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22

CONTENTS|CONTENUCIM MAGAZINE | SEPTEMBER | SEPTEMBRE | 2013

NEWS 16 Industry at a glance

22 Surviving the flood Oil sands companies adapt to avoidheavy impacts on production by D. Kaufman

24 Deficient disclosure Securities commissions takecompanies to task for non-compliance by A. Reitman

26 MiHR program certifies 500th miner Canadian MiningCertification program secures footing by K. Lagowski

28 One Giant mess Feds told to find permanent solutionfor Giant mine cleanup by A. Livingstone

TOOLS OF THE TRADE 10 The best in new technology Compiled by E. Moore

COLUMNS30 MAC Economic Commentary Miners put energy into renewable power by B. Marshall

32 HR Outlook Managing the cycle through workforce planning by C. Hughes and S. Zahid

34 Environment Changes to Fisheries Act put miners in unfamiliar waters by D. Lightle

36 Finance Rationing capital in challenging times by M. Chiesa

37 Energy Energy checkups can uncover big savings by A. Lemay

44

4 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 8, No. 6

UPFRONT Logistics

38 New path for ancient culture Meadowbank andInuit workers adapt to each other’s needs by I. Ewing

42 Putting people and tools in place Cyanokitcreates training obstacles for Canadian gold minersby R. Andrews

44 Arctic ambitions Complex logistics built intoRaglan’s development by V. Danielson

48 Talking tin Hart Mailandt has a birds’ eye view ofAlberta’s rapid growth by C. Baldwin

TECHNOLOGY Pumps & piping 68 Past the airy nothings Finer grinding and

tenacious froths are pushing pumpmanufacturers and process engineers toredesign and reinforce the best practices inefficient froth pumping by E. Moore

CIM COMMUNITY |LA COMMUNAUTÉ DE L’ICM 70 Hide and go geocaching Technology and

history intersect for students at CIM’sHarricana Branch event by M. Cardwell

Une grande partie de géocachette Latechnologie et l’histoire se croisent lors del’événement de la section Harricana de l’ICMen faveur des élèves par M. Cardwell

72 Participation is a priority President BobSchafer wants membership to help define CIMby K. Lagowski

La participation : une priorité Le présidentde l’ICM Bob Schafer compte sur l’aide desmembres pour définir l’institut par K. Lagowski

74 CIM’s fall line-up Maintenance, safety,metallurgy figure prominently in CIM’sconference schedule by H. Mathisen

TECHNICALABSTRACTS |RÉSUMÉSTECHNIQUES 75 CIM Journal

76 Canadian Metallurgical Quarterly

IN EVERY ISSUE 6 Editor’s letter

8 President’s notes Mot du président

77 Product file

78 Mining Lore by C. Baldwin

PROJECT PROFILE |PROJET EN VEDETTE60 Into the wind Rio Tinto is putting the Arctic wind to work at its Diavik diamond mine in the

Northwest Territories by H. Mathisen

64 Dans le vent Rio Tinto utilise le vent de l’Arctique dans sa mine de diamant Diavik dans lesTerritoires du Nord-Ouest par H. Mathisen

FEATURE | ÉDITORIAL50 Performance under pressure The oil sands industry aims to win over public opinion in the

hopes of de-risking future projects by P. Blin and A. Dion-Ortega

56 La pression de performance L’industrie des sables bitumineux cherche à convaincre l’opinionpublique dans l’espoir d’écarter les risques liés aux futurs projets. par P. Blin et A. Dion-Ortega

September 2013 | 5

60

Awhile back a press package landed onmy desk. It included a book that glee-fully satirizes those who raise the alarm

about climate change and ridicules the promiseof renewable energy. If the publisher’s intentionwas to retread a worn-out argument and alien-ate all but the most rabid climate change con-trarians and status quo champions, the book isa great success. I am not sure why it got sentmy way. Perhaps because CIM Magazine coversnon-renewable resources, it was presumed wehave a stake in this line of thought.

A “business as usual” approach, however,won’t get anyone in mining too far.

This was the message Anglo-American CEO Mark Cutifani brought tothe World Mining Congress in Montreal last month, where he challengedhis peers to take the risks long-term planning requires to keep their com-panies and operations viable.

There is no better example of such risk-taking than the bold move thatDiavik diamond mine made into wind power generation at its undergroundmine in the Northwest Territories. A short ice road trucking season a fewyears ago forced the operators to fly diesel fuel into camp at an enormousexpense, and that settled the debate about the risk of climate change for thatoperation. The company committed $31 million to build a wind farm toease the demand for diesel. In the story, “Into the Wind” (pg. 60), our newseditor and N.W.T. native, Herb Mathisen, reports on his visit to the mine,the hard lessons the operations teams have learned and the steady progressthey have made since first tapping into the wind last fall.

Despite the successes, the wind farm is designed to provide only 10 percent of Diavik’s energy needs. For the remainder, the mine will continue torely on diesel.

The reality is that for Diavik and many others worldwide, renewable andnon-renewable energy sources can be symbiotic. Neither the climatechange deniers nor strident environmentalists appreciate that nuance, thelatter having portrayed Canada’s oil sands industry as a climate apocalypsewaiting to happen, rather than one piece of our world’s energy puzzle.

The oil sands industry has also shown that it is not simply idling whileinterest groups on both sides of the climate change divide define its publicimage. Pierrick Blin and Antoine Dion-Ortega detail the evolution of the oilsands’ public persona in “Performance under pressure” (pg. 50), and theactive role the industry and its representatives have taken to reframe thepublic’s understanding of what the oil sands are.

I keep that book, with its merry cover image of joyriding polar bears andburning wind turbines, on my windowsill. It is a useful reminder that thebook’s publisher and many others take for granted that the mining indus-try is on the wrong side of history, and that we would all do well to provethem otherwise.

Ryan Bergen,[email protected]

@Ryan_at_CIM_Mag6 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 8, No. 6

editor’s letter Editor-in-chief Ryan Bergen, [email protected] editor Angela Hamlyn, [email protected] editor Andrea Nichiporuk, [email protected]

Section editors Peter Braul, [email protected] Mathisen, [email protected]

Copy editor/Communications coordinator Zoë Koulouris, [email protected]

Web editor Nathan Hall, [email protected]

Web support Maria Olaguera, [email protected]

Contributors Richard Andrews, Correy Baldwin, Pierrick Blin, MarkCardwell, Mauro Chiesa, Vivian Danielson, Antoine Dion-Ortega, IanEwing, Brett Gilmour, Virginia Heffernan, John Holcroft, CourtnayHughes, Dave Kaufman, Krystyna Lagowski, André Lemay, DarcyLightle, Andrew Livingstone, Brendan Marshall, Eavan Moore, AnnaReitman, Sarah Zahid

Editorial advisory board Alicia Ferdinand, Garth Kirkham, Vic Pakalnis,Nathan Stubina

Translations SDL, Karen Rolland, Antoine Dion-Ortega

Published 9 times a year by theCanadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum 1250 – 3500 de Maisonneuve Blvd. WestWestmount, QC, H3Z 3C1Tel.: 514.939.2710; Fax: 514.939.2714 www.cim.org; Email: [email protected]

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This issue’s coverIllustration by John Holcroft. For more of his work, visitjohnholcroft.com.

Layout and design by Clò Communications Inc.www.clocommunications.com

Copyright©2013. All rights reserved.

ISSN 1718-4177. Publications Mail No. 09786. Postage paid at CPA Saint-Laurent, QC.

Dépôt légal: Bibliothèque nationale du Québec.The Institute, as a body, is not responsible for statements made or opinions advanced either in articles or in any discussion appearing in its publications.

Printed in Canada

Take a side

Canadian mining is about more than just miningWith the close of the World Mining Congress, which CIM hosted in Montreal, my mind turnsto Canada’s place in the global scheme. We know that Canadian companies utilize state-of-the-art operating technologies. We know that our operations personnel set the worldwide standardin productivity, and that we employ best practices in environmental stewardship. Around theworld, Canadian mining companies are recognized as preferred business partners by govern-ments and communities alike. Canadian financial institutions are top tier in project finance. Inshort, we are proud that the Canadian mining industry leads by example.

However, being a leader also brings obligations. Not only should we carry out all of the aboveat superlative levels, but as an industry, we should be striving to lift the quality of the globalindustry by encouraging, even insisting, that our counterparts carry out their day-to-day effortswith similar expectations of pride in performance.

The global reach of Canadian mining is not based solely on a number of corporations; it alsorepresents a broad collection of skilled individuals who are valued expatriate employees andinternational consultants. It is people who export Canadian best operating practices and busi-ness behaviours, while providing advice and training to improve skills and capacity within communities.

When we discuss with community leaders the contributions that a new mining operation canbring, too often we only emphasize the measureable, bottom line impacts: increased employ-ment, greater tax base and the like. We would do well to also bring attention to other improve-ments that can be measured indirectly, or more holistically, such as expanded skills in trades andperhaps raised self-esteem and community pride. These may be the aspects that open doors forCanadian mining in even more parts of the world.

president’s notes | mot du président

L’exploitation minière au Canada : bien plus qu’une simple exploitationLe Congrès international sur les mines (World Mining Congress), organisé par l’ICM à Montréal, a pris fin, et celame fait réfléchir à la place du Canada sur la scène internationale. Les sociétés minières canadiennes utilisent,nous le savons, des technologies d’exploitation de pointe. Notre personnel d’exploitation définit les normesinternationales en matière de productivité, et nous avons recours aux meilleures pratiques en matière degérance de l’environnement. Partout dans le monde, les sociétés minières canadiennes sont considéréescomme des partenaires commerciaux de prédilection par les gouvernements et les communautés. Les institu-tions financières canadiennes ont une réputation exceptionnelle en matière de financement de projets. En bref,nous sommes fiers que l’exploitation minière canadienne montre l’exemple.

Cependant, être chef de file s’accompagne d’obligations. Nous devons non seulement assurer l’excellence detous les points susmentionnés, mais en tant qu’industrie, nous devons également nous efforcer de renforcer laqualité de l’industrie internationale en encourageant, voire même en insistant pour que nos homologuesmènent leurs efforts quotidiens avec autant de dévouement afin de tirer la même fierté de leur performance.

La portée mondiale de l’exploitation minière canadienne ne repose pas seulement sur quelques sociétés ; ellereprésente également un vaste ensemble de personnes qualifiées, qui sont des employés expatriés et desconseillers internationaux précieux. Ce sont les personnes qui exportent les meilleurs comportements com-merciaux et pratiques d’exploitation canadiens, tout en dispensant les conseils et la formation nécessaires àl’amélioration des compétences et des capacités au sein des communautés.

Lorsque nous évoquons avec les chefs de file des communautés ce qu’une nouvelle exploitation minière peutoffrir, nous insistons trop souvent sur les impacts mesurables et finaux, notamment l’augmentation de l’emploi,une plus grande assiette fiscale et d’autres considérations de ce genre. Il serait bon d’également attirer l’atten-tion sur d’autres améliorations pouvant être mesurées indirectement ou de manière plus holistique, telles quedes compétences élargies et peut-être une plus grande estime de soi et un sentiment de fierté communau-taire. Ces aspects pourraient ouvrir davantage de portes à l’exploitation minière canadienne dans encore biend’autres régions du monde.

Robert SchaferCIM President | Président de l’ICM



TOOLS OFTHE TRADE the best in new technology

◢ Filter early and oftenCustomers of Donaldson Company can now buy easy-to-

install clean diesel fuel kits for their bulk fuel storage

systems. Multiple bulk fuel filters are designed to catch

major contamination problems before they plug up

engine filters. The extra filtering also helps diesel stay

clean enough for modern high-pressure common rail fuel

injection systems, where hard contaminants of more than a

few microns can permanently damage the injector system.

The kits remove both these and injector-fouling

hydrocarbons for better engine performance. The filter

units come in three different packages – standard, high

capacity, and clean and dry – and protect stored fuel by

removing moisture and particulates from air entering the

tank. Scott Grossbauer, global manager of clean fuel and

lubricant solutions, says the kits help out customers who

previously had to source six or seven separate filter system

components.

◢ Beat the heatTyco Fire Protection Products offers simplicity

with its new Ansul liquid vehicle system (LVS). In an

onboard vehicle fire, the system’s nozzles spray a

wet chemical agent that suppresses Class A and

Class B flames while cooling fuel and hot metal.

According to Mark Neumann, director of pre-

engineered systems, extensive testing produced a

consistent and easily-installed design that runs

discreet, out-of-the-way delivery lines to every fire

hazard and hot spot. “We considered the variety of

machinery and types of hazards and developed

LVS to suppress fires in a way that would protect

people, property and profitability,” he says. While it

can be combined with a dry chemical system, LVS

also works well on its own. Discharging to cool and

coat flammable fuels, LVS “cools to a non-reflash

point about seven minutes quicker than if only a

dry chemical system were used,” says Neumann.

“That’s a big deal.”

◢ Off the beaten trackJoy Global’s Track Shield system prevents or mitigates dipper-track collisions on its electric shovels by automatically

modifying the dipper’s trajectory. If an operator pulls the joystick hard enough to knock the track with the dipper,

Track Shield kicks in to reduce the impact of that motion. Eric Hsieh, product manager of surface mining technology,

says less-experienced operators particularly appreciate the system

because it allows them to work fast without damaging crawler

shoes through repeated impact – a problem that has

only grown with wide tracks like those used in oil

sands operations. “It was our goal to prevent

the most damaging collisions and to

decrease the kinetic energy in the

collisions that do make it through,” he

explains. Hsieh says each sale of Track

Shield can be tuned to the mine’s

practices, with personnel adjusting

parameters and even allowing gentle

collisions, if preferred.

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◢ Filling up undergroundUnderground Force has built its UG30FLT articulating fuel and lube

delivery truck on a proven Caterpillar chassis, in response to customer

demand for durable underground equipment. “This is the first-ever

underground fuel and lube truck built on a Caterpillar chassis,” says Jodi

McKenzie, director of marketing at parent company Ground Force

Worldwide, which specializes in mine support equipment. “Customers will

save money over time by not having to replace less reliable solutions.”

With storage capacity of 1,500 gallons of fuel and 400 gallons of lubricant

and coolant, the truck is designed for use in all underground operations.

The body includes fully baffled product tanks, new and used filter

storage, and an enclosed reel compartment with roll-up doors. The

chassis is equipped with safety features such as push-out safety glass, a

rear window guard, three-point cabin and machine access, and exhaust

heat shielding for more hazardous underground conditions.

◢ Can-do computerNexcom’s new vehicle mount

computer for mining equipment, the

VMC 3000, is built to handle

complex tasks in harsh

environments. General manager

Steven Wu says that while many

operations use low-powered

computers for basic tracking, he is

seeing a trend toward high-

performance computers that provide

the intelligence needed to combine

functions like collision prevention

and tire monitoring. The VMC

3000’s Intel Core i7-2610UE

processor comes in a water- and

dust-proof enclosure with a 10.4-

inch touch screen readable in

sunlight. Wu says the computer’s

input/output connections are very

secure, and he notes that its

components withstand the

shockwaves created by dynamite

blasts. The VMC 3000 is available

with a tracking system through

Nexcom’s partner, Red Dog

Logistics. Building on the available

computing power, Red Dog Logistics

software allows drivers to map

routes, print shipping documents,

monitor vehicle and material status,

and share information with

dispatchers.

◢ As the drone fliesLehmann Aviation’s LP960 drone helps miners calculate their raw material

volumes from the air. Equipped with a 16-megapixel Sony camera, the

unmanned aerial vehicle captures the images needed for orthomosaic or

digital elevation mapping, offering an alternative to on-the-ground

measurements. “Before the drone, it took a very long time to do it on foot,”

says CEO Benjamin Lehmann. The LP960 also records regular aerial

photography and video. The 1.25-kilogram craft is light enough to launch by

hand and can withstand 45-kilometre-per-hour wind speeds. It travels at 20 to

80 kilometres per hour and has a line-of-sight range of up to five kilometres.

Controlled from a standing

console, it can be operated

automatically or manually.

“People can very easily use

our software on the go with

a Windows 8 tablet,” says

Lehmann. He adds that for

an established drone

manufacturer, the asking

price is cheap: not

counting the locally

purchased camera, the

LP960 starts at $9,550.

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Compiled by Eavan Moore

◢ Security on sightThe Spynel-S camera from HGH Infrared Systems

gives companies facing security threats a 360-degree

view of their surroundings. Unlike typical radar and

closed-circuit television set-ups that have limited

peripheral vision, the Spynel-S quickly distinguishes

animals, people and vehicles without any soda straw

effect. “It’s an innovative solution in the way that it

combines the advantages of radar with those of a

thermal camera,” general manager Vanessa Couturier

says. “This unique sensor gives you full panoramic

visibility in near real time with automatic detection

capabilities. The person in charge of security for the site

is able to see what’s happening all around – people

walking, a vehicle coming by – with a very high

resolution and at a very long range.” The Spynel-S can

detect a person at six kilometres and a vehicle at 12

kilometres. A couple of cameras can secure miles of

fence lines. Couturier says HGH’s traditional military and

maritime client base has expanded to include miners

building projects in unsafe locales.

◢ Speeding up the routineBy designing its new cone crusher with fewer total

parts, customers can expect to spend less time on

maintenance with Telsmith’s T300 cone crusher, says

marketing manager Chad McClaskey. “The T300

contains less total parts, including no socket, socket

liner, head ball and accumulators, which rewards the

customer during routine maintenance periods,” he

says. “A specific example is the Telsmith T300

eccentric that takes a mere 20 minutes to remove,

versus nearly two hours for similar competitive

models.” The T300’s design replaces more

conventional parts with a patented hydraulic release

system and hybrid bearings that float on a film of oil

and add extra lift. It also features

a large-clearing circuit,

designed to help

uncrushable

materials exit

safely and quickly.

The output

capacity of the

300-horsepower

crusher ranges

from 125 to 400

tonnes per hour.

◢ That special glowPneumacore Inc. has designed a version of its

Simoniz Sealtite tire conditioners, called Sentry,

to reveal tire flaws under low-visibility conditions.

Sentry fluoresces under UV light, highlighting

rim cracks, bead leaks, and punctures before

they can lead to catastrophic failures. It works

equally well by day or by night, according to

Seth Schneider, vice-president of development,

who explains that Sentry is installed into the tire

when it is mounted. “During operation, the

conditioner splashes around, coating the rim

and tire,” he

says. “If there

are any leaks,

cracks or

punctures, the

conditioner

seeps out and

can then be

seen from the

outside.”

Maintenance

personnel shine

a UV light on the

tire during

regular

inspections to

catch hard-to-

find cracks.

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reliability with advanced control and remote health monitoring technologies to

deliver faster cycle times and maximum output.

The new Track Shield collision detection and mitigation system is the first

technology solution designed to monitor and minimize structural impact

of the dipper and crawler shoes, leading to decreased maintenance costs

and increased production.

Joy Global sets the standard as the world leader of field-proven mining solutions.

JoyGlobal.com

TECHNOLOGY


Cutifani pitches long-term view

Anglo American CEO Mark Cutifanidid not mince words when speakingabout the mining industry’s lack oflong-term vision at the World MiningCongress in Montreal last month.

He explained that while mines canclaim an abundance of resources, theyhave not been able to convert them intoreserves, as many mineral deposits aredeclining in scope and quality. “Wehave selectively developed our mineswith short-term economic performancein mind,” he said. “We have preferen-tially depleted low-cost resources, leav-ing the world to bear the brunt ofincreasing commodity prices driven by

Anglo American head Mark Cutifani at the WorldMining Congress in Montreal last month.

the compounding cost increases ofextracting these lower quality resources.

“We, as an industry, are woefullyunder-spending on innovation andbusiness improvement programs, giventhe state of our extraction challenges,”he said, adding the mining industryspends 80 per cent less on technologyresearch and innovation than the petro-leum sector on a revenue-to-revenuebasis.

“If we, as leaders in the miningindustry, continue with our traditionalconversations around incremental inno-vation and change, the mining [compa-nies] of today will simply becomesubsidiaries of grander and more effi-cient industrial conglomerates,” he said.“What I am challenging everyone in thisroom to do is put aside our petty com-petitive issues and concerns and startthinking about the much bigger picturethat we’re all a part of.”

As for Anglo American, Cutifani saidthe company needs to see the potentialof new technologies and adapt themmore quickly than its competitors.While long-term thinking can be diffi-cult to reconcile with a CEO’s role ofimmediately making shareholders mon -ey, Cutifani told CIM Magazine that itcomes down to balancing short-termpriorities with long-term investments.“Sometimes we have to make toughcalls and not everybody will agree with

us. But if the CEO won’t do it, whowill?” he said. “I think it’s a little too easyfor people to make the easy calls andnot back the long term on the basis thatthey might not be there for more thanfive years. I think that’s a short-termview and, in the end, it’s hurt our industry.” – Herb Mathisen

Potash dust up The collapse of one of two major

global potash export partnerships hasthrown markets into disarray and raisedquestions over major investments inCanada. In late July, Russian fertilizercompany Uralkali stopped exportsthrough its BPC joint venture withBelaruskali, leading to a decline inpotash prices and share volatility forproducers. Uralkali predicts potashprices will fall by about 25 per cent tobelow US$300 per tonne.

That leaves Canpotex, which exportsfor PotashCorp, Mosaic and Agrium,and accounts for about one third of theglobal trade of fertilizer, as the remain-ing cartel. PotashCorp CEO Bill Doyleplayed down the impact of Uralkali’sannouncement, pointing out that riftshave happened before and saying thislatest one is unlikely to have a majorimpact on North America. “Uralkali isnot going to determine what the price isin the U.S.,” Doyle said in a company

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September 2013 | 17

release. “They are not in a position to do that.” He added thathe does not “see any change in Canpotex whatsoever.”

A number of other miners with projects in the pipeline aresurely hoping Doyle is correct. Goldman Sachs estimates thatBHP Billiton’s Jansen project in Saskatchewan will have acapex in the vicinity of $12 billion with a resource base of overthree billion tonnes. To date, BHP Billiton has spent about$1.2 billion of pre-commitment capital on the project, whichcould produce eight million tonnes per annum in 2020. In lateAugust, the company announced it would invest an additional$2.6 billion into Jansen for surface infrastructure constructionand to complete production and service shafts. K+S’s Legacyproject has projected investment of $4.1 billion for a newSaskatchewan mine. In its second-quarter earnings statement,the company said the project had advanced according to planand that it “will continuously monitor the competitive envi-ronment, include findings in our planning and prepare forpotential changes” to its operations. – Anna Reitman

Rio Tinto decides diamonds may beforever after all

Rio Tinto has appointed a new managing director for thediamond division it was trying to sell as recently as this sum-mer. Jean-Marc Lieberherr is stepping into the role after serv-ing as the division’s chief commercial officer. He has workedfor the diamond division since 2005, having got his start in themarketing department.

The company operates three diamond mines: the whollyowned Argyle mine in Australia; the 60-per-cent-owned Diavikmine in Canada; and the 78-per-cent-owned Murowa mine inZimbabwe. An advanced exploration project in India is also partof its diamond business. The company put the whole divisionon the market in March 2012, but the sale was complicated bythe fact that Rio’s partner at Diavik, Dominion Diamond Corpo-ration, has right of first refusal on Rio’s stake in that mine.

Rio Tinto took the division off the market in June, statingthat “the medium- to long-term market fundamentals for dia-monds remain robust, fuelled by growing demand for luxurygoods in Asia and continuing strong demand in North Amer-ica.” The company opened an underground mine at Argyle inApril, after operating the mine as an open pit for 27 years.

– Virginia Heffernan

Agnico Eagle to cut spending at MeliadineToronto-based Agnico Eagle Mines announced in its second-

quarter financial report that it would cut roughly $200 millionin capital spending in 2014, with the bulk of the cuts coming atits Meliadine gold project in development near Rankin Inlet,Nunavut. Spending will be reduced from an estimated $125million at Meliadine to $45 million next year. The companyplans to cut $10 million there this year as well. “I think what’simportant is that $45 million is essentially for the ramp,” saidCEO Sean Boyd in an investors’ call. “We’re continuing to rampdevelopment to open up the ore body, access the deposit, and

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that leaves us flexibility in the schedulethat, if our board gives approval to theproject about a year from now, we canstill meet the start-up target date of late-2018.” The falling price of gold was citedas a factor in the decision. Agnico Eagleis currently working on the mine’s feasi-bility study, which is expected to be com-pleted in the first half of 2014. – H.M.

N.W.T. projects movingahead

Good things come in threes, or atleast they did for project developers inthe Northwest Territories. In the span ofone week in July, three different mineprojects got approvals from reviewboards or governments.

On July 19, the Mackenzie ValleyEnvironmental Impact Review Board(MVEIRB) gave conditional approval ofthe proposed Gahcho Kué diamondmine, a joint venture between De Beersand Mountain Province Diamonds, 280

kilometres northeast of Yellowknife.After evaluating its environmentalimpact review, the board recommendedthe federal government allow the proj-ect to proceed to permitting and licens-ing, but only if the owners meet a series

of conditions, including mine and winter road mitigation measures toreduce “significant” impacts posed tolocal caribou herds.

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The Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board conditionally approved De Beers and Mountain ProvinceDiamonds’ jointly-owned Gahcho Kué diamond project in July.

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September 2013 | 19

governments on its proposed Nico gold, cobalt, bismuth andcopper mine, 150 kilometres northwest of Yellowknife. Thisallows the company to move the project into the permittingphase. Fortune hopes to begin construction on Nico in 2014.

Then, on July 26, MVEIRB approved Avalon Rare Metals’environmental assessment for its Nechalacho rare earth ele-ment project, subject to water management and wildlife pro-tection and monitoring conditions. The 220-page report statedthe company must also complete a socio-economic agreementwith the territorial government on jobs and training for localresidents. Avalon must now wait for the minister of AboriginalAffairs and Northern Development to decide whether toapprove the project or not. – H.M.

