Haileybury School of Mines: Guest Lecture Series

Abstract

Wabi Iron & Steel Corp. (Wabi) is a company that is almost as old as the underground mining industry in Canada. Its birth came about immediately after the prolific silver finds in an area that today, we call Cobalt. Two enterprising brothers, Hugh and Harry McEwen along with John Lever, set-up shop in the fledgling community of New Liskeard in 1907.

The first few years of Wabi’s business activity focused on being a repair shop to the large saw mills in the area and the steamboat line servicing communities along Lake Temiskaming and the Blanche River system. Wabi’s innovation however, quickly highlighted the company in the Cobalt silver camp. The stamp mill dies being produced at the Wabi foundry were significantly outlasting the imported pieces being brought from England. So much so, that several mine owners from the Cobalt camp formed an investment consortium into Wabi and funded a new facility that is Wabi’s plant location today, at 330 Broadwood Avenue.

Wabi has consistently innovated to keep at the forefront in the supply chain to the mining industry. From metallurgical recipes that offer improved wear resistance, to pioneering the use of aluminum in mine hoist cages and skips. In the early 1950’s, Wabi introduced rubber-tired haulage trucks for underground mining. In the late 1970’s, Wabi designed and manufactured the largest single-rope connection mine cage having a capacity of 120 occupants. And continuing today, Wabi pursues innovative product designs that are intended to help solve challenges associated with underground mining.

Canada is a mining country easily recognized as a world leader in the technologies associated with metal extraction, smelting and refining. This recognition is associated with approximately 150 years of development – mining camps and operations that span across this country and produce materials as diverse as agricultural fertilizer, energy fuels, to every known metal found in the most sophisticated devices supporting human technology. Wabi’s engineering records show the growth of this mining legacy. The pitfalls and the successes. The iconic designs from yesteryear that can still be identified in the modern machines being used to successfully move ore from deep within the ground to surface facilities for processing.

Wabi’s story is one of ‘David and Goliath’ whereby its survival among a field of multi-national manufacturing giants is owed to its ability to innovate and apply technology successfully to the challenges being confronted by underground miners. Its next century of continued business isn’t given – it must be worked for. Metals will pervade human technology for as long as humans exist. Mining these metals will ensure that companies such as Wabi have no shortage of challenges to solve.

Biography

Stan graduated from Northern College in 1982 from the Mechanical Engineering Technology program. He accepted employment with Wabi Iron Works Ltd. as a draftsman immediately thereafter. He very quickly recognized the uniqueness of both the products being built at Wabi, but also, of the company’s historic development.

His dedication to the company coupled with a commitment to understand its place in the mining industry, provided growth through various roles in the company ranging from engineering, to quality assurance, sales, management and ultimately, to the company’s president. His career with Wabi spans 40 years and now as his career winds-down, Stan is tasked with plotting a course for Wabi’s next century of business.

Stan has been passionate about mine hoisting throughout his career and with improving the safety of this important facet of mining technology. He continues to be active with innovation associated with hoisting technology and the challenges presented by deep hoisting. Stan’s general interest in history comes through in his insights to Wabi’s development and his 40-year tenure within this historic company.

Abstract

Mel Sauve, President Global Growth is an engineer and MBA from McGill University. His career has spanned over 40 years working primarily in Sales, Marketing and Business Development for Canadian
manufacturing companies selling highly engineered products and services B2B worldwide to industries including; mining, steel, metal fabrication, security, defense and nuclear.

He started Global Growth in 2010 focused on accelerating the growth of Canadian manufacturing and service companies, targeting USA and international market expansion. His core strengths are: Strategic Business Development, Global Expansion, Technical Marketing and Sales Skills Development.

Mel has worked directly with a number of Canadian mining supply and industrial companies including; Exploranium, Eco Waste Solutions, Westlake Industries, Venshore Mechanical, Digital Engineering,
Icefield Tools, Industrial Fabrication (Kovatera), Conveyors Plus, Abitibi Geophysics, Sumac Geomatics,
Rock-Tech, FRP Systems.

Mel is a program leader/consultant for the Northern Ontario Export – Strategic Export Marketing Program funded by the Federal and Ontario Governments: Over 50 Northern Ontario mining supply and
service companies participated in the program; most companies in the program have significantly increased their businesses beyond expectations, with notable successes including: TBT Engineering, The Bucket Shop, Steelworks, North Bay Machining Company, Drillco Mining, KBM Resources, Kozar Engineering, Lakehead Iron Works.

He has built his career working closely with CEO’s; clarifying visions, honing strategies and developing execution skills to help turn their companies into Global Leaders.

Biography

Global Growth specializes in taking Canadian manufacturing and service companies global. We help companies grow their business.

We work closely with highly engineered, Canadian manufacturing and service companies that have great ideas, strong products and the desire to accelerate growth in domestic, US and international markets. Our work begins with the CEO and management team to customize the appropriate growth strategies. We then shift focus to the sales team, providing them with the right tools and training to execute these strategies with positive, accelerated results.

As engineers ourselves, we speak the language and know the culture. As sales and marketing strategists, we ignite your business with new expertise. Our frontline experience means we bring relevant insights, practical examples and support that will energize your team.

We believe in developing separate growth strategies for North American and international markets, as each brings unique challenges and opportunities. Taking the time to understand your business, we identify the products, markets, positioning, promotions, agents, training and management required for
your success.

Abstract

This lecture will be an opportunity for students to learn about a working room and pillar mine, that was being tracked and logged to understand the spread of failure zones in the mine.  There were two failure areas in and near the mine boundaries. The failures in one area of the mine started in an adjoining mine, and spread down dip rapidly into parts of the Denison Mine. We will review the methods used to minimize the spread of damage.  The other failure zone area was near the mine’s main mechanical shop. The concern over the spread of damage and the potential safety implications were a concern for the management team.  The monitoring techniques included the installation of a Generation 1 Analog MP250 Micro-Seismic monitoring system. Backfill placement was used to limit the damage. Bi-weekly tours of the areas near the mechanical shop were carried out to monitor and log the spread of the damage. Additionally, this area was under the shallow dipping Quirke Lake Thrust Faults, which rose above the bottom of a large deep lake over this section of the mine.  Monitoring continued until the mine’s closure in the summer of 1992.  I joined the CANMET Mining Group (Government of Canada) to complete the data collection, and to improve the safety of other mines, using the knowledge gained from the Denison Mine. This lead to the development of new technology for regional monitoring. The lecture will conclude with a summary of this useful opportunity to improve mine safety.

Biography

Chris Pritchard is a Mining Engineering Technician with over 40 years of accident free experience in underground mining and large construction projects. Most recently he worked at Pritchard Mining Technologies Inc. providing ground support and geotechnical engineering services. He has worked at the Nickel Rim Mine, Falconbridge Mine, and the Craig – Onaping Mine in the Sudbury area, as a Ground Control Supervisor. Prior to this, Chris worked as a Rock Mechanics Technologist at Denison Mines in Elliot Lake, and at the CANMET Mining Research Laboratories. He began his career working at Atomic Energy of Canada Limited on their Nuclear Waste Management Program, and at Golder Associates as a Geotechnical Technician. Chris will share with us his ground control experience at Denison Mines, and subsequent analysis of this work at CANMET.