May 2013

www.im-mining.com

Informed and in-depth editorial on the world mining industry

GOLD RECOVERY UNDERGROUND ACCESS HEAVY ENGINEERING PROJECT FOCUS – GRAPHITE OPERATION FOCUS: RWE Garzweiler

MAY 2013

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CONTENTS M A Y

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2 0 1 3

OPERATION FOCUS – RWE GARZWEILER Paul Moore visited the Rhenish lignite mining area near Cologne to see the RWE Garzweiler operation, where bucketwheel mining and bulk material conveyor technology are employed on a massive scale.

14 MIDAS MISSION As the discovery rate and grades fall, John Chadwick looks at ideas and technologies to get the most out of the world’s gold deposits.

28 HEAVY HITTERS From gear cutting to foundry casting and supply

14

of high strength steel plate, a number of heavy engineering groups form the backbone of many forms of mining equipment, from chutes and hoppers to truck bodies and mill liners, reports Paul Moore.

40 UNDERGROUND ACCESS Paul Moore examines some key hoisting technology and hoist project updates, along with shaft sinking and development news from

28

major projects

50 PROJECT FOCUS – GRAPHITE John Chadwick looks at the graphite market and four projects on different continents, StratMin Global Resources in Madagascar, Bissett Creek and Albany in Canada and Kookaburra Gully in South Australia.

54 HIGH PROFILE – SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC Paul Moore spoke to Greg Magdanz, Director of Schneider Electric’s Mining, Minerals and Metals Competency Centre and Fabio Mielli, Mining, Metals and Minerals Segment Manager, about

40 50

its specific mining offering and scope.

COVER: Gekko Systems www.im -minin g.com

The front cover this month is a photo of a modular gravity plant installed in Mongolia

MAY 201 3

by Australia’s Gekko Systems. The plant comprises an InLine Pressure Jig IPJ2400, a

Informe d and

cleaner IPJ1500, two InLine Spinners and a gold room to cater for the high grade

in-dept h editor ial on

the wo rld min ing ind ustry

alluvial deposit at REO’s Khuush mine located in Bayankhongor Province.

Commissioning of this plant is underway and expected to be completed shortly.

Gekko’s ability to deliver and install a fully operational plant in a fraction of the time required for conventional process plants has won high praise from REO. Distinguishing features of the installation include a fully-heated process plant building and heated process water storage to combat the extreme cold of winter.

iler

www.gekkos.com

AROUND THE WORLD

3 The Leader

4 World Prospects

GOLD RE COVERY UNDERG ROUND ACCESS HEAVY ENGINE ERING PROJEC T FOCU S – GRAP HITE OPERAT ION FO RWE Ga CUS: rzwe

56 Forthcoming events

IBC Classifieds MAY 2013 | International Mining 1

It was a 32’ x 32’ SAG mill at a gold mine owned by Newmont Mining in Yanacocha, Peru. A serious pegging problem had developed -- where the grinding balls were getting pegged in the discharge slots on the grates. And where operators were continually shutting things down to dislodge them – with a costly and time-consuming torching process.

Rubber proves tougher than steel at Yanacocha mine.

R&D. For a real world.

Our Advanced Research Center is constantly looking for new ideas and new materials to do the job better, more efficiently, more profitably, with less maintenance and downtime. Like looking at new metals and composites for unique and demanding applications – like the SAG Mill in Peru. This is not ivory tower engineering. This is get on a plane and get to the job engineering.

This is get into the dirt, mud, gravel and ore engineering. Real engineering for a real world.

How Weir Minerals kept a SAG mill from grinding to a halt.

The answer? Give Weir Minerals engineering

Plus, the grates were made to the exact

a call. No quick, over-the-phone diagnostics.

same dimensions as the existing grates –

A team of engineers quickly came to the site,

for fast, seamless integration.

climbed inside the mill, and started working

The system worked. And the Weir

on an answer. Working with Weir Minerals

engineers stuck around to make sure.

engineers back at the office, the team

Custom, on-the-job engineering by a

developed a composite metal-rubber grate

team of dedicated professionals. And a

with slots that had just the right amount

solution that did the job. Keeping the

of “give.” The slots were tough enough

operation productive. Keeping it profitable.

to keep the balls from passing through yet

Keeping it from “grinding to a halt” for

flexible enough to keep them from

excessive maintenance.

getting pegged.

Learn why this matters to you at : whatismaterialmatters.com Copyright © 2013, Weir Slurry Group, Inc.. All rights reserved. MATERIAL MATTERS and the M2 Material Matters logo are trademarks of Weir Minerals Europe Ltd; WEIR is a trademark and/or a registered trademark of Weir Engineering Services Ltd.

THE LEADER

VO LU M E 9 • N U M B E R 5

Junior makes big impression in Morocco Publisher John Chadwick B.Sc. Min Eng Email: john@im-mining.com Editor Paul Moore B.Sc (Hons), M.Sc. Email: paul@im-mining.com Assistant Editor Robert Pell B.Sc. (Hons) Email: robert@im-mining.com

aya Gold & Silver, with a market cap of

M

Khouribga-Jorf Lasfar

just over C$30 million, is punching

pipeline is a major

considerably over its weight in Morocco.

breakthrough.

Among its five properties in the kingdom (to be

Transportation costs

covered in detail in a future issue of International

between the mine in

Mining) are Zgounder and Boumadine. The former

Khouribga and the

Editorial Board Professor Malcolm Scoble Robert E. Hallbauer Chair in Mining Engineering., University of BC, Vancouver

project is the re-opening of a significant silver

production plant in Jorf

mine, expecting to produce 85,000 oz/month by

Lasfar will be reduced eight-fold,” decreasing

early next year, and can quickly provide valuable

from $8/t to $1/t. “The pipeline will lead to

Jeff Roschyk Vice President of Product Management & Marketing, P&H Mining, USA

cashflow for further development.

more savings in energy and in the investments

Peter Knights BMA Chair & Prof. of Mining Engineering University of Queensland

with L’Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines (ONHYM), to acquire 85% of the

potential. In March le ministre de l'Energie, des

Stephen Stone West One Management Perth, Western Australia

Boumadine polymetallic deposit located in the

Mines, de l'Eau et de l'Environnement, Fouad

Anti-Atlas mountains of eastern Morocco.

Douiri, announced that a new mineral industry

Dr. Andrew M. Robertson President, Robertson GeoConsultants Vancouver, Canada.

Boumadine has historical resources (1992) of

strategy and mining code will be presented over

4,096,000 t grading 3.8% Zn, 1.5% Pb, 200 g/t

this year. It is considered very important that

Ag and 3.5 g/t Au and has great potential for

mining investment be encouraged. He described

Ed McCord Project Consultant Caterpillar Global Mining, USA

resource expansion within the 32 km2 property.

the strategy as an essential part of promoting

Jason Nitz Mining Engineer

reputation of Maya’s President, Noureddine

In March, Maya entered into a joint venture

Boumadine was much sought after, but the

needed to dry locally recovered phosphate rock.”

Morocco is very under explored but has great

investment in mining and exploration.

Aside from OCP, Managem is the largest

Mokaddem, his standing in the Moroccan mining

mining company. The jewel in its crown is Imiter,

industry and the company’s planning for its

the largest silver mine in Africa, with an annual

Simon Tarbutt Consultant, Santiago, Chile

projects to provide the best advantages for local

capacity of 7.7 Moz. Maya recently won a

Dr. Mike Daniel Comminution Process Consultant Ausenco Minerals & Metals, Australia

populations carried a great deal of weight in the

property close to Imiter which is due for some

choice of Maya to be ONHYM’s partner.

intensive exploration in due course.

Dr Terry Mudder Managing Director, TIMES Ltd, USA

Editorial Enquiries: Tel: +44 (0)1442 870 829 Fax +44 (0)1442 870 617

Mining represents some 21% of the value of

I visited Cie Minière de Guemassa, outside

Morocco’s exports and employs over 40,000

Marrakech, in the 1990s. It is just one of the

people directly. So, it is a very important part of

major modern mining projects in Morocco in

Advertising Sales: Phil Playle Email: phil@im-mining.com +44 1442 87 77 77

the Moroccan economy, but much of that

which Mokaddem has been a key player. This

economic input comes from one company (OCP)

Managem operation remains one of the

and product, which is not even covered by the

kingdom’s primary metal mining operations. The

Advertising Production Lynne Lane Email: lynne@im-mining.com

country’s mining convention. OCP accounted for

operation was initially designed for a rated

28% of Moroccan exports in 2011.

capacity of 3,000t/d, processing run-of-mine ore

Publishing Consultant Robin Peach

Morocco contains about 3/4 of the world's

averaging 10.5% Zn, 3% Pb, 0.3% Cu and 60 g/t

known phosphates reserves. Phosphate production

Ag. The process plant has recently been

Design & Production Trevor Sheldon Email: sheldonmann@gmail.com

in 2011 was 28.1 Mt. OCP is the world's largest

expanded to 6,000 t/d in order to treat ore

exporter and third largest producer of unrefined

blended with material trucked from the new

Website: www.im-mining.com

phosphate. Production of phosphates and

Drâa Lasfar mine, 15 km west of Marrakesh.

Annual Subscription Enquiries: Emma Smith Email: emma@im-mining.com

of phosphate rock, of which it exported 9.7 Mt and

Maya is making an impression and has strong

supplied 18.4 Mt to its chemical processing

connections in the Moroccan mining industry.

Annual Subscription UK and Europe £160, €230 Rest of the world US$270

facilities in Morocco. By 2020, OCP aims to double

Guy Goulet, CEO of Maya, gives a number of

its mining and triple its chemical capacities, with

reasons for being in Morocco. These include the

International Mining (ISSN: 1747 - 146X) is published monthly by Team Publishing GBR and distributed in the USA by SPP, 17B S Middlesex Ave, Monroe NJ 08831. Periodicals postage paid at New Brunswick, NJ. Postmaster: send address changes to International Mining, 17B S Middlesex Ave, Monroe NJ 08831

some $13.5 billion set aside for this.

good infrastructure, a favourable legislative and

Printed by The Manson Group, St Albans © Team Publishing Ltd 2013 ISSN 1747 -146X IM uses, as preference, SI units throughout, so, for example, all tonnes are metric unless otherwise stated.

All dollars are US unless otherwise stated

derivatives was 32.6 Mt in 2011. It produced 28.1 Mt

OCP intends to establish three new mining

In the company of these two large companies,

tax environment, and a strategic location with

operations in Khouribga and a fourth in Gantour.

access to global markets. In addition to the five-

At the same time, four new washing plants will

year tax-free for new mining projects, there is a

begin operation with a five-fold increase in

further 50% tax reduction for miners exporting

capacity. The processes used, it says, “will be

their products. And he says, mining is “viewed as

driven by the Group's objectives to conserve

a driver of economic development.”

water and electricity.”

OCP is moving from trains to pipelines: less water, less energy, less expensive. “The

John Chadwick Publisher john@im-mining.com

MAY 2013 | International Mining 3

WORLD PROSPECTS

Faster and easier Sandvik bolting system provides better ground support andvik Mining has introduced a new concept in ground reinforcement for underground hard rock mines that is faster and easier to install than traditional systems, while giving better, stronger ground support, it reports.

Designed and developed in Australia by Sandvik Mining’s Newcastle-based Manager for Rock Reinforcement Development, Mietek Rataj, the Sandvik Mechanical Dynamic (MD) rockbolt replaces a range of ground support systems, including resin bolts, stiff split sets, and even cable bolting in some instances.

“The problem with resin bolting is that it’s not reliable due to the relatively large-diameter holes which have to be drilled in hard rock mines,” said Rataj. “This is because the resin is frequently poorly mixed so the bolts are not anchored properly in the rock. In addition, their installation can be very slow, and they are relatively rigid two-pass bolts, so they are not suitable for dynamic ground conditions.”

“In contrast, the MD Rockbolt is a dynamic bolt which is able to yield and withstand changing ground conditions, it’s a one-pass system, with no need for any grouting,” he said.

S

4 International Mining | MAY 2013

According to Peter Young, Product Line Manager for the MD Rockbolt, the new system is a permanent bolt that is less sensitive to poor ground conditions, such as weak rock mass. It is easier to install, and there are far fewer issues during installation, so that operators prefer working with it, he said.

MD Rockbolts are galvanised, come in 2.4 and 3 m lengths, and are rated to hold up to 30 t. The system is particularly suitable for moving ground conditions as it slides at high load, maintaining high capacity support.

“Similar to a standard friction bolt, the MD

bolt is installed in a single pass, with a simple twist to anchor it once it’s in the ground,” Young explained.

“There’s no chemical insertion or grout injection required, and no need to come back later to tension up the rebar.

“All up, this system saves money and provides significantly better ground support than the alternatives.”

Young said the MD Rockbolts were competitive in price with other ground bolting systems. “Resin bolts may be less expensive, but by the time you add in the resin, plus all the time and labour required, and the resin wastage, then our system comes out well in front,” he said.

In addition, MD Rockbolts provide a better ground support solution. “They are a direct replacement for resin bolts, so anywhere you can put in these bolts, you can use MD Rockbolts – plus you can put them into very challenging or difficult situations where other bolts just don’t work.

“They may even replace cable bolting to a degree. There is one application in Australia where the mine was able to delay the installation of their cable bolts from 25 m of driveage out to 50 m,” said Young.

WORLD PROSPECTS Located near Bendigo in central Victoria, Fosterville gold mine, owned and operated by Canadian-based Crocodile Gold Corp, is the state’s largest gold mine. It had encountered some areas of poor ground conditions, resulting in slow development advance rates and costly rehabilitation and was keen to try some innovative new products so it could stay at the forefront of ground support technology, explains Andreas Stiehl, Senior Rock Mechanics Engineer at Fosterville.

This led to the initiation of a trial of the MD Rockbolt and a successful two-year trial followed, which aimed to develop and test the concept in difficult mining conditions. The outcome of this trial resulted in the replacement of the use of resin bolts with MD Rockbolts.

Stiehl said the MD Rockbolts are currently primarily used in ore development areas, where the mine is experiencing extensive ground deformation as a result of changing stress conditions, as well as in some older parts of the mine where rehabilitation is required.

Previously the mine used a combination of split sets and resin bolts. However, it found that split sets were unable to hold the load capacity required in areas of high deformation and resin bolts were at times too time-consuming to install.

This is because they are a double-pass bolt, a process which involves inserting the resin up the drilled hole either by hand or mechanically. Then the process requires inserting and spinning the bar, holding it for a set period, then tensioning the bar.

“This process results in a number of issues

that can influence the ultimate performance of the resin bolt, such as the quality of the resin, the hole being too long, the hole being too large in diameter and the correct spin and hold time,” said Stiehl.

“In comparison, the MD Rockbolt is a singlepass bolt which is installed in a similar way as the split set bolt, in that the operator drills the hole, puts the bolt in, and tensions it. This reduced the majority of the quality-control issues that had been encountered when using the resin bolt.

“As well as reducing quality control issues, the MD Rockbolt introduced a new indicator in the tensioning process, which enabled the monitoring of quality control of bolts at the point of installation,” he said. “The indicator process works by stalling the drifter on the jumbo when tensioning the MD bolt; if the drifter does not stall it provides an indication of an issue with the bolt.

“This measure has received positive feedback from the operators as they know straight away whether it has worked or not,” explained Stiehl.

“The new system has also meant considerable improvements in ground control quality and performance, allowing the mine to develop further and accommodate a larger scale of ground deformation before it needs to install deeper ground support such as cable bolts.

“The new system has brought us more time in the life of our ground support, and ultimately costs us less, with a reduction in rehabilitation,” Stiehl continued.

He said one of the key aims of the trial was to achieve a higher load-bearing capacity than was being achieved through the use of split sets, which were being rated at approximately 10 t. In the trial the MD Rockbolt was achieving load bearing capacities of over 20 t and a total deformation length of 150-200 mm.

Stiehl noted that throughout the trial process, whenever issues were uncovered they were reported straight away to Sandvik, which enabled a collaborative approach to be taken in resolving issues and improving the bolt. “This collaborative approach has led to the bolts now working as designed,” he said.

“The trial process has led to positive feedback from the operators, as the Sandvik MD Rockbolts are easy to install and they are also fully aware of the capabilities of the bolts as they were an integral part of the trial process.

Since the Fosterville experience the system has gone into use in mines in Mt Isa and Western Australia, and is being trialled in South Australia and Tasmania, as well as mines in Canada and China.

“Recently an in-situ dynamic test on the MD Rockbolt was carried out at Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines (KGCM) in Western Australia, with the results strongly indicating suitability of the system for ground support in seismic conditions.

“Additionally, the WA School of Mines (WASM) has recently carried out drop testing, and will be releasing its results in the next few weeks,” he said. www.sandvik.com

Reliability is always the key in bolt optimization Mines and quarries are riddled with large, heavy-duty machines built specifically for crushing and drilling through solid rock. For some of these machines, strong vibrations aren’t a consequence of their operations – it is their operation. But for all their strength and durability, it can often be the smaller bolted joints that buckle first...

The Nord-Lock Group is a world leader in bolt securing systems.

We offer a unique combination of bolting expertise and a wide product range, including multifunctional wedge-locking solutions and Superbolt tensioners. We look forward to being your partner in bolt optimization!

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WORLD PROSPECTS

Tenova Bateman Technologies modular plant for Kumba iron ore R&D

UHDMS site from feed reception elevation at 50% civil completion enova Bateman Technologies Modular Business Unit has been awarded a contract

by Kumba Iron Ore Ltd, to supply a 50 t/h modular beneficiation plant for Sishen mine, in South Africa’s Northern Cape Province. This follows Kumba Iron Ore and Exxaro Resources signing a Joint Development Agreement in April 2012 to commercialise the ultra high dense medium separation (UHDMS) technology concept developed by Exxaro.

The LSTK contract for a plant as awarded in September 2012, will be commissioned and handed over to the client by the end of May 2013.

The plant will be used to demonstrate the commercial feasibility of separating iron ore at operating densities above 4.2 g/cm3, using the cyclone-based UHDMS technology. Should demonstration runs prove successful, this would offer Kumba Iron Ore the opportunity to improve separation efficiencies above that of the jigging technology with UHDMS, in some particle size fractions. With the rheology of the ferrosilicon medium being determined by Exxaro, specific applications will be demonstrated, including the use of UHDMS technology to process jig discard and low grade ore. The ferrosilicon is also produced at Exxaro’s FerroAlloys production facility,which boasts a superior gas atomised product with unique properties that compliment the technology. Should the UHDMS plant design

T

demonstrate the commercial ability to operate at anticipated high cut densities, it is expected to achieve significantly higher yields at the same product grades compared to jigging technology, due to the superior separation efficiencies that are achievable. The potential to process lower grades of iron ore will also be an option. This is in line with plans for future expansion and optimisation of production, through low grade projects at Kumba Iron Ore. Operating at high densities and processing ore which has a high percentage of near density material was not possible until Exxaro successfully proved this on a 30 t/h pilot plant on this type of ore. An Exxaro team has been developing and piloting this technology over many years and believes that the technology is superior to current beneficiation technologies in processing these types of ores. For many years, DMS plants have been successfully designed using washability data, with the data was restricted to lower density applications. Exxaro has also developed the capability to characterise ores at high densities (up to SGs of 4.7), which could not be done previously, and which has now enabled quantification of the potential and value of the UHDMS technology.

The demonstration plant will assist Kumba Iron Ore in unlocking the value of this material.

The Tenova Bateman Technologies modular plant, complete with feed and product/waste

Lightweight sat comms for remote mine and exploration sites SSLGlobal says its lightweight Broad-IP FlyAway system leverages off its worldclass Ku-band VSAT network to provide broadband speeds of up to 8 MB for users needing the flexibility of rapid deployment but with higher data needs than current mobile L-Band services currently provide.

With a range of flexible, unlimited airtime packages the Broad-IP FlyAway system is “ideally suited for short term operations in areas with insufficient terrestrial connectivity.”

Carried in just three cases, all of which are IATA compliant for check-in on commercial flights, the system, using NSSLGlobal’s unique self-pointing application, can be set up easily, to provide a broadband connection in minutes.

Users can also take advantage of a Premium

N

6 International Mining | MAY 2013

Voice service allowing high quality voice calls globally from just $0.25.

