cim magazine september/october 2009

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2

CONTENTSCIM MAGAZINE | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2009 | SEPTEMBRE/OCTOBRE 2009

NEWS11 Power from within the earth Geothermal energy

promises to be a cleaner energy source for oil sandsby P. Caulfield

13 Giving back to secure a strong future Queen’sUniversity receives a historic donation from a distinguished alumnus by M. Paduada

15 New blood, new money A small company with bigplans represents the future of the oil sands industry by P. Caulfield

16 Growth is in the cards Already in the midst of onevery large expansion, Shell Canada is planning another by P. Caulfield

18 Change is in the air Syncrude Canada has its eye on the sky with two environmental initiatives by P. Caulfield

20 Fostering responsibility The Centre of Excellencewill raise the game on corporate social responsibility by H. Ednie

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

UPFRONT24 Balancing the flows An examination of Athabasca’s

Water Management Framework by D. Zlotnikov

28 Unconventionally unconventional Nexen Inc.innovates to improve SAGD yields and cut productioncosts at Long Lake by D. Zlotnikov

32 Practising what we preach CIM treats the currentdownturn as an opportunity to do its own bidding and hirestudents by M. Kerawala

36 A fine balance Don Thompson discusses his effortsto set the record straight on the oil sands debate by M. Paduada

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COLUMNS71 Supply Side by J. Baird72 MAC Economic Commentary by P. Stothart73 First Nations by J.C. Reyes74 HR Outlook by J.P. Chabot76 Eye on Business by R.G. Powers & A.E. Derksen78 Student Life by R. Veitch80 Engineering Exchange by M. Eisner

82 Standards by E. Sides83 Safety by R. Bergen84 Canadians Abroad by R. Andrews86 Innovation by M. Kerawala & G. Winkel

88 Parlons en par L. Laverdure90 Mining Lore by R. Bergen

CIM NEWS93 CIM steps up in the fight against cancer

The CIM Walkers team raises over $15,000 to support breast cancer research by H. Ednie

94 Fundraising on the fairway CIM CrowsnestBranch holds its annual golf tournament and scholarship fundraiser by C. Ryan

95 Active in Fort McMurray CIM’s FortMcMurray Branch is still thriving after 30 years by C. West

96 Going strong at 122 The Mining Society ofNova Scotia holds its 122nd AGM by F. Sigut

97 Supporting science and young scientists A student award sustains knowledge-sharing in geological sciences by R. Pillo

98 Parley in Prince George The CIM NorthCentral BC Branch AGM features presentationsand charity fundraising by G. Zervas

99 From business to pleasure CIM NorthernGateway Branch works hard and plays hard by R. Slack

100 Keeping the flame burning The winner ofthe CIM Coal Award fuels neighbourly spirit by R. Pillo

HISTORY102 Porphyry deposits (Part 1) by R.J. Cathro105 The historical mines of Almadén

by O.P Riart, L.F.M. Martínez, P.K. Echevarría & E.O. García

TECHNICAL SECTION108 This month’s contents

IN EVERY ISSUE6 Editor’s Letter8 President’s Notes / Mot du président

10 Letters92 Welcoming new members

101 Calendar112 Bookshop113 Professional Directory

September/October 2009 | 5

COAL AND OIL SANDSCHARBON ET SABLES BITUMINEUX

39 Dark matter, bright future New economic and demographic realitiesare reshaping Canada’s coal industry by R. Bergen

46 The road ahead Canada’s oil sands industry strides ahead into a confident future by P. Caulfield

53 Innovations in tailings management The oil sands industry is moving towards reducing water use and advancing reclamation time by M. Eisner

58 Part of the “green” plan How suppliers help the coal and oil sandsindustries to address environmental concerns by M. Sabourin

65 Matière noire à avenir brillant De nouvelles réalités économiques et démographiques redéfinissent l’industrie canadienne du charbon

67 L’avenir de notre industrie L’industrie canadienne des sables bitumineux file vers l’avenir avec confiance

Giants that do not sleep

Each issue of CIM Magazine begins as a blankslate, with only the theme that has beenpredetermined. As an editor, I derive great

satisfaction from witnessing the metamorphosis ofwhat is simply a conceptual direction — a few words ona page — into the final product, which is a compilationof articles and photos that capture that topic andpertinent industry news at that particular point intime. The process is pretty exciting because, eventhough we subsequently develop a specific lineup foreach issue, we can never really anticipate the preciseunfolding of each article, and hence the final product

(the magazine) as a whole.This September/October issue serves as a great illustration of this creative

process. Already one of the constants on the annual editorial roster, the Coal andOil Sands issue is also one of our most anticipated. Although the theme may beunwavering, the nature of the content is anything but. In the 12 months since ourlast Coal and Oil Sands issue, the face of both of these mammoth industries haschanged considerably as they have been forced to adapt to the realities ofchallenging economic times.

What we discovered is that notwithstanding the fact that some projects havebeen put on hold and economic and operational adjustments have needed to bemade, these two giant sectors have certainly not been sleeping.

In spite of economic constraints, both industries have maintained unwaveringcommitments to R&D, technological innovation and environmental excellence.They have been supported in their efforts by a plethora of suppliers, industryassociations and academic institutions. Whether it is research into clean energysources or improved tailings management, hard economic times did not soften theindustry’s resolve in the area of best practices.

We hope that you are as inspired as we were by these articles, as well as by theoptimism regarding an anticipated recovery in the coming months that is expressedby many.

Finally, thanks to all of the readers who took the time to send an email inresponse to the last issue. Your feedback, good wishes and suggestions were greatlyappreciated. Once again, I invite you to weigh in, and please keep sending us yourstory ideas and become part of the creative process that helps to shape theeditorial in future issues.

Regards,

Angela GordonEditor-in-chief

Editor-in-chiefAngela Gordon [email protected] EditorsNews, Upfront and Features:Angela Gordon [email protected] and CIM News:Joan Tomiuk [email protected] Nichiporuk [email protected] and Technical Section:Minaz Kerawala [email protected] Editor Joan TomiukPublisher CIM

Contributors Richard Andrews, Jon Baird, Ryan Bergen,Louise Blais-Leroux, R.J. Cathro, Peter Caulfield, JeanPierre Chabot, Andrew E. Derksen, P. KindelánEchevarría, Heather Ednie, Marlene Eisner, E. OrcheGarcía, Fathi Habashi, Louise Laverdure, L.F. MazadiegoMartínez, Mike Paduada, Robbie Pillo, R. Greg Powers,Juan Carlos Reyes, O. Puche Riart, Chris Ryan, MichelleSabourin, Edmund Sides, Florence Sigut, Roy Slack, PaulStothart, Ryan Veitch, Christian West, Gord Winkel,George Zervas, Dan Zlotnikov

Published 8 times a year by CIM855 - 3400 de Maisonneuve Blvd. West Montreal, QC, H3Z 3B8Tel.: 514.939.2710; Fax: 514.939.2714 www.cim.org; Email: [email protected]

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This month’s coverHaul trucks ascending from Natal West and Elk PitPhoto courtesy of Teck Coal

Layout and design by Clò Communications.

Copyright©2009. 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 inany discussion appearing in its publications.

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editor’s letter

Send your feedback and suggestions to

[email protected]

president’s notesThe importance of the coal and oil sands industries to

Canada’s future prosperity cannot be overstated. Their eco-nomic significance can only increase with the decline of theautomotive and other manufacturing sectors. Furthermore,industry insiders believe that China’s escalating appetite foriron ore and metallurgical coal will make the kind of coal minedin western Canada a scarce commodity.While the oil sands hold the promise of energy security for

North America, their development is not without its chal-lenges. Innovation will be imperative if we are to tap this vastresource responsibly and efficiently. That’s where I believeCIM and its members can make a big difference. Already,various associations with strong links to CIM are charting thecourse collaboratively with industry, government and acade-mia. The Surface Mining Association for Research andTechnology (SMART), under Gord Winkel’s leadership, shouldbe acknowledged for the work they are doing in sharing bestpractices and knowledge in large-scale open pit mining.Similarly, the Canada Mining Innovation Council, with itspresident, Engin Özberk, is working to make our miningindustry more competitive and responsible through excel-lence in mining innovation. There are several items on CIM’s agenda in the coming

months. The revision of our by-laws to comply with pendinglegislation for non-profit societies is expected to be tabled

before the membership later this year.The review of National Instrument 43-101 by the Canadian SecuritiesAdministrators is underway, and weare ensuring that CIM provides theappropriate input.On the corporate social responsi-

bility (CSR) front, multiple stakeholdersare rallying around the Government ofCanada’s strategy to deliver on theCSR roundtable recommendations. Acornerstone of the strategy is thedevelopment of a Centre of Excellence, in which CIM has beenasked to play a pivotal role.On another note, CIM’s past, present and incoming presi-

dents will aim to visit as many CIM branches as possiblethroughout the year. The branches represent the industry’sgrassroots, and we look forward to hearing about your plans andneeds. Please inform us about your upcoming meetings so wecan plan ahead to be there.

Michael J. AllanCIM President

Il serait difficile d’exagérer l’importance des industries ducharbon et des sables bitumineux pour la prospérité future duCanada. Leur importance économique ne peut qu’augmenteravec le déclin du secteur de l’automobile et des autressecteurs manufacturiers. De plus, les initiés de l’industriecroient que l’appétit croissant de la Chine pour le minerai defer et le charbon métallurgique fera du type de charbonexploité dans l’Ouest du Canada un bien difficile à trouver.Bien que les sables bitumineux détiennent la promesse

d’une sécurité énergétique pour l’Amérique du Nord, leurdéveloppement comporte de nombreux défis. Il sera impératifd’innover si nous voulons tirer parti de cette vaste ressourcede manière responsable et efficace. C’est là où je crois quel’ICM et ses membres peuvent faire une grande différence.Déjà, diverses associations ayant de forts liens avec l’ICMtracent la voie en collaborant avec l’industrie, legouvernement et le monde universitaire. La Surface MiningAssociation for Research and Technology (SMART), dirigéepar Gord Winkel, devrait être reconnue pour le travail effectuédans le partage des meilleures pratiques et desconnaissances dans les grandes mines à ciel ouvert. Demême, le Conseil canadien de l’innovation minière (CCIM) etson président Engin Özberk travaillent à rendre notreindustrie minière plus compétitive et responsable parl’excellence en innovation minière.

L’agenda de l’ICM est bien rempli pour les prochainsmois. La révision de nos règlements pour se conformer à lalégislation en instance visant les sociétés à but non lucratifdevrait être soumise aux membres plus tard cette année. Larévision de la Norme canadienne NI 43-101 par les Autoritéscanadiennes en valeurs mobilières est en cours et nous nousassurons que l’ICM fournit les intrants appropriés.Du côté de la Responsabilité sociale des entreprises

(RSE), de nombreux intervenants se rallient autour de lastratégie du Gouvernement du Canada de mettre en œuvreles recommandations de la table ronde sur la RSE. Unepierre angulaire de la stratégie est le développement d’unCentre d’excellence, dans lequel l’ICM a été mandaté pourjouer un rôle clé.Sur un autre sujet, les anciens présidents, le président

actuel et les présidents élus visent à visiter autant desections de l’ICM que possible durant l’année. Les sectionsreprésentent la base de l’industrie et nous avons hâted’entendre parler de vos plans et de vos besoins. Avisez-nous de vos prochaines rencontres afin que nous puissionsplanifier d’y assister.

Michael J. AllanPrésident de l’ICM

Strength in numbers

L’union fait la force



lettersCIM Magazine goes back to school

I recently joined the faculty at Queen’s University as theKinross Professor in Mining and Sustainability. I teachOccupational Health and Safety in Mining Practice withProfessor John Peacey and an introductory course in miningand mineral processing (second year course — engineers ofall disciplines have a common first year).

I’d like to introduce my students to the profession and theindustry by making membership in CIM mandatory —could you refer me to the person who might make that hap-pen? As well, I’d like to give them copies of your Augustissue (very well-crafted) and build an assignment around it.There are 35 students in the second year… I’d be pleased topay for the membership fees and the issue.

Finally, in your editorial you requested ideas for topics infuture editions. Here are a few: public policy and miningengineers; interview with the new national chief of the AFN,Shawn Atleo — he is an amazing person (http://www.queensu.ca/sps/events/first_nations/2009/video/shawn_atleo.php). You could transcribe the interview and place itin a future issue or I can write an article on it. He would alsobe a great speaker for next year’s CIM Conference inVancouver.

I’ve just re-joined CIM recently and I agree with youreditorial — much like Newfoundlanders are a tight commu-nity, so is the mining community in Canada — small, inti-mate, good-hearted and proud.

I made a small detour in my career 30 years ago and it isgood to be back. It is also nice to know some things haveimproved — the CIM Magazine for one.

Cheers,Vic Pakalnis, P.Eng., MBA, M.Eng.Professor Kinross Professorship in Mining andSustainabilityQueen’s University, Kingston, Ontario

Hi Vic,Thanks so very much for the positive feedback, it is

greatly appreciated. Regarding membership — actually stu-dent memberships are now FREE of charge... The personwho coordinates it can be contacted at [email protected].

As for the magazines, it would be our pleasure to sendyou 35 complimentary copies of the August issue. I amthrilled that you want to build an assignment around it. I’dlove to hear the details and the feedback afterwards, if youhave the opportunity.

Finally, thanks very much for the story leads… I wouldlove to discuss them further with you and would really wel-come your offer to write for the magazine.

Regards,Angela Gordon

Northern exposure

Hi Angela,I want to thank you again

for the offer of having AlexisMinerals highlighted in theCIM Magazine (May 2009, pp.67-70). I have a copy now andit looks great! And, I havementioned it to shareholderswho have recently called, ashaving the article in your mag-azine certainly enhances thecredibility of the company.Again, I appreciate the articleand the exposure it created.

Hopefully a year from now you may want to update howAlexis has grown even more. Thanks again.

Best regards,Bruce BarchVice-President, Investor and Corporate AffairsAlexis Minerals CorporationToronto, Ontario

newsNexen Inc. and Shell Canada, along

with the Alberta Energy ResearchInstitute (AERI), are studying the use ofenvironmentally friendly low-enthalpygeothermal energy for oil sands(LEGO). Low-temperature geothermalenergy, as it is also known, comes fromunderground sources less than 300metres deep.

“Geothermal energy is a clean sourceof heat and could offset the carbon diox-ide emissions caused by natural gas com-bustion,” says Rick Nelson, programdirector of water use and renewableenergy at AERI. “In addition, geothermalsystems that are integrated with a ther-mal chiller could be used to offset CO2emissions which are by-products of electrical refrigeration.”

AERI’s research shows that shallowgeothermal wells could provide spaceand building heating at oil sands facilities. The compa-nies using it are now examining the potential of LEGOthrough an on-site demonstration of the technology.

Alison Thompson, project development manager ofasset management at Nexen, says her company is interestedin geothermal systems as a possible new energy source.“Nexen looks at a variety of energy alternatives,” she says.“In addition to our oil and gas portfolio, we also havepower generation assets. This study appraises a new formof energy in the oil sands area that could make our opera-tions more energy-efficient and reduce our carbon footprintand operating costs.”

Thompson says LEGO has potential benefits for the oilsands industry as a whole, too. “Geothermal energyallows more resources to be extracted from the same foot-print because it can be harnessed in conjunction withother oil sands applications,” she explains. Thompson,who is also the chair and executive director of CanGEA,a not-for-profit association that promotes geothermalenergy in Canada, is an ardent fan of LEGO. “Geothermalenergy can replace heat and power that is derived fromoil or natural gas,” she says. “Researchers are garneringthe skills and experience needed to expand its use toother geothermal energy targets in Canada.” Her confi-dence in the technology is reflected by the fact that AERIput up one-third of the cash for the pilot project. Nexenand Shell together contributed the remainder.

www.nexeninc.com www.shell.ca www.aeri.ab.ca

CIM

Power from within the earthLEGO offers promise of cleaner energy source for oil sands

By Peter Caulfield


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The department of mining engi-neering at Queen’s University hasbeen renamed the BuchanDepartment of Mining, in recognitionof a historic $10 million donation byRobert Buchan, university alumnus,philanthropist and former CEO ofKinross Gold Corporation. Buchan’sgenerous gift was announced by prin-cipal and vice-chancellor of Queen’sUniversity, Tom Williams, during apress conference at the Toronto StockExchange on July 14, 2009.

“This gift will provide for both thedepartment’s long-term and short-term needs,” said Williams in hisannouncement. “An $8 millionendowment will be created to fundacademic and staff positions, and a $2million fund will allow for immediateexpenditures on student-focused pro-grams and curriculum development,course materials and distance-learn-ing infrastructure.”

This largest single donation everto mining education in Canada isintended to maintain this country’sleadership in mineral extraction.“We are the leader and we intend tostay that way,” says Buchan. “I thinkwe’ve got the best mining depart-ment in the country. We can have themost innovative mining education inthe world.”

Laeeque Daneshmend, head of thedepartment of mining engineering,adds, “we must offer the most up-to-date and relevant programs, taught instate-of-the-art facilities, by talentedfaculty with first-hand experience inindustry.”

Buchan agrees with Daneshmendand believes that Canadian miningengineers will need to meet chal-lenges with a heightened awareness ofcurrent social and environmentalrealities, if they are to lead the world.

“The world that we live in today ismaterially different from the world Istarted out in,” said Buchan in aspeech. “The need for corporateresponsibility, while never far from usin the past, is right in the forefronttoday. It is really important that ourengineering students are taught theneed for awareness of what the com-munities’ needs are.”

When asked if corporate socialresponsibility (CSR) is necessary,Buchan had no doubt. “110 per cent,”he said. “We’ve got no choice. And Idon’t say that in a negative sense. It isa reality. Like rock mechanics andventilation, you have no choice.Those are all part of the new world. Itshould always be integral.”

To help Canada’s mining industrycope with social, environmental andeconomic challenges, the new BuchanDepartment of Mining will introduceprofessional master’s programs inmineral resources management andapplied sustainability. “One of theprograms that Bob’s very generous giftis going to help us support is a mas-ter’s in applied sustainability, which isgoing to have an internship,” explainsKim Woodhouse, dean of applied sci-ences. “Those internships are eitherto be in developing countries or inCanada where we have significantchallenges within the Aboriginalcommunity.”

They will also help keep existingcourses up-to-date and to bring rele-vant experience into the lecture halls.“In the past two to three years, werecognized the need to integrateissues such as CSR and sustainability,and to enhance the mineral econom-ics content,” Daneshmend acknowl-edges. “There are challenges there,because if you’re talking about practi-tioners who’ve actually lived and


Giving back to secure a strong futureRobert Buchan’s historic donation to his alma mater will help preserve and propagate knowledge in Canada’s mining industry

By Mike Paduada

news

experienced this, they are few and farbetween, and they’re in high demand.One of our challenges has been in giv-ing students exposure to people whoactually have some depth of under-standing that they can pass on to ourgraduating students.”

Fortunately, many mining engi-neering students, through their under-graduate internships and from attend-ing technical sessions at CIM confer-

ences, already grasp the importance ofthese aspects. “Our graduates knowthat their reputations and their careerpaths will depend on their adherenceto the highest professional and per-sonal standards of conduct,” saysDaneshmend.

Jessa Vatcher, a Queen’s graduatestudent who also completed her under-graduate mining engineering degreethere, shares Daneshmend’s views. “A


macfactsAlberta’s oil sands production is projected to increase from around1.3 million barrels per dayat present to 4.7 million in 2025.

lot of the sustainability issues men-tioned here were brought up at theCIM [Toronto 2009] conference. Ifound a lot of the information onAboriginal outreach very interesting. Itis stuff we’re starting to get exposure to,but we could always use more.”

Maintaining connections withalumni to tap into real-world experi-ence and for donations is one of theconstant challenges a university faces.Robert Buchan, who has an M.Sc. inmining engineering from Queen’sUniversity, explains why it was impor-tant for him to give back. “One of myfavourite phrases is one from Ghana,which translates to, ‘when an old mandies, a library burns down.’ That’swhat we need to stop happening.People with a lot of experience, myselfincluded, need to pass on their experi-ence through mentorship programsand guest lecturing.”

The key, as Kim Woodhouseexplains, is appealing to the alumni’spassion. “They want to give wheretheir passion lies. So, I think it’s impor-tant for universities to provide alumnisomething that will meet their pas-sions.” Indeed, Bob Buchan confirmedin his speech that passion will moveCanadian mining education forward.“It’s something I feel quite passionateabout, and Laeeque, thankfully, agreeswith me. We’re going to aquire a realunderstanding of the cultural needs ofthe communities we move into andincorporate it into the education of thestudents. So, I’m very pleased to beable to help fund that today. As a newimmigrant I came to Canada with$100. I’m delighted to give back 40years later.”

www.queensu.ca

CIM

news

Most of the major producers have been active in theAlberta oil sands since the industry’s inception, more than30 years ago. That they are still going strong is testament totheir tenacity and the industry’s viability.

However, the industry’s future prosperity depends also onan infusion of new blood. Fortunately, there has been noshortage of enthusiastic newcomers. One such company,North Peace Energy Corporation, is piloting a project on itsRed Earth property, where it has a 100 per cent workinginterest in 86,400 acres of Crown oil sands leases.Discovered petroleum initially-in-place is estimated to bebetween two and 3.1 billion barrels.

North Peace began acquiring leases in the Peace Riverarea right after its inception in December 2005. Despite itslarge ambitions, the Calgary-based company started smalland has stayed small, with a staff of only 12. This June, thelittle company made a big score, raising equity financing of$11.6 million.

“Raising that amount is quite an achievement for a smallcompany with little production,” says president and CEOLouis Dufresne. “It shows that we deliver on our promisesand that the capital markets recognize that. Right now thefuture looks good.”

New blood, new moneyNorth Peace Energy — a small company with big plans

By Peter Caulfield


Red Earth cyclic steam stimulation pilotfacilities – oil production and sales tanks

(with tanker truck hook-ups in foreground)

macfactsThe Canadian mining industry exported$95 billion worth of metals and non-metals in 2008, including $6 billion incoal, which equates to 19 per cent oftotal Canadian goods exported.

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North Peace will use the money to advance front-endengineering work and the regulatory approval process for a3,000 barrel-per-day pilot expansion, which, according toDufresne, is more viable in the current economic conditionsthan the originally planned 10,000 barrel-per-day first-phasecommercial project. “The reality is that the capital marketsare constrained at the moment. We’re therefore going tomove forward in smaller steps than we had originallyplanned,” says Dufresne.

North Peace intends to submit its application later thisyear or early next year and expects the project to start up in2012. The company is advancing resource developmentusing cyclic steam stimulation (CSS) thermal recovery. Twohorizontal CSS wells have been drilled and are producingbitumen. If the pilot project is successful and Red Earth pro-ceeds to full commercial production, it will become a 30,000barrel-per-day facility with a projected 25-year life.

www.northpec.com

CIM

news

Shell Canada has operations in allthe three main oil sands deposits inAlberta — Athabasca, Peace Riverand Cold Lake. Shell’s Athabasca OilSands Project (AOSP) is the site ofone of the largest oil and gas expan-sion projects in North America andthe company is also planninganother expansion project at itsPeace River leases.

Building the futureAOSP Expansion 1, a fully inte-

grated, 100,000 barrel-per-day

Growth is in the cardsCurrent and proposed expansion will help Shell Canada increaseproduction at its Athabasca and Peace River operations

By Peter Caulfield

expansion, is being undertaken byShell and its joint-venture partners,Marathon Oil Sands LP and ChevronCanada Limited.

The main components of the proj-ect are the construction of miningand extraction facilities at the AlbianSands operation (for the futureJackpine mine); the expansion offroth treatment facilities at theMuskeg River mine; the expansion ofthe Scotford Upgrader; and the devel-opment of common infrastructure,such as power lines, roads, camps

and pipelines to support futureexpansion.

Started in 2006 and slated forcompletion in 2010/2011, AOSPExpansion 1 will increase the bitu-men output of the Albian Sands min-ing operation and the ScotfordUpgrader by 100,000 barrels per day,of which Shell’s share will be 60,000barrels per day.

“AOSP Expansion 1 is the future ofShell’s oil sands business,” saysLaurieanne Lynne, Shell Canada’scorporate communication advisor.“It’s among the largest, most techno-logically advanced oil and gas con-struction projects underway in NorthAmerica.”

A significant development opportunity

Shell Canada has held leases in thePeace River area since the 1950s. By2004, Shell’s 100-employee PeaceRiver Complex had produced 50 mil-lion barrels of bitumen. That year,Shell began to consider expanding itsbitumen production. In 2006, itacquired the assets of another opera-tor and added more leases and twocold production facilities to its PeaceRiver holdings.

Later in 2006, the company sub-mitted an application for the CarmonCreek project, a 100,000 barrels-per-day expansion plan. However, lastyear, following additional technicaland review work, Shell withdrew itsoriginal Carmon Creek applicationand began work on a new one, whichit is planning to submit to regulatorslater in 2009. Under the proposal,Shell will bump up daily productionfrom the currently licensed cap of12,500 barrels of bitumen to 80,000barrels per day.

“The Peace River oil sands repre-sent a significant development oppor-tunity for Shell,” Lynne says. “ThePeace River operation


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operations. This commitment is anatural extension of the company’strack record in the Peace River area.

Over more than 25 years, Shell’sPeace River operations have deployednumerous measures to protect theenvironment. Examples include theconstruction and monitoring ofwildlife crossings; the use of existingdisturbances to the environment,wherever practical, when buildingnew facilities; conducting pre-distur-bance assessments; aligning lineardisturbances into a single right-of-way; and drilling multiple wells perpad to minimize surface impact.

Currently, Shell is working withother companies to assess the cumu-lative ecological effects of projectsand to explore integrated, impact-minimizing land management strate-gies. The company also partners withother organizations to supportresearch into wetland reclamation,wildlife crossing use and amphibianand reptilian habitats.

www.shell.ca

CIM

news

existing thermal facility is a relativelysmall operation that has been in oper-ation for more than 20 years. Theexpansion project is designed toallow us to expand our production inthe most cost-effective way andensure the efficient long-term devel-opment of this resource.”

The Carmon Creek project is stillonly being contemplated. Shell’s deci-sion to proceed or not will depend onseveral factors, according to Lynne.“They include the outcome of the reg-ulatory review, market conditions andproject costs,” she explains. “We areworking to submit our new regula-tory application in late 2009 andexpect the review to take upwards of18 months.”

Joined-up thinkingThe proposed Carmon Creek proj-

ect is a complex, everything-connects-to-everything-else exampleof sophisticated bitumen-recoverytechnology at work. It will use verti-cal well steam-drive technology inwhich vertical deviated wells are clus-tered into well pads. To minimize thenumber of wells and the resultantenvironmental footprint, the wellarrangement patterns will be carefullydesigned before installation. Withlonger term productivity in mind,Shell proposes to construct and tie innew well pads as they become neces-sary so that production can be sus-tained over the project’s lifespan.

Next, the well pads will be con-nected to central processing facilitiesby a system of pipelines. The pipeswill distribute steam to the well pads,gather produced fluids and routethem to the processing facilities. Theprocessing facilities will separate thefluids into oil, water and gas, each ofwhich will receive further treatment.

A diluting agent will reduce theviscosity of the oil before it is pipedto a terminal in Haig Lake, Alberta.The water will be reused to makesteam after solids and residualhydrocarbons are removed. Finally,hydrogen sulphide (H2S) and carbondioxide (CO2) will be removed fromthe gas, which will be used to fuelsteam production. The H2S and CO2

will be re-injected into empty under-ground reservoirs.

Most of the required steam will begenerated by new, environmentallyfriendly cogeneration facilities, whichsimultaneously produce electricityand useful heat. The bitumen pumpswill use power from the cogenerationunits and surplus power will beexported to the provincial grid.

On the infrastructure front, Shellplans to either upgrade an existingmunicipal airstrip or build a new pri-vate airstrip; upgrade tankage facili-ties at the Haig Lake terminal; anderect several electrical transmissionlines, including a connection to theprovincial grid. While the project’shuman resources requirement willvary, Lynne estimates it will peak at1,400 during the construction phase.

Green thinkingAlthough the launch or the timing

of the Carmon Creek project areuncertain, Shell is totally committedto environmentally and sociallyresponsible design, construction and


news

Among the scores of environmentalinitiatives being implemented bySyncrude Canada are two creativemeasures designed to keep the airclean and the birds in good health.

At the Mildred Lake upgrader,Syncrude has been rolling out a meas-ure that promises to change the veryair — the sulphur dioxide emissionsreduction project (SERP).

Syncrude has three carbon-crackingcokers at the Mildred Lake upgrader,which process bitumen from theMildred Lake and Aurora mines. SERPinvolves retrofitting a three-train fluegas scrubbing system into the opera-tion of the two oldest and originalMildred Lake cokers, which were builtin the late 1970s. The program, whichwas started in 2006, is expected toreduce emissions of sulphur com-pounds to an annual average of lessthan 100 tonnes per day when it iscompleted in 2011.

Coker 8-3, the third coker atMildred Lake, is outfitted with a fluegas desulphurizer, a new type ofenvironmental unit that eliminatesSO2 emissions. It went into produc-tion in 2006. Environmentallyfriendly technology at all three cok-ers is expected to reduce stack emis-sions of sulphur compounds by 60

Change is in the airSyncrude Canada has its eye on the sky with two environmental initiatives

By Peter Caulfield

per cent from the current approvedlevels of 245 tonnes per day. In addi-tion, emissions of particulate mattershould be reduced significantly.

Cheryl Robb, Syncrude media rela-tions advisor, says the retrofitting ofSO2 reduction technology at the twocokers will cost $1.6 billion. “It is veryexpensive, difficult and time-consum-ing work because the site is alreadydeveloped,” Robb says. “Large, bulkyequipment has to be moved up andover other buildings on the site. To doso, we are using one of the largestcranes in the world for the job.”

In addition to the SO2 reductionproject, Robb says that one dollar outof every four spent on the upgraderexpansion went towards new environ-mental technology. “We are alwayslooking for ways to minimize our

Moving on upJac Nasser will take over the role of chairman of the board at BHP Billiton in early2010. Nasser, who had joined the board as a non-executive director in 2006,serves on the risk and audit committee. An executive of international repute,Nasser worked for the Ford Motor Company for 33 years, retiring as its presidentand CEO in 2001. He was also the chairman of Polaroid a director of BramblesLimited and Quintiles Transnational Corporation until 2008. Currently, Nasser isa partner of One Equity Partners, a director of British Sky Broadcasting plc and amember of the international advisory board of Allianz A.G.

impact on the environment while con-tinuing to offer economic benefits,”Robb says. “The quality of our air atMildred Lake is already good and wewant to keep it that way.”

Syncrude is also expanding itsalready-comprehensive waterfowl pro-tection program with additionalresources and revised protocols. Theobjective is to strongly discourage finefeathered friends from setting down ontailing ponds areas, where they cancome to possible harm.

In addition to keeping a deterrentsystem in place all year, Syncrudedeploys 190 shore-based sound can-nons at all tailings settling basins andareas of open water. Scarecrows andeffigies are also fitted with reflectorsand placed in open water to deterwaterfowl from landing. A number ofstaff, including a field wildlife advisor,is engaged year-round to observe areasof open water and ensure bird deter-rents are in place.

Syncrude has also purchased aradar-based migration monitoring sys-tem that will assist the company in itsongoing research into migration pat-terns. The pilot project will enable thecompany to analyze migration trendsand adjust its deterrent system toensure the best protection measuresare in place. This system is already inoperation at some of North America’slargest airports.

www.syncrude.ca

CIM


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Syncrude staff are engagedon a year-round basis toobserve areas of open water and ensure bird

deterrents are in place.

news

Achievements

Cleaning water is a social responsibilityBioteQ Environmental Technologies has been named one

of Canada’s Top 50 Most Socially Responsible Corporationsin the 2009 Jantzi-Maclean’s Corporate Social ResponsibilityReport. The company was recognized for helping resourcecompanies turn contaminated industrial wastewater into auseful resource using patented technologies that recover dis-solved metals while producing clean water that can be re-used or safely discharged to the environment.

The 50 Most Socially Responsible Corporations report,compiled by the independent investment research firmJantzi Research, appeared in the June 22, 2009 issue ofMaclean’s magazine. BioteQ has also won the Globe Awardfor Environmental Excellence, the PDAC Award forEnvironmental and Social Responsibility, the ChinaMining Environmental Protection Award and the Minesand Money Sustainable Development Award.

Suncor makes A-list of responsible companiesSuncor has also been named to the 2009 list of the 50

Most Responsible Corporations in Canada compiled byJantzi Research and published Maclean’s magazine.

Suncor was lauded for its renewable energy operations,which include four wind-power projects and one ofCanada’s largest ethanol plants, for the extent of its spend-ing with Aboriginal businesses and for its research intotechnologies to reduce the environmental impact of itsoperations and to evaluate the potential environmental,social and economic impacts of major projects.

Award-winning dewateringThe Consulting Engineers of Manitoba have awarded

Hatch Inc. an Award of Merit in the industrial category forits 777 mine dewatering project in Flin Flon, Manitoba.Retained by HudBay Minerals to implement a new mine-dewatering scheme that would allow the safe and cost-effective decommissioning of a deteriorating mine shaft,


Hatch designed and constructed two tunnel plugs to separate the active mine from high water levels in thedepleted mine. The company’s engineers successfully opti-mized an extensive near-field and contact grouting pro-gram for the two tunnel plugs.

