OCTOBER 2020 • VOL 221 • NUMBER 10

FEATURES Building Resilience, the Boliden Way E&MJ looks at how innovation in energy supply and biodiversity are helping the Swedish powerhouse futureproof its mining operations...... 24 2020: A Show of Scandinavian Strength Nordic METS companies not only survive, but thrive through challenging conditions...... 28 Considerations for Mine Maintenance Program By making the best use of the available tools, decisions can be made quickly, improving availability and keeping costs low...... 40 HPGRs Grind Out a Larger Role in Plant Productivity High-pressure grinding rolls offer potential energy, media-wear and extraction gains that producers find increasingly hard to resist...... 44 Programming it to Succeed Recent ventilation projects show the importance of both airtight planning and innovating on the fly...... 48 Mining Conveyors Make Transitions Modern conveyors systems can be engineered for greater capacities, This month, E&MJ reports on recent developments with low maintenance and high availability...... 54 conveyor systems. On the cover, an 11,000-mt/h capaci- ty overland conveyor carries ore from the Chuquicamata LEADING DEVELOPMENTS Underground Project to a mineral processing facility 5 Pebble Partnership CEO Resigns...... 4 km away. It is a large, powerful conveyor, but not the Barrick Accepts Closure of Pascua-Lama Project...... 4 most powerful conveyor on this project. (Photo: Codelco) Piedmont Signs Lithium Supply Agreement With Tesla...... 5 Rio Tinto Executives Step Down Over Destruction of Heritage Sites...... 5 Newmont Sells Gold Royalty Portfolio for $90M...... 6 Cleveland-Cliffs Acquires ArcelorMittal USA...... 6 DEPARTMENTS Calendar...... 22 Boliden Will Expand Nickel Processing...... 22 Classified Advertisements...... 70 AROUND THE WORLD Equipment Gallery...... 67 From the Editor...... 2 U.S. & Canada: Equinox Gold Completes Construction of Phase 1 Markets...... 72 Castle Mountain Mine...... 8 Operating Strategies...... 58 Latin America: Capstone Considers Export Facilities...... 12 People...... 10 Australia/Oceania: Tropicana Attains Commercial Production...... 14 Processing Solutions...... 64 Africa: AngloGold Ashanti Receives Approval for Sale of South African Mines.....16 Suppliers Report...... 60 Asia: Zijin Mining Seeks Tier 1 Status...... 18 This Month in Coal...... 20

Nordic Technology....28 Maintenance Programs....40 HPGR....44 www.e-mj.com OCTOBER 2020 • E&MJ 1 FROM THE EDITOR

Musk Charges Forward With Battery Development www.e-mj.com Mining Media International, Inc. Tesla’s Battery Day event fell flat, according to the main- 11655 Central Parkway, Suite 306; Jacksonville, Florida 32224 USA stream press. The truth is that Elon Musk unveiled new Phone: +1.904.721.2925 / Fax: +1.904.721.2930 battery technology and discussed the hurdles the com- Editorial pany’s scientists face. Instead of wowing the audience Publisher & Editor-In-Chief—Steve Fiscor, [email protected] with next-generation vehicles, the session was a science Associate Editor—Jennifer Jensen, [email protected] Steve Fiscor lesson about battery manufacturing and the mainstream Technical Writer—Jesse Morton, [email protected] Publisher & Editor-in-Chief press has a limited attention span when it comes to Contributing Editor—Russ Carter, [email protected] science, math and facts. Tesla is planning to improve European Editor—Carly Leonida, [email protected] battery design, reduce costs and produce a passenger car that would sell for Latin American Editor—Oscar Martinez, [email protected] $25,000, but they offered little in the way of a timeline. South African Editor—Gavin du Venage, [email protected] Tad Seabrook, [email protected] Musk described the company’s plans for a tabless cell, which would be much Graphic Designer— larger than the current cell. It would increase the amount of energy storage Sales by five times, reduce resistance and lower heat generation. Probably the big- Midwest/Eastern U.S. & Canada, Sales—Craig Scharf, gest surprise was his announcement regarding the development of silicon anode [email protected] technology. Saying that silicon stores nine times more lithium than graphite, Western U.S., Canada & Australia, Sales—Frank Strazzulla, Musk discussed silicon-oxide-based solutions and said he expected it to dom- [email protected] inate the market for the next seven years. Tesla believes that silicon anodes Scandinavia, UK & European Sales—Colm Barry, [email protected] Gerd Strasmann, could increase the vehicle’s driving range by 20% and lower costs by 5%. Musk Germany, Austria & Switzerland Sales— [email protected] said it could take three years to fully realize large battery-cost reductions. Japan Sales—Masao Ishiguro, [email protected] Several new initiatives from Tesla could bring battery chemicals production General Manager-Operations—Dan Fitts, [email protected] back to North America. Marketing Manager—Misty Valverde, [email protected] The first was the development of a North American cathode facility, which would give the company greater control over raw materials and allow it to reduce the carbon footprint of battery production. Tesla also mentioned it may move upstream into mine production. The com- pany has acquired a lithium deposit in Nevada and it claims to have developed a novel lithium extraction method. It also recently signed a deal with Piedmont Lithium (See Leading Developments, p. 5). As E&MJ has mentioned in the past, the term lithium-ion is a bit of a mis- nomer. The actual amount of lithium in the cell is quite low. The cell should be Engineering & Mining Journal, Volume 221, Issue 10, (ISSN 0095-8948) is published monthly by Mining Media International, Inc., 11655 Central Parkway, called a nickel-graphite cell, and the more nickel, the higher the energy density of Suite 306, Jacksonville, FL 32224 (mining-media.com). Periodicals Postage the battery. The Tesla Model 3 contains about 30 kg of nickel. Musk talked about paid at Jacksonville, FL, and additional mailing offices. Canada Post Publi- cations Mail Agreement No. 41450540. Canada return address: PO Box 2600, his options for nickel and he has been quite vocal about his nickel needs this year. Mississauga ON L4T 0A8, Email: [email protected]. Current Nickel is primarily used to produce stainless steel and nickel prices have and back issues and additional resources, including subscription request forms and an editorial calendar, are available at www.e-mj.com. not really recovered from a collapse in 2007. No new major mines have been developed since and, with the lead time for mine development standing at seven SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Free and controlled circulation to qualified subscrib- ers. Visit www.e-mj.com to subscribe. Non-qualified persons may subscribe to 10 years, no new sources will likely be developed any time soon. 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NEWS-LEADING DEVELOPMENTS Pebble Partnership CEO Resigns

By Jennifer Jensen, Associate Editor The CEO of the Pebble Limited Partner- ship has stepped down after an environ- mental group released tapes that show him making comments about his close relationship with elected and regulatory officials in Alaska. Tom Collier submitted a resignation letter to parent company, Northern Dy- nasty Minerals Ltd., which said his com- ments “embellished both his and Pebble Partnership’s relationships with elected officials and federal representatives in Alaska, including Gov. Dunleavy, Sens. [Lisa] Murkowski and [Dan] Sullivan and senior representatives of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.” The videos, which were secretly re- Tom Collier, CEO of Pebble, and others are secretly recorded by individuals posing as investors. (Photo: Alaska Daily News) corded by individuals posing as investors, were released by the Environmental Inves- knows her well and talks to her regularly,” Thiessen added that any extension or tigation Agency and contain conversations he said. He added that Shively has been expansion of the Pebble Project proposed with Collier and others with Northern Dy- told Sullivan is “gonna try to ride out the in future would have to go through a com- nasty President and CEO Ron Thiessen. election and remain quiet.” prehensive, multiyear federal and state In the videos, Collier described the Northern Dynasty said the comments permitting process. governor as a friend and that he has had were “clearly offensive” to the political “The unethical manner in which these private dinners with him in his mansion in leaders mentioned, as well as other po- tapes were acquired does not excuse the Juneau. “Like I said, we talk on a regular litical, business and community leaders comments that were made or the crass basis,” he said. He also said the gover- in Alaska. way they were expressed,” Thiessen said. nor’s chief of staff, Ben Stevens, served In addition to comments about their “On behalf of the company and our em- on the Pebble Advisory Committee prior relationships with political and regulatory ployees, I offer my unreserved apology to to the governor taking office. officials, several comments were made re- all those who were hurt or offended, and Thiessen also described easy access garding the size of the Pebble project and all Alaskans.” to the White House. “We can talk to the possibility of expansion. The company named former Pebble chief of staff of the White House any time Thiessen said the two actors posing as Partnership CEO Shively, who most re- we want,” he said. foreign investors on behalf of the Environ- cently served as chairman of the Pebble Comments were also made describing mental Investigation Agency were trying Partnership’s general partner, Pebble relationships with Murkowski and Sul- to entrap the two executives into stating Mines Corp., as interim CEO pending a livan and what both men believed to be there is a defined plan to expand Pebble leadership search. support from them regarding the project. beyond the 20-year mine life current- “My priority is to advance our current Thiessen also discussed Murkowski’s fa- ly being permitted. In this objective, he plan through the regulatory process so we ther, a former governor, who accompanied said, they failed. can prove to the state’s political leaders, him and others to meet with Rio Tinto, “The mine development proposal cur- regulatory officials and all Alaskans that BHP and Anglo American to invite them rently being evaluated by the USACE, and we can meet the very high environmental in on the project. for which we expect a final record of de- standards expected of us,” Shively said. Collier said Murkowski sits on the cision this fall, provides for 20 years of In July, the U.S. Army Corps of Engi- fence regarding the issue. “She threw mining at an average daily throughput of neers issued a final Environmental Impact a bone to those constituents that are 180,000 tons, and processing of 1.3 bil- Statement for Alaska’s Pebble Project. against us in the committee report but lion tons of mineralized material,” Thies- Northern Dynasty said it expects to re- when it really mattered she didn’t do any- sen said. “What we have said consistent- ceive a final Record of Decision this fall. thing,” he added. ly, and is reinforced in the ‘Pebble tapes’ Regarding Sullivan, Collier said Peb- released this week, is the operator of the Barrick Accepts Closure ble Mines Corp. Chairman John Shively Pebble mine may decide at some point in of Pascua-Lama Project rents an apartment from Sullivan’s state the future to propose additional phases of Barrick Gold Corp. has accepted the An- director. “And the two of them have development, but there exists no formal tofagasta Environmental Court’s decision worked together for 20 years so John plan to do so today.” to uphold the closure order and sanctions

4 E&MJ • OCTOBER 2020 www.e-mj.com NEWS-LEADING DEVELOPMENTS

Chile’s environmental regulator imposed Rio Tinto Executives Step Down Over Destruction on Compañía Minera Nevada, the Barrick of Heritage Sites subsidiary that holds the Chilean portion Rio Tinto Executive Director and Chief Exec- (Pascua) of the Pascua-Lama project. The utive Jean-Sébastien Jacques will leave the court said Barrick failed to implement company following backlash after the com- certain measures to comply with its envi- pany’s destruction of heritage sites, Juukan ronmental license. rock shelters in Western Australia, in May. Barrick suspended construction at the Stakeholders expressed concern about project in 2013 due to environmental is- holding those in charge accountable to be sues, opposition and development costs. able to move forward with the Puutu Kunti Now, Pascua will be transitioned from care Kurrama and Pinikura (PKKP) people. and maintenance to closure, in accordance “What happened at Juukan was wrong with the Environmental Court’s decision. and we are determined to ensure that the Barrick said it would not appeal the destruction of a heritage site of such ex- decision. ceptional archaeological and cultural sig- Jean-Sébastien Jacques. Following the ruling, Barrick Executive nificance never occurs again at a Rio Tin- Director for Chile and Argentina Marcelo to operation,” Rio Tinto Chairman Simon was received from the PKKP in May 2020, Álvarez said Pascua-Lama remained an Thompson said. “We are also determined but it was too late. The company had drilled important project and work is already un- to regain the trust of the Puutu Kunti 382 blast holes and loaded them with ex- der way to re-evaluate its potential. This Kurrama and Pinikura people and other plosives and an independent expert said the involves a comprehensive internal review traditional owners.” blast holes could not be safely unloaded. of its technical, economic and social as- A process to identify Jacques’ succes- During 2012 and 2013, Rio Tinto pects as well as different approaches to sor is under way. He will remain in his role progressed its plans for Brockman 4, Pit permitting and development should the until the appointment of his successor or 1 in the Juukan Gorge area and four pit ongoing studies deliver a project that March 31, 2021, whichever is earlier. options were considered. The option that meets Barrick’s investment filters. He Jacques was not the only executive to impacted the rock shelters in order to confirmed that any new project develop- step down. Iron Ore Chief Executive Chris access higher volumes of high-grade ore ment would comply with current legisla- Salisbury will leave the company on De- was the one chosen by Rio Tinto. In 2013, tion in both Chile and Argentina. cember 31. He will be replaced by Ivan Rio Tinto said it received consent to im- “Barrick is a very different company Vella, managing director for rail, port and pact the rock shelters and the PKKP were since its merger with Randgold and we core services within Rio Tinto Iron Ore, informed of this. A further ethnographic now have a strong focus on establishing on an interim basis. Corporate Relations survey was conducted in 2013 and three good relations with the communities and Group Executive Simone Niven will also excavations of the Juukan rock shelters authorities,” he said. step down on December 31. were conducted in 2014 to ensure the He added that Barrick is committed to As previously announced, Rio Tinto salvage, analysis and ex situ preservation investment in Chile and Argentina. said it is establishing a new social perfor- of the cultural heritage material contained While the project was suspended, Pas- mance assurance function, reporting to within the rock shelters. As a result, new cua-Lama continued to treat and monitor Mark Davies, group executive, HSE, tech- information on the significance of the water quality in order to meet its envi- nical and projects, to strengthen oversight Juukan rock shelters became available. ronmental commitments, according to of communities and heritage practices Puutu Kunti Kurrama Land Committee Barrick. In 2014, Chile environmental and performance within the operations. Chair John Ashburton said the 2014 ex- officials fined Barrick $16 million over Simon McKeon, non-executive direc- cavation, staged in three short trips, un- noncompliance regulatory requirements. tor, has been appointed senior indepen- covered artifacts of extreme importance The Environmental Court acknowledged dent director, Rio Tinto Ltd. This newly and put the area among the most signifi- that none of the earlier infringements that created role will complement the existing cant research sites in the Australia. prompted the closure order had caused ir- senior independent director role, which “There are less than a handful of known reparable damage. will continue to be performed by Sam Aboriginal sites in Australia that are as old Laidlaw for Rio Tinto plc. as this one and we know from archaeolog- Piedmont Signs Lithium “We are determined to learn the les- ical studies that it is one of the earliest Supply Agreement With Tesla sons from Juukan and to re-establish our occupied locations not only on the western Piedmont Lithium Ltd. has entered into reputation as a leader in communities and Hamersley Plateau, but also in the Pilbara a binding agreement with Tesla Inc. for heritage management,” Thompson said. and nationally,” Ashburton said. “Its im- the supply of spodumene concentrate The Juukan 1 and Juukan 2 rock shel- portance cannot be underestimated.” ters, dated with evidence of human occupa- The company admitted that opportuni- (SC6) from its North Carolina operations. The agreement is for an initial five-year tion over 46,000 years ago, were damaged ties were missed to re-evaluate the mine term on a fixed-price binding purchase during a blast on May 23 as part of the plan in light of the new information and commitment from the delivery of the first expansion of Rio Tinto’s Brockman 4 iron even more opportunities were missed to product, and may be extended for a sec- ore mine. Rio Tinto said a formal request to “pause and reflect” on whether the rock ond five-year term. cease mining activities at the rock shelters shelters should be preserved.

www.e-mj.com OCTOBER 2020 • E&MJ 5 NEWS-LEADING DEVELOPMENTS

Maverix’s diversified portfolio includes more than 100 royalties and streams across 18 countries, with assets predom- inately located in Australia the Americas and Mexico. “This transaction further strength- ens our strategic partnership with Mav- erix,” Newmont President and CEO Tom Palmer said. Cleveland-Cliffs Acquire ArcelorMittal USA Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. announced today that it will acquire substantially all of ArcelorMittal USA’s operations and its subsidiaries for $1.4 billion. Upon clos- ing, Cleveland-Cliffs will be the largest flat-rolled steel producer in North Amer- ica, with combined shipments of approx- imately 17 million net tons in 2019. The company will also be the largest iron ore pellet producer in North America, with 28 million long tons of annual capacity. In 2018 and 2019, ArcelorMittal USA Piedmont controls a significant lithium deposit located in the Carolina tin-spodumene belt near modern infrastructure averaged annual revenues of approximately and Charlotte, North Carolina, USA. $10.4 billion and annual adjusted EBITDA Piedmont controls approximately 28 panding its mineral resources, and poten- of approximately $700 million. The assets million metric tons (mt) grading 1.11% tially increase its planned annual spodu- acquired include six steelmaking facilities, eight finishing facilities, two iron ore min- lithium oxide (Li2O) located in the Carolina mene concentrate production capacity. tin-spodumene belt that hosted the Hall- “We will simultaneously advance our ing and pelletizing operations, and three man Beam and Kings Mountain mines. plans to produce lithium hydroxide in coal and coke making operations. The Piedmont’s commitment to Tesla North Carolina, using a combination of in- “Steelmaking is a business where pro- represents approximately one-third of Pied- ternally produced spodumene concentrate duction volume, operational diversifica- tion, dilution of fixed costs, and technical mont’s planned SC6 production of 160,000 as well as material sourced from other pro- mt per year (mt/y) for the initial five-year ducers around the world,” Phillips said. expertise matter above all else, and this term. Sales are expected to generate between transaction achieves all of these,” said 10%-20% of Piedmont’s total revenues Newmont Sells Gold Royalty Lourenco Goncalves, chairman, president from its proposed integrated mine-to-hydrox- Portfolio for $90M and CEO of Cleveland-Cliffs. “ArcelorMit- Pump up your productivity ide project for the five-year term. Newmont Corp. has entered into an agree- tal is a world class organization that we The agreement is conditional upon ment with Maverix Metals Inc. to sell a have long admired as our customer and our with the new, versatile slurryMAX Tesla and Piedmont have agreed to a portfolio of 11 royalties. Newmont will re- partner, and we know for a fact that they ™ tentative start date for spodumene con- ceive total consideration of approximately have taken good care of their US assets.” centrate deliveries between July 2022 $90 million from Maverix, consisting of The six steel mill included in the and July 2023 based on the development $15 million in cash, 12 million Maverix transaction are: Indiana Harbor, Burns You asked for a split-case pump with longer wear and top-class slurry e ciency schedules of both parties. common shares, and up to $15 million in Harbor, Cleveland, Coatesville, Steelton, – one that can easily and safely be installed throughout your sites. Our answer? “We are excited to be working with Tes- contingent cash payments payable upon and Riverdale. The iron ore mining and The new slurryMAX™, with multiple liner and impeller material options. la, which represents the start of the first completion of certain milestones. pelletizing operations include: the Hib- U.S. domestic lithium supply chain and The royalties provide exposure to five bing JV (ArcelorMittal USA’s 62.3% in- a disruption to the current value chain,” flagship gold assets owned and operated terest) and Minorca. The metallurgical The slurryMAX™ Pump range is built on the The slurryMAX will cut your energy costs, Piedmont President and CEO Keith D. by growth-oriented mining companies. coal and coke making facilities include: success of the millMAX™ and incorporates its eliminate gland water requirements and lower Monessen, Princeton, and Warren. Phillips said. “The agreement highlights The portfolio includes royalties on Cami- patented features into a new split-case design. your total cost of ownership. Simply put, the the strategic importance of Piedmont’s no Rojo and Ana Paula in Mexico, Cerro Goncalves said he looks forward to With multiple liner and impeller material options, new slurryMAX is the most e cient and longest unique American spodumene deposit and Blanco in Guatemala, and Mother Lode welcoming the ArcelorMittal USA team our versatile slurryMAX can handle the majority lasting pump of its kind. confirms the trend toward spodumene as and Imperial in the United States. into the Cliffs organization. “We are cre- the preferred feedstock for the lithium hy- Newmont’s ownership interest in Mav- ating an exceptional company, based on of applications at any site across the mining, droxide required in high-nickel batteries.” erix will increase from 26% to approxi- great people and supported by our ex- aggregates and mineral processing industries. fl smidth.com/slurryMAX Phillips said Piedmont will now accel- mately 32% after the closing of the trans- isting strong relationship with the Unit- erate its mine/concentrator development action, which is expected to close in the to support Tesla’s plans, work to further ex- fourth quarter of 2020. (Continued on p. 22)

6 E&MJ • OCTOBER 2020 www.e-mj.com Pump up your productivity with the new, versatile slurryMAX™

You asked for a split-case pump with longer wear and top-class slurry e ciency – one that can easily and safely be installed throughout your sites. Our answer? The new slurryMAX™, with multiple liner and impeller material options.

The slurryMAX™ Pump range is built on the The slurryMAX will cut your energy costs, success of the millMAX™ and incorporates its eliminate gland water requirements and lower patented features into a new split-case design. your total cost of ownership. Simply put, the With multiple liner and impeller material options, new slurryMAX is the most e cient and longest our versatile slurryMAX can handle the majority lasting pump of its kind. of applications at any site across the mining, aggregates and mineral processing industries. fl smidth.com/slurryMAX REGIONAL NEWS - U.S. & CANADA Equinox Gold Completes Construction of Phase 1 Castle Mountain Mine

Equinox Gold Corp. reported that con- struction of the phase 1 mine at its Castle Mountain gold mine in California is com- plete, irrigation of the leach pad is under way and first gold pour is expected in the fourth quarter of 2020. Equinox Gold commenced construc- tion of the phase 1 mine at Castle Moun- tain on October 30, 2019. Construction was completed with no lost-time inci- dents. Pre-production mining began in early June and has stacked more than 1.4 million metric tons (mt) of ore on the leach pad to date. Commissioning of the plant is in the final stages and irrigation of the leach pad commenced on September 16. Loaded carbon from Castle Mountain will be pro- cessed in the carbon stripping and smelt- New barren and pregnant solution tanks sit in a containment area (foreground), while construction is completed ing plant at the Mesquite mine, 200 miles on the carbon-in-leach plant (left). south in California, resulting in increased operating efficiencies for both mines. Since acquiring the Center Star pro- Northern Vertex Hooks Moss “Castle Mountain will be Equinox ject, which hosts high-grade gold miner- Mine Up With Grid Power Gold’s seventh-producing gold mine in alization that was discovered in the ear- Northern Vertex Mining Corp. has com- the Americas and our second operating ly 1900s, in July 2020, Magellan has pleted its 6.9-mile electrical powerline mine in California,” CEO Christian Milau acquired additional unpatented mining project. The system was energized on Sep- said. “We expect Castle Mountain to be a claims adding 320 acres of land to in- tember 9 and the diesel generator bank long-life flagship asset for Equinox Gold, crease its holding to 620 acres along the shut down on September 10. The Moss bringing significant benefits to our work- Center Star gold trend. gold and silver mine in Arizona is now force, shareholders, local communities “Given its historical production, we linked to the Mojave Electric power grid, and San Bernardino County.” strongly believe in the potential for this and the company said it is now begin- The 100% owned Castle Mountain project,” Magellan President Mike Lavigne ning to realize numerous benefits, which Phase 1 mine is a fully permitted, run- said. “As such, reopening the mine’s portals include reducing electrical costs from of-mine heap leach operation processing to understand its underground workings is approximately $0.31 per kilowatt-hour around 12,700 ore mt per day. Phase 1 an important milestone in our progression, (kwh) to a grid system cost $0.08/kwh. is expected to produce on average 45,000 and one that would define our future devel- The move also eliminated the opera- ounces (oz) of gold annually. The company opment and strategic direction.” tional and maintenance cost of operating is completing a feasibility study for the po- Gold mineralization at Center Star is the diesel gensets, which attribute a sav- tential Phase 2 expansion, which is expect- hosted in multiple, parallel steeply dip- ings of $15 million to $20 million over ed to average 200,000 oz of gold annually. ping quartz veins in a banded gneiss. the life of mine. All of this translates into The phase 2 feasibility study is targeted for The gold occurs in high grade veins that a $50/oz all-in sustaining cost savings, completion in fourth quarter 2020. trend north-easterly and dip steeply to the the company said. southeast. These veins are present in a “The completion of the powerline Magellan Reopens Portals at 75-and 100-ft wide sheer zone hosting and successful connection to the elec- Center Star Mine in Idaho quartz veins and breccia. No exploration trical grid further reduces our operat- Magellan Gold Corp. has reopened the or development work has been conducted ing costs, improves reliability, and is main and emergency access portals of at Center Star for 35 years. a demonstration of Northern Vertex’s the Center Star gold mine in Idaho. The Magellan is focused on the exploration commitment to sustainability by reduc- company said it is now working on addi- and development of precious metals in ing our carbon footprint,” Northern Ver- tional mine stabilization to ensure worker North America. In addition to the Center tex President and CEO Ken Berry said. safety, and subsequently develop an ex- Star mine, it also currently controls the “Furthermore, the company will contin- ploration plan for drilling and sampling. Silver District property in Arizona. ue with several cost savings initiatives

