cim magazine august 2009

CONTENTSCIM MAGAZINE | AUGUST 2009 | AOÛT 2009

NEWS9 Celebrating excellence in mine safety

Competition simulates real-life mine emergencies to encourage team building and problem solving by M. Eisner

10 Industry surveys report increased inequal-ity in Canadian mining The recession affects individual mining and exploration companies in differentways by P. Caulfield

12 A climate that fosters innovation President-elect Chris Twigge-Molecey lays out his broad vision forCIM by M. Kerawala

13 Un climat qui encourage l’innovation Le prési-dent-élu Chris Twigge-Molecey explique sa vision globalepour l’ICM

14 Mining above and beyond The mining and space sectors gather for their sixth annual symposium by M. Paduada

15 Retombées de l’industrie minière : beau-coup plus que des redevances Une lettred’opinion par l’ancien président du conseil AMQ par Y. Harvey

16 Benefits of the mining industry An opinion letter by former president of the QMA

18 Students master mine rescues Mining engineeringstudents get hands-on safety training by J. Drake

4 | CIM Magazine | Vol. 4, No. 5

UPFRONT20 Agility through simplicity Sometimes the most

adaptable solutions are often the simplest ones by B. Sundararajan

22 The making of good agreements The WahgoshigFirst Nation helps Apollo Gold understand the power ofAboriginal engagement by M. Eisner

24 Who you gonna call? The importance of differentiating between process control, instrumentationand control systems expertise by J. Bouchard and M. Émond

26 Teaching the business of the mineralresources industry Queen’s University equips futuremining industry professionals with sound financial knowledge by J. Martin

28 A conversation with Canada’s CFO of theYear Agnico-Eagle’s David Garofalo shares his thoughtson a range of topics by M. Paduada

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FEATURED MINESMINES EN VEDETTE

42 Going for gold Agnico-Eagle’s Kittilä goldmine in Finland is drawing admiring attentionfrom all quarters by M. Paduada

46 The Midas touch Agnico-Eagle’sLaRonde mine extension by P. Diekmeyer

50 La mine Kittilä d’Agnico-Eagle Unenouvelle mine d’or en Finlande attire beaucoup d’attention

51 L’expansion de la mine LaRonded’Agnico-Eagle

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COLUMNS52 Supply Side by J. Baird

53 Eye on Business by M. Bourassa with C. Todd

54 MAC Economic Commentary by P. Stothart

55 First Nations by J.-C. Reyes

56 Innovation by L. Mottola

58 Standards by D. McCombe and J. Postle

59 Student Life by A. Giles and M.-A. Simard

60 HR Outlook by S. Polowin

61 Engineering Exchange by M. Eisner

62 Mining Lore by R. Bergen

82 Voices by K. Lendsay

CIM NEWS64 Sleuthing, cruising and teeing off

CIM’s Northern Gateway Branch uses a range ofactivities to rally support by R. Slack

65 Des élans de bon temps La SectionHarricana de l’ICM organise son tournoi de golfannuel par J.-F. Lagueux

65 A swinging good time CIM’s HarricanaBranch holds its annual golf tournament

65 Exploring the scene CIM’s Red Lake Branchreviews latest industry developments by C. Storey

66 From the ground up The winner of the Orderof Sancta Barbara is reshaping the public’s perception of mining by R. Pillo

67 Something to sink your teeth into CIM reveals its new lineup for the 2009-2010Distinguished Lecturer season by R. Pillo

68 United we stand CIM’s new One Membershipinitiative promises streamlining, solidarity and synergy by M. Kerawala

70 L’union fait la force Le nouveau membershipà guichet unique de l’ICM

HISTORY73 Butte, Montana (Part 4) by R.J. Cathro

76 The gold rush in Tierra del Fuego by F. Habashi

TECHNICAL SECTION77 This month’s contents

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

63 Welcoming new members72 Calendar81 Professional Directory

August 2009 | 5

THE POWER OF PEOPLELA FORCE DES GENS

31 Can it be done? Can it be done better? Consultants and specialists provide the expertise needed to extract the most from human and natural resources by R. Bergen

35 Building leadership from the inside out Diavik blends cutting-edgemanagement education with time-honoured traditional approaches by M. Eisner

38 Tirer le meilleur des ressources humaines et desressources minières Les consultants et les spécialistes ont l’expertisenécessaire pour le faire

40 Bâtir le leadership de l’intérieur Diavik jumèle une gestion de pointeà des approches traditionnelles consacrées par l’usage

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The ties that bind

Upon discovering that I originally hailed from “theRock,” a colleague recently recounted a sayingthat “the only people homesick in Heaven are the

Newfoundlanders.” The special kinship that we Newfiesfeel is undeniable; it is also quite indescribable. How doesone go about explaining the force behind a connectionto a place renowned for its isolation, cantankerousweather and, until recently, “have-not” status?

I bring this up because a similarly strong and equallyunshakable bond exists among those who work in the

mining and minerals industry. This familiar feeling of kinship grasped me in itsembrace almost from the get-go when I joined CIM Magazine. Even though the peo-ple and the tasks they perform in this industry are as vast and diverse as the territorythey mine, the prevailing feeling of affinity and solidarity is indisputable.

Perhaps this shared kinship stems from a common reliance not only on the for-tunes of nature but also upon one another. Mining is definitely a team sport and, likeany team, there are good seasons and bad, the players sometimes change and we dohave our differences from time to time, but in the end we stand tall and proud.

This “Power of People” issue looks at some of the stories behind the incredible indi-viduals who propel this industry. The Upfront section features an account of thecooperative efforts between the Wahgoshig First Nation and Apollo Gold in the devel-opment of mutually beneficial and sustainable impact benefit agreements at theBlack Fox mine in northern Ontario. This inspiring case study illustrates how twogroups with little initial understanding of each other collaborated to create the typeof win-win scenario that can make our sector stronger.

In our feature section, we examine the human resources contribution made by thenumerous contractors, consultants and suppliers and their efforts to align ideologies,skills and products to the shifting requirements of an often volatile industry.

Our special focus on Agnico-Eagle is especially timely, as we discover that the“people factor” is definitely an important ingredient for this flourishing company’srecipe for success. It includes profiles of their newly opened Kittilä mine in Finlandand the LaRonde extension in the Abitibi region of northern Quebec, as well as aninterview with David Garofalo, who was recently named Canada’s CFO of the Year.

Of course, an important component of CIM Magazine’s evolution comes from thefeedback we get from our readers. So please try to take a few moments to weigh inon some of the issues we address. Also, let us know what topics you would like to seecovered in future editions by dropping us an email at [email protected].

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] and Technical Section:Minaz Kerawala [email protected] Editor Joan TomiukPublisher CIM

Contributors Jon Baird, Ryan Bergen, Louise Blais-Leroux, Jocelyn Bouchard, Michael Bourassa, LorraineBrown, R.J. Cathro, Peter Caulfield, Peter Diekmeyer,Jeff Drake, Marlene Eisner, Martin Émond, Alex Giles,Fathi Habashi, Yves Harvey, Jean-François Lagueux,Kelly Lendsay, Jim Martin, Deborah McCombe, LauraMottola, Mike Paduada, Robbie Pillo, Sheldon Polowin,John Postle, Juan Carlos Reyes, Marc-André Simard,Roy Slack, Carmen Storey, Paul Stothart, BinodSundararajan, Charles Todd

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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

president’s notesOver the past few years, we have heard and read a great

deal about the anticipated shortage of people entering theCanadian mining industry. This deficit has been widely attrib-uted to both the commodities boom and our aging demo-graphics. While the current recession might have temporarilydampened the demand for human resources in many sectors,the demographics of our industry (and CIM) have not changed.We still face a great many staffing challenges in the next fewyears as the baby boomers retire. It also bears rememberingthat when the widely predicted economic upswing occurs, wewill once again be in competition with other industries fishingfrom the ever-shrinking labour pool.

The attraction, retention and development of our workforcehave always been important issues faced by mining companieswishing to remain sustainable. Many companies have devel-oped specific programs to address this situation, includingengineer-in-training programs, leadership development andspecific trades and apprenticeship education. This issue of CIMMagazine highlights some of these best practices currentlybeing employed throughout the industry. From Diavik DiamondMine’s Aboriginal Leadership Development Program to MiHR’slabour market and information forecasting, you’ll read abouthow organizations are investing in our most valuable assets —our people.

What can we do as CIM membersto help with the human resources sit-uation? As some of us get to the lat-ter half of our careers, it is incumbenton us to share our experiences andmentor the next generation of youngprofessionals as they begin their pro-fessional journeys. The mining indus-try is going to lose a lot of know-howin the next few years and it’s up to themore “seasoned” members to passthat expertise on. With its extensiveand active networks, CIM can provide the channels and thecontext to do this, through its conferences, meetings and CIMMagazine (now available in an online version). I encourageevery CIM member to invite a younger colleague to the nextCIM meeting you attend. Better yet, invite them to join CIM ifthey are not already a member. The very future of our industrydepends on it!

Michael J. AllanCIM President

Au cours des quelques dernières années nous avonsbeaucoup lu et entendu concernant le manque anticipé depersonnel pour l’industrie minière canadienne. Ce déficit a étélargement attribué à la fois à la grande demande pour desproduits de base et au vieillissement de la population.Cependant, bien que la récession actuelle puisse avoir diminuétemporairement la demande pour des ressources humainesdans de nombreux secteurs, l’évolution des effectifs dans notreindustrie (et à l’ICM) n’a pas changé. Les prochaines annéesnous amèneront encore le défi de trouver du personnel alorsque les baby-boomers prennent leur retraite. Il est aussi bon dese rappeler que lorsqu’arrivera la phase économique ascen-dante prédite, nous serons de nouveau en compétition avec lesautres industries qui s’alimenteront dans le même bassin quenous, un bassin qui diminue de jour en jour.

L’attraction, la rétention et le développement de notremain-d’oeuvre ont toujours constitué des enjeux importantsconfrontant les compagnies minières qui veulent demeurerdurables. De nombreuses compagnies ont développé des pro-grammes spécifiques pour traiter de cette situation dont desprogrammes de formation d’ingénieurs et de développementdu leadership en plus de formation dans des métiers spéci-fiques et d’apprentissages. La présente édition du CIMMagazine met l’accent sur quelques-unes des meilleures pra-tiques utilisées dans l’industrie. Du Programme de

formation de dirigeants autochtones des mines d’or Diavikau système de prévisions des besoins du marché du travaildu RHiM, vous pourrez lire comment les organismesinvestissent dans notre actif le plus important — nos gens.

Que pouvons-nous faire en tant que membres de l’ICMpour aider à résoudre cette question des ressourceshumaines? À mesure que certains d’entre nous entronsdans la seconde moitié de notre carrière, nous avons l’obli-gation de partager nos expériences et de servir de mentorsà la prochaine génération de jeunes professionnels alorsqu’ils entament leur cheminement de carrière. L’industrieminière perdra beaucoup de savoir-faire dans les prochainesannées et il est le devoir des membres « plus expérimentés »de transmettre cette expertise. Grâce à ses réseaux exten-sifs et actifs, l’ICM peut fournir les moyens et le contextepour ce faire : par ses congrès, ses rencontres et le CIMMagazine (maintenant disponible en ligne). Je vous encour-age, vous et chaque membre de l’ICM, à inviter un jeune col-lègue à la prochaine rencontre à laquelle vous assisterez.Mieux encore, invitez-le à se joindre à l’ICM s’il n’est pasdéjà membre. L’avenir même de notre industrie en dépend!

Michael J. AllanPrésident de l’ICM

The future is in your hands

L’avenir est entre vos mains


news

August 2009 | 9

“Being a part of the Mine RescueCompetition is in line with our com-mitment to educate, inspire and enter-tain,” explained BC Museum of Miningexecutive director Kirstin Clausen. “Wecommend the ministry staff for offeringthis program, not only as a spectatorexperience to the public, but for thepotentially life-saving experience thecompetition brings to anyone involvedwith emergency response.”

www.bcmuseumofmining.org

CIM

This year’s Provincial MineRescue and First Aid Competition,held on June 6 at Britannia Beach,British Columbia, brought togetherteams from across the province tocompete in a day-long series of chal-lenges geared towards rescue andsafety in BC mines.

The 2009 competition, which wasopen to the public, consisted of anunderground mine rescue, a surfacemine rescue and a three-person firstaid scenario that was scored basedon standard St. John Ambulancetraining. Mining experts evaluatedeach challenge as teams worked

Celebrating excellence in mine safetyCompetition simulates real-life mine emergencies to encourage team building and problem solving

By Marlene Eisner

through a simulatedmine environment sim-ilar to what they wouldface in an actual minerescue situation.

In its 54th year, theannual competition,which takes place at theBC Museum of Miningand is hosted by theMinistry of Energy,Mines and PetroleumResources, is designedto simulate real-life situ-ations and test skills infirst aid, extrication, firefighting, rope work andgeneral mine rescue.Established in 1917 toreduce fatality rates inBC’s mines, the event isalso an exercise in teambuilding, since partici-pants may one day beinvolved in mutual aid collaboration withworkers in other sectorsin the industry. For example, HighlandValley Copper, winnerof last year’s surface

mine rescue event, recently assistedin the rescue of a man buried for 14hours at Pavilion in Cache Creek.

At the end of the day, 10 trophieswere awarded to the best in three cate-gories, chosen from six surface teams,four underground teams and six three-person miners’ first aid teams.

Later in the evening, miningindustry representatives from acrossBC attended the 47th Annual MineSafety Awards ceremony, which hon-oured 14 mines and quarries that hadaccumulated 15,000 or more workeror contractor hours and had no fatal-ities in the calendar year of 2008.

Mine rescue participants

Phot

o by

of M

ark

Teas

dale

This year’s winners of the Provincial MineRescue and First Aid Competition were:

Three-person miners’ first aid competition• Highland Valley Copper, Teck:

three-person miners’ first aid• Highland Valley Copper, Teck:

Kathy Lofstrom Memorial (best coach for three-person first aid)

Surface mine rescue• Highland Valley Copper, Teck:

Maurice Boisse Memorial (best bench for surface team)

• Greenhills Operations, Teck Coal:HVC highest non-aggregate points

• Greenhills Operations, Teck Coal:Overall surface mine rescue trophy

Underground mine rescue• Quinsam Coal Corporation: USWA Mine-

Mill Award (best underground coordinator)• Quinsam Coal Corporation: Sullivan Cup

(best first aid by underground team)• Quinsam Coal Corporation:

Barry Abbott Memorial (best bench for underground team)

• New Afton, Newgold Inc: Keith BracewellMemorial Award (best obstacle and recovery)

• Quinsam Coal Corporation: OverallUnderground Mine Rescue Trophy

news

According to the authors of tworecent business surveys thatincluded the Canadian miningindustry, the sector is down but notout. The reports, by Ernst andYoung and PricewaterhouseCoopers(PwC), detail the dramatic fall inprices and market capitalization, theways in which the industry has beenaffected and how it is dealing withthe downturn.

Cash is king, nowadays. Thosewho have it are more likely to getthrough the tough times than thosewho do not. Little of that money isbeing spent on exploration, however,which is likely to mean tighter sup-plies and soaring prices when theglobal economy gets back on its feet.The Canadian mining industry, onthe whole, is looking ahead with amix of cautious optimism andpatient acceptance.

PwC: To have and have not (cash)The PwC survey is an annual

compilation of the financial trends ofthe top 40 mining companies in theworld. In the most recent survey,which covered the 2008 calendaryear, eight of those companies wereCanadian.

According to the report, theglobal mining industry has been in aspectacular decline. In 2008, thetotal net profit of the top 40 was $57billion, a decrease of 28 per centfrom 2007. The year 2008 was a badone for investors, too. Only three ofthe 40 companies had a positive one-year total shareholder return (TSR),and the lowest four showed a declineof 75 percent or more. In 2007, 14 ofthe top 40 achieved a TSR of morethan 100 per cent, and four

Industry surveys report increasedinequality in Canadian miningRecession affects individual mining and exploration companies in different ways

By Peter Caulfield

companies reported a TSR of morethan 400 percent.

The rapid fall in market capital-ization and increased debt levels forsome of the top 40 has created twodistinct groups of “haves” and“have-nots,” said Paul Murphy,leader of PwC’s Canadian miningpractice. At the moment, cash is themost valuable asset for miners andexplorers. For companies with cash,opportunities abound as asset val-ues fall.

One of the most striking findingsof the survey was the magnitude andswiftness of the correction, Murphytold CIM Magazine. “But since lastfall liquidity has returned to the mar-ketplace,” he said. Murphy’s col-league Bob Bosshard, who is a min-ing partner in PwC’s Toronto office,is also confident about the future.“The fundamentals for base metalshaven’t changed,” he said. “Chinaand India are still hungry for them.We’re going through a temporaryhiccup in pricing. After the industryhas caught its breath, prices willstart to go back up again.”

Ernst and Young on opportunists,innovators and survivors

Ernst and Young surveyed 337companies around the world toexamine implications of the financialcrisis on different industries, includ-ing the Canadian mining sector.According to the report, mining inthis country has become divided intothree camps: opportunists, innova-tors and survivors.

Most of the opportunists aremajors. Armed with strong balancesheets, they’re looking for acquisi-tions. But, because many buyers arelooking ahead to present and futurevaluations, while sellers are lookingto the past, many potential dealshave been left unmade.

“The opportunists and the sur-vivors aren’t connecting,” said Ernstand Young Canadian mining andmetals practice leader, Tom Whelan.“The survivors are holding on, hop-ing they can survive, and the oppor-tunists aren’t willing to shoulderadditional risk at the prices sur-vivors want for their assets.”

Most of the innovators are mid-tier players, many of which are high-cost producers seeking creative sur-vival strategies, including beingacquired by better-capitalized com-panies. Not surprisingly, the sur-vivors are dominated by juniors thathave made conserving cash theirnumber one priority. Many of themhave suspended exploration alto-gether, or as much as they dare with-out losing mineral rights.

“It’s striking how quickly expen-ditures on exploration have turnedoff, even on good projects,” Whelansaid. He went on to say that there isa general unwillingness in the


After the industry

has caught its breath,

prices will startto go back up again.”

— B. Bosshard

news

industry to take on additional risk.Although that makes sense in theshort run, reluctance to invest inexploration today will inevitablylead to a scramble for scarceresources when the economy startsto recover. “Previous recessions haveshown that metal supply exceededdemand for only a short time,”Whelan said. Looking ahead, hecommented: “We’re living in uncer-tain times. Things are looking up,but nobody knows yet when therecovery will be on a solid footing.The turning point might be the mas-sive fiscal stimulus packages under-way, or the vast infrastructure pro-grams that are planned.”

And now, a word from the mining industry

Like the authors of the reports, fourrepresentatives of the Canadian min-ing and exploration industry say theworst of the downturn is behind us.

“There have been a lot of layoffs inthe Ontario mining sector and manymines have been placed on care andmaintenance,” observed ChrisHodgson, president of the OntarioMining Association. “On the otherhand, gold is still in good shape andthe operating mines have good cashflow. And the last three months haveseen a noticeable improvement inmost commodity prices. So we’reoptimistic in Ontario.”

Pierre Gratton, president andCEO of the Mining Association ofBritish Columbia, summed up themood in his province saying: “Thereare about 20 producing mines inBritish Columbia and that numberhas remained stable through thedownturn. We expected the down-turn to be worse on the mining sidethan it actually turned out. Theprices of some minerals and metalshave stayed pretty healthy.”

Reporting the state of affairs onthe exploration side, Gavin Dirom,president and CEO of theAssociation for Mineral ExplorationBC said: “Exploration budgets aredown from last year, but they’re

starting to creep back up again. In2009, we expect a total of about$300 million will be spent on explo-ration by juniors and majors com-bined. If we can hit $300 millionevery year, we’ll find the deposits weneed to keep mining flourishing inBC. We’re cautiously optimistic.”

August 2009 | 11

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Our firm commitment to safety and knowledge, combined with over 50 years in experience, ensures our company can undertake any job while adhering to the highest standards of safety and quality.

Doug Horswill, senior vice-presi-dent sustainability and external affairs,Teck Resources Limited, reported:“Last year, we made a substantial addi-tion to our resource base with the pur-chase of Fording Canadian Coal Trust’sassets, which put Teck in a strong posi-tion to grow.” CIM

news

In his day job, CIM’s presi-dent-elect (2010-2011), ChrisTwigge-Molecey is the chiefknowledge officer and boardmember of Hatch Inc. globally.As the title suggests, this is arole that requires a grasp notonly of the latest technologies,but also of the way knowledgeflows through the company, theindustry and the economy.Given the broad scope of hisleadership at Hatch, it is notsurprising that Twigge-Molecey’s vision for CIM is deepand expansive.

A CIM member since theearly 1980s, Twigge-Moleceycame to Canada from Englandin the 1960s as a graduate stu-dent. A veteran of many CIMconferences and committees,Twigge-Molecey said he has“worked with and met many greatindividuals and developed strongpersonal friendships.” He added,“Whether it is to organize a confer-ence, rustle up a paper, put togethera task force or even just to find someinformation, the network I havebuilt through CIM has been hugelyuseful. It has contributed greatly tomy effectiveness.” Twigge-Moleceystrongly encourages his colleaguesat Hatch and elsewhere to join theCIM technical societies that are rel-evant to their work. Speaking withhis Hatch hat on, he said: “CIM fur-ther offers us a great avenue to meetour clients in a social context.”

His conviction in CIM’s ethos ofknowledge sharing and relationshipbuilding led Twigge-Molecey toaccept the responsibility of servingas its president. “CIM is a vitalorganization in an industry that is akey part of the life and economy of

A climate that fosters innovationPresident-elect Chris Twigge-Molecey lays out his broad vision for CIM

By Minaz Kerawala

this country. I believe I can con-tribute to its growth in several mean-ingful ways,” he said. “As part of ourevolving strategic plan, we are look-ing to grow substantially and sus-tainably and develop a wide range ofinternational linkages.”

Being on the more sagacious side of60, the president-elect is conscious ofthe need for attracting youth to theindustry, an area he is keen to focuson. Coming from a strong technnicalbackground himself, he will also be“looking to enhance our technicalimpact through alliances with lead-ing-edge scientific organizations suchas the Canadian Space Agency and theCanada Mining Innovation Council.”

On these not inconsiderable tasks,Twigge-Molecey will bring to bearthe full weight of his diverse skills,international experience and what hecalls his “passion for innovation andmentoring.” As CIM president, hewould like to further the creation of

tools and resources that helpmembers grow professionally. Heis also interested in broadeningCIM’s geographical base andsphere of influence, “so that wecan pull in professionals on aglobal basis.” He would like toleave in his wake a broadenedand highly relevant range ofservices. Above all, he wouldlike to contribute to the creationof “a climate within the countrythat fosters innovation.”

Conscious of the fact that hisvision is ambitious, Twigge-Molecey is thankful for the plat-form provided by the work of hispredecessors, “including JimGowans, Jim Popowich and themany giants whose shouldersthey stood on.” He is aware alsothat current president Mike

Allan is finalizing and launching intothe first phases of CIM’s new strategicplan, and is watching carefully toposition himself well for when Allanpasses on the baton to him.

Surveying emerging trends aroundthe industry Twigge-Molecey statedoptimistically: “Wherever there’schange, there’s opportunity. The cur-rent economic crisis creates opportu-nities for us to support our members,primarily in upskilling, job searchingand perhaps in the formation of newenterprises by introducing the morescientific individuals to the moreentrepreneurial ones.”

From attracting youth and interna-tional talent to helping members tideover the crisis and grow professionally,it seems that Chris Twigge-Moleceywill leave few stones unturned asCIM’s next president. He will need thisbroad-spectrum approach given thathis “vision for CIM is for it to be theintellectual engine of our sector.” CIM


Chris Twigge-Molecey

news

Le jour, à son travail, le président-élu de l’ICM (2010-2011), ChrisTwigge-Molecey, est le principal ges-tionnaire de savoirs et membre duconseil chez Hatch Inc. Comme le sug-gère son titre, il s’agit d’un rôle quidemande de saisir non seulement lesplus récentes technologies mais aussila manière dont les connaissances cir-culent dans la compagnie, l’industrieet l’économie. En raison de la grandeportée de son leadership chez Hatch, iln’est pas surprenant que la vision deM. Twigge-Molecey pour l’ICM soitprofonde et expansive.

Membre de l’ICM depuis le débutdes années 1980, M. Twigge-Moleceyest venu au Canada depuis l’Angleterredans les années 1960 en tant qu’étudi-ant diplômé. Un vétéran de nombreuxcongrès et comités de l’ICM, il dit qu’ila « rencontré et travaillé avec plusieursgrands individus et a développé de trèsgrandes amitiés personnelles. » Il ajoute : « Qu’il s’agisse d’organiser uncongrès, écrire un article, rassembler ungroupe de travail ou simplement trouverde l’information, le réseau que j’ai établigrâce à l’ICM m’a été d’une grande uti-lité. Il a grandement contribué à monefficacité. » M. Twigge-Molecey encour-age fortement ses collègues chez Hatchet ailleurs à se joindre aux sociétés tech-niques de l’ICM qui sont pertinentes àleur travail. Mettant son chapeau Hatch,il dit : « L’ICM nous offre un grandrecours pour rencontrer nos clients dansun contexte social. »

Sa conviction en l’ethos de l’ICMde partager des connaissances etd’édifier des relations a poussé M. Twigge-Molecey à accepter laresponsabilité de servir en tant queprésident. « L’ICM est une organisa-tion vitale dans une industrie quijoue un rôle clé dans la vie et l’é-conomie de ce pays. Je crois que je

Un climat qui encourage l’innovationLe président-élu Chris Twigge-Molecey explique sa vision globale pour l’ICM

peux contribuer à sa croissance deplusieurs manières significatives »,dit-il. « Dans le cadre de l’évolutionde notre cadre stratégique, nouscherchons à croître de façon signi-ficative et durable, tout en dévelop-pant diverses liens internationaux. »

Du côté sage de la soixantaine, leprésident-élu est conscient du besoind’attirer des jeunes dans l’industrie, undomaine qu’il entend cibler. Étant lui-même un maître technicien, il « cherchera à rehausser notre impacttechnologique par des alliances avecdes organismes à la fine pointe de lascience, tels que l’Agence spatialecanadienne et le Conseil canadien del’innovation minière. »

À ces tâches non négligeables, M. Twigge-Molecey apportera le pleinpoids de ses diverses habiletés, de sonexpérience internationale et de cequ’il qualifie de sa « passion pour l’in-novation et le mentorat. » En tant queprésident de l’ICM, il aimerait faireprogresser la création d’outils et deressources qui aident les membres àcroître dans leur profession. Il estaussi intéressé à élargir la base géo-graphique et la sphère d'influence del’ICM « afin que nous puissions attirerdes professionnels sur une base mon-diale. » Il aimerait laisser un legs deservices élargis et de qualitésupérieure. Par-dessus tout, il aimeraitcontribuer à la création au pays d’un « climat qui encourage l’innovation. »

Moving on upMark Fields is the new president and CEO of Geodex Minerals Ltd. He hasplayed key roles in the sale of La Teko Resources Ltd. to Kinross GoldCorporation, and the acquisition and development of the Diavik DiamondMine for the Rio Tinto Group. As executive vice-president of Pine ValleyMining Corp., Fields provided leadership for the development of the WillowCreek coal mine up to the commercial production stage.

Conscient du fait que sa vision estambitieuse, M. Twigge-Molecey estreconnaissant de la plate-forme que luiont laissé ses prédécesseurs, « incluantJim Gowans, Jim Popowich et lesépaules des nombreux géants surlesquels ils ont pu se tenir. » Il saitbien aussi que le président actuel MikeAllan inaugure les premières phases dunouveau plan stratégique de l’ICM et ilsurveille attentivement afin d’être bienpositionné lorsqu’on lui passera le bâton.

Analysant les tendances émerge-antes dans l’industrie, M. Twigge-Molecey affirme de manière optimiste :« Là où il y a du changement, il y aaussi des opportunités. La présentecrise économique nous crée des occa-sions de soutenir nos membres,surtout dans la recherche d’emplois, leperfectionnement et possiblementdans la formation de nouvelles entre-prises en présentant des individus àpensée scientifique à d’autres plusportés vers l’entrepreneuriat. »

Entre attirer des jeunes et des tal-ents internationaux et aider les mem-bres à passer à travers la crise et àcroître dans leur profession, il sembleque M. Twigge-Molecey ne négligeraaucun détail en tant que prochainprésident de l’ICM. Il aura besoin decette approche à grande portéepuisque sa « vision pour l’ICM estd’être le moteur intellectuel de notresecteur. » ICM

August 2009 | 13

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Professionals and researchers fromacross the aerospace and mining sec-tors gathered in Toronto recently for the sixth annual Planetary and Terrestrial Mining SciencesSymposium (PTMSS). The purposeof the conference is to promote closerrelationships between space-relatedand mining-related sectors throughnetworking, knowledge sharing andcollaboration. Based on the lineup ofpresentations and the delegates’ reac-tions, it seems that the two multi-bil-lion-dollar industries, both behe-moth institutions unto themselves,are forging the connections that willpropel the future of joint technologydevelopments.

The opening remarks of confer-ence chair Dale Boucher echoed theremarkable similarities between thetwo sectors, already familiar to manyof the returning conference delegates.Both sectors drive immense projectsinvolving large capital costs, withlong-term time horizons, requiringintegrated interdisciplinary activities.“Those similarities are really the

purpose behind this conference,”asserted Boucher, who is the directorof innovation at the Sudbury-basedNorthern Centre for AdvancedTechnology (NORCAT).