Diavik to the rescueDiavik’s mine rescue team secured the top position in the

underground and surface events at the 52nd annual Workers’Safety and Compensation Commission Mine RescueCompetition, registering its first overall victory since themine’s teams began participating in the competition in 2003.Of the seven underground event tasks, Diavik won four —the written, rope and rigging, smoke, and obstacle. In thesurface event, Diavik won five of seven tasks including obsta-cle/extrication, fire, rope and rigging, bench, and smoke.

The victorious team included underground captainKelsey Loessl, surface captain Brad Rogers, coach JohnArnold, Diavik emergency response team coordinator AlexClinton, Yuri Kinakin, Erika Tamboline, Dean Coles, ChrisEthier, Jesse Lepine and Matt Reed. Congratulating them,Diavik president and COO Kim Truter said, “Our highlyskilled mine site emergency response team trains

BioteQ water treatment tank

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Operating scores of projects across the globe, Canada’smining companies are a force to be reckoned with in theinternational arena. In recent years, these companies havecome to be recognized not only for their expertise in mining,but also as benchmark-setters in the area of corporate socialresponsibility (CSR). Acknowledging the Canadian miningindustry’s global reach and the exemplary nature of its CSRefforts, the Government of Canada recently sought CIM’sexpertise in the creation and operation an online Centre ofExcellence on Corporate Social Responsibility.

This past summer, work got underway to create theweb-based centre. Two stakeholders meetings held inOttawa and Vancouver brought together representativesfrom the industry, civil society organizations and the gov-ernment. The message was clear — people see the need forsuch a centre to promote best practices, facilitate knowl-edge sharing and foster greater environmental and socialresponsibility.

“Our mission of knowledge sharing and networking,grounded in the intention to see better practices developedand applied, makes this initiative something that is verymuch aligned with our core purpose,” says Jean Vavrek, CIMexecutive director. “CIM has achieved much in terms ofresearching, developing and sharing best practices in manyareas of the industry. That is what we bring to CSR. We can build on existing networks, relationships, systems and

Fostering responsibilityCIM collaborates with the Government of Canada to developthe Centre of Excellence on Corporate Social Responsibility

By Heather Ednie

activities in an affordable way, even with little funding upfront. Our members and our industry want to see CSR woveninto how we do things day-to-day.”

Andrea Baldwin, the director of advisory services forCanadian Business for Social Responsibility (CBSR), hasbeen engaged with CIM from the onset in its efforts to cre-ate the vision of the centre. She recently moderated thestakeholder meeting in Ottawa that was attended by over 70people. Baldwin believes that the Centre of Excellence can“raise the game” in terms of CSR-related practices acrossindustries and among stakeholders.

“There is growing recognition among companies thatthey are being held responsible for their behaviour, bothenvironmentally and socially,” Baldwin says. “The stake-holders — investors, customers, communities — aredemanding responsible practices. The Centre of Excellencewill make it easier for companies to be responsible by shar-ing tools and best practices and by enabling access to expertsin the field. This opportunity for collaboration will be espe-cially advantageous for smaller companies.”

CBSR is a mission-based organization focused on CSR inCanada and abroad. Baldwin says that the centre will fit withtheir mission and respond to their members’ demands. “It’sa logical extension of our mission,” she explains. “We wantto be collaborative — to have one single ‘go to’ source forinformation.”


The Centre of Excellence is one of the four pillars of thegovernment’s “Building the Canadian Advantage” strategyon CSR announced last March. CIM is working with theDepartment of Foreign Affairs and International Trade(DFAIT) to formulate the centre’s vision and ensure theproper engagement of all stakeholders.

“Canadian companies are often instrumental in betteringthe lives of people in the communities in which they oper-ate,” says Stockwell Day, Minister of International Trade andMinister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway. “We have created thiscentre to help provide the tools, guidance and advice theyneed to meet and exceed their social and environmentalresponsibilities abroad.”

Vavrek commented that CIM’s very nature positions it as a natural leader in the development of the centre. As avolunteer-based, not-for-profit, multi-stakeholder organi-zation, CIM thrives on grassroots connections through-out communities across Canada. “This allows CIM todevelop the centre in an inclusive way, which is a criticalaspect of the concept,” Vavrek adds. “It is the sort ofthing CIM was created for and in which we have provenourselves in past.”

The creation of the centre has only just begun. Over thenext year, it is expected to develop rapidly. Throughoutthe summer, the focus was on identifying which keyorganizations should be involved, defining roles and iden-tifying avenues for contribution. Because CSR is itself abroad-sweeping term, ensuring that the centre remainssharply focused is quite a challenge. Efforts have thereforebeen made to assemble the right leadership team to helpidentify a portfolio of short-term priorities and longerterm challenges.

Vavrek’s list of next steps in the creation of the centreincludes identifying alternative sources of funding to sup-port new and expanding initiatives, ensuring the participa-tion of the oil and gas sector, and identifying geographicalareas to focus on where immediate value can be had.

Baldwin adds that during the first stage of the centre’sdevelopment, the focus will be on transitioning from thetheoretical to the practical, ensuring practical tools are pro-vided to be applied in the field. “The centre will bringtogether case studies, best practices, tools and access toexperts,” she explains. “It’s an opportunity to pull togetherinformation and be a place where material will be developedto fill information gaps, to be identified by the multi-stake-holder group.”

The Centre of Excellence is to grow into a practical toolto help the advancement of Canadian best practices and willhelp maintain Canada’s position as a global leader. “It is non-competitive,” adds Baldwin. “It provides the opportunity forcollaboration.” You too can contribute to the process. Pleasevisit the website and bookmark the page. Remember thatyour feedback and contributions are always welcome. Theywill be needed to shape the Centre of Excellence onCorporate Social Responsibility.

www.cim.org/csr

CIM


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news

Moving on upThe Right Honourable Jean Chrétien has been appointed asenior international adviser to Ivanhoe Mines. Since retir-ing in 2003 from politics and the positions of PrimeMinister and leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, Mr.Chrétien has practised as a lawyer with the internationallaw firm, Heenan Blaikie. As a parliamentarian, he hadheld several senior posts, including Minister of Finance,Minister of Justice, Attorney General, Minister of Energy,Mines and Resources and Minister of Industry, Trade andCommerce. At Ivanhoe, Mr. Chrétien will provide advisoryservices through a contract with Global MiningManagement, a private service company based inVancouver.

Dumont Nickel Inc. appointed Nicholas Tintor as a direc-tor. Tintor’s 30 years of experience include management,finance and project acquisition. Currently the presidentand CEO of Homeland Uranium Inc., he also serves on theboards of Macusani Yellowcake Inc., San Anton ResourceCorporation and Anaconda Mining Inc. Tintor is also amember of several national professional associations and isa member of the University of Toronto’s department ofgeology’s Industry Steering Committee.

David McAdam has been appointed interim CFO atHawthorne Gold Corp. McAdam, who had earlier providedfinancial consultancy services to Hawthorne, has over 25years of high-level international financial experience. Hewas the CFO of Eastern Platinum Limited, and has heldexecutive and advisory positions at Yellowcake MiningInc., Photon Holdings and several other American andCanadian companies.

Richard Klue is the new manager of strategic developmentin the mining division of the engineering consultancyWardrop, which is now part of the Tetra Tech Group. Kluewill lead Wardrop’s technical services group and helpguide the the company’s international initiatives. Richlyexperienced in technical, project, international and gen-eral management, Klue was most recently director andgeneral manager of North American operations at a largeinternational engineering company. Earlier, he had servedas a chief consulting metallurgist to a major mininginvestment group.

James Fazzino has been appointed managing director andCEO of Incitec Pivot Limited (IPL). Fazzino, who has 20years of experience in the chemicals industry, has beenwith IPL for the past six years, during which time heplayed key roles realizing synergistic benefits from the2003 merger that created IPL, the purchase of SouthernCross Fertilisers from BHP Billiton in 2006 and the acqui-sition of the explosives company, Dyno Nobel.

Chartered accountant Stacy Stone has been appointedCFO at Acadian Mining Corporation. She is currently theCFO of Royal Roads Corp.

Duane Lo is the new CFO at Luna Gold Corp. As a con-troller at First Quantum Minerals Limited, Lo assisted inthe completion of two major acquisitions and saw threemines commence commercial production. He obtained hischartered accountant designation in Deloitte & Touche’saudit and assurance practise.

Toronto-based exploration junior Eloro Resources Ltd.has appointed Denis Potvin to its board of directors.Potvin, a former National Hockey League player,recently appeared as a hockey analyst with Fox SportsNetwork. From 1973 to 1988, he played with the NewYork Islanders Hockey Club, captaining the team from1980 to 1983. He was inducted to the Hall of Fame in1991. From 1993 to 2005, Potvin served at RaymondJames & Associates as financial advisor, a position hehad also held at First Capital Advisors New York, from1989 to 1993. After retiring from hockey, he worked as acommercial real estate broker for Cushman Wakefield(New York).


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11:19:43 AM

Like other regions rich in natural resources, Albertahas had to strike a balance between protecting theenvironment and embracing economic growth.Previously, this equilibrium would have been defined

by Canada’s strict regulations on emissions and water with-drawals. But the situation in the Athabasca Basin was uniquein the rapidity and concentration of its economic develop-ment. One of the greatest areas of concern for local stake-holders and for national and international non-governmen-tal organizations was the welfare of the Athabasca River.

The Athabasca experiences significant seasonal variationsin flow rates, explains Preston McEachern, a section head inthe Oil Sands Environmental Management Division atAlberta Environment. McEachern is one of the primaryauthors of that ministry’s response to the ecological chal-lenge of protecting the river — The Water ManagementFramework.

The framework, currently in the first of two phases,focuses on the Athabasca’s overall flow during any givenweek. The flow is highest in summer, explains McEachern,due to the contribution of snowmelt and various surfacewater bodies and tributaries. In winter, when these addi-tional inflows are absent, the flow rate drops significantly.

Water is an integral part of the extraction process usedtoday, explains Chris Fordham, manager of strategy andregional integration at Suncor. “The ore is mined, broken upin sizers, and water is added to it to create the lumpy slurrythat goes to the extraction plant,” he says. “There, more hot

Balancing the flowsAn examination of Athabasca’s Water Management Framework

water is added, causing the bitumen tofloat off. The water stays with theremaining material – the tailings.” Morewater is needed for the high-pressurechemical upgrading processes, whichconverts bitumen into lighter crude.Currently, all the operations draw theirwater from the Athabasca River.

The framework’s rationale is that asmore projects come online, the pres-sures on the river will increase, necessi-tating the evaluation and control of thecumulative, rather than just individual,effect of the water withdrawal licenses.To this end, the framework introducesthree colour-coded conditions which,along with associated restrictions, areadjusted weekly.

Under the “green condition,” whenflow rates run high, each operator maywithdraw water up to the limit set by its

water usage license, as long as the cumulative withdrawalsof all the operating projects are less than 15 per cent of over-all river flow. Given that historically, as McEachern notes,“withdrawals have accounted for less than one per cent ofannual flow,” the cumulative limit is unlikely to overly con-strain operators.

During “yellow conditions,” when river flow decreases tothe lowest 20th percentile of historical values, the cumula-tive constraint is more likely to be felt. During such times,combined withdrawals must not exceed 15 cubic metres persecond (cumecs) during the ice-covered periods, or 34cumecs during other times.

Restrictions are strictest during the dry “red condition,”when river flows are in the bottom fifth percentile of histori-cal rates. The withdrawal limit is set at the lesser of 15 cumecsor five per cent of median flow in each week. During winter,this would typically amount to between 8 and 12 cumecs.

The main focus of the framework, McEachern explains,was identified through years of extensive study. “We exam-ined the entire spectrum of what makes the river function,”he says. “There are water quality concerns, for example.Reduced volumes can increase the concentration of certainparameters of concern in the river. Channel maintenance andchannel-forming flows must be considered. You need highflows to scour the bed. You need to clean off fish habitat forspawning. There are connectivity issues. You need higherflows to maintain the trees. And then, of course, there’s habitat, which is water required for animals to live in.”


upfrontS U S T A I N A B I L I T Y b y D a n Z l o t n i k o v

Suncor’s primary extraction plants separate raw bitumen from the sand in giant separation cells.

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Because the framework mainly focuses on the lowest-flow periods, a number of these areas will be unaffected,according to McEachern. “Channel-forming flows are notan issue,” he explains. “Connectivity, being related tohigher summer flows, is also not an issue. We thereforeinvestigated water quality and habitat issues. We deter-mined that because of the small size of the withdrawal, ascompared to the overall amount of water in the river, waterquality was a less pressing issue. That leaves habitat as themain area of focus. However, we will be addressing waterquality in Phase 2.”

With the framework being in its trial phase, data are stillbeing collected. The second phase of long-term regulationwill begin in early 2011, and some areas of impact stillneed to be evaluated. “We are continuously re-evaluatingthe data and working on the water quality aspect as weinvestigate the future of water returns to the river,” saysMcEachern.

No pain…yetDespite the framework’s first phase coming into effect,

Fordham says that Suncor’s and its neighbouring compa-nies’ operations have not been significantly affected. “Inthe Phase 1 framework, we are permitted to use eight to 15cumecs and are already drawing less than that,” heexplains. The true impact of the restrictions will not be feltuntil more projects enter the picture. When the frameworkcame out, there were only three companies — Syncrude,Suncor and Shell — operating and withdrawing water.Since then, CNRL came online, but that’s it so far.”

McEachern agrees that the restrictions are designed forsignificant future growth. “The peak withdrawal of aroundseven cumecs occurred after CNRL started up in 2007,” hesays. This amount is still below the lowest restriction set bythe framework.

The specifics of how the limit is met are left up to oper-ators, says Stephen Daughney, technical director for theWater Group within Hatch’s engineering consultancy. “Theoperators have come together and allocated intake basedon worst-case limits,” he says. “They’ve agreed to divvy upthe allowance and set their individual company limits,such that the cumulative intake does not exceed the yellowand red conditions.”

Alberta’s water license structure accords the highest pri-ority to the oldest license-holders, but there is room forcooperation, according to Les Sawatsky, a principal atGolder Associates’ Engineering Design and ConstructionGroup. “The framework has resulted in excellent collabo-ration and cooperation among the oil sands firms,”Sawatsky says. “The framework’s constraints are beingaddressed by the Oil Sands Developers Group (OSDG),who contracted Golder to investigate how its members canmeet the requirements more effectively by cooperation.”Sawatsky adds, “some tailings technology sharing agreements are also taking shape.”

Smoothing out the extremesThe most direct and immediate work-around, says

Fordham, would be to collect extra water in summer andstore it on site for the winters. According to McEachern, thisis a less damaging alternative to the more traditional counter-measure of damming the river. In addition to minimizing theimpact on the river, maintaining a constant withdrawal ratewould allow operators to maintain a constant production rate.

“Generally, these companies pull a constant averageamount of water and don’t stray from that very much,” saysMcEachern. “They have an operation that generally worksconsistently. They have nightmares about any kind of vari-ance in the system.”

Another way would be to restructure the process, com-pletely removing the need for water. Unfortunately, that maybe harder than it sounds. “A few options have come and gonein terms of water replacement,” Fordham says. “A technol-ogy called Bitmin, for example, was built around the conceptof solvent-based extraction and used a lot less water. Butnone of these alternatives have been shown as commerciallyviable yet.”

Improved efficiencyRecycling is certainly something the operators are get-

ting better at. Already, 80 per cent of the water used in


upfrontS U S T A I N A B I L I T Y

bitumen extraction and processing is recovered from withinthe operation.

“There has been a striking decline in water use by exist-ing companies over the last seven years,” notes McEachern.“Added up for all the companies, some years the water with-drawal has gone down even as new companies have comeonline. Overall, the trend is stable or decreasing, simplybecause companies have improved their efficiency.”

This is excellent news, but there is still room for improve-ment. Daughney identifies tailings ponds as a place wherewater use can be made more efficient. “The biggest driver fordecreasing water intake is the ERCB Directive 074 on tail-ings,” he explains. “The directive came out in final formearly this year. It seeks to make the tailings areas recoverablemuch more rapidly than before. It is focused on fluid tailingsand especially on mature fine tailings or MFTs. The goal isto move tailings deposition strategies to something that willproduce more trafficable deposits that can be reclaimedmuch more quickly in the post-deposition period.”

MFTs are the finer waste particles that remain after thebitumen is extracted. Because of the nature of the Athabascaregion’s soil, MFTs trap a lot of water in their structure. Upto 80 per cent of the material in the tailings ponds is water.Fordham says that Suncor is working to concurrentlyrecover this trapped water and speed up tailings

reclamation; they have moved to a new process called con-solidated tailings in which mature fines are added back tothe tailings stream. “Gypsum is then added, allowing theclay structure to consolidate much faster. You free up thewater and get a trafficable surface much faster,” he explains.

“The result is a much less moist mixture,” addsMcEachern. “Suncor is on track to reclaim its oldest tailingspond, going from MFTs, with 70 to 75 per cent water, todensified tailings that are 70 per cent solid. “That will beready for surface soils next year.”

Water removed from tailings ponds must either be rein-troduced into the process or remediated and returned to theriver. McEachern is hopeful that there will be further coop-eration between operators on this front too. “Previously, newcompanies would have very poor water use efficiencybecause they have to withdraw a lot of water before theycould recycle it from the tailings,” he explains. “Instead, wewant them to bypass that stage, utilizing some of the excesswater from mature sites. Flying over Suncor and Syncrudeoperations, you’ll see the large volumes of water that theyhave in their tailings ponds.”

Fordham acknowledges that this is possible, but alsosounds two notes of caution. The first concern he notes isthat not all water is the same. The chemistry of Suncor’srecovered water might not suit the needs of neighbouringprojects. “Of course, if we clean up the water and put it backin the river and someone downstream takes it back out, itwould almost serve the same purpose,” he says. Doing sowould also avert Fordham’s other concern — having to buildpipelines to move recovered water from one project toanother. On the other hand, returning water to the riverwould require a license from regulators — something nooperator has at this time.

Even with all possible recycling, some fresh water would stillhave to be drawn from the river, acknowledges McEachern.“Salinity is a major problem for extraction, in the Clark hotwater process. It’s absolutely horrid for the upgrader.”

Fordham also points out that recovered water can only berecycled so many times before other issues appear. “Theproblem with water is that as you continually recycle it, yougradually build up various ion concentrations,” he cautions.“The advantage of bringing some fresh water in is that youdilute it to some degree. Recycling forever is probably not anoption without some water treatment or fresh water input.”

Fordham also highlights that the operators themselveshave a desire to minimize water use, regardless of govern-ment regulations. “I think there’s a view that the oil sandscompanies suck the water out of the river because we wantto. If we could find a way to operate without water, we’d doit. Bringing the water in, moving it around and storing it allcost money. If we didn’t have to do that, we wouldn’t. Butright now, we have to, so we just try to maximize the effi-ciency of using the water we take in.”

www.suncor.com www.golder.comwww.environment.alberta.ca www.hatch.ca

CIM


upfrontS U S T A I N A B I L I T Y

As more and more conventional oil resources dry up,Alberta’s oil sands gain more attention and signifi-cance in the eyes of the world’s oil producers.Benefitting from over 40 years of continuous

research, the vast oil sands resources have become ever moreeconomical to mine. Today, a number of companies are reap-ing the benefits, and various operators are expected todevelop many more projects in the near future.

With only 20 per cent of the vast bitumen reserves acces-sible via surface mining, the need for alternative approacheshas long been recognized. Among the more promisingapproaches is steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD), inwhich operators drill horizontal well pairs deep under-ground, one a few metres above the other. The top well ispumped full of hot steam, decreasing the viscosity of thebitumen. The liquefied bitumen then seeps into the bottomwell, and is pumped to the surface for processing.

SAGD has allowed for far greater access to the resource.Expectations are that within two decades, the majority ofAlberta’s oil production will come from SAGD operations.But the method is not without its challenges.

Unconventionally unconventionalNexen Inc. improves on SAGD yields and cuts production costs at Long Lake

Twin challengesThe two main challenges with

SAGD pertain to its cost and directusability. SAGD is comparativelyexpensive, mainly because it needsvast quantities of steam. The steamgenerators use natural gas, whichis relatively costly. There are alsoconcerns that its supplies maybecome constrained as more andmore SAGD projects begin opera-tions. Furthermore, the same nat-ural gas is used for householdheating and cooking. If the oil pro-ducers’ demand drives the price ofthis resource up, it may strain rela-tions between operators and localresidents.

The second issue with SAGD isthat the bitumen produced fromoil sands can not be used directlyby refineries. To be usable thebitumen must be upgraded, thatis, converted from bitumen into asynthetic crude oil. As part of thisprocess, the bitumen is split intoits component parts and thelighter distillates are chemically

treated to produce sweet synthetic crude oil. However, thenature of the upgrading process is such that only half of allthe bitumen can be easily made into synthetic crude. Theremainder is generally processed through a coker where it isconverted into additional distillate and solid coke. The cokeis sold to coal power plants or steel smelters, at a price farlower than that of oil.

A new solutionWith such costly overheads, it is no wonder that compa-

nies like Nexen, Inc. are attempting to boost the efficiencyof the upgrading process. Nexen has partnered with OPTICanada to develop a process called OrCrude™ — a tech-nique that promises to decrease waste, cut costs andimprove the product quality, in concert with hydrocrackingand gasification. The technology is being deployed at thejointly owned Long Lake oil sands facility, some 40 kilome-tres southeast of Fort McMurray, Alberta. Originally, Nexenoperated the extraction side and OPTI ran the upgrader, butin January 2009, Nexen acquired an additional 15 per centstake from OPTI. With a working interest of 65 per cent,


upfrontT E C H N O L O G Y b y D a n Z l o t n i k o v

Long Lake skyline with well pad in foreground

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Nexen is now the sole operator of Long Lake. “Most of thetechnical and operational expertise that OPTI had at the sitewas simply transferred to Nexen,” explains Nestor Zerpa,Nexen’s senior advisor of synthetic oil process technology.“Rather than having two groups, we now have one. Therewas a lot of duplication, and we are now able to optimizeour work more.”

Optimization is very much the name of the game forNexen, as the company strives to maximize the amount ofusable crude it can produce from the extracted bitumen.“With typical bitumen, if you take 100 barrels, you’ll get50 barrels of distillates,” explains Zerpa. “Their API[American Petroleum Institute gravity — a measure of therelative density of a petroleum liquid with respect towater] would be about 20, which is pretty low, though bet-ter than the 7 to 10 API of the original bitumen. ThroughOrCrude™, we can turn 100 barrels of bitumen into 85barrels of distillates, not 50.”

This 70 per cent yield improvement is a huge advantageon its own, but there’s more. “The quality of the distillatesimproves from 20 API and 3.3 per cent sulphur to 40 APIand nearly no sulphur — just around 10 parts per million,”Zerpa explains. At 40 API, the product is nearly identical tothe 35 to 45 API of conventional oil and brings with it a cor-responding boost in sale price. The resulting by-products arealso more manageable. Instead of solid coke, the remaining15 barrels come in the form of asphaltene, or liquid coke.“Liquid coke is transportable in its liquid form via pipeline,Zerpa reports. ”Solid coke would require far more equip-ment and money to transport.”


upfrontT E C H N O L O G Y

OrCrude™ upgrading process

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Better, cheaper and cleaner tooImpressive as they are, the yield improvements did not

address the extraction side of the operation until Nexendecided to exploit the synergies made possible byOrCrude™. “The asphaltene is transformed into syngasthrough gasification,” says Zerpa. “That syngas is used togenerate power and steam and to produce hydrogen.”Hydrogen is an essential feedstock component in theupgrading process. Normally, Nexen would have to buythe gas from an external supplier. But with the gasificationsystem in place, Zerpa explains, “all our hydrogen needs,all our power and most of the fuel for steam are notimported. Instead, they’re generated from the bottom ofthe barrel — the worst part of the bitumen. This brings ushuge cost savings.” Zerpa estimates these savings to beabout $10 per barrel — a very significant boost to Nexen’scompetitiveness.

The asphaltene-generated syngas is not quite sufficient tomeet the project’s steam generation needs, Zerpa says.Hydrogen, on the other hand, is produced in greater quanti-ties than those needed for hydroprocessing, so Long Lakeburns a mix of hydrogen and syngas. Combined, the two off-set a major portion of the project’s natural gas demand.Zerpa estimates that Long Lake imports only 31 per cent ofthe natural gas it would have needed without OrCrude™.

The issue of contaminants is also addressed during gasi-fication. Zerpa points out that “30 per cent of the total sul-phur in the bitumen is concentrated in the liquid coke, asare 60 to 90 per cent of the nitrogen and all of the nickel andvanadium. You have all the usual contaminants concen-trated in these heavy hydrocarbon molecules.”

Rather than invest in costly equipment to convert moreof these heavy hydrocarbons to distillates, Nexen opted toconsume the asphaltene portion in the gasifiers. “The syngas

has three main components — carbon monoxide,hydrogen, and hydrogen sulphide (H2S). Carbonmonoxide and hydrogen have fuel value — they’rewhat we burn.” The syngas and H2S are separatedby a Universal Oil Products-patented processcalled Selexol. The cleaned syngas is burned asfuel, and the H2S is sent to a Claus unit, where itis turned into liquid sulphur and shipped by rail tothe sulphur market.

Insider insightDespite all its benefits, no other operator has as

yet adopted OrCrude™ technology. Zerpa thinksthat this is in part due to its novelty. “Most newtechnologies usually require new pieces of equip-ment, and there’s a risk of that equipment notworking,” he explains. But in the case ofOrCrude™, Zerpa feels it may be more a matter ofperception than of actual risk. “The advantage ofthis technology is that it relies on well-provenequipment. OrCrude™ is based on distillation,thermal cracking and solvent de-asphalting,” Zerpapoints out. “Thermal cracking was developed in1910 and patented by Universal Oil Products in1913. Solvent de-asphalting was created by Shell inthe 1920s. And of course, distillation has beenavailable since the beginnings of civilization. Theseare the three basic steps. What makes OrCrude™unique is that it puts these three existing basiccomponents to work in a new way.”

That last step has not yet been demonstrated tobe a commercial success, says Zerpa, but becauseNexen was involved in the development from thevery beginning and had a lot of inside information,“we always felt very comfortable with the technol-ogy.” As Long Lake expands, Zerpa is certain thatmore operators will be taking an active interest inOrCrude™.


SAGD wellhead equipped with electric submersible pump (shown in red)


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Looking beyond the fenceDespite the benefits offered by the syngas, Nexen is work-

ing on further improving distillate yields. This means the com-pany might lose some of the benefits from the liquid coke, apoint Zerpa readily acknowledges. “It’s a trade-off. By increas-ing yield, we’d lose the syngas production feedstock. However,the economics of the two are different. Though we gain a lot ofvalue out of asphaltenes, transforming them to distillateswould give even more value. The difference between the twois such that producing distillates is more favourable.”

Zerpa’s point applies not just to the economics of the pro-duction, but also to its ecological aspects. One charge lev-elled against OrCrude™ is that the technology causes a sig-nificant increase in a project’s carbon footprint. Theasphaltenes are a high-carbon feedstock, and significantamounts of carbon are released during the gasification andthe burning of the syngas.

However, Zerpa feels that the current view of an oper-ation’s carbon impact is improperly limited in scope, fail-ing to account for the impact of the products once theyleave the production facility. If a project wasn’t usingOrCrude™ it would coke the asphaltene, Zerpa contends.“A true environmental point of view should consider howmuch of the carbon that came out of the ground will end



up in the atmosphere,” he says. “That happens via differ-ent routes. You have the carbon in gasoline and diesel thatgets burned in a vehicle and ends up in the atmosphere.You also have carbon in coke that is burned in powerplants or cement kilns, and that too ends up in the atmos-phere. The carbon contained on every barrel of bitumenthat comes out of the ground is going to end up in theatmosphere by some route.”

Instead, Zerpa suggests, we should be looking at theentire life cycle of a molecule of carbon, to get a more real-istic view of an operation’s overall impact. “We do a lot ofthe operation within our fence, unlike a bitumen producerwho takes the bitumen out and sells it,” he says. “If you onlytrack that bitumen until it leaves their refinery fence, thenyes, their footprint would look very small compared to ours,because they’ve done almost no transformation on the prod-uct. The intensity level of the CO2 is low. But we take thatbitumen, upgrade it, increase the yields and transform themolecules into more useful forms, so the carbon intensitywithin our fence is high. But that shouldn’t be the true envi-ronmental view. We should look beyond the fence to whathappens with the molecule after it leaves the fence.”

www.nexeninc.com www.opticanada.com

CIM

CIM has often made the case for offering summerjobs to mining engineering students. By and large,the industry has responded to this call admirably.As a result, in addition to gaining rich real-world

experience, students have been able to defray much of thecost of their education. This remained true for years,until the economic crisis threw a wrench in many miningcompanies’ works.

Faced with low commodity prices, constrained creditand sluggish cash flows, many companies have struggled.Unfortunately, this also curbed their capacity to offersummer jobs and scholarships.

Ferri Hassani, Webster Professor of mining engineer-ing at McGill University, has been observing the situationclosely. “Most universities are facing problems in placingstudents in summer jobs,” he observes. “We promisedstudents co-op opportunities and jobs. Now, suddenly,this has become difficult.” Fearing student disillusion-ment and dropout, Hassani approached several industrybodies to “keep these students in jobs.”

CIM steps upAmong Hassani’s first ports of call was CIM. His tim-

ing could not have been better, as the Institute had alsobeen monitoring the problem. “We started thinking aboutthis late in 2008,” recalls Jean Vavrek, CIM’s executivedirector. “We had indications from industry that the eco-nomic downturn would make it difficult to provide stu-dents with work terms and summer jobs. This was fur-ther emphasized by exchanges around the table at theCanada Mining Innovation Council (CMIC).” Hassani’srequest brought matters to a head.

Practising what we preachCIM treats the current downturn as an opportunityto do its own bidding and hire students

Vavrek subsequently got the OKfrom the CIM Council to sanctionfunds to hire students over thissummer. “Council supported theidea, as long as it fit with CIM’slong-term strategy,” he explains.Vavrek had no trouble squaring thedecision with CIM’s strategy. “CIMhas always supported students inmany ways,” he says. “Giving themsummer jobs seemed like a naturalextension. By working with us,students get to learn more aboutthe industry while helping us withwork we need to get done anyway.So why not hire students and help

them get industry-relevant work?” Vavrek recalls think-ing. Thus, in late June, CIM hired six students, five fromMcGill University’s mining engineering program and onefrom Dawson College.

A totally awesome summer jobFor CIM, the students’ assistance was timely. Many

individually small but collectively significant tasks hadbeen pending for a while. There were databases to bebuilt, documents to be scanned, stories to be researchedand contacts to be collated. Consequently, the studentswere thrown in at the deep end. To their credit, they notonly coped with, but also enjoyed, their work.

McGill student Stephen David help CIM Magazineresearched potential stories. “My work increased myunderstanding of current industry issues, such as thepotash boom in Saskatchewan and new technologies inthe coal and oil sands sectors,” he reports. David alsoappreciated the bird’s-eye-view that CIM provides. “Ihave gained a bigger understanding of the industry as awhole and I have a better understanding of the impor-tance of associations like CIM,” he says.

David’s classmate, Neil Desai, also works with the CIMMagazine staff. “I helped the media team conjure up newson the mining industry in Canada. I also created andmanaged a pictorial database,” he says. Desai appreciatedthe opportunity for learning. “While researching various subjects, I learned a great deal about the industry.Each task gave me an understanding of the mining worldthat could not be gained in classrooms.” Desai also feelshe has developed important career-relevant skills. “I havelearned to gather ideas and express them in meetings.


upfrontO U T R E A C H b y M i n a z K e r a w a l a

From left to right: Neil Desai, Ali Haider Malhi, Stephen David, Lei Jin, Vadim Taskaev and Ian Durocher

Research and development is an important aspect that Ilearned,” he says.

Dawson College student Ian Durocher is compiling adatabase of companies for the marketing team. Hailingfrom an arts background, he has no prior exposure tomining. The future sociologist is quite impressed withwhat he has seen. “Working at CIM has been enjoyableand instructive. I have learned about a major industrythat doesn’t enjoy too much public attention. I have seenhow it fits into society.”

McGill co-op student Lei Jin took on the challenge ofscanning and digitizing back issues of the CIM Bulletin.“Scanning seems to be boring, but I often find somethinginteresting in those old magazines,” comments Jin.“Sometimes, some pages can be torn or scribbled on.Then, I utilize my computer skills to fix them.” Jin appre-ciates his supervisor’s support and his workmates’ cama-raderie and found that, “The most beneficial thing waslearning how to communicate. I sometimes experiencedifficulty in expressing myself properly. Over this workterm, I have made some progress. It will definitely con-tribute to my growth.”

Ali Haider Malhi worked on a mineral research databasethat will be part of CIM’s contribution to CMIC. Malhidescribes his experience as being “totally awesome”.“Meeting new people who have plenty of experience andlearning from them is what I enjoyed most” he says. “Ihave drastically improved my ability to communicate andshare ideas, to work individually or in a group, and to doresearch more effectively.”

