Tag Archives: PDAC 2023

Vale partners with MIRARCO on bioleaching, bioremediation processing project

Base metals, Environmental, Mining events, Mining services, Sustainable mining, Water management, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Vale Energy Transition Metals, a leading global supplier of nickel, copper, cobalt and platinum group metals, says it is moving to accelerate commercial recovery of critical minerals from mine waste in partnership with the Mining Innovation, Rehabilitation, and Applied Research
Corporation (MIRARCO) at Laurentian University, in Canada.

As part of efforts to reduce mine waste and capture additional value from mined material, Vale has committed C$875,000 ($635,769) over five years to MIRARCO to support a new industrial research chair program in biomining and bioremediation. The announcement was made during the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada 2023 Convention, in Toronto, Canada.

The industrial research chair program, led by Dr Nadia Mykytczuk (pictured in the centre), will develop, pilot and work towards commercialising bioleaching and bioremediation processes including efforts to recover nickel and cobalt from low-grade pyrrhotite tailings and other waste.

Luke Mahony, Chief Technical Officer at Vale Energy Transition Metals (pictured second from left), said: “This builds on our extensive R&D history and proven track record of lab-to-plant process development and represents a significant opportunity for waste-stream reprocessing here in Ontario. We see this as a triple-win, with potential to reduce liabilities, accelerate commercial recovery of critical minerals and capture additional value from mined material.”

The Government of Ontario will also contribute C$750,000 through the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corp. to support this industrial research chair program.

Greg Rickford, Minister of Northern Development (pictured second from right), said: “The new and improved Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation is supporting innovative solutions in the resource extraction sector that will change the way we see mining traditionally. By partnering with Vale and Laurentian University, we are committing to Made in Ontario solutions that will reduce mine waste and enhance value for materials already involved in the mining process.”

Dr Mykytczuk, President and CEO of MIRARCO, said: “This funding and collaboration will accelerate the development of new tools to help us extract value from wastes, producing the metals we need in an environmentally sustainable way.”

Vale Energy Transition Metals is one of the world’s largest producers of high-quality nickel and an important producer of copper and responsibly sourced cobalt. With headquarters in Toronto, Canada, and operations in Newfoundland & Labrador, Ontario, Manitoba, Indonesia and Brazil, the business delivers critical building blocks for a cleaner, greener future.

MIRARCO Mining Innovation is in its 25th year and has been a leader in the development of innovative solutions in response to the needs of the mining industry. Located in Sudbury, Ontario, MIRARCO works collaboratively with industry, private sector, government, academia, and community stakeholders, building fit for purpose teams to effectively deploy knowledge, technology, and sustainable practices across the mining life cycle.

MSALABS continues to build global PhotonAssay offering on ‘undeniable’ demand

Environmental, Mineral exploration, Mining equipment, Mining events, Mining services, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

MSALABS, a global provider of geochemical laboratory services for the exploration and mining sectors and a majority-owned subsidiary of Capital, has provided an operational development update to coincide with the annual PDAC convention in Toronto, Canada, which highlights the deployment of western Canada’s first PhotonAssay™ technology unit.

The first few months of 2023 have seen MSALABS maintain its significant growth momentum from 2022, with the delivery of a strong operational performance from existing contracts, as well as the successful commissioning of a number of new laboratories, it said.

The western Canada first occurred at Prince George, in British Columbia, with the unit now commissioned and set to begin processing samples from a broad range of customers in the region.

In January, meanwhile, the company commissioned a PhotonAssay unit at Barrick’s Kibali mine in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the largest gold mine on the Africa continent.

MSALABS has been a champion of Chrysos Corp’s PhotonAssay technology, which it says delivers multiple advantages over the slower, more hazardous fire assay process, such as faster, safer, more accurate and environmentally-friendly analysis of gold, silver, copper and other elements.

In July last year, it expanded its partnership with Chrysos Corp, planning for the deployment of 21 units across the globe by 2025.

In its latest update, MSALABS said its traditional business also continued to grow. with the commissioning of mine site and regional laboratories.

Included among this is the commissioning of the Singida mine site laboratory for Shanta Gold’s Singida mine in Tanzania, following a three-year contract, awarded late last year.

In Mali, meanwhile, MSALABS commissioned the laboratory in Bougouni, which will support gold and lithium operations in the southern part of the country. The first samples from Leo Lithium’s Goulamina operation are expected within days, it said;

At PDAC, the company is also expecting to sign a franchise partnership with Aurora Minerals Group to provide geochemistry services to the burgeoning Kazakhstan mining industry.