8 E&MJ • OCTOBER 2020 www.e-mj.com REGIONAL NEWS - U.S. & CANADA that include the successful transition to pears to be many synergies and positive ical databases, including geological, geo- McCoy and Sons as our dedicated min- aspects for the project as a consequence physical and geochemical data. ing contractor; the completion of the of its location.” During the first phase of the alliance, Intermediate Leach System to accel- Bee said the CK Gold project is a “rare BHP will fund at 100%, up to C$1.4 mil- erate gold recoveries; and our ongoing opportunity whose time has come.” lion on an annual basis for a minimum of exploration success of recent drilling two years. Midland will act as operator. to establish the Moss mine as a highly Court Finds in Favor The main objective is to generate, profitable, long-life operation.” of PolyMet identify and secure exploration projects A Ramsey County District Court judge to be advanced to a drill-ready stage CK Gold Moves to found the Minnesota Pollution Control through further exploration work. BHP Prefeasibility Stage Agency (MPCA) did not engage in any pro- may propose additional exploration work A prefeasibility study at U.S. Gold Corp.’s cedural irregularities in connection with for up to C$700,000 before advancing an CK Gold project near Cheyenne, Wyo- the processing of the National Pollutant identified project to the second phase. ming, is under way with permits in place Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Following the first phase, one or more to conduct the follow-up drilling program. permit for the NorthMet copper-nick- specific exploration targets may be ad- Drilling at the former Copper King project el-precious metals project, according vanced to a second phase to be further is aimed at gathering fresh mineral sam- to Poly Met Mining Inc., a subsidiary of developed as a separate designated proj- ples for metallurgical tests and convert PolyMet Mining Corp. ect. Each designated project will have previously reporter inferred resources to In his decision, Judge John H. Guth- its own work program and budget to test measured and indicated and extend the mann rejected the allegations that the and further develop the identified targets, resource to the southeast. MPCA engaged in a systematic effort mainly through drilling. Midland will act As previously reported, flotation to keep evidence out of the administra- as operator during the testing phase, sub- concentrate from sulphide and mixed tive record. ject to BHP’s right to become the operator sulphide sample composites for the Guthmann found no evidence that of any designated project. project contained 26% copper and 89 the MPCA attempted to suppress the For each designated project, the test- grams per ton (g/t) gold with little or no Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ing phase will last up to four years, with deleterious elements contained for later comments.” a total budget of up to C$4 million with smelting. Fresh samples should allow The court found that MPCA’s effort to a minimum of C$700,000 to be spent flotation recoveries, already reported reach an agreement with the EPA to de- during the first year. as averaging 72.5% gold and 81.5% lay making written comments on a draft During this second phase, BHP and copper across the resources, to be op- NorthMet NPDES permit until sometime Midland will fund 75% and 25%, re- timized, the company said. after the public notice period did not spectively, for approved work programs. Drilling is expected to conclude some- constitute a procedural irregularity. The For each designated project, BHP will time in October, when a resource update court concluded the MPCA exceeded pay Midland a designated project fee: is intended to be completed encompass- the requirements of the Memorandum of C$250,000 on or before the first anniver- ing the new data and a complete re-eval- Agreement between the EPA and MPCA. sary, C$250,000 on or before the second uation of the existing core, which is now The district court’s conclusion that no anniversary and C$500,000 on or be- largely completed. The relogging exercise procedural irregularities occurred in the fore the third anniversary, of the testing of the existing core under the supervision processing of PolyMet’s permit will be in- phase, for a maximum of C$1 million per of geologic specialists reveals new tex- corporated into the broader challenge to designated project. tures to assist with assessing gold and that permit currently pending before the BHP has the right to cease contribut- copper deposition, and the presence of court of appeals, according to PolyMet. ing its share of the funding of a designated native copper, which could have impact- project in which case Midland would have ed metallurgical recovery in prior test Midland Enters Nickel the right to retain a 100% interest of the work, the company said. Exploration Funding designated project and BHP would receive George Bee, recently appointed pres- Alliance With BHP in Quebec a net smelter returns royalty interest. ident of U.S. Gold Corp., conducted his Midland Exploration Inc. executed an al- BHP may decide to advance any des- own due diligence exercise with specific liance agreement between Midland, its ignated project to the third phase as a focus on the CK Gold asset. wholly-owned subsidiary, Midland Base (70/30, BHP: Midland) joint-venture “Given the current market conditions Metals Inc., and Rio Algom Ltd., a subsid- project. Both parties would contribute to with gold prices rising substantially and iary of BHP. The alliance’s main objective the expenses pro-rata to their participat- crossing the $2,000 mark, our PEA and is to identify, test and develop high-qual- ing interests. BHP would be the operator internal estimates published in March ity exploration targets to find new signif- for all JV projects. For each JV project, 2020 are now very conservative,” Bee icant nickel deposits within the Nunavik BHP will pay to Midland a joint venture said. “Furthermore, not only does poten- territory, Quebec. The new alliance’s ini- success fee of C$200,000 after the for- tial development come at a time when tial funding will be provided by BHP. mation of the JV. If a party’s participating the coal, uranium, and the oil and gas BHP and Midland are combining their interest in the JV is diluted below 10%, businesses in Wyoming are facing chal- efforts by forming a technical steering the interest would be converted into a net lenges from depressed prices, there ap- committee and pooling their large histor- smelter returns royalty interest.

www.e-mj.com OCTOBER 2020 • E&MJ 9 NEWS - PEOPLE IN THE NEWS LARGE WHEEL LOADERS FOR MINING

Teck Resources Ltd. appointed Alejan- Tom Dixon was named the head of investor relations and media for Newcrest. dro Vásquez as vice president, South America, following the retirement of KORE Mining Ltd. appointed Michael Tucker as vice president of explo- Chris Dechert. Vásquez joins Teck ration. Tucker is the former exploration manager for Balmoral Resources, ™ from BHP, where he was asset president, which was recently acquired by Wallbridge Mining Co. Two key recent ad- DECAEDGE Pampa Norte, with responsibility for its ditions to the team are Frank Salazar, manager of community and gov- Spence and Cerro Colorado operations. ernment affairs and Betty Zataray, manager of U.S. environmental and Justine Fisher has been appointed vice regulatory affairs. CAST LIP Alejandro Vásquez Justine Fisher president and treasurer, following the retirement of Scott Wilson. Fisher joins Magellan Gold Corp. appointed Deepak Malhotra as director. Teck from Goldman Sachs in New York, The DecaEdge system employs plane alignment, where she was a credit and commod- As part of Outo- spade angle optimisation, and improved material ities research analyst. Amber John- kumpu’s strategy ston-Billings has been appointed vice process, the com- placement to reduce total cost of ownership by president, communities, government pany appointed affairs and HSEC Systems, effective new members over 33%. Amber Johnston-Billings Jeff Hanman October 12, following the retirement of to its leadership INCREASE Mark Edwards. Johnston-Billings joined Teck from Trevali team, which in- > Lasts up to 25,000 operating hours with no Mining Corp., where she was the chief sustainability officer. clude Thomas Thomas Anstots Stefan Erdmann Martti Sassi major rebuilds Jeff Hanman has been appointed to the new position of vice Anstots, executive PRODUCTIVITY. president, office, of the CEO. Hanman joined Teck in April vice president, commercial, busi- Eliminates weld on components for 2011, and most recently held the position of vice president, ness area Europe; Stefan Erdmann, > corporate affairs. Doug Brown has been appointed vice chief technology officer;Martti safer and simpler maintenance president, corporate affairs, following Hanman’s role tran- Sassi, president, business area REDUCE MAINTENANCE. Doug Brown sition. Brown joined Teck in August 2011, and most recently Ferrochrome; Niklas Wass, execu- With specifically designed teeth held the position of director, public affairs. tive vice president, operations, > business area Europe; and Tamara and shrouds, expensive and Endeavour Silver Corp. appointed Donald “Don” Gray as Niklas Wass Tamara Weinert Weinert, acting president, business its new COO. Godfrey Walton, COO since the founding of area Americas. di‡ icult to maintain wear the company, will retire at year-end and retains the role packages are no longer of president until then. Most recently, Gray was COO of Labrador Gold Corp. appointed Matthieu “Matt” Lapointe as vice president Continental Gold Inc. of exploration, effective immediately. Most recently, Lapointe was chief geol- required ogist for TMAC Resources. Donald “Don” Gray Alamos Gold Inc. appointed Scott R.G. Parsons as its vice president, exploration. Parsons succeeds Chris Silver Bull Resources Inc. appointed Christopher Rich- Rockingham following his retirement on August 31. ards as CFO, effective September 28, replacing Sean Parsons joined Alamos in January 2018, most recent- Fallis in that role. Prior to joining ly serving as director of exploration, Canada, where he the company, Richards was the vice has helped oversee the exploration president of finance for Great Pan- programs at Island Gold, Young-Da- ther Mining Ltd. vidson, and Lynn Lake. Scott R.G. Parsons Christopher Richards Theta Gold Mines Ltd. is pleased Trilogy Metals Inc. appointed Richard to advise that it has strengthened Gosse as vice president of exploration, effective immedi- its management team with the appointment of Mit- ately. Previously, Gosse was the senior vice president of ford Mundell as CEO, Africa, and Jacques Du Triou exploration at Dundee Precious Metals Inc. as COO, Africa. Mitford Mundell Richard Gosse Compañia de Minas Buenaventura SAA appointed Daniel ABB’s Motors and Generators Division named Jesse Dominguez as CFO. Dominguez will succeed Leandro Gar- Henson as president of their U.S. business. Henson, cia, who was appointed CEO on July 30, effective September who has been with the company for 23 years, leads the 1. Most recently, Dominguez has been the supply chain man- team responsible for marketing, designing and manu- ager since 2017. facturing ABB and Baldor-Reliance industrial electric motors in the United States. Henson will also contin- Lee-Anne de Bruin has agreed to join ue to be the global head of the NEMA motors product Daniel Dominguez Perseus Mining Ltd. as CFO. Most re- Jesse Henson group. Henson started his career with Baldor Electric cently, de Bruin served as the CFO of Co., at that time, in 1997 as part of the drives and mo- Resolute Mining Ltd. She replaces Elissa Brown and will tion control team. formally assume the CFO role by November 1. Caterpillar Inc. appointed Marc Cameron a com- Gold Royalty Corp. announced Ian Lee-Anne de Bruin pany vice president. Cameron will have responsi- Telfer as chairman of its advisory board. Most recently, bility for Caterpillar’s Resource Industries Sales, he was appointed chairman of the board for Goldcorp, a Services and Technology Division. Most recently, he led position that he held until 2019 when Goldcorp merged the development and execution of with Newmont Mining. the end-of-life strategy for Rio’s Marc Cameron North American legacy assets. Santa Fe Gold Corp. appointed Steve Antol as CFO and Ian Telfer corporate secretary. Antol served as the CFO of El Capitan International law firm Dorsey & Whitney LLP named Precious Metals Inc. from November 2004 to May 2007 and Corporate Partner Jill McLeod as head of the firm’s See how CR Mining can help reduce down time from April 2009 to March 2020. The company is currently inactive. Antol has Anchorage office effective August 24. McLeod succeeded and raise productivity. Visit us at: been a consultant to Santa Fe Gold since mid-2005. Antol replaced Frank Muel- Mike Mills as office head. Prior to joining Dorsey, she was ler as CFO. Mueller became the manager of mining operations for Santa Fe Gold. in-house counsel for ConocoPhillips. Jill McLeod www.CRmining.com PART OF THE CR GROUP 10 E&MJ • OCTOBER 2020 www.e-mj.com LARGE WHEEL LOADERS FOR MINING

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See how CR Mining can help reduce down time and raise productivity. Visit us at: www.CRmining.com PART OF THE CR GROUP REGIONAL NEWS - LATIN AMERICA Capstone Considers Export Facilities

inantly in the second quarter of this year, the company said. The company expects its 2020 annual production to range between 218,000 oz and 226,00 oz of gold. SolGold Receives $100M From Franco-Nevada SolGold recently completed a $100 mil- lion royalty financing with Franco-Nevada Corp. for the Alpala copper-gold project and remainder of the Cascabel concession in northern Ecuador. The funds will be used to progress the project through to the final feasibility study and a development decision, according to the company. Puerto Santo Domingo, located 100 kilometers (km) from Capstone’s Santo Domingo project, would become the second capesize vessel port in Chile’s Region III. In return, Franco-Nevada will receive a 1% royalty interest, calculated in reference Capstone Mining Corp.’s 70% owned to port; magnetite filter plant and stock- to net smelter returns (NSR) from the Cas- subsidiary Minera Santo Domingo (MSD) pile building; copper storage building; cabel concession area. The NSR financing has entered into a memorandum of un- and ship loading and support facilities. can be upsized by $50 million at SolGold’s derstanding (MOU) with Puerto Abierto “Over the past three months, we have election to a 1.5% NSR royalty interest on SA (PASA), a wholly owned subsidiary of seen a surge in interest in our fully per- or before January 11, 2021. Puerto Ventanas SA for Capstone’s San- mitted Santo Domingo project,” Capstone The Alpala deposit is the main target to Domingo project in Chile’s Region III, President and CEO Darren Pylot said. “I in the Cascabel concession, located on the near Copiapo. During a 90-day period, believe this relationship with Puerto Ven- northern section of the Andean Copper Belt. both MSD and PASA will explore mutu- tanas will serve as a major catalyst for our al synergies and regional benefits for the Santo Domingo project.” Fortuna Irrigates Lindero proposed Puerto Santo Domingo, which is The path forward includes the culmina- Leach Pad fully permitted and located 100 kilome- tion of the strategic sales process, execut- Fortuna Silver Mines reported that it has ters (km) from the Santo Domingo proj- ing a gold stream agreement and arranging started irrigation of the ore placed on the ect. It would be one of only two capesize project debt financing, the company said. heap leach pad at the Lindero gold project, vessel ports in the region, making it an “A partnership with PASA would sim- located in Argentina’s Salta province. The attractive site for bulk shipments and a plify the Santo Domingo project as we first gold pour is expected in early October. key asset allowing for broad resource de- would focus on construction and oper- The company also reported that con- velopment in Region III of Chile. ational ramp-up of the mine site only, struction and commissioning activities at MSD will allow PASA to study the lowering our upfront capital requirements Lindero are advancing according to plan. project engineering and conduct a mar- and allow each company to focus on their The ramp-up phase of the primary and ket study. PASA is looking to potentially core business,” Capstone Vice President secondary crushing circuits is under way. acquire, construct, operate and maintain of Projects Dr. Albert Garcia said. The operations team is engaged in ad- the deep-water port, including financing dressing operational-related adjustments its development. Once in operation, San- Gran Colombia Ramps Up and fine tuning the process and equip- to Domingo will receive preferred service Gold Production ment. Night shift operations started at as its volumes will represent a baseload Gran Colombia Gold produced a total of Lindero in mid-August, ahead of schedule. of business for the port. The MOU also 20,644 ounces (oz) of gold in August, Irrigation of ore on the heap leach pad gives PASA 90 days to evaluate the re- 14% more than the previous month. commenced on September 1. As of the placement of the 110-km magnetite con- Gran Colombia, which has several end of August, a total of 277,000 metric centrate pipeline with a railway as part of underground mines and two processing tons (mt) have been placed on the leach its rail business, Ferrocarril del Pacifico plants in operation at its Segovia and pad averaging 0.87 g/mt gold, containing SA (FEPASA). The Santo Domingo project Marmato operations, reported total gold an estimated 7,750 ounces of gold. infrastructure that is under consideration production during the first eight months Pre-commissioning of the ADR plant is in this MOU represents approximately of 2020 at 143,230 oz, compared to progressing according to schedule. Test- $400 million of the CAPEX, including 155,359 oz in the first eight months ing of the plant circuits with water, carbon marine works and the pier; iron concen- of 2019. This reflects the impact of preparation, and commissioning of the trate pipeline from Santo Domingo mine COVID-19 in mining operations, predom- main equipment is expected to begin soon.

12 E&MJ • OCTOBER 2020 www.e-mj.com

REGIONAL NEWS - AUSTRALIA/OCEANIA Tropicana Attains Commercial Production

IGO Ltd., in conjunction with AngloGold estimated to be seven years. The min- road, accommodation village, communi- Ashanti Australia, announced that com- eralized down-plunge depth extensions cations and water supply in preparation mercial production has been declared at are planned for drill testing in fiscal year for main project construction activities to the Boston Shaker underground mine, the 2021 once underground drill platforms commence in the first quarter of 2021. first underground mine at the Tropicana are established. The company has also issued preferred Operation (Tropicana). “Unlocking value at Tropicana has re- tenderer status to the mining and process The development and commissioning mained a key focus for the joint venture plant EPC contractors to allow finalization of the Boston Shaker underground mine throughout Tropicana’s long and success- of major contracts as part of the ongoing has been completed on time, below bud- ful history,” IGO Managing Director and feasibility study, which should be com- get and importantly, with no recordable CEO Peter Bradford said. “We are confi- pleted this month. safety incidents. The first production dent that the success achieved at Boston The open-pit preferred tenderer is Mac- stope was fired in June, and the under- Shaker will serve as a template for the mahon and the EPC process plant pre- ground mining has now reached an an- potential development of additional un- ferred tenderer is GR Engineering. “Both nualized rate of 700,000 metric tons per derground mines at Tropicana over the of these companies have exceptional track year (mt/y). Ramp up to reach the design coming years.” records in the gold mining industry,” Cali- production rate of 1.1 million mt/y is ex- The company said development of an dus Managing Director Dave Reeves said. pected to be achieved by March 2021. underground drill drive from the Boston The initial construction activities in- Commercial production was delivered Shaker Decline is well advanced with a clude a 7-kilometer (km)-long access road in line with projections and below the total of 240 meters completed to date. to a 240-room village and process plant, A$105 million capital cost estimated by Underground diamond drilling is sched- the installation of communications by Tel- the February 2019 feasibility study. uled for the December quarter with a de- stra and drilling dewatering wells. Award- The Boston Shaker underground mine cision to mine expected during 2021. ing the preferred contractors also allows is designed to mine approximately 1.1 Calidus to facilitate Front End Engineer- million mt/y of ore at an estimated grade Construction Begins at ing and Design (FEED) and place orders of 3.5 g/mt gold and is expected to con- Warrawoona Project for the long lead items, the company said. tribute approximately 100,000 ounces of Calidus Resources Ltd. started construc- gold production per year (oz/y) once fully tion ahead of schedule at its Warrawoona Fenix Receives Key ramped up. gold project in Western Australia’s Pilbara. Mining Approvals Based on current understanding, the This construction activity will provide the Fenix Resources is the latest iron ore Boston Shaker Underground Mine life is base infrastructure, including an access explorer to move into the construction phase with its Iron Ridge direct shipping ore (DSO) project receiving Western Aus- tralia government approval. They were all set to commence works on site before the end of September, in line with the previously announced time- line to achieve first sales in early 2021, Fenix Managing Director Rob Brierly said. Fenix is proposing to ship 1.25 million metric tons per year (mt/y) of DSO iron ore from Western Australia’s Geraldton port, 490 kilometers (km) west of its Iron Ridge mine. New Century Will Not Proceed With Offer for Goro Mine New Century Resources Ltd. has decid- ed not to move forward with purchasing the 95% of issued shares in Vale Nou- velle-Calédonie SAS (VNC). VNC owns and operates the Goro nickel and cobalt mine in New Caledonia. Back in May, the company entered into a 60-day exclusivity agreement with Vale The Boston Shaker underground mine is designed to produce 1.1 million mt/y of ore. Canada, to perform due diligence.

14 E&MJ • OCTOBER 2020 www.e-mj.com

REGIONAL NEWS - AFRICA AngloGold Ashanti Receives Approval for Sale of South African Mines

All conditions have been met regarding tion of the transaction. Harmony has also Four days after startup, the five-day the sale of AngloGold Ashanti’s remaining agreed to pay a contingent compensation mill performance test was conducted mines in South Africa to Harmony Gold of US$260 per ounce (oz) on underground from August 26 to August 30. The results Mining Co. Ltd. This includes approval gold production from the Mponeng, Savuka of the performance test exceeded de- by the Department of Mineral Resources and TauTona mines that exceeds 250,000 sign throughput, gold recovery, grind and and Energy (DMRE) for the transfer of the oz per year for a period of six years com- availability over the five-day day period, West Wits mineral rights from AngloGold mencing on January 1, 2021. This is valued according to the company. Minor, out- Ashanti to Harmony. The transaction is at approximately US$100 million based on standing construction work is expected to T HER E ’S O NLY expected to close on September 30, upon AngloGold Ashanti’s current production be completed by mid-September. which Harmony will assume full ownership forecast; and a contingent compensation of and operation of all assets and liabilities. US$20 per oz in relation to underground Perseus Acquires Bagoé ONE SPARE AngloGold Ashanti is well-positioned production sourced within the West Wits Gold Project to safely deliver better returns as its fo- mineral rights — comprising the Mponeng, Perseus Mining recently acquired all of cus narrows on growing free cash flow and Savuka and TauTona mines — below the Exore Resources’ assets including a port- shareholder dividends, while investing in current infrastructure if it is developed. folio of exploration properties situated in PART FOR A its next generation of opportunities. This, together with the company’s pend- northern Côte d’Ivoire. This included PR “While the decision to sell our South ing sales of the company’s assets in Mali, 321 that hosts the Bagoé gold project, lo- African assets was not an easy one, we are will result in a streamlined, high-margin cated approximately 70 kilometers (km) ® pleased that the assets are going to Har- business with quality assets and a robust from Perseus’ Sissingué gold mine. WARMAN mony, a capable and responsible operator pipeline for growth, the company said. During May, Exore announced an inde- that will ensure their long-term sustain- Gross cash proceeds from the transaction pendently prepared maiden JORC 2012 ability,” AngloGold Ashanti Interim CEO will be applied to further debt reduction. compliant mineral resource estimate for Christine Ramon said. “We can now sharp- Bagoé, based on mineralization associ- en our focus to pursue high return projects Fekola Mill Expansion ated with the Antoinette and Véronique at several of our key assets, deliver new Commissioned Ahead prospects. During July, Exore published A GENUINE ounces from the world-class Obuasi mine of Schedule further drilling results, this time from the in Ghana, and advance studies in Colom- B2Gold has successfully commissioned Juliette prospect that highlighted the po- bia, a new frontier for our business.” the mill expansion at the Fekola mine to tential for additional resources to be de- ® The transaction has expected proceeds 7.5 million metric tons per year (mt/y), lineated along strike from Antoinette. WARMAN of around $300 million, subject to subse- one month ahead of schedule. The expan- Perseus’s pre-acquisition evaluation of quent performance, and with additional sion, which included all major construc- Exore’s exploration work at Bagoé indicat- proceeds if the West Wits are developed tion activities and execution of a process ed potential for the economic exploitation below current infrastructure. Harmony will performance test, was scheduled to be of Antoinette and Véronique by open-pit SPARE PART pay US$200 million in cash on comple- completed on September 30. mining and either processing in-situ or transporting ore to Sissingué for process- ing. Perseus now intends to undertake a Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) to con- firm the technical and financial viability of a development concept for Bagoé. Drilling at Bagoé was scheduled to start in the second week of October and finish Only Warman® spare parts provide the superior performance and longer in late December. The target date for com- wear life that the Warman® pump is renowned for. That’s because Warman® pletion of the DFS is June 2021. spare parts are made from superior materials and are backed by technical Work will also be undertaken to prepare knowledge and expert service. So to ensure your Warman® pump continues an Environmental and Social Impact As- to work like a Warman® pump, use genuine Warman® spare parts. sessment (ESIA) for Bagoé. Local environ- mental consultants CECAF have been en- gaged to undertake this work. A field survey ® was due to commence during the first week Get more from your mine with Warman. of October 2020 and the fully documented Visit www.warman.weir application for the ESIA is scheduled to be B2Gold successfully increases Fekola’s mill capacity to 7.5 million mt/y. filed during the March 2021 quarter. Copyright © 2016, 2020 Weir Minerals Australia Ltd. All rights reserved. The trademarks mentioned in this document are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of companies forming part of The Weir Group PLC. www.global.weir

16 E&MJ • OCTOBER 2020 www.e-mj.com T HER E ’S O NLY ONE SPARE PART FOR A WARMAN® A GENUINE WARMAN® SPARE PART

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Copyright © 2016, 2020 Weir Minerals Australia Ltd. All rights reserved. The trademarks mentioned in this document are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of companies forming part of The Weir Group PLC. www.global.weir REGIONAL NEWS - ASIA Zijin Mining Seeks Tier 1 Status

In September, Zijin Mining convened said Zijin will accelerate the use of data may contain deposits yet to be found. In its Sixth Science and Technology Sym- at its mines, and drive for reforms in qual- 2019, the Russian state geological agen- posium where Chairman Chen Jinghe ity and efficiency. cy discovered 40 new mineral deposits in highlighted the company’s global de- The company also plans to cooper- the country, of which a few were classified velopment over the past 20 years with ate with other parties and join forces as rare earth mineral deposits. scientific and technological innovation with various sectors to achieve these The Russian Parliament has given as a driving force. While uncertainty sur- developments. strong incentives to the rare earth min- rounding sociopolitical has increased, the “To expeditiously build a new talent erals industry development by cutting tax mining industry, which is a fundamental base with technical expertise, [Zijin] will on mineral resources extraction from 8% one, remains stable, he added, and Zijin reach out globally to explore for acqui- to 4.8% starting from January 2020. The Mining plans to become a tier-one mining sition of, or cooperation with high-tech taxation of all new projects will qualify for company through technological innova- companies that have a strong talent pow- a decreasing coefficient of 0.1% per year tion and cooperation with other parties erhouse,” Zinghe said. for 10 years since their launch, which and sectors. Becoming a competitively should attract investors. global, tier-one metal mining company is Russia Looking to Boost Rare Under the state support program, in- Zijin Mining’s main mission, Zinghe said. Earth Minerals Production vestors are also eligible for soft loans with To accomplish this, Zinghe said Zijin By Vladislav Vorotnikov the subsidized interest rate under new Mining will advance technological innova- By 2030, Russia plans to ramp up rare projects in the rare earth mining industry. tion with a global vision and new mindset. earth minerals production nearly tenfold, All in all, state support measures should The company said it will strive for excel- not only to meet the domestic demand push the Russian rare earth minerals pro- lence above international standards. but also to become the world’s sec- duction from 2,000 metric tons (mt) in Its project management model of “five ond-biggest rare earth minerals exporter, 2019 to 17,000 mt or 20,000 mt, es- ore treatment processes into one” will be the Russian Industry and Trade Ministry timated Eugene Kiselev, director of the applied and promoted more extensively. recently announced. Russian state geological agency. Efforts will be made to further uncover The Russian government has detailed The upcoming projects will mostly fo- large deposits of significant market value, a roadmap of rare earth minerals produc- cus on the global market, he added. The and achieve technological breakthroughs tion, Alexey Besprozvannikh, deputy in- domestic demand for rare earth minerals in the use of deep shafts for efficient, dustry and trade minister, told Reuters. In remains relatively weak, which has been cost-saving and safe mining, the company total, 11 new projects should be launched constraining the growth in production for said. In addition, research and applica- in the industry during the coming decade, several years, he said. The Industry and tion of eco-friendly processing and refin- with the overall investment value up to Trade Ministry anticipated an increase in ing technology will be used to realize the Rub110 billion ($1.6 billion), he said. demand on the domestic market thanks to goal of green development in the compa- Russian known reserves amount to the development of the domestic high-tech ny’s domestic and overseas projects. 26.9 million metric tons (mt), which industry, according to Besprozvannikh. The company also plans to “emphati- makes nearly 10% of the world’s rare On July 15, the national association of cally” develop a highly globalized mech- earth minerals reserves. The actual figure rare earth producers and consumers was anism for operation and management could be way bigger since vast territo- established in Russia. So far, it involves six supported by science and technology. He ries in Siberia remain underexplored and companies, each of which have projects in the area of rare earth mineral production at various stages of implementation. In 2020, rare earth minerals have been recognized as reserves of strategical im- portance. On June 22, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree prohibit- ing sharing information on the rare earth minerals reserves and production. All data relating to rare earth mineral production have been classified, except for the depos- its developed by non-Russian investors. For many years, Russian officials have been calling the government to embark on some steps to ensure the domestic market would not deplete its supply of rare earth minerals, which is crucial for Tomtorskoye deposit is one of the biggest in the world. the defense industry.

18 E&MJ • OCTOBER 2020 www.e-mj.com REGIONAL NEWS - ASIA

Russia needs to produce rare earth So far, there is no information on According to Nikolai Pokhilenko, geolo- minerals because tomorrow nobody would what projects have been included in the gist of the Russian Academy of Science, sell them to the country, Maxim Machar- roadmap of rare earth minerals produc- only 40 km2, or 15% of the deposit’s total chyuk, general director of Neftechimmash, tion, but some projects are already be- territory, have been actually studied. told the Russian press a few years ago. ing developed. The second most promising rare-earth Amid the ongoing sanctions war between In 2013, Russian state-owned cor- project is being developed by ZAO Tech- Russia and several Western countries, poration Rostec struck a US$1 billion noinvest Alliance, partially owned by some Russian companies faced problems deal in 2013 to develop Tomtorskoye in a steel pipe maker ChelPipe PJSC. The with purchasing raw materials, he warned. venture with Polymetal International. De- goal is to extract tantalum and niobium In Russia, rare earth minerals are used spite several delays, the complex should and oxides of rare earth metals from the in the nuclear industry and defense in- be launched in 2022. The contained re- Zashikhinskoye deposit in the Irkutsk re- dustry, including producing nuclear mis- serves are close to 19 million mt, which gion. The project aims to process 1 mil- siles and tanks, Macharchyuk said. makes Tomtorskoye one of the world’s lion mt of ore per year. The changing geopolitical situation biggest rare earth mineral deposits. In January 2020, the regional govern- should push Russia to avoid import de- The Tomtorskoye deposit is deemed ment said plant opening was delayed to pendence on rare earth minerals, said to contain in terms of oxides more than 2023. Alexander Kulikov, general director of the 5% niobium, more than 7% rare earth Russian fertilizers producer Uralchem National Association of Strategic Materi- minerals, around 5% titanium, and more has recently inked an agreement with Mos- als Consumers. This step would be a log- than 1% vanadium. Russian geologists cow-based SkyGrad Innovations to pro- ical response to the external challenges believe this factor places Tomtorskoye duce rare earth concentrates from waste Russia is facing, he added. among the top 10 rare earth mineral de- dumps of phosphogypsum. SkyGrad plans As a first step, the Russian govern- posits in the world. to establish a processing plant near Ural- ment could have resurrected the old At full designed production perfor- chem dumps on the outskirts of the city projects abandoned with the fall of the mance, Rostec plans to produce 16,000 of Voskresensk, in Moscow Oblast, with a Soviet Union, establishing a rare earth mt of rare earth oxide per year (mt/y) designed production performance of about minerals cluster based on the Zabai- from the deposit as well as 14,000 mt 100,000 mt. If all goes well, the investors kalsky Mining and Metallurgical Plant, of ferroniobium. plan to ramp up this figure to 700,000 mt. and resume some joint projects with Ka- However, the actual reserves of the The first stage of the project was slated to zakhstan, Kulikov said. Tomtorskoye deposit remain unknown. be implemented by the end of 2020.

