Ursa Major goes for Day
Ursa Major Minerals (UMJ-V, UMJMF-O) has hired William Day Construction to carry out the excavation, crushing and haulage of a 50,000-tonne bulk ore sample from the Shakespeare nickel deposit, situated 70 km west of Sudbury, Ont.
Day Construction will haul the ore from Ursa Major’s Shakespeare project to Xstrata Nickel’s Strathcona mill for processing.
Ursa Major is completing road upgrades to the Shakespeare site to provide better access for trucks hauling the sample.
The company has a permit for a 10,000-tonne bulk sample and has applied to amend it to extract 50,000 tonnes. The company will proceed when the road is upgraded and regulatory approval for the 50,000-tonne sample is received from the Ontario Ministry of Northern Development and Mines. Ursa Major plans to complete the excavation and haulage in the second quarter of 2007.
“The bulk sample will provide us with an important test of the mining characteristics, reserve grade and metallurgical recoveries at a commercial scale,” say Richard Sutcliffe, CEO of Ursa Major.
The company hopes to eventually operate a 4,500-tonne-per-day mine and mill at Shakespeare. If the bulk sample is of high enough grade, the company has an agreement with Xstrata Nickel for ongoing ore shipments to be processed at Strathcona.
Copper Cliff, Ont.-based Day Construction has provided construction and other services to northern Ontario since 1954.
Gemcom teams with Brazilian university
Mining software developer Gemcom Software International (GCM-T, GEMCF-O) and the Laboratory of Mine Planning Technology (LAPOL) at the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil, have teamed to create a centre of mining research excellence there.
Gemcom will provide LAPOL with multi-user licences of its mining software, including GEMS SQL, Surpac and MineSched. The software will be used to train and educate both undergraduate and graduate students.
The agreement also covers software tools to support projects designed to develop mine production and management software.
Examples of research efforts under way include reserves reconciliation and short-term mine planning linked with fleet management, as well as “virtual” mine applications.
“Partnering with leading universities and research institutes around the world, such as LAPOL-USP, is aligned with Gemcom’s research and development policies, that are aimed at ultimately benefiting the mining industry as a whole,” said Ram Sudama, chief technology officer of Gemcom. “We are convinced that the Gemcom-LAPOL partnership will bring noticeable benefits in the very short term to the entire mining community in Brazil.”
The University of Sao Paulo is one of the largest institutions of higher education in Brazil, with about 75,000 students enrolled.
Gemcom software is used by companies such as BHP Billiton, Codelco, Companhia Vale do Rio Doce, De Beers and Newmont Mining.
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