wesdome is also exploring the surrounding area, and so far, the company is encouraged by what it is seeing, specifically in the Martin zone, which is about one kilometre east of Kiena’s shaft and the site of the former Martin mine, and the Presqu’île zone two kilometres west of Kiena.

“We’re going to look at advanced exploration of Presqu’île and tying it in with the ramp, which will extend to surface,” said Middlemiss.

In September 2022, Wesdome reported that Presqu’île’s narrow, subparallel zones are hosted by a porphyritic basalt and are proximal to a sheared mafic-ultramafic contact. The company also restated the area’s Inferred resource estimate of 353,000 tonnes grading at 7.1 g/t totalling 80,600 ounces of gold.

Refurbishment and redevelopment

Given its history of production, Kiena had a very complete infrastructure, which allowed Wesdome to undertake a program that mainly involved updating and upgrading, rather than wholesale replacing and creating new installations from scratch.

Some of those improvements included adding a digital hoist drive, upgrading the water treatment plant with a reverse

Source: Wesdome Gold Mines

osmosis system and refurbishing the mill and installing new control systems. “It just needed some tender loving care,” said Middlemiss, pointing out that the mill is a bit unusual for the geology of the mining site.

“It’s a CIP circuit – carbon in pulp. Normally, you build a CIP to mitigate what they call preg-robbing. The pregnant solution is the solution with the gold in solution. When you have things like graphite and natural organic carbon, it really kills your recovery. CIP gives it a pre-leach and mitigates that. However, to my knowledge, we’ve never had any kind of preg-robbing issues at Kiena. But it seems that was the type of mill they were building in northwestern Quebec in the early ’80s.”

He added that despite the oddity of the circuit (which also includes a SAG mill, a ball mill with a two-stage cyclone, and a thickener), Wesdome was not going to replace it, as it achieved over 98 per cent recovery in free-milling ore and operated efficiently. Currently it is running on a four-day-on-three-day-off schedule, but it has the capacity to operate at 1,000 tonnes of dry ore per day without pre-crushing.

Wesdome also digitalized the entire Kiena property, creating a digital twin. “That’s been huge. I’d say it’s a big benefit for the exploration effort, especially the regional exploration effort, because you’re able to spin things around and look at things very holistically," said Middlemiss.

The tailings facility also got an update to ensure that it would be capable of keeping up with the mine production through the life of mine (and contain approximately 1.5 million tonnes of tailings) and to raise it to the level of today’s safety standards. To ensure the stability of the waste containment facilities, Wesdome used deep soil mixing where, Middlemiss explained, “large diameter holes are bored through overburden down to the bedrock. Then you inject those with grout or cement and what you have are large stabilizing pillars.”

Paste fill plant

Beyond the upgrades, there are also new additions to Kiena. The mine now has Ethernet running down the shaft giving Kiena Wi-Fi underground, but the most important of the new features is the paste fill plant.

With a capacity of around 1,200 tonnes per day, and the ability to divert significant output away from tailings, the paste fill system is helping the mine cut back on waste and creating a needed product. “I’m not a paste fill engineer,” said Middlemiss, “but from what I understand, it’s a really good product, and we certainly see that underground.”

The paste fill system was constructed to include a thickener, an agitated tailings storage tank, a sand system and a binder system. There is also an underground piping system.

The price tag for all of the improvements was $250 million. With its Eagle River gold mine located near Wawa, Ontario, an active producer of approximately 100,000 ounces per year, Wesdome had the capital to invest in the project. Wesdome also has the benefit of a $150 million revolving credit facility.

2023 and beyond

While the mill has the throughput capacity of 2,000 tonnes per day, it is currently handling approximately 800, and that is according to plan, said Middlemiss. “2023 is really a consolidation year for us because we need to continue the ramp development down into the A Zone. We need to continue the in-mine exploration. At the end of the year, we’re going to be established in the heart of the A Zone, where the bulk of the gold is. Where we are now is much leaner. 2024 is really when we get into the bulk of the gold and we’ll be at prefeasibility levels, producing anywhere from 80,000 ounces to 100,000 ounces. Then, all of a sudden, Kiena becomes a pretty interesting mine.” CIM

The Kiena site is split into two parts by Lac de Montigny. The shaft is located on Parker Island, which is joined to the mainland by an artifical causeway.

Courtesy of Wesdome Gold Mines

Flotation’s new frontier

New flotation technologies work to bring savings on costs and energy with greater recoveries

By Tijana Mitrovic

For a long time, “go big or go home” was the name of the game in flotation. Since the early 1900s, flotation has traditionally progressed by making flotation tanks increasingly larger to process more and more ore.

“As plants got bigger and bigger, we needed bigger and bigger equipment, and so the flotation cells themselves just got bigger. It didn’t really work,” explained David Hatton, flotation development manager at Woodgrove Technologies. “You’ve got massive flotation cells of up to 600 cubic metres. You need to use a huge amount of energy to keep particles in suspension so they don’t drop to the bottom.”

Companies working on flotation technology have been moving away from the “bigger is better” mentality for some time, and are shifting focus to products and technology that are more efficient, whether it be in the space they occupy or the energy they use, or that are simply collecting more data more accurately.

An eye on efficiency

One way to improve efficiency is by having an in-depth understanding of your flotation performance, said Geoffrey Legrand, senior lead design engineer at Metso Outotec. This knowledge helps operators maximize their performance by knowing what they need to change and when. And according to him, the company has a product to help do just that.

Metso Outotec’s FrothSense+ is a vision system for flotation analysis that helps improve performance and recovery by monitoring froth properties for changes. Optimizing the froth layer can be tricky, as the mineralized bubbles and particles can lead to entrainment or losses by bursting. “It is a challenging process,

The Eriez HydroFloat has a long track record in potash and phosphate operations for coarse particle flotation, but, according to Eriez, it is well suited to metal recovery as well and, when added to the end of the flotation process, can improve copper recovery by four to six per cent.

Courtesy of Eriez

and we need to have a better knowledge of what is happening in real-time to control it,” said Legrand. “FrothSense+ can provide this kind of data, and with it, we can measure mineral flotation performance accurately.”

This kind of vision system for flotation has been deployed for many years, and Legrand said that it has become essential for

providing input for flotation control. Born of two legacy products, FrothSense and VisioFroth, FrothSense+ monitors and measures froth properties such as velocity, bubble size, froth height and more.

One new feature is the neural network, which uses artificial intelligence with deep learning algorithms to detect and analyze froth properties. For example, the device could detect if the froth collapses or if the froth level sinks too low in the cell, leaving the cell lip visible. “Generally, if we have any repeatable and clearly visible property that can be captured in images, then it could be identified by a neural network trained specifically for this task,” Legrand explained. “For instance, we could expect to identify any clear change caused by a change in mineral type.”

A significant benefit is real-time analysis. Whereas plant operators often visually assess the froth, the FrothSense+ camera analyzes its video stream in real-time. According to Legrand, this is critical to stabilizing and optimizing the flotation process, as it helps keep a continuous eye, allowing operators to react to changes immediately and minimizing human error.

“We could have an operator looking at the froth continuously, but it would be difficult and tedious,” said Legrand. “Because we can analyze the picture dozens of times per second, we can really provide an overview of the change of the froth characteristic in real-time, and the operator or advanced process control system can use these measurements to react as needed to maintain the final concentrate quality while maximizing the recovery.”

Solving a problem by removing it

On the other side of froth is a company that is putting a new spin on an old process by removing the froth layer from the flotation process completely.

FrothSense+ uses a neural network to analyze and detect visual changes to froth properties.

Courtesy of Metso Outotec

The direct flotation reactor does away with the froth layer completely to improve recovery.

Courtesy of Woodgrove Technologies

“One of the most common problems our operators struggle with is how to keep that froth level stable,” said Tuhin Banerjee, vice-president at Woodgrove Technologies. “If that level is unstable, then it impacts your recovery and your froth quality.”