There are yet more similarities inthe actual research, activities andobjectives when considering spaceexploration’s push for in situ resourceutilization (ISRU). “ISRU involves acomplete suite of activities, which arevery similar to the mining cycle,” saidBoucher. Indeed, as was reiterated inseveral of the conference sessions,ISRU involves such familiar miningtasks as drilling, exploration,prospecting, excavation, ground con-trol, processing, surface preparation,logistics, materials transport andcommunication, to name a few.

Chris Twigge-Molecey, CIM presi-dent-elect, addressed the symposiumabout the opportunity for mutuallybeneficial exchange and the prospectfor developing new technologies thatcan serve both sectors. “If you’re goingto mine and process in space, our CIMmembers bring to the table global

leadership in mining, exploration,metallurgical processing and materialsciences,” said Twigge-Molecey.

But technology transfer is only oneside of the exchange. Frankly, if themining industry is going to meet itshuman resource demand in the com-ing decades, it would greatly benefitfrom seizing the awe and fascinationof bright, young minds in the wayspace always has. As the chief knowl-edge officer at Hatch, Chris Twigge-Molecey knows very well the strategicvalue of making that connection.“This is capturing Canadians’ atten-tion,” he said. “We need public atten-tion to attract young people to ourbusiness and our industry. We alsoneed public support to get the neces-sary R&D. So, the mining and spaceindustries have at least two strongstrategic reasons to work together.”

If the broad set of topics covered inthe conference presentations is anyindication, the technologies that couldbe developed from collaboration willoffer clear benefits to both sectors.Through collaboration, presenters fore-see advances in the science and tech-nologies of excavation, mining, intelli-gent real-time drilling measurement,remote geology, stressed communica-tion and autonomous operation.

Conference presenters and delegatesalike came from across the board,including NASA, the Canadian SpaceAgency, NORCAT, Pacific InternationalSpace Center for Exploration Systems,Electric Vehicle Controllers, OntarioDrive and Gear, Honeybee Robotics,Xiphos Technologies, Odyssey Moon,Watts, Griffis & McOuat, TNO Science& Industry, the University of Toronto,Laurentian University, McGill University,Carnegie Mellon University and CaseWestern Reserve University.

www.ptmss.com

CIM

Mining above and beyondMining and space sectors gather for sixth annual symposium

By Mike Paduada

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August 2009 | 15

Le rapport du Vérificateur généraldu Québec questionne certaines acti-vités du ministère des Ressourcesnaturelles et de la Faune du Québec et,par ricochet, celles d’entreprisesminières. À la veille de tenir sonAssemblée générale annuelle en juin,l’Association minière du Québec(AMQ), dont les sociétés membresreprésentent la très grande part de laproduction québécoise de métaux et deminéraux industriels, souhaite réagir àcertains éléments de ce rapport etsurtout, aux propos de politiciens et degroupes de pression largement reprispar les médias qui laissent croire, à tort,que les retombées de l’industrieminière seraient à peu près inexistantespour le Québec et ses régions. De telspropos démontrent une très grandeméconnaissance de l’industrie minière.

Le rapport du VérificateurLes recommandations du

Vérificateur portent essentiellementsur cinq aspects: (1) le suivi et l’inspec-tion des exigences relatives aux plansde restauration des sites miniers; (2)l’acquisition et la diffusion de l’infor-mation et des connaissances sur lesecteur minier; (3) l’élaboration d’unestratégie minérale qui respecte lesprincipes du développement durable;(4) les garanties financières pour larestauration des sites; (5) la questiondes droits miniers.

Les carences identifiées pour le suiviet l’inspection des exigences (1), ainsique pour l’acquisition et la diffusion del’information sur le secteur minier (2)sont les conséquences d’une politiquede compressions graduelles des budg-ets et du personnel qu’on peut observerdepuis plus de 12 ans au ministère desRessources naturelles et de la Faunelimitant ainsi la réalisation de son man-dat de premier gestionnaire desressources naturelles de l’État. L’AMQ

Retombées de l’industrie minière :beaucoup plus que des redevancesLettre d’opinion par Yves Harvey, l’ancien président du conseil AMQ

est d’avis qu’il faudrait revoir à lahausse les budgets et les effectifs con-sacrés à ce ministère.

À propos d’une stratégie minéralepour le Québec (3), l’Association a déjàprésenté au gouvernement un certainnombre de mesures pour le soutien àlong terme du développement de l’in-dustrie minière au Québec, la protec-tion de l’environnement et l’assuranced’une intégration harmonieuse desactivités minières dans le milieu. Surles garanties financières pour assurer leniveau de la couverture des coûts derestauration (4), l’AMQ a déjà faitsavoir aux autorités qu’elle est favor-able à une augmentation à 100 % duniveau de cette couverture, à l’élar-gissement de la portée des garanties, àla révision de la période qui devraitpermettre de constituer une tellegarantie, ainsi qu’à l’examen avecgrande vigilance de la situation finan-cière de l’acquéreur lors d’un transfertde la responsabilité environnementaled’une propriété minière.

La question des redevances :des précisions s’imposent

Le rapport du Vérificateur duQuébec mentionne que pour la périodede 2002 à 2008 (6 ans), 14 sociétésminières ont cumulé une valeur brutede production annuelle de 4,2 milliardsdollars sans payer de redevances. À cesujet, certaines précisions s’imposent.

D’abord, la structure de redevancesactuelles légiférée par le gouvernementest reliée à la notion de profit, et non àcelle de la valeur de production queretient pourtant le rapport. Une mal-adresse de cette nature est d’impor-tance puisqu’elle peut suggérer aulecteur, à tort, que l’industrie minièren’engendre que peu de retombées dansle milieu où elle exerce ses activités.

De plus, certains propos contenusdans le rapport du Vérificateur portent

à confusion. Celui-ci laisse entendreque 14 entreprises pendant 6 ans n’ontpas payé de redevances; en réalité, cesont 14 entreprises qui n’ont pas eu àpayer de redevances, à un moment ou àun autre, pendant cette période. Ce quiest très différent et qui trouve aussi sonexplication.

Ainsi une entreprise doit investirdes sommes considérables pourdévelopper un gisement non renouve-lable. Cette capitalisation élevée desentreprises (ex.700 M$ pour la mineRaglan d’Xstrata, 1 milliard $ pour laCorporation minière Osisko), ainsi queles coûts majeurs d’opérations, doiventêtre amortis sur la durée de vie de lamine, ce qui a un impact sur lesrevenus, les déductions annuelles aux-quelles celle-ci a droit, les profits decette entreprise et, conséquemment,sur les redevances qu’elle doit aussipayer en fonction de ces profits aucours de chacune de ces années.

Un exemple pour vulgariser. Dixpersonnes vivent dans le quartierd’une ville avec un revenu annuel cha-cun de 40 000 $. Comme ils ont desobligations ayant chacun aussiplusieurs enfants à charge, ceux-ci ontdroit à des déductions fiscales. Ainsi,sur une période de 10 ans, même s’ilsont cumulé ensemble un revenu de 4 M$, ceux-ci pourraient ne pas payerd’impôt en raison de déductionsannuelles auxquelles ils ont droit.Cette analogie veut simplementmieux faire comprendre qu’il se peuttrès bien qu’une entreprise, à unmoment ou à un autre pendant unepériode donnée, ne paie pas de rede-vances. Il faut voir la question desimpôts et des redevances pour uneentreprise minière sur un horizon deplusieurs années. Et surtout, il fautbien savoir que les retombées de l’in-dustrie minière, c’est beaucoup plusque des redevances.

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Benefits of themining industryAn opinion letter by formerQMA chairman

The report of the Vérificateurgénéral du Québec, the province’s audi-tor general, questions certain activitiesof the ministère des Ressourcesnaturelles et de la Faune du Québec(Quebec’s ministry of natural resources)and, thereby, the activities of miningcompanies. On the eve of its annualgeneral meeting in June, the QuebecMining Association (QMA), whosemember societies represent a majorityof Quebec’s metal and industrial min-eral producers, would like to respondto certain elements of the report, andespecially to the comments of politi-cians and lobby groups who wouldhave people wrongly believe that themining industry offers virtually nobenefits to Quebec and its regions.Such comments betray a great lack ofknowledge of the mining industry.

The recommendations of theVérificateur essentially cover fiveaspects: (1) the followup and examina-tion of requirements pertaining tomine site rehabilitation plans; (2) theacquisition and diffusion of informa-tion on the mining sector; (3) thedevelopment of a mineral strategy thatrespects the principles of sustainabledevelopment; (4) financial guaranteesfor mine site rehabilitation; and (5) themining rights issue.

The deficiencies identified in theexamination of requirements and in theacquisition and diffusion of mining sec-tor information are the consequencesof a policy of gradual budget and per-sonnel constraints at the ministère desRessources naturelles et de la Faunethat date back more than 12 years. TheQMA believes that the budgets and themanpower of this ministry should beaugmented.

Regarding a mineral strategy forQuebec, the association has alreadyproposed a number of measures to thegovernment to support the long-term

Beaucoup plus que des redevancesLe Vérificateur lui-même aborde, il

est vrai, à un seul endroit dans son rap-port et sans les chiffrer, la question desretombées positives de l’industrie pourla société québécoise (article 2.35) Cesretombées peuvent prendre différentesformes : créations d’emplois, ouverturesur les relations internationales par lecommerce, revenus fiscaux, droits ettaxes, structuration communautaire, etc.Dans les faits cependant, le rapport serestreint uniquement aux seules rede-vances.

Certains politiciens et groupes depression ont grandement utilisél’aspect des redevances pour vilipenderles activités de l’industrie minière.Leurs propos, largement repris par lesmédias, cherchent à laisser croire, àtort, que les retombées de l’industrieminière sont à peu près inexistantespour le Québec et ses régions. Desmiettes pouvait-on lire ou entendre,moins qu’un pourboire de restaurant. Despropos qui démontrent une très grandeméconnaissance du secteur minier.

L’industrie minière est créatriced’emplois et de richesses pour leQuébec et ses régions. Cette industriereprésente plus de 50 000 emplois danscette province dont 18 000 sont reliésdirectement à la phase d’extraction, desemplois tous très bien rémunérés.

En plus de concrétiser son rôle demoteur de l’économie régionale par sacontribution au marché de l’emploi, lesecteur minier génère aussi annuelle-ment d’importantes retombées qu’il estcertes utile de rappeler. Ainsi, pour laseule année 2006, la contribution desmembres de l’Association minière duQuébec aura été de 2 milliards de dol-lars en achat de biens et de services,dont 66 % ont été investis localement etrégionalement; 307 millions ont étéconsacrés au transport; 68 millions à laqualité de l’environnement; 836 mil-lions en salaires; 278 millions en taxes;215 millions en impôts; 239 millions enprogrammes et avantages sociaux; enplus de 18 millions de dollars en dif-férents dons et activités de soutien à descommunautés, à des milieux de forma-tion, centres hospitaliers ou activités

communautaires. Le secteur minieroffre aussi des possibilités considérablesaux populations autochtones avec lasignature d’accords contribuant à laprospérité économique et au bien-êtrede ces communautés. Quoiqu’en disentses détracteurs, l’industrie minière n’estpas du tout gênée, bien au contraire,des retombées de ses activités et de sesinterventions en régions.

Il est aussi bien connu que laprésence de l’industrie minière, en plusde représenter un impact palpable surla consommation régionale, permet ledéveloppement continu d’une expert-ise de sous-traitance, de transforma-tion, de manufacturiers et de four-nisseurs de services spécialisés, en plusde favoriser l’enrichissement des infra-structures, tant municipales que com-merciales.

L’industrie minière génère égale-ment des retombées considérables dansdes régions qui ne sont pas tradition-nellement associées au secteur minier.À Montréal, Québec, Valleyfield, Sorel-Tracy et ailleurs, on trouve des institu-tions de recherche et développement,de formation, de services financiers, enplus de grandes entreprises de transfor-mation dans les secteurs du cuivre, duzinc, du fer et du titane. Ainsi, l’indus-trie minière a des retombées pourl’ensemble des régions du Québec.

Au coeur de notre quotidienEnfin, si on développe des gise-

ments, c’est que l’industrie minière tra-vaille à extraire les métaux et lesminéraux dont notre société moderne abesoin, notamment pour l’agriculture,l’habitation, les transports, la musique,les télécommunications, l’industrieenvironnementale, la construction,l’exploration spatiale, la médecine etaussi pour nos loisirs.

Ainsi, à votre prochaine soirée musi-cale, en écoutant les guitares ou les vio-lons, vous n’imaginerez probablementpas que les cordes de ces instrumentssont élaborées à partir d’une gamme demétaux de cuivre, de zinc, de fer etd’acier; pourtant au cœur de notre quo-tidien, l’industrie minière se retrouveaussi au cœur de l’orchestre! ICM

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development of Quebec’s miningindustry, the protection of the environ-ment and the harmonious integrationof mining activities in the community.On the question of financial guaranteesto ensure the full coverage of rehabili-tation costs, the QMA has alreadyinformed the authorities that it is infavour of a 100 per cent increase in thelevel of this coverage, a broadening ofthe scope of the guarantees, a revisionof the time period of such a guarantee,and the close scrutiny of the financialcondition of the purchaser when thetransfer of environmental responsibil-ity for a mining property occurs.

The royalty issueThe report of the Vérificateur du

Québec mentions that for the six-yearperiod from 2002 to 2008, cumula-tively, 14 mining companies amassed agross annual production of $4.2 billionwithout paying royalties. In this regard,certain clarifications are in order.

First of all, the current royalties’structure legislated by the governmentis based on the notion of profit and noton production value, as stated in thereport. Such a blunder is significant, asit incorrectly suggests to the reader thatthe mining industry creates few bene-fits wherever it operates.

Moreover, certain statements in thereport are confusing. They suggest that14 companies paid no royalties over sixyears. In reality, there were 14 compa-nies that were not required to pay roy-alties at one time or another duringthis period, which is very different andentirely explicable.

A company must invest a greatdeal of money to develop a non-renewable resource. This high capital-ization cost ($700 million forXstrata’s Raglan mine and $1 billionspent by Osisko Mining Corporation)and the high operating costs must beamortized over the life of the mine.This impacts the revenues, the annualdeductions permitted, the profits and,consequently, the royalties it mustpay on these profits each year.

As an illustrative example, considerany 10 people, each with an annual

income of $40,000, living in a givenneighbourhood. Because they havedependant children, they are entitled totax deductions. Thus, over a period of10 years, even if they have a combinedincome of $4 million, they may notalways pay income tax, given theirallowable annual deductions. This anal-ogy can explain how a company, at agiven time during a given period, doesnot pay royalties. For a mining com-pany, the tax and royalty issue musttherefore be examined over a period ofseveral years. Above all, it must beunderstood that the benefits of the min-ing industry go well beyond royalties.

In all honesty, it must be said that atone juncture in the report (Article2.35), the Auditor General touchesupon the benefits of mining for Quebecsociety. Without quantifying them, thereport notes that these benefits can takemany forms — job creation, commer-cial international relationships, fiscalrevenues, duties and taxes, communityorganization, etc. In reality, though, thereport is restricted only to royalties.

Some politicians and pressuregroups have widely used the royaltyissue to vilify the activities of the min-ing industry. Their comments, largelyechoed by the media, leave the incor-rect impression that the benefits of themining industry have been practicallynil for Quebec and its regions. Sectionsof the media have described the indus-try’s royalty contributions as “scraps,”and as being “less than a restaurant tip”— statements that reveal poor knowl-edge of the mining sector.

The mining industry creates jobsand wealth for Quebec and its regions.It represents more than 50,000 jobs inthe province, 18,000 of which are veryhighly paid jobs directly related to theextraction phase.

In addition to solidly establishing itsrole as a driver of the regional economythrough job creation, the mining sectoralso generates significant annual bene-fits that are worth bearing in mind. In2006 alone, QMA members invested$2 billion in purchasing goods andservices, 66 per cent of which wasspent locally and regionally. $307

million was spent on transport; $69million on environmental quality ini-tiatives; $836 million in salaries; $278million on levies; $215 million onincome taxes; and $239 million onsocial benefit programs. In addition,$18 million was disbursed throughvarious donations to community activ-ities, training centres, hospitals andcommunity centres. The mining sectoralso opens up considerable opportuni-ties for Aboriginal Peoples throughagreements that contribute to the eco-nomic prosperity and the well-being oftheir communities. Regardless of whatits detractors say, the mining industryis not at all embarrassed.

It is also well known that in additionto having a tangible impact on regionalconsumption, the presence of the min-ing industry fosters the ongoing devel-opment of expertise in sub-contracting,processing, manufacturing and special-ized services, in addition to encourag-ing the development of better munici-pal and commercial infrastructure.

The mining industry also has posi-tive impacts on regions not generallyassociated with mining. In Montreal,Quebec, Valleyfield, Sorel-Tracy andelsewhere, there are research anddevelopment establishments, traininginstitutions, financial service organiza-tions and large copper, zinc, iron andtitanium processing facilities. The min-ing industry thus benefits all ofQuebec’s regions.

At the heart of our daily activitiesFinally, if deposits are developed

and mined, it is because the miningindustry works to extract the metalsand minerals that our society needs foragriculture, housing, music, telecom-munications, the environmental indus-try, construction, space exploration,medicine, and leisure.

The next time you attend a concertand listen to the guitars or violins, youprobably won’t think that the strings ofthese instruments are made from agamut of metals such as copper, zinc,iron and steel. At the heart of our dailyactivities, the mining industry is also atthe heart of an orchestra. CIM

August 2009 | 17

There’s a fire in a mine a mile belowthe earth’s surface, it’s filling withsmoke, visibility is zero and three peo-ple are missing. Thankfully, a group ofQueen’s University students nowknow what to do. A new course onmine safety, offered on campus for thefirst time at the end of April, attractedmining engineering graduate studentsto such an extent that they stayed aweek after term just to complete thevaluable course.

“Some schools offer downloadablesafety courses that you work on fromyour computer,” said James Archibald,professor of mining engineering atQueen’s, “but this kind of hands-on,field training simply cannot be dupli-cated on a screen. It is an absolutenecessity for these students.”

During the first part of the week,students trained in a classroom. Theylearned how to detect different minegases, assess cave-ins, operate complexbreathing apparatus, work as a teamand rescue trapped miners. Their finaltest took place in the basement ofGoodwin Hall where a mock mineaccident was constructed. They gearedup, checked their instruments andheaded into the smoke-filled, simu-lated shaft to find, evaluate and rescuethree victims” who were quietly lyingin the pitch-black conditions.

“We had ten third- and fourth-yearstudents taking this specialized class,”

Moving on upJames Gill has been appointed chairman of the board at Denison MinesCorp. Gill has 40 years of experience in exploration, feasibility studies,mine development and operations, and metal and concentrate market-ing. He incorporated Aur Resources and served at its president and CEOfor 26 years, until its takeover by Teck two years ago. Denison alsonamed Ron Hochstein as president and CEO. Hochstein, who has been with Denison for about ten years, was previously the company’s president and COO.

Students master mine rescuesMining engineering students get hands-on safety training

By Jeff Drake

said Vic Pakalnis, professor of miningengineering, “and these students arenow better equipped to deal with theirown safety and the safety of others inthis very important industry.”

The Mines and Aggregates Safetyand Health Association (MASHA)hosted the course. They provide minesafety training and support for theMine Rescue Organization in Ontario.Students who pass the course receive acertificate from MASHA and join aforce of about 800 volunteers thatfights underground fires and rescues

trapped or injured workers. The min-ing industry in Canada is among thesafest in the world and the Queen’sMining Department is the largest inthe country. The organizers of thisyear’s event hope to place Queen’sgraduates as safety advocates at everymine in Canada.

“These mining engineering stu-dents will go on to be managers,” com-mented Oscar Rielo, chief technolo-gist, mining engineering. “This isimportant because they can enforcesafety from the top levels. They willmake the decisions on what happensinside the mines.”

This first safety course was such asuccess that the Department of MiningEngineering hopes to soon offer ittwice a year, with sessions in thespring and fall. Reproduced with permission from theQueen’s Gazette.

www.queensu.cawww.masha.on.ca

CIM

Students participating in mine safety course

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The last couple of decades have seen a move by man-ufacturing and marketing companies towards oper-ational methods described as “agile.” Simply stated,agility indicates the deployment of processes and

tools to respond quickly to customer needs and marketchanges without compromising budget, time, quality andprofitability targets. While the catalysts for this moveinclude recent technological advances and the increasedavailability of Six Sigma and Lean Process experts, themost important drivers are the attitudes of people andorganizations who have imbibed agility into their workethics and organizational cultures.

The world-leading Canadian mining industry com-prises many such organizations and experts who haveincorporated agile practices into everything that theydo, be it plant design, mineral processing, material han-dling or procurement. The challenges that mining engi-neers routinely face require agility and adaptability notin just how they do things, but also in where they haveto do them.

Mid-term resultsBecause mining is a complex, multi-process business,

mining engineers and project managers, first and fore-most, have to establish a trust-based working relationshipwith their clients or employers. Right from the initial

survey stage, engineers on theground must determine all possi-ble situations likely to arise,assess the risks and success fac-tors of alternative courses ofaction, put in place controls tomitigate those risks and, mostimportantly, constantly evaluateand monitor progress in order toagilely and adaptively take cor-rective measures to keep the proj-ect on track.

The story behind one exemplarof the natural agility of Canadianmining engineers was recountedby Daniel Houde, senior projectmanager at Met-Chem. Houdedescribed a scenario at Met-Chem’s recently concluded Cerrode Maimon project in theDominican Republic. Met-Chem’sclient, GlobeStar MiningCorporation, runs a precious met-als mine there. The orebody, con-

taining both sulphide and oxide ores, was expected tomainly yield copper, but also minable quantities of goldand silver.

Coming on board around the project’s midway mark,Houde, along with other Met-Chem and local engineers,quickly determined that in order to finish the project ontime, they would need to procure equipment for themilling and crushing plants in double-quick time.Simultaneously, after assessing the quality and grade of theore, Met-Chem designers and planners also determinedthat it would be best to go with the tried and tested meth-ods of milling, crushing, grinding and metal recovery.

This decided, the team determined that it would be fea-sible, fast and cost-effective to procure high-quality usedequipment for the plant, given that this was a relativelysmall mine operation. Met-Chem engineers carefully eval-uated the Montreal-based manufacturers of much of therequired equipment and figured out an innovative way toship it to the island mine site.

Since considerable quantities of silver were present inthe ore, the process engineers opted to use the Merrill-Crowe process and counter-current decantation (CCD) asopposed to traditional carbon leaching or carbon-in-pulpprocesses. This design decision immediately impacted thenature of the rest of the plant and tailings pond design, andthe type of equipment to procure.


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Cerro de Maimon project in the Dominican Republic

Agility through simplicitySometimes the most adaptable solutions are often the simplest ones

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Simply the bestThe Cerro de Maimon project required constant adap-

tation on many fronts on Met-Chem’s part. The site waslocated in rough terrain in the middle of an island. Thiscreated major transportation issues not just for the peo-ple, but also for the equipment. Additional challengeswere posed by the weather (this is hurricane country)and the language (knowledge of Spanish, though not anabsolute necessity, was nevertheless quite advantageous).

Despite these hurdles, Rocio Ramirez,marketing manager at Met-Chem,reported that they “finished the job ontime, within budget and to the enor-mous delight of their client.” The engi-neers and project managers of Met-Chem demonstrated agility and adapt-ability in their approach, their thinkingand their execution.

August 2009 | 21

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AchievementsIOC CEO among the best in the region

The Atlantic Business Magazine hasnamed Terrence Bowles, presidentand CEO of the Iron Ore Company ofCanada (IOC), one of the Top 50CEOs in Atlantic Canada. The awardhas, over the past 11 years, recognizedand honoured the achievements of theregion’s most capable business leaders.

This year’s Top 50 list was compiledby a panel of judges that includedprominent regional executives fromamong hundreds of entries sent in bythe magazine’s readers. The panelmade its selections based on the nom-inees’ corporate, community andindustry involvement and contribu-tion to their respective companies’ per-formance.

Bowles, with his made-for-miningcombination of credentials in engineer-ing and management, began his miningcareer with QIT-Fer et Titane in 1971,becoming president in 1996. In 2001,he became the president and CEO ofIOC. Speaking at the awards ceremony,Bowles said: “We have all been workinghard every single day to get to the levelwe are operating at today. It is the dedi-cation of the employees that makes suc-cess possible.”

The Mining Industry Human Resources Council

Your source for Human Resource solutions and information to build strength, competitiveness and sustainability throughout the Canadian mining industry.

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The beauty and elegance of the solutions they devisedlay in their simplicity. First, it confirmed that the tried andtested can, at times, work just as effectively as the state-of-the-art. Perhaps more importantly, it confirmed that rela-tionships with the client are paramount. This, perhaps, isthe secret of agile mining — keep it simple, make it quickand do it right.

www.met-chem.com

CIM

You don’t have to be a giant to have impact. TheWahgoshig First Nation is, by any standards, a smallcommunity. Only about 160 of the 278 people regis-tered with the First Nation live on the 30-square-mile

reserve located approximately 50 kilometres east ofMatheson, Ontario. The Wahgoshigs’ traditional territory,however, is very large — the Wahgoshig people currentlyoccupy a large part of land that is now known asNortheastearn Ontario and Northwestern Quebec. TheAbitibi Reserve #70 (Wahgoshig) is adjacent to the Black Foxgold mine site, owned and operated by Apollo Gold, aYukon-based company with head offices in Denver,Colorado. In September 2002, equipped with the proper gov-ernment permits, Apollo Gold began exploration on land thecompany purchased in 2002 from Exall Resources.

Step one: Getting to know your neighboursIn late 2003, Maurice J. Kistabish approached Apollo Gold

and introduced himself as a representative of the WahgoshigFirst Nation. Since Black Fox was located in traditionalWahgoshig territory, he explained that his community wouldlike to enter into a relationship with the mining company.This came as somewhat of a surprise to Apollo Gold.

“This was the first time we had heard of such a thing,”said Ryan Lougheed, general manager of the Black Fox proj-ect. Although the company was aware that the CanadianMining Act states resource companies must consult withFirst Nations, there were no specific guidelines for Apollo tofollow. At first, it all seemed a little confusing.

The making of good agreements A three-step approach

“There were certainly challenges for us as a mining com-pany,” admitted Lougheed. “It was explained to us that wewere conducting work on the traditional lands of theWahgoshig First Nation, but when we asked for the territoryto be explained to us — what it meant, where it was and howit was defined — there were few answers. It was understand-ing the meaning of these things that was difficult.”

Step two: Learning togetherDefining cultural, spiritual and traditional land-related

rights is more complex than stating specific terms and condi-tions. Without any historical reference, the Wahgoshig feltthat Apollo was unable to understand the situation and theirposition. This was impeding the negotiations, concededKistabish, who coordinated and was the lead negotiator onthe Wahgoshig First Nation-Apollo Gold Impact BenefitsAgreement (IBA).

“We found that the company knew little about FirstNations,” said Kistabish. “We had to explain to them who wewere, what a traditional territory and a reserve land base areand what the difference between the two is. There was a lotof education to be done.”

What followed was an opening of minds and a learningexperience that benefitted both sides. Apollo Gold was wel-comed into the Wahgoshig community to meet the peopleand understand how they viewed the land and their need foreducation and employment. Apollo Gold invited members ofthe community to a shareholder meeting in Denver, to expe-rience first-hand how the mining company conducted busi-ness. The turning point came in 2007, just after Apollo Goldand the Wahgoshig entered in a memorandum of under-standing (MOU).

“We attended the Working Together Conference inTimmins with the Wahgoshig representatives where welearned about Treaty 9 issues with respect to the governmentand the First Nations, and understood the First Nations’ needfor education and employment,” explained Lougheed. “Itwas very enlightening.”

Step three: Defining the needs of both partnersEvery First Nation community is as unique as every

mining project, as Lougheed acknowledged. “First andforemost, as the industry understands, every mine site islike a snowflake, as is every First Nations community,” hecommented. “In developing a process and a relationshipwith a First Nation, it is of utmost importance to under-stand the community that you are working with, under-stand the wants, the needs, the difficulties, the back-ground and, most importantly, to have a proactive andproductive relationship.”


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Paul McKenzie, Wahgoshig First Nation councillor (left), and Dave Russell, presidentof Apollo Gold, at the grand opening of the Black Fox Mine.

For the Wahgoshig, their IBA had to include not onlytraining and education for members of their community, butalso a process to develop joint ventures that would give thema competitive edge. “One of the objectives was to look atsomething long term and consistent,” said Wahgoshig ChiefDave Babins. “We wanted to create an economic base for ourcommunity so that we can keep our kids in the community.The government, at one time, kept us in a box. We want toventure out and survive today, and we also want to changewith the times and make sure we have the opportunitieswhile they are in our territories.”

Joint venturesFinalizing the IBA is still a few months away, said

Lougheed, but to date, everything is moving in a positivedirection for everyone. As of June 1, the mine had enteredinto commercial production. Of its 157 employees, 10 arefrom Wahgoshig First Nation. Approximately one-third ofthe contracts are joint ventures, approximately a third ofwhich are with Wahgoshig companies.

A unique aspect of this partnership is that although theIBA is not yet finalized, some elements of the agreement havealready been implemented. Since construction began lastSeptember, the Wahgoshig wanted in on the action rightfrom the get-go. “Implementing at the same time as we arefinalizing the IBA is a challenge,” conceded Mary Boyden,Wahgoshig’s mining initiatives development officer. “Apollohas been an excellent and willing partnerand when it comes to the IBA itself, wecouldn’t have asked for a better companyrecognizing our interests.”

