Archive | Sudbury Basin

Generations Of Miners Face The Future Of Automation Deep Underground – by Mary Katherine Keown (HuffPost Canada/Thet Canada.com – November 13, 2018)

November 14, 2018 in Canadian Media Resource Articles, Glencore, Nickel, Ontario Mining, Sudbury Basin, Vale

https://www.thetcanada.com/

A proud third-generation miner, Mickey O’Brien enjoys the every day grind of taking that deep dive to the centre of the earth. A miner at Vale’s Copper Cliff Mine in Sudbury, Ontario, O’Brien works 10-hour shifts. After suiting up and assembling, he and his coworkers break into a number of crews to start the new and soiled process of gnawing away on the earth greater than 1.5 km underground.

“I am on haulage,” O’Brien says. “Proper now I am driving a grader, however I am being skilled on a picker, so if we’ve massive chunks after a blast, the news will put them apart and I drill holes in them and I blow them up, and the news will come and decide them up. Cool, eh?”

A proud labour rights activist, he considers a lot of his colleagues — most of whom are members of Steelworkers Native 6500 — to be brothers and sisters. “I have been engaged on Inco property since I used to be 18 and I am 38 now,” he says, referencing the title of his firm earlier than it was purchased out by Vale in 2006. Continue Reading →

[Glencore] Old mine set to become tech vanguard for Sudbury-based corporation – by Karen McKinley (Northern Ontario Business – November 9, 2018)

November 9, 2018 in Canadian Regional Media and Web Publications, Glencore, Nickel, Ontario Mining, Sudbury Basin

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Onaping Depth touted by Glencore as future of deep mining with all battery-electric operation

The Craig Mine-Onaping Depth Project is not only becoming a reality, but it will also have the distinction of being the first mine to be completely battery-electric, even if it means building equipment that doesn’t exist, yet.

It’s also a melding of old and new, with the previous mine’s infrastructure being used to transport equipment and personnel to the deposit.

Peter Xavier, vice-president of Glencore’s Sudbury Operations, gave an overview of the company, with a focus on the company’s mine project, at a Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Nov. 6. Continue Reading →

Glencore to go deeper at Sudbury operations – by Jim Moodie (Sudbury Star – November 7, 2018)

November 7, 2018 in Canadian Regional Media and Web Publications, Copper, Glencore, Nickel, Ontario Mining, Sudbury Basin

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

“We have still, I believe, a lot of untapped potential in the Sudbury
basin, especially at depth,” said Xavier. A series of deep copper
deposits dubbed Norman West is particularly intriguing to the company.

Xavier also highlighted the strides the company has taken to reduce its emissions,
which have dropped 90 per cent over the past 30 years, while production has climbed.
And he noted Glencore has spent $272 million on a Process Gas Project at its smelter,
which will further reduce sulphur dioxide emissions.

“We’re committed to a long, stable future in Sudbury,” he said.
(Peter Xavier, VP of Sudbury Integrated Nickel Operations – Glencore)

Cleaner. And deeper. That’s the direction Sudbury Integrated Nickel Operations (Glencore) is heading with its existing properties, a new nickel mine in the Onaping area and copper deposits it hopes to develop north of Capreol.

“Deep mining is where the future lies for us,” said Glencore VP Peter Xavier during an address to a Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce audience Tuesday. “After 100 years of mining in the Sudbury basin, you can imagine a lot of the close-to-the-surface operations are getting depleted, and we’re having to go deeper.” Continue Reading →

Throwback Thursday: A brief history of mining in Sudbury Northern Life – by Callam Rodya(Sudbury.com – March 2, 2017)

November 3, 2018 in Canadian Regional Media and Web Publications, Glencore, Northern Ontario History, Ontario Mining, Sudbury Basin, Sudbury History, Vale

https://www.sudbury.com/

With two of Sudbury’s most important employers, Vale and Glencore, reporting healthy profits last week, we asked the Greater Sudbury Archives to dust off some old footage and photos from the earlier days of this fledgling industry, to give you a brief history of mining in Sudbury. Continue Reading →

A full life: Sudburian who survived German prison camp, helped build Superstack passes away at age 90 – by Heidi Ulrichsen (Sudbury Northern Life – November 1, 2018)

November 1, 2018 in Canadian Regional Media and Web Publications, Mining Environmental Accidents, Pollution and Abandoned Mines, Ontario Mining, Sudbury Basin, Vale

https://www.sudbury.com/

Aarne Kovala’s daughter wrote a book about his Second World War experiences

A man who survived being taken prisoner by the Germans as a teenage Finnish merchant marine during the Second World War and later went on to help build the Superstack here in Sudbury passed away Oct. 30 at the age of 90.