TransCanada turns eastTransCanada announced it will seek approvals for the 1.1-

million barrel per day Energy East Pipeline project. TheC$12 billion project involves converting 3,000 kilometres ofnatural gas pipeline so it can carry oil. It would stretch to4,400 kilometres when completed, linking Alberta withrefineries in Eastern Canada. TransCanada said there was“strong market support” for 900,000 barrels per day of firm,long-term contracts to transport western crude out east. Thissupply would replace foreign imports and allow for exportacross the Atlantic.

Whether or not the pipeline receives political supportremains to be seen, considering the stiff opposition to otherproposals such as Keystone XL, which is awaiting a finalreport from the U.S. State Department before the end of theyear. TransCanada president and CEO Russ Girling saidboth pipelines are required to transport growing supplies ofCanadian and U.S. crude oil to existing North Americanmarkets.

Pending public and regulatory reviews, Energy East’splanned starting point is a new tank terminal in Hardisty,Alberta. Three other terminals in Saskatchewan, QuebecCity, and Saint John, will be built along the route and oil willbe delivered to existing refineries in Montreal, Quebec City,and Saint John. The pipeline would terminate at Canaport,New Brunswick, where Trans Canada and Irving Oil haveformed a joint venture to build and operate a new deep watermarine terminal. Regulatory applications for ap provals willstart in 2014, and the pipeline is anticipated to be in serviceby late-2017 for deliveries in Quebec, and in 2018 for NewBrunswick. – A.R.

Victoria project advancesKGHM and Vale have reached an agreement on the Victoria

polymetallic exploration project in Sudbury, Ontario. KGHMwill build and operate Victoria as the sole owner of the project,and Vale will take a 2.2 per cent net smelter return royalty onall future production. KGHM declined to provide furtherdetail on the confidential agreement. The estimated value ofthe first five years of the offtake deal, though, is $1.17 billion.


Polish copper miner KGHM Interna-tional acquired mineral rights to QuadraFNX’s global operations, including Vic-toria, for about $3 billion in 2012.Adrian McFadden, vice-president ofunderground operations for KGHM,said the deposit on the southwesternrim starts at one kilometre below sur-face and is similar to Glencore Xstrata’sNickel Rim South deep high-gradedeposit. The Victoria project’s InferredResource is 14.5 million tonnes at 2.4per cent copper, 2.5 per cent nickel and7.4 grams per tonne of total preciousmetals, which includes platinum, palla-dium and gold.

The company’s focus will now turnto finalizing arrangements with localFirst Nations and to obtaining therequired permits and capital approvalsto move the project forward. It isexpected that site preparation and con-struction will begin later this year.McFadden explained that the first phaseof the project will include the sinking of

an exploration shaft along with surfaceconstruction that will allow for under-ground drilling. The delineation of theore body will help determine if the proj-ect will be further developed into a full-scale production mine.

“The success of Phase 1 would resultin the mine being in operation well intothe 2030s, with capital expenditure inexcess of $1 billion and have the poten-tial for hundreds of jobs in the commu-nity,” McFadden added. – A.R.

Asteroids close enough tomine?

Researchers in Scotland have identi-fied a dozen asteroids they say could bemaneuvered into accessible orbit andthen mined. Working with a database of9,000 “near-earth objects,” a team at theUniversity of Strathclyde in Glasgow,found 12 space rocks that could bemoved to points where the gravitationalforces of the sun and Earth are in

balance, making it possible to mine theasteroids. Published in the August edi-tion of Celestial Mechanics and Dynami-cal Astronomy, the research includes asearch and ranking methodology to findfuture candidates for mining.

“Their methodology is interestingand relevant,” says Chris Lewicki, pres-ident of Planetary Resources, the Seattle-based company working toexplore and eventually mine asteroidsusing robotic spacecraft. “But, with theexception of one, the asteroids in theirreport are very small, just a few metresin diameter, much smaller than objectswe would consider from a resourcestandpoint.”

Lewicki says the economic viabilityof asteroids depends on size, accessibil-ity and composition. Asteroids, he said,should be at least 50 metres in dia meterto make sense financially.

“Our near- term interest is asteroidsthat have volatiles on them and mostspecifically water. Broadly speaking, that


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means we are looking for carbonaceousasteroids,” he added. Water, in space,can be used as a propellant to fuelspacecraft and also as protection fromsolar radiation. – V.H.

Yukon mine to shut downthis winter

To avoid selling silver at its currentweaker price, Alexco Resource Corp.announced in July that it will shutdown its Bellekeno silver mine over thewinter. The news comes on the heels ofsecond-quarter production of 576,155silver ounces – an increase of 52 percent from the previous quarter.According to Vicki Veltkamp, vice-president of investor relations, thecompany has not yet set a date toreopen the mine. “We will spend the[time] focusing on changing theparameters of what is now a high fixedcost operation to lower some of thosecosts,” she said, adding it will alsodevelop a plan to potentially producesilver at other deposits on its largeKeno Hill property. “If we can attainthose goals, along with some strengthin the silver market, we would antici-pate going back into production nextyear.” She added that production costsare more volume-driven than season-ally driven at Bellekeno, meaning it isnot significantly more expensive tooperate in winter than in summer. Sil-ver had been trading as high as US$35per ounce last October, but closed atUS$19.41 per ounce on July 17, whenthe decision was announced. – H.M.

Feds pony up for Ring ofFire mine training

The Canadian government has com-mitted more than $5.9 million to pro-vide mining sector training for FirstNations groups in northern Ontario.An agreement creating the Ring of FireAboriginal Training Alliance (RoFATA)was signed by the Matawa FirstNations, Kiikenomaga KikenjigewenEmployment and Training Services(KKETS), Noront Resources and Con-federation College of Applied Arts andTechnology.

Noront’s chairman and interim CEOPaul Parisotto said having access to atrained local workforce as it developsand operates the Eagle’s Nest nickel,copper, platinum and palladium depositis a priority for the company. Aside fromEagle’s Nest, the Ring of Fire is home tomassive chromite deposits, but minerscontinue to tackle infrastructure chal-lenges and work to gain trust in theregion’s remote communities.

Greg Rickford, minister responsiblefor the Ring of Fire, said that by workingwith organizations such as KKETS,which will be assessing training applicantinterest and qualifications, the federalgovernment is “ensuring that the mem-bers of our local aboriginal communitiescan take full advantage of the opportuni-ties being generated by the rapidly grow-ing mining industry the Ring of Fire hasto offer.” RoFATA partners will travel thisfall to Matawa First Nations’ nine com-munities to promote and discuss trainingprograms that will be delivered in Thun-der Bay. – A.R.

Perron toleadThompsonCreek

Former St.Andrew Gold-fields presidentand CEO JacquesPerron will leadThompson CreekMetals into a newera as productionat the Mount Mil-ligan copper minein British Colum-bia begins. Perronwill succeed KevinLoughrey, who isretiring as CEO atthe beginning ofNovember. Direc-tor Timothy Had-don will becomechairman.

The open pitcopper-gold mineis expected to

reach full production by the end of theyear. Once fully ramped up, Mount Mil-ligan is slated to produce an average of81 million pounds of copper and194,500 ounces of gold annually, over a22-year mine life, employing about 350people during operations.

Perron will also oversee ThompsonCreek’s other assets in North America,including two operating molybdenummines (Thompson Creek in Idaho, andEndako in B.C.), a stand-alone metalsroasting facility (Langeloth in Pennsyl-vania), and a number of properties invarious stages of development. Perronhas a bachelor of science in miningengineering from Montreal’s ÉcolePolytechnique and has worked in themining industry for almost 30 years.

– V.H.

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Calgary’s second “flood of the cen-tury” in the last eight years hit in Juneand while it had dire consequences forCanada’s oil and gas capital, the effectson oil sands companies were minimal

Surviving the floodOil sands companies adapt to avoid heavy impacts on production

by Dave Kaufman

due to efficient emergency responsesand preventive action.

At the peak of the crisis, more than75,000 Calgary residents were evacu-ated from their homes, and the flooding

Bow and Elbow Rivers made it impos-sible for many to go to work in thedowntown core. Dozens of communi-ties along many Alberta rivers declaredstates of emergency, and parts of north-ern Alberta also experienced floodingdue to the snow melt and largeamounts of rain.

Enbridge, the largest transporter ofwestern Canadian crude oil to theUnited States, closed its 17-kilometre-long Line 37 pipeline after discoveringa leak on June 22, due to heavy rainfallin the Fort McMurray region. Thecompany also shut two more of itspipelines in the area as a precautionarymeasure. According to Enbridge, themajority of the 750 barrels of light syn-thetic crude oil released from the Line37 spill has been recovered. The linereturned to full service in late July.

Suncor was affected by the pipelineclosures. Media manager Sneh Seetalsaid the shutdown of Enbridge’sregional pipeline system reduced thecompany’s aggregate June productionby around two million barrels. “That’s

news

The Bow River floods downtown Calgary on June 21. Estimated damages to the city from flooding have been pegged at $400 million.

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news

just lost,” she said. “Obviously we will work hard to con-tinue to produce what we can safely and reliably, but twomillion barrels would not be something that would be easyto make up.

“[We tried to] minimize the work onour oil sands operation as a result ofthose shutdowns by as much as possi-ble,” Seetal said. “We put more productin storage and used our storage to capac-ity. And also we do have a pipeline fromour oil sands operation that helped totake away product.”

Enbridge closed its Calgary officesduring the flood and implemented itsbusiness recovery plan, which, accord-ing to the company, ensured that criticalfunctions of their operations continuedwithout interruption.

Seetal said one thing Suncor tried tobe very cognizant of was that “the city ofCalgary was asking people not to over-load the public systems in terms oftransportation, phones, cable, and Inter-net. [We] really worked hard to respecttheir request and asked that employeesworking critical functions workremotely and others to perhaps volun-teer in the community if they were soinclined during that time.”

The company set up additional work-spaces at its office near Calgary’s MountRoyal University, outside of the down-town core on the southwest end of townand away from the major flooding. Theone caveat for Suncor employees wasthat if they wanted to work, “it had to besafe for them to get there,” said Seetal.

A number of oil and gas companies,including Suncor, also reached into theirpocketbooks to make substantial dona-tions to flood relief efforts. Among themwere Statoil Canada and PTTEP CanadaLimited, which gave $500,000 each, andHusky Energy and ConocoPhillips,which each donated $1 million. Cenovuscontributed $1 million and also pledgedto match any employee’s donation, up toa maximum of $25,000 per employee.“Many companies made donations toflood relief organizations,” said Geraldine

Anderson, spokesperson for the Canadian Association ofPetroleum Producers. “Calgary is an incredible city. Every-body stepped up, put on their boots, rolled up their sleevesand helped out.” CIM

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Deficient disclosureSecurities commissions take companies to task for non-compliance

by Anna Reitman

In June, the Ontario SecuritiesCommission (OSC) published its com-pliance review of technical reports filedby the province’s mining issuers. Theregulator found an “unacceptable” levelof non-compliance and sent a strongmessage to issuers and Qualified Per-sons that they need to further improvetheir disclosures.

OSC oversees some 460 miningissuers in Ontario, accounting forabout 40 per cent of all the publiclylisted companies in the province. Ofthe 50 technical reports reviewed, 80per cent had some form of non- compliance and 40 per cent had atleast one major concern. The reportoutlined that non-compliant issuersshould anticipate requests for refilings,additional disclosure or other actionsif they have not fully met the condi-tions of the technical report and dis-closures under National Instrument43-101.

NI 43-101 came into force in early2001 in the wake of the $6-billion Bre-Xgold mining fraud. Though the regula-tion was initially viewed as heavy-

handed, it has since become a globalquality standard.

Craig Waldie, senior geologist atOSC, said the regulator’s compliancereview was intended to provide issuerswith some guidance. “We were awarewhen doing reviews on prospectusesthat there were some areas of non-compliance,” he said. The most signifi-cant areas had to do with transparencyaround mining resource estimates, per-mitting and social or communityimpact, capital and operating costs andeconomic analysis. Waldie said moreproblems were noted when the techni-cal report was completed by sole pro-prietors, particularly those basedoutside of Canada.

Deborah McCombe, one of CIM’srepresentatives on CRIRSCO (Commit-tee for Mineral Reserves InternationalReporting Standards), said that regula-tors’ educational efforts are predomi-nantly focused on report authors basedin Canada, so international authorsmay not be aware of changes to NI 43-101 that came into effect in 2011.Those changes included the reporting

of calculations for contained metal, theconditions under which historical esti-mates can be used, and the definitionof a Qualified Person, among others.

NI 43-101 is a prescriptive report,and foreign jurisdictions that do nothave such rigid standards might not beas conscious of the consequences ofnon-compliance, noted Garth Kirk ham, consulting geoscientist andchair of CIM’s Best Practices Commit-tee. “There is a significant liability toerrors and omissions, or making falseor misleading statements,” he said.“Practitioners overseas might not see itthat way because it is different in theircountry.”

CRIRSCO has members of NationalReporting Organizations from Australa-sia, Chile, Canada, the U.S., the U.K.and western Europe, Russia and SouthAfrica. It has developed an interna-tional template for the reporting ofmineral resources and mineral reserves,and encourages more jurisdictions toadopt a CRIRSCO-style reporting stan-dard. “The goal is to standardize thereporting definitions internationally so

September 2013 | 25

investors can have confidence in the information and makeinformed investment decisions wherever the mineral prop-erty is located,” said McCombe.

The British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC),which oversees 1,150 mining companies, conducted its ownreview that was published in 2012. Robert Holland, BCSC’schief mining advisor, said the most common deficienciesrelated to consents, certificates and disclaimers of responsi-bility. “It happens enough that we think it is not accidental,”he said. Holland said the issues identified in the OSC revieware broadly consistent with BCSC findings, though hepointed out that a higher proportion of juniors are repre-sented in the BCSC report.

Typically, companies found in breach of NI 43-101 willget a comment letter or request to refile a corrected technicalreport. If there are disclosure issues, a news release isrequired to notify investors. Where there are significantpublic interest concerns, a cease trade order (CTO) could beissued. CTOs are used sparingly. Of 300 companiesreviewed in British Columbia last year, only six wereordered to stop trading; still, it is a figure that is high com-pared to previous years, said Holland. OSC did not providea comparable statistic.

Lengthy CTOs are not common, said Kirkham, and thesecurities commission is open to discussion throughout theprocess. “It is not a one-way street,” he explained. “If youfeel you have a case, there is the option of phoning andstraightening it out.” But there are cautionary tales. Bark-erville Gold Mines, for example, was halted by BCSC fornearly a year after the company claimed one of its projectsmay hold the geological potential for between 65 and 90million ounces of gold.

Kirkham’s advice to technical report writers is to havereports peer reviewed, take a yearly refresher course on NI43-101, and to re-read the form before and after filling itout: “Adhering to industry leading practices is a practi-tioner’s best defence if there is a potential problem.”

Feedback from consulting firms, legal professionals andindividual Qualified Persons has been positive, said OSC’sWaldie. “They appreciate the guidance.” For investors, headded, it is important they have access to full, complete andtransparent information. “I wouldn’t say there are alarmistissues identified from our review, but it is a wake-up callbecause the issuers are ultimately responsible for the disclo-sure,” he said.

Kirkham said what he has taken from the OSC review isthat there is room for improvement, but he added that thelevel and quality of work in Canada is the best in the world.“The one thing that NI 43-101 has done that we will neverknow about is all the scandals that it prevented,” he said. CIM

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news

When the 500th worker was certi-fied by the Mining Industry HumanResources Council (MiHR), throughthe Canadian Mining Certificationprogram (CMCP) this summer, it wasmore than a proud moment. It meantthat the program was gaining tractionwithin the Canadian mining industry.

“We reached our 500th worker cer-tification faster than we expected,” saidBarbara Kirby, senior director, work-force development at MiHR. “About aquarter of those who were certifiedwere with a mine that was closing.Now, these miners can take a nation-ally recognized skills package to poten-tial employers, easing the hiringchallenge on both sides.”

MiHR program certifies 500th minerCanadian Mining Certification program secures footing

by Krystyna Lagowski

The CMCP was launched in 2011,in response to MiHR’s labour marketinformation that indicated a need tohire 145,000 new workers over thenext 10 years. The organization createda national certification program withstandards set up for underground min-ers, surface miners, mineral processingoperators and diamond drillers.“These occupations were among thehighest in demand,” said Kirby. “Also,we chose occupations that have noother forms of national recognition.”

Workplace assessors at companiesare selected and trained by MiHR toevaluate candidates under the CMCPprocess. This person then assesses, val-idates and records a candidate’s skills

while they perform tasks. The assess-ments are compiled in a report, andonce it is completed and submitted toMiHR, the worker is certified.

When a skilled worker achieves thiscertification, the benefit is felt by manythroughout the industry. The workercan put his or her expertise to good useanywhere in the country following amine closure or a transfer to a new site.And employers who want to hire work-ers who are certified to that nationalstandard are appreciative, since itstreamlines their hiring process.

There are other benefits for employ-ers. Denis Beaudoin, corporate directorof health and safety for CementationCanada Inc., hoped to leverage the

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company’s participation in CMCPduring big proposals to potentialclients. “Indicating that our minersare certified to national occupa-tional standards gives us an upperhand on other contractors,” hesaid.

Beaudoin, who has also servedon the MiHR certification standingcommittee for four years, admittedthey did not think the certificationprogram would catch on as quicklyas it did. “There are some compa-nies that already have their owntraining program in place, andMiHR thought they might find ittoo expensive or redundant tobecome involved,” Beaudoin said.“But it’s an investment.”

He predicted that CMCP willhelp the industry address theimpending skills shortage. “Every-one needs recognition for theirwork,” Beaudoin said. “How are wegoing to attract young people com-ing out of university and college?How are we going to compete withother industries that have theseprograms [for electricians, engi-neers and mechanics]? Only byimplementing one of our own.”

At Imperial Oil’s Kearl Oil Sandsproject, the certification program isbeing run alongside the company’sown training program. “There’sincredible value for utilizing this asone of the tools to attract andretain employees,” said Gary But-ters, mine training co-ordinator atKearl Oil Sands. “We now have theability to accredit our operatorswith a recognized skill, not just atrade. People who have been min-ing all their lives, have multipleyears of experience, and are finallybeing recognized – they’re prettyexcited about it.”

Having recently gone into pro-duction, Kearl has recruitedemployees from all over Canada.

“Some come with experience,some without,” Butters explained.“We’re giving them certification onsite to be able to operate ourequipment, and at the same time,completing these formal records ofassessment for the CMCP pro-gram.”

Butters said it is important forbuilding a positive culture at Kearl.“We’re going to have to recruit a lotof people in the next few years, andwe have to do everything in ourpower to get the best people thatwe can,” he added.

Mike MacPherson, training sup -er intendent at Rio Tinto’s Diavikdiamond mine, said benefits existfor both miners and employers.“Recognizing worker accomplish-ments with a national standard ismeaningful to miners but alsohelps the employer because it givesus a way to acknowledge the train-ing and competency they alreadyhave,” he said. “We have an estab-lished training program, butCMCP is an assessment of compe-tencies, so we can cover bothrequirements at the same time.

“We have a social responsibilityto smaller northern communities,and this program offers capacitybuilding,” MacPherson noted. “Wewant to contribute and help withprofessional development at anindividual level, and this programhelps us do that.”

Ultimately, the program willopen up to more occupations andmay even apply to Canadian oper-ations around the globe. “I think ithas the potential to have a muchlarger impact,” said Kirby, addingthat the total number of certifiedworkers has already reached 560.“And with all this momentum,we’re well on track to complete our1,000th certification ahead ofschedule.” CIM

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For years, many have ques-tioned the federal government’sability to remediate the onceprosperous, now arsenic-ladenGiant mine in Yellowknife,N.W.T. Located on the rockyshore of Great Slave Lake, themine contains 237,000 tonnes ofwater-soluble arsenic trioxideand 13.5 million tonnes of con-taminated tailings spread over 95hectares – the equivalent ofaround 175 football fields.

Since Aboriginal Affairs andNorthern Development Canada(AANDC) took control of thesite’s remediation in 1999, afterthen-owner Royal Oak Mines Inc.went bankrupt, a full cleanup hasbeen discussed and debated adnauseum.

But in June, the Mackenzie Val-ley Environmental Impact ReviewBoard decided to approve the environ-mental assessment for the federal gov-ernment’s plan to freeze the arsenictrioxide in 15 giant underground cham-bers and isolate it from the surrounding

One Giant messFeds told to find permanent solution for Giant mine cleanup

by Andrew Livingstone

environment. This so-called frozen blockmethod, according to the government,“offers the least risk, including low risk toworker health and safety, and low risk ofarsenic release over the long term.”

Given the review board’s 27 recom-mendations that come with approval,however, AANDC will have to addresshard truths about Giant mine that wereoverlooked in the frozen blockapproach. For one, the board has notedpublic concern over the project’s indefi-nite time frame: “Given enough time,the project is eventually likely to causesignificant adverse effects.”

Approving the project in perpetuitywould have increased the likelihoodthat an ecological disaster could resultfrom uncommon events like massiveflooding or an earthquake, said AlanEhrlich, the board’s manager of environ-mental assessments and lead on theGiant mine file. The board recom-mended reducing the project’s timeframe to 100 years. “The board felt itwould create an acceptable level of riskand reduce the probability of thesekinds of things happening,” Ehrlichsaid.

Before settling on the frozen blockmethod, which would cost $1.9 millionannually in perpetuity, the government

news

The Giant mine in Yellowknife, N.W.T., produced roughly 7.6 million ounces of gold from 1948 to 2004. While the city owesmuch of its existence to Giant, this positive legacy is being supplanted by the toxic mess it left behind.

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September 2013 | 29

reviewed 56 management alternatives, including a moredetailed look at 12 of those options. However, Ehrlich said, theenvironmental assessment was limited in scope, leaving theboard just one option to evaluate, with no plans to look atfuture technological innovations.

This, said Erlich, is a crucial point. In the past 100 years,technology has made the unimaginable a possibility. “Onehundred years ago there was no television, no sliced bread, noball point pens and arsenic was added to food as a preserva-tive,” he said. For this reason, the board suggested the projectalso be reviewed every 20 years, to determine its effectivenessand whether a new technological innovation is able to dealwith the mine’s toxic legacy.

Funding was another key issue that influenced the recom-mendation to implement a 100-year time frame, said Ehrlich.“Many members of the public were concerned that the govern-ment’s priority on funding could change over the 100-yearperiod,” he explained. “The public was worried about thelonger term and the board felt the time period would beenough to meet the project’s objectives to make the initialimplementation still worthwhile.”

While the government says it is too early to determine howcosts of the $400-million project may be affected by theboard’s report, it will be reviewing the recommendations. Inan email, an AANDC spokesperson indicated the governmenthas four options: adopt the review board’s recommendations;refer the recommendations back to the review board for fur-ther consideration; consult the review board to adopt the rec-ommendations with modifications; or consult the reviewboard and escalate the proposed project to an environmentalimpact review by a panel.

So if a permanent solution is the goal, are there any prom-ising developments? Emerging technologies have not yetpassed the litmus test, since the government researched otherpotentially viable options nearly a decade ago.

One Canadian company believes it has a potential answerto the problem. Toronto-based BacTech inquired about thecleanup in 2012. Its bioleaching technology uses naturallyoccurring bacteria to stabilize toxic metal compounds in orderto prevent future harmful leaching of the material into theenvironment. Without a completed project under its belt,BacTech recently secured funding to complete a number ofstudies on a potential arsenopyrite (the same compoundfound in Giant’s tailings ponds) cleanup project at the aban-doned Snow Lake mine in Manitoba. The company hopes todevelop the Snow Lake project at no taxpayer burden byrecovering gold from the stockpile as revenue.

These types of innovative technologies are what the boardwants the government to look at continually over the courseof the 100 years, said Ehrlich. CIM

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publicly disclose their performance against them, has con-tributed positively to this.

Nevertheless, energy costs are rising faster than efficiencymeasures are progressing. From 1999 to 2010, the annualbill for energy required for mining processes more than dou-bled, costing Canadian miners $2.2 billion in 2010.

This cost increase can largely be explained by the remotelocation of many Canadian mines, the lack of regional energyinfrastructure, and the resulting dependence on diesel gener-ation. From 1999 to 2013, the average price of oil increased10-fold, from roughly US$10 to more than US$100 per bar-rel. Heightened transportation costs also increase the priceper unit of delivered fuel, pushing the cost of generation forsome remote mines up to $0.30/kWh.

With the price of oil forecasted to continue inchingupward, miners are giving the benefits of renewable tech-nologies greater consideration. The levelized cost of electric-ity (LCOE) for wind, solar photovoltaic, concentrated solarpower and some biomass technologies has steadilydecreased, enhancing competitiveness relative to conven-tional technologies, particularly for off-grid generation. AnInternational Renewable Energy Agency report released inJanuary noted that the average LCOE for wind, biomass andsolar technologies in North America are $0.08 kWh, $0.08kWh and $0.16 kWh, respectively.

These average prices do not account for additional capitalcosts associated with remote development. They also varybased on the quality of the renewable resource. Just as min-ers need to go where the viable deposits are located, renew-able generation is contingent on the strength and reliabilityof the renewable asset. This restriction prevents renewablegeneration from becoming an industry-wide energy solution,no matter how improved the technology is.

But for mines that have access to a viable renewable asset,diversifying energy portfolios with a reliable intermittentpower source that simultaneously offsets their reliance ondiesel has benefits that may merit the investment.