After just a few months of implement-ing joint ventures, the 90 per cent unem-ployment rate of the Wahgoshig hasshifted dramatically to an employmentrate of 85 to 95 percent since January2009. With their history of working withthe forestry industry, the Wahgoshigalready had a roster of skilled equipmentoperators, highway truck drivers and peo-ple with construction experience. The keywas to transfer these skills to the miningindustry, as well as to offer additionaltraining and educational opportunities.

“We also have a very good detail ofpeople who do brush and line cutting,”explained Boyden. “Our first joint venturewas for industrial construction and thesecond one was a pit-stripping projectwith Apollo.”

Other joint ventures are with CMSMechanico and Wahgoshig IndustrialServices, which provide industrial con-struction services throughout the territo-ries. Yet another joint venture has seen the

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front-end studies

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heavy equipment company Leo Allarie come on board toform Wahgoshig Allarie Construction.

“These joint ventures mean we are developing a healthyworkforce,” said Boyden. “One of things we have discoveredis that we have to have people from within the communityattached to each major project, otherwise we’re just depend-ing on consultants from outside. When people from the com-munity are attached to a project, they own it mentally.”

Moving in the right directionThe results have been immediately rewarding for

both sides. Apollo has a ready, skilled and close-at-handworkforce, and the Wahgoshig are becoming a thrivingcommunity.

With a projected mine life of eight years, Apollo will con-tinue exploration activities surrounding the Black Fox goldmine that will include “working with the First Nations in allthose areas,” said Lougheed.

For the Wahgoshig, the long-term future is looking bright.“Mining is so exciting because there are so many differentcareer options for people — from managers and healthcareworkers to operators and tradesmen,” said Boyden. “We’vegot a very close relationship with Apollo and they have beenso willing to be there. That’s what has made this relationshipwork so well.”

www.apollogold.com

CIM

• Are the signals used in the PLC, for processcontrol purposes, properly sampled and fil-tered? Are the PID controller configurationsconsistent?

• Are the control strategies appropriate? Do thecontrollers require sporadic manual adjust-ments by the operator? Are the process con-straints and interactions properly handled inthe PLC? What is the method used for PIDtuning? Do existing control strategies takeadvantage of cascade, feed forward and mul-tivariable configurations?In other words, the root causes of the prob-

lems need to be examined. One needs to deter-mine whether the problem is related to instru-mentation, control systems or process control.Where to start investigating and who to consultare also important considerations.

There is no such thing as an omniscientexpert. Instrumentation, control systems and

process control are closely interrelated, and expertise in anyone of these fields will imply some fundamental knowledgein the others. However, proper design and efficient trouble-shooting generally requires more than basic knowledge —this means it will often take more than one expert to tacklethe problem. Where does one start? Here are some tips.

InstrumentationThese problems are so common that it is estimated that

30 per cent of control valves exhibit mechanical problemsand that 15 per cent of instruments and control systems arenot installed properly. To avoid these problems, one shouldlook for multiple references — suppliers, users, consultants,integrators, etc. — with whom to develop a network andshare your own experience. It is also useful to carry out trials with new technologies. You can always team up withmanufacturers and suppliers to share the risk and evendevelop your own in-house expertise. Although it seemsobvious, it is worth stressing that you must always followthe instrument manufacturer’s installation specifications.Finally, it is highly recommended that you work with recog-nized integrators — they spend 90 per cent of their timesolving issues that you encounter 10 per cent of your time.They could save you a lot of trouble.

Control systemsIt is vital to make the distinction between the content and

the container. A skilled PLC or DCS (distributed control sys-tem) programmer is not a process control expert. Developing

Who you gonna call?The difference between process control,instrumentation and control systems expertise


upfrontT E C H N O L O G Y b y J o c e l y n B o u c h a r d a n d M a r t i n É m o n d

The control room at Xstrata Nickel’s Nickel Rim operation

Poor little Johnny; he had excitedly assembled his firstbicycle all by himself only to discover that it justwon’t go, even though it looks fine. Then again, theinstructions were not exactly crystal clear.

Frustrated, he declares his shiny new bike a lemon and askshis parents to replace it. After a little investigation, Johnny’sfather found that his son had made a few mistakes whileassembling the kit — the brakes were not tight enough andit was impossible to switch gears. When fixed by a compe-tent shop, the lemon was transformed into the dream bicy-cle his son had dreamed of.

But what does this have to do with process control in min-ing, you might rightfully ask? However fanciful or seeminglysimplistic Johnny’s scenario might sound, it is not dissimilarto the frustrations that process control personnel mayencounter at a mill. An technician might spend his dayswrestling with a stubborn PLC (programmable logic con-troller), trying to stabilize the grinding circuit to stop thelevel of flotation cells from oscillating, only to discover thatnothing works. As in the case of Johnny, he may wrongfullythink that he has a lemon or that the process is too complexto be handled by the PLC using PID (proportional integralderivative) controllers, and an expert system is required.

Asking the right questionsIn such process control situations several questions need

to be addressed:• What kind of instrumentation is in place? Is the right

technology always used? Do the installations always follow best practices?

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competent in-house programming resources is easier thandeveloping process control expertise. Always ensure that thePID configuration standards are reviewed by recognized andcompetent process control experts. Ask for their records andtalk to their customers (e.g. to investigate whether the con-trol strategies they commissioned are still in place). Also, donot hesitate to ask for external auditing of the control system.Finally, trust your instincts. If you are not fully satisfied withwhat you get from your PLC or DCS, or if the operator inter-face (HMI) does not meet your expectations, it is unlikelythat industry best practice standards will be met.

Process controlProcess control is the poor cousin of instrumentation and

control systems. Unlike with instruments and control sys-tems, where failures are glaring and demand to be fixed assoon as possible, shaky process control is often seen asacceptable. It is not uncommon to encounter default factoryPID tunings in operating plants. So pervasive is the lack ofattention to this area that a fifth of all control loops areimproperly designed and a whopping 85 per cent of themare improperly tuned. In fact, 30 per cent of control loopscannot be operated in “auto” because the tuning parametersdo not make any sense.

PIDs represent 97 per cent of all controllers encoun-tered on the market. However, only 25 per cent of PID con-trollers contribute to reducing variability when they oper-ate in automatic. Using the trial-and-error approach to tun-ing is time-consuming and is unlikely to lead to optimalperformance. Only a systematic method can yield robustand sustainable benefits.

Closing the loop is the last step, as proper process con-trol relies on proper instrumentation and control systems.Process control experts have a global vision of the situa-tion and are well-equipped to identify where the problemoriginates.

It is important to bear in mind that nowadays, PLCs andDCSs are very powerful. One can go a long way before

being limited by the control system capabilities. Thepower, robustness and versatility of PID controllers aregenerally underestimated. Nonlinearities, interactions andmultivariable systems do not preclude their use. Keeping itsimple is still the best approach for maximum robustnessand reliability.

Designing advanced control strategies and implementingthem in a PLC or DCS may require external resources.However, when applicable, maximizing the use of the exist-ing control system is by far more cost-effective than buyingan external system (expert systems, optimizers, etc.).Optimizing the PID controller tunings and control strategiesrepresents the best possible return on investment because ittakes advantage of equipment that has already been paid forand installed.

Instrumentation, control system and process controlissues can sometimes look burdensome until you ask theright person. Do not accept the status quo and do not beafraid of paradigm shifts. While there are clear links betweenthe three fields, they need to be clearly differentiated.Expecting a single person to wear all three hats at once isunrealistic. Only with a clear understanding of the distinctfields and a full appreciation of each expert’s specific expert-ise is it possible to ensure optimal control.

www.xstrata.com

CIM

About the authors

Jocelyn Bouchard and Martin Émond are process control engineersat Xstrata Process Support. They have a combined 30 years ofexperience in fundamental and advanced industrial process control.For any questions and comments: [email protected].

Giving BackSyncrude steps up to the plateOil sands giant Syncrude Canada Ltd. has signed athree-year sponsorship agreement with Fort McMurray’sMinor Baseball League. Under the $50,000-a-year agree-ment, Syncrude will have naming rights to the press boxand canteen at the Ron Morgan Baseball Park. Syncrude’spresident and CEO Tom Katinas said: “Syncrude isproud to support youth recreation here in this region.Our young people are great ambassadors for the WoodBuffalo region and we feel it is important to help rein-force the many positive attributes of our community.”This sponsorship is part of Syncrude’s communityinvestment program under the aegis of which the com-pany has contributed over $12.5 million to various com-munity ventures since 2006.

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Control room at Falcondo

Teaching mineral economics at the undergraduatelevel has been a tradition at Queen’s University formany decades. Committed to offering top-rankedmineral economics training to complement its

strong mining and geological engineering programs, theuniversity prides itself on having faculty with deep, real-world understanding of the subject, and places the empha-sis on the application of economic analysis techniques inthe resources industry.

Mineral economics is taught as a core undergraduatecourse within the Faculty of Applied Science to miningand geological engineering students and is also open togeological sciences students from the Faculty of Arts andSciences. A graduate-level course is also taught withinthe mining engineering program. Queen’s places theemphasis on the application of economic analysis tech-niques within geological exploration, mine developmentand equipment replacement.

The undergraduate course imparts important skills toaid students in their engineering design courses and proj-ects. It is also a vital part of preparing them for their careerswhen, as engineers, many will be involved in project man-agement, enterprise management and strategic planningprocesses at mineral resources companies.

At a business-enterprise level, students are introducedto how capital is raised and used, the various sources ofcapital and the calculation of associated costs. This

prepares future engineers tounderstand and calculate theminimum rate of return firms willfind acceptable for making proj-ect decisions. This is central tothe economics of running a min-eral resources business.

Built on lectures, individualassignments and a group project,the undergraduate course, inwhich 75 students were enrolledlast year, uses examples of cur-rent business situations to gener-ate discussion. This past year,students looked at the proposedcapital injection by Chinalcointo Rio-Tinto (which has sincebeen cancelled). Students havethe added benefit of closelystudying potential futureemployers, gaining knowledgethat can be very useful whenthey start their careers.

The program covers a range of topics including anintroduction to economic evaluation; the concepts ofcash flow and its estimation; the time value of moneyand net smelter return; determining costs; understand-ing taxation; the effects of inflation; risk and sensitivityanalyses; the basics of exploration economics; theequipment replacement decision-making process; finan-cial analysis of mining companies; and the valuation ofprojects and firms.

The group project encourages long-term thinkingabout operations and finance as a counterbalance againstthe short-term cyclicality of certain enterprises, com-modity markets and the stock market, generally. Teamsof four members, comprised of a mix of mining and geo-logical engineers, each choose a mining company and anoil and gas company to review. This past year, the com-panies reviewed included Barrick Gold Corporation,BHP Billiton, Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., Chevron,EnCana, ExxonMobil, Husky Energy, Kinross GoldCorporation, Nexen Inc., Petro-Canada, PotashCorp,Suncor, Vale Inco and Xstrata. The first part of the proj-ect required teams to present a company-wide summaryof their subject companies’ operating strategies andresults over the 2007 to 2009 YTD period.

The second part focused on the financial implicationsof the operating results and the entity’s financial strategy.Needless to say, in the 2009 winter term, the students


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Queen’s University students

Teaching the business of the mineral resources industry Mineral economics at Queen’s University

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were analyzing companies during a very turbulentperiod. The point of the project is to observe and under-stand the interconnection between operating and finan-cial strategies at an enterprise-wide level. A brief report,with backup, is required for each of the operations andfinancial sections.

At the graduate level, the course is more intensive andincludes such topics as accounting, economics andfinancial analysis in geologic and mining situations; eco-nomic analysis methods used in the resources industry;considerations of business structure, legal issues andtaxation; the financial management of the mining and oiland gas enterprises; comprehensive mineral project andenterprise valuation; and strategic business planning.There is also a group project in which students study amajor Canadian mining company (this past year it wasTeck) and the class prepares a business plan based onpublic information, their undergraduate engineeringtraining and the techniques taught in the course.

Thus, the Queen’s University program provides stu-dents with a deep theoretical and strongly practicalunderstanding of the role of finance and economics inthe mineral resources industry. Teaching the practicalapplication of mineral economics remains a key part ofQueen’s long-term strategy for its Department of MiningEngineering. We believe that it is vital for our future

engineers and geologists to understand the monetaryside of the business as thoroughly as they comprehendits technical and scientific aspects.

Queen’s University welcomes enquiries from prospectiveundergraduate and graduate students, alumni, researchers,government and industry.

Please contact us at http://www.mine.queensu.ca/

CIM

Course receives high grades

Judging by student evaluation and feedback, the mineraleconomics course at Queen’s has been very well-received indeed. “I feel that the instructor is speaking from

a position of industry experience, and can include real exam-ples from his career,” said one student.

Some students appreciated the “new interesting material” theywere provided, while another thought that the “course noteswere spectacular. Assignments were topical and relevant. Theteacher was very knowledgeable, and able to explain every-thing.”

On the usefulness of the course, too, there is little doubt in thestudents’ minds. “I did learn a lot because there’s no othercourse like this,” wrote one student. Another felt that “…economics is important for engineers.” “Interesting materialapplicable to real life,” is how one student characterized thecourse.

That mineral economics training is an essential part of min-ing-related education is clearly more than just an opinion heldby the Queen’s faculty. The students seem to want more of ittoo. Their number one suggestion, “more examples in class,”reveals that students are as hungry for practicable economicstraining as their teachers are eager to impart it.

About the author

Jim Martin started teaching mineraleconomics at Queen’s Universityrecently, bringing with him more than30 years of industry experience. Heholds a B.Sc. Eng. (geologicalengineering) from Queen’s University,an M.Sc. in mineral engineering fromStanford University, and an MBA fromthe University of Toronto. He waselected by alumni in 2006 for a six-year term on the Queen’s UniversityCouncil.

In spite of constrained capital availability and risk-averse attitudes, some mining companies, and somepeople, are keeping busier than others. Perhaps one ofthe busiest is David Garofalo, senior vice-

president, finance and CFO of Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited.Garofalo has been helping Agnico-Eagle steer throughchoppy economic waters towards ambitious expansionobjectives. He was recently named Canada’s CFO of theYear, an award presented annually by Financial ExecutivesInternational (FEI) Canada, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLPand The Caldwell Partners International. Given the broadaward criteria — vision and leadership, corporate reportingand performance, social responsibility, innovation and busi-ness complexity — Garofalo has certainly accomplishedquite the balancing act. During an investor and analyst sitevisit of the Kittilä mine in Finland in June, David sharedsome thoughts with CIM Magazine.

A conversation with Canada’s CFO of the YearAgnico-Eagle’s David Garofalo shares his thoughts on a range of topics including working with investors, controlling costs and predicting commodity trends

CIM: The opening of the Kittilä mine is very exciting. What areyou trying to accomplish during these site visits?Garofalo: It’s very helpful for me to bring investors andcredit providers out to the mine site. What jumps out atpeople is how well-engineered, well-kept, safe and profes-sionally run our mines are, and how cohesive ouremployee group is. You don’t see that looking at the finan-cial model or speaking to executives at head office. I’vefound that doing site visits has always been a tremendousfacilitator for financing, whether it’s banks, equity marketsor debt markets.

CIM: Do site visits alleviate anxieties about risk better than afinancial model would?Garofalo: Absolutely. You get a sense of the scale and scopeof operations when you’re on site. You can’t get that onpaper in a financial model. Right now it’s a very tightcredit market. In fact, I’d characterize it as very bifur-cated. Good companies can still get money, though capi-tal cost has gone up. Companies with single or undevel-oped assets and companies that don’t have a history ofbuilding or operating mines probably can’t get any creditat all. So, having our scale and track record is a big advan-tage. That jumps out at you when you go out to sites andsee what we have here. The cohesive employee group, theskill sets, the hundreds of engineers and geologists thatwe have on staff are a tremendous advantage that we canleverage to help showcase our operations to creditproviders. Right now, we’re actually in the middle ofexpanding our credit facilities. It’s in syndication and isgoing well. The credit margins have widened, but we canstill get money from banks.

CIM: Would you please explain Agnico-Eagle’s policy of notparticipating in gold forward markets? How does it work foryou?Garofalo: That’s a philosophical decision we made a longtime ago. We think that investors in gold stock want to beexposed to the gold price — up and down. They want fullbeta to bullion. Our best hedge against falling gold pricesis low-cost operations. We have low-cost operationsbecause we have assets of significant scale. We reapeconomies of scale at the operational level and have a nat-urally low-cost structure. Also, because we essentiallybuild our deposits out ourselves, our total costs tend to belower. We have a much lower cost structure, even whenyou include recovery of your capital expenditures. That’sour hedge; that’s how we look at it.


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David Garofalo

CIM: One of the considerations for the CFO of the Year awardis corporate social responsibility. How is a CFO positioned todeal with issues of corporate social responsibility?Garofalo: It’s pretty fundamental. You really can’t raise cap-ital unless you have a game plan for dealing with environ-mental reclamation and securing the social licence tooperate in various communities. In this market, creditorsand investors will not provide capital without ensuringresponsibility in that regard. I’m acutely aware of whatour corporate social responsibility programs are. Am Idirectly responsible for those programs? No, but I amresponsible for ensuring they are communicated properlyto capital providers.

CIM: There have been discussions lately, for example, in theMining Finance and Management Day at the last CIMConference and Exhibition, about mineral economics and education. In your view, how important are courses like mineral economics and accounting in mining-related university programs?Garofalo: I think it is important because, at the end of theday, it’s not just about digging holes in the ground. It’sabout extracting minerals on an economic basis and gener-ating returns on investment. I think that’s been a criticismfrom investors in the past, because it’s such a capital-inten-sive business. Sometimes focus is lost on that return oninvestment. Having that integrated into engineering andtechnical programs makes a lot of sense.

CIM: Do you have any thoughts on real options or otheradvanced valuation methods?Garofalo: I prefer to keep it simple. I like discounted cashflow and rate of return analysis. Real option valuation andMonte Carlo methodology probably overly complicateswhat I think should be a relatively simple analysis. Does itgenerate a rate of return? Does it generate accretion on aper-share basis? Those are fairly simple metrics, and at theend of the day they’re at the level of most value.

CIM: How important is investment in innovation for the miningindustry? For example, what should companies be spendingas a percentage of their revenues?Garofalo: By definition, the mineral exploration business isR&D. We’re a collection of finite life assets, and we haveto continually re-invest in the ground or replace whatwe’re pulling out. R&D is a necessity. But, I don’t know ifthere’s a fixed percentage or a rule of thumb that makessense. We have done some R&D, for example, on watertreatment. We use a bio-leach process at LaRonde so thatwe can discharge potable water back into the environ-ment. That is an innovation we’ve developed internallythat we can leverage in our existing operations. If you askme what percentage of revenue to spend on exploration,I’d say probably 10 per cent — to regenerate what you’repulling out of the ground.

CIM: Among senior management positions, the CFO role is onethat probably sees more turnover than others. Do you haveany advice to company directors on selecting a CFO?Garofalo: I think you want someone who understands the var-ious sources of capital very well. Given the capital intensityof the business, you need someone who knows how to raisemoney. Whether it’s something in the development stage, orsomething that’s mature and needs corporate facilities to sus-tain operations and maintain liquidity for new opportunities,you need someone who understands and can access varioussources of capital at the appropriate time while maintaining alow cost of capital. I think that keeping a company ade-quately liquid is probably a CFOs most important job. Try tofind somebody who fits the stage that a company is in. Thereisn’t one-size-fits-all for CFOs. Junior level companies thatare developing an asset probably need somebody who under-stands project debt financing very well and can bring inappropriate creditors multilaterally. A more mature companymight require somebody who understands the capital mar-kets, corporate lending relationships and trading relation-ships to ensure there are adequate trading lines to sustain thebusiness on an ongoing basis. Making sure somebody under-stands the capital needs, at that stage for that company, isprobably the most important criterion for a board.

CIM: Do you have any advice for bankers to better understandthe minerals industry?Garofalo: I think it’s important that bankers understand cor-porate strategy, above all. Sometimes bankers tend tothrow a lot of ideas against a wall to see what sticks, ratherthan understand what the core strategy of a company reallyis. Ensuring that they tailor their opportunities for thatclient so that they’re not wasting time is probably the mostimportant thing they can do. Understanding your client’sbusiness helps you pitch ideas that are most appropriatefor their strategy or their capital structure.

CIM: Lastly, what are your thoughts on commodity markets, ingeneral, looking forward?Garofalo: I’m bullish on that. I think there’s going to be priceinflation across the commodity complex — oil, base metalsand certainly gold — because of all the monetary supply that’sbeen introduced in industrialized nations. Gold is a very accu-rate barometer of inflation and is doing well now and will con-tinue to do so because inflation is coming. I think there’ll bean economic rebound in the short to medium term because ofthe stimulus activity that has been introduced. I’m afraidwhen inflation goes up, however, that interest rates will haveto increase and may choke off economic growth. We mayenter a period where growth is pretty stagnant because of theneed for central banks to deal with inflation. But in the shortto medium term, the inflation impact on the commodity complex could be quite significant.

www.agnico-eagle.com

CIM

August 2009 | 29

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Daniel Dumas talks with shaft miners in front of sinking buckets at the Lakeshore Gold Timmins project.Photo courtesy of Dumas Contracting Ltd. Photo by Claude G. Gagnon

Can it be done?Can it be done better?Mining the specialists to extract the most from human and natural resources by Ryan Bergen

Minerals and metals — impassive, unrefinedand hidden by overburden — may make anotherwise unremarkable hinterland outpostinteresting. However, it is the readily minedenergy and knowledge of experts engaged

in developing these resources that puts these places onthe map.

While they are not the raison d’être of the industry, theyare its savoir faire. The “unsung heroes” of the industry —contractors and consultants, researchers and serviceproviders — do not have mines bearing their names, buttheir identities and character are built into operationsaround the globe.

Treasures in the trashWith each operation, there is value to be unearthed, but

also hidden potential in the day-to-day processes to beharnessed. From the earliest studies, through the construc-tion and evolution of the mine and the industry, to shut-down and reclamation, new lessons can be learned andapplied, and new tools brought into service.

“Nine or ten years ago, we looked at how our earth-moving equipment tires were being used,” recountedMichael Reich, training manager for Michelin. “In the scrappile of a typical quarry, we’d find that as much as half thetread was left on the tire when it came out of service, nomatter what brand it was. This was an asset the companywas underutilizing in a dramatic manner. With any product,if you only use 50 per cent of it, you would be disappointed.”

In response, the company developed an end-user seminar that brought together operators, dealers and Michelinrepresentatives to work out ways to get more value from theproduct. Reich said that the constrained supply of the pastseveral years has motivated mining companies to learn how toget the most out of their tires. “In the last three or four years,end-users have been more receptive to change,” he said. “Nowwe’ve seen people double their tire life and, even though tiresupply has gotten better in most sizes, we don’t see a lot of thepeople going back to their bad habits.”

The key to mining value from the seminar, explainedReich, is letting end-users be active in it. “These guys’ jobsare not to use tires, its to move material,” he said. “If wesimply dictate to them what they should do, when it is notpractical, they won’t do it. So, on the final day of our semi-nar, we develop a plan with each customer to improve theirtire performance. Then, six months later, I follow up to seehow they are doing.”

Fitting inNo project gets off the ground — or into it — without a

solid organizational infrastructure and well-defined work-ing relationship.

“If we bring in a contractor, it is absolutely imperativethat they comply with our safety, health and environmentalrequirements and with anything pertaining to the well-being of our workforce,” explained Ingrid Hann, vice-presi-dent of human resources for De Beers Canada.

The answer, according to Greg Oryall, vice-president ofbusiness development and strategy for AMEC, is “to havevery clear delineation of responsibilities, so that important

August 2009 | 31

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Worker performing tread measurement

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things like safety don’t fall through the cracks.” Among theglobal engineering and project management company’srecent work is the development of De Beers’ Snap Lakeand Victor mines in the Northwest Territories and Ontario,respectively.

With value as the aim, every engagement with the clientought to bear fruit, said Greg Fauquier global managingdirector of metals and mineral processing for the HatchGroup, which provides engineering, procurement and con-struction management to mining operations around theworld. “We have our own internal safety and health pro-gram that can be, in some cases, stronger than our client’sprogram. We leverage our internal knowledge against thatof our client’s business and try to improve upon their per-spective on safety and health.” Among Hatch’s manyalliances is one with the Mosaic Corporation to help itexpand potash production at its facility near Colonsay,Saskatchewan.

Under pressureThese days, the mantra of “added value” that inspires

consultants is often met by the industry’s own chant of“cost cutting.” Hann, however, suggested that while opera-tors may be circling new projects a little more warily, theeconomic slowdown presents opportunities for collabora-tion. Whether the challenge is within the business structureor in technical aspects of the operation, she said: “You nowmay be able to afford the time to ensure that theprocesses are unfolding as they should and whether thereare any impediments. Now is the time to iron them out and

maybe do some overhaul work that you normally can’t dobecause you are working at a full pace. The recessionallows you to evaluate where you had some snags and tobring a contractor in to help streamline that part of thebusiness.”

Naturally, the call for reappraisal and reassessmentrings true from the contractor’s perspective as well. “Wehave reworked our management structures and madethem leaner,” said Chris Yellowega, vice-president, opera-tions for North American Construction Group. “This willsave us money and make us a lot more competitive in thefuture. If someone needs to make a decision in the field,there are fewer layers they have to go through.”

One positive to be drawn from the current downturn isthat it allows more clarity in the framing of projects,explained Yellowega, citing the shifting fortunes in the West.“When the Alberta economy was so hot, there were a lot ofadd-on components to the cost structure — things likeemployee retention and living out allowances — that arevariable costs that come and go. With the slowdown, a lot ofthose add-on costs have gone away and we are now bid-ding a much more traditional cost structure for labour onremote sites.”

Nevertheless, when it comes to developing partner-ships, the fundamentals endure, said Yellowega. “The keyto capturing projects in the recession is not only to be verycompetitive on your pricing, but also to make sure thatwhen you arrive on the site for a project that you are well-prepared to execute it, properly trained and well-versed inthe client’s needs,” he said.

the power of people

A tour of the De Beers Canada Snap Lake operation


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The legacy of this era of tightpurse strings and tough decisionscan’t be known yet, but howresources are allocated now will goa long way to defining it. Over time,the industry has seen increasedproductivity from its workforce, butthat progress is not inevitable. Asvolatile as the industry is, the edu-cational infrastructure that feeds itrequires continuity, said Steve Hall.As CEO of Ontario-based MiningInnovation, Rehabilitation andApplied Research Corporation(MIRARCO), it is Hall’s task toalign students, researchers andtheir projects with industry todevelop capacity in the next gener-ation of Canadian mining profes-sionals and in the tools that theindustry eventually adopts.

Research and development,though, take time, which is one of the chief lessonsMIRARCO teaches. “There is value in instilling in studentsan understanding of the research process,” said Hall. “It isimportant for any country that is going to be based on aknowledge economy and innovation. You have to be pre-pared for false starts in research and understand that it isa process, that it can take a number of years to establishcapacity and excellence, and that capacity can be easilylost if the supporting infrastructure is fragile.”

Long reach, quick feetThe global expansion of resource development has

sparked projects around the world. Moving across hemi-spheres, from the tropics to the Subarctic, has forcedfirms competing for business to be strong, but also well-balanced and nimble.

“If we are working on a project in Asia, we can draw onour office in China to provide local procurement, logistics,construction management, design and so on,” explainedAMEC’s Oryall. “If we are doing a project in South America,our mining and metals group has a large office in Santiago,Chile, and an office in Lima and a presence in Brazil. We canwork out of those locations, but we can also draw on officelocations and resources from any of our divisions of thecompany,”

The smooth flow of experience and knowledge alsoserve as important anchors when working on several con-tinents concurrently. “We drive our global businessthrough our business units almost assuming an absenceof regions,” said Hatch’s Fauquier. “This allows us to trans-fer resources and knowledge uninhibited by regional con-straints. If we operated on a regional basis and each officewas rewarded on the basis of profits and productivity, noregional division would be likely to give over its people.They covet those people.”

With each new project, clients have access to theexpertise of consultants’ global networks. “The only thingwe have to sell is knowledge,” said Fauquier. “We will sitdown and analyze the lessons learned from our bigger

August 2009 | 33

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Quality+Innovation=Snowden

PERTH BRISBANE VANCOUVER JOHANNESBURG LONDON BELO HORIZONTE CALGARY

AMEC’s training and development group develops skills and training solutions to mitigate risk for clients around the world.

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projects and convey those lessons through our organiza-tion, and specifically to projects that are about to take off.”

Bringing any operation into production in a new regioninevitably means building the capacity to staff it. “If we areworking in a location where there is not a well-establishedworkforce for the owner to tap into, then our in-housetraining and development group can help develop a skillsassessment and a training needs analysis in the region andhelp them put together training and recruitment plans,” said

Oryall. “This often entails teaming with communitycolleges and other institutions to start building asustainable capability in the region.”

Open marriagesThe smooth exchange of expertise between con-

tractor and owner poses a particular challenge toconsultants who spend years cultivating the skills oftheir employees. Sometimes individuals who havedone so well at adding value are lured away by othercontractors or, conversely, are not always eager toleave the operation at which they have been working.“Sometimes an employee who may have establishedroots at one of our operations may prefer to comework with us as opposed to living a nomad life withthe contractor,” said Hann. However, she stressed thatsuch processes are initiated by the individual. “It justnot good business to be stealing people from thecontractor,” she said.

The loosening of the labour market in the recent down-turn, though, has also meant a change in fortunes on thesupply side as operators cut staff. “We’ve been picking upsome really great people”, said Sandy Woodhouse, humanresources director for AMEC’s Mining and Metals Group.“Of course, even in boom times we do have people comefrom the operations side for the opportunity to work withthe people who are renowned world experts in their field.”