“From his youth as a sailor in Finland, his travels across Canada raising smokestacks, and his work constructing homes and buildings in Sudbury, Aarne brought energy, determination, and sisu to every project,” said Aarne Kovala’s obituary. “Aarne loved spending time at his camp on Lake Panache surrounded by friends and family. He will be remembered for his cheerful personality and easy laugh.”

Sudbury.com interviewed Kovala about his life a couple of times over the years, most recently in 2017, when he spoke about his role in building the Superstack in the wake of news that it will be dismantled. Continue Reading →

[Deltion] Sudbury space mining developer signs deal with U.S. company – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – October 10, 2018)

October 24, 2018 in Canadian Regional Media and Web Publications, Space Mining, Sudbury Basin

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

A Sudbury-based space tech company and a Florida space transport company are joining forces for the future of off-Earth mining projects.

Deltion Innovations Ltd and Moon Express, Inc., announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding, Oct. 10, to collaborate on providing drilling equipment and transportation solutions for private companies and government agencies engaged in space exploration.

Deltion CEO Dale Boucher explained they had been working on this partnership for about two years. “We talked with them for quite some time to be able to provide a one-stop shop for lunar science and lunar mining activities,” he said in an interview with Northern Ontario Business. Continue Reading →

Another Sudbury Basin may be next door: Inventus mapping anomaly in Temagami region, finds evidence of striking similarities – by Karen McKinley (Northern Ontario Business – October 18, 2018)

October 18, 2018 in Canadian Regional Media and Web Publications, Nickel, Ontario Mining, Sudbury Basin

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

One project at Inventus Mining Corporation has become an expedition to solve a mystery billions of years old. Chief geologist Wesley Whymark said one project is looking more like a mirror image of the Sudbury Basin, while another has been a challenge to accurately gauge gold resources.

He gave an overview of the junior mining company’s latest findings from their work in the Temagami Magnetic Anomaly and Pardo gold project at the monthly meeting of the Sudbury Prospectors and Developers Association, Oct. 16.

Its Sudbury 2.0 Project in the Temagami Magnetic Anomaly, which starts on Lake Wanapitei, 38 kilometres northeast of Sudbury, and ends on Bear Island in Lake Temagami. Continue Reading →

Vale touts collective future of mining – by Karen McKinley (Northern Ontario Business – October 5, 2018)

October 5, 2018 in Canadian Regional Media and Web Publications, Mining Education and Innovation, Nickel, Ontario Mining, Sudbury Basin, Vale

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Company executive gives update on progress of technology upgrades focusing on Sudbury operation

The hive mentality is coming to mining, with the intention of making the industry more efficient, safer and ultimately sustainable. Vale Canada’s progress in that area was the subject of the season opening meeting of the Sudbury chapter of the Canadian Institute of Mining on Sept. 20.

Samantha Espley, Vale’s general manager of mines and mills, technical services department in Sudbury, gave the featured presentation on the company’s road map for its operations.

The physical and technological changes are part of a grander plan to change the behaviour of how different sections work in the mines, bringing them together to work as one large hub, all sharing data to make operational decisions in real time. Continue Reading →

Innovators talk Sudbury’s technology future – by Karen McKinley (Northern Ontario Business – October 2, 2018)

October 2, 2018 in Canadian Regional Media and Web Publications, Mining Education and Innovation, Ontario Mining, Sudbury Basin

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Gribbons had a more pragmatic approach. He explained the city should
be working with its strength in mining. Sudbury is known worldwide as
a hard rock mining centre with decades of experience in the basin.
“We have mining intelligence that you don’t see anywhere else in the
world,” he said. “So when you look to playing with your strengths,
you try find an unfair advantage. We have one in mining technology.”

Growing Sudbury’s technology sector means entrepreneurs must create marketable products and investors must be there to support their efforts. A Sept. 20 forum, hosted by Sudbury CodeOp, featured three different perspectives on doing business in Sudbury as an entrepreneur in the region’s technology sector.

A panel discussion featured Peter Dal Bianco, founder of Bianco’s Group of Companies; Michael Gribbons, vice-president of sales and marketing for Maestro Digital Mine and founder of Synergy Controls Corporation; and Kyle McCall, manager of the NORCAT Innovation Mill. Continue Reading →

Lonmin ends Canada prospects as it cleans house before Sibanye takeover – by Alan Seccombe (Business Day – October 1, 2018)

October 2, 2018 in Africa Mining, Canada Mining, International Media Resource Articles, Ontario Mining, Platinum Group Metals, Sudbury Basin

https://www.businesslive.co.za/

By selling its 6.8% stake in Wallbridge, Lonmin is ensuring a stronger balance sheet and a tidier company for the new owners

As the takeover of Lonmin by Sibanye-Stillwater draws closer, the world’s third-largest platinum miner continues to tidy its investment portfolio and add cash to its balance sheet.

