The Mining Industry in Canada. By: Cameron Duhn, Jeremy Etmanski and Brandon Hallam

Transcription

1 The Mining Industry in Canada By: Cameron Duhn, Jeremy Etmanski and Brandon Hallam

2 What is the mining industry? The Mining Industry depicts how Canada benefits from mining the three kinds of minerals, in many different ways. From mining to refining, to retail, these are all very important factors, such as primary, secondary, tertiary and quartiary industries.

3 Some other definitions Mineral Reserve- the known quantity of minerals in a country or area Mineral rights- rights to access and profit from minerals found under the surface of the land

4 What Are The 3 Types of Minerals? Minerals come in 3 different types/categories. The three are: Metallic Minerals, Fossil Fuels and Industrial Minerals. Metallic Minerals are defined by being metal elements on the periodic table (ex: gold, nickel, silver). Fossil fuels are simply as they are named (ex: coal, oil natural gas). Industrial Minerals can be recognized as many compounds of metallic minerals (ex: sand, clay products, diamonds).

5 Why is mining important to Canada? Canada depends on the mining industry because, all mining operations in Canada help boost Canadian economy by, putting more money into people s pocket for retail and manufacturing for products of resale. As well as the famed Gold Rush of British Columbia in the 1850 s, helped make our economy that much more healthy when it comes to trade of non-abundant metals and minerals. Putting money in our pockets is the goal.

6 The definition of Ore... Ore: a rock that contains enough valuable minerals to make mining profitable. examples of ores are gold ores, iron, silver, emerald, amber, ruby, etc

7 Figure Total Mineral Production Yes indee1

8 Accomplishments before the mining process can begin. Since most mining sites are remote, there are steps that have to be done before mining can begin. The cost of developing these sites are very costly to create. A road must be built to allow shipments in and out whether its equipment coming in or goods going out, the company must build mining facilities to extract the ore from the ground and a mill nearby to separate the mineral from the ore.they must construct housing for workers. And finally, freshwater, sewage treatment and electricity must be supplied to not only the mine but to the housing as well. which after all of this you can start the three mining methods.

9 3 principal mining methods. These three mining methods are to strip, open pit and underground mining. The selection of any of these methods depends upon the depth of the ore deposit.

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12 Open Pit Mining - Is used to mine minerals that are found near the surface, but that also may extend deep into the ground. 1. Overburden is removed. 2. holes are drilled 10-15M deep and filled with explosives. The rock is blasted apart. 3. Ore is loaded into large trucks( which may carry 90 to 250 tonnes) by huge shovels. 4.Ore is then taken into a storage site near the mill to await processing.

13 Strip mining - is used to mine oil sands, coal, and other minerals that are located in horizontal layers near the surface. 1. Overburden (trees, earth, rock) is removed. 2. Blasting may be necessary to remove some mineral deposits. 3. Material is loaded onto trucks or conveyor belts by shoveling or dragline. A dragline is a large bucket that is dragged to pick up loose material on the ground. 4. The materials taken to a storage area to await processing in the mill or shipment to market.

14 Underground Mining - is used to extract mineral ores located deep into the surface of the earth. 1. Miners take a caged elevator from the headframe down to the working area.(stope) 2. holes are drilled into the rock face at the stope and then filled with explosives. 3. The explosive is then triggered and set off by an electric charge which produces blasted apart rock.

15 Underground Mining part 2 4. After the blast, miners test the walls and ceiling. Rock bolts or timbers are then put up in unsafe or unstable areas as reinforcements. 5. Blasted rock is called muck. front end loaders or small trains remove the muck to a central underground location. The muck is then dropped down a large hole (ore pass) to the crusher. 6. The muck is crushed and then loaded onto a hoist, called a skip.the skip lifts the ore to the earth's surface. 7. The ore is then taken to a storage site near the mill to await processing.

16 Milling and Smelting The process of milling and smelting: Milling takes place in a processing plant, or mill, located near a mine. Milling seperates the minerals from it's ore. Milling seperates the waste rock from the ore and drying raw ore. Milling then produces a concentrated form of ore known as concentrate.

17 Mine tailings... Mine tailings are a toxic mixture of water, rock particles, and chemicals left over from the milling process. Because they are so poisonous, they should be carefully handled. Then are dumped into tailing ponds that are located near the mill and contained by dikes.

18 The picture above shows a tailings pond which the water is very hazardous.

19 7 challenges this industry faces. The 7 challenges for the canadian mining industry is: - Acid Precipitation - Foreign Competition - Abandoned Mines. - One-Industry Towns - Exported Jobs - World Events - Depleted Reserves

20 Thank you for listening to our presentation on The Mining Industry in Canada.