“It’s a catch 22,” reflected Fauquier. “We have a strongtechnical base in our company andplace an emphasis on people whointend to grow their careers with us.That means they may have more tooffer than some of those guys who flybetween companies every year or so.As a consequence, that also makesour employees more attractive to ourclients. On the other hand it cansometimes be an advantage for ouremployees to move on into opera-tions because, presumably, thatmeans that they’ve had a good careerand good opportunities with Hatch.When they go with our clients theyinvite us back.”

Though the vast reserves of min-eral wealth yet to be unearthedacross Canada and the globe — andthe money dedicated to extracting it— will always drive the industry, thedirection forward will be plotted bypeople. Those piloting the massivemachines, developing tomorrow’stechnologies, conceiving the projectsand grooming the next generation ofhighly qualified professionals willensure the jobs get done and, wherepossible, done better. CIM


the power of people

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Kearl Lake, AB

Wade Bohnet (electrical apprentice) and Stephanie Smutylo (maintenance halper) at De BeersCanada’s Snap Lake operation

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In 2005, the Diavik Diamond Mine, located in the NorthSlave Region of the Northwest Territories, about 300kilometres north of Yellowknife, created the Aboriginal

Leadership Development Program. Built around theSouthern Alberta Institute of Technology’s (SAIT) appliedmanagement certificate program, the goal was to helpincrease the number of qualified Aboriginal people at themine’s supervisory and management levels.

By the end of 2009 the program will boast approxi-mately 50 graduates. A mix of Diavik employees and con-tractors, participants will have attended a series of two-and-a-half day workshops, once a month for a year. Theywill have received 188 hours of training, including 10courses addressing 16 leadership competencies; monthlyleadership development activities; guest lectures; and amentoring program by Diavik management. When the

company decided to initiate this employee enhancementprogram, it invited various educational institutions to submitproposals outlining a pilot program. From among the manyoptions, Diavik chose SAIT’s applied management certifi-cate program. Employees who show leadership potentialare nominated by their managers for the program. After thefirst year, the company hired Sarah Wright, a northernAboriginal educator with global industry experience, tocustomize the program to meet its needs better.

Made-to-measure training A good learning environment is not always a one-size-

fits-all scenario. Although the SAIT program was funda-mentally sound, it needed to be fine-tuned. “There was anexisting structure to the program but we did some consid-erable reworking,” explained Wright. “We added some

August 2009 | 35

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Floyd Abel and Christy Black discuss their role play

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Diavik blends cutting-edge management education with time-honoured traditional approachesby Marlene Eisner

academic elements as well as specific northern Aboriginalcontent.”

On the academic side, participants are introduced to 10courses representing five areas of applied managementthat meet Diavik’s needs, such as organizational behaviour,finance for non-finance persons and interpersonal skills, toname a few. Flown in from the mine for their workshops,participants receive the full academic course, with thesame quality and content as is offered to those who attendthe course at SAIT.

It is the presentation, rather than the content of thecourse, that is customized. To give the program a more local,northern focus, Wright incorporates approaches similar tothose that Aboriginal teachers and leaders would use intheir own communities in the Northwest Territories. Thus, inaddition to the practical, the spiritual and cultural elementsof the Aboriginal community get woven into the program.

One example is how Wright begins and ends each ses-sion. With an interesting twist on the traditional sharing cir-cle, she poses a question that is relevant to the topic beinglearned. “If we’re doing a course called ‘Introduction toLeadership Skills,’ I will ask them to describe someone whoinspired them,” said Wright. “I use the principle of a councilcircle or sharing circle, where they can speak from theheart, listen from the heart, be spontaneous and be lean ofexpression.” In this way, each participant has the opportu-nity to speak and listen to others and to be present “in themoment” without thinking of other things or rehearsingtheir responses. Wright explained that this is an ancientAboriginal approach to problem solving.

Other elements of the customized program deal withpersonal well-being and conflict resolution. In a coursecalled “Personal Toolkit,” the focus is on recognizing one’swellness, managing emotions, self-care and taking per-sonal time. “I think that in such a fast-paced work environ-ment there is a tendency to not take that time,” explainedWright. “We decided to revamp that course to incorporatethe Aboriginal view that mental, physical and spiritual bal-ance is essential to be an effective leader.”

The interactive program relies on experiential activities,as well as guest speakers, to help students integrate andunderstand the concepts. For the “Personal Toolkit” course,Wright invites a traditional healer to give a half-day work-shop. “As an example, we worked with the group on themedicine wheel from a Dene approach to stress why lead-ership is not just about one person,” she said. “Differentpeople have different talents or gifts. Likewise, peoplewithin a community have different leadership skills. Weemphasize that there is a leader in each of us. Every oneof us has a gift, and this is the opportunity to acknowledgeand use them to be healthy contributors to the workplaceand the community.”

Photos, top to bottom: Establishing trust is part of a team-building course; John Teesand George Unka (drumming), Rob Laviolette, Merle Essau, Alfred Liske, Billy Squirrel,Sah Naji Kwe employee, Brad Ostafichuk (players) participate in a hand-game activity;Instructor Sarah Wright reads to the group participating in a leadership skills course.


the power of people

August 2009 | 37

the power of people

From the personal to the communalRob Laviolette graduated from the Aboriginal leadership

program in January 2009. The 31-year-old father of threehas been a welder in mobile maintenance at Diavik since2003. He said that despite not knowing what to expectfrom the program at first, he came away learning a lotabout himself and his co-workers. While every coursehelped him achieve some of his own goals, it was the ses-sion on team building that really struck home.

“Learning how to coach people and to help them figureout their problems revealed things on a personal level,” heexplained. “I didn’t tend to have much patience and Iwanted to learn how to deal with people better. I’ve beenable to better myself that way. I’ve been able to defuse sit-uations and help people with their problem solving. Evenmy morale has increased. There have been noticeablechanges in my attitude, for sure.”

Looking ahead, Laviolette would like to transfer theskills he acquired through the leadership program to areasoutside work. “At the community level, I like to think ofmyself as a leader and I’d like to help in that area.”

Aaron Campbell, a mineral processing technician, hasbeen with Diavik for three years. A co-worker who gradu-ated from the leadership program recommended it to him.“I went to my manager and said I would be interested if hecould put in a nomination,” said the 24-year-old who isoriginally from Fort Resolution in the Northwest Territories.After some consultation, Campbell was accepted. “Theythought I showed enough leadership on the floor,” heexplained.

Campbell said the conflict management courses, whichinvolved a lot of group work, equipped him to interact moreeffectively with diverse people in different work situations.On a practical level, the session on budgeting financeshelped him to manage and plan his finances. On a morepersonal level, he was able to get in touch with his ownfeelings and experience empathy for others. “We partici-pated in a sharing circle where we passed a rock around

and described how we felt. Hearing how people gotthrough some tough times, we got to feel their difficul-ties. In that sense, it was a really personally fulfillingcourse.” Another plus, said Campbell, was meeting andbefriending other people from the company. Now,when he sees them in the hallway, he said, “I knowtheir personalities better and it makes it feel like moreof a family.”

Bringing it all homeWright said that with economic growth in the North,

solutions for sustainable long-term development willhave to integrate local knowledge. With her years ofexperience working in Asia and Central America, shealso understands the power of global experience.

“My intention is to move in and out from global tolocal so we have a consciousness of indigenousissues around the world,” she explained. She addedthat her objective is to empower Aboriginal Peoples to

assume charge of their own destinies. “I encourage stu-dents to be accountable. When we see the challenges foroppressed people elsewhere and see the power of proac-tive problem solving, we are compelled to shift from feelingsorry for ourselves to asking what we are going to doabout it.”

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Team-building course atSah Naji Kwe camp

Sarah Tautuaqjik (aide d'entretien) et Chesley Keeping de Tli Cho Logistics à la mine Snap Lake de De Beers Canada

Les minéraux et les métaux cachés sous lesmorts-terrains peuvent rendre des endroitséloignés attrayants. Cependant, ce qui comptevéritablement c’est l’énergie et les connais-sances des experts qui développent ces

ressources. Ces « héros méconnus » de l’industrie – lesentrepreneurs et les consultants, les chercheurs et lesfournisseurs de services – n’ont pas de mine qui porte leurnom, mais leur identité et leur caractère font partie inté-grante des exploitations à travers le monde.

Chaque exploitation comporte des valeurs à exploitermais aussi des potentiels cachés qui ne demandent qu’àêtre harnachés. Dès les premières études, en passant parla construction et le développement de la mine et de l’usine, jusqu’à la fermeture et à la réhabilitation, il est pos-sible d’apprendre de nouvelles choses et d’utiliser de nou-veaux outils.

« Il y a une dizaine d’années, nous avons analysé l’utili-sation des pneus sur les équipements de terrassement »,dit Michael Reich, directeur de la formation chez Michelin.« À l’examen des pneus déchets, nous avons trouvé qu’ilpouvait rester une bonne partie de la semelle, peu importela marque. » Michelin a donc réuni des exploitants, des

détaillants et des représentants de la compagnie pourtrouver des façons de tirer plus de valeur du produit. L’effeta été le plus ressenti lorsque les réserves de pneus ontcommencé à diminuer. « Au cours des dernières années,les usagers sont devenus plus réceptifs aux changements,ce qui a permis dans certains cas de doubler la durée devie des pneus. »

« Nous avons retenu de la réunion que la tâche desgens n’est pas de soigner des pneus, c’est de déplacer dumatériel. Nous avons donc développé un plan avec chaqueclient pour améliorer le rendement de ses pneus; six moisplus tard, un représentant effectuait un suivi. »

Aucun projet ne peut démarrer sans une solide infra-structure organisationnelle et des relations de travail biendéfinies.

« Si nous embauchons un entrepreneur, il est absolu-ment essentiel qu’il se conforme à nos exigences environnementales, de sécurité et de bien-être de notremain-d’œuvre », explique Ingrid Hann, vice-présidente desressources humaines, De Beers Canada.

Selon Greg Oryall, vice-président du développementdes entreprises et des stratégies, AMEC : « Il faut unedélimitation très claire des responsabilités afin que des


la force des gens

Photo courtoisie de De Beers Canada

Tirer le meilleur des ressourceshumaines et des ressources minières

points importants, comme la sécurité, ne passententre les mailles du filet. »

Selon Greg Fauquier, directeur général dutraitement des minéraux et des métaux pour leGroupe Hatch, chaque engagement avec unclient devrait porter fruit. Ce groupe gèrel’ingénierie, l’approvisionnement et la constructiond’exploitations minières à travers le monde. « Nous avons notre propre programme internede santé et sécurité qui, dans certains cas, peutêtre plus exigeant que celui de notre client. »

Le mantra de « valeur ajoutée » des consult-ants est souvent confronté à celui de « couper lescoûts » de l’industrie. Selon Mme Hann, le ralen-tissement économique peut présenter des possi-bilités de collaboration. « Vous pouvez peut-êtreprendre le temps de vous assurer que vos proces-sus se déroulent correctement. C’est le temps derégler les contraintes et de faire les travaux de restructuration pour lesquels vous manquiez detemps lorsque vous travailliez à plein régime. »

Malgré la volatilité de l’industrie, l’infrastructurede formation demande de la continuité, dit SteveHall, président-directeur général de MIRARCO(Mining Innovation, Rehabilitation and AppliedResearch Corporation). Celui-ci coordonne étudi-ants, chercheurs et industrie afin de perfectionnerles capacités de la prochaine génération de profes-sionnels miniers canadiens; il développe aussi lesoutils dont se servira éventuellement l’industrie. « Cependant, la recherche et le développementprennent du temps. Il faut souvent plusieursannées pour établir de l’excellence et elle peut êtreperdue si l’infrastructure de soutien est fragile. »

L’expansion mondiale du développement des ressourcesa initié des projets partout à travers le monde, forçant lescompagnies à être fortes mais aussi à être bien équilibréeset souples.

« Si nous travaillons sur un projet en Asie nous pouvonsfaire appel à notre bureau en Chine pour des achatslocaux, la logistique, la gestion et autres », explique M. Oryall. « Il en est de même pour l’Amérique du Sud. »

AMEC travaille sur plusieurs continents. « Nous géronspar nos unités d’affaires presque sans tenir compte desrégions », dit M. Fauquier. « Cela nous permet de trans-férer des ressources et des connaissances. Si nous travail-lions sur une base régionale et que chaque bureau étaitrécompensé selon ses profits et sa productivité, aucunedivision ne voudrait prêter des gens. Lorsque nous travail-lons dans un endroit qui n’a pas de main-d’œuvre bienétablie, alors notre groupe de formation et de développe-ment analyse les besoins en formation et aide à les régler,souvent en formant équipe avec des collèges ou d’autresinstitutions locales. »

L’échange d’expertise entre un entrepreneur et le pro-priétaire d’un projet constitue un défi particulier pour lesconsultants qui passent des années à cultiver les habiletés

de leurs employés. Certaines personnes peuvent êtreattirées par les conditions offertes par d’autres entrepre-neurs ou encore ne veulent pas laisser un endroit de travail qu’elles aiment pour un autre chantier détenu parleur employeur. « De tels processus sont l’initiative desemployés », dit Mme Hann. Le maraudage ne constituepas de bonnes habitudes d’affaires.

Le relâchement du marché du travail signifie souventdes coupures de personnel. « Nous avons pu acquérird’excellentes personnes », dit Sandy Woodhouse, direc-trice, ressources humaines, Groupe des mines et desmétaux, AMEC.

« C’est un peu une situation sans issue », dit M. Fauquier. « Notre compagnie possède une bonne basetechnique et elle met l’accent sur les gens qui veulent yfaire carrière. Par contre, cela rend nos employés trèsattrayants pour nos clients. Il peut aussi être avantageuxpour nos employés de progresser dans leur plan de car-rière. Lorsqu’ils sont rendus chez nos clients, ils nous contactent de nouveau. »

Ce sont les gens qui forment le cœur de l’industrieminérale, plus que les machines et les technologies futur-istes. L’industrie les tient en grand estime car elle saitqu’elle ne peut pas fonctionner sans eux. ICM

August 2009 | 39

la force des gens

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Cours de renforcement de l’esprit d’équipe au camp Sah Naji Kwe

La mine de diamants Diavik est située dans la régionde North Slave des Territoires du Nord-Ouest, à en-viron 300 kilomètres au nord de Yellowknife. En

2005, la compagnie a créé le Programme de formation dedirigeants autochtones, inspiré du programme de certificaten gestion appliquée de la Southern Alberta Institute ofTechnology (SAIT). Le but était d’aider à accroître le nom-bre d’Autochtones qualifiés pour des postes de gestion etde supervision à la mine.

Dès la fin de 2009, le Programme de formation dedirigeants autochtones de Diavik aura une cinquantainede diplômés. Les participants, des employés de Diaviket des entrepreneurs, auront participé à une série d’ate-liers de deux jours et demi, une fois par mois durant unan. Ils auront reçu 188 heures de formation, dont descours de leadership, participé à un programme de men-torat des gestionnaires de Diavik en plus d’avoir écoutédes conférenciers invités. Lorsque la compagnie adécidé d’initier ce programme de développement des

employés, elle a invité diverses institutions d’enseigne-ment à soumettre des propositions pour un programmepilote. Parmi les nombreuses options, Diavik a choisi leprogramme de la SAIT. Les employés qui démontrent unpotentiel de leadership sont choisis par leur directeurpour participer au programme. À la fin de la premièreannée, la compagnie a embauché Sarah Wright, uneéducatrice autochtone du Nord possédant de l’expéri-ence dans l’industrie pour peaufiner le programme afinde mieux satisfaire les besoins.

Une formation sur mesure « Le programme de la SAIT avait une bonne structure

mais nous y avons ajouté des éléments académiques et ducontenu spécifique pour les Autochtones du Nord »,explique Mme Wright. Par exemple, parmi les aspectsacadémiques, les participants suivent 10 cours dans cinqdomaines de gestion appliquée qui rencontrent les besoinsde Diavik, dont le comportement organisationnel, les


la force des gens

Bâtir le leadership de l’intérieurDiavik jumèle une gestion de pointe à desapproches traditionnelles consacrées par l’usage

finances et les relations interperson-nelles. Transportés par avion de lamine à leurs cours, les participantsreçoivent un cours académique demême qualité que ceux qui suivent lecours à la SAIT.

C’est la présentation du cours quia été adaptée, plutôt que le contenu.Afin de donner au programme unaspect plus local, Mme Wright yincorpore des éléments spirituels etculturels utilisés par les enseignantsautochtones dans leurs proprescommunautés des Territoires duNord-Ouest.

Un exemple est la manière decommencer chaque session. MmeWright pose une question se rappor-tant au sujet du cours. « Ainsi, lorsd’un cours sur les compétences enleadership, je demande aux partici-pants de décrire quelqu’un qui les ainspirés. J’utilise le principe d’un cercle de conseil ou departage; les participants peuvent alors parler spontané-ment. Chaque participant s’exprime et écoute les autres. »Mme Wright explique qu’il s’agit de l’ancienne démarcheautochtone pour résoudre des problèmes.

D’autres éléments du programme personnalisé traitentdu bien-être personnel et de la résolution de conflits, del’équilibre affectif et de la nécessité de prendre du tempspour soi. « Nous avons restructuré un des cours pour yincorporer le point de vue autochtone que l’équilibremental, physique et spirituel est essentiel pour devenir unchef efficace. » Mme Wright invite un guérisseur tradi-tionnel pour donner un atelier d’une demi-journée. « Nous avons travaillé avec un cercle d’influences desDénés pour expliquer que le leadership ne concerne pasqu’une seule personne. Différentes personnes ont dif-férents talents ou dons. Nous faisons valoir qu’il y a unleader dans chacun d’entre nous. Chacun de nous a undon et c’est l’occasion de le reconnaître et de s’en servirpour apporter sa contribution sur les lieux de travail etdans la communauté. »

De l’individu à la communautéRob Laviolette a terminé le Programme de formation

de dirigeants autochtones en janvier 2009. Soudeur àDiavik depuis 2003, il a 31 ans et il est père de troisenfants. Même s’il ne savait pas trop à quoi s’attendre audébut, il a beaucoup appris sur lui-même et ses col-lègues. C’est la session sur la constitution d’équipes quil’a surtout marqué.

« Apprendre à guider les gens et à les aider à résoudreleurs problèmes m’a beaucoup appris sur le plan personnel »,explique-t-il. « Je n’avais pas beaucoup de patience et jevoulais mieux interagir avec les gens. Je me suis amélioré.J’ai été capable de désamorcer des situations et aider des

gens à résoudre leurs problèmes. Mon attitude a changé,c’est certain. » M. Laviolette voudrait transférer à la com-munauté ses habiletés acquises.

Aaron Campbell, un technicien en traitement desminéraux de 24 ans, originalement de Fort Resolution,travaille chez Diavik depuis trois ans. « Je suis allé voirmon directeur; je lui ai dit que ce Programme de forma-tion de dirigeants autochtones m’intéressait et il aaccepté que j’y participe. » M. Campbell dit que les coursde résolution de conflits l’ont aidé à interagir plus effi-cacement dans diverses situations de travail. D’autrescours l’ont aidé à gérer ses finances et à avoir de l’em-pathie pour les autres. « Je connais mieux les autres etce qu’ils ont vécu et je me sens plus membre d’unegrande famille. »

Ramener la formation chez soiSelon Mme Wright, avec la croissance économique

dans le Nord, les solutions pour le développement durableà long terme devront intégrer les connaissances locales.Ses années d’expérience et de travail en Asie et enAmérique centrale lui ont fait comprendre la puissanced’une expérience globale.

« Mon intention est d’alterner entre le local et globalafin de prendre conscience des questions indigènesautour du monde », explique-t-elle. Elle ajoute que son butest d’habiliter les Peuples autochtones à prendre en mainleur propre destinée. « J’encourage les étudiants à êtreresponsables. Lorsque nous voyons les défis des peuplesopprimés ailleurs et la puissance d’une résolution de prob-lèmes pro-active, nous nous sentons obligés de moinsnous apitoyer sur nous-mêmes et plutôt de nous deman-der ce que nous pouvons faire. »

www.diavik.ca

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la force des gens

Activité de développment de confiance

Aerial view of the Kittilä mine site


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NNestled among hills, marshes, lakes and rivers, a new goldmine has opened in Finland and a lot of people are talkingabout it. The mine is situated in the Central LaplandGreenstone Belt, and geologists are discussing its similarities tothe Abitibi. Its Arctic location has mining engineers deliberating

Going for goldAgnico-Eagle’s Kittilä mine

feels like homeby | Mike Paduada

High up in the Arctic region of northern Europe, a Canadian company isbuilding what could become the continent’s largest gold mine. From theterrain and the weather to people’s proclivities, common bonds are uniting the company with its hosts. Together, they are learning as muchabout one another as about mining under the midnight sun.

about how to deal with frigid winters and months of 24-hour daylight and 24-hour darkness. The refractorynature of the ore has metallurgists conferring about the millflowsheet and optimizing recovery. The tight credit marketshave analysts wondering how it got funded. Still others are

speaking about the produc-tion schedule, reserve con-version, safety, language, theenvironment, Finnish politi-cal views and innumerableother topics. But whenAgnico-Eagle brought all ofthese people together at theofficial opening of theirKittilä mine, the one topicthat everyone was talkingabout was the people.

The power of peoplePeople — specific individuals and local Finnish residents

— played key roles in the story of the Kittilä mine. The mineis built on the Suurikuusikko gold deposit, the largest innorthern Europe. It was discovered by geologists from theGeological Survey of Finland in 1986. RiddarhyttanResources’ founders Jaan Kaber and Sven Norfeldt, seeingthe potential for a gold mine, acquired the deposits from the Finnish government in 1998. Riddarhyttan’s board andchairman, Pertti Voutilainen, soon realized that they needed to bring in a mining company that had the skills andfunding to make it happen.

The support from people in the community really encour-aged Agnico-Eagle to make a commitment, explained Agnico-Eagle CEO and vice-chairman Sean Boyd. “One of the peoplewe first met early on was Seppo Maula [mayor of the munic-ipality of Kittilä], and his enthusiasm was infectious,” saidBoyd. “Without Seppo and without the support of the localcommunity, the local government and the government ofFinland, this wouldn’t have happened.”

Reciprocally, Agnico-Eagle’s own culture helped it findfavour among the Finnish people. Dmitry Kushnir, manager ofinvestor relations, who started at Agnico-Eagle in January2009, noted of its corporate culture: “The way employees aretreated makes for a great working environment. I see howthe senior management deals with people, how open theyare with investors and anybody who is interested. They pro-vide so much transparency. People realize this is somethingthey can put their names and their confidence behind.”Nearly everyone at the official opening who was not fromAgnico-Eagle appreciated the company’s palpable attitude,confidence and pride.

Making a connection with the local community was crucialto the decision to expand to Finland, according to Agnico-Eagle chairman James Nasso. That connection was easy tofind, given the obvious similarities between Finnish andCanadian culture. Nasso recalled Senior Canadian TradeCommissioner Stephen Chase remarking of Finland: “It’s justlike being home.”

“Truly, that’s the way we allfeel here,” Nasso said. “Fromthe landscape to the people,Finland resembles us in manyways. We first look for placeswhere we would feel at home.Then, if we get the right geol-ogy and the opportunities tobuild mines, we want to bethere for many decades.”

The connection made, ittook a dedicated effort fromAgnico-Eagle employees toget Kittilä started. Eberhard

Scherkus, president and COO, and Alain Blackburn, senior vice-president, exploration, led many site visits to direct drilling andassess potential. Perrti Voutilainen, who became an independ-ent director of Agnico-Eagle in 2005, and Ingmar Haga, whowas appointed Agnico-Eagle’s vice-president, Europe, in 2006,had brought and continue to bring first-hand insight of theFinnish mining industry. David Garofalo, Agnico-Eagle’s CFOand senior vice-president, finance, secured financing for thecompany’s ambitious expansion, a feat that contributed to hisbeing named Canada’s CFO of the Year for 2009.

featured mines

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If you build it, they will comeIt takes people to build a mine and ensure that it runs

smoothly. Although mining is a crucial part of the economy,Finnish mining experience to date has been primarily underground. Mine superintendent Juha Riikonen explained:“I’m a mining engineer. I’ve worked for 30 years, but mostly inunderground mines. I do not have very much open pit experience. It is the same with almost everybody. Over thelast six months we hired almost 70 people, some with noopen pit experience.” Since the first few years of Kittilä’s production will come from open pit operations, training is criticalin getting Kittilä production up to design specifications.

“The training here has been fantastic,” said BruceSchellenberg, a Canadian training advisor who has been flyingin and out of Kittilä. “They have come a long way in a shorttime and have overcome a lot of obstacles dealing with theadverse weather conditions, getting into the working processand understanding what a 24-hour operation involves.”

The current mining rate in the 150-metre-deep Suuri pit isapproximately 2,500 tonnes of ore per day. It is expected toachieve the design rate of 3,000 tonnes per day by the thirdquarter of 2009. On-site equipment includes seven Caterpillar777s, two Ranger 700 drill rigs, one Atlas Copco ROC D9 surface drill rig, three Caterpillar 385 excavators and twoCaterpillar D6/8 bulldozers.

The mined ore is refractory, containing both sulphides andorganic carbon. The majority of the gold is found in the lat-tices of arsenopyrite (73 per cent) and arsenian-pyrite (23 percent), while the remaining gold occurs as very fine free grainsin the hydrothermally altered rock.

Most of the mill circuits, already familiar to Agnico-Eaglefrom their other operations, are operating at or near designparameters. The flowsheet begins with a jaw crusher whichdischarges crushed ore to a 3,000-tonne surge bin, whichdelivers material to the semi-autogenous grinding (SAG)mill. The 9.2-metre-long, 5.5-metre-wide SAG mill, drivenby a 4,400 kWh motor, processes 124 tonnes per hour, onaverage. In the flotation circuit of nine Outotec Tankcell-40cells, a carbon flotation stage that removes organic carbonis followed by a sulphur flotation stage that produces sul-phide concentrate. The addition of sulphuric acid in anacidulation step prepares the concentrate for pressure oxidation in the autoclave.

The autoclave is new to Agnico-Eagle, so the Finnish arenot the only ones learning things at Kittilä. Pressure oxidation

in the autoclave was the method chosen for dealing with therefractory ore. Two recently identified metallurgical issues arethe formation of a gold chloride compound and the activationof organic material in the autoclave. As Agnico-Eagle person-nel collaborate to find optimal adjustments such as pre-flota-tion of organic carbon, autoclave residence time, temperatureand acid levels, they are pushing towards design recoveries of83 per cent and the accumulation of shared expertise.

The product from the autoclave is thickened in a three-stage counter-current decantation (CCD) circuit. Next, liber-ated gold is absorbed onto activated carbon in the six-tankcarbon-in-leach (CIL) circuit. Finally, the gold is recovered byelectrowinning and poured into dore bars in the on-siterefinery.

The best is yet to comeKittilä’s 3.2 million ounces of reserves already represent a

significant portion of Agnico-Eagle’s 18.1 million ounces ofproven and probable gold reserves.An aggressive 67.5-kilometreexploration campaign, along with a study to look at doubling theproduction rate, may make it even more impressive.

When you’re working in a place that feels like home, long-term connections are formed. “With the exception of the lan-guage, living in Lapland is much like living in northernCanada,” said Kittilä mine manager, Carol Plummer. “Thelakes, trees and climate are very similar to the Abitibi. Thepeople love fishing, hunting and spending time outdoorsespecially at this time of year with the midnight sun.”

Throughout the day, both Canadians and Finns acknowl-edged their common love for hockey and speculated on aCanada versus Finland final game at the upcoming Vancouver2010 Winter Olympics. Perhaps mining is just like hockey —if you know your game and you build the right team, you’regoing to get the gold.


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Agnico-Eagle CEO Sean Boyd and investors

Photos, opposite page: 1. SAG mill; 2. Kittilä ore being fed tothe mill; 3. control room at the mill; 4. excavation at the openpit; 5. leaching tank; 6. first gold pour at Kittilä. All photoscourtesy of Angico-Eagle.


featured mines

WWhen you have what mining sector veterans call a “company maker” among your holdings, you want to keep itin operation for as long as possible. Agnico-Eagle Minesobtained such a property when it acquired the Dumagamiopen pit and underground mine in 1988. So it came as nosurprise several years ago when the company announcedthat the LaRonde mine (as the new property was laternamed) would be expanded.

The LaRonde initiative, which will include an upgrade ofthe mill facilities, is expected to cost CDN$337 million, andrepresents a major investment for Agnico-Eagle. However,the money being spent is expected to yield significant long-term benefits. Ore extraction from the extension shaft cur-rently being dug is expected to start by 2011.When ancillaryfacilities are completed, the combined LaRonde operation isexpected to yield an average of about 320,000 ounces of

LaRonde mine Penna shaft headframe

The Midas touchAgnico-Eagle’s LaRonde mine extension

by | Peter Diekmeyer

Undertaking a CDN$337 million expansion inside an operating mineposes a few technological challenges. However, with engineering ingenuity, employee commitment and a top-notch supplier network,Agnico-Eagle’s LaRonde mine extension is set to make one of Canada’slargest underground operating gold mines even bigger.

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gold per year and will extend the mine’s useful life through toat least 2022.

LaRonde: a “company maker”“LaRonde is one of Canada’s largest underground operat-

ing gold mines,” said Christian Provencher, the site’s generalmanager. “Extraction has continued at a steady and reliablepace for the last six years at more than 7,000 tonnes per day.Furthermore, the sinking of the extension shaft is almostcomplete and the project is proceeding both on schedule andon budget.”