The Broad-IP FlyAway pointing App guides the user through two easy deployment stages:■ Coarse pointing uses the built-in GPS, electronic compass and tilt sensors to locate the correct angles for the satellite ■ Fine pointing uses the SNR and Eb/No of the DVB modem’s two-way radio link to fine-tune the azimuth, elevation and polang for optimal signal quality.

handling arrangements, will be fully equipped with instrumentation and control systems as required for demonstration purposes, as well as for data gathering needs. The plant will be designed to accommodate the higher density material being processed, and will include pumps designed to pump the ferrosilicon medium at the required densities and volume.

Tenova Bateman Technologies’ standard size modular DMS plants are widely used and proven for a range of commodities and in particular, are well suited for areas with hard to access terrains. The plants are available as standard permanent-fixture processing facilities, as well as demonstration scale units for process development testing. The company is committed to developing and acquiring novel technologies that will optimise clients’ operations, as well as make possible the processing and beneficiation of ores that were previously not feasible or practical using conventional technologies. A number of alternative technologies for ultra high DMS for high density bulk materials are being developed by Tenova Bateman Technologies and are nearing commercial application.

Kumba Iron Ore, a member of the Anglo American plc group, is a leading value-adding supplier of high quality iron ore to the global steel industry. It’s Sishen mine is one of the world’s seven largest open-pit mines. www.tenovagroup.com The NSSLGlobal designed Pointing App removes the need for technical experience or a spectrum analyser the user can perform a fast lineup to quickly deploy the Ku-band Broad-IP terminal.

In addition to facilitating seamless pointing of the antenna the smartphone app also provides extensive trouble shooting assistance as well as a web browser, email client and SIP client for VOIP calls. www.nsslglobal.com

Let your skills take off

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OPERATION FOCUS

Rhenish giants

Paul Moore visited the Rhenish lignite mining area near Cologne to see the RWE Garzweiler operation, where bucketwheel mining and bulk material conveyor technology are employed on a massive scale t is common for people to assume coal mining in Europe is an industry in gradual decline, however, the figures sometimes prove otherwise. While it is true that Germany’s deep hard coal mines operated by Ruhrkohle (RAG) will close by 2018, the brown coal (lignite) industry remains very strong and unlike the deep mines, is not supported by state subsidy, it is profitable in its own right. One kilowatt hour of electricity in four in Germany is still generated from lignite, in that as an energy source, it has a share of some 25% of total German power generation. But in North Rhine-Westphalia, 40% of the power generated is on a lignite basis – using lignite from the opencast mines of the Rhenish lignite mining area between Cologne, Aachen and Mönchengladbach. Lignite extraction by RWE Power AG totals 100 Mt a year, of which about 90% goes into power generation in the company’s power plants located near the mines. The rest is upgraded to make briquettes, pulverised lignite, fluidised bed lignite and coke – for use in households and industrial furnaces, say, but also for waste water and flue gas cleaning. RWE Power itself has a long-term workforce of 10,000 employees in the lignite mining area. Some 1,750 of them work in

I

8 International Mining | MAY 2013

the division of the Garzweiler opencast mine.

This includes the lignite mine of the same name, the company‘s complete railway operations and further operating units.

For 2012, the mine extracted a total of 38.7 Mt of lignite and removed 135.5 Mm³ of overburden. In addition to RWE itself, the largest other company on-site is Rheinische Baustoffwerke (RBS), a fully owned subsidiary, which produces sand and gravel for aggregate and other markets. External contractors used

Part of the 95 km of belt conveyor system at Garzweiler

include Rema Tip Top, which handles rubber belt vulcanisation and Hoffmann, which operates the crawler dozer and road grader fleet. Another group, Mund, handles the cleaning of the bucketwheel excavators. For electrical infrastructure, RWE at Garzweiler works together with all three of Siemens, ABB and Cecelec but the SPC standard is provided by Siemens.

Location and setting At present, the Garzweiler mine extends west of Grevenbroich as far as the southern area of Jüchen township. To secure the energy supply,

Bucketwheel number

Capacity

Operating crew

Service weight

Bucketwheel diameter

Length

Height

1 4 1 1 (Krupp Bagger 288) Spreader number 1

60,000 m3/day 110,000 m3/day 200,000 m3/day 240,000 m3/day

4 per shift 4 per shift 4 per shift 4 per shift

3,500 t 8,000 t 13,000 t 13,500 t

11.7 m 17.5 m 21.6 m 21.6 m

153 m 200 m 212 m 240 m

43 m 64 m 74 m 96 m

Capacity

Operating crew 2 per shift

Service weight 300 t

Discharge boom length 30 m

Length

Height

56 m

14 m

3 per shift

2,500 t

100 m

155 m

47 m

3 per shift

5,400 t

100 m

180 m

57 m

4 2

Ash spreader 30,000 m3/day 110,000150,000 m3/day 240,000 m3/day

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OPERATION FOCUS

The Krupp Bagger 288 is the largest working mobile machine in the world Garzweiler I mining operations continued westward, from 2006 on, into mining field Garzweiler II measuring 48 km². It contains 1.3 billion tonnes of lignite at a maximum depth of 210 m which is to be extracted by 2044.

Production varies between 35 and 40 Mt per year with a 4:1 stripping ratio. The lignite is deposited in three seams which, taken together, are 40 m thick on average. The coal is found from 40 m to a maximum of 210 m depth.

10 International Mining | MAY 2013

The extraction technology means that the mine is divided into two long adjacent main segments: the extraction side where bucketwheel excavators mine the lignite and overburden, and the dumping side where spreaders distribute the overburden. The two sides are connected by kilometre-long conveyor belts, so that the mining equipment forms a complete extraction chain. The conveyor belts transport the coal and overburden to a distribution belt junction. There, the material masses are conducted along various transport routes: the coal is moved to interim storage

facilities in the coal bunker on the rim of the opencast mine, or it is transported directly to the adjacent power plants or upgrading factories. Depending on distance, transportation is by conveyor belt or railway.

The overburden is transported by conveyor belt to the depleted side of the opencast mine, the so-called inside dump where it is distributed in layers by the spreaders.

In the course of the transition to the Garzweiler II follow-up mine, RWE Power erected a new belt junction not far from the Jackerath motorway interchange and, hence, in the southwest of the mining field. It is the hub for mass transport inside the opencast mine and the pivot for its further development. The opencast mine will slew in a huge arc westwards, and the A61 motorway will be moved to allow for new mining operations starting in 2017. To maintain traffic, in the rear section of the Garzweiler opencast mine, between the new Jackerath motorway interchange and the Holz interchange, the new A44N motorway section will be built mainly on the dump base. Other big projects in terms of mine evolution include the erection of a dam for the new road, which is due to be finished in 2016; the closing of the old A63 motorway in 2017/2018; as well as the closing of the southern dumpsite and transport of spreader systems to a temporary valley in 20152017.

OPERATION FOCUS Bucketwheel extraction The bucketwheel excavators are among the world’s largest machines, and IM was able to tour the largest single machine, the Krupp Bagger 288,which is 96 m high and 240 m long. weighing in at 13,500 t. In addition to Krupp, other machines at the site were originally manufactured by O&K and LMG, with the Bagger 288 having been commissioned in 1978 and is the youngest of the fleet; the Bagger 258 is the oldest, having been delivered in 1956.

Interestingly, most of the maintenance and component supply to these machines is conducted in-house, which includes manufacture of new bucket wear parts and crawler sections. As stated, the bucketwheel excavators mine both overburden and coal.

Following bucket extraction, the mined material slides onto a conveyor belt via an inclined plane.

The bucket wheel is mounted at the end of a 70 m long girder boom which also bears the conveyor belt for hauling the bulk material. The bucketwheel boom forms part of the slewable superstructure of the excavator and can be raised and lowered. This is done by a hoist winch on the counterweight boom. Ropes transmit the necessary lift forces via two steel lattice pylons. The ballast at the end of the counterweight boom offsets the weight of the bucketwheel boom. In this way, the excavator can extract material from as much as 28 m

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below the terrain rim (deep cut) and from 50 m high slopes (high cut). The weight of the excavator rests on 12 crawler tracks in three groups, each 3.8 m wide, 15.3 m long and some 3 m high. The track is electrically driven, with the travel-gear motors of the biggest excavators having a nominal output of 2,100 kW, equivalent to 2,816 hp. This enables them to travel at 10 m per minute. The excavator’s superstructure and chassis are connected via a slewing ring. An intermediate bridge links the excavator proper with the loading units, which are likewise mobile, with the coal or overburden dropping onto the conveyor belt which leads from the excavator to the belt junction. So while not strictly speaking an IPCC operation, the bucketweel operations at Garzweiler display some of the world’s most advanced linked conveyor systems so are very good examples of what can be achieved with forward planning.

The mining capacity of the excavators in opencast pits has increased considerably down the decades. The first bucket-chain dredger in the Rhenish lignite mining area was able to remove about 2,000 cubic metres of naturally grown soil per day around the year 1900, the daily output of the Krupp Bagger 288 is 120 times higher: 240,000 t of coal or cubic metres of overburden per day. Four men are needed per shift to operate the bucketwheel excavator: the

excavator operative on duty controls the big unit from a cabin located close to the bucketwheel.

The group leader monitors driving manoeuvres and digging work from the ground and radios instructions to the operative. The loading-unit driver sits in an operator cabin above the transporting conveyor belt and keeps an eye on the proper transfer of the coal or overburden.

The other crew members relieve the equipment operatives on a regular basis before their concentration runs out.

The Bagger 262 is the innovation flagship excavator in the Garzweiler mine and as such has been equipped by a consortium of companies with the latest automation features.

In order to minimise belt overload, prevent over torque on the bucket wheel drive and maximise productivity a predictive cutting assistance solution based indurad’s 2D Radar technology has been implemented. The solution is measuring the face profile on both sides of the bucket wheel in order to calculate the span being cut for a predictive volume flow automation. Besides, the same iDRR sensors are used for manless operation of the machines hopper car, where the overburden is passed from the excavator to the bench conveyor. Finally the whole machine is using differential GPS to visualise coal and overburden horizons as well as obstacles like de-watering wells.

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MAY 2013 | International Mining 11

OPERATION FOCUS

Lignite accounts for 40% of the energy supply in North Rhine-Westphalia

Conveyors and spreaders The latest conveyor belt statistics obtained by IM from the visit are impressive. The current total length of all conveyor belt systems at the mine stands at 95 km. In terms of 2012 conveyor belt movements, the mine has 12 shiftable conveyor flights and achieved 90 belt shifts in the year at an average of 16 hours per shift; with 100 to 130 m of movement per shift, and the longest flight moved being 4km in length.

The drive stations are equipped with motors that accelerate the belt up to 7.5 m per second or 27 km/h. The steel cord belts utilise 200 m long rubber sections and are up to 2.80 m wide.

The two end points of the conveyors – a drive station at the head of the plant and a return station at the other end – are up to 5 km apart.

Long transportation routes or any sections that are not straight are composed of several sequential conveyors. The conveyor belts on the extraction side lead to the belt junction. There, they cross the belts that lead to the spreaders, the coal bunker or coal-handling systems. At the node, each arriving belt can be connected to each departing belt: the staff at Operations Monitoring – the control centre – can flexibly steer the material flows, with overburden and coal directed toward to the spreaders, power plant, train-loading system or coal bunker. This ensures an uninterrupted supply of coal. As stated, another key IPCC relevance to these operations is their perfecting the rapid shifting of conveyor belts, achieved through a shifting action involving the use of pipe laying crawlers with crane booms. Two or more of these pipelaying crawlers lift the conveyor belt via a lateral rail and drag it to its new position in several passes. Most of the drive and return stations in the mine are mobile, since it would be too costly and time-consuming to dismantle, transport and re-assemble them at a new site. Older, shiftable

12 International Mining | MAY 2013

drive stations are equipped with walking gear: hydraulic stamps lift the station, push it forward and set it down again. Modern drive stations are moved on crawlers. The flat chain-operated vehicles drive underneath the station, and carry it to its new deployment site.

Moved along several spreader conveyor belts, the gravel, sand or clay reaches the discharge boom, which is up to 100 m long, heightadjustable and slewable. Each spreader is operated by a crew of three and is able to distribute up to 240,000 m3 of earth per day and position it exactly.

The actual coal supply for power plants and upgrading facilities needs to be guaranteed, so significant tonnages are stored in a 600,000 t capacity coal bunker. This facility also permits the coal to be separated or mixed to yield different qualities.

Logistics and power The Garzweiler and Hambach opencast mines are linked by rail with the Niederaussem, Neurath, Frimmersdorf and Goldenberg power plants. In addition, the lignite processing factories of Fortuna-Nord, Frechen and Ville/ Berrenrath obtain their raw material via the works railway. The Opencast Mine Engineering Centre at Frechen also has a rail link.

The main routes are the North-South and the Hambach railway lines. The 32 km-long double track of the North-South railway line links Frimmersdorf in the north with the HürthKnapsack industrial estate in the south. The journey at the usual speed of 60 km/h takes about 45 min. A 22 km long, double-track fork reaches the Hambach mine in about half an hour. The railway operations have 30 electric locomotives, 14 diesel engines and about 700 wagons – again, the maintenance of which is done by RWE itself. Each year, the works railway

transports some 60 Mt of raw lignite.

The trains are loaded semi-automatically in the mines. They travel through a loading bridge, on which a belt conveyor is located. Lignite, overburden or loess is filled into the wagons from above by funnel. In this area, the catenaries are located alongside the trains.

Since the engine driver cannot watch the loading from his end, his train is remotecontrolled by the loading operative during the 14 minute loading procedure. The factory branch lines transport an annual 1 Mt of upgraded products in wagons of the same type as those used by Deutsche Bahn. RWE Power puts them together to form trains and hands them over to external railway companies like Deutsche Bahn, Häfen- und Güterverkehr Köln or Neusser Eisenbahn for further transportation to customers. The railway unit – not least in view of the transport volumes involved – is one of Germany’s biggest private rail operators. In an international comparison, too, RWE Power‘s railway unit – in view of the high axle loads of up to 35 t – is one of the world‘s biggest heavyduty railways.

Large power demands are made by the electric drive motors of the conveyor belts, excavators and spreaders. Lines are reeled and unreeled on built-in cable drums. The electric motors are standardised and reach an output of maximum of 2,000 kW per engine. This is equivalent to 2,682 hp. The conveyor belts have a maximum drive power of 6 x 2,000 kW. An excavator in the 240,000 class uses up to 200,000 kW per day, enough to supply a town with 17,000 inhabitants. This is distributed across some 150 individual drives, including turning the bucketwheel, raising and lowering the bucket wheel boom, slewing the excavator‘s superstructure, moving the unit, operating the equipment‘s conveyor belts, driving the cranes and powering other units such as oil pumps, fans and winches. Energy is also needed for lighting the excavator and for room heating, firewater tanks and gear units.

Exposed overburden and lignite surfaces are kept moist by mobile automatic sprinklers or strengthened by sowing grass, rape or grain.

Jets on the bucket wheel of the excavator and at the belt transfer points continuously spray water to prevent the dust accruing in the extraction and transport of lignite from being whirled up.

On the rim of the opencast mine, some 300 spraying masts create a fine screen of water to bind the dust. Further stationary rotary sprinklers perform this task inside the opencast mine. To combat noise, the drives of excavators, spreaders and conveyor belts are encased for noise protection. The conveyor belts are fitted with low-noise idlers. Also, earth walls on the mine rim shield local townships from mining noise. IM

GOLD EXTRACTION

Midas mission As the discovery rate and grades fall, John Chadwick looks at ideas and technologies to get the most out of the world’s gold deposits he declining rate of new gold discoveries and grades across the global market during the last decade has accelerated over the last four years. Data and analysis from IntierraRMG reveals that the two-year period from 2003 to 2004 was the best in the study range, with over 400 Moz of new gold discovered. This includes Inferred, Indicated and Measured ounces with an average grade of 1.65 g/t. In contrast, 2005 and 2006 had the lowest number, with just over 150 Moz of new gold discovered - albeit with a similar grade.

Discoveries then increased significantly during 2007 to 2008 with greater than 390 Moz. The average grade also increased significantly to 2.65 g/t; the highest in the 10 year period.

Over the next two years, slightly more than 250 Moz were discovered with a declining grade of 1.25 g/t. This deterioration continued through 2011 and 2012 as the amount of new gold ounces discovered dipped below 225 Moz with a reduced grade of 1.17 g/t.

In this ten-year study period, Africa led the way with new discoveries of 479 Moz of gold with an average grade of 2.8 g/t. Next was

T

North America, although with significantly less new ounces of 290 Moz, and with a much lower grade of 1.3 g/t.

Europe had the third most new discoveries with 240 Moz but with a higher grade than North America of 2.0 g/t. South America recorded 188 Moz, whilst Australasia saw 74 Moz of new discoveries with an average grade of 1.4 g/t.

Glen Jones, Western Hemisphere Director for IntierraRMG concluded, “With global drilling activity waning, IntierraRMG forecasts that the next few years will continue the trend with fewer new gold discoveries.”

Once a deposit has been discovered, Whittle Consulting has new software that it claims “increases mining NPV by 5% to 35%, or substantially more.” It has announced a significant upgrade to its in-house 'Prober' software. After more than three years of development, prototyping and testing, the latest version 'Prober C' enables intricate modelling of multiple steps in the mining value chain, bringing technologies such as mine-to-mill, selective blasting, ore sorting, and complex comminution strategies into the strategic planning process.

The world's declining rate of new gold discoveries and grades Source: IntierraRMG

14 International Mining | MAY 2013

MDM Engineering Group has signed an EPC contract for the execution of a 2.4 Mt/y gold plant for African Barrick Gold’s (ABG) Bulyanhulu Process Plant Expansion project in Tanzania. ABG is the largest gold producer in Tanzania with a portfolio of four operating mines and is the owner and operator of Bulyanhulu Gold Mine. MDM successfully completed the bankable feasibility study in December 2011 followed by value engineering in March and April 2012. MDM is now executing the project which includes construction of a new 2.4 Mt/y CIL (carbon in leach) facility to process tailings reclaimed from the historical tailings concurrently with current flotation tailings “New technologies in ore characterisation and extraction processes enable substantial economic and energy saving opportunities.

Developments in these areas, led by our alliance partner JKTech, have clear operational benefits, and now we can harness their strategic significance by re-optimising the pits/phases or underground mines, mining methods, life-ofmine schedules, cut-off grade and stockpiling strategies, processing policies, product strategies, logistics and capital scaling decisions to apply these technologies in an integrated fashion. This will compound economic performance and capital efficiency to new levels.” explains Whittle Consulting CEO – Gerald Whittle.

For the last decade, Whittle Consulting has helped mining companies substantially improve the cash flow profiles of projects and operations through an integrated approach of ‘Enterprise Optimisation’. “Invariably,” it claims, “the result is an increase in NPV of 5% to 35%, and sometimes substantially more. In many cases the net cash flow is doubled in the first three to five years, usually with little or no capital expenditure involved. As the trends continue towards lower grade and problematic orebodies,

GOLD EXTRACTION escalating costs, scarce capital and diminishing margins – the Enterprise Optimisation capability will help progressive mining companies lead the way in terms of competitiveness and sustainability.”

Enterprise Optimisation, often nick-named the ‘Money Mining’ approach, is underpinned by Prober software developed by Jeff Whittle, founder of the Whittle business and the developer of the original Whittle Pit Optimisation software that has become the industry standard for mine planning over the last three decades. Jeff, now 83 years old, explains “We have been using the previous version Prober B for over a decade. It allows for three steps in the value chain: mining, processing and production, although with some clever but convoluted modelling more could be accommodated. The new Prober C supports unlimited sequential or parallel procedures, making more detailed yet more intuitive modelling of complex mining and processing technologies possible. This is then simultaneously optimised to maximise the value of the business.”

Recovery challenges The AMIRA P420 series of Gold Processing Technology projects has delivered industry focussed research outcomes for 25 years. The P420E extension project proposes new initiatives in the area of gold processing set within the context of the complex technical, human resource development and environmental challenges that face the gold industries of the second decade of the 21st century.