What if they could recover mineralized bubbles without the froth forming? Banerjee said that question gave rise to the direct flotation reactor (DFR). “We kept our particle collection unit and bubble disengagement unit the same,” he explained. “But instead of allowing a froth to form, we put in a pump at the lab scale and a valve at industrial scale on the top of the DFR to regulate how much material we take off.”

During the particle collection phase, bubbles are removed and collected in the vessel’s lower half, then recovered at the top of the vessel. “We’ve focused the energy so that it’s not just keeping particles in suspension,” Hatton explained. “It’s really to promote particle bubble contacting and then get your recovery.”

Hatton said Woodgrove’s technology allows them to optimize each zone individually, from particle bubble contacting to froth recovery, to improve the entire flotation process. This has even helped them float coarse particles of up to half a millimetre. “Because we could control [the environment], we could make sure that that environment is not too turbulent that those particles break off,” he explained. “We could then optimize the flows in our froth region or our bubble bed region. That allows us to take flotation outside of its normal range, but still incorporate typical flotation mechanisms in there.”

“There is no froth; it just gradually transitions. It’s a bubbly flow regime. Operationally, that’s a big value add,” Banerjee said. “We expect that these circuits, especially when rolled out on a wide scale, will be easier to manage in terms of handling disturbances. It makes it a bit more robust, irrespective of what’s feeding it.”

Woodgrove is currently working with clients whose power is generated using diesel generators, where energy savings can have an environmental benefit as well. “If you can cut the energy cost by half, that’s quite an achievement, and that’s just on the flotation cells themselves.” Banerjee said. “There was a company doing a trade-off analysis on using the DFR versus conventional flotation, and this was in a cold climate, so they would have to heat the building. The savings on heating costs alone paid for the project.”

According to Hatton, the DFR can help companies save in more ways than one. “It’s not just the heating of a building; there’s less concrete required to make a plant and to set where all the equipment goes,” Hatton said. “So [there are] space savings, energy savings, and from an environmental perspective, savings on water.”

Staying the course on coarse particle flotation

Eriez has recently teamed up with Weir Minerals on a cooperative agreement to design coarse particle flotation systems.

Eric Wasmund, vice-president of global flotation business at Eriez, said that the two companies have been working together informally over several years and, realizing they have complementary products, decided to work together to take a systems approach to coarse particle flotation.

Per the agreement, Weir’s experts work on technologies such as Eriez’s HydroFloat and StackCell products with Eriez experts, such as Jose Concha, global product manager HydroFloat CPF. Concha said that the HydroFloat, a coarse particle flotation machine, has already been used in potash and phosphate applications for 20 years.

The metallurgical benefits can be significant. When deployed at copper mines, Wasmund and Concha said that putting a HydroFloat at the end of a conventional flotation process can help recover around an additional four to six per cent of copper.

“[It leads] to better use of our natural resources and improves revenue and profitability of mining projects,” Concha explained. “[With HydroFloat], we are adding value to the companies, improving their profitability and also helping them develop more sustainable projects.”

Where conventional cells do everything in a single stage, the StackCell is a two-stage mechanical cell. Eriez designed the product to do flotation in two separate steps, one that maximizes particle collection with bubbles and one that optimizes the separation of the bubble particle aggregates from the slurry, with the goal of helping miners achieve more efficient yields compared to conventional flotation practice.

“You can actually get the same metallurgical performance in about one-quarter of the volume,” Wasmund said. “It requires about 30 per cent less stirring energy and about half of the footprint in a plant.” The StackCell is currently being commercialized and used in a rougher flotation application in B.C. and in coal applications in the eastern United States.

Where conventional flotation works best for a narrow size range of particles, the StackCell can float finer particles while the HydroFloat can float coarser particles. “We’re covering both ends of the spectrum where there are currently a lot of efficiency losses,” explained Wasmund. “So right now, you lose fine material, coarse material, and you end up overgrinding, [which leads to] unstable tailings.”

“If you only have to grind to two or three times the size you currently have to, that’s a lot of saved energy,” he said. “Some of the benchmarking we did on secondary mills showed you could reduce the amount of grinding energy by 30 to 50 per cent by using the HydroFloat instead of conventional flotation.”

With more efficient operations that use less water and energy, Concha hopes that miners will be able to develop projects that were previously considered to be not economically feasible, such ones with low-grade deposits or hard ores.

“Now, with technologies that can reduce energy consumption or recover coarser material, like the HydroFloat, you can reduce up to 10 per cent of the processing plant operating and capital costs of a project and be able to process low grade ores which would allow extending the reserve of the mine,” Concha said. “So adding more value and better using of our natural resources in the end.”

A new partnership will see Weir technology experts applying their knowledge to Eriez’s HydroFloat and StackCell products.

Courtesy of Eriez

A generous endowment for Indigenous mining education

The Alex & Gillian Davidson Family Endowment will sustain in perpetuity two important CIM Foundation education grants

By Michele Beacom

This past holiday season, the CIM Foundation received a truly transformational gift, a $1 million endowment to sustain in perpetuity two education grants for Indigenous students. Both grants are open to students who wish to pursue studies in preparation for a trade or profession related to the mineral extraction and processing industries. Programs can include heavy-duty equipment mechanic, millwright, electrician, process systems and control, hydrology, instrumentation, carpenter, welder, surveyor, geologist, mine engineer/ technologist, as well as careers in wildlife management, environment, training, human resources, finance, law, archeology and other studies directly related to the industry.

The donors, Alex and Gillian Davidson, have vast experience in the mining industry. Alex, a Montreal native, graduated from McGill in 1976 and went on to a successful geology career, notably contributing to the remarkable success of Barrick Gold as it evolved from its North American base into the world’s leading gold producer. His career took them around the world, Chile, Peru, and places closer to home, such as northern Saskatchewan. “Jill and I have often talked about how lucky we are as a result of the opportunities that the mining industry has given us. We talked about ways to give back and we decided on a scholarship or endowment,” said Alex Davidson.

When asked what motivated them to target their endowment specifically for Indigenous students, Alex said, “we both have had interactions with First Nation communities in our careers. In fact, Jill taught at a First Nation school when we lived in northern Saskatchewan. First Nation communities are now inextricably involved with new mining projects, and we thought it would benefit both the communities and mining companies if there were more Indigenous students pursuing careers in the mineral industry who are able on graduation to return to their own communities with a better understanding of the pros and cons of new mining developments.”

While Indigenous students receive support for their studies from Indigenous Services Canada, the funds provided to them are very limited, covering just the education-related expenses, said Deborah Smith-Sauvé, CIM Foundation manager. The Alex & Gillian Davidson Family Endowment was created to enhance the students’ lives during their studies, and to support them during their critical years away from home. “Indigenous students usually attend school far away from their families and

Building the world together

“The world is at a critical tipping point,” said keynote speaker Nolan Watson, president, CEO and director of Sandstorm Gold, at the CIM Vancouver

Thankful for the life the mining industry has afforded them, Alex and Gillian Davidson want to give back. communities and just a trip back during the holidays can provide the nurturing support needed to continue their studies,” said Smith-Sauvé.

The Alex & Gillian Davidson Family Endowment for Indigenous students in Canada will provide two multi-year grants in the springtime. Students in their second year, enrolled in a technical program, will receive $4,000 a year for a total of $8,000, while students enrolled in a degree program will receive $5,000 a year for a total of $15,000.

The endowment also extends to the existing Taking Flight grants that are provided in the fall. Taking Flight was established in 2009 by the CIM Foundation, and recently supported by the COSMO Mining Industry Consortium and McGill University Laboratory, but it lacked long-term financial support. The Alex & Gillian Davidson Family Endowment provides that financial security and goes a step further. The grants, awarded to three students per year, have been increased to $4,000 each (up from $2,000) per one-time grant per student. Taking Flight is open to students from high school, community college, trade school or university.