Energy security is enhanced by reducing a company’sexposure to oil price spikes. Renewables can also improve acompany’s security of supply. Some mines are dependent on

Renewable technologies and the economics of theirdeployment have improved and will likely continue todo so. Renewable power is appealing to miners because

it has the potential to reduce energy costs and environmentalimpacts while enhancing energy security and strengthening acompany’s privilege to operate in communities.

Rising energy costs haveincreased miners’ focus onenergy efficiency. The CanadianIndustrial Energy End-Use Dataand Analysis Centre’s Energy Useand Related Data report in 2012noted that energy consumptionby Canadian metal miners de -creased by nearly 12 per centfrom 1990 to 2011. The Mining Association of Canada’sTowards Sustainable Mining initiative, whose energy proto-col requires all members to develop efficiency targets and

Miners put energy into renewable power

BY BRENDAN MARSHALL

M A C E C O N O M I C C O M M E N T A R Y

Just as miners need to go where the viable deposits are,renewable generation is contingent on the strength

and reliability of the renewable asset.

September 2013 | 31

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seasonal transportation like winter ice roads for the deliveryof essential supplies. The reliability of this seasonal infra-structure is contingent on a changing climate that canabruptly shorten the supply season, thus closing critical sup-ply links. Offsetting the volume of required fuel enables com-panies to adapt to logistical variables beyond their control.

The Diavik diamond mine wind farm project is a goodexample. Largely dependent on an ice road for resupply, thewarm winter of 2006 exposed the remote mine’s vulnerabilityto varying climate conditions. The ice road opened late,closed early, and ice thickness did not reach full load capac-ity, requiring millions of dollars of supplies – namely diesel –to be flown in at a significant expense.

The construction of four 2.3-megawatt wind turbines isexpected to reduce annual diesel consumption by 10 percent, saving $6 million every year. What is more, offsettingdiesel consumption cuts the mine’s carbon footprint by 6 percent – equivalent to 12,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emis-sions – and eliminates the need for 100 fuel truck resupplytrips each year, reducing supply risk.

With increasing pressure on industry from governments,investors and other stakeholders to operate in a sustainablemanner, the environmental benefits associated with reducedoil consumption such as lower greenhouse gas emissions

could assist companies seeking to establish or strengthentheir privilege to operate in communities near mineraldeposits. Depending on the jurisdiction, reduced emissionsmay also support a company’s compliance obligations to aregional climate scheme.

There is something poetic about finite resources beingtransformed into sustainable energy solutions. There is thenatural synergy between mining and renewable generation:extracted products are transformed into technology that,having gone full circle, assist mining operations in reducingenvironmental footprints and in enhancing efficiency andreliability. While not a one-size-fits-all solution, the econom-ics of renewable energy are improving, and the associatedbenefits are attractive for remote miners who can tap intothem. CIM

Brendan Marshall is director of economic affairs at MAC. He works to advancethe mining industry’s interests and understanding of key economic issues suchas taxation, transportation, innovation, international trade and investment andenergy and climate change.

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Even in a contractionary scenario, the mining industry will needto hire 116,860 new workers by 2023, with 62,550 of thoseworkers filling vacancies caused by impending retirements.

The industry’s propensity to be caught in the ebbs andflows of the economy continues to be a great challenge. Per-petually characterized by its cyclical nature, the tenaciousturnaround in 2009 illustrated that once on a road to recovery,the mining industry ramps up quickly. This is characterized byan escalation of competition for skilled labour, as companiescompete to find the human resources needed to drive theiroperations forward.

As the mining sector struggled through the first half of2013, companies encountered reduced access tofinancing and limp commodity pricing. The economic

climate has created a challenging business envi-ronment where mining organizations are forcedto take cautionary steps to stay competitive.Some companies have reacted by pressingpause on exploration projects, while others areshedding assets, reducing production targetsand in some cases downsizing, as they looktoward leaner operations.

The volatility of the economy is unfortunately not the onlyissue the industry is facing. Globally, the mining sector isforced to confront significant challenges in the attraction,recruitment and retention of skilled workers. In a recent Min-ing Industry Human Resources Council (MiHR) survey, min-ing employers estimated that roughly 20 per cent of theirworkforce was eligible to retire in the next three to five years.

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Staying the course through these challenges and

staying engaged with the workforce can and will be

a huge cost-saving measure over the long term.

September 2013 | 33

multiple locations, offering an employee an opportunity atanother site broadens that employee’s corporate knowledge,reduces external hiring costs and can be an important careerdevelopment tool for employees who are moving into moresenior leadership roles.

Enlisting workforce strategies through the highs and lowsexperienced in the industry can be daunting, as resources arescarce and operational pressures mount to reduce costs. Spend-ing money and time on staff initiatives seems counter-produc-tive in the short term. However, as many organizations havedemonstrated, staying the course through these challenges andstaying engaged with the workforce can and will be a huge cost-saving measure over the long term. Companies can reduceturnover rates, decrease time and resources spent on recruit-ment, and increase efficiencies as a result of improved perform-ance and reduction in skills gaps through counter-cyclicalworkforce planning. CIM

In recent years, mining organizations have becomeincreasingly cognizant of the human resources challengesfacing the sector and in response have developed creativeworkforce strategies to mitigate some of this risk. A newMiHR study of strategic workforce planning highlights a vari-ety of strategies applied by mining employers and otherindustry stakeholders to engage workers through the highsand lows of the economic cycle. Within the report, organiza-tions shared both the challenges and successes with thesestrategies and provided valuable insight into the execution ofthese workforce initiatives.

For one, Teck has implemented a knowledge transfer pro-gram to increase the retention of corporate knowledge bystandardizing specific training initiatives and validating train-ing outcomes. This program allows for a more nimbleresponse to changes in workforce needs by capturing criticalknowledge from retiring workers to be efficiently passed on innew worker training.

Cameco has implemented a capacity planning strategy tomeasure and quantify specific labour needs for particular futureproduction targets. Additionally, redeployment strategies havebeen implemented by a variety of mining organizations to sharehuman resource capacity amongst projects and to retain keytalent through the economic cycle. For mining companies with

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Courtnay Hughes, research analyst with MiHR, leads strategic HR Managementresearch initiatives in workforce planning, education-industry partnerships, andworkforce diversity. Sarah Zahid, labour market economist with MiHR,contributes to various research projects, including the improvement anddevelopment of MiHR’s labour forecasting models.

the effects Imperial Metals’ Red Chris open pit projectwould have on water bodies supporting fish – a big part ofthe local First Nations’ diet and culture. Part of their con-cern was a belief that the federal government had scopedthe project review incorrectly, splitting the project to allowit to be reviewed with less oversight – through a screeningstudy rather than a comprehensive study. The band heldprotests in 2006 and 2007, and the case eventually landedin federal court, delaying the development of Red Chris for years.

Some changes to the Fisheries Act have already beenpassed by cabinet, others are pending, and new policy isnow being considered and developed to guide the applica-tion of the act.

Previously, “fish habitat” meant spawning grounds, nurs-ery, rearing, food supply and migration areas on which fishdepend directly or indirectly to live and reproduce. The actnow defines “fish habitat” more widely and includes “and

No matter how much effort has gone into making theterminology clear or each regulation understandable,when new environmental legislation is announced, a

period of uncertainty follows for companies, governmentsand non-governmental organizations.

Such is the case with emerging changes to the federalFisheries Act, many of which were contained within thefederal government’s omnibus Bills C-38 and C-45. The actdefines how the Department of Fisheries and OceansCanada (DFO) must protect aquatic species and their habi-tats for the people who depend on them. Protection of fish-eries in Canada is receiving increased attention due to itsimportance to commercial fishing operations, tourism sec-tors that market recreational fishing excursions and thosewho depend on fish as a food source.

Uncertainty associated with regulatory decisions canhave implications for miners. For instance, members of theTahltan Nation in north-central B.C., had concerns about

Changes to Fisheries Act put miners in unfamiliar waters

BY DARCY LIGHTLE


E N V I R O N M E N T

CIM has a great line-up of speakers in store for you this season. Check out the abstracts of their presentations online!

C’est tout un programme que vous réserve l’ICM cette saison. Découvrez les résumés des présentations disponibles en ligne !

Find out more and request your lecturers today at www.cim.org

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1. GARTH KIRKHAMNI43-101 Mineral Resource Estimation and CIM Best PracticesL’estimation des ressources minérales NI43-101 et les meilleures pratiques de l’ICM

2. CHRIS TWIGGE- MOLECEYConflict minerals: What are they and why should we care?Les minerais de conflit : Qu’est-ce que c’est ? Pourquoi s’en soucier ?

3. HEATHER EDNIE & PETER WANTechnology standards for operational excellenceDes normes techno-logiques pour une excellence opérationnelle

4. GORD WINKELThe Journey to High- Performing Safety Cultures in MiningLe cheminement pour arriver à une culture minière de haute performance en matière de sécurité des personnes

5. BRUCE CONARDThe future of the sustainabilityL’avenir de la durabilité

6. ROSIE STEEVESLeadership matters. How to ensure quality leadership leads to individual, organizational and industry success.L’importance du leadership, ou Comment s’assurer que le leadership mène à des réussites personnelles et organisationnelles et à travers l’industrie

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September 2013 | 35

Proposed act changes are also moving from a prohibitionagainst causing impacts to fish habitat, to a prohibitionagainst causing harm to fish. This would protect against thedeath of fish or the permanent alteration to, or destructionof, their habitat. The DFO discussion paper suggests thatpreventing harm to fish would include ensuring a projectdoes not limit or diminish a fish’s ability to carry on one ormore life processes. Since it can take just one spawning sea-son or overwintering period to affect a fish population,“permanent” could be interpreted as “long enough to causeharm.” This means that proposed mining projects wouldneed to do more research on what extent habitat alterationwill cause harm to a fish’s life process when assessing poten-tial harm to fish.

Mining companies will need to stay informed as legisla-tion changes and supporting policy develops so they canreduce the chances that their operations will run into prob-lems or delays with the revised Fisheries Act. CIM

any other areas” in the definition. This change may signalthe need to protect a wider range of watercourse and waterbody types, as there could be uncertainty as to what these“other areas” may encompass.

A recent DFO discussion paper, intended to stimulatefeedback on policy that will be developed to implementchanges to the act, focuses in part on the sustainability andproductivity of Canada’s fisheries. “Productivity,” as definedin this paper, involves the sustained yield of all componentpopulations, species and habitats that contribute to andsupport a commercial, recreational or aboriginal fishery.DFO is seeking to ensure that protection and mitigationmeasures applied to business activities with fisheries impli-cations like mining must go beyond protecting large-bodiedfish that typically make up a fishery, and also consider sup-porting species and their habitat.

This could mean that mining companies will need to domore baseline studies for a longer period of time before anassessment of impacts or risk from their operations can bemade. These studies may need to include the assessment ofother smaller components of the ecosystem, including min-now species, to determine how much of a role they play insupporting the big fish – or “fisheries.”

Darcy Lightle, B.Sc., is a senior biologist in the Saskatoon office of McElhanney.He has 10 years of experience with Fisheries and Oceans [email protected].

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establish the all-in cash flow costs of their various miningassets and focus on the free cash flow (FCF) rather than thebest internal rates of return (IRR), returns on equity or pay-back. To the markets, FCF means operational and capital self-sufficiency and the capacity to pay dividends. Early, modestand constant FCF can trump higher-risk and distant-IRR proj-ects. Companies should sell or mothball those assets that donot make the cut – especially if a neighbouring mine has anongoing concern or a marginal asset for sale. This is the tuck-in market.

Drilling programs can also benefit. Programs were onceaimed at finding “El Dorado,” but as financial markets nowlook for greater certainty, a focus on enhancing the ProvenReserves and the Measured Resources as a percentage of thetotal could yield results.

Markets also hate permitting issues. Permitting cannot bepriced and it has a triple-cost element: process costs, politicalcosts and capex escalation as budgets bloat during thisprocess. Starting the process earlier, and including bothauthorities and visible milestones, enhances the “P3 Reserves”:Proven, Probable and Permitted.

Investors still look for growth but need a better “map” tothe assets in advanced development. The need for engineeringmilestones and third-party validation thereof should attractthis market. A better and more flexible data room is requiredto meet the broader needs from institutional investors whonow come in various niches: hedge funds and vertical offtakeinterests each have their unique information needs.

New projects were once wired for economies of scale toassure lower unit costs. This requires a re-think. With scarcecapital, a phased approach may be a better way to attract thelimited capital required for the initial phase. Infrastructure isalso often an underused asset. As several mines are oftenlocated in the same region, bundling infrastructure (e.g. road,power, water), using fewer footprints or pooling the infrastruc-ture with other users could be attractive for shedding assetsfrom the balance sheet and for reducing costs. Comminution,of course, plays into this to improve the operational and capi-tal leverage.

Other options exist to improve FCF. Downtown offices donot attract business or capital, whereas a location near an air-port offers savings and greater productivity with less commut-ing stress. Also, more targeted mining show promotions areessential; these are a tradition from the pre-Internet days.Improve your website instead. CIM

The mining sector faces a novel situation today. Past reces-sions involved a sick industry and healthy capital markets,but now it is the opposite. To boot, the capital markets are

dominated by institutional investors focused on dividends, andthey are not amused by pie-in-the-sky projects or by the indus-try’s total $43 billion of asset impairments in a single year. Thismakes it all the tougher for many exploring and drilling juniorsthat – assisted by tax flow-through shares – have been “raised”to depend on risk-oriented capital and eventual buyers.

As a result, both producing and non-producing companiesmust reassess and ration their resources while the capital mar-kets remain risk-averse. They should, however, keep in mindthat this capital attrition will choke off much future new sup-ply, and by mid-decade any survivor will prosper for yearsthereafter. The solution for companies, as in most recessions,lies in the prudent management of assets: the more equitycommitment and discipline they show, the better the termsthat investors could bring. The company need only put itselfin the investors’ shoes.

As a starting point, since many boards of directors havestrong technical biases, a company should have a board whoseskill-sets are suited to the broader range of strategic concernsincluding direct development and asset sales. Managementmust also include an internal managerial process as well assoftware systems to assist decision-making. Complex issuescannot afford silos. Complexity means more than geology; itincludes capital costs, political risk, tax issues, working capital,permits, human resources, sustaining capex and infrastruc-ture, many of which are often underestimated. Software tomanage these issues can be installed and launched for a five-figure sum, while a regular meeting of the various internalgroup heads is both costless and priceless in value.

Many projects can generate capital during this crunchthrough realistic, pragmatic thinking. Companies should

Rationing capital in challenging times

BY MAURO CHIESA


Mauro Chiesa has 33 years of experience in financing and advising extractiveand infrastructure projects, including multinational banks in New York, theWorld Bank Group in Washington, D.C. and EDC in Ottawa.

columnsF I N A N C E

Yellowhead Mining welcomes new CEO

Frank D. Wheatley was named Yellowhead Mining Inc.’s CEOand director, bringing corporate skills and experience to helpthe company meet today’s market challenges. Wheatley is asenior mining executive and legal counsel, supporting publicmining companies in their exploration, development, financialand operation activities in Canada and abroad. Wheatley isalso a board member of Teranga Gold Corp. and SelwynResources Ltd.

MOVING ON UP

September 2013 | 37

wasted at an operation will soon become very apparent. Countthe number of outside lights that are on during the day. Notethe fully lit indoor areas, along with the heating and air condi-tioning used while no one is there. Count the number of com-pressed air and water leaks that you hear and see. Note theequipment that is idling or running, which could be turned offor, at least, turned down. This is all energy waste and a wasteof dollars. For an even greater sense of the magnitude ofenergy waste, it is worthwhile to visit the mining operation atnight, during the weekend or at the periods of lowest produc-

tion. This will reveal the amount of energythat is consumed with little or no produc-tion to show for it.

By the end of the tour, you will haveformulated a good idea of the magnitudeand type of energy you are using and forwhat processes, services or benefit. This

energy-focused tour will pave the way for discovering obviousenergy waste of all types throughout the operation. Many ofthese problems can be rectified and, very often, the solutionscome down to basic common sense.

For example, at one operation in the winter, rather thanhaving the maintenance bay’s heaters start up when thelarge bay doors were opened, they were changed to shutdown. Workers quickly realized that shutting the bay doorswould let the heaters fire up and keep them from gettingcold. After a regular due diligence review, this proved to bea very beneficial energy project.

The other fundamental activity of the checkup is to gatherenergy costs and consumption data, along with productionnumbers and other performance indicators. This includes sev-eral different data sets, meter readings, compressed air reportsand daily temperatures. Such a concentrated look at the energydata will add context to the observations about energy usagemade during the tour of the mining operation. These two stepsare scalable, meaning you can look at an entire operation orsimply target a specific area, building, process or even justfocus on the different types of energy consumed.

An energy checkup has the potential to uncover manyimprovement opportunities and to reduce energy waste andcosts. In some cases, energy consumption can remain thesame, but production or other supported output can increase.In other words, you can push the limits of your productionwithout increasing your energy infrastructure. This is the markof a leading, world-class sustainable organization. CIM

Energy is a key element in any mining operation. As withany vital system, a checkup or a focused review givesmanagement and operators the information they need

to understand how well they are using energy. A checkupwill make clear what is working well but will inevitablyuncover areas of energy usage that may require attention.The review typically leads to changes that improve energyefficiency and plant performance and ultimately reducecosts. This practice is synonymous with well-managed andsustainable organizations.

A checkup begins with two fundamental activities. One isto take a plant tour or a walk through your mining operation,with a focus on energy. Essentially, this is a close look at howenergy is used – or wasted – throughout the operation.

A key element for a successful tour is to meet and talk withthe operators and other support personnel. They are theexperts. These employees are full of information and can begreat allies in recommending and implementing changes. It isworth noting that while it is the CEO, president or other sen-ior executive that continually pays the energy bills, it is theplant personnel that spend every dime. This is the time toengage them.

Preparations for the tour can be as simple as bringing a clip-board or a tablet to take notes and carrying some support doc-uments, such a site plan showing all buildings. Or you maywish to have process flow charts that denote each majorprocess in the production of your marketable products.

Taking a tour of the mining operation with a focus onenergy is an eye-opening experience: the extent of the energy

Energy checkups can uncover big savings

BY ANDRÉ I. LEMAY

André I. Lemay recently retired after 38 years with Vale, where he worked as anenergy analyst for Canadian operations. He now provides leadership, guidanceand support in developing and implementing energy cost reductions andaddressing climate change.

columnsE N E R G Y

While it is the CEO, president or other senior executive that pays the energy bills,

it is the plant personnel that spend every dime.

Scotting picks up reins at ArcelorMittal

Bill Scotting was appointed CEO of ArcelorMittal, the Luxembourg-based steel and mining giant, replacing PeterKukielski, who decided to pursue other interests. Scotting,with more than 25 years of experience in the metals and min-ing industry, joined Mittal Steel in 2002 to lead the company’sactivities for improving performance.

MOVING ON UP


Operating the Meadowbank gold mine was never goingto be easy. The fly-in/fly-out operation is located some70 kilometres north of Baker Lake, Nunavut. What isnow Agnico Eagle Mines’ highest-producing gold

mine faced unique difficulties from the start. The inhospitableclimate, non-existent infrastructure and remote location abovethe 65th parallel in one of Canada’s most undeveloped regionswere all challenges that needed to be addressed. What was notforeseen was a more prosaic problem – how to help localemployees adapt to a new lifestyle.

Local Inuit from seven communities in the Kivalliq region ofNunavut make up over 30 per cent of Meadowbank’s workforceof about 830 permanent employees. They arrive weekly onflights from each community to work their two-weeks-on, two-weeks-off rotations. The remoteness of the mine means, practi-cally speaking, that if employees miss their ride, they will miss aweek of work. And until last year, that was all too common.Absenteeism averaged out to 22 employees missing each day.Employee retention was even worse. Agnico Eagle had turnoverrates of 42 per cent for new employees at Meadowbank.

Krystel Mayrand, human resources superintendent atMeadowbank, says the company did not anticipate the scope

of the problem. “It was ourfirst experience in this ter-ritory. Were we well pre-pared for that? Probablynot,” she admits. “Andwere all the employees, allthe people in the commu-nities, prepared to comework for a mining company?

“It was culture shock,both for them and for us,”continues Mayrand. “Wehad to learn a lot aboutInuit culture, and [theyhad to] learn about thework environment atMeadowbank.” Employeesfaced big changes in theirday-to-day lives and sharpcultural differences fromInuit traditions. For mostof the people who came toAgnico Eagle, any previouswork experience was inregular eight-to-five, five-days-a-week jobs, often

doing clerical or administrative work, or working on water orsewer trucks for their communities. “This was the first job formost of them working two-twos (two weeks on, two weeksoff) and in a remote environment,” she adds. That was not easyfor everyone.

Cultural prioritiesJody Ningeocheak is a haul truck driver at Meadowbank.

She has been with Agnico Eagle for two and a half years andhas adapted well. But she has seen people come and go. “Mybrother worked here once upon a time, for a little bit,” shesays. But the separation from his family was too much. “Hequit – he just went home. He was here for like four days. Heand his girlfriend had just had a baby boy, so it was really hardfor both of them.”

“It’s mostly personal reasons that they miss work – theydon’t have a babysitter or something,” Mayrand concurs.“Their priorities are different. For southerners, if your daugh-ter is sick, you will not necessarily miss work for that. But inInuit culture, if your daughter is sick, you really want to gohome and take care of her. The family is so important that ifthere is something little at home, their priorities change.”

upfrontL O G I S T I C S

Absenteeism was a major problem for Agnico Eagle’s Meadowbank operation, as workers from local communities were notaccustomed to a fly-in/fly-out lifestyle.

New path for ancient cultureMeadowbank and Inuit workers adapt to each other’s needsby Ian Ewing

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Community events and traditional activitiescan also lead to absenteeism. When the huntingand fishing seasons open in the spring, there is aspike in absences at the mine. Community fish-ing derbies, with large cash prizes, also lureemployees away from work. Often, whenemployees are out on the land, they are unreach-able. It can take days before the company findsout where they are.

Solutions found through trainingCorrecting these problems required the com-

pany to change its approach right from theground up. To start, Agnico Eagle tightened itshiring criteria. “To enter a training program,”Mayrand explains, “you have to have a reallygood file. You can’t have missed work before.”The company spends more time interviewingcandidates and checking their references toensure that the applicant’s priorities are in theright place.

Once accepted, the trainees will go through a tougher trainingprogram. A one-day trial before training begins weeds out someapplicants, while stricter exams ensure that trainees are fullyready for work when they finish. Because the new system helpstrainees better understand what to expect, only 76 per cent now

finish the basic training compared to 96 per cent under the oldsystem. Retention of employees who do finish, however, hasimproved from an abysmal 58 per cent to 92 per cent.

Community coordinators have also made a difference. Theday before a rotation starts, coordinators call every employee in

September 2013 | 39

Agnico Eagle’s career paths help workers understand what it takes to advance within the company.

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their jurisdiction to make sure they will show up to catch theirflight. Many employees do not have vehicles, so the coordina-tors also provide rides to and from the airport, which can be asfar as 20 kilometres from town sites. The coordinators are alsoa personal liaison between employees and management. “Itmakes it a lot easier to reach our people,” says Mayrand.

The final pillar of Agnico’s new approach is a clearly delin-eated career path for all employees. “The career path tells themexactly what they have to do in terms of experience, numberof hours in the equipment, and the assessment they have to gothrough to progress to the next step,” explains Mayrand. “If aperson is absent, then they don’t get the hours as fast. It’s reallyfocused to motivate employees.” The company has also begunto focus heavily on their high-potential employees, as identi-fied by their files and their performance. Since 2012, AgnicoEagle has increased the number of these employees it sponsorsfor apprenticeships in skilled trades, to a total of eight now.

Measurable successAll of these efforts have markedly improved things at Mead-

owbank. Turnover among Inuit permanent employees hasdropped steadily from 25 per cent in 2011 to just 8 per centyear-to-date in 2013.

The transparency of the career path has also made it easier forwomen who begin in unskilled roles to access promotion, says



Mayrand, adding that attitudes are slowly changing. The com-pany now has 16 female heavy equipment operators, with fourmore in training. “For a married woman to work with other menaway from home was something that wasn’t easy at the begin-ning,” notes Mayrand, “but now we don’t hear about it anymore.”

Ningeocheak had only worked at the post office and theschool in her hometown of Coral Harbour before applying toAgnico Eagle. Now she boasts of being on the auxiliary reliefas a haul truck driver, and of being on the emergency responseteam at the mine. She is training to become a bulldozer oper-ator through the career path program and hopes to become amine supervisor one day. “I don’t know what I’d be doing rightnow if I’d never applied for that training,” she explains. “Therearen’t many jobs in my community.”

Lower turnover and absenteeism are also reducing Agnico’sstaffing costs, just as the lower current price of gold eats awayat profits. “Right now, we are (still) overstaffed,” notesMayrand. “For ore truck drivers, we have 20 permanent posi-tions because we have 20 trucks. But we actually have 24employees on the payroll just because of absenteeism. Ourobjective eventually is to cut these four additional positions.”

But cutting extra positions is not the same as cuttingemployees, Mayrand concludes: “We would take these people,train them on other equipment, and move them along thecareer path.” CIM

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A2011 Health Canada decision is forcing gold miningoperations in Canada to adopt a new cyanide poi-soning treatment kit. Miners must do away with tra-ditional cyanide antidote kits (CAKs) as they expire

and replace them with the Cyanokit. The new kit, despitebeing a more effective treatment, presents logistical issues forgold miners, particularly those operating in remote areas,because people need to be trained in how to use it. Thereplacement was made necessary by Health Canada’s de-listing of the CAK, and its April 2011 approval of the Cyanokitfor the treatment of known or suspected cyanide poisoning.

Cyanide is commonly used in the gold extraction process,and moderate to high concentrations of cyanide can causesevere injury or death within minutes, as it makes blood cellsunable to use oxygen. For this reason, it is important thatadequate treatment is provided – and quickly.