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www.e-mj.com OCTOBER 2020 • E&MJ 19 NEWS - THIS MONTH IN COAL Court Upholds Decision Blocking Peabody, Arch Joint Venture

The U.S. District Court has concluded ing our entire organizational structure to The restructuring transactions elim- its review of the joint venture combining reflect our long-term strategic direction.” inated more than $8 billion of Murray’s Peabody and Arch Resources’ Power Riv- The transaction was announced in debt and legacy liabilities and allowed er Basin and Colorado assets and is sup- June 2019 and would combine Pea- ACNR to access new financing, providing porting the Federal Trade Commission’s body’s North Antelope Rochelle Mine ACNR with enhanced financial flexibility. (FTC) decision to block the formation of (NARM) and Arch’s Black Thunder Mine, Robert D. Moore, who was took over as the joint venture. which share a property line of more than president and CEO of Murray Energy from “We are deeply disappointed with the seven miles. Additional assets include Robert Murray following the company’s court’s decision as the intense all-fuels the Caballo, Rawhide and Coal Creek bankruptcy announcement back in Octo- competition is clearly apparent to us,” mines in Wyoming along with the West ber 2019, will serve as ACNR’s president Peabody President and CEO Glenn Kellow Elk and Twentymile mines in Colorado. and CEO. The Longwall USA Organizing Committee is currently said. “Our focus now is on continuing to Ownership of the joint venture would “Through the efforts and sacrifice of be the low-cost PRB coal provider to best have been structured with Peabody own- our dedicated employees, the United accepting abstracts for presentations. compete against natural gas and subsi- ing 66.5% and Arch owning 33.5%. The Mine Workers of America, our secured dized renewables.” joint venture was expected to realize an- lenders, and our trade partners and cus- Organizers are looking for 20- to 25-minute The FTC said the transaction will nual synergies of $120 million over an tomers, we are a much stronger compa- eliminate competition between Peabody initial 10-year period. ny today than we were when we sought presentations related to the following areas: and Arch Coal, the two major compet- Chapter 11 protection,” Moore said. itors in the market for thermal coal in Murray Emerges From He added that more than 4,000 peo- the Southern Powder River Basin, and Bankruptcy as ACNR ple will remain working at ACNR. • Longwall Operations the two largest coal-mining companies Murray Energy Holdings Co. and its sub- ACNR entered into a new collective in the United States. sidiaries’ Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan bargaining agreement with the United • Room-and-Pillar Mining Following the court decision, Arch was approved and went into effect on Mine Workers of America (UMWA), which said while it disagrees with the verdict, it September 16, making way for a new was approved back in May during the • Coal Handling & Storage would terminate the proposed joint ven- entity. The company completed the sale bankruptcy process. ture. Arch said aggressively driving for- of nearly all of its assets to a company UMWA International President Cecil • Mine Safety & Training ward with its strategic pivot toward steel owned by a group of its former creditors. E. Roberts said, “As per the agreement and metallurgical markets and simultane- American Consolidated Natural Resourc- ACNR signed and that was ratified by the • Cost Reduction Programs ously intensifying its pursuit of strategic es (ACNR) was formed by the group and UMWA membership in May, all active alternatives for its thermal assets is the now owns and operates nine former Mur- UMWA members who formerly worked • Maintenance Strategies best course of action for the company. ray Energy mines in five regions in the for Murray Energy have been hired by the Arch and Peabody have agreed to dis- United States. In addition, ACNR will new company and are working.” • Ventilation Plans continue legal efforts, given the signif- manage and operate the Foresight Ener- ACNR is the largest privately owned coal icant investment of time, resources and gy mines and the Murray Metallurgical company in the United States and said it The deadline for abstracts, a short (250 words or less) description of the expense that would be required to con- mines through two separate manage- will produce approximately 35 million tons presentation, is October 15. Prospective presenters should email duct an appeal. ment services agreements. of high-quality bituminous coal annually. Steve Fiscor, [email protected] “In the wake of today’s decision, we will be intensifying our pursuit of stra- tegic alternatives for our thermal assets, including, among other things, potential divestiture, while evaluating opportuni- ties to shrink the operational footprint at those mines, reduce their asset retire- ment obligations, and establish self-fund- ing mechanisms to address those long- term liabilities,” Arch CEO Paul A. Lang said. “In the meantime, we will maintain our sharp focus on aligning our thermal production rates with declining domestic thermal coal demand; adjusting our ther- mal operating plans in order to minimize future cash requirements; and streamlin- A major Ohio Valley coal producer restructures its debt.

20 E&MJ • OCTOBER 2020 www.e-mj.com

The Longwall USA Organizing Committee is currently accepting abstracts for presentations.

Organizers are looking for 20- to 25-minute presentations related to the following areas:

• Longwall Operations • Room-and-Pillar Mining • Coal Handling & Storage • Mine Safety & Training • Cost Reduction Programs • Maintenance Strategies • Ventilation Plans The deadline for abstracts, a short (250 words or less) description of the presentation, is October 15. Prospective presenters should email Steve Fiscor, [email protected] NEWS - CONTINUED

(News-Leading Developments - from p. 6)

ed Steelworkers, the United Auto Workers and the Machinists unions,” he said. The transaction has been approved by the board of directors of both companies and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2020, subject to the receipt of regulatory approval and the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions. Boliden Will Expand Nickel Processing Boliden plans to invest EUR 40 million (US$ 47.4 million) in an expansion of its nickel operations at the Harjavalta smelter. The investment will mainly be implemented in 2021. The expansion investment will increase the feed capacity from 310,000 metric tons per year (mt/y) to 370,000 mt/y of raw material. The ex- pansion consists of a new concentrate dryer, increased capacity in the electric smelting furnace and granulation, as well as au- tomated tapping of molten metal. “We are now continuing on our nickel strategy that began in 2015,” President of Business Area Smelters Daniel Peltonen said. “The investment strengthens our productivity and compet- itiveness while further improving our already very strong environ- mental performance. Boliden also said the investment would decrease Harjavalta’s carbon dioxide intensity by 15%-20% per ton of nickel pro- duced. It is the largest nickel smelter in the European Union.

NEWS - CALENDAR OF EVENTS

NOVEMBER 7-14, 2020: ALTA 2020 Conference, Online. Contact: Web: www.altamet.com.au/conferences/alta-2020/. NOVEMBER 16-19, 2020: 2nd International Conference on High-Perform- ance Mining (Virtual). Contact: Web: www.high-performance-mining.com. NOVEMBER 30-DECEMBER 4, 2020: The annual meeting of the Ameri- can Exploration & Mining Association, Nugget Casino Resort, Sparks, Nevada, USA. Contact: Web: www.miningamerica.org. FEBRUARY 1-4, 2021: Investing in African Mining Indaba, Cape Town, South Africa. Contact: Web: www.miningindaba.com. MARCH 7-10, 2020: The annual meeting of the Prospectors & Devel- opers Association of Canada, Toronto Convention Center, Toronto, Canada. Contact: Web: www.pdac.ca. MARCH 14-17, 2021: Haulage & Loading 2021, Hilton El Conquistador Resort, Tucson, Arizona, USA. Contact: Web: www.haulageandloading.com.

APRIL 19-23, 2021: Expomin, Espacio Riesco, Santiago, Chile. Contact: Web: www.expomin.cl.

MAY 4-6, 2021: Canadian Institute for Mining (CIM), Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Contact: Web: convention.cim.org.

MAY 4-6, 2021: Longwall USA, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. Contact: Web: www.longwallusa.com.

JUNE 1-3, 2021: Euro Mine Expo, Kraft Center, Skelleftea, Sweden. Contact: Web: www.eurominexpo.com.

SEPTEMBER 13-15, 2021: MINExpo INTERNATIONAL, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. Contact: Web: www.minexpo.com.

22 E&MJ • OCTOBER 2020 www.e-mj.com Interested in Attending? haulageandloading.com/attend/ registration MARCH 14-17, 2021 Interested in Exhibiting? haulageandloading.com/exhibit/ become-a-sponsor

Hilton El Conquistador Tucson Special Room Rate $169

2021 Call for Presentations

The theme for 2021 is Strategies for Improving Operations. The organizers are looking for 20- to 25-minute presentations related to the following areas:

• Operating Approaches • Safety & Training • Reducing Costs • Maintenance Strategies • Technology & Information Management

Abstracts of 100 words or less are due by September 18, 2020. Submit to Steve Fiscor at [email protected]

haulageandloading.com NORDIC MINING 2020

Building Resilience, the Boliden Way E&MJ looks at how innovation in energy supply and biodiversity are helping the Swedish powerhouse to futureproof its mining operations By Carly Leonida, European Editor

If the mining industry wants to use the land, then it’s crucial it shows it can be managed in a good way, says Anders Forsgren from Boliden. (Photo: Boliden)

Incorporating measures to build resil- duction in carbon dioxide intensity (CO Working Toward 2 ience in the face of immediate threats Carbon-free Operations emissions per unit of metal produced) by such as COVID-19 has been a big fo- Currently, electricity accounts for 70% of 2030, it still leaves the question of what cus for many Scandinavian miners this energy consumption at Boliden’s mines to do about diesel mining equipment? year. However, just as important is the and smelters. In April, the company an- November 2018 saw the startup of a work that these companies are doing to nounced it had signed an agreement with pilot trolley-assist system with ABB and strengthen their businesses and opera- Agder Energi for the supply of renewable Caterpillar at the Aitik open-pit mine in tions against longer term challenges, energy to its operations in Sweden and Sweden and, following successful oper- such as climate change, waste manage- Finland totaling 1,000 GWh per year for ation, Boliden has expanded this invest- ment and social license to operate. 15 years from 2022. ment to its Kevitsa site as well. But there One name synonymous with sustain- Jonas Ranggård, manager for Boliden’s is more to come… able mining is Swedish firm, Boliden. The Mine Energy Program, said, “We have “So far, the Aitik installation has per- company has a portfolio of metals spanning such clean electricity in Scandinavia, es- formed very well,” Ranggård told E&MJ. zinc, copper, nickel, gold and silver among pecially in Sweden, that our carbon foot- “The original trolley line was built on a others. This has not only helped to provide print from electrically powered equipment waste rock ramp where we could add a stability in the face of fluctuating commod- is now close to zero. The two main sources third lane. That allowed us to play around ity prices over the past 12 months, but also with the technology without harming pro- of CO2 from our Swedish mines are pro- means it is well positioned to supply Euro- pane for heating incoming ventilation air, duction. We’re now building the first in- pean producers of low-carbon energy and and diesel for mining vehicles. pit trolley line that will really push the transport technologies going forward; a key “We have worked intensely over the system capabilities. part of the European Union’s strategy on past few years with ventilation on de- “As soon as you start widening ramps critical raw metals. mand. Boliden was the first company to in a steep open-pit mine such as Aitik, The 2019-2020 financial year was an have full Wi-Fi coverage in all our mines there are extra waste material handling important one for Boliden. The company and we use that to position vehicles and costs, so we need to be able to fit this invested 8.826 billion SEK (US$971.8 control the ventilation systems to achieve technology on a two-lane ramp and that is million) in growth and improvement proj- maximize efficiency. We have very low not that common. ects; it’s highest number ever. And initia- ventilation inflow to start with, but now “What we’re doing now is building a tives to cut energy supply from fossil fu- we have replaced some propane burners 1 km trolley line down into the open-pit els, minimize waste and rehabilitate mine with electrical heaters and we also have mine in very high-production pushback, so sites were front and center. heat exchangers heat the incoming air we will have high traffic intensity on that To get a feel for some of these, E&MJ with the outcoming from the mines.” line. Then we’ll convert 10 more trucks — spoke to project managers in two varied While this is a massive step toward equip them with pantographs — and ex- yet equally important business areas… achieving Boliden’s goal of a 40% re- tend or build more trolley lines in Aitik in

24 E&MJ • OCTOBER 2020 www.e-mj.com NORDIC MINING 2020 the next two or three years. We also have only achieve diesel savings of 30%- large part of the biodiesel imported into funding to build a couple of kilometers of 50%,” he said. “That’s good, but it’s not Europe today comes from palm oil or trolley lines in Kevitsa in northern Finland good enough. palm oil products. as well and convert 16 trucks.” “Sweden aims to be fossil-neutral by “When it comes to fuel cells… we The Kevitsa installation was sched- 2045, so we need to act thereafter. Pretty would need a really large hydrogen elec- uled to be commissioned in the fall of much from day one, we concluded that trolysis production plant on-site. Today, 2020. However, this has been postponed we need to pair trolley technology with producing hydrogen using electrolysis is to spring 2021 due to COVID. some kind of onboard energy storage for only about 70% efficient. Then you have our trucks, such as batteries. the fuel cells that only have an efficiency Making Trolley Assist “We’ve been putting a lot of R&D of roughly 50%. So, the overall efficiency Fashionable Again into this and have done some simula- of using fuel cells is much lower. The Aitik installation sparked renewed in- tions together with Chalmers University “When converting trucks to use hydro- terest in trolley-assist technology across of Technology in Gothenburg where they gen, you still need a battery pack to store the industry, and representatives from simulated the combination of trolley regenerative energy, so we would rather various mining companies have visited and battery packs on a mining truck. make the battery packs larger and use the site see the system working; the first The idea is to take out the diesel engine them with trolley lines instead. to operate in Arctic conditions. and fill that space with a really large “From other mining companies’ per- “I usually say that we are not the battery pack. spectives, I can definitely see why they’re first to build a trolley line, we are just “You use the battery pack to travel looking into hydrogen, but because we the first to brag about it,” Ranggård said from the shovel up the ramp until you have really good, stable electric supply to with a chuckle. reach the trolley line. The truck then con- our sites, battery plus trolley will be more “The reason the technology took off nects to the trolley line, travels up the efficient for us.” in South Africa during the 1980s was ramp to the crusher or dump and starts to due to the apartheid oil embargos. Cur- charge the battery as well. While traveling Electrifying the rently, in Sweden, we have a very similar down into the pit again, the regenerative Underground cost ratio between diesel and electricity energy from braking also recharges the What about Boliden’s underground as they had in South Africa at that time. battery pack. operations? Especially since last year when the gov- “We can definitely achieve the energy “We already have some electric-driv- ernment took away the tax reduction for balance doing this and also make it prof- en equipment,” Ranggård said. “We mining diesel… itable. It’s feasible based on the tech- have some electrical pickups and drill “But we see that this is profitable in nology that’s available today, so that’s rigs, and then we have some upcom- Finland as well. And if it’s profitable in a top priority for us right now. Trolley is ing field trials that I can’t speak more Finland, it’s profitable in Canada and really interesting, but I see it just as a about yet. We have been focusing mostly South America since they have similar first step toward a completely diesel-free on open-pit mines because they are the energy prices.” hauling cycle.” largest diesel consumers, but also be- To cope with the tough environment Ranggård hopes to see battery-electric cause mines in North America leading and the larger mining trucks, the poles trucks in operation at Boliden’s open- the way on underground electrification, and foundations for the trolley lines at pit mines within the next five years and, mainly due to legislation and regulations Aitik are larger, and the pantographs thereafter, at other mining operations on the working environment. from the OEM (in this case Caterpillar) across the globe. “We will, of course, try to be ear- are more sophisticated than their 80s “We really want others to use this ly adopters, but we aren’t pushing the predecessors. Otherwise, the systems technology as well to help push the costs OEMs as hard when it comes to under- are fairly similar. down,” he said. “We have been sharing a ground electrification as we are for the “The long-term target is to have all lot of the trolley technology and learnings open-pit mining.” our trucks running on trolley,” Ranggård from Aitik with other mining companies What’s your grand vision for energy explained. “At Kevitsa, we have 16 trucks and we will continue doing that for our efficiency at Boliden’s mines? converted for trolley at present and, in Ai- battery initiatives as well.” “By 2030, I hope that we will have tik, we have 14 converted out of a fleet of Why batteries? E&MJ asked. Why not our first underground fossil-neutral mine 40. That is just the start.” use biodiesel or fuel cells to complement and that we will have at least a cou- the trolley technology? ple of diesel-free large open-pit mining Trolley is Just the Start… “Actually, we already have 20% HVO trucks,” he said. “Since the large open- While trolley technology will play a key mixed into our diesel. That is partly our pit trucks have a long lifespan, I don’t role in meeting Boliden’s carbon re- own initiative, but it’s also a consequence think we will be able to replace all of duction targets, Ranggård said of the law in Sweden,” Ranggård ex- them with battery ones before 2030… tackling the CO2 footprint of a mine plained. “There is an option of going all in but at least some of them. as complex as Aitik requires a multi- on biodiesel as well, but you take a huge “And, if we open a new large open-pit pronged strategy. risk doing so. mine by 2030, I am convinced that by “Even if we install trolley technolo- “First, it will probably cost more, but then, we will have the technology to use gy everywhere it’s feasible, we will still it also carries political risk, because a diesel-free machinery.”

www.e-mj.com OCTOBER 2020 • E&MJ 25 NORDIC MINING 2020

Growing Interest in the Green Deal — that’s ongoing. We are we have experts in each business unit. Biodiversity also currently producing a roadmap on It’s really interesting to see the growing Another important area that will contrib- biodiversity financed by STRIM, Boliden concern for this. Even from the manage- ute to increased operational resilience and LKAB for the Swedish mining indus- ment level, there’s a lot of interest in is biodiversity. Boliden is currently pre- try as a whole. biodiversity, and understanding about paring a guideline to help the company “If we go to the next level — Boliden its importance, the social benefits, ac- achieve increased biodiversity in all re- as a company — one of our aims for 2020 cess to land, stakeholders engagement, gions where it operates by 2030. is to develop a guideline for biodiversity minimizing of risks… Many of the tools it already uses, and land use. That will hopefully be pub- “Our goal is to contribute to increased such as the mitigation hierarchy to min- lished in October. biodiversity by 2030, in all regions where imize and compensate for potential bio- “Within Boliden, we have formed what we operate.” diversity losses, are a key requirement we call the ‘Green Group,’ which drives of the International Council on Mining & most of our biodiversity projects. We Compensation Measures Metals to which Boliden recently applied share information, discuss biodiversity at Aitik for membership. targets, develop benchmarks, share good A key project the team has been working Anders Forsgren, senior project man- examples, get inspiration, etc. on is at the Tara underground zinc mine ager for business development at Boliden, “We have meetings four times a year, in Ireland. spoke to E&MJ about his team’s work. and the group includes representatives “It’s a really good example of a green “At an international level, we are from all our active and closed mine sites, mine,” Forsgren explained. “If you visit working through SVEMIN — the Swedish a representative from our smelting busi- Tara, you will never know that this is quite Mining Association,” he said. “The en- ness, Boliden’s exploration group, and the a big mine site. vironmental committee has a subgroup group that manages our land and forests. “One of the most impressive projects focused on biodiversity, and I’m the How do you choose those represen- when it comes to offsets or ecological chairman of that. That group is feeding tatives? Is it based on people’s personal compensation is at Aitik. It’s a really large back to the Convention on Biological interests or the role that they play at the open-pit mine in quite an industrial area. Diversity’s (CBD) new framework, which sites? A few years back, we had to take a new envisages a net positive impact to biodi- “Both, I would say,” replied Fors- area of land into consideration to expand versity by 2050, and also the European gren. “We have a lot of people with a the tailings facility. It was around 167 ha Union’s Biodiversity Strategy — part of biological background, so I would say of forest and the nature was of very high value, so we bought an additional 837 ha of land close to the mine site to com- pensate for that. We protected it for the future and made it possible for the au- thorities, county administration to make these nature reserves without cost. “We moved different types of logs — around 700 just for this research project — different species, different standing dead wood and lying dead wood… We have initiated a research project together with the University of Agricultural Sci- ences. They are monitoring our progress in moving different species and settling them into the new habitat. We are also funding a Ph.D. project based on this.” Forsgren explained that collaboration with academia is an important part of Bo- liden’s work in biodiversity. “It’s one way to build trust in what we do,” he said. “To me, it’s really important to involve universities and others. There is a big lack of knowledge in this area, and in how we succeed in moving species or creating habitats. “If we [the mining industry] want to use land and get permits to open new mines or expand, then it’s absolutely cru- 2020 has been an uphill battle for many mining companies. Fortunately, Boliden is well prepared to weather cial that we show we can manage it in a the storm. (Photo: Boliden/Mats Hillblom) good way.”

26 E&MJ • OCTOBER 2020 www.e-mj.com We are in it for the long haul

United. Inspired.

Battery-powered loaders and trucks We charge on towards zero-emission underground mining through high performing electric machinery. Our battery- powered loaders and trucks brings massive savings on ventilation, maintenance and cooling and contributes to a safer and healthier work environment. The future is electric. epiroc.com NORDIC TECHNOLOGY 2020 2020: A Show of Scandinavian Strength Nordic METS companies not only survive, but thrive through challenging conditions By Carly Leonida, European Editor

needed to drill to target are significantly reduced, saving both time and costs,” said Finseth. “We’ve also been providing both directional drilling and borehole/collar sur- veying services all in one package using DCD, surveying and alignment products.” Before the pandemic, Devico launched the DeviGyro continuous survey tool, which has a wide range of applications. “It provides continuous in-out survey- ing for exploration and production drill- ing,” explained Finseth. “We’ve seen a lot of interest, both from mining and the civil construction market due to the small size and ease of operation. “In April we also launched the Devi- Gyro Overshot Xpress (OX), an overshot surveying system for core drilling applica- tions. This allows efficient surveying that is integrated into the drilling operation and causes no impact on drilling production.” The DeviGyro OX offers continuous gyro surveying up to 100m/min while A Sleipner E120 transports a Komatsu PC1250 on site. (Photo: Sleipner) retrieving the core tube and, since field The past 12 months have been almost try,” he said. “We have developed some testing was completed, more than 50 OX unprecedented in the mining industry. promising new products and systems and units have been implemented at mining From a pandemic that saw production have invested in the development of our operations around the world. slowed, even suspended at certain oper- global agent network. During April and Of course, 2020 has brought chal- ations, to soaring commodity prices and May, we also had more time to focus on lenges, too… mines racing to keep pace with metals de- internal training for our employees and Finseth explained, “A key challenge mand, 2019 into 2020 has been a period generally preparing for the upswing in the we’ve seen is where clients have a willing- of great extremes. However, contrary to the market, and we introduced and enhanced ness to change to a leading Devico prod- tumbling sales figures seen in some indus- some of our remote training sessions for uct but, due to the restrictions in place, tries, the challenges of the past year have clients, which has been a real value add. our ability to go to site and conduct prod- actually highlighted the need to create “April and May were slow with regard uct training has all but ceased. The intro- operational resilience through the use of to overseas business, but we remained duction of our remote training system has advanced mining technologies and remote fairly active in the Nordic region and, sur- answered this challenge, and we are now support — things at which Scandinavian prisingly, our business increased. Overall well equipped to provide our products di- mining equipment, technology and service business picked up from early June, with rectly, paired with remote training, result- (METS) companies excel in providing. higher activity levels overseas. ing in a competent, confident clients.” Let’s look at some key developments “We have also noticed more interest in Going forward, Finseth explained that from the past year, with suppliers in al- our directional core drilling (DCD) solution the team will be focusing on further de- phabetical order… as clients are focusing on cost savings and veloping the DeviGyro product range and placing higher emphasis on the level of the DeviDrill directional drilling system. Devico Delivers Despite experience of their subcontractors.” “The DeviCloud online processing and COVID The DCD solution offers the potential for reporting portal for Devico survey tools will E&MJ began by asking Frank Finseth, significant cost savings in deep-hole explo- soon be released as well,” he said. “De- Devico’s operations manager for the Nor- ration projects. It provides deviation control viCloud is a secure online portal offering dic region, how the company has fared and the possibility to drill branch holes and instant and secure sharing of survey data through 2020. hit multiple targets from one initial hole. within a private user group, along with an “We have managed well despite the “By branching off a drillhole from the extensive range of processing, plotting, impact COVID-19 has had on the indus- middle of an existing hole, the meters analysis and reporting functionalities.