This important endowment, which is managed by the CIM Foundation, is open to all individuals or companies, especially those working on First Nations lands, who would like to donate to the capital pool in order to increase the number of students who can receive these grants each year. For more information, contact Deborah Smith-Sauvé at dsauve@cim.org. CIM

Branch’s Student Night, held Nov. 17, 2022. Watson exhorted the assembled students to be part of the green-energy transition, as the world needs scientists and engineers more than ever before. “The world needs to be rebuilt,” he said. “Let’s build it together.”

The annual event, held at Vancouver’s Pinnacle Hotel Harbourfront, brings together industry professionals and mining, materials and earth sciences students from University of British Columbia (UBC), Simon Fraser University (SFU) and British Columbia Institute of

Courtesy of Alex Davidson

Technology (BCIT) for an evening of networking and the presentation of thousands of dollars in scholarships, awards and prizes.

Of the scholarships and awards presented, three graduate scholarships, valued at $2,500 each, were awarded to: Homa Rezaei, UBC PhD student, materials engineering; Javad Ghanei, UBC PhD student, materials engineering; and McKenna Jackson, UBC master’s student, earth and ocean sciences.

Eleven book prizes were awarded to: Jaxon Reid and Katherine A. Gamble, both mineral exploration and mining students at BCIT; Braedon Van Gorkom and Dylan Peluso, both earth sciences students at SFU; and Rynn Zhang and Harry Zhou, both materials engineering students at UBC; Howard Cheng, Gabriel Demers and Dex Feliciano, all mining engineering students at UBC; and Philia (Zong) Zhang and Alex Barth, both earth and ocean sciences students at UBC.

Finally, the Turnbull Cup for best mining photo was awarded to UBC mining

engineering student Dan Hagn for the second year in a row. The annual contest is open to all earth science and mineral engineering-related undergraduate or technical college students in the greater

2022-2023 DISTINGUISHED LECTURERS

SCAN

Vancouver area. First runner up was Brendan Wall, also a UBC mining engineering student, and second runner up was Fabricio Barrionuevo, a BCIT mining student. Congratulations to all! – Michele Beacom

FRANK CHENG Professor, Canada Research Chair, University of Calgary • MAUREEN JENSEN Director and Advisor • PHILLIP JOHN MACKEY President, P.J. Mackey Technology Inc. • STEVEN J. THORPE Professor, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Toronto

THIS CODE FOR MORE INFORMATION.

The CIM Foundation’s generous support allows the CIM Distinguished Lecturers Program to connect CIM members with leading industry expertise. The CIM Distinguished Lecturers program is owned and operated by the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM).

Students from University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University and British Columbia Institute of Technology gather to network and celebrate success.

Courtesy of CIM Vancouver Branch

Le Canada est en bonne voie de devenir un fournisseur de lithium qui aidera à combler la pénurie prévisible de ce minéral dans le contexte de la transition

L’année 2023, qui nous est arrivée telle une boule de canon, sera, ou devrais-je dire est, une grande année pour la publication et pour l’institut. Elle marque le 125e anniversaire de l’ICM. Pour le CIM Magazine, nous profiterons de cet événement marquant pour nous plonger dans les vastes archives de l’ICM afin de passer en revue l’industrie et ses accomplissements, et aussi pour dénicher des trésors et des curiosités cachés.

Ce numéro sera distribué lors du congrès de la Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC, l’association canadienne des prospecteurs et entrepreneurs) début mars, un événement où se réunissent les acteurs de l’industrie afin d’obtenir des indications sur le marché et les perspectives pour les métaux. C’est la raison pour laquelle nous sommes remontés aux années 1920 afin de trouver un examen d’une autre époque des matières premières. Il est apparu que le nickel était la vedette.

À mesure que nous découvrons ces trésors dissimulés dans nos archives, nous vous invitons à en faire de même. Nous serions ravis d’entendre les événements marquants et les souvenirs qui ont jalonné vos carrières.

Durant l’année, nous révélerons quelques nouveautés. Dans ce numéro, nous lançons la rubrique The Modern Miner (Les mineurs modernes), dans laquelle nous nous entretenons avec des professionnels sous-représentés dans l’industrie. Plutôt que de répéter des chiffres qui exposent la difficulté de l’industrie minière à diversifier sa main-d’œuvre et le risque qui s’ensuit sur le long terme, l’objectif de cette série d’articles est simplement de donner de la visibilité aux chefs de file et aux experts qui n’ont pas un profil traditionnel de « mineur » (ce qui est d’autant plus évident à mesure que l’on feuillette nos travaux publiés sur plus d’un siècle).

Au-delà des pages du magazine, nous ferons équipe avec des experts de l’industrie afin de créer un contenu en ligne comprenant des débats et des présentations d’experts. Le premier séminaire Web, en collaboration avec la société de la santé et de la sécurité (SSS) de l’ICM, portera sur le thème The Safety Share (la part de sécurité). Vous le trouverez sur le site du CIM Magazine ainsi que sur l’académie de l’ICM. Nous organiserons d’autres séminaires Web axés sur la sécurité pendant l’année, et d’autres s’intéressant à des thèmes essentiels à notre secteur. En suivant le CIM Magazine sur LinkedIn, vous obtiendrez les informations les plus récentes de notre industrie.

Enfin, nous commençons 2023 avec un changement au sein de l’équipe de publication. Nous accueillons Ailbhe Goodbody en tant que rédactrice en chef du CIM Magazine. Les lecteurs passionnés de revues minières reconnaîtront peut-être son nom, du temps où elle travaillait pour la revue britannique Mining Magazine. Mme Goodbody, désormais résidente au Québec, battra la mesure du monde minier en notre nom. Je suis impatient de voir son talent et son expertise à l’œuvre dans notre couverture des faits et actualités de l’industrie.

Nous disons aussi au revoir à Matthew Parizot, notre chef de rubrique, qui s’apprête à prendre un tournant passionnant dans sa carrière. M. Parizot a commencé en tant qu’interne. Très vite, ses facultés enviables pour la couverture précise et à une vitesse prodigieuse des actualités en ont fait une force au sein de l’équipe. Durant ses quatre années à l’institut, il a su gagner la confiance de ses collègues grâce à ses excellents instincts et à sa vision, et est devenu un rédacteur au goût marqué pour les projets ambitieux. J’invite les lecteurs à m’indiquer une base de données publique sur les parcs à résidus miniers du pays plus exhaustive que celle qu’il a compilée dans l’article A counting of tailings in Canada (uniquement disponible en anglais), que vous trouverez sur le site du CIM Magazine Enfin, vous trouverez dans ce numéro une avant-première du congrès et de l’Expo à venir de l’ICM, de retour à Montréal après quatre années d’absence. Cet événement promet d’être grandiose, avec d’excellents conférenciers et un salon commercial haut en couleur. Venez célébrer avec nous les 125 ans de l’ICM.

Ryan Bergen, Rédacteur en chef editor@cim.org

En mars 1896 à Montréal, lors de la deuxième assemblée annuelle du Federated Canadian Mining Institute (l’institut canadien fédéré des mines), l’institut canadien des mines, de la métallurgie et du pétrole (ICM) est fondé. Peu de temps après, en 1898, il est constitué par une loi du Parlement du Canada.

Il y a 125 ans, les membres fondateurs n’imaginaient probablement pas le paysage canadien tel que le connaît actuellement l’industrie des minéraux et des métaux. Jamais ils n’auraient pu penser que des drones effectueraient un jour les levés, que des chargeuses à godets autonomes déplaceraient les morts-ter-

rains ou que les participants à des séminaires Web partageraient simultanément leurs connaissances avec des auditoires internationaux. J’étais moi-même loin d’imaginer tout cela quand j’ai commencé ma carrière dans les années 1980. Je suis aussi presque certaine qu’ils ne s’attendaient pas non plus à voir dans l’industrie minière future des femmes occuper des postes de soudeuses, de directrices de mines, voire de banquières d’investissement. Les archives révèlent toutefois que les membres fondateurs se sont réunis pour faire pression afin d’obtenir des lois relatives à la sécurité et à la protection des travailleurs, et de trouver des manières d’assurer la communication des idées.

