Underground Mining

1
Underground Mining RD Action Plan
Louise Laverdure and Jean Marie Fecteau Presented
to OMIC, November 12, 2004
2
Plan of the presentation

• Current and Future Challenges in the Mining
  Sector
• Mining Research Key issues
• Mining RD Action Plan - Objectives
• Part 1 Bibliographic research and consultative
  visits
• Part 2 Definition of research directions for
  the next 10 years
• Part 3 Evaluation of cost and time required for
  research to achieve a significant impact
• Part 4 Supporting Arguments
• Recommendations

3
Current and Future Challenges in the
Mining Sector

• Availability of qualified manpower
• Operational constraints to mine economically
• Availability of mineral resources
• Competition from new producing countries

4
Mining Research Key issues

• Time spent looking for funding
• Research efforts are dispersed across the country
  
• Projects often defined by sources of funding
  instead of analysis of medium or long term needs
• Difficulty of assembling teams with the
  appropriate expertise to both manage and perform
  the work
• Canadian manufacturers RD are weakly supported

5
Mining RD Action Plan Objectives

• Demonstrate the mining sector importance for the
  Canadian economy
• Justify why it is essential to do mining research
  in Canada
• Identify the research axes required to improve
  competitiveness and safety in underground mines
• Evaluate the required funding effort in the next
  10 years
• Propose an Action Plan in RD to achieve a major
  impact in Canadian mines

6
Benefits of RD

• Decisive impact on profitability of mining
  operations
• Production capacity increase
• HS improvement
• Access to sub-economic deposits
• Return on RD investment of 2,5
• Growth of peripheral manufacturing industry
• Economic development of regions
• Boost international competitiveness of Canadian
  companies

7
Part 1 Bibliographic research and consultative
visits  

• Research Centers, Consultants and others mining
  organizations
• Noranda Technology Centre
• Dyno Consult - Dyno Nobel
• Institut de recherche Robert-Sauvé en santé et
  en sécurité du travail (IRSST)
• CANMET Mining and Mineral Sciences Laboratories
  (Experimental Mine in Val-dOr)
• CANMET-MMSL, Ottawa
• CANMET-MMSL, Sudbury
• Table Jamésienne
• Léandre Gervais et associés
• Ross Finlay 2000
• Cambior recherche
• MIRARCO (Mining Innovation, Rehabilitation and
  Applied Research Corporation)
• Inco Ltd, Research Centre
• NORCAT (Northern Centre of Advanced Technology
  Inc.)
• CAMIRO (Canadian Mining Industry Research
  Organization)
• CAMESE (Canadian Association of Mining
  Equipment and Services for Export)
• MTI (Mining Technologies International Inc.)
• Noranda-Falconbridge

• Companies
• Mine LaRonde - Mines Agnico-Eagle
• Mine Louvicourt - Aur Ressources Inc.
• Mine Bouchard Hébert - Ressources Breakwater
• Mine Meston - Ressources Campbell
• Projet Copper Rand 5000 - Ressources Campbell
• Mine Doyon - Cambior Inc.
• Mine Mouska - Cambior Inc.
• Mine Géant Dormant - Cambior Inc.
• Mine Bell-Allard - Noranda Inc.
• Mine Casa Bérardi - Mines Aurizon Ltd
• Mine Kiena et East Amphy - Mines McWatters
• Mines Seleine - Société canadienne de sel
• Mine Red Lake - Goldcorp Inc.
• Mine Dome - Placer Dome Inc.
• Mine Campbell -Placer Dome Inc.
• Mine McArthur - Cameco Corporation
• Mine Kidd Creek - Falconbridge Ltd
• INCO groupe corporatif

8
Part 1 Bibliographic research and consultative
visits  

• Universities
• École Polytechnique
• Laurentian University
• McGill University
• Queens University
• Université Laval
• Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue
• University of Alberta
• University of British Columbia
• University of Toronto

• Governments and Mining Associations
• Association minière du Québec (AMQ)
• FedNor
• Government of Ontario Ministry of Northern
  Development and Mines (MNDM)
• Government of Ontario Ministry of Labour
• Gouvernement du Québec Ministère des
  Ressources naturelles, de la Faune et des Parcs
  (MRNFP)
• Mining Association of British Columbia (MABC)
• Mining Association of Canada (MAC)
• Ontario Mining Association (OMA)

9
Part 2 Definition of research directions for
the next 10 years

• Evaluation of industry wide problems
• Classification and prioritization of research
  directions
• production cost
• health and safety

10
Priority Axes of Research Defined by Consultations

• Drilling and rock breaking
• Underground quality of life
• Mining engineering
• Backfill and support

11
Part 3 Evaluation of cost and time required for
research to achieve a significant impact
12
Required funding Industry

• In Canada, average RD investment 1,9 GDP
  (Sweden 2,9 GDP towards RD)
• Private sector 1
• Public sector 0.9
• For mining only, this means 79 M/year
• Currently, Stats Can Mining industry invests 30
  M/year plus probably another 10M in-kind

13
Required Investments Government

• Governments should invest 40 M/year
• The sole long term government investment is
  CANMET-MMSL approximately 4.5 M/year
• Additional long term commitment from governments
  of approximately 35 million/year
• 35 million/year of stable contributions over a
  10 year period is required for parity with
  industry investments

14
Part 4 Supporting Arguments

• Importance of the mining industry on the Canadian
  economy
• Employment
• Communities
• Exports
• Productivity Index

15
Average Mining Operation 3 450 tonnes/day

• Capital investment 150 M
• Construction jobs 1 384 person years
  
• Direct employment
  350
• Indirect employment
  236

• 155 M of tax revenues from salaries (Provincial
  and Federal) for a 10 year period, including
  start-up

16
Return on Investment for Government

• The return on government investment would be
  justified by the opening or life extension of
  only 2 mines in Canada for 10 years

17
Other Benefits

• Secondary economic activity generating important
  tax revenues
• Significant contributions to municipalities
• Maintenance of a state of the art exportable
  expertise
• Territorial occupation and development
• Strengthening of Canadian international mining
  leadership

18
Action Plan Recommendations

• Guarantee stable and continuous funding for the
  next 10 years
• If the required money is available
• Regroup all RD stakeholders under a
  decentralised flexible coordinating organisation
• Adopt an Action Plan Model allowing optimal use
  of funds

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Action Plan Recommendations

• Use the funds towards the identified
  high-priority axes of research
• Elaborate and implement a funding mechanism which
  will minimise the time required to consolidate
  project funding

20
Action Plan Recommandations

• Select mining partners able to introduce and
  follow up technologies in mines to maximize
  chance of success
• Attribute the RD contracts as a function of
  researchers expertise and their ability to make
  strategic alliances to obtain concrete results
  within the established timeline

21
Mining RD Action Plan Project

• Project cost 292,000
• Funding partners Economic Development Canada,
  CANMET-MMSL, Soredem, Gouvernement du Québec,
  CAMIRO, Hydro-Québec, Table Jamésienne
• Project completed June 2004
• (report currently being translated in English)

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Action Plan Recommendations