Australian Mining September 2015 by Prime Creative Media

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AUTOMATION POWER GENERATION VOLUME 107/8 | SEPTEMBER 2015

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COMMENT

COAL CAMPAIGN FAR FROM AMAZING MINING NEEDS A VOICE, BUT WHEN IT DOES SPEAK IT NEEDS TO SAY THE RIGHT THING.

COLE LATIMER

ozmining@cirrusmedia.com.au

he industry faces an uphill battle when it comes to PR, with the majority of social media firmly in the anti-coal camp. The sector, while tech savvy in terms of automation, equipment, and massive pieces of machinery, is well behind the 8-ball when it comes to social media. At the recent Industry Dinner held during AIMEX, the head of the Northparkes mine Stef Loader explained the industry’s current predicament. “There are some noisy people who take up a lot of airtime, but who represent a small percentage of the population…we need to tell our story, and tell it loudly,” Loader said. But they are on the backfoot, as Michael Pascoe explained at the same event: “The industry lost a war before they even knew they were fighting a battle.” I’m sure the Minerals Council of Australia thought it was doing the right thing when it planned a campaign to promote the industry and its commodities. But when it puts together poorly thought-

out campaigns, more harm is done than good. This isn’t the industry’s first foray into the social media space, or our first comment on the industry’s seeming inability to make headway via twitter or facebook. The long running back and forth over Maules Creek is a perfect example of the mining industry failing to gain a real foothold on social media as its opponents conduct a clever campaign against it. They are still online all day, every day tweeting to Environment Minister Greg Hunt, writing blogs, and posting photos. Using the hashtag ‘#leardblockade’, activists are constantly encouraging each other and sending out call-to-arms to the public to support their case. What are miners doing you may ask? Very little. This #coalisamazing campaign signals a massive shift for the industry, and follows on from another poor PR attempt by the MCA, ‘Australians for Coal’. In both campaigns the MCA attempted to address some of the ‘myths’ abo ut the resources and the industry itself, but all it did was open itself to ridicule, with

environmentalists tearing the campaign apart on twitter. There was a real opportunity to reach people, and they missed it. Completely. Both times. If you get a chance, trawl through twitter with the #coalisamazing to see some of the ways it’s been torn apart. Mining is an essential industry for Australia, and it needs to demonstrate the multitude of ways that it supports Australia, and the importance of the various commodities. If it can do that right then Australia will support it. By being on the front foot and not giving a blinkered approach the industry can get some of its facts into the debate. But campaigns need to be honest and show the great things that mining provides, as well as admit that there are some aspects that aren’t so great and acknowledge that as and industry it is working to rectify these issues.

ON THE FRONT COVER For this issue of Australian Mining, we’ve focused on the newest technological developments in automated and remote control technology, and what is helping miners to achieve safer and more productive operations. We also look at the new safety developments, and speak to the director of a new film detailing the history of coal mining in Queensland. AIMEX is also under the spotlight, as we review the show and speak to exhibitors to get an snapshot of the current state of the industry.

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER MARTIN SINCLAIR Email: martin.sinclair@cirrusmedia.com.au EDITOR COLE LATIMER Tel: (02) 8484 0652 Email: ozmining@cirrusmedia.com.au JOURNALISTS VICKY VALIDAKIS Tel: (02) 8484 0964 Email: vicky.validakis@cirrusmedia.com.au BRENT BALINSKI Tel: (02) 8484 0680 Email: brent.balinski@cirrusmedia.com.au

BEN HAGEMANN Tel: (02) 8484 0884 Email: ben.hagemann@cirrusmedia.com.au GROUP SALES MANAGER TIM RICHARDS Tel: (02) 8484 0829 Mob: 0420 550 799 Email: tim.richards@cirrusmedia.com.au SOUTH AFRICA BOB STEPHEN Stephen Marketing PO Box 75, Tarlton, Gauteng 1749, South Africa Tel: 27(011) 952 1721 Fax: 27(011) 952 1607 USA JONATHAN SISMEY Cirrus Media 24th Floor, 125 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Tel: (1) 212 370 7445 Fax: (1) 212 370 7441 Email: jsismey@ix.netcom.com

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SEPTEMBER 2015

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CONTENTS

MINESITE VEHICLES

WA SPOTLIGHT

10-16

SCANNING FROM THE SKIES Growing drone use on WA mines

30-36

SUSTAINABILITY AT THE SUPER PIT A new emissions reduction system is making the Super Pit safer

MINING THE VALUE OF ASSETS Fleet management is becoming increasingly crucial on site ARTICULATING TRUCK EVOLUTION Three new articulated haul trucks are set to hit Australian shores AC, NOT DC Hitachi have launched new AC drive haul trucks

SAFETY

AUTOMATION

TESTING SAFETY ON SITE Miners from around the country to clash at the Australian Mines Rescue Competition

38-40

18-24

BLOOD ON THE COAL Documentary film-maker Jeff Bird talks to Australian Mining about his third film about coal mining in Australia, and the history of safety in mines

MINING AUTOMATION: THE BE ALL AND END ALL? What hurdles lay ahead in automation implementation

AIMEX REVIEW

42-44

POWER GENERATION

What was on show, and the mood of the event

MINERALS PROCESSING

MINING A NEW SOURCE OF ENERGY The burgeoning solar push in mining

26-28

58-59

SAFER URANIUM HANDLING A unique modular processing system at a new uranium mine

REGULARS

INDUSTRIAL COMMENT PRODUCT SHOWCASE

6 50-52

NEWS JOBS AUSTRALIANMINING

60-61 4

SEPTEMBER 2015

PRODUCT FOCUS

EVENTS

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INDUSTRIAL COMMENT

IT’S TIME FOR COAL TO MAKE A STAND IT’S TIME FOR ‘UNETHICAL’ COAL TO FIGHT BACK, MICHAEL BAUME WRITES.

t last Australia’s beleaguered coal industry has something going for it. After being labelled unethical by Sydney’s Anglican church and a couple of equally precious universities that have decided to divest themselves of shares in this dirty fossil fuel, under constant attack from the Greens, vilified for wanting to mine some non-cultivated hills near the fertile Liverpool Plains and maybe disturbing the water table (another good populist platform for Alan Jones), damned for its CO2 emissions that (‘the science is settled’) cause global warming, criticised for wanting to export coal to India from Abbott Point (the name is bad enough!), assailed by gas and oil rivals as ‘the enemy’ while mocking the concept of ‘clean

coal’ and its death knell being sounded by the ABC in welcoming, in what passed for analysis in its opinionated 4 Corners program, ‘The End of Coal’, it is time for coalmining to fight back. The ABC’s reports of coal’s death are premature; its wishful thinking that technological change risks Australia ‘backing a loser’ by sticking with coal as ‘our big-gest customers are turning to alternative energy’ does not fit comfortably with the reality that even with the end of the mining boom, coal production and exports continue to rise – and are officially fore-cast to continue to do so. Coal is no ‘dying energy source whose use is being phased out’. The ABC’s requiem for coal has been rudely interrupted by the latest statistics from the Department of Industry and Science which show not only a respect-

able 4.2 per cent rise in production of metallurgical coal (which goes to make steel) to 188 million tonnes in 2014-15, but also predicts a further rise of almost 3 per cent in the current financial year. And for thermal coal (that is burned for electricity and is the real subject of ABC/Green

THERMAL COAL OUTPUT HAS ACTUALLY RISEN 4.2 PER CENT YEAR ON YEAR

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philosophical hatred), a modest rise of almost one per cent to 246 million tonnes is fore-cast to increase by 1.4 per cent in 2015-16. So despite falling world prices, Australia continues to export more coal than ever before. And the composition of those exports dramatises why the coal debate in Australia is so ill-informed. While the ABC dealt with coal as if its only task was to generate power, the reality is that steel-making ‘metallurgical’ coal, which cannot be replaced by wind, solar or other ‘renewables’, earns 40 per cent more export income ($22 billion) than the steaming coal that its supporters, like Tony Abbott, say is needed to provide the cheap source of power necessary to ease third world poverty. Yet the ABC focused, in its ill-researched 4 Corners, entirely on the thermal product, because that is the enemy of the renewable energy dogma. But it is not only Australia that faces continuing increases in coal production despite the (heavily subsidised) growth of renewable energy. Massive increases in Asian demand for coal are forecast by the International Energy Agency. Within 10 years, India’s electricity generation is projected to exceed the combined current output of Japan, South Korea and Australia, with a tripling of modest wind and solar but

SEPTEMBER 2015

with coal providing the great bulk of the rise. And while Indonesia is currently India’s main supplier, Australia’s higher quality lower-emissions thermal coal is the reason Indian power suppliers are keen to invest in Australian coal. Much of the smog that shrouds Asian cities at pre-sent comes less from carbon dioxide than from sulphur and ash emissions from the low-grade coal Australia could replace. While China’s overall coal consumption will slow to a more modest rise, other Asian countries like Malaysia, Thailand, Taipei, Bangladesh and Pakistan are together expected to be bigger importers than China. And now that Australian coal prices have retreated from their boom peaks that priced them out of so many Asian markets (like India), the opportunities for coal exports in the region would not suit the ABC’s prejudices. It’s time to resist the anticoal verbal bullying that now infests social media. A strong coal industry adapting itself to changing technology, will continue to be in Australia’s best interests for many years: Tweets like ‘Coal was a necessary evil, but now it is no longer necessary’ is a prime example of how programs like 4 Corners distort what should be a debate of real substance for all Australians.

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NEWS

THE LATEST MINING NEWS AND SAFETY

Newcrest said it was offering support to family, friends and work colleagues during this difficult time. Investigations into the incident are continuing, with police officers being assisted by investigators from Mine Safety NSW. A report will be prepared for the information of the Coroner.

AUSTRALIAN MINING PRESENTS THE LATEST NEWS AND SAFETY AFFECTING YOU FROM THE BOARDROOM TO THE MINE AND EVERYWHERE IN BETWEEN. VISIT WWW.MININGAUSTRALIA.COM.AU TO KEEP UP TO DATE WITH WHAT IS HAPPENING. WA RESOURCES WORTH NEARLY $100 BILLION New figures from the WA Department of Mines and Petroleum have highlighted the value of the state’s resources industry. In statistics released today, the WA DMP said the industry was valued at $99.5 billion in 2014-15. Iron ore was the highest rated commodity, worth $54 billion in sales to Western Australia. This was despite falling Chinese demand for the metal. “Western Australia produced 719 million tonnes of iron ore in 2014-15, a 15 per cent increase compared to the previous year, however the low iron ore price resulted in a decrease in the total value of sales,” WA DMP general manager for policy and co-ordination Richard Borozdin said. Gold brought $9 billion worth of sales into the state, an increase of 1.5 per cent year on year. Alumina was the third most value commodity to WA, reaching more than $5 billion in value, a 20 per cent jump compared to the previous corresponding period, which was buoyed by the weak Australian dollar. The energy sector brought he second highest valuation to the state, worth $24 billion overall, although this was a nine per cent decrease on previous figures.