Ces principes fondamentaux, 125 ans plus tard, sont plus pertinents que jamais. Les nombreuses sociétés, sections et comités de l’ICM au Canada et à l’étranger ont toutes des priorités communes. Elles s’efforcent de promouvoir des pratiques saines, sans risque, durables et productives ; d’encourager la diversité et l’inclusion ; d’améliorer l’initiation aux minéraux ; de préparer la nouvelle génération de chefs de file ; de faire du bénévolat au sein des collectivités dans lesquelles elles exercent leurs activités ; et enfin, de célébrer les accomplissements de leur industrie et de ses membres.

Récemment, dans un contexte d’intensification de l’instabilité et des risques géopolitiques, et face à la renationalisation d’éléments d’une importance stratégique, le Canada devient peu à peu une instance privilégiée dans le monde en matière d’exploration, d’extraction, d’affinage et de recyclage des minéraux et des métaux nécessaires pour relever les enjeux mondiaux auxquels la société est confrontée. L’accès à une alimentation adéquate et à l’eau potable ainsi que la transition vers les besoins énergétiques mondiaux font partie de ces enjeux. En démontrant constamment notre engagement à l’égard des valeurs environnementales, sociales et de gouvernance (ESG), en établissant des partenariats avec les communautés autochtones et locales afin de garantir une prospérité durable et en cherchant à créer des alliances stratégiques avec des acteurs œuvrant au-delà des frontières de l’industrie minière traditionnelle, nous continuons d’améliorer la sécurité, la productivité et la performance environnementale pour les générations à venir.

Tout comme les membres fondateurs de l’ICM, nous ignorons de quoi sera faite l’industrie des minéraux et des métaux au Canada dans un siècle. Je suis toutefois convaincue que notre industrie évoluera pour le mieux en faisant preuve de résilience, de curiosité, de convivialité et en continuant de collaborer. En tant qu’institut, nous pouvons accomplir tellement plus ensemble qu’individuellement.

Alors que nous nous préparons à célébrer le 125e anniversaire de l’ICM à Montréal du 30 avril au 3 mai prochain à l’occasion du congrès et du salon commercial de l’ICM, prenons le temps de faire une pause pour réfléchir et aller de l’avant avec audace afin de façonner le rôle que jouera l’institut minier national du Canada dans l’exploration, l’extraction, l’affinage et le recyclage des minéraux et des métaux dont le monde a besoin.

Joyeux 125e anniversaire à l’ICM !

Anne Marie Toutant Présidente de l’ICM

Un institut au service des générations passées, présentes et futures

Kiena creuse plus profond

Wesdome Gold Mines promet un nouvel avenir à un producteur d’or québécois historique

Par Carolyn Gruske

Juste avant de mettre le CIM Magazine sous presse, Wesdome Gold Mines annonçait la démission du président et chef de la direction de la société Duncan Middlemiss, principale source d’information de cet article.

La démission de M. Middlemiss vient à la suite de l’annonce des résultats de production de la société pour le quatrième trimestre (T4) et l’exercice intégral de 2022, ainsi que des directives pour 2023, publiées le 17 janvier 2023. Cette annonce a asséné un coup dur à la société. Outre les retards à Kiena évoqués par M. Middlemiss dans notre profil de projet, le principal producteur de Wesdome, Eagle River en Ontario, n’a pas produit les résultats escomptés en raison de « la variabilité de la zone Falcon, qui a eu des répercussions négatives sur notre capacité à prévoir correctement la production à court terme ». La production du T4 n’a également pas répondu aux attentes, en partie à cause de « fortes tempêtes de neige qui ont empêché [Wesdome] de transporter par camion le minerai à haute teneur jusqu’au concentrateur ».

La production d’or totale de la société a chuté d’environ 10 % sur l’exercice 2022, passant de 123 843 onces en 2021 à 110 850 onces l’année dernière.

Warwick Morley-Jepson, président du conseil d’administration de Wesdome, tiendra lieu de président et chef de la direction intérimaire. Il occupait précédemment des postes de direction à Ivanhoe Mines et Kinross Gold Corporation. M. Middlemiss occupera un rôle consultatif sur le court terme, et la société s’est mise en quête de son successeur permanent.

Chaque mine définit son propre seuil avant de se déclarer prête à la production commerciale. Pour Wesdome Gold Mines, la mine d’or de Kiena (un producteur historique situé près de Val-d’Or, au Québec) s’est déclarée prête lorsqu’elle a pu réutiliser les matériaux qu’elle avait extraits et ramenés en surface pour remplir les cavités creusées sous terre afin d’assurer la stabilité de la mine.

« Jusqu’alors, nous ne disposions pas de système de remblai en pâte. Dans le passé, nous utilisions un remblai hydraulique, tout en étant conscients que ce système ne serait pas à la hauteur de nos attentes. Nous avons donc décidé de construire une usine de remblai en pâte. La mise en service de l’usine a marqué le début de la production commerciale pour nous. Nous avons en effet compris qu’elle serait un élément clé dans la réussite de Kiena », expliquait Duncan Middlemiss, président et chef de la direction de Wesdome.

Le 1er décembre 2022 marquait le lancement officiel de la production commerciale. Certes, elle accuse des retards d’environ six mois par rapport aux prévisions initiales de Wesdome, mais la pandémie a bouleversé le calendrier. Spécifiquement, M. Middlemiss citait comme cause des retards les pénuries de main-d’œuvre, d’équipement mobile et, particulièrement, d’entraînements électriques dans le centre de contrôle moteur qui devait être installé dans le système de remblai en pâte.

La production commerciale a maintenant commencé et, d’après M. Middlemiss, le plan de développement de Kiena est

La mine d’or de Kiena a été mis et retiré de la production depuis les années 1930. Wesdome Mines d’Or a recommencé la production commerciale.

sur la bonne voie. Le développement de la descenderie atteindra le niveau 129 d’ici la fin de l’année. Le front minier complet, qui comprend cinq niveaux souterrains à partir du niveau 123, permettra d’adopter une démarche ascendante pour l’exploitation minière. Cette démarche permet un contrôle optimal des sols et du minerai.

La société espère toujours atteindre les objectifs qu’elle s’est fixés dans son étude de préfaisabilité, à savoir la production de 80 000 à 100 000 onces d’or par an en 2024.

Changements de propriétaires

Kiena est située juste à côté du lac de Montigny. En réalité, la mine est si proche du lac que le puits de la mine est situé sur la rive opposée de ce lac peu profond, sur l’île Parker reliée à la terre ferme par une voie artificielle. La première incarnation de Kiena en tant que mine en exploitation aura été brève. Elle a commencé en 1936 et a pris fin en 1940. Après cette date, aucune exploitation n’a eu lieu sur le site jusqu’en octobre 1981, lorsque Falconbridge (qui avait racheté la mine au premier propriétaire de Kiena, Ventures Ltd., en 1962) a rouvert la mine. En 1986, Falconbridge a vendu la majorité de ses parts dans Kiena à Campbell Red Lake Gold Mines, une année avant que le nouveau propriétaire ne se joigne à deux autres sociétés pour constituer Placer Dome Mines.

« Placer Dome a eu un parcours satisfaisant, même si le minerai extrait n’était pas de très haute teneur. La teneur de tête à la mine était de 4,5 grammes. À cette époque sur le marché de l’or, cette teneur était relativement faible, surtout pour une mine souterraine », indiquait M. Middlemiss. Placer Dome a exploité la mine de 1988 à 1997. Elle l’a ensuite vendu à McWatters Mining, qui a poursuivi son exploitation jusqu’en 2002, date à laquelle elle a déclaré faillite, en grande partie à cause du prix faible de l’or. D’après un rapport technique de Kiena de 2015, la mine de Kiena a produit entre octobre 1981 et septembre 2022 un total de 1,56 million d’onces d’or à partir de 10,7 millions de tonnes de minerai à une teneur moyenne de 4,54 grammes par tonne (g/t).