The LaRonde mine is located in northwestern Quebec,near the villages of Preissac and Cadillac, in the southern por-tion of the Archaean-age Abitibi volcanic belt, within theBousquet Formation of the Blake River volcanic group.According to Agnico-Eagle, the geology is east-west trending,steeply southward dipping and generally southward facing. Asof the end of 2008, all of the mineral reserves and most of themineral resources at LaRonde were located near the Pennashaft. These reserves and resources occur as several sulphide-rich lenses, which are found along five differentstratigraphic horizons.

The company currently uses two main mining methods atthe LaRonde site, depending on the thickness of mineralized

zones. The first is longitudinal retreat in 15-metre sectionsand the second is transverse open stoping. The property hasalready yielded more than three million ounces of gold andholds approximately another five million ounces of provenand probable reserves. These are comprised of 35.8 milliontonnes of ore with an average grade of 4.3 grams per tonne.Much of the production equipment at the site, including 17load haul dumpers, is supplied by Sandvik Tamrock.

The other good news regarding ore from the LaRondeproperty is that it is fairly inexpensive to extract and process— which makes it an investor’s dream. During the first quar-ter of 2009, mine site costs were approximately CDN$72 pertonne and total cash costs were US$294 per ounce (net of byproducts), meaning that LaRonde is likely one of the lowestcost gold mines in the country.

The LaRonde extensionAccording to Provencher, excavation work on the new

extension began in 2006. Project design was handled byAgnico-Eagle technical services and detailed engineering bythe Genivar group. During the first three months of this year,a further 120 metres were bored onto the new internal shaftthat, by the end of the quarter, had been dug down to a depthof 2,630 meters, just 250 meters shy of its planned 2,880

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meter depth. “What makes the work being done so farparticularly challenging, is that it is being done insidea mine that is already operating,” explainedProvencher. “Since the mine only has one operatingshaft and accessory ramp, this has the potential to cre-ate a lot of bottlenecks.”

Parallel to the main shaft, workers are excavating adown ramp and building ventilation and other keyinfrastructure. Three underground hoists are alsobeing installed, with many of their components beingsupplied by Davy Markham. “When it is completed,we will have access to one of the deepest internalshafts in North America, almost three kilometresbelow surface” said Provencher. “It’s a constructionchallenge to build a mine in a mine, as there are tech-nical and logistical issues.”

The human elementAlthough Agnico-Eagle’s properties are what attract

attention to the company, its people and the way theyare managed are an often-underrated asset, accordingto Provencher. For example, close to 700 directemployees work at the LaRonde site. Anecdotal evi-dence (in particular, the long lineup of job-applicantsat its doors) coupled with the fact that employeeshave remained non-unionized, signal that Agnico-Eagle’s labour relations are excellent.

According to Provencher, one key reason for thehigh degree of job satisfaction, which dates back tothe site’s opening, is a 17-person collaboration com-mittee that he chairs, which deals with employeemanagement issues at the site. The committee —which includes the human resources superintendent,plus operations managers, as well as ten employees —also provides an invaluable forum whereby companypersonnel can convey candid feedback and sugges-tions regarding issues ranging from productivityenhancements to safety concerns.

The company’s non-union status also providesboth Agnico-Eagle and its employees other benefits,claimed Provencher, though not the sort that somewould assume. “Our employees’ salaries are at thesame level as those in the rest of the mining industry,”he explained. “Where we really gain is from theenhanced flexibility and cooperation we get. Forexample, we recently offered our employees theoption of transferring from LaRonde to our Goldexand Lapa operations, and we will do the same thingfor our Meadowbank open pit project in Nunavut.Several employees took us up on the offer.” In the


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The first station winze at 2570 meters below surface

absence of a formal union, annual contract negotiations are handled by anemployee committee.

According to Provencher, another key benefit that mine workers get is sub-stantial advantages when purchasing company shares. More than 90 per centof the employees participate in the share purchase plan. Furthermore, unlikemany stock sale programs, which require employees to hold onto shares boughtat a discount for a minimum period, the LaRonde plan sets no such limits. “Ofcourse, we prefer it when our employees own stock, because that generallymakes them more committed stakeholders,” said Provencher. “But they are freeto do what they like with their shares.”

A broad and high-level supplier networkAnother of the LaRonde operation’s big intangible assets is its top-notch

supplier network. “Our region includes many mines, so there are a lot of com-panies around here that have built up a good knowledge of the industry,”declared Provencher. For example Beroma, a Val-d’Or-based company, is supply-ing much of the steel being used in the current mine expansion, and Fournier etFils is providing most of the concrete. Dumas Contracting, which is doing theshaft sinking for the extension, has 65 people working on the LaRonde site andC-Mac/Thyssen, which handles excavation for the extension’s ventilation net-work, has another 40 people working there.

In fact, according to Provencher, the almost 150 contract workers of all sortswho are working at the LaRonde site — from drillers to maintenance and sup-ply personnel — deserve a big chunk of the credit for the extension project’ssuccess so far.

As if all of the good news surrounding the LaRonde site and its extensionproject were not enough, Agnico-Eagle is far from done. Exploration at the sitecontinues and is now focused on possible additional potential at deeper levelsand in areas east of the present development.


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The production hoist winze

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mines en vedette

UUne nouvelle mine d’or en Finlande attire beaucoup d’atten-tion. Les géologues parlent de la similitude du gisement avecceux de l’Abitibi; les ingénieurs miniers pensent aux conditionsdifficiles et les métallurgistes discutent du minerai réfractaire,du circuit de traitement et de l’optimisation de la récupération.

Le gisement aurifère de Suurikuusikko a été découvert en1986; les fondateurs de Riddarhyttan Resources, Jaan Kaber etSven Norfeldt, l’ont acquis par la suite et le président de lacompagnie, Pertti Voutilainen, a vite réalisé qu’il fallait unecompagnie minière d’expérience pour l’exploiter.

Le soutien de la communauté a encouragé Agnico-Eagle às’engager, explique Sean Boyd, président-directeur général,Agnico-Eagle. En retour, la culture organisationnelle de cettecompagnie a impressionné les Finlandais. « La façon detraiter les employés conduit à un bon environnement de tra-vail », dit Dmitry Kushnir, directeur des relations avec lesinvestisseurs. Selon James Nasso, président, Agnico-Eagle, lesliens étaient faciles à établir en raison des similitudes entre lescultures finlandaise et canadienne.

Les employés d’Agnico-Eagle se sont beaucoup impliquéspour démarrer Kittilä. Eberhard Scherkus, président et chefdes opérations, et Alain Blackburn, vice-président principal,exploration, ont souvent visité le site pour diriger les forageset évaluer le potentiel. David Garofalo, chef des services financiers et vice-président principal d’Agnico-Eagle, a obtenule financement pour l’agrandissement de la compagnie, unfait qui lui a mérité le titre de meilleur directeur financier auCanada pour l’année 2009.

Bien que l’exploitation minière constitue une part impor-tante de l’économie de la Finlande, l’expérience de ce paysréside surtout dans les mines souterraines; c’est aussi le casdu surintendant de la mine, Juha Riikonen. « Au cours des sixderniers mois nous avons embauché près de 70 personnes etpeu connaissent les exploitations à ciel ouvert. » La forma-tion sera donc essentielle. Selon Bruce Schellenberg, un conseiller canadien en formation, les gens ont rapidement

surmonté de nombreux obstacles dont le climat et le fonc-tionnement 24/7 d’une exploitation.

Le taux actuel d’extraction dans la fosse Suuri est d’envi-ron 2500 t/j et il devrait atteindre 3000 t/j vers la fin de 2009.L’équipement d’extraction comprend des camions Caterpillar,des appareils de forage Ranger 700 et une foreuse Atlas CopcoROC D9 en plus des pelles et des bouteurs.

Le circuit de l’usine est semblable à d’autres circuits Agnico-Eagle : un concasseur à mâchoires, un réservoir intermédiairede 3000 tonnes et un broyeur semi-autogène qui peut traiteren moyenne 124 t/h. Dans le circuit de flottation, neuf cellulesOutotec Tankcell-40, retirent le carbone; un stage de flottationdes sulfures produit un concentré de sulfure. L’ajout d’acidesulfurique prépare le concentré pour une oxydation sous pres-sion dans l’autoclave. Le personnel d’Agnico-Eagle optimise lesderniers ajustements : la pré-flottation du carbone organique,le temps de résidence dans l’autoclave, la température et leniveau d’acidité pour une récupération visée de 83 pour cent.

Le produit de l’autoclave est épaissi dans un circuit dedécantation à circulation inverse à trois étapes, puis l’or estadsorbé sur du charbon activé dans un circuit de lixiviation surcharbon. Finalement, l’or est récupéré par extraction élec-trolytique et coulé en lingots.

Le meilleur est encore à venirLes 3,2 millions d’onces de réserves, la campagne d’explo-

ration sur 67,5 km2 et une étude pour doubler le taux de production rendent la mine Kittilä encore plus intéressante.

« À l’exception de la langue, la vie en Laponie ressembleau Nord du Canada », dit, Carol Plummer, le directeur de lamine. De plus, les Canadiens et les Finlandais partagent unamour du hockey et discutent des chances d’une finaleCanada – Finlande lors des Jeux d’hiver de Vancouver. Lesmines, c’est un peu comme le hockey, il faut connaître son jeuet avoir la bonne équipe pour rapporter l’or. ICM

La mine Kittilä d’Agnico-Eagle

Réservoir de lixiviationà la mine Kittilä

La compagnie Agnico-Eagle aobtenu une propriété « gagnante »lorsqu’elle a acquis la mine Dumagamien 1988, depuis renommée mineLaRonde.

L’initiative LaRonde, comprenant unagrandissement de l’usine, devraitcoûter 337 M$. Lorsque les installa-tions secondaires seront terminées, lamine LaRonde produira une moyenned’environ 320 000 onces d’or parannée; sa durée de vie serait aussi prolongée au moins jusqu’en 2022.

Cette mine est située dans le nord-ouest du Québec, dans la portion sudde la ceinture volcanique de l’Abitibi, àl’intérieur de la Formation de Bousquetdu Groupe de Blake River. La géologie aune direction est-ouest, à pendageabrupt vers le sud. Les réserves et lesressources se présentent sous forme delentilles riches en sulfures dans cinqhorizons stratigraphiques différents.

Selon l’épaisseur des zones minéralisées, l’extraction se faitpar retrait longitudinal dans les sections de moins de 15mètres ou par chambre vide. La propriété a déjà produit plusde trois millions d’onces d’or et détient environ cinq millionsd’onces d’or en réserves prouvées et probables. De plus, leminerai est assez peu cher à extraire et à traiter. Pour le pre-mier trimestre de 2009, les coûts au site minier étaient d’en-viron 72 $/t et les coûts effectifs de production étaient de294 $/once.

Les travaux d’excavation pour l’extension, conçue par legroupe de génie-conseil Genivar, ont débuté en 2006. À la findu premier trimestre de l’année, le puits interne avait étécreusé tout juste à 250 mètres de la profondeur planifiée de2 880 mètres. « C’est un peu compliqué puisque le travail sefait à l’intérieur d’une mine en exploitation », explique M. Provencher, le directeur général du site.

Les travailleurs excavent aussi une rampe et installent laventilation et trois treuils souterrains dont les composantessont fournies par Davy Markham. « Lorsque le tout sera com-plété, nous aurons l’un des puits des plus profonds enAmérique du Nord. La construction comprend donc de nom-breux éléments de sécurité tels que des freins magnétiques etdes sorties de secours secondaires », dit M. Provencher.

Les gens et la gestion du personnelconstituent souvent un actif sous-évalué. Les nombreux postulants pourles emplois et le fait que les employésne sont pas syndiqués en disent longsur les relations de travail chez Agnico-Eagle.

Selon M. Provencher, une raison clépour le niveau élevé de satisfaction autravail est le comité de collaborationqui traite des questions de gestion dupersonnel. Ce comité, dont il est leprésident, comprend le surintendantdes ressources humaines, cinqdirecteurs d’usine et d’opérationssouterraines et douze employés; ilconstitue aussi un excellent forumpour les questions d’amélioration de laproductivité et les enjeux de sécurité.

Le statut non syndiqué fournitaussi d’autres bénéfices inattendus.« Les salaires de nos employés sontsemblables à ceux d’employés syn-

diqués. Nous gagnons cependant beaucoup en flexibilité :nous avons offert à nos employés de transférer de LaRonde àGoldex ou Lapa et nous ferons de même pour nos mines à cielouvert au Nunavut. » En l’absence d’un syndicat formel, uncomité d’employés est chargé des négociations contractuellesannuelles.

Les travailleurs peuvent aussi acheter des actions de lacompagnie à rabais; ces achats ne comportent pas declause qui les oblige à garder leurs actions pour un tempsminimum déterminé. « Évidemment, nous aimons que nosemployés conservent leurs actions, car ils deviennent alorsdes intervenants engagés, mais ils sont libres d’en faire cequ’ils veulent. »

LaRonde possède aussi un réseau de fournisseurs de premièreclasse. « Notre région comporte plusieurs mines; les compa-gnies locales connaissent donc bien l’industrie minière »,dit M. Provencher. Par exemple, Beroma fournit une grande partie de l’acier utilisé dans l’agrandissement; Fournier et Filsfournit le béton; l’entrepreneur Dumas, qui creuse le puits pourl’extension, a 65 personnes sur le site et C-Mac, qui s’occupe dela ventilation, en a 40.


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August 2009 | 51

mines en vedettem

Puits borgne de la mine LaRonde

L’expansion de la mineLaRonde d’Agnico-Eagle

their budgets, 40 per cent wouldretain the same budgets and 30 percent would increase their spending.Queried on their medium of choicefor their largest budget increases, 49per cent of those planning to increaseadvertising named online advertising,17 per cent said direct mail, 14 percent said events (such as trade shows)and 9 per cent said print.

Even in a depressed economy,more than 95 per cent of executivesmaintain a high interest in learningabout and investing in new productsor services. Of the same audience, 86per cent agree that when a companyadvertises in a troubled economy,they feel more positive about thatcompany’s commitment to its prod-ucts or services and it keeps thosecompanies top-of-mind when pur-chases are to be made.

One study that analyzed the per-formance of more than 600 business-to-business firms concluded thatthose that maintained or increasedtheir advertising expenditures aver-aged significantly higher salesgrowth during and for three yearsfollowing the recession, compared tothose that eliminated or decreasedadvertising.

The presentation concluded by say-ing: “Advertising aggressively in arecession can not only boost sales andmarket share, it can also open a lead onthe more timid competition. It can skil-fully reposition a product to takeadvantage of new purchasing concerns,give the image of corporate stabilitywithin a chaotic business environment,and give an advertiser the chance todominate the advertising media.”

The full presentation is available atwww.americanbusinessmedia.com

www.camese.org

CIM

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

The importance of advertising in tough timesz Jon Baird

About the author

Jon Baird, managing director of CAMESEand president of PDAC, is interested incollective approaches to enhancing theCanadian brand in the world of mining.

supply side

Since 1906, American BusinessMedia — the U.S. association ofbusiness information providers —has been delivering business intelli-gence to industry, Madison Avenue,Wall Street and the Beltway. Its 350-plus member companies reach anaudience of more than 100 millionprofessionals, and represent nearly6,000 print and online titles, 1,000trade shows and well over $33 billionin annual revenues.

ABM has recently produced aPowerPoint presentation entitled“The Importance and Value ofAdvertising During Times ofEconomic Uncertainty.” The presen-tation summarizes the wealth of datathat has been accumulated over time,clearly demonstrating that companieswho either continued or aggressivelyincreased their advertising duringtough times experienced overallgrowth as well as continual growthpast the period of economic uncertainty.

A survey of 162 business-to-busi-ness marketers in October 2008demonstrated that marketers under-stand the importance of advertising inhard times. While 30 per cent ofrespondents expected to decrease


eye on business

Comprising five per cent of our totalGDP, Canada’s extractive industrieshave led the charge during a decade ofunprecedented economic growth inCanada. They continue to remain a fun-damental component of our output,even through current challenging eco-nomic times. Globally, Canada is a rec-ognized leader in exploration, extrac-tion, research and development, andespecially financing. Toronto is theworld’s leading city for mining financeand Vancouver is home to the world’slargest cluster of exploration compa-nies. As of 2008, over three-quarters ofthe world’s exploration and miningcompanies called Canada home.

It is not surprising, then, thatCanadian companies are developingmany lucrative mineral, oil and gasdeposits around the world and generat-ing much-needed economic growth inscores of developing countries. Butthese success stories, along with manystill waiting to be told in some of theworld’s poorest regions, are now jeop-ardized by a Private Member’s Bill thathas passed second reading in theHouse of Commons and, as of June2009, is being considered by the HouseStanding Committee on Foreign Affairsand International Development.

Bill C-300 (An Act respectingCorporate Accountability for theActivities of Mining, Oil or GasCorporations in Developing Countries),sponsored by Scarborough MP JohnMcKay, is based on the false premisethat Canadian mining activities abroadare inconsistent with internationalsocial and environmental best prac-tices and with Canada’s commitmentsto human rights. In reality, however,Canada is recognized internationallyas a global leader in corporate socialresponsibility (CSR) and its companiesare preferred investors all over theworld. In recent years, the Canadianextractive sector has, in collaborationwith host countries and other

Bill C-300 threatens Canada’s international extractive sectorz Michael Bourassa, with the assistance of Charles Todd

stakeholders, raised environmentaland community standards and sharedbest practices in a number of impor-tant fields. Unfortunately, the numer-ous serious issues with the Bill mayhave the absurd effect of stalling oreven reversing that progress.

Chief among the problems raised bythe Bill is Canada’s capacity, expertiseor jurisdiction to enforce CSR guide-lines abroad or to supersede localauthorities, which is why no othercountry in the world has legislationlike C-300 in place. Trust in Canadianindustry by host countries and localcommunities relies upon mutualrespect regarding their respective legalsystems and social and environmentalstandards. The Bill’s passage wouldimmediately undermine that trust,severely disadvantaging Canadiancompanies and creating a strong incen-tive for them to move jurisdictions.

The Bill also effectively pre-empts theCanadian government’s own compre-hensive CSR Strategy for the Inter-national Extractive Sector. Released inMarch 2009, the strategy was a responseto the Advisory Group Report on theNational Roundtables on CSR and theExtractive Industry in DevelopingCountries. The government’s CSR strat-egy has three key components: i) socialresponsibility, ii) environmental stew-ardship, and iii) health and safety. Itbegins with the premise that theCanadian mining industry has excelledglobally in the area of CSR and its exist-ing advantages should be fos-tered and strengthened. Thegovernment’s CSR strategyrepresents the culmination ofthree years of consultationsamong experts and stakehold-ers from a variety of fields.These include foreign policy,the environment, industry,human rights and sustainabledevelopment. The authors ofBill C-300, however, failed to

About the authorMichael Bourassa is the co-ordinator of the GlobalMining Group at FaskenMartineau. He provides adviceto Canadian and internationalexploration and miningcompanies on commercialand regulatory matters.

August 2009 | 53

undertake any consultation whatsoeverwith industry, or domestic or foreigngovernment officials.

The government’s CSR strategy rec-ognizes that investments in aid of localeducation, training, health, safety, secu-rity, productive development and infra-structure now routinely feature promi-nently in Canadian companies’ develop-ment plans for mines abroad, and itseeks to assist with and expand thoseinitiatives. Conversely, Bill C-300assumes that the Canadian internationalextractive industry is harming localcommunities and seeks to punish it.

In a best case scenario, the adoptionof Bill C-300 will create a duplicationof many aspects of CSR work alreadyperformed more competently throughexisting organizations. In a worst casescenario, it establishes a punitiveapproach to social responsibility andrisks setting the mining industry backby many years in terms of its environ-mental sustainability, diplomatic, com-munity and social responsibilityachievements to date.

The fact that Bill C-300 was evenintroduced should be a wake-up callfor all of us involved in the extractiveindustry. Our communities and ourelected officials do not know the wholestory about resource extraction, so weneed to be vigilant in conveying tothem the positive aspects of our workand the successes of our industry.

www.fasken.com

CIM

MAC economic commentary

The mining industry ranks along-side financial services and oil and gasas the most international of Canada’sindustry sectors. To cite a few statis-tics, the mining industry accounts for19 per cent of all Canadian goodsexports. Some 12 per cent of Canada’sstock of direct investment abroad isaccounted for by the mining sector, asis almost nine per cent of inward directinvestment. Three-quarters of theworld’s mining equity financings arehandled through the Toronto StockExchange. Some 60 per cent of theworld’s mineral exploration companiesare Canadian and they have operatedin around 100 countries. Billions ofdollars worth of annual export rev-enues are derived from each of ironand steel, aluminum, nickel, copper,gold, uranium, coal, potash, zinc, diamonds and iron ore.

This international success reflectsour country’s geological strengths andlong mining history — evidenced innational institutions such as theGeological Survey of Canada — aswell as the entrepreneurial and tech-nological skills of the industry’s work-ers. However, this success also drawsupon an extensive network of govern-ment support delivered throughCanada’s trade “infrastructure” —comprising the overseas embassiesand trade commissioner network,trade finance capacity through ExportDevelopment Canada, and an array offree-trade agreements (FTAs) and for-eign investment protection agreements(FIPAs), among many other compo-nents. Developments and improve-ments with respect to this trade infra-structure, such as those highlighted inearly June during International TradeDay in Ottawa, are important to theindustry and worth noting.

In recent years, the federal govern-ment has adopted a particularly ambi-tious agenda in modernizing andbroadening this infrastructure. In the

area of FIPAs, the government aims todouble the number of agreements inplace, from 23 to 46, over a five-yearperiod. FIPAs are bilateral agreementsthat place investment-treatment obli-gations on each country and that pro-vide foreign investors with access toindependent rules and arbitratorsshould disputes arise between theinvestor and government. Thesemechanisms can provide Canada’soverseas investors with an added layerof security and, while the actualenforcement components are rarelyused, the mere existence of a FIPAhelps guide foreign governments witha set of rules and expectations of fair-ness and transparency.

FIPAs with India, Jordan,Madagascar, Kuwait and five new EUstates have recently been concluded bythe federal government, while negotia-tions with China, Indonesia,Mongolia, Poland, Tanzania, Vietnam,Bahrain and Tunisia are ongoing. Insome of these cases, the mining indus-try is the main impetus for the launchof negotiations. As well, negotiationswith Malaysia, Kazakhstan, Ghana,Rwanda, Nigeria, Mali, Cameroon,Zambia, Botswana, UAE, Saudi Arabiaand Cuba are being explored.

In the broader area of free tradeagreements, the government announcedin early May that Canada and theEuropean Union had launched negoti-ations towards a comprehensive eco-nomic agreement. This extensiveundertaking will face manychallenges in meeting the tar-geted two-year negotiationtimeframe. In terms of ongoingFTA files, a free trade agree-ment with the four EuropeanFree Trade Area countries willcome into force in July 2009; aJordan FTA should be signedlater in 2009; agreements withPeru and Colombia have beenconcluded (the Peru legislation

is moving through Parliament, whilethe Colombia FTA will likely movemore slowly); and negotiations withPanama, the 15 Caribbean members ofCARICOM, four Central Americancountries, Morocco, South Korea andSingapore are in progress, with varyingdegrees of commitment. Negotiationswith India and Japan are beingexplored, though these require analy-sis and approval before potentiallymoving to a more formal stage.

Successfully concluded free tradeagreements can help mining compa-nies by lowering the cost of importedmachinery, minimizing technical bar-riers to trade, enhancing the securityof overseas investments, improvingregulatory cooperation and facilitatingeasier cross-border movement, amongother positive impacts.

MAC is actively engaged in dialoguewith the federal government on a rangeof international trade and investmentissues and will continue to be involvedin files such as the Canada-EU negoti-ations as they evolve over the comingyears. Other trade-related items, suchas progress in multilateral WTO DohaRound negotiations and the implemen-tation of a policy response on the inter-national corporate social responsibilityissue will also be monitored closely byMAC, with interventions being madeas appropriate.For more information on this subject,readers may contact the author [email protected].

CIM


Canada’s trade and investment policy prioritiesz Paul Stothart

About the author Paul Stothart is vicepresident, economic affairsof the Mining Association of Canada. He isresponsible for advancingthe industry’s interestsregarding federal tax, trade,investment, transport andenergy issues.

first nations

Given that Aboriginal commu-nities have the fastest growingyouth demographic in Canadaand that most new explorationand mining developments arenear Aboriginal communities, itmakes sense for the shortage ofworkers in the mining industry tobe offset by the recruitment ofthese youth. But the reality seemsto be quite different. Far too fewAboriginal youth are entering themining industry. Unless we dosomething about it, this trend willcontinue and they will continue to be under-represented in theindustry.

Most of us are familiar with theconcept of a ghost town — a com-munity that has been virtually aban-doned by human inhabitants —usually because of the failure of eco-nomic activities that supported thetown. Due to the cyclical nature of theminerals industry and the fact thatmining exploits non-renewableresources, mines are notorious forleaving ghost towns in their wake.Why is this relevant to this article? It isbecause most First Nations communi-ties would be ghost towns withoutgovernment assistance provided tosupport the membership.

Most remote First Nations havean extraordinarily high unemploy-ment rate — some even as high as 90per cent. Although there are manycandidates for potential work, thereis no industry to provide the much-needed employment. Communitymembers are trapped in these virtualghost towns with no potential orhope for change. But even if an“employment fairy” was to appear insuch a community and magicallycreate opportunity for everyone, thiswould not solve the problem. Thereare generations of potential employ-ees who have not acquired the basicskills that are expected of today’sworkers. For most Aboriginal peo-ple, the integration curve into the

The HR challenge in Aboriginal territoriesz Juan Carlos Reyes

mainstream employment world istherefore very steep.

Perhaps the biggest challenge is thenegligence of the government towardsits duty of providing proper educationto Aboriginal communities. A particu-larly frustrating example of this is thedevelopment (or rather, the non-development) of the elementaryschool in the Attawapiskat FirstNation. Here is a community that hasabundant potential employment fortheir youth as long as they can get edu-cated. But they can’t get that educationbecause they lack appropriate school-ing facilities.

Back in 1979, a large diesel spillcontaminated the land under theschool in Attawapiskat. Since then,teachers, students and other employ-ees have chronicallysuffered from severeheadaches and nau-sea. The communityhas been promised aschool by the lastthree Indian Affairsministers.

In August 2007,Minister Jim Prenticeand the community

approved the final draft of the plansfor the new school. Constructionwas to begin in the spring of 2008.But in December 2007, the new min-ister, Chuck Strahl, cancelled theplans, stating that “there were othercommunities that took priority andthat there were no health and safetyconcerns in Attawapiskat.” As far asthe integration of Aboriginal youthinto the productive workforce isconcerned, such delays on the partof the government in discharging itsduty only make matters worse.

The pieces to form the solutionto the problems of Aboriginalunemployment and the miningindustry human resources shortageappear to fit together easily. Themining industry and the Aboriginalcommunities are themselves the

solution to one another’s problems.However, when you take a closer lookat the challenges that exist, the piecesdo not fit quite so easily. The solutionrequires mutual understanding andcollaboration, and, most importantly,a realistic implementation plan. Casestudies show that many companieshave successfully integrated a highpercentage of Aboriginal employmentinto their operations and have learnedhow to do it well.

In the next article, I plan to take amore in-depth look at one of thosesuccess stories to demonstrate howeven small exploration companieshave had great success with a verylimited budget.

www.carlosreyes.ca

CIM

August 2009 | 55

About the authorJuan Carlos Reyes is an aboriginalconsultant with efficiency.ca andthe organizer of Learning Together.He is passionate about humanrights and works tirelessly to helpimprove the lives of CanadianAboriginal people.

Young protester at rally for new school in Attawapiskat

innovation


Innovation is essentiallyabout value creationthrough either developingnew concepts or applyingknown methods in novelways. Furthermore, inno-vation can be incrementalor breakthrough. In allcases, people are thesource of innovation, andprocesses provide themeans to generate anddeploy it. When technol-ogy is at the core of inno-vation, both people andprocesses are integral partsof its successful develop-ment and deployment. This articleadvocates the need for an integratedapproach, which includes threeequally important pillars — people,processes, and technology.

There is often a tendency to spenda lot of time and effort developingtechnology components because itoffers a tangible way to showprogress. After all, we need todemonstrate the viability of a tech-nological solution before we canmake a business case for its imple-mentation. However, the highestreturn on investment can only beachieved if the processes affected areadjusted to take advantage of theenabling technology and the endusers actually use it as it wasdesigned. History has shown thatwithout the appropriate businessprocess changes at the site, the sim-ple introduction of technology intoan operation does not typically yieldthe promised productivity gains.

There are many examples of trou-bled system implementations in ourindustry to illustrate how a failure tocarefully consider the people-processside has had a devastating impact onthe end result. Enterprise ResourcePlanning implementations providenumerous examples of technology

Integrating people, processes and technology for successz Laura Mottola

initiatives that widely missed theirschedule and budget due to inade-quate understanding about theimpact of the roll-out on people andprocesses.

If we consider the automated mineas the breakthrough innovationbeing pursued, it is paramount tounderstand the implications for theworkforce and the processes thatdrive the operation. A simple riskassessment will quickly show thatwithout full consideration of boththe people and relevant processes,the technology itself poses a signifi-cant risk to the safety of both person-nel and property.

As a mining engineer with a sys-tems background, I have had the priv-ilege of working on two innovativemine automation programs — thefirst in underground hard-rock min-ing and the second, more recently, insurface mining. Both initiativesrequired extensive development andfield testing of technology compo-nents as well as viable overall systemarchitecture. While in the first casethere was no explicit people-processstrategy, the second technology pro-gram adopted a more balancedapproach, with equal emphasis on thethree pillars.