28 E&MJ • OCTOBER 2020 www.e-mj.com NORDIC TECHNOLOGY 2020

“We are also focused on developing our pandemic, the interest in automation is the Australian mine site, with the ability to global agent network, specifically in Aus- increasing even more.” expand to other mining vehicle types and tralia, Canada, Russia, USA, Chile, Peru Epiroc currently sells to more than 150 manufacturers, and the capability to inte- and Colombia to name a few, and have a countries globally and plans to continue grate with existing Roy Hill systems. Epiroc number of projects under way in the Lap- developing that reach through 2021. and ASI Mining will also be working closely land area (northern Sweden and Finland).” “Specifically, we will focus heavily on with Roy Hill and its partners Hitachi and Africa and South America, as those are big Wenco on truck conversion and integration Epiroc Advances mining markets with huge growth poten- of the Wenco fleet management system. Electrification and tial and an increasing interest for safety The project will see a phased imple- Automation Ambitions and higher productivity,” Andersson said. mentation, with testing and production ver- Epiroc saw its 2019 revenues grow by In late 2019, Epiroc announced it has ification of up to eight trucks undertaken in 7% to 41 billion SEK, supported by in- entered into a partnership with explosives the initial phase prior to the second phase terest in equipment and also aftermar- provider Orica to jointly develop a semi- of full fleet expansion from mid-2021. ket parts and services. Highlights for the automated explosives delivery system, for company included progress on electrifi- safer and more productive blasting opera- FLSmidth Flexes Supply cation, digitalization and automation of tions in underground mines. Chain its product portfolio. The companies are leveraging their Manfred Schaffer, president of FLS- “We have established ourselves as an combined capabilities, including Epiroc’s midth’s Mining division, said, while the industry leader in battery-powered un- face drilling and production drill rigs, and mining industry has been affected by the derground mining equipment, and land- Orica’s charging systems and explosives pandemic, commodity prices have quick- ed many orders for equipment and solu- know-how, to optimize the charging pro- ly rebounded, and the company expects tions with automation features that help cess for underground mining. activity to return to pre-pandemic levels customers be more productive and saf- The aim is to design and deliver the relatively quickly. er,” Ann-Sofie Andersson, global manag- first prototype during 2020, with the first “Around 96% of sites were in opera- er of branding and communication, said. commercially available systems to enter tion at the end of Q2 up from 90% in “Another highlight was in March 2020 service in 2021. Q1, even though some were operating at when Helena Hedblom became our new In February, Epiroc, in partnership with reduced capacity,” he said. “This meant president and CEO. With Helena as CEO ASI Mining, also scooped the contract to spare and wear parts demand was impact- we have, among other things, launched convert Roy Hill’s haul truck fleet from ed due to reduced production rates. We ambitious new sustainability goals for manned to autonomous use. The partners also noticed less activity for technical ser-

2030, which include halving our CO2 are delivering an interoperable solution to vices and project commissioning due to emissions and doubling the number of women in operative roles.” How has COVID-19 impacted activi- ties and orders? Have there been positive effects as well as negative? “Initially, we were negatively affect- ed,” Andersson said. “With many min- ing and construction companies halting equipment orders amid the global un- certainty and because many sites were closed down. The business started re- covering in May and June, though it re- mains somewhat fragile. But there have definitely been some positive effects, too. It was a big priority for us to help custom- ers keep their operations up and running during the pandemic. This has strength- ened our relationship with them, and we have received lots of positive feedback.” Like many, Epiroc’s mining customers are showing increasing interest in auto- mation and remote-controlled equipment. “The interest in automation has been increasing fast the past couple of years as mining companies are starting to real- ize the benefits it brings in terms of safer working environments and higher produc- tivity,” Andersson said. “Now, with the Devico operations manager, Frank Finseth, presents the company’s DeviDrill system to a client. (Photo: Devico)

www.e-mj.com OCTOBER 2020 • E&MJ 29 NORDIC TECHNOLOGY 2020 restricted access to sites. Customers are of digital in this area will still be seen. COVID-19 has also put even more em- deferring non-critical investments. The Given current priorities, it’s the advan- phasis on the need to extract more ore largest impact was in South Africa and tages of remote-controlled operations and with fewer resources and lower costs, and India with no significant mine closures in predictive maintenance that will be most one of FLSmidth’s core aims is to deliver Australia and Europe due to COVID-19.” recognized and appreciated.” sustainable productivity gains. For FLSmidth, managing the COVID-19 Overall, FLSmidth has experienced few “Last November, we launched a new outbreak over the last two quarters began disruptions to its supply chain, and on-time core strategy — MissionZero — which, with securing the safety and well-being of delivery has been equal to 2019 levels. in mining, aims to enable our customers employees and managing the impact to the Asger Lauritsen, chief procurement of- to move toward zero water and energy company’s production and supply chain. ficer, said the company has implemented waste, as well as zero-emissions process- “We increased our efforts to help what it calls a “nano management” ap- es by 2030,” Schaffer explained. “This our customers maintain their operations proach using local service engineers and has been well received by both mining through more remote services and adapt- regional service centers to minimize dis- customers globally and by investors. We ing our on-site service and maintenance ruption to the customer wherever possible. definitely see environmentally sound schedules to operational needs,” Schaffer “As we saw COVID-19 continue to practices and sustainability as key trends said. “This first wave of initiatives was fol- spread outside China, especially in Europe, in mining, and we expect this to only gain lowed by a phase where we adjusted our and North and South America as well as in in importance in the coming years.” activities and capacities to the new situa- India, we imposed this ‘nano-management’ License to operate and geopolitical tion and the new activity levels.” of all customer and supplier orders, with developments are also key challenges for In mining, the post-COVID world will the intent to show that we are also respon- mining companies at present, and the in- look increasingly digitized. Rather than sible for keeping the mines open and op- crease in trade tensions means that min- slow down the pace of digital adoption, erational,” he said. “We are an integrated ers need to be even more careful with the COVID-19 shone a spotlight on just how part of the local and global society.” selection of their suppliers so they can these solutions and data analytics are “With 80% of our suppliers being ex- ensure supply chain security. for mining. ternal, we are exceptionally agile. We are “We see this trend continuing and “When logistics are severely chal- running an asset-light model and have have adjusted our model accordingly,” lenged, when it becomes difficult or even not invested in expensive production fa- Schaffer said. “With our regional setup, impossible to be on site, suddenly all cilities, because we have a trusted net- we have personnel and warehouses close the value of digitalization becomes crys- work of suppliers in the right locations to our key markets and, with our highly tal clear,” Schaffer said. “Areas such as with the right capabilities. It is a blended flexible supply chain, we can react quick- remote monitoring and diagnosis, predic- mix of make/buy and insourcing and out- ly to any restrictions.” tive maintenance, and process optimi- sourcing, shifting between different sup- Reflecting the market trend for in- zation are center stage and the benefits pliers in different parts of the world. vestment in technologies that build op- — from increased uptime and improved “Except for closedowns in India, and erational resilience, FLSmidth recently throughput to safety, cost and environ- two weeks closure during the Chinese commissioned an F-Series F3200-W mental gains — are evident. New Year in China, all our sites have been high-pressure grinding roll (HPGR) at “During COVID-19 times, this range of operating at 90%-100% capacity. Most a gold project in Turkey. The model is benefits is becoming even more apparent. people have been tested regularly and all equipped with ø2.2-m x 1.5-m wide rolls Some, like safety, might not be the pri- local legislation and guidelines have been and 4,000-kW installed power making it mary driver for adoption right now (it is followed to make sure our employees and the largest HPGR operating in gold heap still a big factor, however), but the value their families could stay safe.” leach in the world. The HPGR is a dry comminution tool, so there is no water involved that fits with the company’s sus- tainability ambitions. Other key deliveries include a new gold processing plant to JSC Pavlik in Russia’s Magadan region, four production lines of grinding equipment with ancillaries to a copper mine in the Khabarovsk region of Russia, and the sale of three system packages to Gold Fields for the Salares Norte project in Chile. Fluid-Bag Builds Presence in Mining Fluid-Bag’s business is steadily increas- ing in the mining industry. The company Epiroc’s second-generation battery fleet is tested as part of the SIMS project at Agnico Eagle’s Kittilä gold mine in is not a direct supplier to mine sites, it Lapland. (Photo: Epiroc) provides packaging solutions to oil and

30 E&MJ • OCTOBER 2020 www.e-mj.com DIGITAL TRAINER LOADER SIMULATOR

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Simulator ad_21x27_5.indd 1 30.9.2020 13.46.49 NORDIC TECHNOLOGY 2020 grease suppliers that preserve and protect Another benefit is the low amount of charging low-viscosity liquids, like oil. It the quality of their product. lubricant residue after discharge. This is a spring-loaded winding device, which Henrik Kass, sales manager for Lu- can save a lot of money and makes waste is placed on top of the bag, this makes bricants at Fluid-Bag, said, “What we disposal much easier. sure all of the product is discharged. see is an increasing number of mine “These features are important but, More sustainability-focused projects sites that are receiving their lubricants strangely, it’s not that common that min- are in the pipeline for late 2020. in Fluid-Bags. It is mainly the cleanli- ing companies come to us and ask for it,” ness aspect and residue benefits that lie said Kass. “But they could, or should, Metso Outotec: New Name, behind this steady increase. Fluid-Bag ask their lubricant supplier about how Wider Portfolio is a packaging alternative to bins and their packaging contributes to lubricant The past 12 months have been exception- drums, which means that as mining and cleanliness and less waste, be it an oil ally active for Metso Outotec. Aside from oil companies are learning more about company or a distributor.” the merger of Metso and Outotec in July the advantages, the conversion to Fluid- Fluid-Bag will continue its focus on the to create a unified face in mineral pro- Bags is spreading.” mining and steel lubricants market in 2021. cessing, other highlights include the com- The flexible Fluid-Bag provides a closed “We have recently developed the Tau pany’s 2020 Q2 financial results, which packaging system for the lubricant. It does Xtractor for these industries, and we will warranted issuing a positive profit warning. not need to be opened on top to let air focus on getting that marketed more ex- Saso Kitanoski, president for the Eu- in when the lubricant is discharged and, tensively,” Kass explained. “Tau Xtractor rope market area, spoke about the com- because of this, the bag collapses. This is a device for emptying Fluid-Bags, and pany’s performance highlights. means that no contamination ever reaches it builds on the same cleanliness concept “It has been a very active 12 months the lubricant, even during the emptying and further strengthens that.” and, under difficult conditions with process. This is important for mining oper- The company also has ongoing proj- COVID-19, we did perform exceptionally ations where downtime and engine failure ects concerning the emptying of its bags, well,” he said. “Additionally, and despite can be crushingly expensive. including a new easy-to-use device for dis- COVID, both companies have managed to

Sandvik Pushes Boundaries for Mining Automation Sandvik Mining and Rock Technology mous AutoMine Concept vehicle. Based provide clear advantages by allowing vehi- revealed their future vision and concept on the latest technologies, it is equipped cles to adapt and plan their own routes, for autonomous mining equipment at the with completely new sensing capabilities and to find the most suitable paths even in company’s Innovation in Mining Virtual and artificial intelligence to enhance min- continuously changing environments. The Event, which was held during late Sep- ing operations. obstacle detection, collision avoidance, tember. The company gave a glimpse of The AutoMine Concept perceives its and 3D online mapping capabilities im- the next generation of intelligent technol- surroundings and environment in 3D and prove adaptability and increase flexibility. ogies, which included the fully autono- reacts to it in real time. These technologies “The AutoMine Concept is unique, be- cause it has been designed ground-up for autonomous use. It is the world’s first fully autonomous underground mining machine built specifically for automation,” said Riku Pulli, vice president, automation at Sandvik Mining and Rock Technology. “This tech- nology raises ease-of-use, effectiveness of asset utilization and adaptability to a new level, resulting in higher productivity. These technologies will truly change the face and pace of autonomous mining.” This game-changing platform is a foundation for using AutoMine technology in various equipment and can be applied to any vehicle. The AutoMine Concept ve- hicle also has a completely new industrial design without a cabin, and with built-in components for high reliability and pro- ductivity. This autonomy platform allows for equipment design that is optimized for its primary production tasks without com- The AutoMine Concept vehicle, which has no cab, uses sensing capabilities and artificial intelligence to enhance promises. Furthermore, being fully bat- mining operations. tery-electric, it generates no emissions.

32 E&MJ • OCTOBER 2020 www.e-mj.com NORDIC TECHNOLOGY 2020 successfully launch a significant number “We’re very happy with that and will processing which is grinding,” Kitanoski of new products and solutions to the mar- continue in that direction,” Kitanoski said. said. “We have new solutions coming to ket, and customers have recognized those Topics that are informing these webi- market soon which are well ahead of what and invested in them.” nars, as well as R&D, include mid-term to we have today.” Kitanoski reported that the first few long-term challenges that mines are ad- “On the filtration side, which address- months of the company integration pro- dressing such as energy efficiency, water es water consumption, in 2021-2022, we cess has gone well. consumption and performance optimiza- will be launching new solutions which will “It’s been quite smooth so far,” he tion of the mine value chain. again lift the level of quality and enable said. “We have a smaller number of mar- “For energy consumption, we are ad- our clients to take a new step. Of course, ket areas globally; we have only eight dressing the biggest consumer in minerals all of that comes with the additional af- now. Whereas previously, both compa- nies had more than 10 each. That gives a much better structure, much better efficiency, but also, it gives a stronger market presence for both companies. 0 risk For the European market area, we are, of contamination in terms of organization and integration, TM 5X 2% quite well ahead. more Down to “We have already established strong e icient 2% grease handling residue sales and service regions in Europe; Nor- THE NEW METHOD FOR dics being the biggest. Additionally, we GREASE DISCHARGE have established an organization called ‘Technical Sales Support’ that is directly The one of a kind discharging embedded in the sales and service mar- solution for lubricants in mining and steel industry ket organization and which centralizes our technical knowledge and experience STURDY & STRONG in this field. A large part of that organi- • For demanding heavy-duty zation is based out of the Nordics, very work environments close to our customers in the region. • Twists with great force, leaving “Moving forward in the integration little residue in the Fluid-Bag process, one of the most important points SAFE & SEALED is that we are working on our strategy. I • Grease is kept clean from dust, expect we’ll be able to share more details particles and moisture in Q4 this year. • Discharge behind metal “COVID-19 has brought different types safety doors, no risk of injuries of challenges to us. However, we have used our strong global footprint to answer the needs of our customers. Meaning FLUID BAG squeezed by TAU that, if our supply chain in a certain area, for example, India, was challenged, we have the possibility to deliver solutions from Europe, China or from any other lo- cation where we have a stronghold. This has provided our customers with stability. “We also have capabilities to predict maintenance needs, and to address those remotely with our customers and partners, FLUID BAG, 1000 or 900 l grease wherever they are in the world. Again, the global footprint plays a critical role here, because all those solutions need to be adapted to the requirements of the partic- ular customer that we are serving.” Metso Outotec has also been using The Greek letter Tau, which de nes its digital platforms and online presence torque, inspired the to present new solutions to the market name of our most powerful yet grease during times of restricted travel and to discharger. train customers. The company has seen www.fluid-bag.com almost 15,000 participants join its webi- nars this year.

www.e-mj.com OCTOBER 2020 • E&MJ 33 NORDIC TECHNOLOGY 2020

pability. High-torque electric motors pro- vide instant torque and efficient operation without any emissions. The fully reversible drive system ensures safe and sure move- ment in difficult underground conditions. The company has also been working on complementary technologies to im- prove productivity, such as simulators to enhance operator skills, scanners for sprayed concrete and SmartScan for sim- plifying the operator’s work. SmartScan combines sensor technol- ogy with sprayed concrete equipment. Using 3D laser scanning technology, it eliminates the need for manual calcula- tions using probes and improves work site efficiency and safety. With SmartScan, Scania Mining establishes a permanent exhibition space at the company’s Demo Centre in Södertälje, Sweden, to demonstrate its approach. (Photo: Scania) the operator can automatically calculate and monitor applied sprayed concrete termarket services. We are investing very tered new markets, such as the Democrat- thickness and volumes for enhanced effi- seriously in that component. ic Republic of Congo. The financial results ciency and less wastage. It uses advanced “And we are planning to launch a for 2019 were strong in all dimensions. technology to remotely scan areas where different set of tools, going forward for We have also spent a lot of time devel- repairs and concrete application may be consumables, like mill linings. Because, oping our portfolio and offering in all our needed, providing a perfect application. again, this is an important component in businesses; construction chemicals, rock To support customers in Chile, Normet reducing wear costs, energy consumption reinforcement, equipment and services.” opened a new service center in Santiago and improving equipment availability.” How has COVID-19 impacted activi- in late 2019. The facility offers equip- This ambition will be bolstered by the ties and orders? ment rebuilds as well as process training. acquisition of [Australia-based fastener “Our immediate response at the outset “Additionally, we opened a dynamic and wear monitoring technology provider] of the pandemic was to look after our peo- rock bolt manufacturing facility in Luleå Davies Wear Plate Systems, which Metso ple and to support our customer’s opera- to support our Nordic customers with Outotec announced in August. tions,” Santamaria explained. “We man- rock reinforcement products,” Santam- In June, Metso launched the My Plant aged to keep everyone safe and healthy aria said. “And, in India, we have ex- Planner on-line configurator for designing and attend to customer’s needs, be that panded service operations to support the efficient crushing and screening plants. in on-site support, delivery of new equip- business there. This free digital tool, now available on the ment and parts, tools and consumables. “For rebuilding and remanufacturing Metso Outotec website, uses 3D simula- “Customers capital expenditure deci- equipment, our service center in Lisalmi, tion to allow mining and aggregates oper- sion making has slowed down somewhat Finland has been in full use to support our ations to design their own crushing and and, in places, has been deferred which customers and recently we also opened a screening plants. has impacted the timing of new orders. new modern testing and delivery facility in Other important product launches But, on the positive side, we have seen Lisalmi. This new facility supports many include the Outotec HIGmill plant — a people find new and effective ways to R&D and customer hand-over activities in- modular solution for fine grinding — work and support each other remotely, cluding functional testing and training.” which also came to the market in June, to stay connected and functional in their the MesoTHERM BIOX process for treat- roles whilst dealing with a great deal of New Products, Deliveries ment of refractory gold ores, and the uncertainty and insecurity.” for Sandvik Pretium Water Advisor for accurate site As for most companies in the industry, Last year into 2020 has been busy for water balance monitoring. safety is the main priority for Normet. Sandvik despite COVID-19. As this issue “We’re also working to enable uninter- went to press in late September, the com- Normet Expands Service rupted supply chains, availability of tech- pany was preparing to present its latest Reach, R&D nical and application specialists and flex- solutions to customers and press at its Normet CEO, Ed Santamaria, gave E&MJ ibility,” Santamaria said. “Productivity is Innovation in Mining virtual event. The a rundown on key developments for the critical and combining that with innova- lineup included the unveiling of the first company so far this year. tion is a strong foundation for Normet.” Sandvik branded battery-electric loader, “The past 12 months have been quite Sustainability is also high on custom- as well the DR410i rotary blast hole drill eventful, and exciting in many ways,” he er’s agenda, so Normet has expanded its rig and a sneak peek of the forthcoming said. “For Normet, we have had multiple SmartDrive battery electric vehicle (BEV) Top hammer XL system. deliveries of our battery-electric vehicles architecture to include the latest Li-ion Earlier in the year, Sandvik teamed and clearly see the demand. We have en- battery technology with a fast charging ca- up with Exyn Technologies to create

34 E&MJ • OCTOBER 2020 www.e-mj.com NORDIC TECHNOLOGY 2020 solutions for mapping and visioning un- “Customer feedback on the i-series A little closer to home, in July, Nokia derground mines. Sandvik’s OptiMine trucks indicates that overall maintenance announced it was deploying a 5G stand- combined with data collected by Exyn’s costs have decreased compared to their alone (SA) industrial-grade private wire- aerial robots creates progressive visual- predecessors, the Sandvik TH551 and less network for Sandvik’s test mine in ization of the mine environment to in- Sandvik TH663. We have also received Tampere, Finland. Based on the Nokia crease overall transparency of the min- the same customer feedback on LH517i Digital Automation Cloud (DAC), the ing process. The collaboration will en- and LH621i loaders. Reducing costs in 5G SA network will be used to enhance tail research on how to apply and gen- addition to the already-reported positive communications and connectivity at erate 3D views and perceptions of un- operator feedback clearly shows we are the facility where Sandvik Mining and derground spaces autonomously, while on the right track,” said Wayne Scrivens, Rock Technology tests, develops and leveraging the full potential of Sandvik’s vice president for the load and haul prod- prototypes mining solutions for its custo- AutoMine system. uct line. mers worldwide. July also saw the re-launch of the Toro Other noteworthy developments in- The network will enable fast, reliable family name for Sandvik’s underground clude the new DR410i, which joined the and secure voice and video communica- hard-rock loaders and trucks, starting iSeries of rotary blast hole drills and, in tions in a mining setting, which presents later this year. The Toro name has been March, Byrnecut and OZ Minerals suc- highly challenging conditions. Its 5G ca- recognized by Sandvik customers for de- cessfully implemented an automation up- pability will also be used for automated cades and now Sandvik is bringing back grade for a Sandvik DD422i development mining processes, enabling remote ma- the bull starting with the Toro LH517i drill, despite the challenges of COVID-19. chine operations of more than 4K video and Toro LH621i intelligent loaders. With travel restrictions preventing Sand- links between deep underground and the To pair with the loaders, Sandvik’s vik staff from attending site, Byrnecut, OZ surface control center. 51- and 63-metric-ton (mt) underground Minerals and Sandvik experts collaborated trucks will also acquire the Toro name. via phone, teleconference and email to Scania: Tough Trucks. Both models have recently received de- complete remote commissioning of the rig. Even Tougher People sign upgrades, including a new trans- Byrnecut Australia became the first un- 2019 saw Scania team up with Navistar mission, heavy-duty cooler, AutoMine for derground operator globally to successful- to provide vehicles and services for Cana- Trucks with on-surface navigation possi- ly use the new automation and teleremote dian mining operations. The parties plan bility and an ongoing Stage V engine trial. package for Sandvik development drills. to bring a limited number of Scania heavy

www.e-mj.com OCTOBER 2020 • E&MJ 35 NORDIC TECHNOLOGY 2020 duty off-road trucks for trials by selected operators in late 2020. In a separate announcement, Scania Mining also revealed it developed a porta- ble site assessment kit to help determine the efficiency of customer’s mine sites. Scania Site Optimisation uses a lean approach to map the customer’s business in order to help maximize value through increased revenue, risk management or cost reductions. Analysis of the data gathered reveals waste in the operation, low equipment utilization, queuing, inap- propriate service planning and excess fuel consumption, all of which can adversely The Sleipner DB120PLUS offers more flexibility in daily production planning as drills and dozers can be delivered affect revenue. The data can also be used quickly to where they are working. (Photo: Sleipner) by the sales and services team to analyze the right specifications and services for plays the part in the bigger operation. This and build trust to ensure the safety of the the operations. is part of how we help the customers adapt people and, at the same time, keep the To support this, Scania Mining has es- the lean mindset in their operation.” operation running at an optimum.” tablished a permanent exhibition space at For Scania, 2020 thus far has been Both sales and profitability were im- the company’s Demo Centre in Södertälje, dominated by the COVID-19 outbreak and pacted negatively, but the company has Sweden, to demonstrate this approach. its consequences in the form of lower de- taken necessary steps to mitigate this. “The program is currently suspended mand and decreased production. “It has definitely been challenging, until January 2021,” Mai Auapinyakul, “In the past 12 months, we had to as we had to prioritize our activities,” business development manager at Scania deal with the temporary halt of our pro- Auapinyakul added. “Many of our hands- Mining, explained. “But it gives custom- duction, the reduction of staff hours, and on activities, such as Scania Site Map- ers an insight into what Scania do. the uncertainty and volatility of the mar- ping of our customers’ operations and “Driver Training and Coaching has also ket,” Auapinyakul said. our Mining Program at the Scania Demo played an important role in the mining “We have seen our team dedicate their Centre had to be postponed indefinitely segment recently, especially for custom- time and effort to keep our service net- due to travel restrictions. ers with large rolling fleets. Our tailored work open and customers’ trucks running. “However, Eurasia and Asia saw an coaching and training programs not only We have seen our customer relationship increase in order bookings, which is reas- focus on the operational aspect of the evolve from supplier to reliable partner as suring since our biggest mining markets equipment, but also how the whole fleet we work closely to have open dialogues are Russia and Indonesia. Our engines

SIMS Project Comes to a Close… and Maybe a New Beginning Collaborative innovation has been a big focus for the mining even more sustainable industry. During this project, we have industry recently and April 2020 saw the completion of the developed a great collaboration and ‘team feeling’ and that is Horizon 2020-funded Sustainable Intelligent Mining Systems something that very valuable for future collaborations, which (SIMS) project. we are looking into.” While the program had a European-wide focus and partic- Among multiple achievements, SIMS successfully demon- ipant base, many of its work packages involved Scandinavian strated the performance of fully electric mine production ve- suppliers and a good deal of solutions testing also took place hicles, a virtual reality environment for training and education in the region. of mine professionals, autonomous aerial mine inspections, the Epiroc was the overall coordinator for SIMS and the compa- application of intelligent rock bolts, the 5G communication in- ny’s Jan Gustafsson acted as project manager. frastructure, and overall control and process monitoring systems “It has been three fantastic years,” Gustafsson said in his for the mining sector. closing remarks, published on the SIMS website. “The vision As part of the electrification work package, Epiroc’s sec- for the project was to create a long-lasting impact on the way ond-generation battery fleet, including the Boomer E2 Battery, we test and demonstrate new technology and solutions for the Minetruck MT42 Battery and Scooptram ST14 Battery, was test- mining industry, to be achieved with a consortium from mining ed at Agnico Eagle’s Kittilä gold mine in Lapland. Agnico Eagle companies, equipment and system suppliers and universities. subsequently purchased two second-generation Boltec E Battery “We have fulfilled that vision and we can see great oppor- rigs, which soon will go into production at the mine. tunities with this type of collaboration. The interest has also As Gustafsson hinted, the NEXGEN SIMS proposal has suc- been very high and that is also proof that what the project cessfully passed the first application phase and the team is now has achieved is very important and taking us closer to an working toward the next step in the application process.

36 E&MJ • OCTOBER 2020 www.e-mj.com NORDIC TECHNOLOGY 2020 also saw an increase in order bookings ders are now taking longer to arrive. More- also globally due to increase in demand.” over, they have been discussing the busi- Throughout this year, Scania has seen ness aspect of services with customers, mining companies focusing heavily on like how using original parts could help parts, services and logistics in a bid to ensure the life of the vehicle and how it keep operations up and running. will cost less over time.” “Our markets have been working hard Sustainable transport solutions will be in cooperation with customers to ensure the main focus of Scania’s work from 2020- parts availability and productivity,” Aua- 2025, harnessing electrification, automa- pinyakul explained. “This has transformed tion, and connectivity solutions, as well as the way we work with services, as we now alternative fuels to answer demands. have a more open dialogue with custom- ers about their business, and how we can Sleipner Solves Transport help them maximize and extend the life of Dilemmas their current rolling fleet as many custom- Transport solutions specialist Sleipner ers are not buying new trucks. has been working to expand its market “For example, in India, our field ser- reach over the past 12 months. vice teams managed to maintain 90% of CEO Jukka Koponen said, “We have uptime of 1,000+ Scania Heavy Tippers now customers in over 50 countries. running throughout the country, by dis- During the last 12 months Benin, New patching technicians to the sites. Their Caledonia and Portugal have been added effort has been heartily appreciated by as new user countries. The Tau Xtractor with a Fluid-Bag inside. (Photo: Fluid-Bag) the customers. “We have recently added a new sales “In Indonesia, our field team also met manager to our group to be responsible Koponen said COVID-19 has been a with logistical challenge that forced our for sales in the U.K. and Ireland. Our DB driver for the company to start utilizing technicians to think outside the box and series offering has recently been expand- remote tools more actively. come up with a new solution to manage ed too, and we are actively working on “We have started using a new tool spare parts for customer operations as or- new developments for the future.” to share our sales and technical mate-

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www.e-mj.com OCTOBER 2020 • E&MJ 37 NORDIC TECHNOLOGY 2020

“The pandemic has of course had an effect on our business this year. How- ever, because we market a very broad portfolio of products aimed at different customer segments, the negative effect in the Nordic countries has not been as large as we feared.” Steinkamp said there are two areas TOTAL is being asked to help with in the sector at present: reducing the environ- mental footprint of mines and optimizing productivity with non-stop operations. “To reduce the environmental foot- print, we at TOTAL are investing heavily Normet’s new testing and delivery facility in Lisalmi, Finland. (Photo: Normet) in multiple solutions, working in close co- operation with our customers,” he said. rials internally and with our customers Höylä explained: “With Sleipner DB- “We have a full range of fuel economy in remote meetings,” he explained. “It 120PLUS, the drills’ undercarriages lubricants with proven field records (1% is called Showell, which is from Finland. last two to three times longer and the to 5% fuel economy) both for engine oils It’s an easy-to-use, fast, and powerful excessive undercarriage wear of bull- in the pit and gear oils in the plant. We sales enablement platform. With Show- dozers while traveling on tracks in third also have bio-based products across our ell, our sellers are always well-prepared gear is diminished. Moreover, the ease ranges from hydraulics to greases. Finally, to engage with customers in face-to-face of relocation from the pit enables main- on the digital side, our Optimizer software meetings, virtual meetings, via email or tenance to be performed preventively is an innovative solution, allowing site in social media. The number of remote and in the better conditions, resulting managers to monitor all their energy con- meetings has also increased. It has been in reductions in expensive and disrup- sumption and identify areas for savings.” possible to serve our customers despite tive breakdowns.” Through 2021, TOTAL Nordics will the travel restrictions.” The DB120PLUS bed can be hydrau- be focusing on presenting its complete Product manager, Teijo Höylä, added, lically lowered for fast loading and once product range to miners and OEMs, par- “COVID-19 has created challenges as loaded, the bed is raised to a horizontal ticularly those for artic conditions and well. Our customers have been forced to position for transport using hydraulics electric vehicles. delay their investments, but there have powered by the towing ADT. “Indeed, TOTAL is the first company been no cancellations so we strongly be- “According to a customer above the to launch a dedicated range for enhanced lieve that we will be able to continue pro- Arctic circle, it used to take 12 hours to battery cooling that will ensure safe and viding our solutions to our customers when move a blasthole drill into another loca- reliable battery charging,” Steinkamp the COVID situation starts to get better.” tion,” Höylä said. “Nowadays, it takes said. “We will also focus on open gear Sleipner is seeing increasing demand one hour with our DB120PLUS. You can applications. We have outstanding field for safely relocating equipment for blast- drill lot more meters with the equipment inspection services as well as the only ing and scheduled workshop mainte- than in the past. Used daily it opens new product in the world that can clean the nance, as well as reducing undercarriage potential in mine planning.” gears in operation without having to stop maintenance costs. the mills.” “With the use of Sleipner, not only is TOTAL Promotes To further broaden its range of special there a potential for up to 50% savings on Battery-electric Solutions greases for open gear mining applica- undercarriage maintenance costs, but also TOTAL’s Nordic branches have not histor- tions, TOTAL is strengthening its ties with 85% travel time reduction and productiv- ically had a large presence in the mining French lubricant company Lubrilog. ity increases of between 12% and 20%,” sector. However, the last 12 months have In the Nordics, TOTAL’s range of Bio- said Conrad Caldwell, sales manager, U.K. opened up several business opportunities adhesive Plus greases has been well re- and Ireland. “Sleipner aids in relocating with major mining OEMs in Sweden, as ceived for underground equipment and equipment, for example, from the face well as at mines in Sweden and Finland. the company is now ramping up produc- to workshop. This can now be done safe- “A significant development in the field tion to supply the market worldwide. ly, quickly and in the most cost-effective of open-gear solutions has demonstrated “We are developing a dedicated offer- manner.” our capability to reduce the total cost of ing to improve fire safety management,” A recent highlight was the launch of operations for our customers,” said Mar- Steinkamp said. “HYDRANSAFE HFC-E is the Sleipner DB120PLUS which improves tin Steinkamp, industry lubricants sales a new-generation fire resistant, water-based the on-site mobility of tracked equipment. manager for TOTAL Sweden. “And the hydraulic fluid. Compared with standard DB120PLUS offers more flexibility in dai- launch of a new generation of renewable products, this fluid has improved anti-wear ly production planning as drills and dozers greases for the underground mining in- properties and optimal fire resistant. No can be picked-up and delivered quickly to dustry proves that sustainable products compromises are needed anymore. It will where they are working. are part of our solution for the industry. be launched during 2020.”