FMG IN NO HURRY TO SELL STAKES Fortescue Metals Group has been approached by two parties interested in buying a stake in its mining operations, but the company is not in a rush to sell. In an interview on Wednesday FMG’s chief executive, Nev Power, said the miner would wait for the iron ore price to recover before entering serious discussions about a sale. It was March this year when Power told The Australian the company may look to sell a minority stake in its Pilbara assets. It came after the company posted a first-half profit of $US331 million,

MINER KILLED IN TRUCK ROLLOVER

down from the $US1.7 billion it posted a year earlier, due to the depressed price of iron ore. The commodity dropped to its lowest price ever in July of $US44.10 per tonne. It has since made a recovery, and was last trading at $US56.40 per tonne. This is still a far cry from the $US82 per tonne iron ore was trading at in September 2014, or the $US134 per tonne it was valued at in 2013. Power said he believes the commodity is still trading at unduly depressed prices, and that FMG was not in a hurry to sell. “We are in very strong shape and therefore we can be patient,” Power said. “That might mean we need to wait until potential investors think the iron ore price is about to go up again, and then they will be more motivated.”

A worker has died at Hanking Gold’s mine following a truck rollover yesterday. The unnamed, 56 year old contractor was driving the truck at the Cornishman pit, when the incident occurred around midday. It is understood he was thrown from the vehicle when the rollover occurred. Workers on site attempted to revive the man, but were reportedly unsuccessful. It is understood that Watpac provides mining services at the Cornishman pit, as well as the nearby Axehandle mine. The WA Department of Mines and Petroleum are investigating the incident.

SUPREME COURT REJECTS ANTI-GVK APPEAL

COPPER PRICE JUMPS

An environmental appeal against Gina Rinehart’s GVK-Hancock Alpha coal mine has been quashed in the Supreme Court. The court rejected two appeals, one against the mine’s approval by the Land Court, as well as an appeal of the granting of the Environmental Authority, a move which was in the same vein as those that have stymied the development of Adani’s Carmichael coal mine. The miner welcomed the news. “This judgement combines the second and third court ruling in favour of our comprehensive suite of environmental assessments for the Alpha Coal Project,” GVK Hancock spokesperson Josh Euler said. “This legal challenge did not involve landholders in the region, it was only brought forward by anti-mining activists,” he added. Both the Queensland and Federal governments have been investigating the potential curtailing of the ability of groups against mining projects and developments to oppose their approvals. Euler described today’s quashing of the two recent appeals as a major win. “This is a great day for Queensland as we can now get on with taking the next step towards creating thousands of

The copper price has recorded a 6 per cent rise, sealing a seven week high for the metal. The metal sat around $5390 per tonne on Friday, for December deliveries. This is a massive leap from the six year low it reached in late August, when it briefly fell below the US$5000 per tonne benchmark. Much of this leap was brought about by Glencore’s plans to slash around 400,000 tonnes of copper cathode from the market over the next 18 months by shutting down two of its African operations. Added to this is the slowing down of global production compared to forecast demand.

MINER DIES AT RIDGEWAY GOLD MINE A 28-year-old mine worker has died at Newcrest’s Cadia Ridgeway gold mine, located near Orange in New South Wales. The mine technician was fatally injured on Sunday night and police say initial investigations suggest the man was struck by a piece of machinery. He died at the scene. AUSTRALIANMINING

SEPTEMBER 2015

AUSTRALIAN MINING GETS THE LATEST NEWS EVERY DAY, PROVIDING MINING PROFESSIONALS WITH THE UP TO THE MINUTE INFORMATION ON SAFETY, NEWS AND TECHNOLOGY FOR THE AUSTRALIAN MINING AND RESOURCES INDUSTRY.

jobs for the region and State,” he said. The project will now focus on working on its approvals for the granting of a mining lease for Alpha. “Once approvals are finalised we will execute coal offtake agreements with customers and finalise all financing arrangements in preparation for the commencement of construction,” Euler added.

HAS THE MINING DOWNTURN FINISHED? WA premier Colin Barnett has stated that mining has reached the bottom of the trough, but that the future remains difficult. Speaking at the Africa Downunder Conference, Barnett declared the worst of the slump over despite ongoing volatility in commodity prices. “I’m either brave enough or silly enough to suggest that we’ve hit the bottom,” Barnett said. “Global markets are fragile but the fact that we’re seeing some greater stability in commodities, oil prices, gas prices, iron ore prices – I think we have probably hit the bottom.” He went on to slam mining’s detractors, who have called it a sunset industry. “That is naive and wrong. It is a dominant industry,” he said. “If China has slowed from 12 per cent growth to 7 per cent growth, that will do me.”

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WA SPOTLIGHT

SCANNING FROM THE SKIES UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES, MORE COMMONLY KNOWN AS DRONES, ARE BECOMING A KEY TOOL IN STOCKPILE SURVEY AND OTHER AREAS, IMPROVING THE SAFETY AND PRODUCTIVITY OF IRON ORE OPERATIONS IN WA.

he ever-changing face of technology has seen the use of drones become commonplace in a number of areas of the mining industry, but particularly so in Rio Tinto’s iron ore operations. In the past year Rio Tinto has planned and tested the use of drones for environmental and heritage surveys, inspections of equipment such as conveyors, pit wall inspections, gathering aerial imagery, thermal imaging, and geotechnical inspections. Technology and innovation executive at Rio Tinto, Greg Lilleyman, says the company has seen immense potential for drones to help extend the advantage the miner holds through the innovative use of technology, which can help to improve the safety and productivity of their operations. “Information will be the single biggest differentiating factor between the mining operations of the past and those in the future, and drones can produce a wealth of information to allow us to make better decisions,” Lilleyman said. “Anyone can buy a drone and they’re easy to operate, but the

trick is having the best minds working out what you do with them. “We’re constantly thinking outside the box to imagine how they can be integrated into our mining operations to make complex tasks safer, quicker and cheaper, as well as working with regulators to meet their requirements.” Lilleyman said Rio Tinto was already using drones to monitor sites and inspect equipment, in order to minimise tasks safety risks to employees, as well as time and disruptions to operations. “Other innovative uses we are finding include tasks like monitoring remote turtle nesting sites and spraying weeds as part of our environmental programs.” “Some of the future uses we can already see include monitoring geo-technical issues in difficult to access areas and inspecting vast stretches of infrastructure like power and rail lines, and we’re sure there will be many more.” Earlier this month aviation specialist Kevan Reeve talked at the SGS Symposium in Perth to outline the ways drones are improving aerial survey ability, and in turn the productivity at Rio Tinto iron ore mines in WA . So far the chief benefit of drone use to be identified has

been to remove employees from hazardous tasks such as stockpile survey, where loose ground and destabilisation of the stockpiles can result in serious injury. But there several other areas of benefit such as productivity increases, enabled through reduction of downtime for inspections, allowing machinery and equipment to continue operation without shutdown while the inspection takes place. In turn, surveying of large areas can be done in a very short space of time, compared to when a surveyor has been required to walk the same area. Cost reductions are also implemented through the absence of need for other equipment (such as scaffolding) to conduct inspections, as well as the fact that in most cases drones are significantly cheaper than helicopters for aerial survey. Rio Tinto currently uses rotary wing drones at the Argyle diamond operations in the Kimberley to monitor pit/wall movement above the underground block caving. Since September 2014 Rio Tinto have used the Aibotix X6 UAV to survey the pit floor for subsidence and other potential dangers to underground workers.

AUSTRALIANMINING

Rio Tinto’s iron ore division uses fixed wing drones for site and remote survey work, and rotary wing drones allow easier, low impact survey of turtle nesting sites on coastal areas. Coal operations in NSW also use fixed wing drones to survey stockpile inventories, while rotary wing drones are used to perform boom inspections on draglines and weed spraying, and in Queensland stockpile inventories are done on aluminium sites. Fortescue Metals has also recently announced the deployment of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles which would be used to survey the Cloudbreak Mine.

SEPTEMBER 2015

With two Cloudbreak employees having completed the Civil Aviation Safety Authority UAV controller training, another four were undergoing training at the start of September. Fortescue brought in the new technology as a means of conducting stockpile surveys while reducing the health and safety risks typically faced by the survey team when on the ground. Until now Fortescue has used third-party contractors to conduct aerial surveys and other drone activity, but with trials successful it is understood the miner will be looking at having the technology in-house. AM

THE AIBOTIX A6 HAS BEEN USED TO CONDUCT SURVEYS OF THE ARGYLE DIAMOND MINE SINCE SEPTEMBER 2014: [©AIBOTIX]

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WA SPOTLIGHT

SUSTAINABILITY AT THE SUPER PIT A NEW EMISSIONS REDUCTION SYSTEM IS MAKING THE SUPER PIT SAFER.

algoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines (KCGM) is one of Australia’s largest gold producers, running the world famous Super Pit in the goldfields of Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. In an effort to raise efficiency and environmental sustainability KCGM recently commissioned a new carbon regeneration kiln as part of its $98 million Emissions Reduction project which has eliminated sulphur dioxide and significantly reduced mercury emissions from its Gidji and Fimiston Processing Facilities. Annually, KCGM processes over 12 million tonnes of rock to produce up to 800,000 ounces of gold. The Fimiston Open Pit is mined using the drill-and-blast method, with the ore crushed down to nominal 300mm in size, and then ground down to 0.2mm sized particles before it is mixed with flotation reagents. This produces a gold-rich froth, which is dewatered in filters to produce a sulphide gold concentrate. A common practice is to roast this concentrate at 650°C which vaporises sulphur dioxide and other impurities like mercury. Most of the gold ore found along the Golden Mile is intricately bound in various sulphide minerals such as pyrite. The roasting process is the most efficient and cost-effective way to maximise the recovery of gold from the ore and has been used in the Goldfields since 1898. The downside of roasting is the presence of sulphur dioxide (SO2) and mercury in the off-gas emissions. Up until early 2015 KCGM used roasting at its Gidji Processing Plant, however

as part of its Air Quality Management Plan, the company would stop the roasting process whenever prevailing winds could blow roasting emissions towards the nearby town. This resulted in unplanned stoppages and the sacrifice of up to a third of available production time. Improving air quality for the community and avoiding disruptions to production were the key drivers for research into alternatives to the roasting process. This year as part of KCGM’s $98 million ‘Emissions Reduction Project’, a new larger ultra-fine grinding (UFG) Mill was installed at Gidji to replace roasting. UFG reduces ore down to 12 micron particles, it is then subjected to a cyanidation process followed by adsorp-

tion onto activated carbon in a process called Carbon-in-Leach or CIL. Next, the carbon is recovered from the CIL process and transferred to the elution circuit. The elution process uses caustic soda and cyanide in a pressurised column at 110°C to strip the gold off the carbon. Once this step is complete, only the spent carbon is left behind. The carbon is then rinsed in water and sent for regeneration via the carbon regeneration kilns. The gold continues on to another process called electrowinning, where it is converted into a solid which is deposited onto large plates using an electric current (approximately 3000 amps at 12 volts). The gold is then washed off the plates,

AN ULTRA FINE GRINDING MILL WAS INSTALLED TO REPLACE ROASTERS

dried, melted at over 1000°C and poured into gold bars.