The diagram illustratesthe three pillars and theirhigh-level components.Because the aim of this article is to discuss theimportance of a people andprocess strategy in a technology program, it willnot include an in-depthdescription of the technol-ogy components requiredfor autonomy.

The people strategy is achange management plandesigned to prepare theorganization to transitionfrom manual to autonomous

operation in an actual mining opera-tion. It includes a communicationsplan to appropriately engage stake-holders, whether internal or externalto the company. It also addresses theorganizational design required toeffectively embrace the paradigmshift created by the use of automa-tion. The forward-looking companythat wants to adopt autonomousmining must understand that itrequires an organizational strategy todevelop and retain the skill sets nec-essary to run it. A competency modelmust be developed, along with astaffing and recruitment process,training and development, as well asperformance management and suc-cession planning.

Process mapping is required tofully grasp the changes that must beimplemented in the way a mine ismanaged. With the implementationof mine automation, the mining oper-ation cannot be run the same way asa conventional operation, primarilyfor safety reasons, but also to ensurethe maximum realization of benefitsin productivity, reliability and quality.Mapping the current state ofprocesses — such as engineering,operations, and maintenance —ensures that key stakeholders are on

the same page as to how each task iscurrently performed. A clear under-standing of how each affected func-tion is executed in the current man-ual mode will help define the processchanges that are required in thefuture state, when autonomous min-ing is implemented. Process mappingis a participatory methodology thatpromotes cross-functional communi-cation and builds buy-in. Withoutcommon understanding and engage-ment from all levels of managementand operations, the final outcome willbe jeopardized.

There are significant complexitiesinherent in the integrated approachthat has been presented, but it shouldbe noted that thisbalanced approachis not a rigidframework; it mustbe adapted to theparticular needs ofeach organizationthat seeks toimplement a game-changing technol-ogy, such as mineautomation. CIM

For more a detailed discussion, pleasesend your comments and questions to:[email protected].

August 2009 | 57

innovation

About the author Laura Mottola ispresident and principal consultant of MottolaConsulting. She has a master’s ofengineering in mining automation and over15 years of experience working in industry,mainly in mining and metals, but also in theautomotive and aerospace sectors.Her expertise covers program management,process improvement, Lean, systemsthinking and change management.

Inferred Mineral ResourcesAddition of Inferred Resources toother categories of mineral resources.Another issue discussed was the CIMDefinitions Standards’ prohibitionagainst adding Inferred MineralResources to other categories of min-eral resources. Currently under NI 43-101, Indicated Mineral Resources andMeasured Mineral Resources can betotalled if they are also disclosed sepa-rately. However, because of the lowconfidence level of Inferred Resources,they may not be included in the totalresource.

This exclusion comes from earlyreviews of Canada’s Mineral Resourceand Mineral Reserve definitions by CIMin the 1990s. Back then, there was athird class of reserves known asPossible Reserves (the equivalent ofInferred Resource on a McKelvey boxconcept). Considered to be occasion-ally abused in National Policy 2A (thepre-2001 securities policy) reports, thiscategory was eliminated from the min-eral reserve definitions category. Thiswas in keeping with international expe-rience in Mineral Resource and MineralReserve definitions at that time.

Currently, the Australasian JORCCode allows the addition of the threecategories of resources. TheU.S. Securities ExchangeCommission’s Industry Guide 7does not allow the reporting ofresource unless it is required bylaw in another country (forexample, Canada). Thus, inter-nationally, there is still no con-sensus.Broader use of InferredResources in economic studies.NI 43-101 prohibits the use ofInferred Mineral Resources ineconomic analyses, except inpreliminary assessments (scop-ing studies) prepared before aprefeasibility study. It is sug-gested that a scoping studyusing Inferred Resources shouldbe permitted in very specific

standards

On January 20, 2009, theCanadian Securities Administrators(CSA) launched a project to reviseand update National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure forMineral Projects. The BritishColumbia Securities Commissionwill lead the project with participa-tion from other CSA jurisdictions.The project responds to a number ofindustry and regulatory concernsthat have developed since NI 43-101was implemented in 2001.

As part of this project, severalprovincial securities commissions,including those of British Columbia,Ontario and Quebec, have held focusgroups to seek input into potentialrevisions to the Instrument. In addi-tion to general recommendations onamendments to NI 43-101, the focusgroups also raised some issues spe-cific to the CIM Definition Standardsof December 11, 2005 and industrybest practices. The CIM StandingCommittee on Resource and Reservedefinitions is seeking input from themining industry on several of thesecomments.

Reasonable prospects for economic extraction

Several comments pertained tothe meaning of the “reasonableprospects for economic extraction”clause in the definition of a MineralResource. This clause appears in allthe major Resource Definitions sys-tems with little guidance. Notdefined in NI 43-101, this termrelies on the Qualified Person’sjudgment and experience for itsdetermination. Several QualifiedPersons have offered interpretationsof the clause. However, at thispoint, there is a wide range of viewsand little consensus on the matter.It has been suggested that the CIMDefinition Standards should pro-vide additional guidance to assistQualified Persons in dealing withthis issue.

CIM input into NI 43-101 amendmentsz Deborah McCombe and John Postle


About the authors Deborah McCombe,executive vice-president of Scott Wilson RoscoePostle Associates, is a consulting geologist who isstrongly involved in Canadian disclosure standardsfor the mining industry

John Postle is a consulting mining engineer withScott Wilson Mining Group, providing services tointernational financial institutions, corporations,utilities and law firms.

circumstances at a more advancedstage of a project.

Many other Mineral Resource andMineral Reserve codes developedinternationally, such as theAustralasian JORC Code, simply statethat “caution should be used ifInferred Resources are considered intechnical and economic studies.”Some codes provide more guidance onthe use of Inferred Resources in eco-nomic studies. The Pan-EuropeanReporting Code (PERC 2008) man-dates clear disclosure if InferredResources are used in economic analy-ses. The South African SAMREC 2007Code states that if Inferred Resourcesare included in economic studies, acomparison of the results with andwithout the Inferred MineralResources must be shown.

The above highlights some of theissues that have arisen from discussionson NI 43-101 amendments and CIMDefinition Standards. Clearly, morework needs to be done to arrive at aworkable consensus. The CIM ReserveDefinition Committee solicits yourinput on these and any other issues thatyou may have. Please submit your com-ments to [email protected] [email protected]. CIM

student life

Thinking of atom smashers andparticle physics might bring to mindimages of elderly absent-minded pro-fessors at some celebrated Swiss labo-ratory. You probably would not con-nect particle physics with a bunch ofCanadian high school students andthe city of Sudbury. But the threewere brought together recently bySudbury’s Mining Innovation,Rehabilitation and Applied ResearchCorporation (MIRARCO).

MIRARCO, a Sudbury-based not-for-profit mining research company,reaches out to high school students innorthern Ontario through theEXTREME Virtual Reality Expo(EXVR). A twist on the traditional sci-ence fair, EXVR introduces students tothe use of 3D modelling. The project,made possible by the local scientificcommunity and Laurentian University,is supported by the Ontario Ministryof Research and Innovation. As highschool students at École secondaireMacdonald-Cartier, we recently partic-ipated in this program.

The challenge at the Third AnnualEXVR was to complete a research

Subatomic in SudburyStudents discover link between particle physics and the Canadian mining industryz Alex Giles and Marc-André Simard

project on a subject related toSudbury’s mining industry.Participants explored topicsthat spanned from mine shaftsand environmental chemistry,to the topic of our project,particle physics.

You may wonder how par-ticle physics relates to theSudbury mining scene. Theanswer is that one of theworld’s leading neutrinoobservatories, the SudburyNeutrino Observatory (SNO-LAB), lies deep in CreightonMine, co-existing with one ofVale Inco’s major miningoperations.

Our topic chosen, westarted reading up on the sub-ject and thinking of prelimi-

nary ideas that could be visualizedusing 3D models. Leading industryexperts helped us with the modelling.A past winner of the competition,Julie Mongeau, provided technicalsupport and mentorship. Obviously,we learned a lot. We presented ourproject to the public and a panel ofscientific and mining experts. Theircritique of our work greatly furtheredour learning. At the end of the night,we were delighted to learn that wehad won the competition. This suc-cess proved to be the beginning of abigger journey.

More valuable than our victorywas the opportunity we had to meetand interact with knowledgeableexperts. During a question andanswer session, we mentioned thatwe had never visited the SNOLAB. Aweek later, MIRARCO invited us for atour of the underground laboratory.This was fantastic news for particlephysics enthusiasts like us. Ourwindfall taught us that for youthentering the scientific community, itis important to jump on every avail-able opportunity.

August 2009 | 59

About the authors

Alex Giles and Marc-André Simard arerecent graduates from École secondaireMacDonald-Cartier in Sudbury. Marc-André will enter a co-op program inSeptember at the University of Waterlooto pursue studies in systems designengineering. Alex will begin studies inmechanical engineering at LaurentianUniversity.

During our tour, we saw first-handhow heavily SNOLAB relies on itspartnership with the mining industry.Two kilometres underground, minersblasting rock were working side-by-side with researchers running experi-ments that can only be conductedunderground. With our hands-onlearning, we got answers to questionswe could not even conceive of beforegoing underground. Back on the sur-face, SNOLAB researchers advised uson our topic. Most importantly, wewere able to establish personal ties tothe scientific community.

As first-place EXVR winners, wealso won a trip to present our projectwith MIRARCO at the 7th AnnualCanadian E-Learning Conference inVancouver. This too, was an excellentlearning and networking opportunity.

This project broadened our hori-zons and taught us a few key lessons.It is important to work hard to createsomething unique and not be afraidto reach out to experts. This insightwill serve us well as we begin ourengineering studies next year. Wechose co-op programs for our post-secondary education, as certainskills can only be acquired throughfieldwork. Our experience with theEXTREME VR EXPO demanded a lotof work and effort but it was anadventure well-worth taking.

http://extremevr.mirarco.org

CIM

HR outlook

Accurate labour marketinformation (LMI) and fore-casting are essential forenabling the mining industryto proactively plan and manageits workforce. Encompassingdata on employment levels, jobvacancies, remuneration,worker demographics andother key parameters, LMI facilitatesdecision-making by human resourcespractitioners, governments, academiaand other stakeholders, such as youthentering the labour market, transition-ing workers, immigrants andAboriginal Peoples. It routinelyinforms economic and social policy,workforce planning and decisionsregarding investment in training.

In Canada, LMI is collected and dis-seminated by Statistics Canada,Human Resources and SkillsDevelopment Canada, Citizenship andImmigration Canada, Industry Canada,all levels of government and variousother organizations. Mandated toaddress the mining industry’s HR chal-lenges, MiHR devotes considerableeffort and resources to LMI.Historically, LMI collection has notbeen well-coordinated or consistentacross jurisdictions in Canada. MiHR,together with 36 other sector councils,is changing this by standardizing andstreamlining the acquisition, analysisand dissemination of LMI.

To forecast future hiring require-ments in the mining industry onoccupation-, region- and commodity-specific bases, MiHR began develop-ing the Mining Industry WorkforceInformation Network (MIWIN) in2007. To date, MiHR has developedforecasts for the mining sectors ofBritish Columbia, Saskatchewan and Ontario (freely available atwww.mihr.ca/en/publications). Soon,we will have pan-Canadian forecast-ing capabilities.

The volatility of mining employ-ment makes forecasting labourdemand particularly challenging.Forecasts are typically based on expec-tations about economic variables thatexhibit fairly stable patterns over time.However, employment in the miningindustry is more erratic than in othersectors and is characterized by short-term fluctuations of greatly varieddepth and duration.

As revealed by regression analysis,the level of mining employment ishighly correlated with metals and min-erals prices. An Ontario study showsthat the commodity price index is the“best leading indicator” of miningemployment. MIWIN’s labour demandforecast is therefore largely based oncommodity price expectations. OurOntario forecast comprises three sce-narios — pessimistic, neutral and opti-mistic — of future commodity priceexpectations.

To accurately forecast hiringrequirements, analysts require infor-mation about the occupational struc-ture of the workforce. An “occupa-tional coefficient” is the number ofemployees in an occu-pation, as a proportionof all employees in the relevant industry.Hiring requirementsfor each year are fore-cast by summing upthe following: thechange in the numberof jobs required due tosectoral economic


The numbers are tellingThere is a consensus on the emergence of an HR crunch, but how do we predict its extent?z Sheldon Polowin

About the author

Sheldon Polowin is programmanager, research and labourmarket information at MiHR. He isresponsible for supporting thedevelopment of the nationalMining Industry WorkforceIntelligence [email protected]

expansion or contraction,given the prevailing com-modity price index and occu-pational coefficients; thenumber of retiring workers;and the number of workerswho leave the industry due tovoluntary separation. Thetable shows the cumulative

hiring requirements of Ontario’s min-ing sector by 2010, 2013 and 2018,under the neutral, pessimistic and opti-mistic forecast scenarios, respectively.

The Canadian mining industry willundoubtedly face significant humanresources challenges over the nextdecade. The current downturn willnot alter the demographics. Nearlyhalf of all mining employees are over45 years old, exceeding the ratio forthe entire Canadian workforce. A siz-able proportion of these workers willretire in the upcoming decade.Meanwhile, skills shortages anddeclining enrolment in mining-ori-ented academic programs will exacer-bate the situation. A prudent andwell-coordinated strategy involvingindustry, governments, academia andother stakeholders must be deployedto preserve Canada’s leadership inmining. The LMI provided by MiHR,of which MIWIN is a key element,will be instrumental in helping indus-try stakeholders address these andother critical issues going forward.

www.mihr.ca

CIM

Ontario Forecast: Cummulative hiring requirements

Mining Workers Required

Scenario 2010 2013 2018

Neutral -3,027 1,277 11,382

Pessimistic -4,954 -2,220 5,578

Optimistic -588 4,717 17,004

engineering exchange

Four years ago, Agnico-Eagledecided to dig deeper at its LaRondemine. In production since 1988 andcurrently the largest operating goldmine in Canada in terms of reserves,the site is located in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region of northwest-ern Quebec, approximately 650 kilo-metres northwest of Montreal. Of themine’s three shafts, the 2,250-metredeep shaft #3, the Penna shaft, isbelieved to be the deepest single-liftshaft in the Western Hemisphere. It isused to hoist LaRonde’s ore produc-tion of approximately 7,200 tonnesper day. The mining method is pre-dominantly transverse longhole stop-ing with delayed cemented backfill.

In May 2006, Agnico-Eagledecided to sink a winze shaft closeto its Penna shaft in order to reachore reserves of gold-copper andzinc-silver mineralization that untilthen had been inaccessible belowlevel 245 (2,450 meters below sur-face) to a depth of approximately3,110 metres. They engaged mineshaft specialists Dumas Contracting tosink the new winze.

Sinking a shaft below the surfacestarting at the 2,056-metre level “is aproject that even from the beginninghas its own unique set of challenges,”said Jos Deschênes, Dumas generalmanager, Quebec and eastern Canada.One of the very first challenges Dumasfaced was bringing the excavationequipment down via the surface rampto the 215 level. This time-consumingprocess had to be executed with metic-ulous care because each bit of equip-ment had to be dismantled and low-ered in the Penna shaft piece by pieceand then put together before excava-tion of the winze could begin.

The situation was further compli-cated by the ongoing production at the

Sinking to new depthsClose coordination and clever scheduling helped Dumas sink a winze shaft without interrupting productionz Marlene Eisner

mine. Twenty-four hours a day, sevendays a week, ore is being hoisted to thesurface via the Penna shaft. TheDumas team needed to find a solutionwhereby the daily ore needs were met,without delaying their schedule tosink the winze. They collaborated withAgnico-Eagle to coordinate shaft-sink-ing activities with the productionimperatives of the operating mine.

The winze is lined with concreteand built to custom size specifications,which presented yet another challengefor Dumas. Plans called for the winzeto be large, measuring 5.5 metres indiameter and 835 metres in depth, inorder for it to accommodate the needsof the new mine. It had to be roomyenough for two skips, a double-deckcage and an auxiliary cage (sometimesreferred to as a Marianne).The broken

muck generated by the sinking ofthe shaft would be scooped out witha mechanical shovel, dumped into abucket to bring it up to the 215level, transferred to the Penna shaft,and then brought to the surface.

The design of the winzeincluded the construction of threelarge stations and approximately 40metres of lateral development perstation. When the winze is com-pleted, the miners will be able tocommence production drillingfrom these workstations. Dumas iscurrently working on the secondstation at 2,780 metres.

Sinking the winze with ongoingmining activity presented anotherchallenge to Dumas with regard toblasting, a potentially dangeroussituation. Meticulous coordinationwith Agnico-Eagle was againneeded so that blasting was doneonly in between shifts when no onewas underground.

And finally, ventilation and heatin the shaft were initially a problem,but large fans were installed into ven-tilation raises to remedy the situation.“Agnico-Eagle put a lot of time in thisto make sure there was the rightamount of air circulation,” remarkedDeschênes. “We began at the 215 leveland heat was an issue until they com-missioned a 4.6 MW cooling plant on146 level to ensure that the sinkingcrew would have comfortable workingconditions. It didn’t interfere with us,and we continued to do our work.”

With less than a year to go to com-plete the winze, Deschênes said theproject will be finished on time. Theshaft depth is now at 2,792 metres,not too far from the planned 2,840metres. “We don’t expect any slow-downs or any major issues,” he said.“We are on target.” CIM

August 2009 | 61

The Clam (air-powered mechanical excavator) suspendedfrom the underside of the shaft sinking platform(galloway), during the excavation of the 257 station.

Photo by Frédéric Langevin

Before 1850, no one gave too muchthought to the black and glassy “coal”that ran in veins under the ground inNew Brunswick’s Albert County. Firstfound in the hollow left by anuprooted tree, locals burned it forheat, though its quality was dubious;it tended to melt at high temperatures,gumming up stoves and making amess. Only when chemists began torecognize its potential for lighting didinterest in the material catch fire.

Once albertite, as it was dubbed,was distilled to a waxy oil, it burnedcleanly and brightly, and offered apotential source of relatively cheapand efficient lighting for homes andfactories. Scientific renown and anassured fortune awaited those whocould meet the challenge of practicalinterior lighting. Not surprisingly,competition was fierce.

One booster of the deposit nearHillsborough (believed by some to beAbraham Gesner, who would patentkerosene) wrote: “It has been tracedalong the surface several miles and thebituminous mineral appears at numer-ous points along a line of thicklywooded country sixty miles in length,and perhaps ten in breadth.” Gesnermay have stoked too much interest inthe resource. After his marketing blitz,when he went to purchase the miningrights in the fall of 1850, someone elsehad beaten him to it.

Undeterred, Gesner leased the landwhere the mining claim was andbegan extracting the albertite with hisown work crew within shouting dis-tance of the mine. When officials atthe Albert Mining Company realizedtheir claim was being jumped, they

scrambled an armed militia to chaseGesner and his men away.

The fight moved to the courtwhere Gesner insisted that thehydrocarbon was his for the takingbecause the Albert Mining Companyonly had rights to coal, not albertite.Gesner compiled a team of geologiststo support his case. The mining com-pany matched his panel by hiring oneof its own.

At the time, enterprising geologistshad ample opportunities to collectconsulting fees from companieswithin the growing mining industry.One such consultant hired by themining company was Robert Foulis, acentral figure in Saint John’s small sci-entific community. He testified incourt that the glassy, brittle, pitchblack material was coal. Though heand Gesner both lectured at the city’sMechanic’s Institute there was no lovelost between them. In a series of hand-bills, Foulis and Gesner fought a pub-lic relations battle over albertite, eachtrying to undermine the other’s char-acter and claims. Tracts signed byFoulis jeered Gesner and his assertionthat he was the first to harness thepotential of albertite. Foulis, alsodeeply involved in the development ofilluminating gas, insisted he had madeuse of the local product first. Gesnerresponded with venom of his own.Foulis, he wrote, was nothing but acorporate shill.

The jury’s verdict came down onthe wrong side of science, and Gesnerlost access to the ready supply of bitu-men he needed for the production ofkerosene. In the end, neither mangleaned much profit from the albertite

deposit. Foulis had a stake in the minebut, over time, he alienated his busi-ness partners and was cut off fromtheir partnership.

Gesner’s opportunities in theBritish provinces all but exhausted, hemoved to New York City in 1853 andfor a short time, he enjoyed success asthe chief chemist for the NorthAmerican Kerosene Gas LightCompany. Once again, Gesner was astep behind — James Young, a Scot,had patented a similar process thatproduced what he called paraffin oilfrom the distillation of torbanite coal.Despite the insistence by Gesner that“the oils produced by Mr. Young’smethod are inferior in colour, odour,and illumination,” North AmericanKersone had to honour Young’s exist-ing patents and pay him royalties.

Gesner did not find his fortune inthe United States. He returned to theMaritimes in 1861, the year he pub-lished “A practical treatise on coal,petroleum and other distilled oils,”which would soon become essentialreading for those in the nascent petro-leum industry. Nevertheless, the fol-lowing year he was thrown intodebtor’s prison in Saint John. His for-tunes turned soon after when thenewly established Dalhousie Collegein Halifax invited him to be professorof natural history. Gesner, unfortu-nately, died before he had the chanceto begin lecturing.

The albertite mine in Hillsboroughoperated from 1849 to the mid-1880s,but, though it was elemental in thedevelopment of what Gesner patentedas kerosene, its product was little usedin its commercial production. CIM

Bright lights, long shadowsThe curious coal of Albert Countyz Ryan Bergen


cim newsAbdelghani, Farouk Ben, QuebecAmyot, Gail, QuebecBeauvais, Marc, QuebecBélanger, Emilie, QuebecBélanger, Mélanie, QuebecBélanger, Suzie, QuebecBelem, Tikou, QuebecBelles-Isles, Jean-Claude, QuebecBenoit, Dorothée, QuebecBenson, Craig H., USABertrand, Valérie, OntarioBérubé, Sophie, QuebecBlanchard, Felix-Antoine, QuebecBlanchette, Daniel, QuebecBlier, Annie, QuebecBoutin, Patricia, QuebecBouzahzah, Hassan, QuebecBrisbois, Robert, QuebecBrousseau, Yves, QuebecBuenano, Xavier, EcuadorCamara, Boubacar, QuebecCaron, Denis, QuebecCassista, Annie, QuebecChartrand, Francis, QuebecChatelas, Cécile, QuebecChen, Xu Eric, British ColumbiaChénard, Sylvain, QuebecCloutier, Vincent, British ColumbiaCosset, Geraldine G.C., QuebecCôté, Jacinthe, QuebecCouillard, Yves, QuebecCoussy, Samuel, QuebecCyr, Johanne, QuebecDagenais, Anne-Marie, QuebecDionne, Nicholas, QuebecDonnelly-Laliberté, Katherine,

QuebecDoucet, Véronique, QuebecDoyon, Jean-François, QuebecDrouin, Marjolaine, QuebecDuenas, Carmen Gloria, ChileDumas, Annie, QuebecDupont, Pierre-Philippe, QuebecEl Mustapha, Jaouhar, QuebecEthier, Marie-Pier, QuebecFourie, Pierre, British ColumbiaGagnon, Frank, QuebecGagnon, Mario, QuebecGauthier-Hétu, Karine, QuebecGautron, Deni, QuebecGauvin, Michele, Quebec

Gauvreau, Sam, OntarioGélineau, Martine, QuebecGermain, Caroline, QuebecGil, Henry, AlbertaGodbout, Jovette, QuebecGodbout, Mira, QuebecGotz, Laszlo, OntarioGoulet, Yves, QuebecGrace, Peter, Nova ScotiaGrandmaison, Cathy, QuebecHorvey, Magaly, QuebecIvey, Douglas, AlbertaJacob, Henri, QuebecKhan, Arnab, USAKoffi, Kouadio, QuebecLabbe, Louise, QuebecLabrecque, Isabelle, QuebecLacombe, Stéphane, QuebecLacroix, Robert, QuebecLaflamme, Donald, QuebecLafond, Jacynthe, QuebecLaliberté, David, QuebecLaliberté, Denis, QuebecLaliberté, Manon, QuebecLambert, Jean, QuebecLamontagne, Ann, QuebecLaniece, Vincent, SaskachewanLaperle, Guy, QuebecLapierre, Daniel, QuebecLaquerre, Simon, Quebec

CIM welcomes new members

August 2009 | 63

Lavoie, Jean, QuebecLavoie-Gagnon, Pascale, QuebecLebel, Alain, QuebecLeclerc, Jacques, QuebecLégaré, Pierre, QuebecLeonard, Kevin, USALépine, Thomas, QuebecLesage, Pascal, QuebecLévesque, Isabelle, QuebecLi, Li, QuebecMonette, Nicole, OntarioMonfet, Jean-Philippe, QuebecMorin, Judith, QuebecMorin, André, QuebecMorin, Nicole, QuebecNault, Pierre, QuebecNeculita, Carmen Mihaela, KoreaNoel, Michel, British ColumbiaNoël, Josée, QuebecOuellet, Serge, QuebecOuellette, Jean-Francois, QuebecPal, Sujoy, OntarioPaquet, Marc, QuebecPekrul, John, USAPenn, Alan, QuebecRoberts, Dylan N., OntarioRocca, Pat, OntarioSamuels, Michael, Ontario

cim news

Based in North Bay, Ontario, theCIM Northern Gateway Branch hashad a long and active history.Although there is no active mining inNorth Bay proper, the area has been ahub for mining service organizationssince the early 1900’s when it was themarshalling area and supply point forthe Cobalt silver rush. Today, NorthBay is home to over 60 businessesthat provide services to the Canadianand international mining industry.

Going strongHaving been quiescent for a few

years, the branch was reinvigoratedwhen Peter Balen of Atlas Copco ral-lied his peers to form a new group.Since that fateful barbeque in thesummer of 2005 in Balen’s backyard,the branch has never looked back. In2008, the group was presented theMel W. Bartley Award at the CIMAwards Gala in Edmonton.

The members of the diversebranch executive come from thewhole spectrum of the local industry.Their dedication is exemplary. AlexSpeirs, one of the branch’s foundingmembers, even came out of retire-ment to join the executive team.

Sleuthing, cruising and teeing offCIM’s Northern Gateway Branch uses a range of activities to raise awareness and rally support

By Roy Slack

unique interactive displays and activi-ties for younger students. This year, wehave implemented an award and schol-arship program to increase awareness ofthe mining services industry in the area.

Good timesThe group has hosted numerous

popular social events including theannual golf tournament. Held on aworkday, it attracts many membersand guests who cherish the opportu-nity to get away from the confines oftheir office and network in the openair. Proceeds from the tournamentsupport our scholarship programs.The branch also holds an annual LakeNipissing Cruise, a delightful partyon the water that uses the attractionsof gourmet food and lively music toraise money for local charities. Thisyear, the cruise’s proceeds will benefitthe North Bay food bank.

The branch also believes in thepower of collaborative endeavours. We recently joined the CIM SudburyBranch to help it prepare for staging the Maintenance Engineering/Mine Operators Conference (MEMO2010), to be held from October 25 to27, 2010 in Sudbury. CIM


CIM Northern Gateway Branch Executive (from left to right): Bernie Robertson, Tom Palangio, Brenda Patterson-Mack, Marcel Gravel, Moe St.Denis, Roy Slack, Kevin Melong,Rick Evans, Don Winter, Chelsa Mayhew, Sean Lawlor and Robert Gibson

A positive imageThe branch is committed to pro-

moting a positive image of the miningindustry within the community, espe-cially among students, by workingwith Nipissing University, CanadoreCollege and local school boards. Ourintention is not so much to recruitstudents into the industry as it is toinform the public of the importanceof mining and the opportunities itoffers to young people.

A number of our initiatives bringthe industry to a more accurate light.One of the most effective has been theMine Scene Investigation (MSI) show.This interactive dinner theatre forsecondary students combines videowith live acting and audience partici-pation to “solve a mystery.” The audi-ence reviews the “evidence” to deter-mine what mining career a “missingperson” has embarked on. Organizedin conjunction with the North BayMining Association and supported byboth Nipissing University andCanadore College, this event alsoincludes campus tours.

Each year during mining week, thebranch, in conjunction with the NorthBay Mining Association, organizes

cim news

August 2009 | 65

Gauche à droite / Left to right : Sylvain Hélie, Mélissa Hélie, Jean-François Lagueux,Sylvie Boisvert, Daniel Séguin

Des élans de bon tempspar Jean-François Lagueux

Le 30 mai 2009 avait lieu la 24e édition du Tournoi de Golf ICM –Section Harricana. Le tournoi s’est déroulé au Club de Golf Belvédère deVal-d’Or et a attiré plus de 200 participants.

À noter la clémence de dame nature, qui, pour cette édition, nous apermis de passer la journée les pieds au sec grâce à l’une des premièresvraies belles journées depuis l’ouverture de la saison de golf.

Nous profitons de cette occasion pour féliciter les gagnants et les invi-tons à venir défendre leur titre l’année prochaine. Cette équipe, com-posée de Sylvain Hélie, Mélissa Hélie, Sylvie Boisvert et Daniel Séguin, ainscrit un pointage de -4, devançant de justesse l’équipe de SEMAFOcomposée de Patrick Moryoussef, Claude Filteau, Claude Carrier etMartin Bourgouin. En effet, les pointages étant égaux, il a fallu retirer lepointage du dernier trou afin de déterminer le vainqueur.

Nous tenons à remercier l’ensemble de nos commanditaires pour le sup-port apporté, sans oublier tous ceux et celles qui, par leur présence et leurbonne humeur ont contribué directement au succès de cette activité.

A swinging good timeHeld on May 30 at the Belvedere Golf Club in Val-d’Or, the 24th

Annual CIM Harricana Branch Golf Tournament drew over 200 partici-pants. Mother Nature kindly provided one of the first great days since thestart of the golf season, allowing participants to keep their feet dry thewhole day.