38 E&MJ • OCTOBER 2020 www.e-mj.com AGUDIO: INNOVATION THAT SHORTEN DISTANCES.

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AGUDIO_ADV_200x273_EN.indd 1 19/06/17 17:14 MAINTENANCE PROGRAMS Considerations for a Mine Maintenance Program By making the best use of the available tools, decisions can be made quickly improving availability and keeping costs low By Steve Fiscor, Editor-in-Chief

Take care of the equipment and the bers, but looking at the trends. The era of placed upon the oil, lubricants have sig- equipment will work as it should for many the intelligent mine is here and the main- nificantly different physical and chemical years to come. To do this, the mine must tenance department of the future will use characteristics. Original equipment man- develop and administer maintenance pro- insight (or information) to improve its de- ufacturers (OEMs) stipulate the specifica- grams for stationary and mobile equip- cision-making ability based on data. tions for the lubricant, which are needed to ment. Many modern programs rely on minimize wear, maximize the performance data from monitoring systems, such as Getting the Full Benefits and ensure the safe operation of their oil and vibration analysis, to keep tabs of Maintenance Program equipment. This information is normally on the health and performance of various Phillips 66 supplies about 70% of the lu- found in the service manual. Mine opera- components. Even better tools are being bricants used in the mines in the western tors need to review the service manuals for developed and tested. U.S. by volume. When it comes to main- new equipment and work with his or her lu- Training is one of the building blocks tenance programs at a large mining oper- bricant manufacturer to determine the ap- in the foundation of a modern mainte- ations, Steven Strollo, industrial lubricants propriate oil. Quite likely, a lubricant meet- nance program. Maintenance personnel engineer for Phillips 66, highlighted several ing the OEM requirements may already need to know which lubricant is used steps to improving performance: identifying exist on the property. This information where and why. This is especially true in the correct oil for the application and using needs to be conveyed to the maintenance the mining business where components it consistently, understanding oil analysis staff to ensure its use in a component. encounter high pressures and stress daily. and being able to interpret the data, and Strollo stressed the importance of con- They also need to understand the impor- reinforcing the importance of cleanliness sistently using the correct oil to maximize tance of cleanliness and proper sampling. and understanding the errors associated the life and performance of equipment Similarly, the engineers and execu- with the automatic particle counting meth- and not topping off with an incorrect oil for tives overseeing these maintenance pro- ods used by nearly all oil analysis labs. convenience. Consistent use of the correct grams need to know the same things. The demands placed upon a lubricant oil can be promoted by a variety of means They must also invest time in reading the and the operating conditions vary great- including lubrication surveys, work orders reports and they must do so with a critical ly with different components. To protect identifying the proper lubricant, or per- eye, not necessarily looking at the num- the equipment and address the demands manent tags mounted near the filler port, which state the lubricant. He also stressed permanent, legible, and proper labeling of hose reels and oil storage and convey- ance containers. Regardless of the method used, training should exist that reinforces the differences in lubricants and the need to use the appropriate oil. Any maintenance program can be greatly enhanced through the use of con- dition monitoring tools. Oil analysis is one such tool, which, if properly implement- ed, provides multiple benefits. Some of the most powerful benefits include the detection of abnormal wear, projecting the time to failure, determine the suit- ability of the oil for further use, and de- tecting operating problems earlier in the failure cycle. These benefits and others cannot Maintenance programs should include training, procedures and equipment, which promotes proper oil handling be realized without a comprehensive oil and storage techniques to minimize the ingression of airborne dirt and water. analysis program, which addresses all as-

40 E&MJ • OCTOBER 2020 www.e-mj.com MAINTENANCE PROGRAMS pects of the program from the shop floor the patch is examined under a microscope Total operates a state-of-the-art oil collection of representative samples tak- and analysts physically count the particles analysis laboratory, ANAC, in Belgium. en at an appropriate interval to the office or they compare it to a template of photos This ANAC laboratory ensures maximum interpretation of the laboratory report by of other patches that are representative of efficiency and quality by operating a a trained individual who understands the different cleanliness codes. It’s labor in- unique level of automation and the im- information and trends provided on an oil tensive and therefore seldomly used.” plementation of the most advanced oil analysis report. “Too many customers do Strollo said he has to often address testing techniques. This ANAC center not have personnel with the time or train- inaccurate cleanliness analyses with a also hosts a unique database with several ing to make oil analysis maintenance de- customer. The issue is normally resolved million analysis samples on all types of cisions,” Strollo said. “Out of necessity, by the collection of additional samples, equipment. It also hosts a customer web- many customers depend exclusively upon which are split and sent to both the cus- site used by the company’s worldwide net- the warnings and comments provided by tomer’s normally used laboratory and a work of Weblink ANAC laboratories. This their laboratory. This information is very laboratory capable of performing the filter enables Total to give specialized diagnosis important and should not be ignored, but patch method. Nearly always, the results and miners to access its algorithms glob- full value of oil analysis is achieved by provided by the patch method will be low- ally even in very remote locations. spotting subtle changes early and know- er. This is a problem not only for lubricant “Very regularly, we perform routine ing which changes are important, knowing manufacturers, but also for filter compa- checks to make sure the values delivered where and how a component is operating, nies. One of the large filtration suppliers, from any ANAC Weblink lab in the world understanding equipment, as well as an Donaldson, has a YouTube video discuss- follow our standards and do not deviate,” awareness of recent maintenance. This ing this topic in-depth. Kupiec said. “It is more than being ISO knowledge only exists at the mine level.” certified. It’s making sure results are con- To gain the full benefit of oil analy- Establish Baseline sistent from one year to the next and from sis, Strollo suggested that mine owners and Implement Training one lab to another. invest in software to assist with trending David Kupiec, mining manager for To- Total has a network of 20 oil analy- the laboratory data. This greatly simplifies tal Lubrifiants, agreed and believes that sis labs worldwide and mining customers and improves the accuracy of the mainte- maintenance programs at mines should simply send samples to the closest lab. nance decisions, which are derived from focus on contamination control. To be For some of the larger mines, the com- the oil analyses. successful in its application, lubricants pany builds labs on-site. They recently A maintenance program should in- must be used properly and contamination installed and now operate a lab at a gold clude training, procedures and equip- degrades the product’s ability to perform, mine in Ghana and they are working on ment, which promotes proper oil handling Kupiec explained. “Most lubricant suppli- other projects around the globe. and storage practices to minimize the in- ers have good products and the problems Having Total people on-site also ben- gression of airborne dirt and water. These are not due to oxidation or performance efits the mine in other ways as they can contaminates and others will shorten the related, it is usually related to contami- readily assist with training and mainte- life of equipment and hinder the efficient nation,” Kupiec said. He believes that a nance planning. “We have different levels operation of equipment. lot of the lubricant-related problems are of training based on the maturity level of Most mining industry maintenance connected to contamination. the lubricant knowledge base,” Kupiec managers are aware of the ISO cleanliness For every new mining customer, Total said. “As we move step-by-step from the levels, which are suggested by many OEMs conducts an audit and tracks the lubri- baseline, we focus on best practices and for the oil used in their equipment, but cant flow from the storage system to the experience sharing to build an reliable lu- many managers may not be aware of the warehouse and on to the machines, tak- brication culture at the mine sites.” various problems that are associated with ing samples at different stages. A pinch Total also offers the TIG 6 maintenance the various automated methods used by of dirt could divide by two the life of com- software package, the sixth version of a nearly all of the laboratories to determine ponents, Kupiec said. digital tool that helps maintenance plan- the cleanliness of new and in-service oils. Filtration also plays a vital role. The ners and mine engineers build programs These problems very often lead to ele- filtration system needs to be installed in matching oil analysis with machines and vated particle counts, which do not accu- the right location and maintenance crews greasing schedules. Technicians can ac- rately reflect upon the cleanliness of the need to make sure it works. “Oftentimes, cess it with devices, such as smart phones, oil. These problems include sample prepa- mines will invest in an efficient and expen- and the system sends alerts automatically. ration errors, which do not remove air bub- sive system and, when it becomes clogged, Total made two major product an- bles or moisture from the sample or oil ad- the miners just bypass it,” Kupiec said. nouncements recently. The first, with the ditive interference. To eliminate them, the “That is why communications and setting recent acquisition of LUBRILOG, a leader filter patch method should be used to ac- a baseline correctly are so important.” in specialty lubricants such as open gears, curately determine the cleanliness of a lu- Kupiec agreed that oil analysis is im- the company now offers Lubriclean EP, bricant. “In this process, lab analysts draw portant, especially for mining operations. which reduces downtime for continuously a set volume of oil through a patch using In addition to looking at the reports page- operating machines with open gears, like a vacuum,” Strollo said. “Higher viscosity by-page, Kupiec said maintenance plan- the ones found on grinding mills. “When oils may need to be diluted with a clean ners should be looking at the fleet and the it comes to open gears in the processing solvent. The residue that accumulates on equipment from a macroscopic level. plant, there’s always incoming dust and

www.e-mj.com OCTOBER 2020 • E&MJ 41 MAINTENANCE PROGRAMS

lic oil has been designed specifically for large pieces of mining machinery with high hydraulic pressures. The benefits are twofold: it’s fire resistant and eco-friend- ly. When fires occur on mining equip- ment, it’s usually the hydraulic oil that fuels the fire as the hydraulic lines burst or burn. Kupiec said he is looking forward to introducing this to the mines. Predictive Analytics What if a mine wanted to take the process one step further and predict failures even faster? Aspen Technology believes it has the answer. The company’s Aspen Mtell system is an analytical tool that makes The Aspen Mtell sotfware looks for multivariant signal patterns. decisions based on data and they said it is already helping mine operators predict other pollutants with limited ways to pre- gearing for an hour. It removes the build-up and prevent failures faster and earlier vent it from sticking to the gears,” Kupiec and they can inspect the gears. It shortens than traditional systems. said. “Cleaning an open gear usually takes the inspection time to a fraction of the tra- Aspen Mtell represents a paradigm more than 48 hours. The plant stops the ditional method and eliminates all contam- shift, when compared to traditional pro- mill and operators manually remove the inants from the gear. We have already used grams that are focused on monitoring abrasive mixture of grease and particles, it on more than 100 open gear units world- equipment with oil or vibration analysis, sludge, etc. from the open gear. We have wide. This will be a game changer when which trigger alarms at certain thresh- created a new product that enables clean- you realize the costs involved in stopping olds, explained Eduardo Gonzalez, se- ing of the open gearing while its running. these large mills for long periods of time.” nior account engagement consultant It’s a special solvent boosted with perfor- Total has also developed a water-based, for Aspen Technology’s APM Metals & mance additives. Technicians spray the biodegradable hydraulic oil. This hydrau- Mining Group.

42 E&MJ • OCTOBER 2020 www.e-mj.com MAINTENANCE PROGRAMS

“Aspen Mtell differs from other sys- are already collecting lots of data. Other advance of the occurrence. The system tems as it looks for multivariant signal mines will need to make an investment that the mines are currently using detects patterns,” Gonzalez said. “Based on for data collection. Once the data is col- the failure while it’s occurring. We aim to those patterns, we can identify pending lected, the tool can be deployed and it detect it before it starts.” failures well before the signals trigger an will generate insight from that data.” Aspen Mtell runs on a set of data that alarm from vibrations or changes in oil lab When Aspen Technology started de- the mine provides. Using two types of analysis. The system is easy to use. It’s ploying this at the mines, they started agents, an anomaly and failure agent, the meant to be used by personnel who are with fixed equipment, such as grinding system uses machine learning to constant- familiar with equipment, not data scien- mills, because the data is readily avail- ly improve. The anomaly agent is trained tists. It’s equipment agnostic.” able through the plant’s control system. to recognize normal behavior. When be- More importantly, Gonzalez said it has Those mines have now started using the havior deviates from normal, it generates a low time-to-value proposition. “Not long tool on haul trucks and shovels. an alarm. If the deviation is confirmed, after it’s installed, it will begin to pay for A barrier to widespread use in mining the software creates a failure agent to itself,” Gonzalez said. “Many solutions is psychological or the perception of not more precisely identify that action when it require significant development work to being ready to use this type of tool. By occurs again and it sounds the alarm ear- identify the analytics to detect changes perception, Gonzalez means a customer lier. If it’s a normal operation, the pattern in behavior in the assets. In this case, all who feels they need to invest more money is learned by the anomaly agent and it will the data science work is done by the tool on sensors to collect more data. “We usu- no longer alert on this pattern. and it facilitates the creation of pattern ally tell them they’re more ready than they “The anomaly agent learns not to re- recognition. We’re talking hours com- think,” Gonzalez said. “They could lever- port on false positives,” Gonzalez said. pared to other solutions that take days, age this tool on existing data and convert “The algorithms are already written and weeks or even months.” it to insight. This is a tool that can be de- embedded in the software. The agents are To reliably predict problems, Aspen ployed across the entire site.” trained on seasonal data by looking at a Mtell uses data. “One of the barriers we The various types of failures have dif- year’s worth of data at a time.” see with mining is collecting data from ferent occurrence periods. “Our objective Some mines have already saved signifi- geographically dispersed assets and large is not to predict lightning strikes,” Gon- cant sums of money in as little as 45 days, mobile assets,” Gonzalez said. “The sys- zalez said. “We are looking at degrada- which pays for years of use of the software tem needs data. Data collection technol- tion that occurs over time and we detect system. More than a dozen tier one mining ogy is readily available and many mines failures days, weeks and even months in sites are currently using the system.

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www.e-mj.com OCTOBER 2020 • E&MJ 43 HPGR HPGRs Grind Out Larger Role in Plant Productivity High-pressure grinding rolls offer potential energy, media-wear and extraction gains that producers find increasingly hard to resist By Russell A. Carter, Contributing Editor

dex tests and HPGR testing. The average Bond Ball Work Index for the 2019 mas- ter composite was 17.1 kWh per mt. The study showed that on a per-ton ba- sis, comminution circuit operating costs could be reduced by approximately 30%. Savings are driven by reduced costs for steel and lower power consumption. The study also showed that the HPGR circuit could be implemented for slightly less initial capital and equipment costs versus the conventional SAG mill circuit. The new circuit requires a lower connected power load, with an approximate 4-MW hour re- duction at a 40,000-mt/d throughput. Both studies, according to the compa- ny, showed potential for enhancements to Fortuna Silver Mines, which recently began commissioning and ramp-up at its $320 million Lindero gold project in recoveries and operating cost reductions. Argentina, included HPGRs in its tertiary ore crushing circuit, based on testwork that indicated HPGR-processed ore would Lumina said it intends to integrate the provide higher extraction rates than that obtained using conventional cone crushers or a vertical shaft impactor (VSI). addition of a CIL circuit and HPGR into On the evolutionary timeline of mineral pro- For example, Lumina Gold Corp. re- its updated PEA, which it expects to re- cessing technology, high-pressure grinding cently completed two trade-off studies the lease in the second quarter of 2020. rolls (HPGRs) are neither a newcomer nor a company said will help form the basis of NLMK Group, a steelmaking company relic of the past. Used commonly in cement an updated Preliminary Economic Assess- with operations in Russia, USA and the production since the 1980s, HPGR tech- ment for its Cangrejos gold-copper project European Union, commissioned four ad- nology was applied to iron ore and diamond in southwest Ecuador. One of the studies ditional HPGR units to boost productivi- processing in the following decade, and evaluated the addition of secondary crush- ty at its Stoilensky beneficiation plant in after the turn of the century established a ing and HPGR to replace the SAG mills Russia by 800,000 mt of iron ore concen- firm foothold in nonferrous ore operations that were contemplated in the company’s trate to 17.4 million mt/y. As a result, the as well, with HPGR circuit installations in June 2018 PEA. The second study eval- plant can now cover 100% of the group’s large concentrators at the Cerro Verde, Bod- uated the addition of a Carbon-in-Leach blast furnace needs for iron ore concen- dington and Morenci mines validating the circuit to enhance recoveries and allow for trate with Fe content higher than 65%. technology for use in high-volume copper/ the production of doré on site. NLMK began implementing HPGR moly and gold ore comminution. Based on the latest study, comminu- technology in each of the plant’s four pro- The strong points of HPGR technology tion operating costs for the HPGR circuit cess lines in 2016. The first four grinding — lower specific energy consumption, re- are estimated to be $3.75 per metric ton rolls supplemented traditional cone crush- duced grinding media consumption, small- (mt) processed compared to $5.62 per ers and ball mills, and enabled the plant er machine footprint, higher availability — mt for the SAG milling circuit that was to boost the productivity of the sections by fit with current mineral producer initiatives used in the 2018 PEA. 12.5% and to grow iron ore concentrate to reduce overall comminution energy de- Lumina said FLSmidth tested a master output by 1 million mt to 16.6 million mt/y. mand, accommodate harder and/or variable composite made from four PQ drill holes The plant also was able to significantly ore types, and streamline process circuit to evaluate the viability of HPGR. Test- decrease the consumption of energy and layout. A quick review of recent HPGR-re- ing included JKTech Drop Weight tests, grinding media required to process the ore. lated project announcements provides a Unconfined Compressive Strength tests, Konstantin Lagutin, NLMK group vice yardstick for measuring the widening scope Bond Low Energy Crusher Work Index president of investment projects, said, of interest and confidence process-plant tests, Bond Abrasion Index tests, Bond “Over 1.5 years of operation, the HPGR operators have in regard to the technology. Rod Work Index tests, Bond Ball Work In- technology proved to be efficient and re-

44 E&MJ • OCTOBER 2020 www.e-mj.com HPGR liable. We have now launched HPGRs at ect is targeted at 22 million wet mt/y. De- fer performance improvements that will Sections 2 and 3, completing the upgrade livery of the first ore is expected in 2022. increase throughput and reduce energy of the entire beneficiation plant. This will Ten thousand miles away in the Iron and maintenance costs even further. The enable us to increase primary iron ore Range district of Minnesota, USA, Weir most recent new-gen version is thyssen- processing up to 37 million mt/y, up by 5 joined with the Natural Resources Re- krupp’s HPGR Pro, which the company million mt/y in 2013, and become 100% search Institute of the University of Min- said draws upon operational knowledge self-sufficient in iron ore feedstock.” nesota in a project to expand testing and gathered from 40 years of mineral-pro- Each HPGR unit replaced two conven- knowledge of HPGR applicability to the cessing experience and more than 150 tional crushers. As explained by NMLK, taconite mining and processing sites in HPGR installations worldwide. because HPGR units not only crush the the region, where it’s not uncommon to The new HPGR offers more through- ore, but also break up its crystalline struc- see concentrators with as many as 18 put from the same-sized machine: ac- ture, the downstream stages at Stoilensky rod mills — comprising the type of highly cording to the company, this results from receive ore that is more ductile for further energy- and consumables-hungry opera- using rotating side-plates on the fixed grinding, which delivers an increase in tion that iron-ore companies would like grinding roll. The rotating plates enable overall end-to-end productivity. to replace with more efficient processes. improved material feed and up to 20% The company said its total cost to in- However, the scope of the project extends more throughput compared with con- stall HPGR technology at Sections 2 and beyond the Iron Range as well. ventional HPGRs. At the same time, the 3 was 4.5 billion rubles ($58.9 million). “NRRI has done a lot of testing for specific energy consumption of the HPGR Eldorado Gold Corp. recently predict- many of our projects,” said Tim Lund- Pro is reduced by around 15%. ed a 15-year mine life for its Kışladağ quist, Weir HPGR manager for North The uniform pressure profile in the operation in Turkey, based on long-cycle America, speaking to June Breneman, a milling gap results in better grinding and heap-leach testwork and the replace- communications specialist at NRRI. “The more even roller wear, improving the ser- ment of the tertiary crushing circuit with proximity to the Iron Range is key, but vice life of the rolls by up to 30%. By a $35.8 million HPGR circuit. The com- we’ll also bring in material from all over reducing the so-called bathtub effect — pany said the addition of the circuit has the U.S., Canada, and elsewhere when it accelerated wear in the center zone of the increased expected recoveries to around makes sense. Our preference is to work roll surface — the rolls can last longer 56%, and it believes there is potential for with NRRI whenever possible due to their before replacement is required. further increases in recovery with optimi- flexibility, expediency and expertise.” Thyssenkrupp said a certain amount zation of the HPGR circuit, which could NRRI acquired the HPGR via Weir of roller skew, or uneven gap, is benefi- lead to higher gold production. Minerals from the shuttered Magneta- cial as it ensures uniform grinding, and Los Andes Copper, in an update on tion iron ore tailings recovery operation in the HPGR Pro provides a unique control work conducted to progress a prefeasibility Grand Rapids, Minnesota. Both organiza- feature that prevents excessive skew. study on the company’s Vizcachitas project tions are sharing the cost of maintenance. HPGR Pro rolls are lubricated with oil, copper-molybdenum porphyry deposit in not grease. This, according to thyssenk- central Chile, said studies on the feasibility New in the Market rupp, prevents excessive temperatures of using an HPGR circuit are progressing New-generation HPGR models are start- from developing during high machine and show the potential for enhanced proj- ing to enter the market, claiming to of- usage and provides for easier cleaning. ect economics, lower energy consumption, reduced maintenance and increased opera- tional flexibility. HPGR technology has been identified as the most attractive grinding al- ternative, given the data obtained from the preliminary testwork conducted to date. The Weir Group recently won a £100 million ($128 million) order to provide process equipment to the Iron Bridge magnetite project, a joint venture be- tween Fortescue Metals Group subsidiary FMG Magnetite and Taiwan-based Formo- sa Steel. The order includes Weir’s En- duron HPGRs and GEHO pumps. Accord- ing to Weir, the equipment will allow the customer to reduce energy consumption by more than 30% compared to tradition- al mining technologies. The $2.6 billion project is located 145 km south of Port Hedland in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. When fully op- thyssenkrupp’s new HPGR Pro model uses rotating sideplates on the fixed grinding roll — a design innovation claimed erational, annual production for the proj- to enable improved material feed and up to 20% more throughput compared with conventional HPGR designs.

www.e-mj.com OCTOBER 2020 • E&MJ 45 HPGR

Optimized bearing seals, oil quality moni- feed — and consequently, strong abrasive advantage in rock breakage but use more toring, and continual filtering also reduce pressure on one side of the roll and insuf- power in material transport as they typical- contamination and environmental im- ficient pressure on the other — strongly ly require an extensive conveyor system.” pact, while continual filtering allows the endorses the concept of dynamic skewing One case study examined the trade-off oil to be used longer. for HPGRs. Weir claims its unique HPGR between a SAG mill and HPGRs at a gold The HPGR Pro also offers a stud de- bearing design, in combination with ef- mine where HPGRs are operated dry and, tection system, automatically monitoring fective edge guards, reduce wear and therefore, the material is transported on and measuring the condition of the studs promote better grinding. In a white paper conveyor belts, which can require addi- and rolls by laser. The operator is kept released in October 2019, the company tional power in comparison to SAG-based constantly informed about the state of the explained that to accommodate uneven circuits. Additionally, HPGR circuits still studs and the rolls. “In this way, the stud pressure conditions, its Enduron HPGRs require similar sized pumps to feed the detection system can predict the best use a unique spring-loaded lateral wall hydrocyclones in the wet ball milling cir- possible time for roller replacement. Our that reduces the edge effect (maintaining cuit. This ancillary power “…is not always customers no longer need to stop the ma- a gap of as little as 1 mm) and is specifi- considered in trade-off studies and has chine as a precautionary measure, which cally designed to facilitate roll skew. the potential to erode some of the energy saves them valuable time and money,” Henning Knapp, HPGR process team benefit of HPGRs,” according to the au- said HPGR Global Product Manager Frank leader for Weir Minerals, explained: “The thor, who also noted that updated circuit Schroers. “As our specialists collect and degree to which the Enduron HPGRs skew design and other process-line innovations process machine data, our customers can is largely dependent on the width of the roll, can preserve the comminution energy continually improve their HPGR’s oper- with longer rolls skewing about 5 mm for efficiency benefits of HPGRs even when ation and optimize throughput, energy every meter the roll is wide. However, the ancillary energy is included. consumption or machine availability in effect of even small changes can be signif- Another approach for ensuring HPGR line with their specific targets.” icant on local pressure peaks.” Knapp also energy efficiency is recommended by lubri- As mentioned in the September is- emphasized that skewing must be managed cant supplier Klueber, which pointed out sue, Metso Outotec will introduce the by an advanced control system that guides that when choosing the optimum gear oil for next generation of its HRC HPGR tech- the rolls to meet desired output pressure. an HPGR application, determining the best nology, plus a retrofit kit that allows HRC “This system also ensures the skew isn’t too balance of lubricant characteristics can be technology to be applied to competitive great or maintained for too long, which both a challenge. Selecting a base oil with a high HPGRs. Although details haven’t been re- disrupt the compressive bed,” he added. viscosity maintains thick oil films at higher leased, major features anticipated for the temperatures. This lowers the coefficient of new version include a smaller physical Examining Energy Efficiency friction between metal-to-metal surfaces footprint and revised foundation require- As HPGRs continue to be applied more and enables high gear efficiency. On the ments, lower machine height, a high level widely in mainstream process-circuit other hand, selecting a highly viscous oil of component commonality with existing design, their economy of operation, reli- produces energy losses due to the hydrody- machines, and lower capex through elimi- ability and ease-of-maintenance features namics of moving mechanical components nation of items such as the transport cart will gain additional importance — along through a thick fluid. and stabilizing hydraulic cylinder. with closer scrutiny. For example, while To assist customers in making the right The company has strongly promoted HPGR energy efficiency when compared choice of lubricant for their HPGRs, Klüber the benefits of using larger HPGR models, with conventional ball and rod mills has Lubrication offers a free program called such as its HRC3000, in high-capacity been a selling point, at least one industry KlüberEnergy, a service that measures the applications. Claimed advantages range expert recommends taking a wider look at energy efficiency contribution of lubricants from higher machine availability due to potential energy-reduction benefits. in specific applications, with the purchase less ancillary equipment, such as convey- A paper* presented by Grant Ballan- of oil. Using a detailed methodology to mea- ors, chutes, bins and transfer points, to tyne, Ausenco’s director–technical solu- sure power consumption of a system before reduced capex and opex resulting from the tions, at the 2019 SAG conference held and after a lubricant “retrofit,” KlüberEn- ability to buy, operate and maintain fewer in Vancouver, British Columbia, reported ergy technicians measure baseline energy HPGRs when a single machine can pro- on studies that looked at not just the com- consumption and other critical parameters cess 70,000 t/d or more of fresh feed. minution energy intensity associated with over a month’s period to determine the kWh Metso Outotec’s HRC machines were grinding-mill motor power, but also at the per ton with the existing oil under typical the first to offer flanged rolls in combina- power demands from ancillary equipment loads. This measurement provides a key tion with an anti-skew system optimized for such as conveyors and pumps. According performance indicator (KPI). The gearbox this type of roll design, with the objective to the paper “…dry comminution circuits, is retrofitted with the recommended gear to reduce “edge effect” comminution-per- such as those incorporating high pressure oil from Klüber, and the KlüberEnergy team formance falloff near the sides of the HPGR grinding rolls (HPGR), may have a power then waits several weeks for the new oil to rolls, while protecting the rolls from uneven circulate and react to gear surfaces before *Quantifying the Additional Energy Consumed by wear pattern and tramp metal damage. Ancillary Equipment and Embodied in Grinding Media performing post-retrofit measurements. Weir Minerals, noting that segregated in Comminution Circuits, G. Ballantyne, and University Comparing the performance of the two feed problems can result in highly un- of Queensland, Sustainable Minerals Institute, Julius lubricants provides positive proof of kWh, even particle sizes across the width of the Kruttschnitt Mineral Research Centre. cost and greenhouse gas reductions.