Wesdome a acheté la propriété en décembre 2003 et la production commerciale a commencé en 2006. Avant d’être placée en mode de soins et maintenance en 2013, Kiena avait produit 198 708 onces d’or à partir de 1 826 500 tonnes de minerai à une teneur moyenne de 3,38 g/t.

En 2017, peu de temps après l’investiture de M. Middlemiss en tant que directeur de Wesdome, la société a prolongé la descenderie sous terre. L’ancienne plateforme de travail au niveau inférieur de la mine se situait à 1 000 mètres. Le prolongement de la descenderie permet d’aller 200 mètres plus bas, expliquait-il. « Nous rencontrions des interceptions successives jusqu’à 1 600 ou 1 700 mètres en souterrain. Nous savions que la partie souterraine recelait des trésors, mais ce n’est qu’en prolongeant la descenderie que nous avons vraiment pu le réaliser. »

La société a donc pu commencer la communication nécessaire pour prouver que le nouveau développement de la mine en valait la peine. Elle a déposé une estimation des ressources minérales en 2019, puis une évaluation économique préliminaire (ÉÉP) en 2020. En janvier 2021, elle a publié une mise à jour de l’estimation des ressources puis, en juin 2021, une étude de préfaisabilité pour le complexe minier de Kiena. Parmi les points forts du rapport figurait un plan de la durée de vie de la

mine pour une exploitation sur sept ans permettant de récupérer 83 574 onces par an à un coût de 187,71 dollars la tonne de minerai, et un coût d’investissement prévu de 231,8 millions de dollars. L’estimation des ressources indiquées de Kiena affichait au total 1 790 600 tonnes de minerai, résultant en 796 000 onces d’or par an à une teneur moyenne de 13,83 g/t. Au total, les ressources présumées étaient de 657 600 onces d’or à une teneur moyenne de 5,98 g/t sur 3 420 500 tonnes de minerai au total.

Géologie

Cette teneur à deux chiffres représente un bond en avant par rapport aux teneurs passées, bien plus faibles, associées jusqu’ici à Kiena. Cette évolution est toutefois tout à fait logique, expliquait M. Middlemiss, Les profondeurs explorées dans ce que Kiena appelle la « zone A » permettent à Wesdome d’exploiter différentes sources minérales.

« La structure minéralisée s’étendait entre deux grandes failles sur la propriété, les failles de Norbenite et de Marbenite, parallèles à la faille de Cadillac. La plupart des activités minières avaient été menées sur ces deux failles. La minéralisation dans le corridor entre les deux failles était donc une nouveauté. La minéralisation passée à Kiena était une zone bréchique de minéralisation sulfurée [avec une] faible teneur de 4,5 grammes et pas du tout d’or visible. Tout à coup, nous avons commencé à trouver des carottes contenant de l’or dans un filon de quartz et de l’or visible véritablement spectaculaire, très pépitique. C’était enthousiasmant. Cette découverte a trouvé un écho auprès du marché, et c’était une excellente nouvelle qui nous a redonné confiance. »

Wesdome explore également les alentours. À ce jour, ses découvertes l’encouragent, particulièrement dans la zone Martin située à environ un kilomètre à l’est du puits de Kiena, sur le site de l’ancienne mine de Martin, et la zone de la Presqu’île située à deux kilomètres à l’ouest de Kiena.

« Nous allons nous pencher sur une exploration plus poussée de Presqu’île et la relier à la descenderie, ce qui étendra la surface », indiquait M. Middlemiss.

En septembre 2022, Wesdome indiquait que les zones étroites et quasi parallèles de Presqu’île sont enchâssées dans du basalte porphyrique et sont proximales à un contact de roches mafiques à ultramafiques cisaillées. La société a également rectifié l’estimation des ressources présumées de la zone. Elles sont désormais de 353 000 tonnes à une teneur de 7,1 g/t d’Au, équivalant à 80 600 onces d’or.

Réaménagement et redéveloppement

Compte tenu de son histoire en matière de production, Kiena disposait d’une infrastructure très complète permettant à Wesdome d’entreprendre un programme qui impliquait principalement des mises à jour et des mises à niveau, et non la création ni le remplacement complets de nouvelles installations.

Parmi ces améliorations figuraient l’ajout d’un entraînement numérique pour treuil d’extraction minière, la mise à niveau de l’usine de traitement de l’eau avec un système d’osmose inverse et la remise à neuf du concentrateur, ainsi que l’installation de nouveaux systèmes de contrôle. « Il fallait juste avoir du cœur à l’ouvrage », indiquait M. Middlemiss, ajoutant que le concentrateur est un peu inhabituel pour les caractéristiques géologiques du site minier.

Wesdome Gold Mines Ltd.

« C’est un circuit d’adsorption par le charbon actif, ou circuit CIP (carbon-in-pulp). Normalement, on construit un CIP pour atténuer ce que l’on appelle le preg-robbing, un phénomène par lequel le complexe de cyanuration, Au(CN)2 , est éliminé de la solution par les éléments constitutifs du minerai. La liqueur mère est le nom donné au liquide contenant de l’or en solution. Lorsque cette solution contient des éléments tels que du graphite et du carbone organique naturel, la récupération en pâtit. Le CIP lui confère une lixiviation préalable et atténue cet effet. Toutefois, à ma connaissance, nous n’avons jamais eu de problèmes de preg-robbing à Kiena. Il semblerait que c’est le type de concentrateur que l’on construisait au Québec au début des années 1980. »

Il ajoutait que malgré la singularité du circuit, qui inclut un broyeur semi-autogène (broyeur SAG), un broyeur à boulets doté d’un cyclone à deux étapes et un épaississeur, Wesdome n’envisageait pas de le remplacer. De fait, il permet de récupérer 98 % du minerai libre et affiche de bonnes performances. Actuellement, le circuit fonctionne selon un calendrier de 4 jours d’utilisation et 3 jours d’immobilisation, mais il a la capacité de traiter 1 000 tonnes de minerai sec par jour, sans préconcassage.

Wesdome a aussi numérisé l’intégralité de la propriété de Kiena, créant un « jumeau numérique ». « C’était un progrès considérable. C’est un avantage énorme pour l’effort d’exploration, surtout au niveau de l’exploration régionale, car on peut apporter des modifications et envisager les choses de manière très holistique. »

Le parc à résidus miniers a aussi fait l’objet de rénovations pour s’assurer qu’il puisse suivre le rythme de production de la mine sur toute sa durée de vie (et contenir environ 1,5 million de tonnes de résidus), ainsi que pour répondre aux normes élevées de sécurité en vigueur. Pour assurer la stabilité des parcs à confinement des déchets, Wesdome a utilisé la méthode de brassage des sols en profondeur. « Des trous de large diamètre sont forés dans les morts-terrains jusqu’à l’assise rocheuse. On injecte ensuite du coulis ou du ciment et on obtient de grands piliers de stabilisation », expliquait M. Middlemiss.

Usine de remblai en pâte

Au-delà des mises à niveau, Kiena a bénéficié de quelques ajouts. Des câbles Ethernet ont été tirés dans le puits, conférant à Kiena une connexion en Wifi sous terre. Toutefois, l’une des nouveautés les plus importantes reste l’installation d’une usine de remblai en pâte.

Avec un débit d’environ 1 200 tonnes par jour et la capacité de détourner une partie importante de la production des résidus, le système de remblai en pâte aide la mine à réduire ses déchets et crée un nouveau produit. « Je ne suis pas ingénieur spécialisé en remblai à pâte », déclarait M. Middlemiss, « mais je crois comprendre qu’il s’agit d’un produit exceptionnel, et on s’en rend vraiment compte sous terre ».

Le système de remblai en pâte a été construit de manière à inclure un épaississeur, une cuve de stockage des résidus miniers équipée d’un agitateur, un système de manipulation du sable et un système de liant. Kiena dispose aussi d’un système de tuyauteries souterrain (pour la distribution sous terre).