The addition of Cyanokit’s oxygen treatment componentis driving a training blitz across the country, both for minersand health care professionals.

Better safe than sorryAccurate figures on the incidence and level of specific

cyanide exposures are difficult to obtain. Megan Waqué, aWorkplace Safety North (WSN) spokesperson, says she is

aware of just one case duringthe past 10 years of lost-timeinjury due to cyanide expo-sure in Ontario.

“In reality, the number ofcyanide exposures is low,” saysFarah Kassam, manager ofsafety and health at Goldcorp.However, she adds, “Youalways need to be prepared forthe potential of cyanide expo-sure. Mitigating the risk isvery important to us.” Thecompany currently has threegold mines operating inCanada with an other two indevelopment.

Kassam and other safetyexperts agree the old kit car-ried risks when treatingcyanide ex posure. Becausecyanide is very fast -acting,treatment has to be givenimmediately to anyone sus-pected of being poisoned,

which created a danger using the old method. “The CAKantidote could be harmful to someone who wasn’t exposed tocyanide, but you thought they were,” says Kassam. “CAKtreatment also involved the use of amyl nitrite, which is nor-mally a restricted substance and potentially dangerous forpatients with heart disease.

“On the other hand, the Cyanokit is harmless if adminis-tered to someone who does not have cyanide poisoning,” shesays. Purchasing the kit no longer requires a special permitfrom Health Canada, and it can now be bought directly fromthe manufacturer, Kassam adds.

Teething painsDespite the new treatment method’s advantages, the train-

ing of staff to administer it is a logistical hurdle that eachmine needs to solve independently. “The Cyanokit requiresthat patients receive immediate oxygen therapy, to be contin-ued until intravenous therapy is administered,” says Waqué.“That means gold mines and mills need to have peopletrained in oxygen administration on site during operatinghours, an adequate supply of oxygen on hand, and a systemto ensure the equipment is properly maintained.” Mines alsorequire an evacuation plan that sees the patient and Cyanokitreach a doctor, registered practical nurse or other qualified


Goldcorp’s Porcupine operation was affected by the introduction of the Cyanokit.

Putting people and tools in placeCyanokit creates training obstacles for Canadian gold minersby Richard Andrews

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person to intravenously administer the hydroxocobalaminincluded in the kit as soon as possible. The compound bindsto the cyanide in the blood and allows it to be safely excretedin the urine.

WSN has been disseminating information about theCyanokit and fielding questions from industry about tran-sitioning to the new treatment package. “It’s more expensivethan the old kit but more versatile in cases of cyanidesmoke inhalation,” says Waqué. “At the end of the day, it’sthe only cyanide antidote kit now available in Canada andhas to be used.”

The changeover has been a big task but a necessary onefor all gold miners. “Goldcorp has increased the level oftraining at all its sites throughout Canada,” says Kassam, whoadds that getting each site up to protocol varied dependingon its location, staff and backup procedures. The companyhas organized emergency response teams at remote sites, butless remote locations such as Timmins, Ontario, have pre-sented a different challenge.

“When we were doing risk assessment for the new kit, wefound out that the local emergency medical services whorespond to after-hours calls were not trained or permitted tostart an intravenous procedure,” she recalls. “We had to trainour nurses in IV [administration] and liaise with the city tomake sure their first responders were similarly trained. Wealso had to make sure local hospitals understand our emer-gency procedures and their kits are the same ones we use. Itturns out that the old (CAK) kits in Ontario hospitals expiredin April, at the same time as ours.”

Lack of consultationThe gold industry is a relatively minor consumer of

cyanide antidotes when compared with hospitals, fire depart-ments and other emergency services. Still, some gold minershave grumbled about inadequate consultation from HealthCanada during its consideration of the Cyanokit. At Gold-corp, not everyone was convinced at first that the new kitwas an improvement. Its adoption meant a culture changefor some front line staff. “The presence of a [CAK] safety kithas provided a sense of security for many workers, especiallythose who’ve been in the mining industry a long time,”points out Kassam. “It’s important to explain why you aretaking something familiar away from them and replacing itwith something else, as this may cause uncertainty. In thiscase, there was concern about the Cyanokit because the newantidote was not widely understood and many peoplethought oxygen therapy wouldn’t work.”

To smooth the way, the company conducted an informa-tion and training campaign for all levels of its 7,000 staff inCanada and fostered communication on the issue betweensites. Each site also had to produce Cyanokit action plansthat were inspected to ensure they were effective and metthe standards required for the new treatment method.

“Once people understood how the new antidote removedcyanide from the body,” says Kassam, “everyone cametogether.” CIM

September 2013 | 43


The Raglan mine site in Nunavik, on the northern tip ofQuebec’s Ungava Peninsula, produces 26,000 tonnesof nickel-in-concentrate per year, and its operatorshave plans to turn out even more by pushing output

to 33,000 tonnes by 2014. No mine development is simple,but the particular challenges posed by the harsh and unpre-dictable environment will be an added test for GlencoreXstrata’s Raglan mine team.

After 15 years of operation, the site is not serviced by pub-lic infrastructure, and there are no plans for that to change.“Air and maritime transport are absolutely essential,” saysPaul Gorodko, the mine’s manager of business services.“Everything must go by one or the other.”

And so logistics preoccupies everyone at the mine,whether they are in operations, maintenance or purchasing,says Kristan Straub, manager of mining operations and tech-nical services. “There’s a tremendous amount of consolida-tion between teams.”

In Nunavik, yearly temperatures average -10 C and win-ters are long, dark and brutally cold. In the early days,development attempts were thwarted by ice built uparound Raglan’s port at Deception Bay, which variesbetween 10 and 14 metres thick and stretches over roughly

1.5 kilometres. Polar ice-breaking technology, whichpushed the traditionalthree-month marine ship-ping window to ninemonths or more, was theliteral big break that led toa green light for the mine.

Ice-breaking is no lessvital today, with a charteredmulti-purpose ship, the MVArctic, bringing in bulkcargo – including diesel andjet fuel, equipment andconsumables – to Raglan.Nickel concentrates (withbyproduct copper andcobalt) are trucked 90 kilo-metres from the mill site tothe port for stockpilingbefore being shipped outfor smelting and refining inOntario, and Norway,respectively. There is a mar-itime transport restrictionperiod from mid-March to

mid-June to protect local seal populations.Personnel, luggage, food and other light cargo are trans-

ported by two company-owned Boeing 737s, operated by anin-house aviation department. “We used to have just one air-craft, but it caused risk with availability,” Gorodko says.“Weather delays are frequent here, almost every week inwinter.”

The second plane lets the company recover from delaysquickly and provides greater flexibility, as it can be reconfig-ured to optimize the passenger-to-cargo ratio. Five flights perweek are now offered from Rouyn-Noranda (35 per cent ofemployees are from the Abitibi region), Montreal, and mostrecently, Quebec City. The 150 employees from northerncommunities are flown in by charter service.

The 737s have added benefits over newer planes, as theyare able to land on gravel airstrips. “A paved airstrip wouldbe more difficult and costly to maintain, and gravel offersbetter traction for braking and for landing with crosswinds,”says Gorodko.

Growth spurtImproved transportation flexibility has been necessary as

Raglan has expanded from its original $600-million project,


Breaking up sea ice extends the shipping season for Xstrata Glencore’s Raglan mine.

Arctic ambitionsComplex logistics built into Raglan’s development by Vivian Danielson

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exploiting open pits and the Katinniq underground depositthat are served by a central mill. Four underground minesoperate today and important investments have been recentlymade to construct the new Qakimajurq mine, extend thedepth of Mine 2, and modernize infrastructure. All of thiswas done to add another 7,000 tonnes of nickel-in-concen-trate to the current annual production.

Raglan’s infrastructure supporting the mines and millingcomplex has had to grow too. In addition to port facilities,the Donaldson airstrip and the power plant, Raglan is servedby 150 kilometres of roads and bridges, a housing complexwith a maximum capacity of 800 people, and its owntelecommunications systems.

Maintenance is critical, Straub says, as some buildings arestarting to age. “But first and foremost, the largest single issuewe face is the permafrost environment,” he adds.

Permafrost at Raglan extends down to depths between550 and 600 metres. Buildings are founded on steel piles andsit above ground on platforms to preserve permafrost stabil-ity. Saline water is used to drill in permafrost to prevent freez-ing of drilling equipment, which requires heated brine tankson surface and dedicated water stopes underground. Becausesome saline residue permeates ore-bearing minerals and endsup in the milling circuit, maintenance programs wereadapted to combat corrosion. “We’re continually investing inupgrading and refurbishing the mill,” says Straub.

Choreographed maintenanceTwo maintenance outages are scheduled each year, in

March and September, typically lasting between five to 10days. The milling circuit, the largest drawer of power, isbrought down during the process for preventive maintenanceand to replace worn-out or stressed parts.

Advance planning for the outages is essential, Straubadds: “We often have to bring in specialized people and theirtools, along with necessary parts and equipment.”

In addition to the mines and milling complex, teams mustinspect and maintain the 6,500-foot gravel airstrip, the portfacilities, and the roads, culverts and bridges.

“We also maintain the power plant,” Straub says. “We cantake a generator offline as we have redundancy in the plant.”

Raglan’s three maintenance teams – mill, utilities andgarage – work closely with an inventory management team todetermine needs and to establish timelines.

In 2012, a logistics planning cell was established, consist-ing of three logistical planners and an aviation technician.The cell reports to a senior logistics coordinator, under theguidance of Gorodko. Michael J. Welch, vice-president of theRaglan mine, says the logistics cell was established inresponse to the project’s growing complexity, including therecently expanded flights to southern hubs: “We’re bringingin more materials and more people and felt we needed amore robust planning process.”

“We also align ourselves with capital projects and contin-ued operations in order to get their requirements in advance,particularly for long-lead items,” Gorodko says. “There’salways a balance that must be achieved between materialavailability and controlling costs.”

The various teams at Raglan also work closely with thepurchasing department located in southern Quebec, whichliaises with contractors and suppliers and manages procure-ment, ground transportation, consolidation and storage ofmaterials, in preparation for air and maritime transport.

The process was designed like a spider web, with thelogistics cell in the middle, Welch says: “They’re responsiblefor gathering all the information from the various depart-ments so they can schedule activities and maximize efficien-cies.”

Cost efficiencies have improved as a result of the cell,Welch says. He adds that Raglan is one of the few large-scaleQuebec projects that operate without government subsidiesor infrastructure support. “We’re totally independent andassume all the risk. Everything must be well-run, or it fails,”he points out.

September 2013 | 45



Logistics planning also involveslooking ahead to determine what willbe needed for future projects. Teamsare already preparing for a windpower pilot project intended to helpreduce reliance on diesel fuel, forinstance.

“Our two biggest cost centers arepower and labour,” Welch says.“Labour doesn’t go away, so we haveto be lean and productive. But we arereviewing [alternative] energy sources,particularly green energy, and foundwe have the second best site in NorthAmerica for wind power.”

The company’s goal is to reducepower costs (currently averaging 32cents per kilowatt hour) that aremore than five times higher thanoperations on Quebec’s power grid.If the wind pilot project is success-ful, Welch expects that lower costpower could be generated from ahybrid system where wind energy and storage are backedup by a combination of diesel and, potentially, liquefiednatural gas.

In addition to mining and milling operations, Raglan isdeveloping a series of deposits scattered over a strike lengthof 33 kilometres, within a geologically favourable land pack-age covering about 70 kilometres east to west. Straub says 12to 13 kilometres of underground mine development work is

Oil Sands & Heavy Oil

executed each year between thefour active mines, which is no smallfeat as haulage drifts must beexpanded so personnel and equip-ment can be brought in to developeach new lens of the deposits.

“We have multiple deposits likeSudbury, except theirs are largerand ours are smaller and more dis-persed,” Straub says. “The closetanalogy is trying to mine potatoesin a potato field.”

Tight timelines and lateral thinkingNo amount of planning can

completely neutralize the unpre-dictable Arctic.

In April 2013, bad weathercaused air transport delays duringthe shipping blackout window. “Wescheduled a triple-flight day tocatch up, which required realdetailed planning with airports and

our aviation team,” Gorodko says. “This was successfullycompleted for the first time on April 30, allowing us to rap-idly catch up with the delays.”

Gorodko says Raglan has a good record of meeting variouschallenges over the years through innovation and adaptation,but new challenges pop up almost every month. “I’ve been inthis position for two years and am still getting new challengesregularly,” he concludes. CIM

Monitoring weather conditions at the Raglan mine is a criticalpart of logistics.

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Talking tinHart Mailandt says the aviation business is taking off in the oil sandsby Correy Baldwin

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In 2003, North Cariboo Air became one of the first two char-ter airline companies to operate in the Alberta oil sands.Traffic has really picked up in the last decade, and the oilsands now account for 70 per cent of North Cariboo’s busi-

ness, with six to eight flights transporting 700 to 800 passen-gers a day. According to Hart Mailandt, director of businessdevelopment, North Cariboo Air has been able to double itsgrowth every two years since 2007. It is now one of the largestsingle carriers in the oil sands.

CIM: Given the expense of air travel, why do oil companieschoose to air commute their workers?Mailandt: When you do a risk analysis of flying versus groundtransportation, the numbers are just so skewed in favour ofaviation. It is absolutely, unquestionably the best way to dothis work. Of course there are time factors and all those otherthings involved, but the reality is that the safety in aviation isso much higher than ground transportation; it’s almost a no-brainer.

CIM: What developments do you foresee for the air travelbusiness?Mailandt: One of the projects that we’re working on right nowis an innovative approach for bringing people into Fort

McMurray. Carriers based in Calgary pick workers up at theend of their shifts, taking them home to Atlantic Canada, butbecause they use the same aircraft to return to Alberta, it is anentire day until that plane can make it back with replacementworkers. That means virtually an extra day when that group ofemployees is not on site because Calgary-based carriers tradi-tionally did not have their equipment permanently reside inEastern Canada. We do. It’s a very different model and it’smuch more economical because we don’t lose an entire day ofshifts to flying across and flying back.

ConocoPhillips, with their Surmont project, was the firstone to rethink the way they did their transportation. We per-ceived, designed and implemented the logistics for their proj-ect, including systems, aircraft, reservations and software.Other producers and carriers are re-evaluating their projectsbased on this solution. We’ve taken their innovation to a wholemarketplace. A big change is coming to our industry over thenext few years.

CIM: It’s a surprisingly simple change.Mailandt: It is, except for us, the carriers. We’re here in Cal-gary, and somehow have to figure out how to get that airplaneto the other end of the country and have it sit there, and forthat to still be economic enough to fly specific clients. It’s


challenging to make a schedule work and make the econom-ics work. It’s going to be interesting over the next few years tosee how this changes the fly-in/fly-out programs for our exist-ing customers.

Another change is going to bemore cross-border traffic from theUnited States. Our biggest challengewith that workforce group is the dif-ference in qualification and certifica-tion in tradespeople between Canadaand the United States. Both of ourgovernments, federal and provincial,are working very hard to come upwith a standard and some qualifica-tions that will fit people into the spe-cific trades, which will allowCanadians to expand into workforcesthat are underemployed in certainparts of the United States. This will be extremely importantfor projects in Fort McMurray.

CIM: Were there risks that you took early on that helped youestablish a foothold in the oil sands?Mailandt: In general, the risks from a financial standpoint arenot onerous. Airplanes are valuable assets no matter what youdo with them. Age and how you maintain them of course areimportant, but there’s always residual value in an investmentin aviation equipment.

At the same time, an airplane is a perishable asset. You haveto maintain it to keep it to standard, but eventually it expires.To be able to continue your business you have to understandthat it’s a perishable item and ensure that you build a reserveso that you can continue to refresh your fleet.

CIM: How were you able to capitalize on the growth in Alberta?Mailandt: Most of the work that we do is for multinationals,and their requirements and safety standards are quite high. Sowe maintain those and actually push the limits of, which sep-arates us from some of our competition. And, as a result, wegain contracts.

And then of course we can take that to our financiers andcontinue to acquire airplanes and facilities. Facilities are keyfor positioning within the marketplace, as is being able to serv-ice the client, even in terms of things like parking and depar-ture facilities. Those are all key components to making alogistics package work for our clients.

Finally, it’s about timing. You have to be able to work withyour client to fit their schedules in with what “tin” – as we callairplanes in our business – is available.

CIM: We often hear of worker shortages in the oil sands. Is itsimilarly difficult for you to find your technical staff?Mailandt: It’s becoming increasingly difficult, because not

enough new pilots are coming into theindustry to support the outgoing pilots.There are things that we have going forus. Because we do fly-in/fly-out of FortMcMurray, most of our pilots get to gohome at night. A lot of the commercialaviation pilots, they’re away from home10, 12, 14 days a month, and 90 percent of the time our guys are at home.We bring a high quality of life to thepilots, allowing us to recruit and retainthe people who work in our business.We also have things in place like pen-sion plans and some flexibility inhealth care benefits that a lot of our

competitors don’t. But again, that flows from the size andmomentum we’ve created for ourselves.

CIM: I’m interested in your perspective on the logistics sceneoutside the air business. Have you seen other industries shiftand adapt to changing demands?Mailandt: The most urgent thing right now is workforce logis-tics. If you manufacture a product, you need to get it out, andyou need to get material in to produce that product. A keycomponent to the manufacturing process is people – at theright time, with the right qualifications, and in the right quan-tity. It’s the same thing in every industry. Even trucking com-panies have started calling themselves logistics companies. Allthese components are intermixed, and all the things that gointo this process are logistics.

I think producers are seeing logistics as a specialty perform-ance, and maybe not necessarily one of their core competen-cies. So what I see in the future is more logistics organizationscoming in to help producers, as opposed to them having thatexpertise in-house. This will be a major shift.

CIM: Some of the larger oil companies run their own aircraft. Doyou see this as a trend? Is this a viable business option?Mailandt: Certainly companies like Suncor and Shell haveproven that the model works for them in this particular envi-ronment. There is, of course, value in having an asset that youcan utilize to its fullest extent. The challenge for the smallercompanies is how to use assets effectively, because it is a costlyproposition if you’re the only one using an aircraft. You haveto have enough momentum or enough of a requirement tomake that business model work. CIM

September 2013 | 49

A

big change is coming to

our industry

over the next

few years.

“I think I have a fantastic job,” declares Erika Uchmanowicz,community relations advisor at BP Canada, as she smiles at thecamera. While the Sault Ste. Marie native describes her work –building relationships between BP and aboriginal communities

– we read on the screen that Canada’s oil sands could createmore than 800,000 jobs in the next 25 years. This televised

message comes courtesy of the Canadian Association ofPetroleum Producers (CAPP).

By Antoine Dion-Ortega and Pierrick BlinIllustrations by John Holcroft

September 2013 | 51

Any Canadian turning on his or hertelevision nowadays is probably familiarwith these ads. They are part of CAPP’sbroader media campaign, Oil SandsToday, which was launched in May2010 and has been mobilizing commer-cials for outdoor, print, radio and webmedia. For TV ads, the media buy va-ries from year to year but it is mostly fo-cused on Canadian news, specialty andsports channels. Ads were designed bytwo Toronto-based advertising agencies:initially by Agency 59 and today by i2,whose existing client base includes theCanadian Energy Pipeline Association,Canadian Natural Gas, and the MiningAssociation of Canada.

The oil sands industry has arrived atan unfamiliar place. Producers spentdecades advancing the technology andbuilding the business case for the deve-lopment of the vast bitumen depositsin northern Alberta, but outside of theprovince, a nearly perfect storm ofother factors has come together to chal-lenge industry plans. It is now publicopinion that is putting new projects atrisk and pushing the oil sands industryto respond.

Janet Annesley, vice-president ofcommunications at CAPP, is reluctantto divulge the cost of the whole cam-paign but admits that “it is in the mil-lions of dollars, all funded by theindustry.” She says the ads will keepplaying for a while. “We have a long listof oil sands technology, people and bu-siness stories we are working from, sowe could be developing oil sands sto-

ries for TV for a very long time,” shepoints out. “Our research shows thatthe longer the ads are on, the more ef-fective they become, as people see ini-tiatives are not one-off efforts orexceptional examples, but part of eve-ryday business. We have been asked[by our members] to speak out. This isan investment that we are going to haveto continue in the longer term.”

It is by design that Erika Uchmano-wicz speaks first about where she isfrom. “In our TV ads, you will never seean actor,” notes Annesley. Viewers learnthat Ryan Cosgrove, a mining engineerat Suncor, hails from Chilliwack, B.C.,and that Jacquelyn Kankam, environ-mental advisor at E&P Total Canada,comes from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Sup-pliers to the oil sands companies are alsofrequently featured, like Gaétan Bolduc,president and CEO at Prévost, a motorcoach manufacturing company based inSte-Claire, Quebec. “There are morethan 2,000 companies across Canadasupplying the industry and many thou-sands of others that supply these com-panies, and so forth,” says Annesley.

The main purpose of the campaignis to demonstrate that the oil sands area benefit to Canadians from coast tocoast, and not only production areas.“We do not concentrate our communi-cation efforts in Saskatchewan and Al-berta,” indicates Annesley. “We havebeen focusing on Ontario, Quebec, andB.C., where perceptions are different.We have the responsibility to deliver be-nefits nationally.”

Indeed, convincing Albertans thatthe industry is good for the economyhas never been an issue. A 2011 studyfrom the Mining Association of Canadarevealed that since 2007, the oil sandshave been generating an average of $1.8billion in tax revenues for the provinceeach year. “Most Albertans understandthat our roads, our schools, our hospi-tals are funded by the industry throughroyalties and taxes,” says Annesley. AnEnvironics Research poll last Decembershowed that 85 per cent of Albertanshad a positive opinion of the oil sands.

Rallying the other provinces has pro-ven trickier though, with support fallingto 57 per cent in neighbouring B.C.,and as low as 40 per cent in Quebec.Though the industry benefits the rest ofCanada economically, this does not al-ways offset its perceived environmentalcosts, suggests Tony Coulson, vice- president of public affairs at EnvironicsResearch. Accidents like the recent leakat Canadian Natural Resources Ltd.’sPrimrose operation can quickly neutra-lize the argument of economic benefitsin the media as well as in the public eye.Canadians, says Coulson, “want to seeeconomic development balanced withenvironmental protection. But if youforce them to choose, they will choosethe environment by about two thirds toone third.”

With 30 years of experience in theoil, gas and electricity fields, Peter Huntis a first-hand witness of how the indus-try has been slow to break away from itsAlbertan cradle and tout the benefits ofthe oil sands to a wider audience. Huntwas promoted to national practice lea-der at Hill+Knowlton Strategies Canadain 2011 when the public relationsconsultancy was trying to strengthen itsposition in Alberta. According to him,the Albertan ivory tower, as comfortableas it might be, hindered the industrybecause it cut the province off from cri-tical voices elsewhere.

“Most of the oil and gas industry isheadquartered in Calgary,” Hunt says.“The people who lead the industry arenot used to interfacing with people whodo not share their industry experience.Senior people don’t get that first-hand

exposure to the people who are beingcritical of the industry.” The failure to invest in what he calls the “politicaltheater” was probably one of the grea-test mistakes of the early industry be-cause it let others impose their ownnarrative of the oil sands. “[Media] pro-jects were put in play by other peoplewho had other agendas, some of themsupportive, some others not,” he says.

Outside of Alberta, when many Ca-nadians were hearing about the indus-try for the first time, environmentalgroups were able to tell the story of theoil sands on their own terms. “Toomany companies do not think enoughabout what the Internet enables,” saysHunt. “Networks of likeminded personswere used by the industry’s opponents,but the industry has been slow to seethat it needed to assemble its networksas well.” With increasingly apocalypticrhetoric, the industry’s opponents havebeen relatively successful at suggestingthat extracting the oil sands cannot bedone while, at the same time, addres-sing climate change. In 2008, MaudeBarlow, chairwoman of the Council ofCanadians, compared the oil sands toMordor, from the Lord of the Rings – itis an association that has been sprea-ding over social media networks eversince. The following year in a speech inToronto, former U.S. vice-president AlGore called the oil sands a threat to “oursurvival as a species,” while more re-cently, former NASA researcher JamesHansen said that Canada exploiting itsoil sands reserves would mean “gameover for the climate.”

In the public eye, oil sands mines ra-pidly became the poster children for en-vironmental destruction, much more sothan other non-conventional oil extrac-tion methods like offshore drilling andhydraulic fracking, or other heavygreenhouse gas (GHG) emitters likecoal-fired power generation. “[Mining]is a much more visual way of demons-trating disruption than showing a pho-tograph of an offshore platform,” saysHunt, who recalls that the first oil sandsprojects were all mines. “If you carefullyselect your photo angles, you can trulymake [oil sands mining] look shockingand dreadful.”

It was only in the last five years thatoil sands companies started to realizethey might lose the war of public opi-nion. “It became apparent in 2009 thata negotiated or constructive solutionwasn’t the outcome that environmentalgroups wanted,” says Annesley. “Theywanted to have a broad public cam-paign against the oil sands in an effortto shut them down. The industry wasslow to understand what kind of sce-nario was playing out, and that in thisparticular drama, it was going to becast as the villain.” In an effort to coun-ter the impact of hostile campaignsfrom their opponents, companies toldCAPP to look for ways to speak di-rectly to Canadians about their envi-ronmental performance, as well as theeconomic benefits they provided forthe country.

According to Kara Flynn, vice- president of government and public af-fairs at Syncrude, CAPP’s strategy “hasresonated extraordinarily well with bothour stakeholders and the public.” Shemight be right. Support for the oil sandshas been increasing steadily over thelast five years: In 2008, only 45 per centof Canadians thought the oil sands weregood for the economy, but that numberjumped to 67 per cent by 2012. “Themessage is that the folks who work inthe oil sands are your neighbours, yourcolleagues, the people your childrenplay minor baseball with,” says Flynn.“They are just like you and I. They goto work every day as dedicated indivi-dual employees.”