The 420E project attempts to address the challenges of the gold mining sector “with a dual approach to low grade ores; investigating physical methods for continuous early gangue rejection, with an emphasis on ore characterisation of the amenability for ores for continuous high mass gravity separation; and novel research into the production of environmentally benign gold lixiviants at site, with an emphasis on organic acids lixiviants through bacterial production. Both these approaches, one physical and the other chemical, seek to reduce 1) fine grinding of the total mined ore; 2) the associated capital and operating processing costs; and 3) environmental aspects of generating large amounts of tailings that have to be treated.”

The project further builds on the existing range of website models (www.goldknowledge. com).

Dr Will Goodall, Principal Consultant/Director of MinAssist notes that “efficient running and optimisation of a gold processing plant requires a deep understanding of the material to be processed, how it changes through the mining

16 International Mining | MAY 2013

Gold ore by QEMSCAN cycle and how it behaves. Many operations perform routine metallurgical audits to monitor process behaviour but these rely on chemical assays or basic test work and provide little fundamental understanding of the mineralogy or fundamental associations of gold or goldbearing grains. Adding a fundamental mineralogical understanding to routine metallurgical test work can provide great insights into the results and lead to more efficient programs that identify and address issues more quickly and at reduced overall cost.”

The last decade has seen rapid advancement in Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) based automated mineralogy systems, such as QEMSCAN and the Mineral liberation Analyser (MLA). These systems provide a tool for rapid evaluation of mineral composition using standardised sample preparation procedures.

Statistically representative populations of particles can be analysed to generate false colour mineral maps and determine important information such as mineral grain size, associations of minerals within particles and mineral locking/liberation characteristics. When applied to analysis of trace phases, such as gold and precious metals, automated mineralogy systems provide the capability to rapidly locate and identify grains with size greater than 1 micron and allow many more particles to be examined than would be possible by manual methods.

“The use of gold deportment characterisation as a tool for routine analysis in gold operations has always been hampered by difficulties in locating representative populations of gold particles,” Goodall continues. “Traditionally, gold deportment characterisation techniques relied on concentration of gold populations through methods such as heavy liquid separation, hydroseparation or superpanning. Optical methods to count gold grains would then be used to determine gold distribution. When invisible or sub-micron gold was present microprobe techniques such as TOF-SIMS might be employed.

“The improved speed and reliability of automated mineralogical systems means that greater numbers of particles may be examined

and the reliance on gold concentration by gravity methods can be reduced. This leads to greater efficiency in the gold deportment characterisation process and much more reliable determination of gold populations. In addition to location of gold grains, information about the ore mineralogy is gathered. This provides much more information about the process behaviour of an ore and means that gold deportment characterisation studies can become detailed process diagnostic tools.

“MinAssist is a leader in applying the information generated through gold deportment characterisation for process troubleshooting and optimisation. Operations can benefit greatly from using the advanced methodologies for gold deportment characterisation. Detailed evaluation of distinct ore types or feed blends can be used to guide process optimisation.

Understanding the fundamental gold populations and mineral associations in feed material can be used to highlight areas of inefficiency within the process. Targeted evaluation of process streams can be used to troubleshoot specific problems, identifying the root cause and reducing the need to additional forensic metallurgical testwork. Finally, routine evaluation of tailings streams is used as a ‘health check’ for the process, identifying whether gold losses are occurring and what is causing them.”

Using these tools operations are progressively moving from a reactive approach to process troubleshooting to a diagnostic and manageable approach. This saves time and money, leading to a smoother operation and reduced gold losses.

Gravity still improving Brenton Fitzgerald of Mineral Engineering Technical Services (METS) explains “gravity recovery of gold is an important method for the removal of free milling, coarse gold from a gold plant feed, resulting in a reduction of gold passing through the leach circuit.

“A gravity gold recovery in excess of 20-30% is generally considered sufficient to warrant the installation of a gravity gold circuit. Historically shaking tables and other low gravity methods have been used, however centrifuge concentrators such as the Falcon and Knelson

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GOLD EXTRACTION concentrators have brought greater efficiencies and recoveries and are now more common.

“The key motivation for the use of gold concentration is to avoid the occurrence of gold short circuiting, where the coarse gold is not leached prior to leaving the leaching circuit due to insufficient residence time.” The removal of coarse free milling gold from the leach feed reduces the short circuiting risk.

Furthermore a high gold grade to the leach circuit can result in higher gold loadings on the activated carbon. If so, this “can result in some gold in solution not being recovered by the carbon and being lost to tailings.

“Another issue that can arise is a higher number of elution cycles, resulting in higher operating costs. With the removal of the gravity recoverable gold the amount of gold passing through the carbon circuit is lower, reducing the risk of gold losses.”

Also, of course, gravity concentration has been a long-term environmentally friendly option for mineral separation. Over the past century its role in the recovery of minerals has declined with the development of other technologies for use in finer grind, higher capacity circuits. Recently, however, gravity concentration has been revisited and, in particular, as a complementary process to flotation. This, Gekko states, reflects, in part, the increasing costs of flotation chemicals.

“The development and application of a continuous gravity concentration unit, such as the InLine Pressure Jig (IPJ), is at the core of this innovative flowsheet. Contrary to other continuous gravity devices, such as spirals and traditional jigs, the IPJ has the capacity to recover mineral at relatively fine particle sizes down to 100 micron. Batch gravity concentrators are used in free gold recovery and their broader mineral application is limited due to their very low mass yield.”

Gravity separation of minerals at coarser sizes, as soon as liberation occurs, can boast significant advantages for downstream flotation treatment stages due to decreased surface area, more efficient dewatering and the absence of chemical coatings that can interfere with further processing. The combination of gravity concentration and flotation of valuable minerals has been successfully incorporated into many mineral processing circuits.

With a combination of gravity concentrators and/or flotation a combined concentrate containing a significant proportion of the total mineral in the feed, can now easily be recovered. Gravity concentration, alone or in conjunction with flotation, can produce a concentrate that is able to be fed directly to more intensive processing units.

Newcrest Mining and Gekko have developed a

18 International Mining | MAY 2013

three-year research and development program targeting improvements in energy efficiency, reduced operating costs, increased recovery and faster project implementation at existing and future planned projects for Newcrest. The benefits of this program for Newcrest will be achieved through the application of concepts to optimise crushing and grinding utilising technologies and flowsheets that focus on gangue rejection, pre-concentration and liberation at coarse grind size.

Increasingly the alliance with Newcrest is shifting towards supporting brownfield operations. Important studies and work is being undertaken to support the metallurgy teams with a particular focus at Cadia, Telfer, Hidden Valley and Bonikro.

Part of this collaboration is to identify areas for improvement in the recovery of gravity amenable gold at the Cadia Valley Operations.

These efforts focus on both primary gravity circuit and secondary treatment. Once enhancements are identified, they are then systematically worked through to resolution.

A further project being reviewed by the collaboration is the introduction of gangue rejection methods at the Telfer mine. The ore is described as having a “bricks and mortar” structure due to the valuable minerals being present within the more friable “mortar” component of the matrix. This gives the potential to separate waste from the valuable mineral by size, density and competency. This matrix has the potential to allow rejection of a significant portion of the ore for very little loss of valuable mineral using gravity methods.

Long term strategic relationships between gold processing specialists such as Gekko and operators such as Newcrest Mining allow for high quality data-based site performance analysis. These studies can not be performed over short periods and require a consistent and critical view to achieve best outcomes. “Using a specialist collaborative resource such as Gekko is providing significant insight into opportunities for improved operation at a number of our sites” says Paul Griffin, Metallurgy Manager, Newcrest Mining.

A structure of this type allows Gekko to allocate senior metallurgical skills on a consistent and systematic basis providing for a long-term investment in quality human resources. Gekko’s senior metallurgy skills are supported by Newcrest-funded graduate metallurgists who provide well directed resources for the undertaking of data collection and plant operation. Gekko’s Newcrest dedicated team is supported on an ad hoc basis by other members of Gekko’s Technical Team.

The benefits of such long-term collaboration agreements include the ability to convert

innovative ideas and concepts into more efficient processing.

Continuous gravity recovery Gekko says the “virtuous cycle” has been conceived as a tool to assist in developing opportunities to reject gangue or recover mineral at optimum crush/grind size. The aim of this model is to maximise throughput and minimise power consumption. Ideally particles are rejected or recovered at liberation size. This process allows for a smaller high-grade concentrate stream to be created which can then be treated intensively for recovery. Mineral or gangue can be rejected based on size (screening), density (gravity separation), surface chemistry (flotation) or magnetic properties.

Gekko’s InLine Pressure Jig. Used extensively in continuous gravity circuits installed world-wide recovering a range of minerals

To optimise the application of this cycle using continuous gravity in the separating step, Gekko developed the continuous gravity recovery (CGR) laboratory test work protocol. CGR protocols are an alternative to the standard batch gravity recovery (GRG) test work program offered by many.

Gekko explains: “GRG tests are typically used to determine batch centrifugal concentrator (BCC) recovery in a milling circuit; this produces low mass yield concentrates. BCC units are almost exclusively used in gold applications, whereas the CGR test and continuous concentrators such as the InLine Pressure Jig (IPJ) can be used for a variety of valuable minerals and at coarser size ranges and larger mass pulls.

Determining the recovery of minerals at their liberation size, grade recovery relationships, size recovery relationships, as well as recovery of gold and silver through intensive leach work, have formed part of Gekko’s critical areas of specialty.

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GOLD EXTRACTION CGR test work provides an improved and more accurate understanding of an ore’s response to gravity separation devices by plotting the recovery against mass yield. Over the past decade Gekko’s Technical Team, led by Technical Director Sandy Gray and Process Engineering Manager Tim Hughes, has researched and developed protocols to replicate the continuous gravity recovery of heavies and lights at their liberation size in mineral processing circuits. This has been an important development in assessing the performance opportunity of Gekko’s flowsheet concepts and equipment choices in processing plants.

There are two CGR test work programs that are designed to simulate single pass or recirculating load circuit designs.

The single pass test protocol was developed to simulate the performances of the IPJ in crushing and grinding circuits. Test work of this type is conducted on size fractions from 600 μm to a top crush size of 12 mm. The CGR test uses dense media separation (Gekko’s Viking Cone and/or cyclones) for size fractions above 1.2 mm and tabling for size fractions at less than 1.2 mm.

The heavies are collected at different mass yields and the recovery of valuable minerals is determined. From the resulting curve it is possible to determine the optimum mass yield; to recover or reject the heavies or lights.

Where the IPJ is to be installed in a crushing or grinding circulating load, the test is modified so that heavies are removed at the coarser size as it liberates. The lights from the test are then passed over the table again at finer crush or grind sizes to replicate the environment experienced in circulating loads.

Gekko says both these test work programs are becoming increasingly popular at its metallurgical laboratory as clients focus on strategies to reject gangue or pre-concentrate their target mineral in order to reduce capital, energy consumption and operating costs.

Gekko’s IPJ and flash flotation are complementary processing methods which remove gold or other minerals from a comminution circuit. In many cases they have been used together to maximise gold recovery in size ranges at which they operate. The combination of flash flotation and continuous gravity recovery covers the full size range from 10 μm up to millimetre sizes.

Using both the IPJ and flotation cells, Gekko has developed a test protocol utilising a Vertical Shaft Impactor (VSI) crushing stage, followed by coarse gravity recovery, then finally the use of flotation to recover fine particles unrecovered by gravity. This technique is expected to recover the minerals between the 100 μm and 250 μm size range where there is a cross over between the

20 International Mining | MAY 2013

recovery capabilities of both gravity recovery and flotation. Gravity separation can be used to recover the mineral down to the 100 μm size range. Flash flotation can then recover the particles from 150 μm down to 10 μm. This is clearly demonstrated in the chart below, adapted from the original version developed by Napier-Munn and Wills 2006.

This style of flowsheet has been used in Gekko’s Python plant and varies from conventional test protocols which recirculate the tails back through the crushing/grinding stages before it reports to the flotation cells. The Python was designed to treat ores that have high amenability to a combination of gravity and flotation. Its capability was based around coarse separations but is now being broadened to accept finer feeds and a wider range of mineral types.

Ish Grewal, President of Met-Solve Laboratories, in a recent paper1, commented that “the use of fluidised batch concentrators which produce very high ratios of concentration, have become common place for recovering free gold within milling circuits. These units capitalise on the ability of hydrocyclones to act as rougher units and retain gravity recoverable gold (GRG) within the grinding circuit. This allows the low mass yield batch centrifugal gravity units to achieve both high concentration ratios and high recoveries. Considerable research and understanding of gold’s behaviour within grinding circuits and recovery using fluidised batch centrifugal concentrators has advanced the knowledge required to predict and scale-up from laboratory results.

“The industry needs similar understanding and advancement of high mass yield centrifugal concentrators since they: ■ Have the lowest capital and operating cost of any mineral beneficiation method ■ Are environmentally friendly and do not

require addition of any chemicals and reagents making it easier to obtain permits ■ Significantly widen the particle size range amenable to gravity concentration.

“Research is also required to understand the interaction of various gravity concentration technologies especially when flow sheets are configured with roughing, scavenging and cleaning stages as is done in froth flotation.”

He recently told IM that “not a lot has changed significantly however we are working on improved methods for evaluating high mass yield gravity applications.” The Met-Solve Analytical Table (MAT) is the primary tool being used for this research. It is designed to determine the response of minerals and other mixed particulate materials to gravity concentration. Applications are diverse, but include quantitative analysis and concentration of such elements as gold, PGMs, mineral sands, chromite, tin, tantalum, tungsten, uranium, iron ore, cobalt, and many other metals and minerals.

There are two decks with the MAT. The flat deck is used to determine the gravity concentration amenability of fine and ultrafine samples from 212 μm to below 37 μm. This is useful for applications such as optimising flotation or gravity concentrates, evaluating desliming of heavy mineral deposits, or scavenging fine gold and sulphides from leach of flotation tailings.

The V-deck is used for coarse samples with particle sizes above 200 μm and up to 2 mm.

Typical applications include evaluation of free gold recovery in placer or alluvial deposits, cleaning of concentrates, or scavenging from tailings. In addition to the longitudinal oscillation found on the flat-deck, the V-deck employs a ‘knock’ mechanism, which pulls materials with a high specific gravity up the table along the ‘V’ groove.

“We hope to assemble and establish a

GOLD EXTRACTION

Extrac-Tec’s HPC-30 is suitable for alluvial/placer mining, tailings reprocessing and as a pre-concentrator to upgrade material after crushing. Here it is seen in operation with belt feeder/conveyor with hopper, which ensures a steady feed rate and efficient operations simpler and improved methodology and also develop correlational data with full scale operations. This requires a fair bit of coordination with mine sites that have such equipment (i.e. Falcon Continuous etc.), Grewal explains. He hopes to provide more information in the near future.

Sepro Mineral Systems Corp specialises in

22 International Mining | MAY 2013

the design and supply of equipment, systems and plants for gravity concentration, scrubbing, washing, screening, agglomeration, dense media separation, crushing and milling. Last year it was awarded a contract by Hemco Nicaragua, Nicaragua’s second largest gold producer, to supply a milling and gravity recovery circuit for its operation in the municipality of Bonanza in northeast Nicaragua.

The order includes a Falcon SB-5200B gravity gold concentrator, a 2.1 x 4.9 m Sepro-Sizetec single deck vibrating screen, a Sepro 2.1 x 6.0 m tyre driven, 330 kW drive, grate discharge primary grinding mill with a feed capacity of 50

t/h and associated pumps, cyclones, control room, MCC and structural steel.

This is a fully engineered package which required the client to provide only the concrete slabs, the feed conveyor, an appropriate building, and integration with the existing process. Sepro has been involved with the client from conceptual design through to detailed engineering and will provide support personnel through the commissioning process which was expected in early 2013.

Hemco’s General Manager, Alvaro Peralta, commented that “Sepro’s ability to supply all the major equipment as a single engineered package is a tremendous benefit to a relatively small operator such as ourselves with limited inhouse engineering resources”.

FLSmidth Knelson says it has recently made “several significant breakthroughs” in concentrate cone technology including the application-based CONE*Logic concentrate cone selection system. CONE*Logic assesses the specific metallurgical characteristics of the ore and key site conditions to produce a concentrate cone that it best matched to the application.

“We began development of the CONE*Logic system in 2003 and over the past nine years we have worked closely with many of our clients to devise a method of cone selection that looks at five fundamental factors of operation including mineralogical test data, target particle size and

GOLD EXTRACTION FLSmidth 5 t fuel oil fired carbon reactivation kiln

shape, circuit water constraints, water quality and ore abrasivity,” said Doug Corsan; FLSmidth Knelson Global Product Director.

In pursuit of creating the industry’s first fully -customised concentrate cone solution, FLSmidth Knelson has developed an innovative new cone manufacturing platform, the Matrix Cone. During extensive field testing over the past three years, the group says that the Matrix Cone has provided superior metallurgical recovery, enhanced fine particle recovery and has, on average, extended cone cleaning intervals by a factor of five times. “One of the main advantages of this new Matrix Cone technology is the ability to retro-fit these units into existing machines currently in operation around the world,” added Corsan.

Summit Valley gold FLSmidth is also receiving increasing enquiries from South Africa for its comprehensive and innovative range of precious metal extraction solutions.

Its offering in this area was significantly enhanced in 2009, when the company acquired the business of Utah-based Summit Valley, specialists in the design and fabrication of modular plants and equipment for the extraction of gold and silver. This technology includes the industry’s highest capacity EW cell used in precious metals recovery.

“Our part of the FLSmidth group specialises in individual components, but we also have worldclass capabilities in terms of combining these components into customer-specific integrated gold room and plant packages,” Summit Valley equipment specialist, Cameron Barton explained during a recent visit to South Africa. “We lead the world in gold electrolysis and mercury vacuum distillation and are among the top global companies offering indirect fired rotary kilns and packaged carbon strip systems.”

FLSmidth offers a patented new EW cell basketless cathode designed to decrease operator service time and decrease gold inventory in the cells, while providing the continued high cell efficiencies characteristic of Summit Valley cells. Gold sludge servicing is performed in the cell by washing precious metal sludge from the cathodes with a pressure sprayer and sludge is pumped from the cell bottom via the sludge outlet flange to a sludge filter. Since the cathodes are serviced in the cell, less cathode handling is required during servicing and this minimises operator exposure to toxic metals when metals such as mercury, arsenic and cadmium are present in EW solutions. The new electrodes eliminate the need for cathode baskets.

FLSmidth’s patented innovative split Zadra carbon elution process harnesses variable valve timing and an additional strip vessel to boost production levels by as much as 30% on existing plants and reduce the cost of a new plant by the same percentage.

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MAY 2013 | International Mining 23

GOLD EXTRACTION

Sandra K part of Colombia Gold's Segovia operations. Historically, grades at Segovia, one of the top ten producing mines by grade in the world, have averaged in the range of 12 to 14 g/t. However, in the third and fourth quarters of 2012, grades averaged approximately 9 g/t due to the temporary depletion of higher grade zones in the levels currently being mined at Providencia and El Silencio and, to a lesser extent, the processing of some lower grade stockpiles. Through mid-March 2013, head grades continue to average approximately 9 g/t as mine development activities progress, it is expected that head grades will begin to show some improvement in the second quarter, increasing to an average of about 10 g/t in the second half of 2013 The company also designs and manufactures indirect heated carbon regeneration kilns and calciners from 0.5 t/d and larger. These kilns and calciners can be gas, oil, or electric fuelled, and are skid mounted, pre-wired and pre-piped.

The patented bellows kiln seal has proved effective in eliminating air ingress and process gas egress and can be retrofitted to kilns from other manufacturers. FLSmidth says it “holds the world record for the lowest emissions on a carbon plant.”

The company’s Merrill Crowe plant capacities range from skid mounted 3.4 m3/h modular plants to full-size 2,100 m3/h. The range of supply for plants includes clarification filters, de-aeration towers, vacuum pumps, zinc dust feeders, lead nitrate feeders and zinc cones, precipitate filter feed pumps, filter pre-coat and body feed systems, as well as precipitate filters used by refinery and smelting facilities to produce gold bullion.

These plants incorporate a proprietary zinc dust/lead nitrate feeder and mixing cone system. The company offers individual plant components and partial or complete plant equipment packages, together with total plant design.

Refractory gold treatment

In the Xstrata Process Support (XPS) Winter Bulletin, Arthur Barnes and Rajan Pandher examined the challenges refractory ores pose.

