Time: 10:30 to 12:00
The speakers in this session will provide updates on mass mining in the various operations of the companies they represent; discussing mining methods, mining technology, rock mechanics and mining economics.
First speaker: Dr. Allan Moss, General Manager
Underground Technology Centre – Technology and Innovation - Rio Tinto
Allan Moss is a general manager at Rio Tinto’s Copper Group with responsibilities in cave design and operation. He is approaching 40 years of experience, the majority of which has been focused on underground mining.
After graduating from Strathclyde University in Scotland he joined Goldfields of South Africa where he worked in gold and tin mining, moving for a period into consulting in South Africa and Canada prior to joining Rio Tinto in 1999.
Over the last 10 years he has been heavily involved in all of Rio Tinto's caving operations, from the implementation of the Palabora block cave in South Africa to technical and project reviews at joint venture operations such as Freeport’s DOZ Mine in Indonesia.
He has written a number of technical papers on caving and is currently involved in teaching the principles of caving at the University of British Columbia.
Dr. Moss will speak on mass mining in relation to Rio Tinto operations around the world.
Second speaker: Mr. Fidel Báez, Executive Vice President
Underground Mining – Codelco
Mr Baez is currently in charge of all underground mining at Codelco Limited. One of his major undertakings is the Chuquicamata underground mass mine. Mr. Baez will speak on the application of mass mining at the Codelco operations in Chile.
Third speaker: Dr. Steven Scott
Steven Scott is an Emeritus Professor of Geology at the University of Toronto and is the Director of its Scotiabank Marine Geology Research Laboratory. He is a pioneering geologist /oceanographer specializing in mineral deposits that are forming on the ocean floor and their ancient analogs on land. He is the co-discoverer of the base and precious metal seafloor massive sulfide deposits offshore eastern Papua New Guinea that will likely become the first mining operation of its type in the world. He holds an honorary degree from France, an honorary professorship from China, 8 prestigious medals for his research, 11 distinguished lectureships and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. Although retired, he maintains an active research programme and consulting business (Marine Mining Consultants). He and his wife, Joan, live in Toronto and on the Brittany seacoast of France.
Present and future mines on the ocean floor
Society requires ever increasingly more solid raw materials that it obtains mostly from the 25% of our planet that is not covered by water or ice. Oceans and seas cover 71 % of Earth’s surface, an area almost equal in size to twice the surface area of the Moon and Mars. The surface area of the Pacific Ocean alone is greater than that of all the continents. About 60% is deep ocean basins at water depths typically in excess of 2000 metres and as deep as 5500 metres. Both the shallow continental shelves and the ocean basins harbour minerals, many of whose economic potential and especially those in the deep basins, we are only beginning to appreciate.
Marine mining is not new. Throughout much of the past century and even earlier, there has been placer mining of heavy minerals (gold, tin, titanium, zirconium, rare earths and others), diamonds and aggregates from beaches and from contiguous shallow waters. Present-day recovery of gem quality diamonds from the seabed off the Atlantic coast of southern Africa to water depths of about 150 metres, and exploration extending to 250 metres, represents a multi-billion dollar industry utilizing advanced marine technologies. The mining of seafloor massive sulfides (SMS) of copper, zinc, lead, silver and gold is anticipated to commence within two years in the Manus basin offshore eastern Papua New Guinea and perhaps also seafloor sedimentary sulfides (SSS) in the Atlantis II Deep of the Red Sea. Manganese nodules with their concentrations of nickel, copper and cobalt covering vast areas of the ocean floor are receiving renewed attention for mining after a failed attempt in the 1970s and 80s. Ferromanganese crusts on seamounts containing concentrations of cobalt, nickel, platinum group elements and rare earths are a future target. SMS, SSS, nodule and crust mining have technical and environmental challenges that are not insurmountable. Large scale ocean mining of phosphate on the Chatham Rise east of New Zealand is anticipated in 2013-14. “Mining” gas (methane) hydrates on continental shelves will provide future energy. Ocean mining will not replace mining on land but will be another source of minerals.