DOWNSTREAM FROM ULTRA-FINE GRINDING

The implementation of UFG had a significant impact on KCGM’s downstream processes. The UFG process does not remove the sulphur or mercury as the roaster did,” Mark Roberts, a metallurgist at KCGM, explained. “As a result the mercury carries over into the CIL process, where it adsorbs onto the activated carbon, reducing its capacity for gold adsorption. “This means carbon is required to be eluted more frequently to achieve the same result in the CIL process.” Carbon can be ‘reactivated’ for reuse by treating it in carbon regeneration kilns which heat it up to 700°C, vaporising the impurities still present following the elution process. Because the increased frequency of elution strips the capacity to regenerate the carbon, an additional carbon regeneration kiln had to be installed. “The mercury, which had previously been removed by roasting, is now present in the kiln,” Roberts said. “The existing gas scrubbers downstream of the kiln could not effectively handle the increased load and so a new scrubber and off-gas cleaning plant had to be designed and installed.” KCGM first installed two Metso carbon regeneration kilns in 1994 and 1997. Hratch Loussikian, Metso’s national product manager – Pyro Systems, played a key role in the supply of the original kilns and has been directly involved in Continued page 14

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SEPTEMBER 2015

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From page 12 KCGM’s carbon regeneration process for over 10 years. He recalls, “When we tendered for the new kiln, our long term involvement with KCGM along with our intimate knowledge of their process and requirements led us to produce a design that met the unique requirements of this project, while delivering a high degree of energy efficiency. I believe that this, combined with our history of delivering quality spare parts and services led KCGM to choose Metso to supply the new kiln.” Supply of the new kiln was a joint effort between Metso and a number of its long-term business partners; Electrical Board Manufacturers for control and automation, Mining Combustion Services for kiln heating, and NEPEAN Engineering & Innovation for kiln fabrication.

HOW IT WORKS

The carbon regeneration kiln is a ro-

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AUTOMATION AND OPERATIONAL SAFETY

With the carbon at 700°C, safety is essential, particularly in the event of any process malfunction. This means the kiln Continued page 16

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From page 14 needs an independently powered safety shutdown system, as a momentary loss of control by the DCS (Distributed Control System) or a power outage could have catastrophic results. The drum which carries the carbon runs at temperatures of between 850°C and 1000°C, so stopping the kiln drum from rotating, even for a short period of time, will cause the drum to sag under its own weight. “Even the smallest changes in tolerances will have dramatic effects on the kiln’s ability to operate correctly; it may not operate at all,” Loussikian explained. “With no easy way to rectify damage, it is likely the kiln would be offline for up to six months, whilst a new one is operation and control needed to be testTHE NEW SCRUBBER CAN TAKE THE ed and proven independent of the DCS. constructed and installed. GAS FROM UP TO THREE KILNS “Our design takes care of this prob- Metso and Electrical Board Manufacturers designed a complete lem with a special shutdown operation Replacing roasting with UFG impactthat is driven by a battery backup sys- system that was only required to contem in case of power failure. It keeps trol the kiln’s operation during testing ed every process downstream, including the interaction between the newly the kiln rotating until all the carbon is and commissioning. David Merrick, Electrical Board Man- designed kiln and scrubber. safely out of the kiln and the drum has Unique engineering solutions had to cooled down sufficiently to safely stop.” ufacturers’ automation and control engiOnce the kiln had been assembled neer, explained that “once testing was be developed and applied throughout and tied in with the mechanical and complete, control of the kiln was trans- the commissioning process to ensure optimal performance of these two critelectrical components of the upstream ferred to the Yokogawa DCS”. “To ensure that control is exactly the ical elements in the process. and downstream processes, testing and According to Paul Antcliff, KCGM’s same, our programming and our concold commissioning started. a lot of co-operation Although A M 0 9 1the 5 _kiln 0 0will 0 _beT controlled SU 1 trol2 interface 0 1 5 - 0hardware 8 - 2 4 were T 1 0integrat: 4 6 : 2 Project 2 + 1 0Engineer, : 0 0 was required between the various parties. by the site’s Yokogawa DCS, the kiln’s ed into the DCS.”

AUSTRALIANMINING

SEPTEMBER 2015

“Everybody was committed to the success of the scrubber, and when problems arose everybody would be part of finding a solution,” he said. “Many customised designs were developed, and Metso played a very active role by sharing their insights and ideas to identify improvements and find solutions. This included a strong participation in our HAZOPS.” In the final step, Mining Combustion Services commissioned the gas burners. Precise settings are critical for the effective and economical operation of the kiln, and all possible conditions need to be considered and tested. One example is air flow, which is an important factor in efficient gas burner operation. The unique design of KCGM’s scrubber affected airflow from the kiln, and so input from many parties was required to achieve optimum results. Michael Allen, Mining Combustion Services stated that “the scrubber has the capability of taking gases from one, two or three kilns. I don’t think that this has ever been done before”. “KCGM’s effort and investment into the scrubber design is truly admirable. They spared no expense in getting it to work 100 per cent. Every single chemical element from the process is eliminated. “Even any volatiles not caught in the scrubber are incinerated. It is a fantastic tribute to the importance that KCGM place on the wellbeing of the community.” AM

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ager Steve Tonegato thanked Appin Mine for allowing the competition to be held at their site. “Having the brigadesmen respond to scenarios in the underground workplace, amongst actual environmental hazards and conditions, certainly adds to the realism and pressure of the event,” Tonegato said. “We are very proud of all of our competing brigadesmen. They all put in a tremendous effort. All of our state’s brigadesmen are volunteers and some of those who competed this year at our Southern competition have well over 15 years of experience. “Our district itself has over 142 brigadesmen with over 970 combined years of mines rescue experience which should give our mining communities and its workers some peace of mind.” Illawarra Coal asset president Troy McDonald said Illawarra Coal was proud to host the event which showcased excellence in mines rescue. Appin Pink’s winning captain Mal Waterfall said he was extremely proud of Illawarra Coal’s efforts at the Southern Mines Rescue Competition. “All our teams did a fantastic job, and I’m really proud of the guys who have shown great leadership and team work across the last couple of years as we’ve strengthened our skills to improve our rescue and emergency response abilities,” Waterfall said. “The performance by Appin Pink adds to the site’s impressive record, winning the local competition for the fourth consecutive year – the first time this has been achieved in the history of the competition.

“I would like to thank the volunteers and organisers who willingly gave their time and contributed to the success of the day, and also to the team at Appin Mine for making the site available during a normal day of operations.” Meanwhile, the annual Western District Mines Rescue competition was held at Glencore’s Ulan West mine at Mudgee in late August. Nine teams from the Mudgee-Ulan and Lithgow mining regions participated in the event. Traditionally, the Western Mines Rescue competition has focused on underground emergency response; however this year’s event expanded to include three local open cut teams who also competed. Mines Rescue regional manager, Brian Kelly, said the annual competition provided an important opportunity for emergency responders to test their quick thinking in high pressure and realistic scenarios. “A great deal of preparation and organisation is required to make these competitions as realistic and lifelike as possible and I would like to thank Glencore and the team at Ulan West for hosting this year’s event onsite,” Kelly said. Ross Dowsett, captain of the winning Angus Place team, congratulated his composite team. “I was lucky to be heading up a team of local veterans with every member of my team winning a national championship at some point in their careers. It was great to see both the western district open cut and underground teams competing this year,” Dowsett said. Angus Place will also compete in the Australian Mines Rescue Competition to be held in Newcastle in October. AM

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SAFETY

MAKING BLOOD ON THE COAL DOCUMENTARY FILM-MAKER JEFF BIRD TALKS TO AUSTRALIAN MINING ABOUT HIS THIRD FILM ABOUT COAL MINING IN AUSTRALIA, THE TRAGEDIES FACED BY WORKERS AND THEIR FAMILIES, AND THE BLOOD SPILLED OVER THE PAST CENTURY IN ONE OF AUSTRALIA’S BIGGEST PRIMARY INDUSTRIES.

How did you get involved in this film project

JEFF BIRD, DIRECTOR OF BLOOD ON THE COAL.

I was asked to write and direct [Blood on the Coal] on the basis of a film I made for the Mine Worker’s Trust a few years back, called Last Stand at Nymboida. That did really well, and on the basis of that, they approached me when they wanted to make another film on a similar topic. Nymboida was about the NSW colliery, in Nymboida, where it was the first time in the world that a group of miners, who had been sacked by management, took over the mine and ran it successfully. When that mine eventually closed, because they had an existing lease they [the union] were able to apply for a new lease, which they got in the Hunter Valley and ended up being United Colliery, which is what funded the Mine Worker’s Trust. AUSTRALIANMINING

Do you have a background in mining?

Not at all: I made a film 20 years ago called Black Gold Kindred Spirits about the coal miners at Wonthaggi in Victoria, and then after that you just get typecast don’t you? [laughs] Then they ask you to do more.

How long did it take to make Blood On The Coal?

Probably about two years from start to finish. It was such a large film, to tell the story of the history of Queensland coal mining over 130 years. The thing that tripped us up was that they had so many disasters in Queensland. There were three in Moura, ’86, ’94 and Kianga in ’75. There was Box Flat in Ipswich in ’72, there was Collinsville in ’54, and Mount Mulligan in 1921. So there were so many disasters. When

SEPTEMBER 2015

we made Nymboida there was only one disaster, and when you have six disasters and you have to give each one its respect, obviously for the people involved in it, you can’t really gloss over a major disaster. We got to the point in the film, in the story, that we sat down and we had a film that was over 100 minutes long. We originally started out with a plan to make a one hour documentary. We pared it back over weeks and weeks in the edit room, we sacrificed everything that wasn’t good, and still had a film that was too long. It came down to a decision that if we were to get the film under an hour, one of these disasters was going to have to go, or maybe two. So we put that to the CFMEU, that maybe we should make it a feature Continued page 22

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length… so to their credit they said to go ahead and make a longer film. It’s 103 minutes, which is long for a feature, but its remarkable because (sure I would say this, I’m the director) it doesn’t bore you, these stories are so compelling, from people who experienced these disasters… I’ve seen it 100 times, and previous times with other films, after a certain amount of time in the edit room you just don’t want to see it anymore, but this film, I don’t know, there’s something about it, the people just draw you in. It doesn’t feel like it’s long, that’s a good sign.

This seems to be a film about the people of mining, rather than mining itself?

