List of Questions

Is there a potash dedusting agent that is more environmentally responsible at a competitive cost?

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What technology exists to proactively identify geologic disturbances in potash deposits that cannot be detected by current 3-D seismic?

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How do we extend the life of conveyor belting exposed to high temperature, anticake amine and dedust oil?

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What would a future u/g uranium mine in Saskatchewan look like if it was designed to be fully automated from surface and primarily remote access only?

How would this change from the capital and operating cost perspective?

Are there new cost-effective methods for treating wastewaters from mines and mills for contaminates of potential concern, e.g. sulphates?

For example, are there new technologies that move away from pH adjustment to reduce sulphates in effluent?

Are there any processes/methods that can use evaporation as part of water treatment process?

For example eliminating a small or concentrated stream, e.g. RO reject water without the need for chemical precipitation treatment.

Can we develop modular, stand-alone water treatment system(s) for the Rabbit Lake In-Pit Tailings Management Facility and/or future Key Lake groundwater collection wells?

We would like to send the reject, solid material into the tailings facility and have treated effluent discharged to the environment.

What economic, electrical co-generation projects should the northern mines be considering in the future?

We are interested in environmentally, socially and economically viable alternatives for reducing northern mine site reliance on the SaskPower grid; co-generation paired with renewables & storage may allow us to offset electricity cost and feedback to the northern power grid.

How to commercially remove Ni, Co and Mo through co-extraction with uranium processing?

This is already a green initiative, through CanMet, Mining Association of Canada and CMIC.

In addition to technology development or adaptation, this will involve being able to develop the business case.

How to better consolidate mine water slimes at Cigar Lake and tailings from the Rabbit Lake mill through surface particle reactants or with polymers such as tetra sodium pyrophosphate, TSPP?

Advantage to invest in this for local expertise for characterization, manipulation, treatment and management of clays and slimes.

What are the policy, economic and technical barriers that would need to be overcome to implement co-generation technologies (for combined heat and power) at industrial facilities such as potash operations?

Using Gas Turbines to generate power and use the waste heat for heat recovery steam generators (HRSG) to generate low pressure steam for process.
Using high pressure boilers and steam turbines to generate electrical power and low pressure steam exiting the steam turbine for process.

Is there a way to improve efficiency of compressed air generation (e.g. using turbo compressors for base load)?

In general, compressed air is one of the most inefficient energy sources.

How can big data be used for the optimization of chemical and mechanical processes in potash mills?

Optimization of chemical and mechanical processes can result in environmental and health and safety benefits, in addition to improved mill performance. Can big data be used in ways that optimize decisions and resource utilization?

How can a better energy efficiency be achieved at mines and mills over the short/mid/long term?

Can we “think big, trial small and scale fast” and:
- Waste 5-15% less energy (conserve)?
- Use energy 5-15% better (efficiency)?
- Introduce alternatives to the energy used today and cut
emissions/costs by 50%?

Can we utilize our large tailings pile area for economical solar panel/power generation?

Some other mines use their tailings management facilities to host solar panel installations. Could this possible for the potash sector? Challenges could include rainwater running off the solar panels and cause the tails pile to dissolve directly below the panels, creating a safety hazard and instability for the panels themselves. Dust could also be associated with the TMFs. Are there ways to address such potential problems? Placement would also have to considered (e.g., on inactive areas), as this may affect the area available for installation should it be technically feasible.

Is there any research or investigation into an alternative reagent to amine that would act as a collector in potash flotation?

Interested in exploring "the state-of-the-art" thinking (alternative reagents).

Is there a way to quantify, without drilling a hole, whether a separation (delamination) in the back (underground) exists and how large this separation is? Can this solution be portable such that workers can use it for routine area checks?

Slabs in the back (ceiling) tend to delaminate over time, we using a metal bar (known as a sounding bar) to hit the back, causing a pinging sound. Areas that have become delaminated (loose) give a very characteristic hallow ping. This isn’t really just a challenge in potash but is a fairly general issue in any type of conventional underground mining.

How would you recover heat from underground potash mines?

Low grade heat recovery is being studied for deep underground metal mines. Is there the potential to recover energy from such heat in potash mines and further improve energy efficiency in the mines? If so, how could this be done?

How would you operate a potash mine with less reliance on fossil fuels?

This question could be combined with Mosaic's "Can we look at greener sources of energy".

Is there a “best” method for tailings placement – such as co-mingled, separated in the mill and combined in a single tails pile, separated in the mill and placed separately, etc.?

The method should take into account, at a minimum, perspectives such as placement during operations, stability over time, and considerations for decommissioning.

Is there a technology available for detecting voids in tails piles?

Coming later

How do we produce a “GPS” style system in a very large underground mine (Saskatchewan potash mines) to an accuracy of 30cm?

This question applies to any type of conventional underground mining. Obviously GPS systems don’t work underground so what other type of technology could we use? It has huge implications for safety because of the very large equipment moving around. This could enable significant automation of heavy equipment. Also, if we could put GPS devices on the personnel and on the heavy equipment it might provide a foundation for proximity detection technology (i.e. avoid running over people).

There are technologies under development, however the potash mines are unique due to the size, and the salt (impacts effectiveness of wireless networks).

Can there be a better way to remove clay from brines in the conventional northern potash sites for process brine clarity?

Clay is a large contributing factor to the volume of insols and overall potash grade/purity at some sites.

Is there a quick way to rehabilitate brine spills?

Should brine spills occur, is there a simple and cost effective solution to brine water spills that can help minimize the potential for environmental impact and help reduce disposal and remediation costs?

Can we look at greener energy sources for industry?

Something every industry is striving towards - being more environmentally friendly and finding greener sources of energy that are cost effective and do not negatively impact production.

Is there instrumentation that would help with pipeline detection of potential breaks prior to failure?

New and proactive leak detection for pipelines carrying solutions of potential concern if released to the environment would be of value to many in industry. Is there an opportunity for the development of new, innovative instrumentation to assist industry in this regard?