“The first challenge is determining the reason for the poor recovery by direct cyanidation, which can be caused by one or more contributors. The oldest and best understood is gold locked in sulphide, and most frequently pyrite.

The second contributor to refractory behaviour is arsenic in the form of arsenopyrite or antimony in the form of stibnite, which causes low recovery even at low concentrations.

The presence of carbon in the ore is also a frequent cause of poor recovery, not because it Our gravity process solutions have made us leaders in gravity circuits worldwide, and through a collaborative approach to projects we continue to deliver a dynamic and innovative product. makes the gold FLSmidth Knelson’s Matrix Cone is the latest development in concentrating cone technology. Designed unresponsive to specifically for FLSmidth Knelson batch gravity concentrators, the Matrix Cone offers many advantages cyanidation but over existing cones, allowing for customization, ease of maintenance, and efficient inventory management. because it readily For mor information, visit us at absorbs gold in www.flsmidth.com/knelson solution and leads to “preg-robbing”. When

Innovation at work

24 International Mining | MAY 2013

these refractory contributors present themselves in combination, obtaining satisfactory gold recoveries can prove a real headache. Fortunately there are cures.

“A key to success is a proper diagnosis of the cause. First, XPS executes a very systematic sequential leaching technique known as a ‘Diagnostic Leach’ which clearly identifies where the gold is in the ore by systematically destroying key minerals, followed by cyanide leaching of the residue until all of the gold has been recovered. In addition, quantitative mineralogy to establish modal abundance of mineral species and sometimes even identify gold deportment is performed. With the new Qemscan FEG a higher number of gold particles can be found, thus improving deportment statistics.

“Once the cause has been identified, there are a number of alternatives for treating the ore.

The gold can be made more amenable to cyanidation by ultra-fine milling, followed by a hot atmospheric leach – the Albion Process. A second solution is complete pressure oxidation (POX), which is effective for all conditions except carbon. The third method is roasting – either the well-established simple dead roasting to convert pyrite to hematite while oxidising any carbon present, or two-stage roasting to firstly remove arsenic by partial roasting followed by dead roasting.

“Since XPS has expertise in fine grinding, pressure hydrometallurgy and pyrometallurgy, these skills have been bundled into a ‘one-stopshop’.” XPS can perform the diagnostic leach for clients to determine the cause of a particular refractory behaviour with quantitative mineralogy using Qemscan. This is followed by an options review and recommendation as to the best alternatives to suits the client’s needs followed by appropriate testing in XPS’s fullyequipped laboratories.

Fluid bed roasting can be completed in either 51 mm or 102 mm diameter continuous fluid bed roasters, each equipped with a cyclone, afterburner for combustion of arsenic and/or sulphur vapour, condenser, and scrubber.

Typically, 1-5 kg of feed is sufficient for preliminary comparative evaluation using the smaller roaster, while 20-50 kg can be sufficient for longer duration testing in the 102-mm roaster. Both roasters are fully instrumented with thermocouples, pressure measurements, and gas analysers to ensure reliable data capture.

Pressure oxidation tests are carried out in a stirred 2-litre Parr bench-scale autoclave, which typically handles charges of approximately 1 kg.

The autoclave is constructed of titanium and can be operated with an optional glass liner. It is fully automated to measure and control the temperature and pressure within the autoclave

GOLD EXTRACTION and the gas flow into the autoclave. Process measurements are captured continuously to a PI server.

Albion Process setup at XPS comprises an M4 IsaMill to produce the ultrafinely ground ore or concentrate, followed by leaching in an agitated tank at atmospheric pressure. Approximately 15 kg of feed is required for determining the signature plot in the IsaMill, but a single Albion leach test can be carried out on 1 kg of ground material.

Cyanidation: having removed the deleterious elements by one of the above processes, the residue from the pre-treatment stage a cyanide solution is used to leach out and recover the gold. This is accomplished using standard bottle roll tests, which can be run for up to 72 hours. The key data such as slurry pH, dissolved oxygen content and cyanide concentrations are recorded and/or maintained throughout the experiment.

Samples are taken at the same time, so that leach kinetics throughout the experiment can be subsequently determined. Multiple bottle roll tests can be run concurrently. Following the cyanidation tests, the samples are assayed to determine the gold in solution and in the residue, from which the gold recovery can be calculated.

Leaching In their paper Effect of ore particle size on gold dissolution in a cyanide solution presented at the SME Annual Meeting in Denver this February, J. Egan and C. Bazin propose an experimental procedure to estimate the gold dissolution from the ore within different size intervals using leaching tests carried out with a bulk ore rather than mono-sized ore samples. They report that the “procedure significantly reduces the experimental test work and also eliminates the uncertainties concerning possible interactions between particles of different sizes during leaching. The application of data reconciliation helps in filtering out some of the inherent measurement errors associated to the gold assays.

“Results of the analysis show that gold dissolution increases with decreasing ore particle size. The production history of the particles within a size interval may have an effect on the gold dissolution. The effect remains however to be confirmed by other leaching tests. The estimated gold dissolution model parameters can be used to predict the gold recovery following various intensities of grinding. Work is continuing with the objective of developing an integrated gold ore grinding and leaching simulator.”

Also at the SME, in the paper Estimating the residual inventory of a large gold heap leach pad J. Winterton of Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mining Co notes that this estimation “is desirable for many reasons. Several methods have been tried with limited success. Drilling data from the Valley Leach Facility (VLF) at AngloGold Ashanti's Cripple Creek and Victor mine has been used to develop a robust inventory estimation technique.” The technique was presented along with discussion of the particular inventory components and evaluation methodologies.

The conclusions were that “estimating the inventory in an active heap leach operation from drilling samples is a perilous undertaking. The integrity of the estimates depends heavily on how the samples are obtained how the resultant grade estimates are developed and applied.

The approach will never supplant strategies based on dedicated sampling and metallurgical testing protocols in terms of reliability or credibility. The estimation methods described were developed using multiple drilling data sets obtained on the VLF over the last decade. The methods substantially improve the ability to gauge the inventory in active heaps and can be extended to any similar unconsolidated structure.”

From the same mine, S. Leichliter and D. Larson presented Geometallurgy for a two recovery process operation – Cripple Creek and Victor gold mine, Colorado. Here, surface operations are continuing along with an expansion for an on-site mill to take place in the next couple of years. The pit is currently progressing downward from an oxidised zone

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MAY 2013 | International Mining 25

GOLD EXTRACTION

Plant-scale PIONERA F-100 trial data from a leach circuit, July 2011 into a transitional, more sulphide/ telluride-rich zone. Gold mineralisation includes native gold, electrum, and tellurides. Cyanide heap leaching is the recovery process for the oxidized ore with the sulphide/telluride-rich ore to be processed at the new mill. The authors state that “ore characterisation prior to mining is vital when there are two possible recovery processes. This characterisation is dependent on geometallurgy.

To identify the causes of the variability, multiple parameters are analysed and assayed. These parameters are measured by a variety of analytical test work. The analytical work provides measurements for the desired parameters. Geometallurgical models are developed for the parameters per recovery process, so estimations can be inserted into the resource model to optimise operations and recoveries.”

They conclude that “parameters such as hardness, gravity, and flotability help in constructing robust geometallurgical models.

These models are then inserted into the resource block model to help plan and forecast production.”

PIONERA says the recovery of gold, copper, nickel, zinc and other metals can be increased through the use of its BioPolymer. “By modifying the rheology of the concentrate, PIONERA improves the viscosity and kinetics of the system resulting in increased production.”

Other reported advantages include: ■ Environmental advantages over synthetic reagents (including minimum regulations for storage and handling and minimum harm to environment and toxicity level. Additionally they are exempted from REACH registration) ■ By inhibiting scale formation, positive heat transfer is better maintained ■ Catalytic properties may deliver faster reaction kinetics for sulphide oxidation

26 International Mining | MAY 2013

■ Does not interfere with the SX/EW process.

■ High salt tolerance.

The company says it has devoted considerable research and development efforts towards identifying the most suitable biopolymers for use in pressure leaching applications. Evaluations, both internally and externally with consultants and customers, have demonstrated good performance in various ores. “These efforts have led to the development of superior natural polymers that are optimised for performance under various metal recovery conditions.”

PIONERA says various trials have shown the potential of its BioPolymer to increase metal recovery in leaching circuits. This is especially relevant in CIL/CIP circuits, and benefits are also observed in the Merrill Crowe process. “A recent plant scale trial at gold mine in Canada showed a recovery increase in gold of about 1% over a range of different feed head grades.

Carbon-in-pulp In the SME paper Antiscalants for gold processing applications, W. H. Dickinson of Kemira reported on the evaluation of seven antiscalants spanning a range of chemistries “for control of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) formation in gold processing applications. Three preferred chemistries were identified which provided up to 100% inhibition in static jar tests when applied at 30 ppm dosage. The three Conventional versus EMEW cell design

products were further evaluated using a model carbon extraction circuit developed for this application. The test circuit enabled direct measurement of calcium carbonate formed on the carbon from a supersaturated solution under dynamic conditions. The antiscalants lowered CaCO3 build-up on the columns by 15–26% compared to untreated controls. Impact of the antiscalants on the rate and extent of gold loading onto a carbon adsorbent was evaluated in laboratory CIP studies. The antiscalants generated a 25 - 35% increase in gold loading at gold extraction efficiencies up to 65%. On-site testing at a gold processing facility demonstrated that 10 ppm of the preferred antiscalant was able to fully suppress CaCO3 formation in thickener overflow water.

“All the antiscalants were able to significantly reduce CaCO3 formation and CaCO3 control improved with increasing product dosage over the range 5–30 ppm. A sulphonated polycarboxylate chemistry afforded 100% inhibition when applied at 30 ppm under static test conditions.

“Polyacrylate chemistry was able to achieve greater than 95% inhibition at 15 ppm but scaling was aggravated when the antiscalant was underfed.”

Electrowinning At the February SME Annual Meeting in Denver, Michael Mooiman, Franklin Pierce University, NH & Argo Advisors International and Ian Ewart and Jeremy Robinson of Electrometals presented Electrowinning precious metals from cyanide solution using EMEW technology. The paper reviews the recovery of gold and silver from cyanide bearing solutions using EW technology designed by Electrometals Technologies. They say “the technology can be considered as a complete or partial replacement for Merrill Crowe technology and offers several advantages in the processing of high grade solutions.”

They conclude that the cylindrical EMEW EW cell, designed, developed and implemented by Electrometals, “has been successfully implemented for the electrolytic recovery of a variety of base and precious metals. Notably the electrowinning of silver and gold from cyanide solution has been successfully implemented on

GOLD EXTRACTION

IAMGOLD’s processing plant at the Westwood mine in Quebec started up in March. Initially processing stockpiled ore from the adjacent Mouska mine, in 2013 the plant is expected to produce approximately 140,000 oz of gold, 60,000 oz from the 30-year old Mouska mine and approximately 80,000 oz from the new Westwood mine. The first gold pour was expected at the end of March. President and CEO, Steve Letwin, said: "The same in-house engineering team, who constructed Essakane, has now completed the development of the Westwood mine and refurbishment of the old Doyon plant to process Westwood ore”

a plant scale and as a result millions of troy ounces of silver (along with some gold) are recovered every year using EMEW technology.

“The EMEW operation results in substantial reductions in operating costs, it produces a cleaner precious metals doré, and it permits automatic harvesting of the silver product.

“In some cases, the EMEW process can be viewed a replacement for the Merrill Crowe zinc cementation process but plant experience has demonstrated that some circumstances might require both the implementation of the electrowinning and Merrill Crowe process to operate in a complimentary manner. The bulk of the precious metals recovery is done electrolytically to produce a low cost, higher precious metals content doré and the Merrill Crowe process is used to recover the residual amounts of precious metals in solution and to act, when necessary, as a second process to increase overall precious metals throughput.

“Even though implementation has been successful there remain many opportunities for process improvement and optimisation. These include voltage monitoring of individual cells, increases in current densities and the determination of first order circuit constants that can be used to monitor the performance of an EMEW circuit.

In their paper, Ion exchange as a primary production technique in hydrometallurgy, presented to the SME Annual Meeting in Denver this February, D. R. Shaw, S. Arnold and J. D. Illescas of Fenix Hydromet, noted that “increasing pressures on the environmental acceptability of cyanide leaching pushes gold

mining companies to look at alternative, more environmentally friendly leaching reagents. The development of thiosulphate leaching and recovery using strong base anion exchange resins in an RIL [resin-inleach] process has been tested at Barrick Gold’s Homestake project in Nevada, USA and is progressing to full scale plant conversion. This change in approach has the potential to lead to a change in industry approach with an increased usage of ion exchange over carbon in the western world.

“The use of carbon as a sorbent for gold recovery has predominated over the use of resins especially in western countries. Resins exhibit a number of characteristics which offer advantages over carbon; ■ Resins can have their chemical functionality modified to achieve optimal selectivity ■ Resins are less susceptible to poisoning by organics or calcium ■ Resins have faster kinetics and superior loading capacities

■ Resin elution can be achieved at ambient temperature and require no thermal regeneration ■ Resins can be efficiently operated at high percentages in RIP circuits, as high as 2025% compared with more typical carbon concentrations of 3-5% ■ Resins also offer the potential for the recovery of cyanide and other metal cyanide complexes.

“These advantages of resins offer the potential for improved recoveries, smaller plant footprints, reduced capital costs and enhanced environmental outcomes. Resins do nonetheless have some disadvantages, the main one being that resins have a maximum physical bead size above which the mechanical integrity of the bead is compromised.

Resin beads are therefore typically smaller than carbon which requires smaller aperture screens in the RIP circuit, conversion from carbon to resins requires modifications to existing plant equipment.

The cost of resin is significantly higher than carbon, however resins are more mechanically robust with no angular corners to be lost and as such last longer.” IM

References 1. Grewal, I, Advances in centrifugal gravity concentration – beyond low mass yield, 41st Annual Meeting of the Canadian Mineral Processors, January 2009, Ottawa.

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MAY 2013 | International Mining 27

HEAVY ENGINEERING

Heavy hitters From gear cutting to foundry casting and supply of high strength steel plate, a number of heavy engineering groups form the backbone of many forms of mining equipment, from chutes and hoppers to truck bodies and mill liners, reports Paul Moore arge foundries form the core of heavy component supply, not just for open market products but also as strategic sources for large OEMs, who have been investing heavily in Asian foundries to reflect future growth predictions. Weir Minerals recently advanced its global foundry supply chain strategy, completing the acquisition of the business and assets of the Cheong foundry in Malaysia, in February 2013.

Based near Kuala Lumpur the facility supplies castings to a number of industries, including mining. Weir said the acquisition enables it to add foundry capacity to serve the Asia-Pacific region with high quality products from a best cost sourcing region. In addition, agreement has been reached to acquire the plant, equipment and buildings of Xmeco Foundry, a specialist large casting foundry in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.

Xmeco expands Weir Minerals' capacity and capability on the African continent, enabling the full product range to be locally produced. Subject to regulatory approval, completion was expected in May 2013.

Weir Chief Executive, Keith Cochrane, said: “The Cheong and Xmeco foundries enhance the group’s presence in important growth markets by expanding our low cost capacity in the fast growing regions of Asia-Pacific and Africa, enabling us to deliver quality products more quickly to our customers.”

L

Foundries are strategic internal assets for OEMs, such as Weir Minerals, that use large numbers of castings 28 International Mining | MAY 2013

Mill girth gear manufacturing at Ferry-Capitain

ME Elecmetal owns four foundries in the Americas, plus one as a joint-venture in Chile and another one as a licensee in Mexico, with a combined casting capacity of more than 100,000 t per year. The company also has a joint-venture for manufacturing grinding media in China and recently started the construction of a new foundry in the same country with a future capacity of 30,000 t. ME Elecmetal’s customer base includes hard rock mining, construction and OEMs in more than 30 countries. Heavy engineering products for mineral processing include large grinding mill liners (up to 12,000

lb) for AG, SAG, ball and rod mills. Larger liners minimise the number of pieces that need to be handled during change out. This reduces downtime while increasing mill throughput. Its liners are present in many mineral processing plants around the world including grinding mills up to 40 ft in diameter. The group also designs and manufactures concaves, mantles, spider arm guards and caps for large gyratory crushers, including primary mantles, in weights up to 20 t.

It also designs and manufactures smelter ladles and slag pots in sizes up to 75 t. ME Product Development Engineers review each individual

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ladle or pot working closely with the end users to refine designs to maximise life as well as meeting other requirements that may be needed. Proper design can minimise potential deformation helping to assure safer use through the product’s life cycle. To assure maximum quality and life, all of its smelter ladles and slag pots are subjected to strict quality controls, which include visual inspection, dimensional inspection, ultrasonic inspection, radiography inspection, and magnetic particle inspection. ME Elecmetal also uses simulation software, based on finite element modelling, for simulating the

30 International Mining | MAY 2013

mechanical and thermal properties, helping to identify possible deformation locations.

Metso is continuing to strengthen its presence in China by acquiring a manganese steel foundry – JX – in Quzhou City, Zheijang Province, some 400 km southwest of Shanghai. The company said that the acquisition of JX would help it improve its capabilities to supply wear parts to mining and construction industry customers in China and other markets in Asia Pacific. The move follows a joint venture set up in November 2012 with LiuGong, whereby the two companies formed a 50-50 partnership to develop a track mounted crushing and screening business in China. Late last year, Metso also acquired 75% of Shaorui Heavy Industries, which is one of the leading mid-market crushing and screening equipment producers in China.

The joint venture combined Metso’s knowledge in track-mounted crushing and screening and technology with LiuGong’s extensive distribution resources and manufacturing capabilities in China. Initially, the venture is covering the design and manufacture of localised versions of Metso’s Lokotrack 1000 series mobile crushers and screens. The products are being sold under a dual brand, Metso LiuGong. The joint venture company is also promoting Metso’s global track-mounted crushing and screening equipment in China.

“The acquisitions of JX and Shaorui Heavy Industries Ltd and the joint venture with LiuGong Group Corp Ltd announced last November, significantly strengthen our supply capabilities for mining and construction industries in China. Metso now has a complete range of capital equipment and wear parts covering a wide range of customer requirements. By acquiring a new steel foundry in China we are able to better serve the needs of our Chinese customers”, states Andrew Benko, President, Mining and Construction, Metso.

“We already have the most extensive services hub and distribution network in our industry.

With this acquisition we will strengthen our manufacturing presence in China and further develop our services business. We will improve our capability to supply wear parts to our mining and construction customers close to

HEAVY ENGINEERING their operations and increase the flexibility and resilience of our wear products supply chain. We intend to use the acquired site as platform to further develop our services capabilities in China”, says Joao Ney Colagrossi, President, Services Business Line, Mining and Construction, Metso.

The transaction covers the acquisition of assets of Quzhou Juxin Machinery and Quzhou Chixin Machinery from the current owner and his associates. The acquired assets and approximately 275 employees are expected to be transferred to Metso as of closing. Metso currently has five foundries and an extensive network of external casting suppliers serving the mining and construction industries. Its foundries are located in Ahmedabad, India; Isithebe, South Africa; Prerov, Czech Republic; Sorocaba, Brazil and Tampere, Finland. JX has, until now, been a supplier to Metso.

Anglo American finally announced the completion in late November 2012 of the sale of Scaw Metals Group, a key mining wear parts supplier including cast products, chain, wire rope and grinding media. Anglo had previously announced the intended sale in April 2012 of Scaw Metals to an investment consortium led by the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa (IDC) and Anglo American’s partners in Scaw Metals, namely Izingwe Holdings, Shanduka Resources and the Southern Palace Group of Companies.

For a mining perspective, Scaw Metals is an important supplier of wear parts. Its Standard Foundry manufactures a wide range of earthmoving ground engaging tools (GET), dragline wear parts and bucket components and general engineering products in plain carbon and low alloy steels of up to 8 t in finished weight. The Boksburg Foundry manufactures the complete range of manganese mill liners, screens and grids used in the gold mining industry. The Eclipse East Foundry specialises in low alloy steel and high chromium iron mill liners, manganese crushing wear parts for gyratory crushers and jaw crushers and low alloy steel earthmoving under carriage wear parts.

All of the foundries are serviced by in-house machine shops which include vertical and horizontal boring mills, CNC machining centers, lathes and planers. Castings of 25 t and 5 m in diameter can be machined to close tolerances.