Malhi’s fellow McGill classmate, Vadim Taskaev, is alsoresponsible for database development. “Autonomy and inde-pendence are aspects of the job that I enjoyed quite a lot,”says Taskaev. He declares that he has “learned a lot about themining industry,” and adds that the experience has educatedhim about the industry and, its techniques its companies andassociations. “I think CIM differs from other associations inthat it deals with a broad and international industry,” he adds.

Given the students’ reviews, their teacher, FerriHassani, need not have worried, even though he admitshe would have liked his students to secure jobs at mines.He is not playing hard-to-please; it is just that he is think-ing ahead. “In the next three years or so, we are going toface a major human resources problem,” says Hassani.“Now is the time to keep these students in jobs.”

Hassani is thankful that CIM has taken up the employ-ment slack. “Vavrek and his team have hired our students,

Moving on upDeepak T. Kapur has been elected to the board of directorsat Bucyrus International, Inc. Kapur, an engineer, is thepresident of Navistar Inc.’s Truck Group and serves on theboard of the U.S. National Association of Manufacturers.


upfrontO U T R E A C H

and that really helps a lot. These students need the money,and it is better for them to be in relevant jobs than to beselling hamburgers.” But he continues to appeal to theindustry. “Although the times are hard, the industry shouldhire students. They are the backbone of the future.”

A positive outlookUntil the corporations are able to heed Hassani’s exhor-

tations, Vavrek has a few ideas. “We could set up similarsummer work terms in every city that has a university witha mining program. I would suggest including a miningfield trip and bringing in a few industry representatives forluncheon discussions. Good times or bad, I think the sec-tor can create a more integrated and powerful work termprogram. Understanding corporations’ basic needs wouldprobably help us find or create work terms that wepresently do not even consider. Let’s work creatively.”

Meanwhile, Hassani’s message to students is upbeat.“Things are not as bad as they seem; the future is bright.If anything is going to pick up first, it’s going to be themining industry. People are already beginning to hireagain. I am very positive and hopeful.”

www.mcgill.ca

CIM

Over the last fewyears, oil sands devel-opment has attracted alot of debate in themedia and in policyforums. Current oilsands projects are a sig-nificant component ofthe Canadian economy,supporting hundreds ofthousands people indirectly and indirectlyrelated jobs. Approved

and proposed oil sands projects promise to increase thatimpact substantially and maintain it for decades. However,oil sands critics cite concerns about emissions, land use andwater management, presenting reports advocating measuresthat would slow down or halt oil sands development.

A fine balanceOSDG president Don Thompson discusses his efforts to set the record straight on the oil sands debate


upfrontQ & A b y M i k e P a d u a d a

Enter Don Thompson. Thompson is the president of theOil Sands Developers Group (OSDG) and general managerof regulatory and external relations at Syncrude. In his roleat the OSDG, he has been meeting with people and givingpresentations across Canada, the American Midwest andEurope to ensure that the industry’s perspectives are fac-tored into the debates. He was invited to be a CIMDistinguished Lecturer and is slated to meet CIM membersat local branches from fall 2009 through 2010. CIMMagazine recently spoke with Thompson to discuss someof the hot topic issues surrounding the oil sands.

CIM: The title of your presentation is called “Setting theRecord Straight.” What are you trying to set straight?Thompson: I’ve been an oil sands employee for 30 years.During that time, I believe I played a role in fostering thedevelopment of an industry that is now the cornerstone ofthe Canadian economy. What bothers me is that a lot ofthat success has attracted detractors, most of whom are notproviding the full story. What they are providing is misin-formation around oil sands issues that I think have beenwell-managed. I’m seeking to create a balance in the dis-cussion by providing the full perspective on whatever theparticular issue of concern may be.

The OSDG has tried to address some of the concerns thatpeople raise, whether it involves land disturbance, wateruse or greenhouse gas emissions, by laying out the otherside of the story: Here’s the concern that we’ve heard, here’swhat the facts are, and here’s what we’re doing to make itbetter. My presentation and other information provided bythe OSDG are available at www.oilsandsdevelopers.ca.

CIM: Groups that advocate slowing down or stopping oil sandsdevelopment seem to be at direct odds with the OSDG. Is iteven possible for you to engage them in a dialogue?Thompson: First of all, I find that a lot of the assertionsbeing made are somewhat naïve. I don’t deny that, as asociety, we will eventually move to an increased use ofrenewable energy sources. In fact, I encourage that. Theindustry’s critics would advocate that it can be accom-plished overnight and that we can dramatically reduce theuse of fossil fuels or oil sands in a very short time period. Ithink that is economically naïve. I believe that the betterthing to do is to use the time that oil sands reserves willallow us, and the wealth that they will bring us, to movetowards alternate forms of energy. So what I argue mostabout is timescale — it’s simply not practical, in a shortperiod of time, to move the whole North American energyeconomy. In addition, we can’t do so unless our economy

is robust and generating a tremendous amount of wealth. Ithink the oil sands’ role is in providing that timeframe andproviding that wealth.

CIM: Is it possible for oil sands companies to take a moredirect role in building capacity for renewable energy sources?Thompson: Our members are energy companies, and to thedegree that they see the energy economy moving in otherdirections, they will naturally seek to invest in profitableenergy forms for the future. As an industry association,that is not something we can have a role in. But, for thecompanies that invest in energy production, this will natu-rally be something that our members would look at to thedegree that it fits their investment futures.

CIM: Do you think the work you’ve done has improved thequality of the dialogue, and is that visibly impacting opinions?Thompson: I probably give 10 to 12 speeches a monththroughout Canada, the American Midwest and Europe,and I do a lot of media work. I think in that process I haveat least managed to get the dialogue a little more balanced— and that’s really all I want. People can form whateveropinion they like on their own, but I want them to do soin a fully informed manner. In other words, I want them to

hear both sides of the story and then go away and think forthemselves. I feel we’re seeing many more instances of bal-anced discussion in the media and other forums over thelast year or so as a result of our efforts and those of manyothers who have attempted to inject balance into the story.

CIM: Where does consensus occur? Is that something that ispurely left to legislative and regulatory bodies, or is there apublic forum where people and organizations may be able tofind it?Thompson: I think the consensus lies in the regulatoryforum because that’s where projects are approved. That’swhere governments lay out society’s expectations in theform of terms and conditions, approvals and the like. So,from a formal point of view, I think the consensus forum iswhere it’s at.

CIM: Can you explain how the oil sands provide jobs acrossCanada?Thompson: For every direct job in the oil sands, there arethree jobs in the local northern Alberta area, six jobs inAlberta as a whole and nine jobs across Canada and therest of the world. We purchase a lot of mining equip-ment as well as utilize engineering and maintenance


upfrontQ & A

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services from across Canada and in the AmericanMidwest. So, we also contribute to job creation every-where across the country.

CIM: To what extent is capacity being built inthe local communities? How many of thosejobs are highly skilled jobs, and is that numberincreasing?Thompson: For all the jobs in the oil sands, Ibelieve employers effectively require Grade12 or a Trade ticket. The vast majority of thejobs available are highly skilled because oilsands plants are very sophisticated, so most ofthe employees must have a reasonable level ofeducation to perform the job. Currently, thereare about 27,000 direct employees involved inthe industry. There are also about 20,000 con-struction workers in camps in FortMcMurray, and a lot of those are in processoperation, engineering, managerial or profes-sional jobs. So, a tremendous capability existsand is being developed there.

Additionally, the OSDG members have 1,500Aboriginal employees; we have spent over $100million in contract work with local Aboriginalfirms over each of the last several years. In fact,

Suncor and Syncrude have both gone over the $1 billionmark. So, the reality is that there is a tremendous capacitybeing built in the local Aboriginal community as well.


upfrontQ & A

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upfrontQ & A

CIM: How much of that activity can be sustained when oilsands activity plateaus or declines as alternative energies aredeveloped?Thompson: I think the job skills, the employability skillsand the technical and trade skills are fully transferable toother industries. If you’re a good, solid boilermaker welder,you can be a boilermaker welder in any industry. Goodworkers will always find good jobs. A lot of this is transfer-able base capacity that will carry.

CIM: Does the OSDG have an opinion on carbon taxes and cap-and-trade systems?Thompson: No, but one of the things that people should beclearly aware of is that, regardless of where you get thatbarrel of oil, about 80 per cent of greenhouse gas emissionsresult from its consumption and not its production. Thereality is that whether it is cap-and-trade or carbon cap-ture, you have to deal with that full 100 per cent of green-house gas emissions, and not just the small percentage thatresults from production. The real solution to carbon emis-sion reduction is first, reducing consumption and then,increasing the technology.

CIM: What’s on the agenda for you and the OSDG?Thompson:We focus a lot on making sure that Fort McMurrayis an attractive and successful community, and that we’ve dealt

with local issues in an effective manner, because we need thatto draw and retain the workforce needed to operate in a safe,reliable manner. Of course, we continue to work beyond onsome of the things that may slow down or impact oil sandsdevelopment in the big picture.

CIM: Do you find social media is helping you — for example,through your blog — to engage people?Thompson: To a degree; however, I still feel face-to-facemeetings — with small and large groups — are more impor-tant. First of all, I think people are hungry for balance in thedialogue and they appreciate that industry is trying to setthe record straight. People are smart and they can make uptheir own minds, but they desire to be fully informed indoing so. I think the second thing I’ve learned is that it’s avery big country, and you have to work pretty hard to getthe message out in enough forums to make a difference.

CIM: How do you feel about being appointed as a CIMDistinguished Lecturer?Thompson: I am honoured. Mining is one of the corner-stones of the Canadian economy. Visiting the branches willgive me the opportunity to speak to people across thecountry, which I am really looking forward to.

www.oilsandsdevelopers.ca

CIM

Cougar South operation


coal and oil sands

by Ryan Bergen

The landscape of its origins helps tell the story ofCanadian coal. The steep peaks, perilous dropsand hidden valleys in the mountain ranges ofBritish Columbia and Alberta that bear the bulkof Canada’s metallurgical coal outline the for-

tunes of those who extract it. To the east, on the plains ofwest-central Canada where much of the thermal coal ismined, the contour of the land is more subdued. The horizonlacks the drama of the West, but allows a much longer view.Metallurgical (or coking) coal is low in sulphur and phos-

phorous content and fuels blast furnaces that convert ironore to iron, the primary material in steel alloy. It representsabout 40 per cent of the 68 million tonnes of coal minedin Canada and the vast majority of the coal exported to theworld market. The recent dizzying pace of industrial devel-opment, girded by the appetite for fundamental materialslike steel, fired demand for metallurgical coal, while thesubsequent slump dampened it.

Steady domestic demand for electricity generated fromthermal (or steam) coal provides some insulation againstthe global economic climate. Thermal coal, which repre-sents 20 per cent of Canada’s coal exports, is also used tofire the kilns for cement production and other industrialapplications.For either type of coal, last year was like no other. “The

2008 fiscal year for both metallurgical and thermal coal wasexceptional,” reflects Ernie Lalonde, mining analyst and sen-ior vice-president of the rating agency DBRS. “For met coal,it broke all the records. Unprecedented growth, demand inChina, bad weather in Australia — everything came together.We are going to remember 2008 as an extraordinary year.”Now, with far more modest, but still strong prices,

Chinese steelmakers — after a dramatic pause — are againshopping for relative bargains in coal. “The 2009 story willbe the surge in spot market activity related to coking coalexports to China,” declares Robert Stan, president of

New economic and demographic realities are reshaping Canada’s coal industry

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coal and oil sands

Left to right: Cardinal River coal wash plant; looking east at the previously mined 12 South A Mine; mechanic Candido Canteras shows apprentice Russ Mendoza the finer pointson an 830E

Grande Cache Coal. “And for a certain number of cokingcoal producers, that will make their year.” “If you are not talking about China, you are on the wrong

page,” echoes Boyd Payne, CEO of Teck Coal, the secondlargest supplier of metallurgical coal to the global steel

industry. “China is carrying everything. It is the only countryin the world where massive stimulation money could be putto work quite quickly. It has happened and has createddemand. Commodities suppliers are all looking at Chinaand wondering how long it can last, but certainly in high-quality hard coking coal it has had a dramatic impact in thelast six months or so.” For Grande Cache, the turnaround was stunning. The

company reported sales of only 110,000 tonnes in the firstthree months of the year. “It was our worst quarter eversince we started production,” says Stan. The followingquarter, with prices down more than $200 per tonne, salesincreased to just over a half million tonnes. “To go from theworst quarter to the best quarter in our company’s historywas a bit of a surprise,” he adds. “The combination of somegood sales to traditional customers helped but, withoutquestion, it was the spot market activity related to Chinathat really pushed us over the top.”“Is this a sign of a turning point where China will

become a net importer rather than a net exporter?” won-ders Lalonde. “The second question is, with the great useof commodities in the first and second quarters of 2009, isthis just a building of stockpiles at low prices, or will this gotowards consumption and be a part of an ongoing recov-ery? It’s the big question in all the commodities businesses.The marketplace does not know the answers yet.”The whipsaw market has tossed met coal producers

about, but there is not much to be done except to brush offthe dirt and get back to work. “We will continue our tradi-tional maintenance shutdowns but are cancelling shut-downs we had initiated in the first half of the year to con-trol inventory,” says Payne. “Now, we are ramping upbecause inventory is going to be too low. My only concernis that I don’t think anybody can predict with certainty whatwill happen six months from now. I think we have learnedthat lesson in spades.”

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coal and oil sands

Building bridgesThe current challenge is in carrying the momentum

forward, keeping pace with slower, though still steadilydeveloping, economies. “You are dealing with China,which is growing at seven or eight per cent a year,”explains Pierre Gratton, president of the MiningAssociation of British Columbia. “While it is no longer 11or 12 per cent, it is still phenomenal growth. The funda-mentals for long-term growth in the steelmaking coalsector are great. China is rapidly industrializing and theycan’t afford for it to stop. India is not far behind, and if it’snot India, it’s Brazil.”The connection between Chinese markets and

Canadian suppliers continues to get stronger. With its footin the door, Stan says Grande Cache is generating

contacts overseas as it increases capacity. “We are busytrying to turn spot cargoes we’ve made into China intolonger term contractual obligations and longer term rela-tionships,” he says. A new Grande Cache mine is set to gointo production this fall.In July, China’s state-owned investment fund, China

Investment Corp, spent CDN$1.74 billion to acquire a 17per cent equity stake in Teck. Beyond the cash bump forTeck, the deal was significant for many because neither thegovernment nor the public offered any resistance. This is inconspicuous contrast to the failure of a similar dealbetween Australia’s Rio Tinto and the Chinese state-owned Aluminum Corp. “Canada has the resources the world requires,” says

Lalonde. “I expect Chinese and other international investors

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to look to Canada for resource development investmentopportunities, including in coal. Given that current produc-tion is concentrated in relatively few hands — Teck andSherritt being the largest — international investors seekinglarge-scale investments in Canadian coal may find moreopportunities to focus on property development, rather thanacquiring existing production capacity.”“We’re coming out on the other end of a worldwide reces-

sion with increased demand for infrastructure and thenecessity for steel and cement,” says Allen Wright, presidentand CEO of the Coal Association of Canada. “That, alongwith our industry’s strong commitment to research andadvancement of new, cleaner coal technologies on the ther-mal side, mean that the Canadian coal industry is well-placedto meet the challenge of future global coal demands.”

Smooth transitionsIn addition to the effects of flooding that hit Australia

last year, exports there have been hampered by ports thatcannot handle the surging volume. By contrast, some coalproducers in British Columbia and Alberta have the advan-tage of shipping to the underused Ridley Terminal in PrinceRupert. “Ridley is by far the best point of access for thatregion,” claims Gratton. “There is capacity also with CN toship it there. You don’t have the same rail congestion thatyou see down south towards Vancouver.”

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In an effort to avoidthat congestion, TeckCoal recently reworkedits rail agreement. “Wehave 3.5 million tonnesthat will be handed fromCP to CN in Kamloops,for the first time ever,”explains Payne. “Most ofthat will go into theNeptune Terminal inVancouver, where weown coal handling rights.It is easier to schedulethe shipment to Neptuneand it enhances our abil-ity to use our port.”In northeastern British

Columbia, the evolutionof the coal industry hasalso led to adaptations inhow properties arebrought into production.The contracting companyLedcor, recently active ina pair of projects nearTumbler Ridge, is in thefinal stages of handing over operations of the Perry Creekmine to Western Canadian Coal. Engaged there since2005, Ledcor used a novel approach to developing themine with the growing company, says Randy Daggitt,Ledcor’s vice-president of mining. “We weren’t the contrac-tor, rather we were the operators of the Perry Creek mine,similar to what we did at the Gibraltar mine, which is a newapproach for this industry in British Columbia. The intent ofthe contract was to provide a turnkey operation to the own-ers that they would take over once they had all of their sys-tems and people in place. It was unique because it was afully integrated team. Staff at Perry Creek were hired byLedcor but interviewed by Western management becausethey were bound to be Western employees.”Daggitt expects the approach will gain traction as more

junior mining companies enter the market. “They are trying tostart up but they don’t have the people or the systems to puta mine into operation,” he explains. “We will bring in thingslike our safety system, maintenance systems, HR, payroll andfinancial systems, and then eventually turn it over.”

Help wantedIf commodity prices are volatile, those who have the

skills to keep the industry running remain as valuable asever. Naturally, the precipitous drop in the market has manyfacing tough decisions about their workforce. The questionis often not whether layoffs should occur, but what is theappropriate number.“It’s never easy to find really good people,” acknowl-

edges Stan. Nevertheless, the recession forced Grande


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Cache to lay off 75 workers this spring. With reneweddemand, the company has since restored more than halfof those jobs.Allan Cullen of Cullen Diesel Power has tried to hold

fast against the downsizing current. Up until August, thecompany, which sells and services mining trucks anddiesel engines, had retained all of its 275 employees. Thecost savings of a significantly leaner workforce wouldcome at the price of competitive advantage, he feared.

“We need to maintain the goodwill of our customers,” saysCullen. “For that, we need to have our skilled tradespeopleready to service their vehicles when they get back toworking at 100 per cent. It’s a bit of a gamble, but it is anappropriate gamble. We’ve learned from the businesscycles in the past.”Meanwhile, Ledcor has revamped its training and oper-

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Workers returning from shift at Fording River operation Haul trucks ascending from Natal West and Elk Pit

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required for the project. “We have standard operating pro-cedures for everything, from the most basic tasks to themost complex,” explains Daggitt. “We’ve had to do thatbecause people just don’t have the experience.”Companies anticipating the steady retirement of baby

boomers are already jostling to recruit not only trades-people, but seasoned executives as well. Payne saysthat he has heard of headhunters coming around, notoffering positions, but developing contacts. “This is quitenovel,” he says. “A large mining company had recognizedthat in the next three to five years, they will have signif-icant holes in their senior operating executive group. Itwas almost like they were doing an inventory check oftalent. I thought that was pretty farsighted of them. Weall have workforce planning tools, but somebody outthere is using theirs at an executive level to positionthemselves for the future.”

Shouldering the loadMany in the industry acknowledge that mining is a tem-

porary use of the land. As such, it is up to them to add sub-stance to that claim by controlling and managing theinevitable environmental legacy of scouring millions oftonnes of coal from the land. At the Genesee mine-mouth operation west of

Edmonton, a reclamation program initiated by Sherritt andpower generator Capitol Power is shortening mining’sclaim to the land. Last fall, soil rich with seeds, root struc-tures and organic material from soon-to-be-mined landwas transferred to a prepared reclaimed area to speed upthe re-establishment of plant life. A preliminary survey con-ducted during this past summer by Dean MacKenzie ofNavus Environmental found about 80 per cent of speciescommon to undisturbed land on the three-hectare test plot.Pending the results of a more rigorous audit as the grow-ing season winds down, he says the process will be fine-tuned, but is confident that it can be applied cost-effec-tively at oil sands projects as well. “You can build the forestwithout planting — transplant the soil and the native plantscome free,” he explains.Such innovation will mark the road ahead for thermal

coal, claims Lalonde. “There is no end to the researchgoing on to find ways to use coal better. If you look at theenergy markets at all, you know that coal use is growingsteadily and strongly because it is an abundant and inex-pensive resource. Those economics drive the technologyneeded to utilize the resource, so there is innovationeverywhere from tire technology that allows you to usebigger trucks, to people looking at ways to treat coal morelike gas, removing the impurities before we use energy.”Slowly, a monument to fossil fuels is taking shape in

the heart of Calgary. The Bow, Encana’s future corporateheadquarters, continues to grow. Explicitly, it is a state-ment of the heft of the oil and gas industries and thewindfall of the oil sands. But, says Wright, “All I can thinkof as each level of the structure goes up is the amount ofcoal that was used to make the steel for those girders.”With every storey added, it is a more compelling testamentto the essential role coal plays, and will continue to play, inglobal growth. CIM

Alberta’s oil sands are vital to Canada’s present andfuture energy needs and economic prosperity.Consider their role in just two aspects of the econ-

omy — employment and investment. Every permanent posi-tion created in the oil sands results in the creation of ninemore direct, indirect or induced jobs. As a result, some240,000 Canadian jobs are directly or indirectly linked tothis industry. On the investment front, $59 billion werepoured into the sector between 1997 and 2006. Theindustry also has the potential to generate at least $123billion in royalty and tax revenues between 2001 and2020, representing a major boost to the public coffers.

Down, but not outDespite their scale, the oil sands have not been

immune to the storms buffeting the global economy. Most

Canada’s oil sands industry strides ahead into a confident futureby Peter Caulfield

producing operations are surviving, but many construc-tion and development projects have been placed on hold,as their owners wait for investor and consumer confi-dence to rebound.No longer as bullish as it was a year ago, the industry is

definitely not all gloomy, either. Nancy Lever, managingdirector of ARC Financial Corp., a Calgary-based energy-focused private equity firm, is clearly optimistic. “There’sbeen a bit of a slowdown, but the long-term outlook is verypositive,” Lever says. “Recently, the industry was challengedby huge capital cost overruns due to an overheated econ-omy, but labour and material prices are starting to comedown again. That’s a very good sign.” Affected by the slowdown, industry suppliers too are

looking forward to better times. “We think the recessionwill be short-lived,” says Greg Lucyshyn, contracts


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manager with drilling service provider, Boart LongyearCanada. “There’s going to be a pick-up in activity prettysoon.”Paraphrasing Mark Twain, Chris Yellowega, North

American Construction Group’s (NACG) vice-presidentof operations says, “Rumours of the death of the oilsands have been greatly exaggerated. The outlook is stillvery positive. Most players are taking advantage of theslow-down to increase operational efficiencies, prepar-ing to take advantage of new opportunities when thingspick up again.”David McColl, research director at

the Canadian Energy ResearchInstitute in Calgary, sees the slow-down as “a golden opportunity.” Heexplains, saying: “The credit crisis andcollapse in energy prices can be achance for the industry to step backand focus on the next moves in thedevelopment of the oil sands.” McCollthinks the time is ripe to secure high-quality labour that has been releasedby other companies, to obtain suppliesand inputs at reasonable costs and toprepare for the return of higher oilprices and economic activity. He citesImperial’s decision to proceed with itsKearl Oil Sands project as an exampleof such strategic thinking.

Straight ahead at KearlLakeThe Kearl Oil Sands, a surface min-

ing project northeast of Fort McMurray,is being developed by Imperial Oil Ltd.in three phases and could producemore than 300,000 barrels of bitumenper day when complete. The firstphase is expected to begin productionin late 2012 at an annualized averagerate of 110,000 barrels per day.Construction costs associated withPhase 1 are expected to be about $8billion, or approximately $4.50 per bar-rel of reserves.Current work on the project includes

preliminary site preparation includingmuskeg drainage, road and other earthworks, as well as utility installation.“Elsewhere, detailed engineering, plan-ning and procurement, and contractingwork is very active,” reports PiusRolheiser, Imperial’s media team lead inCalgary. “In total, we have more than1,000 employees and contractorsworking on Kearl. The period of major

construction activity will be in 2010 and 2011, with startupin 2012. Activity will continue to ramp up until then.”Imperial conducted extensive consultations before and

during the regulatory review and continues to talk with keystakeholders. “In particular, we consulted with First Nationscommunities, on whose traditional lands much of the devel-opment will take place,” Rolheiser says. “Their concerns,shared by other stakeholders, focused on the environmentaland socioeconomic impacts of the proposed development.”Stakeholder input significantly informed the project’s

design considerations. For example, Kearl will have significant


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capability to store water, helping Imperial curtail its waterwithdrawals from the Athabasca River during low-flowperiods. “Imperial will also add a ‘compensation lake’ to theexisting Kearl Lake, enabling us toreplace the fish habitat we need to remove,” says Rolheiser.“As requested by the First Nations communities, we willmake the new lake deeper than the existing one, so thatfish can survive the winter freeze. The fish species that willbe stocked in the lake have also been suggested by theFirst Nations.”

“The Kearl project will provide superior shareholdervalue,” continues Rolheiser. “We have a large, high-quality,fully delineated resource, which gives us a natural costadvantage. Key regulatory approvals are in place and aworld-class project team has already completed the execu-tion planning. With startup in late 2012, we expect to bethe only significant new oil sands operation coming on-stream, and we anticipate strong demand for Kearl bitu-men at that time.”

Hot times at Cold LakeImperial is also proceeding with potential expansion

plans at Cold Lake, where it currently operates four plants:Leming, Maskwa, Mahihkan and Mahkeses. In 2008, bitu-men production from these averaged about 150,000 bar-rels per day. While no final decisions have been made yetby the company on whether or not to proceed, work isunderway to help make that decision. The proposed three-

phase Cold Lake expansion will open up a new area calledNabiye.Rolheiser says that, when completed, Nabiye will add

30,000 barrels of bitumen per day to Cold Lake’s produc-tion. “Imperial received regulatory approval for Nabiye in2004, after completing a full environmental impact assess-ment and extensive public consultation,” he explains. “Sincethe Nabiye approval was received, Imperial has been progressing technology enhancements and is proposingthree environmentally friendly modifications to the projectdesign.”The first proposed change is designed to minimize the

surface footprint of the field development plan. “This willreduce the potential effects of the project on soils, vegeta-tion and wildlife in the development area,” Rolheiser elabo-rates. “In addition, the use of horizontal wells will decreasethe number of well bores required to access the reservoir.As a result, the effects on groundwater will also bereduced.”The second proposed change is the addition of a 170-

megawatt steam and electricity cogeneration facilityequipped with two heat recovery steam generators. “Thecogeneration plant will supply power for the Nabiye opera-tion, and feed surplus power back into the provincial grid,”Rolheiser says. Cogeneration of steam and electricalpower is more efficient and results in reduced greenhousegas emissions compared to separate generation of steamand power. Cogeneration will increase emissions from the


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The Cold Lake heavy oil operation has more than 4,500 wells drilled from some 200 multi-well pads, four plants that generate steam and process bitumen, and a cogeneration unit.

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Nabiye plant compared to the steam generators includedin the approved project. However, the stack parameters forthe cogeneration units will significantly improve dispersion,thereby reducing ground-level concentrations. The third proposed change, the addition of sulphur

removal facilities, will further reduce emissions from theplant. Liquid scavengers will be used to recover 70 percent of the inlet sulphur in the produced gas that isburned as fuel. Rolheiser says that Imperial will honourall environmental commitments made in the originalNabiye application. “We are not seeking an increase inlicensed volumes for fresh water withdrawals from ColdLake for the Nabiye development. Instead, we willexpand our use of brackish water as the main watersource. Our commitments to gather baseline environ-mental data and monitor groundwater in the area havebeen ongoing since 2002 and will continue as the proj-ect progresses.”

Good results on the HorizonCapitalizing on a unique opportunity, Canadian Natural

Resources Limited (CNRL) won a rich payoff in the formof positive second quarter results in 2009, delivered, inpart, by its Horizon Oil Sands project. In August 2009,the company announced that earnings for the threemonths ending June 30, 2009, were $162 million. The

previous six months’ earnings were $467 million. Earlierin 2009, CNRL had started shipping synthetic crudefrom Horizon.Horizon, located 70 kilometres north of Fort McMurray,

is a surface oil sands mining operation with attached bitu-men extraction and upgrading facilities. Reporting on pro-duction at the project recently, CNRL chairman AllanMarkin said, “The ramp-up of production at Horizon contin-ued to go well during the second quarter, with productionexceeding our corporate guidance.”CNRL owns and operates 115,000 acres of leases at

Horizon. Drilling indicates the estimated presence of 16billion barrels of bitumen, of which about six to eight billionare recoverable with existing technologies.The Horizon project will proceed in stages. Phase 1 will

see production of 110,000 barrels of synthetic crude perday. Daily production is expected to expand initially to250,000 barrels, and eventually to 500,000 barrels.Capital investment for Phase 1 was originally budgeted at$6.8 billion. Reflecting inflation and rising service costs, itis now estimated to be $9.7 billion.Horizon will generate important economic benefits for

Alberta and Canada over its 40-year life span, creatingabout 25,000 person-years of direct employment duringprimary construction. At full capacity, the project isexpected to employ approximately 2,400 people.


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24,000 hands on deckIn an industry of huge employers, the Athabasca Oil

Sands Project (AOSP) Expansion 1 stands out. LaurieanneLynne, Shell Canada’s corporate communication advisor,characterizes the company’s AOSP Expansion 1 as anextremely complex project involving thousands of workersover many years. “AOSP Expansion 1 is among the largesttrade union projects in Canada,” she reports. ”We are usingmainly Canadian contractors to build it and all our oil sandsprojects.” Half of the project’s equipment and materialshave come from Canadian companies, including 20Aboriginal companies that won contracts worth a total of$20 million.As of the end of July 2009, Shell had more than 12,000

skilled craft workers working on AOSP Expansion 1. “Weare among the largest trainers of new skilled workers inCanada. Currently, we host over 30 per cent apprenticedworkers,” says Lynn.Started in 2006, AOSP Expansion 1 is scheduled for

completion by 2011. The mammoth project comprises newmining and extraction facilities at the future Jackpine mine,the expansion of froth treatment facilities at the MuskegRiver mine and the expansion of the Scotford Upgrader.Upon completion, the project will increase bitumen capac-ity at the Albian Sands mining operation and the ScotfordUpgrader by 100,000 barrels per day.

From paper to oilOne challenge faced by all oil sands operators is finding

and keeping adequate numbers of trained and motivatedworkers. The issue has caught the attention of theCalgary-based national, not-for-profit Petroleum HumanResources Council of Canada. “There is still a shortage ofskilled labour,” says council executive director and CEOCheryl Knight. “The economic slowdown has affected con-struction more than operations. Producers don’t stop pro-ducing when prices fall. They just try to be more efficient.”The council has been exploring new sources of oil

sands labour, including former workers from BritishColumbia’s collapsed pulp and paper industry. “Many of theskills these workers possess are transferable to the oilsands,” Knight says. “Because many oil sands operatorsuse steam, they want people who have their steam tickets.”Also in high demand are other certified tradespeople, suchas millwrights, welders, pipe fitters and heavy-dutymechanics.Former pulp and paper workers can often find employ-

ment in the oil sands, without even having to relocate. “Oilsands employers are very flexible. You don’t have to leaveyour home to take a job. Producers will fly you in and out,”Knight explains.In Alberta, the industry employs about 11,000 perma-

nent workers, including geologists, technologists and


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technicians, process control engineers, tradespeople,heavy equipment operators and health and safety and reg-ulation specialists. Unlike the conventional oil industry,which, according to Knight, resembles the mining industryin the transience and mobility of its employees, the oilsands are a plant-based environment.Here, workers are encouraged to plant roots and work

their way up, rather than heading off to the next gig whentheir current one is completed. Consequently, many oilsands workers are older than their conventional petroleumindustry counterparts. “Many workers are between 30 and39, and even over 50,” Knight notes.The oil sands also fare better than the conventional oil

industry at employing Aboriginals and other under-repre-sented groups. “Five per cent of oil sands employees areAboriginals, compared to 2.5 per cent for the overall workforce,” she says. Syncrude and Suncor are especially note-worthy for their 10 per cent Aboriginal employment tar-gets. Knight also points out that more and more producersare targeting under-represented workers.

