Challenges and Innovations in Open-Pit and Underground Mining Operations

In recent years, the mining industry has been in a phase of accelerated transformation that follows the technological development that are disrupting our daily lives. For almost 30 years, CMAC-Thyssen Mining Group has been pursuing this ideology of continuous improvement by pushing its vision and culture as an innovative contractor.

“Georembleology” is not a recognized scientific term, but we are entitled to wonder if a new specialty related to mine backfilling is emerging. Today’s mines are mining complexes with multiple sources of ore, often from mineralized zones mined on the surface or underground. These mining complexes must process higher tonnages of ore in processing plants that must therefore be increasingly resilient to mineralogical variations. This greater variability in the physical and mineralogical parameters of the tailings, which are the main constituents of cemented paste backfill, brings increasing challenges. As backfill products are engineered materials, the development of recipes must take into account these variations to ensure that mechanical resistance is developed at the expected curing time so as not to affect the mining sequence. Backfilling operations, which are inseparable from current mining techniques, are responsible for at least 20% of the operating costs of an underground mine, which is why new engineering approaches are needed to limit operational risks from an environmental, health and safety and economic point of view. This presentation provides an overview of the challenges encountered in the various Agnico Eagle mining operations in Quebec and some possible solutions developed through innovation and the evolution of good engineering practices.

While diesel vehicles are responsible for significant greenhouse gas emissions in addition to generating high operating costs, several partners worked between 2020 and 2024 to develop a 100% electric mining truck, entirely designed and assembled in Quebec intended for the open-pit mining industry.

The project consisted of the conversion of a Western Star 6900XD truck with a loading capacity of 40 tonnes, and was carried out from the research and development phase to testing the vehicle in a quarry.

As part of his conference, Romain Gayet will address the main stages of the project, the advantages and challenges for the mining industry of using electric trucks, as well as the main conclusions of the field tests carried out.

This project is an initiative of the Innovative Vehicle Institute, carried out with Propulsion Québec, involving Adria Power Systems, Dana TM4, Fournier & Fils and Nouveau Monde Graphite as industrial partners as well as the National Research Council Canada (NRC) and CANMETMines as research partner.

Presentation of the implementation of the “Drumcutter” at the Goldex Mine which allowed to make a proof of concept of this new method which offers increased productivity at lower costs for the development in the paste backfill. It is essentially a question of adapting a technology widely applied to soft rocks in an environment where hard rocks are predominant.

Hydrotech Mining (HTM) is a Canadian company headquartered in Val-d’Or, QC. It specializes in the dewatering and clarification of mine water. HTM has developed a technology to remove solids from water as well as dewater it up to 86% solid. Then, it recovers the filtrate (clear water) and recycles it for operations. HTM will present an overview of its various field tests and explain its concept for mine water recycling.