Smaller castings that require CNC batch production runs are also accommodated.

Chain Products manufactures a wide range of round link welded chain products sold under the recognised McKinnon and Max-Alloy brands.

Scaw Grinding Media is a leading producer of high chrome and forged grinding balls supplied primarily to the African platinum, copper and gold mining industries, with operations located at

Scaw’s Union Junction site near Johannesburg.

Finally, Scaw Metals Group also has a 31% shareholding in GSI Lucchini (Italy), and a 50% shareholding in Consolidated Wire Industries (South Africa) as well as a 50% share of Proacer, which produces cast steel grinding media in Chile.

Q&T steel plate The supply of quenched and tempered steel plate forms the basis of many key mining equipment structures, from mobile equipment to fixed and semi-mobile structures, including dump truck bodies, storage bins, hoppers, chutes and a wide range of others.

NLMK Clabecq has increased the pace of its

developments in quenched and tempered steels in order to propose wider ranges of thickness and grades. This year, as outlined in the IM April BAUMA article, the Belgian mill has specialised in thin and large steel plates and will come on the market with superior grades for Quard, its abrasion resistant steel and Quend, its high yield strength steel. It will allow to the group to complete its range of solutions for heavy machinery manufacturers.

Thanks to the major technological developments & process throughout the production chain and experience gained over the past year, the mill is speeding up its development planning for 2013, in order to finalise the industrial production of the Quard

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HEAVY ENGINEERING 500 and the Quend 960. The group states: “NLMK Clabecq’s abrasion resistant steels and high yield strength steels have passed all the cutting, bending, machining and welding tests with success. To explain these positive results, users all raise as differentiating points the superior surface finish, tight thickness tolerances, excellent flatness and consistent homogeneity. These characteristics are the direct consequence of the layout of the NLMK Clabecq rolling line, a unique combination between a four-high rolling mill and a four-stand continuous finishing mill, and of the performance of the new Quenching & Tempering unit.” With an expected production rate exceeding 200,000 t/y at full capacity, NLMK Clabecq expects to produce up to 100,000 t of Q&T steel plates in 2013.

Australia’s Bisalloy Steel, the supplier of the Bisplate Q&T plate products, reported that in 2012: “Demand for Q&T steel for new projects slowed, while demand for Q&T steel for repairs and maintenance is starting to increase as a number of new resource projects are completed and move into production.” Despite this volatility, Bisalloy maintained its volume of sales into its core domestic markets and says it increased its market share notwithstanding intense competition from overseas producers, who it says are driven by weak demand in their own domestic markets.

SSAB test machine that can simulate the abrasive wear occurring on, for example a dumper body, which involves various types of abrasives sliding and rolling over the steel surface

The group’s Chinese Joint Venture (CJV) – Bisalloy Jigang (Shandong) Steel Plate Co – is a major focus for the future with partner Jinan Iron & Steel. Bisalloy states: “The transition of power in China in 2012 has delayed many corporate commitments which had some shortterm impact on the performance of the CJV.

China is also undergoing significant structural change at a time of economic instability in its key export markets. These factors have combined to extend the time needed for the CJV to establish itself as a premium Q&T supplier in the Chinese market. The board remains confident in the prospects for the CJV and is pleased by the significant progress already made, but it is still too early to provide specific guidance on the CJV’s potential profitability.”

The supplier of probably the best known steel plate brand in the market, Hardox, SSAB says its products “are well suited for a great number of mining applications including front loaders, dump trucks, buffer bins, railroad cars, discharge sites transfer chutes, feeders, screeners, crushers, conveyors, measuring bins and skips and much more. Its outstanding weldability and workshop-friendly properties allow it to be easily integrated into repair regimes, keeping production up and running while eliminating the need for a large stock of spare parts.” Additionally, SSAB offers a wide range of chromium carbide overlay products that are often employed by its technical sales force to complement Hardox wear plate in applications of extreme wear.

Beyond providing the high quality wear steel and related solutions, SSAB shares its expertise through its Wear Technology Group. This group supports the customer in its decisions to

HEAVY ENGINEERING Screenshot from SSAB’s software WearCalc 2.0

employ a material that is best suited for each application. This is often achieved by a complete analysis of the customer’s production chain or a certain application or component. SSAB’s proprietary WearCalc software assists clients in predicting relative wear life and in comparing different wear solutions. In South Africa, SSAB has partnered with EPCM groups and used this software to assist in designing the best wear solutions on greenfield and brownfield projects.

The upgrading of quenched and tempered steels and reduction of steel thickness in storage bin,

silo and chute applications it says have contributed to significant cost savings on these projects.

The groups cites a mine in Vancouver which had extreme wear issues with its transfer chutes.

SSAB approached the company with an option of using its complex carbide overlay in combination with Hardox 450 compared to what it was using. The mine tested the option and found that the Hardox/overlay solution withstood 3.2 Mt prior to being replaced while the original material withstood only 44,000 t.

In Witbank, South Africa, SSAB has substituted Hardox 400/450 for dragline bucket lip castings. As a result, the client can now repair the buckets onsite quickly and easily without having to order the required castings months in advance.

Finally, in Chile at a leading copper operation, SSAB Chile helped increase wear life of shovels

and buckets with a new liner design for the equipment consisting of a combination of Hardox 500, 550 and 600. The group says that the new design configuration resulted in a 20% reduction in weight and a 25% increase in wear life as compared to its original configuration of 500HB steel and overlay plate.

Formed metals and machining This year at Bauma 2013, steel group voestalpine featured three divisions (Steel Division, Metal Forming Division and Metal Engineering Division) at a new voestalpine exhibition stand under the slogan “nextgeneration steel solutions”, where the focus was on presenting the innovative of the alform welding system and also its extensive manufacturing potential for roll-formed tubes and profiles.

The alform welding system is a co-ordinated total system of steel and filler metals for highstrength and ultra-high strength welds. The main advantages of the total system are the extended welding areas, crack-resistant weld seams and optimised weld properties.

Individually manufactured tube and profile solutions from the Metal Forming Division were primarily presented in the context of the demanding applications of cabin and metal formwork construction. High quality sheet pile walls were also exhibited.

MAY 2013 | International Mining 33

HEAVY ENGINEERING Leading gear machining equipment supplier, Gleason Corporation recently announced the successful installation of a P8000/10000 gear hobber at Changzhou Tianshan Heavy Industry Machinery in Changzhou, China. The machine has the capacity to produce spur and helical gears up to 10 m in outside diameter, and has been fully demonstrated to consistently produce large gears at DIN 7 quality or better, reducing cutting times from as much as a week on older machines to as little as 10 hours. Founded in 2002, Changzhou Tianshan is a producer of approximately 35,000 gears per year ranging in size from 100 mm to 10,000 mm in diameter.

Through investment in the most advanced gear production machines, Changzhou Tianshan has expanded rapidly and is today a factory of nearly 87,000 m2. The group said that the acquisition of the Gleason-Pfauter P8000/10000 hobber has “opened the doors for new projects in mining equipment” and other industries.

Crusher replacement parts The year 2012 was a busy one for Excel Foundry & Machine, the full line crusher replacement parts supplier, as over $15 million in investment was spent on improvements to infrastructure.

Excel built a 100,000 ft2 order processing centre, and installed several new cutting-edge machining centres. The processing centre is the new home of the warehouse, parts prep, paint, shipping and logistics teams, plus it is the hub for all incoming and outbound shipments.

Products requiring critical assembly will pass through a brand new clean assembly room and a new, large work space is dedicated to staging, handling, and inspection of large components.

Painted components will now flow through a state-of-the-art wash, paint and bake system that will greatly improve efficiency, speed, quality and handling. To assist with the flow of product, a 20 t and a 75 t overhead crane provide the capacity needed for its largest assemblies and are capable of running the length of the building.

Another leading crusher replacement parts player, UK-based CMS Cepcor, has announced that Baguley Precision Engineers, the whollyowned UK manufacturing subsidiary business of CMS Cepcor, has been transferred into its Precision Services Division. With recent investment in new premises in Coalville to accommodate a new technical centre, the company has made the decision to transfer all Baguley personnel into the newly formed Precision Services Division; subsequently relocating all machining services from Burtonon-Trent to the new technical centre.

The new technical centre represents a substantial investment in new premises, and CNC manufacturing capability, which will further

34 International Mining | MAY 2013

enhance the manufacturing, inspection and repair facilities in Coalville and offers greatly improved manufacturing efficiency for the company. CMS Cepcor has also confirmed that all skilled engineering staff have been retained and further recruitment of skilled CNC operator/programmers is currently underway.

The company’s approved facilities include CNC, milling, turning, boring, slotting, grinding, drilling, pressing, welding, co-ordinate measuring, material testing and assembly. Chris Sydenham – Technical Director, commented, “The recent transfer of Baguley into the Precision Services Division and our recent business expansion, will mark the beginning of a new manufacturing chapter for the company which will also provide further opportunities for our supply partners.”

The new technical centre, which was formally commissioned during the first quarter of 2013 is located at Samson Road on Hermitage Industrial Estate in Coalville, Leicestershire. CMS Cepcor has also again been awarded preferred supplier status, covering replacement crusher parts and manganese crusher liners and service by major quarrying group, Aggregate Industries. CMS Cepcor has held preferred supplier status in the UK since 2006, supplying a wide range of crusher services, crusher repairs, premium replacement crusher spare parts and premium manganese crusher liners.

Gears and mills In early 2012, Ferry-Capitain, along with its Groupe CIF sister company, CMD, had been awarded a full scope of supply – girth gear sets, single-stage speed reducers, mill heads and trunnions – for large gear-driven 36 ft SAG and 26 ft ball mills, destined for two separate projects located in Russia and South America.

Groupe CIF was also entering the late stages of an extensive capital investment campaign aimed at expanding capacities and capabilities to position its affiliates as leading supply sources for mining process equipment OEMs and related end-users. The company told IM: “While the grinding mill equipment projects have been successfully completed, with one entering the installation phase and the other in the final phases of shipment at the time of publication – and a duplicate of a large portion of the Russian project scope just underway for delivery in early 2014 – the capital investment program has also reached its pinnacle, with the installation and commissioning of the crown jewel of the campaign, a 52 ft capacity machining centre that is capable of turning, drilling, and gear cutting.”

The machining centre, dubbed “VBCM16” for Vertical Boring & Cutting Machine, is in the group’s Hattingen, Germany, facility in a dedicated temperature-controlled building, and

can hold up to 450 t on its table for turning operations (350 t for gear cutting), accommodate part heights up to 6,000 mm, and cut gears of tooth size up to module 50 with face widths up to 1,500 mm. “Our customers for open gearing in the industry have often times expressed a desire to offer geared drivetrain solutions in place of gearless motors for SAG mills larger than 36 ft in diameter, which had been the practical physical limit for open gears for some time now. This machine’s capabilities will now allow us to offer open gearing for the largest SAG mills in existence”, said Emmanual Chevalier, Commercial Director.

The company is also undertaking a campaign to advance awareness of cast ductile iron as a prime open gearing material, through the promotion of its FerryNod proprietary grades of this material. A detailed technical article is in the final phases of being published, for eventual presentation during the AGMA Fall Technical Meeting in September 2013.

“We have championed ductile iron as gear material in the mining industry for a couple of decades now, and we have been at the leading edge of metallurgical developments to enhance its properties and application range” explained Chevalier. “Although there are still very few instances where a cast steel gear may be required, ductile iron has some specific advantages in terms of cost, lead time and inservice performance that make it an attractive first option in many cases. From our perspective, being as we manufacture and supply both cast steel and cast ductile iron gears, we don’t need to promote one over the other, but we do feel strongly about the benefits of FerryNod.” In its 100th year, FLSmidth MAAG Gear has been looking back at the key milestones in company and technology development since 1913. Max Maag, a pioneer in the field of gear technology, founded Maag Zahnräder AG. On April 1, 1913, he moved the company to Hardstrasse 219 in Zurich and as a result, 1913 is considered the founding year of the company.

The factory produced hardened, ground gears for a number of industries such as aviation (Zeppelin), car making, metal working and ship building. It also designed gear-cutting machines and gear grinders.

MAAG Gear milestones include 1910 with the invention of the Maag tooth design; still in use today, it provides gear manufacturers with an ideal method of influencing tooth shape to improve load bearing and sliding characteristics.

In 1913 the company introduced a gear grinder guided by diamond tracers for precision-shaped gears for the car industry. This was used for the next 70 years. In 1939 the PH-60 gear-measuring machine was developed. By the time production was phased out in 1981, 1,260 machines had

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HEAVY ENGINEERING been delivered to customers worldwide, some of which are still in use today. The year 1949 saw the introduction of the HSS-360 gear grinder, which could handle gear diameters up to 3,600 mm and workpieces weighing up to 25 t, making it the largest gear grinder in the world at that time. Then 1966 saw the design of heavy-duty two-stage planetary gear units – called CPUs – for horizontal mills in the cement industry.

Around 1930, Maag went international and founded subsidiaries in France and Italy. Over the next 50 years, the company developed a number of successful gear measuring and gear grinding machines. In the 1980s the company board defined a new strategy and expanded into a new market by taking over a company that produced powder castings. The machine tool business was closed down and MAAG Gear was founded as an independent company. In the 1990s it became clear that this strategy was not working and MAAG Gear was sold to FLSmidth.

Since then, FLSmidth MAAG Gear has designed, produced and maintained gears, gear units and drive systems for the cement and minerals industries.

In the modern era, in 1983 MAAG delivered its first WPU two-stage gear unit for a vertical roller mill. The largest WPU gear unit weighs 190 t and outputs 5,346 kW at a speed of 995/23 rpm. In 2007, MAAG introduced its unique concept of a three-stage bevel planetary gear unit WPV with torque split. The torque split enables approximately 25% of the power to be guided directly through the planet shafts of the second stage into the output flange. The three-stage concept was the answer to the ever increasing mill sizes. The biggest MAAG WPV weighs 220 t and outputs almost 8,000 kW. In 2011, FLSmidth MAAG Gear launched an entirely new drive concept for vertical mills: MAAG CEM Drive (Central Electric Motor) combines the advantages of proven MAAG gear technology with an ingenious motor concept, all-in-one common housing.

Australia’s Hofmann Engineering recently manufactured a record gear for use in China.

Manufactured at Hofmann's Bassendean factory in Western Australia, the forged steel mill gear is believed to be the world's biggest, with an external diameter of 13.2 m and a weight of 73.5 t. It will transmit 17,000 kW when driven by two 9 t pinions, also made by Hofmann. The completed gear set is bound for the grinding mill at an un-named copper mine in China.

Following the success of its CX conveyor drive launch, David Brown is to launch the new MDX mill drive system. The MDX system is available as a full system or as separate key components – girth gears, mill pinions, and mill drive gearboxes with barring/inching drives. The flexible ratio options of the MDX range means

36 International Mining | MAY 2013

DCD Rolling Stock is manufacturing 20 side discharge hopper wagons for Rustenburg Platinum Mines David Brown can offer complete optimised package solutions for primary and secondary grinding applications such as AG, SAG and ball mills, as well as kiln and dryer applications. The MDX range is adaptable and available as replacement units, drop in designs or designed as part of a complete mill drive system enabling the customer to utilise the most cost effective solution.

All of David Brown’s mining product suite which includes girth gears, , pinions, shovel and dragline gearboxes, stacker reclaimer drives, conveyor drives, mill drives and barring drives, agitators and mixers drives – are now available with the company’s three-year extended warranty package ‘3X’. 3X is available on new David Brown products and also on gearboxes of any brand and model repaired or overhauled by David Brown, including competitors, and provides access to David Brown’s global network of service and repair centres.

Mine rolling stock Anglo American Platinum’s Rustenburg Platinum Mines has placed an order with DCD Rolling Stock for 20 new side discharge hopper wagons that will be used to transport platinum ore from the mine’s various shafts to the processing plant. Manufacture is underway at DCD Rolling Stock’s facility in Boksburg and delivery will take place from April to June 2013. DCD Rolling Stock has a longstanding relationship with Anglo American Platinum’s Rustenburg Mines spanning about 20 years that has seen the company supply a number of hopper wagons to the mine. Daryl Leggitt, Technical Manager at DCD Rolling Stock, says the company has also worked alongside the mine’s engineers over the past decade to adjust the design of certain hoppers to suit changing mechanical and safety requirements and to refurbish existing hopper wagons.

The design of the units in the latest order

features a unique safety mechanism on the bottom discharge doors that prevents the doors opening accidentally in transit and creating spillage, which presents a major safety risk.

“We call this a ‘central shaft over top dead centre locking device’ and it has been designed specifically for Rustenburg Platinum Mines,” says Leggitt, who adds that this is a significant order from the mining industry. “The device comprises three offset levers connected to the doors with three links per door. The levers have two end stops to ensure that they rotate over the centre position, ensuring that the doors cannot open accidentally. As an additional safety feature, a pneumatically operated interlock is included, featuring a cam and hook that lock into place once the doors are fully closed.”

The discharge hopper wagons, having a gross mass off 85 t, have payload volumes of 26 m3 with 5 m3 volume reducers. The hoppers’ body and underframe comprise an all-welded construction utilising S355JR steel, delivering an increase in strength of about 18% compared to the previous hopper wagons supplied. The body ends, centre gable and volume reducer are angled to avoid any hang-up of ore during unloading operations.

The wagons will be fitted with high impact and wear resistant body liners manufactured from Tivar GR12 material, 20 mm thick on the body ends and volume reducer and 12 mm thick on the lower half of the centre gable. The braking system combines vacuum and air brakes, with each system capable of operating independently. The wagons will also be equipped with two self-steer HS Mk VII bogies manufactured from new components to comply with the latest Transnet specifications.

DCD Rolling Stock, part of the DCD conglomerate (previously DCD-DORBYL), operates as an international systems house with an in-house capability that allows it to offer a

In-Pit Crushing & Conveying 13 –15 October 2013 • Hilton Cologne • Germany Now in its third year, the 2013 In-Pit Crushing and Conveying (IPCC) event is now an established event in the industry, and remains the only specific conference on this highly topical technology area. With new IPCC systems going into operation at Pingshuo, S11D, Antucoya, Hongsa, Tutupan and elsewhere, there is a real feeling that finally progress is being made in terms of a varied range of new capital IPCC projects that will add to existing flagship sites like Mae Moh and help IPCC as a concept gather momentum.

The 2012 event in Bali once again highlighted the reasons why IPCC is

undeniably the right choice in the right mining situations – from fuel savings to emissions reduction and higher productivity - but even more it focussed on the resistance to change aspect of implementing IPCC that has existed in the mining industry to date. But like the underground longwall mining revolution in the

1970s and 1980s, IPCC looks like it could be coming to an acceptance crossroads – and the 2013 event will give a full update on what is being done and where. It is also the case that fully mobile is only a small part of the IPCC story; and that a number of semi-mobile IPCC systems have been operating for many years.

The industry is now waking up to this fact.

For those mining operations, both existing and planned, where IPCC is applicable and being considered – IPCC 2013 represents an opportunity that cannot be missed.

Field trip and evening event confirmed!

Up to 50 delegates will have the opportunity on the day after the conference ends – October 16 – to tour the RWE Garzweiler lignite operation in the famous Rhenish mining area along with the RWE Mines Engineering Centre in Frechen. The trip will operate on a first come first served basis.

Garzweiler and its sister mines operate a unique system of bucketwheel mining and conveyor transport, including the world’s largest conveyor belt junctions, where at the push of a button, overburden and lignite from the extraction side of the pit can be distributed to the spreaders, coal bunker or coal handling systems. But of course these mines are most famous worldwide for operating the world’s

largest machines – the huge bucketwheel miners. The largest at Garzweiler is 96 m high and 240 m long, weighing in at 13,500 t it is capable of extracting 240,000 t of lignite coal per day or the equivalent of overburden.

In addition, we have pleasure in announcing an additional entertainment evening on the night of Monday October 14, which is open to all delegates including those who may not have a place on the field trip or time to stay on after the conference. This will be held at the Zechenhaus Garzweiler, a pithead cottage in the mining area itself and will allow delegates to see some of the conveyor infrastructure on the route to the venue.

