ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE
INTERNATIONAL MINING PROFILES
Newtrax closes the gap between the surface –
and the information underground
ewtrax leverages any existing network
infrastructure underground, allowing
underground hard-rock mines of all
shapes and sizes to measure key performance
indicators (KPIs) they were not able to measure
before, in real-time, to enable short-interval
control of operations during the shift.
This includes real-time KPIs for drills, trucks,
bolters, and LHDs with coverage all the way to
the face, and a full-suite of KPIs without
operator input using passive data collection.
From early detection of hazards in ground, air
and water, to proximity detection and collision
avoidance and lone worker safety and evacuation
& rescue, its safety solutions have been
improving the LTIFRs of miners around the world.
In productivity, its real-time monitoring,
overall equipment effectiveness (OEE), overall
face utilisation efficiency and overall haulage
efficiency tools have been helping miners haul
more with less for close to a decade.
N
MET its match
Its Mobile Equipment Telemetry (MET) system,
one of its OEE platforms, has recently been
helping Glencore raise productivity and
increase operational awareness at its Matagami
zinc-copper underground mine in Quebec, Canada.
The operation first installed the MET system
back in 2016 on trucks and LHDs in order to
maximise its haulage efficiency, but it has ended
up doing much more.
“Glencore Matagami mine has been faced
with a continual challenge: how to haul ore to
the surface most efficiently. Normally, this isn’t
the most difficult challenge a mine faces but, at
Matagami, all their ore is hauled with trucks,”
Newtrax says.
As part of its overall haulage efficiency aim,
Glencore needed more information about its
MET systems provide mine
operators with essential
information and indisputable
data pulled directly from mining
equipment, according to Newtrax
operation; which is where the company’s MET
system proved its worth.
MET systems provide mine operators with
essential information and indisputable data
pulled directly from mining equipment,
according to Newtrax. “The ability to access this
data empowers mining companies to
understand the precise manner in which their
machines are being used, how well each
individual machine is functioning, and can offer
predictive suggestions to increase both
productivity and profit,” the company says.
“The MET works with all equipment brands
and models and was easily integrated to
Matagami mine’s mixed fleet of trucks and
LHDs,” Newtrax adds.
Glencore Matagami mine used the system in
multiple ways including to monitor the standard
production times of equipment, to calculate use of
ore haulage, to calculate OEE and loads per cycle.
Christian Ngoma, Underground Operations
Superintendent of Matagami, says Newtrax
technology allowed mine management to get a
clearer idea of what is going on underground.
Glencore Matagami installed a custom fit
Payload Monitoring System, which interfaces
directly with the original equipment
manufacturer’s (OEM’s) existing sensor network.
This enabled:
n Real-time payload data available on the
Newtrax scoreboards and cab display for the
operators, and;
n Real-time payload broadcasted to the
Newtrax MET telemetry recorder every five
seconds, with no operator intervention.
Ngoma says: “We now have production trucks
equipped with Newtrax scoreboards to show
tonnage, and the LHD operators use this tool to
load the trucks in an optimal way. We now
noticed that four out of five of our trucks have
Glencore Matagami Haulage Team Supervisor,
Dany Lavoie-Mercier, says: “The standard
production time report is an improvement that
is more representative of our daily operations.
From personal experience, after having
presented it to my team, I presented it again
the following shift and there was a clear
difference in our operations. Everything was
optimised from one shift to the next.”
an average tonnage of approximately 60 t in
comparison to 55 t before.
Trucks currently travel 8 km on an average
cycle within the operation, but there is a
possible extension to 10.4 km in the coming
years, Ngoma says, meaning the extra
productivity will come in handy.
After using the Newtrax MET system for one
year, Newtrax says the Glencore Matagami team
observed the following results:
n Five to six per cent increase in utilisation on
ore haulage;
n Four per cent increase in OEE, and;
n Five per cent increase in loads per cycle.
Glencore Matagami Haulage Team Supervisor,
Dany Lavoie-Mercier, says: “The standard
production time report is an improvement that is
more representative of our daily operations.
From personal experience, after having
presented it to my team, I presented it again the
following shift and there was a clear difference
in our operations. Everything was optimised
from one shift to the next.”
Solutions provided by Newtrax can be used
across a number of platforms and systems,
allowing for easy adaptability, the company says.
Mohammed Lamine-Lamrani, Reliability
Engineer at Matagami, says: “The Newtrax
system enables us to transfer data via different
networks, which facilitates its adoption into
different mines. The system helped us identify
the different delays of activities, in terms of our
machines, which allowed us to intervene,
improve, and increase our OEE.”
Tiffany Dawson
Marketing Coordinator
+1 514 288 6398 x 231
tdawson@newtrax.com
www.newtrax.com
360 St-Jacques Floor 8 Montréal,
Québec - Canada H2Y 1P5
APRIL 2019 | International Mining 29