Flynn’s vice-presidential role at Syn-crude did not even exist before shetook it on in January 2011. The deci-sion to create the position reflects the intensifying public attention that the oilsands industry has been receiving la-tely, she says. “There is heightening dia-logue across the spectrum ofperspectives and opinions on our in-dustry – heightening awareness.” Eventhough only 20 per cent of oil sands re-serves are close enough to the surfaceto be mined, Flynn is well aware of theimpact that visuals can have in the pu-blic eye: “The oil sands industry, parti-cularly its mining aspect, is highlyvisible. It is one of the few resource de-velopments in the world where you canliterally drive right up to the door andwitness it first-hand.” According to her,“transparency” and “accessibility” arethe main reasons why the oil sands fellunder such scrutiny.

A line in the sandThe disparity between provinces is

not the only hurdle to overcome on theway to being viewed as a truly “nationalindustry.” The oil sands also face therisk of being too tightly associated withparty politics, with support varyingamong the federal parties, thus polari-zing public opinion even further. “TheConservative voters, not surprisingly,are the most supportive of the oilsands,” says Environics’ Coulson. “So88 per cent of Conservative supporterssay they are good for Canada. AmongLiberals, it is 68 per cent, undecided vo-ters 60 per cent, NDP supporters 48 percent, Green Party 40 per cent, BlocQuebecois 20 per cent. There is a rangeof either support or opposition basedon political affiliation.”

The Conservative government hasgiven the industry its clear approvalsince its election win in 2006, abando-ning the Kyoto accord in 2007, welco-ming Chinese investment in the sectorand touring the world to promote theindustry. These actions have divided,rather than unify, Canadian politics,according to many environmentalists.Lately, the Conservative Party of Ca-nada (CPC) has grown more comba-

tive, treating environmental groups as“radical” adversaries rather than part-ners in a constructive dialogue. Theday before federal regulatory hearingsbegan on Enbridge’s Northern Gatewaypipeline in January 2012, Natural Re-sources Minister Joe Oliver wrote thatenvironmental groups had a hidden“radical ideological agenda” and were“driven by an ideological imperative.”The Senate finance committee announ-ced at the same time that it would re-view charitable funding for somegroups, while Public Safety Canada lis-ted environmentalists as “issue-baseddomestic extremists” that could pose athreat to Canadians.

John Bennett, executive director atthe Sierra Club, has been advocatingfor strong environmental policies for 15years. He has witnessed first-hand thechange in tone in Ottawa, since theCPC came into power. “The acts of thisgovernment made the oil sands the keypolitical issue of our time,” he says. Nottoo long ago, he remembers, “We usedto have all sorts of consultations bet-ween the government and the industry

on climate change. My work was tomake sure that environmental groupswere well represented at these mee-tings. And the guys from the industrywere there, it was a multi-stakeholderthing. There were lots of discussions,lots of ideas.

“The Liberals were trying to findways to reduce emissions and not shutdown tar sands,” says Bennett, whoalso claims the CPC, not environmentalgroups, instigated the current PR war.“People like me are now treated likepolitical enemies. So instead, we gotback to a more traditional type of cam-paign, which is to attack the market.That wouldn’t have happened if theydid not abandon the fight on climatechange. If they had continued [withwhat the Liberals had done], cam-paigns on tar sands would not be whatthey are today.”

Bennett is joined by other environ-mentalists in his view. With suspiciongrowing over the years, Greenpeacecoordinator Keith Stewart has begunlook ing into the number of meetingsbetween oil companies and governmentofficials. “We are calling for a separationof oil and state in this country becauseit is very hard to see where governmentends and where industry begins whenit comes to oil policy,” he says. “We areseeing a weakening of Canadian demo-cracy in favour of rapid industrial development.”

Syncrude’s Flynn will have to dealwith the fallout from claims like this, re-gardless of their veracity. She says Syn-crude has a long history of workingcooperatively with governments, politi-cal stripes notwithstanding. “Govern-ment has an obligation to consulteffectively with all stakeholders, whichincludes Syncrude,” she adds.

Hunt shares a similar opinion: “Ithink the government recognizes thatthe development of oil sands is impor-tant for the future of the country. I seecommon interests rather than closepartnership.”

Annesley too is adamant that the go-vernment has been doing nothing morethan its job in defending the industry.“Oil sands are the largest single export

September 2013 | 53

The acts of this

governmentmade the oilsands the key

political issue ofour time.

– John Bennett

commodity in Canada,” she says. “It isour federal government’s role to advo-cate for the economic interests of Cana-dians abroad, regardless of what partyis in power. How they go about it iscompletely up to them.”

Breaking out toglobal markets

With no direct access to the coasts,Alberta needs the other provinces tobuy into the oil sands’ identity as a “na-tional industry” and carry its oilthrough. As output from the oil sandsis expected to increase from 1.7 to 6.7million barrels a day by 2030, the in-dustry needs to secure access to globaloil markets in order to get the kind ofprices that oil from other parts of theworld can command. “Even though ithas decreased significantly, the gap between West Texas Intermediate(WTI) and Brent is still there,” saysJean-Thomas Bernard, visiting econo-mics professor at the University of Ot-tawa and a specialist in energy. “Thistells us that there is not enough capacityto get Canadian crudes out, and theproblem will be persistent as long as oilsands production increases.”

There is no magic formula to tack-ling bottleneck issues: The industrywill need either more pipelines ormore trains. “The best way to delivercrude oil is the pipeline, which is saferthan train when looked after carefully,”adds Bernard. “The rail system was notdesigned to transport crude oil 150years ago.”

Differences in capacity also make thecase for pipelines. “To have a train fleetwith the same capacity as Keystone XL[830,000 barrels a day] is unrealistic,”says Pierre-Olivier Pineau, professor atHEC Montreal and a specialist in energypolicy. About 40 per cent of oil sandsproduction leaving Alberta is heavycrude. This needs to reach the Gulf ofMexico, where most refineries were des-igned to process it. “Near 50 per cent ofU.S. refinery capacity is located on theGulf Coast, and most refineries havebeen transformed to process heavycrudes,” adds Bernard.

Selling the Keystone XL project toAmericans has proven difficult, howe-ver. Hunt says it has become a “political

icon,” though in truth it is a relativelysimple industrial project.

“I don’t think there have been manyelections in the U.S. over the last 50years where a pipeline was discussed aspart of a political platform for a party,”says Reynold Tetzlaff, national energyleader at PwC Canada. “There is somesymbolism there.”

Symbolically or not, the oil sands arenow inextricably tied up with the fightagainst climate change in U.S. energypolicy, according to Michael Levi, a di-rector at the New York-based Councilon Foreign Relations and author of anew book, The Power Surge: Energy,Opportunity, and the Battle for Ame-rica’s Future. “The U.S. position on cli-mate has already affected the project,”he says.

Though President Barack Obamahas stated that he would not approve aproject that would result in a significantincrease in greenhouse gas (GHG)emissions, his position’s implicationsfor the Keystone project are hard tojudge, says Bernard. “From well towheel, oil sands production releasesaround 15 per cent more GHG than

other oil sources,” he says, arguing thatif Obama is looking to reduce globalGHG emissions, he will not approveKeystone XL. But, he adds, another in-terpretation is that Obama does notwant to weigh down the U.S. carbonfootprint, preferring to shift emissionsto Canada or other countries. If this se-cond interpretation is chosen, it couldbe positive for Keystone, according toBernard.

Refineries from the Gulf are, howe-ver, not the only ones designed forheavy crudes. Many others around theworld would be pleased to get theirshare of the crude from Alberta’s oilsands. “The growing Asian marketscould rapidly absorb the oil sands pro-duction,” says Levi. But the industryneeds pipelines that cross throughother provinces to reach the coast.With support varying among pro-vinces as well as political parties, thefuture looks quite uncertain on thatfront too. “The Northern Gatewaydoesn’t seem to be accepted at all,[Kinder Morgan’s] Trans Mountainalso faces many objections,” says Pi-neau. “Will the projects to the EastCoast be realised? There are lots ofquestion marks here, and in the shortterm, few positive answers.” Despiteuncertainty in public support, Trans-Canada Corp announced on August 1that it was moving forward with itsEnergy East pipeline project betweenAlberta and New Brunswick.

The industry is confident that theend result will be positive in terms oftransport. Even if some pipeline pro-jects are delayed or compromised, it canalways rely on trains. “The companieswill find a way to get their barrels to themarket one way or another,” says Tetz-laff. “Even today, if you look at the dif-ferential [between] Brent and WTI, ithas narrowed substantially from whereit was a year ago.” It is a clear sign thatsome of the bottlenecks have loosenedalready.

The question is whether the adverti-sing campaign from the oil sands indus-try will tip the balance in favour ofbuilding new pipeline infrastructure.But one thing is for sure: Canadianshave been invited to a national conver-sation – and it is far from over. CIM


The companieswill find a way

to get theirbarrels to the

market one wayor another.

– Reynold Tetzlaff


« Je pense que je fais un travail fan-tastique », déclare Erika Uchmanowicz,conseillère en relations communautaireschez BP Canada, en souriant à lacaméra. Tandis que cette native deSault-Sainte-Marie décrit son travail, àsavoir tisser des liens entre BP et lescommunautés autochtones, nous lisonssur l’écran que les sables bitumineux duCanada pourraient générer plus de800 000 emplois au cours des 25années à venir. Le message est signé parl’Association canadienne des produc-teurs pétroliers (ACPP).

Tout Canadien allumant son télévi-seur par les temps qui courent connaîtsans doute déjà ces publicités. Elles fontpartie de la vaste campagne médiatiquede l’ACPP, Sables bitumineux mainte-nant, lancée en mai 2010 et dont la dif-fusion se fait tant par l’affichage que lesjournaux et magazines, la radio et Inter-net. Pour les publicités télévisées, lestemps d’antenne varient d’année enannée et se concentrent sur les chaînesd’actualités, thématiques ou de sport. Lacampagne a été conçue par deuxagences publicitaires torontoises : dansun premier temps Agency 59, puis i2– dont la clientèle comprend l’Associa-tion canadienne de pipelines d’énergie,Gaz naturel canadien et l’Associationminière du Canada (AMC).

L’industrie des sables bitumineux faitaujourd’hui face à une situation qui luiest peu familière. Les producteurs ontpassé des décennies à faire progresserles technologies et à améliorer la renta-bilité des vastes gisements de bitumedans le Nord de l’Alberta, mais passéesles frontières de la province, une sériede facteurs en est venue à ébranler lesplans de l’industrie. Car c’est mainte-nant l’opinion publique qui constitue leplus grand obstacle aux nouveaux pro-jets, forçant l’industrie à réagir sur untout autre front.

Janet Annesley, vice-présidente descommunications à l’ACPP, est réticente àdivulguer le coût de la campagne, maiselle admet qu’il « est de l’ordre de plu-sieurs millions de dollars, le tout entiè-rement financé par l’industrie. » Elleajoute que la campagne va se poursuivrepour un certain temps. « Nous dispo-sons d’une longue liste de récits sur lestechnologies, les personnes et les entre-prises spécialisées dans les sables bitu-mineux, et nous avons de quoi produirede nombreuses séries télévisées sur cethème pour encore un bon moment »,fait-elle remarquer. « Nos études mon-trent que plus ces publicités sont diffu-sées longtemps, plus elles deviennentefficaces. Le public comprend qu’il nes’agit pas d’efforts ponctuels ou de cas

exceptionnels, mais que cela fait partiede nos activités quotidiennes. [Nosmembres] nous ont demandé d’en par-ler. C’est un investissement que nousallons soutenir sur le long terme. »

C’est intentionnellement qu’ErikaUchmanowicz nous fait part de son lieude naissance. « Dans nos publicités télé-visées, vous ne verrez jamais d’acteurs »,fait remarquer Mme Annesley. Les télé-spectateurs apprennent ainsi que RyanCosgrove, ingénieur minier à Suncor, estnatif de Chilliwack en Colombie-Britannique, tandis que Jacquelyn Kankam, conseillère en environnement àE&P Total Canada, vient de Winnipeg,au Manitoba. Les fournisseurs des entre-prises qui exploitent les sables bitumi-neux sont aussi fréquemment mis envedette, à l’instar de Gaétan Bolduc, pré-sident et chef de direction chez Prévost, un fabricant d’autocars basé à Sainte-Claire, au Québec. « Plus de2000 entreprises au Canada approvision-nent l’industrie et des milliers d’autresapprovisionnent ces entreprises, et ainside suite », explique Mme Annesley.

L’objectif principal de la campagneest de démontrer que les sables bitumi-neux représentent de grands avantagespour les Canadiens d’Est en Ouest, etpas seulement pour les régions produc-trices. « Nous ne concentrons pas nos

sous pressionUne industrie

Par Antoine Dion-Ortega et Pierrick BlinIllustrations par John Holcroft

September 2013 | 57

efforts de communication en Saskatche-wan ou en Alberta », indiqueMme Annesley. « Nous avons mis l’ac-cent sur l’Ontario, le Québec et laColombie-Britannique, où les percep-tions sont différentes. Il est de notre res-ponsabilité d’offrir ces avantages àl’échelle nationale. »

Bien entendu, convaincre les Alber-tains des bienfaits de l’industrie n’ajamais été un problème. Une étude de2011 de l’AMC révélait que, depuis2007, les sables bitumineux ont généréen moyenne 1,8 milliard de dollars paran en recettes fiscales pour la province.« La plupart des Albertains compren-nent bien que nos routes, nos écoles etnos hôpitaux sont financés par l’indus-trie grâce aux redevances et aux taxes »,dit Mme Annesley. Un sondage d’Envi-ronics Research réalisé en décembremontrait d’ailleurs que 85 % des Alber-tains ont une opinion positive des sablesbitumineux.

Rallier les autres provinces s’estcependant avéré plus ardu, le soutien àl’industrie tombant à 57 % en Colombie-Britannique, pourtant voisine de l’Al-berta, et à seulement 40 % au Québec.Bien que l’industrie profite économi-quement au reste du Canada, cela nesuffit pas toujours à compenser sescoûts environnementaux perçus,indique Tony Coulson, vice-présidentdes relations publiques chez Environics.Des accidents tels la récente fuite sur lesite Primrose de la Canadian NaturalResources Ltd. peuvent rapidementneutraliser l’argument des retombéeséconomiques chez les médias et lepublic. « Les Canadiens souhaitent voirun développement économique quiaille de pair avec la protection de l’envi-ronnement », dit-il. « Mais s’ils sontcontraints de choisir, près des deux tierschoisiront l’environnement. »

Avec 30 ans d’expérience dans lesdomaines du pétrole, du gaz et de l’élec-tricité, Peter Hunt est un témoin directdu temps qu’il a fallu à l’industrie poursortir de son berceau albertain pourvanter les avantages des sables bitumi-neux au public canadien. M. Hunt a étépromu au poste de chef national del’exercice de la profession à l’énergiechez Stratégies Hill+Knowlton Canadaen 2011, au moment où la société deconseil en relations publiques cherchait

à renforcer sa position en Alberta. Selonlui, la tour d’ivoire albertaine, aussiconfortable soit-elle, a fini par nuire àl’industrie, car elle a coupé la provincedes voix critiques venues d’ailleurs.

« La plupart des industries pétro-lières et gazières ont leur siège social àCalgary », dit-il. « Les chefs de file del’industrie n’ont pas l’habitude d’êtreen contact avec les personnes qui nepartagent pas leur expérience indus-trielle. Ils ne sont pas directementexposés aux personnes qui critiquentl’industrie. » L’une des plus grandeserreurs de l’industrie à ses débuts a étéde ne pas avoir pris position dans cequ’il appelle le « théâtre politique »,puisqu’elle a permis à d’autres acteursd’imposer leur propre récit des sablesbitumineux. « Des campagnes [média-tiques] ont été lancées par d’autrespersonnes qui avaient d’autres objec-tifs, certains favorables, d’autres pas »,dit-il.

Ainsi, lorsque les Canadiens nevivant pas en Alberta ont entendu parlerde l’industrie pour la première fois, lesgroupes environnementaux ont puexposer l’exploitation des sables bitumi-neux dans leurs propres termes. « Tropd’entreprises ne pensent pas assez auxpossibilités qu’offre l’Internet », soutientM. Hunt. « Les réseaux sociaux colpor-tant les mêmes idées ont été utilisés parles adversaires de l’industrie, laquelle atardé à voir qu’elle devait elle aussidéployer ses propres réseaux. » Dans destermes de plus en plus apocalyptiques,ces adversaires ont réussi à faire douterles Canadiens que l’extraction des sablesbitumineux puisse aller de pair avec lalutte contre le changement climatique.En 2008, Maude Barlow, présidente duConseil des Canadiens, comparait ainsiles sables bitumineux au Mordor du Seigneur des Anneaux – une associationd’images qui s’est depuis répanduecomme une traînée de poudre sur lesréseaux sociaux. L’année suivante, lorsd’un discours à Toronto, l’ancien vice-président américain Al Gore qualifiait lessables bitumineux de menace à « la sur-vie de notre espèce », tandis que, plusrécemment, l’ancien chercheur de laNASA James Hansen déclarait que l’ex-ploitation par le Canada de ses réservesde sables bitumineux entraînerait « ladéchéance climatique. »

Aux yeux du public, les mines desables bitumineux sont rapidementdevenues le symbole de la destructionde l’environnement, dépassant en gravitétant les autres méthodes d’extractionnon conventionnelles, telles que leforage en mer et la fracturation hydrau-lique, que les autres grands émetteurs degaz à effet de serre (GES) comme les cen-trales au charbon. « Il est visuellementplus facile d’illustrer une perturbationenvironnementale avec une mine à cielouvert qu’avec la photo d’une plate-forme en haute mer », mentionneM. Hunt, qui rappelle que les premiersprojets de sables bitumineux étaient tousdes mines à ciel ouvert. « Selon l’anglede vos photos, vous pouvez vraimentdonner un aspect choquant et sinistre à[l’exploitation des sables bitumineux]. »

C’est seulement au cours des cinqdernières années que les producteurs desables bitumineux ont commencé à réa-liser qu’ils risquaient de perdre la guerrede l’opinion publique. « Il est devenuévident en 2009 qu’une solutionconstructive et négociée n’était pas ceque voulaient les groupes environne-mentaux », explique Mme Annesley.« Ces derniers voulaient mener unevaste campagne publique contre lessables bitumineux dans le but d’arrêterleur exploitation. L’industrie a mis dutemps à comprendre le scénario qui seprofilait alors et surtout que, dans cedrame, elle allait jouer le rôle duméchant. » Dans un effort de contrerl’impact de ces campagnes hostiles, lessociétés ont mandaté l’ACPP pourqu’elle s’adresse directement aux Cana-diens et vante leur performance envi-ronnementale ainsi que les avantageséconomiques qu’ils procuraient au pays.

Selon Kara Flynn, vice-président desrelations publiques et gouvernementaleschez Syncrude, la stratégie de l’ACPP « aextraordinairement bien fonctionné,autant auprès de nos intervenants que dupublic. » Elle pourrait bien avoir raison.Le soutien à l’exploitation des sables bitu-mineux a augmenté de manière régulièreau cours des cinq dernières années : en2008, seulement 45 % des Canadienspensaient que les sables bitumineuxétaient bons pour l’économie, mais cechiffre a atteint les 67 % en 2012. « Lemessage est que les personnes qui tra-vaillent dans les sables bitumineux sont


vos voisins, vos collègues, les gensavec qui vos enfants vont jouer aubaseball mineur », dit Mme Flynn.« Ils sont comme vous et moi. Ilsvont au travail tous les jourscomme n’importe quel employédévoué. »

Le poste que Mme Flynnoccupe n’existait même pas chezSyncrude avant sa promotion enjanvier 2011. La décision de lecréer de toute pièce reflète bienl’attention croissante que reçoitl’industrie depuis quelquesannées, selon elle. « Il y a uneintensification du dialogue dansl’ensemble des points de vue etdes opinions concernant notreindustrie, une sensibilisation accrue dupublic. » Même si seulement 20 % desréserves de sables bitumineux sontsituées suffisamment près de la surfacepour être exploitées par des mines àciel ouvert, Mme Flynn est bienconsciente de l’impact que peut avoirl’aspect visuel sur le public. « L’indus-trie des sables bitumineux, en particu-lier son aspect minier, est très visible. Ils’agit de l’une des rares exploitations deressources dans le monde où vous pou-vez littéralement conduire jusqu’à l’en-trée du site et assister directement auxopérations. » Selon elle, la « transpa-rence » et « l’accessibilité » ont été lesprincipales raisons pour lesquelles lessables bitumineux se sont retrouvéssous la loupe des différents acteurs dumilieu.

Des limites à dépasser La disparité entre les provinces n’est

pas le seul obstacle à surmonter pourdevenir une véritable « industrie natio-nale ». Les sociétés sont égalementconfrontées au risque d’être trop étroite-ment associées à la politique partisane– les appuis variant selon les partisfédéraux – et de polariser encore plusl’opinion publique. « Les électeursconservateurs, sans surprise, sont lesplus favorables aux sables bitumi-neux », explique M. Coulson. « Ainsi,88 % des partisans conservateurs disentqu’ils sont bons pour le Canada. LesLibéraux les soutiennent à 68 %, lesélecteurs indécis à 60 %, les partisansdu NPD à 48 %, les Verts à 40 % et leBloc Québécois à 20 %. Ainsi, toute une

gamme de soutien ou d’opposition estfondée sur l’affiliation politique. »

Depuis sa victoire électorale en 2006,le gouvernement conservateur a claire-ment donné sa bénédiction à l’industrie,abandonnant l’accord de Kyoto en 2007,accueillant favorablement les investisse-ments chinois dans le secteur et faisant letour du monde pour promouvoir sesvertus. Cette stratégie a divisé, et nonunifié la politique canadienne, selon denombreux écologistes. Dernièrement, leParti conservateur du Canada (PCC)s’est montré particulièrement combatif,traitant les groupes environnementauxcomme des adversaires « radicaux » plu-tôt que comme des partenaires souhai-tant établir un dialogue constructif. Laveille des audiences réglementaires fédé-rales sur le pipeline Northern Gateway,en janvier 2012, le ministre des res-sources naturelles Joe Oliver écrivaitainsi que les groupes environnementauxavaient un « programme idéologiqueradical caché » et étaient « animés d’unimpératif idéologique ». Le comité desfinances du Sénat annonçait au mêmemoment qu’il examinerait les fonds cari-tatifs pour certains groupes, tandis queSécurité publique Canada décrivait lesécologistes comme des « extrémistesdomestiques » constituant une menacepour les Canadiens.

John Bennett, directeur général duSierra Club, plaide depuis 15 ans pourdes politiques environnementales plussolides. Il a pu constater par lui-même lechangement de ton à Ottawa depuis quele PCC a pris le pouvoir. « Les agisse-ments de ce gouvernement ont fait des

sables bitumineux le problème poli-tique majeur de notre temps », dit-il. « Il n’y a pas si longtemps, nousavions l’habitude d’assister à toutessortes de consultations entre le gou-vernement et l’industrie sur le chan-gement climatique. Mon travail étaitde m’assurer que les groupes envi-ronnementaux étaient bien repré-sentés à ces réunions. Les membresde l’industrie étaient là, c’était unedémarche multipartite. Il y avaitbeaucoup de discussions, beaucoupd’idées. »

« Les Libéraux essayaient detrouver des façons de réduire lesémissions de GES sans pour autantmettre fin à l’exploitation des

sables bitumineux », explique Bennett.Selon lui, c’est le PCC – et non lesgroupes environnementaux – qui est àl’origine de la guerre des relationspubliques actuelle. « Les gens commemoi sont désormais traités comme desennemis politiques. Par conséquent,nous sommes revenus à un type decampagne plus traditionnel, quiconsiste à attaquer le marché. Cela neserait pas arrivé s’ils n’avaient pas aban-donné la lutte contre le changement cli-matique. S’ils avaient continué [ce queles Libéraux avaient entrepris], les cam-pagnes sur les sables bitumineux neseraient pas ce qu’elles sont devenuesaujourd’hui. »

Le point de vue de M. Bennett estpartagé par d’autres écologistes. Animéd’une méfiance grandissante, le coor-donnateur de la campagne Climat-Énergie de Greenpeace Keith Stewart sepenchait récemment sur le nombre deréunions entre les sociétés pétrolières etles responsables gouvernementaux.« Nous demandons une séparationclaire du pétrole et de l’État dans cepays, car il devient difficile de savoir oùs’arrête le rôle du gouvernement et oùcommence celui de l’industrie enmatière de politique pétrolière », dit-il.« Nous assistons à un affaiblissement dela démocratie canadienne en faveurd’un développement industriel rapide. »

Mme Flynn devra composer avec lesconséquences liées aux affirmations dece genre, indépendamment de leur véra-cité. Selon elle, Syncrude a une longuetradition de collaboration avec les gou-vernements, nonobstant les allégeances

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politiques. « Le gouvernement est tenu deconsulter toutes les parties prenantes,Syncrude y compris », fait-elle remarquer.

