CANADIAN TECHNOLOGY
engine for high altitude and EPA Tier 4 Final, EU
Stage IV regulated engine, DUX said it is in the
process of designing a battery-/electric-powered
version of the DSL-300 with on-board battery
charging. These will improve noise levels, and
reduce ventilation and maintenance costs, it
said.
The electric-powered version will be
introduced in 2020, according to DUX.
Cleaning up the landscape
Sudbury also plays hosts to one of the largest
integrated mining complexes in the world with
five mines, a mill, a smelter and a nickel refinery.
Formerly owned by Inco, these operations are
now in the hands of Vale.
One would have to go back to the old Inco
days to witness the start-up of the “Superstack”,
a structure that has become well-known to
Sudbury residents since it was put in full
operating mode in 1972. It is reportedly the
tallest chimney in Canada and the Western
hemisphere, measuring in at 380 m.
Now, the Brazil-based miner’s Sudbury
operations are set for an 85% reduction in
sulphur dioxide emissions after the completion
of a C$1 billion ($792 million) Clean AER
(Atmospheric Emission Reduction) project. This
project will see this iconic Sudbury landmark
decommissioned.
The project is the largest single environmental
investment in Sudbury’s history and, on top of
the sulphur dioxide emission cut, will see metal
particulate emissions come down 40%,
according to Vale.
Work began on the project in 2012 and
included the construction of two new converters,
a wet gas cleaning plant, a new secondary
Maestro Digital Mine’s EthernetI/O is available
in two versions; one for analogue and discrete
devices (model AD4) and a second (model
RTD12) with RTD inputs
78 International Mining | APRIL 2019
baghouse and fan building and reconstruction of
the smelter converter flues. Due to close
coordination between the project and operations,
this construction took place safely while the
Copper Cliff smelter continued to operate, Vale
said.
Ricus Grimbeek, Chief Operating Officer of
Vale’s North Atlantic Base
Metals Operations and Asian
Refineries, said the
completion of the project was
a historic milestone that
demonstrated how far “we
have come as a company in
reducing our environmental
footprint”.
Two new 137 m stacks are
being constructed at the
Copper Cliff smelter, which
will require far less energy to
operate than the Superstack,
Vale said. Following
construction of the concrete shells, steel liners
will be installed in the new stacks this year.
In 2020, the Superstack’s steel liner will be
removed and the Superstack will be taken out of
service and placed on care and maintenance. It is
expected that removal of the concrete shell will
begin thereafter and continue over several years.
Below ground but not too far from the
Superstack, Glencore is working on its Onaping
Depth project at the Craig mine, part of its own
Integrated Nickel Operations (INO).
Cementation Canada was recently awarded the
design and construction of the new internal
underground shaft for the project, which is
critical to the long-term sustainability of
Glencore’s operations in the region.
The deposit in question is around 2,500 m
below surface, with Cementation set to design
and construct the 7.2 m diameter production
shaft required for operations.
The shaft will be sunk from the 4025 Level of
the Craig mine, located some 1.5 km horizontally
from the existing Craig shaft, according to
Cementation, which added that it will engineer
and construct the hoistrooms and underground
headframe. At the tail end of last year, it reported
it was reaming a 3-m diameter raise bore as a
pilot raise for a portion of the final shaft
excavation and construction.
Roy Slack, President of Cementation Canada,
said: “Onaping Depth has been an iconic project
for us and we have worked very closely with
Sudbury INO over the years to evaluate and
provide the shaft designs and methodology that
combine safety with value.”
Communications
As mining companies plunge deeper below the
surface, communication – whether that be for
automation, safety or productivity – becomes
increasingly important.
Newtrax Technologies’ real-time productivity
and safety solutions are fortunately able to
leverage off any existing network infrastructure
underground.
Its Mobile Equipment Telemetry (MET) system
Newtrax’s Mobile Equipment Telemetry system
has allowed LHD operators at Glencore’s
Matagami underground operation to load
trucks in an optimal way
has recently been helping Glencore raise
productivity and increase operational awareness
at its Matagami zinc-copper underground mine in
Quebec, Canada.
The operation, which mines the Bracemac and
McLeod deposits, first installed the MET system
back in 2016 on trucks and LHDs in order to
maximise its haulage efficiency. It has ended up
doing much more, according to a case study from
Newtrax.
Newtrax said: “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.
“Efficiency is vital at the mine because those
haulage trips are more than 8 km in each
direction. The huge distance means it’s essential
to get every tonne possible onto the truck before
it heads to the surface.”
As part of its overall haulage efficiency aim,
Glencore needed more information about its
operation, Newtrax said, 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 said.