Le coût de ces améliorations s’élevait à 250 millions de dollars. Grâce à sa mine d’or d’Eagle River située près de Wawa, en Ontario, productrice active d’environ 100 000 onces d’or par an, Wesdome disposait du capital pour investir dans ce projet. La société bénéficie également de 150 millions de dollars en facilité de crédit renouvelable.

2023 et au-delà

Si le concentrateur a une capacité de débit de 2 000 tonnes par jour, il en traite actuellement environ 800, conformément au calendrier, expliquait M. Middlemiss.

« 2023 est une année de consolidation pour nous, car nous devons poursuivre le développement de la descenderie dans la zone A. Nous devons poursuivre l’exploration dans la mine. À la fin de l’année, nous serons établis au cœur de la zone A, où se trouve la majorité de l’or. La zone où nous nous trouvons actuellement est bien moins riche. »

« En 2024, nous extrairons la majeure partie de l’or, et nous atteindrons les niveaux annoncés dans l’étude de préfaisabilité. Nous produirons alors entre 80 000 et 100 000 onces. Tout à coup, Kiena devient une mine vraiment intéressante. » ICM

Source:

En 1950, les auteurs d’un document du gouvernement fédéral intitulé The Miscellaneous Non-Metal Mining Industry (uniquement disponible en anglais) indiquaient que le Canada n’avait que peu, voire pas d’utilisation connue pour le lithium. « Il faudrait donc trouver un marché extérieur pour sa production », concluaient les auteurs. Utiliser le lithium pour des lubrifiants, du verre, de la céramique et des médicaments pourrait ultérieurement ouvrir des niches commerciales pour ce minéral blanc. Toutefois, au fil des décennies, l’exploration et l’extraction du lithium au Canada sont restées sporadiques, les mines de lithium étant extrêmement rares. Aujourd’hui, le Canada a découvert un marché (qui plus est en plein essor) pour le lithium. Des dizaines de petites sociétés minières canadiennes ont rejoint la ruée mondiale vers le lithium en se mettant en quête de ce minéral sur leur territoire. D’après Ressources naturelles Canada (RNCan), les dépenses dans l’exploration et les activités d’évaluation des gisements pour « d’autres minéraux », qui incluent le cobalt, le lithium et les terres rares, ont augmenté de 167 % en 2021 pour atteindre 95 millions de dollars. Leur augmentation en 2022 est estimée à 77 %, pour une valeur de 169 millions de dollars. Collectivement, ces petites sociétés minières s’inscrivent dans un projet plus vaste que le simple développement d’une activité. De fait, elles donnent naissance à une toute nouvelle industrie d’extraction du lithium pour la fabrication de batteries au Canada.

Le gouvernement du Canada et d’autres régions, dont les États-Unis et l’Union européenne, classent le lithium parmi les minéraux essentiels à la décarbonation de l’approvisionnement mondial en énergie indispensable dans la lutte contre le changement climatique. D’après un rapport de 2022 de l’agence internationale de l’énergie (AIE), la demande en lithium devrait être six fois plus importante et atteindra 500 kilotonnes d’ici 2030. Pour satisfaire cette demande, environ 50 nouvelles mines de taille moyenne, non encore développées, devront être construites. La majeure partie de l’approvisionnement international provient d’Australie, du Chili, d’Argentine et de Chine. Toutefois, le gouvernement canadien indiquait en 2022 que le Canada était en bonne voie de devenir un fournisseur de lithium qui aidera à combler la pénurie prévisible.

Actuellement, le pays abrite seulement 2,5 % des gisements connus de lithium dans le monde, une seule mine de lithium (l’exploitation nord-américaine de lithium de Sayona Québec et Piedmont Lithium au Québec) qui devrait ouvrir ses portes en 2023, et aucun centre d’affinage du lithium nécessaire à la transformation de la matière première en un produit pouvant servir à la fabrication de batteries. Les sociétés de prospection et d’exploration ne se laissent toutefois pas décourager car, jusqu’à récemment, peu ont axé leurs efforts sur la recherche de ce

L’exploration du lithium s’intensifie

Par Alexandra Lopez-Pacheco

Avec la révolution de l’énergie propre qui stimule la demande de lithium, les sociétés minières explorent Canada pour trouver de nouvelles sources, comme E3 Lithium, qui a établi son projet de saumure de lithium Clearwater entre Calgary et Edmonton.

minéral. Certaines prétendent que le pays abrite davantage de gisements de lithium que les 2,5 % connus.

« L’exploration du lithium au Canada n’a pas eu cours depuis de nombreuses années », déclarait Killian Charles, président et chef de la direction de la société montréalaise Exploration Brunswick, une société d’exploration de terres inexploitées. « L’Australie, qui abrite plusieurs des sites de lithium connus, est plus agressive dans sa démarche et a constitué un répertoire plus vaste des gisements connus de lithium. »

D’après le gouvernement australien, l’exploration active entre 2007 et 2017 a permis d’augmenter les ressources économiques connues de lithium du pays de 1 600 %. Les petites sociétés d’exploration canadienne retroussent leurs manches pour créer elles aussi un répertoire canadien.

« La géologie du Canada est idéale et pourrait mener à de nombreuses grandes découvertes sur l’ensemble du territoire », indiquait M. Charles. « Nous ne faisons que débuter. »

Le lithium contenu dans les roches dures

Actuellement, on trouve la plupart des ressources de lithium dans des gisements de pegmatites sous la forme de roches dures. Certaines petites sociétés minières canadiennes, telles que Grid Metals, mènent des activités d’exploration dans le Manitoba. Son projet de Donner Lake se situe dans la ceinture de roches vertes de Bird River, dans le sud-est de la province. Toutefois, la majorité des activités d’exploration du lithium menées par les petites sociétés minières canadiennes ont lieu en Ontario et au Québec. Par exemple, Frontier Lithium, une société de Sudbury, explore le lithium à Pakeagama Lake, dans le district de Kenora en Ontario. Ces activités suscitent un vif enthousiasme dans la région. La société avait lancé son projet en 2013. Jusqu’en 2022, elle n’avait foré que 14 000 mètres dans le cadre de ce projet, baptisé PAK, l’une des plus grandes enveloppes foncières dans la province abritant des pegmatites de qualité contenant du lithium. Durant l’année 2022, Frontier Lithium a foré 16 000 mètres supplémentaires.

En Ontario, certaines petites sociétés minières se réinventent en tant que sociétés d’exploitation minière ou de fabrication de produits chimiques. Frontier, par exemple, prévoit de construire un centre d’affinage du lithium pour la fabrication de batteries ainsi qu’une mine.

La société germano-canadienne Rock Tech, situé à Vancouver, prévoit de construire une exploitation à ciel ouvert sur le site de son projet de mine de lithium de Georgia Lake, situé à 160 kilomètres au nord-est de Thunder Bay, ainsi qu’un centre de traitement du lithium pour batteries à Guben, en Allemagne. L’année dernière, la société a signé un contrat d’approvisionnement avec Mercedes-Benz.

Certaines petites sociétés minières font preuve d’une grande ardeur. Avalon Advanced Materials, qui prévoyait initialement d’orienter son projet de mine de lithium de Separation Rapids, situé près de Kenora, sur le marché du lithium destiné au verre et à la céramique, a changé de direction. En 2022, elle a signé un protocole d’entente non contraignant avec LG Energy Solutions pour lui fournir du lithium pour batteries à compter de 2025. Avalon prévoit aussi de construire une installation de traitement du lithium à Thunder Bay pour approvisionner l’industrie des batteries pour véhicules électriques (VÉ).

Le Québec, qui abrite l’un des plus grands gisements connus de lithium contenu dans des roches dures, attire également un nombre croissant de petites sociétés canadiennes d’exploration du lithium. En 2021, l’une de ces sociétés, Patriot Battery Metals situé à Vancouver, a découvert un district pegmatitique jusqu’ici inconnu contenant du lithium dans sa propriété de Corvette, dans la région de la baie James de la province.