M. Hunt partage cette opinion.« Selon moi, le gouvernement reconnaîtque le développement des sables bitu-mineux est important pour l’avenir dupays », dit-il. « J’y vois des intérêts com-muns plutôt qu’un partenariat. »

Mme Annesley est, elle aussi, catégo-rique : le gouvernement ne fait rien demoins que son travail lorsqu’il prend ladéfense de l’industrie. « Les sables bitu-mineux constituent le marché d’expor-tation le plus important au Canada »,rappelle-t-elle. « C’est le rôle du gouver-nement fédéral de défendre les intérêtséconomiques des Canadiens à l’étran-ger, quel que soit le parti au pouvoir.C’est à lui de décider de la façon dont ildoit s’y prendre. »

Sur la voie desmarchés mondiaux

L’Alberta n’ayant aucun accès directaux côtes, il est important que les autresprovinces adhèrent à l’identité des sablesbitumineux en tant qu’« industrie natio-nale » afin qu’elle puisse faire transiterson pétrole par leur territoire. L’indus-trie, qui prévoit d’augmenter sa produc-tion de 1,7 à 6,7 millions de barils parjour d’ici 2030, devra sécuriser l’accèsaux marchés mondiaux si elle souhaiteun jour obtenir des prix similaires à ceuxcontrôlés par le cours du pétrole prove-nant d’autres parties du monde. « Bienqu’il ait diminué de manière significa-tive, l’écart entre le West Texas Interme-diate (WTI) et le Brent subsistetoujours », rappelle Jean-Thomas Bernard,professeur d’économie invité à l’univer-sité d’Ottawa et spécialiste en énergie.« Cela montre bien que le Canada nedispose pas de suffisamment de capacitépour sortir son pétrole brut, et ce pro-blème persistera tant que la productionprovenant des sables bitumineux conti-nuera d’augmenter. »

Il n’y a pas de formule magique pourfaire disparaître l’actuel goulot d’étrangle-ment en matière de transport du pétrole :l’industrie aura besoin de plus de pipe-lines ou de plus de trains. « Le premierchoix pour expédier du pétrole, c’est lepipeline », ajoute M. Bernard. « Et unpipeline bien entretenu est bien plus sûrque les trains. Le système ferroviaire

canadien n’a pas été conçu pour le trans-port de pétrole brut, il y a 150 ans. » Lesdifférences de capacité font égalementpencher la balance en faveur des pipe-lines. « Il est totalement irréaliste d’envi-sager une flotte ferroviaire équivalente àla capacité de Keystone XL [830 000barils par jour] », explique Pierre-Olivier Pineau, professeur à HEC Montréalet spécialiste en politique énergétique.

Environ 40 % de la production dessables bitumineux qui sort de l’Albertaest du pétrole lourd. Ce dernier doitatteindre le golfe du Mexique, où la plu-part des raffineries ont été conçues pourle traiter. « Près de 50 % de la capacitédes raffineries américaines est située surla côte du golfe du Mexique, et la plu-part de ces raffineries ont été transfor-mées pour traiter du pétrole brutlourd », ajoute M. Bernard.

Cependant, vendre le projet KeystoneXL aux Américains s’est avéré ardu. SelonM. Hunt, c’est devenu une véritable« icône politique », bien qu’il s’agisse d’unprojet industriel relativement simple.

« Je ne pense pas qu’il y ait eu, ces 50dernières années, beaucoup d’électionsaux États-Unis où un pipeline ait fait par-tie du programme politique des partis »,explique Reynold Tetzlaff, leader nationaldu groupe Énergie chez PwC Canada.« J’y vois un certain symbolisme. »

Symboliquement ou non, les sablesbitumineux sont maintenant inextrica-blement liés à la lutte contre le change-ment climatique dans la politiqueénergétique américaine, selon MichaelLevi, directeur à l’énergie au Council onForeign Relations (le Conseil consultatifsur les affaires étrangères) basé à NewYork et auteur d’un nouvel ouvrage inti-tulé The Power Surge : Energy, Opportu-nity, and the Battle for America’s Future.« La position américaine sur le climat adéjà affecté le projet », dit-il.

Bien que le président Barack Obamaait déclaré qu’il n’approuverait pas unprojet se traduisant par une augmenta-tion considérable des GES, les implica-tions de sa position sur le projetKeystone sont difficiles à discerner,explique M. Bernard. « Du puits à lapompe, les sables bitumineux émettentenviron 15 % plus de GES que les autressources de pétrole », dit-il, ajoutant quesi le président Obama cherche à réduireles émissions mondiales de GES, il n’ap-

prouvera pas Keystone XL. Mais,nuance-t-il, une autre interprétationvalable est que M. Obama se soucie seu-lement du bilan carbone des États-Uniset prévoit de transférer les émissions auCanada ou à d’autres pays. Si cetteseconde interprétation se confirme, ledénouement, selon M. Bernard, s’avére-rait positif pour Keystone XL.

Les raffineries du Golfe ne sont toute-fois pas les seules à avoir été conçuespour traiter du pétrole lourd. Il en estd’autres à travers le monde qui seraientheureuses d’obtenir leur part de pétrolebrut issu des sables bitumineux alber-tains. « Les marchés asiatiques en pleinecroissance pourraient rapidement absor-ber la production des sables bitumi-neux », déclare M. Levi. Mais l’industriea besoin de pipelines traversant lesautres provinces pour atteindre les côtes.Le soutien variant beaucoup en fonctiondes provinces et des partis politiques,l’avenir s’annonce bien incertain. « LeNorthern Gateway ne semble pas dutout accepté, et le Trans Mountain [deKinder Morgan] fait aussi face à de nom-breuses objections », dit M. Pineau.« Les projets vers la côte Est vont-ils seréaliser ? Il y a beaucoup de points d’in-terrogation et, à court terme, peu deréponses positives. » Malgré l’incertitudedu public, TransCanada Corp a annoncéle 1er août qu’elle allait de l’avant avecson projet de pipeline Énergie Est entrel’Alberta et le Nouveau-Brunswick.

L’industrie est convaincue que lesproblèmes de transport finiront par serégler. Même si certains projets de pipe-lines sont retardés, voire compromis, ellepourra toujours compter sur les trains.« Les sociétés vont trouver un moyend’acheminer leurs barils sur le marchéd’une manière ou d’une autre », déclareM. Tetzlaff. « Même maintenant, si vousregardez l’écart [entre] Brent et le WTI, ila considérablement diminué par rapportà ce qu’il était il y a un an. » C’est unsigne clair que le goulot d’étranglements’est déjà en partie relâché.

La question est de savoir si la cam-pagne de relations publiques que mènel’industrie fera pencher la balance enfaveur de la construction de nouvellesinfrastructures de pipeline. Une choseest sûre : les Canadiens sont bel et bienconviés à un débat national, et il est loind’être terminé. ICM

In 2006, a warmer than average winter meantthe ice road to Rio Tinto’s Diavik operationopened late, closed early, and never reached its

full load capacity, leaving millions of litres of fuelessential to powering the operation stranded inYellowknife, N.W.T. The company had no choicebut to fly it in at a steep cost.

With Diavik relying on the eight- to 10-weekice road window to truck in all of its fuel for theyear, the episode opened management’s eyes tothe looming threat of climate risk, and the evenlarger impact it could have on operations as themine transitioned from open pit to moreenergy-intensive underground mining. As aresult, reducing its diesel requirements – andthe risk of uncontrollable supply seasons –became a priority.

This job fell to Liezl Van Wyk, Diavik’s princi-pal energy advisor and current business improve-ment manager. As she describes the project fromher office at the mine, Van Wyk’s eyes immedi-ately betray an intensity and passion, withoutwhich the four, 64-metre tall, 2.3-megawatt(MW) turbines may never have begun turningout power on the Arctic tundra on time andunder budget.

Initially, Diavik considered many options tosupplement its power usage, including buildinghundreds of kilometres of transmission lines to ahydroelectric dam, solar, geothermal and evenmodular nuclear power. “We really put every-thing out there and ran with all of them untilthey started cancelling out,” says Van Wyk.“Wind was the one that had the biggest eco-nomic return.”

Diavik collected three years of wind monitor-ing data that showed it had a viable windresource. Van Wyk drew up a $33-millionbudget, with the aim to generate roughly 10 percent of Diavik’s annual power usage – 17 gigawatthours (GWh) of its required 180 GWh – throughwind power. In 2011, the project was approvedby Rio Tinto brass and the real work began.


The end of September marks one yearof operation for the wind farm at theDiavik diamond mine. The learningcurve has been steep for the operationsteam, but as the wind keeps the turbineblades turning, the rewards of theinnovative project are adding up.

INTO THE WINDBY HERB MATHISEN

Four 2.3-megawatt wind turbines now feed power to the Diavik mine northeast of Yellowknife.

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2012. Each tower pad contains 300 cubic metres of concreteand 20 kilometres of rebar. Tower construction began in July.“The tower came in three sections and there were a total of sixlifts for each tower,” says Gord Stephenson, project engineerwith the mine’s capital projects department, adding each tur-bine went up in about one week. The turbines were linked upto Diavik’s power grid and, following commissioning, the windfarm provided power to the mine on September 28.

Hybrid powerIntegrating the turbines with the power grid has added a

new element to powerhouse control room operators’ jobs.Since wind is not constant, the energy created can fluctuate.But Diavik uses all of the wind power generated.

Each facility, including underground, processing plant,batch plant and accommodations, has a unique energy useprofile, but when they are combined, they become relativelystable. From summer to winter, the overall load can be any-where from 19 MW to 26 MW. In comparison, Yellowknife –a city of 19,000 – uses an average of roughly 25 MW, accord-ing to Nikolaus Auerboeck, mine technical services manager.

Diavik constructed a second powerhouse to build capacityfor its underground operations and now has 11 Caterpillar

Van Wyk and two wind resource consultants from Genivarwalked the mine site and found the current wind farm loca-tion, where buildings and structures did not restrict the wind.To select a turbine type, Van Wyk interviewed manufacturersand introduced them to the project, the risks and the North’sfrigid operating conditions.

Ultimately, Van Wyk chose the Germany-based Enercon’s E-70 direct-drive design which has no gearbox. By avoiding agearbox, she explains, “you take out the single biggest compo-nent that tends to fail.” The design also has the benefits ofbeing a lower-RPM machine – meaning much less friction –and quieter than gearbox turbines.

Long road homeParts were shipped from Germany to Thunder Bay, Ontario,

and then trucked up to Yellowknife. The final leg of the jour-ney proved most difficult. A 373-kilometre winter road snakesup to Diavik from Yellowknife, over dozens of ice roads andland portages.

Van Wyk says the ice road portions were easy, since they arestraight and flat. The challenges were the portages. “Theportage has a very quick inclination and you need to goaround trees and rocks, so you have very short turningradiuses. You’ve got a 35-metre long blade and it’s fiberglass,epoxy-resin impregnated material, which is very fragile andthere were no spares available,” she explains. Operating in aremote area, under strict project timelines, meant any dam-aged materials would delay construction and affect the eco-nomics of the project.

Enercon working with Equipment Express modified thetrailers to provide additional clearance, and to support the longturbine components, and EBA Engineering redesigned the roadwith a 35-metre turning radius in mind. Road builder NunaLogistics constructed ice ramps onto portages to decrease manyportage inclines. “From 64 challenging portages, we ended upwith four that were really tricky,” says Van Wyk. The turbineparts arrived in roughly 60 truckloads during the 2012 winterroad season. The 6.5-tonne turbine blades are the longest loadsever trucked up the winter road.

Road construction and foundation prep work started in thefall of 2011. The first of the four tower foundations, eachroughly 20 metres in diameter, three metres thick and requir-ing 20-hour continuous concrete pours, was poured June 12,

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PROJECT SPECSEQUIPMENT60 winter road truck loads, including 12 35-metre turbine bladesFour 2.3-megawatt turbinesMAXIMUM OUTPUT: 9.4 MWOperational between wind speeds of 3 m/s and 34 m/sTOWER HEIGHT: 64 metresFOUNDATIONS: 1,200 cubic metres of concrete, 80 kilometres of rebarFIRST FOUNDATION POUR: June 12, 2012

FIRST WIND-GENERATED ELECTRICITY: Sept. 28, 2012TARGET WIND FARM OUTPUT: 17 GWh per yearTOTAL ELECTRICITY REQUIREMENT FOR THE MINE:180 GWh per yearDIESEL CONSUMED FOR EACH MEGAWATT HOUR OF ELECTRICITY: 240 litres ESTIMATED PAYBACK TIME: 8 yearsREMAINING MINE LIFE: 10 yearsCAPEX: $31 million

The power output of the turbines can swing dramatically, especially when the wind speedis below 10 m/s. For instance, the power output increases 10-fold – from 127 KW to1.223 MW – with a wind speed increase from 5 m/s to 10 m/s. However, once the windspeed reaches 16 m/s, full power output is reached – even if the wind increases.

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generators accordingly. The diesel generators take roughlythree minutes to start, and once running, can operate at 105 to110 per cent efficiency for a short time to make up for powersurges. “If something happens, if there’s a quick spike, yoursystem won’t go down,” says Felgate. “Most of the time, we tryto keep the spinning reserve around two megawatts or so.”

Volatile windsJust like diesel generators, the turbines have their own effi-

ciency curves. A wind of five metres per second (m/s) gener-ates roughly 125 kilowatts, but a wind of 10 m/s generates1.23 MW. Auerboeck says the curve starts to flatten out ataround 12 m/s. Once the wind reaches 15 m/s and more,power is stable at 2.3 MW and there is very little change, evenif the wind jumps to 25 m/s. Collectively, the four turbineswere designed to produce a maximum of 9.2 MW, but canactually generate 9.4 MW under ideal conditions.

Van Wyk can pull up the wind power output numbers onher desktop computer and shows the range of wind powergeneration from the previous week. “From nine megawatts,really quickly it dropped down to three megawatts,” she pointsout. “It lost six megawatts [in five minutes.] If you’re not awakeas a control room operator, you can quickly be short sixmegawatts. You’ve got to watch it.”

This is why the wind farm was conceived to provide only afraction of the mines’ power needs. “If you went with 80 or 90per cent wind, it would be very hard to control,” says Auerboeck.

Winter bluesThe wind farm had a difficult first winter – the region’s

coldest in 30 years. “We lost two months in December andJanuary because of very cold weather, and they were still learn-ing the system,” says Van Wyk. The team learned the circuitbreakers inside the turbines were too small, and the lubrica-tion used could not withstand such low temperatures. Therewere problems with the turbine blade heaters. Diavik alsolearned how many spares to have on site and how to respond

diesel generators in total – nine 4.4-megawatt generators andtwo 3.3-megawatt generators. “But we never run everything atonce,” says Auerboeck. Diavik also has four 1.2-megawattbackups at its disposal from its construction phase.

If the power draw is 25 MW, control room operators man-ually build a power supply profile using a combination of thediesel generators that, along with the wind power generated,add up to that number. “It’s like building Lego,” says Van Wyk.Any capacity from the generators above the mine’s power drawis called the spinning reserve, which is what the control roomoperators can tap into if the wind drops off. “You’ve got capac-ity online, but you’re not using it,” says Van Wyk.

Each generator has its own efficiency curve. “You want torun it between 70 and 100 per cent,” Van Wyk explains. “Wetend to run them at 85 per cent to 90 per cent. It doesn’t costus unless we operate on the lower part of the efficiency curve,but again, it’s choosing which generator [to turn off] so we canrun the right combination.” She says they shut down genera-tors depending on wind farm production. “Let’s say (the windfarm is producing) 3.2 MW – which is a good day – it meansI have offset one generator here. I can switch it off.”

Bill Felgate, a powerhouse control room operator for nineyears at Diavik, enjoys the new challenge. “You’ve kind of gotto learn to balance the bigger load shifts, the changes in windand the diesel generation,” he says. Control room operatorsmonitor the mine’s power draw, each generator’s energy outputand each wind turbine’s output in real time on a large screen.“I couldn’t say how often we’re looking at it, but how often areyou looking at the rear-view mirror in your car? You’re alwayslooking at it, but you don’t realize it.”

Diavik uses a wind-forecasting model that predicts windspeeds three hours in advance. Performance is improving asoperators gain more experience with the hybrid system andbegin to feel comfortable adjusting the power loads on the fly.“They are starting to take more risk,” says Van Wyk.

Operators also anticipate surges in energy pulls at the mine,like when underground water pumps start up, and they fire up

project profile | D I AV I K


The winter road and transport trucks were adapted toenable the shipment of the 12 35-metre turbine blades.

Last year’s especially frigid winter led the operationsteam to make some changes to improve performance in extreme cold.

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D I AV I K | project profile

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when the whole turbine went down. “When it is down, itdoesn’t have the ability to generate heat and then everythinggoes south, especially electronics,” says Van Wyk. “These wereall very important [findings.]”

The team installed heaters inside the towers to keep theelectronic components warm. And Felgate adds many of thesmall bugs and trips Diavik has encountered are normal for thefirst year and a half of such a system.

“[The turbines] are operational to -40 degrees C by design,”says Van Wyk. “To truly prove it, I think we’ll have to wait untilthe upcoming season.”

Wind does workDespite these problems, Diavik might still meet its 17-

gigawatt-hour target in the first year. On July 22, the four tur-bines had generated nearly 11.8 GWh since October 2012,even with the winter downtime. “So it’s two months of kilowatthours lost,” says Van Wyk. “I am now curious to see if it’s catch-ing up. So far, it looks like it, unless something else happens.”

The project came in at $31 million, roughly $2 million underbudget and, according to communications advisor Doug Ash-bury, the wind farm has offset about 2.5 million litres of dieselso far. While Diavik targeted the wind project to provide around10 per cent of its energy requirements, at one point in July, theinstallation was generating 52 per cent of the mine’s power.

“It also helps us from a risk point of view,” says Auerboeck,adding the project will run until the end of the mine life – cur-rently 2023. The project will eliminate about 100 fuel truck-loads annually and has a payback period of around eight years.“When fuel prices get higher, of course, then that reduces thepayback time of the project,” adds Auerboeck.

The project is also proving that wind power is viable in thecold, remote North, where diesel is a major expense for resi-dents, communities and governments. Diavik recentlydonated its wind monitoring tower to a local First Nation togather data on the wind resource near the Giant mine site inYellowknife, with the hopes that it could power the mine’s

reclamation work. “The biggest winner of this could be thegovernment of the Northwest Territories because we’re takingthe risk to prove this can work,” says David Wells, Diavik’senvironment superintendent. “If it does work – and it’s work-ing so far – there’s no reason that we can’t be putting this intosmall communities.” CIM

Diavik’s principal energy advisor Liezl Van Wyk.

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sur le site, Mme Van Wyk décrit le projet avec l’intensité et lapassion sans lesquelles les turbines de 64 mètres et de2,3 mégawatts (MW) n’auraient peut-être jamais pu com-mencer à produire, à temps et en deçà des limites du budget,leur puissance dans la toundra arctique.

Plusieurs possibilités avaient été envisagées au départ pourles besoins de Diavik, notamment la construction de centainesde kilomètres de lignes de transmission jusqu’à un barragehydroélectrique, ainsi que l’énergie solaire ou géothermiquerenouvelable et même un module nucléaire. « Nous avonsexaminé toutes les solutions possibles et les avons mises à l’es-sai jusqu’à ce qu’elles s’annulent d’elles-mêmes », raconteMme Van Wyk. « Le vent est la seule option qui promettait lemeilleur retour économique. »

Recueillies sur trois ans, les données de surveillance du ventde Diavik ont démontré qu’il s’agissait là d’une ressource viable.Mme Van Wyk a alors établi un budget de 33 millions de dollars

Plus chaud qu’à l’accoutumée, l’hiver de 2006 a retardél’ouverture de la route de glace qui conduit à la mineDiavik de Rio Tinto ; fermée aussi plus tôt, la route n’a

donc pas connu son achalandage maximal, avec pour résultatque des millions de litres de carburant nécessaires à l’exploita-tion de la mine sont restés bloqués à Yellowknife, T.N.O. Lasociété a dû transporter le carburant par avion à prix fort.

Diavik comptant sur les huit à dix semaines d’ouverture dela route de glace pour transporter son carburant annuel parcamion, la société a dû reconnaître la menace des risques cli-matiques et les répercussions possibles de ces risques sur l’ex-ploitation de la mine alors que celle-ci migre de l’exploitationà ciel ouvert à l’exploitation souterraine, plus énergivore.

La réduction des besoins en diesel et le risque d’approvi-sionnement au gré du climat sont vite devenus les priorités deLiezl Van Wyk, conseillère principale en énergie de Diavik etdirectrice de l’amélioration des activités. Dans son bureau situé


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DANS LE VENTPAR HERB MATHISEN

Le parc éolien de la mine de diamant Diavik célébrera le premier anniversaire de sa mise en opération

à la fin septembre. L’équipe des opérations en tire de dures leçons, mais les récompenses de ce projet novateur

se font nombreuses à mesure que tournent les aubes sous la poussée du vent.

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L’année dernière, l’hiver particulièrement glacial a obligél’équipe des opérations à procéder à certainschangements afin d’améliorer les performances dansdes conditions de froid extrême.

pre profil d’utilisation de l’énergie, mais lorsqu’ils sont com-binés, ces profils deviennent relativement stables. De l’été àl’hiver, la charge d’ensemble peut varier de 19 à 26 mégawatts.Yellowknife, une ville de 19 000 habitants, utilise par com-paraison environ 25 MW, de l’avis de Nikolaus Auerboeck,directeur des services techniques de la mine.

Afin d’accroître la capacité des opérations souterraines, ona érigé une seconde centrale sur le site de Diavik, qui comptemaintenant un groupe électrogène diesel composé de neufgénératrices de 4,4 mégawatts et deux génératrices de3,3 mégawatts, de marque Caterpillar. « Mais nous ne lesfaisons jamais fonctionner en même temps », de dire M. Auer-boeck. Diavik possède également quatre génératrices de sec-ours de 1,2 mégawatt, acquises au moment de sa construction.

Si le prélèvement d’énergie atteint 25 MW, les opérateurs dela salle de commande établissent manuellement un profil d’al-imentation en combinant certaines des génératrices diesel qui,alliées à l’énergie éolienne produite, génèrent l’énergie voulue.« C’est comme empiler des blocs Lego », dit Liezl Van Wyk. Lacapacité des génératrices qui excède le prélèvement d’énergiede la mine constitue une réserve tournante dont se servent lesopérateurs de la salle de commande lorsque le vent faiblit.« Vous avez une capacité en ligne, mais vous ne vous en servezpas », déclare Mme Van Wyk.

Chaque génératrice comporte une courbe de rendementqui lui est propre. « Il s’agit habituellement d’utiliser de 70 à100 pour cent de sa capacité », explique Mme Van Wyk.« Nous avons plutôt tendance à utiliser de 85 à 90 % de cettecapacité. Cela ne nous occasionne aucune dépense, tant quenous nous tenons loin du début de la courbe de rendement,mais encore là, il s’agit de décider quelle génératrice mettrehors tension afin d’obtenir la bonne combinaison. » Elle ditque le moteur des génératrices est coupé en fonction de la pro-duction du parc éolien. « Supposons que le parc éolien pro-duise 3,2 MW, ce qui équivaut à une bonne journée et éliminele besoin d’une génératrice, que je peux dès lors fermer. »

On utilise un modèle de prévision à la mine afin de prédirela vitesse du vent trois heures à l’avance. Le rendements’améliore à mesure que les opérateurs se familiarisent avec lesystème hybride et gagnent suffisamment en confiance pourrégler la charge à la volée. « Ils commencent à prendre plus derisques », affirme Mme Van Wyk.

Les opérateurs peuvent anticiper les sautes de puissance etles demandes en énergie de la mine, comme c’est le cas parexemple au démarrage des pompes à eau, et ils lancent alorsles génératrices en conséquence. Ces dernières mettent envi-ron trois minutes à démarrer; une fois en marche, elles peuventfonctionner à 105 ou 110 % de leur efficacité pour un courtlaps de temps en vue de compenser une saute de puissance.« Même s’il se produit quelque chose, une pointe rapide, parexemple, le système ne tombe pas en panne, affirme M. Fel-gate. Nous tentons la plupart du temps de maintenir la réservetournante autour de deux mégawatts. »

Vents volatilesÀ l’instar du groupe électrogène diesel, les turbines possè-

dent leurs propres courbes de rendement. Un vent qui souf-

en vue de produire environ 10 % de la puissance annuelle deDiavik – 17 des 180 gigawattheures nécessaires – au moyen del’énergie éolienne. En 2011, la haute direction de Rio Tintodonnait son aval au lancement effectif du projet.

Un plan infaillibleLiezl Van Wyk et deux consultants en ressources éoliennes

de Genivar ont parcouru la mine jusqu’à ce qu’ils trouvent lesite idéal pour le parc éolien, un endroit où les bâtiments etautres structures n’entraveraient pas le passage du vent. Afinde déterminer le type de turbine requis, Mme Van Wyk aensuite interviewé les fabricants en les mettant au fait du pro-jet, ainsi que des risques et des conditions d’exploitationglaciales du Nord.

Elle a arrêté son choix à la turbine E-70 à entraînementdirect de la société allemande Enercon, qui a l’avantage defonctionner à plus bas régime, ce qui signifie un frottement etune usure plus faibles, et plus silencieusement que la turbineà multiplicateur de vitesse.

Une longue routeLes pièces furent expédiées d’Allemagne à Thunder Bay en

Ontario, puis transportées par camion jusqu’à Yellowknife. Ladernière étape du voyage fut la plus difficile : un trajet de373 kilomètres le long des dizaines de routes de glace séparantYellowknife de Diavik, entrecoupé de portages sur terrain acci-denté.

Liezl Van Wyk dit que le transport sur les routes de glaceétait facile, celles-ci étant plates et droites. Le véritable défi étaitles portages. « Le portage s’effectue sur un terrain pentu où ilvous faut contourner arbres et rochers, si bien que le rayon demanœuvre est fort restreint », explique-t-elle. « Vous trans-portez une aube longue de 35 mètres faite de fibre de verreimprégnée de résine époxyde, un matériau très fragile pourlequel vous n’avez aucune pièce de rechange. »

La société EBA Engineering a revu le design de la routeavec à l’esprit un rayon de braquage de 35 mètres. Le con-structeur de routes Nuna Logistics a érigé pour sa part desrampes de glace sur les portages afin d’en réduire l’inclinai-son. « Quatre des 64 portages les plus difficiles posaient undéfi de taille », ajoute Mme Van Wyk. Une soixantaine decamions ont livré les pièces de turbine au cours de la périodedes routes de glace de l’hiver 2012.