Competition was so close that the scores were actually tied, making itnecessary to subtract the score for the last hole to determine the winner.The team, comprising Sylvain Hélie, Mélissa Hélie, Sylvie Boisvert andDaniel Séguin, finished with an adjusted score of -4, coming out justahead of the SEMAFO team — Patrick Moryoussef, Claude Filteau,Claude Carrier and Martin Bourgouin. We wish to take this opportunityto congratulate the winners and invite them back to defend their titlesnext year.

We would also like to thank all our sponsors for their support and, ofcourse, everyone who directly contributed to the event’s success throughtheir involvement and good cheer. CIM

ICM

Exploring the sceneCIM’s Red Lake Branch conducts its annual review of the latestdevelopments in the industry

By Carmen Storey

Held on June 3, the Exploration Rounduprepresented another successful season of tech-nical presentations for CIM’s Red LakeBranch.

Over 50 people, primarily exploration per-sonnel, including local prospectors, consult-ing geologists and students, attended this full-day event. The day kicked off with technicalpresentations, and later, the show was takenon the road with an afternoon field trip.

The technical presentations featured anarray of experts who reviewed the latest devel-opments on local projects and explorationand mining activity in the area. A discussionon the Government of Ontario’s amendmentof the Mining Act spurred a lively exchange ofviews on the proposed changes to the Act.

With black fly season finally behind them,field trip participants were free to examinestripped outcrops with no pesky distractions.The outcrops showed extensive iron carbon-ate alteration with gold restricted to late-stagequartz veins. The degree of their complexitywas sobering and awe-inspiring, especially forthe students who took the trip.

All in all, the day proved to be enjoyableand educative in equal measures. CIM

Field participants examining stripped outcrops

cim news


CIM’s Order ofSancta Barbara recog-nizes the importantrole played bywomen in the pro-gressive developmentof Canadian miningcommunities. Thisyear’s winner, SheilaStenzel, has donemore than her fairshare to cement thebond between schoolteachers and theindustry. Stenzel’suntiring efforts, as director of theMineral Resources Education Programof British Columbia (MREPBC), havetremendously benefitted both theindustry and its community.

The school program was createdto assist teachers in the developmentof educational materials to supportthe teaching of minerals science,mining and geoscience from kinder-garten to grade 12. It educates andinforms the public and stimulatesyoung people’s interest in miningcareers. Now in its 18th year,MREPBC has assisted more than7,300 British Columbia teachers andstudent teachers with mineral-relevant curricula and learning expe-riences. It is estimated to havereached more than 650,000 students.

In an interview with CIMMagazine, Stenzel discussed the scopeof her work, her views on the indus-try and the challenges and rewards ofher career.

CIM: How did you get involved with theschool program?Stenzel: I first became involved as avolunteer and it grew from there. Ilater became the coordinator, andwhen the program’s founder,Maureen Lipkewich, retired I washired as director.

From the ground upThe winner of the Order of Sancta Barbara is reshaping the public’s perception of mining

By Robbie Pillo

CIM: One of the program’s goals is toimprove the image of mining among futuregenerations. How can this be achieved?Stenzel: Our industry must keep alead on promoting itself through sup-port for education. It is made up ofsuch good people, that the moreopportunities they take to engage thepublic — in our case, school teachersand students — the more headwaythey make in ensuring a more cur-rent and accurate perception of theindustry.

CIM: What are the challenges you face asdirector of the school program?Stenzel: The resource units are devel-oped in accordance with the BritishColumbia Ministry of Education cur-riculum. As the curriculum is ever-changing, we have to look for newways to both encourage teaching mineral-relevant topics at differentgrade levels and to provide teacherswith the resources they need.

Recently, the Ministry transferredthe first strong earth sciences curricu-lum from the primary to the grade 7level. We have found it difficult tokeep primary teachers interested inteaching about rocks — though chil-dren love the topic — when it is notformally in the Ministry’s prescribedlearning outcomes.

CIM: How have you beenable to address thesechanges?Stenzel: We have devel-oped, and will imple-ment this fall, a newgrade seven earth sci-ences resource unit tosupport teachers at thatlevel. As with our otherunits, this will be distrib-uted in conjunction witha half-day workshop,and each teacher will begiven a kit with a binder,

posters, rocks and mineral samples,and images to support their teaching.

To keep the program alive at theprimary level, we have developed ahalf-day in-class workshop, also to beimplemented this fall, for students toexplore the many properties of rocksand minerals. This is great hands-onscience exploration for the children.But our other goal is to inspire theirteachers to address this more thor-oughly in class, to lay down a goodfoundation in earth science, and touse the high-interest geology themesto build literacy skills, tackle mathand to introduce social studies topicsand careers.

CIM: How do you feel about beingawarded the Order of Sancta Barbara?Stenzel: It is a great honour. I havehung the plaque and medal on myoffice wall. It means a lot to have theindustry recognize the school pro-gram’s accomplishments, which havebeen possible only because of our pro-gram’s dedicated partner-teachers andthe support of our industry. Our suc-cess is thanks to the teachers and min-ing people who have worked togetherfor 18 years to build a better under-standing of our industry.

www.bcminerals.ca

CIM

Left to right: Jim Gowans, CIM past president; Sheila Stenzel; and Kathleen Gowans

Plenty to sink your teeth intoCIM unveils its new lineup for the 2009-2010Distinguished Lecturer season

By Robbie Pillo

The 2009-2010 CIM Distinguished Lecturer Program brings togethersome of the industry’s most engaging speakers, innovative thinkers andinspiring individuals to help keep branches and societies up to speed onthe latest trends and developments. This year’s lineup of speakers (see box)will present a veritable smorgasbord of knowledge on topics ranging fromthe latest strategies in addressing Aboriginal human resource issues to sub-sea mining.

Currency and cohesion…Delivered by field-leading experts, each Distinguished Lecture is full of

the very latest information, helping you ensure that your branch members’grasp of developments in the industry is current and up-to-date. This iswhy the Distinguished Lecturer Program has always been so popular withCIM branches. “This program has provided our branch with the opportu-nity to host consistently outstanding speakers who have delivered presen-tations on a variety of topics, from geology to safety,” said Mark Smyk,chair/treasurer of CIM’s Thunder Bay Branch. Smyk’s high regard for theprogram is shared by Thompson Branch chair Inge Robinson, who noted,“The subjects covered have piqued our members’ interests, generatingstimulating exchanges that were at the same time significant and fruitful.”

Christian West, chair of CIM’s Oil Sands Branch, highlighted anotherimportant role the Distinguished Lecturer Program plays at the branchlevel. “Bringing a Distinguished Lecturer to our branch has provided anopportunity to enrich our technical presentation series and broaden ourmembership reach,” he remarked. Inviting a Distinguished Lecturer toyour next branch meeting could thus help cement your membership’scohesion in addition to furthering its education. Branch executives acrossthe country have reported that meetings featuring a presentation by aDistinguished Lecturer are better-attended and better-appreciated, helpingto potentially attract new members and to sustain the interest and involve-ment of existing members.

… and convenience tooAs beneficial and rewarding as it is to run a CIM branch in a remote loca-

tion, it is not always easy fulfilling members’ need for current knowledge, asaccess to resources and information may be difficult. The DistinguishedLecturer Program offers the perfect, most convenient solution. Undeterredby distance and difficulty of travel, our lecturers are committed to come toyou to offer your members the benefit of their expertise. If you have foundit hard to get people with the same interests to come together, rest assuredthat having Distinguished Lecturer speak at your event will bring more peo-ple to the table. As Smyk noted, “The Distinguished Lecturer Program isespecially important to smaller and more remote branches, which may nothave many local speakers to draw upon.”

It is thanks to our generous sponsors, Atlas Copco and the CanadianMining and Metallurgical Foundation, who support CIM’s quest to provideits members the greatest opportunities for knowledge sharing, networkingand professional development, that the branches can enjoy the benefits ofthe Distinguished Lecturers Program. CIM

cim news

It is surely a testament to our vital-ity that the CIM family has grown soprolifically, spreading across our vastcountry since its inception over acentury ago. However, as with manyfamilies, those who were once linkedby kinship have come to cluster intodifferent groups, sometimes makingcommunication and united actiondifficult.

The realization that we at CIM areunited by common interests and thatthis unity must be reflected in ourorganizational structure yielded theOne Membership initiative, currentlybeing rolled out to CIM branchesacross Canada.

Coming togetherAt present, there are two levels of

membership — national and branch.National membership also includessocieties and other special categoriessuch as retirees. However, numerousbranch members are not national CIMmembers and only participate in localbranch activities. Branch-level mem-bership records have been traditionallymaintained separately by thebranches. Branch members who arenot national members, while entitledto participate in many excellentbranch activities, are not entitled toimportant national membership bene-fits that would give them access toCIM best practices and a better under-standing of our industry.

In addition to impeding communi-cation with many of our stakeholders,this duality has led to some organiza-tional inefficiencies. To address thissituation, the idea of one membershipemerged a number of years ago, coa-lescing in 2006. At a Council meetingin February 2007, under the leader-ship of Jim Popowich (CIM president2007-2008), a motion was passed

United we standCIM’s new One Membership initiative promises streamlining,solidarity and synergy

By Minaz Kerawala

unanimously to adopt the OneMembership concept.

The One Membership proposition isquite straightforward. For a nominaladditional fee of $ 10 at the branchlevel, all qualified branch members areupgraded to a basic-level nationalmembership. Their records enter CIM’snational database, and they will havefull access to the online membershipdirectory. In addition, they receive acopy of the December “outlook issue”of CIM Magazine containing thenational membership directory, an offi-cial CIM membership card, all CIMofficial communiqués and the ability tomanage their membership accountsonline. The infrastructure for thesefacilities is currently being put in place.

The branches retain full autonomyover setting their membership ratesand planning and running their activi-ties; however, they pass on the respon-sibilities of database management anddues invoicing to the CIM nationaloffice. Access to the online members’directory and CIM national office’sadvanced online communication toolsare some of the other benefits thatbranch executives enjoy. In addition,CIM’s national office ensures compli-ance with privacy laws and maintainsdata securely on the branches’ behalf.

A visionary movePopowich, who together with the

then incoming president Jim Gowansand CIM executive director JeanVavrek, led the nuts-and-bolts devel-opment of One Membership, is well-placed to speak of the rationalebehind the initiative. “The concepthas been considered for many years,”said Popowich. “It is more than amerging of databases. With OneMembership, CIM can better commu-nicate with all those interested in the

minerals industry — locally and atthe bigger-picture level. We felt thatCIM should address softer issues suchas education, safety and corporatesocial responsibility, and we needed toconnect with all in our industry sothey could be better advocates of it.The best way to do this was throughour branch members — the grassrootsand the mainstay of our industry.Under the former system of member-ship, we had no way of communicat-ing with our significant stakeholderbase. Hence the concept of OneMembership began to emerge.”

Another important strand of the fab-ric of this idea relates to CIM’s need toattract more and younger members.Michael Allan, the current CIM presi-dent, explained: “I believe we need tofocus on getting more of our youngermembers involved in CIM activities.Many of them are active in branchesbut may not participate in nationalactivities. Although I was always anational member, my involvement withCIM started with branch activities andprogressed to being involved withCIM’s national meetings and ultimatelyto being on Council.” Allan is opti-mistic that many young branch mem-bers will follow a similar path and thatCIM will benefit from the fresh ideas ofyoung talent.

One more reason for which thebranches are vitally important is that,as Jean Vavrek pointed out, “thebranches are the key avenue throughwhich our ‘retired’ members stay con-nected and maintain lifelong friend-ships, enabling us all to profit fromthe wealth of their experience.”

Significantly, president-elect ChrisTwigge-Molecey and his successor,Chuck Edwards, have also thrown theirsupport behind the move, ensuring thatthe CIM leadership’s commitment to


cim news

One Membership is sustained well intothe future, long after the tenures of itsoriginal architects have been completed.

Economies of scaleBig-picture benefits notwithstand-

ing, One Membership just would nottake off if it did not offer benefits at theeveryday level. “We needed to makethe cost reasonable,” explainedPopowich. “Many at the branch level,while interested in the bigger picture,did not wish to pay a high fee. We alsowanted to reduce the branches’ work-loads by maintaining their membershipdatabase for them. The branches areoperated voluntarily by people whohave regular day jobs, so we want tomake things easier for them. With ournew web-enabled systems, we have bet-ter tools to assist the branches withcommunication through a secure cen-tral medium that is constantly updated.Branch membership renewals can alsobe more effectively handled from a cen-tral database. One Membership will sig-nificantly reduce the workloads ofbranch executives at a very low cost.”

Elaborating on another importantbenefit, Allan said: “All membershiprecords are maintained in a secure sys-tem. The potential issues with privacylegislation that can plague ‘unregu-lated’ databases are taken care of byhaving CIM National look after thedata. Also, potential liabilities forwhich CIM is ultimately responsible,such as those pertaining to taxation,can be better managed.” Finally, Allanadded: “We will have the potential toperhaps dramatically increase ournational membership.”

Gaining groundThe One Membership initiative has

already been implemented at 12branches. Despite a few concerns, thereception has been largely positive.

“We decided to be the test marketfor One Membership for multiple rea-sons,” said Cameron Rennie of CIM’sWinnipeg Branch. “Firstly, having CIMNational manage our database allevi-ates a large workload. Secondly, theprogram will provide our branch mem-

bers with numerous benefits, includinga member card, access to the CIMmembership directory, etc. Thirdly, theprogram helps to ensure that the mem-ber database and communications meetthe requirements of privacy laws.”

Eric Hinton of the Red Lake Branchhad his eyes on the big picture. “Wewanted to gain access to possiblescholarship funding for high schoolgraduates within the national body ofCIM. We had been using the CIMname for many years and had notgained a lot of opportunity, except forthat of the Distinguished Lecturertour. There are other resources avail-able to the branch from the nationaloffice, such as potential financial sup-port, advertising space, and marketingand networking opportunities thatwould otherwise have to be startedfrom the ground up. The Red Lakecommunity can also benefit by findingout what other communities are doingwith the resources available forschools, and from the availability ofpeople to answer any number of ques-tions, either technically or socially.”

These sentiments are echoed bymany branch executives. “When theNew Brunswick Branch decided tomove to One Membership, it was ourunderstanding that this was part of theconsolidation of finances and thereforeit made sense,” recalled Paul Rennick.“The greatest benefit for our branchmembers will be the communicationfor national issues and events, a facilitythat previously was not available.”

The Vancouver Branch adoptedOne Membership because it simplymade sense from a cost-benefit per-spective. “A number of administrativeand legal issues provided very com-pelling reasons to sign on,” explainedformer branch chair Alex Doll. “Bymoving all branch members under thenational umbrella, insurance and taxissues are allayed. Collecting adminis-trative tasks under the nationalumbrella is more cost-effective thaneach branch registering as a non-profitsociety, buying insurance, remittingGST (for bigger branches) and havingthe books audited. A branch that is

prepared to do all this probablywouldn’t see much benefit in OneMembership. But, they should ask ifthey would really be saving money,given the nominal cost of OneMembership.”

It’s bigger than it seemsAs more branches come on board,

One Membership is destined to growinto much more than an administrativeunion. The more people that cometogether, the more expectations theywill have. Welcoming this prospect,Vavrek, said: “We need to get to a pointwhere people say, ‘This works for us’.That’s a commitment we’ve made.Right now, it’s the first stage and I knowthat people have expectations from us.At this early stage, we can only estimatethem. I am hoping that the implemen-tation will be an interactive process,and invite feedback from our brancheson what they expect and how it isworking for them. The sooner we knowwhat they need, the sooner we canwork to meet those needs.”

Vavrek will not have long to wait.Feedback is already trickling in fromthe branches. “Our hope is that CIMNational can share its abilities toattract new members at the branchlevel, allowing us to increase our mem-bership and visibility,” declaredRennie. This is also on Hinton’s mind.“We expect more visibility of ourbranches within the CIM Magazine andmore support from national sponsorsfor our events,” he said. “We also wantthe leadership to be visible in the com-munity, showing that we are involvedboth on the mining side and the com-munity side.”

With so much to be immediatelyand potentially gained from OneMembership, it is little wonder thatPopowich and Allan are so enthusias-tic. “We are a strong networking insti-tute and One Membership just allowsCIM to be better at this,” saidPopowich. Allan, on whose presidentialwatch the initiative is being imple-mented, added: “This will be good forthe branches and good for CIM overall.We will all benefit.” CIM

August 2009 | 69

cim news

C’est sûrement un témoignage ànotre vitalité que la famille ICM a crûde manière si proliférante, se répandantà travers notre vaste pays depuis sesdébuts il y a plus d’un siècle. Toutefois,tout comme de nombreuses familles,ceux qui étaient autrefois liés par desliens de parenté se sont regroupésautrement, rendant parfois difficiles lescommunications et les actions unifiées.

La réalisation que nous, de l’ICM,sommes unis par des intérêts communs,et que cette unité doit être reflétée dansnotre structure organisationnelle, a con-duit à l’initiative du Membership àguichet unique, laquelle est en voied’être mise en œuvre dans les sectionsde l’ICM à travers le Canada.

Se rassemblerIl y a actuellement deux niveaux

d’appartenance à l’ICM — le national etcelui de la section. Le membershipnational comprend aussi les sociétés etd’autres catégories spéciales telles queles retraités. Toutefois, de nombreuxmembres des sections ne sont pasmembres de l’ICM au niveau nationalet ils ne participent qu’aux activités deleur section locale. Les listes des mem-bres des sections ont traditionnelle-ment été maintenues séparément parles sections. Bien qu’ils puissent par-ticiper à de nombreuses excellentesactivités de section, les membres, quine sont pas membres nationaux, n’ontpas droit aux bénéfices importants demembership national qui leur don-neraient accès aux meilleures pratiquesde l’ICM et à une meilleure com-préhension de notre industrie.

En plus de nuire aux communica-tions avec plusieurs de nos inter-venants, cette dualité a mené à des inef-ficiences organisationnelles. Afin deremédier cette situation, l’idée d’unmembership unique a été avancée il y aquelques années, aboutissant en 2006.Lors d’une réunion du Conseil enfévrier 2007, sous la gouvernance deJim Popowich (président de l’ICM2007-2008), une motion a été

L’union fait la forceLe nouveau Membership à guichet unique de l’ICM promet rationalisation, solidarité et synergie

unanimement votée d’adopter le con-cept de membership à guichet unique.

Cette proposition de membership àguichet unique est assez claire. Pourune somme nominale additionnelle de10$ au niveau de la section, tous lesmembres qualifiés de la section devien-nent membres nationaux à un niveaude base. Leur dossier est saisi dans labase de données de l’ICM national et ilsont plein accès au bottin des membresen ligne. De plus, ils recevront la copiedu CIM Magazine de décembre offrantun aperçu de l’année à venir et qui con-tient le bottin des membres nationaux,une carte officielle de membre del’ICM, tous les communiqués officielset la possibilité de gérer leur compte demembre en ligne. L’infrastructure pources fonctionnalités est actuellement envoie d’être mise en place.

Les sections gardent toute leurautonomie sur l’établissement des fraisde membership ainsi que la planificationet la gestion de leurs activités. Ellescèdent toutefois la gestion de la base dedonnées et de la facturation des cotisa-tions au bureau national de l’ICM.L’accès à la base de données nationale etaux outils de communication perfec-tionnés de l’ICM national sont quelques-uns des autres avantages dont peuventbénéficier les dirigeants des sections.

Une démarche visionnaireM. Popowich qui, avec le président-

élu d’alors Jim Gowans, et le directeurexécutif de l’ICM, Jean Vavrek, a mené ledéveloppement des rouages du member-ship à guichet unique, est bien placépour parler des raisons d’être de l’initia-tive. « Le concept avait été considérédepuis plusieurs années », dit M.Popowich. « C’est beaucoup plus que lafusion de bases de données. Avec lemembership à guichet unique, l’ICMpourra mieux communiquer avec tousceux qui sont intéressés par l’industrieminérale – à l’échelle locale et à unniveau d’ensemble plus élevé. Selonnous, l’ICM devait aussi traiter des ques-tions auxiliaires telles que l’éducation, la

sécurité et la responsabilité sociale desentreprises, nous devions aussi nousrelier à tous les intervenants de notreindustrie afin que tous y prennent part.La meilleure façon de ce faire était parnos membres des sections – la base et lespiliers de notre industrie. Sous l’anciensystème d’adhésion, nous n’avionsaucun moyen de communiquer avecnotre importante base d’intervenants. »

Un autre important but de cette idéeest le besoin pour l’ICM d’attirer plus demembres et plus jeunes. Michael Allan,le président actuel de l’ICM, explique :« Je crois que nous devrions cibler l’im-plication des plus jeunes membres dansles activités de l’ICM. Plusieurs sont act-ifs au niveau des sections mais ne par-ticipent pas aux activités nationales.Bien que j’ai toujours été un membrenational, mon implication dans l’ICM adébuté par des activités de section pourensuite progresser vers une implicationdans les congrès nationaux et finale-ment siéger au Conseil d’administra-tion. » M. Allan est confiant que lesjeunes membres des sections auront uncheminement semblable et que l’ICMpourra bénéficier des nouvelles idéesdes jeunes talents.

Une autre raison pour laquelle lessections sont si importantes est que,comme le dit Jean Varvek, le directeurexécutif de l’ICM « Les sections sont laprincipale voie par laquelle les mem-bres ‘retraités’ demeurent en contact etentretiennent des amitiés de toute unevie, nous permettant tous de profiter deleur vaste expérience. »

De manière significative, le prési-dent-élu Chris Twigge-Molecey et sonsuccesseur, Chuck Edwards, support-ent aussi ces démarches, assurant ainsique l’engagement des dirigeants del’ICM envers le membership à guichetunique est bien ancré dans le futur.

Économies d’échelleNonobstant les bénéfices évidents,

le membership à guichet unique nepourrait devenir réalité s’il n’offrait pasdes bénéfices tangibles au jour le jour.


cim news

« Le coût doit être raisonnable »,explique M. Popowich. « Au niveaudes sections, plusieurs étaientintéressés par le concept mais nevoulaient pas payer une cotisationélevée. Nous voulions aussi réduire lefardeau de travail des sections en main-tenant leurs bases de données. Les sec-tions sont gérées par des bénévoles quiont des emplois réguliers, nousvoulions donc leur faciliter la tâche.Avec notre nouveau système sur leWeb, nous avons de meilleurs outilspour aider les sections avec leurs com-munications grâce à un environnementsécurisé qui est constamment mis àjour. Le renouvellement des adhésionsdes membres des sections peut aussiêtre géré plus efficacement à partird’une base de données centralisée. Lemembership à guichet unique réduirala charge de travail des exécutifs dessections, et ce, à très faible coût. »

Pour expliquer un autre bénéficeimportant, M. Allan dit : « Tous lesdossiers des membres sont conservésdans un système sécurisé. Les questionspotentielles de législation relative à laprotection de la vie privée qui peuventêtre un fléau pour les bases de données‘non réglementées’ sont réglées par lefait que c’est l’ICM national qui gère lesdonnées. Les obligations légales, tellesque la taxation, pour lesquelles l’ICMest responsable en bout de compte, peu-vent être mieux gérées. »

Gagner du terrainL’initiative de membership à

guichet unique est déjà implantéedans 12 sections. Malgré quelquespréoccupations, l’initiative a été reçuede manière positive.

« Nous avons décidé de servir demarché témoin pour de nombreusesraisons » dit Cameron Rennie, de lasection Winnipeg. « Premièrement, lefait que l’ICM national gère notre basede données nous enlève une grandecharge de travail. Deuxièmement, leprogramme donnera de nombreuxavantages à nos membres de la section,entre autres par une carte de membre etl’accès au bottin des membres de l’ICM.Troisièmement, le programme aide àassurer que la base des données et les

communications sont conformes auxexigences des lois sur la protection desrenseignements personnels. »

Eric Hinton de la section Red Lakevisait haut. « Nous voulions avoiraccès, auprès de l’ICM national, à dufinancement possible pour des boursesattribuées à des diplômés du sec-ondaire. D’autres ressources sont aussidisponibles pour les sections à partir dubureau national, par exemple, un sou-tien financier potentiel, de l’espace pub-licitaire et des possibilités de marketinget de réseautage qu’il aurait sinon fallutout mettre en place. La communautéde Red Lake y trouvera son bénéfice endécouvrant ce que font les autres com-munautés avec les ressourcesdisponibles pour les écoles et de ladisponibilité des gens pour répondre àpresque n’importe quelle question,qu’elle soit technique ou sociale. »

Les dirigeants de nombreuses autressections partagent ces sentiments. «Lorsque la section Nouveau-Brunswicka décidé d’adopter le membership àguichet unique, nous avions comprisqu’il s’agissait de la consolidation desfinances et que l’idée était bonne », ditPaul Rennick. « Le plus grand bénéficepour les membres de notre section serala communication des activités et desenjeux nationaux, un mécanisme quin’était pas disponible antérieurement. »

La section Vancouver a adopté lemembership à guichet unique simple-ment parce que c’était logique d’unpoint de vue coûts-avantages. «Plusieurs questions administratives etlégales nous ont convaincu d’y adhérer», explique l’ancien président de lasection, Alex Doll. « En transféranttous les membres de la section dans lecadre national, les questions d’assur-ances et fiscales sont réglées.Regrouper les tâches administrativesdans un cadre national est plusrentable qu’avoir chaque section s’en-registrer en tant que société à but nonlucratif, acheter de l’assurance, remet-tre la TPS (pour les grosses sections)et faire vérifier ses livres. Une sectionqui est prête à faire tout cela ne verraprobablement pas grand bénéfice aumembership à guiche unique. Ces sec-tions devraient cependant se deman-

der si elles sauvent de l’argent étantdonné le faible coût du membership àguiche unique. »

C’est bien plus gros qu’il ne le sembleÀ mesure que de plus en plus de sec-

tions y adhèrent, le membership àguichet unique devrait croître pourdevenir beaucoup plus qu’une simpleunion administrative. Lorsqu’un grandnombre de personnes se rassemblent,les attentes croissent. Heureux de cetteperspective, le directeur exécutif del’ICM, Jean Vavrek, dit : « Dans lemoment, il s’agit d’une première étapeet je sais que les gens ont des attentes.À ce stade précoce, nous ne pouvonsque les estimer. J’espère que la mise enœuvre sera un processus interactif etj’invite les sections à nous dire cequ’elles attendent et ce qui fonctionnebien dans le moment. Plus vite nousconnaîtrons les besoins, plus vite nouspourrons les satisfaire. »

M. Vavrek n’aura pas à attendrelongtemps. Des réactions entrent déjàdes sections. « Nous espérons quel’ICM national pourra partager sescapacités d’attirer de nouveaux mem-bres au niveau local, nous permettantainsi d’accroître notre membership etnotre visibilité », a déclaré M. Rennie.C’est aussi ce que pense M. Hinton. «Nous nous attendons à plus de visibil-ité pour les sections dans le CIMMagazine et à plus de soutien des com-manditaires nationaux pour nos événe-ments », dit-il. « Nous voulons aussique le leadership soit visible dans lacommunauté, démontrant que noussommes impliqués à la fois du côtéminier et du côté communautaire. »

Avec tant à gagner immédiatement etpotentiellement avec le membership àguichet unique, il n’est pas surprenantque MM. Popowich et Allan soient sienthousiastes. « Nous sommes uninstitut avec un fort réseau et le mem-bership à guichet unique permet toutsimplement à l’ICM de s’améliorer surce point », dit M. Popowich. M. Allan,le président de l’ICM durant la mise enœuvre de cette initiative, ajoute : « Cesera bon pour les sections et bon pourl’ICM en général. Nous en bénéficieronstous. » ICM

August 2009 | 71

calendarCIM EVENTS

Sudbury Branch Rudolph Kneer Memorial GolfTournament

Lively Golf and Country ClubAugust 8Lively, OntarioContact: George DarlingTel.: 705.691.1812Email: [email protected]

Red Lake Branch Technical Branch MeetingGuest speaker: Robert AdamsAugust 19Red Lake, OntarioContact: Dar WoodsTel.: 807.727.0444Email: [email protected]

Conference of Metallurgists, COM 2009Conférence des metallurgists, COM 2009

August 23-25Sudbury, OntarioContact: Brigitte FarahTel: 514.939.2710, ext. 1329Email: [email protected]: www.metsoc.org

New Brunswick Branch 34th Annual ConventionSeptember 10-12Bathurst, New BrunswickContact: Paul RennickEmail: [email protected]

Toronto Branch, Frank Grieco Golf DaySeptember 16Toronto, OntarioContact: Nancy McnabTel.: 416.352.1989Email: [email protected]

Northern Gateway 4th Annual Golf TournamentHighview Golf CourseSeptember 18North Bay, OntarioContact: Bernie RobertsonTel.: 705.474.4400Email: [email protected]

South Central BC Branch Annual MeetingSeptember 23-25Kamloops, British ColumbiaContact: Peter WittEmail: [email protected]

AROUND THE WORLD

SIMIN 2009August 21-24Santiago, ChileContact: Osvaldo Gonzalez GallardoEmail: [email protected]: www.simin.cl

IFRS: Key Concerns for the Mining IndustryAugust 25-26Vancouver, British ColumbiaContact: Tim McCubbinEmail: [email protected]: www.infonex.ca

4th International Conference on Mine ClosureSeptember 9-12Perth, Western Australia, AustraliaContact: Jill HollinsheadTel.: +61.8.6488.3300Email: [email protected]: www.mineclosure2009.com

PERUMIN 2009September 14-19Arequipa, PeruContact: Tatiana CastroTel.: +511.349.4262Email: [email protected]: www.convencionminera.com

Economic Evaluation and Investment DecisionMethods

September 14-18Golden, Colorado, USAContact: John StermoleToll Free: 800.446.9488Website: [email protected]

Heavy Metals Conference 2009September 20-23Drakensbourg, South AfricaContact: Julie DixonTel.: +27.11.834.1273Email: [email protected]: www.saimm.co.za


August 2009 | 73

Mine mappingBecause of its economic importance, the litigation problems caused by the Apex

Law, and its extensive underground development (1,600 kilometres of drifts and67 kilometres of shafts), Butte received more intensive study than almost anyother mineral deposit, which is why it ranks as one of the most important sites ofmineral deposit research.