An early bird rate for full attendance at the event is available until 30 June 2013 of $1,300, which will include the evening Welcome Reception on 13th October, two full days of attendance at the event, as well as two lunches. After this date, the rate will increase to $1,700.

See http://corporate.im-mining.com/imevents for updates on the programme and field trip

HEAVY ENGINEERING VR Steel truck bodies on Komatsu 930E trucks

total rolling stock package, from design and manufacture, to refurbishing and modernising bogies and supporting the aftersales market for bogies, including supply of renewal parts.

DCD Rolling Stock has its own accredited quality, environmental and health & safety systems in place — SABS ISO 9001:2008, Moody International BS EN ISO 14001:2004 and Moody International BSI OHSAS 18001 — which ensure that manufacturing processes are carried out under controlled conditions to mitigate their

impact on the environment and to international quality standards.

DCD Rolling Stock has been in business for more than a 100 years, having designed and manufactured more than 130,000 wagons on Cape Gauge lines, 1,000 Electric and GE Diesel Electric locomotives, and 4,000 underground locomotives. The Boksburg-based DCD Rolling Stock site, of which 40,000 m2 is under cover, incorporates state-of-the-art technology and equipment. The company holds the intellectual property rights on most of its manufactured FIXED products and has been DATE granted licences for SALE By order of Hargreaves plc affiliated products from American companies such as McConway & Torley/NACO, Keystone Railway Equipment, SALE CLOSING: Fri., 28th June 2013 Columbus Steel LOCATION: Maltby, Nr Rotherham, UK Castings/Buckeye and, locally, Railway Dynamic Systems for HS self-steering bogies.

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38 International Mining | MAY 2013

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South Africa’s VR Steel was the 2012 overall winner of the Technology Top 100 Awards, while also being recognised for excellence in the Management of Systems and People area. The company told IM: “South Africa’s ability to compete with the rest of the world relies heavily on

leaders of innovation in all industries. VR Steel spends around ZAR10 million a year on research and development, as well as stringent adherence to the technology that it uses to design, manufacture and maintain its products.”

The group says that despite a difficult business environment in South Africa, that it continues to benefit from its long-standing relationships and reputation within the mining industry. Kriel Colliery is the latest Anglo American mine to place an order for the VR Tapered Bucket for draglines. In other ranges, production in Shanghai, China has generated an upsurge in the commissioning of its Komatsu 930E and Hitachi EH3500ACII truck bodies. To date VR Steel has delivered 26 in a space of 15 months. In hydraulic excavators, since the launch of the VR Hydraulic Face shovel bucket a year ago, it has been delivered on eight RH340s which the company believes is testament to the “world class engineering designs programmes used.” Because of the optimised shape, determined by material flow simulations, the VR RH340 product has produced a consistent minimum 85% bucket fill. Parallel to the test that every new product gives its creator, VR Steel is targeting 3,000 and 6,000 maintenance-free cycles for the back jaw and back wall respectively.

Investment also continues at VR Steel’s operations, where it has recently added ZAR5 million of laser resources to the engineering department, namely the Romer Absolute arm, the FARO Focus 3D and Leica Laser Tracker.

These are state of the art measuring instruments. By applying Point Clouds, these are vertices that are indicative of the external surface of a truck bowl, shovel, a dipper or bucket being measured. With the new technology, the engineering team is confident that clients are assured “of a faster and more factual inspection than previously with traditional methods.” VR Steel states that there has already been a reduced set-up time for machines and a decrease of production wait time as the data is more efficient and automatic.

This technology was recently used for a VR Dipper delivered to the Exxaro Grootegeluk coal mine and for truck bowls manufactured in Shanghai: “The precision of the interface is the most consequential part of every attachment tool. The accuracy and speed of the effect of the measurements and distance between the primary and secondary parts that make up the interface have been very rewarding in comparison to conventional methods used previously. The craftsmanship of VR Steel’s Design engineers and the ultra-modern methods have accrued critical data to evolve their products and remain at the pinnacle of their industry.” IM

THE 200 LARGEST MINES IN BRAZIL October 2013 - Belo Horizonte - Brazil

Have you hear of the 200 Largest Mines in Brazil?

If you are a global provider of technological solutions for large and mediumVL]HG PLQLQJ RSHUDWLRQV \RX DUH FHUWDLQO\ DZDUH WKDW %UD]LO LV RQH RI WKH Âż YH leading mining countries in the world.

Its 200 largest mines include mines from CarajĂĄs in northern Brazil, inside the Amazon forest producing iron ore in one of the largest deposits in the world, to copper mines in the states of GoiĂĄs and Bahia and coal mines in the south.

As a global provider, you can check the 200 Largest Mines in Brazil in the October issue of the MinĂŠrios & Minerales magazine, which publishes updated SURGXFWLRQ Âż JXUHV RI WKRVH RSHUDWLRQV SOXV D EULHI SURÂż OH DQG WKH PDQDJH ment teams of every mine. And we would also like invite you to the awarding ceremony in Belo Horizonte - at the very heart of the Brazilian mining country!!

UNDERGROUND ACCESS

Gaining access

Paul Moore examines some key hoisting technology and hoist project updates, along with shaft sinking and development news from major projects he potash market continues to be a significant driver of demand for shaft sinking and hoist delivery contracts, particularly in the core Russian and Canadian markets. ABB has won an order for 12 complete mine hoist systems and related shaft equipment to help potash major Uralkali increase its output while at the same time improving energy efficiency at the mine. The mine hoist systems will be installed at the Solikams and Polovodova mines in Russia’s Perm region. ABB’s supply includes the mechanical hoists, skips, cages, four feeding conveyors for loading the skip hoists and electrical equipment such as medium and low voltage drives, control system as well as shaft signal system. The deliveries are scheduled to take place between 2014 and 2018. “Reliable hoisting equipment with low energy consumption and high availability is the key to increase productivity while reducing environmental impact,” said Remy Lanoue, ABB’s Global Product Group Manager Underground Mining, Business Unit Mining. “We are proud to be chosen as a supplier of mine hoisting equipment and help Uralkali to be the most cost-efficient company in the industry.” As the only global supplier of both mechanical and electrical parts of hoisting systems, ABB says its advanced control system, state-of-the-art drive system as well as its more than 100 years of

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40 International Mining | MAY 2013

experience in mine hoisting technology “will help raise Uralkali’s production capacity to a new level.” Uralkali aims to expand their production capacity to satisfy the growing demand for potash fertilisers. In addition, thanks to the fact that on the new hoists replacing the existing ones, the energy consumption per tonne will be reduced as much as 30%. ABB stated that the Uralkali’s good experience with ABB’s two mine hoists already installed at the company was a major factor in it securing the order.

ABB has also been selected by BHP Billiton to supply mine hoisting systems for the Jansen potash project, located 130 km east of Saskatoon in Saskatchewan, Canada. The contract includes the overall design, manufacturing, supply and installation of four complete mine hoist systems to be delivered over a period between 2015 and 2018. This includes mechanical components as well as the electrical systems including ACS6000 AC drive systems and the high-power, low-speed synchronous motors. The 6 m diameter friction hoists to

DavyMarkham has delivered three hoists to HudBay Minerals, shown here. The company’s most recent order is for a new hoist for the Pinos Altos mine in Mexico, scheduled for delivery in May 2013 be supplied for the production shaft will be the largest mine hoists ever designed and manufactured, each with a total connected motor power of close to 14,000 kW. The service shaft hoists which are electrically identical to the production hoists but will carry smaller payloads. The group said that the “complexity and ultra-high performance requirements of the brake systems on these massive hoisting systems requires the development of new mine hoist brake system technology.”

Headframes at RBP Styldrift 1 project, where GE is working with Actom to supply electrical winder technology

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UNDERGROUND ACCESS “We are pleased to have been selected by BHP Billiton for the Jansen hoist contract. We believe our leading global position in the design, supply and installation of high-performance mine hoisting systems in high-production mines, as well as our impressive job site safety record will play an important role on the project. BHP Billiton and ABB agreed to jointly develop a project safety plan that meets the high safety standards required by both companies”, said Gabe Azeroual, Vice President at ABB Process Automation in Canada.

New winder contracts

Customers touring SIEMAG TECBERG facility, where they saw the group’s new specialised machines for rope handling

GE’s Power Conversion business recently announced it is supplying Actom Industry Pty (Ltd) with its advanced electrical technology for winder equipment for separate mining projects in Zambia and South Africa. As a leader in the domain of electrical drive systems, Power Conversion’s solution for Actom features its MV7000 variable speed drive coupled to an induction motor.

Actom and GE are collaborating on the supply of complete mine winder systems for expansion projects at the Mopani copper mine in Zambia and the Royal Bafokeng Platinum, Styldrift No. 1 Shaft 1 Project in South Africa. Actom is the largest manufacturer, repairer and distributor of electromechanical equipment and turnkey solutions in southern Africa, employing about 7,500 people.

“We are pleased to work with GE to deploy our mine winder systems featuring GE’s electrical technology, which offers very high levels of reliability and efficiency in harsh mining environments. These qualities are essential to help ensure that our customers are able to meet their production schedules,” said Mark Wilson, Actom’s CEO and Chairman. “GE’s collaboration with Actom Industry to support these important mining projects in Africa underscores the increasingly vital role that advanced energy technologies will play in meeting the production challenges of the metals extraction sector,” said Joe Mastrangleo, CEO of GE’s Power Conversion business.

GE and Actom’s equipment will be deployed to support the development of a new, $320 million shaft and associated infrastructure at the Synclinorium site within the Mopani copper mine, which is an integrated copper and cobalt operation. The new shaft is expected to extend the life of Mopani’s Nkana copper and cobalt mines by about 25 years. GE’s equipment was scheduled to be delivered to Zambia in March 2013, with commissioning scheduled for September 2013.

At Royal Bafokeng Platinum in the Bushveld Complex, 30 km northwest of Rustenburg in northwestern South Africa, GE and Actom are supplying the mine winder drive solution that will implement its development of the new Styldrift No. 1 Shaft extraction project. The Styldrift Rock winder project follows GE’s work with Actom on the earlier Styldrift man and material winder projects.

GE’s equipment is scheduled to be delivered to the Styldrift Rock winder project site in South Africa in December 2012 and installed during the second quarter of 2013. Mine owner Royal Bafokeng Platinum plans to begin production at the shaft project in the second quarter of 2015.

Heavy engineering expert DavyMarkham recently won its first contract to supply a production hoist to a mine in Mexico, worth $3.7 million. The company secured the contract to design, manufacture and supply a double drum production hoist for Agnico-Eagle's Pinos Altos mine in Northern Mexico. Pinos Altos is located in the Sierra Madre mountain range, 220 km west of Chihuahua and lies on a belt of gold and silver deposits. The hoist has been designed to increase the maximum capacity of the underground mine from the current 3,000 t to 4,500 t/d. The 12 ft diameter double drum, single clutch production hoist will have a payload capacity of 10 t, a production rate of 363 t per hour and will operate to depths of up to 730 m. Production has started on the hoist at the Sheffield based company which is scheduled for delivery to El Paso in April 2013.

Mexico is the second Latin American market that DavyMarkham has recently secured contracts in as the company continues to expand its overseas efforts. In August 2012, DavyMarkham successfully installed a mine hoist for Volcan Compania Minera in Peru, having won the contract to design, manufacture and install heavy duty mine hoists for its Pique

42 International Mining | MAY 2013

Andaychagua mining project in the Yauli province.

Gordon Scott, Sales and Marketing Director at DavyMarkham said: "We are delighted to win our first contract in Mexico to supply a production hoist and get a foothold in yet another Latin American country.

International business is incredibly important to our company and winning contracts in Peru and Mexico not only demonstrates DavyMarkham’s growing reputation within the mining market, it also confirms that our strategy to enter new markets that have only mined a fraction of their resource potential is the right one.”

In September 2012, SIEMAG TECBERG signed the contract for a shaft-hoisting system for the Zhengzhuang coal mine in Shanxi Province, China. The site is operated by the Jincheng Anthracite Mininig Group. With the implementation of this shaft-hoisting system, the Jincheng Group is planning to increase its coal production in excess of 100 Mt/y within the next three years. The shaft-hoisting system designed for the coal mine Zhengzhuang provides for a winder with a drum diameter of 6 m and a drive power of 3.5 MW. Together with its respective conveyances featuring a payload of 51 t, this installation will belong to the larger ones of its kind. Together with partner Siemens, SIEMAG TECBERG is responsible for the engineering, manufacturing, delivery, erection, and service of the shaft-hoisting system for the mine’s Service Shaft 1. SIEMAG TECBERG cooperation with the Jincheng Group originally started with the delivery of a high-performance brake system.

Shaft sinking updates Shaft Sinkers Holdings has been awarded additional work by Afplats on its Leeuwkop project. The scope of work includes the continuation of sinking activities on the main shaft from a depth of 325 m to 700 m. The additional work commenced immediately, and was scheduled to be completed in May 2013, with a total value of £7 million. The contract has been phased in stages. The company completed the pre-sink and mobilisation work and commenced sinking activitiesin early 2012. The intended final depth of the main shaft is 1,561 m. Alon Davidov, Chief Executive, said: "This project continues to progress well and we are pleased with the additional work award. We are focussed on ensuring our customers' expectations are met and we look forward to working with Afplats to deliver on this, as well as future expansions of their projects."

UNDERGROUND ACCESS

A Mancala shaft sinking project using slip form concrete lining. The company has just completed a record raisebored hole at the Austar coal mine in Australia

Randgold Resources has awarded the company the vertical shaft contract at the Kibali gold mine in the DRC. This follows an announcement made in September 2012 that the company had been selected by Randgold to initiate mobilisation activities at Kibali. The combined mobilisation and vertical shaft contracts have an estimated total value of ÂŁ82.3 million. The US-dollar based contract is a continuation of the work commenced under the award of mobilisation activities and is scheduled to be completed in 2016. Kibali is a

joint venture between mine operator, Randgold Resources (45%), AngloGold Ashanti (45%) and Congolese group Sokimo (10%). The project is situated near Doko, in the north eastern Orientale province.

The mobilisation phase is progressing on schedule and as a result of the contract the scope of work is extended to include the sinking and lining of the main shaft to the final depth of 760 m, as well as associated development and civil works.

Davidov stated: "I am pleased to see the new business pipeline being converted into new orders. The award of a contract in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is in line with our strategy to diversify our portfolio of projects and to expand our operations on an international basis. We are confident that there will be more conversions of the new business pipeline going forward.�

The Petra Diamonds operations have been covered in some detail in International Mining, including a Great Mines article on Cullinan in our May 2012 issue. In late July 2012, Murray &

Roberts Cementation provided more detail about its contract at the site that included the deepening of Shaft 1 and Shaft 3 at Cullinan, together with the associated infrastructure and planned level development to the Cullinan ore body. The contract is part of a major expansion plan at Cullinan, which will take production from just under 1 Mct in 2011 to 2.4 Mct carats by 2019, incorporating 2 Mct from underground production and 0.4 Mct from a major tailings programme. The mine is currently producing about 9,200 t/d from three mining blocks on two horizons at the mine. Cullinan’s life of mine profile requires the opening up of a new block cave in the C-Cut Phase 1 area of the Cullinan kimberlite pipe, 200 metres below the current operations. This new block will access the first portion of the C-Cut resource, beneath the existing production levels at the mine. The C-Cut Phase 1 is planned for a steady state production rate of about 4 Mt/y, with the first column tonnages reporting in the calendar year 2016.

Access to the C-Cut Phase 1 block is through a decline system from the 763 m level on the southern and northern sides of the kimberlite pipe, deepening of the existing No 1 rock hoisting shaft to handle waste and ore from the future mining areas and deepening of the existing No 3 men and material shaft to deliver personnel and material to the underground workings. The Shaft 1 portion of the contract

MAY 2013 | International Mining 43

UNDERGROUND ACCESS

Master Drilling HG380 Raiseborer underground on site in Peru. The group now has an 88strong raisebore fleet

scope entails deepening the existing shaft by approximately 350 m to a depth of 920 m. The deepened shaft will be equipped to hoist the ore and waste from the new C-Cut Phase 1 block.

The equipping scope includes a new shaft bottom/loading arrangement as well as water handling facilities. The shaft needs to be equipped to handle mid shaft loading, as it is expected that ore from the current operations will report to the existing loading arrangement until the connection between the current operations and the C-Cut Phase 1 ore/waste handling systems has been made. The Shaft 3 portion of the contract scope involves deepening the existing shaft by approximately 60 m to a depth of 904 m. This shaft will be equipped to handle personnel and material to and from the new C-Cut Phase 1 block. All engineering requirements, except upgrades to the Koepe winder and ropes which will be handled by ABB, are included in this contract.

Mining services group Mancala achieved a milestone in September 2012 with the drilling of one of its longest ever holes at the Austar coal mine in New South Wales, Australia. Using a recently rebuilt Robbins 61R and a coal compliant power pack, the pilot hole was directionally drilled, breaking through some 22 cm off target after 476 m of drilling. The hole

44 International Mining | MAY 2013

was reamed to 1.5 m diameter without the need for cutter changes or any other substantive delay. After installing a steel liner, Mancala is using this hole to hoist raise drill cuttings from the underground workings. These cuttings are being generated as Mancala raise bores a 3.5 m diameter shaft adjacent to the 1.5 m shaft.

In terms of the liner, Mancala needed to steel line the 474 m long by 1.5 m diameter shaft so that it could run a hoisting kibble with its borehole hoist headframe. The group designed and completed a structural review for a steel liner that was seamless inside, so that the kibble could run inside on wheels with all joins and flanges on the outside. What was finally delivered to site was the heaviest single structure supplied for any one single project by Mancala. Given the length of the liner, the design was divided into six different specifications based on the fact that the bottom liners need a much lighter construction than the top ones; since the bottom ones have nothing hanging off the bottom while the top ones have all the liners hanging off them. Total weight for the installation was 103 t. The liners have flanges on the outside to provide a smooth running surface for the borehole hoist kibble which runs on rubber wheels on the inside of the liner. All the flanges are stiffened with gussets and there are 24 bolts pre-flange. Each module is assembled by joining two half segments supplied from the factory. There are a total of 39 x 11.9 m modules that were joined

together in the assembly process. The liners were delivered to Austar in early November 2012 and were fully assembled before the end of November. Final liner installation involved injecting grout (from the bottom up) into the gap between the 1.5 m raiseborer shaft and the outside of the liner. This backfill consisted of over 250 m3 of grout and gravel that are placed in bands to allow water to drain from the surrounding water table into the liner.

South Africa-headquartered Master Drilling provides underground access primarily through the application of raise boring technology. Its turnkey contracts also involve supporting technologies such as geotechnical investigations, directional drilling, piling for ground consolidation, remote access support and investigation, and installation of steel liners to be utilised. The company told IM: “In various forms these adaptations and different application of technologies provide clients with increased value in terms of reduced risk to potential harm, reduced cost, execution in isolated regions, shorter duration to complete the project or in trying geology or circumstances.�

Examples of such projects was the directional drilling in South Africa of a 1,070 m deep pilot hole, to a final deviation upon holing of 80 mm from vertical at 16 in diameter that was recently completed. This was followed by the back reaming of a 5.5 m diameter shaft along part of the shaft length until the project was put on hold and the resources redeployed at another 1,000 m shaft at 4.5 m diameter before the company went back and completed the 1,070 m shaft, which has been followed by a second of the same scope. Master Drilling provided geotechnical drilling cover simultaneously during pilot drilling. The company believes that these directionally drilled shafts are indicative of the fact that raise boring can be successfully used in the completion of hoisting shafts.

Recently a 150 m deep, 7.2 m diameter shaft was drilled, cleaned by remote water jet, and supported by remote controlled shotcreting.

This was done through 300 MPa strength plus rock for part of the shaft. With the support of inhouse technical skills, however, proposals have been put forward for up to 9.5 m diameter reamer designs and shafts. This specific shaft was done with a RD7 machine and 15 in

UNDERGROUND ACCESS diameter drill rods, designed and manufactured

by Master Drilling. The RD7 has an installed power base of 760 kW with touch screen computerised electrical DC control with algorithms for optimal control, production and protection. The company has also completed the design and is in the process of manufacturing the RD8 series machine that will enable it to push of boundaries of achievable raise bore shaft depths and diameters. Additional RD7 rigs are also being manufactured to service the larger end of the raise bore market.