A measure of visionIn addition to high-quality day-to-day management and

skilled labour, excellent leadership is needed for the oilsands to prosper. “Every now and then, special peoplecame along who were game-changers, putting their


coal and oil sands

careers and reputations at risk,” says Clement Bowman,retired vice-president of Esso Petroleum Canada. Hebelieves that the industry has succeeded because thesestrong-willed visionaries helped it surmount obstacles.Bowman thinks the industry needs just their sort ofcourage, persistence and far-sightedness.“Maybe the issues are now beyond the capacity of a sin-

gle individual. Perhaps a group of private sector leaderscould band together to find and support an individual whocould galvanize the national will and commitment to makethe next big leap forward. I am astonished that a nationalleader has not emerged and taken this on as a Canadian‘moon shot’,” says Bowman. He sees the industry’s currentsituation as being unique because the challenges probablycannot be resolved internally.“Some of the current problems can be met by inte-

grating energy resources,” says Bowman. “For example,hydrogen is essential for the oil sands. Producing itfrom natural gas is not a viable long-term solution, butit can be produced by coal gasification or by water elec-trolysis,” he observes, concluding that individual compa-nies cannot be expected to meet all the current chal-lenges through their own efforts. “A new form of public-private sector partnership will be necessary. And it’s worth undertaking, because energy is Canada’s last chance.” CIM

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Last February, Alberta’s Energy ResourcesConservation Board (ERCB) issued a new directiveoutlining aggressive criteria for managing tailings in

the oil sands industry. Among other things, the ERCBfocused attention on reducing fluid fine tailings at oil sandsoperations and set timelines for reclamation of designateddisposal areas. These measures are aimed at acceleratingthe transformation of tailings into reclaimed land.There are currently more than 130 square kilometres

of tailings disposal areas in the oil sands region. Afteropen pit mining, hot water is used to separate very heavyoil (bitumen) from the sticky sand. Following its use inthe process, this water — which also contains clay, sandand residual bitumen — is then sent to a tailings pond,often a discontinued mine pit. A percentage of the tail-ings water is recycled back for use in the bitumenextraction process.

Several research facilities and businesses have beendeveloping and applying new reclamation techniques andattempting to reduce the use of fresh water in oil sandsextraction.

Water, water everywhereShell Canada’s Athabasca Oil Sands project in northern

Alberta exemplifies the company’s efforts to produce “trafficable” tailings. Such tailings can eventually be walkedon or driven over, and can go a long way in meeting theobjective of accelerated reclamation of excavation pits andtailings ponds.In 2008, Shell commissioned a $100 million tailings

pilot plant at the Muskeg River mine in order to meet thenew government guidelines. “While the directive is techni-cally challenging, Shell has invested substantially in tailingsresearch,” says Laurieanne Lynne, communications advisor,

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EarthRenew CEO Christianne Corin andpresident and COO Al Fedkenheuer

holding bucket of fertilizer at theStrathmore facility

Corporate Shell Canada Limited. “Engineering workstarted before the ERCB issued its tailings directive aspart of Shell’s commitment to sustainable oil sands devel-opment. So far, the results of our efforts to create traffica-ble tailings have been encouraging.” One of the goals is to improve fresh water management

at Shell’s oil sands mining operations and the ScotfordUpgrader. New technologies and processes are beingdeveloped to increase water treatment, recycling and stor-age at both facilities. Shell typically uses large volumes ofwater, primarily from the Athabasca River, to separate bitu-men molecules trapped in the sand and clay. “On average,the oil sands industry uses two to three barrels of freshwater to extract one barrel of bitumen,” Lynne reports. “Butwe work hard to manage our water use by recycling asmuch water as possible from the tailings ponds.”All water recovered from the tailings ponds and within

the process is recycled back through the operation.Nevertheless, some of it is lost to evaporation and to theinterstices between clay and sand particles that were orig-inally occupied by the bitumen. For even more significantreduction in the use of fresh water, the water loss has tobe minimized. This is another reason why Shell is develop-ing technologies to produce drier tailings. Currently, Shell’stailings ponds measure about 12 square kilometres, with agovernment-approved extension underway.


coal and oil sands

And while the tailings get drier and drier, Shell is alsorecycling water more diligently. At the Scotford Upgrader,effluent from a wastewater treatment plant is beingreused, resulting in a 10 to 15 per cent reduction in itswater intensity. The company is also exploring opportuni-ties to implement a “zero liquid discharge” system.

Squeezed dryIn 2002, BDP Industries introduced the Sahara model

belt press, specifically designed for the mining industry andused for dewatering waste tailings to produce a dry, stack-able, compactable waste. “Instead of discharging the wasteto sediment ponds, the belt press makes a stackable mate-rial you can landfill or fill back in the mine at the time ofreclamation,” explains Kelly Brown, director of sales at BDPIndustries.Although belt presses have been used in the mining

industry for years, they were problematic and unable tohold up well under rigorous mining conditions, typicallybreaking down after three or four years. “To address thisproblem, we decided to specifically design the Saharapress for the mining industry,” says Brown.Rick Allen manages Vulcan Materials’ engineering serv-

ices in South Carolina. He reports that since the companybegan using two three-metre Sahara belt presses inOctober 2008, tailings ponds have become a thing of thepast. “We originally had about three and a half acres of tail-ings ponds that we’ve eliminated,” he says. “The Sahara beltpress produces a product you can handle with a dozer ora front-end loader. We put this in a pit we’ve abandoned.Our waste, which is about seven per cent solid, goes overto a clarifier that makes it 40 per cent solid. This is thensent to the Sahara press and comes out as a nice drycake that is 75 per cent solid,” Allen explains. In addition to producing waste that is easier to handle,

the process has allowed Vulcan to recover and recyclemore of the water that would otherwise end up in the tail-ings ponds.The Sahara belt press can also be used in oil sands pro-

duction to produce drier waste and reduce or eliminate tail-ings ponds. While it is not yet widely used in the oil sandsindustry, Brown affirms that the Sahara could recover liquidin the slurry stream that could be reused. “What the beltpress does is recover 95 per cent of the liquid that canthen be sent back to the front end of the plant, plus youhave a dry cake that can be compacted and driven on. Yousignificantly reduce your tailings footprint and the volumeof your waste stream.”

Baked to perfectionChristianne Carin is the CEO and primary inventor of

technologies at EarthRenew, a Calgary-based private cleantechnology company. EarthRenew has developed, patentedand implemented energy-efficient heat processing tech-nologies that can be applied to the oil sands industry, com-bining the reuse of water with a high-powered fertilizer thatpromotes faster reclamation.

“The primary strength of our tech-nologies is heat processing efficiency,”explains Carin. “It turns organic wastematerials, like manure, into high-valuecustomized reclamation products.”Manure is cooked at 1,000 degreesFahrenheit. This flashes off the waterand changes the composition of thematerial, breaking down most chemicalcompounds, rendering them non-viable. The result is a concentratedorganic matter and fertilizer in granuleor pellet form. Applied to coarse andfine tails, it particularly promotes thegrowth of native plants, thus facilitatingrapid reclamation of a self-sustainingecosystem.While the technology is used prima-

rily in agriculture, Carin says it is trans-ferable to the oil sands industry. “Themachine doesn’t care if it’s manure oroil sands material. It’s a rapid dryingsystem that would dehydrate the tail-ings.” Carin contends that up to 98 percent of the water, which would beremoved and purified by the high heat,could be recycled back into the opera-tion. The high heat would also burn off


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the petrochemicals and break down otherchemicals, rendering them non-viable. Theresultant dry product could be incorporatedinto the reclamation site, where it would bemixed with the high-powered organic mat-ter fertilizer. “Because it’s concentratedorganic matter, it helps reclaim the landquickly as vegetation grows back easily.”Experimental application of this technology

to the oil sands has yielded positive results in thelaboratories of Dr. Anne Naeth, a professor of ecologyat the University of Alberta. However, Carin says theprocess is “fairly new in the sense that we’ve applied it towaste renewal, but we haven’t applied it to tailings ponds.”Convinced nonetheless of its transferability, Carin patentedthe technology’s oil sands application last year.

Water to walk on

Seeing the possibilitiesSuncor has nine existing tailings ponds that cover a

total of 31.8 square kilometres and contain approximately230 million cubic metres of mature fine tailings. Thecompany’s Pond 1, which began undergoing progressivereclamation in 2007, is currently on track to mark a mile-stone. In 2010, it will become the first trafficable oilsands tailings pond with progressive surface reclamationunderway. This will be accomplished by removing enough

of the mature fine tailings to make the “slush” solidenough to support people, animals and trees.Suncor has been focused on exploring the possibilities

of accelerating tailings pond reclamation long before thedirective issued by the ERCB. In the 1990s, the companypioneered the use of consolidated tailings (CT) technol-ogy to hasten settling. The addition of gypsum sped upthe release of water from the tailings, reducing to years,instead of decades, the time required to achieve a solidsurface.“CT technology is working, but it’s still too slow for our

liking,” says Chris Fordham, Suncor’s manager of strat-egy and regional integration. “That’s why we’ve beeninvesting in research on new de-watering technologies.

These could result in another quan-tum leap in how fast we can reclaimexisting and future tailings ponds.We are now looking for opportuni-ties to test if these technologiescan work on a commercial scale.”Technologies that Suncor is investi-gating include dry tailings, cen-trifuges, enhanced CT technologyand petroleum coke capping.Suncor’s goal of eliminating the

need for new tailings ponds as theultimate objective fits in withAlberta’s new regulations. “The newregulations are all about movingmore quickly to reclaiming ponds tocreate dry, useable landscapes. Thetechnologies we’ve been developingshould help achieve that objective,”says Fordham.“Frankly, even with recent

advances in technology, these regu-lations are going to be challenging,”he admits. “But it’s a challenge wewelcome. Holding the entire oil sandsindustry to a high standard of per-formance will benefit everyone andwill hopefully improve the public per-ception of this industry.” CIM


coal and oil sands

“The new regulations are all about movingmore quickly

to reclaiming ponds tocreate dry, useable

landscapes”— C. Fordham

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coal and oil sands

Mining companies active in the oil sands and coalsectors have long been concerned about anddoing much to mitigate their impact on the envi-

ronment. Assisting them greatly in their endeavours is agrowing number of “green” suppliers — vendors and con-sultants who are working diligently with industry and gov-ernment to reduce, or even eliminate, potentially negativeenvironmental impacts. They offer a plethora of generallyapplicable and highly specialized products and servicesthat help mining companies work towards a cleaner,greener and more sustainable future.

Water: protection and managementThe Canadian coal and oil sands industries operate in

one of the world’s most stringent environmental regulatoryframeworks. These regulations exist to ensure that ourenergy resources are developed safely, responsibly andefficiently. Protecting water supplies and aquatic life areamong their primary objectives.

Suppliers are helping the coal and oil sands industries to address environmental concernsby Michelle Sabourin

Monitoring and permitsCompanies like EBA Engineering Consultants Ltd. help

mining companies comply with strict environmental regula-tions and assist them in obtaining the necessary permits.Among EBA’s expansive list of environmental services isenvironmental baseline data acquisition. Before any devel-opment on a project occurs, natural sciences teams collectcomprehensive ecological data such as surface andgroundwater quality and chemistry, fish and aquaticresources, and stream and river flows. “That way, whenyou’re monitoring during construction and operations, youhave the baseline background data to compare with oper-ational data,” explains Martin Jarman, EBA’s senior projectmanager and market director of mining environmentalservices. “This helps ensure that you’re maintaining statusquo as much as possible.” The baseline data can also help weave mitigation meas-

ures into the mine design. Roads and buildings can be con-structed to avoid disrupting stream or river flows, particularly

Employees from EBA EngineeringConsultants Ltd. monitor waterquality to assess if there are anyenvironmental impacts frommining-related activities.

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near sensitive wetlands. Tailings ponds can be designedand located for minimal environmental impact.EBA also develops and conducts environmental effects

monitoring programs to establish, for example, whethereffluents from a mine are affecting aquatic environments.Hydrocarbons and heavy metals are of concern with dis-charges from oil sands, whereas with coal mining, the sele-nium content of waste must be monitored.Numerous regulatory standards accompany any gov-

ernment approvals for effluent discharges from mines.However, as Rick Hoos, a principal consultant at EBA,points out, meeting those standards is not always enough.“When it comes to regulatory concentrations, the numbersthemselves are designed to protect the environment. Butsometimes, those numbers might not be safe enough,” heexplains. “That’s why we do additional monitoring to con-firm that even if the requirements are met, the effluents stillcause no problems downstream.”

ContainmentThe Layfield Group’s silt and sediment control prod-

ucts help prevent fine soil particles from running off intoand clouding local water courses. Such run-offs occurwhen vegetation is removed or construction takes place,and can damage aquatic ecosystems. They can also dam-age the habitats of fish such as trout and salmon that

coal and oil sands

The Layfield Group provides a myriad of specialty liners for different environmentalfunctions at mine sites. This liner is being installed as the waterproof core in a damfor a tailings pond at a gold mine in Siberia.


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PERTH BRISBANE VANCOUVER JOHANNESBURG LONDON BELO HORIZONTE CALGARY

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require clean gravel to lay eggs on. Layfield-supplied siltfences, silt curtains and turbidity barriers prevent most ofthe fine sediment from flowing into the water and cover-ing the gravel.The company’s Aqua Dam® product altogether stops

sediment from flowing into rivers and streams. The water-filled dam that can block or divert streams is typically usedat shoreline worksites or in works that cross streams, suchas pipeline installations. “With this product, you can work ina relatively dry area in the middle of the stream,” explainsAndrew Mills, research and technology manager for theLayfield Group. “And when you’ve finished, you can go inand fix the streambed, before the Aqua Dams® comedown.”Layfield also makes liners that can be used in tank

berms, sumps, waste water ponds and detention ponds. Aspecialty liner for high-temperature applications with-stands the heat below heavy oil tanks and prevents anyenvironmental release of bitumen.

Land reclamation and remediationLike all Canadian mining operations, oil sands and coal

producers are legally required to return any land they dis-turb to equal or greater productivity. A multitude of compa-nies help the two industries to successfully restore theland and reduce their overall footprint.

Wind and aerationMines often store the overburden removed during

construction and production for reuse during reclamation.Sometimes the topsoil is only temporarily stockpiled, suchas in the case of short-term land stripping for pipelineinstallations. Regardless of whether overburden is storedfor weeks or years, wind erosion on stockpiles poses a significant environmental problem.

coal and oil sands

Hydroseeding involves the sowing of seeds with a hosed jet of water

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GIW Canada 220 MacLennan CR Fort McMurray, Alberta T9H 4E8 Canada 780.713.3457 www.giwindustries.com

“ROCK SOLID” SOLUTIONS FOR YOUR CHALLENGES

Expertise in pump hydraulic calculation and selection plus continuous investment in developing new materials have made GIW a leader in the oil sands industry. GIW’s pump systems have been transporting oil sands slurry for over 20 years and doing it more effectively than any other slurry pump running today.

GIW knows downtime is expensive. Located in the heart of Ft. McMurray, the GIW REGEN service centre can have pumps and systems back online quickly. REGEN offers emergency parts and service on a 24/7 basis. With a complete stock of standard parts and lubricants, there is no need to maintain extra parts in costly on site inventory.

Keep your replacement wear parts close to home. Use GIW’s slurry pump expertise.

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IW Kuhn Environmental Ltd. provides a few solutions tothis problem. For example, steep topsoil piles can be re-vegetated via hydroseeding — the sowing of seeds with ahosed jet of water. Alternatively, especially if the topsoilpiles are temporary, spray-on tackifiers can combat winderosion. “Tackifiers have a calcium lignosulfonate base —tree sap,” explains Roger Didychuk, vice-president of cor-porate development at IW Kuhn. “The stuff is completelyenvironmentally friendly so, when you put the topsoil back,it won’t pose a problem.”IW Kuhn also offers soil remediation services. In the event

of a pipeline break, or other small-scale hydrocarbon spills,the company can aerate the soil by turning it with twisterbuckets, windrow turners or a microenfractionator. Usually atthe time of turning, chemical agents are added to the soil toaccelerate the natural attenuation of the hydrocarbons.

Seeding and biodegradabilitySeed suppliers such as Western Seed and Erosion Ltd.

(WSE) play a vital role in helping mines reclaim disturbedland into sustainable, vegetated and bio-diverse land-scapes. When it comes to reclamation, Alberta-based proj-ects face the added constraint of having to use provinciallymandated seed mixtures that guarantee successful vege-tation growth and prevent the introduction of foreignspecies or the overuse of any one species.WSE provides consultation on proper site-specific seed

selection and supplies the seeds, fertilizers and additives togo with it. WSE president Russ Paton calls this service acomplete reclamation prescription. “We put it all together inone package so that from an expertise point of view it isreally effective,” says Paton. “It is also logistically effective,especially when dealing with revegetation at explorationsites, where the quantities required can be low but thechallenges of getting them to the site are high.”

WSE also provides completely degradable erosion con-trol blankets that are held in place by biodegradable stakesmade from a modified corn starch. One such blanket thatthey often recommend is made from a 100 per centbiodegradable, wildlife-friendly organic fabric whose looseweave allows entangled reptiles or other animals to wigglefree without injury.

Compost and Terraseeding™Denbow Transport Ltd. provides innovative products and

services for landscaping and environmental projects,including mine site land reclamation. One of the company’sunique services is on-site composting and the beneficialreuse of materials such as land-clearing debris and woodwaste for land restoration.“We take woody debris generated from land-clearing

activities that would normally be burnt or buried and turnit into a valuable resource — engineered materials forerosion and sediment control and reclamation,” saysJared Taylor, manager of landscape and environmentalservices at Denbow. In addition to being used as composterosion control blankets, the compost can also be utilizedin socks, berms or retaining walls for sediment controlpurposes.Denbow also specializes in a seeding method called

Terraseeding™, a process in which seed, proprietary addi-tives such as minerals and tackifiers, and growing mediums


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Land reclamation project at Britannia mine in British Columbia. Seeds were suppliedby Western Seed and Erosion Ltd. and were sown by Denbow Terraseeding™.

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are electronically combined and placed simultaneously.Taylor says that Terraseeding™ offers many advantagesover conventional seeding methods due to the fact thatseed is planted rather than placed on the soil surfacewhere it is subject to weather conditions. The result isquicker, healthier vegetation establishment and ultimatelysustainable landscapes.

Energy savingsSome companies are facilitating environmental stew-

ardship by offering alternative energy solutions. Backed byextensive research, such suppliers provide ways to use andeven produce energy more efficiently.

Heat and efficiencyEarthRenew has developed and commercialized myriad

“green” technologies applicable to coal and oil sands proj-ects. Their patented Waste Renew ™ facilities can processand “cook” manures, biosolids or green wastes into organicfertilizers that could be used in land repair applications.Another of the company’s solutions, Energy Renew™,offers considerable savings and environmental benefits bydelivering more energy-efficient fuel usage.“Our Energy Renew™ process uses a gas-fired tur-

bine engine to generate electricity,” explains MarkKennedy, EarthRenew’s CFO. “The electricity can thenbe sold to offset the cost of fuel, whereas the heat

exhaust off the turbine engine can be used directly in anindustrial process.”“Right now, the coal and oil sands industries are burning

natural gas, for example, for the production of steam,” addsDon Dabbs, EarthRenew’s vice-president, special projects.“We burn natural gas too — only we get far more use outof it. Our process is 85 per cent efficient — 60 per centmore efficient than just burning natural gas — because wegenerate electricity at the same time.”

Innovation and waste streamsAlter NRG Corp. has commercialized a revolutionary

technology that provides environmentally responsibleindustrial energy solutions. Their process converts wastestreams, like wood debris or even by-products such ascoke, into fuels.“Typically, waste streams are disposed of at high cost,”

says Alex Damnjanovic, vice-president of strategicalliances at Alter NRG. “Now, the waste stream can beused as feedstock for our gasifier. From the waste source,we generate syngas, which can be used to create value-added products such as steam or even biofuels, such asdiesel.”Rather than being dumped in landfills at the risk of

further environmental impacts and greenhouse gasemissions, waste streams are converted into usefulenergy and products. As an added benefit, the process


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Alter NRG’s process takes waste streams and converts them into high-quality Syngas – a fuel source for other downstream processes such as steam or power generation.

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Soyez-y. Profi tez-en.

lors du Congrès et Salon commercial 2010 de l’ICM

www.cim.org/vancouver2010/frEnvoyez votre article dès aujourd’hui pour qu’il soit inclus dans le programme technique.

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charbon et sables bitumineux

Les sommets abrupts et les vallées cachéesdes montagnes de la Colombie-Britanniqueet de l’Alberta contiennent la plus grandepartie du charbon métallurgique du Canada;ce paysage est à l’image des fortunes de

ceux qui l’extraient. Vers l’est, sur les plaines du centre-ouest du Canada, qui contiennent le charbon ther-mique, le relief est plus estompé mais permet de voirplus loin.

Le charbon métallurgique, connu aussi comme char-bon cokéfiable, possède une faible teneur en soufre eten phosphore; il sert de carburant pour les haut-fourneaux des aciéries. Il représente environ 40 pourcent des 68 millions de tonnes de charbon extraites auCanada et la plus grande partie du charbon exporté.

La demande stable pour l’électricité produite par lecharbon thermique le protège un peu contre le climat

économique mondial morose. Ce charbon représente 20pour cent des exportations canadiennes de charbon; ilsert dans les fours à ciment et autres applications indus-trielles.

« L’année fiscale 2008 a été exceptionnelle pour lecharbon, métallurgique et thermique », dit Ernie Lalonde,analyste du charbon et vice-président principal de l’a-gence de cotation DBRS. « Le charbon métallurgique abrisé tous les records. La croissance sans précédent, lademande de la Chine, tout y a contribué. »

Les aciéristes chinois magasinent de nouveau pourdes aubaines. « L’année 2009 verra une hausse de l’ac-tivité des marchés au contant pour les exportations decharbon métallurgique vers la Chine », déclare RobertStan, président de Grande Cache Coal. « Cela représen-tera une manne pour plusieurs producteurs de charbonmétallurgique. »

De nouvelles réalités économiques et démographiquesredéfinissent l’industrie canadienne du charbon

Camion de transport à la mine Coal Moutain

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« La Chine est le seul pays au monde où l’aide finan-cière peut être rapidement mis au travail. Les four-nisseurs de biens de base regardent tous la Chine et sedemandent combien de temps cela va durer. Pour le char-bon métallurgique, l’impact a été impressionnant au coursdes six derniers mois », dit Boyd Payne, PDG de TeckCoal, le deuxième plus grand fournisseur de charbonmétallurgique à l’industrie mondiale de l’acier.

Pour Grande Cache, le revirement a été surprenant. Lacompagnie rapportait des ventes de seulement 110 000tonnes dans les trois premiers mois de l’année. « C’étaitnotre pire trimestre depuis que nous avons commencé àproduire », dit M. Stan. Le trimestre suivant, malgré desprix abaissés de plus de 200 $, les ventes ont augmentépour atteindre un peu plus d’un demi-million de tonnes. « C’est sans contredit les marchés au comptant avec laChine qui nous ont fait atteindre ce sommet. Est-ce quecela signifie que la Chine deviendra un importateur netplutôt qu’un exportateur net? Les marchés ne connais-sent pas encore la réponse. »

Le défi actuel est de continuer sur notre lancée etde maintenir le pas avec les économies en développe-ment, plus lentes mais stables. « Nous faisons affaireavec la Chine dont le taux de croissance est de 7 à 8pour cent par année », explique Pierre Gratton, prési-dent de la Mining Association of British Columbia. « Bien qu’il ne s’agisse plus de 11 à 12 pour cent,c’est quand même phénoménal. Les bases pour unecroissance à long terme dans le secteur du charbonmétallurgique sont excellentes. La Chine s’industrialiserapidement et elle ne peut s’arrêter; l’Inde et le Brésilsuivent de près. »

Le lien entre les marchés chinois et les fournisseurscanadiens continue à se renforcer. Grande Cache essaiede convertir les affrètements au comptant ou à lademande en contrats à long terme. « D’ailleurs, une nou-velle mine Grande Cache doit entrer en production cetautomne », dit M. Stan.

En juillet, le fonds d’investissement de la Chine adépensé 1,74 milliards de dollars canadiens pour obtenir17 pour cent des actions de Teck, sans résistance de lapart du public ni du gouvernement. « Le Canada pos-sède les ressources dont tous ont besoin », dit M.Lalonde. « Puisque la production actuelle est dans lesmains de relativement peu de compagnies — Teck etSherritt étant les plus grosses — les investisseurs inter-nationaux cherchant des investissements d’enverguredans le charbon canadien devront cibler le développe-ment de propriétés. »

Dans le nord-est de la Colombie-Britannique, l’évolu-tion de l’industrie du charbon a aussi nécessité des adap-tations quant à la mise en production des propriétés. Lacompagnie contractante Ledcor est actuellement dansles dernières étapes du transfert des opérations de lamine Perry Creek à Western Canadian Coal. Embauchéedepuis 2005, Ledcor a utilisé une approche novatricepour développer la mine. « Nous nous sentions plus les

exploitants de la mine qu’une compagnie contractante »,dit Randy Daggitt, vice-président – mines, Ledcor. Lemandat du contrat était de livrer une exploitation clé enmain pour que les propriétaires effectuent toutes lesopérations. La situation était unique en raison de lapleine intégration de l’équipe. Le personnel de PerryCreek avait été embauché par Ledcor mais les entrevuesavaient été réalisées par la direction de Westernpuisqu’en bout de ligne les employés relèveraient deWestern. »

La chute récente des marchés a fait réfléchir denombreux gestionnaires. Allan Cullen, de Cullen DieselPower, a travaillé fort pour lutter contre la réduction deseffectifs. Les économies générées par une réduction desa main-d’œuvre auraient pu lui coûter son avantageconcurrentiel. « Nous devons maintenir notre clientèle »,dit M. Cullen. « Pour ce faire, nos employés de métierspécialisé doivent être prêts à travailler immédiatementlorsque le travail reprendra. » En attendant, Ledcorréorganise sa formation pour tenir compte des nou-veaux travailleurs. « Nous avons des procédures nor-malisées pour tout, des tâches les plus simples aux pluscomplexes. »

Les compagnies prévoyant la retraite de la générationdu baby-boom se bousculent pour embaucher du person-nel de direction à contrat. « C’est assez innovateur, nousavons tous des outils de planification mais certains s’enservent pour les niveaux exécutifs », dit M. Daggitt.

Selon plusieurs, une exploitation minière utilise tempo-rairement un terrain donné. Il faut donc soutenir cetteaffirmation en contrôlant et en gérant bien le legs envi-ronnemental inévitable du soutirage de millions detonnes de charbon du sol.

À la mine Genesee, à l’ouest d’Edmonton, Sherritt etCapitol Power ont initié un programme de remise en étatdu terrain. L’automne dernier, le sol riche en graines, enmatière organique et en racines d’arbres d’un terrainbientôt exploité a été transféré vers un secteur préparéafin d’accélérer le rétablissement de la flore. Un relevépréliminaire effectué cet été a trouvé que le site d’essaicomportait environ 80 pour cent des espèces végétalestrouvées sur les terrains non perturbés. « Vous pouvezrebâtir la forêt sans planter – transposez le sol et lesarbres pousseront gratuitement », explique DeanMacKenzie de Navus Environmental.

« Nous recherchons constamment comment mieuxutiliser le charbon thermique. Si vous analysez lesmarchés un tant soit peu, vous verrez que son utilisationcroît de façon constante. C’est une ressource abondanteet à bon marché », dit M. Lalonde.

The Bow, le futur siège social d’Encana, est en con-struction au cœur de Calgary. C’est un témoignage à larobustesse des industries du gaz et du pétrole. « Àmesure que monte la structure, je ne pense qu’à la quan-tité de charbon qui a servi à fabriquer l’acier de cespoutres », dit Allen Wright de la Coal Association ofCanada. ICM



Les sables bitumineux de l’Alberta sont essentielspour les besoins énergétiques actuels et futurs duCanada. Pensons à leur rôle uniquement dans deux

aspects de l’économie – les emplois et les investisse-ments. Chaque emploi permanent créé dans cette indus-trie en génère neuf autres; quelque 240 000 emploiscanadiens y sont donc reliés directement ou indirectement.Du côté des investissements, 59 milliards de dollars ontété investis dans ce secteur entre 1997 et 2006. Cetteindustrie a aussi le potentiel de générer au moins 123 mil-liards de dollars en redevances et en revenus fiscaux entre2001 et 2020.

Malgré la taille de cette industrie, elle n’a pas étéépargnée des crises qui ont assailli l’économie mondiale.La plupart des exploitations survivent mais de nombreuxprojets de construction et de développement ont été missur la glace, alors que les propriétaires attendent leretour de la confiance des investisseurs et des consom-mateurs.

Nancy Lever, directrice principale chez ARC FinancialCorp., une société privée de capitaux propres ciblant l’én-ergie, est optimiste. « Il y a eu un ralentissement, mais lesperspectives à long terme sont très positives. Les prix desmatériaux et de la main-d’œuvre ont commencé à baisser.C’est un bon signe. » Touchés par le ralentissement, lesfournisseurs de l’industrie croient aussi à un bon avenir. « Nous croyons que la récession sera de courte durée »,

dit Greg Lucyshyn, directeur des contrats avec le fournisseurde services de forages, Boart Longyear Canada.

Paraphrasant la célèbre citation de Mark Twain, ChrisYellowega, vice-président des opérations, North AmericanConstruction Group, dit : « Les rumeurs de la mort dessables bitumineux ont été grandement exagérées. La plu-part des intervenants profitent du ralentissement pouraccroître l’efficacité opérationnelle et ils se préparent àtirer profit des nouvelles occasions qui se présenteront. »

Selon David McColl, directeur de la recherche - Institutcanadien de recherche énergétique, Calgary : « La crisedu crédit et l’effondrement des prix de l’énergie peuventconstituer une occasion pour l’industrie de prendre durecul et de cibler les prochains développements dans lessables bitumineux. » Il croît que c’est le bon moment derecruter la main-d’œuvre de haute qualité qui a été mise àpied par d’autres compagnies, d’obtenir des fournitures àcoût raisonnable et de se préparer au retour de l’activitééconomique. Il cite la décision d’Imperial Oil d’aller de l’a-vant avec le projet des sables bitumineux Kearl comme unbon exemple de pensée stratégique.

Ce projet avait été mis en veilleuse en raison des coûtsélevés de construction. Il sera développé en trois étapes etla production pourrait atteindre plus de 300 000 barils debitume par jour. Les coûts de construction devraient êtred’environ 8 milliards de dollars, soit approximativement4,50 $ par baril.



L’industrie canadienne des sables bitumineux file vers l’avenir avec confiance

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Les travaux en cours comprennent la préparation dusite, le drainage de la fondrière et l’installation des services.« Les plans détaillés, les achats et les travaux à contratvont bon train », rapporte Pius Rolheiser, chef de l’équipemédiatique d’Imperial Oil à Calgary. « Au total, plus de1000 personnes travaillent au projet Kearl. »

Imperial effectue des consultations poussées avec lesintervenants. « Nous avons surtout consulté les commu-nautés des Premières nations; c’est sur leurs terres qu’unegrande partie du développement sera effectué. Leurspréoccupations portaient principalement sur les impactsenvironnementaux et socio-économiques », dit M. Rolheiser.

Les interventions ont influencé la conception du projet.Par exemple, Kearl aura un réservoir pour entreposer l’eau,diminuant la quantité d’eau prise dans la rivière durant lespériodes d’étiage. « L’Imperial aura aussi un ‘lac de com-pensation’; selon les suggestions des membres desPremières nations, nous l’avons fait plus creux que le lacexistant afin que les poissons survivent à la période de gel;ils nous ont aussi conseillés quant aux espèces de pois-sons à y introduire. »

L’Imperial poursuit aussi ses plans d’expansion à ColdLake. En 2008, ses quatre usines produisaient unemoyenne de 150 000 barils par jour. Lorsque prêt, le nou-veau secteur, Nabiye, ajoutera 30 000 barils de bitumepar jour à la production de Cold Lake. « La compagnierehausse la technologie et propose trois modificationsécologiques », dit M. Rolheiser. « La première réduira leseffets potentiels sur les sols, la végétation et la faune dusecteur à développer », explique M. Rolheiser. « De plus,l’utilisation de puits horizontaux diminuera le nombre deforages pour atteindre le réservoir. Les effets sur l’eausouterraine seront aussi amoindris. »

La deuxième modification est l’ajout d’une installationde cogénération d’électricité et de vapeur de 170mégawatts avec deux récupérateurs de vapeur. « L’usinealimentera l’exploitation Nabiye et le surplus d’énergie seraretourné au réseau provincial », dit M. Rolheiser. Cet ajoutaugmentera les émissions mais les paramètres des che minées des unités de cogénération amélioreront la dispersion, abaissant ainsi les concentrations au niveau dusol. La troisième modification proposée est l’ajout de capteurs liquides pour retirer 70 pour cent du soufre dansle gaz de précombustion produit.

En août 2009, Canadian Natural Resources Limited(CNRL) a annoncé que, grâce en partie au projet dessables bitumineux Horizon, les revenus du trimestre se terminant le 30 juin avaient été de 162 millions de dollars.Horizon, situé à 70 kilomètres au nord de Fort McMurray,est une exploitation de surface avec des installations connexes d’extraction et de traitement du bitume. Le président de CNRL, Allan Markin, a dit récemment : « L’accroissement de la production progresse bien etdépasse même les estimations corporatives. » Des for-ages estiment une présence de 16 millions de barils debitume dont 6 à 8 sont récupérables avec les technologiesexistantes. Horizon générera des retombées économiques

importantes pour l’Alberta et le Canada au cours de sa viede 40 ans, créant environ 25 000 personnes-annéesd’emplois directs durant la construction. À pleine capacité,le projet devrait employer environ 2400 personnes.