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I think that’s what makes this film so compelling: It’s the characters. When I set out to do this I wanted to let the miners tell their stories. There is a narrator, and Jack Thompson does a fantastic job, which holds together the narrative, and wherever possible the miners and the people tell their own stories, which is what makes it really powerful. It’s their story, it’s their interpretation: If someone is in a mine explosion, if you’re an hour from the surface underground and the lights go out and the mine blows up, and you think you’ve only got 20 minutes to live, there’s no point as a filmmaker saying what people should feel, it’s their experience. There’s the story of Col Ryan, which is very tragic, because Col lost his son in the ’94 explosion in Moura. His daughter Patty, she lost her brother, whose name was Michael Ryan. His body is still underground, they never got them out. And it’s that whole story that Col tells, that he was always concerned about that mine, that there were concerns about how gassy that mine was. No-one listened and he used to tell his son, while on the same shift, that he didn’t want him on the same shift because if the mine blew

SEPTEMBER 2015

BOX FLAT MINES RESCUE BRIGADE, 1979.

up, then the family would lose both of them. It’s such a sad story: That Col heard that the mine had blown up, and he raced to the mine gates, where his workmates wouldn’t let him in because it was a disaster site. You can hear about these disasters, you can read about them in the paper, but what you don’t really get is just how deeply this impacts people on a personal level: To lose your son, to lose your brother underground, like that when it could have been avoided, and how 20 to 30 years later they still haven’t gotten over it. Everyone else moves on, but these people carry that with them forever. There’s a scene in the film where we took Col and Patty to the memorial at Moura, above the site where the men are still buried underground, and it’s very eerie. All around this makeshift memorial is an open cut coal mine, it’s just a field with grass and this memorial. It’s really quite moving. I think it was their first time out to that memorial, and it was too painful for them, but they did it. And then you hear the story that Patty tells, that despite all of that, a number of years later the new mine owners decided that they wanted to mine that gravesite, for coal, because the coal was good there. So they pushed ahead to mine that little reserve, and it took a real battle, the unions had to get involved to stop it, and Patty tells how an engineer from one of the mines explained that there was good coal there, and they should just get over it.

What’s the main thing you took away from the experience of the making of the film?

For me this film is about the human cost of mining, and how these people, Continued page 24

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SAFETY

From page 22 they’ve been so abused. They’ve lost loved ones in explosions that should never have happened, and then beyond that there doesn’t seem to be much respect, they’re like “oh well, you lost some family members, get over it”. It seems like people are expendable. As a filmmaker I didn’t quite, I didn’t go in with that attitude or understanding. I’d been told that the companies don’t really care, [the workers] they’re just a number. People get hurt, people get killed, all that sort of thing. And it was through making this film and seeing it for myself that I started to see that really a lot of these companies just don’t care, which is unfortunate. I think the main takeaway for me is that there’s a tremendous human cost to coal mining, and has been over the years, and that safety is absolutely paramount, and that companies (I’m sure it’s not all companies) especially in Queensland over the last 100 years, have had this callous disregard for people, for the average worker, and the impact that these events have on them.

What thoughts would you like audiences to take away from the film?

I think it’s important that people realise that the only way that things can be improved, for those things to be limited or not happen at all in the future is for safety to be paramount, and for safety not to be whittled down. There always seems to be attempts by companies and governments to water down safety regulations in order to boost production, or make it cheaper to produce

coal. We saw what happened in New Zealand at Pike River. Those sorts of things happen when safety isn’t put first, above profit. Also the importance of miners and their families sticking together and having unity to make things happen, because that is the only thing that stands between the companies and the mine workers, is really the unions: Without the union they have no protections.

Were you able to visit any mines while shooting Blood On The Coal?

We attempted to get into a few mines with some miners, in order to show about women in mining. We wanted to get in to film the women and to see how they entered the workforce, but none of the companies would let us in, apart from a coal mine in Ipswich which let us in with a few of the blokes, none of the other collieries would have anything to do with us. I didn’t quite understand that before I started making this film, but it is basically a warzone in Queensland, between companies and workers. There’s so much hostility and bad blood now over the things that have happened that companies and their PR people just won’t even engage with you.

Do you think that had to do with the involvement of the CFMEU in this project?

AFTERMATH OF THE 1986 MOURA DISASTER.

AUSTRALIANMINING

Undoubtedly, but I don’t think it would have made a great deal of difference if it was not with the CFMEU either. Interestingly I got the feeling they weren’t concerned so much about the union as they were about green issues. In many cases they didn’t even know it was a CFMEU project, but they would simply say no anyway, I think that’s their default answer. The only major interaction I had with a mining company on this project, which was un-asked for: I was near Moranbah, about a half an hour out of town where there’s a lot of mines, the middle of nowhere, and we wanted to get some shots of bulldozers and machinery working,

SEPTEMBER 2015

MOURA COAL MINES SUFFERED THREE TRAGIC DISASTERS BEFORE UNDERGROUND MINING CEASED IN 1994

you can just pull up on the side of the road and they’re all around you, so we got out to film on the side if the road, but within five minutes the mine manager came out and asked what we were doing, and said we couldn’t film there. We told him it was a public road and a public space, and he couldn’t stop us. And then he said: “Well my security guards are in there watching you, and they’re getting very jumpy and they’re going to be out here soon, so you better move on”. We just held our ground and told him we would stay, and that if he had a problem he needed to call the police. Then he finished up and finally gave in and said that we wouldn’t want to stay around too long there because of all the poisonous gasses coming off the mine, and they might do damage, or something along those lines. That was a real wake up call for me, I’d been told that these miners play hard ball out there, and I thought it can’t be that bad, this is Australia, but to go out on a public road in the middle of nowhere and be threatened by a mining company, that made me realise that these people are full on. AM Blood On The Coal will be distributed by Ronin Films, and will have a DVD release later this year.

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ing from the Australian Renew- cht said the Degrussa solar power able Energy Agency (ARENA), plant would be a world leading cient power solutions to lower and along with most of the re- example that could drive furenergy costs. They also want to maining balance contributed by ther advancements. “Remote industries in Australia minimise the use of diesel gen- French facility owner Neoen, erators to reduce their carbon Sandfire will contribute less currently rely on 1.2 GW of powfootprint, but how can they do it than $1 million to the project. er from diesel fuel that is prone The project comprises a to price volatility and supply inin this era of high power costs? The arguments for using so- 10.6MW solar array of 34,080 terruptions,” Frischknecht said. “Renewables are already comlar power sound compelling but panels, covering an area of 20 petitive with fossil fuels in many the real challenge is less about hectares. OTOC Limited has secured off-grid applications, offering a the technology and more about integrating an entire solar power the contract for the build, due strong, secure and reliable alsystem, especially if miners are to commence this month and be ternative to trucked-in diesel. “ARENA support will help seeking to combine it with existing completed by the end of 2015. Sandfire managing director overcome the early-mover costs electricity generation equipment. However, more mining opera- Karl Simich said solar power rep- currently facing renewable mintions around Australia are com- resented an exciting opportunity ing projects. Frischknecht also said the Demitting to using solar power, to participate in a low-risk reGrussa project was supported paving the way as early adopt- newable energy initiative. “The project has the poten- by modelling showing similar ers and making it easier for othtial to reduce the mine’s diesel projects could be viable wither sites to follow suit. In June construction began consumption and is consistent out government subsidies in the on a solar photovoltaic array with our relentless focus on driv- near future. “As with all ARENA supported to power Sandfire Resources’ ing down costs,” Simich said. “At the same time it will re- projects, a detailed knowledge Degrussa mine, located 900km duce our carbon footprint, make sharing plan has been developed north-east of Perth. The miner executed a final an important contribution towards to share operational data and inPower Purchase Agreement achieving improved environmen- formation about the risks, diesel with Juwi Renewable Energy, tal outcomes and potentially help savings achieved and strategies which will develop and operate promote the use of renewable to enable higher penetrations of energy in the Australian min- renewables,” he said. the project. Sandfire A M 0 9 has 1 5 benefited _ 0 0 0 _from WI L ing- industry.” 1 2 0 1 5 - 0 9 - 0 1 T 1Rio 5 :Tinto 0 3 have : 3 1also + 1commit0 : 0 0 ARENA CEO Ivor Frischkne- ted to a plan to use a solar PV the $20.9 million worth of fund-

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plant to provide electricity to its Weipa mine on the Gulf of Carpentaria coast of Queensland’s Cape York Peninsula. This project involves the two stage construction and operation of a 6.7MW solar photovoltaic which will connect to the existing mini-grid at Weipa and deliver electricity according to a long term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). This project will be the first application of renewable energy to power critical mining operations in a remote location where there is no access to Australia’s main electricity grids. Once completed, the Weipa Solar Farm will complement existing diesel generation at Weipa with a reliable source of renewable electricity. ARENA has provided $3.5 million for the first stage of the project, which will generate up to 1.7MW of electricity. Subsequent to the completion and sustained operation of the first stage, the second stage of the project will attract an additional $7.8 million to increase the amount of solar energy generated to 6.7MW.

AN ARTIST’S IMPRESSION OF DEGRUSSA’S PANELS

Completion of the first stage is expected in October. At this time the solar farm will consist of 18,000 PV solar panels using First Solar’s thin-film technology mounted on steel and aluminium structures. It will generate an average of 2620 megawatt hours of electricity each year for the Weipa bauxite mine and processing facilities as well as the surrounding community in Queensland’s western Cape York Peninsula. In the middle of the day, electricity generated by the solar farm will offset up to 20 per cent of existing diesel-generated electricity, saving up to 600,000 litres of diesel each year that would have otherwise been required to fuel RTA’s 26MW power station. At the completion of stage two, which will also involve the additional installation of battery storage, up to 100 per cent of diesel-generated electricity could be replaced with solar power. AM

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AM0915_030

- 30

2015-09-07T13:14:37+10:00

MINESITE VEHICLES

MINING THE VALUE OF ASSETS FLEET MANAGEMENT IS BECOMING INCREASINGLY CRUCIAL ON SITE. MAINPAC’S TROY JARVIS WRITES.

uring the last couple of years mining services companies have had to rapidly adjust their strategies, shifting from a focus on growth to one of cost-control and cost-efficiency. The challenges facing the mining industry are well known. Declining commodity demand and falling prices have had a big impact on miners and on the engineering, contracting and construction firms that service them.

After years of investing in new assets to meet sector demand, many are grappling with the discovery that they now have expensive equipment lying idle. In this environment, management of fleet portfolio risk is as crucial as the life cycle costs of ageing and under-utilised assets and can become a substantial drain on an organisation’s profitability. To cope with the changes, business strategies geared around continuous growth have been replaced by strategies aimed at maximising operational

performance and cost efficiency. And in this asset-intensive industry, one of the best ways of achieving both of these goals is through tight control and smart management of assets.

THE NATURE OF ASSETS

Typically, the assets owned by mining services organisations are costly. Whether it’s precision drilling equipment or large earthmoving trucks, the assets are expensive to purchase and to maintain. The other fact about them is they are absolutely essential for revenue. In large part, a mining services organisation lives or dies based on its ability to deliver the correct services and functioning equipment to the right location, at the right time. Apart from cost and capability, one of the big considerations when dealing with any mining asset is its life cycle. Given the conditions under which they operate and their heavy usage, these assets can have a very limited economic life. Understanding the life cycle of assets and maximising their productive use is fundamental to business performance.