According to Graton (1947), Anaconda’s Butte mines hosted “the first geologi-cal department of any importance established by a mining company — and per-haps the earliest on any scale.” He described its origins as follows:

“Systematic study of the Butte deposits by the U.S. Geological Survey had begun in1896 under the direction of S.F. Emmons and continued for several years. … D.W.Brunton, as consulting engineer for Anaconda, advocated geological study (to resolveboundary disputes arising from the Apex Law) in 1900 and engaged for that purposeH.V. Winchell, who organized a staff and began systematic underground mapping. …In 1901, R.H. Sales, who had earlier worked (in other Butte mines and with theFederal geologists), joined the company’s geological department. In 1906, Salesbecame chief geologist.”

Reno Sales was born in Iowa in 1876 and moved toBozeman, Montana, in 1881 where his father became arancher. After receiving a science degree from MontanaState College and a graduate degree (Engineer of Mines)from Columbia School of Mines in 1900, he returned toMontana to become an engineer-surveyor at Butte. Sales,Winchell and Brunton began to standardize and compilethe geology throughout the camp and, in the process,they established the principals for systematic surface andunderground mapping that eventually became the modelused worldwide. This was the same Brunton who hadreceived a patent in 1894 for the compass that is namedafter him, and which is still in use. Sales served as chief

geologist until 1948, another 14 years as a consulting geologist, and died inBozeman in 1969 at the age of 92.

In its early years, Anaconda’s geological work remained closely concerned withboundary rights and litigation. The underground mapping was, therefore, carriedout with unprecedented care and detail to make the maps, sections and modelsexpress the exact conditions underground and to ensure that they would be diffi-cult to challenge in court. Since Butte is characterized by numerous strong,through-going veins of various attitudes and by several sets of strong fault dis-placements, and because Apex litigation primarily involved geometrical consider-ations, the geological work of those early years was concerned chiefly with theinterpretation and solution of structural problems.

After the ownership of the mines was consolidated and the litigation period ended,the geological department began to focus more on geological features on a district-wide basis. Initially, priority was accorded to mine operation and production. In par-ticular, great efficiency was achieved in projecting the known pattern of intersectingveins and faults into contiguous unopened ground. In addition, the nature and geom-etry of the mineralization received consistent attention, and variations in mineralcharacter and texture and in the type and intensity of wall-rock alteration graduallyevolved into the well-known zonal pattern. In 1913, Sales published a classic paper

history“Reno Sales insisted that every mine operator,

geologist, and even prospector appraises the

future of mining properties on the basis of a

theory of ore deposition whether he realizes

the fact or not, and wherever the ultimate

value of a mine or prospect is dependant on

undeveloped ore, any estimate by an engi-

neer or a geologist necessarily involves a

theory of the origin of the deposit. Thus, the

importance of a theory of the genesis of ore

deposits cannot be overestimated”

~ Perry and Meyer, 1968

* Except where noted, information on Reno Salesand the Anaconda geological department has beenderived from Perry and Meyer (1968) andMcLaughlin and Sales (1993). The production datacomes mainly from Long et al. (2000), and frompersonal communications from John Dilles andRichard Berg.

Butte, Montana (Part 4)*By R.J. “Bob” Cathro, Chemainus, British Columbia

Reno Sales (1876-1969)

economic geology


on mineral zoning at Butte thatstands as one of the great geolog-ical contributions made directlyby a mining company.

In 1919, the geologicaldepartment took over the direc-tion of mine sampling; it wascombined with the miningdepartment in 1928 to form agroup that employed 15 geolo-gists, 44 engineers, 67 samplersand 11 draftsmen. At the sametime, a new program was imple-mented to develop a new tonneof ore reserves to replace eachtonne mined (Linforth, 1933).The Butte geological depart-ment was the largest andstrongest of its kind for manyyears and was credited withtraining a large number of geol-ogists in standardized and effec-tive methods of undergroundmapping (the Anacondaschool). One unique policy wasthat responsibility for under-ground exploration was steadilydelegated to the geologicaldepartment, rather than to the production department as atmost mines. That policy is still resisted at some mines today.

The three basic contributions of Reno Sales to mininggeology were described as follows: 1) he provided a superbstandard of technical competence and intellectual integrity ata time when others were confusing observations and ‘author-ity’; 2) few men, within the universities or outside, directlyand personally influenced as many students of mining geol-ogy (nearly 100); and 3) he left us with a basic philosophy,endeavouring throughout his life to minimize the distinctionbetween pure and applied geology (Perry & Meyer, 1968).

Butte production historyThe mined portion of the Butte deposit is contained

within an area of about six kilometres by three kilometresand extends to a depth of over 1.5 kilometres. In 1955, thevalue of its cumulative production was only exceededworldwide by the South African Rand gold production.

Over 1.1 billion tonnes of ore and waste had been minedby the end of 1996 to produce approximately 14.6 milliontonnes of copper, making it the second largest producer inthe United States, after Bingham Canyon. Copper produc-tion peaked in 1917. It was also the second largest producerof silver (22,400 tonnes = 720 million ounces), exceededonly by the Coeur d’Alene district in Idaho, and the sixthlargest producer of zinc (2.2 million tonnes). In addition tothe main metals discussed above, Butte also produced 90.1

tonnes (2.9 millionounces) of gold, 1.7 mil-lion tonnes of manganese,400,000 tonnes of lead,87,000 tonnes of molybde-num, small amounts ofcadmium, bismuth, sele-nium, and tellurium, andover eight million drytonnes of sulphuric acid.Subsequent production ofcopper, molybdenum, sil-ver and gold from theContinental Pit is unavail-able, but is insignificant inrelation to the 1996 total.Manganese productionstarted in 1917 and peakedduring both World Wars.In 1944, Butte was respon-sible for 98 per cent of thetotal U.S. production.

Detailed informationabout average ore gradesmined at Butte is scanty.The best estimates are thatabout 23 million tonnesaveraging 6% Cu were

mined during the first 20 years (1881-1901); about 143million tonnes of 4% Cu ore were mined from veinsbetween 1902 and 1962; 30 million tonnes of porphyry oregrading about 1% Cu was mined underground between1952 and 1962; 306 million tonnes of milling ore at anaverage grade of 0.60% Cu and 345 million tonnes of leach-ing ore grading about 0.25% Cu was mined from theBerkeley pit between 1954 and 1982; 85 million tonnesaveraging 0.40% Cu and 0.04% Mo came from theContinental pit between 1973 and 1991; and 46 milliontonnes averaging 0.60% Cu was derived from so-called ‘Zn-Pb ore’ between 1905 and 1967.

A large part of the deposit that extends beneath the bottomof the abandoned mine is estimated to contain over 25 milliontonnes of copper (almost twice as much as was produced), 2.3million tonnes of zinc, 1 million tonnes of molybdenum, and80 tonnes of silver. This represents the largest unminedresource of copper and silver and the third largest resource ofzinc in the United States. Although that resource is unlikelyto be mined in the foreseeable future, it helps to demonstratethe gigantic size of the Butte mineral deposit.

In the early years, the rich near-surface lodes were minedby at least 45 companies. Because of generally good groundconditions, open-stoping methods were used for the first 70years. As the price of copper weakened after the end ofWorld War II in 1945, and the average grade declined as therichest parts of the orebody were depleted, Anaconda was

An example of how systematic underground mapping was used on the 1400 foot Levelof the Mountain View mine at Butte to recognize a structural problem and discover moreore. A drift following segments 1426, 1424 and 1427 of the No. 8 vein passed througha fault and intersected 1429, which had a reverse dip (see the inset in the upper rightcorner). The mapping showed that 1429 was part of a different, parallel vein (No.10)and led to the discovery of segment 1435, which was the continuation of No.8 vein(from Linforth, 1933).

forced to change its mining meth-ods in order to lower productioncosts. A block caving miningmethod was introduced in thehorsetail area, on the east side of themine, between 1952 and 1962. Itproduced 29.5 million tonnes aver-aging about 1.0% Cu.

The next significant change wasthe Berkeley open pit, which wasstarted in 1955, when the price ofcopper reached the highest levelsince 1918, and operated until1982. The average grade was 0.75%Cu at the start. By 1964, the pit wasproviding 56 per cent of the totalproduction. The smallerContinental pit, on the east edge of the deposit, was startedin 1980; when it closed in 1983, production by Anacondaand its successors ended.

In 1971, Anaconda suffered a crippling blow when Chilenationalized its great Chuquicamata mine, its primarysource of income. When copper prices weakened again, theButte operation was gradually forced to shrink. By 1976,Anaconda had become so financially weak that AtlanticRichfield Oil Ltd. (ARCO) bought it for $162 million, partlyfor its tax-loss credits.

At the end of 1985, Washington Corp., a constructioncompany based in Missoula, purchased the entire operationfrom ARCO for $17 million and reopened the Continental pitin mid-1986 under a new name, Montana Resources. In 1989,ASARCO purchased a 49 per cent interest. The pit operateduntil 2000 and again from 2003 until 2008. It is a privatecompany and production information is not available.

Butte, which was once the largest city between Seattleand Minneapolis with a peak population of 115,000 in1917, has now stabilized at about 30,000. In 1966, it wasdesignated a National Landmark District, including theheadframes, waste dumps and its historic buildings. It ishome to Montana Tech of the University of Montana andthe World Museum of Mining. Until 1994, Montana Tech,founded in 1893, was known as Montana School of Mines.

ReclamationThroughout the first 75 years of the Butte operation,

terms such as “acid mine drainage,” “environmental haz-ard’” or even “reclamation” had not been invented orapplied to mining. As a result, the damage associated withthe crude treatment facilities and the world’s tallest free-standing brick chimney (192 metres), which distributedcontamination from metals such as arsenic, lead, cad-mium, copper and zinc over a vast area and for a long dis-tance downstream, suddenly became a serious environ-mental concern. As the operation neared closure in 1983,the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

designated a 300-square-mile (483-square-kilometre) area surroundingthe smelter as a federal Superfundsite, the largest in the country. ASuperfund site is defined as an aban-doned place containing hazardouswaste that might affect local ecosys-tems or people. Reclamation andcleanup within the site are managedunder an agreement between theEPA, the Montana Department ofEnvironmental Quality and ARCO(EPA Superfund information, 2009).

Mine drainage is covered under a1994 sub-agreement between the threeparties, as well as Montana Resources,that defines how the mine water will

be managed to prevent contamination. Throughout the life ofthe mine, pumps were used to dewater the underground work-ings and, later, the Berkeley and Continental pits. When min-ing ceased in 1983, the underground workings began to fillwith acidic, metal-rich water. The Berkeley pit now serves as asurface sump, where all the mine water and surface runoff inthe vicinity is collected. Between 1982 and March 2008, thewater level had risen about 1,000 metres from the deepest partof the mine, to an elevation of about 1,730 metres above sealevel. It continues to rise at a rate of about 1.5 centimetres permonth and is expected to reach a maximum height of 1,770metres around the year 2021. A water treatment plant nowhandles some overflow and it will be enlarged as the pit fillsup. The plant will strip out copper and perhaps other metalsthat can be marketed to help defray the costs, return sludgecontaining contaminants to the abandoned mine, and releaseclean water into the drainage system (Pitwatch, 2008; TheBerkeley Pit Public Education Committee, 2008). CIM

ReferencesEPA Superfund Information. (2009). Retrieved May 17, from http://www.anacondadeer-lodge.mt.gov/super/info.aspx and http://www.epa.gov/region8/superfund/mt/anaconda/index.html

Graton, L.C. (1947). Seventy-five years of progress in mining geology. In A.B. Parsons (Ed.),Seventy-five years of progress in the mineral industry: 1871-1946 (pp. 14-16). New York:The American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers.

Linforth, F.A. (1933). Application of geology to mining in the ore deposits at Butte, Montana.In W. Lindgren (Ed.), Ore deposits of the Western States (pp. 695-701). New York: TheAmerican Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers.

Long, K.R., DeYoung, J.H. Jr., & Ludington, S. (2000). Significant deposits of gold, silver,copper, lead, and zinc. Economic Geology, 95, 629-644.

McLaughlin, D.H. & Sales, R.H. (1933). Utilization of geology by mining companies. In W.Lindgren (Ed.), Ore deposits of the Western States (pp. 683-694). New York: The AmericanInstitute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers.

Perry, V.D. & Meyer, C. (1968). Reno H. Sales. In Ridge, J.D. (Ed.), Ore deposits of the UnitedStates: 1933-1967: the Graton-Sales Volume (pp. xx-xxiii). New York: The AmericanInstitute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers Inc.

The Berkeley Pit Public Education Committee. 25 years since pumps stopped. (2008).Retrieved July 6, 2008, from http://www.pitwatch.org

Sales, R. (1913). Ore deposits at Butte, Montana. American Institute of Mining andMetallurgical Engineers, Transactions, 46, 1523-1626.

Miners lighting fuses to blast ore in a stope 900 feet under theButte Post Office, Steward Mine, ca 1897 (courtesy of WorldMuseum of Mining, Butte, Montana)

economic geology

August 2009 | 75

metallurgy


Suggested ReadingsPopper, J. (1887). The Popper Expedition, Tierra del Fuego : a lecture delivered at theArgentine Geographical Institute, 5th March 1887. Buenos Aires: L. Jacobsen.

Vairo, C. P., & Gatti, F. (2000). Oro en Tierra del Fuego. Buenos Aires: Zagier & UrrutyPublications.

The land of fireThe name of the Tierra del Fuego

archipelago, located near the south-ern tip of South America, means“Land of Fire” in Spanish. The namedates back to when the Portugueseexplorer, Ferdinand Magellan,became the first European to visitthese lands in 1520. He believed hewas seeing many fires (fuego inSpanish) that the Amerindians had litfor protection against the low temper-atures in the area.

The territory of Tierra del Fuego isdivided between Argentina and Chile.Located on the Magellan Strait, PuntaArenas (literally in Spanish, “SandyPoint”), is the capital of the Chileanprovince, while Ushuaia is the capitalof the Argentinean province. Until theopening of the Panama Canal in 1914, Punta Arenasenjoyed economic prosperity as a ship supply facility serv-icing vessels that had to go around Cape Horn.

An eminent visitorCharles Darwin (1809-1882), who was hired as a natu-

ralist for the British Navy research ship HMS Beagle,stayed at Tierra del Fuego from March 1832 to February1833 and again from January to June 1834. Incidentally, itwas during this period, in 1833, that theFalkland Islands were claimed by theBritish Crown. Darwin spent his timeon land exploring and taking notes forhis 1839 book, The Voyage of theBeagle. This detailed scientific journalcovered topics as diverse as biology,geology and anthropology.

Darwin’s contact with Fuegianshad a tremendous influence on thedevelopment of his later ideas on evo-lution, which were elaborated in his famed volumes, Onthe Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection and TheDescent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex, in 1859and 1871, respectively.

Golden black sandsNews of the existence of gold in Tierra del Fuego can be

traced back to a chance discovery in 1882. At that time,

Giacomo Bove had mounted prepara-tory expedition aimed at drawing upplans for a later Italian Antarctic expe-dition. One of his men gathered acurious “black sand” from a beach inthe region. Later, in 1885, the gover-nor of Ushuaia learned about the sandand was so intrigued by its descriptionthat he sent a ship in search of moreof the material. When the news spreadthat the black sand contained gold, atorrent of people poured into the area.

A short-lived gold baronIn 1885, the Romanian-born Julius

Popper (1857-1893), who had studiedin Paris, arrived in Argentina. In 1886,he settled down in Rio Grande with anumber of workers and a small mili-

tia. There, he launched a campaign of exterminationagainst the area’s indigenous peoples. Over the course ofhis three-year campaign, Popper was able to extract 173kilograms of gold.

A dynamic and well-connected man with excellent rela-tions in Buenos Aires, Popper minted his own gold coins inthe Casa de la Moneda of Buenos Aires and even issued hisown stamps for use in his fiefdom, Colonia Popper.

Popper’s 1887 lecture at the Argentine GeographicalInstitute in Buenos Aires, that revealed

the depth of his scholarship, wasprinted and widely circulated. It isnow available on the intent(http://tinyurl.com/ksjxle). After hissudden death in Buenos Aires at the

age of 35, his empire collapsed. It isbelieved that he was assassinated inhis hotel room.

The history and heritage of Fuegianculture, including the region’s tryst

with gold, are now conserved at the Museo del Fin delMundo which was founded in Ushuaia in 1979. CIM

The gold rush in Tierra del FuegoBy Fathi Habashi,Department of Mining, Metallurgical, and Materials Engineering, Laval University

Julius Popper (1857-1893)

A five-gram gold coin minted by Popper

executive summaries

INDUSTRY KNOWLEDGEPeer reviewed by leaders in their fields

YOUR

GUIDETO

Complete CIM Bulletin papers are posted in the online Technical Paper Library

www.cim.org

CIM Bulletin abstracts78 Evaluation of belt conveyor and truck haulage systems

in an open pit mine using life cycle assessmentby K. Awuah-Offei, D. Checkel, and H. Askari-Nasab

79 Canadian Metallurgy QuarterlyVolume 48, Number 1

Evaluation of belt conveyor and truck haulage systemsin an open pit mine using life cycle assessment

The environmental impacts of mining operations havebecome more important in recent times. Accordingly, theseimpacts are gradually becoming an important factor in thechoice of equipment for unit operations. In material handlingoperations in mines, belt conveyor systems are generally con-sidered to be more environmentally friendly than off-highwaytruck systems. This view is confounded by the environmentalimpacts associated with the use of the two material handlingsystems. Life cycle assessment (LCA) of operations examinesthe environmental impact of systems over their entire lifecycles with respect to capital and operating impacts.

In this paper, LCA methods are used to evaluate theenvironmental impacts of belt conveyor and truck haulagesystems in a hard rock open-pit gold mine. Also, using globalwarming and acidification potential impacts, the paper teststhe hypothesis that belt conveyor systems are more environ-mentally friendly than are truck haulage systems. The resultsshow that truck haulage systems have 300% more potentialacid rain impact on the environment, while belt conveyor sys-tems have 336% more potential global warming impact onthe environment. Using natural gas instead of coal to gener-ate electricity at power generating stations reduces theimpact of the belt conveyor option. A complete assessment ofthe accuracy of the initial hypothesis is not possible until therelative importance of the selected stressor categories (globalwarming potential and acidification potential) are thoroughlyexamined. This work introduces the concept of LCA in theequipment selection process in mining. Given current trendsin environmental regulation research, LCAs can assist mineplanners prepare environmentally responsible developmentplans, which will better reflect environmental standards.

Life cycle global warming potential impacts with associated uncertainty (95%

confidence level limits determined with Monte Carlo simulation)

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Texecutive summaries


August 2009 | 79August 2009 | 79

cmq abstracts

August 2009 | 79

Canadian Metallurgical QuarterlyVolume 48—Number 1, January 2009

Transient Surface Analysis of Dissolving Chalcopyrite in Cupric Chloride SolutionM. Lundström, J. Aromaa and O. Forsén, Helsinki University of Technology, Helsinki, Finland

This study presents an investigation of chalcopyrite surfaces dissolving in concentrated cupric chloride solu-tions similar to those used in the HydroCopper® process, [NaCl] = 280 g/L, [Cu2+] = 30 g/L and T = 90°C. Theleaching of chalcopyrite and the parameters of the reaction product layer formed on the mineral surface werestudied at the open circuit potential as a function of time (0.5 – 22 hours) and at pHs in the range 1 – 3. Theelectrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) data indicated that there were two or three time constants pres-ent. These were suggested to be due to the double layer and to elemental sulphur and FeOOH. With pH 1 at OCPthe reaction product layer was a single-phase layer of elemental sulphur (t = 0.5 – 9 h) or two-phase layer withelemental sulphur and FeOOH (t = 22 h). The apparent charge transfer resistance was higher (>25 Ωcm2) at thebeginning of leaching (t ≤ 4 h), but decreased to about 4 Ωcm2 with increasing time to 22 hours. The reactionproduct layer resistance did not change markedly. It is likely that the apparent charge transfer resistance reflectsthe resistance of the reaction product layer at pH 1, showing apparent changes in the calculated charge trans-fer resistance values. At pH 2, the reaction product layer was an elemental sulphur layer at t ≤ 2 h, becoming atwo-phase layer of elemental sulphur and FeOOH at t = 3 – 22 h. The apparent charge transfer resistance was<8 Ωcm2 at all times, whereas the reaction product layer resistance decreased with time from 30 Ωcm2 to about4 Ωcm2. The two-phase layer at pH 2 was electrically less resistive than the one-phase layer at pH 1. At pH 3the reaction product layer was a two-phase layer at all times, consisting of goethite and S8. This layer allowedmore rapid dissolution at the beginning, but with time a reaction product layer grew, increasing the electricalresistance as well as decreasing the dissolution rate of chalcopyrite. The apparent charge transfer resistance atpH 3 was constant at all times.

Characterization of the Liberator Cell Sludges from Three Copper ElectrorefineriesT.T. Chen and J.E. Dutrizac, CANMET-MMSL, Ottawa, Ontario

The amounts of As, Sb and Bi precipitated in the liberator cells of copper electrorefineries increase as thecopper concentration is reduced by electrowinning and precipitation is significant for Cu concentrations <1 g/L.Liberator cell sludges usually contain PbSO4 which incorporates small amounts of As, Sb and Bi from the elec-trolyte. The Pb originates from the Pb anodes used in the liberator cells and because of its low solubility, PbSO4precipitates for the entire range of Cu concentrations encountered during decopperizing, from >40 g/L Cu to <1g/L Cu. No Cu arsenide (Cu3As or Cu5As2) precipitates during decopperizing to 5 g/L Cu, even from electrolytescontaining up to 25 g/L As. However, Cu arsenide forms when the electrolytes are decopperized to <1 g/L Cu.Significant amounts of Sb and Bi are incorporated in the Cu arsenide phase. The As, Sb and Bi also precipitateas a (Sb,Bi,As)3O6(OH) phase in the liberator cell sludge. Trace amounts of metallic Bi, a Cu-As-Bi phase, a Cu-Bi-As-Sb-O phase (?) and Sn arsenate are also detected in the liberator cell sludges.

Effects of Mechanical Activation on the Soda Roasting of ChromiteG. Yarkadas and K. Yildiz, Sakrya University, Sakarya, Turkey

The effects of mechanical activation on the soda roasting of chromite were investigated in this study. Struc-tural changes in mechanically activated chromite were examined using X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), surfacearea analysis (BET) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The efficiency of conversion from chromite to chro-mate by soda roasting at 800°C for non-activated chromite was found to be 18% compared to 74% for chromitethat had been activated for 120 minutes at the same roasting temperature. The activation procedure led to theamorphization and structural disordering of the chromite structure which increased the conversion efficiency.


cmq abstracts

Roasting Kinetics of Molybdenite ConcentratesT. Marin, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile; T. Utigard, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario;and C. Hernandez, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile

Roasting of MoS2 concentrate is an important step in the production of commercial molybdenum trioxide.The oxidation kinetics of two different molybdenum concentrates was investigated at temperatures from 440 to640°C. For both concentrates the oxidation is fairly slow and incomplete below 500°C. The rates increase withincreasing temperatures up to about 570-600°C before becoming fairly constant. One of the concentratesshowed a tendency for sintering above 620°C while this was not observed for the other sample. To explain therate data, a kinetic model involving the formation of MoO2 as a first step followed by the oxidation to MoO3,was proposed. The activation energy was found to the same (22 kJ/mol) for both steps and it is argued that therate is controlled by the diffusion of oxygen through a porous product layer of oxides.

Onset of Hot Tearing in AE42 Magnesium AlloyL. Bichler, C. Ravindran, Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario; and D. Sediako, Canadian Neutron Beam Centre,Chalk River, Ontario

Magnesium alloy AE42 has long been recognized as a superior high temperature magnesium alloy for aero-space and automotive components. The elevated temperature strength of this alloy is attributed to the Mg-Alx-REy intermetallics on the grain boundaries preventing grain boundary sliding. However, these intermetallics alsohinder interdendritic liquid feeding during casting solidification and contribute to the alloy’s high susceptibilityto hot tearing. In this research, the conditions associated with the onset of hot tearing in the AE42 alloy wereidentified. Thermal analysis suggested that a casting with a hot tear experienced a long vulnerable interval, wheninterdendritic feeding was minimal and the alloy was susceptible to hot tearing. Microscopic analysis revealedthe presence of interdendritic shrinkage pores with Al-RE intermetallics at hot-tear nucleation sites. Further, theelastic residual strain measured by neutron diffraction indicates that tensile strain resulting from contraction ofthe casting during solidification was responsible for opening and propagation of hot tears in the AE42 alloy.

Gas Phase Aluminizing of a Nickel Base Superalloy by a Single Step HTHA Aluminizing ProcessA. Eslami, H. Arabi and S. Rastegari, Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran, Iran

Ni-based superalloy, GTD-111, was coated using a single step high temperature high activity (HTHA) gasphase aluminizing process. Results indicated that the coatings were uniform and consisted of two main layers.Increasing either Al and/or NH4Cl in the powder chamber resulted in an increase in the coating thickness. Thefinal microstructure of the coating was similar to that formed in the conventional pack cementation method viathe HTLA process. This is a new finding obtained in this research.

Excerpts taken from abstracts in CMQ, Vol. 48, No.1Subscribe — www.cmq-online.ca

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voices from industry


Some may think it bold to create a newAboriginal recruitment, retention andadvancement tool (Mastering Aboriginal

Inclusion in Mining) in the midst of an economicdownturn. But the fact is that economic peaks andvalleys notwithstanding, as one of the world’slargest exporters of minerals, metals and diamonds,Canada’s mining sector faces a serious skills short-age in the next decade.

A 2007 study by MiHR suggests that the min-ing industry could lose up to 40 per cent of theexisting workforce in the next ten years, with eachretiring worker taking away an average of 21 yearsof mining sector experience. The largest percentageof workers planning to retire within the next tenyears is in the skilled trades group.

This spring, the Atlantic Institute for MarketStudies (AIMS) released a report showing that by2016, more people will be leaving Canada’s work-force than entering it. That is a serious threat to oureconomy — the most serious we will face over thenext 50 years, according to AIMS economist BrianCrowley.

Historically, Canada has relied heavily on immi-gration to meet skills shortages and keep the econ-omy growing. This is due partly to the country’saging population and low average birth rate.Canada’s Aboriginal population, however, is grow-ing at six times the rate of its non-Aboriginal population.

Aboriginal people are a key resource for min-ing, and mining is a key industry for manyAboriginal communities that are located within 200kilometres of operating mines and explorationproperties across Canada. Companies such as ValeInco, Cameco and De Beers Canada have shown thatit is possible to achieve high degrees of Aboriginalrecruitment, retention and advancement.

We also know that there is chronic unemploy-ment in Aboriginal communities, and that as thepopulation continues to grow, it’s likely to get muchworse unless we do something about it. A studyreleased in May of 2009 by The Centre for the Studyof Living Standards found that if Aboriginal peoplereach the same education and social well-being lev-els as non-Aboriginal Canadians, combined fiscalsavings and increased tax revenues would climb to

an estimated $115 billion over the 2006 to 2026period, and Canada would enjoy an estimated $401billion cumulative effect on our Gross DomesticProduct. This is a business case for Aboriginal inclu-sion that we cannot afford to ignore any longer.

Mining managers and executives know thatthey need to engage the Aboriginal workforce inorder to compete over the long term. We live intransformative times. Our new economy is increas-ingly driven by the green and technology industries.Corporations are now confronted with many of thechallenges that Aboriginal people have learned tomaster over thousands of years — ensuring environ-ment sustainability at the foundation of any enter-prise; building consensus on important decisions;regarding managers as the focal points of a workteam’s energies, rather than an instrument of con-trol over them; and finally, making short-term deci-sions that net positive long-term outcomes.

The fact that modern managers must showincreasing concern for the very issues thatAboriginal communities have long ago learned todeal with suggests yet another dimension of thebusiness case for Aboriginal inclusion — unitingorganizational needs and Aboriginal talent.

Mastering Aboriginal Inclusion in Miningmodules and complementary workshops, built inpartnership with the Aboriginal Human ResourceCouncil (AHRC) and the Mining Industry HumanResources Council (www.mihr.ca), are designed tohelp mining employers discover their individualbusiness cases for inclusion, learn about proventools for recruitment, retention and advancement,and climb the seven-stage inclusion continuum. Theexpanded research of the Mastering AboriginalInclusion in Mining module is specifically designedto help mining companies create inclusive work-places that facilitate the recruitment, retention andadvancement of Aboriginal workers.

AHRC offers a lineup of products and services(national Aboriginal job board, conferences, work-shops, forums and publications) that reflect thecombined knowledge and skills of many of thenation’s leading authorities in Aboriginal careerdevelopment. Mastering Aboriginal Inclusion inMining modules and workshops can be purchasedonline at www.aboriginalhr.ca. CIM

The shifting face of the new economy and the mining industryBy Kelly Lendsay, president and CEO, Aboriginal Human Resource Council

cim magazine august 2009

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