The best in new technology

Carbon containment

Outotec’s CarbonSense is a carbon monitoring system designed to minimize gold solution losses from carbon-in-pulp and carbon-in-leach during gold extraction. The CarbonSense system consists of two measurement probes, placed directly in the carbon-containing and carbon-free areas of the slurry tank, which use electrodes to continuously measure carbon levels throughout the tank. “Since the activated carbon increases the slurry’s conductivity, the carbon concentration can be measured in real time by comparing the results from the two probes,” Peter Blanz, product manager of intelligent instruments at Outotec, told CIM Magazine. “This makes the measurement’s frequency and reliability much higher than traditional methods that involve taking a sample of the slurry.” According to Outotec, CarbonSense is fully automatic and easy to maintain.

Intelligent flying

Exyn Technology’s ExynAI is a flight guide software designed to make aerial robots and drones autonomous, allowing them to fly in complex environments without a pilot or GPS. ExynAI’s software algorithm uses light detection and ranging (LiDAR) along with 3D mapping to determine and map safe pathways for vehicle travel, producing optimal flight trajectories, according to Exyn Technologies. “This robot is a self-contained system that can intelligently understand where it is in the environment in real time,” Raffi Jabrayan, director of markets and industries at Exyn Technologies, told CIM Magazine. “Even if the environment is changing, [it can] safely navigate a complex mission that you might prescribe to it, without having any input from the human beyond the initial mission.” ExynAI is “platform agnostic” and is designed to be compatible with multiple hardware and software options.

Focused control management

Minetell Technologies has refocused its signature risk management platform to measure and monitor workplaces’ risk exposure and control performance for COVID-19. The new COVID-19 platform facilitates personnel screening to detect possible cases and evaluates control assessments, such as handwashing and distancing, for efficiency. According to Minetell Technologies, once the assessments are complete they are sent directly to decision makers, so they are able to address any issues quickly and reliably, thus reducing the chance of spread. “The problem we’re solving at Minetell is getting reliable information into the hands of decision makers,” Michael Hartley, president and CEO of Minetell Technologies, told CIM Magazine. “We’re still solving that problem, but [now] we’re doing it in the context of COVID-19, which helps employers, employees and their families know how safe their workplaces are right now.”

Battery-powered trucking

Kovatera specifically designed its new battery-powered, underground mining vehicle, the KT200e, “from the ground up.” The KT200e’s modular frame allows the vehicle to be transported underground in the “smallest of cages,” avoiding costly underground commissioning. According to Kovatera, miners can use the KT200e to perform specific jobs, such as scissor lifts and aerial booms. “A major feature of our battery options is to fit vehicles with a standard 44kwh battery,” Will Gove, general manager of Kovatera, said. “With this configuration, we can offer customers a battery size and range that fits their needs without additional capital spend.” The KT200e’s batteries have a full charge time of 1.5 hours, with a battery life of seven to nine years. They can be equipped with an additional 25-kilowatt, 600-volt charger.

Adaptable automation

Sandvik has launched AutoMine for trucks, an autonomous ramp haulage application that miners can use both underground and on the surface. AutoMine allows trucks to switch from underground to surface navigation in real time, which Sandvik says helps minimize equipment damage by up to 50 per cent and optimizes efficiency by up to 30 per cent. “The system uses a seamless automatic handover between the underground and surface positioning system where trucks keep moving without stopping at the portal,” Jouni Koppanen, product line manager of underground automation at Sandvik, told CIM Magazine. “After dumping, they immediately continue with the next production cycle to get another load from underground.” AutoMine eliminates the need for in-person hardware changes to trucks and its associated risks, and can be supervised from remote locations.

Model hauling

RPMGlobal’s TALPAC-3D calculates truck and loader productivity and costs (TALPAC) by using a 3D user interface to simulate optimal haul routes and equipment selection. According to RPMGlobal, miners can import roads to the TALPAC-3D in order to create a 3D model of their entire haulage network and simulate the productivity of its material, equipment and roads. “It [can be] used in the long-term planning environment to calculate the productivity of various combinations of mining equipment to try and get the best match between loading unit and truck,” Adam Price, simulation product manager at RPMGlobal told CIM Magazine. “In the short-term environment, it is used to understand the best use of the equipment that is available, answering questions like ‘How many trucks should I put with that digger?’” The TALPAC-3D can import data from GPS devices and drones, and supports all major 3D surface and road formats.