46 E&MJ • OCTOBER 2020 www.e-mj.com HPGR

In one notable application, KlüberEner- gy was called to monitor an HPGR installa- tion at a South American iron ore producer. For both the baseline lubricant and the Klübersynth GH 6-320 that was recom- mended to replace it, KlüberEnergy record- ed three variables every 10 minutes for over a month: power consumption, distance be- tween rollers and in-feed rate. Once this vast volume of data was collected, Klü- berEnergy experts calculated the pressure based on roller distance and in-feed rate measurements. They then analyzed the pressure in relation to power consumption. The pressure and power consumption were then charted to compare the per- formance of the baseline lubricant and Klübersynth GH 6-320. KlüberEnergy used the median of all measurement val- ues to calculate the company’s savings percentage. When KlüberEnergy com- pared measurements between the two oils, Klübersynth GH 6-320 saved more than 68.4 MWh per month in electricity. This reduced costs by $40,284 per year, This custom Turning and Locking (TL) system is designed by Twiflex to allow operators at a Turkish gold mine to yielding a simple payback in four months. slowly and safely turn and lock the twin grinding rolls of a large HPGR for repairs or maintenance shutdowns. When calculated over a full year, the oil saves 820.8 MWh in electricity use, which erence torque on the slave drive is then wheel mounted on the output flange of a reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 580 decreased or increased compared to the Brunel torque limiter. The turning gear in- mt, according to the company. reference torque of the master drive. At cludes a 1.5-kW motor with a gearbox to Meanwhile, other well-known industry the same time, the load share controller produce breakaway torque of 3,760 Nm suppliers have developed solutions de- maintains the speed difference between (2,773 lb-ft) and output torque (contin- signed to support HPGR power efficiency the rolls within given limits. A process en- uous turning, bidirectional) of 1,580 Nm and minimize the duration of maintenance gineer can, via a web server-based operator (1,165 lb-ft) at a nominal turning speed and repair shutdowns. For example, Sie- interface, adjust the load share factor and of 5.2 rpm. A frequency converter was in- mens has extended its Simine digital-solu- limitation for speed difference at any time, cluded to allow the turning speed to be tions portfolio for HPGRs to include a new even during the grinding operation. controlled between 1.3 rpm and 5 rpm. controller with plug-and-play functionality In another example — a case history The bidirectional turning gear is de- which, the company said, makes the load provided by Brunel Corp. — the compa- signed to turn the grinding rolls clock- share controller immediately useful. ny sought a reliable power transmission wise or counter-clockwise and is rated for According to Siemens, the new load solution involving an HPGR custom gear continuous operation. A hand-operated share controller follows a proven control Turning and Locking (TL) system for pro- clutch mechanism is used to engage and scheme: At HPGR startup the controller is cess equipment supplier FLSmidth. disengage the drive with a limit switch fit- inactive, but when a specific torque level It was needed for a new dual-drive, ted to indicate its position. The system is reached the unit assumes load-share 2,000-kW HPGR going into service at a includes a manually operated tooth-lock- control. If the controller is not available gold mine in Turkey. TL systems are de- ing device with a rated torque of 52,000 — such as in the event of an operational signed to slowly turn and lock the twin Nm (38,353 lb-ft), that locks the gear- disruption — the drives do not start. Op- grinding rolls, allowing for safe repair/ wheel in place. The status of the locking eration without load sharing is available, replacement of worn tires during sched- device is monitored using limit switches however; in that case, the drives take the uled maintenance shutdowns. A chain/ (i.e., lock on/lock off). speed reference from the mill automation. sprocket inching drive — slow to install The Twiflex TL system also included Noting that load distribution between and cumbersome to operate — was previ- an operation panel for local control of the the rolls in an HPGR is generally 50-50, ously used to perform this task. turning gear. A plug-in handheld corded Siemens said the master follows the speed Based on prior successful project col- pendant was supplied for remote control command and the slave follows the torque laborations, Brunel contacted Twiflex, of the turning gear close to the equip- of the master. If an alternative load distri- part of Altra Industrial Motion, for assis- ment. Brunel engineered and delivered bution is required, it is possible to change tance. Twiflex supplied a TL system com- a neatly packaged solution that incorpo- the load distribution between the drives prising a turning gear which engages with rated all the components into a compact using the load distribution factor. The ref- a 1,000-mm-diameter (39.3-in.) gear- footprint assembly.

www.e-mj.com OCTOBER 2020 • E&MJ 47 VENTILATION Programming it to Succeed Recent ventilation projects show the importance of both airtight planning and innovating on the fly By Jesse Morton, Technical Writer

When reality clashed with plans, “we had to innovate a bit,” Cerklefskie said. “The openings in there are so big, so dif- ferent at times, that you’ve got to use a little bit of common sense mixed with very sound engineering, and then try it.” Common sense told Turnstone to split the main line to the face, and to put in a damper system to “cut the air back and forth and push it different ways,” Cerklef- skie said. The result is effective evacuation of the air at the face. “It allows you to aim the air not just straight at the face, but actually to turn a corner so then you could manipulate that regulator for different times and different needs to accommo- date whatever you need,” he said. “That is something they didn’t have Above, the nose fairing of the axial fan system offered by CFE Technology GmbH. The system offers fully automatic before. They weren’t sweeping the faces operation, a smaller overall footprint, and significantly improved airflow control over competing centrifugal as effectively as they could have been,” fan-based solutions. (Photo: CFE) Cerklefskie said. “Now the miners have A couple of ventilation projects recently The first job was at a salt mine in New control where, during these phases, if described to E&MJ showcase bold inno- York and launched in September 2019. they see something a little bit different, vation meant to ensure the success of “We were contracted to assess the proj- they can adjust the system to manage it. the solutions deployed. They also re- ect, then tasked with developing an engi- Before they just had a start-stop button vealed how important it is to have plans neered solution,” Cerklefskie said. for the fan and that is it.” in place to deal with the more predict- The problem was the system, which After the project, an assessment fol- able, inescapable challenges. Based on used 30-in. fiberglass ducting, “had lowed. A hot-wire anemometer showed a couple other headlines from the space, difficulty clearing out dust and fumes that the ducting in all five tunnels pro- it is apparently crucial for suppliers to post blast.” vided an airflow of a minimum of 15,000 strive to offer both. That created long re-entry times, cubic feet per minute (cfm). which affected productivity. “The logs show a drastic decrease in

Turnstone Cools Hell “The mine shot on third shift, and NO2 and CO2 concentrations using the Turnstone Industrial Solutions, a joint was losing a lot of production time on new system, which means that the air venture between ABC Technology Group day shift while the blast contaminants is being circulated more effectively than USA and Calandra Group LLC, completed cleared,” Cerklefskie said. before,” Turnstone reported. “On average, a couple big projects in late 2019 and Turnstone engineered a face ventila- the new system has decreased re-entry early 2020 that show the burgeoning ca- tion system using 30-in. HardLine-MAX time by two hours.” pabilities of the new company. ducting. Often, within a half hour of blasts, the While the company is best known for “We switched to our product and then area can be worked. “It went from can’t its HardLine ducting, the projects also we did the engineering to calculate the mine, can’t produce, can’t do anything demonstrated its engineering expertise, optimal length of the runs and the type of until the air clears, to the miners are in Bryon Cerklefskie, U.S. sales manager, transitions,” Cerklefskie said. there and mucking away,” Cerklefskie Turnstone, reported. AirSTOP curtains were also installed. said. “They loved it.” For both jobs, Turnstone was brought “The new configuration comes with dou- And they loved Turnstone. The salt in to assess and consult. It was then ble seams, grommet holes, extra height mining company and Turnstone then tasked with engineering the solutions. For for muck, and zipper doors,” Turnstone moved to optimize tubing size. Next it both jobs, the results beat expectations reported. “All of these features allow for a “is going to roll out to their sister mines,” and led to new contracts. better seal and lower leakage.” Cerklefskie said.

48 E&MJ • OCTOBER 2020 www.e-mj.com VENTILATION

“We’ve gained that trust and we are going to spec out and do the full turnkey package for them,” he said. “It was a big win for us.” It was the start of a streak. Turnstone partnered with a gold mine in Nevada late last year on a ventilation system optimi- zation project that ultimately more than doubled the airflow to three faces. Turnstone was brought in to first as- sess and then engineer the solution. The miner presented historical data that showed the predecessor system, on aver- age, could only get less than half the air produced by the fans to the faces. Most of the fan fleet was more than 20 years old. Cerklefskie said the old system’s per- formance was basically the sum of its parts. “They were using a flexible-type ducting that is very high resistance. It was a metal-spiral-wrapped fabric tubing,” he A gold mine in Washington state contracts Turnstone for more than 1,000 ft of 60-in. oval HardLine ducting. The said. “That has got the highest resistance HDPE-based polymer tubing maximizes airflow for the space available. (Photo: Turnstone) out there. That was a big part of it.” In one section, the mine used 26-in. tubing and 42-in. TwinDuct zipper vent- 100-hp Jetair fan, with 38-in. PVC and PVC hardline and 36-in. round ventbag. bag. A new fan was installed. 36-in. round ventbag. PVC becomes brittle when used to The fan produced 41,400 cfm, and the The fan produced 23,000 cfm. Of conduct air, Cerklefskie said. tubing delivered 40,200 cfm to the face. that, the tubing delivered 7,300 cfm to “This stuff is heavy and they were lim- “Leakage and shock loss were 3%,” each face. That translates to an airflow ited to a round profile,” he said. “It was the miner reported. That translated to a loss of 68% and a pressure loss of 81%. a little less expensive and was popular pressure loss of 34.9%. The mine installed a 2018 model, back in the day.” What was saved in initial Airflow from the fan increased by 44-in., 150-hp, two-stage Spendrup fan; capex was later lost as opex, he said. 17,500 cfm or almost 73%. Airflow de- and 48-in. oval HardLine-MAX and 42-in. For example, the fan produced 24,000 livered to the face increased a whopping TwinDuct zipper ventbag. cfm, and the tubing and ducting man- 30,300 cfm or 307%. The new fan produced an airflow of aged to deliver 9,900 cfm to the face. “That was achieved by combining 44,600 cfm, an increase of 21,600 cfm “Leakage and shock loss were 58.8%,” resources with the mine. We shared or 94%. the miner reported. That translated to a data, combined expertise and then laid Airflow at one of the faces was 14,600 pressure loss of 93%. everything out properly,” Cerklefskie cfm, an increase of 7,300 cfm, or 100%. Turnstone and the miner upgraded the said. “We really dove in together to un- At the other face, it increased by 10,500 section with 48-in. oval HardLine-MAX derstand what they needed and under- cfm, or 144%, to 17,800 cfm. stand it very clearly. We programmed it “The 48-in. HardLine-MAX and 42- to succeed, rather than hoping for the in. TwinDuct zipper ventbag reduced best.” airflow loss from 68% to 27%,” the min- The temperature at the face averaged er reported. 67°F after the upgrade, the miner report- Cerklefskie described such results as ed. Which is of almost metaphysical sig- “pretty crazy.” At times, “they were losing nificance, Cerklefskie said. like 90% of their pressure from leakage. “It was the lowest working area in the We got the volume loss down to 5%,” he mine and was called Hell,” he said. “At said. “That is huge.” the time, it was well over 100°F.” With It proved to be a coup. “We gained a the humidity, few could take more than lot of trust,” Cerklefskie said. That trust 15 minutes in the work area at a time. brought new work. Turnstone now has “After that initial install, they brought product on 10 different levels at the mine. the whole management group down and “It paved the way for us to keep opti- stood at the end of the tube,” Cerklefskie mizing their system and implementing said, “and all of them were comfortable.” more, not only of our rigid tubing, but our At a salt mine in New York, Turnstone Industrial Solutions installs 30-in. HardLine-MAX ducting. It conducted 15,000 Afterward, the miner and Turnstone flexible tubing, zipper couplings and other cfm to the face and led to a ‘big win’ contract for a turnkey upgraded another section with two faces. features that folks there have shied away package. (Photo: Turnstone Industrial Solutions) The section used a 2012 model, 42-in., from,” Cerklefskie said. “Now we’ve been

www.e-mj.com OCTOBER 2020 • E&MJ 49 VENTILATION able to come out and prove that our stuff is “The value of the sensor is permanent reliable,” he said. “They can trust us and compared with the proportional valve at- ever since then they’ve never looked back.” tached to the hydraulic unit and, if neces- sary, corrected,” CFE reported. “With this CFE’s Axial Fan Reverses Fast technology, the blades can be adjusted to CFE Technology GmbH reported its axial an angle of more than 220°. This ensures fan system, with an electric motor, vari- reversing operation with a flow rate signifi- able pitch control and push-button-re- cantly above 80% of normal operation.” verse functionality, is capable of reducing The design was first deployed roughly the time needed to go from normal to re- a decade ago at Janina coal mine in Po- verse operation to less than 10 minutes. land, which was operating outdated cen- Norbert Kuhn, general manager, CFE trifugal fans. The miner needed a system said, the system offers “significantly high- that could reverse airflow in an emergen- er efficiency” and “decisively increases cy. It was also looking to cut costs. the operational safety of the mines, while “Two centrifugal fans with lower ef- at the same time reducing costs.” ficiency were replaced by one axial fan The system offers several advantages for reversing operation and variable pitch Above, the rotor assembly for a CFE axial fan system to that include fully automatic operation, a control,” Kuhn said. “This made it pos- be deployed to an operation in Kazakhstan. (Photo: CFE) smaller overall footprint, and significantly sible to significantly optimize the mine’s improved airflow control over competing ventilation while at the same time reduc- and the damper-louvres close. While the centrifugal fan-based solutions. Height- ing energy costs.” system was designed for unmanned op- ened control comes from integrated blade The new fan motor was rated at 1.2 eration, it can also be operated from the adjustment, according to a report by CFE. MW and offered a speed of 745 rpm. Aux- main control room. “This adjustment consists of a central iliary devices include the hydraulic sys- The system was commissioned in planetary gear and bevel gears that are di- tems for controlling the blades and brake. February 2012. “Results after commis- rectly connected to the blades,” CFE re- The system features silencer baffles to sioning exceeded the guaranteed values ported. “In the adjustment mode, the sun absorb sound. Dedicated centrifugal fans in in both normal and reversing operation gear is moved by a hydraulically or elec- external arrangement cool the drive motors. by more than 10%,” Kuhn said. “Due to tromechanically driven swivel drive. This The system is designed for optimal op- the higher efficiency and better reliability movement is transmitted to the bevel erations in various contingencies. It has of the fans from CFE Technology GmbH, gears of the blades via the planetary gear, an emergency power supply, and an inte- the ventilation of the mine is much more which changes the angle of the blades.” grated emergency backup fan on standby. stable and the miners’ work is also safer.” A sensor on the rotary actuator moni- If the main power supply goes, the im- Those initial results were duplicated tors the change in angle. peller blades return to a neutral position at later deployments, including one in China and one in Belarus, he said. “Despite the higher capital and main- tenance costs, total savings of more than 15% compared to a conventional design can be achieved, so the payback period is extremely short,” Kuhn said. “This has been proven in several applications.” Currently CFE is installing an axial fan system at a plant in Kazakhstan. The deployment at Janina illustrates the viability of the system as well as the company’s expertise at applications engi- neering, Kuhn said. “CFE is able to solve almost all aerodynamic problems in the shortest time possible with programs devel- oped in house,” he said. “This significantly shortens the planning phases and makes them more cost effective for the customer.” Zitrón Plants US Beachhead In early 2020, Zitrón S.A., headquartered in Asturias, Spain, launched the subsidi- ary Zitrón USA. For CFE’s flagship axial fan system, with push-button reverse capability, the impeller assembly is mounted on a Zitrón’s stateside facility is located shaft end from the main motor. An actuator on the impeller hub then controls the blades in flight. (Photo: CFE) in Bluefield, West Virginia, and spans

50 E&MJ • OCTOBER 2020 www.e-mj.com VENTILATION

Zitrón offers a machine health mon- itoring solution for managing ventilation systems for better efficiency. “Control and monitoring systems are based on contin- uous acquisition of data, and help in- crease productivity and safety in mines,” he said. “It is a revolutionary approach that offers an efficient way of automating and optimizing mine ventilation, provid- ing safer working conditions, productivity improvements and energy savings.” Beyond the launch and the new partner- ship, the company also recently increased factory floor space. Such routine invest- ments in capacity, R&D, and in new materi- als and techniques “have positioned Zitrón In 2012, Zitrón S.A. installs the 630-kW ZVN 1-30-630/8 fan system at Pajingo gold mine in Queensland, Australia. (Photo: Zitrón S.A.) as the industry benchmark,” Quesada said. Nonetheless, “our most valuable asset 70,000 ft2, with warehousing, manufac- on quality, tailored solutions made possi- is the 462 professionals that make up turing and service capabilities. ble by its superior assets, Quesada said. the global Zitrón team,” she said. “We The development is part of the com- Zitrón reportedly has the world’s larg- should not forget that Zitrón was built on pany’s mission to expand its global pres- est testing facility of its kind. It is longer the shoulders of our employees and our ence, according to Encarna Quesada, than a football field, is AMCA certified, success is driven by our people.” marketing director, Zitrón S.A. and can test fans up to 3,300 hp and 19 “The goal is to meet the growing de- ft in diameter. M&RC Charges Ahead mand from the North American market,” The company reportedly also has “the at Palabora she said. “There was a real demand from world’s largest database of factory perfor- Murray & Roberts Cementation (M&RC) the U.S. market for us to be present in mance tested fans.” reported it completed the pre-sinking the country, and we also have found a re- The two superlatives give Zitrón the phase of a 1,200-m-deep ventilation liable local partner.” ability to custom design fans using em- shaft for Palabora Copper’s new LIFT II The company, founded in 1963, is pirical data followed by rigorous factory underground block cave mining area. known for its custom fans. “Zitrón also acceptance testing. “Fans from 15 hp provides complete solutions,” Quesada to 12,500 hp, and with diameters from said. “Zitrón provides optimized ventila- 30 in. to 17 ft, are designed, fabricated, tion design, manufacturing fans with vary- tested and supplied all over the world,” ing capabilities for diverse applications.” the company reported. Joe Finn, a contracted U.S. represen- The KPIs from those fans prove their tative of the company, described Zitrón as viability. An internal study of 4,700 fans, the world’s largest axial fan engineering all larger than 48-in. in diameter, found and manufacturing firm. that the mean time between impeller Zitrón reported it has installed 20,000 failures was 13,000 hours, and between fans in a half-century. It boasts of hav- motor failures was 16,600 hours. Avail- ing a mining fan operational in the most ability was 99.9%. northerly inhabited place on earth, as well Caleb Warden, sales director, Zitrón as of numerous more recent projects else- USA, said the company’s superior quali- where around the world. ty solutions arise in part from a dedicat- For example, the supplier installed three ed customer focus. “Customers choose 1,300-kW vertical fans at Booysendal plati- Zitrón because we are a trusted partner num mine in South Africa; two 630-kW hor- who will work tirelessly to deliver the opti- izontal fans and switch rooms at Newmont’s mal ventilation solution for each project,” Tanami mine in Australia; a 2,800-hp fan he said. “Our passion in solving design as part of a turnkey project for Minera Sau- challenges makes each project as unique cito silver mine in Mexico; a 1,200-hp, 10- as our clients.” ft fan at the Kilyati mine in Finland; two Other than fans, Zitrón supplies dif- 1,500-hp ATEX fans and switch rooms for fusers, control panels, sound attenuators Polyak mine in Turkey; and a 575-kW fan at and winches. It also supplies safety solu- Capstone Gold mine in Mexico. tions, such as dust extraction technology, In 2015, Zitrón S.A. installs the massive 5,600-kW As prolific as it is, and despite offering which “provides safer, cost-effective con- ZVNv 1-36-1400/8 fan system at the Dugald River relatively short lead times, Zitrón focuses trol of combustible dust,” Warden said. mine in Queensland, Australia. (Photo: Zitrón S.A.)

www.e-mj.com OCTOBER 2020 • E&MJ 51 VENTILATION

use of a quick-setting chemical com- pound in close proximity to the shaft,” Chamberlain said. “We then concrete lined the barrel and resealed behind the lining.” Going from the pre-sink phase to the main sink phase involves removing the temporary infrastructure and installing the permanent sinking infrastructure. “The main components are the wind- ing plant for the kibbles and stage, the headgear and tipping arrangements, and all the services and controls systems re- quired to operate the shaft,” Chamberlain Above, during the pre-sink phase for a 1,200-m-deep ventilation shaft at Palabora Copper, in South Africa, water said. “We have a separate, highly skilled incursions occurred down to the 50-m level. To answer, Murray & Roberts Cementation use a quick-setting chemical in-house team that does this.” compound, concrete lined the barrel, and resealed behind the lining. (Photo: M&RC) The predicted challenges to the main Palabora Copper, located in South Afri- those presented by COVID-19, were from sink piece relate to geology. “The other ca’s Limpopo Province, is described as the unconsolidated rock and water. challenges are getting the teams func- country’s sole producer of refined copper. “We had water intersections at vari- tioning smoothly with all the new technol- The shaft sinking contractor started ous levels down to 50 m below surface,” ogy,” he said. the 8.5-m-diameter shaft in early 2019. he said. “The type of water inflows “Our preparations and methodology Pre-sinking went to a depth of roughly 50 we encountered were from various sourc- is to cater for the worst known condition m. M&RC expects the shaft to be com- es underground and easily found their and be ready with a quick response plan plete in Q3 2022. way into the excavation around the for the unknown conditions,” Chamber- Graham Chamberlain, project exec- fractured ground.” lain said. “From experience, we also have utive, mine development, M&RC, said The company has a few solutions it backup emergency plans and equipment the main challenges thus far, aside from deploys in such situations. “We made on standby. In respect to the teams, we

52 E&MJ • OCTOBER 2020 www.e-mj.com VENTILATION have chosen individuals with both a good Despite the size safety and team player attitude.” of the shaft, Cham- Advanced machinery in use includes berlain said, ulti- high-penetration-rate hydraulic drills on mately more time robotic arms nested on the shaft-sinking is spent by manage- stage. The arrangement allows drilling at ment dealing with any position in the shaft without worker “outside influenc- contact with the drills. es” than is spent “Our drilling equipment has been internally running modified for efficiencies and noise reduc- the project. tion,” Chamberlain said. “You cannot Other newer solutions include the wind- spend enough time ing plant, which has been upgraded with educating and com- state-of-the-art safety systems, he said. municating to all in- “Our explosive delivery and placement sys- terested and affect- tems are also improved and apply the most ed parties,” he said. modern information capturing systems.” “Being involved To deal with poor ground conditions, with the community M&RC takes the shaft lining to the bottom and showing tangi- of the shaft during sinking, as opposed to ble benefits toward taking it to roughly 20 m from the bottom. local employment “Our lining approach is applied with and skills develop- the use of a modified version of the tra- ment, coupled with ditional shuttering and our specialized supporting the local concrete mixes, which we design for this businesses in the specific purpose,” Chamberlain said. area, have been key Above, a crawler crane lowers the headgear assembly during the pre-sink phase for “The mixes are prepared and delivered by factors for a smooth a ventilation shaft at Palabora Copper. M&RC reports the pre-sink phase is now our on-site batch plant.” project thus far.” complete. The shaft is expected to be completed in Q3 2022. (Photo: M&RC)

VALLEY FORGE BOLTS LOAD INDICATING TECHNOLOGY with Y FO LE R L G Measure tension, not torque. Throughout service life, not just at install. A E V Install bolts with precision accuracy by letting the bolt tell you when it has reached its designed preload. Make inspections faster and safer while increasing uptime and saving money. 1974 vfbolts.com | 800-832-6587 |

www.e-mj.com OCTOBER 2020 • E&MJ 53 CONVEYOR SYSTEMS Mining Conveyors Make Transitions Modern conveyors systems can be engineered for greater capacities, low maintenance and high availability By Steve Fiscor, Editor-in-Chief

A construction photo shows the transfer building where Chuquicamata’s 11,000-mt/h conveyor system, which travels a 6.4-km ramp from the underground ore storage bins, discharges on to another conveyor that transports the ore to a processing facility 5 km away.