Ventilation projects include the recent drilling of four 1.5m diameter holes, varying in depth of between 50 m and 150 m in length and completed on short notice. These brought production forward by a year due to quicker access to ventilation.

In corporate terms, Master Drilling Group has been publicly listed on the JSE since the end of 2012 and is aiming to further extend its growth through geographical expansion, having ventured into several new countries in 2013 in addition to organic growth in existing markets.

At the end of 2012 Master Drilling was operating 84 raise and blind hole borers of various sizes and configurations.

Hoist technology and components Bridon International, a leading group in the manufacture of steel wire and fibre ropes for industry, says it is “transforming deep mine hoisting operations with innovative rope technology.” The company says core to its success in the mining industry has been an indepth understanding of the challenges contractors face, and a readiness to develop ground-breaking solutions to overcome them.

Mine operators increasingly require lighter ropes that, can operate at greater lengths in deeper mines, and demonstrate high levels of resistance to crushing. Bridon states that its Bristar and Tiger ranges “are well known in the industry for their high performance and reliability.” Ropes in Bridon’s Bristar range (which includes hoist and drag ropes for surface mining and cable belt ropes) are distinguished by their plastic core, which prevents contact between their individual strands. This core prevents fretting, maintaining rope diameter, reducing stretch, and significantly increasing the rope’s overall longevity. Bridon’s Tiger Dyform range products are often utilised for mine hoisting, as they offer fatigue performance in excess of conventionally utilised hoist products and the smooth strands of the rope provide improve rope to sheave contact, meaning internal and inter-strand abrasion is diminished and the scope for resultant damage is minimised. These ropes can also be sized to fit the specific dimensions of friction-drum

grooves. Bridon says its Tiger Dyform 24LS Bridon’s Tiger Dyform ropes are widely used in the mining industry ropes are currently being put to use in a number of major mining operations in Africa.

Afplats is utilising Tiger Dyform 24LS ropes at using magnetic flux leakage techniques to the already mentioned Leeuwkop platinum detect defects such as broken wires on the mine. In 2012, the firm commissioned Bridon to surface or within the rope.” manufacture and supply three 7,000 m sinking As part of its efforts to consolidate a position ropes for use in the twin mine-shaft system. as the world’s leading supplier of rope solutions Once it reaches full capacity, the 1,500 m for mining applications, Bridon International has Leeuwkop mine is expected to produce 250,000 also recently opened the Bridon Technology t of platinum ore per month - equating to Centre (BTC), one of the world’s most advanced roughly 160,000 oz of platinum annually. facilities for rope development and optimisation.

Bridon also told IM that a gold mine in South The BTC houses a range of purpose-built equipment Africa has switched to using the Tiger Dyform to test rope properties and performance, assessing 24LS on a two-rope Koepe winder, which is 861 strength under extreme loads, endurance against m deep. Bridon stated: “The firm had previously bend fatigue, and response to repeated layering been conducting hoisting operations using 34 on smaller, more economical spools. Bridon has mm ‘Fishback’ construction ropes, but had also invested in the latest 3D microscope become concerned over the lack of durability technology to examine ropes in minute detail. the product exhibited.

Whilst the previous product maintained functionality for an average of 30,000 trips, Bridon’s 24LS ropes have set a new record, achieving in excess of 170,000 trips with no sign of wear or wire breaks. The ropes remain in service today.”

In addition to developing a range of market-specific rope products for the mining sector, Bridon recommends and Bits B its Mining M ining supplies unique Rods Construction Rods Construction Couplings Quarrying Couplings Quarrying specifications of its Shanks Tunneling S h a n k s T unneling products to meet DTH Water-well D TH Water-well customers’ individual ® needs: “Bridon offers R o c k M o r e® International clients an end to end Rock Drilling Drrilling Tools Toools service, from initial Wilsonville, W ilsonville, Oregon USA Judenburg, Austria rope design through to Tel +1 (503) 682-1001 T el e +43 3572-86300 Tel Tel real-time maintenance info@rockmore-intl.com austria@rockmore-intl.com in the field, where www.rockmore-intl.com www w.r . ockm more-intl.com ropes can be assessed

Drill More with RockMore

MAY 2013 | International Mining 45

UNDERGROUND ACCESS SIEMAG TECBERG recently presented what it believes to be the world’s largest specialised machines for rope handling, which are to be used at the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in Mongolia, at a customers‘ convention at its headquarters in Haiger, Germany.

The clamping and lifting device as well as the mobile friction winch, both designed specifically for Oyu Tolgoi, had been undergoing assembly and testing work in SIEMAG TECBERG’s workshops. The two components’ purpose is to ensure safe and efficient rope handling on two production shafts with two winders each.

The interaction between the friction winch and the clamping and lifting device is of essential importance for safe rope handling. The automotive six-axle friction winch with a total weight of 160 t, providing a speed of 0 to 12 m/min and a drive power of 500 kW, is designed for the simultaneous roping-up of up to six ropes with a traction force of 1,850 kN in a shafthoisting installation. The challenges in the conception of the clamping and lifting device were to assure safe rope handling for the two winders. This device is able to lift or lower six ropes simultaneously with a traction force of up to 2,500 kN over any travel distance desired with a stroke of 1,600 mm each. The hydraulically operated device has a total weight of 56 t and moves the ropes with a speed of 1 m/min. The application of the clamping and lifting device and the mobile friction winch does not only assure the safe first roping-up but also the later rope changes. The advantages of the applied technique are, on the one hand, the savings in time and, on the other hand, the safe application.

During the tour through the assembly works, visitors also saw the winders and brake installations for Mosaic’s Esterhazy potash mine K3 expansion in Canada. This delivery involves the largest six rope Koepe winder ever manufactured by SIEMAG TECBERG, with a payload of 55 t, in addition to a Blair singledrum winder for the service plant with loadcompensating rope sheaves.

Tata Steel supplies guides for running skips and cages in vertical mine shafts. The group states that its top hat shaft guide is the only one of its kind, designed with a thicker metal gauge of 18 mm. The improved corrosion and wear resistance that comes with this increased thickness offers a product lifespan which can match the lifetime of a typical mine – 20 to 30 years. The group adds: “The dimensional

46 International Mining | MAY 2013

The new award winning Dumas Raise Climber Control Handle Liveman Switch properties of the top hat section mean that it’s inherently more resistant to corrosion. And not only are the top hat sections thicker, they are stiffer, offering an increase in fatigue life of up to 70% meaning better running speed.”

With the cages running faster, efficiency is increased, aided by a faster winding speed, which is up to 20% faster. All the features of top hat combined mean it can deliver a lift shaft operating speed of a consistent 15 m per second.

Tata believes that the top hat is more costeffective than square-hollow sections on singleguide installations, due to being easier to install, and lasting longer; and the shape of the product is conducive to simplifying the installation as it requires less drilling and is easier to bolt into place. The way top hat guides are connected also means that they are vibration resistant, and the design means reduced maintenance requirements during the life of the shaft.

In safety terms, the company stated: “The stronger, straighter nature of top hat allows more stable travel of the cars up and down the shaft, making it safer. The top hat design also allows for visual inspection during the life of the mine shaft.”

The Tata Steel special profiles mill at Skinningrove in northeast England produces top hat sections for mineshaft guides in 102 mm and 150 mm sizes.

The group has been delivering the products globally for the last 12 years in southern Africa and elsewhere, and added that planned developments of high-capacity shafts in North America are prompting it to look at the possibilities for larger guides.

In addition to new mining situations, the top hat design has been successfully used to replace old parts in existing mines. Tata Steel has so far provided around 300 t of guides for the ongoing programme of replacement at Cleveland Potash. Although life expectancy in these harsh conditions can vary, 30 year old guides are still in serviceable order.

Shaft sinking specialist and contract mining group Dumas Mining won first place for the 2013 Annual Safety Innovation Award at the Ontario Mining Contractor’s Safety Association (OMCSA) Board of Director’s meeting in March. The award was for its Raise Climber Control Handle Liveman Switch and is given to a contracting company that designs and/or develops a safety idea that will reduce injury to workers and improve health and safety in the mining industry. Development of the device was a collaborative effort between staff at the maintenance facility in Timmins, Ontario and its Safety and Operations teams .

There are numerous dangers in operating raise climbers – scenarios include where a worker climbing up to the work platform uses the headroller as a handhold and activates the control handle with their foot causing the raise climber to move upward, which could pinch the operator’s fingers in the headroller. Or a worker climbing down from the work platform could catch their coat on the control handle, causing the raise climber to travel up and off the last rail. While drilling from the work platform, material could also potentially fall and strike the control handle causing the raise climber to move unexpectedly. Finally, an operator sitting in opening on working platform using their foot to activate the control handle, could catch their arm in the headroller when the raise climber moves upward.

Installation of the Dumas liveman switch controls the flow of air to the control handle.

When the liveman switch is activated it opens two valves that allow air to flow to the control handle valve, making the control handle functional. When the liveman switch is released

KEY EN PRES TATIONS CONFIRMED!

SUPPORTED BY:

Rapid Development Conference 2013 Enabling the Future Mine Sydney Harbour Marriott | 14 -16 August From new approaches to shaft sinking; faster raise boring and downreaming; advances in hard rock cutting technology and continuous mining for hard rock; rapid decline development; and the use of new mobile miner and TBM technology to tackle mine access tunnels and block cave development – interest in this area of the industry is at an all time high.

If your group has an interest in offering a presentation (speakers attend for free), or sponsoring the event, please feel free to contact the Rapid Development 2013 Conference Director, Paul Moore at paul@immining.com with a paper summary/synopsis for consideration or in the case of sponsorship interest, an indication of how you would like to be involved. Paper preference will be given to those covering real current and ongoing projects, new technology, and joint OEM/mining group papers.

Sponsorship opportunities include conference lunches/receptions, lanyards, delegate bags, pens/pads, the program and other areas. A small number of exhibition booths will also be available.

K E Y P R E S E N TAT I O N S : Doug Morrison, President & CEO at Centre for Excellence in Mining Innovation (CEMI): Improving conventional drill and blast processes - the opportunities and challenges Fidelis Suorineni, Senior Research Engineer, MIRARCO and Denis Thibodeau, Principal Consultant Rock Mechanics, Vale Base Metals Technology Development: Support selection for rapid drift development with drill and blast - methodology and a case study Charles Howarth, Managing Director, Herrenknecht Australia: Mechanical excavation systems in mining Adrian Boeing, Senior Engineer, Control & Automation, Transmin: Improving rockbreaking safety and efficiency with automation and collision avoidance technology Mike Rispin, Senior Vice President, Normet Group: Development in block cave mines – approaches to ground support Sergey Reznichenko, President & COO, SightPower: A revolutionary fully automated mineshaft inspection and monitoring system based on a mobile laser scanning technology Mikael Ramström, Vice President - Mechanical Rock Excavation, Atlas Copco: An update on the Mobile Miner (TBS) project

REGISTRATION The early-bird rate for full attendance at the event of $1,300 has been extended to end-April after which it will rise to $1,700. This will include the evening Welcome Reception on 14th August, a day and a half attendance at the event, as well as two lunches.

Note that the new conference dates fall the week before the AIMEX show to allow delegates the option of attending both events.

http://corporate.im-mining.com/imevents.asp

UNDERGROUND ACCESS Late March 2013 image from Oyu Tolgoi. Shaft sinking on Shaft #5 is now underway

the air flow to the control handle valve is immediately cut of and the raise climber will not move. A worker must be at the controls, with the system requiring both controls to be operated simultaneously for the raise climber to be raised or lowered.

Major project updates Goldcorp’s most recent statement on the Eleonore project in Quebec at the end of 2012 said: “A milestone was reached in the fourth quarter with the completion of the production shaft hoist room and head frame facilities, allowing shaft sinking activities to commence on schedule. The exploration ramp excavation has now reached over 2,500 m in length, which corresponds to a vertical depth of 380 m below surface. During 2013, underground exploration drilling from the ramp will accelerate, enabling further definition drilling of the deep portion of the Roberto deposit to proceed. Currently, four diamond drills are conducting definition and exploration drilling from strategic working platforms in the ramp. The exploration shaft is now undergoing conversion from sinking mode to designed operating mode. Engineering, Procurement and Construction Management at the end of the 2012 had reached 44% completion.” Following the completion of work with regard to mine planning and initial development capital, the project capital estimate has been confirmed at $1.75 billion based on all available information. Initial production remains on track for late 2014 with average life-of-mine gold production once the mine is at full production of approximately 600,000 oz. Elsewhere, the company’s Hoyle Pond Deep project continues to progress, which will access deeper discovered zones of gold mineralisation and enhance operational flexibility and efficiencies throughout the Hoyle Pond underground complex. By the end of 2012,

48 International Mining | MAY 2013

full face shaft sinking had advanced to within 20 m of the 720 m level skip dump excavation.

At Nevada Copper’s Pumpkin Hollow project in Lyon County, Nevada, the surface facilities at the East shaft site are nearing completion, with commissioning scheduled to be completed in April 2013. These facilities include a productionsized head-frame and a 12 ft diameter double drum hoist. The 24 ft diameter, 2,200 ft production shaft, which will be concrete-lined, was developed to the 99 ft pre-sink level, allowing work to proceed on the shaft sub-collar and head-frame foundations, head-frame erection and hoist commissioning. The headframe is essentially complete. Dump chutes and related equipment have arrived on site and installation is commencing. Cable tray, lighting and door and dump controls are being installed, as well as utilities in the shaft sub-collar. The hoist contractor has completed mechanical installation of the hoist and the hoist house building is complete. Electrical cable installation is currently in progress. The hoist control room has been placed in its final position and the control console installed. Foundations have also been placed for the Galloway winches and the Mary-Anne service hoist, and the winches have been set in place. The power unit for the winches is being installed. Rope-up and final hoist commissioning was scheduled for April.

Hoist commissioning will allow for resumption of shaft sinking which is expected to continue through 2013 with completion by the first quarter of 2014.

The hoist at Pumpkin Hollow is a double drum unit powered by two large 1,500 hp electric motors and is capable of hoisting 7,500 t/d of ore from a loading pocket at the bottom of the shaft. Two skips will be used that can hold approximately 13.5 t of ore each and will be operated about 16-18 hours per day with

remaining time allocated to transporting workers and equipment in a separate part of the shaft and for maintenance activities.

The news over the past year from the Oyu Tolgoi mine is that underground lateral development at the Hugo North Deposit was suspended in February 2012 as planned to enable the upgrading of hoisting equipment at Shaft 1. Following completion of the upgrade in the third quarter of 2012, underground lateral development was restarted and approximately 1,500 m of lateral development were achieved from mid-September 2012 to the end of December 2012. Construction of Shaft #2 at the Hugo North Deposit is progressing well with the headframe reaching its final height of 96 m in the second quarter of 2012. The headframe and ancillary buildings were 99% complete at the end of 2012. Shaft-sinking activities began in December 2011, and the depth of the shaft is now approximately 980 m below surface, 74% of its final 1,319 m depth. Pre-sinking works for Shaft 5 began in September 2012 and have now been completed. Sinking activity is planned to commence in April 2013. Shaft 5 will provide primary ventilation for underground operations and is expected to have a final depth of 1,195 m.

In new projects, UK potash junior Sirius Minerals announced in September 2012 the design of a sunken head frame with twin vertical shafts had been selected to minimise technical risk and environmental impact at its York potash project in North Yorkshire. Under this design, a shaft headframe will be sunk approximately 100 m below the surface from which two vertical shafts will be sunk to a depth of around 1,500 m to the "shelf" seam of polyhalite. From this depth, an incline can be mined to access the deeper "basin" seam in the future. Sirius has engaged three leading shaft sinking contractors (Cementation, DMC and Shaft Sinkers) to evaluate shaft sinking methodologies. These studies have considered three combinations of ground control and excavation techniques to build a shaft system with a hoisting capacity of 12 Mt/y of ore.

These techniques include traditional drill and blast excavation with grouting; traditional drill and blast excavation with ground freezing; and shaft boring road header with ground freezing (Herrenknecht SBR).

The York potash team says that it continues to evaluate all options from a cost, time to construct and risk basis and has been conducting site visits of shafts being constructed by all three shaft sinking contractors. Following receipt of results of the shaft pilot hole geotechnical test work, the shaft sinking methodology will be confirmed and the contractor will be selected for the completion of the DFS and the construction contract. IM

PROJECT FOCUS

Glorious graphite

Drilling at Lincoln's Kookaburra Gully

John Chadwick looks at the graphite market and four projects on different continents, StratMin Global Resources in Madagascar, Bissett Creek and Albany in Canada and Kookaburra Gully in South Australia arbon is a fantastic element. Besides us being carbon-based life forms, it gives us such wondrous and diverse products as diamonds and the coal that powers so much of the world.

Most recently, the industry has been fired by a graphite fever among a significant number of junior companies. Graphite is an allotrope of carbon and is the most stable form of carbon under standard conditions. Unlike diamond (another carbon allotrope), graphite is an electrical conductor; it is a semimetal. However, it may be considered the highest grade of coal, just above anthracite. A new ‘super material’, graphene is causing great excitement.

The three principal types of natural graphite, each occurring in different types of ore deposit are: 1. Crystalline flake graphite occurs as isolated, flat, plate-like particles with hexagonal edges if unbroken and when broken the edges can be irregular or angular 2. Amorphous graphite occurs as fine particles and is the result of thermal metamorphism of coal, the last stage of coalification, and is sometimes called meta-anthracite. Very fine flake graphite is sometimes called amorphous in the trade 3. Lump graphite (also called vein graphite) occurs in fissure veins or fractures and appears as massive platy intergrowths of

C

50 International Mining | MAY 2013

fibrous or acicular crystalline aggregates, and is probably hydrothermal in origin.

Canadian junior Northern Gaphite reports “industrial demand for graphite has been growing at about 5% per annum for most of this decade due to the ongoing industrialisation on China, India and other emerging economies.

However, the ‘blue sky’ for the graphite industry is the incremental demand that will be created by a number of green initiatives including Li ion batteries, fuel cells, solar energy, semi conductors, and nuclear energy. Many of these applications have the potential to consume more graphite that all current uses combined.”

First production In February, StratMin Global Resources made its maiden shipment of 20 t of flake graphite and reports receiving strong interest from parties that wish to purchase the product. The production ramp up is progressing in line with management’s expectations – StratMin plans begin with increasing the current capacity of around 180 t per 20-day month to 300 t with the introduction of flotation cells that have already been purchased and then 600 t with an additional shift.

It has invested some $500,000 to improve plant throughput, product quality and specification and site infrastructure. This includes a drilling rig purchased to optimise

short term mining operations and to eventually upgrade JORC resources through proving up additional resources and exploration drilling Gobind Sahney, Chairman of StratMin, commented: “From giving the green light to our mining contractors in Madagascar following the readmission to AIM at the end of January, we have made steady progress in ramping up and optimising our production capacity.”

Last November StratMin announced the acquisition of the remaining 85% of shares in Graphmada Equity not already owned by the company for a consideration of £25.5 million.

Graphmada Equity is the holding company of Graphmada SARL (Graphmada Madagascar).

Stratmin states that the Republic of Madagascar hosts some of the highest quality flake graphite deposits in the world. Graphmada Madagascar holds two exploitation permits located in eastern Madagascar 15 km west of the coast and 20 km southwest of Brickaville.

The permits were issued to by the Bureau du Cadastre Minier de Madagascar. The Loharano Licence, extends over 12.5 km2. The second exploitation permit, known as the Antsirabe Licence, covers an area of 6.25 km2.

The JORC resource report was performed with a trenching program on one half of the Loharano license. Based on the JORC resource this area showed contained graphite of 234,659 t.

Stratmin believes the additional licence areas

PROJECT FOCUS

Top ten graphite resource table according to Lincoln Minerals

are highly prospective, providing considerable exploration upside potential.

Graphmada Madagascar has completed the construction of a graphite processing plant at Loharano designed to produce approximately 12,000 t/y of processed graphite at full capacity.

Having a producing plant differentiates it from most other new players in graphite.

One Vision has been involved with the Graphmada project since inception in 2006. It designed the processing plant for the project with an initial capacity of 1,000 t/month of high purity, large flake graphite. One Vision has entered into a mine and processing management agreement with Graphmada to manage all the mining and beneficiation processes for the company.

