Conventional mining activities are composed of four distinct operation coming together. These operations are called; drilling, blasting, loading and hauling. As being the first step in this chain of operations, drilling quality and preciseness is very vital for the success and effectiveness of remaining components. Accurate drilling not only saves time to the company but also saves from costs and resources. In this sense, mining machinery manufacturing leaders have been working on the best technology available to better drilling accuracy with sophisticated tools and expertise.

Arsenic (As) is a toxic metalloid that is widespread in the environment. Anthropogenic mining activities result in As being released from rock via mining activities in mine tailings, waste rock and process waters. ORANO has a proposed mine site expected to produce waste rock containing As and other metals/metalloids. This waste rock needs to be stored appropriately and the release of it’s As into groundwater must be limited to minimize environmental impacts.

After identifying elevated metal concentrations in two seepages from a waste rock pile at Mount Polley Mine, an investigation was launched to determine the potential source as well as the implications for potential treatment. Evidence points to a previously unidentified source of acid mobilizing metals from the waste rock pile and being neutralized along the way, before daylighting at the base of the pile. The most likely source that was identified was a sulphur pile, which was stockpiled on site as a source of acid for leach pad research.

The Decar Nickel District is located in British Columbia. With more than 2 million tonnes of Ni, the district represents a significant resource. The nickel occurs in an uncommon mineral awaruite which is an alloy of nickel and iron. Due to its strong ferro-magnetic properties and high density (SG 8.0) it should be easily recoverable using magnetic separation followed by gravity concentration. However, the presence of significant amounts of magnetite which as similar physical properties makes it difficult to separate the awaruite from the magnetite.

Over two years a post-doctoral fellow will investigate the electrostatic separation of potash. This will be accomplished experimentally by triboelectrically charging different materials, with and without conditioning agents, and then testing different separation techniques. Separation techniques will include electrostatic separation and a fines removal process.

Teck Resources Limited is searching for a method to characterize and quantify the heterogeneity of ore based on numerous parameters. Naturally, when characterizing an ore body’s heterogeneity, the variability in the deposit can contribute towards the sortability of the deposit.
The main objective of this research is to investigate a method to quantify the sortability and ore heterogeneity in a systematic manner with clear ranking criteria.

This project attempts to improve on a Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) based assessment system that is used to evaluate the thickness of the salt layer in the roof of Potash mining rooms to enhance mine safety. The goal is to improve the operation of the algorithm by studying the GPR signatures of known geological structures which can affect the operation of the algorithm and hence the evaluation of the roof thickness in order to adjust for these structures.

The research project would involve developing and executing an experimental program to optimize the application of electrokinetic dewatering technology for oil sands tailings called EKS-DT developed by ElectroKinetic Solutions (EKS). This research will involve conducting a series of high priority experiments for process optimization and innovation. Three main research categories involving electrokinetic tailings consolidation modelling, optimum electrode design and optimum power sequencing have been identified as crucial areas for improving the technology.

Models quantifying the grade and tonnage of mineral deposits form the basis of important and costly decisions for planning, optimization and extraction of a natural resource. Models are initially generated from sparse exploration sampling; however, information is continuously collected until resource extraction. Predicted values that reconcile well with true values following extraction instill confidence in the production forecasts.