THE QUESTION OF ROI AGING ASSETS ARE EATING INTO MINERS’ BOTTOM LINES

AUSTRALIANMINING

The return on an asset investment is derived by balancing investment cost, the asset’s lifespan and optimal usage of the asset. Companies will want to drive their

SEPTEMBER 2015

assets as hard as possible, employing them as frequently as possible to extract maximum productivity. They must also ensure the assets are available for use when needed. This requires maintaining assets so they comply with applicable regulatory requirements, are reliable and deliver productive output for a minimal TCO [total cost of ownership]. Take the example of a fleet of mining trucks. We know that once they are in use, even the best of them won’t last much longer than 60,000 run hours. For the first few years, it’s reasonable to expect the trucks will operate fairly reliably with essential servicing but as time goes on, maintenance time and cost will increase, and reliability will decline. Once this phase is reached, the need to overhaul major components and deterioration on other components means the assets will be out of action for longer and longer periods, thus reducing productivity.

LIFESPAN AND MAINTENANCE CYCLES

When the recent boom was in full swing, maintenance cycles weren’t much of an issue. The industry’s hunger to explore new sites and expand existing ones ensured Continued page 32

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MINESITE VEHICLES

From page 30 demand for mining services and equipment was strong. So strong there was a good business case for purchasing new equipment to match new contracts. In this way companies could avoid the problems of an ageing fleet and asset downtime. But as the market has slowed, contracts are harder to come by and these same companies are discovering they have a very extensive investment in underutilised assets. There is little incentive to buy new equipment, but the crippling danger of an ageing asset portfolio is the slow slide towards an uncompetitive fleet. So, what’s the best course of action for a company in these circumstances?

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STRIKING A BALANCE

The first step is to fully understand the impact of assets on your cost structure when you bid for work. A software system can help you to derive an accurate total cost of ownership. It provides a means of planning asset life cycles, monitoring and tracking usage, identifying underutilisation, and analysing usage trends on costs – both now and into the future. Through more efficient allocation of resources, effective inventory and purchasing management, the system can help reduce maintenance costs. And it will help optimise efficiency by minimising downtime, scheduling maintenance using a risk based approach. With this information, you can make more informed bids. You may discover it makes sense to sacrifice gross margin because the project supports your turnover cycle of assets. You may also find that ongoing costs are making your old equipment unprofitable and that the best option is to salvage it for whatever you can get.

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IT’S ALL ABOUT BALANCE

When trying to contain costs and maximise efficiency, there’s another particularly important best practice. Analyse your assets in two distinct ways – in isolation and as a portfolio. It’s important to know the costs, utilisation and productivity of a particular drill, for example, but it’s equally essential to know the status of the organisation’s fleet of drills. The condition, capability and TCO of the fleet can indicate risks. Right now, one of the more noticeable problems for companies that bought up big in the boom is the imbalance in the age of their asset fleet. Much of their equipment is of a similar age, which means maintenance demands will increase in sync and much of it will need to be replaced at a similar time. This points to a significant cost burden in the near future. Good life cycle planning is essential in these circumstances. In many ways, the best examples of asset management involve balance. The balance between new and old equipment required to avoid risk. Balance between productive utilisation and maintenance, so that output is maximised and downtime minimised. And balance between cost-cutting and investment, so that financial imperatives are met while keeping the fleet, and ultimately the company, competitive. Ultimately, today, asset management can make a considerable contribution towards business and profitability by reducing costs and increasing the productivity of assets. The emergence of frameworks including PAS55 and ISO55000 have helped an will continue to shift the thinking of how to manage assets from that of determining what cost to meet a level of service, to one of understanding the implications of the performance, cost and risk tradeoffs at various investment levels. AM

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2015-09-07T13:41:03+10:00

MINESITE VEHICLES

ARTICULATING TRUCK EVOLUTION THREE NEW ARTICULATED HAUL TRUCKS ARE SET TO HIT AUSTRALIAN SHORES.

aterpillar has released its new C Series of large articulated trucks in Australia. The C Series consist of three different machines – the 735C, 740C EJ and 745C – and builds on the previous B Series, offering a range of new features. With improved payload capacities, including up to a 1.5 tonne increase of the top of the line 745C, C Series trucks can lower costs per tonne by reducing cycle times, saving fuel, and easing the operator’s work load. The new features include new transmissions with expanded electronic control, automatic traction control, hill assist and waiting brake systems, and an optional payload weighing system. The 735C has a rated power of 337kW and payload capacity of 20.5 cubic metres. The 740C EJ has a rated power of 381kW and 23 cubic metres, while the 745C has rated power, but a payload capacity of 25 cubic metres. All of the vehicles have three axles and a six wheel drive configuration. Caterpillar product application specialist Gary Tang said the increased payload and power offered by the top of

the line 745C means increased productivity on site. “The 745C is designed to speed up haul cycle times, and the increased payload doesn’t come at the cost of size – it weighs less when empty, but measures up at about the same operating weight as the B Series predecessor when loaded,” Tang said. “Haul cycle times will be improved across all C Series articulated trucks, in comparison to the B series, when in normal operating conditions. “C Series Articulated Trucks are fitted with the new Cat CX38 High Density Power Shift transmission, which provides a range of speeds and enhancements that add greater degrees of flexibility for customers in a variety of applications,” he added. This transmission system has nine forward speeds, two reverse speeds, and a number of electronic features that can enhance overall performance and productivity such as an Electronic Clutch Pressure Control which modulates transmission-clutch engagement for smooth shifting and extended component life. It also has an Advanced Productivity Electronic Control Strategy that aids

THE TRUCKS ARE DESIGNED TO ADD PRODUCTIVITY TO OPERATIONS

AUSTRALIANMINING

workers in optimising gear selection in all normal operating situations. Another new feature is Shift Torque Management, which combined with the improved Shift Control Logic feature, maintains consistent torque flow though the transmission during gear-range changes, provides automatic shift selection tailored to machine operation, and automatically downshifts for acceleration. The range’s new Part Throttle Shifting also allows shifting at lower engine speeds, resulting in improved fuel efficiency, quieter operation, and easier low-speed manoeuvring. Tang added that all C Series trucks are equipped with an Automatic Traction Control (ATC) feature that adjusts the level of engagement for the clutch locks in the inter-axle differential and in the three cross-axle differentials. “All trucks encounter changing terrain and underfoot conditions, and ATC makes the relevant adjustments while the machine is moving, eliminating the need for operator intervention,” he said. “The system maintains optimum traction for steady production, relieves the operator of manually engaging the system, helps save fuel by proportionally applying the locks based on operating conditions, and does not hinder tightmanoeuvre steering. Safety has also been improved due to Automatic Retarder Control (ARC). “Retarding control for the C Series models can now be set to fully automatic, in addition to manual control,” Gary said. “In automatic mode, the machine will fully control speed, depending on the grade, through a combination of engine compression brake, gear selection, and

SEPTEMBER 2015

service-brake application that is fully automatic, and without operator intervention. “The automatic system is available for both forward and reverse operations, and the manual system provides two levels of engagement for more experienced operators.” Other upgrade features include the Hill Assist system, which facilitates stopping and starting on grades, and the Waiting Brake system, which temporarily applies the service brakes during pauses in the work cycle, whether waiting at the loading or dumping site or delays from site congestion. The new 740C EJ ejector model, which combines the 745C’s tractor with a horizontal-discharge body, provides added versatility and safety in certain operations. The 740C EJ can unload material to uniform depths while traveling at speed, potentially reducing the need for on-site spreading equipment, and can discharge the load with added stability in soft underfoot conditions, on side slopes and grades, and in environments where overhead obstructions are present. Cat Connect technologies Cat Connect PAYLOAD technologies for the 735C, 740C EJ, and 745C help customers optimise operations and improve overall jobsite efficiency. With Cat Production Measurement (CPM) as an option, operators can measure and deliver accurate payloads to help boost productivity, lower costs and prevent the potential for overload damage. When used with Cat Connect LINK technologies, additional payload data can be remotely accessed via Cat Product Link and VisionLink. AM

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2015-09-03T10:25:05+10:00

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2015-09-07T08:51:27+10:00

MINESITE VEHICLES

AC, NOT DC HITACHI HAVE LAUNCHED NEW AC DRIVE HAUL TRUCKS, COMPLETING ITS EH AC-3 RANGE.

itachi has launched two new rigid frame haul trucks, the EH3500AC-3 and the EH4000AC-3. The vehicles are designed with nominal payloads of 181 tonnes and 220 tonnes respectively, and are equipped with AC drive systems. According to the company the new vehicles feature improved sensing and control equipment that provide indepth information on the vehicle and driving conditions. “The result is the Hitachi Drive Control System reduces tyre slippage on acceleration and tyre lock-up during braking, and prevents chassis oscillation in a front-rear direction, and tyre skid whilst steering,” Hitachi said in a company statement. Its AC-drive system, which has high An alarm sounds when the sensor deThe display is in clear view and quickload-responsive IGBT inverters, also fea- ly provides the operator with informa- tects abnormal heat emission and retures drive control software that was joint- tion and warnings on drive operations stricts driving operations to prevent ly developed with other Hitachi Group such as travelling speed, engine turn- sudden damage to the machine. companies for greater travel motor speed over and hauling performance. Improvements were made to the nomand torque control. In addition, the multilingual dis- inal payload measurement system to inThese two models also feature electric play allows users to view information crease the reliability of production volume brakes that are activated during down- and warnings in their own language, measurements at mining sites. hill driving, which means the trucks can contributing to improved serviceabilMeasurement errors have been rebe normally operated using two ped- ity and safety. duced by reflecting changes in fuel als, one for acceleration and one for the Hitachi located the levers and switch- weight within the fuel tank into the brakes. This creates easier overall oper- es for operating the body in the centre nominal payload. ability and alleviates operator fatigue. ROPS and FOPS are built into every console, making it possible to operate Since these trucks do not require the the body with one hand. truck cab as a standard safety requireuse of mechanical brakes during normal The mainframe’s structural design, ment to withstand the impact of falling driving, it means smoother deceleration including the cab support, is improved objects or a truck rollover. as well as less frequent maintenance for and fortified based on operating inforOther standard safety features include the mechanical brakes. mation Hitachi gathered on convention- two mirrors with front and rear view camThe trucks have been designed with al models being used around the world. eras to provide extensive truck perima wide-berth cab, which is capable of The company added a temperature eter visibility, high width truck access housing two full-size seats and features sensor to the bearing area of the alterna- stairways and four engine stop switchA M 0LCD 9 1 display 5 _ 0 0at0the _ Abase L Eof_ the r - tor1and 2drive 0 1 motor, 5 - 0 which 9 - 0 are 2 Tthe 1 main 4 : 5 4 es : located 2 1 + 1 outside 0 : 0 0the cab to allow the a large handle. operator to turn off the engine in an components of the AC-drive system.

emergency situation during maintenance. Ease of maintenance has also been a focus in the new trucks design. The evacuator exhaust valve for the engine suction filter and electric grease pump are among the new features added to further improve daily maintenance. Other standard features for maintenance include a trailing arm front suspension that permits strut removal without tyre removal, a centralised auto-grease system accessible from the ground, a battery and relay box located in the front bumper for easy access, and a maintenance deck in the rear of the cab. Operators outside of the US will also have choice of engines, between the standard feature Cummins engine and one by MTU Friedrichshafen GmbH. This latest release of the two rigid frame haul trucks models completes the manufacturers range for its EH AC-3 series. AM

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AM0415_000_ESS

2015-03-23T14:20:07+11:00

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AM0915_038

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2015-09-08T11:03:02+10:00

AUTOMATION

MINING AUTOMATION: THE BE ALL AND END ALL?