The One Vision Agreement of November 2012, sets out the mining plan and the obligations of One Vision to act as operator of the Loharano graphite project. It is responsible for: ■ Achieving production targets in accordance with the mining plan ■ Providing such resources including manpower and equipment as may be necessary to fulfil its obligations ■ Operating all plant and machinery provided

by Graphmada Madagascar pursuant to the mining plan ■ Ensuring the quality and specification of all graphite produced is delivered as directed by Stratmin.

Loharano is in an area particularly well known for its high-quality flaky graphite. The graphite is extremely pure (up to 99% carbon) and occurs in the form of disseminated graphite flakes within the Proterozoic gneissic host rock.

The closest railroad access is 15 km from Brickaville towards Toamasina, which is the nearest export harbour. The common form of transporting graphite for export shipment is in a

shipping container on a truck over the main paved highway to the port facility.

The port of Toamasina handles 90% of Madagascar’s container traffic and more than 80% of all trade.

Kookaburra graphite In March Lincoln Minerals announced a maiden graphite resource in excess of 2 Mt and high grade for its flagship and wholly owned Kookaburra Gully graphite project on South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula. The Indicated and Inferred mineral resources for Kookaburra Gully comprise 2,250,000 t grading 15.0% total graphitic carbon (TGC) for 338,000 t of contained graphite at a nominal cutoff grade of 5% TGC. The resource estimate came just a month after Lincoln unveiled its first assay results for Kookaburra Gully showing significant high grade flake graphite intercepts with individual assays ranging up to 39.7% TGC including 9m at 27.7% TGC and 30m at 20.46% TGC. Around 15% TGC is universally accepted as high grade graphite.

The results also confirmed that the prospect’s high-grade flake graphite mineralisation extends to at least 125 m below ground level and is over 500 m in strike length.

The Kookaburra Gully prospect is at the northeast end of a 4.5 km long electromagnetic (EM) anomaly, confirming Lincoln says, potential for a large graphite exploration target as more than 80% of the anomaly’s EM targets are yet to be drilled.

“Kookaburra Gully is emerging as a worldclass flake graphite deposit capable of delivering near-term production at low cost,” Lincoln’s Managing Director, Dr John Parker, said. “There is significant further potential as we continue to explore major consistent EM anomalies immediately to the south of this maiden graphite resource.

“Lincoln is confident of being able to quickly progress Kookaburra Gully into a high-quality, long-life graphite mining and processing

operation as the outcomes in such a short time of this first round of resource definition and drilling are top-shelf results which auger well for follow-up work.

“Even with the definition by the company of this significant maiden resource, it is important to note that less than 20% of the Kookaburra Gully project area has been drill tested to date.

The infill drilling campaign at Kookaburra Gully and an additional drilling campaign on the extension of the major EM anomaly southwest of the area generating the resource estimate, will help complete the picture for this project.”

Parker said it had to be noted that while many northern Hemisphere graphite projects reported resources at a grade of around 2% TGC, Lincoln had deliberately excluded material below that grade in preparing its resource estimate, to ensure its commercial focus was on optimising and developing a proven high grade deposit.

Lincoln has set an Exploration Target for its graphite prospects in the Kookaburra Gully EM survey area (which includes Kookaburra Gully Extended and the historic Koppio graphite mine) of between 14.2 and 42.6 Mt, based on an estimated average grade in the range of 7-15% TGC. Parker said the lower estimate of the Exploration Target was based on a depth extent of only 50 m but the successful drilling campaign this year at the discovery Kookaburra Gully site had now shown that the 50 m starting point was likely to be a conservative estimate of what Lincoln holds on the deposit.

“We are pursuing full mining, production and processing of graphite through 2014,” Parker said. The company has completed preliminary metallurgical studies and a scoping study for Kookaburra Gully and is on track for a pilotscale operation by the end of 2013, subject to finance and approvals.

Study results to date indicate that Lincoln will be able to produce high-quality flake graphite (greater than 95% TGC) and that the anticipated graphite mining (from a small open pit with low strip ratios) and processing program will be globally competitive.

“Delineation of a worldclass flake graphite resource at Kookaburra Gully underpins a mining operation of a minimum 200,000 t/y of ore, for at least 10 years,” Parker said. “Grade is particularly critical in the graphite game for long-term mine sustainability and the highgrade resource announced today places Kookaburra Gully within the Top 10 graphite deposits in the western world, with respect to grade.

“This should help insulate future mining operations at Kookaburra Gully against potential price changes. The deposit’s location close to

MAY 2013 | International Mining 51

PROJECT FOCUS Having a producing plant differentiates Stratmin Global from many other new players in graphite

existing infrastructure in a politically stable regime was also important for development and operational continuity.”

The Kookaburra Gully graphite project is on tenements shared with Centrex Metals where Lincoln has the rights to all minerals other than iron. It is located approximately 35 km north of Port Lincoln on the Eyre Peninsula in SA, close to required infrastructure, including relevant ports, high voltage power lines and water supplies and to the Asia Pacific markets for the processed graphite.

In subsequent developments, a further scoping study this year by Lincoln has backed the development of a $2 million pilot graphite plant by year's end at Kookaburra Gully - the plant's output being used to generate samples for the first round of global product testing. The proposed pilot plant under consideration would be capable of producing 2.26 t/d of graphite concentrate within 24 weeks of construction commencing, in a move Parker says puts Lincoln another step closer to mainstream commercial output. Lincoln is aiming to have trial processed graphite samples ready and waiting for customer qualification by late this year or early 2014, subject to finance and approvals for the construction of the pilot plant which would be portable on three semi-trailer flat tops.

Bissett Creek In January this year, Northern Graphite awarded a C$3.5 million contract for the detailed engineering and design of its Bissett Creek graphite project in eastern Ontario to PESBECMA, a joint venture between Porcupine Engineering Services and BECMA. It will be responsible for the front end engineering and design (FEED) of the 2,500 t/y processing facility, and related infrastructure, that will produce some 20,000 t/y of large flake, high purity graphite.

In March, the company announced very positive results from a 61 hole, 3,425 m drilling program on Bissett Creek. The program was designed to infill a significant portion of Inferred resources with the objective of upgrading them to Measured and Indicated. In addition, the potential for higher grade zones to extend outside of the current resource model was tested. All 61 holes returned widths and grades as good as or better than those in the recently completed bankable feasibility study.

The current mine plan includes 1.5 Mt of Inferred resources that are treated as waste with zero grade and it excludes a substantial amount

52 International Mining | MAY 2013

of higher grade inferred resources. It is anticipated that the revised mine plan will show an increase in grade, a reduction in costs and a much longer mine life. A resource update and revised feasibility study is being completed by AGP Mining Consultants.

Gregory Bowes, CEO, commented that: "the Bissett Creek project has low engineering, technical and political risk, reasonable capital costs and competitive operating costs. It is expected to produce the highest quality concentrates in the industry." He added that "Once the feasibility study is updated, we anticipate finalising discussions with strategic partners and putting the mine financing package together."

The current resource estimate consists of 25,903,000 t Indicated resources and 55,038,000 t Inferred, at a 1% cutoff grade. The feasibility study estimated a Probable reserve of 19 Mt at a grade of 1.89% TGC based on Indicated resources only. It does not include 55 Mt of Inferred resources.

The property is located between the cities of Ottawa and North Bay, Ontario, Canada, some 15 km from the Trans Canada highway. It has good road access and is close to infrastructure.

Construction of the mine will take approximately 18 months and the estimated capital cost is C$102.9 million including a C$9.4 million contingency. It is expected to produce up to 20,000 t/y of graphite concentrate. Almost all production will be high carbon, +80 mesh large flake and over 50% will be +50 and +32 mesh jumbo sized flake, resulting in premium pricing.

Operating costs are very competitive due to a low, 0.50 waste to ore ratio and simple metallurgy. Operating costs over the first five years are C$851/t of concentrate based on contract mining. Owner mining will reduce costs below $800/t.

Based on a weighted average price of $2,100/t for the sizes and grades of graphite that will be produced, Northern Graphite says “the pre tax IRR is estimated at 15.6% and the NPV is C$72 million (@8%). Value added sales of spherical graphite for batteries is not included.

Indicative term sheets have been signed with Caterpillar Finance for $17.5 million in equipment financing and potential participation in the project debt facility.

Unique vein-type deposit Also in northern Canada, Zenyatta Ventures owns 100% of the Albany graphite deposit located 30 km north of the Trans Canada Highway, power line and natural gas pipeline near the communities of Constance Lake First Nation and Hearst in northeast Ontario. A rail line is located 70 km away and there is an allweather road some 4-5 km from the deposit.

The deposit is near surface, underneath glacial till overburden and a thin veneer of Paleozoic sedimentary cover rocks.

There were significant results in February from a second series of beneficiation tests conducted at SGS Canada on samples from Albany. Trials using two different leaching processes both yielded results exceeding the target of >99.0% C. One process yielded 99.7% C while another different and cheaper process yielded an exceptional purity of 99.96% C. This is further confirmation of earlier mineralogical studies that showed the Albany ‘vein-type’ graphite material to be of high quality and containing minor amounts of impurities. The ability to produce a natural graphite product equivalent in purity to the highest grade synthetic graphite using low-cost conventional processing techniques will allow Zenyatta to target the

PROJECT FOCUS Therefore, natural high purity graphite is gaining traction over synthetic graphite for many applications due to lower cost of production.

Also, natural graphite has superior qualities such as higher specific capacity and less porosity.

Zenyatta believes that globally, the only graphite mines of Albany’s vein-type are located in Sri Lanka and have been in production since 1847. “The current high grade, underground mining operations produce only 5,500 t/y from narrow (5-10 cm) veins. Despite the lack of volume, Sri Lankan ‘vein-type’ graphite has enjoyed great demand due to its unusually high purity and unique physical properties. Graphite veins are quite rare and in many industrial applications offer superior performance due to higher thermal and electrical conductivity.”

Zenyatta's Albany vein-type graphite deposit is very high grade and could be a project of great value

growing market in high value-added graphite applications.

Aubrey Eveleigh, President and CEO stated “Achieving these ultra-high purity carbon values at such an early stage from a simple and relatively inexpensive process is truly remarkable. This large ‘vein-type’ graphite deposit appears to be ‘one of a kind’ globally in both size and quality.” Eveleigh also stated “With accelerated global interest in the Albany graphite deposit, Zenyatta will continue to discuss the merits of the project with potential strategic partners, including graphite endusers.”

Zenyatta reports that “natural graphite material has varying levels of quality depending on the type (vein, flake or amorphous). The degree of purity can vary greatly, which heavily influences the use of the material in applications and its pricing. Carbon purity of natural graphite can generally range from 70.0% all the way to 99.0%, whereas synthetic graphite is usually greater than 99.0%. Given the ultra-high purity at Albany, the company will be positioning the material to compete in the $13 billion (1.5 Mt/y) synthetic market.

“Synthetic graphite is significantly more expensive to make but commands the highest market prices due to its purity. It can cost $4,000-$5,000/t (99.5% purity) to produce but can be sold for $7,000-$9,000/t. Ultra-high purity (99.9%) graphite can demand a price of $20,000-$30,000/t. Processing and purification of natural graphite has improved greatly in recent years and projects with initial high purity graphite, like the Albany vein-type, require less purification and therefore lower cost to produce.”

Given the recent metallurgical success, Zenyatta is now focusing on defining the size and grade of this rare, vein-type or hydrothermal-style graphite deposit. The goal of the current program is to expand on a 2012 drilling campaign that intersected a large mineralised zone of graphitic breccia and veining which yielded up to 6.6% C over 170 m from widely spaced drill holes. This previous nine-hole drill program succeeded in establishing widespread graphite mineralisation laterally for several hundred metres and to a vertical depth of 400 m, where it remains open.

The current drilling will consist of a minimum of 10,000 m and will further test the extent of the Geotech VTEM airborne conductor that measures 1,400 m east-west by 800 m northsouth. The program will require 40 holes and is expected to continue until August, after which a NI 43-101 resource estimate will be calculated.

Eveleigh said: "This larger drill campaign will further define the size and shape of the only known ‘vein type’ or hydrothermal graphite deposit under development in the world.

Hydrothermal graphite deposits, like the Albany, are extremely rare and known to offer superior performance in many industrial applications due to its distinctive properties. We believe the deposit is emerging as a very important and unique graphite resource. Zenyatta’s exploration team headed by Peter Wood, VP Exploration will manage the program over the next four to six months. Wood will focus on defining a resource estimate at the Albany graphite deposit and prepare for a prefeasibility study in the second half of the year.”

Synthetic graphite producers are faced with escalating energy costs associated with turning petroleum coke into graphite. Another big concern for synthetic producers is the diminishing supply of petroleum (needle) coke derived from low sulphur, sweet crude oil.

Graphene the ‘wonder’ Graphene is a substance composed of pure carbon, with atoms arranged in a regular hexagonal pattern similar to graphite, but in a one-atom thick sheet. It is very light, with a 1-m2 sheet weighing only 0.77 mg. It too is an allotrope of carbon and flake graphite consists of many graphene sheets stacked together.

Must recently, in March, a new aerogel made from graphene looks set to claim the title of the world's lightest material. Created by a research team from China's Zhejiang University, the aerogel has an ultra low density of just 0.16mg/cm³, lower than the density of helium and of the aerographite material which until now held the crown.

Visual Capitalist says research has shown graphene to have: ■ 1,000 times the electrical current capacity of copper wire ■ 200 times the strength of structural steel ■ 10 times better heat conductivity than copper ■ 20% flexibility without any damage.

Northern Graphite notes “traditional demand for graphite is largely tied to the steel industry where it is used as a liner for ladles and crucibles, as a component in bricks which line furnaces (refractories), and as an agent to increase the carbon content of steel. In the automotive industry it is used in brake linings, gaskets and clutch materials. Graphite also has a myriad of other uses in batteries, lubricants, fire retardants, and reinforcements in plastics.

“The market for graphite exceeds 1 Mt/y of which 60% is amorphous and 40% flake. Only flake graphite which can be upgraded to 99.9% purity is suitable for making Li ion batteries.

The graphite market is almost as large as the nickel market (1.3 Mt/y), far larger than the markets for magnesium, molybdenum or tungsten and more than 50 times the size of the lithium or rare earth markets.” IM

MAY 2013 | International Mining 53

HIGH PROFILE

Carefully controlled Paul Moore spoke to Greg Magdanz, Director of Schneider Electric’s Mining, Minerals and Metals Competency Centre and Fabio Mielli, Mining, Metals and Minerals Segment Manager, about its specific mining offering and scope

Schneider Electric’s head office in RueilMalmaison, France

Q You have said that Schneider Electric is helping mining companies maintain yields, conserve costs, and improve the efficiency of their processes by integrating technology-based solutions into the ‘control room of the future.’

Can you expand on what you mean by control room of the future and the scope of solutions that Schneider can offer?

The control room of the future is a collection of different disciplines and software that address different mining challenges. Each one of the software packages has specific functionalities in a mining operation – while they also exchange information – empowering mining personnel to make production and business decisions that improve the over efficiency of a mining operation. For mining, we summarise the Schneider Electric solutions and software into six basic disciplines. These are Process Control, for unit operations control, supervision and operation; Energy Manager for energy efficiency and control insights; Resource Advisor, a high level portal for sustainability information; Mine Business Operations, a data aggregator that delivers mining production insights such as KPIs, inventory, mass balance, reconciliation and OEE; Buildings and Security Management

covering video analytics, buildings surveillance and access control; and finally Advanced Weather Tools for advanced forecast and personnel alert systems. All of these solutions are connected to a myriad of hardware solutions provided by Schneider Electric from power to control, and from critical power to camera systems.

Q Back in February, Schneider launched the PlantStruxure Process Expert System. Am I correct in saying that this is a major part of the company’s drive to improve process automation systems at mines?

Yes, PES is a new process control approach that is very suitable for the entire mining life cycle and its operational challenges. The system is configured according to the mine hierarchy and

process flow and diagrams. It is also a single package, avoiding the requirement to install or open different software types and applications by function, from engineering and operations to maintenance. The system also manages a single source of data, avoiding information duplication or inconsistencies. Finally, it is object oriented in that any device is an entity with its logic, variables, alarms and graphical faceplates and can be re-used and customised according to the user needs. For example, a flotation cell can be encapsulated as a single object and reused as the process requires. Also, any and all information such as manuals, diagrams and asset management links associated with the object are accessible through the program.

Q Has this been installed at any mining

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HIGH PROFILE customer sites as yet? Can you expand on the functionality and scalability of PES as an offering to mining?

PES is an evolution from our current systems and it doesn’t disrupt the evolution of the current installed base in several hundred mining operations. However, several global mining operations are installing new PES systems or migrating legacy systems to PES. Q How easy is it for existing mines to upgrade legacy process control systems to the latest Schneider Electric solutions? Is it worth the cost for them to do this?

As the inventors of the PLC through predecessor company Modicon, Schneider Electric has always been preoccupied with the product life cycle and its evolution from legacy systems to new systems, and trying to save as much hardware as possible in the process, for example cabling and I/Os, as well as achieving a smooth software migration. Migration is virtually very cost effective and can be addressed in a step wise approach. The upgrade from other non-Schneider systems will depend on the installed legacy system and what is possible to preserve; for example Schneider Electric has launched several network and I/O adapters in order to save the current I/O systems that to replace can be extremely expensive and problematic in large operations.

Additionally, our services division assists with the migrations in order to provide a smooth transition for the customer.

Q How would you differentiate the Schneider Electric process control approach versus offerings from Honeywell, ABB, Rockwell, Emerson, Siemens and others in terms of what you offer the mining customer?

At a process control product level, like Schneider Electric, all of these companies are global and have high-quality products with slightly differences in features and approach; we

believe the real differences start when you analyse the complete solution for a mining operation. Schneider Electric sees process control and automation beyond just products and the classical unit operations control systems; our approach is to deliver to a mining business the information they need to help them improve productivity and increase efficiency and profit by providing the most optimised system that integrates all of the disciplines already described. Additionally we believe we have a unique collection of solutions tailored for mining users. In addition, few companies are able to deliver hardware, software and services in such a wide scope – from surveillance to data centres, power distribution to control systems, critical power to building management, and from energy management to mining business optimisation.

Q Is it the case that most solutions are not mining specific, rather tailored to heavy industry processes, on both the hardware and software side? Are there not issues unique to mining?

Mining is one of the global targeted segments for Schneider Electric and many of our solutions were developed in or for the mining segment.

From simple circuit breakers to major software systems we take into consideration mining applications and requirements to meet the specific needs of the industry. Mining has specific issues when compared to other heavy industries. These include variability, external influences, asset and people intensive processes, a complex chain of operations, logistical issues, water and energy use and management, and people and asset safety. We research our customers’ challenges and develop solutions to address their needs.

Q How important are mobile application solutions becoming for plant control, such as allowing plant manager to monitor plant performance remotely from the process control area?

With ore grades declining and an ever growing labour gap of skilled workers along with safety concerns as the top priorities for mines, we feel that mines are looking more towards the ability to remotely automate mining operations in order to address these concerns and continue to improve their cost position in order to maintain competitiveness.

Q On the energy efficiency and power distribution side, where is Schneider Electric heading with solutions for mining?

Power distribution must be intelligent to be efficient and safe. The integration between power distribution, motor control and process control is key to delivering such intelligence. We see energy as a process variable than a consumable. Also, energy efficiency can only be achieved if we know what to do with the information coming from all these smart devices and systems; when looking at our control room approach at least four tools play directly role related to energy efficiency. These are Process Control, recognising that energy efficiency is directly related to process optimisation and that advanced functionalities guarantee that the process works to its best performance. As an example, a SAG mill can only achieve its best energy performance when its control is also optimised. Energy Manager refers to the “supervision system” for energy management such as monitoring power quality, energy forecasts and energy consumption. Energy information can be useless if not cross referenced with mine production information – and within Mine Business Operations, the energy consumption is cross referenced with energy drivers, including areas, production and process scenarios, shifts, teams and downtime.

Finally, Resource Advisor recognises that any complex operation has several sites and literally hundreds of energy efficiency initiatives – this tool acts as an energy/sustainability news aggregator that delivers information from multiple energy initiatives, their targets and ROI such as low emissions projects. IM

MAY 2013 | International Mining 55

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