Lonmin has agreed to sell its 6.8% stake in Canada’s Wallbridge Mining for $4m to Eric Sprott, who will now hold more than 16% of the exploration and mining company through one of his companies.

Lonmin is the subject of a friendly all-share takeover bid by Sibanye, with key conditions including approval from SA’s Competition Tribunal following a highly conditional recommendation from the Competition Commission, yes votes from shareholders in both companies and court approval in the UK. Continue Reading →

Copper Cliff Superstack dismantling will begin in 2020, Vale says (CBC News Sudbury – September 19, 2018)

September 19, 2018 in Canadian Media Resource Articles, Green Mining, Ontario Mining, Sudbury Basin, Vale

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/

380-meter chimney has loomed over city since 1970

Mining giant Vale says that the Superstack will be standing on Sudbury’s skyline until 2020, at which point the iconic structure will be slowly taken apart.

Angie Robson, Vale’s manager of corporate affairs, told CBC News that with recent pushes by the company to reduce emissions, the stack has simply outlived its usefulness. “It’s simply too big for our needs, given the reduction in emission we’ve been able to achieve,” Robson said. “So it’s going to stay in service until 2020.”

The 380-metre high stack was built in 1970 to disperse sulphur gases and other byproducts of the smelting process away from the city. “It’s simply too big for our needs, given the reduction in emission we’ve been able to achieve,” Robson said. “So it’s going to stay in service until 2020.” Continue Reading →

Glencore awards Onaping Depth contract to Cementation Canada – by Staff (Sudbury Star – September 19, 2018)

September 19, 2018 in Canadian Regional Media and Web Publications, Glencore, Nickel, Ontario Mining, Sudbury Basin

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

Canada Inc. said Tuesday it has been awarded the design and construction of the new internal underground shaft for the Onaping Depth Project at Craig Mine. The mine is part of Glencore’s Sudbury Integrated Nickel Operations (Sudbury INO).

“Onaping Depth has been an iconic project for us and we have worked very closely with Sudbury INO over the years to evaluate and provide the shaft designs and methodology that combine safety with value,” Roy Slack, president of Cementation Canada, said in a release. “We are thrilled that the project is going ahead and are very excited to be Sudbury INO’s main contractor and design engineer for this shaft project.”

Cementation Canada did not say how much the contract was worth. Glencore, however, has freed up $700 million for Onaping Depth. Production at Onaping Depth expected to begin in 2023 — and go fully online by 2025. Continue Reading →

Canadian mining industry says goodbye to ‘turnaround man’ Bill James – by Robin de Angelis (CBC News Sudbury – September 17, 2018)

September 17, 2018 in Canada Mining, Canadian Media Resource Articles, Canadian Mining History, Inco and Falconbridge History, Nickel, Ontario Mining, Sudbury Basin, Sudbury History

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/

The man credited with making mining company Falconbridge Ltd. a success in the 1980s has passed away. William “Bill” James died on September 4, at the age of 89.

James took the helm of Falconbridge at a time when the company was losing millions of dollars each week due to flagging metal prices. He cut jobs and corporate spending, eventually making the company an attractive target for a takeover for Noranda.

Ed Thompson, a board member with the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame, remembers working with James for almost 50 years. “He was a very forthright, honest man,” Thompson recalled. Continue Reading →

$1 billion later: Vale completes its Clean AER project: Superstack to be decommissioned as miner reduces emissions by 85% – by Arron Pickard (Sudbury Northern Life – September 14, 2018)

September 15, 2018 in Canadian Regional Media and Web Publications, Green Mining, Nickel, Ontario Mining, Sudbury Basin, Vale

https://www.sudbury.com/

The largest single environmental investment in Greater Sudbury is now complete. Vale celebrated the completion of its $1-billion Clean Atmospheric Emissions Reduction project on Friday, achieving an 85-per-cent reduction in previous sulphur dioxide emissions and a 40-per-cent reduction in metal particulate emissions.

Dave Stefanuto, director of projects for Vale’s North Atlantic Operations, said the completion of the has been 10 years in the making, and was no small undertaking. This size and scope of the project was massive, considering the company continued to operate with no interruptions.

“We began in earnest in 2008, and broke ground in 2012, but the project has evolved over the years,” Stefanuto said. “We decided to move to a single furnace operation in 2013, which resulted in a greater reduction in emissions we had originally estimated.”

There are three core elements to the project: new converters in the smelter facility; the new wet gas cleaning plant, and; a new secondary baghouse facility. Continue Reading →

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