SC orders on mining dispute likely today

PANAJI: Supreme Court is likely to give two interim orders on Goa mining dispute on November 11. Goa government has sought permission for disposal of 11 million tonnes of ore stacked at jetties and in mining leases. The SC is expected to give its order in this regard.

The petitioner, Goa Foundation (GF) has made a case that mining companies should not be allowed to handle the ore, instead the government should dispose it of so that the public exchequer receives benefits.

The forest bench headed by Justice A K Patnaik is also likely to appoint an expert committee to suggest the cap on the extraction of the ore. This step has been proposed to ensure that all ore is not mined and saved for future generations.

This is in line with its plea that mining should be regulated in Goa so that the iron ore reserves are not exhausted at least for some decades. GF has also sought cancellation of all mine leases that expired on November 21, 2007 and yet remained in operation on the alibi of deemed extension. During the last hearing, senior counsel Harish Salve, representing the central empowered committee (CEC), insisted that the court should allow some mines in the interest of those depending on the mining industry.

Read more: AEM Hall of Fame announces 2013 inductees

Like the International Mining Technology Hall of Fame (im-halloffame.com), the AEM Hall celebrates equipment industry innovators and leaders; a legacy for continued industry growth & achievement. AEM focuses in off-road equipment and two of the 2013 inductees have had influence on equipment used in mining: Ray O’Connor, Topcon Positioning Group and Friedrich W. Schwing, Sr., Schwing GmbH. These inductees have been evaluated by an independent panel of industry experts on five criteria that are vital to the health of the off-road equipment manufacturing industry: 1) innovation, 2) industry contributions, 3) leadership, 4) corporate citizenship/social responsibility and 5) sustainability.

Friedrich Schwing, Sr., founder of Schwing, has more than 1,200 patents relating to innovations in material handling and construction equipment. Most notably, the Schwing all-hydraulic, twin-cylinder concrete pump design powers the majority of modern concrete pumps. This invention established a new method for moving concrete through a pipeline resulting in structures that could not have been built prior to the modern concrete pump. His invention resulted in efficiency without the manual labour and with extraordinary speed of placement never before achieved by other methods.

His engineering expertise was not only aimed at product performance but also operator safety. Schwing helped establish the American Concrete Pumping Association (ACPA), which has safety as a key focus. Schwing’s corporate policy directed resources towards safety guidelines, safety seminars, safety materials and hundreds of hours of donated employee time on industry committees and boards.

Schwing led by example with a work ethic and modesty that meant he wore the oldest suit and drove a 20-year-old car. His leadership style was to delegate functions better left to his employees, so he could pursue solutions through engineering. Schwing also had a penchant for sustainability before it was popular. Another of his innovations was a ready-mix reclaimer introduced in the 1980s to convert returned concrete to its components of sand, aggregate, cement and water. This system provides 100% recycling of these materials for economic and environmental benefits, especially less water use and excess concrete dumping.

Ray O’Connor joined Topcon in 1993 as the only employee dedicated to laser products. O’Connor had one goal: automate the construction industry. Today, with the joining of imaging, GNSS, scanning, and software technology, there are few construction sites that do not use automated positioning. To meet the global requirement of positioning automation, he developed a ring of technology centres where the brightest geospatial engineers in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia create the next generation of products.

O’Connor mandates that every product for every market segment supports the theme of “time”: saving it by increasing productivity, minimising the disruptive footprint of a project and reducing use of renewable and non-renewable resources. http://www.aem.org/HallofFame

Recognising the importance of educating future generations of end users, O’Connor helped implement the Topcon Educational Partnership Program, which provides a full range of educational tools to more than 500 universities and associations worldwide.

O’Connor is the 2006 recipient of Toshiba Corp’s Business Performance Award (the first recipient of non-Japanese descent) for “his superior leadership and performance.” In 2012, Pompeii, Italy honoured him for supporting “preservation and renovation” of the landmark city; the University of Naples awarded him an honorary doctorate degree for his efforts. O’Connor also received an honorary doctorate from The Dublin Institute of Technology for his “global leadership in precision measurement technology.” Geospatial World magazine named him Business Leader of the Year in 2013.

Nominations for the next AEM Hall of Fame will open in spring 2014.

Slurry gravel pump
Abrasion resistant gravel pump
Warman 10/8G Sand gravel pump

Minister Rickford Highlights the Importance of Canada’s Mining Sector at World Mining Congress

The Honourable Greg Rickford, Canada’s Minister of State (Science and Technology) and for FedNor and Minister responsible for the Ring of Fire, today delivered the opening remarks at the 23rd World Mining Congress on behalf of the Honourable Joe Oliver, Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources. While addressing the 1,500 delegates from around the globe, Minister Rickford highlighted the importance of mining to the Canadian economy.

“A strong and healthy mining sector has been, and will continue to be, crucial to securing and creating jobs for Canadians and ensuring the growth and long-term prosperity of our communities,” said Minister Rickford. “Our Government has made it a priority to put in place the conditions necessary for the mining industry to continue to grow and thrive in a responsible way, for the benefit of Canadians today and future generations.”

