WORLD PROSPECTS
Northern ore keeps moving with Doofor
Most of the iron ore produced in the Gällivare and Kiruna mines in Sweden are transported to the Atlantic port of Narvik in Norway by rail. The railway runs some 400 km and is used for ore transportation, passenger traffic and cargo alike. The railway is maintained by the Finnish company VR Track.
Norwegian company Norocs uses the Doofor DF538L hydraulic drifter in its operations maintaining the tunnels and railways in the area. The rock drill is part of a drill feed system built by Scandinavian Pile Driving AB. The MD33 with the Doofor DF538L is a rock drill rig for top hammer drilling and blast hole drilling. It is installed on a Lännen multifunction excavator. The Doofor DF538L rock drill has two motors and is capable of drilling diameter 57 mm holes with a good penetration speed. The rock drill can use air or water flushing and is a good option for both underground and surface drilling.“ The DF538L can drill quite fast with a relatively low oil flow and pressure. It is getting positive attention in the OEM markets in North America, Europe and Far East”, says Kalle Kuusento of Doofor.
Doofor Inc, which is celebrating its 30th year of operation, is exhibiting the Doofor DF538L and
Cat autonomy extended to other brands
Caterpillar is developing autonomous mining truck technology for an expanded range of models, including other brands. At a recent Cat ® MineStar™ Command for hauling demonstration at the company’ s facility in Arizona, Caterpillar announced a project to adapt hardware and software for retrofitting the Komatsu 930E mining truck with Cat autonomous technology. This interoperability initiative is driven by mining companies’ goal of reducing mining costs using their existing fleets.
“ Retrofitting technology is a proven means for mining companies to get the most from their assets,” said Sean McGinnis, Product Manager, Command for Hauling.“ And many mining companies operate mixed fleets of trucks. Developing autonomous systems for other brands of trucks will enable us to offer a total solution to these customers.”
Additionally, Caterpillar is expanding the
The Atlas Copco Board is proposing a split of Atlas Copco Group, which will turn the Mining and Rock Excavation Technique Business Area and division Construction Tools into a separate company. This new company will be dedicated to customers within mining and civil engineering. This mining and civil engineering dedicated company will include 12,000 employees, comprising all divisions within the Mining and Rock Excavation Technique Business Area plus the division Construction Tools and related service. The rationale is to ensure that both Atlas Copco and the new company are provided the best growth opportunities in their respective market segments.
The new company will have a dedicated Board and CEO;“ this will result in a more agile company governance and faster response to market requirements. Operationally there will not be any changes to the existing structure, as there number of Cat truck models fitted for autonomous operation. The autonomous arrangement of the 797F, the largest of the Cat line with 363 t payload capacity, is now being tested. Other models are being evaluated as Caterpillar works with mining companies seeking ways to lower cost per tonne and enhance safety.
The new Cat autonomous trucks will join the proven Cat 793F CMD in the autonomous mining truck line. A large fleet of the 227 t capacity trucks has achieved a 20 % productivity advantage over standard trucks working in an Australian iron ore mine. Also, the
Atlas Copco mining / civils spin off already is a solid organisation in place. This structure will further enable investments in growth areas like automation, digitalisation and service excellence.”
“ This is a fantastic opportunity. With the new company solely dedicated to mining and civil engineering we can serve our customers even better than today,” says Helena Hedblom, Business Area President, Mining and Rock Excavation Technique.“ From an organisational point of view there will be no changes. We have strong Customer Centres, professional people, excellent products and superior services. Our
other rock drills at the forthcoming CONEXPO- CON / AGG trade fair in Las Vegas, Nevada from March 7-11 2017. www. doofor. com
fleet and support staff have achieved zero lost time injuries since the first trucks started operating more than 3.5 years ago. In keeping with the retrofit trend, several of the current global fleet of 70 Cat 793F autonomous trucks have been retrofitted to operate autonomously. www. cat. com
customer support will be reinforced as we can run operations more focused from present premises.”
The new company will be listed on the Nasdaq Stockholm stock exchange from mid 2018 following approval at the Atlas Copco Annual General Meeting in April 2018. www. atlascopco. com
10 International Mining | FEBRUARY 2017