Dans une industrie de gros employeurs, le Projet 1 d’ex-pansion des sables bitumineux de l’Athabasca ressortclairement. Selon Laurieanne Lynne, conseillère corpora-tive en communication pour Shell Canada, ce projetextrêmement complexe impliquera des milliers de tra-vailleurs sur plusieurs années. « Cette expansion figureparmi l’un des plus grands projets syndiqués au Canada.Nous employons surtout des entrepreneurs canadienspour ce projet et tous nos projets de sables bitumineux. »La moitié des équipements et des matériaux proviennentde compagnies canadiennes, dont 20 compagniesautochtones qui détiennent des contrats d’une valeurtotale de 20 millions de dollars. « Nous sommes parmi lesplus importants formateurs de main-d’œuvre spécialiséeau Canada. Dans le moment, 30 pour cent des travailleurssont des apprentis », dit-elle.

Ce projet gigantesque, commencé en 2006 et devantêtre complété en 2011, comprend les nouvelles installa-tions minières de la mine Jackpine, l’agrandissement desinstallations de traitement des mousses à la mine de la riv-ière Muskeg et l’expansion de l’usine de valorisation deScotford.

Le défi de trouver et de garder des employés formés etmotivés a attiré l’attention du Conseil canadien desressources humaines de l’industrie du pétrole. Le conseilexplore de nouvelles sources de main-d’œuvre pour lessables bitumineux, incluant d’anciens travailleurs dusecteur des pâtes et papiers de la Colombie-Britannique. « Plusieurs des habilités de ces travailleurs sont trans-férables aux sables bitumineux, surtout le travail avec lavapeur », dit Cheryl Knight, présidente-directrice généraledu conseil. Il existe aussi une forte demande pour desmécaniciens d’outillage, des soudeurs, des tuyauteurs etdes mécaniciens de machinerie lourde.

Les sables bitumineux emploient aussi de nombreuxAutochtones et membres d’autres groupes sous-représen-tés. « Cinq pour cent des employés des sables bitumineuxsont des Autochtones, par rapport à 2,5 pour cent pourl’ensemble de la main-d’œuvre », poursuit-elle; Syncrudeet Suncor visent 10 pour cent.

En plus de bons gestionnaires et de travailleurs quali-fiés, les sables bitumineux ont besoin de leadership pourse développer. Selon Clement Bowman, ancien vice-prési-dent à la retraite d’Esso Petroleum Canada, l’industrie aréussi parce que des visionnaires l’ont aidé à surmonterles obstacles. « Les enjeux dépassent maintenant peut-être la capacité d’un seul individu. Un groupe pourraittrouver et soutenir un individu qui mobilisera la collectivitéet qui prendra l’engagement d’entreprendre la prochainegrande étape. Une nouvelle forme de partenariat public-privé sera nécessaire; ça vaut la peine de l’entreprendreparce que l’énergie constitue la dernière chance duCanada. » ICM



supply side


were likely the first and hardest to behit in the current downturn.

IndexMundi’s (www.indexmundi.com) Commodity Metals Price Index(comprising copper, aluminum, ironore, tin, nickel, zinc, lead anduranium) dropped by 50 per cent,from a high in February 2008 to the

recent lowin February 2009. From February toMay, however, a 17 per cent recoveryhas been registered.

Hopefully, commodity prices willcontinue to rise, although they arestill a long way from the giddyheights seen throughout 2006, 2007and 2008. But production will not beturned on quickly. In the Globe andMail article, Canaccord Adamsanalyst Orest Wowkodaw predictsthat “most Canadian mines’ reactionto a sustained pickup in metalsdemand will be delayed by about sixmonths.”

When the recoverydoes come, however, Iexpect that it will bebigger and better thanever. Both demand andsupply have roles toplay. The demand formined commoditiescontinues to rise overtime, fuelled bydeveloping economieslike China and India.

On the supply side, exploration isnow largely on hold and majordeposits are becoming more and moredifficult to find.

On a positive note, the June 10,2009, weekly commentary of PeterHall, Export Development Canada’svice-president and chief economist,held out hope that some of the large-

scale projects that have beenshelved because of the

commodity bust will bere-started. His thesis isthat when prices formined commoditiesfell, so did inputcosts. Everything

from steel to copperand other base metals,

fuel and building materials,and machinery and equipment

has seen price compression in the lastyear. Thus, on the cost front, projectsare now viable at much lowercommodity price levels than theywere a year ago. Thus, low prices mayhave cancelled some projects but,ironically, may also bring them backto the table.

Of course, mining suppliers willwelcome the rejuvenation of projectscurrently on hold, as well as newsthat shuttered operations will resumeproduction.

www.camese.org

CIM

A page for and about the supply side of the Canadian mining industry

Mining suppliers are suffering just like explorers and producers❚ Jon Baird

About the author

Jon Baird, managing director of CAMESE and president of PDAC, is interested incollective approaches toenhancing the Canadian brand in the world of mining.

According to an article in theGlobe and Mail on June 12, 2009, just55 per cent of Canada’s miningcapacity is currently in use. TheCanadian mining industry’s capacityutilization rate fell by 18.1 per cent inthe first quarter of this year from theprevious quarter.

The production of potash, zinc, coal and nickel has been slashed inresponse to the commodityprice crash. Depending onwhat happens to minedcommodity prices(which are set by theglobal market in USdollars), this slacknessin production may buildeven further if our dollarcontinues to rise.

In Sudbury, major operationshave ground to a standstill. Xstratahas permanently shut its mines as itdevelops a new deposit. Vale Inco isin the midst of a two-monthshutdown of its facilities. Instead ofproducing 1.8 million tonnes of orethis year, FNX expects to producejust 700,000 tonnes — nearly all ofit copper and precious metals — asit waits for nickel prices to stabilize.

Natural Resources Canada reportsthat surveys of 795 operators estimatetotal exploration expenditures inCanada in 2008 at $2.8 billion,virtually the same as the previousyear’s record. However, as of March,their estimates were that spending in2009 would reach only about half oflast year’s level.

Canadian mining suppliers dependon exploration spending, theconstruction of new and expandedmines, and ongoing production fortheir livelihood. All of these activitiesare now at very low levels and havebeen for about a year now. Althoughyou will not be reading about it in thegeneral press, mining supply firms

When the recovery does come,

I expect that it will bebigger and better

than ever.

MAC economic commentary

The development of the western oilsands constitutes one of the world’smost significant economic stories ofrecent decades. Technological advancesand increases in crude oil prices from$20 per barrel in the 1990s to to $140in mid-2008 together reinforced the oilsands’ economic viability and, throughhundreds of billions of dollars of invest-ment, sustained its production growthfrom test-well quantities to volumesexceeding one million barrels per day.

As with any source of energy, theprocess of extracting oil from oil sandsraises a range of environmental issues.Its rapid development has served toposition this sector as target numberone among some environmentalgroups. In this respect, it is importantthat NGOs and public policy stake-holders not ignore some key realities.

Economic contributionOil sands development has

increased wealth and economic activityin western Canada during the pastdecade, creating 200,000 jobs, includ-ing many in central Canada that helpedto offset job losses in the manufactur-ing sector. It is also estimated that eachdirect job translates to nine additionaljobs among suppliers and indirect ben-eficiaries. While the ongoing recessionmay extend these timelines, Alberta’soil sands production is projected toincrease from around 1.3 million bar-rels per day at present to 4.7 million in2025 and potentially 6.3 million bar-rels by 2035, depending on longer termeconomic growth and oil price trends.

The Canadian mining industry,including oil sands mining, paid anestimated $11.5 billion to federal andprovincial/territorial governments in2008 in the form of taxes and royalties.Around $3 billion of this total relatesdirectly to oil sands mining, with addi-tional amounts linked to in situ pro-duction. The provincial share of rev-enues has increased in recent years —

in the oil sands, many projects haverepaid investors’ initial capital spend-ing and thus have entered a higher roy-alty bracket. The oil sands industrypays large sums — as high as $2 billionin some years — to the Alberta govern-ment in the form of land sales pay-ments. It is estimated that oil sandsdevelopments between 2000 and 2020could generate over $120 billion inroyalty and tax revenues for govern-ments. In an age of mounting govern-ment deficits, this important source ofrevenue cannot simply be wished awayby those opposed to the oil sands.

Aboriginal dimensionThe Canadian mining industry is

the largest private employer ofAboriginal Canadians. As of 2007, over1,500 Aboriginal employees worked inpermanent oil sands operations jobs,representing a 90 per cent increaseover 1998 levels. Companies such asSyncrude and Suncor have importantbenefit-sharing agreements in placewith Aboriginal groups.

Oil sands companies have alsoawarded an estimated $1.5 billionworth of contracts to local Aboriginalcompanies over the past decade.These contracts are increasing eachyear. In 2007 alone, $606 million incontracts were awarded to localAboriginal companies.

The growth rate of the Aboriginalpopulation is double that of the non-Aboriginal Canadian population andmany communities are located nearmining operations. There remainspotential in the coming yearsto fill anticipated workershortages through the trainingand skills enhancement ofAboriginal Canadians.

Environmental and trade considerations

Some NGOs in the UnitedStates and Canada have argued

that carbon-intensive fuels such as oilfrom oil sands should be disadvan-taged, trade-wise, for environmentalreasons. Whether this sentimentevolves into a significant trade issueremains to be seen — particularlygiven the U.S. energy dependency onCanada and the fact that under long-term plans, some 90 per cent of oilrefined in the U.S. Midwest is projectedto come from Canada. As well, allsources of energy production, includ-ing fossil, hydro, nuclear, solar andwind, could conceivably raise trade-actionable environmental questionsrelating to materials, noise, land use,safety, climate, air or water impacts.

The scale of the challenge of oilsands GHG emissions faced by Albertaand Canada, while significant, isplaced in context through noting thatit is comparable to the coal emissionschallenge faced individually by 15 U.S.states and smaller than the GHG chal-lenge faced by each of Texas, Missouri,Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky,Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Florida,Ohio, Michigan, West Virginia,Pennsylvania and North Carolina.This places the emerging debate over“trade barriers against GHG-intensiveoil” in a more realistic context. TheU.S. faces comparable or greater chal-lenges in 30 of its own states drawingelectricity from coal combustion. Thiscalculation would obviously becomerelevant in any conceivable environ-mental trade dispute.

www.mining.ca

CIM


The oil sands and climate change —some important considerations❚ Paul Stothart

About the author

Paul Stothart is vice-president,economic affairs of the MiningAssociation of Canada. He isresponsible for advancing theindustry’s interests regardingfederal tax, trade, investment,transport and energy issues.

first nations


Last month, the Waubetek Business DevelopmentCorporation hosted its 4th Annual Economic DevelopmentOfficers’ Conference in Sault Ste. Marie. I was honoured tobe selected as a speaker at this conference, which is attendedby almost all of the First Nations’ representatives in eco-nomic development from across the province.

Waubetek spends a great deal of time studying needs andopportunities within First Nations in Ontario. The informa-tion gathered is used to develop workshops that assist com-munities in identifying ways of bringing about their eco-nomic development.

In my opinion, exploration and mining should havereceived greater coverage at the conference. Only one briefworkshop on impact benefit agreements was held, in whichthere seemed to be a surprising lack of interest among manyof the participants. My belief is that they were interested inmore basic information on exploration and mining.Although I broached the topic with conference organizers,they did not see the need for further coverage, as the programalready addressed numerous other areas. This is unfortunateas the conference is a perfect venue to encourage dialoguebetween the mining industry and First Nations groups.

While at the conference, I seized the opportunity to speakwith other participants and get a feel for their views onexploration and mining. The results were mixed. Many ofthem had very negative opinions on the topic. An incidentlike Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI) — where six KIactivists were jailed after they tried to stand in the way ofgovernment resource companies’ plans to develop the North— was not one they were prepared to deal with. As such,exploration and mining were low on their list of possibleavenues for economic development.

Another popular concern among the participants was thedisruption of regional habitat. Those who shared this con-cern probably have not visited First Nations communitiesthat have recently hosted exploration or mine development.

As Ontario is a hotbed of exploration activity, it is vitalthat we bring awareness about exploration and mining toFirst Nations communities. There are a great many tools atour disposal to accomplish this, one of them being CIM’sMining in Society show. It has the potential to have tremen-dous positive impact on First Nations communities.

During my presentation at the conference, I emphasizedthe fact that mining can occur anywhere, even if a commu-nity believes that they do not have mineral resources. Oneday, a discovery could be made and the affected communitycould be dragged kicking and screaming into negotiationswithout knowing the fundamental processes involved. Ifirmly believe, along with the rest of the Learning TogetherBoard of Directors, that mining can be a way for FirstNations communities to solve issues of poverty. FirstNations communities affected by mining have benefited

A large need for education on mining and exploration❚ Juan Carlos Reyes

from high-paying jobs and skills training, whether mem-bers live on or off the reserves. It can potentially lead to thereturn of many members to First Nations communities.

We should all do our part in welcoming future long-termpartners in the industry. First Nations communities have aright and a need to be part of the development that takesplace on their lands. It is a legally mandated obligation forthe industry to not only take notice of, but also to consultand accommodate the communities. It truly is in the bestinterest of the mining industry to invest in mechanisms thatincrease awareness of the positive side of exploration andmining. Those of us who have been in this industry for anylength of time can attest to this win-win partnership. CIM

About the authorJuan Carlos Reyes is an aboriginalconsultant with efficiency.ca and theorganizer of Learning Together. He ispassionate about human rights and workstirelessly to help improve the lives ofCanadian Aboriginal people.

HR outlook

The current recession mayincrease the average age of workersin the coal mining industry, sincethose with less seniority are oftenthe first to be laid off. In the nearfuture, coal mining companies willneed to pay particular attention totheir efforts to attract youth. Thereare numerous socio-economic andgeographic factors that affect theefficiency of the Canadian coalindustry and its human resourcessituation.

Challenges faced include theaging workforce and the fact that thewestern provinces are also major oilsands producers — a big source ofcompetition for labour. According toStatistics Canada, in 2006 half of the

coal mining workforce was over theage of 45, while about one-quarterwas less than 34 years of age.

Geography has the potential tocontribute not only the naturalendowment of coal but also a solu-tion to future pressures on thehuman resources of the industry.The top coal producing provinces inCanada are Alberta, BritishColumbia and Saskatchewan. Mostcoal mines are located in the south-ern parts of these provinces and, inmany cases, straddle the mountainrange that borders British Columbiaand Alberta. This geographic setting,its proximity to urban centres andthe subsequent lifestyles that it per-mits could be used by companies in


Coal mining employmentA socioeconomic and geographical position❚ Jean Pierre Chabot

the coal industry to position them-selves as employers of choice.

According to Statistics Canada,the average annual salary in coalmining is more than $10,000 higherthan that of non-metallic mining andquarrying, but nearly $8,500 lessthan the average annual salary inmetal ore mining. Salaries of oilsands workers are higher, on aver-age, than those in mineral extrac-tion. The existence of such salarydifferentials for similar skill setscould make it difficult for the coalindustry to attract and retain suffi-cient skilled labour.

Coal mining accounts for 11 percent of employment in mineral extrac-tion in Canada. Women comprise

W.M. KECK CHAIR DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING, UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO

The Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Toronto invites applications for a prestigious W.M. Keck Chair to be associated with the Lassonde Institute for Engineering Geoscience and the Lassonde

Mineral Engineering Program. This appointment is a tenure stream position at the Associate or Full Professor level. The appointment to this position will be made 1 July 2010, or as soon as possible thereafter.

The Lassonde Institute promotes and facilitates cross-disciplinary research related to challenges facing the mineral and energy sectors. Construction is currently in progress for the new home of the Lassonde Institute, a $20-million mining innovation centre

to be completed by early 2011. The Lassonde Institute has already established unique research infrastructure, for example, the Rock Fracture Dynamics Laboratory, an integrated facility for experimental rock mechanics and advanced modeling.

The Lassonde Mineral Engineering Program is an interfaculty and interdepartmental course of study offered by the Department of Civil Engineering that crosses traditional barriers in university education.

Graduates gain a diversified education in the areas of mining, geology, and other relevant applied science and engineering that makes them highly sought out by industry, consulting and research establishments.

Candidates for the Chair should be exceptional researchers in areas such as mining engineering and rock mechanics, where the University has internationally recognized research strength, or other areas of the engineering geosciences that relate to the mineral

and energy sectors. The successful candidate must have a distinguished record of scholarship including undergraduate and graduate teaching and significant experience in managing major multi-disciplinary research projects.

Candidates should hold a doctoral degree, be eligible for registration as a Professional Engineer in Ontario, and must have demonstrated leadership, administrative capabilities, communication skills and a strong vision

to develop the potential synergies that are available at the University of Toronto - Canada’s #1 research intensive university. Salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience.

All interested parties are encouraged to apply on-line at http://www.jobs.utoronto.ca/faculty.htm. If you are unable to apply online, please send your application to Professor Brenda McCabe, Chair, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Toronto, 35 St. George

Street, Room GB107, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 1A4. Application should include a detailed curriculum vitae (including publications and evidence of capacity and impact), a description of research, teaching and professional interests, and, a list of at least four professional

and character referees. The closing date for receipt of applications is November 30, 2009.

The University of Toronto is strongly committed to diversity within its community. The University especially welcomes applications from visible minority group members, women, Aboriginal persons, persons with disabilities,

members of sexual minority groups, and others who may contribute to further diversification of ideas. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.

prices for coal overall can exhibitfairly large and abrupt changes com-pared to other minerals and metals.

The current recession clearlypresents serious challenges to thedomestic coal industry. Accordingto the Centre for the Study ofLiving Standards, a non-profitresearch organization based inOttawa, the industry experiencedphenomenal productivity growthduring the 1980s and 1990s.Growth in output per hour between1989 and 2000 was 7.4 per cent peryear in coal mining as compared to1.0 per cent and 0.1 per cent inelectricity generationand logging. Thissubstantial growth inproductivity waslargely due to the sig-nificant shift fromunderground to sur-face coal mines,which allowed theindustry to increaseits level of capitalintensity by way of

larger equipment and subsequenteconomies of scale in extraction.

Consequently, the humanresources needs of the coal and oilsands industries have begun to converge. For this reason, the coalmining industry will need to findnew ways of marketing its employ-ment opportunities. One of the waysthe industry can do this is to use thenatural endowments that come withthe geographic location of theirmines to attract younger workerslooking for a balanced lifestyle.

www.mihr.ca

CIM


877-363-2622 .emeco.ca www

Moving on upVancouver-based Ventana GoldCorp. appointed Stephen Orr tothe position of president and CEO.Orr, who has 30 years of interna-tional experience in the gold min-ing industry, was, most recently,the CEO of OceanaGold Ltd.Earlier, he was vice-president ofNorth American operations, thenmanaging director of Australia and Africa for Barrick GoldCorporation. Prior to joiningBarrick, Orr spent 20 years withHomestake Mining Company invarious positions, including presi-dent and CEO for HomestakeCanada Inc.

About the author

Jean Pierre Chabot is manager ofresearch and policy analysis atMiHR. Formerly the projectcoordinator for a number of LatinAmerican projects, he brings aninternational perspective to issuesfacing the Canadian mining industry.

HR outlook

12.3 per cent of the coal miningworkforce, while Aboriginal andimmigrant identity groups comprisefive and eight per cent, respectively.Notably, levels of education in thecoal mining workforce are on parwith non-metallic mineral miningand quarrying — 47 per cent of theworkforce has some form of post-secondary education or training.However, this lags behind metal oremining, which has a post-secondaryachievement rate of 66 per cent.

The World Coal Institute stateson its website that the prices of ther-mal coal have historically been morestable than those of oil and gasprices. The institute claims that coalis likely to remain the cheapest fuelsource for power generation in thecoming decades.

The relative stability of coal pricesin comparison with oil and gas isprimarily due to the fact that thermalcoal is generally sold through multi-year contracts, typically topublic utilities. However, the coalmining industry has not beenimmune to the negative impacts ofthe current recession.

The demand for metallurgicalcoal is highly correlated with theglobal production of iron and steel,which fluctuates according to world-wide economic output. Therefore,

eye on business


Commodity prices, market availability and costs havealways had a direct effect on the scale and pace ofCanadian oil sands project development. Over the years,social, political, legal and regulatory issues relating tosuch things as water use, land use, social impact andcommunity health have increasingly contributed to proj-ect costs. However, climate change legislation emanatingfrom the United States, partially influenced by the debateover “dirty oil,” could have an even greater impact uponthe development of oil sands projects in the future. Suchlegislation could limit or even curtail access by oil sandsproducts1 to the U.S. market, which currently is the onlyviable market.

The U.S. measuresOf particular concern are three laws: the Energy

Independence and Security Act (EISA), the AmericanClean Energy and Security Act (ACESA) and California’sLow-Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) (collectively, the

Some implications of the U.S. climate changelegislation for oil sands producers❚ R. Greg Powers and Andrew E. Derksen

“U.S. measures”). The Energy Independence andSecurity Act was signed by President Bush to becomelaw in December 2007. Of concern to the oil sandsindustry is section 526, prohibiting U.S. governmentagencies, including the military, from procuring fuelthat is produced from “non-conventional petroleumsources.” The concern is that section 526 might beinterpreted broadly so as to exclude oil sands productsfrom use by U.S. government agencies. While federalU.S. agencies currently consume a small proportion oftotal daily U.S. oil consumption, oil sands products arecommingled with regular crude in the distributionchain and would therefore need to be separated — a dif-ficult and costly undertaking.

The American Clean Energy and Security Act, cur-rently before the U.S. Senate, aims to cut greenhouse gasemission levels via a cap-and-trade system, to a level thatis 83 per cent below 2005 levels, by 2050. ACESA wouldlower the margins of U.S. refiners of oil sands products,

Designer-supplier of choice in dump walls for the Mining and Oil Sands Industry since 1980

1-800-263-7097 www.reinforcedearth.caReinforced Earth

eye on business

making such products less competitive against lower costsources such as Middle Eastern oil. ACESA could alsolevy “carbon tariffs” on imports from countries withoutanalogous GHG legislation in place. The carbon tariffprovisions could force U.S. trading partners, such asCanada, to adopt similar legislation, targeting heavydomestic emitters such as oil sands producers.

In California, a Low-Carbon Fuel Standard applying totransport fuel comes into effect on January 1, 2010. TheLCFS requires that carbon content in fuel be reduced by10 per cent from current levels by 2020, with furtherreductions required thereafter. The LCFS would penalizethe oil sands products by making their usage much morecostly. Other states have been examining the LCFS, withOregon introducing an LCFS modelled on the Californiastandard in spring 2009.

NAFTA and the WTOThe U.S. measures may or may not be compliant with

U.S. international trade obligations. A WTO paper sug-gested that carbon tariffs could, in theory, be compatiblewith WTO and GATT rules, provided that they did notviolate the core principle of non-discrimination, but inpractice, it would be hard to prove they were not an ille-gal disguised restriction on international trade.2

A NAFTA Chapter 11 case could also be attemptedagainst the U.S. measures. However, previous NAFTATribunal decisions dealing with similar facts indicate oth-erwise. In Methanex Corporation v. United States ofAmerica, a NAFTA Tribunal upheld a California law ban-ning methanol, a feedstock used to make MTBE, a gaso-line additive (the law was enacted for purposes of envi-ronmental protection).3 Methanex, the Canadian com-plainant, argued that the California law in effect barredthem from the Californian market and violated Article1102 (national treatment), Article 1105 (treatment inaccordance with international law) and Article 1110 (ameasure tantamount to expropriation without compensa-tion). The tribunal said that because the ban applied toall methanol producers (i.e. in California and outside of


1 Alberta’s bitumen, heavy crude oil produced from bitumen and lightercrude oil upgraded from bitumen (synthetic crude oil).

2 “What role does the WTO have to play in combating climate change?”(2009) World Trade Organization background paper, Asia-Pacific ModelUnited Nations Conference, The University of Queensland, July 12-17,2009.

3 Methanex Corporation v. United States of America, in the matter of anarbitration under Chapter 11 of the North American Free TradeAgreement and the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules, Final Award of theTribunal, August 7, 2005. Available at http://www.naftaclaims.com/dis-putes_us_6htm.

4 Alberta and the oil sands industry were caught unaware of the impli-cations of EISA Section 526 and only became aware of and reacted toit after it had become law.

About the authors

Greg Powers is a partner in FaskenMartineau’s Calgary office. His practice isfocused on oil and gas, securities,mergers and acquisitions, corporatecommercial and project finance. Hisexperience includes advising private andpublicly listed clients on issues related toacquisitions, investments and jointventure structures in connection withconventional projects and projects for theextraction and upgrading of heavy crudeoil and bitumen.

Andrew Derksen is an associate atFasken Martineau in Toronto and is partof the Global Mining and Energy Group.His practice focuses on corporate,commercial, international and securitieslaw matters.

it) and because non-discriminatory regulation for a pub-lic purpose enacted in accordance with due process waspermitted under NAFTA and International Law, the lawdid not violate NAFTA.

Alberta’s responseAlberta and the oil sands industry have lobbied hard to

improve the oil sands’ image and counter the negativeaspects of the U.S. measures.4 A recent report commis-sioned by the Alberta Energy Research Institute has con-cluded that on a full life-cycle basis, GHG emissions fromCanadian synthetic crude against other heavy oils refinedin the United States compare favourably. In order toreduce GHG emissions, Alberta has committed $2 billionin funding to advance carbon capture and storage (CCS)technology — an unproven technology but one that theoil sands industry hopes will significantly reduce GHGemissions. In any case, social and political pressure toimprove the environmental performance of oil sandsoperations continues to grow.

ConclusionWhile the U.S. measures have yet to directly affect exports

of oil sands products to the U.S., it is clear that U.S. policy ischanging and could significantly impinge upon such exports.Canadians have tended to assume that the U.S. market wouldalways be open to oil sands products. However, if the U.S.measures make Canadian oil sands products less competitivein the U.S. and if CCS or other GHG-limiting technologiesprove unviable, then that belief will have to be re-evaluatedand other options, such as a West Coast pipeline openingaccess to East Asian markets, may become more attractiveand may need to be considered.

www.fasken.com

CIM

When someone told me sixmonths ago about the great summerthey had working in the oil sands ofnorthern Alberta, I was confused.After all, who would want to spend avacation in some town six hoursnorth of Edmonton? However, afterhaving spent the summer in FortMcMurray, I found myself missing thetown and the people I met there.

As a first-year mining engineeringstudent at McGill University, I wasoffered a co-op position this pastsummer with Suncor Energy as aheavy equipment operator. While theimmense scale of everything in themine took some getting used to, thehardest thing to cope with was theschedule. We worked three 12-hourday shifts, followed by three 12-hournight shifts, followed by six days off.

A summer to rememberA first-year student’s perspective❚ Ryan Veitch

student life

And I used think that my universityschedule was gruelling! The 24-hour“short change” that separated the day

and night shifts was quite useful,either for getting some much-neededsleep or visiting one of the town’sfamous landmarks (I’m sure The OilCan Tavern is familiar to some).

This being only my first year ofinvolvement with the mining indus-try, I feel that there is very little I cansay authoritatively about mining orengineering. Instead, I hope I canshare with you something that notmany people in this industry have —a newcomer’s perspective.

If there is one thing I would like tostress in this article, it is the need formore companies to consider hiringfirst-year students as operators. Thisnot only gives companies the firstpick of the top students, but it alsohelps them in the long run when thestudents return to them for a jobupon graduation and already havevaluable experience at their mines.

It is well-known that the miningand energy sectors have an agingworkforce and that there will be ashortage of trained workers in thenear future. The opportunities andsalaries that are offered to miningengineering graduates are unmatchedin any other discipline. Yet, miningengineering remains one of the


student life

programs with the lowest enrolmentsacross the country. So, where mightthe problem lie?

I believe that one of the major rea-sons students choose another indus-try is because of the remote locationsof many mining-related jobs. Fewpeople entering university are inter-ested in moving to small towns or tocamps. Yet, after spending a fewmonths at one such location, I realizehow wrong my thinking about thiswas. I was completely surprised bythe level of culture in Fort McMurrayand the diverse group of people foundthere. It really is a modern-day goldrush town, with people coming andgoing from all over the world.

New apartment buildings andhouses appear to go up every day.Many arrive without knowing anyoneelse, which makes it easy forstrangers to get along, as most peoplearound are strangers. With much ofthe population working in shifts,there are interesting activities goingon every night of the week. I think ifmore students had the chance tospend time in a mining town, theywould reconsider a career in thisindustry.

My experience working in the oilsands was also very rewarding on aneducational level. As Chris Kissel, asummer student with Syncrude, putit, “Other students and mining com-panies in general tend to underesti-mate the mining experience that canbe gained by working as an operator.Hands-on production experience pro-vides an excellent introduction to theindustry.” Rarely do students get thechance to work in the mine and trulysee how things are done. I believe thisis something that will be very usefulfor me if I get to work for Suncor asan engineer in the future.

I am very thankful to Suncor forgiving me this great opportunity andthis great summer experience. As forFort McMurray, I sincerely hope to goback one day. I think SamanthaLarkin, another summer student atSyncrude, who also happens to havegrown up here, describes it betterthan I ever could: “Growing up herelet me get to the heart of this town —

the part no one really gets to see, thebest part. This town is a beautiful,growing community with tons to do,if you’re only willing to look for it. Ittruly is what you make of it. It’s agreat opportunity for anyone whowants to experience something com-pletely different from the norm. Theymight one day be proud to call ithome, like I do.” CIM


About the author

Ryan Veitch is a first-year miningengineering student at McGill University.He hopes to complete an arts degree, inaddition to mining engineering. Heenjoys writing and works part time as asports journalist.

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engineering exchange

Environmental sustainability isperhaps one of the most important,and most challenging, aspects ofthe mining industry. From waterconservation and innovations intailings management to the recla-mation of land, the goal is to meetthe present needs of society with-out compromising the capacity offuture generations to meet theirneeds.

When Norwest Corporationwas hired by Shell Canada todevelop and create a lake able tosupport year-round fish habitat forthe Athabasca Oil Sands Project,Norwest knew it was being pre-sented with a unique and excitingchallenge. The lake, to be builtdirectly east of the Muskeg River atthe confluence of the MuskegCreek and Muskeg River, will uti-lize the Muskeg Creek as its pri-mary inlet. Once the lake is con-structed and filled, it will begin tobalance the habitat lost during miningin portions of the Khahago, Shelley,Pemmican, Blackfly and GreenStockings watersheds.

Compensating for lost fish habitatwas an essential requirement in theauthorization for Shell’s Jackpine Mine– Phase 1 project, located about 75kilometres northwest of FortMcMurray, Alberta. The lake neededto be a sustainable feature of the areaand maintain fish passage from theMuskeg River through the lake andupstream along the Muskeg Creek fora minimum of 100 days of the year.

Designing ways“It [the design] certainly was a

unique, multi-disciplinary project,” saysAdam Bedard, vice-president of waterresource engineering at Norwest. “Itrequired civil and mining engineers,hydrologists, geotechnical engineers,fisheries biologists, hydrogeologists and

A multi-disciplinary designCreating a long-term, sustainable lake from scratch takes good communication and a multi-teamed approach❚ Marlene Eisner

Shell’s environmental group. There werea lot of aspects that had to be evaluated,so there was a long design process.”

There were regulatory componentsto consider as well with agencies suchas the Department of Fisheries andOceans, Alberta Environment, AlbertaSustainable Resources Developmentand the Energy Resources andConservation Board. “It was a fairlycutting-edge design — a very cus-tomized solution for a very unique setof challenges,” says Bedard.

Essential featuresThe lake is designed to be com-

prised of three main sections — anorthern basin, a shallow intercon-necting narrow section and a largerdeep southern basin. The total surfacearea is expected to be 47.3 hectaresand an erosion control berm has beendesigned along the lake’s west shore-line to manage interaction between the

lake and the Muskeg River.The lake will have a primaryinlet as well as a secondaryinlet to handle high floodflows. Both inlets will useexisting Muskeg Creek chan-nels, which will flow into thenortheast portion of the lake.In the south, a primary outletwill connect the lake toMuskeg River. Within theerosion control berm, sec-ondary outlets have beendesigned at specific eleva-tions to correspond to vari-ous flood frequency levelsand allow for uninterruptedflow between the lake andriver during flood events.

The design of the lake alsoincludes habitat complexingto accommodate varioustypes of fish habitats.Reclamation will be adap-tively managed, with natural

vegetation monitored to determinefurther reclamation needs.

Location, location, location“The biggest challenge to the proj-

ect as a whole was the location,”explains Twyla Hutchison, waterresource engineer and engineeringdesign team member on the project.The lake is situated immediatelyupstream of the confluence of theMuskeg River and Muskeg Creek.Once the lake is in place, the MuskegCreek will be its primary inlet and willconnect back to the Muskeg River bythe primary lake outlet. “The lake is ina naturally existing flood plain of theMuskeg River,” says Hutchison.“Being in the flood plain, it’s a verywet area, and there were a lot of chal-lenges with managing the water dur-ing our first phase of construction.”

The first phase was to pre-drain theproject site for lake construction


Aerial view of the compensation lake project site — the Phase 1 drainagenetwork drains west to the Muskeg River.

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engineering exchange

purposes, prepare the foundation forthe spoil piles and to divert naturalwaters away from construction activi-ties. The surface drainage system,which was constructed betweenJanuary and March of this year, is a net-work consisting of a series of ditchesthat lead to two sedimentation pondsthat discharge into the Muskeg River.