There are more than 200 active mines in Canada, producing more than 60 minerals and metals. Canada’s mineral exports were valued at close to $93 billion in 2012, which accounts for more than one-fifth of Canada’s total exports.

Canada’s mining sector creates employment opportunities across the country in urban and rural areas alike. Nearly 330,000 Canadians are employed in the mining and mineral processing industries. The mining sector is also an important employer of Aboriginal Canadians.

“We are committed to supporting mining research and positioning Canada as a world leader in science and technology, for the benefit of communities across the country,” added Minister Rickford. “We continue to pursue the technological innovations that are making our industry grow and become more competitive in both economic and environmental terms, and we continue to seek out new resources.”

Federal Government programs such as the Geo-Mapping for Energy and Minerals program and the Targeted Geoscience Initiative are providing the public geoscience needed to make informed land-use and resource-management decisions.
The Government of Canada is also working closely with industry on the Green Mining Initiative to reduce the mining sector’s environmental footprint and to position Canada as a global leader in responsible mining development.

Joint Canada/Alberta Implementation Plan for Oil Sands Monitoring Begins Summer Air Monitoring Project

A comprehensive environmental field study to gather information on air contaminants in the Wood Buffalo region will occur from August 12 to mid-September 2013. The collaborative study between government, non-government, university and community partners will collect both airborne and ground-based measurements to determine how air pollutants are transformed and transported across the landscape.

The intensive study is part of the Joint Canada/Alberta Implementation Plan for Oil Sands Monitoring (JOSM), announced in February 2012. The three-year plan is designed to strengthen environmental monitoring programs for air, water, land and biodiversity in the oil sands region by better understanding the state of the environment, cumulative effects and environmental change.

The six-week field study will involve a large suite of ground-based measurements taken at two locations, including the Wood Buffalo Environmental Association’s (WBEA) Air Monitoring Station 13 – established in 2000, and located five kilometres south of Fort McKay.

The other monitoring site which is provided by the Fort McKay First Nations, is set up for the next three years to support this year’s study as well as to also collect long-term measurements in the Fort McKay community.

Both monitoring sites included in the study are in close proximity to surface mining areas and allow for air pollutant mixtures from industry to the north and south to be studied separately. The ground portion of the study is designed to track air pollution levels as close as possible to mining, upgrading, and other industrial and transportation processes. This will help determine the concentration and type of chemical compounds deposited on the ground over a wide area.

In collaboration with the National Research Council of Canada (NRC), the study also includes measurements which will be conducted in the atmosphere using the NRC Convair-580 aircraft. The aircraft, equipped with air quality measurement instruments, will be used for flights over and downwind of the oil sands source region.

Additionally, the aircraft will be flying at low-altitude to collect air quality data for evaluation and validation of emissions inventories and to test satellite monitoring of nitrogen dioxide and sulphur dioxide.

Data collected through both the airborne and ground-based studies, will be used to evaluate high resolution air quality models for use in the oil sands region. Once the quality control process on the collected data has been completed, it will be made available through the Canada-Alberta Oil Sands data portal. For more information on the Joint Canada/Alberta Implementation Plan for Oil Sands Monitoring, visithttp://www.jointoilsandsmonitoring.ca.

Backgrounder: Joint Canada/Alberta Implementation Plan for Oil Sands Monitoring – Wood Buffalo Air Pollutant Field Study

JOSM Partners in the Air Monitoring Summer Project:

  • Environment Canada (EC)
  • Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development (AESRD)
  • Fort McKay First Nations (FMFN)
  • Wood Buffalo Environmental Association (WBEA)
  • National Research Council of Canada (NRC)

Academic institutions: Dalhousie University, Carleton University, York University, University of Toronto, University of Calgary, University of Alberta

Airborne Study Objectives:

  • Obtain data to evaluate and validate the emission inventories of the primary Criteria Air Contaminants and other reported air pollutants in the oil sands region
  • Validate satellite retrieval data products for nitrogen dioxide and sulphur dioxide
  • Evaluate high-resolution air quality models for use in the oil sands region

Ground-based Study Objectives:

  • Improve on ability to track air pollution levels as close as possible to the mining, upgrading, and other industrial and transportation processes
  • Determine concentrations and type of chemical compounds deposited on the ground over a wide area
  • Evaluate high-resolution air quality models for use in the oil sands regions

Joint Canada/Alberta Implementation Plan for Oil Sands Monitoring:

  • Commitment by both, the Governments of Canada and Alberta, to a comprehensive, integrated, and transparent environmental monitoring program for the oil sands region that gives assurance that the critical global resource is being developed in an environmentally responsible way.
  • Objectives under the joint plan, include:
    • Ensuring transparency through accessible, comparable, and quality-assured data;
    • Enhancing science-based monitoring for improved characterization of the state of the environment and collect information necessary to understand cumulative effects; and
  • Improving analysis of existing monitoring data to better understand historical trends.