AUTOMATION IS SEEN AS THE FOUNDATION FOR THE NEXT PHASE OF MINING PRODUCTIVITY, BUT WHAT HURDLES LAY AHEAD? COLE LATIMER WRITES.

he fully automated et and elsewhere, total automa- erations can help increase promine has long since tion of many of the processes ductivity by between 15 to 20 per cent, and truck uptimes by passed the days of is the way forward. According to professor of min- up to a fifth, with Rio Tinto auconcept and evolved ing engineering at the Univer- tomated fleets recording a 12 into a reality. A M 0 9 1 If5the _ 0industry 0 0 _ isStoC H sity - of 1British 2 0Columbia, 1 5 - 0 8John - 2 5 Tper 1 2cent : 0production 4 : 4 9 + increase 1 0 : 0 0 survive and grow, on this plan- Meech, autonomous vehicle op- compared to manned vehicles.

Rio Tinto, BHP, Roy Hill, and Fortescue are making massive strides forward in implementing autonomous haulage systems in the Pilbara, forging a new place for the technology, combining them with

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manned operations; particularly in terms of Rio’s Mine of the Future program and BHP’s automated operations centre, both located in Perth. Hitachi is also trialling its autonomous vehicle systems

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2015-09-08T11:13:37+10:00

AUTOMATION

manned water cart on the West Australian mine site. According to the WA Department of Mines and Petroleum, the control room operator had programmed the autonomous haul truck to turn right at a predefined intersection and carry out a loop so it could be repositioned underneath an excavator on the pit floor. While the intersection and loop existed in the control system, it was not physically signposted or marked on the ground to notify worker operated vehicles. “A manned water cart was travelling in the opposite direction when the autonomous truck was about to turn right, the water cart driver was not aware of the autonomous truck’s pre-asIt went on to state that change signed path and – on recognising it – tried to take evasive management processes for planaction,” the DMP report states. ning and assigning roads in the “On detecting the water cart control system were inadequate, in its assigned path of travel, the and that while an awareness autonomous truck’s speed (about system had been installed in 40 kilometres per hour) and re- the water cart to allow drivers sponse time meant it could not to monitor autonomous trucks’ AN AUSTRALIAN FIRST? paths at the time of the colliA recent incident in Western prevent the collision. “The two vehicles collided, sion the water cart driver was Australia, at BHP’s Jimblebar iron ore mine, saw what may be resulting in significant damage not aware of the intended acthe first serious collision inci- to the autonomous truck; the tions of the autonomous truck. dent involving AM 0 9 1 5 an _ autonomous 0 0 0 _ G R A water - cart 1 driver 2 0 1 received 5 - 0 8 -mi1 7 T 1BHP 4 : confirmed 2 1 : 5 5the + incident, 1 0 : 0 0 telling Australian Mining that vehicle, after one collided with a nor injuries.” at the Meandu coal mine in Queensland. Total automation has also taken another angle with Vale, in Brazil, looking to go completely truckless by using mobile conveyor belts. In economic and safety terms automation is the way forward, as it allows for predictable and repeatable operations, which in turn allows for greater confidence in analysis and throughput. Currently the industry is in the early days of this evolution, and working through the teething problems typically associated with any new technology. One stand out factor for automation is that it was pegged as being safer than many current techniques, as by removing the man from the operation you remove them from the risk. But what happens if the risk comes to them? Automation, like any system on the mine, is not infallible.

“in August 2014, a manned water cart and an autonomous truck collided at BHP Billiton Iron Ore’s Autonomous Haulage Production Trial at Jimblebar. “No one was injured as a result of the incident. “A thorough investigation into the incident has been conducted and measures have been implemented to prevent the incident from occurring again.” The spokesperson added that

THE INCIDENT OCCURED AT THE JIMBLEBAR MINE

this one-off incident has not dampened the miner’s push into automation, stating that “autonomous operations at Jimblebar are ongoing”. The DMP went on to call for the elimination, or at the very least mitigation, of manned Continued page 40

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2015-09-08T11:00:24+10:00

AUTOMATION

From page 39 activities within autonomous mining areas. It called for greater training of workers in their interactions with autonomous vehicles, an aspect of future mining that is likely to become more prevalent in day to day operations as automated vehicle become a common feature on site. According to a number of experts this while this appears to be the first major incident in Australia – with the understanding that a similar incident may have occurred at Coldeco’s mines in Chile – it is unlikely to be the last.

THE FIRST OF MANY?

“No technology is 100 per cent, and it’s unrealistic to expect it to be,” Toby Walsh, a professor in artificial intelligence at the University of New South Wales, and NICTA, told Australian Mining. “However it is worth pointing out that when it comes to incidents between fully autonomous and manned vehicles – such as those seen in the trials carried out by Google – most accidents are associated with human error,” Walsh said. Senior visiting researcher in artificial intelligence regulation at Australian National University, Gary Lea agreed. “In terms of operations, if things do go wrong people instinctively blame machines, but statistically humans are the weak link in the chain,” Lea told Australian Mining.

Although when it comes to implementing the technology, Australia may have an edge compared to other nations due to the large open areas away from communities, which allow for a more controlled environment, at least in the Pilbara. Automation is here to stay, and the industry must prepare for the mix of autonomous and manned machinery on site. “The real issue is how do we educate people for what is going to be a situation across the board,” Lea said. “Australia and the world is on the cusp of a new but very different industrial revolution and it is important that we are planning now to ensure our economy does not get left behind,” David Tuffley, a lecturer in applied ethics and socio-technical studies at the School of ICT at Griffith University, stated. “When it comes to this specific incident it is a question of signage, and looking at the human factors which need more warning than the automated systems, and ensuring changes – such as the one here – are verified on the ground in these mixed environments,” Lea explained, with Walsh adding that the focus should be on addressing the fear that automation and robots will take peoples’ jobs. “People need to focus on upskilling, and keeping on top of technological change and work with it rather than just being replaced,” Walsh said. “Technological developments also create new jobs, and im-

portantly for the industry, it can also make previously unviable mines viable. “People need to ask: What are the jobs of the future?”

AI IMMINENT?

As automation develops it will change the face of mining, its productivity, and future efficiency, as well as existing roles on site But what risks do fully ‘smart’ machines and artificial intelligence pose? Many have focused on the potential existential risk and what it means to humanity in

REGULATION WILL DEVELOP TO RAISE SAFETY LEVELS ON MIXED MANNED AND AUTOMATED MACHINERY SITES

AUSTRALIANMINING

AUTOMATION WILL SEE AN INCREASE IN THE INTERACTIONS BETWEEN AUTOMATED AND MANNED VEHICLES ON SITE

the future, with throwaway references to the film Terminator’s ‘Skynet’ as a future threat. Lea explained that AI may pose a risk, if done poorly, but as we develop artificial intelligence it has to be done well, and that safety and ethical issues will be front and centre in design and research, so there will be the embedding of ethics in robotic system development. Professor emeritus, and former professor of robotics at MIT, Rodney Brooks, also dismissed the likelihood of AI posing a threat to humanity. “[People have] made superintelligent robots [to] be the equivalent to magic that suddenly appears, and once you have magic, you can make any argument you want. No technology is suddenly magic and suddenly overpowering,” Brooks told Australian Mining. “You take it step by step and along the way, you make it so it can’t make stupid decisions. It’s asinine. “It’s just like you could build super-dangerous trains, but no, we don’t have them, because if we find something dangerous about the trains, we regulate. We change what we do.” Walsh added that “computers aren’t sentient”. “Trucks aren’t going to wake

SEPTEMBER 2015

up and suddenly be bored of driving dirt around the mine; there’s no desire to take over the world.” The fact remains that as automation evolves on site, so too the regulation which governs it. “Automation needs to be more regulated,” Walsh stated,” Australia currently has very stringent OH&S laws but they can’t cover new technology like this comprehensively yet.” Lea added: “We are seeing AI get to an eventual situation where systems will be developed in a way that tasks can be done in a way you can’t predict all the states it will take in carrying out its role.” “Due to this the law will have to evolve, most likely strict liability for workcover needs to be expanded, or potentially bring in a no fault liability in incidents related to autonomous vehicles. “In the longer term – in the case of fatalities – criminal liability related to the programming.” Mining is evolving, but the regulations pertaining to safety on site need to evolve in line with these technological developments to ensure workers are not exposed to risks, and operations can achieve that dream of a zero harm mine. AM

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AIMEX 2015

AIMEX REVIEW AN INSIGHT INTO THIS YEAR’S AIMEX.

here’s no denying that the mining industry is currently under a lot of pressure. With low commodity prices crippling the mid- to low-tier miners, and sluggish productivity the unwanted hangover from the intoxicating peak of the mining boom, we have to accept that the current industry cycle is downturn, and it may be some time before the table turns again. However despite this pall hanging over the sector, the mining industry was still strong enough to gather once again to demonstrate the latest technological developments and new mining methods and equipment at the biannual AIMEX event. Coming off a record high number of exhibitors in 2013, when around 650 companies and operators had their wares and services on show, the 2015 show saw 480 exhibitors on stands, representing approximately 25 per cent less activity year on year. There were also some notable names absent from the show, with

the four largest machinery manufacturers not at the expo. Speaking to some exhibitors at the event, it was widely observed that the exhibition was noticeably slower than previous years, with the downturn meaning that budgets were tighter, belts pulled in to take up the slack, all of which coupled with the expected smaller turnouts as there are now fewer people in the industry.

LARGER EXHIBITORS LAUNCHED NEW MACHINES

“Things are tough everywhere,” one exhibitor stated. “There are less people here than at previous shows, and it’s really just indicative of the state of the industry. Things are hard.”

