IM 2017 November 17 | Page 8

WORLD PROSPECTS also offers good protection in the event of non- crushable foreign material. The symmetric arrangement of the roll permits the eccentric roll crusher to be balanced with great precision. With additional balancing weights it can be balanced almost completely. This lowers machine vibrations when idling and significantly reduces the loads on surrounding Atlas Copco teams up with Saab A tlas Copco has signed a letter of intent with the defence and security company Saab and its subsidiary, the technology consultancy Combitech. The company says the collaboration goes hand in hand with Atlas Copco’s aggressive investment in secure digitalised mining operations. The collaboration will be based on Atlas Copco’s strong position and years of experience in the mining industry, as well as Combitech’s broad experience from digitalisation of aeronautics, defense and telecommunications operations. “Rationalising mining operations not only result in substantial savings and productivity improvements; it also ensures greater security for Atlas Copco’s customers. Atlas Copco has chosen to initiate a collaboration with Saab and Combitech as the company further advances its digital and automation solutions.” A letter of intent outlining their enhanced cooperation has been signed. The new collaboration includes digitalisation efforts related to autonomous mining control tower, cyber security and ecosystem solutions. The collaboration will build upon Saab’s technical platforms and on the working methods and experience that Combitech gained in the course of digitalising the Gripen E fighter aircraft – an effort that cut development time in half while radically reducing costs. “This collaboration is fully in line with our vision of the digital mine of the future,” said Helena Hedblom, President of Atlas Copco’s Mining and Rock Excavation Technique business area. “Many of our customers have already begun the digitalisation process, and plenty of others will soon be on board. Our aim is to support our customers along the way and to meet their increased demands for cyber security and integrated solutions. To shorten the lead time, we’re choosing to team up with the best in the industry. We see great potential in combining our company’s products and experience with Combitech’s technologies,” concluded Hedblom. “The fact that a world-leading Swedish industrial company has chosen us to be its digitalisation partner feels like a real acknowledgment,” said Combitech’s Deputy CEO, Lars Ydreskog, who is in charge of digitalisation at the company. “It shows that the unique experience we gained while digitalising structures compared with other primary crushers. That makes the new crusher ideal for use in mobile crushing systems. www.thyssenkrupp.com the Gripen E fighter, in combination with being a leader in cyber security, makes us very attractive to global industry. The collaboration with Atlas Copco is an important step toward achieving our goal of becoming a knowledge hub for the digitalisation of Swedish industry,” concluded Ydreskog. This collaboration is another example of Atlas Copco’s increased focus on the safe digitalisation of mining operations. Earlier this year, Atlas Copco acquired a stake in Mobilaris MCE, a business whose software solutions provide users with a comprehensive picture of the mining operations, real-time positioning, and status information about vehicles, equipment and personnel. www.atlascopco.com GroundProbe unveils underground LiDAR solution A s a global technology leader that provides advanced hardware and software solutions to the mining industry, GroundProbe says it is “excited to announce the release of our first solution developed specifically for underground geotechnical convergence monitoring, the GML-Underground.” GroundProbe officially launched the Geotech Monitoring LiDAR (GML-Underground) at their exhibition booth at the inaugural International Conference in Underground Mining Technology 2017 in Sudbury, Canada. The GML is a high resolution and highly precise convergence monitoring system capable of detecting rock and ground support movement with sub- millimetre accuracy. “We have taken