ABSTRACT As costs decrease for displacement monitoring radar units, open-pit operations increasingly incorporate multiple monitoring systems to track displacement of pit walls. At the Teck Resources Ltd. steelmaking coal operations in British Columbia and Alberta, Canada, a common practice is to couple a radar system with the installation of survey prisms. The two systems work in different ways and provide more continuous monitoring of displacement when one system is adversely affected by the punishing weather conditions at the mining operations. While there are circumstances when results from one system can be discounted, there are often instances when results from either system cannot be ignored even though they are suspect. This paper presents a methodology to evaluate results in such circumstances. It links the monitoring system status, pit-wall displacement trends, perceived risk, and recommended course of action in a manner that addresses the uncertainty of results from one or both systems.

ABSTRACT Free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) has received notable consideration as Indigenous Peoples continue to establish participatory rights in natural resource extraction. Using a qualitative study design consisting of a series of interviews with relevant actors, we explored the meaning they ascribe to each component of FPIC and suggest approaches to incorporate FPIC in decisions related to the mining sector in Canada. The meanings given to “free”, “prior”, and “informed” were consistent with the published literature, with overlapping elements. “Consent” was considered from a few perspectives: what it means for a process, whether it represents veto, with whom the responsibility lies, and how best to achieve it. Our data showed significant convergence around the meanings given to FPIC, a strong desire among participants to find ways to implement FPIC, and a sense of shared responsibility to do so.

Load-haul-dump machines (LHDs) are typically used in underground metal mining opera-tions. Delays or inappropriate use of LHDs can result in production loss. Optimized LHD use is especially crucial ...

The paper reviews the history of modern iron control processes in hydrometallurgy. Particular attention is paid to the processes developed in the 1960s by the electrolytic zinc industry for the removal of iron from zinc sulphate leach liquors - namely the Jarosite, Goethite and Hematite processes. Problems faced by the industry in the safe disposal of the iron residues produced by these processes are discussed. The lessons learnt over the past half century by the zinc industry are projected on to the current efforts to develop hydrometallurgical processes for the treatment of copper sulphide concentrates. It is argued that any attempt to create a “hydrometallurgical copper smelter” is doomed to ultimate failure, unless and until methods are developed that can recover iron from solution in a form that can be directly utilised by the steel or pigment industries.