For material handling, few systems can with each flight traveling in a straight line. “The system called for no redundancies, compete with conveyors, especially over They were limited by elevation changes which meant that for this project, high sys- long distances. Those long distances on and the tensile strength of the belting. tem availability, minimal system wear and grade or uphill, however, require more Over the years, the engineers that design easy maintenance of components were power and stronger belting. They also usu- these systems have learned how to install all decisive factors,” said Mario Dilefeld, ally involve a transition such as a curve or curves and increase the amount of power head of belt conveyor systems for TAKRAF a transfer point, which introduces another the drives can input into the system. GmbH, who has a doctor in engineering. set of variables and more costs. The scope of the Chuquicamata Un- Conveyors also require a lot of moving Building the World’s Most derground Project (Chuqui UG) called for: parts, including motors, drives, pulleys, Powerful Conveyor • Removal of crushed ore from 60 m high and idlers. These moving parts along with In 2019, Corporación Nacional del Cobre underground storage bins with a con- the chutes in the transfer points require de Chile (Codelco) con- maintenance. To keep the availability verted its Chuquicamata high on these systems, they must be de- mine, one of the largest signed with maintenance in mind. open-pit copper mines When a mine makes this type of ma- in the world, to an un- jor capital investment, it expects high derground operation. levels of availability. Usually, these The state-owned com- conveyors are the primary means of ore pany selected TAKRAF transport and, when they go down, the to supply the principal entire operation goes down. To protect ore transportation sys- the investment and maintain produc- tem that move crushed tion, they also must be designed with a copper ore from under- relatively high safety factor. ground storage bins to Conveyor systems continue to evolve. a mineral processing fa- Installed in a drift that extends 6,400 m to the surface, the inclined conveyors Previous systems were a series of flights cility on the surface. overcome an elevation of 950 m.

54 E&MJ • OCTOBER 2020 www.e-mj.com CONVEYOR SYSTEMS

veying capacity of 11,000 metric tons inclined conveyors overcome an elevation per hour (mt/h); of 950 m. “Each underground transfer • Transportation to the surface with a point along the tunnel required an under- minimum number of transfer points; ground chamber with a crane for mainte- • Conveying the ore from the underground nance work, power supply, transformers, tunnel exit to the processing plant; and and electrical and mechanical drive tech- • Ensuring high-system availability, mini- nologies, with adapted ventilation and mal system wear and easy maintenance suitable access paths,” Dilefeld said. of all components. To minimize the number of transfer The conveying network begins at the points, the inclined conveyor section was underground ore storage discharge. Two successfully developed employing just two ore storage bins measuring 6 m in di- flights. “To achieve this feat, it was neces- ameter and 60 m in height control the sary to use newly developed components flow of mined material onto the convey- that redefine the performance limits of To replace idlers, a specially designed maintenance ors. Feeder conveyors move ore from the belt conveyor technology,” Dilefeld said. vehicle travels along the conveyor path. storage bins to the main conveyors. “As “ST10,000 quality conveyor belts were with any belt feeder, the contour of the used for the first time underground. Op- In cooperation with the drive motor material to be conveyed is specified by erating belt safety ratings of S=5 required manufacturer, ABB, TAKRAF engineers a shear gate and the flow of discharged belt connections with a reference fatigue developed a drivetrain consisting of a material is defined by varying the con- strength of more than 50%. This value was 5-MW synchronous motor, a membrane veying speed,” Dilefeld said. proven on a belt test rig at the University coupling to connect the pulley shaft and Two conventional trough conveyors of Hanover in Germany. Once again, new rotor shaft and a drive pulley. connect the feeder conveyors with the dimensions were achieved — this time in The drive pulley had the following loading point of the inclined conveyor terms of installed drive power — with 10 specifications: around 900 m away. Installed in a drift megawatts (MW) of installed drive power • Simple alignment and motor air gap ad- that extends 6,400 m to the surface, the per drive pulley and 20 MW per conveyor.” justment during installation of the drive;

Designing Chuqui UG’s Drives ABB provided the engineering design, gearless conveyor drives, A novel embedding concept, developed jointly by TAKRAF electrical equipment for power supply, energy distribution and au- and ABB, enables straightforward installation and alignment of tomation for the Chuqui UG conveyor systems. The three principal the gearless conveyor drive motors, saving installation time and 11,000-mt/h conveyors feature gearless conveyor drives equipped longer deployment of maintenance teams. This was considered with large ABB AC synchronous motors with a rated power of 5 MW a major benefit compared to existing gearless conveyor drives in each, resulting in a motor shaft torque of about 900 kNm. It is also cantilevered construction. The concept also meant motors were the first transportation system in the world to employ the ST10000 100% factory assembled and tested. They can also be mechan- steel cable belt technology on an uphill drift (ramp) conveyor. ically disconnected from the drive pulley quickly so operations “This mega project achieves a number of firsts, from the sys- can continue if drive failure occurs. The total installed drive tem’s installed drive power to the application of the ST10000 power for the entire system, including multiple feeder convey- conveyor belt,” said Marc Hollinger, TAKRAF project manager. ors, totals 58 MW, of which there are 11 5-MW gearless synchro- “This was a complex project of the highest magnitude demand- nous motors. The new underground project is expected to extend ing global cooperation between internal and external parties.” operations at the Chuquicamata mine for the next 40 years. “This is a new milestone in underground applications for con- tinuous mining. It is the highest drive power ever installed on a conveyor and uses a wide range of features for data acquisition, equipment assessment and process optimization,” said Ulf Rich- ter, global product manager for belt conveyor systems at ABB. “In piloting this gearless drive application with TAKRAF, we have over- come tremendous technical and logistical challenges due to under- ground situations, elevation change and capacity requirements.” ABB liquid-cooled MV voltage-source frequency converters, together with large synchronous motors, deliver a decrease in active and reactive power consumption. This is highly energy efficient, and without additional network filters. ABB’s Mining Conveyor Control Program (MCCP) ensures smooth belt operation and safe synchronization between high-power motors and high-power hydraulic brakes, necessary for secure operation of steep uphill conveyors. The drive systems The overland conveyor’s discharge at the mineral processing facility employs four also work without mechanical backstops. 5-MW gearless drives (inset).

www.e-mj.com OCTOBER 2020 • E&MJ 55 CONVEYOR SYSTEMS

• Simple readjustment in the event of mo- PPI Supplies Hardware to Yukon tor air gap deviations from the setpoint During June of 2018, PPI was awarded a (e.g., after settling); contract to supply the pulleys and idlers • Complete and fully assembled factory- for a mining project in Canada’s Yukon tested motors on site (no motor assem- Territory. The heap-leach gold mine is the bly in a dusty environment); and most advanced in the region and is devel- • Simple separation of the connection oping toward becoming the largest gold between the drive pulley and motor to mine in Yukon’s history. “Our customer ensure continued operation of the sys- supplied the material handling system to tem for the short term with a reduced the mine owner,” said Nick Phillips, prod- number of drive motors. uct sales manager, PPI. “The extent of Maintaining the air gap between the the project included nine conveyors and A Yukon gold mine recently installs this overland rotor and stator was a crucial require- three feeders, ranging in belt widths from conveyor with PPI structure and hardware. ment for the operation of the motors, 42- to 72-in. wide.” Dilefeld explained. The air gap, which is This project required collaboration from structures shipped from PPI Corning and 14 mm, must only be allowed to deviate various departments within the U.S. and PPI Lenox to the mine site. from the setpoint within small toleranc- Canada to make this opportunity a suc- For long, flat overland conveyors, PPI es. “Deviations in the air gap reduce the cess. The contract scope included a large produces a stand that works well. “We efficiency of the motor, and if rotor and number of pulley assemblies produced at can produce the C channel, rail sections stator were to make contact with each PPI Canada as well as a large number of and stands, and we can supply those at other, this would result in damage to idlers and structural components from PPI a competitive price,” Phillips said. “It’s the motor,” Dilefeld said. “The air gap U.S. Over the course of several months, 63 great way to build an overland. When itself is continuously monitored during pulleys with shafts, bearings and take-up the material arrives at the mine site, the operation. If deformations and/or sub- frames were manufactured and shipped crews just bolt it together.” The mine is sidence in the steel structure or in the to the mine site. During this time period, currently using the system to place ore on motor foundations lead to a deviation in approximately 20 truckloads of idlers and the leach pads. the air gap setpoint, the stator must be realigned. To simplify this process, the shaft caused by belt tension, Dilefeld, adjusted in all directions. Should a motor spacing between the rotor and stator explained. “The adjustable motor frame fail, it can be quickly moved into a dis- at the non-driven end of the motor was facilitates alignment of the motor during abled position by opening the membrane fixed by a support bearing.” installation and ensures simple realign- coupling and adjusting the spindles. The The membrane coupling compen- ment if necessary,” Dilefeld said. “Eccen- system can then continue to operate only sates for the deformation of the pulley trics and spindles allow the stator to be with reduced power.” The conveyor from the underground tunnel discharges on to an overland at transfer station. That overland conveyor delivers ore to the mineral processing plant 5 km away. The landscape surrounding the pro- cessing plant has been shaped by more than 100 years of mining at Chuquica- mata. In addition to the various process- ing systems, waste heaps, railroad tracks, roads, pipelines and buildings scar the landscape. The challenge for the new conveyor system was to design a system that took into consideration this land- scape for its entire length. The overland was a continuous sin- gle-flight conveyor developed with the following parameters: • Distance of 5,330 m between the mater- ial loading point and material discharge with a difference in height of 287 m; • Horizontal curves with tight radii (1,600 m to 2,300 m) on more than 60% of the conveyor length; and • Approximately 50% of the conveyor The overland conveyor passes over infrastructure that has accumulated over 100 years. length on elevated structure with vari-

56 E&MJ • OCTOBER 2020 www.e-mj.com CONVEYOR SYSTEMS

able lengths adapted to local conditions A Transfer Unto Itself for foundations positioning and with RBL-REI has recently commissioned a support intervals of up to 96 m. belt deviation system for a Polish mining The conveyor design again revolved company, which allows one belt to change around ensuring high system avail- direction without motorization. Due to ability, minimal system wear and easy the narrow corridor available between the maintenance of components. All load- quarry and the plant, RBL-REI was asked ing points along the conveyor route were to engineer the conveyor system. Ordinari- RBL-REI inserts a transfer point in one continuous optimized in order to reduce conveyor ly, that would include a transfer point and belt wear. The arrangement of the rock conveyor. Traditionally one conveyor discharges on to two separate overland conveyors between another at a transfer point. boxes and grizzlies was verified with the origin and the destination. To optimize simulations using the Discrete Element the project capital expends and coordinate system without motorization was specially Method (DEM). starting and stopping times between the developed for this project to unify the two Specially designed transfer chutes two overland conveyors, RBL-REI designed sections. In addition to eliminating the allow wear plates to be replaced quick- a single flight system — meaning the same costs of the drives and a substation, the ly and easily. To replace idlers, a special- belt is working upstream and downstream system also avoids the problems of chute ly designed TAKRAF maintenance vehi- from the transfer point. A belt deviation clogging with sticky material. cle travels along the conveyor path, Dile- feld explained. “It can lift the conveyor used, Dilefeld said. Vibration behavior of ground transfer points, thereby justifying and replace worn idlers to safely and ef- the belt during start up and braking was the use of these components. ficiently,” he said. “At the material dis- analyzed across all operating conditions High system availability, minimal sys- charge point, a bunker building performs using dynamic belt calculations. tem wear and easy maintenance of com- a limited material storage function. Two System parameters such as a ponents were essential criteria when de- feeder conveyors remove the material ST10,000 conveyor belt and 20-MW signing this system. Numerous innovations and feed it to the processing plants.” drive power per conveyor redefine the lim- that were implemented for the first time. Three 5-MW direct-drive motors drive its of belt conveyor technology, Dilefeld Six patents were awarded on this project, this conveyor, with a ST6,800 conveyor said. This made it possible to achieve the which resulted in a modern, powerful and belt with a belt safety of S=5.1 being goal of reducing the number of under- environmentally friendly conveyor system.

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www.e-mj.com OCTOBER 2020 • E&MJ 57 OPERATING STRATEGIES Is Your Workforce Prepared for the Digital Mine? With digital advancement comes a need to make sure workers are equipped with the right skillsets By Rebekah Kowalski and Barry Elliott

are increasingly key to success. But roles are also drastically evolving as mining op- erations become more digitalized. Drivers, for example, are becoming remote operators. And maintenance me- chanics are transitioning into predictive maintenance specialists. Meanwhile, mul- tiskilled engineers are combining mechan- ical engineering, electrical engineering and computer engineering skills into one role. Entirely new roles are emerging, a prime example is a vendor- or OEM-collaboration manager. This role handles integration ef- forts and works with the external resources to increase the success of new technology. With the right development opportuni- ties, a collaboration manager could be a career progression for drivers or machine operators, plant operators, engineers, or others with mining process aptitude and As workers’ roles continue to rapidly evolve in the industry’s move toward digitalization, companies should focus strong interpersonal skills. efforts on modernizing their employment value proposition and developing a strong workfoce strategy. Sourcing this role from internal candi- Today, companies find themselves in 95% of candidates that mining compa- dates will be essential, as these employ- a unique global position. Mine opera- nies would like to hire are currently em- ees must bring expertise in core opera- tions may be paused or disrupted due ployed or engaged elsewhere.1 tions and processing functions and often to COVID-19, but it shouldn’t stop them But by taking some critical steps to require deep machine or process knowl- from looking to the future to determine modernize the workforce, businesses can edge. Internal candidates have existing how to address one of the industry’s top put themselves in the best position pos- relationships and organizational context challenges: the evolving workforce. sible to attract and retain the employees to represent the interests and unique Digital technologies are changing the needed in the digital era. needs of the company. way mines operate and how they solve Of course, with so much change in challenges like keeping up with growing Talent shortages are currently roles, modernizing a workforce might feel demand while addressing declining ore like an overwhelming task. So, consider fo- grades. As this transformation continues, cited as a top risk for mining cusing efforts on two things: modernizing there will be a greater need for digital companies and are the most the employment value proposition (EVP) skills to use new tools that can help im- severe since 2006. and developing a strong workforce strategy. prove productivity and visibility in mines. And new workers with specialized skills A Changing Workforce Modernize the EVP will be needed to help mining companies Technology in today’s mines is reshaping It’s inevitable that companies will find get value from their data and from new the work employees do and the skills they themselves competing with not only other technologies like machine learning. use to do it. mining companies, but also other indus- Reshaping the workforce for a digital For starters, a mix of technical skills tries for the best talent. To help secure mine could prove difficult as they com- and soft skills like project management, the skilled workers needed, take steps to pete for hard-to-find skilled workers. Tal- communication and change management update an EVP. ent shortages, for example, are currently An EVP is an exchange. The employer cited as a top risk for mining companies 1 ManpowerGroup analysis of Gartner & TalentNeuron offers a work environment with pay, bene- and are the most severe since 2006. And findings. fits, culture and opportunity, while the em-

58 E&MJ • OCTOBER 2020 www.e-mj.com OPERATING STRATEGIES ployee brings the valued skills, experience temporary workers. In some cases, these tions effectively understand and manage and work ethic that the employer needs. workers can bring skills that are espe- their ESG performance, IsoMetrix claims An EVP is more than human resource cially valuable for digitalized operations. the product allows companies to report hype. Organizations with attractive EVPs Freelancers and contract employees, for more efficiently and in line with stake- can reduce compensation premiums for example, tend to have experience working holder and compliance requirements. attracting qualified candidates and re- remotely, which can help them support As ESG compliance and stakeholder duce annual turnover by nearly 70%.2 multiple mines at once. requirements for reporting vary based on The best way to do this is to look at Bridge: This requires creating a proac- region, the siloed nature of data collec- the roles from the potential employee’s tive and smooth relocation plan for individ- tion makes it difficult for companies to perspective. Why should they work for you uals who aren’t used to a new organization- accurately track and report their ESG over another employer in the industry? What al strategy or its required competencies. performance. IsoMetrix said its solution will make them stay at the company? What Digital transformation and automation offers a transparent view of an organiza- capabilities can they bring forward? What have created a skills revolution, where new tion’s ESG performance by streamlining work environment will be provide to them? skills emerge as fast as others become ob- risk management data into a centralized The answers to these questions help solete. It’s crucial that you are able to not platform to ensure it’s meeting local and lead companies to a modernized EVP. only optimize the skills you have in your international reporting standards. “We wanted to develop a solution that gauges alignment to whichever ESG-re- lated standard an organization or investor would like to assess themselves against to help with the reporting burden associated with these standards,” said Robin Bolton, executive of sustainability at IsoMetrix. “In addition, the solution must help or- ganizations understand their ESG risks, findings, incidents or grievances.” As a centralized management system, the solution gives sustainability managers a true understanding of performance through Four Strategies for Success workforce, but also find alternate pathways a holistic view of their ESG data, according Building the workforce requires more than for those whose skills are no longer a fit. to IsoMetrix. Managers can identify the fac- updating hiring practices. A combination Consulting companies are a great re- tors that affect their ESG profile by manag- of workforce strategies — or the “four Bs” source for helping employers and employ- ing the complete ESG reporting ecosystem. of workforce development — are needed ees with the process of finding another Through a standardized dashboard that to gain and groom the employees one occupation that leverages the employee’s eliminates the use of spreadsheets, the needs in their digital mines. skills and experience. solution removes companies’ siloed report- Build: This is often the first strategy ing approach and eliminates the time-con- companies look at when navigating work- Get to Work suming task of collecting data. By providing force changes and transformations. It Technology is changing the industry a complete, transparent view of companies’ involves investing in learning and devel- quickly. As this transition occurs, com- ESG performance, the solution helps users opment to grow your talent pipeline. Tac- panies must make sure the workforce determine the impact of their program to tics such as identifying future potential, evolves with it by having the right skillsets. investors, stakeholders and regulatory bod- providing accelerated learning programs, Companies can get ahead of workforce ies by gathering data and reporting against and building a culture of learnability are changes by understanding how roles and different standards, according to IsoMetrix. key components of this strategy. positions have changed, modernizing an “We are offering a solution that is Buy: This involves looking outside of EVP and developing a workforce strategy purely agnostic and is not focused on a the company for talent. Many of the roles that takes a company from now to next. specific ESG standard or framework,” that mining companies seek are built on said Rigby Stott, senior executive of cus- skills that are present in other industries. Rebekah Kowalski is vice president, Man- tomer success at IsoMetrix. “Our solution But companies will need to be cognizant power Manufacturing, ManpowerGroup. allows you to gather different information of an EVP, because the candidates may Barry Elliott is vice president, Enterprise and standards, and presents the results in see other industries as more appealing, at Accounts, Rockwell Automation. a holistic way that shows a true reflection least on the surface. of the performance of the organization. In Borrow: This strategy involves lever- ESG Solution Promises addition, it is also a management system aging outside talent communities like Transparency, No Spreadsheets that defines and manages all your ESG freelancers, contract employees and IsoMetrix, a global EHS software provider, initiatives and displays them into poten- recently announced the launch of a new tial action plans that enable you to meet 2 Gartner says companies in the U.S. are overpaying to Environmental, Social and Governance objectives, and ultimately create long- attract new talent, Gartner, 2019. (ESG) solution. Designed to help organiza- term value for your organization.”

www.e-mj.com OCTOBER 2020 • E&MJ 59 SUPPLIERS REPORT ABB Will Modernize Nexa Plants

integrated solution based on a 100-MW single-module plant design. Teck Mine Taps AES for 72 MW Compania Minera Teck signed AES Corp. for 100% renewable power for the Car- men de Andacollo (CdA) copper mine in Chile. The Chilean branch AES Gener will supply 72 megawatts (MW) of wind, solar and hydroelectric energy from September 1, 2020, through the end of 2031. Teck said the move furthers the compa- ny’s goal to become carbon neutral. “This agreement takes Teck a step closer to achieving our sustainability goals, while also ensuring a reliable, long-term clean power Nexa Resources appoints ABB to provide state-of-the-art industrial automation systems for existing and new op- supply for CdA at a reduced cost to Teck,” erations in Brazil and Peru. (Photo: ABB) Teck Chief Executive Don Lindsay said. Nexa Resources signed a five-year agree- ABB reported it will also deliver au- AES Gener said the development ment with ABB on modernizing existing tomation platforms at Aripuanã, a zinc- helps Chile build a more sustainable and mining and smelting process installations lead-copper mine in Mato Grosso, Brazil. reliable grid. in Brazil and Peru. The scope includes ABB Ability System The mine is located in the Coquimbo Re- As part of the agreement, ABB will in- 800xA equipped with MineOptimize gion. Teck owns a 90% interest in the mine. stall ABB Ability System 800xA, a distrib- solutions such as the Minerals Process uted control system automation platform. Control Library, Power Control Library Nordgold Fully Adopts The platform will serve as the basis for and camera connection. The plant at Ar- Deswik Software the digital transformation, and as a com- ipuanã is a greenfield site. Nordgold reported after a three-month tri- mon operations platform to support all Separately, ABB reported it signed a al, it hired Deswik to re-platform its mine technology upgrades. Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) planning IT systems. To date, Nordgold has The platform will allow remote mon- with Hydrogen Optimized to explore de- implemented Deswik software and solu- itoring and control and will offer safety velopment of large-scale sustainable tions for use in strategic mine planning, gains, ABB reported. hydrogen production systems. The com- pit design, load and haul simulations, sur- “The platform also increases productiv- panies plan to prove that Hydrogen Op- veying, and drill hole optimization. ity by applying modern control techniques timized’s RuggedCell water electrolysis The software will be rolled out over and creating value for the company and technology can be used to develop an three years. local community,” said Marcos Hillal, global product line manager, automation and digital, mining, ABB. “As part of the journey, we are providing Nexa with a thor- ough training and communications plan to support them through the transition.” ABB reported it is supporting Anglo American Technical Solutions, an analytical support center in Johannesburg, after the latter adopted ABB Ability System 800xA for use in continuous laboratory testwork. There, the control system allows for expansion and application in mini-pilot plants for hydrometallurgical testwork. The support provided by ABB consists of automation expertise and software solu- tions, licensing and training. It is part of an effort to expand the laboratory, modify Nordgold trials Deswik software and solutions for three months before adopting it enterprise-wide. Above, the experimental setups and maximize control. scheduler module by Deswick. (Photo: Nordgold)

60 E&MJ • OCTOBER 2020 www.e-mj.com SUPPLIERS REPORT

During the test period, Deswik soft- ware and solutions were adopted by the head office, the Gross and Tabornoe open- pit mines in Eastern Siberia, the Suzdal underground mine in Kazakhstan, and the Lefa mine in Guinea. Migration to the Deswik platform is expected to be com- pleted at the Bissa and Bouly mines in Burkina Faso in 2021, with all remaining operations following shortly thereafter. Nordgold described the Deswik plat- form as a perfect fit that caters to both underground and open-pit mines. “We have been particularly encouraged by the software’s ability to circumvent our legacy systems’ constraints, while still supporting older data formats for backward compati- Korekiyo Yanagisawa, COO, Komatsu Mining; John Koetz, president, surface mining, Komatsu; Milwaukee Mayor Tom bility,” Louw Smith, COO, Nordgold, said. Barrett; and Jeff Dawes, CEO, Komatsu Mining, break ground for the South Harbor Campus. MacLean Puts Plexus tion Facility, where it will be the backbone Separately, Komatsu Mining Corp. PowerNet in Test Mine of our automation product development,” broke ground on its new headquarters MacLean Engineering contracted Maestro Stuart Lister, vice president, marketing and manufacturing campus in Milwau- Digital Mine for Plexus PowerNet at its and communications, MacLean, said. kee’s Harbor District. Komatsu is investing test mine in Sudbury, Canada. Maestro Digital Mine said Plexus Pow- $285 million in the campus, which spans Plexus PowerNet, a gigabit network erNet is designed to reduce the time to 57 acres and includes purpose-built, mod- providing data and power over coaxial ca- connectivity for trialing new solutions. ern manufacturing facilities; advanced ble, offers high-speed, low-latency digital “We strive to make the complex sim- technology, robotics, engineering and re- communication connectivity to access ple,” Michael Gribbons, CEO, Maestro search and development labs; a large of- points, cameras and other devices. Eas- Digital Mine, said. “This underground fice complex; training facilities; data solu- ily installed, the Plexus PowerNet can be R&D lab continues to build upon the tions center; and an experience center. used in mines with or without a fiber op- strength and wealth of mining knowledge The state-of-the-art facility will help tic network, and supports existing under- and expertise in Sudbury.” the company deliver innovative solutions, ground mine infrastructure. MacLean’s underground Research Komatsu said. “Our goal is to create a MacLean said Plexus PowerNet was se- and Demonstration Facility has a 300-m remarkable workplace for our employees lected because of its capability to quickly decline at a grade of 15% with multiple that provides space to grow, will serve as and easily extend the mine’s existing com- branches, headings and testing areas. It a global center of excellence for Komatsu, munications network to the face. “We’re has a shop and office. The test mine al- and demonstrates a sincere commitment delighted to work with another company lows the supplier to trial new equipment to sustainability and our community,” in Sudbury’s mining ecosystem to get and technology. Dawes said. their top-of-the-line digital infrastructure Preconstruction launched in late 2019. installed at our Research and Demonstra- Komatsu Rebrands New The new campus will be staffed in 2022. P&H, Old Joy Equipment Komatsu is rebranding some P&H and Joy Plants in China, Bulgaria Global equipment to reflect its unified fo- Get Outotec Shops cus on growth in the mining equipment Metso Outotec reported it won two orders, space. All surface wheel loaders, new blast- at a combined value of $11.8 million, for hole drills, and all underground hard-rock two Outotec Anode Casting Shops for de- equipment will be rebranded as Komatsu. livery to production plants in China and Komatsu said the development synchs Bulgaria. with the company’s 100th anniversary. One will go to Yangxin Hongsheng Cop- “Building on the growth of our mining per’s greenfield smelter in Huangshi, Hu- portfolio, we’re excited to unite more bei, China, which will be commissioned products under the Komatsu brand, while in 2021. The other will go to longtime respecting the history and value of the customer Aurubis Bulgaria AD’s copper P&H and Joy brands,” said Jeffrey Dawes, production plant in Pirdop, Bulgaria. CEO, Komatsu Mining. The shops are expected to be commis- Plexus Powernet delivers high-speed connectivity to The first rebranded product, the sioned in 2021. the face at MacLean’s test mine in Sudbury, Canada. Komatsu ZT44 track drill, debuted at Both shops will feature two cast- (Photo: MacLean Engineering) CONEXPO in March. ing wheels for high capacity and yield,

www.e-mj.com OCTOBER 2020 • E&MJ 61 SUPPLIERS REPORT

expertise and combining the dynamics of a startup with the security and reli- ability of a large corporate group.” BME Breaks Blast Records BME South Africa reported it initiated a single-detonation blast using its AXXIS electronic initiation system, 3,780 deto- nators and 461 metric tons (mt) of emul- sion at a manganese mine near Hotazel. The blast moved 890,000 mt of overbur- den, and was a company record for larg- est blast using electronic detonators. BME attributed the success in part to AXXIS, which facilitates larger, less fre- quent blasts. “BME’s ongoing product development has positioned us well to consistently produce quality blasts that deliver on customer requirements,” said Joe Keenan, BME managing director. Previously, BME initiated a blast using 7,401 detonators at a copper mine in Af- Metso Outotec sells its Anode Casting Shops, similar to this one (above), to a plant in China and a plant in rica. The company reported the blast was Bulgaria. (Photo: Metso Outotec) a world record. Metso Outotec said. “They will also be Rolls-Royce Launches equipped with advanced automation to Microgrid Center IAI, Bis Launch JV ensure high availability and high cast- Rolls-Royce reported it expanded the for Autonomous Systems ing accuracy to produce high quality recently acquired, Berlin-based Qinous Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and Bis anodes,” Jari Algars, president, metals GmbH into a Microgrid Competence announced the joint venture Auto-mate, business, Metso Outotec, said. Center. Previously, Rolls-Royce renamed which will provide autonomous systems Separately, Metso Outotec was recog- the company Rolls-Royce Solutions for mining operations. nized as the leading supplier for crush- Berlin GmbH. With open architecture, Auto-mate ers, mills and maintenance in the Min- As a center, it will see more group can connect any asset to the fleet man- ing Suppliers’ Ranking by Phibrand in investment in its distributed energy sys- agement system, regardless of type, Chile. The supplier won Best Performing tems business. brand, age or level of automation. The International Supplier, the highest pos- Rolls-Royce said the center is mak- system offers scalable automation solu- sible ranking. ing a major contribution to decarbon- tions specific to mine site requirements. Metso Outotec said the winners are izing energy systems. “It ranges from IAI described the system as the per- nominated by customers in a very com- simple storage solutions to complex fect union of cutting-edge technology petitive, high-end market. “We want to microgrids that intelligently combine and practical applications. “Auto-mate continue improving and delivering the battery storage with renewable ener- will deliver a flexible approach to auto- best service to our customers by knowing gies, and with diesel or gas gensets,” mation, delivering usability for multiple their needs and innovating solutions,” Andreas Schell, CEO, power systems levels of automation across all haulage Eduardo Nilo, president, South America division, Rolls-Royce, said. “With Quin- assets and ancillary equipment, with one market, Metso Outotec, said. ous, we are expanding our microgrid central command center,” IAI CEO Yoav Turgeman said. Bis said the offering will be brought to market in Australian and elsewhere. “The flexible and scalable solution is designed to be the ultimate partner in mine site automation, with the ability to grow with the user’s operation,” Bis CEO Brad Rogers said. Bis provides logistics, materials han- dling, and specialized equipment solu- tions to the mining sector. IAI has previ- ously developed automation technology for heavy off-road vehicles in extreme Metso Outotec is named Best Performing International Supplier by Phibrand in Chile. (Photo: Metso Outotec) environments.