The oil industry led the way into the offshore in the mid 20th century and, today, accounts for about one third of world petroleum production, some at water depth in excess of 2000 metres. The mining industry can capitalize on oil’s experience in developing its marine mineral resources.
Time: 08:30 to 10:00
The speakers will discuss the technologies and technical systems that could be implemented in mass mining operations in the future with the view of mining in terrestrial and extraterrestrial applications.
The session will end with a discussion of mass mining in the Vale context globally and in the Sudbury basin.
First speaker: Mr. Wes Hanson, President and CEO
Noront Resources
Wes Hanson is a professional geologist with over 28 years of industry experience. Prior to joining Noront as President and CEO in 2009, Mr. Hanson served as Vice President of Mine Development with Western Goldfields Ltd. Mr. Hanson has held senior positions with Kinross, SNC Lavalin and a number of junior mining companies in Canada and the US. Mr. Hanson’s current focus it to successfully permit and operate the first mine in the Ring of Fire mineral district of northwestern Ontario, where he and his team hope to establish a socially and environmentally sustainable underground mining operation that will establish a new benchmark for Ontario mine developers.
Noront’s Eagle’s Nest Project is located in the remote, mineral rich, Ring of Fire district of the James, Bay lowlands of northwestern Ontario. The James Bay lowlands are one of the largest wetland regions in the world, dominated by swampland, lacking topographic relief and void of rock outcrop. Traditional surface construction has the potential for significant cost overruns and construction delays due to the challenging soil conditions. At the same time, the host rocks are largely granites that are extremely competent and benign in terms of acid generating potential. To minimize the probability of cost overruns and delays, Noront’s design team developed an all underground solution, where the crushing, grinding and flotation circuits are established in a series of underground chambers as opposed to the traditional surface mill building. This solution takes advantage of the competency of the host rocks and more importantly, limits the surface footprint of the project to an area of less than 50 Ha. Noront’s plan also includes recycling waste rock from underground mining as construction aggregate to build the airstrip, site roads and other surface facilities. Mill tailings will be recycled underground as paste backfill, reclaiming the areas mined for ore and aggregate. Concentrate will be pumped via a buried pipeline, from the site across the wetlands, a distance of 90 kms, eliminating the need for an all season road through the wetland region. Noront’s underground mine design includes allowances for automation of both the mining and milling processes, an opportunity the Company is currently evaluating to further reduce operating costs of a Project already positioned amongst the worlds lowest cost nickel producers.
Second speaker: Mr. Jim Keravala, COO
Shackleton Energy Company
Jim Keravala is Chief Operating Officer and cofounder of Shackleton Energy Company Inc*. He comes with a significant background in space development and operations. He was Director of a space company for seven years arranging launch programs and space access with Russian launch vehicles and subsequently joined Surrey Satellite Technology as Launch Manager for five years overseeing several successful orbital launches on Russian, European and U.S. launch vehicles. In this role he was also involved in the establishment of new space programs for emerging space nations. He was chairman of a high powered rocketry foundation, is a graduate of International Space University, a member of the International Institute of Space Law, a Senior Member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and a Fellow of the British Interplanetary Society. He has a background in aerospace, spacecraft engineering and physics. With additional operational experience in the finance, construction, transportation and mining sectors, Jim has also successfully raised venture capital in Silicon Valley and cofounded and led several space and technology companies.
Abstract
Commencing in 2012, Shackleton Energy Company (SEC) is embarking on a program to provide a strategically assured continuous supply of LOX/H2 propellant initially in Low Earth Orbit subsequently expanding to GEO and beyond, heralding the first off-world energy business. With water ice extraction operations located at lunar polar propellant fields estimated to be in excess of one billion metric tonnes, Jim is part of a team that will be able to meet the propellant demand required by customers worldwide. Leading a four phase program with deferred revenues generated by 2015 and first delivery in 2020 with an infrastructure built by our industrial astronaut corps, SEC is modeled for robust profitability and establishing industrial economy in space.