Fondée en 2020, Exploration Brunswick avait pour objectif de tester autant de pegmatites contenant du lithium que possible dans un temps limité dans l’ensemble du Canada. Elle a commencé par ses projets actuels au Québec, en Ontario, au Manitoba et dans le Canada atlantique, afin d’identifier environ 2 % des pegmatites qui pourraient contenir du lithium. Sur le terrain, l’équipe de la société utilise des analyseurs à fluorescence des rayons X (XRF, de l’anglais X-ray fluorescence) portables pour identifier la présence d’indicateurs géochimiques qui signalent une minéralisation du lithium. « Contrairement à l’exploration de l’or et des métaux communs, nous pouvons immédiatement établir si la pegmatite trouvée sur le terrain est susceptible de contenir du lithium. Cela nous permet d’assurer des activités d’exploration d’une efficacité incroyable », indiquait M. Charles. « Compte tenu de notre efficacité, nous avons décidé de faire preuve d’imagination et de nous concentrer sur l’acquisition d’autant de cibles que possible. »

Innovation dans l’Ouest

En 2014, Chris Doornbos, chef de la direction d’E3 Lithium, a vu poindre une pénurie potentielle de lithium. Pendant deux ans, il a parcouru le monde à la recherche de possibilités d’exploration du lithium. Un jour, il est tombé sur un rapport de l’Alberta Geological Survey (la commission géologique de l’Alberta). « Ils avaient échantillonné de l’eau de formation coexistant avec du pétrole et du gaz, et mené une analyse exhaustive », indiquait-il. « Ce rapport montrait que des échantillons contenant du lithium avaient été collectés dans le sud de la province où ils se trouvent désormais. Nous nous y sommes intéressés davantage et avons découvert que l’aquifère Leduc contenait du lithium. Je ne sais pas si toutes les personnes qui ont constaté la présence de lithium dans l’aquifère ont bien réalisé l’étendue de cet aquifère. »

Il s’avère que depuis des décennies, les étendues d’eau salée souterraine de l’ouest du Canada sont forées à la recherche de pétrole, mais les saumures enrichies en lithium sont réinjectées dans le sol. L’aquifère Leduc est immense. Il s’étend sur 2 500 mètres sous la surface et couvre des centaines de kilomètres carrés entre Calgary et Edmonton. En 2016, l’entreprise privée qui est devenue E3 a été constituée en société et a rapidement commencé à acheter des terres pour son projet d’exploitation de la saumure contenant du lithium de Clearwater. « Nous détenons désormais la majeure partie, voire l’intégralité de Leduc au sud d’Edmonton », indiquait M. Doornbos.

Dans un premier temps, l’exploration dans ce nouveau secteur en plein essor de la saumure contenant du lithium est un peu différente de l’exploration minière traditionnelle. Pour ce faire, E3 a dû collaborer avec des sociétés pétrolières afin de profiter de l’infrastructure existante pour procéder à l’échantillonnage. « Ainsi, nous n’avons pas eu besoin de forer pour obtenir les données nécessaires au développement d’une ressource », indiquait M. Doornbos. Depuis, E3 a mené des activités de forage pour délimiter ses ressources. Ses ressources présumées sont actuellement estimées à 24,3 millions de tonnes d’équivalent carbonate de lithium. Si la ressource a depuis longtemps été comprise, elle a été négligée jusqu’à l’intervention d’E3. La société s’est principalement concentrée sur le développement d’une technologie d’extraction et les études techniques relatives à une installation commerciale pour le projet en associant le pétrole et le gaz de l’ouest du Canada et l’exploitation minière.

E3 n’est pas la seule petite société minière à explorer la saumure. LithiumBank en fait de même pour son projet de mine de lithium de Boardwalk à Sturgeon Lake, découvert pour la première fois dans les années 1950 par l’industrie pétrolière et gazière, qui abrite quelque 1 100 puits. Son deuxième projet d’exploration, Park Place, est situé dans la région de Fox Creek, riche en pétrole et en gaz.

En Saskatchewan, des petites sociétés minières canadiennes telles que Prairie Lithium, qui explore le bassin de Williston de la région, et Grounded Lithium, dont le projet de lithium de Kindersley se trouve dans le sud-ouest de la province, ouvrent la voie à un nouveau secteur d’exploitation du lithium qui tire profit de l’infrastructure du secteur pétrolier et gazier pour accélérer le développement (la société australienne Arizona Lithium a conclu un accord d’acquisition avec Prairie Lithium fin 2022).

« Il faut comprendre que la construction d’une mine prend du temps », déclarait Matthew Dreis, chercheur et analyste principal du développement à Prairie Lithium. « Dans l’industrie du lithium, il faut compter environ 10 ans pour construire une mine et développer les ressources minérales. Toutefois, il est ici question d’une demande en lithium vouée à augmenter d’environ 500 % d’ici 2030. C’est pourquoi nous devons assurer très rapidement une production importante dans la décennie à venir. »

L’extraction du lithium à partir de saumure dans l’ouest du Canada pourrait être envisageable d’ici deux ans environ. D’après Alex Wylie, fondateur de Volt Lithium et désormais président d’Allied Copper, qui a racheté Volt en décembre 2022, l’exploitation de la saumure en quête de lithium peut s’inspirer de l’industrie pétrolière traditionnelle. Sa société explore les exploitations pétrolières de Rainbow Lake en Alberta et met au point une technologie d’extraction du lithium qui peut être ajoutée comme deuxième étape dans l’extraction pétrolière actuelle.

« Je travaille dans le secteur pétrolier et gazier et pour moi, un seul puits suffit », indiquait-il. « Si un seul puits produisant du pétrole dispose d’un réservoir de saumure souterrain, je peux développer l’activité en ajoutant des puits pour en extraire la saumure. Mais le pétrole aura la priorité, et il faudra l’extraire en premier lieu. Il faut ramener le pétrole à la surface, le traiter et montrer que tout fonctionne. Nous faisons la même chose avec le lithium. »

« Le Canada sera à l’avant-garde en termes d’approvisionnement en minéraux et métaux nécessaires à la transition énergétique », indiquait M. Charles d’Exploration Brunswick. « Honnêtement, ce n’est même pas une question de volonté politique ou d’argent. C’est une question de temps. » ICM

technical abstracts

CIM Journal

Abstracts from CIM Journal, Vol. 13, No. 3

MAINTENANCE, ENGINEERING AND RELIABILITY

Evaluation of time series artificial intelligence models for realtime/near-real-time methane prediction in coal mines

D. C. Demirkan, S. Duzgun, A. Juganda, J. Brune, and G. Bogin, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, USA

Atmospheric monitoring systems are critical in underground coal mine ventilation where methane explosion hazards can develop. The number and location of sensors are important for ventilation monitoring. Atmospheric monitoring system sensors should be installed near the most critical locations like the shearer cutting drum and along the longwall face. Sensors can provide information for a limited area, and their readings may have delays caused by sensor response time, gas diffusion rate, and temperature. Computational fluid dynamics modeling can provide relatively accurate predictions regarding the location of possible explosive gas concentrations. However, it requires significant computational resources and time, which is not conducive to real-time decision-making. This paper evaluates artificial intelligence systems for predicting near-real-time explosion hazards. The prediction performance of 10 time series algorithms is compared by using seven datasets and assessed by classification accuracy. Accurate real-time/near-real-time methane predictions are possible with two algorithms: HIVE-COTE and RISE. Initial results demonstrate that near-real-time decision-making for explosive hazard warning systems is accurate and robust, and artificial intelligence modeling of explosion hazards enhances mine safety.