AUSTRALIANMINING

Continued page 44

SEPTEMBER 2015

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AIMEX 2015

From page 42 REEDMININGEVENTS director Robby Clark told Australian Mining that the numbers were better than expected given the downturn. “While it’s not as high as previous years, we’ve still gotten good feedback,” Clark said. “It’s exceeded expectations.” Despite the smaller number of stands, the show hosted a high number of industry delegates from around the world, with significant deals being signed at the event. A regional MoU was signed between Hunternet and Chinese region Taian’s Chamber of Commerce. The MoU, focused on boosting trade and collaboration between the regions, is one of the first developments from the recent China-Australia Free Trade Agreement (ChAFTA). AIMEX hosted more than 80 delegates from the Indian government, and delegates from China and Mongolia, demonstrating there is still broad foreign interest in contracting Australian services. A number of live demonstrations of equipment were also held on the stands, including the Hitachi dump truck simulator, available for any to try their hand at the latest in operator training. Towards the end of the show fortunes looked up for some exhibitors, with large pieces of equipment near the entrance gaining ‘sold’ stickers, demonstrating that in spite of the current miasma covering the industry deals were still being done. AM

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A MULTITUDE OF DIFFERENT EXHIBITORS WERE ON SHOW

UNIQUE TECH LIKE SIMULATORS MADE AN APPEARANCE AT THE SHOW

AUSTRALIANMINING

SEPTEMBER 2015

AM0915_045_THY2

2015-09-11T16:51:53+10:00

AM0915_046

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2015-09-10T11:05:01+10:00

(ADVERTORIAL)

Hands-on chemical handling training from the experts

Chemicals are a critical yet inescapable part of the modern world. They protect us from the sun, help fix our illnesses, and are involved in the manufacture of just about every product we use. But they can also do plenty of damage and need to be treated with respect. There’s a good reason we keep laundry products ‘out of reach of children’. The need for safety extends to the handling of a diverse range of industrial chemicals. Chemical inhalation, burns (and even explosions) are some of the possible adverse consequences of poor chemical handling. According to Safe Work Australia’s WorkRelated Traumatic Injury Fatalities Australia 20121, for the period 2003-2013, there were 2806 workplace fatalities in Australia. Of these, 15 (or 1 per cent of total fatalities) were caused by a single contact with a chemical or substance. And Safe Work Australia’s Australian Workers’ Compensation Statistics 2011-122 tell us that, for the period 2000-2012, there were 8480 serious* workers’ compensation claims caused by chemicals and other substances. These claims represented 0.95 per cent of total serious claims. Of course, even one workplace fatality is too many and all workplace injuries are unacceptable, but these statistics suggest poor chemical handling is a relatively small problem within the Australian industry. Credit for this must go to safety standards maintained by employers as well as the quality of chemical handling training available in this country. It is important to note that this is not just an issue affecting the chemicals industry and other sectors in which large volumes of chemicals are used. Chemical handling takes place in most businesses on a daily basis.

As Safe Work Australia’s Managing Risks of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace3 states, businesses involved in chemical handling are obliged to provide information, training, instruction and supervision of these tasks not only to workers but also to other persons at the workplace such as visitors. CRC Industries Training & Support offers a four hour nationally recognised chemical and materials handling training program that is aligned to the Nationally Recognised Unit of Competency MEM13003B – Work safely with industrial chemicals and materials. The program is specifically targeted at experienced people working in all industries who are utilising chemicals and materials on a daily basis and wish to improve their knowledge and skills in the area of safe industrial chemical handling. The course content covers selection and wearing of appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE), how to identify appropriate emergency procedures, and observing safe working practices when handling chemicals and materials. Rather than concentrating on theory, the program involves a training and assessment session, where participants get to handle CRC products and are put through simulated incidents. They review material safety data sheets and are familiarised with what it is like to work with a focus on safety. This unit of competency is nationally recognised and can only be delivered by a Registered Training Organisation that complies with the governing standards of quality control and quality training and assessment. Training is only one part of what CRC Industries offers. The company also supplies professional quality aerosols and bulk

lubricants, anti-corrosion and chemical maintenance products to automotive workshops and to the industrial, electrical, marine, food & beverage, mining, and oil & gas sectors. The company’s established position within the chemicals industry gives it an advantage as a training provider. While other Registered Training Organisations specialise just in training, CRC can combine this with an interactive experience to deliver a more holistic program. The trainers themselves all have years of experience at CRC. They can combine their industry knowledge with their TAE Cert IV training qualifications to deliver a more immersive style of learning which reflects real world applications. According to Safe Work Australia 4 , the number of serious workers’ compensation claims caused by chemicals and other substances fell by 29 per cent between 2000 and 2011. And for the year 2013 (the latest year reported on) there were no workplace fatalities caused by chemicals. These figures are encouraging. Hopefully, if industry continues to take chemical handling seriously and with the help of reputable training organisations like CRC Industries, those figures will continue to fall further and Australian workplaces will become even safer.

www.crcindustries.com.au

AM0815_000_CRC

2015-07-31T11:14:06+10:00

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CRANES & LIFTING

MADE FOR MINING MANITOU, THE NAME ASSOCIATED WITH THE INVENTION OF THE ROUGHT TERRAIN FORKLIFT, CONTINUES THE TRADITION OF FORWARD THINKING WITH DEVELOPMENT OF SPECIALISED TELEHANDLERS FOR THE MINING INDUSTRY.

ith one of the biggest manufac turer names in telehandlers, French mobile plant specialist Manitou has done a lot to improve technology in the roughterrain materials handling sphere. In targeting industrial markets around the world, Manitou have continued the legacy of company founder and inventor of the rough terrain forklift, Marcel Braud, implementing new developments for their mining specific telehandlers. The latest iteration of the mining spec MT-X series telehandler has a number of features that make it one of the most purpose-suited and productivity-oriented machines

available on the market today. Telehandlers are frequently used on the surface for mining and construction activities, however their sturdy four wheel drive, all-terrain features also make them attractive for underground use. However, over the years it has become apparent that the punishment those machines receive underground meant that telehandlers would have to be custom-tailored to the destructive underground environment in order to have any expectation of longevity. The telehandler has since become an essential part of mining operations for services and maintenance, and there are several attachments that make the machine invaluable for underground use, namely the work

HEAVY FORWARD OUTRIGGERS ENSURE FULL STABILITY

platform and tyre handler among others, which can replace the forks used for handling freight and other heavy loads. The MT-X (and heavy version MHT-X) machines start life in France as the ordinary commercial construction model, but then are shipped to the Mining Competency Centre in Italy and modified for the correct mining specifications. The machines are adapted to the minimum specifications that Manitou recommends, and from that the customer can still order specific changes to suit their own site requirements. MT-X and MHT-X models range up to 40 tonne lifting capacity with full compliances, including braided fuel lines, exhaust fume diluter, easy access fuse box, improved electronics, among other features. Manitou Australia managing director Stuart Walker introduced the first of the mining spec Manitou telehandlers to Australia last year. “At Mount Isa you’ll find 20 telehandlers underground, all of different brands,” he said. “But this is the first machine from the telehandler world that is a true mining spec machine.” Walker said the MT-X series of telehandlers are better suited to underground usage, with longer lasting electrical systems, more robust braking systems, all meaning less downtime for maintenance and greater productivity in the long term. “What we’ve found is that the customer will buy the cheapest

AUSTRALIANMINING

machine thinking that it’s the best option, but then of course the water, the dust, the environment will eat the electronics,” Walker said. “Next thing you know the safety system doesn’t work so the machine shuts down. “We had to do a lot of work to get the machines to the standards they are built at now, to be acceptable for that sort of environment.” The mining spec MT-X and MHT-X telehandlers are compliant with MDG15 - the guideline for mobile and transportable equipment for use in mines, but they also conform to other international standards. “This is not just about Australia, we’ve taken experience from South Africa, and we actually sell a lot of these in Chile,” Walker said. One of the key features of the MT-X is the revamped braking system, which incorporates splitsystem braking in order to comply with MDG15, as opposed to other machines which only brake through the front axle, or on both axles, but don’t have a true split system. Manitou also offers a fully engineered aerial cage platform with in-basket controls, allowing the MT-X to be used for underground charging activities and general maintenance of underground services. With most telehandler stability systems utilising a stability triangle, with fixed front axle and oscillating rear for rough terrain performance, a key dif-

SEPTEMBER 2015

ference in the access version of the MT-X is that the axle configuration is a square system. With solid axle front and back, the MT-X locks the rear axle with the front outriggers deployed, ensuring greater stability for lifting the charge basket higher. Manitou also have a highquality line of elevated work platforms, giving them a lot of skin in the game of EWP safety. With several fatal trapping/ crush accidents involving workers in elevated work platforms in recent years, including one at Boggabri in June 2014 and an underground incident at Telfer in May this year, Manitou quickly got on board with implementing a Safe-MAN system in all of their aerial platform systems. The Safe-MAN system is a pressure sensitive bar running across the basket controls, which deactivates the machine controls if a worker leans across the front of the basket, preventing the basket from booming upwards and crushing the operator. The system has been utilised since late 2014 on all of their articulated and telescopic access machines. Walker said the fatal accident that took place at the Telfer mine in May 2015 involved a charge vehicle which did not feature the same safety features that are available on the MT-X telehandler with charge basket. “If you’re lifting someone to do the charging in the hole, then the machine technically should offer the same level of safety as a dedicated product,” he said. AM

AM0915_000_BOA

2015-08-12T12:20:07+10:00

125 YEARS OF INNOVATION Boart Longyear’s 125th Anniversary is dedicated to the people who built – and continue to build – this fine Company. www.boartlongyear.com/shareyourstory #BLY125 #BLYstory

Growth in the 1950s fueled new technology: Longyear patented the first wireline core retrieval system, the Q ® Wireline System. It was an innovation that revolutionized the diamond drilling industry by increasing productivity on the worksite and making tripping core from the bottom of the hole safer for the drilling assistant.

AM0915_050

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PRODUCT SHOWCASE

MINE SURVEYING PROGRAMS

CAN HANDLE TYRES UP TO 2.9 METRES IN DIAMETER

LARGE OTR SERVICE TRUCK Stellar Industries has developed its new 13500 Large OTR service truck for mines. The vehicle is a tyre service crane that, when mounted with the Stellar TM6116 Tyre Manipulator, can handle tires up to 2.9 metres in diameter and up to 2.7 tonnes, and without the TM6116 can lift 6 tonnes at 3 metres from the centreline of the crane’s rotation. A M13500 0 9 1Large 5 _ 0OTR 0 0 Service _ N O RTruck The

is equipped with fold down style sta- ed running lights, and undercoating on bilisers with a wide stance to provide the entire body. The crane itself has a increased stability whether mounted fully proportional radio remote control, on a single or optional tandem axle fully enclosed extension boom cylinchassis as well as serviceability of all der, hexagon-shaped secondary and extension booms, integral-mounted pump cylinders and hoses. The 13500 Large OTR Service Truck and PTO on chassis, and load-holding is available in two different configura- counterbalance valves. Rotation is accomplished through a tions, a 5 metre long single or 6 metre turntable bearing. long tandem body. The service truck is designed for quarThe truck also features a heavy-duty steel construction, eight D-ring tie ries, small mining operations, and large downs on the flatbed, stainless steel ro- construction companies operating their tary slam latches, slide top doors on all own trucks to service their fleet. tool compartments, recessed skirt-mount- • Stellar Industries 1ed halogen 2 0 1 5floodlights, - 0 9 - 0 rubber 3 T 1 6mount: 1 9 : www.stellarindustries.com 4 3 + 1 0 : 0 0