La construction de la route et la préparation des fondationsdébutèrent à l’automne 2011. La première des quatre fonda-tions des tours fut coulée le 12 juin 2012, chacune faisant env-iron 20 mètres de diamètre et trois mètres d’épaisseur, etnécessitant 20 heures de coulage de béton. Chacune des fon-dations se compose de 300 mètres cubes de béton et de20 kilomètres de barres d’armature. La construction de la tourdébuta en juillet. Les turbines furent reliées au réseau élec-trique de Diavik et mises en service, et le parc éolien put ali-menter la mine le 28 septembre.

Puissance hybrideChaque installation, incluant le souterrain, l’usine de traite-

ment, la centrale de dosage et le logement, comporte son pro-

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D I AV I K | projet en vedette

compte que les disjoncteurs desturbines étaient trop petits et quel’huile de lubrification prévue nesuffisait pas à la tâche en raison dufroid. Il y a eu des problèmes avecles chauffe-aubes. On a égalementcompris combien de pièces derechange il fallait stocker sur le siteet comment réagir quand uneturbine tombait en panne. « Unefois en panne, il lui est impossiblede produire de la chaleur et tout semet alors à aller mal, surtout ducôté des pièces électroniques »,affirme Mme Van Wyk. « Toutes cesdécouvertes nous ont étéparticulièrement utiles. »

L’équipe a installé desréchauffeurs à l’intérieur de la tourafin de garder les composantsélectroniques au chaud. M. Felgateajoute que bon nombre des petitsproblèmes et des pannes de Diaviksont chose normale au cours desdix-huit premiers mois d’existenced’un système du genre.

« [Les turbines] ont été conçuespour fonctionner jusqu’à -

40 degrés », déclare pour sa part Mme Van Wyk. « Pour enavoir vraiment la preuve, je pense qu’il nous faudra attendreà l’hiver prochain. »

Le vent fonctionne bel et bienMalgré ces difficultés, Diavik pourrait atteindre sa cible de

17 gigawattheures au cours de la première année. Le 22 juillet,les quatre turbines avaient produit près de 11,8 GWh depuisoctobre 2012, en dépit du temps d’arrêt de la saison hivernale.« Nous avons donc perdu deux mois de kilowattheures », dedire Mme Van Wyk. « Je suis curieuse de voir si nous allonspouvoir reprendre le temps perdu. Jusqu’à présent, cela m’ena tout l’air, à moins d’un autre pépin. »

Le projet a coûté 31 millions de dollars en tout, deux demoins que prévu et, selon le conseiller en communicationDoug Ashbury, le parc éolien a permis d’épargner 2,5 millionsde litres de diesel à ce jour. Le parc éolien de Diavik a étéconçu pour fournir 10 % de l’énergie nécessaire à la mine,mais à un certain point au cours du mois de juillet, l’installa-tion produisait 52 % de cette énergie.

« Cela nous aide également sur le plan de la gestion durisque », affirme Nikolaus Auerboeck, qui ajoute que le pro-jet se poursuivra jusqu’à la fin de la vie utile de la mineprévue en 2023. Le projet éliminera environ 100 camions dediesel par année et sa période de récupération est d’environhuit ans. « Bien sûr, lorsque les prix du carburant montent,cela réduit la période de récupération du projet », ajouteM. Auerboeck. ICM

fle à cinq mètres la seconde (m/s) produit environ 200 kilo-watts, mais un vent de 10 m/s génère pour sa part1,6 mégawatt. Nikolaus Auerboeck précise que la courbecommence à s’aplanir autour de 12 m/s. Lorsque le ventatteint 15 m/s ou plus, la puissance se stabilise à 2,3 MW etil y a alors très peu de changement, même si le vent accélèreà 25 m/s. Ensemble, les quatre turbines ont été conçues pourproduire 9,2 MW, et peuvent en fait générer jusqu’à 9,4 MWdans des conditions idéales.

Liezl Van Wyk récupère les chiffres de la puissance de sortiede l’énergie éolienne, qu’elle affiche sur l’écran de son ordina-teur pour montrer l’éventail de production d’énergie éoliennede la semaine précédente. « Elle est descendue très rapidementde neuf à trois mégawatts », indique-t-elle. « Elle a donc chutéde six mégawatts [en cinq minutes]. Si personne dans la sallede commande n’est sur le qui-vive, vous perdez six mégawattsen un rien de temps. Il vous faut être aux aguets. »

Voilà pourquoi on a conçu le parc éolien pour ne fournirqu’une infime partie des besoins en énergie de la mine. « Sivous deviez en tirer 80 ou 90 % de l’énergie voulue, vousauriez beaucoup de mal à la maîtriser », affirme M. Auerboeck.

Morosité hivernaleLe premier hiver du parc éolien, le plus froid de la région en

trente ans, fut particulièrement difficile. « Nous avons perdu lesmois de décembre et de janvier à cause du froid intense alorsque les opérateurs continuaient de se familiariser avec lesystème », explique Mme Van Wyk. L’équipe s’est d’abord rendu


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Quatre éoliennes d’une puissance de 2,3 mégawatts alimentent maintenant la mine Diavik au nord-est de Yellowknife.

Certification in Ore Reserve Risk and Strategic Mine Planning OptimizationSpread over a period of four months, this four-week course is designed for busy mining professionals who wish to update their skills and knowledge base in modernmodelling techniques for ore bodies and new risk-based optimization methodologies for strategic mine planning. Gain practical experience by applying the followinghands-on concepts and technical methods: methods for modelling ore bodies; stochastic simulations, case studies and models of geological uncertainty; anddemand-driven production scheduling and geological risk.INSTRUCTOR Roussos Dimitrakopoulos, McGill University, Canada • DATES Week 1: May 5-9, Week 2: June 2-6, Week 3: July 7-11, Week 4: August 25-28,2014 • LOCATION Montreal, Quebec, Canada • INFO http://www.mcgill.ca/continuingstudies/programs-and-courses/engineering-0/certification-ore-reserve-risk-and-mine-planning-optimization

An Introduction to Cutoff Grade: Theory and Practice in Open Pit and Underground Mines (with a new section on blending optimization strategy)Cutoff grades are essential in determining the economic feasibility and mine life of a project. Learn how to solve most cutoff grade estimation problems bydeveloping techniques and graphical analytical methods, about the relationship between cutoff grades and the design of pushbacks in open pit mines, and theoptimization of block sizes in caving methods.INSTRUCTOR Jean-Michel Rendu, USA • DATE September 2014 • LOCATION Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Geostatistical Mineral Resource Estimation and Meeting the New Regulatory Environment: Step by Step from Sampling to Grade ControlLearn about the latest regulations on public reporting of resources/reserves through state-of-the-art statistical and geostatistical techniques; how to applygeostatistics to predict dilution and adapt reserve estimates to that predicted dilution; how geostatistics can help you categorize your resources in an objectivemanner; and how to understand principles of NI 43-101 and the SME Guide.INSTRUCTORS Marcelo Godoy, Golder Associates, Chile; and Roussos Dimitrakopoulos, McGill University, Canada • DATE September 2014 • LOCATION Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Quantitative Mineral Resource Assessments: An Integrated Approach to Planning for Exploration Risk ReductionLearn about exploration risk analysis for strategic planning. Understand how to demonstrate how operational mineral deposit models can reduce uncertainties;make estimates of the number of undiscovered deposits; and integrate the information and examine the economic possibilities.INSTRUCTOR Don Singer, USA • DATE September 2014 • LOCATION Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Strategic Risk Management in Mine Design: From Life-of-Mine to Global OptimizationLearn how you can have a significant, positive impact on your company’s bottom line by utilizing strategic mine planning methodologies and software; improveyour understanding of strategic mine planning and life-of-mine optimization concepts, as well as your understanding of the relationship of uncertainty and risk,and how to exploit uncertainty in order to maximize profitability. Note: The strategic mine planning software used is Whittle. An optional half-day skills refresherworkshop on Whittle may be available.INSTRUCTORS Tarrant Elkington, Snowden, Australia; and Roussos Dimitrakopoulos, McGill University, Canada • DATE October 2014 • LOCATION Montreal,Quebec, Canada

Froth flotation does a fine job of separating minerals from gangue, butproblems surface when moving the products of that process. The tiny airbubbles in mineral froth stop up centrifugal pumps easily, coalescing atthe pump’s inlet in a condition called airlock. The initial onset of airlockreduces the suction the pump can produce; as excess air builds, it blocksthe pump inlet completely, causing the pump to falter until enough pres-sure builds up to burp out the air bubble. By that time, the pump sumpmay have overflowed. In addition, losses from the effect of froth on thepump force it to operate at a higher speed to produce the same pressure.As a result, froth pumps are often limited in the amount of pressure theycan produce before the onset of cavitation, which can wear out pumpparts.

Dealing with froth is increasingly important as mines see more tena-cious froths, substances that hold tightly to their air content despite effortsto disperse it en route. “Froths from fine-grained concentrates [below 20microns] are far harder to handle,” says Peter Woodall, principal engineerat Xstrata Technology. “Such froths are becoming more common as oresbecome finer-grained and need more regrinding.”

In 2011, GIW Industries announced changes to its horizontal centrifu-gal pump design in an attempt to mitigate this problem. Centrifugalpumps use a spinning vaned impeller – a fan with blades – to create low-pressure zones. As long as that pressure is sufficiently lower than theatmospheric pressure pushing on the slurry as it enters, slurry will bedrawn through the vanes and toward its next stop in the process. An idealpump design would suck the slurry, but not the air that makes the froth.

GIW drew on concepts pioneered by its parent company KSB in biological processing and thehandling of viscous liquids to develop a design that delays the onset of airlock, produces more pres-sure, and vents air through strategically placed holes in the impeller, explains Robert Visintainer,the company’s vice-president of engineering and R&D. The main pumping vanes are of a designthat disturbs the airlock while it produces more pressure at the same pump speed, allowing headsof 50 metres before the onset of cavitation. In addition to the first circle of vanes, which draws theslurry into the eye of the impeller, a set of vanes at the back of the impeller creates a second zoneof lower pressure that selectively draws air away from the slurry to be vented out. The air passesthrough a de-aeration chamber before leaving the pump. GIW found that while the air venting sys-tem alone did not delay the onset of airlock, it held pressure losses constant at a level sufficient tokeep the pump working.

Weir Minerals developed a similar design. The venting system Weir has dubbed CARS – contin-uous air removal system – is also based on a secondary set of vanes and has holes at the back of theimpeller shroud to let air escape. Weir’s design uses slightly different vanes and puts the vent exitas close to the shaft centerline as possible, instead of sending it out at a tangent (as GIW’s pumpdoes), because it was found to be the best way of keeping slurry out of the air stream.

Michael Bootle, senior design engineer at Weir, suggests the ability to vent air effectively mayallow for the use of higher specific speed froth pump designs to generate higher head. Thesedesigns, which feature oversized inlets and open impellers of smaller outside diameter for shortervane passageways of greater width, minimize the likelihood of “blocking” the impeller eye or vane

TECHNOLOGY >> Pumps and piping

Past the airy nothingsBy Eavan Moore

Finer grinding and tenacious froths are pushing pump manufacturersto redesign and reinforce the best practices in efficient froth pumping.

Dealing with froth isincreasingly important asmines see more tenaciousfroths. In vertical frothpumps, air rises along theshaft through the openvortex and exits at the top.


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passageway with an air bubble. Innon-vented form, they have shownthe ability to handle higher air vol-umes more efficiently than similarlysized standard slurry pumps andare sized based on a modified “frothvolume factor” (a function of per-cent air volume rather than a “tradi-tional” froth factor). They have,however, been limited in their abil-ity to generate higher head, as thecorresponding higher speed ofthese smaller diameter impellerspromotes separation of air andslurry and the formation of an airbubble in the impeller eye and pos-sible airlock. Intermediate, partialsolutions to this problem with non-vented designs has been the devel-opment of larger diameter, lowerspecific speed froth impellers withelongated main pumping vanes extending into the eye andsecondary splitter vanes to lower pump speed, minimize airand slurry separation, and enhance suction performance. Withthe introduction of venting systems, separation of air andslurry associated with higher speed may become an advantage,says Bootle. “If the venting is highly effective in removing air,it could be more desirable to separate as much air from slurryas possible,” he explains, “so that pump performance isimproved and less air is pumped to subsequent pumps ordown the pipeline.”

Alternative approachesThese horizontal froth pumps provide high-volume flow but

they have competition from longstanding vertical models. JanAndersson, technical director of slurry handling solutions atMetso, says vertical froth pumps outperform horizontal ones inmany applications by centrifuging the aerated slurry in a coni-cal tank while increasing the vortex with special impeller shap-ing that separates air from solids and liquids. “Airlock happenson horizontal and vertical pumps with the inlet facing down-wards,” says Andersson. “On vertical pumps with the inlet fac-ing upwards, it will not happen.” Instead, air rises along thevertical shaft through the open vortex and exits at the top.

FLSmidth has a different take on pump development. Thecompany does not put resources towards developing new frothpump designs; instead, says Kenny Don, applications engineerat FLSmidth, traditional approaches to handling froth are allthat are needed. “You can try to remove the air, but if you sizethe pump based on the froth factor flow (effectively oversizingthe pump) and optimize the effective level of your sump,there’s no need,” he points out. FLSmidth Krebs’ millMAXpump range handles the majority of mineral froths withoutresorting to expensive pump designs.

Oversizing is done by taking empirical observations of thefoam volume and tenacity of a given slurry stream, convertingthem into a “froth factor” between one and six, and multiply-

ing the desired volume flow rate bythe froth factor to get a design flowrate. Don says FLSmidth’s slurrypumps, if accurately oversized and fit-ted with a flared inlet to minimizepressure losses from friction, can out-perform specialized froth pumps. Headds that FLSmidth has a specialadvantage: a patented adjustable wearring that prevents slurry from recircu-lating back to the suction side of thepump and interfering with its per-formance.

Smaller-scale operations haveother options than centrifugal pumps.Bill Hancock, owner of Zeroday LLC,notes that peristaltic hose pumpsmove both air and slurry by rhythmi-cally squeezing them through a tube,avoiding airlock completely. Thesepumps can handle tough froths, while

using less power and lowering maintenance costs. Higherupfront capital costs and volume constraints are their chieflimitations. The largest of the models sold by Zeroday operatesat a continuous rate of up to 462.3 gallons per minute (gpm).By contrast, Weir Minerals’ horizontal froth pump goes up to14,000 gpm.

Hancock says that improved peristaltic hose pumps, whichuse rollers as the component that compresses the tube, onlyrecently made inroads into North America. Gliding on greasedbearings, the rollers are an alternative to shoe compressors,which generate friction, require higher torque, and put morestress on the hose.

The root causesThe pump itself is only one comparatively easy part of the

froth handling challenge, points out Joe Pease, Xstrata Tech-nology’s CEO. The entire plant needs to be designed to handleboth expected and unexpected froth problems. That was theapproach taken at GlencoreXstrata’s McArthur River zinc minein Australia, where 50 per cent of the concentrate recovered isfiner than 2.5 microns and the froth is extremely tenacious. Asthroughput increases, McArthur River is in a continual processof tweaking its methods for de-aerating froth – from sumps topipes to pumps. “You need to get the ‘boring’ stuff right too,”says Pease. “The good news is that you can design to handledifficult froths, and it doesn’t cost that much. But it is impor-tant to design it in up front. Give yourself room to makechanges.”

Pump manufacturers, too, are looking at how they can de-aerate slurry before it reaches the pump. Andersson says thatis Metso’s current focus. At GIW, a third round of froth pumptesting this year will focus on conditions inside the sump andhow they affect what reaches the pump.

“Hopefully, this will contribute to better methods for man-aging the froth upstream,” says Visintainer. “There is plentymore to be learned here.” CIM

GIW reworked the design of its horizontal centrifugalpump, which now includes a set of vanes at the back ofthe impeller to help draw air away from the slurry.

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CIM community

As its name suggests, Val-d’Or has always been inextri-cably linked to mining. So it is fitting that an annual CIMgeocaching event held there, which aims to raise aware-ness of career opportunities in the industry among localhigh school students, is proving to be worth its weight ingold.

Held the first week of May, the geocaching competition– part global positioning system (GPS)-led scavengerhunt, part quiz game – has been a part of Quebec’s MiningWeek for the last five years. This year, a record 290 Sec-ondary IV students – the equivalent of Grade 10 in mostother provinces – from three area high schools partici-pated in the event, which is held on the site of the past-producing gold mine that gave Val-d’Or its name.

“The kids love it,” said Marcel Jolicoeur, director ofbusiness development with the Genivar office in Val-d’Orand chairman of CIM’s Harricana Branch. “It gives them achance to learn about the mining industry and plants aseed in their minds as they plan for post-secondary education.”

After arriving in the morning by bus, teams of six toeight students fan out and search for 50 hidden cachesusing GPS technology. In addition to hosting the GPS coor-dinates for the next cache, each cache contains a short texton a subject related to mining – including anything fromdrilling, explosives and ventilation to prospecting, energyand geology – and a question based on information in thetext.

“We set it up in a way that each team can find a half-dozen different caches in about 90 minutes,” saidAnnabelle Rioux, human resources consultant with

Hide and go geocachingTechnology and history intersect for students at CIM’s Harricana Branch event

Une grande partie de géocachetteLa technologie et l’histoire se croisent lors de l’événement

de la section Harricana de l’ICM en faveur des élèves

by / par Mark Cardwell

Comme son nom l’indique, la ville de Val-d’Or a toujours été inti-mement liée à l’exploitation minière. Organisé à Val-D’or dans le butde sensibiliser les élèves locaux de niveau secondaire aux opportuni-tés professionnelles dans ce secteur, on peut affirmer que l’événe-ment annuel de géocachette de l’ICM vaut son pesant d’or.

La compétition de géocachette, qui consiste en une chasse au trésorGPS et en un jeu-questionnaire, a lieu la première semaine de mai ets’inscrit dans le cadre de la Semaine minière du Québec depuis cinq ans.Cette année, un nombre record de 290 élèves du secondaire IV (l’équi-valent de la 10e année dans la plupart des autres provinces) de troisécoles secondaires de la région ont participé à l’événement, organisé surle site de l’ancienne mine d’or qui a prêté son nom à la ville.

« Cet événement plaît beaucoup aux jeunes », a déclaré Marcel Joli-cœur, directeur du développement des entreprises au bureau de Geni-var à Val-d’Or et président de la section Harricana de l’ICM. « Il leurpermet d’en apprendre davantage sur l’industrie minière et leur donnedes idées pour la planification de leurs études postsecondaires. »

Après leur arrivée le matin en autobus, des équipes composées desix à huit élèves se dispersent pour partir à la recherche de 50 cachesà l’aide de la technologie GPS. En plus de contenir les coordonnéesGPS de la cache suivante, chaque cache contient un court texte surun thème lié à l’exploitation minière (par exemple le forage, les explo-sifs, la ventilation, la prospection, l’énergie et la géologie) ainsi qu’unequestion basée sur les renseignements contenus dans le texte.

« Nous organisons la partie de façon à ce que chaque équipepuisse trouver environ 6 caches différentes en 90 minutes », a expli-qué Annabelle Rioux, conseillère en ressources humaines chezAgnico Eagle Mines. Avec M. Jolicœur et Johanne Voyer de la sociétéDeloitte & Touche, elle siège en tant que représentante de l’industrieaux côtés des professeurs et des fournisseurs au sein du comité d’or-ganisation de l’événement.


Students participate in theCIM Harricana Branch’sgeocaching event. / Lesélèves participant àl’événement de géocachettede la section Harricana del’ICM.

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Agnico Eagle Mines, who along with Jolicoeur andDeloitte’s Johanne Voyer, sits as an industry representativewith teachers and suppliers on the event’s organizing committee.

After the search, the event moves indoors to a largeconference room where students spend another 90 min-utes trying to find answers to more questions at booths setup and staffed by representatives from 10 industry-relatedcompanies in the area. Quiz scores are then tabulated, andthe winning teams are awarded with prizes. Students arealso given a mine rescue and firefighting demonstration,before boarding their buses for the return trip to school.

According to Jolicoeur, the half-day event takes eightmonths of planning and costs about $5,000 to stage –excluding the use of 42 GPS units worth $15,000 thatwere bought with funds raised by the organizing commit-tee. But he says the time and money invested are smallcompared to the dividends for students, the mining indus-try, and the mining-intensive Abitibi- Témiscamingue andRouyn-Noranda regions.

“More than 80 per cent of our economy depends onmining,” he said. “But few kids here get a chance to seeand understand what mining is really all about and thegreat jobs it offers. Many have negative images of [theindustry] and leave to find jobs in other fields.”

Geocaching, he added, is a fun and educational activitythat provides students entering their final year of highschool with an opportunity to “learn the truth about min-ing and maybe make them think about becoming a geol-ogist or a mining engineer or a heavy equipment operator.And we’ve heard that several kids have done exactly that.”

Born from a brainstorming session of the Harricanabranch’s Mining Week committee, geocaching was devel-oped as CIM’s contribution to the myriad public eventsthat have been put on by the mining community in theregion for more than 20 years.

First held at Carrefour High School in Val-d’Or, in2009, the event, restricted to the gym, attracted roughly100 Secondary IV students and featured only a handful ofbooths. The next year, the caches were spread throughoutthe school. The move to the old gold mine site (now alocal tourist attraction called La Cité de l’Or) in 2011 hashelped the event grow in size and popularity among stu-dents and teachers. This year’s edition included studentsfrom two regional high schools: Le Tremplin in Malarticand La Concorde in Senneterre. “It is extremely successfuland people want more of it,” said Jolicoeur.

According to CIM’s executive director Jean Vavrek, fiveor six other CIM branches across Quebec are now lookingseriously at organizing geocaching events in their regions:“And it’s not just Quebec. I can see this going acrossCanada, even becoming a nationwide contest,” saidVavrek. “In fact, this is something we can take worldwideto show people how complex and interesting it is to findand extract minerals from the ground.” CIM

Après la recherche des caches, les participants à l’événement serendent dans une grande salle de conférence pour passer 90 minutessupplémentaires à chercher la réponse à d’autres questions dans desstands installés et tenus par des membres du personnel de dix entre-prises régionales spécialisées dans ce secteur. Les résultats du ques-tionnaire sont alors classés et les équipes gagnantes se voientremettre un prix. Les élèves assistent ensuite à une démonstration desauvetage minier et de lutte contre l’incendie dans une mine, avantde repartir en autobus vers leur école.

Selon M. Jolicœur, cet événement d’une demi-journée requierthuit mois de planification et 5 000 $ de frais d’organisation, sanscompter l’utilisation de 42 dispositifs GPS d’une valeur de 15 000 $achetés grâce à des fonds recueillis par le comité d’organisation. MaisM. Jolicœur explique que ces investissements sont minimes en com-paraison des retombées pour les élèves, l’industrie minière et lesrégions de l’Abitibi-Témiscamingue et de Rouyn-Noranda, lieux d’ac-tivités minières intensives.

« Plus de 80 % de notre économie dépend de l’exploitationminière », a-t-il déclaré. « Mais peu de jeunes d’ici ont la chance de voiret de comprendre les enjeux des activités minières et les opportuni-tés professionnelles que ce secteur offre. Bon nombre d’entre eux ontune image négative de l’industrie et quittent la région pour trouverun emploi dans d’autres secteurs. »

Selon lui, la géocachette est une activité pédagogique et ludiquequi donne la possibilité aux élèves entamant leur dernière année desecondaire « de découvrir la face cachée de l’industrie minière etpeut-être d’envisager une carrière de géologue, d’ingénieur minierou de conducteur d’équipement lourd. Et d’après ce que nous avonsentendu dire, plusieurs jeunes ont suivi cette voie. »

L’idée de la géocachette a émergé lors d’une séance de remue-méninges du comité de la Semaine minière de la section Harricana.L’ICM l’a concrétisé en tant que contribution à la myriade d’événe-ments publics organisés par la communauté minière dans la régiondepuis plus de 20 ans.

Organisé pour la première fois à l’école polyvalente Le Carrefourde Val-d’Or en 2009, l’événement, limité au gymnase, avait attiré prèsde 100 élèves en secondaire IV et seuls quelques stands avaient étéinstallés. L’année suivante, les caches avaient été réparties dans toutel’école. En 2011, l’événement a été organisé à l’ancienne mine d’or(désormais une attraction touristique locale nommée La Cité de l’Or),ce qui a contribué à l’expansion et à la popularité grandissante del’événement auprès des élèves et des enseignants. Des élèves dedeux écoles secondaires régionales (Le Tremplin de Malartic et LaConcorde de Senneterre) ont participé à la dernière édition. « L’évé-nement a connu un grand succès et les gens en redemandent », adéclaré M. Jolicœur.

Selon le directeur exécutif de l’ICM, Jean Vavrek, cinq ou six autressections québécoises de l’ICM envisagent aujourd’hui sérieusementd’organiser des événements de géocachette dans leur région.« Et pas seulement au Québec. Ce genre d’événements pourrait êtreorganisé partout au Canada et même devenir une compétitionnationale. En fait, nous pourrions le promouvoir dans le mondeentier afin d’expliquer aux gens à quel point le processus derecherche et d’extraction de minerais dans les sols est complexe etintéressant. » ICM

September 2013 | 71

CIM community


CIM community

When Bob Schafer joined CIMCouncil three years ago, he wasalready thinking about how hewould help update the strategicplan for the organization. He rec-ognized that the task would takelonger than his eventual one-yearterm as president, which beganlast May. And he knew he wantedto call on the voice of the CIMmembership to drive its growth.