MINERAL PROCESSING

Effect of strong collectors and frothers on coarse particle flotation using the HydroFloat™ for a North American concentrator

A. Di Feo, M. De Souza, and R. Lastra, Natural Resources Canada, CanmetMINING, Ottawa, Canada; A. Hobert, Eriez Flotation Division, Erie, USA

In conventional flotation, particles larger than 150 m tend to float poorly, especially those with high specific gravity. The flotation equipment, HydroFloat™, has been implemented in the mining industry and has resulted in significant improvements in coarse particle recovery, particularly when used with strong collectors and frothers. A North American concentrator processing copper-molybdenum (CuMo) ore has been having difficulties in recovering particles coarser than 150 m. Presently, the concentrator uses sodium ethyl xanthate and X-133 frother (baseline). Previous tests conducted using stronger collectors and frothers showed that potassium amyl xanthate (PAX) and FrothPro 630 increased Cu recovery by 3% using a conventional laboratory flotation machine. In that testwork, chalcopyrite recovery for particles > 300 m was low (~55%) under a range of testing conditions. Thus, the HydroFloat™ was tested using potassium ethyl xanthate and PAX in an attempt to increase Cu recovery for particles > 300 m. Results showed that the recovery of chalcopyrite particles > 300 m increased by more than 10%, depending on the test condition.

MAINTENANCE, ENGINEERING AND RELIABILITY

CanmetMINING battery electric vehicle field test series: Rokion R400 utility vehicle — surface

E. Acuna-Duhart, J. Le, E. Tomini, and M. Levesque, NRCan-CanmetMINING, Sudbury, Canada; H. Ribberink and A. Mohsenimanesh, NRCan-CanmetENERGY, Ottawa, Canada; W. Hughes, Rokion, Saskatoon, Canada

In alignment with Canada’s goal to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, battery electric vehicles (BEVs) are being introduced into mining to replace conventional internal combustion engine vehicles, which will help improve energy efficiency and reduce heat contributions and emissions to the mining environment. Further understanding of BEV technology and performance under different work conditions is essential to design a new mine or transform an existing fossil-fuel-based fleet into an electric mine. The Rokion R400 utility BEV was tested at a mine site in Ontario, Canada, on a test route comprising 10 sections of various grades: flat (0%), 5%, 10%, and 20% inclination. The BEV was driven 1.25 km in two directions (2.5 km lap) at two loads (half-full and full) and two speeds (5 and 15 km/h). The test plan included multiple laps for each load and speed. This paper presents the normalized results of the test in terms of energy consumption and generation tabulated by inclination grade, speed, and load, which ranged from 6.4 kWh/km to −2.7 kWh/km. The battery state of charge and the charging data are also presented to complete the BEV energy balance.

Market watch

The 125 years of CIM archives, in both their language and information, provide wonderful snapshots of the history of the Canadian industry and global economics. As part of our celebration of 125 years of CIM, we have pulled pages from a 1927 edition of the CIM Bulletin for a temperature-taking of the metal markets at the time. It proved to be a particularly successful year for metal production in Quebec and marked the beginning of operations at Noranda’s Horne copper smelter.

(Specially contributed by “Engineering and Mining Journal,” New York.), December-January, 1926-7.

Copper – The decline in copper prices continued over the holidays at a somewhat faster rate than usual, buying being dull for two or three weeks, and production at the end of the year showing an increase that was discouraging to those who wished to see a firmer market. Some copper was sold as low as 13 cents per lb. delivered on Jan. 7th, but a week of good buying, both in the United States and abroad, resulted in prices advancing from one-quarter to three-eights of a cent by the middle of the month. Consumers are probably pretty well supplied for early requirements and a dull market may result in prices sagging again in the weeks to come. Consumption is excellent still, but supplies are more than adequate, so that stocks have shown a tendency to increase in the last two or three months. Foreign demand is somewhat improved, and Copper Exporters, Inc., recently made its first increase in price since it was organized – from 13.50 to 13.625 cents per lb. The undertone of the market, however, is rather weak, and, unless fundamental conditions change, little hope can be seen for much higher prices in 1927.

Lead – Lead, like copper, has also suffered a further decline, the current level being 7.65 cents per lb., New York. The foreign influence continues to be the determining one in this metal, the London price recently having come very close to that at which it would have been profitable to import bullion lead into the United States. Foreign demand has not come up to expectations, but domestic continues excellent, and domestic production has set a new record in the year just ended. Cable manufacturers have been particularly active in recent months, taking large tonnages of lead. The market has not yet shown any indication of turning upward, but it cannot be called weak.

Zinc – In December, production for the first time showed a surplus of about 7,000 tons over consumption, and this condition of affairs was immediately reflected in a decrease in price, the present level, in the middle of January, being about 6.70 cents per lb., St. Louis. Galvanizers report a very quiet business, but brass manufacturers are active. Until galvanizing picks up or

Industry of:

the foreign market improves, it would seem unlikely that the present production can be absorbed, so prices are likely to react to such a point as to curb production. Tri-State operators are, in some instances, near the limit of economic operating already, with concentrates at a $45 basis for 60 per cent zinc blende. High-grade zinc has found a good outlet, and so far the price has been well maintained at 9 cents per lb., delivered in the East.

Silver – Chinese and Indian buying has improved recently, so that prices have again been above 55 cents an ounce. The price does not seem likely to change materially in either direction unless conditions are markedly different in China. The Indian currency situation is not likely to have any effect now for a year or two. A settlement of the Chinese difficulties and prosperity in India would have a bullish effect on the silver market; on the other hand, Chinese stocks of silver are large, and production has expanded considerably in the last year.

Tin – Demand for tin has moderated somewhat, and prices have softened along with those for the other principal non-ferrous metals. Sport Straits have recently been freely available, but still commands a moderate premium over forward positions. Straits tin for prompt delivery sold for about 67 cents per lb. in the middle of January.

Aluminium – Aluminium continues in good demand, and the principal producer is quoting unchanged prices, at 27 cents per lb. for either 98 or 99 per cent grade. Importers are quoting as low as 26 ½ cents for the lower grade.

Minor Metals – Nickel, cadmium, cobalt, and bismuth continue at unchanged prices, with generally good demand. Nickel had a particularly good year in 1926, with production equal to about 80 per cent of the war peak demand. Cadmium has been in somewhat freer supply owing to African production coming on the market, so that supplies have accumulated somewhat, and more attractive prices are said to be quoted on large contracts.

Canadian Market

Since our last report (December 15th) there has been a marked decline in lead, zinc and copper, amounting in the case of the first two metals to about ¼ of a cent per pound and in the case of copper to nearly ½ cent per pound.

There have been several theories advanced for the decline, some being of the opinion that a possible trade slump in the United States would demoralize European markets. Others claim that the slackness is merely incidental to the dull period of the year following the holiday season, and that markets should become active at an early date. Whichever view is correct, the metal trades are undoubtedly dull, both in Europe and the United States, and until things brighten up we cannot expect much increase in prices.

Zinc has been offered freely in Europe with very little inclination on the part of the buyers to absorb offerings, and the publication of the usual statistics for the United States showed a substantial increase in the stocks at December 31st over November 30th. The average price for prime western zinc, f.o.b. Montreal, in car lots, for the month ending January 15th, was $8.45 per 100 lb.

Lead production continues at a good rate and weakness in the United States market has been reflected in Europe with a consequent reduction in price on the London metal exchange. The

drop has not been serious and, as stated above, there is a good chance of an early recovery. In fact, at this writing (January 15th) there is a firmer tone to the market. The average price for lead, f.o.b. Montreal, in car lots, during the month ending January 15th, was $7.70 per 100 lb.

There is very little interest shown by copper consumers in Europe. American deliveries against contracts are reported to be normal and consumption in the United States seems to be continuing as usual, but the export market has fallen very flat and all efforts to revive it at the moment seem to be fruitless. The average f.o.b. Montreal price for electrolytic ingot copper during the month ending January 15th, in car lots, was 15 cents per pound. CIM

Nickel had a particularly good year in 1926, with production equal to about 80 per cent of the war peak demand.

Photograph by Vavasour & Dick from the archives of BaNQ Rouyn-Noranda; ID

Victor Santisteban Director Business Development

#109-19433 96th Avenue

Surrey, BC, Canada, V4N 4C4

Direct: 604.513.5216 Office: 604.513.9930 Web: www.iem.ca

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