Timing is everythingPhase 2 of lake construction began

the week of August 19, 2009. “It’s beendraining since March,” says hydroge-ologist and project manager SaraMcCartney. “Construction will start inthe highland areas and move towardsthe Muskeg River. It will get more andmore saturated, so we’ll stay in dryareas until winter will improve con-struction conditions.”

Probably the biggest challengenow is the completion of the lake intime for spring. The Muskeg Creekhas quite high flows in the spring,and routing it into the lake is the verylast step of construction. Timing isessential, since once the creek is flow-ing into the lake it could fill in as lit-tle as one week. Construction mustbe completed by mid-March 2010 toensure everything is in place prior tospring flows.

Current priorities surroundingconstruction include the handling ofall the materials that are being exca-vated. “There are numerous materialsthat are being managed during con-struction,” explains McCartney. “Thefirst step involves stripping suitablereclamation material and stockpilingit for use when the lake is completed.It’s going to be a staged approach,” shesays. “As they enter into a new area,they’ll strip reclamation material priorto excavation and then segregateremaining materials depending oncharacteristics such as constructionsuitability.” A total of five distinct on-site stockpiles will be utilized.

Having the bulk of the lake con-struction take place during the fall andwinter months was done purposely togive the project a positive edge inmeeting the spring deadline. “It doesget quite cold in the winter, but thatfacilitates the construction,” explains

Keith Wilson, Norwest vice-presidentof mining and mine development.

“That’s the intention of startingnow [August 19],” agrees TimFitzgerald, vice-president of oil sandsand a lead player on the project’s con-struction. “Basically, it gives us therequired amount of time between nowand March to get the lake built.”

Communication is keyThe design of the lake has involved

many elements, from water resources,environmental, civil, geotechnical andmining engineering, to fisheries andgeology, which has led to an iterativeapproach for the successful manage-ment of the project. It was essential tohave a team that worked closelytogether, with consistent, ongoingcommunication, in order for everyoneto understand how their portion ofthe design affected the other designcomponents.

“The key word is communication,”says Fitzgerald. “From Norwest’s pointof view, there is the recognition that alot of this work is a joint effort between


Norwest and Shell. It’s just good proj-ect planning that the consultants andthe client communicate. The interac-tion between Shell, Norwest, andNorth American Construction Groupis literally a daily thing.”

A rewarding experienceWith the project well into the

final phase, a lot of excitement isbuilding up to see the end result.Although it has been a long process— it will be three years from the ini-tial work on site to the completion inMarch — and a technically challeng-ing one at that, Bedard says the expe-rience has been especially rewarding.

“We’ve learned a lot and developedsignificant experience with regard tohabitat construction,” he says. “It’s anintegrated project and will leave a last-ing legacy for Shell and the surround-ing community. It’s very rewardingand exciting and we’re looking for-ward to building it and getting to seeit happen in real time.”

www.norwestcorp.com

CIM

standards

Blocked Out — that is Ore exposed onat least three sides within reasonabledistance of each other — and (b) Orewhich may be reasonably assumed toexist though not actually ‘blocked out.’These two factors should in all cases bekept distinct, as (a) is governed by fixedrules, whilst (b) is dependent upon indi-vidual judgement and local experience.”

The IMM resolution also requiredthat the data on which estimates ofore in sight were based should be pre-sented in accompanying reports inthe form of plans and sections (fore-shadowing the transparency require-ment of current codes), and that oreshould meet the criterion of being“capable of being profitablyextracted.” This resolution appears tomark the first attempt by a profes-sional body in the mining industry toregulate the public reporting of esti-mates of the magnitude (and inherentvalue) of mineral properties.

Seven years later, Herbert Hooverpublished Principles of Mining3 inwhich he noted that the term “ore insight” was considered to be too broadand that “The legitimate direction ofreform has been to divide the generalterm of ‘ore in sight’ into classes, andgive them names which will indicate thevariable amount of risk of continuity indifferent parts of the mine.”

He went on to list some of theterms used in such classifications,namely:• “Positive Ore / Ore Developed: Ore

exposed on four sides in blocks of asize variously prescribed;

• Ore Blocked Out: Ore exposed onthree sides within reasonable dis-tance of each other;

The centenary of Proved and Probable Reserves❚ Edmund Sides

References1 Kendall, J.D. (1901). Ore in sight (plus subsequent dis-cussion). Transactions of the Institution of Mining andMetallurgy, Vol. X, 101-201.

2 IMM (1902). Appendix: Ore in Sight. Transactions of theInstitution of Mining and Metallurgy, Vol. X, 202.

3 Hoover, H.C. (1909). Principles of Mining: Valuation,Organization and Administration. New York: McGraw HillBook Company (available fromhttp://www.gutenberg.org).

• Probable Ore / Ore Developing: Oreexposed on two sides;

• Possible Ore / Ore Expectant: Thewhole or a part of the ore below thelowest level or beyond the range ofvision.”Hoover presented his preferred

classification as:• “Proved Ore: Ore where there is

practically no risk of failure of con-tinuity;

• Probable Ore: Ore where there issome risk, yet warrantable justifica-tion for assumption of continuity;

• Prospective Ore: Ore which cannot beincluded in the above classes, nor def-initely known or stated in any termsof tonnage.”Hoover concluded his discussion

of “The Classification of Ore in Sight”with the following statement:“Although the expression ‘ore in sight’may be deprecated, owing to its abuse,some general term to cover both ‘posi-tive’ and ‘probable’ ore is desirable; andwhere a general term is required, it isthe intention herein to hold to thephrase ‘ore in sight’ under the limita-tions specified.”

From the above, it is noted thatthat the IMM’s pioneering resolutionon professional reporting standards,which was adopted in September1902, laid the foundation for thedevelopment of the reporting stan-dards that are in current usage.Hoover’s textbook, published exactlya century ago, gave definitions ofProved and Probable Ore, which havesurvived in a similar context to thepresent day.

www.crirsco.com/national.asp

CIM

About the author

Ed Sides is a resource geologist with AMEC's Mining Servicesteam in the United Kingdom. During his career, he has worked onvarious projects, from grassroots exploration through feasibilitystudies to operating mine. He has a special interest in theincorporation of geological controls into computerized resourceestimation procedures.


Most readers will be familiar withone or more of the codes that are rec-ommended and, in many cases, legallyrequired by relevant stock exchangesfor the public reporting of MineralResources and Ore Reserves, including:PERC 2008 (Europe); SAMREC 2007(South Africa); International ReportingTemplate 2006 (CRIRSCO); CIM 2005(Canada); JORC 2004 (Australia andNew Zealand); and Certification Code2004 (Chile). For details, go towww.crirsco.com/national.asp.

All of these codes require a two-fold division of Ore Reserves (orMineral Reserves) into Proved (orProven) and Probable categories. Areview of the evolution of reportingterminology highlights the fact thatthese terms have now been used in asimilar context for exactly a century.

Little has been published on thereporting terminology used in the19th century. However, a well-received paper published in 1901 onthe usage of the term “ore in sight”1

gives several examples of theapproaches and terminology used inthe valuation of mining properties.The processes described by Kendalland contributors to the discussion onhis paper are likely to reflect thepractices used during the latter partof the 19th century. Following dis-cussion of his paper, the Council ofthe Institution of Mining andMetallurgy (IMM) adopted a resolu-tion requiring its members to stan-dardize their usage of the term “orein sight.”2

“That as the term “Ore in Sight” is fre-quently used to indicate two separatefactors in an estimate, namely: (a) Ore

safety


Despite the millions of workhours spent mining tens of mil-lions of tonnes of coal from thedeposit just outside of Hanna,Alberta, the Sheerness mine hasmanaged to keep its safetyrecord virtually spotless. Thisspring, the mine, owned bySherritt Coal, claimed the JohnT. Ryan Trophy as the country’ssafest coal mine for the fourthtime in its short history. “In over14 years, we have never lost aday of work,” says ChrisChapman, safety supervisor forSherritt’s Sheerness andPaintearth coal mines. As withthe previous milestones,employees observed the eventwith a company-sponsoredsteak barbeque.

Chapman has been in hisposition for the last three J.T. RyanTrophy victories at Sheerness andanother three at Paintearth, all withinthe last eight years. He is at pains toemphasize how this achievement isbuilt on the foundation laid by theworkers on the ground. “We’ve hadpeople come to see us to find out whatmakes us so different that we can go14 years without a lost-time incident,”says Chapman. “There’s nothing thatwe can put on a piece of paper; there isnothing we can videotape or put into acanned program and give them towalk away with. They learn, just bytalking to them, that how our employ-ees think and talk about safety is whatmakes the difference at the mine site.Obviously, it makes my job a lot easierwhen the employees buy into safety.”

According to Chapman, no outsideoccupational safety consultants havebeen brought in. Safety initiatives, heexplains, tend to be generated inter-nally. “Employees aren’t afraid to comeforward with questions, and supervi-sors aren’t afraid to bring up safetyissues and reminders with the

Rare and well-doneSheerness mine captures the John T. Ryan Trophy❚ Ryan Bergen

employees,” he offers as explanationfor how the mine maintains its highstandard.

The culture beneath this record,like the coal beneath the plains, wasthere long before the operation beganmining its potential, says Chapman.“The employees here have a cultureof hard work. Hanna is a farmingcommunity and these guys are usedto working. They come to work andthey put in a full day. I’ve been toother operations where somebody’sbeen injured and they’ve gone offwork. If one of our employees isinjured, he’ll want to be a part of themodified work program to make surethat he stays at work.”

Beyond the committed workforce,Chapman explains, the mine’s jointsafety committee, comprised of man-agement and labour representatives,performs monthly safety audits to sur-vey how effectively past processes andmodifications are put in place, andalso to locate and address any areas ofrisk. The results of these audits areposted for workers to review. Risky

procedures or behaviours are modifiedwith the cooperation of the workforce,within a clearly defined timeframe. Asan example, Chapman shares theresult of a recent audit. “On ourdraglines, we discovered that noteveryone was doing the lockout proce-dure in the same way. So the commit-tee came back and discussed why thiswas happening and designed a grouplockout system and wrote up a newwork procedure. So now, when certainmajor jobs are done on the dragline,there is a group rather than an individ-ual lockout system.”

Together, the unionized workers,staff and management number 110.The mine runs 24 hours a day, sevendays a week, with four different 12-hour shifts. It produces about four mil-lion tonnes of coal each year that areburned at the neighbouring SheernessGenerating Station, owned by Transaltaand ATCO Electric. And all this is donewithout a jolt or spill. It is indeed rarefor things to be so well done.

www.sherritt.com

CIM

Sheerness mine employees proudly display their John T. Ryan Trophy.

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canadians abroad


African coups, knife attacks bymurderous tribesmen, tropicalcyclones and long journeys onfrozen Siberian rivers — justanother day in the office forChristopher Campbell-Hicks.

The son of a Canadian pilotand an English teacher,Campbell-Hicks grew up inAustralia, where a trip throughthe outback in the 1960s led tohis life’s calling. “I ran short ofmoney and started hoppingfreight trains and hitchhiking toreach Darwin,” he says. “Broke,in the middle of the NorthernTerritory desert, I asked for a jobat the old Peko copper and goldmine outside Tennant Creek.”

The rugged area was renownedfor its equally rough-and-readyindividuals, who took theadventurous teenager under theirwing and showed him the ropes.“I started off shovelling tailingsand looking after the lime plantbefore graduating to milloperator,” recalls Campbell-Hicks.“When they learned that I hadstudied chemistry in high school,they put me to work in the goldlab. You could call it all a life-defining experience, as I knew what I wanted to do afterthat. I returned to Melbourne to finish a chemistry degree.”

Campbell-Hicks went on to become a consultingmetallurgist in many countries, including Australia, FrenchGuinea, Fiji, Indonesia and Turkey. Earlier this decade, healso worked in Chihuahua, Mexico, for a Canadian company.

One job along the way, during the early 90s, left himscarred for life — literally. “I was brought in to help with agold recovery operation at a remote site in the highlands ofPapua New Guinea,” he says. “At that time, it was the only

*Note: Owing to possible sensitivities linked to some aspects ofthis article, it was decided to be in the best interest of companiesto not name them.

From the highlands of Papua New Guinea and the steppes of Siberia to African jungles and paradise islands,

the career of metallurgist Christopher Campbell-Hicks reads like the synopsis of an Indiana Jones movie. His

exploits are also a reminder of the challenges faced by mining’s field workers to get the job done.*

You have to be a little bit crazy…A chemist seeks adventure (and finds it) in mining❚ Richard Andrews

operation in the world with 100per cent service by helicopters.While I was examining a damagedpipeline, a local tribesman cameup and cut me open prettyseriously with his knife. My gutwas hanging out.

“It turned out that he hadmistaken me for someone elsewho had apparently insulted him.When he realized I was the wrongman, he bandaged me with hisshirt and carried me down themountain to the mine site. Theyflew me to Port Moresby, where Iwas stitched up.

“The police arrested the guy —let’s call him John — and wantedme to press charges for attemptedmurder. I refused. After all, he hadsaved my life. In gratitude, Johnmade me his wontok, which is akind of blood brother. The weirdthing was that every time I wentback there, John was alwayswaiting at the airport to look afterme. I have no idea how he knewwhen I was arriving.”

Mineral-rich French Guineawas also memorable forCampbell-Hicks, who was on ajob in the West African country

during one of its periodic bouts of instability. “I was anevacuation leader to get people across the border into Mali,in case there was a coup and foreigners were threatened. Ididn’t feel endangered, although I did come down with bothtyphoid and cerebral malaria in the same week. Cerebralmalaria will kill you pretty quickly so they had to rush meto the American Hospital in Conakry.”

The emergency trip took nine hours by Land Cruiserdown rough jungle tracks. “It wasn’t real nice,” saysCampbell-Hicks, with typical understatement. “But after awhole bunch of injections, both diseases were gone in 96hours and I was fine. No problem.”

Most recently, Campbell-Hicks has been with a majorCanadian gold mining company for four years, including a

Campbell-Hicks outside a Moscow banya (public bath)

canadians abroad

three-year stint in Russia. During that time, he worked at asite in Siberia that was reachable only by an eight-hourflight from Moscow to Yakutsk, followed by another 20hours by truck.

“We drove on the frozen River Lena because it wassmoother than the road. I asked the driver what happens ifthe ice breaks. ‘You must get out of the truck and walk awayvery quickly,’ he replied. At minus 60 degrees, it was so coldthat if you threw a cup of coffee in the air, the liquid turnedto ice before it hit the ground. It’s no wonder everyonedrinks vodka there.”

Ironically, civilization posed more of a threat than the wildsof Siberia. Back in Moscow, Campbell-Hicks learned about thecity’s security problems the hard way. “I was walking to therear entrance of my apartment building near Red Square whenthis guy tried to snatch my mobile phone. I pushed him awayand then two others jumped me. They got me down, put theboot in and broke three ribs. Luckily they ran off when somepeople passed by, but I ended up in the hospital again.”

Such incidents don’t discourage Campbell-Hicks as hebelieves they are more than outweighed by the interest andexcitement of his work. “It’s not the life for everyone,” hesays. “I guess you have to be a little bit crazy.”

But you don’t have to be “crazy” to enjoy some of themost beautiful places on the planet, whether it’s scuba divingin Fiji’s coral reefs, watching game in Africa, or exploringspectacular beaches, rainforests and gorges in northernAustralia’s Gove Peninsula.

“I was working at an alumina refinery in Gove. It was anamazing experience. The place was a tropical paradise.Except for Cyclone Doris, which gave us a bit of a lashing.Twenty-four inches of rain came down in 24 hours. We hadto fill the conveyor belts up with ore and shut them downfully loaded so the winds wouldn’t rip the belts off.”

Campbell-Hicks acknowledges that constant travel tofar-flung locations creates challenges to family life. He

flies family members over to join him whenever he can.Now that his two children are older, he says it’s easier tomaintain contact, and they remain close. “As for friends,you meet a lot of Canadians and Australians at miningsites all over the world. I’m always running into someoneI know.”

At the age of 62, Campbell-Hicks shows little sign ofslowing down. He prefers sky diving to golf and is nowassessing a potential copper mining project that will takehim to Pakistan. “I’ve got no thoughts of retiring and intendto keep on going until I’m 90,” he says.

In fact, one suspects that Campbell-Hicks goes out ofhis way to find excitement when things are too quiet. Notlong ago, he visited southern Africa’s Victoria Falls,which are more than twice the height of Niagara Falls.But just watching the waters plummet 111 metres, wasnot enough. “When you get to the bridge they have abungee jump there,” says Campbell Hicks. “So you’ve gotto do it. Right?” CIM

Campbell-Hicks (at the age of 18) working at the Peko Mines lime plant in 1965.


innovation

fundamental physical phenomenanthat drove their respective behavior topreviously unanticipated results andconsequences.

Over the last three decades,Masliyah has done more to under-stand, describe, improve and advanceoil sands processing than perhaps anyother individual. One could, withoutexaggeration, say that Alberta’s oilsands industry stands on foundationsthat he helped lay.

Masliyah came to Canada fromEngland in 1964 to pursue his master’sdegree in chemical engineering, andlater went on to earn his doctorate atthe University of British Columbia in1970. “After a few years of teaching inSaskatchewan, I came to theUniversity of Alberta in 1977,” herecalls.

There, Masliyah met a professorwho was on secondment to Syncrude,working on a research project in theoil sands industry. Studying the sepa-ration of light particles using a poly-mer, the professor encountered someinexplicabilities. Because of his expert-ise in fluid particle dynamics,Masliyah’s assistance was sought. Hedeveloped a particle model that accu-rately mimicked and helped explainthe intriguing observations. This wasthe first step in what was to becomeMasliyah’s life’s journey.

In those days, the industry was onlybeginning to find its footing. “The firstoil sands project run by Great CanadianOil Sands [now Suncor], in 1967 was amammoth operation,” recalls Masliyah.“To make the equipment run effectivelyat minus 40 degrees was a huge chal-lenge. The first few years were devotedto just getting it all going. It was onlyafter they got everything working thatthe oil sands companies started worry-ing about the processes.”

Drawn to oil sand’s research,Masliyah enlisted a team of bright


Bringing science to an artAn Officer of the Order of Canada has spearheaded innovation in oil sands processing through cutting-edge collaborative research❚ Minaz Kerawala and Gord Winkel

Retirement does not keep Jacob Masliyah from his laboratory at the University of Alberta.

“Jacob Masliyah has … been researching the complex interactions betweenoil, water and sand particles to improve oil recovery from Alberta’s tar sands.Equally important, he has shared his knowledge with his students and col-leagues and has fostered partnerships with industry leaders. His scientificcontributions, as well as his leadership in national collaborative programs,have brought significant benefits to the Canadian oil sands industry.”

This impressive précis of a remark-able career sums up the opinion of theGovernor General of Canada. It is men-tioned on the citation Professor Masliyahreceived upon his investiture as anOfficer of the Order of Canada last year.

At the dawn of an industryThe Alberta oil sands have enjoyed

a rich history in the development ofthe mineral processing technologiesthat we have come to refer to simply asbitumen extraction. Although the oilsands have attracted curiosity andcommercial interest over more than200 years, scientific inquiry into thepossibility of harvesting the bitumenfrom them only began in the early1920s. This early innovative researchdeveloped the foundational processesfor so-called hot water bitumen extrac-tion, providing the basis for the designof large commercial oil sands plants.

Operating experience in the rela-tively new oil sands applicationshowed bitumen extraction to be achallenging process. Different gradesand types of ore proved difficult toprocess, extraction performance couldnot be predicted from available meas-ured parameters, and energy intensityand chemical treatment costs were sig-nificant. Oil sands operators recog-nized that a more thorough under-standing of the mechanisms that drovebitumen extraction processes wasrequired for the industry to improveoverall performance.

A processing pioneerIn the 1970s, Jacob Masliyah, then

a professor of chemical engineering atthe University of Alberta, clearly rec-ognized that bitumen extraction, frothtreatment and tailings processes wouldbenefit from the understanding of

innovation

minds from both academia and indus-try. Mentoring them through increas-ingly diverse and innovative investiga-tions, he helped reveal the true natureof bitumen interactions with solidsand water for different processes. Hemade significant and rapid progress inrevealing the fundamental characteris-tics of the phenomena he examined.His findings have been applied to full-scale process characteristics and haveguided operating efforts towards dra-matically improved results.

Great strides aheadSince the early days, Masliyah has

witnessed many advances. “The firstmajor breakthroughs were in energyefficiency. In the 1970s, energy effi-ciency was as low as 45 per cent,”Masliyah recounts. “Now, it is up to 85per cent.” Another game-changer, inhis opinion, was the halving of operat-ing temperatures. “In the 1960s andthrough the 1980s, the operating tem-perature used to be about 80ºC. Today,it is down to as low as 40ºC. Low tem-peratures mean less energy input and asmaller carbon footprint,” Masliyahexplains.

Remarkably, recovery rates havejumped from about 70 per cent to 90to 92 per cent and at times up to 95per cent. This is substantially higherthan conventional crude oil, the pri-mary recovery rates of which are about25 per cent. This is why, Masliyahfeels, the bad press that the oil sandsgets is unjustified. He cites independ-ent studies recently commissioned bythe Alberta Energy Research Institute.The studies found that on accountingfor all energy inputs and outputs from“well to wheels,” oil from mined oilsands compared equitably orfavourably with conventional crude oilin terms of per unit carbon footprint.Even in situ production fared onlyslightly worse than conventionalcrude oil.

Moreover, adds Masliyah, “Peopleneed to understand that most of thecarbon dioxide produced in the fuellife cycle is produced by you and mein our cars. It is we who emit 80 percent of all that carbon. It is not the oilsands industry.”


Evaluating his life’s work, Masliyahconcludes that his most significantcontributions have been in enhancingrecovery rates. “We tried to improverecovery and understand why certainores do not process well,” Masliyahnotes. “We came up with proper scien-tific answers to that question anddetermined the lowest possible effi-cient operating temperatures. We alsodeveloped and advanced the conceptof using chemicals in aiding the recov-ery and cleaning of bitumen and in thesettling of solids. We distilled the art ofoil sands processing into a science.”

A productive partnershipNot surprisingly, Masliyah picked

up innumerable awards along the way.Of course, his investiture into theOrder of Canada is, for him, “thecrowning honour.” Among his manyacademic distinctions is the SeniorCanada Research Chair and theNSERC Oil Sands Industrial ResearchChair, both of which he has had theprivilege of holding.

The latter is an industry-universitycollaboration initiated in 1996 withsupport from Syncrude Canada Ltd. Sosuccessful was the program that it wasrenewed twice and is currently slatedto continue until 2011, with the par-ticipation of five oil sands companiesand three suppliers.

“The industry recognizes this as awin-win situation,” says Masliyah.“We train people, saving the industryconsiderable HR development costs.We also spun off a training program ofshort courses for industry personnel.Over the last ten years, we havetrained over 500 people.” All this is inaddition to the technical advances thatthe program has regularly produced.

“The industry has been extremelysupportive,” Masliyah testifies. “Wewanted oil sands samples, water fromthe tailings, and many other thingsthat were very difficult for them tosupply. But they always providedwhat we asked for.” Perhaps moreimportantly, from the perspective of aman of science, is the academic free-dom the program enjoys. “The indus-try partners never held us back frompublishing anything or putting our

research in the public domain. Theywere amazing.”

Masliyah also credits his colleague,Professor Zhenghe Xu, for the pro-gram’s success. “He has been involvedwith me since the program started andhas contributed much to the research,”says Masliyah, adding that Xu nowcarries on the work, having succeededhim in the NSERC Chair.

A guru looks aheadOver the years, the rigour and bril-

liance of his research have earnedMasliyah the respect of his scientificpeers and the industry. But there isanother group among whom Masliyahis popular — his students. “Teaching ismy passion,” he avers. “I am enthusedby the idea of transmitting my knowl-edge to young minds. Teaching is likeacting in a theatre. You have to makeyour audience enjoy themselves,” saysthe professor. To ensure that the foster-ing of the next generation of scientistscontinues, Masliyah helped set up theUniversity of Alberta’s oil sands engi-neering program.

Looking ahead, Masliyah thinksthat change will come incrementallyrather than through breakthroughs,given that the industry has reached apoint where “everything costs billions of dollars.”

According to Masliyah, one area inwhich improvement is important is thetailings pond. “We have done our bestin an environment where stakeholderexpectations are outpacing technologydelivery, so our best is not really goodenough. The timely reclamation of tail-ings ponds is a priority in the long run.The industry recognizes this and thereis a lot of good work being done. I amconfident that, in a few years, we willbe able to put forward technologicallysound methodologies that are practicaland cost-effective.”

On the personal front, Masliyahlooks forward to a future of sustainedscientific productivity. Recentlyretired from his Chair, he continuesto advise the industry and work withcolleagues at the university. Masliyahsays fervently, “I will never leave theoil sands, as long as there are prob-lems to resolve.” CIM

parlons en

Ressources naturelles Canada a lancé l’Initiative minesvertes (IMV) afin de réduire les répercussions environ-nementales ainsi que les coûts d’exploitation et de ferme-ture des sites miniers. L’initiative est axée sur la réductionde l’empreinte écologique, l’innovation en gestion desrésidus, la gestion des risques pour les écosystèmes ainsique la fermeture et la restauration des sites.

Pourquoi maintenant ? Même en période d’incertitude économique, le niveau

d’attente des citoyens et des groupes écologistes vis-à-visl’impact environnemental du secteur minier est trèsélevé. En fait, ces attentes nécessitent la proposition detechniques de remplacement relatives à l’élimination desrésidus, à l’utilisation de l’eau et à la qualité de l’air. Lapopulation canadienne est préoccupée par l’impactqu’ont sur la santé les émissions atmosphériques indus-trielles, la qualité de l’eau et les changements clima-tiques, ainsi que par la production d’énergies propres.Pour aborder ces préoccupations grandissantes rat-tachées à l’exploitation des ressources minérales et àl’empreinte laissée, il faut trouver de nouvelles solutionstechnologiques dynamiques permettant d’atteindre lesobjectifs suivants : • favoriser une exploitation minière durable; • répondre à des normes et à des règlements environ-

nementaux plus stricts; • réduire les coûts; • accroître la valeur ajoutée; • protéger les travailleurs et le public.

Bienfaits attendus La réduction au minimum des résidus, la conception de

techniques de traitement et de gestion plus efficaces et l’ap-profondissement des connaissances sur le comportementdes métaux dans l’air, l’eau et les sols amélioreront consi -dérablement la performance environnementale de l’indus-trie et sa réputation auprès du public. L’IMV visera ledéveloppement de techniques et de technologies pour :• réduire le fardeau environnemental des générations à

venir; • promouvoir un rendement économique qui aidera l’in-

dustrie minière à continuer de soutenir des collectivitésdurables;

• appliquer des principes scientifiques éprouvés préalablesà une réglementation efficace;

• développer un savoir-faire et concevoir des équipementsqui viseront à stimuler les exportations canadiennes;

• établir un leadership en matière de techniquesécologiques, de protection environnementale et dedéveloppement durable des ressources au Canada et àl’étranger.

Qu’est-ce que l’Initiative mines vertes ?❚ Louise Laverdure

L’IMV se fera en collaboration avec l’industrie minière etles instances fédérales, les gouvernements provinciaux etterritoriaux, les organismes de réglementation, les univer-sités et les organismes non gouvernementaux, dont leConseil canadien de l’innovation minière (CCIM).

Thématiques de recherche et d’innovationL’IMV se divise en quatre thématiques de recherche et

d’innovation.

Réduction de l’empreinte L’exploitation minière produit unegrande quantité de résidus, dont la manutention et l’entre-posage sont coûteux et qui ont d’importantes répercussionsenvironnementales. En produisant moins de roches stériles,les exploitants réduisent les besoins et les répercussions rat-tachés à l’entreposage des résidus, les émissions de gaz àeffet de serre (GES) ainsi que leurs coûts d’exploitation.Cette mesure contribuerait à la réduction des résidus tox-iques et des métaux liés au procédé de traitement desminéraux. Les coûts d’entreposage et d’exploitation peuventaussi être réduits grâce à l’adoption d’une stratégie qui vise


Recherche de la source d'un effluent

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Fermeture et restauration des sites Le Canada compteactuellement des milliers de sites miniers orphelins ouabandonnés. Les répercussions pour les générations àvenir et les responsabilités liées aux coûts de restaurationdes mines abandonnées, orphelines ou en exploitation auCanada se chiffrent en milliards de dollars. C’est pourquoi il faut élaborer des techniques et des méthodes de fermeture plus efficaces.

Pour obtenir de plus amples renseignements sur l’IMV,prière de s’adresser à : [email protected].

ICM


L’auteur Diplômée en ingénierie de l’ÉcolePolytechnique en 1980, Louise Laverdure aobtenu un doctorat en géophysique del’université de Montréal en 1990. Louise aentrepris sa carrière au sein de Ressourcesnaturelles Canada à Elliot Lake en 1991,comme chercheur scientifique en sismologieminière, en travaillant sur le projet ‘Coup deToit’. En 1999, elle s’est jointe au groupe

responsable du développement commercial des Laboratoires desmines et des sciences minérales de CANMET. Depuis 2004, elle aoccupé le poste de directrice de recherche minière puis directrice enprocédés métallurgiques et environnement. Elle est présentementdirectrice générale intérimaire à CANMET-LMSM.

la production de remblais inertes et d’une eau propre, ainsique la diminution des particules émises par les fonderies etdes émissions de GES associées aux procédés de broyage duminerai. On pourra en profiter aussi pour mettre en valeurdes sous-produits minéraux à valeur ajoutée.

Innovation en gestion des résidus L’entreposage de mil-lions de tonnes de résidus s’avère extrêmement coûteux etpose des problèmes de volumes, d’espace et de stabilité. Leperfectionnement des méthodes de traitement, de gestion etd’entreposage des résidus permettrait de réduire les coûtsd’exploitation et de fermeture et ceux liés aux responsabil-ités civiles et au fardeau environnemental.

Gestion des risques pour les écosystèmes Il y a des lacunesscientifiques concernant les données de risques pour lesécosystèmes. Notamment, les connaissances sont spo-radiques en ce qui a trait à l’évaluation des dangers et desrisques posés par les métaux, à la mobilité et à la mobilisa-tion des métaux dans l’environnement, à certains aspects dela toxicologie des métaux et à la surveillance des impactsenvironnementaux.

En particulier, une meilleure connaissance du comporte-ment des métaux est essentielle à une sélection judicieusedes méthodes de gestion des résidus. On pourra ainsiréduire les impacts environnementaux, améliorer les méthodes de fermeture et de restauration des sites etréduire les coûts pour les secteurs privés et publics.

The immediate cause ofWilliam Davis’ death on June 11,1925, was precise: a bulletpierced his heart. What sparkedthe confrontation outside of NewWaterford, Nova Scotia, that ledto his death is less clear.

Five years earlier, with theFirst World War over, a race wason. Industrialists and investorswere scrambling to strengthentheir positions in coal and steel-making operations. The BritishEmpire Steel Corporation(BESCO), with capital from bothsides of the Atlantic, was con-ceived to be a force in the coalfields and steel mills of NovaScotia and the shipbuilding cen-tres of Britain, as speculationpushed prices higher. The plan,one promoter declared, was to“combine the capital and experi-ence of the Old Motherland withthe resources of our OverseasDominions.”

The bubble, however, had burst bythe time BESCO took control of coaland steel production in Cape Breton in1920. Coal prices dropped, thedemand for steel went slack, and theambition to develop a presence in newmarkets withered. BESCO had to cutcosts and cut them aggressively. In thelabour-intensive operations of CapeBreton, that meant significant wagereductions for the legions of minersworking the seams.

For Cape Breton coal miners, thewar in Europe had been a boon. Thethinner workforce and demand forwartime production had pushed wagesup to a level that many coal workers at

the beginning of the 1920s judged fair.Naturally, BESCO’s goal of clawingback those gains met ample resistance.

The company’s president, RoyWolvin, was set on ridding its opera-tions of organized labour, and he hadthe tacit support of the Nova Scotiagovernment; Bolshevism had turnedRussia red and had to be quelledbefore it could catch fire elsewhere.By 1922, Canadian soldiers were afixture at BESCO’s operations. Thefollowing year, the United MineWorkers Association leader was con-victed of seditious libel for trying tofoment a province-wide miners’strike. By 1925, BESCO workers hadalready struck 58 times and the end

of the latest labour contract promisedmore friction between an increasinglyradical union and an equally deter-mined company. The previous year,BESCO, struggling to meet its costs,had riled investors by no longer paying dividends on its stock.

In March, BESCO cut off credit tothe company stores in the particularlymilitant labour enclaves. Within aweek, 12,000 miners had walked offthe job. Each side baited the other.The company declined the chance togo to arbitration in June and soonafter, the strike became total. Aptly, itwas the power station that becamethe main front in the labour battle.Some accounts suggest BESCO had

Digging in for a fightIndustry slump fuelled Cape Breton clashes❚ Ryan Bergen

The monopoly of the company store got miners' hackles up from the start. BESCO stoked this smoldering resentment when it cut off credit at the "Pluck Me" shops.

