GLOBAL NEWS
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PERU:
ZYFRA’S DIGITAL MONITORING
Zyfra Mining (formerly – VIST Group) and CT Power have
implemented a digital fleet management and monitoring
system in the mining section of Cosapi Minería’s Shougang
Hierro project in Peru.
Cosapi Minería is a subsidiary of the Cosapi S.A. Group, a
construction and engineering company, and acts as a contractor
for open-pit mining operation. The fleet management was
implemented in the Shougang Hierro Peru deposit, near the
municipality of Marcona, Ica region, with the help of CT Power.
“This system will allow full monitoring of operations by
increasing productivity and safety at Shougang mine thanks
to the following features: real-time equipment monitoring,
automatic truck assignment using intelligent ad-hoc algorithms,
high precision selectivity in loading different types of materials,
high precision drilling guidance and operator assistance. Also, we
have included road quality monitoring, tyre management and
machinery diagnosis, among others.” Cosapi said in a statement.
The main objectives of the fleet management system are the
increase of production with the existing machinery, the control
of the uniform mineral quality in the stockpiles and to increase
safety of the open pit mining operation. Both are achieved by
optimally distributing machinery and reducing the impact of
human factor. The fleet management system helps to manage
the load of trucks and control all tasks of drivers, preventing
infractions. The program detects dangerous operations, such as
a breach of speed limits or making unjustified stops. In addition,
it is able to evaluate the work and impact of drivers and
operators during their shift.
“The joint project with Cosapi Minería is an opportunity for
us to demonstrate the advantages and competitiveness of
our technologies to mining companies in Latin America. In
this project we have used best practices, proven in India and
Morocco, as well as our technologies in the field of the Internet
of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence,” says Pavel Rastopshin,
managing director of Zyfra.
In the context of this project, all trucks, electro-hydraulic and
diesel shovels, as well as drilling platforms, were equipped with
sensors, while a high-speed MESH WiFi network was installed.
Information about the operation of the machinery is accessible
to operators and managers. In addition, truck operators and
electro-hydraulic shovels can visualise this data in real time from
the intelligent panels located inside the cabins of their vehicles.
The dynamic optimisation module automatically adjusts the
best routes depending on the actual situation in the mine, as,
for example, in cases of breakdowns of certain equipment or
recently disabled roads.
Using Precision Drill software and hardware set, drilling
parameters are controlled, and load simulation is also carried
out on the drilling areas using energy data obtained to
understand the material that its being drilled on. Precision Drill
ensures that the design of the drilling mesh and high precision
accuracy (at the scale of centimetres) of the drilling machines
are captured; the GLONASS/GPS system is also used. In addition,
the project includes the road quality module that, with the
help of accelerometer data and graphics, allows a much more
accurate detection in a timely manner on problematic areas in
these roads which affects the tyres of the machinery and trucks.
AUSTRALIA:
AUTO CAT FOR NEWMONT
Caterpillar has reached an agreement with global mining
company Newmont to supply and support Cat autonomous
trucks and the MineStar Command for hauling system for the
Boddington gold mine in Western Australia.
The fleet of autonomous Cat 793F mining trucks will be fully
operational in 2021 and will be the first autonomous haulage
system working in an open pit gold mine.
“We are pleased to work with Newmont in implementing
autonomous haulage at Boddington,” says Denise Johnson,
group president Resource Industries, Caterpillar. “Command
for hauling has shown its ability to enhance safety, optimise
production and lower costs at sites around the world. The
Caterpillar team is eager to demonstrate these positive results in
gold mining,” says Johnson.
This system will allow full monitoring of operations by increasing
productivity and safety at Shougang mine.
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African Mining April 2020
Caterpillar will work with WesTrac, the regional Cat dealer, to
manage logistics of mining truck delivery and commissioning.
www. africanmining.co.za