Mine Mechanization and Automation at CANMET, Natural Resources Canada by M. Laflamme*, M. Bétournay* and A. Miller† narrow vein mines, reduction of noise and vibration, miner location device, and hoisting. Synopsis Mining and Mineral Sciences The main objectives of the Mine Mechanisation and Automation program (MMAP) are to enhance health and safety in underground Laboratories mining operations, facilitate mechanization and automation in MMSL’s mandate is to provide quality research narrow-vein and deep mines, provide sound science to regulatory agencies and improve mine profitability. and development services, technology, and The program, which has a unique underground and surface sound scientific advice to: industrial scale facility, is involved in many multi-partner projects, ➤ Canada’s mining, mineral and related like hydrogen fuelcell applications, electrification and hydraulifi- supply industries cation of underground mines, reduction of noise and vibration, ➤ Provincial and federal government miner location device, explosive-free blasting and hoisting. departments involved in promoting or The paper presents an overview of the Mine Mechanisation and regulating the industry. Automation Program of Natural Resources Canada and some of the MMSL’s list of clients include: main projects. ➤ The federal government, in support of policy development and in such issues as promoting and defending trade ➤ The primary mining and metals producers and processors in Canada Introduction ➤ The wider ‘cluster industry’ market of consulting engineers, equipment Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) is a federal manufacturers, and associated environ- government department specializing in the mental and other supply industries sustainable development and use of natural ➤ Provincial government’s natural resource resources—energy, minerals and metals, and labour ministries. forests—and in Earth sciences. NRCan deals Figure 1 shows the MMSL organization with natural resource issues that are important chart which regroups three main laboratories to Canadians. These issues are examined from and a service unit: environment laboratory, both a national and international perspective, process laboratory, mining laboratory and the our expertise in science and technology, policy analysis services. and research programmes. How we manage In particular, the mining laboratories are our land and resources today will determine composed of three research and development the quality of life for Canadians now and in the programs; future. The activities of NRCan in the mineral ➤ Ground control program resources are realised within the Mining and ➤ Underground mine environment Mineral Sciences Laboratories (MMSL) of program CANMET, which include the Mine ➤ Mine mechanization and automation Mechanisation and Automation Program program. (MMAP). Based at the Experimental Mine in Val d’Or, the MMAP has for its goal to enhance health and safety in underground mining operations, facilitate mechanization and * Natural Resources Canada, CANMET, automation in narrow veins and deep mines, Experimental Mine, Val-d’Or, Canada provide sound science to regulatory agencies † Fuelcell Propulsion Institute, Denver, USA and improve mine profitability. The MMAP is © The South African Institute of Mining and involved in a number of major projects such as Metallurgy, 2002. SA ISSN 0038–223X/3.00 + the application of hydrogen fuelcell in 0.00. This paper was first presented at the SAIMM underground mining equipment, electrification Symposium: Mine Mechanization and Automation and (water powering) hydraulification of 25–28 September 2001 The Journal of The South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy APRIL 2002 131 ▲ Mine Mechanization and Automation at CANMET Director Deputy Director Administration International Project Business Development ISO 9000 Environment Mining Processing CARM Mine effluents Ground Control Metallurgical Processing Analytical Services Innovations in Mine Mine mechanization Canadian Certified Mineralogy Waste Management and Automation Reference Materials Metals and the Underground Mine Environment Environment MEND 2000 Figure 1—MMSL organization chart Figure 2—Longitudinal section – Experimental Mine ▲ 132 APRIL 2002 The Journal of The South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy Mine Mechanization and Automation at CANMET Figure 3—Experimental Mine—70 metre level The activities of these three programs are based in ➤ mining equipment and accessories different localities: Sudbury (Ontario), Bells Corners (Ottawa, ➤ communication and information transmission systems Ontario) and Val d’Or (Québec). The mechanization and to assure continuous surveillance of the activities automation program based at the Experimental Mine in Val ➤ surface installations, including offices, laboratories and d’Or relies on unique industrial installations underground as workshop. well as on the surface, accessible to the mining and manufacturing industries in order to do research and development work without production constraint. Mine Mechanisation and Automation Program Experimental Mine facilities Main objectives In 1991, the Department of Natural Resources Canada The MMAP has three objectives through its activities. acquired an experimental mine in order to comply to the ➤ Enhance health and safety in underground mining needs of the Canadian mining industry and to give more operations. importance to applied research. The installations are located ➤ Facilitate mechanization and automation to improve on the site of an old gold mine. The mine was renovated to permit the use of recent technologies and related material. mine profitability. ➤ The Experimental Mine, unique mining site and Provide sound science to regulatory agencies. representative of real operations, presents the following These main objectives are met through two main thrusts. characteristics (see Figures 2 and 3): ➤ An ongoing effort to develop and improve underground ➤ a testing site in hard rock equipped with an access mine equipment and systems, including worker ramp protection and safety devices, as well as alternative ➤ five underground levels, including more than 2000 mining methods and systems. metres of drift, raises, secondary access and extraction ➤ A longer term thrust related to mine automation and stopes alternative to explosives to break hard rock. The Journal of The South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy APRIL 2002 133 ▲ Mine Mechanization and Automation at CANMET The achievement of those objectives is done through a mine production locomotive is the world’s first fuelcell number of projects realised in collaboration with the mining industrial vehicle. industry, manufacturers of mining equipment, regulation The locomotive’s fuelcell system uses a proton-exchange organizations, colleges, universities, as well as federal and membrane (PEM) fuelcells and no electrical battery. The provincial governments and this, on national and stack is a rugged industrial design, using metal bipolar international levels. plates. The power plant for the locomotive is composed of two Project highlights stacks in electrical series, the hybrid hydrogen storage bed (Figure 4) and system control. Many major projects are actually being realised through the Characteristics of the fuelcell power plant are presented in MMAP. Some are presented hereafter in order to present an Table I, in comparison with the locomotive lead-acid battery. insight of the programs’ orientations. The hybrid storage system, developed by Sandia/ Fuelcell locomotive project California, will store 3 kilograms (kg) of hydrogen, sufficient for eight hours of locomotive operation at the 6 kilowatt An initiative, co-sponsored by the Fuelcell Propulsion (kW) average power of its duty cycle. The bed uses Institute (FPI) and CANMET, has for its objective to prove the approximately 200 kg of C-15 alloy (manganese, titanium, concept of safe hydrogen fuelcell application in underground zirconium, iron, and other constituents) stored in 12 mining vehicles. This would address three important cylinders. The system design allows for rapid change-out constraints, the new regulation on the permitted level of diesel emissions, the low cost of metals (which is forcing a (swapping) of a discharged bed with a freshly charged unit. major reduction in production costs, achievable through the The evaluation of the locomotive will be done on two levels, ➤ ventilation reduction and productivity increase afforded by safety of different components ➤ the application of fuelcells), and the reduction of greenhouse performance and reliability of the system. gases (1Mt of CO2 is emitted every year by underground The first evaluation will be under the responsibility of the diesel mining vehicles). Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), an agency The hydrogen fuelcell locomotive project, one of seven with the US Department of Labor. Surface tests will be carried technology introduction projects which includes also the out prior to the underground performance testing. These will conventional underground LHD vehicle, regroups more than serve to validate operational safety of different system 20 international partners from the mining industry. The components. The second evaluation will be under CANMET’s responsibility. It will serve to measure, on a comparative Fuel Cell 250 mm wide 180 mm high, 550 mm long basis, a number of operational parameters as: Hydride Bed approximately ➤ Tractive effort 66.6 litres in 12 canisters ➤ Grade climbing ➤ Tram speed ➤ Operating duration