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turned off the power and water tominers’ homes; others say that thegeneral strike had compelled thecompany to rally forces and take con-trol of the power and pump station orface a mine full of water. Some 700 to3,000 people reportedly converged onthe station that was guarded bymounted and armed company police.The immediate catalyst that sparkedthe violence is unknown — a rockmay have been thrown, a horse mayhave bolted, or the police may havecharged the crowd. Three hundredrounds were reportedly fired by thecompany police. One of those struckDavis, killing the father of nine —soon to be ten.

Davis’ death was the climax of thestrike, but not its conclusion. In thefollowing days, angry miners defyingcompany and provincial police, aswell as hundreds of Canadian sol-diers, raided BESCO stores and oper-ations. The next month, the govern-ing provincial Liberals, an importantally for the company, were pushedfrom power. Financial backers lostpatience with BESCO’s managementand stopped extending it credit. Thenew Tory government worked out atemporary settlement between thetwo sides and established a commis-sion to investigate the circumstancesof Davis’ death and the broaderlabour conflict that had plagued NovaScotia since BESCO began operations.Before long, the company was inreceivership, its president Roy Wolvinousted and by 1930, BESCO hadceased to exist.

People, however, still gather inCape Breton each spring to observewhat is now provincially recognizedas William Davis Memorial Miners’Day. This year, the small village ofPort Morien hosted the official cere-mony to honour the day’s namesakeand all the other men who lost theirlives working the Nova Scotia mines.The town is the site of Cape Breton’sfirst coal operation that had startednearly 300 years ago. A few kilometresaway lies the Donkin mine, in theearly stages of exploration which, likemany in Cape Breton, remains undercare and maintenance. CIM

A look back in time20 YEARS AGO…

• A technical paper by J.G. Bensley and K.S. Detheridge advocated theimplementation of integrated process information and control systems, dwellingon the benefits of getting computerized process control and MIS components tointeract with one another.

• E. Wright’s paper on the practical application of computers in mining geologypredicted that “some day the coreshack may contain an analytical station to aidthe geologist in estimating mineral percentages and logging characteristics suchas grain size, texture and structure.”

• The historical metallurgy article reviewed the conservation of iron fromshipwrecks.

• CIM advertised the position of Manager of Membership Development, whoseresponsibilities were to include developing and implementing a membershiprecruitment strategy and a continuing education plan for members.

The above were taken from the September 1989 issue of CIM Bulletin.

cim newsAdetunji, Lukemon, AlbertaAhmad Nadri, Moho Safwan, OntarioAnderson, William S., British ColumbiaBadami, Zain, OntarioBlouin, Michael, QuébecBonci, Gheorghe, British ColumbiaChakowski, Sean, AlbertaChan, Lok Si, OntarioCheong See, Esther, OntarioConteduca, Melissa, QuébecCottrell, Ben, OntarioCoulombe, Jean-Guy, OntarioDaigle, Paul, OntarioDakane, Abdulkadir, AlbertaDawood, Ihassan, QuébecDesroches, Dany, QuébecDuchesne, Rémi, QuébecDurlik, Damian, OntarioEsfahani, Shaghaycah, OntarioEyong, Christos, CameroonFletcher-Kyle, Joshua, QuébecFord, Andrew N., OntarioFrancis, Tristan A., OntarioGenoway, Whitney R., QuébecGervais, Raphael J., QuébecGodard, Mike, British ColumbiaGravel, Dominic, QuébecHo, Bernadette, OntarioHodges, Gregg, British ColumbiaHoulding, Julian, British ColumbiaHussain, Sadakat, OntarioJacques, Alexandre, QuébecJaniuk, Szymon, OntarioJarry, Gilles, OntarioKang, Jidong, OntarioKeech, Julianne E., OntarioKelly, Andrew, USAKing, Keith E., OntarioLandry-Tolszceuk, Nicolas, QuébecLapointe, Ugo, QuébecLopez, Irwin, QuébecMachado, Gabriel, QuébecMacPhee, Joseph, Nova ScotiaManhas, Jaylem, British ColumbiaMaqsoud, Abdelkabir, QuébecMarquis, Robert, QuébecMartin, Jim, OntarioMiller, Warren, AustraliaMohamed, Ahmed, QuébecMorris, Natasha, AlbertaMunduomisjoory, Rohan, OntarioNoor, Meskatun M.N., OntarioOluwaseyi, Iyimide, NigeriaPatel, Avakash, British ColumbiaPépin, Nicolas, Québec

Pépin, Genevieve, QuébecPeyronnard, Olivier, QuébecPipo, Benjamin B., OntarioPoirier, Sylvie, QuébecPosadowski, Tamara D., OntarioPotvin, Robin, QuébecPrairie, Robert, QuébecQuevedo, Ricardo, SaskatchewanRaiche, Julie, QuébecRenaud, Michel, QuébecRicher, Daniel, QuébecRispoli, Katherine, QuébecRivard, Jessica, QuébecRobert, Stéphane, QuébecRochon, Paul, QuébecRodriguez, Jerome, OntarioRoy, Emmanuel, QuébecRoy, Mélanie, QuébecRoy, Pierre, QuébecRoyer, Luci, QuébecRubenstein, Josh, British ColumbiaSaavedra, Lilian, QuébecSavoy, Daphne, British ColumbiaSchaefer, Philip R., USASeleh Mbemba, Faustin, QuébecSharifi, Erfan, OntarioShockley, James M., QuébecSimard, Christian, QuébecSimoneau, Vincent, QuébecSmarandescu, Mihaela, RomaniaSmirnova, Evgeniya, QuébecSpiegle, Thérèse, QuébecStockermans, Michael A., Ontario

CIM welcomes new membersSukhram, Mitren, OntarioTabachnik, Nadya N.T., OntarioTan, Jonathan, British ColumbiaTetley-Gérard, Kim, QuébecThao Dang Nghiem, Linh, QuébecTherrien, Denis, QuébecTherrien, Patrick, QuébecThibodeau, Eric, QuébecThomassin, Yves, QuébecTing, Yen-Jui, OntarioTrang Pham, Tracy, OntarioTrépanier, France, QuébecVan De Walle, Édith, QuébecVeilleux, Stephan, QuébecVerburg, Rens, USAVilleneuve, Mathieu, QuébecVisnovec, Karl, OntarioWang, Shize, OntarioWilson, Mytes M.W., QuébecWong, Wilbur, OntarioYong Shin, Da, QuébecYugo, Nick, OntarioZampini, Jordan, QuébecZhan, Johnny, USAZheng, Shipeng, Nova Scotia

Corporate Fatigue Management InternationalMultiurethanes Ltd.Quantum Murray LPSprague-Rosser Contracting Co. Ltd.Zero Waste Management Group


cim news


CIM steps up in the fight against cancer

Inspiration. Innovation.Technologies & Strategies for the Global Heavy Oil Industry

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What’s Your Innovation?This November, the globe’s most prestigious gathering of heavy oil professionals descends on Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela for the World Heavy Oil Congress. Previously held in Beijing, China and Edmonton, Canada, this event brings together the industry’s entire global supply chain for a three-day exhibition, conference and networking experience.

When representatives from 17 countries assemble in the energy hub of Latin America, ensure your company is represented.

Visit worldheavyoilcongress.com today to register or exhibit.

NEW LOCATION AT PUERTO LA CRUZ, VENEZUELA

November 3 - 5, 2009

2009 Congress Stakeholders: Produced by:

With the support of members and industry, CIM staff puttheir best feet forward in the fight to end cancer. On August22 and 23, the seven-member “CIM Walkers” team partici-pated in The Weekend to End Breast Cancer, a 60-kilometrewalk through the streets of Montreal and surrounding com-munities. The event raised a grand total of $5.7 million insupport of research for breast cancer and all women’s can-cers at the Jewish General Hospital.

Almost 2,200 men and women shared a high-spirited senseof community. “What an incredible experience,” said RobbiePillo. “The support we received throughout — from the crew,the volunteers and the organizers — was unbelievable.”

“What really struck me was the outpouring of supportfrom people on the street — complete strangers encouragingus,” added Joan Tomiuk. “This event is not just about thefight against women’s cancers, but about living and bringingthe community closer together.”

Even plagued with blisters and tender feet, everyoneagreed it was well worth their efforts. In fact, the team mem-bers are already gearing up for next year’s event. The CIMWalkers were led by team captain Anne Brosseau andincluded Heather Ednie, Chantal Murphy, Dawn Nelley,Robbie Pillo, Joan Tomiuk and Jean Vavrek. Thanks to the

A final team cheer before the walk begins. From left to right: Anne Brosseau, ChantalMurphy, Heather Ednie, Robbie Pillo, Jean Vavrek, Dawn Nelley and Joan Tomiuk.

support of friends, family, CIM members and industry, theteam raised close to $16,000.

The Women in Mining network of Toronto participated inthe Toronto event on September 12 and 13, continuing theminerals industry’s demonstration of its commitment to ahealthy society. Together, we truly do make a difference. CIM

cim news

Each year, the CIM CrowsnestBranch hosts a golf tournament andscholarship fundraiser in Fernie,British Columbia. The popular day-long event gives industry members theopportunity to reconnect withcolleagues, make new acquaintancesand simply have a good time. Held onJune 25, this year marked the seventhanniversary of the event.

One of the major objectives isfundraising for the long-standingCIM Scholarship that is awardedannually to a student entering a post-secondary earth sciences-related fieldof study. Recently, the branch alsocreated an annual Trades Scholarship,which is awarded to a studententering a trade school. Bothscholarships entail a $1,000 award inthe first year, with the CIMScholarship awarding an additional$2,000 for the second year of studies.This year, the CIM and Tradesscholarships were awarded to BenCampbell of Crowsnest Pass andDustin Zuffa of Fernie, respectively.

With golf being the other order ofbusiness, we were fortunate to havethe weather on our side — for themost part. The day, starting warm and

Fundraising on the fairwayCIM Crowsnest Branch holds its seventh annual golftournament and scholarship fundraiser

By Chris Ryan

sunny, did end with some lightshowers. All in all, the downturn inweather seemed to have little effect onthe overall mood of the golfers, even iftheir game performance may havebeen dampened.

At the end of the game, everyoneenjoyed a sit-down dinner at theclubhouse restaurant. Boyd Payne,CEO, Teck Coal, who returned for thesecond year as the event’s keynotespeaker, had the audience rapt with hisinspirational style.

Amidst it all, trophies donated byP&H were awarded for the top team,the longest drive, the longest putt andfor “closest to the pin.” In keepingwith the format of the tournament

over past years, the many donationsfrom local and distant sponsorsallowed every golfer to go home with aprize. Some of the key prizes were putinto our ever-popular silent auction,which has been a huge success for thepast two years.

At the close of a good day ofgolfing, dining, inspiration and justplain fun, the sun set on the event andall who had worked to make it happencould take a deep breath and relax.Many thanks go out to those whovolunteered their time and effort to theplanning and execution of the event.Looking ahead, we hope, at somepoint, to expand the event into a fullweekend of activities. CIM


Left to right: Todd Weatherby, Don Osbourne, Martin Zral, Dave Swail Left to right: Jason Kruszelnicki, Harvey Langdon, Bill Fleming, Blaine Beranek

Moving on upCopper Fox Metals Inc. has appointed Elmer B. Stewart as its president andCEO and Ernesto Echavarria to its board of directors. Stewart, a geologistwith 35 years of experience, has been involved in exploration and mining inNorth America and internationally throughout the America’s, Africa andAsia. Echavarria currently owns 39 per cent of the issued and outstandingcommon shares of Copper Fox.

High River Gold Mines Ltd., a Toronto-based gold operator with interests inBurkina Faso and Russia, has appointed Andrei Maslov as its new CFO.

cim news

Despite the ongoing recession,Fort McMurray remains the eco-nomic engine of the country. Theability of the community’s flourish-ing economy to attract workers fromall over Canada, especiallyNewfound land, has earned it thetongue-in-cheek tag of Newfound -land’s third largest city. According tothe 2008 census, the RegionalMunicipality of Wood Buffalo, inwhose jurisdiction Fort McMurrayfalls, is home to over 100,000 resi-dents, the vast majority of whom areconnected, in some way or other, tothe mining industry.

A thriving mining boomtowncreates both opportunities and chal-lenges for a CIM branch. The FortMcMurray Branch enjoys signifi-cant corporate support for its tech-nical presentation series and socialevents. We are very grateful to theoperating companies and supplierswho line up to sponsor events anddonate prizes and supplies. On theother hand, our prosperous econ-omy necessitates long work hoursfor our significant membershipbase. This means that it is a chal-lenge for many of our members tofind the time to attend CIM events.

The Fort McMurray Branch aimsto host approximately six technicaltalks each year, drawing on localexperts, suppliers and the CIMDistinguished Lecturers to bringtimely and meaningful topics to ourmembership. For just $5, memberscan enjoy an enlightening technicaltalk and network over a pizza anddrink reception.

We also host two very popularsocial events each year. The CurlingFunspiel is held at the end ofJanuary and sees 32 rinks partici-pate in a fun-filled day of round-robin curling and socializing.Equally popular is the annual golftournament held at the end of June.

Active in Fort McMurrayCIM’s Fort McMurray Branch is still going strong after 30 years

By Christian West

With a few extra holes worked intothe game, 42 teams participate inthis event, working their wayaround a course sprinkled withsponsored holes, aiming to takehome fantastic prizes. Both events,organized by long-time branch exec-utive members, have become fix-tures on the local CIM calendar.

A great mining centre like FortMcMurray is fortunate to havenumerous CIM societies active in theregion. For several years now, theannual conference for the Alberta,Nunavut and Northwest Territoriesregion of the Canadian MineralProcessors Society has been heldhere. The day-long event featurespresentations by regional operatingcompanies and suppliers, with par-ticipants flying in for the meetingfrom all parts of the territory. Thisyear, the event will be held onOctober 29.

The Coal and Oil Sands Societyhas always drawn a lot of attentionfrom local members who flock to itsannual conferences and meetingsheld in the southern parts of theprovince. With the recent split in thesociety that was brought about by a2008 CIM Council motion, the newOil Sands Society has begun to takeform with John Rhind at the helm.

The Fort McMurray Branch hasbeen successful for the past threedecades because of the dedication ofa core group of volunteers. We arevery proud of our member KenChekerda who won the Coal Awardat the CIM Conference andExhibition this year. The award rec-ognized Chekerda’s unfailing sup-port of CIM at the branch, societyand national levels over the past 30years. As longstanding executiveslike him prepare for impendingretirement, a “changing of theguard” is taking place within ourbranch executive. CIM

Top: Ken and Lonnie Chekerda enjoy a crowd-pleas-ing treat at the annual golf tournament; Middle:Annual Curling Funspiel; Bottom: Hitching a ride atthe annual golf tournament


cim news


The Mining Society of NovaScotia (MSNS) has the distinctionof being the oldest formally organ-ized mining association in Canada.Starting out as the Gold MinersClub in 1887, the society has beenaffiliated with CIM since 1918.

The 122nd annual generalmeeting of MSNS, chaired by itspresident, Gordon Dickie, washeld from June 4 to 6, 2009, inDundee, Nova Scotia. During theAGM, council elections were held,the annual financial report waspresented by secretary-treasurerGeorge Sigut, and a report on theFletcher Fairbault Memorial Fundwas tabled. As well, a minute ofsilence was observed in memory ofGerald Logan, his wife Abigail and alldeceased members of the society.

In addition to conducting the soci-ety’s business, a major objective ofevery MSNS AGM is knowledge-shar-ing through technical presentations.This year’s technical program chair,Dan McLeod (who is also the society’ssecond vice-president), with the helpof incoming president BobMacDonald, put together an excellenttechnical program under the theme“Economic/ Social Challenges —Mining Our Way Forward withInnovation.”

Three sessions — Mining OperationsFrom Cradle to Grave, Industry Service

Going strong at 122The Mining Society of Nova Scotia holds its 122nd AGM

By Florence Sigut

Providers’ Innovative Approaches,and Atlantic Canada’s MiningOpportunities — included over adozen presentations on cutting-edgeapplications, emerging trends andnew developments on the technical,operational, investment and humanresources fronts. The technical ses-sions were followed by a panel discus-sion moderated by David Forrester.

The highlight of the meeting wasthe Thursday evening awards dinnerwhere, over a sumptuous banquetand amid great pomp and circum-stance, homage was paid to the year’s outstanding achievers. BobMacDonald and Alan Davidson were

awarded the 2009 CIMFellowships. Shane MacLeod, arepresentative of the legendarychoral ensemble, The Men of theDeeps, was presented with aCIM Special Recognition awardfor his group’s contribution topreserving and popularizing thecultural heritage of the miningindustry.

The students’ CentennialScholarship Medals wereawarded to David Walker(Dalhousie University, miningengineering), Ryan Kennedy (St.Francis Xavier University, geol-ogy) and Cheley Fougere(Acadia University, geology).Adam Doyle, who is pursuing a

bachelor’s degree in materials engi-neering, won the Donald MacFadgenMemorial Scholarship for 2008. SamSchwartz and Fenton Isenor, both ofSydney, Nova Scotia, won the MiningSociety Medal and the President’sCitation, respectively.

Among the dignitaries who spokeat the conference were PeterUnderwood, Nova Scotia’s DeputyMinister of Natural Resources, andCIM past president Jim Popowich.

A full list of the newly elected officebearers will be available shortly on theMSNS website.

www.miningsocietyns.ca

CIM

Gordon Dickie congratulates Bob MacDonald, the new presidentof The Mining Society of Nova Scotia.

MSNS would like to acknowledge the continuing support of their sponsorsADI

Amirault VenturesAtlantic CAT

Atlantic HardchromeCBCL

Contestoga-RoversDexter Construction

LaFarge Canada

Logan Drilling

Merrex Gold

Mining Association of NovaScotia (MANS)

National Gypsum

NS Department of Economicand Rural Expansion

Sansom Equipment Limited

Shaw Resources

S & M Trucking

Wilson Equipment

Xstrata Coal


Eric Hoffman, the founder ofActivation Laboratories (ACTLABS),knows the recipe for success inindustry research and development.Providing contract analytical testingand development services to themining and mineral explorationindustries, ACTLABS has become aname to reckon with in all aspects ofanalysis, from academic researchapplications to quality control func-tions. Not content to rest on its suc-cess, ACTLABS is hard at workdeveloping new methodologies andinnovative techniques. The companyhas recently expanded the range ofservices it offers to cater to the phar-maceutical, biotechnology, forensic,material and environment markets.

One indicator of ACTLABS’s com-mitment to advancing scientificresearch is its generous sponsorshipof the CIM Geological Society’s ACT-LABS Best Student Paper Award since2005. This $1,000 prize rewards stu-dent authors for research publicationsin the peer-reviewed Exploration andMining Geology (EMG) journal.

Hoffman viewed the twin prob-lems of an aging population of geol-ogists and the relative scarcity ofnew talent entering the field as a call

to action, which he felt compelled toanswer. “If we do not invest in theindustry’s future, we risk losing thestanding the Canadian mineralsindustry has gained over the pastseveral years,” he cautions.

While research and developmentare widely recognized as importantfactors in the advancement of anyindustry, the fact that the transfer ofnew knowledge is equally vital isoften overlooked. According toHoffman, the goal of this award is to“entice students to publish theirresearch theses and consequentlyadvance mineral exploration andtechnology by contributing to thereserve of geological information.”

As the learned journal publishedby CIM through its GeologicalSociety, EMG was the obvious choice.“We wanted to increase the geologicalcontent offered by CIM by promotingthe publication of mineral deposit-and exploration geology-relatedpapers,” explains Hoffman.

Hoffman has made it companypolicy to give back to an industrywhich, he feels, has been instrumen-tal in his own success. In addition tosponsoring this award, ACTLABS hasprovided direct aid for research proj-ects through the Canadian MiningIndustry Research Organization(CAMIRO), with a $10,000 donationto Lakehead University for the pur-chase of new microscopes, and sev-eral grants to universities in supportof geological science research.

Once a PhD student himself,Hoffman received numerous awardsand scholarship funding, includingthe NSERC Postdoctoral IndustrialFellowship, which helped him com-mercialize the technology he hademployed for his doctoral researchthesis.

www.actlabs.com

CIM

Supporting science and young scientistsStudent award sustains knowledge-sharingin geological sciences

By Robbie Pillo

The CIM North Central BC BranchAnnual General Meeting was heldfrom June 26 to 28. Hosted at theCoast Inn of the North in PrinceGeorge, this year’s AGM continued onthe success of last year’s signatureregional event.

Prince George mayor Dan Rogersdelivered a welcome address at thewine-and-cheese reception. Takingadvantage of the gathering, long-lostcolleagues and friends revivedmemories and updated one another on current projects and businessdevelopments. Remarkably, given thecurrent economic situation, the branchsucceeded in keeping the delegateregistration levels it had achieved in2008, with 115 participants signing up.The theme of this year’s AGM,“Surviving the Economic Downturn,”resulted in a call for presentationsrelated to cost-saving and efficiency-improvement initiatives.

Theme-based presentations weregiven, centring on topics that includedreformed drilling and blastingpractices at Gibraltar mine, oxidecopper flotation at Mt. Polley Mining,and a session on economic prospectsand risks by the local Bank of Montrealbranch. Presentations on the progressof future mining projects in thenorthern BC area included a Mt.

Parley in Prince George The CIM North Central BC Branch AGM featured informative presentations and charity fundraising

By George Zervas

ObituariesCIM expresses its sincere condolences to the families and friends of the follow-ing members:

John Bolger joined CIM as a student member in 1966. He died in May 2009.

Richard Bray joined CIM in 1944 and became a life member in 1979. He diedin June 2009.

Alain Claveau became a member of CIM in 1975.

Rupert Wiseman joined CIM in 1946, became a life member in 1983 and wasthe recipient of a CIM District Distinguished Service Award (District 1) in1989. He passed away on June 30, 2009.

Milligan update by Wes Carson(Terrane Metals Corp.) and an updateon the Prosperity Project by KeithMerriam (Taseko Mines Ltd.). Both ofthese projects are in the federalenvironmental assessment process.

The CIM North Central BC Branchpresented a donation of $5,200, whichwas raised during the 2008 AGM, tothe Northern BC Friends of ChildrenSociety, and announced the raising ofan additional $2,000 at the 2009AGM. Based in Prince George, theNorthern BC Friends of ChildrenSociety assists families withexceptional costs related to themedical needs of ailing children.

At the AGM, branch executive re-elections saw the return of GrantCarlson (Gibraltar mine) as secretary,Jamie Hull (Wolftek Industries) asvice-chairman and Clarke Anderson(Univar Canada) as treasurer.Outgoing chairman Greg Rasmussen(Xstrata Technology) passed the batonto George Zervas (Gibraltar mine), the2009-2010 branch chairman.

With Vancouver hosting the CIMConference and Exhibition 2010 nextMay, the branch executive is inspired tocarry the momentum into June so thatthe 2010 North Central BC BranchAGM is as successful and interactive asthe last two meetings have been. CIM

In its quest to improve the indus-try’s image and extend its public out-reach the CIM Northern GatewayBranch hosted Paul Hébert, executivedirector of the Federated School ofMines, on May 20. The objective ofthe Federated School of Mines — acollaborative effort between sevenpost-secondary institutions in north-ern Ontario is to attract people to theregion, strengthen communities andassist the industry in meeting its edu-cational needs.

Hébert, who was formerly theexecutive director of the MiningIndustry Human Resources Council(MiHR), has a wealth of knowledgeand experience in the area of miningindustry human resources needs andtrends. His presentation, “HumanResource Requirements in the MiningIndustry,” examined the problem offorecasting human resources supplyand demand in our industry. Hedescribed the role the FederatedSchool of Mines will play in address-ing some of the mining industry’sfuture requirements. Although thepresent economy has taken someimmediate pressure off the recentlabour pool shortfalls, all major indi-cators point to an upcoming rise inskilled labour shortage.

Sponsored by the City of NorthBay, the lunch meeting drew manyattendees who, in addition to beingenlightened by Hébert, were treatedto the Davedi Club’s famous Italianbuffet.

Although the branch is usuallytirelessly involved in painting a moreaccurate public image of the industry,it sometimes gives its members thechance to unwind and hit the deck, sothat they may return to their tasksrefreshed.

On June 5, over 170 peopleboarded the Chief Commanda for thebranch’s annual Lake Nipissing BoatCruise Social. This year’s theme,PartiGras, featured fiery music and aflaming hot barbeque. The balmyweather and gentle breezes set thestage for a fun-filled and festiveevening, which gave new meaning tothe term “rock the boat.” A 50/50draw was held, where half the pro-ceeds benefitted the North Bay foodbank and the other half was awardedto the winner of the draw.

At the end of the evening, as theboat returned to the dock, thegroup was treated to one of NorthBay’s famous Lake Nipissing sun-sets, bringing the event to a glorious conclusion. CIM

Tracy Watkins and Charlie Toeppner cruising on the Chief Commanda

From business to pleasure CIM Northern Gateway Branch works hard and plays hard

By Roy Slack

cim news

Ken Chekerda, an activeand dedicated CIM volunteer,was the winner of CIM’s 2009Coal Award. The prestigioushonour recognizes his contri-butions to the social and tech-nical endeavours of the formerCIM Coal and Oil SandsSociety and to Canada’sresource industry.

Engaging the industryEver since he attended his

first CIM meeting in 1974,Chekerda has enthusiasticallydone his part to carry outCIM’s aims and objectives.From Sparwood, BritishColumbia, to Edmonton andthen Fort McMurray, whereverhis profession took him, hecalled the local CIM branch his home.Chekerda believes that “CIM is acommon link to just about every min-ing community you can go to.”

Ever the team player, Chekerdahas taken on many roles within hisbranch executive. As chair of the OilSands (Fort McMurray) Branch andthe former Coal and Oil SandsSociety, Chekerda faced all the chal-lenges that come with the territory.

“If you don’t keep members inter-ested and active within the group,the branch will eventually dwindleand die,” he says, adding, “My pri-mary focus was to increase the num-ber of people involved within theexecutive.” By combining its effortswith other local organizations, thebranch gained access to more people,broadened the reach of its member-ship and elevated its profile in thecommunity.

Keeping members active was notthe only challenge Chekerda’s teamfaced. At times, it was quite difficultto simply keep them as members.“When the turnover rate was at ahigh, the branch lost so many

people it had long invested in,” herecalls. “It was a big blow to a smallgroup.”

Engaging youthHaving learned the value of engag-

ing potential members early on,Chekerda now turns his attentiontowards increasing student participa-tion in the branch. “We try to getyoung people more involved, so thatwhen we leave, the branch will be ina solid position,” says Chekerda, whois confident that the branch will beleft in capable hands. “There are somegreat young movers and shakerswithin the group who will becomethe next generation of industry andCIM leaders.”

Among his many roles as a min-ing specialist at Syncude Canada,the one Chekerda values and enjoysmost is mentoring. Whether guid-ing his young charges throughengineering solutions or peopleskills, Chekerda revels in the fresh-ness of their perspectives. “Theyhave such energy. We work off eachother like that.”

Engaging the communityChekerda’s passion and

involvement are not restrictedto his beloved industry. He isjust as committed to his localcommunity. Through the CIMOil Sands Branch and the CIMCoal and Oil Sands Society,Chekerda has been involvedin many fundraising initia-tives benefitting the NorthernLights Regional Hospital,Keyano College scholarshipsand the Fort McMurrayPublic Library reading incen-tive program. He and his wifeLonnie were recently pre-sented with a civic awardfrom the Municipality ofWood Buffalo for their com-munity improvement efforts.

A graduate of the Northern AlbertaInstitute of Technology, Chekerdaworked in the coal sector for 13 yearsbefore shifting to oil sands, where hehas been for the past 23 years.Planning to retire and move toVictoria, British Columbia this fall, helooks forward to this new adventurewith both excitement and trepidation.“It’s a little scary. But I am eager to getto know a new community. There isalways a group that needs our help.”

Forever engagingHis commitment to CIM has not fal-

tered. “One of the most important ben-efits of being part of CIM is the rela-tionships that develop over the years.Wherever your life takes you, there is agood chance you will encounter someof your past colleagues, whether at anindustry event or some obscure airportwhen a CIM logo on someone’s carry-on bag catches your eye.”

As another chapter of his lifebegins, Chekerda moves on withhopes of renewing a CIM VictoriaBranch. ”It’s a big world out there, butwith CIM it’s a little friendlier.” CIM


CIM Past President Jim Gowans (right) presents Ken Chekerda with the CoalAward.

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Keeping the flame burningThe winner of the Coal Award fuels neighbourly spirit

By Robbie Pillo

calendarCIM EVENTS

South Central BC Branch Annual MeetingSeptember 23-25Kamloops, British ColumbiaContact: Peter WittEmail: [email protected]

APCOM 2009 October 6-9Vancouver, British Columbia Contact: Chantal MurphyTel.: 514.939.2710, ext. 1309Email: [email protected] Website: www.cim.org/apcom2009

Red Lake Branch Annual General MeetingOctober 22Red Lake, OntarioContact: Mollie IsaacTel.: 807.735.2077Email: [email protected]

Vancouver Branch Luncheon MeetingOctober 22Vancouver, British ColumbiaContact: Patty MooreEmail: [email protected]

World Gold 2009 October 26-30Johannesburg, South AfricaContact: Jackie van der WesthuizenTel.: 27.11.834.1273/7Email: [email protected] Website: www.worldgold2009.com

Saskatoon Branch Annual BallOctober 27-28Saskatoon, SaskatchewanContact: Stephanie OleniukEmail: [email protected]

Newfoundland Branch: Mineral Resources ReviewNovember 5-7Delta St. John’s Hotel and Conference CentreSt. John’s, NewfoundlandContact: Len MandvilleTel.: 709.729.6439Email: [email protected]

AROUND THE WORLD

Heavy Minerals Conference 2009 September 20-23Drakensbourg, South AfricaContact: Julie DixonTel.: +27.11.834.1273Email: [email protected]: www.saimm.co.za

Enviromine 2009 September 30-October 2Santiago, ChileContact: Olga CherpanovaTel.: +56.2.652.1519Email: [email protected] Website: www.enviromine2009.com

International Mine Water ConferenceOctober 19-23Pretoria, South AfricaContact: Cilla TaylorTel.: +27.0.12.667.3681Email: [email protected]/minewater2009.htm

Mine-Tech International Conference and ExhibitionNovember 2-4Johannesburg, South AfricaContact: Nadia BoucherTel.: +27.21.700.3541Email: [email protected] Website: www.minetechexpo.com

MAPLA 2009 November 4-6Antofagasta, ChileContact: Fabiola BustamanteEmail: [email protected] Website: www.mapla.cl

Flotation09: International Flotation ConferenceNovember 9-12Cape Town, South AfricaContact: Barry WillsEmail: [email protected]: www.min-eng.com/flotation09/


Porphyry-type mineral deposits are generally thought to have been first recog-nized and mined at the beginning of the 20th century in the southwestern UnitedStates, where the name was first applied to relatively large and low-grade copperdeposits containing small amounts of molybdenum, silver and gold. Most peoplein the mining industry would be surprised to learn that porphyry-type mineral-ization was actually first discovered around the year 1440 and mined shortlythereafter at Altenberg, in the eastern Ore Mountains (Erzgebirge), about 32 kilo-metres south of Dresden, on the eastern border of Germany (Kühn and Seltmann,1993; Altenberg home page, 2009; Cathro, 2006). It is not surprising that earlyexplorers in the United States would not have read about the Altenberg tin minebecause the best reference had been published in Latin by Agricola in 1556(Hoover and Hoover, 1912).

A large part of the Altenberg deposit consists of disseminated cassiterite in agreisenized (altered) granitic porphyry and rholite that is intensely fractured intocountless minute, randomly oriented stringers. According to the Hoovers,Agricola called the altered and fractured assemblage zwitter. It occurred in thecupola of a granite stock that was about 350 metres in diameter, with flanks thatdipped outward at about 70 degrees. Mining was conducted almost continuouslyfor about 550 years, until the end of March 1991, and totalled about 37 milliontonnes. The average grade at closure, when about 60 million tonnes remained,was about 0.3% Sn (Kühn and Seltmann, 1993).

The authors of the earliest geological textbooks attempted to divide mineraldeposits into obvious categories but found that the Altenberg deposit was dif-ficult to classify. One of the first compilers, Bernhard von Cotta (1870), createda new category for Altenberg that he called impregnations/disseminations, andstated that it differed from all other metallic deposit types in having undeter-mined limits that were not sharply defined. In his textbook, Arthur Phillips(1884) placed it in a new category that he called unstratified deposits, and sub-divided it into impregnations and stockworks. He defined a stockwork as a net-work of small veins interlacing one another and traversing the rock in variousdirections, and generally traversed by numerous thread-like veins containingcassiterite. He also noted that the mineralization was not always confined to theveins and that a considerable portion could occur in the host rock, which wasgenerally porphyrytic and surrounded by granite and different varieties of por-phyry.

Parsons (1933) was one of the first to provide a clear definition of porphyrycopper deposits and to describe the origin of the title. He pointed out that muchof the mineralization can be described as disseminated although, in many cases,most of the ore coats the walls of cracks and minute fractures. The first fourporphyry mines to be developed — Bingham, Utah; Morenci, Arizona; Ruth(Robinson/Ely), Nevada; and Braden (El Teniente), Chile — were all associatedwith porphyritic rocks. The term porphyry refers to a granitic texture that con-sists of conspicuous phenocrysts in a fine-grained or aphanitic groundmass.