Stuart Thomson, MSALABS CEO, said: “MSALABS has got off to a very strong start in 2023, testament to the strong demand we are seeing for our services but also the continued hard work of our employees to deliver such impressive growth. Announcing new labs across all three of our major regions, further diversification of commodity mix and entry into a new country is indicative of the increasing strength and robustness of MSALABS.

“In particular, the demand for Chrysos PhotonAssay is undeniable with a multitude of major mining companies continuing to run trials and converting to the revolutionary technology. In partnership with Chrysos, we are proud to be bringing this technology to western Canada with our new commercial laboratory at Prince George where we can service the significant mining region.”

IMDEX readies a host of new survey and measuring tools for PDAC crowd

IoT, Mineral exploration, Mining events, Mining services, Mining software, , , , , , , , ,

IMDEX will reveal the latest advances in its survey and measuring tools and its aiSIRIS interpretive mineralogy software at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada conference next week.

IMDEX claims to have the most accurate north-seeking gyro on the market – REFLEX SPRINT-IQ (pictured) – but Chief of Product Management and Marketing, Michelle Carey, says the new OMNIx gyros to be revealed at PDAC offer another level of accuracy, reliability and speed.

REFLEX IQ-LOGGER, the company’s existing core logging tool launched at PDAC in 2015, has been redesigned and re-engineered and will be introduced as LOGRx.

Advancements and development of aiSIRIS have facilitated the release of a new product in the aiSIRIS suite, aiSwyft, offering results in minutes, and at a reduced cost to the consumer.

“The continued improvement of these tools, as with all IMDEX technology, further strengthens our ability to assist the mining industry improve its resource stewardship,” Dr Carey said.

“Resource stewardship starts with reliable, accurate orebody knowledge, and that is what these IMDEX products deliver – quality data around the location, structure and mineralogy of rocks contributing to orebody knowledge.”

PDAC runs from March 5-8, in Toronto, Canada.

OMNIx

The advanced gyros, featuring Bluetooth communications, will have above and underground applications. REFLEX SPRINT-IQ has been upgraded, improved and streamlined and will be renamed OMNIx42, a 42-mm diameter tool. IMDEX is also introducing a new north-seeking gyro, OMNIx38, a 38-mm diameter tool.

Modifications and improvements for OMNIx42 have delivered reductions in tool length and weight, with savings in time per run and reduced running gear costs, according to the company.

The new OMNIx38 is at least 80% more accurate than IMDEX’s existing tool, which is the best and most accurate north-seeking gyro on the market, it added.

“The vast majority of rock knowledge data collected in the resource industry come from drill holes,” Dr Carey said. “There is no alternative to drilling a hole – so IMDEX is developing, designing and improving the best tools available to produce the most accurate drilling results.”

aiSwyft

aiSIRIS continues to be the leader in automated spectral mineralogy from handheld infrared spectrometers, processing millions of spectra from mining projects across the globe, and now has a new product offering, IMDEX says.

Building on the several million spectra in the database behind the aiSIRIS cloud-based AI spectral mineralogy solution, aiSwyft allows standardised and repeatable results within minutes of uploading spectra.

aiSwyft provides the solution to those users who put an emphasis on quick turnaround, as well as allowing a reduced end cost to the user. It still operates within the aiSIRIS platform, allowing a smooth transition for current aiSIRIS users, and enabling faster decision making, the company says.

As with the current aiSIRIS offering, aiSwyft can be used to process historical datasets, ensuring all data is interpreted in a consistent and standardised way, improving the understanding of geological deposits and helping with the planning of future drilling programs.

Dr Carey said: “The value to the customer of using aiSwyft is the ability to have consistent and unbiased mineralogy results, using a repeatable process, at a lower cost per spectrum, almost instantaneously.

“It provides expert quality results simply, without having a spectral geologist on staff or hiring a consultant and at the same time building up a consistently interpreted database which becomes increasingly valuable over time.

“For aiSIRIS, results are checked and audited for quality control and interpretation accuracy. Expert human oversight is applied in providing an interpretation of the spectra.

“With aiSwyft, an accuracy assessment metric is provided that indicates the level of confidence in the results. It is reported as a ‘probability’ value for each interpreted mineral.”

LOGRx

IQ-LOGGER remains the market-leading core logging solution, providing accurate structural measurements, IMDEX says.

The device records structural measurements (dip and dip direction), structure type and depth at the push of a button. Data collected can be visualised and validated instantly in an app where structural readings can be viewed on a stereonet before they are updated to HUB-IQ.

IQ-LOGGER significantly reduces time required for logging, while the digital transfer of structural measurements provides a reliable audit trail, according to the company.

Improvements in design, ergonomics and workflow have been introduced in the new LOGRx to further streamline the data collection process and make the tool easier to use.