62 E&MJ • OCTOBER 2020 www.e-mj.com SUPPLIERS REPORT

Motion Acquires AMMC Motion Industries has completed the acqui- sition of Applied Machine and Motion Con- trol Inc. (AMMC), a supplier of motion con- trol and automation products and services. Motion Industries said the move stemmed from its growth strategy. “In ad- dition to broadening our offerings to cus- tomers, their go-to-market approach and line card” will complement Mi Automa- tion Solutions Group offerings, said Randy Breaux, president, Motion Industries. AMMC offers specialty services, in- cluding motion control, drives, HMI, PC Above, Epiroc’s Minetruck and MT42 Battery at the Kittilä mine in Finland. (Photo: Epiroc) and embedded control, automation con- trol, mechanical, robotics, motors, and Epiroc Batteries Deliver “Our advances in zero-emission, bat- mechatronics. Results in EU Program Trials tery-electric equipment, as well as auto- Epiroc reported successful field testing of mation and information management, have Total Acquires Lubrilog SAS the Boomer E2 Battery, Scooptram ST14 established us as a key driver behind the Total Lubrifiants announced the acquisi- Battery and Minetruck MT42 Battery at technology that is shaping the future of tion of Lubrilog SAS, a high-performance Agnico Eagle’s Kittilä mine in Northern sustainable mining,” said Sami Niiranen, synthetic lubricant producer. Finland as part of the Sustainable Intelli- president, underground division, Epiroc. Total Lubrifiants said the acquisition gent Mining Systems project. “This project is aligned with our ambition to broadens its high-end products portfolio. The batteries dispelled any precon- deliver the world’s greenest machines and “Thanks to our international presence, ceived concerns regarding battery-elec- establishing ourselves as a leading provider our teams and engineers around the tric equipment, Kittilä mine said. of zero-emission battery-electric vehicles.” world will be able to leverage Lubrilog’s They performed very well, delivering The project was part of Horizon 2020, high end technical solutions for the ben- high reliability, increased performance an extensive European Union research efit of our clients,” said Pierre Duhot, and battery autonomy, Epiroc said. and innovation program. senior vice president, Total Lubrifiants.

www.e-mj.com OCTOBER 2020 • E&MJ 63 PROCESSING SOLUTIONS Agile Approach to Process Optimization Pays Off for Copper Producer

Although new technologies offer an at- Bagdad improvement team the greenlight tractive avenue for achieving plant per- to incorporate production adjustments formance improvements, new ways of suggested by the AI model, the team had thinking can provide similar results. Such become proficient in “agile” thinking. methods, however, can collide head-on Without going into deep detail, employing with traditional industry custom and en- agile principles dictates making succes- gineering practice. Copper producer Free- sive minor changes to reach an intended port-McMoRan is a case in point. target, rather than intricately planning a A case study provided earlier this single, comprehensive and hopefully, suc- year by McKinsey* illustrates how Free- cessful modification aimed at solving all port-McMoRan adopted “agile principles” perceived problems in a single step. For to its quest to get more production out of many traditional engineering-oriented its Bagdad, Arizona, concentrator without companies and staffs, it’s a 180° change heavily investing in capital improvements Ran could scan the vast quantity of data in approach. The McKinsey report quoted during a period of soft metal prices. it collected, identify even more operational Justin Cross, the Bagdad site’s general An Artificial Intelligence (AI) model changes that might raise performance, and manager. “Usually when we run operation- built from years of operating data and put them to the test in the field.” al projects, we over-engineer them,” he agile-principle efforts predicted that the The McKinsey report explained that said. “We test every conceivable scenario, mine could increase production from its staff at Bagdad and Freeport-McMoRan’s build in safeguards, and do everything we concentrator simply by speeding up the central operations group originally be- can to ensure that a process change will feed rate to the plant. lieved all the ore entering the mill was of result in an improvement before we make It was a gamble, but they tried it — the same type. Consequently, they had it. It’s a dependable way to get good re- and it worked. It couldn’t be classified as defined a single “recipe” of lower and up- sults. But it takes a huge amount of time, an overnight success, however. The mill’s per parameters for the mill’s 42 control effort, and capital investment.” improvement relied heavily on informa- settings: the mix of differently sized ore “It took us a while to get comfortable tion from a “data warehouse” that the chunks being fed into the mill, the pH with agile,” Cross said. “We had to let go company had been compiling for about level in the flotation cells, etc. of a lot of old habits.” 10 years prior to the Bagdad project. The But when the agile team at Bagdad ran Harry M. “Red” Conger, former presi- data warehousing initiative was aided by the data from the mill’s performance sen- dent and COO, Americas, at Freeport-Mc- subsequent sensor deployment and net- sors through its model, the members of MoRan, summarized the company’s efforts work improvements. the team discovered that, from the mill’s to learn how to use agile methods and AI In the words of the McKinsey report, perspective, the mine was actually produc- tools at its sites. Here are some of his ob- during the years following the start of the ing seven distinct types of ore — and the servations and recommendations drawn data collection effort, “...maintenance mill’s standard recipe for control settings from the Bagdad project: teams lobbied for the installation of addi- didn’t match the properties of all those • Don’t wait for the “perfect” product or tional network equipment and performance ore types. Ore containing more iron pyrite, solution to begin using it. Once it’s work- sensors. The teams would manually down- for example, would yield more copper if ing well enough, implement it right load data from those sensors to the data the pH level in the flotation cells were set away. Immediate action brings immedi- warehouse so they could further sharpen higher than the recipe prescribed. ate results. their maintenance practices and improve “Thinking about ore clusters in terms • Be willing to reconsider and discard the functioning of equipment. When wire- of data from the mill’s instruments, rather long-standing assumptions and process- less mesh networks became cost effective than classifications from traditional geol- es if better ways to do things are found. and reliable, Freeport-McMoRan installed ogy, was a major mindset shift — and it That means validating new ideas them at all its sites. Now the company can opened up many new possibilities for im- through data analysis and fieldwork. capture and correlate second-by-second proving performance,” said Sean Buckley, • Empower frontline teams to take risks. performance readings in the data ware- a McKinsey partner who led the analytics That’s how testing and learning hap- house, all in real time. With advanced an- work. The team’s analysis suggested that pens. Set clear boundaries on what alytics and AI techniques, Freeport-McMo- adjusting the mill’s controls to suit each teams can try. Make it clear they won’t of the seven ore types could increase cop- be blamed if their experiments come up *Inside a mining company’s AI transformation. Febru- ary 2020, www.mckinsey.com/industries/metals and per production by 10% or more. short or incur extra costs. mining/how we help clients/inside a mining companys The McKinsey report noted that by • Use data science to catalyze decision AI transformation. the time corporate management gave the making. Human judgment and intuition

64 E&MJ • OCTOBER 2020 www.e-mj.com PROCESSING SOLUTIONS

are hard to replace, but people can make better decisions when they’re in- formed by analytical findings. • Once value is created with agile and AI, spread the word about what was done and how it was done. Showcasing success will attract interest in these capabilities and motivate colleagues to adopt them. Process Equipment Exec Says Cooperation is Key For Ensuring Digital-tech Efficiency Digital technology holds huge potential for equipment performance in the field of min- eral processing, but equipment suppliers will make little progress if they work only on their own, according to Thomas Holtz, group chief executive officer of Multotec, a mineral processing equipment supplier based in Johannesburg, South Africa. “The inclusion of today’s technologies Data hoarding by equipment vendors, along with plant designs that make digital upgrades difficult and sometimes in mineral processing equipment de- unrealistic expectations from customers, are hindering the progress of digital technologies in mineral processing. mands collaboration on an unprecedent- ed level,” Holtz said. “To begin with, we simple, for example, to automate an oper- he said. “Many small innovations, when need outside specialists to help build dig- ational response to that information.” combined, can produce significant prog- ital technology into our existing products. Much progress has indeed been made, ress and generate a meaningful advance But we also need to cooperate with other he said. Through collaboration with a tech- for our mining customers.” process equipment suppliers to ensure nology partner, Multotec is developing a He noted that all the equipment in a that we feed into common systems that machine learning process to analyze vibra- plant needs to talk to a central system make customers’ plants more efficient.” tion data from a cyclone. Based on this re- He highlighted the power of sensors, al-time data, an artificial intelligence serv- digital data communication and com- er generates alerts related to predefined puter analytics to transform how mineral condition levels. He pointed out, though, processes are monitored and optimized. that each equipment supplier can only Technology can make the plant a safer monitor those functions within a process place and can run processes more effi- circuit in which their equipment performs. ciently. This includes monitoring wear “To fully leverage today’s digital tech- life, helping mines plan for better main- nology, a plant manager needs equivalent tenance and improve uptime. information from every item of equipment

“At Multotec, we have invested consid- operating in the circuit,” he said. “ThisC erably in applying sensor technology — es- full range of data — coming in from all the M pecially the use of accelerometers,” Holtz equipment — then needs to be synthesized said. “The real work, however, comes with to fully optimize the running of the plant.”Y the management and interpretation of the One immediate challenge is that mostCM existing process plants were not built to data these sensors generate.” MY For this reason, data analytics be- accommodate the latest technologies. Es- comes the real value when applying this pecially under current cost pressures, retCY - monitoring technology. He noted that this rofitting entire plants is seldom an option.CMY aspect of product development must gen- And, there are fewer greenfield operationsK erally be conducted with a specialist ser- being opened that could provide an op- vice provider over a long period of time. portunity to apply new ideas and equip- Even then, the process is usually arduous. ment from scratch. “Our technology journey to date shows Prevailing mindsets are also an obsta- how challenging it is to analyze the data cle, Holtz said. Most suppliers jealously we collect in a way that we can draw con- guard their intellectual property, frustrat- clusions that are useful for our purposes,” ing any attempt at collaboration. he said. “It is relatively easy to monitor “We need to work toward a new ap- vibration levels on a bearing and to gen- proach, in which each player brings some erate a trend line on a graph. It is less ,\ input based on their area of expertise,”

www.e-mj.com OCTOBER 2020 • E&MJ 65 PROCESSING SOLUTIONS that will drive the innovation that mines nology ideas are met with unrealistic ex- BHP Tests MaxiFlox Chemistry are looking for. Only in this way can mines pectations, and people are disillusioned at Olympic Dam gain efficiencies through technology and when these are not immediately realized. Australia-based SciDev Ltd. said it re- become more sustainable. This, in turn, “Closer and ongoing collaboration with cently received a trial purchase order from provides the foundation of success on all stakeholders, including mines and de- Australia’s largest copper operation — which their service providers can thrive. sign houses, will allow us to achieve the BHP’s 172,000-metric-ton-per-year Olym- In conclusion, Holtz emphasized the important long-terms benefits that tech- pic Dam complex — for the utilization of importance of gradual and sustained nology can and must deliver to our indus- SciDev’s chemistries in the hydrometal- technological progress. Many new tech- try,” he concluded. lurgical and concentrator sections of the Olympic Dam processing plant. SciDev, based in New South Wales, said staff will be on site to deliver associated profession- al services over the course of approximate- ly six months after commencement of the trial in December. The order includes an initial A$1 million purchase of SciDev’s MaxiFlox chemistry, reflecting approxi- mately three months of consumption. The company said its MaxiFlox prod- ucts are supplied in both liquid and powder form across a range of molec- ular weights and charge densities. The product lineup includes organic liquid coagulants (based on synthetic organic monomers and naturally occurring poly- saccharides), inorganic liquid coagulant blends, cationic and anionic flocculant emulsions, cationic and anionic floccu- lant powders, mud solidification polymers and antifoam products. Commenting on the trial, SciDev Man- aging Director and CEO Lewis Utting said, “The order from BHP Group’s Olympic Dam operation is a significant opportunity for SciDev. The opportunity to transfer our chemistry and know-how from the waste processing side directly to the production side of a mining operation reflects the potential for the company’s bespoke chemistries. We look forward to working with the team at Olympic Dam and will continue to keep the market up- dated on developments.” The company said another trial is un- der way at the Las Bambas copper mine in Peru, where site staff, along with Sci- Dev technical experts, have developed trial protocols allowing effective remote support by SciDev staff from Australia. The results of the trial are being assessed and will be reported in the future. The commercial trial follows on from earli- er successful technical evaluations that SciDev conducted during 2019. MaxiFlox chemistries are being used in the tailings thickener at Las Bambas, with the aim of improving water recovery and ultimately increasing the available volume in the mine’s tailings storage facility.

66 E&MJ • OCTOBER 2020 www.e-mj.com EQUIPMENT GALLERY Small Loader Offers Fast Battery Change The blimps can support privet LTE networks with a range of up to 25 miles. They can be used to generate the con- nectivity needed to support autonomous mining equipment, Altaeros reported. The SuperTowers are autonomous, with launch, operation and landing all execut- ed without the need for a full-time ground crew. The base for the ST-Flex Sandvik introduced the LH518B, an 18-metric-ton (mt) loader that blimp can be towed by a features Artisan Vehicle powertrain and lithium battery technology. standard pickup truck. The loader is equipped with three 2,000-Nm permanent www.altaeros.com magnet motors. It carries 18-mt loads, and is designed for 4.5 m by 4.5 m or larger tunnels. In addition to an innovative Easy-to-use Electronic Detonators boom and bucket system, it features independent front and rear Dyno Nobel released the EZshot EZDet series for surface blasting. drivetrains, for a high payload capacity and a low overall height, Units consist of a green shock tube with a surface detona- Sandvik reported. tor attached to one end and a high-strength in-hole electronic Battery changeouts use Artisan’s 6-minute AutoSwap pro- detonator on the other. The surface detonator is inside a col- cess, and require neither crane nor forklift. It can be done in a or-coded plastic EZ Connector block for easy connections to passing bay or old re-muck bay, Sandvik reported. The AutoCon- shock tube leads, and can hold up to six shock tube leads. nect feature automatically connects and disconnects the battery Easy-to-read, color-coded delay tags display the delay number pack to the machine. and firing time prominently. Separately, Sandvik Mining and Rock Technology introduced Units can be easily connected to one another to satisfy basic simulator training on the DS422i, part of the new Digital Driller blast design requirements, the company reported. They can be family. The low-weight, safe, portable family of simulators sup- used in combination with NONEL MS, NONEL EZTL and NON- ports training on the DD422i/iE, DT922i, DL432i and DL421, EL TD detonators for complex blast design requirements, and to and now the DS422i. minimize inventory of initiation system components. Digital Driller uses the same control system software as found www.dynonobel.com on the Sandvik drills. It provides three levels of drill rig operator ability train- ing, namely Drillmaster, Professional and Beginner. It comes with purpose-devel- oped software that includes a range of spe- cific operator exercises for recording and measuring operator behavior. Benefits include low-risk training and the reduction of the startup period. Military-grade Rugged Laptop Digital Driller comes in a wheeled carrying case and can be Durabook announced the Z14I rugged laptop can handle data- transported by a single person. intensive tasks at speed in harsh environments. www.rocktechnology.sandvik Features include multiple PCIe interface connections for RAID cards, Wi-Fi cards or SSD add-on cards. It has an Intel Autonomous Blimps for Wi-Fi Grid Eighth generation CPU, which is qualified for military service Altaeros reported its SuperTowers, tethered unmanned blimps, commands in the field. It runs on Windows 10, and has Nvidia provide site-wide Wi-Fi coverage and universal line of sight ac- GeForce GTX1050 and GeForce GTX1050 Ti graphic chips. It cess. For a large open-pit operation, one or two SuperTowers can serve as an enterprise-class server, Durabook reported. can provide a network comparable to that created by a series of The Z14I comes with a high-definition multitouch screen. small transmitter towers, the supplier reported. www.durabookamericas.com

www.e-mj.com OCTOBER 2020 • E&MJ 67 EQUIPMENT GALLERY

Automated Fault Detection, Recommendations ers. Shroud styles can be changed quickly to match an applica- i-ALERT announced an automated machine health diagnostics tion without changing the base edge or retention system. offering supported by Symphony AzimaAI. It upgrades sensors to The Durilock system is offered in three styles. The D50S capture needed information on the severity of a fault, and makes Standard is a traditional wedge shape. The D50A Abrasion has a recommendations to resolve it with the accuracy of a skilled contoured design. The D50P Penetration has less leading-edge analyst, the company reported. material for better penetration. The new diagnostics result from analysis of vibration signa- Compared to that of predecessor competition: installation tures. Fault detection is provided by algorithms and an artificial and removal of GET is 50% faster; maintenance time for GET intelligence solution from Symphony AzimaAI. The resulting ma- is reduced by 50%; and internal corner guards extend bucket chine health data and recommendations are accessed using a in-service time by 30%, Caterpillar reported. The integral corner mobile device or computer. design boosts corner life by 15% and improves penetration com- www.i-alert.com pared to systems with corner rounding. www.cat.com

2,500-kW Couplings for Conveyors Voith presented TurboBelt 315 TPXL (315 kW) and TurboBelt 2500 TPXL (2,500 kW) fill-controlled couplings. TPXL technol- ogy, based on hydrodynamics and intelligent control technology, ensures wear-free power transmission without mechanical con- nection, the company reported. Design Optimizer Offers Guided Workflow The plug-and- RPMGlobal launched the Strategic Design Optimizer (SDO) for play couplings UG metal mining. The tool is a design application that com- are designed for bines the complex tasks of strategic optimized slope and de- easy integration velopment design in a single, coherent automated process, the into existing sys- company reported. tems, and for use SDO uses parametric design principles and optimization al- in challenging en- gorithms. It features an intelligent workflow that guides the user. vironments. The It is offered as a standalone strategic design package and as a couplings can be fully integrated end-to-end enterprise solution. used with Turbo- www.rpmglobal.com Belt DriveControl, a digital control Sensor Data Management Online system for seam- Canary Systems launched MLWebHardware, the Web interface less integration of for MultiLogger, sensor data management software that supports drives, belt con- most makes and models of sensors. Over the web, users can veyors and sys- monitor their assets in real time, as well as create programming tem components. with point-and-click forms, implement it, retrieve the resulting TPXL couplings comply with EU Directive 2014/34/EU data, and import it to a database. (ATEX). They are designed for applications in categories 2 and 3. www.canarysystems.com www.voith.com Shroud System Ups Availability Transmitter for Pressure Data Caterpillar unveiled the Cat Durilock Shroud System for Cat SignalFire Wireless Telemetry introduced the PRESSURE RANG- R1700 to R3000 loaders and most buckets of 5- to 10-m3 ca- ER, an LTE-M Cellular Pressure Transmitter that provides plug- pacity. It features hammerless installation and maintenance-free and-play instant connectivity of pressure sensor data to the retention of GET with Cat Infinite elastomer compression retain- cloud over cellular networks. As a component of the company’s

68 E&MJ • OCTOBER 2020 www.e-mj.com EQUIPMENT GALLERY cloud-based telemetry solution, the transmitter supports remote Meter for Measuring Fastener Tension monitoring, control and alarming of assets from any web browser. Valley Forge & Bolt (VF&B) launched the SPC4 406A Electronic The transmitter uses MQTT/Sparkplug communications to in- Meter for its SPC4 Load Verifying System. The meter is designed tegrate into third-party hosts. It features a built-in GPS receiver. for accurate performance in demanding environments. Alarms can be sent by text or email. The meter measures The PRESSURE RANGER requires no programming or hard- tension within SPC4 ware, and connects to a 4G network without a gateway. It runs fasteners, and adds to on a battery, and features weatherproof housing. the line of meters com- It is certified for use in Class 1, Division 2 environments. patible with the system. www.signal-fire.com It has a rugged design, shock-resistant casing, Submersible Explosion-proof Pumps and is IP54 rated for pro- Tsurumi America released the AVANT Series of submersible ex- tection against dust and plosion-proof pumps to the North American market. The line, particles, VF&B reported. certified to FM Global It features a large display explosion-proof speci- and an ergonomic design, fications, features IE3 and offers one-touch premium efficiency mo- gloved-hand operation. tors and a closed-cir- Bluetooth compatibility cuit cooling system. offers scalability for data The series has five management. different types of im- Precise tension read- pellers: open channel, ings help make both in- chopper, vortex, grinder stallation and maintenance faster and more accurate. Benefits and high head. It fea- include increased productivity, performance and safety, the tures 2- to 16-in. dis- company reported. charge bore diameters www.vfbolts.com and 4- to 215-hp motor output. Options include Molib-tech coating, a more durable alterna- tive to the conventional ceramic coating. The pumps are available in wet or dry pit versions, and can be customized to cus- tomer needs. Benefits include cost savings, the company reported. The series was re- leased in Asia earlier this year. www.tsurumipump.com Solutions for Hybrid Wireless Architecture Hitachi ABB Power Grids introduced the Tropos TRO600, a rugged router for hybrid wireless architecture. The router is We had a ground man that did nothing but part of a portfolio of solutions designed to integrate 2G, 3G constantly clean up; that was his job. Now we don’t have a ground man. We haven’t shoveled and 4G LTE communication technologies, broadband mesh the tail wheel or cleared anything out from and sub-GHz technologies. under the conveyor since we installed these cleaners. I’m amazed by CleanScrape®, it’s The portfolio provides a combination of interoperable tech- been on for a year now and I haven’t touched it. nologies on a single communication network. It addresses oper- This material is sloppy, it’s just muck that we’re ating challenges from disparate purpose-built communication running. And then you look at the return side of the belt and the proof is right there. Absolutely networks, and it helps future-proof mission-critical operations in phenomenal. Try it out for yourself, it’s amazing. industrial and utility environments, the company reported. – Trey Poulson | Fairplay Gold Mine, Colorado, USA Advanced security features include secure storage of keys and credentials, device certificates, and comprehensive options visit martin-eng.com | 800.544.2947 or 309.852.2384 | [email protected] for encryption and authentication. ® Registered trademark of Martin Engineering Company in the US and other select locations. © 2020 Martin Engineering Company. Additional information can be obtained at www.martin-eng.com/trademarks and www.martin-eng.com/patents. www.hitachiabb-powergrids.com

www.e-mj.com OCTOBER 2020 • E&MJ 69 CONSULTANTS & SERVICES HELP WANTED

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www.e-mj.com OCTOBER 2020 • E&MJ 71 MARKETS Rhodium’s Meteoric Rise

Rhodium prices rose during August and into early September, reaching a record $14,500 per ounce (oz) on September 15. The price cooled to $14,000/oz, but the rhodium market remains tight. Sup- ply from South Africa, which accounts for 80% of global rhodium mine supply, is still recovering from shutdowns earlier this year. There also seems to be some buying ahead of the seasonally strong period of demand that is typically observed over the fourth and first quarters of the year. Passenger vehicle demand remains fairly weak in most parts of the world, which is expected to continue acting as a headwind at least in the near term. Auto makers have been buying concerned over long-term access to rhodium, using the current period of weaker auto production as a time to build rhodium inventories against anticipated shortages later. If and when the vaccine is approved for use, it will help to improve consumer senti- ufacturing equipment, with reductions in faced with an ongoing headwind associat- ment, which coupled with an extremely rhodium use when prices have shot up the ed with technical issues that have tied up low interest rate environment, could help way they have in recent months. For many metal at refineries. demand in the coming year. The rhodi- uses once ways are devised to reduce the The mine supply side is typically the um market seems to be positioning for amount of rhodium, it is unlikely that the slowest to respond to the gains in metals this outcome. Price volatility should be amount of rhodium will increase back to prices. That said, the sharp increase in expected in the coming months. On the levels before the reduction. rhodium prices coupled with several years downside, prices should not be expected Scrap supply also is typically sensitive of increases in palladium prices is already to slip below $9,000/oz. to the price of a metal. Two factors are seeing South African mining companies Sharp increases in rhodium prices in expected to limit this typical sensitivity increase their focus on UG2 ore, which is the past have accelerated reduced usage at this time. The first is the disruptions rich in palladium and rhodium. and metal substitution. The glass manufac- in scrap supply chains that have not fully turing industry is a good example of where allowed for scrap recovery to respond to This article was excerpted from CPM shifts are made in the amount of rhodium the sharp increase in price. The other is Group’s monthly Precious Metals Advisory. and platinum used to make the glass man- the amount of rhodium being recovered is www.CPMGroup.com

(October 1, 2020)

Precious Metals ($/oz) Base Metals ($/mt) Minor Metals ($/mt) Exchange Rates (U.S.$ Equivalent) Gold $1,906.40 Aluminum $1,716.00 Molybdenum $18,000 Euro (€) 1.175 Silver $23.79 Copper $6,614.00 Cobalt $33,925 U.K. (£) 1.290 Platinum $902.00 Lead $1,809.50 Canada ($) 0.752 Palladium $2,346.00 Nickel $14,430.00 Iron Ore ($/dmt) Australia ($) 0.719 Rhodium $14,000.00 Tin $17,506.00 Fe CFR China $121.43 South Africa (Rand) 0.060 Ruthenium $270.00 Zinc $2,365.00 China (¥) 0.147

Gold and silver prices provided by KITCO Bullion dealers (www.kitco.com). Platinum group metals prices provided by Johnson Matthey (www.platinum.matthey.com). Non-ferrous base and minor metal prices provided by London Metal Exchange (www.lme.co.uk). Iron ore prices provided by Platts Iron Ore Index. Currency exchange rates were provided by www.xe.com.

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