The next three porphyry mines developed in Arizona were also included inthe definition, even though most of the ore occurred in the schistose wallrocksadjacent to the intrusions. Parsons suggested that any deposit that met the fol-lowing six criteria could be considered a porphyry deposit: 1) of such magni-tude and shape that it could be mined advantageously by large-scale methods,either by underground caving or in open pits; 2) the distribution of minerals

historyIn the May 27, 1899 issue of the Engineering andMining Journal [a weekly technical magazine thatwas the bible of the international mining industry atthe time], the respected editor, Richard P. Rothwell,commented on a report by Thomas Weir, manager of the Boston Consolidated Copper & GoldMining Co., Ltd., which owned claims that becamea key part of the Bingham Canyon mine in Utah in1910. In his report, which was the basis of aprospectus that was being used to raise develop-ment funds in London, Weir stated that “a mass ofore 2,000 ft long, 3,500 ft wide and 500 ft deep” …had an average grade of between 0.75 and 2.5%Cu… and contained about 291.7 million tons of copper (ore). In the words of Mr. Rothwell: “Mr. Weir’s assumptions are certainly on an exceed-ingly liberal scale, and it may well be questionedwhether a good deal more development work is notneeded to prove the existence of so great a mass ofore. But even if we accept the statement and admitthat the company has a very large body of low-grade ore, it does not seem to better the case ….Even if the greater part — or even the whole —should reach 2 per cent, it would not better the sit-uation. It would be impossible to mine and treat orescarrying 2 per cent or less of copper under existingconditions in Utah …. Allowing for the greatestcheapness of mining, which can be made possibleby the large size of the orebody, one cannot figureout anything but a heavy loss on 1.5 and 2 per centcopper ore. Moreover, it is not probable that theprice of copper is going to stay permanently at 17 or18 c.; and with every fall the loss on operationswould be greater …. Therefore, the more ore it hasof the kind it claims, the poorer it is. Undoubtedly,our London friends who are buying the stock at highprices will realize this a little later.”The point of major significance, however, is that atthat period, 99 engineers out of 100 who had con-sidered the problem would have frankly held that itwas impossible to exploit profitably any depositcontaining 40 lb of copper per ton …. The editorunquestionably reflected with accuracy the judge-ment of the mining engineering profession as awhole. Perhaps the most tangible factor that theyfailed to appraise was the economy that might be affected by operation on a large scale .… But the fact remains that in 1900, the identicaldeposits that in recent years have contributed 35per cent of the world’s copper were regarded as somuch recalcitrant waste rock!

~ Parsons, 1933, p. 4-7

Porphyry deposits (Part 1)By R.J. “Bob” Cathro, Chemainus, British Columbia


economic geology


was so general and uniform that “bulk” methods of miningwould be more profitable than selective methods; 3) anintrusion of porphyry or closely related igneous rock hasplayed a vital part in the genesis of the ore; 4) “secondaryenrichment” had concentrated the ore; 5) the extent of theorebody was usually determined by economic limits ratherthan by geological structure; and 6) the average coppercontent was comparatively low (with three per cent as themaximum) and grinding and mechanical concentrationwere necessary to produce a suitable smelter feed if the orewas a sulphide. He did not mention tin.

As porphyry-type deposits were discovered around theworld, the original definition developed in the southwest-ern United States has had to be modified to accommodatemany regional variations. The original U.S. discoverieswere mainly copper deposits containing some molybde-num, silver and gold, whereas examples discovered else-where exhibited many variations. Moreover, it becameobvious that supergene enrichment resulted from regionalweathering history and, while it had an important impacton grade and economics, it was not an essential part of theporphyry deposit type. According to Kirkham and Sinclair(1995), porphyry deposits can be subdivided into ten sub-types according to the metals that are essential to the eco-nomics of the deposit (metals that are by-products orpotential by-products are listed in brackets):

• Cu (±Au, Mo, Ag, Re, PGE)• Cu-Mo (±Au, Ag)• Cu-Mo-Au (±Ag)• Cu-Au (±Ag, PGE)• Au (±Ag, Cu, Mo)• Mo (±W, Sn)• W-Mo (±Bi, Sn)• Sn (±W, Mo, Ag, Bi, Cu, Zn, In)• Sn-Ag (±W, Cu, Zn, Mo, Bi)• Ag (±Au, Zn, Pb)Thus, a tin porphyry such as Altenberg is now a memberof the family.

Many geological axioms have been handed down fromgeneration to generation, including: “Gold is where you findit” (in other words, it can occur anywhere), and “The bestplace to look for a mine is near other mines.” A favouriteaxiom that miners never tire of reminding geologists of is“Mines are made, not found.” In other words, prospectors andgeologists find mineralization, but it requires a miner ormining engineer to turn that shiny or heavy rock into ore.The earliest porphyry mines were probably the best exam-ples of this axiom because they were uneconomic mineraloccurrences that prospectors and geologists had unwittinglywalked over for decades, or perhaps centuries.

In the early days of underground lode mining in NorthAmerica and elsewhere, the principal targets had been rich

Location map of the Bingham Canyon mine, Utah (from Parsons, 1933) Map of the southwestern United States showing the location of the principal porphyrycopper mines (from Titley and Hicks, 1966, p viii).

economic geology


veins that were narrow enough to be mined safely withoutmachinery or sophisticated timber support. The ComstockLode in Nevada was one of the first examples of successful,large-scale mining of wide veins in “weak” ground with the aidof mechanization and square-set timbering. Like all pioneeringachievements, it represented an important advance in mineraleconomics because it lowered the cost of mining, increased thedepths at which mining could be conducted, and expandedthe number of targets worth exploring (Cathro, 2008).

In many extensive vein systems, particularly those rich incopper, the best veins are surrounded and encompassed byinnumerable thinner veins and narrow fractures that are toolow grade to be individually mineable. After the richestveins had been exploited, the weakly mineralized areas wereusually abandoned after the miners moved on with anyequipment that was salvageable. As a result, many miningcamps in the southwestern United States quickly becameghost towns, even though vast amounts of low-grade miner-alization remained. One of the best examples was the SanManuel district in Arizona, which was explored on and offfrom the 1880s until about 1918, then abandoned untilunderground development was carried out from 1948 to1956 (Thomas, 1966). That resulted in a large porphyrymine that produced between 1956 and 1999.

Other porphyry camps in Arizona, such as Bisbee,evolved gradually from underground mining of rich lensesof “limestone replacement” oxide ore to surface mining ofporphyry mineralization. The oxide deposits, discovered in1877, were structurally controlled and arranged in a semicir-cular pattern around the Sacramento stock and severalnearby porphyritic intrusions. Exploration of the porphyrymineralization began as early as 1909 and resulted in the

Lavender Pit, which produced from1917 until 1975 (Bryant and Metz,1966).

A few mining engineers and fin-anciers with remarkable vision rec-ognized that the size of these over-looked, low-grade mineralized zoneswas often substantial, in some casesmany orders of magnitude largerthan the production from the his-toric mining camp. They reasonedthat these huge, lower grade areascould be considered as mineraldeposits in their own right ifeconomies of scale would makethem profitable to develop, just likea surface iron or coal mine, or agravel pit. This theory was firsttested and proven feasible, to theastonishment and chagrin of theskeptics at Bingham Canyon, Utah.It was a revolutionary accomplish-

ment that dwarfed all previous mining advances and funda-mentally changed the economics of copper mining. Porphyrymining not only lowered the production costs of copper,molybdenum, silver and gold, but also ensured that theworld would have abundant supplies far into the future. CIM

ReferencesAltenberg. (2009, April 11). Wikimedia Commons. Retrieved 13:22, July 22, 2009 fromhttp://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Altenberg&oldid=20174545

Bryant, D. G., & Metz, H. E. (1966). Geology and ore deposits of the Warren MiningDistrict. In S. R. Titley, & C. A. Hicks (Eds.), Geology of the porphyry copper deposits,Southwestern North America (pp. 189-203). Tucson: The University of Arizona Press.

Cathro, R. J. (2006). The Central European (Erzgebirge) tin deposits. CIM Bulletin, 98(1091), 78-80.

Cathro, R. J. (2008). The Comstock lode, part 1. CIM Magazine, 3 (2), 61-63.

Hoover, H. C., & Hoover, L. H. (1912). Footnotes to their English translation of Agricola’s1556 mining book De Re Metallica. London: Mining Magazine (reprinted by DoverPublications, Inc., New York, 1950), p. 110.

Kirkham, R. V., & Sinclair, W. D. (1995). Porphyry copper, gold, molybdenum, tungsten,tin, silver. In O.R. Eckstrand, W. D. Sinclair, & R. I. Thorpe (Eds.), Geology of Canadianmineral deposit types (pp. 421-446). Ottawa: Geological Survey of Canada, Geology ofCanada, No. 8.

Kühn, K., & and Seltmann, R. (1993). The Altenberg tin deposit — geology, mineraliza-tion and mining history; in R. Seltmann, and K. Breiter (compilers), Hercynian TinGranites and Associated Mineralisation from the Saxonian and Bohemian Parts of theErzgebirge (pp. 51-57). Potsdam: GeoForschungsZentrum, Excursion Guide, InternationalAssociation on the Genesis of Ore Deposits.

Parsons, A. B. (1933). The Porphyry coppers. New York: The American Institute of Miningand Metallurgical Engineers.

Phillips, J. A. (1884). A Treatise on ore deposits. London: MacMillan and Co.

Thomas, L. A. (1966). Geology of the San Manuel ore body. In S. R. Titley, & C. A. Hicks(Eds.) Geology of the porphyry copper deposits, Southwestern North America (pp. 133-142). Tucson: The University of Arizona Press.

Titley, S. R., & C. A. Hicks (1966). Geology of the porphyry copper deposits,Southwestern North America. Tucson: The University of Arizona Press.

von Cotta, B. (1870). A Treatise on ore deposits (translated from the second German edi-tion by Frederick Prime Jr.). New York: Van Nostrand.

Sketch map showing the claim groups held by the Utah Copper Co. and the Boston Consolidated Copper & GoldMining Co. prior to their merger in 1909. The location of the original mining area is indicated, with the Utah portionin the valley and the Boston portion on the upper slopes of the mountain (from Parsons, 1933).

metallurgy

IntroductionThe historical mines of Almadén, which were actively

functioning for over two millennia, produced a third of theworld’s mercury — a total of 7,500,000 flasks (Hernández,1995). After mining and metallurgical production ceasedin 2003, the mines were turned into a museum. Efforts arecurrently underway to have the mines declared a WorldHeritage Site.

Almadén is situated in the southwestern part of theprovince of Ciudad Real in Spain. A Roman roadwaypassed by the Alcudia Valley, to the south of Almadén,between the cities of Emérita Augusta (now Mérida) andCástulo (now Linares). Another roadway, a bit further tothe west, started in the Alcudia Valley and went viaCordova to the centre of the Iberian Peninsula, with abranch going to Almadén. This exceptionally well-net-worked geographical location contributed to the discovery,exploitation and commercialization of the extensiveresources at Almadén. Although these historic Romanroadways are no longer in use and have been replaced bymodern roads, along many stretches they remain quitewell-preserved.

In geological terms, Almadén is situated in the centralarea of the Iberian Peninsula, a part of the Central Zone ofthe Hercynian mountain range. It is part of the VerticalFolders Domain. However, in northern Spain, this areaabuts the Recumbent Folders Domain. The succession ofcompact quartzite and soft slate beds found in this setting,together with the vertical position of the layers, results ina characteristic and spectacularAppalachian landscape. Uniqueminerals such as massivecinnabars (extraordinary pieces ofcrystallized mercury sulphide)and barites with cinnabar inclu-sions are found in abundance inthis region. The epigenetic miner-alization of cinnabar and otherminerals (barytes, dolomites, etc.)is associated with Hercynianorogeny. An exceptional universalgeochemical anomaly has gener-ated the deposit.

Historical heritageThe first known use of the

resource was in making the min-eral pigments that were used in

numerous prehistoric paintings. The name Almadén comesfrom the Arabic word for mine. The Almadén mine wasdescribed by the Arab geographer Al Idrisi of Ceuta in the12th century. At that time, more than a thousand menworked at the mine, which had already been excavated toa depth of 420 metres. Centuries earlier, the Romans hadbegun extracting cinnabar in this area after vermillion hadbeen successfully commercialized throughout theMediterranean. Pliny the Elder (AD 23-79) had describedthe distillation of native mercury from cinnabar in mar-mites. Lead, silver and copper were also obtained at themines of Quinto del Hierro and El Mesto, east of Almadén.Although there were many other mines in Spain, the one atAlmadén was the largest and most extensively developed.

In the Middle Ages, alchemists were preoccupied withconcocting the philosopher’s stone — a magical substancethat could purportedly transmute base metals into gold.Mercury was thought to be one of the basic reagents ofphilosopher’s stone. Mercury was also an important ingre-dient in many medieval medicines. The Swiss chemist anddoctor Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim (1493-1541), who was better known as Paracelsus, rejected tradi-tional medical orthodoxy and successfully identified themain symptoms of various illnesses such as goitre andsyphilis. To treat them, he used sulphur and various mer-cury-based compounds.

The importance of Almadén is evident from its role inone of the defining events of Western civilization —

Christopher Columbus’ voyage to theIndies. In The History of the Indies(Book 1, Chapter LXV and LXVI),Father Bartholomew de las Casas(1474-1566) reports that Columbus,before embarking on his journey to theNew World, had asked the CatholicMonarchs Ferdinand and Isabella tofurnish him with the services of goldpanners and miners from Almadén(Prieto, 1968). Between 1525 and1645, under the reign of Charles I,Almadén was controlled by the Fuggerfamily. Later, from 1835 to 1911, con-trol of the mines was vested with theRothschild family.

With the discovery of mercurymines in Huancavelica in 1563, colonialSouth America’s needs of mercury were

The historical mines of AlmadénBy O. Puche Riart, L. F. Mazadiego Martínez, P. Kindelán Echevarría, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain; and E. Orche García, Universidad de Vigo, Vigo, Spain

Cinnabar crystals, Mina Vieja de Almadén (Puche, 1989)


met by the Vice Royalty ofPeru. However, New Spain(as Mexico was then calledby the Spanish), continuedto rely on the mercury supply from Almadén.Quicksilver would be trans-ported from Almadén toSeville. Protected by war-ships, a flotilla bearing mer-cury and other goodswould leave from Sevilleand sail to Veracruz,Mexico. The cargo wouldthen head to Mexico Cityand the rest of the territory

over the Royal Roadway. On the return trip, the shipswould carry silver ingots bearing the royal stamp.

Even in those early days, there was great culturalexchange between South America and Europe. At thebeginning of the 16th century, a special type of mercuryfurnace, called xabecas, was introduced to Almadén. In the xabecas furnaces, ceramics pots were filled with cinnabar, sealed with clay and heated from below.These furnaces found their way to the Huancavelica minein 1598.

Another such example was the use of gunpowder inmining. First employed in 1626 in the town of Schemnitz(now known as Banská S̆tiavnica in present-day Slovakia),gunpowder reached Almadén in 1689; it was also used tobuild the drainage gallery of the Our Lady of Bethlehemadit at Huancavelica. Technology also flowed in the oppo-site direction. Kilns invented in 1633 by the prospectorLope Saavedra Barba in Peru were introduced at Almadénin 1646 by Juan Alfonso de Bustamente.

For a very long time, the Spanish economy subsistedon the mining of mercury and precious metals comingfrom the Indies. To ensure its sustenance, the bestSpanish scientists were sent there to develop miningactivity. Examples of Spanish scientists who playedimportant roles as expatriates include Antonio Ulloa(1716-1795), who mentioned the existence of platinumin his work Historical Account of the Trip to SouthernAmerica (1748); the Elhuyar brothers, Juan José (1754-1796) and Fausto (1755-1833), who discovered tungstenin 1783; and Andrés Manuel del Río (1764-1849), whodiscovered vanadium in 1801.

Another important Spanish scientist who travelled toconduct research in America was Jerónimo Ayanz (1513-1613), who in 1606 invented a steam pump for the extrac-tion of water in the Potosí mine. His invention was onestep ahead of the pumps that Thomas Savery invented in1698 and Thomas Newcomen invented in 1712. All ofthese pumps were the precursors of the steam engine thatWatt famously invented in 1768 (García Tapia, 1992). The

Watt pump itself was introduced in Almadén at the begin-ning of the 19th century.

Almadén as a centre of teaching In the 18th century, Mexican silver mining was expand-

ing rapidly and there was a growing need for quicksilver toextract silver through amalgamation. However, in 1755, amajor fire at the Almadén mines created serious supplyproblems for the next two years. Several projects wereimplemented in the area during that period to forestall thelabour migration. The Buitrones de Almadenejos enclosurewas raised, the San Rafael hospital for miners was built anda hard labour prison camp was set up. Another ventureundertaken at that time was the search for new mineraldeposits. It resulted in the discovery of the Las Cuevas(1774) and La Nueva Concepción (1779) deposits in theAlmadén region. The second half of the 18th century alsobore witness to the development most of Almadén’s mininginfrastructure and architectural heritage including thehexagonal bullring (1752), the Mining Academy (c. 1785),the door of King Carlos IV (1795) and the winch at SanCarlos, Almadenejos.

Also in the second half of the 18th century, Germanminers were hired to restore Almadén’s mining works.They introduced systematic mining using the compass, thetheodolite and other modern instruments. In addition,they introduced the teaching of mining engineering, whichresulted in the founding of Almadén’s Mining Academy byKing Charles III in 1777, just a couple of years after thefoundation of a similar academy at Freiberg.

Between 1745 and 1747, there was an unsuccessfulattempt to create a School of Mines in Guatemala (López,1983). In 1757, an Academy of Mines was created in Potosí(Habashi, 2003), but it proved to be short-lived (Serrano,1994). The Mining Academy of Almadén, being the firstSpanish school of mines, was significant enough to influ-ence the reopening of the Mining Academy of Potosí in1779) and the creation of the Royal Seminary of Mining inMexico in 1792.

A fire at the Almadénmines provided the impe-tus for the introduction ofnew methods of timbering(in 1790) and extraction.In the Larrañaga method(c. 1804), large brickarches were used instead ofwood to eliminate the pres-ence of combustible mate-rial. This technique wouldbe supplanted later on byother methods such as cut-and-fill (at Mina Vieja,around 1914), open pitmining (El Entredicho

metallurgy


A drawing depicting the xabecas furnaces at Huancavelica, Peru

The door of Carlos IV (1795)

mine, 1978) and vertical crater retreat (Mina Vieja, 1981;Las Cuevas mine, 1986).

Modern installations, machinery and technologiesdeployed at Almadén contributed greatly to the develop-ment of mines and mining in general. Idria furnaces(1806), mine shaft extractions machines (about 1870),Cermak Spirek furnaces (1905), compressed air (1914),electrification (1918), workshops and compressor rooms(1924), mercury stores (1941), San Joaquin’s shaft (1952),Pacific-Herrshof furnaces (1954), and the structuralreform of San Theodor’s shaft (1962) were some of themore influential developments at Almadén. Many of thesestill exist and have shaped the cultural and technical land-scape of the mining industry in this territory.

Other patrimonial valuesIn addition to its natural, archaeological, historical and

architectonic heritage, nonmaterial cultural heritage hasalso been significant. The religiousness of Almadén’s min-ers remains an important spiritual force among the people.The miners entrust their lives to the protection of theVirgin Mary in the form of various local Madonnas like theVirgin of Linarejos, the Virgin of the Caridad del Cobre,the Virgin of Candelaria, etc. The most importantpatroness of miners, the Virgin of Estrella de la Mina (orVirgin of the Star of the Mine), continues to be present atall opencast mines. Similarly, because of the association ofher legend with lightning, Saint Barbara became thepatron saint of artillerymen, military engineers, minersand others who work with explosives. Interestingly, thepatron saints of mineral extraction shafts were the

Germanic saints of Freiberg — Saint Joachim, SaintTheodore and Saint Aquilinus. They were introduced byGerman technicians who worked at Almadén during thesecond half of the 18th century.

Almadén todayUntil recently, neither the archaeological and industrial

heritage of Almadén nor its monumental architectonic pat-rimony had received any recognition from Spain’s centralgovernment or the region’s local authorities. In fact, impor-tant parts of the Almadén heritage were destroyed in the20th century, especially during the early years of Spanishdemocracy. The hard labour prison camp was demolishedat the end of the 1960s to make room for the new Schoolof Mines. The winch at Vadeazogues mine was pulleddown to facilitate the opening of the El Entredicho mine.Finally, at the beginning of the 1990s, the large gate of ElPozo mine was destroyed to accommodate the widening ofthe road from Cordova to Almadén.

Fortunately, by the 1980s, attempts to safeguard thesite’s mining heritage were underway. A mining historicalmuseum was founded in 1985. The Spanish Society for theDefence of the Geological and Mining Heritage was consti-tuted a decade later. The Society issued a comprehensivelist of monuments that it considered essential to conserve.In 1999, the Fundación Almadén was established to com-mence several restoration projects. Among its first taskswas the restoration of the San Raphael mining hospital.Using funds put up by the Spanish ministry of science andeducation, the Foundation assembled a team of architectsin 2002 to guide the restoration work. CIM

metallurgy

Suggested Readings

García Tapía. N. (1992). Del dios del fuego a la máquina de vapor: la introducción de latécnica industrial en Hispanoamérica. Valladolid : Ámbito, Instituto de Ingenieros Técnicosde Espagña.

Habashi, F. (2003). School of Mines: The beginnings of mining and metallurgical educa-tion. Quebec City: Métallurgie Extractive Québec.

Hernández, S. A. (1995). Las minas de Almadén. Madrid: Minas de Almadén y Arrayanes,S.A (MAYASA).

López A. J. M. (1983). Los hermanos Elhuyar, descubridores del wolframio. 1782-1783.Madrid: Fundación Gómez-Pardo.

Maffei, E. and Rúa de Figueroa, R. (1871). Apuntes para una biblioteca española de libros,folletos y artículos impresos relativos al conocimiento y la explotación de las riquezasminerales y à las ciencias auxiliares. Madrid: J. M. Lapuente

Nemitz, R. (1997) Santa Bárbara a través de los tiempos. Madrid: Encuentro Ediciones.

Prieto, C. (1968). La Minería en el Nuevo Mundo. Madrid: Revista de Occidente.

Puche Riart, O. (1989). Mecanismos estructurales del volcanismo paleozoico en la regiónalcudiense. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spain.

Serrano, C. (1994). Transferencia de tecnología y relaciones de intercambio. Caso deestudio: la amalgamación y las escuelas de minería de la colonia. In S. Figueiroa & M.Lopes (Eds.), Geological Sciences in Latin America — Scientific relations and exchanges(pp 201-233). Campinas Brazil: Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto deGeociencias.


Your Source

For more details visit:www.metsoc.org or www.cmq-online.ca

ForMetallurgyandMaterialsScience

executive summaries


INDUSTRY KNOWLEDGE

CIM Bulletin abstracts109 Three-dimensional numerical modelling of joint spacing and

orientation effects on rock cutting process by a single TBM cutterby M. Sharifzadeh and A. Iranzadeh

110 Exploration and Mining Geology JournalVolume 18, Numbers 1 to 4

111 Canadian Metallurgy QuarterlyVolume 48, Number 2

Peer reviewed by leaders in their fields

YOUR

GUIDETO

Complete CIM Bulletin papers are posted in theonline Technical Paper Library

www.cim.org

Three-dimensional numerical modelling of joint spacingand orientation effects on rock cutting process by a single TBM cutter

With the significant advances in capacities of thrust andtorque, as well as the development of large-diameter rollingcutters, tunnel boring machines (TBMs) are now extensively uti-lized in tunnelling. The prediction of TBM performance in differ-ent rock masses was considered an important part of projectschedulling and the selection of tunnelling methods. In thepast, various models have been proposed based on field obser-vations and laboratory tests. These models are generally dividedinto two categories: empirical and theoretical-empirical.

The performance of TBMs depends on the efficiency ofthe cutters, which can be influenced by geological conditionsand rock mass properties. In this study, a three-dimensionalnumerical model, based on the discrete element method, wasused to evaluate the effects of a TBM cutter on joint orienta-tion and spacing of the fragmentation process. Several mod-els were constructed to study the effects of variable orienta-tion. These models included different spacings, variable spac-ings, different orientations of the fragmentation process anddifferent sections of the block model.

In accordance with previous studies and pressure coretheory, the fragmentation and indentation process is compli-cated. Tensile cracks are the main cause of crack initiation andchip formation. To evaluate crack initiation and propagationin rock by a TBM disc cutter, three parameters (induced ten-sile stress, induced shear stress and maximum displacement)were calculated. Based on pressure core theory, induced ten-sile stress played an important role in forming tensile cracks.Tensile stress values were recorded in periodic steps, in theplane section that the cutter force enters and in parallelplanes at distances of +0.15, -0.15, +0.3 and -0.3 metres.Using the innovate algorithm, the stress level with the prob-ability of creating chips was established as critical stress ineach section and the values of these critical stresses werecompared in different joint orientations, spacings and sections to determine critical joint orientation and spacing.

M. Sharifzadeh and A. Iranzadeh, Department of Mining,Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineering, Amirkabir University of Technology (Tehran Polytechnic), Tehran, Iran

Results show that initiation and propagation of cracks isgenerally located along the tensile break zone. Two modes ofcrack initiation and propagation are possible. In the firstmode, cracks initiate from the joint surface and develop up tothe free surface; in the second mode, cracks initiate from thebroken section and develop up to the cracked surface.

Naturally, some differences between the results of thenumerical model and the observations were witnessed. Themain reason for these differences is that, with numerical mod-elling, the filling and aperture of joints are not taken intoaccount, nor is the continuous boring process considered.According to the provided results, the following conclusionscan be drawn: • The critical angle of joint orientation is in the range of 45

to 60º, where the possibilities of the highest penetrationrate can be reached.

• The critical spacing of joints, which has important effectson the value of critical stress, is 200 mm.

• Joint orientation generally has a greater effect than doesspacing, as joint orientation affects the induced stressfield.

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executive summaries



emg abstracts

Exploration and Mining Geology JournalVolume 18, Numbers 1 to 4

Post-Early Cretaceous Mississippi Valley-type Zn-Pb Mineralization in the Bongara Area, Northern Peru: Fluid Evolution and Paleo Flow from Fluid Inclusion Evidence

N.I. Basuki and E.T.C. Spooner, Department of Geology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario

The Bongara area, northern Peru, contains Zn-Pb mineralization with characteristics typical of Mississippi Valley-type (MVT) systems. The northwest-southeast-trending late Triassic-Jurassic carbonate host rocks of thePucará Group were locally replaced by early (D1) and late (D2) dolomite. Fluid inclusion microthermometric datafrom dolomite and sphalerite are typical of MVT ore fluids (78–1870C; ~15–23 wt.% CaCl2 equivalent), and donot show apparent covariation between temperature and salinity.

Homogenization temperature data from D1 and D2 dolomite show a decrease from northern (mean Th =138°C) to central (mean Th = 126°C) to southern areas (mean Th = 102°C), suggesting fluid flow from north tosouth. Assuming a geothermal gradient of ~30°C/km and an average surface temperature of ~20°C, the lowertemperature limits may approximate the ambient host rock temperatures, whereas the upper temperature limitsmay represent minimum temperatures of a deeper aquifer, probably at a maximum depth of ~6000 m. The lowertemperature limits are also similar to the estimated temperatures if dolomitization and mineralization took placein the Late Cretaceous at ~2000-3000 m depth, probably during the formation of the Peruvian fold and thrustbelt near the present day Peru-Ecuador border.

Fluid inclusion data show that the fluids in each studied location had relatively uniform temperatures andsalinities during dolomitization and mineralization. A significant salinity drop and a slight temperature decreaseare observed during late calcite precipitation, suggesting mixing of brines with dilute, cooler fluids.

Résumé — La région de Bongara, dans le nord du Pérou, contient des minéralisations qui présentent des carac-téristiques typiques des systèmes de type Mississippi Valley (MVT). Les roches carbonatées encaissantes du Groupede Pucara d’âge Triasique Supérieur à Jurassique d’orientation nord-ouest – sud-est ont été localement remplacéespar de la dolomite précoce (D1) et tardive (D2). Les données de microthermométrie des inclusions fluidesprovenant de la dolomite et de la sphalérite sont typiques des fluides associées aux MVT (78–187ºC; ~15–23 %poids équivalent CaCl2) et ne semblent pas présenter de covariance entre la température et la salinité.

Les données de température d’homogénéisation provenant des dolomites D1 et D2 décroissent en allant dunord (Th moyenne = 138°C) au centre (Th moyenne = 126°C) puis au sud (Th moyenne = 102°C), suggérant queces fluides ont circulé du nord vers le sud. En assumant un gradient géothermique de ~30°C/km et une tempéra-ture moyenne à la surface de ~20°C, la température la plus basse pourrait constituer une approximation de latempérature ambiante de l’encaissant alors que la température la plus haute pourrait représenter la températureminimale d’un aquifère plus profond, lequel aurait été situé à une profondeur maximale de ~6000 m. Les limitesinférieures de température sont également comparables aux températures estimées si la dolomitisation et laminéralisation ont eu lieu au Crétacé Supérieur à une profondeur de ~2000–3000 m, en supposant qu’ils ont eulieu durant la formation de la ceinture de plis et de failles de chevauchement Péruvienne près de la frontièreactuelle entre le Pérou et l’Équateur.

Les données d’inclusions fluides montrent que les fluides présents à chacune des localités étudiées présen-tait des températures et des salinités relativement homogènes au cours de la dolomitisation et de la minéralisa-tion. Une baisse de salinité importante combinée à une faible baisse de température ont été notées durant laprécipitation de la calcite tardive, ce qui suggère le mélange des saumures à des fluides moins salins et plus froids.

Excerpt taken from abstracts in EMG, Vol. 18, Numbers 1 to 4.

Subscribe—www.cim.org/geosoc/indexEMG.cfm

Excerpts taken from abstracts in CMQ, Vol. 48, No. 2.Subscribe — www.cmq-online.ca

cmq abstracts


Canadian Metallurgical QuarterlyVolume 48, Number 2

Formation of Massive Gunningite-Jarosite Scale in an Industrial Zinc Pressure Leach Autoclave:A Characterization StudyL. Becze, M.A. Gomez, J.F. Le Berre, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec; B. Pierre, Xstrata Copper Division,Timmins, Ontario; and G.P. Demopoulos, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec

Recent attempts to increase the throughput in an industrial zinc pressure leach autoclave resulted in mas-sive scale formation not encountered previously. According to a comprehensive characterization study, the resultsof which are presented in this paper, in addition to jarosite and elemental sulphur that commonly form and reportin the residue of this process, the scale samples contained significant amounts of the mineral gunningite (ZnSO4·H2O) plus minor amounts of szomolnokite (FeSO4·H2O). SEM-EDS examination of cross sections made from thereduced scale revealed gunningite which acted as a binder forming a matrix within which the natrojarosite lens-like particles were embedded. The presence of gunningite and the other major phases (natrojarosite, hematite,elemental sulphur and szomolnokite) were established unequivocally by applying vibrational (ATR-FTIR andRaman) spectroscopic analysis in additional to conventional XRD method. Finally the quantitative abundance ofeach of these phases was determined via the development of a 3-step extraction-dissolution procedure. Accord-ing to this quantitative method, the composition of the bulk of the scale consisted of gunningite (23-55%),natrojarosite (13-37%), hematite (13-26%), elemental sulphur (3-10%), szomolnokite (3-7%) and sphalerite(0.7-3%).

Material Balance of Silicon in Aluminum Reduction CellsF. S̆imko, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia; and M. Stas̆, Slovalco a.s., Z̆iar nad Hronom, Slovakia

The material balance of silicon in the aluminum reduction cells at Slovalco Inc. related to the production of1000 kg of aluminum was performed and the distribution of silicon between the bath, the aluminum and theanode gases was evaluated using a statistical analysis. The total silicon material balance (inputs – outputs) inthe entire investigated period is not zero (265 g of Si on behalf of the outputs). The excess of silicon in the out-put materials is caused by secondary sources of silicon, which were not incorporated into the balance. From astatistical point of view, the content of silicon in aluminum is rather invariable during the investigated period.The small difference in content of SiO2 between primary and secondary alumina indicates that the loss of siliconby entrainment of particles from the bath is an unlikely process. The crushed bath seems to be a very importantflow in the process as it accumulates most of the silicon content.

Precipitate Volume Fraction Estimation in High-Strength Microalloyed SteelsK. Poorhaydari and D.G. Ivey, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta

Many attempts have been made in the past to estimate the volume fraction of small precipitates in steels,both theoretically and experimentally. Theoretical analysis can be very complicated, while experimental analysiscan be either difficult or can yield numbers that are inaccurate. In this paper, a simple method is presented toestimate the precipitate volume fraction of nanosize microalloy carbides. The method is based on a combinationof simple and well-established thermodynamic calculations for high-temperature precipitation and a simple exper-imental method for the determination of solutes remaining in solid solution in the steel. Upper bound and lowerbound values, as well as the results obtained from an extraction replica method, are presented and discussed.

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