“CIM is the membership,”Schafer says. “Our objective is tomake sure we’re in sync with whatour members want, what theyneed to be successful in theircareers, and to advance the capac-ities of our industry.”

For Schafer, it is crucial thatCIM members help define theorganization’s priorities. It is thereasoning behind the member survey that will be carried outin the coming months and will be evaluated later this year. Theresults will be reported prior to the next CIM Convention inMay 2014.

“We’re taking a landmark approach to create our plan,”Schafer explains. “Most organizations will sequester their exec-utive committee for a couple of days with a facilitator and cre-ate a mission statement. But we want to do it right. We wantto have our members involved with what the strategic planought to be.”

What does it mean to belong?Over the past five years, CIM’s membership has increased

by 5,000 to 14,500 members. “Our industry’s been on a majorupswing globally,” notes Schafer. “So it’s imperative that welook forward in a particularly meaningful way.”

He believes CIM plays a leadership role in the promotionof operational best practices and also in the area of stan-dards, such as the definition of mineral resource andreserves within the Canadian mining industry. “We want tomake sure we maintain that leadership and give our mem-bership something to be proud of,” Schafer says.

Lorsque Bob Schafer a rejoint leConseil de l’ICM il y a trois ans, il réfléchis-sait déjà à la façon de mettre au point unplan stratégique pour l’organisation. Il areconnu que cette tâche serait pluslongue que son mandat final d’uneannée en tant que président, lequel adébuté en mai l’année dernière. Il savaitaussi que la contribution des membresde l’ICM était indispensable à la crois-sance de l’institut.

« L’ICM existe grâce à ses membres »,commente M. Schafer. « Notre objectif estde nous assurer que nous sommes enphase avec ce que veulent nos membreset ce dont ils ont besoin pour réussir leurscarrières, et de renforcer les capacités denotre secteur. »

Pour M. Schafer, il est primordial queles membres de l’ICM contribuent à ladéfinition des priorités de l’organisation.

C’était d’ailleurs la raison même du sondage mené auprès des membresen début d’été, lequel sera évalué d’ici la fin de l’année et dont les résul-tats seront révélés avant le prochain Congrès de l’ICM qui se tiendra enmai 2014.

« Nous adoptons une approche historique pour créer notre plan »,explique M. Schafer. « La plupart des organisations ‘séquestrent’ leurcomité exécutif pendant quelques jours avec un facilitateur et créent unénoncé de la mission. Mais nous voulons faire les choses correctement.Nous souhaitons que nos membres soient impliqués dans le résultat finalde notre plan stratégique. »

L’appartenance : quelles implications ?Au cours des cinq dernières années, l’adhésion à l’ICM a atteint la

barre des 14 500 membres, soit une augmentation de 5 000 membres.« Notre secteur a connu une croissance impressionnante dans le mondeentier », fait remarquer M. Schafer. « Aussi nous faut-il impérativementenvisager l’avenir de manière concrète. »

Selon lui, l’ICM joue un rôle de premier plan dans la promotion desbonnes pratiques opérationnelles et également dans le domaine desnormes, notamment au niveau de la définition des ressources et desréserves minérales au sein de l’industrie minière canadienne. « Nous sou-haitons assurer le maintien de ce leadership et donner à nos membres

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La participation : une prioritéBob Schafer compte sur l’aide des membres pour définir l’ICM

by / par Krystyna Lagowski

Participation is a priorityPresident Bob Schafer wants membership to help define CIM

“Maintaining our capabilities and expertise, education andknowledge transfer – especially in technology – is a priority.”

But fellowship, the opportunity to connect with col-leagues, network and trade ideas, is another compellingbenefit of CIM membership. “That feeling of belonging to anorganization that represents your interests, working andreacting together to internal or external forces, that’s verypowerful,” says Schafer.

Road showConcurrent with the survey, Schafer, CIM executive

director Jean Vavrek, and other council members, will alsobe visiting and consulting with CIM societies and branchesin each of the districts to gather input from members. Inmost cases, the meetings are planned to coincide with exist-ing activities and events. “We’re targeting any opportunitieswhere there is a real opportunity to interact with members,”says Schafer.

He hopes to inspire more members to take leadershiproles in CIM. “Right now, participation is mostly from middlemanagement, but we’d like to get members involved rightout of university,” says Schafer. “As these young membersmaintain their activity throughout their careers, they’ll seethe value of the organization and move on to senior positionswithin CIM – and then encourage the next generation to getinvolved.”

New facesCoincidentally, this year’s executive council is marked by

seven new faces representing CIM’s member societies, as wellas two new district vice-presidents. Jim Popowich, CIM’s past-president and director at large, is pleased to see the potentialfor fresh ideas to help move the organization forward. He notesthat although the council members may be new to their posi-tions, they are more than familiar with CIM. “The societies aregoing to select people who know what’s going on,” he says.Additionally, both council and vice-presidents now serve fortwo years, instead of one. “You get better continuity,”Popowich explains.

Jo-Anne Boucher, the chair of CIM’s Maintenance, Engi-neering and Reliability Society, and the general manager atBestech, is one of the new faces. “This is a fantastic networkingopportunity for me and my company,” she says. “I’m highlymotivated by volunteerism and by giving back to society andthis industry.”

Already, Boucher has volunteered to be on the diversitycommittee. “I believe that council should lead by example,”she stresses. “As a female in a male-dominated industry, diver-sity strikes a chord with me. I can bring a different perspectiveto the team.”

Diversity will be in the spotlight at the 2014 CIM conven-tion in Vancouver, where the theme will be “Mining 4 Every-one.” “Mining is multi-dimensional; it takes communitiesworking together to make it successful,” explains Schafer. “Wewant to get as many people involved as we can.” CIM

matière à être fiers », ajoute M. Schafer. « Notre priorité est de maintenirnos capacités et notre expertise, la formation et le transfert des connais-sances, et particulièrement en matière de technologie. »

L’appartenance à ce groupe, la possibilité de se connecter avec descollègues, de se mettre en réseau et d’échanger des idées est un autreavantage de l’adhésion à l’ICM. « Ce sentiment de faire partie d’une orga-nisation qui représente nos intérêts, de travailler et de réagir ensembleface à des forces internes ou externes, est très fort », déclare M. Schafer.

Tournée de présentationEn même temps que le sondage, M. Schafer, aux côtés du directeur

exécutif de l’ICM Jean Vavrek et d’autres membres du comité exécutif,rendront visite aux sociétés et sections de l’ICM dans chacun de ses dis-tricts et les consulteront afin de recueillir des informations auprès desmembres. Dans la plupart des cas, les rencontres seront organisées demanière à coïncider avec d’autres activités et événements. « Nous ciblonstoute opportunité rassemblant plus d’une dizaine de membres »,explique M. Schafer.

Il espère inciter davantage de membres à adopter des rôles de pre-mier plan à l’ICM. « À l’heure actuelle, la participation se cantonne princi-palement aux cadres intermédiaires, mais nous souhaitons impliquerdavantage de membres dès leur sortie de l’université », fait remarquerM. Schafer. « En maintenant leur activité tout au long de leur carrière, cesjeunes membres comprendront la valeur de l’organisation et progresse-ront vers des postes à responsabilité au sein de l’ICM, ce qui encouragerala prochaine génération à prendre part à son tour. »

Nouveaux visagesPar coïncidence, le Conseil exécutif a accueilli cette année sept nou-

velles personnes représentant les sociétés membres de l’ICM, ainsi quedeux nouveaux vice-présidents de districts. Jim Popowich, ancien prési-dent de l’ICM et membre du Conseil, est heureux de constater que lesidées neuves sont susceptibles d’aider l’organisation à évoluer. Comme ille fait remarquer, malgré que les membres du conseil soient nouveaux àleur poste, ils sont plus que familiers avec l’ICM. « Les sociétés vont sélec-tionner des personnes qui sont bien au fait de la situation », explique-t-il.Par ailleurs, le conseil et les vice-présidents ont désormais un mandat dedeux ans et non plus d’une seule année. « Cela permet une plus grandecontinuité », explique M. Popowich.

Jo-Anne Boucher, présidente de la Société de l’ingénierie, de l’entretienet de la fiabilité (IEF) de l’ICM et directrice générale de Bestech, fait partiedes nouveaux venus. « Il s’agit pour moi comme pour ma société d’uneformidable opportunité de mise en réseau », explique-t-elle. « Je suis trèsmotivée par le bénévolat et souhaite aider la société et ce secteur. »

Mme Boucher s’est déjà portée volontaire pour participer au comitésur la diversité. « Le conseil doit montrer l’exemple », insiste-t-elle. « Entant que femme dans un secteur à dominante masculine, la diversitém’est chère. Je pense pouvoir apporter un point de vue différent àl’équipe. »

La diversité sera au cœur des discussions du Congrès de l’ICM 2014,qui se tiendra à Vancouver sur le thème « Mining 4 Everyone » (L’exploi-tation minière pour tous). « L’exploitation minière est multidimension-nelle ; son succès dépend de la collaboration des communautés »,explique M. Schafer. « Nous souhaitons impliquer autant de personnesque possible. » ICM

September 2013 | 73

CIM community


CIM community

This fall, CIM and its societies arehosting a variety of conferences acrossthe country, examining some of themost pressing and relevant issues formining professionals committed tokeeping operations competitive andsafe.

MEMO 2013 – September 29 to October 1

The Maintenance Engineering/MineOperators’ Conference, hosted by CIM’sSouth Central B.C. branch, will be heldin sunny Kamloops, from September 29to October 1. This year’s theme is “Min-ing 4 Generations,” and the plenary willbring together mining executives andCEOs, senior executives from the sup-plier sector and a former chief of theSimpcw First Nation to speak about les-sons learned from the past and how tomove forward responsibly.

Kamloops is near a number of oper-ating mines, such as New Gold’s NewAfton mine and Teck’s Highland ValleyCopper mine. In fact, tours of thosemines will be open to attendees. “It’salso an easy drive from Vancouver,which is home to well-known majorand mid-tier miners like Teck, Gold-corp, Taseko, Imperial Metals and SilverStandard, and where Canada has itsgreatest concentration of junior miners,”said Patty Moore, conference chair,adding that she also expects a strongturnout from the consulting, engineer-ing and supplier side of the industry.MEMO typically draws between 600and 1,000 mining professionals.

The event features an extensive tech-nical program, an exhibition floor thathas sold out both indoor and outdoorspaces and, for the first time, fourworkshops that range from open pitslope management to productionenergy optimization. CIM’s Mining 4Society (M4S) show will also highlightthe importance that mining, minerals

CIM’s fall lineupMaintenance, safety and metallurgy round out the 2013 conference schedule

by Herb Mathisen

and metals play in society and helpyoung people understand what miningis all about. Organizers expect 1,400students will participate in the interac-tive, educational and fun M4S activi-ties.

Safety in Mining – October 22 to 24The third annual Safety in Mining

symposium, jointly hosted by CIM andthe Society for Mining, Metallurgy &Exploration (SME), will be held inToronto, from October 22 to 24. Thesymposium, which attracts safety andoperations professionals and seniorexecutives, provides an opportunity forattendees to strengthen the linksbetween safety and reliability, said BillWright, conference co-chair. “This stillis the only show that I know of any-where that tries to draw that connectionbetween safety and reliability,” he said,adding the two disciplines are oftenhoused in different silos at operations.

This year’s theme is “A Reliable Mineis a Safe Mine,” and the event will, forthe first time, host a joint plenary ses-sion and program on the first day tobring safety and reliability professionalstogether in one room. “That’s pretty dif-ferent from past events,” said Wright.“We used to run two tracks, two pro-grams, two rooms.”

The technical program will featureoperators presenting case studies onsubjects ranging from industry stan-dards and safety and reliability research,to training and technology sessions.Wright said organizers are hoping tocrack 200 attendees this year. “It’s a newshow and it’s growing every year,” hesaid.

COM 2013 – October 27 to 31Organized by CIM’s Metallurgy and

Materials Society (MetSoc), this year’sConference of Metallurgists (COM) isscheduled for October 27 to 31 in Mon-

treal. For the first time, it will be co-hosted by Materials Science & Technol-ogy (MS&T).

“There are so many conferences peryear and it’s very difficult to make surethat there are no overlapping themesand venues,” said Priti Wanjara, confer-ence chair. With MS&T and COM typi-cally occurring close to each other onthe calendar, they decided to mergeevents in 2013. “We felt that the pro-gramming would be mutually beneficialwith COM’s strengths in extractive met-allurgy, pyrometallurgy and hydromet-allurgy and MS&T’s in Materials. Also itwould give us a taste of being part of alarger conference,” she added. Itappears the collaboration is provingwise: COM has received more than 400technical abstracts and MS&T is sittingaround 2,400 abstracts as of mid-August, said Wanjara, adding these arevery high numbers for both conferences.

The technical program offers bothnew themes and old favourites. Wan-jara is especially excited that COM2013 will hold the first hydroelectricturbine manufacturing symposium. Itwill also feature a magnesium technolo-gies program and the Ralph Lloyd Har-ris Memorial symposium on extractivemetallurgy. COM 2013 will host 10symposia in total, including technologycross- pollination, neutron scattering,light metals, aerospace, hydrometal-lurgy, and water and energy in mineralprocessing programs. COM 2013 willonce again feature a rare earth sympo-sium after last year’s success. Further,the event includes a trade show andthis year’s plenary will look at advancedmaterials and manufacturing inextreme environments and feature pre-sentations on hypersonic flight tech-nologies, materials in turbine enginesand matter-radiation interactions inextremes. CIM

September 2013 | 75

Excerpts taken from abstracts in CIM Journal, Vol. 4, No. 3.To subscribe, to submit a paper or to be a peer reviewer visit us at www.cim.org

T E C H N I C A L A B S T R AC T S

CIM journal

Potential of sensor-based sorting for the gold mining industryC. Robben, TOMRA Sorting GmbH, Wedel/Hamburg, Germany; H. Wotruba and M. Robben, RWTH Aachen University, Department of MineralProcessing (AMR), Aachen, Germany; L. von Ketelhodt, TOMRA Sorting (Pty) Ltd., Ferndale, Republic of South Africa; and M. Kowalzcyk, TOMRASorting Inc., Surrey, British Columbia, Canada

Fundamental investigations of SART for cyanide and copper recoveryA. Simons, Parker CRC for Integrated Hydrometallurgy Solutions, CSIRO Minerals Down Under National Research Flagship, Waterford,Australia/W.A. School of Mines, Curtin University, Bentley, Australia; and P. Breuer, Parker CRC for Integrated Hydrometallurgy Solutions, CSIROMinerals Down Under National Research Flagship, Waterford, Australia

ABSTRACT The SART process is an effective way to separatecopper and cyanide in the waste stream of gold processingplants using cyanidation. Factorial experimentation has beenconducted to create models of copper recovery, cyaniderecovery, acid addition, and oxidation/reduction potentialduring SART. Economic analysis of the resultant modelsshowed that SART is best operated with a sulphide-to-copper molar ratio of approximately 0.56, pH of 4, and aminimized cyanide-to-copper molar ratio. The experimentsalso showed that residence time can have drastic impacts onSART performance.

RÉSUMÉ Le processus SART constitue une manière efficace deséparer le cuivre et le cyanure dans l’effluent de rejet des usines utilisant la cyanuration. Un plan d’expérience factoriel a été entreprisafin de créer des modèles de récupération du cuivre, de récupérationdu cyanure, d’ajout d’acide et du potentiel d’oxydo-réduction durantle processus SART. Une analyse économique des modèles produitsmontre que le processus SART fonctionne à son meilleur avec unrapport molaire sulfure/cuivre d’environ 0,56, à un pH de 4 et avec un rapport molaire cyanure/cuivre minimisé. Les expériences ontaussi démontré que le temps de résidence peut avoir des effetssignificatifs sur le rendement du processus SART.

ABSTRACT This paper introduces the principles of sensor-based sorting and installations that demonstrate thetechnical and financial viability of the method. The scenar-ios discussed highlight the potential and advantages of thisdry processing technology that requires little infrastructure.Case studies are presented for different ore types using opti-cal and X-ray transmission-based sorting. Current research isdiscussed in terms of the potential of near-infrared spec-troscopy and X-ray fluorescence sorting for goldapplications.

RÉSUMÉ Cet article présente les principes d’un tri basé sur des cap-teurs et des installations qui démontrent la viabilité technique etfinancière de la méthode. Les scénarios abordés soulignent lepotentiel et les avantages de cette technologie de traitement à secdemandant peu d’infrastructure. Des études de cas sont présentéespour différents types de minerais séparés par tri optique et trans-mission de rayons-X. La recherche en cours est discutée en termesdu potentiel du tri par spectroscopie dans le proche infrarouge etpar fluorescence X pour des applications dans l’industrie d’extrac-tion de l’or.

Gold passivation: reconciling cyanidation circuit performances using laboratory testingA. Azizi, C. Olsen, and C. Gagnon, COREM, Quebec, Quebec, Canada; A. Bouajila, G Mining Services, Brossard, Quebec, Canada; M. Ourriban,Gestion Iamgold – Quebec, Longueuil, Quebec, Canada ; P. Blatter, Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd. – LaRonde Division, Cadillac, Quebec, Canada; and F. Larachi, Université Laval, Quebec, Quebec, Canada

ABSTRACT This paper highlights efforts undertaken to deter-mine (1) how gold cyanidation is limited by passivation; (2)what reactions and mechanisms are involved during sul-phide-rich ore cyanidation; and (3) how peroxidationefficiency of an industrial sulphide ore is controlled by gal-vanic associations between its sulphide constituents.

RÉSUMÉ Cet article vise à souligner les efforts entrepris pour déter-miner (1) comment la cyanuration de l’or est limité par la passivation,(2) quelles réactions et quels mécanismes sont impliqués durant lacyanuration de minerais riches en sulfures et (3) comment l’effica citéde la peroxydation d’un minerai industriel sulfuré est contrôlé par lesassociations galvaniques entre les constituants sulfurés.

Excerpts taken from abstracts in CMQ, Vol. 53, No. 3.To subscribe – www.cmq-online.ca

Extractive metallurgy of rare earthsF. Habashi, Department of Mining, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Laval University, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada

ABSTRACT A short account is given on the extraction of rareearths from monazite sand, bastnasite ore, and phosphaterock of igneous origin. This includes mineral beneficiation,leaching methods, fractional crystallization [of historicalinterest], ion exchange, solvent extraction, precipitation fromsolution, and reduction to metals.

RÉSUMÉ On donne un bref compte-rendu de l’extraction des terresrares à partir de sable monazité, de minerai de bastnaésite et deroche phosphatée d’origine ignée. Ceci inclut l’enrichissement duminéral, les méthodes de lixiviation, la cristallisation fractionnelle(d’intérêt historique), l’échange d’ion, l’extraction par solvant, la pré-cipitation à partir de solution et la réduction en métaux.

T E C H N I C A L A B S T R AC T S

canadian metallurgical quarterly


Thorium and rare earth recovery in Canada: the first 30 yearsJ. R. Goode, J.R. Goode and Associates, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

ABSTRACT Pioneering methods to recover thorium and rareearths as by-products of uranium recovery were developedand applied in Elliot Lake, Ontario, during the 1960s. Thedistrict became a major supplier of these key elements fromabout 1960 until 1990 and at one stage supplied much of theworld’s thorium and perhaps one third of its yttrium. Thispaper reviews these early thorium rare earth operations.

RÉSUMÉ On a développé et appliqué des méthodes innovatricespour la récupération du thorium et des terres rares comme sous-produits de la récupération de l’uranium, à Elliot Lake, en Ontario,dans les années 60. Le district devint un fournisseur majeur de ceséléments clés à partir d’environ 1960 jusqu’en 1990 et, à une certainepériode, fournissait la plupart du thorium mondial et peut-être untiers de son yttrium. Cet article examine ces premières opérations dethorium et de terre rare.

Mineral decomposition and leaching processes for treating rare earth ore concentratesJ. Zhang, Saskatchewan Research Council, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, and C. Edwards, AMEC Americas Limited, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan,Canada

ABSTRACT The processes for rare earth (RE) extractioninclude the decomposition of RE minerals, and the concur-rent or subsequent leaching of the rare earth elements (REEs)from the decomposed minerals. This paper reviews REextraction from the major RE minerals, including bastnaesite,monazite, xenotime, ion absorption clay, allanite, cerite, andeudialyte. An update on the development of RE extractionprocesses is also provided.

RÉSUMÉ Les procédés d’extraction de terre rare (TR) incluent ladécomposition des minéraux de TR et la lixiviation concurrente ousubséquente des éléments de terre rare (ETRs) à partir des minérauxdécomposés. Cet article examine l’extraction de TR à partir desminéraux majeurs de TR, incluant la bastnaésite, la monazite, le xéno-time, l’argile à absorption d’ion, l’allanite, la cérite et l’eudialyte. On faitégalement une mise à jour du développement des procédés d’ex-traction de TR.

Survey of recycled rare earths metallurgical processingC. D. Anderson, C. G. Anderson, and P. R. Taylor, Kroll Institute for Extractive Metallurgy, George S. Ansell Department of Metallurgical and MaterialsEngineering, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado, U.S.A

ABSTRACT Rare earths have become critical for our energyand materials-driven society. While primary production mustramp up to fill growing demands, the recycling of thesestrategic elements must also be initiated. This paper will out-line the potentials of and metallurgical technologiesemployed for rare earths recycle from various secondarysources.

RÉSUMÉ Les éléments de terres rares jouent maintenant un rôle cri-tique dans notre société axée sur l’énergie et les matériaux. Alorsqu’on doit accroître la production primaire pour satisfaire lademande grandissante, on doit également initier le recyclage de ceséléments stratégiques. Cet article souligne les types de technologiemétallurgique utilisés ainsi que leur potentiel pour le recyclage deséléments de terres rares à partir de diverses sources secondaires.

September 2013 | 77

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TECHNOLOGYInnovations in safety

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When Polly theparrot died in1972, he was

given a funeral processionand a place in the PioneerCarcross Cemetery besidesuch famous Klondikers asSkookum Jim and DawsonCharlie.

Rumoured to be over100 years old at the time ofhis death, Polly had spentthe previous five decadesat the Caribou Hotel inCarcross, Yukon, learningto swear and drinkwhiskey just like the hoteltavern’s regulars. The par-rot arrived in 1918 whencaptain James Alexander, owner of the Engineer gold mine,put Polly in the care of the hotel’s proprietors. With his parrot’ssecurity assured, he embarked on a trip to Vancouver, wherehe planned to sell his mine. But Alexander never returned.

Alexander came to Canada from England in 1899 as a civil-ian, seeking adventure in the colonies. He spent a year explor-ing the bays and inlets of Canada’s West Coast and becameinterested in exploring for minerals. But before he could try hishand at much prospecting, he returned to England, answeringthe call of the Second Boer War. He achieved the rank of cap-tain fighting with a cavalry regiment.

When the war ended, Alexander returned to B.C., to pickup his frontier interests. This time, he had two companions:his wife and his pet parrot. The threesome moved to Atlin,B.C., where Alexander worked on a survey team. He laterjoined a group of investors that took over the Engineer mineon nearby Tagish Lake.

The deposit was first discovered by railway engineerCharles Anderson who had explored the shore of Tagish Lakeby boat in 1899, following up on reports of gold-bearingquartz along the shoreline. He found it beneath EngineerMountain that ran right down into the lake.

Work began soon after, but funds ran low, and the opera-tion shut down for two seasons. In 1906, some of the claimslapsed, and were bought up by Edwin Brown from Atlin, whoin turn sold them to Alexander and his business associates.

Little is known about how the sale went down, but appar-ently Brown felt cheated, and he threatened Alexander and his


fellow investors in theform of a curse. Brownwished death and disas-ter on everyone involvedwith the Engineer mine.

But Alexander wasnot fazed, and by 1912he had sole ownership ofEngineer. The mine,how ever, had its prob-lems: the gold veins,while fairly rich, weresmall and often endedabruptly. Work hadslowed, but when hetook over, Alexander sys-tematically explored theproperty and found moreareas of interest. Investors

came knocking and soon funded a larger operation, includinga major underground development.

Things took a downturn as the First World War drained themine of workers, and Alexander began looking to sell. In1918, he found a potential buyer with an offer of a full milliondollars. That October, Alexander and his wife travelled by trainto Skagway, where they boarded the final steamship of the sea-son – the Princess Sophia – to meet the potential buyers inVancouver. Before leaving, Alexander dropped Polly off at theCaribou Hotel.

It was here that some say Brown exacted his revenge. As thesteamship sailed south through the Lynn Canal, a snowstormside-swiped it and ran it up onto a rocky reef. The ship wasstuck for a day and a half. Rescue boats arrived, but the roughseas made a rescue impossible. Low tide left the ship completelyabove water, and those in charge debated what to do. But thestorm continued to rage, eventually dragging the battered shipoff the reef. The Princess Sophia broke apart and sank, killingeveryone on board – around 350 people – including Alexanderand his wife. Brown’s curse went down in local lore: At least 17people involved with the mine met untimely deaths.

Legal squabbles over the ownership of the Engineer mineheld up operations for nearly five years. After Alexander’sdeath, several people claimed interest in the property – includ-ing Alexander’s true wife, who, unbeknownst to everyone, wasstill living in England with their 16-year-old daughter.

No one claimed ownership of Polly, though he would ofcourse outlive them all. CIM

Parrot Polly, captain Alexander and the curse of the Engineer mine

by Correy Baldwin

Captain James Alexander, seated in the chair, owned the Engineer mine in B.C. In October1918, Alexander boarded the Princess Sophia steamship destined for Vancouver to sell hismine. But he never returned.

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cim magazine september 2013

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