AUSTRALIANMINING

SEPTEMBER 2015

Hexagon Mining announces the launch of a new suite of mine surveying programs designed to process all data produced by various survey operations. Comprising of HxM Surveyor Adjust and HxM Surveyor Office, the new HxM Surveyor tools work cohesively to streamline collection, adjustment, optimisation, validation and manipulation of all survey data. Together, the two mine surveying programs, Adjust and Office, offer an integrated software solution, covering all survey jobs of any scale. HxM Surveyor delivers a complete solution for the core functionality needed every day by surveyors, whether they are out in the field collecting measurements, or back in the office conducting volume calculations and designing roads. The Adjust program uses the rigorous Least Squares Method to simultaneously adjust all observations and produce a single 1D/2D/3D best-fit solution, be it for a single-loop or a complex network of interconnecting traverses. The Least Squares Method ensures reliable measurements are given more weightage in the adjustment with the Adjust tool harnessing modern computing power to simplify lengthy calculations for the user. The program accepts data from almost any format, with converters available for a large variety of common data formats. A desktop survey and design program developed on the familiar IntelliCAD engine, Office offers a customisable user interface and commands for the user to view and edit coordinate and traverse data, and have changes reflected instantly in both the drawing and the database. • Hexagon www.hexagonmining.com

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PRODUCT SHOWCASE

DRAGLINE SOFTWARE TOOL Deswik has launched a new optimisation software tool for dozers and draglines. Dubbed Deswik.DD, it is a sectional design and analysis tool for design, optimisation and communication for dragline or dozer push operations. According to Deswik it allows operators to analyse and refine dragline and dozer push designs, in turn reducing running costs. Time savings of up to 80% in overall planning time can then be reinvested in scenario analysis to find the most efficient operating plan. It allows for the automating of repetitive section operations, time as well as integration with upstream design and reserving tools, downstream scheduling tools, and 3D-DigPlus, the leading material movement simulation package from Earth Technology. Ian Neilsen, Deswik senior consultant, dragline engineer, explained that the area is “an engineering discipline that has seen little improvement in 15 years, and yet is a key link in the planning of many mines around the world”. In designing this tool operators can now deliver automation of section operations both along strike and down dip, in addition to manual operations; eliminate cumbersome spreadsheeting and manual transcription of results, integrating with 3d-DigPlus; simulation with 3d-DigPlus, providing a seamless user experienc; and integrate with production scheduling so the impacts of design updates are understood immediately. “Now that the boom times are over, we are seeing a resurgent emphasis on a fundamental approach to improving mine operations, and have built this tool with optimisation as a clear focus,” he said. Deswik added that future releases are focusing on deeper functional integration and improving all of the frustrating and unproductive steps in best practice design and analysis of dragline and dozer push operations. • Deswik A M0 9 1 5 _ 0 0 0 _ A MS 1 2 0 1 5 - 0 8 - 2 5 T1 1 : 0 4 : 1 8 + 1 0 : 0 0 IT IS A SECTIONAL DESIGN AND ANALYSIS TOOL FOR DRAGLINE AND DOZER PUSH OPERATIONS www.deswik.com

AUSTRALIANMINING AUSTRALIANMINING 51 SEPTEMBER SEPTEMBER2015 2015

AM0915_052

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PRODUCT SHOWCASE

PROVIDES AZIMUTH INCLINATION AND ROLL PLANE MEASUREMENTS AT DRILL SITES

DIRECTIONAL DRILLING TOOLS A non-magnetic alignment system for surface drilling applications and drill hole positioning has been developed. Devico has created the DeviSight Surface, a GPS compass that “is designed to perform and record highly accurate TENSIONS BOLTS TO 30 TONS IN 60 SECONDS

UNDERGROUND CABLE BOLT INTENSIFER PUMP A new two-speed underground pump that can tension mega and cable bolts more than six times faster than conventional air powered hydraulic pumps is being introduced to Australia by Custom Mining Products. The new Enerpac Underground Intensifier Pump – incorporating Enerpac ZA4 pump components – is designed to radically streamline one of the most common sub-surface construction and maintenance tasks encountered in coal and minerals extraction. Based on the experience of mining contractors who constantly undertake such tasks as establishing roof structures and shafts, the new pump, operating at 6,000 psi (414 bar) oil pressure, tensions bolts to 2030 tons in 30-60 seconds using as little as 60 psi (4 bar) pit air pressure. The pump – which contains no exposed aluminium components and is designed for use

in potentially explosive atmospheres – can tension up to 60x 8m mega bolts an hour to swiftly secure roof and rib structures. The rapid extension of the cylinder plunger on the pump’s fast speed enables it to be positioned quickly and precisely, while the slower, high-power, stroke then brings to bear the force and reliability for which Enerpac ZA4 pumps have been known for a decade. The ZA4 Series pumps are ATEX 95 certified for use in potentially explosive atmospheres. There are no exposed aluminium components in the new pump. Traditional foot pedal operation has been replaced with a simple directional control lever on the manual pumps and with a pendant control for the air solenoid pump. Pendant pump operation is controlled from the palm of the operator’s hand. • Custom Mining products Rob Goldspink 0428 374 367 customminingproducts@gmail. com www.custommingproducts. com

VEHICLE TRAYS A new range of roof trays has recently joined Rhino-Rack’s portfolio, the new Rhino-Rack Pioneer Tradie Tray is an ideal solution for onsite vehicles. The Tradie Tray offers versatility for a variety of trades on mine sites. With the ability to carry a range of gear on

measurements of azimuth inclination and roll planes at drill sites”. “Using the GPS signal to measure alignment, the instrument provides 0.5 degree azimuth accuracy and calculates position within thirty centimetres of latitude and longitude,” the company said. The equipment can be used for any surface drilling appli-

cation such as drill collars and drill heads. It has a rechargeable battery that can run for 13 hours on a single charge. “The DeviSight Surface features an onboard management system that connects to any smartphone by wifi and the collar azimuth can easily be transferred,” Devico added. • Devico www.devico.com

HIGH SPEED OIL FREE COMPRESSORS With the development of its new high-speed turbo (HST) technology, Boge is ushering in a new era in compressed air. The company is achieving decisive improvements compared to the current state of the art by radically reducing the number of components and introducing an intelligent design principle. With innovative turbo drive, the compressors produce 100 percent Class 0 oil-free compressed air – at the highest degree of efficiency and with minimal maintenance effort. Cost savings of up to 30 percent compared to conventional oil-free screw compressors are realistic. The compressors are driven by a permanent magnet motor, which is characterised by a very high energy density. In addition, the company has succeeded for the first time in using air-lubricated bearings in the drive shaft – which is a prerequisite for extremely high speeds of up to 120,000 rotations. Whether as a base-load or peak-load machine, the com-

fitted vehicles, the Tradie Tray allows onsite vehicles to have the flexibility tradespersons require. The open front and back end means you can easily load ladders, planks, pipes and other long objects that require extension beyond the tray, as well as easily carrying your other work tools. With added rails for support the Pioneer Tradie Trays are the perfect solution for onsite AUSTRALIANMINING

USES AIR-LUBRICATED BEARINGS

pressors are recommended for users who need a continuous supply of oil-free, high-quality compressed air. The advantages of HST compressors can particularly be utilised in sensitive production areas such as the chemical, pharmaceutical, food, beverage and semiconduc-

vehicles when carrying longer loads. With reinforced nylon and aluminum, the Tradie Tray offers extreme durability in all environments and conditions. Featuring fully-welded side rails to make loading and unloading easier, the tray is also non-corrosive so it won’t rust or fade. There is also a huge range of accessories designed to save time, including the Rhino-Rack Rear Roller which

SEPTEMBER 2015

tor industries, as well as in refineries, breweries or paint shops. There is also the option of attaching a heat recovery system, which uses the heat expended by the compressor for service water heating or space heating. • Boge Compressors www.boge.net.au

makes loading ladders and planks onto the tray a breeze. A major feature is the C-Channels built into the planks, which are perfect for mounting eye-bolts and provides complete flexibility for carrying a variety of loads. The Tradie Tray is designed to suit specific vehicles and is easy to install with an approved fitter. • Rhino-Rack www.rhinorack.com.au

AM0915_000_SEW

2015-08-25T11:53:05+10:00

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PROSPECT AWARDS

THE 12TH AUSTRALIAN MINING PROSPECT AWARDS FOR MORE THAN A DECADE AUSTRALIAN MINING HAS BEEN RECOGNISING AND REWARDING EXCELLENCE IN THE MINING INDUSTRY.

ustralian Mining has recognised and rewarded excellence in the mining industry for more than ten years, and we’ll continue to do so through the 2015 Prospect Awards. The awards will highlight all aspects of the mineral resources industry: From new technology, the closer focus on productivity, the workers at the front lines, through to those doing the all-important work of innovating and inspiring new ide-

as for the future, the Prospect Awards focuses on the good work done in our mining industry on a daily basis. The Prospect Awards incorporates a gala evening when the industry can stop, and reflect on the positive impact being made, not only on production, but on Australia as a whole. The 2014 Prospect Awards saw good attendance despite a year of plummeting prices, with Peabody taking out the Mine of the Year award for their Millennium Coal Mine, and the Tropicana Gold Mine winning

the hard rock mine category for being ahead of schedule on a joint venture that will see allin costs of around $600 per ounce. In the field of innovation we saw a number of excellent entries, including the EnviroLAV underground toilet, which only needs emptying every 18 months thanks to its biotech solution for breaking down waste. However, this year we’ve decided that there has been so much innovation across a broad range of fields that we will introduce new categories which

will enable a better level of competition and recognition for the creativity and hard-work needed to make meaningful changes in this industry. That is not to say that we don’t expect to see forms of innovation come through in every category, giving the organisations and individuals that make our industry great the opportunity to shine through the crowd and have their undivided moment of recognition. The key to the success of the Prospect Awards lies not only with the spirit of inno-

INNOVATION WAS RECOGNISED ON THE NIGHT

WINNERS CELEBRATED TAKING HOME THE AWARDS

AUSTRALIANMINING

vation within the award winners, but a large part of it is due to the people that support our winners, the people who know their colleague, their company has achieved greatness, and deserves the attention of the entire industry. With finalists shortlisted already, and judges working on choosing the best nominees from the many categories, now is the time to book your table to help us recognise, reward, and celebrate those in the mining industry that are making a major difference to the sector. AM

SEPTEMBER 2015

Tickets on sale now Tickets are now on sale for the 12th annual Australian Mining Prospect Awards, to be held in October 2015 Don’t miss your chance to be a part of this prestigious night! Buy your ticket today! A total of 14 awards will be presented on the night, highlighting companies innovation and excellence in the mining industry.

DRESS: TIME:

Cocktail/lounge suit 6:30pm pre-dinner drinks for a 7:00pm awards dinner start

TICKETS: SINGLE TICKET: $165 (excl GST) TABLE OF 10: $1,200 (excl GST)

VENUE:

Sofitel Hotel Sydney, Wentworth

MINING: AUSTRALIA’S MOST RENOWNED INDUSTRY For more information visit www.miningaustralia.com.au/awards or contact Alice Wearne on alice.wearne@cirrusmedia.com.au or 02 8484 0822 Platinum Sponsor